《I can rewind time to prevent death》


 Chapter 1 Strangenesses Permeate This World

    This was the third day since Yan Junze was reborn on this planet after the laboratory explosion, and he was reborn in a country called the Great Capital of Huaying.In Tianmeng District, Shuntian City, the city was roughly equivalent to a second or third-tier city in Hua Country on Earth before Yan Junze was reborn.


    Unlike other reincarnators, Yan Junze, after his rebirth, still had both parents alive, hadn''t "kicked the bucket," and was so healthy that even the sellers of health supplements advertising "bring home everything with just ninety-eight" couldn''t find an angle to peddle their goods.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was an only child, had no sisters, so those fixated on bone-related plots could directly exit by clicking the top right corner.


    The only difference was that this reborn world was filled with a great deal of nameless strangeness.


    For example, at two o''clock in the morning, the door outside the living room would be knocked on punctually, sending out a pure, mechanical sound that raised goosebumps on one''s skin in the still and dark night.


    Another example was the strict household rule that prohibited using the bathroom after midnight. Usually around 11:50 p.m., someone would lock the bathroom door with a key.


    Of course, living people can''t be allowed to die from holding in their excretion, so each bedroom was equipped with a simple chamber pot.


    After being reborn, the original owner''s memory did not recover, and Yan Junze slowly built his understanding of this family, this world, and the unexplained strangeness that permeated everything.


    It was on the second day after his rebirth, which was a Saturday, that he began to roughly understand some aspects of this world by browsing information online.


    The so-called strangeness was referred to here as strangeness events.


    About half a year ago, such strangeness events began emerging continuously in this world. Initially considered as isolated incidents, the strangeness events quickly spread across the globe.


    Multiple websites dedicated to strangeness sprouted up like mushrooms after rain, with internet users uploading a multitude of strange photos and personal encounter videos in such volumes it was unimaginable. There were also specialized chat groups, B-station live streams, and more.


    Fortunately, if a strangeness event occurred, it usually only affected a specific area. If one didn''t approach that area, there generally wouldn''t be any anomalies. This was akin to Yan Junze''s parents forbidding him from entering the bathroom after midnight.


    His father, Yan Daguo, mandated that the bathroom door be locked at 11:50 p.m. every night and only unlocked the next morning at 6:30 a.m. As for the reasons behind this, Yan Daguo kept his lips sealed.


    But there were always exceptions to rules, and seeing that Yan Junze had just been reborn and hadn''t fully formed an understanding of this aspect, coupled with not being quite accustomed to his new body, he only realized after washing up and returning to his bedroom on this Saturday night that his glasses were left on the bathroom vanity.


    This body belonged to a high school senior, straining day and night over revisions and exercises, resulting in over three hundred degrees of myopia, but other bodily functions were still fairly decent.


    Just endure this one year, and after lying dead through the college entrance exam, one would once again be a robust man. The original owner''s ideas were somewhat na?ve and laughable.


    Yan Junze deliberately checked the time; the clock had already pointed to 11:54 p.m. Now, retrieving his glasses wouldn''t take a minute, and he wouldn''t be breaking his father Yan Daguo''s rule.


    Besides, he hadn''t developed a profound realization of the severity of entering the bathroom.


    Strangeness events? Would a mouthwash cup jumping up to catch water by itself, a faucet oozing blood, a terrifying face appearing in the mirror, or a washcloth performing Mars Brother''s "Uptown Funk" on its hook count?


    Before personally experiencing it, everyone thinks that real horror is far away from them. Yan Junze subconsciously held the same belief.


    Stepping out of the bedroom, squatting in the hallway to retrieve the key hiding under the bathroom door''s water-absorbing carpet, Yan Junze quickly inserted the key into the lock and turned it to open the door.


    The bathroom space was rather cramped, with a vanity and a toilet taking up half the area, leaving the remaining space for a shower. However, when showering, water was bound to splash onto the vanity and even the mirror in front of it.


    The entire bathroom was lined with alternating red and white square tiles, except for the vanity and toilet, which were pure white.


    Turning on the bathroom light, the confined space radiated a warm yellow glow, yet the overall lighting in the bathroom remained dim.


    Yan Junze felt an unexplained emptiness in his heart. His blurred vision swept over various items in the bathroom; everything seemed normal. He stepped forward, grabbed his glasses from the vanity, put them on, and returned to the bathroom entrance, then reached out to turn off the light.


    After putting on his glasses, Yan Junze''s vision became significantly clearer. The moment he turned off the light, his eyes inadvertently scanned over something, and immediately, he shuddered violently, staring intently at the corner between the vanity and the toilet.


    There, stood a disheveled little girl who had appeared out of nowhere.


    The girl was about the height of a five or six-year-old, facing the corner with her back towards the bathroom door. She wore a red lace-trimmed dress, with her arms and calves exposed; however, they were covered in clusters of bruises, and her neck was skewed at a 180-degree angle to the right, although the skin had not broken.


    Her little bare feet weren''t wearing shoes, and her right foot seemed to be turned upwards, possibly from a severe impact.


    This felt a bit like Captain Barbossa from "Pirates of the Caribbean"¨Cat least he could stash rum in his prosthetic leg, which was downright cool. But in the case of this girl in red, it was downright horrific.


    What was particularly eerie was that the girl''s entire spine curved like an old tree trunk, forming an S-shape, standing there motionless, with thick, dirty, and disheveled hair draping behind her.


    Right now, Yan Junze had no time to consider Captain Barbossa and his rum-storing prosthetic leg as an overwhelming sense of terror quickly rose, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. A chilly sensation spread from the bathroom toward the hallway outside.


    Yan Junze felt as if his breathing had stopped.


    Strangeness events, one of which was happening right before his eyes¡ªthe kind that were breaking out everywhere in this world!


    Seeing news about it on TV and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different. Only now did he realize the vast chasm between them.


    Cold sweat broke out on the palm of Yan Junze''s hands and on his back. He wanted to close his eyes and not look at the girl in red anymore, but his gaze simply couldn''t move away, still fixated on the eerie figure without blinking.


    At that moment, the red-dressed girl, who had remained motionless, her twisted neck began to move, slowly turning towards the bathroom door. This was accompanied by the kaka sound of broken bones grinding against each other, like a century-old tree branch being snapped, exceedingly piercing in the quiet of the night.


    In that instant, Yan Junze felt an icy chill through his limbs. Summoning courage from who knows where, his hand shot out, grabbing the bathroom doorknob and slamming the door shut with a bang, then swiftly turned the key twice in the lock before removing it, his hands trembling as he clutched it.


    The bedroom of Junze''s parents immediately opened, as his bleary-eyed father, Yan Daguo, and mother, Li Man, emerged.


    "Ze, how long have you been reviewing? Why haven''t you slept yet?" asked Li Man surprised, then glanced over at the now-closed bathroom door.


    "Were you just now in the bathroom?" Daguo''s sleepiness had completely vanished as he immediately returned to the bedroom to check the time on his cellphone.


    Four minutes to midnight.


    Yan Daguo stepped out of the bedroom again, approached the bathroom door, and tried the handle, only to find it locked. Then he looked at Junze, standing there with the key still slightly shaking in his hands.


    Taking the key from Junze''s hand, Daguo turned to Li Man with a stern tone, "I told you to keep good care of the keys, to not leave them lying around for convenience''s sake."


    Li Man, having read the unspoken message in Junze''s unsteady expression, simply nodded. At this moment, Daguo was fired up, and she did not engage.


    Daguo turned back to look at Junze''s eyes, his gaze firm but not without concern, and he asked, "Did you see her?"


    Junze did not answer.


    "It''s okay, as long as you don''t go into the bathroom during the time she appears, nothing will happen," Daguo said, trying to reassure him.


    "Dad, that thing doesn''t just appear at midnight," Junze spoke up.


    "That''s why I insist on locking the bathroom door ten minutes ahead of time," Daguo replied, then turned to Li Man, "Next time, don''t leave the key in front of the door. I will keep it myself, locking the door every night and opening it again the next day at the same time."


    "It won''t happen again," Li Man said apologetically, as she approached Junze and placed her hands on his shoulders.


    "Dad, haven''t we reported the strangeness in our house?" Junze couldn''t help but ask.


    The role of the security officer, akin to a keeper of public order similar to an ancient constable, was not really equipped to handle strangeness events.


    However, with the rapid increase in the number of strangeness events, even after reporting to exorcists, it might not be possible to get immediate assistance.


    In the early days of the strangeness outbreaks, Buddhist and Taoist practices were popular for a while, but people gradually realized that the various talismans, magical tools, and items meant to subdue demons and ghosts had little effect on the present-day strangeness.


    Because of this, a number of overly traditional people met untimely deaths, and everyone came to realize that only exorcists could effectively deal with such matters.


    The exorcists paid a hefty price to study how to eradicate strangeness. Their secretive methods, beyond the reach and understanding of the common folk, are not something ordinary people have a chance of, nor the ability to, master.


    Daguo sighed, "We reported it a month ago, they said we had to wait in line, but we haven''t even been queued up yet."


    Junze was somewhat speechless.


    Even though the world was riddled with strangeness, the usual social connections and favors likely hadn''t diminished¡ªsaying they were in line might mean someone was jumping the queue through special relationships.


    Waiting for an exorcist to deal with it might take an endless time. During this period, the only option was to temporarily seal off the affected area.


    Fortunately, the red-dressed girl in the bathroom didn''t seem to be the type looking for trouble; though her appearance might be a bit unpleasant to the viewers, she seemed as quiet as a quail. As long as one avoided the bathroom during her appearances, there shouldn''t be any issues.


    His father, Yan Daguo, worked as an office worker in a paper factory¡ªa regular employee earning less than ten thousand a month.


    Indeed, just over three thousand.


    His mother was a cleaning lady at a cleaning company, and together with Daguo, they made a modest living, on par with each other.


    For such a working-class family living in an old-style residential area with just two bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, and a kitchen, moving out of this haunted place wasn''t really an option.


    Furthermore, trying to cut in line after reporting a strangeness event based on the social connections of Daguo and Li Man was completely unrealistic.


    So, the situation remained at a stalemate.


    It would take a rampant strangeness event impacting a wide area to put pressure on Huaying''s Great Capital, compelling the exorcists to come quickly; otherwise, dealing with a seemingly docile red-dressed ghost like the one in their bathroom might mean waiting three to five months in line, an almost apologetic span for the young girl''s deceitfully gentle frightfulness.


    Junze returned to his bedroom, and Li Man followed to comfort him with gentle words. Daguo checked the lock on the bathroom door once more, ensured that the living room door was also securely locked, and then the couple turned off the lights and went back to their own bedroom. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Junze was unable to sleep. The scene he had just witnessed was the first time in his life that he had seen a strangeness with his own eyes, and that genuine sense of experiencing it firsthand continued to give him goosebumps.


    Another reason he couldn''t sleep was that, after seeing the little girl in red, a mysterious mental image of an atlas had inexplicably surfaced in his mind.

 Chapter 2 I Can Rewind!

    ```This atlas appeared in Yan Junze''s mind almost simultaneously with the sight of the little girl in red,


    but at that moment, Yan Junze was completely immersed in his visual senses and the terrifying atmosphere, so he didn''t have time to pay attention to it.


    Now lying in bed, he finally had the chance to see what was going on.


    The atlas wasn''t a tangible figure but an entirely illusory object, existing only in his mind. Yan Junze waved his hand in front of his eyes, and indeed, there was nothing.


    In the atlas, many thread-like veins appeared, each linked to another by nodes; currently, only one node at the very bottom lit up, while the rest were a dim hue.


    "This is..."


    Yan Junze felt the object was incredibly familiar, as if he remembered something, and was suddenly startled.


    Before the last life''s laboratory explosion, the space-time collapse experiment was dependent on a kind of quantum spectrum, also known as the Spacetime Atlas. And these nodes were the quantum convergence points that needed to be conquered in the experiment, also called energy accumulation zones, formed by the convergence of some kind of energy that couldn''t be fully mastered.


    Eventually, node-to-node transfers connected the entire atlas, allowing time to undergo an orderly transformation. (Er, this part can be skipped!)


    That''s what is commonly known as "Space-Time Travel."


    However, Yan Junze thought that the experiment had not succeeded, but now this atlas existed in his own mind, and it was very complete. Did that mean the experiment had actually succeeded but only manifested in this way, using him as a carrier?


    In the previous life''s experiment, Yan Junze was just an ordinary assistant in the laboratory and not a developer. However, after the laboratory explosion, which was of great magnitude, both the developers and assistants were affected, and he was likely wiped out in one fell swoop.


    While puzzled, Yan Junze was again shaken; after he paid attention to this atlas, it obviously changed, with lines of text flashing into existence.


    [Spacetime Atlas construction complete, detecting Different Dimension Energy as well as a complete Dimensional Space Transverse Wave Band, analyzing the wave band...]


    [Analysis successful, translating...]


    [Translation successful, the wave band is known in this world as "Obsession," a "Task" has been established based on the complete wave band values, display task?]


    Though only an assistant, Yan Junze still had a certain understanding of the Spacetime Atlas. The atlas was highly intelligent, and from the beginning, it was endowed with the ability to analyze intelligently and construct illusory space-time.


    Now it seemed the Spacetime Atlas had detected Different Dimension Energy emitted from the strangeness, and based on "Obsession," it analyzed the wave band values to form the so-called "Task."


    Yan Junze guessed that if he wanted to acquire this part of Different Dimension Energy for the Spacetime Atlas''s use, he would have to complete the "Task" formed based on "Obsession."


    But what this task was...


    "Display it," Yan Junze hesitated slightly, the thought forming in his mind.


    The next moment, another text passage appeared in his mind.


    [Task Name: Hair Washing;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: March 7th is Ke''er''s birthday. The beautiful and clean-loving Ke''er''s favorite color is red. On that day, her mother dressed her in a newly bought red dress and promised to take her to the amusement park. However, a ruthless truck forever separated them. After the accident, Ke''er''s hair became very dirty, so dirty.


    The cleanliness-loving Ke''er hated her filthy long hair, so she always longed to wash it, even if just seeing someone else wash their hair would satisfy her;


    Task Explanation: Wash your hair in the bathroom at home after midnight for at least three minutes, without engaging in any unrelated activities;


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Hint: 1, The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Completing the task may form a stable Rewind line;


    Note: You wash your hair, she watches.]


    Gazing at the task before him, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    The Spacetime Atlas released the task based on the captured wave band of Obsession, which was clearly from the little girl in red Yan Junze had just seen.


    He hadn''t expected the Spacetime Atlas to capture this so-called Different Dimension Energy in the form of task completion.


    Given the atlas''s intelligence, capturing energy and shaping Obsession into tasks to gain energy, the cause and effect seemed to be interlinked.


    Before triggering the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze wouldn''t dare to think about engaging with strange events, but now it was different.


    If the Spacetime Atlas could absorb enough Different Dimension Energy to light up the entire atlas, perhaps he could freely switch through space-time and return to before the laboratory''s explosion in Hua Country on Earth.


    To acquire more energy, the only way was to complete tasks.


    It must be said, the mode of completing tasks was somewhat eerie and unsettling.


    In this world, not to mention everyone, but at least a good number of people are wary of washing their hair alone in the bathroom.


    Because after applying shampoo to the hair, to avoid getting it in the eyes, eyes are usually closed, and at that moment, some faint-hearted individuals always get a hair-raising feeling, wondering if someone is standing behind them.


    This chilling sensation persists until the end of the hair washing.


    Yan Junze usually didn''t harbor these thoughts, but he too had experienced them, especially just after watching a horror movie alone in the bathroom. His body would involuntarily tighten up, his head filled with images from the horror movie, plus a bit of his own imagination, causing him to involuntarily look behind him during the hair washing process.


    ```


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 Chapter 2 I Can Rewind!_2

    If it were just about washing hair in the washroom, that would be manageable, but now Yan Junze is worried that there might be dangers involved in the process.At least after midnight, that little girl in red would appear in the washroom. Washing hair under such circumstances would be even more thrilling than being taken to the execution ground to be beheaded.


    Now it seems that this Golden Finger appears to be quite useless!


    After issuing the task, it just lets him go off to complete it without caring for anything else, what if he encounters danger during the process?


    With continuous whimsical ideas, Yan Junze''s thoughts were tangled between the Spacetime Atlas and the assigned task of washing hair, keeping him awake. Unbeknownst to him, time passed by slowly, and the hands of the clock in the living room moved to point towards two o''clock.


    Just then, Yan Junze''s eyebrows furrowed slightly, feeling as if a shadow had passed by the window of his bedroom.


    The shadow moved so slowly that when Yan Junze noticed something off, and immediately put on his glasses to look out, he could still see the passing shadow.


    His bedroom was adjacent to the public corridor outside the house; normally, by opening the window, he could see neighbors passing by his window, and with a sound-activated light outside the corridor, the light would project the silhouette of the passing person onto the window, making it very clear to see.


    The passing figure was a bit hunched over, with uneven footsteps. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, the uneven footsteps faded, and the shadow vanished as well.


    It looked like some neighbor returning late at night. Yan Junze guessed that activities like playing cards and late-night snacking, no matter in what spacetime, essentially hold the same place in people''s hearts and have not changed.


    It''s quite normal, as there are many people with such preferences.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, knock, knock, knock, a series of crisp knocking sounds emerged, and judging by the source of the sound, it should be on his own door.


    The previous two nights when the knocking had sounded, Yan Junze had only heard it in a drowsy state. He had been deep in sleep and did not attend to it, only to recall the occurrence the next day.


    But at this moment, Yan Junze''s heart inexplicably clenched, because his mind inadvertently connected the figure that had just passed outside the corridor with the person knocking on the door.


    Given the person''s walking pace, the time it took for them to pass by the window and reach his own doorstep seemed to match exactly.


    Whether it was the same person or not, Yan Junze felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest, his back breaking out in a cold sweat again.


    So late at night, someone walking in the corridor with such uneven steps, and silently knocking on someone else''s door...


    This person couldn''t possibly be Batman.


    He did not get out of bed to respond but instead instinctively pricked up his ears to listen for any movement in his parents'' room next door.


    The bedroom door of his parents opened, and it seemed that his father, Yan Daguo, had stepped out, with very light footsteps.


    After a while, Yan Daguo stood in the hallway outside the bedroom, motionless, with the intermittent knocking still coming from the entrance of the living room.


    Yan Junze just lay there, slightly raising his head, staring at the doorway of his bedroom, his breathing nearly coming to a halt.


    Yan Daguo remained still, standing quietly outside the bedroom door, the eerie atmosphere so oppressive that Yan Junze found it hard to breathe.


    At that very moment, the knocking suddenly stopped.


    The uneven footsteps were heard again, passing by the living room door, moving along the public corridor, the hunched-over silhouette reappeared outside the window of Yan Junze''s bedroom, slowly passing by.


    Yan Junze could swear, at that moment, his nearsighted eyes behind his glasses were wide as bull''s eyes, intently staring at the shadow passing by outside the window.


    The uneven footsteps, like stepping on his heart, matched the rhythm of his heartbeat in a strangely harmonious way.


    Although the shadow was no longer visible, the sound of footsteps could still be heard, as if the person was leisurely climbing the stairs, and only then did the footsteps fade away completely.


    A door closing sound came from his parents'' bedroom, and Yan Daguo returned to the bedroom at that moment. From start to finish, no one in the house said a word.


    So freaking weird!


    Yan Junze''s thought had just settled when he was startled again. The Spacetime Atlas in his mind surfaced once again.


    [Detection of new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wavebands in progress...]


    [Analysis successful, translating...]


    [Translation successful, task established, display now?]


    Yan Junze had never expected that in just such a short while, a new task had been captured.


    Without much thought, he immediately brought up the thought of "display," and then the second task appeared.


    [Task Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Intermediate);


    Task Background: The neighbor, Granny Ren, has been distressed lately, for her children haven''t visited her for a long time, and she misses them very much, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. However, Granny Ren is no longer able to tell them. Can you help her?


    Task Instructions: At two in the morning, open the door for the knocking Granny Ren;


    Task Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. There are branch tasks awaiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed another node light up in the Spacetime Atlas in his mind; the line connecting the two lit-up nodes also brightened slightly, showing that this segment of the spacetime line had been fully connected.


    Initially, Yan Junze could clearly see only one node light up on the Atlas, and the second node must have been activated after the reception of [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task, due to some reason.


    Although he didn''t know the reason, Yan Junze was clear about what the line connecting the two lit-up nodes meant, the Rewind timeline.


    Between the two time nodes, represented a timeline that could be revisted.


    For example, if Yan Junze were to place the first time node as the current moment, and the second node five minutes later, as time progressed, he would be able to initiate a rewind at any point before reaching the second time node, instantly reverting back to the moment when the first time node was placed.


    Rewind must be performed consciously, meaning only when one has deliberately placed two time points to form a timeframe, can the timeframe be used to rewind.


    If the timeframe is exceeded, it won''t work, and without deliberate placement, rewinding is also impossible.


    Receiving two tasks consecutively enabled Yan Junze to have the ability to rewind. This time, the Golden Finger finally became complete.


    He might try the [Hair Washing] task, but now Yan Junze didn''t dare to attempt a rewind, because the energy between the two time nodes looked extremely weak.


    If he were to really proceed, he feared that he could only rewind once, and then the entire Spacetime Atlas would dim and stop running. The two hard-earned lit-up nodes couldn''t be wasted like that.

 Chapter 3 Zhou Dali

    The situation now was that after receiving two tasks consecutively, Yan Junze faintly illuminated two spacetime nodes on the Spacetime Atlas, enabling the first time rewind line to become usable.Through this rewind line, he could create a time rewind of no more than 5 minutes.


    Of course, this time rewind line did not look stable and might completely extinguish after just one use.


    Unless he completed tasks and gained the corresponding Different Dimension Energy, as suggested by the tasks, only then could he illuminate stable spacetime nodes and secure a stable time rewind line.


    If all the nodes on the entire Spacetime Atlas were illuminated, would it be possible to travel through spacetime once more and return to the world he came from before? At the very least, if he could use the Atlas to resolve the Supernatural crisis right before him, would there be even more surprising things waiting for him after lighting up the whole Atlas?


    If things were really as Yan Junze speculated, then he must carefully consider which task to complete first using this single opportunity to rewind time.


    The first task triggered was "Hair Washing," with a task level of "Anxiety-Inducing (Minor)." The second task was "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night," with a task level of "Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)."


    Actually, from the description of the tasks, "Hair Washing" felt more terrifying and seemed to carry a higher degree of danger than "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night." However, contrarily, the level of "Hair Washing" was only (Minor), evidently not as dangerous as the latter.


    This puzzled Yan Junze quite a bit.


    However, the task hints indicated that "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" had sub-tasks that had yet to be triggered, and he wasn''t very clear whether the slightly higher level was due to this.


    It seemed that choosing the "Hair Washing" task first was more reliable.


    After weighing his options for a while, sleepiness finally overcame him, and Yan Junze had made up his mind. He quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    The next morning.


    Yan Daguo woke up early and opened the bathroom door to confirm that the red-clothed little girl had vanished before he washed up and rushed to the factory.


    Li Man also got up early, as the cleaning company had her schedule packed in the morning, and she needed to finish cleaning two families'' homes that had already been booked.


    After cooking a bowl of noodles for Yan Junze, Li Man followed Yan Daguo out. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze gobbled down the noodles in no time and took out his phone to scroll through his usual call logs. Noticing that a name called Zhou Heng appeared with high frequency, he called Zhou Heng''s number.


    A young man''s voice soon came through the phone, somewhat uninhibited, "Hello, little Junze, missing your grandpa already that early?"


    Best friend, that must be the best friend of this body''s original owner.


    Yan Junze knew he had guessed correctly and spoke, "Zhou Heng, come to the entrance of my community. We''ll go to school together."


    "What did you call me?" Zhou Heng sounded somewhat surprised on the other end.


    "I don''t have time for your nonsense," Yan Junze deliberately made his tone heavy, "Remember to hurry. Call me when you get here, then I''ll come down."


    "Alright, you little rascal must have done something bad!" Zhou Heng laughed heartily, "Don''t worry, I, Zhou Dali, am always your strong brother, ready to stand by you no matter what happens."


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze pondered a bit and muttered to himself, "Is this guy''s nickname Zhou Dali, or strong brother?"


    He had asked Zhou Heng to come pick him up for a reason, without the original body owner''s memories, Yan Junze had no idea where the school was, so he used this method.


    But interacting with classmates would definitely not be the same as before, so Yan Junze prepared to use having experienced strangeness as an excuse to create an image of a boy who just lived through horror, a bit bewildered, and whose behavior contrasted with the past.


    "It''s impossible that he''s usually called strong brother because that way of addressing him¡­ is effeminate." Yan Junze stood up and headed for his parents'' bedroom.


    As expected, Yan Daguo did not take the bathroom key with him but left it in the bedside table.


    There are three identical keys, all on the same keyring.


    Yan Junze took one of them out, then removed one of his own bedroom keys and swapped it on.


    The locks were the same, and the shape of the keys barely differed; unless you looked closely at the teeth of the keys, you wouldn''t notice the switch.


    After changing the keys, Yan Junze kept the removed bathroom key close to him, preparing to perform the "Hair-Washing" task that very night.


    After waiting for a while, his phone rang. Zhou Heng''s voice seemed to come from a speakerphone, saying he had arrived at the community entrance.


    Yan Junze picked up his sling bag and left the house, locking the door behind him and heading downstairs.


    His residential area was named FH Community, definitely old, at least forty years old. The tallest building only had seven floors, and Yan Junze lived in Building No. 7, which had five floors; his home was on the fourth floor.


    Granny Ren, the old woman who knocked on doors at midnight, lived on the fifth floor.


    Just before leaving the community, Yan Junze looked back at the fifth floor. There were four families living there, and he did not know which one was Granny Ren''s. However, the entire fifth floor seemed eerily quiet, with no one coming in or out, exuding an air of gloom.


    Standing at the community entrance was a boy, also with a sling bag. At the very moment he saw him, Yan Junze understood why the guy was nicknamed "Zhou Dali."


    If you calculated by cross-section, Zhou Heng was at least equivalent to three slender Yan Junzes, not to mention his limbs, thick as hammers.


    Could this guy be born into a family of martial artists? Yan Junze wondered.


    However, he knew from a few days'' acquaintance that although this world was not the same as Earth, it didn''t involve urban powers or cultivation of immortality. There weren''t as many bizarre settings.


    For now, only an exorcist could deal with supernatural events, so even if Zhou Dali was built strong like a passionate bull, he would be of no use in the face of supernatural happenings.


    "You''re here, what did you want to tell me?"


    Zhou Heng''s voice was in direct proportion to his body, basically shouting when he spoke, startling the nearby pedestrians with a sudden outburst, drawing astonished glances.


    Yan Junze could barely hold back a laugh, waved his hand, and, hooking arms with him, seemingly led by Zhou Heng, headed towards Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    Zhou Heng made no suggestion to take the bus, and Yan Junze held back from speaking, simply describing the strange encounter in the bathroom the previous night, which left Zhou Heng baffled.


    Zhou Heng then said, "Speaking of supernatural occurrences, your community is really old, so the chances of those happening must be quite high. My community just handed over the houses last year, all new residents, with laughter and prosperity everywhere, a peaceful and prosperous era, without so much strangeness. It''s a lot safer in comparison."


    "But..." Zhou Heng''s tone shifted, "Nowadays, you really can''t tell. Isn''t there a public restroom in the New Century Residential Area''s square? I''ll tell you, for two straight weeks, no one dares to go in there to use the toilet anymore."


    "Aren''t you just contradicting yourself?" Yan Junze found it amusing, and casually asked, "Why?"


    As he spoke, he looked up and saw the gates of Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    FH Community, where he lived, was only about ten minutes away from the school. If he had known it was this close, he could have found it just by walking around, without needing Zhou Heng to come pick him up.


    Zhou Heng, not noticing Yan Junze''s expression, continued, "They say there''s a woman in red high heels in that public restroom; whenever someone uses a stall to poop, the sound of those red heels starts clicking, and soon appears outside the stall. You know Wang Shicong from class six, the fat guy?"


    Yan Junze didn''t know the guy at all, but he nodded anyway.


    "Wang Shicong and I live in the same community. That guy played basketball in the square this weekend, ran into the toilet halfway because his stomach hurt," Zhou Heng vividly recounted, "Later, I heard that right when Fat Wang was halfway through taking a dump, the red shoes showed up.


    You could see them through the gap under the toilet stall''s door, just standing there motionless outside where Wang was pooping."


    "They say..." Zhou Heng paused, looking up at a 45-degree angle towards the sky, his face full of admiration, "Fat Wang was so scared that he forcefully used his Shit-Cutting Skill, making three equal lateral cuts of that turd, didn''t even wipe his ass, and finally managed to pull his pants up, climbed over two stalls cursing, and rushed out of the restroom.


    The guy couldn''t get out of bed when he got home, and his dad has already asked for sick leave from the class headteacher."

 Chapter 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)

    Yan Junze really couldn''t help but admire Zhou Dali.A serious and terrifying incident involving red high-heeled shoes had been transformed by this guy into a comedy sketch that had Yan Junze trying not to laugh, suddenly very curious to see what Fat Wang from Class Six looked like right now.


    Chatting and laughing, the two walked into the campus of Shuntian No.3 Middle School. It was here that Yan Junze finally felt the comfort of being reborn.


    As a top research assistant in his past life in Hua Country, securing a master''s degree in this era was no problem at all, so high school knowledge posed no difficulty for Yan Junze now.


    Instead, he quite enjoyed the tranquil life on campus. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students of Class 5 of Senior Year Three, with only a wall separating them from Fat Wang''s Class 6. Yan Junze had made a point of asking around; indeed, Fat Wang had taken a week off, confirming Zhou Dali''s words.


    It took Yan Junze a day to roughly understand the situation at school.


    Firstly, the original owner of the body was above average academically, so his sudden improvement in grades now was reasonable and not likely to arouse suspicion.


    What Yan Junze feared was the possibility that the former student was a poor performer because an academic achiever taking over would make it difficult to give it his all.


    Then there was the college entrance exam in less than two months, putting the senior year under immense pressure. Even with supernatural events causing disruptions, Shuntian City''s exorcists would prioritize dealing with any strangeness for the senior year, ensuring students a clean, healthy, green, and pure learning environment, free of any negative energy.


    The homeroom teacher of Class 5 of Senior Year Three was a middle-aged man with a greasy belly, named Xiang Decai. Yan Junze had discovered that Teacher Xiang''s knowledge was indeed as expansive as his prominent beer belly, living up to the description of being profoundly learned.


    Yan Junze didn''t have much of an impression of the other teachers, except that the sight of Teacher Zhang Tiantian, who taught American English, made the Yan Junze who had no girlfriend in his previous life momentarily bright-eyed, only to extinguish that spark right after.


    Zhang Tiantian was of the petite and cute type, which most boys found irresistible, but not Yan Junze. He did like beautiful women, but not those who needed his constant protection.


    Independent, thoughtful, not timid, relying on him only when necessary, yet calmly dealing with issues on her own ¡ª for such girls, Yan Junze had absolutely no resistance. (Note this down, it''s important.)


    After a day''s classes, Yan Junze found that Shuntian No.3 Middle School seemed quite normal; there was no talk of abandoned ancient wells, no strange staircases with 13 steps, no off-limits fifth toilet cubicle.


    This made Yan Junze wonder if the exorcists had set up a barrier in the school, completely shutting out all supernatural events.


    At the same time, Yan Junze kept reminding himself that there were no superpowers or cultivation here, just pure urban strangeness.


    Zhou Dali was very active at school, and Yan Junze also learned that this guy''s hefty build was closely tied to his family''s genes. Reportedly, he weighed a hefty eleven pounds at birth.


    Zhou Dali also liked to chant a rather lame motto which was, "Shuntian No.3 has Dali, and Dali can work miracles."


    It was undeniable, he was like a bear.


    Lunch was had at school, so it didn''t cost much. Only after school did some students go out to buy snacks nearby.


    Yan Junze didn''t have this habit. After school, he went straight home, and by the time he arrived, his mother Li Man was already cooking.


    Li Man''s work schedule wasn''t fixed, depending on the cleaning company''s roster, sometimes so busy that she couldn''t return home on weekends.


    Yan Junze couldn''t cook. After swiftly completing his homework, he helped Li Man serve dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.


    Later, his father Yan Daguo arrived home, and the family gathered around the dining table.


    Concerning their son''s academic performance, the couple wasn''t too worried. If Yan Junze continued to maintain his previous grades, getting into one of the top five universities in the Tianmeng District of Great Capital under Huaying University was very hopeful.


    So what Yan Daguo was more concerned about was his son''s emotions and physical condition. After eating a few bites of food, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"


    Yan Junze knew it was the dark circles under his eyes that betrayed him; he had only slept three to four hours the previous night, so it was normal for him to look this way. He didn''t plan to hide the truth.


    "Well, I couldn''t fall asleep for a long time after seeing that thing and then I don''t know when I fell asleep."


    "Did you hear any knocking?" Yan Daguo asked further.


    This question was meant to confirm whether Yan Junze had been asleep before two in the morning. Undeniably, the midnight knocking of the old woman was more punctual than an alarm clock.


    "No," Yan Junze concealed the truth.


    Yan Daguo nodded, having a rough idea of when Yan Junze had rested.


    Li Man spoke up, "Have you finished your homework?"


    "It''s done, and I''ve finished reviewing as well," Yan Junze put down his chopsticks and took a few sips of soup, "I plan to go to bed early today to make up for last night''s sleep."


    "Mhm, get some rest early," Yan Daguo said, reaching out to ruffle Yan Junze''s hair.


    After dinner, Yan Junze chatted with his parents in the living room for a while, and around eight-thirty, he went to wash up and then headed to his bedroom.


    To avoid disturbing their son, Li Man turned down the volume of the TV in the living room. Even though she and Yan Daguo spoke in deliberately lowered voices, their words still reached Yan Junze''s ears.


    Yan Daguo said, "You should buy some sedative oral liquid tomorrow to help our son with his health."


    Li Man must have nodded as her voice came through, "Mhm, I will go down to the pharmacy first thing in the morning. Ze has indeed been studying hard recently. Today was the first time I''ve ever seen him finish reviewing so early."


    "Sigh," Yan Daguo let out a sigh, "What''s with the world these days? Ordinary life pressure is already suffocating enough, and now there''s suddenly an increase in strangenesses. With the double pressure on the body and mind, how are people supposed to live?"


    "Especially since Ze is facing the college entrance exams, and with the house in its current state, Daguo, can you think of any solutions?" Li Man asked.


    Yan Daguo fell silent.


    After a while, he spoke again, "Today I went to see our factory director, who has connections in the city. As long as we''re willing to pay, the director said he can go and ask for us, to cut in line so we can get the bathroom issue sorted as soon as possible."


    "How much will it cost?" Li Man inquired.


    Yan Daguo must have gestured a number because their conversation fell silent once again.


    After some time, Li Man sighed, "If there''s really no other way, I''ll go to the company and get an advance on my salary. Together with our savings, that should be enough."


    "We must deal with it as soon as possible," Yan Daguo didn''t stop Li Man, "I will go withdraw money tomorrow. Once we have enough, I''ll give it to the factory director and ask him to negotiate for us, to resolve this issue quickly so our son can focus on his exams."


    Yan Junze leaned by the bedroom door and roughly overheard these things; he suddenly felt a complex surge of emotions for the parents of this life and then quietly walked back to his bed to lie down.


    It seems that deciding to carry out the "hair washing" task tonight isn''t too late.


    Provided that it can be successfully completed.

 Chapter 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)

    After eavesdropping on his parents'' conversation in this life, Yan Junze felt an inexplicable warmth rise in his heart. Even though he didn''t have inherent feelings for them, he could still feel the affection.However, he really hadn''t rested well last night, and before he could adjust to the emotional touch, he had already fallen asleep.


    When he woke up, it was already late at night.


    Yan Junze started up, opened his eyes, and found the world before him a blur; only then did he remember that this body needed glasses. He reached for his glasses and hastily put them on.


    Checking his phone, it was 1:03 AM.


    He perked up his ears to listen to any noise outside the bedroom. Hearing nothing, he presumed that Yan Daguo and Li Man were already asleep.


    Fortunately, the mission brief was clear. All he needed to do was to wash his hair once in the bathroom after midnight to pass. It hadn''t specified that it must be washed at exactly midnight, so even though it was past 12 o''clock, as long as the red-dressed little girl Ke''er was still there, completing the hair-washing would count as completing the task.


    Stealthily getting out of bed, Yan Junze fished out the spare bathroom key from his clothes, walked to the bedroom door, gently opened it, then tiptoed onto the corridor.


    He dared not turn on the light, using only the faint glow of his phone to retrieve the key and insert it into the lock of the bathroom door very slowly.


    Taking about five or six seconds, without making too much noise, he got the key fully inserted. Then Yan Junze began to slowly turn the key, ready to unlock the latch.


    Silence enveloped the surroundings, save for the ticking of the wall clock in the living room. The darkness, like an incoming tide, threatened to submerge Yan Junze''s line of sight entirely.


    The dim light from the cell phone struggled against the encroaching darkness.


    Two rotations of the key in, an eerie chill traveled through the doorknob into Yan Junze''s hand. He didn''t know if it was an illusion or a genuine coldness.


    But Yan Junze had no intention of stopping.


    Just one more turn, and at the moment the latch would unlock, a clicking sound would occur ¡ª the moment Yan Junze feared would wake his parents.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth, his tongue involuntarily pressing against the roof of his mouth as he exerted force to twist.


    Click!


    The lock opened.


    Yan Junze stood at the door, letting out the stale breath. He listened intently, and there was no movement from his parents'' bedroom.


    Taking another deep breath, he pushed open the bathroom door.


    The door made no noise as it opened.


    Almost simultaneously with its opening, Yan Junze reached in to find the light switch and immediately turned it on.


    Turning on the bathroom light wouldn''t affect his sleeping parents in the bedroom because their door was closed. The escaping light only touched a small area of the corridor outside the bathroom.


    Just opening a bathroom door made the whole process feel like filming "Mission Impossible." At the moment, Yan Junze genuinely felt a delusion of turning into Tom Cruise. Except he wasn''t there to steal a chip, but to face a red-dressed girl with a twisted neck and broken feet.


    The moment the light switched on, Yan Junze''s gaze swept through the bathroom. He didn''t see the figure of the red-dressed girl Ke''er.


    Of course, he couldn''t see behind the door from where he stood. He would need to enter the bathroom fully to catch a glimpse of all possible locations and ensure that a red-dressed girl wasn''t standing in some corner with her back to him.


    Yan Junze was all in. Standing at the entrance, he glanced once more at his parents'' bedroom. With no sound forthcoming, evidently Yan Daguo and Li Man were sound asleep.


    He pulled up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, the dimly glowing two nodes, and the Rewind line connecting them materialized before his eyes.


    It might be just one chance, so he had to seize this Rewind well.


    Yan Junze knew that the Rewind couldn''t exceed five minutes, and the task of [Washing Hair] must be completed within three minutes.


    This meant he could set the starting point of the Rewind at the moment he entered the bathroom and the endpoint five minutes later.


    As long as he moved quickly and didn''t dawdle upon entering the bathroom, starting the hair-washing immediately and keeping it under three minutes, he wouldn''t exceed the five-minute total of the Rewind line.


    If something happened during that time, Yan Junze could use his sole opportunity to Rewind.


    Having run through the plan in his mind, Yan Junze stood in front of the door, taking several deep breaths. He set his phone screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it to remind him after three minutes. However, he didn''t start the countdown immediately, instead mentally marking the current moment as the starting point of the Rewind line.


    At the same moment, the first node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed instantly.


    Starting point set successfully!


    Yan Junze then thought about setting the end point of the Rewind line five minutes later, and the second node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed as soon as he did.


    End point set successfully!


    "Here we go!"


    Yan Junze stepped into the bathroom and gently closed the door behind him. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The moment the door closed, he quickly turned around, scanning every corner of the bathroom, including behind the door, but he didn''t find Ke''er''s red figure.


    Although he didn''t see the little girl, it didn''t affect the mission proceeding right now.


    Yan Junze moved in front of the sink, facing the mirror.


    In the mirror, a gaunt face with somewhat messy hair and a pair of glasses with over three hundred degrees prescription was seen; his expression was slightly nervous, and his eyes occasionally glanced behind him in the reflection.


    To say he wasn''t nervous would certainly be impossible. Firstly, Yan Junze placed his adjusted phone below the mirror, leaning it towards himself at an angle for easy viewing of the time.


    He pressed the drain stopper in the sink to close it, then began to run the water. After it became hot, he tested the temperature with his hand. Once the sink was more than half full, he turned off the tap.


    After checking the phone screen, he rolled up his sleeves, placed the towel and shampoo within easy reach, and then Yan Junze pressed the three-minute countdown timer on the phone with his index finger.


    It took him less than a minute to enter the bathroom and complete these actions.


    The hair washing officially began.


    Yan Junze bent over, dipping his head into the water to thoroughly wet his hair.


    Because he was in a rush, unfortunately, water got into his eyes.


    Instinctively, he closed his eyes.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill, not sure if it was an illusion or something else, as if the bathroom had turned into a refrigeration unit and the temperature had been drastically lowered.


    "Huh!"


    A very faint sound suddenly came from behind him.


    As his nerves were taut at all times, Yan Junze was in a state of high alert, making his senses extraordinarily sharp, and he heard the sound very clearly.


    With a shiver, Yan Junze reached for his towel, quickly drying his eyes. However, he remembered that during the process of washing his hair, he shouldn''t perform any actions unrelated to hair washing.


    Wiping his eyes was permissible, but he dared not turn his head to look behind. Turning your head to look back while washing your hair obviously exceeded the scope of the task.


    Being bent over, he could only sneak a quick glance behind him at the floor not far from beneath his legs.


    Nothing was there.


    From this angle, he did not see Ke''er''s conspicuous red figure.


    But the chill in the room was intensifying.


    He couldn''t waste time, Yan Junze reminded himself, and quickly opened the shampoo to pour some into his hand, applying it to his hair.


    Soon, a great deal of foam emerged.


    However, he quickly realized that this shampoo seemed to cost money.


    Damn, he squeezed too much!

 Chapter 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)

    ```The shampoo was squeezed out too much, which meant there were a lot of bubbles, and more bubbles meant they could easily flow into the eyes.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was most afraid of closing his eyes, even during a normal hair-wash, shampoo might get into the eyes, let alone now when he''d squeezed out too much.


    As expected, soon three streams of foam flowed swiftly toward both eyes, and the left eye received special attention, with two streams coming at it simultaneously.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to close his eyes as they were stung by the shampoo.


    The moment his eyes closed, his brain was flooded with all sorts of strange and bizarre associations.


    He had a strong feeling that someone was standing behind him, staring at him with a pair of chilling eyes at this very moment.


    Could it be that little girl in red, Ke''er, was standing behind him?


    Yan Junze remembered that the task "Washing Hair" included a note: "You''re washing your hair; she is watching."


    That meant, Ke''er was definitely staring at him while he washed his hair.


    Forget it, let her watch if she wants, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on just washing his hair, rubbing it quickly.


    Although he forced himself not to think about anything else, at this moment his senses had been amplified countless times in this special environment, and he could immediately detect any slight movement.


    Such as the indoor temperature falling, or the extremely faint noise coming from the corner near the toilet, or the sensation of an insect crawling up his ankle, making it itch.


    He couldn''t be sure which sensations were real.


    "That should do it," Yan Junze stopped rubbing his hair, suppressing the urge to respond to any abnormalities.


    Next up was rinsing with clean water, then drying his hair with a towel, and he would be finished.


    He was just about to immerse his foamy hair in the sink and turn on the tap to wash it when his body jerked, suddenly feeling his pajama pants tighten, grabbed by something.


    This feeling was definitely not an illusion; it was indeed something grabbing onto him.


    Since he was bent over, it was impossible for Yan Junze to straighten up right away, so even after his pant leg was grabbed, he still dipped his head into the sink''s water.


    The instant his pant leg was seized, Yan Junze''s whole body went numb, and even his head, submerged in water, seemed to no longer belong to him.


    Another tug on his leg followed by the grip, and then something wound around his thigh, crawling up.


    A wave of cold sensation started at his calf, moved up through his thigh, up to his right hip, and finally settled on the right side of his back, with even his shoulder caught by something cold.


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    It must be Ke''er¡­ slowly climbing up his leg onto his back.


    "Huh!"


    The same familiar sound of surprise came from behind him again, but this time, the sound came from less than an arm''s length away from Yan Junze''s ear.


    One could imagine such a scene: A red-dressed girl with a crooked neck, out-turned feet, and a curved spine, perched on Yan Junze''s right side, uttering a sound of surprise. Beneath that messy head of hair, a pair of gray eyes focused intently on the man before her, burying his head in the water of the sink like an ostrich.


    At this moment, Yan Junze''s right side was ice cold, and goosebumps kept emerging on his skin.


    In that instant, his whole body bristled.


    No longer able to tolerate the sensation of Ke''er lying on him, in fact, Yan Junze hadn''t thought that given Ke''er''s height, to watch him wash his hair for the entire duration, standing below the sink would definitely not offer the best viewing angle.


    Furthermore, the bathroom was small, with no other better spot to watch from, so lying on his back became almost inevitable.


    What mattered most was, it was okay to watch, but she suddenly let out a "huh" so close to his ear.


    During his first task, already extremely nervous, Yan Junze exploded like a C4 bomb with the switch pressed upon hearing this sound.


    "Huh your fucking¡ª!"


    Involuntarily, Yan Junze''s body jerked, and he subconsciously grabbed Ke''er''s ice-cold thin arm and flung it away.


    Picking up a towel to roughly wipe his eyes clean, Yan Junze hurriedly opened them.


    Without enough time to put on his glasses, he could only see, in a blur, the figure of Ke''er in red, with loose, wild hair, crouched near the ceiling at the corner of the wall, her overwhelming chilling presence enveloping the entire bathroom.


    "Ah¡­"


    Ke''er suddenly opened her dark purple lips, revealing black teeth, and let out a shrill scream.


    It obviously woke his parents, as there was a commotion from the bedroom, and at the same time, the red-clad Ke''er kicked off and pounced towards Yan Junze.


    Her disheveled head enlarged continuously in Yan Junze''s pupils.


    "Rewind!"


    ```


    ```


    Yan Junze had just enough time to have that thought.


    A sudden wave of dizziness washed over his brain, and the scene around him quickly changed as time rewound.


    When the dizziness faded, his vision was crystal clear because he had put on his glasses and was standing at the bathroom door.


    "Rewind... did it rewind?!"


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but lower his head, noticing that the sleeves he had rolled up were now down, and his hands were dry. He was standing at the bathroom door just like a few minutes ago.


    Lack of experience, the newbie village is deadly!


    After confirming he had Rewound, Yan Junze felt a wave of fear.


    He was certain that he shouldn''t have thrown Ke''er off his back in a fit of panic. If he had just endured and finished washing his hair, all those uncontrollable events that followed wouldn''t have happened. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glancing once again at the Atlas in his mind, it was now completely dark; the two nodes that had been lit, along with the faint line of Rewind time, were now exhausted of energy.


    It was the only chance left.


    Stepping into the bathroom, he closed the door behind him.


    This time, Yan Junze refrained from looking around because he knew that Ke''er was not there at the moment.


    Ke''er would appear after he had officially started washing his hair.


    He placed his mobile phone beneath the mirror, screen facing him. Then, he started filling the sink with water, preparing shampoo and a dry towel.


    Then, Yan Junze lifted his head and looked again at the young and slightly immature face reflected in the mirror. His panic from moments ago had lessened significantly.


    Now he was clear that he had to stay calm throughout the entire hair-washing process.


    Taking off his glasses and rolling up his sleeves, he set a three-minute countdown on his phone and began washing his hair for the second time.


    After wetting his hair, this time, without the initial nerves, the amount of water was just right, and it didn''t get into his eyes.


    The temperature in the room began to drop, a sign that Ke''er was about to appear.


    Yan Junze resisted the chill rising in him, tilted his head slightly, locked onto the location of the shampoo, and reached out to squeeze some onto his hand.


    Almost at the same instant.


    "Eh!"


    A familiar voice came from behind.


    His right hand that had just taken the shampoo shook slightly. After a brief half-second pause, he still applied it to his hair.


    This time he hadn''t used too much shampoo either; the amount was just right to create enough foam.


    The cold in the room was intensifying. Yan Junze continued to scrub his hair while his thighs and back grew increasingly cold.


    Even though this was the second attempt. he found his body was still trembling slightly, but the quivering was manageable.


    The second attempt was going well, so no shampoo got into his eyes, and he could keep them open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes open and head down, his line of sight passing between his legs to the ground not far behind him.


    About four or five seconds after Ke''er made her signature "Eh" sound, he saw a pair of bruised little feet.


    One of the feet was broken with the sole turned out, standing just behind him.


    The visual impact was too strong; Yan Junze found himself shaking even more, so he decided to close his eyes.


    His pants tightened, and the next second, he was grabbed by a cold little hand.


    "Again?"


    Yan Junze felt a rush of tears but no relief. Obviously, with Ke''er''s short stature, she had to climb onto Yan Junze''s back to get the best viewing angle.


    No matter how many times the Rewind was, this method was still Ke''er''s unvarying choice.


    Yan Junze''s thigh was entwined, quickly followed by a tightening around his waist and back, as Ke''er climbed onto his right side once more.


    His body felt ice cold, and the chill in his heart intensified.


    He could imagine the red-dressed girl hooking her hands over his shoulders, tilting her head to watch how he washed his hair.


    "Eh!"


    Ke''er made the same sound for the second time, clearly having gotten a clear view this time.


    ```

 Chapter 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)

    Hearing the ghost''s incessant "huh" right by his ear, Yan Junze honestly struggled several times with the urge to throw the little brat out again.The chilly sensation had almost saturated his entire body, and even though the water was hot, Yan Junze could no longer feel it at that moment.


    After continuing to rub his hair, he first rinsed his head in the basin full of water to wash away the shampoo, then drained the foamy water.


    He reached out to turn on the faucet and tested the water temperature; even though it wasn''t just right, the impatient Yan Junze already leaned forward to rinse off.


    Three minutes were almost up, and Yan Junze also wanted to finish washing his hair quickly and not be stared at by Ke''er lying on top of him the whole time.


    During this time, Ke''er hadn''t moved at all, just hooking his left shoulder with her hand, lying on his back, with her head tilted and motionless.


    If Yan Junze could have turned his head to look, he would have seen that the pupils in Ke''er''s gray eyes were covered by a thin gray film, and it was unclear where the little one''s gaze was focused.


    His hair was quickly washed clean, but, inevitably, water got into his eyes during the process.


    Yan Junze closed his eyes, maintaining steady breathing, and reached out for a dry towel; as long as he wiped his hair dry, the "Hair Washing" task would be completed.


    However, just as he grabbed the dry towel, a cold little hand was placed on the back of his hand.


    This sensation was like when a group of people gathered around eating a steaming hot and spicy hot pot, and suddenly someone poured a bucket of cold water over them from head to toe, chilling them to the core, heart soaring.


    Yan Junze''s right hand trembled, not daring to make another move, pressing the towel with one hand, his heart thudding as if it would jump out of his chest, unable to open his eyes, just freezing in place.


    The small hand resting on the back of his hand didn''t move either, showing no intention of letting go.


    The scene was eerie.


    Being a strangeness, Ke''er weighed next to nothing, so even though she lay on Yan Junze''s back, it didn''t put any pressure on him.


    What mattered most now was that Yan Junze didn''t dare to ask the little one what she wanted to do because once he asked, that would count as doing something unrelated to washing his hair.


    The cost of task failure was something that the current Yan Junze couldn''t afford.


    Time might almost be up for the three minutes, Yan Junze bit his teeth and didn''t dare to delay any longer, gradually pulling his hand back while still holding onto the towel.


    The cold little hand still didn''t back off, pressing on the back of Yan Junze''s hand without moving, following the movement of his hand.


    Yan Junze no longer minded her and quickened his pace to retrieve the towel.


    As long as he didn''t do anything unrelated to hair washing, he would rather believe Ke''er wouldn''t make things difficult for him.


    The ten or so seconds he gripped the towel felt like an eternity until his hands finally held the towel, ready to wipe his head, when Ke''er''s small hand finally slowly moved away.


    Yan Junze quickly raised his head and wiped his hair dry, then wiped off the water around his eyes. As he did this, the Spacetime Atlas emerged in his mind.


    "Hair Washing, Anxiety-Inducing (Low), Completed, gained 100 Different Dimension Energy points."


    At the same moment, the initial Rewind line that had disappeared in the Atlas and the two spacetime nodes lit up simultaneously.


    Moreover, after gaining 100 Different Dimension Energy points, the lit Rewind line continued to extend forward, quickly reaching the third spacetime node, which gradually started to glow.


    At that moment, two Rewind lines were illuminated.


    At the same time, after wiping the water from the corners of his eyes, Yan Junze hurriedly opened his eyes.


    The instant he put on his glasses, he didn''t do anything else but immediately looked behind him.


    Because the "Hair Washing" task had been successfully completed, and he had also received 100 Different Dimension Energy points as a reward. This meant Ke''er''s Obsession should have been resolved, whether the little one reincarnated or went to her Ultimate Bliss World, she no longer had any reason to stay in his bathroom.


    However, the moment he looked behind him, the relieved Yan Junze jerked sharply, as the sight of a red dress, untidy, fluffy long hair, and bruised limbs caught his eye.


    These noticeable features unmistakably indicated that Ke''er was still lying on his back.


    This scene made Yan Junze feel like he had become Master Roshi from "Dragon Ball", with Ke''er''s bruised hands wrapped around his neck, tightly clasped together, and her feet fiercely wrapped around his waist. Looking at this, he indeed resembled someone carrying a huge turtle shell.


    What... what''s going on?


    Didn''t I complete the task?


    Could this be a sticky ghost that''s just refusing to leave?


    Just at that moment, a new line of text suddenly appeared in Yan Junze''s mind.


    [Acquired Ke''er (Wandering Spirit), current favorability: Neutral]


    Yan Junze was stunned. He had never imagined that Ke''er really wouldn''t leave.


    At the beginning of the "Hair Washing" task, there was no mention of obtaining Ke''er after completing the task. There was only a task tip that said "the Evil Spirit cannot be locked down".


    Now that he thought about it, this so-called lockdown probably meant actively locking down the Evil Spirit, or in other words, capturing it.


    But now the task tip said "acquired", which could mean that Ke''er was following Yan Junze willingly. For Yan Junze, it was a passive acquisition of the Wandering Spirit.


    Although it could not be denied, setting aside those glasses, the contours of this high school student''s face were distinct and had a sense of linearity. However, Yan Junze didn''t believe it was his looks that had conquered Ke''er.


    It was very likely that... Ke''er had fallen in love with watching him wash his hair.


    If it were before, Yan Junze would never believe that washing his hair could so easily capture a girl obsessed with him in a red dress.


    But now the facts were as such, whether he believed it or not, the girl obsessed with him in a red dress was here, clinging to his back faithfully.


    "Could it be that from now on, she''s just going to follow me around?" Yan Junze suddenly felt his scalp tingle, and goosebumps spread all over his body.


    Though Ke''er''s weight was negligible, carrying such a thing around all the time, what would he do about going to the toilet? What about taking a shower? And in case, just in case he got a beautiful girlfriend in the future, and when things got hot and heavy, what would they do about @%#£¤&*?


    With something like that always splayed on his back, he wouldn''t be able to do anything!


    Just now, Yan Junze had clearly seen that Ke''er''s attitude towards him was neutral.


    What if this young lady got the wrong idea in the future, and her attitude towards him turned into opposition or hostility?


    Yan Junze shook his head with a wry smile, feeling like he wasn''t carrying a Wandering Spirit, but rather a time bomb that occasionally let out a "Yi" sound.


    Facing the mirror, Yan Junze twisted his body and discovered that although Ke''er''s back was S-shaped, the posture in which she lay on him was quite natural. She kept her head buried on his back, motionless, as if she had fallen asleep.


    The cold feeling was still there, but not as intense as in the beginning. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, at least I come with built-in air conditioning in the summer.


    As long as it doesn''t harm this young and vigorous body.


    After tidying up the bathroom, Yan Junze tiptoed to turn off the lights and lock the door, then played another thrilling game of "Mission Impossible" by locking the bathroom door from the outside. Finally, he silently slipped into his own bedroom.


    Lying in bed, he felt no discomfort whatsoever behind him.


    The Wandering Spirit, Ke''er, might only be visible in mirrors; such Supernatural beings couldn''t be dealt with as though they were physical objects.


    After completing the first nail-biting task, Yan Junze finally took a deep breath.


    "From now on, when I wash my hair, you keep watch. You can watch the process however you like, as long as you don''t absorb my Pure Yang Qi," Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    "Yi." Ke''er seemed to answer.


    "Yi your sister, can you speak?"


    "Yi."

 Chapter 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!

    Although he went to bed very late, Yan Junze, having just completed his first task, was evidently still excited, and spent the night in a daze, hardly getting any real sleep.He was awakened by the cold as it was getting light outside.


    In May, even though the morning air is cool, a thin blanket should be enough to keep warm, but Yan Junze was certain that it was the cold that had woken him up.


    Sitting up in bed, he twisted his head to glance behind him and saw nothing, yet a chill that seemed to have soaked into his being made him almost shiver uncontrollably.


    He then got dressed and, standing in front of the wardrobe mirror, Yan Junze glanced at his own reflection, and sure enough, there was Ke''er, clad in red, lying on his back as if she were sound asleep.


    No good, this dead child wasn''t coming down, and he had no way to deal with her for the moment.


    He needed to find a way to warm himself up first; otherwise, he might freeze to death before strangenesses had a chance to scare him to death.


    Yan Junze rummaged through his closet and quickly found a khaki-colored thick sweater to put on.


    As he was getting dressed, Ke''er behind him seemed to have no effect whatsoever, as if she had become transparent at that moment.


    The incident in the bathroom had been resolved, and Yan Junze must find a chance to convince his parents that there was no longer any need to go to great lengths to call for an exorcist.


    He checked the time, it was already 6:10 AM, and there were 20 minutes left before his father, Yan Daguo, would get up and open the bathroom door.


    After pondering for a moment, and feeling the warmth starting to build up in his body, Yan Junze noted that despite the lack of sleep over the past few days, he was in pretty good shape.


    It seemed that youth was indeed an asset.


    The Ke''er lying on his back seemed to only bring coldness for the time being, and he had not yet discovered any other side effects that might harm his body.


    Yan Junze quickly thought of a plan. He took out the switched bathroom key and, before his parents were up, opened the door and the light switch of the bathroom as if he had done this many times before.


    He then watched the time on his phone.


    At 6:20 AM, adjusting his emotions, he ran to his parents'' bedroom in a panic, first knocking loudly on the closed door, then shouting, "Dad, Mom, get up quick! The bathroom door is open, and that thing seems to have disappeared."


    Three minutes later.


    Yan Daguo, Li Man, and Yan Junze stood in front of the open bathroom door, staring inside with bewildered expressions. They had been standing there for over two minutes, motionless.


    After some hesitation, Yan Daguo finally spoke, asking Yan Junze, "Was the door like this when you got up?"


    "Yeah, the light inside was on too, and it must have been on for quite a while," Yan Junze confirmed with certainty, nodding.


    During the conversation, he deliberately twisted his body, shaking his back in front of Yan Daguo and Li Man, wanting to know if his parents could see Ke''er on his back.


    As it turned out, his concerns were unnecessary, as under the current circumstances, it seemed that no one other than himself could see Ke''er.


    And even Yan Junze himself could only spot Ke''er through a mirror.


    Yan Daguo checked the time; it wasn''t yet 6:30 AM. Based on his experience, at this time of day under normal circumstances, it would not be safe to enter the bathroom, as there was a high chance of encountering the ghost of the red-clad girl.


    A moment later, gritting his teeth and with a look of resignation on his face, Yan Daguo said to Li Man, "Wife, I''ll go in and take a look. You and our son stay outside the door."


    With that, not waiting for Li Man to object, he stepped into the bathroom, and from the slightly trembling of his legs, Yan Junze felt that his father''s step was no different from stepping into hell.


    Time seemed to freeze as Yan Daguo stood in the bathroom for a long time, and the mother and son also stood outside for a long time, staring at each other in silence.


    The hour hand on the living room clock pointed to 6:41 AM when Yan Daguo walked out of the bathroom.


    ```


    "It seems... it''s really gone."


    As he muttered to himself, Yan Daguo checked every room in the house, fearful that the red-clad girl would emerge. If she appeared in other rooms in broad daylight, the situation would be far more serious than it is now.


    Li Man also went up and down, inspecting everywhere.


    Half an hour later, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.


    It appeared to be truly gone.


    Still uneasy, Yan Daguo said to Li Man and Yan Junze, "Let''s keep locking the bathroom door on time for the next two days. After midnight, I''ll go into the bathroom. If I''m certain that thing doesn''t appear again, it may really be gone."


    "Thank heaven!" Li Man clasped her hands together and looked up to give thanks, her face showing gratitude for the divine favor.


    Then, lowering her hands, Li Man''s expression turned to one of surprise as she stared at Yan Junze. "Ze, why are you dressed like a zongzi? Is it that cold? You are wearing a thick sweater meant for the dead of winter."


    "Cold," Yan Junze affirmed with a nod.


    "You must take care of yourself these days," Yan Daguo said with concern, then to Li Man, "Now I think we can hold off on asking a friend to call the exorcist. Let''s wait to see if that thing is really still here, and then it won''t be too late to spend money."


    Li Man had no objections to the suggestion.


    The family was already short on money, and it would be best not to have to dip into her meager salary in advance.


    Li Man even felt the surprise of winning a jackpot. When others encountered strangeness, they either endured in terror until the exorcist came or simply moved away. Yet, the strangeness in her own house had just vanished.


    If she knew the real reason why her son was dressed like a zongzi, she wouldn''t feel like she''d won the jackpot, but as if she''d been cursed.


    ...


    An hour later.


    At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, Senior Year Class 5.


    The morning reading was underway, with the teacher not yet in the classroom. The mix of reading noises was like the machinery in Yan Daguo''s factory, rumbling and incessant.


    In this world, just like on Earth, there was an international language spoken around the globe, called USA language, similar to the popularity of English on Earth. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Therefore, there were many students reciting USA language at this time. Yan Junze had looked over the textbooks and felt that the pronunciation and usage were not much different from English, just with some very subtle differences that were negligible for him.


    While he was studying USA language, Zhou Dali was staring at him with a look of astonishment.


    Soon Yan Junze lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Zhou Dali. "What?"


    "Why are you dressed like a zongzi?" Zhou Dali''s exaggerated expression focussed on Yan Junze''s winter-like attire.


    "Do you have a special fondness for zongzi?" Yan Junze internally complained, tightening his coat, which he''d layered over a thick sweater, "I have a bit of a cold, feels chilly."


    "Cold in this weather?"


    Zhou Dali didn''t waste the opportunity to flex his thick forearms, which were almost as wide as Yan Junze''s waist. He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his muscles, and swiftly waved them about under the watchful eyes of Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin at the next desk.


    While showing off his muscles, he also demonstrated his unmatched hand speed and the evident high frequency of shaking from his extensive training.


    The two ladies gave him a look as if he were an idiot, not uttering a word.


    Just then, Yan Junze suddenly felt Ke''er, whom he''d almost forgotten about lying on his back, lightly shift.


    The bell for class rang, and the teacher arrived.


    ```

 Chapter 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil

    ```In his past life, Yan Junze did not like staring at people, considering it rather impolite, even when looking at the teacher during class.


    But now, he found himself really enjoying the USA language courses. Teacher Zhang Tiantian was under 1.6 meters tall, petite, with a head full of wavy curls, and looked as sweet as her name suggested.


    Most importantly, she had a very pleasant voice. Yan Junze became somewhat obsessed with that sweet voice.


    That morning, there were two consecutive USA language classes taught by Zhang Tiantian. Almost all the students in the class were focused, which goes to show that a teacher''s appearance does indeed play a role in stimulating the desire to learn.


    Zhou Dali had already pulled back his Popeye arms and hadn''t absorbed much of the lesson, his gaze frequently sweeping back and forth between Zhang Tiantian and his classmate Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze understood his dilemma; from the first day of this reborn world''s classes, he knew the guy had a crush on Bao Jie. But now, because it was Zhang Tiantian''s class, Zhou Dali also wanted to steal a few extra glances at her, a typical teenage boy syndrome.


    However, it seemed Bao Jie didn''t like the muscular dumbbell type, nor did she like the weak and skinny type like Yan Junze. Instead, she preferred sun-kissed, athletic guys, like Zhou Jiajie, sitting in the third row.


    Since the class had started, Ke''er was no longer as well-behaved as she had been the night before, moving every few minutes. Although she was nearly weightless, Yan Junze could distinctly feel her constant fidgeting.


    After the first class, Yan Junze went to the men''s restroom downstairs.


    Zhou Dali followed him excitedly, muttering under his breath as they walked, "What''s so great about that Zhou Jiajie? Just a pretty boy. If it wasn''t for the fear of his dad, who is the deputy director of the Shuntian City Municipal Office, I would have found an opportunity to punch him a long time ago."


    "You''re quite the honest person," Yan Junze laughed.


    Zhou Dali also chuckled along but became frozen when he glanced at the wide mirror on the bathroom wall and stared at it silently.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly looked behind himself through the mirror.


    Ke''er was lying obediently on his back. Although she wasn''t moving, he could clearly see the red-clothed little girl.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Zhou Dali again; the guy was still staring into the mirror, not only unblinking but even stepped forward to take a closer look.


    "You..." Yan Junze''s heart pounded, unsure whether Zhou Dali could see Ke''er through the mirror just like he could.


    "I..." Zhou Dali stared at the mirror, leaning in close after a long while and said, "There''s... another pimple popped up?"


    "Go to your grandma!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but curse, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.


    Zhou Dali seemed oblivious, trying to squeeze the newly discovered pimple and occasionally rubbing the few strands of beard that had just appeared on his chin.


    Yan Junze was a bit concerned but took the opportunity, as other classmates entered the restroom, to stand in front of the mirror and observe the comings and goings.


    Nobody noticed anything unusual about his back.


    It seemed he had been overthinking it.


    Back in the classroom, for the second USA language class, Yan Junze was still very focused. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But shortly after sitting down, Ke''er started squirming again, which gave Yan Junze the impression that she did not like to listen to the lesson, as she hadn''t moved once during the ten minutes break.


    It appeared he had to figure out a way to deal with it, as this was beginning to affect his life.


    While Yan Junze pondered, his gaze was fixed on Zhang Tiantian, who was teaching at the podium in her black striped teacher''s outfit.


    Zhang Tiantian was explaining the structure of a USA language sentence pattern very seriously, her sweet voice and those clear eyes capturing most of the students'' attention.


    "This sentence pattern is important and will definitely appear in the college entrance exam, so please take careful notes on what I just said," she prompted, and most of the students, including Zhou Dali, began to jot down notes.


    Yan Junze, engrossed in thoughts concerning Ke''er, did not take notes and was staring at Zhang Tiantian, his mind racing.


    However, Zhang Tiantian suddenly grew still, her action of pointing at the blackboard froze, and she looked beneath the podium with a fixed gaze.


    ```


    At that moment, Yan Junze clearly saw that the clear black pupils in Zhang Tiantian''s eyes had disappeared, replaced by entirely white pupils that filled her eye sockets.


    These white pupils made Zhang Tiantian''s whole person undergo a drastic change in demeanor, the sweet and cute feeling vanished, replaced by a chilling eeriness that surged suddenly.


    This process lasted only about three seconds; the white pupils quickly flipped over, revealing the black pupils once more.


    At this time, Zhang Tiantian, who had previously been pointing at the blackboard, started moving again, lowered her hand, and asked nonchalantly, "Did everyone get that? Does anyone need me to go over it again?"


    "Teacher..." Sitting in the third row, Zhou Jiajie suddenly raised his hand, "You just now... What was... What was..."


    Clearly, it wasn''t only Yan Junze who had noticed something odd about Zhang Tiantian; Zhou Jiajie, who was sitting closer, seemed to have seen it even more clearly.


    "What''s up?" Zhang Tiantian asked, looking surprised. She seemed to have no awareness of her abnormal behavior just moments before.


    "It''s... It''s nothing." Zhou Jiajie''s face showed terror as he shook his head.


    The class continued.


    Yan Junze didn''t say anything, but he was certain that something had happened to Zhang Tiantian.


    During the moment her white pupils appeared, Ke''er on Yan Junze''s back squirmed even more frequently; now he was starting to understand the reason for Ke''er''s restlessness.


    Looking at Zhou Jiajie, it was apparent that he was completely distracted, unable to conceal his terror.


    The other students didn''t notice anything, and Zhang Tiantian herself continued teaching very normally, with no other strange behaviors.


    About five or six minutes later, Zhou Jiajie raised his hand again.


    Zhang Tiantian stopped lecturing and turned her head to look at him.


    "Teacher, I suddenly have a horrible stomach ache, please... may I be excused?" Zhou Jiajie seemed to be in so much pain that his face was contorted, and he got to his feet as he spoke.


    "Hmm," Zhang Tiantian nodded, "Did you eat something wrong? Tian Hao, go with him to the infirmary and have a look."


    Tian Hao, who shared a desk with Zhou Jiajie, also stood up, ready to help him.


    Zhou Jiajie waved him off: "No need, I can go by myself."


    With those words, he quickened his pace and nearly ran out of the classroom while clutching his stomach.


    "This guy." Yan Junze smiled bitterly.


    Zhou Jiajie clearly realized that something abnormal had happened to Teacher Zhang Tiantian and feared that it might involve him; he found an excuse and slipped away.


    In terms of cleverness, this guy had plenty of wits, but when it came to courage, he was quite disappointing to Yan Junze.


    It seemed like if Bao Jie really ended up with this kind of man, her hard days were still ahead.


    Zhou Jiajie''s departure didn''t raise any suspicions among the other students, except Zhou Dali who cursed his relative under his breath, "Stomach ache? I curse you to go 30 times a day, until you get a prolapse!"


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes at him.


    "Please watch the shape of my mouth, and listen carefully," Zhang Tiantian instructed. "In this sentence from the text, the pronunciation features a connected speech. If you can''t produce it, you won''t be able to understand it clearly."


    As Zhang Tiantian spoke, she opened her mouth, about to make the sound, when suddenly she froze completely.


    Her mouth slightly open, her right hand just beginning to lift, and on her pale cheeks, the black pupils within her eyes suddenly flipped, turning into white pupils once more, and she remained motionless.


    This eerie scene, this time, was clearly seen by everyone in the classroom.

 Chapter 10 Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)

    At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, in the classroom of Grade 12 Class 5, a scene like this was unfolding.All the students were staring, dumbfounded, at a petite female teacher on the podium, who stood with her mouth slightly agape, revealing no white teeth, and her clear, bright black pupils completely overtaken by white ones, standing there like a statue.


    This time, it was longer than the last.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but mentally count the seconds, feeling like seven or eight seconds had passed, but Zhang Tiantian still looked weird and terrifying.


    "Teacher... Teacher Zhang!"


    After a brief silence, a male student sitting in the front row couldn''t help but call out.


    As soon as he spoke, Zhang Tiantian''s neck gently twisted with a crackling sound as she turned toward the male student. However, her pupils remained white.


    Her previously slightly open mouth gradually continued to widen, as if an invisible hand was stretching it, still revealing no teeth. At that moment, that once charming and alluring mouth seemed to turn into an unfathomably deep black hole.


    Utter silence. Throughout the widening of her mouth, Zhang Tiantian didn''t make a sound.


    But the next second, at least seven female students screamed simultaneously, their high-pitched squeals rivaling the climax of Vitas'' Opera #2.


    Yan Junze just felt a buzzing in his ears and almost went deaf. All the students stood up and rushed towards the classroom door in a frenzy.


    "Damn, let''s go! Something''s wrong with Teacher Zhang!" Zhou Dali grabbed Yan Junze''s collar.


    Yan Junze had no time to think and, in a flash, he and Zhou Dali squeezed out of the classroom. From start to finish, he never had the chance to touch the ground and was dragged to safety by Zhou Dali, like a kite in the wind.


    Hearing the screams, nearby classrooms erupted into chaos as teachers and students alike ran out of their rooms, surging forward to find out what was happening.


    However, after hearing the scattered accounts from the students of Grade 12 Class 5, most people''s faces immediately changed color.


    Just then, someone shouted, "Teacher Zhang fainted!"


    Looking into the classroom, they saw Zhang Tiantian lying on her back on the podium, as if she truly had fainted.


    "First¡­ first, let''s carry her to the office!" the bald teacher from the neighboring class hurriedly ordered, "Zhao Mengjun, go inform the head of student affairs; there might have been a supernatural event."


    A clever-looking male student responded and hurriedly ran downstairs.


    A few young male students, mustering their courage, re-entered the classroom and found that Zhang Tiantian indeed had fainted. In a fluster, they lifted her and, under the command of the bald teacher, carried her downstairs, panting heavily to the office of the Spacetime Atlas language teacher in the building opposite, on the second floor.


    This office was quite spacious, capable of accommodating eight to ten teachers working at the same time, but as soon as Zhang Tiantian was carried in, the five teachers already present immediately ran out.


    They had already heard about Zhang Tiantian''s ordeal.


    Not long after lying on the office sofa, Zhang Tiantian slowly regained consciousness, looking around in astonishment; she remembered she was teaching a class and didn''t know how she ended up back in the office.


    "Teacher Zhang, you just fainted. You might be feeling unwell. We''ve contacted the hospital, and a doctor will be here soon," said the bald teacher, who seemed to have plenty of experience dealing with supernatural events, blathering away, "For now, just lie down on the sofa, and don''t go anywhere! Don''t trip and fall again."


    With that, the bald teacher signaled to the other students with his eyes, and everyone promptly left the office.


    During class, Zhang Tiantian''s black pupils had turned to white, and her mouth kept unstoppably widening. The students'' descriptions had already left the bald teacher trembling with fear, and he didn''t want to stay there any longer.


    Moreover, the school is a protected area, and even though strange incidents are frequent nowadays, as long as it involves the school, the exorcist organization will immediately activate the emergency mechanism. There''s no need to wait in line, and an exorcist will be quickly dispatched to handle the situation. This is not something they need to worry about.


    What needs to be done now is to prevent any accidents from happening before the exorcist arrives.


    Everyone has gained experience by now, as long as they stay away from the site of the strangeness, the chances of danger are not high.


    And now, it seems that Zhang Tiantian herself is the main entity of this strangeness.


    Outside the office, not only Principal Jiang and Deputy Principal Shen He from Shuntian No.3 Middle School came upon hearing the news, but other teachers and a large number of students as well.


    However, these people stopped orderly on the first floor, and none even went upstairs.


    The level of danger in supernatural events does not need to be explained by anyone, as everyone understands.


    Deputy Principal Shen He took out a folded yellow talisman from his chest and went upstairs alone. He carefully placed it outside Zhang Tiantian''s office door, and then quickly came back down.


    Shen He was one of those very traditional people, who had been carrying various jade objects and talismans on him since the outbreak of the strangeness.


    Although he was aware that these items'' actual effectiveness was almost negligible in the face of strangeness, people always need psychological comfort, and having them was better than not having them at all.


    "Classes are suspended from now. Students can go home, and those who live far away should immediately return to their dormitories," announced Principal Jiang, his white hair gleaming, as he cleared his throat and addressed everyone, "The exorcists will arrive soon to deal with the situation. After you go back, wait for further notice.


    It''s possible that normal classes will resume tomorrow, and there won''t be any impact."


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali also stood in the crowd, exchanging glances.


    "Hey, let''s go to the internet cafe later," Zhou Dali sent Yan Junze a "you know what I mean" look.


    "I''m going home to review," Yan Junze turned and left.


    "Hey, what''s with you? Why have you changed so much all of a sudden? I''m not used to you studying so hard," Zhou Dali muttered, looking down, but then he suddenly bumped into Yan Junze, who had stopped abruptly, "What''s up? Why have you stiffened up as well? Hey, let me see if your eyes have changed color! White or green?"


    "Change your sister!"


    Yan Junze turned around and looked towards the second-floor office not far away, as a task from the Spacetime Atlas suddenly surfaced in his mind.


    [Detecting new Different Dimensional Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wave Band, analysing...]


    [Task Name: Spend Ten Minutes Alone with Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Low);]


    [Task Background: As a Possession Spirit, it''s very lonely. It has never been cared for or held dear by anyone, and it cannot release. Therefore, it loves to attach itself and slowly draw out the essence qi from its host, savoring every gulp;] S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Task Description: As stated, lasting ten minutes;]


    [Task Reward: 500 points of Different Dimensional Energy;]


    [Task Penalty: Become the second Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Hint: The Evil Spirit can be locked down;]


    [Note: Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe.]

 Chapter 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)

    ```Yan Junze was completely puzzled about how the task had been triggered.


    He felt he was still far from Zhang Tiantian''s office and had no idea that the Spacetime Atlas could detect Different Dimension Energy from such a distance.


    However, at the same moment he saw the task, a bizarre idea inexplicably popped into his mind.


    If one could infinitely increase this detection range, would it be possible to instantly know the exact locations and related tasks of all the strangenesses in the city?


    Crazy, he must be crazy!


    Yan Junze shook his head. So far, no one would voluntarily approach and investigate unexplainable, mysterious events, apart from himself.


    Looking at the task prompt''s "Task Level" column: Trembling with Fear (Low). Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze remembered that both the [Hair Washing] and [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] tasks were labeled "Anxiety-Inducing," with one being low and the other medium.


    But now, the level in front of him had changed to "Trembling with Fear." This meant that the difficulty or horror level was definitely higher than the previous tasks.


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to solve the [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task within the next few days, or even tonight, since having someone knock on his door every night was not a small psychological burden for his family.


    But now, he was having some difficulty deciding.


    The task [Alone with Zhang Tiantian in an Office] had appeared suddenly, and the window of opportunity was brief, right now. Otherwise, once the Exorcist arrived, there would be nothing left for Yan Junze to do.


    So, if he wanted to complete it, he had to start now or forever miss the chance.


    Yan Junze''s heart was filled with unease, as his attention remained primarily on the words "Trembling with Fear (Low)."


    The task''s difficulty level escalating from "Anxiety-Inducing" to "Trembling with Fear" was a strong, attention-demanding signal. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.


    "Spend 10 minutes with Zhang Tiantian in one office, do I go or not?" Yan Junze hesitated internally. He needed to decide quickly and take action before the Exorcist arrived.


    "I''ve noticed that you''ve changed since you encountered that strange event," Zhou Dali said without knowing what was on his mind, standing behind him, patting Yan Junze with his fan-sized hand in a comforting tone.


    This was exactly the reaction Yan Junze aimed to show as he turned to Zhou Dali and said, "Yeah, go ahead to the internet caf¨¦ and start up a computer for me. I''ll be there soon, it will only take about fifteen minutes at most."


    "Alright, just be careful," Zhou Dali left.


    "Damn, are you setting a flag for me?" Yan Junze cursed to himself.


    He felt like a veteran bounty hunter, one day short of retirement, who kept reminding himself he could soon enjoy life at home, just to encounter his last case and then get killed.


    He looked up at the office building in front of him. The building had two stairwells, one on the left, one on the right, and an elevator in the middle. Since the office of the USA language teacher was on the second floor to the left, everyone was gathered at the left stairwell, which was definitely not an option to go up.


    The central elevator had teachers coming down after hearing the news, and if he took the elevator directly to the second floor, he would easily be seen and suspected, so that was out of the question as well.


    That left only the right stairwell.


    Yan Junze decided to try the task, as the Different Dimension Energy rewarded was extremely high, reaching 500 points. If he could complete it, he could light at least five more nodes in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Currently, two timelines in the Spacetime Atlas were illuminated. Assuming a timeline allowed for about five minutes of Rewind, the total time for both could possibly exceed ten minutes.


    Yan Junze''s plan was to set the Rewind starting point, enter the office, and endure ten minutes if possible. If he couldn''t last or if his life was threatened, he would Rewind immediately and exit without a second attempt.


    ```


    ```


    The consideration that had ceased was, after all, the mission''s level was "Trembling with Fear", and if danger was encountered a second time without the ability to Rewind the timeline, the situation would be irretrievable.


    By this time, most of the students had dispersed, with only a small group that enjoyed spectating and more than twenty teachers still at the staircase entrance on the first floor left side.


    Yan Junze made his way to the right-hand staircase without drawing any attention, about fifty meters from the left staircase. Teachers were discussing in low voices, and for the moment, no one noticed him.


    Yan Junze didn''t linger, seizing the opportunity to quickly ascend the stairs. However, upon reaching the second floor, he immediately bent over and hunched his back to walk.


    Due to the limited height of the second-floor corridor, walking upright would soon make him visible to those below, and he would be exposed before he reached the office at the very left.


    Fortunately, the teachers from the second-floor offices had already evacuated upon hearing the news.


    Yan Junze made his way to the English teacher''s office of the USA, crouched down, first peeked towards the left-hand staircase entrance to make sure no one was coming up, then reached for the doorknob and turned it, finding it unlocked.


    This was understandable; if Vice-Principal Shen He had locked the door, it would certainly have alerted Zhang Tiantian and scared her off.


    A folded yellow talisman lay on the ground by the door. It was also Shen He''s doing. Whether it was effective or not, if it could have even a slight effect, that would be good.


    Out of habit, Yan Junze took a deep breath, then took out his phone, set the screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it for a 10-minute countdown.


    At that moment, he felt a twisting on his back. Ke''er, who had been lying on his back for a long time without moving, now silently slid down, bent her body, the protruding leg bones touching the ground, and stood still against the wall by the office door, dressed in red, facing the wall and not moving an inch.


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned as the chill on his back rapidly faded away.


    He then understood that Ke''er, as a Wandering Spirit, must have sensed the strangeness inside the office, so when she realized that Yan Junze wanted to enter, she chose to leave.


    But she only left Yan Junze''s back and didn''t go far, probably just not wanting to clash with the strangeness in that office.


    Yan Junze remembered that the Atlas had hinted before that Ke''er''s attitude towards him was "neutral", meaning she had no obligation to offend another strangeness on his behalf.


    Never mind the little creature, Yan Junze took another deep breath, set the starting point for the time Rewind in his mind, and then set the end point of the Rewind for 10 minutes and 15 seconds later.


    Setup successful!


    In the Atlas in his mind, the two segments of the illuminated timelines disappeared in an instant, but the four connected nodes still remained firmly in place.


    This indicated that it might just be a matter of time, or a need for a brief recovery. As long as the nodes existed, the vanished timelines would slowly reappear.


    Yan Junze turned the doorknob, opening a gap just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and then quickly slipped inside and immediately closed the door.


    The noisy commotion outside vanished the moment the door closed.


    The silence inside formed a stark contrast to the outside, causing Yan Junze''s skin to immediately break out in goosebumps, and his scalp began to tingle slightly.


    From the moment he closed the door, he started the 10-minute countdown on his phone.


    Standing at the doorway, Yan Junze didn''t move just yet.


    The lights in the room were on, allowing his vision to quickly sweep across most of the office.


    But the sofa was now empty; Zhang Tiantian was not lying there.


    ```

 Chapter 12 Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)

    At this moment, Yan Junze didn''t want to move hastily either.After all, according to the task prompt, as long as he stayed in the same room with Teacher Zhang Tiantian, the task would begin.


    It would be best just to stand there, keep it up for 10 minutes, no matter where Zhang Tiantian ran off to. If she could hide under the desk and not appear before him, even better.


    Of course, reality was harsh.


    Just as he was making his wishful calculations, from the far end of the office, near the window-side desk, came the rustling sound of flipping papers.


    There was Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    "Who''s at the door?"


    Zhang Tiantian''s voice came through.


    The sound of Yan Junze closing the door had still been heard by her.


    However, judging by her voice, it seemed that Zhang Tiantian had already returned to normal.


    "Teacher Zhang, hello."


    Yan Junze braced himself and answered, taking reluctant steps, slowly walking into the office, soon spotting Zhang Tiantian''s petite figure sitting at the innermost row of desks by the window.


    Zhang Tiantian looked normal, as if the effects from before had completely vanished.


    "Are you... a student from Class 3 (5)?" Zhang Tiantian looked up at Yan Junze, her hands sifting through a stack of mock exam papers.


    Fortunately, at least she remembered his class, not reducing him to a mere passerby. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved. As a man, whether he liked this woman or not, it was undeniably an honor to have a beautiful woman remember him.


    Although, well, not entirely.


    "Is there something you need?" Zhang Tiantian asked, lowering her head again, her right hand holding a red ballpoint pen while the left resumed flipping through the papers.


    "The Dean of Students sent me to see how you''re feeling now, Teacher Zhang," Yan Junze spoke up.


    As he asked, doubts had already arisen in his mind.


    For someone who had just been carried back to the office and laid on the couch, now she was sitting here marking papers as if nothing had happened¡ªif it wasn''t for her abnormality, then maybe she had amnesia!


    Zhang Tiantian didn''t reply.


    In fact, after asking "Is there something you need?" her motion of flipping the papers had gradually stiffened and she once again fell into a frozen state.


    Yan Junze''s heart skipped a beat as he looked down at the mobile phone in his hand, which displayed a countdown of 8 minutes and 57 seconds left. Barely over a minute had passed since he entered.


    In this situation, it was best not to draw her attention again.


    Yan Junze didn''t dare to expect Zhang Tiantian to answer him. In fact, at this moment, he hoped she wouldn''t speak again.


    It would be best if he became invisible before her, for this woman to completely overlook him and forget him entirely.


    Yan Junze moved slightly, stepping backward with his right foot, stealthily retreating a step to increase the distance from the desk.


    An unnerving atmosphere spread around this desk, giving him a momentary feeling as if he were dreaming, with everything becoming less real.


    Especially the unmoving Zhang Tiantian, like a statue.


    Just as he steadied himself after taking that step, Zhang Tiantian suddenly put down the papers. She didn''t look up but instead, while seated, slowly turned backward in her chair to face the file cabinet behind her, her movements stiff and slow.


    During this process, as the papers were brushed by the reversed backrest of the chair, they slid aside, knocking against a pen holder, which then tipped over on the desk and quickly rolled towards the edge.


    Instinctively, Yan Junze felt the urge to step forward and steady the pen holder, but he restrained himself.


    Crash!


    The pen holder fell from the desk to the ground, breaking in two. Various pen refills, pencils, ballpoint pens, and disposable ink pens scattered across the floor, spreading beneath the desk and chairs.


    Zhang Tiantian''s back seemed to pause for a moment; still seated, she suddenly bent forward, apparently picking up the scattered pens.


    Great opportunity!


    Yan Junze once again backed away quietly, seven or eight steps, getting farther and farther from the desk.


    The unsettling feeling inside him had somewhat eased, and the goosebumps on his skin had considerably reduced.


    Phew!


    Just then, Zhang Tiantian''s body straightened up again, but she still faced the filing cabinet, her back to Yan Junze.


    Because her body leaned forward and then straightened back up, her curly wavy hair was already in disarray. But Zhang Tiantian did not reach out to smooth it, instead just sat there with her hair tousled, sitting motionless.


    The moment she sat up, Yan Junze trembled slightly out of fear, his stepping backward paused momentarily. When he realized there was no other movement, he resumed backing away.


    At that moment, Zhang Tiantian suddenly spoke, "Student, have you seen my pen?"


    She''s lucid again?


    Yan Junze, looking surprised, replied, "No... I haven''t?"


    "Please help me look for it, thank you," Zhang Tiantian said, her tone still seeming very stiff.


    Yan Junze felt troubled. It was hard enough to quietly move back that far, and now he was expected to go there again?


    He looked down at his phone again and at that moment fully understood the meaning of time crawling by.


    So far, only a little more than two minutes had passed.


    "Okay."


    He verbally agreed, reluctantly returning to Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    As he approached the desk, that creepy feeling once again spread throughout his body, making his scalp tingle and his limbs stiffen.


    He certainly did not want to go to the side of the desk where Zhang Tiantian was sitting to look for the pen, so he crouched down on the opposite side of the desk and realizing the view wasn''t great, he kneeled down and lay flat on the ground, peeking under the desk.


    Several pens were scattered under the desk, along with half of a broken penholder.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, then asked, "Teacher Zhang, which pen are you looking for? I can only pick up a few here for you, some have fallen under your chair."


    "I don''t want the others, I''m looking for the red one," Zhang Tiantian''s voice was chillingly indifferent.


    "The red one? But weren''t you holding the red pen in your hand the entire time?" Yan Junze wondered.


    Despite his doubts, he searched carefully and noticed that among the pens that had fallen under the desk, there were no red ones. So, he lay on the ground and peered intently under the chair where Zhang Tiantian was sitting.


    Although Zhang Tiantian was sitting with her back to him, from his angle, he could just make out the lower part of her legs below her calves.


    She was wearing a pair of shiny black high heels, and she seemed to have flesh-colored socks on because her calf muscles were exposed when she sat down due to wearing capri pants, which indeed looked somewhat attractive. Her skin on her feet was delicate, without an ounce of superfluous flesh.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze felt that the skin on Zhang Tiantian''s ankles looked unnaturally white, frighteningly white.


    Soon, he saw a red pen, but it had rolled under her chair.


    "Teacher Zhang, that red pen might be what you''re looking for. But it''s under your chair; I can''t reach it from here," Yan Junze said.


    Before his words had finished, bang!


    With her hair wild and tousled, Zhang Tiantian''s head suddenly dangled down from the other side of the chair, her face upside down, her expression grim as she stared at Yan Junze.


    Her head was upside down, leading to a blood-rushed face. Zhang Tiantian''s eyes seemed almost bulging out, with a faint presence of blood vessels.


    "Damn it!"


    Yan Junze was startled into a sharp shiver by this sudden scare.


    An iconic "reverse hanging kill" seen in ghost movies from the early ''90s. Yan Junze never thought he would have the opportunity to experience it firsthand.


    "Where is it?" Zhang Tiantian asked calmly, maintaining that position.


    Yan Junze extended his index finger, suppressing the fear in his heart, and pointed to the right side of her upside-down head, "There... it''s on your right side."

 Chapter 13 Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)

    Following the direction of Yan Junze''s pointing finger, Zhang Tiantian''s upside-down head slowly turned, a mechanical motion, as she looked at the red pen.Then a wide-open right hand appeared from top to bottom, its finger joints bent, its skin deathly pale, slowly approaching the red pen and gently grasping it.


    Yan Junze had already stood up, rubbing his somewhat numb knees and cursing internally, "Zhang Tiantian must still be possessed! Otherwise, which normal person would pick up a pen in slow motion? Just grab it, why make it so creepy!"


    Seizing the moment she bent to pick up the pen, Yan Junze backed away again, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and that office desk.


    It was only when he had backed up to the front of the sofa that he realized if he moved back any further, he would no longer be able to see Zhang Tiantian.


    Yan Junze glanced at his phone that he had been clutching all along¡ªit showed 5 minutes and 28 seconds remaining.


    This timeline left him speechless, leading him to suspect an issue with the timer on his phone.


    It was at this moment, Zhang Tiantian''s body straightened up again. Her once lovely wavy hair was now even more disheveled, as if she were a lunatic who had escaped from an insane asylum.


    However, she was still facing away from Yan Junze, towards the filing cabinet, unmoving.


    Now that she had found the pen, Yan Junze merely hoped she would sit quietly, just like Ke''er used to watch him wash his hair in silence, without causing any more trouble.


    But almost at the same time, a "huh" sound came over.


    At first, Yan Junze thought Ke''er had entered the office and quickly looked behind him, only to realize the sound had come from Zhang Tiantian''s direction.


    "Where is the pen?" Zhang Tiantian continued, "Have you seen my pen?"


    "Damn it!" Yan Junze was completely at a loss for words. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hadn''t you just picked it up? Why are you asking again?


    But this time, he had no intention of going over there again, because Zhang Tiantian''s way of asking was clearly a trick to lure him back.


    That red pen must have been in her hand; of this Yan Junze was certain. She had just managed to pick it up and now she was starting to ask him again, wanting him to come over and help search for it.


    No way!


    This time, absolutely not!


    "Never mind, let it be if you can''t find it," Zhang Tiantian''s voice rose again.


    But what she said next made Yan Junze jump, "Just make a cut, suck out her Essence Qi, no need to exert so much."


    At the same time as those words fell, Zhang Tiantian no longer faced the direction of the filing cabinet but turned slowly in her seat.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment. He had planned to retreat to the office door where he could completely lose sight of Zhang Tiantian, but the moment she turned back, he found himself unable to take another step.


    His feet might as well have taken root, glued to the spot, his gaze fixed on the rotating chair.


    Not until Zhang Tiantian had completed her turn to face him again did Yan Junze feel a chill through his body, his scalp tightened sharply, and he felt icy all over.


    The red ballpoint pen, which Zhang Tiantian herself had just picked up, was now inserted in her right eye socket, not very deep and looking as though it could fall out at any moment.


    And Zhang Tiantian herself, although bleeding, seemed completely unaware of it.


    "The Possession Spirit has started to harm its possessed victim!" Yan Junze immediately concluded.


    He must not let it hurt Zhang Tiantian.


    And just now, this guy even mentioned something about making an incision and sucking dry her Essence Qi.


    "Troublesome?" Yan Junze, not knowing where he got the courage from, didn''t retreat but instead stepped forward, saying, "Teacher, weren''t you looking for that red pen?"


    As he spoke, he moved closer to Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    He remembered the task note had warned: Do not try to provoke it, or else the consequences would be severe.


    If it was about buying time, then he should save her if he could, before this thing did irreversible harm to Zhang Tiantian. To simply watch Zhang Tiantian being toyed with to death right before his eyes was something Yan Junze simply couldn''t do.


    Moreover, if something happened to Zhang Tiantian, it was very likely that he would be next.


    In just a few minutes, with the Possession Spirit''s strangeness and power, it could torture Yan Junze ten times over.


    The level of Trembling with Fear was indeed not for nothing.


    Seeing Yan Junze walk back, Zhang Tiantian forced a gentle smile on her face, the corners of her mouth curving in a tempting arc, but coupled with the red pen twisted awkwardly in her eye socket, it looked unnerving.


    Blood dripped down, already staining part of her blouse and pants red.


    "Yes, where is the pen? I clearly had it just now, you must find it for me! Quickly!"


    Yan Junze had already reached the other side of the desk, forcibly keeping calm and trying to make his tone as even as possible, "Okay, teacher. I will give you the pen now, please don''t move."


    Zhang Tiantian showed a hint of surprise and nodded.


    In Yan Junze''s view, the task background was very clear, "As a Possession Spirit, it is very lonely. Nobody has ever cared for or cherished it, so it can''t let go. Therefore, it fell in love with attachment, preferring to bask in the embrace of pure auras, slowly draining the Essence Qi of its host, and then swallowing it bit by bit."


    This meant that the entity might actually be reasonable to talk to, albeit with a quirky personality. If he could just meet its demands and stall for a little while, the mission could still be accomplished.


    The main thing was, if it couldn''t find the red pen now, it might start to extract Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi.


    Try to satisfy it, do not go against it. Yan Junze made up his mind.


    Suppressing his disgust, nausea, inner resistance, trembling fingers, and the urge to run away, Yan Junze''s left hand supported the desk as he raised his right hand and slowly reached for the red pen embedded in Zhang Tiantian''s eye.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    It felt like a very long time before his fingers finally clasped the red ballpoint pen, while Zhang Tiantian, perfectly cooperative, didn''t move at all, her other eye gazing steadily at the sweat-drenched Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt he had badly miscalculated. Because back when he was outside the office, Ke''er had already scampered off his back, and the constant chill that had accompanied him was gone; he should have immediately taken off the thick sweater he was wearing.


    Now, already on edge, combined with the insulation of the thick sweater, he was truly burning up like joss paper in a coffin¡ªoverheated to the point of death.


    The cap of the pen had long since fallen off, leaving just the pen barrel clinging on.


    As Yan Junze gripped the red pen, large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, but without hesitation, he bore the fear and disgust, slowly pulling the red pen from Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket.


    Throughout the process, Zhang Tiantian didn''t show any reaction; she didn''t display the slightest pain nor did her lips even twitch.


    Unexpectedly, not much blood flowed out, and the moment the pen tip was completely extracted, a lump of sticky substance also came out with it, with a plop, landing on Zhang Tiantian''s thigh.


    Yan Junze dared not look too closely, his whole right hand trembling severely now.


    The red ballpoint pen was held up in front of Zhang Tiantian''s other eye.


    "Wow, you found it! How did you find it?" Zhang Tiantian exclaimed with a joyful smile.

 Chapter 14 Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)

    Yan Junze knew he must be smiling awkwardly, but there was nothing he could do, he just had to try not to make Zhang Tiantian angry, satisfy her demands, and get through these last few minutes."Where did you find this pen?" Zhang Tiantian didn''t take the red pen, continuing to inquire.


    "Just¡­ just on you¡­ your body." Yan Junze stuttered.


    "Where?" Zhang Tiantian seemed curious, stretching her hand to her face.


    Suddenly, her slender fingers touched the wound by her right eye socket, but didn''t linger. As Yan Junze watched in astonishment, her fingers reached her own eye socket and carefully, gently probed.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt like he was going to throw up.


    Glancing at the time, eight minutes had already passed. He was about to choose to back away to the office door when Zhang Tiantian''s voice rang out.


    "So it''s already been cut open, I won''t be polite then."


    "What?"


    Yan Junze suddenly paused, recalling a phrase the Possession Spirit had spoken through Zhang Tiantian''s mouth: "Just make an incision, drain her Essence Qi, no need to put in so much effort."


    It was... planning to use this wound to suck away Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi!


    What kind of move is that!?


    Although Yan Junze was completely bewildered, this didn''t prevent him from realizing at that very moment, Zhang Tiantian was in extreme danger.


    He absolutely couldn''t let this creature suck away Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi!


    "Wait, the spot you''re touching isn''t the wound," Yan Junze blurted out.


    He didn''t understand why this Possession Spirit was so poorly adapted to the body it inhabited, nor why it had to create a wound on the host body to drain the other''s Essence Qi.


    But now was clearly not the time to let it continue, so a very bold idea, one that would make Yan Junze unwilling to recall for the following three months, popped into his mind.


    After he spoke, the Possession Spirit visibly hesitated.


    As they say, a good opportunity is like an accidental fart, grasp it or it''s gone in an instant.


    Yan Junze seized it.


    Seizing the chance, he reached out, and the red ballpoint pen returned to its original place, yes, he inserted it back into Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket.


    In this critical moment, realizing that the "incision" the Possession Spirit was referring to was the wound made by the ballpoint pen, Yan Junze definitely wasn''t going to let this creature continue sucking Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi from her wound, so he had to block this "incision."


    And with only the pen in his hand, it wasn''t an option to use his own finger.


    The index finger is very important, Yan Junze would need it for many purposes later, he couldn''t waste it here, or else he''d be left with psychological scars, so he used the ballpoint pen instead.


    In the nick of time, he couldn''t feel whether he had inserted it too deep or too shallow, but it was blocked anyway.


    And the Possession Spirit immediately became furious, roaring through Zhang Tiantian, "Where''s the incision? It''s gone!"


    Strangely, after the wound in the right eye socket was blocked, the creature couldn''t relocate its precise position.


    Zhang Tiantian suddenly stood up, her face twisted, her body tensed, the veins in her neck protruding, her hands frantically scratching and searching her body, as if she had lost her most important target.


    During the search, Zhang Tiantian''s screams and roars were incessant. One could easily guess that the teachers guarding the stairwell on the first floor were now silent as cicadas, staring in terror at the second floor.


    The outcome was clear, Yan Junze had still managed to enrage the Possession Spirit.


    The mission notes had been very clear, "Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe."


    But Yan Junze asked himself, he couldn''t do that, he couldn''t stand by and watch Zhang Tiantian''s head being gouged open by the Possession Spirit, to have her Essence Qi completely drained while still alive.


    So, things had almost inevitably come to this point.


    Taking advantage of Zhang Tiantian''s frantic search for the wound, Yan Junze suddenly ducked down, using hands and feet together, instantly drawing out his body''s potential, with the speed of thunder and without hesitating, he dived under the office desk.


    This desk was right next to Zhang Tiantian''s desk, still very close to the frenzied Zhang Tiantian. Yan Junze had no time to think carefully because this desk was also near the window, so he immediately used the curtains as a cover and crawled under the desk in the second row next to the window, and then the third and fourth rows.


    The fourth row of desks was empty, piled with a large number of test papers and graded test booklets, and the floor in front of the desks was also stacked with many test papers from past years, some of which had grown moldy.


    This place was perfect for hiding a person''s figure, and Yan Junze promptly shrunk himself into the pile of papers, ready to use the weapon of knowledge to eliminate all kinds of demons and ghosts.


    Sometime during his hiding, Zhang Tiantian''s roars had stopped, and only heavy breathing could be heard. A few seconds later, even the breathing sounds gradually disappeared.


    The sound of high heels suddenly rang out, step by step coming from the direction of Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    Because teachers had dress codes, the heels of these high heels were not very high. Even though the Possession Spirit inhabited Zhang Tiantian''s body, it still walked steadily in them.


    The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, no longer hysterical as before; each step seemed to press down on Yan Junze''s nerves.


    Soon, Yan Junze saw Zhang Tiantian''s feet pass by the third row of desks, pass the sofa where she had once lain, and step by step walk towards the fourth row of desks.


    This thing walked very slowly; it hadn''t found him but was searching.


    Yan Junze glanced at the time again; 9 minutes and 21 seconds had already passed.


    Even if there was an error in his phone''s timer, it would not exceed 5 seconds, so the 10-minute mark was almost reached.


    Zhang Tiantian was nearing him; he could already see fresh blood dripping nonstop beside Zhang Tiantian''s feet, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest, as if it had been injected with a stimulant.


    If only the office could be a little quieter, Yan Junze believed that his heartbeat might betray his hiding place.


    Those pale and delicate feet passed by the desk where Yan Junze was hiding, stopped by the window, and from this angle, Yan Junze could still see the heels of the high heels.


    At this moment, his heart was tight with nerves. If something felt wrong, he believed he would immediately activate the "Rewind" command.


    About ten seconds passed, and Zhang Tiantian turned and walked away from the window, up to the desk where Yan Junze was hiding.


    Watching those feet stand right before his eyes, he could imagine such a scene where a head with disheveled hair might very likely look down at any moment, and most importantly, that head had a ballpoint pen stuck in it.


    Yan Junze couldn''t bear the torment any longer; it''s better to act than to be acted upon. With slight hesitation, he lifted a foot and kicked at Zhang Tiantian, who seemed already bent on looking down.


    His kick landed squarely on her ankle, and Zhang Tiantian collapsed to her knees. Yan Junze immediately pushed away the pile of test papers behind him and crawled out from the other side of the desk.


    The familiar roar sounded once again, thump, Zhang Tiantian sprang onto the desk, stepping on the thick pile of test papers, and lunged toward the fleeing Yan Junze.


    Reaching the office door, Yan Junze felt his pant leg tighten; the pouncing Zhang Tiantian had grabbed onto his pant leg, dragging him as if in a walk.


    Yan Junze was about to "Rewind". Turning his head for a glance, he kicked out his left leg right at the disheveled head.


    In a life-and-death moment, he couldn''t care for much. If he really killed Zhang Tiantian, he might just "Rewind" and not enter this office again or continue this mission. That should be acceptable, right?


    However, it was clear that the current Zhang Tiantian was lively and hopping, not likely to die anytime soon.


    Reaching for the door handle in haste, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of the timer on his phone, which had stopped, indicating the time was up.


    But to be safe, he decided to wait at least another 5 seconds before daring to open the office door and run out.


    As long as he was out of the office, with more people around, he would have more targets and could take the opportunity to escape in the chaos. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze felt a coldness on his calf. His pant leg had been torn, and Zhang Tiantian''s hand clung tightly to his leg.


    Almost at the same time, a cold, strange, and ferocious breath rushed up his leg into his body. His strength quickly drained away, not even enough to turn the doorknob.


    "It''s over, it''s going to Possess me!" Yan Junze nearly had his soul scared out of his body.


    The mission time was up, and yet he had never imagined that he would not be able to escape the office!


    Rewind, he must Rewind!


    Setting the Rewind time to 10 minutes and 15 seconds at the beginning made sense, as even though the 10-minute mission time was complete, there were still a few seconds of buffer time.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to activate Rewind, the office door suddenly burst open with a bang from the outside.

 Chapter 15 Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)

    The Possession Spirit was attempting to force itself into Yan Junze''s body from Zhang Tiantian''s when, during the process of possession, the host would temporarily become rigid.As a result, even though Yan Junze was holding the doorknob, he felt as if his entire body was immobilized and couldn''t turn the knob.


    Meanwhile, the person outside trying to come in also found the doorknob as if it had been frozen; it simply wouldn''t turn.


    Therefore, the person outside kicked the door directly.


    This person was very strong, needing only one kick to send the office door lock flying off, and Yan Junze was thrown to one side by the suddenly kicked-open door, causing the Possession Spirit''s attempt to enter his body to fail.


    A cold breath once again returned inside Zhang Tiantian.


    Zhang Tiantian, who had been laying down like a mummy, stood up rigidly and lunged toward the man in white who had kicked open the door.


    Bang!


    Visible ripples spread out, and the button disappeared.


    The energy from these ripples had already surged into Zhang Tiantian''s body; following that, a white breath was forced out of her body by the translucent ripples, pushed back in front of the fourth row of desks.


    In front of the desk, a pile of test papers burst apart with a puff, revealing the true form of the white entity, a lean creature covered with white fur.


    If this thing stood still it would resemble a white, moldy stick.


    However, at this moment, the "stick" was trembling continuously, emitting a wheezing sound like a wounded animal, as if it could dissipate at any moment.


    Whoosh!


    The limbs of the Possession Spirit suddenly folded quickly, moving through the desk to reach the window. Right under Yan Junze''s eyes, it forcefully squeezed itself into the gap in the window, escaping to the outside.


    "It''s running away!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but shout.


    "I can''t kill it," shrugged the man in white, showing no intention of chasing after it, but instead crouched down to look at Yan Junze lying on the ground, "Are you a student? What are you doing in the office?"


    Yan Junze was certain that this guy was probably the Exorcist.


    When supernatural events occurred at the school, they needed no queue to handle; these Exorcists really ran fast, arriving at the scene within ten minutes.


    "It was Teacher Zhang... Teacher Zhang asked me to bring... the test papers over," Yan Junze got up, noticed he''d only torn his pants and hadn''t been injured, and pointed towards Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    On the desk, there was a stack of test papers that Zhang Tiantian had just been marking.


    The man in white said nothing, stood up, walked over to the unconscious Zhang Tiantian, checked for her breathing with his hand, and then walked out of the office.


    After a short while, he returned, and the sound of numerous footsteps could be heard at the staircase. Clearly, Principal Jiang, Director Shen, and other teachers had received the news and were swarming up.


    "You''re lucky," the man in white told Yan Junze to rest on the couch, "If I had arrived a bit later, it would have entered your body."


    No sooner had he spoken than people from the school flooded into the office.


    Principal Jiang''s face was etched with panic, as he looked at Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground, horror struck by the ballpoint pen lodged in her eye socket, then his gaze shifted to the man in white and his very own student, Yan Junze, and his anxious expression turned to one of confusion.


    "Teacher Zhang asked me to bring the test papers over," Yan Junze took the initiative to speak, "Just now... just now she suddenly went crazy and almost... killed me."


    "Ah, Yan Junze?!" A plump middle-aged, greasy-looking male teacher stepped forward, staring at Yan Junze with a shock that could not hide his concern.


    This was Teacher Xiang Decai of Senior Three (5) class; he had been focusing on Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground and had not noticed Yan Junze was also in the office. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "He''s fine now, just scared," the man in white answered for Yan Junze and patted Junze''s shoulder, pointing to Zhang Tiantian on the floor and saying, "Don''t move her, being possessed by a Possession Spirit for more than fifteen minutes, she will be completely delirious even if she wakes up, and whether she can recover is still uncertain."


    "Ah! What should we do?" Principal Jiang became agitated, momentarily forgetting about Yan Junze''s presence.


    "We will have someone come to take her away in a while, and notify her family," the man in white said calmly, walking towards Zhang Tiantian''s desk while explaining, "In the past month, over thirty people in Shuntian City have been mentally affected due to Possession Spirit invasions, averaging about one person a day.


    We have a specialized recovery facility to offer them a chance of recovery, so don''t worry too much."


    As he spoke, the man in white casually flipped through the test papers, now scattered across the desk, and picked up Zhang Tiantian''s cellphone.


    He then lifted the receiver from the desk phone, pressed a button, listened for a moment, and hung up.


    The following events were no longer Yan Junze''s concern. Around five minutes later, he walked out of the office with Teacher Xiang''s support, sat for a while in the security office, and drank a cup of hot water.


    Teacher Xiang was indeed very concerned about his student, bombarding Yan Junze with questions, fearing any issue with his health, but his habit of smoking and drinking all year round made it rather unbearable for Yan Junze.


    After sitting in the security office for about five minutes, Yan Junze felt like he was about to throw up.


    At that moment, an Ikewei car drove out from the direction of the school office building and passed by the security office; Yan Junze saw quite clearly that the exorcist in the white suit was sitting in the co-driver''s seat.


    Zhang Tiantian, who had fallen into a coma, was surely in the back of the car. Poor Zhang Tiantian, having suffered such a fate, it was unknown how long her mental disarray would last.


    Yan Junze was still hoping that the moment he had blocked the injury to her eye had not caused too much damage.


    "Teacher Xiang, I''m fine now; I can go home by myself," Yan Junze stood up, ready to leave.


    Teacher Xiang said, "I''ll arrange something for you tomorrow. When you come to school, Teacher Sun will provide you with psychological counseling. The incident is over, and the college entrance exam is imminent; make sure not to feel any pressure."


    "Mm, thank you, teacher," Yan Junze bowed, feeling that even the overpowering halitosis couldn''t conceal Teacher Xiang''s care and affection for his students.


    Once out of the school, Yan Junze wiped the sweat from his forehead vigorously and realized he had forgotten to take off his sweater.


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt a tight sensation around his legs, and immediately someone climbed onto his back with practiced ease, then remained still.


    A chill spread out, penetratingly cold, uplifting the spirit.


    Ke''er, who had been unaccounted for until now, finally returned.

 Chapter 16 Recording Video

    The thick sweater didn''t need to be removed, but the intense 10 minutes just now had already soaked his underwear with sweat. Now that Ke''er was attached to him, it made Yan Junze feel even chillier.He didn''t think about anything else and hurried home. If he didn''t take a bath and change his underwear immediately, he was sure to catch a cold.


    Although his body was quite young, it was still somewhat skinny, not like Zhou Dali''s build.


    On the way, he checked the tasks released by the Spacetime Atlas through Inner Vision.


    The task "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian]" had been completed smoothly, and he hadn''t initiated a Rewind. The Rewind line that lasted for about 10 minutes had lit up again.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment. If the Rewind was just set but not initiated, then there would be no consumption issue. Therefore, that timeline was essentially "reclaimed" and could be used again.


    He also looked at the 500 points of Different Dimension Energy he had just received. Together with the 100 points from the "[Washing Hair]" task, Yan Junze now had 600 points of energy.


    According to the conversion that 100 points of energy could Rewind about 10 minutes of time, the Rewind lines in the Spacetime Atlas could currently Rewind approximately 60 minutes in total, and 7 nodes had lit up.


    The length of the timeline between nodes was not constant. Moreover, the seventh node was larger and brighter than the others.


    A line of small text floated above that node. Yan Junze looked at it and saw it read: "Perception of Strange Events" successfully initiated.


    Which means that the node had unlocked a feature of the Atlas, and now he might be able to directly perceive the existence of certain strange events.


    Yan Junze didn''t want to try it out for now. In fact, he was puzzled. Earning 100 points from the "[Washing Hair]" task was understandable as he helped Ke''er eliminate her Obsession, but in the task of "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian], not only did he not help the Possession Spirit, he had actually foiled its plans.


    Yet under such circumstances, why did he still receive 500 points of energy?


    With this question, Yan Junze entered the FH Community, went up to the fourth floor, and came to his front door. He took out his keys and opened the door.


    As soon as he entered the house, he thought of something. Ke''er''s Obsession was washing hair; it was evident from the name of the task. This Obsession might be clear to Ke''er, or she might not be aware of it herself.


    And the name of the Possession Spirit''s task was "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian]." Could it be that the Possession Spirit''s Obsession was actually to have someone spend more time with it, no matter the method, no matter what they were doing?


    Perhaps the Possession Spirit wasn''t even aware of this Obsession.


    As long as the Obsession was resolved, whether actively or passively, consciously or unconsciously, it counted as completing the task.


    Now understanding this point, Yan Junze had found a new set of underwear and was making his way into the bathroom.


    Feeling refreshed after the bath, but just as he suspected, Ke''er had been clinging onto him the whole time. Whether he was washing his hair, or scrubbing on body wash.


    During the hair-washing, the little one got suddenly excited, squirming her body onto his shoulder, and then constantly making "eh" sounds, shaking her little head from side to side, clearly treating Yan Junze''s head as a piece of artwork.


    As dusk approached, his parents came home from work.


    Yan Junze didn''t hide anything and told Yan Daguo and Li Man about the incident at school that day, but he didn''t mention anything about entering Zhang Tiantian''s office.


    The couple were very concerned and asked him a series of questions. Yan Junze just said that he came home quickly, hearing that the Exorcist had rushed to the school to deal with the issues, and he should be able to continue classes the following day.


    It was apparent that Yan Daguo and Li Man were much relieved, as the strangeness in the bathroom seemed to have truly disappeared. This meant a large sum of money could be saved, and the problem that affected Yan Junze''s studies and daily mental stress was removed.


    In the end, for families like the Yan Family, the biggest concerns were financial. As for strange events, they would avoid them if possible, and only think of other extreme measures when they were unavoidable.


    Since it was an irregular school dismissal, there were no homework assignments, so Yan Junze casually reviewed some material before lying down on his bed early, preparing to rest sooner than usual today.


    He''d barely lain down when his eyes suddenly shot open, and he blurted out, "Damn it."


    His phone on the bedside table, which was charging, chimed with the sound of a text message. He picked it up to see it was from Zhou Dali, containing only a resentful sentence: I freaking waited for you at the internet cafe for four hours, couldn''t reach you by phone, now I won''t say anything else, I hate you!


    "This tone, why does it feel like you''re blowing me off on a date?" Yan Junze shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    After completing the task, he''d clearly been scared and in a rush to get home for a shower and a change of clothes¡ªhe had indeed forgotten about Zhou Dali at the internet cafe.


    He replied with a message: Sorry, bro. Tomorrow, I''ll present you with an exciting story of "My indescribable ten minutes with Teacher Zhang Tiantian" as compensation, absolutely thrilling!


    He had barely sent the message when his phone rang within seconds.


    After picking up the call, Zhou Dali''s voice, barely containing his excitement, came from the other end, "Holy shit, dude, what did you guys do in the office? Spill it, I can''t wait till tomorrow!"


    "Nothing much." Yan Junze''s voice was calm, "Just running everywhere in the office while she chased me and by the way, she was invaded by a Possession Spirit. She''s currently at the exorcist organization''s sanatorium."


    "She won''t be able to teach classes?" Zhou Dali asked, surprised.


    "They say she''s mentally disturbed, so she probably won''t be able to for a short period," Yan Junze answered.


    "What a shame," Zhou Dali''s concern was obviously not in line with Yan Junze''s; he was thinking about when he''d be able to see Zhang Tiantian again.


    After expressing his regret for a while, Zhou Dali added, "I thought you recorded a video of you and Zhang Tiantian in the office and planned to show it to me tomorrow."


    "No, it was dangerous; who had the mood to..."


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze suddenly paused, a thought that had never occurred to him popping into his mind.


    "Oh, by the way, why did you go into her office?" It was only now that Zhou Dali realized this question.


    But Yan Junze had already hung up the phone.


    Sitting up, he opened the "Just Search It" app on his phone and began searching with a purpose.


    The most popular platform for strangenesses in the entire Great Capital of Huaying is named "Open Your Eyes," where "eye" doesn''t mean the organ, but represents the "camera lens."


    This means encouraging netizens to use their cameras to capture their encounters with the strange and then upload them to the platform to gain a large following and attention. Of course, there are various rewards too.


    One can even live stream strange events on the "Open Your Eyes" platform, bringing intense visual and psychological thrills to the audience through live broadcasting.


    Yan Junze was thinking about recording the videos of his tasks and uploading them, but he did not plan to do it live because the direction and level of danger of the tasks were unpredictable, and without certainty, he was not willing to take the risk.


    If he could gain a certain fan base through his uploaded videos, that wouldn''t be too bad. At least, as it seemed right now, some high-quality strange videos had over ten million views. As long as the view count reached over 500,000, it was considered trending. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After browsing the "Open Your Eyes" video platform for a while, Yan Junze immediately registered an account, planning to record the entirety of his next task, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night," and then upload it to the platform.


    Of course, he had no such plans for tonight; he was simply too tired. After registering the account, he immediately went to bed. Even at two in the morning, when the old lady from upstairs came down to knock on his door, he somehow didn''t hear it.

 Chapter 17 Activate Mission Perception

    ```After waking up in the morning, Yan Junze thought about it and felt that his nerves had indeed been getting thicker and less sensitive. He was well aware that the terrifying old woman upstairs would come knocking at two in the morning, yet he managed to sleep soundly through it.


    However, becoming braver was a good thing, after all. In the future, when he completed tasks, he at least wouldn''t feel so timid, which could affect his performance.


    Yan Daguo got up early in the morning and seriously inspected the bathroom door, searching but still not finding any trace of the red-dressed girl. The couple''s worries diminished even more.


    Li Man wasn''t working that morning, and as usual, she cooked a bowl of scallion noodles for Yan Junze before taking her basket and rushing to the vegetable market to buy some fresh vegetables.


    After finishing his noodles, Yan Junze checked the time and saw it was still early. At the moment, Ke''er was also lying quietly on him, not moving an inch.


    He accessed the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and looked at the seven lit-up nodes.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of satisfaction.


    If every task could be completed smoothly, he felt that lighting up the entire Spacetime Atlas wouldn''t be such a difficult task.


    As for the strangenesses Yan Junze had encountered so far, it seemed they differed in levels. For instance, a Wandering Spirit like Ke''er should be considered on the lower end of the spectrum.


    And like the Possession Spirit from yesterday, it definitely ranked higher than Ke''er, otherwise Ke''er wouldn''t have proactively left him outside the office.


    Of course, the insufficient friendship level between Ke''er and Yan Junze was also one of the reasons for her departure.


    Yan Junze speculated that the old woman in the "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task was probably not high-level either, or else the task level wouldn''t just be Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), which was not as high as the level of the task "Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian."


    Sitting in the living room and pondering for a while, and since it wasn''t time to go to school yet, Yan Junze decided to try out the "Perception of Strange Events" feature of the seventh node.


    The words "Perception of Strange Events" only appeared above the seventh node, meaning that Different Dimension Energy had to reach this point to be able to activate the feature.


    But Yan Junze wasn''t sure how much energy would be consumed by activating it once, as long as it didn''t deplete the energy from all seven nodes.


    The moment he thought this, the seventh node that was originally lit went out abruptly.


    Yan Junze couldn''t perceive how much energy radiated out with him as the center at that moment, but his head suddenly jolted as if ripples had spread on a calm sea surface.


    In less than a minute, a stream of information converged towards him, soon presenting itself in his mind.


    [Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional spatial frequency band, decoding in progress...]


    [Coordinates determined: FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.]


    [Mission Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);


    Mission Background: Neighbor Granny Ren has been troubled lately because her children haven''t visited her in a long time. She deeply misses them, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. But Granny Ren can no longer tell them that. Can you help her?


    Mission Description: Open the door for Granny Ren when she knocks at two in the morning;


    Mission Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Unknown;


    Mission Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be kept out by locks; 2. There is a branch mission waiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    This was the first mission Yan Junze had detected and one he was preparing to embark on next.


    But other words were still converging, quickly forming a second detected mission.


    [Coordinates determined: In the garden of Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area, near the electric fountain.]


    [Mission Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight; Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ```


    Mission Level: Trembling With Fear (Medium);


    Mission Background: On a night of the full moon, Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years. From the night of the promise up until the next morning, her body was not found until it was fished out of a short-circuited fountain. Yet that person never appeared.


    Fang Ning was beautiful, but the electrocution burned her for so long that her body underwent metalization; clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues melted together. Still, she continues to wait for that promised moment. As long as someone is willing to stand back to back with her and join hands, to promise eternity under the moonlight.


    Mission Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Mission Reward: 800 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit can be put under Lockdown; 2. The mission must be carried out on a clear and moonlit night;


    Remarks: No matter what she says, just try saying "no."]


    Looking at the mission level marked Trembling With Fear (Medium), Yan Junze couldn''t help but click his tongue. This was damn difficult. Even [Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian] was only rated as Trembling With Fear (Low), and had it not been for the Rewind activation, or if the exorcist hadn''t arrived at the last moment, he would have surely been dead by now.


    FH Community is right next to the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area where he lived. Although it was also an older residential community, the facilities were still quite complete.


    It was just that Yan Junze never expected that such a terrifying accident had occurred in the Flowery Paradise Garden''s electrical fountain.


    Moreover, this Spacetime Atlas was too intelligent; you had to admit, the final remark about the mission was very specific, very vivid, and also very speechless.


    He then looked at the third mission.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Jianye Building Basement Floor 004 Storage Room.]


    [Mission Name: Peeking from the Crack in the Wall;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Mission Background: His fate was tragic, with a wife lost and children scattered. His name was synonymous with loneliness, destined to never catch anyone''s attention in his life. Most unfortunate of all, after an accidental incident, people forgot him in the corner. Yes, he is still there, hidden in the deepest part of the building.


    Mission Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Mission Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become a substitute, trading for his freedom;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be put under Lockdown; he is already pitiable, please let him go; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Remarks: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    The mission level was Anxiety-Inducing (High), not yet reaching the severity of Trembling With Fear. Yan Junze felt slightly relieved.


    But as it appeared, completing these missions wasn''t as easy as imagined. Compared to his first [Hair Washing] mission, it almost seemed like a beginner''s boon.


    At that moment, he felt the Ke''er lying on his back seemed somehow more pleasing to the eye.


    After being reborn, Yan Junze had scouted the vicinity thoroughly; he knew the location of Jianye Building very well, right across the street from his FH Community residence.


    However, it seemed that there was security in the building, and getting in and reaching the basement floor was not so easy.


    Looking at this, after having activated "Perception of Strange Events," the detection distance covered was mostly near his residential area, so the consumption of Different Dimension Energy wasn''t too significant.


    Although one node had gone out, the timeline segment was still lit. Considering its slow recovery rate, even if Yan Junze stopped absorbing energy into the Spacetime Atlas, the 7th node could also recover on its own.


    As he was contemplating, Yan Junze''s eyes suddenly lit up because the detection information that had not yet completely disappeared from his mind once again transmitted a text prompt.


    [Detected new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Spatial Waveband, analyzing¡­]


    The moment the mission appeared, Yan Junze''s brain went ''boom,'' and he plunged into a momentary blank.

 Chapter 18 The Highest Level Task at Present

    The latest detected mission was clearly one that had just appeared, and it was very close to Yan Junze''s home.[Coordinates confirmed: Building No. 5, FH Community.]


    [Mission name: Look at Her Face;


    Mission level: Hair-raising (low);


    Mission background: None.


    Mission description: Look at her face and ask her what she needs;


    Mission reward: 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission punishment: Unknown;


    Mission hints: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot in one''s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot comprehend how terrifying a crazy woman can be.]


    "Hair-raising!!!"


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen a mission level identified as "hair-raising."


    As of now, it seemed that horror levels ranked from Anxiety-Inducing to Trembling with Fear, and then to Hair-raising, with higher levels beyond that being unknown.


    [Look at Her Face], this mission was definitely the one with the highest difficulty coefficient among all the missions Yan Junze had encountered so far.


    If completed, just the reward of Different Dimension Energy alone reached an astounding 1000 points.


    However, this mission had no background description. Moreover, why was it called "Look at Her Face"? Could her face be difficult to look at, or impossible to see? S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Additionally, the mission was located within FH Community itself. His home was in Building No. 7, while Building No. 5 was right next door. To leave the community without taking the road opposite, one had to pass by Building No. 5.


    At this moment, the words "Perception of Strange Events completed" emerged again in Yan Junze''s mind. Please note that known events have been designated current levels, which may have a certain probability of rising or falling over time.


    Up to this point, the "Perception of Strange Events" function had finally been fully released, and besides [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night], it provided feedback to Yan Junze on three other strange events.


    The last reminder in the text was very important¡ªmeaning that if Yan Junze did not choose to complete these missions at the moment, the levels of certain tasks could increase or decrease as time went by.


    If the level increased, the difficulty of completing the task would grow even greater for Yan Junze.


    "It seems to be urging me to finish quickly," Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    No sooner had he spoken than the living room door opened, and his mother, Li Man, hurried in with an empty basket. She closed the door behind her, put down the basket, changed into slippers, and sat down on the sofa, her face pale.


    Her series of actions were clearly abnormal, and she had actually returned home carrying an empty basket.


    Yan Junze observed that his mother''s complexion was indeed off. He calculated the time and realized that Li Man had been gone for less than ten minutes, a duration insufficient for reaching the market. So why had she run back home alone?


    "Mom, what happened?"


    "Son." Li Man came back to her senses, apparently organizing her words. After pausing for a few seconds, she said, "Don''t... don''t go near Building No. 5 for the time being. There''s... strangeness happening there again."


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself that [Look at Her Face] had been discovered so quickly, and during the daytime no less.


    Under normal circumstances, strange events tend to occur most frequently at night. Cases like broad daylight or early morning are indeed rare.


    That''s why Spacetime Atlas classified the "Look at Her Face" task as "hair-raising (low)" in terms of horror level.


    Before Yan Junze could ask further, Li Man continued, "Auntie Zhao who lives in Building No. 5 has just been taken to the hospital. I personally... personally saw her bleeding from all seven apertures; she was unconscious when they lifted her into the ambulance."


    "Did you call the police?" asked Yan Junze.


    "We did, but they said they had to put us in line, couldn''t prioritize it as a special case," replied Li Man with visible concern.


    Seeing her still anxious, Yan Junze asked uneasily, "Mom, did you also see that thing? What was it?"


    "A woman wearing a white short-sleeve top and white shorts..." Li Man couldn''t help shivering as she spoke, "There were many onlookers who saw her, but that woman disappeared quickly at the stairwell corner, and now all the residents of Building No. 5 are in a state of panic. When I came up just now, I saw some people already packing up to leave."


    "Did you see this woman''s... face?" Yan Junze asked cautiously.


    "No." Li Man looked up at him with a hint of surprise and shook her head, "According to the neighbors from Building No. 5, the woman initially appeared at the first-floor stairwell of Building No. 5, but she was facing away from everyone, facing the wall at the foot of the stairs."


    The Back-faced Woman, this woman must be the Back-faced Woman mentioned in the task.


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine, his skin crawling with unease.


    The horror level was classified as "hair-raising (low)", and although the Back-faced Woman''s task was very close to him, he currently had no desire to engage with this woman.


    He would consider it only after completing a few other tasks, collecting more Different Dimension Energy, and ensuring he had enough to Rewind safely.


    Of course, that was assuming the task level of the Back-faced Woman did not escalate over time and that an Exorcist had not eliminated her.


    "By the way, aren''t you going to school? You''re going to be late," Li Man suddenly realized, urging repeatedly.


    Yan Junze immediately grabbed his backpack, and Li Man exited the house with him, descending the stairs.


    They did not take the nearest way out of the community because that would have taken them past Building No. 5; instead, they chose to pass by the adjacent Building No. 4.


    Along the way, Yan Junze glanced in the direction of Building No. 5 and noticed people still leaving in a panic, but there was no sign of the Back-faced Woman.


    After leaving the community and telling his mom to be careful, mother and son parted ways at the street corner, with Li Man heading to the market and Yan Junze to school.


    The incident in Zhang Tiantian''s office the day before had apparently been kept under wraps, known only to the teachers who were present at the school at that time and Zhou Dali; the other students were unaware of it.


    Zhou Dali was tight-lipped and hadn''t spread the word. Seeing Yan Junze panting as he rushed into the classroom, he gave him a knowing wink.


    Yan Junze sat down next to him, and Dali immediately asked, "Are you sure you''re okay? Were you scratched by Teacher Zhang who got possessed?"


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and said, "Come, let me give you a detailed description of Teacher Zhang''s face, poked blind with a ballpoint pen, and see if you can dream of her tonight."


    "Oh, too bad, class is starting," Dali laughed awkwardly, pointing to Xiang Decai who was entering the classroom.


    But this class wasn''t taught by the form teacher.


    Xiang Decai stood at the classroom door, quickly locked his gaze on Yan Junze, and gestured, "Yan Junze, come with me for a moment, someone is looking for you."


    Yan Junze stood up and looked disdainfully at Zhou Dali, "I''ve noticed you aren''t afraid of anything, except for strangeness."


    "Bah!" Zhou Dali retorted with a roll of his eyes.

 Chapter 19 A One-Star Exorcist

    The Language Arts office had a total of four teachers, but after Xiang Decai called Yan Junze into the office, the others who had classes went to teach, and those who did not also had the good sense to leave.Xiang Decai didn''t enter the office either, and after Yan Junze went in, he closed the door from the outside.


    Yet the moment Yan Junze entered the office, his expression faltered, feeling Ke''er, who had been lying on his back, twist quickly and slide down. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glancing back, he saw Ke''er, dressed in red, had already passed through the recently closed door and left him.


    Turning his head back, inside the office, a short man in a familiar-looking white suit sat in a chair, his gaze fixed on the window, as if lost in thought.


    The breeze outside gently brushed the green-leaved branches, causing them to sway with the wind, as the morning sunlight spread across the windowsill.


    At this moment, it felt as if the world outside, buzzing with strangenesses, was far removed from him.


    "So it''s you," Yan Junze recognized the man in white; it was the exorcist who had suddenly appeared yesterday and subdued the Possession Spirit.


    The man in white swiveled around in his chair, smiling at him, "Hello, let me introduce myself, I''m Huang Chen. ''Chen'' as in ''Wu''an libu bu si, ru gui yu wei chen'' from Du Fu."


    This poem was from Du Fu.


    Yan Junze had already figured out that some things in this world were exactly the same as on Earth, some were completely different, and others simply had different names. Hence, Du Fu could exist here, as could Michelangelo, but everything had changed quite a bit after the modern era.


    Just like if a river crab emerged from the water and stared you down, daring you to be impertinent, a single clamp from it could silence the whole world.


    "Hello, Mr. Exorcist," Yan Junze was very reserved.


    The exorcist''s decision to meet him after the incident with Zhang Tiantian gave Yan Junze an uneasy premonition.


    "Just call me Huang Chen," Huang Chen stood up and extended his hand towards Yan Junze, appearing very friendly.


    Yan Junze reached out to shake his hand and noticed that Huang Chen''s suit buttons were all in place. He remembered that yesterday this man had torn a button off his suit and thrown it at the possessed Zhang Tiantian, causing an explosion of energy that forced the Possession Spirit out of Zhang Tiantian''s body.


    Huang Chen, noticing Yan Junze''s gaze, laughed it off, "This is a Hidden Buckle, a product of the Exorcist organization, specially used for eliminating strangenesses. However, it is forbidden to circulate it to the public, and there would be severe consequences if discovered."


    "Is it very expensive?" Yan Junze clicked his tongue and withdrew his gaze.


    "Not expensive, but rare," Huang Chen pointed at a chair nearby, inviting Yan Junze to sit down.


    Before Yan Junze even touched the chair, Huang Chen added, "Tell me, why did you enter Teacher Zhang''s office?"


    Yan Junze paused and shook his head, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Huang Chen revealed a smile, pulling a cellphone out of his pocket, which Yan Junze recognized as Zhang Tiantian''s phone.


    "This is your Teacher Zhang''s phone; I''ve checked the call logs, and there were no calls made to you, nor any texts sent to you," Huang Chen said confidently, as if he controlled everything, "I also checked the office''s landline, and no numbers were dialed during that time period."


    Pausing for a moment, Huang Chen stated the purpose of calling Yan Junze over, "What method did Teacher Zhang Tiantian use to ask you to bring the test papers to her office? What were you doing in her office? You already knew she was possessed, so why did you go in there alone?"


    After making these remarks, Huang Chen''s eyes pierced into Yan Junze''s, trying to see whether he would lie.


    Confident in his deductions, Huang Chen had always placed a great deal of trust in his own reasoning¡ªa mysteriously unfounded confidence.


    Even sometimes, Huang Chen thought that being an outstanding detective was countless times better than being an exorcist, if only the times had been different.


    However, Yan Junze was just stunned for two seconds. He didn''t seem to overthink it and shattered Detective Huang''s mysterious confidence into pieces with a single sentence.


    "Teacher Zhang told me before class, if you don''t believe me, you can go ask her."


    Huang Chen''s expression instantly stiffened, followed by a twitching at the corners of his mouth.


    Yes, damn it, I was just thinking about checking the phone, but couldn''t she have just spoken face to face before the possession spirit erupted?


    Miscalculation!


    And how could he ask Zhang Tiantian? That woman was still going crazy in the sanatorium.


    Huang Chen''s facial expressions changed four or five times within a few seconds, then he tried to squeeze out a smile: "I was just... casually asking. You know, some kids just love to flock to strangenesses and even take it upon themselves to record things everywhere, then upload it online, without realizing how dangerous that is. For some strangenesses, even if we get there, we can''t deal with it."


    "Hmm, I understand, I won''t do that. I''m still a student, and I love studying so much, I never go out to play after school," Yan Junze nodded "obediently."


    Although Huang Chen smiled awkwardly and Junze didn''t seem to be lying to him, Huang Chen still had a feeling that something was off.


    "Mr. Huang Chen, I''ve always been very curious about something. Can exorcists directly see those strangenesses that deliberately hide themselves?" Yan Junze took the opportunity to ask.


    "I can''t yet, but three-star exorcists can," Huang Chen shook his head.


    "Then how many stars are you?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "One star," Huang Chen stood up, realizing that since his speculation was wrong, there was no point in continuing the investigation. "Go to class! Your studies are important, but so is your health. Eat more nourishing food and don''t dress like a zongzi."


    Yan Junze felt these people had a deep obsession with zongzi, and he mentally sneered. If he had known, Ke''er wouldn''t have needed to scurry outside to hide.


    However, in another way of looking at it, Ke''er''s alertness was quite strong. At least she knew that the person sitting in the room was a threat to her and would react immediately.


    After leaving the office, the class teacher Xiang Decai was waiting outside the door, but they were sensible and didn''t ask anything. Normally, exorcists would choose to inquire about the people who had experienced spiritual encounters, which was also a standard procedure.


    After Huang Chen left, as soon as Yan Junze stepped out into the corridor, Ke''er emerged from nowhere, very adeptly climbed onto his back.


    Then, Yan Junze said something that, if Huang Chen had heard it, he definitely would have been able to spew out an old blood.


    "Actually, you didn''t need to hide; as long as you wanted, that person wouldn''t have noticed you. He''s just a one-star exorcist, pretty lousy."


    Back in the classroom, he told Zhou Dali about registering an account on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    Zhou Dali was very supportive, but his words were evasive, obviously afraid of Yan Junze dragging him into some so-called adventure with strangenesses.


    "You don''t have to worry," Yan Junze patted his shoulder to comfort him, "I''ll try recording a broadcast myself first. If there are fans and some income, next time I''ll definitely include you."


    "Hehehe, I''ll be an audience member first and help pep up your show," Zhou Dali quickly changed the subject, "What''s your account name?"


    "Night Traveling Puppy."

 Chapter 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)

    Just as Xiang Decai had said, at noon, he arranged an hour of private psychological counseling for Yan Junze.The psychologist, Teacher Sun, was over fifty, with graying hair and a deep voice, speaking in an orderly manner.


    It was impossible to tell if the counseling was effective or not, but Yan Junze, listening to that deep voice, felt drowsy and eventually fell asleep, failing to hear clearly what Teacher Sun actually talked about.


    When he woke up, an hour and a half had passed. After coming to his senses, Yan Junze first panicked, then calmed down, as he noticed that Teacher Sun, sitting opposite him, was sleeping even more soundly than him, the rhythm of his snoring quite catchy.


    Being able to put oneself to sleep during a counseling session was no small feat indeed.


    In order not to disturb the teacher''s sweet dreams, Yan Junze yawned and tiptoed out of the counseling room.


    Once the day''s classes were over, Zhou Dali surprisingly ran off and disappeared just as they ended.


    Yan Junze knew this guy was afraid of being dragged along by him to tackle those frightening events.


    However, online there were indeed some groups specializing in filming these supernatural videos and gaining a large following by uploading them to platforms.


    When he got home, his parents weren''t back yet.


    Yan Junze had paid special attention to Building 5 on his way home and noticed a temporary sign had been erected stating: "This building is haunted, please do not stay alone inside. Residents on the 5th floor must lock their doors and windows as soon as they get home. If you see a thin woman with disheveled hair standing facing the wall, keep silent and leave immediately."


    After quickly finishing his homework, Yan Junze leaned against the window, observing the comings and goings of Building 5.


    Occasionally, he could see two or three people exiting the building, with hurried expressions, glancing back at Building 5, looking very shaken.


    Yan Junze decided that he would resolve "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" tonight and, once he had enough energy points, he would definitely consider the Back-faced Woman of Building 5.


    He had been charging his phone continuously, planning to use it to film the night''s task, and after completing the task, he''d edit the footage and upload the final video to the "Open Your Eyes" platform.


    If he could really earn money, he would consider buying a portable camera that could be mounted on the shoulder or chest.


    Late in the evening, his parents came home one after another.


    After hearing Li Man''s report, Yan Daguo''s face also looked gloomy; it seemed that supernatural incidents in this older neighborhood were all too common.


    Even though the red-dressed little girl had disappeared, the issue of someone knocking at the door all night had still not been resolved.


    Not only were the knocking incidents continuing, but now Building 5 nearby was the source of even more terrifying strangeness. Life was becoming unbearable.


    During dinner, the couple couldn''t help but give Yan Junze a stern warning. Activities like going out for a walk in the evening were strictly forbidden.


    In fact, since the outbreak of the supernatural events, the streets of Shuntian City had become very quiet at night. Without important reasons, no one had the mood or the courage to go out.


    To conserve his energy, Yan Junze climbed into bed at half-past eight. However, after having a face-to-face sleep with Teacher Sun, who was actually an outstanding hypnotist under the guise of a psychologist at noon, he couldn''t fall asleep easily. He finally managed to doze off just after eleven o''clock.


    At half-past one in the morning, his phone alarm went off. The alarm volume was so low Yan Junze had set it that he almost failed to wake up.


    After getting dressed, he checked his phone to ensure the battery was fully charged.


    This phone was a Great Capital model made entirely in Huaying, with excellent video quality. There was a slight blurriness in low light conditions, but it was still quite good. The battery was also durable. Yan Junze secured it with a blue strap taken from his student ID, hanging it around his neck with one end of the phone tucked into the pocket on his chest, leaving the camera exposed for filming.


    Even before heading home in the afternoon, he had recorded his first video with his cellphone, which looked something like this.


    Sitting at his desk, Yan Junze faced the camera, displaying the grief-stricken expression as if he had lost his parents, his child had gone missing, and his wife had been abducted, and he solemnly stated, "There''s someone who knocks on my door at two o''clock every night, without fail, so tonight, I''ve decided to open the door when ''this person'' knocks, to see what it really wants.


    I''ll be alone throughout the process, and I''ll record the whole thing. If I don''t upload this video, whoever finds this phone must upload it for me. Uh, I am Night Traveling Puppy; please go to ''Open Your Eyes'' video platform and search for YXDog to follow me, and witness the bubbling moments of strangeness together."


    The last sentence seemed to be borrowing from the catchphrase "This is the moment to witness the miracle," and Yan Junze believed that even without the final advertisement, the content alone could still attract a bunch of netizens'' attention.


    At least a part of them would be curious.


    He got up half an hour early just to prepare and after shaking off the drowsiness, Yan Junze opened the bedroom door. The plan was to wait by the living room door as soon as he saw the Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night pass by his bedroom window.


    Because if the door got knocked on repeatedly, his father, Yan Daguo, would definitely wake up again, and there was a very high chance he''d do as he did that day, stepping out of the bedroom and standing in the corridor to listen.


    His own plans must not be discovered by Yan Daguo, at least, not before they were carried out.


    With everything ready and after checking the time, Yan Junze stood between his open bedroom door and corridor outside the bedroom, tilting his head and staring at the window on the side closest to the public hallway.


    As minutes and seconds passed by, Ke''er stayed perched on his back, showing no intention of leaving.


    Suddenly, the voice-activated light outside lit up, and Yan Junze glanced at the time¡ªright at two in the morning.


    He felt for the old lady¡ªit wasn''t easy to be punctual, needing to come out a minute early.


    Then a series of soft footsteps followed, and shortly after, a hunched figure appeared outside the window, moving very slowly; the footsteps were fragmented yet natural. If it weren''t for the unusual silence around, these faint footsteps would not be clearly heard.


    Yan Junze immediately set the Rewind starting point to the current moment, then set the endpoint to a half-hour later.


    Since earning 500 energy points in the mission [Trapped in a Room with Zhang Tiantian], he could Rewind for at least 60 minutes now. Using 30 minutes should be enough.


    Mainly because the task didn''t mention any time constraints, so Yan Junze had to estimate the time himself.


    Of course, if an irremediable emergency occurred within 30 minutes, he would not hesitate to initiate the Rewind to return to this point in time, and then decide whether to attempt a second time based on the difficulty of the unexpected situation.


    After activating the phone''s video recording and casually closing his bedroom door, Yan Junze hurried to the living room''s entrance before the slow, shuffling steps reached the front door and stood watch there first.


    He couldn''t let the thing outside make too much noise knocking, as it would definitely wake his parents.


    The plan was to open the door immediately upon the sound of the knock.


    The scattered footsteps were getting closer, clearer and clearer. Yan Junze reached for the doorknob and unlocked the anti-theft catch.


    Despite the chill from Ke''er''s presence on his back, his palms were still sweaty. He unconsciously wiped them on his pants and then quickly grabbed the doorknob again, uncertain whether his hands might slip at the moment of opening the door.


    The footsteps stopped outside the door for about two seconds. During this time, both inside and outside, there was a deadly silence.


    Yan Junze dared not breathe. He could clearly hear his own heartbeat.


    The next moment, the knocking sounded.


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    As soon as the sound emerged, Yan Junze pressed the doorknob down, unlocking and opening the living room door.

 Chapter 21 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (Part 2)

    Very inconveniently, the voice-activated light in the corridor outside went out just as Yan Junze opened the door.After opening the door, a cold draft seeped in, coupled with Ke''er, the "mobile air conditioner," lying on Yan Junze''s back.


    Even though he was wearing a thick sweater, he couldn''t help but shiver.


    Peering closely, a petite figure was standing at the door, probably only about 1.5 meters tall. In the moonlight, it was apparent that the person knocking was indeed an old woman, with neatly cut shoulder-length hair, wearing a dark blue thin cotton coat, black trousers, and a pair of brown cotton shoes.


    However, it was pitch black outside the corridor, and no sound was emitted. The voice-activated light did not turn on either.


    Yan Junze dared not make a sound, and the old woman in front of him was silent too, her facial contours blurry, seemingly staring straight at him.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and was about to speak in a low voice when the old woman suddenly turned around, facing the corridor. Her body grew slightly taller in that instant as she walked toward the other end of the corridor.


    With his words stuck in his throat, Yan Junze forcefully swallowed them down. It seemed that after opening the door, the old woman intended for him to follow her.


    Without a word, Yan Junze stepped out of the door and gently closed it behind him.


    As the old woman moved and the faint sound of the door closing was heard, the voice-activated light came on again. This time, Yan Junze finally got a clear view of the old woman''s back. However, upon seeing it clearly, the hairs on his back stood on end instantaneously.


    The old woman walking in front was tiptoeing, which explained why her body seemed taller when walking and also why her footsteps were so fragmented.


    After a clear view, Yan Junze involuntarily paused for a moment.


    But the old woman did not stop. She went straight to the staircase and began ascending.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, remembering he was still recording, and whispered softly, "This old woman''s surname is Ren, seems to live right above my place. I don''t know what she wants, but I''m prepared to follow and see."


    He had underestimated Granny Ren''s speed in going upstairs. It turned out that the old woman on tiptoes climbed the stairs faster. In just the time it took to utter that sentence, she had disappeared around the corner of the staircase.


    Yan Junze hurried to follow and quickly climbed the stairs. As he turned the corner, he couldn''t help but glance over at the neighboring Building 5.


    Wondering if the Back-faced Woman was standing somewhere quietly inside Building 5 right now.


    There was no time for further thought; Yan Junze ascended to the fifth floor.


    His own home was on the fourth floor, while Granny Ren lived on the fifth. According to the latest mission hint from the Spacetime Atlas, Granny Ren resided in Room 503.


    When Yan Junze entered the corridor, he caught just a glimpse of Granny Ren, on tiptoes, disappearing into a doorway.


    He jogged a few steps and while passing Rooms 501 and 502, he took special note of these two households'' conditions. Noticing that dust had accumulated in front of their doors, and that his own footsteps left clear prints, it was obvious that nobody had lived there for some time.


    One could imagine, being so close to Room 503, if Granny Ren came knocking every night at two o''clock without fail, it''s understandable why no one would want to stay here.


    As a result, after those two families moved away, Granny Ren shifted her nightly door-knocking to the floor below, that is, to Yan Junze''s home.


    Quickening his pace once more, he arrived at the door Granny Ren had walked through.


    The door was open, with the number 503 on the adjacent doorplate. He hadn''t gone to the wrong place, but there was no light inside the apartment. It was only possible to make out the vague outline of the furniture through the moonlight streaming in from outside.


    Yan Junze stood in front of the door, straining his eyes but still unable to see where Granny Ren had gone.


    Meanwhile, Ke''er had been lying on his back up to this point, and even after seeing Granny Ren, she showed no intention of leaving Yan Junze¡ªthe complete opposite behavior to when they encountered the Possession Spirit the last time.


    At this moment, she was motionless as if asleep.


    "You know, every time I wash my hair, you get to watch," Yan Junze said as if talking to himself, "If anything unexpected happens later, you better help me out. The worst-case scenario, next time I wash my hair I''ll do it for ten extra minutes, so you can get your fill all at once."


    As he finished speaking, he reached out to the wall near the entrance inside the room, searching for the light switch. He quickly found it but there was no response when he pressed it.


    After several attempts, it seemed the house had been disconnected from the power supply.


    Yan Junze had an unwelcome suspicion. Based on the mission prompt, Granny Ren was supposed to live here alone, and she might have long since died in the room.


    For some reason, her family had never contacted her, perhaps they didn''t even know the old woman had been dead for a long time.


    After bracing himself at the door, Yan Junze turned on the flashlight of his cell phone. Not only could he see, but it would also facilitate the filming. Although the image quality would definitely be poor, there was no other choice.


    With the flashlight on, he stepped into Room 503, just in time to see Granny Ren''s figure walking from the living room into the bedroom inside, her hunched body still on tiptoes.


    In this unfamiliar environment, the scene exuded a chilling sense that crept into one''s marrow.


    "I''ve been in here for so long, and you''re still standing there, as if I don''t know to check the bedroom," he muttered to himself.


    Yan Junze froze in the living room, not following her immediately.


    With the help of the flashlight, he first looked around to familiarize himself with the living room.


    The home of a solitary elderly person, previously neat and clean, was now covered with a layer of fine dust everywhere¡ªon the TV stand, the coffee table, the sofa, and the floor. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Though dusty, everything remained neatly arranged.


    After getting a clear view of the living room, Yan Junze located the bathroom, kitchen, and another smaller bedroom, and then walked to the doorway of the master bedroom.


    He observed the layout of the master bedroom using the light.


    A bed, a desk, a chair, two wardrobes, that was all.


    Not seeing Granny Ren who had just entered, Yan Junze looked around the doorway and even peeked carefully through the slightly open door to ensure that Granny Ren wouldn''t act so considerately as to close the door behind him when he entered later.


    He then saw a pair of brown cotton shoes by the bed, a familiar sight to him. They were placed neatly, so that the person in bed could slip into them with ease when getting up.


    His gaze then swept to the bed in the room, and as he focused, he saw what seemed to be a person lying under the covers.


    It was understandable. Granny Ren wasn''t tall, so if the bedding was a bit thick, one might indeed have trouble noticing her lying there without looking closely.


    At that moment, Yan Junze dared to be certain that the body on the bed was definitely Granny Ren''s corpse.


    It appeared Granny Ren had not died from a fall at home, nor from any other accident, but most likely had passed away in her sleep.


    Stepping into the master bedroom and approaching the bed with caution, Yan Junze realized that Granny Ren was not lying flat, but was in a side position, facing inward, her back turned to him.


    Strangely, he couldn''t smell a hint of decay.


    Theoretically, Granny Ren had been dead for so long there was no way her body wouldn''t decompose, nor that it wouldn''t emit a foul odor.


    Unable to make sense of this, Yan Junze decided not to ponder it further and tried to speak, "Granny Ren, I think I know what your unfulfilled wish is. You want to see your family. I''ll try to notify them."


    After a pause, recalling the mission background, he added, "Especially your grandson, Yu Xiaochang, I will definitely bring your family here to see you one last time."


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night has triggered a new branch mission.]


    As soon as he finished speaking, a prompt suddenly appeared from the Spacetime Atlas in his mind.

 Chapter 22 The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight (3)

    Long before Yan Junze received the task "The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight," he had learned that the task had a branch task waiting to be triggered.Thus, when the Atlas indicated that the branch task was triggered, he was not surprised and immediately looked at the text that appeared.


    [Task Name: Combing Hair;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: According to the customs of Lotus Town in the Tianmeng District of the Great Capital city of Shuntian, one must comb the hair of the deceased three times for the dead to depart peacefully without any lingering desires. Granny Ren might have passed, but her obsession is deep. Combing her hair three times may allow her to pass away peacefully.


    Task Description: Find a comb, comb Granny Ren''s hair while chanting "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, remove the worries of this life," "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, erase the pain of this life," "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, eliminate the karmic obstacles of this life";


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not recite the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly;


    Note: Granny Ren is not a mute.]


    Yan Junze seriously considered it and felt that this branch task was not difficult and could easily be completed on the side. The only thing was, he had no experience in combing the hair of the dead.


    Moreover, he didn''t know how long Granny Ren had been dead, and whether her scalp might come off during the combing process if she had already begun to decompose.


    The mere thought of that scenario sent chills down his spine.


    "Just comb gently, combing hair isn''t the goal, just don''t chant the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly," Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    He turned his head and looked around, the light was dim, and he didn''t see where the comb was placed.


    He left the bedroom to return to the living room and started searching everywhere, not seeing it in the living room, he ran to the bathroom to search, rummaging through drawers and the washbasin.


    A few minutes later, he still hadn''t seen even a shadow of a comb.


    "Could it be that Granny Ren never combed her hair? Impossible, she''s not me."


    Yan Junze talked to himself and returned to the bedroom, standing by the bed, looking at Granny Ren''s body lying on the bed, with only a little hair showing outside the quilt.


    He clearly remembered seeing Granny Ren''s back earlier. Her hair was neatly arranged, and she did not seem like someone who rarely combed her hair. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Search again."


    This time, Yan Junze searched inside the bedroom. Since Granny Ren slept here, there was naturally a high chance of finding a comb.


    If he really couldn''t find it, then he would have to go back to his own house to find a comb and bring it back.


    However, Yan Junze was not willing to do so, as making any noise on his return home might wake his parents, and if that happened, it would be too clever by half. The tasks would not be completed, and he dared not contemplate the consequences.


    The bedside table, desk, wardrobe, and even under the bed, Yan Junze searched all the likely places but still did not see the comb.


    This is just bizarre!


    He glanced at the body on the bed and a strange idea suddenly popped into his mind. Yan Junze swallowed and muttered to himself, "It wouldn''t be like what happened with Zhang Tiantian, would it?"


    Last time, during the task "In a Room with Zhang Tiantian," a ballpoint pen was searched for high and low, only to end up stuck in Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket.


    "This comb, could it be stuck in Granny Ren''s corpse?" Yan Junze looked suspicious, "She''s already dead; could she have gotten up, found the comb, and stuck it in herself? What kind of move is that?"


    Doubtful as he was, he still had to verify whether his guess was right or wrong.


    Yan Junze approached Granny Ren''s bed and reached out to grab the quilt. Throughout, he sniffed hard but still didn''t smell any odor of decay.


    Could it be that Granny Ren turned into an immortal, with a body that does not decay?


    No matter what, he had to find the comb first.


    He slowly peeled back the quilt, revealing Granny Ren in her thin cotton clothes, curled up with her back to him. There was no comb stuck in her back, nor at the back of her head.


    "Something''s not right," Yan Junze stared at Granny Ren''s body with a suspicious look on his face.


    If Granny Ren had died in her sleep, why were all her clothes properly worn? Ordinary people wouldn''t sleep in so many clothes.


    With doubts, he walked around the bed and positioned himself in front of Granny Ren, who was lying on her side.


    From this position, he could finally see Granny Ren''s face clearly.


    It was a face full of wrinkles and sickly yellow in color. Her eyes were not open, otherwise, Yan Junze couldn''t guarantee that he wouldn''t pee himself. Those tightly closed eyes and the skin between them were squeezed together, seemingly conveying some indescribable pain.


    Granny Ren''s entire body was bent, and her hands were tightly clasped in front of her chest. The posture felt very odd, if a normal person was sleeping, they wouldn''t assume such an awkward position.


    The comb was nowhere to be seen.


    Yan Junze gave the scene a thorough look-over. Just the way it was now, indeed, there was no comb on Granny Ren.


    At that moment, he remembered the note in the task: Granny Ren was not mute.


    She wasn''t a mute, but now she was a dead person. Could a dead person still speak?


    Yan Junze shook his head, fell silent for a moment, and finally couldn''t help but speak up, "Granny Ren, I''m about to comb your hair now so that you can leave this place peacefully. Could you tell me where the family comb has gone?"


    The room fell silent again, with no unusual reactions.


    Yan Junze waited then cleared his throat and spoke again, "I want to help you, no other intentions. If you get your hair combed sooner, I can notify your family earlier, and you can see your grandson Yu Xiaochang sooner."


    No sooner had he finished speaking.


    Granny Ren, lying on the bed with limbs that had long since stiffened, suddenly had a slight twitch of her face, and her mouth slowly opened, emitting a creaking sound, like a long-neglected door being opened, coming from her throat.


    "Ah ah ah..."


    It was as if a mute had suddenly opened her mouth, wanting to make a sound, wanting to speak.


    Yan Junze''s heart raced, but he still braved the fear and leaned in slightly.


    He had to hear clearly what Granny Ren was saying.


    "Here..."


    Although the voice was very unclear, Granny Ren''s words were so slow that Yan Junze could barely make them out.


    "Here? Where is ''here''?" Yan Junze tilted his head, his gaze landing on Granny Ren''s clasped hands on her chest.


    After speaking those two words, Granny Ren no longer moved; her body became rigid again.


    Yan Junze hesitated, then extended his hands, one to each of Granny Ren''s ice-cold clasped hands, and with some exploratory force, which wasn''t too strenuous, he pried her arms apart.


    Immediately, his face changed, and he retreated sharply with a cry of "Ah," almost falling to the ground.


    Lodged in Granny Ren''s chest was an old red comb, inserted into the region of the heart. The end of the comb''s handle was completely out of sight, only the teeth were visible sticking out, blood clung to the comb, and it was already dried.


    It couldn''t have been inserted by Granny Ren after her death.


    She had not died a natural death but from an accident, or murder!


    Yan Junze''s heartbeat intensified even more, and he said aloud, "Luckily, I''ve been recording the whole time, else there''s no way to prove my innocence. Now that Granny Ren has died unnaturally at home, I should be able to help her."


    As for why there was a comb inserted at the location of Granny Ren''s heart, Yan Junze wasn''t a detective, and he didn''t have the time to care about it now.


    What he was concerned about was to complete the Combing Hair task immediately, then call the police and inform Granny Ren''s family to come over.

 Chapter 23 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (4)

    The comb had been found, and as far as could be seen at the moment, it was the only one in the entire house.If Yan Junze''s guess was correct, the end of the comb that was inserted into Granny Ren''s heart should be the sharp part, which is the case with some comb designs; they were originally made for easy hair management, but now it had become a murder weapon.


    Heading to the living room, he grabbed a few tissues from the coffee table, Yan Junze returned to the bedside, wrapped the exposed part of the comb with tissues, and with an inner trembling and nervousness, he slowly pulled the comb out bit by bit.


    As he had imagined, the body had been dead for a long time, and no blood came out.


    The other end of the comb was indeed sharp, Yan Junze glanced at it, deliberately avoiding the bloody specks on the handle of the comb, turning the tissue around, wrapping the handle, and moved to the back of Granny Ren''s body.


    He had no intention of flipping Granny Ren''s body over but instead went to the back of the body and brought the comb close to Granny Ren''s hair.


    After chanting the Words for the Afterlife to himself and ensuring there were no mistakes, he began combing hair, praying silently that the process would go smoothly, without further complications.


    "Granny Ren, you are already dead, and dead people should look the part. Don''t move, don''t make a sound, at your age, you should know that ''silence is golden''."


    The teeth of the comb slid into Granny Ren''s hair and were gently combed downwards, Yan Junze continued, "Head to the blissful afterlife, be rid of the troubles from this life."


    Granny Ren''s hair was neither too dry nor very smooth but could barely be combed down, and the first stroke was completed with ease.


    With newfound confidence, Yan Junze lifted the comb once again, and on the second stroke said, "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life..."


    The word "pain" hadn''t been fully expressed when the comb suddenly stopped and couldn''t be pulled through anymore, as if something had suddenly appeared in the hair, wedging the comb firmly in place.


    Yan Junze''s scalp tingled as he tried with a bit more force, but the comb seemed to be stuck fast and didn''t move an inch.


    He dared not use more force, fearing that he might accidentally tear Granny Ren''s hair and scalp off together.


    Suddenly, he felt Granny Ren''s head move, just as it had earlier when it unexpectedly made a sound, indicating the comb''s location to him.


    "I... pain!"


    This time the head turned and uttered the same two words.


    Yan Junze was greatly startled; the second sentence should have been "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life," but now the comb was stuck halfway, and Granny Ren had uttered her pain.


    It indicated that Granny Ren couldn''t erase the pain from this life.


    After a moment''s hesitation, Yan Junze spoke, "Granny Ren, although I don''t know why you are in pain, if I can''t finish combing your hair, I won''t be able to inform your grandson to come."


    By now he knew Granny Ren had a strong longing for her grandson, Yu Xiaochang, and thought by offering to notify him as a condition, she might allow him to finish combing her hair.


    "Pain..." S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Granny Ren still uttered one word.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt Ke''er on his back stir, no longer in a "sleeping" state, but using her hands and feet to climb onto his shoulder, looking towards Granny Ren.


    "Huh!"


    Yan Junze didn''t attend to her, continued holding the comb and combing, and once again chanted, "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life... pain."


    He finally finished the second sentence, and the comb smoothly combed through without any further obstruction.


    "Head to the blissful afterlife, rid yourself of the sins from this life."


    The third combing was just as smooth, during which Granny Ren became very quiet and didn''t make those chilling sounds.


    [Combing Hair, Anxiety-Inducing (low), Completed, Acquired 100 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    "It''s done."


    Yan Junze let out a huge sigh of relief, stood up, placed the old red comb on the nightstand, and then picked up the cellphone hanging around his neck to dial the emergency number.


    Afterward, he found Granny Ren''s cell phone in the drawer of the nightstand; it was turned off, but when turned on, it still had one bar of battery left.


    Yan Junze flipped through the contacts and found numbers saved under names like son and daughter, and dialed each one. Then he spoke into the phone''s camera: "Turns out, it was Granny Ren, who died accidentally, who has been knocking on my door every night. The reason she was knocking might have been to ask me to notify her relatives for her.


    As for the hair combing ritual, you can search for it online if you''re interested; I won''t go into detail here. Well, that''s the end of today''s adventure into the strangeness,"


    Turning off the camera, the video recording came to an end; it still needed editing before uploading.


    If the police required it, Yan Junze would also need to provide a copy of the video to the authorities, proving that his involvement in the case was merely out of curiosity and goodwill, and wasn''t related to the event itself.


    While waiting for the rescue team, Yan Junze sat on the couch in the living room. At that moment, he suddenly felt like smoking a cigarette.


    In his past life, although he smoked, he wasn''t heavily addicted. In this new life, due to changes in his environment, he had never felt the urge to smoke again. But at this moment, after the scare, he had an intense need to relax and naturally wanted to smoke one.


    But he definitely wouldn''t find any in Granny Ren''s house, so he had to bear with it.


    About fifteen minutes later, a safety officer''s car arrived at the scene with its hazard lights flashing.


    To avoid disturbing the residents, the safety officer''s car didn''t sound the alarm.


    Yan Junze came out of room 503, leaned over the railing to look down, and could see, with the help of the street lamps and the safety officer car''s lights, that only two safety officers had gotten out of the car, and they were moving slowly, not in much of a hurry.


    A community security guard also came up, spoke a few words with the two safety officers, looked bewildered, then raised his head, and pointed upstairs. Following his gesture, the two officers also looked up.


    Yan Junze quickly waved his hand.


    A few minutes later, one fat and one skinny safety officer appeared on the fifth floor, with Grandpa Zheng, the security guard, trailing behind them, breathing slightly heavily and with a look of fright on his face.


    "Did you report this incident?" The fat safety officer shone his flashlight on Yan Junze''s cheeks and asked, panting.


    The skinny safety officer stood at the entrance of room 503, shining the flashlight inside the room but with no intention of entering.


    This was an era of strangeness, and these safety officers had learned to be smart. If they arrived at the scene of an incident, they would first get a full understanding of the situation and make sure there were no strangeness involved, or that the strangeness wasn''t severe, before deciding whether to get involved or to directly call an exorcist.


    Of course, if an exorcist was called, unless the case was serious, they would still have to wait in line, and during that time, the entire scene would be cordoned off by safety officers.


    Safety officers could also, depending on the situation, do the necessary survey and handling at the scene, or take away the body for an autopsy first.


    "Yes, I reported it," Yan Junze pointed towards the bedroom inside the flat. "I live downstairs. It seems Granny Ren died unnaturally; every night at two o''clock, her soul would knock on my door. Today I couldn''t hold back anymore, so I came up to check, and found Granny Ren has been dead for who knows how long on the bedroom bed."


    "Bedroom?" The skinny safety officer glanced at Yan Junze but still did not enter.


    "Is the soul still there?" the fat safety officer asked.


    "It hasn''t appeared now. It seems like her wish was to see her relatives, and I have just notified her relatives," Yan Junze answered.


    "That''s good," finally spoke the skinny safety officer. "It should be a wandering spirit, not a very powerful one."


    It seemed they knew a lot more about supernatural information than the average person.

 Chapter 24 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (5)

    Contrary to Yan Junze''s expectation, the security officers, one fat and one thin, walked into room 503''s bedroom for a quick look and came out one after the other shortly after.Furthermore, both of them lit a cigarette and stood at the door, blowing smoke rings with a gloomy expression on their faces.


    Yan Junze felt his urge to smoke grow even stronger and said to the fat security officer with a smile, "Could I, perhaps, have a puff?" sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fat security officer gave him a sideways glance, "You''re still a student, aren''t you? Call me Uncle Wei, and this is Uncle Bai."


    The security officer named Bai said to Grandpa Zheng, "Nothing more for you here, head back."


    "Eh." Grandpa Zheng had been wanting to leave and nodded, glancing at Yan Junze before departing.


    "Old Wei, what has the world come to?" Security Officer Bai turned around and sighed, "Did you ever imagine this would be the end when you first became a security guard? To be a security guard filled with fear is also unexpected."


    Security Officer Wei held the cigarette in his mouth and spread his hands, "What can we do? Who knew that strangenesses would be everywhere nowadays? Did you see when we came in? There''s a warning sign erected at the bottom of building five in this complex, also having issues with strangeness."


    "That falls under the jurisdiction of the Exorcist, not a regular case, so it''s none of our business," Security Officer Bai shook his head.


    "Hmm," Security Officer Wei glanced into room 503, "This case should be a homicide. The killer has cleaned up the scene and moved the dead old lady onto the bed."


    Security Officer Bai agreed, "Right, but if that comb is the only murder weapon, the incident might have happened by chance, a spontaneous decision, otherwise, it''s impossible not to prepare a sharper knife for the crime."


    "But the comb was left behind, not taken, just placed on the bedside table. Could the killer be so foolish as to leave the murder weapon behind after cleaning the scene?" Security Officer Wei said, puzzled.


    "Umm," Yan Junze raised his hand, "I know it''s inappropriate to interrupt both security officers while analyzing the case, but I still want to interject. The comb... I pulled it out of Granny Ren''s chest."


    "Ah!" Both security officers turned to look at him in shock.


    "Granny Ren''s soul told me she wanted to comb her hair, saying it''s a custom in Lotus Town. I couldn''t find a comb anywhere and then I saw this one, so..." Yan Junze''s words were a mix of truth and lies, but when it comes to tales of strangeness, such claims wouldn''t arouse suspicion.


    The two security officers exchanged glances, and after a long while, Security Officer Wei managed a forced smile, "Are you really a student?"


    "Genuine Shuntian No.3 Middle School product," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Has the school started teaching ''Bravery Training Classes'' now? Or a course on ''How to Effectively Communicate with the Strange''? Where did you get that kind of courage?" Security Officer Bai was taken aback.


    Being locals, they had heard of customs like combing the hair of the dead, so even though they were slightly skeptical of Yan Junze''s words, they didn''t focus their attention on that.


    What they were more concerned with was how audacious this guy was!


    "Born with it," Yan Junze smiled and asked, "Since you two officers have determined it''s a homicide, why not seal off the scene, gather evidence, or call for backup?"


    Security Officer Wei chuckled, "We don''t need you telling us what to do."


    Security Officer Bai, however, explained, "Didn''t you just say that the old lady''s spirit guided you to inform her relatives? So, we too have to wait until her wish is fulfilled to formally seal off the scene and start the investigation, or else many unexpected troubles will arise."


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a van drove into the complex. Following the van, at the entrance to the complex, two taxis stopped, and several people of varying ages alighted and headed straight in this direction.


    "It must be her family that came," the chubby Security Officer Wei said.


    Not long after, accompanied once again by Grandpa Zheng, around five or six people arrived on the fifth floor one after the other. There were men and women, old and young, most of them with sullen faces, but there was no sign of deep sorrow.


    Grandpa Zheng had an aggrieved expression, looking at Security Officer Bai with a look that said "If I had known, I wouldn''t have run down," leaning against a wall and continuously catching his breath.


    "Mr. Security Officer, where is my mother?" a short woman with long hair, leading a boy of about seven or eight years old, walked up to them first.


    Listening to her tone, Yan Junze felt that she didn''t display any emotion of sorrow, her voice was eerily calm.


    "In the bedroom? She must have passed away a long time ago," Security Officer Bai said. "The elderly lady had last wishes, you should go and see her first, we will seal the scene for investigation afterward."


    "You can only look inside the bedroom, do not touch anything in the house, and do not enter any other rooms," Security Officer Wei added from the side.


    "Hmm, how come big brother hasn''t come?" the woman looked back at the man and woman who had followed her, and then asked another middle-aged woman who arrived last, leading a little girl.


    "He''s drunk and can''t get up," the middle-aged woman said.


    Yan Junze bent down towards the short woman''s little boy and asked, "You are... Yu Xiaochang?"


    "Yes, hello uncle," the little boy, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, nodded obediently.


    Yan Junze''s face stiffened, and a twitch began at the corner of his mouth. After a long while, he managed a forced smile and said softly, "Aside from your poor vision, I feel like you are the kindest here, call me brother."


    "Brother," Yu Xiaochang quickly corrected himself.


    Yan Junze said this for a reason. Among the relatives of Granny Ren who had arrived, so far, he had only seen Yu Xiaochang shed tears; the rest had expressionless faces, including the middle-aged woman''s little girl.


    "Mom, I want to see grandma!" Yu Xiaochang lifted his head, looking pitifully at his mother.


    The short-haired woman, impatient, nodded, "It''s only you who remembers her, let''s go, take a look and then we return home. Your eldest uncle and second uncle are here, it''s time for sons to be filial, it''s not our turn as mother and son."


    "Hey, what kind of talk is that?" the middle-aged woman leading her daughter retorted, "Aren''t you her biological daughter? And like I''ve said, your elder brother is still drunk at home, he might not even wake up by tomorrow morning, so it''s still just the two of us. Besides, I''m just an outsider who married into the family, what do I care!"


    The man and woman standing nearby, among whom appeared to be the elderly woman''s second son said right away, "Let''s be clear, I''m only here to see mother one last time, then I''m heading home. I have to haul cargo early tomorrow, what if I don''t sleep well and get into an accident?"


    "Ah, this fiery temper of mine!" Security Officer Wei''s voice suddenly rose by several octaves, "How could you all act like this as her children? What kind of people are you?"


    Security Officer Bai, too, was fuming and waved his hand irritably, "Do you want to go in to see her or not? If not, all of you get lost!"


    Grandpa Zheng shook his head vigorously from behind.


    "Hey, Xiaochang!" Yu Xiaochang''s mother suddenly gasped in surprise as her son had already let go of her hand and run into Room 503 alone.


    At the same moment, a mission completion notification popped up in Yan Junze''s mind.


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Received 200 Different Dimension Energy points]

 Chapter 25 Video Editing

    Yan Junze had not expected that Granny Ren''s obsession would dissipate simply because Yu Xiaochang visited her alone in Room 503.Apparently, other than Yu Xiaochang, Granny Ren didn''t actually want to see any other family members.


    The conversation between the children just now was enough to make an outsider feel chilled by their cold indifference toward Granny Ren.


    Although he didn''t know why, it couldn''t be that the old lady was only fond of her grandchild Yu Xiaochang before her death. Without knowing the full story, it was indeed difficult for outsiders to comment.


    The others quickly followed Yu Xiaochang into Room 503, but less than two minutes later, almost all of them had come back out, leaving only Yu Xiaochang and his mother inside.


    The reason Granny Ren''s daughter remained inside was simple, Yu Xiaochang was crying his eyes out, unwilling to leave, so she had to stay with him in the bedroom.


    After another three minutes, Security Officer Wei threw away his second cigarette and said, "Alright, we need to seal off the scene. The body will be transferred to the coroner for processing. The subsequent expenses should be borne by you children, and none of you will escape them. Now leave this place."


    "Yeah, it''s starting to stink, really reek," Security Officer Bai emerged from the bedroom, covering his nose and pointing inside, "The body has suddenly started to smell, it''s rotting terribly."


    Ugh!


    Yu Xiaochang''s mother vomited on the spot inside the bedroom, then frantically dragged Yu Xiaochang out of Room 503 and left without looking back.


    "Ha, lucky we came out early," gloated Granny Ren''s second son.


    "Get out! Wait for our notice!" Security Officer Wei cursed loudly, not wanting to even glance at these people again.


    "Pah!" Grandpa Zheng glared contemptuously and spat behind these people.


    "Come on, you brave high school student, let''s go inform your parents. You might need to come with us to the station to give a statement," Security Officer Bai told Yan Junze.


    Downstairs, after waking up Yan Daguo and Li Man, the couple nearly had their eyes pop out when they heard about their son''s incident. Thank goodness Yan Junze was fine, and it seemed that Granny Ren, the one knocking at midnight, didn''t have any ill intentions.


    Then Yan Daguo accompanied his son to the Public Security and Stability Bureau, where Yan Junze explained the cause and effect and also provided the video he had taken.


    Watching the video, not only the security officers but even Yan Daguo himself broke out in a cold sweat.


    Upon leaving, Security Officer Bai patted Yan Daguo on the shoulder, sighing, "Your son is born in a good era that suits his development. What guts he has, it would be a pity if he didn''t become an Exorcist. I won''t lie; just watching the video has my legs trembling." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Daguo forced a smile, uglier than crying.


    On the street, before Yan Daguo could ask any questions, Yan Junze looked him in the eyes and said earnestly, "Dad, honestly, the only reason I did this was so that you wouldn''t be woken up every night, so that you didn''t have to get up from bed and catch a cold. You''ve already had it tough enough."


    Yan Daguo was taken aback.


    "You understand my good intentions, right?" Yan Junze added.


    "You little rascal." Yan Daguo finally reacted, half-crying and half-laughing, and ruffled Yan Junze''s hair, "It was dangerous; it can''t happen again."


    By the time they got back home, it was already broad daylight. Yan Junze only asked for the morning off school and used the time at home to catch up on sleep. He still went to school on time in the afternoon.


    His mother, Li Man, was very worried. She had been scheduled for a cleaning job in the morning but had arranged for a good sister to cover for her at the last minute, staying at home to keep an eye on Yan Junze, fearing he might have another accident.


    It looked like the matter with Granny Ren should have come to an end, and whether her children were filial was no longer Yan Junze''s concern.


    Still, he was very fortunate this time, because he didn''t use the Rewind, so he didn''t consume any Different Dimension Energy.


    In the afternoon, upon arriving at school, Zhou Dali immediately came over to Yan Junze, examining him curiously before finally asking, "Did you do it?"


    "Yeah," Yan Junze nodded, "The first time recording a supernatural mystery video; quite thrilling actually, I''ll show you the video later. Oh right, do you know anyone in our class who can do video editing?"


    "Jiang Ruixin," Zhou Dali answered without thinking.


    "Is it good or not?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Bao Jie did a good job," Zhou Dali blurted out again.


    "Can you not answer all at once?"


    "You ask, I answer, what''s the problem?"


    Facing Dali''s peculiar way of thinking, Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, who shared a desk and sat next to the two boys, became alert when they vaguely heard their own names from Zhou Dali''s mouth, and turned to look suspiciously at Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    "Here''s the thing," Yan Junze politely inquired of the two female classmates, "I have a video that needs some post-production editing, and I might need to add my own commentary. Who among you knows how to do that?"


    "What video?" Jiang Ruixin''s alertness rose noticeably as she looked at Zhou Dali, "Is it a selfie of Zhou Dali?"


    In their eyes, what kind of good video could Zhou Dali possibly make himself? Mostly it would be him flexing his muscles in front of the camera, something like showing off his biceps and triceps, looking like a hammer with those deltoids, and those disgustingly large glute muscles...


    Just thinking about that scene made Jiang Ruixin feel nauseous.


    Many times, boys think girls like musclemen, so they hit the gym and work out until they''re as ripped as can be.


    In reality, it''s quite the opposite; girls only like guys with a little muscle, or even none at all, as long as their figure is proportionate, and not someone overly muscular like the oblivious and self-satisfied comrade Dali here.


    "It''s a video I shot myself where I encountered weird stuff," Yan Junze promptly put a stop to the fantastical images in the girls'' minds.


    "Ah, really!" Bao Jie immediately beamed with excitement.


    Jiang Ruixin, after a moment of surprise, also showed keen interest.


    "Aren''t you afraid?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "Afraid, why wouldn''t we be?" Bao Jie nodded, "But when it''s just watching a video, my curiosity will overcome my fear."


    "Me too." Jiang Ruixin nodded in agreement, "I''ve watched hundreds of strange videos on that ''Open Your Eyes'' video platform and they all seemed okay."


    "Take it out, I''ll edit it for you," Bao Jie said.


    Without further ado, the girl opened her backpack, took out an ultra-thin laptop from the Whimsical Ideas company, skillfully booted up the system, logged into her account, and with a series of proficient moves, opened a video editor called "One Cutters."


    Before class started, they exported the video from Yan Junze''s phone and quickly copied the "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" video onto the computer.


    All four of them huddled together and intently watched the video.


    The video played quickly, and Yan Junze fast-forwarded through parts like the search for the comb.


    After it ended, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin exchanged glances, both sighing in relief, feeling as if they had just experienced the horror in the video themselves.


    "I just realized..." Bao Jie turned to look at Yan Junze, "You''re skinny but brave! In the dead of night, daring to open the door by yourself! And you even followed her in!"


    "Can you edit it or not? After entering Room 503, brighten up the image for me, and I also want to add some off-screen commentary," Yan Junze said, ignoring her comments and stating his request directly.


    "No problem, after school, let''s finish making it in the classroom before we leave," Bao Jie didn''t refuse.

 Chapter 26 Favorability Increase

    After school, the two girls didn''t leave. Instead, they stayed in the classroom and edited the video according to Yan Junze''s instructions.Then, they plugged in earphones and let Yan Junze record voice-over for several clips, aiming to clarify the situation and background for viewers watching online. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the end, Bao Jie thoughtfully added subtitles to the segment where Yan Junze promoted himself, so others who saw the video on the "Open Your Eyes" platform could quickly search for Yan Junze''s username¡ªNight Traveling Puppy¡ªbased on the text.


    Once the video was finished, the four of them gathered to watch it once through and found that the quality was quite decent. The content successfully piqued curiosity, especially since Yan Junze left the cause of Granny Ren''s death a mystery at the end, undoubtedly attracting viewers to comment below.


    Originally, Yan Junze''s completion of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task had taken more than 20 minutes. However, after video editing, it was just over 13 minutes, making the plot tighter.


    "Bao Jie, you might as well apply to a film academy to study directing or editing," Zhou Dali exclaimed from the side.


    "Our Bao Jie could not only study directing but could also be an actress. With that face and figure, she''s definitely got an edge!" Jiang Ruixin said with a smile.


    "Yeah, absolutely," Zhou Dali nodded vigorously. "Future top horror film director of Great Capital''s Huaying¡ªBao Jie. Why top? Because her movies will feature real ghosts. Hehehe..."


    "You''re dead!" The two girls exclaimed in unison, cursing him.


    "Oh, right." Jiang Ruixin suddenly gasped and reminded Bao Jie, "Didn''t you have plans with Zhou Jiajie?"


    "Ah..." Stunned, Bao Jie quickly checked the time, closed her laptop, handed the phone with the copied video back to Yan Junze, packed up her stuff, and ran out with her backpack.


    "Damn it." Zhou Dali''s face turned green. Once Bao Jie left the classroom, he grumbled resentfully, "If it weren''t for Zhou Jiajie''s dad being in the city hall, I''d take that kid out sooner or later!"


    Jiang Ruixin pressed her lips together and snickered.


    Yan Junze just patted Zhou Dali on the shoulder, "To make cowardice and incompetence sound so righteous, you won''t find a second one in the whole school."


    Yan Junze had never been optimistic about Bao Jie liking Zhou Jiajie, but it wasn''t his place to get involved in other people''s business.


    Of course, another reason was that his relationship with Bao Jie was only mediocre, not close enough to warrant his interference.


    When Yan Junze got home, he took advantage of his parents not being back yet to upload the video to the "Open Your Eyes" platform. He checked and saw the current view count was "1".


    That "1" was his own click, but Yan Junze wasn''t in a hurry. After leaving the platform, he ran into the bathroom to wash his hair, deliberately spending an extra two minutes to give Ke''er on his back something to enjoy.


    Indeed, hearing the continuous "eh... eh... eh" from behind his neck while washing his hair turned out to be quite an interesting experience. At least, it wasn''t as boring and dull as before.


    Yan Junze spent the extra minutes catering to Ke''er because he had a feeling that something unexpected might have happened while combing Granny Ren''s hair during "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task. At that moment, Ke''er, lying on his back, seemed to "wake up."


    Although he didn''t know if Ke''er''s "awakening" was linked to that incident, Yan Junze had a hunch that Ke''er''s actions weren''t without reason.


    Otherwise, he might have had to use the Rewind.


    After washing his hair, the Spacetime Atlas suddenly displayed a line of text.


    [Ke''er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Friendly]


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then he realized that since Ke''er began clinging to his back, up until today, he had probably washed his hair about ten times.


    Without fail, Ke''er had watched him wash his hair (including bathing), and now she had finally made progress, their relationship between human and strangeness had begun to turn friendly.


    If he were to guess, this favorability started at "Neutral," then below that might be "Hostile," and above is "Friendly." He just didn''t know if there were any more extreme attitudes, like "Hatred" or something.


    If there was, he definitely didn''t want to encounter a strangeness that "Hated" him in the future; otherwise, it would be a disaster no matter where he went.


    Late in the day, his parents came back one after the other.


    After closing the door, his mother Li Man didn''t immediately go to the kitchen to get busy but sat down with Yan Daguo on the living room sofa, pulling Yan Junze to join them, their expressions grave.


    "Son, you must not pass by building number five when you go out from now on!" Li Man said with a tense expression.


    "What''s the matter, Mom?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "That woman in white was just discovered standing outside building number five, her back to the road, facing the building," said Yan Daguo.


    "What?" Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise, "The Back-faced Woman has come out? She''s left her active area!"


    "Back-faced Woman??" Yan Daguo repeated the term his son blurted out, nodding, "That''s quite an apt name. Yes, this Back-faced Woman seems to have a broader range of activity than just building number five."


    Li Man took over, "At noon, just as Uncle Wang from the third floor of our building was going out, he happened to encounter the Ba... Back-faced Woman right outside building number five. At that time, Uncle Wang turned completely purple for some reason. By the time he was found, hair had grown out of his mouth, ears, and nostrils..."


    "Old Wang from next door!?" Yan Junze exclaimed in shock, "How is he now?"


    Li Man gave her son a displeased look and continued, "He was taken away by an ambulance."


    "That''s for the best," Yan Daguo said, patting his thigh, "If this Back-faced Woman has too large an area of activity, it means she''s very dangerous. Exorcists will pay more attention and send someone to deal with her much faster."


    "Could she not be dangerous?" Yan Junze pondered to himself.


    The task named "Look at Her Face" involving the Back-faced Woman was already rated "Hair-raising (Low)", which was the highest and most dangerous one among the tasks he had detected so far.


    This meant that Yan Junze did not currently want to complete this mission. If possible, he would first check out the Jianye Building across the street to resolve "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    After that, he would tackle the mission "Reflection Under the Moonlight" in the neighboring complex, and only then might he attempt to deal with the Back-faced Woman.


    The task "Look at Her Face" should be avoided as much as possible right now, just like his mother Li Man said; upon leaving the building, head straight through the opposite building number six and then exit the complex through buildings number four and two, temporarily avoiding the side near building number five.


    After their conversation, the couple went about their separate tasks; Li Man returned to the bedroom, opened the video she had uploaded to check it out, saw only seven views, not a single comment, and, bored to death, closed the platform again.

 Chapter 27 Shes at the Second Floor Corner

    The current Spacetime Atlas stores 900 points of Different Dimension Energy and has illuminated 10 nodes.When the seventh node was illuminated, it activated the "Perception of Strange Events" feature. According to Yan Junze''s observation, there is also a line of small text at the twelfth node, but it''s in a grey state and the font is too small to recognize.


    Yan Junze lay on the bed, using Inner Vision to examine the Atlas in his mind.


    In the past two days, the temperature had started to rise a bit. His mother, Li Man, originally wanted to change to a lighter blanket for Yan Junze, but he refused.


    What a joke, with Ke''er lying behind him, the temperature had just begun to rise, making this blanket perfect. Yan Junze mulled over the Spacetime Atlas in his mind while chatting with Ke''er.


    She would occasionally respond with a "huh," so Yan Junze, bored, started the most mundane conversation ever.


    "What do you call your mother''s sister?"


    "Huh."


    "What do you call your mother''s older sister?"


    "Huh."


    "What do you call your mother''s siblings?"


    "Huh."


    Yan Junze didn''t know how many times he repeated himself, nor when he fell asleep.


    When he got up in the morning, his parents had already left early. His father''s factory had leaders coming to inspect work today, and Li Man had a big job assigned by the cleaning company. A dozen cleaning ladies had to sweep the floors of a large building, needing to finish before the end of the workday.


    Therefore, Li Man couldn''t come back to make dinner either.


    He opened the steamer, where his mom had previously heated some steamed buns, which were still steaming hot. Next to the gas stove, there was a plate of fragrant cold dishes and a bowl of warm porridge at the right temperature.


    In his previous life, Yan Junze also liked to eat flour-based food. He quickly grabbed two buns, poked a hole in the middle with chopsticks, stuffed in some cold dishes, took a big bite, and found the taste quite right.


    He lifted the warm porridge and gulped it down. It was very fragrant.


    After finishing breakfast, Yan Junze packed up his books, slung his backpack over his shoulder with a flip of his wrist, and whistled as he stepped out the door.


    As he descended the stairs, he pulled out his phone to check the weather for the upcoming days, feeling that the temperature would continue to rise.


    This was also good; he finally wouldn''t have to wear thick sweaters anymore. When the dog days of summer came around, he would let his classmates see what it meant to have a real portable air conditioner, envy skr!


    At that moment, a news alert popped up at the top of his phone screen. This was a "Real-Time Headlines" news push Yan Junze had subscribed to that sent some of the latest news at a fixed time every day, covering local events, Tianmeng District, and even the Great Capital of Huaying.


    However, this particular piece of news caused Yan Junze''s brows to furrow slightly.


    "Breaking: Mysterious Tragic Death of a Couple, Bodies Found at Home Last Night."


    "According to the latest news from the Shuntian City Public Safety and Security Bureau, a murder occurred last night at LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4, where a couple was killed. It was revealed that the case was discovered by cleaning staff who inadvertently saw a large amount of blood seeping out from under the door. Security personnel have already sealed off the scene immediately.


    Homicide has not been ruled out, and follow-up reports will be made available. Reporter Yang Genshuo."


    Putting aside the peculiar name of the reporter for a moment, upon viewing this news, Yan Junze felt an odd sensation welling up inside him.


    This feeling was unclear and nebulous, like a gloomy shadow had been draped over his head, leaving him quite uncomfortable.


    As he was engrossed in his phone, he had unknowingly descended to the second-floor corner when something white seemed to flicker before his eyes. By the time he realized it, Yan Junze discovered there seemed to be someone standing at the corner on the second floor.


    He turned his head and looked: just as he had already moved towards the first floor, his body shuddered violently, his eyes filled with terror, still clutching his phone.


    In his line of sight, at the corner of the second floor, a woman with disheveled hair, skeletal-thin, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, stood at the corner of the wall, facing it with her back toward him. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This is¡­ the Back-faced Woman!"


    Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded.


    No matter how much he had calculated, he did not expect to encounter the Back-faced Woman at this moment.


    Looking at her appearance, the Back-faced Woman had already left Building 5 and directly entered Building 7, where his home was located.


    It was as if her activity area was not limited to just next door, but also included the area including Building 7.


    The memory of the mission "Look at Her Face" surfaced in Yan Junze''s mind. He remembered that this mission had no background at all, just a very brief instruction: look at her face, ask her what she needs.


    But the level of that mission made Yan Junze hesitate.


    Hair-raising! This was not a joke, one false move and not to mention Rewind, he had not prepared in advance, and it was too late to set a Rewind now.


    After just a brief pause for a second, Yan Junze immediately took steps to quickly descend the stairs, deciding not to complete this mission right now.


    However, for safety''s sake, he still set the starting point for Rewind at that moment and set the endpoint ten minutes later, just in case the Back-faced Woman took any action that could get him into trouble.


    If the Back-faced Woman didn''t trouble him, as long as he didn''t initiate Rewind, it would automatically erase after the time elapsed and would not deplete Different Dimension Energy.


    There were roughly eleven steps in the half-flight of stairs on the first floor, and with every step Yan Junze took down, it felt as though he was exerting all his strength, his muscles taut, limbs stiff, with all his attention focused behind, terrified that the motionless Back-faced Woman would suddenly move towards him at any moment.


    "No matter what, I can''t look at her face, I absolutely can''t see her face now."


    Yan Junze silently reminded himself, feeling like a century had passed before he finally finished descending the eleven steps and ran out of Building 7.


    He took a breath, turned his head for a glance, and saw that the Back-faced Woman had not followed him. The hair-raising feeling from earlier gradually faded, and memories emerged.


    He had just noticed that the Back-faced Woman was dressed in a summertime outfit, wearing a set of white short-sleeved shirt and shorts. If it was before her death, this woman would have likely had a nice figure, but now become a ghost, she exuded a ghastly, emaciated strangeness.


    And the skin exposed outside the clothes was patchy with blues and purples, hardly any part of it unblemished.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace towards the community gate, but then he paused slightly, realizing that Ke''er, who had been clinging to his back all this while, was nowhere to be seen.


    He looked around but couldn''t see the red figure. Class was about to start, and Yan Junze couldn''t bother with her now, so he left the community and quickly walked towards Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Just as he reached the school entrance, something tightened around his foot, then gripped his waist. Soon after, Ke''er''s familiar crawling gesture returned, and the little guy was back again.


    "Where did you go?" Yan Junze wondered.


    "Eh."


    Ke''er''s responses were always a mystery.


    Entering the school with confusion, Yan Junze quickly understood something. Ke''er must have thought he was going to deal with the Back-faced Woman. Considering the hair-raising level of this mission, Ke''er definitely wouldn''t stand a chance against the Back-faced Woman, so... she chose to flee.


    Your sister! What happened to the promised increase in favorability? What happened to pure friendship?


    Faced with a formidable strangeness, she runs faster than a rabbit!

 Chapter 28 Temporary Group Formation

    A day at school.The senior year curriculum had fully entered the review stage, and even in class, it was non-stop paper solving, paper solving, paper solving.


    Yeah, important things must be said three times.


    "Enough already," Zhou Dali covered his ears, the big and burly man looking pitifully at Yan Junze, "You''ve already said it three times. My answer is: I... am... not... going!"


    "Are you sure you won''t go?" Yan Junze asked seriously.


    "Where are you guys heading?" Bao Jie, from the next desk, leaned over, full of curiosity.


    "To a place where no one else is," Yan Junze said, pretending to be mysterious.


    "But it has its strangenesses," Zhou Dali added.


    Bao Jie got even more excited: "Are you guys going to shoot a video?"


    "Right, I plan to upload my second video to the ''Open Your Eyes'' platform," Yan Junze nodded. "But this cowardly Dali doesn''t dare to go."


    "Who says I''m scared."


    In front of the girl he liked, Zhou Dali''s feisty spirit surged up in an instant, but it quickly deflated, and his voice became barely audible, "I just happen to be busy this weekend and can''t make it."


    Yan Junze then turned to Bao Jie: "Do you want to go?"


    Bao Jie startled, then her face showed fear, shaking her head: "I only dare watch through a screen, delve into the site of strangeness? I dare not."


    Yan Junze assured them, "You guys can rest easy, no matter what happens, I guarantee there''s no danger for you."


    As he spoke, he took out a black button and weighed it in his palm for a moment.


    "This is..." Zhou Dali leaned closer, took a careful look for a while, and his expression turned to surprise, "Is this that..."


    "Correct, the Hidden Buckle, an exorcism technique from the Exorcist," Yan Junze immediately put away the black button.


    "How do you have that item?" Bao Jie exclaimed in surprise. "I''ve seen it on TV, I heard that normal people aren''t supposed to possess Exorcist''s items, otherwise the consequences can be severe."


    Yan Junze smiled, "You don''t need to worry about that, my aunt''s neighbor''s dog Erleng, who befriended the Exorcist''s watchdog Er Ya from Shuntian, accidentally brought it back while they were playing."


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali looked at each other, bewildered.


    At that moment Jiang Ruixin returned from the restroom, shaking off her wet hands, and accidentally splashed the water on Zhou Dali''s face.


    Zhou Dali was jolted back to his senses and quickly asked Yan Junze, "What were you just saying?"


    "Just that the origin of the Hidden Buckle is quite clear, you don''t have to worry," Yan Junze waved his hand.


    "If that''s the case¡­" Bao Jie pondered, "Then count me in. My family has a portable DV, it shoots really well. When the time comes, I''ll be your videographer."


    "Are you sure you''re not going now?" Yan Junze tilted his head to ask Zhou Dali.


    The guy had a constipated expression, struggled for half a day, and finally said, "Fine! But I''m going only to protect Bao Jie, not to give you face."


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze nodded.


    "What are you guys talking about? Where are you going?" Jiang Ruixin dried her hands and looked up at the three of them, looking somewhat dazed.


    Five seconds later, this supernatural adventure quartet had been temporarily formed.


    Yan Junze said, "We''ve tentatively set the operation for Saturday. I''ll start a group chat, and I''ll notify everyone of the specific location and time in the group. Also, Dali, you need to prepare some tools for Saturday morning, for prying walls and digging. That task is yours."


    "I knew it wouldn''t be simple when you asked me to come!" Zhou Dali grumbled.


    "I''ll prepare several powerful flashlights," Jiang Ruixin offered, raising her hand.


    Her family owned a small supermarket, so getting those things was no problem at all.


    With each person assigned a task, everyone but Yan Junze seemed very nervous, yet the excitement clearly outweighed their nervousness.


    The school day on Friday ended quickly.


    Before leaving school, the four of them started a group chat named "We Are Not Afraid of Strangenesses," which, using one''s little toe, could have been guessed to be the brainchild of Zhou Dali, whose brain was smaller than his own arm in circumference.


    On his way home, Yan Junze casually threw the black button he''d picked up into a trash bin.


    He, of course, didn''t have any Exorcist''s Hidden Buckle; he''d only used that trick to put the others at ease. His secret was not the Hidden Buckle, but the ability to Rewind time, which he obviously couldn''t share with anyone.


    As for choosing them to help him with the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" mission, there was a reason for that as well. First, the mission notes required tools, which likely meant having to break through walls, a task that seemed tailor-made for Zhou Dali.


    Then there was being in an unfamiliar environment; it was good to have friends along for mutual support. Otherwise, just the thought of Yan Junze sneaking alone into the B1 floor of Jianye Building would seem quite difficult.


    Now, with ample Different Dimension Energy and having not completed many missions, he needed to explore a path suitable for future development. Moreover, some missions probably weren''t as efficient to complete alone as they were with a team.


    Whether alone or in a group, he had to try both to find out.


    Moreover, the level of the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" mission was classified as "Anxiety-Inducing (High)," but it did not exceed that level to reach "Trembling with Fear."


    Therefore, completing it shouldn''t be too difficult, which was why Yan Junze dared to have these three classmates follow him.


    Of course, before starting, he would preemptively set a Rewind point. Should anything unexpected happen to anyone, he would choose whether to continue or to quit the mission after weighing the pros and cons. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After returning to FH Community and entering Building 7, Yan Junze instantly saw the white figure of the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman had moved to the side of the wall near the stairs on the first floor; to use the stairs, one had to pass behind her.


    At the moment, a man in his thirties wearing a black jacket was descending the stairs, looking utterly terrified. With one hand over his chest and the other on the stair railing, he seemed too scared to even breathe deeply, his attention fixed on the Back-faced Woman, not even noticing Yan Junze standing at the stair entrance.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless.


    The man, tiptoeing and cautiously descending the steps, finally caught his breath, glanced at Yan Junze, moved his lips, and quickly walked out of Building 7.


    Yan Junze roughly understood that the man was warning him to be careful when he went upstairs.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was terrifying, as long as she wasn''t provoked, she didn''t seem to be very dangerous¡ªespecially when she was standing quietly facing the wall.


    Following the middle-aged man''s lead, Yan Junze stayed close to the railing, quietly ascending the stairs, and when he passed behind the Back-faced Woman, a chill ran down his spine and pierced his heart.


    Thankfully, he made it upstairs without any trouble and immediately sent a text message to his parents, reminding them to be careful when they come back.


    And unsurprisingly, Ke''er, who had been lying on his back, had long since vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 29 Granny Ren

    Returning home, Yan Junze felt that continuing like this was no solution.Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman had settled in Building 7 and wouldn''t leave. Being able to see her coming and going every day was highly dangerous.


    If things didn''t improve, he might as well complete the task rated "Hair-raising (Low)"!


    No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he couldn''t help but shiver.


    So far, out of the three tasks he had completed, only "Staying in a Room with Zhang Tiantian" had a higher danger level, rated "Trembling with Fear (Low)", and the Possession Spirit in that task was clearly much more dangerous than Ke''er and Granny Ren.


    Now, asking him to complete the task "Look at Her Face," rated "Hair-raising (Low)", Yan Junze really had no confidence.


    After some thought, he decided to stick to the original plan and deal with "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" first.


    After he finished reviewing his homework, his parents came home one after another. Both appeared normal as they entered the house, clearly not having seen the Back-faced Woman, indicating that she didn''t always linger near the stairwell.


    It wasn''t until Li Man had prepared dinner and the three family members were gathered around the dining table that Yan Junze noticed Ke''er seemed to have been gone the whole time.


    Since the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman downstairs, the little creature had disappeared, and still hadn''t returned.


    Regarding the increase in his Favorability from "Neutral" to "Friendly" with souls, he started to have his doubts. Ke''er was so scared of the Back-faced Woman that she dared not come back; he really didn''t know who was the strangeness. Was it humans who feared the strangeness, or was it strangeness that feared the strangeness?


    While they were eating, there was a knock at the door.


    The three of them were slightly astonished; usually, people didn''t come to visit at mealtime.


    Li Man, who sat closer to the living room door, stood up to open it and asked, "Who are you looking for?"


    There was a stranger outside.


    "I''m from an Exorcist team." A voice that sounded very familiar to Yan Junze spoke up.


    Then Huang Chen, wearing a white suit, his short figure entered the living room. Upon seeing Yan Junze, who was eating, he pursed his lips in a smile.


    "An Exorcist?" Yan Daguo put down his utensils and stood up in surprise to greet him.


    In his mind, the incident in the bathroom involving strangeness was still queued up for resolution; it couldn''t possibly be his turn so soon unless someone pulled strings to queue-jump.


    But he hadn''t found someone to pull strings, so how did the Exorcist show up at his door? Besides, the little girl in the bathroom had disappeared, and it had been a while since she last showed up. Now with the Exorcist''s visit, it seemed there wouldn''t be much use.


    "Let me take a look at your bathroom."


    Sure enough, Huang Chen''s face bore a smile that wasn''t quite a smile, and without greeting Yan Junze, he went straight to the bathroom after being directed.


    The Yan family looked at each other in bewilderment, saying nothing.


    A moment later, Huang Chen emerged with his hands behind his back, tucking away a palm-sized black disk and shaking his head, "No strangeness here, not a trace of magnetic field fluctuations."


    Yan Daguo and his wife had anticipated this result, but having the Exorcist personally confirm it allowed them to finally feel relieved.


    Both said in unison, "Thank you, Exorcist Master!"


    Their tone was very respectful; in this age of strangeness, meeting an Exorcist was often warmer than seeing one''s own parents.


    Making his way to the living room door on his own, Huang Chen glanced at Yan Junze and said to Yan Daguo, "This is your son, right?"


    "Yes." Yan Daguo quickly nodded.


    "This kid is pretty good." Huang Chen cast an appreciative glance at Yan Junze without any hesitation, "I saw the video he filmed of the case in apartment 503 upstairs. Well, there are some things I''d like to discuss with him alone."


    The couple were slightly taken aback, but they still nodded and gestured for Yan Junze to sit on the sofa to talk with Huang Chen. Li Man even ran to prepare tea with enthusiasm.


    Who would have known that Huang Chen would naturally put his arm around Yan Junze''s shoulder, and the two of them left the living room to stand in the hallway outside before starting their conversation.


    "I guessed that your parents didn''t know about the possession spirit incident last time." Once alone with Yan Junze, Huang Chen stopped beating around the bush, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and looked up at the sky through the atrium.


    Although Yan Junze had encountered a possession spirit, he hadn''t come to harm, and beside that, they had sought psychological counseling and showed all sorts of concern and care for him. This wasn''t without reason¡ªthey certainly didn''t want unnecessary complications.


    Yan Junze nodded: "I didn''t want to worry my parents either."


    "And yet you dared to go alone to explore the upstairs for strangenesses?" Huang Chen turned to look at him. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m brave." Yan Junze revealed a smile, "And if the video exploring the strangenesses is complete and gimmicky enough, it can easily go viral. I want to earn my own salt."


    Having said this, it was obvious that the corners of Huang Chen''s mouth twitched. The exorcist was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what was going on in the young people''s minds these days, not knowing what they were thinking all day long.


    "Do you know why I came to you?" Huang Chen suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze was startled: "You came... specifically for me? Not to deal with the strangeness in my family''s bathroom?"


    Huang Chen took another drag on his cigarette, shaking his head: "I came to deal with the bathroom incident incidentally. Moreover, there seems to be no strangenesses, or the strangenesses have already left. This situation can happen with a certain probability. My main purpose for coming here was to tell you about the incident in room 503 upstairs."


    "Oh." Yan Junze furrowed his brow.


    In his view, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task had already been completed. Could it be that there were new developments?


    "The security officer has confirmed that Granny Ren was murdered, and the suspects are limited to those she knew well and was close to." Huang Chen continued: "Of course, that''s the security officer''s business. We are powerless when it comes to solving cases. Did you see the news today?"


    "What news?" Yan Junze was perplexed.


    "Last night, a couple was tragically found dead in their home in the LHTD Community." Huang Chen said.


    Yan Junze remembered now. The news had appeared on his phone that morning, so he nodded in acknowledgment.


    "That couple... were Granny Ren''s second son and daughter-in-law, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun."


    "What?!" Yan Junze was shocked.


    "I won''t hide it from you, the case has been classified as a Level D strangeness event, and exorcists have already gotten involved," Huang Chen said, looking into the distance.


    "You mean... Granny Ren''s son... they weren''t killed by someone?" Yan Junze caught on.


    Huang Chen nodded: "We exorcists rate the danger level of strangeness events with letters. F is the lowest level, like the bathroom incident in your house. The highest is S level."


    Yan Junze said: "What you mean is, Level D strangeness events don''t need to wait in line."


    Huang Chen nodded again: "If a Level D event isn''t dealt with quickly, it might escalate to Level C. Neighboring Huayun City had a Level C strangeness event two months ago. I remember... many people died that time."


    Yan Junze''s eyes widened, a guess forming in his mind but he was reluctant to believe it: "You came to my house just to tell me that Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun were killed by strangenesses?"


    "No." Huang Chen dropped the cigarette butt at his feet and stamped it out, looking up at Yan Junze, he said word by word: "They were likely killed by Granny Ren."

 Chapter 30 Friendship

    "Now, describe in detail what happened that day," Huang Chen said.Yan Junze was stunned for a moment before he began to recount the events.


    In fact, Huang Chen had already watched the video Yan Junze shot of the incident once; now, by listening to Yan Junze''s personal account, he mainly wanted to understand his perspective and feelings.


    Furrowing his brows, Huang Chen listened intently and then said, "Now we have some evidence. If you hear any noises from the floor above in the next few days, don''t take matters into your own hands and go up there."


    "Are you afraid that... Granny Ren''s spirit might have come back?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It''s possible," Huang Chen nodded. "But we can''t be sure. Granny Ren''s spirit might have become stronger now, and we cannot touch her as easily as we did last time, or it would be extremely dangerous."


    "Got it, I know," Yan Junze replied.


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine as he quietly speculated that if Granny Ren could truly cause a Level D strangeness incident, what level of existence it would be considered in his task display.


    Trembling with fear? Probably not just that. It''s very likely to be at least as hair-raising as the Back-faced Woman task.


    However, regarding Huang Chen''s self-perceived reasoning abilities, Yan Junze had already discounted them in his heart, feeling that this exorcist, apart from looking somewhat cool when throwing the Hidden Buckle at the Possession Spirit, didn''t seem to have done anything particularly impressive.


    "Oh right," Yan Junze reminded, "When you just came up the stairs, did you see any other strangenesses?"


    Huang Chen looked at him with a slight astonishment and shook his head: "No."


    "Well, since you are here, take a look," Yan Junze said with a smile. "It''s a female ghost wearing a white tee and shorts, with disheveled hair, a slender figure, facing the wall, and she keeps her back turned to everyone who sees her."


    "Did you report it to the strangeness incident team?" Huang Chen asked.


    "I did, a long time ago, but it''s probably still in queue," Yan Junze nodded.


    "I''ll check it out later," Huang Chen promised promptly. "But if she doesn''t show up, and I can''t find her, I won''t stay here forever. Here, take down my number first."


    After their conversation, Huang Chen did not greet Yan Daguo and his wife and instead turned and walked directly to the stairwell.


    "Son, how come I feel like you''ve known him for a long time?" Yan Daguo sat at the dining table, his food cold, as both he and his wife had lost their appetite.


    Yan Junze came back to the room, sat down with a grin, and replied, "Just met, it''s just that we wished we''d met sooner. Oh right, mom and dad, if you see Granny Ren''s spirit again in the next few days, don''t engage with her. That unreliable exorcist guy just told me this, be sure to remember."


    The couple looked at each other with expressions of alarm and fear.


    Right after dinner, Huang Chen called. He had made a round in building number seven and hadn''t seen the Back-faced Woman Yan Junze mentioned. However, not seeing her didn''t mean she wasn''t there; Huang Chen said he would move the strangeness incident''s priority up when he got back, so that the authorities could deal with it as soon as possible.


    Not long after Huang Chen left, Ke''er returned.


    That made Yan Junze suspect that the little rascal Ke''er was actually going out to avoid Huang Chen.


    Before going to bed, Yan Daguo and his wife again grilled Yan Junze about Granny Ren. Yan Junze didn''t tell them that Granny Ren''s son and his wife had been killed; otherwise, his parents would be even more uneasy.


    As for the exorcist becoming acquainted with their son, the couple considered it a pleasant surprise. If they were to encounter a strangeness incident in the future, they might be able to call on this connection.


    Of course, they generally wouldn''t exploit it, as owing someone a favor meant having to repay it.


    Back in his bedroom, Yan Junze logged onto the "Open Your Eyes" video platform on his account "Night Traveling Puppy." His main page featured only one video he had uploaded.


    The name of the video is identical to the task name displayed in the Spacetime Atlas, titled "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night." At the moment, it has over 3,000 views and more than 500 likes, a rough ratio of 6:1. The number of comments has also exceeded 100, and the overall response looks pretty good.


    The reason for only having this many views is that the video hasn''t been promoted at all. It just quietly sits among countless other short videos, relying entirely on passersby who happen to click in for a look.


    Yan Junze glanced at the comments below the video.


    User "Birdshot vs. Plane": This video is pretty good, with a high level of completion!


    User "Satan Descends": It exudes an inexplicable sense of tension, but it always feels somewhat staged.


    User "2038779412": I stumbled upon this by accident, what a pleasant surprise! Puppy, your video is good, keep it up...


    User "My Girlfriend is called Yamedie": It can''t be staged, that''s a real corpse. Even though the face is pixelated, there''s no denying that the comb was pulled out from the position of the heart.


    After a while, Yan Junze felt that the comments were mainly of two types: praise or skepticism, largely revolving around whether the video was a staged fabrication by a professional team.


    The main reason is that the story of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" is complete, with cause and effect, background information, and under Bao Jie''s perfect control of the "One Cut Gone" app, the atmosphere is tense, the plot is tight, and there''s even a free grand finale for the audience''s emotion¡ªcouldn''t be more on-point.


    Although the video isn''t trending, Yan Junze suddenly felt confident that as long as the quality of the videos wasn''t bad, uploading a few more in the future would eventually draw attention.


    Yan Junze opened the "We Aren''t Afraid of Strangeness" group chat and shouted, "Tomorrow, all members of the Spirit Exploration Team prepare the tools you need to bring. Take your positions, we''ll meet at the entrance of FH Community¡ªmy neighborhood¡ªat 9 p.m."


    Jiang Ruixin: "Ah, at 9 p.m.! I don''t know if my mom will let me go out, it''s so late and there are hardly any people on the streets, I''m scared..."


    Bao Jie: "I''ll call a taxi to pick you up then, and we''ll go together."


    Dali: "Jiejie, don''t worry, I''ll pick you two up tomorrow night. You''ll be fine with big brother Dali here."


    Bao Jie: "I''m about to throw up, don''t call me Jiejie, use my full name."


    Dali: "Okay, Jiejie."


    Bao Jie: "Thanks!"


    Dali: "You''re welcome, Jiejie. By the way, Jiejie, what are you doing?"


    Bao Jie: "Ugh!!!"


    After closing the group chat, Yan Junze went to the bathroom to take a shower and changed into darker clothes to facilitate moving in the darkness the next night.


    Bath time was when Ke''er was most active, constantly crawling on Yan Junze, making "Eh eh eh" noises.


    Regarding the operation the next night, he wondered if this little guy would follow him. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day, Yan Junze took out a canvas backpack and prepared items like a lighter, a multifunctional army knife, clean cloths, and made sure his phone was fully charged.


    Even though Bao Jie was responsible for filming, he still kept his own phone camera on. This would be a double insurance to ensure there were no blind spots in the filming.


    His father, Yan Daguo, would not be home because of the night shift at the factory, and his mother had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for the early shift, so she went to bed early.


    After Yan Junze packed his stuff, he put on his canvas backpack at 8:45 p.m., gently closed the living room door, and left the community.

 Chapter 31 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 1)

    [Task Coordinates: Jianye Building Basement Level One, Room 004 Storage.][Task Name: Peeking From the Crack in the Wall;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: His fate was tragic, wife gone, children lost. His name became synonymous with loneliness, destined to go unnoticed by all throughout his life. Most unfortunate of all, he was forgotten in a corner following an accidental incident. Yes, he''s still there, hidden in the deepest recesses of the building.


    Task Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Task Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Become a substitute, to exchange for his freedom;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down, he''s already pitiable, please spare him; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Note: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    After leaving the community gates and while waiting for the others, Yan Junze pulled up the task list from the Spacetime Atlas and gave it a careful read.


    This time, the task was to give the Evil Spirit eternal rest, meaning, the poor guy must be in quite an uncomfortable state. He needed a resolution to his predicament, perhaps that would allow him to finally relax and rest in peace.


    The newly formed Spirit Exploration Team members were all very punctual. Before 9 o''clock, a taxi stopped at the entrance to the community. The rear door opened, and Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin jumped out one after the other.


    Both were dressed in dark sportswear for ease of movement and carried small backpacks behind them, bulging with stuff like cameras and flashlights.


    Then, the passenger door opened and Zhou Heng first stretched out an "elephant leg" onto the ground. Under the watchful eyes of the three, he gradually shifted his broad cross-section of a body out of the car.


    The moment he got out of the car, it visibly lifted, a true embodiment of the phrase "a load off."


    After paying the taxi fare, Zhou Dali patted his behind and said to Yan Junze, "Are we on time? It''s so late, how about we grab some late-night snacks before we start?"


    "Diet." The two girls denied in unison. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali touched his belly and muttered quietly, "You girls are either on a diet or on the way to start one. Luckily, I came prepared."


    With that, he took out a few packs of biscuits from his backpack, tore them open and started chowing down vigorously.


    Ever since the strangeness descended, the streets at night had very few pedestrians, but there were more patrolling security cars. One would occasionally see patrol cars with flashing lights driving by, silent on the streets.


    Each of the four people carried a backpack, making them especially conspicuous on the sparsely populated streets at night, so they didn''t linger and immediately crossed the road. They walked a hundred meters more and arrived at the entrance of Jianye Building.


    The vehicle access was blocked by an electric gate, beside which was a small iron door. It was slightly ajar and opened with a push.


    However, right next to the small iron door was the guard room, where a middle-aged man in a security uniform was immersed in a TV drama. The plot involved the messy entanglements of "I love you, but you don''t love me, you instead love him, he falls for my sister, I have my sister pretend to love him, he dumps you, and you come back crying, begging for my love."


    For the security uncle, the storyline was captivating. As he was glued to the TV, the small iron door behind him was slowly pushed open.


    Yan Junze and his team tiptoed with hunched backs and slipped into the courtyard of Jianye Building.


    Looking back, they realized someone was missing, and Yan Junze instantly broke out in a cold sweat.


    "Ruixin, come here quickly!" Bao Jie also noticed the discrepancy and called out quietly, looking back.


    At that moment, Jiang Ruixin was peeking out from behind the window of the guard room, engrossedly watching the drama alongside the middle-aged man.


    After realizing it, Jiang Ruixin hurried over, complaining, "Just to join you guys in Spirit Exploration, I missed today''s Episode 21 of ''I Love You So Much Yet You Hold Hands with Another in the Park and I Damn Well Want to Punch You to Death.''" (Salute to Brother Erguo''s head! (¤Å£þ3£þ)¤Å¨q?¡«)}


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze looked at each other, completely baffled.


    "You''re saying this drama is called..."


    "I love you so much, yet you''re walking in the park holding someone else''s hand, I seriously want to punch you to death," Bao Jie repeated fluently, then added, "I was following this show last month, but I stopped. Mainly because the plot was a bit far-fetched."


    "Just hearing the name is far-fetched enough," Yan Junze shook his head.


    Zhou Dali forcefully held back his laughter, finally managing not to laugh out loud.


    The four of them entered Jianye Building.


    The building was 35 stories high, with around 50 companies having offices inside. However, Yan Junze and his group didn''t plan to go upstairs. Instead, they bypassed the elevator and took the stairs down to the basement level.


    The stairwell had sound-activated lights, so to avoid drawing attention, everyone moved silently.


    At the stairway entrance, Jiang Ruixin distributed a small flashlight to each person, which she''d procured from their family''s supermarket.


    Yan Junze led the way as all four descended the stairs to the basement level.


    The stairs were quite clean, it seemed like housekeeping was up to snuff here, not even a scrap of broken cardboard or paper could be seen.


    When they reached the stairway entrance to the basement level, they shone the flashlight and discovered the door was locked with a U-shaped lock.


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhou Dali, who crouched down, opened his backpack, and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters, saying, "I turned my dad''s toolbox upside down, these are the strongest equipment I could bring."


    "We owe you big time for this one," Yan Junze took the opportunity to pat his shoulder, letting the guy feel pumped up for a while.


    Otherwise, given Zhou Dali''s faint-heartedness, if he got scared later and wanted to back out, he''d certainly run faster than a rabbit, which wouldn''t be good for the team''s overall movement.


    Zhou Dali let out a he-he and, holding the bolt cutters, squatted in front of the basement level door and started fiddling with it.


    While he was busy, Yan Junze called up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and, after Zhou Dali snapped the U-lock, set up the starting point for a Rewind. He then set the endpoint for 40 minutes later.


    Of course, if they had to Rewind a certain segment of time due to an emergency in this period, it wouldn''t mean the entire Rewind timeline would vanish, but rather its length would be appropriately shortened.


    If they had to Rewind several times, due to the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, the final length of time they were able to Rewind could potentially be only a few minutes.


    After the door opened, a gust of cold air blew out from the dark corridor, making everyone standing at the top of the stairs shiver involuntarily.


    Only Zhou Dali, brushing the dust off his hands, was completely unaffected by the chill thanks to his robust constitution.


    "It feels like there''s a freezer inside!" Bao Jie guessed.


    "Dali, aren''t you cold?" with her hands crossed in front of her chest, Jiang Ruixin shivered as she curiously asked.


    "Heh, I can''t feel the cold at all," Zhou Dali said, his confidence soaring at that moment.


    "Then you go in front, block the wind for us," Yan Junze said.


    Zhou Dali''s face stiffened, "You know... actually... it''s a little cold. Also, my eyesight isn''t very good."


    "I''ll go then," Yan Junze said with a smirk.


    Bao Jie turned on the portable video camera she had brought. A beam of light from the top of the camera illuminated the darkness of the basement level a bit more.

 Chapter 32 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 2)

    "Jianye Building has always been plagued by strangenesses, it''s said to be the soul of a man. This man stays on the negative first floor and never leaves, seeming to have some connection with this place. Our Spirit Exploration Team has come to find out why he stays here, and if... we can eliminate the strangeness here, then all the better."Yan Junze led the way ahead while seemingly talking to himself.


    It gave off the feeling of a live commentary, and amidst the surrounding darkness, mystery, and silence, the commentary was even more likely to give one goosebumps.


    After entering the negative first floor corridor, they found the reason why the stairwell they had descended was clean and tidy¡ªunwanted items were all piled up inside.


    The corridor was filled on both sides with a large amount of cardboard boxes, and mountains of scrap paper that had been copied or printed out.


    Fortunately, the corridor was spacious, and even with half of it occupied, Yan Junze and the others were able to pass through smoothly.


    The light switches on both sides of the corridor were all broken; otherwise, they would have turned the lights on directly.


    And judging by the looks of it, the surveillance on this floor was also broken. If there were any strangenesses here, the security guards and janitors of this building would have the most say. To avoid the strangenesses, they would keep the negative first floor abandoned and basically unmanaged.


    Once inside, unless someone came down, they wouldn''t be discovered, and after entering the corridor, Zhou Dali had locked the broken U-lock onto the closed corridor door handle to prevent anyone from outside opening it.


    The space, never seeing sunlight, had become very damp, and the cardboard boxes and discarded documents that were against the ground were all soaked through. The damp, moldy scent permeated the air.


    The air was cold, and after a while, Yan Junze noticed that both Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin''s lips had started to turn purple.


    "Dali, take off your jacket and let them wear it."


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, glanced at Bao Jie, and immediately showed a look of distress. He took off his coat¡ªwhich for Bao Jie could serve as a long robe¡ªand carefully draped it over her.


    He was only wearing two pieces of clothing, a jacket and a long-sleeved T-shirt. With no alternative, he also took off the T-shirt and reluctantly slipped it onto Jiang Ruixin.


    Their mission''s coordinates were located in the storage room 004 on the negative first floor of the Jianye Building. Walking along, Yan Junze found that the room numbers near the main entrance were counted backwards, starting at 020.


    That meant room 004 would be the fourth one from the end.


    The doors of the rooms in the corridor were basically all closed, with the occasional door ajar. Yan Junze warned the others not to touch them.


    When they encountered an open door, they only shone their flashlights inside to see some scattered and abandoned desks and chairs, without going in.


    Yan Junze''s goal was clear; aside from entering storage room 004, he wouldn''t go anywhere else.


    After a while, Bao Jie suddenly stopped.


    "What''s wrong?" Jiang Ruixin, who was walking alongside, also halted and asked Bao Jie.


    Zhou Dali behind them stopped as well.


    Yan Junze turned to look at them.


    "Did you guys... notice that there are... footsteps behind us?" Bao Jie stammered, her face turning pale.


    "Of course, there are footsteps," Zhou Dali said nonchalantly from behind, "Aren''t I following you all?"


    "Not yours," Bao Jie turned around, "There''s someone walking behind you."


    "Ah!"


    Zhou Dali''s face turned white, and he reflexively jumped, quickly turning around.


    At least three flashlight beams were cast behind them. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was nothing there.


    "That... that Jiejie... Jiejie, don''t... don''t scare me!" Zhou Dali''s teeth clattered uncontrollably, making a rhythmic sound.


    "Ugh..." Bao Jie gagged, "Don''t call me Jiejie."


    "Did you hear that clearly? Could it be the sound of footsteps coming from behind Dali?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It seems... yes." At this moment, Bao Jie was also uncertain.


    "Well, how about this, I''ll walk backward, and you guys continue forward, but walk slowly and wait for me," Zhou Dali, feeling guilty, turned around, and pointed his two flashlights toward the back, his eyes wide open without blinking.


    Although they moved slowly, everyone was on guard for any strangeness that might suddenly rush out of a room, it didn''t take long for them to reach the halfway point of the corridor. Just around the corner and down a stretch of hallway, they would arrive at room 004, near the end.


    Just as Yan Junze was the first to turn the corner, Zhou Dali at the very back shuddered, his eyes bulging.


    He saw a pale hand appear outside the corridor door they had just entered through, reaching through the gap between the doors.


    This hand groped around for a while, grabbed the broken U-shaped lock hanging on the doorknob, and pulled hard at it.


    "Ow, my goodness, a strangeness!!!" Zhou Dali couldn''t help but yell out loud.


    Everyone stopped, Yan Junze returned to the corner, and together with Bao Jie and the others, they looked in the direction of Zhou Dali''s gaze, towards the entrance of the corridor they had come through.


    Under the flashlight beam, they indeed saw a hand pulling at the broken U-shaped lock as if something was trying to enter the corridor from the staircase.


    "Let''s hurry inside!" Jiang Ruixin urged quickly, stomping her feet in fright.


    "Wait," Yan Junze stopped everyone who wanted to run down the hallway. He stared intently at the pale hand, "That''s not right, there''s light coming from outside the door too, it looks like a flashlight! That means... it''s not a strangeness."


    No sooner had he spoken than the U-shaped lock was snatched away by the hand and the door opened, revealing the figures of two men, one of whom was wearing a security uniform.


    "It''s people." Zhou Dali breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the situation clearly.


    "Who are you? How did you get in here?" The security guard, who had been watching dramas in the security room just now, wore an angry expression and scolded them.


    The other man, recognized by everyone, was Zhou Jiajie, whom they didn''t expect to see at all.


    At the moment, Zhou Jiajie looked embarrassed, having been caught by the security guard during his sneaking in, and he stood quietly to one side, occasionally glancing over at Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze immediately understood everything, suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked Bao Jie in a deep voice, "Did you tell him?"


    "I''m... I''m sorry." Bao Jie lowered her head, not daring to look at the others.


    "Damn it! Women are trouble! Sentimental women are even more trouble! Women who don''t like me, only like pretty boys, are the worst kind of trouble!" Zhou Dali roared uncontrollably.


    "Zhou... Zhou Heng! Enough!" Bao Jie''s anger surged, glaring hard at Zhou Dali, "Having one more person is an extra pair of hands. I was thinking of everyone''s well-being. How was I supposed to know Jiajie would alert the security guard?"


    "Jiajie?" Zhou Dali suddenly felt a surge of jealousy, "That sounds so affectionate!"


    Thud!


    Just then, from behind everyone at the corner, a hollow noise came from the direction of room 004, like a hammer striking a steel pipe in a sewer.


    "You... you all get out quickly!" The middle-aged security guard''s face changed, and he couldn''t help but urge them, "There are strangenesses here, we can''t stay long."


    "It was my miscalculation."


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, he glanced at the others who were looking towards room 004, then shifted his gaze to the terrified security guard, and without hesitation, he silently thought: "Rewind."


    Time rewound.


    The scene before them blurred, and suddenly everyone was standing outside the hallway on the basement floor. Zhou Dali had just broken the U-shaped lock and was standing up.


    "Right now, immediately call Zhou Jiajie, whom you have a crush on, and tell him that today''s operation is canceled, everyone has gone their separate ways. Tell him to turn back too," Yan Junze said to a dumbfounded Bao Jie.

 Chapter 33 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 3)

    Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.It took Zhou Dali quite some time to come back to his senses, "Jiejie, did you quietly tell Zhou Jiajie about today''s affairs?"


    Jiang Ruixin also said, "Did you really tell Zhou Jiajie about our operation tonight?"


    Bao Jie remained silent.


    Yan Junze reminded again, "If you don''t make this call, I''m canceling today''s Spirit Exploration right now."


    "I''ll call right away." Bao Jie looked up at Yan Junze, feeling a bit incredulous, nodded her head, took out her phone, and dialed Zhou Jiajie''s number; it was quickly connected.


    Following Yan Junze''s instructions, she didn''t say anything else, and from Zhou Jiajie''s voice, it seemed like he didn''t have too much suspicion.


    After hanging up, Bao Jie scanned the three people and said in a low voice, "Sorry."


    Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin didn''t say anything, but Zhou Dali huffed, "Hmph, I won''t forgive you."


    "It''s fine if they forgive me, I don''t need your forgiveness," Bao Jie replied with a cold tone.


    Zhou Dali instantly felt awkward, glancing at Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin, who were struggling to hold back laughter, and with a strained smile said, "Let''s go, let''s go in."


    Yan Junze warned aloud, "Be careful, it''s quite cold inside. If Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin really can''t stand the cold, Dali, you should later take off your clothes and give them to wear."


    "Sure, no problem," Zhou Dali nodded.


    Jiang Ruixin looked at Bao Jie, and neither of them objected.


    Yan Junze led the way into the corridor.


    Even though they had just been through it once, as they entered the corridor, Yan Junze was meticulous in his explanation, Bao Jie recorded the video on the side, while Jiang Ruixin and Zhou Dali were shining their flashlights around, appearing as if any small movement would scare them.


    Soon, Zhou Dali conscientiously took off his jacket and gave one to each, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin.


    Bao Jie was initially reluctant, but feeling so cold she was shivering, she reluctantly accepted the jacket and put it on.


    As for the doors of the rooms along the corridor, which were closed, they weren''t so bad, but those that were open, especially the ones ajar, the eerie silence coming from the dark spaces was frightening.


    As they approached the spot where Bao Jie last heard footsteps, Yan Junze recalled something and suddenly stopped, turned around, and shone his flashlight behind Zhou Dali.


    The other people were startled and also stopped, taking a surprised look at Yan Junze before quickly turning to look behind them.


    There was nothing there.


    "Did you just notice something?" Bao Jie asked.


    "Junze, is there something behind me?" Zhou Dali''s voice trembled.


    "Nothing, there''s nothing," Yan Junze smiled, "Dali, why don''t you walk backwards, shine the flashlight, and keep an eye out for anything unusual behind us."


    "Okay, okay, that''s a great suggestion!" Zhou Dali nodded rapidly, admiring Yan Junze greatly at that moment.


    Actually, he didn''t notice that he had been feeling a chill down his spine all along, but he had been so focused on what was in front of him that he hadn''t realized it.


    Yan Junze turned and continued to lead the way, but the image of a man''s shadow lingered in his mind.


    Just as he turned, he clearly saw a man about the same height as Zhou Dali walking behind him, with movements, the subtle bend of the body, and the pacing almost identical to that of Zhou Dali.


    It was like a substitute!


    However, Yan Junze knew well that the shadow was much thinner than Zhou Dali, and as soon as he turned, it merged into the darkness.


    Should he "Rewind" here and turn early to get a clear look at this guy''s true face?


    Yan Junze''s mind flickered with this thought, but after careful consideration, he felt it wasn''t necessary.


    Just now, Zhou Jiajie had quietly followed the group, only to be caught by the security, exposing everyone and causing him to use up one of his rewinds.


    The timeline, which could have been rewound by 40 minutes, had now been shortened to 36 minutes.


    He must hurry to complete this mission.


    Soon, the group turned the corner of the corridor and saw the direction to room 004.


    They had not walked far when the familiar, empty collision sound suddenly rang out, startling everyone except Yan Junze, who immediately stopped.


    "This... sound..."


    "Could it be... coming from that 004 storage room?"


    "It seems like it."


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin looked nervously in the direction of the storage room 004.


    The few carefully moved forward, noticing that the door to room 004 was ajar, not tightly closed.


    "I''ll go in first, everyone follow me. Dali, watch your back," Yan Junze instructed.


    Upon reaching the entrance of storage room 004, the air became even more humid, and an icy breath permeated the area, long enough for a mist to form at the nostrils, much like mucus.


    Wiping his nose carelessly, Yan Junze cautiously pushed open the door of room 004 without rushing in, and instead shone his flashlight inside once.


    There were several gray and white storage cabinets in the room, marked with labels that were unclear.


    In another corner of the room, there was an assortment of miscellaneous items, including many old newspapers and a pile of white plastic tubes, the purpose of which was unknown.


    Yan Junze walked in, followed by Bao Jie who was holding a camera, then Jiang Ruixin, and finally, Zhou Dali, who was walking backwards, constantly watching his back.


    Once everyone was in the room, Yan Junze instructed Zhou Dali to close the door.


    The sinister shadow that had been following the group clearly had ill intentions, making him unable to relax; closing the door would prevent any worries about the shadow sneaking in.


    And if the shadow did try to break in, the noise would be enough to alert everyone in advance.


    Jiang Ruixin took out two more flashlights from her bag, shining them in different directions to provide the greatest illumination in the storage room.


    "Now, we need to find this man''s soul, to help him," Yan Junze spoke up.


    The others didn''t say a word, and besides Bao Jie''s camera following Yan Junze, the other two searched around with their flashlights. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The storage room wasn''t very large; if it weren''t for some obstructions, it would have been possible to sweep the entire room with one glance, so within a few minutes, they had searched everywhere with no oddities to be found.


    Zhou Dali moved swiftly, even shifting the plastic tubes that were piled in the corner, yet still found nothing.


    Yan Junze looked at the storage cabinets against the wall and said to Zhou Dali, "Dali, we might need to move the cabinets."


    The storage cabinets were not filled, and one was even empty.


    Zhou Dali, without a second thought, went forward bare-chested, wrapping his arms around a half-full storage cabinet, lifted it, took two steps, and set it aside.


    Just as he was about to move the second cabinet, Yan Junze''s voice came, "Wait."


    He stepped forward, the flashlight shining behind the cabinets onto the wall, where a crack as wide as a finger appeared after moving the cabinet, about half a meter long.


    Just as the crack was revealed, under the illumination of the flashlight, a faint reflection gleamed from within the crack.

 Chapter 34 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 4)

    "There''s something sinister about the crack in this wall," Yan Junze appeared to be mumbling to himself, but in reality, he was providing a live commentary to the camera."This crack is too small, even if there were any strangeness, it couldn''t squeeze through! I''ll look around for other cracks in the wall," Zhou Dali turned his head to inspect the area.


    He was preparing to move all the other storage cabinets against the wall. Before coming, Yan Junze had not provided detailed instructions, but now it seemed that the strangeness must be hiding inside the wall.


    Yan Junze stopped him, "No need to move them, Dali, take out all the demolition tools you brought, and just drill into the wall¡ªright at this crack."


    "Ah! We''re really drilling?" Everyone stared at him.


    "Of course," Yan Junze nodded, "The humidity here is high; the inside of the wall must be soaked with moisture. Be careful not to make too much noise, a hole just big enough for one person to freely enter and exit is fine."


    "You mean for you to enter and exit, or me," Zhou Dali looked confusedly at his own robust frame and then at Yan Junze''s frail figure.


    He had made up his mind that if, after drilling through the wall, Yan Junze still wanted him to enter, he would refuse to do so even if it meant fighting everyone here to death.


    He would resist to the death!


    "It''s enough if I can get in and out," Yan Junze reassured him with a peace-offering.


    "That''s better," Zhou Dali nodded, set down his large backpack, and took out various tools like a sledgehammer, electric drill, and hammers, tools both useful and useless.


    The electric drill was charged and ready to use, which was convenient.


    Zhou Dali, holding the electric drill, walked towards the crack, intending to enlarge the hole first. Then, after seeing the structure inside, he would use the hammer to break through.


    But just as he approached within five or six steps of the crack, he suddenly froze, as if he''d instantaneously turned into a clay statue, his index finger already pressing the switch of the drill, its head spinning rapidly in the air.


    The guy didn''t even realize it and just stood there motionless.


    "Dali? What''s going on?" Yan Junze approached, puzzled.


    Upon closer inspection, Zhou Dali''s eyes blinked twice, but his body remained still.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt a void in his body as if he had fallen into an abyss, continuously plummeting downward. A sense of panic spread throughout his body, and he felt unable to breathe all of a sudden.


    Piercing screams from Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin echoed in his ears, as if they too had encountered a mishap at the same moment.


    "Not good, we must Rewind!"


    No sooner had the thought emerged in Yan Junze''s mind than he heard Zhou Dali speak beside him, "The... the crack in the wall... seems like... it has an eye!"


    It appeared only this guy was unaffected.


    As soon as Zhou Dali''s words were spoken, the sensation of free-falling that plagued Yan Junze vanished. His body felt heavy again, and he found himself still standing in the same spot, having not moved an inch.


    However, he was now sweating all over his body.


    It was a hallucination!


    He came to his senses.


    Turning his head, he saw Bao Jie sitting on the ground, a terrified expression still etched on her face, while Jiang Ruixin leaned against the moved storage cabinet, her hands flailing in front of her. It took another second for her to suddenly come to her senses and stop.


    Zhou Dali, meanwhile, blinked and said with trepidation, "Ze, take a look inside the crack... is there... an eye?"


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze felt a pitch darkness all of a sudden, all the flashlight beams had vanished.


    A sense of fear involuntarily washed over him. He reached out into the darkness, finding nothing.


    The endless darkness surged toward him like a tide.


    All at once, an icy hand reached out for his throat, its grip as strong as that of a yak, seizing his neck with precision.


    In a panic, he grabbed the chilling hand with both hands, but despite his effort to pry it away, he could not move it; it felt not like a human hand but more like a cold, unfeeling machine.


    After a brief struggle, the icy hand disappeared, and the darkness around was dispelled by the flashlight''s light. Yan Junze found himself back at the spot where he was standing just moments ago.


    The illusion was gone again.


    This time, Zhou Dali was staring intently at the eye peeking from the crack in the wall.


    As if something had triggered him, Yan Junze had a stroke of insight and said, "Dali, focus on that eye you see and don''t blink. Keep staring at it and don''t move."


    The two consecutive immersions into an illusion started after Zhou Dali noticed the eye in the crack of the wall, and Yan Junze realized that as long as Zhou Dali stared at that eye, everyone was fine. But the moment he blinked or looked away, Yan Junze would fall into the illusion.


    Clearly, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were also falling into different illusions at the same time.


    It was a problem with the eye in the crack of the wall.


    "Stare... stare at it... What for?" Zhou Dali asked, trembling, "That might be... a Ghost Eye!"


    "It''s not might be, it''s definitely a Ghost Eye."


    Yan Junze decisively pushed Zhou Dali aside and took his place, his gaze preemptively taking over from Dali''s and locked onto the eye in the crack that reflected a faint glow under the flashlight.


    The eye in the crack only showed one eye, as the narrow gap did not allow the other to be seen. This eye likely belonged to a corpse with eyes wide open, unblinking, just peering through the crack at the people outside.


    A thin layer of grayish-white film covered the surface of the pupil, but one could still see the lifeless eyeball through the film.


    From this distance, the corpse inside the wall was not far from the surface. If the action was quick, it could be excavated shortly after breaking through the wall.


    Although Yan Junze didn''t know why looking away from that eye caused others to fall into an illusion, he didn''t have time to think it through at the moment.


    While keeping his gaze on the eye in the crack, he quickly ordered Zhou Dali, "Use all your tools and break through this wall fast. We need to dig out this body!"


    Zhou Dali was startled, then reacted. Without using a drill, he picked up the sledgehammer and swung at the wall.


    Thud!


    A dull sound echoed. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since it was in the basement, and storage room 004''s door was closed, along with the twisted corridors and the closed door at the stair entrance, the sound was very faint by the time it reached outside.


    Mainly because inside the building, except for during patrol times, there were no security guards around at this hour, and inside the security booth, the uncle was engrossed in his drama series, not hearing anything at all.


    After a few swings of the hammer, the wall caved in, and a large piece of the exterior wall fell off, revealing the stones and a few bent steel bars inside.


    By this time, Yan Junze was struggling to keep up. His eyes had been open the whole time, fixed on that grayish-white dead eye. Not blinking at all was simply impossible.


    The sour sensation quickly surged, and after his eyelids uncontrollably trembled a couple of times, they forcefully closed.


    Simultaneously, darkness fell before Zhou Dali''s eyes. He stopped hammering, dropped the sledgehammer, and grabbed his own throat, struggling and calling for help loudly.


    Bao Jie''s camera also fell to the ground, and she seemed to be drowning, kicking her legs and grasping at the Void, trying to pull something.


    Jiang Ruixin was screaming nonstop, retreating as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Apart from Yan Junze, all three had fallen into an illusion.


    Yan Junze was frantic, forcibly keeping his eyes wide open and staring fiercely again at the pupil in the crack in the wall, even manually propping his eyelids open to prevent them from blinking again.


    The illusions of the three people soon vanished, and each, still shaken, stood motionless for a few seconds before slowly regaining their senses.


    This time, everyone understood what was going on. Jiang Ruixin ran to help Zhou Dali while Bao Jie picked up her camera to check it and, finding it undamaged, patted her chest in relief and continued filming.


    "This no-blinking challenge is really tough!"


    Yan Junze propped his eyelids with his fingers, and with his glasses in the way, it was already quite inconvenient. Soon, he couldn''t stand it any longer and wanted to close his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, his face showing signs of agony.


    "How about I give it a try?" Bao Jie suggested, batting her watery, large eyes from the side.

 Chapter 35 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 5)

    "Alright, you take over," Yan Junze agreed without hesitation.Bao Jie was momentarily stunned, not expecting him to agree so readily.


    But to be honest, Yan Junze had already had enough, constantly weeping and not daring to close his eyes, urging Bao Jie to quickly stand in his place.


    "Where''s the eye?" Bao Jie temporarily handed the camera to Jiang Ruixin.


    Yan Junze pointed to a certain spot in the crack of the wall, "Stare at it, keep it dead in sight, and whatever you do, don''t blink."


    As soon as Bao Jie saw the eye, Yan Junze immediately closed his, rubbing them fiercely, and joined Zhou Dali in smashing the wall.


    Before the four of them were killed by hallucinations, they had to dig out the corpse inside as quickly as possible. Otherwise, to be played by an eye to the point of death, and even worse, have it recorded on video, would be an embarrassment beyond measure.


    Just as Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were frantically chiseling the wall, the next second, the whole scene turned awkward.


    "Hurry up, I can''t take it anymore," Bao Jie''s anxious voice rang out.


    From the moment she took over from Yan Junze, it had been less than ten seconds before these words were spoken, and as soon as her words ended, Yan Junze''s vision was filled with a hallucination. He saw a withered, shriveled arm stretch out from the crack in the wall, grabbing his collar.


    The stench of decay wafted forth, and from that gripping arm, a mass of maggots crawled out, burrowing into his clothes.


    And the strength of this arm was immense, forcefully trying to drag him into the wall.


    Zhou Dali''s roars echoed in his ears, as if he were wrestling with something, and he was shouting, "As long as it''s not a strangeness, you''ll see if I can''t beat you to death!"


    Jiang Ruixin, who was filming, let out a scream, and once again the sound of the camera hitting the ground was heard.


    On Yan Junze''s side, all the rotting flesh on the arm extruding from the wall had completely decayed, part of it falling into his clothes along with the maggots, squirming against his skin.


    Goosebumps erupted all over Yan Junze''s body.


    The next second, everyone snapped back from the illusion, standing stock-still in place.


    There was Bao Jie with her hair in disarray, imitating Yan Junze''s earlier action, using her fingers to forcefully keep her eyelids open, staring unblinkingly at the eye in the wall crack.


    The image of a lady was completely ruined.


    Not only that, although she kept an ungainly posture, Bao Jie still rapidly said, "Who¡­ Who''ll take over for me, this really isn''t my strong suit!"


    Yan Junze sighed, about to reply, heard Jiang Ruixin say, "I''ll do it! Where''s the eye?"


    At this moment, Jiang Ruixin had rolled up her sleeves, ready to face death.


    It was mainly because the successive hallucinations earlier had nearly scared her out of her wits. Even though she knew they were illusions, she couldn''t endure this kind of scare, so now she was all in, in a desperate state of it''s either you or me.


    After spotting the eye in the wall crack, Jiang Ruixin pushed Bao Jie aside, hands on hips, and roared, "Hurry up and get to work! Leave staring down the eye to me! Shameless thing, think you can outstare me? My mom stared me down while growing up; I''m not afraid of you!"


    No sooner had she spoken than Jiang Ruixin bulged her eyes out, flipping her eyelids so widely that it seemed even bigger than Bull''s Eye.


    The other three were taken aback, staring at Jiang Ruixin as if they were seeing her for the first time.


    "Get moving, why are you looking at me?" Jiang Ruixin kept her eyes wide open, still furious.


    Zhou Dali clicked his tongue in amazement, "Impressive! Look at those eyeballs, stretched so wide, and she can still see us with the corner of her eyes."


    "That''s peripheral vision," Yan Junze said speechlessly.


    "Zhou Dali, are you talking about someone''s bladder!!!" Jiang Ruixin roared, eyes wide with anger.


    Thump, thump, thump...


    Zhou Dali, feeling a chill, quickly swung the sledgehammer to continue smashing the wall.


    Bao Jie picked up the camera to inspect it, and it turned out that the thing was quite durable; having been dropped twice, it still hadn''t broken, so she again pointed the lens at the three of them.


    Although the basement floor was constantly damp, it was exceptionally well-constructed. The body seemed close to the wall surface, but it was challenging to make an opening large enough for a person to pass through.


    Soon, Zhou Dali''s whole body was drenched in sweat, and the hole they were creating was only halfway done.


    Yan Junze looked and reminded, "No, we still need to smash it."


    He then turned his head to look at Jiang Ruixin.


    This girl still had her almond-shaped eyes wide open, staring intently at the dead body''s eyes that were now mostly exposed.


    At this moment, the corpse''s two grey pupils were revealed, but as Jiang Ruixin stared without blinking, no illusions appeared.


    By this time, not only Yan Junze and Zhou Dali, but even Bao Jie, who was holding the camera, could not help but express admiration, "Ruixin, you''re amazing. It''s been over three minutes and you haven''t blinked once."


    Jiang Ruixin didn''t speak, obviously holding her breath, her body tense, not daring to relax in the slightest.


    The gaze that shot out of the "Bull''s Eyes" seemed to ignite like stars, illuminating the entire storage room and bringing endless light and warmth to everyone.


    Zhou Dali, while swinging the hammer, said admiringly, "Ruixin, I''m truly impressed! With that killing power in your gaze, in the future, anyone foolish enough to anger you could be stared to death!"


    "I feel like you could apply for a Guinness World Record," Bao Jie interjected.


    "The hole is ready; let''s pull out the body," Yan Junze suddenly said.


    Zhou Dali turned to look at him, surprised, "Am I to carry it?"


    "Let''s carry it together."


    Yan Junze had already half entered the hole, crouching at the entrance, his hands grasping the corpse''s feet, and said cautiously, "It''s been a long time; the body no longer has a stench. Dali, be gentle, don''t break his limbs."


    Zhou Dali, horrified, helped carry the upper part of the body, found that the corpse had nearly become a mummy, very light in weight. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he and Yan Junze together moved the body out of the hole and gently placed it on the ground.


    At this point, Jiang Ruixin was still moving her feet, fixated on the mummy''s grey eyes.


    Yan Junze looked at her, full of admiration, "Ruixin, try to slowly move your gaze away. If you hear any of us suddenly start shouting, quickly stare back at the corpse''s eyes."


    Under his guess, since the body had been moved from the sealed wall and exposed to daylight again, the illusions that might appear upon shifting the gaze should no longer occur.


    Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he reminded Jiang Ruixin how to react just in case.


    Jiang Ruixin nodded, slowly shifted her gaze, and stopped looking at the grey pupils. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nothing unusual happened.


    "You can close your eyes and rest for a while," Yan Junze sighed with relief.


    Jiang Ruixin closed her eyes and walked to the side, gasping for breath.


    Zhou Dali and Bao Jie were focused on Jiang Ruixin, not paying attention to the mummy or Yan Junze for the moment.


    Yan Junze looked at the mummy, which was indistinguishable in features but was confirmed to be a man.


    The clothes on the body had barely remained, the body was gaunt, and it was slightly curled up.


    However, traces of hardened cement slurry were still visible around his mouth and throat.


    Yan Junze remembered, the mission background stated that this man had a tragic fate, estranged from his wife and children. His name was synonymous with loneliness, doomed never to draw anyone''s attention in life.


    Moreover, he had died in an accident.


    Now, it seemed extremely likely that this man was a construction worker who met with an accident while building this skyscraper, got buried alive here, and was never discovered.


    The mission stated that the man must be allowed to rest in peace eternally.


    Now that the body had been dug up, the question remained on how to let the man rest in peace, something Yan Junze could not yet discern.


    But there was at least one piece of good news¡ªthe mummy''s eyes would no longer bring horrific visions to others.


    While pondering, suddenly a series of footsteps came from the corridor outside.


    The footsteps approached from a distance, coming slowly from the end of the corridor. In the silent and dark space, they sounded particularly piercing.

 Chapter 36 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 6)

    Yan Junze checked the time, noting that 15 minutes had already passed of the remaining 36 minutes he had set for the "Rewind" deadline, leaving 21 minutes.Listening intently, the footsteps approaching from outside seemed steady, the sound of leather shoes suggesting it was a man.


    Everyone gathered behind the door of storeroom 004, Yan Junze turned to glance at the mummified corpse on the floor, ears perked, listening closely; no one spoke.


    The footsteps quickly neared the door of room 004.


    All four of them held their breath, hearts in their throats.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was guessing whether the person outside was the security guard from the duty room.


    The others unanimously believed that the individual outside was definitely one of the "strangenesses."


    The footsteps stopped directly outside room 004 after passing by, followed by a knock about two seconds later.


    A strange male voice came through, "Is there... anyone inside?"


    "Huff..."


    Hearing the voice, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, able to speak and with a quivering tone that betrayed fright; it seemed to be a human after all.


    It seemed the noise from earlier, the pounding on the walls, had been too loud, drawing someone down from above.


    "Who''s out there?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "I''m the building security guard. Who are you and what are you hiding in there for?" the man''s voice was still shaking violently, "There''s nothing valuable in this place, and moreover, it''s haunted by strangenesses! Come out quickly!"


    "We are not thieves." Since they were already discovered, Jiang Ruixin, who was closest to the door, directly opened it.


    Outside stood a tall, thin man in a security guard uniform, wielding a flashlight, but he wasn''t the middle-aged man watching TV series in the duty room¡ªthis guard was much younger, with distinct facial features, and indeed looked like a living person aside from being rather thin.


    The young security guard clearly hadn''t expected to find four people hiding in the storeroom. Upon seeing Yan Junze and the others, he was startled.


    Especially upon seeing Zhou Dali''s elephant-like build, he thought to himself that even three of him combined wouldn''t be a match for the guy opposite him.


    Before he could continue speaking, his flashlight beam swept over the twisted corpse on the floor.


    The young security guard screamed in fright, "There... there''s a body! This place is haunted by strangenesses, you... you guys, hurry... get... get out!


    Quick!"


    "We dug out the body," Yan Junze said.


    "From the crack in the wall." Zhou Dali casually pointed at the hole in the wall behind him, a sense of pride welling up as if he had forgotten the scene where his own calf muscles had been trembling.


    "No wonder it''s been haunted by strangenesses! So there has been a... a body here!" The young security guard was trembling with fear, shining his flashlight on the mummified corpse below its stomach without pointing it at the face.


    "There shouldn''t be any strangenesses anymore," Yan Junze explained, "As long as we move the body out, notify the security staff to come over, or just find a place to bury it and let it rest in peace, there won''t be any more strangenesses happening here."


    "Okay... okay," the young security guard lowered the beam of his flashlight and swallowed hard, "Close the eyes of the corpse, otherwise it will keep staring as if it can''t rest in peace, which is quite frightening."


    "The body is already dried up, it might not be possible to close the eyes," Bao Jie said tremblingly.


    But after the hallucinations they had just experienced, her courage had increased considerably.


    "We can wrap cloth over the eyes," Zhou Dali slapped his thigh, "We should have done that earlier, otherwise we wouldn''t have kept staring into its eyes."


    "Where do we find cloth?" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before Jiang Ruixin could finish speaking, Zhou Dali grabbed her sleeve and tore off a piece with a ripping sound, saying, "The clothes are mine, and it''s reasonable for me to tear my own clothes, isn''t it?"


    Jiang Ruixin didn''t say anything, her eyes widened in shock, scaring Zhou Dali to take four or five steps back.


    It seems that he had already begun to be wary of Jiang Ruixin''s "Bull''s Eye."


    However, he didn''t wrap the cloth strip around the corpse''s eyes himself, but instead handed it to Yan Junze, "Here, you do it."


    "Whoever comes up with the idea should do it himself," Yan Junze did not take the cloth.


    Zhou Dali hesitated. He looked at the security guard, then at Bao Jie, who was filming, and gritted his teeth: "If it has to be done, I''ll do it. It''s time to brave up."


    He walked over to the mummified corpse, bent down, held his breath, and quickly wrapped a cloth strip around the corpse''s eyes, then tied a knot at the back of the skull.


    "That should do it."


    The young security guard seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this point and pointed with his flashlight in the direction of the corridor''s bend: "Let''s get out of here first. As soon as we''re outside, I''ll call the other colleagues over right away to clean up this place."


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "We must take the body with us. To be honest, we are a Spirit Exploration Team, and we came specifically for this."


    The young security guard was taken aback. He lowered his head as if pondering something, his cap slightly oversized, now askew on his head, ready to fall off at any moment.


    Suddenly, he whirled around, his cap falling to the ground, demanding as he faced an open door across the hall: "Who''s there? Who is inside?"


    This door was directly opposite Storage Room 004 and had been open the whole time, but because there was no light, the interior setup couldn''t be seen clearly.


    As he shouted, the guard''s flashlight lit up the space, but the beam seemed to get sucked into a thick morass of darkness; it was impossible to see what was inside the room.


    This young guard was quite bold, not petrified by fear, and in a few steps, he charged into the room across the way.


    The four people standing at the doorway of Storage Room 004 exchanged glances. Among them, Yan Junze was the bravest, but without a clear understanding of the situation, he wasn''t about to recklessly rush inside!


    As expected, after the guard ran into the room, there was no more sound from him.


    Only the breathing of the few people outside could be heard, and the surroundings were dead silent.


    This kind of waiting was torturous. Zhou Dali couldn''t help but grunt, about to speak, when suddenly the room across burst into sounds of struggling and banging, getting more and more violent.


    The anxious voice of the young security guard followed promptly: "Someone come help quick!"


    Yan Junze and the others were stunned.


    Zhou Dali exclaimed in surprise, "It''s not a strangeness? Wait for grandpa to come and help you clean up!"


    As a rising sun, exemplified by the school, and with his own natural strength, Zhou Dali''s blood surged at this moment.


    No sooner had he spoken than he dashed out of Storage Room 004 and plunged into the room across the hall.


    The next second, everything went pitch black. The light from the flashlight in his hand instantly died, leaving no trace of any other light before his eyes.


    Zhou Dali froze, reaching his hands out to grope around, finding nothing in front of him, which scared him so much that he quickly turned back, only to find that the door he had just entered through had also disappeared.


    Logically, Yan Junze and the others were just across the hall, shining their flashlights, and standing inside this room looking at the doorway, flashlight beams should have been visible. But now, there was only darkness before him.


    "Security brother, where are you?" Zhou Dali panicked, a bizarre and inexplicable fear creeping into his heart.


    At this moment, his only hope was the young security guard who had just been calling for help.


    He groped around while shouting.


    No sooner had the words left his lips than Zhou Dali''s hand touched an arm.


    This arm had a sleeve, and on the sleeve there seemed to be a few buttons; it must be the security uniform.


    "Security brother, why aren''t you saying anything?" Zhou Dali felt he might pee himself with fright, his voice trembling as if he was screaming through a voice distorter.


    The arm he was holding suddenly moved, grabbing Zhou Dali''s muscular arm in return.


    Zhou Dali''s body stiffened, completely unable to break free. His pupils darkened rapidly, as if covered by a black cloth; his mouth slowly opened, and from his throat came a series of meaningless chuckles. These sounds, in the darkness, were especially eerie.


    His cheeks quickly shriveled up and veins bulged. Then, with a thud, he collapsed, lifeless.


    "Where are you guys? Why not come help out some more?"


    The young security guard''s voice suddenly echoed in the room once more, filled with an indescribable urgency.

 Chapter 37 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 7)

    The door to Storage Room No. 004 had always been open, and Yan Junze stood at the doorway with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, flashlights in hand.Upon seeing Zhou Dali rush into the room across, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin aimed their flashlight beams at the entrance of that room.


    Only Yan Junze turned his flashlight around, keeping an eye on the direction where the dry corpse lay.


    No sound emerged; Zhou Dali, who had entered the opposite room, disappeared as if a drop of water had fallen into the ocean without causing a single ripple.


    "Dali!" Yan Junze turned his head and called out tentatively.


    There was no movement in the pitch-dark room.


    "What do we do?" Jiang Ruixin turned her head and looked at Yan Junze anxiously. "Could it be that Dali is so mighty that as soon as he entered, he took down the opponent?"


    "Impossible." Yan Junze shook his head. "That guy exaggerates his movements, acting frivolously. Even if he could easily subdue the opponent, he would deliberately roar twice to prove to us how badass he is."


    "Then what''s going on? Who''s going to go check it out now?" Bao Jie, standing to the side with the camera, was obviously trembling.


    Just then, the young security guard''s voice rang out again: "Where is everyone? Why won''t more people come and help?"


    It seemed that after meeting up with Zhou Dali, he must have had some effect, at least managing to suppress the other party.


    "Bao Jie, come with me," Yan Junze glanced at the dry corpse lying not far behind on the ground, then instructed Jiang Ruixin: "Ruixin, you stay here. If the dry corpse makes any movement, use your eyes to glare at it."


    Jiang Ruixin shuddered with fear: "But his eyes are wrapped up with cloth, I can''t glare at him!"


    "How about you tear off the cloth? In case he moves, it''s easier for you to glare at him," Yan Junze suggested, with no hint of jest.


    "Tear your sister! I''m not tearing it, it''s good this way," Jiang Ruixin shook her head like a rattle-drum.


    "When Bao Jie stands at the door of the opposite room, I''ll be the one to go inside. You''ll be able to see her, so both of you will have someone looking out for the other."


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders and gave Jiang Ruixin one more instruction before he and Bao Jie approached the opposite side one after the other.


    The flashlight shone inside the room, revealing only about two or three meters ahead; beyond that, it was swallowed by thick darkness, obscuring the inside completely.


    The situation was somewhat eerie.


    Yan Junze hesitated at the doorway, then checked the rewind line in his mind through Inner Vision, 17 minutes left.


    If he encountered danger, he could rewind freely within this time frame back to any moment he wished.


    That should be enough to handle the risk.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze, flashlight in hand, allowed Bao Jie to illuminate him from behind using the camera''s light as he stepped inside the room.


    From Bao Jie''s perspective, the moment Yan Junze entered the room, a dense darkness enveloped him instantly, as if swallowing him whole, along with the flashlight beam, which vanished rapidly.


    "Yan Junze!" Bao Jie was startled and quickly called out loudly.


    The reply to her call was utter silence.


    Bao Jie''s heart nearly stopped beating from fear, and she stomped her foot anxiously, "Yan Junze, respond to me! Where are you?"


    The light from the camera and flashlight only reached just beyond the door; they could penetrate no deeper into that ink-like blackness.


    "What''s happening?" Jiang Ruixin stood at the entrance of Storage Room No. 004, her face filled with astonishment, "Did he just disappear after walking in?"


    "No... he''s gone, and he didn''t answer me," Bao Jie''s voice was on the verge of tears.


    "Should I come over and take a look?" Jiang Ruixin proposed.


    Ever since tasting the fruit of victory, she had come to consider her "Glaring Eyes Mastery" as the first triumphant measure against strangeness.


    "You should still watch out for the one behind you..."


    Before Bao Jie could finish speaking, the camera she was holding seemed to be grabbed by something. Standing at the door, she was suddenly dragged into the room by a strong force. The second half of her sentence, her even a cry for help, never had the chance to be vocalized.


    A piercing scream erupted from Jiang Ruixin, resonating throughout the corridor. Accompanied by the scream, her back tensed, and her clothes contracted backwards as if a huge hand had seized the back of her shirt.


    The next second, Jiang Ruixin''s flashlight dropped, she was yanked into Storage Room No. 004, and the door slammed shut with a bang.


    The basement returned to silence.


    The damp odor seemed to have thickened compared to when they had first arrived.


    Inside the room.


    The thick darkness enveloped Yan Junze.


    No matter which direction he walked, everything before his eyes was pitch-black, and the flashlight in his hand had eerily gone out, completely refusing to turn on.


    Could it be that this house was also haunted? Hadn''t the body already been dug up? Why was it still like this?


    A multitude of questions rose in his heart. Standing still, Yan Junze didn''t dare to move recklessly for the time being.


    First, that young security guard had appeared, and then the abnormalities in this house were discovered¡ªsuddenly things had become bizarre.


    If a noise suddenly came from within this house, the guard''s reaction shouldn''t have been to pounce in directly but to instinctively jump in fright and then retreat immediately.


    This wasn''t the reaction of a normal person.


    In a place haunted by strangenesses, being able to hear a noise in the dark and lunge at it with such eagerness, such a matter-of-course attitude, such heedlessness was probably something only an idiot exorcist like Huang Chen would do.


    So, the actions of this security guard were indeed abnormal.


    It was proven that a person''s thinking could only emit powerful operational capabilities in an exceptionally quiet place. And at this moment, that was exactly the case for Yan Junze.


    He hated himself for not thinking of this sooner. Now, he had walked straight into the tiger''s den. The hope of escaping this room easily and getting out seemed bleak.


    Zhou Dali was very likely practicing the mighty punches of his ancestor, Zhou Shentong, by now.


    Yes, Zhou Heng had an ancestor in the local area who was quite famous¡ªa man named Zhou Shentong, not to be confused with Zhou Botong. The man knew nothing of the Ambidextrous Combat Technique, but Zhou Shentong was indeed built like a tiger, with a bear''s back¡ªtallying with his formidable reputation for his punching skill.


    Yan Junze suspected that Zhou Heng''s nickname, Dali, probably had much to do with inheriting this ancestor''s genes.


    Pity about the lost inheritance of intelligence, otherwise he wouldn''t have foolishly followed that suspicious security guard into the house.


    Just then, Ke''er, who lay on Yan Junze''s back, stirred, and an inexplicable sense of crisis descended. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but step back twice.


    In the darkness, his foot suddenly stepped on the instep of another foot. It seemed like someone had been standing not far behind him all along, and they had finally bumped into each other by accident.


    Ke''er, lying on his back, issued a dull roar that Yan Junze had never heard before, like an agitated wolf-dog warning the other with a low growl.


    The next second, Ke''er sprung up and lunged out.


    Yan Junze couldn''t see anything, so he quickly turned around to face the direction Ke''er had pounced toward.


    Thud!


    A loud sound of something hitting the wall echoed from not too far away.


    The outcome was unknown.


    Yan Junze''s heart was in turmoil, but no other sounds came through afterward.


    Ke''er''s favorability towards him had already become "friendly", otherwise, she wouldn''t have taken the initiative to lunge at that shadow in the dark.


    After waiting a moment, Yan Junze couldn''t help but call out, "Ke''er."


    Clap, a hand was placed on his shoulder from behind.


    This hand was large, not that of a child.


    After sensing the size of the hand, Yan Junze knew the outcome of Ke''er''s charge.


    His heart immediately sank to the bottom.


    Without any hesitation, a resolutely strong thought appeared in his mind.


    Rewind!


    Everything became a blur before his eyes once again saw light.


    It was the light from the flashlight.


    He, along with Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin, were all standing behind the door of storage room 004, listening intently to the footsteps coming from the corridor outside.


    Yan Junze''s face darkened as he lowered his voice and said to everyone, "None of you answer to anyone outside later, and if anyone dares to respond, I''ll fucking strangle him!"


    The other three all looked bewildered.


    "Just give a caution, what are you staring at me for?" Zhou Dali felt inexplicably wronged as he stared at Yan Junze, feeling he''d been gravely insulted.

 Chapter 38 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 8)

    In the deathly quiet of the basement level, the approaching footsteps sounded extremely hollow, yet each step was enough to send chills down one''s spine.The footsteps stopped in front of storage room 004, pausing for two seconds before a voice suddenly asked, "Is there... anyone inside?"


    Throughout this process, Yan Junze had been fixedly staring at Zhou Dali.


    Our comrade Dali opened his mouth, then quickly realized something and hastily closed it again.


    The three of them were somewhat puzzled. Listening to the voice, the person outside didn''t sound like a ghost, but rather a young man; yet, why wouldn''t Yan Junze let them respond?


    Although no answer was given, the person outside didn''t leave but instead reached out and grabbed the doorknob, giving it a twist.


    The door didn''t open.


    Because inside, Yan Junze was gripping the handle with both hands, preventing it from turning.


    "I know there''s someone inside. What were you smashing down here just now? Open the door quickly, it''s dangerous here with all the strangeness, you shouldn''t linger!" The person''s voice rose suddenly, as if warning them.


    "Why aren''t you opening the door?" Bao Jie asked in a hushed, anxious voice.


    "Right, the person should be the building''s duty guard," Jiang Ruixin added.


    Only Zhou Dali kept his mouth shut, obedient under Yan Junze''s dominance.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also felt puzzled. The voice clearly belonged to the young security guard, and it made sense for him to have discovered them. There were no apparent flaws in his reasoning.


    Was it really a mistake when he rushed into the opposite room alone earlier? Did he not only trap himself but lead everyone into this predicament?


    Unable to come up with an answer, the knocking became more urgent.


    Yan Junze decided to open the door.


    Standing at the door was the same young security guard.


    The guard shined his flashlight around, and upon seeing so many people in the room, he unsurprisingly jumped in shock. Then he noticed the mummified corpse inside. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Holy shit, there''s... a body! This place... it''s haunted, what are you doing here? There''s nothing of value, everyone out, follow me upstairs now!" He was clearly terrified.


    "No, we must take the body with us," Yan Junze flatly refused.


    "Is it... its eyes are open, so scary. Can we close the body''s eyes?" The young guard retracted the beam of his flashlight, shivering as he spoke.


    "The body is mummified, the eyes can''t be closed anymore." This time, Yan Junze answered for Bao Jie.


    "No, you can wrap something around the eyes! Should have thought of this earlier, otherwise what''s the point of letting them stare into space?" Zhou Dali, just like before, slapped his thigh and turned to look for a piece of cloth.


    "But we don''t have any cloth..."


    Jiang Ruixin had barely started speaking when the sound of tearing fabric came; Zhou Dali himself had ripped a piece from the clothes he had given her.


    "This shirt is mine," Zhou Dali said, seeing Jiang Ruixin''s displeased look and hurriedly explaining.


    "Try tearing it again and see what happens!" Jiang Ruixin''s eyes began to bulge, frightening Zhou Dali into hastily retreating, unable to meet her gaze.


    This time, perhaps cowed by Jiang Ruixin''s intimidation, Zhou Dali didn''t ask Yan Junze to act but instead went over to the corpse and wrapped its eyes himself, tying a knot at the back of its head.


    "That should do it."


    The young security guard at the door breathed a sigh of relief and pointed with his flashlight down the hallway towards the corner, "Leave this place with me first, after we get out I''ll immediately notify my colleagues to come here, and then we''ll call the police to handle the body."


    This time, Yan Junze didn''t immediately speak. Instead, he began listening intently, his focus directed towards the opposite room with the open door.


    "What do we do now?" Seeing Yan Junze not answering, Bao Jie and the others didn''t dare make a decision for him and all looked at him.


    The young guard was also watching him, clearly aware that he was the leader among the four.


    "No, we must carry the body out ourselves," Yan Junze said after a moment, shaking his head.


    The guard seemed a bit helpless, shrugged his shoulders, and was about to say something when he suddenly startled, turned around, and called out, "Who''s in there?"


    As his words fell, he shone his flashlight towards the opposite side and immediately charged into the pitch-black room.


    A moment later, sounds of scuffling and collisions came from the room.


    "Nobody is allowed to follow!"


    Yan Junze suddenly spread out his hands, blocking Zhou Dali, who was eager to try, as if he had already anticipated this scene.


    He had been listening intently for any abnormal sounds coming from the room across, but until the security guard had called out, he hadn''t heard anything.


    It was impossible for only the security guard to hear it; at this moment, he was certain the suspiciousness lay not in the room across but rather on this young security guard.


    Just then, the security guard''s voice came from the pitch-black room, "Come quickly, I need help!"


    Zhou Dali was startled, but his arm was abruptly seized by Yan Junze, "Do you trust me or not?"


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, nodded his head, but he was still ready to go into the room to help.


    It seemed like the young security guard in the room couldn''t subdue the other person. With his own brute strength, there was no reason not to go and help. Moreover, since that person was grappling with the security guard, it meant the situation wasn''t due to any strangeness.


    If it was a person, Zhou Dali had nothing to fear.


    "Trust me, we can''t go in," Yan Junze asserted decisively, "Now help me lift this corpse, we must leave at once."


    "But isn''t the security guard in danger?" Zhou Dali and Bao Jie exclaimed in unison.


    "We''ll talk about it once we get upstairs!" Yan Junze raised his voice, "Once we''re up, we''ll notify the security at the entrance to come and assist in a team, this place is very dangerous right now."


    Zhou Dali hesitated.


    Bao Jie just held the camera and said no more.


    Jiang Ruixin had been silent the entire time, contemplating.


    At that moment, the room across returned to silence, with no sound coming out.


    Zhou Dali couldn''t help but shout, "Security brother, what''s the situation now?"


    No one answered.


    It was as if there was never anyone in that room.


    "It seems... a bit eerie," Zhou Dali muttered to himself, feeling somewhat afraid.


    Without further hesitation, Zhou Dali took the body''s shoulders, Yan Junze took the feet, and the two led the way out of the room into the corridor, with Bao Jie continuing to film behind, while Jiang Ruixin, at Yan Junze''s request, walked backward, facing away, cautiously illuminating behind them with the flashlight.


    Actually, the body wasn''t very heavy. If Zhou Dali alone shouldered it, they could move faster, but Zhou Dali flat-out refused to carry a dead body.


    Yan Junze had a rather slight build and didn''t know how far he could carry the corpse on his own, but time was of the essence, and it was faster for two people to carry it together.


    They soon reached the corner of the corridor, and turning the corner would bring them to the main door at the end of the hallway. Once through the main door and up the stairs, they would have left the basement level.


    However, just after they passed the corner of the corridor, Yan Junze suddenly halted, stopping in his tracks.


    "What''s going on?" Zhou Dali asked from behind, puzzled.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin also looked over with faces full of confusion.


    Yan Junze didn''t answer; he just tilted his head slightly so that the people behind could clearly see the "thing" he was looking at.


    They could see a vague figure lying on the ground near the big door of the corridor, limbs bent at strange angles.


    The light from the flashlight, shining towards the shadow, seemed to be swallowed, unable to reveal any details of its appearance.


    Then, the shadow began to move at an exceedingly slow pace, crawling into a room closer to the main door of the corridor.


    That room number was supposed to be 017.


    After the shadow entered the room, all the doors along both sides of the corridor suddenly slammed open, revealing the pitch-black spaces within.

 Chapter 39 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 9)

    The corridor''s corner housed two rooms, 010 and 011, which were both open at this moment, revealing pitch darkness; nothing was visible.However, right after the room doors opened, there seemed to be a sound of something being dragged across the floor, causing one''s scalp to tingle.


    In room 011, two bare arms appeared from the ground at the doorway, as if someone was crawling on the floor, slowly making their way out.


    Jiang Ruixin let out a scream because, at the doorway of room 010 which was closest to her, there were also two arms crawling out.


    One could even faintly make out a bald head continuously squirming towards the outside.


    The very next second, all flashlight beams went out.


    "Ah!"


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin screamed again in unison.


    The piercing screams made Yan Junze''s ears buzz, and he was temporarily deafened.


    Yan Junze felt that the most common sound he heard that night was women''s screams, which made him doubt his decision to bring these two female classmates with him for Spirit Exploration.


    Let''s not even mention the strangenesses; just Jiang Ruixin''s scream alone had made him shudder twice. Frankly, it was much more startling than if a strangeness had suddenly appeared before him.


    Unexpectedly, although the flashlight beams were all extinguished, the light from the camera Bao Jie was holding was still on.


    This light was the only source of illumination present, although very weak, very weak indeed.


    Jiang Ruixin immediately clung tightly to Bao Jie, her voice trembling, "Jiejie, quick, shine it behind me, check if that thing has crawled out the door!"


    Bao Jie quickly swiveled the camera towards room 010, then shook her head, "It''s gone."


    Zhou Dali also shouted, "Quick... shine it over here."


    Bao Jie moved the camera again and shook her head, "Nothing."


    "I mean... shine it on my feet," Zhou Dali''s voice went back into the auto-tune mode.


    The two girls, frightened, hastily backed away, and Bao Jie immediately directed the camera light onto Zhou Dali''s feet.


    They saw a gaunt man with yellowing skin, naked, lying on the ground, his twig-like hands firmly gripping Zhou Dali''s ankles. His eyelids were open, revealing empty black sockets without pupils, and his mouth was also open, toothless, but with lots of white mucus sticking between the upper and lower lips, making no sound at all.


    Thump!


    Zhou Dali fell to the ground stiffly, motionless.


    In the next second, everyone stopped moving, and an abnormal icy sensation spread simultaneously to their feet.


    Bao Jie shakily turned the camera light toward her own and the others'' feet, only to see that each person''s ankles were being held by a skinny, naked man.


    Although these bald men had different features, they all had wrinkled skin, no hair, and were emaciated.


    "Looking for replacements?" The idea popped into Yan Junze''s mind again.


    At this moment, the two girls were so terrified that they were unable to make a sound, just trembling like sieves, potentially fainting at any moment.


    With a ''puff,'' the camera light finally went out, and the surroundings plunged into endless darkness.


    The psychological horror brought on by the sudden blackout spread like an army of ants, enveloping and gnawing at the last bit of courage everyone had left. This pressure was insanely overwhelming.


    Without a second thought, Yan Junze''s mind raced with an impulse.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, the flashlight''s glow appeared beside them once again.


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Junze were standing together, having returned to Storage Room No. 004, all positioned behind the door.


    Yan Junze looked at the time. Just now, when there were 21 minutes left, he had spent 5 minutes with that young guard. So, this was the second rewind, and after the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, 16 minutes remained.


    This third rewind consumed 4 minutes, which meant that now, after the rewind, there were only 12 minutes of rewind line energy left¡ªthey couldn''t afford to waste it any further.


    Of course, in his Spacetime Atlas, he still had 50 minutes of Different Dimension Energy stored. If possible, it was best not to use this energy at all.


    What Yan Junze feared was that if they set the starting point from here and were still unable to escape the outside strangeness, they would fall into a desperate situation after exhausting all the energy.


    In fact, 12 minutes was completely enough to get out of the basement floor. The most important thing now was to shake off that young guard outside, who might be an anomaly.


    Footsteps sounded from the corridor, coming step by step towards Storage Room No. 004.


    Zhou Dali and the other two were all listening intently to the footsteps; nobody spoke.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity to recall the details of "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    He remembered that the penalty for the mission was to become a substitute, to trade for the freedom of the body inside the wall. Could it be that those identical, withered strangenesses they saw before the rewind were the ones left behind as substitutes?


    But this thought didn''t quite make sense¡ªif there was already a substitute, why didn''t the anomaly inside the wall leave this place, but instead still linger in the basement of Jianye Building?


    Where exactly was the problem?


    There were two hints for this mission: one was that the Evil Spirit was already pitiable, therefore it couldn''t Lockdown; the second hint was that the secret was in its eyes.


    "The secret is in its eyes?" Yan Junze muttered softly, his brain whirring at high speed.


    Initially, all four of them had been lured by a multitude of illusions by that eye peering from the wall crack. If not for Jiang Ruixin''s exceptional talent, using her Glaring Eyes Mastery to rescue everyone, without the Golden Finger, they might have been completely wiped out already.


    "Eyes? Secret?" Yan Junze''s eyebrows furrowed deeply.


    By now, the footsteps outside had stopped at the door.


    Yan Junze made a silent gesture, and then mouthed two words to the other three: "Strangeness!"


    He then had Zhou Dali block the door, while he quickly moved towards the lying corpse.


    Outside the door, the guard had started to enquire, "Is there... anyone inside?" S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time, though the other three looked puzzled, none of them answered.


    Yan Junze swiftly picked up the corpse and dragged it towards the doorway.


    Ever since the dry corpse had been dug out from the wall, those gray pupils appeared to have lost their ability to induce illusions. However, owing to their previous experience, everyone, including Yan Junze, deliberately avoided those eerie eyes.


    After Yan Junze dragged the corpse to the door, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, frightened, hastily hid to one side, not understanding why he was doing this.


    Zhou Dali, though scared, did not move away since his hands were holding the door.


    "Stop playing dumb, I heard noises, open the door!" the young guard said once again, and after failing to turn the doorknob, he knocked on the door.


    Crouched behind the body, Yan Junze propped the corpse up, aligning its eyes with the doorway, and then said to Zhou Dali, "We''re ready, open the door."

 Chapter 40 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 10)

    Positioning the corpse''s face towards the door, Yan Junze had his substantial conjectures.Firstly, the mission hinted that the secret lay within the corpse''s eyes, which proved there was something wrong with those eyes, and at the beginning, all four of them were thrown into an illusion by these eyes.


    The most important point was that he noticed a detail.


    This was that in the previous Rewind, as well as the one before that, it seemed that as soon as the security guard appeared, he intentionally or otherwise reminded everyone that the dried corpse''s eyes were open, which was terrifying, and they should find a way to cover them first.


    Thus, the so-called Zhou Dali, whose muscles and intelligence were inversely proportional, fell for it every time, taking the initiative to find a strip of cloth to cover the corpse''s eyes.


    This proved that perhaps, that guy outside was equally afraid of the dried corpse''s eyes, afraid to look at them directly.


    Before opening the door, Yan Junze gestured to Zhou Dali to dodge to one side as soon as the door opened, so that his mountain-like figure wouldn''t block the entrance tightly and prevent the guard outside from immediately enjoying the deliberately prepared hovering stare.


    Luckily, Zhou Dali understood the gesture, nodded his head, and as soon as the door opened, he jumped aside like an agile fat rabbit.


    Yan Junze firmly steadied the corpse to prevent it from falling, while looking towards the door, only to be immediately taken aback.


    Because at that moment, there was no one at the doorway¡ªthe guard who had been talking just now had vanished without a trace.


    "Pack up the things, and follow behind me," Yan Junze said as he picked up the corpse, only to realize that it was still quite heavy for him, and said to Zhou Dali, "Dali, give me a hand."


    Zhou Dali hesitated for a moment, ran over to help lift the corpse, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin following behind them.


    After stepping out into the corridor, they looked around with their flashlights, but no trace of the security guard could be found.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali carried the corpse in front, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin behind, the four hastened to the exit at the end of the corridor at Yan Junze''s urging.


    "How do you know that person outside is a Strange Body?" Zhou Dali asked as they walked, puzzled.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were in charge of watching for any movements behind them, tense and without the chance to ask Yan Junze; however, they perked up their ears when they heard Zhou Dali''s question.


    "Just guessing," Yan Junze glanced at him, "Speed up, we''re only safe once out of the corridor."


    His urging caused an inexplicable tension and panic among the others, who stopped asking questions and quickened their pace toward the hallway''s exit.


    Suddenly, Jiang Ruixin, who was paying attention to the movements in the rear with the flashlight, trembled, seeing a young security guard step out of a room they had already passed, his face pale and his pupils black, not wielding a flashlight, just following behind the group with a stiff and swift motion.


    "Is... is..." Her heart pounding, Jiang Ruixin found she couldn''t get out a whole sentence, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.


    Bao Jie noticed something was amiss and immediately turned around.


    It was at this moment that Jiang Ruixin let out another shriek, startling everyone.


    Yan Junze swore to the heavens that, once this mission was over, he would immediately disband the Spirit Exploration Team, never again recruiting a female member with a loud voice, especially those with bell-like eyes and unusually loud voices.


    Turning his head and seeing the walking style of this security guard, Yan Junze was reminded of the shadow that followed behind Zhou Dali when they first entered the basement, finding at least seventy to eighty percent similarity in the way this guard walked at the moment.


    The four sped up again.


    "Stop..."


    Just then, an empty, angry voice sounded.


    The four, who were jogging, unanimously agreed that stopping at that moment would be idiotic, so none of them paid it any mind.


    Quickly reaching the corridor''s exit, Zhou Dali yanked off the U-shaped lock hanging on the door handle and violently pushed the door, only to find that it wouldn''t budge.


    At that moment, the entire space seemed to have become sealed.


    "This corpse... has no right to leave!" that voice continued to echo from behind. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why?" Yan Junze turned around, propping the corpse in front of him, intentionally or unintentionally facing the corridor.


    The figure of the security guard disappeared again, seemingly blending into the darkness further down the corridor.


    The other three had not expected that, besides the corpse causing strangeness inside the wall, there were other strange presences here.


    One by one they turned around, their faces filled with terror as they faced the depths of the corridor.


    "He''s a coward! A coward has no right to leave," the voice continued.


    It sounded like the young security guard from earlier was speaking.


    "He just died accidentally, and his body has been trapped in the wall for so many years. Our goal in coming here was to let him find peace," Yan Junze said, moving his flashlight beam around, watching warily.


    "No, he didn''t die accidentally," the voice countered. "He committed suicide! He killed himself because of his overwhelming debts, because his wife left him, and his son even took someone else''s surname; because coming out, he couldn''t face his previous life anymore."


    "Who are you?" Yan Junze was puzzled. A security guard''s specter should not be so familiar with a body that had been sealed in a wall for many years.


    The voice fell silent and after about ten seconds, finally spoke: "I am... him."


    Everyone jolted to a stop.


    Yan Junze asked, "What do you mean?"


    "He''s just a coward, undeserving of being human; dead, he should only be buried in concrete forever!" The voice did not answer Yan Junze''s question but instead muttered to itself, "And I... I am the perfection. The fact tells me that, whether it''s being human or a specter, one must be ruthless. Ruthless towards others, and even more towards oneself, otherwise there is no way to ever come out on top!"


    "What in the world is going on?" Zhou Dali was completely baffled.


    He found that he could understand every word spoken by the specter, but when pieced together, they made no sense at all.


    Not just Zhou Dali, but Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were equally confused.


    However, at this moment, Bao Jie seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes began to light up.


    Yan Junze seemed to have a realization and spoke up, "I think I understand. You indeed are him. After he killed himself, you began to take shape gradually and hated this suicidal guy, so you transformed into what you are now, a completely opposing... self in behavior, personality, and even motive, an extreme Strange Body!"


    After a brief silence, laughter came from deep down the corridor.


    The laughter wasn''t loud, yet it sent an indescribable shiver down one''s spine.


    Yan Junze could clearly feel the goosebumps rising on his arms, but he disregarded them and spoke again, "But I think you''ve achieved it."


    The laughter gradually ceased, and that voice resounded again: "Achieved what?"


    "What you mentioned... being ruthless," Yan Junze said. "Nearly all these rooms have corpses, right? They must be your victims for finding replacements."


    The voice did not deny it but instead expressed surprise, "Actually, I was puzzled as to why you directly found Room 004 earlier, instead of entering other rooms?"


    "Enter the other rooms and we''d be doomed," Yan Junze scoffed, "How many replacements do you need exactly, to break free from your original body and get out of here?"


    "Including you... that would be enough," the voice said darkly.


    "That''s what I thought," Bao Jie''s eyes shone even brighter as she explained in a low voice to Zhou Dali and Jiang Ruixin, "This specter is actually the same person as the corpse in the wall. But he hates his past self so much, so the specter he became after death is brutal, cruel, and heartless.


    He''s been finding replacements here, and for some reason, when he has enough, he''ll be able to break free from the body in the wall and leave this place."


    "O my goodness, we can''t let him get out," Zhou Dali exclaimed in shock. "This guy is too evil; if he gets out, who knows how many people he might harm!"


    "Let''s first figure out how we''re going to get out of here!" Jiang Ruixin reminded.

 Chapter 41 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Finale)

    At this moment, Yan Junze could see that although the man''s strangeness had become extremely evil, he was still a dual entity, like a person suffering from split personality disorder, possessing two distinct personalities.The consciousness of the mummified corpse still bore the semblance of its past ill-fated and resigned self, but this strangeness, detached from the body, was unspeakably evil and scheming to escape the building by any means necessary.


    "Let''s do this," Yan Junze spoke to the pitch-black corridor, "If you let us go, we won''t take the corpse with us, nor will we harm it in the slightest, otherwise..."


    As he said this, he turned his head to look at Zhou Dali. "The hammer in my brother''s hand is enough to turn your actual body into a pile of minced meat within ten seconds."


    "You dare threaten me." The voice suppressed anger.


    "I have no choice, I need to protect myself." Yan Junze shrugged.


    In fact, he was very clear about why that guy had chosen not to appear at this time, because the corpse in his hands was facing the deep end of the corridor, and the guy was still afraid of the eyes of the corpse.


    The entire basement floor fell into silence.


    After a long while, the voice said, "Fine, as long as you leave the corpse, you may go. However..."


    "However what?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I don''t want to see the corpse''s ugly, pitiful, and lonely demeaning appearance again. Cover his face, leave the corpse, and get lost!"


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and nodded, "No problem."


    "That won''t do," Zhou Dali panicked, "If we leave the corpse behind, he might kill us before we even reach upstairs!"


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door of the corridor behind them burst open, and the voice said, "I keep my word. Cover the face of the corpse, leave it behind, and you can leave now."


    Yan Junze stopped Zhou Dali from continuing to speak, took off his own jacket, covered the corpse''s face with it, wrapped the sleeves behind the body, and tied them together very carefully into a knot.


    He then gestured for Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali to exit first.


    However, when he looked at Bao Jie, Yan Junze made a gesture for her to set down the camera she was filming with on the ground.


    Bao Jie put down the camera in her hand, making sure the lens was aimed at the direction of the corpse, and then began to step backward.


    The three quickly exited the corridor door and stood at the stairwell entrance.


    After checking the knot he had tied, Yan Junze started to back away too, but just as he was about to exit the corridor, the corridor door slammed shut with a loud bang.


    The three outside at the stairwell were startled and rushed toward the door, with Zhou Dali swinging his hammer to smash at it, but the corridor door was as solid as a rock and completely immovable.


    Yan Junze inside the corridor paused, and Ke''er on his back began to twist and turn, clearly becoming restless and anxious.


    A figure emerged from room 016, and it was the young security guard.


    However, the guard''s expression was dark and dismal, his eye sockets were devoid of pupils, a pitch black void, his face pale as paper, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.


    "Didn''t you just ask me... how many replacements I still needed?" The guard smiled. "Now I''ll tell you, just one more."


    Yan Junze spread his hands wide, "Perhaps I should have anticipated your deceit earlier."


    "Too late." The guard walked past the corpse that was propped against the wall, sneering as he advanced towards Yan Junze.


    "No, not too late," Yan Junze squeezed out a smile.


    At the same moment, the shroud that seemed to be tightly knotted and covering the corpse''s face suddenly slid backward, revealing the mouth, nose, and... eyes of the corpse.


    The security guard subconsciously turned his head to glance, and then his body trembled and he let out a painful howl, as his entire body rapidly withered away.


    Strands of a visible gas began to emerge from the guard''s hair and clothes under the illumination of the camera light, growing more and more abundant.


    Yan Junze began to back away once again.


    At this time, the corridor''s door suddenly loosened, and Zhou Dali happened to bump into it with his shoulder from the outside, instantly opening the door.


    The three people who were anxiously waiting outside were stunned for a moment, staring wide-eyed as the guard''s tall and thin body rapidly shrunk amid the piteous howls, quickly becoming the size of a child and still swiftly getting smaller.


    Before long, the arrogant figure completely transformed into white gas, which was absorbed by the dry corpse''s eyes.


    The coldness in the entire corridor began to recede rapidly, and the temperature started to rise.


    Click, click, after the lights in the corridor flickered a few times, some of them suddenly switched on, bringing a rare brightness to the gloomy, pitch-black basement floor.


    "So that guy... is he dead?" Zhou Dali looked around.


    "He was already dead," Yan Junze said.


    "I should say¡­" Bao Jie explained, "that extremely mutated Strange Body was absorbed by its original body."


    "Why was it absorbed?" Zhou Dali asked, puzzled.


    "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul," Jiang Ruixin analyzed on her own, "I think, even though this man''s strangeness went to the extreme after his death, his original body wasn''t bad. Especially his eyes, which showed the kindness in his heart, so the mutated strangeness was afraid to see its own eyes."


    "Then why do we also experience hallucinations when we see those eyes?" Zhou Dali was even more confused, "Are we all bad guys too?"


    "You are, we aren''t," the two girls corrected him.


    "It could also be partly because his grievances could not be vented," Yan Junze chimed in.


    At that moment, the dry corpse leaning against the wall began to disintegrate bit by bit after absorbing its Strange Body, turning into powder, including the tattered clothes that also turned to dust within seconds.


    In front of everyone''s eyes, the corpse disappeared cleanly.


    "It seems this is his true rest," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    A task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas surfaced in his mind. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Peeking From the Crack in the Wall, Anxiety-Inducing (High), complete, received 300 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    At the same moment, after the new Different Dimension Energy filled up, the Spacetime Atlas lit up another 4 nodes, totaling 14 lit nodes so far.


    The lengths of time between these nodes are not completely equal, but they generally follow a multiple pattern. For example, the smallest segment of the timeline uses 50 points of Different Dimension Energy (5 minutes), and the slightly longer timelines are around multiples of 50 points, such as 102 points or 149 points.


    With 14 nodes lit, it means that the 12th node seen a few days ago was also lit, and on this node, a segment of text was now clearly displayed in Yan Junze''s mind.


    The text was: "Evil Spirit Solid Lock has been successfully activated."


    Yan Junze focused on the four characters "Evil Spirit Solid Lock," and soon another line of text appeared.


    [Activating the Evil Spirit Solid Lock, certain Evil Spirits can be locked as slaves or chosen to be converted at an opportune moment, preventing them from harming others. The lockdown mode has three levels of locking strength: large, medium, and small. Please choose the appropriate strength according to the level of the Evil Spirit.]

 Chapter 42 Lockdown

    ```The Evil Spirit Solid Lock is finally unlocked!


    Yan Junze heaved a sigh of relief internally. Right from the beginning, during the first task, "Hair Washing," he had seen prompts indicating whether "the evil spirit can be locked down" or "the evil spirit cannot be locked down."


    At first, he didn''t understand, but later he guessed from the literal meaning that it probably referred to locking down evil spirits in some way.


    Now that the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" feature was activated, this skill, which seemed quite practical, could finally be put to use in the future.


    At this moment, after the corpse had crumbled away bit by bit, the weird magnetic field in this space had completely dissipated, and the ordinary strangenesses that were trapped here due to the search for substitutes scattered one after another.


    Some strangenesses dissipated into puffs of smoke, some escaped through the cracks of the windows, and a few, like crawling reptiles, were slowly making their way out of the corridor''s doorway.


    As they crawled, their bodies became increasingly transparent, ready to vanish at any moment.


    "Gotcha!"


    Yan Junze walked up to one of the "Crawler Monsters," blocking its path: "I recognize you. You''re the one who grabbed my ankle earlier, right?"


    The Crawler Monster was all skin and bones, slick and clean, without a single hair, its skin sagging. As it crawled, it squeezed out a lot of wrinkles, which at first glance seemed quite disgusting.


    Anyway, when Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, the two girls, saw the Crawler Monster, they both felt like vomiting.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, the Crawler Monster, with a bald head and a bewildered face, looked up. In its memory, it didn''t seem to have provoked this young man before, they had never met, had they?


    Yan Junze waved his hand dismissively, "Explaining to you is useless. It''s just your bad luck."


    He summoned the Spacetime Atlas''s "Evil Spirit Solid Lock," and before Yan Junze could operate it himself, the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" mode had automatically activated.


    A line of small text appeared below: A common Wandering Spirit detected, would you like to lock it down? This lockdown will consume 50 small energy points.


    The "small" indicated the strength of the lockdown ¨C for locking down a common Wandering Spirit, the smallest level of strength was enough.


    After initiating the lockdown, the bewildered bald Crawler Monster instantly turned into a puff of white vapor and appeared inside the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas, displaying a pattern that matched the true form of the Crawler Monster. However, the pattern was so small that it was almost indistinguishable unless looked at closely.


    Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali stared dumbfounded at Yan Junze as he completed all these actions.


    After dealing with the Crawler Monster that dared to grab his ankle before the last Rewind, Yan Junze slung his backpack over his shoulders again and casually said to the others, "I said I might have the potential of an Exorcist. That makes sense, right?"


    "Yeah, it makes sense," the three of them said in unison.


    "That''s what Security Officer Bai said last time," Yan Junze added with a smile.


    Zhou Dali swallowed and gave a thumbs-up: "I''ve always said Junze is the best! Look at you, you didn''t even need to use the Hidden Buckle!"


    Yan Junze scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.


    By this time, the other strangenesses looking for substitutes had all fled the building.


    The four of them left quietly along the way they came and when they exited the courtyard of the Jianye Building, the security booth was deserted, although the television was still on.


    The TV screen showed a commercial, with an advertisement countdown timer on the upper right corner.


    It looked like there was an ad break during a TV drama, and the guard probably took the opportunity to go for a break and would be back soon.


    Yan Junze and the others quickly left through the small iron door beside the sliding gates.


    Although it wasn''t very late, it was rare to see anyone on the streets.


    Taxis were scarce as well.


    The four of them didn''t hail a cab outside the Jianye Building but walked a few steps in the direction of Yan Junze''s FH Community before they managed to flag down a taxi.


    ```


    Yan Junze was not quite at ease and followed them into a taxi. After dropping each of them off at their homes, he then returned to the FH Community with the taxi.


    After all this, by the time he got home, it was already past eleven o''clock.


    After washing up, his mother Li Man was still sound asleep. Yan Junze checked the doors and windows before quietly returning to his own bedroom, charged his phone, and soon fell asleep.


    At exactly half-past four in the morning, the alarm on his phone rang out. Yan Junze, bleary-eyed, sat up, glanced at the time, suppressed his fatigue from not having enough sleep, got out of bed, dressed, and opened the bedroom door.


    At this moment, the bathroom light was on. Li Man, who was preparing for the early shift, had already gotten up and was washing up. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing the noise, Li Man poked her head out in surprise and looked down the hallway. With her mouth full of toothpaste foam, she mumbled unclearly, "Son, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep, it''s only half-past four, it''s still early."


    "It''s okay, I''m getting up to see you off. I''ll go back to sleep after you get on the car. It''s been quite restless in the community these past few days," Yan Junze said while rubbing his eyes.


    Li Man was stunned for a moment, her eyes quickly filling with affection and emotion. After rinsing her mouth and wiping it with a towel, she said, "The company''s car picks me up right at the community gate. It''s very safe."


    "Mom, don''t say anything more. I have to walk you out of the community to be at ease," Yan Junze said in an indisputable tone.


    Li Man, feeling helpless, ruffled her son''s hair and quickly finished getting ready, not wanting to delay him from sleeping.


    Putting on their coats, they left the apartment one after the other.


    However, just as they stepped out the door, Yan Junze, who was walking in front, suddenly paused, feeling Ke''er, which had been clinging to his back, silently slide down and turn to look.


    Ke''er had already crossed through the living room door that had just been shut, and returned inside the house, clearly not willing to venture out with him.


    A sense of unease instantly surfaced in Yan Junze''s heart.


    Although Ke''er''s favorability towards him was already "friendly," that didn''t mean it was willing to risk itself for him at any given moment.


    Now he understood that usually, Ke''er would follow him, but if it had a strong premonition of danger, the little creature would run faster than a rabbit.


    It had been the case before encountering the Exorcist, and also before encountering the Back-faced Woman.


    And this time, within Building 7, only the Back-faced Woman could presumably make Ke''er avoid being out.


    "Could it be Granny Ren is back?" Yan Junze began to entertain whimsical ideas.


    According to the unreliable Exorcist, Huang Chen, if Granny Ren had suspicions for killing her own second son and his wife, then she was no longer an ordinary Wandering Spirit and might have evolved into a medium, or perhaps a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    For Ke''er, a regular Wandering Spirit, encountering such a being would certainly mean avoidance.


    "What are you doing?" Sensing that something was off with her son, Li Man asked from behind.


    "Mom, be careful when we go out, stick with me," Yan Junze whispered.


    Li Man was surprised but said nothing, just nodded her head.


    The mother and son made their way to the staircase and began descending.


    At each floor, Yan Junze would gently stomp his foot, causing the voice-activated lights to come on, swiftly scanning the surroundings before hurrying on with his mother.


    The pre-dawn darkness was silent, save for the sound of footsteps, and the air carried a coolness.


    In the eerily quiet stairwell, the two of them unconsciously lightened their steps, making their way down to the third floor.


    As they turned to go down to the second floor, Yan Junze stomped his foot, and the voice-activated light at the corner of the second floor lit up, dispelling the darkness.


    However, at the same time, Yan Junze, who was leading, abruptly stopped in his tracks without proceeding further. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to stop his mother behind him.


    Under the corner''s voice-activated light, the Back-faced Woman in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, hair disheveled, stood facing the wall, motionless.

 Chapter 43 Back-faced Woman

    At the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman.Li Man was so scared that her body shuddered, and she hurriedly grabbed the back of Yan Junze''s shirt, whispering in a lowered voice, "Son!"


    "Mom, don''t talk," Yan Junze made a silence gesture.


    He glanced at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner leading to the second floor.


    Although the woman was at the corner of the stairs, she stood in the middle, which was a much narrower space than the two corners.


    This meant that if they were to pass behind her, there would come a moment when they would be very, very close to her.


    In the exceptionally quiet surroundings, it was impossible for either of them to avoid making any sound when walking, so there would definitely be some noise as they approached.


    Yan Junze pulled Li Man and they took a few steps back, whispering lowly, "Mom, you must follow me closely."


    Li Man paused, then shook her head, "Or... let''s not go."


    Yan Junze said, "Not go? Hmm, that''s fine too. But will that affect your work?"


    Li Man hesitated, "I''m taking over Sister Tian''s shift. Didn''t I take temporary leave last time to take care of you at home? It was Sister Tian who covered me then. Sister Tian couldn''t make it this time, so I agreed to help her; otherwise, the absence would be recorded under her name."


    "Then let''s go, it will be alright," Yan Junze thought to set the Rewind in a moment, simply pretending to be passersby, which was likely not to provoke the Back-faced Woman.


    And even if she was provoked, he still had the Rewind to use.


    Though Li Man was indeed worried, she said no more and followed closely behind Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had stealthily set the time Rewind, just in case.


    He stomped lightly to make just enough noise to activate the voice-controlled light, signaled his mother to follow, and then they slowly descended the stairs, hugging the side of the stair railing one in front of the other.


    During the descent, they were mostly walking on tiptoes, hardly making any significant noise.


    Arriving at the corner of the second floor, Yan Junze took out his phone and turned on the screen.


    As they moved past the midpoint of the corner, they were extremely close to the motionless Back-faced Woman, and could distinctly feel a chilling breath spreading from that direction.


    Yan Junze didn''t stop. He quickly turned the corner and proceeded down from the second floor, with Li Man following closely behind, keeping her head down and not daring to glance at the hair-raising woman in white.


    Just when they were about to reach the second floor, the voice-controlled light suddenly went out.


    Normally, the duration the voice-controlled light stayed on was sufficient enough for one to walk a floor''s worth of stairs, but this time, since they were both tiptoeing and deliberately slowing their movements, it took them longer to descend.


    Not yet at the second floor, the surroundings suddenly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze was ready; the phone in his hand instantly turned on the flashlight function, illuminating their feet, and he continued downstairs, holding his mother''s trembling hand.


    At that moment, a rustling noise came from behind.


    Upon hearing this sound, Yan Junze''s scalp went numb, and he quickened his pace, pulling his mother to the front.


    After reaching the second floor, he dared not make a sound to turn on the voice-controlled light. While pushing his mother towards the first floor, he hastily glanced behind at the stairway.


    He saw the Back-faced Woman was no longer standing motionless; her neck was twisting, and she was turning her head back.


    She wanted to "Look at Her Face."


    "Fuck!"


    Yan Junze felt hair-raising chills running down his spine, so he hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look anymore.


    The task associated with the Back-faced Woman was titled "Look at Her Face," and right now, he had no desire to accept the task. If he accidentally saw her face, it would mean he had initiated the task.


    One could say that from then on, life or death would be unpredictable.


    Moreover, his mother was present. Encountering a hair-raising task of this level and having to ensure his mother''s safety would likely mean certain death!


    Well, unless there was no Rewind.


    Regardless of the noises behind them, the mother and son quickly descended to the first floor and rushed out of the staircase. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Outside the building, the weak streetlights, though not very bright, provided a warm and comforting feeling.


    Yan Junze turned off the flashlight on his phone, still firmly grasping his mother''s hand, and the two quickly reached the entrance of the housing complex.


    The cleaning company''s car had not yet arrived. Li Man, concerned, looked at Yan Junze and said, "Son, I made a bad decision just now. What will you do when you go back?"


    "It''s simple," Yan Junze pursed his lips and smiled. "Maybe by the time I go upstairs, the Back-faced Woman will have disappeared¡ªshe doesn''t always appear. And if she is there, I''ll just sit with Grandpa Zheng in the duty room until it''s almost dawn. It would be even better to sleep in once it gets light."


    At that moment, a white van drove up and stopped in front of them.


    The door slid open, and Li Man greeted the older person inside, "Uncle Da, good morning."


    He was somewhat overweight but appeared shrewd and experienced, and glanced at Yan Junze with a smile, "Is this your son?"


    "Yes," Li Man nodded.


    "Very thoughtful of him, coming to drop you off? He knows it''s not safe for you to be out alone this late," Uncle Da chuckled, his attention fixed on appraising Yan Junze, but he didn''t notice that Li Man''s face was clouding over with varied emotions.


    "It''s okay, Mom, just get on the bus," Yan Junze urged. "I''m not going upstairs. I''ll just sit in the duty room until dawn. I can catch a nap there too."


    Li Man nodded, "Yeah, look at me, I didn''t think of that at all. You wait in the duty room then. With Grandpa Zheng here, I''ll be more at ease."


    "Alright," Yan Junze smiled as he watched her.


    After watching Li Man get on the car and gradually drive away, he waved his hand and turned to enter the complex.


    Passing by the entrance security room, he saw the light on inside, but the security guard, Grandpa Zheng, was lying on a large recliner, sleeping soundly.


    Yan Junze didn''t plan to keep Grandpa Zheng company; he quickly returned to the bottom of building number seven, looking up into the pitch-dark space within the staircase.


    Although he felt exhausted, Yan Junze''s desire to sleep had vanished by then.


    Since he hadn''t used the Rewind line he set earlier, it had reset. Standing outside the building, he set another ten-minute Rewind, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.


    He stamped his foot onto the ground, and the first-floor''s voice-activated light turned on; he rapidly ascended the stairs.


    Upon reaching the second floor, he stamped again, turning on the second-floor voice-activated light, and glanced toward the staircase corner from the second to third floor, finding that the Back-faced Woman''s silhouette was gone.


    Yan Junze''s heart felt slightly steadier, and he proceeded toward the third floor.


    After arriving at the third floor, he turned on the third floor''s voice-activated light. Just as he took a step upward, he abruptly froze.


    Yan Junze raised his head, staring at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner between the third and fourth floor, and revealed a bitter smile.


    At that moment, he even harbored a reckless thought of just completing the "Look at Her Face" task once and for all, wondering when otherwise this daily torment of ascending and descending the stairs would end.

 Chapter 44 She Followed!

    ```From the time Yan Junze had sent his mother out of the residential complex to his return, the Back-faced Woman had already climbed one more floor. Yet, she still stood at the midpoint of the corner landing, facing the wall and turning her back on the stairway corner.


    "Are you deliberately toying with me?" Yan Junze lowered his head, considering whether he should complete the task of "Look at Her Face."


    After a moment, he lifted his head. Given that he did not have full confidence in the situation at hand, he decided not to tackle the task graded "hair-raising (low)" just yet.


    He had already set up the Rewind; he''d go up first and say it. If anything unexpected happened, it wouldn''t be too late to activate the Rewind.


    Resolute, Yan Junze happened to find the voice-activated lights extinguishing right at that moment. He gently stamped his foot to turn the voice-activated lights back on, then proceeded to climb the stairs again.


    This time, without his mother being there, he ascended rapidly, reaching the corner of the staircase in no time, always mindful of the Back-faced Woman''s movements.


    Thankfully, the woman remained completely still as he passed by her.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace, tiptoeing and springing up to the fourth floor in just a few strides, and hurried towards his home.


    However, as he reached the corridor, footsteps echoed from behind.


    A bizarre sense of palpitation followed right after.


    He stopped in his tracks, and involuntarily glanced back, only to feel his legs and entire body go numb, his mind filled with a roar.


    In front of Yan Junze''s eyes, the Back-faced Woman, still with her back towards him, was stepping backward up the stairs with smooth movements, as if eyes were grown on her back, following him to the fourth floor.


    "Could she be targeting me?"


    A peculiar thought surfaced, but Yan Junze ignored the woman and rushed to the doorstep of his home, fumbling for his keys.


    Because the action was somewhat dramatic, the noise was quite loud, turning on all the voice-activated lights in the corridor.


    However, Yan Junze had no time to worry about that. As he took out his keys, he hurriedly glanced back to see the Back-faced Woman positioned at one end of the corridor, with her back still facing him.


    She had not followed him upstairs.


    Feeling slightly relieved, Yan Junze accurately inserted the key into the lock without the melodramatic events of dropping the keys on the floor in panic, or failing to find the keyhole, or trying several keys without success.


    But the unexpected still met him inadvertently.


    The moment he opened the door, inevitably, the door lock emitted a crisp "click" sound, which was especially piercing in the silent night.


    Yan Junze flinched and immediately looked towards the Back-faced Woman at the end of the corridor.


    She still stood there as if nothing had happened.


    Just as Yan Junze''s heart was beginning to ease, the Back-faced Woman''s head suddenly twisted around one hundred and eighty degrees and looked his way.


    Whoosh, Yan Junze pushed open his home''s door, stepped inside in one stride, and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    "Didn''t see her, damn, if I''d been half a second slower, I would have definitely seen her face." Yan Junze''s heart pounded like a drum as he stood behind the closed door, gasping for air.


    His mother had obviously been worried about him earlier, which was why she seemed so conflicted and had spoken those words about coming back together.


    To keep her from worrying, Yan Junze immediately made a phone call, whispering, "Mom, I''m home now, I didn''t see the Back-faced Woman, yeah, I''m going to bed right away."


    After reassuring Li Man, he hung up the phone. Yan Junze did not turn on the lights in his house but instead approached the living room window, peering out into the corridor lit by the lights outside.


    He did not see the shadow of the Back-faced Woman walking backward.


    After a while, all the voice-activated lights in the corridor went out, but if the Back-faced Woman were to follow, there should still be footsteps to be heard.


    ```


    Yan Junze didn''t dare to turn on the lights, and as his heart rate gradually calmed down, he kept his breathing slow, laying by the window and listening intently. He strained his eyes in the dark until he was finally certain the Back-faced Woman hadn''t followed him.


    There were still less than ten minutes left until the Rewind time he had set for himself. If the Back-faced Woman really followed him to his doorstep, he would immediately choose to Rewind and do it all over again, making absolutely sure this woman couldn''t fixate on his home door.


    He sighed with relief. Only now did Yan Junze realize he was bursting with the urge to pee, but he still didn''t turn on the lights. He walked into the bathroom and only then did he switch on the bathroom light.


    The next second, he jumped with fright.


    Ke''er, in a red dress, was squatting by the toilet, facing away from the bathroom door, trembling intensely.


    "Look at the state of you!" Yan Junze shook his head in disbelief, "That woman didn''t follow."


    "Hurry up and go out, I need to pee... "


    As Yan Junze had just made it to the toilet and hadn''t finished speaking yet, Ke''er stood up. But instead of leaving, she skillfully somersaulted onto his back, clinging firmly and motionless.


    This kind of attachment was enough to bring viewers to tears and listeners to emotion.


    In any case, at that moment, Yan Junze felt like he wanted to cry but had no tears.


    ...


    The next day was Sunday.


    He slept soundly, deep and undisturbed, until two o''clock in the afternoon when he woke up.


    After waking up, Yan Junze didn''t plan to go out. Instead, he searched the news and found no reports about anything going on around Jianye Building. He copied all the videos he took the previous night onto his phone and sent them to Bao Jie for an initial edit.


    When it came to video editing and production, Bao Jie was clearly very dedicated. She spent the whole day holed up at home, not stepping out. She sorted through last night''s footage taken with the portable camera and Yan Junze''s phone, according to the timeline, edited it, and prepared to take it to school the next day.


    Li Man, his mother, came home in the afternoon, bringing with her some roasted chicken wings for her son.


    On the couch, Yan Junze was watching TV and devouring the chicken wings when he received a rather strange phone call.


    The phone displayed an overseas number, and a strange man''s voice came through.


    "Hello, who are you looking for?"


    Having no relatives or friends overseas, Yan Junze was sure the caller had dialed the wrong number.


    "I''m looking for... you," said the voice on the other end of the line, though seemingly uncertain.


    "Looking for me?" Yan Junze puzzled, "Who are you?"


    "There''s something I want to discuss with you," the man''s voice was urgent but he did not answer him. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sorry, I don''t know you," said Yan Junze and hung up.


    Li Man, who was busy in the kitchen with a spatula in hand, poked her head out and asked, "Who was that on the phone?"


    Yan Junze replied, "Probably about an 8800 overseas card transaction, asking if it was my own charge."


    "Fraudster, pure and simple!" Li Man affirmed with conviction, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Your journey continues at empire


    "Who''s a fraudster?" Yan Daguo had just walked in, not even changing his shoes, he looked up and asked.


    "Just got a call, saying I have an 8800 overseas..."


    Yan Junze hadn''t finished speaking when Yan Daguo interrupted him, his tone matching Li Man''s exactly, "Fraudster, no doubt about it!"

 Chapter 45 The Finishing Touch

    At the dinner table, upon hearing Li Man''s account, Yan Daguo felt that his son had matured a lot.Moreover, it seemed that when it came to strangeness, Yan Junze, whether in terms of courage, actions, or thought, truly had the makings of an exorcist.


    If it weren''t for the fact that they were not at all wealthy and had no spare money, Yan Daguo might have to consider how to send Yan Junze for professional exorcist training.


    The premise was that he didn''t know how many exorcists died each year while dealing with strange incidents.


    Of course, this was a secret within the exorcist organizations, unknown to outsiders.


    After dinner and watching TV for a while, Yan Junze claimed to be going back to his room to review and, upon entering, closed and locked the door. Then he summoned the Lockdown Evil Spirit¡ªthe unfortunate Crawler Monster.


    This entirely wrinkled, hairless creature lay confused on the ground, glanced up at Yan Junze, and then looked around at the room''s environment.


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    As a lockdown evil spirit, its master Yan Junze had absolute control over it, and with just a thought, he could seal it in the 12th node if it disobeyed.


    However, once this guy was let out, his innate desires would still drive him to flee from this dangerous place and pursue the freedom he longed for.


    Yan Junze also had the idea of comparing him with Ke''er when letting this creature out.


    Because even among wandering spirits, there were distinctions of high, medium, and low.


    Not long after the Crawler Monster was let out, he knew where it stood in comparison to Ke''er.


    The Crawler Monster began to crawl around the room; all this time Ke''er paid no attention, remaining on Yan Junze''s back.


    It wasn''t until the Crawler Monster suddenly went under Yan Junze''s bed and tried to climb up that Ke''er stirred and raised her head.


    Please note that since her head was tilted, it''s basically as if, when she raised her head, Ke''er''s head would be pressed tightly against Yan Junze''s head.


    To an onlooker, this scene of intimate closeness could send a chill down to their very bones.


    The Crawler Monster froze abruptly, like a little mutt encountering a wolfhound, hanging its head low, crawling on the ground and remaining motionless.


    "Ke''er, it looks like you''re the more formidable one," Yan Junze said.


    "Eh."


    "Maybe I should just lock you down too, save me the trouble of you always clinging to my back."


    "Eh."


    "Forget I said anything."


    ...


    The next day in class.


    After the morning classes ended, using the lunch break, Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin gathered together.


    Bao Jie opened up the video on her laptop that had been preliminarily edited the day before.


    Following Yan Junze''s suggestion, the video was titled "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," and its duration had been shortened to about fifteen minutes.


    It retained the terrifying atmosphere encountered upon entering the Jianye Building, the scenes where everyone took turns staring down the eyes in the wall crack, and the clever finale where they failed to escape with the body but managed to kill the strange body of the corpse.


    The completeness was even higher than "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night."


    This time, because they were well-prepared, the video included footage shot by Bao Jie with a portable camera and by Yan Junze with his phone mounted on his chest, the combination of which created a perfectly crafted atmosphere of terror. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After some suggestions from everyone, Bao Jie adjusted several details.


    After watching it twice, Yan Junze frowned and said, "I still feel like something''s missing."


    "Is it still not clear enough?" Bao Jie asked.


    "Could it be that the picture is too dark, giving a very oppressive feeling?" Zhou Dali said.


    "It''s not that." Yan Junze shook his head.


    "Maybe it''s because of me. You should just mosaic my glaring eyes," Jiang Ruixin suggested, "I feel that the ghost in this video isn''t scary, but I''ve become the scariest one."


    "You can''t mosaic your face." Yan Junze shook his head again.


    "Why not?" the three asked in unison.


    "Netizens these days are very malicious. It''s better if you don''t add a mosaic. Once you do, the style and feeling of the video immediately changes, and then who knows what they will say. Even if Jiang Ruixin doesn''t drown in spit, she would probably die of shame," Yan Junze stated confidently.


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali suddenly understood.


    Only Jiang Ruixin looked blankly bemused, "Why would I die of shame?"


    Bao Jie leaned in and whispered a few words to her, causing Jiang Ruixin''s face to change immediately.


    Pating her ample chest with palpitations, she said, "Then definitely don''t add a mosaic!"


    Zhou Dali chuckled, then looked up at Yan Junze, "So what''s still missing?"


    Yan Junze didn''t speak for a moment, pondering for a while before saying, "I feel... what''s missing is an introductory quote for the whole video. Something that exudes philosophy, a masterstroke that encapsulates the entire video."


    "I''m not smart, what kind of masterstroke could there be?" Zhou Dali scratched his head.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin seemed to realize something and began to think, resting their chins on their hands.


    Soon after, Yan Junze spoke, "How about this? Before the video starts, before the title comes out, we introduce the following phrase: ''All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different aspects of ourselves. Therefore, there''s a murder that''s never been punished, and that''s the killing of a part of oneself.''"


    "Hmm, good, this is a good line!" Bao Jie''s eyes lit up and she immediately agreed.


    "What does that mean?" Zhou Dali scratched his head. At this moment, his life''s shortcomings were laid bare.


    However, no one paid him any attention.


    "Then, after the security guard declares himself the Strange Body from within the wall, and after my analysis comes out, we throw in the second line of text," Yan Junze said, tapping his forehead with his index finger as though searching for the right words.


    "What does the second line say?" Bao Jie asked.


    Yan Junze thought for five long minutes before finally lifting his head and saying, "There''s a type of Revenge that leaves no trace, that part of oneself that was killed... has come back."


    "Good!"


    "Well said!"


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin applauded in unison.


    "With words like that, this video titled ''Peeking From the Crack in the Wall'' is definitely worth watching!" Bao Jie nodded excitedly, "If I ever become a director, I will definitely hire you as a scriptwriter."


    Zhou Dali said, "Although I don''t know what you''re talking about, Junze, I always feel like it''s very impressive."


    "Alright, adding this will definitely score points," Jiang Ruixin said with conviction. "Even Dali, who''s slow to react, feels it''s impressive, so other netizens watching it will definitely have a much stronger reaction."


    "I didn''t offend you, did I, Ruixin?" Zhou Dali said grievously.


    Jiang Ruixin shrugged, "I don''t know, but I always feel like you did something annoying to me in the past."


    "Hold on a second, the video will soon be edited," Bao Jie acted swiftly.


    Before long, the complete "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" video was finished. After everyone checked it, they logged into Yan Junze''s account "Night Traveling Puppy" on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform and clicked to upload the video.

 Chapter 46 The Pain That Cant Be Erased

    As an editor for the "Open Your Eyes" video platform, Tang Zhengyi was in charge of the specific video promotion work.He had experienced more than ten encounters with strangeness, twice deeply coming into contact with the bizarre and emerging unscathed. He had also witnessed exorcists eliminate strangeness on four occasions.


    He could be described as experienced and well-versed.


    Usually, after finishing his tasks for the day, Tang Zhengyi would set aside a fixed time each day to scan videos on the platform.


    If he found something good or comments below the video seemed quite real, he would take note of the video and then choose an opportune time to do a small-scale trial promotion.


    Video recommendations, unlike others, must first and foremost have a strong sense of authenticity, and only then would he consider the atmosphere, storyline completeness, information delivery, filming techniques, and post-production issues.


    During Tang Zhengyi''s video scanning process, a video named "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" caught his eye.


    This was because the video''s thumbnail displayed the first frame of the video.


    It was a sentence in white font against a black background, and Tang Zhengyi''s attention was drawn mainly to the text in the image.


    The quote was:


    "All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different layers of our own self. Hence, there''s one kind of murder that has never been convicted, and that is killing a part of oneself."


    There was also a name in the bottom right corner of this passage: Night Traveling Puppy


    "Looks like it has some appeal, but could it be staged?" Tang Zhengyi mumbled to himself, clicking on "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall".


    ...


    A few tranquil days passed.


    Inside Building 7 of FH Community, the frequency of the Back-faced Woman''s appearances seemed to be dwindling.


    Anyway, after his last sighting of her, Yan Junze hadn''t seen her at all these past few days.


    According to feedback from other neighbors in the same building, indeed, sightings of the Back-faced Woman had diminished compared to before. Discover stories at empire


    All of them harbored a wish they couldn''t openly express, that now having frequented Building 7, they hoped the woman in white would quickly move on to explore Building 9, and let their next-door neighbors experience what ''hair-raising'' truly felt like.


    That day, Li Man was idle at home; dinner was prepared early, and after eating with the family, they could still see the sunset.


    Yan Junze discovered he had run out of pen refills, so after giving his father Yan Daguo a heads-up, he left the community and headed to the nearby supermarket to buy a box.


    Since the inexplicable emerged, neighborhood shops typically operated only until around 8 PM, with only the braver store owners daring to close after 9 PM.


    And as for those 24-hour convenience stores, they had almost vanished.


    Because according to unofficial reports, almost every store that dared to stay open all night, if not 100%, at least 80% of them had encountered strangenesses.


    Situations like this could be big or small, so within a short period of time, the 24-hour stores had ceased operations, closing their doors on time around 8 PM with due propriety.


    After purchasing a box of pen refills from the supermarket, Yan Junze turned to leave, planning to head back to the community.


    At that moment, a young man stood outside the supermarket, dressed in off-white casual clothes, staring intently at him.


    Yan Junze glanced at the man and realized he didn''t recognize him. As he was about to pass by, the young man suddenly said, "Excuse me, are you Yan Junze?"


    Yan Junze stopped, looking surprised. "You are...?"


    The young man''s face was pale, his expression somewhat bleak as if he had encountered some very bad luck. At this moment, he managed to squeeze out a smile and said, "I called you a couple of days ago, my name is Lv Xin, the son of Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun."


    Yan Junze was initially startled, then he remembered something. "You mean... that overseas call?"


    "Yes," Lv Xin nodded. "I was studying in Great Capital, USA, and last week, I suddenly received the shocking news of my parents'' death. So I immediately asked for leave from the academy and rushed back here. May I... talk to you?"


    Yan Junze pointed at himself and then at Lv Xin, "Do we... have anything to discuss?"


    "Some doubts I want to ask you about, please!" Lv Xin''s tone was very humble and sincere.


    Yan Junze found it difficult to refuse.


    Lv Xin looked around and pointed to a milk tea shop named "Migu" next to FH Community, "Let''s sit in there."


    "Alright."


    It was mealtime, so not many customers came in for milk tea, and three small tables were empty.


    The two entered the shop, sat down, and ordered two cups of milk tea.


    Before the milk tea was served, Lv Xin couldn''t wait to ask, "I heard that you recorded a video that night, may I see it?"


    Yan Junze said, "It''s no secret, I''ve already uploaded the video to the ''Open Your Eyes'' video platform. You can watch it there."


    Lv Xin was startled for a moment, "Is that the platform that specializes in sharing bizarre videos?"


    "Yes, search for Night Traveling Puppy, and you''ll be able to see it," Yan Junze nodded.


    Without another word, Lv Xin immediately downloaded the "Open Your Eyes" app on his phone, and quickly found the video. He gave Yan Junze an apologetic smile and then started to watch it intently.


    As the milk tea arrived, Yan Junze just drank his milk tea without speaking, waiting for Lv Xin to finish watching the video.


    After watching, Lv Xin let out a soft sigh, looked up, and asked, "Is this video complete? Are there any extra clips that were not included in the video?"


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to explain to Lv Xin, because, after all, Granny Ren appeared in the video as a supernatural being, albeit with her face deliberately blurred. However, this could potentially violate the privacy of her family.


    But now it seemed that Lv Xin''s attitude toward his own grandmother was not much different from that of his father, Lv Jun, and mother, Wei Tingchun. So he really didn''t care.


    At this point, Yan Junze''s favorable impression of Lv Xin began to decrease, and he shook his head, "The video is the entire recording. I cut out the irrelevant scenes like looking for the comb, and there''s no other important information."


    Lv Xin took a sip of milk tea through the straw and seemed to notice Yan Junze''s indifferent expression. He spoke softly, "My relationship with my grandmother was very weak. When I was little, my parents seldom, very seldom, took me to visit her. We almost have... no affection."


    "Your family''s matters, there''s no need to tell me," Yan Junze said. "Is there anything else?"


    "Did my grandmother say anything else to you?" Lv Xin asked.


    Yan Junze shrugged, "Just those two sentences in the video, nothing more."


    "When you faced my grandmother, did you feel anything from her?"


    "Yes."


    "What kind of feeling? Anger? Resentment?" Lv Xin frowned.


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "It was heaviness, agony. You heard it just now, she said she was in pain. I believe this pain refers to the suffering she experienced in life."


    At this point, Yan Junze suddenly realized something.


    When he was combing Granny Ren''s hair, at the moment he chanted "pass on to utmost bliss, erase the pain of this life," Granny Ren''s response to him was ¡ª "pain." S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant, at that time, Granny Ren couldn''t erase the pain of her life. If it weren''t for Ke''er, who moved on his back later and posed a threat to Granny Ren, he probably wouldn''t have been able to complete the combing hair task.


    Thinking about it, at that time, as a Wandering Spirit, Granny Ren''s rank might not have been high. Otherwise, Ke''er wouldn''t have been able to intimidate her.


    But now, according to Huang Chen, Granny Ren had evolved into a being that could create a D-level Supernatural event. Compared to Ke''er, her rank was definitely higher, and not lower.

 Chapter 47 Popular Video

    Lv Xin placed both hands on the table in front of him, holding a milk tea cup, his expression revealing unease."To tell the truth, I still find it hard to believe what the exorcists say, that my parents were killed by my grandmother''s strangeness."


    Yan Junze did not answer.


    In fact, he didn''t know what to say.


    The day-to-day life of a family escalating to the current, almost irreversible situation wasn''t something that could be clarified in just a few sentences.


    "Now my uncle''s family and my aunt''s family, they''re all being protected by the exorcists," Lv Xin said, his hands holding the teacup trembling slightly.


    "Oh?" Yan Junze sat up straight, "If that''s the case, you''d better stay with them as well, otherwise, you might encounter danger."


    "There''s only me left in our family, what else is there to fear?" Lv Xin raised his head, revealing a bleak smile filled with self-mockery, "Perhaps we''ve wronged grandma too much. Since she''s now claiming lives, then let it be my life; I won''t resist at all."


    "It''s getting dark, you should head back quickly," Yan Junze stood up.


    Lv Xin also stood up: "I''m planning to go take a look at room 503 in building number seven, I''ve brought the keys."


    "What?" Yan Junze looked at him in surprise, "You''re going to your grandmother''s house now? You must be joking! That place has been sealed off by the police."


    "I want to see my grandmother''s belongings, start to understand her from now, to get to know her all over again," Lv Xin said with determination, as if he had made up his mind before coming.


    Yet, to Yan Junze, his words carried an indescribable feeling, something he couldn''t quite put his finger on.


    "In any case, let me advise you, Granny Ren might not be in room 503 anymore, but if you encounter her now, it''ll be quite dangerous!" Yan Junze left the milk tea shop after dropping that warning.


    Lv Xin followed him out.


    As he had expected, the guy didn''t seem to have any intention to leave, following right behind him into FH Community.


    Lv Xin quickened his steps, caught up to Yan Junze, and said, "The videos you shoot are pretty good, I just watched one called ''Peeking From the Crack in the Wall'', it''s getting a lot of heat."


    "Ah!"


    Yan Junze stopped, took out his phone to check, and saw that his recently uploaded video "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" had surged in popularity, breaking past 500,000 views.


    Influenced by that video, even "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" had surpassed 100,000 clicks.


    Looking at the small flame icon in the upper-right corner of the video, Yan Junze couldn''t help but feel a rush of excitement.


    Since it had gone viral, rewards like throwing flowers, tossing sedans, and sending rockets definitely wouldn''t be scarce; he''d have to count them carefully when he logged into the backend at home later.


    Yan Junze was somewhat excited, mainly because since coming to this world, he always had the pressing feeling of an ever-empty pocket.


    After putting away his phone, buoyed by his good mood, Yan Junze pointed at the supernatural warning sign placed below building number seven and said to Lv Xin, who was waiting beside him, "Don''t say I didn''t warn you, our community is quite old, and there''s an especially large number of strangenesses. You should be careful of other supernatural beings in building number seven as well."


    "Yeah, thanks," Lv Xin nodded and entered the building with Yan Junze.


    However, after Yan Junze reached his own floor, the fourth, he didn''t continue going up.


    Lv Xin didn''t stop either and went directly up to the fifth floor.


    Yan Junze stood in the hallway of the fourth floor, slightly sticking out his head and pricking up his ears to listen to the noises from the floor above.


    The footsteps were so light that they were inaudible. After listening for a while, he only heard the sound of a key turning in a lock, followed by silence.


    Retracting back, he didn''t plan to interfere any more than he already had. However, he couldn''t help but remain concerned about Lv Xin staying in Granny Ren''s place alone.


    At that moment, the sky gradually darkened.


    Yan Daguo opened the door and saw his son holding a box of pen refills, leaning on the railing outside the hallway, and asked, "Son, it''s getting dark. Why are you leaning out here?"


    "Just catching some fresh air," Yan Junze replied.


    "The college entrance exam is coming up, how is your revision going?" Yan Daguo also leaned on the railing, looking towards the building across from them.


    At this moment, many lights were on in the building, but there were few like them, who didn''t close their doors even when it got dark, leisurely leaning on the corridor and shooting the breeze.


    "I''m fine with the review, I could even take the test right now."


    Yan Junze wasn''t joking. When it came to studying, he now only dared not to exert himself too much, because a little bit of effort would not just mean swapping a bike for a car, or a car for a plane, but instantly taking off in a rocket.


    In that case, he had to consider whether his parents could handle such a surprise.


    What if the scores came in, and the breakthrough results put his parents in the hospital beds, that wouldn''t be good for anyone.


    "Still planning to apply for Tianmeng Science University?" Yan Daguo asked.


    Huaying Great Capital had five major districts, with Shuntian City located within Tianmeng District, and Tianmeng District itself boasted several universities with excellent educational resources.


    Under normal circumstances, residents of Shuntian City wouldn''t consider schools in other districts, preferring those nearby.


    "Any of the top five universities in Tianmeng District will do." Yan Junze nodded, "But no matter which one I attend, I only want to study Physics."


    Yan Daguo was shocked, "Is that... easy to find a job in the future?"


    "Dad, you forgot, I also have the potential to become an Exorcist." Yan Junze revealed a smile, "In studies, interest is what matters most."


    "Hmm, no matter what you study, as long as you''re interested, that''s good," Yan Daguo seemed very open-minded.


    He tightened his collar and reminded, "Although the weather is warming up, it still gets cold quickly at night. Be careful not to catch a cold, better go inside quickly."


    With that, he himself ran inside to make some tea. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bang!


    The sound of a door closing came from upstairs at the same time.


    Yan Junze stretched his neck but still could not hear any footsteps. However, soon at the end of the corridor by the staircase, a figure descended from the fifth floor.


    The sound-activated light turned on, allowing Yan Junze to easily see the person''s appearance¡ªit was Lv Xin, who had just gone up.


    Yan Junze watched him, and although the two were far apart, neither spoke.


    Lv Xin lifted his head, glanced over at Yan Junze, and unexpectedly did not greet him with a wave but turned and continued downstairs.


    It seemed like there was no issue.


    Yan Junze still leaned in the corridor, watching the guy leave Building No. 7 and head toward the community''s gate until he was out of sight.


    A sense of inexplicability surged in his heart, and Yan Junze looked up at the fifth floor, then turned to enter his house and shut the door.


    Not long after he returned to his bedroom, Zhou Dali''s call came through, filled with irrepressible excitement, "Haha, Junze, guess how our uploaded video is doing?"


    "It went viral," Yan Junze answered.


    Zhou Dali: "..."


    However, this guy had typical resilience, and soon he was back to his usual self, saying, "How about it, any donations? What''s the income like?"


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    "I just did the math, and it looks like each of us could get around five to six thousand," Yan Junze also started laughing.


    "That won''t do," Zhou Dali shook his head on the other end of the phone, "You should get more, I''ll just take a thousand, enough for pocket money. I didn''t expect making videos to be so profitable. That video of ''The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night'' must have earned something as well, right? Too bad your fame wasn''t that big back then."


    Suddenly remembering something, Yan Junze asked, "By the way, the strangeness in the restroom of New Century Home Plaza, has an Exorcist dealt with it yet?"


    Zhou Dali replied, "Not yet, but it''s been reported and queued. I''ve heard there''s already a response, and an Exorcist is expected to handle it in the next couple of days."


    "Strike while the iron is hot," Yan Junze grinned, "I''ll take care of it tomorrow night and film another video in the process."


    "You mean¡­ we do it together?" Zhou Dali exclaimed.


    "No, this time I''m going alone."

 Chapter 48 Big-eyed Girl

    As the college entrance exam neared, the entire senior year exuded an inexplicable sense of tension.All subjects in Shuntian No.3 Middle School''s senior classes had entered an intensive review phase, where each day was filled with ceaseless explanations of key points and difficulties, and a myriad of different types of problems for practice.


    Yan Junze was okay, but Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin all seemed to struggle.


    As for Zhou Jiajie, whom Bao Jie had a crush on, it was said that he had already obtained a guaranteed spot at Tianmeng University through his family''s connections. The criteria he met to get this spot were unknown.


    But Bao Jie also aspired to attend Tianmeng University. Unlike Zhou Jiajie, she didn''t have such a family background, so she was even more determined to study hard.


    Zhou Dali was also putting in the effort, except his goal was Tianmeng Sports Institute, an institution where one could forge their way with physical strength, without needing much of a brain.


    Academic scores? Nonexistent.


    When Zhou Dali stood out at the Tianmeng District high school sports meet in March, at least three sports colleges extended offers to him. However, Comrade Dali also had his obsessions.


    He would only consider Tianmeng Sports Institute, which made him a solemn promise: as long as his academic score exceeded 30 points (passing is 50), they would admit him exceptionally.


    In Yan Junze''s view today, Zhou Dali must have been deceived by the institute.


    For anything worth doing, a certain level of difficulty is necessary to spark desire and persistence. If something is too easily obtained, it won''t be truly cherished.


    Zhou Dali was exactly like this, dismissing offers from other colleges outright.


    Yan Junze speculated that regardless of Zhou Dali''s academic scores, with his outstanding athletic performance and potential for growth, Tianmeng Sports Institute would still admit him exceptionally.


    Putting pressure on him now and making him work harder couldn''t do any harm.


    During a break after class, Bao Jie took out a portable camera and taught Yan Junze how to clip it to his shirt front for filming.


    This camera had substantial storage and could continuously record videos for about two hours. It automatically switched to night mode and produced extremely high-quality footage compatible with various editing software for post-production.


    Bao Jie had sponsored the portable camera temporarily, which Yan Junze planned to borrow for a while. After testing it and finding the results quite good, he had Bao Jie help him order one online.


    "Are you sure you don''t need our help?" asked Bao Jie.


    "No need, it''s easier to act alone," Yan Junze nodded.


    However, it was evident that these three were having mixed feelings, their hearts not in sync with their words, clearly conflicted about taking risks with Yan Junze again.


    With the college entrance exam approaching and the heavy academic workload, their reluctance was understandable.


    Truth be told, after they completed the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" task, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali were scared post-event, but they still felt a sense of achievement.


    Of course, if Yan Junze had told them that they had died N times before the Rewind, who knows whether the trio would have torn the protagonist apart on the spot.


    After preparing the gear for the evening operation, the conversation quickly turned to the trending video.


    With "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" going viral, to everyone''s surprise, Jiang Ruixin''s popularity rose the fastest among them, and she even acquired a resounding nickname¡ªBig-eyed Girl.


    This nickname originated from the scene where she stared down a corpse.


    Far from scaring people as Jiang Ruixin had imagined, that moment made many netizens grow fond of the candidness of the Big-eyed Girl.


    Under peer pressure, Jiang Ruixin reluctantly registered her own account on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    She initially wanted to use the nickname "Big-eyed Girl," but after finding out the name was already taken, she added a "1" to make it "Big-eyed Girl1."


    After clicking next, the system indicated that name was taken as well, so she had no choice but to register as "Big-eyed Girl2."


    To distinguish herself from the previously registered Big-eyed Girl users, Jiang Ruixin uploaded her real photo, choosing the one with the best selfie angle and closest to her appearance in the videos. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As expected, not long after registering, the followers of "Big-eyed Girl2" shot up to 100+, with many netizens commenting below, asking if "Big-eyed Girl2" was the real person from the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" video.


    By the time school ended, Jiang Ruixin''s followers had already soared to 3000+.


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    Since she had filled in her real identity information, and her information verification page had been officially stamped with an authentication badge by the video platform, with a small print introduction: the Big-eyed Girl from the popular video "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    In the eyes of Yan Junze, Bao Jie, and Zhou Dali, Jiang Ruixin seemed to be getting increasingly full of herself as the day progressed.


    Once school was over, Yan Junze called home to inform his family that he was going to study at Zhou Dali''s place in the New Century Residential Area and expected to return home before 9 pm.


    Li Man cautioned him with a few words and didn''t think much of it.


    After leaving school, Yan Junze planned to treat everyone to a meal with the money he had earned, and Bao Jie invited Zhou Jiajie along, but Zhou Jiajie declined.


    According to Jiang Ruixin, Zhou Jiajie was angry with Bao Jie because after the video went viral, Zhou Jiajie found out that they had actually gone to the Jianye Building that night, but Bao Jie deliberately deceived him by saying they hadn''t.


    There was nothing to explain about the lie.


    Yan Junze didn''t care about that, and just outside the school, he ordered a few dishes at a little restaurant, got a small hotpot going, and with a bottle of chilled drink for each person, they thoroughly enjoyed their meal.


    "Be careful later on."


    After they finished, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin reminded Yan Junze to be cautious, then left together.


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze took the bus, arriving at Zhou Dali''s place in the New Century Residential Area after three stops.


    The area had seven gardens, and between the first and second gardens was that public square with table tennis tables, badminton courts, basketball courts, and on top of that, a flat little plaza.


    Every evening, the aunties danced energetically on this little plaza.


    The eerily haunted restroom was located in the upper left corner of the public square.


    It was quite spacious, meant to provide convenience for those playing and relaxing in the area¡ªbut now it was anything but convenient.


    Ever since the woman in red high heels started appearing frequently in the restroom, the number of people playing in the square had dwindled, save for a few tenacious auntie dance troops that continued their dance routines unabated.


    "It''s still light out now; do you think the woman in red high heels will appear at this hour?" Yan Junze asked, standing in the square with Zhou Dali and eyeing the public restroom not far away, backpacks on their shoulders.


    "Her appearances don''t differentiate between day and night," Zhou Dali said definitively, "But if you were to go in now, too many people would see you, which might not be convenient for your investigation."


    "Let''s go around 8 pm then," Yan Junze nodded.


    He went to Zhou Dali''s home, where Dali''s parents¡ªwho were both quite tall¡ªdemonstrated the significance of genetics.


    Yan Junze hung around for a while, and around eight o''clock, he made an excuse to leave. He left his backpack at Zhou Dali''s house, took the portable camera with him, and headed straight for the public square restroom.

 Chapter 49 Wine Red High Heels (Part 1)

    According to Zhou Dali''s claim, the strangenesses with the red high heels in the public restroom will be dealt with by an exorcist within these two days.So, after deciding on his next move, Junze knew he had to arrive one step ahead, otherwise, there wouldn''t even be a single slipper to see, let alone high heels.


    Nightfall came.


    The crowd in the square had dispersed, only an elderly janitor was still cleaning up the trash, a solitary figure under the streetlights of the night.


    Witnessing this, Junze was suddenly reminded of his mother in this life, Li Man. As a cleaning lady, her job of sweeping never cares for night or day, always laborious and modestly paid.


    Thinking of giving his earnings to his parents for safekeeping once he returned, Junze quickly made his way to the public restroom in the square.


    There used to be a duty room outside the restroom that sold newspapers and tissues, but it had been closed since the outbreak of strangenesses and never reopened.


    To conserve Different Dimension Energy, Junze had not activated "Perception of Strange Events" before coming here. After all, the task prompt would also pop up as he neared the site of strangeness, so there was no need to waste energy.


    Indeed, not long after standing at the entrance of the restroom, the atlas in his mind immediately popped up with the task information.


    [Task Name: Wine red high heels;]


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: Jian Tong is searching for someone, someone she loved passionately. But this man was a betrayer who swindled all of Jian Tong''s savings and disappeared after making the excuse of going to the restroom. Now, Jian Tong only wants one answer, an answer tied to an obsession until death.


    Task Instructions: Have a conversation with Jian Tong, and the choice of your answer is crucial, please choose wisely;


    Task Reward: 300 points of Dimensional Energy;


    Task Penalty: Depending on your answer, get killed by Jian Tong or spend eternity together with her as the betrayer;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit is subject to Lockdown; 2. You still have a chance to escape before Jian Tong speaks;


    Remarks: No matter what you see, do not show even a hint of surprise, or else...]


    Junze read through the task carefully and found that its level was the same as "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," both being Anxiety-Inducing (High), and the reward of Dimensional Energy points was also the same.


    Initially, when completing "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," the strangeness of the mummy wasn''t that powerful, but that guy was very good at disguising himself, extremely evil, and adept at luring, causing the inexperienced Junze to frequently misjudge until the very last moment, when he finally turned the tables.


    Thus, Anxiety-Inducing (High) simply indicates the danger level of the task and does not fully explain how dangerous the strangeness in the task might be. With a good grasp of the situation, one could complete it with ease, but if handled poorly, it could lead to a dreadful death.


    Junze took a deep breath and entered the public restroom.


    The lights inside the restroom were on continuously, not very bright, but not too dark either.


    This fact gave Junze a bit of relief, at least the lights weren''t motion sensor-activated.


    Otherwise, the prospect of clapping for oneself while defecating to keep the lights on was an embarrassing thought indeed.


    To enter the men''s restroom from the outside of the public restroom, you have to pass a corner first, and only after turning it will you see a row of urinals.


    Opposite to the urinals were the toilet stalls. Junze quickly glanced over and saw there were a total of six stalls, five squatting stalls and one equipped with a Western-style toilet.


    Opening the stall door of the Western-style toilet, he saw an enormous mass of filth darkly clinging to the seat, the whole stall reeked.


    Junze, covering his nose, closed the door of that stall.


    He pushed open the doors of each squatting stall from right to left, checking each one carefully to confirm there were no anomalies and then chose the one closest to the wall on the far end, next to the window.


    This stall had relatively better air circulation and was also a bit cleaner.


    There was no other way, after the supernatural events, the restroom had long been abandoned, and not even the cleaners dared to come in to clean. Fortunately, few people dared to use it anymore, so it didn''t get outrageously dirty.


    After Yan Junze entered a stall, he closed the door and bolted the inside latch, ensuring it couldn''t be opened from the outside.


    It was nearing summer, and as night fell, various sounds of insect chirping came from outside the restroom, avoiding complete silence inside that would add an unnecessary sense of fear.


    However, staying here alone was enough to make anyone''s skin crawl.


    Outside the men''s restroom and around the corner were a row of sinks, but one of the faucets was broken; it seemed like it couldn''t be tightened and the sound of water dripping was continuous.


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    Insect noises and water drips echoed in this eerily quiet public restroom.


    Apart from that, there was only the barely audible sound of Yan Junze''s own breathing. No other sounds could be heard.


    He had already turned on his chest-mounted camera, and before entering the stall, he had set the Rewind time to half an hour.


    Now, as the Different Dimension Energy increased and accumulated, the timespan available for Rewinding was getting longer. If he wished, he could add even more timelines on top of the current one. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    About two minutes later, Yan Junze simply squatted down.


    Of course, it wasn''t time to defecate now; there was no way he was taking off his pants.


    Soon after, a clear sound of high heels resonated.


    Listening to the sound, the person walking seemed to be not far outside the public restroom, appearing out of nowhere.


    Without almost any pause, the sound of high heels entered the men''s restroom, steady and unhurried.


    The tapping of the heels on the ground sounded very hollow, just like Yan Junze''s heart was racing at the moment.


    Even though he squatted in the stall, since he was in the innermost one against the wall, his view couldn''t penetrate the gap under the stall divider to see outside.


    After wearing the high heels into the men''s restroom, it seemed like the person stood in front of the urinals, about two or three meters directly in front of his stall, motionless.


    Squatting down, Yan Junze lowered his body even more, craning his neck as much as possible so that his line of sight could reach further through the gap under the door.


    After some effort, he managed to do so.


    Looking now, he could finally see the tips of the high heels.


    In the dimly lit restroom, the high heels were indeed wine red; when standing, they were not angled outwards but pointed straight ahead.


    Too far to see the feet, Yan Junze still had the eerie illusion that fear was creeping up his spine.


    At this time, Ke''er seemed to be sleeping soundly, paying no attention to anything.


    Moreover, considering that the mission was rated "Anxiety-Inducing (High)", if a confrontation did happen later, Ke''er might not be a match for the woman outside.


    As he was carefully peering out, the red high heels began to move again, the tips turning slightly, aiming towards the direction of Yan Junze''s stall, taking steps towards it.


    "She actually knew right away that I was in this stall!" Yan Junze was startled and shrunk back a bit.


    Still keeping his head low, his eyes swept through the maximum range visible through the gap below the door.


    The red high heels drew closer, and the woman''s ankles appeared within his line of sight.


    This scene, however, caused Yan Junze to suddenly display a strange expression.

 Chapter 50 Wine Red High Heels (Part 2)

    Under normal circumstances, when a man hears the sound of high heels, an image of a young, beautiful woman with elegant mannerisms automatically constructs itself in his mind.At the very least, the woman in his imagination would fit the man''s basic definition of a woman.


    So, when Yan Junze saw the calves above the high heels poking out from under the door, he was genuinely taken aback.


    The woman wore a black mesh skirt, and those heels were exquisite, revealing calves that weren''t very chubby but had a robust feel to them.


    It was clear that the woman had a large build, not conceding much to men.


    The wine red high heels stopped outside the stall where Yan Junze was, with the tips of the shoes pointing straight ahead, showing no sign of being pigeon-toed or splay-footed.


    Silence once again enveloped the surroundings; no one made a sound.


    Yan Junze forced himself to breathe slowly, eyeing the high heels outside the stall unwaveringly.


    He still remembered the task prompt: he had the chance to slip away before Jian Tong spoke.


    In other words, the woman outside named Jian Tong hadn''t spoken yet, so he still had the opportunity to escape, just as Wang Shicong, the chubby guy from the next class, had successfully fled after seeing those high heels using his "Shit-Cutting Skill."


    Of course, Yan Junze had no intention to flee. He was waiting as well.


    No one spoke, pushing the eerie scene to the peak of tension, with oppression growing every second.


    The faucet in the nearby sink dripped water continuously, and at this moment, the sound of the droplets seemed like heavy hammers pounding on Yan Junze''s heart.


    Time crawled by, and three minutes later, the feet in the high heels still hadn''t moved.


    "Are you just going to stand there?" Yan Junze nearly couldn''t bear it anymore and grumbled inwardly.


    Staying in the same position, his shoulders began to ache, so he moved them gently and slightly lifted his head.


    Just then, knock, knock, knock¡ªthree knocks on the door sounded.


    The door to Yan Junze''s stall was knocked.


    From his position, he could see those red high heels hadn''t moved, but he was unable to see the woman''s upper body movements.


    He didn''t respond.


    "How long exactly are you planning to hide?"


    A hoarse voice, unidentifiable as male or female, called from outside the stall, speaking slowly as though each word must be enunciated clearly, giving an illusion of a mannequin talking.


    This woman named Jian Tong had spoken.


    According to the task prompt, if Yan Junze wanted to escape now, it would be absolutely impossible.


    After a moment''s consideration, he replied, "I''m defecating. I''m not hiding."


    The task explained that this woman''s man had betrayed her and even swindled a lot of money from her. She was also obsessively waiting for an answer, and to accomplish this task, stepping into the role of the betraying man might be the best choice.


    As a mere observer, he could not complete the task at all.


    Otherwise, not only would Jian Tong ignore you, but she might also directly take action to kill this observer.


    "I have a question for you," Jian Tong''s voice continued.


    Here it came.


    Yan Junze''s heart tightened; this must be what the task description referred to as her "Obsession." Additionally, the task reminded him that the choice of answer was crucial and must be made with great care.


    "Hmm, ask," he replied without hesitation.


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong murmured.


    Yan Junze was momentarily startled, then slowly stood up, rubbing his numb legs.


    He really didn''t know how to answer this question. If he considered it from the perspective of that scumbag, the guy definitely didn''t love Jian Tong, or he wouldn''t have cheated her out of so much money.


    But now, was it appropriate to say "doesn''t love"?


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze still decided to speak. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Doesn''t love."


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dull thud came from the cubicle door, as if a fist had smashed hard against the panel.


    Then came the screeching sound of nails scratching on wood, sending a shiver down one''s spine.


    During this process, the entire cubicle door was trembling. It was clear how forcefully the fingers scraping the door were.


    Yan Junze involuntarily stepped backward, nearly stepping into the filth-filled squat toilet, and as he slightly bent down, he saw the wine red high heels approaching from under the door gap.


    One high heel was missing in action, indicating that foot had been raised.


    Then the other foot, also clad in a high heel, lifted, and both feet vanished from view, apparently leaving the ground entirely.


    This scene seemed to spark a realization in Yan Junze, who abruptly looked up.


    Above the cubicle door, two large-boned hands were hooked over the edge, the fingers gripping the panel were not pale but a dark, purplish color, with the nails on each finger measuring at least three centimeters long.


    At this moment, some of the nails still had wood shavings inside them¡ªthe result of scratching the door from the outside.


    As the two hands latched onto the top edge of the panel, a woman''s head slowly emerged from the top, first revealing curved black hair, then a similarly purplish forehead.


    Her hair was abundant, black and thick, almost completely covering her face, with only her eyes faintly visible beneath.


    Soon, the woman''s nose and lips became visible, but they were partly obscured by hair, her head appeared detached from her body, hanging over the top edge of the door.


    She opened her mouth, which was pitch black inside, even her teeth were black.


    "You... lie... to me!"


    The three words were spat out.


    With each word, Yan Junze felt his whole body tense, his heart seemed to spasm, and his limbs involuntarily curled up together.


    Ke''er, lying on his back, lifted her head and let out the familiar warning cry.


    Suddenly, Ke''er sprang off Yan Junze''s back, stepped on the wall behind him, and with another rebound, lunged toward Jian Tong, whose head was now sticking over the cubicle door.


    Thump!


    The next second, Ke''er''s body was suspended in mid-air.


    Jian Tong remained perched on the door, but she had stretched out her right hand, grabbing Ke''er by the neck, leaving Ke''er hanging in mid-air, unable to move forward.


    Ke''er yelped frantically, her hands flailing and legs kicking, but to no avail.


    Amidst the struggle, the eye-catching red dress stood out starkly.


    "Ke''er is no match for this woman!" Yan Junze realized, feeling as though his body had also been harmed by Jian Tong''s words "You lie to me."


    No further thought needed, he immediately activated Rewind.


    But he didn''t choose to Rewind to the moment just after he entered the toilet; instead, he returned to the time before Jian Tong had asked the question.


    The wine red high heels reappeared outside the door, motionless.


    "Do you still love me?" came Jian Tong''s voice, indistinguishable as either male or female.


    This time, having experienced the result of the previous Rewind, Yan Junze didn''t hesitate and said, "Love."

 Chapter 51 Wine Red High Heels (Part 3)

    Jian Tong was silent on the other side of the partition, and there were no sounds of banging or clawing at the door panel.Good, looking at it this way, this answer can still work.


    Yan Junze''s heart was slightly more stable.


    "Do you know how long I''ve been waiting for you?" Jian Tong spoke again.


    Yan Junze knew that he had just answered the first question, and that the following answers which extended from it were equally important. A slight misstep could still provoke the end before the Rewind.


    So, he didn''t respond directly, but said, "You''ve worked hard."


    At this point, he needed to go along with Jian Tong''s tone as much as possible, and it was best not to touch her sore spots; otherwise, the outcome would be the same.


    Jian Tong''s tone was still very slow, and it seemed that she was starting to relax somewhat, "They say you''re a scammer, that you not only cheated me out of my money but also deceived my feelings. Is it true?"


    "How could that be?" Yan Junze said, "Actually, I urgently needed money, and I was going to pay you back as soon as the funds came through. After that... we''ll get married!"


    After finishing these words, Yan Junze was deeply ashamed.


    It had to be said, aside from his role as a backup Exorcist, he had discovered he actually had the potential to be a "scumbag."


    At this thought, he couldn''t help but shiver.


    Jian Tong''s tone remained slow, even... it had a touch of indifference, "But why is your name fake? Your age is fake? Even your home address is fake?"


    "I..." Yan Junze was flabbergasted. "Damn, I''m speechless."


    He hadn''t expected that Jian Tong had already gathered so much information about this man. She must have conducted an investigation after realizing she had been scammed.


    "You... lied... to me!"


    Jian Tong''s dull and angry voice arose from outside the partition.


    At the same moment, sounds of banging and nails scratching at the door panel came through piercingly.


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    The noisy sounds again subsided into silence, with only the echo of water dripping from a broken faucet audible.


    The wine-red high heels stood quietly outside the partition.


    "Do you still love me?" The calm and slow voice of Jian Tong rose again.


    Ah, is it love, or is it not?


    Yan Junze squatted in the restroom, his face full of hesitation.


    Why not just activate the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" and forcefully enslave this woman? But in doing so, he wouldn''t be able to complete the task, would lose the Different Dimensional Energy reward, and fail to continue illuminating the timeline. Just locking down such a recalcitrant spirit seemed a bit not worth it.


    Yan Junze did not answer immediately.


    After Jian Tong asked, the entire scene fell silent.


    "Why won''t you answer me?" Jian Tong''s voice started to sound irritated, "Are you playing dead?"


    No choice, it seemed there was a time limit, and he had to answer.


    Answering "don''t love" wouldn''t work. This woman would immediately go mad.


    Answering "love" seemed like it could continue the conversation and find a breakthrough opportunity.


    "Love." Yan Junze once again chose this response.


    "Do you know how long I''ve been waiting for you?" asked Jian Tong.


    The question was exactly the same as the one before the last Rewind, not a word different.


    But this time, Yan Junze didn''t say "You''ve worked hard," instead he said, "I have my reasons."


    "What reasons?"


    "I have a lot of debts that I can''t pay off. So I changed my identity, and it was only after I got here that I met you."


    "Is that... why you cheated me out of all my savings?"


    "No." Yan Junze shook his head, his immersion in the character''s role quite convincing, "As soon as I pay off all my debts, I can truly be with you. We''ll work hard together, and I''ll take good care of you for the rest of your life."


    "Really?" Jian Tong on the other side seemed to be touched, "You don''t mind me?"


    "Mind? Mind what?" Yan Junze was a bit puzzled, scratching his head and said, "I don''t mind." Read the latest on empire


    He dared not ask what specifically she meant by ''mind''; if Jian Tong detected a flaw and became enraged again, he would have to go through it all over.


    "Okay, I believe you, no matter what anyone else says, we can definitely walk together," Jian Tong said, puzzling Yan Junze even more with her words.


    Yan Junze was completely bewildered but could only smile and say, "Yeah, sure."


    "Open the door," Jian Tong demanded.


    "I... I''m taking a dump, it''s not finished yet," Yan Junze stammered, "Why don''t you wait for me outside? This is the men''s restroom."


    As he spoke, he began to feel doubtful. Now it seemed that his responses were somewhat acceptable. Why didn''t she seem to want to wrap up the conversation? It felt like she was more keen on flying away with him, side by side.


    "Open the door." Jian Tong didn''t leave, and her tone became stern again, "Are you still holding a grudge?"


    "I... grudge my ass! What exactly is there to hold a grudge about?" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    "We''ve done everything; there isn''t a place on your body I haven''t seen. Open the door!"


    There was a bang as Jian Tong started pounding on the door again.


    The shrill sound of nails scraping against the door panel once again reached Yan Junze''s ears.


    "Again!?" Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Although their voices might sound somewhat similar, he was not that heartless man. If he went out now, one look from Jian Tong would give him away.


    It seemed that this answer was still not working.


    Rewind!


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong returned to the beginning, slowly asking.


    Do I freaking love... or not love her! Yan Junze grabbed his hair.


    "Love."


    "Do you know how long I''ve been waiting for you?"


    "I''ve been waiting for you, too."


    "You haven''t been waiting for me, you''ve been deliberately hiding from me, always in the restroom!"


    "I really have been waiting for you, taking a shit and waiting for you."


    "You... liar..."


    The sound of clawing at the door rose again.


    Rewind!


    "Do you still love me?"


    "Love. Uh, I knew you''d come looking for me, so I kept waiting in the same restroom for you."


    "But they say you''re a con artist, deceiving both for money and love, is that true?"


    "Don''t mind what others say, my love for you is real, even more so than steamed sponge cake. It''s just that I''m really short on cash right now; I''m in a lot of debt."


    "Did you take my money... to pay off your debts?"


    "Yes, that''s why I''ve been hiding my identity, afraid that debt collectors would find us and cause you trouble."


    "I understand! Open the door."


    "Damn, how did we get back here?" Yan Junze said with a bitter smile, "Can I not open it?"


    "Why not? Are you embarrassed about me?" Jian Tong''s tone grew angry again, "Open the door."


    The sound of nails scratching at the door started up.


    Yan Junze believed that if the door panel could fight back, the woman outside would have been squeezed flat in the door frame by now.


    Rewind!


    Squatting inside the stall, Yan Junze''s face looked as if he had just swallowed an entire bitter melon, full of sorrow, yet his mind was rapidly pondering.


    From what he could tell, he couldn''t bring up a few key terms: "don''t love," "open the door," and "mind."


    Whenever these words were mentioned, it was basically impossible to recover, and he could only rewind or play hardball.


    "Don''t love" was easy to avoid by not saying it from the start. But "open the door" was Jian Tong''s own demand. It seemed that as long as his answers softened her heart, she would want him to open the door and meet with her.


    As for the key term "mind," Yan Junze was still completely in the dark about what there was to "mind."


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong''s damning voice echoed once again.

 Chapter 52 Wine Red High Heels (Part 4)

    Yan Junze took a deep breath and said to the woman outside, "I love you, but there are debt collectors looking for me right now, so I can''t come out, and I also don''t mind anything about you."This time, he managed to touch upon all the potentially explosive topics in their conversation and skillfully avoided them one by one.


    Suddenly, there was silence from the other side of the partition.


    Yan Junze waited for a moment and noticed that Jian Tong didn''t speak anymore.


    Unassured, he peered through the gap under the partition and saw those wine red high heels still standing outside, facing the partition, motionless; yet Jian Tong remained silent.


    Without her speaking, Yan Junze also stayed silent, and the standoff continued.


    "Who... are you?" Jian Tong''s voice suddenly came through, filled with barely suppressed anger.


    Boom!


    The door of the bathroom stall exploded violently, breaking into seven or eight pieces, revealing Jian Tong standing outside.


    Dressed in red high heels and a long black dress, she appeared exceptionally tall, more than a match for any man. Her black hair danced wildly in the air, but the strands that fell over her face did not move.


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    Her eyes were completely dark, shining black, without white sclera, and her slightly open mouth was also pitch-black.


    Almost in sync with the explosion of the door, Ke''er, who was on Yan Junze''s back, shot out, pouncing towards Jian Tong.


    Yan Junze of course knew that Ke''er was no match for this woman, and with a fierce determination, he simply summoned the Crawler Monster from the Spacetime Atlas as well.


    Since the battle had already begun, he might as well have both his subordinates join the fray to see what the ultimate outcome would be.


    When the Crawler Monster appeared, it was completely bewildered, looking up at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze shouted, "Join Ke''er and take down that woman!"


    The Crawler Monster still looked confused, staying put without moving.


    This made Yan Junze suspect that the creature might have been an idiot in its past life.


    "If you take down this woman, I''ll grant you your freedom!"


    This time, the Crawler Monster understood at once and, with a grimace, it turned around on the ground and scuttled towards Jian Tong.


    The next second, Jian Tong''s high heel came down, piercing through the creature''s head and pinning it mercilessly to the ground, immobilized.


    Jian Tong''s right hand was tightly wrapped around Ke''er''s neck, causing Ke''er to struggle midair. Her tiny hands scratched wildly forward, but they always fell short, as she cried out incessantly.


    By this time, Yan Junze had realized that Ke''er could only make two sounds, "Eh" when she was usual, and "Ya" when she was angry.


    But now, it seemed that the combat strength of these Evil Spirits he possessed was still too weak.


    He remembered the mission hint from "Wine red high heels," which stated that the Evil Spirit could be Locked down.


    If he managed to complete the mission, Yan Junze already had plans to Lockdown Jian Tong.


    In that case, Jian Tong would become the most powerful among the Evil Spirits he possessed.


    Seeing how things were going, the Crawler Monster and Ke''er were doomed to be slaughtered. Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders.


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    He was squatting in the stall again, gaze fixated on those disturbing high heels beneath the door, lost in thought.


    Fighting was definitely not going to solve the problem, let alone complete the mission. Just now, he let Ke''er and the Crawling Corpse engage with Jian Tong purely to test the combat strength of the two Evil Spirits on hand.


    And the result had proven that they were indeed pathetic.


    Surely the conversation with Jian Tong wasn''t limited to just what had occurred. Yan Junze wondered if he had overlooked some vital information or if his thinking was constrained.


    Is the answer to the first question only "love" or "not love"?


    Just at this moment, Jian Tong''s voice came through, "Do you still love me?"


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, then almost retched from the stench in the bathroom, taking a good while to recover.


    Remaining in a squat, he tilted his head up slightly to look straight at those wine red high heels. After pausing for a few seconds, he replied, "Loved."


    Outside the stall, there was a moment of silence, followed shortly by a faint sound of sobbing.


    It seemed that this answer was much more sophisticated than the previous ones.


    Yan Junze sighed and continued, "Truth be told, I owe a lot of money and have been changing my identity to dodge creditors. After meeting you, I intended only to cheat you out of your money and then disappear. But, to my utter surprise, I actually fell in love with you."


    The sobbing outside the stall began to grow louder, but Jian Tong still did not speak.


    "Deciding to steal your money was a tough choice. On nights when I carried the deception behind your back, I would smash a perfect mirror, and my pillow would be soaked with tears," Yan Junze''s voice was low, carrying a mix of sorrow, regret, and grief.


    It was undeniable that it was lucky to have usurped someone''s body; otherwise, a regular high school student would never be able to portray such a dramatic mix of love and hate, joy and sorrow.


    "Why didn''t you just tell me? Why deceive me!" Jian Tong sobbed.


    "Because I love you, I was afraid of hurting you, of making you sad. I didn''t want you to know my true identity," Yan Junze said slowly, "And because I love you, I don''t want to hurt you anymore, nor do I deserve to be with you, so... I want you to forget about me!"


    By then, Jian Tong was sobbing inconsolably.


    "I... I truly love you. They said... you deceived me, and I never believed them; I couldn''t bring myself to believe... that you would do such a thing. Because I know...


    I can feel your love!"


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt that Jian Tong on the outside was softening.


    If she softened just the slightest, there was a great chance she would let him open the door of the bathroom stall, and then...


    No!


    He couldn''t let her soften any further.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, "It''s all my fault! Now I have lost the face to see you, and I dare not harbor any more feelings of love for you. Despite all my calculations, I never expected to bring such tremendous pain to the person I deeply love! I really... can''t face you any longer, nor do I have the courage... to face you again!"


    "Jiang Mingjun." Jian Tong''s sobbing slowed down as she uttered the name of the man.


    After a brief pause, she continued, "I''ve forgiven you."


    Perfect!


    Hearing these words, Yan Junze could hardly contain his excitement.


    The conversation with Jian Tong seemed to require a less conventional approach for a successful resolution; orthodox responses just couldn''t elicit her conviction.


    Now that he had received forgiveness, the task was nearly completed. Yan Junze''s heart settled, just waiting for Jian Tong to leave after finishing her speech.


    "Do you remember the place where we first met?" Jian Tong suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze''s heart, only just put to rest, abruptly leaped to his throat. He subconsciously nodded before realizing that Jian Tong couldn''t see it, and then said aloud, "Of course I remember."


    "The hug you gave me then is etched in my bones and unforgettable even now. I think... I want you to hug me one last time," Jian Tong''s voice resonated faintly.


    Yan Junze lamented, only to find that, after all the twists and turns, he was back to the critical point of opening the stall door.


    While he felt anxious, he suddenly noticed that the wine-red high heels outside the door gap had turned around¡ªthe heels were now facing the stall door, toes pointing outside.


    "Is... is it a hug from behind!?" Yan Junze instantly realized.


    With this, maybe he could open the door and embrace her from behind, fulfilling this woman''s final wish.

 Chapter 53 Wine Red High Heels (Part 5)

    Jian Tong now had her back to the cubicle, which meant that the embrace came from the once-named man, Jiang Mingjun, from behind.Since it was a hug from behind, and the woman had already voluntarily turned around, it indicated she was no longer willing to see Jiang Mingjun in person.


    She just wanted one last time to feel that warmth and the memories from the beginning.


    With that in mind, Yan Junze prepared to complete this embrace from behind in place of Jiang Mingjun.


    He took a deep breath and almost retched from the stench in the stall. It seemed that his habit of taking deep breaths at critical moments needed to change, especially in places like bathrooms.


    He unlatched the door and gently pulled it open, making a creaking noise.


    He quickly looked up at Jian Tong, who had turned her back, and saw that she was motionless, no different from a dead person.


    A standing dead person.


    He took off the portable camera from his chest, turned it around, and hung it on the partition door so that the camera still faced the front.


    If he didn''t do this, when he hugged Jian Tong later, the camera would be completely pressed against, failing to achieve the best shooting angle and effect.


    "Just a hug, a hug will do."


    Yan Junze walked forward, encouraging himself in his heart.


    After all, he had embraced a strange entity before, or more accurately, had been embraced by one. Wasn''t Ke''er always clinging onto his back?


    He took two steps out and came behind Jian Tong.


    Up close, he could tell that this woman indeed had a large frame, and Yan Junze wondered if he could fully embrace her or not.


    Unlike Ke''er, Jian Tong emitted a very chilling presence, no less intimidating than the Strange Body in the basement of Jianye Building.


    The moment he drew closer, Yan Junze felt a cold sensation enveloping his body.


    He gritted his teeth and bore it, walked up, extended his arms, and tried his best to control his mind from imagining Jian Tong''s purple-black cheeks, black pupils, pitch-black mouth, and the sharp nails on all ten fingers.


    "She''s a beauty, the most beautiful kind."


    Murmuring to himself, Yan Junze embraced Jian Tong from behind.


    The next second, an exceptionally cold feeling instantly spread into his body, seeping into his skin, infiltrating his bones and blood, and he nearly shivered uncontrollably.


    "So cold."


    This was Yan Junze''s first sensation after hugging Jian Tong.


    If Ke''er on his back had this kind of icy sensation, he probably would have frozen stiff by now and wouldn''t have been able to move at all.


    Compared to that, Ke''er seemed like a little furnace.


    Jian Tong slowly lowered her head, showing signs of yearning, reminiscence, and a soft emotion reminiscent of enjoyment.


    Yan Junze discovered that Jian Tong''s body was indeed much stronger than other girls''; his arms barely met as he wrapped them around her, just enough to clasp his fingers together.


    Suddenly, he felt Jian Tong''s long nails scraping against the back of his hand¡ªan unconscious motion, yet her sharp nails could easily pierce his skin.


    Fortunately, it was just an unconscious action on Jian Tong''s part, and she didn''t truly mean to harm him.


    Time passed.


    One minute, two minutes¡­


    Gradually, Yan Junze seemed to feel the emotions coming from Jian Tong; he simply closed his eyes.


    Feelings are transferrable.


    Jian Tong stopped scraping her nails.


    This time, Yan Junze was confident that he had taken care of his feelings for Jian Tong very well.


    Two minutes later, Jian Tong spoke softly, "Alright, I''m leaving."


    Yan Junze slowly released his arms, but it felt as though his hands no longer belonged to him, stiff and numb, and it took a great effort to withdraw them.


    In order to prevent Jian Tong from turning around, he immediately said after letting go, "Go ahead, I''m a sinner and no longer worth your affection."


    Jian Tong didn''t turn around or look back, just as Yan Junze had expected, moving forward.


    However, in the process, she kicked off her high heels and, in her socked feet, stepped on the restroom floor, making her way towards the corner by the door.


    Seeing her remove her high heels, Yan Junze was puzzled, but what Jian Tong did next was truly shocking.


    As she walked, Jian Tong ripped off her black, long hair, revealing a fluffy head of men''s short hair, and she took off the black dress, underneath which was men''s underwear.


    Having removed her high heels and black dress, Jian Tong now revealed a strapping physique, her walk no longer mincing but brisk and firm, as if she no longer held any attachment to anyone, anything, or any place here.


    She turned the corner outside the men''s restroom and disappeared from sight.


    "This is a... a cross-dressing... boss!"


    At this moment, Yan Junze''s worldview completely collapsed, and he was so struck by the scene that he felt like he was dreaming.


    Indeed, Jian Tong was not a woman, but a genuine, real-deal man!


    "Spacetime Atlas, why the hell didn''t you tell me this was a story about a gay man deceived by another man, who dressed up as a cross-dressing boss in the restroom to search for memories!? Damn!!!"


    Yan Junze stood still, immobile for at least five minutes, his mind in turmoil, not even noticing the completion message for the mission prompt.


    What was most troubling was that the feeling of embracing Jian Tong was still there; for a moment, even Yan Junze doubted if he had been seduced into that warmth and yearning.


    But at this moment, ugh...


    He couldn''t hold it in any longer and contributed a little more to the already filthy floor of the men''s restroom.


    After throwing up, he quickly turned around to turn off the camera hanging on the partition door.


    That feeling still echoed in his mind, causing Yan Junze''s goosebumps to linger.


    By now, the clothes and shoes Jian Tong dropped had vanished without a trace, transparent and gone. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This mission... is just unbelievable..."


    Complaining, he checked his Spacetime Atlas.


    After completing the mission and gaining 300 points of Different Dimension Energy, three more nodes on the Spacetime Atlas lit up, bringing his total Different Dimension Energy up to 1500 points.


    So far, the timelines he could choose to Rewind were continually increasing.


    This provided him with great convenience for accomplishing missions through multiple Rewinds.


    For example, in this "Wine red high heels" mission, it was essential to perfectly avoid all the conversational traps set by Jian Tong. If he responded incorrectly, the significance of Rewind couldn''t be overstated.


    Now that the strangeness in the public place was resolved, and after Jian Tong revealed that she was actually a cross-dressing boss, Yan Junze no longer had to Lockdown his thoughts. On the contrary, he still felt a bit nauseous, mainly because he had indeed been too involved just moments ago.


    Imprisoning such a burly Spirit, who preened and posed, within the Spacetime Atlas¡ªthe mere thought of that image was enough to send chills down one''s spine.


    But, fortunately, although the recollection of two big men holding each other was somewhat disgusting, the mission was successfully completed. Because the intervals between Rewinds were short, despite the frequent use, this mission did not consume too much Different Dimension Energy.

 Chapter 54 Plot Twist

    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to his senses in the restroom. After installing his portable camera, he stepped out of the men''s restroom around the corner and turned on a faucet at the sink.Cupping his hands, he splashed water onto his face to shake off the grogginess.


    Feeling that it wasn''t enough, he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands into the cold water to soothe his brain.


    "Cross-dressing, cross-dressing! If two men fall in love, let them be, why the need for cross-dressing!?" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He shook the water off his hands, unable to find any paper towels, so he just wiped his hands on his clothes and turned around to leave.


    He froze, his gaze drawn to the corner leading to the women''s restroom, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Although there were lights inside the restroom, the corner outside was still faintly illuminated, along with some light spilling over from the plaza, giving him a clear view of the figure standing at the corner coming out of the women''s restroom!


    A disheveled woman, facing the corner wall, stood in white shorts and a white T-shirt, her exposed skin faintly showing many bruises.


    The Back-faced Woman!


    Yes, it was her!


    The moment Yan Junze saw this woman, his mind buzzed as if he were dreaming.


    But in the next second, he realized something was wrong.


    Logically, the Back-faced Woman should still be in FH Community. Although residents of building seven hadn''t seen her for many days, it was speculated that she might have moved to other buildings.


    But who would have thought she''d appear here? Away from FH Community?


    This was definitely not a coincidence!


    Yan Junze was certain that the source was himself. Perhaps this woman was still after him. Otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence that he was in the restroom at New Century Home Plaza, and she also appeared at the same place at the same time.


    Now, he was about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman, not very close. If she hadn''t been wearing conspicuously white clothes, standing in the corner, she wouldn''t have caught Yan Junze''s attention at all.


    Yan Junze didn''t make a sound and had no intention of lingering.


    He slowly turned and cast a glance at the motionless white-dressed woman, quickly walking towards the plaza.


    After walking more than twenty meters, he looked back and saw the Back-faced Woman still standing there quietly, not moving.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace.


    Although he was walking fast, his body trembled even more. It wasn''t him shaking, but Ke''er on his back.


    Perhaps it was the vast gulf between the strengths of two evil spirits that made Ke''er inherently fearful of the Back-faced Woman, an uncontrollable trembling.


    Having left the plaza, Yan Junze decided not to go back to Zhou Dali''s house but called Dali instead, asking him to bring his backpack down.


    Before being certain he wasn''t being followed by the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze didn''t want to draw this extremely strange woman to Zhou Dali''s house.


    Restlessly sitting at home, Dali picked up Yan Junze''s call, relieved to hear that everything was okay, and quickly delivered the backpack downstairs.


    "Was it dangerous just now?" Zhou Dali handed the backpack to Yan Junze, asking with concern.


    "It''s been taken care of, no worries," Yan Junze shook his head, his brows furrowing as he suddenly remembered the cross-dressing incident.


    Zhou Dali caught the change in his expression and said with concern, "Let me know if something is wrong, brother. I''ll share the burden with you."


    Yan Junze pursed his lips and said, "I can tell you, but after I do, I''ll have to kill you."


    Zhou Dali''s face showed fear as he pointed towards the gate, "There''s a bus if you turn left when you exit, you can also hail a cab. No need to walk you out."


    Yan Junze was quite satisfied with the man''s quick wit, so he smiled broadly, packed up his portable camera into his backpack, waved his hand, and turned to leave.


    He made it home safely without spotting the Back-faced Woman again.


    Once at home, his parents only asked a few questions. Yan Junze, using the excuse of continuing to review his lessons, retreated to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.


    He fiddled with the portable camera for a while and found that although he could export the video he took that day, he indeed didn''t know how to operate video editing software. Fearful of damaging the entire video and having it all be for naught, he dared not tamper with it recklessly.


    After some thought, Yan Junze had no choice but to send the full video to Bao Jie, along with a message, "The original footage is for your eyes only. Once edited, please completely delete the part where the high heels strangeness takes off the clothes... Remember, completely delete it!"


    At first, Bao Jie didn''t accept the video file. Probably half an hour later, she must have seen it and then accepted the file.


    About twenty minutes after that, Bao Jie sent an emoji of someone laughing their head off.


    "Am I seeing this right? Don''t tell me that the woman in red high heels is actually a man."


    Yan Junze responded with a bitter smiley and replied, "The last scene is the nightmare of my life. Please make sure you keep it a secret for me."


    Bao Jie replied with a cute avatar nodding vigorously, "But I think the twist in the plot is quite something."


    "Quite something?" Yan Junze was puzzled.


    Bao Jie explained, "From the moment you entered the restroom, the atmosphere was oppressive, the visuals dark, constantly delivering a spine-chilling thriller vibe. Then, after you talk to the strangeness, you actually come out of the stall and hug her! That scene was absolutely hair-raising, but later on, it also radiated a sense of warmth.


    If it had ended there, it would have been a quintessential ominous love story unresolved between the living and the dead."


    "And then?"


    "Then, the ending completely shifts, revealing the fact that the strangeness is actually a cross-dresser, utterly demolishing what had been built up to that point. Don''t you think such a mind-blowing twist will attract more eyeballs online?"


    Yan Junze fell silent.


    "You were resolving the Obsession of an Evil Spirit; although the ending is somewhat comical, the intention was good, and you managed to solve it successfully," Bao Jie became like a soul coach in that moment. "So, I suggest we keep the last part. What do you think?"


    "Um, I''ll think about it," Yan Junze replied with another bitter smile.


    "I''ll start editing the video. If it gets too late, I''ll send you the final product tomorrow. Before you agree, I won''t bring this video to school, in case Dali and Ruixin see it," Bao Jie said.


    "Thank you for your hard work."


    After logging off, Yan Junze idly read for a while before heading to the bathroom for a shower.


    The next day.


    A man in a gray suit of medium build emerged from Building No. 7 in FH Community. After asking directions from some of the community residents, he entered neighboring Building No. 5.


    Twenty minutes later, the man came out again, a look of surprise on his face.


    Using the black disc in his hand, he could detect a residual magnetic field of strangenesses, but after having searched both Building No. 5 and No. 7 thoroughly, he couldn''t find any trace of the reported strangeness.


    After waiting for about an hour, the man went through both buildings again to make sure the Back-faced Woman was nowhere to be found, then he left FH Community.


    That same day. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another man holding a black disc stood at the entrance to the public restroom in New Century Home Plaza, looked up in astonishment, and muttered to himself, "It seems... she''s left."

 Chapter 55 The Most Dangerous Place is the Safest

    LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4.For the other residents of Building F, just the elevator stopping on the 12th floor, after Unit 4 became the scene of a bizarre tragedy, was enough to send shivers down their spines.


    And within three days of the couple, Huang Jun and Wei Tingchun, being murdered, the rest of the residents on the 12th floor had all moved away.


    This was because of rumors originating from unknown sources that the couple might have died from strangeness. Especially after the police left the scene, individuals dressed as if they were from the Commission Against Corruption began to frequently enter and leave the scene.


    Thereby, the neighbors on the 12th floor collectively relocated. Those who temporarily had nowhere to move also took their belongings and stayed at relatives'' houses, not daring to remain on the 12th floor of LHTD Community''s Building F.


    However, at this moment, people were unexpectedly living in room 4 of the 12th floor.


    Granny Ren''s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, and his wife, Wang Qin were there, along with their eleven-year-old daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan. But Granny Ren''s daughter, L¨¹ Yaoyao, her husband, and their child Yu Xiaochang were not here.


    It seemed they were being protected separately by the exorcist.


    There were three exorcists in the apartment: one was a middle-aged woman, another a bald man of a greater age, and the last was Huang Chen.


    Wang Qin sat in the living room with her daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan, her face clouded with worry, weighed down by her thoughts.


    And her husband, Granny Ren''s eldest son, was lying alone in the bedroom, already drunk to the point of stupor.


    Wang Qin looked up at the three exorcists in front of her. After several days of interaction, she was fairly familiar with them and knew they had come specifically to protect her family.


    L¨¹ Yaoyao''s family was similarly under the protection of exorcists at this moment.


    "Ms. Lan Bing," Wang Qin suddenly spoke, addressing the only female exorcist in the room, "Are we really safe here? This place is a murder scene! I can''t help feeling terrified."


    The female exorcist was a middle-aged woman who was slightly overweight, dressed in a tasteful manner. Currently she wasn''t wearing the suit that marked her as an exorcist but rather jeans, a gray short-sleeved shirt, with a light blue knitted garment draped over her shoulders.


    Lan Bing appeared quite composed, clearly of a higher rank than Huang Chen, as the latter always stood beside her, his expression one of reverence.


    She smiled at Wang Qin and said, "Don''t be nervous. If the strangeness kills, it creates a huge field of strangeness at the scene. This field quickly forms intense dimensional cross-waves. The cross-waves, being created by the strangeness that committed the murder, repel their own kind. It would be excluded by its own cross-wave field and have a hard time or be unable to enter the scene for a while."


    "This place is the safest for you right now," said another exorcist, an older man sitting at the other end, taking over the conversation.


    This man, named Zhang Lai, was of average height and a bit on the thin side. Like Lan Bing, he was also a two-star exorcist.


    Wang Qin nodded her head and hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, "If the strangeness truly cannot enter the scene of carnage it created, then I can rest easy."


    Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai and realized that he too was looking at her. She had something to say, on the tip of her tongue, but ultimately chose to swallow her words.


    However, Huang Chen couldn''t hold back and said, "Of course, this isn''t an absolute. Some extremely powerful strangeness can force their way into the same frequency cross-wave field they generated. But the likelihood of this happening is very low..."


    Before he could finish, Huang Chen noticed Lan Bing frowning, clearly displeased with his impromptu remark, and he hurriedly shut his mouth.


    Knock, knock, knock¡ªthe sound of knocking echoed.


    The people inside exchanged glances.


    "It might be Xin coming back," said Wang Qin. "Ever since his parents passed away, he''s been very emotionally unstable."


    Huang Chen said, "I told him today not to go out, but he wouldn''t listen."


    While talking, Huang Chen approached the door. He peered through the peephole and then unlocked the door.


    Lv Xin stood drenched outside the door, his hair plastered to his forehead, a picture of distress.


    "It suddenly started raining outside." As he walked into the house, Lv Xin wiped the water off his body.


    "Go to the bathroom and dry yourself with a towel, take a hot shower, or you might catch a cold."


    As an aunt, Wang Qin felt a lot of sympathy for Lv Xin, who had just lost his parents. She married Old Man Lv''s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, early on but had been unable to conceive. Thus, L¨¹ Jun and Wei Tingchun''s child ended up being older than her own daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    Ever since the birth of Lv Jiayan, the couple had treasured her like a precious pearl.


    However, their cold attitude towards Granny Ren was also learned by Lv Jiayan. As Granny Ren''s granddaughter, after Old Man Lv passed away and Granny Ren was left to live alone, Lv Jiayan had only visited her once.


    She had no memory of that visit whatsoever.


    Lv Xin nodded his head, without saying a word, and even his expression was indifferent as he hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.


    Shortly after, the sound of hot water from the shower could be heard.


    Zhang Lai glanced at the light emanating from the bathroom, turned to Wang Qin, and asked, "Does your husband always like to drink heavily?"


    Wang Qin nodded, "Whenever he''s worried about something, he drinks. But luckily, when he''s drunk, he doesn''t get violent; he just sleeps."


    "You two have been hauling goods... have you been short on cash recently?" Zhang Lai continued to inquire.


    Wang Qin answered, "We were tight on money for a while. L¨¹ Qiang even borrowed some money recently. During that period, he was almost always drunk."


    "That''s not good for his health," remarked Zhang Lai.


    Then, turning to Huang Chen with a meaningful look, Huang Chen understood and said, "I''ll go check the bedroom."


    After passing through the narrow hallway to the main bedroom door, Huang Chen pushed the door open and went inside. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The incandescent light flooded the bedroom, making it very bright, with the snoring from the bed sounding thunderous.


    However, as Huang Chen stepped into the bedroom, it seemed that the noise of the door had caused the snoring to stop abruptly, but the person on the bed was still sound asleep.


    The blanket was haphazardly pulled over the body, with L¨¹ Qiang''s feet sticking out, one foot still clad in a shoe.


    Huang Chen walked over and saw that the man was sleeping with his head covered.


    Fearing that L¨¹ Qiang might suffocate himself in his drunken state, he quickly pulled the blanket off his face.


    L¨¹ Qiang was fast asleep; his mouth slightly open, likely heavy breathing due to alcohol intoxication, necessitating breathing through his mouth.


    The breathing was barely audible, a stark contrast to the overwhelming snoring Huang Chen had heard upon entering the room.


    Huang Chen was surprised and bent down to take a look at the open mouth of L¨¹ Qiang.


    Frowning, he slowly reached out his hand, inserting his thumb and forefinger into L¨¹ Qiang''s open mouth. His fingers could feel a warm breath flow towards them, yet the breathing sound remained faint.


    Soon, Huang Chen''s expression turned to shock as his thumb and forefinger pinched something and pulled it out of the mouth.


    This was... a clump of hair!


    A clump of white hair!

 Chapter 56 Two People?

    Huang Chen''s expression froze.After listening intently for a while, even when he brought his head close to the other person''s mouth and nose, he still found that L¨¹ Qiang''s breathing had become barely audible.


    Startled, Huang Chen quickly reached out again, pried open L¨¹ Qiang''s mouth with his thumb and forefinger, and another large clump of silvery-white hair was pulled out.


    This time, the hair was noticeably longer, some of it having reached at least as far as L¨¹ Qiang''s throat, visibly saliva-coated at the ends.


    At that moment, a crackling sound came from L¨¹ Qiang''s throat, like a drowning person desperately struggling, trying to cry for help but unable to make a sound.


    Huang Chen leaped onto the bed and forcefully pried L¨¹ Qiang''s mouth open wider, this time inserting three fingers to grab and pull out even more hair.


    The silvery-white hair seemed endless, pulled out in clump after clump by Huang Chen.


    At this moment, Huang Chen''s complexion drastically changed.


    ¡­


    Inside the bathroom.


    While showering, Lv Xin''s voice reached the living room, "Forgot to bring a towel, can someone pass me a bath towel? Thanks!"


    Sitting in the living room, Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai; now he was the only male in the room and the only one suited to deliver a bath towel to Lv Xin.


    Zhang Lai said nothing, stood up and asked Wang Qin, "Where''s the towel?"


    Wang Qin pointed towards the small bedroom across the hallway, "I saw a dry one hanging on the edge of the bed in there."


    Zhang Lai went into the small bedroom, quickly found a dry white bath towel, and headed for the bathroom.


    Just then, the sound of knocking on the door arose.


    Lan Bing and Wang Qin were startled, exchanging glances.


    At this time, in this place, other than Lv Xin who had just returned, there would be no one else seeking them out.


    If it were the other neighbors, they''d probably avoid them at all costs, with no one taking the initiative to come knocking.


    It could only be other Exorcists from the Exorcism team.


    With Lv Jiayan in her arms, Wang Qin was not in a position to get up. So Lan Jing stood up, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, and immediately tensed up, frozen in place.


    "Who is it outside?" asked Wang Qin.


    Lan Jing turned to look at her, suppressing the shock in her heart, she uttered a sentence that almost made Wang Qin faint.


    "It''s... Lv Xin."


    "Lv... Lv Xin is at the door?" Wang Qin paled, unconsciously clutching her daughter, who was also terrified, and casting her gaze towards the direction of the bathroom. "Then... who is... in the... bathroom?"


    Lan Jing did not open the door but immediately turned around and dashed towards the bathroom.


    Right as she reached the bathroom door, she braked sharply with one foot and did not proceed further.


    The bathroom door was open, but the interior was pitch-dark, as if she couldn''t see her hand in front of her face.


    The light that had been on just moments ago was now extinguished, and Zhang Lai, who had just entered with a bath towel, had also vanished without a trace.


    As if the bathroom had never been visited at all,


    "Get inside, into the master bedroom! Quick!" Lan Jing shouted to Wang Qin.


    No sooner had she spoken than she raised her hand and threw a Hidden Buckle into the bathroom.


    A loud bang sounded out.


    A flash of white light finally revealed the situation inside the bathroom.


    There was no Lv Xin washing up, only Zhang Lai standing there, still holding the white towel, one end of which had drooped to the floor.


    On Zhang Lai''s shoulder, this two-star Exorcist, sat a short, elderly woman with short hair, wearing a light cotton dress.


    The old woman was perched on his shoulder, leaning over and extending her tongue, licking Zhang Lai''s forehead bit by bit, her saliva trickling down his forehead onto his cheeks.


    At this moment, Zhang Lai''s eyes were lifeless, as if he had lost consciousness.


    From outside the living room door, Lv Xin''s voice was heard,"Why isn''t the door open? Where is everyone?"


    "Don''t come in, leave here immediately!" Lan Jing yelled. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Hidden Buckle she had thrown out earlier was known as "Sweeper," a basic Exorcism Hidden Buckle commonly equipped by Exorcists, effective in rapidly clearing supernatural magnetic fields in a short time.


    Normally, a single "Sweeper" would be enough to clear a typical Wandering Spirit, and two of them should suffice for a higher-ranked Wandering Spirit.


    But the current situation was such that after throwing one "Sweeper," it only made the supernatural entity reveal itself, rather than eliminating the adversary.


    Without giving it a second thought, Lan Jing threw out another "Sweeper."


    Following a bang and a white light, the supernatural being, suspected to be Granny Ren, did not disappear nor show any signs of being affected; it raised its head, no longer licking Zhang Lai''s forehead, and its gaze turned cold and ominous as it looked at Lan Jing standing at the bathroom door.


    "Ah!" Lan Jing took a step back in a panic, her eyes wide open as if she had just seen something unbelievable, and she blurted out, "Sculpting... Sculpting Spirit level!"


    Inside the bedroom.


    Wang Qin, holding her daughter Lv Jiayan''s hand, burst into the room and quickly closed the door behind her.


    Then the mother and daughter froze, shocked to see Huang Chen standing on the bed, with Lv Qiang still sound asleep and a pile of long and short grey-white hairs next to the pillow.


    Hair of some unknown thing.


    Huang Chen looked up and saw the two entering, and noticing that something was off with Wang Qin''s facial expression, he asked, "What happened?"


    "Zhang... Mr. Zhang Lai is in trouble, that person who entered the house... Lv Xin, there''s something... something wrong with him!" Wang Qin stammered out.


    But before she could finish, Huang Chen jumped down from the bed and said, "Your husband should be fine now. I''m going out to help. Don''t come out unless you hear our instructions."


    He opened the door and then looked back, "Lock the door!"


    After closing the door, Wang Qin hurriedly locked it.


    Mother and daughter stood in the bedroom, hearts thumping loudly, holding hands and listening intently to the noises outside.


    Lv Jiayan, however, turned her head and glanced at her father lying on the bed.


    She saw that Lv Qiang seemed to be sleeping soundly, but his mouth was wide open, which was a bit frightening.


    Especially those piles of grey-white hairs by the pillow, whose origins were unknown, some of which even appeared to be wet.


    Could they be coming from his mouth?


    The young girl''s mind raced, and upon this realization, her panic surged and she involuntarily shrank into her mother''s embrace.


    But Wang Qin''s attention was all on the noises outside, because the scene in the living room had been truly terrifying, especially after hearing Lan Jing say that the person knocking outside was Lv Xin, who had just entered the bathroom to take a shower, which almost made her faint.


    Glancing at her husband, she noticed that Lv Qiang, in his drunken state, was like a pile of mud except for his unusually wide-open mouth, which was strange. But Wang Qin didn''t think too deeply about it, nor did she have the time to ponder.


    It sounded like there were voices outside, but they were very faint, prompting Wang Qin to focus all her attention on her hearing, attempting to discern if Lan Jing and the others had subdued Granny Ren''s strangeness.


    Just then, Lv Jiayan tugged on Wang Qin''s sleeve and whispered in a voice barely audible, "Mom, there''s something moving inside Dad''s mouth."


    At that moment, the lights in the bedroom suddenly went out.


    Because the curtains were drawn completely shut, when the lights went out, the entire bedroom was plunged into darkness.


    Wang Qin had just managed to understand what her daughter was saying when suddenly, she could see nothing but darkness.


    Instinctively, she hugged Lv Jiayan and they moved to the light switch by the bedroom door, fumbling for a moment before hitting the switch, but despite several attempts, it didn''t work.


    "Did... did you see it clearly? Your dad is... is sleeping, how can there be something in... in his mouth?"


    "Yeah, I saw it clearly, it looked like... it looked like hair coming out of his mouth," said Lv Jiayan definitively.


    Slowly, their eyes began to adjust to the darkness.


    Through the dimness, they thought they saw someone get out of bed and stand rigidly beside it.

 Chapter 57 Sculpting Spirit Level

    Upon discovering a black figure get out of bed and stand up, Lv Jiayan''s body began to tremble like a sieve, her voice unclear as she said, "Mom, is it Dad... did Dad get up? I''m... scared!"It wasn''t only Lv Jiayan; Wang Qin was now shaking more violently than her daughter, feeling a buzzing in her head that might cause her to faint at any moment.


    Although all the curtains were drawn in the bedroom, there was still light seeping in through the window, weak though it was. After adjusting to the darkness, everything could still be seen in a vague blur.


    Wang Qin was certain that it was L¨¹ Qiang standing by the bed at that moment.


    But even after getting up, L¨¹ Qiang didn''t speak. He just stood there, without moving at all.


    Wang Qin felt a surge of panic and almost blurted out L¨¹ Qiang''s name.


    But the intense fear compelled her to keep her mouth shut, so Wang Qin clenched her mouth tightly, resisting calling out to her husband.


    She leaned close to her daughter''s ear, lowering her voice as much as possible, and whispered, "Don''t... speak..."


    In fact, if she could scream right now, she believed her scream could pierce the sky at this moment, easily blow the roof off, and rupture eardrums.


    Yes, eardrums.


    At this moment, not only Wang Qin herself but even Lv Jiayan could feel that the L¨¹ Qiang in front of them was no longer the familiar dad they knew.


    He felt unfamiliar; his body emitted an unfamiliar aura, as if... all of a sudden, there was no life in him.


    The mother and daughter held their breath, standing motionless at the bedroom door, clutching each other''s hands, their bodies continually trembling.


    The bedroom was eerily silent.


    Their gaze fixed steadily on the figure standing by the bed, not daring to blink.


    Suddenly, the figure bent over, a cracking sound coming from his throat, and then he began to vomit.


    From the sounds of vomiting, it was clear that he wasn''t vomiting due to drunkenness. Instead, he was dry heaving, and something very dry was coming out, going on and on as if there was no end.


    The faint light from outside allowed Wang Qin to see that those were some soft items, similar to hair, a large amount of very long hair tangled together to the size of a fist, stretching L¨¹ Qiang''s mouth wide, pouring out continuously.


    For a moment, Wang Qin had the impulse to turn the doorknob, open the door, and run away.


    But she didn''t know what the situation was outside, and the noise from turning the doorknob would undoubtedly attract L¨¹ Qiang''s attention.


    She didn''t want to draw his attention.


    She even imagined herself as invisible, as long as she didn''t attract L¨¹ Qiang''s attention, just standing silently behind the door.


    However, contrary to her wishes, after a bout of vomiting, L¨¹ Qiang, still bent over and maintaining the posture of a person vomiting, with a large amount of hair hanging from his mouth, staggered toward the door.


    At this moment, Wang Qin felt as if her scalp was exploding. She disregarded everything, twisted the doorknob with a click.


    This sound indeed startled L¨¹ Qiang, who, seeing his bent figure shake, quickened his pace like a hunched old crone, charging at the mother and daughter.


    The hair hanging from his mouth was now dragging on the floor, causing the mother and daughter to feel a surge of panic and nausea upon seeing this scene. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Twisting open the door, Wang Qin''s legs trembling, she almost dragged her daughter, whose body had gone limp, out of the bedroom.


    They crashed into a soft, fleshy mass, which turned out to be the slightly plump, two-star Exorcist Lan Jing.


    Lan Jing also looked terrified, a sight rarely seen in an exorcist, especially one who was a two-star Exorcist.


    "Let''s go, leave this place!"


    Wang Qin was grabbed by the arm, pulled along as they rushed toward the living room door, which was already open at that moment.


    Seconds later, the three of them dashed out of apartment 12-4.


    There stood Huang Chen, pale and trembling slightly, frantically pressing the elevator buttons in the corridor.


    "Lan... Ms. Lan, didn''t you say... my mom couldn''t... come here?" Wang Qin blurted out in panic.


    "Your mom has evolved into a Sculpting Spirit class, at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit class, capable of Spirit-Splitting, blocking the transdimensional wave bands, and can resist any attack on Wandering Spirits. Not to mention this place; even if it was our Exorcist Squad branch, she could get in."


    As Lan Jing explained, she looked back, her words leaving Wang Qin completely bewildered.


    The elevator was descending from the twentieth floor and had not yet reached the twelfth floor.


    During this time, Huang Chen glanced again at the stairwell of the safety passage.


    Lan Jing reminded, "You can''t take the stairs; few people go there, the Yin Energy is strong, the path is long, and there are too many variables."


    No sooner had she spoken than a tiptoeing sound of footsteps arose from the dark room of apartment 12-4, as if it were about to emerge any second.


    Lan Jing took out a square-shaped Hidden Buckle and threw it towards the door. It was a ''Collapse'' Hidden Buckle that, upon hitting a Strangeness, could spread an extremely high amplitude of energy, shattering the Strange Body instantly.


    The tip of a cotton shoe had just stepped out of the door of apartment 12-4 when the ''Collapse'' Hidden Buckle exploded, releasing energy waves that pushed Granny Ren''s Strange Body back into the room.


    The tip of the foot vanished.


    Just then, the elevator arrived.


    "Quick, get in the elevator, the ''Collapse'' Hidden Buckle can''t stop her!" Lan Jing pushed Wang Qin and Lv Jiayan into the elevator, which had just opened halfway.


    Huang Chen followed without a word and leaped in.


    Lan Jing brought up the rear, the last to step into the elevator.


    Then she glanced back; the tiptoeing footsteps resumed from inside the apartment, moving rapidly and urgently to the front of apartment 12-4.


    The moment the familiar cotton shoe tip appeared outside the door, the elevator closed and began to descend.


    Wang Qin held Lv Jiayan tightly, both mother and daughter white as sheets.


    They never imagined that Granny Ren''s Strangeness had become so formidable, far beyond the common strangenesses usually mentioned by people.


    It was a great malignancy filled with deep resentment.


    The elevator was descending, but Lan Jing was not idle; she took out another square-shaped Hidden Buckle, this one gray, and said to Huang Chen, "This is a ''High-Energy Collapse'' Hidden Buckle. It''s the only one I have. Once activated, it can create a short-term energy field blockade inside the elevator, preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    However, all three of you will experience temporary dizziness. Remember not to move around, I''ll adjust the wave state, and soon you''ll be able to adapt."


    After hastily finishing her words, without waiting for the three to react, Lan Jing threw the ''High-Energy Collapse'' Hidden Buckle at her feet.


    With a buzz, a ring of energy ripples spread, instantly filling the entire elevator.


    Huang Chen, Wang Qin, and Lv Jiayan all went blank at the same moment, their vision blurry, unable to see anything, but obediently none of them moved.


    Lan Jing quickly dialed the black disc in her hand with practiced movements.


    About several seconds later, the trio''s vision gradually returned to clarity.


    By then, the elevator had reached the second floor.


    Suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop with a loud bang, and the lights inside flickered a few times before going out completely.


    "She can only trap the elevator, but don''t worry, Granny Ren can''t get in for now," Lan Jing said. "Everyone stay still for safety, form a circle and hold hands. I''ll figure something out!"


    "Zhang... Mr. Zhang Lai?" Wang Qin, noticing someone was missing, could not help but ask in terror.


    "He''s dead," Huang Chen answered.


    Wang Qin was so frightened, she couldn''t speak.


    "I had also warned Lv Xin, who was outside the door just now. He should have run far away by now," Lan Jing spoke while taking Lv Jiayan''s hand with one hand and grabbing Huang Chen with the other.


    Huang Chen held Wang Qin, and Wang Qin held her daughter Lv Jiayan, the four people forming a circle in the pitch-dark elevator.

 Chapter 58 Waiting for Rescue

    At the scene where the strangenesses claimed lives, everyone formed a circle, holding hands, which is obligatory training for an exorcist.Huang Chen also understood this.


    Where the strangeness ensued, the entity would try to "insert itself" during contact with people¡ªthat is to say, it would find ways to enter the human environment by various means and methods.


    Especially at scenes like these, the phenomenon of "inserting itself" was fiercer and more bizarre.


    For instance, Granny Ren could split her spirit and become Lv Xin to enter the house, and unless one was a three-star exorcist, it was impossible to sense the true from the false of Lv Xin. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was a typical "insertion."


    By entering Lv Qiang''s body and making him vomit a large amount of his own previously fallen grizzled hair, this too was a form of "insertion."


    But because Lan Jing was well versed in this area and knew that Granny Ren, being at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, could easily catch up with them and insert herself, she did the opposite and immediately threw a "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle to her companions, sealing off the entire elevator, thereby temporarily preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    Although Ren couldn''t enter, she still could control the exterior of the elevator.


    Now, with everyone holding hands, they formed a circle, giving Granny Ren no opportunity to insert herself.


    "What do we do now?" Huang Chen asked Lan Jing.


    "Give me all your Hidden Buckles," said Lan Jing. "Don''t let go of each other''s hands, use your fingertips to pry them out and place them all in the palm of my hand."


    Rustling sounds emanated from the elevator as Huang Chen, still holding onto the other''s hand, prised off the buttons from his clothing and the Hidden Buckles in his pockets, slowly placing them on Lan Jing''s palm.


    The elevator was devoid of light; not even the emergency lighting was on, leaving everyone unable to see anything, relying only on touch.


    "Mom¡­ Mommy?" Lv Jiayan''s voice suddenly rang out.


    Wang Qin squeezed the hand of her daughter, offering encouragement: "Don''t worry, mommy''s here, don''t be scared!"


    "Mommy¡­" Lv Jiayan''s voice was far from calm, rather it sounded like she was about to cry, "Where are you, Mommy?"


    Everyone stiffened abruptly.


    At this moment, it was Wang Qin and Lan Jing who were holding Lv Jiayan''s hands, with Huang Chen on the other side.


    "I''m holding your hand, child; mommy''s here," said Wang Qin, agitated.


    "Mommy, no one''s holding me, I''m over here!"


    No sooner had the words been spoken than a small hand suddenly touched Wang Qin''s waist, then tugged on her clothes, "Mommy, I''ve been standing in the corner of the elevator the whole time, nobody''s holding me."


    "Not good!"


    Lan Jing let out a cry of alarm, immediately feeling the "Lv Jiayan" she was holding. The hand, which had been tender just a moment ago, was now full of wrinkles, the skin lax and parched.


    "Ah!"


    At the same time, Wang Qin noticed the anomaly and shrieked, as though she was holding a snake, and in her terror, she almost threw it away.


    "Wang Qin, don''t let go, hold onto Granny Ren!" Lan Jing shouted, "If you let go, nobody will escape! Huang Chen, hold onto Lv Jiayan!"


    Until that moment, even Lan Jing hadn''t anticipated that Granny Ren had still managed to insert herself unnoticed.


    From the second-floor corridor, one could see the elevator stuck there as it emitted a thunderous bang, the whole structure shaking violently.


    About four or five seconds later, the elevator door opened just a crack, enough for a person to slip through sideways.


    Lv Jiayan was violently shoved out, tumbling onto the second-floor corridor.


    The next second, Huang Chen darted out of the elevator, awkwardly bending over to grab Lv Jiayan, hoisting her up, then dashing into the stairwell and running swiftly towards the first floor.


    "Notify the squad headquarters immediately, take Lv Jiayan to Yu Xiaochang''s home. Her life and death depend on her staying with him until the headquarters'' exorcists arrive!"


    Lan Jing''s words still echoed in Huang Chen''s ears, lingering for a long time.


    Meanwhile, at the elevator that had opened, now only wisps of white smoke drifted out, and beyond that, there was no other movement.


    ¡­


    Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Yan Junze felt somewhat gloomy; Ke''er had been disappearing and reappearing periodically these past few days, and he had no idea what she was up to.


    Moreover, he spent the day under the weight of several half-mocking, half-smiling gazes, which left him with complex emotions.


    During the break, after Zhou Dali made suggestive gestures towards him for the 17th time, he said, "How did it feel? Come on, tell your good brother, did it feel fleshy when you held her?"


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words and punched him hard on his chunky arm, "I should have collected Jian Tong''s soul like capturing a Crawler Monster, and then released it every day to let you taste what flesh feels like."


    Zhou Dali chuckled, "Your puny punches don''t work on me. But what I wanted to say is that this new video is freaking awesome. It feels even better than the previous ones, you know!"


    Following Bao Jie''s suggestion, Yan Junze had decided not to delete the last part where he was "dressed as a big shot lady," and simply be his true self, even keeping the section where he vomited and felt sick.


    After all, there was a precedent for this.


    The new internet sensation, Big-eyed Girl, was sitting at the neighboring desk, and she currently had the highest fan count among them, showing nothing but her true self.


    The one with the fewest fans was undoubtedly Zhou Dali. He was even criticized as a "simp," "dramatic," and "how has he not been glared to death in the negative first floor by a dead person''s eyes," plunging him into self-doubt and questions these past few days.


    He had asked Yan Junze the question "Should I continue to love Bao Jie" 128 times in three days.


    Before the afternoon classes, Ke''er had disappeared once again.


    Yan Junze, who was already bothered by a headache, took Zhou Dali to the rooftop of the teaching building, speaking with the tone of an elder in a heartfelt manner: "I understand and empathize with your foolish young man''s infatuation. But did you notice? Bao Jie doesn''t like you. Forget about liking; she even harbors a slight disgust towards you. So, I suggest you let go of Bao Jie.


    Turn back while you can. Focus on doing your best, remember, ''where flowers bloom, there butterflies flock.''"


    Zhou Dali stared blankly at him, taking a while to snap back to reality, "Why do I suddenly feel like you sound like you''re in your thirties?"


    "I am mature beyond my years," said Yan Junze with a serious tone, "In these few days, don''t think about anything else. Just focus on revising and do well on your exams. Enhance your personal charm and strength. Once you''re more capable, you won''t have to worry about a lack of women''s affection."


    Zhou Dali fell silent.


    After a short while, he pursed his lips, his eyes glistening with tears, then suddenly hugged Yan Junze. Seemingly crying and laughing at the same time, he loudly declared, "From this moment on, your big brother Dali''s first love officially ends. I''ll listen to you, focus on my exams, and cast aside everything else!"


    "Your sister''s first love, have you even been in love?" retorted Yan Junze.


    "Hahaha¡­" Zhou Dali laughed through his tears.


    "Which student is that on the roof? Class has started, and yet you''re up there making a racket? Hurry up and come down for class!" The voice of their class teacher, Xiang Decai, startled the two of them into running down as if smoke were at their heels.


    The rooftop returned to its tranquil state.


    After the rooftop door closed, around the corner next to the door, a thin woman with disheveled hair, wearing a white short-sleeve top and shorts, stood quietly facing the wall.

 Chapter 59 Professional Level Cooperation

    As expected, the "Wine red high heels" video erupted the day it was uploaded to Yan Junze''s homepage on the "Open Your Eyes" platform.Since his previous video was already a hit, the new work naturally gained even more attention.


    The video platform''s promotion editor, Tang Zhengyi, was also following Yan Junze''s page and watched the "Wine red high heels" video as soon as it was released.


    He felt that this supernatural video felt more real, with terror seeping through the mundane atmosphere, especially when the "female strangeness" turned out to be a "transvestite twist," which added an amazing turn to the video, bringing a wave of light-hearted humor after the eerie reveal, earning the video high marks. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, after post-production, neither Jian Tong nor Jiang Mingjun had their real names disclosed.


    "Heh heh, this little guy, his video is quite interesting."


    Tang Zhengyi chuckled and quickly arranged a featured spot for "Wine red high heels".


    Then, Yan Junze''s homepage exploded. Comments from netizens flew in like snowflakes.


    "Puppy, quickly tell us, do you also have that inclination?"


    "I just want to ask you, how does it feel?"


    "Damn, I was scared to death at the beginning, then I burst out laughing!!!"


    "Why did I guess the ending right from the beginning? Do I have that kind of inclination?"


    "Great video, keep them coming!"


    "Next time I want to see the untold story of Night Traveling Puppy and high heels transvestite..."


    "Don''t laugh, guys, Spirit Exploration is a serious matter. Pfft... hahahaha..."


    "Seriously though, it''s pretty good."


    Yan Junze had already adjusted his mindset, treating all comments like fleeting clouds in the sky.


    After all, the number of luxury cars and rockets kept increasing, which was the irrefutable evidence of the video''s popularity.


    The next day, he received a message from the video platform, and when he opened it, the sender was an editor named "Tang Zhengyi".


    Using the work phone number provided in the message, Yan Junze called Tang Zhengyi during the ten minutes break between classes.


    The voice on the other end sounded like it belonged to a man in his forties, warm and slightly magnetic, "May I ask if the videos you upload are all shot by yourself?"


    "Two are by me, and another was a collaborative effort with classmates." Yan Junze replied.


    There was a moment of silence on the other end before he said, "If you all are amateurs and not a professional team, I suggest you refrain from spontaneously forming groups to engage in Spirit Exploration; it''s very dangerous."


    "Yeah, that was the first time, just a trial. Even if we decide to form a group in the future, I will make a considered decision."


    "Actually, there is a lot of potential in the videos you uploaded. If our platform were to take over the production, I believe the outcome would be even better," Tang Zhengyi seemed to get to the point.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, "Are you saying that you would shoot my Spirit Explorations?"


    "No," Tang Zhengyi smiled, "We never send anyone to participate in the actual Spirit Exploration process, our role is limited to initial planning, mid-stage setup, and post-production."


    Yan Junze was silent.


    Tang Zhengyi further said, "Do you know what the most important element of a good horror video is defined as?"


    "What?" Yan Junze really didn''t know the ins and outs of this.


    "Reality," Tang Zhengyi said. "Reality comes first; as long as it''s real, the video''s broadcast effect won''t be bad. Therefore, even if we plan for you, we won''t dispatch anyone to follow and shoot, which not only eliminates dangers but also increases the credibility of the video."


    "Then how should we shoot?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "Install cameras in the Spirit Exploration site in advance, ensuring that the entire place is almost free of blind spots for comprehensive filming. Of course, the protagonist of the Spirit Exploration must have cameras on them as well."


    "That won''t work," Yan Junze shook his head. "Some strange places, how can you let you go in advance to install cameras, aren''t the staff courting death?"


    "We have remote-controlled robots that can be operated remotely for installation," Tang Zhengyi explained unhurriedly. "If the terrain is complex, we can even control the robot to a corner for live on-site shooting."


    "Alright, having money is capricious," Yan Junze shrugged.


    We''re not actually wealthy, our resources are limited," Tang Zhengyi laughed. "But if you''re considering another Spirit Exploration, I think we can collaborate. Let us know in advance. We''ll get the cameras sorted in the haunted place before your exploration and conduct the most realistic and comprehensive shooting."


    Yan Junze thought about it and nodded, "I might as well give it a try."


    By the way," Tang Zhengyi said, "I just checked your ''Wine red high heels'' video, it''s trending again."


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze opened the platform and took a glance, his heart blooming with joy.


    If possible, he planned to contact Tang Zhengyi soon to finish the mission "Look at Her Face" involving the Back-faced Woman.


    The reason to finish this mission in advance was directly related to the Back-faced Woman herself.


    For some reason, it seemed like this woman was now fixated on him; within a mere week, Yan Junze had seen her four times on different occasions.


    Although each time they were at a distance and no unfortunate events were triggered, that hair-raising sensation followed him like a shadow, and almost as soon as he saw this woman, Yan Junze would immediately activate the Rewind setting to ensure he could get through safely.


    This also explained why Ke''er would run off every now and then, it was due to the innate oppression from the wide gap in the level of strangeness between them.


    In fact, what Yan Junze feared the most was the Back-faced Woman showing up at his home one day.


    If such a high-level horror figure appeared at home, it would be a tremendous threat to his parents.


    Therefore, if the situation allowed, he must resolve it as quickly as possible.


    However, there was another problem, which was the matter of Yan Junze''s parents.


    It''s true that the videos he shot were making money, but he couldn''t hide the source of this income after handing it over to his parents. So, Yan Junze was preparing to come clean to them about still engaging in Spirit Exploration and even making profitable videos.


    That day, after coming home and eating, Yan Junze spilled the beans to Yan Daguo and Li Man about all the unrighteous things he had been doing.


    Initially, the couple was shocked, but Yan Junze admitted he had a special natural gift and, on the spot, "using the Exorcist''s methods," summoned the Crawler Monster, which started rolling around on the floor in a display.


    Upon seeing this spectacle, Li Man gasped and passed out; it was only after Yan Daguo pinched her philtrum for quite a while that she finally came to with a faint breath.


    The first thing she said after waking up was, "Ze, please quickly get rid of this disgusting mangy dog!"


    After a night of ideational exchange and thorough conversation, the couple finally accepted Yan Junze''s confession about his Exorcist talent, and in return, they insisted that he must keep it a secret and never stir up trouble outside.


    Yan Junze simply wanted to say that causing trouble was out of the question, trouble found him.

 Chapter 60 Your Grandmother is No Longer Your Grandmother

    As Granny Ren''s only daughter, Lv Yaoyao had been doted on by her parents since birth, getting almost anything she wanted.However, the consequence of such excessive indulgence was that when her parents could no longer satisfy Lv Yaoyao''s growing desires and vanity, she exploded.


    People couldn''t imagine that the hatred accumulated from not being satisfied any longer could make Lv Yaoyao detest her parents to the bone.


    It was as if they were not family, but born enemies.


    Her eldest brother, L¨¹ Qiang, and her second brother, L¨¹ Jun, always resented the favoritism shown to Lv Yaoyao by the old couple, often taking the blame and beatings for her mistakes.


    In L¨¹ Jun''s memory, it seemed Lv Yaoyao had never been hit by their parents, not even scolded.


    "Since you adore Yaoyao so much, let her take care of you, provide for your old age." After the brothers set up their own families and businesses, plus the eruption of some trifles, they almost cut off all contact with their parents.


    Of course, Lv Yaoyao also harbored profound hatred for her elders.


    It''s often said that those who are pitied also have qualities that are detestable. Deprived of family happiness, the miserable twilight years of Old Man Lv and Granny Ren thus took shape.


    "She is no longer your mother, nor is she their grandmother or maternal grandmother anymore." Huang Chen''s expression was solemn, even somewhat sorrowful, as he spoke word by word, "We''ve already requested assistance from headquarters, and soon three or even four-star exorcists will come down. For now, everyone can only stay here like this; no one can go out alone."


    In Lv Yaoyao''s living room, Huang Chen, Lv Jiayan, Lv Yaoyao, and her husband Yu Tao, were all gathered around Yu Xiaochang, Lv Yaoyao''s son, as if he were the center of attention, like stars around the moon.


    Yu Xiaochang was a bit bewildered, not knowing since when everyone here, no matter what they were doing, always pulled him along to be by their side.


    It was as if he had become a big celebrity overnight; without Yu Xiaochang, it seemed as though these people could not even relieve themselves comfortably.


    Of course, when it came to going to the bathroom, as long as he stood outside the restroom door, the person inside would still be very safe.


    "How soon can your headquarters'' exorcists get here?" Yu Tao asked with a deeply furrowed brow, continuously smoking.


    The ashtray on the table was already filled with cigarette butts, and the entire living room was shrouded in smoke, seemingly unconcerned that there was a child present.


    "Very soon. Considering the whole of Great Capital Huaying, the number of three-star and above exorcists isn''t that great, but they will hurry over as soon as possible." Huang Chen wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    He never imagined that, as an exorcist, there would come a day where he would be relegated to being protected by an ordinary little kid.


    It now appeared that Granny Ren''s most spoiled grandchild was Yu Xiaochang; as long as he was present, safety could be assured.


    Another reason, which even Huang Chen didn''t foresee, was that no one would know why Granny Ren transformed so quickly and ferociously.


    Sculpting Spirit level, capable of creating D-level strangenesses, let alone C-level events.


    Of course, from what could be seen, Granny Ren''s supernatural phenomena were not truly of the Sculpting Spirit level, just like the late Lan Jing had said¡ªshe was very likely a Semi-Sculpting Spirit level strange body.


    But even so, the current team of exorcists here would still be very, very troubled facing her.


    "I hope they move quickly!" Lv Yaoyao clasped her hands together, then hugged Yu Xiaochang tightly, "You''ll sleep on the bed with mom and dad tonight."


    She then looked at the others and said, "You''ll just have to make do and sleep on the bedroom floor."


    Huang Chen glanced at Lv Jiayan.


    Lv Jiayan had been frowning all along, occasionally wiping away tears in secret.


    She nodded her head and spoke softly, "I''m fine with that."


    Before long, two men came out of the restroom, both colleagues of Huang Chen, one named Yang Depei, a two-star exorcist, and the other named Zhao Shuai, also a one-star exorcist like Huang Chen.


    They were initially guarding this place, but an incident had already occurred in the LHTD Community, so now everyone had gathered together.


    Going to the bathroom was something the exorcists didn''t ask Yu Xiaochang to accompany them for. Instead, they went in pairs.


    However, when it came to sleeping at night, everyone squeezed into one room. Fortunately, the bedroom in Lv Yaoyao''s home was large enough to accommodate everyone spaciously on the floor.


    The relationship between the protectors and the protected had become quite delicate. Generally speaking, the exorcists were there to protect Lv Yaoyao''s home. But on the other hand, should a supernatural event occur, everyone would depend on Yu Xiaochang.


    "Right, why haven''t we seen Lv Xin?" Yu Tao suddenly remembered him.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lv Yaoyao''s phone rang.


    Looking at it, Lv Yaoyao turned the phone screen towards Yu Tao and said, "It''s Lv Xin calling."


    "Answer it quickly."


    Lv Yaoyao pressed the answer button and then enabled the speakerphone.


    "Auntie," Lv Xin''s voice came through, sounding as if everything was normal with him, his tone quite calm.


    "Where are you now? It''s very dangerous outside," Lv Yaoyao said.


    Although she seemed concerned, Lv Yaoyao did not actually invite him over to her house.


    "I''m alright." The environment on Lv Xin''s end sounded very quiet with no noise in the background. "I found some things in Grandma''s room that could be a great help in dealing with the situation. It would be best if you all could come over."


    "You mean... you''re at the FH Community now?" Lv Yaoyao asked.


    "Yeah, I''ve been at Grandma''s house the whole time. It''s very safe; Grandma never came back." Lv Xin said, "And I think I know... who killed Grandma. You all should come over quickly."


    After hanging up the phone, Lv Yaoyao looked up at everyone.


    "Really...do we need to go?"


    "No," the exorcist named Yang Depei shook his head, "If you know who the murderer is, you should notify the security officer directly. Going there is useless for us."


    "But what if it helps alleviate Granny Ren''s resentment?" Zhao Shuai joined in the conversation: "I think it''s worth taking a look, but not everyone should go."


    Huang Chen nodded, "I''ll go over tomorrow. Everyone else stays home and waits for my news. Also, Zhao Shuai, give me a few Hidden Buckles. I''ve used up all the ones from last time."


    Yang Depei took out a "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle and handed it to Huang Chen, "Here''s one for you, but don''t use it unless absolutely necessary. As a one-star exorcist, your resistance is still quite weak. If you have to use it, try to stay away from the affected area. Don''t get yourself caught up in it."


    ...


    The truth was, the efficiency of the "Open Your Eyes" supernatural video platform was indeed very high.


    Before Yan Junze decided to take on the "Look at Her Face" task, he had only informed Tang Zhengyi of his intentions. Yet, by the third day, staff from the platform were already on-site with various types of cameras.


    Considering that the video platform''s headquarters were neither in Shuntian City nor in Tianmeng District, but in Tianyi District, their prompt cross-district mobilization with equipment to support Yan Junze spoke volumes of their prioritization. Moreover, the platform company had managed, through unknown means, to communicate in advance with FH Community''s property management. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They received permission to install concealed cameras on Building 7, nearby footpaths, and the outer walls of the opposite buildings.


    However, these had to be removed after a week.


    Indeed, Yan Junze planned to complete the Back-faced Woman''s task right inside the FH Community.

 Chapter 61 Resentful Granny

    Because this place was an apartment complex, and not a location so haunted that staff couldn''t even enter, the efficiency of the installation crew was quite high.After surveying the complex, a middle-aged man who seemed like the leader drew a distribution map, instructing the workers to install cameras at the specified spots.


    Then, this obviously experienced middle-aged man patted his bottom and left.


    Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi while at school, and upon returning to FH Community, he found that the workers had already left, but his own Building 7 had noticeably more cameras.


    There were also cameras on the opposing walls and along the pathways.


    During the camera installation, residents saw the process but assumed it was the community''s initiative to strengthen security monitoring, and no one suspected anything unusual.


    Yan Junze didn''t tell his parents, either.


    His plan was to start executing the "Look at Her Face" task this Saturday night, likely after 1 a.m. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What Yan Junze didn''t expect was to bump into the Exorcist Huang Chen right at the entrance of the complex upon coming home from school.


    Huang Chen, with his head down, hurried up the stairs, nearly colliding with a young man descending.


    Yan Junze called out to him from behind, "Mr. Huang Chen."


    Huang Chen stopped and turned his head downward; seeing that it was Yan Junze, he slapped his forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot, you live here too."


    "Aren''t you here to see me?" Yan Junze wondered.


    "No," Huang Chen stood there waiting for Yan Junze to catch up, saying, "I''m going to Room 503, the Lv kid who studies abroad is waiting for me upstairs."


    "Lv Xin? He''s here again?" Yan Junze asked in surprise.


    "You know each other?" Huang Chen also showed a puzzled look.


    "He came to see me before, asking about the discovery of his grandmother''s death at home," Yan Junze didn''t hide the fact.


    Huang Chen nodded, "I figured he was investigating Granny Ren''s cause of death."


    "Really? Did he find anything?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "That''s what Lv Xin says, so I came to have a look," Huang Chen replied.


    At this point in the conversation, the two had reached the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze said, "Do you want to stop by my place first? My parents won''t be home from work until later, how about a cup of tea first?"


    "No need," Huang Chen waved his hand, "business is business, let''s chat another day."


    "Sure."


    Yan Junze didn''t say anything more and watched as Huang Chen proceeded up the stairs to the fifth floor.


    After making sure Huang Chen had gone upstairs, he then turned his head to look at Ke''er lying on his back, "You''re getting bolder! You used to avoid Huang Chen at all costs, but now you treat him like he''s thin air."


    Ke''er ignored him and continued lying motionless.


    After a pause, Yan Junze added, "But then again, Huang Chen once told me only exorcists above three stars can sense the presence of strangenesses. Should you encounter an exorcist of that level, you need to be extra careful and avoid them in advance."


    Ke''er stretched out a purplish-black finger and flicked Yan Junze''s hair at the back of his head as a response.


    At the same time, in Lv Yaoyao''s home.


    Yu Tao was furious but helpless as he stared at Lv Yaoyao and said, "How could you let Lv Jiayan go out alone? Her leaving now, as soon as she''s away from us, away from Xiaochang, it''s almost no different from sending her to die!"


    Lv Yaoyao was peeling an orange for Xiaochang, without any expression, she said, "Yu Tao, are you blaming me? I told you, she insisted on going to meet Lv Xin, saying that she wanted to help find the cause of Grandma''s death. Tch, she never visited when mom was alive, and now that she''s gone, only when her own life is threatened does she start to care about others. Just like her dad!"


    "You should watch your words," Yu Tao helplessly sat down and lit a cigarette.


    Sitting opposite him, Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai looked at each other.


    Unable to contain his anger, Zhao Shuai muttered to himself, "That young girl really doesn''t understand, talking about how capable Lv Xin, our second brother''s son, is, investigating his parents'' death on his own outside. It provoked Lv Jiayan, and she quietly ran out to help. Hey, who said those things to her?"


    Lv Yaoyao''s face subtly changed, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.


    But considering the speaker was no less than an Exorcist master, she dared not offend him. She broke off a piece of the peeled orange, carefully fed it to Xiaochang, her face an iron shade, and said no more.


    Yang Depei elbowed Zhao Shuai, "Call Huang Chen, tell him Lv Jiayan might have gone to FH Community. I''m heading over now!"


    ...


    "What?"


    Sitting on the couch in Room 503, talking to Lv Xin, Huang Chen''s face changed slightly. Without hanging up the phone, he stood up and quickly walked out of Room 503, leaned over the corridor railing, and looked down.


    About two minutes later, a little girl in light yellow casual pants and a pale purple sweater appeared below, looking up at the building numbers on the exterior wall before stepping into the staircase of building seven.


    "Lv Jiayan, that girl really came!" Huang Chen, with a resigned look, turned to Lv Xin, who was still sitting on the sofa inside, "Your sister Lv Jiayan is here, I''ll go down to meet her."


    "Mhmm, it''s good that she came," Lv Xin nodded.


    At the same moment.


    Yan Junze finished his homework and logged onto the "Open Your Eyes" video platform to casually browse through a few videos.


    The quality of these videos appearing on the homepage was quite high, obviously shot by professional teams.


    He even saw those supernatural videos shot entirely with fixed cameras, indeed they felt much more realistic.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze decided to go out for a walk, stretch his limbs, and check the newly installed cameras in various corners of the building.


    Having just watched her wash his hair, Ke''er was now nowhere to be found, but since following him, she had never appeared in front of his parents¡ªvery obedient. Leaving her alone at home, Yan Junze was not worried.


    After closing the door, he strolled down the hallway.


    As he was about to approach the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, staring blankly ahead as if witnessing some extremely bizarre scene.


    At the same time, Huang Chen met up with Lv Jiayan, who was coming up the stairs. The two had just reached the fourth floor and appeared before Yan Junze.


    What made Yan Junze freeze at that moment was a task notification that suddenly popped into his mind.


    [Task Name: Evil Spirit-eating;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);]


    [Task Background: A terrifying evil spirit has set its sights on Lv Jiayan, intending to kill her. The parents, who had her late in life, cherish Lv Jiayan as the apple of their eye, and her deceased parents will never allow this frightful evil spirit to target her. However, the disparity in strength makes them utterly powerless. Perhaps there''s a slim chance for Lv Jiayan.


    Her father, L¨¹ Qiang, and mother, Wang Qin have prepared for the worst; if they (the Newborn Evil Spirits) are consumed by the malevolent entity, its strength will be sealed for three weeks;]


    [Task Explanation: Find a way to make the ferocious evil spirit consume these two Newborn Evil Spirits, ensuring Lv Jiayan''s survival;]


    [Task Reward: 900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Penalty: You will draw the wrath of the terrifying evil spirit (this penalty is inevitable), unless you kill it;]


    [Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not delude yourself into confronting it head-on; 3. Do not release any friendly evil spirits, or beware of a group wipe-out;]


    [Note: This evil spirit is the ultimate evolution of Granny Ren, you can now call her¡ªResentful Granny!]]

 Chapter 62 Evil Spirit-eating (1)

    Yan Junze had never dreamed that he would encounter a task released by the Spacetime Atlas just by sitting tired and taking a short walk.There were many keywords mentioned in the task, and he couldn''t digest them all at once.


    However, after completing the last task, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night", he had talked with his parents about Granny Ren, and learned that Granny Ren had two sons and one daughter, and the Lv Xin he had seen last time was from the family of the second son Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun.


    As for the little girl named Lv Jiayan in front of him, she must be the daughter of the eldest son, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin.


    Yet what struck Yan Junze most was not these people, but Yu Xiaochang, the only grandson Granny Ren deeply cared for and adored.


    From the task background, it could be inferred that besides the couple, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun, the second son of Granny Ren''s, the eldest son''s couple, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin, had also died, and it was Granny Ren¡ªno, the Resentful Granny¡ªwho was now scheming against their daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    And by the looks of it, the evil spirits of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, following Granny Ren''s ultimate evolution, were not her match.


    The only thing they could do now was to allow the Resentful Granny to devour them, thereby sealing her strength for three days and allowing their daughter, Lv Jiayan, to escape this calamity.


    The task hints also made it very clear about the Resentful Granny''s power, which made Yan Junze wonder if not even Ke''er and the Crawling Corpse, or Jian Tong here, would stand a chance against the Resentful Granny.


    What terrified Yan Junze the most, however, was that, damn it, the task''s punishment was inevitable?!


    Could there be anything more direct than that?


    That is to say, by choosing to complete this task, attracting hatred from the Resentful Granny would become inevitable. Unless he could destroy her.


    Fortunately, the main character of this task wasn''t himself; the Resentful Granny was eyeing Lv Jiayan. Moreover, isn''t the Exorcist Huang Chen also here? Maybe he could figure out a way to complete it.


    Although, Huang Chen always seemed unreliable.


    "To do or not to do?"


    Yan Junze stood in the corridor not far from the fourth-floor stairwell, looking preoccupied, completely indifferent even when Huang Chen nodded at him in greeting.


    After Lv Jiayan quietly arrived, Huang Chen, who was a bundle of nerves, saw that Yan Junze seemed to be in a world of his own and did not plan to speak to him; he took Lv Jiayan straight to the fifth floor.


    It was a good thing that Yang Depei had called just now, saying he was on his way. Having this two-star Exorcist come to help was a relief, but Huang Chen was still uneasy.


    It wasn''t until his and Lv Jiayan''s footsteps disappeared into the stairwell that Yan Junze came back to his senses.


    Still, Yan Junze was very conflicted at this moment. According to the rules, the difficulty of the task was "Trembling with Fear (High)", which was a bit harder than the yet uncompleted task "Reflection Under the Moonlight".


    "Reflection Under the Moonlight" was classified as "Trembling with Fear (Medium)", but "Evil Spirit-eating" was not as difficult as "Look at Her Face".


    "Look at Her Face" had reached "hair-raising (Low)" difficulty, and he was already preparing to undertake it, which meant that the task''s difficulty level wasn''t the main factor affecting completion.


    So far, what Yan Junze worried about was the punisment of the "Evil Spirit-eating" task was just too harsh. Even if he completed the task, if he couldn''t destroy the Resentful Granny and shake her off, his future life could probably be described as a dire nightmare.


    Unconsciously arriving at the stairwell, Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the stairs, torn between going up or going down, as if this moment were a multiple-choice question that would determine his fate for life.


    Forget the "Evil Spirit-eating", just continue preparing for the "Look at Her Face" task. After all, the Exorcist Huang Chen was there.


    But Granny Ren had evolved, and now Huang Chen, a one-star Exorcist, could he really handle her? After all, this guy was the Exorcist who couldn''t even catch a Possession Spirit the first time.


    While Yan Junze hesitated, a faint sound of footsteps came from the third-floor staircase below.


    The sound was so familiar it almost instantly pulled him back to a certain night, to the familiar footsteps that would arrive punctually at his doorstep every morning at two o''clock.


    Lowering his head, he saw a pair of familiar old cotton shoes in his line of sight.


    Certainly, the person climbing the stairs was walking on tiptoes.


    Inside Room 503, Huang Chen urged Lv Xin, "Let''s go, we''ll leave immediately and talk at your aunt Lv Yaoyao''s house."


    "Why?" Lv Xin pulled away, "I found something in grandma''s bedroom, wait for me..."


    "Then hurry up and get it, after that we''ll leave this place and go check it out at Yu Xiaochang''s house," Huang Chen said, growing anxious as he grabbed Lv Jiayan''s hand. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thump, thump, thump, the sound of knocking at the door echoed.


    Huang Chen''s expression changed, he quickly pulled Lv Jiayan behind him, told Lv Xin to come over, and took out the "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle that Yang Depei had given him.


    "Mr. Huang Chen, it''s me, Yan Junze." A familiar voice came from outside the door.


    Huang Chen was startled, then his expression relaxed, but he still asked cautiously, "Where did we first meet?"


    "In Teacher Zhang Tiantian''s office, duh," Yan Junze was a bit confused.


    The door opened, and Huang Chen, standing at the doorway, showed no intention of inviting him inside, "We''re in a bit of a rush, if you could come back another day for what you need. Please leave for now!"


    "It''s already too late for that," Yan Junze barged into the room and immediately closed the door behind him.


    Huang Chen stood rooted to the spot, "What... what''s too late?"


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn''t want to waste any more time talking, he went straight to the point, "Granny Ren is already here, you can''t escape. Now, think about how to deal with her."


    "How... how do you know!?" Huang Chen exclaimed in surprise.


    "This story goes back to the time when humans first appeared on this planet, do you want to hear it?"


    "Let''s save that for later."


    Huang Chen was frantic with worry and had no time for Yan Junze''s digressions, he turned back and ordered, "Close all the doors and windows in the room, we''ll just stay in the living room."


    As soon as Huang Chen finished speaking, Lv Xin immediately ran to the bedroom door, closed it, and then shut all other doors including another small bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen.


    In the meantime, Huang Chen made a phone call to Yang Depei, and then asked Yan Junze to help him move the coffee table in the living room, bringing two chairs over to place directly opposite the couch.


    Four people, Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan on the couch, Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the chairs opposite, formed a circle.


    "When it''s time, hold hands, and no one lets go," Huang Chen spoke seriously.


    While talking, he took out all the Hidden Buckles given to him by Zhao Shuai and Yang Depei, a "High-Energy Collapse" from Yang Depei, and two "Sweepers" and one "Collapse" from Zhao Shuai.


    "Yan Junze, actually you didn''t have to come here to notify us, you could have called me, but now I''m afraid it might be dangerous to go outside," Huang Chen signaled everyone to hold hands and said to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn''t answer but instead asked, "What is this for?"


    "To prevent strangenesses from ''interfering''," Lv Jiayan quickly answered before anyone else.


    ¡­


    "No way!" Lv Yaoyao shook her head like a rattle drum, "We''re not going anywhere, home is the safest place."


    Yang Depei, who had already left, upon receiving the call that Huang Chen was unable to leave, he immediately returned to Lv Yaoyao''s house.


    Standing in front of Lv Yaoyao and her husband Yu Tao, he said, "Now, we must take Yu Xiaochang to FH Community, there''s no choice; otherwise, the three people there might all die."


    "No, I''m not feeling well, I don''t want to go out..."


    Before Lv Yaoyao could finish her sentence, Yang Depei interrupted her with gritted teeth, "I''m not asking for your opinion. If you don''t agree, from now until your death, I can guarantee that not a single Exorcist will ever help the Yu family again. You should know that Granny Ren is not the only Evil Spirit in this world."

 Chapter 63 Evil Spirit-eating (2)

    FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.Huang Chen, speaking as fast as he could, briefed Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the specific details of the "strangeness" intrusion and said, "We just need to hold on for a little while longer. Before my colleague arrives here with Yu Xiaochang, we can''t let Granny Ren ''intrude''."


    After a pause, Huang Chen added, "If, unfortunately, she does ''intrude'', no one should panic. I can hold her off temporarily, and you all should immediately run for the door. Rush out of the community and wait for Xiaochang to arrive."


    Upon hearing this, Yan Junze had a new idea in mind, silently considering, "If we manage to complete this mission and pull the Resentful Granny''s animosity onto ourselves, having Yu Xiaochang by our side as a sort of ''get-out-of-death-free'' card is at least a decent backup plan."


    The key question was how to keep such a brat by his side when the time came. Should he sacrifice Ke''er a bit and let him play with Ke''er, cultivating a bond from a young age, like childhood sweethearts?


    As Yan Junze was lost in whimsical ideas, the familiar sound of tiptoeing footsteps returned from the corridor outside.


    The sound was very light. Although it was still daytime, there were no longer any residents on the fifth floor, and aside from the faint footsteps, there was only the heavy, rapid breathing of the four people sitting in the room.


    It was clear that everyone else had heard it too.


    All their eyes unconsciously followed the footsteps outside the room, then all gathered at the living room door.


    They waited for a moment, but no knocking came.


    The four exchanged glances, withdrawing their gazes.


    A little while later, a hoarse voice suddenly came from the master bedroom with the door closed.


    "It hurts..." S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All four people in the living room jolted in shock.


    Yan Junze heard it very clearly, the voice was identical to the one Granny Ren had made that night, it must be her in the bedroom.


    He hadn''t expected that in just this short time, the Resentful Granny had already returned to her own bedroom.


    "If she tries to intrude, ignore her."


    Huang Chen warned, holding Yan Junze''s right hand forward, gripping two "Sweeper" Hidden Buckle, and with his left hand holding Lv Jiayan, he gripped the "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle.


    The pitiful cries of pain did not cease, one after another, as if a steel brush relentlessly scraped against everyone''s hearts.


    Before long, goosebumps covered Yan Junze''s entire body, and Lv Jiayan began to tremble, unable to help but close her eyes.


    Just as she wanted to reach out and cover her ears, at the instant she almost let go, Huang Chen firmly grabbed hold.


    "Don''t move! Ignore the sound, try to shift your focus."


    At that moment, the wailing stopped.


    Lv Xin took a long breath and was about to speak when the sound of scratching came from behind the door of the master bedroom.


    Yan Junze was all too familiar with this sound ¨C it was the sound of fingernails scratching the door. Just like Jian Tong had done while scratching the bathroom stall door.


    However, whereas the stall door had been thin, hollow, and brittle, this bedroom door was heavy and thick, and the scratching sound it produced was not piercing, but eerily subdued.


    A nauseating feeling welled up in his heart, lingering for a long time without dissipating.


    The sound of scratching the door continued for about two minutes, then eventually stopped.


    Then, the bedroom door opened...


    As the door swung open, the Resentful Granny''s voice came once more, "Who... has seen my comb?"


    A short old lady dressed in a brown thin cotton jacket stood in the doorway of the bedroom. Her pupils were covered by a layer of grey film, making her look like a blind person at a glance, but her hair was neatly combed, and her clothes were very clean.


    The moment Resentful Granny made her appearance, everyone was so frightened that they didn''t even dare to breathe heavily. Huang Chen felt the trembling of Lv Jiayan''s hand he was holding on his left; she was trembling violently, on the verge of crying.


    He pressed his voice down to an extreme whisper, as if scraping a few words from his throat, "Don''t look at her! Don''t talk to her!"


    From where Yan Junze was seated, a glance up would land on the figure of Resentful Granny, but upon hearing Huang Chen''s warning, he turned his gaze to the painting on the wall, refusing to stare at Resentful Granny any longer.


    Lv Xin did the same, but he simply bowed his head, eyes fixed on the ground.


    After Resentful Granny finished speaking, no one answered her.


    Suddenly, she seemed to grow a few inches taller, stood on tiptoes, and slowly walked out of the bedroom, into the living room.


    At this moment, the temperature in the entire bedroom dropped to freezing point, as if even the air had solidified.


    Yan Junze could even hear the wooden chair he was sitting on making a creaking noise as the temperature plummeted.


    Normally, an evil spirit wouldn''t easily emit such a powerful magnetic field unless it was deliberate, or the spirit itself was too powerful, which would cause such a strong reaction.


    The four of them were holding hands, both Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan were looking down at the ground, Huang Chen was focusing on the bathroom door, while Yan Junze''s attention was on the Eight Fine Horses Painting on the wall behind the sofa.


    Of course, through their peripheral vision, they could all still roughly make out the position of Resentful Granny, but no one was directly looking at her.


    "Who has seen my comb?"


    The old woman didn''t go far but murmured softly as she moved, with the rustling sound of her clothes.


    A few seconds later, she stopped behind Yan Junze.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt as if his heart had stopped beating, and he held his breath, not daring to breathe at all.


    Resentful Granny bent over, sniffed a few times close to Yan Junze''s back, and stretched out her nearly skin-and-bones fingers to lightly slide across his back.


    Yan Junze felt as though his scalp was about to burst, he clenched his teeth tightly, feeling a cold mass slowly skid down from his neck, like a worm crawling, not stopping until it reached his waist.


    After that cold sensation disappeared, Resentful Granny withdrew her hand and walked to the other side.


    Only then did Yan Junze take several deep breaths, releasing the breath he had been holding.


    During all this, the Hidden Buckle that Huang Chen was holding in both hands was subtly pointed in that direction, ready to launch should anything unusual occur.


    In Lv Jiayan''s eyes, her grandmother''s figure was lingering around, showing no intention of leaving the living room to search other rooms for the comb.


    Her face pale with fright, her teeth began to chatter. Bowing her head, her eyes affixed firmly to the ground beneath, she dared not move.


    Suddenly, a waxen, withered cheek appeared abruptly below Lv Jiayan, meeting her downcast gaze.


    "Have you seen my comb?"


    Resentful Granny, bending over, filled Lv Jiayan''s entire field of vision with her wrinkled face. Caught off guard, she quivered, her mouth opening as if about to scream.


    But at the same moment, the startled girl remembered Huang Chen''s instruction not to speak; making a noise was surely out of the question.


    She quickly stuffed the hand, which she was holding with Huang Chen''s, into her mouth and bit down hard.


    In her hurriedness, she put her mouth on the wrong hand and ended up biting Huang Chen''s fleshy hand instead.


    Huang Chen almost let out a yelp, holding his breath sharply, his face instantly turning the color of a monkey''s bottom, his eyes nearly bulging out, but he managed to make no sound.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze couldn''t help but give a thumbs up, thoroughly impressed.


    Exorcists are indeed formidable, he thought¡ªtheir endurance, their breath control¡ªthey were leagues ahead of him!

 Chapter 64 Evil Spirit-eating (3)

    Although the young girl was clever, Lv Jiayan managed to bite Huang Chen''s hand just as she was about to scream, but Resentful Granny''s face did not move away.She stood beside Lv Jiayan, her already hunched back now bent to an unbelievable angle.


    This waxen, shriveled face, still aimed straight at Lv Jiayan, with pupils covered in a gray film, unblinking as they stared right into Lv Jiayan''s eyes.


    Lv Jiayan quickly lifted her head, looking directly at Lv Xin seated opposite her, and noticed that at some point, Lv Xin had also looked up, meeting her gaze.


    Lv Xin''s expression was calm, his eyes particularly deep at that moment, staring steadily at Lv Jiayan without any intention of looking away.


    Suddenly, Lv Jiayan felt uncomfortable all over. Staring into Lv Xin''s eyes, she felt an inexplicable strangeness, making it impossible to continue looking directly at him.


    She shifted her gaze to Yan Junze.


    He too was looking at her.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze was very aware that Resentful Granny seemed to have set her sights on Lv Jiayan.


    Evil Spirit-eating? Evil Spirit-eating?


    With Resentful Granny''s ability, it would only take her minutes to kill Lv Jiayan. But until now, he hadn''t spotted the dead Lv Qiang and Wang Qin anywhere.


    If these two didn''t appear soon, he had serious doubts that Huang Chen''s Hidden Buckles would be anywhere near enough to even fill Resentful Granny''s gaps between her teeth.


    Just then, Resentful Granny straightened her bent back and took small, shuffling steps away from Lv Jiayan, heading in Lv Xin''s direction, standing behind him.


    Lv Jiayan let out a sigh of relief, her body swaying. Having been taut with nerves until that moment, she relaxed a little, and her breath became lighter, vision darkening¡ªshe nearly fainted.


    Huang Chen quickly steadied her.


    Knowing that Resentful Granny was standing behind him, Lv Xin remained motionless, his gaze fixed on what was in front of him, the hairs on his back standing on end and a cold chill running down his spine.


    Thud, two dry arms reached from behind and rested on Lv Xin''s shoulders.


    Lv Xin shivered slightly, feeling his forehead suddenly become damp, as if some liquid was there.


    From Huang Chen''s and Lv Jiayan''s perspective, they saw Resentful Granny''s sharp tongue licking Lv Xin''s forehead, one lick after another.


    Time seemed to freeze.


    After a brief silence, Lv Xin shivered violently and couldn''t help but jump up, releasing his grip on Yan Junze and Lv Jiayan''s hands.


    "Not good!"


    Almost at the same moment, Huang Chen''s two "Sweepers" shot out, hitting Resentful Granny''s body.


    When the Hidden Buckles exploded, a white light flashed, momentarily illuminating the dim living room with a blinding whiteness.


    If it were a common Wandering Spirit, two "Sweepers" would have been enough to obliterate it, but Resentful Granny was a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, and the two "Sweepers" only made her take a few steps back.


    "Break out, get out of here!"


    Huang Chen shouted loudly as he threw another "Collapse" Hidden Buckle.


    The energy ripple from this throw pushed Resentful Granny back two or three meters, up against the living room''s corner.


    Yan Junze was the first to rush to the living room door and opened it, revealing the sky outside that was nearing dusk and a bit yellowish.


    Lv Jiayan and Lv Xin followed closely behind.


    However, as the two scrambled to escape, Lv Xin unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Lv Jiayan''s hoodie, dashing in front himself¡ªwith a backward tug, the small frame of Lv Jiayan was spun around and she tumbled to the ground.


    Time waits for no one. Unable to stand, Lv Jiayan rolled and crawled into the nearest master bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    Originally in the lead, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, allowing Lv Xin to rush past him, out of the house.


    "This silly girl!"


    Huang Chen cursed as he ran to the master bedroom, pushed the door open, and charged in.


    The next second, Resentful Granny, who had been pushed away not far, followed to the door of the master bedroom.


    But she didn''t immediately enter, instead, she turned her head to glance at Yan Junze, who had come back.


    The sharp tongue licked the lip, tiptoing to push open the bedroom door and walked in.


    Yan Junze was very clear that once she entered the bedroom, the person inside was more likely doomed than not.


    Just now, the situation was extremely sudden, a series of mistakes led to Lv Jiayan having no chance to escape the room.


    However, if he encountered this again, as long as he avoided it beforehand, this kind of situation definitely wouldn''t happen.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, Yan Junze found himself sitting back in the chair.


    Turning his head, he saw the Resentful Granny stretching out her sharp, long tongue, licking Lv Xin''s forehead.


    He knew that in the next second, this guy would leap up and then rush outside without care, dragging Lv Jiayan along in the process, who would then run into the master bedroom, trapping herself within.


    Therefore, Yan Junze let go of Lv Xin''s hand a step ahead, and at the moment when Lv Xin couldn''t bear it and jumped up, he grabbed Lv Jiayan''s arm first.


    Huang Chen''s face changed dramatically as he threw out the Hidden Buckle.


    A loud bang went off, and white light flared.


    As Yan Junze was about to rush toward the direction of the living room door, with Lv Jiayan in tow, a strong force suddenly yanked him from behind, pulling both him and Lv Jiayan back two or three steps.


    For a moment, Yan Junze even had the illusion that it was Zhou Dali exerting force behind him ¨C only to see clearly who was pulling him after he had staggered back. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, Lv Xin''s figure overtook the two of them and rushed forward, reaching the door, turned the living room door handle, and was the first to dash out into the corridor.


    He had not expected that this cowardly fellow would snatch the opportunity first!


    "Fuck, rewind!"


    This time, Yan Junze didn''t look sideways at the scene of Lv Xin being licked but immediately shook off the hand holding him, and before Lv Xin had jumped or Huang Chen had thrown the Hidden Buckle, he grabbed Lv Jiayan ahead of time.


    "Let''s go!"


    Just as he was about to take a step, Yan Junze''s body suddenly came to a violent halt, solidly frozen in place.


    The clothes behind him were clutched, grabbed by Lv Xin who was still sitting on the chair, with a force so great that his own momentum couldn''t dislodge it!


    Rewind!


    "There''s a problem." Yan Junze sat back down on the chair again, turning his head to stare at Lv Xin who was being licked into despair, "This guy definitely has a problem."


    After two consecutive rewinds, the final outcome was that no matter how early he acted, Lv Xin would pull him back, and then he himself would always be the first to escape.


    Moreover, this guy''s strength was frighteningly great. Yan Junze believed that even if Zhou Dali were here, he would be held back by Lv Xin just the same and unable to leave.


    So this time, he didn''t plan to flee with Lv Jiayan anymore. Instead, when the Resentful Granny was licking Lv Xin and he was about to burst the next second, Yan Junze released Huang Chen''s left hand, swinging a punch straight to Lv Xin''s left cheek.


    He gave it his all in that punch.


    Lv Xin''s attention was entirely on his forehead and couldn''t dodge. After the punch, his cheek swelled up sharply.


    Right at that moment, something bizarre occurred.


    The Resentful Granny, who had been standing behind licking Lv Xin''s forehead, straddled her legs, and directly mounted Lv Xin''s shoulders, wrapping her arms around his head.


    Lv Xin didn''t jump up anymore but just stood there dumbly, emitting a deep roar from his throat, his eyes becoming dull and lifeless as if his consciousness was no longer under control.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two "Sweepers" shot out from Huang Chen''s hands, striking both Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny.


    Huang Chen shouted at the same time, "Run, he has been spirit-split!"


    Spirit-splitting?


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    Rewind!

 Chapter 65 Evil Spirit-eating (4)

    This time, Junze didn''t choose to rewind to the moment when Resentful Granny licked Lv Xin''s forehead, but to shortly after the four of them had just sat down, holding hands.Now, to Yan Junze, the incident of Lv Xin getting his forehead licked by Resentful Granny seemed a bit like a show and a diversion of everyone''s attention.


    The "Spirit-Splitting" Huang Chen talked about earlier must be similar to being possessed by strangenesses, just that the targets of Spirit-Splitting don''t seem to realize their own changes.


    Or perhaps the symptoms they show are just sudden occurrences, and at other times they still consider themselves to be normal people.


    As for when Lv Xin became victim to Spirit-Splitting, that remains unknown.


    Yan Junze had a bold conjecture that the first time he met Lv Xin, when the guy insisted on going to room 503, might have been the very moment he got Spirit-Split by Resentful Granny.


    If Junze went back to the moment when Lv Xin got his forehead licked, that point in time was already too pressing to reverse, which is why he chose to set the rewind time a bit earlier.


    When he decided to take on the "Evil Spirit-eating" task, he had set the rewind time to 90 minutes.


    There was no choice; knowing that Resentful Granny was dangerous, having more time to rewind allowed for ease of operation even if there were a few more rewinds, offering more choices.


    Earlier, Huang Chen had said that they must prevent Resentful Granny from "interfering," but now it seemed that after realizing Lv Xin was Spirit-Split, those present had already been interfered with.


    Yan Junze let go of Huang Chen and Lv Xin''s hands, and stood up under the puzzled gazes of the others.


    "What are you doing?" Huang Chen said, "Come over here, we need to form a circle."


    Just then, faint footsteps arose outside in the corridor, one could imagine Resentful Granny tiptoeing closer to room 503.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders, stood in the living room, looked around and said, "There''s no need to hold hands anymore, we''ve already been interfered with."


    "What?" Huang Chen stood up.


    Everyone''s faces were etched with surprise.


    Yan Junze offered no explanation, instead he glanced at the other doors that Lv Xin had closed, his mind rapidly calculating.


    So far, for some unknown reason, the spirits of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin hadn''t shown up, and therefore the "Evil Spirit-eating" task couldn''t possibly be carried out.


    It was essential to find the critical point of the task, and not rely on Huang Chen and his Hidden Buckles.


    The footsteps in the corridor ceased.


    Yan Junze knew that before long, Resentful Granny''s voice would ring out inside the master bedroom.


    "The bedroom?"


    He seemed to have thought of something, walked to the doorway of another smaller bedroom, reached for the doorknob and gently turned it.


    Opening the door, he surveyed the room by the dim light streaming in through the window.


    A bed, a wardrobe, that''s all.


    This smaller bedroom was much smaller in size compared to the master bedroom.


    Not feeling reassured, Yan Junze walked in, lay down on the floor, and looked under the bed.


    Nothing there.


    He then walked out and closed the door to the small bedroom.


    Just as he was about to enter the master bedroom, Resentful Granny''s voice came from inside: "It hurts..."


    Huang Chen and the others jerked in shock, Lv Jiayan grabbed Huang Chen''s arm tightly, her body couldn''t help but tremble, Lv Xin also unconsciously hid behind Huang Chen, feeling a chill in his heart, his gaze warily fixed on the door of the master bedroom.


    "Already interfered with? And she''s already come in."


    At that moment, Huang Chen felt he had no reason not to believe Yan Junze''s words. Where had he been negligent?


    He glanced sideways at Yan Junze, who had reached the doorway of the master bedroom, and cautioned, "Don''t go in there, let''s leave this place."


    "We can''t leave," Junze said.


    Yan Junze turned his head, not looking at Huang Chen, but instead, glanced at Lv Xin, whose face showed fear.


    "He..." Yan Junze raised his hand and pointed at Lv Xin, "has already been spirit-split by Granny Ren."


    "What?!" Huang Chen was stunned for a moment and looked at Lv Xin, his eyes instantly filling with wariness.


    Because he had personally experienced Granny Ren''s stealthy interference, Huang Chen was being extremely cautious with everything after facing her again.


    And since he hadn''t said anything, Yan Junze, as an ordinary person, shouldn''t have known about the so-called "spirit-splitting."


    If he could say it out loud in this circumstance, the credibility was at least seventy percent.


    "Use your hidden buckle, throw one at him and you''ll know," Yan Junze reminded.


    After speaking, he decided not to enter the master bedroom anymore.


    Because the Resentful Granny had already sneaked in, Lv Qiang and Wang Qin couldn''t possibly be hiding there.


    Standing at the door, he held the handle of the master bedroom without turning it but backed away instead.


    At this moment, the Resentful Granny''s hoarse, nauseating voice continued to scream in pain.


    Before long, she would come to the back of the master bedroom door and scratch at the door panel with her nails. But as soon as she eventually opened the door, she certainly wouldn''t disturb the hand-holding people like she did just now. Instead, upon realizing something was wrong, she would do something even more terrifying.


    Time was running out.


    "Where are the souls of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin? Why haven''t they appeared yet?" S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze''s gaze swept around the entire room, then he moved towards the closed bathroom.


    Opening the door, the bathroom was terribly dim, and it was hard to see inside at a glance.


    He switched on the light casually, and his pupils contracted immediately. He saw a man and a woman crouching in the corner of the bathroom, covered in grey, trembling.


    By this moment, Yan Junze had a rough idea of why Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn''t appeared.


    Perhaps the Resentful Granny was too powerful, and for souls like theirs, newly created, they simply couldn''t compete with her and were instinctively terrified.


    It was like how Ke''er reacted when encountering the Back-faced Woman, running faster than rabbits.


    And now, though Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn''t run away, they just crouched in the bathroom frightened, which was quite brave of them.


    After all, Yan Junze understood their thoughts very well; only by sacrificing themselves could they protect their daughter, Lv Jiayan''s life at this moment.


    They must... let the Resentful Granny devour the two of them, so even though they were terrified, the couple''s souls didn''t flee like Ke''er did.


    "Lv Qiang? Wang Qin?" Yan Junze called out.


    At this time, dull scratching noises could be heard from the direction of the master bedroom as the Resentful Granny clawed at the door.


    The two turned their heads, their faces also covered by a layer of grey gloom.


    In Yan Junze''s opinion, this should be a sign of newly created souls, who hadn''t fully transformed and entered the realm of a true evil spirit.


    However, he didn''t understand why an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny would want to devour such new souls.


    Was it like a starving beggar suddenly seeing two delicious roast chickens?


    The two souls stood up, looking toward Yan Junze timidly and hesitantly.


    Yan Junze had never met Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, and upon hearing the scratching of the door panel, they were even more frightened, trembling as if they were about to run away at any moment.


    "Your daughter, Lv Jiayan, is in great danger now. No one can stop Granny Ren, including that exorcist outside," Yan Junze spoke very quickly.


    Bang!


    Just then, the sound of the hidden buckle exploding could be heard.

 Chapter 66 Evil Spirit-eating (5)

    Standing at the bathroom doorway, Yan Junze turned his head for a look.By this moment, Huang Chen had already thrown a "Sweeper" at Lv Xin.


    The cause was that, after listening to Yan Junze''s advice, he deliberately slowed down while leading Lv Jiayan toward the living room entrance, but Lv Xin''s face turned an iron blue instantly, and strange gurgling noises emerged from his mouth.


    However, before Lv Xin had the chance to stop them, he was already hit by Huang Chen''s Hidden Buckle.


    Following a burst of white light, Lv Xin was knocked to the ground by the energy emitted from the "Sweeper," and a white humanoid gas emerged from directly above his head, seemingly being forcefully expelled by the energy of the "Sweeper."


    But this humanoid gas also appeared to be very powerful, stubborn and unwilling, firmly grasping onto Lv Xin''s body.


    The scene fell into a stalemate.


    Creak...


    The door to the master bedroom flung open at this moment. Resentful Granny didn''t walk out slowly; instead, she tip-toed and dashed extremely fast, not even glancing at Lv Xin, she charged straight at Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    As she sprinted, Resentful Granny''s withered cheeks stretched open with her mouth, emitting a noise like the grinding of two hard metals.


    Huang Chen threw out a "High-Energy Collapse" directly.


    Beneath Resentful Granny''s feet, the Hidden Buckle exploded, a ring of energy ripples spread out, pushing her back.


    Huang Chen immediately opened the living room door and, grabbing Lv Jiayan''s hand, ran out.


    But to those present, this escape seemed almost futile. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Resentful Granny sustained no damage, just temporarily halted for a moment, and soon turned around to return, emitting a nauseating noise from her mouth. She leaped over Lv Xin, who was still struggling on the ground, and was about to follow them out.


    "Hey!"


    Yan Junze yelled abruptly, one hand clutching L¨¹ Qiang, and the other holding Wang Qin, and with these two souls quivering like husks in a sieve, he forcefully dragged them out of the bathroom.


    Resentful Granny paused, stopped in her tracks, glanced back at Yan Junze, and then looked at the two freshly-emerged souls in his hand.


    In the meantime, Yan Junze even lifted the hand holding L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as if to say your roast chicken has arrived, if there''s nothing else, then go ahead and eat it.


    But to his surprise, Resentful Granny outright chose to ignore it, with an expressionless face, she turned around and rushed out of room 503, straight after Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    "Not eating?!" Yan Junze looked down at the two shivering souls, "What''s going on? Is there something I haven''t considered?"


    Rewind!


    Sitting back in the chair, the four of them joined hands, with the sound of hurried footsteps gradually approaching from outside the hallway.


    Apart from Yan Junze and Huang Chen, the other two showed faces full of terror.


    Yan Junze pondered for a while, then stood up from his seat and leaned over to whisper to Huang Chen, "Mr. Huang Chen, do you know about strangenesses consuming strangenesses?"


    Huang Chen glanced sideways at him, his expression somewhat surprised, yet he still nodded, "Yes. Newly formed souls are like an unstable magnetic field energy, easily absorbed by other strangenesses, thereby strengthening their own magnetic field energy."


    Yan Junze looked astonished, "You mean? If a strangeness consumes another newly-born strangeness, the strength of that strangeness can increase?"


    "It''s possible." Huang Chen said, "It depends on the absorption level of the first strangeness and the integration of the magnetic fields. Some magnetic fields have repulsion and might take some time to merge. Moreover, after merging, it is not certain to strengthen; sometimes it may actually reduce its strength."


    "I hope after Resentful Granny eats L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, it reduces your strength, the kind that plummets!" Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    "What did you say?" Huang Chen asked.


    "Nothing." Yan Junze shook his head, "Then how can we make this strangeness consume other strangenesses?"


    After pondering for a moment, Huang Chen began, "Although I don''t know why you''re asking this, and I''ve never tried it... My advisor used to say, if you feed the newly-born strangeness a candle, there''s a chance it can attract other older strangenesses that can''t help but eat it."


    "That works?" Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    "I haven''t tried it, but what my advisor says wouldn''t be false." Huang Chen nodded firmly.


    Yan Junze was still somewhat uneasy, "Forgive my presumption, but what rank is your mentor?"


    "Two stars," Huang Chen answered.


    "One star higher than you, that should be reliable," Yan Junze nodded to himself, "Then why didn''t your mentor come today?"


    "He did, but two days ago, Granny Ren killed him," Huang Chen replied earnestly.


    Yan Junze''s face turned green in an instant.


    At this moment, the two of them were no longer deliberately lowering their voices, so Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan heard their conversation.


    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to terms with this cruel reality, his hand sweating as he muttered to himself, "There... there should be candles in this house, right?"


    No matter how unreliable Huang Chen was, and no matter how unreliable his mentor was, as Huang Chen said, they were at this point and had to try to find out.


    "Yes," Lv Xin said, "When I was looking through grandmother''s belongings, I saw several unlit red candles in the bedroom desk''s cabinet."


    "Bedroom? Do you mean the master bedroom?" Yan Junze looked at him.


    "Mhm," Lv Xin nodded.


    He listened attentively for a moment to the footsteps outside in the hall; they had already faded away.


    So in a short while, Resentful Granny would appear in the master bedroom and then hoarsely cry out the chilling "pain."


    Yan Junze didn''t want to waste time with a Rewind, so he took this opportunity to go in and get the candles first.


    Deciding this, he shook off the hands of Huang Chen and Lv Xin, stood up amidst everyone''s astonished gazes, and quickly walked towards the master bedroom.


    "What are you doing?" Huang Chen panicked, "Come back and hold onto us, why go to the master bedroom for candles now? What if there are strangenesses eating you there?!"


    Yan Junze didn''t pay him any heed; he pushed the master bedroom door open and slipped inside.


    The door closed behind him, and he had no time to care, quickly scanning the room''s furniture layout. The desk was under the window, not far from the large bed, roughly only two steps away.


    The blood-soaked bedding had long been replaced.


    Just to be cautious, Yan Junze looked around everywhere under the bed, in the corner of the wardrobe, under the desk, making sure that at this moment Resentful Granny had not yet appeared in the master bedroom.


    He immediately walked to the desk and opened the middle drawer, which contained some envelopes, notebooks, a few empty red packets for gifting, and several pens with dried ink.


    No candles.


    Crouching down, he opened the three smaller drawers on the right side of the desk one by one. The contents were messy, but it was nothing but waste paper and old newspapers.


    After removing all the things that blocked his view, Yan Junze carefully searched, but still no sign of red candles in the three drawers.


    At this moment, he began to wonder if Lv Xin was deceiving him.


    But he had no intention of running away, so he couldn''t be triggering the fellow''s Spirit-Splitting.


    If the right-hand drawers contained nothing, and there were three more drawers on the left, Yan Junze did not stand up. Still squatting, he moved to the left side, about to pull open the drawer.


    Suddenly, a click sounded in the master bedroom.


    He immediately turned his head to look around; the wardrobe was not open, and there was no one standing behind the door. A few clothes still hung on the wooden rack, with nobody hiding behind them.


    Resentful Granny''s figure was nowhere to be seen.


    Although he saw nothing, Yan Junze''s feeling of unease grew stronger, and goosebumps rapidly appeared on his arms.


    Just then, on the clean, neatly spread big bed, the quilt began to bulge slightly as if someone''s body was forming underneath it, soon shaping into a human figure.


    "Pain..." a hoarse voice followed.

 Chapter 67 Evil Spirit-eating (6)

    ```"Damn, it came straight out from under the bed!"


    Yan Junze dared not even breathe heavily as he stared blankly at the quilt bulging into a curved human shape.


    From within the quilt, Resentful Granny''s voice came out intermittently, just like when that comb had pierced her heart, constantly venting the pain of her body and the bitterness of her heart.


    Fortunately, her entire form was still covered by the quilt, and she hadn''t flipped it open.


    Yan Junze slowly turned and pulled open the first drawer on the left side of his desk, being extremely cautious as he did so.


    He slowed his breathing, one hand pulling the drawer while the other applied strength, trying to lift the drawer slightly to avoid making noise as it came out.


    It went smoothly, and the drawer was pulled out without making any sound.


    Inside were several yellowed wall calendars, probably from four or five years ago, some of the pages already worn out.


    Yan Junze very carefully closed the drawer because otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to open the second one.


    Turning his head to look, Resentful Granny was still curled up under the quilt, her hoarse voice continuing to emit intermittently.


    She hadn''t been disturbed. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze let out a slight sigh of relief, turned his head back, and repeated the maneuver to open the second drawer.


    Luck was with him, as the moment the drawer opened, he saw a pack of red candles.


    These candles were not slender, but the ordinary thickness used for illumination when the power went out at home.


    Upon a cursory glance, there were about seven or eight left. Would that be enough for L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin to consume?


    Yan Junze gently grasped them, but the transparent plastic bag wrapping the candles inadvertently made a sound, and he instantly felt his heart rise to his throat.


    He stood still, holding the bag, not daring to move.


    After waiting a moment and being sure there was no sound, he slowly withdrew the hand holding the candle bag.


    Wait a second, no sound?!


    The voice of Resentful Granny crying out in pain seemed to have stopped long ago.


    Only then did Yan Junze suddenly realize, and he quickly turned his head.


    He saw that a corner of the quilt on the bed had been flipped open, and Resentful Granny''s dry, waxen head was sticking out, staring unblinkingly at his back, silently watching with no expression.


    Yan Junze''s head buzzed, and he felt instantly numb in his hands and feet.


    He clenched the plastic bag of candles tightly and, despite his legs going numb, used his arm to prop himself up against the edge of the desk and stood up.


    Throughout this process, Resentful Granny''s gaze shifted slightly upwards to follow him, still watching him silently and intently.


    The terrifying gaze was like a sharp knife piercing through Yan Junze''s body, the cool blade clinging to his skin, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.


    Under Resentful Granny''s gaze, Yan Junze turned with difficulty and was about to take a step to leave the place.


    "My¡­ comb?" Resentful Granny suddenly said.


    Yan Junze dared not move anymore and looked up at her, then squeezed out the most awkward smile of his life, "Granny Ren, don''t you remember me? I was the one who pulled the comb out of your chest for you! And remember, I combed your hair, too!"


    Resentful Granny sat up from the bed, her expression blank, still staring at Yan Junze, "Where is my comb?"


    "That comb should be with the safety officer. I was the one who called him for you, and I notified Yu Xiaochang, your favorite grandson, to come to see you. Don''t you remember?"


    As Yan Junze spoke, he moved, gradually getting closer to the bedroom door.


    ```


    ```


    There was no other way; speaking kindly was the best choice now, considering he had never offended Granny Ren before¡ªin fact, he had even helped her.


    Although the old woman had become more terrifying now, there was no reason for her not to remember past kindness!


    As expected, Resentful Granny didn''t ask about the comb anymore. She just sat on the bed, her gaze following Yan Junze as he moved.


    When he reached the bedroom door, Yan Junze grabbed the doorknob, turned his head, squeezed out the second ugliest smile of his life for Resentful Granny, then twisted the door open and slipped out.


    This suggested that even if the Evil Spirit had become more terrifying, it still held onto old attachments.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn''t think that what he was about to do next would make Resentful Granny spare him because of any sentimental old ties.


    It was even possible that at any second, the old woman would regret why she hadn''t just attacked him directly in the bedroom moments before.


    In the living room, Huang Chen and the other two were holding hands, seated properly on one side of the sofa, still in their defensive stance against intrusion.


    After Yan Junze left the bedroom, Huang Chen didn''t speak but watched him vigilantly.


    The voice of Resentful Granny had come from the bedroom just before, and everyone had heard it. Since Yan Junze was inside at that moment, Huang Chen had every reason to believe that Yan Junze might have been possessed by Resentful Granny''s Spirit-Splitting.


    At this moment, nobody dared to believe that the person before them was still Yan Junze himself.


    But Yan Junze ignored them and briskly crossed the living room, heading toward the closed bathroom door. He twisted the knob, walked in holding the plastic bag containing the candles.


    Behind him, the master bedroom door wasn''t closed, and soon after, the sound of tiptoeing footsteps followed.


    Huang Chen and the others shifted their gaze and saw Resentful Granny appear at the bedroom doorway.


    He immediately lowered his voice, saying to L¨¹ Xin and L¨¹ Jiayan, "Don''t look at her! Don''t talk to her!"


    In the bathroom.


    Yan Junze immediately spotted L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, crouching in the corner, shivering with fear.


    This time he didn''t shout but instead went straight up to them, gripped their eerily cold shoulders, and handed over the bag of candles, "If you want to save your daughter, eat them now."


    L¨¹ Qiang was startled for a moment, but upon seeing the candles, his tongue seemed to stretch out instinctively. As a newly born strangeness, he seemed to have no aversion to the idea of eating candles.


    "Eat quickly."


    Yan Junze dropped the candles, returned to the bathroom doorway, and peered out into the living room.


    He noticed that Resentful Granny had already moved next to the sofa, exactly as before the Rewind, bending her waist at an implausible angle, tilting her head as she made eye contact with the bowed-head L¨¹ Jiayan.


    The latter, trembling with fear, had her eyes tightly shut.


    "It might be too late."


    Yan Junze immediately went back, pulled up L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin who were eating the candles.


    As strangenesses, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin were almost weightless, which made it easy for him to drag the couple out of the bathroom and into the living room.


    At that moment, L¨¹ Qiang''s mouth was stuffed full with blood-red candles, as if starved, chewing carelessly. Wang Qin, though eating more gracefully, had also consumed one and a half candles already.


    Hearing the commotion, Huang Chen looked over in surprise, and L¨¹ Xin turned his head as well.


    L¨¹ Jiayan, who had kept her eyes shut, opened them in this moment, her gaze following suit. She was shaken, almost letting go of Huang Chen and L¨¹ Xin''s hands.


    "Dad! Mom!"


    A cry escaped her lips, and L¨¹ Jiayan felt as if she had fallen into a dream. She saw her parents come back to life, squatting in front of her, eating something.


    Then she noticed what her parents were eating¡­ it was candles. They were swallowing mouthfuls, lips smeared with red wax, a desperate picture of voracious hunger.


    ```

 Chapter 68 Evil Spirit-eating (7)

    Lv Jiayan''s scream at this moment enraged the Resentful Granny.Her bent back suddenly straightened, and the Resentful Granny also looked over. Upon seeing L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin eating the candle, she hesitated for a moment.


    But she immediately turned her head back, looking at the agitated Lv Jiayan, who was about to cry.


    This was simply the best opportunity to intervene.


    The Resentful Granny stretched out her withered arm, reaching for Lv Jiayan''s face.


    "Resentful Granny, they''re eating the candle, look, hey, it smells so good!"


    Yan Junze''s voice came through.


    Huang Chen was about to throw the Hidden Buckle and flee with Lv Jiayan at that moment.


    But the Resentful Granny''s movements suddenly stiffened, her arm remaining outstretched as she twisted her head back again to look in Yan Junze''s direction.


    The gaze emanating from her gray pupils paused silently on L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, who were eagerly engulfing the candle.


    Seeing this, Huang Chen finally understood. No wonder Yan Junze was looking for candles; he knew about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin in the restroom and deliberately found candles for them to eat, hence attracting Granny Ren''s attention.


    However... how did this kid know about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin here? Despite being a qualified one-star exorcist, he himself was unaware of it.


    At that moment, the Resentful Granny shook her head, turning back again, issuing a dull clucking sound from her mouth, accompanied by a strange, metal-like friction noise, as she once again redirected her focus to Lv Jiayan.


    "I can''t tempt her!"


    Yan Junze, his heart hardening, carried L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin directly behind the Resentful Granny and threw them at her feet.


    At this time, the two strangenesses'' candle-eating movements clearly began to slow, their bodies trembling incessantly, the immense pressure from the Resentful Granny making it impossible for them to continue feeding normally.


    "Hmm, newly born evils feeding on candles, come take a look, what a beautiful scene!"


    Yan Junze took two steps backward, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if admiring a beautiful painting.


    Once again, the Resentful Granny stopped her motion toward Lv Jiayan, turned her head back, and slightly lowered it to look at the couple at her feet, slowly chewing on the candles.


    The friction noise from her throat was no longer muffled but became increasingly sharp and piercing.


    Her mouth opened slightly, and a voice as if coming directly from her throat uttered: "Scram..."


    Just after uttering this word, as the Resentful Granny was about to turn her head back, L¨¹ Qiang, who was feeding on the candle, suddenly reached out and clutched her left foot.


    "Mom!" L¨¹ Qiang, his mouth stuffed with red candlewax that was dribbling down the corners of his mouth, mumbled unclearly, "I... was wrong, don''t, she is still... a child..."


    "Mom!" Wang Qin also, with one hand clutching the remaining half of the candle and the other hand holding the Resentful Granny''s right foot, said, "Spare her..."


    The Resentful Granny''s sallow face first froze in shock and then a hint of anger flashed across her always expressionless face as she stared down at L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Afterward, she slowly extended her index finger, pointing at her son lying at her feet, seeming to carry all the grievances and unwillingness within her, and from her throat, she again spat out two words, gritting her teeth. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Beast..."


    "Mom..."


    Wang Qin was about to speak again when L¨¹ Qiang cried out hoarsely, his voice strained, "I was wrong, Mom! I didn''t mean to..."


    "Huh? What''s happening?"


    Yan Junze detected an undertone in their words and couldn''t help but pause for a moment.


    Huang Chen was also taken aback, shifting his attention from the Resentful Granny and looking down at L¨¹ Qiang, who was sprawled on the ground.


    "You just need to... give me some money, and I''ll leave, but you refuse! Why... won''t you give it to me? I, your son, am... in a tight spot!" L¨¹ Qiang cried out, "I was drinking, and that comb...


    I didn''t mean it, sorry... Mom, I''m sorry!"


    The Resentful Granny''s face was almost contorted at this moment; her gray, flower-like hair stood on end, and the strangeness around her intensified invisibly several times over, blowing the clothes of those present, making them flutter noisily.


    "Such a strong weird magnetic field!"


    At this moment, not just Huang Chen, but even Yan Junze, who had become involved in this halfway, could tell that something was amiss. The Resentful Granny before them, at this moment, seemed to be filled with even more resentment, and her terrifying strength was continuously increasing.


    Under this intense pressure, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin couldn''t speak anymore and even their hands, which had been clutching the Resentful Granny, involuntarily let go, curling up to the side.


    The Resentful Granny turned her head again, facing Lu Jiayan, who was shivering violently.


    "Continue... eating the candles," Yan Junze''s voice rose.


    L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin came to their senses, exchanged a glance of strangeness, and once again clutched the Resentful Granny''s legs, stuffing the candles into their mouths frantically, chewing non-stop.


    The Resentful Granny twisted her head again, but this time it was to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze stepped back involuntarily.


    Under a kind of instinctive allure, the Resentful Granny lowered her head again, her gaze falling on the couple as they consumed the candles.


    Just then, she seemed to swallow a mouthful of saliva.


    Yan Junze stepped further back, his voice instructing, "Look up at her, watch her eat."


    The couple, despite the terror in their hearts, lifted their heads, facing the Resentful Granny, letting her clearly see the entire process of their eating the candles.


    Seeing this scene, an innate craving grew uncontrollably in the heart of the Resentful Granny, the frictional sounds from her throat becoming increasingly intense.


    Suddenly, unable to contain herself any longer, the Resentful Granny bent over and grabbed L¨¹ Qiang by the shoulder.


    L¨¹ Qiang trembled in fright, and without control, he started to levitate; the Resentful Granny''s expression clearly struggling and resisting something.


    But the next second, the old woman opened her mouth anyway.


    Her mouth was like a dried-up old well, pitch-black and profoundly deep.


    "Lu Jiayan, close your eyes!" Huang Chen said.


    Lu Jiayan, who had already been terrified out of her wits, immediately closed her eyes, but as she did, tears she had been holding back finally fell from her eyes.


    A spine-chilling crackling sound ensued, causing goosebumps to rise all over one''s body.


    Lu Jiayan felt she was on the verge of collapse, everything around her seemed so unreal, more illusory than a dream, all falsehoods.


    The crackling sound briefly paused.


    About two seconds later, the agonized screams of Wang Qin could be heard. Lu Jiayan couldn''t bear it any longer and fainted on the couch.


    Contrary to Yan Junze''s expectations, the entire process wasn''t bloody since L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin had already become strangenesses. They were like products of a weird magnetic field, devoid of real bodies. In the mouth of the Resentful Granny, they seemed to disintegrate, their body parts becoming mosaic-like, pieces of them being devoured.


    At first, the Resentful Granny clearly struggled and resisted, but now she was quickening the pace of the spirit-eating, an uncontrollable sense of satisfaction showing in her expression.


    Of course, the influence of the candles played a certain role in this consumption.

 Chapter 69 Evil Spirit-eating (8)

    As Resentful Granny devoured faster and faster, it took her only half the time to consume Wang Qin''s strangeness compared to L¨¹ Qiang.And not only did she eat the two strangenesses, but she also swallowed the candles they were eating.


    The red residue at the corner of her mouth came from the candles, not the blood of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as the two of them had no blood to shed.


    All those present, except for Lv Jiayan, who had already passed out, watched with wide eyes as Resentful Granny ate Lv Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Having consumed the strangenesses, Resentful Granny had an expression of comfort on her face, smacking her lips; however, her brows soon furrowed.


    After her instinctual desires were satisfied, the old woman finally came to her senses.


    She had eaten a spirit!


    Quickly she sensed the magnetic field of the strangeness absorbing and repelling, beginning to violently evolve. Resentful Granny opened her mouth wide, her gaze turning toward Yan Junze not far away.


    The latter stood there honestly, his eyes glancing at Resentful Granny from time to time, then focusing on the ground beneath his feet, seemingly shy, embarrassed, and at a loss.


    "Oh no, almost forgot¡ªthe water''s still boiling on the gas stove at home! If there''s nothing else, I''ll first..."


    Before Yan Junze could finish speaking, he saw Resentful Granny let out an "ah" and charge towards him.


    Bang!


    Huang Chen, despite his unreliability, knew at this moment that Resentful Granny''s period of weakness had come, knowing that once she ate a strangeness, no matter how powerful she was, she had to go through a process of absorption and repulsion.


    So, without hesitation, he immediately threw out his only "High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle."


    As it turned out, although he acted in time, his behavior was still unreliable.


    Though the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle hit Resentful Granny directly, the energy blast it produced was so immense that it still sent everyone else in the room flying.


    Even the coffee table was blown away to the bathroom door, while Yan Junze was thrown against the window, privately relieved that he hadn''t opened it.


    Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan were flipped behind the sofa.


    As for Lv Xin, after being knocked to the ground, he slid several meters away, and the spirit-split within him was blasted out; a white humanoid gas screamed in terror as it flew out through the gap in the window.


    As for Resentful Granny, during her moment of weakness, after being hit by the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, she could no longer resist the energy blast from the Collapsing as easily as before, and her figure rapidly faded and disappeared from sight.


    "Okay, okay," Huang Chen got up from behind the sofa, looked around cautiously, and patted his chest in relief, "Granny Ren ran away, after eating the strangeness, she won''t be able to appear for at least two or three days."


    Smack!


    Yan Junze slid down from the window, straightened himself up, and started to tidy his disheveled clothes and hair.


    Lu Xin lay on the ground moaning, temporarily unable to get up.


    After Huang Chen helped Lv Jiayan back to the sofa and helped Lv Xin to sit up, he then asked Yan Junze, "How did you know Lu Qiang and Wang Qin were in the bathroom? How did you come up with the idea to let Granny Ren eat a spirit? You seem to know everything!"


    Yan Junze just chuckled, "Mr. Huang Chen, have you ever heard of people with extraordinary talents? I think... I might be one of them."


    Huang Chen said, "I''ve never seen a talent like yours before, if that''s really the case, maybe we can do an exorcist test one day."


    Yan Junze was instantly embarrassed.


    Stay connected through empire


    Just then, a flurry of footsteps came from the corridor, and several people rushed through the hallway into Room 503.


    Upon seeing the mess in Room 503, everyone was stunned.


    These were Yu Xiaochang and his family of three, who had hurried over with Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai.


    "Eh, Xiaochang, long time no see!" Yan Junze waved at a burly-looking youngster.


    "Hello, Uncle!" Yu Xiaochang responded obediently.


    Yan Junze''s smile stiffened, and his face immediately turned from sunny to overcast.


    "Is everything alright?" Yang Depei, a two-star Exorcist, was the first to approach Huang Chen and ask.


    Huang Chen shook his head and glanced at Yan Junze, replying, "Lv Jiayan just fainted, I''ll explain later. Let''s clean up here and head back first."


    "This person is..." Zhao Shuai pointed at Yan Junze and asked.


    "I''m Mr. Huang Chen''s friend, we met because of Teacher Zhang Tiantian''s case," Yan Junze answered with a smile, then turned to Huang Chen and asked, "There''s something I''m not sure if I can ask."


    "Go ahead," Huang Chen nodded.


    Yan Junze touched the back of his head: "Could I... apply for Exorcist personal protection?"


    At that moment, three messages from the Spacetime Atlas popped up in Yan Junze''s mind.


    [Evil Spirit-eating, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, received 900 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Friendly reminder: You have successfully attracted the hatred of Resentful Granny. The revenge will officially begin after 72 hours.]


    [Resentful Granny (Semi-Sculpting Spirit), Current Favorability: Hatred]


    Knowing his own limitations, Yan Junze was very clear that facing the fully evolved Resentful Granny, aside from Rewind, he couldn''t think of any other effective method to confront this terrifying old woman.


    Therefore, his best choice right now would be to apply for an Exorcist to protect him if it were truly possible.


    Of course, this Exorcist couldn''t be of Huang Chen''s level, and definitely not the unreliable Huang Chen himself. The person protecting him had to be at least three-star or above.


    Because he had heard from Huang Chen before that one of his two-star Exorcist mentors had died at the hands of Resentful Granny. That meant that only an Exorcist of at least three-star level had a chance to contend with Resentful Granny, or else it was all just talk.


    However, Yan Junze was well aware that given his current status in the jianghu, why would a three-star Exorcist offer him 24-hour personal protection? It didn''t really make sense. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Under these circumstances, all he could do was ask and see. Whether the Exorcist team would send someone to protect him was another matter altogether.


    He didn''t want to miss any chance, no matter how slim.


    As soon as he spoke, Huang Chen understood and looked at Yang Depei beside him, who obviously didn''t know what was going on.


    Huang Chen nodded, "I''ll apply to the higher-ups as soon as I get back and give you an answer as quickly as possible."


    The group quickly tidied up a bit inside the house, and Yan Junze left the building first.


    Lv Xin was in low spirits, the commotion caused by the High-Energy Collapse too great; aside from Yan Junze, no one knew what had happened to him.


    Lv Xin was assisted by Huang Chen and Zhao Shuai, and then Yu Tao carried the unconscious Lv Jiayan on his back. The group quickly left the scene.


    Huang Chen also visited the Bureau of Safety and Stability later on to report about Lv Qiang getting drunk and accidentally killing his mother, Granny Ren.


    This case could finally be closed.


    However, for Yan Junze, it was just the beginning.


    Not long after he returned home, his parents came back from work one after another.


    Yan Junze locked himself in his bedroom, pondering over how to face the most troublesome of the evil spirits he had encountered so far.


    Of course, having decided to complete this mission, he had already thought of two plans for the aftermath.

 Chapter 70 Countdown

    He went over everything that had just happened in his mind.Honestly, Yan Junze had not expected the murderer to be Granny Ren''s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang.


    It seemed the guy''s death wasn''t unjustified; a pity for the other members of the Lv family, though.


    Although they were all not very kind to Granny Ren, their actions did not warrant death, yet now Resentful Granny had gone mad. As a so-called "Semi-Sculpting Spirit" level Evil Spirit, she could no longer be judged by normal standards.


    This time, if the Exorcist team didn''t send someone to protect him, one of Yan Junze''s plans was to bring Yu Xiaochang to his side.


    But Resentful Granny might still go after Yu Xiaochang''s family. It wasn''t possible for him to move into the Yu family''s house and stop attending classes, thus completely abandoning his previous life.


    Yan Junze laid his head on the desk, elbows propped on the edge, hands buried in his hair, rubbing unconsciously.


    His second plan was...


    Just as he reached this thought, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.


    "Huh!"


    Yan Junze didn''t need to look back; he knew Ke''er was back.


    When Ke''er saw Yan Junze lying on the desk rubbing his head, she thought he was washing his hair again, which was why she exclaimed in surprise.


    However, after seeing that he was just dry rubbing, her excitement dimmed, and she scurried across the floor to climb onto Yan Junze''s back, clinging tightly to him.


    A chill seeped into his body from his back, calming the frustrated Yan Junze down gradually.


    The second plan was to use Ke''er.


    This girl Ke''er had a habit of disappearing now and then, and every time she ran faster than a rabbit before he could catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman¡ªwith no doubt, even more reliable than an Early Warning Bell.


    At the moment, Yan Junze could set a Rewind timeline of approximately 240 minutes, which is about 4 hours.


    If there was no Rewind during this period, no energy would be consumed, and he could set another Rewind after 4 hours.


    In other words, he could keep setting Rewinds without a break.


    As long as he was within the coverage range of the Rewind timeline, and Ke''er on his back started to flee after sensing danger, he could Rewind to a moment before Ke''er fled, avoiding emergencies in advance.


    Of course, Resentful Granny wouldn''t be seeking revenge all the time, so Rewinds wouldn''t be ongoing indefinitely, which meant there would definitely be room and time for Different Dimension Energy recovery.


    Right now, this seemed to be the most viable method.


    Actually, upon further contemplation, it wasn''t impossible for the Exorcists to send someone to protect him. Although he was just a high school senior with no special status, he had helped the Exorcists resolve their recent trouble.


    If Huang Chen proved reliable and applied to his superiors a few times, clarifying his conspicuous role and effective contributions in resolving the Resentful Granny issue, maybe they would send a high-level Exorcist to protect him, right?


    Sure, if Huang Chen turned out to be dependable.


    Smacking his head, a large amount of dust arose from the "High-Energy Collapse" earlier, which not only covered his clothes but also added a layer of gray to his freshly washed hair, now spreading all over his desk.


    "Let''s go, time for a shower and to wash your hair. That ought to give you a good show!" Yan Junze temporarily set aside his concerns, ready to satisfy Ke''er as much as he possibly could.


    "Huh!" Ke''er tilted her head, lying on Yan Junze''s back, her dark fingers continuously playing with the nape of his neck.


    Then, ten minutes later, Yan Junze in the bathroom taking a shower, his naked self covered in soapy foam, suddenly received a message from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Ke''er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Intimate]


    Yan Junze remembered that Ke''er had initially held a "Neutral" attitude towards him, but as they spent more time together, it seemed his habitual head-washing flair had charmed this little red-dressed fan.


    So, the favorability increased to "friendly". Your journey continues on empire


    But now, it''s obvious the favorability has risen again, and it has reached "intimate".


    Thinking about it, this might already be the limit of the evil spirit''s favorability towards me, because after intimacy, it''s not like we could physically commit to each other.


    During dinner, Yan Junze didn''t mention anything about what happened today to avoid worrying his parents.


    As for the possibility of the Resentful Granny really coming in three days, and if there were no exorcist to protect him, he already had plans to move into the school dormitory.


    Currently, there aren''t many students living on campus, and many dorm rooms are vacant, so applying for a dorm would be quick, and he could have a room all to himself, not disturbing anyone else.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn''t say anything about it now, he intended to wait.


    Ke''er, now in an intimate state with Yan Junze, was almost completely obedient to him. Normally, she would lay on top of him, but as soon as he spoke up, Ke''er would slide off obediently and stand aside.


    Then she would quietly follow Yan Junze around.


    Yan Junze had tried this a few times, and it was very effective.


    The next day after class, Yan Junze made a call to Tang Zhengyi, the editor from the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    Tang Zhengyi was somewhat surprised upon hearing that the filming for Spirit Exploration might need to be put on hold, "Why delay?"


    Yan Junze couldn''t possibly tell him that he was being hunted by another extremely ferocious and malevolent strangeness, as the editor might come up with some even more exciting suggestions.


    For example, having Yan Junze wear a camera at all times for a live broadcast of a perfect chase by strangeness.


    "Seems like I caught a cold, not feeling well, need a few days to rest and recuperate," Yan Junze said.


    After a brief silence on the other end, Tang Zhengyi said, "Then take some medicine and rest for a few days, let me know immediately once you recover from the cold. The equipment we invested in can''t be left unused for too long."


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Suddenly, he remembered that he had forgotten to film the task of consuming spirits, but then he thought that even if he had filmed it, it probably couldn''t be uploaded online.


    After all, for many people, evil spirit-eating wouldn''t be immediately acceptable, and broadcasting it might seem like a crazy pursuit of fame.


    At that time, it wouldn''t just draw attention from the general public, but likely even the exorcist higher-ups in Great Capital Huaying would take notice, making it tremendously difficult to undertake other tasks in the future.


    ...


    The countdown to the college entrance examination was getting closer.


    In these days, students rarely talked about other things; the main topics were about studies and the universities they planned to apply to.


    Since his last conversation with Yan Junze on the rooftop, Zhou Dali put away his young heart, completely transforming himself, not only focusing on his cultural studies but also exercising in various ways on the school grounds every day. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, slogans like "Great Capital has Dali, Dali creates miracles" never left his lips.


    After a day at school, Yan Junze suddenly found he had developed a bad habit of frequently checking the time.


    Almost every hour, he would check the time and then calculate in his mind how much was left of the 72 hours.


    That feeling was like setting a countdown to the end of his own world.


    The next day was also spent in this edgy and uneasy mood.


    By the evening of the second day, he planned to "confess" to his parents, using the excuse of wanting to study more thoroughly with his classmates as a pretext to temporarily move into the school dormitory.

 Chapter 71 Zhang Xiaomo

    After dinner, the family sat on the sofa, watching TV.Yan Daguo specifically switched to the Tianmeng District education channel for his son.


    The time had come for the preliminary warming-up stage of college entrance examination applications, and education channels like this one featured introductions to various colleges, as well as experience and policy explanations for application submissions.


    Although the couple themselves couldn''t make much sense of it, they thought their son might find it useful to refer to.


    Yan Daguo didn''t say much, just stared blankly at the introductions to various colleges that seemed very foreign to him, occasionally offering his son completely clueless suggestions.


    Yan Junze was watching absentmindedly when, about half an hour later, he spoke up, "Dad, Mom, I need to discuss something with you."


    "Hmm, what is it?" Yan Daguo picked up the remote and turned down the volume a bit.


    Li Man closed the browser on her phone, placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and focused on her son.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat, about to speak, when suddenly there was a polite knock at the door.


    This knock sounded very courteous, three times in succession, with each knock well-timed and rhythmically spaced, giving the impression that opening the door was a skilled task that required special training.


    All three people in the room were astonished.


    The distant relatives lived in the countryside and rarely came to visit, especially at night.


    Li Man got ready to answer the door, but Yan Junze beat her to it.


    However, just as he was about to get up, Ke''er, who had been lying on his back, suddenly slipped off and scurried into the bathroom, almost crawling on hands and knees.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his first instinct was, could it be the Resentful Granny?


    But the Resentful Granny wasn''t that polite, right? He had never heard of anyone knocking so courteously when coming for revenge.


    Moreover, it had been only two days since the Resentful Granny devoured a ghost. According to the Spacetime Atlas, she shouldn''t manifest until after 72 hours.


    Still, as he opened the door, Yan Junze felt on guard.


    Unexpectedly, a woman stood outside, about one meter seventy tall, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt with a pink Peppa Pig printed on the front, and casual jeans with a rip at the knee, along with a pair of plain white sneakers. In her hand, she carried a portable travel bag.


    This woman looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, but Yan Junze''s first impression was¡­ she must have the wrong door.


    Although Yan Junze had no memory of his predecessor, his subconscious was certain that this woman was not one of his relatives.


    "Are you¡­ Yan Junze?" the woman asked first.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, nodded, "Yes, that''s me. May I ask who you are¡­"


    "I''m a three-star Exorcist from the Tianmeng Exorcist squad, Zhang Xiaomo." The woman revealed a shallow smile, "After Huang Chen reported to us, I was dispatched from above to temporarily protect you... um, for a week."


    "You''re an Exorcist?" Yan Junze opened the door wider, stepped back, and looked at the young girl in front of him with some surprise.


    "Nobody said you had to dress like an Exorcist to be called one," Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    By this time, Yan Daguo and Li Man, hearing the commotion, had already come to the living room door, moments from staring at Zhang Xiaomo, with even Li Man''s eyes flashing a few times.


    "Young lady, who are you looking for?" Li Man asked.


    "Mom, this is the tutor I hired," Yan Junze spoke up first.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment but then nodded with composure.


    "Home tutoring?" The couple was surprised.


    "Yeah." Yan Junze said, "I feel like there''s still a lot lacking in my math, physics, and chemistry, and I''m worried about losing points on the college entrance exam. Didn''t I make some money from shooting that video last time? So, I''ve temporarily hired Teacher Zhang to give me a crash course for a few days."


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled without saying a word.


    "Okay, if our son can find his own inadequacies, we can''t be of much help either." Yan Daguo said with a smile, "How do you plan to review? Tutoring for two hours every night?"


    "Not exactly." Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "It''s like this, because I am... an online tutor, just arrived from out of town, and I temporarily have nowhere to stay in Shuntian City. So, I''m planning to find a quiet place to tutor Yan Junze exclusively for a week, during which he won''t go to school or come home."


    "What?" The couple was stunned.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, "Dad, Mom, you can rest assured, I have no problem with other subjects, I''m now focused on my weak points. I searched online for a long time, and Teacher Zhang has a very good reputation. As long as I review thoroughly this time, it''s possible to score high. I feel... Tianmeng Science University is already waving at me!"


    "Teacher Zhang, please... please come in! Sorry for making you stand outside for so long." Yan Daguo finally reacted and invited Zhang Xiaomo into the house.


    Li Man pulled Yan Junze aside and asked softly, "This... home tutoring seems quite expensive!"


    Read latest chapters on empire


    "Not expensive, not expensive at all, I have money, Mom, you don''t have to worry." Yan Junze gestured dismissively.


    Li Man didn''t say anything else, turned around, and brought Zhang Xiaomo a pair of clean female slippers, while Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo''s travel bag.


    Zhang Xiaomo changed out of her pure white sneakers, squatted down, and meticulously placed her shoes neatly before she got up and walked into the living room.


    Yan Daguo said, "I''ll put your travel bag in the bedroom. So, you and Ze''s mom can sleep in the master bedroom, and Ze and I..."


    "No need." Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, interrupting him, "I''ll just make do on the sofa in the living room for tonight."


    "You sleep in my room tonight, I''ll sleep in the living room," Yan Junze offered.


    The couple didn''t say anything more. Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo''s travel bag to Yan Junze''s bedroom, and when he came back, Li Man had already poured a cup of hot tea for Zhang Xiaomo.


    After sitting in the living room for a while, Yan Junze used the excuse that Zhang Xiaomo needed to understand his academic foundation, and the two went into the small bedroom. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After they left, Li Man said to Yan Daguo, "Don''t let our son get deceived by someone. There are many scam home tutors online now."


    Yan Daguo shook his head, "Our son has grown up, and his studies aren''t bad. Whether this tutor is competent or not, he knows better than us, don''t worry!"


    Inside the bedroom.


    "Home tutoring? You really came up with a good one." Zhang Xiaomo laughed.


    Yan Junze shrugged, "Had to. I can''t let Mom and Dad worry. By the way, you said we shouldn''t go to school or come home for these seven days, so where should we go?"


    "I only provide protection, you need to arrange the rest," Zhang Xiaomo said as she opened her travel bag and began to unpack her belongings.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then made a phone call to Zhou Dali.


    A moment later, Zhou Dali returned the call.


    After a brief conversation and hanging up, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, "A classmate of mine has a relative who runs a real estate agency, he''s agreed to provide us with a temporary rental for the next few days, but it''s in the suburbs."


    "The suburbs are just fine," Zhang Xiaomo said, "Although Granny Ren is only targeting you, we should try not to involve people close to you. Family and classmates are both off-limits."

 Chapter 72 The Seal

    "Where is the bathroom?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.Yan Junze pointed to the room opposite the bedroom door outside.


    Zhang Xiaomo set down her travel bag, walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, turned on the light, and closed the door.


    Yan Junze suddenly startled, he then remembered that just a moment before, the "Early Warning Bell" Ke''er had sneaked in there, and his heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    Although this woman seemed harmless to both humans and animals, damn it, she was a three-star Exorcist! If she encountered Ke''er inside, Ke''er would definitely be in great danger!


    With this thought, he immediately followed her out and arrived at the bathroom door.


    He could only hate that he hadn''t set a "Rewind" properly before; otherwise, he could have gone straight back to tell Ke''er to run away.


    After listening for a while, there didn''t seem to be any strange noises, and then the bathroom door suddenly opened.


    At the bathroom entrance, Zhang Xiaomo''s gaze met Yan Junze''s.


    Neither of them spoke.


    In this moment, Yan Junze knew from Zhang Xiaomo''s calm eyes that Ke''er was not in the bathroom.


    It seemed that this little girl''s ability to "smell trouble and flee" had improved, which was good news for him.


    In the future, even if Zhang Xiaomo were to leave, if the Resentful Granny wanted to catch him off guard for revenge, she would have to consult with Ke''er''s little short legs for approval.


    Before going to sleep, Yan Junze was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when he heard Zhang Xiaomo and her mother Li Man whispering in the corridor outside.


    "Auntie, how does Yan Junze usually behave?" This was the question from Zhang Xiaomo.


    "My son is very obedient, studies well, has good daily habits, goes to classes on time, completes his homework and review on time, and his recent test scores have improved a lot, without the need for us to push him..." Li Man immediately sang high praise for her son.


    Had Zhang Xiaomo not interrupted, she probably could have talked for half an hour.


    "Does he have a girlfriend? Or maybe has a secret crush on a female classmate or something?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Li Man clearly paused for a moment, then shook her head.


    "Does he have the habit of lurking in bathrooms, particularly... the girls'' bathroom?"


    Yan Junze, who was washing his face, froze.


    He suspected that after all the beating around the bush, this question from Zhang Xiaomo was the real point.


    Was it just because he had been afraid Ke''er was in danger earlier and had listened at the bathroom door for a while that she had to be so suspicious?


    After listening for quite some time, there was no sound from Li Man''s side, and he guessed she didn''t know how to respond.


    Pretending he heard nothing, he finished washing up, used the toilet, and went back to his bedroom to grab his bedding. By then, Zhang Xiaomo had changed into a cute bear-patterned pink pajama set and was sitting on the bed organizing her things.


    In that moment, it felt like she was completely disconnected from her identity as an Exorcist.


    Yan Junze grabbed the bedding his mother had prepared for him and was about to leave when Zhang Xiaomo said, "Tonight is just an exception. After we move to the rental tomorrow, for the next seven days, we must sleep in the same room."


    As she spoke, she opened her travel bag, took out some clothes to organize, and then... pulled out a short knife about one-third of a meter long with a blade that gleamed brightly.


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment and said, "What''s this? If I don''t sleep in the same room as you, are you going to use that knife on me?"


    Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, "This is a Three-Star Exorcist''s weapon and as for us sharing a room, it''s so I can protect you around the clock."


    Yan Junze then noticed that the hilt of the short sword was inlaid with something very familiar. Upon closer inspection, he pointed at the short sword in surprise, "That''s... a Hidden Buckle."


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Exorcists below Two-Star can''t fully unleash the Hidden Buckle''s power and can only use it in the most primitive way¡ªby throwing it. Actually, the Hidden Buckle''s full power is only realized when it''s embedded in a magnetic knife, but if one''s physique isn''t up to par, they can''t control the magnetic knife, especially one embedded with a Hidden Buckle."


    "I see," Yan Junze said as if he had an epiphany, "Do all Exorcists have physiques close to strangenesses?"


    "Yes, they must have such a physique," Zhang Xiaomo said as she placed the short sword under her pillow and covered it with the pillow. "But only Exorcists of Three-Star or above can perform Spirit Communication, which is commonly known as Seeing Ghosts."


    Yan Junze said, "So you''re saying that ''Spirit Communication,'' this live skill, someone like Huang Chen, a One-Star Exorcist, can''t do it at all."


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Right, for instance, the little strangeness I ran into in the bathroom just now¡ªif it wanted to, it could stand right in front of Huang Chen and he wouldn''t see it."


    "What?!" Yan Junze''s body jolted. He had never expected that Zhang Xiaomo would have seen Ke''er.


    Trying not to show his shock too obviously, he deliberately coughed a few times and feigned composure, "There was... strangeness in the bathroom? Then you... what did you do with that... strangeness?"


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled mysteriously, "This little one has very little resentment and probably means no harm to your family, so I... took... her..."


    At this point, she deliberately slowed down her speech and then suddenly asked, "Why are your pupils dilating?"


    "Not at all," Yan Junze forced a smile, but he knew he couldn''t help but worry about Ke''er''s safety.


    Moreover, it was clear that Zhang Xiaomo was very perceptive and he had definitely left some clues in front of her.


    "I sealed her in the bathroom," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    "She wasn''t killed then," Yan Junze breathed a slight sigh of relief.


    "But in no more than half an hour, she will completely dissipate," added Zhang Xiaomo.


    From the moment Zhang Xiaomo left the bathroom to when Yan Junze went in to wash up and use the toilet, then returned to the bedroom for their conversation, Yan Junze hadn''t thought to check the exact time. But it seemed possible that half an hour might have already passed.


    In that moment, he couldn''t stay calm anymore. Putting down the bedding in his hand, he asked, "Where is she sealed?


    "Inside the cabinet under the washbasin," came the reply.


    "How do you unseal it?"


    "I only sealed the space inside the cabinet; just carry the little one out to break the seal," she answered.


    Yan Junze rushed out of the bedroom to the bathroom, turned on the light, and immediately dashed to the washbasin.


    Underneath the washbasin was a narrow double-door cabinet, which normally housed laundry detergent, bath products, spare towels, and other items.


    Crouching down, as soon as he opened it, he saw Ke''er with her limbs completely twisted, crammed inside like a stuffed doll, her whole face buried under her limbs and not visible.


    Faint purple ripples emanated from the space inside the cabinet.


    Yan Junze immediately reached in, grabbed Ke''er, and pulled her out forcefully without a second thought. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ke''er let out an unintelligible yah-yah sound as if very angry, but without any strength to resist, her body slumped weakly into Yan Junze''s arms.


    Yan Junze knew that in front of this Three-Star Exorcist, some things simply couldn''t be concealed. He simply carried her and went back to the bedroom.


    Zhang Xiaomo''s expression was calm; she seemed to have confirmed something and was still sitting on the bed when she said, "Tell me, what is your relationship with her?"

 Chapter 73 Knowledge Handbook

    "How did you find out?" Yan Junze didn''t answer Zhang Xiaomo but asked her instead."I noticed it the moment I entered your house," Zhang Xiaomo shrugged. "There is a faint Yin Energy on you. It''s not very strong, but it''s clearly the result of spending a long time with an Evil Spirit."


    "She doesn''t harm me, we have a good relationship," Yan Junze placed Ke''er on the bedding he had just thrown on the floor.


    Ke''er remained curled up in a ball, babbling unconsciously.


    "Being with a Wandering Spirit like this for an extended period can harm your body," Zhang Xiaomo warned.


    "I haven''t felt it."


    "What I''m talking about is... it will definitely shorten your life."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment.


    "Don''t think I''m just scaring you with extreme statements," Zhang Xiaomo said. "We Exorcists of three stars and above, if we really want to subdue an Evil Spirit, we use objects to contain them, not keep them by our side like you do every day."


    "Let me correct you," Yan Junze lifted his head. "I didn''t bring her along with me. She just clings directly onto my back."


    Zhang Xiaomo''s expression stiffened.


    "But your advice seems quite sensible, so I''ll consider it," Yan Junze added, "What about Ke''er now?"


    "Ke''er?" Zhang Xiaomo looked at the incoherent Ke''er and said, "No worries, as long as she is out of my seal space, she''ll be fine after some rest. But this Wandering Spirit is very weak. During these days I''m with you, it''s best not to let her get close to us, or even the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic knife alone will weaken her."


    "That''s not a problem," Yan Junze nodded. "Then I''ll take her to the living room now, and as long as you don''t bring the magnetic knife there, it should be fine."


    At that moment, he was considering whether to directly place Ke''er into his Spacetime Atlas, just like the Crawling Corpse. That way, Ke''er wouldn''t be exposed in front of a high-level Exorcist, and he wouldn''t bear the risk of reduced lifespan anymore.


    Now, every second Ke''er spends with Zhang Xiaomo is another moment of danger.


    With that, Yan Junze immediately picked up the bedding and carried Ke''er to the living room.


    By now, his parents had already gone to their bedroom, and the living room was empty.


    After settling Ke''er on the sofa and making sure she started to stabilize, Yan Junze lay down on another sofa, ready to turn off the lights and sleep.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly entered the living room, clapping her hands to indicate she didn''t bring the magnetic knife.


    "The video you uploaded was quite impressive," she poured herself a cup of cool boiled water and took a sip. "I must say, you''re quite bold for a regular person,"


    Yan Junze nodded but said nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo, unconcerned, spoke in a lower voice, "Before coming here, I listened to Huang Chen''s introduction about you and reviewed some video material related to you. Hmm, for now, we can confirm that you have a certain Supernatural constitution, but a detailed inspection is needed for an accurate conclusion."


    "I''m not considering any inspections in the short term," Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t answer, but the sound of flipping paper could be heard.


    Yan Junze lay on the sofa without turning his head to look, but after a moment, he felt someone shake his shoulder. He slightly lifted the blanket to see Zhang Xiaomo standing beside him, holding a cup of water in one hand and an A4 paper in the other, which she passed to him.


    "Don''t go to sleep just yet, memorize the contents of this paper as quickly as you can, read it over multiple times."


    Yan Junze took the A4 paper, glanced at the text, and mumbled, "Couldn''t you just text me this information on my phone?"


    "This is a secret, don''t put it on the internet." Zhang Xiaomo finished her glass of water in one gulp and turned to go back to the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat up, stretched out the paper, and found that it was printed with some strange knowledge, aimed at giving those being protected a rough understanding, so that they wouldn''t panic when encountering the supernatural and act blindly.


    Although it was just a sheet of paper, it could tentatively be considered a manual of sorts.


    After a careful look, he understood that the strange knowledge he needed to form in his mind could be categorized from low to high into two types: the Wandering Spirits and the Sculpting Spirits.


    Wandering Spirits were also divided into three levels: high, medium, and low, but even within the same level system, the strength of Wandering Spirits could vary greatly. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Usually, a high-level Wandering Spirit could create E and D level supernatural incidents, while a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Resentful Granny could create C level supernatural incidents, and even B level ones.


    As for the actual Sculpting Spirits, they seemed to be rare at present.


    However, after analyzing the information on the paper, Yan Junze found that it wasn''t very abundant. If a three-star exorcist like Zhang Xiaomo could deal with a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, then a four-star exorcist should be able to handle Sculpting Spirit level strangenesses.


    In that case, what''s the need for a five-star exorcist?


    From what Huang Chen had told him, Yan Junze knew that exorcists could only reach up to a five-star level, which meant, according to the information provided on the paper, that a four-star exorcist should be able to deal with anything below a Sculpting Spirit level.


    So, Yan Junze deduced that there might be even more dangerous strangenesses above the Sculpting Spirits. Otherwise, five-star exorcists would spend their days with nothing to do, perhaps even pondering participation in the Most Beautiful Exorcist Beauty Pageant.


    He also considered it fortunate that he was targeted by a Resentful Granny, a Semi-Sculpting Spirit. Otherwise, he was certain that he would never have accessed any information about the level of Sculpting Spirits.


    The text also warned that an exorcist''s Hidden Buckle should not be used in crowded places unless absolutely necessary, as the energy backlash could cause minor harm to people.


    At this point, Huang Chen''s ears might be red from the scolding they would have received from Yan Junze.


    To this day, Yan Junze still remembered the scene of himself stuck against the window after the "High-Energy Collapse" exploded.


    Of course, Huang Chen did do some reliable things, like arranging for a three-star exorcist to protect him.


    The last few lines of the text were three warnings:


    1. If you realize that the scenario you''re currently experiencing contains any unnatural elements, or situations you can''t control, don''t hesitate, please flee immediately.


    2. The strangeness caused by Wandering Spirits is obvious, and even someone who hasn''t graduated from elementary school could easily differentiate it. But the strangeness caused by Sculpting Spirits usually looks very ordinary; it''s only upon closer inspection that one falls under their deadly influence.


    3. Once targeted by a Sculpting Spirit, run if you can. Don''t delude yourself into resisting, unless you are an exorcist.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo said, Yan Junze read and reread the paper many times, and now he had a clear grasp of some previously vague concepts.


    And those life-saving methods, he committed to memory very seriously.


    He didn''t know how many times he had read it before he realized it was nearly two o''clock.


    He folded the paper and put it away, quickly stood up to turn off the light, then lay back down on the couch.


    Ke''er seemed to have recovered and soon crawled up using all fours, laying on Yan Junze''s back and hugging him proficiently.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, and although he was somewhat reluctant to release Ke''er from his embrace, he still decided to activate the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock."


    Ke''er showed no resistance and shrank visibly. She was quickly absorbed into the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, joining the Crawling Corpse together.

 Chapter 74 Reckless and Varied Tactics

    With the presence of a three-star Exorcist, Yan Junze''s previously uneasy heart finally settled down, and sleepiness crept up on him without notice, swiftly falling into a deep slumber.The next morning, the alarm on his cellphone rang out.


    Yan Junze hadn''t gotten enough sleep and knew that for the next week, he wouldn''t be able to attend school, but he had forgotten to turn off the alarm.


    Groggily getting up, he saw that his mother and Zhang Xiaomo had already gotten out of bed and were sitting at the dining table.


    Everything was as usual.


    Yan Daguo had left home early, Li Man had prepared breakfast, and Zhang Xiaomo was already seated at the dining table eating her share.


    "Auntie, did you make this pickled vegetable yourself? It smells so good!"


    "Brought it from my hometown."


    "Hmm, paired with the noodle soup you made, it''s simply a delight of this world."


    "Then eat more, have Ze''s portion as well, I''ll go cook another bowl."


    "There''s no need for that."


    The two of them chatted while eating.


    Since he was awake, Yan Junze didn''t plan on going back to sleep.


    After washing up in the bathroom and coming out, Zhang Xiaomo had finished eating and was wiping her mouth.


    Yan Junze noticed that the short knife she had placed under her pillow at night was now neatly placed on the dining table, sheathed in leather, making it look more like a delicate toy than a knife at first glance.


    Sitting down and taking a sip of the noodle soup his mother had just served him, Yan Junze spoke indistinctly to Zhang Xiaomo, "I''ll go with you after I eat."


    "Okay."


    Zhang Xiaomo stood up, and with a touch of her finger, the knife, barely peeking over the edge of the table, sprung up, spun in the air, and was casually caught in her hand as she turned and went into the bedroom to change clothes.


    Li Man, who was drinking soup, almost spat it out, not until Zhang Xiaomo closed the bedroom door did she say, "I somehow feel she isn''t like a teacher who tutors in math and science, but more like one who teaches martial arts."


    Yan Junze also nodded in agreement, "That knife is really sharp, uh no, Teacher Zhang is really flexible!"


    He didn''t notice anything wrong with what he said, nor did he notice the meaningful look Li Man was giving him.


    "Son, the college entrance exam is coming up, there are some things..." Li Man felt that at this critical time, it was necessary to awaken her son with her own experiences from that time.


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze slurped up the noodles quickly and wiped his mouth.


    Zhang Xiaomo emerged from the bedroom, still dressed as she was the day before, the short knife sheathed in its leather scabbard and hung on the side of a cross-body bag, which if not looked at closely, might be mistaken for a mere accessory.


    Yan Junze estimated with his eyes that the short knife could just fit in the bag.


    He went back to the bedroom to pack up his textbooks and put on his backpack, picked up some change of clothes Li Man had prepared for him, said goodbye to Li Man, and the two of them left.


    As they were leaving, Li Man kept instructing them from behind.


    No matter what, in Li Man''s eyes, her son always seemed like he was about to fall into an inescapable internet scam.


    "If you can''t go to school, how will you attend classes these next few days?" Zhang Xiaomo asked casually as they walked. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "When it''s time for class, I''ll have Dali open a video feed for me, and I''ll listen to the teacher on my phone, it''s the same thing," Yan Junze said.


    It''s best not to go to school looking like this.


    Because if a strange incident is confirmed to be about to happen, schools usually seal off an area for the safety of other students, or like last time when Zhang Tiantian got possessed, they let out early.


    Right now, I am essentially a walking potential strange incident, so it''s better not to go to crowded places for the time being.


    The two left the FH Community and arrived at the bus stop on the street, soon catching the 803 bus heading to the outskirts.


    Since it was headed toward the suburban area, there weren''t many people boarding at this time, and there were plenty of seats available.


    Sitting toward the back of the bus, Yan Junze said, "My classmate has already contacted me, the rental is in a place called Rock, and the landlord lives there too."


    "Mhm," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Besides the rental place, don''t go anywhere unfamiliar alone these days, especially crowded places. That way, if something unexpected happens, you''ll have the best chance of escaping in a familiar environment."


    Yan Junze nodded in agreement to this point and remained silent.


    It was 21 stops from FH Community to Rock, and some of the roads beyond the city turned rough, making the bus start to jolt.


    "What are you reciting?" Zhang Xiaomo noticed Yan Junze''s lips moving continuously, muttering some unclear words.


    "Memorizing formulas, and some weird USA grammatical structures," Yan Junze said with a wry smile, "It''s a bit easier to remember these things in the early morning."


    Although his knowledge was not bad in the past life, he now realized that he had forgotten a lot of high school material. The information he needed to memorize now mostly belonged to the category that was rarely used and very niche after learning.


    This indicates that in this world, content that leans toward test-oriented education still exists, and in the actual application process, a lot of it is unused.


    "Did you watch the videos I shot?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yeah, you really have some nerve," Zhang Xiaomo said, "During ''Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,'' it was all amateur Spirit Investigators, and you delved too deep unlike other videos that just barely scratched the surface and only aimed to catch the eye. And you even fancied getting rid of the strangeness there, you just got lucky."


    "I felt the same," Yan Junze nodded.


    Ever since that time, he decided he would strictly control the depth and the storytelling exploration in future videos. Of course, the ability to ''Rewind'' time would not allow any clues to be revealed during the shooting process.


    After hesitating for a moment, he voiced the doubt in his mind, "How much do you know about people like me, who are always with spirits?"


    "Not a lot, but there are some," Zhang Xiaomo said, "There are also those who are slowly tormented to death by evil spirits, which is to say, having their lifespan reduced to a negative number. Some people have very strong Strange Bodies; much stronger than yours, but they can''t become Exorcists."


    "Why not?"


    "One type of people is naturally timid, to the point where they can scare themselves to death, and the other type has an extraordinary constitution, yet refuse to become Exorcists."


    "So, it''s not that they are afraid of strangenesses, but of death?"


    "Not really."


    "Then what are they afraid of?"


    "On the contrary, they''re not afraid of anything," Zhang Xiaomo''s eyes flashed with a barely perceptible fear, "These people''s Strange Bodies are incredibly strong, and their affinity with evil spirits goes far beyond ordinary people''s imagination. After frequent contact with evil spirits, not only will their lifespan not decrease, but they will also become extremely terrifying."


    "How terrifying?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "The creators of S-Class supernatural incidents," Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    "Damn, aren''t S-Class incidents caused by strangenesses?" Yan Junze blurted out, surprised.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "The world is very complex, much more complex than you can imagine. Our Exorcist team can only temporarily hold back the strangenesses in the Great Capital. What you don''t know is that in places like USA and elsewhere, there are far more terrifying and bizarre supernatural phenomena."

 Chapter 75 Day One

    The bus on Route 803 had been running for about an hour and twenty minutes before it finally arrived at a suburb called "Rock."In Yan Junze''s view, it wasn''t particularly remote, sort of like the area where the city blends with the countryside.


    There were many newly built houses, but there were just as many old streets and short bungalows, and the rental house that Zhou Dali arranged for Yan Junze was a shabby two-story self-built house.


    The landlord was named Lin Dong, a man in his fifties with already graying hair. Lin Dong''s wife had passed away, and his children worked in other cities, typically only returning once a year.


    Most of the time, this uncle just looked after his self-built house, renting out the extra rooms to gather some company, while spending his days playing chess and chatting with the neighbors outside.


    After getting off the bus, Yan Junze looked up to check if the address matched the street numbers.


    Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile behind him, "If you flunk your college entrance exams and are looking to scrape by, I can give you a letter of recommendation. You could go for an interview and a check-up at our Exorcists''. Given how close you and Ke''er seem, you might just be a promising seedling."


    Yan Junze laughed, "No way, after the college entrance exam, if you want to find me, you can go to Tianmeng Science University. Hmm, the address seems to be right ahead."


    The first morning revision class had already started, but Yan Junze couldn''t make it in time to follow live. He could only ask Zhou Dali to record it and send it to him later to study.


    The two of them walked up the winding little street that stretched from the main road all the way to the top of the hill, with houses everywhere, though few people were seen.


    The majority of young people had left to find work, and it appeared that some houses were simply uninhabited.


    When they reached what seemed like halfway up the hill, they saw Lin Dong waiting at the door.


    Lin Dong was dressed carelessly, his hair greasy, currently looking bored as he stood at the door picking his nose and flicking it onto the ground.


    Usually, young people who work in the city prefer these suburban houses because they are cheap, plus the transportation is convenient, and they aren''t very far from the city center.


    With a bit of effort throughout the year, they could save a lot of money.


    "Here are the keys, you''ll be living on the first floor, the second floor is already rented out," Lin Dong handed Yan Junze two keys, talking as if they were old acquaintances.


    Yan Junze took the keys cautiously, afraid that the landlord''s boogers might have stuck on them.


    "Where do you live, landlord?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Next door." Lin Dong pointed to the adjoining house that looked relatively well-kept. "Go in and take a look. If you''re missing any household items, you can buy them at the Boom Supermarket at the end of the street; they basically have everything."


    "When you decide to stay, I''ll come over to collect the rent in half an hour. If not, return the keys to me next door." Lin Dong didn''t say much else and turned to go back to his own place next door.


    "Thank you," Yan Junze said while he took apart the keys and handed one to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo, mimicking his previous action, carefully checked the key and didn''t immediately reach out to take it.


    Yan Junze said, "It''s fine, there''s no..."


    Before he could finish, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly took the key with relief.


    "What, not afraid it has boogers on it anymore?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It does, but not on this key," Zhang Xiaomo pocketed her key.


    "Fuck!" Yan Junze only then noticed a lump of booger that had somehow stuck on the back of his own hand and quickly flung his hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo, startled, dodged to one side, desperately hoping to avoid being hit by accident.


    They stood stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.


    "There are quite a few people here," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Her implication was that the place was not very isolated.


    ```


    At least someone was living on the second floor, and if anything went awry, it might affect other people.


    Yan Junze nodded, took out his phone to check the time, and, seeing it was break time between classes, he called Zhou Dali, "Dali, this place isn''t very remote, is it?"


    "I asked my uncle, and this is already the best match for your requirements," Zhou Dali said on the other end of the phone. "Besides, the rent is cheap, and there aren''t many people nearby."


    "I see the buildings across the street are empty; it''s actually this place that has neighbors and such," Yan Junze remarked.


    "But they''re not renting out, I can''t help it," Zhou Dali replied, sounding helpless.


    Yan Junze had put the call on speaker, so Zhang Xiaomo could hear as well.


    After hanging up, the two exchanged glances.


    "Let''s settle in first," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Opening the door, they walked around inside for a bit.


    The exterior of the house was simple, but the old-style furniture inside was still usable¡ªthey were only staying for seven days so they weren''t concerned about the quality.


    The house was small, with a living room that doubled as a kitchen and a bedroom¡ªtogether, probably only about thirty-five or thirty-six square meters.


    However, there was no bathroom inside; there was a toilet outside shared with the second-floor tenants, which was a bit more convenient for them since those residents had to come downstairs to use it.


    Still lacking essentials like towels and toiletries, once they decided to rent the place, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went next door to give Lin Dong the agreed-upon seven days'' rent.


    Then, they headed to Boom Supermarket to buy the necessary living supplies.


    Of course, it was Yan Junze who paid.


    Having an exorcist team send a three-star exorcist to protect him without asking him to pay for the protection fee was pretty good already; he couldn''t possibly use Zhang Xiaomo''s money.


    Back at the rented house, Zhang Xiaomo began to tidy up and clean, while Yan Junze watched the class videos that Zhou Dali had sent over again and made some notes.


    During the process, Zhang Xiaomo didn''t ask Yan Junze for help, quietly doing the cleaning and organizing herself, but she didn''t step out of the house either, always buzzing around Yan Junze, which could be said to be very diligent.


    Of course, Yan Junze was well aware of the Spacetime Atlas''s hint that Resentful Granny would begin her revenge after 72 hours, starting at 17:54 in the afternoon.


    That meant if Resentful Granny was to start her revenge, it would also be after 17:54 today.


    For the moment, he was safe.


    For lunch, the two cooked up two packs of instant noodles, accompanied by their instant noodles consort¡ªShuanggang brand ham sausages.


    In the afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo prepared to cook a sour soup hotpot, having bought all the hotpot ingredients.


    Soon it was five o''clock, and Yan Junze''s heart started to feel restless. Even though he was helping with washing the vegetables, his eyes were constantly vigilant of his surroundings.


    However, to his relief, Zhang Xiaomo''s short knife never left her side, even when her hands were full¡ªshe kept it tucked at her waist, ready to use at any moment.


    The two had dinner while it was still light outside, but it was already past six. At that point, any slight rustle outside would instantly put Yan Junze on high alert, ready for action.


    He couldn''t hide his feelings from Zhang Xiaomo''s eyes. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After dinner, Zhang Xiaomo washed the dishes while Yan Junze sat on the nearly peeling fabric sofa in the living room and called his mother.


    After hanging up, he heard Zhang Xiaomo say, "I feel like you''re much more nervous now than this morning. Don''t be too tense, the Semi-Sculpting Spirit isn''t monitoring you every second, we just need to be careful and on guard."


    Actually, by that time, Yan Junze had already activated the Rewind timeline, with a cycle of 4 hours for continuous rewinding.


    ```

 Chapter 76 Day Two

    After the couple finished eating and cleaning up, the tenants upstairs came back.They were a young couple who both worked in Shuntian City and only returned to their suburban rental after getting off work.


    Both of them appeared very frugal, dressed simply and ordinarily, just looking a bit tired and awkward, likely young people who had just entered the workforce after graduating from college.


    Seeing that new neighbors had moved in downstairs, the two smiled at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, who sat in the outer room, but neither side spoke.


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo closed the door.


    Although the air in the suburbs was very good, for the moment, taking a walk after dinner was strictly off-limits.


    In the bedroom inside, Yan Junze pretended to review his lessons, but his mind was already elsewhere.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo laid out new sheets on the only bed, switching out the bedding.


    She removed the old bedding cover and replaced it with a new one, then placed the bedding in the center of the bed, piled firmly, to serve as a divider between the two for sleeping.


    Yan Junze was also aware that Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned the night before that starting tonight, they must sleep together.


    She needed to provide the utmost protection for Yan Junze.


    Actually, Yan Junze could have slept on the floor, but the ground on the first floor was very damp and unsuitable for laying out bedding.


    So, the two reached a mutual understanding on this matter without much discussion.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who loved cleanliness, sprayed some fresh perfume on the bedding and in the room, causing Yan Junze to sneeze several times.


    Because he had gone to bed late the night before, Yan Junze went to bed early.


    He slept on the right side of the bed, while Zhang Xiaomo sat on the left side, leaning against the headboard, flipping through her phone.


    Under other circumstances, Yan Junze might have been influenced by this ambiguous atmosphere, sharing a bed with a beautiful girl he had met just one day ago¡ªa situation that would keep any teenager brimming with youth and hormones awake with excitement.


    But his mind wasn''t on such thoughts at the time.


    He simply felt very safe, and the two maintained a good understanding without a word.


    During that time, they could hear the busy footsteps of the couple upstairs, but after a while, Yan Junze drifted off into a deep sleep without realizing it.


    When he woke up, it was broad daylight.


    Nothing had happened on the first day.


    The couple upstairs had hurried off to work in the city early and were silent.


    Zhang Xiaomo was cooking noodles in the outer room, and the aroma of the water-boiled noodles entered Yan Junze''s nostrils. He sat up, adjusted his mindset, and prepared to face the next few days with a positive attitude amidst his uneasy emotions.


    However, the day passed uneventfully as usual.


    There was nothing unusual in the rental house.


    Yan Junze''s main task was to review and watch the lecture videos sent by Zhou Dali, while Zhang Xiaomo was busy finding things to do, rarely disturbing him.


    Yan Junze found it hard to believe that Zhang Xiaomo wasn''t much older, but she was very adept at household chores, showing no sign of unfamiliarity.


    In the words of a typical male chauvinist, the dishes she cooked were full of a mother''s flavor.


    Of course, if Zhang Xiaomo knew what Yan Junze was thinking, she would have given him a beautiful backhand chop and killed him on the spot.


    Around noon, the landlord Lin Dong dropped by to see if the couple had any difficulties needing assistance since they had just arrived, aiming to exhibit the warmth expected of a local.


    After a few causal inquiries, Lin Dong left to play chess at Old Li''s place on the street corner.


    Just like the previous day, the couple upstairs came back soon after dinner.


    This time they seemed to feel a bit more familiar with Yan Junze and his company. The square-faced man spoke first, "You guys have eaten so early, we''ve only just got home."


    Zhang Xiaomo did not respond.


    Yan Junze said, "It''s you who have it tough, commuting back and forth every day."


    "No choice," the man laughed, "to save money."


    His petite girlfriend also smiled and said, "We''re going upstairs to cook."


    Footsteps ascended the stairs, the opening and closing of doors, followed by the sound of changing shoes; the soundproofing was very poor.


    Yan Junze suspected that if those two were doing some unspeakable things upstairs, a slight lack of attention might allow everything to be heard loud and clear downstairs.


    With that thought, things became somewhat awkward.


    He didn''t know if they had done anything last night, as he had gone to sleep early and hadn''t heard anything.


    He glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was glued to her phone. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would pull out her phone and keep scrolling endlessly.


    She was nothing like the literary young women who would sit quietly reading a book when there was nothing else to do; instead, she was a completely different kind of person.


    Now, Yan Junze was wondering if having this three-star Exorcist by his side was scaring the Resentful Granny into not appearing at all.


    But this wasn''t necessarily a good thing. Zhang Xiaomo had made it very clear that she would only protect him for seven days. If the Resentful Granny dared to show up only after those seven days, then he wouldn''t achieve his goal.


    The best outcome would be to leverage Zhang Xiaomo''s power to eliminate the Resentful Granny during this time. That was the result Yan Junze most wanted to see.


    Lying in bed, because of the quilt in the middle of the bed, unless Zhang Xiaomo on the other side sat up, Yan Junze couldn''t see her.


    Of course, he could see her now because Zhang Xiaomo was leaning against the headboard, scrolling on her phone.


    "How many Evil Spirits have you killed?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was looking down at her phone, had her shoulder-length short hair hanging down, covering half of her face and revealing her pale cheek skin. From the side, her profile looked very delicate.


    She continued to stare at her phone, replying, "Probably around eighteen or nineteen, I can''t quite remember."


    "Have you ever encountered any danger?" Yan Junze asked again.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly turned off her phone''s screen, turned her face towards the lying Yan Junze, and said seriously, "Actually... I really don''t know what safety is."


    "Understood," Yan Junze nodded, closing his eyes.


    Just the fact that Huang Chen had mentioned his mentor, a two-star Exorcist, died at the hands of the Resentful Granny, indicated that being an Exorcist was extremely dangerous, almost always skating on the edge of death.


    The night had deepened.


    There were only a few streets at Rock, and during the late hours, only the main road had dim streetlights. The rest of the streets were pitch black.


    After returning from Old Li''s house, Lin Dong walked on the empty street, humming a tune, staggering along with an uneven gait.


    After the chess game, he had a few drinks with Old Li over some dishes. The alcohol was still coursing through him, keeping his spirits high.


    However, he was so familiar with the area that even though he was a bit tipsy, he soon reached his own doorstep and took out his keys to unlock the door.


    Groping for the light switch, he pressed it only to find the light didn''t come on.


    Lin Dong cursed under his breath and pressed the switch a few more times to no avail.


    He then pulled out his phone from his pocket. Not knowing how to turn on the flashlight feature, he simply lit the screen of the phone and, with the dim light it provided, walked into the house. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The door closed slowly behind him.


    Groping his way through the living room, he reached the TV cabinet, let out a burp from the booze, squatted down, and opened the drawer to search for candles.


    Lin Dong remembered that because places like Rock frequently had power outages, it was essential for every household to have candles for emergencies.


    He was sure his memory wasn''t wrong and that the candles were in this drawer, but after searching, he found it empty.


    Standing up, and with the light from his phone screen, Lin Dong suddenly saw a short, dark figure standing at the corner of the TV cabinet, facing away from him, shoulders trembling slightly.


    Lin Dong was immediately stupefied, his drunkenness sobering up considerably.


    Because the figure''s back looked very much like his spouse who had died years earlier.


    He raised his phone up so that the screen light could shine farther and more clearly, and asked with a trembling voice, "Ping... Ping?"


    Drip, drip, drip...


    What was that sound falling onto the floor, ceaselessly dropping?


    Lin Dong looked down and saw that beneath the feet of the person in front of him, candle wax, white candle wax, was constantly dripping.


    At that moment, he thought he knew where the candles had gone.


    After hearing Lin Dong''s voice, the figure slowly turned its head around.


    What Lin Dong saw was the face of an unfamiliar old woman, her mouth stuffed full of white candles. As she chewed, bits of candle and dripping wax continuously flowed from the corners of her mouth.

 Chapter 77 Two Tasks

    He slept soundly until daylight.When Yan Junze woke up, Zhang Xiaomo was taking out the trash.


    After coming back, she said to Yan Junze, "The girl on the second floor isn''t going to work today, so keep your voice down, the sound insulation here is not good."


    "How do you know the sound insulation is bad?" Yan Junze got out of bed, not noticing that Zhang Xiaomo''s face was slightly flushed. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anyway, he felt that he had been sleeping well these past two days, probably because he had an exorcist by his side, so he didn''t need to be constantly on edge. Plus, this was already the third day, and it seemed like Resentful Granny truly didn''t dare to show up.


    "I''m making potato noodles, do you want some?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "A bowl for me, thanks!" Yan Junze often had the illusion that Zhang Xiaomo could have been a high-level nanny if it weren''t for her exorcism career.


    After getting up and going to the other room to wash up, Zhang Xiaomo was beside him, cooking the noodles and adding seasonings.


    After putting the noodles into the boiling soup, Zhang Xiaomo said, "I''ve been observing for the past two days, and there''s a strangeness in the unoccupied building at the end of the street, fourth from the last. It''s best not to walk by there if it''s not necessary."


    While washing his face, Yan Junze paused for a second, having forgotten that this was a remote suburban area at the edge of the city, where strange events were no rarity.


    However, it seemed that these strange events shouldn''t have a big impact on the area, otherwise they would also be lining up for processing by the exorcists.


    Still curious, Yan Junze dried his face towel while opening the "Perception of Strange Events."


    Currently, he felt his progress in unlocking the Spacetime Atlas was still insufficient, the atlas only revealing the tip of the iceberg. It was evident that many nodes and timelines remained unopened.


    As for skills, for the time being, he had only mastered "Perception of Strange Events" and "Evil Spirit Solid Lock." He could guess that there must be many more skills yet to be unlocked in the unlit parts of the atlas.


    Therefore, if time and conditions permitted, Yan Junze was interested in completing more temporary tasks to accumulate more Different Dimension Energy and light up the nodes of the atlas.


    Just as "Perception of Strange Events" was activated, a text message immediately flashed in his mind.


    "[Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional cross-wave bands, analyzing...]"


    "[Coordinates confirmed: Rock Old Street No. 39.]"


    "[Mission name: The Hanged Woman;"


    "Mission level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);"


    "Mission background: After Ye Zhennan''s six-year-old son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, the couple fell into endless grief. Her husband later developed the bad habit of alcohol abuse, beating Ye Zhennan every time he drank. Ye Zhennan clearly remembered that on the day she hung herself, it had been the 79th time her husband had beaten her. She could bear it no longer and decided to join her son."


    "Mission instructions: She still sways under the beam in the house, feeling a sore and painful neck, please loosen it for her;"


    "Mission rewards: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;"


    "Mission penalties: Unknown;"


    "Mission tips: 1. The spirit can be locked down; 2. There are branch missions waiting to be triggered;"


    "Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is terrifying."]


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed the mission information in his mind and found that the level of this mission, "Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)," matched the level of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night."


    And coincidentally, it also had branch missions waiting to be triggered.


    Of course, he couldn''t go out to complete missions in his current state; as soon as he entered No. 39 on Old Street, he probably wouldn''t even see Ye Zhennan before Resentful Granny, appearing out of nowhere, finished him off.


    He pondered that if Zhang Xiaomo could take care of Resentful Granny within these seven days, maybe afterwards he could boldly and confidently go complete "The Hanged Woman" mission.


    After making up his mind, a string of text suddenly jumped into his consciousness.


    It was the second task that had been detected.


    [Coordinates confirmed: No. 114 Rock Back Street, Lin Family Courtyard.]


    [Task name: Drop the Handkerchief;


    Task level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task background: Seven children, hale and hearty, sat in the courtyard, playing merrily. Drop the handkerchief, drop the handkerchief, quietly drop it behind the child, don''t tell him, hurry and catch him, hurry and catch him...


    Task description: The Lin Family Courtyard suffered a fire seven years ago, and not one of the seven children playing in the yard managed to escape. No, wait, one did run away. The remaining six children are puzzled, did he really escape or not? They want an answer.


    Task reward: 600 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task penalty: In Dire Straits;


    Task tip: 1. The evil spirit thrives in a group and cannot be locked down; 2. There are other "treasures" to be explored inside the Lin Family Courtyard;


    Note: Do you still remember this game? If not, better brush up on it quickly.]


    Having only opened [Perception of Strange Events] for a moment, Yan Junze had received two tasks, with the rewards in Dimensional Energy points being quite substantial. Now, it depended on whether he had the time and opportunity to complete them.


    "Why are you standing there zoning out after washing your face?" Zhang Xiaomo had already cooked the sweet potato noodles and was serving herself a bowl.


    They did smell pretty good, though.


    Yan Junze put down the towel, smiled, and also served himself a bowl.


    "By the way," Zhang Xiaomo said, "there seems to be something wrong with the street behind us, and the strange phenomena are even more severe than what I just told you. However, it should have been reported to the Exorcist Squad by now. Someone specialized should come to deal with it."


    Yan Junze nodded, gaining a new appreciation for Zhang Xiaomo.


    This three-star exorcist could describe the two tasks he had detected almost perfectly just by relying on her naked eye and instinctive perception. She was really not on the same level as someone like Huang Chen, who was a mere dabbler.


    Why won''t Resentful Granny show up! Hurry up and let Zhang Xiaomo take care of her, so that he could shake off his worries and go complete the tasks!


    Just then, light footsteps were heard, and the female tenant from the lovey-dovey couple upstairs quickly descended from the second floor, turning towards the building next door after reaching the base of the stairs.


    However, she came back after a short while. Wearing cartoon pajamas and a pair of white canvas shoes, she stood at the front door of the outer room where Yan Junze was and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen the landlord today?"


    Yan Junze shook his head: "Isn''t he next door?"


    "I knocked, but there was no answer," the woman said with a shrug. "By the way, my name is Su Muyao. How do I address you?"


    Just hearing that name, it sounded like that of a typical female protagonist. Yan Junze looked up to take a closer look at Su Muyao; she was rather pretty with an appearance slightly above average, and seemed to be quite petite. This was in stark contrast to Zhang Xiaomo''s height of 1.7 meters.


    "Yan Junze." He pointed at himself, then glanced at the woman next to him, who was slurping her sweet potato noodles, "This is Zhang Xiaomo. Um, want to have breakfast? We made sweet potato noodles."


    "Thanks, I''ve already eaten," Su Muyao looked at Zhang Xiaomo and sensed a certain aloofness from her, silent and distant as if rejecting people thousands of miles away.


    With a smile towards Yan Junze, Su Muyao turned to go back upstairs.


    "Wait," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly spoke up, sitting at the doorway and looking up at her, "Isn''t the landlord usually at home around this time?"


    "I haven''t paid attention," Su Muyao said, thinking carefully while standing on the stairs. "But it seems like I see him every day. If he isn''t at home, he''s usually at Old Li''s place on the street corner, playing chess and chatting."

 Chapter 78 Day Three

    Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo stopped talking, Su Muyao gave her a peculiar look and, without speaking further, turned and clattered up the stairs.Yan Junze stared at Zhang Xiaomo, and she put down her bowl and chopsticks and walked out of the door.


    Yan Junze also set down his unfinished glass noodles and came outside.


    The two walked in front of the next-door room, exchanged glances, then looked at the room where Lin Dong lived.


    It was a large self-built bungalow. At the moment, the door was tightly shut, and the curtains in the windows were drawn, so it was impossible to see inside clearly.


    "Do you think there''s something strange?" Yan Junze couldn''t help but say, "The landlord could have gone out early."


    "Not necessarily." Zhang Xiaomo walked to the door. The magnetic knife strapped to her waist bounced with her steps, ready to be grabbed at any moment.


    When she reached the door, she hesitated briefly, then reached out her right hand and touched the tightly closed door.


    Suddenly, the door loosened and slowly swung open, revealing the dim interior where the furnishings were not immediately discernible.


    "The door was open?" Yan Junze said in surprise, taking two steps forward.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t move; standing at the door, she scanned the room with her eyes, grabbed the doorknob but didn''t go in. Instead, she loudly shut the door.


    "Why not go in and take a look?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Strangenesses come in two types, active and passive," Zhang Xiaomo began. "If Granny Ren has already arrived, me entering this room now would result in her passively interfering, which would be to my disadvantage."


    Turning her head back, Zhang Xiaomo turned and walked away: "Whether Lin Dong is in trouble or not, we cannot enter the room at this moment."


    The two returned to their rental property.


    Yan Junze asked worriedly, "So, did Granny Ren come or not? Is Lin Dong in trouble or not?"


    "I can''t be sure," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head. "I need to protect you; I can''t let you stay outside alone, and I can''t let you come in and take risks with me. Let''s wait a bit longer."


    Yan Junze went back inside and sat on his bed, feeling somewhat uneasy.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo started washing the dishes, pouring some hot water and dishwashing liquid into the bowl she''d finished eating from.


    Soon after, the light footsteps upstairs sounded again, and Su Muyao ran down and stood at the door, peering into the first-floor room.


    "Is something the matter?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "I need Yan''s help with something," Su Muyao said. "I''m doing a big clean, but the mop head has come off, and I can''t twist it tight enough."


    "He''s got a cramp in his foot. You can bring it down; I''ll help you twist it on," Zhang Xiaomo quickly replied without thinking.


    Su Muyao looked helplessly at the room, not seeing Yan Junze''s figure.


    Of course, twisting the mop head was just one thing; she actually wanted to find an excuse to have Yan Junze upstairs to also help move the couch for her because there had been a foul smell emanating from under it last night.


    There might be a dead rat decaying underneath, which made Su Muyao feel disgusted.


    But there was no choice; this place was crawling with mice, cockroaches, and other vermin.


    Planning to tell the truth, Su Muyao said, "I also want him to help me lift the couch. There seems to be something underneath giving off a bad smell. I want to move the couch and then clean that area."


    "Yan''s hand joints are disabled at level three; he can''t lift heavy things, sorry." Zhang Xiaomo said again.


    Su Muyao was completely speechless and turned to go back upstairs, visibly annoyed.


    Yan Junze came out of the inner room with a look of grievance and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "I was only in there for a moment, and you''ve made me out to be severely disabled. Lifting something is just a piece of cake, right?"


    "You can''t leave my protection range."


    "You could also come up and help with me."


    "I don''t want to create unnecessary complications."


    "But your reasoning is also..."


    "I can''t lie; sorry for making it seem like you got hurt," Zhang Xiaomo said, managing a smile.


    After a whole day, Yan Junze felt that Zhang Xiaomo was watching him even more closely than the past two days.


    She hadn''t let him leave the house all day, and her gaze was constantly vigilant; she even ignored the greeting from Lin Ling, the male tenant upstairs, when he returned from work.


    It wasn''t even dark yet, and the two of them had already closed the door to the outer room quite early.


    Zhang Xiaomo returned to the inner room, sat on the bed, and prepared to start her daily phone browsing session.


    Yan Junze felt thirsty and went to the outer room to pour himself a glass of water. Holding the cup, he was about to drink.


    Suddenly, he noticed a person standing outside the window, a man''s silhouette.


    He was motionless between the window and the doorway.


    Yan Junze walked up to the window, took a sip of water, and glanced outside towards the door to confirm that the person standing there was their landlord, Lin Dong, whom they hadn''t seen all day.


    It was now dusk, the sky was getting darker, but Yan Junze could still recognize Lin Dong''s figure.


    This guy just stood at the door, motionless for a while, like a paper-mache dummy.


    As Yan Junze began to feel uneasy, there was a knock at the door.


    Lin Dong was knocking.


    Yan Junze, still holding his glass of water, turned and walked into the inner room, saying to Zhang Xiaomo, "Given the situation right now, should I not open the door, not open the door, or not open the door?"


    Zhang Xiaomo had also heard the knocking and let out a laugh, but she quickly suppressed it and stood up to go to the outer room, with Yan Junze following behind her.


    Approaching the window, they could still see Lin Dong''s figure outside the door.


    After a few knocks, the man had no more movements; he just stood there straight and stiff. Was he contemplating life?


    "He''s been Spirit-Splitted."


    Zhang Xiaomo turned away from the door, and Yan Junze followed, asking, "How do you know?"


    "Experience," Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    "What do we do now?" Yan Junze went into the inner room, placed the glass of water on the nightstand and suggested, "Why don''t you grab the magnetic knife and fight your way out now? If Granny Ren is hiding next door, just cut her down. Then I''ll head to Boom Supermarket to buy some drinks, and we can celebrate with champagne tonight!"


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look and shook her head, "If possible, we should try not to harm innocent people. It''s bustling with activity out there, and Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Splitted no more than 48 hours ago. Later tonight, I''ll go next door, save him, and see if Granny Ren is there."


    "Should I go too?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo took out a black, small circular box, which looked like those simple makeup boxes with a mirror that girls often use, and handed it to Yan Junze, saying, "There''s an Energy Radiation Field inside this. Carry it open on your body, and within ten minutes, no supernatural beings will dare to approach you. Don''t go over there, just wait for me here."


    "Energy... Radiation?" Yan Junze hesitated as he took it, then asked with concern, "Does it cause any harm to the body?"


    "It does, but it won''t affect you much right now," Zhang Xiaomo replied definitively. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why not?"


    "It just kills sperm."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Inside the rented apartment on the second floor.


    Su Muyao led her boyfriend Lin Ling to the side of the sofa.


    In fact, Su Muyao had already prepared dinner, and the couple planned to clean up after filling their stomachs, but they couldn''t stand the strange odor coming from under the sofa, so they decided to clean it up before eating.


    "Are you sure it''s under here?" Lin Ling pointed to the sofa.


    "You smell it yourself, I can''t stand it, it feels like it''s getting smellier!" Su Muyao said in a muffled voice, covering her nose.


    "Come on, give me a hand," Lin Ling crouched down, grabbing one end of the sofa, "Pull the other end a little, no need to lift it, I''ll do the lifting."


    Su Muyao ran to the other end of the sofa, pulled it towards the door, and Lin Ling lifted half of the fabric sofa to the middle of the outer room, revealing what was underneath it.


    However, to their surprise, it wasn''t the dead mouse Su Muyao had talked about, but a clump... of hair, a clump of whitish hair mixed with black mucus.

 Chapter 79 The Fourth Day

    Having arranged the time for action with Zhang Xiaomo, they set it for after midnight, and then Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo each sat on their respective sides of the bed.Zhang Xiaomo, as always, scrolled through her smartphone, while Yan Junze flipped through the textbook to review key knowledge points for the college entrance exam.


    A little past eleven, sleepiness overcame him, and Yan Junze discarded the book without a second thought and immediately fell asleep.


    An hour later.


    Zhang Xiaomo, sitting on the left side of the bed, switched off her phone''s screen and picked up the magnetic knife resting beside her hand, slowly drawing it from its leather sheath.


    After glancing at the sleeping Yan Junze, she reached out to push his shoulder and said, "I''m heading next door now, should be back in less than ten minutes. While I''m gone, turn on the Strangeness Interferer, don''t go anywhere, and definitely don''t leave this room."


    Yan Junze opened his eyes, placed the black box on his chest, covered it with both hands, and nodded.


    The light was on, he had the Strangeness Interferer in hand, and with the Rewind unique skill on top of that, he wasn''t too worried.


    With the magnetic knife in hand, Zhang Xiaomo got up and left.


    He listened as she opened and then closed the door to the outer room, followed by silence.


    Yan Junze didn''t get out of bed; he just lay there, waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to return.


    Rock was far away from the main traffic roads, no sounds of vehicles reached them, and the surroundings were very quiet, save for the occasional bark of a dog¡ªno other noises were heard.


    Having just woken up, Yan Junze was still groggy, but at this point, he didn''t dare to sleep again.


    He struggled to keep his eyes open, his glasses on the nightstand untouched, just staring at the dirty ceiling, remembering there was half a glass of water on the nightstand, which he now wanted to drink to stay awake.


    But he was too lazy to move, just thinking about wanting water as time ticked away.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn''t realize his eyes had begun to droop when he suddenly felt a figure walk in from the outer room, their footsteps light, as if afraid to wake him.


    The figure walked to the left side of the bed, climbed up, and lay still, no longer making any movements.


    "Back so soon?" Yan Junze mumbled, "What''s going on?"


    He too was lying down, and because of the thick quilts separating the middle, he couldn''t see Zhang Xiaomo, also lying down, unless he sat up and looked over.


    The other person didn''t reply.


    Yan Junze''s consciousness quickly sharpened, his eyes widened, and an uneasy feeling crept into his heart.


    Damn, was that person just now Zhang Xiaomo?


    Zhang Xiaomo was about 170 centimeters tall. Although he was lying down without his glasses, the glimpse of the figure that walked in didn''t seem very tall!


    With that thought, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze.


    Without thinking further, he immediately turned on the Strangeness Interferer he had been clinging onto.


    If it''s a fight they want, better that than losing his life!


    There was still no movement from the bed beside him, but Yan Junze was certain that someone had come in and was lying on the left side of the bed.


    "Should I take a look, confirm it?"


    Yan Junze hesitated internally, figuring that instead of whimsically worrying, it was better to have a look and alleviate his concerns.


    With that thought, he reached his hand towards the nightstand. As the light was on, although his myopic vision was a bit blurry, he quickly grabbed his glasses and put them on right away.


    His vision instantly became much clearer. Yan Junze, holding onto the Interferer, slightly lifted his head, looked over the quilt in the middle of the big bed, and peeked at Zhang Xiaomo''s side.


    In his field of vision, there was a figure lying across the bed, but it was not Zhang Xiaomo. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He saw a waxy yellow face with deep wrinkles, the familiar short salt-and-pepper hair, the familiar light cotton jacket, and the familiar brown cotton shoes filling Yan Junze''s sight.


    The elderly woman was lying on her side. At the same time, someone peeked over from the other side of the bed, she also had her eyes open, staring straight at Yan Junze, who was only halfway exposed.


    Being locked in her gaze caused Yan Junze to jolt, feeling an immediate chill all over his body.


    He didn''t dare to breathe heavily, first squeezing out an awkward yet polite smile and slowly lying back down, the thick quilt in the middle of the bed blocking the line of sight between the living and the ghost.


    Yan Junze felt his heart pounding like a drum, clutching the Supernatural Interferer in his arms, he slowly shifted his body towards the edge of the bed, one foot touching the ground below, ready to get up and leave the bed without alerting the spirit.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the side of the bed, and the quilt separating them fluttered. A head with graying hair slowly emerged¡ªResentful Granny''s eyes appeared and were still fixed on Yan Junze as he was getting down from the bed.


    Yan Junze''s scalp tingled, and he hastened his departure from the bed, leaping both feet to the floor, away from the edge.


    Turning to look behind him, Resentful Granny, with her petite frame resembling a marionette, eerily stood up on tiptoes to step over the quilt to his side.


    Her body still floated erratically, as if being carried. She got off the bed and, expressionless, followed Yan Junze who was holding the Strangeness Interferer.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was clear, if he hadn''t been holding the Strangeness Interferer, Resentful Granny would have pounced on him the moment she was on the bed.


    She... hesitated to approach him for now.


    But not daring to approach didn''t mean leaving.


    Resentful Granny just followed closely behind him, maintaining a distance of about half a meter.


    One human, one strangeness, one retreating, the other advancing, they moved from the inner room to the outer room.


    Both rooms were lit. Yan Junze felt his palm gripping the Interferer was full of cold sweat, and soon he moved back to the doorway of the outer room, standing near the window.


    Resentful Granny, expressionless, silently followed.


    "I... I''m about to yell out loud now, you don''t mind, do you?" Yan Junze thought for a bit, forced a smile, and said.


    There was still no response from the other side, just a silent gaze fixed on him.


    Can I make it out? If Zhang Xiaomo doesn''t come back soon, I''m afraid the Interferer won''t last much longer.


    Yan Junze pondered in his heart.


    Now that he knew Resentful Granny had come to his side, it was paradoxically less dangerous at the neighbor''s place. Instead of lingering here, it might be better to run next door to find Zhang Xiaomo.


    With that thought, Yan Junze reached for the door handle behind him.


    Resentful Granny''s mouth corners suddenly twitched, and her mouth split open.


    At that same moment, Yan Junze felt the door handle being swiftly twisted, and then the door was pushed open by an external force.


    If it weren''t for his quick reflexes, he would have almost stumbled into Resentful Granny''s embrace.


    A short blade stabbed in from outside the door, aiming straight for Resentful Granny.


    Zhang Xiaomo had arrived.


    As the magnetic knife was about to strike Resentful Granny, the old woman''s body suddenly became like a puff of wind, retreating abruptly.


    The magnetic field from the magnetic knife quickly filled the outer room, locking down all space.


    Resentful Granny, who had seemed to be floating, now appeared stuck in the mire, struggling to move.


    The knife plunged into her chest.


    The old woman opened her mouth to let out a piercing scream. Bang, bang, the lights in both the outer and inner rooms went out, even the electrical wires sparked, and the room instantly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze, still holding the Strangeness Interferer, stood still, not moving, his ears pricked up to listen to the movements around him.


    Seconds later, there was a click, and a cold hand suddenly rested on the back of his hand.


    Yan Junze startled, swung the Interferer in his hand, and almost struck out.


    "It''s me." Zhang Xiaomo''s voice sounded.


    Yan Junze quickly put on the brakes.


    "Holy crap! Speak slower next time, or my primeval force would have all been unleashed on you."

 Chapter 80 Day Five

    Both of their cell phone flashlights were turned on, temporarily illuminating the room.Zhang Xiaomo''s hands were indeed very cold, something Yan Junze hadn''t noticed before, mainly because he hadn''t had the opportunity to touch her hands.


    "Where''s Granny Ren?" asked Yan Junze.


    "She ran away, I was just about to finish her off," replied Zhang Xiaomo.


    "Is Lin Dong alright?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "He''s fine," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "I''ve already severed his spirit-splitting and cleared all the magnetic fields of interference from next door. Granny Ren''s yin energy is greatly diminished, and she can''t reset up the interference; Lin Dong is safe for now."


    Just then, footsteps could be heard from upstairs, and soon the lights on the second floor were turned on.


    The male tenant, Lin Ling, wearing slippers, clattered down the stairs ¨C obviously, the shrill screams of Resentful Granny had awakened this young couple from their sleep.


    Although he didn''t know what had happened, out of concern for his downstairs neighbors, Lin Ling still came down to check.


    Zhang Xiaomo had hurried over and immediately took action against Resentful Granny, so the outer door hadn''t been closed at the moment.


    Yan Junze walked to the door, and just as Lin Ling was coming down the stairs, he looked up at the extinguished lights, puzzled, "Did the wiring burn out? I just heard someone yelling."


    Yan Junze nodded and smiled, "It just burned out all of a sudden, sparks flew out and scared my girlfriend into screaming. Sorry for disturbing you."


    "It''s no trouble, no trouble at all," Lin Ling glanced at part of the ceiling wiring that was scorched black, "It''s too late now for nighttime work, I''ll come over and replace it for you tomorrow during the day. I learned electrical work before going to university, and I have ready-to-use wires at home."


    "Then we''ll be troubling you," said Yan Junze.


    "You all should get some rest early too," Lin Ling said with a smile, glancing at the Strangeness Interferer in Yan Junze''s arms, feeling a bit weird inside, and turned to go upstairs.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo said nothing more.


    Although Resentful Granny hadn''t been finished off, she had been badly damaged, and they were at least safe for the next couple of days.


    They both slept in their clothes when they went back to bed.


    Yan Junze didn''t know when he fell asleep, but as soon as it was light out, he woke up.


    He checked next door, and Lin Dong seemed lethargic, lying in bed.


    However, according to Zhang Xiaomo, Lin Dong''s body would recover after a few days of rest and there was no major issue.


    The young couple upstairs were indeed nice people. After seeing Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo get up, Lin Ling immediately came down with his tools, and in just about half an hour, he had replaced the burned-out wiring in the room and installed new fuses.


    Soon electricity was restored to the room.


    At this point, Yan Junze always felt as if he had forgotten something, but after sitting in the room for a long time, he couldn''t figure it out. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I have three more days to protect you; I hope we can kill her in that time," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said as the day was coming to an end.


    With Resentful Granny injured and it not being the usual nerve-wracking situation, the fourth day passed quickly.


    On the evening of the fifth day, the young couple upstairs cordially invited Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze to have dinner with them, and they even brought back a bunch of fresh ingredients, but Zhang Xiaomo still declined.


    Eating the clear soup noodles in his bowl, Yan Junze looked up, frustrated, and asked Zhang Xiaomo, "Can we take the initiative instead of being passive, and go directly to Granny Ren''s grandmother''s house?"


    "Not very realistic," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "Searching for strangenesses requires a lot of equipment and the cost is too high."


    Yan Junze nodded, "Hmm, if I were the President of Great Capital, this problem would be easily solved."


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him and suddenly revealed a smile, "If you were the President of Great Capital, it wouldn''t be my job as a three-star exorcist to protect you."


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo would routinely close the door.


    The light bulbs had been replaced with two new ones by Lin Ling, and they were much brighter than the previous ones.


    When it was time to sleep, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo slept. They were each flipping through their phones and books, having a desultory conversation.


    Who knew that shortly after eleven o''clock, an inexplicable noise began to emanate from upstairs.


    The sound had rhythm, as if a wooden board was being compressed, followed by a disjointed noise that quickly escalated to indescribable levels.


    Shit!


    Yan Junze immediately sensed something was wrong and glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was still browsing on her phone.


    "Let''s sleep."


    Zhang Xiaomo decisively turned off her phone screen, placed the phone on the bedside table, turned over and covered herself with the quilt, but her right hand habitually rested on the magnetic knife under her pillow.


    "Yeah, let''s sleep."


    Yan Junze also put down his book, took off his glasses, and lay down to cover himself with the quilt.


    They said sleep, but the sounds from upstairs were soul-stirring and intermittent, relentlessly piercing their ears.


    Yan Junze soon realized that his heartbeat was accelerating and he couldn''t suppress it.


    On the other side of the partitioned bedding, it seemed that Zhang Xiaomo was also not sleeping very well, tossing and turning frequently.


    Yan Junze was sure she hadn''t fallen asleep either.


    After what felt like an eternity, the sounds from upstairs finally ceased.


    By then, Yan Junze had already envisioned Zhang Xiaomo, who lay on the other side, as the Resentful Granny he had seen the night before. With that image, the urge subsided, as did the expectations and illusions, and he felt a lot better.


    Yep, only a straight man suffering from toxic masculinity would do something like this.


    In the rental unit on the second floor.


    Su Muyao, who had already put on her pajamas, lay on the bed with a flushed face and still panting, while her boyfriend Lin Dong had gone to get a drink of water.


    Su Muyao knew Lin Dong''s habit; every time after they did the deed, he always had to put something in his mouth, whether it was eating fruit or drinking water, he wouldn''t just idle around.


    "This guy, it feels like he''s holding back some energy," Su Muyao said with a smile, her eyes closed as she rested, looking content.


    Lin Dong, wearing shorts and bare-chested, went to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, rummaged for something to eat, and soon took out a bottle of yogurt and took a big gulp after twisting open the lid.


    Feeling much more comfortable, Lin Dong closed the fridge door and was about to go back to the bedroom when he suddenly noticed something under the sofa.


    He didn''t turn on the light but instead used the moonlight shining in from the window to look under the sofa.


    "Could it be hair again?"


    Lin Dong remembered that just two days ago he had cleaned out a clump of grayish-white hair from under the sofa.


    When that clump of hair was found, it also contained an indescribable black viscous liquid, stuck to the hair and emitting a fishy stench. Afterwards, Lin Dong and Su Muyao scraped up all that liquid and hair into a plastic bag and threw it out.


    Thus, Su Muyao had also checked other places, not finding any more hair, and she had mopped under the sofa several times as well.


    In the dim moonlight, it seemed like there was something under the sofa.


    Lin Dong crouched down, reached out to touch it, and then pulled it out.


    In his hand was a clump of grayish-white hair, quite a large clump, almost the size of wigs sold on the street.


    Lin Dong was stunned for a moment, just standing there in front of the sofa, staring at the hair in his hand.


    The hair also had traces of black viscous liquid, clumping it all together, with a faint fishy smell wafting through.


    After a moment, Lin Dong suddenly, without a word, stretched out the hair and then... rigidly placed it on his own head.


    "Darling, what are you doing? Be careful not to catch a cold, come back to bed and sleep," called Su Muyao''s voice from the bedroom.

 Chapter 81 Day Six

    It was already midnight.Su Muyao''s voice came through to the outer room, just as Lin Ling had placed the white-haired wig onto his own head.


    He didn''t speak, and after putting it on, he continuously stroked and groomed the white hair with his hands.


    Wrinkles slowly appeared on his originally smooth, youthful cheeks, and crow''s feet formed at the corners of his eyes...


    "Darling?" Su Muyao felt very tired and didn''t want to get up. Lying in bed, she called out again.


    Before long, the bare-chested silhouette of Lin Ling entered the inner room. As he moved, his hands remained still, and his steps were unnaturally stiff.


    Sensing Lin Ling''s presence, Su Muyao said, "Hurry up and get into bed. We need to get up early tomorrow. Don''t catch a cold."


    With that, she closed her eyes.


    At this moment, Su Muyao was overcome with sleepiness, barely able to keep awake.


    Yet after she spoke, there was no response.


    Just as she was about to drift off, Su Muyao suddenly sensed something amiss, and her drowsiness was cut in half. She opened her eyes and saw that Lin Ling was still standing by the bed, silent and motionless.


    "Lin... Ling?"


    In that moment, Su Muyao, who had realized that something was wrong, began to shake, her voice trembling with a sobbing tone, her complexion turning deathly pale.


    Giggling...


    From Lin Ling''s mouth came a series of strange grating sounds, and then he, wearing the white hair, leaned over. His face, now full of wrinkles, loomed directly over the utterly terrified Su Muyao.


    The next second, a scream shattered the midnight silence.


    Downstairs in the rented apartment.


    Zhang Xiaomo bolted upright.


    Yan Junze also sat up from the bed, and the two exchanged glances.


    "Could it be Granny Ren?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "There''s a good chance. That old lady must be performing spirit-splitting again."


    "This time, I''m not staying in the room alone. Let''s go up together," Yan Junze suggested.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t say anything else, pulled out the magnetic knife from under her pillow and led the way out, while Yan Junze grabbed the unused Strangeness Interferer and followed with it in his arms.


    The two went upstairs, one after the other.


    The second-floor door was closed, and no more sounds came from the room.


    "Step aside, I''ll break the door down!"


    Yan Junze hurried forward from behind and, without waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to speak, kicked at the door.


    Then his foot went numb.


    The door didn''t budge.


    Zhang Xiaomo, oblivious to Yan Junze''s embarrassment, looked through the window into the room. She saw Lin Ling, dressed only in shorts, standing bare-chested at the bedroom door, silently watching in this direction.


    His face was full of wrinkles.


    "He''s been taken over by Granny Ren," Yan Junze said from the side.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lin Ling turned and went back into the inner room.


    Soon after, sounds of struggling, accompanied by Su Muyao''s screams, erupted.


    A petite figure suddenly dashed to the bedroom door, her face stricken with terror. She recklessly headed for the main door of the outer room and violently twisted the lock open.


    The door swung open.


    "Quick, get behind me!" Yan Junze prepared to rush in first and rescue the trembling Su Muyao.


    But he was pulled back by Zhang Xiaomo, who yanked him behind her.


    Zhang Xiaomo stepped into the room first, and with the magnetic knife in her hand, she plunged it mercilessly into the chest of the defenseless and weakened Su Muyao.


    Yan Junze was immediately stunned.


    The previously terrified Su Muyao froze as well. She lifted her head in horror, looking at Zhang Xiaomo''s calm face, and then looked down at the magnetic knife that had almost completely sunk into her chest.


    The scene was sudden and unexpected.


    However, Yan Junze didn''t speak. He knew that Zhang Xiaomo wouldn''t do this for no reason. Since she dared to, she must have had her reasons.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a grating laugh coming from Su Muyao''s throat, and she began to tremble, the frequency of her shaking increasing rapidly.


    Bang!


    The Resentful Granny''s illusory figure burst out from Su Muyao''s back, crashing into the cabinet in front of the television.


    Zhang Xiaomo had already pulled out the magnetic knife and chased after her, striking the Resentful Granny who had just been severely wounded again.


    The Resentful Granny''s body visibly faded and let out a wail.


    Her body was dissipating quickly, about to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo pressed the Hidden Buckle embedded in the magnetic knife with her left hand. It was as if she caught a faint glimmer of light in her hand, and she forcefully pressed it down on the fading Resentful Granny.


    The Resentful Granny''s originally fading illusory figure immediately solidified.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t pause; she plunged the magnetic knife straight into the Resentful Granny''s head.


    A white light burst from within the Resentful Granny, shattering her body into countless fragments that scattered all around.


    The fragments drifted in the air and soon turned into tiny specks that vanished without a trace.


    Yan Junze looked down at Su Muyao who had just been stabbed by the magnetic knife and fell to the ground, to find that the woman''s chest was completely unharmed, without a single wound.


    "The magnetic knife only harms the supernatural, not the human body," said Zhang Xiaomo from the side.


    "Has Granny Ren been eliminated?" Yan Junze turned on all the lights in the room at this moment.


    "We don''t know for the time being."


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t put away the magnetic knife but walked into the bedroom. There, Lin Ling was lying on the bed bare-chested and unconscious.


    She hesitated slightly before chopping down with the knife at Lin Ling''s chest.


    The next second, a white Spirit-Splitting emerged from above Lin Ling''s head, struggling to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo swung her knife and shattered the Spirit-Splitting into fragments that dissipated into the air.


    "Is this the Spirit-Splitting?" Yan Junze asked in surprise from behind.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded. "Just now, Granny Ren''s main body entered Su Muyao, intentionally showing that the Spirit-Splitting moved to this man, to divert our attention to him." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Didn''t you shatter her main body just now?" Yan Junze said.


    "If the Spirit-Splitting isn''t destroyed, the main body can regenerate from it after dissipating," Zhang Xiaomo explained. "Therefore, we should check again to see if there is any remaining Spirit-Splitting at the scene."


    Lin Ling did not wake up, but Su Muyao was gradually coming to.


    Yan Junze had laid her on the sofa, and when she woke up, he asked, "Have there been any unusual occurrences in the house lately?"


    Still dazed, Su Muyao didn''t respond until Yan Junze had asked for the third time, and then she seemed to snap back to reality.


    "Yes, right under this sofa," said Su Muyao with some fear. "That day we found a lot of hair, the kind that''s grayish-white, and some really stinky slime."


    "Move the sofa away," said Zhang Xiaomo.


    Yan Junze assisted Su Muyao to another chair to sit down, then he and Zhang Xiaomo moved the sofa away, revealing a dark clump of slime on the floor.


    They saw that the slime was sprouting many grayish-white hairs that seemed to be slowly growing.


    "This must be the place."


    Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself and plunged the magnetic knife right into the center of the slime.


    "Ouch..."


    The Resentful Granny''s voice suddenly erupted, filling the entire room.


    "Ouch your sister!" Yan Junze muttered under his breath. "This is your last time feeling pain!"


    Waves of energy from the magnetic knife rippled outwards, and after a while, the clump of slime began to contract and the grayish-white hair wilted away.

 Chapter 82 Day Seven

    After searching the house once more and questioning both Lin Ling and Su Muyao, who had awakened, I was certain there were no more Spirit-Splitting remnants of the Resentful Granny present. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Zhang Xiaomo used the magnetic knife to emit an energy field to search again, then she and Yan Junze went back down to the first floor.


    They entered the house and closed the door.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Granny Ren has been dealt with, but to be on the safe side, I''ll still stay with you until tomorrow afternoon."


    "And then do we leave together, or¡­"


    Before Yan Junze could finish, Zhang Xiaomo added, "I need to leave first to catch a flight to Sealed City. I booked the ticket seven days ago."


    "Alright, you''ve been through a lot these past few days," Yan Junze nodded.


    To be honest, he had been keeping the Rewind timeline open, cycling every four hours, and until now, he dared not close it.


    Anyway, let''s wait until tomorrow.


    The pressure that had been building up in his heart over the last few days gradually dispersed. Lying in bed, Yan Junze soon fell asleep.


    When they woke up in the morning, even Zhang Xiaomo overslept a bit and practically got up at the same time as him.


    For the first time in history, the two of them went down to eat out at a street corner restaurant. However, Yan Junze heeded Zhang Xiaomo''s advice and didn''t open champagne to celebrate.


    Then they brought some food for Su Muyao and Lin Ling, who hadn''t gone to work. These two, just like Lin Dong, were somewhat spiritless after being affected by the Spirit-Splitting, but they would quickly recover after a couple days of rest.


    In the afternoon, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went to see Lin Dong again.


    Lin Dong was already fine, just terribly frightened by the Resentful Granny, looking somewhat out of sorts. Old Li from the street corner even came over to look after him specially.


    This kind of mental trauma could only be healed with time.


    After dinner, Yan Junze suggested they go for a walk.


    Zhang Xiaomo did not refuse.


    The two strolled slowly along the streets of Rock.


    After walking for a while, Yan Junze said, "After this incident, I feel that intruding and Spirit-Splitting are like the two ultimate skills of the supernatural."


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head: "For Wandering Spirits, intruding and Spirit-Splitting are child''s play, easy to figure out. But Granny Ren was almost at the level of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, which is why her Spirit-Splitting was so relentless, and her intrusions were unexpected and sometimes looked very weird."


    Yan Junze laughed, "No matter how weird, they are all seen through in front of you. That was the case yesterday with Su Muyao. If you hadn''t held me back, I might have already¡­"


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "This requires training and the accumulation of disposal experience. The more times you encounter it, the more responsive you will become."


    Yan Junze nodded.


    By this time, the two had almost reached the end of the old street, which was precisely where Yan Junze had last detected "The Hanged Woman" mission at 39 Old Street.


    Yan Junze glanced up at an empty, abandoned building not far away.


    There were many self-built houses here, and this building also appeared to be self-constructed, only it had three floors, and the external door panels were already broken. One could see the dark interior of the house through the damaged door panels.


    "Let''s go, this way," Zhang Xiaomo pointed to another street.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but ask, "This should be the place you mentioned before that was haunted by strangenesses. Now that we''ve come across it, why not deal with it directly?"


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Any strangeness that prevents people from living normally has been reported to the Exorcists and is in line. Unless there is an emergency, I can''t interfere according to the rules. If no one has reported it, it means the strangeness is not dangerous, and I don''t need to act."


    "Just watching it happen right under your nose?" Yan Junze still didn''t understand.


    "The strangenesses in this world erupted suddenly more than half a year ago, and our team was only established then. That''s why we still face many difficulties that we can''t solve," Zhang Xiaomo looked up at the distant house. "We have our own rules of operation, including that strangenesses can form magnetic fields affecting the area, which is one of the rules that cannot be changed at will."


    "I don''t understand," Yan Junze shook his head.


    "It means that if a strangeness isn''t at the point of requiring immediate resolution, and you take care of it, the magnetic field of other strangenesses within the same range¡­ they could become stronger or undergo some kind of unknown mutation."


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned. Wasn''t this what "Perception of Strange Events" had mentioned before, that the level of an event could probabilistically increase over time?


    It seemed that Exorcists were no pushovers; this much they had clearly grasped as well.


    As the two of them talked, they neared 114 on Rock Back Street.


    This was precisely where Yan Junze had detected the second mission''s Lin Family courtyard.


    He tilted his head slightly to observe Zhang Xiaomo''s reaction, only to find that she merely glanced at the seemingly abandoned courtyard and said nothing after withdrawing her gaze.


    Of course, Yan Junze himself wouldn''t bring it up, or his secrets might be exposed.


    He briefly scrutinized the dilapidated courtyard. Its surrounding walls were intact but overgrown with ivy and weeds. The nearby houses all sported the character "Demolish," yet for some reason they remained untouched.


    As a result, no one lived in the vicinity.


    "This place feels quite remote," said Yan Junze, making a deliberate comment.


    "Mhm, let''s go, back to our place," Zhang Xiaomo replied without much elaboration.


    Returning to their rental, they greeted Lin Dong, and decided to move out the following day.


    Lin Dong readily agreed, though he still lay on his bed, looking dejected.


    Seeing him like this made Yan Junze feel somewhat guilty. If it weren''t for his arrival, Lin Dong wouldn''t be in such a state.


    But fortunately, these innocent people hadn''t lost their lives.


    "I''ll sleep on the sofa outside tonight. It''s our last day, so you should get a good night''s sleep in the bed," Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t say anything, and soon Yan Junze moved his bedding out, tossing it on the sofa.


    When bedtime came, they turned off the lights in their respective rooms. Moonlight streamed in through the windows and for a while, neither of them fell asleep.


    Eventually, Zhang Xiaomo''s voice carried over: "You have a good constitution. You could come to our place for testing sometime. You might make an excellent Exorcist, so don''t waste it."


    "Let''s talk about it some other time." This time, Yan Junze didn''t outright refuse.


    He felt that even if he couldn''t become an Exorcist, he would still have many chances to deal with them in the future. This was unavoidable.


    After chatting for a while, Yan Junze didn''t know when he had fallen asleep.


    It was just a dim awareness that he was lying on the sofa when a dark figure slowly approached from the inner room. It looked somewhat like Zhang Xiaomo, yet it didn''t.


    He was unable to open his eyes, nor move at all, as if suddenly hit by sleep paralysis¡ªhis consciousness was clear, but his body was rigid.


    The figure drew near, standing silently by his side.


    Yan Junze felt cold sweat breaking out; he struggled with all his might to open his eyes. His body shook slightly from the desperate attempts.


    The figure moved, bent down, and brought its face close to his.


    In that moment, Yan Junze suddenly opened his eyes wide to see a wrinkled, waxen yellow cheek.


    He knew this face all too well.


    Resentful Granny!


    Huh...


    Yan Junze abruptly sat up from the sofa, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, looking around, but there was nothing.


    A dream! Was it just a dream?!


    "After narrowly escaping from being killed by a strong magnetic field strangeness, it is normal to experience delusions and hallucinations for a period. Just ignore it and it will go away," Zhang Xiaomo''s calm voice suddenly came from the bedroom, as if it was something she was accustomed to.

 Chapter 83 The Woman in the Old House (Part 1)

    Yan Junze had lost all desire to sleep, so he simply got up, poured himself a glass of water and sat down on the couch.He didn''t respond to Zhang Xiaomo.


    It turned out that Zhang Xiaomo was quite remarkable, and she remained unusually calm no matter what situation she encountered, arguably bringing the composure of a three-star exorcist to its peak.


    Moreover, she was experienced.


    The recent dream had felt so real, as if the Resentful Granny truly stood right before him.


    And Zhang Xiaomo, without even coming out, knew what had happened to Yan Junze, forcing him to regard this woman with newfound respect once again.


    However, at this moment, the feeling that there was something very important he had been unable to recall from the past couple of days filled Yan Junze''s chest again.


    He sipped his water, straining his memory, unable to grasp what important thing he had forgotten.


    But after a long attempt at recollection, he was still utterly confused, merely feeling a sense of unease in his heart, an inexplicable panic ensuing.


    After finishing his water, he just sat there on the sofa and, unaware, fell asleep.


    The next afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo got her travel bag ready, left Yan Junze her phone number, and then departed ahead of him.


    Yan Junze, using the excuse of having one last meal with Lin Ling and Su Muyao who lived upstairs, told Zhang Xiaomo he would be leaving the following day.


    There were still two missions waiting for him, opportunities to light up the Spacetime Atlas - he could not afford to waste them.


    So, after Zhang Xiaomo had gone, he first went to see Lin Dong to extend his room rental for two days.


    He then went to Boom Supermarket to buy two rechargeable flashlights and a gray face mask and, back at the room, plugged in the flashlights to charge continuously.


    According to the supermarket owner''s introduction, once fully charged, the flashlights could provide light for approximately an hour and a half. Exploring the mission "The Hanged Woman" shouldn''t take an hour and a half, especially since he had a second flashlight as backup.


    Of course, Yan Junze did not intend to complete both missions at once; he planned to tackle "The Hanged Woman" tonight, and the following night, visit the Lin Family''s courtyard to complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" mission.


    The reason for acting at night was simple: only under the cover of darkness could he avoid detection. If he were to try during the day, being spotted by just one person could ruin the mission.


    After enjoying a hot pot he had cooked himself with Lin Ling and Su Muyao, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo revealed what had truly happened that night, leaving the couple to continue thanking them, believing that they might have been ruined had it not been for their timely arrival.


    Yan Junze, not wanting to say much, had a great time dining with the couple, but he didn''t dare to drink alcohol, and Lin Ling, seeing his youthful and tender appearance, didn''t urge him to drink either.


    The gathering dispersed around nine o''clock, and after expressing his gratitude, Yan Junze returned downstairs.


    He checked the flashlights, both fully charged.


    Now he just waited for the dead of night to begin his action.


    Around half-past eleven, it was already difficult to see a single person on Rock''s streets.


    Yan Junze put on a black coat, equipped the gray mask, and stepped out with his mobile phone and the two flashlights in hand.


    He had silenced his phone in advance.


    Walking down the street, he could only see lights on in one or two houses, even Lin Ling and Su Muyao upstairs had gone to sleep.


    He quickly arrived at number 39 on the old street.


    Looking up, the place was just as it had been during the day: the door was in tatters, but the exterior walls were still solid. There were large cobwebs at the entrance, clearly untouched by humans for a long while.


    Yan Junze stood at the corner of the wall, glanced around to make sure no one was there, then turned and went up the steps of number 39.


    The steps, made of stone, were very stable underfoot.


    In a few strides, he reached the door. He didn''t need to unlock anything and simply stepped over the broken door panel to enter.


    Once inside, Yan Junze turned his head and peered through the door panel towards the street, checking for passersby. Not a soul went by; it was quiet.


    He turned around, switched on the flashlight, dimmed its light, and walked into the house.


    The old-fashioned houses built in the countryside used to have a front room designed to serve as a shopfront, which was usually vacant and only contained a few stools, devoid of other furniture.


    Yan Junze quickly crossed this empty room, a musty smell permeating the air.


    But luckily, he was wearing a mask and had anticipated that the air quality would be poor since the place hardly saw any sunlight.


    He had sized up the building from the outside during the daytime; it was a three-story self-built house fallen into disrepair, with multiple areas of the exterior wall peeling away.


    The staircase leading up was also quite narrow. Yan Junze reached the foot of the stairs and shone the flashlight upwards, only to discover that they were covered in moss.


    Clearly, the interior was very damp.


    However, upon closer inspection, the stairs at the corner also continued downwards.


    That meant there was a basement in the building.


    Standing there for a while, Yan Junze pondered whether to go up or down.


    The mission briefing hinted that Ye Zhennan, who had hanged herself, was still swaying beneath the house''s beams, but it didn''t specify which floor, which posed a dilemma for Yan Junze.


    He shone his flashlight toward the basement; it seemed even darker inside, less bright than upstairs. At least the second floor and above allowed some moonlight to penetrate, which was far better than the basement.


    "Where would a person usually choose to hang themselves if they wanted to do it alone?"


    Yan Junze stood at the staircase entrance, contemplating in the dead silence, with no sound coming from around him.


    He tried to put himself in the mindset of the woman seeking death¡ªif one wanted to die without being discovered and saved, they would certainly choose a place where people rarely went.


    So it seemed the basement might be more fitting.


    After shining the flashlight around the second floor for a while, Yan Junze abandoned the idea of going upstairs and decided to head straight to the basement.


    As expected, the stair steps leading down to the basement were even more slippery and wet, with a thick covering of green moss underfoot. And these self-built houses, to save money, didn''t even have railings on the staircases to the basement. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze had to support himself against the wall with one hand, moving down with extreme caution, step by step.


    As long as he didn''t slide down directly on his rear in a "falling goose" style, taking his time to descend safely was certainly the better approach.


    Therefore, he made almost no noise while descending the stairs.


    When he was about halfway down to the basement, a strange noise suddenly came from upstairs.


    The sound resembled that of a rope being tightened to its limit¡ªan eerily distinctive twang that stood out in the quiet of the night.


    Yan Junze froze, "Could it be I guessed wrong? Is the woman not hanging in the basement but upstairs instead?"


    However, from where he stood, he could only vaguely determine that the noise was coming from upstairs; whether it was the second or third floor remained unknown.


    Should he go straight up to check?


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then decided against it.


    Since he had already come halfway down the stairs to the basement, it wouldn''t be too late to check there first before going up.


    Just as he was about to continue down the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped.


    Because he had heard a noise from upstairs, he had instinctively shone the flashlight upward.


    And at that moment, his flashlight had just moved away from the area above.


    But in the brief instant as the light withdrew, he caught sight of a pair of feet at the corner on the first floor¡ªa pair of feet in white women''s shoes. Next to the feet hung a rope, about as thick as a finger.

 Chapter 84 The Woman in the Old House (Part 2)

    ```Because the basement staircase had not been fitted with handrails, Yan Junze, standing on the staircase, only had to look up to see the ground level of the first floor parallel to his gaze.


    At that moment, a pair of white ladies'' shoes stood on the ground near the stairs, toes pointing in the direction of the stairs he was on, one end of a dirtied rope dragging on the ground, the other end extending upwards.


    From this angle, Yan Junze couldn''t see where the other end of the rope was.


    However, he could imagine that if the woman were facing the staircase where he stood, the other end of the rope might be wrapped around her neck this very moment.


    Yan Junze remembered that the task had mentioned the woman felt a soreness and pain in her neck, requesting help to loosen it.


    Now that Ye Zhennan''s ghost stood before him, the likelihood of her having hung herself in the basement seemed very small.


    As Yan Junze was hesitating, the pair of white ladies'' shoes turned around and slowly walked towards the staircase that led to the second floor, the rope on the ground being slowly dragged behind the white shoes.


    To Yan Junze, that rope was definitely tied around her neck.


    Then, there came the faint sound of footsteps ascending the stairs.


    It seemed the woman wanted to tell him that she had hung herself upstairs, not in the basement.


    Turning back to the first floor, he shone his flashlight onto the staircase leading to the second floor, and no longer saw the slender, white-shoed feet.


    Yan Junze climbed the stairs to the second floor.


    The stairs had moss on them, too, but not as severely as the basement stairs; with a bit of caution, he quickly reached the second floor.


    This appeared to be a regular living room, with a kitchen, a balcony, and a storage room crammed with sundries.


    The living room was spacious; standing in the doorway, Yan Junze illuminated every corner methodically with his flashlight, not missing any spot, and looked up at the ceiling as well. He could not see the rope.


    He did not even find a place that seemed suitable for hanging.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt a sudden tingle at the back of his neck, and his hairs stood on end.


    Turning his head to look behind, he saw the white ladies'' shoes reappear on the staircase leading to the third floor, still dragging the dirty rope beneath them.


    Standing on the stairs, the feet were still facing in Yan Junze''s direction, as if... waiting for him.


    "It seems it''s not on the second floor either."


    Yan Junze realized, and turned towards the stairwell of the second floor.


    As he moved toward the stairwell, the white shoes had already proceeded towards the third floor, the trailing rope also disappearing behind them.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and followed up the stairs to the third floor.


    After Ye Zhennan''s suicide by hanging, her husband had left Rock and has been missing ever since.


    This self-built house had seen a death and couldn''t be sold, which is why it had been left vacant.


    However, what puzzled Yan Junze was, knowing that someone had died here, how could it be possible for Ye Zhennan''s body to remain hanging from the beam instead of being cremated or buried.


    What were the people here thinking?


    Carrying this question to the third floor, he saw no further sign of the owner of the feet.


    The third floor was well lit, making the moonlight even more abundant. With the aid of his flashlight, the surrounding objects were clearly visible.


    The furnishing of the rooms was similar to the second floor, but the living room had no furniture at all.


    Only a... coffin was placed.


    This coffin was positioned in the center of the room, its lid moved to one side, revealing the empty inside.


    An empty third floor, and right in the middle of the room, a coffin!


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt goosebumps all over his head.


    No wonder Ye Zhennan''s soul had lured him upstairs; as it turned out, her body was indeed placed in the coffin on the third floor.


    Yan Junze took another deep breath, the mask preventing him from being overwhelmed by the damp air. Then, he slowly approached the coffin.


    With each step closer, the tension in his heart steadily grew.


    Until he stood beside the coffin, Yan Junze suppressed the fear that filled his heart, peered into the coffin, while the beam of his flashlight followed inside.


    ```


    Then he froze.


    There was no one.


    The coffin was actually empty.


    Not exactly empty, though.


    Yan Junze quickly saw a piece of light yellow rice paper inside, which seemed to have a full page of characters written with a brush.


    He looked around the room and noticed nothing unusual. Then he reached into the coffin and took out the rice paper.


    The first line read: A letter from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    These characters appeared to be written by a "Lin Yishan," a Yin Yang Master.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had encountered a traditional Yin Yang Master in a strangeness event.


    Because, according to the ways this world dealt with supernatural events, the traditionally passed-down tools, such as coin swords, talismans, jade Buddhas, and black dog blood, were almost ineffective against supernatural forces.


    Which meant these Yin Yang Masters were either unemployed or on the verge of unemployment.


    Now, it was rare to see someone claiming to be a Yin Yang Master.


    Yan Junze read the contents of the paper at a glance, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter, until they were completely knitted together.


    The contents of the rice paper contained a warning from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    From the text, Yan Junze quickly gathered the following crucial information:


    1. The soul of Ye Zhennan had been wandering in this building for half a year, and traditional methods had failed to eliminate her, but the locals at Rock did not inform the paranormal event team and instead had the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan conduct an exorcism.


    2. It was impossible to bury Ye Zhennan''s body because every time after the burial, her body would return to the site of her hanging, the reason remained a mystery. Therefore, the locals simply placed the coffin in her home, letting her cause trouble only within her own house.


    3. The hanging didn''t take place on the third floor but in... the basement.


    4. If you encounter the soul of Ye Zhennan in the building, remember, never follow her, don''t look straight at her face, and especially don''t stare at her protruding tongue.


    When he got to the last piece of information, Yan Junze was utterly baffled.


    He couldn''t help but curse the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan eighteen times in his mind, for fuck''s sake, if I hadn''t come up to read what you wrote, how would I know not to follow Ye Zhennan''s soul?


    Now that he''d followed her here, what could he do?


    However, it seemed that Lin Yishan had written these words, perhaps intending them for the exorcist, but the locals had not reported to the exorcist team.


    Knowing now not to follow, Yan Junze prepared to immediately retreat downstairs. Just as he turned to leave, a piece of information flashed through his mind.


    [The Hanged Woman has triggered a new branch mission.]


    [Mission Name: Tongue;]


    [Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);]


    [Mission Background: Ye Zhennan loved beauty in life, so when she chose to hang herself, she regretted it. She didn''t expect the hanging to cause her jaw to be strangled, making her tongue muscles slack due to relaxation, plus the loss of central control, after death, Ye Zhennan''s tongue protruded out of her mouth by about ten centimeters.]


    [Mission Instructions: Find Ye Zhennan''s body and stuff her tongue back into her mouth;]


    [Mission Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Mission Penalty: Unknown;]


    [Mission Tip: 1. This evil spirit is Lockdown-capable; 2. Affected by the supernatural territory, Ye Zhennan''s evil spirit will naturally protect her body from any disturbance by outsiders, please proceed with caution;]


    [Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is very terrifying.]


    Having seen the new branch mission, Yan Junze knew he couldn''t linger on the third floor any longer and immediately moved to leave. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after taking only one step, he stopped and stared straight ahead.


    At the doorway of the room stood a woman with disheveled hair, a rope tied around her neck, dressed in a white dress and white shoes.


    As she stood, her shoulders slanted to the left, one side higher than the other, as if unable to maintain balance.

 Chapter 85 The Woman in the Old House (Part 3)

    The moment Yan Junze caught a glimpse of Ye Zhennan''s soul, he immediately diverted his gaze and stopped staring at her.He vividly remembered the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan''s advice, not to stare at this woman''s face, especially her tongue.


    It seemed that after death, Ye Zhennan was very dissatisfied with her own appearance, which is why staring at her had become taboo.


    Although it was just a fleeting glance and he quickly shifted his gaze, Yan Junze still vaguely saw the woman''s face, particularly the area around her lips, which was quite conspicuous.


    A soft, limpy thing was dangling down from her lips to her chin, clearly her elongated tongue.


    "How am I going to get down?" Yan Junze quickly pondered in his mind.


    Now Ye Zhennan was blocking the doorway without moving, her stance was exceedingly abnormal, her shoulders uneven, emanating an inexplicable creepiness. Gradually, the room housing the coffin filled with an increasingly chilling atmosphere.


    A man and a strangeness stood facing each other.


    After a moment, Yan Junze finally spoke, "Can you... speak?"


    Ye Zhennan lifted her head, tilting it, and let out a garbled sound from her mouth.


    Yan Junze was startled, then he realized, it seemed to be a curse, something like "Fuck you."


    He had politely asked her a question, so why would she start cursing right away?


    But the next second, he figured it out, "Damn it, with a huge tongue stuffed in her mouth, she definitely couldn''t speak properly."


    His question had succeeded in angering Ye Zhennan; after she cursed, her tongue suddenly stretched out rapidly, coiling straight towards Yan Junze''s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze once again found himself at the stair entrance on the first floor.


    He had been maintaining the four-hour continuous rewind, and at this moment, he was back to the time right after he entered house number 39 and stood at the entrance to the staircase on the first floor.


    So far, Ye Zhennan''s soul had not appeared yet, but the task related to the "tongue" had not been triggered either.


    Having foreknowledge of the contents on the piece of Xuan paper in the coffin, Yan Junze already had a plan.


    He immediately climbed the stairs, heading for the third floor.


    Along the way, being very cautious, he didn''t see Ye Zhennan''s figure.


    According to the timeline of his previous attempt, he was still halfway down the stairs to the basement, soon to spot Ye Zhennan''s white shoes standing not far away.


    Therefore, at this moment, that woman should not be on the third floor. As long as he moved quickly and triggered the "tongue" task, he could immediately head to the basement to find the body.


    He swiftly entered the room that housed only a single coffin; the lid was still pushed to one side. Yan Junze approached, about to reach inside to take out the Xuan paper.


    But the next second, he froze in shock - he had never imagined that Ye Zhennan would be lying inside the coffin!


    The woman had a pale face, messy hair, eyes slightly closed, and that tongue still stretched out of her mouth, resting on the corner of her lips. The Xuan paper was concealed beneath her body, only a corner visible.


    Yan Junze could not determine whether the Ye Zhennan in the coffin was her soul or her body, but a person who had been dead for so long would have decayed by now, and certainly not appear as she did.


    This was also the question lingering in Yan Junze''s mind; since the "tongue" task required him to stuff Ye Zhennan''s tongue back into her mouth, at the very least, that thing had to be flexible. If it had decayed, how could he still stuff it?


    Moreover, the air in the room was damp, significantly increasing the likelihood of the body decomposing.


    This question would persist until he actually saw Ye Zhennan''s body.


    Now it seemed that only Ye Zhennan''s soul lay in the coffin.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and glanced at the Xuan paper that was partially covered by her body, revealing just a corner. It looked as if the paper was not fully pressed down, merely covered by the body.


    With this in mind, he slowed his breathing and carefully reached his hand into the coffin, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on what appeared to be the sleeping Ye Zhennan.


    In fact, the features of Ye Zhennan weren''t ugly, at least she was above average, but that long tongue sticking out greatly detracted from her overall attractiveness.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan wrote on the paper, "Do not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan''s soul, and do not look at her tongue." This was under the assumption that Ye Zhennan had her eyes open, but now the woman''s eyes were tightly closed, as if she weren''t "awake" yet.


    Looking at her at this time seemed to have no adverse effect. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Grabbing the corner of the Xuan paper, Yan Junze gently tugged it, and the paper moved, indeed it was loose!


    He immediately applied more force, his fingers brushing against Ye Zhennan''s white dress several times, but fortunately, he succeeded in slowly pulling out the Xuan paper bit by bit.


    He sighed with relief and finally grasped the Xuan paper completely in his hand.


    A task notification popped up, "Side Quest [Tongue] has been activated."


    Yan Junze didn''t hesitate, he immediately dropped the Xuan paper and turned to walk towards the door.


    Just then, a click sounded from behind him, coming from the direction of the coffin.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw a pale hand resting on the edge of the coffin lid, and the next second, it seemed the person inside was about to sit up.


    He sped up and rushed out of the room, heading for the staircase and swiftly descending. Several times he stepped on the wet moss and nearly fell.


    It was a close call, but he finally reached the first floor.


    Listening carefully, he could hear faint footsteps on the third-floor stairs; Ye Zhennan was also coming down.


    Yan Junze didn''t dare delay, using the light from his flashlight, he quickly went down to the basement.


    Before Rewind, he had already figured out that Ye Zhennan''s body was in the basement, where she had hung herself, which matched his previous speculations.


    Only this time, he had been misled by Ye Zhennan''s soul, leading him to go upstairs. However, it was also a stroke of luck, as otherwise, he wouldn''t have triggered the side quest.


    According to the [Tongue] quest, Ye Zhennan''s spirit was instinctively protecting her own Ghost Domain territory and would inherently block any outsiders from disturbing her body.


    So he could be sure that the entity upstairs would soon come down to the basement.


    He had to move faster.


    Bracing himself against the wall, Yan Junze hurried down, slipping twice on the wet stairs, but he finally made it to the basement.


    Without the help of moonlight, it was very dark here, and Yan Junze had no choice but to switch on a second flashlight.


    He first placed one flashlight on the ground, directing its light toward the direction of the basement stairs so that if Ye Zhennan came down, he would be able to spot her right away.


    Then he quickly scanned the basement with the flashlight; the basement was cluttered, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.


    However, at the furthest end of the basement, under one of the beams, hung an elongated object that was perfectly still in the absence of wind.


    According to the Yin Yang Master, Ye Zhennan''s corpse would move on its own. Anyone moving her down would soon find the body climbing back up to the beam, maintaining the posture of being hanged.


    That must be what he was seeing now.


    After locating the target, Yan Junze quickly walked over.

 Chapter 86 The Woman in the Old House (Part 4)

    After walking a distance, he looked back at the basement staircase but saw no sign of the woman in the white dress.Approaching the hanging object, Yan Junze climbed onto a wooden box on the floor and reached out to touch it, confirming it was a corpse.


    The body was in an advanced state of decay, with only a skeleton remaining, although the white dress was barely tattered. However, a thick layer of dust covered the surface of the dress, making it indistinguishable from ordinary clothing.


    Yan Junze wondered how, despite such decay, the protruding tongue could still be intact?


    It should have rotted away to nothing by now.


    The wooden box was not high enough. Carrying a sense of wonder, he carefully stepped on the box, moving in front of the hanging woman.


    The box creaked alarmingly, as if it might break under his weight at any moment.


    Yan Junze steadied himself cautiously and then looked up, only to be taken aback.


    The disheveled skeletal face held a soft, limp tongue hanging down; surprisingly, only this tongue and the hair remained intact.


    Yan Junze glanced toward the basement staircase; under the flashlight''s beam, he didn''t see Ye Zhennan''s soul. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was still time.


    He thought for a moment, suppressing his disgust, and tiptoed to reach out.


    Since the tongue hung down nearly ten centimeters, even standing on the box was enough to touch it.


    The touch was not as Yan Junze had imagined; it didn''t crumble or turn to powder. In fact, the tongue was soft and seemed as fresh as that of a pig just slaughtered, with little difference.


    A wave of queasiness swept over him. Yan Junze shivered and looked down to see if there was anything else to stand on to get higher.


    Because at this height, he could only touch the tongue and could not put it back in the skeleton''s mouth.


    Under the light of the flashlight, he quickly spotted a stepladder lying on the ground, almost buried in dust. If not for careful observation, he would have missed its existence.


    Yan Junze prepared to jump down from the box to set the ladder up and then climb it. Once he was level with the height of the hanging body, he planned to find a way to stuff the tongue back into Ye Zhennan''s mouth.


    However, before jumping off the box, he felt a prick of caution and looked back at the basement staircase again.


    He saw a pair of feet in a white dress already appearing at the stairs, standing on the last step before descending into the basement, only three steps away from reaching the basement floor.


    Those feet, illuminated under the focused beam of his flashlight, were strikingly conspicuous.


    "She''s here already."


    Yan Junze dared not delay any longer, jumping down from the box and quickly lifting the ladder, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. The dust filled the air, causing him to choke several times.


    Once the ladder was steady, he immediately began climbing without missing a beat.


    The ladder creaked worryingly, showing signs of neglect and threatening to break under a slightly more forceful step.


    He slowed down, making sure his last step was secure before daring to take the next.


    Having climbed to the second-to-top rung of the stepladder and straddled it, his body was now stable enough. He was at a height where he could stuff the tongue into Ye Zhennan''s skeletal mouth.


    Before grabbing the tongue, Yan Junze glanced once more toward the basement stairway, where the pair of white shoes remained.


    Yan Junze felt a surge of relief inside, hoping that Ye Zhennan''s soul would continue to stand there until he completed his task.


    After all, he was struggling for her beauty!


    He extended his right hand and gently grasped the drooping tongue, which felt soft and lifeless, devoid of the slippery sensation due to lack of saliva.


    Goosebumps rose and fell repeatedly on Yan Junze''s arms...


    He couldn''t stuff the tongue back with one hand, so with no other option, Yan Junze put the flashlight in his mouth and used both hands to vigorously stuff the limp tongue back into the skeleton''s mouth.


    But he soon realized that the upper and lower jaws of the skeleton were loose and couldn''t close, so after half of the tongue was stuffed in, it quickly slipped out again.


    "This won''t work."


    Yan Junze shook his head, holding the tongue in both hands, and subconsciously glanced at the basement staircase.


    Suddenly, he shuddered, only to see that the pair of feet that had been standing on the steps just a moment ago had now vanished without a trace.


    Under the beam of his flashlight at the staircase entrance, there was nothing but empty space.


    "Did she go upstairs? Or did she come into the basement?" Yan Junze''s heart pounded like a drum.


    He quickly turned his head, the light from the flashlight in his mouth rapidly scanning the surroundings, but it seemed he saw no sign of Ye Zhennan''s soul.


    It couldn''t have gone up; that woman''s soul must have already entered the basement.


    Yan Junze knew he had to speed up. He forced himself to focus on the long tongue, grabbed it again, and stuffed it violently into the skeleton''s mouth.


    At the same time, this time he finally saw clearly what the structure inside the mouth of Ye Zhennan''s corpse really was.


    He saw at the end of the tongue, inside the mouth, there was a clump that looked like spider silk, a sticky substance that firmly held the tongue in place, preventing it from slipping out completely.


    If he could stuff the sharp end of the tongue in and stick it to that sticky substance, then the whole tongue, even if fully inserted, would not slip out again.


    Yan Junze had an idea.


    Just as he was about to use both hands to stuff in the tongue, a muffled and unclear voice suddenly rang out from behind him, as if talking with something in the mouth, the words garbled and indistinct.


    Just like before the Rewind, this time, the clever Yan Junze understood again that the meaning of the sentence was roughly: "What are you doing?"


    The voice emanated right behind his head, making him dare not turn around, for to do so would have been to come face-to-face with her.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan once said that one must not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan, so when the voice sounded, Yan Junze just gave an involuntary shudder, then continued to work hard at stuffing the tongue.


    One could imagine, at this moment, Ye Zhennan''s soul was hovering in mid-air, parallel to him who was standing on the stepladder.


    "Let go!"


    The instinct to protect her own body was triggered, and the woman behind him barked a muffled and hoarse command.


    "I''m helping you!"


    However, far from letting go, Yan Junze gripped the greasy tongue even more vigorously, working hard to stick the sharp end onto that innermost sticky substance.


    Whew!


    Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill on his neck as the soul''s hands wrapped around it. The flashlight in his mouth dropped, landing perfectly on the wooden plank at the very top of the stepladder.


    Almost instinctively, Yan Junze was about to Rewind.


    However, he knew that at this moment, he was racing against time. If he could stick the tongue before the soul acted, then his great task would be accomplished.


    The critical issue was that he needed to pay constant attention to his breathing. If he began to struggle for breath, nearing the point of suffocation, then he would have no choice but to Rewind.


    Fortunately, the woman''s strength did not reach its peak the moment she grasped his neck; otherwise, Yan Junze''s eyes would have bulged out of their sockets.


    Her hands'' force was gradually increasing, which provided Yan Junze with the opportunity to stuff the tongue in one fierce attempt.


    Even so, at that moment he still felt his head swell and breathing grow difficult, as if a steel hoop were tightening around his neck.


    With his left hand, he grabbed the tip of the long tongue and forcefully stuffed it to the spot with the sticky substance, pressing down hard on the spot before Yan Junze finally let go.


    This time, the tongue stayed put, no longer sliding out of the mouth.


    [Tongue, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Awarded 300 Different Dimension Energy points.]

 Chapter 87 The Woman in the Old House (Part 5)

    And at the same moment, the tightening force around his neck loosened, and the woman''s hands released in the next second."It''s okay now, it''s okay," Yan Junze patted his chest, without turning his head back he said, "I helped you put your tongue back in. This should make you look a bit prettier, I meant no harm."


    "Thank...thank you."


    The voice of the woman behind him became extraordinarily clear, obviously her tongue that had been hanging out of her mouth had also retracted.


    "Now, may I look at you?" Yan Junze asked cautiously, still not turning around. Continue your saga on empire


    "Sorry for scaring you just now," Ye Zhennan said. "Yes, you can look at me."


    Yan Junze was encountering such a polite strangeness for the first time, so for a moment, he, who had been tormented by the Resentful Granny and the earlier Ke''er, found it somewhat disconcerting.


    At this moment, he realized the true meaning of the so-called "cheapness" unintentionally revealed in human nature itself.


    First, he bent down to pick up the flashlight that had fallen on the stepladder, and then Yan Junze turned his head back.


    Ye Zhennan''s soul was indeed floating behind him; now in a flowing white dress with her hair drifting, her face had returned to normal, albeit a bit pale, making her look not like a ghost, but more like a celestial maiden from the mortal world. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm, you''re restored, fully restored," Yan Junze nodded in approval.


    He then remembered the next task and spoke up, "I''m going to loosen the rope around your neck now. If you don''t mind, I can carry your body back and place it properly in that coffin."


    Ye Zhennan gently shook her head.


    To Yan Junze, this woman was the most human-like evil spirit he had encountered to date; as long as her tongue was put back into her mouth, she acted like a normal person.


    Whatever he said, he could immediately get feedback from her, rather than just "eh," "ah," or "ouch."


    "Why can''t it be loosened?" Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    The task called [The Hanged Woman] suggested that Ye Zhennan''s neck was very sore and painful and asked him to help her loosen it.


    Now it seemed that Ye Zhennan''s spirit bore him no malice, so wasn''t doing this task just a matter of lifting a hand? And he was even offering an additional free service¡ªcarrying the corpse.


    Ye Zhennan was still shaking her head faintly, "I am guilty, my son¡­ died wrongfully. It''s my fault!"


    Yan Junze began to understand: Ye Zhennan''s son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, and she felt she hadn''t looked after the child properly, hence her continuous self-blame.


    Her suicide had two causes: one was her husband''s frequent beatings, and the second might be her own wish to die, to atone for the sin of not taking good care of her child.


    A man and a ghost looked at each other in silence.


    After a while, Yan Junze said, "So you mean that even if I take your body down now and carry it back to the coffin, in a few days you will still come out on your own and hang yourself here again?"


    Ye Zhennan nodded.


    "How about this," Yan Junze said helplessly, "if you want to atone to your son, I will figure out a way. But I still need to take down your body and put it back into the coffin for now. What do you think?"


    This time, Ye Zhennan gave no response.


    Yan Junze no longer bothered with her, turned back around, reached up, and grabbed onto the rope that was looped around the skeleton''s neck.


    The rope was actually worn very badly, with some areas already frayed and showing signs of near breakage. But mysteriously, it seemed like it would never actually snap.


    After grabbing onto the rope, Yan Junze gently embraced the corpse, then lifted it slightly upwards, its neck coming free from the rope.


    Fortunately, the skeleton wasn''t very heavy. Yan Junze slowly descended the stepladder, then turned around to carry the skeleton on his back.


    He shone the flashlight around but did not see Ye Zhennan''s ghost again.


    Forget it for now, just get her corpse onto my back and place it in the coffin, before the body comes down on its own and hangs itself up again. If I can find Ye Zhennan''s son, I, Yan Junze, will immediately help her fulfill her wish.


    Fortunately, the skeleton was light, so it took less than five minutes for him to carry the body up to the third floor and carefully place it into the opened coffin.


    Originally, Yan Junze prepared to cover the coffin with its lid, but after thinking it over, even if he did cover it, Ye Zhennan''s body would still come out when it needed to, and the lid certainly wouldn''t hold it down.


    So he decided not to cover it at all.


    After finishing these tasks, he still hadn''t seen Ye Zhennan''s soul.


    Yan Junze dusted off his hands. Now, this task of The Hanged Woman could only be considered half completed. To truly "untie" the rope around Ye Zhennan''s neck, he would have to find her deceased son first.


    He looked at the white-dressed skeleton lying in the coffin and said, "Hold on for two days and don''t come out. As soon as I have news, I''ll immediately help you find your son."


    With that, Yan Junze turned and left.


    He hadn''t expected things to be so complicated. Although he had completed the "Tongue" task, he was now stuck on the second half of The Hanged Woman, and he had to go out and find another way.


    According to Yan Junze''s estimate, Ye Zhennan''s body likely wouldn''t hang itself again within a day or two.


    While pondering, he descended the stairs and quickly reached the first floor.


    He entered the empty room without any furniture that led to the outside of the building. At this moment, moonlight shone through the large hole in the door, providing fairly good lighting in the room.


    Even without a flashlight, he could still move around.


    But Yan Junze had only walked a few steps when he stopped in his tracks, no longer moving forward.


    In his line of sight, outside the broken door and under the moonlight, the figure of a lonely, emaciated person in white shorts and a short-sleeve shirt appeared before him.


    At this moment, that person had their back to him.


    "Back-faced Woman?!"


    A shock went through Yan Junze''s heart.


    He thought he had seen wrong, but after a closer look, he confirmed it was indeed the Back-faced Woman.


    In the seven days Zhang Xiaomo had spent with him, the Back-faced Woman had never appeared before Yan Junze.


    But now she had.


    In Yan Junze''s opinion, the Back-faced Woman probably had reservations about Zhang Xiaomo, a three-star exorcist, which is why she chose to hide.


    And now that Zhang Xiaomo had left, her movements immediately returned to normal.


    But this was not a good time for her to show up. The Back-faced Woman stood right where he needed to pass to get out the door, and if he went through there, he would have to get very close to her ¨C so close that as soon as Yan Junze stepped out, he would be in an intimate embrace with the Back-faced Woman, as if they were lovers hugging from behind.


    "No, I can''t go this way."


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Yan Junze immediately turned around.


    He hadn''t even completed The Hanged Woman''s task yet; he certainly didn''t want to trigger the "Look at Her Face" task so readily.


    After all, even until now, he hadn''t encountered a "hair-raising (low)" level task. During the very dangerous Evil Spirit-eating task, even with an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny, that task''s level was only "trembling with fear (high)" ¨C one level below "Look at Her Face".


    Of course, in the Evil Spirit-eating task, the Resentful Granny''s target wasn''t himself but Lv Jiayan.


    So, relatively speaking, the Evil Spirit-eating task was somewhat less difficult for Yan Junze.

 Chapter 88 Its just such a coincidence!

    Yan Junze returned to the staircase entrance."Go up to the second floor and jump straight down from a suitable spot?"


    He thought about it, then dismissed the idea.


    Jumping down would also be on the street side, and the noise would be quite loud¡ªit would definitely attract the attention of the Back-faced Woman standing at the door.


    "This woman, when exactly did she start taking an interest in me? Following me all day long, appearing from time to time to give me a fright." Yan Junze was puzzled, not understanding what had attracted this woman''s attention to him.


    Could it be simply because he was handsome?


    Since he couldn''t leave from upstairs, he thought about checking out the basement.


    According to his understanding from his previous life, given that Tianmeng District was roughly in the south of Hua Country before his rebirth, these suburban self-built houses usually would not have basements.


    And if a basement was to be built, it was likely that the original plot of land was a depression. To save construction costs, local people wouldn''t fill in the depression before building; instead, they would use the land as it was, constructing a basement below and putting up beams around, building the house above it.


    So if Yan Junze''s guess was correct, due to the natural geographical features from before, the basement could connect to the outside.


    He quickly returned to the basement. Yan Junze turned on both of his flashlights, then started at the basement stairs, following the wall and carefully looking for the vents piece by piece.


    His focus was on the locations with cross-shaped ventilation outlets. Since the basement must be ventilated, these outlets had to face outside.


    Soon, Yan Junze found three vents, facing three different directions, and each had faint moonlight peeking through, but he wasn''t sure which one would allow him to crawl out.


    First, he placed the stepladder at the first vent and looked for a long time. Then he moved the ladder to the second vent, and as he approached this vent to carefully peek outside,


    "What are you... looking at?" A woman''s voice sounded out of nowhere from behind him.


    "Damn!"


    Yan Junze was startled and nearly fell off the ladder.


    After steadying himself, his heart pounded madly. He thought for a moment, then without turning around, he asked, "Are you Ye Zhennan or..."


    He had just spoken a few words with Ye Zhennan, and some of them even sounded slurred. He still did not have a deep impression of the woman''s voice.


    "I''m Zhenzhen." The voice came again.


    "Zhenzhen? It must be Ye Zhennan then, but... the Back-faced Woman might also be called Zhenzhen."


    Yan Junze still did not turn around, asking, "Which vent here can I use to get outside smoothly?"


    "Why not take the main entrance?" the woman''s voice asked curiously.


    This time, Yan Junze was sure that the woman behind him was Ye Zhennan. He turned around and saw the woman in a white dress floating behind him. He said, "There''s an Evil Spirit outside, more powerful than you, waiting for me. Can you deal with her?"


    Ye Zhennan shook her head: "I can''t get out."


    "So I have to find another way." Yan Junze pointed at the vent, "Which one can I break open to climb out?"


    "Here." The next second, Ye Zhennan''s voice suddenly came from the third vent.


    This woman''s Spirit was flitting in and out so unpredictably, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded.


    With no choice, he climbed down the ladder, carried the stepladder to the third vent, and after climbing up, he looked out and felt the space outside seemed to be much wider.


    But how could he make a hole big enough to crawl through? At this moment, Yan Junze missed the days when Zhou Dali was around.


    If that guy were here, considering the kind of vent it was, he could probably just tear it open with his bare hands and make a big hole.


    Experience more tales on empire


    "Is there a sledgehammer in the house?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Come down first," Ye Zhennan said.


    Yan Junze was puzzled but climbed down from the ladder and stood aside.


    Meanwhile, Ye Zhennan continued to float in mid-air, her white dress billowing.


    She moved closer to the vent, suddenly opened her mouth, and a long tongue shot out with a bang, hitting the vent. After the dust settled, the vent had been turned into an opening large enough for one person to climb through.


    Yan Junze''s eyes widened: "That impressive?"


    Ye Zhennan retracted her tongue, looking somewhat bashful as she reached up to wipe the corner of her mouth: "Sorry for the embarrassment."


    I have to say, this is the most cooperative evil spirit Yan Junze has ever encountered.


    "Since your tongue is so powerful, why didn''t you just use it to strangle me when I was moving your body just now, instead of using your hands?" Yan Junze voiced his question.


    "I just wanted to kill you, not disgust you to death," Ye Zhennan answered.


    Well, as a ghost who loved beauty and cleanliness when she was alive, that was quite frank.


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    He climbed up the stepladder again and crawled out through the hole he had just opened.


    Once outside, Yan Junze didn''t hurry to get up. Instead, he shone his flashlight into the basement behind him and saw that Ye Zhennan had disappeared.


    He immediately turned off the flashlight, and using the moonlight, looked around the area, noting the terrain was slightly sunken here. He was right at the back of the house with the number 39 on its doorplate. There was a small path coming from one end, passing through here and winding towards the other end.


    After surveying the area for a moment and making sure he didn''t see the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze quickly got up and left at a brisk pace.


    He followed the path to the main road and then made his way back to his rental, where he went straight to bed without washing or brushing up, utterly exhausted from the night''s ordeal.


    The task of "The Hanged Woman" was still incomplete, and he would have to come up with a plan quickly the next day, so he needed to rest as much as possible to regain his energy for the task ahead.


    After contemplating for a moment, he released Ke''er.


    Ke''er appeared and immediately uttered a sound of surprise before quickly embracing Yan Junze, her face full of longing, as if she were seeing a long-lost relative.


    This scenario unexpectedly gave Yan Junze a very strange feeling, as if, for a moment, he too had missed Ke''er.


    He allowed Ke''er to embrace him, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his body.


    Yan Junze spoke, "I''m going to sleep for a while. You keep watch and listen for any movement around us. If the Back-faced Woman gets close, make sure to wake me up first before you run! Do you hear me?"


    "Hmm."


    Yan Junze covered himself with the blanket and peacefully fell asleep.


    The next day he slept until past ten in the morning, when he was woken by a call from Zhou Dali.


    Zhou Dali strongly suspected that Yan Junze was feigning illness merely as an excuse to go out and relieve stress. Their homeroom teacher, Xiang Decai, had already expressed concern about this, so Yan Junze had no choice but to call his father and have him speak to the teacher directly, requesting an additional two days of leave.


    Regardless of the approval, Yan Junze got up and headed to the bathroom outside to take a shower and wash his hair, fulfilling Ke''er''s long-unmet desires.


    After that, he went next door to Lin Dong''s place.


    This time, Lin Dong was not lying on his bed, but on a rocking chair at home, with a cup of strong ginger tea placed beside him. His good friend, Old Li, had come over early in the morning to bring him breakfast.


    The two of them were chatting.


    Yan Junze hadn''t even begun to speak when he entered and saw that there were cut pieces of youtiao (fried dough sticks) on the table.


    Lin Dong smiled and said, "Those youtiao haven''t been touched, and the bowl of soy milk hasn''t been drunk either. If you haven''t had breakfast, then eat it, otherwise it will be wasted."


    "Okay," Yan Junze replied with no pretense, sitting down and dunking the youtiao into the soy milk before eating it with big bites.


    "Uncle Lin, there''s something I''ve heard from others, and I wanted to ask you about it." While eating, Yan Junze spoke.


    "Go ahead," Lin Dong said, lighting a cigarette and taking a puff.


    "About house number 39 on our street, I heard that their son drowned. Is that true?"


    "Yes, that''s right, he died in a reservoir."


    "What about the body?"


    "After it was retrieved, they buried it."


    Old Li chimed in, "It was quite tragic. That boy used to hang out with a few kids from the western back street. They often played games in the abandoned Lin Family courtyard. Who would''ve known that one day, a fire broke out in the courtyard, and all those kids were burnt to death inside. Not one came out alive."


    Yan Junze, who was mid-bite with a youtiao, paused and said, "Huh, what a coincidence!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 89 Who Says You Have to Go Bald to Get Strong?

    Lin Dong shook his head, "Old Li, you don''t know, the fire at the Lin Family''s courtyard wasn''t sudden. It was the kids, having nothing better to do, playing with open flames in the abandoned kitchen. And there were still leftover unspent liquefied gas cylinders in there."Old Li was stunned for a moment, "This I can''t quite remember."


    Yan Junze said, "Does that mean during the fire, that kid from house number 39 wasn''t in the Lin Family''s courtyard? Or had the child drowned before that?"


    "That I don''t know." Lin Dong shook his head, "In any case, it was only after the fire that the boy''s body was found in the reservoir, said to have been in the water for days. The exact time, I''m not too sure."


    "What was the name of the drowned child?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Zhu Zhanglong, we all called him... Long," Lin Dong replied.


    "Long was usually well-behaved; I don''t know how he ended up going to the reservoir to play in the water alone. He was too bold." Old Li sighed, "His mother, Zhenzhen, was frequently beaten by his alcoholic father, Zhu Yansheng, because of this, and later on she committed suicide by hanging herself."


    "Right," Lin Dong suddenly remembered something and reminded Yan Junze, "You should avoid going near number 39, there''s something unclean over there. But as long as you don''t go in, you''ll be fine."


    "Zhu Yansheng left Rock because of guilt later on, and the building he left behind has been nearly forgotten by the locals," Old Li sighed again.


    Having gathered enough information, Yan Junze had also finished the soy milk and dough sticks on the table and said to Lin Dong, "Thank you, Uncle Lin. I came to let you know that I will stop renting after tomorrow. You can have the agency put up the rental information."


    Old Li laughed, "He has already put it up."


    Lin Dong also smiled, "No problem, when you leave, just pack up and go. Remember to bring me the keys. If I''m not home, just leave them under the pot with the Chinese rose at the doorway."


    "Aren''t you going to inspect the room?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Young people nowadays are very honest and polite; there''s nothing to see. I trust you," Lin Dong said.


    After chatting with the two for a while and thanking them again for the free breakfast, Yan Junze left Lin Dong''s home and returned to the rental house.


    Ke''er had been lying on top of him all the way until they returned to the rental house, where she then got off, hanging her head and standing barefoot on one side (one of which was still broken).


    In the absence of Zhang Xiaomo''s protection, it was only with Ke''er by his side that Yan Junze could feel at ease.


    Thinking it over, he could only complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" task under the cover of night to avoid prying eyes, and for now, he could only wait.


    The "Hanged Woman" task was still half unfinished, but now it seemed that this child named Long might have been on good terms with the few kids who died in the Lin Family courtyard fire.


    If he could further determine Long''s whereabouts in the process of completing the "Drop the Handkerchief" task, that would be ideal.


    But one thing Yan Junze didn''t understand was that since Long''s body had been recovered, his parents would definitely have gone to identify it. Couldn''t they recognize their own son?


    Why did Ye Zhennan''s spirit still need to find her own child before she could truly rest in peace?


    After pondering for a long while, Yan Junze could only assume that perhaps it was just the unconscious perception of Ye Zhennan after death.


    There are some things that the person involved might subconsciously feel are wrong, even though they themselves might not understand why.


    This was like the doubts that had been lingering in Yan Junze''s mind these past few days, as if a key point always eluded him, but he could never pin down where he had forgotten it.


    After a while, seeing that Ke''er was also quite bored standing there, Yan Junze let the Crawler Monster out as well.


    However, after letting it out, its appearance gave him a shock.


    Previously, Yan Junze''s impression of the Crawler Monster was that it was hideous, emaciated, its entire body covered in wrinkles, with sunken eye sockets and a bald head.


    But now, it not only looked rounder, having moved beyond the "emaciated" category, but its skin also seemed shiny, with much fewer wrinkles, less sunken eye sockets, and its originally bald head had grown a fair amount of hair, even revealing a trending side part.


    ```


    "Damn it, what''s going on?" Yan Junze was confused and turned his head to look at Ke''er.


    Ke''er had also been locked in the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas these past few days; if the Crawler Monster had undergone these changes, she should be the clearest about it.


    Of course, during the period they were locked, spirits could not communicate with each other as they existed independently.


    Ke''er cocked her head, her gaze falling on Yan Junze: "Eh."


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    "Fine, forget I asked," Yan Junze sighed helplessly.


    At that moment, he really wished he had a spirit like Ye Zhennan, one who could relay all sorts of information to him, at least allowing unobstructed communication between the two.


    Looking down at the Crawler Monster again, the creature seemed somewhat restrained, as if it had gained some advantage or reaped some benefits without telling Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was even more puzzled, bent down, and looked at the creature: "Can you speak?"


    The Crawler Monster shook its head.


    "Alright, you''re literally mute," Yan Junze said helplessly. "You''ve been locked by me all this time; how did you get so fat?"


    Hmm, wait, eat?!


    Suddenly, Yan Junze thought of something and immediately performed Inner Vision on his Spacetime Atlas.


    At first glance, the Atlas didn''t seem to have any abnormal changes, but he soon noticed that the twelfth node, the one imprisoning the spirit, was absorbing Different Dimension Energy from nearby branches at an extremely slow pace.


    This absorption was slow and consumed little energy, barely noticeable unless one observed very carefully.


    "Could it be... after Locking the spirits, I can feed them with Different Dimension Energy?" Yan Junze seemed to have found the answer.


    He looked down again at the Crawler Monster, shining with oily sheen. It had just extended its forked tongue, licking at its sparsely grown fur, but when it saw Yan Junze looking at it again, it immediately put on a coy and reserved demeanor, as if guilty about indulging in a bounty it feared might be punished for.


    "From the looks of it, you don''t want to get rid of my Lockdown anymore because this way you can grow, huh!" Yan Junze muttered to himself. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He lifted his head to look at Ke''er.


    Ke''er had been locked by him for a week, and although it wasn''t as long as the Crawler Monster had been locked, she might have undergone some changes too.


    "Ke''er."


    "Eh."


    "Use all your strength, jump up, come over here to me."


    Whoosh! Thud! Crack!


    The next second, Ke''er was lying on Yan Junze''s back.


    Yan Junze was stunned for two seconds before he looked back at the spot where Ke''er had been standing; it had sunk in about four to five centimeters. He then looked at the ceiling.


    Ke''er seemed to have exerted too much force when she jumped up, hitting the ceiling directly, causing a large flake of paint to fall off and the ceiling to bulge upwards, before Ke''er ended up on his back.


    Both spirits had grown stronger!


    Yan Junze guessed that Ke''er''s jumping speed could now be termed as "human cannonball."


    But now there was trouble, just now Lin Dong had said that young people nowadays were very honest and there was no need to check the rented house again when Yan Junze left, but fuck, what now?


    ```

 Chapter 90 Drop the Handkerchief (Part One)

    Since he had to go out to complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" mission that night, Yan Junze planned to sleep again during the day to store up energy. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.After confirming that both Ke''er and the Crawler Monster had become stronger, this surprise was beyond his expectations. Though the consumption of Different Dimension Energy had increased in the process, the consumption was negligible to these two Evil Spirits'' appetites at the moment.


    Yan Junze was eager to let Ke''er enter the node and absorb more Different Dimension Energy to enhance her own strength.


    But under the current circumstances, with the Back-faced Woman lurking nearby, Yan Junze didn''t feel comfortable letting Ke''er go in and leaving only the Crawler Monster as a sentinel.


    Mainly because the Crawler Monster''s performance in the "Wine Red High Heels" task had been worrisome, acting like it might have had some intellectual disability in its past life, it took Yan Junze two goes to direct it to charge at Jian Tong.


    And that''s not to mention that it got KO''d with one move by the other party.


    Of course, if it were the current strength of the Crawler Monster, it might hold out a bit longer. But Yan Junze didn''t believe that just absorbing energy for such a short time would allow an Evil Spirit''s strength to leap qualitatively.


    The one thing he could be more relieved about now was that, during the execution of the mission, these two Evil Spirits could at least offer an additional assurance for his safety, rather than relying solely on Rewind.


    Of course, the precondition for releasing the Evil Spirits was that it wouldn''t hinder the completion of the mission. If he let Ke''er out and the little guy started killing weaker Evil Spirits than herself, then what''s the bloody point of the mission!


    Yan Junze took back the Crawler Monster, leaving only Ke''er outside, and he went to sleep.


    During that time, he felt a chill on his back as he dozed off; Ke''er had already climbed onto the bed and embraced him, and then he drifted back to sleep.


    This sleep lasted for two hours, and when he awoke, he was incredibly recharged.


    The two flashlights were still fully charged; since the mission was in the Lin Family''s yard and the air should be good, Yan Junze didn''t plan to wear a mask.


    Besides, the weather had been nice these past few days, and there was plenty of moonlight at night. If the place was outdoors, the visibility would still be quite extensive.


    That evening, the young couple upstairs returned home, and initially, Su Muyao let out a surprised scream, then ran downstairs thump thump thump.


    Yan Junze was preparing instant noodles without Zhang Xiaomo around, as he wouldn''t make anything else to eat.


    The door was open, Su Muyao knocked on the door and came in, first surprised to see a dent in the floor, then looked up to see the bulging ceiling overhead.


    "There''s a bump on the second-floor surface, we dare not step on it. What happened here?"


    Yan Junze laughed awkwardly, as he opened a packet of Shuanggang brand instant noodle companion, saying, "I was killing a cockroach, just now there was one on the floor, then it ran to the ceiling..."


    Su Muyao was dumbfounded.


    Lin Dong''s voice rose at the doorway, apparently he had also heard Yan Junze''s explanation.


    "I just want to ask, just for killing a cockroach, have you trained in Iron Legs or Iron Head Kung Fu?"


    Yan Junze''s face was a picture of distress, feeling he couldn''t spin the tale any further, and asked, "Uncle Lin, just name your price, I''ll pay for the damages."


    Lin Dong came in, looked carefully at the extent of the damage, and held up three fingers: "Three thousand yuan. Both upstairs and downstairs need fixing. I know you''re a student, so this is already a friendly price."


    "Damn it, Ke''er, your one move just cost me three thousand," Yan Junze mourned inwardly, but he didn''t hesitate to transfer the money as he said he would.


    Having quelled the trouble, he silently finished his instant noodles and sat at home waiting.


    Around ten o''clock, Yan Junze prepared to take action.


    He took Ke''er into the Spacetime Atlas, closed the door, and headed towards the back street.


    When he wasn''t asleep, he didn''t worry about the Back-faced Woman approaching, because every time she appeared, she was standing in some place, waiting for him.


    This was quite advantageous, giving Yan Junze ample reaction time.


    What he feared most was falling asleep only to have the Back-faced Woman appear in the room. If she waited until he was completely still, she might just walk backward to face him, and then, once he opened his eyes, it would be GAME OVER!


    By the time he reached the back street, there wasn''t a soul in sight.


    Moreover, a section of the back street was awaiting demolition. Although he didn''t know why it hadn''t been demolished, this stretch of road was deserted.


    The Lin Family''s yard was right in that section.


    He quickly arrived at the courtyard''s enclosing wall, which, though intact, had some bricks jutting out, making it easy to climb.


    The moonlight tonight was just as abundant, and even without turning on his flashlight, Yan Junze could clearly see at least twenty meters ahead.


    After looking around, Yan Junze found an easy place to climb and swiftly scaled the wall using both hands and feet.


    Sitting on the wall, he looked inside. The yard was about four hundred square meters, with about five connected living quarters on one side, while a large courtyard was situated along the wall.


    The trees and plants in the yard had all withered. Stone benches and tables that were originally there had toppled over, and nearly every one showed signs of breakage.


    The ground was littered with dead leaves and weeds; it looked like it had indeed been abandoned for a long time.


    After making sure there were no hard objects where he would land below the wall, Yan Junze turned off his flashlight and jumped down.


    According to the mission instructions, originally seven children played a game here, but it seemed one had run off, leaving six behind.


    The mission''s goal was to resolve the six children''s confusion about whether the other child had run off or something else had happened. Yan Junze needed to solve their doubts.


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    The way to complete the mission was most likely to play the "Drop the Handkerchief" game with them, a game Yan Junze had played in his previous life as a child.


    Drop the Handkerchief could be said to be everlastingly popular.


    However, he also remembered from the task hint that there was a "treasure" to be discovered within the Lin Family''s yard.


    As for what type of treasure it was, that remained unknown, and he would need to find time to explore it later on.


    Walking into the yard, he looked around, and it was silent, with no sensation of the wind moving through the grass.


    The souls of those six children had not appeared.


    If they still didn''t show up, Yan Junze was prepared to go inside to look for the "treasure."


    With this in mind, he immediately walked towards the row of rooms. All rooms had been hit by a fire, two of them almost reduced to their frames, and the other three slightly better off, but still pitch-black and crumbling in places.


    Yan Junze chose the first room that seemed relatively intact. As he approached the door, he switched his flashlight on in advance.


    He tried the door. It made a grating noise as it opened, and he had to exert some effort to push it open.


    First, he shone his flashlight inside. The room bore the scorched traces of a large fire.


    He walked in a few steps and looked around. Other than the burned furniture, nothing out of the ordinary was found.


    He moved into two further back rooms, also filled with charred furniture. But he opened every piece of furniture that could still be opened and searched carefully, yet he did not find the so-called "treasure."


    "Hehe..."


    Suddenly, a child''s laughter rang out.


    It wasn''t coming from any of these three rooms, nor was it from the courtyard outside, but from the room next door.

 Chapter 91 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Two)

    Yan Junze immediately went to the next room, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.The destruction in this room was more severe; the door could only be opened halfway, so Yan Junze had to squeeze his way through.


    He swept the room with his flashlight first; all the furniture inside had been burned to ash, none in decent shape or able to be opened. If that was the case, then the so-called treasure definitely wouldn''t be here¡ªit would have been incinerated long ago.


    Yan Junze walked into the inner room.


    There was a large bed, but it too was burned beyond recognition, only a few blackened rods that seemed to belong to the bed frame were toppled to one side; above was the night sky, the roof had been burned away long ago.


    At one end of the bed, a large clump of black objects was piled on the ground, indistinct and unclear.


    Yan Junze simply switched on two flashlights and scrutinized the pile of black objects more closely. It looked like garbage after burning, but the sheer volume of it, now comparable to the size of the charred bed next to it, was startling.


    What on earth was it?


    The laughter from before had definitely come from this room; of this, Yan Junze was certain.


    Was the issue with this pile of black objects, or was there something buried underneath?


    With this thought, he to find an iron shovel or something to dig through this pile to see.


    Just as he was about to go out looking for something, he suddenly noticed that the pile of black matter in front of him seemed to move slightly.


    Yan Junze stepped back, staring intently at the pile of strange matter.


    Indeed, it moved again, and then, like something waking from a sleep, it slowly "stood" up, limbs stretching out in all directions.


    "Hehehehe..."


    That familiar laugh sounded once more.


    At that moment, under the illumination of two flashlight beams, Yan Junze finally saw clearly the true nature of the black pile in front of him.


    It was a pile... of bodies! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the fire approached, six children clung together, and their final fate was that they could no longer separate even in death.


    The black mass had now completely stood up, and from Yan Junze''s perspective, he could see four children''s heads, each looking in different directions, but only seven feet and six arms were visible.


    The limbs were distributed in various positions, making it impossible to distinguish whose arms and legs belonged to whom in this big charred pile.


    Of course, Yan Junze knew that what he was seeing now were just the Evil Spirits of the six children who had died in the fire; the real bodies had long been cleaned up from the scene.


    At least, it wasn''t at the time when the strangeness erupted.


    "Hehe..."


    "Someone''s here!"


    "Just one person?"


    "Brother..."


    The heads all opened their eyes, mouths beginning to move, and started conversing.


    Yan Junze felt his stomach churn at this sight and was about to vomit, retreating several more steps involuntarily.


    But thankfully, none of them, unseeingly, called him "Uncle."


    "Let me see."


    A child''s voice came from behind the mass of bodies.


    Then, the pile of corpses turned in a direction, revealing the heads of another boy and girl¡ªtwo more children. Of course, this side also had limbs that were mutilated and fused together.


    Normally a charred body could not be identified as male or female, but Yan Junze noticed that one of the heads wore a burned butterfly clip that had melted into the skin and could not be removed.


    This must have been a little girl.


    He slowly retreated to the edge of the door.


    "Brother, are you here to play a game?"


    The pile of corpses moved slowly following him, the moving feet indistinct, as if it were a pitch-black mass rolling forward.


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed that after the pile of corpses rolled over, a hand from within the pile seemed to have picked up a pitch-black, long, stick-like object¡ªit appeared to be a wood carving blackened by fire.


    However, the arm quickly put it down again, and the wooden sculpture tumbled into the depression where the pile of corpses had been lying just moments earlier.


    Yan Junze''s pupils contracted briefly.


    "Yes, I came to play a game," he replied, "It''s too narrow in here, let''s go outside to play."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he slipped out through the door, which couldn''t be fully opened.


    He backed away into the courtyard and stood there, waiting to see how these little ones would come out.


    Before long, the half-open door panel shook, then caved inward, and the entire door panel disappeared without a trace.


    A massive cluster of pitch-black corpses appeared at the doorway. First, they blocked the doorframe, and then with great effort, they squeezed out en masse, the pile staying intact as it rolled out.


    "Shall we play Drop the Handkerchief?"


    A child''s voice suggested.


    Yan Junze was perplexed. Of course, he knew the game Drop the Handkerchief, but under the current circumstances¡ªsix children were indeed all here, but damn it, they were all stuck together. Such a big clump; how to play Drop the Handkerchief? Left hand dropping to the right hand? Which one is the left hand?


    "Sure!"


    "Sure!"


    "Sure!"


    The other children expressed their consent one after another.


    Feeling confused, Yan Junze then heard a chilling child''s voice come from within the pile of corpses, "Big brother, you sit down with your back to us first, we''ll be right over."


    Suddenly, Yan Junze somewhat understood, nodded his head, turned off his flashlight, and sat down on the ground.


    Soon after, sounds of pulling and tearing came from behind him, like chunks of frozen meat being pried apart by a great force, producing a grating, sickening noise.


    This sound repeated over and over, and in Yan Junze''s mind, he pictured the scene he had just witnessed, where the pile of corpses split into a multitude of disjointed limbs and body parts, becoming a collection of incomplete corpses.


    "This one''s mine..."


    "Where''s my leg?"


    "The hand is mine!"


    Voices kept coming from behind Yan Junze, with content that sent chills down one''s spine.


    After a short while, footsteps sounded, and a boy walked up next to him, peeking down with only half a head remaining, giving Yan Junze a giggling smile as he sat beside him.


    Yan Junze saw that the boy was incomplete, with some pitch-black areas melded into a mass.


    Once seated, the child fell silent and motionless, fitting his status as one of the dead.


    Not long after, a second child approached Yan Junze''s other side with heavy steps, sat down without looking at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw that the youngster''s feet were completely misshapen, and it was a mystery how he had managed to walk over given he only had one hand.


    Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth.


    The fifth child was the only girl among the six.


    A butterfly clip used to pin back her hair was completely embedded in the skin on the left side of her forehead, a token of her femininity, with her face blackened and indistinct.


    Finally, the sixth one arrived, sitting directly opposite Yan Junze.


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    This one exuded a fierce air, and even though the features on his face were blurred, one could still sense a sinister presence.


    As soon as he spoke up, Yan Junze knew he was the one who had told him to sit down earlier.


    "One of us has run away, a coward and a scaredy-cat, and we need to find him out!"


    "Lucky for us, big brother came to join us," the first child who had arrived next to Yan Junze tilted his half-head, grinning at him, "Otherwise, we would be one player short for the game!"


    "If you''re going to talk, please don''t face me with your face, thank you," Yan Junze said, without looking sideways.

 Chapter 92 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Three)

    The boy who seemed to be the leader of this little group spoke up again, "Drop the Handkerchief, we''ll play 5 times, and the loser of each round must answer three questions from the others. Whoever finds the one who runs away first wins.""Okay," the other children agreed in unison.


    Only Yan Junze raised his hand, "Who goes first?"


    "Of course, it''s the leader!" the boy beside him, half a head taller, said excitedly.


    The gloomy leading boy did not speak, but cracked a smile.


    A ragged grey handkerchief was clenched in his hand. He then stood up and began to jog around the outside of the circle where everyone was seated, following a clockwise direction. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other children immediately began singing a rhyme.


    "Drop the Handkerchief, quietly drop it behind a friend, don''t tell him, catch him quickly, catch him quickly..."


    As the song began, Junze also murmured along softly. He knew that the one who dropped the handkerchief had to secretly place it behind one of the children before the song ended.


    It could not be dropped between two people, nor too far away; it had to be right behind someone.


    Those sitting in the circle could not alert others; they could not constantly look back or continuously feel for the handkerchief with their hands.


    So, they had to keep an eye on the hands of the child with the handkerchief; as long as it was still in his hands, there was no need to look back.


    If they noticed the handkerchief was suddenly gone, then they had to be aware that it might have been thrown behind them.


    The boy with the handkerchief ran very fast; before the song was even finished, he had already made two laps around the group.


    By the time the song reached "don''t tell him," he had already run past Junze''s back for the third time.


    Then, Junze glanced at his hands; the handkerchief was gone.


    The few who had just been passed by instinctively turned back to check behind them.


    Junze also turned to look behind him, and there was nothing there.


    However, the boy sitting to his left with only one arm had snatched the grey handkerchief that had been thrown behind him and stood up to chase the boy with the handkerchief who had already run half a lap.


    The other boy was already a fast runner; this one-armed boy, gripping the handkerchief, had deformed legs that nearly dragged on the ground as he walked, completely unable to give chase.


    Soon, the leader had completed a full lap and claimed the one-armed boy''s spot, plopping down in his place.


    Turning his head, he gave Junze, who sat beside him, a chilling smile.


    The one-armed boy, holding the handkerchief, returned to the middle of the circle and stood still, silently staring at the leader, as if accepting his loss without any arguments.


    "Are you Ning or Dogie?" the leader asked.


    "Dogie," the boy with the disabled legs answered.


    Hearing their exchange, Junze suddenly realized that these kids couldn''t fully recognize each other at the moment.


    No wonder, or else they would know who had run off.


    Looking more closely, among those present, the girl''s strangeness was obvious, followed by the leader; the most talkative one was the boy with half a head, sitting to his own right. The rest of the people had no obvious characteristics from before and did not speak.


    "What''s your name?" Junze couldn''t help but ask the boy with half a head, quietly.


    The boy turned his head and looked at him seriously, "You can''t ask my name; I didn''t lose."


    "Oh," Junze feigned understanding, nodded, and stopped talking.


    At this moment, the leader continued questioning the boy named Dogie with the misshapen legs.


    "Did you see Ning and Long take my stuff?"


    "Long?" Junze''s eyes brightened slightly, musing to himself, "Is he talking about Ye Zhennan''s son Zhu Zhanglong?"


    From Lin Dong''s words earlier in the morning, he knew that Long got along well with these kids, and now he was hearing about Long from them.


    Based on the timeline, the period around the fire''s occurrence was exactly the time when Long had drowned in the Rock Reservoir.


    Could it be that these events happened simultaneously? And among them, the one who fled was Long, who for some unknown reason, fell into the reservoir and drowned after he escaped.


    Yan Junze suddenly remembered that the punishment from the mission seemed to be a hint, the punishment for this task was: In Dire Straits.


    If he didn''t complete this task, would he be punished with either fire or water, either burned to death or drowned?


    "I saw it," the boy called Dogie answered the Kid King''s question at this moment.


    "Where have you hidden the stuff?" the Kid King asked.


    "I don''t know," Dogie shook his head.


    "Is Ning among us?" the Kid King asked again.


    "I have answered all three of my questions," Dogie reminded, and then he said no more.


    The Kid King did not ask any further questions.


    The game continued.


    This time, it was Dogie''s turn to Drop the Handkerchief, but he moved slowly. He hadn''t walked half the circle from the beginning to the end of the chant.


    As expected, the handkerchief was dropped behind the last person, the only girl present.


    The girl reached behind and grabbed the handkerchief in one go, immediately standing up.


    She knew it would be all too easy to catch up to Dogie, she could grab him in just a few steps.


    As she was about to take off, Dogie suddenly sprawled on the ground, using his hands and feet to dash forward with incredible speed. His burnt and deformed legs acted like power boosters at that moment, crawling half the circle in a blink of an eye.


    Even as the little girl ran swiftly, she still couldn''t catch up to the crawling speed of Dogie, and soon Dogie had taken her place.


    "Does that count as foul play?" Yan Junze couldn''t help asking the half-head beside him.


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    "If the boss didn''t say so, then it''s not," the half-head replied.


    "You ask."


    At this time, the little girl walked to the center of the circle and stood there. If it wasn''t for a butterfly clip embedded in her hair, one couldn''t tell from her voice whether she was a boy or a girl.


    Truth be told, with this pile of bodies lying there, without any prominent and effective features, it would be impossible to distinguish who was who with the naked eye.


    "Rou, do you like Long or me more?" Dogie asked.


    "Long."


    "You still like Long even though he steals?" Dogie pressed on.


    Girl Rou shook her head: "Long didn''t steal."


    "Is he¡­ still among us?" Dogie asked.


    "I don''t know."


    All three questions had been asked.


    Yan Junze suddenly felt that this was a lot of information.


    Firstly, it was possible that Long and Ning took something belonging to the Kid King together, but the girl Rou firmly believed Long didn''t take anything; thus, it might have been Ning who took it by himself.


    Now, both the Kid King and Dogie had posed questions, but the content of their questions revolved around Ning and Long, specifically whether they were among the dead bodies or not.


    That is to say, whether these two were present was what the children most wanted to know.


    And Yan Junze''s purpose for coming here was also simple, to find out who had escaped from among them.


    So far, it seems more likely that it was Long who had escaped, and moreover, it was very possible that it was during that time that Long fell into the reservoir and drowned.


    "No, that can''t be right!"


    Yan Junze was startled and shook his head; he suddenly thought of a key issue.

 Chapter 93 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Four)

    The key issue lay with Ye Zhennan.Ye Zhennan''s corpse wouldn''t consent to be buried¡ªeach time she was placed in a coffin, she would extend a long tongue and run out on her own, to hang herself under the house beam once again.


    This was a behavior of her subconscious.


    Yet, Ye Zhennan had already seen her son''s bloated corpse after it was drowned. So, why wasn''t she at peace?


    This suggested that maybe the child who drowned... wasn''t Ye Zhennan''s son, Long, at all!


    This problem might have come to light only after Ye Zhennan had become a strangeness.


    When she first saw the swollen corpse of the child, she couldn''t possibly recognize the face, and could only rely on the clothing to identify him.


    If the drowned child wasn''t Long, could it be the Ning mentioned by these children, who had stolen something from the King of the Children? But why would Ning be wearing Long''s clothes?


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    Moreover, since Long hadn''t appeared since then, it definitely meant he had also died.


    Could it be that Long never left, and like the other children, was burned to death right here in this courtyard?


    Thinking this, Yan Junze looked up at the other children.


    Among the children sitting in a circle now, the King of the Children himself could be ruled out, as it was his belongings that were stolen.


    Then there was Rou, with a butterfly clip embedded in her head¡ªshe could be ruled out too.


    The one-armed boy who claimed to be Dogie, and also answered the King of the Children''s questions, could be ruled out as well. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That left the children with half a head, the one with an empty chest, and the one with only one leg.


    Actually, to Yan Junze, the child with half a head seemed quite close to the King of the Children; if it had been Long who stole from the King of the Children, he wouldn''t have displayed such closeness.


    This meant there was a high chance the child with half a head was not Long.


    Therefore the target was narrowed down to the boy with an empty chest and the one-legged boy.


    So far, neither of these two had spoken a word, of course, they hadn''t had the chance to.


    This time, it was Rou''s turn to "Drop the Handkerchief."


    As the other children started singing rhymes, Rou began to trot along, running around the circle cheerily.


    Yan Junze paid close attention to when the handkerchief in her hand would vanish, but Rou held it tightly, and soon she had run two laps.


    The rhyme was almost finished when Rou seemed to trip while running, stumbled forward without falling, and then continued her run.


    It was at this moment, that Yan Junze noticed the handkerchief was no longer in her hand.


    Immediately turning his head, he discovered the handkerchief had dropped behind him.


    Yan Junze grabbed the handkerchief, stood up, and chased after her.


    Though it was easy for him to catch up with Rou with his stride, he intentionally slowed down his pace, waiting until Rou had quickly completed a lap and sat down in her spot.


    Then, Yan Junze stopped, shook the gray handkerchief in his hand, and showed a resigned smile.


    He walked into the center of the circle formed by the children and stood still.


    The King of the Children looked at Rou, and Rou began to question Yan Junze, "Do you know Ning or Long?"


    Yan Junze shook his head, "I don''t know either."


    "Then what are you doing here?" Rou continued.


    "Looking for something," Yan Junze answered.


    It wasn''t incorrect to say¡ªhe could also be searching for the so-called "treasure" of the courtyard.


    Of course, Yan Junze now dared not tell outright lies; he was unsure if these little ones had the ability to discern which of his words were true and which were false.


    However, at least for now, he hadn''t told any lies.


    After two questions had passed, Rou quickly asked the third question, "Then have you seen the thing that was stolen from Hu Gang?"


    "Who is Hu Gang?" Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment.


    "Me." The child king suddenly spoke up.


    The item Rou was referring to was naturally the one they had designated for Ning or Long to steal.


    Of course, Rou didn''t believe it was Long who had stolen it.


    However, this question posed a bit of a problem for Yan Junze.


    Just now, when he witnessed the pile of corpses surging up from the ground, he clearly saw a hand behind the pile throw something resembling a wooden carving into the pit at the foot of the bed.


    Could it be that the item they were talking about was that wooden carving?


    Yan Junze couldn''t be sure.


    Since he wasn''t certain, Yan Junze thought for a moment and then replied, "I don''t know."


    Not knowing whether the wooden carving was the item Hu Gang had stolen, he could naturally say he didn''t know. There was no deceit in his answer.


    Just as Yan Junze finished speaking, the child king Hu Gang suddenly asked, "Were you hesitating just now?"


    "No, I was considering," Yan Junze replied.


    Hu Gang slowly stood up: "Either you know or you don''t, why did you have to consider?"


    "Boss, was that your fifth question?" The boy with half a head suddenly piped up.


    "Right, I''m not going to answer," Yan Junze nodded, silently applauding the rebelliousness of the boy with half a head.


    "Sit down!"


    Hu Gang glared at the boy with half a head and barked angrily but indeed did not pursue any further questions.


    Regardless, it seemed these children still abided by the rules of the game.


    "So now... it''s my turn to Drop the Handkerchief," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Holding the gray handkerchief in his hand, he went outside the circle of ghosts and began to walk around it.


    His steps were large, so he didn''t need to run, while at the same time, the other children began singing the Drop the Handkerchief rhyme.


    However, after one lap, Yan Junze dropped the handkerchief behind the one-legged boy.


    Before dropping the handkerchief, he had already considered carefully; the boy with the hollow chest and this one-legged boy looked no different from the other silent children.


    Things like hair, height, build, and features, all had shriveled, twisted, and deformed after a big fire.


    One could say that at this moment, they looked more like charred wood than their former selves.


    Thus, it was impossible to guess their identities based merely on sight.


    However, their sitting postures were different; the boy with the hollow chest held his head up, always observing the entire game, while the one-legged boy occasionally lifted his head, but most of the time he kept it lowered, looking up a bit more frequently when Rou spoke.


    These details were only picked up by Yan Junze; the other souls, no matter how they might have been as children, could not possibly have reached this level of thoughtfulness or observation.


    Besides, after becoming strangenesses, they were controlled by an Obsession, losing even the instinctual thought that humans possess.


    Unless, the strangeness in question had evolved to a high level! Like the Resentful Granny.


    The one-legged boy noticed the handkerchief behind him, picked it up, and immediately stood on one foot, hopping after Yan Junze with a ''thump, thump, thump''.


    At first, Yan Junze thought the kid might have Dogie''s kind of crawling skill, so he was all ready to run, but who knew the boy would hop on one foot like a golden rooster, making it completely impossible to catch up with him.


    So Yan Junze simply quickened his pace, quickly completing a lap and stealing the one-legged boy''s spot, sitting down with a plop.


    The one-legged boy, holding the handkerchief, hopped to the middle of the circle, facing Yan Junze, without saying a word.


    Yan Junze didn''t speak either, for the moment.


    The other little ghosts all stared at Yan Junze as well, also silent.


    After staring at the one-legged boy for a while, Yan Junze finally asked, "Why did you switch clothes with Ning?"

 Chapter 94 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Five)

    Upon hearing that, all the children clearly appeared surprised."Ah," Hu Gang, the children''s leader, stood up and stared at the boy with one leg in the center, asking, "You are... Long? You didn''t run away?"


    "Hey, I haven''t finished my question yet," Yan Junze reminded aloud.


    Hu Gang was taken aback, touched his head, and said nothing more, sitting back down again.


    Yan Junze once again looked at the boy with one leg: "Answer my first question, why did you switch clothes with Ning?"


    "He forced me," the boy with one leg finally spoke up.


    At this point, if it were anyone else, they would certainly go with the flow and ask "why," but Yan Junze wouldn''t. He only had three opportunities to ask questions, and he must make good use of each one. Each question must have value, otherwise, it would all be for naught.


    "What did Ning say to you after he stole Hu Gang''s belongings?" Yan Junze asked.


    The boy with one leg clearly didn''t expect him to ask this. He was slightly startled, looked straight at Yan Junze for a moment, and then replied, "He made me switch clothes with him, and if I didn''t, he would tell Hu Gang that I was the one who stole the things, and he would also tell my mom that I like Rou."


    "These little brats! It''s such a trivial matter!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but feel speechless.


    But sometimes it''s just like that; what adults don''t think matters much is more important than the sky in a child''s eyes.


    Regardless, Long absolutely couldn''t let his mom know he liked Rou. Nor could he allow Hu Gang to say he was the one who stole his things.


    Yan Junze stood up and addressed all the little ghosts, especially the so-called children''s king Hu Gang, "I think... there''s no need to continue with ''Drop the Handkerchief,'' the answer is quite clear."


    He turned to the boy with one leg and asked, "Last question, who are you?"


    "Zhu Zhanglong," the boy with one leg answered.


    Long, where are my things?" Hu Gang suddenly stood up.


    Before Long could answer, Yan Junze had already walked over and grabbed his hand, feeling as though he''d grabbed a piece of charred wood or charcoal.


    Looking up at Hu Gang, he said, "The things were taken by Ning, it has nothing to do with Long."


    "Then where''s Ning?" Hu Gang asked, frustrated.


    "What were you all doing when the fire broke out?" Yan Junze didn''t answer, instead countered with his own question.


    "We were in that room, looking for my stuff," Hu Gang pointed to the room that had just been jostled out of the pile of corpses.


    "That''s right," Yan Junze shrugged, "Ning stole your stuff, then blackmailed Long into switching clothes with him to frame him, but at that moment, you gathered everyone together to search for your lost belongings. It must''ve been late, and Ning, who had yet to escape, was afraid of being exposed. While you were summoning others, he simply set fire to the next room."


    "He originally wanted to use the fire to distract you, so he could escape with the treasures he''d hidden, but Ning didn''t anticipate the presence of liquid gas in the house. The ensuing explosion terrified him, completely beyond his control, so he panicked and fled, leaving you all to burn to death here."


    Yan Junze looked up at a place not far from the Lin Family courtyard, where the light of the moon faintly shimmered, reflecting light upwards. Rock Reservoir must be nearby.


    It was very likely that Ning, frightened out of his wits, had plunged into the reservoir in his panic.


    The course of events was probably just like this, although, of course, some details are now impossible to ascertain.


    And yet, Yan Junze still kept some things to himself. For instance, whether the wooden statue was indeed what Hu Gang had lost, and now he knew whose hand it was that he had seen sticking out of the pile of corpses in the room.


    It was Long''s hand; even though he hadn''t taken the wooden statue, nor had Ning taken it away. The item had always been hidden in that room, well protected by Long''s soul.


    Yes, this item must be the "treasure" mentioned in the mission!


    "Now everything is clear; it was Ning who took Hu Gang''s item, and it has nothing to do with Long." Yan Junze looked at the piece of "charcoal" he was holding and told everyone, "I''m taking him to see his relatives now, and I''ll be back soon."


    "Long is with us; we cannot separate," Rou''s voice rang out.


    Indeed, the mission hint made it very clear this was a group-living strangeness, condemned to be inseparable.


    But since Ye Zhennan couldn''t leave number 39 on the main street, taking her son to meet her was the only option.


    Actually, the problem wasn''t that difficult. It was just a temporary separation, much like when they played Drop the Handkerchief, not a permanent one. However, at this moment, the children''s leader, Hu Gang, was furious, and it might be very difficult to convince him to let Long leave alone.


    Of course, Yan Junze had ways to calm Hu Gang down, such as telling him that the wooden statue was in a pit under the bed in the room, but by doing so, his own mission to find the treasure would naturally go cold.


    He certainly didn''t want to just hand over the "treasure" he was about to obtain.


    If it came down to a confrontation, then so be it. He could endure until he got to Ye Zhennan''s place. By then, with the hanged ghost intervening, this bunch of little brats wouldn''t be able to cause much trouble.


    If all else failed, he could always Rewind.


    Yan Junze had made up his mind.


    "Are you sure Long can''t leave for a while?" he asked again. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No," Hu Gang''s answer was adamant.


    The next second, a Crawler Monster appeared beside Yan Junze''s foot, and soon after, Ke''er appeared, lying on his back.


    Yan Junze turned his head and whispered something to Ke''er. The little creature sprang into action, darting toward the back and scampering into the room that had just held a pile of bodies.


    Before long, Ke''er came running out on all fours, leaping back onto Yan Junze''s back as if nothing had happened.


    "Let''s go."


    Yan Junze grabbed the silent Long and walked towards the courtyard''s main gate.


    "Don''t leave!" Experience tales at empire


    Hu Gang''s voice became chillingly cold at that moment.


    "Ahh..."


    Ke''er on Yan Junze''s back turned her head, baring her teeth at the children about her size, her hands bracing on Yan Junze''s shoulders as she stood upright on all fours, her body tensed, both defensive and warning, staring down all the strangenesses.


    The Crawler Monster symbolically split its mouth open and howled once, then extended its forked tongue and began grooming the hair on its head.


    Yan Junze was speechless: "Could you act a little more professionally?"


    No sooner had he spoken, than the half-headed child closest to him suddenly charged.


    The Crawler Monster, which had been grooming itself, lashed its tongue out sharply, striking the boy on his waist and sending him flying.


    "Everyone come back, together," Hu Gang''s juvenile voice turned vicious.


    With a loud shout, all the children, except Long, gathered around him.


    Their limbs began to twist and distort, merging into the darkness. In just a moment, the pile of bodies appeared again, rolling and crowding forward.


    This time, however, the pile of bodies was missing one.


    Long had already been snatched by Yan Junze, who was at the courtyard gate, kicked open the decayed gate, and charged onto the street.

 Chapter 95 Long-tongued Zhenzhen

    Ke''er braced herself on Yan Junze''s shoulder, gazing at the pursuers behind them. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.The Crawler Monster was also breaking the rear under Yan Junze''s feet. Although it appeared to be very concerned about its image, it fought without hesitation.


    This was a Crawler Monster that had evolved within the Spacetime Atlas, and at this moment, it brought a pleasant surprise to Yan Junze.


    The rolling mound of corpses quickly followed them onto the street, still madly pursuing Yan Junze.


    These children had been burned to death, and even though they remained in the Lin Family courtyard, they were not confined there. Their Obsession was to find out who had left and to ensure that everyone stayed together now.


    So even though they now knew that the one who left was Ning, the fact that Long had left again was absolutely not acceptable.


    It was also fortunate that they had been causing chaos in the courtyard for so long; it was now nearing one in the morning, and the people of Rock were asleep. Otherwise, such a large pile of corpses appearing on the street would likely have meant that the supernatural event team''s 4747 hotline would be bombarded with calls from the local people of Rock all at the same time.


    Yan Junze was of average stamina. Even though the weight of Ke''er on his body could be ignored, running with something tucked away was definitely not as effortless as sprinting alone, and it took some extra effort.


    Before he could even get out of the back street, he was already gasping for air.


    The mound of corpses behind him rolled quickly, with black viscous liquid dripping continuously during the roll.


    Apparently, the mound of corpses was naturally sticky, so every time it rolled, something sticky would get stuck to it, and then be flung off due to the rolling, making a sound like repeatedly kneading rubber clay.


    To Yan Junze''s ears, this sound seemed like a death knell, compelling him to keep desperately running, without any slack.


    If this were a world of martial arts or cultivation, the individual strangenesses from before could be considered one of The Seven True Masters, but now these brats were essentially united as one, forming a True Sword Formation or having mastered the Unrivaled Sovereignty Technique.


    Their strength, undoubtedly, was not even in the same league as before.


    Yan Junze was not in the mood to let the Crawler Monster and Ke''er engage in a fight with the enemy. Of course, the notion of being outnumbered and pulling off a miracle wasn''t likely. If a fight did take place, the outcome would probably be his own side coming to an unfortunate end.


    Now, it was a race against speed; reaching Building 39 on Main Street would mean they had achieved victory.


    At that moment, a stone struck Yan Junze on the back of his head.


    Yan Junze winced with pain and turned his head to see that the little tykes had stretched their arms out of the corpse pile and were grabbing stones from the road to furiously throw at him.


    ''''Hey, you little brats, playing dirty, huh!''''


    As his head throbbed with pain, Yan Junze couldn''t help but curse out loud.


    Ke''er on his shoulder shot out with a swoosh, heading straight for the mound of corpses.


    In the process of leaping over, Ke''er''s limbs grew rapidly, much like the time when she was flung out by Yan Junze while washing hair, becoming akin to a humanoid spider as she pounced onto the mound of corpses.


    "Yah yah yah..."


    With a flurry of frenzied scratching and biting, Ke''er''s attacks were unexpectedly swift and fierce, large chunks of black viscous fluid fell off, along with half a finger, chunks of charred flesh, and so on.


    Then Ke''er sprung back, landing on Yan Junze''s shoulder once more.


    They had now entered Main Street, with Building 39 not far ahead.


    The panting Yan Junze, carrying Long, hurried his steps. His legs, which felt as if they were filled with lead, now seemed reinvigorated as if injected with new vitality, propelling him over fifty meters forward to the entrance of the target building.


    As if responding to their arrival, Ye Zhennan''s spirit appeared simultaneously at the entrance of Building 39. She was in a white dress, fluttering in the breeze, and her gaze fell instantly on the "charred" son in Yan Junze''s arms.


    ''''That... uh... hey... hey...'''' No longer able to support himself, Yan Junze threw Long down in front of Ye Zhennan, gasping, ''''Your... son... hey...


    was... burned... burned to death... hey... hey, it''s... him.''''


    The next second, the mound of corpses rolled up from behind.


    Yan Junze immediately retrieved Ke''er and the Crawler Monster into a node, turned around to face the mound of corpses, and stood beside Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan seemed to have grasped the situation; her gaze suddenly turned sharp as she stared at the approaching mound of corpses.


    As it neared, she opened her mouth, and her Long-tongued Zhenzhen lashed out, striking the fused mass of corpses and shattering it to pieces.


    Massive dismembered remains split apart, as though a light rain had suddenly started to fall, spreading over the ground in front of building number 39.


    No longer could one discern a complete child.


    "That intense?"


    Yan Junze was taken aback, watching as the shattered remnants on the ground remained still for about ten seconds before they started to slowly move, gather, and reassemble themselves.


    This time, however, these little fellows suddenly became very quiet, neatly gathering together without making a sound, without showing any hint of daring to come forward again.


    It seems that some things are naturally subdued by others.


    Yan Junze summed up his insights from this "strangeness chasing people" encounter.


    At this time, Ye Zhennan had already taken her son, Little Long, into her arms, and looking at the child whose appearance was completely unrecognizable, she was still certain from the bottom of her heart that this was her true child.


    "Mom," Little Long spoke.


    And gently embraced Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan also silently hugged Little Long back.


    Yan Junze was pleasantly surprised, as the anticipated scene of weeping and wailing and crying in each other''s arms did not occur.


    It seems television dramas are all deceitful.


    Strangeness, they only seek to fulfill the obsessions of their former lives.


    "Child, mom was wrong," Ye Zhennan said softly, "I didn''t take good care of you."


    Yan Junze walked to the side, giving mother and son some time to talk, while his gaze stayed fixed on the pile of corpses on the street side that dared not move anymore.


    At this moment, the pile of corpses seemed to be glaring at Yan Junze too, exuding resentment and unwillingness.


    "Alright, now I want to challenge Jiang Ruixin''s record," Yan Junze got excited, staring unblinkingly at the pile of corpses.


    However, not long after the staring contest had begun, the Spacetime Atlas sent a notification of task completion.


    [The Hanged Woman, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Drop the Handkerchief, Trembling with Fear (Medium), Completed, Reward: 600 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze looked up to see Ye Zhennan leading Little Long towards the waiting pile of corpses, and as Little Long glanced back at his mother, his body slowly merged into the pile.


    After Little Long had successfully rejoined the pile, it did not depart but simply vanished transparently right under Yan Junze''s watch.


    Ye Zhennan turned around, walking towards Yan Junze.


    "Your obsession is fulfilled, you can leave this home now," said Yan Junze, with a smile.


    "Thank you," Ye Zhennan nodded, her expression calm.


    Yan Junze remained seated on the steps, asking, "How do ''strangenesses'' understand the word ''freedom''?"


    Ye Zhennan was slightly taken aback but did not respond.


    Perhaps she deemed it unimportant, or maybe for strangenesses, the concept of "freedom" no longer existed.


    "Alright then." Yan Junze decided not to worry about it any further and stood up.


    A moment later, the likeness of a woman in a white dress was added to the 12th node. Read new chapters at empire


    [Acquired Long-tongued Zhenzhen (High-Level Wandering Spirit), Current Favorability: Friendly]

 Chapter 96 Statue

    ```He tiptoed back into the rental house.


    It was already half past one in the morning. Yan Junze wasn''t sure if the noise on the streets had awakened any of the neighbors, or if anyone had spotted him from their windows.


    But even if someone did see him, there was nothing he could do. In this era teeming with strangeness, who hasn''t seen a supernatural event? To be shocked by such things was unlikely; at most, people would be scared to death.


    So Yan Junze planned to sneak away as soon as dawn broke. After all, he had already compensated for the repairs of the house, and he had informed the landlord. He could leave anytime without anyone complaining.


    After taking off his coat covered in black ash, Yan Junze whimsically thought that it would be nice if the lockdown spirit could help him clean up, manage household chores, and wash his clothes.


    However, he immediately discarded this otaku fantasy; after all, this wasn''t "Ghost Slave Tales." The creatures that were showing up were no easy deal. It was lucky that he handled them well¡ªif not, it would be more likely that he would end up being enslaved by them. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His body was covered in black ash, and he couldn''t possibly sleep in that state.


    The weather was gradually getting hot, and at this hour, Yan Junze felt it would be inappropriate to take a bath in the outside bathroom for fear of disturbing the neighbors upstairs and next door.


    He drew a basin of cold water and carried it back to the inner room.


    Then, he let out Long-tongued Zhenzhen, Ke''er, and the Crawler Monster in the outer room to mingle with each other while he went to the inner room to wipe down his body.


    After cleaning himself and changing into pajamas, Yan Junze went back to the outer room to pour out the water, only to find that the three creatures were just the same as when he had first entered.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen stood by the sofa, Ke''er was upside down against the opposite wall, and the Crawler Monster was still diligently grooming its parted hair with its forked tongue.


    "What''s going on?" Yan Junze put down the empty basin and asked Zhenzhen.


    She was the one he communicated with most smoothly, so he naturally started by asking her.


    "Ke''er is very hostile towards strangers she doesn''t recognize, and she seems... reluctant to speak," Zhenzhen said after observing for a while.


    "Right," Yan Junze nodded. He had recently felt that Ke''er wasn''t unable to speak, but rather unwilling to.


    "I asked her a few questions just now, but then I didn''t dare to ask anymore," Zhenzhen said.


    "Why?" Yan Junze was puzzled.


    "I felt that if I kept asking, this little thing might go crazy and pounce on me," Zhenzhen said with a wry smile.


    As they were speaking, Ke''er had already pounced, but her aim was not Long-tongued Zhenzhen; it was Yan Junze.


    Soon she clung to Yan Junze''s back, showing a sense of attachment.


    "What about the Crawler Monster?" Yan Junze asked further.


    Zhenzhen looked surprised, glanced at Ke''er, and then seemed to be choosing her words, lowering her voice, "I don''t know if I''m right, but this person... seemed to be mentally challenged before death."


    "I have the same feeling," Yan Junze chuckled, "But probably a beauty-loving mentally challenged person."


    "Right," Yan Junze turned to Zhenzhen, "What did it feel like for you while in the node just now?"


    Yan Junze was very interested in the phenomenon of evil spirits becoming gradually stronger after being locked down, but since Ke''er and the Crawler Monster couldn''t inform him, he had been thinking of asking Zhenzhen after locking her down.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    "That environment was very comfortable, it felt like taking a bath, that kind of full-body relief after soaking," she replied.


    This was the only sentence Zhenzhen could use to describe the experience of being locked down in the node and imbued with energy from a different dimension.


    Yan Junze had no comment for that analogy.


    ```


    However, when it came to sensing higher-level strangenesses, Ke''er was still the strongest among the three creatures, so when it was time to sleep, Ke''er stayed outside, while Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were retracted back into the node.


    The main reason was that Yan Junze couldn''t understand why the Back-faced Woman kept following him; he was very puzzled and, therefore, eager to resolve this hidden danger after finishing the matters in Rock.


    Now that he had dealt with Resentful Granny, it was time to go back and notify the "Open Your Eyes" video platform to prepare to film the task "Look at Her Face."


    The surveillance equipment had already been placed in the FH Community and had been idle for more than a week. According to Tang Zhengyi, the platform editor, every day that the equipment was left there, money was going down the drain.


    So it was also time to set Tang Zhengyi''s mind at ease.


    Lying in bed, Ke''er lay beside him, hugging Yan Junze''s neck.


    Yan Junze said softly, "Ke''er, spit that thing out."


    Ke''er changed positions as told, opened her mouth, and her abdomen began to churn. Soon, a black object appeared from her mouth, showing a tip.


    "How can this be so disgusting?" Yan Junze sat up and grabbed the tip of the object, carefully pulling it out.


    Ke''er didn''t even look at the black object; after spitting it out, she still hugged Yan Junze just like she usually did.


    The object in his hand was very heavy; it was the so-called "treasure" from the Lin Family courtyard.


    After letting Ke''er out, Yan Junze had immediately instructed her to enter the house and steal this thing. Now, it seemed it was indeed a statue, but not a wooden one, rather...


    Yan Junze took a couple of tissues and vigorously wiped the surface of the statue, revealing a hint of gold.


    He immediately turned on his flashlight and took a careful look at it, it didn''t seem to be made of bronze, could it be gold?


    Thinking it over, he decided to wait until he got home to clean it properly and reveal the true nature of this thing. If he cleaned this object and carried it with him now, he might attract the attention of people with ulterior motives and invite unnecessary trouble.


    Yan Junze wrapped the statue with two newspapers, but as he was wrapping it, he unintentionally wiped off another dark spot, revealing two characters on the surface of the statue.


    The two characters were "Yishan."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the notes of the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan he had seen in the task "The Hanged Woman."


    The Lin Family courtyard? Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?


    Yan Junze quickly rubbed the newspaper on the front of "Yishan," and sure enough, a "Lin" character also appeared.


    The statue seemed to be a human form, and near the base part, there were these three characters¡ªLin Yishan.


    A statue that looked like a human form and was possibly made of gold, representing Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?!


    After much thought, Yan Junze speculated that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, might have lived in the Lin Family courtyard to begin with.


    Later, as that area was set for demolition, the Lin Family members moved out one after another, leaving a large space that became a playground for little ghosts, until a fire broke out later on.


    However, six months ago, when strangenesses erupted, the "resurrected" body of Long-tongued Zhenzhen kept hanging itself, and it seemed that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, had also appeared and specifically left instructions for the Exorcist on that piece of rice paper, but now his whereabouts were unknown.


    Since the task also hinted that this thing was a treasure for Yan Junze, maybe Lin Yishan was a person with real talent and learning, and this statue of himself could be of great use to him.


    As for Hu Gang saying this thing was his, it now seemed to be a joke. This little guy might have been the first to find the statue in the Lin Family courtyard and so claimed it for himself.


    The other kids, seeing that it was gold, like Ning, were not content, so they secretly stole it, causing such a big incident later on.

 Chapter 97 Uninvited Guest

    ```After hypothesizing the origins and development of the incident, Yan Junze wrapped the statue in multiple layers and secured it with a plastic bag before placing it in his backpack. He set the backpack by the bedside and then returned to bed to sleep.


    Perhaps due to exhaustion, he still had a good night''s sleep during his last night at Rock.


    Although he had gone to bed late, Yan Junze didn''t wake up until the first light of dawn, when his cell phone alarm annoyed him awake.


    The first early morning bus, number 803, headed to the center of Shuntian City departs around 6:40 AM. This is an exceptionally early bus; even the couple living upstairs who rush to work in the morning don''t take it¡ªthey opt for the 7:30 AM bus.


    Yan Junze''s aim was to interact with as few people as possible, which is why he chose the first bus.


    He had packed his things in advance. After quickly getting up and washing up, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.


    He left the rental keys in a flowerpot at the landlord''s doorway without disturbing anyone, then turned and departed.


    Arriving at the bus stop for the 803, the early bus had not yet arrived.


    It was now 6:44 AM, but the sky was already bright.


    Yan Junze reckoned that the 803 bus would take less than ten minutes to arrive at Rock after starting from the first station, as it was only the third stop from there.


    The bus started at 6:40 AM, and he was confident he could catch it.


    True enough, right at 6:50 AM, he saw bus 803 slowly driving from the end of the road.


    He stopped in front of it, paid the fare, and boarded; aside from a middle-aged driver, there were no other passengers.


    This was perfect¡ªcatching the bus early turned it into his private ride.


    Yan Junze found a seat towards the back, put his backpack on the adjacent chair, propped his hand as a pillow, and made himself comfortable.


    He took out his phone to browse the news. The bus started moving rhythmically, swaying gently, and Yan Junze quickly felt drowsy. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    Today''s lack of sleep didn''t help, and Yan Junze turned off his phone and simply held it in his hand as he closed his eyes.


    Images of the Back-faced Woman, Ke''er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and Resentful Granny intermittently flashed through his mind.


    Apart from Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the other ghosts had left too deep an impression on him; now, whenever he had a moment of rest, their images uncontrollably appeared in his thoughts.


    He was tired, but sleep didn''t come easily.


    The 803 bus proceeded with its stops, and at one of them, a young man got on.


    This young man, hands in his pockets, immediately took the seat closest to the driver upon entering.


    Yan Junze didn''t pay much attention. His posture was upright, reminiscent of a primary school student listening attentively in class.


    Half-awake, Yan Junze opened his eyes and stared at the back of the young man''s head, his thoughts drifting to that crucial detail that had been bothering him these past few days, something he just couldn''t remember.


    It seemed vitally important, a detail triggered in a moment of conversation with Zhang Xiaomo; however, it was interrupted by another matter and buried beneath other thoughts, never resurfacing.


    Sometimes, the harder one tries to recall something¡ªlike urgently searching for an item at home¡ªthe more elusive it becomes at the moment it''s needed.


    Then unexpectedly, on some unremarkable day, the once elusive item will suddenly appear before your eyes, effortlessly found.


    At this moment, as Yan Junze watched the young man seated not far from the driver, he finally grasped the idea that last time had been buried deep in his thoughts.


    He remembered, when he found out that Landlord Lin Dong had been affected by Spirit-Splitting from Resentful Granny, Zhang Xiaomo had said something like this: "Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split just under 48 hours ago; later tonight I''ll go next door, rescue him, and see if Granny Ren is there."


    At that moment, Yan Junze had a thought, but it was swept away by Zhang Xiaomo''s introduction of the Strangeness Interferer¡ªno, not that¡ªthe Spirit Destroying Device, which diverted his attention and prevented the thought from developing into a coherent idea.


    Now at last, Yan Junze had the realization.


    If Zhang Xiaomo said that Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split less than 48 hours ago and that they could rescue him later, does that mean if it had been over 48 hours, there would be no hope for rescue?


    If that were true?


    Yan Junze abruptly shivered and grabbed his phone. No matter how early it was or whether the other party had woken up, he immediately dialed Zhang Xiaomo''s number.


    ...


    ```


    Tianmeng District, Sealed City.


    Within the courtyard of a temple.


    Normally, this place called Thunder King Temple would have already attracted an endless stream of pilgrims, and the daily income from incense offerings alone was no less than a seven-figure sum. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, at this moment, there was not a single pilgrim in the entire temple courtyard, only one person standing.


    With shoulder-length short hair, wearing a pure white cartoon short-sleeved T-shirt, casual jeans, and white mesh sneakers, Zhang Xiaomo stood alone with a knife in hand, in the middle of the courtyard, next to the gigantic incense burner.


    Inside the incense burner, which was previously unceasing with burning incense, there was now a pile of cold ashes, without the slightest scent of incense or candles.


    This time, the cartoon pattern on Zhang Xiaomo''s chest was switched to HelloKitty, but her expression seemed as usual, and she had just pulled the dagger out from the chest of an old monk who had fallen to the ground.


    The body of the old monk was gradually disappearing, and after a moment, only a transparent shadow could be seen.


    Not far from the old monk, on the steps below, lay the body of a young monk, which was also becoming more and more faint, now barely visible.


    And in the main hall, another body had long since vanished without a trace.


    "Three high-level Wandering Spirits, dealt with!"


    Having put away her magnetic knife, Zhang Xiaomo earnestly made a note in her notebook. However, her brows furrowed slightly as she wrote.


    Seconds later, she capped her pen and tucked it into her notebook, muttering to herself, "Why is it like this?"


    After her words fell, Zhang Xiaomo took out her phone and called her mentor, who was with the exorcist team in Huaying District of the Great Capital of Huaying.


    She was well aware that her mentor was an early riser and would already be awake at this time, so she wouldn''t be disturbing him.


    "Xiaomo." A voice with a hint of vicissitude rang out.


    "Mentor, I have a question."


    Zhang Xiaomo always cut to the chase when speaking with her mentor. Her straightforwardness was well known among the people in the Supernatural Incidents unit, so it seemed the mentor didn''t mind.


    "Speak."


    "I''ve just slain three malevolent Wandering Spirits, high-level ones," said Zhang Xiaomo. "It took quite an effort, so I recorded it. But considering the Evil Spirits I''ve slain these past few days, I suddenly have a doubt. I want to know, precisely speaking, how many high-level Wandering Spirits would equal one Sculpting Spirit?"


    "That... There''s no comparability," the voice from the phone responded, "In terms of the strength of Evil Spirits, one Sculpting Spirit would be roughly equivalent to around ten high-level Wandering Spirits. However, this is without considering the intervention and Spirit-Splitting tendencies of the Sculpting Spirit."


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "So, if we take everything into account, does the strength of a Sculpting Spirit exceed that of ten high-level Wandering Spirits?"


    "Definitely more than that." The mentor paused for a moment, then said, "Are you... hmm, let me check your task records."


    After a few seconds, his voice came through again: "A Semi-Sculpting Spirit? You killed one two days ago? Hmm, you are capable of handling that, how did it feel?"


    "The feeling..." Zhang Xiaomo''s foreboding feeling grew stronger at this moment, "I haven''t dealt with Semi-Sculpting Spirits before, but it felt... barely different from the three high-level Wandering Spirits I''ve just killed!"


    There was silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the mentor''s voice: "With your ability, fully killing a Semi-Sculpting Spirit must have been difficult. Now... come back immediately!"


    "Mentor..."


    Zhang Xiaomo hadn''t finished speaking when suddenly her phone signaled another call waiting to be answered.


    Glancing at the phone screen, Zhang Xiaomo''s pupils narrowed, and without further conversation with her mentor, she immediately switched calls.


    "Zhang Xiaomo, don''t ask anything, just listen to me first!" It was the voice of Yan Junze, "Answer me immediately, what happens to a person who has been inflicted by Spirit-Splitting for more than 48 hours?"


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback and replied, "They can never be saved. Why are you asking this, where are you? Right now you must..."


    Her words were interrupted by Yan Junze.


    "There''s no time, guess who I saw."


    "Who?"


    "Lv Xin."

 Chapter 98 Spirit-Splitting

    The back of the head of the person sitting in the front row did indeed give Yan Junze a flicker of familiarity.Then, his memory was fully activated, and the doubts that he had failed to connect in the past few days suddenly made sense.


    Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned that not more than 48 hours had passed since Lin Dong was subjected to Spirit-Splitting, and deep in his subconscious, Yan Junze had already thought of Lv Xin.


    Because after the "Evil Spirit-eating" task ended, Lv Xin''s divided spirit had been ejected by a High-Energy Collapse and escaped through the window.


    However, according to Yan Junze''s analysis, from the day he first encountered Lv Xin, Lv Xin had entered room 503 of FH Community where Granny Ren resided. If he had undergone Spirit-Splitting, although the exact time was unknown, if it were calculated from that point, it would definitely not be just 48 hours but far more.


    Now, having obtained confirmation over the phone from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze was certain that there was no saving Lv Xin after the Spirit-Splitting, even though it seemed that the Spirit-Splitting had already ejected it from his body that day. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That is to say, Resentful Granny had always been hiding inside him.


    If the entity they killed at Lin Ling and Su Muyao''s home was Resentful Granny''s main body, then after the main body was destroyed, the divided spirit that had been hiding inside Lv Xin could also evolve into a new main body.


    With all the information pieced together, only at this moment did Yan Junze realize that Resentful Granny might have known she was no match for Zhang Xiaomo, so she purposefully let her main body be destroyed, leading to Zhang Xiaomo''s departure and then sending Lv Xin to come.


    This was not a technique used by Wandering Spirits; even high-level Wandering Spirits couldn''t pull off such a trick.


    She had not only deceived him but even Zhang Xiaomo, the three-star Exorcist, had been deceived.


    Sitting on the shaky bus.


    Almost the second he noticed something was off, Yan Junze activated the starting point of the Rewind timeline, then without setting an endpoint, directly entered a loop.


    He now regretted not having kept a loop of about four hours of Rewind going as he had done the day before; otherwise, he could have simply rewound to before boarding the bus and could rethink his plan.


    Although, based on the current situation, Resentful Granny must have premeditated for a long time, and the idea of not boarding the bus to escape the predicament was nearly impossible.


    Calling Zhang Xiaomo was just Yan Junze''s way of confirming his suspicion, and now this guess he was reluctant to believe had become reality.


    Zhang Xiaomo was far away in the Sealed City, and distant waters could not quench a nearby fire; she simply couldn''t rush over immediately from there.


    She did say over the phone that she would immediately alert the Exorcist squad of Shuntian City, but having Huang Chen and those few Exorcists come over would be no different from sending them to their deaths.


    Relying on outsiders for rescue was virtually an optionless path; at this moment, he was isolated, isolated on this bus.


    Observing the back of Lv Xin, who sat up straight without looking around or ever turning his head to look his way.


    Yan Junze''s drowsiness had long been swept away; he put his phone back in his backpack and stared silently at Lv Xin''s back, with no intention of approaching.


    He was waiting for the next stop to arrive.


    As soon as the bus reached a stop, he would immediately grab his backpack and get off, alighting first, not wanting to stay in the same space as Lv Xin. Read latest chapters at empire


    At that moment, the bus was passing through a rough road section, with one side abutting the mountain and the other a steep slope of about thirty meters.


    Among the routes from Rock to the city, only this section was tougher to navigate and carried a degree of risk.


    However, the bus drivers were accustomed to it, with the driver even whistling.


    After this section, there would be a bus stop, but given the secluded terrain and the early hour, there might not be any passengers waiting at the stop.


    Yan Junze gripped the strap of his backpack, ready to leap off as soon as the bus pulled over and the doors opened.


    However, in his mind, he knew that after taking such an action, Lv Xin, who had remained silent till now, would definitely react, and he would certainly not allow Yan Junze to escape just like that.


    Just at that moment, Lv Xin suddenly stood up.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his gaze fixed intently on him.


    He saw that Lv Xin didn''t turn around, not even glancing back at himself, but instead got up and walked straight towards the bus driver who was whistling.


    "What are you doing? The road here is steep and dangerous, be careful not to fall, sit down quickly." The driver, noticing Lv Xin coming towards him, promptly voiced a warning.


    Lv Xin''s movements suddenly quickened, and in a few steps he was beside the driver''s cabin.


    Next to the driver''s cabin was a metal railing, installed to prevent passengers from getting too close to the driver and interfering with the operation of the vehicle.


    But after Lv Xin neared the driver, he tensed his footsteps, stooped slightly, and with a fierce shoulder bump, he sent the sturdy metal railing flying. The powerful impact did not stop there but continued to hit the driver and the steering wheel.


    The driver never expected a person could exert such a great impact force. In just an instant, his hands were off the steering wheel, and he was knocked down by Lv Xin against the cabin door, falling unconscious instantly.


    The steering wheel flew off as well, and the whole bus tilted to the left.


    It was only then that Yan Junze reacted, realizing that Lv Xin wasn''t going to trouble him directly but instead, his target was the whole bus.


    It seemed slow, but in just a few seconds, the bus had completely veered off the road and was charging down a steep slope with a drop of over thirty meters.


    Having done this, Lv Xin turned his head back with a chilly gaze, staring fixedly at Yan Junze who was gripping the seatback in front of him tightly.


    The bus plunged down the steep slope, and the vehicle''s entire body was penetrated by the strong and violent impact force, then Lv Xin himself was flung out first.


    Rewind!


    The bus was about to turn over; Yan Junze could only "rewind".


    He sat back down, and Lv Xin had just boarded the bus and settled down not long ago, precisely when Yan Junze saw him and began to suspect.


    He didn''t call Zhang Xiaomo to confirm because confirmation was no longer needed, but he knew that Zhang Xiaomo might call soon, so he set his phone to vibrate.


    "Master, stop the bus, I need to get off." Yan Junze suddenly shouted.


    The driver, without turning his head, said, "We don''t stop midway; we stop at the bus station ahead."


    Lv Xin obviously heard their conversation, but he showed no reaction.


    Yan Junze stood up, shouldered his backpack, and walked over directly, pretending not to notice Lv Xin. He came to the metal railing outside the driver''s seat, leaned on the railing, and said, "Master, please stop the bus, I''ve forgotten something at the bus station where I boarded."


    "We can''t stop now, there are rules," the driver still refused.


    Yan Junze leaned his upper body closer to him and lowered his voice, whispering, "The person sitting not far from you is a ''strangeness''. Look at him, he has been emotionless and staring at you for quite some time."


    "You want to get off, right." The driver suddenly shivered, touched something on his chest somewhat guiltily.


    In this era, one might not believe other things, but when it comes to ''strangenesses'', as soon as they appear, almost no one doubts. Besides, if there were doubts, it would be after the fact ¡ª nobody would joke with their own lives on the spot.


    As for the thing the driver couldn''t help touching, Yan Junze believed it must be something like a Jade Buddha he was wearing.


    Suddenly, the bus pulled to the side and came to a stop with inertia. The driver also stood up, casting a glance at Lv Xin, intentionally or not.


    The latter was indeed emotionless, just sitting there vacantly, staring blankly.


    The driver felt even more uneasy: "I also need to take a leak."


    The door of the bus opened.

 Chapter 99 Three Spirits Assistance

    Without strangeness, everything is easy to handle, but once strangeness arrives, some seemingly ordinary people exhibit surprisingly quick reactions.Take our bus driver, for instance. After opening the door, he managed to surpass Yan Junze and was the first to rush out of the bus.


    However, upon exiting, he instantly turned back to glance inside the bus, only to find that the young passenger who had been sitting in the front row had now vanished without a trace.


    The young man who had warned him about the strangeness, carrying a backpack, was still standing there, staring at him in shock, neither getting off the bus nor making any other movements.


    "What''s going on?" The driver felt a chill running down his spine.


    Today, there was no sunshine; it was cloudy turning overcast, casting an inherently cold feeling, despite it being morning.


    "Master, just keep walking, don''t look back," Yan Junze''s voice came from the back of the bus. Explore hidden tales at empire


    But he had stood still the entire time, staring fixedly at the bus driver.


    No, he was staring at something behind the bus driver.


    At that moment, the bus driver''s heart raced even faster, his legs going numb as he kept guessing why Yan Junze was looking behind him, and wondering where was the person who had been sitting in the first row.


    "Shouldn''t turn back, he told me not to turn back, could it be¡­"


    The driver realized his body was starting to tremble, a pressing urge to urinate nearly uncontrollable, and although he was moving forward unconsciously, he was doing so more slowly than a snail.


    "What¡­ What''s behind me? Is that young man following me?"


    The driver''s imagination was vivid, conjuring up thoughts that perhaps the young man was currently perched on his shoulders or clinging to his back.


    The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became until he could no longer move, his legs giving way, and he fell to his knees.


    Right then, a cold sensation crept up from behind him.


    Unable to withstand such torture, the driver shakily turned his head.


    Then he felt two palms pressing tightly against his face, his head jerking backward violently, with a crisp snap, and his consciousness faded away.


    Lv Xin stood up expressionlessly, a faint breath escaping the driver''s nostrils and wafting into his own.


    Lv Xin''s body trembled involuntarily twice as if he found it quite comfortable, then he turned his head towards the bus.


    Gone.


    The bus that had been stationary just moments ago had now disappeared without a trace.


    In the distance at the end of the road, a faint wisp of smoke could still be seen coming from the bus''s exhaust, barely recognizable as it curled around the mountain road, then went out of sight.


    If not now, when?


    Yan Junze hadn''t expected that after the driver alighted, Lv Xin would follow so closely behind him; when he told the driver not to look back, he had simply feared the driver would be frightened, not intentionally luring the driver to lead Lv Xin away.


    In fact, he didn''t know what Lv Xin was up to following the man.


    But it was a good opportunity: they went down, leaving him alone with the bus, the keys still in the ignition!


    Yan Junze, sweating profusely, gripped the steering wheel of the bus, his expression focused, staring intently at the road ahead, not daring to relax for a second.


    True, he knew how to drive from his previous life, but after getting his license, he had mostly driven automatic cars; he had only occasionally touched manual ones, just not as adeptly.


    As for a bus like this, he had never even touched one before.


    However, Yan Junze knew about starting in second gear and was aware that a bus has complex gear shifts, which he had once studied out of curiosity.


    This moment had finally come after much difficulty in driving the bus away, and his mood became very complex.


    First, the road was steep and winding, and second, he couldn''t control the clutch properly, so he had to pay close attention the entire time, not even daring to blink.


    He wanted to go faster, but just couldn''t speed up!


    It wasn''t long before the bus charged onto the mountain road that curved back and forth, with a 30-meter steep slope on the left. Due to the uneven road surface, he couldn''t get the hang of the clutch, and shortly after ascending, the bus stalled outright. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze''s heart raced with urgency as he turned his head to look back, then suddenly froze, his hands leaving the steering wheel.


    He saw Lv Xin sitting in the first row of the bus, calmly looking at him.


    "Oh, we''ve arrived?" Yan Junze stood up, putting down his backpack, "Look at you, not even saying hello when you arrive!"


    He knew that driving the bus away was a momentary burst of effort and that any slip up along the way would mean losing their last chance to escape.


    Lv Xin leaned forward slightly, like a marionette being pulled up, approaching Yan Junze swiftly on tiptoes, just as he had followed the bus driver before.


    The next second, the Crawler Monster, Ke''er, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen appeared before Yan Junze in succession.


    Yan Junze shouted fiercely, "Attack him!"


    Although he knew what the final outcome would be, he was now in the most unfavorable position, so whatever happened, he would seize any opportunity that arose.


    If he found a flaw, Yan Junze would immediately Rewind and look for a chance to break through.


    The three strangenesses charged at Lv Xin simultaneously.


    This time the Crawler Monster wasn''t as dim-witted and helpless as when it faced the cross-dressing gang leader Jian Tong. Instead, it was ferociously charging forward, although still less rapid than Ke''er.


    Upon seeing Lv Xin, Long-tongued Zhenzhen immediately said to Yan Junze, "You should run, he''s very strong, we won''t be able to hold him off for long!"


    Thud!


    The Crawler Monster''s head had been squashed flat under Lv Xin''s foot.


    Ke''er had pounced onto Lv Xin''s shoulder at that moment, limbs elongated, mouth open wide, biting at Lv Xin''s forehead.


    "Aah!"


    A strange scream came from Lv Xin''s mouth as his body violently shook, and Ke''er was instantly flung away, hitting the bus roof then tumbling back down onto the seats.


    Zhenzhen stepped forward, her crimson tongue lashing out rapidly at Lv Xin''s face.


    Lv Xin didn''t dodge but instead reached out to grab it with his hand, biting off a piece of the tongue and chewing it before swallowing.


    Zhenzhen didn''t back down either. Instead, she stepped closer, her tongue rapidly coiling around in the middle section, forming two circles, one end still held by the opponent, the rest wrapping around Lv Xin''s neck.


    At this moment, Ke''er climbed up from the seat, baring her teeth and issuing a "yah yah yah" warning sound, and sprang toward Lv Xin again with a push of her legs.


    But while she was still in the air, Lv Xin reached out with his other hand, gripping Ke''er''s throat before she could reach him, intercepting her in mid-flight and pinning her down, rendering her scratching and kicking futile.


    Lv Xin plunged his fingers into the captured tongue of Zhenzhen, causing her body to shudder violently, as if she would fall apart at any moment.


    The Crawler Monster, with its shattered skull, lay at Lv Xin''s feet. It licked its disheveled parting with what remained of its tongue, weakly extended its tiny fists, and staggered to Lv Xin''s ankle to deliver a punch before lying on the ground, motionless.


    Regardless, it had done its best!


    The three strangenesses gave their selfless help from the bottom of their hearts, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded, and then, the next second...


    Rewind!

 Chapter 100 Escape is Futile

    Experience more tales on empireWang Jianguo''s home was located at the base of Rock, with two daughters, both of school-going age.


    His wife didn''t have a job, so the burden essentially fell entirely on Wang Jianguo''s shoulders.


    His ancestors had left him a self-built house at the base of Rock, so housing wasn''t an issue for the family; the main problem was the daily living expenses and the tuition fees for his two daughters, which were quite a headache.


    Through a loan, Wang Jianguo bought a second-hand niche-brand car from the used car market. He would rise early and return home late, shuttling back and forth between the suburbs and the city center to pick up passengers¡ªwhat''s commonly known as "driving a black cab."


    Without a business license, and without company management, the money he earned, after deducting fuel and maintenance costs, was still the main source of income for his family.


    Moreover, Wang Jianguo was incredibly hardworking... when others were still soundly asleep, he might have already made several trips into the city.


    Every day at around 6:30 a.m., Wang Jianguo would wake up on time and habitually turn on the "Taxi" app he had registered, setting it to ready-for-hire mode.


    When he didn''t have acquaintances or regulars to support his black cab business, he was, in essence, a part-time ride-hailing driver.


    Around 6:50 a.m., just after finishing at the toilet and freshening up, the sound of an order notification suddenly came from Wang Jianguo''s phone.


    He quickly took out his phone and saw that the map showed a passenger at a bus stop around two stops away from Rock had requested the service.


    Wang Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then noticed that the passenger''s location shown on display was slowly moving. After some thought, he decided to simply make a phone call.


    "Hello, is it you who ordered the car?" Wang Jianguo asked as soon as the phone was connected.


    "Yes, I did. How far are you from me?" came the voice of Yan Junze.


    "I live on Rock Street; if I leave now, I''ll be there in a couple of minutes. But I see you''re moving. What''s going on?" said Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze replied, "I''m in a hurry to get to the city center. I''m currently on a bus. Drive over here to pick me up, the quicker, the better! If you''re fast enough, I''ll give you an extra 200 yuan."


    "Okay!" Wang Jianguo was immediately excited.


    He hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys, and went out the door. He settled into the driver''s seat, secured his phone, plugged in the charging cable, started his beloved niche-brand sedan, and zoomed out of the main street of Rock.


    ...


    This was Yan Junze''s second Rewind after encountering Lv Xin.


    After the bus plunged down the steep slope, he had performed his first Rewind. The second time he was supposed to take the bus and run away, but he was discovered and pursued, so he had no choice but to release his three Spirits and eventually Rewind after being overpowered.


    This time, he decided not to startle the snake in the grass but to change his approach and not take the bus.


    Upon noticing that Lv Xin had boarded, he immediately opened the "Taxi" app and soon got a response from Wang Jianguo.


    With an extra 200 yuan to motivate him, Wang Jianguo almost floored the gas pedal, and in just four minutes, Yan Junze''s phone rang.


    "Hello, are you on bus route 803? I''m right behind you guys," said the voice of Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze nodded, "Wait for me at the next stop."


    As soon as the call ended, a silver-gray niche-brand sedan whizzed by, rushing ahead of the bus route 803 and stopping at the visible bus stop ahead.


    There, apart from this sedan, there was only one person waiting for the bus.


    It was a woman, dressed in white shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with disheveled hair, her back to the street, seemingly looking at the ad board on the platform.


    Before long, the bus approached the stop.


    The moment the rear door opened, Yan Junze, who was all set with his backpack, leaped off the bus and immediately dove into the waiting sedan.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze immediately looked over to the bus and saw Lv Xin sitting motionless, seemingly unaware that he had gotten off.


    Then, Yan Junze realized something was off about the platform.


    He turned his head, his gaze landing on the bus platform, and his pupils instantly narrowed.


    The bus driver had waited barely two seconds before seeing that the woman in white, who had her back turned to the bus, showed no signs of boarding. Therefore, he closed the doors and started driving forward.


    "Let''s go, pick up the pace," Yan Junze instructed Wang Jianguo, retracting his gaze. "Head downtown."


    Wang Jianguo had already started the sedan. At the words, he nodded, pressed the accelerator, and the car shot forward, quickly catching up to the departing Route 803 and surging past it into the distance.


    Yan Junze turned his head again to observe the movement of the bus behind them and took another glance at the platform. Finding no abnormalities, he turned back and let out a soft sigh of relief.


    Indeed, a private car was quite convenient. It had quickly passed through the most rugged part of the mountain road and had probably left the bus far behind.


    As they drew closer to the urban area, more houses appeared on both sides of the road, and Yan Junze''s heart gradually settled down.


    Soon, the sedan entered the only inbound road to the city center, where, for some unknown reason, a massive traffic jam had formed with a long line of cars stalled.


    "What''s going on?" Yan Junze leaned forward from the back seat to the driver''s cabin, eyeing the impenetrable road ahead.


    All the cars in front had stopped, with no one trying to cut in line. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, there were so many cars that it was impossible to cut through; each vehicle was orderly following the one ahead.


    He hadn''t expected to get stuck here, at this time of day.


    "It must be the rush hour, and there might have been a minor collision," Wang Jianguo murmured, guessing to himself.


    Unable to see the exact location of the collision, there was nothing to do but wait.


    Yan Junze checked the time and made a call to his parents.


    His father, Yan Daguo, had worked the night shift at the factory and had not come home, while his mother had left early for the morning shift.


    So, there was no one at home right now.


    Given the current situation, Yan Junze seemed to have rid himself of the Resentful Granny''s pursuit, but he was all too aware that the real trouble lay ahead.


    Zhang Xiaomo wouldn''t be able to rush back momentarily, and the other members of the Exorcist team here might not have anyone above a three-star Exorcist. If it were two-star Exorcists or lower who arrived, they would be of no use.


    If push came to shove, he planned to implement the previous plan, going to Yu Xiaochang and waiting for Zhang Xiaomo''s arrival.


    In the meantime, he would use Ke''er''s Rewind early warning to temporarily evade.


    As he was contemplating, a bizarre thought suddenly emerged.


    This idea even surprised Yan Junze himself; he couldn''t understand why it had suddenly popped into his head. But upon further thought, it seemed not entirely impossible.


    After all, he currently had three Evil Spirits at his disposal. Though they were no match for the Resentful Granny, this crazy idea might just work.


    Just then, a familiar silhouette of a car appeared to the right of the silver-gray sedan Yan Junze was riding in. He instinctively turned his head for a glance and was immediately stunned.


    He saw Route 803 bus actually overtaking them, having come up alongside the stalled stream of vehicles.


    Yan Junze wasn''t sure about other cities, but typically in second or third-tier cities like Shuntian City, buses would frequently overtake, hog lanes, cross lines, and push through with reckless abandon, earning them the nickname "Sweeper of the City Streets."


    Therefore, it was no surprise that their car was overtaken by the Route 803 bus amidst the congested traffic.


    Inside the bus, that familiar young person was still seated, and there were several other passengers aboard now.


    As Yan Junze was observing, Lv Xin, who had been sitting primly, suddenly moved his head. Slowly he turned it around and, through the bus window, fixed his gaze directly on Yan Junze seated in the small car.


    "Fuck it, no more hiding! Let''s do this!"


    Looking into Lv Xin''s eyes felt like staring into the eyes of the Resentful Granny. At that moment, Yan Junze made a decision and immediately set out to execute the plan that had spontaneously come to mind.

 Chapter 101 Burning the Boats

    "At that moment, Wang Jianguo also saw the 803 bus, which had managed to get ahead despite setting off later. He offered an apologetic smile and explained to Yan Junze, "Sorry, young man. We would have already reached the city center if it hadn''t been for the traffic jam.""It''s fine, master," Yan Junze said with a smile. "Just head to FH Community now, I''ll give you the extra two hundred as agreed."


    Wang Jianguo was momentarily taken aback, his eyes lighting up with joy as he nodded, "Alright. It seems like the point of collision is not far from here. Once we get past this stretch, the road conditions will improve and we''ll quickly reach FH Community."


    "Mm."


    Yan Junze fell silent and turned his head, only to find that the 803 bus, which had been in the lane next to them, had now squeezed ahead and managed to wedge itself into the lane closest to the sidewalk.


    Whenever that driver needed to change lanes, he would just swing the front of the bus into the lane, cutting off the cars behind, who then wouldn''t dare to move forward. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It wasn''t really that they didn''t dare, but more that any collision would involve calling the police, insurance companies, and assessors, taking a lot of time.


    Without coming across someone who was particularly insistent, private cars usually yielded and let buses cut in.


    While Wang Jianguo''s lesser-known brand car was still stuck in traffic, Yan Junze saw the 803 bus already stopping up ahead, with passengers getting off.


    Soon after, the 803 resumed its journey and quickly disappeared into the sea of cars.


    After inching forward for another seven or eight minutes, they finally reached the location of the earlier fender-bender. Indeed, three cars had scraped against each other, and the drivers were still arguing on the roadside, with no sign of the traffic police.


    Once they got past this traffic jam, the road ahead opened up and the cars started to accelerate.


    Wang Jianguo couldn''t wait. He''d collected an extra two hundred from Yan Junze and hadn''t yet shown the value of that extra money. He now pressed down hard on the accelerator and surged forward.


    After driving for about two minutes, when they were about to turn right, there was someone standing by the roadside.


    As a qualified and even quite outstanding illegal taxi driver, Wang Jianguo had developed a conditioned reflex. Whenever he saw someone standing by the road, he would instinctively pull over and lightly tap the brakes, then roll down the window and call out, "Where to?"


    These street-side pickups were quite common; they''d even become an unwritten rule, whereby drivers didn''t have to ask their passengers for permission anymore.


    Wang Jianguo gently braked, his habit to stop and ask taking over, when Yan Junze also leaned forward to look and immediately recognized the person standing by the roadside.


    Lv Xin, wearing casual clothes and expressionless, was standing at the curb, raising his hand and waving to the approaching car.


    "Master," Yan Junze spoke up, "I''ve added two hundred to your fare, and now you''re still picking up riders on the street. Do you think that''s appropriate?"


    Wang Jianguo suddenly realized his mistake, looked quickly at Yan Junze with an apologetic face, "Sorry, occupational habit. Moving on now, not picking up anyone on the road, no more passengers!"


    At this point, the car was almost coming to a stop, and Lv Xin bent down, peering in through the window as though he was about to get in. Wang Jianguo waved him off, "Not taking passengers."


    Saying that, he floored the accelerator and darted away.


    Yan Junze looked back and saw that the man had straightened up without any show of emotion and started following in the direction in which the car had driven off, at a leisurely pace.


    "He''s still following." Seeing this, Yan Junze became even more convinced of the plan in his mind.


    The road became incredibly smooth, and in less than twenty minutes, they arrived at FH Community.


    Having not been home for many days, Yan Junze was greeted with the familiar surroundings, and in that moment, he felt a sense of great relief.


    Of course, he knew that things were just beginning and it wouldn''t be easy.


    At this time, people who were working or studying had already left, leaving behind only some elderly people and children at home.


    Yan Junze didn''t want to disturb anyone else. He returned home, placed his backpack down, then left the house without closing the door behind him. But instead of going downstairs, he went straight up to the fifth floor.


    Because of the Resentful Granny, the entire fifth floor had long been unoccupied, the entire floor deserted and covered in dust. Ever since the last "Ghost-eating" task, even the community''s cleaners had stopped coming up to clean.


    Yan Junze arrived at the fifth floor and stood at the stairwell, taking a brief look downstairs before moving into the corridor of the fifth floor.


    After the "Evil Spirit-eating" task had been completed, the exorcist resealed room 503, and till now, no one had gone back inside.


    Moreover, Yan Junze did not intend to enter it now either. Stay connected with empire


    The reason he had come to the fifth floor was simple: there was nobody here, which was convenient for carrying out the plans he had next.


    He walked from one end of the corridor to the stairwell and back again three times. The entire fifth floor was very quiet, with not a single anomaly.


    Yan Junze could hardly wait any longer, pulling out his phone to check the time and estimating how long it would take for Lv Xin to reach this place on foot.


    Of course, that guy could no longer be considered human, so you couldn''t estimate his walking speed using normal human standards. Maybe he moved very slowly, or maybe he was faster than an airplane.


    After another round trip on the fifth floor, the surroundings remained quiet with no signs of strangeness. Yan Junze stopped, leaned on the corridor railing, and rested his cheek on his hand, lost in thought.


    Why wouldn''t she appear? In the past, he would encounter her just by casually passing by a place, and just now, he had inadvertently met her at the deserted bus station. So why, at this critical moment, had she decided to play a game of hide and seek?


    Yan Junze was getting impatient. Standing at the entrance of the fifth-floor stairwell, with a thought, he released Ke''er from the Spacetime Atlas.


    "Ke''er, you''re the most sensitive to higher-level strangenesses. Quickly help me check where the Back-faced Woman is," Yan Junze instructed.


    No sooner had he finished speaking than he noticed Ke''er''s reaction was somewhat off.


    Usually, this little girl would immediately cling to Yan Junze''s back upon appearing, but now, she not only refrained from embracing him but also took a step back in the opposite direction, her gaze fixed intently on the end of the corridor.


    Yan Junze turned to look and saw, at the very end of the fifth-floor corridor, in the corner where rubbish had accumulated, a white figure silently standing there, motionless.


    With one look, he confirmed it was the Back-faced Woman, without a doubt.


    How long had she been there? He hadn''t even noticed her appearance!


    Yan Junze''s eyes brightened as Ke''er beside him let out "yah yah" warning sounds and turned to run.


    But she was recaptured into the Spacetime Atlas by Yan Junze a step ahead, thwarting her attempt to escape.


    Yan Junze rubbed his hands together and approached the Back-faced Woman.


    He was about to initiate the task "Look at Her Face" at this moment, even though it seemed to be started hastily and he wasn''t fully prepared, but given the pressing situation, he had no time for careful planning.


    As he walked towards her, he pulled up the task information to refresh his memory.


    [Task Name: Look at Her Face;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: None.


    Task Description: Look at her face, ask her what she needs;


    Task Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. This evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot at one''s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot fathom how terrifying a madwoman can be.]

 Chapter 102 Look at Her Face (Part One)

    The Back-faced Woman was always dressed in the same summer outfit: a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which were not form-fitting, but rather the kind that was loose and comfortable for wearing at home.However, upon closer inspection, this white clothing was actually covered with dirt and a few bloodstains.


    The Back-faced Woman''s hair wasn''t very long and wasn''t tied up; instead, it hung down disheveled over her shoulders, with some strands twisted together.


    This detail reminded Yan Junze of Ke''er''s dirty hair.


    But there was nothing he could do¡ªwashing a strangeness''s hair wasn''t something the Yan Junze of today could manage; maybe he could in the future, but that would probably require a close encounter with an Exorcist first.


    As he gradually approached the Back-faced Woman, a chilling sensation began to permeate his body, growing colder and colder.


    By the time he reached the second half of the fifth-floor corridor, Yan Junze felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave; in this early summer season, he was almost trembling from the cold.


    He was certain that it was lucky he had carried Ke''er on his back before; had he carried the Back-faced Woman, she might have frozen him to death within minutes.


    The Rewind timeline was always on with a four-hour loop; at this critical moment, Yan Junze dared not stop it.


    Therefore, there was no need to consider setting the endpoint for the Rewind.


    Slowly, he came to stand behind the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze stopped in place, exhaled softly, and he spoke.


    "Hello...," he said. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had politely greeted an Evil Spirit while on a task.


    The Back-faced Woman still did not move, nor did she make any turning motion; she just stood silently in the corner.


    After a moment of thought, Yan Junze reached out his hand, drew close to the Back-faced Woman''s shoulder, and gently touched it.


    "Hello."


    Suddenly, in a flash, the silhouette of the Back-faced Woman almost turned into a phantom and lunged madly at Yan Junze.


    The movement was incredibly fast and abrupt; the next second, Yan Junze only felt a chill at his neck, and his entire body went numb with a jolt.


    The attack of the Back-faced Woman was so quick it surpassed the reaction speed of a normal person. His brain only realized he had been bitten in that instant, and before the thought of Rewinding could even surface, the blood vessels in his neck burst open and he fell down.


    His vision spun, and everything became a blur of white. For a moment, Yan Junze thought his Rewind had failed and that he had fallen into a Different Dimension space.


    However, quickly, the view before his eyes came back into focus. Yan Junze blinked hard, standing in place, still somewhat dazed.


    Just then, a message popped up in his mind from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Detecting the host is approaching death, "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" triggered for the first time. 500 units of Different Dimension Energy consumed this time.]


    As the message appeared, Yan Junze noticed that the 25th node on the Spacetime Atlas lit up briefly before dimming, though not going completely dark.


    This 25th node had been lit by the Different Dimension Energy he gained after completing "The Hanged Woman" and "Drop the Handkerchief" tasks.


    Currently, Yan Junze had a total of 2700 energy units, with 25 nodes lit, allowing for approximately 4.5 hours of Rewind time. Explore new worlds at empire


    The Spacetime Atlas did not provide any prompt as it had when the 12th node was lit and the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" feature was enabled.


    If he hadn''t almost died this time, he would have been completely unaware that he possessed the ability of "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death."


    After being stunned for a moment, Yan Junze realized that he was standing about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman; the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" had taken him back by less than ten seconds.


    Although the rewind was brief, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy was astonishing, draining about 500 points in roughly ten seconds.


    Yan Junze didn''t know whether the duration of the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" was always around ten seconds, or if it varied depending on the severity of the life-threatening situation at the time.


    For instance, if the Spacetime Atlas determined that rewinding ten seconds was not enough to avoid the threat to his life, would it automatically add more time to the rewind?


    If that were the case, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy might be even more astonishing.


    Anyway, this was a life-saving feature, and Yan Junze''s life could be considered worry-free only when he had an ample supply of Different Dimension Energy, just like the incident that had just occurred with the sudden violent attack from the Back-faced Woman.


    Watching the Back-faced Woman not far in front of him, Yan Junze couldn''t help but curse in his mind, thinking how this woman, usually silent and seemingly easy to get along with, could attack without a word?


    Not only did she bite, but it was a lethal strike that left him with no chance to resist or strategize.


    What an oversight! If it weren''t for the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," he might now be singing his swan song in another dimension.


    For the moment, the supply of Different Dimension Energy was sufficient, but Yan Junze didn''t plan to rely on activating "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" carelessly. He was now fully focused on heightening his guard, preferring to rewind time himself if possible; otherwise, the energy costs were indeed unbearable.


    He approached the Back-faced Woman again.


    This time, he didn''t intend to touch her shoulder; perhaps the Back-faced Woman didn''t like being touched by others.


    Yan Junze remembered the task mentioned needing to look at this woman''s face and then ask what she needed.


    But how could he get her to turn around?


    He recalled the last time at the stairwell corner, when the slight noise of his footsteps while descending almost caused her to turn.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze took a couple of steps back, coughed, and deliberately stamped his feet on the ground a few times.


    He had been cautious and made no noise while approaching her, but this time he did it on purpose, making louder sounds to draw her attention.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly moved, a movement Yan Junze captured with precision.


    Then Yan Junze coughed twice more, and the Back-faced Woman''s neck shook slightly, the dirty tangled hair quivering with the movement. Then she began to turn her body around.


    This time, instead of turning her head abruptly like the time she followed Yan Junze home, she moved her feet lightly, spinning in place at a rapid rate.


    Her entire body, like a wooden figurine, made a series of tapping noises as she quickly rotated.


    The thick, dirty hair also covered her entire face. Yan Junze tried to look intently but couldn''t see through it at all.


    Remembering the task prompt, he had to look at her face and ask what she needed.


    So seeing her face was a must, but his experiences reminded him not to touch the Back-faced Woman, putting him in a difficult position.


    "No matter what difficulties you''ve encountered, I... can help you!" Yan Junze tried to speak.


    He remembered the note from the task, "You cannot comprehend how terrifying a deranged woman can be."


    However, he already understood that after just one touch, his life was nearly taken. Isn''t that madness?


    So now, he preferred not to act but to speak.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Back-faced Woman lifted her gaunt, bruised arm and began to slowly push aside the hair that covered her face, revealing something Yan Junze absolutely did not expect to see.


    What appeared before Yan Junze was not a face but an entire piece of scalp, a complete, intact scalp.


    "This seems... to be the back of her head!?" Yan Junze looked closely and was instantly startled.

 Chapter 103 Look at Her Face (Part Two)

    Now the Back-faced Woman had turned around, but how could she present a view with the back of her head facing me?Yan Junze was stupefied for a long time.


    However, he still reached a conclusion: it was impossible for both sides of a person to be the back of the head; there must be a front side. But at present, the front side of the Back-faced Woman''s body was facing him, yet it was the back of her head that was revealed.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had a chilling thought; it was possible that the true face of the Back-faced Woman was on the back of her body.


    Her head might have been twisted 180 degrees, always looking backward. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If that was truly the case, Yan Junze suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body. It would mean that although the Back-faced Woman stood with her back to everyone, her face was always turned around, obscured by dirty and thick hair, staring through the strands at everyone passing behind her without blinking.


    "Holy shit!"


    With this realization, Yan Junze felt a shudder run through him.


    He remembered the few times he had cautiously passed behind her, the woman had actually been watching him all along.


    "This... this is not your face," Yan Junze tried to stay calm, looking at the chilling back of the head, reminding her, "Please look at me, I want... to help you."


    The Back-faced Woman remained silent and slowly lowered her withered hands that were messing with her hair. Then, she began to turn around again.


    Yan Junze just watched her, motionless.


    Not until the Back-faced Woman turned her back to him once more did her hands stretch out from behind her body, clearly in the opposite direction of the joints, followed by a series of crackling sounds as bones rubbed against each other violently. Her hands, at an inconceivable angle, parted the hair at her back.


    As she parted her hair, a mangled and shattered face was revealed.


    The face appeared to have been subjected to a severe impact, the right side caved inwards, the nose skewed, and the chin dislocated.


    Because her head was rotated 180 degrees, the skin on the Back-faced Woman''s neck was wrinkled, folded over itself like a tightly wrung cloth.


    Just one glance at the Back-faced Woman''s face was enough to make Yan Junze''s stomach churn.


    "It''s possible she died from a fall, her head knocked and twisted around!" Yan Junze speculated internally.


    "How can I help you?"


    By this time, Yan Junze also finally understood why the Back-faced Woman always faced away from everyone, because with her head twisted, only in this way was her face looking straight at everyone.


    One of the Back-faced Woman''s eyes was askew, as if not looking at Yan Junze but somewhere else.


    Her jaw was dislocated, unable to open or close, and at this moment, she could only make a sound from her throat, somewhat muffled.


    "Chi... ld!"


    Yan Junze heard it clearly; the woman was saying "child."


    "Are you saying... you''re looking for a child?" Yan Junze asked, "Whose child? Yours?"


    The Back-faced Woman made no indication.


    At this moment, Yan Junze began to feel bolder, taking a small step closer, ready to Rewind at any time.


    There was no choice; the actions of the Back-faced Woman were too fast. Only now did he realize that when she had killed him in an instant before, she hadn''t turned around at all; she''d simply pounced on him and bitten him.


    Pitifully, he hadn''t seen how she bit, from where she bit, or how deep the bite was until he was dead.


    "Chi... ld."


    ```


    The Back-faced Woman still uttered the same two words, without any superfluous language.


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze suddenly froze, as the Spacetime Atlas detected a task information prompt.


    [New dimensional waveband detected...]


    [The following is a request from the Back-faced Woman...]


    [She is looking for her child. Two strange baby evil spirits have appeared in the underground parking of FH Community. She is not certain if they are her children. Please reach the underground parking to help the Back-faced Woman confirm.]


    [Hint: Strange babies are extremely sensitive evil spirits. Any slight disturbance can scare them off; they are also malignant, with a strong crisis response to human gaze. Perhaps, you could approach them by walking in the same manner as the Back-faced Woman.]


    Staring at the task information in his mind, Yan Junze became perplexed.


    The task information reminder this time was evidently aberrant, not the usual type of task release pattern.


    In other words, it was a message intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas after temporarily cutting into a dimensional waveband.


    And the target of the interception, of course, had only one source, coming from the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze had not expected that the Back-faced Woman''s obsession could be directly intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas and formulated into text.


    At this moment, the Atlas had essentially become a translator of information between humans and strangenesses.


    It''s possible the Back-faced Woman had a lot to say, but for her to communicate it all in this state, Yan Junze might as well lie on the couch, brew a cup of tea, and let her sit down and speak slowly.


    Therefore, the textual prompting of the task became much more significant.


    In just a few minutes, he understood the purpose of the Back-faced Woman''s presence in the FH Community¡ªit turned out that there were two strange babies in the community''s underground parking, and the Back-faced Woman wanted to know if they were her children.


    The parking area of the FH Community was old and could only accommodate a small number of residents'' cars. Furthermore, due to years of disrepair, some pipes often leaked, leaving the ground very damp.


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    Yan Junze had heard people say that the community originally did not have a parking area. The current parking area was formed after the original basement storeroom was converted to meet the increased demand for parking.


    Thus, the parking space was very narrow and poorly ventilated, with many rats and bugs. Just a bit of unattended garbage would quickly become unbearably stinky.


    Some female residents didn''t dare go down alone to drive their cars.


    Anyway, Yan Junze had never been down there himself, because he didn''t own a car.


    "I understand," Yan Junze nodded to the Back-faced Woman. "I''ll head down to the underground parking right now. Are you coming?"


    The Back-faced Woman made no response.


    Yan Junze glanced at her, then turned and walked towards the stairwell.


    Catching a glimpse behind him, the Back-faced Woman was still facing away, motionless, as if she had no intention to follow.


    As he descended the stairs, Yan Junze didn''t encounter a single resident. In fact, the number of residents on this floor was originally small, and most had gone out in the morning, so it was normal not to see anyone.


    He moved quickly, concerned that Lv Xin, split by the Resentful Granny''s spirit, might show up at any moment, so he kept his gaze on the staircase below, worried Lv Xin might spring an ambush while coming up the stairs.


    Luckily, he reached the first floor without incident.


    Since the underground parking was a conversion, one couldn''t get there directly via the staircase but had to push through another door on the first floor, usually kept closed.


    Pushing the door open, he faced a damp flight of steps that clearly seemed like an afterthought compared to the building''s other staircases.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and walked down. However, once inside, he looked back one more time, and the Back-faced Woman had still not followed.


    ```

 Chapter 104 Look at Her Face (Part Three)

    The renovated underground parking lot had poor ventilation and a musty smell, with not much space overhead.As Yan Junze descended the stairs, his feet hit the flat ground, but the mass of pipes above gave him a claustrophobic feeling.


    The lighting in the garage was dim and not very bright. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as he came down, a hatchback started up, slowly moved out of its parking space, and headed towards the exit.


    Yan Junze stood to one side, waiting for the car to pass before continuing forward.


    But after that car, he did not see any other vehicles moving in the garage, nor did he spot a single person.


    In the quiet underground garage, intermittent sounds of dripping water could be heard, followed by cracking noises from inside the pipes, which made it all seem very spacious.


    "Strange baby? Where could such a thing hide?"


    Yan Junze murmured to himself as he walked.


    He occasionally looked back and noticed the Back-faced Woman had still not followed; in fact, Yan Junze was apprehensive that upon turning around, he would see Lv Xin standing behind him.


    After walking around, he didn''t notice anything unusual.


    Yan Junze stood still and thought, if there really were two strange babies lurking in the underground garage, it was impossible for them to remain unseen by people.


    If no one had seen them, that would imply they did not appear in passages or lanes frequently traversed by people.


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    With this thought, he turned his head to look around, and a small door caught his attention.


    This small door was tucked away in the southeast corner of the garage, easy to overlook if one was not paying attention.


    At that moment, the small door was ajar, likely leading to a storage area or a maintenance room for the pipes. In any case, people rarely entered that place; if they did, it was for maintenance or to clean up the clutter.


    "Hmm, I didn''t bring a flashlight."


    Yan Junze approached the door, had no choice but to take out his phone, turn on the flashlight feature, and gently pushed open the small door.


    The room behind the door was also lit, but the lighting was a dim yellow. With the help of the flashlight from his phone, he could see more clearly.


    Yan Junze took another look behind him before stepping through the small door.


    The lock on the small door was broken and couldn''t be closed, but he did not plan to close it.


    The room just inside the door was piled with miscellaneous items and some unopened ceramic tiles, bundled up in the corner.


    There were more rooms inside this room, and at this moment, no light shone through from them.


    First, Yan Junze carefully inspected the room with the flashlight on his phone, confirming there were no abnormalities. Afterwards, he walked towards the inner rooms.


    Just as he approached the door, a scuttling noise came from within the room.


    The sound was soft, as if something was dragging itself across the floor.


    Though the lights were off, Yan Junze instinctively pointed his flashlight in that direction, thinking it might be a rat. However, under the beam of light, a small human leg appeared in view and quickly hid behind a large cardboard box.


    Yan Junze saw it clearly: it was the leg of a child, pale and even a bit bruised, with no shoes on, and its little feet seemed to be completely rotted away.


    He suddenly remembered the mission had warned him that if they were indeed strange babies, these creatures were highly sensitive to light, especially to the human gaze.


    To get close to them, he could try using the walking method suggested by Look at Her Face.


    "Damn, doesn''t that mean walking backwards? And I can''t use the lights or shine the flashlight on them," Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart.


    ```


    It felt as if walking across would be no different from tightrope walking alone in the sky.


    But if he were to turn on the lights in this room, or use a flashlight to illuminate the way, he might attract unnecessary trouble and fail to complete the task, "Look at Her Face."


    Yan Junze didn''t even try to switch the lights on; he didn''t attempt to see if the room''s lights were working. Then, he turned off the flashlight on his cell phone.


    Instantly, the surrounding area plunged into darkness.


    A smattering of light from the outside room faintly illuminated the entrance, but it was not strong, only reaching the doorway.


    Yan Junze turned around, his back to the room''s interior, and began to cautiously make his way inside.


    During this process, he constantly reminded himself to Rewind.


    Although there was the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" feature, the damn thing used up too much energy. It would be best if he could Rewind on his own the moment he perceived danger.


    Due to moisture, the floor beneath his feet was a bit slippery. Yan Junze walked slowly, his gaze fixed only on the doorway where light seeped through. He was highly tense, his attention fully on what was behind him.


    He was not the Back-faced Woman; his head couldn''t constantly watch what was behind him. Walking backward like this meant exposing his entire back to the other party, filling him with a sense of being out of control.


    This feeling made Yan Junze very uncomfortable, a primal survival instinct constantly reminding him he needed to turn around quickly. Behind him was the presence of the strange baby!


    But he held back, slowly retreating until he reached the middle of the room.


    His heel bumped into a stack of cardboard boxes on the floor, and Yan Junze stopped.


    Close behind him, a rustling sound arose, as if something was crawling on the ground.


    Yan Junze fought the urge not to turn his head to look. He remembered the task information that warned the strange baby was extremely sensitive to human gazes. At this critical juncture, he must not ruin everything at the last moment.


    Reaching back with the opposite hand, he felt around behind him.


    The boxes that his heel had touched were stacked two high, reaching about to the level of his chest. Yan Junze tried to push them but couldn''t budge them.


    If he was to continue moving backward, he could only try to get around these boxes.


    Behind him, the rustling sounds persisted, but whatever was making the noise didn''t come closer to him, which made him feel suddenly anxious.


    He imagined that at this moment, two unclothed, pale-skinned strange babies might be crawling on the slippery ground behind the stack of boxes.


    Goosebumps broke out on Yan Junze.


    Just as he was fumbling on the side to get past the two boxes, the boxes behind him suddenly moved.


    The sensation of movement was strong, and not caused by Yan Junze. It was as if something from behind¡­ had climbed up.


    Yan Junze, who had been about to get around the boxes, immediately stopped and stayed still, feeling the sensation transmitted from the boxes.


    The boxes were indeed shaking; something had crawled up from the other side. Its movements must have been slow, causing the shaking to be not very intense.


    At this moment, Yan Junze even more wanted to turn his head to look, but he clenched his teeth and refrained from doing so, until the shaking of the boxes diminished and a tap-tap sound ensued. Something had completely climbed onto the box and was now close behind him.


    If it had been the former Yan Junze, he would have freaked out by now, likely dashing out of the room.


    But the current Yan Junze had a much stronger resolve. His heart rate sped up a bit, and he was very curious to turn his head to look, but he had no intention of leaving the place.


    The tap-tap sounds drew nearer, shortly arriving right behind him.


    Because the creature was likely propped on the boxes, it was at the same height as Yan Junze.


    The next second, an arm as thin as a tree branch was laid upon Yan Junze''s left shoulder.


    ```

 Chapter 105 Look at Her Face (Part Four)

    After feeling something resting on his shoulder, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking that just looking at what was on his shoulder without making eye contact shouldn''t be a problem.With that thought, he turned his head slightly to look at his left shoulder, but because the room was so dark, he could see absolutely nothing, just pitch black.


    He could only sense something resting on his left shoulder that was slowly moving towards his neck.


    Each time it slid over an inch of skin, that patch of skin would break out in goosebumps, making Yan Junze''s heart feel queasy.


    Since he couldn''t look directly at them, maybe he could still talk.


    "There''s a person¡ªno, there''s a strangeness that wants to meet you. I don''t know why she won''t come in here, but if you don''t mind, I''ll take you out now, so you can meet and see if there''s been a misunderstanding," Yan Junze spoke out.


    The thing moving on his shoulder paused for a moment, then continued to slide towards the skin of his neck. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze felt something wet and viscous, like a slug crawling onto his neck and sliding up his cheek.


    "Is this a hand?"


    A doubt rose in his mind, as it didn''t feel like a hand.


    If it really were a hand, then its skin must be caked in a large amount of sticky liquid.


    Yan Junze did not move rashly, nor did he turn to look. Instead, he slowly raised his own hand towards the thing that was nearing his cheek.


    Then, he grasped it.


    It indeed was a hand, but this hand was extremely gaunt, not much thicker than the twigs of a tree branch, and its surface was abnormally sticky. Yan Junze wasn''t sure if after grabbing it, he could rid his own hand of the viscous coating well enough to let go of it.


    When he grabbed the arm of this thing, the little hand clearly jittered slightly before tensing up.


    However, Yan Junze didn''t let go, but continued, "Come on, follow me, we''ll go out and see her."


    The little hand didn''t retract, and its owner made no sound.


    But Yan Junze dared not look back, and added, "Where''s your other little buddy? Come out, let''s all go together."


    After saying this, he reached out his other hand, groping in a different direction.


    There was no movement from behind, and after groping for a while, Yan Junze touched nothing. Even if he tried to look behind him now, he wouldn''t see anything due to the darkness, so he could only rely on touch.


    Slightly turning his body and reaching towards the far end of the cardboard box, Yan Junze''s hand continued to explore further back.


    Yet the hand holding onto the skeletal arm did not release its grip, having finally caught one, he couldn''t just let it slip away.


    Besides, it seemed that the little creature wasn''t resisting.


    Perhaps it just looked frightening. In actuality, the strange baby should be easy to communicate with.


    Before long, Yan Junze, who had been searching behind him, finally caught another arm.


    But then he was momentarily taken aback.


    This arm was much larger than the one he had caught on the left side, though overall it remained skinny and emaciated.


    If both were from strange babies, this one must be the kind of giant-headed strange baby that weighed over ten pounds at birth!


    The more Yan Junze thought about it, the weirder he felt in his heart, but now, even if he turned back to look, he didn''t want to see.


    Holding one strange baby in each hand, both feeling sticky, Yan Junze held back his disgust, didn''t look at them, and started walking towards the doorway where a sliver of light was infiltrating.


    Both arms were obedient, without any resistance. Yan Junze could hear rustling noises following behind him, indicating that the mission was going rather smoothly.


    Though he had been bitten by the Back-faced Woman and nearly met his end, as long as he could take these two ghostly children out for the Back-faced Woman to identify¡ªwhether they were her children or not¡ªat least the mission would be complete. With a thousand points of Different Dimension Energy in hand, what mattered most was he could continue with his plan.


    As he walked out of the room, dragging an arm in each hand, in the furthest corner of the house¡ª


    A strange baby was crawling here, its bald head slightly raised, a look of indescribable fear in its eyes, staring intently at the two things being dragged by Yan Junze.


    One was another strange baby, which now half-lay on the ground, somewhat reluctantly being dragged out the door by the man.


    And in the man''s other hand was the arm of an apparently corpulent old woman, with slender limbs and long, curly white hair cascading over her shoulders.


    In the eyes of this strange baby, the eerie old woman remained silent, following the man toward the door with a compliant gait.


    Just one glance at the back of the old woman was enough to make the strange baby hidden in the corner shiver all over, burying its bald head deeply.


    Yan Junze quickly led the two "strange babies" out of the dark room and into a brighter outer one.


    However, according to the task instructions, strange babies are highly sensitive to human gazes, and in fear of scaring the two little ones back into that room, he still didn''t turn his head back but looked around, noticing the Back-faced Woman did not follow into this room.


    Grasping both arms, he quickly left the place and headed for the underground car garage.


    Although this was a corner of the car garage, there were still two cars parked, but the entire garage was quiet and empty, without a single person around.


    No sooner had he stepped out of the room than Yan Junze''s gaze fixed on someone.


    At first, he thought Lv Xin had followed, but he quickly realized that the figure was slender, silently and forlornly standing at the rear of an SUV, immobile, undoubtedly the Back-faced Woman.


    "I''ve brought them here, come and take a look," Yan Junze said.


    However, because he was worried about people coming down into the garage, he didn''t speak loudly, and his words only reached where the Back-faced Woman stood.


    The Back-faced Woman did not respond or come forward, just stood there, her back facing this way.


    But now Yan Junze understood her neck structure and knew she was watching this place.


    "Look, are they your children?" Yan Junze spoke again.


    He then pulled the two things behind him closer to the Back-faced Woman.


    Suddenly, the Back-faced Woman''s body shook violently, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying and swiftly retreated.


    Well, of course, her retreat was actually moving forward, putting more distance between herself and Yan Junze.


    "What''s going on?"


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, noticing that the departure of the Back-faced Woman was clearly out of fear of the things behind him.


    He was puzzled and had no choice but to turn his head and look. The thing he was holding in his left hand was a bald, pale-skinned infant, lying listlessly on the ground.


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    After Yan Junze glanced at him, he became visibly scared and struggled to get away.


    But Yan Junze gripped tighter. With such a critical moment at hand, he wouldn''t let him escape!


    Turning to look at the thing in his right hand, the arm of the strange baby that was noticeably thicker, Yan Junze''s eyes bulged, and he was stumped.


    What the heck, was this supposed to be a strange baby? This was more like a Strange Granny!


    Only then did he realize that an old lady was standing behind him.


    This was not Resentful Granny; the old lady had curly white hair down to her shoulders, a corpulent figure, and was dressed in a thick cotton-padded coat that showed tears everywhere, revealing the blackened cotton inside.


    What surprised Yan Junze the most was that the old lady''s limbs were slender, completely out of proportion with her body; she looked like a character straight out of an anime.


    But what shocked Yan Junze the most was that the Back-faced Woman was clearly terrified of this old lady!?


    Who was the Back-faced Woman? The protagonist of a hair-raising task!


    And yet, she feared an old lady who had followed her up from the basement!


    What was going on?

 Chapter 106 Look at Her Face (Part Five)

    He may have seen her, but Yan Junze was first shocked, then surprised, to discover that he was gripping the hand of an unfamiliar old lady.The shock was due to the fear that this old lady might harm him, but when he saw that she was looking at him with a face exuding kindness and a gentle smile, his surprise took over his shock.


    Could it be that it wasn''t a strange baby, and that he had grabbed the wrong hand in the dark?


    Yan Junze realized his mistake.


    But what puzzled him the most at the moment was that the Back-faced Woman seemed frightened of this old lady. Though she didn''t turn to run immediately, she kept retreating step by step, distancing herself from Yan Junze''s side.


    He had to figure out what was going on first.


    Yan Junze already had a guess in his heart, but if he didn''t clarify things, this mission would never be completed.


    Firstly, the Back-faced Woman had discovered that the underground garage of the building she lived in harbored strange babies and, so far it seemed, they hadn''t endangered anyone. Otherwise, an Exorcist would have been alerted and called in already.


    Then the Back-faced Woman suspected the strange babies were her own children. Yan Junze temporarily assumed she had lost her child because if she wasn''t the mother, she wouldn''t be so determined to find her offspring. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze then went to the underground garage to help her search, and in the darkness, he mistook the hand he grabbed. The hand wasn''t another strange baby''s, but belonged to the old lady with the smiling face.


    This old lady had kind features and didn''t look terrifying, but there she stood, scaring even the Back-faced Woman into continuously backing away.


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood why the Back-faced Woman didn''t come herself to claim the Corpse Baby. It was likely because this old lady was always in the underground garage.


    So the question arose, no one in the FH Community had noticed the peculiarity to date, which meant that the old lady, like the two strange babies, hadn''t posed any danger here.


    This could be seen from the expression on the old lady''s face, which was kindly and smiling as she gazed at Yan Junze.


    Such a loving, dead old lady!


    This was the first time Yan Junze couldn''t be sure whether this old lady was truly benevolent or might suddenly lash out the next second, becoming a horrifying, vicious, utterly despicable Evil Spirit.


    Regardless, it seemed the old lady was the real boss if she could scare the Back-faced Woman away!


    This kind of Evil Spirit could only be outsmarted, not overpowered by force.


    Because he was so close to the old lady, the strange baby that Yan Junze was holding in his other hand had been terrified to the point of collapse, lying motionless on the ground, not just lackluster.


    Yan Junze realized he was still holding the old lady''s hand, quickly let go, and raised his hand, revealing his white teeth and a sincerely warm smile.


    "Hello, granny," even Yan Junze himself didn''t expect his voice to be so soft at that moment, possibly enough to melt the sun, "It was too dark in that room just now, so I didn''t notice and grabbed your hand by mistake, my apologies!"


    The old lady maintained her smile, looking at him with twinkling eyes.


    But after Yan Junze finished speaking, the old lady gently shook her head.


    A reaction!


    Yan Junze was momentarily excited. Since she shook her head, it indicated she didn''t mind. The best option was not to worry about it; whatever the nature of the strange babies, they must belong to this old lady. Even if the Back-faced Woman wanted them, it would be impossible with the old lady present.


    Of course, if the old lady was indeed easy to talk to, then after Yan Junze caught his breath, he could go upstairs, bring down a cup of tea, sit with her, and try to persuade her to hand over the two strange babies to the Back-faced Woman for identification. It wasn''t impossible.


    But now, the Back-faced Woman had disappeared without a trace, not even having the chance to identify the strange baby.


    "The woman just now, she was looking for her child. Since you have two strange babies here, I brought her over to let her have a look. If they''re not her children, I''ll return them to you," Yan Junze explained patiently.


    The old crone still didn''t speak, seemingly mute. After Yan Junze finished speaking, she nodded again.


    "Means she agrees," Yan Junze guessed to himself, and then said, "Well now, I''ll go call the Back-faced Woman back to identify the strange baby. For now, let me take you back to that room to wait; don''t catch a cold here."


    After a moment''s thought, Yan Junze, commendably gentle for a change, took hold of the old crone''s hand as if he had turned into a nursing home attendant, carefully escorting her toward the direction of the small door.


    During the walk, the old crone merely glanced at the strange baby lying on the ground as if half-dead, which promptly stood up and staggered after them.


    Yan Junze noticed that the strange baby walked as if it were drunk, its stature and build not much different from Gollum in ''The Lord of the Rings,'' only a size smaller.


    Shortly after returning to the room, Yan Junze walked out alone.


    At this moment, he unexpectedly discovered that he too had a hidden talent for caring and protecting the elderly. Of course, this was provided that the elderly person was easy to get along with and not the aloof type with a temper so strange that a single wrong look could be deadly.


    According to plan, now it was time to call the Back-faced Woman back and then just bring out the two strange babies for her to recognize, complete the task, and go home to sleep!


    Of course, reality was not as he imagined. Yan Junze searched the entire underground garage and didn''t catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman.


    This woman was a hair-raising kind of evil spirit. Although he didn''t know what level specifically, being scared silly by an old woman in an underground garage was quite something.


    With no choice left, Yan Junze left the underground garage, planning to go upstairs to see if the Back-faced Woman had run off to some floor.


    Climbing the stairs from the garage, Yan Junze looked at the stairwell entrance¡ªno one was there.


    He climbed from the first to the second floor, checking each corner and the stairwell landing, especially the blind spots of the corridors, to see if the Back-faced Woman was standing there.


    He encountered people coming down the stairs, but nothing was out of the ordinary.


    Soon he reached the fifth floor, looked everywhere, but still did not find the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze even laid down outside the window of Room 503 where Resentful Granny used to live, craning his neck to peer inside for a long time, without seeing the woman in the white short-sleeved shirt and shorts.


    Back in the fifth-floor corridor, he thought for a moment, then leaned on the railing of the corridor and softly called out "Back-faced Woman" several times before turning his head to look around.


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    When his gaze accidentally fell to the floor below, Yan Junze froze.


    At the entrance to the community, he saw Lv Xin''s figure at the path leading to Building 7, walking steadily toward the direction of the first-floor staircase of Building 7.


    "He''s here!"


    Yan Junze grew somewhat anxious. After a quick look around confirming he hadn''t seen the Back-faced Woman, he immediately rushed down from the fifth floor and returned to his own home on the fourth floor.


    Closing the living room door, he checked the Rewind, which was still maintaining a cycle with only a small amount of energy being consumed for now.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze''s tongue began to itch terribly, as if the whole tongue in his mouth had become unbearably ticklish at this moment.


    Unable to bear it, he reached out and touched his tongue; there was nothing, but it was very itchy.


    Rushing into the bathroom, he turned on the light and approached the mirror, where Yan Junze stuck out his tongue.


    In the mirror, he saw that his tongue had grown a significant number of black hair tips, thick and densely covering his entire tongue.

 Chapter 107 Look at Her Face (Part Six)

    His entire tongue was covered in hair, making it appear black at a glance.It wasn''t just that; he quickly felt an intense itching all over his body, unbearably so, even inside his mouth, where black hairs sprouted from every part, including his gums.


    "Fuck!"


    The severe itchiness almost brought Yan Junze to his knees. Explore more at empire


    He quickly remembered that his mother, Li Man, had told him about Old Wang from next door who, after provoking the Back-faced Woman while going downstairs, sprouted a lot of black hair all over his body.


    Eventually, Old Wang was hospitalized and saved, but it was said that the hairs had to be surgically plucked out one by one by the doctors.


    Just thinking about it was chilling.


    And now, the same situation was happening to him, and it seemed that the curse from the Back-faced Woman was much worse than Old Wang''s.


    What big deal had Old Wang done? He just lived next door, but Yan Junze had clearly upset the Back-faced Woman even more.


    If he continued like this, he would be finished even before Lv Xin found him.


    "This crazy woman!" Fighting against the extreme itchiness, Yan Junze rushed out of the bathroom and into the living room, yelling, "Back-faced Woman! I''m helping you, not harming you!"


    Right at the entrance to the living room, he finally saw the Back-faced Woman standing motionless behind the door.


    Of course, her head was turned around, and her eyes, hidden beneath her hair, were staring at Yan Junze.


    From the Back-faced Woman''s point of view, she thought Yan Junze was going to help her, so she had gone to the underground parking garage, only to find that not only had he failed to bring out the two strange babies, but he had also brought out the Resentful Granny, whom she feared the most.


    Wasn''t this harming her rather than helping?


    So, the punishment for Yan Junze became inevitable.


    The intense itchiness gradually turned into pain all over his body, as more hair kept emerging through his skin.


    Yan Junze sat down on the floor, ready to Rewind.


    But deciding to what point to Rewind to was the problem; ever since he came out of the underground parking garage, he couldn''t find the Back-faced Woman, and he had been cursed even before she appeared.


    To what point in time should he rewind to efficiently avoid being cursed by the Back-faced Woman first?


    For now, it seemed that there was no immediate threat to his life; he would die only when completely covered with black hair.


    Therefore, he still had moments to ponder the timing.


    However, just then, the figure of Lv Xin appeared outside the window, step by step he crossed the hallway and reached the entrance of the living room.


    The Resentful Granny already had a profound impression of Yan Junze''s door, but at this moment the door was not locked.


    Lv Xin stood outside, turned the handle, and the door opened, revealing the calm-faced young man.


    The moment the door opened, he caught sight of Yan Junze sitting on the floor.


    Lv Xin stepped into the living room and walked toward Yan Junze.


    "Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle..."


    The strange sound came from behind the living room door, causing Lv Xin, who had been focusing solely on Yan Junze, to pause briefly and stop in his tracks, turning his head to look.


    Upon seeing the Back-faced Woman, Lv Xin looked somewhat surprised, and he glanced back and forth between the sitting Yan Junze, now an easy catch, and the woman, seemingly hesitating.


    The next second, unwilling to give up, he opened his mouth slightly and uttered a single word to the Back-faced Woman.


    "Get out!"


    Listening to that voice, it certainly didn''t come from a young person, but from an incredibly aged old crone¡ªthe Resentful Granny.


    The Back-faced Woman continued to emit a "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle" sound, unmistakably a warning. Ever since Lv Xin had entered the room, this bizarre warning sound hadn''t ceased. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze sat on the ground, propping himself up with his arms, slowly moving backward.


    Seeing this scene, he breathed a sigh of relief. The plan formed in his mind that morning seemed to be unfolding as expected at this moment.


    The seed of this idea sprouted in Yan Junze''s heart the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman at the bus stop.


    According to the task''s level, the mission involving the Back-faced Woman was classified as "hair-raising (low)," the most challenging one he''d encountered so far.


    Therefore, Yan Junze had a strange thought that morning: in the absence of Zhang Xiaomo, he might be able to use the encounter between the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny to his advantage.


    Of course, the prerequisite was that there had to be a conflict of interest between them, like both targeting him, to ensure the two parties would clash and a fight would ensue.


    But after several unforeseen mishaps, things had deviated from Yan Junze''s expectations, yet, fortuitously, it had come full circle to this scene.


    Wasn''t this moment precisely the outcome he wanted?


    What Yan Junze hadn''t anticipated was that he would be cursed by the Back-faced Woman first, leaving his entire body covered in hair. Although the hair was very short and hadn''t fully grown out yet, he was uncertain if it could be restored.


    Luckily, the two extremely ferocious evil spirits were finally butting heads at this moment!


    If they wanted to kill him, now was the perfect opportunity. The Resentful Granny wouldn''t miss it, and the Back-faced Woman, still angry over the incident in the underground garage, similarly would not let him go.


    Fine then, you fight, and whoever wins can have me!


    The Back-faced Woman no longer gave any warnings, but Yan Junze felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.


    Always emitting a warning sound as if he had a strangeness himself, also exhibiting the same behavior.


    The warning ceased, and the Back-faced Woman moved step by step closer to the Resentful Granny, who had split her spirit into Lv Xin.


    At this time, Lv Xin''s body was bent in a shape reminiscent of the Resentful Granny, tensed all over, arms slightly apart, legs ready to leap at any moment, eyes warily fixed on the "retreating" Back-faced Woman.


    The distance between the two rapidly closed in.


    It was then that Yan Junze suddenly had an ominous premonition; he felt he must retreat, the farther the better.


    The thought had just arisen, but it was already too late.


    When the Back-faced Woman was about a meter away from the Resentful Granny, she suddenly accelerated. At that moment, the Resentful Granny''s ghastly form fully emerged from Lv Xin''s face, hideous and contorted, mouth wide open, letting out a piercing scream.


    The two strangenesses collided with a bang. A mass of cloud-like energy exploded with a boom, unleashing a wave of air that shoved Yan Junze directly under the dining table.


    Nearby shoe racks, sofas, coffee tables, and other items were overturned by the blast, either thrown high into the air before crashing down or smashed directly against the walls. The living room windows shattered in unison at that moment.


    The powerful and eerie blast made it impossible for Yan Junze to keep his eyes open, but he strained to do so, eager to witness what seemed to be an extraordinarily thrilling battle.


    Back-faced Woman VS Resentful Granny!


    The violent sounds of impact and tearing ripped through the rolling mist, as the attacks from the two strangenesses were ferociously intense. Occasionally, the Back-faced Woman could be seen mounting one shoulder of Lv Xin, her fingers digging into his head.


    Other times, Lv Xin could be seen pinning the Back-faced Woman to the ground with one knee, his hands fiercely yanking at her neck.


    The harrowing screams followed one after the other, indistinguishable as to whom they belonged.


    At this point, Yan Junze''s living room was in complete disarray, unrecognizable from before.

 Chapter 108 Look at Her Face (Part Seven)

    Yan Junze, who had been watching with great interest, felt a momentary relief from the itchy and painful sensation as the growth of black hair on his body had stopped; his attention had been diverted, and he had temporarily forgotten about the changes happening to his own body.However, he soon shifted his focus to the living room and made a bitter face.


    "It''s over, the TV and the furniture are all done for!"


    Yan Junze realized that while the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, he had to crawl quickly from under the dining table.


    As he crawled, the itchy and painful sensation returned, but he bore it and quickly slipped toward the door.


    The rolling mist had reached the middle of the living room. Within a five-meter radius centered on this mass of fog, there was no furniture left intact.


    Yan Junze couldn''t care less by then; reaching the door, he gently twisted the handle, opened it, and darted out.


    At that moment, within the tumbling mist, a change occurred; Lv Xin''s head, which had completely transformed into Resentful Granny''s, was pushed out of the fog, with a pair of hands around her neck¡ªthose were the bruised arms of Back-faced Woman.


    Though it seemed Resentful Granny was at a disadvantage, she still resisted fiercely, with the fog under her feet constantly churning.


    She seemed to be struggling!


    The next second, Resentful Granny freed one hand and, with a slap, hit Back-faced Woman''s head hard.


    Back-faced Woman vanished into the fog, and immediately Resentful Granny let out a piercing scream as her head submerged back into the mist.


    But just two or three seconds later, the fog violently contracted before expanding rapidly. With a bang, Resentful Granny was flung out, crashing through the window and falling outside the corridor.


    Just then, Yan Junze happened to be tiptoeing outside the corridor. He was crouching down as he walked, wary of being seen by the two ferociously evil spirits.


    However, the next second the window above his head shattered, and he saw Lv Xin''s figure falling out, landing right in front of Yan Junze.


    A man and a strangeness, less than half a meter apart.


    Lv Xin abruptly lifted his head, and what showed was the wrinkled face of Resentful Granny, her grey pupils staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then squeezed out what he thought was his most sincere smile, "Granny, why aren''t you taking the usual path?"


    "Ah!"


    Resentful Granny stretched out her right hand and grabbed toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, who was already prepared, shrank his body back and narrowly dodged the grab.


    A white shadow flew out of the window, with Back-faced Woman following closely behind, landing between Yan Junze and Resentful Granny, her head facing Yan Junze.


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    In the next second, Resentful Granny exploded with fury, pouncing onto Back-faced Woman like a starving beast, pinning her down and biting fiercely into her twisted neck.


    Back-faced Woman''s arms immediately contorted in reverse, making a series of cracking sounds as if they were breaking, and she wrapped them around Resentful Granny.


    Under the force of their immense strength, the two strangenesses thrashed on the ground, rolling several times before Resentful Granny was thrown away, tumbling along the corridor and crashing near the staircase entrance.


    Back-faced Woman stood up, seemingly giving Yan Junze a glance. She did not approach him but walked toward Resentful Granny, her steps as calm as ever, not at all hurried.


    By this time, the growth of black hair on Yan Junze''s body had completely stopped, and the itchy and painful sensation had lessened significantly.


    But the situation was still dire because Back-faced Woman and Resentful Granny were nearing the staircase, and if they blocked it, he would not be able to escape this floor.


    The fight between the strange creatures resumed at the entrance to the staircase. Initially, Yan Junze could see them continuously Ripping Bite at each other, but soon another layer of grey mist rose up, enveloping them within.


    It wasn''t until Yan Junze stepped outside the house that he really got a good look at this kind of mist. The mist was a light gray color, and after the two strange creatures fought each other, the gray mist began to spread and corrode about a five-meter radius around their bodies.


    Within this area, even during the day, the lighting was dim, the magnetic field twisted, and the ground and walls it covered gradually started to yellow and blacken, then, bit by bit, crumbled away. Even mold began to grow from the cracks in the walls.


    At this moment, this section of the stairwell was utterly inaccessible.


    In Yan Junze''s view, that patch of ground and air was all gradually darkening, as if the gray mist was a domain, a realm belonging to the strangenesses.


    After staring for a while, he felt as if the air itself was distorting.


    This scene made Yan Junze think of his home''s condition. Just now, these two strange creatures had also fought in his living room, turning it into this state. If a weird domain really formed, would it affect his life in the future?


    While thinking this, the mass of mist suddenly started to tremble, and in the next second, Resentful Granny, with seeming disregard for her own life, sprinted out, bursting through the mist and heading straight for Yan Junze at the other end of the corridor.


    Her toes touched the ground, and her speed was bizarrely fast.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that some parts of her body had already come off, like plastered paper, and her waist had become tattered.


    But this did not slow down Resentful Granny''s charge. At this moment, the old woman seemed to be throwing caution to the wind, resolved to reach Yan Junze no matter what.


    Yan Junze swiftly retreated, quickly making it back to his own doorstep.


    But Resentful Granny was faster, now less than five meters from him.


    The mass of gray mist in the stairwell quickly dissipated, and the figure of Back-faced Woman became visible, but it was clear that she couldn''t reach Yan Junze before Resentful Granny, not a chance.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was about to "Rewind."


    Then he saw Back-faced Woman''s body suddenly bend backward in a reverse arch, making a series of grating cracking sounds. Her dirty, clumped hair instantly stretched out at this moment.


    Her hair drew a straight line, with countless strands aiming at Resentful Granny''s back, piercing through her body in the next second. Resentful Granny, who had been running, was frozen in place.


    Back-faced Woman''s body sprung back like a coil, instantly reverting to its original form. Her hair retracted, dragging Resentful Granny, who had been pierced through, back toward the direction of the stairwell.


    Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    And at the same time, as Back-faced Woman used her hair as a weapon, Yan Junze noticed that the black hairs that had just sprouted on his body receded back, leaving not a single one visible.


    Resentful Granny, with her body pierced by the hair, was rapidly pulled back into the roiling gray mist, which then closed up, emitting two sharp screams in succession.


    The mist immediately dissipated, revealing the standing Back-faced Woman, and Lv Xin, lying on the ground motionless.


    The face of Lv Xin was now back to his own, the appearance of Resentful Granny having vanished.


    But regardless of who it was, the figure on the ground now showed no sign of life, lying stiffly, probably truly dead.


    Whoosh!


    The hair that had pierced the body retracted, and Back-faced Woman slowly turned, her back towards Yan Junze, step by step approaching.


    Yan Junze didn''t retreat, nor did he dive into his house to hide; instead, he stood there waiting for her.


    At this moment, Yan Junze once again felt an itchy sensation on his body. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without waiting for Back-faced Woman to get closer, he spoke up, "I''ve persuaded the old lady in the basement. She''s agreed to let you see the strange babies."


    Back-faced Woman paused, no longer moving forward.

 Chapter 109 Look at Her Face (Part Eight)

    The old lady in the underground garage was an unknown entity, but from appearances, she seemed to be caring for those two strange babies.Moreover, both of the strange babies were very fearful of her.


    This fear could have been due to the old lady''s inherently fierce nature, or perhaps it was caused by the innate oppression of a higher-level evil spirit.


    However, in Yan Junze''s view, the old lady was mild in disposition, and the fact that the strange babies were afraid of her was likely due to the oppression inherent in their evil spirit instincts.


    It was like how Ke''er would run faster than a rabbit when encountering an evil spirit of a higher rank.


    Earlier in the underground garage, it was due to Yan Junze''s mistake, not clarifying and mainly not daring to look back, that he grabbed the wrong hand and led the old lady feared by the Back-faced Woman out instead.


    As a higher-ranking evil spirit, the Back-faced Woman shared the natural fear of other evil spirits towards those more formidable than herself.


    To Yan Junze, however, the old lady seemed very gentle and was easy to talk to, unlike those ferocious evil spirits.


    Upon hearing what Yan Junze said, the Back-faced Woman stopped, no longer showing any intent to attack him, and seemed to be pondering.


    "The two strange babies are waiting for us in the underground garage right now; we can go and meet them immediately!" Seeing the Back-faced Woman hesitating, Yan Junze quickly added another line.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly turned around and began walking backward toward the stairwell.


    Yan Junze knew she had agreed and immediately followed her.


    As they passed by the next two households, regardless of whether or not anyone was inside or whether these people were watching in horror from behind the windows at that moment, he warned each one.


    "There''s a fight between strange entities outside; you mustn''t come out. The exorcist will arrive very soon!"


    Of course, he hadn''t made the 4747 call yet.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman was already descending the stairs, but Lv Xin''s corpse still lay on the inevitable path they had to take. As Yan Junze passed through the stairwell, he had to step over or go around his body.


    Upon reaching the stairwell, Yan Junze couldn''t help but glance down at the deceased Lv Xin and saw that parts of the body had rotted away during the fight with the Back-faced Woman, and his face had turned a purplish hue, as if he had been dead for quite some time.


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    However, Lv Xin''s expression was serene, not at all hideous, as if he was merely sound asleep.


    "Resentment is but an obsession; may you let it go and reincarnate soon!"


    Yan Junze murmured softly, carefully stepping over Lv Xin''s body and following the Back-faced Woman downstairs.


    Throughout the descent, the Back-faced Woman led the way, while Yan Junze also took the opportunity to take out his phone, but instead of dialing 4747, he directly called Huang Chen.


    After quickly explaining the situation in a few words, he hung up, and by then, the human and the strange entity had already reached the first floor.


    They did not encounter anyone along the way.


    The Back-faced Woman stood motionless in front of the small door leading to the underground garage, seemingly waiting for Yan Junze to help her open it.


    Yan Junze took a few steps forward, and upon opening the small door, the Back-faced Woman still did not move.


    "Oh my God!"


    Just then, a middle-aged man entered the stairwell behind them and, upon looking up, cried out in fright.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly turned to wave at the man, "Don''t come over, leave this place!"


    After the initial shock, the middle-aged man showed a look of surprise. Even though he kept retreating, he noticed that Yan Junze wasn''t a strange being. Why would he be together with the white-clothed woman who had been lingering in the building for many days?


    In this age of strangeness, anyone with common sense would not ask too many questions in such a situation.


    Despite being full of questions, the middle-aged man heeded Yan Junze''s words, immediately left Building 7, and stood outside, staring into the building with a mix of fear and shock.


    The Back-faced Woman made no moves.


    If Old Wang from next door had encountered the Back-faced Woman before, his inattention might have caused too much noise, entangling him in a situation where hair sprouted all over his body, which was worse than death itself.


    It seemed that the Back-faced Woman was so eager to recognize her children that she no longer cared about the passersby.


    After opening the door and seeing the Back-faced Woman not going down, Yan Junze hesitated for a moment and said, "If you don''t trust me, I''ll go first, and you can follow behind me from a distance."


    As he finished speaking, he knew the Back-faced Woman wouldn''t reply; he quickly stepped into the staircase leading to the underground parking.


    After swiftly descending the stairs, Yan Junze immediately headed to the small storage room door in the southeast corner. After walking about two hundred meters and turning his head back, he could vaguely see the Back-faced Woman standing on the steps where he''d just come down.


    He didn''t linger any longer, quickly approaching the small door in the southeast corner, which was ajar due to a broken lock.


    Gently pushing the door open, Yan Junze said, "Hello Granny, I''ve brought the Back-faced Woman to recognize the two little ones."


    The room was dimly lit, and as far as the eye could see, there was no one to be found.


    He then turned his attention to the completely dark room inside.


    About ten seconds later, a bloated shadow appeared at the doorway, walking with an odd gait, its shoulders swaying from side to side. It stopped at the doorway of the second room. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was indeed Granny.


    At this moment, her slender hands were holding onto two strange babies, who appeared somewhat timid and shrinky under her management.


    The Granny still wore a smile, her face round and plump; although wrinkled, it looked much more normal compared to the Resentful Granny.


    "You''ve arrived."


    Yan Junze smiled back, but he was only staring at Granny and deliberately avoided looking directly at the strange babies.


    That was because these little creatures were particularly averse to the direct gaze of humans, which could easily make them irritable and enraged.


    Yan Junze glanced back, standing by the door to check the garage behind him. He saw the Back-faced Woman had followed, standing by the side of a car but still at a considerable distance from this spot.


    "Granny, perhaps the pressure you emit is too strong, and the Back-faced Woman doesn''t dare to come over. You see, why don''t you give me the strange babies? I''ll take them to meet the Back-faced Woman," Yan Junze suggested.


    Almost without hesitation, Granny kept her smile and, leading the two strange babies with a swaying motion, came forward and handed over their hands to him.


    Looking at the Granny''s sincere yet rigid smile, Yan Junze felt that his smile was not much different from hers. He reached out and took the small hands of the two strange babies.


    "Granny, you''re actually quite nice, it''s just that your smile is a bit..."


    At this moment, looking closely at Granny, Yan Junze felt her smile become increasingly unsettling, giving him the sensation of countless tiny bugs crawling up his back.


    The Granny seemed to understand his words, but she just nodded her head, continuing to maintain that mysterious and eerie smile.


    Awkwardly leading the two strange babies, Yan Junze walked out of the small door and headed towards where the Back-faced Woman was standing.


    The Granny did not come out; she just stood there in the room, watching the two strange babies with a benevolent smile on her face.


    Initially, the strange babies struggled in Yan Junze''s hands, but perhaps because Granny was watching, the two little ones quickly followed him obediently towards the Back-faced Woman.


    At the same time,


    In the staircase of Building No. 7 on the fifth floor, the body of Lv Xin, which was lying on the ground waiting for an Exorcist to come and deal with it, suddenly twitched slightly.


    Something beneath Lv Xin''s clothes at his chest puffed up a bit, then settled back down.


    The familiar voice of the Resentful Granny suddenly came from his chest: "It hurts..."


    The next second, Lv Xin''s eyes slowly opened, but he didn''t get up. Instead, he started to speak as if talking to himself, "Old woman, you''ve become a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, but it seems you''re still not up to par."

 Chapter 110 Look at Her Face (Part Nine)

    Yan Junze quickly walked with the two strange babies and soon arrived in front of the Back-faced Woman. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.By this time, the two strange babies had clearly become agitated and anxious, and the strong oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman was also intense, overwhelming them momentarily.


    However, agitated as they were, it seemed that the old woman had given a warning before, so the two little ones did not break free and run away.


    Yan Junze let go, allowing the two strange babies to stand in front of him, facing the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless, just staring silently at the anxious creatures before her.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were half-crouching on the ground, struggling to stand up due to underdeveloped lower limbs, wobbling as if they might fall over at any moment.


    So under normal circumstances, they preferred to crawl on the ground, which significantly increased their speed of movement.


    In that respect, they were somewhat similar to the Crawler Monster.


    After a moment, the Back-faced Woman bent down to kneel, naturally, she knelt forward.


    Then, with her hands reaching back, she parted her hair to reveal her fragmented and twisted face to the two strange babies.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were no longer restless but instead tried to open their disproportionately large eyes wide, curiously staring at the face of the Back-faced Woman.


    As they watched, the Back-faced Woman let her hair fall back in place and slowly stood up.


    "What''s going on?" Yan Junze was somewhat taken aback.


    At that moment, the two Corpse Babies seemed to sense something was amiss and immediately made squeaking noises, like rats, rapidly retreating backward until they were behind Yan Junze.


    While Yan Junze himself felt nothing particular, he knew the two strange babies must have felt the anger and oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman, hence their instinctive retreat for cover.


    "Child... Child!" came the indistinct voice of the Back-faced Woman.


    It was quite clear now that the two strange babies were not the child she was looking for.


    Suddenly, the strange babies turned their heads and scurried back toward the small door in the southeast corner of the garage, no longer paying attention to this place.


    Yan Junze''s body jolted, and once again, he felt that unbearable itchy sensation return.


    "Damn it, does this woman have any sense of reason?"


    He crossed his arms only to feel a large number of hairs trying to penetrate through his skin''s pores, wanting to grow out.


    If he couldn''t find her child, would she simply kill him?


    Looking back toward the direction of the southeast corner, the strange babies had already run into the small door and were out of sight.


    However, the Resentful Granny with her peculiar and formidable strength had not appeared.


    In fact, the Resentful Granny had no connection to Yan Junze and the others; she had already done him a favor by bringing out the strange babies for him to present to the Back-faced Woman; now, not even Yan Junze himself believed she would come forward to help again.


    The difficulty level of the mission was defined as "Hair-raising (Low)," not only because of the high strength of the Evil Spirit involved, but also due to the high risk it posed.


    And now, in Yan Junze''s eyes, the Back-faced Woman only cared about her child, paying no heed to anyone else.


    If the child was found, all would be well. If not, she would take his life without any reason.


    Looking down at his unbearably itchy hand, he noticed a large amount of black hair had begun to regrow.


    Yan Junze lifted his head and said to the Back-faced Woman, "Let''s think of another way, we will definitely find the child. Besides, if you kill me now, can you find the child?"


    The intense itching caused his body to tremble, and as he spoke, his voice also shook uncontrollably.


    The itchy sensation paused, then stopped completely.


    But the densely packed black hairs that had grown on the skin did not recede.


    "Let''s go upstairs first," Yan Junze said.


    As he finished speaking, he glanced back at the small door in the southeast corner. Although he was eager to enlist the help of the old woman to resolve this nuisance, it was clearly unwise.


    First of all, she had agreed to help him once, but that didn''t mean she would agree a second time, and it could very well anger her. Then there was also the risk of angering the Back-faced Woman.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was afraid of the old woman, there was no need to offend the Back-faced Woman especially when the task was not yet complete.


    He had just used her to get rid of Resentful Granny; being constantly targeted by higher-level strangenesses was trouble enough, wasn''t it?


    So there must be a solution to this problem, and he couldn''t let things escalate to a completely unmanageable situation unless absolutely necessary.


    Yan Junze walked ahead, glancing back once again. This time, the Back-faced Woman followed closely behind.


    The itchiness on his skin had disappeared, but the hairs remained. They weren''t very long, but a careful look revealed them to be very noticeable.


    How tragic, he might maintain his hairy state until he resolved this task! However, it was a relief that only his skin had grown hair, and not all organs.


    Pushing open the small door leading to the basement garage, Yan Junze walked out first with the Back-faced Woman following closely behind.


    It seemed the Back-faced Woman would stick with him until they found the child.


    When he had called Huang Chen earlier, he asked him to come later because he feared Huang might arrive too soon while his task was still unfinished.


    If Huang encountered the Back-faced Woman, with her strength surpassing that of Resentful Granny, she might very well wipe out the entire exorcist squadron here.


    Luckily, the Back-faced Woman was deeply obsessed with finding the child. Nothing could delay her search, so she didn''t cause a large-scale disturbance in the area.


    "Obsession?" Yan Junze quietly uttered the word, frowning slightly as he pondered, "If this woman is looking for a child, why did she come to me instead of asking others for help? Could she see something different in me that could help a strangeness rid itself of its obsession?"


    "Impossible," he shook his head at the thought.


    Perhaps there was some other reason.


    For strangenesses, the formation of some obsessions is unconscious and natural, and sometimes they themselves can neither understand nor become aware of them.


    For example, Long-tongued Zhenzhen''s unconscious knew that the son who identified her body in life was not her own; hence, after becoming a strangeness, she was obsessed with this memory, forming an obsession without precise awareness of it herself.


    Could the Back-faced Woman be the same?


    All the while climbing the stairs, Yan Junze kept thinking.


    Discovering the strange baby and wanting to recognize it was the reason for the Back-faced Woman''s appearance in the FH Community. But why did she come to him afterward?


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn''t believe it was merely his looks that captivated the Back-faced Woman''s heart, making her willingly come to him for help.


    There had to be another reason!


    "What could the reason be?"


    Thinking this, Yan Junze turned to glance at the Back-faced Woman who was following him up the stairs. However, he was convinced that even if he asked her, she might not understand any more than Long-tongued Zhenzhen did.


    Soon, the man and the strangeness arrived on the fourth floor. As Yan Junze was climbing the last few steps, he looked up sharply and halted.


    There, in the stairwell, the body of Lv Xin was gone.


    "Could it be that Huang Chen and the others have already arrived?"


    Yan Junze lifted his head, looking around, but he did not see the warning tapes that exorcists typically strewn about.


    However, at the same time, the Back-faced Woman following him made a "gurgling" sound, her distinctive warning noise.

 Chapter 111 Look at Her Face (Part Ten)

    "It''s not Huang Chen and the others coming." Yan Junze looked around, and as soon as he heard the Back-faced Woman''s warning from behind, his heart immediately went on high alert."Could it be that the Resentful Granny is not dead?!"


    If she were indeed not dead, the old woman could be awarded the "Best Dying Supporting Character."


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a strange noise came from above, as if someone were laughing, yet it also sounded like a wail.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw Lv Xin clinging to the ceiling of the stairwell like a spider, not climbing with his body facing inwards but rather sticking to the ceiling with his back to the wall, facing downwards.


    His face was directly above Yan Junze and the Back-faced Woman.


    What horrified Yan Junze the most was that Lv Xin''s chest area had completely burst open, and from the middle of the skin in his chest, a pale yellow head with graying hair was emerging.


    Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Resentful Granny herself, her expression distorted, and that wailing was coming from her mouth.


    At the same time, Lv Xin was no longer like before, as if he had been possessed by the Resentful Granny. His consciousness seemed very clear, and his face twisted fiercely as he fixated his gaze on Yan Junze.


    In that moment, Yan Junze was totally baffled. It was true that the Resentful Granny hadn''t been eliminated, but why was Lv Xin''s consciousness still present? And it seemed as though he was the one in control, with the Resentful Granny struggling. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, before Yan Junze had time to react, Lv Xin, who had become a monstrous shape, lunged violently at him.


    Whoosh!


    The Back-faced Woman''s hair flew out wildly, wrapping around Lv Xin''s body and forcefully pulling him off course, causing him to land on the staircase steps between Yan Junze and herself.


    Yan Junze immediately rushed forward, bounding up to the fourth floor in a few steps and charging into the corridor.


    Behind him, the fierce fighting noise between the Back-faced Woman and the one who was uncertain whether it was Lv Xin or the Resentful Granny could already be heard.


    A large cloud of grey mist rose again, entirely shrouding the stairwell of the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze retreated to the door of the closest household to the stairwell. The Li family lived there; the man of the house was about the same age as Yan Junze''s father, Yan Daguo. However, it was heard that he had taken long-term sick leave two months ago and had been idling at home since.


    At this moment, Yan Junze guessed that if Old Li hadn''t gone out, he definitely knew about the noise outside. Turning his head, indeed, he saw a flicker of the curtains in the house, and Old Li''s face, full of horror, appeared.


    Yan Junze waved his hand to signal that he was alright.


    Old Li opened the window a crack and said, "Ze, how did you provoke such murderous strangenesses? I''ve already called 4747."


    "Uncle Li, it''s good that you didn''t come out just now," Yan Junze didn''t answer directly but veered off subject.


    "That young man, the strange one, didn''t he die just now..." Old Li stammered in fright, "But soon after you all left, he suddenly sat up again, and from his chest... chest... right here, a... head grew out!"


    While speaking, Old Li gestured within the window, his body still trembling non-stop.


    Yan Junze, unable to comprehend the scene, said, "Uncle Li, please close the window quickly, don''t come out, and wait for the Exorcist to arrive."


    "Alright!" Old Li immediately closed the window and drew the curtains shut.


    At this time, the fog in the stairwell grew thicker, with large patches of wall paint peeling off the walls, revealing mottled marks that seemed aged, and a lot of mold began to proliferate.


    At this moment, a foul stench wafted out.


    Regardless, Yan Junze guessed that even if the Back-faced Woman wasn''t a Sculpting Spirit, she was at least a stronger Semi-Sculpting Spirit than the Resentful Granny.


    Although her malice towards him persisted due to not finding her child, in the current situation, the Back-faced Woman became Yan Junze''s protector in order to stop other strangenesses from killing him.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved, thankful that those two strange babies weren''t her children. Had they been, by now the Back-faced Woman might have disappeared with her children.


    Waiting alone and defenseless to go upstairs now would leave me undoubtedly dead at the hands of Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    Currently, the situation is unclear. But overall, the odds seem to be in my favor, at least from what I could tell, Resentful Granny couldn''t stand up to the Back-faced Woman.


    No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a figure from within the gray mist suddenly shook violently and was flung out, flying up to the fourth-floor corridor and crashing hard against the corridor''s stone balustrade.


    Yan Junze, with a face full of horror, stared at the figure that had been thrown up and exclaimed in shock, "Back-faced Woman!"


    Bang!


    The fog at the stairwell quickly dispersed to reveal Lv Xin climbing the stairs, and on his chest, Resentful Granny''s head was still swaying from side to side, continuously wailing in pain.


    For a moment, it seemed to Yan Junze as if Resentful Granny was trapped within Lv Xin''s body, suffering from pain that couldn''t be released.


    Such a bizarre scene!


    Unexpectedly to Yan Junze, the Back-faced Woman appeared to be at a disadvantage. Previously in their fight, the Back-faced Woman had always been dominating Resentful Granny.


    Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Yan Junze retreated once more, backing up to his front door, but he didn''t enter his home, instead continuing to the end of the corridor.


    The Back-faced Woman quietly stood up, her body once again contorting strangely, and her long hair, like a waterfall, extended out toward the approaching Lv Xin.


    This time, Lv Xin didn''t dodge or avoid. He allowed the long hair to pierce through his body and also through Resentful Granny''s head.


    But the next second, the hair that had passed through her body began to wither and melt, creating a strong pulling force that dragged the Back-faced Woman step by step towards himself.


    Yan Junze''s pupils contracted as it seemed that the Back-faced Woman was no longer a match.


    What''s happening? Has Resentful Granny evolved again, merging with Lv Xin? Wasn''t Lv Xin just a normal person before?


    But if she can''t win, staying here means certain death.


    Although Yan Junze could Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage with the Back-faced Woman, avoiding the now monstrous Lv Xin was just a temporary plan. In the long run, this threat had grown too large to estimate.


    Just pondering for a moment, the Back-faced Woman had already been completely dragged in front of Lv Xin.


    Lv Xin grabbed her arm, yanked harshly, and her left arm fell off. With a kick, the Back-faced Woman was not sent flying but instead had her stomach pierced through, with Lv Xin''s foot extending directly out the other side.


    "It''s no good, she''s really no match for this guy!"


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, was nearly convinced of the impending outcome.


    If the Back-faced Woman couldn''t defeat the opposition, then the consequence would be their total annihilation. As soon as Resentful Granny was taken out, Lv Xin would definitely turn his sights on me immediately.


    By this time, the gray mist that had been swirling around the feet of the two strangenesses was no longer enveloping them.


    Yan Junze crouched at the end of the hallway, pondering whether to Rewind? And to which moment should he return?


    Regardless, he needed the assistance of a strangeness like the Back-faced Woman to help him through the current crisis.


    Of course, it would be best if this woman could find her child. Without locating the child, her target for venting her resentment would also be directly aimed at him.


    If the Back-faced Woman had succeeded in recognizing her child just now, perhaps I could take the opportunity to approach the old lady in the underground garage and have her resolve this current predicament.


    Considering that the Back-faced Woman didn''t dare to get close to this old lady, it should be easy for her to take out this creature, whether it''s Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    But the problem is that the Back-faced Woman''s child isn''t here; damn it, if it''s not here, why has she been following me?


    Suddenly, Yan Junze had a moment of realization, he seemed to have guessed a possibility!

 Chapter 112 Look at Her Face (Part Eleven)

    Asking a granny who I had just met to help solve the current dilemma seemed easy enough in theory, but it was incredibly difficult to put into practice.However, if I could help the Back-faced Woman find her child before ending up in the underground parking garage again, or before Lv Xin transformed again, then Yan Junze wouldn''t have to be threatened by her anymore and wouldn''t have to grow hair all over his body.


    In that case, there would be a chance to cozy up to the granny. Although she might not eventually step in to help, just intimidating the Back-faced Woman a bit could possibly aid in resolving the current crisis.


    So at this moment, Yan Junze had a guess, a guess regarding why the Back-faced Woman kept following him.


    Wasn''t she looking for her child?


    At this moment, Yan Junze prepared to confirm his speculation. If he guessed correctly, he would immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the Back-faced Woman had just recognized the two strange babies.


    "Ke''er."


    With a thought, Yan Junze summoned Ke''er from the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, where she was Locked down.


    The moment Ke''er in her red dress appeared, she instinctively tried to climb up to Yan Junze''s neck.


    But the next second, as if she realized something, she turned her head and saw the grey mist that had stirred up not far away. She immediately let out terrified cries and turned to dart up to the railing of the corridor, ready to leap down to the next floor.


    Yan Junze was prepared and quickly grabbed Ke''er, preventing her from running away in fear.


    At this time, the Back-faced Woman in the distance had been devastated by Lv Xin and was in terrible shape. One of her legs was broken, dangling from the thigh, leaving her unable to stand. A hole gaped from her chest to her back, while most of her hair had been melted by Lv Xin''s body.


    The Resentful Granny on Lv Xin''s chest continued to howl, while Lv Xin himself had a grim expression, his lips curling into a cruel smile as he grabbed the Back-faced Woman by her hair, lifting her from the ground.


    The Back-faced Woman, who had already lost most of her hair, had her disheveled face exposed even more by Lv Xin yanking her up by the hair.


    It was at this moment that Ke''er, who had been struggling to break free and flee, suddenly lay still in Yan Junze''s arms.


    "Eh?!"


    Ke''er let out her trademark sound.


    Her gaze shifted to the Back-faced Woman who was lifted nearby, looking at her ragged face.


    "Eh!!!"


    This was Ke''er''s second cry of surprise.


    But soon, she wriggled out of Yan Junze''s arms, stood up on her own, and faced the direction of the Back-faced Woman. Her mouth opened slightly, and she uttered the first sentence Yan Junze had ever heard her say.


    "Mom... mom..."


    As this cry was heard, not only was Yan Junze left dumbfounded on the spot, but even Lv Xin and the Back-faced Woman nearby momentarily paused their actions.


    "Holy shit, it''s really so!" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    After uttering a word, Ke''er immediately dropped to the ground and rushed toward the Back-faced Woman on all fours.


    "Ke... ke..." From the Back-faced Woman''s torn-open throat, a fuzzy sound emerged, vaguely sounding as though she was calling Ke''er''s name.


    By this time, Ke''er had already dashed in front of the Back-faced Woman.


    "Ke''er is truly the Back-faced Woman''s child!" Yan Junze thought excitedly. "Your mom is in such a state and still can recognize you, absolutely your own flesh and blood."


    Now that it was confirmed that the Back-faced Woman could find her own child, it was time to immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the black hair hadn''t yet grown on his body.


    And before that, Yan Junze could take the initiative to release Ke''er a step earlier, letting her and the Back-faced Woman have their mother-daughter reunion. Once the Back-faced Woman''s issue was resolved, he could then return to the little door in the southeast corner of the parking garage.


    See Granny to find a way to break through the current predicament.


    At that moment, Lv Xin released the hair of the Back-faced Woman he was holding, and Ke''er quickly leaped onto her mother''s back, hugging the Back-faced Woman tightly.


    Sounds kept emanating from her mouth.


    "Mommy... Mommy... Mommy..."


    The Back-faced Woman, now left with only one hand, turned around to hug Ke''er, her head nodding continuously, obviously, at this moment, her obsession was greatly satisfied.


    Ke''er''s inherent sensitivity had always caused her to flee at the first sign of danger, which is why she and the Back-faced Woman had never truly met.


    But after finding the two strange babies in the underground parking lot, the Back-faced Woman wandered around upstairs, afraid of Granny Ren, and inadvertently noticed something odd about Yan Junze, which was also unconscious.


    Even she couldn''t understand why she had started following Yan Junze from that time on.


    The mystery was unraveling: it was a subtle connection between mother and daughter. Even with the oppression of strangenesses at play, at this moment, mother and daughter finally met.


    The obsession of an Evil Spirit is delicate, like the Back-faced Woman''s need to find her child, leading her to leave no stone unturned, regardless of whether the child spirit was one, two, four, or five years younger than Ke''er prior to death - as long as it was a child, the Back-faced Woman subconsciously had to acknowledge it.


    Now that they have met and confirmed the mother-daughter relationship between the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er, Yan Junze was about to Rewind immediately.


    However, the next second, he stopped the thought of Rewinding and looked ahead.


    He saw that shortly after meeting Ke''er, the Back-faced Woman suddenly stood up.


    At this moment, she was left with only one leg, as the other leg had been broken below the knee by Lv Xin, hanging by skin and flesh alone.


    She grabbed the severed leg, reattached it to where it was broken, and then the Back-faced Woman truly steadied herself.


    Witnessing this scene, Yan Junze abandoned the plan to Rewind immediately, as he seemed to have discovered an opportunity.


    "Seems like she got stronger?!"


    With the Back-faced Woman now steady on her feet, her hair, which had partially melted away, was visibly growing back rapidly, soon reaching its original length.


    It was at this moment that Yan Junze realized he had been mistaken, for the hair of the two mother and daughter was so similar, both with long hair, and both full of dirty adhesions clumped together into bundles of thick knots.


    Once the Back-faced Woman stood upright, Ke''er still clung firmly to her back, effectively embracing the Back-faced Woman from the front.


    The Back-faced Woman tossed her hair, extending a portion of it to wrap around the left hand and arm that had been thrown away, and violently pulled it back.


    Just like before, she directly stuffed the severed limb back into its original place.


    At this time, mist was rising under her feet and quickly formed a dense fog surrounding her, more intense than before.


    "Having Ke''er, this is... a Super Saiyan transformation!" Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    It seems that there''s no need to Rewind for now, judging from the aura displayed by the Back-faced Woman after acquiring Ke''er, it seems like she might stand a chance against the grotesque Lv Xin.


    Although he didn''t quite understand these phenomena, it was clear that this might just be the opportunity for a strangeness to undergo an evolution.


    And for the Back-faced Woman, Ke''er''s appearance was that opportunity. Just like how Granny Ren, after her death and the intense hatred caused by her son killing her, encountered the opportunity leading to her own evolution, transforming into the Resentful Granny.


    Of course, the current state of the Resentful Granny after entering Lv Xin''s body puzzled Yan Junze. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed that it was no longer as simple as the initial Semi-Sculpting Spirit state of the Resentful Granny, or else she wouldn''t have been able to overpower the Back-faced Woman.

 Chapter 113 Look at Her Face (Final)

    The fog beside them formed a semi-circular vortex, continuously surrounding the mother and daughter.Unlike the fast-spinning vortices seen on TV, these breaths were not intense, but rather emitted an inexplicable eeriness.


    At this moment, Ke''er was no longer calling out "Mama" constantly, but slowly raised her head, looking at Lv Xin, her dead and lifeless eyes faintly revealing a hidden hatred.


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    Lv Xin''s expression became guarded, the Resentful Granny''s head on his chest, which had been wailing, now screamed even more shrilly.


    According to Yan Junze''s guess, it wasn''t just the fourth floor, but possibly any residents on the first floor of Building 7, if there were any there, would have clearly heard those mournful cries.


    Lv Xin kicked out with his legs, lunging at the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman stood still and didn''t move, instead, her newly regrown long hair whipped forward violently.


    At the same moment, Ke''er, lying on her, let out a "ya," tossing her head as well and throwing out her own never-washed long hair.


    The mother and daughter''s hair instantly entangled with each other, forming even more hair strands, moving with incomparable speed, directly targeting the approaching Lv Xin.


    Bang!


    Lv Xin''s entire body was penetrated by countless strands of hair, but this time, unlike before, the force was so strong, exceeding any previous attack.


    The Resentful Granny''s head on Lv Xin''s chest didn''t last even a second before it dissipated, revealing a huge hole in his chest, with not a drop of blood splashing out.


    Meanwhile, Lv Xin''s body and limbs were penetrated by numerous strands of hair, he was lifted into the air, and his head was equally damaged.


    After about two or three seconds of this stalemate, the hair retracted, and Lv Xin''s body fell. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze just glanced at him and felt that there was indeed a term that very much suited Lv Xin''s current state.


    Riddled with holes!


    After falling, there was no movement from Lv Xin, and soon enough, his blood slowly began to ooze out, more and more, soaking the ground beneath him.


    Judging by this, it now seemed to be truly the end for him.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke''er who had killed Lv Xin were silent, while Ke''er lying on the Back-faced Woman kept nuzzling in her mother''s embrace, with her little head deeply buried and extremely dependent.


    Yan Junze blinked for quite a while before accepting this fact.


    The Back-faced Woman''s level of strangeness should not have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit, possibly between Semi-Sculpting Spirit and Sculpting Spirit, a bit higher than the Resentful Granny.


    But the final form of Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny, integrated as one, was superior to the Back-faced Woman, which is to say, they may have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit.


    However, the final recognition between Ke''er and her mother, the unity of the mother and daughter brought about a qualitative leap.


    At this moment, even if Yan Junze didn''t understand too well, he was sure that the Back-faced Woman in her mother-daughter form with Ke''er was definitely at the level of Sculpting Spirit, and not even a lower one at that.


    The black hairs on his skin had completely receded, and the itch was gone, Yan Junze stroked his arm a few times to make sure there were no anomalies.


    Under the influence of Ke''er and her mother''s recognition, he had been paying attention to that side, only now did he look up at the sky and notice that the sky over Building 7 was covered in a cloud-like gray.


    But this condition was quickly dissipating and did not persist.


    It seemed that a high-level struggle between weird entities could cause significant changes and impacts on the nearby environment.


    Just at this moment, the task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas popped up.


    [Look at Her Face, hair-raising (low), completed, obtained 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    The energy that was consumed due to triggering the Automatic Rewind on Near-Death, as well as the self-initiated rewind, had been replenished, and the timeline''s nodes extended further, lighting up three more.


    One end of the entire Spacetime Atlas, about the tip of one corner, was completely revealed, but through this corner of the Atlas, one could roughly glimpse the whole area of the Atlas, which was much, much larger.


    To light up the entire Atlas, and potentially allow oneself to truly travel through time and space, rather than merely performing a rewind of time, was something Yan Junze looked forward to with great anticipation.


    Regardless, there were too many uncertainties in this world, and if it were possible to return to the spacetime universe he had come from and live a normal life, it would probably not only be his own wish but also the desire of most people in this world.


    Whether he could go back or not, once the entire Atlas was lit, Yan Junze believed it would bring him a surprise.


    After killing Lv Xin, the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er stood in place for a while, then the Back-faced Woman walked towards Yan Junze.


    Ke''er clung tightly to the Back-faced Woman until they were very close to Yan Junze. Then she slipped down nimbly, turning her little feet around, which looked terrifying as she stood in front of Yan Junze.


    She reached out a hand and quickly touched the back of Yan Junze''s neck, her favorite spot to caress, and gently rubbed it for a moment.


    Ke''er tilted her head and drew close to Yan Junze''s nose, staring at him without blinking, and soon uttered a word.


    "Eh."


    "Yes, I understand," Yan Junze nodded and smiled, "I''m glad that you and your mother have recognized each other, and thank you for solving the big problem for me. You can go with your mom, anywhere is fine."


    "Ya ya ya ya..."


    Ke''er let out a series of sounds similar to those she made before attacking, but she just moved forward, wrapping her arms around Yan Junze''s head and held him tightly for a while.


    Yan Junze also reached out and gently embraced her, though Ke''er in his arms felt very cold, there seemed to be a warm current slowly flowing through his heart, very warm.


    "Being with your mom is good, that way you are the safest," Yan Junze said with a bit of disappointment in his heart, yet still managed a smile, "At least, from now on, you don''t have to run away like a rabbit anymore."


    "Ya ya ya ya..."


    Ke''er continued to make sounds, let go of Yan Junze, and returned to her mother''s side.


    "Come back when you have time, I''ll figure out... how to wash your hair," Yan Junze said.


    So far, he could only touch Ke''er but treating Ke''er as a real person was something he couldn''t do, like actually cleaning her up through washing her hair or taking a bath.


    In Yan Junze''s view, this should be a matter of professional technique, and he probably needed to ask a high-ranking Exorcist about what methods to master in order to achieve this.


    Right now, he couldn''t do it.


    The Back-faced Woman said nothing and showed not much reaction, just stood there, quietly staying for a moment, then turned around and retreated backward.


    Ke''er skillfully climbed onto her body, lying on top, motionless, just as she had done earlier with Yan Junze. The mother and daughter soon disappeared from Yan Junze''s sight.


    Yan Junze remembered clearly that the task notification said the Back-faced Woman couldn''t be locked down, otherwise, he wouldn''t mind locking her down.


    If he could, it would be possible to keep Ke''er and also bring the powerful Back-faced Woman by his side.


    Moreover, once together, the mother and daughter''s combat power would increase again, which was simply too perfect.


    Of course, now that he had locked down Ke''er, he could also insist on not letting her go, and the other side couldn''t do anything about it. However, this would depend on whether the Back-faced Woman was willing.


    After all, letting the mother and daughter reunite was perhaps the best outcome.

 Chapter 114 Turned Against Instead?

    After Ke''er left, Yan Junze checked the Spacetime Atlas and found that on the 12th node, where Ke''er''s image used to be, now displayed the word "empty".However, it was not erased.


    In Ke''er''s "Hair Washing" mission, Yan Junze remembered the mission background once said that Ke''er died in a car accident.


    But her mother did not die in this car accident, which was the "eternal separation" mentioned in the mission. Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman must have died after Ke''er''s accident.


    As for the reason, it was unknown.


    Yan Junze speculated that the Back-faced Woman, due to her overwhelming grief and guilt over her daughter''s death, might have chosen to commit suicide by jumping off a building.


    Because the current appearance of the Back-faced Woman was not much different from someone who had died from jumping off a building.


    In the early morning when she sent her mother to work, the Back-faced Woman might have felt Ke''er''s presence at Yan Junze''s place, so she started following him all the way to Yan Junze''s home''s corridor.


    Yan Junze remembered that just before he was about to enter his home, it felt as if she was about to turn her head to look at him. But only after completing the mission did he realize the Back-faced Woman couldn''t turn her head at all.


    Back then, he was nervous inside, always afraid that seeing her face would trigger the mission ahead of time, so he might have subconsciously thought that the Back-faced Woman was going to turn around.


    But that was not the case.


    Having understood the causes and effects, the grey clouds in the sky had now almost completely dissipated, becoming clear again.


    Yan Junze was wondering why Huang Chen and his team had not arrived when his phone rang; it was Huang Chen calling.


    After picking up, Huang Chen''s voice came through, "Yan Junze?"


    "Yes, it''s me. Why haven''t you guys arrived?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Oh, you didn''t die?" Huang Chen obviously breathed a sigh of relief on the other end, "We arrived a while ago, but an area of the Spiritual Realm manifested halfway up the FH Community, and with our current manpower, we couldn''t get close, so we had to wait outside for a bit."


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    Putting aside the fact that his first question was whether he was dead or not, being incapable of handling the situation was the truth, but claiming they couldn''t get close at all seemed rather hypocritical.


    Such phenomena, involving the appearance of a Spiritual Realm, were probably triggered by a Sculpting Spirit''s struggle, so Huang Chen and others could only stay put. Recklessly charging in would likely lead to more death and injury.


    In fact, this struggle didn''t harm any bystanders at all, not even Old Li, who was the closest and stayed at home, lost a single hair.


    Well, at most he was so scared he wet himself and took a few extra months of sick leave.


    Not long after hanging up, a group of people in suits and leather shoes entered the FH Community, but the exterior blockade remained in place.


    This was a kind of invisible blockade, not like the one the police would put in place with big banners and no entry allowed for anyone. Explore new worlds at empire


    Outside the community, there were special staff members from the Exorcist office, and from the surface, it didn''t look like there was anything unusual here.


    Of course, apart from the Spiritual Realm that appeared in mid-air just now.


    Yan Junze stood on the fourth floor waiting for Huang Chen and his team to come up, and soon six or seven people arrived at the fourth floor, among whom Yan Junze recognized a few.


    Apart from Huang Chen, there was the one-star Exorcist Zhao Shuai and two-star Exorcist Yang Depei; the rest were unfamiliar faces.


    ```


    However, once everyone arrived, they began to get busy: securing the scene, collecting evidence, and examining Lv Xin''s body.


    Huang Chen was understanding the situation alongside Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze informed him of everything that had happened over the past few days, except for his own secrets and the completion of "The Hanged Woman" and "Drop the Handkerchief" tasks; he told everything else honestly, including the seven days he spent with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo taking over the Resentful Granny case was, of course, known to Huang Chen, but he hadn''t anticipated that the subsequent events would be so complex and bizarre.


    It seemed that Yan Junze was quite fortunate; in the process of being chased by the Resentful Granny, he happened to be hunted by the white-dressed woman who had already been causing strangeness in this building. As a result of the two strangenesses clashing, the woman in white emerged victorious, leading to the current outcome.


    "You''re definitely special, kid. Really, why don''t you come over here and do a test?" Huang Chen proposed again.


    Yan Junze shook his head, "If I were to go, I wouldn''t go to the exorcists in the city. Zhang Xiaomo said I could use her recommendation letter to go to Tianmeng District for the test."


    Huang Chen shrugged his shoulders, not insisting any further.


    Soon, Zhao Shuai came over and said to Huang Chen, "Brother Chen, we''ve checked; Lv Xin didn''t turn into a walking corpse due to Spirit-Splitting. He died very recently."


    "Ah, how could that be?" Huang Chen said in surprise.


    A two-star exorcist, Yang Depei, also came over; he seemed to have more experience and was just now using a magnifying glass to examine the mold growing on the walls in the stairwell. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I suspect that it''s not as simple as Lv Xin being afflicted by Spirit-Splitting," Yang Depei pointed at the body lying on the ground, "He... might have been a Spirit Cultivator. Or at least, he had the constitution of one."


    "The actual situation is that he was split by the Resentful Granny when she devoured the souls of her own son," Huang Chen said thoughtfully.


    "Yes," Yang Depei nodded, "but this guy used a Spirit Cultivator''s methods to turn the Resentful Granny inside him to his advantage. A trick even the Resentful Granny had no clue about, until it suddenly erupted just now."


    Yan Junze found this inconceivable and said, "I heard from Zhang Xiaomo that the true body of Resentful Granny was killed by her at the Rock, but if a Spirit-Splitting remained, it would gradually evolve into the original body. Has the Spirit-Splitting of Resentful Granny that remained in Lv Xin already transformed into the original body?"


    "It might have transformed," Huang Chen nodded, "But there is a stabilization period, during which its strength won''t be as strong as the original entity. Of course, if it''s inside the body of a Spirit Cultivator, that''s a different story."


    "You mean... a Spirit Cultivator has ways to enhance the strength of the strangeness inside their body," Yan Junze said, curious.


    "There are so many ways," Yang Depei shook his head, "Lv Xin might well have been using the Resentful Granny instead, and she had no idea."


    "Your exorcist world is very complex," Yan Junze scratched his head and turned to look at the chaos in the home, "What I want to know now is, if strangenesses cause widespread damage, do you exorcists provide compensation during the restoration process?"


    "No chance," Huang Chen said with a smile, "Our funds are limited, and such troubles are something you need to resolve on your own."


    Yan Junze just asked casually and did not expect them to actually do anything. Just being able to protect as much as possible to prevent the strangenesses from harming people was enough for him.


    Soon after, people came up to carry Lv Xin''s body away, saying it would be taken to Tianmeng District for research followed by various cleanup operations at the scene.


    When the cleanup was nearly finished, Yan Junze suddenly thought of something.


    He smiled bitterly, looked up at the cameras covering the floor and feeling a sense of apology, quickly took out his phone and called Editor Tang from the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    As soon as the call connected, Yan Junze immediately started with an apologetic tone, "I''m sorry, Editor Tang. The incident happened suddenly. I wanted to tell you that I''ve completed the Spirit Exploration of the Back-faced Woman in a rush."


    There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by Tang Zhengyi''s voice, which, instead of expressing any disappointment, calmly said, "I forgot to inform you, we recorded the incident that just happened."


    ```

 Chapter 115 Statue or Weapon

    "Ah!"Yan Junze was startled when he heard Tang Zhengyi continue over the phone, "It''s really a coincidence, you haven''t contacted us for many days, and just this morning I had the studio check the surveillance equipment in FH Community to make sure it was still functional. Who would have thought that not long after turning it on, I saw you..."


    "Did you record everything?" Yan Junze asked. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Almost everything." Tang Zhengyi said, "We haven''t installed cameras in the underground garage, so there''s no footage from there, but aside from inside your home, we''ve captured almost every single frame in the corridors."


    "What a coincidence indeed," Yan Junze marveled.


    However, it seemed as if Tang Zhengyi became somewhat hesitant, stammering for a while before asking, "Mr. Yan, may I ask about your relationship with the exorcists?"


    Yan Junze guessed what he was thinking and replied, "There''s no special relationship, we just interact quite frequently."


    "Mhm." Tang Zhengyi didn''t probe further, "This video content is somewhat shocking, so we also need to study it. We may have to get consent from the exorcism team at Tianmeng before it can be released, and there may be several parts that need editing."


    "No problem, you do what you see fit."


    As for the video platform "Open Your Eyes," Yan Junze believed they had a better sense of judgment than he did. After all, he was not a professional in this field.


    Now that his house was destroyed, repurchasing furniture and repairing doors and windows would cost a considerable amount of money.


    If the video sold well, that would be great. At least he could use the money to cover these expenses, and there might even be some left over.


    After ending the call with Tang Zhengyi, whether the video could be sent out or not would be something to wait for in the coming days.


    After the hallway scene was cleaned up, the staff of the exorcist team conducted a final check inside Yan''s house, collecting some debris before withdrawing completely.


    From start to finish, no police were involved.


    Zhang Xiaomo called not long after Huang Chen and the others left.


    Yan Junze briefly explained what had happened, and Zhang Xiaomo was full of marvel over the phone at his idea of using one strangeness to counteract another.


    However, since the incident was resolved, she no longer needed to rush to Shuntian City. She said she would look for Yan Junze later to catch up.


    Yan Daguo, his father, returned home around noon because he had worked a night shift the previous evening. He had slept on the sofa at the factory when it was nearly dawn, which was why he got home late.


    When he arrived home, Yan Junze was tidying up the living room.


    He couldn''t move the large pieces of damaged furniture, so he had cleaned up the broken wood, debris, glass shards, etc., and placed any movable items to one side.


    The broken items were ready to be thrown away, while those that could still be used would be utilized for the time being.


    Yan Daguo was completely baffled by the scene, and besides the secret of his ability to rewind and the mission he had to complete, Yan Junze didn''t hide anything else.


    After learning about the cause of the mess, Yan Daguo said nothing at first. He inquired whether Yan Junze had been injured or if there was anything off about his health.


    While helping to clean up, he also kept an eye out for any unusual reactions from Yan Junze. He was, in fact, unconcerned about the loss to their home.


    What''s broken is broken, as long as everyone is safe.


    "The exorcists just checked the house again to make sure there''s nothing abnormal left behind," Yan Junze added in order to soothe his father''s worries.


    Yan Daguo nodded, "When your mother comes back later, I''ll explain things to her. As you know, if it''s not explained properly she''ll keep bringing it up."


    Yan Junze smiled.


    He moved the large pieces left from the damaged furniture out of the room, piling them in the corridor first. Yan Daguo was still not reassured by his son''s explanation and made another trip to Uncle Li''s place next door to get some information.


    Of course, Uncle Li was terrified, and his view of the details wasn''t very clear. Moreover, during the time when the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, Uncle Li was so scared that he ran into his bedroom to hide and didn''t dare to watch at all.


    Later in the evening, when his mother, Li Man, got home, she was inevitably shocked. It wasn''t until late at night that the father and son managed to calm her down.


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    After a rough estimate, they concluded that the household had lost a sofa set, a coffee table, a television, three wooden chairs, and some odds and ends. Since none of the items were high-end goods, the total damage was estimated to be around ten thousand yuan.


    Yan Daguo figured they could slowly replace the other pieces of furniture, but they had someone come to install a new window on that very day.


    Li Man was very worried that this incident would affect Yan Junze''s studies, so once the house was in order, she immediately sent him back to his bedroom to focus on studying and not to think about anything else.


    As for the frequent occurrence of their son attracting strangenesses, the couple had formed a common view that their son''s physique was definitely special and that he might indeed follow the path of an exorcist one day.


    This prospect left them somewhat at a loss. In this era, the profession of exorcist was undoubtedly very respectable, but it also seemed fraught with danger, as evident from the events of today.


    The physical destruction caused by the strangenesses was significant enough to make the couple reassess the exorcist profession they used to respect immensely, and they began to worry.


    Yan Junze returned to his bedroom, first placing his books on the desk¡ªjust for show¡ªthen took out the statue of the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan, from his backpack.


    The statue was quite heavy in his hand; even if it wasn''t made entirely of gold, it surely contained a significant amount of gold.


    After opening the statue, Yan Junze vigorously wiped it down with old newspapers, quickly removing the black dirt that covered it, revealing the gleaming golden statue underneath.


    However, to completely clean it and restore it to its original state, he would probably need to go to a jewelry store.


    Though he had received a replenishment of Different Dimension Energy after completing tasks that day, the Spacetime Atlas'' Different Dimension Energy was not filled up but was absorbing slowly.


    According to Yan Junze''s estimates, without completing other tasks, it would take about a week of this slow absorption to completely fill the current Spacetime Atlas with nodes and timelines.


    So, when he was holding the statue that he had just quickly cleaned, he suddenly paused because he felt the rate at which the Missing Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas was being restored was speeding up.


    What was the reason?


    Yan Junze placed the statue on the desk and felt it again, and the rate was normal.


    When he picked up the statue again, the rate of energy restoration sped up once more¡ªit appeared he had stumbled upon a treasure!


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood what the "Drop the Handkerchief" task meant by the treasure.


    The statue could also absorb Different Dimension Energy, or maybe what the Yin Yang Master called "Yin Energy"¡ªeither way, the statue was currently filled with a significant amount of Different Dimension Energy.


    With it, the Spacetime Atlas could speed up its energy restoration, which could mean directly extracting energy from within the statue.


    Thus, as the Spacetime Atlas was restoring energy, the statue was also absorbing and storing it, and could even accelerate the transfer of energy to the Atlas,


    Examining the statue closely for a moment, Yan Junze noticed that Lin Yishan looked to be about sixty, exuding a sense of a hermit, if not quite a celestial air.


    "It''s a waste to use this merely as a statue," Yan Junze mumbled to himself, "why not turn it into some kind of weapon? One that can store Different Dimension Energy and also inflict damage on strangenesses!"


    Of course, if the statue were to be turned into a weapon, he couldn''t alter its essence, otherwise, Yan Junze didn''t believe a hammer, once transformed from the statue, would still serve as a hammer.

 Chapter 116

    If Lin Yishan were still alive, hearing Yan Junze''s words would probably infuriate him to death.Transform his own Golden Body Statue into a weapon, a weapon that can pose a threat to the strangenesses?


    One must admit, Lin Yishan did have some skills, having used some methods to create such a statue that could actually collect Different Dimension Energy.


    Different Dimension Energy is likely to be similar to what the world calls Yin Energy, but it is not exactly the same.


    So if used correctly, it could serve to cultivate strangenesses, but under circumstances of excessive energy, it could also cause severe damage to them.


    Just like gasoline that can power a car for driving can also be used to incinerate the whole vehicle.


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze moved the nightstand, hid the statue behind it, and planned to inquire about it before possibly transforming it into a weapon.


    Before going to bed, he took a shower.


    While showering, the absence of the little girl who always went "Eh" nearby was suddenly disconcerting.


    He had classes the next day.


    Early in the morning, after arriving at school, he first went to his homeroom teacher Xiang Decai to report back from his leave, and after filling out a situation report, he was all set.


    The college entrance exam was just two weeks away.


    At this point, the curriculum was at the tail end of comprehensive review, which is to say it was time to consolidate any key points or difficulties that hadn''t been mastered yet.


    If one''s basic knowledge couldn''t be made up, cramming for just two weeks would hardly be effective.


    What every subject''s teacher emphasized most in class was, relax, relax...


    Yan Junze believed that he was probably the most relaxed candidate in the whole school.


    ...


    "Open Your Eyes" Video Broadcasting Technology Corporation Limited had its headquarters in Tianyi District, but it also opened a branch in Tianmeng District.


    The Tianmeng District branch was located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of Huadu Building, and at this moment in the video conference room on the 53rd floor, several senior executives from the branch were seated, with the headquarters'' executives appearing via video.


    The "Open Your Eyes" video platform is currently the hottest product for supernatural exploration across the network.


    Unlike the smaller city of Shuntian, the safety level for residents of Tianmeng District was relatively higher, especially in the places where important people resided, where Exorcists were almost always present.


    So there were even those influential and powerful individuals who have never encountered any strangenesses since the outbreak began.


    However, most ordinary people living in the district had seen them, and though they were fearful, curiosity and the desire to explore were greater, hence the emergence of video platforms like "Open Your Eyes."


    The Spirit Explorers were all experienced people, some highly professional, and there were even Spirit Exploration Teams that had been expensively crafted by certain groups of people.


    Of course, most of the videos on the platform were taken by ordinary people during unexpected encounters with strangenesses, incomplete though they might be, the sense of reality they conveyed was extremely strong, evoking an intense sense of tension that in turn stimulated a greater desire to watch.


    On the other side of the conference room, a projection was playing a scene from FH Community where two strangenesses were fighting fiercely.


    A moment passed, and the video ended.


    Editor Tang Zhengyi was seated at the end of the conference table, which showed that his status among these people was not high.


    Had it not been for his involvement with the video, he might not have been able to attend such a high-level meeting.


    "They should all be Sculpting Spirit-level strangenesses," a bald man in a crisp suit turned and said to everyone.


    He was the chief officer for the Tianmeng District, directly appointed by the Tianyi platform headquarters.


    A chubby man beside the bald one grinned, "Such a video is simply not allowed to be spread."


    Another man sitting opposite, tall and in his fifties, spoke up, "Zhengyi, have you found out? Is that student really just an ordinary person without any connections to Exorcists?"


    Tang Zhengyi replied, "Some connection, they seem to have had several contacts, so they appear quite familiar with each other, but there is no financial relationship or special employment arrangement."


    "Employment?" The bald man laughed, "Such a young lad, even if he has special abilities, Exorcists wouldn''t hire him specially."


    Special employment was somewhat akin to a special appointment, which even held a more exceptional status than the Exorcists'' own team members, hence the bald one''s disbelief.


    "So...what do we do with this video?" Tang Zhengyi asked.


    The chubby man took a sip of the strong tea placed before him and said, "We can''t report it to Exorcists, or else in addition to confiscating the video, they might also give us a warning."


    "That''s simple," the bald man suggested to the tall man opposite him, "Lao Liu, go find a buyer and sell it."


    "President Er, are you saying to sell it to those interested?" Tang Zhengyi asked in surprise.


    "Of course, those people love this stuff. It would be a shame to not make a profit from such an exciting video," President Er said, turning to the headquarters on the video, and inquired, "Does anyone have a better idea?"


    "No objections," the man seated at the center on the video side nodded.


    Your next chapter awaits on empire


    "Then get moving on that contact, Lao Liu," President Er commanded. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If the video isn''t uploaded to the platform, what about Yan Junze..." Tang Zhengyi hurriedly interjected.


    "Offer him a sum of money, just say our company bought it, but considering the impact, we''ve decided not to include it in the platform''s video library for the time being," President Er responded.


    "How much money?" Tang Zhengyi asked again.


    President Er tapped his forehead with his index finger and said, "You decide."


    ...


    "Twenty-eight thousand?!"


    Just after school, Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi, who stated that the Back-faced Woman''s video wouldn''t be broadcast for now, but the company would pay to acquire it, offering "twenty-eight thousand."


    Yan Junze had not expected that even if the video was not broadcasted, he could still make money off it.


    Even though he wasn''t aware of the market value, the amount of money offered was far from his expectation.


    But there was no helping it; Yan Junze was well aware that he had no channels to sell this type of video. If he tried to sell it online, it would certainly be seized by Exorcists first, and drawing further attention would be even worse.


    Given that his family''s savings were already modest, this sum of money was better than nothing for Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze simply responded with an ambivalent, standard-issue reply: "Heh heh."


    "That settles it then. The money will be transferred to your account registered on the platform within a week; be sure to check for it," Tang Zhengyi said, "Also, someone will come to collect the filming equipment tomorrow. Thanks for your cooperation recently."


    Yan Junze: "Heh heh."


    "I''ve got more good news. After deliberation, our company decided to promote your ''Night Traveling Puppy'' account to Honorary Master of Spirit Exploration. In the future, if you have more videos to upload, they will be given priority display on the platform''s homepage. Donations and other user payments will be split fifty-fifty with the platform, not at forty-sixty," Tang Zhengyi added.


    "Heh heh." Yan Junze hung up the call, his feelings mixed and hard to articulate.

 Chapter 117 Yan Junzes Weapon

    Now that he had some money, Yan Junze was planning to have the Golden Body Statue altered at a goldsmith shop this weekend.Into a handy weapon that could pose a threat to the strangenesses.


    He had already asked Zhou Dali at school, and Dali, though occasionally annoying due to his personality, was nonetheless wide-connected and never muddled when it came to helping friends.


    Well, as long as it wasn''t Spirit Exploration.


    Dali''s aunt''s cousin''s younger sister rented out a shop space to a goldsmith shop called "Zhou Erfu," which was fairly sizable and reputed to have skilled craftsmen.


    But the Golden Body Statue was a bit too large, making the alteration a bit troublesome and time-consuming.


    Trusting in Zhou Dali and "Zhou Erfu," the very next day after school, Yan Junze put the Golden Body Statue in his backpack and, together with Zhou Dali, dashed to the "Zhou Erfu" goldsmith shop.


    Upon arriving, they entered a shop that indeed seemed fairly large, where two female clerks in professional attire immediately approached them with a warm welcome.


    After Zhou Dali explained their purpose, one of the clerks escorted them to a back door within the shop.


    A sign reading "Workshop" hung on the door.


    Upon entering, they were greeted with a slightly pungent smell, and although three craftsmen were present, two were busy while the apparent master craftsman was idling nearby, smoking.


    Zhou Dali nudged Yan Junze with his elbow and then approached the smoking man, greeting him, "Brother Gu, hello, we were referred here by Auntie Feng."


    The smoking man named Gu lifted his head, appearing somewhat listless.


    Yan Junze noticed the man''s deep-set eyes and dark circles, suggesting he was in a very poor state of mind.


    At this sight, Yan Junze couldn''t help doubting whether entrusting the Golden Body Statue to this man for remelting was a good idea.


    "Hmm, I''m Gu Bai," said the man as he extinguished his cigarette and stood up, "Sister Feng told me about you. Let me have a look at your item first."


    Yan Junze, who had been on the verge of backing out, figured that since he was already there, it couldn''t hurt to let him take a look.


    He pulled out the Golden Body Statue wrapped in newspaper from his backpack and handed it to Gu Bai.


    After Gu Bai unwrapped the newspaper, Lin Yishan''s statue appeared, prompting a slight pause from him.


    "Such a large piece, this must be about 80% gold content."


    Yan Junze replied, "Regardless of its gold content, I just want to remelt this statue."


    "Into what?" asked Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze had already made up his mind and without hesitation said, "If it doesn''t damage the essence, I''d like a club, about the length of half an arm, the kind one would use by the river to wash clothes."


    He had considered making a knife, but that would be too conspicuous to carry around and problematic if classified as a controlled weapon. Plus, the statue already somewhat resembled a club, so transforming it into one would likely be the most time- and effort-efficient option.


    "A club?" Gu Bai looked skeptical for a moment.


    He inspected the statue closely, commenting, "This was made with very ordinary craftsmanship; no special techniques are enclosed, nor does it seem to have any special structure. Hmm, but I''ll handle it with care."


    Zhou Dali''s eyes widened, and he reached out to touch Yan Junze''s forehead, "You''re not feverish! Are you planning on opening a wet wash place by the river with this club?"


    Yan Junze slapped his hand away and looked at Gu Bai, "So, is this... going to be troublesome?"


    Gu Bai chuckled, "We don''t have a mold for a club; we''ll need to make one from scratch, which will take a bit of time."


    "No problem, just let me know if there''s any cost involved; I can''t expect you to foot the bill for helping me," Yan Junze nodded.


    Gu Bai handed back the Golden Body Statue, "Come back the day after tomorrow, it''s the weekend. Once I''ve prepared the mold for the club... the club, I''ll craft it for you right here on the spot. It''ll be quick."


    "Thank you," Yan Junze wrapped the statue up again.


    Zhou Dali went to the store, poured a few cups of tea, and handed one to Gu Bai. After all, asking for someone''s help and then leaving immediately after striking a deal seemed a bit rude.


    Once they sat down, they began to chat casually with Gu Bai.


    "Brother Gu, I notice you don''t seem very fit. You should really take care of yourself and exercise more." As soon as Zhou Dali spoke, he steered the conversation towards something he was particularly proud of.


    While he spoke, he flexed his biceps, intending to show off. Indeed, they looked sturdy and strong.


    But it seemed as if Gu Bai didn''t see, simply lighting a cigarette for himself.


    Knowing that Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students, he didn''t hesitate to smoke in front of them and took a deep drag before saying, "It''s chronic sleep deprivation, nothing I can do about it."


    "Oh, you have insomnia?" Yan Junze asked.


    "No," Gu Bai shook his head, "I do want to sleep. I can even fall asleep at work during the day, but when night comes, ah... let''s not talk about it."


    Zhou Dali was slightly surprised and asked, "Is it because you''ve encountered... strangenesses?"


    Gu Bai looked at him, still shaking his head, "I don''t even know if it''s that. I''ve already called 4747, but there''s a long waiting list. The main thing is, even I''m not sure it''s that."


    After finishing, he stood up: "It''s getting dark, you better head home. Just remember to come and find me over the weekend."


    "Thank you."


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali got up to leave. Since Gu Bai didn''t want to elaborate, they naturally didn''t press the matter.


    Zhou Dali didn''t mind, since he was timid. After hearing it might be a strangeness, he lost the desire to inquire further.


    However, Yan Junze was more attentive. Looking at Gu Bai''s demeanor, he feared that Gu Bai had been dealing with a strangeness for a while. Usually, these kinds of strangeness tasks are of a higher level, at least medium.


    At the moment, Yan Junze''s standards were also rising. He could complete lower-level tasks, but the Different Dimension Energy points he''d get were not substantial.


    Moreover, these strangeness incidents were mostly dealt with by Exorcists directly. It was only in emergency situations involving his own relatives, or if not handled, that more people would be affected, that Yan Junze might take on a lower-level task. Read latest stories on empire


    He would see over the weekend. If Gu Bai helped him with his favor, he had to repay it, even if it meant taking on a lower-level task.


    After leaving the gold shop with Zhou Dali, they went their separate ways home.


    As he got off the bus, his mom''s call came, asking how soon he would be home.


    "Just reached the entrance of the community."


    Yan Junze said, hung up the phone, and as he was about to enter the community gate, noticed that Grandpa Zheng was eating dinner alone in the guardhouse.


    Two dishes and a soup, one meat and one vegetable, the pairing was not bad at all.


    Grandpa Zheng poured himself a small glass of wine and was enjoying his meal heartily, not noticing Yan Junze outside the duty room staring at him. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A moment later, Yan Junze opened the door to the duty room: "Grandpa Zheng, having dinner?"


    "Eh, Ze, just getting back from school? Want to join your grandpa for a bit of dinner?" Grandpa Zheng offered with a smile.


    "No thanks, about to have dinner at home," Yan Junze said as he found a stool to sit on.


    Seeing Yan Junze''s stance showed no intention to leave, Grandpa Zheng asked, "Is there something you want?"


    "I wanted to ask you, when was our community''s underground garage renovated?" Yan Junze said.


    A reminiscent look came over Grandpa Zheng, "Oh, I can''t quite remember. It''s been over a decade! Why do you ask?"


    Yan Junze leaned forward and asked, "Were there ever any scavengers or workers who lived in there before?"


    Grandpa Zheng took a bite of his dish and pondered, "When it was still an underground warehouse, there was a scavenger, but I heard he died a long time ago, that was when I first came here."

 Chapter 119 The 118th Chapter: Shes Called Aunt Mei

    ```"That scavenger, was it a man or a woman?" Yan Junze asked.


    "A woman." Grandpa Zheng answered while recalling.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, "Who else in the community might remember this incident?"


    Grandpa Zheng wiped his mouth and pointed inside the community, saying, "Elder Pu living on the first floor of Building No. 4, I mean, I call him Elder Pu, but you should call him Old Master. He has lived here for a long time and might know something."


    "Then Grandpa Zheng, you take your time eating."


    Yan Junze left the duty room and didn''t immediately go home, but went straight to the building opposite his own, Building No. 5.


    Elder Pu must be over 90 years old, hard of hearing, and after Yan Junze knocked, Elder Pu''s daughter came to open the door.


    Yes, his daughter is 64 years old, and Yan Junze calls her grandma.


    Elder Pu was lying in bed because his legs and feet were not agile ¨C he rarely got out of bed, and even if he did, he usually sat in a wheelchair.


    Since the outbreak of "strangenesses," he hardly ever went out.


    Yan Junze had seen this old master before ¨C Elder Pu''s hair had already fallen out, his frame was skinny, his cheeks hollow. It was said he loved to chat.


    Yan Junze said he was there to ask Elder Pu about something from the past in the community, and the daughter let him into the bedroom.


    As soon as he entered the bedroom, he cheerfully said, "Old Pu, how are you? I hope I''m not disturbing you? I''ve come to understand some matters."


    Elder Pu raised his head, showing a kind smile as he looked at Yan Junze.


    Worried that he might not hear him, Yan Junze raised his voice, "Old Grandpa, hello!"


    "Hmm, nice weather, the weather is good today," Elder Pu nodded.


    Yan Junze''s face turned embarrassed, and he said again, "Grandpa, I just want to ask you two questions."


    "How did you know I can paint?" Elder Pu looked surprised.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Elder Pu''s daughter standing behind him, and she shook her head with a resigned smile, "He''s always like this now, answering out of context, maybe¡­ just go with the flow."


    "Go with the flow?" Yan Junze found that the old people nowadays were quite humorous. He turned back to Elder Pu and raised his volume even more, emphasizing each word, "Grandpa, do you still remember anything about the FH Community''s underground storeroom before it was remodeled?"


    "I remember," Elder Pu finally gave a correct response.


    "Then tell me about it, I would like to understand some things," Yan Junze nodded and sat down by the bed.


    "I remember that year, my father said, the underground resistance in Shuntian was pursued and intercepted by the enemy forces, and eventually had no choice but to change their appearance¡­"


    "Alright, alright, Grandpa, my mistake." Yan Junze stood up and gave Elder Pu''s daughter a wry smile, then said to Elder Pu, "I won''t bother you any longer, you rest well."


    Just as he was about to leave, Elder Pu''s daughter curiously asked, "What did you want to inquire about? Maybe I know something as well."


    Yan Junze casually said, "Just wanted to ask about a woman who used to scavenge in the underground garage."


    "Oh, you mean Aunt Mei." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm? You really know her," Yan Junze said, surprised.


    Elder Pu''s daughter nodded, "I''ve heard the old master talk about her. Aunt Mei had been scavenging for a lifetime, quite pitiful. Later, when her economic condition got a bit better, she always lived in the underground storeroom of FH Community."


    "Wasn''t the storeroom later remodeled into a parking lot?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes, but there was a maintenance tunnel inside, and Aunt Mei lived in there afterward. Her rheumatism was severe, and it seems it led to other diseases, which caused her death."


    "Was she married? Did she have any children?"


    "No," Elder Pu''s daughter lowered her head and thought for a moment, "Apparently, later she found a pair of abandoned infants with disabilities. It is said that Aunt Mei was raising them, but they were rarely seen, and it was only half a month after Aunt Mei died that her body was discovered."


    ```


    "What about the infants?"


    "They died before Aunt Mei, couldn''t be raised, and Aunt Mei was heartbroken for a long time."


    "Hmm, I think I''ve got a rough idea, thank you, Grandma Pu." Yan Junze revealed a smile, nodded to Old Pu''s daughter, then took his leave.


    Now it seemed certain that the old lady in the underground garage was indeed Aunt Mei, and the two strange babies were the disabled abandoned infants she had picked up.


    However, what made Yan Junze curious was that when he activated "Perception of Strange Events", he didn''t detect any mission information regarding Aunt Mei and the two strange babies.


    This meant that Aunt Mei and the babies might not have any obsessions, or that the strange babies did have obsessions but were being heavily suppressed by Aunt Mei.


    This could be determined from the way the strange babies shrank back in fear whenever they looked at Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze was filled with absolute curiosity towards this strangeness that was Aunt Mei.


    First of all, the old lady was incredibly powerful; the Back-faced Woman, upon seeing her, didn''t say a word and ran away, just like Ke''er did upon encountering other high-level strangenesses, without even the thought of challenging her.


    This showed that Aunt Mei''s strangeness level was very high, though its exact level was unknown.


    Most importantly, Yan Junze now saw that Aunt Mei was very kind to people, had no obsessions or resentment. At least for now, he couldn''t see any threat to others, otherwise, she wouldn''t be quietly living in the underground garage for who knows how long.


    If possible, it would be more beneficial than detrimental to foster a good relationship with Aunt Mei.


    Only, Yan Junze knew that his "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" skill seemed unable to lock down strangenesses above the semi-Sculpting Spirit level. It wouldn''t work on the Resentful Granny, the Back-faced Woman, and certainly not on Aunt Mei.


    "Might as well do this: in a couple of days, I''ll buy some candles to visit her, activate Rewind beforehand, and probe whether it''s possible to establish some rapport with Aunt Mei."


    Yan Junze made up his mind.


    He returned home without another word the whole way.


    On the weekend, the school announced ahead of time that all seniors would have a large classroom session, with university teachers coming over to give lectures and former top students sharing their examination experience.


    This was completely unexpected by Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    Fortunately, it didn''t last long and ended around 3 pm.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali immediately went to the "Zhou Erfu" jewelry store and, upon arriving at the workshop, found only the two apprentices there without Master Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze saw that the mold for the mallet had been finished and was placed neatly on the table, but there was no sign of Gu Bai.


    "Master Gu said he will be here later, you guys just wait for a bit," one apprentice called out and then hurried off to busily tend to other tasks.


    About half an hour later, Gu Bai finally arrived, looking very late.


    The guy had very noticeable dark circles under his eyes, drooping eyelids, and shuffling steps, clearly having not rested well.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was actually worried about him starting work now.


    However, Gu Bai seemed to be aware of his condition and didn''t immediately start working, but instead sat down to rest for a while, smoked a cigarette, drank several sips of the strong tea the apprentice had brewed, and started work when he felt less tired.


    Yan Junze was puzzled about what this guy had been up to at night to be so tired. Was it just poor sleep?


    Curiosity aside, it wasn''t convenient for him to ask questions at the moment. Standing with Zhou Dali, he just watched from a distance.


    "Brother Gu, if you find any special structures inside, please stop and let me consider whether to continue," Yan Junze spoke up as a reminder.


    Gu Bai nodded, then shook his head, "From my experience, the craftsmanship of this statue isn''t very fine, so the chance of finding any special structures inside is very small."


    Though he said this, he was still very careful and, before long, the Lin Yishan statue in front of him melted into a large mass. Gu Bai carefully poured it into the mold.


    At that moment, a black bead rolled out from the molten golden liquid.


    Continue reading on empire


    "Wait a minute," Yan Junze immediately spoke up.

 Chapter 119 The Photo Studio Mystery

    everyone saw the bead, it was just that yan junze was quick to speak and immediately yelled for a halt.by the time he called for a stop, gu bai had already ceased his actions.


    he seemed quite curious about the object and then extended a special pair of tongs into the mold to clasp the black bead.


    the bead wasn''t very large, only about the size of a checker, but it was pitch-black and lacked any shine.


    however, the mold''s temperature was already around a thousand degrees, and the fact that the bead could roam around inside without any damage was indeed unusual.


    they definitely wouldn''t dare to touch it now, but yan junze knew this black bead was the key reason the sculpture could absorb different dimension energy. so if he discarded the bead during the crafting of the mace, then the mace would be nothing more than a plain mace to him.


    "wait for me to take a photo before putting it back."


    yan junze took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the black bead. stay tuned with empire


    "are you going to put it back?" gu bai asked, surprised.


    he thought that since the object looked so strange and they had already found it, they ought to study it thoroughly.


    why put it back and melt it into the mace?


    "yes, put it back, melt it into the core of the mace." yan junze pointed at the mold and said.


    "alright." without saying anything further, gu bai promptly returned the bead and proceeded to the next step.


    as the process continued and seemed to take a while, yan junze and zhou dali sat near the entrance to the workshop, watching the entire procedure and chatting intermittently with gu bai.


    the reason the process was quick was due to yan junze''s low-maintenance and straightforward request: to simply make the mace, without the need for additional artistic embellishments such as chasing, wire brushing, or sandblasting, only a simple stamping was used.


    before long, the golden mace took shape and was subjected to cooling treatment.


    after completing the work, gu bai lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then came over to sit down and poured two large sips of strong tea for himself.


    "thanks for your hard work, brother gu," yan junze said.


    "brother gu, if you get too little sleep at night, it''s really not good for your health in the long run," zhou dali said from the side.


    "ah, i basically take naps in the store now, that''s the only place i can fall asleep," gu bai said with a bitter smile and a shake of his head.


    "if you''re willing to talk about it, feel free to tell me," yan junze said. "perhaps i could help you out."


    "you?" gu bai looked at him.


    "yes, my buddy often goes on spirit explorations and even uploads the videos online, very popular," zhou dali immediately boasted as if it wasn''t yan junze''s work, but his own.


    "no, no, no," gu bai immediately shook his head. "we can''t put up videos online; we can''t let other people know about it."


    "not all explorations are for videos," yan junze explained with a smile. "it depends on the situation. some spirit exploration videos are not suitable for the internet; i get that."


    zhou dali said, "my brother has dealt with a lot of strangeness, and i even got involved once myself, though i didn''t dare to go afterward. but if you share your experience with us, maybe he can help."


    "i''ve already called exorcism," gu bai said.


    "it''s alright, if you think you can hold on, then wait for the exorcist to come investigate," yan junze said, taking a sip of tea, standing up, and preparing to check on the cooling hammer.


    gu bai looked up at him deeply, then suddenly turned to his two apprentices and said, "put aside the work for now and go outside to use the restroom."


    the two disciples were startled, exchanged glances, then agreed and tactfully left the workshop.


    yan junze sat back down.


    gu bai seemed to be organizing his thoughts, and after more than ten seconds, he finally began, "my wife loves photography, so we opened a photo studio which does pretty well most of the time. since we spent all our savings on the store, we also live there."


    yan junze and zhou dali did not speak, waiting for gu bai to continue.


    gu bai continued, "my wife is quite retro; she loves film photography, so she specially remodeled one of the rooms into a darkroom to develop film. of course, she also uses digital cameras, but she has a greater affinity for film photography." s§×ar?h the n?vel(f)ire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "starting last month, the photo studio began experiencing some abnormalities. there''s nothing unusual during the day, but at night, there are always strange noises, especially frequent in the darkroom."


    "a few times when there were strange noises, i went to check, but i couldn''t see anything. however, after the noises, i''d find some of the freshly washed photos had fallen down, and a lot of the developing chemicals my wife prepares would be significantly less."


    "just last week, another disturbance arose in the middle of the night. startled awake, i ran to see and found photos either fallen or halved as if something had eaten them. and i always felt like someone was present in the darkroom, but i couldn''t see anyone. later, my wife started screaming in bed. i rushed over to ask her what happened, and she said, in a daze, she felt someone pulling at her feet."


    "you need to understand, our bedroom is separated from the darkroom by just one room, set up this way for the convenience of my wife''s work. and then..."


    at this point, gu bai paused and his body suddenly shivered.


    "then last night, there were strange noises from the darkroom again, but i was too tired. my wife was sleepy too, and, being timid, she didn''t dare to check. i actually wanted to get up, but due to lack of rest, i fell asleep again in a haze. at that moment, i felt something grab my foot and jerk it hard, as if in a dream, abruptly waking me up."


    "did you see anything when you got up?" yan junze asked.


    "no, i didn''t see anything," said gu bai, still shaken, "if it really becomes unbearable, i''m prepared to move out. but we''ve invested so much into that place, it would all go to waste if we left, and we''re very reluctant to do so!"


    taking a deep drag of his cigarette, gu bai looked up at yan junze and zhou dali, "honestly, if it''s strangeneses, my wife and i haven''t seen anything. we don''t feel our lives are threatened, but the constant disturbances every day, if it goes on like this, i feel like i''m on the verge of going mad."


    "how about this," yan junze started, "tonight you don''t sleep on the bed. i''ll sleep there, ah, i mean, you and your wife should sleep somewhere else, not on the bed."


    "i''ll go too," zhou dali chimed in.


    "what are you going to do there?" yan junze asked with surprise.


    "i''m going to sleep too."


    "hmm, okay, there''s probably some strangeneses there, let zhou dali go to draw its attention. the guy''s got a large frame, easy to attract hate," yan junze nodded.


    "just kidding," zhou dali laughed heartily, "my studies aren''t as good as yours, and i have exams coming up, so i need to review at home."


    "won''t it disrupt your exams?" gu bai asked yan junze.


    "no," yan junze shook his head, "it''s just the weekend. if i don''t sleep at night, i can still catch up on sleep during the day."


    "then... thank you for your trouble."


    at this moment, gu bai felt a bit like he was grasping at straws, mainly because he wasn''t sure if it was really strangeneses, and even if it was, they were still in line waiting for the exorcist, with no idea when it would be their turn.


    if they didn''t handle it soon, gu bai felt he might go crazy himself.

 Chapter 120 Black Spirit

    stay tuned with empiregu bai sent the address of the photography studio to yan junze''s phone, and then they agreed on a time. s§×arch* the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the time was tonight at 10 p.m.


    to sneak out easily in the evening, yan junze also needed to get his story straight with zhou dali, telling his parents that he was going to dali''s house to study and would stay over, not coming back until the next day.


    before long, a brand new mace was finally forged.


    gu bai checked it once more, then handed it over to yan junze.


    the golden mace was about the length of a forearm, and at first glance, it looked quite like the previous statue, but was more convenient to carry and use for attack.


    when yan junze took it, he felt its weight in his hand, as the mace was somewhat heavy.


    however, to threaten strangenesses with it, he would need to carry it in his backpack at all times, which would be very inconvenient.


    if only he could place it directly into the spacetime atlas like "lock evil spirits," that would be perfect.


    yan junze had an idea.


    no sooner had the idea emerged than a line of text popped up in his mind from the spacetime atlas.


    "[black spirit detected, initiate lockdown?]"


    "what the hell is a ''black spirit''?" yan junze, holding the mace, looked around but didn''t notice any other strangenesses in the area.


    shortly after, he lowered his head to gaze at the mace in his hand.


    with a thought, he tentatively commanded in his mind, "lockdown."


    the mace in his hand vanished instantly, and the next second, it appeared within the 12th node, perfectly occupying the empty echo left by ke''er.


    "oh sh*t!"


    despite being prepared, the sudden disappearance of the mace startled yan junze. with suddenly empty hands, he couldn''t help but tremble.


    gu bai was just pouring hot water into a teacup. looking up, he asked in surprise, "eh, where did the mace go?"


    yan junze immediately adopted a nonchalant pose, resting his chin on his hand and shrugging, "i just... put it into my bag."


    zhou dali also widened his eyes, "woah, your sleight of hand is so fast, i didn''t even see it. you must practice a lot with action movies at night, huh?"


    "get lost," laughed yan junze.


    after saying goodbye to gu bai, the two left the gold shop.


    as for the trouble that yan junze was supposed to help gu bai with that night, dali had no interest in joining. he was busy "studying," after all!


    but he had no problem helping yan junze fabricate an excuse.


    on his way home, yan junze passed by a funeral supplies shop and conveniently went in to buy a big bag of ceremonial candles.


    in his opinion, since resentful granny and her son and daughter-in-law even ate those kind of household candles, these special ceremonial candles for the deceased should definitely suit aunt mei''s taste.


    when he returned home, his parents were still at work, and no one was at home.


    yan junze took out the ceremonial candles and scurried downstairs, first opening the rewind before pushing open the small door that led to the underground parking garage.


    just as he entered the garage, he happened to meet a neighbor coming up. the neighbor saw yan junze carrying the candles and entering the garage with a mysterious smile, which caused the neighbor to look back in suspicion for a while before leaving.


    the southeastern corner of the garage was very secluded; one could not see it at all from the entrance. so after familiarly making his way over, yan junze directly opened the door and walked in.


    standing outside the room, with ceremonial candles in hand as if holding a bunch of roses, he stood respectfully and softly called out, "aunt mei, aunt mei, i''ve come to see you!"


    soft rustling sounds quickly came from inside the unlit room. the noise continued for quite some time, then finally, aunt mei''s corpulent body slowly appeared, standing at the inner room''s door.


    but he did not see the strange baby''s figure.


    "aunt mei, you must be hungry by now, these are incense and candles, they''re really tasty. i bought them especially for you," yan junze said while approaching aunt mei, preparing to hand over the incense and candles.


    aunt mei still wore a smile on her face, staring steadily at yan junze, and did not reach out.


    being watched with a smile like that, yan junze started feeling uneasy, extending his hand with the incense and candles a bit more.


    but aunt mei still showed no intention of taking them.


    just then, from the darkness behind the door, by aunt mei''s side, a slender and pale little hand slowly reached out and suddenly grabbed the incense and candles from yan junze''s hand.


    yan junze immediately let go, and a large handful of incense and candles were swiftly snatched into the darkness.


    before long, the sound of unwrapping the incense and candles and then chewing noises filled the room.


    clearly, the strange baby was gnawing on the incense and candles.


    actually, at this moment, yan junze was somewhat surprised; he did not understand why these evil spirits, if they all enjoyed eating wax and incense, did not go directly to the funeral supply store where there was an abundance of such items.


    however, after thinking it over carefully and considering the initial reluctance of l¨¹ qiang and wang qin, resentful granny''s son and daughter-in-law, to eat candles, it seemed that eating candles might just be a passive instinct of the evil spirits, one that they didn''t actively pursue in normal times.


    of course, it couldn''t be ruled out that some starved evil spirits might seek out places selling candles and such for food. but on second thought, they were probably in the minority.


    the sound of gnawing candles in the room was intense, indicating that both strange babies were eating. yet, aunt mei still stood at the entrance, watching yan junze with a smile, motionless.


    yan junze''s uneasiness grew, and the sight of aunt mei smiling at him made him wonder if this old lady had died from laughing.


    otherwise, why would she smile so much? always with a beaming expression.


    "take it slow, don''t rush, relationships are built step by step," he murmured to himself, and stepping back, he said, "aunt mei, then you take your time eating, i won''t disturb you if there''s nothing else. um, i''ll come to see you again next time."


    aunt mei said nothing, standing at the doorway, smilingly watching yan junze back away until the door slowly closed with her peculiar smiling face still on.


    this visit had been quite sudden, and without any specific purpose besides bringing over some items, but corpse granny hadn''t made things difficult for him. this perhaps was a good sign.


    yan junze made his way home, mentally justifying this "rich" outcome for himself.


    once home, his parents soon returned. during dinner, he told them that he would go to zhou dali''s place for a study session and would not return until sunday.


    yan daguo and his wife didn''t overthink it, and knowing yan junze seemed quite out of the ordinary, they even started to believe that ordinary strangenesses wouldn''t affect their son anymore.


    nevertheless, the couple still warned him to spend the night at zhou dali''s home and not to go out.


    after dinner, yan junze researched the release and retraction of the mallet in his room. only now did he realize that the black bead should be called "black spirit," so this mallet could also be referred to as the "black spirit mallet."


    after reading for a while, as it was getting dark, yan junze left the house.


    if he left home too late, his parents would still be suspicious.


    thus, when he arrived at gu bai and his wife''s photo studio on lion awakening road, it was only eight-thirty, still an hour and a half before the arranged meeting time of ten o''clock.


    having no choice, yan junze called gu bai.


    "sorry for coming early," yan junze explained as soon as gu bai picked up the phone.


    "no problem, no problem, we''re both at home. you can come in and familiarize yourself with the surroundings," gu bai hung up and in a short while, he came running out from the shop to stand by the street.


    yan junze spotted him at once.

 Chapter 121 Photographing (1)

    this lion awakening road is an old street, not very bustling, but also not lacking in people, so maintaining a small business here shouldn''t be a problem.if the business gains a bit of fame, there''s no shortage of repeat customers, and one might even make a small fortune.


    as yan junze got closer to gu bai, gu bai put his arm around his shoulder, very enthusiastically.


    yan junze looked up and saw that the storefront, named "fantasy photo studio," wasn''t very big. the exterior of the shop was only about twenty square meters, but the decoration was exquisite, giving off a feeling that although it was small, it had all the essentials.


    inside the storefront, apart from the closed doors, there was also a thick black cloth hanging at the entrance. according to gu bai''s introduction, this room was the darkroom, usually used for developing films, so it had to be kept dark. sea??h th§× n?vel?ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    there was another room on the side of the shop, which was the living quarters for gu bai and his wife lin meng, and within this living space, they had sectioned off two small compartments.


    one compartment was used for cooking to prevent the smell of smoke from drifting into the bedroom and soiling the bedding.


    the other compartment was the photography room, which maximized the use of space in the room.


    the moment he saw gu bai''s wife, yan junze had an epiphany about why zhou dali, that guy, upon hearing that he would be sleeping here at night, immediately volunteered to come over to sleep, not even afraid of the strangeness anymore.


    that kid must have heard something beforehand.


    this woman had light yellow wavy curls, of average height, with a slender figure, fair skin, curvy in all the right places, and even her voice was incredibly sweet when she spoke.


    "gu bai, this guy, is really lucky with women!"


    this was yan junze''s first impression upon seeing his wife.


    however, she seemed somewhat spiritually weary, but she had applied light makeup to cover it, and if he hadn''t looked carefully, he wouldn''t have noticed it. your journey continues with empire


    "this is my wife, lin meng," gu bai introduced, "normally, she sleeps very deeply, so i hear the most sounds from the darkroom. last time, if someone hadn''t tugged at her ankle in her sleep, she probably wouldn''t have woken up."


    "but ever since that incident, i''ve been too scared to sleep at night," lin meng said timidly.


    as she spoke, her beautiful eyes moved and looked toward the direction of the darkroom, "now, i don''t dare to go near the darkroom alone."


    "fortunately, everything is normal during the day," gu bai said, "it''s only at night that things become strange."


    "is it certain that strange things happen every night?" yan junze asked.


    "yes," gu bai nodded, "almost every night, although sometimes the sounds that come out are very soft, but i am very sensitive and still hear them."


    the obviously nerve-weakened man rubbed his forehead and pointed to the cup of tea in front of yan junze, saying, "the water''s not hot, you can drink now."


    "mm," yan junze picked up the teacup and took a sip.


    gu bai then added some freshly boiled water to it.


    "tonight, you should sleep in the bed," yan junze said, "with this storefront in between the bedroom and the darkroom, i''ll just sleep on the sofa here. it''s a good way to keep you and the darkroom separated."


    the couple exchanged glances.


    gu bai nodded, "all right, we really appreciate your help this time."


    "i''ll get you some clean bedding," lin meng stood up and walked into the bedroom.


    her movements were brisk, and in no time, she had spread a sky-blue sheet and a quilt on the sofa.


    the bedding was indeed very clean, still carrying the fresh scent of laundry detergent, and it was very comfortable to lie on.


    since his arrival, yan junze had been observing the spacetime atlas, but the atlas had not transmitted any task-related information.


    it was very likely that the strangeness that appeared at night had not shown up yet.


    "is there any detail that you haven''t mentioned?" yan junze asked after sitting down.


    the couple thought for a bit.


    lin meng suddenly became a bit bashful and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "i don''t know if it''s just a dream, but these past few days, when i''m asleep, i always feel like someone is touching me."


    "hm?"


    gu bai and yan junze both widened their eyes at the same time.


    "it wasn''t me?" gu bai immediately asked.


    it was as if yan junze saw little sprouts growing out of gu bai''s head, the lush green kind.


    "no, no, it''s not," lin meng glanced at yan junze, seeming a bit embarrassed, "you''ve misunderstood, it wasn''t that kind of touching. it felt like i was dreaming, feeling someone touching my foot, or maybe it wasn''t touching, just a sensation like the hand was covered in oil, greasy and slimy."


    yan junze felt that as lin meng continued to describe, it got darker and darker, no, for gu bai, it was getting greener and greener.


    "why didn''t you tell me?" gu bai''s tone was beginning to sound a bit off.


    "at first i thought it was you, but then it felt like i was dreaming, and there was nothing out of the ordinary when i woke up in the morning," lin meng said.


    the atmosphere between the couple became somewhat rigid.


    "well, i think i understand the situation now," yan junze nodded, "as for this matter, i think you should go back to your room to talk it out, and i''ll sort through it myself. don''t come out if you hear any noise tonight, just wait in the bedroom unless i notify you."


    the couple nodded.


    the photo studio had closed after eight o''clock, and now it was half past nine. yan junze had made a point of going to the bathroom in the bedroom beforehand, then lay down on the sofa in the outside storefront.


    then gu bai and lin meng went back to the bedroom and closed the door behind them.


    there still wasn''t any task information popping up, and yan junze, half lying on the bed, took out his phone and started browsing through moments.


    not long after, he received a message from xiaomo.


    "i''m returning to tianmeng district tomorrow, but i''m staying in shuntian overnight; it''s the weekend, do you want to come out for a midnight snack?"


    yan junze: "sis, where can you find midnight snacks at this time of night, unless it''s opened by you exorcists."


    xiaomo: "the hotel here has some. if you''re free, come over and i''ll ask you in detail about the other day''s situation, and i''ll send you back afterward."


    yan junze: "i can''t; i still have to review for my classes, let''s talk when we meet up another time."


    after chatting for a bit and putting down the phone, yan junze wondered if this was the first time he had turned down a girl''s invitation to go out.


    it just seemed a bit mixed up, though¡ªif it were a real date, in this situation, it should be the gentleman sending the lady home, not the other way around.


    this damn era of strangeness!


    there wasn''t a single noise in the house; yan junze closed his eyes, pondering whether it was all just gu bai and lin meng''s imagination¡ªwas there really no strangeness here at all, or else why wouldn''t the task notification pop up?


    he drifted off, not knowing when he fell asleep.


    when he woke up, it was deep into the night, the lights in the room were out, only a faint gleam from the streetlamps outside filtered in.


    just at that moment, the spacetime atlas in yan junze''s mind suddenly popped up with a task notification.


    [task name: photographing;


    task level: trembling with fear (medium);


    task background: in life, he was a veteran street photographer who roamed alleys and streets stalking beautiful women, constantly skirting the edge of the law. after provoking a local mobster''s girlfriend, he was caught by these enraged thugs, forced into various poses for eighteen sets of nude pictures, and had them all spread out. then, he killed himself¡ªbut without a hint of remorse...


    task description: he was a deeply treacherous, morally depraved, shameless scoundrel, and in death, he remains the same. so, complete eradication is the only fitting end for him;


    task reward: 700 different dimension energy points;


    task punishment: he will make you consume all the photos in the darkroom;


    task tips: 1. the evil spirit may be locked down, but would you want to lock down such scum? 2. his abhorrence of photography has turned his ghostly form very bizarre; 3. perhaps you need the help of a tool;


    note: do not let him get close to you.]

 Chapter 122 Photographing (2)

    looking at this task information prompt, yan junze was somewhat puzzled."this guy developed a deep hatred for cameras, hence his strangeness takes a weird form." what does that mean? could it be that his strangeness is different from other strangenesses?


    task prompt¡ªperhaps i need a tool.


    what tool? yan junze was completely baffled.


    just then, he heard rustling sounds coming from somewhere not far away, seemingly... from that darkroom.


    yan junze still lay on the sofa without getting up, listening intently with perked ears.


    by this time, any trace of sleepiness had vanished, his concentration was at its peak, and after listening for a while, he confirmed that the noises were coming from the darkroom.


    the sounds weren''t loud and resembled a mouse rummaging, producing extremely sporadic noises.


    at this moment, yan junze couldn''t help but admire gu bai; the kid was still asleep in his bedroom, yet he could hear these sounds¡ªhe must be exceedingly sensitive.


    yan junze believed that if it were not for the task prompt popping up and his own persistent vigilance, even in sleep, maintaining alertness, he would never have noticed this peculiarity under normal circumstances.


    after setting up rewind, yan junze slowly sat up from the sofa.


    the sofa was quite old and made creaking sounds as he got up. during this time, the noises from the darkroom suddenly ceased; there was no further movement.


    yan junze didn''t dare to move any further, just sitting quietly without turning on any lights or the flashlight on his phone, sitting in the dark, listening attentively.


    about two or three minutes later, the sound started once again.


    this time yan junze heard it clearly; the noise seemed like something being nibbled on, just like a rat stealing food.


    "it couldn''t really be just a rat," yan junze thought with a sense of oddness.


    but the task prompt had already appeared, it couldn''t be that simple.


    he stretched his feet to the ground, slowly put on his shoes, and then yan junze slowly stood up, leaving the sofa behind.


    his movements were very slow, as he feared making any loud noises, even deliberately reducing the number of times he breathed.


    still, the moment he left the sofa, the damned sofa made a noise again.


    once more, the activity in the darkroom stopped.


    yan junze just stood there, motionless. this time, it took at least five minutes before the sounds resumed from the darkroom.


    at this point, yan junze began to move, quietly approaching the darkroom. knowing he was moving at night, he had switched to a pair of soft-soled sneakers before coming, and at this moment, his movements were cautious, without making a sound.


    standing at the entrance of the darkroom, yan junze noticed that the door of the darkroom wasn''t shut tight. after lifting the heavy black curtain, he could push the door open and enter directly. s§×arch* the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    taking a deep breath and touching the door gently, he exerted a bit of force and tried to push the door of the darkroom open at the slowest possible speed.


    it was nighttime, and the outside area of the shop was also very dark, so opening the door to the darkroom wouldn''t cause any sudden exposure that could ruin the photos inside.


    fortunately, it seemed, the darkroom wasn''t completely dark but bathed in a hazy dark red light that allowed anyone entering to still see.


    yan junze didn''t rush in, but instead lifted the black curtain and stood beneath it, pushing the darkroom''s door open just enough for someone to slip in sideways, then stood still at the doorway to observe.


    with the aid of the dark red light, his current position was actually darker, which made it easier to observe the inside.


    on closer examination, the row of tables inside the darkroom was neatly lined with large quantities of film rolls and stacks of developed photos. the row closer to him had a rectangular sink for developing film, which still contained soaking chemicals.


    above the sink were multiple lines strung across, with photos clipped onto them, hanging to dry.


    however, yan junze noticed that many of the photos drying weren''t complete¡ªeither a corner was missing, or half of the photo was gone.


    the door to the darkroom was thick and didn''t make a sound when pushed open; yan junze then pushed it a bit wider.


    he widened his eyes, looking carefully. he even crouched down to inspect closer to the ground.


    he saw nothing. there was nothing out of the ordinary where his gaze fell.


    but the rustling sound persisted.


    he looked up again at the darkroom''s ceiling, half-expecting to see a strangeness lying there, staring down at him without blinking.


    but there was nothing.


    "how come there''s nothing?" yan junze was somewhat puzzled.


    with a thought, he released long-tongued zhenzhen.


    normally, when completing tasks, depending on the task, it was not appropriate to release other strangenesses for help. but the situation of this task was different.


    the mission briefing was simple, exterminate this scum. that was the goal. no matter the method, as long as the strangeness was exterminated, it would suffice.


    but the problem was that he couldn''t find it at all now? that suggested that this creature might be incredibly adept at hiding itself.


    therefore, releasing long-tongued zhenzhen to help find and kill it should be the right move.


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    long-tongued zhenzhen was a high-level wandering spirit. yan junze didn''t believe the strangeness in this photographing studio was above a semi-sculpting spirit, otherwise, the mission level wouldn''t be as it was.


    even if long-tongued zhenzhen couldn''t handle it, didn''t he still have the club in his hand? if all else failed, he would just smash it dead!


    after long-tongued zhenzhen came out, yan junze directly pushed open the door of the darkroom and entered.


    "what''s the situation?" long-tongued zhenzhen followed behind and asked.


    "there''s a strangeness here, help me find it," yan junze said. "if it resists, kill it immediately."


    long-tongued zhenzhen nodded and immediately began to look around.


    as soon as yan junze entered the darkroom, he closed the door and stood by the entrance, not moving.


    then he released the club into his hand, holding it while his gaze wandered among all the suspicious spots in the darkroom.


    "there''s nothing! i don''t see anything," long-tongued zhenzhen turned back and told yan junze.


    "nothing? even you can''t see it?" yan junze felt even more bewildered.


    at that moment, the rustling sound started up again from inside the room, and soon yan junze felt something tug at his trouser leg, as if it was caught by something.


    he immediately looked down, only to find nothing there.


    the next second, a stabbing pain shot through his leg, and a terrifying wound appeared on his thigh. his trousers tore, a large chunk of flesh was missing, and blood gushed out.


    bam!


    long-tongued zhenzhen''s tongue swept in, striking hard just next to yan junze''s wounded leg against the darkroom door, denting it with the impact.


    but it struck nothing; there was nothing in front of yan junze''s leg.


    yet the flesh from his thigh was gone, and that was the bloody truth.


    "it''s invisible!" came long-tongued zhenzhen''s voice.


    rewind!


    having been injured, he definitely couldn''t complete the task normally anymore, and the high-level wandering spirit, long-tongued zhenzhen, couldn''t even see the opponent. this was getting interesting.


    enduring the sudden pain, yan junze chose to rewind.

 Chapter 123 Photographing (3)

    this time, he rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.according to long-tongued zhenzhen''s guess, this creature could possibly be invisible, otherwise, not only he couldn''t see it, even long-tongued zhenzhen who is also a strangeness couldn''t see it.


    actually, in yan junze''s opinion, shouldn''t strangenesses detect each other through sensing? otherwise, where would the notion of a pecking order come from?


    but looking at the current situation, the strangeness lurking in the darkroom was indeed not of ordinary form, even the perception was inaccurate. even long-tongued zhenzhen could not sense it at all. s§×arch* the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "do i need to make use of a tool?"


    at this moment, yan junze suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the glass showcase in the shop, which displayed four or five cameras of different specifications.


    the task hint might mean he needed some kind of tool, and thinking about it, yan junze understood.


    the task stated that this strangeness had a very special form, and zhenzhen had already mentioned that it could possibly be invisible.


    if that was the case, then things were getting interesting.


    yan junze walked up to the glass showcase, took out his cell phone, turned on the flashlight function, and shone the light onto the cameras inside the showcase.


    he could see five cameras neatly arranged there, but it was unclear whether they were broken and merely for display, or if they were actually functioning.


    he should have asked lin meng earlier.


    out of the five cameras, three were traditional film cameras, while the other two were digital. one of the digital ones was a point-and-shoot, and the other was a dslr.


    holding onto the glass door of the showcase, yan junze gently pushed it aside.


    the glass door wasn''t smooth, hesitating a few times as he slid it, creating an unavoidable noise, so yan junze simply extended his other hand inside, clamping the glass with both hands, and lifted it up, finally opening it silently.


    however, the noise he had made caused the sound that had been continuously coming from the darkroom to stop.


    yan junze did not pay attention to that for the time being and reached in to take out the two digital cameras, while he gave no consideration to the other three that required film.


    if it really was as he suspected, that photographing was necessary to see the strangeness, then using film cameras was essentially useless.


    only with digital cameras, which provided instant results, could one immediately see the captured image, thus achieving the goal.


    after taking the two digital cameras in hand, yan junze weighed them in his palms and then hesitated for a moment.


    something felt off.


    he immediately put down the point-and-shoot, turned the dslr around, opened the battery compartment, and found it empty.


    not only was the battery missing, but there was also no memory card.


    while yan junze was intently inspecting the camera, the door to the darkroom, which wasn''t fully closed to begin with, slowly opened a crack from the inside.


    nothing could be seen, but the heavy black curtain outside the door moved slightly.


    without a sound, not a whisper came through.


    after discovering the dslr had no battery and no memory card, yan junze quickly put it down and picked up the point-and-shoot digital camera again.


    searching around, unlike the dslr, he found the battery compartment on the side of the camera, opened it, and found no battery, though a memory card was inserted inside.


    it appeared these cameras were just for show, and whether they worked or not was unknown.


    yan junze put the point-and-shoot camera back and stood there, looking around. read exclusive chapters at empire


    in the showcase near the street side, there seemed to be more cameras and a large amount of albums, artistic photographs, etc., but it looked like the showcase was locked, and the key was probably with lin meng or gu bai.


    "if that doesn''t work, i''ll go to the bedroom and have them give me the key,"


    yan junze had this thought and was about to move when he suddenly realized he hadn''t heard a sound from the darkroom for quite some time.


    whether it was the storefront, the bedroom, or the darkroom, it was all silent at this moment.


    an ominous premonition enveloped his heart.


    just then, he felt something grab him again. it seemed as if the hem of his shirt was tugged on; he quickly looked down.


    in the store, although the light from the street lamps outside was minimal, his eyes, having adjusted to the darkness, could still make out the layout of the room and the objects nearby in this faint light.


    however, when yan junze looked down, he saw nothing, but he did feel something clutching the waist of his clothing, and then he felt a touch on his shoulder.


    at that moment, he didn''t dare to turn around. he just stood there, afraid to move carelessly.


    holding his clothing, it was as if an invisible hand rested on his shoulder. could it be that the entity was standing right beside him, staring intently at him?


    yan junze''s palms were sweaty, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, sending a chill from his neck down his spine.


    "what on earth is this thing''s form? it seems... it''s not just as simple as being invisible!"


    without moving, he pricked up his ears and listened for sounds from the right side, yet no noise came.


    strangenesses are incapable of making breathing sounds.


    but yan junze definitely felt something odd beside him, as if a transparent entity certainly stood by his side.


    "what is this thing doing next to me? admiring my charming profile?"


    the next second, yan junze released long-tongued zhenzhen again.


    "strike the air on my right. there''s an invisible strangeness here."


    long-tongued zhenzhen, initially somewhat befuddled upon appearing, didn''t think too much after hearing yan junze''s order. her tongue shot out, striking the air to yan junze''s right.


    her tongue passed through the area and directly smashed the glass case holding the cameras, creating a loud crashing sound.


    at this moment, there was nothing to yan junze''s right.


    "gone! or... was there never anything at all?"


    yan junze had a strange thought.


    then he suddenly felt a coldness on the left side of his neck and, knowing it was bad, he immediately activated the rewind without waiting to instruct long-tongued zhenzhen to attack.


    although the spacetime atlas contained the "automatic rewind on near-death," the feature consumed an astonishing amount of energy. as long as it wasn''t a situation where he couldn''t react in time, it was better to perform a manual rewind in critical situations.


    he rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.


    this time, yan junze didn''t move immediately.


    he stood there, continually pondering in his head. he faced attacks from that entity after two rewinds. what was the reason?


    gu bai had entered the darkroom to investigate after discovering anomalies as well, but he wasn''t attacked.


    thinking about it, the issue might have arisen when he released long-tongued zhenzhen.


    the entity must have felt threatened; each time, it began attacking him shortly after long-tongued zhenzhen appeared.


    the problem was that long-tongued zhenzhen''s appearance hadn''t turned the tide for yan junze. so this time, he decided not to release her again for help; it might only make things worse.

 Chapter 124 Photographing (4)

    now yan junze was more certain that the strangeness hidden in the darkroom was sensitive to photographing, or it could only be seen through the act of taking photos.having a digital camera at hand seemed very important.


    this time, he did not touch the cameras in the glass display because he knew they were all useless, and the row of cabinets in the store were locked, with no way to get the cameras inside.


    so yan junze walked directly to the bedroom, with footsteps barely audible. the sounds from the darkroom began to stir shortly before he reached the bedroom door.


    yan junze took a deep breath, controlling the strength in his hand as he gently turned the doorknob.


    considering he was outside, gu bai had not locked the bedroom door, so after turning it, yan junze gently pushed the door open and entered.


    he wanted to ask lin meng which digital camera was usable, then retrieve the keys, open the cabinet, and take one for use.


    at the moment, a dimmer bedside lamp was on in gu bai and lin meng''s bedroom, and the soft light allowed yan junze to approximately make out the room''s interior.


    however, the moment he stepped into the bedroom, he shivered with fear.


    he saw gu bai lying on the bed not far away, eyes wide open, staring straight at him without blinking.


    it was so late, yet this person was not only wide awake, but he seemed to have no trace of sleepiness at all.


    you''re not sleepy is one thing, but to lie on the bed with your body exposed, glaring with a pair of dead fish eyes, fixated on the bedroom door. if this had been the old yan junze, he would have definitely freaked out, jumping up and banging his head on the door frame. s§×ar?h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    yan junze closed the bedroom door behind him and approached the bedside.


    "haven''t you slept?"


    "i heard that sound again," said gu bai.


    yan junze was speechless, "with your hearing, you must''ve practiced pinpointing the position of a fly by its sound in the past!"


    gu bai sat up.


    lin meng, who had been sleeping beside him, also groggily opened her eyes. upon seeing yan junze at the bedside, she instinctively pulled the covers, even though she was wearing home-style pajamas.


    "has that thing... come?" lin meng asked in astonishment.


    "it has," yan junze nodded, then spread his hands toward her, "the cabinets outside are locked, where are the keys? i need to take a usable digital camera."


    lin meng then sat up and asked, "a camera?"


    "yes, to photograph... the strangeness," yan junze did not hide it.


    although this bedroom was separated from the darkroom by a store space and the bedroom door was closed, all three of them spoke very softly.


    after all, not everyone was gu bai, whose hearing could apply for a guinness world record.


    contrary to yan junze''s expectations, lin meng did not give him the keys, but instead, after the initial shock, she got out of bed, opened the bedside table, and took out a digital point-and-shoot camera from underneath.


    "this one is usable," lin meng handed the camera over to yan junze.


    yan junze took the camera, learned how to use it after asking lin meng, and told the couple, "don''t come out. if you find the bedroom door opening by itself without any wind, you must notify me immediately."


    upon hearing the latter part of his sentence, gu bai broke into a cold sweat, and lin meng clutched his clothes tightly.


    yan junze, holding the camera, returned to the front of the bedroom door, turned down the handle, and gently pulled the door open, slipping out.


    gu bai quickly followed, arriving at the door to ensure that the bedroom door was securely closed.


    he then lay down by the door to listen for a while before returning to the bed, shakily, to hold his beautiful wife.


    when yan junze returned to the room in the store, because he had just entered the darkness from a lit area, his eyes were temporarily unable to see. he stood still, blinking rapidly to adjust.


    after a moment, the outline of the room became clear.


    he then looked towards the direction of the darkroom. there was no sound coming from it, and there were no signs that the black cloth curtain had been moved. however, only by walking over could he see whether the door to the darkroom was open.


    because he had left the room for a while to get the camera, yan junze now couldn''t be certain whether that thing was still inside the darkroom or had already come into the shop.


    to be on the safe side, he turned on the digital camera in his hand.


    the camera had been manually set to night mode by lin meng, with automatic compensation for low light, eliminating the need for a flash. otherwise, the flash triggering during the act of photographing could have unintended consequences.


    yan junze took a deep breath. if his guess was right, he could now try to see if that thing had made its way into this room of the shop.


    first, he took a photo towards the entrance of the darkroom.


    the photographing was also set to silent mode, so there was no sound mimicking that of a traditional camera shutter.


    yan junze immediately glanced at the screen of the camera to see the image he had just captured. although the picture quality was much darker, he could still make out the layout in the direction of the darkroom.


    from the look of it, there seemed to be no anomaly.


    he stepped back a bit and took another picture towards the direction of the sofa. after checking it, everything appeared normal.


    perhaps, that thing was still in the darkroom and had not come out at all.


    with that thought, yan junze went to the entrance of the darkroom and lifted the black curtain, only to find the door ajar, seemingly just as he had last seen it before "rewind".


    it was possible that the strangeness had not come out.


    yan junze gently pushed open the door with one hand while holding the camera in the other, taking photos of both the table and the film developing sink.


    he didn''t go inside, and then checked the photos carefully. again, he found nothing.


    in fact, he also hadn''t heard any unusual sounds at that moment.


    he went directly into the darkroom, stood in its center, and photographed every corner, including behind the door. then he stood still and carefully examined the pictures he had taken.


    he looked at each photo, but still, no anomalies were found.


    could it be that the task hint required a camera, but not in this way? could it be about using the camera''s video recording feature instead?


    that couldn''t be right either. if recording video was as useful as taking photos, the hint would just say he needed a video camera.


    so it must still be related to the traditional function of a camera¡ªphotographing.


    or perhaps, the strangeness was no longer in the darkroom.


    thinking of this, yan junze tiptoed out of the darkroom and into the shop''s room. however, he stood only at the front of the black curtain and didn''t go far.


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    then he raised the camera and took a photo of most of the room inside the shop. he lowered his head, brought up the photo he had just taken, and took a look.


    before long, he slightly furrowed his brows, pressed a few buttons, and zoomed in on the photo, his expression turning somewhat eerie.


    from the perspective of the darkroom''s entrance, this photo encompassed the sofa, the side of the glass cabinet, the side of the counter, and two corners of the room.


    and now, in the photo, near the back of the counter, there was a black silhouette of a man. the man was crouched low with his head down, his face blurry, seemingly staring at the ground with his hands wrapped around his legs.


    "saw it for real!"


    yan junze was startled and immediately lifted the camera to take another photo towards the back of the counter.


    after taking the shot, he quickly pulled up the photo.


    in this photo, the black silhouette was no longer crouching but had stood up, still with his head down.

 Chapter 125 Photographing (5) (Please recommend!)

    seeing the figure of the man in the photo standing up, yan junze was startled.the man in black in the photo was wearing clothes that didn''t seem fit for a normal person, but rather like funeral attire for a burial, and he appeared to be at least 1.75 meters tall, with a slender build.


    his head, however, was always lowered, adding an eerie touch.


    at that moment, yan junze hardly hesitated before he immediately aimed at the counter and pressed the shutter button again.


    he quickly raised the camera to check, and in the photo, the man seemed to be moving, and the direction of movement was toward him.


    unconsciously, yan junze took a step back, his back pressed firmly against the darkroom door and the black curtain.


    "this guy seems to be invisible," he thought, "but i can only see him by taking photos."


    yan junze had a plan in his mind, but at the same time, a hair-raising feeling surged through him.


    how was he supposed to kill it? keep photographing with the camera?


    of course, there wasn''t much time to think about it now.


    he raised the camera again, pressed the shutter, and immediately looked down at the photo.


    in the center of that photo, the figure of a man in black was fully displayed with his head lowered, almost filling half of the picture.


    the reason it filled half of the picture was that he had gotten much closer to yan junze; by estimate, there was less than two meters between them.


    of course, that was the distance when the photo was taken, but he must have gotten even closer by now.


    "damn it!" yan junze almost jumped out of his skin.


    at the same time, he subconsciously felt that something was drawing near him.


    he immediately dodged to the left, retreating to the wall corner near the sofa along the wall.


    at the same time, an idea struck him, and the black spirit mallet was now in his hand. he aimed the camera in the direction he had dodged and took another photo.


    in a hurry, he looked down and saw just a drooped head nearly filling the entire photo, even closer than before.


    yan junze swung his mallet.


    a crisp thud sounded.


    if it had been a normal mallet, this strike would have hit nothing but air, let alone hitting such a peculiar spirit.


    but not with the black spirit mallet; although yan junze couldn''t see the target, he could still estimate the rough direction.


    so, with one swing of the mallet, whether it hit the head or the body, it made contact.


    the next second, yan junze immediately took a photo in front of him, and after looking down, he saw nothing.


    just then, from the direction of the bedroom, the tightly shut bedroom door moved slightly, opening a crack, and then closed.


    "not good."


    yan junze rushed over in a few steps, grasped the doorknob, and pushed hard, only to find it wouldn''t budge.


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    at that moment, the bedroom door had been locked from the inside.


    yan junze kicked the bedroom door, but it was exceptionally sturdy, numbing his right leg from the impact.


    inside the bedroom.


    gu bai and lin meng, the couple, were originally sitting closely together on the bed. they heard yan junze''s movements outside, then the rapid, light running of his evasion, followed by a dull thud.


    the thud sounded like a blow from a cudgel, although it was unclear whether it hit someone or yan junze had been struck.


    just a few seconds later, the bedroom door was opened, they didn''t see anything, and then it closed again.


    at first, gu bai and lin meng thought it was yan junze entering the room. the two exchanged a glance, immediately sensing something was amiss.


    "yan junze, something''s come in!" gu bai shouted in a hurry.


    lin meng reacted swiftly. she remembered yan junze had mentioned the camera was for photographing the strange, and judging by current appearances, the strangeness was clearly invisible; otherwise, that bedroom door wouldn''t be opening and closing on its own.


    she quickly tapped gu bai''s arm, "quick, get the camera, it''s in your wardrobe over there."


    in the wardrobe near gu bai, there lay a new digital slr camera that had seldom been used.


    of course, it had a battery and memory card, though stored separately, they would require some time to assemble properly.


    normally, the battery included with a new camera has some charge left, even though not much, but under the current circumstances, there was more than enough to take a few pictures.


    gu bai opened the wardrobe and took out the new camera that had been unboxed once before.


    lin meng took it over, turned it on immediately, and expertly removed the slr, taking only a few seconds to install the battery and memory card, and switched on the camera.


    she used the setting that allowed immediate display on the screen after photographing, which made her appear far more professional than yan junze''s half-baked efforts.


    the sound of something hitting the door came from the bedroom earlier, which was obviously yan junze trying to get in.


    gu bai wanted to run over to open the door, but the distance from the bed to the bedroom door was much farther than to the nearby wardrobe. the entity had already entered the bedroom, and if it were to appear, it was most likely to be on the path from the big bed to the door.


    after hesitating for a moment, gu bai did not move forward.


    by now, lin meng was ready and immediately aimed the camera in the direction of the bedroom door and the partitioned small kitchen, swiftly taking two shots.


    after the photos were taken, the two immediately looked down at the pictures.


    the kitchen area looked normal in the photos, and they quickly flipped to the first picture, with both of their pupils constricting as they stared intently at the photo.


    in the photo, in the corner behind the bedroom door, a tall, thin man in black clothes stood with his head lowered, his face not visible, standing silently there.


    gu bai and lin meng reflexively looked up, their gaze turning toward the back of the door where nothing could be seen, completely empty. sear?h the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    it would be better if they could see something because what''s truly frightening is when your eyes can''t see anything at all.


    this scene sent lin meng into shivers, her body trembling. she raised the slr camera in her hand, aiming it at the doorway, while the camera screen still displayed the photo she had just taken.


    in the photo, the thin man in black clothes stood huddled in the corner behind the door, with his head down, while in the field of vision, there was no one in the corner behind the door.


    "take, another... another... another shot!" gu bai stammered, hardly able to speak clearly.


    lin meng''s hands trembled as she pressed the shutter button again.


    both of them simultaneously looked at the newly taken photograph.


    in the picture, the back of the man in black clothes was bent forward, like a person who had drunk too much, his limbs seemingly dragged along as he walked, still with his head down.


    he had already left the corner behind the door and was walking towards the direction of the big bed.


    lin meng instantly screamed in fright, while gu bai jumped out of bed, grabbed lin meng, and the two of them retreated to the front of the wardrobe.


    gu bai held a mobile phone in his hand, also snapping several quick pictures towards the front, but looking down at his phone, there was nothing there.


    he couldn''t understand why, but there was no time to think about it anymore.


    lin meng''s slender fingers were shaking so vigorously that she felt she could hardly hold onto the camera.


    she hurriedly raised the camera again, aiming it toward the direction of the bedroom door, and pressed the shutter.


    then the couple quickly looked at the photo displayed on the little screen, which showed the thin man in black, his body bent forward, standing at the end of the bed, already completely close to the bedside.


    and at that moment, gu bai and lin meng were standing in front of the wardrobe on this side of the bed.


    "take, take, keep taking pictures, we''ll move... towards the door," gu bai urged lin meng, who couldn''t move her legs, as they circled half around the big bed, aiming to get closer to the bedroom door to seize the chance to open it.

 Chapter 126 Photographing (6) (Please recommend!)

    under gu bai''s urging, lin meng, who was scared to the point of nearly collapsing, desperately shuffled her feet along with gu bai, while still pressing the shutter in the direction of the big bed.with a click, the two hurriedly looked at the camera''s small screen again during the run, but then they were stunned.


    "what''s going on?"


    in the photo, it was empty, the black-clad man who had just been bending over at the edge of the bed had now disappeared without a trace.


    "quick... photograph somewhere else!" gu bai exclaimed in alarm.


    lin meng was also frightened out of her wits. initially, the strangeness was invisible to the naked eye, relying solely on the camera in her hand, this unpredictable and uncontrollable feeling had already brought her fear to the extreme.


    now, even the camera hadn''t captured it.


    of course, the strangeness must have moved, otherwise the camera would have definitely captured it.


    click, click, click, click...


    this time, lin meng activated burst mode and began to frantically snap photos all around them.


    no matter the direction, at least one photo should capture whatever was there.


    just now, to dodge the strangeness by the bed, the couple had made a half-circle around the bedroom, and now they were retreating toward the bedroom door while lin meng continued to shoot.


    looking down.


    the first two photos were normal, showing no sign of the black-clad man, but in the third photo, the corner of the man''s black clothes was captured, seemingly not far from the two.


    in the fourth photo, half of the black-clad man''s body appeared, his speed of movement seemed to be accelerating, but he was still dragging his limbs as he walked.


    in the fifth photo, parts of the black clothes had disappeared, but it revealed the man''s head that he had been hanging down, with black hair occupying about a third of the photo.


    this photo left the couple dumbfounded.


    by this time, they had reached the bedroom door; gu bai stretched out his hand to unlock and open the door.


    just then, lin meng''s body shivered, she suddenly felt something wrong behind her, a sensation on her shoulder as though someone had touched her.


    she shakily turned the camera around and pressed the shutter towards the space behind her shoulder.


    in the photo, the black-clad man was now completely standing behind her, revealing a blurred face.


    the next second, before the bedroom door could be opened, yan junze standing outside only heard lin meng let out a piercing scream, followed by a thud on the floor and then the sound of something being dragged.


    at this moment, yan junze stood outside the door, swinging his mace, not knowing how many times he had struck the bedroom door, and by now he had developed a deep grudge against it.


    damn it''s too sturdy!


    if he were to die at this moment, yan junze believed, he''d definitely possess this door and become a wandering spirit haunting it.


    only then would it quell his obsession.


    unable to open the bedroom door, and with something unexpected clearly happening inside, yan junze found it difficult to rescue them; he didn''t hesitate any further and rewinded time again.


    ...


    this time, yan junze chose a very soul-stirring moment to rewind to.


    it was the moment after he had gotten the digital camera and entered the darkroom, where he hadn''t discovered anything amiss whilst photographing.


    because he knew, when he was in the darkroom taking photos to confirm the existence of this evil spirit, the entity had actually left the darkroom and was squatting behind the store counter directly opposite the darkroom door.


    after rewinding, yan junze didn''t even look at the camera in his hand; with a thought, he hefted the mace in his hand, walked out of the darkroom, lifted the black curtain, and went straight towards the direction behind the counter. s§×arch* the n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the impression of the black-clothed man, who was first discovered in the photograph earlier, still lingered; yan junze clearly remembered that this guy was squatting in a position somewhat closer to the corner.


    so, when he walked in front of this position, yan junze swung his stick and brought it down with a thud.


    the blow landed solidly on something.


    but yan junze had no intention of stopping, because he knew if this guy really started moving, he would be very fast; just a moment of carelessness on his part, and the man had darted into gu bai''s bedroom.


    blow after blow followed, each hitting something, until after the last strike, when it seemed the target began to deviate.


    the stick slightly slid to the side.


    "brother gu, hold the bedroom door, don''t let him in!" yan junze called out a reminder.


    gu bai in the bedroom had his ears perked up to the outside noise the whole time, and upon hearing yan junze''s instruction, he immediately jumped off the bed, rushed to the bedroom door, locked it from the inside, and then pressed his body hard against it.


    yan junze lifted his camera and immediately began photographing around the room, moving constantly during the process instead of standing still.


    the mission had advised not to let this guy get close, and since yan junze had already been approached by him twice at the start, both times ending badly, he wouldn''t let him easily close in again, even now when he could not see him.


    in his vigilance, he quickly glanced down at the photos he had taken; there were about eight or nine shots, and not a single one captured this eerie individual.


    not in this room, could he have run back into the darkroom?


    the photographs in the darkroom had been gnawed beyond recognition by this man, and it seemed he had even drunk quite a bit of the developing solution used for washing the film from the pool.


    and after that bout of fierce beating, yan junze felt that the stick''s power was not as great as he had imagined; since this man was wary of long-tongued zhenzhen, he wasn''t a high-level wandering spirit.


    if he was only an intermediate or upper intermediate level wandering spirit, to have withstood so many hits from the stick and not be scared witless suggested that the stick was more useful for beating ghosts than for killing them.


    if that were the case, he couldn''t pin all his hopes on the stick in the future; aggressive attacks, while straightforward, brutal, and simple, would not solve the ultimate problem against an evil spirit.


    but because the "photographing" task was very direct, killing this evil spirit would suffice, so in this task, the stick played out its role completely.


    if it were any other mission, the same might not hold true.


    unable to see the guy here, yan junze was about to head for the darkroom when he suddenly paused, as if he realized something, and looked up to take a photograph of the ceiling.


    in the photograph, the black-clothed man was hanging upside down from the ceiling, head down, his obscure face facing the camera.


    it seemed he was right above yan junze.


    the next second, a chill crept from yan junze''s forehead.


    with exertion, yan junze swung his right hand and sent the stick crashing into an uncertain position above his head, resulting in violent noises above him.


    the man seemed to fall down; guessing his approximate location by the sound, yan junze did not pause to take a photo but swung the stick several more times, each blow striking the man.


    this time, there was no reason to let him escape again.


    yan junze tossed the camera aside, grabbed the stick with both hands, and kept swinging, drenched in sweat, hands trembling, the dull noise of impact unceasing in the room, spreading throughout the house.


    in the bedroom.


    gu bai turned to look at lin meng, who was still sitting on the bed; they both had heard the strange loud noise.


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    "what is he doing?" gu bai couldn''t help but ask.


    "pounding... stakes?" lin meng was uncertain.


    "i saw him come empty-handed though, what''s he using to make that noise, could it be your camera?" gu bai said again.


    "no, a camera wouldn''t make that kind of sound," lin meng shook his head.

 Chapter 127 Photographing (7) (Please recommend with votes!)

    yan junze didn''t even know how many times he had smashed down, but at some point, he couldn''t even lift the mallet anymore.fortunately, with every strike, it felt like he hit the target, and that thing couldn''t flee like it did before.


    panting heavily, yan junze turned on the light in the outer room and plopped down on the couch, placing the mallet beside him.


    however, he suddenly felt something was off. looking down, he saw the mallet had actually deformed! the side that got hit the worst during the smashing was the most distorted, and not only that, the surface of the mallet even started to show signs of cracking.


    "damn it, this won''t do!"


    just when he thought he had found a comfortable weapon against the strangenesses, yan junze found himself speechless at this moment.


    gold''s hardness isn''t enough. it looks like he''ll need to refine it into an alloy with other metals to enhance its hardness if he gets the chance in the future, probably for a better effect.


    of course, this had the most direct connection with the black spirit bead melted inside it. if the bead were melded into a dagger, the dagger could also be powerful.


    but if you''re talking about the thrill of bashing strangenesses, using this kind of mallet feels more satisfying.


    we''ll talk about that later. after all, this was his first time taking on a strangeness with a mallet, so noticing the shortcomings early and making targeted improvements was best.


    and now, the creature on the floor had been so thoroughly battered that even its own mother wouldn''t recognize it. after such relentless pounding, if it still wasn''t dead, yan junze was ready to let this strangeness pose for a photo shoot, being as bold as possible.


    yan junze picked up the camera he had thrown onto the couch earlier, snapped a picture of the ground, then glanced at it and shivered, shaking his head. the scene was so gruesome he couldn''t bear to look directly at it.


    "come out, it''s okay now!" yan junze called to the person inside the bedroom as he set down the camera.


    the door to the bedroom opened a crack. gu bai didn''t come out right away. instead, he peeked out for a moment before opening the door. as he stepped out, he looked around timidly and cautiously before standing in front of yan junze.


    yan junze spoke up first, "let''s not talk about other things first. which company installed your bedroom door? give me their contact number when you have time."


    gu bai was stunned, not understanding why yan junze suddenly brought up the door, then asked in astonishment, "where''s the strangeness? did it get away?"


    "no," yan junze shook his head.


    "where is it?" gu bai hurriedly looked towards the dark room.


    "you might be stepping on its hand," yan junze pointed underneath gu bai''s feet.


    "ah shit!"


    gu bai jumped in fright, leaping aside and looking at the empty floor.


    "use this," yan junze handed him the camera.


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    at that moment, lin meng also walked out from the house, trembling with fear in the same manner as gu bai when he came out.


    approaching gu bai, he aimed the camera at the spot where he had just been standing and took a picture.


    from this angle, it seemed even closer and clearer.


    then he lifted the camera, looking at the small screen in the middle.


    contrary to yan junze''s expectation, just one glance made gu bai''s eyes roll back as he collapsed, going limp.


    what surprised yan junze even more was that lin meng, who was standing beside him, not only had an incredible resilience, with nothing happening to her but also grabbed the camera from gu bai''s hands the moment he started to fall.


    right, she didn''t protect her husband; her first instinct was to safeguard her beloved camera.


    only after gu bai hit the floor did lin meng remember about him. she quickly knelt down to help him, and with yan junze''s assistance, they laid gu bai on the couch, where he finally came around.


    yan junze pointed to the ground, "this guy should be out of commission. i''ll keep an eye on it, and if there''s no reaction by tomorrow morning, it should be over."


    as he finished speaking, a task alert popped up in his mind.


    [photographing, trembling with fear (medium), completed. you have received 700 points of different dimensional energy.]


    two more nodes in the atlas were illuminated, reaching a total of 30, and the accumulated different dimensional energy was now 4,400 points, allowing for a rewind time span of 440 minutes.


    ```


    "give me the camera." after seeing the mission completion prompt, yan junze asked lin meng for the camera and took another picture of the ground.


    looking at the photo, he saw that the voyeuristic maniac who had resembled a puddle of mud a moment ago was now gradually evaporating and vanishing, piece by piece. the image even captured his body slowly dissolving.


    he handed the camera to gu bai, who had regained consciousness. s§×arch* the n?vel_fire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "it''s over, this guy is completely finished," yan junze said, "i''ll be leaving at dawn."


    gu bai dared not look at the photos and passed the camera to his wife. he sat up from the sofa, his face full of gratitude, "i really can''t thank you enough for this time."


    "yeah, no problem," yan junze shook his head and then picked up the deformed mallet.


    gu bai glanced at it, shocked, "did you use this thing to hit that guy?! where... where... did you bring it from?"


    "i''ve always had it hidden in my crotch," yan junze laughed, "but it''s just not hard enough."


    gu bai''s eyes widened as he took a look at yan junze''s pants, as if measuring the length of the trouser leg with his eyes, then said, "i can solve this problem. i can combine some metals and non-metals in the mixture to melt them together, increasing its hardness. that way, it won''t be less effective than high-strength alloys."


    "that would be perfect," yan junze mulled to himself, "with the black spirit pearl not being very powerful, i''ll have to rely on the mallet''s hardness to seek the strength and satisfaction of beating strangenesses."


    as the saying goes, when capability falls short, hardness comes to compensate.


    however, yan junze estimated that even if the mallet''s hardness were further increased, at best it would only pose a threat to wandering spirits, and that would still require him to be fully energized.


    if faced with a strangeness like resentful granny or anything above a semi-sculpting spirit, even wielding the mallet wouldn''t stop him from being thoroughly done for.


    the three of them talked for a while, and after confirming that the voyeuristic maniac had been eliminated, lin meng went to the darkroom to completely clear out all the half-eaten photos.


    at that moment, she finally dared to enter the darkroom alone.


    but after only a short while, lin meng came out with a dark expression, biting her lower lip tightly, and handed a stack of photos to gu bai.


    yan junze curiously leaned in to take a look, immediately felt his face heat up, and averted his gaze.


    "i don''t know when these were taken, but they seem to be all of me," lin meng said softly.


    these photos appeared to be taken inside the bedding, from various difficult angles, and even included close-ups.


    "damn it, even in death as a strangeness, he really got what he deserved!" yan junze thought to himself.


    the couple felt embarrassed and quickly returned to their bedroom. whether they could sleep was uncertain, but not long after they entered, yan junze fell asleep on the sofa.


    he slept until morning and after arranging a time to remake the mallet with gu bai, yan junze left lion awakening road and returned to the fh community.


    after eating something, he took another rest and then got up to read for a while, reviewing the important knowledge points.


    for the next period, yan junze didn''t plan to take on any more missions; he would wait until after the college entrance examination.


    of course, he would still regularly visit aunt mei in the underground garage and bring some "local specialties" or the like. yan junze had a hunch that maintaining a good relationship with this strangeness could bring benefits to himself.


    ...


    in great capital, tianyi district.


    beside an ordinary street, within an old stone arch, this place was once the courtyard of a landlord, later converted into residential buildings. now the residents here are mostly older, with few young people to be seen.


    on the top floor of the innermost residential building, on the fifth floor, there sat a young man in the middle of a room. he wore a headset with a microphone and in front of him were a computer and a simple wooden desk.


    at this moment, he was busily clicking the mouse, switching the computer screen, and the 16:9 monitor displayed at least four different backgrounds from simultaneous streams.


    in one of the scenes, the back-faced woman and lv xin, whose chest was protruding the head of resentful granny and who was in the midst of battle, were playing out.


    the room was extremely dark, not due to poor lighting, but because the curtains were all drawn, only allowing slivers of light to filter through, leaving half of the young man''s face shrouded in darkness.


    "i went through some connections on the platform to get this video," the young man spoke smoothly, his expression calm, showing no hint of surprise or fear, "that young man''s name is lv xin, previously he followed my lessons online from the usa. like you, he possesses a special constitution that is outstanding and has reached the spirit-nurturing stage, but he was exposed too soon."


    ```

 Chapter 128 The True Video Platform (Vote for Recommendations!)

    in the headset the young man was wearing, the voices of some people came through.he nodded slightly and then said, "lv xin resorted to the ''heart cultivate spirit'' method, which has the advantage of quickly controlling strangenesses, but the downside is instability. when the body can''t bear it, it can have extremely severe repercussions."


    after listening to the voices in the headset for a while longer, he said, "i suggest using ''cultivate spirit in womb,'' especially for female spirit cultivators. the strangenesses nurtured in this way are not only under control but also won''t have too strong a backlash and the abilities are much more powerful than those cultivated through ''heart cultivate spirit.''"


    the voices in the headset were still talking. the young man showed a smile, with a teasing tone in his voice, "right, i''ve tried everything, otherwise why would i be the one sitting here talking to you? hmm, who said men can''t ''cultivate spirit in womb''? there are even more bizarre methods you''ve never heard of, like ''cultivate body,'' you know, which means nurturing a dead person''s body.


    but have you ever heard of nurturing within the body? i''ll tell you more about it tomorrow."


    he paused and said, "that''s it for today; i''m very busy."


    with that, he reached out to click the mouse, shutting off the video.


    a line of text appeared in the corner of the computer screen: encrypted video channel 1 has been closed.


    the lighting in the room remained very dark. the young man had no intention of opening the curtains or turning on the lights inside. he clicked the mouse and lit up the call button for the second video.


    now the person on the other end could see him.


    "boss ao, hello," the young man said.


    a fifty-something-year-old man''s image appeared on the screen. the lighting was very good on his end, and boss ao''s square face was clearly visible to the young man.


    "the video of the two strangenesses fighting came out all right, didn''t it?" boss ao said with a smile.


    "boss ao is willing to pay a high price to acquire it and provide it for my enjoyment for free, of course it''s alright," the young man said with a smile.


    "that''s good to hear," boss ao replied. "how are the two spirit exploration teams doing, the ones i funded together with boss tian and boss zuo recently?"


    "not bad; following my plan, we''ve taken care of several strange incidents, like guhui village corpse house, tun street black-clothed girl, and shal yi international hospital. the videos captured are extremely entertaining to watch." the young man said with a smile, "as soon as i''ve processed the videos, i can send them to you.


    then whether you post them online for everyone to enjoy or keep them for a private viewing is up to you, boss ao."


    "no problem," boss ao nodded, but then his expression turned puzzled, and he asked, "i heard that the team mainly funded by boss tian encountered some danger?"


    the young man laughed, "it''s more than danger; they nearly got wiped out. but no worries, i''ve taken care of it. the last, fiercest strangeness there has shifted its focus to me. the two survivors in the team are no longer in any serious trouble."


    "what?" boss ao, who had just relaxed, now widened his eyes in shock, "you mean the last strangeness has set its sights on you?"


    "mhm." the young man moved his chair slightly away from the computer to reveal the curtained window behind him.


    at this moment, behind the drawn curtains, close to the corner of the wall, one could vaguely see a woman dressed in a white nightgown, with disheveled hair, standing there. her eyes were wide open, the pupils filled with blood threads, as if she had no eyelids, just staring right at the back of the young man sitting in front of the computer.


    "damn, you''re not afraid!" boss ao shuddered just from one glance.


    "she has been watching me for a week now, but she can''t move against me at the moment," the young man said as he righted his chair and sat back down. "these past few days, i''ve been researching new methods of nurturing spirits. when the time is right, i''ll use her to test the results."


    boss ao glanced inadvertently over the young man''s shoulder again and waved his hand, "you''re not scared but i am. i''m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. i''ll log off now; we can chat another day."


    your next chapter is on empire


    the young man nodded, grasped the mouse, and clicked to end the call.


    once more, a line of text appeared in the bottom right corner of the computer screen: encrypted video channel 2 has been closed.


    he moved the mouse and clicked the button labeled "public video channel 7."


    before doing so, the young man had already turned on the desk lamp beside him, and the bright light fully illuminated him in front of the computer, revealing a sunny and handsome face.


    the moment the light came on, the figure of the woman who had been standing in the corner behind him suddenly vanished.


    of course, the young man was well aware that as soon as the light went off, the woman would reappear.


    the video channel at this moment was showing a room that had just finished playing a spooky video, which attracted quite a few viewers, all of whom were leaving comments en masse. sea??h th§× n??el fire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    messages were popping up continuously at the bottom.


    the young man opened the audio call, smiled, and said, "this video was recorded by a night school teacher on their cell phone. it''s terrifying, isn''t it? however, the ''strangeness'' has already been dealt with by an exorcist. the video is currently trending on the ''open your eyes'' platform, but you have to pay to watch it.


    you are different, though; since you''ve paid the membership fee to enter this room, watching paid videos here is free."


    he paused, then added, "i need everyone to help me promote this more, after all, this is how i make a living on the platform, and i have a family to support. please search for my real name, i''m looking forward to your attention. my name is... cheng jingting."


    ¡­


    two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.


    the college entrance exams arrived.


    in that time, yan junze had visited aunt mei twice, each time bringing incense and candles, though he still had not seen aunt mei eat with his own eyes.


    normally, he would hear the sounds of the strange babies gorging themselves inside the house soon after he delivered the offerings.


    the second time he went, yan junze bought even more, unsure if the strange babies would leave any for aunt mei.


    each time, aunt mei just watched him with a smile, never speaking or showing any other sign.


    because he couldn''t quite gauge aunt mei''s temperament, yan junze didn''t dare to say much, delivering the incense and candles just to scrape together some favorability.


    however, it seemed to have some effect. on the eve of the college exams, he made another trip to the underground parking garage.


    this time, aunt mei came out of the inner room in advance, and it was no longer the strange babies that came to take the incense and candles, but she took them herself.


    of course, when in her hands, the strange babies did not dare to snatch them away and stayed a distance away.


    yan junze spoke a few words to her, but, getting no response, he quickly retreated.


    honestly, aunt mei''s smile became creepier the more he looked at it. in the past few days, yan junze had dreamt about it several times. that seemingly kindly smile had an eerie magic to it that made it unforgettable once seen.


    "just what level is she? it can''t be higher than a sculpting spirit, can it? so terrifying! this is definitely a monk from shaolin temple!"


    although yan junze was curious, he dared not tell the exorcist, zhang xiaomo. no matter how curious he was, he had to keep it to himself.


    despite a series of bizarre encounters before the college entrance exams, yan junze''s foundation remained, and with no psychological pressure, he breezed through the days of testing lightly.


    but not zhou dali. after the unified college entrance examination, he had to brace himself for the physical exam happening half a month later, his nerves had not relaxed at all.

 Chapter 130 Listing Remarks

    the book will be listed this friday at 12 pm, and it feels like after a two-month trial run, the shop is finally ready to open its doors for real.this is my first foray into supernatural fiction; i''ve read a lot of city-themed stories but rarely ever wrote one.


    so i don''t know why, but on a whim, i thought about writing a supernatural story. that''s how "rewind" came to be and how it''s been uploaded until now.


    there have been many shortcomings in the process of writing the book, and some toxic and cringe-worthy elements which i couldn''t control or handle well led to some readers cursing me out thoroughly, but i''m still very grateful to those who have supported me and tolerated the book all the way to this announcement of going live¡ªyou guys are the real deal! i love you! mua!(*¨s3¨t)


    the plot will continue to improve, because i am too!


    thanks to the chief editor yisuo, the responsible editor ziliang, and all the friends who supported this book. thanks to the alliance leader xiao haozi for the generous red packet, which sent the book''s collection count soaring. thanks to the helmsman zhu youqi and close contact, and to magritte nightingale and blooming virtue in the book group for their constant help with the management.


    i''m grateful to every friend who has rewarded the book, voted, and stuck by it without fail! i truly appreciate you all!


    on the first day of the listing, there will be a burst release of ten chapters. on the second day, there will be an added chapter for the alliance leader. on the third day, i will release as much as i write. please forgive my clumsy hands; i don''t want the quality of the book to drop, so i won''t be able to have burst releases every day.


    continue your adventure with empire


    as of the writing of this announcement, the book has nearly 25,000 collections, so as things stand, i probably won''t be doing the cross-dressing thing any time soon (phew).


    good performance is the key! at the very least, let "rewind" climb to the top three of the supernatural bestsellers and stay there for a stable week (evil grin).


    after listing, the update schedule will be adjusted. after midnight, i will update the first chapter of the day, followed by the second chapter at 12:10 pm. if there''s an extra update for the day, it will be at 8:10 pm, or i might notify you about the time of the temporary extra update.


    lastly, i implore everyone to subscribe and support the book, so that "rewind" can go even further, and i, the old dog, can concentrate on delivering an even better story to you.


    asking for subscriptions! vote tickets! recommendations! i earnestly request your support! sear?h the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    also, welcome to join the book group, the only way to see the author in women''s clothing (if possible)¡ªgroup one: 641434073, group two: 599154574, active in both.

 Chapter 129 The Last Supper (Subscribe Request 1/10)

    three days before zhou dali''s physical exam, yan junze invited him, bao jie, and jiang ruixin out for a big meal by the sea.except for dali, the other three had already been on vacation and weren''t staying at school.


    he was the only one coming from school.


    the location was set at "heaven," a restaurant located in the center of shuntian city, moderately priced but with an excellent environment.


    after receiving the 28,000 yuan payment for the video sale, junze''s family spent 10,000 yuan on upgrading furniture and appliances, leaving 15,000 yuan for university tuition and miscellaneous fees.


    of course, this amount was definitely not enough for tuition; his mother, li man, had already saved up the tuition, and whatever else was needed would be added in.


    as for the remaining 3,000 yuan, it was for yan junze''s own use; his parents didn''t take a cent.


    their son was earning money, and not a small amount either, which delighted his parents. however, if they knew the true price of that video sale, the couple would probably hop on a flight straight to tianmeng district''s "open your eyes" video platform branch and perform an all-out protest¡ªcrying, causing a ruckus, even threatening self-harm, in utter turmoil.


    this time, bao jie had informed everyone in advance that zhou jiajie would also come and that he, the rich playboy, would treat them all.


    everyone was about to graduate anyway, they were all classmates, and no one intended to stir up unpleasantness with others at this time; however, the treat turned into dutch pay in the end.


    five people were seated in a private room, with seven dishes and one soup on the table, a balanced selection of meat and vegetables, plus a plate of brown sugar glutinous rice cakes, a fruit platter, and two bottles of beer for each person.


    after three rounds of drinks and five flavors of dishes,


    the atmosphere in the private room was surprisingly good. the minor grudges and rivalries from school seemed to have dissipated like smoke from the past, leaving only a sense of regret and wistfulness, along with aspirations and confusion about the future.


    of course, none of these feelings were in yan junze''s heart.


    "while at school, i had many a friction with you, sorry about that, jiajie!"


    having had some beer, zhou dali''s cheeks were flushed, and at this moment, he grabbed zhou jiajie''s hand, stroked the back of his hand, and couldn''t help but express his feelings, creating an ambiguous scene.


    zhou jiajie felt somewhat awkward; despite his usual lofty demeanor, not paying much mind to other students, he was very aware of his own limitations.


    if it weren''t for his family pulling strings and seeking help, he wouldn''t even have been able to get through tianmeng university''s thresholds, let alone be recommended for admission.


    however, it seemed bao jie''s efforts had paid off; according to her, she felt quite good about the exams, which were closely aligned with the pre-examination tests, and it was highly likely she would get into tianmeng university.


    zhou jiajie and bao jie, these two seemed to have quite a destiny together now.


    "no big deal, it''s normal to have some friction among classmates; i''ve long forgotten it," zhou jiajie managed to force a smile, trying to pull away from dali''s hand, but he couldn''t find the right moment.


    zhou dali, still oblivious, kept rubbing zhou jiajie''s hand, nodding, "right, just a little friction, and afterwards it''s all okay."


    yan junze laughed, "you kid, had enough of rubbing? haven''t you noticed bao jie''s eyes are about to pop out?"


    zhou dali came to his senses, hurriedly let go, raising his hands, "i swear, there''s nothing but pure friendship between jiajie and me, bao jie, listen to my explanation."


    before bao jie could speak, jiang ruixin, pretending to be bao jie, shook her head exaggeratedly and imitated bao jie''s voice, "i won''t listen, i won''t listen, whatever you say i won''t hear¡­"


    "hahahahaha¡­"


    the private room erupted with laughter.


    "are you still going to apply for tianmeng science university?" bao jie asked yan junze.


    "yeah, i''m preparing to study in the physics department," yan junze nodded.


    "why do you want to study physics?" zhou jiajie asked curiously, "it''s not that easy to find a job in this field after graduation."


    yan junze shook his head, "i''m just interested in mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, and electromagnetism, and i want to delve deeper and explore them."


    "i heard that the appearance of strangenesses is related to electromagnetism," zhou dali said mysteriously from the side. "and also atomic physics and quantum theory. anyway, whenever there''s something weird you don''t understand, just link it to quantum theory, and no one dares to bullshit you about it."


    "who told you that?" jiang ruixin asked.


    "my great-uncle''s second aunt''s cousin''s daughter''s husband is a physics teacher, i heard it from him."


    "only your family could be that large," everyone said in unison.


    yan junze smiled and then said, "actually, i did have that in mind when applying for the physics department, to really study these things. if there''s a chance in the future, i''d like to develop in this direction."


    zhou dali''s eyes lit up, "that''s great, you should become an exorcist. if i ever get into trouble, you have to help me!"


    "right, we would all depend on you," the others chimed in.


    in this era of strangeness, the biggest misfortune in life was encountering supernatural events, so the value of having a friend who was an exorcist became apparent.


    even zhou jiajie, who was usually rather arrogant, now looked at yan junze with different eyes, no longer aloof, but much more approachable.


    "no problem," yan junze nodded.


    speaking of joining the exorcist organization, all yan junze had to do right now was nod, and zhang xiaomo would instantly give him a recommendation letter to go test with the exorcist team in tianmeng district.


    but if he really did that, he felt he had no confidence at all.


    the reason was clear to him, his ability to encounter strangenesses and complete every mission was tied to the power granted by the spacetime atlas, not because he had some special physique.


    so if he was found to have a special physique during the test, that would be fine, but if they discovered he didn''t, that would be a big problem. otherwise, how would he explain the achievements he had made in spirit exploration before? continue your adventure at empire


    this would just lead to suspicion among the exorcists. so, just to be on the safe side, he definitely would not go for any physique testing at the current stage.


    interacting with exorcists was one thing, but because of his secret, it was not suitable for him to work with them for an extended period.


    at least, not now. this was very clear to yan junze. s§×arch* the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    looking up, he turned to jiang ruixin and asked, "big-eyed girl, which university did you apply for? still that..."


    "right, the normal university. tianyi normal university is quite a good one," jiang ruixin said with a smile. "although it''s not in tianmeng district, it''s in tianyi district, but i hope i can get in, my relatives are there."


    "why not apply for great capital normal university in huaying district?" zhou jiajie asked.


    jiang ruixin stuck out her tongue, "are you kidding? that score is scary. well, although huaying district is currently the safest area in great capital. i heard that some people there have never encountered any strangenesses."


    the others secretly clicked their tongues. in today''s age, there are still people who have never seen any supernatural events.


    even if someone was really extremely lucky and never encountered them, at least they must have seen them from afar, right?


    instantly, the classmates at the table felt that life in huaying district was blissful.


    however, the truth of the matter... was it really so blissful?

 Chapter 130 Task Level Upgrade (Seeking Subscriptions 2/10)

    right at eight o''clock, big-eyed girl jiang ruixin''s parents came to pick her up by car, and zhou jiajie also drove his family''s car; he was responsible for taking bao jie home.only yan junze and zhou dali shared a taxi together.


    after getting into a taxi, zhou dali, slightly tipsy, half-jokingly said to the taxi driver, "driver, aren''t you afraid of encountering strangenesses while driving at night?"


    "afraid? of course, i am," the middle-aged taxi driver replied, immediately prompted by zhou dali''s question, "but luckily, ever since the outbreak of strange events, i''ve only encountered one strangeness during my night shifts."


    "hmm, if you don''t mind, tell us about it," yan junze became interested, scooting forward in the back seat.


    "you know, strangenesses typically happen in certain areas, and they usually don''t leave those areas, so for us night shift drivers, as long as we don''t drive recklessly everywhere, it''s actually not as dangerous as you think."


    the taxi driver smacked his lips, "the strangeness i encountered seemed to have another purpose, using my taxi to travel a distance. i remember it was a little past one in the morning, and i was driving empty. suddenly, i realized there was someone sitting in the back seat and almost wet myself with fright.


    but luckily, i''ve seen a lot and kept silent, not staring at them through the rearview mirror continuously, only glancing over with the corner of my eye a couple of times. then i just kept driving, going wherever i needed to go."


    "and then what happened?" zhou dali asked.


    "well, there was a stretch of road where the street lights were broken, and i focused more on the road conditions for a bit. when i came back to my senses, i found the person in the back seat was gone," the taxi driver explained.


    "did they leave you any fare?" zhou dali asked with a grin.


    "pah, pah, pah, who wants a dead person''s money? i might earn it but have no life to spend it," the taxi driver waved his hand dismissively.


    the taxi first arrived at zhou dali''s community, driving him right into his neighborhood and stopping the car downstairs.


    yan junze asked, "do you need me to walk you up?"


    zhou dali glanced at the taxi driver, seeming a bit embarrassed, "with all my brute strength, ghosts and spirits shall fear me, would i need you to walk me?"


    with those words, he strode upstairs and stumbled on the stairway.


    yan junze and the taxi driver burst out laughing.


    the taxi drove off and swiftly reached the main road, arriving at fh community in less than ten minutes.


    since they had been talking about strange encounters, the taxi driver was still immersed in the topic.


    after stopping the car and collecting the fare, he looked up at fh community and said to yan junze, "this is an old community, better hurry back inside, don''t run into anything unclean."


    yan junze smiled and walked into the community.


    now that the college entrance exam was over and all tasks had been completed, especially after dealing with the resentful granny and eliminating the hidden dangers, he felt much more at ease.


    of course, the scene where the resentful granny''s head emerged from lv xin''s chest still puzzled yan junze.


    it was just that, according to two-star exorcist yang depei, lv xin was very likely a spirit cultivator.


    this made yan junze think of what zhang xiaomo had once said; some people have extremely powerful special constitutions, their closeness to evil spirits far beyond normal people''s imagination. after frequent contact with evil spirits, rather than losing life span, they become terrifyingly strong. s~ea??h the n?velfire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    it now seemed that lv xin was probably one of those people, though the terror he displayed didn''t seem very strong. unfortunately for him, he encountered the bond evolution of the back-faced woman and her daughter.


    mulling over the details of his experiences, he climbed the stairs and returned home.


    his parents were at home. by now, they had grown accustomed to their son going out alone at night.


    to imagine that strangenesses had wreaked such havoc in their home, yet their son remained unscathed was beyond any skill the couple had ever seen.


    when astonishing events keep recurring, they eventually become ordinary.


    experience more on empire


    yan junze sat in his bedroom, gathered all the review books from before the college entrance exam, and planned to wait for a clear, moonlit night to take everything out and burn it, celebrating the first major hurdle in life after his rebirth.


    just then, he was momentarily startled.


    on a clear night with a full moon, he was reminded of a task he had never gotten around to completing, "reflection under the moonlight".


    with that thought, yan junze immediately pulled up the information for that task from the spacetime atlas.


    [task name: reflection under the moonlight;


    task level: trembling with fear (medium);


    task background: it was a promise made on a night with a full moon. fang ning had been waiting for someone for two years. from the night of the promise until the next morning, her body was only discovered after it had been electrocuted in a fountain. however, the person she was waiting for never showed up.


    fang ning was beautiful, but she had been electrocuted for so long that her body underwent a metallic transformation¡ªher clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues fused together. yet, she still awaits that promise. as long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    task description: make the original promise with fang ning;


    task reward: 800 points of different dimension energy;


    task punishment: become her eternal lover;


    task tip: 1. the evil spirit can be lockdown; 2. you must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    note: no matter what she says, just try responding with a "no".]


    this was the task yan junze detected the first time he activated the perception of strange events feature and remains, to this point, the only task he has yet to complete.


    although he hadn''t precisely calculated it, the time span was roughly two months.


    looking at the task information, the task level was the same as the "photographing" task, both rated as "trembling with fear (medium)". the main difficulty of the photographing task was that the strangeness was invisible, adding an additional layer of challenge.


    and by the looks of it, dealing with the strangeness of fang ning in the "reflection under the moonlight" task seemed like it might be more troublesome than the peeping tom.


    while he was pondering, suddenly the task-related tips in his mind started flickering, the font becoming blurry. roughly three seconds later, the task information became clear again.


    a line of new tips popped up first.


    [detected changes in task information, as time has passed, the task level has shown a probabilistic increase, the following is the new task information.]


    seeing this tip, yan junze was taken aback for a moment and then looked at the updated task information again.


    [task name: reflection under the moonlight;


    task level: hair-raising (low);


    task background: it was a promise made on a night with a full moon. fang ning had been waiting for someone for two years... as long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    task description: make the original promise with fang ning;


    task reward: 1000 points of different dimension energy;


    task punishment: become her eternal lover;


    task tip: 1. the evil spirit cannot be lockdown; 2. you must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    note: no matter what she says, just try responding with a "no".]


    it had changed, yan junze stared at the task information.


    now not only had the task level increased from "trembling with fear (medium)" to "hair-raising (low)", but the tip also indicated that the evil spirit could no longer be lockdown.

 Chapter 131 Investigation Clues (Subscription request 3/10)

    ```looking back now, if a strangeness is left unhandled, its resentment builds up, significantly increasing the chance of it rising in rank.


    and that''s precisely the case with the "reflection under the moonlight" quest.


    the coordinates of the quest were located in an electric fountain within the garden of the first zone of flowery paradise garden.


    flowery paradise garden is right next to the fh community where yan junze lives, also an old residential area, but not as dilapidated as fh community.


    due to the property management''s negligence, the property fees for flowery paradise garden were essentially in arrears, with no homeowners paying, so the environment of the residential area was even worse than that of fh community.


    the electric fountain, which once electrocuted a person, was broken long ago, filled with rainwater and covered with fallen leaves and garbage, with no one ever clearing it up.


    in fact, almost all residents of flowery paradise garden knew that there was a strangeness at the electric fountain, but the fountain was off the beaten path and somewhat secluded, so normally nobody went there.


    since it has never been cleaned up, that place has been subconsciously marked as a no-go zone, no one goes there to play anymore, and it hasn''t posed a threat to the residents.


    whether anyone has reported this strangeness to an exorcist or not is unknown, and yan junze didn''t have the time to investigate this. now that he had decided to complete the quest, and since the quest had reached a level comparable to the back-faced woman''s "look at her face," he had to take it very seriously.


    first of all, based on his experience, a strangeness that featured in the "hair-raising (low)" level of quests could definitely kill him in an instant.


    whether it was a club or the manual "rewind," none would be possible in the face of an attack from such a strangeness.


    moreover, the quest information was different from that of "photographing." all he needed to do was to meet with fang ning and make the initial promise together.


    in such quests, brute force cannot solve any issues, and could instead bring unexpectedly severe consequences.


    the next day, yan junze made a trip to grandpa zheng at the security room. he knew that grandpa zheng had the habit of reading newspapers and that he kept the old newspapers instead of throwing them away.


    "newspapers from two years ago?" grandpa zheng looked puzzled.


    however, he didn''t ask many questions and led yan junze to a room of his own near the entrance, opened the door, and pointed to an old wardrobe.


    "the newspapers are all in there, some are three or four years old, you can take your time to search through them."


    your next journey awaits at empire


    "mm, thank you, grandpa zheng."


    yan junze walked over to open the wardrobe and began taking out the old newspapers stack by stack. grandpa zheng meanwhile turned around and went back to the security room.


    it was clear that grandpa zheng was meticulous; the read newspapers were all stacked in chronological order, which made yan junze''s search much quicker. in no time at all, he had found all the newspapers from two years ago.


    after spending nearly half an hour, he saw a piece of news in an evening newspaper from june.


    "breaking news: frequent hazards at electric fountain, young woman electrocuted to death."


    "latest news from the shuntian city police department, this morning the body of a woman was found inside the electric fountain in zone one of the garden in flowery paradise garden. the police have confirmed the identity of the woman and established that the girl had fallen into the fountain the previous night and died from electric shock, with the time of death being more than 12 hours ago. sea??h th§× n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    in the meantime, the fountain remained electrified because the incident went unnoticed. our reporter has learned and verified that the young woman did not live in the residential area but is suspected to have accidentally fallen into the fountain while waiting for someone. this report is by the reporter yang genshuo."


    "yang genshuo, again?!" yan junze paused for a moment when he saw this name.


    he remembered the news of granny ren''s son and his wife''s tragic death, which was also reported by this reporter named yang genshuo. it was quite a coincidence to come across his name here again.


    he flipped to the bottom of the newspaper where the news hotline was listed, and yan junze took out his phone and called. a staff member answered.


    after stating that he wanted to talk to reporter yang genshuo for an exclusive scoop on some news, the staff member transferred his call to yang gensuo.


    "hello." a deep, middle-aged voice came through, which didn''t match the flashy nature of his name at all.


    "is this reporter genshuo?" yan junze asked.


    "uh... please go ahead."


    "do you remember the incident from two years ago involving a woman who was electrocuted to death in an electric fountain in a certain residential area?" yan junze asked bluntly.


    "you... aren''t you here to report news?" yang genshuo''s tone suddenly became skeptical.


    ```


    "i''m currently haunted by that strangeness, so i''m turning to you to understand the situation back then." yan junze''s reason was very straightforward.


    in this era, only such a straightforward reason as being haunted by strangeness could possibly gain someone''s trust and thereby uncover some of the insider information they desired to know.


    "ah!" yang genshuo''s tone indeed changed immediately, asking, "is it serious?"


    "hmm, i''ve already reported to an exorcist," yan junze didn''t go into details, simply stating, "i just want to know who this woman was waiting for back then. do you have that person''s contact information?"


    "that person used to live in the residential area by the fountain, but it seems that he moved away later," yang genshuo recalled. "you should ask some of the long-term residents there, they might have a clue."


    "thanks," yan junze didn''t say anything else and hung up the phone.


    after putting away the newspaper he had found, and returning it to the wardrobe, he closed the door and went to grandpa zheng in the security room.


    "grandpa zheng, do you know the security guard from the neighboring flowery paradise garden residential area?"


    the answer was indeed as he had guessed.


    grandpa zheng nodded: "of course, i know him. i see him all the time. what''s up?"


    "just curious." yan junze roughly recounted the incident of someone being electrocuted by the fountain but naturally omitted a great deal.


    then, he left the security room, bought half a pound of marinated pig''s ears for grandpa zheng to enjoy as an evening snack with his drink. grandpa zheng hee-hawed his way to the security room of the next residential area and came back about ten minutes later.


    he handed yan junze a note: "just so happens, the security guard from flowery paradise garden has the contact information for that guy who moved away. he said if anyone wants to rent a place, they should contact him with this number."


    "thanks, grandpa, take your time eating. i''m heading back," yan junze said as he took the note and left the security office.


    when he got home, he spread out the note and saw not only a phone number but also the man''s name. yan junze dialed the number on the note.


    soon, a man who sounded to be in his thirties picked up.


    "jiang hao?" yan junze was already prepared with what to say, so as soon as the call connected, his voice immediately took on a somber tone as he directly called out the other party''s name.


    the person on the other end was clearly taken aback before responding, "this is me, may i ask who this is..."


    "an exorcist currently dealing with fang ning''s haunting," yan junze spoke at an even pace, "if i can''t resolve her completely, she will likely find you soon."


    "ah!" the man named jiang hao was evidently startled.


    "however, to resolve her, i need a general understanding of the situation between you two. were you lovers before?" yan junze asked.


    silence fell on the other end of the line; it was unclear whether jiang hao was hesitating or had concerns.


    "well then, i suppose we''ll meet soon. when she finds you, you can contact me," yan junze threatened to hang up the phone on purpose.


    "wait, please wait, i''ll tell you," jiang hao quickly said. "yes, we were lovers; we met at work. where is she now...?"


    "answer my question first," yan junze was not one to mince words, "when you two were dating, did you make any promises to each other?"


    this was, after all, yan junze''s ultimate goal after beating around the bush.


    otherwise, during the mission, he would have to speak of the original promises made to fang ning¡ªsomething he knew nothing about¡ªand it would be weird not to be caught off guard on the spot.


    "promises?" jiang hao pondered for a moment before saying, "she would often say: i hope the world can be so small, so small that i''d see you the moment i turn around. then i''d reply: i hope the world can be so vast, so vast that i could hold your hand and we''d never reach its end."


    are they shooting a romance drama or what?


    yan junze held the phone, stunned for quite a while.


    "and the last part," jiang hao continued, "then she would make me say: i don''t want any sea-drying, rock-crumbling promises, not the next life, not forever. i just want that every second, you are still by my side."


    at that moment, yan junze broke into a cold sweat.

 Chapter 132 Lethal Sweet Nothings (Subscribe 4/10)

    "is there anything else?"after waiting a moment, since there was no further response from jiang hao, yan junze asked again.


    "no, that''s all," jiang hao said.


    "think again, are you sure you haven''t remembered it wrong?" yan junze asked for confirmation.


    there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then jiang hao spoke up, "no, when we were together, she liked to speak sweet nothings, yes, i wouldn''t remember it wrong."


    yan junze paused for a moment, revealing a smile, "forgive my boldness, but why did you two break up? or more precisely, why didn''t you go to the appointment that time?"


    upon hearing this, jiang hao didn''t speak for a long time, and then his voice began to choke, "i let her down, i had no idea that not going that night would lead to such serious consequences, i''m full of regret."


    yan junze remained silent, waiting for jiang hao to vent his emotions.


    "she was very clingy, not only wanting to be with me every day, to exchange sweet nothings, but also calling me at least twenty or thirty times a day even when we weren''t together. i couldn''t take it, i felt as if i were being tied down by something, unable to breathe, unable to think clearly, and even... even later on... i started to be afraid of the love i had for her."


    yan junze shook his head, indeed, loving someone to this extent could be daunting to anyone.


    "so i started looking for excuses, avoiding her. she was sensitive and after being dodged by me several times, she broke down. i had her best friend keep her company, talk with her, and try to guide her. about a month passed, and she hadn''t come looking for me. that day, the day she died, i received a call from her.


    she said she was at the fountain in our community, she wanted to meet me one last time, then she would leave completely."


    "so... you didn''t go," said yan junze.


    "i didn''t dare to go," jiang hao said with a bitter laugh, "to avoid seeing her again, i even quit my job. but this... might have been the biggest mistake of my life. i should have gone, even if she clung to me again, otherwise, she wouldn''t have fallen into the electrified fountain. i... i''m sorry to her!


    i''m sorry to fang ning!"


    at that moment, both ends of the phone fell into silence once more; no one spoke, and no one hung up.


    after a long while, jiang hao spoke again, "you are an exorcist, even if she now hates me to the bone, please, you must help her."


    "you don''t need to tell me that," yan junze said, "let me confirm once more. the words you liked to say were, she would say: ''i wish the world could be very small, so small that i could see you the moment i turn around.'' then you would say: ''i wish the world could be very big, so big that i could hold your hand and we could never reach the end.''"


    "yeah, that''s right."


    "and then fang ning would ask you to say: ''i don''t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. i just want you by my side every second,''" yan junze added.


    "yes, that''s how it was," jiang hao''s voice was very low, as if he were in a terrible emotional state at the moment.


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    "alright, mr. jiang hao, thank you for your cooperation," yan junze hung up the phone.


    jiang hao, however, continued to hold the phone emitting a busy tone, not pressing the disconnect button until it cut off by itself. he sat motionless in the chair, his mind filled with past memories.


    past scenes and the sweet nothings they had exchanged kept resurfacing in his mind. he wasn''t sure how much time had passed when he suddenly came to a stop, gradually coming out of his recollections.


    talking to himself, he said, "i don''t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. i just want... every second for you to still be by my side."


    "hmm, that doesn''t seem right," jiang hao showed confusion, repeating it again to himself, "i just need... each next second... for you to still be by my side, i just need... every second... for you to still be by my side? hiss, which one is it actually?"


    it had been two years since he tried hard to forget those memories, and this moment brought a sense of uncertainty to jiang hao.


    ...


    "what did you say our son did?" li man placed freshly washed fruit on the coffee table in front of yan daguo, looking puzzled, "is he... in love?"


    yan daguo picked up an apple and took a bite, "why do you say that?"


    li man sat down and glanced toward the bedroom, "didn''t you hear? he''s been saying all day that he wishes the world was small so that he could see you with just a turn of his head, and then wishes it was big enough to travel to the ends of the earth hand in hand with someone."


    "is it travel to the ends of the earth?" yan daguo was surprised, "i thought it was ''walk to the edge of the world.''"


    "and you said you didn''t hear it?" li man was both annoyed and amused.


    "no, i thought he was on the phone," yan daguo explained.


    "that''s exactly why it''s suspicious. do you know who the girl on the other side of the phone is?" li man asked.


    "you go ask him. the child has grown up and is about to go to college. i have no right to interfere," yan daguo looked quite enlightened.


    li man didn''t get up, clearly not planning to ask yan junze, but simply sat there, talking to herself, "he even mentioned ''till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble, wanting to be by my side every second.'' it gave me goosebumps."


    "mom, where''s the apple you washed for me?" yan junze suddenly came out from the bedroom.


    "here." li man pointed to the coffee table in front of her.


    yan junze walked over, took an apple and took a bite, still mumbling, "all that ''till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble,'' ''next lifetime,'' ''forever,'' i don''t want any of that... mm, it''s a sunny day, huh? mom, what''s the lunar date today?"


    "may fifteenth," li man replied without thinking, but she watched yan junze with a scrutinizing look.


    as if he sensed the "judgmental gaze," yan junze shuddered suddenly and turned to look back.


    all he saw was his parents sitting together peacefully, eating apples and calling out, "sweet," with nothing amiss. their recovery speed had already broken through the skies.


    the moon was quite full tonight, and the weather was nice, so carrying out the "reflection under the moonlight" task was possible.


    yan junze went through the "sweet nothings" jiang hao had told him over and over again, ensuring he wouldn''t mess up during the mission, and at this moment, he was certain that even under pressure, he wouldn''t make a mistake.


    he went back to his bedroom and closed the door. sear?h the ¦Çov§×lfire .net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    as usual, he prepared two flashlights, a lighter, a dry towel, a portable camera and camera head, and everything else he packed into a black backpack¡ªwhether it was needed or not, he stuffed it in first.


    then yan junze made a call to tang zhengyi, informing him that he would be recording a spirit exploration video and uploading it soon.


    the response from tang zhengyi was simple; as the honorary "open your eyes" platform''s master of spirit exploration, the best promotional spot was waiting. the moment the video was uploaded, it would be thrust into the spotlight.


    after dinner, yan junze said he was going to stop by zhou dali''s place. after all, he had used that boy as a shield countless times; one more wouldn''t make a difference.


    around eight thirty, he left the house with his black backpack. his parents were watching tv and reminded him that he had to be home by ten o''clock at the latest.


    in yan junze''s view, yan daguo and li man seemed to be growing more and more confident in him. after thinking it over, ever since he had taken possession of the body, it seemed like he''d resolved all the strange occurrences in the house and the neighborhood.


    although his parents hadn''t truly realized it, subconsciously, they felt very secure with him around. in fact, when yan junze was home, they''d become unconsciously more at ease.


    even the person in question hadn''t noticed this.


    but regardless, ensuring that his family in this life could live safely and without worries was currently yan junze''s greatest wish.


    of course, lighting up the atlas to maximize his strengths was the guarantee of all this and equally important.


    he soon arrived in the neighboring community. yan junze took a deep breath as he looked into the depths of flowery paradise garden and stepped inside.

 Chapter 133 Reflection Under the Moonlight (1) (Please subscribe 5/10)

    the fh community had long since fallen out with the homeowners, resulting in the formation of a homeowner committee. therefore, both security and sanitation in the community were employed by the homeowner committee.however, due to frequent inadequacy of funds, the number of personnel hired was extremely limited, leading to poor sanitation in the community which could not match the environmental quality of the fh community.


    when yan junze entered the flowery paradise garden, there wasn''t even a security guard in the gatehouse. he wondered if the security brother familiar to grandpa zheng had run off again for a chat. sea??h th§× n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the address of the fountain pool was within the garden of zone one in the flowery paradise garden residential area. experience more on empire


    the numbering of the community zones started from the inside out. when yan junze entered through the main gate, he saw the zone number near the gate marked as eight. hence, zone one would be at the very inside.


    junze hadn''t turned on his flashlight since there were streetlights all along the way. watching the zone numbers on the exterior of the buildings, he made his way deeper in and soon reached the staircase marked with zone one.


    "garden?"


    yan junze muttered to himself as he looked around.


    he had never been in here before, so he had to search on the spot.


    the moon overhead was round and big, its light spilling down so that even without the streetlights, the surrounding scenery was clearly visible.


    this was very conducive for yan junze to carry out his mission.


    he continued along the winding road until he reached a corner, where he saw a sign that read "zone one garden".


    standing in front of the sign, and following the direction indicated by the arrow, junze noticed the so-called garden was behind several residential buildings in zone one. at first glance, the path led through a secluded garden surrounded by an abundance of dense vegetation.


    because few people came this way, some plants had almost completely obscured the path, making it nearly imperceptible unless one paid close attention.


    glancing deeper into the garden, the area became very dark, obscuring visibility.


    to yan junze, it felt as though there was a huge beast lurking in the darkness ahead, gaping maw and fangs exposed, waiting for him.


    standing at the sign, preparing to head to the zone one garden, yan junze activated rewind.


    he had no choice; the current task level was [hair-raising (low)], identical to the back-faced woman''s mission. he had to be fully alert and focused.


    moreover, he absolutely had to follow the task prompts. any attempt to complete the mission through force rather than adhering to the rules was doomed to have severe consequences.


    because rewind was on, yan junze didn''t think much further. he tightened his collar and hurried down the path toward the garden behind.


    passing through the dense vegetation, the path was overgrown with weeds and concealed for years, making the ground somewhat slippery.


    with no other option, junze turned on a flashlight to illuminate his footsteps, taking just over a minute to reach a spacious area.


    this was the zone one garden, constructed from stone, with even the ground paved with neatly cut stone bricks. there was a stone fountain in the center, with stone benches installed in all eight directions.


    they formed a perfect circle around the fountain.


    however, due to years of neglect, the place was filthy, with a faint odor wafting through the air.


    the trees surrounding the garden grew quickly and had overshadowed the area, nearly covering the space above the surrounding benches.


    fortunately, the direction of the fountain in the center was still exposed under the moonlight, providing clear visibility.


    yan junze first surveyed the environment, lingering his gaze on the fountain for a few seconds. he then took off his backpack, pulled out the portable camera, found the best filming angle, and placed it on one of the stone benches.


    the lens was directed towards the fountain, and then he put on the portable camera on his chest, switching it on to test.


    until now, yan junze had not approached the fountain pool because he feared that getting closer might trigger the task.


    after all the preparation was ready, yan junze looked toward the fountain pool, took a deep breath, turned on the camera on the stone bench, crouched down, and said to the camera, "this electric fountain once electrocuted a young and beautiful woman who, it''s said, was waiting for someone to keep an appointment. and our spirit exploration today is right here, i''m the night traveling puppy."


    with those words, yan junze stood up and walked toward the fountain pool.


    the moonlight was like silver, spilling over him, and likewise onto the water in the fountain pool in front of him.


    standing at the edge of the pool, yan junze lowered his head slightly and looked into the water.


    although the pool water had been drained after someone died there, time had passed, and through continual rainfall, the pool had once again accumulated a large amount of water, reaching about waist-high for an adult standing in it.


    of course, there were also fallen leaves, trash bags, snack wrappers, and such, all floating on the surface of the water.


    "damn snack wrappers!" muttered yan junze.


    in his mind, wherever there was garbage, the shadows of various snack wrappers were bound to exist.


    standing at the edge of the pool, looking into it, he couldn''t see anything because of the large amount of garbage and fallen leaves shielding the view.


    yan junze thought about the task prompt, fang ning was still waiting for that appointment, and as long as someone was willing to stand back-to-back, hand-in-hand with her, and promise eternity under the moonlight.


    so, should he wait now or run straight into the fountain pool?


    how is he supposed to stand back-to-back or hand-in-hand if he runs into the water?


    it seems unlikely.


    yan junze just stood by the pool, looking up at the moon.


    after a while, he mused aloud, "such a big moon, such ample moonlight, it''s a clear night with a full moon alright, it won''t shy away from appearing, right!"


    after speaking, he stood to the side of the fountain pool, facing it sideways and sighed as he gazed at the moon.


    time slipped by without notice and, about seven or eight minutes later, the water in the fountain pool rippled slightly, making a faint sound.


    yan junze had been watching his surroundings closely, and upon hearing the noise, he immediately focused his attention to the side, but he did not turn his head to look.


    the task hadn''t indicated whether the woman still recognized her former boyfriend. it was best if she didn''t, but if she was too obsessed with the man''s appearance, he feared that turning his head would give him away.


    so, to be on the safe side, he decided it was best not to look at her, not to face her, and to keep their backs to each other if possible.


    but since the task didn''t specify, yan junze guessed that there was a good chance that fang ning''s obsession was merely to fulfill the date, and with whom might not matter as much.


    another ripple of water rang out, this time much clearer than before. yan junze didn''t look over, instead, he kept an eye on the movements in the fountain pool from the corner of his eye.


    he could vaguely see that shortly after the water rippled, on the surface blanketed with numerous leaves, a figure arched upwards slightly, and the leaves arched as well, as the water flowed down both sides.


    with the figure rising slowly from the water, a cacophony of the spilling sound intensely burst forth at that moment, reaching yan junze''s ears.


    at the same time, a foul stench wafted into his nose.


    "you... have... come," a strange voice suddenly emitted.


    this voice was extremely grating, as if the vocal cords of the speaker had been torn apart, no longer distinguishing male from female.

 Chapter 134 Reflection Under the Moonlight (2) (Please subscribe 6/10)

    yan junze did not turn his head to take a good look; he simply replied, "yeah, i''m here." stay updated through empirethrough his peripheral vision, he could see the silhouette of a person standing in the water, seemingly very slender and motionless.


    after his own response to her, the figure began to move, wading through the water, slowly walking towards him.


    the surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the sound of water rushing from the fountain. the stench-emitting silhouette gradually drew closer to yan junze.


    yan junze stood there like a statue, waiting for fang ning to approach.


    to complete the task, it was impossible to evade; although the approaching fang ning reeked, and after being electrocuted for a long time, her corpse had become terrifying. even yan junze at this moment had no desire to turn around for a glance.


    however, according to the background explanation provided by the task, he could already imagine what fang ning looked like at this moment.


    a person''s body, after being electrocuted for a prolonged period, will exhibit characteristics of metalization. at this time, accessories, watches, and other items on the body will dissolve and fuse firmly with the skin and muscles, unable to be removed.


    and since fang ning had been electrocuted by the leaking fountain all night, the long duration of electrocution coupled with the moisture from the water, her skin and muscles had decayed, melding with the accessories on her body.


    one could imagine that fang ning''s appearance had long since lost her beauty from when she was alive; in its place was a face charred and dissolved in the water, with no part left intact.


    when the police initially performed the autopsy, if they did not consider her personal belongings, they could not possibly identify her.


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    from the fountain to the right of yan junze, ripples spread as the figure drew closer, one foot emerging from the water, stepping over the edge of the pool onto the stone-cold ground.


    then the other foot also stepped out of the water.


    during this time, yan junze stood motionless in his original spot.


    the stench surrounding him grew thicker and thicker.


    pat pat, the sound of footsteps arose, step by step, like clumps of sludge falling onto the ground, drawing closer to yan junze.


    before long, yan junze felt something cold touching his hanging right hand, realizing only then that it was being held by another hand.


    this hand was extremely rough, its texture no longer discernible, the skin''s surface akin to scabs formed after an injury.


    there was no sound from behind, but this hand groped for a moment before slowly taking hold of his right hand.


    yan junze did not resist, naturally opening his fingers, suppressing his disgust, holding it in the palm of his hand.


    immediately afterward, his left hand also felt cold as another hand took hold of it. this hand, too, had scab-like skin, making yan junze feel as if he were holding onto an old tree branch.


    the next second, his back felt a chill as if a large block of ice had approached, pressing tightly against his back.


    "huuuh..."


    that eerie and hoarse voice resounded the instant it pressed up against yan junze''s back, as if it had found something to cling to, a long-lost sensation.


    those past memories and moments, as the two stood back to back, drawing close, found their destination.


    the icy feeling intensified as the human and strangeness pressed completely together. within less than a minute, yan junze felt his entire spine numb from the cold.


    fang ning did not speak, and he too decided to remain silent.


    hand holding hand, back against back, an inexplicable atmosphere spread.


    this was not romance; in yan junze''s view, this was freakishly bizarre!


    a task graded as "hair-raising (low)" strangeness, clinging tightly to his back, hand holding hand, without uttering a word.


    is it going to be like this forever?


    the eerie atmosphere slowly solidified, and after maintaining the same posture for over ten minutes, yan junze felt his legs starting to tremble slightly.


    at that moment, fang ning''s voice suddenly sounded, "look at tonight''s moon, how round and beautiful it is!"


    yan junze could imagine that she had been looking up at the sky all along, admiring the moon above.


    this is also why the task prompt suggested completing the task on a clear, full moon night.


    it seemed that fang ning might have been very fond of this type of romantic setting when she was alive.


    of course, yan junze felt no romance at the moment, replaced instead by a thick sense of horror and oppression.


    his lips moved slightly, and he thought he should still respond to the woman; otherwise, something unpredictable might happen, so he tried to speak up, "yes, such a round and beautiful moon that it outshines all the other stars in the sky. it''s as if the whole night sky is left with only its unique splendor."


    "hahaha...."


    fang ning let out a laugh, which surely would have been like a melodious silver bell if it had been during her lifetime.


    however, due to her throat being deformed by electrocution, the laugh that now came out gave yan junze goosebumps all over, and it sounded even more penetrating than the noise of scrubbing the bottom of a pan with a steel wool pad.


    after several seconds, the laughter stopped, and fang ning became very quiet, still leaning on yan junze''s back, standing motionless.


    "not talking again?" yan junze was somewhat puzzled.


    after waiting awhile and seeing that fang ning was indeed as still as if she were dead, with no more signs of movement,


    "is it that i''m supposed to say something?" yan junze pondered for a while, deciding to speak up and test the waters, but just as he was about to speak, fang ning suddenly spoke again, uttering words that startled yan junze.


    "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    listening to these familiar words, they seemed exactly the same as the previous sentence.


    for a moment, yan junze wondered if he had "rewound," returning to an earlier point in time, which was why fang ning was repeating the question.


    but on second thought, something felt off. he hesitated for a moment and then said, "didn''t you... just say that?"


    fang ning gave no answer, still standing there.


    yan junze held her cold, icy hand, feeling as if his own hands were about to freeze stiff, with the goosebumps on his body never subsiding.


    after a long wait, there was still no reply from her.


    before long, fang ning spoke up again, "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    "fuck, is this some kind of loop?!" yan junze started to realize what was happening.


    he now understood that, as a "hair-raising" level task, it wouldn''t be so easy to just pass through it.


    in the previous task of this level, he was killed in an instant by the back-faced woman, then cursed to grow black hair all over his body, tormented in life and death.


    this had never happened in other tasks before.


    now, it seemed that these words must have been what fang ning wished to say when she saw jiang hao but tragically never got the chance before dying, so they had turned into a strong "obsession."


    he had to break it, or he couldn''t move on to the next step.


    after these words, fang ning fell silent again.


    yan junze carefully considered for a moment, fang ning''s wish was very likely to have a date with jiang hao, to say goodbye, and to see the full moon one last time.


    "hmm, i remember feeling very sweet inside when i was with you," yan junze ventured.


    before he could finish speaking, his hands were suddenly grasped tightly, held in a death grip by fang ning''s scab-like rough palms, and his bones made cracking noises.


    at the same time, the cold feeling on his back vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of merging.


    at this moment, yan junze didn''t feel as if he were back to back with fang ning anymore but rather as if their backs had become fused together like conjoined beings.


    he was startled and immediately took a step forward, feeling a sensation of ripping and piercing pain on his back.


    at this point, fang ning remained silent, as if what yan junze was carrying on his back was a dead person, a woman electrocuted to death.


    yan junze was even more terrified, furiously shaking his hands only to find they were stuck to the other''s palms, with a copious amount of thick exudate making it impossible for him to separate his hands from fang ning''s.

 Chapter 135 Reflection Under the Moonlight (3) (Please subscribe 7/10)

    yan junze knew his answer was definitely problematic. without further hesitation, he immediately chose rewind.the timeline for the rewind wasn''t long; man and strangeness were once again back to back, hand in hand, looking at the full moon above.


    "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!" fang ning spoke up.


    yan junze remained silent, thought it over carefully, and said softly, "yeah, it''s beautiful. not only is tonight''s moon beautiful, but the moons in the future will be even more so."


    no sooner had he spoken than a familiar sense of merging came over him again.


    his body and fang ning''s body once again felt as though they were fusing together.


    he dared not take another step forward, or else that heart-wrenching sensation of being torn apart would spread throughout his body. sear?h the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "still not right."


    he had no choice but to initiate rewind once again.


    man and strangeness, back to back, hand in hand, stood under the moonlight, both without a word.


    yan junze''s mind raced as he recalled his conversation with fang ning.


    the first time when fang ning said, "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is," he had complimented her offhandedly.


    as a result, fang ning let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh, but she did not merge with him. instead, after a brief silence, she continued to repeat the same sentence.


    after the second time, yan junze''s answer was tinged with reminiscence, but it immediately led to the fusion with fang ning. experience more content on empire


    it seemed that reminiscing was not an option; to this woman, comparing the good memories of the past with her current ordeal was an indescribable pain.


    and the third time fang ning said, "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is," yan junze''s response was about the future. it contained a hint of advising her to look ahead, but this too wasn''t an answer that satisfied fang ning.


    all three lines of response had to be avoided.


    yan junze pondered carefully. he couldn''t speak of the past, nor of the future; perhaps the present was what fang ning desired to possess, the moment she considered the most beautiful might just be this very one.


    "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!" fang ning''s voice rang out again.


    yan junze cleared his throat and began slowly, "yes, it''s beautiful. not just the moon, but the time is also beautiful. i''ll remember this moment tonight forever."


    "do you still remember the words we said together?" fang ning asked again.


    "yes, passed!" yan junze rejoiced inwardly.


    it really was this very moment that mattered most to fang ning; the past, the future¡ªneither mattered at all.


    "i remember, of course, i remember."


    making a joke, he had recited it countless times throughout the day; he was even reciting it while eating and using the bathroom. how could he forget?


    no sooner had his answer finished than fang ning''s head, already devoid of hair and wet, gently pressed against the back of yan junze''s head.


    the cold, stiff touch made yan junze''s heart churn, and the hairs on his back stood on end.


    then he heard fang ning whispering softly as if to herself, "i wish this world could be very small, so small that i could see you with a turn around."


    yan junze''s heart stirred, he perked up, and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible as he replied, "i wish this world could be very big, so big that i could hold your hand and never reach the end."


    under the soft moonlight, next to the foul-smelling pond, in a garden full of trash and filth, man and strangeness, back against back, hand in hand, were exchanging terms of endearment.


    yan junze believed that if this scene were edited and uploaded onto platforms, it would definitely cause a sensation; at the very least, it would not lack in tips. then tang zhengyi might just make it free to watch only the first fifteen seconds, and that would be a big moneymaker.


    after saying these loving words, yan junze felt both hands tighten; the hand holding his own cold, rigid palm suddenly increased its firm grip.


    as if... fang ning finally felt something at this moment.


    the icy coldness from behind once again got closer to him by a fraction, instilling within yan junze the illusion that he and fang ning had become inseparable.


    however, fortunately, fang ning had merely gotten closer to him and did not create the sensation of a complete fusion with yan junze.


    "what else?" fang ning spoke, her voice hoarse and eerie as if laced with an indescribable tenderness.


    "well, there''s also..." yan junze tried to keep his voice calm and even wore a slight smile as he said, "i don''t want promises of mountains crumbling and seas drying up, of next lifetimes, of forever. i just want every second... you''re still by my side."


    it was over.


    as soon as he finished speaking, yan junze breathed a sigh of relief.


    according to the task hint, all he had to do was make the original promise to fang ning to complete this task; and it was thanks to his thorough preparation at the early stage, having mastered sufficient clues in advance, otherwise he would have been utterly clueless now, with no way out.


    as he was feeling relieved, unexpectedly, a terrifying sensation came thundering from his back where it was pressed against fang ning''s, leaving yan junze completely unable to react. his body instantly went numb, consciousness vanished, and his vital signs began to rapidly fade away.


    [host detected on the verge of death, "automatic rewind on near-death" has been triggered, consuming 500 points of different dimension energy]


    a familiar feeling surged into his heart, and at first, a white light flashed before his eyes, soon after which he was able to see again.


    yan junze found himself still back-to-back, hand in hand with fang ning, standing together.


    but the memory he had just before he made his last promise seemed to involve being pierced by an incredibly strong electric current that knocked him out instantly.


    at this moment, the only person who could control such a strange electric shock to attack him was the woman whose back was pressed against his.


    "did i say something wrong?!"


    having nearly died once, yan junze stayed befuddled in his current posture, not daring to make any other move. his mind raced to recall the sweet nothings he had heard from jiang hao, comparing them carefully with his own memories.


    there shouldn''t be a mistake.


    "i hope the world can be very small, so small that i can see you just by turning around," said fang ning once again.


    yan junze realized that the automatic rewind had taken him back to this point in time.


    clearing his throat, he thought it over, then slowly replied, "i hope the world can be very big, so big that holding your hand, we could never reach its end."


    there was nothing wrong with this phrase. now it seemed that the issue lay with the very last sentence he had said before.


    "what else?" after a brief pause as before, fang ning asked again.


    "here it comes." yan junze took a deep breath, a typical gesture when he felt nervous, and his mind desperately recalled every word, then spoke in segments: "wishes of mountains crumbling and seas drying up..."


    after finishing this segment, he paused and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.


    it wasn''t this sentence.


    then he continued, "wishes of another lifetime..."


    still no abnormalities.


    it wasn''t this sentence, either.


    "wishes of forever, none of that i want..."


    yan junze paused again, wary.


    in fact, he knew that the powerful attack he had just experienced was not much different from the time the back-faced woman had suddenly bit him. at such a short distance, the speed and strength of the attack meant he couldn''t possibly react in time; his only recourse was to rely on the "automatic rewind on near-death."


    fang ning behind him remained motionless.


    "it seems it''s not that either." yan junze hesitated and, after a moment''s thought, decided to repeat that last sentence, in case he had gotten a word wrong the last time, "i just want every second you''re still at my side."


    no sooner had he finished speaking than his body shuddered violently. and just as he was about to collapse, in an instant, his body was sucked onto fang ning''s back, as copious amounts of adherent secretion oozed out, tightly pressing their two bodies together.

 Chapter 136 Reflection Under the Moonlight (4) (Please subscribe 8/10)

    [host near death detected, triggering "automatic rewind on near-death," consuming 1000 points of different dimension energy this time] s~ea??h the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.when yan junze regained consciousness, he looked miserably at the information in his mind.


    he didn''t expect that the consumption of energy would double with the second "automatic rewind on near-death" immediately following the first.


    the first rewind consumed 500 points, while the second one took up 1000 points. if there was to be another one... discover hidden content at empire


    yan junze didn''t dare to imagine. at present, he had only 4400 points of different dimension energy left. if it kept consuming at this rate, he guessed that after another two times, he would be completely done for.


    however, he now roughly understood where the problem lay.


    it wasn''t that the entire declaration of love had issues, but rather, the problem was with the last sentence of this declaration.


    as soon as he uttered, "i only want you by my side every second," disaster immediately struck, and the "death attack" from fang ning, who was pressed against his back, was just too perfect.


    even with preparation, yan junze still had no time to react, and he was instantly killed by this strangeness.


    but now that he thought about it carefully, it was probably because he was fully back to back with fang ning that made it easy for her to instantly kill him, just like when he had inadvertently gotten too close to the back-faced woman before.


    "i got it wrong. the last promise was wrong, that damn jiang hao!" yan junze realized in his heart at this moment.


    but on the other hand, this guy almost went crazy because of fang ning and kept running away. it''s likely that he might subconsciously deliberately want to forget these sickening declarations of love.


    regardless, the same mistake couldn''t continue.


    at this moment, fang ning had already begun to ask, "do you still remember what we used to say together?"


    yan junze didn''t answer her but simply triggered the rewind.


    the rewind brought him back to the moment he had just arrived at the garden with the fountain, before he had approached the fountain.


    after setting down his backpack, yan junze glanced in the direction of the fountain pool. since he hadn''t gone there yet, fang ning''s evil spirit wouldn''t climb out from the filthy water in the pool.


    looking at the time, it was already night, but still early.


    yan junze took out his phone and dialed jiang hao''s number.


    the call was quickly answered, and jiang hao''s voice came through without any surprise, clearly remembering or having saved yan junze''s number.


    "exorcist, sir," jiang hao said as soon as he answered.


    yan junze skipped the pleasantries and asked, "think carefully about those phrases you told me you would often say. is there any mistake? especially the last one!"


    jiang hao chuckled bitterly on the other end of the line, his tone apologetic, "after you hung up last time, i thought about it carefully, but i really can''t remember clearly. it seemed that the last sentence was: no matter the oceans dry up and the rocks decay, no matter the next life, no matter forever, i want none of it, i just want you by my side every second."


    "that''s not right," yan junze shook his head, "it''s exactly the same as what''s in my memory, and you said it without a mistake. but the facts proved it was wrong."


    "huh? how did you prove that?" jiang hao''s tone now held surprise.


    "do i need to explain myself to you?" yan junze retorted.


    "no, no, not at all! mr. exorcist, sir, you misunderstand, i was just curious," jiang hao quickly replied.


    "think carefully, then tell me," yan junze dismissed his explanation.


    in fact, yan junze held some resentment towards this guy, or he wouldn''t have lost 1500 points of different dimension energy for nothing.


    to know that without completing the task, although the already activated segments of different dimension energy would slowly recover, the pace of recovery was akin to that of a tortoise.


    with the blunder in this mission, it was uncertain how long it would take to fully recover at such a slow rate.


    "hmm, let me think," jiang hao said, nodding incessantly on the other end, mainly because he feared that if yan junze couldn''t handle fang ning, then fang ning would personally come to have a face-to-face talk with him.


    "it''s just... that last sentence, i can''t quite remember it," jiang hao said after a moment.


    "you go ahead and say it," yan junze didn''t rush him, as haste might instead worsen his memory recall.


    "hmm," jiang hao articulated slowly: "i only want every second you''re by my side? no, that''s not right, i only want every second... um, every next second... you''re still by my side. i only want... the next second...


    you at my side, that''s not right either."


    "it might be the middle sentence," yan junze likewise pondered and voiced a reminder.


    jiang hao paused for a bit, then repeated, "what seas may wither and rocks may rot, what next life, what forever, i don''t want them, i only want... every next second... you''re still by my side. are you saying this sentence is correct?"


    "if you haven''t thought of anything else, then it must be this one," yan junze nodded, "think about it, since you want to be by her side every second, then what''s the point of saying no to forever, no to withering seas and crumbling rocks? if you''re by her side every second, isn''t that forever? so, it feels redundant to me."


    "yeah, it seems so," jiang hao agreed.


    "therefore, in terms of the meaningful connection between sentences, ''every next second'' would be more appropriate," yan junze continued: "she doesn''t want withering seas with you, doesn''t want a next life with you, nor does she want forever. she just wants you to be by her side every next second. it''s a very clever and playful way to put it.


    if you''re with her every next second, then you don''t need to mention all that eternal stuff before."


    "yes, that''s right," jiang hao seemed to have an epiphany, his tone firming up, "i only want every next second you''re still by my side. yes, that''s the sentence, it can''t be wrong."


    "sure?"


    "i''m sure, it can''t be wrong," he affirmed.


    yan junze smiled, "mr. jiang hao, you should know i can''t afford more losses. if it turns out to be wrong again, even if fang ning doesn''t come looking for you, with an exorcist''s means... if a wandering spirit follows you everywhere, i believe your life from here on out will be anything but normal."


    jiang hao on the phone suddenly shivered, his complexion turning pale, falling silent for a while before speaking up again: "mr. exorcist, i swear, it must be this sentence; your previous words reminded me of it."


    "good, i''ll trust you this one more time, and it''s the last time," yan junze hung up the call.


    he looked at the fountain, and like before, he set up the camera on the stone bench and put on the portable camera.


    this time, however, he placed the camera over his shoulder, a bit closer to his back.


    since it was going to be back to back with fang ning, from the perspective of allowing the netizens to watch, a camera pointing backwards would clearly capture the scene of fang ning emerging from the fountain, giving a fright to those thrill-seekers on the platform.

 Chapter 137 Reflection Under the Moonlight (5) (Please subscribe 9/10)

    of course, having been tricked by jiang hao once before, yan junze didn''t place all his hopes entirely on the young man this time.now he had about 2,700 points of different dimension energy left. if there was still a problem at the same stage as last time, it wouldn''t entirely be jiang hao''s fault, it was possible that the guy genuinely couldn''t remember his promise from before.


    in that case, yan junze could still initiate one more "automatic rewind on near-death," and then he would immediately do another manual rewind, going back to the moment before he saw the garden road sign in the first district, exiting this mission without further execution.


    this was the worst plan he had made so far.


    coming to the fountain pool, this time yan junze simply turned his back to the center of the pool, standing under the moonlight, motionless.


    with the experience from the last time, he knew he had to wait a little longer for fang ning to appear.


    about eight minutes later, the sound of moving water came from the middle of the pool.


    "you... have... come," a hoarse and eerie voice sounded.


    "yes, i have," yan junze answered.


    caught on camera from over his shoulder, a slim figure, pitch-black all over, arched out of the water, followed by a splash of water, leaves, and garbage bags flowing in all directions, revealing the metallic torso of fang ning post-electrocution.


    standing in the pool for a while, fang ning began to move her feet, walking stiffly towards the direction of the camera.


    step by step, stirring the water, she reached the edge of the pool.


    in the camera''s view, a hairless, pitch-black head clearly appeared within, deformed features all squeezed together, the upper and lower lips seemed sealed, oozing out copious amounts of thick mucus when they parted.


    afterward, fang ning stepped over the pool and walked towards yan junze.


    before long, her entire face drew near to yan junze''s back and also close to the camera on his shoulder.


    she reached out, seemingly wanting to touch yan junze''s shoulder. from the angle of the camera, it was clear to see that her wristwatch, pitch-black, had fused into her skin and muscle, becoming one with her wrist.


    but soon, fang ning lowered her hand, turned around, and with two palms, cracked like stones, pulled from behind at yan junze''s hands, holding them.


    "let''s try again," yan junze thought to himself.


    suddenly feeling a chill in his back, fang ning''s back had pressed against his own.


    time seemed to stand still.


    this moment would take a long time; yan junze knew it was as if fang ning needed to feel the emotional comfort she had finally found after such a long time at this very moment.


    they waited like this for over ten more minutes.


    compared with the first time, yan junze had adapted much more to the situation. after all, ke''er had often lain on his body, and even though the current creature was more terrifying and ferocious, ready to take his life at any moment, they were fundamentally both ice-cold.


    only, this one was a bit larger.


    fang ning finally spoke, "look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    this was simple, after all, it had been exchanged for two manual rewinds.


    yan junze immediately responded, "yes, it''s beautiful, not just the moon but also time itself is beautiful, i will always remember this moment tonight."


    "do you remember the words we once said together?" fang ning asked. sear?h the ¦Çov§×lfire .net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "yes, i remember," yan junze''s voice was very gentle.


    whether influenced by the ambiguous atmosphere under the moonlight, or by the hair-raising female creature behind him, he felt that at this moment he truly became jiang hao''s character.


    he lowered his head, looking at the "reflection under the moonlight."


    because he was very close to fang ning behind him, their reflected images under the moonlight looked bloated, just like a couple holding each other tightly in an embrace, unwilling to part.


    "i hope the world can be very small, so small that i can see you the moment i turn around."


    fang ning uttered the first line of her love confession.


    that hoarse and eerie voice, coupled with gentle words, conveyed an indescribable sense of terror. your next read awaits at empire


    when she finished, after a brief pause, yan junze replied, "i wish the world could be huge, so vast that i could hold your hand and never reach the end."


    the next second, fang ning took a small step back, causing her pitch-black, stiff, and damp back to press even closer against yan junze.


    "and?"


    "sigh." yan junze breathed out, rehearsed the response in his head once more, and slowed down his speech as he said, "i don''t want the seas to dry up, the stones to rot away, not even the next lifetime, or forever. i just want... every next second... for you to still be by my side."


    as soon as he had spoken, he immediately prepared to rewind.


    since in the previous "automatic rewind on near-death," he was instantly killed by fang ning despite being prepared, he considered using rewind a step earlier this time, in case he answered incorrectly.


    of course, if he couldn''t outpace fang ning''s instant kill, then he''d have to resign himself to fate.


    and all this was predicated on the assumption that his answer this time... was still wrong.


    as feelings of high alertness, suspicion, and hesitation were flooding in, yan junze suddenly paused, sensing fang ning''s grip on his hand suddenly loosening.


    at the same time, the pressure on his back vanished as the body that had been pressed against him retreated.


    fang ning''s voice rang out, carrying an otherworldly gentleness, "turn around."


    yan junze was startled.


    it seemed he had passed the test. jiang hao was right, the last promise was indeed correct, otherwise fang ning wouldn''t have let go of him and asked him to turn around.


    just turn around like this? face to face, what if she recognized him, knew he wasn''t jiang hao?


    clearly, this was a new challenge.


    although the obsession of the strangeness was strong and sometimes no longer retained the thinking and behavior patterns from before death, there was still no guarantee that fang ning wasn''t still fixated on jiang hao, especially if his appearance was her final obsession, what then?


    "to turn or not to turn?" yan junze hesitated, "this might be her last request. i could turn around for a look, and if she notices something odd, i''ll rewind and think of another solution."


    in general, as long as he survived the initial promise without being instantly killed by fang ning, that was enough.


    he decided to turn around.


    having made up his mind, yan junze felt his body stiffen like fang ning''s, he moved his feet and slowly turned on the spot, facing fang ning who had already turned to face him.


    of course, during this process, he also turned the camera on his shoulder so it was facing fang ning head-on.


    it was apparent that the fang ning before him had a beautiful figure: not only slender but also quite tall, almost the same height as yan junze when they stood back to back.


    but at this moment of turning around, yan junze realized he had been overly concerned.


    for fang ning''s eyes were already gone.


    seeing this horrifying sight, yan junze, not reassured, waved his hand in front of her eyes and got no reaction.


    "a blind ghost..."


    "i know you don''t love me anymore." fang ning''s lips parted slightly, emitting a hoarse sound, and between her lips, one could see a lot of sticky drool.


    "hmm," yan junze nodded, his gaze shifted away to avoid the nauseating sight.


    "i... can''t let go of you," fang ning said again, "can you keep me company?"


    "i am keeping you company right now," yan junze sensed something was off.


    "but i want... every next second... to be by your side."

 Chapter 138 Reflection Under the Moonlight (6) (Please subscribe 10/10)

    yan junze knew that the task level determination was influenced by the strangeness level within said task.in other words, if the strangeness level was high, then generally, the task level would also be high. but there were exceptions. sear?h the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    for example, if the strangeness was difficult to deal with, or if the way to complete the task was very special, then the task level would likewise be high and not easy to complete.


    since the task "reflection under the moonlight" has been upgraded to "hair-raising (low)", fang ning''s strength must have been increased accordingly.


    of course, it''s also highly possible that the task mode has changed, becoming no longer that simple; at least like the back-faced woman before her bond evolution with ke''er, with fang ning fully approached, she could kill yan junze in one hit.


    however, if this is what a "hair-raising" level task is, it somehow feels like something is missing.


    at this moment, yan junze realized, this was not exactly a task punishment, because as long as his performance satisfied fang ning, there was a certain chance of her growing fond (obsessed) with him.


    no matter whether the object of her affection was jiang hao or someone else. in any case, this affection might fade away, or perhaps from this moment, it would find a new home.


    now yan junze strongly suspected that fang ning''s affection had once again found its home.


    like the promise she made before, she wished "to stay by his side every next second".


    in fact, yan junze had deeply experienced the uncertainty after task completion, like the "hair washing" task, which didn''t specify that ke''er would stay by his side, but in reality, ke''er chose to stay of her own volition.


    so for the "reflection under the moonlight" task to eventually turn out like this, he could accept it, but emotionally... he was very resistant.


    now looking back, to successfully complete this task, there was a very high chance that fang ning would come to admire him.


    and yan junze also remembered, the task prompt dared him to say a "no" to anything fang ning said.


    such a damn domineering woman!


    if he said no now, he believed that what awaited him would definitely be a new round of being instantly killed.


    "sigh..." yan junze looked up at the bright moon and sighed. after a moment of silence, he looked again at fang ning.


    "okay."


    the task prompt popped up at this moment.


    ["reflection under the moonlight," hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1000 different dimension energy points.]


    [friendly reminder: you have successfully gained the affection of fang ning; her love is crazy.]


    [fang ning (semi-sculpting spirit), current favorability: intimate (abnormal)]


    at the same time, fang ning, standing in front of yan junze, tilted her stiff head up blankly towards the bright moon in the sky.


    at this moment, she suddenly laughed happily, "i like the moonlight."


    then she lowered her head as if looking at yan junze and said, word by word from her torn throat, "and... like... you..."


    as soon as these words were spoken, right under yan junze''s eyelids, fang ning''s charred body visibly dissolved, a large amount of ink-like blackness merging into the ground, forming an eerie black shadow.


    this shadow had no substance and was truly just like a person''s shadow, a person''s... reflection, visible but intangible.


    the moment this black reflection formed, it flowed like water toward yan junze''s direction, and without any defense from him, the shadow merged directly into yan junze''s own shadow under the moonlight.


    the entire event took no more than two or three seconds.


    "what''s going on?"


    yan junze was stunned, sensing something bad, he immediately turned off the camera, rushed to the portable camera set on the stone bench, stuffed everything into the black backpack resting beside him, then took off along the path he had come.


    after running to the path, he turned his head to glance in the direction of the electric fountain.


    everything was eerily quiet, the area surrounding the fountain was dead silent, as if fang ning had never existed.


    "that''s not right, fang ning just became the reflection under the moonlight, and that reflection clearly entered her own shadow," yan junze thought rapidly.


    although the change had happened very fast, so fast that it caught him off guard, he still saw it clearly¡ªthe shadow that fang ning had turned into seemed to have merged with his own shadow.


    "together, merged with my own?" as the thought arose, yan junze involuntarily shivered.


    he turned on the flashlight he had taken out beforehand, the trees on both sides of the path were dense, and the canopy overhead was thick enough to block any moonlight from seeping through.


    under the illumination of the flashlight, yan junze sprinted through the path at top speed, arriving at the community road with the signpost.


    he didn''t pause but quickly headed for the main entrance of the flowery paradise garden residential area.


    at this time, without the obstruction of the trees overhead, the moonlight spilled down once again, shining on yan junze as he walked quickly across the ground, forming a small, shrunken reflection to the right in front of his feet.


    about a dozen steps later, the shadow sinisterly began to grow, and then a slender black shadowy arm emerged from the pitch-dark shadow, climbing up yan junze''s lower leg and seizing hold of it.


    yan junze, who was in the midst of running, stumbled and plunged forward, crashing heavily onto the ground.


    the shadow at his feet began to crawl up following his movements, and at the same time, a hoarse and eerie laugh rang out¡ªit was the sound of fang ning who had just disappeared under yan junze''s very eyes.


    feeling an ice-cold sensation spreading up his legs, yan junze finally understood, and he looked up at the moon in the sky. before the eerie chill had completely engulfed him, he immediately rolled on the spot.


    the next second, he rolled under the tree next to the road, a landscaping tree.


    the branches and leaves of this tree were not very dense, but they were just enough to block the moonlight.


    after he rolled under the tree, the shadow at his feet instantly vanished, and the cold feeling on his legs disappeared as well.


    yan junze didn''t have time to sit up yet, but his heart was pounding like a drum; he tried bending his legs a bit and there was nothing abnormal.


    no abnormalities, that was good. after hiding under this tree, because the reflection at his feet disappeared, so did fang ning.


    "it''s over."


    yan junze murmured with a bitter smile, slowly sitting up straight, and looking at the moonlight on the ground outside, he came to an unfavorable conclusion in his mind.


    from now on, at least until he found a way to deal with fang ning, he feared he could no longer expose himself under the moonlight.


    could there be any more troublesome tactic than merging into one''s own shadow?


    yan junze sat under the tree, leaning against the trunk, shaking his head with a wry smile.


    from now on, it seemed that he had to be very cautious before taking on tasks above the "hair-raising" level, and it was best to avoid them if possible.


    he now believed that if it weren''t for the mother-daughter recognition and ke''er''s extremely close relationship with him during the last encounter with the back-faced woman, she would have never let him remain intact as he was today.


    this point was evident from the fact that the back-faced woman, taking ke''er with her, showed no concern for yan junze when they left. read new chapters at empire


    after sitting under the tree for a while, yan junze finally came to terms with this fact.


    it seemed that as long as he didn''t expose himself to moonlight and didn''t cast a shadow under the moon, he shouldn''t attract any of fang ning''s "love you to death" actions toward him.


    he would just need to be careful in the future, and wait until he found a solution.


    thinking this, yan junze checked the time on his phone; it was only half-past nine, not very late.


    he called his father, yan daguo: "dad, uh, i''m currently in the neighboring flowery paradise garden residential area. come and pick me up, and remember to bring an umbrella¡ªthe largest one we have, the one with the huang feihong fighting handle. no, it''s not raining, just bring it over first."

 Chapter 139

    when yan daguo came over with the large umbrella and saw yan junze, he looked utterly baffled.the wind was gentle, and the moon shone brightly, casting its silvery glow. it wasn''t pouring rain, so why were you hiding under the tree like you were avoiding it?


    "dad, give me the umbrella." with a flattering smile on his face, yan junze took the umbrella from yan daguo''s hand, opened it but didn''t hurry out from under the tree.


    instead, he first made sure to completely conceal himself under the umbrella and then carefully and slowly moved his body, ensuring that his silhouette was not exposed to the moonlight and therefore not forming a reflection.


    a man with an umbrella walked out.


    yan junze''s figure was completely hidden by the large umbrella; the moonlight poured on its surface, unable to cast his shadow.


    perfect!


    seeing his son suddenly sporting a foolish grin, yan daguo felt an impulse to slap him at that moment.


    this kid had been becoming more and more incomprehensible recently.


    first, he was continually encountering strangenesses, then he was closely associated with an exorcist, and the last time he had turned the house upside down, while also fiddling with making some videos. but it turned out that he had managed to bring in some money.


    out of the ordinary, yan daguo was now more and more convinced that this kid would definitely be extraordinary in the future.


    "ze, are you alright?"


    "i''m fine, dad, don''t worry." hiding under the umbrella, yan junze said, "there was a minor issue, which is completely manageable."


    "here¡­" yan daguo suddenly looked around, "is there some strangeness?"


    at that moment in flowery paradise garden residential area, except for this father and son, there was no one else in the public area, and the moonlight that fell on the ground seemed somehow cold and eerie, as if there was something sinister lurking within it.


    otherwise, why else would his son use an umbrella to block the moonlight!


    thinking of this, yan daguo looked up at the sky and couldn''t help shivering.


    "let''s go, let''s go, let''s go home," yan junze said.


    soon, the father and son returned to their home in the neighboring community, and to avoid being exposed to moonlight in the corridor as well, yan junze kept the umbrella up until they entered their home.


    it was apparent that only reflections under the moonlight would cause fang ning to appear and attack him. as for the light in the house, which made yan junze''s shadow appear normal, there wasn''t anything unusual.


    of course, parental worry was inevitable, so after a brief chat with li man and yan daguo, mainly to reassure them, yan junze went back to his bedroom.


    he inserted the video he had shot into the computer and exported the footage he had just filmed.


    in the two days after finishing his college entrance exams, yan junze had spent two days learning video editing and production with bao jie. although he hadn''t fully mastered it, he could handle the basic operations without any problems.


    after opening the video, he deleted the last part, the scene where fang ning''s shadow pounced on him, and then exported and forwarded it to tang zhengyi.


    he sent it to tang zhengyi because the platform had a video editing team to professionally handle it; they were pretty skilled at making videos, so it was best to let the platform produce the final cut.


    after the video was sent, tang zhengyi immediately called saying he had received it.


    yan junze went to the bathroom to wash up, then lay back down on the bed.


    now he finally had time to take a good look at the spacetime atlas. after completing the "reflection under the moonlight" mission, he received 1000 points of different dimension energy, but beforehand, he had triggered "automatic rewind on near-death" twice, along with his own manual rewind, resulting in excessive energy consumption.


    even with the 1000 points, the loss could not be recouped, so while 35 spacetime nodes have already been illuminated, there are many segments of the corresponding time rewind lines that lacked energy replenishment.


    at the illuminated 35th spacetime node, a row of extremely small condensed characters appeared, indicating that a new function had been activated.


    yan junze thoroughly inspected it internally, and immediately the text magnified and popped up in his mind.


    "spacetime fixed point insertion, using this function, you can be inserted into a specific point in spacetime for a period of time. please note, it requires the occurrence of a space-time rift to complete the corresponding insertion, and the consumed energy points directly relate to factors such as the length of time crossed, personal involvement, and spacetime stability."


    "serious warning: even with utmost caution, spacetime insertion can easily bring about the butterfly effect. it is suggested to use this in conjunction with the next function."


    fuck, that''s a lot of information!


    yan junze was stunned for a moment, and read the text several times until he roughly grasped the concept.


    this "spacetime fixed point insertion," to be frank, is like a rewind with an even greater temporal reach. the difference is, upon returning to that point in time, one can only maintain their presence for a while before automatically returning to the present.


    therefore, if one were to change an event at some past point in time, it would not merely alter the specific incident they intended to change. instead, it could potentially lead to a series of cascading effects on future events.


    that is the so-called butterfly effect.


    that is indeed terrifying. a slight misstep could not only prevent achieving one''s own goals but could also result in the situation going completely off track, leading to an even more bizarre, stranger, and unexpected result upon returning to the present.


    this cannot be used, it absolutely cannot be used rashly!


    however, the atlas also indicated that it really isn''t something one can just use as they wish. it can only be initiated in conjunction with the appearance of a space-time rift for "spacetime fixed point insertion" to be activated.


    and a critical point is in the last warning, suggesting the use in combination with the next function.


    this means that the appearance of the next function is closely related to the "spacetime fixed point insertion," and the two functions need to be used together to be somewhat safer.


    so for now, he shouldn''t use it, yan junze immediately decided.


    there are at least a few reasons he cannot use the function: first, without the appearance of a space-time rift, which is a prerequisite; second, if it triggers the butterfly effect, the consequences could be severe; and third, he didn''t know how much energy it would take to use the function just once.


    but now thinking about it, this kind of "great rewind" function must consume an extremely shocking amount of energy.


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    he would discuss it more slowly.


    at the moment, yan junze was careful when he needed to be, but overall, the strangeness he had encountered had brazened him considerably. he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep in no time.


    early the next morning, the video platform had processed the final footage and sent it over to yan junze.


    he waited until after breakfast to watch it, and upon reviewing it, he realized that professionals truly offered something different. the team had even adjusted the video''s color tone to a pale white due to the moonlight shooting, adding to the effect.


    just one look was enough to send a hair-raising chill down his spine, let alone him standing alone by the poolside.


    with fang ning''s appearance, the horror atmosphere intensified immediately. even yan junze, who had personally experienced it, felt an urge to flee the moment he saw fang ning emerge in the video.


    without any suggestions for changes, yan junze simply sent tang zhengyi a big "thumbs up," and tang zhengyi quickly replied.


    the video would be prominently displayed on the homepage, potentially bringing in an income for yan junze that might not be much less than the last time.


    sea??h th§× novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 140 Attracting Attention (Please Subscribe)

    a few days later, the college entrance exam scores were released.comparing his score to the admission cut-offs previously set by various institutions, yan junze found that he had exceeded the tianmeng science university''s admission line by 87 points, so there was absolutely no problem in getting into their physics department.


    his parents were overjoyed by this news. they were a bit excited that day; yan daguo took the day off from the factory, and li man happened not to have work that day either.


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    the couple got busy, first calling their hometown to report the good news, then slaughtering chickens and fish, and at night, they prepared a table full of delicious food. yan daguo took the opportunity to bring out the fetal hair wine he had been saving for many years, poured himself a glass contentedly, and even asked junze if he wanted some.


    under li man''s fierce gaze, yan daguo reluctantly withdrew the wine glass he had handed to junze and started drinking by himself.


    the atmosphere at the dinner table was good, but the couple''s conversation kept revolving around what junze should do after going to university.


    all junze wanted to say was that not only had he done both his bachelor''s and master''s degrees consecutively in his past life, but he had also stayed on as a lecturer for three years. when it came to university life, he was the one with the most say.


    but the point wasn''t his parents'' nagging; the point was their concern for him.


    sometime later, he received a call from zhou dali. after asking about junze''s scores, he immediately started congratulating him, though his own total score hadn''t come out yet due to a delay in the physical education results.


    after inquiring about the scores of bao jie and jiang ruixin, it turned out they were both pretty good, making it into the admission lines of their respective universities.


    seeing that most of his classmates had settled down, zhou dali became even more anxious. he rambled on the phone with junze for a long time, actually seeking comfort.


    it wasn''t until after the yan family had dinner that he hung up the phone.


    as soon as he hung up, the phone rang again. junze took it out and saw that it was bao jie calling.


    after answering the call, sure enough, it was about the scores again. this time, it looked like bao jie and zhou jiajie would have no problem being together after they both entered tianmeng university.


    after discussing their scores, bao jie added, "i just checked the ''open your eyes'' video out of curiosity, and i saw you''ve made another strangeness video. it''s currently on the homepage with a little red badge lit up in the top right corner!"


    the so-called "little red badge" is a symbol of a flaming torch, which is the official mark of a trending video.


    that is to say, "reflection under the moonlight" had once again become a trending video.


    "really? i''ll check it out later," junze said with a smile.


    "at this rate, you won''t even need your parents to give you money for university," bao jie joked. s§×arch* the novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "if another video comes along, i should have enough for next year''s tuition," junze joked back.


    there was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.


    junze waited for a moment, and seeing that bao jie had nothing to say, he said, "if you''re busy with something, we can hang up now."


    "no, no," bao jie hurriedly responded. "there''s something... i may need to trouble you with."


    "ok, tell me," junze said, somewhat curious.


    "my aunt''s family, they''ve been acting really weird lately, and i was hoping you could come over to take a look," bao jie said somewhat sheepishly.


    then she added, "they can pay you."


    junze shook his head, "it''s not about the money, um, how much are they offering?"


    the change of topic was too abrupt, and bao jie was taken aback for a moment before replying, "as long as you can solve their problem, money really isn''t an issue. you can discuss it with them in person."


    "alright," junze nodded. "set up a time with them, and we can meet up in a few days."


    so far, aside from the aunt mei and the strange baby in the underground parking lot, the strangenesses around fh community had been pretty much cleared up.


    of course, there are certainly many more in other parts of shuntian city, and because there are so many, they''re not that easy to resolve.


    don''t underestimate each task; they can''t all be solved by force. otherwise, junze could just grab a club, not think about anything, and just hammer his way through, with different dimension energy pouring in incessantly.


    ```


    in fact, some tasks were not only mentally and time-consuming, but the energy generated after the investment often did not pay back much. for yan junze, there was no need to waste his efforts on them.


    moreover, with exorcists around, common supernatural events could be left to them to handle.


    of course, there were also events in shuntian that exorcists couldn''t handle, like the back-faced woman or the likes of fang ning.


    fortunately, these supernatural beings with strong obsessions did not indiscriminately kill the innocent or cause irreparable damage. some high-level supernatural events were even unnoticed by most people, perhaps still hidden in some corner.


    although dealing with common and numerous supernatural events was troublesome and yan junze did not want to spend too much time on them, if a good friend or classmate needed help, he would step in without hesitation.


    after hanging up the phone, he opened the "open your eyes" app to check his videos.


    sure enough, the video had been set up for pay-per-view.


    of course, yan junze was mainly interested in looking at the revenue from the background. normally, revenue statistics could be seen two weeks later, but now he could know the number of clicks and comments, as well as how many times he had been rewarded.


    while looking through the comments, most netizens commented with phrases like "beautifully done," "immersive experience," "so terrifying," "spectacular," "perfectly matched couple," "get together, get together," and so on.


    yan junze browsed casually and found that the number of comments was already close to a thousand.


    but soon, his brow furrowed as his gaze fixed on a particular comment.


    the content of this comment was: "it looks like a lot of preparation was done in advance, and every step was carefully planned. not only is it courageous, but each move seems to have been considered beforehand. very impressive."


    someone leaving such a comment was either a seasoned veteran regularly active here or someone who had made similar videos themselves.


    yan junze''s eyes moved to the poster.


    "cheng jingting?"


    there was even an official platform verification logo on the top right corner of the name, indicating that his profession was the same as yan junze''s, both being authors.


    upon visiting his homepage, yan junze discovered he was also a platform broadcaster.


    yan junze took note of the person who left the comment, making a mental impression of him.


    below his profile were video resources he recommended. curiosity piqued, yan junze clicked in to have a look. after watching three videos, he lifted his head and exhaled softly.


    it seemed that he had underestimated these people.


    the spirit exploration teams looked very professional. even without the exorcists'' ability to perform exorcisms, they knew how to gather information and find the weaknesses and rules of the supernatural beings, breaking them one by one.


    moreover, since they carried professional equipment, the videos they produced were of high quality and the editing was great. the popularity of their videos was higher than even those yan junze had shot.


    ...


    at the same time.


    in tianyi district, within an old residential area.


    cheng jingting had just woken up, sitting groggily on his bed. he turned his head and glanced towards the bottom of the bed where, against the wall, a row of terracotta urns was arranged¡ªresembling the kind used by olden households for pickling.


    at that moment, the lid of one of the urns shifted slightly.


    cheng jingting pressed his lips into a charming smile: "it seems about time. once you come out, it''ll be her turn."


    as he spoke, he turned to look towards the window by the bedside.


    in the shadows in front of the floor-to-ceiling curtains, a woman clad in a white nightgown stood with a menacing look. she had no eyelids, and her round eyes stared out, two streams of bloody tears trailing down from them.


    she silently confronted the young man on the bed.


    ```

 Chapter 141 Refusal to Cooperate (Subscribe Please)

    ```staring at the woman standing in front of the curtains, cheng jingting seemed to harbor no fear.


    he had been asleep on this bed just now, while this woman had simply stood by, staring at the person on the bed with an aura of chilly gloom enveloping her, but cheng jingting appeared to be unfazed.


    it was clear that he had slept rather soundly.


    after taking out his phone and opening an app, he remained seated on the bed and after a moment''s thought, picked up the phone and dialed a number.


    the call connected after a short while.


    "hello there, editor tang," cheng jingting said with a smile.


    "mm, jingtian, hello to you," came the voice of tang zhengyi.


    "i wanted to ask if you''re in charge of someone called ''night traveling puppy''?" cheng jingting asked without beating around the bush.


    tang zhengyi hesitated for a moment before asking, "yes, is there an issue?"


    "oh, i''d like to request your help in contacting him," cheng jingting said. "his videos are quite good, and if possible, i''d like to collaborate with him."


    "collaborate?" tang zhengyi was somewhat surprised.


    "yes," cheng jingting said with a smile. "you know i''m connected with many spirit exploration teams, and if night traveling puppy agrees to work with us, there are quite a few significant strangenesses sites here that have yet to be explored. we could give it a try."


    "i''ll need to ask him about that," tang zhengyi responded with a nod.


    "i''ll await your good news," cheng jingting said before hanging up the call.


    meanwhile, among the row of earth jars near the wall, one covered with a red cloth strip moved slightly, as if something inside was pushing it.


    cheng jingting pursed his lips in a smile, looking at that jar and muttered to himself, "eager to come out early?"


    ...


    "collaborate?" yan junze was somewhat surprised.


    he didn''t expect that just after seeing a person named "cheng jingting" comment on his video, in the blink of an eye, this guy had sent an invitation through tang zhengyi.


    "that''s right," tang zhengyi explained. "cheng jingting is quite famous on the platform, a part-time anchor, and many netizens call him young master ting. this fellow has close business dealings with several tycoons and the spirit exploration teams he''s formed with these people are very active. put simply, he''s quite powerful on our platform; even the boss wouldn''t dare to offend him."


    "sorry, but i don''t collaborate with others," yan junze said.


    having had a prior experience with collaboration, yan junze now found the concept of exploring spirits with ordinary people distasteful.


    it might have been another matter if the others were exorcists, but in the end, these people were just experienced in spirit exploration, still just ordinary people.


    tang zhengyi paused on the other end of the phone, then asked, "are you sure you won''t collaborate with them? the videos they''ve uploaded are extremely popular, and if you were to work together, i believe the videos'' popularity would soar further. whether it''s attracting the attention of video buyers or directly being featured on a paid platform, it would be a considerable amount."


    "no need," yan junze still refused. "i''m not comfortable working with others."


    "didn''t you collaborate once before? with your classmate," tang zhengyi persisted, reminding him.


    "only that one time," yan junze said with a smile.


    had it not been for the need to break the wall last time, he wouldn''t have involved zhou dali. yet zhou dali was such a coward that he wouldn''t have agreed without bao jie and jiang ruixin coming along. and since bao jie was needed for the video, one thing led to another, and the temporary exploration team was formed.


    luckily, everything had gone smoothly with no mishaps. however, that experience made yan junze decide not to explore spirits with ordinary people again¡ªunless it was with an exorcist.


    ```


    tang zhengyi tried persuading for a while longer, but seeing that yan junze''s lips remained sealed, he had no choice but to say a few words and then hang up the phone.


    afterward, tang zhengyi called cheng jingting.


    "oh, he won''t join the spirit exploration team. mm-hmm, okay, nothing much."


    cheng jingting hung up the phone with a smile still beaming on his face, which betrayed no hint of displeasure. he got up from the bed, dressed himself, put on his shoes, and went to crouch beside the row of earthen jars.


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    the jar covered with a red cloth lid was fluctuating frequently now, as if whatever was inside was eager to come out.


    looking at it, cheng jingting took out his phone to check the calendar, "it should be about time."


    a hand reached over and lifted the red cloth lid, and a wisp of blue mist rose from the jar, dissipating into the air without a trace.


    at the same time, an indescribable foul odor hit him, permeating the room with a scent of decay and withering.


    cheng jingting placed the lid on the ground and extended his hand into the open jar. sounds similar to stirring in mud echoed, followed by a look of surprise and delight on his face.


    he grabbed something from inside the jar and yanked it out with force.


    in his hands was a blue-skinned boy. the strangeness that emerged from the jar visibly grew larger until it stopped at the size of a five-year-old.


    without emitting a sound, upon cheng jingting''s release, the child landed naked on the floor, standing erect to the side, with stinky blue liquid continuing to drip from his body. blue liquid also streamed from the sockets of his eyes, which showed nothing but white.


    "the jar is freed up now," cheng jingting said, not paying any mind to the boy standing to one side, but turning his head to address the woman in the white nightgown standing beneath the window curtain, brimming with chilly aura, "it''s your turn now." s§×arch* the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    two days later.


    yan junze, after finishing his dinner, lay on the couch at home watching tv when zhou dali''s phone call suddenly came through.


    yan junze picked up the phone, glanced at it, and pressed the answer button ¡ª zhou dali''s laughter immediately burst through, not saying anything, just a series of loud "hahahahas."


    "congratulations," yan junze said, and then hung up, continuing to watch tv.


    zhou dali was left baffled, his smile still plastered on his face, the epitome of awkwardness.


    the phone rang again shortly after, and when yan junze answered, zhou dali blurted out angrily, "what the hell, i just laughed a few times, didn''t even say anything, and you congratulate me for what?"


    yan junze replied, "knowing your character, wouldn''t you laugh like an idiot only if something joyous happened? and in the past couple of days, the only thing that could make you so happy is naturally getting into tianmeng sports institute."


    "spot on!" zhou dali, not caring how prescient yan junze was, excitedly said, "i''ve booked us a spot at tuberose bar, just a few close classmates. bao jie and jiang ruixin are coming too. hurry over so we can celebrate! i''ve even booked a divine camel exclusive car to take us home later, we play for a while, and head back by nine."


    yan junze moved the phone away from his ear, sat up from the couch, and peeked out the window, "the weather''s good today, huh? stars strewn across the moonlit sky."


    "yeah, the weather is really good," zhou dali hurriedly responded.


    "too good. i''m not coming," yan junze hung up the phone.


    zhou dali was befuddled once more, but after a moment, he called again, "hey junze, if you''re making excuses, at least make them plausible! what does ''too good'' weather even mean? what kind of weather are you waiting for to come out, a downpour or a hailstorm?"


    "you''re right," yan junze let out a resigned smile, "you guys go on and enjoy. i really won''t be coming."


    "you, i mean..." zhou dali began to protest in frustration, "bao jie heard you were coming and even invited some relatives over for you since she was planning to seek your help with something recently. are you really going to stand her up like this?!"


    "oh?" yan junze sat up straighter again.

 Chapter 142 The Man with an Umbrella Under the Moonlight (Alliance Leader Book Friend 9031 Extra)

    Bao Jie, since she''s brought her relatives this time, must be related to what she talked about with Yan Junze last time.Something is off with her relative''s family, so she asked him to take a look for them. Of course, it wasn''t a favor asked without compensation.


    When a good classmate asks for help, Yan Junze finds it hard to refuse, but if he realizes the problem is too difficult to manage, he would still look for an excuse to decline.


    But now that the condition of payment was added, he had no reason to push it away.


    This world is different from the one Yan Junze was reborn from. Although things may have seemed fundamentally the same before the outbreak of the strangenesses, after the outbreak, many things and rules changed.


    For instance, the gambling industry, once operated under the name of the Great Capital by Huaying, had been shut down following the outbreak of the strangenesses, as people shifted their focus to issues of survival and daily life in the aftermath, with no energy left for gambling.


    Even the major cities around the world focused on how to effectively handle and contain the events of the strangenesses. Certain secrets, secrets that the cities have always tried to suppress, became the focus of their efforts to resolve.


    Yan Junze had considered using Rewind to find some profitable shortcuts, but now it seemed not so easy.


    There was a high probability that unless he used Rewind to break the law, which he firmly decided against doing.


    To effectively utilize Rewind to make money legally and also collect Different Dimension Energy to cope with this world, Spirit Exploration had unexpectedly become the best approach now that everyone''s attention was concentrated on the events of the strangenesses.


    Yan Junze''s initial idea of filming videos was not wrong. As the strangenesses inevitably merged into daily life, people had to continue living, aside from avoiding and resisting them.


    Because from the current outbreaks, it hadn''t reached a point to cause total collapse of the world''s order. Even under the containment of the Exorcists, it seemed to be stabilizing, so life had to go on as usual.


    It was not like everyone could hide at home or in basements all day, never to appear again.


    Of course, living in constant fear was another matter. After all, only a few could remain calm after witnessing a strangeness in person.


    Most people, who are supposed to be afraid, will be afraid. But still, they have to make a living. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Those who were scared to death or harmed by the strangenesses, occasionally their numbers would surpass the average control of the Exorcist teams, much like the wild beasts that would run into towns and harm people in ancient times. As long as it was within a controllable range, all this could be considered part of life now.


    Making money off strangenesses, as long as it doesn''t harm people, has become a legal and relatively quick method.


    Most importantly for Yan Junze, as he earned money, his Spacetime Atlas was gradually illuminated by collecting massive amounts of Different Dimension Energy. This was the strongest means of survival in this era and the most precious wealth.


    As long as there was sufficient Different Dimension Energy and more functions were activated, he and his parents could live without worries, unafraid of any strangenesses, and continue to survive well.


    After telling his parents, Yan Junze looked at the moonlight outside that flowed like water, took out the essential Huang Feihong brand large umbrella with a handle, changed his shoes, and opened the door.


    Under his parents'' surprised gaze, he first opened the umbrella before stepping out.


    Walking out of the community, the streets of Shuntian City after dusk, though sparse with pedestrians, were not entirely empty.


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    The other passersby stared in awe at the young man with the umbrella.


    Fortunately, Tuberose Bar was not too far from FH Community. A brisk twenty-minute walk from the entrance of the community would get him there.


    So Yan Junze didn''t plan to take a vehicle. In any case, the umbrella was big enough to cover him completely, so no matter how bright the moon shone, not even a single shoe would be exposed to its light.


    After walking a little over twenty minutes, he arrived at the entrance of Tuberose Bar.


    It was a somewhat upmarket small bar with delicate decor and style, featuring intimate tables for two, large tables for groups of six or seven, and of course, a bar with more than a dozen high stools¡ªstandard equipment for a bar.


    Zhou Dali, Jiang Ruixin, Bao Jie, and others had already arrived. They were sitting behind a large table waiting for Yan Junze.


    The spot they chose was near the inside of the bar, and even though the moonlight was bright outside, it couldn''t shine on this position.


    Yan Junze had been holding an umbrella as he entered the bar. Under the judgmental stares that seemed to view him as someone with a mental disability, he closed his umbrella and walked toward Zhou Dali and the others.


    He noticed that sitting beside Bao Jie was a woman, probably in her early thirties, with fair skin and bangs, dressed appropriately and evidently someone who cared about her appearance.


    That woman was also observing Yan Junze, and at that moment, her look wasn''t much different from those judgmental glares.


    Before Yan Junze could get closer to the table, the woman slightly lowered her head and quietly asked Bao Jie, "Jiejie, although I know people who frequently deal with strangenesses can be a bit... quirky, this kid¡­ he doesn''t have any mental problems, right?"


    Bao Jie couldn''t help but laugh, shaking her head with a smile, "No problem, no problem, just sometimes a little too imaginative."


    Yan Junze walked over and sat down.


    Zhou Dali chuckled, "Bro, why are you being so secretive, using an umbrella on a night like this?"


    "Don''t want to bask in the moonlight?" Jiang Ruixin also asked.


    "I bet that''s not it." Bao Jie blinked, "It''s very possible he''s afraid of turning... into a werewolf."


    "Hahaha¡­" Everyone at the table burst into laughter.


    Zhou Dali''s laughter was the most exaggerated, attracting frequent glances from customers at other tables.


    If he hadn''t been so big, someone probably would have scolded him by now.


    "It''s none of those." Yan Junze also started to laugh, shaking his head, "There''s another reason."


    The woman sitting next to Bao Jie suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Could it be... because of strangenesses?"


    Yan Junze took a sip of the green cocktail that the waiter had just brought, looked at the woman who had spoken, and then at Bao Jie, asking, "And this is¡­?"


    Bao Jie quickly introduced her, "My aunt Bao Yunjing; the incident I told you about before ¡ª it happened at her house."


    "Sorry for disturbing your gathering," Bao Yunjing said apologetically, her gaze sweeping over everyone at the table before settling on Yan Junze.


    Jiang Ruixin and Zhou Dali didn''t sense anything amiss, instead, their curiosity was piqued.


    Jiang Ruixin said, "Auntie, what happened at your house?"


    A shadow crossed Bao Yunjing''s face, and she apologized to Yan Junze, "I''m sorry, but since I''ve been encountering strange events lately, when I saw you with the umbrella, I naturally thought of strangenesses."


    "That''s okay." Yan Junze smiled and shook his head, "My use of the umbrella is indeed related to strangenesses."


    "Ah!" Everyone was stunned for a moment.


    "You first, what exactly happened at your house?" Yan Junze asked nonchalantly.


    Bao Yunjing was taken aback, then replied with even more gloom on her face, "I feel like everyone in my family is acting very strangely!"

 Chapter 143 Everyone in the Family is Abnormal!

    As soon as these words came out, everyone looked shocked, even Jiang Ruixin and Bao Jie''s faces showed a look of terror.There was something very strange about the family; the problem must have been quite serious.


    "My husband, Yan He, since marrying me, we have never slept separately," Bao Yunjing began to recall, narrating, "But have you ever encountered this situation?"


    "What situation?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Sleeping and waking up in the middle of the night, I hazily opened my eyes, only to see my husband lying beside me, his eyes wide open, staring at me unblinkingly," Bao Yunjing said, still frightened by the memory. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ah!" Jiang Ruixin screamed, covering her mouth.


    "You have to know, it was after three in the morning. I was already very groggy, and suddenly seeing my husband staring at me like that, I was so scared I almost lost my soul," Bao Yunjing said. "Just as I was scared back to full awareness, he turned over, facing away from me, and soon started snoring."


    Pausing for a moment, Bao Yunjing continued, "At that moment, I was covered in cold sweat, shivering uncontrollably for a while before I could recover. Then I pushed my husband and asked him what had just happened, and he actually said he didn''t know anything, that he had been sleeping the whole time?!"


    "Hmm, is there more?" Yan Junze asked.


    "There is more." Bao Yunjing picked up the wine glass in front of her, took a big gulp, thought for a bit, and said, "That day my husband was late from entertaining guests, and because he was worried about encountering strangenesses on the way, he didn''t come home. I slept alone.


    Oh, I forgot to mention, besides my husband and me, there''s also a 13-year-old daughter and her grandfather in our family, making it four of us."


    "What about the grandmother?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "Grandmother passed away early, and grandfather never remarried," Bao Yunjing answered, then continued, "That night, I also woke up around three in the morning, roused by a murmuring voice. Having had the previous experience, and with my husband not by my side, I immediately felt fear upon waking."


    "Listening carefully, I realized the voice was very faint, as if it came from the next room. The room next to the bedroom is my daughter Yan Wenwen''s room, and it sounded as if she was talking to someone."


    At this point, Yan Junze noticed that Jiang Ruixin had unconsciously grabbed Bao Jie''s hand. The two of them didn''t realize that they were gripping each other''s hands so tightly that their fingernails were digging into the skin.


    "Did you get up to check?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes, I got up," Bao Yunjing said, recalling the experience suddenly made her shiver involuntarily before continuing, "We usually sleep with the bedroom door closed, so when I got up and opened the door, I found that the voices really came from my daughter''s room."


    "The door to my daughter''s room was also closed, but I didn''t immediately go in, nor did I turn on the light. Instead, I first listened at the door. I heard one voice that was my daughter''s, but there was another that was unfamiliar. The voice was very soft, I could only make out some of the words."


    "What did you hear?"


    Yan Junze''s curiosity was fully piqued, but he also noticed that Zhou Dali was biting his lower lip tightly, holding the wine glass in front of him firmly, trying his best to restrain his discomfort.


    Bao Yunjing took another sip of wine and said, "My daughter said: ''No, it will find out.'' The voice said: ''Just have a look, only looking.'' Then my daughter continued to say: ''No.'' The voice kept saying ''look, look.'' But my daughter wouldn''t relent, still repeating ''no.'' Unable to stand it anymore, I wanted to know who it was, and then I pushed the door open forcefully and went in."


    As everyone listened to Bao Yunjing''s description, they were startled and looked up at her. She continued, "As soon as I opened the door, I screamed. I saw my daughter, standing at the door in her pajamas, eyes wide upon my entrance. That scene, it was so similar to what happened with her father that night."


    "But even after I screamed, my daughter had no reaction. She just turned around, walked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down, as if she had been sleeping the whole time, and then there was no more sound."


    "Where is the person she was talking to?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I didn''t see anyone," Bao Yunjing shook her head. "After I recovered, although my body was shaking with fright, I still took the opportunity to look around all the corners of the room, even inside the wardrobe. There was nothing, no one."


    "Could it be..." Bao Jie suddenly shivered and said, "Is Wenwen... talking to herself?"


    Bao Yunjing clearly hadn''t thought of this, and when Bao Jie mentioned it, she was suddenly stunned, then shook her head: "I... I don''t know."


    "Your family is a bit strange," Yan Junze pinched the center of his palm and found it had broken out in a layer of sweat beads.


    Breaking out in a cold sweat just from listening to ghost stories was rare for him nowadays.


    "Have there been any other strangenesses?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "Yes," Bao Yunjing nodded. "Last night, Wenwen had to go to the tutoring center the next day, so she went to bed early. Her grandfather also tended to go to bed early. I was in the bathroom washing up at the time, and then I heard a ''thud thud thud'' noise, as if someone was hammering on the wall."


    "I was still holding a washcloth to my face, and when I came out of the bathroom, I went to her grandfather''s bedroom door and found it slightly ajar, and the knocking sound was coming from inside the room.


    Her grandfather had already turned off the lights and gone to bed, so I didn''t make a noise; I just pushed the door open gently, and with the light from the living room, I saw her grandfather standing by the wall, his limbs stiff, repeatedly... banging his head against the wall..."


    Bang!


    The sudden sharp noise startled everyone who was engrossed in the story, and even Bao Yunjing was terrified into forgetting what she was going to say next.


    Everyone looked up to see Zhou Dali, pale as death.


    At that moment, the wine glass that Zhou Dali had been holding was crushed by him, glass shards scattered on the table, but his palms were thick enough to prevent any bleeding.


    "Let''s not talk about it anymore, let''s not," Zhou Dali said with an awkward face, lifting his head to force out an ugly smile, and waved his hand: "We''re here to have fun, why are we telling ghost stories?" Discover exclusive tales on empire


    Seeing that the fellow was indeed badly frightened, Yan Junze also smiled and said, "Yeah, let''s not talk about this anymore. Auntie, I''ll go and take a look at your house; let''s set it for tomorrow night."


    "Yes, yes, thank you so much," Bao Yunjing hurriedly said: "How much should I pay you? Should I give you some compensation in advance?"


    "We''ll see about that, no worries," Yan Junze waved his hand.


    No one mentioned the hair-raising strangenesses anymore, and the topic quickly shifted to the scores of the recent exams.


    As long as they didn''t talk about strangenesses, Zhou Dali recovered quickly, his voice once again grew louder, and he boasted about how he would make a remarkable entrance in the fitness academy after enrollment.


    Yan Junze didn''t talk much, instead, he pondered over the strangenesses occurring in Bao Yunjing''s home and came to an initial guess.


    If everyone in the family was acting abnormally, then it was very likely they were invaded by a Possession Spirit.

 Chapter 144 Borrowing a Hand (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    The group enjoyed some light drinks, deliberately avoiding the topic of strangenesses, and finally, a bit of atmosphere seemed to settle over the gathering.Around ten past nine, Zhou Dali called for the Divine Camel Exclusive Car, a minivan he had booked earlier that, besides the driver, could seat six people.


    There were five of them in total, and after they all got on the car, they first dropped off Yan Junze, who lived the closest.


    Only then did they proceed to drop off the others one by one.


    When the minivan reached FH Community, Yan Junze said goodbye to everyone, arranged a time to meet with Bao Yunjing, and got off the car alone, slowly walking into FH Community under the protection of an umbrella.


    Watching his figure disappear into the rain with the umbrella, Bao Yunjing waited until the minivan started up again before turning to Bao Jie to ask, "Doesn''t your classmate always give off an air of mystery?"


    "Not really," Bao Jie shook her head, "It''s a mysterious aura with an inexplicable touch of teenage angst."


    "I agree with that," Zhou Dali nodded on the side.


    Jiang Ruixin covered her mouth and sniggered.


    ...


    As Yan Junze entered the gates of the community with his umbrella, he glanced at Grandpa Zheng in the duty room.


    Grandpa Zheng was absorbed in watching TV, completely unaware of the person standing outside with an umbrella.


    Yan Junze walked straight to Building No. 7 and, just as he was about to turn into the stairwell, the door leading to the underground garage suddenly moved slightly.


    Yan Junze stopped in his tracks, still holding the umbrella, and turned his head to peer through the crack in the door, widened slightly in the moonlight. Near the bottom of the door, a pair of eerie eyes flickered and then disappeared.


    He paused, then turned around and walked out of Building No. 7 to Grandpa Zheng''s duty room. He began, "Grandpa Zheng, do you have any candles here?"


    Grandpa Zheng, who was watching a tear-jerker about caring for the elderly, dabbed gently at a tear about to fall, and without noticing why Yan Junze was holding an umbrella, opened the glass door of the duty room and asked, "What do you need the candles for?"


    As he spoke, and without waiting for Yan Junze''s reply, he bent down to pull a pack of candles from a drawer: "How many do you need?"


    Continue your journey on empire


    "Give me seven or eight," Yan Junze said with a smile, "I''ll bring you a new pack tomorrow."


    "No worries, I have plenty at home." Grandpa Zheng handed over eight candles to Yan Junze, then looked up at the sky in confusion and asked, "Is it raining?"


    "Yeah, it just started a little while ago, but it''s stopped now; I didn''t bother to close my umbrella," Yan Junze, fabricating a story, took the candles and quickly returned to Building No. 7 of the community.


    The candles Grandpa Zheng provided were the kind used for illumination during a power outage, not the ritual candles sold for the deceased, so they were quite a bit smaller.


    Arriving at the door to the underground garage, Yan Junze squatted down and took out a candle, slowly extending it through the crack in the door, swaying it left and right inside the doorframe.


    At that moment, a withered, shriveled hand suddenly reached out, grabbed the candle, and violently pulled it back.


    Soon after, the sound of chewing echoed.


    Yan Junze stood up, took out another candle, opened the door, and walked in.


    He closed his large umbrella behind him and, in the dim light, saw a strange baby crouching behind the door on the stone stairs leading to the underground garage, hungrily devouring the candle. In just a short moment, half of the candle in its hand had been eaten.


    "How did you get out?" Yan Junze muttered to himself, dangling another candle in front of the strange baby, "Come on, let''s go back."


    He walked down the stairs.


    The strange baby hadn''t finished eating the candle in its hand and reached out to grab the one Yan Junze was holding, but Yan Junze deliberately kept it out of reach.


    ```


    Having no choice, the strange baby had to crawl toward the direction of the pipe room in the southeast corner of the garage while biting the candle in its hand.


    Soon they reached the small door and stopped in front of it. By this time, the strange baby had already snatched his second candle and was voraciously eating it.


    "Aunt Mei, this little ghost has run out, and I''ve brought it back to you!" Yan Junze pushed open the door, not entering, but standing at the doorway and calling.


    After a brief moment, without any sound coming through, a head with fluffy hair approached the door from the pitch-black room inside, smiling, yet the body underneath the head could not be seen.


    It was indeed Aunt Mei''s head, but perhaps it was too dark to see her body; just a head, floating in mid-air, smiling at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled to see the strange baby trembling under his feet as it turned around, grabbed the remaining candle from his hand, and staggeringly ran into the room.


    Aunt Mei''s head still seemed to hang on the door frame, smiling at him.


    Yan Junze did not leave, in fact, bringing the strange baby back was just one of his objectives; he had another motive concerning himself.


    "Aunt Mei, if it''s convenient for you right now, I''d like to ask you to come out for a moment. You see¡­ is that okay?"


    This was the first time he had made a request to Aunt Mei, and after uttering these words, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze''s back.


    He stared unblinkingly at the smiling Aunt Mei, and the atmosphere became stagnant.


    About ten seconds later, Aunt Mei''s head, which appeared to be hanging, moved, flying straight out and hovering in front of Yan Junze, still with a full-faced smile.


    "Your¡­ your body?" Yan Junze was dumbfounded and took a long time before asking, "This¡­ how¡­ how can you go out like this?"


    No sooner had he spoken than he noticed a fresh blood thread connected below Aunt Mei''s seemingly floating head, extending into the darkness of the room, its destination unknown.


    However, one could imagine that the other end of the thread was likely connected to Aunt Mei''s body at the neck, and just the thought of this made Yan Junze shudder.


    Just then, Aunt Mei''s head drew closer, reaching Yan Junze''s elbow and giving it a gentle touch.


    Yan Junze paused and then said, "Are you asking me... to directly carry your head¡­ out?"


    Aunt Mei''s head touched his elbow again.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and held her head. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, the blood thread connected below snapped with a pop.


    It was time to go.


    Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart, and the head of Aunt Mei felt soft and squishy as he touched it, then he proceeded to walk out of the underground garage carrying the head.


    Inviting Aunt Mei out was for a reason.


    After ascending the stone steps and arriving in front of the small door to the underground garage near the first floor, Yan Junze looked down at Aunt Mei''s head; the old lady still had a smile on her face, as if nothing was amiss.


    The moonlight was bright, shining in the stairwell of the first floor. Just by opening this small door, Yan Junze could bathe in the cold moonlight.


    And this time, he didn''t plan on carrying an umbrella. After he had entered the underground garage earlier, the large umbrella had been left leaning against the back of the door.


    Carrying the head, Yan Junze took a deep breath and stepped through the door directly.


    The moonlight came down, casting the shadows of him standing outside the door, along with the head of Aunt Mei in his arms, behind them.


    ```

 Chapter 145 Inside the House, Another World? (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    At the moment the moonlight shone upon him, Yan Junze immediately turned his head to look behind him.Stay updated through empire


    The head of Aunt Mei, which he was holding with both hands, was now cradled to his left side for an easier view over his shoulder.


    And Aunt Mei, wearing a smile as well, followed his gaze to look behind them.


    One second, two seconds, three seconds... after more than ten seconds, Yan Junze remained motionless, his gaze fixed intently on his own shadow.


    There was nothing unusual.


    Bathed in the moonlight at this moment, his shadow, clearly cast behind him, surprisingly exhibited no strange alterations.


    Fang Ning did not appear.


    Yan Junze then turned around and continued walking back and forth at the doorway while holding Aunt Mei''s head. After a minute, there were still no signs of any abnormalities in his shadow.


    "My apologies, Aunt Mei," Yan Junze began to explain, "A woman has attached herself to me, seemingly entering my shadow. As long as my shadow appears under the moonlight, she insists that I stay with her every second that follows."


    He paused, seeing that Aunt Mei simply smiled without responding, he added, "So I wanted to ask for your help to see if we could either get rid of her or persuade her to leave my shadow."


    He shrugged, "But from the looks of it now, with you here, this woman doesn''t dare to come out at all. That is to say, she doesn''t dare show herself to you."


    The head of Aunt Mei nestled between his arms suddenly moved. To Yan Junze, it seemed as if she nodded, affirming his thoughts.


    "Then I will take you back now."


    Yan Junze turned and walked towards the small door that led to the underground garage; not long after, he returned to the doorway of the southeastern room. Looking down, he noticed the blood thread that had been connected to Aunt Mei''s head was still on the floor. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he approached, the blood thread reattached itself, reconnecting with Aunt Mei''s head. Her head slipped from his hands and hovered to the entrance of the inner room.


    Turning back and smiling at Yan Junze, Aunt Mei''s head nodded and then vanished inside the room.


    Yan Junze waved his hand as if to say goodbye and then turned to leave.


    Reaching the stairs, he took out the large umbrella from behind the door and went to the entrance.


    Yan Junze looked down at his feet, then opened the large umbrella, readied himself and then stepped one foot outside the underground garage. Moonlight cascaded down, precisely illuminating that foot and casting its shadow.


    But only seconds later, the shadow of his foot began to twist. A black arm emerged from the shadow, reaching out to grab him.


    Yan Junze quickly held the open umbrella over himself, and the abnormality disappeared instantly.


    He sighed as he stepped fully out, entirely shielded by the large umbrella from any sliver of moonlight. Shaking his head, he spoke to himself, "My shadow has now become your best hiding place."


    If Aunt Mei appeared, Fang Ning would choose to disappear. But once Aunt Mei was no longer there, Fang Ning''s return happened without any delay, even faster than Yan Junze had anticipated.


    "There should still be other ways to deal with her," Yan Junze pondered as he returned home with his umbrella.


    At the same time.


    In that southeastern room of the underground garage.


    The floating head of Aunt Mei, guided by the blood thread, slowly made its way back to a room inside.


    In the pitch-dark room, behind stacked boxes and on the damp floor, Aunt Mei''s headless body lay there. The floating head slowly approached it.


    However, the body suddenly began to stir, and two strange babies fought to crawl out from the swollen neck of the headless torso.


    Their movements created a series of unsettling noises.


    After the strange babies emerged, their mouths were covered in a black fluid. One of them grabbed a candle that had fallen to the floor and shared some with the other baby. The two chewed as they retreated to a corner of the room.


    Guided by the blood thread, Aunt Mei''s head reattached itself to the neck of the corpse.


    Soon the body moved as if being restored, and she stood up with a smile on her face.


    ...


    The next day, while Yan Junze was still enjoying his sleep, Bao Yunjing''s phone call came through.


    She could not wait any longer and urgently needed Yan Junze to hurry over and deal with the strangeness in her house.


    After informing his parents and stating that he might not return until late, he again used Zhou Dali, the professional scapegoat, as a pretext.


    By the afternoon, Yan Junze, with his backpack slung over his shoulder and umbrella in hand, stepped out of the door.


    Even though he didn''t know if there would be a moon out tonight, it was better to be prepared than to have nothing at all.


    However, Yan Junze did not immediately head to Bao Yunjing''s home but first made a detour to the "Zhou Erfu" jewelry store where he retrieved the mallet Gu Bai had re-cast for him a few days ago.


    Because some new techniques had been incorporated into it, the process took a little longer this time.


    This time, the mallet had been refined and made from a variety of metals and non-metals to create an alloy mallet, which was much more durable than the previous one.


    Moreover, in line with Yan Junze''s instructions, the Black Spirit Bead was not melted into it, but rather set as an inlay, encased in a non-transparent metallic glass containing palladium, and mounted a bit further up on the handle of the mallet.


    This metallic glass containing palladium, according to Gu Bai, was extremely hard, almost on par with the alloy itself. It was something he had managed to obtain through his connections, and the raw material was not abundant.


    Had it not been for Yan Junze solving his family''s trouble last time, Gu Bai would certainly not have offered this favor, which originally was owed to someone else.


    Yan Junze swung the mallet a few times, feeling that although it was heavier than before, it fit better in his hand; and the spot where the Black Spirit Bead was mounted, with its bulging metallic glass, looked quite beautiful, scoring extra points for the whole mallet.


    Nevertheless, even with the improvements, Yan Junze believed the mallet''s effectiveness against strangeness would hardly surpass the original by much, at best it would be less likely to get damaged after such encounters.


    But using it against anything more powerful than a Semi-Sculpting Spirit would still be a dead end.


    Yan Junze''s current definition for this mallet was that it could serve as a tool for beating Wandering Spirits, provided their forms weren''t too bizarre.


    In dire circumstances, the mallet could also be used for self-defense, offering at least some protection against the attack of ferocious strangeness, rather than relying solely on Rewind or Evil Spirit Solid Lock to resolve the issue.


    After thanking Gu Bai and having a brief chat, Yan Junze called Bao Yunjing to confirm her address before leaving the jewelry store and heading straight to her home.


    Bao Yunjing''s husband, Yan He, was the financial director of a large corporation in Shuntian City, often busy with work and away from home for at least ten days a month.


    Her residence was in a neighborhood well-known in Shuntian City, a famously wealthy community called Spectacular Courtyard. It was said that when other neighborhoods were selling at ten thousand per square meter, Spectacular Courtyard had already started at thirty thousand.


    Upon arrival, Yan Junze signed in at the gate and was then allowed to enter.


    He noticed that there were at least three young security guards on duty at the main gate. Bao Yunjing''s family must be quite eminent in Shuntian to live here, and should they find strangeness, getting an Exorcist would be a piece of cake for them.


    But at the time, he didn''t inquire whether Bao Yunjing had reported to the Exorcists or not.


    Or perhaps, she had never intended to make such a report.


    After entering Spectacular Courtyard, the area was divided into two sections: one was a villa district, and the other was a garden villa area.


    According to the information Bao Yunjing sent him, her family lived in unit 3-1, in building B-6 of the garden villa area''s second section.


    Having called Bao Yunjing, Yan Junze quickly located the address, and upon reaching the third floor, Bao Yunjing had already opened the door, waiting for him at the entrance.


    The moment Yan Junze approached the door, he felt a chill emanating from behind Bao Yunjing, coming from inside the house¡ªit was as if it were from another world.


    "Your place here... is much cooler than outside," Yan Junze commented half-jokingly while entering and changing his shoes.


    Bao Yunjing smiled and said, "Maybe it''s the design of the house. It gets really warm inside during winter."


    After changing into slippers and glancing up, Yan Junze saw an old man with a head full of white hair standing at the corridor leading to the bedroom; he was only showing half of his body, with the other half concealed in the corridor, standing motionless and peering over with one eye.

 Chapter 146 Strange Happenings at the Yan Family (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment.But he felt that the old man, half-hidden in the corridor, had an even heavier chill emanating from behind him.


    The next second, he followed Bao Yunjing into the living room.


    Bao Yunjing had also seen the old man''s eerie appearance standing in the corridor. She shivered, turned her back, and said to Yan Junze, "That''s my father-in-law. You can call him Grandpa Yan."


    "What is he doing?" Yan Junze couldn''t help but ask.


    Bao Yunjing shook her head. "He was fine just now. I told him we were having a guest today, and he said he would cook some good dishes. I don''t know how it turned into this. Look... everyone in my family is..."


    At this point, Bao Yunjing''s face was full of worry.


    Yan Junze could only try to comfort her. "It''s okay, it''s okay, leave it to me to handle."


    As he spoke, he turned his head to look again at Grandpa Yan standing at the entrance of the corridor, only to find that the old man had vanished without a trace.


    Noises came from the kitchen, as if Old Yan was already busy preparing to cook.


    Truly a bit ominous!


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing poured a cup of tea for Yan Junze, carefully lifted it, and placed it in front of him.


    "Where is your daughter Wenwen?" Yan Junze asked.


    "She''s in her room doing her tuition homework. I''ll call her out so you can meet her, get familiar," Bao Yunjing said.


    Yan Junze didn''t speak, just nodded his head.


    Bao Yunjing turned and went to her daughter''s room. A short while later, a girl who was only half a head shorter than her followed Bao Yunjing out.


    This girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and wore a pale pink home pajama. She stood behind Bao Yunjing to the right, calmly staring at Yan Junze. Find adventures at empire


    "Say hello," Bao Yunjing said with a hint of reproach.


    "Hello, Brother," Yan Wenwen said with an unchanged expression, nodding slightly to Yan Junze.


    "Hmm, sensible, didn''t call me Uncle," Yan Junze thought with relief and said, "You go ahead with your homework. I might be disturbing you all today."


    At that moment, Yan Wenwen''s gaze suddenly flickered, as if she was anxious, trying to hide something, but quickly her expression returned to normal, and she blinked at Yan Junze.


    After Yan Wenwen went back to her room to continue her homework, Yan Junze asked Bao Yunjing, "What about Uncle Yan?"


    "I just called him. He''s going to be late today, so we won''t wait for him for dinner." After saying this, Bao Yunjing took some newly bought fruit into the kitchen to wash.


    Yan Junze was sipping his tea while watching the television news.


    Before long, Old Yan came out of the kitchen carrying the fruit Bao Yunjing had taken to wash, while Bao Yunjing stayed in the kitchen.


    Gone was the look of indifference and stiffness. Old Yan smiled, placed the fruit tray filled with fruit in front of Yan Junze, and said, "Child, have some, I''ve been busy in the kitchen and didn''t notice the guest arrive."


    Yan Junze looked at him in surprise. "Grandpa Yan, didn''t you see me in the hallway just now?"


    "Did I?" Old Yan seemed bewildered, "I haven''t left the kitchen, I''ve been washing vegetables. I just took the opportunity to wash the fruit that Yunjing brought."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something. "Then where is Auntie? She just went into the kitchen to wash the fruit, but you came out with it."


    "Oh, she''s better at stir-frying green peppers with shredded pork, so she took over." Just as Old Yan finished speaking, the sound of stir-frying could be heard from the kitchen.


    Yan Junze nodded. "Has Grandpa Yan noticed anything amiss lately?"


    Old Yan shook his head, suddenly closed his eyes, and after about two or three seconds, opened them again and said, "I''m getting old, many of my memories are very blurred. Sometimes I forget the things I did in the morning by the afternoon. I don''t remember much."


    "What happened to your head here?" Yan Junze pointed to a bruised area on Old Yan''s forehead.


    "Bumped into something when I got up, it''s nothing," Old Yan waved his hand, "Hmm, I''ll go check the kitchen, you just sit and relax."


    Of course, Yan Junze remembered Bao Yunjing saying that one night, the old man had been hitting his head against the wall by himself.


    Not long after Old Yan entered, Bao Yunjing''s stir-fried pork with green peppers should be ready, and she came out with an apron tied around her waist.


    Once she sat down, Yan Junze said, "Aunt, I may need to shoot some videos this time, is that okay? Of course, I''ll blur out everyone''s face in post-production and will not expose any family or personal privacy."


    Bao Yunjing paused for a moment, then said, "That''s fine, but you need to show us the final video first."


    "No problem," Yan Junze nodded, "I won''t record now, I''ll start recording in the evening, which is the time you said things get more serious. Also, may I ask if you have reported this strangeness to an exorcist?"


    Bao Yunjing nodded, "I remember we did."


    "Then why not use connections to prompt them?"


    "Hmm, I remember we also prompted them."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Soon, the dining table near the kitchen was filled with delicious dishes, and Bao Yunjing called Yan Junze over to sit down, while Old Yan went to call Yan Wenwen, who was still doing homework.


    The area of the room was quite spacious, about over 180 square meters, and the dining room next to the kitchen was also roomy. Bao Yunjing prepared eight dishes and one soup to entertain Yan Junze well.


    There were seafood, chicken, duck, fish, and home-cooked dishes, making Yan Junze exclaim they had gone to too much trouble.


    Everything seemed normal now, except for when he first entered the door. Not long after dinner, Yan He came home.


    This guy was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with a pot-belly, hair meticulously combed, and golden glasses, looking every inch a business elite.


    After learning the purpose of Yan Junze''s visit, Yan He became very enthusiastic and privately asked Yan Junze to prepare some charms or conduct an exorcism, one that could drive away the evil spirit once and for all.


    It was clear that this guy had no clue about this field and was ignorant of the spread of strangenesses these days.


    Having obtained the homeowners'' permission, in the evening, Yan Junze took out his camera from his backpack, turned it on, and placed it on the living room''s decorative cabinet, aiming the lens at most of the living room, also covering the doors of several bedrooms.


    He, meanwhile, continued to wear a camera on himself. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze had initially planned to sleep on the living room sofa, but at Bao Yunjing and her husband''s insistence, he ended up sharing the big bed with Old Yan.


    The bed was large, with a blanket for each, there was still plenty of space.


    The old man was accustomed to sleeping early, and he had already fallen asleep on the bed while Yan Junze was still setting up the camera.


    After everyone went back to their bedrooms and closed the doors, the house soon quieted down.


    Yan Junze fiddled with the camera to make sure it wouldn''t be tilted by lying down, while the steady snoring of Old Yan reached his ears.


    Fortunately, the snoring was not loud, and Yan Junze could totally accept it.


    Now, what puzzled him was that since he had arrived at the house, he had not received any notifications about a mysterious mission.


    It seemed there were already some oddities here, but why hadn''t he received any mission notifications?


    This, Yan Junze could not understand.


    Lying in bed, he checked his phone, which was almost eleven o''clock. Could it be that the entity knew he was here and chose to hide itself?


    He turned off the phone screen and placed it on the bedside table next to him. Yan Junze lay down fully clothed, his eyes slightly narrowed, unsure how much time had passed.


    Suddenly, he felt his phone screen light up. He opened his eyes slightly and lifted his head to glance at it. He saw not only was the screen on, but it also displayed the password input screen.


    At that moment, a line of text popped up.


    Yan Junze saw it very clearly, the line of text read: Wrong password entered, 4 more tries remaining.

 Chapter 147 Who is the most bizarre? (Alliance Leader Sabahdanis 1221 added more)

    "Password entered incorrectly, 4 more attempts remaining."Seeing this line suddenly appear on his phone screen, Yan Junze got a jolt that made the hairs on his back stand, feeling a chill permeating his entire body. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He immediately sat up from lying down, turned his head and looked around. Although it was rather dark, he could still see objects in the bedroom, and everything was as quiet as before, without any unusual occurrences.


    He looked again at the lit phone screen, the line of text was still there.


    Had someone just touched his phone? And they had entered the wrong password to boot.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and flipped through it casually; nothing was amiss.


    More importantly, no mission prompt had come up so far.


    Unsure if it was a problem with the phone system or if there really were some anomalies, Yan Junze held his phone, continuously pondering.


    "Is this ''strangeness'' really so laid-back? Devoid of any obsession, its purpose here purely to tease people?"


    Not feeling quite reassured, he decided to get out of bed and tiptoed to open the bedroom door, stepping out into the living room.


    On the elegantly refined decorative cabinets in the living room, the camera lens was pointed at most of the living room, still operating.


    Yan Junze stood inside the room, looked around, and an eerie silence filled the air, without a sound.


    Some light from outside came through the windows, allowing him to make out the layout clearly.


    He had activated the rewind feature before lying down in bed, keeping it on loop ever since.


    Seeing nothing unusual in the living room, Yan Junze was about to check the bathroom, kitchen, and balcony.


    But just as he was about to move, the door of the room where Yan Wenwen was sleeping suddenly moved slightly, opening a crack, and an eye peeked through quietly.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly walked over. The eye behind the crack withdrew immediately.


    Without making a sound, Yan Junze approached the door and gently pushed it open, and there stood Yan Wenwen in a light red nightgown, looking fearfully at Yan Junze.


    "Wenwen?"


    Having heard from Bao Yunjing about the strange happenings, Yan Junze wasn''t sure if Wenwen was normal at the moment or if some anomaly had occurred.


    Yan Wenwen nodded her head, her eyes bright, and she made a silencing gesture to Yan Junze, seeming quite normal.


    "Why haven''t you slept yet?" Yan Junze whispered.


    Yan Wenwen carefully closed the bedroom door, pulled Yan Junze to the desk, and then in a very quiet voice said, "Brother Yan, everyone in this house is very peculiar, including my parents, especially my mother. You have to save us."


    "Huh?" Yan Junze was somewhat stunned for a moment. "Wasn''t it your mother who felt something was peculiar at home, which led to my being called over?"


    He couldn''t directly say that, in reality, it was Bao Yunjing who felt that everyone else in the family was peculiar, and that''s why she had reached out to him through Bao Jie.


    Yan Wenwen, as if frightened of being overheard, quickly shook her head, her hands gesturing rapidly in front of her chest, "No, that''s not it; I''ve been telling my mother to call the exorcist, she said she did. But a couple of days ago, when I applied to check, there was no report from us on record."


    "Then you reported it afterward?" asked Yan Junze, surprised.


    "Yes, that''s when I reported it myself," nodded Yan Wenwen. "But when I asked my dad and mom, they both said they had reported it."


    "That is strange!" Yan Junze muttered to himself, then looked towards Yan Wenwen again, "You said your mother was peculiar, what is peculiar about her? I think she seems very normal."


    Yan Wenwen nervously shook her head, glanced at the bedroom door, and then checked her watch, "Half past twelve, every night at half past twelve, she comes punctually to¡­ comb my hair."


    "Ah!" Yan Junze got a shock.


    "Even when I was asleep, she would come and comb my hair while kneeling beside my bed. I was so scared to death that I didn''t dare to open my eyes," said Yan Wenwen, her body beginning to tremble.


    "It''s just to your room?" asked Yan Junze.


    "No," Yan Wenwen shook her head, "every room. After she finishes combing my hair, she goes to Grandpa''s room. Sometimes I hear her talking to someone, but Grandpa''s dementia is so severe and he''s always been a heavy sleeper. Except for waking up at five o''clock sharp every morning, he wouldn''t be disturbed by anything else during that period."


    Yan Junze nodded and asked, "Was this what you wanted to tell me earlier today, during the day?"


    "Hmm," said Yan Wenwen, "I didn''t dare to speak up with Mom around."


    "Alright, I understand," Yan Junze checked the time on his cellphone, which showed it was just shy of midnight. He said to Yan Wenwen, "Keep doing what you''ve been doing. If your mom comes in to comb your hair, don''t open your eyes, just endure it. According to what you''ve said, she will leave here and go to my place afterward. Wait for me to handle it."


    "Thank you, Brother Yan. You must save us!" Yan Wenwen looked at him pitifully.


    After leaving her room, Yan Junze had no intention to wander around the other rooms, and he returned to Old Yan''s room. Sure enough, the old man was in a deep slumber, his snoring loud and steady, oblivious to anyone moving around him.


    He lay back down on his bed, took out his cell phone and placed it back on the bedside table. This time, Yan Junze did not plan to sleep again.


    He was waiting for half-past midnight to see if what Yan Wenwen said was true. If Bao Yunjing''s strangeness was greater, this situation could be very complicated.


    Because so far, Yan Junze had not received any notifications about the mission.


    This had him doubting whether the current events were really the work of a spirit, or if there was some other explanation.


    Time passed.


    As he pondered, the time finally reached half-past midnight.


    It was clear by then that Yan Wenwen next door, in her bedroom, had definitely not fallen asleep. Instead, she was trembling with fear, waiting for her mother to come and comb her hair.


    With a click, the sound of a bedroom door being opened echoed from outside, followed by soft footsteps. The footsteps paused at the door next to his, then the sound of the door opening and again, more footsteps.


    Yan Junze wasn''t sleepy at all; in fact, his mind was exceptionally clear, so he listened very carefully.


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing should be combing her daughter''s hair.


    "Damn, just thinking about it sends chills down the spine," Yan Junze couldn''t help but shake his head, feeling a wave of disgust.


    Every night like this, it was a wonder what had kept Yan Wenwen holding on until today.


    It wasn''t long before noises started coming from the other side again.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes and listened as the door to the room next door closed and soft footsteps approached Old Yan''s bedroom.


    Old Yan was still sleeping soundly, showing no sign of disturbance.


    After about ten seconds of silence, the bedroom door was pushed open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes closed, pretending to be sound asleep, and positioned himself so that he faced left with one hand near his head, ensuring he could react quickly if anything happened.


    As the footsteps entered the room, an inevitable hair-raising sensation crept over him.


    The footsteps, neither fast nor slow, ceased after entering the room. Based on the sound, it seemed as if they had stopped in the middle of the bedroom. Stay connected via empire


    Another two or three minutes passed with no movement.


    Yan Junze grew somewhat impatient. He hadn''t moved his body, only twisted his neck slightly, then squinted his eyes, peering through the dim light from the window.


    In his line of sight, a woman with disheveled hair, wearing a red nightgown, stood at the foot of the bed, motionless, seemingly staring at the person lying there.

 Chapter 148 The Person Standing by the Bed

    Upon witnessing this scene, Yan Junze''s scalp exploded.He dared not move nor fully open his eyes to watch, but even with the limited view he had, he could still make out a resemblance to Bao Yunjing in that woman wearing the red nightgown.


    However, during the daytime, Bao Yunjing''s bangs were always neatly done, whereas now, this woman''s disheveled hair added a layer of terror.


    What mattered the most was that she had entered the room and didn''t move. She just stood at the foot of the bed like a wooden mannequin, her gaze unclear as if her eyes were closed, yet they seemed to be open as well.


    Yan Junze softly twisted his neck a bit more, slightly opening his eyes a bit more, but he was confident that with his back to the light coming in from outside, Bao Yunjing wouldn''t notice this minor movement.


    Upon opening his eyes slightly wider, it seemed he could see more clearly that the woman in the red nightgown was indeed Bao Yunjing, but it appeared as though her eyes were open.


    The reason Yan Junze got the impression she had her eyes closed was that in the eyes of the woman, there was no white in them, they were completely black, like ink.


    Fearful of being discovered, Yan Junze glanced briefly and then immediately closed his eyes.


    At the same time, he felt secretly relieved that Yan Wenwen had kept her eyes closed while Bao Yunjing was combing her hair; otherwise, if she had opened them for a look, she might have been scared into screaming immediately.


    What kind of consequences that would bring about was simply unimaginable.


    Bao Yunjing, wearing the red nightgown, just stood there, showing no intention of leaving, the scene was dead silent.


    Apart from Uncle Yan''s fearless snoring, there was the soundless, eerie aura spreading from Bao Yunjing throughout the room.


    Perhaps after another seven or eight minutes, Yan Junze remained rigid in his sleeping posture, not relaxing at all, so his limbs quickly began to feel numb.


    Just then, the sound of Bao Yunjing''s footsteps arose as she began to move, and her direction was toward Yan Junze''s side where he lay.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing, making himself look as if he was truly asleep.


    However, his ears were more sensitive than ever, not missing any movement made by Bao Yunjing.


    Bao Yunjing''s pace was still very slow. As she moved, her hands didn''t swing but hung straight down, like a lifeless corpse.


    Upon reaching the side where Yan Junze lay, she didn''t move further, just standing in front of him.


    Yan Junze once again narrowed his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he could see the woman in the red nightgown standing less than half a meter away from him.


    He dared not lift his head to look, so he didn''t know if the woman was looking down at him at the moment, or simply staring straight ahead.


    Perhaps Bao Yunjing no longer had a gaze at that moment, for there was no white in her eyes, only a field of black.


    Faintly, Yan Junze could see Bao Yunjing''s red nightgown undulating slightly. This indicated that the woman was indeed alive and not dead, as she was still breathing.


    Yet her current appearance was indistinguishable from that of a corpse, even more terrifying.


    It was very strange. Considering Bao Yunjing looked like she was possessed by the Possession Spirit, why had his Atlas not given any task notification?


    Could it be that this Possession Spirit truly had no Obsession?


    But without Obsession, then why would she behave in such a bizarre manner?


    Yan Junze was filled with a mass of thoughts but still couldn''t grasp any clues.


    Just then, the nightgown began to fold. Yan Junze was startled, realizing there was only one possibility for the nightgown to fold up like that ¨C Bao Yunjing was crouching down.


    He immediately closed his eyes, this time not even daring to risk narrowing his eyes to slits.


    Bao Yunjing did indeed crouch down, her head level with Yan Junze who lay on the bed.


    Her breathing was even, but her expression was stiff, her body slowly leaning forward, her eyes wide open, the pitch-black pupils seeming to glare at the "sleeping" Yan Junze.


    Even with his eyes closed, Yan Junze could still feel "something" approaching his face, like an intuition, a sixth sense.


    He could hear his own heartbeat clearly, like a heavy drum on the battlefield, pounding incessantly, almost leaping out of his throat.


    At that moment, Yan Junze''s whole body was covered in goosebumps, and a chill emerged, spreading all around his body.


    If it were any other time, he believed he would''ve damn well thrown a punch or already jumped out of the bed by now, but now, he managed to hold back.


    A moment later, Bao Yunjing''s lips began to slowly open, but they did not fully part; instead, halfway through, she made a bizarre sound from her throat next to Yan Junze''s ear.


    The sound was initially very soft but gradually began to grow louder.


    Yan Junze pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a few sentences, only to find the syllables uttered by Bao Yunjing were odd, not understanding a single one, yet she kept on making noises, kept on saying something non-stop.


    An eerie and inexplicable woman, lying next to one''s bed in the dead of night, with pupils that are black, mouth wide open, constantly uttering strange words.


    In this moment, Yan Junze felt he was about to lose his composure.


    However, he noticed at the same time that this way of speaking sounded much like someone muttering in their sleep, which is usually very mumbled. Clearly enunciated sleep talk is rare, unless the sentence is very short.


    After enduring for a while, just as Yan Junze felt he truly couldn''t keep it together any longer, the snoring of Old Yan sleeping beside him abruptly stopped.


    Old Yan mumbled something in his mouth as if he, too, was talking in his sleep. Then his body moved, appearing to wake up, mumbling something, suddenly shouting, "Who the hell is making noise in the middle of the night, shut up, shut up!"


    The Bao Yunjing, who was making those strange sounds, suddenly stopped with her mouth still open, her black pupils wide, completely motionless.


    "Damn, the old man is awesome!" Yan Junze, inadvertently rescued, felt a surge of genuine admiration for Old Yan.


    Squinting again, he looked forward.


    He saw that Bao Yunjing''s mouth had closed, and she was slowly standing up from beside him.


    "Not good, is this woman going to meddle with the old man?!" Yan Junze began to worry.


    He thought about whether he should take advantage of the moment Bao Yunjing walked to Old Yan''s side, to come up behind her and strike with a club.


    But then he thought about how there were no mission prompts yet, whether it was really a strangeness, and if it was, why would such a situation occur? If it turned out not to be a strangeness causing trouble, then if he were to hit Bao Yunjing with a club, wouldn''t he be sending her straight to the hospital?


    It would be a total loss if he ended up not receiving any reward but had to fork out a hefty medical bill.


    While considering this, unexpectedly, Bao Yunjing in her red dress stood up but did not walk to the side where Old Yan lay; instead, she turned and headed for the bedroom door.


    She opened the door, and the soft footsteps faded away.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, immediately sat up, and stood up without putting on his shoes.


    He then turned to glance at Old Yan and noticed that the snoring had picked up again as he had fallen back asleep. So, barefoot, he went to the bedroom door, likewise opened it, and quietly stepped out of the bedroom.


    Just as he left the bedroom, Yan Junze paused, only to see Yan Wenwen also coming out of her bedroom, seemingly peeking around into the master bedroom where Bao Yunjing had been.


    To avoid startling Yan Wenwen, Yan Junze made a "shh" sound to alert her, and then patted her shoulder from behind.


    Yan Wenwen remained standing in place, unresponsive.


    Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled and patted her shoulder again. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, Yan Wenwen turned around with a rigid posture, her pupils pitch black, her mouth slightly open, emitting that familiar eerie sound from her throat, looking at Yan Junze.

 Chapter 149 Old Yan

    Yan Junze never expected that Yan Wenwen standing here would also look just like Bao Yunjing had a moment ago.The instant he saw Yan Wenwen''s face, he was so frightened that his whole body shivered, and he nearly released the club in his hand to swing at her.


    However, in his haste, he chose to back away, stepping back to the doorway of Old Yan''s bedroom and then taking another step back, closing the door behind him with a reverse grip.


    The Yan Wenwen, who had turned around, did not chase after him but stared at Yan Junze with pitch-black pupils, her mouth slightly open, continuing to mutter something¡ªan extremely eerie scene!


    After closing the door, Yan Junze did not leave the doorway but gripped the doorknob with his right hand, his elbow lightly resting against the door.


    If Yan Wenwen tried to push from outside, he needed to ensure she could not burst through.


    Up to now, there was still no task prompt appearing.


    At this moment, Yan Junze couldn''t help but pull up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind to check it carefully. The Rewind line in the Atlas was operating normally, but there was still no new task prompt.


    What''s going on?


    Just as Yan Junze was perplexed, his right hand gripping the doorknob tightened¡ªsomeone was turning the doorknob from the outside.


    Immediately, Yan Junze increased the strength in his arms, leaning forward so that not only was he firmly holding down the doorknob, but he was also pushing his elbow against the door, making it impossible for the person outside to force it open with brute strength.


    At this point, Yan Junze really couldn''t gauge how strong Yan Wenwen might be, so he had to make adequate defenses while the strength she was applying was not yet overwhelming.


    In the moment when both inside and outside were exerting force, he freed his left hand, took hold of the bedroom door''s deadbolt, and twisted it sharply.


    With a click, the door was deadbolted.


    Phew!


    Yan Junze took a breath, slowly eased the strength in his arm twisting the doorknob, then gradually let go, keeping his hands ready to grab the doorknob again if needed, slowly moving away from it.


    He didn''t notice that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his palm was also clammy from gripping the doorknob.


    "That should...keep her out for the time being."


    The next second, the doorknob moved slightly, but the locked door did not turn, and then no more sounds came through.


    Yan Junze''s gaze was fixed tightly on the doorknob, silent.


    After a moment, he realized it was unnaturally quiet, and noticed that Old Yan''s snoring had disappeared at some point.


    Slowly turning his head, his pupils contracted when he saw that Old Yan was no longer lying in bed but had sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed as if ready to put on shoes and get up.


    This position looked very normal, just like Yan Wenwen who was peering into the master bedroom from the doorway; it looked like nothing was amiss from the back.


    But Yan Junze didn''t dare to call out to Old Yan carelessly, learning from his past mistake. He just stood there at the bedroom doorway, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on the motionless Old Yan.


    It was very weird; this old fellow might have become just like Bao Yunjing and Yan Wenwen.


    Old Yan just sat on the edge of the bed, silent, without any movement as time slowly passed.


    The bedroom fell silent without his snoring, dead silent.


    No more sounds came from outside the door; it was uncertain whether Yan Wenwen was still standing there waiting.


    Yan Junze hesitated over whether to open the door to check.


    At that moment, Old Yan''s sitting figure moved slightly as he stood up but did not put on his shoes. Barefoot, he stepped onto the floor, dragging his legs away from the edge of the bed.


    His walking posture was very strange; his head hung low, his hands hung down and did not swing, but his back was straight. Only his feet seemed to be dragged along.


    One step, another step, he moved away from the bed, walked to the center of the bedroom, to the same spot where Bao Yunjing had previously stood.


    However, he did not stop, but took one step after another, slowly walking towards Yan Junze.


    Not a sound was made.


    There stood Yan Junze at the doorway, unblinkingly staring at the eerily approaching Old Yan.


    Upon seeing this scene, his body involuntarily moved back, pressing against the door; his right hand reached out to grab the doorknob, while his left hand clasped the latch of the door lock.


    His gaze was still fixed on Old Yan, who continued to approach.


    As soon as Old Yan got within three meters of him, he would immediately open the door and leave the bedroom.


    If Yan Wenwen was still guarding outside the door at this moment, he would have no choice but to Rewind. Otherwise, unless he took out a club for a forceful attack, there would be a high likelihood of accidentally harming these people.


    Just as Old Yan was about to reach Yan Junze, the next second, Old Yan suddenly changed direction, heading towards the wall not far from the door.


    On that snow-white wall, about the height of a person, there was a faint black mark; Old Yan went to the wall, his body rigid as a rod, devoid of any feebleness of old age, silently standing facing the wall.


    After witnessing this sight, Yan Junze was perplexed when a sudden ''thud'' startled him.


    He saw Old Yan''s forehead hitting the wall continually, creating ''thud thud thud'' sounds.


    Each collision was loud, like the regular swing of a pendulum, striking the wall without any sense of pain. It was then that Yan Junze finally understood how the black mark on the wall came to be.


    "Should I Rewind?" Yan Junze began to ponder.


    There had been no task alert yet, but by this point, he had not encountered any danger except for the chilling horror; the situation did not seem to have escalated to a very serious level.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly realized a terrifying fact. Perhaps, the people in this Yan family, every night, were like this.


    The collision still continued; Yan Junze had no intention of intervening, for fear of triggering some unforeseen terror.


    After some thought, he gritted his teeth, turned the privacy latch with a ''click,'' then quickly twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and stood in the doorway.


    There was nothing outside the door; Yan Wenwen was no longer there.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and immediately stepped outside, closing the door behind him.


    The sound of the collision inside the room continued to resonate, leading Yan Junze to suspect that the old man''s claim of having severe amnesia might stem from actions like these.


    He took a closer look at Yan Wenwen''s room; the door was closed, and no noise was coming from inside. Yan Junze did not dare to open the door and court disaster. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Approaching the door of the master bedroom nearby, he found, to his surprise, that the door was ajar.


    Could it be that Bao Yunjing hadn''t returned to the bedroom?


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the master bedroom, pushing the door slightly more open so that the light from the outside could shine in. He leaned in, squinting to see.


    Someone was sleeping on the bed, but it wasn''t the male owner, Yan He; it was the female owner, Bao Yunjing¡ªas the slippers on the floor were women''s.


    Bao Yunjing had gone back to the bedroom and lain down again, while the side of the bed where Yan He would usually sleep was empty, without a trace.


    Bao Yunjing seemed to be sleeping deeply, her breathing heavy, almost at the point of snoring.


    Yan Junze turned around and listened carefully; the colliding sound in Old Yan''s room had ceased. Indeed, if one kept ramming like that, it wouldn''t just be amnesia¡ªa direct descent into dementia was possible.


    Yan Wenwen must have returned to her own bedroom by now.


    Standing at the doorway of the master bedroom, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the video camera set up in the living room, which was still operating.


    Certainly, the camera on his chest was also running.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the direction of the balcony.

 Chapter 150 Everyones Been Had

    ```The rustling sound was very faint, as if a mouse were scurrying, or something snatching at food.


    Yan Junze turned his head and looked towards the balcony.


    To get to the balcony from the master bedroom, one had to pass through the living room''s bathroom and then push open the balcony door.


    However, at this moment, the balcony door was open.


    After a brief thought, he walked over and arrived at the glass sliding door to the balcony. He didn''t step out immediately but first checked the weather tonight.


    Just as he suspected, there were heavy clouds piled up, not a trace of the moon in sight, and no moonlight shining through.


    If it weren''t for the streetlights outside, he might have needed to turn on a flashlight to see the balcony''s decor at this moment.


    He stepped out slowly onto the balcony, his gaze fixed on a man crouched with his back to him.


    The man wore only a pair of shorts, bare-chested and barefoot, crouching in front of a row of flower pots planted with vegetation, from where the rustling sounds were coming.


    From Yan Junze''s perspective, it was clear that the man, although not seeming especially fat, still had enough flesh to show off rolls of fat as he crouched there, looking as if he were wrapped with a lifebuoy around his stomach.


    Who else could this be if not Yan He?


    Not sleeping, instead crouching outside on the balcony at this hour, fiddling with the flower pots. No normal person would do such a thing.


    So, it was highly probable that, like the people inside the house, he too had encountered a strangeness.


    Yan Junze didn''t call out to him but just stood at the entrance to the balcony and stared at him for a moment, then tiptoed back into the living room.


    Crouched before the flower pots, Yan He now held the soil in his hands, his eyes pitch-black, slowly bringing it to his mouth, taking a deep breath, and then mechanically putting the soil into his mouth.


    One bite at a time, he chewed unhurriedly.


    After returning to the room, Yan Junze didn''t enter Old Yan''s bedroom but went to the sofa in the living room and sat in the shadow by the corner of the wall.


    From this position, unless someone came close and looked carefully, it was very difficult to spot him sitting in the corner''s shadow.


    After sitting down, Yan Junze composed himself slightly.


    Now that the whole family was showing abnormalities, if it were a Possession Spirit, then the horror of this Possession Spirit was probably far beyond Yan Junze''s imagination. Moreover, the attachments were sudden, suggesting that it was probably not as simple as just one.


    Once seated, Yan Junze began to wrack his brains in thought.


    Since he had walked into this house, each person had shown some manner of strange behavior, some more and some less. It was only because Yan He had come back later that it wasn''t apparent.


    But by the time night fell, everyone had changed.


    Hmm, everyone?


    Yan Junze suddenly paused. He took down the camera he had on his chest, removed the memory card inside, walked over to the decorative cabinet in the living room, stopped the camera that was recording, and looked around the room for a moment.


    Then, Yan Junze entered the bathroom next to the kitchen, closed the door, and locked it.


    Next, he inserted the memory card taken from the camera into the camcorder. The screen showed that it was reading data.


    After reading the data, Yan Junze opened the file on the memory card and searched for a moment, muted the volume, and then began to play the video just recorded.


    The camera started recording from the moment he lay down on the bed in Old Yan''s room.


    Yan Junze remembered being very careful when he turned over in bed; he was afraid of dislodging the direction of the camera.


    The video started playing from the moment he laid down on the bed. Since the camera was worn on his chest, it looked a bit like a first-person perspective.


    In the video, after lying down, he placed his phone on the bedside table, then quietly closed his eyes.


    At that time, he hadn''t paid attention to how much time had passed.


    But according to the video, it was 5 minutes and 41 seconds after the recording started that his hand suddenly raised, covering the camera for a second, and then reached for the phone on the bedside table the next second.


    "Hm?"


    Yan Junze''s brows furrowed as he stared at the actions of himself in the video.


    ```


    What''s going on?


    He remembered lying down without moving, only fully opening his eyes and picking up the phone after he suddenly noticed the screen lighting up.


    But at this moment, the video showed his right hand slowly reaching toward the phone and then lighting up the screen.


    Looking from the direction of the camera, the frame was a bit tilted, but still visible. And when the phone lit up, showing a screen that required a password, Yan Junze''s hand hesitated.


    About two or three seconds later, his index finger reached out and tapped several times on the phone screen.


    "Password incorrect, you have 4 attempts left" text prompt immediately popped up.


    The hand that was reached out snapped back quickly, and the next second, his own body moved.


    Awake!


    "Damn it!"


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt a chill spread throughout his body, feeling as if none of his limbs belonged to him at that moment.


    He had never expected that he had been asleep at the time, and that shortly after he had fallen asleep, something unusual happened¡ªit was as if someone controlled his body, lit up the phone on the bedside table, and even entered the password incorrectly.


    All along, Yan Junze had only thought there was something odd about the family in this house, but he did not expect that on his first night here, he too would be subjected to an unknown control.


    The moment just then was very short, and only his right hand acted unconsciously. He believed it was not possible for a Possession Spirit to have attached itself to him, perhaps... there was some other unknown reason?


    The moment he realized the phone password was incorrect, he felt no abnormalities, truly just shutting his eyes for a while, without any discomfort.


    But this room...


    Yan Junze lifted his head, feeling as if every corner of the room was no longer safe, as though hiding a strangeness undetectable even by the Spacetime Atlas, lurking somewhere, ready to move at any moment, controlling everyone.


    After he involuntarily glanced around the corner of the bathroom, footsteps came from outside the door.


    The sound was similarly of bare feet on the floor, heavy.


    After a while, a silhouette slowly passed by outside the glass door of the bathroom.


    With a bit of a belly, slightly overweight, it was Yan He who had been squatting on the balcony just before.


    Through the glass door, it was clear to see that his way of walking was just as strange, standing with a straight back, hands hanging stiff at his sides, his feet as if weighted with lead, dragging along the ground.


    He quickly passed by the front of the bathroom, and from the sound of it, he entered the master bedroom and there was no more noise.


    One could guess that he probably went back to lie down in bed.


    Yan Junze had not seen Yan He eat dirt, so he had no idea that when Bao Yunjing awoke early the next morning and saw her husband''s mouth full of dirt, she would be utterly terrified. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From his point of view, the eerie scenes in this house seemed to have come to an end for the evening. Not only the Yan family members, but even himself, a newcomer of just one day, had experienced abnormalities to some extent.


    "No mission prompt, there''s been no mission prompt."


    He muttered to himself quietly.


    It couldn''t be a problem with the Spacetime Atlas, and given the abnormal behavior of this family, it was hard for Yan Junze to believe it had nothing to do with strangeness.


    But what was the cause of the current situation?


    "There is strangeness, definitely strangeness!"


    Yan Junze whispered to himself.


    The next second, his eyes slightly brightened as he immediately accessed the Atlas in his mind, using Different Dimension Energy to activate the "Perception of Strange Events".


    In the instant the function was activated, in just under two seconds, a mission information was rapidly detected and popped up.


    Just one glance at the content of the mission, especially the mission level, Yan Junze''s face immediately turned pale, as he involuntarily read out loud.


    "Mission level: Terrified (Medium)."

 Chapter 151 Terrified

    ```The task information that popped up in his mind left Yan Junze briefly glimpsing it before he was completely shocked by the "Terrified (Medium)" mentioned in the task level.


    He had never expected that the level of the task he detected would be so high!


    Before this, the highest level task he had encountered was only "Hair-raising (Low)," which were [Look at Her Face] and the upgraded [Reflection Under the Moonlight].


    [Look at Her Face] was smoothly completed without any worries due to Ke''er''s existence. However, [Reflection Under the Moonlight], although completed, obviously left a tail¡ªan enigmatic Fang Ning who wanted "every next second" of his company, hidden within his own shadow.


    Yan Junze had never thought that the task he now detected would be "Terrified (Medium)"!


    This was clearly a higher level than the "Hair-raising" level tasks.


    Once he had steadied himself from the initial shock, he carefully read through all the content of the task that had popped up.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Spectacular Courtyard No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park, in the sealed underground space.]


    [Task Name: Tricky Silk;


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: As the prime instigator of numerous strangenesses, perhaps for it, this is all but a joke.


    Task Description: Join it in a game, or pull an even bigger joke on it;


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Become its plaything;


    Task Tip: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Pay attention to those threads;


    Note: It is recommended not to contact it before you have enough Different Dimension Energy to Rewind.]


    Although Yan Junze did not know where No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park in the Spectacular Courtyard was, the information in the task was very clear.


    The detected supernatural entity was of a high, terrifying level and enjoyed joking around, being the culprit behind many strange events.


    Looking at it this way, Yan Junze had already guessed the weird occurrences happening within the Yan family''s home.


    It was likely related to the horror in No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park¡ªeverything might just be one of its jokes, a terrifying, even fatal joke to ordinary people.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was stunned as, without any warning, four pieces of task information surged into his mind.


    These tasks were different from the usual ones, with brief content and a similar nature, leaving Yan Junze almost unable to react for a moment.


    [Detecting subtasks...]


    [The Yan family at Unit 3-1, Building B, No. 6 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ...


    [The Lin family at Unit 11-2, Building F, No. 7 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ...


    ...


    The four subtask pieces of information came from the Yan, Lin, Li, and Zhao families, all residing within the Spectacular Courtyard but from different buildings.


    This indicated that besides the Yan family, there were three other families within the community also affected by the supernatural from Mountain Park, disturbed by some Ghost Silk.


    However, these four subtasks had no task rewards, meaning that even if completed, Yan Junze would receive no Different Dimension Energy unless he completed the main task named [Tricky Silk].


    Now he finally understood why since he had entered the Yan family''s residence and noticed something was amiss, he had not automatically sensed any task information.


    ```


    ```


    The original source was not in the house, but in an underground space of Mountain Park No. 2, which should be some distance away from here.


    By now, Yan Junze had gradually formed an idea in his mind.


    For him at the moment, completing a task rated "Terrified (Medium)" was basically impossible.


    Or even if it could be completed, with the constant use of Rewind, it would probably be a case of more-likely-dead-than-alive.


    Because the task prompt made it clear that he should have enough Different Dimension Energy for Rewind; otherwise, if the energy was insufficient, there was a high probability of being drained to death there.


    Upon further consideration, the task filled Yan Junze with dread.


    He couldn''t take it on; the high-level task was still beyond his current capabilities.


    However, not being able to take on this task did not mean the four subtasks were impossible to complete. Even though the subtasks did not offer Different Dimension Energy as a reward, rewards were not necessarily energy¡ªmoney would do as well. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And in cases where there was no energy but only money as a reward, Yan Junze would certainly ask for more as compensation.


    As for the real main task, he would wait until the day when his strength was sufficient.


    After putting away the camera and the heads, Yan Junze left the bathroom and checked the time on his phone¡ªit was almost 3 a.m.


    He didn''t plan to go back to Old Yan''s bedroom to sleep; otherwise, if the old man suddenly got up while asleep, it always gave him an unsettling feeling.


    Yan Junze lay down on the sofa in the living room and made do for the night.


    In the second half of the night, there were no more disturbances in the room. However, he still only managed to fall asleep around 5 a.m.


    He was woken up by Bao Yunjing''s shouting.


    Upon waking up and seeing her husband''s mouth full of dirt, as well as the pillow and sheets stained with soil, Bao Yunjing was so scared that she exploded on the spot.


    After waking up, Yan He was equally shocked by his own appearance and vomited in the bathroom before hurriedly taking a shower. Meanwhile, Bao Yunjing hurriedly changed the bedding.


    Additionally, Old Yan lay on the bed, groaning, and when the family gathered around, they found the old man as if he had won a lottery, with a large, shiny bump on his head, which scared Bao Yunjing into hastily applying some lard to it with utmost care.


    After dealing with everything, Yan Junze sat on the sofa and called everyone over.


    He pointed to the camera placed to the side and began, "Your strange behaviors last night have all been recorded, and I have a general understanding of what happened. I have found the cause."


    "What exactly is going on?" asked Bao Yunjing.


    "It''s not serious, you were just possessed by a Possession Spirit," he said.


    The real situation was very complicated, and Yan Junze did not plan to tell them.


    "Then, may I ask, how long will it take for you to deal with this?" Yan He, who had just finished showering and was drying his hair, asked eagerly.


    "Just a few days, mainly because I still need to prepare some things," Yan Junze replied.


    "Alright, that''s no problem... Thank you in advance," Bao Yunjing nodded, then looked at Yan He.


    Yan He understood, turned around, went back to the bedroom, and came out a short while later with a stuffed envelope. It was bulging with money.


    "This is just part of it," Bao Yunjing said. "After you''ve done the job, we will treat you to a meal and thank you some more!"


    "We appreciate your help," added Yan He.


    Yan Wenwen watched Yan Junze but didn''t speak.


    However, Yan Junze nodded at her, "Wenwen, it''s okay, just hang in there a few more days."


    "Okay," she replied.


    At this time, Old Yan did not come out but lay in the bedroom with a severe headache.


    After leaving the Yan family''s place, Yan Junze didn''t go home but immediately headed to the management office of Spectacular Courtyard with his backpack.


    ```

 Chapter 153 Mountain Park No. 2

    Before long, Yan Junze had negotiated with the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family. Apart from the young Lin Hong who had to go back and consult with his family, the other two families agreed on the spot.Later that evening, Yan Junze came over to install cameras at home.


    Upon leaving the Spectacular Courtyard, Yan Junze immediately called Bao Jie, briefly explained the situation at her aunt''s place, and then asked to borrow a few more pieces of recording equipment.


    Whether portable cameras or webcams, as long as they could record video, he wanted to borrow them.


    Bao Jie normally enjoyed tinkering with these things, and to her credit, she was indeed able to lend out five devices. Regardless of their size, model, or resolution, as long as they worked, Yan Junze didn''t care.


    Together with his own camera and one webcam, he had nearly enough equipment.


    Of course, he did not reveal the true supernatural occurrences he had discovered to Bao Jie, merely explaining them as a Possession Spirit.


    Everyone knew about Possession Spirits. Previously, Teacher Zhang Tiantian from the school had been possessed by one, and now she was said to be living in a Rehabilitation Hospital, showing some improvement, though it was uncertain when she could be discharged.


    The primary purpose of collecting footage of the strange occurrences at the other three families'' homes was twofold. First, to ascertain whether their experiences were similar to Bao Yunjing''s, as this involved the "Tricky Silk" mentioned in the task.


    If the strangenesses differed, he would need to formulate a new plan.


    Using recording equipment for filming could gather information quickly. If he went to experience each family''s situation in person, it would not only take too much time, but also risk causing additional trouble. A prolonged delay could even endanger the lives of these families.


    The second purpose was to process and edit the videos before uploading them to a video platform. He believed that with the professional team from Tang Zhengyi''s end handling the production and editing, these videos of roughly similar encounters would make for intriguing and thrilling short clips.


    Yan Junze still remembered a horror movie from his previous life, where a family''s house was haunted. The homeowner had bought a DV camera to record in the bedroom at night, capturing a series of terrifying scenes.


    The authenticity of those images made the film a box office success, yielding a huge profit for the investors.


    Of course, that was a movie, while his current footage was real, and being a series of shorts, he believed the effect after editing would undoubtedly be even better.


    That evening, armed with the recording equipment, Yan Junze visited the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family successively.


    Old Master Li from the Li Family even went to Bao Yunjing''s home to verify Yan Junze''s claims, and after confirming the truth, he promptly gave Yan Junze a deposit of ten thousand yuan.


    Once the installation and testing were complete with no issues, Yan Junze also warned the members of the three households not to tamper with the installed equipment. He would return first thing the next morning to collect the footage, and then take care of their troubles.


    Afterward, Yan Junze obtained the address of Mountain Park from Bao Yunjing and headed to Spectacular Courtyard''s No. 2 leisure Mountain Park.


    This Mountain Park, situated near the Garden Villa area, covered a large area. The developers had transformed an original small hill into a park, and at its base was a large plaza fitted with various exercise equipment.


    When Yan Junze arrived to scout the location, the plaza was bustling with people. In such affluent living spaces, any strangeness would usually be resolved quickly.


    Thus, the residents had little to worry about.


    What they did not know was that beneath the Mountain Park, a highly mysterious and terrifying entity was hidden in an Underground Space.


    What exactly an Underground Space was, Yan Junze was also not too clear. By literal definition, it should be an individual space created below or inside the small hill when the park was built.


    Or perhaps the hill was originally hollow, and the interior might have been repurposed to construct an Underground Space to store miscellaneous items.


    Yan Junze circled the Mountain Park and found a closed iron gate at the foot of the hill on the opposite side of the plaza.


    This iron gate resembled an old school gate but was sealed, hiding its interior from view. A warning sign was posted on the outside: No Trespassing.


    If we''re talking about an underground space, this place might be the most similar to the one under Mountain Park.


    Unfortunately, because the area outside the door is rather spacious and flat, it has already been occupied by a group of elderly men and women spinning tops.


    There were at least a dozen huge tops spinning on the ground, humming and whistling, and Yan Junze even saw an old man in a vest and shorts, wielding a whip in each hand, simultaneously lashing two giant tops, truly impressive.


    He turned around and left.


    With such a group of old men and women here, it would be virtually impossible to come by during the day to pick up tasks, only at night when no one''s around.


    Moreover, the weather was good today, and there was likely to be moonlight tonight, and since the video shooting was still ongoing, Yan Junze decided not to act this evening.


    When he got home, he threw the money in two envelopes to his mother, Li Man, "Mom, this is what I just earned. This time, we really don''t have to worry about the college tuition; you can keep the money you''ve saved up for something you like."


    "Son, did you shoot another video?" Yan Daguo''s eyes lit up as he approached.


    "Yeah," Yan Junze nodded, "This time the video was easy to shoot, and it''s a series of videos. I expect the earnings to be sky-high, so brace yourselves."


    To alleviate his parents'' concerns, when it came to making money from video shooting, he was always vague and planned to include the compensation from the four families in the video fees as well.


    That night, the Yan couple was extremely excited; they hadn''t expected their son to be so adept at this line of work, and it seemed to them it wasn''t as dangerous as they had imagined.


    Having hardly slept the night before at Bao Yunjing''s house, Yan Junze climbed into bed early and had a good night''s sleep.


    The next day, he immediately hurried to Spectacular Courtyard, visiting the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family in succession.


    He didn''t immediately take the videos away but sat in each of their homes, reviewed the footage, found that all had captured strange occurrences, and then took the equipment with him.


    Back at home, he copied all the videos into his computer, did a rough edit for each family to keep them separate, and made sure they wouldn''t get mixed up.


    Upon careful observation, the strangenesses encountered by these three families were basically no different from those at Bao Yunjing''s house. If they were affected by Tricky Silk, the effects should be the same. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then Yan Junze gave Tang Zhengyi a call, making it clear that all faces in the videos had to be concealed, and some of the valuable room furnishings needed to be blurred. As the other side was waiting to receive the videos, he transmitted them, leaving the professional team at the platform to handle the production.


    Of course, he would need to watch the sample pieces first and approve them before they could be uploaded to the platform.


    Tang Zhengyi valued this series of videos greatly because such videos were rare. He stated that he would personally oversee the editing to ensure the most true, most bizarre, most terrifying effects.


    When someone gets serious, the speed can be strangely fast.


    By the afternoon, the video was produced and reviewed by Tang Zhengyi, then passed on to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze watched it twice, pointed out a few areas that needed to be modified, and after showing it to Bao Yunjing, he agreed to upload it to the platform.


    He had planned to start his task that day, completing the four sub-tasks, but to his surprise, the weather had been good for several days in a row, with bright moonlight every night.


    At this time, he didn''t dare to go out to execute the task at random, since the main task was "Terrified (Medium)," and it was best not to encounter other dangers while carrying out its branches.


    If the moonlight was bright at a critical moment and Fang Ning suddenly appeared to interfere, it could become the last straw that broke him.


    So Yan Junze kept his patience and held back.


    Although he hadn''t been able to go out to execute the task, there was suddenly big news from the video platform.

 Chapter 154 The Spread of Smiling Anger

    "Your video series has been explosive," Tang Zhengyi couldn''t hide his excitement.As a veteran editor who had been through thick and thin on video platforms, to tell the truth, it had become quite rare for any piece of work to make him lose control.


    Tang Zhengyi couldn''t remember the last time he had seen such an explosion of video series, but as far as his memory served, this was the first of its kind.


    Still excited on the phone, Tang Zhengyi continued, "Four clips, each with over one and a half million hits. That clip where you''re wearing the camera is the hottest, with hits breaking three million, comments surpassing two hundred thousand."


    Yan Junze was also surprised, then quickly asked, "Is it pay-per-view, or free?"


    "According to the platform''s rules, the first twelve hours are free, then it switches to pay-per-view," Tang Zhengyi laughed. "I set a very reasonable price, and with your honorary title, you''ll split the revenue fifty-fifty with the site. And that doesn''t even include tips!"


    Yan Junze didn''t speak, he was already calculating roughly how much revenue he''d receive.


    "However, according to most of the comments, these videos, while terrifying and thrilling, end without a conclusion. It''s a minor flaw," Tang Zhengyi added. "If you manage to capture and conclude the stories of these families, the effect would be even better."


    "Hmm, I plan to finish filming the following videos in the next couple of days and then send them to you," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Do you need us to join in?" Tang Zhengyi asked.


    "No need," Yan Junze shook his head, "It''s easier for me to work alone, and less likely that unnecessary accidents will happen."


    "Alright, I''ll be waiting for your good news," Tang Zhengyi hung up.


    Because another call was coming in at that moment, he looked at the screen, which displayed Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi frowned and answered the call.


    "Editor Tang, hello," Cheng Jingting''s voice sounded rather pleased. "That Night Traveling Puppy providing videos for you, fantastic! Four clips shot in succession, each one more splendid than the last. You''re surely a shoo-in for this year''s editorial department''s grand year-end bonus." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Just good luck," Tang Zhengyi smiled.


    "Well, I''ll get straight to the point," Cheng Jingting immediately dove into the main issue, "He''s really good. Help me contact him again; I really need him for my next Spirit Exploration project. Ask him once more if he''s willing."


    "That puts me in a tough spot," Tang Zhengyi''s smile faded.


    Cheng Jingting seemed not to notice the change in his tone and said, "Just one word from me, and Boss Ao, Boss Tian, they can buy your videos in the future. Price is not an issue. Videos purchased can be uploaded to the platform after seven days. You know they could easily lift you up to the chief editor position."


    Tang Zhengyi didn''t say a word.


    Cheng Jingting continued, "You know, Editor Mo Tingting has many more tricks up her sleeve than you, and I know at least three bosses supporting her. Without someone to look after you from behind the scenes, it''s hard to climb up, isn''t it?"


    "Puppy has already declined your invitation last time," Tang Zhengyi spoke, "I think if I were to ask again, the result would be no different from before."


    "You don''t need to contact him. Give me his number, and I''ll handle it directly," said Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi shook his head, "It''s not that I won''t give you his number, but right now Night Traveling Puppy is busy shooting the final part of this series. He''s tight on time and probably doesn''t have the energy to join your Spirit Exploration."


    "Oh? There''s one more part? If that comes out, the achievements are going to be¡­" Cheng Jingting''s voice wavered, then after a pause, he spoke with a smile, "The homes in those videos on the platform, they seem quite lavishly decorated, shot in some luxury residence, right?"


    Tang Zhengyi remained silent.


    "FS Residence? Crown Three Thousand County? Purple Luxury Residence? Spectacular Courtyard?" As Cheng Jingting was guessing, he continued, "If I persuade him to join my Spirit Exploration Team, that counts as your achievement too. The big bosses will back you to overpower Mo Tingting in minutes."


    Tang Zhengyi''s face tensed a bit.


    "You just need to give me his number and name, I''ll take care of the rest. OK?"


    After roughly half a minute of silence, Tang Zhengyi quickly blurted out a few words, then hung up the phone.


    ...


    The dark clouds engulfed the moon tonight, making it seem like the perfect weather for Yan Junze to venture out.


    As he peered at the sky that looked ready to rain at any moment, Yan Junze felt a surge of excitement. After preparing his backpack, he immediately left the house.


    The weather was such that even if it did rain, it wouldn''t be heavy, and it was very likely to be just a passing shower.


    Of course, he could have waited a little longer, but having been waiting for several days already, and finally encountering a moonless night, Yan Junze considered that those living in Spectacular Courtyard might not be as willing to wait.


    Just as he stepped out, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was an unfamiliar number. Yan Junze hesitated for two seconds before pressing the end call button.


    Before he even reached the stairway, the phone rang again.


    It was the same number displaying on the screen.


    Generally, it was unlikely for a telemarketing call to come through twice in a row¡ªmeaning it might actually be important.


    After a brief consideration, Yan Junze pressed the answer button.


    "Hello, Night Traveling Puppy, this is Cheng Jingting," a stranger''s voice came through.


    Yan Junze paused, recalling the fellow Tang Zhengyi had mentioned before, who seemed to be some sort of internet celebrity on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    "Hmm, how did you get my number?"


    Cheng Jingting laughed, "On the platform, no one''s contact information is a secret. Hmm, I''m inviting you to join a Spirit Exploration Team, would you be interested? The compensation is quite substantial."


    "Not interested," Yan Junze said as he descended the stairs, ready to hang up after his reply.


    "You might want to think it over, no need to rush. In a week''s time..."


    Cheng Jingting''s words were cut off as Yan Junze interrupted him, "No need to think about it, I can answer now. Really not interested."


    The call ended.


    Sitting in front of the computer, Cheng Jingting held the phone that now emitted a busy tone, his face adorned with a playful smile.


    After sitting for two minutes, he slowly stood up.


    Recalling what Tang Zhengyi had just said, he muttered to himself, "By the sound of it, he''s rushing to finish the final video shoot, isn''t he?"


    As he spoke, he walked over to a wall adorned with an overhead map of Shuntian City, which had areas marked in black and red.


    Some were circled, others crossed out.


    Cheng Jingting extended his index finger, tapping on the map, and muttered, "Luxury residential area?"


    His finger glided across the map, eventually coming to rest above the Spectacular Courtyard.


    There, on the side of the Spectacular Courtyard close to Mountain Park, a circle was drawn in red.


    "Damn, this guy''s got guts! Must''ve found this place."


    He remembered that their Spirit Exploration Team had marked it as one of the most dangerous areas of strangeness in Shuntian City, also currently a forbidden zone for their investigations.


    Cheng Jingting had estimated that should any strangeness erupt in this place, it would be at least Grade B or higher.


    "This Night Traveling Puppy, even if he does go to the Spectacular Courtyard, he probably wouldn''t dare to enter this forbidden zone; there might be another reason." As he spoke, Cheng Jingting slapped his forehead, as if he had thought of something, and said to himself, "Even if you''re not going there, since you don''t want to join us, then I might just spice things up for you."


    With that, he turned to glance towards the bedside behind him.


    Enjoy new chapters from empire


    There, a naked child with purplish-blue skin stood silently, blue liquid dripping drop by drop from the corners of his lips and nostrils.

 Chapter 155 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 1)

    Of course, where Night Traveling Puppy actually went to film videos was just a guess by Cheng Jingting, and he wasn''t completely sure.But this guess was already worth a try.


    After some thought, Cheng Jingting walked over to a row of clay pots in the corner, opened one of them, and reached inside, stirring something around as if mixing it.


    Then he scooped out a large blob of pitch-black liquid that was extremely viscous, resembling the mucus sprayed out by some giant monster, and dropped it on the floor with a splat.


    The child who had been standing behind him began to tremble slightly at the sight of the black, viscous liquid, as if some desire inside him was surging, with more green liquid seeping from his eyes, nose, and corners of his mouth.


    Cheng Jingting ignored the boy''s changes and squat down, extending his index finger to stir the viscous liquid, seemingly trying to make it more even.


    Then, he started writing in it with deliberate strokes.


    In no time, the three characters for "Yan Junze" were messily inscribed in the thick liquid.


    Cheng Jingting looked at his handiwork, seemingly pleased, stood up, and while admiring the three characters without looking up, he spoke to the boy standing by the bed, "Little Su Jie, it''s your turn to go on stage. Remember to bring back all those chaotic video cameras and other equipment."


    The boy named Little Su Jie silently walked towards the black sludge, his shivers growing more violent. Approaching it, he suddenly pounced to the floor and started greedily sucking it in mouthful after mouthful.


    Soon, he had licked all the viscous liquid clean, and the three characters for Yan Junze were all consumed into his belly.


    Cheng Jingting watched in silence as Little Su Jie stood up, then leaped soundlessly to the wall next to the window, clinging to it like a large spider, and quickly crawled out through the open window.


    Thud thud thud...


    The sound of knocking suddenly arose at that moment.


    Cheng Jingting was slightly startled, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, then frowned and opened the door.


    Outside stood a haggard woman in a earthy yellow dress, around her early thirties, with a rather dull and lifeless gaze.


    After Cheng Jingting opened the door, she spoke mechanically, "My child, my child is missing. Have you... have you seen my child?"


    "Er, sorry, I haven''t seen him," Cheng Jingting was about to close the door but then thought better of it and opened it a crack again, saying, "This is the 37th time you''ve asked me, and I don''t want there to be a next time. Otherwise, I will report you for neighbor harassment. Thank you."


    With an indifferent face, as if she had lost her spirit, the woman turned silently away. However, instead of leaving, she went to the door across from Cheng Jingting''s room and knocked on that family''s door.


    Cheng Jingting closed the door, muttering, "It''s only a child, can''t she just have another one at her young age? She''s a crazy woman indeed."


    ...


    Even though there was no moonlight, Yan Junze still carried an umbrella when he left the house.


    The objective of this mission was simple, to locate the underground space in Mountain Park, and, without touching the creator of Tricky Silk, the main mission''s Boss, clear out the Tricky Silk that connected the four families and complete the side quest.


    For now, he didn''t plan on completing the Tricky Silk, the high-level horror task.


    That would have to wait for later, and, at the very least, it wouldn''t happen until Exorcists of four or five stars hadn''t already discovered and dealt with the culprit behind the Tricky Silk.


    Otherwise, it wouldn''t be his turn.


    After registering at the Spectacular Courtyard''s security duty room for a visit, naturally to Bao Yunjing''s family, Yan Junze ran over to Bao Yunjing''s place to inform them that he would solve their problem that night.


    Around ten o''clock, he left the house and headed towards Mountain Park No. 2. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were still people moving about at night in the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area, but far fewer in number. Yan Junze had changed into a black tracksuit that day to avoid being spotted as he roamed around Mountain Park.


    He arrived at the closed iron gate at the back of the park with practiced ease, following the locations he had previously scouted.


    At this time, the open ground in front of the gate was deserted; the old men and women who had been spinning tops there had long dispersed, but the marks left by the spinning tops on the ground were still very clear.


    Standing before the gate, Yan Junze activated the Rewind and kept it cycling, then he took the camera out of his backpack, placed it on his chest, and set the video camera on a flat stone facing the gate.


    Next, he took out a pair of portable bolt cutters and slowly approached the gate.


    As he neared the gate without yet attempting to snip the iron lock, a mission information suddenly popped up in his mind.


    [Tricky Silk]


    The content of the mission information was exactly the same as what he had detected on his own last time. It seemed that this place was indeed the Underground Space mentioned in the mission.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze hesitated slightly; if he opened the gate, would he simultaneously trigger the main mission?


    But on second thought, since the mission prompt included these four sub-missions, it indicated that the sub-missions could be completed separately, as long as he was careful.


    If it was too dangerous, he could just Rewind to the present and think of another strategy.


    Lifting the bolt cutters, he clamped onto the iron lock, and with a snap, the lock was easily cut through.


    Yan Junze placed the bolt cutters on the ground behind him, gently removed the broken iron lock, handled it with care, and then pulled on the right side of the gate, slowly opening it outward.


    To his surprise, the iron gate made no sound as it opened, very quiet.


    After the iron gate was opened, a pitch-black space was revealed, where nothing could be seen.


    Of course, this didn''t faze the clever Yan Junze, who exuded a strong air of youthful bravado. He took out two flashlights, turned them both on, fixed one to his waist, and held the other in his left hand.


    Then, he released the club with his right hand.


    He didn''t plan to release Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster again; there was no way around it. After facing the instigator behind the Tricky Silk, aside from exposing the fact that their levels were too low and they were more bother than help, they were almost of no use.


    For now, Yan Junze didn''t want to waste Rewind Energy on this, as the mission prompt was clear: before provoking "it," he had to ensure he had enough Rewind Energy.


    In the dark space near the gate, a large amount of messy tables and chairs were placed. Most of these tables and chairs were already damaged, along with discarded wooden boxes, some construction waste left from building Mountain Park, rusty pipes, and discarded decoration parts, among other things.


    From the outside, it was impossible to tell what was there, but Yan Junze felt intuitively that this underground space was larger or deeper than what met the eye.


    Thick layers of dust covered the numerous items, which were webbed over with cobwebs.


    Yan Junze proceeded to put on the prepared mask, sidestepped the stacked tables and chairs, stepped onto the discarded construction debris, and walked in.


    The light from the flashlights in his hand and on his waist, after going in about four or five steps from the direction of the gate, could no longer be seen from the outside.


    It was as if he was instantly swallowed by darkness.


    At the same moment, a small, withered body that crawled like a spider approached the open gateway of this underground space.


    But as it was about to near the iron gate, this purplish-green body suddenly shivered and retreated frantically more than ten steps, hiding fearfully behind a large flat boulder.


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    Quietly, it did not move again.


    Atop this large flat boulder was a running portable video camera with its lens pointed straight at the gate.

 Chapter 156 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 2) (Thanks to Alliance Leader Lingjie, today 1/3)

    Yan Junze walked very slowly.The disarray of the objects around here virtually blocked the way in, forcing him to either squeeze by sideways or to climb to the top before figuring out a way down.


    It took nearly twenty minutes to get over this "mountain." His breath was somewhat unsteady. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stopped to rest for a while, then shone his flashlight ahead.


    But with just one look, he was shockingly stunned.


    There was no way forward.


    The underground space in Mountain Park was only this big!


    Behind this side of the storage was a solid wall covered with copious moss and parts of the wall soaked through with water.


    There was no other space.


    Yan Junze believed that beyond this wall lay the unexcavated mountain.


    "What''s going on?"


    Unwilling to give up, he took out both flashlights and began searching every corner.


    Soon, he noticed something unusual beneath a pile of stacked wooden boxes, but to get a closer look, he had to move these boxes first.


    The boxes were stacked quite high, about one Junze-head taller than Junze himself.


    He found a somewhat sturdy chair to stand on, inspected the contents of the boxes, and jumped with surprise¡ªdamn it, a box full of rusty screws.


    No choice, even if it was heavy, he had to lift it down to move it.


    But it would have taken an indefinite amount of time to do it alone; he didn''t believe he could lift a wooden box full of screws by his arm strength alone.


    After some thought, Yan Junze released the Crawler Monster.


    Upon coming out, the creature maintained its usual dumbfounded expression, its parting hair more obvious since it seemed to have grown even more hair, and its face had become much rounder and its skin not as saggy.


    Pointing at the stacked boxes, Yan Junze said, "Move all these boxes aside as quickly as possible."


    The Crawler Monster looked up at the boxes, swaying its parted hair as it raised its head, and Yan Junze watched this scene, clenching his teeth silently, suppressing the urge to beat the crap out of it.


    Then the creature''s bifurcated tongue shot out, wrapped around the topmost box of screws with ease, and moved it to the ground.


    Yan Junze had long suspected that both of his Lockdown strangenesses had a special skill¡ªTongue Skill.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen was like this, and so was the Crawler Monster.


    Of course, their attack focuses were different. The Crawler Monster''s tongue was nimble, favoring soft types of attacks like wrapping, rolling, tossing, etc.


    On the other hand, Long-tongued Zhenzhen was straightforward. Her tongue attacks focused on striking and piercing attacks, lacking flexibility, but her destructive power was immense.


    If Yan Junze were to release Long-tongued Zhenzhen now, it wouldn''t be just about moving boxes; she would smash them to bits with her long tongue, scattering screws everywhere, solving the problem with brute force.


    Within moments, the Crawler Monster had moved all five wooden boxes aside with its forked tongue, showing stunning efficiency and without asking for any compensation¡ªtruly intern material.


    Yan Junze felt quite gratified.


    However, there was one thing hard to accept; every time the creature moved a box with its tongue, it would unconsciously toss its parted hair, which almost made Yan Junze lose the urge to wield his own club.


    After moving the last wooden box, the Crawler Monster immediately looked towards Yan Junze, seemingly fishing for praise.


    But the next second, its gaze shifted, focusing on a black hole near the corner where the box had been moved away from.


    The hole was roughly the size of a car tire, and even though it was obscured by the wooden box, one could still make out its general shape. It was the oddity behind the box that Yan Junze had noticed just now.


    As the Crawler Monster looked at this hole, it immediately displayed a look of horror on its face and quickly turned around, frantically crawling towards Yan Junze as if it was fleeing from something.


    Of course, Yan Junze had no idea that the Crawler Monster was just slow to react, and it wasn''t until the entire hole became visible that it sensed danger.


    Meanwhile, the creature waiting outside the Underground Space''s gate had sensed it the moment it approached the gate. From this point of view, its sensitivity outclassed the Crawling Corpse by miles.


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    But it was already too late.


    When the Crawling Corpse was about three meters away from Yan Junze, it suddenly jerked as if something had grabbed it from behind, then its mouth opened in a silent scream before it was whooshed into the hole.


    Following that, there were thumping noises emanating from the hole, cascading downwards into an unknown depth, then silence ensued.


    Yan Junze watched the scene in complete bewilderment, as things had happened too suddenly and too swiftly for him to react.


    Moreover, he had clearly noticed that just before the Crawler Monster was dragged into the hole, there was nothing behind it, as if a sucking force had suddenly appeared and pulled it inside.


    At that second, Yan Junze had no doubts that this creature''s fate after entering the hole was more likely to be grim than fortunate.


    No, after a brief moment of thought, he couldn''t let this creature with its love for a side parting simply perish here.


    Yan Junze activated Rewind.


    The rewind time was set to the moment just before the second-to-last wooden box was moved by the Crawling Corpse.


    "That''s it."


    As the Crawling Corpse was about to use its forked tongue to move the last wooden box, Yan Junze immediately spoke up to stop it.


    "Didn''t you have any premonition of something terrifying?" Yan Junze asked curiously, staring at it.


    The Crawler Monster still looked confused, turning its head to look around before shaking its head.


    "Forget it, being slow-witted must be your motto, and a side parting your unique signature. Come inside first," Yan Junze said, resignedly incorporating the Crawling Corpse into the Atlas in advance.


    The final box was no longer an obstacle for him.


    That wooden box, still filled with a heavy load of nails, screws, and such, was too heavy to lift and had to be dragged along.


    After some effort, Yan Junze dragged the box aside, revealing the entire hole in the corner of the wall.


    Considering the earlier encounter of the Crawler Monster, he didn''t approach immediately but stood at a distance, carefully feeling the environment, and discovered it seemed there was no anomaly.


    Perhaps this hole only posed a danger to the strangenesses. After waiting a moment to be sure of safety, Yan Junze slowly approached the hole, lay down, and shone a flashlight inside.


    The inside appeared to be very deep, and there was a slight incline, as it seemed to curve after less than five meters, obscuring the end from view.


    Hesitating for less than five seconds, Yan Junze set his backpack down, equipped himself with a flashlight, lighter, and a crowbar, and crawled into the hole.


    The diameter of the hole was roughly that of a car tire, spacious enough for Yan Junze to crawl through, although a backpack would have been cumbersome to bring along.


    The surroundings remained damp, and Yan Junze''s clothing was soon soaked by moisture, but he didn''t linger, quickening his pace as he crawled through the tunnel, turning several bends with no end in sight under the flashlight''s beam.


    After crawling further, the space seemed to narrow slightly, instilling an indescribable sense of oppression.


    At that moment, Yan Junze abruptly stopped, raised his head, and shone his flashlight ahead.


    There, lying in front of the tunnel, was someone faced towards him but with their head bowed down, utterly motionless.

 Chapter 157 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 3) (2/3)

    Yan Junze strained his eyes wide, bringing his flashlight closer to ensure he could fully make out whether the figure lying ahead was indeed a person and not a hallucination created by his crawling in the pitch-black tunnel.In the beam of the flashlight, he saw very clearly, there was indeed a man in front.


    The man seemed frail, his clothes somewhat tattered, facing Yan Junze as he lay motionless.


    Moving the flashlight around the tunnel, Yan Junze noticed there was a passageway branching off between him and the eerie man, its destination unknown.


    Behind the man appeared to be a small Deadwater Pool with no way out, and a faint stench wafted through the air.


    Looking at the situation, it seemed impossible that the man was still alive.


    In the deathly silent tunnel, the confined space housed what seemed to be a decaying corpse before him, rising a ominous premonition in Yan Junze''s heart.


    He stayed put for about a minute, waiting silently. Once he felt there was nothing amiss, he began crawling forward again, planning to turn into the branching passageway.


    This time, he didn''t dare to move quickly for that would create too much noise, and the stillness of the nearby corpse wasn''t entirely figured out yet, so caution was prudent.


    As Yan Junze crawled forward a few steps, there suddenly came a noise from ahead.


    "Ah... ah... ah..."


    A strange, faintly quivering sound emerged from a throat.


    Yan Junze quickly pointed his flashlight ahead, only to see the formerly motionless corpse beginning to stir.


    The body slowly propped itself up on its elbows, its entire frame twisting eerily. Without lifting its head, it began to inch forward, nearer and nearer.


    "Damn!"


    Yan Junze glanced at the fork in the road, he was a bit closer to it, and there was a good chance he could be the first to crawl into it.


    At that point, he couldn''t care less about being silent. He moved as quickly as he could on hands and knees towards the forking path.


    Throughout its crawling, the corpse never lifted its head, making a hair-raising "ah... ah..." sound that echoed through the expansive tunnel, causing Yan Junze to shudder with dread.


    The creature had just begun to move and it was clear that Yan Junze was faster by a fraction, gaining the upper hand.


    The corpse''s initial movements appeared slow, but its body contorted violently, gradually gaining momentum as it picked up speed.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of dread as his pupils contracted slightly.


    Then, he saw the thing''s legs spread its knees apart, pressing against the tunnel walls to both sides. In no time, its whole body began to rise into the air.


    Once airborne, it was like a spider scuttling along, the body''s speed sharply increasing.


    Yan Junze was startled and didn''t mind his hands and feet getting scraped painfully, he hurried toward the fork, tumbling and scraping off a patch of skin on his arm, leaving bruises in other places.


    He burst into the branching passage first, continuing to crawl hastily forward without slowing down.


    The body reached the fork just two or three seconds later, emitting unpleasant throat sounds, ah... ah, as it pursued Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze''s anxiety spiked as he scrambled onward desperately. In his panic, his body involuntarily lifted, and his head banged hard against the rocky ceiling multiple times, seeing stars, yet he still couldn''t escape the shocking speed of the corpse behind him.


    For a second, he was even ready to engage the Rewind.


    But even if he used Rewind, he would still have to pass through here. According to Yan Junze''s guess, the body lying in front of Deadwater Pool was destined to come back to life and obstruct his way.


    Soon, the passage ahead began to slope downward. Once it descended, Yan Junze''s speed finally picked up; using all fours, by the end, he was nearly sliding forward in his rush.


    Under the flashlight''s beam, the light suddenly fell into the darkness not too far away.


    This meant that the exit was just ahead; though still shrouded in darkness, it marked the end of the tunnel.


    Yan Junze immediately braced himself to hit the ground, but at that moment, the "ah... ah" sound was right upon him. Something had grabbed his ankle.


    A wet sensation emanated from his skin¡ªthe grip of a palm that had been soaking in the Deadwater Pool, complete with the grotesque illusion of peeling flesh still clinging to his own.


    Yan Junze didn''t bother with caution anymore; in critical moments, who has time for that? He freed his other foot and kicked back fiercely, unsure of what he struck.


    Yet his foot was seized even more tightly. In desperation, Yan Junze kicked violently again.


    By now, he was sliding toward the edge of the tunnel, nearly half of his body dangling out, but his ankle was still held in a vice-like grip.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze reached for the crowbar fastened at his waist. The crowbar, forged from solid iron with a curved hooked end, was razor-sharp. Flipping it in reverse, he thrust the hooked end savagely into an unknown part of the corpse behind him.


    The force was so fierce that upon impact, he felt the grip on his foot loosen, and at last, he was free.


    He hurriedly lunged forward, tumbling out of the tunnel and onto the flat ground.


    Fortunately, the tunnel exit was just a little over a meter above the ground, so his fall resulted only in a dusty face, without any injuries.


    Upon landing, Yan Junze, not yet having time to stand up, immediately crouched at the bottom of the tunnel entrance, pressing himself against the rock wall while also turning off both flashlights in his hand.


    The entire space was plunged into darkness, rendering him blind.


    From above, the sound of skittering movement came, accompanied by the scraping of metal against rock.


    One could imagine that the iron crowbar must have gotten hooked onto some part of the corpse, sinking in deep and getting stuck.


    As the body moved, the crowbar naturally scraped against the rock wall, producing a clear friction sound.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled, feeling that the crowbar must have been thrust into the corpse''s neck or even its head, but he dared not confirm it.


    Though he was gasping for air, Yan Junze still tried not to breathe heavily, squatting there, sticking close to the rock wall beneath the tunnel entrance. From the darkness above, something seemed to poke out its head, with small clumps of soil falling onto his hair.


    It was as if the air itself had frozen. Yan Junze held his breath to the best of his ability, focusing his attention entirely overhead.


    Drip.


    A drop of foul water from the Deadwater Pool fell, landing on Yan Junze''s right cheek.


    Drip, another drop followed, hitting the same spot on his cheek.


    The stinking water trickled slowly down his face and into his neck.


    Yan Junze endured it, resisting the urge to wipe it away.


    About ten seconds later, the thing above didn''t come out of the tunnel but slowly withdrew its head, followed once more by the sound of the crowbar scraping against the rock wall, gradually fading into the distance of the tunnel.


    Yan Junze began to breathe lightly, yet he still did not move.


    With his back pressed against one side of the rock wall, he waited about two more minutes in this darkness-enshrouded space, until the sound of the crowbar''s friction could no longer be heard. He then stirred, his senses consolidating and focusing on the pitch-black space before him.


    His back did not leave the wall; he still crouched against it, not daring to move carelessly.


    Because from the moment he burst out of the tunnel to the immediate shutdown of his flashlights and subsequent concealment, there had been no time to take a good look around. But the space seemed larger, though the air was incredibly stale and turbid. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze believed that he could last at most half an hour in this place; if he stayed too long, he feared he might pass out. And now, he was already feeling dizzy and headed.


    After some thought, he decided to switch on his flashlight; otherwise, sitting here in complete darkness would be pointless.


    The moment the two flashlights turned on, the scene before Yan Junze made his head buzz, he froze on the spot, and a torrent of uncontrollable terror swept through his body.

 Chapter 158 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 4) (3/3)

    Unexpectedly, the dark space in front of me was very large, about the size of a lecture hall in a school.But the moment Yan Junze turned on the flashlight and shone it forward, he was completely scared by the scene before him.


    Within the range of the flashlight, densely packed figures stood.


    All of these people were facing away from him, each wearing old, even tattered clothes, both men and women, silently standing without making a sound, as if... they were all dead.


    The people standing here occupied at least one third of the entire Underground Space.


    Junze''s flashlight swept around and found that apart from the side near the tunnel, where no one stood, the other three sides were filled with standing figures.


    So many dead bodies squeezed in here, yet they didn''t emit any foul odor, suggesting they must have been dead for a long time and were mostly in a state of dried corpses.


    Junze didn''t dare to move rashly. After observing the surroundings, he began to ponder his next move.


    His head was swelling with pain, and his breathing was murky. He had to find a way to eliminate the Ghost Silk connecting those four families as soon as possible.


    Otherwise, if he delayed any longer, he would collapse here himself.


    With this in mind, he slowly stood up and walked towards the closest standing corpse.


    The back of this corpse suggested it was a young person. Covered with dust and severely damaged, the original design of the clothes was indecipherable.


    Upon getting closer, Junze carefully leaned in from behind to see if there was anything unusual about the corpse standing here, or if there was anything acting as a support.


    Otherwise, it was hard to imagine dozens of corpses standing neatly in this Underground Space.


    After scrutinizing the area and seemingly finding nothing, Junze turned to look at the corpse''s front, and the eerie scene that met his eyes made him shiver.


    He saw that the young corpse''s eye sockets were empty, just black holes, and its mouth was wide open. Not just that one¡ªlooking down the row, regardless of gender, all had the same appearance.


    The chill in his heart intensifying, Junze couldn''t help but touch the goosebumps on his arm, where the skin had already been scraped and bruised in the tunnel¡ªpatches of blue and purple.


    Just then, his gaze fixed on the young corpse''s mouth, as he directed the flashlight beam straight into it.


    He saw an extremely thin thread stretching out of the mouth, turning a corner at the corner of its lips, apparently extending towards the back.


    He looked at the back of the head, but there was nothing out of the ordinary to see.


    The thread seemed to vanish after extending towards the back.


    After some thought, Junze reached out and lightly touched the thread still outside the mouth, but possibly because it was too thin, there was almost no sensation to it¡ªit was like trying to feel a spider''s web.


    If this was indeed Ghost Silk, how could he sever it? Just pull it out?


    He didn''t have a clear idea where the source of the Ghost Silk connected to the four families was located.


    Trapped in the space filled with corpse after corpse, the bitterly cold breath was becoming more and more prominent. Moreover, Junze felt as if a layer of gauze had been wrapped around his nose and mouth, making it very difficult to breathe.


    Unable to find the reason here, perhaps moving further in might reveal some clues.


    As the thought emerged, Junze stopped paying attention to these corpses and instead started walking towards the deepest part of the Underground Space.


    About ten steps after he set out, arriving near the center, a female corpse closer to the rock wall tunnel, its mouth thread suddenly moved.


    The next second, after the thread was tugged, the female corpse slowly turned to face Junze''s direction, mouth gaping open, and eye sockets dark and empty, as if staring at Junze''s retreating back.


    All was silent. In that moment, Junze felt somewhat dizzy and did not notice anything unusual behind him.


    ```


    In the middle of this Underground Space, Yan Junze stood for a moment before advancing further in, where two rows of standing corpses were also facing away from the outside.


    After Yan Junze started moving, the woman corpse that had turned around began moving silently towards him.


    Yan Junze suddenly shivered, feeling the cold intensifying as he delved deeper into this place.


    Both flashlights were shining ahead; he did not notice the movement behind him, and from when the woman corpse turned until it started moving, there was no sound at all.


    Soon Yan Junze stopped and looked behind the last row of corpses. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The woman corpse that was almost upon him also ceased moving at this moment, standing quietly with her mouth agape.


    The corpses in this row all looked the same, strings extending from their mouths, turning at the corners of their lips before vanishing from sight.


    This time, Yan Junze did not examine the corpses closely but instead looked down to see if there was anything unusual at the far end of the space.


    Upon looking, indeed, a discovery was made under the light of the flashlights.


    At the very end, in the corner behind the last row of corpses, there was another wall opening though much narrower.


    Of course, Yan Junze could still enter, but it would take much more effort compared to the tunnel he had just passed through, and the space inside might not match what he could see from the entrance.


    The current Underground Space was already fraught with danger, and the air was extremely poor; even if he could squeeze into this hole, he had no intention of proceeding.


    If the key to completing this side mission lay beyond, then Yan Junze would have to give up and not risk descending further. It was very possible that the entity from the main mission was inside.


    Glancing at the hole, Yan Junze suddenly made an odd expression, noticing something peculiar about its location, and immediately approached with his flashlight.


    After he moved, the woman corpse not far behind started moving again, still silent, with the distance between them steadily shrinking.


    Reaching the hole, Yan Junze crouched down, shone the flashlight at its edge, and observed an abundance of web-like silk, with numerous threads projecting outward. Similarly, these projecting threads vanished after a certain distance.


    Just like the threads coming from the corners of the corpses'' mouths.


    Yan Junze became pensive.


    "Could it be," he mused, "that the threads became invisible after stretching out?"


    Turning his head to look at the nearest row of standing corpses, "If the threads from the corners of the corpses'' mouths are connected to the threads at the entrance of this hole, then a part of them would be invisible to me."


    Just then, he felt an icy chill approach rapidly.


    Because he was looking sideways, he didn''t turn his head, but the chilling presence drew ever closer. Instinctively, he felt as if a corpse was nearing him, very, very close.


    Looking from the direction of the hole covered in silk, Yan Junze was seen with his face to the side, and to his left rear, a woman corpse with her mouth open had her head drawn near.


    In this moment, both remained utterly still.


    "Is there something behind me?" Yan Junze held his position, without any other movement, taking a glimpse to his side and rear with the corner of his eye, sensing a silhouette crouching there.


    "What does this guy want to do?"


    At the same time, he noticed that the person approaching from the side and rear ceased their movements and seemed to be staring straight at him.


    If he didn''t move, that person also remained motionless.


    Turning his gaze back to the hole below, he noticed the silk wrapped around the entrance suddenly started to darken, as if soaked by ink, with the blackness swiftly climbing up the threads.


    ```

 Chapter 159 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 5) (1/3)

    "Silk threads?" Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, "Could it be these invisible threads that have entangled me with these corpses?"The mission hint had mentioned to be wary of those threads.


    However, Yan Junze couldn''t be certain that apart from the thread ends, the rest of the extensions were all invisible.


    In such a situation, while in a dark space, how could he possibly be wary?


    He had not moved an inch.


    He maintained this posture, and the female corpse behind him also remained still.


    It seemed highly likely that he had inadvertently hooked the silk thread of this corpse, and now the female corpse seemed to have set its sights on him.


    Looking at the thread ends entwined around the entrance, they had all turned black, and though the invisible parts couldn''t be seen, one could imagine they had blackened as well.


    Why had they turned black?


    Yan Junze frowned, feeling the chill behind him. His gaze turned to the inside of the entrance¡ªpitch-black. Even with the flashlight shining, he could not see anything.


    He put the flashlight on the ground and then released the club, holding it in his left hand.


    Suddenly, his right hand reached out, grabbed a large amount of thread ends at the entrance, and yanked them fiercely.


    At the same moment, a chill spread across his shoulder. The female corpse leaned over, its pitch-black mouth closing rapidly, and bit down on his neck.


    In Yan Junze''s plan, he was supposed to swing his club to attack the shadow behind him at the same time. But unexpectedly, he didn''t even have the chance to wield the club before the female corpse''s attack had been too swift. Half of his body went numb instantaneously, and the club dropped to the ground.


    His neck and left hand slowly turned black before his very eyes.


    And at this time, not even half of the thread ends outside the hole had been pulled down.


    The female corpse released his neck, opened its mouth wide again, revealing teeth blackened as if soaked in ink. It bit down once more towards Yan Junze''s face.


    This time, up close, Yan Junze could clearly see those pitch-black, sharp teeth that seemed to have been dipped in poison¡ªno wonder the left side of his body had completely gone limp.


    Rewind!


    The next moment, he stood near the tunnel in this Underground Space again, just after having checked the corpse of the young man and noticed the thread protruding from his mouth.


    Yan Junze did not immediately walk into the interior of the Underground Space, but instead started searching among the standing corpses with a flashlight.


    Less than a minute later, he saw a female corpse.


    This female corpse was positioned directly opposite him, also near the tunnel.


    It seemed to be this same female corpse that had attacked him earlier. But now, it stood there just fine, showing no abnormalities.


    This time, Yan Junze was not prepared to let this woman off.


    He still walked towards the entrance of the Underground Space wrapped in numerous silk threads, but this time, he walked backwards.


    With the memory of the last time, he was very clear about the location of the entrance. However, he didn''t know when the female corpse would start moving, so he had to keep a clear view.


    A flashlight was clipped to his waist, while the other was switched to his left hand. Yan Junze released the club and watched that female corpse, which still stood motionless with its back to the outside, taking steps backward toward the entrance.


    As he walked backwards to the center of the Underground Space, the female corpse still hadn''t moved, not even turning around.


    "Something''s not right. Could I have seen it wrong?" Yan Junze wondered, puzzled at the sight.


    The next second, a male corpse slightly behind him to the side suddenly moved. The head slowly turned, although the rest of the body below the neck remained still. Only the head had turned, facing Yan Junze as he backed away.


    About two or three seconds later, the male corpse turned halfway around and walked towards Yan Junze, moving silently.


    "Maybe this time I didn''t disturb the female corpse," Yan Junze speculated.


    Just then, he suddenly realized something and quickly turned around, just in time to see a male corpse lunging at him.


    In a desperate, instinctive reaction, he swung the club in his hand at the male corpse''s head¡ªthere was a thunk, and the male corpse''s head immediately caved in, but it didn''t stop the corpse''s movements.


    The male corpse still overpowered Yan Junze, grabbing his arms with immense strength, making it impossible for him to break free. Even the club in his hand couldn''t be lifted.


    Then, the male corpse, with its mouth perpetually agape, bared its pitch-black teeth and bit towards Yan Junze''s neck.


    "Shit, not again!"


    This time, Yan Junze didn''t want to experience that excruciating pain again, and since he knew he couldn''t break free, he immediately chose to rewind time.


    However, in the moment before the rewind, he hastily glanced at his hands, which were struggling against the male corpse.


    To his surprise, his right index finger was entirely black.


    A wave of dizziness hit, and after rewinding, Yan Junze found himself standing once again behind the young male corpse.


    He seemed a bit out of breath, but he knew that was just his brain retaining the memory from right before the rewind, when he was still fighting the corpse, resulting in this continuous memory.


    In reality, he was in good physical condition and had not expended any energy from struggling.


    Subsequently, Yan Junze subconsciously looked down at his index finger, which was normal; he still remembered discovering it had turned black before he rewound time.


    At that time, when the male corpse had just pounced on him and was grabbing his arms, it hadn''t touched his fingers, so the possibility of the blackness spreading from the corpse was very low.


    This made Yan Junze think of the thread wrapped around the entrance of the hole; just before the previous rewind, it had similarly turned black rapidly as if soaked in ink.


    And the female corpse''s teeth seemed to be exactly the same as the male corpse''s¡ªnot only pitch-black but also extremely sharp.


    With this in mind, he went back to the first young male corpse, shone his flashlight, and leaned in close to examine the mouth.


    Indeed, the teeth were black.


    Yan Junze speculated that if he walked backward this time, he would likely still attract that male corpse, meaning the invisible thread would snag the corpse.


    But if he walked normally towards the entrance of the hole, he would attract the attack of the female corpse.


    Now it seemed necessary to get close to that entrance, as the thread wrapped around it was very likely the key to lifting the affliction of Ghost Silk on Bao Yunjing and her family.


    Just then, he subconsciously lifted his hand and looked towards his right index finger, and was shocked to find the tip had turned black!


    "What''s going on?" he exclaimed in surprise as he turned to look at the young male corpse, "I don''t think I touched him just now, did I?!"


    Puzzled, Yan Junze didn''t dwell on it for long. This time he decided not to walk backwards, but instead to observe his surroundings as he moved.


    Since the threads were invisible, even if he was extra careful, there was still a possibility of touching them and drawing the attention of a corpse.


    So, perhaps the only solution was to move quickly. It was best not to touch any threads, but if he did, he would have to strip all the threads from the entrance before the corpses began to move.


    Once this thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze immediately rushed towards the direction of the entrance.


    During this process, he continuously swept the flashlight around to watch for movements. Just as he reached the middle of the space, the young male corpse he had checked previously suddenly turned around.


    Yan Junze immediately noticed and his pupils contracted, he then turned and ran quickly towards the entrance wrapped in threads, crouched down sharply, and began tearing at them.


    His guess was right.


    These Tricky Silks indeed connected all the corpses here, and they might also be linked to the people outside.


    After ripping off a vast quantity of Tricky Silk at an extremely fast pace, the young male corpse, that had been quickly approaching from behind, suddenly stiffened as if losing its support and collapsed forward, motionless.


    At the same moment, all the other standing corpses thudded down, none of them maintaining their previous posture. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze picked up his flashlight and stood up, swiftly scanning to make sure all corpses had fallen, and then he looked at the threads around the entrance¡ªall had been removed.


    The area of the entrance, however, had become completely black, as if something within was spreading outward. Had those threads still been present, they would have been soaked black at this moment.


    With the crisis in the Underground Space resolved, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he still did not know the condition of the four families outside.


    No sooner had this thought arisen than a task completion notification popped into his mind.


    Yan Junze was pleased and was about to use his Inner Vision when suddenly he froze, lifting his hands in front of him.


    His hands had turned completely black without him noticing and it wasn''t just a simple color change; this blackened skin and muscle were visibly shrinking at an alarming rate.

 Chapter 160 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 6) (2/3)

    At this moment, Yan Junze felt awkward.He had completed the task, but he hadn''t foreseen the severe repercussions that followed. The silken threads at the entrance of the hole kept spreading with blackness; it was clear he couldn''t touch them.


    However, after ripping off all the Tricky Silk, the blackness that had crept out of the hole seemed to halt, staying just at the rim of the entrance.


    Ripping off the Tricky Silk was effective, but he himself couldn''t touch it, nor could he touch any of the corpses here.


    Because by the look of it, every corpse here seemed to have been tainted with the blackness, meaning they were "poisonous".


    He had to think of another method.


    Even though the task was already complete, Yan Junze had no choice but to Rewind at this moment, or else not only would his hands be ruined, but his life might also be in danger.


    After the Rewind, Yan Junze stood behind the young corpse and didn''t touch anything anymore.


    He looked at the remaining Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Before executing this branch mission, his energy could maintain a 540-minute, or 9-hour, Rewind cycle. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He started the energy cycle with the outermost iron gate and continued through entering the first hole and moving the wooden boxes outside it; this took 37 minutes. Crawling through the hole took 22 minutes, and upon entering this underground space, the first round took roughly 20 minutes.


    Altogether it was 79 minutes.


    However, up to this point, Yan Junze had initiated the Rewind three times, and after each Rewind, time was consumed again. The total time consumed and the energy spent on Rewinds had almost reached 70 minutes.


    Unnoticed, there were about 390 minutes left of the 540.


    Before the last Rewind, it had been proven that as long as he could rip off the Tricky Silk at the entrance of the hole, he could complete the branch mission. The target was clear; the question was how to rip off the Tricky Silk without using his own hands.


    Since he couldn''t touch it, maybe he could try using tools instead.


    Yan Junze felt a bit remorseful at the moment. The crowbar he''d brought earlier would have been an excellent tool, perfect for snapping off those sticky threads. It was precise every time.


    But at this moment, the crowbar was stuck in the body of the male corpse in the tunnel, and he couldn''t reach it.


    If he released the mallet, its round blunt end couldn''t peel off the Tricky Silk.


    What about using the flashlight in his hand?


    Yan Junze looked down and smiled bitterly¡ªnone were the best tools.


    Just then, his gaze toward the flashlight shifted as he looked down at his right hand holding the flashlight.


    On his right index finger, a smudge of black was slowly emerging. In just a few seconds, the topmost segment of the index finger was fully saturated with black.


    "How... what''s happening?" Yan Junze exclaimed in shock.


    He vividly remembered that after the Rewind, he hadn''t touched any corpse here at all.


    No, something was still wrong!


    Looking down at his right index finger, the speed at which the black spread was increasing. He had been so focused on the Tricky Silk at the entrance of the hole that he hadn''t noticed¡ªjust now, his entire index finger was nearly fully blackened.


    The blackness continued to spread, creeping toward his palm and other fingers.


    With a thought, Yan Junze Rewound again.


    This time, he chose the moment just after he had fallen into this underground space from the tunnel, leaning against the rocky wall beneath the tunnel and waiting for the corpse in the tunnel above to leave.


    The sound of friction between the crowbar stuck in the corpse and the rocky wall of the tunnel gradually faded. Yan Junze didn''t turn on the flashlight at this time.


    When the sound finally faded away, and it didn''t return upon discovering the light, he then turned on the flashlight.


    Knowing beforehand that the area was full of standing corpses, he didn''t look around but immediately shone the light on his right index finger.


    It was intact, with only some dirt on the skin, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary.


    However, Yan Junze was not reassured. He did not shift his gaze and kept staring at the finger.


    About two or three minutes later, his expression gradually turned to surprise as the finger began to show a layer of blackness, which quickly covered the fingertip and then the uppermost knuckle.


    "What on earth is going on?"


    Yan Junze shone the flashlight around the underground space; the numerous corpses still looked the same, their backs turned outward.


    He had only just come in and hadn''t touched anything¡ªhow could he still be "poisoned"?


    He looked at his finger again, and at that moment the blackness continued to spread on his index finger.


    Well, now it had become a Golden Finger, or perhaps the "Hand of God".


    It seemed that the blackening of his finger was faster than before the Rewind. Why was that?


    Yan Junze looked up at the underground space¡ªmaybe he wasn''t supposed to enter here? Was there something wrong with the air?


    He remembered the hint in the main quest Tricky Silk: "It is advised not to touch it before having enough Different Dimension Energy for a Rewind."


    This "it"¡ªdoes it refer to the big boss of Tricky Silk, or to the... silk threads?


    At this moment, Yan Junze was somewhat bewildered.


    If he couldn''t even enter this underground space, then the difficulty of this branch quest was extraordinarily high! Although he knew that tearing off the Tricky Silk outside of that hole could complete the task, he couldn''t escape the invasion of the Dark Poison.


    After thinking it over, he decided to Rewind again to the moment in the tunnel, but definitely not to the moment after encountering that male corpse in the tunnel.


    That fellow crawled incredibly fast; if he were to Rewind to after encountering him, he''d have to run for his life as soon as he emerged, which was unacceptable.


    However, the Spacetime Atlas could only Rewind, not jump forward in time, meaning that if he Rewound to before encountering the tunnel male corpse, he would have to bite the bullet and go through the chase and sprint with that tunnel male corpse again.


    Seeing the speed at which the blackness spread to his other fingers, Yan Junze didn''t hesitate any longer.


    "If heaven has given me the chance to do this again, no, to do this n times, there''s no reason not to seize it properly!"


    If he had to restart, it was better than dying of full-body atrophy.


    Yan Junze chose to Rewind to shortly after entering the tunnel, at the moment before he had encountered the tunnel male corpse.


    A familiar feeling of dizziness came over him, and he found himself once again lying inside the tunnel, with a bend about twenty meters ahead. Beyond that bend lay the male corpse in front of the Deadwater Pool.


    Yan Junze didn''t crawl forward immediately; he was thinking about how he might tear off those silk threads.


    It now seemed that shortly after entering that underground space, he would be infected by the eerie blackness, just like those standing corpses, even without touching anything.


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    So, he wondered if there was another way to destroy those silk threads, for instance, by using the tunnel male corpse.


    Looking at it now, directly releasing Long-tongued Zhenzhen or the Crawler Monster seemed highly likely to fail, as their first encounter had shown that these strangenesses could not be assimilated by this eerie place.


    At this thought, Yan Junze subconsciously glanced at his right hand and then jolted sharply.

 Chapter 162 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 8)

    Watching his fingers turn darker and darker, Yan Junze still waited, this time to see roughly how long it would take for the Dark Poison to completely infiltrate him.About seven or eight minutes later, not only had both palms turned black, but even the parts above the elbows began to be overtaken by the Dark Poison.


    This spread was slow, but as the Dark Poison spread, finally a hint of pain surfaced, signaling the start of muscle atrophy.


    Another three minutes passed, and the Dark Poison had fully infected both arms, and it started to seep towards the indescribable areas below the neck, while also daringly covering the describable areas above the neck.


    Advancing from both above and below, attacking simultaneously.


    The sensation of muscles rapidly atrophying arrived, accompanied by pain that grew more and more intense.


    While Yan Junze was timing this process, he had already formed a plan in his mind, but this plan could no longer be carried out by himself. Instead, he had to entrust it to the Lockdown strangeness. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Release Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    After Zhenzhen stood in front of him and saw Yan Junze''s pitch-black hands, she jumped in fright and exclaimed, "What''s with you... Have you switched to coal mining?"


    Yan Junze didn''t answer her but instead asked, "There''s a male corpse in front of the Deadwater Pool in the tunnel, can you... go into his body?"


    Zhenzhen''s face showed fear, "You mean... a strangeness entering another strangeness?"


    "Not exactly," Yan Junze thought for a moment and then added, "It''s just a fully physically present corpse. It just happens to be able to move."


    "That''s the same as a strangeness entering another strangeness." Zhenzhen nodded, "As long as its level isn''t higher than mine, I think I can do it. Only..."


    "Only what?"


    Zhenzhen''s expression turned solemn, "After entering, I might be influenced by that strangeness''s magnetic field and become quite confused for a while. As you say, there may be shifts in spirit or other changes. In any case, the influence is substantial, and I might cause you trouble."


    "That''s okay," Yan Junze shook his head, "I''m dying now, I need you to save me. As long as you can enter a strangeness, that''s fine."


    After thinking for a bit, he added, "This cave generates a peculiar suction affecting external strangenesses, but has no effect on the strangenesses that reside within it. Just now, the Crawler Monster was nearly sucked in."


    Zhenzhen nodded, "The guy with the side-parting is far weaker than me, I think I can hold on until I find that male corpse."


    "Good."


    With that, Yan Junze immediately initiated a Rewind, rewinding to the moment before the Crawler Monster moved the second-to-last box.


    He then withdrew the Crawler Monster and released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    At this time, the tip of Yan Junze''s right index finger was still normal, without any changes, but in less than ten minutes, his hands would be completely infected by the Dark Poison.


    He didn''t have much time left.


    "Zhenzhen, there''s a male corpse in this tunnel. As soon as you go in, immediately enter his body, then crawl into an Underground Space. Find a hole in the upper-left corner that has a lot of entangled silk threads and tear all those threads off. And keep looking, especially inside the hole, in case you see any other threads, tear them off as well."


    Yan Junze said all this in one breath, not waiting for Zhenzhen to react, he added, "This tunnel will exert a suction on you; just resist until you find that male corpse, then going into his body won''t affect you."


    "Are you saying... a strangeness entering another strangeness?" Zhenzhen echoed in surprise, repeating what she had said earlier.


    Yan Junze nodded, "I know it affects you, but if you don''t help me now, I''ll be done for soon. Go quickly, do exactly as I told you, and make sure you tear off all the silk threads. Once inside the tunnel, rush straight in until you find the male corpse and immediately enter his body."


    Zhenzhen nodded, said nothing further, and extended her long tongue towards the wooden box blocking the entrance to the tunnel. With a loud bang, she sent the wooden box and everything inside, including the screws, flying.


    Yan Junze felt nothing at that moment, but to Zhenzhen, the moment the box was opened, a sudden suction force arose in the tunnel, pulling her towards it uncontrollably.


    At the same time, an inexplicable and eerie fear crept over Zhenzhen''s entire body, causing her to shiver uncontrollably and blurt out, "Something''s wrong, inside there is... there is... something very powerful..."


    Yan Junze said, "There is indeed a very powerful strangeness, but it may be hiding under the second hole. You just need to not go in there and use that male corpse to complete the task I assigned to you. Remember, I will only wait for you for ten minutes. If you don''t come back after ten minutes, I will think of other ways."


    Implicit in his words was that if Zhenzhen, with her long tongue, could not return in ten minutes, chances were slim, and he would Rewind to try again.


    Zhenzhen nodded, gave up resisting the force, and along with her innate ability for hovering flight, whooshed into the entrance of the tunnel and disappeared from sight.


    Yan Junze watched the time on his phone, beginning the countdown.


    Upon entering the tunnel, Zhenzhen did not need to crawl; she simply hovered forward, so in terms of speed, she was more than ten times faster than Yan Junze. Moreover, she did not need light in the darkness and could see things just as well.


    In barely a minute''s time, she reached the front of the Deadwater Pool, emitting a foul stench. Sure enough, a ragged-clothed male corpse was lying prone, with its feet still soaking in the pool.


    As she delved deeper into the tunnel, that mysterious suction force became stronger for Zhenzhen. Hovering there, there was always a strong pulling force that seemed to direct her towards that passageway to the Underground Space. Explore more at empire


    Desperately resisting, Zhenzhen saw the male corpse that Yan Junze referred to and almost without hesitation, she didn''t think about what the subsequent strange possession would bring upon her. She darted towards the male corpse.


    Just as she approached above the male corpse, the one lying on the ground moved slightly, as if it sensed something unusual, and lifted its head, revealing a rotten face that had decayed to the point where only the skull was left.


    The next second, Zhenzhen entered its body.


    The male corpse''s body shuddered violently as if in resistance, followed by a series of intense shaking and struggling, emitting hoarse growls from its throat.


    A moment later, the male corpse settled down, limbs stretched out. However, unlike Zhenzhen who could hover and fly, it supported itself on the rock walls on either side of the tunnel and quickly crawled toward the direction of the Underground Space.


    Although she could no longer fly, Zhenzhen relied on the crawling speed of this being and soon reached the exit of the Underground Space.


    Without any hesitation, Zhenzhen immediately jumped down.


    After landing, she remembered that Yan Junze had told her that the second hole was in the farthest upper left corner here, so she ignored the other motionless corpses and quickly crawled toward the second hole.


    But just as she crawled to the center of the Underground Space, a male corpse suddenly turned around and approached Zhenzhen rapidly.


    Zhenzhen used the legs of the corpse to spring up, and her whole body took flight. At the same time, her almost ethereal tongue lashed out, striking the onrushing male corpse and sending it flying back.


    However, that male corpse, with its chest already caved in, immediately got up after falling and approached her swiftly again.


    By then, Zhenzhen had reached the hole entangled with a mass of Tricky Silk. Following Yan Junze''s instructions, she did not use her own tongue but instead rapidly pulled out all of the Tricky Silk with the hands of this strangeness, not leaving a single thread behind.


    The bodies standing behind her fell with a clatter, including the one that had lunged at her.


    But she also remembered Yan Junze''s requirement was not only to remove the silk of this place¡ªthere might be other silk threads in the hole that weren''t removed cleanly, so she immediately controlled the body of the strangeness to stick its upper body into the hole.


    Indeed, she saw two more bundles of Tricky Silk just inside the hole. Zhenzhen reached out to grab one bundle, about to pull it out, when.


    The body suddenly shuddered violently, and the head that had extended in was grasped by a black hand, perfectly positioned on top of its head.


    A scream emerged, not only the instinctive cry of the possessed body but also the piercing scream of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, mingled within.


    From the outside of this hole, it could be seen that the body of the strangeness was abruptly dragged into the hole by a powerful force, followed by silence.

 Chapter 163 Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Final) (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Ten minutes passed quickly, and by now, Yan Junze''s arm had turned completely black.But there was no news of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and not even a whisper of wind came from the hole''s location.


    "Maybe... she can''t come back." An idea he didn''t want to admit surfaced, and Yan Junze shook his head and sighed.


    The main issue was that he did not know where Zhenzhen had gone, and which part had gone wrong.


    "This won''t do, I can''t let Zhenzhen go in there alone," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Rewind!


    After the Rewind, he released Zhenzhen again and said the same words to her.


    But this time, Yan Junze was prepared to let Zhenzhen take him with her into the tunnel.


    The method was simple, Zhenzhen holding onto him, surfing through the tunnel as if sliding, the two of them floating and flying inside the tunnel at a similarly fast speed.


    At the same time point, they arrived at the dead man by the Deadwater Pool, Zhenzhen set down Yan Junze, no longer able to resist the pull, and she immediately pounced on the corpse that had just raised its head.


    Soon, Zhenzhen, possessed by strangeness, made the corpse rise and said to Yan Junze, "Get on my back."


    Yan Junze did as he was told.


    The stench emanating from the body was foul enough to nearly make Yan Junze vomit on the spot, but he could only endure it now. If he tried to crawl to the Underground Space on his own, time would have already run out.


    Depending on this body, they crawled rapidly, quickly passing through the tunnel and arriving at the Underground Space. Yan Junze hopped down and looked at his fingers, discovering his entire fingertip had turned black.


    Last time, it was about this point in time when Long-tongued Zhenzhen reached this place.


    "I''ll lean against the rock wall over here; once you pull out those silk threads, all these standing corpses will lose control," Yan Junze said.


    Zhenzhen nodded and controlled the possessed body to approach the second hole swiftly.


    "Be careful," Yan Junze said as he saw a man''s body turn around swiftly, moving toward the crawling Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen turned her head and delivered a Long Tongue Skill, knocking the man''s corpse flying into a pile of other bodies, then quickly crawled to the second hole and in a flash pulled off all the Tricky Silk.


    All the standing corpses fell, losing their control.


    But Yan Junze looked down and saw that the Dark Poison on his hand was still spreading.


    It seemed there were still some silk threads not pulled out.


    At this moment, Zhenzhen was already controlling the possessed body to look into the hole.


    "There are two more here," her voice came.


    But the very next second, the body shuddered violently, let out a scream, and rapidly got pulled into the hole.


    Yan Junze was startled, quickly shining his flashlight over there, only to see that at the mouth of the hole, Zhenzhen''s control over the possessed body was gone, and the sinister Dark Poison had spread about a meter outside the hole and was still spreading, soaking into the rock wall like a rising tide.


    "Could the terrifying strangeness from the main mission be inside there?" Yan Junze was stunned.


    Just now, he had gone through seven Rewinds in a row; the first was after noticing his fingertips turning black, going back to the spot behind the standing young corpse, the second was Rewind to the moment of being chased by the tunnel corpse and falling into the Underground Space against the rock wall, the third was Rewind to the moment just before encountering the tunnel corpse.


    The fourth was a direct Rewind to outside the warehouse, but he still found his fingertips turning black. The fifth again was a Rewind outside the warehouse, but this time he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    The sixth Rewind began, dispatching Zhenzhen to use the strangeness on top of the strangeness to come down and pull out the Tricky Silk.


    The seventh was this time, coming down with Zhenzhen.


    Unexpectedly, he discovered that hidden inside the second hole was a more ferocious strangeness.


    Most likely, that creature is the "it" mentioned in the main mission, the one with an extremely high level of strangeness.


    Although currently Yan Junze could Rewind again, to be honest, his Different Dimension Energy was running low.


    ```


    This indeed confirmed what was mentioned in the main task: before making contact, it was necessary to ensure there was a sufficient amount of energy to "Rewind".


    Moreover, this time Yan Junze was only carrying out a sub-task and did not intend to touch the main quest. Yet unexpectedly, he still faced interference.


    Whether the interference was intentional or accidental, it had already left Junze in a quite difficult situation.


    Calculating the seven "Rewinds", along with the time consumed after each, Junze was left with just enough Different Dimension Energy for about two more "Rewinds", with each no longer than twenty minutes. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After some thought, he chose to "Rewind" again. It was not that he insisted on completing the task, but now Junze was in too deep to pull out. Without finding the cause of the Dark Poison infection, he would be unable to escape this interference.


    This "Rewind" only took him back two minutes. It was the moment Long-tongued Zhenzhen tore off the threads from the outside and all the corpses fell.


    "Don''t go in yet!" Junze warned aloud.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, who was about to poke her bizarre body into the cave, stopped upon hearing this and turned back in surprise.


    Not daring to touch the corpses with his hands, Junze stood up and said, "There are two Tricky Silk clumps just inside the cave entrance. Stuff a corpse in there first. No matter what happens, immediately clear the silk clumps as fast as possible."


    As to why Junze knew about the two clumps of Tricky Silk inside the cave wall, Zhenzhen was somewhat astonished. However, she did not ask any questions. She grabbed the nearest corpse and shoved it into the cave entrance with force.


    The body was only half-stuffed in when it suddenly halted as if meeting some resistance.


    Suddenly the body trembled, was grabbed by something, and was abruptly dragged in, disappearing without a trace.


    "Now!" Junze shouted loudly.


    Zhenzhen immediately maneuvered her strange form to the spot inside the hole, spotted the two Tricky Silk clumps, and quickly wiped each one out with her claws, cleaning up all the silk in sight.


    Looking down, Junze saw the Dark Poison which had spread to his arm no longer spreading; instead, it began to recede slowly.


    "It''s working!" he rejoiced internally. He then heard a strange noise from the opening of the cave, followed by a swift spread of Dark Poison along the edges of the entrance.


    By then, Zhenzhen had already retreated from inside the strange body.


    Without delay, Junze commanded, "Stuff a few more corpses in there, then we pull out!"


    Zhenzhen promptly extended her ethereal tongue and in a swift motion, wrapped it around two bodies, one after the other, and shoved them into the cave, then threw three more corpses to block the cave entrance.


    After completing these actions, she manipulated her strange body to crawl over quickly, grabbed Junze, ready to haul him onto her back, and then make a run for it.


    Behind them, at the cave entrance, the crowding bodies quickly turned pitch black, as if stained with ink, and began to dissolve, clearing some space at the entrance.


    Junze only managed to glance hurriedly behind him, catching sight of this terrifying scene before turning his head and instructing, "Head back the way we came, using all your abilities, or we''ll both die here. I can only die once, whereas you would be dying for the second time."


    Now, it seemed that he still had one more chance to use "Rewind", which he could not afford to use carelessly anymore.


    Without being told, Long-tongued Zhenzhen thrust her strange body into the tunnel they had come from with even greater speed than before.


    Junze was unaware that when Zhenzhen was using her strange body, this kind of expenditure of Supernatural Energy was most damaging to herself, and he didn''t know what side effects it might bring her after this time.


    But their lives were at stake, so there wasn''t time to worry about that anymore.


    "Hee hee hee hee¡­"


    All of a sudden, from the direction of the Underground Space, an eerie laughter could be heard, followed by an even stronger suction force than before.


    Even with her strange body, Zhenzhen was beginning to lose control; the speed at which she had been charging forward drastically reduced, and she was forcibly pulled backward.


    In this moment of peril, a voice rang out, surprisingly someone speaking, coming suddenly from inside the Underground Space into the tunnel.


    "You like to play games, huh? I''ll play with you."


    How could there still be someone inside?


    Junze was taken aback by the voice, which seemed somewhat unfamiliar, yet he felt he had heard it somewhere before.


    At that moment, the sucking force suddenly lessened, giving Zhenzhen the chance to burst forth quickly.


    ```

 Chapter 164 Dead End? (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    [Ghost Silk branch task, completed, no Different Dimension Energy gained upon completion of the task.]Inside his mind, the task completion prompt popped up while Yan Junze still lay on the back of the male corpse.


    This strangeness was being controlled by Zhenzhen, desperately rushing toward the tunnel exit, but Yan Junze noticed that the body beneath him was shaking violently.


    This trembling didn''t stop as they moved away from the Boss, but rather intensified.


    When they were about halfway to the tunnel exit, Yan Junze warned, "Zhenzhen, disengage from this strangeness, we can leave now."


    The male corpse crawling forward suddenly face-planted into the ground without any reaction, while Zhenzhen''s soul had already flown out, grabbing Yan Junze who almost tumbled out as well and using a flying method to quickly escape the tunnel.


    After exiting the tunnel, Yan Junze slipped from Zhenzhen''s grasp and fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times.


    The fall made him grimace in pain, and it took a good while for him to recover his senses, rubbing his waist as if it were torn, slowly sitting up.


    A flashlight had also flown out, but there was still one clipped to his waist.


    Yan Junze immediately took out this flashlight, switched it on, and shone it around, only to find that Zhenzhen, who had just fallen out as well, had now vanished without a trace.


    "Zhenzhen."


    Sitting in place and looking around, eventually, he vaguely saw a figure standing behind a row of old sofas against the wall, motionless.


    Yan Junze, enduring the intense pain in his waist, propped himself up with one hand and stood up with much effort, flashlight in the other hand, limping over there.


    "Zhenzhen?" he called out to the figure, but there was no response.


    Yan Junze was puzzled and moved a few steps closer; from this angle, he could see most of the figure in the darkness, and he was sure that it was Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    But strangely, Zhenzhen seemed very calm, showing no eagerness like the one she showed rushing out of the tunnel, just standing quietly facing the wall, not looking back at Yan Junze approaching.


    Yan Junze felt something was wrong and illuminated Zhenzhen with the flashlight: "What are you doing here?"


    Exposed to the light, Zhenzhen seemed to react and slowly turned toward the direction of the flashlight.


    The moment he saw her, Yan Junze was startled.


    Zhenzhen''s expression was gloomy, her lips slightly parted, and a tongue at least half a meter long hung out of her mouth, swaying gently as she turned.


    "How did you turn into this?"


    Yan Junze was initially shocked, then he remembered the side effects of taking on a strangeness''s body, noticing Zhenzhen''s cold gaze, it seemed she no longer recognized him.


    With a step forward, Zhenzhen walked towards him.


    The moment the thought crossed Yan Junze''s mind, without waiting for Zhenzhen to make any further move, he immediately stored her into the Atlas.


    "It must be the disturbance and confusion caused by the strangeness''s magnetic field after taking on its body; she should return to normal after resting for some time," Yan Junze speculated.


    He then looked at his own palm, no longer bearing any trace of being tainted by the Dark Poison¡ª it seemed that the threads controlling both strangenesses and humans had been cleared away.


    Yan Junze pressed against his waist, perhaps he had twisted a muscle earlier, as now, just after walking for a short while, cold sweat appeared on his forehead.


    With the task completed, it was time to leave this warehouse. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But his waist hurt terribly, and because the place was cluttered with debris, it had taken him over twenty minutes to walk in from the outside, and he wondered how long it would take now in his condition.


    Yan Junze simply released the Crawler Monster and instructed, "Clear the path to the outside, I need to get out."


    The Crawler Monster, without a word of protest, shook its off-parting and got to work right away.


    It first used its tongue to roll up large items blocking the way, stacking them elsewhere, and the smaller debris at hand was simply shoveled away with its hands.


    About five or six minutes later, a path to the outside was roughly cleared by the Crawler Monster.


    Yan Junze tossed the backpack on the ground to the Crawler Monster, "Carry it for me, let''s talk after we get out."


    The Crawler Monster seemed somewhat speechless, picked up the backpack, and slowly crawled towards the outside of the warehouse.


    Yan Junze, clutching his waist, followed behind.


    A monster and a man walked out of the warehouse and stopped outside the warehouse door.


    Looking up at the sky, although the night was overcast and there were signs of impending rain, it still hadn''t rained by the time Yan Junze''s mission was complete.


    Motioning with his mouth toward the camera set on a flat stone not far away, Yan Junze wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Go get that camera, and let''s head back."


    The Crawler Monster looked back and crawled toward the camera.


    Just as it neared the operating camera, suddenly a dark shadow jumped out from behind the large flat stone and shot past the Crawler Monster at incredible speed.


    No longer as before, since obtaining nourishment from the Different Dimension Energy in the Atlas, the Crawler Monster had greatly improved its strength. The instant it spotted the dark shadow leaping, its forked tongue immediately lashed out.


    The next second, the long tongue was neatly severed, black liquid splattered in the air, the Crawler Monster retracted its severed tongue, black fluid leaked from the corner of its mouth, it retreated in panic, its body shaking.


    In front of it and Yan Junze, a child with dark purplish skin crawled on the ground. This child had thin limbs, sticky hair that clung to the scalp, and its fingers and toes seemed to be deformed, becoming long and sharp as if they were blades.


    And it was those sharp nails that had just severed the Crawler Monster''s forked tongue in a brief encounter.


    The Crawler Monster was retreating, while Yan Junze was staring in shock at the strange and unknown child in front of him that looked like a boy.


    He had never seen this boy before, but it seemed like it had been hidden behind the stone where the camera was placed all along. Fortunately, it was the Crawler Monster that had gone to retrieve the camera; had it been himself, his throat would probably have been slit by the child''s sharp nails by now.


    It now appeared the Crawler Monster was no match for this creature.


    Yan Junze was standing on the spot, clutching his waist; even standing and moving were already difficult for him, let alone running.


    Even if he could run, he believed he wouldn''t be able to outrun this swiftly moving, eerie child.


    "This guy... could it be related to the Boss in the Ghost Silk, or is it the strangeness itself? It has caught up so quickly?" Yan Junze speculated inside his head.


    At that moment, the crawly child suddenly accelerated, leaping towards Yan Junze''s direction.


    The Crawler Monster, which had been in front, scuttled behind Yan Junze fast, due to the fear of having its tongue cut.


    Yan Junze, who was impeded, brandished the cudgel in his hand and swung it over.


    The bizarre child moved erratically, and after several swings of the cudgel, not even a corner was touched.


    It was at that moment that Yan Junze felt a chill on his neck, as if a liquid was seeping out and slowly dripping down.


    The child, unnoticed, was already perched on his shoulder, its nails piercing through the skin of his neck.


    Rewind!


    This was his last chance!


    After a dizzy spell, Yan Junze stood inside the warehouse door with the Crawler Monster, not immediately leaving.


    Yan Junze crouched on the floor, pressing his sore waist with his left hand; his energy could only get him back here, and this had been the last time, as the rewind feature was now unusable.


    His gaze was cold as he stared intently behind the large flat stone.


    From this position, nothing could be discerned, but Yan Junze knew that a sinister child was hiding there.

 Chapter 165 A Fine Line Between Life and Death (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    ```Yan Junze had never felt death so close to him before.


    At this moment, he was certain that the strange boy hidden outside was definitely not the real Tricky Silk; otherwise, he might have been done for at their first encounter, without any chance to fight back.


    He checked the time; it was still a long way off from dawn. If he lingered here, he didn''t know when that concealed child would become impatient and enter the warehouse to search for him.


    Of course, if Yan Junze knew that the boy feared the Tricky Silk strangeness and didn''t even dare to enter the warehouse, he would have made another plan. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, the Tricky Silk strangeness was still far away, and the boy''s sensitivity to the oppressive aura of strangenesses had surpassed Long-tongued Zhenzhen, almost on par with Ke''er.


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the Crawler Monster lying beside him with a backpack on its back.


    "The child''s target should be me; he''s not very interested in you. Maybe you can draw his attention so that I can find an opportunity to leave the warehouse and slip away from the base of the mountain," he said.


    Although it understood the words, the Crawler Monster was as bewildered as ever. It looked up at Yan Junze, confused about his strange idea.


    In fact, it would have been best to have Zhenzhen come out and divert the strange child''s attention, but Zhenzhen''s magnetic field was extremely unstable at the moment, and Yan Junze didn''t dare release her for fear of causing even greater disasters.


    "Like this¡­"


    Just as Yan Junze was about to put his plan into action, he suddenly stopped, looked up, and saw a purple-green child''s head peeking out from behind the large stone¡ªthen, the skinny body of the child crawled to the front of the stone like a giant spider.


    The child had sensed the events unfolding in the Underground Space after waiting for so long, and the oppression he felt from the Tricky Silk strangeness was weakening.


    At this moment, the warehouse in front of him no longer seemed as intimidating as before.


    After crawling out, the child sniffed a few times, as if he was able to confirm that his perceptions were correct. He immediately bent his body and scurried toward the warehouse door.


    During the crawl, a trail of greenish slime was left behind him.


    "Not good, it seems like he''s found us."


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was startled and immediately pointed towards the left side of the door, instructing the Crawler Monster, "You go that way, get out first and attract his attention, quick!"


    The Crawler Monster fully understood the command and immediately crawled out of the warehouse door, rapidly moving to the left with the black backpack on its back.


    The approaching child was taken aback, not expecting the appearance of the Crawler Monster. So, he immediately turned to look at it with caution, facing in the direction where the Crawler Monster had escaped.


    He seemed to be considering whether to pursue, and at this moment, the child was turned sideways facing the warehouse door.


    Yan Junze swiftly slipped out of the door, his left hand still clutching his waist, his teeth clenched tightly, and he quickly left towards the right side, outside the door.


    He was very careful with his footsteps, making no noise, and since the child''s attention was on the Crawler Monster, just a few more seconds of distraction would mean that once Yan Junze slipped behind the mountain base, he would no longer be found.


    However, it turned out that an immature plan was akin to fantasy.


    Yan Junze had only taken four or five steps when the child turned its head around.


    Clearly, his focus wasn''t on the departing Crawler Monster. Since consuming the three words "Yan Junze," the obsession implanted by Cheng Jingting had made Yan Junze the sole target of his assassination.


    Upon turning his head, the child immediately spotted Yan Junze attempting to escape, and instantly his mouth split open, oozing green slime as he bent his hind legs and leaped towards him.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, making him feel chilled from head to toe. He released a club and swung it backward, but hit nothing.


    The child''s movements and dodging speed were astonishing, and he seemed different from the common Wandering Spirits, as well as unlike Sculpting Spirits or Semi-Sculpting Spirits.


    For Yan Junze, the child was like a jar of fermented pickles, a marinated corpse, a very pure body that didn''t seem to be any kind of spirit.


    This was highly unusual; he had never encountered such a situation before.


    Who exactly was it? Why was this individual targeting him?


    At this point, Yan Junze had no time to think further, for, after his missed strike with the club, a cold sensation immediately spread across his body, soon followed by a scorching pain.


    Looking down, he saw a terrifying wound on his abdomen, through which the outline of his intestines could be vaguely seen.


    ```


    Not only that, but the pain in his spine was excruciating, with at least two spots slashed deep enough to expose the bone.


    The Rewind Energy was insufficient; unable to rewind, Yan Junze''s will to survive was now fully ignited.


    He quickly pressed his back against the rocky wall at the base of the mountain, preventing the child from attacking him from behind, and then desperately swung his hammer down at the child attacking again.


    The blow went astray again, and upon contact with the child''s body, it felt slimy, almost completely sliding off the force of the hammer.


    The child merely tilted slightly to the side, stretched out a claw, and buried its sharp fingertips deep into Yan Junze''s thigh.


    Using this grip, the child climbed up onto his shoulders.


    "Fuck... your mother!"


    Yan Junze''s eyes were bloodshot as he caught sight of the Crawler Monster shivering in the distance, not daring to get closer.


    In this life-or-death moment, he didn''t think twice and released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Normally, Zhenzhen would have rushed to Yan Junze''s aid immediately upon seeing him in trouble.


    But now, Zhenzhen had just possessed a strangeness, the magnetic field was extremely chaotic, and Yan Junze was unsure whether releasing her would help or harm him, but he had to try.


    Zhenzhen stood to one side, pressing closely against the rocky wall as if she were a corpse, motionless.


    Her head hung low, her half-meter-long tongue swaying slightly, seemingly unconcerned about the crisis Yan Junze was facing.


    Thud!


    Sharp nails pierced Yan Junze''s shoulder, the tearing pain forcing a dreadful scream from him.


    In the deserted hinterland of Mountain Park, there was no one to hear him scream.


    Zhenzhen seemed to have lost her spirit intellect, the strangeness magnetic field in chaos, just gloomily standing against the rock wall as if ready to explode at any disturbance, yet showing no response even to Yan Junze''s scream.


    At the brink of death!


    Yan Junze violently threw his hammer at Zhenzhen, hoping to rile her up, make her notice him, and ideally get the two strangenesses to fight one another, just like Resentful Granny and Back-faced Woman did previously.


    But just as the hammer was about to hit Zhenzhen, her tongue lashed out, colliding with the hammer mid-air.


    With a loud bang, the hammer was repelled and fell to the ground.


    Zhenzhen also let out a muffled grunt, staggered backward, and pressed completely up against the wall.


    Clearly, the hammer could inflict a certain level of damage to her, but the impact wasn''t severe.


    Thud!


    The other shoulder of Yan Junze was once again penetrated by the child''s sharp nails, blood gushing out, flowing rapidly from the pierced holes, rendering both arms immovable.


    At this moment, his complexion was ashen, he lurched forward, and slammed heavily onto the ground.


    And Long-tongued Zhenzhen, after repelling the hammer, did not come over or shift her attention here.


    It''s over!


    Yan Junze felt a sense of despair.


    His head, pressed against the ground, was stepped on by the child. The child extended its razor-sharp nails, lightly tracing Yan Junze''s neck, puncturing the skin and flesh and reaching the artery.


    After a brief two-second pause, with a forceful move, the artery was instantly severed.


    A large amount of blood surged from Yan Junze''s neck.


    [Host detected on the brink of death, triggering "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," Different Dimension Energy insufficient, trigger failed¡­]

 Chapter 166 Video Playback (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Yan Junze only felt a pain at the back of his neck, and then the pain began to slowly fade away as the lower part of his body seemed to become moist, as if it were blood.He lay prostrate on the ground, his head to one side, gazing blankly ahead, his eyes gradually losing their luster.


    In his fading vision, the Crawler Monster that was trembling in terror, lying there with a backpack on, had completely lost its composure.


    Rewind!


    Rewind!


    Rewind!


    In his subconscious, he had repeated the thought of rewinding countless times to no avail, and his consciousness began to slip away.


    Convulsions, his entire body began to twitch due to excessive blood loss, but Junze could no longer feel it.


    Everything before his eyes became blurry, the shadow of the Crawler Monster vanished, and the scenery outside the warehouse disappeared alongside it.


    All he could see was a grayish-white world, a world of monochrome grey and white.


    He felt as if he had fallen asleep, as if he was dreaming. He dreamt of his parents, his classmates, Ke''er, the Back-faced Woman, Aunt Mei, Resentful Granny, and Lv Xin...


    In the dream, it seemed they were all smiling at him, with only Ke''er ceaselessly crawling around.


    "Eh?"


    Ke''er crawled onto his back, leaning sideways to bring her head in front of Yan Junze''s eyes. She appeared perplexed, yet there was a hint of excitement.


    "Ya ya ya ya..."


    Ke''er recognized him, her little cheeks nuzzling gently against Yan Junze''s face.


    Gazing vacantly at all this, Yan Junze felt nothing, just existing in the grey world as an onlooker, silently observing everything happening before him.


    In the moment before death, Ke''er''s figure became increasingly distinct, as if he could see clearly the scenery and the objects around the setting she was in.


    It seemed that Junze saw trees, green grass, and burial mounds, and then his consciousness started to fade bit by bit, completely vanishing.


    ...


    Time passed, and the fish-belly white of the sky appeared, gradually dispelling the darkness.


    At that moment, a light drizzle began to fall.


    The cold raindrops fell onto the side of Junze''s prostrate face, one by one.


    Suddenly, his eyelid twitched.


    About a minute later, he slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if lifting his eyelids was as heavy as lifting a thousand jun. Just opening them seemed to exhaust all his strength.


    The moment he opened his eyes, a piercing pain coursed through his body, jerking his eyelids, but after his gaze gradually focused, his senses began to recover, followed by a wave of bewilderment.


    "I''m not dead? I didn''t die?"


    Two minutes later, Yan Junze came to his senses.


    Although he was still lying on the ground outside the Mountain Park warehouse, he found that he was stubbornly alive.


    He tried to move his limbs, which felt almost alien to him but were still somewhat mobile.


    After about five minutes, he propped himself up with his hands and slowly sat upright, the light rain continuing to fall. He looked at the spot where he lay; there was no blood beneath him. Then, turning his head to look around, Junze''s pupils contracted, and his face showed horror.


    He saw that the green-skinned child had nothing left intact except its head; its torso and limbs were mere fragments, with no other parts visible.


    And the spot where he had been lying was not the position where he remembered collapsing against the rock wall; the ground where he had originally fallen was now soaked red with blood.


    Junze believed that was the blood that had flowed out after his neck had been slashed open.


    With that thought, he reached out to touch his neck, finding it unharmed, without even a scar.


    He quickly checked his stomach and found the frightening wound was also absent.


    He knew, though he couldn''t see his back, that the wound there must have also healed because there was no longer a sensation of pain from a wound.


    Instead, there was a deep exhaustion, as if every movement drained all the energy from his body.


    Yan Junze noticed that Long-tongued Zhenzhen was still standing in the direction of the rock wall, silent as ever, in the same pose as before.


    Turning once again to search for the Crawler Monster, it didn''t take long to spot the creature under the eaves near the warehouse door.


    Possibly because of the rain, the Crawler Monster had run under the eaves to take shelter. Otherwise, its parted hair on the head could easily stick together, making it troublesome to manage.


    But Yan Junze noticed that when he looked at the Crawler Monster, the creature immediately shuddered involuntarily, stepped back, and the look in its eyes was not just fear but had reached the point of terror.


    Yan Junze had the feeling that, right now, if he made his gaze even more fierce, the creature might very well scare itself into incontinence¡ªif it was capable of urinating, that is.


    What on earth... just happened?


    Zhenzhen, being in the midst of the magnetic field chaos, might not know what happened.


    But the Crawler Monster had clearly witnessed everything, and it seemed now to be extremely afraid of him, almost to an extreme degree.


    Why is that?


    Glancing at the mangled body of the green child on the ground, it looked as though its body had been torn apart by sheer force.


    Who did it?


    Just then, the Crawler Monster seemed to realize something. It no longer cared that its hair was getting wet and ran out from under the eave, picked up the camera from the flat rock, and returned under the eave.


    Regardless, ever since reaping the benefits from the Atlas, the creature had been very loyal to Yan Junze. This was evident from how it risked its parted hair getting wet to fetch the camera so diligently.


    "Camera?" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze''s eyes lit up slightly, but his body was really too weak to do much; being able to sit up was already quite an accomplishment.


    Unable to stand, he crawled towards the eaves beneath the warehouse door, emulating the Crawler Monster''s movements.


    The Crawler Monster, seeing him approach, immediately scurried away in terror.


    Once under the eave, Yan Junze reached out to it with a hoarse voice, "Camera... give it to me."


    The Crawler Monster hesitated, looked at the camera it was holding, then wiped it a couple of times before shuffling closer to Yan Junze and carefully handing it over.


    After obtaining the camera, the creature quickly retreated to one side, not daring to come close again.


    Now completely limp and exhausted, Yan Junze couldn''t leave for the time being.


    Even if the boss of the "Tricky Silk" mission burst out of the underground space behind the tunnel, he couldn''t care less. If he died, then so be it. There was no energy left to escape anymore.


    The camera had been recording towards the direction of the warehouse a door all along, so it must have captured the events as they unfolded. Since Yan Junze couldn''t find out the details himself, he had to resort to watching the playback of the recording.


    Lacking the strength to leave, he leaned against the metal door, extended one hand and struggled quite a bit before he managed to adjust the playback video correctly. Find more chapters on empire


    It appeared that the rain had only just started, and the camera hadn''t been completely soaked through. Otherwise, it would have been damaged already.


    Setting the playback to just when he had walked out of the warehouse, Yan Junze widened his eyes and stared intently.


    The angle of the camera was a bit off from where his throat had been slashed, but thankfully, the scene was still visible. He quickly jumped the footage to the moment the Corpse Child''s nail had severed his carotid artery.


    In the video, he collapsed to the ground as a copious amount of blood spurted from his throat while the Corpse Child stood on him, watching silently.


    Soon after, as his body lost too much blood in a short period, he began to twitch slightly.


    About three minutes later, the twitching stopped, and he seemed to have... died?!


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then looked down at himself and checked his own pulse.


    Alive, for sure!


    Just then, in the video, the Corpse Child suddenly startled, leaping away from the body it had been standing on, landing nearby with a shocked stare at the prone body.


    Yan Junze''s eyes widened as he leaned in closer to see the screen, noticing what seemed to be a large amount of hair growing from his prone body at an alarming rate, clear even from a distance.


    Then, his body got up in a strange and awkward position, head and limbs dangling as if they had no strength.


    Once he became fully upright, he slowly turned around in a grotesque manner, presenting his back to the shocked Corpse Child.


    And then, a scene occurred that struck Yan Junze with terror.


    In the video, his own neck began to slowly rotate one hundred and eighty degrees to face the Corpse Child.


    Recognizing this familiar scene, an unbelievable suspicion surged in Yan Junze''s mind, making him blurt out something vulgar.


    "Damn, so it turns out... I was subjected to Spirit-Splitting!"

 Chapter 168 Fake Spirit Body

    Yan Junze thought it over but felt something was off.If it had been a simple spirit-splitting like that of the Resentful Granny, he would have been completely controlled by her much earlier and wouldn''t have waited until the moment when he was about to be killed for it to explode forth.


    Could it be... the Back-faced Woman planted this spirit-splitting in him to help him?


    If it truly was for his own good, then this method was far too terrifying.


    Regardless, it seemed that his body had now returned to normal, even the fatal wounds had disappeared, which for the time being was good news for him.


    After a bout of whimsical ideas, Yan Junze quickly fell into a deep sleep.


    He slept until six in the evening before waking up, his head felt groggy, and his limbs were still weak and limp.


    After waking, he lay in bed for quite a while.


    When he arrived at the bathroom, a glance in the mirror gave Yan Junze quite a shock.


    His reflection was as pale as paper; had his eyes not been blinking, he would have been indistinguishable from a dead person.


    "Is this a symptom of having undergone spirit-splitting?" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He then remembered that he was severely lacking blood, and although it seemed he could stand here, there was hardly any blood in his body.


    This was definitely not good for him.


    Should the lost blood be replenished through a transfusion at the hospital, or should he drink directly?


    Thinking it over, if he went to the hospital and requested a blood transfusion directly, it would probably cause a sensation. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain how someone could walk into a hospital alive with a completely insufficient blood supply inside their body.


    He decided to try drinking some blood to see if his body would absorb it and convert it into his own blood supply.


    Immediately, he took out his phone and called Zhou Dali.


    "What, you need fresh blood? What for? Catching a vampire?" Zhou Dali sounded obviously shocked on the other end.


    "Don''t worry about it, just get me some," Yan Junze said.


    "Do you want human blood, or..."


    "Animal... animal blood will do, any problem?"


    Zhou Dali nodded, "Should be no problem, my great-uncle''s godmother''s daughter''s husband''s sister''s husband has a farm, I''ll ask him."


    Yan Junze had gotten used to Zhou Dali''s intricate web of relatives and connections. There was always a line to follow, a person to find, and a way to help whenever needed.


    "If possible, could you hurry? I''ll pay you for the blood," Yan Junze said.


    "What are you talking about money for, that hurts the feelings," Zhou Dali hung up the phone and went off to make arrangements.


    After a quick wash of his face, Yan Junze''s mother, Li Man, came home.


    She had seen her son sleeping in the morning, so she did not wake him. But now, seeing Yan Junze''s pale face, she was startled and began asking many concerned questions.


    Yan Junze only claimed he had stayed up too late and was feeling a bit of a cold, had taken some cold medicine, and then retreated back to his bedroom to rest.


    Seeing that he was simply pale and not exhibiting any other symptoms, Li Man hurried to the kitchen, defrosted two fish, and started cooking chicken with mushrooms, planning to give Yan Junze a nourishing meal that evening.


    While lying in bed, Yan Junze made a call to Zhang Xiaomo.


    The two hadn''t seen each other for a while, and after a bit of small talk, Yan Junze found an opportunity to ask, "By the way, you mentioned last time that after 48 hours of being spirit-split, there would be no saving them. What would such a person turn into then?"


    "Completely controlled by the strangeness itself, devoid of their own thoughts, they become like walking corpses." Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment, although she didn''t know why he would ask such a question, she still quickly responded.


    "Are there any exceptions?" Yan Junze said, "For instance, the person appears completely normal, without any anomalies, only under certain special conditions might the state of Spirit-Splitting be triggered."


    Zhang Xiaomo had an epiphany: "What you''re talking about isn''t Spirit-Splitting; it''s a Fake Spirit Body. Only strangenesses of at least the Sculpting Spirit level can achieve a Fake Spirit Body.


    If a person is imbued with a Fake Spirit Body, when the life of the Fake Spirit Body is in danger, the Spirit Body will be activated, temporarily possessing the power of that Sculpting Spirit level strangeness."


    "Are there any side effects?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Of course, there are." Zhang Xiaomo replied, "As soon as the Fake Spirit Body is activated for the first time, that person is referred to by us exorcists as a ''Semi-spirit,'' which is between that of strangeness and human.


    Normally they seem like an ordinary person, even exorcists can hardly detect them, but once the Fake Spirit Body is activated, they can be considered equivalent to a true strangeness."


    "Do you have to exterminate such... Semi-spirits?" This was a matter of great concern to Yan Junze.


    Find more to read at empire


    It seemed he had already activated the Fake Spirit Body, unquestionably making him the "Semi-spirit" described by Zhang Xiaomo.


    "That depends on the purpose for which the person activated the Fake Spirit Body," Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile, "I remember telling you that some people have very powerful special constitutions, making them most suitable for activating a Fake Spirit Body, and some of them are also Spirit Cultivators.


    After nurturing a powerful strangeness, they merge with it on purpose through certain methods to obtain a Fake Spirit Body."


    "There''s such a situation?" Yan Junze was astonished.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, "The motives of these kinds of Semi-spirits are very bad, definitely the targets we exorcists exterminate. But the good Semi-spirits are not to be exterminated. If used well, they can still be a potent ally."


    That''s more like it.


    Yan Junze sighed in relief, otherwise if he failed to collect Different Dimension Energy and ended up being hunted by exorcists every day, would he still have a life to live?


    "Why do you ask these questions? Did you encounter a ''Semi-spirit''?" Zhang Xiaomo inquired.


    Yan Junze made up a story, "No, just asking for a friend who encountered one, didn''t know what it was, and was curious to ask you."


    "I see." Zhang Xiaomo smiled, "To make a person a ''Semi-spirit,'' a strangeness of at least Sculpting Spirit level usually has to pay a considerable price. This thing... can''t really be said to be good or bad, if not handled carefully, it''s possible to become a True Spirit Body, that is, the so-called Ethereal spirit."


    "What the hell is an Ethereal spirit?" Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    "Uh, above Sculpting Spirit."


    After rambling on with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, Yan Junze gained a few more insights into the concept of strangenesses. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at the situation, him becoming a "Semi-spirit" was now a fact, as he had already triggered the Fake Spirit Body state during the critical moment last night, and with the first activation, he was now a Semi-spirit.


    But Zhang Xiaomo had said that to plant a Fake Spirit Body requires a considerable cost from a Sculpting Spirit level strangeness. If the Back-faced Woman intentionally planted it in him, then her intentions may not be malicious toward him.


    Still, if she really meant to help him, then the price was too steep.


    Zhang Xiaomo was currently in the Tianmeng District office, she had agreed with Yan Junze to have a meal together when he reported to Tianmeng University of Science and Technology, and then she hung up the phone.


    Before long, Li Man had prepared the meals, and Yan Daguo had also come home.


    Yan Junze, pushing through his frailty, got up and, after smelling the fragrant fish soup that made his mouth water, he gulped down most of the bowl in one go, then ate a small bowl of chicken stewed with mushrooms.


    Just as he was about to add some more rice and eat some homely dishes,


    suddenly his stomach churned, his already pale cheeks turned purplish-green in an instant, and his stomach began to roil.


    Under the astonished eyes of his parents, he hurried into the bathroom and retched, vomiting everything he had just eaten.


    Li Man thought he was severely ill and quickly brought him a cup of hot water.


    At this moment, the text message tone from Yan Junze''s phone in his pocket rang. Wiping his mouth with a towel, he casually took out his phone and unlocked the screen to see that it was from Zhang Xiaomo.


    "By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier. A Semi-spirit can only consume very little human food, however, it will seek out its own kind of food; this is also an important factor in identifying whether that Semi-spirit poses a threat."

 Chapter 169 Yan Junzes Staple Food

    Couldn''t stomach anything anymore.Having already vomited everything out, at the sight of the text message from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze completely lost his appetite.


    He hadn''t expected that after activating his Fake Spirit Body, he would have to eat very little human food and mainly seek out his own kind of sustenance.


    "How the hell am I supposed to know what I''m supposed to eat?" sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze lay back on the bed, his mother placed a wet towel on his forehead, and then took out a thermometer usually kept at home to take his temperature.


    Five minutes later, Li Man took the thermometer and showed it to Yan Daguo.


    Then Yan Daguo vigorously shook the thermometer a few times and said bluntly, "The mercury might be broken."


    "How much?" Yan Junze asked, lifting his head.


    "It hasn''t even reached 35 degrees," Yan Daguo frowned and answered.


    This type of mercury thermometer generally has a minimum scale of 35 degrees. Now the mercury hadn''t even reached the 35-degree mark and was far from the minimum, leading Yan Daguo to believe the thermometer was broken.


    "We can''t wait; we''re going to the hospital now," Li Man suggested.


    "It''s nothing, Mom," Yan Junze shook his head, "I just haven''t rested well these past couple of days. I''ll sleep a bit more, and I''ll recover by tomorrow."


    Just then, there was a knock on the living room door, followed by Zhou Dali''s booming voice, "Junze, open up, I''m here to see you."


    Yan Daguo went out to open the door.


    Seeing it was Yan Daguo, Zhou Dali immediately looked down and gave an embarrassed smile, "Uncle, is Junze in? I came to see him."


    As he spoke, he lifted the black plastic bag he was carrying.


    "He''s feeling a bit unwell and is lying in bed. Go on in," Yan Daguo thought the bag contained nutritional supplements and nodded.


    Once inside the bedroom, Li Man also stepped out and closed the bedroom door.


    Zhou Dali sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the black plastic bag he had been carrying, taking out five bags of fresh blood.


    The bags of blood weren''t large, each about the same size as the bagged milk bought for breakfast.


    "It''s all chicken blood, from chickens killed just a while ago. I froze it in the fridge to prevent it from coagulating into blood clots, so it''s still icy," explained Zhou Dali. "What are you planning to do with it?"


    "Put it under the bed for now," Yan Junze didn''t answer his question, and instead said, "Tomorrow I need you to do something for me. Go to the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area from where you picked me up and collect a few payments. Here''s the address."


    As he said this, he took out a piece of paper with an address already written on it from the drawer of his bedside table.


    "Remember to bring your ID. I''ll call these people in advance and tell them you''ll be coming over."


    "Sure, no problem." Even though Zhou Dali didn''t know what Yan Junze was up to, he was clear-headed when it came to collecting money.


    They chatted about going to university next month. Seeing that Yan Junze wasn''t in good shape, Zhou Dali didn''t stay for long, said he''d take care of the task the next day, and then got up to leave.


    Not long after Zhou Dali left, the parents came into the bedroom and urged him to go to the hospital.


    After some sweet-talking, Yan Junze finally convinced his parents to leave. Then he locked the bedroom door, took out the bags of fresh blood from under the bed, and randomly picked one.


    There were no straws, so he bit open the bag, frowned, and carefully tried sipping a mouthful before slowly swallowing.


    It was fishy, but not as bad as he had imagined.


    So for the second sip, he took a bit more, swallowed, and then paid close attention to any changes in his body.


    Feeling nothing, he ended up finishing off the bag in a few gulps, wiped his mouth clean with a couple of tissues, and then lay back on the bed.


    About half an hour later, the anticipated stomach pain or diarrhea didn''t materialize; instead, the body aches began to fade away.


    Although the fatigue hadn''t totally subsided, it had significantly improved. Not only that, but Yan Junze even felt somewhat full.


    After a long while, he let out a wry smile. It seemed he had found his main source of sustenance, but why wasn''t it bread and milk? Why was it blood?


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    Although the sense of fatigue had diminished, his body was still weak. After a moment, he took out the second bag from under the bed, bit it open, and gulped it down quickly, much faster than the first time.


    Then he took out the third bag, the fourth bag, and finally, the last one.


    In the blink of an eye, he had drunk all five bags of blood.


    His strength was rapidly returning, and the feeling of weakness was mostly gone, with only occasional sensations of lethargy.


    There were no mirrors in the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat on the bed, took a selfie with his phone, and struck a victory pose, having turned off the beautification and filters in advance.


    He looked at the photo, the angle was quite good, and it showed potential for a selfie expert. His cheeks were still a bit pale, but much better than at the beginning.


    As a "Semi-spirit," it seemed that drinking animal blood was a lot more effective than drinking fish soup.


    Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yan Junze''s mind went blank for a moment. He hadn''t expected his body to end up like this, and there was still a process of acceptance he needed to go through.


    He wasn''t saying he couldn''t eat human food anymore, but he could only consume it in moderation, and his main food...


    He turned his head to look at the empty bags thrown into the trash bin and let out a wry smile. Even if he stole animal blood, he needed to figure out how to dispose of the trash properly, or it could raise suspicion from his parents and friends.


    He had recovered a lot of energy. Though not fully recharged, Yan Junze didn''t want to sleep anymore.


    He booted up his computer and copied all the videos from the camcorder and the camera on his chest, watching them carefully.


    In the footage, the part where he''s carried aloft by Long-tongued Zhenzhen after entering the tunnel had to be deleted, and so did the interaction with the Crawler Monster.


    The scene outside the warehouse in Mountain Park, where he was ambushed by a child and then fought back, was also deleted.


    After these cuts, Yan Junze couldn''t help but both laugh and cry.


    The entire video no longer seemed complete, just bits and pieces, as if there was no storyline. It required voice-over or text explanations in order to roughly describe the entire Spirit Exploration process.


    But the good news was that the cave had given off a strong sense of mystery, which should do well in terms of horror atmosphere.


    After editing, he contacted Tang Zhengyi and sent over the video.


    Only then did he start to feel a bit hungry again. Without blood, he could still eat human food, at least enough to stave off hunger in critical moments.


    He took the trash can with the discarded blood bags, carried the plastic bag out of the bedroom, opened the door, and threw it into the waste disposal nearby.


    He returned home and managed to find some leftovers from dinner in the kitchen.


    He didn''t dare to eat much, just a little, then went back to his room to lie down. At this point, he felt as though his days were numbered, for he had already lost a lot of blood and definitely hadn''t drunk enough animal blood yet.


    But under the current circumstances, he could only think of visiting a blood center. He certainly couldn''t go around randomly biting people on the streets, right?


    Yan Junze felt troubled, took out his cellphone, and took a selfie showing a five-toothed smile, looking at the photo.


    At least he hadn''t grown zombie teeth.


    He didn''t know how long he pondered, but eventually, he fell asleep.


    Early the next day, Yan Junze called the four families from the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area. Actually, they already knew the situation had been handled without needing his notice.


    Around ten o''clock, Zhou Dali notified Yan Junze that he had received all the money and had confirmed it, but he couldn''t leave at the moment because the police and a team of Exorcists had sealed off the entrances and exits of Spectacular Courtyard.


    Especially on the Mountain Park side, where police lines had been put up.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze had a thought: if the Tricky Silk Boss of the Underground Space were discovered by the Exorcists, he wondered what the outcome would be.

 Chapter 170 Mysterious Identity

    Yan Junze wasn''t worried about Tricky Silk''s boss being taken out by an exorcist before him. Now, it seemed that the guy was too strong; he didn''t have the ability to cope with it at all.So it didn''t matter whether the exorcist managed to dispose of it or not.


    He was just afraid that his trail would be discovered.


    Yan Junze had checked beforehand, and there were no security cameras installed behind the Mountain Park. Usually, other than the elderly playing with spinning tops, no one else went there to wander around.


    The warehouse contained nothing but sundries and held nothing of value, so it was in a surveillance blind spot.


    The surveillance inside the community didn''t affect him much; he had already told Old Master Li from Spectacular Courtyard Villa C5-1 in the morning; the old man had considerable influence in the community and could easily take the surveillance footage.


    After thinking for a while, Yan Junze made a call to Huang Chen.


    Huang Chen was on-site behind Mountain Park at Spectacular Courtyard, and as soon as he answered the call, Yan Junze blurted out, "Brother Chen, I heard there was a big incident at Spectacular Courtyard! Are you over there?"


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    "Of course I am. The area''s been sealed off, and the police are present," Huang Chen said. "You''re really well-informed, kiddo! What do you want to know?" Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Did you discover any strangeness?" Yan Junze asked, feigning a bit of curiosity.


    "Yes, we did," Huang Chen nodded, "Right at the foot of the mountain, but it''s already dead, only its head remains."


    "How powerful was it, what level?" Yan Junze inquired.


    "We can''t determine that for the time being, but..." Huang Chen seemed to move to a more secluded spot, whispering, "It should be related to a Spirit Cultivator. This dead strangeness, to be precise, belongs to the category of strangeness but should more appropriately be called a ''corpse''."


    "A corpse?" Yan Junze expressed his shock and doubt.


    It seemed that the blue child who tried to kill him belonged to some Spirit Cultivator.


    If that was the case, it wasn''t just the child that wanted to kill him but rather a problem with that Spirit Cultivator.


    When had he offended a Spirit Cultivator?


    Yan Junze wondered and then continued to ask, "If it''s related to a Spirit Cultivator, is it possible to trace its master''s whereabouts?"


    "That''s difficult," Huang Chen shook his head, "If we were prepared beforehand, it might be possible to trace, but right now we''re also in the dark. And even if we were prepared, we''d have to hand it over to the exorcists from Tianmeng District, we''re powerless here."


    After a pause, Huang Chen chuckled, "You''ve finished your college entrance exams, haven''t you? Since you''re so interested in strange cases, why not come to our team for a test tomorrow?"


    "Thanks, but don''t trick a minor. I still have to study!" Yan Junze was about to hang up the phone, but he thought for a moment and asked, "So, did you only find that one strangeness there? Nothing else?"


    "Nothing else," Huang Chen replied. "We''ve deployed five Spirit Detectors to scan the area, and we didn''t detect any other spirit magnetic field fluctuations."


    They hadn''t discovered the Tricky Silk boss?


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment; maybe there were two possibilities. One was that the guy was too powerful, overshadowing the Spirit Detectors'' scanning. The other was that the mysterious person who had intercepted the boss had possibly already taken care of it.


    At the same time.


    In the Garden Villa of Spectacular Courtyard, Bao Jie''s aunt, Bao Yunjing, and her family of four were sitting at home. Her husband, Yan He, had just made a trip to Mountain Park.


    Even though the site was sealed off and he couldn''t get in to see,


    Yan He still confidently told his family, "They say a strangeness died there, and the scene was very brutal. And according to Yan Junze''s instructions, we kept watch all night yesterday in turns. There weren''t any anomalies, so this strangeness was probably dealt with by him."


    Not only that, the Lin Family who lived in the Garden Villa and the Zhao Family from the villa area had family members visit the scene to take a look, and according to instructions, they took turns keeping watch the night before, and nothing unusual occurred.


    The old Master Li from villa C5-1 in the villa area had gathered all his family members at this moment, filling up the living room.


    Old Master Li''s expression was solemn, but a hint of relief and ease could be seen at the corner of his eyes. He spoke in a deep voice, "I just went to the scene myself to take a look, and I saw up close the strangeness that Master Yan killed, nothing left but a green head. It''s over, I''m certain our Li Family is safe now."


    About two hours later, Yan Junze received a phone call from Zhou Dali, telling him that he had gotten out and was on his way to FH Community.


    The largest of the four payments this time came from the wealthy Li Family, a direct deposit of 500,000 into Yan Junze''s account. The Lin and Zhao families each contributed 200,000, one via bank transfer and the other in cash.


    As for the cheapest, it was Bao Yunjing''s family, who received a friend''s rate of 20,000, considering Bao Jie''s face.


    This action had netted him 920,000, and this didn''t even include the platform''s fees.


    With the money secured, tuition and the cost of university life were no longer a concern, and Yan Junze felt a weight lift from his heart.


    Zhou Dali soon returned, because his parents had gotten up early in the morning and saw that Yan Junze indeed seemed much better. Although he was still pale, after letting their worries go, they reminded him to continue taking his medicine, and then both went off to work.


    Only Yan Junze was at home.


    The backpack Zhou Dali brought back contained 220,000 in cash, with the rest already deposited into Yan Junze''s account.


    Yan Junze took out 10,000 from the stack of money and handed it to Zhou Dali, "This is your hard-earned money."


    Zhou Dali''s eyes lit up, but he scratched his head sheepishly, "This... seems a bit inappropriate, I didn''t exert much effort. It was just that I didn''t register when entering the Spectacular Courtyard, and the community security asked me questions with ill intentions. Then the community was sealed off, and I was interrogated by the police like a suspect for a while.


    On the way back, I missed the bus and spent some money on a taxi, then there was..."


    "Enough, enough," Yan Junze cut him off, unable to listen any longer, "Just take it, will ya? Why all the fuss?"


    "Hehe," Zhou Dali blushed, taking the 10,000 and hurriedly stuffing it into his pocket.


    His pocket immediately swelled conspicuously.


    Yan Junze took out another 10,000, and Zhou Dali immediately waved his hands, "No, no, I can''t take that much, it''s not right..."


    "This is for buying blood," Yan Junze tossed the money to him. "From now on, get me more, every week... uh... at least twenty bags."


    Seeing Zhou Dali''s puzzled face, Yan Junze quickly shut him up, "Don''t ask any questions, now that you have the money, take the time to have some good fun these next few days, but don''t go to bathhouses, no saunas or foot massages, and definitely no into those hair salons that have red lights and masquerade as something else.


    You''ll have an entrance exam after you start school, don''t wreck yourself during this time."


    Zhou Dali looked surprised, "Holy shit, how do you know so much? Someone without experience couldn''t list it off like that!"


    "Bring me 5 bags of blood today, chicken, duck, or black dog blood, any will do, go now!" Yan Junze pushed him out of the room.


    According to his own guess, if his main sustenance was drinking blood, it might not necessarily be limited to the blood of certain animals.


    That is, possibly any kind of animal blood should be drinkable; with his current "Semi-spirit" body, he should be able to absorb it all.


    At the same moment.


    In an old residential building in Tianyi District.


    Cheng Jingting''s face was dark as he rolled up his sleeves, staring at the skin on the inside of his right elbow.


    This patch of skin was already covered by a hard black shell, the surface of the shell pitted and distorted, looking very much like the clot of secretion he had thrown to the ground for the Corpse Child to lick earlier.


    "I''ve expended ''Magnetic Field Tremor'' to send you to Tianmeng District in Shuntian City in a short time, and you were so useless?!" Cheng Jingting muttered to himself.

 Chapter 171 Aunt Mei Speaks Up

    ```Fortunately, the piece of hard black material on his arm wasn''t very big. He couldn''t see anything unusual with the sleeves down, but it still greatly angered Cheng Jingting.


    This was the backlash from the destruction of the nurtured spirit. You''re lucky that the strength of the green child wasn''t very strong; otherwise, his backlash could have been greater.


    "Didn''t expect him to be killed?!" Cheng Jingting muttered to himself as he lowered his sleeve, "Could he also be a spirit cultivator? Otherwise, how do you explain his consistent success in spirit exploration? Hmm, maybe he has a special method for exorcism."


    However, Cheng Jingting wasn''t worried. It was just the death of a child; no one would be able to trace it back to him.


    He turned to look at a row of clay jars in the corner. Though there were over a dozen jars, there weren''t many nurturing spirits inside; they were basically "food."


    There were also two other children, but they hadn''t taken shape at all.


    For Cheng Jingting, his specialty was corpses, not genuine spirit nurturing, which he rarely dealt with. He only knew a bit about the methods.


    In past video tutorials, he had essentially just orally shared the basic methods of spirit nurturing, allowing potential spirit cultivators scattered throughout Great Capital Huaying to experiment with these methods.


    Now that the child had been eliminated and he had suffered a backlash, it put him in a very bad mood.


    The woman in the pajamas who had been following him couldn''t stay long in the clay jar vacated by the child. She wasn''t tamed at all ¨C if let out, she would still think of harming him at any moment.


    Knock, knock, knock...


    There came a knock at the door.


    Cheng Jingting frowned and stood up to go to the door. He looked through the peephole and his expression darkened.


    The knocking continued.


    Just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly got an idea, turned back into the room, and fetched a clean disposable paper cup. He walked over to the row of jars, opened one, scooped out some black paste, and placed it into the cup.


    After setting the cup aside, the intermittent knocking still hadn''t stopped, as if it would continue indefinitely if the door wasn''t opened.


    At that moment, Cheng Jingting''s expression became very natural as he reached the door and opened it.


    Outside stood the same woman in the earthy yellow dress, looking haggard.


    Upon seeing Cheng Jingting open the door, she immediately asked, "My child, have you seen my child?" Experience new stories on empire


    Cheng Jingting put on a smile, "This is your 38th time asking me. Hmm, I think I might have seen him."


    The woman had been asking everyone in the neighborhood every day, to the point where everyone was tired of her. But she was persistent, almost crazily searching, and although everyone''s answers disappointed her, she never thought of giving up.


    This time, she didn''t expect to get a completely surprising answer from a neighbor, and her usually dull and lifeless eyes suddenly lit up.


    "You... You saw my child? You saw Little Su Jie? Where is he?"


    "Come in, come inside and I''ll tell you," Cheng Jingting said with a smile, pulling the door open a bit more.


    The woman, not thinking anything else, hurried inside.


    The door closed behind her.


    Cheng Jingting invited the young mother to sit down on a cloth sofa, saying, "You must be tired from looking for your child every day. Sit down for a moment; I''ll pour you some hot tea."


    Turning his back to her, he picked up the cup that had already been prepared, filled with black paste, added some tea leaves, and poured hot water in, swirling the cup a few times.


    The black paste dissolved quickly in the hot water, leaving the water cloudy. At first glance, it didn''t look much different from steeped tea.


    He placed the cup in front of the woman and sat down opposite her, his eyes smiling, "Have a sip of hot water, and then I''ll tell you about my encounter with Little Su Jie."


    "Mhm, thank you." The haggard-looking woman picked up the cup.


    The strong tea flavor couldn''t mask another scent in the water, but she was so preoccupied that she didn''t notice it. After blowing on it twice, she quickly took a sip.


    ```


    Cheng Jingting''s brows relaxed, and he fixed her with a chuckling gaze...


    ...


    For a whole week, Yan Junze didn''t leave the house, focusing solely on nursing his body back to health.


    The first activation of the "Fake Spirit Body" had cost him dearly. Though it didn''t kill him, it seemed to have damaged various bodily functions, especially the supply of blood.


    Even now, his complexion was still somewhat pale.


    Yan Junze believed that he, as a "Semi-spirit," would probably maintain this pale complexion for a long time to come.


    A week later, he took the opportunity to go out, deposited the 200 thousand cash into his own account, and then transferred 50 thousand to his mother Li Man''s account.


    He couldn''t transfer too much for the first time; otherwise, his parents would still be suspicious. In the future, he would transfer money regularly to prove that his high income was stable and to ease their worries. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After wandering the streets for half a day, remembering that he hadn''t visited Aunt Mei for a while, Yan Junze bought a large number of candles and returned to FH Community.


    On the way, he stared at the candles in his hand, incredulously thinking it was fortunate his main diet was blood, not candles. Otherwise, what an experience it would be to gnaw on candles all day.


    On second thought, Zhang Xiaomo had said that there might be other Spirit Cultivators who could be Semi-spirits, and their main diet might be beyond his understanding, possibly even more bizarre.


    Reaching the underground parking garage, Yan Junze walked straight into the southeast corner''s utility room, arms full of candles, and called out, "Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I''ve brought candles for you and the strange babies."


    Whoosh... Whoosh...


    Two strange babies rushed out from inside a room, one of them grabbing the plastic bag full of candles from Yan Junze; he quickly let go, and the strange babies, one after the other, dragged the candles into the back room.


    Soon after came the sounds of tearing plastic and chewing.


    Next second, Aunt Mei, with her elongated limbs and bloated body, staggered out of the back room''s door, maintaining her friendly smile as she looked at Yan Junze.


    "Aunt Mei, how have you been these past few days?" Yan Junze asked with a cheeky grin.


    Suddenly, he noticed the smile fading from Aunt Mei''s face, slowly disappearing.


    Then Aunt Mei extended her arm, which grew longer and longer. Her body didn''t move, but her arm reached across the outer room, almost the entire distance of the room, and rested on Yan Junze''s shoulder.


    Yan Junze was startled, not daring to move or resist, merely looking at the hand on his shoulder and then back at Aunt Mei in amazement.


    "You''ve changed."


    Corpse Granny''s lips didn''t move, yet this was the first time he heard her speak, as if the words were echoing directly in his mind.


    "You... can you speak?" Yan Junze asked in surprise.


    Corpse Granny nodded, but her lips remained still, her voice once again resonating in Yan Junze''s mind: "Spirit Body... dangerous... refrain from using."


    "Shit," Yan Junze was stunned, "Aunt Mei, you can tell I''ve become a ''Semi-spirit''? Yes, the Fake Spirit Body, I triggered it accidentally a few days ago."


    "Refrain from using... otherwise... True Spirit," Corpse Granny''s voice was intermittent, "No cure... possible."


    "That''s serious?" Yan Junze was shocked.


    Corpse Granny''s words were concise, implying that if he used the Fake Spirit Body repeatedly, then Yan Junze might become a true strangeness, and there would be no cure for him.


    In fact, ever since the first activation of the Fake Spirit Body, Yan Junze himself had the feeling that he could trigger it again at any moment, if he wished, given his current condition.


    But he was equally worried that this thing seemed to have no benefits for him, just as Zhang Xiaomo had said, if triggered too frequently, there were bound to be severe consequences.


    "Aunt Mei, this Fake Spirit Body was planted by that Sculpting Spirit strangeness that you met last time. Do you have any way to remove it?" Yan Junze eagerly inquired.


    Corpse Granny shook her head; however, she still uttered two words: "Neutralize it."

 Chapter 172 Exchange Conditions

    "Neutralize?"Aunt Mei''s words were brief, yet there certainly was reason in them.


    With puzzlement, Yan Junze returned to his home upstairs, locked himself in the bedroom, and pondered over the phrase seriously.


    Currently, his Different Dimension Energy had been in a state of deficiency, and the already unfolded Atlas could store approximately 5400 points of energy, but only about 400 points had been recovered so far.


    If he didn''t complete tasks, to recover on his own might take roughly a month or so to fully replenish his current energy levels.


    This was not a worry for Yan Junze, as he did not plan to take on any more tasks for the time being. Even if he encountered strangenesses, he did not intend to touch them, preferring to wait until both his body and the Atlas''s energy were fully recovered.


    Could ''neutralize'' mean to use Different Dimension Energy to neutralize the Fake Spirit Body within him? But Aunt Mei might not know that he possessed Different Dimension Energy, although it now seemed very similar to what is known as Yin Energy.


    There was another possibility, which was to harmonize the Fake Spirit Body with someone like Aunt Mei once more, such as Fang Ning hidden within the shadows.


    Thinking of this possibility, Yan Junze''s eyes slightly lit up.


    If he really could draw out Fang Ning''s soul from the shadows and have it neutralize with his Fake Spirit Body, there might be two possible outcomes.


    One would be mutual cancellation or depletion after the conflict¡ªeither both parties would annihilate each other, or one would barely triumph and be left severely weakened.


    The second outcome could be that rather than neutralizing, the state of the Fake Spirit Body might be augmented. In such a case, it could very well lead to him becoming a True Spirit Body, which Aunt Mei referred to as beyond redemption.


    "I dare not try unless absolutely necessary," Yan Junze was somewhat troubled.


    If the results didn''t develop as he had imagined, he could solve it by using Rewind, but what he feared was, if he turned into a True Spirit Body, lost his rationality, or turned to an evil alignment, what would he do if he was unable to use Rewind?


    Anything was possible, so he couldn''t act with impatience; he had to take it step by step. For now, he just shouldn''t use the Fake Spirit Body state.


    After much thought, Yan Junze decided not to rush into experimenting; waiting until he had some assurance before trying wouldn''t be too late.


    Before reporting to Tianmeng District University of Science and Technology, he rested quietly at home, occasionally went out with Zhou Dali, and visited Aunt Mei and the strange baby, without taking on any other tasks.


    The day for university freshmen to register arrived in a blink of an eye.


    Yan Junze did not plan on having his parents send him to Tianmeng Science University, and Li Man and Yan Daguo were likewise very confident in their son.


    Lately, Yan Junze''s growth had been extraordinary, giving them a sense of newfound respect; not only was he unafraid of strangenesses, but he also resolved some strange issues and even consistently secured a high and steady income.


    Therefore, concerning Yan Junze, the couple was now much more at ease. Since Yan Junze did not request them to see him off, they did not insist.


    FH Community, the underground parking garage.


    Yan Junze sat on a large cardboard box between pipes, watching the two strange babies gnawing at incense sticks, while Aunt Mei sat on the other side, wearing a kind smile as she watched Yan Junze.


    Since the last time Aunt Mei had spoken after discovering Yan Junze''s Fake Spirit Body, she had since returned to silence, not conveying any thoughts in Yan Junze''s mind.


    Yan Junze suspected that communicating in such a way might have some impact, so Aunt Mei did not converse with others lightly.


    "I''m leaving, Aunt Mei," Yan Junze said. "I''m going to study in Tianmeng District, so I won''t be able to visit you often or bring incense sticks for you anymore." Continue reading at empire


    Aunt Mei smiled and nodded.


    "I''ll come back to see you during vacations," continued Yan Junze. "There''s just one thing, I might need to ask for your help. Um, during the time I''m not here, the FH Community... Can I ask you to take care of it?"


    Aunt Mei did not speak or show any other expression.


    Yan Junze added, "I''m not asking you to do anything, you just need to let out some of the strangeness pressure that you usually keep reined in. That should scare off other strangenesses from entering the community."


    As soon as her words fell, Aunt Mei suddenly turned her head and looked at the strange infants nibbling on sweet-smelling candles nearby.


    The infants shuddered slightly, set the candles down, and looked up at Aunt Mei with surprise.


    Aunt Mei glanced back at Yan Junze and reached out, seizing each infant by the neck with one hand. Startled, they dropped their candles and were held motionless as Aunt Mei brought them before Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised and, after a moment of silence, asked, "Do you want me to... take them with me?"


    Aunt Mei nodded.


    "Actually, they listen very well to you. If I take them..." Yan Junze paused mid-sentence as if he had just remembered something, then corrected himself, "If I don''t take them away, won''t you have trouble focusing on taking care of the entire community because of having to look after them?"


    Aunt Mei nodded again.


    "I see!" said Yan Junze, nodding in return, "No problem, they will follow me from now on. However, right now, Aunt Mei, you have to get them to let their guard down against me. Otherwise, I can''t bring these two rascals under control."


    Aunt Mei smiled and brought the strange infants closer to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze explained, "Just so you know, I have a skill called ''Lock Evil Spirits,'' but it can only be used on evil spirits of a lower level or those who choose to cooperate with me. Otherwise, I can''t apply the lockdown."


    Aunt Mei gave no other response but still pushed the infants up against Yan Junze.


    Understanding the situation, Yan Junze activated the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" on the two infants.


    The next second, the huddled forms of the two infants appeared in the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, and a new condensed location was generated, occupied by both infants together, not one each.


    It seemed that even when locked, they were treated as one singularity.


    Seeing the infants vanish from her hands, Aunt Mei wasn''t surprised at all, maintaining her smile as she withdrew her hands.


    "Then it''s settled," Yan Junze smiled as well, "I''ll take good care of these two strange infants. In return, I''m counting on you to look after the community, especially my parents."


    Aunt Mei nodded slightly.


    It was just as well in Yan Junze''s eyes, considering that ever since Long-tongued Zhenzhen had taken on a strange body, she had been affected by a powerful field of strangeness and it was uncertain when she might recover.


    Therefore, having the assistance of the two strange infants alongside the Crawler Monster might prove advantageous in certain perilous moments.


    When the time came to register at university, Yan Junze didn''t choose to travel by plane, high-speed rail, or train; instead, he opted for a black car.


    There was no special reason, except that he was carrying over a dozen bags of animal blood.


    What normally would have been a one-hour flight or a roughly two-hour high-speed rail journey to Tianmeng, he spent from morning till night in the black car to reach his destination.


    He was the last among his classmates to leave; Zhou Dali was the first because he needed to attend an entrance examination at the sports academy, followed by Jiang Ruixin, whose university was in the Tianyi District, farther away.


    Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie chose to take a flight.


    The Tianmeng District is the central district of the entire area, governing several cities, such as Shuntian City. Generally, entering the central district is referred to as entering Tianmeng.


    Having arrived at Tianmeng and since the registration time had passed, Yan Junze found a hotel to stay in for the night.


    Now that he had money, there was no need to skimp, and fearing that the blood he brought with him might expire, he specifically chose an upscale hotel equipped with household appliances. Upon entering, he immediately opened the fridge and stored the bagged blood there to keep it chilled. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After resting for a while, he ordered a seafood fried rice delivered to his room as a side dish and drank two bags of duck blood, finally feeling full.


    Now in unfamiliar territory, he needed to figure out a solution for his blood supply.


    Finding a few regular vendors at the market to provide various kinds of poultry blood seemed like a viable approach, even though it might require some effort.

 Chapter 173 Self-Triggered Mission

    ```After sleeping until 7:30 am in the hotel, Yan Junze got up, freshened up, packed his luggage, checked out of his room and set off for Tianmeng Science University to register.


    Tianmeng Science University is located in the Southern Suburb of Tianmeng Main District, about thirty kilometers from the center of the main district. Yan Junze was not going alone; outside the high-speed rail station, he found the school''s reception.


    The school had arranged transportation, and they soon arrived at the college.


    Undeniably, the scenery in the Southern Suburb area was beautiful, with lush vegetation, abundant water resources, birds singing and flowers fragrant, and the air was pleasant.


    After Yan Junze reached the college, some senior students immediately acted as guides and took a carload of new students to register.


    At the registration area, they were further divided according to the departments applied and each department''s senior students led the registration process.


    The senior student receiving Yan Junze was from the previous year, named Yang Yang, a tall and handsome-looking boy.


    Yan Junze noticed that Yang Yang also sported a side part, but unlike the greasy middle-aged corpse of the Crawler Monster, Yang Yang''s hair was luxuriant, clean, smooth, and he had a distinct facial contour, making it a world apart.


    "My name is Yang Yang, from Shuntian City," Yang Yang said enthusiastically.


    Yan Junze reached out and shook his hand, "What a coincidence, I''m also from Shuntian City. Yan Junze. I look forward to learning from you, senior."


    "It''s nothing to speak of," Yang Yang waved his hand and took him to the registration desk where a bald teacher with glasses quickly registered him and handed over a registration form with details of his class, dormitory building, and room number.


    Yang Yang leaned over to take a look, "411, your dorm is right next to mine, I''m in 412, so we''re neighbors now."


    Yan Junze smiled.


    Without saying much else, Yang Yang led him to collect his daily necessities and to put his luggage in the dormitory.


    It was apparent that unlike other departments, the Physics Department had fewer students registering, with several seniors busy with reception duties, leaving only Yang Yang standing at the door of Yan Junze''s dormitory, making casual conversation with him.


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    "What made you decide on the Physics Department?" asked Yang Yang.


    Yan Junze was candid, "I like researching the supernatural and am very interested in things like magnetic fields with strangeness, so on an impulse, with a twitch in my foot and a shiver through my body, I registered."


    Yang Yang burst into laughter, feeling more fondness for Yan Junze, "That doesn''t sound like making a decision, but more like the aftereffects of watching too many action movies from Great Capital of Japan."


    "As the mentors of our generation''s life enlightenment and the birthplace of romance films, we can exchange notes sometime in the future," Yan Junze said with a smile.


    "That sounds great," agreed Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang seemed to have found a kindred spirit and with a smile, he took the initiative to help Yan Junze make his bed and organize the luggage he had taken out, already feeling quite familiar with him.


    After doing all this, Yan Junze also took the opportunity to clean up the dormitory. He was the first to arrive, with other classmates expected to come one after another. Having cleaned up, the dormitory would be ready for the new roommates moving in.


    Yang Yang stood outside in the corridor, waiting for him to come out. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the new students walking back and forth downstairs, carrying their luggage.


    "Do you smoke?" Yang Yang asked.


    "I don''t, thank you," Yan Junze declined.


    Just as he finished speaking, he was suddenly startled by a mission prompt that popped up in his mind.


    [Mission Name: The Brother Sleeping on the Upper Bunk;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);


    ```


    Mission Background: A living person should not die from holding their urine, but Chen Rui''an from room 511 did. Just because he slipped while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, his occiput heavily collided with the edge of the washbasin behind him, fracturing his skull and causing intracranial hemorrhage which rendered him unconscious instantly.


    Since the fall occurred at 2:47 AM, no one knew about it. It was only when a classmate went to wash up the next morning that they discovered him, by which time Chen Rui''an had lost bladder control and his body was nearing icy cold.


    Mission Statement: Before his death, his biggest problem had not been resolved. Please think of a solution for him;


    Mission Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Penalty: Unknown;


    Mission Tips: 1. The evil spirit can be locked down; 2. If you don''t let him solve his problem, he will become very aggressive;


    Note: This strange event was actually lurking in the shadows but was triggered due to your arrival. The "magnetic field tremor" caused by the influence of your own magnetic field led to the event being activated.]


    After carefully reading the text in his mind, Yan Junze''s attention was drawn to the mission note at the end.


    The note actually suggested that the strangeness was initially dormant, meaning it wouldn''t have occurred, but it was triggered into the event called "The Brother Sleeping on the Bunk Above" due to "magnetic field tremor" caused by the magnetic field effect from his arrival.


    As for why he could generate a magnetic field effect, it was probably related to his being a "Semi-spirit," or maybe it had something to do with hiding a Fang Ning in his shadow.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn''t think this magnetic field effect would always work, meaning not every lurking strangeness would be triggered by his presence; this time was probably just an exception.


    But either way, the event was activated.


    Seeing Yan Junze stand in the corridor without speaking, Yang Yang thought he was observing the junior girls passing by downstairs and started making a serious introduction: "Forget about finding any pretty girls in our Engineering Institute. There are even fewer girls there in general. The majors with the most girls are Management, Literature, and Arts.


    If you''re looking for a girlfriend in the future, I''ll help you pick from these three departments, but you need to take the initiative as well."


    Yan Junze responded with a wry smile and asked, "Senior, does our institute have a permanent Exorcist squad?"


    "No," Yang Yang shook his head, laughing, "Bro, you''re still living in your secondary school days, huh. Indeed, in Tianmeng Main District, only a few higher-grade primary and secondary schools have permanent Exorcists. At most other schools, when a supernatural event occurs, they just enjoy the benefit of not having to queue up."


    "So, Tianmeng Science University doesn''t have any, either?" Yan Junze nodded.


    Yang Yang said, "It''s not that our institute doesn''t have them, it''s that none of the institutes does. After all, we''re not elementary students anymore. We only have the privilege of priority handling of supernatural events when we call 4747. However, I''ve noticed that the response of Exorcists isn''t very fast, definitely not as quick as in primary and secondary schools."


    "That''s for sure," Yan Junze nodded again.


    "By the way," Yang Yang suddenly turned towards him, "did you say you applied for the Physics department purely out of interest in strange magnetic fields and such?"


    "Yeah," Yan Junze didn''t deny it, since he was going to study those areas specifically and didn''t see the need to hide it.


    "Would you be interested in joining the ''Strangeness Research Alliance Club'' we established?" Yang Yang asked.


    Yan Junze was startled: "There''s a club like that?"


    "Of course..." Yang Yang seemed a bit proud, "rest assured, the Strange Club is affiliated with the university''s student union and approved by the institute, originating from a reputable lineage. It''s not a rinky-dink operation started on a whim. Plus, I''m the vice president and have the power to pull people into the club privately..."


    The more Yan Junze listened, the more he frowned, feeling it was a trap, not much different from pyramid schemes roping people in.


    Yang Yang, of course, had no idea what he was thinking and kept talking: "Just one thing, no matter who joins the club, they must tell a strange story during the initiation ceremony, preferably one from personal experience. We have 9 auditors, and your story needs to scare and impress at least a third of them enough to get a thumbs-up in order to officially join."


    He paused and added: "Once you join, we will share with you the data and results of the club''s physics-related research on strangeness since its establishment. I think you''ll like it."


    Originally, Yan Junze had no interest in joining the club, but his mind changed after listening to Yang Yang''s last remarks.


    "Has there ever been a story told at the initiation ceremony that scared and impressed all 9 auditors?"


    Yang Yang laughed heartily: "You''re joking, right? Our veteran members have been through a lot. There''s no such possibility." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 174 Someone in the Upper Bunk?

    After Yang Yang left, Yan Junze neatly arranged the shoes he had brought and placed them all in his assigned section of the wardrobe and shoe cabinet.The dormitory buildings at Tianmeng Science University were decorated in a simple and functional manner. In Yan Junze''s view, they were much better than the dorms he had lived in during his previous life, almost on par with an apartment.


    Once he had finished tidying up, he picked up his newly issued thermos flask, ready to go to the water room to fill it with hot water, but as soon as he stepped out into the corridor, he saw Yang Yang suddenly returning.


    "Senior, did you forget something in my dorm?" Yan Junze asked.


    "No, there''s something I forgot to tell you." Yang Yang had just climbed up to the fourth floor and was somewhat out of breath, "Under my care, you can now be considered a provisional member of the Strange Club. Although you haven''t passed the final test, I still need to remind you of something."


    "Hmm, remind me about what?" Yan Junze was curious.


    "Be careful if you ever have the chance to go to the No. 4 laboratory building of the college," Yang Yang said with a slightly mysterious air.


    "Why? Is there something strange going on?" asked Yan Junze.


    "You can''t really say that," Yang Yang shook his head. "If you come across any lab door that is slightly ajar in that building, either leave quickly or go immediately to close the door fully, or just open it all the way."


    "Why?" Yan Junze was even more puzzled.


    "Because if you ignore that slightly open door, after some time, a person will appear standing behind the gap of the ajar door, spying on you," Yang Yang explained.


    "Damn, isn''t that weird?" Yan Junze stared at him.


    Yang Yang shrugged, "That person just stands behind the gap of the ajar door and spies, without doing anything else. And once it gets to that point, no one dares to push the ajar door open to see who it really is, they all just hurry away."


    He paused for a moment before adding, "Our Strange Club is also studying that thing. Once you join the club, you''ll have to look at and research all strange phenomena from a scientific perspective. So, it''s not right to simply use the term ''strange'' to describe all unknown skeptical phenomena. You''ll know more about these things later."


    "Okay, Vice President, you''re so wise," Yan Junze managed a smile.


    After telling Yan Junze about this, Yang Yang left to meet other students, while Yan Junze went to the water room to rinse his thermos flask and then filled it with a full pot of boiling water. Stay tuned with empire


    When he returned to dorm 411, two more roommates had arrived, one of whom had a strong physique, about one meter eighty in height, and seemed like he probably enjoyed playing basketball. However, his appearance suggested he was very naive and straightforward.


    The other was a chubby guy, fair and clean looking, who seemed to have just entered the dorm and hadn''t had time to make his bed yet. He had chosen the bunk bed below Yan Junze''s, and on the desk opposite, a neat pile of snacks such as chips, biscuits, nuts, and cola had already been arranged.


    The guy''s appetite clearly matched his physique.


    The three of them introduced themselves, the tall guy''s name was Zhao Zheng, true to his name, he looked very upright. The chubby one was called He Bishou; Yan Junze suspected his parents named him based on his body size, perhaps originally intending him to live a long life, but now it had become a motto for his physique.


    The dorm was set up for four people, and it wasn''t long before the last roommate arrived.


    This person looked very frail, with a head full of thick hair that could compete with Yang Yang''s, and it seemed to have been permed. Dressed in slightly tight-fitting clothes, he had a somewhat flamboyant air as he dragged his suitcase into the dorm room.


    The other three were taken aback when they saw the newcomer set down his suitcase, make a gesture of holding a flower between his fingers, and ask, "Where''s the last bed?"


    His voice was soft and a bit shrill, and the gesture was even more suggestive.


    "Over there!" Both Yan Junze and He Bishou pointed toward the upper bunk above Zhao Zheng at the same time.


    Zhao Zheng looked bewilderedly at his new roommate, harboring an uneasy feeling, but couldn''t quite say what was wrong at the moment.


    "Thank you, my name is Xie Hua, my nickname is Hua Hua," Xie Hua said to the three of them after pushing his suitcase over, "But... I like to be called ''Huahua''."


    The three of them exchanged awkward glances, the atmosphere awkward yet tinged with a fresh and light feeling akin to a spring breeze.


    Looking around the dormitory, Yan Junze felt he was the most normal one here.


    But then again, was he really normal?


    A day passed by quickly.


    Within the span of a single day, the new students who had just registered at the university only got to know the main buildings, such as the dormitory, cafeteria, water room, shower room, and the general locations of the teaching buildings, library, etc.


    ...


    As a senior at Tianmeng Science University, Han Zhao, who lived in Room 511, had arrived on campus early because, like those other returning students, he was one of the guides welcoming the new students this time. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other roommates would not arrive on campus for at least another five or six days.


    After a day of busyness, Han Zhao calculated that he had guided more than 40 students in total, and he only returned to his dorm after making sure each one was settled in their dormitory, which showed his dedication.


    During dinner time, he went to the cafeteria to pack some food to bring back because he was feeling too tired. He only ate half of the meal before climbing onto the lower bunk and covering himself with a blanket to rest for a while.


    Once he rested, he fell asleep quickly.


    He slept straight through to midnight, unclear exactly what time it was, but when Han Zhao woke up, he found that the dormitory lights had been turned off collectively, and only the streetlights from the campus square were shining through the window.


    The light shone in, casting a shadowy and blurry dance of the trees.


    Young people tend to be heavy sleepers, and even if they go to bed early, Han Zhao would normally sleep until dawn, or at least until after six in the morning when he would naturally wake up.


    But now he was awake, not because he had woken up naturally, but because a slight shaking had startled him awake.


    Yes, the lower bunk where he was sleeping was shaking slightly, which normally would be caused by someone on the upper bunk turning over.


    But the problem was, he was the only one in the entire dormitory; the others hadn''t returned to school yet.


    The drowsiness that had not yet dissipated vanished the moment Han Zhao realized this, and he became instantly alert.


    He opened his eyes wide, wondering if he was half-asleep and dreaming, creating the illusion that someone was in the top bunk when that couldn''t be possible.


    The brother who slept on the top bunk was named Guo Jintao, who lived in Tianyi District, so even if he were to come back, he would probably be the last one to arrive at the university.


    "Could it be that Taozi came back last night while I was asleep?" Han Zhao guessed.


    But he couldn''t have been sleeping that deeply, and besides, that guy wouldn''t have come back without waking him.


    So who was sleeping in the upper bunk?


    At this moment, Han Zhao suddenly felt a chill in his heart. His eyes wide open, he carefully observed the bunk across from him, and with the light coming in from the window outside, he saw that both the upper and lower bunks were empty, with no one in them.


    Just then, the bunk shook slightly again, as if someone on the top bunk had turned over.


    "How can there be someone?!"


    Han Zhao curled up on the bed, his scalp tingling and his entire body feeling cold.


    He didn''t dare to look in the direction of the top bunk, afraid that just as he looked up, a head would suddenly lower itself from above, staring at him.


    But Han Zhao was mistaken; no head appeared, but a bare foot came over, hooking onto the ladder in the next moment, seemingly ready to climb down.

 Chapter 175 Return Again

    The legs were all hairy, obviously belonging to a man.Han Zhao immediately closed his eyes, leaving only a sliver open to secretly watch the feet that had appeared so suddenly.


    Without any sound, another foot descended, and after firmly stepping on the ladder, a man in a black tank top and large shorts silently climbed down from the upper bunk.


    The man''s face was backed by the light, and coupled with the dim illumination, Han Zhao had already broken out in a cold sweat from fear and didn''t dare to keep staring, so he couldn''t see the man''s features clearly.


    He was only quietly observing the figure that had climbed down through the narrow opening of his eyes, using his peripheral vision.


    Unfamiliar.


    He was certain he didn''t recognize this person.


    After descending, the man didn''t have shoes on his feet and suddenly stood still, just standing at the end of Han Zhao''s bed, facing the direction of the lower bunk.


    At this moment, Han Zhao''s heart was pounding in his throat, so frightened that he almost stopped breathing, daring not to make any move, his hands firmly gripping the edge of the blanket.


    For about five minutes, the air in the entire dormitory was stagnant, emanating a chill.


    Afterward, the silent and stationary man suddenly turned around and walked towards the door of the dormitory.


    His way of walking was very odd, arms not swinging, barefoot and tiptoeing, all ten toes splayed out, firmly grasping the ground, and without a sound, he reached the door, pulled it open,


    Before the door was fully open, the man creepily and silently walked out.


    The dormitory door wasn''t closed, and after he walked out, it slowly swung shut but stopped when there was still a crack, revealing the pitch-black corridor, with no sign of that man''s figure anymore.


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    "Is he gone, gone?"


    At this point, Han Zhao was soaked through with sweat, large beads rolling down his forehead and soaking the pillow, yet he dared not breathe loudly.


    From his lying position, he could see the dark corridor outside through the crack in the door, feeling as though some unspeakable fear was lurking in the unknown darkness beyond.


    Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, the "Peephole Strange Creature" rumored to exist within the college, and behind this door gap, might the Peephole Strange Creature be peering at him? Could that person be the Peephole Strange Creature?


    With this thought, Han Zhao scared himself.


    But then he thought, the legend of "peeping" was associated with the college''s Building 4, not likely to occur in the dormitory area since he had never heard such tales about this place.


    Regardless, the guy who was sleeping in the bunk above him should have left, but the door had to be closed.


    Thinking this, although Han Zhao was too frightened to move, he still clenched his teeth and threw back the Summer Quilt.


    He too was barefoot, and he walked to the door, about to close it.


    Suddenly, a hair-raising chill assaulted him, and he distinctly felt this bone-piercing cold was coming from outside the door, drawing nearer.


    "Fuck your mother!"


    Han Zhao was so startled that he shuddered, didn''t even manage to close the door, and in two large steps, scrambled back onto his bed, covering himself with the blanket in a hurry, leaving one foot uncovered.


    He couldn''t bother with that now, tightly grasping the edge of the blanket, he lay with his eyes shut, motionless.


    The next second, the door to the dormitory was pushed open, and the man in the black tank top and large shorts walked in again.


    His movements as he entered mirrored those from when he left, with his bare feet slightly raised and his toes splayed out, gripping the floor firmly.


    After entering, he stood for a while facing Han Zhao''s direction, then turned around and closed the door.


    Han Zhao squinted his eyes as the man''s silhouette entered the room, discreetly taking in the man''s face.


    Conveniently, a beam of light from outside the window fell on the doorway, allowing him to see the man''s appearance clearly.


    Even squinting, the angle was enough to clearly make out the other person''s face.


    He didn''t recognize him. Han Zhao was certain this was a strange face, a calm expression, even somewhat gloomy. Although the man''s eyes were open, Han Zhao always felt that those eyes were dull and gray, as if belonging to a dead person.


    In the instant the man turned around to close the door, with the back of his head facing this way under the outdoor lighting, Han Zhao, who was watching him, shuddered violently and then began to tremble uncontrollably, as if sifting chaff.


    Only to see at the back of this black-vested man''s head, a piece of bone and flesh had turned inside out, revealing a dark cavity within the wound, with no blood flowing out, as if the wound had existed for quite some time.


    But Han Zhao still clearly remembered that when the man had walked out to open the door just now, the back of his head had been fine, without any wound.


    Upon seeing that terrifying head wound, Han Zhao found he couldn''t stop his body from shaking. After the man in the black vest approached the bedside, his trembling grew even worse.


    The man stood by the bed, just like before, falling again into silence.


    "No, no, this won''t do. If I keep shaking like this, he''ll definitely realize I''m awake."


    Han Zhao knew that at this critical moment, he absolutely couldn''t show weakness, couldn''t shake. The next second, he bit his tongue fiercely, a wave of pain spreading through him.


    The intense pain diverted his attention, and the shaking of his body gradually stopped.


    After about two or three minutes, the man who had been standing at the end of the bed finally moved, grabbed the ladder that led to the top bunk, and quickly climbed up with hands and feet.


    Then, from above, came a sensation of the body shifting and the bunk shaking which, after about a minute, gradually settled down.


    Han Zhao, frightened to the point of ice-cold limbs, felt as if they no longer belonged to him, shivering as he picked up the cell phone from beside the pillow, covered both his head and the phone under the quilt, and turned on the screen to check the time.


    It was still two minutes before 3 o''clock in the morning.


    That night, Han Zhao not only failed to fall asleep again, but he also didn''t dare to turn over, lying awake with his eyes open until daylight.


    But after the man climbed to the upper bunk, there was no further sound.


    When daylight had fully arrived and sounds of other students getting up to wash and use the bathroom echoed through the hallway, Han Zhao finally dared to get up.


    He quietly peered outside the bed and took a glance at the upper bunk, only to be completely dumbfounded.


    The upper bunk was perfectly normal, with nothing on it. Even Guo Jintao''s quilt was rolled up neatly, exactly as it had been left at the end of the previous term, untouched.


    ...


    Outside Tianmeng Science University lay a street roughly shaped like the character "Æ·", bustling due to its proximity to the university, chiefly featuring restaurants, beverage shops, and small hotels.


    Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Xie Hua sat inside a restaurant, looking at a table full of delicious dishes. He Bishou''s saliva, nearly dripping out, had been wiped away five times already, yet Yan Junze had not shown up.


    "Where did this guy run off to?" He Bishou''s eyes were fixed on a plate of braised pork knuckle, and his words seemed to be directed at the knuckle.


    Unfortunately, the knuckle didn''t talk. A talking knuckle would be out of the ordinary.


    Xie Hua was checking his cheeks, nose, and mouth in the small mirror he carried, noting his lips looked especially red, as if he had applied lipstick.


    Zhao Zheng glanced at Xie Hua and felt a chill, quickly shifting his focus and speaking, "Yan Junze seems to be pretty wealthy, look at the feast he''s hosting for us, it must be at least three to four hundred bucks, right?"


    "Never mind that, just eat your fill and enjoy," said He Bishou, shifting his gaze from the knuckle and finally spotting Yan Junze jogging over.


    "Where did you run off to just after ordering the food?" Zhao Zheng asked.


    Yan Junze chuckled, "I went to the kitchen to make sure they''re using fresh ingredients, to avoid them serving us anything stale."


    "There are so many people eating here every day, there won''t be any stale ingredients," He Bishou picked up his chopsticks, "Let''s dig in, what are we waiting for?"


    "Let''s eat, eat," said Yan Junze as he too picked up his chopsticks.


    Suddenly Xie Hua said, "Junze, why are the corners of your mouth red? Is that blood, or did you fail to wipe your lipstick off cleanly? Let me tell you, before applying lipstick, you have to prepare the lips with a base, and before that, you need to apply a layer of moisturizer to hydrate. That way, the lipstick you put on will be full and rich. By the way, what brand are you using?"


    Yan Junze smiled awkwardly, "Can I say... it''s actually blood? I accidentally bumped my mouth at the door when I was coming out just now."


    After placing the order, Yan Junze had taken the opportunity to look around the restaurant''s kitchen, just in time to see a chef butchering chickens for plucking. He seized the moment to drink a few mouthfuls of chicken blood collected in a bowl.


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 Chapter 176 Membership Review (Please subscribe, ask for recommendations)

    The tableful of food vanished like a whirlwind, cleaned out by four people.Yan Junze and Xie Hua ate the least, while the chubby He Bishou and Zhao Zheng both ate a lot, with Zhao Zheng having a strong build and naturally a big appetite, and He Bishou not wanting to be outdone¡ªmost of the large plate of pork knuckle had been taken care of by him alone.


    Contrary to Yan Junze''s expectations, he originally thought that he wouldn''t eat much, but Xie Hua quickly put down her chopsticks with an air of delicacy, claiming she couldn''t be bothered to reapply her lipstick later.


    Three of them took notice that even after eating for a while, Huahua really was very careful and hadn''t disturbed the shiny color on her lips.


    After putting down his chopsticks, Yan Junze said he wanted to stroll around.


    Zhao Zheng was heading to the sports field to play basketball for a while, He Bishou was thinking about the anime book he had just bought and hadn''t had time to read yet in his dormitory, and Huahua was going to pick up a parcel. Continue your adventure at empire


    Everyone was puzzled, considering the guy had just reported to school yesterday, and his parcels had arrived like a shadow, it seemed another shopping addict had arrived, and a very effeminate one at that.


    The four of them left the restaurant and went their separate ways, with Yan Junze wandering around the streets for a while.


    Ever since leaving Shuntian City and arriving at Tianmeng Science University, he felt a comfortable sense of leisure as if he had returned to his life on campus in his previous life.


    Being able to experience this feeling twice in life, no matter what, was already a win.


    After walking through the neighboring streets, Yan Junze returned and walked into a clinic near the back door of the college.


    This clinic was a suite, with the outer room serving as the outpatient area, responsible for dispensing medication, injections, and intravenous drips, with a few beds in the inner room for patients who needed to lie down for their drips.


    In the medicine cabinet outside the clinic, there was a pharmaceutical freezer.


    After entering, Yan Junze smiled and said to a woman who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with fair skin and wearing a white lab coat, "Doctor Ning, I''ve come to collect my things."


    This female doctor, with a sweet smile, was named Ning Shanshan. At a young age, she had opened a clinic outside the college. The clinic had an intern doctor and two nurses.


    "Oh, okay, just wait."


    On seeing Yan Junze, Ning Shanshan''s face lit up with a smile. She nodded at him, turned around, opened the pharmaceutical freezer behind her, and took out a black plastic bag from the innermost part of the bottom freezer drawer.


    "How many bags do you want?" Ning Shanshan asked.


    "Two bags."


    In no time, Ning Shanshan took out two bags of blood and handed them to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took them and expressed his thanks, "I''ll come back the day after tomorrow."


    "Cooking animal blood curd every other day, is this your special dietary preference?" Ning Shanshan looked at Yan Junze''s slightly pale face, seemingly curious.


    She couldn''t help but ask out of her professional medical concern.


    Yan Junze shook his head. After coming to the college, he had thought of this way to maintain the freshness of the blood. He searched for a clinic with a pharmaceutical freezer to store the animal blood he bought.


    The reason he gave was that he had always liked eating blood curd and considered it a special preference, but was afraid that what was available outside wasn''t clean, so he would regularly cook it himself.


    Yan Junze gave Ning Shanshan some money to use the freezer to store his blood.


    Every time he wanted to eat, he would come over beforehand to take it back to his dormitory and discreetly cook on a small stove.


    Leaving blood bags in the school was never a good idea.


    Ning Shanshan''s clinic had high overhead costs every month. Although she knew that what she was doing was not quite right, the fact that she was getting paid and that it was his private affair¡ªnothing really strange about it¡ªmade her want to help out. Besides, it was just storing something, so she had simply made some space for him in the pharmaceutical freezer.


    This freezer, used exclusively for storing medicine and subjected to special disinfection treatments, made Yan Junze feel much more at ease than if it were stored in a random small shop or restaurant freezer.


    This also indirectly showed that although Yan Junze had a special little quirk when it came to food, he also cared about hygiene.


    However, deceiving Ning Shanshan made Yan Junze feel rather guilty.


    After placing the two bags of blood in his pocket, Yan Junze bid farewell to Ning Shanshan and left the clinic. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn''t head straight back to school but walked to the extending wall outside the back gate of the school. He had scouted the area earlier; there were no surveillance cameras here.


    He bit open the blood bag, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and tossed the empty bag into the trash.


    Drinking in such a sneaky manner was really unsatisfying. Yan Junze felt that in the future, he would need to repackage the blood bags, perhaps to look like tomato juice or sour plum drink.


    That way, when he took them out, he could drink without restraint, even in front of a crowd.


    Over the next three days, as new students continued to arrive for registration, the dormitory was filled with unfamiliar faces carrying their luggage.


    With the end of registration, the returning students also began to trickle back to school.


    All the new students participated in the large classes organized by the college. Yan Junze was assigned to the Class 2 of the Physics Department, Grade 19; Zhao Zheng and Huahua were in Class 1; He Bishou and Yan Junze were both in Class 2.


    Zhao Zheng was speechless about being in the same class with Huahua once again. When the two of them went to class together, Zhao Zheng always chose to leave at different times, not daring to walk with Huahua.


    During these few days, as long as Huahua had free time, he would immediately start sharing his knowledge on beauty, dressing, and makeup. He claimed to have opened a class on "Tremble," the most famous short video platform in the Great Capital, with a fan count not far behind Yan Junze''s on the strangeness platform.


    Of course, these people did not associate the "Night Traveling Puppy" with Yan Junze himself.


    It''s just that sometimes Huahua would look at Yan Junze with a strange gleam in his eye, as if pondering something.


    Yan Junze wasn''t too concerned about it. As long as Huahua didn''t fall in "love" with him, everything else was negotiable.


    After attending classes for two formal days, Yan Junze ran into Yang Yang after eating dinner in the cafeteria on the third day.


    It seemed that Yang Yang had come looking for him on purpose.


    "Have you eaten?"


    "Yeah," Yan Junze nodded, "Is there something wrong?"


    Yang Yang said, "Look at your memory. Didn''t I introduce you to join the Strange Club? The initiation ceremony is tonight, at 8 p.m. sharp in the 207 Activity Room on the second floor of the library. It''s only for you. Remember, it''s open only to you."


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    It''s just an introductory club for researching strangenesses, yet it''s being made out to be so secretive that anyone unaware might think they were about to join some international organization with a world-shaking secret.


    After a trip back to the dormitory, Yan Junze headed to the library as it was nearing 8 p.m.


    The library of Tianmeng Science University was huge, with corridors outside the library being two to three times wider than ordinary corridors. The book rooms were above the third floor, while the second floor and below housed several independent activity rooms.


    Normally, these were used to conduct reading clubs and book fan meetings, but the Student Union would also typically choose these rooms for organizing various activities.


    It was evident that although Yan Junze had arrived early, everyone else was already there.


    The moment he entered the activity room, Yan Junze''s pupils contracted slightly, and he looked surprised as if he had remembered something, taking about four or five seconds to react before shaking his head and walking in.


    Nine people, ten chairs placed together, with one empty chair clearly left for Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze glanced around; among these people, there were two girls, but he only recognized Yang Yang, the rest were strangers.


    "Take a seat, we''ve just arrived," said a man with thick glasses and a crew cut, pointing at the empty chair.


    Yan Junze went over and sat down.


    Yang Yang had mentioned that the story he told had to make at least three people feel fear for it to count. He looked at the nine people seated; there were only two women among them.


    Indeed, it was tricky. Women typically have smaller courage, and even if they felt fear, there were only two women present, which wasn''t enough. So he had to make at least one of the men feel fear as well, which would undoubtedly increase the difficulty.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze looked at the two women.


    Yang Yang seemed to have understood his intention and suddenly started laughing, with the others joining in the laughter.


    Yan Junze was perplexed, looking toward Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang soon stopped laughing and pointed at the two women, saying, "Let me introduce you. This is Zhang Ying, and this is Liao Jing. They also have two nicknames¡ªZhang Ying is known as Lady Yama, and Liao Jing is called Mother Rakshasa."

 Chapter 177 The Eleventh Person (Part 1)

    Hearing this nickname, Yan Junze suddenly realized.Those who could earn such a title must have courage that was either boundless or at least audaciously large.


    It seemed he had misjudged; these two girls might actually be the ones among the auditors with the greatest courage.


    Zhang Ying had a short haircut typically seen on men, wore a white short-sleeve shirt with jeans and looked very sharp. Liao Jing was dressed in sportswear with white sneakers and a ponytail, exuding a lively vibe as well.


    "This is our club president¡ªMa Dun," Yang Yang pointed at the bespectacled man with a crew cut who had asked Junze to take a seat earlier.


    "The Strange Club has two vice presidents, apart from me, Living Yanluo Zhang Ying is also one," Yang Yang added.


    Yan Junze nodded in acknowledgment.


    His gaze swept over the nine individuals seated before him.


    "You may start whenever you''re ready," Zhang Ying said.


    "Alright." Yan Junze began to think. He had many stories of strangeness that he could tell, and of course, those he had experienced himself would feel more authentic.


    While pondering, he noticed the barely concealed excitement among the group as their eyes moved eagerly over him. Listening to stories seemed to be more than just a formality; it was a preference for them.


    After deliberating inconspicuously for a moment, Yan Junze began, "I''ll tell a true story I was involved in, about something that had to be discussed with my USA English teacher..."


    "Hold on a second," Yang Yang interrupted him, reminding, "We want to hear stories of strangeness, not those messy ones."


    Yan Junze smiled and continued, "After class that day, she became attached by a Possession Spirit, but I was unaware. After class, I brought her a stack of papers to grade in the office, where she was the only teacher present... Oh, and that Possession Spirit as well..."


    Yan Junze narrated slowly and carefully, omitting the fact that he had a task to complete and chose not to tell the stories of other strange events he had filmed and uploaded, as he couldn''t guarantee that these researchers of the strange had not seen those videos.


    He described everything in great detail, from his suspicion about teacher Zhang Tiantian''s behavior to his attempts to leave the office but being unable to do so, to picking up a pen for Zhang Tiantian, plucking it from her eye and putting it back, delaying the Possession Spirit''s complete control over Zhang Tiantian, then hiding under a desk until the final struggle, culminating in the arrival of the Exorcist at a critical juncture.


    While the actual events weren''t much different, Yan Junze altered some details, ensuring his description of the eerie atmosphere was just about right. Gradually, an unnerving silence began to pervade the activity room.


    Apart from Yan Junze''s storytelling, no other sound could be heard at this moment.


    As he spoke about reinserting the pen into Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket, he clearly saw two of the male listeners shiver slightly.


    By the time he finished the tale with the harrowing moment of near-possession by the spirit and wrapped up the story, Yan Junze paused.


    The room was quiet, with no one speaking for the time being.


    Yan Junze noticed that apart from the two guys who had just shivered, the expressions of the others remained fairly composed.


    Club president Ma Dun spoke up, "Did this really happen to you?"


    "Yeah, it''s the genuine article," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Very well, but I''m afraid it doesn''t meet our entry requirements," Ma Dun shook his head, clearly skeptical, and turned to the others, saying, "Auditors present, please rate Yan Junze''s story."


    Rating meant either raising hands or showing approval for Yan Junze''s story. If more than three people agreed that the story was terrifying, then Yan Junze would be granted membership.


    However, since Ma Dun had already set the tone, Yan Junze could only think about laughing to himself.


    With the president having stated that the story didn''t meet the requirements for membership, Junze was curious to see how the others would vote.


    As expected, when it came to a show of hands, only two people¡ªthe same two who had shivered earlier¡ªindicated approval, while the rest, including Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, remained indifferent.


    Yan Junze had anticipated this scene.


    Ma Dun asked the two who agreed the story was good enough, "Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, did you find this story terrifying?"


    "Hmm." The tall, thin-faced man named Xu Yongqiang nodded, "It was a bit disgusting, I was grossed out by the part where the ballpoint pen stabbed into the eye socket."


    "Me too." Xia Kai raised his hand.


    "Alright, I failed."


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders with a somewhat helpless look, preparing to stand up.


    Zhang Ying immediately stopped him, "Hey, don''t rush off, you still have two more chances."


    "Yes," Liao Jing also said, "We can make a temporary decision on the admission application, you still have two more chances, try again."


    "Is that so?" Yan Junze looked towards Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang coughed once and did not speak.


    "Alright, I''m starting to suspect that you actually just want to hear stories," Yan Junze said with a smile. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Tell another one, and make sure to scare us," Ma Dun said with a smile, without responding to him.


    Yan Junze thought seriously for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, this next story is called ''The Hanged Woman''."


    It was one of the two missions he completed near Rock at the outskirts of Shuntian City. Compared to the mission "Drop the Handkerchief", which was disgusting, "The Hanged Woman" leaned more towards psychological horror because of the environmental factors.


    Experience had proven that disgust could only make a very small part of people feel terrified, but psychological terror had the potential to touch the deepest fears of many more people.


    This time, he narrated in greater detail, particularly emphasizing the description of the interior environment of the dilapidated house, incessantly repeating details like dampness, darkness, coffins, basements, hanging, the long tongue, and the eerily odd walking posture of the woman in white.


    When he described reaching into the coffin and slowly pulling out the xuan paper that was under the corpse, it was evident that at least four people''s expressions had changed, and two others were hugging their arms tightly together, clearly unable to hide their nervousness.


    The end of the story was altered by Yan Junze. After a series of harrowing events, he finally took down the woman''s body from the hanging beam in the basement.


    The story ended.


    This time, there should be no problem.


    Yan Junze smiled, looking at the several people opposite him, including Yang Yang, Xu Yongqiang, and others, who all involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief.


    The number of people who had felt fear was definitely more than three.


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing exchanged glances, both faces calm, then turned their heads to look at President Ma Dun.


    Ma Dun reached out to adjust the glasses on his nose, without speaking.


    Yang Yang whispered a few words with Zhang Ying, then spoke softly to Ma Dun.


    Ma Dun raised his head and spread his hands, "I''m sorry, the story was indeed very exciting, but the terror atmosphere you created always had some deliberate overtones, it wasn''t very natural."


    "Oh, is that so?" Yan Junze was surprised.


    The others all showed a smile. Continue reading at empire


    Ma Dun also smiled, "Why don''t you use up all three chances, and then tell the final story? From the perspective of diligence, even if the last one isn''t very scary, we will consider your membership application."


    "Sigh!" Yan Junze sighed, "Alright, the last one, is the one you asked for."


    After saying this, he lowered his head and was silent for about ten seconds, then suddenly raised his head, squeezed out a smile, and his gaze swept over everyone present.


    "Haven''t you all noticed that there have been 11 people sitting here the whole time?"

 Chapter 178 The Eleventh Person (Part 2)

    Yan Junze''s words caused a sudden start among everyone sitting there, as they looked at each other, perplexed."11 people?" Ma Dun reacted, chuckled lightly, "There are 9 of us in the membership review committee, plus you, doesn''t that make exactly 10? Where would an extra one come from?"


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, however, furrowed their brows and immediately began counting. Not only that, but after hearing what Yan Junze said, the others also felt a sudden chill down their spines and began counting the number of people at the same time, quietly.


    Ma Dun, Yang Yang, Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, Li Bin, the 9 membership review members, plus Yan Junze, made a total of 10 people, right.


    Seeing everyone else counting, Ma Dun couldn''t help but count again quietly, even though he was the first to speak.


    That''s right, including Yan Junze, there were a total of 10 people here.


    "Your story isn''t scary, nor does it achieve the desired effect," Ma Dun put away his smile and shook his head.


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    "I''m not talking about a story," Yan Junze remained seated, calm, paused, and then as if he had just realized, said, "Oh, I forgot. You counted wrong, it''s not the people, but the chairs."


    "Count the chairs?" Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.


    Isn''t there one chair for each person? There''s no need to count them.


    But even though that''s what they thought, after hearing Yan Junze''s words, they couldn''t suppress the sense of eeriness that emerged, a goosebump-inducing sensation across their skin.


    Immediately, someone began to covertly count the chairs.


    A few seconds later, the boy named Jin Wei let out an "Ah!" and exclaimed in a lost voice, "Eleven... eleven chairs!"


    Xia Kai and Mao Jin''an sitting not far from him also turned pale, because they had just finished counting and there were indeed 11 chairs.


    But there were only 10 people sitting in this activity room at the moment, how could there be an extra chair?


    Moreover, because they had been so focused on counting the chairs, they hadn''t paid attention to who was sitting in each chair. Thinking about it now, it seemed like, when counting earlier, all 11 chairs... had people sitting in them!


    "Impossible," Ma Dun spoke out.


    No sooner had he spoken than he immediately counted the chairs again, then his face turned pale and his gaze flickered constantly.


    "I think... maybe we should call it a night," Yang Yang stammered.


    He had also just recounted, and indeed while counting people there were 10, but as soon as he counted only the chairs, an extra chair appeared, making 11.


    "Let''s break up, break up, let''s disperse for now."


    As soon as Yang Yang spoke up, several others immediately echoed, and even Xia Kai and Mao Jin''an had already stood up, obviously not wanting to stay any longer.


    The activity room was spacious, with a circle of chairs in the middle with people sitting, and only two blackboards and a few desks around. Apart from that, there was nothing else.


    It was around nine in the evening, the glass windows of the activity room were large, and the interior lighting dim. Outside, the branches were swaying, and the shadows cast by the lights entered the activity room, falling on the floor. At this moment, the shaking shadows seemed to become incredibly sinister.


    Just now it hadn''t been noticeable, but after realizing that things were getting increasingly strange, everyone in the room, including Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, felt a coldness slowly permeating their entire body.


    "Nobody move," Ma Dun spoke again, after a brief moment of panic, he looked at Yan Junze, "How did you notice?"


    "Quite simple," Yan Junze said with a smile that wasn''t quite a smile, "When I entered the room just now, I counted the chairs."


    "Chairman, let''s call it quits, it''s so late!" Xu Yongqiang said.


    "I think... let''s just..."


    Before Yang Yang finished speaking, Ma Dun had already interrupted him, "No, we must figure this out."


    "Yes," Yan Junze also nodded, "We must figure it out. If we don''t, this extra person might just stick to you guys."


    These words caused a chill to run down everyone''s spine in the room.


    This time Ma Dun didn''t say anything, but everyone who stood up sat back down again, each casting their gaze towards Ma Dun.


    Fortunately, there were still lights in the activity room. Although they had deliberately turned off half of them earlier to create the atmosphere, at this moment, the brighter the lights, the better.


    Zhang Ying spoke, "Li Bin, please turn on all the lights in the room."


    Li Bin appeared rather honest and, upon hearing the vice president''s command, he immediately ran to the entrance and pressed all the light switches.


    Instantly, the activity room was much brighter than before.


    "Now, nobody leaves. I''ll count again."


    Ma Dun looked at everyone seated and found that it was still impossible to spot any anomalies this way. He took a deep breath and started to count the chairs again.


    But this time was different. As Ma Dun counted each chair, he immediately lifted his gaze to see who was sitting on it.


    That way, even if he counted an extra chair, he could immediately notice who was sitting on it. He would know whether it was a counting mistake or there really was an extra person.


    He started counting from his right: Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, then Yan Junze sitting across him, and after Yan Junze was Li Bin.


    Following the seating order, next to Li Bin were Liao Jing, Zhang Ying, and then Yang Yang, and it would turn back to himself.


    After Ma Dun counted Yan Junze''s chair, he looked up at Yan Junze himself and saw that Yan Junze was watching him with a faint smile.


    So far, as he counted, there seemed to be no problem, and the people matched up.


    Then Ma Dun continued to count beyond Yan Junze''s side.


    "The sixth chair," Ma Dun counted silently, and then he lifted his eyelids to see who was on the chair, "Li Bin."


    Next one.


    Ma Dun''s gaze moved to the next chair, "The seventh."


    Then he looked up.


    However, at that moment, Ma Dun''s brows slightly furrowed because, as he counted slowly, he paid attention to the person sitting on the chair.


    The seventh chair should have been occupied by Liao Jing, who wore sportswear, but it seemed that wasn''t the case. After Ma Dun paid attention to the person on the chair, his vision suddenly became clear at that moment, and not just focused on the chair.


    The first thing he noticed was a gray long dress, indicating a woman was sitting on the seventh chair.


    It was a young woman with pale, slender arms hanging down, and that gray dress clung to her body as if it were wet all over.


    Ma Dun felt like he was having trouble breathing. He clearly remembered that after Li Bin, it should have been Liao Jing, but who was this strange woman?


    Sitting there, water continuously dripped down from her body. As his gaze moved upward, he saw the woman with her hair loose and hanging down, her head lowered, and her long hair soaked with water, clinging to her cheeks and neck, obscuring her face.


    But at this moment, Ma Dun was certain, they had encountered strangeness. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 179 The Eleventh Person (Part 3)

    As the president of the Strangeness Alliance Association, Ma Dun was known for his bravery. Even upon encountering the unfamiliar woman before him, his face might have turned pale, but he managed to maintain his composure and shifted his gaze to the next chair.Sitting on the eighth chair was Liao Jing, everything as normal; the girl was staring right at him.


    Glancing back again at the seventh chair, the same woman in the soaking wet gray dress was there, sitting with her feet together, very proper and demure.


    However, this time, when Ma Dun''s gaze returned to her, she seemed to respond, slowly lifting her bowed head as if her neck were a bit rusty. The movement wasn''t smooth but jerky, like a stiff puppet.


    During this action, some of the long hair that had been clinging to her cheek fell away, exposing terribly pale skin and eyes devoid of whites. Her head slowly tilted back, her gaze seeming to slant downward, looking at Ma Dun.


    "Fuck!" Ma Dun shuddered with fright.


    He pulled his gaze back, and in a blur, when he looked again, the woman in the long gown had vanished without a trace, leaving only Li Bin staring at him in confusion.


    The others had noticed that Ma Dun had visibly shuddered just now and turned to look at him. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yang Yang, who was beside him, leaned over and said, "You okay? What did you see?"


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, the two girls, also stared at Ma Dun in surprise. They remembered that even when encountering the "Peephole Strange Creature" at Experiment Building No. 4, the president had not shown such an expression of terror.


    "I saw an eleventh person," Ma Dun said, extending his hand, his finger trembling as he pointed in Li Bin''s direction, "Right next to Li Bin, there was a woman sitting all drenched, as if she had just been pulled out of water."


    Whish!


    As if avoiding the plague, the others stood up abruptly, pushed their chairs away, and hurried towards Ma Dun''s direction.


    Li Bin, scared stiff, grasped the arms of his chair and found himself shaking all over, unable to stand up.


    Amongst them, only Ma Dun, Zhang Ying, and Liao Jing remained seated.


    And, of course, there was Yan Junze.


    Liao Jing turned her head to look at Li Bin, who hadn''t been able to stand up beside her, and inquired in confusion, "Is there someone else next to me? Isn''t it just Li Bin?"


    Zhang Ying nodded in agreement.


    Yan Junze said, "They have all moved now, certainly there''s nobody there. In dealing with strangenesses, this phenomenon has a specific term, called ''insertion.'' You don''t realize when this woman mixed in among you, and you never even noticed her. If she had wanted to harm you, she would have done it already, not waited until now."


    "So why would she blend in with us?" Ma Dun seemed to have forgotten Yan Junze''s identity, a freshman who had not officially joined the Strange Club yet.


    "Obsession. Perhaps someone among you has caused her to form some sort of obsession," Yan Junze explained. "If this strangeness prefers to ''insert'' herself, it doesn''t matter how many people you bring, it''s futile, you can''t stop her."


    By now, except for Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, and Li Bin, everyone else had fled behind Ma Dun, eyes wide with terror and staring in Li Bin''s direction.


    Li Bin, not that he didn''t want to join the others, his legs had just gone weak. Although they weren''t as weak at that moment, he couldn''t leave because Liao Jing and Zhang Ying hadn''t moved.


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    Turning his head to look around, Yan Junze on the other side hadn''t moved either, and Li Bin hadn''t seen any long-dressed woman himself.


    Just as Yan Junze had finished speaking about the ''insertion,'' the door of the activity room was suddenly pushed open, and a boy walked in, flinging his wet hands around, probably having just returned from the restroom.


    When the boy realized everyone was staring at him, he froze in place, unsure whether to advance or retreat, and asked in a daze, "What''s going on with... everyone? I... I went to the restroom, and now you don''t recognize me?"


    "Yang Yang?" Ma Dun looked at the person who had just come in from outside with a fearful expression.


    Not just him; everyone wore a look of terror, including the two bold girls, Zhang Ying and Liao Jing.


    Everyone remembered that Yang Yang had been in the activity room the whole time and had never left. So, who was this person who''d come in claiming he had just gone to the restroom?


    If he is Yang Yang, who was the person that just hid behind Ma Dun with the others?


    Upon that thought, Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, and the others who were still hiding beside Ma Dun turned their heads toward the spot where Yang Yang was originally standing.


    Where Yang Yang had been standing just moments before, they now saw a woman in a gray long dress, the garment clinging tightly to her body, her hair matted together by water, emitting the foul stench of sewage.


    The woman was dripping wet, and a puddle had already formed on the floor where she stood.


    Splash!


    Including Ma Dun, everyone was so frightened that they rushed towards Yan Junze''s seating area, knocking over several chairs, even the bravest of them, Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, hid behind Yan Junze in terror.


    Subconsciously, at that moment, they all regarded Yan Junze as a reliable person to turn to.


    Because it was he who first noticed that there were eleven people in the room and articulated the method to spot the eleventh person by counting chairs.


    Just now, Yan Junze had also described the way this strange woman appeared among them, calling it some sort of intrusion.


    Although these people were only interested in studying strange magnetic fields from a scientific perspective and did not know much about exorcism, they still possessed the basic discernment to feel that Yan Junze''s words were probably not far off.


    Otherwise, why was he the first to notice the oddity while no one else did?


    So at that moment, subconsciously, after fully confronting the real form of the strange woman for the first time, everyone''s first reaction was to seek refuge behind Yan Junze.


    If push came to shove, even if they had to flee through the door, they wanted to do it quickly, as at least Yan Junze was the closest to the exit. Even Yang Yang, who had just returned from the restroom, hid behind Yan Junze with a face full of terror and confusion.


    He couldn''t understand how things turned strange right after he returned from using the bathroom.


    But fortunately, no one ran away yet, because Yan Junze''s demeanor was too calm. From beginning to end, he sat there without moving an inch.


    For a moment, Ma Dun somewhat regretted, wondering if this wouldn''t have happened had he not let Yan Junze tell one last story?


    But on second thought, it seemed unlikely. Even if Yan Junze hadn''t told his third story, if this woman was already here, she would still have intruded into their midst, and wouldn''t have refrained from appearing because Yan Junze didn''t tell a story.


    At that time, Yan Junze was sizing up this strange creature. Coincidentally, the moment he walked into the activity room, he had noticed the woman''s presence.


    But, sensing no immediate danger, he had remained still, waiting to see what would happen. Little did he know that Ma Dun''s actions had pressed him into a corner.


    Since he wasn''t scared, he thought that this should satisfy them by now.


    After a careful observation, Yan Junze guessed that this strangeness must be the spirit of someone who drowned otherwise, there was no explaining the continuous dripping.


    It surely couldn''t be that she died from drinking water until she burst¡ªthat would be absurd.


    "Has her intrusion always been here?" Liao Jing suddenly asked beside his ear.


    "From what it seems... yes," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Yan Junze," Zhang Ying suddenly spoke into his other ear, "I always felt you were extraordinary. Do you have a way to deal with her so that she can''t intrude on us?"


    Zhang Ying indeed had nerve; even in the current situation, she could still calmly consider the issue, which somewhat impressed Yan Junze.


    "Of course." Yan Junze gave a definitive answer and first turned his head towards Ma Dun, "Now do you believe the stories I just told are from personal experience?"


    "I... believe." Ma Dun nodded awkwardly.


    "Alright then." Yan Junze turned back around and shrugged, "Her intrusion is because of obsession. Now... if anyone here recognizes this woman, step forward and claim her."

 Chapter 180 The Eleventh Person (Part 4)

    As these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.Yan Junze turned his head and saw that everyone was puzzled, clearly, no one recognized the Water Ghost.


    "Do you recognize her?" Zhang Ying asked Liao Jing.


    Liao Jing shook her head.


    "Perhaps too much time has passed, and the memory of her appearance might differ. Think carefully whether you have seen this woman or not."


    Yan Junze pointed ahead, casting his gaze in that direction and then he froze for a moment because the long-dressed woman who had been standing there was now gone without a trace.


    The water stains on the ground had also disappeared, as if the woman had never appeared.


    "Gone?" Mao Jin''an said, "Could it be that she left after we discovered her?"


    "It''s possible," Li Bin nodded.


    In any case, he was scared. This was hardly the third tale, it was outright a horror strangeness live broadcast, for God''s sake!


    Now, not only did they want Yan Junze to join the Strange Club, but if Li Bin had his way, they would even appoint him as president, as long as Ma Dun agreed.


    "Is she... gone?" Ma Dun leaned on Yan Junze''s shoulder, staring intently ahead.


    Just a moment ago, he had turned to glance at his friends nearby, and when he looked back, the woman had vanished.


    Everyone eagerly looked to Yan Junze, hoping he could give a definite answer. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Regardless of the future, for now, no one wished to stay here any longer.


    Yan Junze shook his head and quickly shattered their hopes: "She hasn''t left; you''ve been stepped in between. You can''t see her now because she''s with you again."


    "Damn it!" Xu Yongqiang jumped up as if electrocuted, exclaiming, "Yan Junze, you can''t scare people like that! Where is she, where is that woman?!"


    As he spoke, the others too jumped with fright, scattering in all directions with faces filled with terror, looking left and right, not daring to group together anymore.


    At that moment, apart from Yan Junze, even Zhang Ying and Liao Jing felt a chill in their hearts, thinking about the soaking wet woman who had been following them, having goosebumps sprouting all over.


    The two girls involuntarily grabbed each other''s hands and stood together.


    "Yan Junze, you must think of something fast," Zhang Ying couldn''t help saying again.


    She knew how to read the room; at this moment, even if they left separately, the female strangeness might still follow them, so nothing felt safe. They only had Yan Junze to rely on for a solution.


    Yan Junze, looking at several pairs of eyes scattered around, not daring to stand together anymore, pondered for a moment before speaking: "As I just said, the only way to get her to leave is to fulfill her Obsession. But since none of you recognize her, we have a problem."


    "Is there any other way?" Yang Yang asked.


    "There is, but you must cooperate with me, otherwise this strangeness will continue to haunt you," Yan Junze nodded.


    "You just tell us, we''ll do it," Ma Dun said.


    "Yeah, we''ll all cooperate," Xu Yongqiang added.


    Yan Junze''s gaze moved over to Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin¡ªpeople who hadn''t spoken yet.


    Although they didn''t express it clearly, their eyes appeared desperate, sharing the same thoughts as Ma Dun and the others, all willing to cooperate.


    "Good," Yan Junze smiled and explained, "Since none of you knows, or someone does but doesn''t want to admit that they recognize this strangeness, I''ll have to use the process of elimination."


    After these words, he looked at everyone and instructed, "Now, please split into two groups of nine people, form two circles, and stand holding hands together, without letting go."


    After finishing these words, Yan Junze stood up to close all the curtains in the activity room and then went to stand by the light switch at the door, placing his hand on the switch: "After you''ve joined hands and formed a circle, I will turn off the lights, plunging the entire activity room into darkness. Remember, no one can let go of hands, and don''t use your phones for light."


    "Should we... do we need to go to the lab and bring over the strangeness detector?" Xia Kai suddenly said.


    Yan Junze looked at him in astonishment.


    "Don''t mind him," Ma Dun told Yan Junze, "Just now, everyone saw that female strangeness, no point in checking further, that thing is just something we came up with, it''s not even sure if it''s useful, and now that woman is definitely still among us."


    "Oh hell, the curtains are drawn, the lights are out, this... this is a bit scary, man!" Li Bin couldn''t help saying, "Can we... can we pull the curtains open a bit?"


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head.


    "Then if I get nervous later on, can I whistle?" Mao Jin''an asked.


    "Can I talk after the lights go out?" Xu Yongqiang also said, "I like to hop and talk when I''m nervous, like this..."


    As he spoke, he started hopping around.


    "I mean..." Yan Junze frowned and looked at Ma Dun, "What''s wrong with all these old members of your Strange Club?"


    Ma Dun smiled awkwardly and then glanced at the others, "Quiet down, listen to Yan Junze now."


    Yang Yang also shouted, "What''s with all the fuss? In front of a new member, you guys have lost all face for the Strange Club."


    "So this means... I''m in the club," Yan Junze smiled.


    "Of course, of course," Ma Dun turned to the others, "I don''t think anyone would object."


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "Isn''t the condition for joining the club to scare you all?"


    "Enough," Zhang Ying suddenly spoke up, "I''m sweating all over my forehead right now, I''ve reached that point, I believe there''s no one left who hasn''t been scared."


    "Alright," Yan Junze shrugged, "Everyone form a circle and hold hands, hold on to each other, no letting go. Then listen to my next instruction."


    The nine people standing in the middle of the activity room moved all the chairs aside, forming two groups: one of five people and one of four people, each group forming a circle, then holding hands and looking at Yan Junze.


    The group of five consisted of Ma Dun, Yang Yang, Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, and Xu Yongqiang, while the group of four included Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin.


    "Damn, their group has two girls, and we don''t have a single one," Li Bin muttered under his breath.


    Liao Jing turned her head and glared at him. The guy immediately looked down, pretending not to see.


    Snap!


    Yan Junze turned off the light in the activity room.


    Since the curtain blocked the light from outside, the entire activity room plunged into darkness the moment the lights were off.


    The curtains of the activity room were thick and heavy, so they were excellent at blocking out light, and not a single ray could penetrate.


    In the instant of complete darkness, as tensions had been kept up all along, someone couldn''t help but let out a cry, but then they immediately shut their mouth.


    In the darkness, a deathly silence ensued.


    All the people holding hands, even their breathing became very light, as if afraid that any extra noise in the pitch-black space would draw the Water Ghost''s attention to them.


    About ten seconds later, Yan Junze''s voice rang out.


    "If you''re interfered by strangeness, under no specific conditions or environment, it''s fundamentally impossible to clear that interference. And just now, thanks to my reminder, you did discover the interfering strangeness and even saw her, but you can''t get rid of her.


    So I''m sorry to say, I misled everyone, if I''m not wrong, there''s a pair among you holding hands, and one of those hands belongs to that female strangeness."


    When Yan Junze''s words rang out, the two groups holding hands in the darkness immediately exploded into chaos.


    "Holy shit!"


    "Screw you and your grandma''s leg!"


    "Oh my God!" Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    Almost everyone was scared into making a noise, and at this moment, they had thrown the Strange Club''s reputation completely out of the window.

 Chapter 181 The Eleventh Person (Part 5)

    After he spoke, Yan Junze didn''t turn on the light, nor did he speak again.At this moment, both Ma Dun''s group and Xia Kai''s group were truly terrified, but after a brief panic, they immediately began to feel the hand they were holding to see if there was anything odd.


    Everyone still remembered who had been standing by their side, so as long as they paid a little attention to their sense of touch, they could almost be 100% sure whether the hand they were holding was normal.


    Seven or eight seconds later, voices of confirmation began to rise.


    "No problem, I''m holding onto Yang Yang and Zhang Ying," Ma Dun said.


    "Yeah, I''m fine too," Zhang Ying said, the other hand of hers was holding Liao Jing.


    Liao Jing quickly added, "I''m with Xu Yongqiang here."


    "Yes, it''s me," Xu Yongqiang said, "and I''m certain on the other side is the president."


    The first group was clear.


    "Second group?" Yan Junze asked.


    At this moment, the darkness in the activity room reached its apex, and even though their eyes could adapt to the dark, they still couldn''t see anything and had to rely on the sense of touch.


    Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    In the second group, Li Bin felt the left hand he was holding, which felt normal and belonged to Jin Wei, while on the other side was Mao Jin''an.


    Jin Wei was holding onto Xia Kai and now he squeezed Xia Kai''s somewhat slender palm a bit too hard due to his nervousness, but he still confirmed it was him and hadn''t changed.


    "Sorry, I''m just too tense," Jin Wei quickly apologized, afraid that he had squeezed Xia Kai too hard.


    But Xia Kai didn''t say a word, for his feet were shaking as if he were dancing the ghost step, focusing on the hand in his right.


    He remembered that he had clearly been holding Mao Jin''an''s hand just before, but now the hand had changed in the instant when the light went off and everything plunged into darkness.


    It seemed...wet!


    At this moment, Xia Kai focused all his attention on this hand, so he didn''t hear Jin Wei''s apology at all.


    He slightly moved his fingers, and a drop of water from the hand he was holding rolled over, reached the tip of his thumb, and then dripped off.


    He confirmed it, the hand was indeed covered with water.


    In this moment, Xia Kai felt his entire right hand go numb, completely powerless, as if it no longer belonged to him.


    On the other hand, Mao Jin''an had not made a single sound, as he too felt something was off with the hand he was holding, causing his entire body to tremble.


    The trembling was so intense and rapid that it was as if he had turned on electric shock mode.


    Li Bin, who was holding onto Mao Jin''an''s hand, sensed something was amiss, squeezed Mao Jin''an''s hand, and said, "Dude...wait, no..."


    Li Bin got a shock, thought of something, and suddenly felt a chill rise up his spine.


    Fearing that Mao Jin''an''s fear might cause him to leap up at any moment, Li Bin was about to speak to remind him when he suddenly felt his hand go loose; Mao Jin''an had abruptly let go of his hand.


    At the same instant, the terrified Mao Jin''an also let go of the hand belonging to that female ghost.


    But the moment after he let go of the wet hand, the already fully trembling Mao Jin''an suddenly felt a stench-laden chill hit him in the face.


    What was getting close to him?!


    In the darkness, Mao Jin''an did not notice that his face had already twisted in fear, his eyes bulging, but he could see nothing.


    Suddenly, completely unprepared, he felt a coldness on his face, as a frigid face pressed up against his own right cheek, sticking closely and motionless.


    A brief silence for two seconds.


    """"


    "My God!"


    A bloodcurdling scream of terror erupted.


    The cry was so horrifying, so piercing, that for a moment the other group couldn''t make out who was screaming.


    Thump! The screaming stopped abruptly as someone collapsed to the ground.


    Yan Junze immediately turned on the light.


    The blinding light made everyone''s eyes unable to open at first, taking nearly three seconds before they could finally see clearly.


    They all turned towards the second group and saw Mao Jin''an lying rigid on the floor with nothing around him.


    Xu Yongqiang, Jin Wei, and Li Bin hurriedly gathered around, propped Mao Jin''an up on a chair, and began to stimulate the philtrum to revive him.


    Xu Yongqiang then suddenly turned his head, glanced towards Ma Dun, and then to Yan Junze, "He... his left hand... is wet."


    The others were jolted with surprise, and only then noticed that Xia Kai was still standing in the same spot, pale as a ghost, his pupils seemingly unfocused, blankly staring into space, completely out of sorts.


    Then, their eyes dropped to his right hand, which was also dripping water at this moment.


    "It seems it''s appeared in the second group, hmm, intruding between Mao Jin''an and Xia Kai," Yan Junze approached, "However, this doesn''t mean that the female ghost is looking for Xia Kai and Mao Jin''an specifically. It could be the other people in the second group, or maybe everyone in it."


    Approaching Mao Jin''an, he observed that the man was likely in a temporary faint due to an excess of shock and was now beginning to stir weakly, humming unconsciously but could sit on the chair by himself.


    Liao Jing went to the water dispenser to pour him a cup of hot water, and brought it over to Mao Jin''an; Jin Wei, who was beside him, took it and carefully fed it to Mao Jin''an sip by sip.


    However, everyone could see that Jin Wei''s hands, holding the cup, were also trembling.


    "He fainted from the shock, should be fine after resting a bit," Yan Junze said.


    "What do we do now?" Yang Yang asked.


    "It''s got nothing to do with the first group anymore," Yan Junze glanced at him, "If anyone in the second group is willing to admit to or realizes that they recognize that female strangeness, I think we could avoid further trouble."


    With that, he turned to look towards the four men of the second group: Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin.


    Apart from Mao Jin''an, who had just come around and was still humming, the other three appeared unable to conceal their terror, showing no signs of concealment.


    So there were two possibilities: the first was that none of these four men recognized the woman, or they couldn''t identify her; the second was that someone had already recognized her, but they were desperately concealing it and not admitting to it.


    The first scenario was somewhat easier to address, since it meant no one was hiding anything. However, if it were the second scenario, it would require some effort.


    Yan Junze sighed and checked the task notification that popped up in his Inner Vision.


    This task notification had appeared just as he had entered the activity room and saw these people sitting there.


    [Task Name: Kiss;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: That person no longer loved her, trapped by emotion, Ling committed suicide by throwing herself into the river, and even as she died, that person never gave her one last look. Ling was gentle and kind throughout her life, never malevolent. After drowning, her body sank to the bottom of the river, caught among the water weeds and never surfacing;


    Task Description: All she wants now is to kiss him one last time; S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Task Reward: 500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: If she does not receive this kiss, she will continue to exist (not targeting the host);


    Task Notes: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Ling is very good at intruding;


    Remarks: Help Ling find this person, but do not use means that would harm him, because Ling has always cared about him deeply.]


    """"

 Chapter 182 The Eleventh Person (Part 6)

    After discovering the task labeled "Kiss," Yan Junze had initially planned to observe these nine individuals covertly after becoming a member, to determine which one fit the task description, and then wait for the right moment to complete the task.But who could have known that these guys were eager for ghost stories to get a thrill, so they kept pressing him. Fine then, encountering weirdnesses on the spot is far more stimulating than hearing stories, and so Yan Junze gave them a live demonstration.


    It turned out that listening to stories was one thing, but being truly confronted with ghostly apparitions was quite another matter.


    At present, every one of the Strangeness Alliance Association''s members seemed incomparably cowardly, except Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, who appeared to be slightly better off, though equally drenched in a cold sweat.


    Regardless, after doing as Yan Junze instructed, there were only four remaining suspects among these nine people.


    They were Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin; otherwise, the strangeness would not have chosen to interfere with this group.


    Once Mao Jin''an had fully recovered, Yan Junze said to the four, "We can almost be certain now that the spirit is looking for one of you four. Think carefully about her appearance, and determine whether you recognize her or not."


    The four of them were first frightened, then began to force themselves to recall clearly.


    During this period, Yan Junze observed them closely; he needed to ascertain whether any of these folks actually recognized the spirit but were concealing it all along.


    Despite watching for a while, confused expressions emerged on the faces of Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin. Each of them appeared serious, as if they were straining to remember.


    "Damn, if someone is actually hiding something, then this guy''s performance is worthy of an Academy Award; there''s not the slightest hint of irregularity," Yan Junze thought to himself, shaking his head.


    He spoke up to remind them, "Think about people you were close to before coming to university, like classmates, deskmates, neighbors you''ve played with since childhood, or even relatives."


    After a moment, the same confused look could still be seen on the faces of the four.


    Having no other option, Yan Junze turned back to the light switch near the door, saying, "Now the four of you, do as I say. Just stand in place without moving, and after I turn off the light, slowly say, ''You''re here? I''ve been waiting for you for a long time.''"


    As these words were uttered, Jin Kai and others were startled, then felt a chill run down their spines.


    Li Bin said, "But there''s nothing in front of us! Are we just talking to the air?"


    "Hmm, this method isn''t bad," Yang Yang said, stroking the few bristles on his chin, pondering, "There is nothing now, but perhaps after those words are spoken, there will be."


    This guy, after being assured by Yan Junze that they had nothing to do with the female apparition, now seemed to be in a state of detached concern, feeling much better and starting to make judgmental comments.


    Yan Junze nodded, "Just say it like that, but after you finish, you''ll need to make a gesture as well."


    "What gesture?" Jin Wei asked.


    Subconsciously, he and the other three felt that whatever Yan Junze was asking them to do typically wouldn''t be pleasant. The hand-holding earlier was already evidence, and this time was no exception. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It''s simple," Yan Junze said, "After you say it, reach out your arms and hug the air in front of you."


    "Ah!" The four of them were taken aback.


    "If I''m not wrong, the woman who''s searching won''t let him embrace the air. Hmm, let''s begin. Everyone stand still," Yan Junze then looked at the other five from the first group, "Stand there with your backs against the wall and don''t move, and don''t secretly pull on anyone''s hands, especially not Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, until I turn the light back on."


    "Start."


    Yan Junze snapped off the light switch in the activity room once more, plunging it into total darkness again.


    Apart from Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin, the other five immediately backed against the walls of the activity room, motionlessly.


    Although they had already been proven unrelated, at this moment, these five were equally tense, their backs pressed firmly against the wall, straining their eyes to try and see what was happening with the four others.


    "Speak," Yan Junze urged in a somewhat stern tone after waiting a long time without a word from the four.


    Seconds ticked by before Xia Kai finally stammered out, "You... you''re here? I''ve been waiting... waiting for you a long time."


    As he finished speaking, the other three also started speaking up, repeating the same sentence.


    Yan Junze then reminded them again, "Stretch out both hands and embrace the ''thing'' before you."


    "Thing?" The four people were startled, their faces filled with horror as they reached out their arms and embraced the void before them.


    The activity room fell silent, not a sound could be heard, as if everyone had frozen in place after completing the "embrace."


    Yan Junze didn''t speak either. Given the current situation, someone must have embraced "her," but due to the high tension and fear, even if this person had already managed to hold "her," they certainly would not dare to make a noise, so asking was pointless now.


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze did not ask but deliberately said, "If someone is holding ''someone,'' please do not let go, otherwise I can''t be certain what will happen to her. Now... I''m going to turn on the lights."


    With that, the lights in the activity room were turned back on.


    Regardless of the glare, all eyes immediately turned to the four people in the center of the room.


    There Xia Kai, Mao Jin''an, and Li Bin were seen making motions of embracing forward, but there was nothing between their arms, absolutely nothing. However, they too didn''t dare to move an inch.


    Turning to Jin Wei, the person in his embracing arms was indeed a person, but upon seeing who it was, everyone was startled.


    Zhang Ying exclaimed in surprise, "Liao Jing?!"


    "What, how could it be Liao Jing?"


    Ma Dun turned his head toward the direction where Liao Jing, who had been standing near him against the wall before the lights were turned off, but now that place was empty.


    It was clear to everyone that the person Jin Wei was holding was Liao Jing.


    Liao Jing had a vacant look in her eyes, her arms hanging down, standing in front of Jin Wei, firmly embraced in his arms. But this guy had none of the expressions of enjoyment, replaced by endless panic, his hands holding Liao Jing shaking wildly.


    He had been so frightened when he suddenly found himself holding someone that he nearly lost control of his bladder and bowels. He had been holding it in the entire time, not daring to let go.


    "You can let go now," Yan Junze moved forward and saw that Liao Jing seemed unconscious, just standing stiffly on the spot.


    Jin Wei couldn''t wait to let go, and as soon as he heard Yan Junze''s words, he immediately did.


    Liao Jing fell sideways and was caught by Yan Junze, who along with Xia Kai, Zhang Ying, and others who had hurried over, helped Liao Jing sit down on a chair.


    "How could it be her?" Zhang Ying looked at Yan Junze, bewildered, hoping to find an answer.


    Yan Junze did not respond but looked at Liao Jing''s current condition, feeling it was a bit like Spirit-Splitting, but what had she just done, and why would it split her spirit?


    Could it also have something to do with her? Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Did you know Liao Jing before?" Yan Junze asked Jin Wei.


    Jin Wei shook his head, shivering.


    "Then, do you recognize that long-dressed woman from just now?" Yan Junze asked again, his gaze now carrying an evaluative intent.


    Because this time, it was clear the strangeness had not embraced anyone else but had specifically chosen Jin Wei and even by the means of Spirit-Splitting, which was worthy of reflection.


    Jin Wei was already terrified and shook his head in confusion, "I... really don''t know that woman."


    Yan Junze looked sharply at Jin Wei, then turned his head to gaze at the unconscious Liao Jing and said, "Ms. Strange Entity, let''s talk this out. You''re looking for Jin Wei, right? It shouldn''t have anything to do with this girl, so why bother splitting her spirit?"


    He looked down at the water cup that had fallen on the floor, the same cup Mao Jin''an had drunk from earlier.


    He thought, he knew when Liao Jing had her spirit split.

 Chapter 183 The Eleventh Person (End) (Request for Monthly Votes, Recommendations)

    The task prompt says that this woman named Ling is adept at meddling in relationships.In other words, she''s very skilled at getting involved with others romantically, and can do so in a variety of situations and gestures.


    This female strangeness died from jumping into a river, and her appearance constantly dripping with water suggests a significant connection to it.


    And just now, the first person who came into contact with water was Liao Jing, who poured a glass of water for Mao Jin''an after he fainted.


    She must have accidentally touched the water while pouring it, and then it seemed she passed the water cup to someone else, who then helped Mao Jin''an drink.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled that the person seemed to be... Jin Wei.


    And coincidentally, it was Jin Wei who just hugged Liao Jing.


    Coming to this realization, Yan Junze turned his head and looked at Jin Wei, "Tell me, do you really know this woman or not? Don''t try to hide anything else; otherwise, she wouldn''t have chosen to possess Liao Jing and embrace you."


    Jin Wei stared at Yan Junze, dumbfounded. His reaction was quite normal, and even more panic surfaced on his face after hearing Yan Junze''s words, as he incredulously looked around him.


    "No, no, no, that''s impossible! I really don''t know this woman." After a moment, he vehemently shook his head, like a frightened bird, his hands flailing wildly.


    "I have nothing to do with her; I truly don''t know her, I''ve absolutely not lied to you all!" Realizing that everyone was looking at him, Jin Wei became even more agitated and nearly shouted.


    "Don''t get excited yet," Yan Junze advised, seeing his demeanor which suggested Jin Wei really wasn''t trying to hide something, "Think carefully, before coming to Tianmeng Science University, any girls you dated or girls who had a crush on you that you didn''t reciprocate."


    "Damn it."


    The young men present all turned their surprised eyes towards Jin Wei. They all found it hard to believe that this average-looking guy, with no outstanding physique or American-style curves, could evoke Yan Junze to say such things.


    "Having to remember which girls he dated?!" Xu Yongqiang''s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he glared at Jin Wei, thinking, "If it was me, would I even need to remember? The only girl I pursued in the second year of high school resulted in me running myself ragged, not only did she not agree in the end, but I also almost lost my life at the hands of her father''s stick."


    A chill went down Yang Yang''s spine next to Xu Yongqiang, as if he too recalled some horrifying past event.


    At the same moment, Li Bin stomped his foot and shook his head, likely never having held a girl''s hand before University. Now hearing that Jin Wei had to rely on his memory to recall which girl it was, he looked like someone who''d eaten shit and found it insufficient.


    Jin Wei thought hard; it wasn''t that he had dated many girls, but now he was completely terrified, his thinking much slower than usual, his mind muddled.


    After pondering, he shook his head, "I''m sure, I had two girlfriends before starting University, but we both parted on amicable terms, and it''s not possible that any of them would die then come looking for me. Plus, those two girls don''t look anything like this strangeness."


    Yan Junze recalled the mission background and prompted, "Think about it, who once loved you, or pursued you, that you didn''t accept."


    No sooner had he spoken than at least three young men raised their hands.


    Yan Junze frowned as he looked over, and Xu Yongqiang, speaking as their representative, clutched his wrist in a gesture of deep regret, "Can we request to be excused? This is too much of a blow to our self-esteem; we can''t stand to listen any longer."


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "If it''s not handled properly, you all might already be possessed too, just not showing it yet."


    "Then I choose to stay," declared Xia Kai.


    Compared to not having a girlfriend, he thought his life was of the utmost importance.


    The others fell silent, all of them looking at Jin Wei.


    Jin Wei thought it over and nodded, "A girl pursued me; at first, I thought she was quite nice and we had dinner a few times, but it didn''t reach the stage of dating. But she didn''t die, she''s still alive and well."


    "Is that so?"


    Yan Junze was puzzled, the previous scene was quite clear, the female strangeness chose to possess Liao Jing and embrace Jin Wei as a way to evade his investigation, yet didn''t want to give up embracing the one she loved.


    That would be the only reason she''d do that.


    But looking at it now, if there''s still no connection, maybe Jin Wei was still hiding something.


    But why would he hide it? Could it be he killed this woman?


    No way.


    Yan Junze looked at Jin Wei''s cowardly expression and dismissed the idea.


    Of course, you can''t outright confirm it through appearance, but at least he had an intuition that not only did Jin Wei seem timid, but after interacting with him for a while, he really did seem timid.


    However, timid people can also have moments of audacity.


    "Did you kill this woman?" Yan Junze suddenly asked.


    "Ah!" Jin Wei jumped in fright, "I don''t even know her, why would I kill her? My whole life, I haven''t even killed a chicken, let alone... dare to kill someone?!"


    Yan Junze frowned, shook his head, and seemed to have entered a wrong line of thought.


    He dragged the nearest chair over, sat down, bent over, propped up his chin with his hands, and stared at Liao Jing who was still unconscious, occasionally turning to look at Jin Wei who appeared anxious and fearful.


    Where did he go wrong?


    It now seemed obvious that the strangeness''s choice of whom to embrace couldn''t all be wrong. Was she intentionally leading him down the wrong path?


    Unlikely, her obsession was strong; even if she was adept at meddling, she wouldn''t go against her own obsession to embrace the wrong person up close.


    Could it be that the target of this female strangeness wasn''t men but Liao Jing, whom she had split her spirit with?


    Struck by this thought, Yan Junze startled himself.


    It seemed that Jian Tong from Wine Red High Heels had influenced him too much, with thoughts of men with men, women with women, constantly trying to burst forth.


    The mission, it was still the problem with this mission.


    Yan Junze thought carefully; the mission background stated that the woman drowned herself in the river, so it wasn''t homicide. Furthermore, after she drowned, her body got tangled in the water weeds and has yet to surface.


    "Hasn''t surfaced?"


    Yan Junze suddenly froze for a moment, something dawning on him as he turned his gaze to Jin Wei.


    At this moment, Jin Wei was so terrified that, seeing Yan Junze''s unkind look, he couldn''t help but take two steps back in fear.


    "Tell me, the girl who had a crush on you but whom you didn''t reciprocate, what''s her name? Does she have a commonly used nickname, or how do you address her?" Yan Junze asked.


    Jin Wei said, "Her name is Bai Ling, I always called her... Ling."


    "That''s right, it''s her." Yan Junze nodded with certainty, "Bai Ling is already dead, you just don''t know it."


    "What?" Jin Wei''s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in fright.


    "Because you rejected her, she threw herself into the river and committed suicide, but her body hasn''t been found yet, she''s just been listed as a missing person. You haven''t been in contact with her and haven''t heard any other news about her, so you''d think she''s living just fine," Yan Junze analyzed.


    "How... how could you know?" Jin Wei was astonished.


    Everyone else also looked confused.


    Yan Junze began to bluff, "I possess a special ability that allows me to understand the Obsession of strangenesses, so I can know roughly what caused her death and what her Obsession is."


    "Then... if... it really is Ling? She has been following me... what... what does she want at the end of it all?" Jin Wei stammered as he asked.


    Yan Junze revealed a smile, glanced at the others, and spoke, "Actually, it''s quite simple, she wants to Kiss you once."


    Upon hearing this, everyone paused for a moment, then Ma Dun said, "That''s very simple, Jin Wei, why don''t you just kiss Liao Jing right now and be done with it?" Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire


    "Is that so?" Jin Wei looked at Yan Junze, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips.


    By his look, he wasn''t opposed to kissing Liao Jing, and since Liao Jing herself was sunny and youthful, with good looks, perhaps Jin Wei had some feelings for her as well.


    Yan Junze promptly shattered his illusion, "Not necessarily. How about this, I''ll turn off the lights, and then you go kiss Liao Jing. No matter whom you actually kiss, it should be enough to pass the test."


    "Okay," Jin Wei thought for a moment and nodded.


    "No way," Ma Dun immediately objected, "we won''t be able to see what happens this way."


    "Yeah, what if he screws up?" Yang Yang also said, I want to see it happen.


    "Damn, are you guys even brothers?" Jin Wei asked, irritated.


    "No," all the men shook their heads together, "we''re just members here."


    "Cut it out," Yan Junze laughed, about to return to the door to turn off the light, but Xu Yongqiang beat him to it.


    Xu Yongqiang pressed the light switch with a grin, saying at the same time, "I''ll do it, Jin Wei, just be quick with your move."


    Jin Wei didn''t respond, but soon there was the sound of rustling. It was unclear what stage things had progressed to. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    About ten seconds later, there was a snap, and the lights came on again.


    Aside from Yan Junze, everyone looked eagerly towards Jin Wei and Liao Jing''s direction with cheerful smiles.


    What they saw was Jin Wei indeed kissing someone. However, the recipient of the kiss was a woman dressed in a grey long dress, dripping wet all over, while Liao Jing was lying on the floor, not sitting in the chair at all.


    The wet-haired woman''s hair clung to half of her face, revealing only parts of her excessively pale skin. Her bulging eyes had no whites, just black.


    As she was being kissed, one of her hands was clasping Jin Wei''s neck tightly, with water flowing down and soaking into Jin Wei''s spine, drenching his clothes.


    It was clear to everyone that Jin Wei''s body was violently trembling, bent over as he kissed, as if he might collapse at any moment.


    Everybody had been excited to witness this scene, yet upon actually seeing it, a chill ran up their spines and goosebumps appeared all over.


    Imagining those cold, stinking lips against their own, most of the men felt like they were about to throw up.


    It was at this time that Yan Junze saw Jin Wei mumbling something with his eyes closed, uttering three words that, despite being unclear, he still heard.


    Those three words were, "I''m... sorry..."


    Points, definitively points. Yan Junze nodded inwardly.


    Indeed, after Jin Wei uttered those three words, the woman''s lips parted, and she made a clicking sound in her throat. She didn''t speak but instead released more foul-smelling water.

 Chapter 184 The Strange Magnetic Field

    Although the female ghost couldn''t speak, from the frequency and speed at which the foul water emerged from her mouth, it was clear that the last three words Jin Wei uttered had moved her.Despite trembling and feeling terrified, Jin Wei was quick to shake his head and dodge when the stenchy water sprayed out.


    Whoosh...


    The foul water kept flowing from the mouth of the water ghost, as if it would never cease.


    At the same time, Ling let go of the hand she was holding onto Jin Wei, and her entire body rose off the ground, away from the chair she had been sitting on, floating upwards as if she were under water.


    Everyone, including Jin Wei, looked up and watched as Ling floated upwards, with water still dripping down her soaking wet dress.


    Yan Junze guessed that at this moment, the weeds wrapped around the woman''s corpse might have loosened, causing her body to slowly rise to the surface.


    Moreover, the river where Ling had thrown herself in might be a Deadwater Pool, the depths maintaining a low temperature year-round, which prevented her corpse from decomposing significantly.


    Regardless, as soon as her body surfaced, it would quickly be discovered by someone.


    In this way, it could be considered the fulfillment of her wish.


    [Kiss, Anxiety-Inducing (High), Completed, Reward 500 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Now that various quests had been completed, Yan Junze could approximate that the lowest-level "Anxiety-Inducing" quests corresponded to Different Dimension Energy rewards ranging from 100-500 points.


    Tasks of the next higher level, "Trembling with Fear," rewarded between 500-1000 Different Dimension Energy points. The even higher-level "Hair-raising" tasks offered rewards between 1000-1500 points.


    Of course, depending on the difficulty of the task and other conditional factors, the energy rewards obtained can vary, with each similar task selecting a number within a range of values.


    As Ling floated upward, her figure began to fade slowly until finally, it vanished without a trace...


    The others rushed over at this moment; some helped Liao Jing up, while others steadied Jin Wei. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    As Ling disappeared, Liao Jing had already begun to regain consciousness.


    When she was fully awake, Yan Junze knew that the Spirit-Splitting within her had disappeared, and if there were others affected by Spirit-Splitting, they too would vanish at that moment.


    "Alright," Yan Junze clapped his hands, walked over to the water dispenser, took a paper cup, poured himself a glass of water, and turned around to ask, "Does anyone want some water?"


    Everybody immediately shook their heads like rattle drums.


    Yan Junze drank the water in his cup in one gulp, casually threw the cup in the trash, sat back down, and announced to everyone, "Well, the third story... it''s finished."


    "Congratulations, Yan Junze. Welcome to the Strangeness Research Alliance Club affiliated with the student council of the academy," Ma Dun forced a smile, walked over, and extended his hand to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn''t stand up but simply reached out to shake hands with him, pointed to a chair next to him for him to sit, and asked, "President, I just heard that the Strange Club is also researching some sort of Spirit Detector?"


    Ma Dun nodded: "Yes, I''ve heard that exorcists have Spirit Detectors too, but ours definitely can''t compare to theirs. What we have developed entirely with our physical knowledge is still full of flaws and imperfections."


    "President, there are some questions I just want to understand a bit about, and you know much more than I do on this topic," Yan Junze said with a smile.


    Ma Dun quickly waved his hand, "Don''t call me President, just call me by my name. When it comes to understanding strangenesses, you''d be second to none here," he said.


    At that moment, Yang Yang took a seat on the other side, while Zhang Ying, together with Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Li Bin, and others, was helping Liao Jing prepare to leave.


    "Liao Jing needs to rest, we''re going to head out," Zhang Ying said.


    "Go ahead, and be careful on the way," Ma Dun said with an apologetic face, "I''m really sorry about today, everyone."


    "It''s me who should be sorry," Jin Wei interjected from the side.


    "Don''t mention it," Xu Yongqiang laughed, "It hasn''t been easy for you either, you''ve really opened our eyes."


    Thinking back to the kiss from earlier, Jin Wei shivered for no apparent reason.


    "Go on, get going, hurry back," Yang Yang said.


    As Zhang Ying led Liao Jing away, she cast a deep glance at Yan Junze. Her new understanding of the young man before her was like a revelation.


    Before long, only Ma Dun, Yang Yang, and Yan Junze were left in the activity room as the others gradually left.


    Before departing, Jin Wei expressed his special thanks to Yan Junze, insisting on treating him to a meal the next afternoon. This was no casual offer¡ªthe name of the restaurant and the appointment at six o''clock sharp were all set.


    Yan Junze did not decline.


    Once there were only three people left in the activity room, Ma Dun and Yang Yang involuntarily looked around, feeling a hair-raising sensation.


    "Let''s continue with the earlier question," Yan Junze said, "I merely rely on some special abilities. You guys, as my seniors, have delved much deeper into the physics behind strangenesses than I have, and there''s no doubt about that, so I genuinely want to learn from you."


    "Sure, go ahead," Ma Dun nodded.


    Yan Junze continued, "Based on your current research or from a physics perspective, what exactly is the strangenesses of this world?"


    Ma Dun thought for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before saying, "In our living environment, each of us generates a tremendous amount of electromagnetic waves, creating countless electromagnetic fields.


    For instance, those guys in biology believe that our spirit is produced by the neurons in our brain and is closely related to the activity of nerve cells, which I think is quite reasonable. However, we are studying in a different direction..." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh, how is it different?" Yan Junze inquired.


    "It''s like this," Yang Yang took over, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, "The cells in our body are always pulsating, including our blood which carries electric ions, forming small magnetic fields to some extent. The emergence of strangenesses, we believe, is due to a kind of energy that seeks to return to its original state, a manifestation in the external world."


    Yan Junze blinked, pondering seriously for a moment, then said, "I''ve only studied theories of time and space, and I want to know if there''s a relationship between this special energy and space-time energy?"


    "Of course, there is a connection," Ma Dun nodded, "Have you noticed? Strange Energy can freely pass through certain spatial materials, but we cannot. Clearly, they are not constrained by space, so I believe that some high-level, even very high-level strangenesses, which are those of strong origin, can break the constraints of time."


    Yan Junze did not respond, lost in thought.


    Yang Yang added, "Over in Great Capital, USA, there was a professor named Kronro Pusinger who proposed ''the relationship between strangenesses and the electromagnetic field.'' Later, this professor was directly employed by the official Great Capital authorities and is said to have joined the largest Exorcism Organization in the USA ¨C the Half-Moon Exorcism Association."

 Chapter 185 Putsinger Experiment

    Yan Junze had never heard of such an organization, but by the looks of it, it appeared to have a similar nature to the Exorcism teams in Great Capital''s Huaying.However, it seemed that the "Half-Moon Exorcism Association" might be divided into several factions and possibly had more members, but it was not as organized and orderly as the Exorcist teams.


    Because those called associations, although they had a common purpose, were mostly more scattered in terms of organization.


    These organizations were not yet Yan Junze''s concern; he quickly retracted his thoughts and asked, "So, what about Professor Kronro Putsinger''s theory? Has it been proven?"


    "Of course," Yang Yang nodded, "He conducted a great number of experiments himself and proved his hypothesis. His hypothesis is that certain environments or people, objects, etc., can generate magnetic fields that we can''t detect, which affect the normal activity of the brain''s temporal lobes, making people feel like there''s something in the room."


    "This means, the reason we can see or sense strangenesses is because their magnetic fields affect our brains, allowing us to perceive them," Yan Junze mused, "Then there''s Fang Ning in my shadow, and I myself am a Semi-spirit; there could be an overlap of magnetic fields, which might have affected the supernatural entity in the dorm above, triggering its Obsession and creating a new strangeness event."


    Seeing that Yan Junze was deep in thought and not speaking, Ma Dun and Yang Yang exchanged glances and did not interrupt his train of thought, but sat quietly by his side.


    Not until Yan Junze lifted his head again, "Hmm, please continue."


    Yang Yang nodded and said, "Professor Putsinger conducted many experiments for this. Among them, the ''Headless Cat,'' the ''Decaying Infant,'' and the ''Broken-Winged Angel'' are three very famous experiments that even those outside our field would have heard about."


    "I haven''t heard of them," Yan Junze shook his head decisively.


    Being an outsider who had not inherited the original person''s memories, his understanding of the supernatural had also been built up bit by bit, so of course, he had not heard of these things.


    "Let me talk about the Headless Cat experiment," Ma Dun cleared his throat and took over, "In that experiment, Professor Putsinger decapitated a cat that was about to die from illness. After throwing away the head, he immediately placed the cat''s headless body within a specially prepared magnetic field environment."


    "Yes, it was a sealed room. About thirty minutes after the headless cat corpse was stimulated by that magnetic field, it exuded a large amount of yellow-red body fluid, and then it stood up on its own, showing motions of playing with its previous owner, though its movements were stiff, it apparently still retained its memories."


    "I think it''s not about memories, but probably... Obsession?" Yan Junze blurted out.


    Ma Dun nodded, "Later, when he was preparing to apply this experiment to dying humans, he joined the Half-Moon Exorcism Association, and the experiment was classified as top secret, so no information about subsequent experiments was ever released."


    Yan Junze asked, "What about the ''Decaying Infant'' experiment?"


    "I''ll tell it," Yang Yang appeared somewhat excited and spoke faster, "First, the infant was dead, and its body was already stiff, not just recently deceased like the Headless Cat. At the start of the experiment, Professor Putsinger intended to stimulate the dead infant to cause a miracle similar to that of the cat, that is, to turn into the living dead, um, or what you could call zombies.


    But during the experiment, something unexpected happened."


    "What change?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "The dead infant indeed became a walking corpse like the cat, but at the same time, the infant''s innate strangeness was also stimulated," Yang Yang''s eyes sparkled, "That is, there were two strangenesses; one was the infant''s corpse becoming what we in Great Capital call a zombie, and the other was the strangeness formed by the soul of the dead baby that floated out from the body."


    Yan Junze widened his eyes, "So... did this walking corpse still exhibit the Obsessions it had in life?"


    "No, not at all," Ma Dun said, shaking his head from the side.


    Yang Yang immediately added, "Not only did it lack Obsession, but after Professor Putsinger stimulated the already dead nerves of the corpse with electromagnetic flow, the dead infant was able to follow some of his commands and even developed its own instincts, like eating raw meat and drinking blood."


    "And the strangeness that floated out of the body continued to exist in the way we traditionally view souls, retaining the Obsessions of the dead infant and remembering many things from its life," Ma Dun said.


    Yan Junze nodded, "So, after turning into two strangenesses, the dead baby became a zombie on one side and the soul, leaving the body, turned into what we consider a traditional strangeness. The zombie is a walking corpse, while the strangeness that left the body retains its obsession."


    "Right."


    Yan Junze thought of the child who ambushed him outside Mountain Park. This little fellow''s signs were no different from those of a zombie, and according to Yang Yang, Professor Putsinger could also issue certain commands to those infants who died in the experiments, which they were able to complete.


    Does this mean that the Spirit Cultivator who intended to harm him knew how to turn normal people into zombies?


    Then, the Spirit Cultivator had sent this child to ambush him, but what was the purpose?


    Was it a coincidence that the child was there, or had the child been waiting for him all along?


    Now, it seemed more likely that someone had purposefully waited for him outside Mountain Park, because the last time he did a Rewind, Yan Junze chose to hide inside a warehouse and not show himself. Yet, the child decided to crawl out and search for him in the warehouse, which made it pretty obvious.


    Who knew that he was going to Mountain Park at that time?


    Yan Junze thought about this. Zhou Dali couldn''t have known, and Bao Jie was even less likely. Then his gaze paused for a moment.


    Could it be Tang Zhengyi? Or that guy who called him that day, what was his name, Cheng something Ting?


    But the host with the surname Cheng did not have enough reason to harm Yan Junze. Could it be simply because he didn''t accept his invitation to join his Spirit Exploration Team?


    For a moment, his thoughts wandered too far. Yan Junze pulled back his thoughts and looked at Ma Dun and Yang Yang, "So what about the last experiment, ''Broken-Winged Angel''?"


    "Speaking of this experiment," Yang Yang shivered involuntarily, his expression suddenly became very mysterious, and he lowered his voice, "The subject of the Broken-Winged Angel experiment was not an inanimate object, but a living person."


    "A living person?" Yan Junze was surprised.


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    "Yes," Yang Yang nodded, "But I don''t know much about it, let Ma Dun speak, he has studied it in detail." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze looked at Ma Dun. Ma Dun paused for a moment before saying, "The so-called Broken-Winged Angel is a man who has one arm, the other having been completely severed from the shoulder in a car accident. After testing by Professor Putsinger, the man''s brain waves were found to be extremely developed, with values different from normal people, and also very active."


    "To achieve the purpose of the experiment, Professor Putsinger directly took the amputee into the sealed room that activated the Headless Cat, used power more than seven times higher than usual, and subjected him to magnetic field stimulation, to maximally evoke his potential, even more intense brain waves. Guess what happened in the end?"


    Yan Junze shook his head.


    Yang Yang, also curious, said, "Come on, tell us, what happened?"


    Ma Dun deliberately paused for a few seconds, then said, "After leaving the laboratory, this guy actually grew a new arm in seven days, uh, though it was deformed."


    "Why did that happen?" Yan Junze asked, frowning.


    "I don''t know," Ma Dun shook his head, "But later I found a theory in other books, called ''Spirit''."

 Chapter 186 Changing the Magnetic Field

    Living beings are spoken of in contrast to dead spirits.According to Ma Dun''s personal summary, dead spirits refer to the strange entities that people like Yan Junze have encountered, while living beings are the living.


    In the experiments, Professor Putsinger found that the brainwaves of the "Broken-Winged Angel" were extremely intense and, after being stimulated by the magnetic field, this armless person imagined that he actually grew an arm out of thin air.


    This was utterly inconceivable!


    To know that this person was not dead but alive, that a living person could stir up a commotion like that of the strangeness, was simply beyond a perfect scientific explanation. Professor Putsinger''s experimental results exceeded everyone''s understanding of the strangeness.


    It was also the first time Junze had heard of the term "living beings."


    But now it seemed that whether it was living beings or dead spirits, the strange magnetic field they emanated was the key.


    "Have you ever conducted specialized research on the strange magnetic fields, such as whether it''s possible to change the strangeness by interfering with the magnetic field? That is to say, to alter the form, abilities, or even the obsessions of the strangeness," Yan Junze asked.


    Before asking this question, Yan Junze thought of Ke''er''s filthy hair. If it were truly possible to change her strange magnetic field, maybe they could give her a wash and completely fulfill her wish.


    Ma Dun and Yang Yang exchanged glances, then Ma Dun turned to Yan Junze, "In theory, it''s possible, as long as we can change the magnetic field. But I''m not even talking about us; even those special research institutes are probably helpless. Perhaps only the research institutions within the Exorcist teams have a way."


    "If we really understood the principle of the strange magnetic fields, it wouldn''t necessarily require them," Yan Junze thought to himself, nodding without saying a word.


    The three talked for a while, then left the library''s activity room. At the entrance to the male dormitory, they said goodbye to Ma Dun, who lived in another building.


    Yan Junze and Yang Yang walked up to their own floor. On the way, Yang Yang remembered something and said, "By the way, have you heard about what happened in room 511 upstairs?"


    Yan Junze''s heart skipped a beat, remembering the supernatural event triggered by his arrival mentioned in the mission briefing. He pretended not to know and shook his head, "What happened?"


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    Yang Yang explained, "They say that room 511 might be haunted by the supernatural. A few days ago, a guy named Han Zhao was living there because he came to school early to guide the newcomers, and he was alone in the dormitory. That night, he saw with his own eyes someone climb down from the bunk above where he was sleeping. It''s said the person had a hole in the back of their head, oozing blood.


    After leaving the dormitory, the person quickly returned and climbed back onto the upper bunk. When Han Zhao got up the next morning, there was nothing on the upper bunk."


    "Does this happen every night?" Yan Junze frowned and asked.


    "No," Yang Yang shook his head, "It seems to happen about every six days. Tonight happens to be the night after the second set of six days. I heard that the people in 511 are planning to stay up all night to watch out for this strangeness and even prepare to film it and upload the video to ''Open Your Eyes''."


    "They haven''t requested a dormitory change?" Yan Junze was surprised.


    Yang Yang said, "They have applied, but the freshman have just arrived, and the dormitory space is tight. There''s no separate room to switch to, so these people need to be placed in other rooms. Of course, the school might not be aware of their plans to film the video tonight."


    Yan Junze nodded, "Isn''t the Strange Club planning to look into this?"


    Ah!" Yang Yang jumped in surprise, "We''re a research society, not a Spirit Exploration Team. We didn''t even investigate the ''Peephole Strange Creature'' in the No. 4 experimental building, let alone this fellow that''s monopolizing someone''s bed."


    By then, the two had reached their dormitory doors. Yang Yang added, "Those guys are just sneaking around filming. They definitely won''t make a peep. Let''s rest, go to sleep early, and forget about them."


    Returning to the dormitory, Zhao Zheng and Xie Hua were already asleep. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhao Zheng liked to exercise and needed early sleep for his body to recover, while Huahua supposedly needed beauty sleep for skincare routines, usually heading to bed at nine o''clock sharp every night.


    When Yan Junze entered the dormitory, he noticed that Huahua still hadn''t removed the cucumber slices from his forehead.


    He Bishou was the only one with the small desk lamp on, staying up late to read comic books.


    Yan Junze returned and greeted his roommates without even glancing their way.


    He took his washbasin and toiletries and headed out to the sinks to wash up. After that, Yan Junze laid down on his bed and started to ponder.


    The level of the task "The Brother Sleeping in the Top Bunk" was "Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)". Truth be told, for Yan Junze as he was now, such a difficulty level was quite low.


    This meant that the strangeness associated with the task posed a relatively small threat to humans; even with superficial contact, there wouldn''t be much of an issue as long as there wasn''t any deep interaction.


    However, there was a new problem within this task that Yan Junze hadn''t encountered before.


    The mission statement read, "Before he died, his biggest issue was left unresolved. Find a way to resolve it for him." Initially, Yan Junze thought this mission was somewhat shameless¡ªwas he expected to step in and lend a hand to resolve an issue the man couldn''t resolve before his death?


    But after careful consideration, that clearly wasn''t the case.


    Feeling unresolved was only his perception while he was alive, but it remained with him even after death, forming a strong obsession. To help him, one would have to find a way to make him feel that his issue had been resolved.


    Going around in circles, it seemed the problem circled back to changing the electromagnetic field.


    If he could alter the guy''s electromagnetic field, perhaps he would finish urinating through the altered "field".


    The issue was that this method was beyond the reach of the academy''s current research; it was simply not something he could find out.


    Unleashing the Crawler Monster to assist was not an option either, as an immediate oppressive force would arise between the two strangenesses, making assistance nearly impossible¡ªnot fighting would already be a good outcome.


    After some thought, a bizarre idea suddenly popped into his head.


    Yan Junze looked down at his hands, "I''m a Fake Spirit Body now, which is to say, a ''Semi-spirit''."


    ...


    Room 511.


    Han Zhao went to bed early, bundling himself up tightly with his summer quilt, gripping the edge even as sweat beaded on his forehead.


    This time, in the upcoming video, he was to play a role that wasn''t quite the protagonist¡ªthat of the on-screen presence alongside the strangeness the moment it appeared in the top bunk.


    The other three roommates were on a bed diagonally across, leaving the mosquito net down as they covertly shot the scene with two smartphones.


    After Han Zhao''s first encounter with the strangeness, the other three roommates returned one after another, including Guo Jintao, who originally slept in the bunk above Han Zhao. Han Zhao immediately informed them of the incident.


    However, due to the uncertainty of whether this strangeness appeared on a regular basis and the absence of any anomalies over the next two days, Guo Jintao and the others remained skeptical of Han Zhao, suspecting that he was playing a prank.


    In the end, even Han Zhao began to doubt himself, wondering if the encounter that night had been nothing more than an exceptionally vivid nightmare.


    Therefore, on the first night after six days passed, Guo Jintao, who was lying on his side on the bunk above Han Zhao, thought his roommates were messing with him when he felt someone pulling his blanket.


    He was in a drowsy state when suddenly he felt a chill on his back. Without thinking, he reached out to touch and realized his blanket was gone.


    Without considering the fact that in such weather, one wouldn''t feel cold without a blanket, Guo Jintao reached back to grab a corner of the blanket, intending to drag it over himself.


    Then he touched another hand on the blanket, a cold hand.

 Chapter 187 The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 1)

    The moment Guo Jintao touched that icy hand, he instantly snapped awake, his eyes wide open, but since he was lying on his side facing the wall, he couldn''t see to whom the cold hand belonged.But without a doubt, at this hour, around two or three in the morning, no one would climb into his bed, and the hand felt so icy.


    Startled, Guo Jintao quickly withdrew his hand and didn''t dare to reach for the quilt again, just lying on his side, motionless.


    There was no sound of breathing from behind him as if there was no one there, but he could distinctly feel a chill crawling up his spine, reaching his neck, and climbing onto the back of his head.


    His back had gone completely numb.


    Guo Jintao''s eyes were wide open, utterly devoid of slumber. At that moment, he wished the wall in front of him was a mirror so that he could see what was behind him.


    But at the same time, he also didn''t want to see anything terrifying, which would deliver another severe blow to his already fragile heart.


    Before long, a rustling sound came from behind him, and then the bed moved slightly twice, as if the person was turning over.


    At this moment, the one who stole his quilt, seemed to have turned over, now with their back to him.


    Guo Jintao waited a few seconds to make sure the other party wasn''t moving anymore; then he slowly turned his head to look, and what he saw next could be listed as the most horrifying thing he had seen in his life, without a doubt.


    After seeing this scene, Guo Jintao wished he could take a regret pill immediately, or gouge out his eyes right there and then.


    He had estimated wrong.


    The person behind him indeed had turned over; only they had been facing away from him before, and now, after turning, they were facing him.


    A deathly pale face, with dull gray eyes, stared motionlessly at him.


    Suddenly, Guo Jintao shivered all over, feeling as though his soul had flown out of his body, almost bursting into a high-pitched scream.


    He bit down hard on his tongue, his whole body tense, his fearful gaze fixed on the unfamiliar face so close to him. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    All of a sudden, Guo Jintao realized that although the person''s eyes were open, they seemed to be in a deep sleep, or perhaps, they were just the likeness of a corpse.


    Since there was no movement from the other party, he turned his head back slowly and cautiously.


    All the while holding his breath, until he had turned away, then he began to breathe again with very gentle breaths.


    At this time, Guo Jintao dared not get up, just enduring and watching the time, hoping that the creature behind him wouldn''t touch him, for that would be terribly awkward.


    Fortunately, after about a few minutes, something moved behind him again; the man seemed to sit up and turn over.


    Guo Jintao''s eyes were wide as he focused intently on the movement behind him, feeling the man crawling towards the edge of the bed. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, he was certain that the person he had encountered was the very "strangeness" Han Zhao had mentioned.


    Without daring to look back, until the man crawled out of bed and left through the door, Guo Jintao immediately sat up and glanced toward the door below ¨C it wasn''t fully closed.


    At this moment, Han Zhao was also awakened by the noise of getting out of bed, his eyes wide and face filled with terror as he stared at Guo Jintao, who was shivering as he slid down from the top bunk.


    "The ''strangeness'' is gone; why are you still on the top bunk?"


    "Don''t¡­ don''t¡­ don''t talk, move in closer, I''ll sleep next to you," Guo Jintao, trembling all over, squeezed onto Han Zhao''s bed.


    The two roommates across didn''t wake up.


    Not until the strangeness returned and crawled back onto the top bunk did Guo Jintao hold Han Zhao tightly, both of them motionless, spending the whole night in terror.


    It wasn''t until the next day that they noticed a large wet patch where the two lay, which, of course, was sweat, not something else.


    Since each of the strangenesses had specific times and locations for their activity, no one else was to be disturbed while recording the videos; it was sufficient for the dorm roommates to work together.


    Aside from Han Zhao, who was pretending to sleep, Guo Jintao held a cellphone, hiding across the bunk to record a video, and another roommate named Zhang Wei was also filming with another cellphone.


    Another named Chen Kun was responsible for keeping watch, for he was short-sighted, and after wearing glasses, his vision was much clearer than the mildly nearsighted Guo Jintao and Zhang Wei, so in the darkness, he could play a bigger role.


    The three on the bottom bunk across from them waited, waiting for around three in the morning, when the strangeness on the top bunk¡ªGuo Jintao''s bed, above Han Zhao¡ªwould appear.


    Since after 12 o''clock, the three waiting individuals had been whispering to each other, but as time passed, they gradually fell silent.


    And Han Zhao, who was sleeping on the bottom bunk, seemed to have stopped moving too, leading Guo Jintao to strongly suspect that this guy had definitely fallen asleep.


    They had no choice but to lie in bed and wait for the strangeness to appear, and with someone else guarding the scene, it was entirely possible to fall asleep as they waited.


    The world wasn''t peaceful now; strangenesses were everywhere, but life had to go on, especially since the appearance of strangenesses wasn''t usually to a murderous, mass-killing extent.


    So, some people''s nerves began to toughen up, and after encountering a strangeness, as long as they didn''t provoke it, some could even ignore it completely.


    The reactions of the people in the dorm room were still relatively normal, so no one was surprised that Han Zhao could sleep, feeling at most that he was too reckless.


    Gradually, when the time reached 2:48 in the morning, not only Han Zhao but also Guo Jintao and Zhang Wei, who were ready to film with their cellphones, had dozed off, sitting on their beds.


    Only Chen Kun persisted, but there was a moment when he too grew groggy. When he suddenly regained consciousness, Chen Kun''s eyes widened as he saw a human-shaped bulge appear under the Summer Quilt on the bunk across.


    Instinctively, Chen Kun turned his head to check whether the other two were still there.


    Guo Jintao, holding his cellphone, was curled up on one side, drooling in his sleep at that moment. Zhang Wei looked much the same.


    Chen Kun quickly nudged the two awake, gestured for them to be silent, and pointed to the top bunk across.


    The two were initially confused, but upon seeing the situation on the top bunk, they immediately became alert, turned on the cellphones they were holding, and started to record without daring to use the flash, just like that.


    A slightly dark image didn''t matter, since post-production could adjust it, and the guys from the college''s computer department weren''t to be underestimated.


    The occupant under the Summer Quilt on the top bunk seemed to move a bit, then turned over, facing outwards.


    This time, the three saw clearly that it was the face of a strange man, and his eyes weren''t closed but kept open the whole time.


    However, with his experience, Guo Jintao already knew that although the man''s eyes were open, they looked as if they belonged to someone dead. Last time when he slept with him, he chose to ignore Guo Jintao, and it was unlikely he would notice anyone filming from below now.


    Wondering whether Han Zhao was awake yet, the strangeness on the top bunk turned over, sat up expressionless, and the whole process was captured by the cellphones.

 Chapter 188 The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 2)

    ```Of course, whether Han Zhao is awake or not, the purpose of recording this bizarre video has been achieved.


    The three people in the lower bunk opposite were silent, quietly filming.


    Chen Kun was constantly attentive to the strangeness''s every move.


    Sitting up, the boy lifted his quilt with an expressionless face, wearing only his boxer shorts and a black tank top, and climbed down from the upper bunk.


    His movements were stiff, like they were part of a preset program, with every action executed by the book.


    Soon, the boy reached the ground, standing in front of Han Zhao''s bed without moving.


    At that moment, the other three didn''t believe Han Zhao could still be asleep. The noise just now, combined with the currently spreading chill, must have surely awakened him long ago.


    The young man stood at the foot of Han Zhao''s bed for several minutes, then turned around. Although the lighting was dim, his face was still clearly captured on the cell phone camera.


    Walking to the dormitory door, he opened it and slowly walked out.


    It was about half a minute later before anyone dared to speak softly.


    Zhang Wei whispered, "Did you see the way he walked? So weird!"


    "Yeah, not only walking on tiptoes, but even his toes were spread apart, like hands grasping the ground," Chen Kun, wearing glasses, observed closely.


    "It feels as if... he''s afraid of falling over," Guo Jintao couldn''t help saying.


    After waiting a moment, there was still no sound from the hallway.


    Their video was still running, but the man did not return after going out.


    Seeing this, Zhang Wei said, "Should we go out and have a look? Otherwise, we might miss some exciting footage."


    "Big bro, there''s only one corridor outside. If we go out and run into him coming back, do you want a face-to-face hug with him?" Guo Jintao said.


    "I''ll just take a look at the door."


    Chen Kun adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, slipped off the bed without putting on shoes, and ran to the half-closed door. He pulled open the door to reveal the somewhat dark corridor outside and stuck his head out.


    The other two watched his movements. In less than half a minute, Chen Kun reached back and gestured for them to come, turning his head to say, "There''s a street light outside the building. It''s fairly visible. The guy hasn''t come back. Should we go to the washroom and film?"


    "Damn, I''m scared," Guo Jintao shook his head.


    "Scared of what? As long as you don''t touch him or block his way, what can he do to you?" Zhang Wei jumped down from the bed, put on his shoes, opened the door, and, still filming on his phone, went out.


    Chen Kun still stood at the door, turning back to ask Guo Jintao, "Are you going? Zhang Wei has gone to the washroom. You don''t have to go there. Just film here in the corridor, and you can capture the man coming back."


    After a moment of hesitation, Guo Jintao nodded, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and before leaving, he reached out and gave the still and silent Han Zhao on the lower bunk a pat: "Lil'' bro, your brothers are risking their necks for you, through hell and high water, and you still have the nerve to sleep!"


    Without waiting for Han Zhao to respond, he turned and left the dormitory.


    Considering this, they had earlier thought Han Zhao was awoken by the noise of the man in the black tank top getting out of bed, but it now seemed utterly impossible; the guy was truly asleep, sleeping like a log.


    Chen Kun stood by the door, still holding it.


    Once out of the dormitory, Guo Jintao immediately pressed his back against the wall outside the corridor by the dormitory side and aimed his phone''s camera down the corridor toward the washroom.


    ```


    From the video he was filming, one could see that the bravest Zhang Wei, who had ventured out first, had stealthily reached the doorway of the washroom. However, he didn''t go inside. Instead, he squatted beside the door, crouching low, and used his phone to film inside.


    The washroom was quite spacious. The outside section had a row of U-shaped washbasins, accommodating up to twelve people washing at the same time, and the inside area was the toilet, with eight stalls.


    The toilet was routinely cleaned, so it was quite tidy. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    As Zhang Wei reached the outermost entrance to the washroom, he saw the eerie man standing at the door leading to the toilets.


    After filming with his phone for a while, the man didn''t go towards the washbasins but walked straight into the toilet. Then, the sound of a stall door opening and closing could be heard.


    "Could it be that strangenesses also get up to use the toilet in the middle of the night?" Zhang Wei listened intently, hesitated at the doorway for a moment, then slowly moved, inching closer to the toilets.


    It''s said that the world never lacks people with a death wish, no matter how dangerous the situation or how dire the circumstances, there will always be one or two individuals who leap out, performing acts beyond anyone''s imagination.


    Guo Jintao, who was standing in the hallway filming, couldn''t believe Zhang Wei was sneaking in and immediately wanted to pull out a 40-meter-long sword, allow the guy to walk 39.9 meters, and then chop him to death with one strike.


    Standing in the hallway to film was already Guo Jintao''s limit, so he couldn''t comprehend Zhang Wei''s actions.


    As Guo Jintao anxiously contemplated whether to warn the guy or simply turn around and head back to the dormitory, his eyes suddenly widened, staring ahead. He broke out in a cold sweat as he saw another unfamiliar black shadow appear right after Zhang Wei sneaked in, following him to the entrance of the washroom.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Wei cautiously approached the toilet door and peeked inside.


    The lights in the toilet were always on, and despite being dim, made it easy to clearly see the surroundings.


    The eerie man had just come in not long ago, and after a quick glance, Zhang Wei noticed that only the third stall from the end, nearest the interior, was closed.


    It was certain that the strange man had entered this stall.


    After some thought, Zhang Wei couldn''t resist the urge to take a historic step closer to the brink of disaster.


    Upon entering the toilet, Zhang Wei''s plan was to run to the side of the third stall from the end¡ªthe fourth stall¡ªto possibly capture even more sensational footage.


    For instance, footage of strangenesses urinating. After all, if he really got such footage, it would most definitely make him a hit on the video platform.


    Many people were particularly keen on doing this.


    As long as it hit the trending list, it didn''t matter whether the livestream involved drinking spicy water or swallowing a large bowl of garlic in one go. There had been people on platforms like "Tremor" who had done even more outrageous stunts, and some had even died during a livestream.


    In the end, the goal was fame. Madness was the price of fame.


    After sneaking into the fourth stall, Zhang Wei immediately pulled the door shut behind him with a quick lift, making sure it closed without a sound.


    Of course, he didn''t dare to lock the door, as that would surely make noise.


    Then Zhang Wei crouched down, aiming his phone''s camera through the gap between the stall door and the floor.


    His movements were so practiced, his timing so perfect, and his angle so precise, it was as if he had done this sort of thing many times before.


    Then, tilting his head to look at the screen of his phone that displayed the footage, he froze. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the screen, an upside-down face completely filled the frame, staring directly at him on this side of the partition.

 Chapter 189 The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 3)

    Zhang Wei had never expected that he had just come in to sneak some photos when he was discovered by the other party.Being discovered was bad enough, but he could have taken the chance to run back, yet this guy''s face filled the entire screen, what was that all about? Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This sight frightened Zhang Wei so much that he shivered violently and dropped his phone on the floor, which then slid under the stall partition.


    "Damn it, my brand new Banana phone X plus!"


    The person bending over and looking his way seemed as if nothing had happened, straightened up, and didn''t even bother to pick up the phone that had fallen over. Instead, he silently unzipped his pants, apparently really preparing to use the toilet.


    Zhang Wei looked down and saw that the phone had fallen beside the man''s foot, some distance from the poop trough. He clenched his teeth tightly, hesitated a moment, and then reached out his hand.


    In this situation, if it were Guo Jintao here, he would have definitely turned around and walked away. Still want the phone? He wouldn''t want it even if there were ten phones.


    But Zhang Wei was different, recklessly brave, voracious for money, and desperate to become famous; these were his labels.


    After only a slight hesitation, he decided he had to get his phone back, especially since the guy over there seemed to have only glanced at him momentarily and wasn''t paying attention.


    He reached out his hand, groped around for a while, and Zhang Wei was extremely careful not to touch the man''s foot as he gently grabbed the phone.


    He picked up the phone, slowly moving it back towards his stall.


    The next second, an icy hand grabbed his wrist that held the phone. Zhang Wei froze for a moment as a strong force pulled him violently.


    Zhang Wei''s head smashed against the partition door, and he instantly fell unconscious.


    The icy hand did not let go of Zhang Wei but continued to drag him towards the next stall with a death grip, causing Zhang Wei''s face to be squeezed severely against the partition, completely deforming it.


    In a little while, this guy would likely either have a broken arm or his head squashed.


    Just then, a baton fell from the sky and thudded against the wrist of the mysterious man holding onto Zhang Wei.


    The man immediately let go and stepped back, landing a foot in a puddle. He fell straight backward, his head smashing through the partition door and hitting the step of the urinal across from it.


    The next second, Yan Junze walked over, picked up the baton with a look of surprise, and, gazing at the man lying on the ground, muttered to himself, "That''s not right, Chen Rui''an, the task notice says your fall has nothing to do with me. This time it must be a coincidence. Even if I hadn''t hit your hand with the baton, you would''ve fallen anyway."


    After speaking, Yan Junze looked over at Zhang Wei in the other stall¡ªhis face almost deformed, unconscious¡ªand shook his head. He went into the stall where Zhang Wei was, straightened up the poor fellow, laid him down, and then stood in the stall, closing the door behind him.


    About ten seconds later, the man in the black tank top, Chen Rui''an, slowly got up without making a sound, just silently standing up and touching the back of his head.


    At the back of his head a horrifying hole had appeared, the skull fractured, but no blood flowed, as if the wound had been formed a long time ago.


    Chen Rui''an''s movements were stiff. He seemed not to remember how he had fallen or whether he had finished peeing. He simply turned around with rigid limbs and walked out of the restroom, exiting the washroom.


    Since he was barefoot and tiptoeing, his toes clinging to the ground, he made no sound as he walked.


    When he left, Yan Junze had already closed the stall door in advance, so Chen Rui''an did not see him and the unconscious Zhang Wei.


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    After estimating Chen Rui''an had been gone for a while, Yan Junze crouched down to lay Zhang Wei, who was in a provocative pose, flat again for some comfort, before opening the door and walking out.


    As he left, Yan Junze noticed that although Zhang Wei was unconscious, he was still tightly clutching his regained phone.


    Inside the corridor.


    Having just witnessed another shadow closely following Zhang Wei into the bathroom, Guo Jintao worried about Zhang Wei''s safety, his heart burning with anxiety, yet fear kept him from daring to approach.


    He mustered all his courage and moved forward step by step, inching to about the midway point between the dorm room and the bathroom, still remaining in the corridor, carefully leaning against the wall and observing the direction of the bathroom.


    Right at that moment, a figure flashed past the bathroom door, someone emerged, walking in a peculiar manner as if floating off the ground, moving into the corridor.


    The person wore a black tank top, baggy shorts, and had a vacant look in their eyes, an expressionless face.


    "Is that the strangeness?!"


    Upon seeing who it was, Guo Jintao shuddered with fright.


    At that time, he didn''t dare turn around and run towards the dorm; after all, there was only this one corridor, and now that the strangeness had appeared in it, running would make him an incredibly easy target¡ªmaybe he would be chased down immediately.


    "As long as I don''t touch him, don''t confront him head-on, it should be fine, it must be."


    Guo Jintao encouraged himself inwardly and instead moved quickly two steps forward towards the direction Chen Rui''an was coming from, standing in front of Room 505''s door, pressing his body and hiding by the doorknob.


    Although the door of Room 505 was closed, the space by the door didn''t align perfectly flush with the wall¡ªit receded slightly inward, and this recess became Guo Jintao''s hiding spot.


    Chen Rui''an''s walk was not only peculiar but also swift, crossing the space with a few light steps.


    Guo Jintao pressed his back against the door of Room 505 behind him as hard as he could, not daring to let out a breath, eyes closed tightly as Chen Rui''an approached, out of sheer fright.


    But after only two seconds, he opened them again.


    He couldn''t help it; Guo Jintao was too terrified. What if, the moment he closed his eyes, Chen Rui''an suddenly decided to harm him as he passed?


    So, he could only squint his eyes; this way, he could stay aware of Chen Rui''an''s movements and yet fool himself into a false sense of security, feeling somewhat more at ease.


    As Chen Rui''an neared, the chilling sensation intensified. Guo Jintao, petrified, kept his body completely pressed against the door, not moving an inch.


    Squinting through his eyelids, he watched as Chen Rui''an passed slowly in front of him, feeling the temperature around his body drop suddenly, the sight of that pair of feet gliding eerily over the floor causing a shiver down his spine, a buzzing in his ears.


    As Chen Rui''an passed by, Guo Jintao felt as if the world around him had become surreal, as though he were in a dream.


    His gaze fixated, watching Chen Rui''an walk past him and continue on without stopping.


    Time seemed to slow to a crawl at that moment, so much so that Guo Jintao felt like cursing out of frustration.


    Finally, Chen Rui''an had completely passed by without glancing in his direction.


    Guo Jintao''s heart, which had climbed to his throat, gradually settled down.


    Just then, with a click, the door to Room 511, which Chen Kun had been holding open, suddenly closed.


    Guo Jintao was startled, and now he genuinely wanted to curse.


    As long as Chen Rui''an walked into the dorm and climbed up to the top bunk, this weird incident would have been over, and he never expected that at this critical moment, that kid would actually lock the door!?

 Chapter 191 The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Final)

    Of course, Yan Junze wasn''t really planning to bludgeon him to death with the club, otherwise what mission would be completed?Having the club in hand was merely a means of deterrence, to make the guy obediently follow him to the bathroom, rather than waiting for an opportunity to keep splitting his spirit and fulfill an impossible Obsession. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After following the guy back to the dormitory, Yan Junze was certain that only Han Zhao had been subjected to Chen Rui''an''s Spirit-Splitting, and the range wasn''t very large, which is why he decided to immediately resolve this task.


    "Let''s go."


    Yan Junze simply reached out his hand and grabbed Chen Rui''an''s wrist.


    Chen Rui''an''s facial expression was still that of a rigid corpse, his pupils a dull grey haze, and after being grabbed by Yan Junze, he made no movements, just followed and left the dorm.


    The moment he left, Han Zhao, who had been standing all this while, fell to the ground with a thud, frightening Chen Kun who hurried over to check on him.


    Once in the corridor, Yan Junze didn''t let go of Chen Rui''an; he just held his wrist in one hand and the club in the other, heading in the direction of the wash area.


    Along the way, they encountered Guo Jintao, who was hurrying back. Still hugging the wall as he walked, upon seeing Chen Rui''an reappear in the corridor, Guo was startled, promptly reverting to his old trick by pressing himself against the nearest dormitory door, motionless.


    Watching a strange young man pass by with that Back-faced Woman in tow, Guo Jintao clearly saw the young man holding the club smile at him as they passed.


    That smile nearly made him wet his pants just like Han Zhao.


    Anyway, a guy who could walk and hold hands with strangenesses had to be a strangeness himself, at least that was what Guo Jintao thought.


    After making sure Yan Junze and his companion had passed, he immediately left the door he was sticking to and ran fast toward his own Room 511, diving straight in.


    At this point, who cared about Zhang Wei''s fate? Although that poor guy never came out after he entered the bathroom, his chances were slim to none.


    Yan Junze quickly arrived at the wash area, dragging Chen Rui''an with him and went straight into the bathroom, randomly choosing an open stall and pointing inside.


    "Stand in there and get ready to pee."


    At this moment, he felt like he had transformed into a kindergarten teacher, explaining to each little child the nuances of going to the bathroom as if it were his main professional duty.


    Of course, Chen Rui''an was now a strangeness and could not actually complete the act of using the toilet, meaning he couldn''t pee at all.


    The formation of all this was solely controlled by the Obsession, and if no one helped, the Obsession would persist until the day the strangeness perished for some reason.


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    Chen Rui''an walked into the toilet stall mechanically, pulled down his zipper, and made all the moves he wanted to make in front of a big problem before, then just like the previous times, he remained motionless.


    What followed was that he would fall backward, then bump his head on the urinal step outside.


    But not this time.


    After he walked in, Yan Junze quickly reviewed the thoughts he had before deciding to carry out this task, then stretched out a hand and pressed it against Chen Rui''an''s back.


    In his mind, his blood seethed, and soon Yan Junze''s face turned crimson with an uncontrollable urge to slaughter all the lower-level strangenesses in front of him boiling within him.


    He did not notice as his body began to sprout dense black hair, and his neck began to contort, slowly turning backward, at an extremely slow pace.


    In his field of vision, he no longer saw the bathroom surroundings, but instead, a new environment emerged as if it were an illusion.


    Unlike the first time the "Fake Spirit Body" was triggered, this time the scenery before his eyes was not the lush green grass fields of the outskirts, nor were there any gravesites visible; instead, he saw an abandoned and dilapidated factory.


    The factory was filled with a large number of idle, damaged machines, but not a single person was in sight.


    However, at this moment, a little girl in a red dress ran by, ducking under one of the discarded pieces of equipment. It wasn''t long before the little girl''s head peeked out from the gap, her head tilted as she looked toward Yan Junze.


    "Eh?"


    Confirmed, it was Ke''er.


    Ke''er looked this way and quickly crawled out from under the equipment, running on all fours to Yan Junze''s front, swiftly climbing up his body.


    In fact, Yan Junze was well aware that this was the Back-faced Woman''s body. Now he was just sharing the same viewpoint as the Back-faced Woman.


    "Mom... Mom?"


    Ke''er, hugging the Back-faced Woman (Yan Junze)''s neck, felt something was off and couldn''t help calling out, obviously seeking confirmation.


    A sudden surge of inexplicable warmth flooded Yan Junze''s heart. He remembered the first time he''d heard Ke''er speak a complete sentence; it was this word, "Mom."


    "Ke''er." Unable to resist, Yan Junze called out.


    "Huh?" Ke''er tilted her head, still sensing something off about the Back-faced Woman, and stared eagerly at her mother.


    All at once, Ke''er shuddered, her limbs trembling slightly as she brought her head closer, rubbing her cheeks non-stop on the Back-faced Woman (Yan Junze)''s face.


    Even separated by a great distance, having no idea where the mother and daughter were at this moment, Yan Junze could feel Ke''er''s attachment.


    He closed his eyes involuntarily.


    But the next second, an erupting sensation of burning pain coursed through his veins as if it were about to burst all his blood vessels. The pain brought Yan Junze violently back to reality.


    For a moment, he could feel the air around him twisting in a bizarre way, the previously still atmosphere suddenly becoming distorted, stretched, dispersed, and pulled back.


    Once he came to, Ke''er''s affectionate face disappeared, and the scene of the restroom reappeared in front of him.


    "It''s the change in the magnetic field!"


    Yan Junze deeply felt that at this moment, with the Semi-Spirit State initiated by him, although not fully activated, he could still manipulate or slightly alter the strangenesses'' magnetic field.


    Around Chen Rui''an, ripples and distortions originally were present, but now they had been smoothed out by the magnetic field around Yan Junze, appearing almost seamless, their operation beginning to run more smoothly.


    The next second, Chen Rui''an suddenly exhibited a shivering motion.


    It was clear, he was finished.


    Or rather, he felt that he had finished.


    Once Yan Junze was sure, he tried to loosen the hand pressing against his back.


    Chen Rui''an moved slowly, painstakingly completing the subsequent actions after using the toilet.


    Then he turned around slowly; now, Chen Rui''an''s pupils were no longer a dull gray mass, seeming to have a hint of color, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly as if he was smiling.


    From beginning to end, he had not spoken a word, just staring at Yan Junze, or more precisely, at the Semi-Spirit State Yan Junze.


    Soon, Chen Rui''an''s body slowly began to turn transparent, bit by bit, until he completely disappeared...


    Yan Junze put away the club he held in his hand, his mind still revolving around that clear and controlled feeling of having touched the magnetic field just now.


    But the next moment, his body felt as if it would explode, blood boiling, all vessels bulging, his head buzzing.


    The previously twisted head didn''t turn a full 180 degrees but had still twisted close to half, and the black hair that had grown out had not retracted.


    In this moment, Yan Junze felt an extreme bloodlust.

 Chapter 192 Crazy Feasting

    ```[The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk, Anxiety-Inducing (Part 2), Completed, earned 300 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    The mission completion prompt popped up in his mind, but Yan Junze had no time to pay attention to it.


    Testing whether he could control the strangeness magnetic field in the Semi-Spirit State was an immature idea of his. However, to verify his long-standing speculation, even an immature idea was worth a try.


    Now it was proven feasible to control the field even when the Semi-Spirit State was not fully activated, but it required a significant amount of blood as support for the energy consumed, something he had not anticipated.


    Maintaining his current state, Yan Junze was still lucid, yet teetering on the brink of madness.


    He growled from his throat, turned back to the outside of the washroom, stepped onto the washroom''s windowsill, and leapt down.


    Even though this was the fifth floor, with some of the Back-faced Woman''s powers, he landed lightly and then rushed off towards the area outside the school.


    To say he ran was an understatement; Junze''s movements were now spectral, his strange surrounding magnetic field distorting his presence, invisible to surveillance. In less than a minute, he arrived outside the school at the doorstep of Ning Shanshan''s clinic.


    This storefront did not have a roll-up door; rather, after closing the glass doors, they were locked with a U-shaped lock.


    Upon Yan Junze''s arrival, his throat emitted uncomfortable growls as if copious amounts of hair were about to burst forth. He simply snapped the U-shaped lock, opened the door, and walked in.


    He found the medicine freezer containing blood bags, took out some animal blood stored there by Shanshan, bit open the bag, and swallowed it in a few large gulps.


    The only two remaining bags of blood were quickly consumed, yet he still felt incredibly agitated.


    Looking around, Yan Junze saw no other blood stored in the clinic, so he quickly left and headed to a restaurant across the street, squeezing his body through the closed metal roller door.


    What was terrifying was that even though Yan Junze''s whole body passed through the roller door, the metal only tore open a small crack, just the length of a forearm.


    This bizarre situation could only be explained by the use of strange abilities.


    Although he was aware of the oddity, Yan Junze had no time to bother with it as he still felt every vein in his body throbbing as if they were about to burst.


    After entering the restaurant, he immediately found the kitchen, walked in, and opened the refrigerator. Besides frozen meat and vegetables, there were also three large bowls filled with coagulated blood, either pork or chicken.


    Without a second thought, he lifted the bowls and gulped them down in thunderous slurps, not bothering to chew, then grabbed the second and third bowls and did the same.


    Although consuming the three large bowls subdued the hair on Yan Junze''s body and his head turned back considerably, he still felt uncomfortable. Thus, he broke through the wall and into the next-door restaurant.


    In the process of breaking through the wall, a small hole was made, and his body squeezed through without any difficulty.


    The second restaurant was much larger. Perhaps there was a reservation for the next day, and the kitchen had just slaughtered over a dozen chickens at night. The chicken blood in the buckets was still fresh, some just beginning to clot.


    Yan Junze walked over, lifted the bucket, and fiercely drank from it.


    After quickly downing the bucket''s contents, he set it down, came to his senses, and felt the hair on his body diminish substantially, his head returning to normal.


    Seeming to remember something, he hurried to the door, twisted off the iron lock, pushed open the door, and strode out.


    Returning to the campus and entering the dormitory building, the feeling of swelling gradually faded, and he felt a lot more relaxed.


    Voices and footsteps echoed from the fifth floor, likely the prodigies of room 511 bringing back the kid who had fainted in the restroom.


    Yan Junze paid them no mind, first went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, then returned to room 411, took off his blood-stained clothes, and threw them under the bed, planning to dispose of them properly the next day.


    Then he found some clean clothes to change into.


    ```


    He moved quietly throughout the whole process, along with the fact that Zhao Zheng and He Bishou were in deep sleep, they didn''t wake up for the moment. Only Huahua, who was sleeping in the bunk above Zhao Zheng, showed no sign of movement¡ªit was unclear whether he had been disturbed.


    After Yan Junze laid in bed, he saw Huahua turn over but didn''t make any other sound.


    Lying in bed for a while, his thoughts were complicated, but Yan Junze was certain about one thing: his conjecture about the application of the strange magnetic fields was correct.


    Being true strangenesses, they definitely couldn''t, like a normal person such as himself, comprehend how to use their own magnetic fields to achieve their desired goal, but instead, they were acting on instinct.


    He, on the other hand, was different. Once he mastered it, he could alter the magnetic fields of lower-grade strangenesses.


    In other words, if he could go back to the past, he would be able to wash Ke''er''s hair. And after washing her hair, Ke''er''s long locks would no longer be in a constantly thick, filthy state, but would become clean, truly clean.


    If only he could frequently use the "Semi-Spirit" state, not only just drinking blood to replenish energy but also relying on Different Dimension Energy for sustenance... that would be great.


    "Hmm, Different Dimension Energy? Blood?"


    An inexplicable thought suddenly popped up in Yan Junze''s mind and vanished in a flash; he wanted to grasp the idea.


    But his mind was already getting fuzzy, and a wave of sleepiness hit him. Fatigued, he struggled for a few seconds before still closing his eyes and falling asleep.


    When he woke up, the floor above was in an uproar. The incident with the strangeness in Room 511 had become known to everyone in the dormitory, and even the Academic Affairs Office had sent teachers with security guards.


    But according to the people in Room 511, the strangeness had already been resolved, and it had been resolved by someone named Yan Junze.


    Upon checking, Yan Junze lived just below in Room 411.


    Soon, Guo Jintao from Room 511, accompanied by Director Yuan from the Academic Affairs Office and Captain Wang from Security, arrived at Yan Junze''s bedside.


    Yan Junze had no intention of concealing his ability to resolve strangenesses. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have completed the "Kiss" task in front of nine members of the Strange Club.


    After a brief introduction, Yan Junze informed them that he had the constitution of an Exorcist, that he had always encountered strangenesses at home, and had always been able to resolve them well. If they didn''t believe him, they could ask the president of the Strangeness Research Alliance Club, Ma Dun, and he had also just joined the Strange Club.


    Director Yuan was a man in his fifties, small and seemingly shrewd. He nodded and said, "Nowadays, strangenesses are happening everywhere. Although I cannot interfere with your actions, since you are at the academy, you must protect your own safety and not do anything that risks your life or violates school regulations."


    Yan Junze nodded his head. Whatever Old Yuan said, he was just going to agree¡ªthat in essence, he shouldn''t cause trouble for the academy.


    Captain Wang from Security had been silent, but as he left with Director Yuan, he turned his head and gave Yan Junze a deep look.


    Guo Jintao didn''t leave but sat on the bed with a tone that was both grateful and apologetic. "On behalf of everyone in Room 511, I thank you! I''m sorry, we thought you were a strangeness yesterday." S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Not too different," Yan Junze mused to himself, smiled, but said nothing.


    The other three in the dorm were all looking at him with expressions as if they had eaten something awful. Zhao Zheng and the others had not expected that Yan Junze would possess such a rare talent.


    "Who would have thought that among the new batch of students, there would be an exorcism prodigy!" Guo Jintao showed no sign of leaving, with admiration on his face, he said, "Junze, are you acquainted with the Exorcists, that is, the Exorcist team members?" Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Yes, I know them," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Damn, big bro, I must cling to your mighty thigh!" Guo Jintao was ecstatic.


    "No wonder I felt you came back very late last night in my half-asleep state," Huahua peered from the upper bunk, her head sticking out of the window, looking happily at Yan Junze, with her legs playfully swinging back and forth, like a little girl.


    "Quick, tell us, how did you perform the exorcism?" He Bishou, clearly excited, scrambled out of bed and shufflerdly moved closer in his slippers.

 Chapter 193 Looking for the Cat

    ```"I don''t have the means of an exorcist," Yan Junze said with a smile, shaking his head. "It''s just that I have a certain special constitution, so I can help strangenesses resolve some issues."


    Fat He looked at him with surprise: "Are you saying you don''t have the skills of an exorcist? Then how do you perform exorcism?"


    Yan Junze said, "It''s simple, just help the strangeness complete its obsession."


    "So, you mean you outsmart them, whereas exorcists directly get rid of them?" Guo Jintao said. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yeah, it''s roughly like that." Yan Junze nodded.


    "I feel like your method is even more awesome! Are you trying to tell us that your IQ can crush all sorts of demons and monsters?" He Bishou exclaimed in amazement.


    Zhao Zheng and Guo Jintao grinned, while Yan Junze could only give a bitter smile.


    As if remembering something, Yan Junze looked up at Guo Jintao: "I saw you guys were filming with smartphones, weren''t you?"


    "Right." Guo Jintao nodded. "I was filming, and so was Zhang Wei who got scared and fainted in the restroom, but it seems his phone later fell on the ground, covering the camera, so the latter half didn''t get recorded."


    Yan Junze nodded inwardly; the latter half in the restroom was precisely when he entered the scene with a club. However, even if it had been caught on camera, it wouldn''t have mattered. He then said to Guo Jintao, "The video you guys are going to upload, let me check it first."


    "No problem, we''ve already handed it over to the computer science guys who are brilliant at this stuff. It will be edited shortly, and you can watch it before we post it."


    "Which platform will you upload it to?"


    "Open Your Eyes," Guo Jintao said.


    Huahua suddenly exclaimed at that moment, "Right, Junze, I''ve always felt like I''ve seen you somewhere before. Did you post a video on ''Tremble'' before?"


    "No," Yan Junze didn''t give away the truth, merely shaking his head.


    Huahua pondered, having felt a sense of familiarity since meeting Yan Junze, but still couldn''t remember why.


    Guo Jintao quickly left to take care of Han Zhao, who had just woken up after experiencing Spirit-Splitting. Not long after, Chen Kun from room 511 came over, holding a USB drive.


    This guy had crushed his glasses underfoot the night before, and was now wearing a pair of spare ones with a lower prescription, so he was squinting because he couldn''t see very clearly.


    It took Yan Junze a while to be sure that he had come to see him.


    Chen Kun handed over the USB to Yan Junze, saying, "Guo Jintao asked me to let you check it first, then we''ll upload it to the platform."


    Yan Junze borrowed He Bishou''s laptop, plugged in the USB, and watched the video. Because it wasn''t shot with a professional camera, the image was a bit blurry. The light adjustment was enhanced in the dark, which made it quite clear to view.


    Yan Junze paid attention to the fact that he appeared twice in the entire video, both times in the hallway on Guo Jintao''s phone.


    In the restroom where he saved Zhang Wei, the latter''s phone camera was facing the ground and didn''t capture him, but the video had some text explanations added to that part, which would prevent viewers from getting confused after watching it.


    "No problem." He nodded, took out the USB, and returned it to Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun was more reserved in character, unlike Guo Jintao. Although he knew Yan Junze was somewhat remarkable, he didn''t show an immediate desire to cozy up to him. Instead, he took the USB back with both hands, politely thanked Yan Junze, and then departed.


    ...


    In Tianyi District, inside the Stone Arch of an old-style neighborhood, on the fifth floor. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire


    A pure white cat climbed onto the bed edge of a fifth-floor home where the window had not been closed.


    "Meow¡ª"


    The color of this cat was exceptionally beautiful, with smooth fur, showing that its owner took great care of it regularly.


    It stretched out its paw, licked it, then used its paw to smooth its face. After glancing into the room, the white cat jumped inside.


    A fat old man wearing a white tank top and wielding a hand fan was looking around. He raised his head and seemed to see a white shadow abruptly vanish on the fifth-floor window ledge.


    ```


    The fat old man couldn''t help but call out, "Bai, come down!"


    Seeing no trace of anyone, the fat old man walked to the staircase entrance and, gasping for air, began to climb towards the fifth floor.


    There was no one in the room.


    The white cat stood on the table next to the windowsill, looked around, then jumped off the table and, with the graceful steps of a cat, walked into the room.


    There were two computers set up in the living room, lights with stands in front of them, and various devices like microphones and headphones. Aside from that, there was also a bed.


    One side of the bed was lined with clay pots, and at the other end of the pots was a cloth curtain, which presumably hid the room''s bathroom, though there wasn''t a door for the bathroom.


    The white cat approached the row of clay pots and then suddenly stopped. It sniffed one of the pots and immediately, as if smelling some foul odor, shook its nose.


    "Meow¡ª"


    Lifting its head, the white cat looked towards the cloth curtain of the bathroom, moved closer by a few steps, and stretched its head forward to sniff the curtain.


    The next second, the fur on its neck bristled, and it made a motion as if to immediately retreat, but at that very moment, a decayed, slender hand shot out like lightning from behind the curtain and pressed down on the cat''s body.


    The white cat bared its teeth and grimaced. Its body suddenly tensed as if being squeezed smaller by the hand, letting out a pitiful scream before being snatched through the curtain, after which there was no more movement.


    Soon, a knocking sound was heard.


    The fat old man, while fanning himself, said gaspingly from outside the door, "Is anyone home? Sorry, my cat Bai ran in here. Could you open the door, please?"


    "Mister, who are you looking for?" A young man''s voice sounded from behind the old man.


    The fat old man turned his head and saw a familiar face, although he didn''t know the man''s name, he often saw him around the neighborhood.


    "Young man, is this your home? May I ask what your name is..."


    "Yes." The young man nodded and walked to the door, "My name is Cheng Jingting, I live here."


    "My cat ran into your place; it jumped in from the windowsill. Could you be a dear and open the door for me? Thank you," the fat old man squeezed a smile onto his chubby face.


    "Oh, I see."


    Cheng Jingting''s eyes quickly darted around, and with an unaffected expression, pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, and went inside.


    The fat old man, still fanning himself, followed into the apartment, but after entering, Cheng Jingting didn''t move far and just stood by the door.


    As the old man came in, he casually closed the door behind him.


    The fat old man looked surprised, and the fan in his hand stopped moving. Ever since entering the room, he felt inexplicably cold.


    Though it was hot outside, there was an indescribable chill inside the room, seeping into his skin, drilling into his bones.


    "Old sir, go ahead and have a look for yourself, see where the cat might be." Cheng Jingting stood there with a smile, reminding him.


    The fat old man glanced around. The light in the room was dim because the curtains were mostly drawn, except for the window through which he had just seen Bai enter, which was open.


    Several corners of the room were extremely dark, utterly invisible from where he stood. The fat old man quickly shifted his gaze back, letting it rest on Cheng Jingting''s ambiguously smiling face.


    Suddenly, he shuddered, shook his head, and said, "No need to look any further, he probably ran out the window again. The little fella never gives me a moment''s peace."


    Having said that, he took a step forward and realized Cheng Jingting was blocking the doorway. The fat old man looked up, forced a strained smile, and said, "Thank you for your help just now, young man."


    "No trouble at all," said Cheng Jingting.


    Right then, from behind the bathroom curtain not far behind him, he heard a series of teeth chattering softly, grinding together.


    The fat old man heard it clearly. Without reason, his scalp tingled, a cautious fear rising in his heart, he stammered, "Please... could you open the door for me, thank you."

 Chapter 194 Nurturing the Spirit

    "Old man, you''re not looking for the cat anymore?" Cheng Jingtian asked.To the fat old man, the smile on his face became increasingly unnerving.


    "No, no, old man I am optimistic. What''s losing a cat in the grand scheme of things?" The fat old man suddenly shook his fan vigorously, "And let me tell you, the old man naturally has a strong voice, I shout and the whole building can hear."


    As he spoke, his voice suddenly rose several times louder, buzzing in Cheng Jingtian''s ears and stiffening his face, and even outside the stairway corridor, it could be heard clearly.


    "Dad, are you in there?" the voice of a middle-aged man came from outside the door at that moment.


    Cheng Jingtian stepped aside and opened the door.


    The fat old man''s expression brightened as he walked out with his fan, saying, "Son, I didn''t see Bai, let''s look elsewhere." S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he spoke, he shivered and turned his head to glance at the still door curtain behind him.


    That position was similar to the layout of his home; it should be the restroom.


    After he walked out, Cheng Jingtian closed the door behind him without a word.


    "Let''s go, downstairs," the fat old man immediately told his son.


    The middle-aged man, seeing his father''s changed expression, followed with some surprise, "Dad, what''s wrong?"


    "That young man''s house is gloomy; there must be something bad in there, or maybe it''s haunted with strangeness," said the fat old man, descending the stairs rapidly while supporting himself on the railing.


    "And Bai? Did you see him?" the middle-aged man asked.


    The old man shook his head, "He probably slipped out through the window again. Normally, when he smells me, he comes closer, but the room was too dark for me to see clearly."


    Inside the room.


    Cheng Jingtian stood behind the door, quietly listening to the noises outside.


    Not until the sounds of conversation faded away did he turn around and mutter, "Bai?"


    As he finished speaking, his gaze turned to the restroom door curtain, and he walked over to lift it.


    It was very dark inside; other than the area near the door that had some light, deeper parts were not visible.


    Cheng Jingtian spoke slowly, "Come out."


    About five seconds later, something in the darkness moved.


    Then, a frail figure with stiff footsteps emerged, dressed in a gray long dress, hair cascading down. Her features were mostly rotten, whether it was her face or the skin on her exposed hands and feet, all presenting a dreadful white.


    On closer inspection, this whiteness seemed to be coated with a layer of powder, likely from being soaked in a certain white liquid for an extended time, adhering to the skin, and turning into this state after the liquid completely dried.


    When walking, the woman''s lower limbs didn''t bend, remaining rigid, which resulted in her walking posture being extremely creepy.


    When she shuffled to Cheng Jingtian''s front, the woman stopped. The foul smell from her was faint, with only occasional wafts of strong chemical odor, but it wasn''t formaldehyde.


    At this moment, Cheng Jingtian noticed the woman''s mouth was covered in white fur. He shook his head, resigned, cleaned the fur from her mouth, and said, "I only went out for a moment, and you''ve already swallowed a cat whole. If I were gone for half a day, you might just swallow a person whole."


    He turned around and walked to the computer, nudging the mouse, causing all of the computer screens to light up. Then, Cheng Jingting turned on the lamps on both sides of the desktop, illuminating the area around him.


    After sitting down, he said to the screen, "To all the students, today I''m delivering a benefit. I will personally explain how to raise spirits and the precautions one should take."


    At the bottom of the encrypted channel, it showed that a total of 32 channels were connected, meaning that at least 32 people on the other end were paying to watch.


    "Come over." Cheng Jingting finished saying this and then turned his head to give an order.


    The woman''s corpse in a gray skirt moved a few steps forward with rigid limbs, coming into the light.


    Immediately, numerous text dialogue boxes appeared on the computer screen, sent by people watching from different locations at the same time.


    Of course, all the chats were anonymous.


    "This female corpse is so well-preserved!"


    "Young Master Cheng, how much sodium ammonia solution did you use? It seems like some areas were not covered and have started to rot."


    "I bet she was absolutely beautiful when she was alive."


    "She still looks good now..."


    Cheng Jingting smiled, "Don''t have such a morbid taste. My conditions here are insufficient. If you have the means, you can mix sodium ammonia with water at a ratio of 1:100, soak the corpse for about a week, then you can retrieve it. This can prevent the body from rotting and the skin will be as tender as a puff."


    "Can it be like a living person?" someone asked, adding an emoji with stars in the eyes.


    "Of course not, all the internal organs are rotten," Cheng Jingting shook his head, "But as long as the corpse is well preserved, it may not be exposed for a short time if it stays among the living."


    "The face of this one is so decayed, it definitely won''t work," remarked one participant.


    "Of course, it won''t work, I just said my conditions here are not sufficient," Cheng Jingting said, "I only applied a coating of sodium ammonia solution to her body."


    "Can raising spirits in this way be similar to ordinary strangenesses that can turn invisible, pass through walls, perform Spirit-Splitting, and intervene?" another asked. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire


    "Yes and no," Cheng Jingting smiled mysteriously, "I''ll teach you a method.


    If you''re raising other strangenesses around you, try to make this corpse consume that strangeness, what is commonly called ''Evil Spirit-eating.'' There is a chance this corpse will become somewhat like a ''Semi-spirit,'' similar to what the Exorcists call a ''Fake Spirit Body,'' but you need a living person for a ''Fake Spirit Body.''"


    At this point, Cheng Jingting leaned closer to the camera, his smile looking eerie as he said, word by word, "This type of corpse, we insiders call ''Corpse Spirits,'' very horrifying. If you don''t adjust it correctly while making it consume a spirit and fail to make it recognize you as its master, then you''re in for bad luck!"


    As he finished speaking, he moved back from the camera and continued to explain the steps and methods of raising spirits. Occasionally, he interacted and answered questions from the audience live.


    About fifty minutes later, Cheng Jingting concluded, "This is just the most common method of raising spirits. Last time, I mentioned raising spirits inside the body. What was that guy''s name? Oh, Lv Xin, who had no choice but to try it out. I want to remind you again, do not attempt anything before you fully understand it! That poor guy was a pity, had a special constitution even better than mine..."


    After shutting down the encrypted channel, Cheng Jingting, without turning his head, said, "Go back."


    The woman''s corpse in the gray skirt stiffly turned around and walked in the direction of the restroom. Shortly after entering behind the curtain, there was no further movement.


    Cheng Jingting switched to a regular channel, entered his chat room to take a look. He did not start a video link but browsed through some of the conversations of the netizens before exiting the chat room and entered the "Open Your Eyes" homepage.


    Before long, his gaze settled on a highly-clicked video. It was uploaded by a college student; this fellow had uploaded two videos, but none had as many clicks as this one.


    Minutes later, as Cheng Jingting watched the corridor scene presented in the video, his gaze sharpened after seeing a person passing by, and he blurted out, "A night-wandering... puppy?"

 Chapter 195 Cheng Jingtings Perfect Plan

    Tianmeng District, a dormitory building of Tianmeng Science University.Yan Junze took the opportunity when there was no one in the dorm to call Zhang Xiaomo. Before the call connected, his ears suddenly turned red.


    "Could it be that Zhang Xiaomo is starting to miss me even before the call goes through? Have Three-Star Exorcists really become this powerful?" he mumbled to himself.


    Soon after he had that thought, the call connected, and the familiar voice of Zhang Xiaomo came through: "Hello."


    "Were you just thinking of me?" Yan Junze blurted out.


    Zhang Xiaomo paused for a moment before replying, "Crazy! It hasn''t been that long since we last saw each other. Why so narcissistic all of a sudden?"


    Yan Junze''s face flushed with embarrassment, and he coughed before asking, "I just wanted to ask if you are in Tianmeng right now, or if you''re out on a business trip."


    "I''m in Tianmeng. There''s a big case here that I''m working on, so I can''t travel for the time being. What''s up?" Zhang Xiaomo seemed to be speaking with someone else beside her. After saying this, she continued chatting with the other person.


    "Nothing much, just wanted to ask you about the Fake Spirit Body."


    "The Fake Spirit Body? What are you planning to do?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "I got a bit curious after hearing you mention it last time," Yan Junze said with a laugh.


    "You, you?!" Zhang Xiaomo didn''t answer, but her tone seemed to be one of suspicion, "I can squeeze an hour out for you. Meet me at the ''Time Boat Caf¨¦'' on Minhe Road in half an hour."


    "Sister, our college is in the suburbs, half an hour? Let''s see if I can even get into the district," Yan Junze said, but he only heard a busy tone as the call ended.


    As he put down the phone, he knew Zhang Xiaomo had guessed the truth.


    An Exorcist undoubtedly has broader connections than he did, and ever since Yan Junze stayed with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, they had built mutual trust and each found the other quite agreeable.


    The fact that Zhang Xiaomo had phoned him last time to inform him that the Resentful Granny had not been eliminated was enough to prove that she truly cared for him.


    Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    Someone who cared about him could not possibly harm him, and there were no conflicts of interest between them.


    Actually, Yan Junze thought that Zhang Xiaomo might have been suspicious when he inquired about the "Fake Spirit Body" over the phone last time. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have followed up with a text to remind him.


    Well, now that she knew, so be it. After all, there would be many opportunities to deal with Exorcists in the future, and it was better to establish friendly relations rather than harbor mutual suspicion or even hostility.


    Being a Semi-spirit and drinking blood was not a proper solution after all, and he needed to find out if there were other alternatives.


    Previously, due to the incident of missing blood bags at night, Dr. Ning Shanshan from the clinic had even made a special trip to apologize to Yan Junze.


    Of course, it wasn''t just the clinic that was involved. The two restaurants by the street also witnessed eerie scenes, but the investigation came to a halt as soon as the police arrived on the scene.


    After all, it was just some animal blood that was lost. Once the issue was reported to the Exorcists and queued up for investigation, someone would look into it.


    As for whether the truth could be uncovered, that was another matter altogether.


    After ending the call, Yan Junze immediately left the campus. He was lucky to catch a bus that had just pulled up to the curb and climbed aboard.


    It was impossible to hail a taxi here; there were none available and, due to the suddenness of the situation, there was no time to use "Papa Cab," so his only option was to sit on the bus and sway into the district.


    Last time, Yan Junze had speculated that the Different Dimension Energy of the Spacetime Atlas could nourish the locked-up strangenesses.


    If strangenesses could be nourished and grow, could his own "Fake Spirit Body" do the same?


    If he could absorb the Different Dimension Energy into his body to replace the need for blood, then he wouldn''t need to search for blood bags anymore. Instead, he could replenish his energy through the Spacetime Atlas.


    Furthermore, now that Fang Ning was lurking in his shadow, if he could use the Fake Spirit Body to kill or exorcise her, that would be ideal.


    Of course, these were just Yan Junze''s thoughts. At present, he had no way of doing any of these things.


    At the same time.


    Cheng Jingting was staring at the computer screen, recognizing that the video with "Night Traveling Puppy" had finished playing. However, at the end of the video, whether it was the intent of the video''s creator or the act of the publisher, a line of text appeared.


    It was a teaser of sorts, suggesting the audience look forward to the next Spirit Exploration: The Peephole Strange Creature in the laboratory building.


    Seeing this, Cheng Jingting couldn''t help but laugh. His eyes shifted subtly as he turned around and approached a row of clay pots, inspecting them before abruptly picking one up.


    The jar contained a large amount of black goo and the creature that had been following him, the woman in the white nightgown from last time. However, now the creature had been mostly refined.


    As he opened the lid of the jar, Cheng Jingting reached in, piercing through the goo and grasped the woman, yanking her out forcefully.


    The creature in his hand had become tiny, roughly the size of a cat, and the once fierce woman in the nightgown now had her clothes and hair all clumped together by the goo, even her limbs tightly coiled up, rendering her immobile.


    Cheng Jingting took her behind the shower curtain in the bathroom. Without turning on the lights, as if familiar with the position where the grey-skirted corpse stood, he passed the nightgown woman over.


    "Eat her up," he instructed.


    The creature in his hands didn''t move, and the grey-skirted corpse didn''t extend a hand to take it.


    About ten seconds later, Cheng Jingting chuckled and spoke again, "If you don''t eat her, I''ll make you suffer through your memories from before you died again."


    Upon saying that, he kicked out with his right foot, landing it squarely on the corpse''s belly.


    Splat! S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A large glob of the black goo erupted from its mouth, splattering on the floor of the bathroom.


    Cheng Jingting then extended the nightgown woman again, "Perhaps you''re hungry now, should be able to eat this time."


    The corpse leaned in with its decaying face.


    With a sly grin, Cheng Jingting let go of his hold.


    "Well then, let''s go," he said, clapping his hands. "After eating her and with the black concoction I formulated in the clay jar, you can smoothly transform into a Corpse Spirit. But first, you need to acknowledge your master."


    With that, he bit into his right index finger, and the fresh blood that seeped out quickly dripped into the mouth of the corpse.


    Turning to leave the bathroom, Cheng Jingting muttered to himself, "Now let''s play a big game, shall we? You like filming, don''t you? Filming from the perspective of a strangeness, wouldn''t that attract more viewers?"

 Chapter 196 Outsourced Staff

    Minhe Road is located in the South City of Tianmeng, and its location is not very remote, but it is secluded and very quiet.The "Time Boat" coffee shop is at the end of Minhe Road. By the time Yan Junze arrived, Zhang Xiaomo was already sitting inside. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze checked the time; although he had taken a car as soon as he left his house, he was still almost fifteen minutes late.


    "Sorry for the wait," Yan Junze walked into the shop and sat down directly opposite Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was still dressed casually, with a small cross-body bag that could fit a magnetic knife on the table, sipping a cup of strong coffee.


    "Order whatever you want," Zhang Xiaomo called the waiter over.


    Yan Junze ordered a coffee casually and, looking at Zhang Xiaomo, said, "You seem unrested, with dark circles under your eyes."


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head with a sigh, "Yeah, very unrested. I''ve only slept six hours in total over the past three days."


    Yan Junze didn''t know what had happened, but he didn''t feel it was appropriate to ask, so he just chuckled dryly.


    Zhang Xiaomo took a sip of her coffee and said, "I still have important things to do later. I called you out because I wanted to ask if you''ve become a ''Semi-spirit''?"


    Yan Junze replied with a wry smile, "Do you have to be so blunt? Couldn''t you have phrased the question more subtly?"


    "I just knew it." Zhang Xiaomo lightly slapped the table, "Look at your pale complexion, that''s the first sign of a semi-spirit. Is blood your staple food? How did you become a semi-spirit?"


    "I refuse to answer that question," Yan Junze shook his head.


    "I don''t care how you became one, just curious and asked casually. But luckily, I''m quite familiar with you, I investigated your background and knew your nature beforehand, otherwise, you would have to face a strict review by the Exorcist team regarding semi-spirits."


    Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, taking out a copper six-pointed star badge from her bag. The badge had an embossed word "Spirit" on it.


    "This is the special badge issued by our incident team for external hires," Zhang Xiaomo said. "From now on, you''re our special hired staff. Well, there''s no salary usually, only a bounty is paid upon completing a case."


    "You mean... hired from outside?" Yan Junze paused for a moment and didn''t take the copper badge, asking, "What if I refuse? You can''t possibly force me."


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled, seemingly unconcerned about him refusing, and said, "With this badge, you can get blood for free and delivered to your home. You don''t have to worry or fear about your secret being exposed anymore. Do you want it?"


    "You play hardball!" Yan Junze snatched the badge and held it in his hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn''t help but cover her mouth and snicker, explaining, "Actually, this thing is all benefits no drawbacks for you. Establishing a good relationship with the Exorcist team is beneficial for you, your family, and friends. Hmm, if someone close to you is in danger, we can prioritize handling it for you."


    "It can''t be that easy," Yan Junze firmly shook his head.


    Zhang Xiaomo burst into laughter and said, "Right, if we need help or assign you tasks on the spot, we ask for your full cooperation. You may do your best to complete it, but full effort is required."


    After their exchange, Zhang Xiaomo seemed much happier, her fatigue having vanished. She took another sip of her coffee and added, "Initially, I suggested you join the Exorcist team, which would have required a physical examination, but now that''s unnecessary since you''ve become a semi-spirit, bypassing many procedures."


    "But you just believe I''m a semi-spirit without testing me?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Of course, we''ll test you." As if performing a magic trick, Zhang Xiaomo pulled a large bag of fresh blood from her bag, "This is pig blood I just got. Drink it in front of me, and then you''ll pass."


    "It''s that easy?" Yan Junze took the bag, bit into it without a word, and quickly drained it.


    He had been thirsty all day and now there was free staple food; he couldn''t keep the act up any longer.


    After he had finished, Zhang Xiaomo watched him closely for a moment and nodded, "Hmm, your complexion is rosier now. Looking into your eyes, I can confirm you''re a semi-spirit."


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, "Now, try to sense it. Hold the badge in your hand, feel the changes within you."


    "Hm?"


    Yan Junze hesitated but then began to sense it. The badge was originally very cold in his hand, but now it emitted a warm sensation.


    He then felt his blood flow slowing down, and his understanding of his body seemed much clearer. The badge felt like it was emitting some sort of strange energy, very familiar.


    The metabolic rate of the blood consumption in his body was decreasing!


    Yan Junze was elated; this meant he didn''t have to consume blood as frequently. At this rate, even if he drank a bag only every two or three days, it would be sufficient.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze was startled and realized why this energy felt so familiar.


    Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire


    It was... Different Dimension Energy!


    But it wasn''t entirely that; rather, it was some kind of energy that contained Different Dimension Energy. Naturally, it wasn''t as concentrated as the energy stored in the Spacetime Atlas, approximately only a quarter of it.


    But this quarter of Different Dimension Energy, when released through the badge, could slow blood metabolism, which was unexpected for Yan Junze.


    If this was the case, then it''s indirectly relying on energy to replace blood. Moreover, with the stronger energy concentration he possessed, if it was infused into the badge, the effect might be even better.


    What a pleasant surprise!


    Yan Junze almost couldn''t maintain his expression and quickly secured the badge close to him, nodding, "Right, a bag of blood seems to last me a long time now."


    "That''s the third benefit of joining us," Zhang Xiaomo nodded. "There are countless more advantages you will learn in the future, and all it costs is helping us complete some tasks."


    Yan Junze almost rolled his eyes. He knew these tasks would definitely not be easy. But, worth it!


    Zhang Xiaomo clapped her hands, "Since you''re getting so many benefits, you''re paying for the coffee this time."


    "No problem," Yan Junze smiled and nodded. "I made some money from video blogging, not just for this coffee. After you complete your task, I''ll treat you to a big meal."


    "Perfect timing, I also need to remind you," Zhang Xiaomo seemed to remember something, "From now on, you''d better stop video blogging. As a specially hired member of the Exorcist team, we have our own rules. Some things might cause widespread panic and even become uncontrollable. So now, in West City, there''s a strict ban on spreading videos."


    "Is it that serious?" Yan Junze was surprised, "What happened over in West City?"


    Now that he was somewhat a part of the Exorcist team, his earlier hesitations were gone, so he asked directly.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t conceal the information, speaking in a low voice, "A Spirit Bridge has appeared in the outskirts of West City, the fourth one in Great Capital Huaying. Seven days ago, every resident of Mo Family Village died overnight."

 Chapter 197 Blockade

    Zhang Xiaomo''s words startled Yan Junze, his face changing as he asked, "A whole village of people, all dead?" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality."Yeah." Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    Then Yan Junze asked, "What is... a Spirit Bridge?"


    Instead of answering, Zhang Xiaomo glanced at a table about two tables away where a young man in black was sitting, wearing sunglasses and sipping a cup of cappuccino iced coffee alone.


    Yan Junze also turned his head for a look.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "You don''t need to be suspicious of him; he''s your colleague now. He came here with me. His name is Zhang Di."


    "Is he your brother?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Just because he has the surname Zhang, he''s related to me? Then is Confucius''s disciple Yan Hui your ancestor?" Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look.


    Yes, the ancient history of this parallel world was basically the same as the one in which Yan Junze was reborn. So there was Confucius, and there was Yan Hui.


    Yan Junze showed an awkward but reasonable smile, "After getting to know you, I''ve found you somehow become more and more hurtful when you talk?"


    "Sorry." Zhang Xiaomo realized, but her next sentence almost choked Yan Junze on his own saliva, "You''ll get used to it later."


    Then, glancing at Zhang Di not too far away, she introduced him, "He is like you, a Semi-spirit. Initially, a strangeness wanted to devour him, but it just so happened that due to a previous mission, he had been accumulating corpse qi from a Corpse Spirit for about two months, which he couldn''t get rid of temporarily.


    Later, the dense corpse qi ended up melting that strangeness, turning Zhang Di into a Semi-spirit."


    Yan Junze listened, puzzled, "What is a Corpse Spirit?"


    "A creature that becomes a Corpse Spirit after a zombie eats a strangeness," Zhang Xiaomo said. "It inherits the strangeness''s powers and has the characteristics of a zombie; it''s very troublesome. And its Obsession is complicated. The method you used before, relying on Obsession to solve strangenesses, basically won''t work with Corpse Spirits because they have more than one Obsession.


    While you have not resolved the first, the second may have already killed you."


    "I see," Yan Junze nodded, "So what''s the main diet of this elder brother Zhang Di?"


    Zhang Xiaomo laughed, "What do you think?"


    "Forget it, I won''t guess," Yan Junze shook his head, "What''s this Spirit Bridge you just mentioned? It can cause such massive destruction, resulting in the death of all the villagers!"


    "We call the Spirit Bridge a bridge that connects hell to the mortal world, because once the shadow of a Spirit Bridge appears, people who once died in that place will be selectively summoned as strangenesses. That means, it could cause a person who died there a hundred years ago, or even a thousand years ago, to appear," Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    "Damn, then we''re dealing with old strangenesses!" Yan Junze couldn''t help exclaiming, "Are there any stronger than Sculpting Spirits?"


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "So far there''s been no discovery of any above the Sculpting Spirit level; they all fail to reach Ethereal spirit status. But once they appear, there are several, a dozen, or even dozens of old Sculpting Spirits, which are very troublesome.


    Moreover, our Exorcist squad suspects that it might be the Ethereal spirits causing the appearance of the Spirit Bridges, leading to dangerous strangeness events threatening an entire area."


    "You just said that Huaying''s Great Capital has seen the emergence of four Spirit Bridges so far; we''re the fourth one. Where are the other three?" Yan Junze curiously asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo replied, "The other three, one is in Huaying District, one in Tianyi District, and another in Yannan District. The one in Yannan District is the largest and has been sealing off the surrounding area up to now. The fourth one here by Tianmeng side is the smallest Spirit Bridge, but we have still sealed the outskirts exit that leads to West City."


    "What impact did the large Spirit Bridge in Yannan District cause?" Yan Junze couldn''t help asking.


    Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I can''t talk about it for now, but it''s very serious. The information is being blocked. So I suspect that the business of strange videos is going to become a sunset industry soon, because once the Spirit Bridge outbreak occurs, all these strange videos will be immediately banned."


    "Tang Zhengyi will have to change his line of work," Yan Junze nodded, then asked the question on his mind, "If I keep using the power of a Semi-spirit, will I turn into a ''True Spirit Body'', and then it will be game over for me?"


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    Zhang Xiaomo patted his shoulder and gave him an encouraging look, "That''s why I said, this is one of the many advantages of you choosing to join the Exorcists. It''s the same with the hexagonal medal; it can suppress the state when your Semi-spirit power bursts out. You can exert the abilities of a Semi-spirit while effectively preventing your body from being damaged.


    Of course, if you really want to go all out, you can fully unleash it, but you must stop at the right moment. This kind of thing shouldn''t be overdone."


    Yan Junze listened, dumbfounded. He always felt like Zhang Xiaomo was messing with him, but he had no evidence.


    "Aren''t you going to issue me any weapons? Like your magnetic knife or those Hidden Buckles?"


    Zhang Xiaomo shrugged, "You''re not really a three-star Exorcist, so you can''t handle the magnetic knife. I don''t have any Hidden Buckles here, but you can use the medal to get them at this address, which I''ll send to your phone."


    After saying that, she tapped on her phone a few times and sent Yan Junze an address in the eastern part of Tianmeng.


    After sending the address, Zhang Xiaomo finished her coffee in one gulp, stood up, and gave a signal to leave to Zhang Di, who was sitting not far away. She said to Yan Junze, "You''ll pick up the tab later, alright? I also ordered two cups of espresso to take away. I have to pull an all-nighter on duty tonight, so I''d appreciate it if you could take care of it."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Zhang Xiaomo hurriedly went to the counter to pick up her to-go coffees, and when she came back, she said to Yan Junze, "By the way, these past few days nearly all the Exorcists from Tianmeng went over to the Spirit Bridge, so there might be no time to deal with the strange incidents in the city or it might take some time to handle them. You need to be careful on your own."


    "Finally, a word of human wisdom," Yan Junze took a sip of his coffee and looked up at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Then Zhang Xiaomo added, "Because we''re going to directly assign you some missions."


    Pff!


    Yan Junze spat out a mouthful of coffee onto the table.


    That Zhang Di also went to the counter to pick up a cappuccino to go. Before leaving, he didn''t express any gratitude to Yan Junze, only gave him a deep, friendly look.


    Yan Junze could only think that the Exorcist team must be behind on paying their staff. They were all poorer than him, a mere student.


    However, this meeting with Zhang Xiaomo did provide him with a lot of crucial information, and he had sort of been formally recruited.


    Well, not exactly. It was compulsory.


    But for Yan Junze, this status was much better than joining the Exorcist team through normal medical examination, at least his many secrets would not be exposed.


    Being externally hired is like being specially appointed, at least there are far fewer restrictions compared to being a formal employee.


    After sitting for a while, Yan Junze settled the bill, got up, and prepared to go to the Exorcist''s rendezvous point to collect blood.


    Having just obtained the official right to take blood, he had to make good use of it. He planned to get several bags of blood. He came out with a black backpack, and he figured he might as well fill it up.

 Chapter 198 Hidden Buckle

    Experience tales with My Virtual Library EmpireUnexpectedly, the exorcist''s meeting place did not provide blood, but sent Yan Junze to the blood center of the Third Hospital. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, it wasn''t just human blood stored there; they also had a section for animal blood, specifically reserved for exorcists. This made Yan Junze suspect that there were semi-spirits who also needed to drink blood, though probably in smaller quantities.


    This suspicion deepened when he asked the old man in charge of the blood supply to pack more into his backpack, only to be told that they could only provide ten bags at a time.


    Fortunately, these blood bags were large and contained a good volume of blood¡ªall of it pig, chicken, and duck blood.


    It wasn''t too much of a hassle to return to the district center for blood now and then. Resignedly, Yan Junze packed the blood bags into his backpack and was about to leave when he heard the old man addressing him.


    "Last night, our permanent exorcist at San Yi was also recalled. What do we do if there''s paranormal activity in the hospital? Your exorcist team knows, hospitals are hotspots for strangenesses. It wouldn''t do to be without you, especially around the morgue area."


    Yan Junze turned around and said, "I follow the group''s arrangements. It''s probably not just your hospital experiencing this. It should improve in a couple of days. If something happens, you should call first, and whoever the group sends will handle it. It may not necessarily be me."


    The old man nodded, said nothing more, and retreated back into the management room.


    As Yan Junze left the hospital and just stepped outside the main gate, his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. He took it out and saw "47477," similar to the exorcist team''s emergency number, but with an extra "7" at the end.


    After answering, a friendly female voice came through, "Hello, Yan Junze, I am He Yun, your liaison in the team."


    "Oh, hello," Yan Junze responded.


    This He Yun sounded like she was in her early twenties but was clearly familiar with the incident team''s procedures. She spoke confidently and wasn''t overly courteous, even though Yan Junze was a semi-spirit.


    "Xiaomo has transferred all your information to me, and from now on, I will be responsible for your communication with the group. If you need to contact me, just dial this number. The system will automatically connect you to me based on your phone number. If there are mission assignments, I will directly notify you."


    "Alright," Yan Junze nodded, "If I need something, do I contact you as well?"


    "May I ask what kind of need you are referring to?" He Yun asked.


    Then Yan Junze felt embarrassed, paused, and said awkwardly, "Although I''m not sure if your ''kind of need'' includes ''that kind,'' what I meant was concerning material needs, like how many Hidden Buckles I can apply for."


    "Let me explain those to you," He Yun said. "For exorcists below two-star, the group provides the ''Sweeper'' Hidden Buckle, which can temporarily clear strangenesses. There''s also the ''Chilling,'' which can freeze strangenesses and capture them with a receiver.


    And then there''s the ''Incinerate'' Hidden Buckle, which releases high-combustion phosphorus powder that burns strangenesses when combined with Dimensional Energy. Usually, we recommend using the ''Collapse'' Hidden Buckle since it can directly dissolve the strangeness."


    "Are there higher-level ''Collapse'' Hidden Buckles?" Yan Junze recalled a powerful Hidden Buckle one-star exorcist Huang Chen used against Resentful Granny.


    He Yun replied, "You''re talking about the ''High-Energy Collapse'' Hidden Buckle, which can dissipate higher-level strangenesses, such as advanced Wandering Spirits and affect Semi-Sculpting Spirits. Then there''s the ''Super-Energy Burst,'' but due to its immense power and difficulty to produce, it''s provided in very limited amounts¡ªtwo-star exorcists get one only about every half a year, if at all."


    "Do I, as an external contractor, have the chance to get one?" Yan Junze inquired.


    He Yun chuckled lightly, "Your current benefits are the same as those of a two-star exorcist, aside from a monthly salary..."


    "Yeah, I know, it''s piece-rate pay," Yan Junze added.


    "I''ll send you the address for material collection in a moment. You can go there monthly to collect your Hidden Buckles. And don''t lose that bronze medal¡ªit''s very important," He Yun advised.


    Not long after hanging up, Yan Junze received a message. He checked the address sent by He Yun, which was the same one Zhang Xiaomo had given him.


    Following the address, Yan Junze made a trip to Tianmeng in the east of the city and took the last bus back to Tianmeng Science University as the sky darkened.


    The bag not only contained ten bags of fresh blood, but he also collected ten Hidden Buckles, among which there were three Sweepers, one Incinerate, five Collapses, and one High-Energy Collapse.


    Just as He Yun had said, Collapse Hidden Buckles were the most numerous, hence they made up half of the count, followed by Sweeper, then Incinerate and High-Energy Collapse.


    There was actually another kind of Hidden Buckle called "Chilling", which was supposed to be used in conjunction with the stranges absorber, but Yan Junze felt there was no need for that; his own "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" could perfectly replace that function.


    The main point was, he needed these Hidden Buckles only for emergency situations and not as the primary method of exorcism.


    Since the objective was to light up all the temporal nodes on the Atlas, even after joining the exorcist team and having access to a variety of exorcism methods, Yan Junze still adhered to one principle during his missions: to primarily deal with Obsessions. Otherwise, without collecting enough Different Dimension Energy, lighting up the Atlas would remain an unattainable goal.


    Hidden Buckles were not essential, but they were a means of emergency.


    On the way back, he made a call to Ning Shanshan asking her to delay the clinic''s closing time by half an hour, as he needed to store the newly-purchased bags of blood at the clinic.


    Ning Shanshan felt somewhat moved by Yan Junze''s trust in her; she agreed without hesitation and sat in the clinic waiting for him.


    Ever since the supernatural events, her clinic at best stayed open a few minutes past eight before shutting down and heading home.


    But this time, it was well past eight forty when Yan Junze arrived with a light jog.


    "I''m really sorry."


    "Don''t worry, I can wait," though Ning Shanshan had clearly been waiting for quite a while.


    Yan Junze took out the bags of blood and handed them to her, and she immediately placed them in the freezer space she had cleared earlier, then pointed to a steaming cup on the counter.


    "Inside is a glucose solution I just mixed for you. Have it, your complexion always looks pale; you must not be in good health. Or at least not well cared for. You can come over for a drink anytime; I''ll prepare it for you in advance."


    Yan Junze lifted the mug and was greeted with a pleasantly fragrant scent. Without overthinking, he gulped it down.


    Indeed it was slightly sweet and bitter, but he could tell for certain Ning Shanshan had added other vitamins to the cup.


    "Thank you," Yan Junze put down the cup, "How much do I owe you?"


    Ning Shanshan rolled her eyes at him: "What money? It''s not worth much. Just come and drink in the future; the money is already included in the storage fee you pay me."


    "Alright then," Yan Junze smiled, "It''s getting late; let''s go, I''ll walk you home."


    "It''s perfect because I''m also scared," Ning Shanshan wouldn''t refuse; as a girl, she was naturally fearful.


    She pointed towards her house, and Yan Junze locked the clinic''s door with her before escorting Ning Shanshan all the way home, only leaving after she safely closed her door.


    Before he returned to the university, Yan Junze''s phone rang. It was Guo Jintao from dorm 511 upstairs, reporting that the Peephole Strange Creature rumored to haunt Building 4 had reappeared that afternoon.


    The creature had frightened a teacher who was conducting experiments, and they had reported the incident to the exorcist team. Unfortunately, they had to wait in line. As for the real situation, only Yan Junze, who had just joined the exorcists, knew the details.


    Most importantly, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared and vanished unpredictably. An exorcist had once come to the university and spent three days guarding the lab building, but the creature never showed itself.

 Chapter 199 Powerful Different Dimension Energy

    Speaking of which, the Peephole Strange Creature hadn''t appeared for about a month; the last time it was seen in Experiment Building No. 4, it was encountered by a student who had just completed an experiment assignment.Someone had gone out and forgotten to close the door, and the student, absorbed in his experiment, didn''t notice until he felt a chill. When he looked up, he saw a silhouette standing in the door gap that hadn''t been closed.


    Dark, cold eyes stared straight at him.


    On the spot, the guy was so terrified he wet himself. It was said that he shuddered so violently that the milky white liquid in his test tube splashed across his face, and he eventually climbed out the window, crying and yelling, making his escape.


    Luckily, there was a corridor outside the window; otherwise, the student would have been waiting for someone to come and collect his corpse.


    After their experience with the "Brother Sleeping on the Upper Bunk" mission, Guo Jintao, Chen Kun, and others, tasting the sweetness of having their video nearing the hot videos list, started to prepare to film the Peephole Strange Creature which had finally reappeared.


    Ever since he was warned by Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze also felt increasingly passive about video making. If things turned out as Zhang Xiaomo predicted, this thing might end up as nothing more than a club for the amusement of the wealthy.


    Of course, if those guys wanted to film, Yan Junze wouldn''t stop them, but he had no intention of getting involved anymore.


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun seemed excited, but Han Zhao, who had been affected by the Spirit-Splitting before, decisively refused to participate. As for Zhang Wei, he had been lying in the hospital for the past two days because he had hit his head on the toilet stall door after fainting.


    Only now had the swelling on one side of his face begun to subside, but he wouldn''t be discharged from the hospital anytime soon.


    The very next afternoon, there was a lab class, and Yan Junze''s class''s lab session was scheduled on the fifth floor of Experiment Building No. 4, where they had equipment like the magnetic field mapping apparatus and the fixed string vibration apparatus. Usual experiments were conducted on the fifth floor of Experiment Building No. 4.


    With no choice, Yan Junze and the other students were divided into groups in the 501 to 507 labs, and his group was in Lab 505.


    The teacher leading this group was a white-haired old man, who seemed to be a retired professor rehired by the university, his face covered with wrinkles, but he was very kind.


    Standing in the lab, he first gave a nearly half-hour talk about the operation techniques and measurement experiences concerning those instruments.


    After that, they began to divide into smaller groups for hands-on practice. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Yan Junze was actually quite familiar with these experimental devices, but ever since his arrival in this world and the encounters with the strangenesses, especially the great shock given to him by the Spacetime Atlas, his focus had entirely shifted to the strange magnetic fields.


    He wasn''t so interested in traditional physics research anymore.


    After fiddling with the magnetic field mapping apparatus with the other three, Yan Junze looked up at the white-haired professor.


    The professor went to the side, filled his tea cup with hot water, sat down, and began sipping slowly.


    At that moment, the professor looked up at the door; a second before, a student had left the room, apparently to use the bathroom on the corridor.


    There''s an unwritten rule in Experiment Building No. 4 when conducting experiments, which most people have always adhered to very well.


    That is the habit of closing the door behind you when you leave.


    Because the Peephole Strange Creature had been rumored for a long time, it''s said that during the period when the creature appeared most frequently, nearly every teacher working in the experiment building had seen it.


    Of course, the creature would only appear behind the door, and as long as one didn''t interfere, it would disappear after watching for a while, though there were also times when it persisted.


    Once, a door in the laboratory had not been closed properly, and halfway through an experiment, the wind blew it open, but no one noticed.


    As a result, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared. It was said that the experiment began at four in the afternoon and did not end until ten at night.


    Because the Peephole Strange Creature did not leave during that time, and no one dared to close the door, everyone was trapped in the laboratory. It was only after a teacher made a call that another brave teacher came from outside and opened another door, causing the Peephole Strange Creature to disappear from the one that had been open.


    Later, an experiment showed that as long as the Peephole Strange Creature appeared, someone who was brave enough to close the door or open it fully would cause the strangeness to vanish. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because an unwritten rule had formed, when the white-haired professor saw that the door was not completely closed, he put down his teacup and immediately went to close it properly.


    Turning around, he saw Yan Junze looking at him. He smiled, raised his voice and said, "Since everyone here is a freshman, let me remind you once more, while conducting experiments in the science building, always remember to close doors when entering or leaving, that''s the rule."


    After the class ended, Yan Junze thought it over. As he would always need to study and live at the school, having the Peephole Strange Creature in the science building was always inconvenient. Now that he had become an unofficial member of the Exorcists, he might as well resolve the issue tonight.


    It would seem remiss if his team were to find out he was here and yet he had done nothing about it.


    Having made up his mind, he called He Yun. Once she answered, he went straight to the point, "I''ve encountered a strange creature. Can I take it upon myself to eliminate it, and then ask for remuneration on a per-case basis from you?"


    "You may, but since we cannot assess the level of the event, we can only pay you the remuneration for the lowest level," He Yun said.


    "What is the lowest level?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Level F," He Yun replied.


    "How much money?"


    "Two thousand yuan. After killing the strange creature, use the badge to absorb some of its residual strange energy. You can collect the remuneration once you bring it to us for verification," He Yun explained.


    Yan Junze nodded. He Yun had previously told him exactly how to use the badge, but he realized that the strange energy was probably not much different from the Different Dimension Energy in his Spacetime Atlas.


    In that case, if he were short on cash, he could just absorb some of the Atlas'' energy into the badge, and then exchange it for remuneration upon verification by the event team.


    Thus, this Different Dimension Energy could now not only be exchanged for his staple food but also for money, making it a panacea.


    However, upon further thought, things did not seem as promising as he had first imagined.


    Logically, each strange creature would have its unique Different Dimension Energy, with subtle variations. But once absorbed by the Atlas, these differences would be assimilated, meaning the Atlas would convert it into the same pure Different Dimension Energy inside it.


    And the Hexagonal Star Badge''s recognition of each strange event was precisely based on these subtle differences between creatures. If he were to consistently use the energy from his Atlas to imitate the different strange energies collected after completing tasks, hence earning remuneration, the Strange Event Team would eventually notice something amiss.


    Doing it once might be okay, but in the long run, it would not be to his advantage.


    Yan Junze was very clear about this.


    After hanging up the phone, he went to the cafeteria to get some food, eating only a little since with the badge, his blood food''s metabolism was very slow, and he did not feel very hungry.


    Then he sat in his dormitory, quietly waiting for nightfall, ready to deal with the Peephole Strange Creature tonight.

 Chapter 200 Peeping at the Door (Part 1)

    While waiting for nightfall, Yan Junze suddenly remembered a question: if the Hexagonal Star Badge could suppress his digestion of staple foods, then maybe his metabolism in other areas had also slowed down.For example, going to the bathroom.


    Having thought about it, he realized that it seemed like he hadn''t had a bowel movement in two or three days.


    Even urination, which he usually didn''t pay attention to, seemed to have happened only once today.


    This is bad, Yan Junze''s heart clenched. He didn''t want to become an Undying Zombie. If he no longer needed to eat, drink, eliminate, or sleep, how could he continue to live?


    With apprehension in his heart, night descended.


    Now, unless it was a critical study period, the academy generally didn''t arrange evening self-study sessions or activities that required nighttime attendance. The last to close in the entire academy was only the library.


    After waiting a bit longer, making sure there were few students on the road, Yan Junze left the house and headed directly for the fourth experimental building.


    The weather these past few days had been quite good for him, without a hint of moonlight.


    That is to say, Fang Ning had no chance of showing up.


    Yan Junze didn''t bring an umbrella and went straight to the experimental building, only encountering a couple that seemed to be students on the way.


    But upon entering the fourth experimental building, he saw no one at all.


    Actually, at this time, there were still people conducting experiments in the other experimental buildings, but this one was utterly empty.


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance to the stairs for a while, making sure no one was around. He then took a stroll around the first floor, and nothing seemed out of place.


    He also didn''t turn on the flashlight on his phone; instead, he directly climbed to the second floor and started walking through it, quickly passing each laboratory and office, still finding nothing.


    He paused for a moment before continuing up to the third floor. He didn''t use a flashlight the entire way. Although there wasn''t any distinct moonlight, it wasn''t pitch-black either. At this moment, Yan Junze could still see his surroundings.


    And if he turned on a flashlight inside the building, people passing by outside would be able to see very clearly.


    If he used a flashlight despite the lights being off, it could easily arouse the suspicion of passersby and attract the security of the academy.


    Time passed quickly, and after he finished walking through the third floor, he immediately proceeded to the stairs leading to the fourth floor.


    At this point, Yan Junze was beginning to doubt whether he would successfully encounter the Peephole Strange Creature, because there had been Exorcists who came before, but they left the entire experimental building without finding anything.


    So, it wasn''t impossible.


    He was halfway up the stairs, turning a corner when a task prompt suddenly appeared in Yan Junze''s mind. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    [Task Name: Peephole;


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);


    Task Background: In life, he had possessed exceptional expertise in geometry, and as a math genius, he died due to an accident. Unwilling to accept his fate, he sought resurrection. However, his strong Obsession led him into a scenario he couldn''t escape. Now, he is continuously looking for the chance, waiting for rebirth;


    Task Description: Make him realize that resurrection is impossible for him, although it''s feasible, it merely requires a heavy price;


    Task Reward: 800 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Penalty: He might try to use your body for resurrection;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Lockdown; 2. Although you can see him, he exists in a very geometric world;


    Remarks: He is not a Possession Spirit.]


    Standing at the stairwell corner, Yan Junze perused the task prompt inside his mind at lightning speed, then his gaze settled on the task reward section.


    He hadn''t expected the level of the task to be so high, reaching the degree of "Trembling with Fear (High)".


    One should know that the last "Trembling with Fear (high)" level task was the "Evil Spirit-eating" task.


    And in that task, there was the presence of entities like Resentful Granny that were of the Semi-Sculpting Spirit level.


    Could the Peephole Strange Creature in this task have already reached the Semi-Sculpting Spirit level?


    On second thought, it seems improbable.


    For starters, according to Yan Junze''s current understanding, this strangeness hasn''t hurt anyone yet; those people have just scared themselves. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, looking at it from another angle, this fellow has been standing behind the door peeping. Indeed, it could make one''s hair stand on end, and it''s impossible not to get scared.


    Usually, a task''s level will include some necessary conditions to determine it, like the task''s strangeness being extremely powerful, fierce, or difficult to deal with, or the obsessions are hard to solve, or perhaps the conditions required to complete the task are very intricate.


    In any case, tasks of the "Trembling with Fear" level are somewhat troublesome.


    Of course, that is speaking of Yan Junze, the "Merciful Executioner" whose main approach is to resolve the other party''s obsession.


    If it were other powerful exorcists, they would be the true incarnation of executioners. A wrong word said or just the discovery of the strangeness would immediately result in them eradicating or capturing it.


    Merciful Executioner?


    Yan Junze thought about this apt description of himself and couldn''t help but purse his lips and give a smile.


    No matter what, he had already decided to complete this task.


    Continuing up the stairs and standing inside the stairwell on the fourth floor, he did not rush over but looked around instead.


    This place only had a bathroom door facing him; however, the bathroom was closed. If that strangeness was on this floor, there was no door gap for it to appear through.


    Yan Junze took steps toward the corridor. Who would have known that just after taking four or five steps, a flash of light passed through the window of a lab not far ahead in the corridor, and then it disappeared quickly.


    Yan Junze immediately pressed his back against the wall, hugging the wall closely, trying to conceal his presence as much as possible.


    He had seen that flash of light very clearly just now; it was from a flashlight. Obviously, there was someone in the lab, and this person was using a flashlight instead of turning on the lights. This made it plain that the person inside was up to something secretive.


    Soon after, Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    The person inside must be out of their mind. If they keep flashing that light a few more times, they''ll eventually be discovered by the people outside the building. If that attracts security guards, not only will that person be done for, but Junze would be dragged into it as well.


    With that in mind, Yan Junze prepared to abandon the action tonight.


    At this time, to be engaging in these kinds of sneaky acts inside the lab building, apart from people like himself, there could only be thieves.


    There was no choice. Under these circumstances, not going to the security office to report it would be letting Yan Junze down after all the effort he went through to make it here tonight.


    Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Yan Junze suddenly paused. He considered another possibility.


    The person might not actually be a thief.


    Just then, voices came from that lab, very faint, but still somewhat audible. It was a dialogue between two people.


    In this lab, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun stood on opposite sides, each holding a flashlight. They both had their cell phones on, with the cameras recording.


    Besides them, there was no one else.


    Zhang Wei was still hospitalized, and after being Spirit-Split once, Han Zhao completely lost his nerve and refused to come this time, no matter what.


    Next to where Guo Jintao stood, there was a door to an equipment room inside this lab; it was currently closed.


    At this moment, Guo Jintao nodded at Chen Kun, signaling him to be attentive, and spoke, "Get ready, I''ll open this door a little bit, leave a crack. You have to record everything thoroughly."

 Chapter 201 Peeping at the Door (Part 2)

    Chen Kun didn''t say anything, he just made a gesture and aimed his smartphone camera at the door next to Guo Jintao.Guo Jintao reached out his hand, gently turned the doorknob, and then pushed the door partly open, creating a gap about three fingers wide.


    He didn''t let go immediately, instead, he steadied the door to prevent it from closing on its own.


    About seven or eight seconds later, feeling the door wouldn''t move anymore, he withdrew his hand.


    The moment he pulled his hand back, Guo Jintao quickly moved away from the open door and came over to stand with Chen Kun.


    Both of their smartphone cameras were aimed at the partly open door, and both of their flashlights were shining on it too.


    "Legend has it there''s a Peephole Strange Creature in our experiment building," Chen Kun began, "Although you and I have never encountered it, many students and teachers have had firsthand experiences with it."


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    Guo Jintao continued, "The appearance of this Peephole Strange Creature is very mysterious. If there''s any door within the building not completely shut, just ajar, there''s a certain chance it will appear. Moreover, when it does appear, it just stands behind the gap, peering out with its eyes at everything outside, as if..."


    "As if it has never attacked anyone." Chen Kun immediately interjected, "Its peculiar habit is to spy; if you don''t want to see this creature again, you can either go and fully open the door or shut it directly, and it will vanish without a trace."


    "So...tonight, we bring everyone to the scene for an adventure, eagerly anticipating the appearance of the Peephole Strange Creature!" Guo Jintao finished his last sentence.


    Both of them fell silent, their flashlights illuminating the entrance to the equipment room, their smartphone cameras continuously filming in that direction.


    After waiting like this for about four minutes, a black shadow flashed past the doorway.


    Since the light from the flashlight was temporarily blocked for about half a second by this shadow, it was certain that something had moved past the door.


    Guo Jintao was startled and turned to look at Chen Kun, noticing that Chen Kun was also looking at him.


    "What was it? Did you see clearly?" asked Chen Kun.


    Guo Jintao shook his head, "Could it be a cat inside? The shadow seemed rather small to me."


    "Impossible," Chen Kun shook his head, "Where would a cat come from here? You think this is a movie set or something!"


    Just as he finished speaking, the flashlight illuminating the gap could no longer penetrate. It was clear that something seemed to be blocking the gap.


    Chen Kun had already put on a new pair of glasses, now with 5.2 vision through his lenses he could see very clearly. He nodded, "I''m certain someone is there."


    Their flashlights moved upwards, and soon, at the height where a person might stand, a sliver of light reflected back the flashlight''s beam. The reflection was faint, but it was still captured by the smartphone cameras.


    The Peephole Strange Creature had appeared!


    A man about 1.6 meters tall was standing behind the door of the equipment room, clad in black clothes, motionless, with only one eye revealed, peering at the activity outside the door.


    Under the flashlight''s beam, this person did not avoid the light but continued standing there, completely still and silent, like a statue.


    Because of the slight distance, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun couldn''t see very clearly, and if they tried to zoom in with their smartphone cameras, the slightest shaking of their hands would cause the footage to become extremely shaky and blurry.


    So the two of them walked shoulder to shoulder a few steps forward, bringing themselves closer to the Peephole Ghost to get a clearer shot of its appearance.


    Even if only half a face could be captured, that would be fine.


    As they drew closer, the figure of the man standing behind the door became clearer. His black attire was of an indiscernible material, revealing only about a quarter of his face. The exposed part of his skin was a grayish-white color, clearly not the hue of living human flesh.


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun couldn''t help but stop, inching their phones forward to capture a clearer shot.


    Now, they could almost see the eyes of the man behind the door, which appeared to be constantly open, never blinking, and covered with a thin layer of gray film.


    The figure was utterly still.


    Just moments after approaching, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun felt an intense chill, though they were still ten steps away. The area behind the door felt like a different world, distinct from the one where Guo Jintao and Chen Kun stood.


    Soon, they couldn''t help but shiver, goosebumps breaking out on their skin.


    "Everyone, take a look. You should see it quite clearly now. This is the Peephole Strange Creature, a sinister man who induces hair-raising fear," Guo Jintao said softly, suppressing his tremor.


    "We two are risking our lives to bring you this close-up video of a ghost, so we hope everyone will generously reward, like, and share, because we will have even more contact to come," Chen Kun added.


    "It''s your turn," said Guo Jintao, turning his head.


    "No way," Chen Kun shook his head, "You do it. If I get nervous and start running, I might lose my glasses again, and then I''ll be blind as a bat."


    Without waiting for Guo Jintao to respond, Chen Kun murmured to himself, "Next, we will walk over there and close the door, and we''ll be filming the whole process. After the door is closed, this Spirit Exploration will be over. Rest assured, there have never been any reports of the Peephole Ghost harming anyone or running out from inside,"


    Guo Jintao didn''t move but mumbled for a while before saying, "You go ahead. As you know, I used up all my courage just opening the door earlier. It''s only fair that you close it."


    "You''re impossible," Chen Kun had no choice.


    He shook his head and said to Guo Jintao, "Make sure you film properly. Don''t let my back block the camera angle. Move over a bit."


    Then, Chen Kun handed his flashlight to Guo Jintao to hold together, and he, holding the recording phone, approached the equipment room door and drew closer to the Peephole Ghost.


    In the meantime, Guo Jintao immediately moved to the side, ensuring his filming was unobstructed by Chen Kun. He perfectly captured the scene of him walking over and the dull expression and eyes of the man behind the door slit.


    With light footsteps, Chen Kun reached the door. As he drew near, his hair stood on end, and he felt numb all over. He dared not delay any longer or say a couple more pretentious words to the camera.


    He immediately grabbed the door handle and pulled it slightly toward himself. The door began to move, reducing the gap in the door slit by a fraction.


    At that moment, the man behind the slit remained motionless, proving he didn''t reach out to harm the person closing the door.


    It seemed that the rumors spreading throughout the academy were true, not just exaggerations.


    Chen Kun didn''t hesitate any longer, but he also dared not act hastily; he slowly and gently closed the door to the equipment room.


    The slit in the door vanished completely.


    Both of their cameras were aimed at this moment, observing the man in black behind the door disappearing bit by bit.


    Almost at the same moment as the door closed, neither of them noticed that the laboratory door leading to the corridor outside, which had been securely closed and even locked by Guo Jintao, was slowly opening inward. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no sound as the door opened.


    Similarly, after the door was opened about the width of three fingers, it stopped moving. The direction of the door slit was perfectly aligned with the backs of Guo Jintao and Chen Kun, who had just closed the door to the equipment room.

 Chapter 202 Peeping at the Door (Part 3)

    These two guys had just closed the door to the equipment room, sighed with relief, and were certain that the door was securely locked.The "Spirit Exploration" mission was complete.


    At this moment, the two immediately felt an uptick in their cool factor, smiling broadly as they turned their phones around to speak into the camera, wrapping up their video.


    Thanking CTV, MTV, and their parents for giving birth to them and raising them to become outstanding amateur "Spirit Investigators."


    Guo Jintao even took the opportunity to thank his ex-girlfriend for thinking little of him and suggesting they break up. At the time, he had unashamedly begged her to get back together, but now, looking back, he felt it was right not to. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to become the "Spirit Exploration" trendsetter he was today.


    As he finished saying this, and was about to give his thanks to the tall, handsome guy who had cuckolded him, he suddenly realized that it had become very quiet around him.


    That made no sense.


    You have to understand that while he was thanking, Chen Kun had also been talking. Just a moment ago, Guo Jintao had heard the guy thanking the old hen at home, grateful for the egg it laid every day which allowed him to eat an egg daily, attributing his sharp mind to this¡ªdespite having slightly crossed and short sighted eyes, with a touch of astigmatism.


    Turning his head around, he found Chen Kun staring blankly at the laboratory door, phone put aside, with only the flashlight in his hand pointing towards the door.


    Puzzled, Guo Jintao turned around to look at the door, directing his flashlight there as well.


    The door, which had been securely locked by himself just moments ago, leading out to the corridor, was now open. What''s more, after opening inward, it revealed a crack about three fingers wide, directly facing the direction where they stood.


    And at that moment, when the beam of the flashlight shone toward it, it failed to penetrate through the crack to illuminate the corridor outside.


    The only reason it couldn''t reach outside the hallway was that someone had approached it.


    Soon, a familiar figure appeared at the door, standing outside the crack, leaning close with a head, and peering into the room through the gap with one eye.


    It was an eyeball covered with a gray film.


    Buzz!


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun''s minds roared in unison, blank for a moment.


    Guo Jintao even stumbled backward several steps, nearly sitting down on his backside.


    He had never imagined that the door leading to the corridor, which was locked, could be opened. And why, after opening just a three-finger-wide crack, was it just like before? And then, the "Peephole Strange Creature" they had just trapped inside the room appeared in the corridor almost instantly afterward.


    Yes, it was that "Peephole Strange Creature."


    No sooner had they closed the door of the equipment room on this side than the ghost had appeared outside in the corridor, looking through the crack behind the laboratory door.


    Chen Kun was a bit more composed than Guo Jintao. After regaining his senses, he stepped forward shakily, illuminating with his flashlight again, and found the "Peephole Strange Creature" still maintaining the same pose, motionless, peering through the crack at both him and Guo Jintao.


    "That''s not right, didn''t you lock the door just now?" Seeing that the "Peephole Ghost" only maintained the pose without any other movement, Chen Kun boldly turned to Guo Jintao to ask.


    Guo Jintao nodded, "I''m sure, I really locked the door, but now it''s open, and I didn''t hear the sound of the lock being turned."


    "Close¡­ close¡­ close the door, we must close the door," Chen Kun pointed at the cracked door.


    Guo Jintao immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, "I''m not going, you close it; I don''t dare to go there."


    "You coward!"


    Chen Kun was fuming, as it was he who had closed the door of the equipment room just before, but he knew it was of no use talking to Guo Jintao now, as the guy had already chickened out. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning to look back at the door crack and the eye within it, Chen Kun shivered, but still bravely walked forward.


    It seems that growing up eating eggs from the old hen at home truly made him braver than most, and unlike Zhang Wei, who though daring, was also prone to courting disaster.


    Holding his phone, continuing to film with the camera, he slowly approached and said, "Just now, everyone saw that the ''Peephole Strange Creature'' reappeared from the door behind us. Hmm, accurately speaking, from outside the door, because the corridor is out there, and this ''Peephole Ghost'' is now standing outside in the corridor, peeping at me and my cowardly little buddy."


    Pausing for a moment, Chen Kun continued, "Now¡­ I''m going to close this door again, not allowing this guy to spy on us anymore because his presence is really making my skin crawl."


    With that, he had reached the door.


    With the experience of closing the door just before, Chen Kun did not hesitate this time. He grabbed the doorknob, his movements light and swift as he pulled the door closed, and a click signified the door was locked.


    And from the moment he grabbed the doorknob to the instant he closed the door, his attention remained fixed on the man behind it.


    But just like before, the peeping man did not move an inch, allowing Chen Kun to shut the door, rendering him unseen.


    At the same time, the door to the equipment room slowly opened inwards, silently.


    However, at that moment Guo Jintao had taken a few steps back, which put him parallel to the direction of the equipment room door. The corner of his eye seemed to detect something amiss, and he shone his flashlight over while turning his head to look. He was so startled that he let out a loud "Ah!" and fell to the ground, scrambling towards Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun, startled by the sudden scream, turned around sharply, only to see an eye pressed up to the gap in the door of the equipment room, about three fingers wide, staring straight at him with a membranous pupil.


    "Damn it!" Chen Kun exclaimed, stepping back in fright and bumping into the recently closed door of the lab.


    By this time, Guo Jintao had crawled over, trembling as he stood up and grabbed Chen Kun, stuttering, "Let''s go... go, let''s leave right now, forget about... that guy, don''t bother closing... the door, just leave like this, quick!"


    Chen Kun also realized that something was off and quickly turned to grab the door handle leading to the corridor outside, twisting it forcefully but it wouldn''t budge.


    Then he pulled and pushed, still without any reaction.


    At this moment, the door of the lab seemed to be locked by some unseen force.


    The Peephole Strange Creature inside the equipment room was still watching them, not making any other moves, just staring silently.


    The two of them panicked, jumping around, but with no way to open the door.


    "Out the window!" Chen Kun suddenly said.


    They immediately ran to the window and pushed, only to find it immovable. Looking down, they realized that all the windows had been deliberately nailed shut.


    Chen Kun turned and took a close look at the lab, cursing, "You wimp, look at the place you picked. All top-notch equipment not meant for ventilation, these lab windows can''t be opened at all!"


    "Ah, what do we do now?" Guo Jintao asked, shivering as he glanced back, noticing that the Peephole Strange Creature was still watching them. He quickly said, "Smash it, smash the glass, break the window and we can get out!"


    "Smash your sister!" Chen Kun couldn''t contain his anger, "Do you really want us to get penalized, delay graduation for a year or maybe not even graduate? You do the smashing then."


    "Damn it, then what?" Guo Jintao became frantic.


    Chen Kun looked toward the man behind the door who was not making any moves, just silently staring, and pondered, "This strangeness only makes my skin crawl, but it doesn''t harm anyone. I''m going to close the door to the equipment room now, but at the same time you hold down the door leading to the corridor outside. Then, after I''ve closed that one, come and try to open it.


    Otherwise, we can''t get out at all."


    "No... No problem," agreed Guo Jintao, immediately heading to the door of the lab and grabbing the doorknob.


    Meanwhile, Chen Kun also immediately went toward the door of the equipment room, no longer bothered by the person peeping from behind it, telling Guo Jintao, "Hold it tight."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he shut the equipment room door, isolating the Peephole Strange Creature behind it.


    At the same time, Guo Jintao felt the door leading to the corridor outside moved slightly. A force beyond any resistance appeared, automatically pushing the door inward.


    Guo Jintao was startled and immediately tried to resist the door desperately, but it was futile.


    Shortly after, the door opened again to a gap three fingers wide and then stopped. A shadowy figure appeared outside the door, slowly approaching the gap.


    Frightened, Guo Jintao quickly ran away, yelling, "Can''t cover it, damn this coffin board, it cannot be covered."


    Chen Kun became increasingly irritated and said sternly, "If we can''t close it then open the door. Didn''t they say that once we encounter this guy, we can both close and open the door? I''ll do it!"


    He walked over in a few strides.


    Just as the shadowy figure and the eerie eye was about to peek through, Chen Kun reached the door and pulled it wide open.


    The figure in black, which should have been fully visible upon opening the door, disappeared in an instant.


    But when Chen Kun opened the door, he was stunned by what he saw.


    Instead of the corridor, the opened door revealed the same setting and furnishings as the equipment room.


    At the exact same moment, Yan Junze had just arrived outside the corridor, approaching the room, when the door as if pulled by someone swung open violently, startling him. He tilted his head to peer inside.


    The door was open, but there was no one at the entrance, nor anyone in the lab.


    It was empty.


    Yan Junze paused at the doorway, puzzled. He did not rush in but instead carefully recalled the past moments.


    There was no mistake, he had indeed heard voices from this lab, and the flash of flashlight light he saw was also from within this room.


    How could there be no one?

 Chapter 203 Peeping at the Door (Part 4)

    Standing in the laboratory, Chen Kun looked at the door that had just been opened in front of him. The door, which originally led to the corridor outside, now revealed the scene from the equipment room behind him when opened.He had an expression like he''d swallowed shit, his neck stiff as he turned his head to look at Guo Jintao.


    Guo Jintao was still gasping for air, breathing in sharply, and Chen Kun seriously doubted whether this guy might just keel over and drop dead right there.


    Ignoring Guo Jintao, Chen Kun reached out, grabbed the door handle, and quickly shut the door.


    He strode into the room and then grabbed the handle of the door leading to the equipment room, twisting it forcefully and pushing the door open.


    It was still the same equipment room, with no changes.


    Chen Kun stood there for a moment, steadying the doorknob. He turned his head back to Guo Jintao and shouted, "Quick, go open the lab''s door and take a look. I''ll hold this one steady here."


    Although Guo Jintao was thoroughly spooked, he knew the situation was very bad. He mustered his courage, walked to the laboratory door, reached out, and pulled, but the door did not budge.


    "Can''t open it, it''s like it''s locked tight," Guo Jintao said.


    "But that can''t be, I just closed it; I didn''t lock it," Chen Kun said, puzzled.


    "Didn''t lock it, but it won''t open," Guo Jintao confirmed that the door lock was normal, his face stricken with horror.


    After a moment''s thought, Chen Kun closed the door to the equipment room and said, "Try again now."


    Guo Jintao nodded, exerted force with his hand, and just as he did, the door was pulled open. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He quickly stuck his head out to look outside the door and then twisted his head back, his expression even more terrified.


    "What''s going on?" Chen Kun asked.


    Without speaking, Guo Jintao widened the door so that Chen Kun behind him could see clearly.


    Chen Kun immediately shone his flashlight through it, only to find that what lay beyond the door was not the corridor but the equipment room again.


    "It seems like... space is looping!"


    Chen Kun quickly tried to push the door leading to the equipment room on his side, finding it completely immovable, as if locked by some bizarre force once again.


    "Fuck me! What do we do now? Only one door can be opened at a time, and each door leads to the equipment room."


    Looking at the door of the laboratory that was open, which should have led outside to the corridor, now the scene of the equipment room was still showing inside.


    Chen Kun hesitated briefly before saying, "We can''t get out. Here''s the plan: I''ll go into this equipment room, you close the door, and I''ll try to open the door from inside. Maybe, just maybe, that will open the lab''s door to the corridor. If we can manage to open it, we may have a chance to get out."


    "Just me going in, and not you?" Guo Jintao asked worriedly, uncertain whether he was more concerned about himself or Chen Kun.


    "Do you want both of us to end up in danger?" Chen Kun said.


    After that, he had Guo Jintao close the laboratory''s door, and with a gentle twist, surely, the equipment room''s door was opened again.


    Chen Kun shone his flashlight inside to ensure there was nothing unusual, then took a step in, turned to look at the still panic-stricken Guo Jintao, gestured for him to stay calm, and then closed the door behind him.


    Once the door was closed, Chen Kun started to feel a chill. He turned around and shone his flashlight everywhere, but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.


    He walked to the interior part of the equipment room, which was not large¡ªthe whole room could be seen at a glance¡ªand there was nothing.


    After waiting a moment, he opened the equipment room''s door and looked outside. He had hoped to see the corridor, but what he saw next still left him disappointed.


    Outside was the laboratory, with no change at all, and Guo Jintao still stood there with a dumbfounded face, looking at Chen Kun opening the door.


    Chen Kun was immediately at a loss for words, given Guo Jintao''s expression. This guy probably thought that upon opening the door, the Peephole Strange Creature would appear before him, not expecting it to be Chen Kun himself.


    "You mistook me for a Strangeness?" Chen Kun asked with a wry smile, staring at him.


    "Isn''t that right?" Guo Jintao nodded, "Dad thought the Peephole Strange Creature had come out again."


    "Wrong." Chen Kun walked out of the equipment room, "This door opens normally from the inside, how can it be like this?"


    "Why not try again, this time you go in and don''t pull the door, I''ll push it open from the outside." Guo Jintao suggested.


    "Hmm, that''s the only way." Chen Kun nodded, then turned back into the equipment room and closed the door behind him.


    Standing inside the equipment room, he didn''t touch the door anymore, as if afraid of unintentionally triggering something.


    Outside, Guo Jintao stood cautiously, reaching out to gently twist the doorknob and then slowly pushed open the door to the equipment room.


    Now, he had developed a severe psychological shadow regarding opening doors; his entire body would tremble just from touching a door.


    The door was pushed open, but not with much force, revealing only a slight crack.


    At that moment, Guo Jintao saw a shadow flit inside the door and, thinking it was Chen Kun stepping forward to pull the door open, he stepped back to let the other person do it.


    In the equipment room, Chen Kun, who had been standing about two or three meters from the door, didn''t move when he saw the door being pushed open by Guo Jintao to reveal a gap about three fingers wide.


    He leaned forward to take a look and noticed a shadow moving outside the door, so he also refrained from pulling it open, waiting for Guo Jintao to push it.


    With this misunderstanding, the door to the equipment room remained open at a three-finger width for about ten seconds.


    Then, Chen Kun was the first to realize something was wrong. He quickly approached, shining the flashlight through the gap, and saw the light at the door being blocked by a shadow standing outside the crack.


    This person was dressed in black with half a face pressed to the door, a familiar gray eye peering through the crack at him.


    Chen Kun shuddered in fright and immediately backed away; he had never expected the Peephole Strange Creature to appear outside the door, that is, in the laboratory itself.


    If the Peephole Strange Creature was outside, then something must have happened to Guo Jintao in the laboratory...


    At the same moment, Guo Jintao also backed away in panic, seeing inside the crack, in the equipment room, a man in black standing rigid, with one eye peeking out, staring at him.


    "The Peephole Ghost!"


    Guo Jintao sat down hard on the ground, still scrambling backwards in fear.


    "Guo Jintao!" Chen Kun''s voice suddenly came through, exactly from that equipment room, "Are you okay? I see the Peephole Strange Creature standing in the laboratory looking at me, hurry and run away, don''t come over."


    "What?" Guo Jintao suddenly stiffened, and blurted out, "Isn''t that guy on your side? I see him standing inside the equipment room, peeking out at me through the crack."


    "Ah!"


    Chen Kun''s voice was filled with terror.


    And at this time, Guo Jintao felt equally terrified.


    Could it be¡­ there are two Peephole Strange Creatures?


    "No, it must be because of a space issue!" Chen Kun shook his head, looking only out the door at the man peeping in, whereas his side was as usual, nothing out of the ordinary.


    But from Guo Jintao''s perspective, the view was the same as his own, freakishly strange!


    Just then, a thought flashed through Chen Kun''s mind, he blurted out: "Guo Jintao, don''t panic just yet, it seems like the spaces have merged, go open the laboratory''s door right now and see if it''s the hallway, hurry!"


    Guo Jintao was taken aback, then quickly understood, scrambled up, not caring about the Peephole Ghost still watching him, and rushed to the laboratory door leading outside, grabbed the doorknob, and yanked it open.


    This time, the door opened easily.


    And in the moment the door opened, Guo Jintao was so frightened by the scene outside that he jumped up, but when he looked carefully, he found a person standing there, and with surprise said, "Yan Junze?!"

 Chapter 204 Peeping at the Door (Part 5)

    As Yan Junze stood outside in the hallway, he was completely baffled by the past few minutes.He just saw the hallway door open for a while, then close, then open again, and close once more.


    Moreover, every time it opened and closed, there was no sign of anyone operating it, yet the speed at which it moved was as if someone was pushing and pulling it.


    There he stood, outside in the corridor, watching the door open and close, reflecting on life in the same way, never knowing when a door would open for you, and then suddenly shut, until the last time.


    The door opened again, but this time, there was finally someone inside. And that person, on seeing Yan Junze, jumped in fright, then showed a look of joy.


    It was an uncontrollable, genuine happiness, as if seeing a savior.


    Yan Junze said, "Guo Jintao? It is indeed you!"


    Guo Jintao immediately turned to speak to someone inside the room, "Chen Kun, the door''s open, it''s the hallway! And, Yan Junze is here!"


    At that moment, Yan Junze remembered the mission hint, which mentioned that the strangeness in this mission was obsessed with geometry. Although it could see him, the thing had been living in a geometric world after its death.


    The door''s constant opening and closing, without seeing anyone, very much resembled the connection between different spaces to some extent.


    "Chen Kun is in there too?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yeah," Guo Jintao nodded like a pecking chicken, pointing towards the direction of the equipment room, "We couldn''t get out. The door kept opening to the inside of the equipment room, so he simply went into the equipment room and let me open the door from the outside. Finally, it has connected to the outside, but... but he''s still back in the equipment room."


    Yan Junze entered, gesturing to Guo Jintao not to close the lab door; In fact, without being told, Guo Jintao had already propped the door open, fearing it would close again.


    Approaching the door to the equipment room, Yan Junze was startled by the eyes and the half face of a pale corpse peeking through the crack.


    However, he quickly calmed down and turned to Guo Jintao, "Is this the Peephole Strange Creature?"


    Guo Jintao was taken aback, realizing he had forgotten to warn Yan Junze.


    But immediately after, he showed a look of amazement, clicking his tongue in admiration, "Brother Yan is awesome. To see the Peephole Strange Creature and show no fear at all!"


    This Brother Yan was indeed worth clinging to.


    "To make the Peephole Strange Creature disappear, we can either open the door or close it completely," Guo Jintao reminded.


    "Yan Junze, are you here?"


    Chen Ku''s voice then rang from inside, it seemed indeed as Guo Jintao had said, he had gone into the equipment room.


    "I won''t close the door now; I''ll open it instead, be alert," Yan Junze spoke.


    Since closing the door could lead to anomalies in space, he thought the best approach was not to actually close the door, as it would be too unpredictable and hard to control.


    Therefore, opening the door was the right move, at least according to Guo Jintao, who had said that whether the door was closed or open, the Peephole Strange Creature would immediately disappear.


    After pushing open the door to the equipment room, the eye and half-face behind the crack vanished almost instantly.


    Then, the inside of the equipment room was revealed, with some display cabinets, but very few devices actually placed there. Most were just documents and piles of old instruments.


    Yan Junze turned on the flashlight on his phone, shining it inside only to find the room completely empty! Chen Kun was not there.


    Turning his head toward Guo Jintao, he exclaimed in surprise, "What''s going on? There''s nobody here."


    "Ah!" Guo Jintao not only didn''t run over but instead stepped backward, retreating to outside the corridor, "Take another look, look more carefully, how can there be nobody? I just heard Chen Kun speaking."


    Yan Junze''s eyes swiveled as he said, "There''s indeed something very strange about this place. You go back first, and Chen Kun and I will be back in a bit."


    As he spoke, he went to the corridor, pressed his hand against the door, and signaled Guo Jintao to leave.


    In fact, as soon as Guo Jintao finally saw the corridor outside, he had wanted to leave, but he had been holding back because of the camaraderie between classmates.


    Hearing Yan Junze say this, he readily nodded in agreement, "Okay, I''ll wait for you guys in the dormitory for half an hour. If you haven''t come back by then, I''ll bring the others over to rescue you!"


    While speaking, he quickly walked away, as if fearing something chasing him from behind.


    Yan Junze smilingly said from behind, "By then, there''s no need for a rescue; just coming to collect the bodies would be faster."


    Guo Jintao''s body shook violently, and he didn''t dare look back, running even faster. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Haha, this guy!" Yan Junze shook his head with a smile. His words were intended to scare Guo Jintao because if people thought that encountering strangeness was easy and they could always get through it smoothly like the mission "The Brother on the Bunk Above," they''d be mistaken.


    After Guo Jintao left the building, Yan Junze didn''t hesitate to enter the laboratory and closed the door to the corridor behind him.


    Although the Rewind loop was always active, he had just stepped out to create a point in time on this timeline where he was outside in the corridor. That way, if later they encountered danger inside or couldn''t come out, he could immediately activate Rewind and return to the moment he was standing outside the corridor.


    Back in the laboratory, the place had once again become silent. It was empty and chilly, exuding a slight coolness.


    This chill seemed to emanate from the fear of the unknown and was also seemingly given off by the cold instruments. Just after standing in the room for a while, Yan Junze''s skin was already breaking out in goosebumps.


    He tightened his collar and turned his head towards the door of the equipment room that was left open. There was not a single person inside, just as deserted as the outside laboratory.


    The Chen Kun Guo Jintao spoke of seemed to have disappeared just like that.


    Meanwhile, Chen Kun stood inside the equipment room, staring in shock at the door that had suddenly closed in front of him; the Peephole Strange Creature that had been behind the crack of the door in the laboratory vanished without a trace.


    He immediately went up to it, grabbed the doorknob, and tried to pull it open with force, but the door wouldn''t budge and seemed to be locked.


    Just a moment ago, Yan Junze had told him to be careful and to push the door open from the outside, but why had it closed so quickly? And it seemed to be locked as well.


    After pulling a few more times and confirming he could not move it, a chill ran up his spine and Chen Kun shivered, quickly turning back to see that there was nothing behind him.


    No sooner had he turned his head forward again than he stiffened and slowly turned back around, his gaze landing on the left corner of a display cabinet.


    There, a man dressed in black was standing with his back turned outward, motionless, looking almost like a shadow of the display cabinet if one didn''t pay close attention.


    Chen Kun, trembling, turned to face the man in black, stretching his right hand behind him to fiercely twist the doorknob, but the door remained immovable.


    Then he noticed that the man in black had begun to move.


    This man''s movement wasn''t to turn around and walk, nor was it to walk backward like the Back-faced Woman, but to edge along the corner of the wall and the side of the cabinet little by little in parallel steps, with the rest of his body unchanged, still with his back turned outward.


    Chen Kun watched this scene in horror; this time, he could see very clearly, this man in black was undoubtedly the Peephole Strange Creature.

 Chapter 205 Peeping at the Door (Part 6)

    The man in black moved in very small steps, shuffling sideways, but continuously, silently, and without a sound.This sight made Chen Kun''s hair stand on end. He pressed himself against the door, not daring to move an inch, staring with wide eyes. His flashlight illuminated the ground not far in front of him, but he didn''t dare to shine it directly on the shifting figure.


    He stared as the man in black moved silently across the room, quickly covering half the distance, getting closer and closer to him.


    "No, he''s going to reach me soon."


    Chen Kun shivered, tried the door one last time, still unable to open it, and quickly moved away from his position, mimicking the man in black''s method of walking, sticking close to the wall to sidestep away.


    The only difference was that he faced outward, his back against the wall, keeping an eye on the man in black''s movements, the exact opposite of the other.


    Before long, they had swapped places in the room, with Chen Kun running to the inside of the equipment room, while the man in black had sidestepped to the door.


    At this moment.


    Yan Junze stood outside the equipment room door, watching the door he had just closed.


    After noticing Chen Kun''s disappearance, he had tried the door; first, he closed it completely, then opened it again, nothing out of the ordinary, still no sign of Chen Kun.


    After trying several times, it was clear this method was ineffective.


    Thinking it over, he followed the school legend, reopened the equipment room door, but only pushed it ajar leaving a crack, and then stopped.


    He took two steps back, looking through the crack he had left.


    At the same time.


    Inside the equipment room, Chen Kun witnessed the door, which he had been unable to open no matter how he tried, now slowly creating a crack, then stopping.


    After that, the man in black who had just sidled over to the door simply passed through the crack and slipped out of sight.


    About ten or so seconds later, Chen Kun cautiously approached the door of the equipment room, peering out to see a familiar eye appearing outside the crack, looking at him.


    By this point, he had grown somewhat immune to that eye, but the strangeness inside the room, the sudden developments after opening and closing the door, filled him with deep fear and no sense of safety.


    Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard Yan Junze''s voice.


    "Chen Kun, can you hear me now?"


    Chen Kun was startled, joy appearing on his face, and he quickly answered, "I can hear you, I can hear you, Yan Junze where are you?"


    Yan Junze didn''t answer his question but instead said, "Now go to the door, directly pull open the equipment room''s door, and then come out."


    "Are you... sure?" Chen Kun hesitated. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But without waiting for Yan Junze to respond, he had already walked over, deliberately ignoring the eye in the crack, grabbed the door handle, and violently pulled the door open.


    The eye in the crack quickly vanished, and after a swirl of pitch-black fog, there stood Yan Junze outside the door.


    Similarly, what Yan Junze saw outside through the crack in the door was half the face and one eye of the man in black.


    When Chen Kun opened the door, what he had seen also disappeared.


    A puff of black smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a terror-stricken Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun ran out quickly, giving Yan Junze a bear hug, the look on his face that of someone who had survived a disaster: "Bro, although I''m really curious about how I got out, can we please leave here first and then talk? Even if you beat me to death, I''m never doing experiments again!"


    ```


    "Okay," Yan Junze nodded, "you leave first, just like Guo Jintao did just now."


    Chen Kun was startled, and then heard Yan Junze speak, "Now, to open this door of the lab and get to the corridor outside, it seems we must recreate the situation where the Peephole Strange Creature could be seen from both sides. Otherwise, we still can''t leave."


    "But this way, only one person can get out," Chen Kun quickly said.


    "Right, you go, I''ll stay and deal with this guy," Yan Junze nodded.


    "No way! We leave together!" Chen Kun grabbed his shoulder.


    Yan Junze shook his head: "I have many tricks up my sleeve; don''t worry. Now do as I say."


    He looked up at the open door to the equipment room: "Now I''ll go in, then leave a crack in the door. As soon as the Peephole Strange Creature appears, you immediately go to open the outside door. If it connects to the corridor, leave right away and don''t worry about me. But remember, prop the outside door open before you leave; it''s best to use something to keep it from closing again on its own."


    "Okay, okay, you must come out," Chen Kun, hearing Yan Junze instruct him so, felt he must be confident about leaving and said nothing more.


    Yan Junze entered the equipment room, closed the door behind him, leaving a narrow crack, then both of them stood there, one inside and one outside, staring at the crack.


    In about ten seconds or so, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared in its black clothing, with the same look, the same voyeuristic intent.


    "The Peephole Strange Creature is here on my side," Chen Kun reminded.


    From inside the room, Yan Junze''s voice came: "It''s here on my side too. Now, go and open the outer door right now. Remember, prop it before you leave."


    "Okay."


    Chen Kun turned around and walked a few steps to the lab door, pulling it open.


    After seeing the scene outside, his heart settled, and he turned back to the room, "The door is open, it''s the corridor, just be careful by yourself."


    With that, he immediately turned, took the still damp mop from behind the door.


    Chen Kun flipped the lower end of the mop upside down, propping one end against the lower corner of the door, and the end with the cloth against the rotating hinge, ensuring the door wouldn''t swing back and close on its own.


    Having done that, he warned inside, "Yan Junze, I''ve propped the door open, you must be careful."


    After saying this, he waited, but did not hear Yan Junze''s response. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Chen Kun was somewhat puzzled but was determined not to go back into that room to check. Hesitating at the door, he finally decided to leave.


    In this situation, having one more person here was useless and might even lead to both of them getting caught. Since Yan Junze was so confident about dealing with the Peephole Strange Creature, for Chen Kun to insist on staying and helping would be no different from being a fool.


    After making sure the door wouldn''t close on its own, he quickly walked away down the corridor.


    When he reached the stairwell, and was about to go down the stairs, Chen Kun suddenly froze, a hard to describe sensation of terror instantly crawled all over his body, and he couldn''t help but shiver violently.


    This fear was so intense, not only did he shiver, but he also almost couldn''t hold back a strong need to urinate.


    Chen Kun was somewhat baffled and immediately looked down the stairs; he still had his flashlight in hand, so he shone it downwards.


    He saw a woman in a gray dress, with long, messy hair, slowly climbing the stairs. Her posture was stiff, her head tilted forward at an odd angle, and she awkwardly ascended the stairs.


    The woman was also shrouded in a faint mist of darkness, but it was dissipating now.


    At that moment, a strange smell of medicinal liquid wafted up from below.


    ```

 Chapter 206 Peeping at the Door (Part 7)

    Chen Kun was so frightened that his face turned pale, even more so than when he had encountered the Peephole Strange Creature in the laboratory.His mouth was agape, but he couldn''t make a sound, retreating backwards subconsciously.


    The long-haired woman in the gray dress continued to climb the stairs stiffly, her movements bizarre. As she neared the top, the odd scent of medicinal liquid grew stronger.


    Chen Kun, with a look of terror on his face and mouth wide open, turned his head and saw that not far behind him was the restroom on this floor, albeit the women''s restroom, while the men''s restroom was either upstairs or downstairs.


    "Screw it, to the women''s restroom!"


    At this point, Chen Kun couldn''t care less; he darted into the restroom, passed the washbasins, entered a stall at random, and concealed himself, leaving just a crack in the stall door to spy on any movement outside.


    The atmosphere was eerily silent, the sound of the woman ascending the stairs barely audible. Only by straining his ears could he catch the occasional faint noise.


    After about a minute, the woman climbing the stairs first came into view of Chen Kun''s eyes.


    Of course, he had by now switched off his flashlight and was watching the woman before him in the vague light of the night.


    The distance was too great to see her face clearly, but Chen Kun was also grateful he couldn''t, as just the sight of the woman walking was enough to assure him her appearance could not be pleasant.


    It might be quite terrifying, actually.


    Chen Kun mentally filled in the woman''s appearance until she walked past the staircase and instead of continuing upward, she slowly passed the restroom door and walked into the hallway of this floor.


    Chen Kun thought she would keep going upstairs, but seeing this, he stiffened for a moment. After hesitating, he couldn''t help but push the stall door open gently and stealthily stepped out.


    Reaching the restroom door, he didn''t dare to leave. Peeking out, he quietly glanced down the hallway.


    In his line of sight, the woman in the gray dress swayed as she neared the open door of the laboratory. Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire


    Chen Kun immediately had a bad feeling, his heart leaping to his throat, wanting to warn Yan Junze but not knowing how.


    A few seconds later, he watched helplessly as the woman entered the open laboratory door and did not come out again.


    ...


    Yan Junze had not heard anything from Chen Kun, but he still waited a bit longer. When he felt enough time had passed for Chen Kun to have escaped if possible, he went to the door of the equipment room.


    At that moment, the Peephole Strange Creature was still standing at the door, silently watching him.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and, after grasping the doorknob, he did not close the door¡ªdoing so might have made it impossible to reopen. Instead, he chose to pull the door open.


    As the door opened, the Peephole Strange Creature vanished.


    The dim and cold laboratory appeared before him, suddenly feeling very unfamiliar, without a single beam of light penetrating the gloom.


    Yan Junze stepped out of the equipment room and immediately looked towards the laboratory''s door that led to the hallway.


    The door was closed!


    He walked over and tried to open the door, but it was in vain; it seemed to be locked tight.


    Could it be that Chen Kun didn''t follow his instructions to block the open door before leaving?


    Turning his head to check other parts of the laboratory, he shuddered suddenly. There, by the back corner near a row of equipment, stood a man in black.


    The man, facing away, was not completely still; he was quietly and gently shifting his feet, sidestepping towards the window.


    The man was moving along the wall, so it wouldn''t be long before he reached the spot where Yan Junze stood.


    After a moment of surprise, Yan Junze made out the man''s clothes and appearance, surely, it was the Peephole Strange Creature itself.


    As it turned out, once the equipment room door was closed from inside, it couldn''t be opened again, unless someone from outside helped open it. And if the equipment room door was opened, the Peephole Strange Creature would appear in the room outside.


    One could infer that, if the door was closed, the creature would very likely appear inside the equipment room as well.


    In any case, under these circumstances, it would appear.


    The mission background stated clearly that this creature was waiting for a chance at Resurrection. It never intended to just die like that but was looking to use someone else''s body to come back to life.


    This point must be heeded.


    Now, Yan Junze guessed that maybe as long as he avoided making contact with the creature, it might prevent it from using his body to resurrect itself.


    Beyond this, he couldn''t think of any other method at the moment.


    But if the situation turned wrong, he would immediately choose to Rewind and remain in this room to think of other methods. Only in a truly critical moment would he probably Rewind to the moment before he entered.


    The Peephole Strange Creature kept approaching. Yan Junze observed how it always moved along the wall or slid across the instruments near the wall. Its gait was oddly "geometric" in nature.


    So, he didn''t try to mimic the creature''s wall-hugging method to avoid it but instead stepped towards the center of the lab.


    He figured that place was somewhere the creature couldn''t reach.


    However, just as the thought occurred to him, the man in black who had been moving along the wall suddenly darted to the right side of an instrument and then vanished from sight.


    Yan Junze immediately looked around.


    Suddenly, he discovered that right behind him, in front of a row of instruments that was nearly touching him, the man in black had appeared as if he had just sidled out from beside the instruments, still closely sliding past them, only an arm''s length from Yan Junze.


    And as Yan Junze noticed this man, he reached out his hand, about to grab at Yan Junze.


    With the ashen fingers nearly touching Yan Junze''s back, he quickly stepped forward and turned to face the man in black.


    He glanced at the side of the instrument where the man had emerged but found nothing unusual there. The creature had just been moving in front of him a moment ago¡ªhow did it suddenly get behind him?


    Yan Junze remembered it circling around another instrument, and the next time it appeared, it was beside the instrument right behind him. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Indeed very strange.


    There was no choice but to keep away from these instruments.


    However, apart from the tightly arranged instruments, there wasn''t much space to move around in the lab.


    The man in black moved horizontally to a half-man-high instrument, turned a corner, and in the next second, appeared beside the experiment table to Yan Junze''s right, very close, reaching out to grab him.


    Yan Junze immediately dashed forward, reaching the equipment room door in a few steps. The door was open, so he simply leaned his back against the wall right by the door.


    At that moment, the man in black did not choose to navigate between instruments but instead returned to the side of the wall, facing the wall, and slid towards Yan Junze''s direction.


    Yan Junze thought fast, quickly reaching out to pull the equipment room door towards him. He didn''t close it all the way but left a crack, then turned to watch the man in black sliding toward him.


    In his conjecture, now that there was a crack in the door, the Peephole Strange Creature might be naturally drawn to it, wanting to peer through the gap and therefore give up on approaching Yan Junze.

 Chapter 207 Peeping at the Door (Part 8)

    However, just a few seconds later, Yan Junze dismissed that guess.The man in black still sidled toward his direction, showing no interest whatsoever in the crack of the equipment room door that had appeared.


    "This won''t do."


    After a moment of hesitation, Yan Junze decisively walked into the equipment room, turned around to close the door, but not completely, leaving a crack open again.


    By doing so, he was effectively forcing the Peephole Strange Creature outside to leave a crack in the door, which had a high probability of attracting it over if its target remained on him, prompting it to actively peer through the crack.


    As expected, after leaving the crack open, Yan Junze retreated about five or six steps into the equipment room; the man in black approached, but instead of diving in through the crack or pushing the door open, he maintained his usual demeanor, starting to peer through the crack.


    Now Yan Junze had two choices: the first was to close the door, thereby trapping the stranger outside the equipment room, but the door itself could no longer be opened from the inside, effectively locking him in, only able to rely on someone from outside to push it open.


    The second choice was to open the door, which would mean the Peephole Strange Creature outside would disappear the moment the door opened. However, what followed could either be a repeat of what had just happened, with no way out of the lab and the door closed, or there could be other unexpected developments.


    Regardless, the space now was very peculiar, and experiencing something that hadn''t happened before was the best choice rather than choosing to repeat the same risky experiences.


    Yan Junze turned to look inside the equipment room, which had five upright display cabinets, each with upper and lower doors. Without hesitation, he went over and opened all the cabinet doors, leaving just a crack.


    After ensuring that the opened cracks would not close on their own, Yan Junze returned to the door of the equipment room, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pulled the door open.


    The Peephole Strange Creature outside the crack disappeared instantly. If at this moment Yan Junze chose to walk out, he might repeat the same mistake.


    Therefore, he did not leave, but rather, after pulling open the door, he immediately closed it again with the back of his hand.


    This time, he shut the equipment room door completely.


    He had done so, relying on his ability to "Rewind" if the idea didn''t work; he would immediately return to the time before he closed the equipment room door.


    After closing the equipment room door, Yan Junze approached the display cabinets and carefully inspected the slits of the cracked doors.


    If his guess was correct, there was a good chance that the Peephole Strange Creature would be attracted by the numerous slits after he opened and closed the door of the equipment room.


    Whether the creature could enter these display cabinets and peer out through the slits was no longer within Yan Junze''s consideration.


    That''s because he knew that the space in which the Peephole Strange Creature resided was anomalous, and any seemingly irrational phenomena seemed to make sense here; there was no question of rationality or irrationality.


    Of course, if Yan Junze''s prediction was wrong, he could simply "Rewind" to the time point before the equipment room door was closed and think of another plan.


    As he waited, in about two or three minutes, a cold sensation descended, and Yan Junze leaned forward to take a closer look at the display cabinets. Under the glow of his cellphone''s flashlight, he indeed saw an eye quietly peering at him through the slit in the third display cabinet.


    He had guessed right.


    Perhaps even the Peephole Strange Creature didn''t know how it had gotten in; it became its instinct to appear at the slit in the door.


    Yan Junze immediately backed away to the door of the equipment room and yanked the door with force. Unlike when Chen Kun had tried to open it before, where it wouldn''t budge as if locked, the door opened immediately under Yan Junze''s pull, revealing the lab outside.


    In the room of the laboratory, a faint light shone in from the outside, no longer the same dim, cold atmosphere as before.


    Yan Junze''s eyes brightened, and without looking back, he immediately walked out.


    Glancing sideways, he noticed that the laboratory''s door was actually open, with a mop turned around and propped against the doorway to prevent the door from closing on its own.


    This time, it should be the right way to open it, indicating that when Chen Kun left just now, he indeed helped block the door for himself.


    Since the way back was right before his eyes, Yan Junze no longer had any concerns, and now, he was ready to resolve the Peephole Strange Creature''s obsession.


    He didn''t leave the laboratory, but rather returned to the equipment room, kept the door of the equipment room wide open, and then shut all the double doors of the display cabinets, including the one housing the Peephole Strange Creature.


    Afterward, he left the equipment room, pulled the door partially closed, leaving a crack, and stepped back two steps to quietly wait.


    In less than a minute, a shadow appeared in the gap, and soon the Peephole Ghost''s half-face and those grey pupils leaned into the doorway, staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze clapped his hands, saying relaxedly, "Have you noticed anything? You''ve been trapped in a cycle of space for a very long time."


    The other party stared at him silently, without any response.


    Yan Junze continued, "Whether you accept it or not, ever since the day you truly died, you have never left this cyclical space. And in my guess, the reason this space was formed is very simple, originating from your obsession. You can''t accept the fact that you''re dead, which is why you''re stuck in this repeated loop here." Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    At this point, the shadow behind the door seemed to move slightly. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze accurately caught the other party''s movement, and seeing there was hope, immediately continued speaking.


    However, just as he began to speak again, about six or seven meters behind him, a shadow stumbled out from behind the open laboratory door, dressed in a grey skirt, with her hair unkempt, silently approaching.


    Yan Junze''s attention was completely on the Peephole Strange Creature, because he saw it move again, and that grey pupil even gently turned.


    The woman in the grey dress reach behind Yan Junze, extending her long and somewhat decayed fingers slowly towards his neck.


    Just then, Yan Junze stopped speaking, his nostrils flared a few times, and he suddenly turned around.


    "Ah!"


    A sharp cry came out from the woman''s mouth as her outstretched fingers aimed at his cheek.


    Almost instinctively, Yan Junze''s blood churned instantly within him, his bones, especially those in his neck, made cracking sounds, and his hairs almost pierced through his skin to sprout, nearly transforming into a Fake Spirit Body.


    "No." Yan Junze realized immediately and in the next second, he chose to Rewind.


    His head spinning, he was standing back in the equipment room.


    At this moment, the Peephole Strange Creature already stood within the third display cabinet, peering out through the crack in the door, but Yan Junze''s attention was no longer on it. Instead, he immediately opened the door of the equipment room, didn''t step out, but just poked his head out to look in the direction of the open door of the laboratory.


    He remembered that the woman who sneak-attacked him had a scent of antiseptic about her. If he hadn''t been fully focused on persuading the Peephole Strange Creature at the time, he wouldn''t have failed to notice the antiseptic smell.


    Not only that, he also noticed something on the woman''s chest...it seemed like a camera flitted past, although he didn''t get a good look at it, it indeed resembled a camera.


    "How could this be, a camera on a corpse?"


    Yan Junze mumbled to himself, standing at the door of the equipment room with no intention of going out again. He guessed that at this moment, it was very likely the woman''s corpse was hiding behind the open door of the laboratory.


    Just as he was carefully observing and even preparing to use "Perception of Strange Events" to probe the hidden woman''s corpse, a hand as grey as a dead person''s reached out from the crack of the third display cabinet''s door behind him. It grasped the door, pushing it outward.

 Chapter 208 Chaotic Obsession

    This was the first time the Peephole Strange Creature had directly pushed the door open and walked out. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library EmpireThe movements of the man in black had never made any sound, not even from the somewhat old display cabinet door, which inevitably makes noise when opened or closed. At this moment, it still eerily made not the slightest sound.


    The Peephole Strange Creature stood in front of the display cabinet, still turned around, facing the cabinet and with its back to the outside, moving closely towards Yan Junze''s direction.


    When it neared the edge of a cabinet, the Peephole Strange Creature immediately made a turn, pressing against the side of the cabinet, and then its figure disappeared.


    The next time it appeared, it was already on the right side of another display cabinet, as if it had just turned a corner and was meant to arrive there all along.


    In front of the equipment room.


    Yan Junze''s gaze had been fixed on the position behind the laboratory door, although the place was dark, a careful observation seemed to reveal a figure standing in the corner, not moving.


    The person who had attacked him just now was definitely a corpse because at the last moment her fingers had touched Yan Junze''s skin, making him feel a wave of coldness.


    Moreover, the woman''s face was rotten, no living person would look like this.


    However, the Spacetime Atlas in his mind did not issue any task prompts, which was highly unusual. It should be known that the corpse had been attacking him, and a strangeness would not just attack a person without any obsession.


    This did not make sense¡ªcould it be that the purpose of the strangeness was simply to kill upon seeing someone?


    So Yan Junze was certain that the female corpse did have an obsession.


    The Spacetime Atlas not automatically popping out task prompts was not just once or twice, sometimes it was influenced by the environment, sometimes it related to the strangeness itself.


    After thinking for a moment, he remembered what had happened the last time at Bao Jie''s aunt Bao Wenjing''s house, so he simply activated "Perception of Strange Events".


    Indeed, the moment the energy spread out, he immediately received feedback in his mind.


    [Task Name: Where is my child?


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu''s child went missing. In the three months after the disappearance, she has been searching tirelessly but to no avail, with the police also having no news to offer. Shen Wanqiu gradually began to lose her mind until everyone in the neighborhood knew that she had gone mad for her child;


    Task Description: Let her know where her child is;


    Task Reward: 1100 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Death;


    Task Prompts: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. The Evil Spirit is highly aggressive;


    Note: What you see appears to be a corpse, but in fact, she is not.]


    "So she''s here to find her child?" Yan Junze nodded, but then a doubt emerged, "But if you''re looking for your child, why attack me?"


    No sooner had the thought arisen than another task information popped up in his mind, causing him to freeze, his face full of horror as he stared at the task that had just appeared.


    [Task Name: Kill Yan Junze;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Medium);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu only remembered entering a live streamer''s room where the man gave her a glass of water, and then, she began to feel dazed. After that, she couldn''t stop eating, consuming food incessantly. Shen Wanqiu remembered consuming a lot of mucus, sticky and foul-smelling, yet it made her appetite grow.


    She even consumed a strangeness, until at last, in the food she consumed, the name "Yan Junze" appeared;


    Task Description: Escape Shen Wanqiu''s pursuit by any means necessary;


    Task Reward: 1300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Death;


    Task Prompts: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Perhaps this is not her true intention;]


    Note: "If you don''t take her down, or strip her of her ability to attack, she will chase you endlessly."] Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Yan Junze saw the second task, he was completely stunned.


    He had never imagined that the arrival of this female corpse was actually for him.


    However, the task prompt was very clear, based on the capture of Shen Wanqiu''s obsession, it turned out she had entered the room of a host and was then murdered.


    "Host?" Yan Junze paused for a moment; suddenly, he thought of someone.


    Cheng Jingting!?


    So far, the only host Yan Junze had met and dealt with was him, and their first conversation had been rather unpleasant.


    And before he encountered that green child, he had spoken over the phone exclusively with Cheng Jingting. Could it be that this guy had tracked his location at that time?


    But was it simply because he had not agreed to join him that he sought to completely eliminate him?


    But then again, on second thought, these things were unclear. In the vastness of the woods, various birds exist; some people are narrow-minded, perhaps annoyed not only because he didn''t join them, but perhaps also jealous of the strangeness videos he recorded.


    Or could it be... coveting his special physique? After all, looking at it now, this guy seemed to be able to nurture spirits.


    There were many speculations, and any of them could be possible.


    But if it indeed proved to be related to this host named Cheng Jingting, with a target in mind, Yan Junze would start considering how to deal with this guy.


    And it was made very clear in the task description that Shen Wanqiu had consumed a strangeness.


    Yan Junze had just heard this from Zhang Xiaomo; after a zombie eats a strangeness, it becomes something called "Corpse Spirits," which is more terrifying, and obviously, Shen Wanqiu had already become one.


    As he was deep in thought, he suddenly jerked violently, his eyes bulging and his mouth gaping open.


    Because at this moment, in his mind, the third task prompt popped up again.


    [Task Name: Revenge;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu was murdered, and she suffered greatly, craving death deep within her subconscious. But her assailant was formidable, leaving her powerless to retaliate, turning her into a walking corpse. She yearned for freedom, to break free from these invisible shackles, desiring to seize the one who murdered her, to feed on their flesh, to drink their blood;


    Task Description: Help her exact revenge, or take revenge on her behalf;


    Task Reward: 1500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Shen Wanqiu''s target is very strong; 3. Revenge may be a long-term task, or it might be completed in an instant;


    Note: Given the uniqueness of this task, the Atlas activates the "Obsession Storage" feature. This task may pre-store the energy rewards of the completed obsession in the Atlas, and upon task completion, the corresponding energy rewards will be obtained.]


    The emergence of the third task had completely exceeded Yan Junze''s expectations; he had not imagined that just a female corpse could lead to three different obsessions, thereby bringing about three different tasks.


    The task levels of this female corpse were surprisingly high, and the methods of completing the tasks had also changed from before.


    The three tasks, the first [Where is my child?] represented the obsession that the female corpse had been searching for in life; the second [Kill Yan Junze] had an obvious purpose, targeting him.


    The third [Revenge] was the female corpse''s own hatred towards the person who had murdered her. Now, it looked very likely that the person was Cheng Jingting, the one who had caused Shen Wanqiu to become what she was now.


    But the difficulty of completing the third task was the greatest, reaching the level of "Hair-raising (High)."


    Of course, this did not mean that Shen Wanqiu, now a zombie ghost, had become completely stronger than the Back-faced Woman. Rather, her desire for revenge had increased the level of difficulty of the task to this extent.

 Chapter 209 Bizarre Response Techniques

    ```Three consecutive tasks appeared, shaking Yan Junze to the core. The moment he was checking these tasks, the Peephole Strange Creature from behind had moved along the wall and positioned itself right next to him.


    Yan Junze had not anticipated that the creature would crawl out of the crack in the door. It was the first time this had happened, so without any guard up, a palm landed on his shoulder.


    This jerked him harshly back to reality from the shock of the three tasks.


    Turning his head, he saw that the Peephole Strange Creature had already gotten extremely close. He immediately prepared to use his Rewind Skill.


    However, by the time the creature''s hand was on his shoulder, his head was spinning, the scene before his eyes shifted, and Yan Junze found himself no longer in the equipment room but at the entrance to the laboratory outside.


    The Peephole Strange Creature still had its hand on his shoulder, and at this moment, the door to the laboratory was open with a mop wedged against it, preventing it from closing.


    As soon as he arrived at this place, the hand on his shoulder had merged into his body, and it seemed that the Peephole Strange Creature was preparing to enter Yan Junze''s body and then strut out of the laboratory boldly.


    For who knows how long, he had been anticipating this moment''s arrival.


    Never had he been so close to a person to such an extent. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire


    At this time, the Semi-spirit within Yan Junze once again showed signs of being aroused, but he likewise did not plan to use it and instead prepared to Rewind to a point directly before this scene occurred.


    Just then, the laboratory door that was slightly open moved a bit, and the woman''s corpse hidden behind the door extended her dry arm, grabbing the Peephole Strange Creature that was trying to merge into Yan Junze.


    The Peephole Strange Creature, just like Yan Junze who was completely captivated by the three tasks moments ago, was utterly unprepared for the appearance of another strange creature attacking it in a deadly manner.


    Then, Shen Wanqiu viciously grabbed its head; her fingers sank deep into the skull, gripping it firmly.


    Of course, as a strange creature, it was impossible for it to be restrained by this action.


    The Peephole Strange Creature immediately ceased its invasion of Yan Junze, pressing tightly against the door panel, and in the next second vanished eerily.


    Shen Wanqiu, who was grabbing its head, also disappeared quickly.


    The space behind Yan Junze was suddenly empty, and he no longer considered using Rewind but immediately turned around.


    He saw nothing.


    However, soon after, noises came from the equipment room, but only the intense sounds of collision, no other shouts.


    Because of the Rewind Skill, Yan Junze was emboldened and did not hesitate to turn back towards the entrance of the equipment room and look inside.


    He saw Shen Wanqiu''s right hand still inserted into the Peephole Strange Creature''s head. At this time, because the Peephole Strange Creature was preempted, it simply kept trying to dodge away.


    It glued itself to the side of the fifth display cabinet, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to have broken through this spatial constraint, appearing behind the first display cabinet. However, Shen Wanqiu could still follow and disappear with it, appearing simultaneously. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned but then quickly realized.


    If it were under normal circumstances, the Peephole Strange Creature would have long escaped because it was a true strange creature, not like Shen Wanqiu who was a type of zombie.


    But precisely because Shen Wanqiu was not a pure zombie but a Corpse Spirit that had consumed a strange creature.


    Now it seems that this kind of Corpse Spirit, being between semi-spirit and zombie, possesses both abilities, which makes their strength terrifying.


    This was why the Peephole Strange Creature could escape quickly, and Shen Wanqiu could equally follow suit.


    As for the fingers still embedded in the Peephole Strange Creature''s head, it was for this reason that the Peephole Strange Creature could not break free and escape.


    This Peephole Strange Creature seemed unable to speak, and upon realizing it couldn''t get away, it stopped facing the wall and turned around, revealing a face as if chiseled by a knife.


    This face didn''t look natural but strangely parallel, and looked very eerie.


    The Peephole Strange Creature stretched out its two hands and grabbed Shen Wanqiu in return. Visibly, Shen Wanqiu''s body seemed to be torn apart as it suddenly split to the sides.


    From this, it was evident that the Peephole Strange Creature was also powerful, but its method of attack was unpredictable.


    Just then, within the split body of Shen Wanqiu, a long-haired head suddenly appeared.


    This head had a face completely different from Shen Wanqiu''s, and the moment it appeared, it immediately bit at the Peephole Strange Creature.


    The supernatural field around the Peephole Strange Creature immediately trembled, falling into an unstable state.


    ```


    Click!


    Half of his head was bitten off.


    Yet, this scene made Yan Junze suddenly freeze.


    A head emerging from the chest!?


    When Lv Xin was split by the Resentful Granny and hid at the stairwell to ambush him, he looked exactly like this.


    Could it be that Lv Xin is related to this guy named Cheng Jingting? Or is this a unique method of nurturing spirits by Spirit Cultivators?


    Click, another bite.


    Now, the Peephole Strange Creature had only a small part of its head left, and it immediately turned around, ready to escape again through the display cabinet behind it.


    However, the strangeness magnetic field was trembling violently, with ripples vibrating, and a mist followed, making it impossible for him to move anymore.


    The woman''s head in front of Shen Wanqiu took another bite.


    Looking at the current situation, it seemed that the Peephole Strange Creature was doomed.


    It wanted to resurrect through a human body but ended up like this, the poor creature really hit rock bottom.


    But Yan Junze suddenly woke up, thinking that if this guy perished, the "Peephole" task wouldn''t be completed at all!


    This was a "Trembling with Fear (High)" task with an 800-point Different Dimension Energy reward, was it just going to slip away right before his eyes?


    And again, as soon as the Peephole Strange Creature was done for, Shen Wanqiu''s next target would immediately be him.


    Shortly after his thought, the body of the Peephole Strange Creature suddenly became fragmented, as if a pile of well-placed blocks collapsed at that moment.


    The strange creature inside Shen Wanqiu had consumed nearly half of the Peephole Strange Creature, which meant that the Corpse Spirits had once again devoured another strange creature at this moment.


    Although it hadn''t consumed it entirely, having the power of two strangenesses inside her body, Yan Junze didn''t doubt that Shen Wanqiu''s strength was probably even stronger than before.


    There were three tasks related to Shen Wanqiu, namely finding the child, killing herself, and revenge.


    Up until now, Yan Junze had no clue on how to complete these tasks.


    If it really wouldn''t work out, after the Peephole Strange Creature was devoured by Shen Wanqiu, he would have to choose to leave here first and see if he could complete these tasks when the timing was better.


    At least dealing with Cheng Jingting was certain, and incidentally completing these tasks seemed like the best choice.


    Unfortunately, with the demise of the Peephole Strange Creature, the 800 points of Dimensional Energy he could have gained were also going down the drain.


    Having made up his mind, he turned around, preparing to leave.


    However, all of a sudden, he froze, struck by a eureka moment, and walked back to look at Shen Wanqiu, who had now triumphed in the equipment room.


    He simply found a chair outside the lab to sit on and then opened the video on his phone.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu turned her head, her rotten face facing Yan Junze at the door, and then she started moving her legs, walking towards him in a crooked manner.


    "Let''s give it a try, maybe it''ll work?" Yan Junze muttered to himself while sitting on the chair.


    After all, if this idea proved unworkable, he could still Rewind to the moment when Shen Wanqiu and the Peephole Strange Creature were fighting each other and leave calmly.


    As Shen Wanqiu drew closer, Yan Junze opened one of the videos stored on his phone.


    He had deleted this video from the computer when he edited it, but since it involved his first transformation into a Semi-spirit, it had some sentimental value.


    What can you do, when Yan Junze is someone who likes to reminisce about the past?


    Thus, he kept a copy on his phone.


    After opening the video, he pointed the phone''s screen towards Shen Wanqiu who was approaching. The video showed a blue-skinned child being brutally beaten by someone covered in black hair (actually Yan Junze in his Semi-Spirit State).


    "Here, this... is your child," said Yan Junze, and then he shrugged, "Though he might, should, could, probably... have been turned into this by the livestreamer who murdered you."

 Chapter 210 The New Feature of the Atlas

    Shen Wanqiu, who was approaching, abruptly halted; her lifeless eyes, seemingly unable to see anything, were fixed on the smartphone screen that Yan Junze was holding up.After approximately half a minute, her lips moved slightly, and she uttered two words: "Jie ¡­ little Jie!"


    It was confirmed¡ªthe green child was indeed the very child Shen Wanqiu had been searching for.


    Yan Junze''s face showed a trace of regret as he spoke in a heavy tone, "This mother, I am deeply saddened right now because what I am about to tell you may be something you will find hard to accept."


    He paused, letting Shen Wanqiu absorb his words, before he continued, "Your child, little Jie, is now dead and, perhaps, should, might, probably has been turned into a zombie by that fellow Cheng Jingting."


    Having said this, seeing that Shen Wanqiu remained silent, standing there, Yan Junze simply waited quietly without speaking further.


    He remembered the task description of "Where is my child?" that only required him "to let her know where her child was"¡ªnot necessarily to return her child to her.


    Perhaps Shen Wanqiu herself was also aware that her child''s prospects were bleak and had been simply unwilling to accept this guess. The obsession lurking in her subconscious was merely to find out the whereabouts of little Jie, nothing more. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    Regardless, she should now be very clear.


    [Where is my child? Hair-raising (Low), completed, 1100 Different Dimension Energy points obtained.]


    "Damn, completing tasks like this feels so good!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but mutter to himself.


    He had only tried it out just now, not expecting it to actually succeed.


    In truth, if one really wanted to complete this task, it would certainly not be easy. One would need to collect evidence and even investigate on-site, visit Shen Wanqiu''s neighbors to gather a comprehensive analysis to reach a final conclusion.


    Moreover, during the process of doing the above work, one would also need to be cautious of Shen Wanqiu, who was always looking to trouble him.


    In any case, it wasn''t going to be this easy to complete.


    But, as luck would have it, not only did Yan Junze know that Cheng Jingting was the real culprit, but he had also narrowly escaped from the green child not long ago, and had inadvertently recorded a video.


    Now, it seems that any words were superfluous since even the most eloquent rhetoric cannot compare with the naked truth of the video evidence.


    Thus, this task rated as "Hair-raising (Low)" was resolved so easily by him.


    A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.


    Yan Junze had not expected that after losing the Peephole Strange Creature and the 800 Dimensional Energy points that went with it, he would recover them in such a manner.


    Not only that, but he had also earned an additional 300 points.


    Well, not quite, there were still two tasks.


    Looking at the current situation, it seems like the task has literally fallen into his lap.


    After contemplating for a moment, he set the video to loop and stood up, carefully placing the phone on the chair he had been sitting on so the screen faced Shen Wanqiu, who was standing there, motionless, still staring intently at the phone.


    Then, Yan Junze tiptoed behind Shen Wanqiu.


    Shen Wanqiu, who hadn''t seen her child in a very long time, was completely captivated by the video on the phone, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the green child, with no tears, no movement¡ªas a Corpse Spirit, she just stared blankly.


    This one glance had become the permanent separation between mother and child.


    Standing behind Shen Wanqiu, Yan Junze let out a sigh and thought to himself, "Although I know you''re pitiful, I''m sorry, if I don''t kill you now, the moment you finish watching the video might be when you and my Fake Spirit Body fight to the death. Otherwise, I''ll have to be constantly on guard against your attacks."


    As soon as the thought settled, Yan Junze activated his Semi-Spirit State.


    Hair sprouted from the surface of his skin, his neck made a crackling sound as it twisted, and at the same time, the copper badge placed over his chest emitted a warm sensation.


    This feeling seemed to have a stabilizing effect on his Semi-Spirit State, preventing Yan Junze from losing control and triggering an unexpected outbreak.


    Shen Wanqiu sensed the anomaly behind her and abruptly opened her mouth, but almost simultaneously, her head was clamped by the hands of Yan Junze in his Semi-Spirit State with a snap, yanked away from the body.


    Shen Wanqiu''s chest burst open, revealing the head of the nightgown woman about to emerge and continue her attack on Yan Junze. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, almost in the next second, Yan Junze, well-prepared, held Shen Wanqiu''s head with one hand, while the other pierced through her body, and extracted the head of the nightgown woman through the chest in the same way.


    Both heads were impaled by the profusion of hair growing from his palms, turned into a honeycomb-like mess.


    All of this was accomplished in just a few seconds, because Shen Wanqiu''s Obsession concerning her child had just been released, and taking advantage of this moment, Yan Junze struck swiftly, achieving his goal with little effort.


    Shen Wanqiu, now headless, knelt forward, then fell to the ground, the peculiar medicinal scent on her unable to mask the strong stench of blood and a strange, foul odor that emanated from her.


    After waiting a moment, the head of the nightgown woman in his left hand gradually dissipated, while the head of Shen Wanqiu in his right hand slowly turned rigid.


    Yan Junze still wasn''t reassured, so he used his hair to thoroughly impale Shen Wanqiu''s corpse again, waited another moment, and there was no sign of movement. It seemed highly unlikely that she would come back to life.


    He then dropped the heads and waited in silence.


    About two minutes passed when a mission completion prompt popped up.


    [Kill Shen Wanqiu, Hair-Raising (Medium), completed, gained 1300 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    With the foundation of the first completed mission, although the second mission exhausted his Semi-spirit power, it was relatively easy to accomplish as well.


    Yan Junze began to withdraw his Semi-spirit power, and his stomach churned, followed by a craving to eat some staple food. But he quickly suppressed that thought.


    Completing two "Hair-Raising" level tasks in a row was vital; both luck and timing were important, but the danger was not absent.


    If Shen Wanqiu had not held such a deep Obsession for her child, it would have been very difficult for him to have the opportunity to complete the second task.


    As for the third mission, "Hair-Raising (High)" level task [Revenge], it was due to the special nature of the mission that the Atlas activated the "Obsession Storage" function. Therefore, upon learning of this task, Yan Junze immediately performed "Obsession Storage."


    Currently, a large amount of Energy Light Particles that represent Obsession, all 1500 points, surrounded the now-illuminated Spacetime Atlas but had not filled the timeline.


    To enter the timeline, Yan Junze needed to truly complete the task and fulfill the Obsession for the energy to enter the correct path.


    Although unable to claim the 1500 energy points just yet, the two tasks he had swiftly resolved provided Yan Junze with 2400 points of Different Dimension Energy, which was three times the amount for completing the Peephole Strange Creature task.


    This was beyond Yan Junze''s expectations.


    The acquisition of this Different Dimension Energy instantly brought the total energy in Yan Junze''s Atlas to 8600 points, lighting up the spacetime nodes from 42 to 58 in one fell swoop.


    And upon breaking through the 54th node, a gleam of light flickered, revealing a line of text.


    [Butterfly Effect Stabilization, now activated.]

 Chapter 211 Revenge

    "Butterfly Effect Stabilization?!"Upon seeing this line of text, Yan Junze immediately realized that after he completed the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" mission, the Atlas had activated the "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" function.


    This function was extremely terrifying and was privately referred to by Yan Junze as "Great Rewind".


    However, the original introduction to the "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" function stated that it was advisable to wait for the next function to be unlocked and to pair them together before using it.


    Therefore, Yan Junze, although very curious about this function, had patiently waited without daring to use it recklessly.


    Now, this "Butterfly Effect Stabilization" was clearly the skill that was meant to complement "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion".


    Feeling a surge of excitement, Yan Junze immediately used Inner Vision to look at the introduction of "Butterfly Effect Stabilization".


    ["Butterfly Effect Stabilization," this function allows the host to change something at a certain point in the past and ensure that the change does not cause a butterfly effect, nor will it affect the future timeline. To be used in conjunction with Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.]


    [Note: Even with Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion and Butterfly Effect Stabilization, it is still necessary to wait for the right space-time rift to appear to use them together.]


    [Would you like to spend 1000 Different Dimension Energy points to detect a space-time rift now?]


    "Holy shit! Is this energy free or what?" Yan Junze was startled.


    He hadn''t expected that just one detection of a space-time rift would consume 1000 Different Dimension Energy points, and it wasn''t even sure that anything would be detected.


    That is to say, after spending 1000 points of energy, it was possible that nothing would be found.


    After thinking it over, he decided it didn''t matter if he just tried it out.


    Who asked him to have just completed two "hair-raising" level missions? He now had the capital to splurge.


    As the thought occurred to him, a long stretch of timeline within the Spacetime Atlas instantly dimmed, followed by an invisible energy ripple that spread out fiercely from Yan Junze as the center.


    About four or five seconds later, a vibrating sensation came from a certain point.


    Yan Junze felt that place clearly.


    At the same moment, a text message popped up in his mind.


    [Detected a space-time rift, located in the pine forest behind Tianmeng Science University, the rift is currently at its peak and will start to weaken after 4 a.m., and is expected to disappear around 11 p.m. tomorrow night.]


    Yan Junze raised his head and looked through the window in the direction of the university''s pine forest.


    According to the detection, there was a space-time rift there now, which would disappear tomorrow night.


    Was it possible for him to utilize this space-time rift at the moment?


    "Great Rewind? To use a space-time rift for a Great Rewind, just out of sheer curiosity, would be ridiculously idle," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    There was nothing else to do in this laboratory building now, just tidy up Shen Wanqiu''s corpse without anyone finding out.


    If he really wanted to use the Great Rewind, he had to think about what he could actually do with it.


    Yan Junze had no immediate plans to leave; he walked over, removed the mop blocking the laboratory door, then closed the door, and came back to sit in the chair he had been in before.


    Gazing at Shen Wanqiu''s headless female corpse on the ground, with the odd smell from the body entering his nostrils from time to time, he began pondering seriously.


    The only mission he had left was "Revenge," a mission that was obviously very special¡ªtaking revenge for Shen Wanqiu by killing Cheng Jingting.


    Let''s not even mention helping Shen Wanqiu for now, Yan Junze himself wanted to take down that disgusting guy.


    However, the mission faced several problems now, the first being that Yan Junze had no idea where Cheng Jingting lived, was it in Tianmeng District or outside of it?


    Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    Of course, he could call Tang Zhengyi for help with a search.


    But that would be obviously too exposing, if Tang Zhengyi had just informed him of the other party''s address, and then Cheng Jingting suddenly got killed, Tang Zhengyi might guess that the guy''s death was related to Yan Junze with just his toes.


    Moreover, even if Yan Junze knew where Cheng Jingting was, he couldn''t guarantee that he could easily kill him. After all, the man was a Spirit Cultivator, capable of raising Corpse Spirits like Shen Wanqiu, so his strength couldn''t be too weak.


    "Corpse Spirits?"


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thought for a bit, then picked up the phone and called He Yun, his contact in the Exorcist team.


    According to what He Yun had said before, as long as Yan Junze needed to find her, she would be available 24 hours a day, and for He Yun, she was the 24-hour personal secretary for the Exorcists.


    However, judging by the voice coming from the other end, it was clear that He Yun had been woken up from her sleep.


    "Hello, sorry to disturb your sweet dreams, He Yun," Yan Junze apologized.


    "Hmm, go ahead," He Yun''s tone showed no displeasure; being disturbed in her position was not uncommon for her.


    "I want to ask you, is there any danger involved in the process of refining a Corpse Spirit?" Yan Junze asked.


    As the liaison for the Exorcists, He Yun''s knowledge about strangenesses must be very broad, even more than an ordinary Exorcist.


    Moreover, her position gave her access to a large amount of data on strangenesses, which she could consult if necessary, and provide answers immediately after searching through them.


    If there was information that even He Yun could not find, it was either core secret or even the Exorcist team itself did not possess it.


    After hearing Yan Junze''s question, He Yun did not look up any information but immediately replied, "Of course there is danger. A Corpse Spirit is formed through the refining of zombies consuming at least one strangeness. During this process, the Corpse Spirit needs to recognize its master, and only by doing so will it not turn on the master immediately after its formation."


    "Through what does it recognize its master?" Yan Junze asked. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "By drinking that person''s blood, even a drop is enough," He Yun said.


    "Are there other dangers?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "During the process of refining a zombie," He Yun thought carefully, "Actually, zombies all have very strong and deep grievances because no one would want to become that sort of being. So, in other words, there is always a certain chance that zombies might turn on their masters, it just depends on whether there are conditions to trigger it."


    "Like what conditions?"


    "Such as during the refining process or right after they are refined, if they are doused with black dog blood, drink virgin boy''s urine, see sunlight, or lock eyes with a black cat."


    Yan Junze repeated it and asked, "That''s it?"


    "Hmm, that''s about it," He Yun paused and then inquired, "Did you find someone cultivating a spirit?"


    "Seems like... yes," Yan Junze did not hide it, "If possible, I will take care of this guy."


    He Yun reminded him, "Usually, in such cases, our incident team would send a squad to investigate, and if the person is confirmed to be doing evil, they will be immediately eliminated. But right now, we are short-handed due to a special event that occurred, and I don''t recommend you going alone."


    "Perhaps I''ll just investigate first and not rush into action," Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    He looked up again in the direction of the pine forest of the academy and muttered to himself, "Black dog blood, virgin boy''s urine, sunlight, and... a black cat."

 Chapter 212 A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)

    Yan Junze sat there thinking for a while. No matter what, this Cheng Jingting, the streamer, must be very strong; if it came to a direct confrontation, it was uncertain who would ultimately win.If he could travel back in time and appear at that moment, then arranging an "accident" for him would be the best form of revenge.


    However, Yan Junze had not used the "Great Rewind" Golden Finger even once, and was quite unfamiliar with it.


    To use it for the first time, especially against a Spirit Cultivator like Cheng Jingting, he did not have much confidence.


    But no matter what, he had to try it once. Otherwise, he could never find the guy''s address in reality, and striking while the iron was hot, he could possibly complete all three tasks related to Shen Wanqiu at once and, by the way, deal with Cheng Jingting who had been detrimental to him multiple times. The risk was worth taking. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Black dog blood, virgin boy''s urine, sunlight, and a black cat?" Yan Junze muttered to himself again.


    It''s so late now, where could he find black dog blood? Sunlight was even more unrealistic; the weather tonight was too bad, without even moonlight, let alone sunlight. Otherwise, Fang Ning would have come out to join Yan Junze in a romantic encounter long ago.


    First, he had to find a way to bury Shen Wanqiu''s corpse.


    Yan Junze stood up and started searching around in the equipment room. Soon, he found a big woven bag that was slightly tattered, filled with remnants of instruments, probably waiting to be sold.


    He emptied the bag of its contents, piled them neatly, then returned to the laboratory and exerted some effort to put Shen Wanqiu''s headless body and the head into the woven bag. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He tidied up the laboratory and dragged out the body during dusk.


    Even though it was late, there were virtually no pedestrians on the academy''s sports field, but to prevent an accidental encounter, Yan Junze chose to walk behind the laboratory.


    There was a stone path here that few used during the day, and even fewer at this hour.


    If it weren''t for the era plagued by strangenesses, this place would be the perfect quiet spot for young lovers to rendezvous at night, but given the current situation, people would surely avoid it.


    Yan Junze quickly dragged the body into the pine forest, the exact place where the Atlas had detected a space-time rift.


    Yan Junze released the Crawler Monster and had it dig a deep hole in a secluded spot inside the pine forest, then dragged the woven bag into it and buried it.


    In fact, he could have released the two strange babies, as with their assistance, the Crawler Monster would work more efficiently.


    But those two were very troublesome and disobedient; as soon as they were released, if Yan Junze wasn''t careful, they''d be out of sight quickly.


    What mattered most was their strong aggressiveness. If he wasn''t watchful and they escaped, causing injury to someone, Yan Junze would have nowhere to even cry over it.


    While the Crawler Monster was busy burying the body, Yan Junze located the position with the space-time rift as indicated by the Atlas.


    It was between two slightly larger pine trees within the pine forest, but to the naked eye, nothing could be seen.


    Yan Junze walked over, reached out, and touched the air, feeling nothing.


    However, according to the Atlas, as long as he initiated the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion and Butterfly Effect Stabilization at this location, he could automatically find the space-time rift and initiate the "Great Rewind."


    And as per the Atlas, this was when the space-time rift was at its most vigorous. If he missed this point, the rift would begin to weaken and eventually vanish.


    Clearly, to perform the "Great Rewind," it would be best done when the rift''s energy was at its peak. Should the rift''s energy begin to wane, who knew what accidents might occur during the return after traveling back.


    Yan Junze had never tried it before and could not be certain his guess was correct, but undertaking it during this time was definitely the right choice.


    He thought about it, then returned to where the Crawler Monster was busy at work.


    The Crawler Monster had just finished refilling the hole it had dug, and it seemed a lot smarter, even knowing to gather fallen pine needles to cover the freshly turned soil.


    Yan Junze sent an approving glance and said, "You fellow seem not too dumb after all."


    The Crawler Monster looked up at him, meanwhile stretching out its forked tongue to tidy up its somewhat disheveled parted hair from the busy workout.


    "Alright, alright, you win." Yan Junze recalled it into the Atlas.


    Then he swiftly returned to the dormitory.


    At this time, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun were not in their rooms but were waiting, quite in sync, in Yan Junze''s room 411.


    Zhao Zheng, Huahua, and He Bishou, all unable to sleep, were listening to Guo Jintao''s vivid description of their laboratory encounter. After Guo Jintao''s story, it was Chen Kun''s turn.


    Chen Kun''s tale even more so scared everyone to the point of being dumbstruck and breaking out in cold sweats, particularly when he mentioned encountering a woman in a skirt walking up the stairs.


    Then Yan Junze returned, and the people showed delight, forgetting to continue their stories.


    "Are you alright?" Guo Jintao was the first to ask.


    Yan Junze nodded, "It''s taken care of, from now on there won''t be any more knocking strangenesses in the lab."


    "Didn''t you mention there''s also a woman in a skirt who''s a strangeness?" asked the plump He Bishou, surprised.


    "Yes," Chen Kun nodded, "When I was going downstairs just now, I nearly bumped into a woman wearing a skirt; her hair was a mess, and her walk was odd, as if her limbs were stiff. I saw her with my own eyes, entering the laboratory where you were."

 Chapter 212 A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)_2

    Yan Junze shook his head, "Nope, didn''t see any woman. Ever since we got rid of that Peephole Strange Creature, I haven''t seen anything all the way back here.""Huh, that''s not right," Chen Kun scratched the back of his head.


    Yan Junze said, "Maybe you saw it wrong. You just escaped from the clutches of the Peephole Strange Creature, which is skilled in the connection of spaces, and could have sent you into another dimension. You escaped after Guo Jintao, and you were trapped longer than he was, so it''s normal to have hallucinations afterward,"


    "Was it a hallucination?" At this point, Chen Kun was somewhat confused, and muttering to himself, he said, "I remember it wasn''t just seeing, I also smelled a strange medicinal scent."


    Yan Junze ignored him, suddenly displaying a weird smile as he looked around at everyone in the dorm, speaking softly, "Well, this is good, you''re all here, I need to ask you guys for a favor."


    "What is it?" Zhao Zheng asked.


    "If it''s going to the lab building, count me out," Huahua immediately flicked his orchid finger, giving Yan Junze a sidelong glance, preemptively shutting down that possibility.


    "I''m not going either," He Bishou quickly shook his head in agreement.


    "I don''t need you guys to go, I''ll take care of this myself," Yan Junze grinned, "Right now we just need some Virgin Boy''s Urine over there. Sprinkling a little on-site can get rid of the Yin Energy and mildew accumulated in the lab building over many years. So what I want to ask is, among those present, who can provide me with some?"


    Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.


    "Um... I''m going back to sleep," Guo Jintao was the first to speak.


    He was immediately ruled out.


    Chen Kun also gave an awkward smile, "Sorry, I have a girlfriend back at the academy."


    He, too, was out of the question.


    Yan Junze looked towards Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua.


    Zhao Zheng also turned to glance at his roommate beside him, then revealed an exceedingly proud smile, "I was the captain of the basketball team in high school, and at one point, seven people were chasing me..."


    "Were they the Seven Dwarfs?" He Bishou joked, "Just missing a grandpa then."


    "Get lost," Zhao Zheng laughed and cursed.


    It seemed that this guy hit puberty earlier, so he was also out of the running.


    Yan Junze turned his gaze to He Bishou.


    He Bishou lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes and said nothing.


    After waiting a while, Yan Junze couldn''t help saying, "Well, are you going to give a straight answer or not?"


    "Yes, I''m dying to know!" Huahua chimed in from the side.


    His remark seemed to carry a double entendre, causing Guo Jintao, Chen Kun, and Zhao Zheng all to look at him. Huahua didn''t care, just staring at He Bishou who looked like a child who had done something wrong.


    "It''s confirmed, this fatty has definitely broken the rules, I''m sure of it!" Huahua raised his voice by an octave, becoming somewhat shrill.


    "Keep it down," He Bishou said quickly, startled.


    "Damn, Fatty, didn''t you say you didn''t have a girlfriend?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I had just broken up when I came to the university," He Bishou hedged.


    "Why break up?" Huahua was curious.


    For someone like He Bishou, a bona fide fat shut-in, starting to date at such a young age was rare, and not only did he have a girlfriend, he even dared to boast about it.


    He Bishou hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "She always insisted she eats more than I do. Then one day, we made a bet, she ate six bowls of beef noodles in one go, I ate eight bowls. She got angry about it, the kind of mad you can''t just sweet-talk away."


    The room fell silent.


    The others exchanged glances.


    After a long pause, Huahua asked, "And... you broke up just like that?"


    "Yeah," He Bishou nodded and sighed, "It''s over, and that''s okay, the main thing is, she ran off angry, and I ended up paying for those fourteen bowls of noodles. A bowl of beef noodles was twelve yuan, fourteen bowls add up to one hundred sixty-eight, but the main thing is, that girl also added extra meat and eggs to the bowls. Extra meat was five yuan per bowl, extra eggs were..."


    "You''ve had enough," Zhao Zheng couldn''t help but blurt out.


    "Okay, that''s enough," Yan Junze said as well, and then he turned his head to look at Huahua.


    Huahua was startled, and with an awkward demeanor, she looked back at him, appearing as if she had something to say but was holding back.


    Everyone''s gaze on Huahua began to change to one of surprise; they all widened their eyes, even He Bishou, who had just been too embarrassed, now forgot his own deeply etched romantic humiliation and turned his attention to Huahua.


    Huahua wasn''t shy, just unsure how to put her thoughts into words.


    After an awkward moment, Yan Junze felt he had to break the silence; he cleared his throat and asked, "I just want to ask you one question, that person... male or female?"


    "Right, that''s exactly what I meant," Zhao Zheng eagerly said.


    Guo Jintao patted Yan Junze on the shoulder, his face lit up with excitement, "Brother, you''ve asked what''s on my mind."


    "Damn, that almost killed me," Chen Kun said as he patted his chest, clearly in agreement.


    Huahua''s face stiffened as she looked at this bunch of "animals". Then, her beautiful eyes shifted towards He Bishou, who had been silent all along, thinking to herself that at crucial times, at least the fat otaku was a friend who wouldn''t judge her with prejudice.


    "I guess it''s a guy," He Bishou said, shattering all the nice illusions Huahua had about him.


    She glared resentfully at everyone, stamped her foot, and huffed before scolding, "You bunch of stinky men!"


    Everybody shuddered in response to her words, feeling a chill run down their spines.


    As soon as she had spoken, Huahua''s face turned frosty; she climbed into her bed, stuck her butt up in the air, and buried her face in the pillow, saying no more.


    The atmosphere turned somewhat awkward.


    Everyone exchanged glances, unsure whether to offer comfort or apologies, which felt oddly misplaced.


    After a prolonged silence, Zhao Zheng finally spoke up, "Huahua, I support you, I believe it''s a girl."


    Huahua let her raised butt down, sat up on the bed, and looked coldly at everyone. After a while, her gaze settled on Yan Junze and she asked, "Why do you have to ask us? Why don''t you urinate yourself, or are you no longer a virgin boy either?"


    Yan Junze forced a strained smile and said, "To be honest, I really don''t know."


    All of a sudden, Huahua''s eyes brightened, as if the unpleasantness from moments before had been cast to the winds. She eagerly asked, "Could it be that you were drugged? Was there something in your drink? This girl is something else, turning the tables and serving you guys your own medicine, it serves you stinky men right!"


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile, shook his head, and said nothing.


    The truth was, because of his rebirth, he had no memory of the original body''s owner. He really didn''t know if the previous Yan Junze had ever had a first time.


    The current Yan Junze wasn''t sure, so he didn''t dare to bet.


    What if his expectations were too unrealistic, assuming that his predecessor was a virgin, but it turned out not to be the case?


    On the way back to the dorm, Yan Junze had thought it over; his classmates at Shuntian No.3 Middle School were basically nice to him, including some female classmates with whom he got along quite well.


    But he couldn''t tell if anyone was particularly kind or especially interested in him.


    Mainly because the original Yan Junze had an average appearance, not very handsome but also not ugly. Such a face would be forgotten as soon as it was lost in a crowd.


    Yan Junze truly couldn''t be sure if that guy had ever had a sexual encounter.


    To be on the safe side, it was best not to rely on his "virgin boy''s urine." But given the current circumstance, he had no choice but to try his own. It was worth the gamble to see if it would work; otherwise, knocking on doors dorm by dorm this late would cause a great commotion, which wouldn''t be good for him.


    Black dog blood was impossible to find in a hurry, and then there was the black cat, which was also difficult to come across at this time.


    Ignoring Huahua''s inquiries, Yan Junze found an empty water bottle, inspected the neck, then swapped it for a Drink bottle and headed towards the restroom.


    The people in the dorm behind him cast their eyes on the Drink bottle, then looked at the water bottle that Yan Junze had discarded at the foot of the table.


    Huahua''s eyes sparkled with curiosity!


    After cleaning the bottle at the wash basin, Yan Junze went into a toilet stall, urinated into it, screwed the cap back on tight, and came out.


    He didn''t return to the dorm but instead carried the Drink bottle straight towards Pine Forest. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


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 Chapter 213 Initiate

    The energy required to activate "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" was not much, consuming only 200 points for one activation, though if one wished to return to a specific moment in the past, the energy cost would be calculated based on the length of time.Besides, the energy needed to initiate "Butterfly Effect Stabilization" was also not much, requiring just 500 points.


    The combined energy consumption for both was 700 points, which was negligible for Yan Junze who now had a full capacity of 8600 points.


    Having spent 1000 points to detect the space-time rift earlier, he was left with 7600 points. After starting the Great Rewind and Butterfly Effect Stabilization, he would still have 6900 points.


    This meant that after the ability to perform the Great Rewind was available, these 6900 points of Different Dimension Energy were the capital Yan Junze could use to choose a time and space in the past to travel back to.


    Standing at the space-time rift detected by the Atlas, between those two large pine trees, Yan Junze took a deep breath and activated the "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion".


    The Atlas immediately popped up a prompt.


    [A space-time rift detected, insertion is possible. Do you wish to activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization simultaneously?]


    "Activate," thought Yan Junze.


    At the same time, he put the drink bottle into his coat pocket, which bulged out, filling the pocket.


    Right after choosing to activate "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion," a crack suddenly split open in the darkness of the Void in front of Yan Junze, revealing a rotating black vortex from which shone a vast galaxy.


    Yan Junze stood less than two steps away from this newly appeared rift and immediately stepped forward, entering the fissure.


    After his entry, the rift abruptly closed, and the surroundings instantly returned to calm, showing no signs of anything unusual.


    Within the rift, Yan Junze stood in the Void, looking down at his feet to find nothing to stand on; he seemed to be hovering in midair.


    A little farther away, a tremendous starry sea scattered with numerous stars was visible, while numerous black space-time fissures seemed to cover all areas.


    A timeline scale appeared before him, and soon after, the Spacetime Atlas popped up another prompt.


    [Please move the timeline scale to locate the moment you wish to return to.]


    Yan Junze carefully observed the scale and found that the entire timeline was movable, but the end leading toward the future could only be turned backward, not forward, meaning that he could not go into the future, only to the past.


    By turning the scale backward, he could align the markers on the scale with specific years, months, and days, with smaller scales for hours, minutes, and seconds.


    Looking at the highly accurate timeline, Yan Junze was somewhat baffled.


    Mainly because he had no idea when Cheng Jingting started Corpse Refining, how could he choose?


    After a brief hesitation, Yan Junze asked in his mind, "Is it possible to directly specify a moment for the timeline scale to find and then locate it?"


    No sooner had the thought formed than another message popped up.


    [Please provide a detailed description to facilitate better Atlas location.]


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then described in his mind, "This person is called Cheng Jingting, a live-streamer for the ''Open Your Eyes'' supernatural video platform and a Spirit Cultivator who performed Corpse Refining on a woman named Shen Wanqiu. The space-time I want to locate and return to is the most vulnerable moment for backlash during his Corpse Refining.


    Remember, it''s about space-time, not just that period; I need to be at the location where he performed the Corpse Refining."]


    Information began to pop up successively.


    [Analyzing...]


    [Analysis complete, locating...]


    [Location determined, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 4600 Different Dimension Energy points, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze chose to return to the period when Cheng Jingting originally refined the grey-skirted female corpse. The reason he didn''t choose to go back to before Shen Wanqiu was killed by Cheng Jingting, thus preventing Shen Wanqiu''s death, was due to a paradox.


    If Shen Wanqiu hadn''t been turned into a corpse by Cheng Jingting, she wouldn''t have gone to Tianmeng Science University to find Yan Junze, nor would she have been caught by Yan Junze and discovered that Cheng Jingting was the real culprit, thus the event of the Great Rewind wouldn''t have occurred.


    Therefore, choosing to go back to that time period was fundamentally impossible to insert into, as it involved the very root cause of the incident. It wasn''t a matter of simply avoiding with a [Butterfly Effect Stabilization], but rather, it would create a direct paradox.


    It wasn''t that Yan Junze was unwilling to save Shen Wanqiu or even her child, Little Su Jie, but these events were fundamental. Even Spacetime Insertion couldn''t change them, otherwise, he wouldn''t even meet the conditions to initiate this insertion. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    The consumption of 4600 Different Dimension Energy points was adjusted according to the captured timeline and the location of Cheng Jingting himself. If Cheng Jingting was in the same Tianmeng District or even city as Yan Junze, the energy consumption would definitely be much lower.


    This energy consumption was bidirectional, including the energy loss after Yan Junze''s return.


    After deducting 4600 points, he now only had 2300 points left.


    "Enter," Yan Junze thought to himself.


    As soon as the thought appeared, he felt a void under his feet and experienced an intense dizziness, more severe than the previous Rewinds, making his whole body feel heavy and without strength. After roughly a few seconds, his feet suddenly felt heavy as he finally landed on the ground.


    An involuntary sense of stability and solidity rose in his mind.


    The darkness before his eyes, like fog, gradually cleared, and his eyes slowly adapted to the surrounding environment.


    Yan Junze found himself standing in an unfamiliar room.


    This room had thick curtains, and at the moment, only one window''s curtains weren''t drawn, which caused the room''s light to be overall dim. The arrangements were very ordinary; there was a large bed against the wall, and opposite the bed was a spacious computer desk with a computer on it that appeared to have a high configuration.


    On either side of the computer chair to the back were two fill lights, with headphones, microphones, and other items all present, which looked like a broadcaster''s setup.


    Yan Junze looked back at the ground. To the side of the large bed, near the wall was a row of old-fashioned clay pots, around a dozen of them, neatly placed in the corner against the wall.


    At the moment, it was obvious there was no one in the room, but it was daytime outside, and the air in the room carried an eerie and cold feeling.


    Yan Junze shifted his gaze from the row of strange clay pots and looked up towards a door opening without a door, which was covered by a thick piece of cloth curtain.


    From beyond the curtain, Yan Junze sensed something was off, as if something was hidden behind it, yet it seemed devoid of any life.


    Now it seemed that this place must be Cheng Jingting''s home, only now there was no one at home.


    As Yan Junze wondered, from the open window, a cat''s meow suddenly sounded. He turned his head to look and saw a white cat with soft fur standing on the windowsill, peering inside.


    At the same time, a strong, powerful shout came from downstairs, "Bai, come down quickly!"

 Chapter 214 A Persian Cat Named

    Yan Junze had a certain understanding of cats from his previous life, he knew that the cat''s long and silky fur meant it was definitely someone''s pet, and it was clear that it was usually well cared for.The cat was likely a Persian, but obviously a mixed breed, its purity not quite up to standard, its white fur glaringly bright to the eyes.


    To Yan Junze, it felt somewhat unreal.


    The shouts from the person downstairs were heard distinctly by Yan Junze, who was sure that they were calling for this cat named "Bai."


    But Bai ignored the calls, leaping from the windowsill into the room and perching on the desk near the window.


    It lifted its head, its gaze resting on Yan Junze.


    "Meow¨D"


    This meow didn''t sound very friendly, rather it had a grating quality to it.


    Yan Junze didn''t move, just watched the white cat as it jumped down from the desk, tail swishing, walking over towards the edge of the bed.


    The cat didn''t seem to care much for Yan Junze, especially since he remained still, appearing no threat in its eyes.


    It approached a clay pot, brought its nose close, and sniffed a few times.


    Then Bai lifted its head, looked towards the bathroom behind the curtain, and with an enchanting cat walk, started to move in that direction.


    At that moment, Yan Junze moved.


    Bai startled, immediately stopping in place, warily watching Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn''t do anything to Bai but instead walked towards the curtain, took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and with a sweep, the light from the flashlight filled the bathroom.


    Though he braced himself, the scene before him still took Yan Junze by surprise.


    The bathroom was damp and dim, its walls covered in black, with a few towels hanging. To the left on the floor stood a large wooden tub for bathing filled with a white liquid.


    A strong medicinal scent hit Yan Junze in the face.


    Next to the bathtub stood a woman in a gray dress with long hair, her cheeks rotting, her skin covered in white marks, as if the water from the tub had stuck to her skin, drying and forming a crust.


    Yan Junze was certain, this was the corpse of the woman named Shen Wanqiu, no mistake.


    Upon being illuminated by the flashlight, Shen Wanqiu, who had been standing motionless, began to twitch slightly, though the movement was subtle, it was evident she would start moving soon.


    "Meow¨D"


    A meow sounded from below, Yan Junze froze for a moment, and looking down, he saw Bai standing beside him, head stretched forward, seemingly curious about the activity in the bathroom.


    Just then, Shen Wanqiu stretched out a hand, stepped forward, and lunged towards the white cat.


    Bai seemed to sense the danger, fur bristling, ready to dart away.


    Yan Junze, whose pulse had been prepared and active, lunged forward ahead of time, spraying Shen Wanqiu in the face with his "Virgin Boy''s Urine."


    It didn''t just hit Shen Wanqiu''s rotting face but also her clothes and the skin on her arms, all were now tainted with Yan Junze''s vengeful virgin boy''s resentment.


    Shen Wanqiu paused slightly, showing no abnormal reaction to being doused with the virgin boy''s urine, only after about two or three seconds, she continued reaching out to grab.


    By then, the white cat had already made a getaway, causing Shen Wanqiu to grasp at thin air.


    "What?"


    Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded!


    That was his own¡ªVirgin Boy''s Urine?!


    What was happening? How could it have no effect?!


    Seeing that he failed to capture the white cat, Shen Wanqiu immediately twisted her arm with her bones making crackling sounds, reaching to claw at Yan Junze''s face.


    "Holy shit!"


    Out of instinct, Yan Junze released the Black Spirit Mallet into his hand, swung it toward Shen Wanqiu''s face, and smashed her head askew. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    He seized this opportunity to quickly retreat from the bathroom door.


    Just then, a knock sounded from outside the door, along with the voice of an old man which seemed to be coming from upstairs, breathing heavily.


    "Is anyone there? I''m sorry, my Bai has run inside, please open the door."


    Of course, Yan Junze had no intention of opening the door.


    And right after the old man had finished speaking, another younger man''s voice said, "Old man, who are you looking for?"


    "He''s back!"


    Yan Junze was alarmed. He had planned not to answer the old man knocking at the door and wait for him to leave before making any plans, but he had not expected Cheng Jingting to return right behind him.


    Now, it was very likely that Cheng Jingting would open the door and let the old man come in to take Bai away.


    The moment had been missed. Once the two of them came in, his plan would fail.


    Yan Junze''s mind raced, dismissing the idea of a direct confrontation with Cheng Jingting, inwardly chanting, "Rewind!"


    Right, even though he was currently in the "Great Rewind" mode, the Atlas had introduced that as long as he still had sufficient energy, Yan Junze could still perform an interval rewind within the time frame he had traveled back to.


    The interval for the rewind was only during the current "Great Rewind" timeline. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the blink of an eye, he was back to the moment when he had just appeared in Cheng Jingting''s room, and the white cat was already standing by the window frame but had not yet intended to come in.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was still puzzled why his Virgin Boy''s Urine had no effect on Shen Wanqiu.


    Yan Junze felt speechless.


    But soon, he redirected his attention to the heavy curtain, determined to try again, at least once before Bai successfully provoked Shen Wanqiu''s anger in her corpse form.


    By now, Bai had already crawled through the window and was standing on the table.


    Yan Junze walked over swiftly, twisted off the cap of the pulsing bottle, and relying on his memory from earlier, aimed quickly at the position where Shen Wanqiu had been standing in the bathroom, pouring out the entire bottle of urine.


    The sound of splashing urine drenched Shen Wanqiu almost entirely.


    Then he turned on his phone flashlight and examined the entire body carefully. Indeed, his aim had been nearly accurate, but the female corpse still stood there motionless, without any abnormal reaction.


    "It''s confirmed, my urine doesn''t have any effect," Yan Junze was certain that he was no longer a virgin.


    "Fuck!"


    After cursing, he prepared to give up on this Great Rewind.


    Although it had consumed so much energy, this was only his first attempt. After recovering energy later and having the condition to do so again, he could try once more. After all, with the "Great Rewind" Golden Finger activated, there were virtually infinite opportunities to kill Cheng Jingting.


    Just as he was about to leave, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of the white cat jumping off the table, glanced at him, and walked towards the row of clay pots in the corner.


    "What a pity, if only this cat were pure black, I could have used it right now, instead of waiting so eagerly for next time."


    Yan Junze sighed, and suddenly, his gaze stiffened. He looked up at Bai again.


    "That''s not right, since this guy is white, but why was Shen Wanqiu''s reaction so intense when she saw Bai?"


    Even now, pouring urine directly on Shen Wanqiu''s head, she didn''t flinch, but just now, with Bai standing at his feet, peeking into the bathroom, Shen Wanqiu had immediately reached out her arm to claw at Bai.


    "There''s definitely something wrong," Yan Junze muttered to himself, giving up on the idea of returning right then.

 Chapter 215 Ambush (4000 words)

    The hybrid Persian cat Bai, at this moment, was heading towards the row of clay pots in the corner, evidently attracted by the strange scent emanating from within.However, it was stopped halfway when Yan Junze pressed down on its back.


    "Meow¡ª" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bai suddenly crouched, its white fur bristling, but it was already caught by Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze reached out with his other hand, picked it up, walked to the curtain in the bathroom, and violently ripped the curtain aside, then hung it on a hook on the doorframe, where it couldn''t fall down.


    Instead of turning on his phone''s flashlight, and with the bathroom light also broken, Yan Junze held Bai a bit higher so it could get a clear view of the inside of the bathroom.


    At this moment, Bai, while staring into the pitch-black bathroom, had its pupils slightly change color, narrowing into vertical slits.


    A cat''s eyes, unlike human eyes, are incredibly adaptable, and even though Yan Junze could not see Shen Wanqiu standing in the bathroom at all, Bai could see her very clearly.


    And at this moment, Bai was not only looking at Shen Wanqiu but also staring intently at her eyes.


    After being stared at by Bai, Shen Wanqiu''s corpse, which was originally motionless, started to tremble slightly, then she moved, taking a step forward, then a second, and a third...


    Before long, the corpse walked out of the bathroom, fully visible in front of Yan Junze.


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    Yan Junze, holding Bai, slowly backed away, noticing that Shen Wanqiu had no eyelids anymore, so she couldn''t close her eyes and could only stare straight ahead, at Bai, who was staring back at her.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu''s zombified body clearly underwent an abnormal change.


    "Didn''t they say it had to be a black cat? How come a white cat works too?" Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    But now was not the time to ponder deeply, for after Shen Wanqiu stepped out of the bathroom, she couldn''t, due to the distance, grab the cat and eat it as before, so she was left with no choice but to maintain eye contact.


    During the staring contest, white fur visibly began to grow on the surface of Shen Wanqiu''s body, first on her cheeks, then her arms and the calves exposed under her skirt, and even copious amounts of white fur appeared under her clothes.


    "Click click click..."


    A strange noise came from Shen Wanqiu''s throat, and her steps began to falter, but she kept moving towards Yan Junze, who was holding Bai.


    Yan Junze kept backing away precisely to allow Bai to stare at Shen Wanqiu a little longer.


    It now seemed that using a white cat to stare at a zombie was also effective.


    Just then, a voice came from outside the door: "Is anyone there? I''m sorry, my Bai has run in here, please open the door."


    Yan Junze immediately retreated quickly, knowing that soon after the fat uncle finished speaking, Cheng Jingtian would appear, so he had to hide quickly.


    In its current state, Shen Wanqiu had grown white fur all over her body, presumably due to the effect of being stared at by Bai.


    So, it was worth waiting to see if her, now covered in white fur, could pose a threat to Cheng Jingtian.


    Indeed, Cheng Jingtian''s voice came shortly after, starting a conversation with the fat uncle.


    Yan Junze, now holding the white cat, had retreated behind the computer desk, near a corner where it was even darker. If Bai didn''t make any noise, no one would notice them hiding there.


    The door opened.


    A young man with delicate features entered, a faint smile on his face. Following him was a fat old man wearing a traditional Chinese jacket, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.


    Yan Junze''s hiding spot was well-concealed, and at this moment, he slightly lifted his head to look towards the doorway, clearly seeing the young man.


    This guy must be Cheng Jingtian.


    Cheng Jingtian, who had maintained his faint smile, had all his attention on the fat old man behind him at first, but upon entering the room, his whole body shook violently.


    His gaze fixed on Shen Wanqiu, who was standing not far from the door, and the smile on his face was replaced by a look of horror.


    At this point, all parts of Shen Wanqiu''s corpse were covered with white hair. Originally, she was being made uncomfortable by Bai''s gaze, but Bai suddenly hid behind the computer desk at the same time the sound of the door opening came from behind her.


    Shen Wanqiu turned around, her eyes meeting Cheng Jingtian''s.


    "Ahh!!!" The fat old man behind Cheng Jingtian let out a terrified scream, "Strangenesses!"


    The old man''s voice was certainly powerful; that shout, if not heard throughout the entire building, could at least be clearly heard by several floors above and below.


    The shout was so loud it made Yan Junze''s ears ring and caused Cheng Jingtian to shudder, successfully drawing Shen Wanqiu''s attention.


    Shen Wanqiu bared her mouth, revealing the sharp fangs that had grown alongside the white fur on her body, and lunged at Cheng Jingtian, who was closest to her.


    A chill swept over them, and the strength of the corpse stench emanating from Shen Wanqiu was so intense that it rivalled that of the Back-faced Woman, an oppressive feeling descending upon them.


    Cheng Jingtian was too near to her, from the moment he saw Shen Wanqiu, to the fat old man''s scream of terror, to Shen Wanqiu lunging at him, it had been only two or three seconds.


    In desperation, he reached back and grabbed the fat old man''s clothing with such force that he yanked the old man forward, placing him between himself and Shen Wanqiu.


    Thud!


    Shen Wanqiu''s sharp right fingernails slashed across the fat old man''s cheek, and at this instant, he was too paralyzed with fear to scream. His face was divided into four parts by Shen Wanqiu''s nails, sliding down like scattered blocks.


    Cheng Jingtian took this opportunity to push the old man''s bulky body towards Shen Wanqiu, blocking her attack, while he himself escaped outside the door.

 Chapter 215 Ambush (4000 words)_2

    ```Bang!


    In the process of escaping, Cheng Jingting also slammed the door shut, completely isolating himself and Shen Wanqiu.


    "Fuck!"


    Yan Junze, who was hiding behind the computer desk, saw it all clearly. With his state of mind, he certainly didn''t understand Cheng Jingting''s ruthlessness, so he never expected the man would sacrifice an innocent person in exchange for a chance to escape.


    The Fat Old Man was killed by Shen Wanqiu in an instant, while Cheng Jingting managed to escape, causing the plan to fail.


    After killing the Fat Old Man, Shen Wanqiu, blocked by the door, didn''t continue to pursue Cheng Jingting but stood there, grabbed the Fat Old Man''s corpse, and bit into it, as if she was about to start feeding.


    Rewind!


    Having no choice, Yan Junze chose to rewind.


    This time, to avoid the accidental killing of the Fat Uncle who was looking for the cat, he had to change his strategy.


    Bai had just jumped in from outside the window and was standing on the table near the window, peering around curiously.


    Yan Junze first turned the chair at the computer desk to face the direction of the bathroom.


    Then he picked up Bai and quickly moved to the bathroom curtain, lifting it and hanging it on the nail of the doorframe, allowing Bai to see clearly the corpse of Shen Wanqiu inside.


    After that, Yan Junze carefully backed up, moving steadily and at an even pace, until he reached the computer chair, and then carefully placed Bai on the chair.


    However, Bai had already been drawn to Shen Wanqiu''s corpse in the bathroom, her eyes fixed intently on Shen Wanqiu''s eyes that couldn''t close, just standing on the chair, unmoving.


    After a while, Shen Wanqiu''s corpse began to move, taking one step after another, slowly walking out of the bathroom.


    Yan Junze, having placed Bai down, immediately retreated back to the entrance of the living room, standing behind the door and watching Shen Wanqiu as she took step by step moving out.


    At this point, Shen Wanqiu''s gaze was completely captivated by Bai, her body slowly growing white hair.


    Upon leaving the bathroom, to get to the computer chair''s direction, she had to pass by the entrance of the living room, which was precisely where Yan Junze was standing now.


    Yan Junze pressed himself against the wall, watching as Shen Wanqiu passed by him bit by bit, he held his breath, also isolating the strong antiseptic smell emanating from her body.


    Since her gaze was completely caught by Bai, Shen Wanqiu didn''t see him at all. After she passed the spot where Yan Junze stood, she reached the doorway.


    At the same moment, there was a knock at the door, followed by the Fat Uncle''s voice.


    After a few seconds passed, another younger voice rang out; it was Cheng Jingting returning.


    After saying a few words, Cheng Jingting quickly pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.


    When Yan Junze heard the sound of the keys, his heart rose to his throat, watching Shen Wanqiu who had already passed the living room door.


    At that moment, Shen Wanqiu just had to turn her head to see Cheng Jingting opening the door.


    The door opened.


    Cheng Jingting, while talking, walked into the house.


    Yan Junze was tense all over, standing behind the door. After the door opened, he gently reached out and pressed against the door panel.


    The Fat Uncle, wearing an old man''s shirt and fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, was about to follow into the house with a cheerful face when the door panel suddenly moved, and bang, it was closed.


    The Uncle took a half step back, stunned for a moment. Fortunately, he drew back quickly; otherwise, the door might have hit his nose.


    "This damned kid, he looks polite enough, but why did he suddenly close the door after entering the house?" the Fat Uncle muttered to himself.


    In the moment the door was closed, Cheng Jingting immediately looked behind it. Upon discovering that someone was hiding behind the door at home, his expression turned cold, and he immediately became alert.


    "Who are you?" As soon as he spoke, he felt this person looked somewhat familiar; Cheng Jingting gave an "ah" sound.


    Although familiar-looking, he couldn''t recall who the individual before him was at that moment.


    ```


    The main issue was that at this time, this place, he had not connected "Night Traveling Puppy" with the young man before him, even if he had thought of it, he wouldn''t dare to believe it.


    It was at this moment that a sense of crisis descended from behind.


    Cheng Jingting had no time to think further and immediately turned around to dodge, only to see Shen Wanqiu, who had already grown a coat of white hair, pouncing toward him.


    The momentum of the attack was extremely ferocious, like a maddened lion, with sharp, elongated fingernails and fangs that had already flipped over her lips.


    "What''s happening?"


    Cheng Jingting had no time to think, a thought flashed through his mind, and he felt a pain in his shoulder. A chunk of flesh had been gouged out by Shen Wanqiu''s five fingers, the wound deep enough to expose bone.


    This strike, while avoiding vital areas, left Cheng Jingting with a serious injury.


    And Shen Wanqiu did not stop there, immediately sweeping her right hand again and grasping at Cheng Jingting''s face. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the first strike occurred, Cheng Jingting had already retreated. Now, with the second strike following quickly, Jingting found himself with no room to retreat, his back against the door.


    As his face was about to be clawed, Cheng Jingting suddenly reached out and grabbed Shen Wanqiu''s arm.


    At that moment, Cheng Jingting''s arm swelled, growing significantly larger than before, veins bulging and his strength suddenly increasing several times over.


    Shen Wanqiu, having become powerful after her transformation, found that Cheng Jingting''s strength, with his arm suddenly growing thicker, was now comparable to hers.


    Cheng Jingting''s face twisted into something ferocious, as if his facial features were starting to change.


    He opened his mouth wide toward Shen Wanqiu; it seemed as though someone was inside, forcefully stretching it wider and wider.


    Crack!


    A mass of red flesh was spat out from his mouth, which after writhing for a few seconds and trembling twice, astonishingly formed into a blood-red infant.


    This infant couldn''t stand but crawled on the ground. However, it moved with surprising speed, and after latching onto Shen Wanqiu''s right foot, it climbed up her leg, covered in white hair.


    Shen Wanqiu let out a piercing scream as the white hair on her leg degenerated and melted away.


    She freed a hand, bent down, and grasped the blood-red infant on her leg. The hand holding the infant also emitted copious amounts of white vapor, as if she were holding a red-hot iron.


    She flung the infant behind her. It collided with the wall before falling onto the bed.


    At that moment, Shen Wanqiu''s other hand once more reached for Cheng Jingting. Jingting had no choice but to block with his other, ordinary hand.


    Instantly, Cheng Jingting''s body jerked, blood seeping out of his nose, ears, and eyes. His ordinary hand, upon being seized by Shen Wanqiu, saw its veins and muscles shrink and snap, the half-forearm quickly turning a purplish blue.


    Cheng Jingting struggled desperately, stomping his right foot hard on the ground several times. Like the other arm, his injured limb began to visibly swell but was quickly suppressed by Shen Wanqiu again.


    As both hands were entangled with Jingting''s, leaving her unable to use them, Shen Wanqiu flipped out her fangs and bit towards Cheng Jingting''s head.


    Just then, the infant on the bed lunged forward, clamping onto the back of Shen Wanqiu''s head.


    Steam surged out as if boiling water was churning. Shen Wanqiu screamed once more, hair and scalp falling off her head in chunks.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu was suddenly at a disadvantage.


    Yan Junze saw that the situation was bad, flipped his hand, and released the mace into his grip, then without a second word, strode forward and slammed the mace down on the infant''s head atop Shen Wanqiu.


    Thud¡ªa muffled sound.


    The infant was struck and fell, but it clung to Shen Wanqiu''s shoulder, preventing itself from falling.


    It turned its head, looking at Yan Junze. Its eye sockets were void of eyeballs, and it opened its mouth to emit huffing roars, the inside similarly pitch-black, devoid of anything.


    Yet, it seemed as if there was a potent corrosive liquid around its body; the blood touching Shen Wanqiu''s white-haired corpse immediately provoked her agonizing screams.


    Although the infant continued to roar threateningly at Yan Junze, he paid no attention and struck it hard again on its head with the mace.


    "Enough, you!" Cheng Jingting shouted angrily, then his eyes lit up as if he had remembered something. He gritted his teeth and said, "You... it''s you, you damn Night... You are... Yan Junze!"

 Chapter 216 Difficult Kill

    Bang!Just as Cheng Jingting finally recognized Yan Junze, he took a solid hit from a club to his forehead.


    Cheng Jingting''s head spun, stars bursting before his eyes, but with his hands held by Shen Wanqiu, he could not defend himself.


    Yan Junze kept hammering down with the club, one blow after another, while saying, "Recognized me? Does it feel good? Are you satisfied? What the hell have I done to you for you to try and make me look like a fool and go viral over and over? Are you crazy or what?"


    Moments later, Cheng Jingting''s head was a mess of bruises, swollen so badly he looked like Sakyamuni.


    However, Yan Junze also realized a problem, which was that hitting a person with a club did not have the same effect as hitting strangenesses.


    Hitting a person could only inflict physical damage, depending entirely on the hardness of the club. But when hitting strangenesses, it could disperse their magnetic field and deplete their energy, making each strike much more effective.


    Yan Junze quickly gave up on continuing to beat Cheng Jingting.


    Yes, using the word ''beat'' is more apt.


    Cheng Jingting at this point was obviously different from an ordinary person; although his head had been beaten to the point where even his mother wouldn''t recognize him, his body had undergone a mutation, and even with his head swollen like a pig''s, it still wouldn''t endanger his life.


    Hence, Yan Junze once again turned his attention to the baby, determining that eliminating the strange baby to free Shen Wanqiu''s hands to deal with Cheng Jingting was the best course of action.


    The strange baby had once again climbed onto Shen Wanqiu''s head, but Yan Junze swiftly swung his club sideways, glancing off her scalp and striking the baby hard, sending it flying off like a baseball.


    With a squelch, it stuck to the wall like a clump of mud.


    But this mass of flesh did not stand still, continuously wriggling. It was conceivable that, given time, the baby would reform and attack again.


    With the baby no longer a distraction, Shen Wanqiu again bared her elongated fangs towards Cheng Jingting''s swollen "pig''s head," and she looked ready to bite down.


    At the critical moment, Cheng Jingting let out a loud shout, and from under his feet, a billow of mist rolled out. It seemed illusory, but Yan Junze had seen this scene before.


    During the battle between Resentful Granny and Back-faced Woman, the same scene had appeared. According to the exorcist Huang Chen, this was a manifestation of the Spiritual Realm formed during battles between high-level strangenesses.


    But Cheng Jingting before them was not a strangeness; he was a flesh-and-blood person.


    Yan Junze stared in shock at Cheng Jingting, who was emitting a large amount of mist, and then looked at Shen Wanqiu.


    Under Shen Wanqiu''s feet, mist had also started to spread. It was understandable that this woman had evolved beyond her original state, but what was going on with Cheng Jingting?


    Indeed, the situation was complex. Cheng Jingting, who could nurture spirits, was not as simple as Yan Junze had initially anticipated.


    At this point, Cheng Jingting''s skin had turned a dull, lusterless gray, akin to that of a corpse, devoid of any shine, sagging and drooping, his hair withered, limbs wasted away.


    Though it appeared as if his body was significantly degenerating, Shen Wanqiu now began to tremble slightly, as though her strength had reached its limit. The mist at her feet started thinning, getting enveloped by Cheng Jingting''s mist in return.


    From Cheng Jingting''s direction, Yan Junze could feel the strangeness magnetic field rapidly intensifying, gradually overshadowing Shen Wanqiu.


    Simultaneously, Cheng Jingting''s seemingly weakened limbs firmly grasped Shen Wanqiu, his fingers sinking into the flesh of her arms, encircling the bones with a series of cracking sounds.


    Shen Wanqiu''s body shook even more violently.


    At that moment, the mass of flesh on the wall reassembled itself into the strange baby, baring its teeth and crawling down the corner of the wall towards them.


    "This really is troublesome!"


    Seeing this, Yan Junze activated his Semi-spirit State and immediately released the Crawler Monster.


    "Kill that baby."


    He commanded the Crawler Monster, and his body hair had already grown rapidly. Extending his arms forward, a mass of hair stretched out, quickly wrapping around Cheng Jingting''s neck and shoulders.


    At this moment, Cheng Jingting appeared like a dead man, with no sense of feeling. As the hair wrapped around him and pierced through his skin, burrowing into his body, he still showed no reaction, merely biting Shen Wanqiu while holding her in his arms.


    Yan Junze''s hair began to speed up as it drilled into Cheng Jingting''s body. However, since Cheng Jingting had undergone mutation, his body might look weakened, but it was actually hard for the hair to penetrate him. If it had been any other creature as ordinary as the strangenesses, it would have been completely impaled by the hair by now.


    Thump!


    At that moment, the Crawler Monster was unexpectedly bitten on the shoulder by the strange baby and flung away, crashing behind the computer desk.


    After all, the foundations of the Crawler Monster were too weak. Although it was constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas, it was still no match for the baby. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Its forked tongue had just wrapped around the strange baby when it immediately began emitting a copious amount of white steam, as if it was about to be cooked.


    That moment, the tongue hung outside its mouth, still emitting heat, too embarrassed to pull back inside, looking extremely awkward.


    Yan Junze, with a steeled heart, released the two naughty strange babies once more.


    This was the first time these two strange babies had been summoned to assist him since he had taken them from Aunt Mei.


    Since the strange babies were afraid of brightly lit places, upon releasing them, Yan Junze also extended some of his hair to push closed the only window that was open in the room and drew the curtains shut.


    The next second, the room became very dark, and as the two strange babies appeared, Yan Junze immediately said, "Assist the Crawler Monster, kill that strange baby!"


    The two strange babies hesitated for a moment, then looked towards the bed. At this moment, the baby on the bed had just thrown the Crawler Monster. Its pitch-black eye sockets turned, seemingly fixing their gaze on the twin strange babies.


    Thump! Thump!


    The two strange babies pounced without a word, their eyes flashing with an inexplicable excitement. In an instant, they leaped onto the bed, wrestling and biting viciously with the strange baby.


    "Break!"


    Since the Semi-Spirit State had been activated, Yan Junze had completely twisted his head one hundred eighty degrees. The hair that had extended out now possessed maximum offensive power, a large amount of it drilling into Cheng Jingting''s body.


    The hair, like steel spikes, forced Cheng Jingting to redirect much of his energy towards fighting the hair, and the force he was using to press down on Shen Wanqiu weakened instantly.


    Shen Wanqiu''s head tilted back, and she viciously bit into Cheng Jingting''s neck. Visible to the naked eye, a green poison began spreading along the skin of his neck.


    Meanwhile, the hair inside Cheng Jingting''s body, while extending toward the pulsating heart, was withering away in huge patches. But soon, it was replaced by new hair stubbornly aiming for the fiercely pulsating heart.


    Yan Junze could clearly feel that this bizarre body of the man before him was just too strong. It was impossible to pierce through him with the hair alone, so he resorted to the next best thing, aiming to penetrate his heart as a more direct method.


    Finally, the situation tipped completely to one side, the strange baby unable to fend off both the Crawler Monster and the two strange babies at the same time. Much of its flesh was bitten off.


    On the outside, Shen Wanqiu was finally gaining the upper hand, infecting Cheng Jingting''s skin with the Corpse Poison from her teeth, while the hair Yan Junze had drilled into his body was also close to reaching the heart. In every aspect, Cheng Jingting was being suppressed to the verge of death.


    Just then, Cheng Jingting''s eyes regained a momentary clarity. His lips moved slightly, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth as he gasped and said, "Spirit Guarding, Spirit Guarding, guide me into the spirit, the spirit returns to the beginning, those who kill me shall die!"


    At the same moment, two pieces of information popped into Yan Junze''s mind.


    [Detecting intense Butterfly Effect fluctuations.]


    [Previously detected 3 Butterfly Effect incidents. Estimated energy cost to resolve them is 1000 points. A fourth powerful Butterfly Effect fluctuation detected¡ªexpected energy cost to handle it is 2000 points. If clearing all, current energy is insufficient...]


    "What?" Seeing these two messages, Yan Junze froze in shock.


    After initiating the "Great Rewind," he had 2300 points of Different Dimension Energy left. He had used two small rewinds in this room, but the time was short and the energy consumed was negligible.


    But now, he had caused a Butterfly Effect that would need a total of 3000 points of energy to settle. What should he do?

 Chapter 217 Butterfly Effect Stabilization

    Cheng Jingtian, after uttering that incomprehensible talk about "Spirit Guarding," suddenly lost the clarity in his eyes. His gaze dimmed in an instant, and his head drooped down as if life had left him.In the next second, a gray light ascended above his head, a blurry shadow.


    This shadow was only half the size of a person, seeming to break free from its cage. First, it stretched out its hands from the top of Cheng Jingtian''s head and then crawled out with difficulty.


    Once it had emerged, Yan Junze finally saw clearly that the shadow took the form of Cheng Jingtian, albeit listless. It hunched its back, standing atop its own body.


    In less than two seconds, the gray shadow swiftly dissipated into nothingness.


    After the shadow vanished, Cheng Jingtian''s body ceased its resistance, instead becoming eerily quiet. Then, his body began to swell rapidly as if it were a balloon that was abruptly inflated.


    "Not good!"


    Yan Junze felt a tremendous force squeezing out the hair that penetrates Cheng Jingtian''s body, and he immediately retracted all his hair, retreating frantically.


    But Shen Wanqiu, who was oblivious to these sensations, moved forward fiercely and hugged Cheng Jingtian''s body, devouring it desperately after Yan Junze stepped aside.


    Bang!


    Right where Cheng Jingtian stood, his body exploded into pieces, not only turning into a mush of flesh but also generating a powerful blast of air.


    Shen Wanqiu, who was directly on top of Cheng Jingtian, bore the brunt of the blast. Even with her evolved strength, she was still torn into five or six pieces and hurled away by the explosion.


    The living room door behind Cheng Jingtian was blown clear off to the staircase passage outside, with the adjacent walls collapsing inwards, leaving them bloodstained and marred.


    The bed in the room, also caught in the blast, was pushed up against the desk near the window. The strange baby on the bed, together with the two odd babies and the Crawler Monster fighting over it, were smeared with exploding gore and flung into the wall with a brutal impact.


    Having anticipated Cheng Jingtian''s body explosion, Yan Junze was still in Semi-Spirit State despite being nearby, which helped him resist the shockwave.


    As expected, the impact of the self-detonation blew his Semi-Spirit Body into the bathroom, causing a loud crashing noise, and even the thick curtain outside the bathroom was blown away.


    Indeed, Cheng Jingtian''s last attack before death was extremely terrifying.


    Yan Junze felt his head spinning and heavy, but after regaining some clarity, he didn''t hesitate. He immediately collected the two odd babies smeared against the wall and the stunned Crawler Monster into the Atlas.


    The Atlas contained Different Dimension Energy, which would allow them to recover slowly, so there was no need to worry for now.


    Following the explosion, Yan Junze used the semi-Spirit State to withstand the impact, then forced himself to recover rapidly.


    About ten seconds later, he reverted to his normal body, but immediately felt a wave of weakness and hunger wash over him.


    He steadied himself and exited the bathroom. By then, the room was in complete disarray, with hardly an inch of space near the living room door left intact.


    Only in the direction of the computer desk, which had shifted position, was everything relatively untouched.


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    A cat''s meow came from beneath the computer desk.


    Yan Junze bent down to see Bai crouched underneath, curled up into a ball with eyes filled with terror, shivering fearfully.


    He reached out to pick up Bai and then examined Shen Wanqiu''s scattered remains, noticing that her dismembered body no longer twitched. Obviously, she died nearly at the same time as Cheng Jingtian.


    Fortunately, the "Revenge" mission had also been completed. Whether or not Cheng Jingtian''s soul had escaped, his death was an undeniable fact.


    Just as he thought this, a mission completion notification popped up.


    ["Revenge, Hair-Raising (High)," completed, earn 1500 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze was left with just over 2200 points of energy; now with an additional 1500 points, he had a total of 3700 points.


    He had just been warned by the Atlas about insufficient energy points for "Butterfly Effect Stabilization," but now it seemed he had more than enough.


    Carrying Bai, Yan Junze coughed twice and walked straight out the living room door.


    At this moment, the dust still whirled in the air outside the living room at the top of the stairs from the explosion, though it was beginning to dissipate gradually.


    Looking down from the stairway, the Fat Old Man fanning himself stood on the floor below, craning his neck and looking upward, his face etched with panic.


    Apart from that, neighbors from upstairs and downstairs stood at their respective stair entrances to look, but none dared to approach.


    The neighbors on this floor, whether they were home or not, never opened their doors.


    Upon seeing the fat old man, Yan Junze stroked Bai in his arms, signaling that he could come over to be held.


    When the fat old man suddenly saw Bai, he was startled, then became hesitant.


    After a brief moment of indecision, he still climbed the stairs and hurried over to Yan Junze and Bai.


    Following the fat uncle was a middle-aged man who seemed to be his son.


    Once the fat old man got closer, Yan Junze handed Bai over to him and said, "Fat uncle, did you have your cat groomed?"


    The fat uncle didn''t immediately answer him. Instead, after taking Bai, he glanced into Cheng Jingting''s room, saw nothing in the pitch darkness, and then replied, "Hmm, it used to be black. It always ran off and hid in hard-to-see corners, and with my poor eyesight, I couldn''t spot it, so I decided to dye it white. Let''s see how it tries to hide now?"


    "May I ask who you are...?" The fat uncle''s son, who was behind him, expressed doubt and began to inquire.


    Yan Junze didn''t speak; he just nodded and turned to enter the room.


    At this moment, there was no longer any need for him to stay there. He took a deep breath, called up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, and initiated the return command.


    From the perspective of a third person watching, one could see a black point suddenly appear in front of Yan Junze, while Yan Junze himself rapidly shrank and was sucked into the black point.


    Once again, he stood in the gap space of spacetime, but this time, a prompt immediately popped up for "Butterfly Effect Stabilization."


    [The current "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" has resulted in 4 butterfly effects. The first butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 300 points, and it has generated 572 ripple events. The second butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 300 points, and it has generated 580 ripple events.


    The third butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 400 points, and it has generated 769 ripple events.]


    Yan Junze looked closely, mentally prepared for the number of ripple events a single butterfly effect could cause.


    So, even though he had changed only the fact of Cheng Jingting''s death, if he allowed the event to trigger butterfly effects without intervening, who knows? By the time he returned to his own time period, many historical events might have changed.


    For instance, he might not be able to attend university because Tianmeng Science University could have been forcibly shut down by the authorities. Or he might never meet his current roommates, or he might not even live in Room 411 anymore.


    In any case, constant shifts in more than 500 ripple events from a single butterfly effect ultimately form the altered outcome ¨C the complexity of which was almost too daunting to contemplate.


    Just then, the Atlas popped up with information about the fourth butterfly effect.


    [The fourth butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 2000 points, generating 34 ripple events. If the ripple events are realized, they will have a fatal impact on the host. Ripple event number 18 is the key, with infinite variability, and must be addressed personally by the host. A maximum of 500 points of Rewind Energy may be used with caution.]


    Reading this Atlas information, Yan Junze took a moment to digest it before going over it again to fully understand.


    It turned out that not only did the fourth butterfly effect consume a large amount of energy, but it also required his personal intervention due to its high variability - meaning he would have to make another trip.


    At this moment, the Spacetime Atlas displayed another prompt.


    [The first, second, and third butterfly effects can be handled personally at your discretion or corrected automatically by "Butterfly Effect Stabilization." During the automatic process, the host may choose to observe from a third-person perspective. Would you like to start now?]


    Yan Junze thought for a bit and mentally agreed to begin. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [We will now commence the stabilization of the first butterfly effect. Please choose whether to handle it personally or let the Atlas automatically correct it.]


    "Let it automatically correct. I will observe from a third-person perspective," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    The space in front of him suddenly quivered, a fissure yawned open, revealing a segment of a timeline.


    It felt as if Yan Junze was instantly transported there, standing within this scene, watching the people passing by, chatting animatedly, yet no one could see him.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was as if an invisible observer.


    Not far in front of him stood the fat old man, holding Bai, and standing with his son at the bottom of the stairs.


    Downstairs was now crowded with many residents, there were police cars stopped inside the complex, and beyond that, Yan Junze also saw some men in suits entering the building, likely belonging to the Exorcism team.


    A man in a suit was inquiring about the incident from the fat old man at the time.


    The fat old man''s account mostly matched reality¡ªhe heard several people fighting in the room, sounding not like ordinary people, their cries harrowing and spine-chilling to anyone who listened.

 Chapter 218 The Unexpected Lianyi Incident

    Yan Junze stood next to Fat Uncle, watching as the exorcist in a suit listened intently to the old man''s description.At the end, the exorcist asked, "The young man who brought the cat out to you, if you see him again, would you be able to recognize him?"


    Just then, a message popped up before Yan Junze''s eyes.


    [This is the first point where the Butterfly Effect has occurred, correction is about to proceed, would you like to view the uncorrected clip once?]


    "Hmm, let''s watch it once," Yan Junze replied curiously.


    To be honest, he was also curious to see what would have happened without the Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    As the message popped up earlier, Fat Uncle, the exorcist, and everyone else in the surrounding scene had all frozen as if the frame had paused.


    It wasn''t until Yan Junze gave his affirmative reply that the scene started playing again.


    Fat Uncle told the exorcist, "I remember, of course I remember. That young man probably doesn''t live in this neighborhood, I had never seen him before."


    "Then, can you come back with us to do a composite sketch?" the exorcist asked again.


    While stroking Bai in his arms, Fat Uncle hesitated, "Although I can recognize the man if I see him again, I''m not sure if I can do a composite sketch exactly like him."


    "Approximately accurate is fine," the exorcist said.


    "I remember, I can assist you," Fat Uncle''s son came over at that moment and spoke to the exorcist.


    "Are you sure?" the exorcist asked.


    "Sure, I have a good memory," Fat Uncle''s son nodded.


    The scene paused again.


    Yan Junze looked up at the new message that had just popped up.


    [This is the first ripple event of the Butterfly Effect, would you like to watch the remaining 571 ripple events?]


    Yan Junze was astonished; there were still 571 clips to watch, but he didn''t have the time to delve into all of them. He shook his head, "No need, proceed with correcting the Butterfly Effect here."


    The scene instantly returned to the moment the exorcist was questioning Fat Uncle about recognizing Yan Junze.


    This time, Fat Uncle frowned deeply and after a long thought, he shook his head, "I can''t remember clearly, it seems that it was the owner of that house who brought the cat out to me. After handing the cat to me, he went back inside and didn''t come out again."


    "Are you sure? Think hard," the exorcist said.


    Fat Uncle''s son came over at this point, and Fat Uncle looked up to ask, "Son, did you see the young man who brought the cat out to us? Was it the young guy living in that house or someone else?"


    His son blinked, then showed a regretful smile, "Sorry, I was so concerned whether Bai was injured or not, I didn''t pay attention to him. Plus, I haven''t come to see you for a month. I''m really not familiar with the people here."


    [The first Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    A message popped up, and just then, the scene where Yan Junze stood started to shift rapidly.


    Fat Uncle and his son disappeared along with the exorcist. The onlookers were also nowhere to be seen. The scene shifted, and Yan Junze found himself standing in a room.


    He was familiar with this room because it was here that Cheng Jingting had exploded.


    The door of the room had been cordoned off with yellow police tape, but there were no police inside; they were all standing outside the tape, not entering the room.


    Inside, there were only three people, two men and one woman. The men were one fat and one thin, and the woman was pretty with an air of scholarly grace about her.


    At that moment, the woman was squatting at the spot where Cheng Jingting had exploded. She wore white gloves and was speaking as she slowly stood up, "Confirmed, the explosion occurred after the cadaveric qi had expanded."


    "Is it from this dismembered white-haired corpse?" the thin man asked from the corner, pointing at a part of Shen Wanqiu''s body.


    This piece of the body was part of the back with a lot of white hair still attached, which allowed the exorcists to quickly determine her powers.


    "No," the woman shook her head, her gaze moving to the bathroom and the walls, "There''s something odd, there are signs of impact in these places. There must have been someone else in this room."


    Everyone suddenly froze.


    A message appeared in front of Yan Junze.


    [This is the second point where the Butterfly Effect has occurred, correction is about to proceed, would you like to watch the uncorrected clip once?]


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and felt there was no need to watch the clip before repair, so he shook his head, indicating his decision.


    The scene continued.


    The fat man pointed at the blood and flesh residue left by the Blood Infant on the bed and said to the female exorcist, "There were others. If I''m not mistaken, the person living here, in addition to refining a corpse, also refined an infant. Look at this, these should be left by the infant."


    "Most likely, the guy was too greedy and got backfired upon," the thin man nodded in agreement.


    The woman still had her brows furrowed, but said nothing. Instead, she walked over to the bed and carefully examined the remnants left by the infant.


    A few moments later, she nodded, "Yes, that''s right."


    "Then, is there any need to run another strangeness magnetic field detection?" the fat man asked.


    Without much thought, the woman shook her head, "No need. It''s just an unlucky Spirit Cultivator; there''s no involvement of Wandering Spirits or Sculpting Spirits."


    The scene came to a halt once more.


    [The second Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    As the information popped up, Yan Junze''s location remained unchanged; he was still inside the room. However, the scene within the room was rapidly shifting.


    Once the scene had stabilized, the three exorcists had vanished, darkness enveloped the outside, the scattered corpses had been cleared away, and the traces of the explosion were cleaned up.


    The door of the room had been knocked off its hinges, so it remained open, allowing a clear view outside. At the moment, the blockade outside the door was still in place, but beyond the stairwell entrance, there was a deathly silence, not a sound to be heard. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Judging by the looks of it, the current time was at least two or three in the morning.


    Yan Junze didn''t understand why the third Butterfly Effect Stabilization appeared at this time. It seemed that the police and exorcists had already surveyed the scene, everyone had retreated, and it was now the middle of the night.


    About a minute later, the sound of rustling footsteps came from the bottom of the stairs, and soon enough, a man dressed in black with a duckbill cap, the brim pulled down very low, appeared at the stairwell entrance.


    The man first looked around to make sure no one was there, then crossed the police line and walked into Cheng Jingting''s room.


    As he passed by Yan Junze, Yan Junze noticed the man was somewhat slim and short, but each step he took was very firm, giving the impression of a robust physique.


    Not only was the man''s hat brim pulled down low, but he also turned up his collar to cover half of his face so his features were unclear.


    After entering the room, the man neither used a flashlight nor turned on the light. Instead, he walked around the corners of the room, noticed the imprint of the earthen jar, but what was left of the jars were either broken or taken away by the exorcists.


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    After circling around, he walked to the middle of the room, extended a finger, and produced some black powder from somewhere, sprinkling it around in a circle at his feet.


    He stood within the circle of powder without stepping out, and soon after, the man''s shoulders began to shrug.


    Yan Junze watched curiously, wondering what kind of trick this fellow was pulling.


    As the man''s shoulders moved up and down, to Yan Junze''s eyes, it seemed as if they started to rise as if bones were stretching out.


    But upon closer inspection, it wasn''t so.


    Yan Junze walked closer to the man, up to his face, and carefully observed his features.


    Although the man''s lower face was obscured, the distance allowed Yan Junze to still make out the man''s general appearance.


    The man''s eyes were very small, and even when they were open, they seemed as if they were asleep.


    As the man continued to shrug, Yan Junze stepped back several paces, knowing full well he didn''t need to retreat, that he and the man were in entirely different dimensions.


    The man''s shoulders appeared to have a double image, but soon Yan Junze could see clearly that it was another person''s shoulders, slowly rising from within the man''s body and standing up. The black shadow and the man''s body overlapped and merged so that at first glance, it appeared the man''s shoulders had extruded bones.


    The shadow looked somewhat fierce and terrifying, with two horns growing from its head and a skeletal structure of immense size. Its arms were excessively sturdy, totally out of proportion to its body and legs, and a bone spur protruded from each of its elbows.


    After the black shadow completely stood up from the man''s body, it looked left and right, and its hollow gaze swept over Yan Junze''s direction.


    Even though it couldn''t see Yan Junze, it still caused him to shiver silently, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.


    Suddenly, the shadow seemed to find something and brutally grasped toward the darkness in the front right side, seizing an oval pebble that was placed on a computer desk.


    The pebble was somewhat large, usually used as an ornamental stone on the table, and rarely caught anyone''s attention.


    However, after the shadow seized the pebble, it crushed it without a second thought.


    The scene abruptly stopped, and a message appeared before Yan Junze''s eyes.


    [This is the third Butterfly Effect origin point. Correction will commence. Would you like to view the uncorrected footage once?]


    Yan Junze was totally stunned; he had not expected that this seemingly Spirit Cultivator who was a thin, middle-aged man would show up, and judging from the Monster Spirit strangeness inside him, it was clear that this man was even more terrifying than Cheng Jingting.


    Who was this guy? Why did he come here? Was he part of the exorcist team, or did he have some connection with Cheng Jingting?


    At that moment, Yan Junze''s mind was filled with questions.


    This time, he definitely chose to first view the footage before the Butterfly Effect correction.


    As the thought to watch it arose, the paused scene resumed.


    At the moment the Monster Spirit shadow crushed the pebble, a half-human-sized black figure emerged from the shattered stone but was immediately seized by the Monster Spirit shadow, unable to move.


    Upon seeing the half-human-sized black figure, Yan Junze was taken aback and couldn''t help but blurt out, "Cheng Jingting!"


    It was indeed Cheng Jingting''s fleeing soul that had escaped. Yan Junze thought he had left, little knowing that it had hidden inside the pebble, unnoticed even by the exorcists.


    As Cheng Jingting was discovered by the stranger, at first, he was terrified, but then he came to a realization, and looking at the Monster Spirit shadow holding him, the half-human-sized figure gradually became calm.


    "What''s going on?" the thin man asked.


    "The corpse I was refining was disrupted and destroyed by a guy named Yan Junze, who set a trap for me," Cheng Jingting replied.


    "How could you be so careless?" the thin man rebuked.


    "Teacher, you must save me," Cheng Jingting said.


    The thin man sighed softly and after a moment of silence, spoke, "There appeared a Spirit Bridge in Tianmeng District, and I was about to try my luck there. So for now, follow me and when the opportunity arises, I''ll help you with a Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect."


    At that moment, the scene paused again, and a message appeared in front of Yan Junze.


    [This is the first ripple event of this Butterfly Effect. Do you wish to play the remaining 768 ripple events?]


    "Teacher?"


    Yan Junze stared at the information prompt, though in his mind he was recalling the conversation between Cheng Jingting and the thin man.

 Chapter 219 Spirit Guarding (1)

    Now, it seemed that the thin man wearing a duckbill cap was the teacher who taught Cheng Jingting how to nurture his spirit.This also explained why he was able to find the hidden place of Cheng Jingting''s soul.


    Furthermore, if the thin man located Cheng Jingting''s soul and let this guy possess a corpse to resurrect, it would definitely be unfavorable for Yan Junze in the future.


    No matter what, things definitely could not continue to develop this way.


    Yan Junze first denied continuing to play the remaining 768 ripple events, then issued the command for Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    The scene in front of him changed rapidly, returning to the moment when the Monster Spirit''s shadow behind the thin man stretched out its hand, reaching for the cobblestone, and then the scene froze.


    Then, it started playing again.


    The Monster Spirit suddenly grasped the ordinary-looking cobblestone on the computer desk and crushed it with one squeeze.


    However, this time, the moment the cobblestone was crushed, Cheng Jingting''s shadowy soul whizzed out, moving at an incredibly fast speed.


    The shadow frantically darted around the room like a headless fly, its flight path completely erratic, as if it might crash into a wall at any moment.


    The Monster Spirit did not reach out to grab it again, and the thin man started muttering to himself, "What on earth did this guy encounter just now? He''s been scared out of his wits."


    Cheng Jingting''s soul roamed wildly in the room for a moment and spoke to the thin man, "Yan Long, so you want to harm me as well?"


    The thin man, furious and in a lowered voice, cursed, "You little brat, even daring to directly call your teacher by name, don''t even think about me helping you possess a corpse to resurrect!"


    "Hahaha..." The soul of Cheng Jingting laughed, and by the looks of it, he was seriously ill at that moment.


    Just as the thin man Yan Long said, it seemed that Cheng Jingting had been scared out his soul, and his soul became fragmented.


    However, although Yan Long said so, he still wanted to help his student. The tall Monster Spirit shadow that arose from his body reached out again towards Cheng Jingting''s soul, attempting to take him away.


    Who would have thought that at that moment, Cheng Jingting''s soul flew to the window and with a whoosh, darted through the windowpane, disappearing without a trace.


    Yan Long was taken aback, then shrugged his shoulders again, and talked to himself, "Get out, you little brat, if you want to leave so badly, just be a lonely ghost!"


    As he shrugged his shoulders, the manifested Monster Spirit gradually shrank and slowly retracted into his body.


    [The third Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief.


    The scene before his eyes began to change again, and he knew this was the fourth and final Butterfly Effect of the "Great Rewind".


    According to the previous hints from the Spacetime Atlas, if this fourth Butterfly Effect was not stabilized, it would pose a lethal threat to Yan Junze.


    So, the moment the scene changed, Yan Junze immediately became alert. Once the scene stabilized, he looked intently and was stunned on the spot.


    The scene before him was completely unfamiliar, not in the community or Cheng Jingting''s home, but inside a spacious hall.


    At first, Yan Junze was a bit puzzled, but upon seeing the arrangement in the hall, he immediately came to his senses.


    At the back of the hall were rows of black and white banners_, with many yellow plastic flowers stuck on the wall, among which was a large "Offering" character; this was a Funeral Hall.


    Directly beneath the "Offering" character, a coffin with a viewing window lay, it was currently powered on, and perhaps the cooling was set too high, as mist had formed inside, obscuring the view of the body.


    Around the viewing coffin were large clusters of fresh flowers, and at the foot of the coffin stood two refined wooden tables with offerings, ingot-shaped candles, and other items. In the middle of the tables was a bowl of cooked, clean rice with three sticks of incense inserted in it.


    These three sticks of incense would be replaced periodically to ensure the incense kept burning continuously.


    In front of the tables were three cushions, and at this moment, someone was kneeling there, crying out loud in grief, while family members were nearby, receiving condolences. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stood in the Funeral Hall like an outsider, watching these people busily carry out their duties in an orderly manner, with a heavy atmosphere permeating the air.


    In such an environment, even an outsider like him couldn''t help but feel solemn.


    Looking around, he realized this place was not just a Funeral Hall, but also likely inside a funeral home, as outside the hall''s door, he could see across to another hall''s door, but it was closed with apparently no one inside.


    It was then that an information prompt popped up.


    [Up next, begin stabilization of the fourth Butterfly Effect. Since this event involves more than three unstable strangeness factors, you will need to handle it personally.]


    [Reminder: 1. You cannot appear in your true form during the Butterfly Effect Stabilization; 2. The Atlas will designate the best avatar for you based on the strangeness you have locked down, which will enter the scene via a Different Dimension space re-projection; 3. Do not interact with anyone in the scene; 4. You only have 500 points of Different Dimension Energy available for Rewind use.]


    [Warning: Interacting with others is the worst course of action, likely causing unstable Butterfly Effect ripple events that cannot be stabilized. Besides this, Butterfly Effect Stabilization will automatically correct other minor ripple events.]


    The information was somewhat overwhelming.


    Yan Junze carefully read it over, especially the few lines in the reminder section, which he pondered over several times.


    He could now guess that the fourth Butterfly Effect incident would occur inside the funeral parlor''s Funeral Hall. He wondered what fatal threats would arise if he didn''t address the issue?


    As he was pondering, another piece of information popped up in his mind.


    [After screening, Long-tongued Zhenzhen is in a state of chaos due to the strangenesses magnetic field and cannot be used; the Crawler Monster is disabled in its legs, inconvenient for free movement during the mission; after screening, the strange babies of various sizes are all suitable for use in Different Dimension space re-projection. Please choose?]


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    At this moment, Yan Junze understood. He didn''t hesitate and immediately chose the slightly larger strange baby.


    [Host has selected the re-projection target. The Ripple event is expected to start in one hour...]


    Having done this, Yan Junze turned his gaze toward one side of the Funeral Hall.


    There, a group of men and women in mourning clothes sat; some were staring into space, others were quietly grieving, some younger ones were playing with their phones, and a few were speaking softly.


    Dressed in hemp clothes, Cui Zhiyong sat alone in a corner, lighting a cigarette and taking puffs, his gaze occasionally drifting toward the direction of the coffin.


    The person lying in that coffin was none other than his wife, Ren Susu.


    Ren Susu had committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, and the cause was not complicated¡ªit all started with an argument with Cui Zhiyong. In a moment of anger, she took a path of no return.


    In this Funeral Hall, Cui Zhiyong didn''t know how many times he had already cried. At this moment, having only taken a few drags from his cigarette, he once again began to silently shed tears.


    Cui Zhiyong''s sister, Cui Xiaocan, sat opposite, gazing at him with a heart full of pity.


    Ever since her sister-in-law passed away, she had seen her brother silently cry more than seven or eight times. She knew this silent grief represented the deepest pain. It was likely that Cui Zhiyong''s heart was already dead, and when it came to self-blame, it had reached its extremity.


    Cui Xiaocan gently hugged her brother''s and sister-in-law''s seven-year-old daughter, Yuanyuan, who was by now sleeping on her lap. Later, Cui Xiaocan would have to take Yuanyuan back to rest; she couldn''t let the child get too tired.


    The visitors who came to offer comfort were mostly friends. The Cui Family had few relatives, and with their parents gone, they only had this one sister, Cui Xiaocan.


    The relatives of the late Ren Susu, who lived out of town, were overwhelmed upon arriving at the Funeral Hall and fainted, and were taken to the hospital. Considering the elders'' health, their family hesitated to let them come again.


    By 11:30 p.m., the only people left in the Funeral Hall were Cui Zhiyong and his good buddy Sun Guodong.


    Sun Guodong was a decent person, busying himself and helping out. Without his arrangements, things here would not be as they were now.


    After bidding farewell to the last few colleagues from their workplace, Sun Guodong poured a cup of hot water and sat down next to Cui Zhiyong, sipping the water.


    Cui Zhiyong passed a cigarette over: "Thank you, brother!"


    "Why mention it?" Sun Guodong waved his hand and pushed the cigarette back, "I''m not smoking anymore. I haven''t rested well these past few days, and smoking hurts my throat."


    "I won''t say anything, but I''ll remember your kindness," Cui Zhiyong patted Sun Guodong on the shoulder.


    Sun Guodong grinned, took a sip of water, held the cup in both hands, and gazed at the ice coffin, recalling the days he spent with the couple. Just a couple of days ago, he saw a perfectly fine person, who was now gone suddenly.


    Life is unpredictable.


    At this time, Cui Xiaocan, who was sitting opposite, turned her head and glanced at her husband: "What time is it?"


    "Almost midnight," her husband looked at his watch and said, "It will be cold for the child to sleep here. Let''s go back. Big brother and his friend are here."


    Cui Xiaocan glanced at Cui Zhiyong across from her, his expression fading, shook her head and said, "No, I''ll stay here with big brother tonight. You take Yuanyuan back to rest."


    "Then I''ll stay too, to accompany them. Go on, I''ll drive you and Yuanyuan home first. You both have a good night''s rest, and I''ll go back to sleep after you come over in the morning," Cui Xiaocan''s husband said.


    Cui Xiaocan stared blankly at her husband, her eyes filled with love, and without saying anything further, she simply nodded her head.


    She knew her husband had been working late for the past couple of days and hadn''t rested well. Although she felt reluctant to let him keep vigil here, it was a necessity.


    Thinking of this, Cui Xiaocan reached out and gently patted the sleeping little girl on her lap: "Yuanyuan, come on, it''s time to go. Let''s go home and sleep."


    Yuanyuan didn''t respond.


    Just then, Cui Xiaocan froze for a moment because she noticed that her husband was staring at Yuanyuan in amazement.


    "She... isn''t asleep," her husband said, pointing to the little girl on her lap.


    Cui Xiaocan looked down and saw that Yuanyuan''s eyes were wide open, staring intently at a certain part of the Funeral Hall.


    Cui Xiaocan remembered that Yuanyuan had been asleep just now and didn''t know when she had woken up; she was silent and her expression was unusual.


    Following Yuanyuan''s gaze, the couple saw someone squatting at the entrance of the Funeral Hall. It was a boy, about four or five years old, naked and squatting there, seemingly shivering from the cold.


    "Quick, go check on him! Whose child is this?" Cui Xiaocan was startled and immediately called to her husband.

 Chapter 220 Spirit Guarding (2)

    Cui Xiaocan''s husband, Zeng You, was momentarily stunned before hurrying to his feet and rushing over.By this time it was nearly midnight, and the outside temperature had indeed dropped sharply. The child had been squatting next to the door of the Funeral Hall, shivering silently.


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    Zeng You approached the child and crouched down next to him, "Kid, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"


    To be honest, in this environment, suddenly seeing a naked child appear, it was impossible not to feel a flutter of panic.


    If it weren''t for the fact that the child in front of him was shivering from the cold, Zeng You would have thought him a strangeness.


    The child was none other than Yan Junze, who had been counter-projected into the Butterfly Effect Stabilization; the body he had been projected into was that of the slightly larger strange baby.


    Zeng You took off his own coat, draped it over him, and then said, "You come inside first, I''ll notify the funeral home''s office, and they will find your parents very soon."


    Cui Xiaocan, holding Yuanyuan, had already walked over, Yuanyuan''s eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at Yan Junze.


    After listening to Zeng You''s words, Yan Junze nodded, then stood up with difficulty and followed them into the hall of the Funeral Hall, sitting down on a chair against the wall.


    Cui Xiaocan had planned to stay here for Spirit Guarding, so she had intentionally brought a slightly thicker coat from home, and now she took it out and draped it over Yan Junze''s legs.


    "What''s going on?"


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong from the other side of the hall came over, one after the other.


    "The kid was just squatting at the door, shivering from the cold; didn''t see his parents anywhere," Cui Xiaocan said a few words before reaching out to touch Yan Junze''s arm. Although it was a bit icy, there was still warmth coming from it, which slightly eased her worries.


    Sun Guodong glanced at Cui Zhiyong and whispered, "Could it be... those things?"


    In this era, especially in a place like a funeral home, such a situation would naturally make them think of strangenesses.


    Cui Zhiyong reached out to touch Yan Junze''s forehead, shaking his head, "No, he''s warm."


    Then he lowered his head and asked Yan Junze, "Kid, how did you get here? Where are your mom and dad?"


    "I asked him just now," Zeng You said. "He seems unable to speak; there was no reaction to my questions."


    As he spoke, Zeng You headed outside, calling out as he went, "I''m going to the funeral home office."


    Sun Guodong hesitated for a moment, then hurried after him, lowering his voice, "Next to the funeral home office is the Exorcist''s resident office. If possible, it''s best to call them together."


    Zeng You paused, looked back in the direction of Yan Junze, and nodded.


    He hadn''t been gone long when Cui Xiaocan stood up and said, "Brother, watch the kid for me, I''m going to the restroom."


    "Auntie, I want to go too," Yuanyuan said.


    The two left the hall together.


    The restroom was conveniently located next to the hall of the Funeral Hall. Since it was within the funeral home, the lights inside were always on during the day, so it was still well-lit at night.


    At this time, Cui Zhiyong asked Yan Junze a few more questions, to which Yan Junze did not respond.


    Sun Guodong said, "Maybe it''s just like what Zeng You said; the child may have communication barriers."


    Cui Zhiyong sat by, watching the child, while Sun Guodong turned his back to the hall, also watching Yan Junze.


    Neither of them noticed the noise in the hall at this moment.


    Just as they were talking, the ice coffin placed in the middle of the hall towards the inside quietly opened its lid without making a sound, and only a large amount of cooling gas from inside spilled out, filled with an indescribable strange smell.


    Neither of them saw that the coffin lid was slowly opening, and with Sun Guodong being closer to the direction of the ice coffin, the smell from the body and the coffin became stronger as the cooling gas escaped, causing him to suddenly frown and sniff, turning around.


    What he saw in front of him was like a scene from a dream: the coffin lid, akin to a cabinet door, was not only open, but a terrifyingly pale hand had stretched out from the inside to the edge of the coffin. Pressing down on the edge, the shadows of a shroud could be seen fluttering.


    Apparently, the person inside the coffin was crawling out.


    Because Sun Guodong was positioned in the same direction that the coffin lid had opened, most of his view was blocked by the lid. To see the full scene, he would have to move forwards a bit and walk around the edge of the lid.


    But he no longer had the courage, his face white as a sheet, eyes fixed in horror at the scene before him.


    After a moment, Sun Guodong came to his senses and reached out to touch Cui Zhiyong, who was looking down.


    "Bro... Brother, your wife... she''s... she''s getting up."


    Cui Zhiyong initially didn''t understand but after about two seconds, he stiffened, stood up, looked over, and with a gasp, he trembled all over, frozen in place.


    Although the view was mostly obscured by the opened coffin lid, from their angle, they could still see that the shroud originally worn by Ren Susu was moving and then completely vanished.


    Then, the back of a head with a hair band came into stillness behind the coffin lid, clearly indicating that the person from inside the coffin had stood up, but was facing away from them.


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong stood there motionless, covered in cold sweat, their hands and feet chilled, feeling as though even breathing became difficult.


    Yan Junze simply stared silently at the direction in which the coffin lid was opening. He wasn''t tall enough to see the body which was completely blocked by the coffin lid.


    However, he also remembered the Atlas''s warning not to interact with these people, so up to now, he stayed like a dummy, without any interaction with them.


    It wasn''t until the coffin lid opened that Yan Junze realized that Cheng Jingting''s soul might have emerged.


    It was indeed Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!


    After the third Butterfly Effect had stabilized, this guy became wary of his teacher Yan Long, or perhaps became very irrational due to the loss of his soul, so he didn''t rely on Yan Long''s means to accomplish Resurrection.


    It now seemed that he subconsciously wanted to accomplish it himself.


    At this time, Yan Junze remembered the words Cheng Jingting said in his last moments before death, "Spirit Guarding, Spirit Guarding, ferry me into spirit, spirit returns at the beginning, those who killed me shall die."


    ```


    Initially, he didn''t know what those words meant, but now it seemed they were part of some sinister spell Cheng Jingting was using for resurrecting by possessing a corpse after his death.


    Moreover, if this fourth Butterfly Effect was allowed to continue unchecked, it would pose a mortal threat to Yan Junze. That meant that if not stopped, Cheng Jingting would definitely have succeeded later on.


    So this time, Yan Junze couldn''t afford to be careless.


    The entire Funeral Hall was eerily quiet at this moment. After the ice coffin was opened, the already spacious hall seemed to have been filled with even more chilling air, making one''s heart turn cold.


    Most importantly, this chilly air was intermingled with a strange odor emanating from the ice coffin, which was very uncomfortable after taking a whiff.


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong both remained motionless, simply standing there stiffly.


    In Yan Junze''s view, these two were completely petrified with fear. It was already good that they hadn''t fainted, and surely no one would dare to go over to take a look.


    About two to three minutes later, the corpse, which was mostly obscured by the coffin lid, suddenly moved, slowly turning its body and stepping out from the cover of the lid toward the direction of the offering table.


    "It moved!" Sun Guodong''s voice trembled from his throat, his body then starting to shake violently.


    Cui Zhiyong was also abruptly startled, his gaze following the moving hairband intently. Soon, the entire side of his wife''s body appeared, rigidly walking out from behind the hindrance of the coffin lid and coming to a stop next to the offering table at the end of the ice coffin.


    Ren Susu was slender and had delicate features. Now, donning funeral attire with her eyes shut, she moved.


    The atmosphere within the Funeral Hall seemed to instantly plummet to freezing point. Neither Cui Zhiyong nor Sun Guodong had any more capacity to pay Yan Junze any mind, staring wide-eyed and terrified at Ren Susu, who moved with her eyes closed, not daring to make a sound.


    Ren Susu looked perfectly fitted in her funeral clothes; with the hairband adorned with floral patterns, she resembled someone from ancient times, giving off a very unreal sensation.


    She stopped next to the offering table, and after a few seconds, reached out with her stiff, un-bendable hand and grasped the candle closest to her on the right.


    These candles were white, long, and thick. The flames they bore were also quite large¡ªone could burn for about 40 minutes.


    After grabbing the candle, Ren Susu pulled on it and then withdrew her hand.


    Due to the extended period in the ice coffin, her limbs were so stiff that she couldn''t manage to put the candle into her mouth.


    So after a brief pause, Ren Susu leaned in closer, her body making crackling noises, finally bringing herself near enough to the candle before opening her mouth wide and biting down.


    The candle was still burning. The wax near the flame had melted, and her bite extinguished the flame instantly, a gush of the melted wax flowing into Ren Susu''s mouth. Some also dribbled down her lips to her chin, solidifying swiftly.


    This sight utterly stunned Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong, causing them to tremble violently.


    But Ren Susu didn''t stop; she continued to devour the candle ravenously, as if a person starved for days had finally found food.


    Yan Junze watched this scene and realized the truth.


    Cheng Jingting was no ordinary man; as a Spirit Cultivator, he surely knew what was most needed after resurrecting through corpse possession and before achieving stabilization. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now it seemed that what was needed was to consume some ceremonial candles to stabilize the current state.


    Quickly consuming the first candle, the woman moved on to the one in the middle, repeating the process before the eyes of the three men, voraciously eating the second candle.


    Now her chin was completely smeared with candle wax, covered with a thin layer of wax that had solidified.


    She then turned and began her stiff walk towards the entrance of the Funeral Hall.


    Seeing her about to leave, Cui Zhiyong, who hadn''t dared to take any actions, began to panic. Although he didn''t understand why his wife''s corpse was "reviving," this departure was clearly beyond his expectations.


    His lips quivered, and a hoarse sound emerged from his throat as Cui Zhiyong was about to call out his wife''s name.


    Sun Guodong, already aware that something was off, preempted him, pressing his voice low and sternly said, "Don''t shout. Your sister-in-law... she''s no longer human. Don''t be foolish!"


    The words had barely left his lips, uttered quietly as they were, but the rigidly walking Ren Susu still came to a halt.


    With her eyes closed, she turned her body toward the direction of the voice. Her pallid face was fully exposed to everyone''s view.


    Most disturbingly, her mouth was smudged with red wax, resembling dry blood.


    It wasn''t clear who she was "watching," but after a frozen moment, she turned and continued her walk out of the Funeral Hall.


    This time, neither Sun Guodong nor Cui Zhiyong spoke again. Once Ren Susu''s corpse had completely left, they carefully made their way over to take a look.


    Right then, the lid of the opened ice coffin slammed shut with a loud bang that resonated in the quiet night, causing both of them to shudder violently, Cui Zhiyong even jumping in fright.


    They quickly turned to look.


    Seizing the moment, Yan Junze left his chair and quickened his pace as he ran out of the Funeral Hall.


    The upper garment he was wearing could cover his entire body if he zipped it up.


    Once outside the Funeral Hall, he glanced left and right. Eerily, Ren Susu, who had just left through the main door, was nowhere to be seen.


    At the same time.


    Outside the bathroom stall, Cui Xiaocan said to Cui Yuanyuan, "Are you done yet? Hurry up, dad is waiting for us."


    From inside came Cui Yuanyuan''s voice, "I''m ready, I can do it myself."


    After that remark, there was the rustling sound of clothes being adjusted.


    Cui Xiaocan pushed open the stall door, which hadn''t been locked, and said, "Let me help you tidy up, you never fasten your clothes properly."


    The truth was, she wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.


    To be honest, using the bathroom in a funeral home made almost everyone''s hair stand on end, unless it was crowded.


    And at this moment, nearly midnight with just the two of them, feeling nervous and scared was inevitable.


    ```

 Chapter 221 Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)

    The silence in the bathroom always gave Cui Xiaocan a hair-raising feeling.She tucked Cui Yuanyuan''s shirt into her pants as quickly as possible, then straightened the outer skirt.


    During this time, footsteps could be heard outside the bathroom. Someone, unhurried, walked into the women''s restroom.


    Upon hearing the footsteps, Cui Xiaocan''s previously growing fear had somewhat stabilized.


    Having someone else around gives a subconscious sense of security, preventing the panic from persisting.


    While Cui Xiaocan was fixing Cui Yuanyuan''s skirt, she caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of the person who had entered the toilet entering the first stall. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire


    But then Cui Xiaocan froze for a moment, a chill running up her spine.


    Although she had been bending over to fix Cui Yuanyuan''s skirt, the person she saw out of the corner of her eye seemed to be wearing a shroud.


    Cui Xiaocan turned pale, stood up straight, grabbed Cui Yuanyuan''s small hand, and stared at the first stall in the bathroom.


    After entering the toilet, the person had walked straight into the stall without any sound of the door closing or clothes rustling.


    "Auntie, there''s someone in there." Cui Yuanyuan didn''t see the person who came in but heard the sound and suddenly spoke up.


    Cui Xiaocan quickly nodded and gestured for her to be quiet, clutching Cui Yuanyuan''s hand tightly and hurrying towards the restroom exit.


    Her heart was in turmoil. The shroud she''d glimpsed earlier ¨C she wasn''t sure if she''d been mistaken but the lack of any sound from the person entering the restroom was equally strange.


    The two, one big and one small, quickly passed the first stall.


    The door of the stall was open, and Cui Xiaocan instinctively looked up and immediately froze, as if she''d fallen into a dream.


    And Cui Yuanyuan, who had not planned to look in that stall, when her aunt suddenly froze, lifted her head to look inside the stall and was taken aback, exclaiming in surprise, "Mom?"


    Cui Xiaocan snapped back to reality, terrified, and reached out to cover Cui Yuanyuan''s mouth: "Don''t talk!"


    But it was already too late.


    Ren Susu, wearing the shroud, was facing away from the stall, but she was slightly bowing her head. Upon hearing a voice, she raised her head, eyes tightly closed, revealing a deathly pale face and a chin covered in red wax.


    That scene, to Cui Xiaocan, the red on the chin looked like blood, and she screamed out loud, trembling and dragging Cui Yuanyuan as she ran.


    When they reached the restroom''s entrance, a short figure came towards them, wearing only a shirt, with no legs, which shocked Cui Xiaocan so much that she nearly fell to the ground.


    Then Cui Yuanyuan let out a surprised "Eh" as she immediately recognized the person who came in; it was the child they had noticed earlier at the entrance of the Funeral Hall.


    The coat the child was wearing belonged to Uncle Zeng You.


    But the child was so small that, draped in the coat, it seemed as if only the upper body was there, missing the lower half.


    Yan Junze said nothing; he did not intend to interact with these people but quickly entered the women''s restroom and stood outside the first stall.


    Cui Xiaocan eventually recognized him but also realized something was off. The child''s behavior was obviously strange at this moment. She dared not speak, holding back the fear in her heart, pulling Cui Yuanyuan out of the women''s restroom.


    Yan Junze stared at Ren Susu''s face.


    Ren Susu still had her eyes closed as if the soul of Cheng Jingting was not yet enough to make her appear normal.


    "So you''ve just possessed a corpse to resurrect and you''re already planning to hide in the restroom?" Yan Junze spoke for the first time.


    As he spoke, he released the Black Spirit Mallet, grabbing its handle, but the other end, due to his short stature, rested directly on the ground.


    Of course, Yan Junze did not doubt that the Great Strange Baby had the strength to wield this mallet.


    Suddenly, Ren Susu in the stall trembled but did not respond; she did not open her eyes, instead reaching out her hand towards Yan Junze''s head with a swift motion. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ve been waiting for you!"


    Yan Junze lifted the mallet and swung it towards Ren Susu''s waist.


    ...


    Miss Hall.


    This Funeral Hall was smaller than the one Ren Susu was in, so the cost of renting this hall was half as much, suitable for families not well-off financially.


    At this moment, only the person performing the Spirit Guarding ritual remained inside. He was a bald man in his fifties, and all the other relatives and friends had already left.


    The bald man had already laid down on a bench and fallen asleep; he was covered with a coat with a pillow under his head, sleeping soundly.


    Before falling asleep, the bald man had checked all the burning incense and had also set an alarm on his phone to ensure it would wake him when the incense was about to burn out so he could add more.


    Just then, the lid of the electrically-powered ice casket slowly rose, and an old man dressed in brown and black funeral clothes slowly sat up from the ice casket.


    After sitting for about two minutes, he began to move his stiff limbs, wriggling out of the ice casket and placing his feet on the floor.


    Though he made some noise in the process, it wasn''t loud; the old man took tentative steps, approaching the candlestick on the altar.


    But by that time, the incense candles were nearly burned out, leaving just a bit of wax close to one side of the candlestick. The old man stood there for a moment, then turned and slowly walked towards the bald man lying on the bench.

 Chapter 221 Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)_2

    ```The time still had a while, so the alarm hadn''t rung yet, and the bald man was sleeping soundly.


    After the old man approached him, he just stood in front of him, motionless.


    The man was still in his dreams, seemingly feeling the cold, as he subconsciously tightened the coat around his neck, but he did not open his eyes.


    At the same time.


    Zeng You called over a staff member from the funeral home office and, following Sun Guodong''s reminder when he left, he also summoned the exorcist who was sleeping in the office.


    This exorcist was probably in his early forties, somewhat short and stout, yet he walked very quickly. To be stationed in the funeral home, he must be at least a two-star exorcist.


    To reach the funeral hall where Ren Susu was located, it was necessary to pass through Miss Hall, and Zeng You, being in a hurry, did not look closely but just focused on the way ahead.


    The three of them quickly passed through Miss Hall, and after a few more steps, the exorcist suddenly said, "Wait a moment."


    Zeng You and the staff member turned their heads in puzzlement.


    The exorcist''s face showed surprise as he stepped back several paces, then turned his head, his gaze landing on the interior of the Miss Hall funeral hall.


    Zeng You and the staff member exchanged glances and also walked back, following the exorcist''s gaze towards the funeral hall of Miss Hall. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On one side of the funeral hall, a man was lying across a bench, deeply asleep.


    Next to the bench stood an old man dressed in funeral garments, his head lowered, as if silently watching the person sleeping on the bench.


    "Ah!"


    Zeng You and the staff member both cried out in surprise because they also saw that the lid of the ice coffin inside the funeral hall was open.


    Connecting this to the old man in the funeral clothes made everything clear.


    The exorcist, already moving towards Miss Hall, gripped two hidden buckles in his hand and stepped into the funeral hall.


    Just then, the sound of the alarm rang out, vibrating from the pocket of the trousers of the sleeping bald man.


    The man woke up startled, his eyes flying open to see an old man in funeral clothes standing before him. At first, he was confused, but after a few short seconds, he realized what was happening. He turned his head, saw the open coffin lid, and the bald man was so frightened he jolted like he''d been electrocuted and leaped from the bench.


    "Mama mia!"


    At that moment, a hidden buckle hit the old man in the funeral clothes.


    With a bang, a white mist spread out and the old man took a few stiff steps to the side before steadying himself and turning his head toward the person entering the door of the funeral hall.


    Unlike Ren Susu, the old man''s eyes were open, but they appeared grey and cloudy.


    Just having steadied himself, the second hidden buckle hit his body, sending up another puff of white mist. The old man toppled backward, rigidly falling to the ground with no further reaction.


    Zeng You, the staff member, and the bald man standing on the bench were all left gaping at the scene.


    The exorcist then crouched in front of the old man and searched around with a spirit detector, then stood up and said, "It''s all right now, but this body must be cremated as soon as possible."


    "No... no problem, I''ll arrange it immediately," said the staff member behind him, his face pale with fright as he quickly nodded and took out his phone to make a call.


    The exorcist said to the bald man, "First, notify your other relatives to come over, and for now, no one should touch this body."


    Turning his head to Zeng You, he said, "Lead me quickly to the funeral hall on your side."


    The two left one after the other.


    The staff member stayed behind.


    In the restroom.


    Yan Junze, wielding a mallet that was grossly disproportionate to his body, struck at the half-person-tall shadow of Cheng Jingting on the ground over and over again.


    ```


    Meanwhile, Ren Susu''s lifeless body lay nearby, motionless.


    After being struck countless times by the club, Cheng Jingting''s shadow began to visibly split apart. Without making any sound, it shattered into pieces right before Yan Junze''s eyes, and then dissipated.


    Empowered by the strength of the Great Strange Baby, Yan Junze felt no fatigue from the continuous beating. He thought, had he not had the club, he could have relied on the instinct of the strange baby to tear apart Cheng Jingting, who had just possessed a corpse to resurrect.


    After waiting for about a minute to ensure that the shadow had been dispersed, Yan Junze put away the club and walked out of the restroom.


    "Was it really that easy?" At this moment, he was a bit puzzled. It seemed much easier to rid of Cheng Jingting, who had possessed a corpse to resurrect, than he had imagined.


    Because Cheng Jingting had just possessed a corpse to resurrect and was in an unstable state, he could easily be taken care of once discovered.


    But... it seemed too easy. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    After leaving the restroom, Yan Junze did not return to the Funeral Hall. Instead, he turned a corner and stood against the wall beside the restroom, ready to wait for the Atlas''s prompt to return to the space-time rift.


    However, as he waited, not only did he not receive any prompts, but he also heard several people rushing into the restroom.


    At this time, knowing that someone had come back from the dead and still daring to enter the restroom surely meant that exorcists were involved.


    Yan Junze quickly made this guess.


    Funeral homes, like hospitals, are considered high-risk areas for strangenesses to occur in the current situation, so there must be exorcists stationed there. Their prompt arrival confirmed their identity as exorcists.


    Luckily, he had already resolved the issue with Cheng Jingting, so there was no risk of exposing himself to the exorcists.


    If he interacted with them, the minor ripples that arose could be stabilized by the Atlas on its own; however, it was of course better to avoid contact if possible.


    The voices coming from the restroom were clear to Yan Junze.


    These people were talking amongst themselves; they had not detected the presence of any strangeness, Ren Susu''s corpse was now stable, but they needed to cremate it as soon as possible.


    Listening in, Yan Junze recognized the voices of Ren Susu''s family members from the Funeral Hall, as well as the unfamiliar voice of an exorcist who probably belonged to the funeral home staff.


    But soon, Yan Junze was startled when he heard the stranger say, "This corpse and the one in Miss Hall need to be cremated immediately. I suggest you simplify the procedures and let your loved one rest in peace as soon as possible."


    "Could there be other corpses that have been possessed to resurrect?"


    Just then, Yan Junze recalled the Atlas''s prompt, stating that because more than three strangeness events had occurred, he needed to personally correct the Butterfly Effect. This meant that Cheng Jingting was not just using one corpse to resurrect, but was simultaneously possessing three corpses.


    Yan Junze didn''t know how Cheng Jingting managed to do it, but if he wasn''t mistaken, it was indeed possible for him to use more than three corpses to resurrect at the same time.


    After all, this was a funeral home; there was no shortage of people who had just passed away.


    As these thoughts crossed his mind, people began to leave the restroom. Someone went to notify the office, while the exorcist continued to converse with Cui Zhiyong.


    "Mr. Exorcist, you just mentioned, besides my wife suddenly returning to life, there was another corpse that also came back to life?" Cui Zhiyong asked.


    The exorcist replied, "It''s not really coming back to life. The reason is complicated. It could be due to a Possession Spirit invasion, so for the safety of the corpses, they need to be cremated as soon as possible. Just now, a corpse of an old man in Miss Hall was in the same situation as your wife, but it has been dispatched for clearance.


    You should expedite the procedures and proceed with cremation."


    Cui Zhiyong nodded, "That strange, naked kid from just now might also be a strangeness. Now we don''t know where he''s gone."


    The exorcist said, "There haven''t been any other cases of resurrections for the time being, I will take a look around. If there''s any abnormality on your side, immediately notify me or the office."


    The two continued talking as they left the area.


    Soon, a corpse transporter arrived at the restroom to take care of Ren Susu''s corpse and headed towards the cremation area.


    Yan Junze stood still, having not moved from his spot. The exorcist said there were no other cases of resurrections discovered, which meant that the third possession to resurrect had not happened yet.


    Not necessarily.


    He quickly dismissed this thought. If the possessions were happening simultaneously, it was very possible that they had already occurred, just not in the Funeral Hall.


    Where then, could the third location of possession to resurrect be?

 Chapter 222 Spirit Guarding (4)

    The sky had started drizzling at this time, and the staff at the funeral parlor were bustling about, preparing to expedite the process and send the old man who had acted like a corpse and Ren Susu to the cremation room one after the other.The exorcist, on the other hand, was examining each funeral hall. The funeral parlor was quite spacious, with over 80 halls just for the spirits; some were quite a distance from each other.


    Some halls were even situated halfway up the hill and required a drive or climbing many steps to reach.


    Checking them one by one would take some time.


    Of course, it couldn''t be ruled out that the acting corpses were only in the halls. If there was any abnormality in any hall, the grieving family members would have either run to the parlor''s duty room or made a call to 4747 by now.


    After careful consideration, Yan Junze, with the help of the exorcist, decided not to inspect the halls any further.


    He quickly came up with a plan, left the restroom quickly, and followed the signs toward the funeral parlor''s offices.


    Along the way, he deliberately hugged the walls of the buildings; the funeral parlor was already desolate at night, and he hardly saw anyone else on his walk.


    Moreover, since it wasn''t his own body, he wouldn''t worry about Fang Ning appearing even if the shadow of the strange baby was cast by the moonlight.


    He soon approached the office. Due to the scarcity of duty staff, who were busy with the cremation process for the two acting corpses, the office was lit but unoccupied.


    Yan Junze walked in and looked at the funeral parlor''s layout map on the wall. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire


    The indicators were clear on the map, and he quickly found his location, then looked toward the surrounding buildings.


    Before long, he noticed a building marked "Lonely Hall."


    The words "Lonely Hall" were marked with a different font size and color, clearly distinguished from the other halls.


    Moreover, the word "Lonely" indirectly indicated that there might not be anyone performing spirit guarding there.


    After taking note of the position, voices suddenly came from outside.


    Yan Junze realized he couldn''t leave and hurriedly crouched down, squeezed under a desk, pulled a chair over to block his figure, and silently squatted down.


    Soon, two people walked into the office.


    They arrived in a rush, one opening a drawer to grab a logbook, the other taking a few freshly printed papers from the printer while they talked rapidly.


    "How is it? Noticed anything unusual elsewhere?"


    "The director and the exorcist are checking each hall one by one. I think there shouldn''t be any more issues."


    "Hurry up and send those two bodies for cremation. I always feel like those two corpses might move again, and I was so scared earlier I didn''t dare look at their faces."


    "I saw it just now. The old man wasn''t that bad, but that woman''s chin was covered with mortuary wax, very terrifying."


    While talking, the two people quickly left the office and their footsteps faded into the distance.


    Yan Junze crawled out from under the desk, confirmed that there was no one outside, opened the door, and left the office, quickly disappearing into the night.


    Before long, a short figure slipped into a flat-roofed building that looked pitch-dark from outside, with a very dim light shining over its gate that could only be seen from up close.


    Next to the electric light, if one didn''t look carefully, they would almost miss the words "Lonely Hall."


    The structure of Lonely Hall was different from other funeral halls; entering it one first came across a spacious but still dimly lit corridor.


    Perhaps to save electricity, about every fifteen meters, there would be one light the same as the dim one outside, casting a quiet stillness within the entire Lonely Hall, not a sound to be heard.


    Even as Junze occupied the body of the Great Strange Baby, and even though he was a semi-spirit himself, the environment still could not stop a chill from creeping up inside him.


    He had guessed an unclaimed body, or one with no relatives to be found, that''s what Lonely Hall meant. Such bodies were likely gathered by the local authorities and handed over to the funeral parlor for processing, with the burial expenses covered by social welfare programs.


    Passing through the dim corridor and around a corner, he found himself before an open hall.


    The decor inside the hall wasn''t much different from the smaller ordinary halls, the difference being that it housed more than one body. Each one was covered with a white cloth, and beside each body was a dimly lit lamp.


    A quick glance revealed there were probably more than twenty bodies.


    More than twenty bodies were arranged in two opposite rows; they didn''t enjoy the luxury of individual ice coffins, but Junze could feel the cold inside the hall¡ªthere was central air conditioning, and the temperature was set quite low.


    This was more cost-effective than individual ice coffins for each body.


    He stood at the entrance for a moment before walking in.


    Although the body he occupied wasn''t his, the eerie environment still made his skin tingle.


    Because of his short stature, he couldn''t see the bodies at the back very clearly, nor did he know whether the people beneath those white cloths were all still lying there properly.


    Furthermore, the lighting here was really dim; you had to get close to see clearly.


    Step by step he moved closer, quickly passing the first two bodies in the row. The walkway was in the middle, with a body on each side of him. Standing by the feet of the corpses, he peered closely with the help of the dim light, found everything in order, with no sign of movement. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He continued to walk forward.


    At each body, he would stop, lean in, and take a careful look.


    Some of the bodies were beginning to emit a foul odor, but it wasn''t severe; you had to get close to smell it.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was feeling increasingly cold, but it wasn''t due to the strange baby; rather, the central air conditioning in the hall was turned up high, and the corpse baby was only wrapped in a coat, with nothing underneath.


    Especially around the groin area, it felt constantly chilly and hollow, as if something was missing.


    Yan Junze looked down and came to a conclusion: underdeveloped.


    Enduring the cold, he soon reached the eleventh row, beyond which he couldn''t proceed.


    Because the corpse on the left was covered with a white cloth and looked ordinary, but the white cloth on the corpse to the right showed signs of movement.


    As unclaimed corpses, in order to save costs, their feet were left exposed, with a name tag hung on the big toe to prevent mix-ups by the morgue staff.


    Yan Junze stepped closer to examine the name tag on the oddly covered corpse.


    "Jiang Yinan, male or female?"


    The upper half of the white cloth was wrinkled, obscuring the corpse''s sex.


    He released the mallet and, due to his height, dragged it along the ground, the sound of metal scraping echoing as he approached the head of the corpse named Jiang Yinan.


    The grating noise in the eerily silent Lonely Hall was unsettling.


    Although the white cloth on the surface of the corpse had moved, the body itself remained indifferent, lying there motionless and silent.


    Just as Yan Junze reached the left side of the corpse, the white cloth beside him suddenly moved, and a pale, slender hand emerged.


    Yan Junze thought the hand was going to grab him, so he immediately stopped and stepped aside, nearly swinging his mallet down in defense.


    However, he soon paused, realizing that the hand wasn''t reaching for him but had slipped out, hanging limply in the air.


    Now he was certain that the corpse named Jiang Yinan was a female.


    The fallen hand and arm were slender and the skin was delicate, suggesting that she must have had tender skin in life.


    It was clear that not only was Jiang Yinan female, but she must have been young at the time of her death.


    While Yan Junze was examining the arm, the corpse he had his back turned to began to slowly sit up.


    Because the white cloth covering it was draped so high, it was above the corpse''s head, the cloth only slowly slid down after the body had silently sat upright.


    Revealing the disheveled white-haired old woman beneath: the wrinkles on her face were deep enough to hold a pencil in place, and her drooping eyelids nearly covered her eyes.


    After sitting up, she turned her stiff head to look at the back of Yan Junze''s head.


    With no sound to warn him, Yan Junze was contemplating whether to walk over and uncover the white cloth over the female corpse Jiang Yinan, ready to swing the mallet if necessary.


    The old crone''s corpse behind him stared at Yan Junze for a few seconds before slowly opening her mouth wider and wider, then leaning forward to the right, inching closer to the back of his head.


    "Ah¡ª¡ª"


    A sigh-like sound suddenly rose behind Yan Junze''s head, as if a demon, eager for its feast, couldn''t help but express its delight.


    Yan Junze instantly felt goosebumps erupt on his spine, as though something was nearing his scalp.


    Almost instinctively, he whipped around to see a wrinkled face right in front of him, the gaping mouth almost touching his nose, nearly taking a bite.


    A foul stench rushed at his senses.


    Thud!


    The next second, Yan Junze''s mallet connected squarely with the old woman''s head, knocking half of her body sideways off the mortuary bed.


    Just then, the white cloth covering the corpse of Jiang Yinan was furiously flung aside, and a naked woman leaped up, pouncing behind Yan Junze. She opened her lips to reveal a row of sharp teeth coated with a thick yellow mucus, and bit down hard on Yan Junze''s shoulder.


    Clang!


    Yan Junze preemptively lifted the mallet from behind, causing Jiang Yinan''s bite to land squarely on its surface instead, producing a clear sound.


    With the strange baby''s body, swinging the mallet was effortless. Yan Junze gripped it with both hands, spun around, and struck Jiang Yinan who was preparing for another bite.


    Jiang Yinan fell to the ground, and Yan Junze quickly followed with a second and third strike, forcing out a half-human-sized shadow from her body.


    Ignoring Jiang Yinan, Yan Junze continued to hammer at the shadow.


    At that moment, he felt a tightness around his ankle and a surge of pain. Looking down, he saw the old crone he had just knocked down had crawled over and bitten his little ankle.


    Since the body wasn''t his own, and the strange baby was already a ghost body, Yan Junze wasn''t worried that the bite would harm it.


    He swung the mallet down onto the head of the crone biting his ankle, pinning her to the ground.


    Then he lifted the mallet and shattered the half-human-sized shadow.


    The old crone, however, was still struggling.


    "There''s even a fourth one!" Yan Junze muttered to himself.

 Chapter 223 The Exorcist Is Missing

    ```Originally, the Atlas indicated that within Butterfly Effect Stabilization, if more than three strange events were caused, they would need to be handled personally, rather than being stabilized by the Atlas itself.


    Now it seems that with Jiang Yinan and the old woman''s feigned death, this is already the fourth strange event.


    Fortunately, Yan Junze''s strange baby body is not weak either, and even though the old woman bit his foot, he still wielded the mallet deftly.


    After wiping out the shadow hiding inside Jiang Yinan, he once again aimed a blow at the struggling old woman''s head without holding back.


    After all, a dead person wouldn''t know pain, and he struck as hard as he could; at this moment, Yan Junze, in order to thoroughly eliminate Cheng Jingting, couldn''t afford to consider too much.


    A few blows from the mallet later, Cheng Jingting''s shadow was once again driven out of the old woman''s body. The old woman''s corpse lay motionless on the ground, while Yan Junze turned his attention to the shadow.


    After beating the shadow for about a minute, Yan Junze felt hopeful.


    Because the previous shadows had dispersed quickly, taking no more than a dozen hits to vanish, but the current shadow had endured a minute of fierce pounding and was still stubbornly clinging on.


    It seemed this one was likely the last. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Yan Junze didn''t know how Cheng Jingting could possess four corpses at the same time, it wasn''t possible for him to have infinite avatars.


    Suddenly, Cheng Jingting''s unconscious scream pierced through, and the shadow in front of him shattered and dissipated like fragments.


    Having just died recently, Cheng Jingting''s soul was in its most fundamental weak state. Facing Yan Junze''s Black Spirit Mallet, it hardly had any resistance and inevitably perished under the strikes, each hit depleting its energy.


    A message immediately popped up following that.


    [The 4th Butterfly Effect has stabilized, the remaining minor ripple effects have been corrected by the Atlas.]


    [You will automatically leave the current spacetime after the countdown ends, 5...4...3...2...1]


    The scene before his eyes began to change again.


    Yan Junze felt as if he were being pulled back by a great force. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in the space-time rift just like before.


    The prompt that appeared before him was simple.


    [Butterfly Effect Stabilization has ended, Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion has ended, locating the previous spacetime, returning...]


    Everything blurred before his eyes, and Yan Junze felt the sensation of being sucked away again. After stumbling forward, he steadied himself and found he was standing in the pine forest behind the academy''s back gate.


    Turning his head, he saw no sign of the space-time rift.


    "Is it over?" Yan Junze felt like he was dreaming, checked the time on his phone, and it was still the same as before¡ªas if he had never left.


    "Well then, in the blink of an eye, history has been rewritten by me."


    Yan Junze mused to himself, then stood still for a moment as he felt some memories being crammed into his mind. These memories had not mixed with the ones he had before but formed two distinct pathways.


    One was from before the "Great Rewind," and the other was from now.


    Before the Great Rewind, the peephole strangeness was killed by Shen Wanqiu, but in this spacetime, Shen Wanqiu had been killed by the suicide explosion of Cheng Jingting, and therefore she could no longer kill the peephole strangeness.


    That is to say, the peephole strangeness...


    Yan Junze accessed the new memory in his mind and slowly revealed a bitter smile.


    In this new memory, the peephole strangeness indeed had not been killed by Shen Wanqiu, but neither was it in the No. 4 laboratory building anymore, because in the new timeline, it had been exterminated by an exorcist from an exorcist team.


    Nonetheless, Yan Junze still did not receive the Different Dimension Energy from that mission.


    What is not meant for him was always out of reach.


    Returning to his dormitory, the "Laboratory Spirit Exploration Trip" by Chen Kun and Guo Jintao did not happen in this new timeline, so the other roommates had already fallen asleep.


    And Chen Kun and Guo Jintao on the floor above never came down.


    All was quiet.


    The campus life in college also began to calm down.


    Yan Junze attended classes and conducted experiments with fellow students on a regular schedule, and with members of the Strangeness Association, he used his knowledge of physics to reveal various strangenesses. Though his motives differed from others, he still found unexpected benefits in the process.


    To date, Yan Junze''s Spacetime Atlas had illuminated 65 different spacetime nodes, storing a total of 11,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, meaning, a rewind time span of 1,100 minutes, just over 18 hours. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Of course, reaching a 24-hour cover range doesn''t mean an infinite loop is possible. 24 hours is a collective term for a day. After those 24 hours, for Yan Junze, it''s just 25 hours or more.


    Rewind time, unlike a 24-hour cycle, can''t be endlessly looped.


    The Atlas''s current benefits to Yan Junze were not only rewind and "Great Rewind" but also "Strangeness Detection," "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," "Evil Spirit Solid Lock," "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion," and "Butterfly Effect Stabilization."


    Of course, Yan Junze didn''t believe those were the only features in the Atlas, he was certain more would be revealed as more nodes were illuminated.


    Moreover, Yan Junze had no doubt about the future potential of the Atlas''s capabilities, as the "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" and "Butterfly Effect Stabilization" alone seemed immensely powerful for now.


    At least, individuals like Cheng Jingting had virtually no chance of fight back under these two functions. All their escape routes were tightly sealed until they were finally extinguished.


    ```


    After spending a comfortable two weeks on campus without any strangeness to disturb me, life felt as if it had returned to the spacetime before my rebirth, giving a sense of stability.


    My roommate introduced me to a girl in the same grade and insisted on dragging me to treat her to a meal.


    Of course, everyone from our dorm joined in on the meal.


    The girl was very cute, but it seemed like I wasn''t too interested.


    "What type of girl do you like? Sister will find one for you," Huahua said to me after the meal.


    In the dorm, he always referred to himself as "sister", and everyone had grown accustomed to it and didn''t find it as strange as before. It was the people from other dorms who would occasionally give Huahua odd looks.


    I just smiled and said nothing.


    "Do you like that... what''s her name... Zhang Ying?" He Bishou stuffed some potato chips into his mouth and asked.


    "You know Zhang Ying?" I was puzzled.


    Zhang Ying was the vice president of the Strangeness Association. Among the girls I had met, she was one of the braver ones.


    However, in this era where strangeness roamed freely, being brave was not necessarily a good thing. Those who were timid and careful, who fled immediately upon seeing any strangeness, were more likely to live longer.


    After all, not everyone could rewind.


    Zhang Ying had come to look for me a few times during the few days I had joined the association. Each time, she seemed very proactive. Any observant person could tell that the girl had a bit of interest in me.


    Even if that interest wasn''t romantic, it at least signified her strong curiosity about me.


    Of course, after going out twice, I began to refuse.


    "Zhang Ying is not Junze''s type," Huahua declared, as if an expert on the matter, climbing into bed and adding, "Don''t worry, no rush, sister is applying to join the Rainbow Girls Friendship Association. Once I''m in, I''ll introduce you to tons of girls."


    Pfft!


    Zhao Zheng, who had been silent, was drinking water and upon hearing this, he spluttered it all over the wall.


    These past days, I had called Zhang Xiaomo, but no one answered. There was always no response.


    After lying in the dorm for a while, and with no classes in the afternoon, I wandered around the playground alone. As I was considering whether to visit the exorcist team in the east of the city to inquire about Zhang Xiaomo, my phone rang. It was He Yun, my contact from the event team, calling.


    "Is it time to collect my salary?" I answered the phone with this first question.


    This almost confused He Yun completely, who after a few seconds of silence said, "Don''t joke. You can collect the salary, but you must first complete a task."


    I frowned, "What task?"


    "I''ll send the task information to your phone," He Yun said. "It''s issued based on the basic data we have on you, so there''s a high probability that you won''t encounter something you can''t handle. From the moment you receive the task, you have three days to complete it. If it''s not done by then, the event team will send another exorcist."


    "Alright," I nodded, "Can I ask if the three-star exorcist Zhang Xiaomo has returned to the event team these past few days? I have been unable to reach her."


    "No," He Yun replied, "It''s not just her, more than thirty exorcists we sent to handle the Spirit Bridge incident have gone missing, and so far only very few can be contacted."


    "Why?" I was surprised.


    I had expected He Yun to avoid discussing the Ghost Bridge, but she didn''t hide anything and told me straightaway.


    "Because a special magnetic field area has been formed there, signals can''t get in. We can only make contact once they leave the Spirit Bridge area," He Yun explained.


    "I see, send me the task information, and I''ll go check it out in the next two days," I said and hung up.


    Soon a text message alert sounded on my phone. Upon opening it, the task information was concise.


    "Address: Crown Furniture City ''Bedroom Companion'' store in North City District Xinmin Street;


    Supernatural: Currently, only 1 identified;


    Witness description: This supernatural entity is temporarily referred to as ''Person in the Mirror'', appearing in various mirrors in the furniture store such as dressing mirrors, makeup mirrors, etc. It can interact with people, alter their images, and make bizarre requests. At least two people have disappeared, and the store has been closed;


    Event level: D;


    Treatment suggestions: It''s recommended to freeze its escape route with the Chilling Hidden Buckle upon discovering the Person in the Mirror. If necessary, use Semi-spirit power to eliminate it."


    Reading this task summary reminded me of the first time I heard about Granny Ren killing her son and daughter-in-law from Huang Chen. He had also said that the incident was classified as D level.


    Now it seemed that only events leading to more than two deaths were likely to be classified as D level.


    So, it''s highly probable that the two missing people in the Person in the Mirror task were already in grave danger.


    Regardless, with almost all of Tianmeng''s exorcists from the eastern, southern, western, and northern cities currently at Spirit Bridge and not knowing the current situation there,


    Should a few significant strangeness incidents suddenly erupt within these four cities, it would indeed be a challenging situation for the exorcist teams to handle.


    If I have the chance, after dealing with the Person in the Mirror, I plan to go and see what''s happening at Spirit Bridge.

 Chapter 224 Cooperation or Go It Alone?

    ```With no classes in the afternoon, Yan Junze decided to take the opportunity to just go out and complete his task.


    After some thought, he first visited the clinic off-campus to pick up a blood bag from Ning Shanshan. After a brief chat, he left, found a secluded spot to drink the blood, and then boarded a bus headed to the city center.


    He had just settled into a seat when his phone rang; it was Zhou Dali calling.


    Ever since that guy entered Tianmeng Sports Institute, this was the first time he had initiated a call. According to Junze, the long-legged big girls at the institute must have stolen his soul, so of course, he completely forgot about his brother here.


    The moment the call connected, Zhou Dali''s almost yelling voice boomed through, forcing Junze to quickly hold the phone away from his ear.


    If you didn''t know Zhou Dali''s temperament, you might have thought there was a fight or something going on at the other end.


    "Little Junze, did you miss me?"


    "Miss... my ass," Yan Junze laughed.


    "But I did miss you. Haven''t seen you for so long. Can we go out for a meal today?" Zhou Dali was unfazed, "I''ll wait for you no matter how late it is."


    Yan Junze paused and then laughed, "Perfect timing, I just got on a bus to the city center, where are you?"


    "I''m off today and shopping," Zhou Dali laughed. "To be exact, I''m shopping with my girlfriend."


    "Girlfriend?" Yan Junze was hesitant, uncertain as he asked, "Are you joking?"


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    "Little Junze," Zhou Dali''s tone carried a hint of grievance, "Does Dali really lack charm that much? Let me tell you, she''s the class belle. You''ll see when you get here."


    "No need to say more. I bet there''s only one girl in your class," Yan Junze said.


    "Stop messing around. We''re waiting for you at Changhua Pedestrian Street in North City District. Call me when you get here." Zhou Dali hung up after speaking.


    What a coincidence, the location for the gathering was also in North City District.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and decided that since that was the case, he''d meet up with Zhou Dali first and later in the evening, he''d go to that "Bedroom Companion" furniture store at Crown Furniture City to complete his task.


    While still on the bus, he called He Yun to let her know he would deal with it today, but not until after dinner. He asked her to tell the furniture city to keep a door open for him in advance.


    This felt less like an exorcism and more like a child sneaking back home late at night, afraid that their parents would lock the door early.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze couldn''t help but smirk.


    He dozed off on the bus for a while and when he woke up, he had arrived at the last stop. He got off and immediately hailed a taxi to Changhua Pedestrian Street.


    Shortly after He Yun ended her call with Yan Junze, her office phone suddenly rang. Picking up the receiver, a man''s voice came through.


    "Sis, the strangeness in Guan Lake has been dealt with. It wasn''t much of a challenge. Do you have any other tasks on hand? I''m in North City District right now."


    The man''s voice was a bit sharp, and with careful listening, it wasn''t much different from He Yun''s talking manners.


    He Yun frowned, her tone containing a scolding note, "He Zheng, can''t you just settle down for one day? The strange incident at Guan Lake was only F-level, not difficult to deal with."


    "Sis, have you forgotten?" The man on the phone, named He Zheng, defended, "What was the level of that strange incident at the cake shop last time? E-level, right? The two-star exorcist before me couldn''t handle it, but wasn''t it resolved after I arrived?"


    "You were just damn lucky," He Yun retorted angrily.


    "Sis," He Zheng said helplessly, "I''m your own brother, and now I am a two-star exorcist. Just give me a few more tasks. Once I reach the minimum Merit Points for a three-star exorcist, I can be promoted. Do you want me to stay like this forever?"


    He Yun was silent.


    He Zheng continued, "The number of strange incidents is increasing. Some can''t be accurately defined by a single level; it''s complicated. Sis, you know this better than I do. All I do all day is throw Hidden Buckles. Even though, as a two-star exorcist, I''m immune to the radiation impact from them, it''s not a solution in the long run. I want to improve too."


    "Sigh, do you think being a three-star exorcist isn''t dangerous?" He Yun said, "Right now, there are over ten three-star exorcists in the Spirit Bridge, and the situation there is even more dangerous and complicated."


    "Sis, you''ve got to help me out." He Zheng seemed not to hear her, simply saying, "If the remaining tasks are difficult, you can have other exorcists work with me. As long as I can earn Merit Points, it doesn''t matter how much or how little."


    He Yun remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke, "There''s a Person in the Mirror task here in North City District''s Xinmin Street at Crown Furniture City. I''ve already assigned it to someone else. Unlike you, he''s not an official exorcist, but he''s stronger than you. So, he doesn''t get Merit Points for completing tasks. The Merit Points can all be yours, but you must fully cooperate with him."


    "No problem," He Zheng agreed immediately, then asked, "What level is this strange incident...?"


    "Because there are two missing persons, it''s tentatively classified as D-level," He Yun said. "I''ll inform him now. You can meet up with him on Xinmin Street when you arrive, and then you can proceed."


    "Got it. If he''s stronger than me, I''ll definitely listen to him," He Zheng nodded, "Sis, send me the task details and that guy''s phone number first."


    Yan Junze was staring in astonishment at Zhou Dali and his girlfriend on Changhua Pedestrian Street when He Yun''s call reached him.


    Then the voice on the phone shifted his attention away from them.


    "What? A new exorcist is joining," Yan Junze lowered his voice, puzzled, "This is my first time executing a task for exorcists, don''t you trust me to get it done?"


    He Yun explained, "It''s not like that. Exorcists often collaborate on tasks. It just so happens this time. With two people, the strange incident can be quelled at the fastest speed."


    ```


    Yan Junze was somewhat speechless.


    He knew that what He Yun had said was true; two exorcists working together could indeed quickly handle strangenesses.


    But all that was based on eliminating strangenesses through violence, whereas Yan Junze relied on resolving the other party''s obsessions to eliminate strangenesses and earn Different Dimension Energy.


    This kind of cooperation with an exorcist was exactly what he had always been most uneasy about, and now, to his knowledge, he had encountered it on his very first mission.


    "Is it possible to adjust it so that I can handle it alone?" Yan Junze said.


    "Sorry, it''s already been decided," He Yun said quickly and hung up the phone.


    Immediately afterward, Yan Junze''s phone received a text message, showing that the exorcist he was to cooperate with was a two-star exorcist named He Zheng, and it also included his phone number.


    But he paid it no attention and didn''t call the person.


    He had already informed He Yun that he would go to complete the task after dinner, so let that person wait.


    Then, Yan Junze turned his attention back to Zhou Dali and his girlfriend next to him.


    He really guessed right; Zhou Dali''s new girlfriend from Tianmeng Sports Institute was indeed tall, only half a head shorter than Dali, with healthy wheat-colored skin, and most notably, those indeed were 1.8-meter-long legs (exaggerated description).


    The woman''s name was Shang Cuicui, a year senior to Zhou Dali, a national third-level athlete, specialized in pole vaulting.


    No wonder then, long legs were an advantage in her sport.


    After strolling around the street for a while, the three of them found a restaurant and walked in.


    Although it was still a bit early for dinner, they could still eat now.


    Yan Junze was the host, a first-time treat for Shang Cuicui, and ordered a few good dishes, starting a conversation with Zhou Dali.


    During the conversation, when he asked about Zhou Jiajie and Bao Jie, who had been admitted to Tianmeng University, Zhou Dali shook his head: "I heard that the two are still the same, on and off, with Zhou Jiajie like a fish in water there, winning over many girls'' hearts, and Bao Jie keeping a very close watch on him."


    "How do you know that?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I was on the phone with Jiang Ruixin, and the Big-eyed Girl told me that Bao Jie used to call her every night to complain, sometimes even crying," Zhou Dali said while serving Shang Cuicui a bowl of rice and piling up her plate with food.


    Yan Junze was surprised: "Their relationship seemed fine, how could it be like this?"


    "I wouldn''t know about that," Zhou Dali shook his head.


    At first, he liked Bao Jie, then woke up and later, when facing Bao Jie, he no longer had the passion he once did. Now all his affection was poured into the 1.8-meter-long legs by his side, leaving no room to ponder another woman''s thoughts.


    Yan Junze looked at Zhou Dali seriously and noticed that his skin was also tanned dark, then looked at Shang Cuicui and asked, "Shang Cuicui, forgive my bluntness, but do you have nearsightedness? Like me."


    As he finished speaking, Yan Junze touched the glasses on his nose.


    "No," Shang Cuicui shook her head in surprise.


    "No nearsightedness, then how could you fall for this guy?" Yan Junze laughed.


    "You little brat, not even eating food can shut you up," Zhou Dali cursed loudly.


    Shang Cuicui covered her mouth and giggled.


    After a while, she suddenly said to Yan Junze, "Speaking of which, I have a close girlfriend who is currently single. I could introduce her to you, would you consider it?"


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then said, "May I ask about her height, is she about your height?"


    "Yeah, about the same," Shang Cuicui nodded.


    "Then never mind," Yan Junze waved his hand, "to always have to look up when even dating, what kind of experience would that be." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui laughed heartily.


    Just then, Yan Junze''s phone on the dining table rang. He was about to dismiss it as an unknown number, but upon closer inspection, he seemed to recognize the number and decided to answer the call.


    A young voice came through: "Is this Yan Junze? I''m He Zheng, a two-star exorcist. I''ve arrived at Crown Furniture City on Xinmin Street. How long will it take for you to get here?"


    Yan Junze frowned slightly and replied, "I''m still having dinner, might be a while."


    "Then I''ll wait for you."


    After hanging up, He Zheng stood across the street, looking up at the commercial building in front of him. The words "Crown Furniture" were written prominently on the upper part of the building, and while the commercial center was still open for business, the fourth floor, where Crown Furniture was located, was deserted.


    After standing for less than ten minutes, He Zheng checked the time and muttered to himself, "An exorcist not on the register, what an attitude? I wait for no ghost!"


    With that, he stepped off the curb and entered the commercial center''s entrance.

 Chapter 225 Person in the Mirror (1) (4000 words)

    Other stores continued to operate, but He Zheng didn''t even glance at them as he went straight to take the elevator to the fourth floor.The entire fourth floor sold furniture, and as it was close to closing time, there weren''t many customers around.


    After exiting the elevator, He Zheng quickly found the security guard for this floor.


    The guard, in his forties and working late hours, was sitting in the security room, lifting a box of fast food to eat.


    He Zheng stood outside and knocked on the window.


    The guard looked up in surprise and asked, "What is it?"


    He Zheng said, "I''m looking for the manager of this furniture mall. Please notify him to come over."


    The guard put down his spoon and chopsticks and opened the window, "Mr. Liang is not here today. You can tell me what it is, and I''ll pass the message when he comes back."


    He Zheng hesitated briefly and then said, "I''m an exorcist. I''ve come to deal with the strangenesses here. I heard it''s in the ''Bedroom Companion'' furniture store."


    "Ah," the guard exclaimed in surprise and then smiled, quickly stepping out of the door. "So you''re the exorcist, sir. I just got a call from Mr. Liang, saying that an exorcist was coming to help us resolve the strangeness. Yes, I have the keys and can help you open the door of Bedroom Companion."


    He Zheng nodded, "Let''s go. Just open the door and then you can head back and continue with your meal. I will let you know after I''ve dealt with the strangeness."


    "Thank you, Mr. Exorcist," said the guard, leading the way while barely containing his excitement. "Honestly, that ''Person in the Mirror'' is too scary. It''s good you''ve come. Every day when I pass Bedroom Companion, my heart''s pounding."


    "Really? You''ve seen this strangeness?" asked He Zheng.


    The guard nodded, "Mr. Exorcist, let me tell you, once you''re inside the Bedroom Companion furniture store, do not believe anything you see in the mirrors there, not even your own reflection."


    At this, the guard shivered for no reason and added, "And it''s not just inside Bedroom Companion; even passing by the shop''s front, if you see the mirrors, don''t linger, just leave quickly." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Interesting," He Zheng said with a faint smile.


    At that moment, the two of them arrived at the storefront of a furniture store. The rolling door was closed, and there was a sign with the stores name, "Bedroom Companion," although the sign was not lit up.


    All around this store, the other storefronts were also closed. As soon as it got dark, the furniture stores on this floor would normally start closing one after another, and it was rare for any to stay open past 9 p.m.


    As He Zheng had walked over before, he noticed that only the stores near the elevator and escalator hadn''t closed yet because they were by the entrance and had a security room nearby; the other inner stores had mostly shut down.


    Bedroom Companion and the surrounding stores were all closed, and there were even two store spaces that had only the glass doors closed, not even the rolling doors pulled down.


    But He Zheng glanced and saw they were empty; they must all have moved out.


    The guard took out a bunch of keys, quickly found the right one, and inserted it into the lock, turning it twice, making a sound as the lock opened.


    Yet he didn''t lift the rolling door. Instead, he stood up with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I''m too scared to open this door. Could you do it? Um, I''ll go back to the security room."


    He Zheng smiled and nodded, not saying anything, watching the guard go his way until he disappeared around the corner.


    He then turned his attention back to his surroundings.


    Aside from the lights, the area was eerily silent, not a sound to be heard. There were at least eight nearby stores, but ever since Bedroom Companion started experiencing strangenesses, those stores had not opened at all.


    He Zheng even had the illusion that in the darkness of the two stores without the rolling doors pulled down, there seemed to be something watching from inside.


    He pulled out a black disc-shaped Spirit Detector, turned it on, and its coverage quickly enveloped the area.


    Yet, there was not a single strangeness detected nearby.


    Turning off the Spirit Detector, He Zheng thought perhaps that entity usually hid within the mirrors, in a different space, so the Spirit Detector couldn''t pick it up.


    This also proved that there were no strangenesses in the dark interiors of the two stores that had not pulled down their rolling doors; it was all just He Zheng''s imagination.


    He tucked away the Spirit Detector, crouched down, and lifted the rolling door, revealing the inside of Bedroom Companion bathed in darkness. Other than the pieces of furniture placed near the entrance, the rest of the space seemed to be swallowed by the dark.


    He took out his phone, opened the call interface, looking at Yan Junze''s number, and prepared to click.


    Moments later, he looked up in the direction he came, not seeing anyone approach. He moved his thumb away from Yan Junze''s phone number, closed the call interface, and turned on the flashlight function, walking into Bedroom Companion.


    By the door, he tried the light switch, but there was no response.


    The store might have been closed for so long that it hadn''t paid its electricity and water bills, so the power could have been cut off.


    Of course, the strangenesses might have also been the cause.


    He Zheng had no choice but to use his phone''s flashlight to light his way deeper into the store. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    From the entrance, at first, one could still see the light of the flashlight moving further into the darkness, but after a short while, that light was completely engulfed, no longer visible.


    Although the store was called Bedroom Companion, the majority of the furniture for sale was not beds; they mostly sold dressing tables and wardrobes with mirrors, and so on.

 Chapter 225 Person in the Mirror (Part One) (4000 words)_2

    ```So it was inevitable that there were a large number of mirrors.


    He Zheng had only walked in for a short while when he saw at least seven or eight mirrors, including a full-length mirror that was part of a big wardrobe, the kind that can reflect a person''s entire body.


    These mirrors reflected and refracted the light from his flashlight, making the room seem not as dark as it was when he first entered, in He Zheng''s opinion.


    It was just that occasionally, the light coming through the mirrors gave him the illusion that someone else was walking towards him.


    Ever since he entered the store, He Zheng skillfully flicked his right hand behind him, pinching four Hidden Buckles between the fingers, ready to throw them at the target anytime.


    At this moment, other than He Zheng''s footsteps and breathing, no other sound could be heard in the entire store.


    Even He Zheng himself felt somewhat oppressed. He couldn''t help but cough and stopped in front of an exquisite vanity, standing still.


    This vanity was equipped with a small but very delicate stool, whose cushion was made of leather and surrounded by beautifully carved patterns.


    The reason He Zheng stood there without moving elsewhere was that he noticed there was very little dust on the leather stool compared to other chairs, clearly indicating it had been used recently.


    In other words, someone had sat on this stool at least in the recent past.


    Behind He Zheng was a big wardrobe with a full-body oval mirror on its surface, angled towards the vanity so that He Zheng could see the area behind him in the wardrobe mirror through the vanity mirror.


    Staring at the vanity mirror, He Zheng didn''t plan to move. His right hand was slightly raised so that he could flick the Hidden Buckles at any moment, then he watched carefully, unblinkingly, through the world in the vanity mirror.


    If it was a Person in the Mirror, it was very likely that this strangeness would appear in the mirror.


    He Zheng''s plan was to throw a few Hidden Buckles at it the moment it appeared, no questions asked. After freezing it in the mirror with a Chilling Hidden Buckle, he would decide whether to burn it with fire or smash the mirror to kill the entity.


    Based on He Zheng''s speculation, there was a fifty-fifty chance of killing the entity if he smashed the mirror, while the other half was to release it into the real world.


    If it was released into his world, he was confident that he could still crush it, perhaps even capture it alive.


    From the past missions he had completed, like the strangeness at Guan Lake, the event team had rated it as an F-level, but in reality, its strength was definitely high enough to cause an E-level strangeness event; it just never had the chance to show it.


    When He Zheng arrived there, he noticed the abnormality and still managed to kill it. This demonstrated the complexity of strangeness event levels.


    Now, the ghost in the mirror, despite causing the disappearance of two people, in He Zheng''s opinion, there was a good chance those people weren''t dead but were pulled into the Mirror World by this strangeness.


    This sort of strangeness may sound frightening but actually has low lethality, which is why He Zheng dared to act before Yan Junze arrived.


    As long as nobody was killed, the level may not even reach D; reaching E would be considered good. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While pondering, He Zheng''s eyebrows twitched slightly. Under the illumination of the flashlight, he saw in the vanity mirror the world deep within it, as if someone was standing to the left of the big wardrobe behind him, barely discernible.


    The person was dressed in dark clothes, with no visible features, unknown when they had appeared there.


    Instinctively, He Zheng immediately turned to look in the direction of the wardrobe behind him, only to find nothing there.


    Then he turned his head back and was startled, his whole body shuddering. The dark figure, which had been standing beside the wardrobe in the mirror, was now completely out and walking toward him with a straight posture, hands hanging naturally by the sides without swinging.


    It was clear that this person only appeared in the world of the mirror, which is why there was nothing behind He Zheng at that moment.


    Now He Zheng could see clearly; it was a woman, a woman with shoulder-length hair that completely covered her face.


    The woman was dressed in a black, long-sleeved dress, so her arms were not exposed, and the only part of her hands that was visible was a deathly pale, as if watching a black and white silent film.


    ```


    The woman''s shoulders seemed to rise slightly, almost parallel with her chin, completely close to the dresser mirror, so she felt like she stood exactly where He Zheng was standing now. But in the mirror, He Zheng no longer saw himself but was replaced by this woman.


    He was a bit surprised, took a slight step to the left, trying to move his shadow in the mirror out of the spot where the woman stood.


    But as he moved, the woman also took a small step, still appearing where He Zheng''s shadow should be in the mirror, making it so he still couldn''t see himself, only this woman whose cheeks were completely covered by her hair.


    By this time, he no longer hesitated and flicked the Chilling Hidden Buckle that was pinched between his thumb and forefinger out.


    With a bang, the Hidden Buckle scattered upon hitting the mirror''s surface.


    The whole mirror made a cracking sound, and a white layer spread over it, completely freezing the mirror''s surface.


    During this process, He Zheng didn''t move, nor did the Person in the Mirror. It wasn''t until the whole mirror was completely frozen over, that is, enveloped in a layer of transparent ice shards, that He Zheng tried to move again.


    However, unexpectedly, the Person in the Mirror hadn''t been frozen at all, still following his steps, unchanged, stubbornly obstructing He Zheng''s projection in the mirror.


    He Zheng let out a cold snort, kicked forcefully at the mirror. He used all his strength for this kick, and the vanity mirror wasn''t very sturdy; if hit, it would easily shatter.


    As long as he could force the Person in the Mirror out, he was still confident he could deal with her.


    Who knew that when his foot struck the mirror, it would emit a solid thud without any change.


    His leg started to tingle; it felt like he had kicked a steel plate, not a mirror at all.


    After that kick, the frozen ice shards on the mirror dropped off, the thin layer of white mist covering the mirror vanished, and the woman inside the mirror moved slightly. This time she didn''t follow He Zheng but slowly sat down, as if on the empty leather stool.


    He Zheng was stunned for a moment, suddenly unsure how to proceed.


    "Sit."


    A woman''s voice came from the mirror, and as it sounded, one could see the mirror''s surface trembling slightly.


    He Zheng thought he had misheard, but after seeing the woman indeed sitting down inside the mirror, he hesitated for a moment and then followed, slowly sitting down on the leather stool himself.


    By then, he had made up his mind; if all else failed, he would throw a High-Energy Collapse.


    With the power of the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, not just the vanity mirror in front of him, but also the two cabinets nearby, would be destroyed together.


    Moreover, He Zheng had an even stronger unique skill. As his sister worked in the Exorcist team, he had received a Super-Energy Burst long ago and had never used it.


    Even at this moment, he didn''t believe he would need to use the Super-Energy Burst.


    Could the strangeness in this mirror really reach the level of Sculpting Spirit? And even if it were a Sculpting Spirit, with the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle in hand, He Zheng had nothing to fear.


    After sitting down, the woman''s mouth hidden in her hair spoke again, "Do you like to hear stories?"


    He Zheng frowned tightly, not speaking.


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    The woman asked again, "Do you like to tell stories?"


    He Zheng still did not speak.


    The Person in the Mirror continued on her own, "I do."


    With that, she reached out her hands towards He Zheng, slowly parting the hair that covered her face.

 Chapter 226 Person in the Mirror (Part Two)

    At the very moment the woman in the mirror parted her hair, it''s fair to say that He Zheng''s heartbeat involuntarily began to quicken.Suddenly, the scene in the mirror rendered him utterly dumbstruck, and he was overcome with a tingling numbness in his hands and feet.


    Upon separating her hair, the woman revealed cheeks devoid of any features, with only slightly concave areas where the eye sockets should be, a subtle protrusion for the nose bridge, but where the mouth should have been, there was nothing but flatness, no sign of lips whatsoever.


    The faceless woman!


    He Zheng quickly came to his senses.


    That woman combed back her hair then hung it behind her ears, fully exposing the featureless visage to He Zheng.


    She could still speak, yet with no lips to be seen moving¡ªonly the entire dressing mirror vibrated faintly as she talked.


    "Now that you''ve sat down, let''s tell stories. I like listening to stories, especially horror stories," the woman in the mirror slowly spoke up.


    He Zheng sneered, "Sorry, but I''m an Exorcist, and I''m here to get rid of you, not to listen to your stories or tell you any."


    With that, he prepared to unleash the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle at the mirror.


    However, at that moment, He Zheng discovered that he could no longer move the arm and fingers that he had placed on the dressing table.


    This realization shocked him, and soon he found that his entire body, seated on the stool, had become as if petrified, unable to move at all.


    The only thing he could move was above his neck; everything below it was completely immobilized.


    "Let''s tell a story, or you won''t be leaving this place," the woman laughed sinisterly. As she spoke, she began to draw an array of makeup tools from the drawers of the mirror''s dressing table.


    He Zheng quickly tried to calm himself down because by the look of things, it seemed that he wasn''t in immediate danger. If it really came down to it, he would have to crush the High-Energy Collapse in his hand.


    Typically, a High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle was thrown and only activated upon impact, but the situation was different now. If possible, He Zheng could also crush it directly in his hand.


    Once crushed, it would create a shockwave that could repel him away from the dressing mirror, thus escaping the control of the woman in the mirror. At the same time, there was a good chance that the shockwave might also injure the woman in the mirror.


    Of course, the best course of action right now was to go along with the woman in the mirror''s plan and wait for an opportunity to move his fingers and crush the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle.


    "You said we''d tell a story, so what are you doing now?" He Zheng asked.


    "I like it this way, telling a story while doing my makeup," she replied.


    The woman in the mirror didn''t stop, skillfully laying out the foundation brush, eyeshadow brush, sponge ball, eyebrow pencil, powder puff, and then opening over ten different makeup boxes, covering the surface of the mirror''s dressing table.


    The current scene looked very eerie.


    The room was without any light except for the faint glow from the flashlight He Zheng held in his left hand.


    But He Zheng believed that even if it were entirely dark with not a hint of light, the woman in the mirror could still apply her makeup with ease.


    "What story should I tell?" After a moment''s silence, and upon seeing the woman had started applying makeup, he finally inquired.


    The woman was adept in her movements, applying makeup, and said, "Let''s each tell a horror story, the shorter the better, the more brilliant the better, preferably with a twist in the end that catches me by surprise. Maybe then, you can leave here unscathed."


    He Zheng chuckled coldly, unable to move his body, but his right hand kept trying to crush the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, he said, "Fine, but I''m not too familiar with this, why don''t you start?"


    The woman, graceful in her actions, by now had drawn her eyebrows and nose bridge, her movements fluid without any hesitation or thought, she began, "No problem, I''ll go first. This story is called¡ªMakeup."


    She paused, then in an even tone began her story.


    "A man wanted to play a prank on his girlfriend and decided to dress up as a ghost to scare her. So the man used the spare key his girlfriend gave him to enter her apartment early, before she returned home. While she was still out, he used lipstick, an eyebrow pencil, and other tools found in the room to paint a horrific makeup on himself.


    Since it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, he wasn''t sure how it looked, so he went to the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror."


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    "What he saw was so terrifying that the lipstick-made lips seemed stretched, his eyebrows drooped, and his skin appeared to dangle from his face, grimacing and grinning¡ªin fact, he scared himself. Thinking this would surely faint his girlfriend, he quickly washed off the makeup.


    Later, when his girlfriend came back, he told her what he''d planned, only to find her expression turn into one of utter horror..."


    "Why?" He Zheng couldn''t help asking.


    "His girlfriend told him that the bathroom mirror had been broken for days, removed and never replaced with a new one."


    As she finished, the woman in the mirror had already drawn her own eyeballs: "How about that story?"


    "Hmm, not bad," He Zheng nodded without any trace of fear or surprise. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, he saw the woman''s freshly applied eyeballs suddenly seem to move quickly.


    Even though his body couldn''t move, He Zheng felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.


    He didn''t have any scary stories to tell. Normally, He Zheng wasn''t fond of reading stories, let alone taking the time to sit down and read them.


    Agreeing to tell the Person in the Mirror a story was purely to buy time, so that he could activate the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle and use the Exorcist''s methods to quickly deal with this eerie woman.


    But now, he discovered that although he could slightly move his fingers, he still couldn''t muster enough strength to actually burst the Hidden Buckle.


    There wasn''t enough time.


    So He Zheng racked his brains for a story, and the Person in the Mirror spoke up at that moment, "It''s your turn..."


    "Let me think," He Zheng said.


    He frowned, trying to recall any scary story he''d heard or seen somewhere, but despite racking his brain, he couldn''t come up with anything.


    At this moment, the Person in the Mirror, having finished drawing her brows, nose, and now her lips, kept her painted eyeballs moving subtly. They seemed to be watching He Zheng outside the mirror or perhaps something else, giving off an oddly eerie vibe.


    Suddenly, He Zheng froze. He found these eyes eerily familiar.


    Then He Zheng remembered a story he had seen on a website before. It was somewhat familiar, but nevertheless, it could be considered a tightly-paced short story.


    "I''ll begin then. My story is very short," he cleared his throat and began, while continuing to put all his effort into pressing the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle between his fingers.


    "In an ordinary family, every evening as dusk approached, a six-year-old boy would stand on the sofa, looking out the window, waving his hand and mumbling something. His mother didn''t notice at first, but she later found her son''s behavior strange. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, ''What are you doing?'' The boy replied, ''Mom, I''m saying goodbye to uncle.''"


    "Uncle? The mother''s face turned pale when she heard this because they lived on the sixth floor. No one could be outside the window where her son waved each day. Horrified, her voice trembling, she asked, ''Son, there''s no one outside, where is this uncle?'' At this point, the boy pointed to the sky, ''There, Uncle Sun.''


    As He Zheng finished speaking, the Person in the Mirror, who had been applying her makeup, paused for a moment before continuing, while saying, "This isn''t a scary story."


    "Don''t you want a twist? My story started off with suspense and horror and indeed ended with a twist," He Zheng said, breaking into a sweat.


    At that moment, he found he could essentially move his right hand.


    At the same time, the Person in the Mirror had finished applying her lipstick, and the hands that had been moving across her face finally came to a rest.


    The woman smiled at He Zheng, who stared blankly at her, no longer applying makeup, as if he had just seen an extremely bizarre scene. He even forgot to press the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    Or rather, he could now move his fingers, but he still didn''t have enough strength to actually press it down.


    What he saw was the Person in the Mirror''s face after makeup, and that face eerily matched his own.


    Aside from their figures and hairstyles, the face was a perfect replica of He Zheng''s own countenance.


    Upon seeing the other''s eerie appearance, He Zheng froze for a few seconds. Then, an inexplicable sense of panic overwhelmed him, and he exerted all his strength to press the Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    However, at the same moment, the woman in the mirror slowly raised her hands, and likewise, He Zheng involuntarily raised his outside the mirror, as if his body was no longer under his control.


    He Zheng''s facial expression distorted with fear as he found himself performing the same motions as the Person in the Mirror.


    Yet at that moment, the woman grew a face of her own ¡ª truly as if she was looking at her own reflection.


    Then the woman retracted her raised hands, slowly reaching towards her own neck, and He Zheng, outside the mirror, also uncontrollably reached for his neck, gently grasped it, and then began to tighten his grip ¡ª gradually his breathing became difficult.


    While He Zheng''s hands tightened around his neck, the veins popping out, the Person in the Mirror, though wearing his face, displayed a mysterious smile, watching him quietly. She, too, tightened her grip on her neck viciously, as if it didn''t belong to her at all.


    Just as He Zheng felt like he was about to faint, his arms were suddenly grabbed by another pair of hands, and his neck was promptly released, allowing him to finally catch his breath.


    Refocusing his gaze and looking up, he saw a stranger beside him, holding his hands. And in front of him, on the dressing table ¡ª that is, in front of the vanity mirror ¡ª were numerous makeup boxes.


    And the person in the mirror was clearly He Zheng himself, with no one else present.

 Chapter 227 Person in the Mirror (Part Three)

    ```"You are..." He Zheng felt like he had survived a catastrophe, gasping for air, and it took a long time for him to realize, "You are Yan Junze? Thank God you came, or else... the consequences..."


    ```


    ```


    Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that the man was still grabbing his hands, saying nothing, without any other movements, just staring straight into his eyes, expressionless.


    ```


    ```


    After calming down, He Zheng began to feel suspicious.


    ```


    ```


    No matter what, if it were Yan Junze who had rushed over, his reaction wouldn''t be like this after rescuing him.


    ```


    ```


    With this thought, he immediately turned his head to look again at the mirror on the dressing table, and when he saw the reflection clearly, he instantly took a sharp intake of breath.


    ```


    ```


    He saw that his reflection in the mirror was still sitting nicely, smiling at him, with no sight of anyone else, nor any sign that he had turned around, when in fact someone was holding his wrists.


    ```


    ```


    The He Zheng in the mirror sat quietly, still holding the makeup tools, as if he was still putting on makeup.


    ```


    ```


    Feeling the strength from the person holding his wrist, He Zheng was certain someone was grabbing him. A shock went through his heart, and he stopped staring at the mirror and turned his head slowly back to look at the person holding him.


    ```


    ```


    What appeared before his eyes was a woman in a black cloth dress, with long hair cascading over her shoulders, completely covering her face. She was the very same ''Person in the Mirror'' He Zheng had seen earlier.


    ```


    ```


    And now, this ''Person in the Mirror'' was holding his hands, motionless.


    ```


    ```


    He Zheng swallowed, glanced down, and saw that his cellphone, which was lit by the flashlight, had been placed on the dressing table, with the screen facing the table, shining upward. Therefore, the ground was pitch dark, and the dropped High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle was nowhere to be found.


    ```


    ```


    "No... it''s not... Yan Junze..."


    ```


    ```


    He Zheng became stammering; a second ago he thought he was saved, only to find out later that this was another nightmare.


    ```


    ```


    Regardless, it seemed now that the woman had walked out of the mirror.


    ```


    ```


    He Zheng tried to pull back his hands, which were being held by the woman, but she was surprisingly strong and didn''t budge at all.


    ```


    ```


    Not only did he fail to retract his arms, but sensing He Zheng''s struggle, the woman bent down, brought her head close to He Zheng, slowly lifted his hands that she was holding and started brushing away the hair that completely covered her cheeks with his hands.


    ```


    ```


    Touching the woman''s hair, He Zheng couldn''t help but feel a chilling coldness that he hadn''t felt in a long time, yet he was still unable to break free.


    ```


    ```


    He watched his hands move at an extremely slow speed, lifting the hair that covered the woman''s cheeks. The nervousness in his heart reached its peak.


    ```


    ```


    Before he could get a clear look at the woman''s face, He Zheng closed his eyes sharply. At this moment, he could only close his eyes, having no other way to resist.


    ```


    ```


    In his mind, ever since he sat on this leather stool, he had been in a passive state, interfered with by this ''Person in the Mirror.''


    ```


    ```


    Not long after he closed his eyes, he could feel the woman''s face slowly getting closer. Although he couldn''t see it, a bone-chilling coldness was getting nearer and nearer. It seemed as if she was breathing, and her breath was piercing cold.


    ```


    ```


    "Damn, how can this be so scary?"


    ```


    ```


    At this time, He Zheng felt a fear like never before, a kind of fear he had never encountered in his career as an exorcist.


    ```


    ```


    In the past, his exorcisms with the Collapsing Hidden Buckle had been successful with a single try, making him confident and unrivaled. But today, he had encountered a challenge like never before.


    ```


    ```


    Now, with fear taking root in his heart, it spread uncontrollably throughout his body, causing goosebumps to rise, a chill ran down his spine, and a numbness at the back of his head, almost causing him to collapse.


    ```


    ```


    Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and upon seeing the face that was now completely close to him, He Zheng''s eyes rolled back, and with a thud, he fainted.


    ```


    ```


    ...


    ```


    ```


    In front of the dressing table, Yan Junze was holding He Zheng''s hands with a bewildered look on his face, watching as he suddenly fell into unconsciousness.


    ```


    ```


    He hadn''t been at "Bedroom Companion" furniture store for long, but he saw that the roller shutter door was already open, so he was sure the exorcist who was to cooperate with him had already entered.


    ```


    ```


    Originally, Yan Junze didn''t plan to continue with this assignment, firstly because this exorcist clearly didn''t play by the rules, acting on his own and leaving Yan Junze behind, and also because cooperating with such a man might expose his own secrets.


    ```


    ```


    Since he was so cocksure, let him deal with the ''Person in the Mirror'' alone, Yan Junze thought. He would just wash his hands off and walk away.


    ```


    ```


    Just as Yan Junze was about to leave, he heard a noise from within the darkness of the furniture store. He stood at the entrance and called out.


    ```


    ```


    There was no answer.


    ```


    ```


    And at this time, no mission prompts popped up in the atlas in his mind. Yan Junze didn''t plan to activate his "Perception of Strange Events". He was already here; he could directly approach the site of the strangeness without wasting any more energy.


    ```


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    ```


    So he stepped inside.


    ```


    ```


    To navigate more easily, Yan Junze also turned on his phone''s flashlight. There were many mirrors inside, and walking too quickly could cause illusions, making it feel as if someone else holding a flashlight was walking towards him.


    ```


    ```


    After about two minutes, he stood beside a wardrobe and turned off the flashlight on his phone. In the darkness, he quietly watched everything that was happening in front of the vanity.


    ```


    ```


    What he saw was a young man with "Exorcist" practically written on his forehead, sitting alone in front of the vanity, his face wearing a strange smile, talking to the mirror and applying make-up on his face from the tools on the table.


    ```


    ```


    Initially, Yan Junze thought there was some strangeness in the mirror, but when he took a closer look, he found that no person in the mirror appeared.


    The person in the mirror was still He Zheng, who was sitting in front of the dressing table, applying makeup.


    "This guy... why does it feel like a possession spirit has taken over him?" Yan Junze muttered to himself, watching He Zheng''s mechanical movements.


    He then saw He Zheng use eyebrow pencils and other items to smear his face beyond recognition, while concurrently telling himself stories in clear articulation and practiced motions.


    Yan Junze watched and listened; he had to admit, in this quiet and dark environment, it was quite the spooky experience.


    Soon after the second story about "Uncle Sun" ended, he saw He Zheng put down his makeup tools, raise his hands, and then slowly start to choke himself, as if the neck was not his own, almost as if it came free with a phone recharge.


    After more than ten seconds, veins protruded on He Zheng''s neck, his eyes bulged out, and his face swelled up to a deep red.


    Yan Junze knew he had to intervene, or else this guy would seriously hurt himself right there.


    And so the scene from earlier unfolded.


    But even now, Yan Junze didn''t understand why He Zheng fainted. He looked at himself as if he saw a different kind of horror, the reason for which was unknown to him.


    Since He Zheng had fainted, Yan Junze simply helped him to the ground to lie down properly, so he wouldn''t get in the way.


    Then he placed his own phone on the dressing table, with the flashlight of both phones providing a bit of light, just a little stronger than before.


    Afterward, Yan Junze looked towards the mirror on the dressing table.


    Through that mirror, he could see his own reflection being cast from another mirror behind him.


    Remembering He Zheng''s bizarre behavior just now, he looked down at the dressing table and the beautifully designed leather stool that was part of it..


    Yan Junze had no intention of sitting down for the time being.


    Because all of He Zheng''s strange behavior happened while sitting there, he didn''t want to touch anything in the area for now.


    Looking again at the mirror in front of him, this time, he saw the vague outline of a figure appearing in it.


    Or more accurately, beside the large wardrobe that stood behind him.


    Since only the silhouette was visible, it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. The figure just stood there, motionless.


    Yan Junze turned around to look and found nothing out of the ordinary beside the wardrobe¡ªno figure appeared.


    He was surprised and turned back to the mirror to check if he had been mistaken. But upon turning his head, he was taken aback to see that the figure, which had just been standing beside the wardrobe, was now coming out, shoulders hunched high, almost level with the chin, and slowly stepped up to the mirror.


    It was a woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders, completely obscuring her face.


    Where Yan Junze used to see his own reflection in the mirror, the woman had now approached from within the mirror and his image was completely replaced¡ªor rather, obscured by the woman in the mirror.


    Yan Junze looked down at his feet and then frowned; he realized that even though He Zheng had recently been lying on the ground, his figure had vanished without a trace.


    He then looked at the mirror, where the woman had already taken a seat, seemingly on the leather stool within the mirror.


    Shortly after she sat down, the figure of a man stood up from behind the woman in the mirror, his back to the outside, and it was the silhouette of He Zheng.


    He Zheng stood up as if he had lost his souls, silently walking toward the wardrobe.


    Yan Junze was astonished and turned to look behind him again, but still, there was nothing there. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed as though He Zheng had been pulled into the mirror by some bizarre force.


    By the time He Zheng reached the front of the wardrobe, he extended his hand like a puppet being controlled, slowly pulling the wardrobe door open and then silently stepped inside.


    The moment the wardrobe door opened and he stepped in, Yan Junze clearly saw two men standing motionless inside the wardrobe, with dull eyes.


    Bang, the wardrobe door closed.


    "Do you like to hear stories?" The woman, seemingly oblivious to the scene behind her, suddenly spoke, and at the same time, the entire mirror surface began to tremble slightly.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, without responding, but his mind flashed back to the scene of He Zheng telling himself stories.


    Interesting. It looked like he was now re-experiencing what He Zheng had gone through earlier.


    As the thought emerged, the information about the task published by the Atlas popped into his mind.


    ```

 Chapter 228 Person in the Mirror (Part Four)

    [Task Name: The Person in the Mirror;]Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);]


    Task Background: She was very fond of horror stories and engaging in Spirit Exploration adventures was her passion before the worldwide eruption of strangeness.


    After the outbreak, she came across a story somewhere which claimed that at 12:12 midnight, if a person alone in their room combed their hair twelve times in front of a mirror and said "Come out" three times, an incredible Mirror Spirit would appear that could grant the summoner''s wish. However, the price was...


    She didn''t know how she had died, only remembering sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair, and then she could never leave;]


    Task Description: Release her from the mirror;]


    Task Reward: 900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    Task Punishment: You could become one of the ones in the mirror;]


    Task Tips: 1. This Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Be cautious of the real Mirror Spirit behind you;]


    Remarks: To fulfill her obsession, you will need a rich reading history.]


    Yan Junze scrutinized the task prompt that had popped up. The task''s name was The Person in the Mirror, but looking at the current situation, the oddity in the mirror wasn''t the only one.


    And the woman in the mirror in front of him was the Person in the Mirror mentioned in the task, while in this mirror, there appeared to be an even more formidable Mirror Spirit.


    Now, it seemed that since there was no specific task for the Mirror Spirit, its obsession wasn''t here. He just needed to fulfill this woman''s obsession.


    Of course, he would certainly have to be wary of the Mirror Spirit during this process.


    "No wonder He Zheng was muttering horror stories to himself just now; it turns out this woman is a story enthusiast," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Before entering this shop, he had already initiated Rewind, so right now he was not worried about anything. After pondering briefly, he then sat down on a leather stool and looked at the woman in the mirror.


    "I like listening to stories, especially horror stories," Yan Junze responded to the woman in the mirror.


    "I like them too." The woman seemed to be smiling.


    After saying this, she stretched out her grey-white hands and slowly lifted her hair, tucking it behind her ears.


    What Yan Junze saw was also a face without any features.


    Having seen He Zheng earlier sitting in front of a dressing table doing his own makeup, at this moment, Yan Junze had every reason to suspect that, just like He Zheng, he was facing the woman in the mirror, but in reality, it was himself.


    Then the woman in the mirror picked up some makeup tools and began to draw on her face, and as she did, she said, "Let''s each tell a story in turn. They must be horror stories, short and to the point, with a twist at the end. Hmm, I''ll go first."


    "Fine," Yan Junze replied concisely.


    The woman in the mirror took her time doing her makeup and began, "This story''s title is ''Dormitory.'' It''s said that in dorm room 215 of a university, the new students who had just arrived for registration weren''t familiar with the environment, so they didn''t know each other well and didn''t talk much at night. But Lin was an exception.


    Seeing the dorm so silent, he climbed off his bed, sat up, and broke the quiet: ''Have you guys noticed? There is no room 214 on this floor¡ª it jumps directly from 213 to ours, 215.''" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No one in the room answered him. Lin didn''t mind and continued: ''Probably you don''t know, but I''ve heard that someone died in a fire in room 214 after they secretly used electricity and forgot to cut off the power, causing a fire in the dead of night that burned everyone in that room to death. Not sure if you''ve ever walked into the wrong room ¨C these dorm rooms are exactly alike.


    Just now, when I came back, I went into room 213 by mistake.''"


    "As he spoke, still no one answered him, but everyone quietly lifted their heads and stared at Lin. Lin felt something was off, wondering why all these buddies from all over the country gathered here wouldn''t talk. But the next second, Lin seemed to realize something, his brows furrowed tightly..."


    "Is that the end?" Yan Junze, noticing the woman in the mirror suddenly stopped talking, asked.


    "Yes, that''s it." The woman was still applying makeup, having drawn her eyes and eyebrows, and was now drawing the bridge of her nose.


    "That story is brilliant," Yan Junze clapped his hands, "It''s chilling and has a twist at the end."


    "It''s your turn," said the woman in the mirror.


    Ever since his experience with joining the Strangeness Association at Tianmeng Science University, Yan Junze found that being able to come up with several thrilling horror stories at a moment''s notice was a basic survival skill in this era.


    Although the horror stories he told, which were based on his own experiences, weren''t very popular during the process of joining the Strangeness Association, Yan Junze had gained some experience.


    So after that, he specially looked up several websites dedicated to strangenesses, most of which were text-based, and deliberately memorized a few horror stories. These stories weren''t necessarily all about strangenesses, and their lengths varied, but they all featured bizarre twists and turns, which couldn''t have come in handier than now.


    "The name of my story is ''Mother,''" Yan Junze cleared his throat, beginning his tale, "There was a couple that always fought, arguing day and night, and when their fights escalated, they would end up hitting each other. One day, the arguments got particularly intense, and in the heat of the moment, the husband accidentally killed his wife.


    He buried her body in the backyard and life continued as if nothing had happened."


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    "However, a few days later, the husband noticed that his six-year-old daughter was acting strangely, as she hadn''t seen her mother for several days and showed no sign of worry.


    So he asked his daughter, ''Your mother hasn''t been home for a few days, why aren''t you worried or asking me where she''s gone?'' The daughter replied, ''I''m not worried, but I find it strange, Daddy, why have you been carrying Mommy on your back these past few days?''"


    As Yan Junze spoke, the action of the woman in the mirror applying makeup suddenly paused and stopped.


    Then Yan Junze saw that the bridge of the nose she was drawing had become crooked, clearly shocked by the ending of the story, and distracted, she hadn''t drawn it correctly.


    Upon a closer look, he realized that the eyes she had drawn looked very familiar, almost like his own.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but speculate wildly.


    "This story... not bad," the woman in the mirror said slowly, wiping off the misdrawn nose with a cotton ball.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had reason to believe that ever since he had taken a seat on this stool, what he was seeing was no longer the real scene.


    Perhaps, like He Zheng, he was simply sitting on the stool himself, with the illusion that the woman in the mirror was putting on makeup, when in fact, it was he who was doing it.


    Now he could only hope that he wasn''t turning himself into a pig-headed figure.


    "Is it my turn again?" Yan Junze asked.


    The woman didn''t answer but began telling the next story while she started redrawing her nose.


    "This story is called ''Birthday.'' It was a son''s third birthday, and his parents were very happy, having arranged a small birthday party for him. The party was meticulously planned, with a big water bed, building blocks, and various soft toys. The son was also delighted, bouncing around on the bed, while his parents happily filmed him, to capture this precious moment.


    Suddenly, the son stepped into a void and fell under the bed, his head striking sharply against several pointed blocks, and despite all efforts, he died."


    "The parents were inconsolably sad. It took them months to start recovering gradually. Out of intense longing for their son, they took out the video of the day he died and mustered the courage to play it. Both sat together, watching in silence. Then, they saw something in the playback.


    As their son jumped on the water bed, a man covered in blood was standing by the bed, grabbing their son''s hair and pulling it up and down, over and over, before lifting him and violently throwing him onto the floor."


    "Phew," Yan Junze exhaled and said, "I hope this is just a story, not the truth."


    "It''s your turn again," the woman in the mirror said as she finished drawing her nose and began to work on her lips.


    Seeing the face in the mirror that was nearly complete, Yan Junze was almost certain that the woman was drawing his own likeness.


    He paused for a moment and said, "This story is called ''So Close, Yet So Far.'' There was a young man who had just moved into a single room that he had rented. The room was quite large and the facilities were not outdated; it was perfect for one person, and he was very satisfied with it. After spending a day moving in, he began sorting out various odds and ends in the evening.


    After getting his bed arranged, he suddenly noticed that on the wall next to his bed, there were six or seven small holes that weren''t big enough to fit a nail or hang anything on, and he had no clue what they were for."


    "At that moment, he thought he faintly heard voices coming from next door, but the sound was too low, or perhaps the people were speaking in hushed tones, so he couldn''t make out what was said. Curious, the young man went closer, pressed his ear against the wall, and listened intently.


    After a while, he was finally able to make out some fragments of conversation, something like ''Almost there, just about ready.''


    "The young man thought he had struck gold, as on his first day there, he seemed to overhear from next door some inappropriate and indescribable sounds. He glued his ear against the wall, not wanting to miss a thing. But after a long time, it was still those few phrases being repeated, ''Almost, almost, should be soon.''"


    "He was confused, although the fantasies of a lonely guy kept him from giving up and he continued to listen closely.


    That was when he heard the voice say, ''Yeah, that''s it, right there.'' As soon as the words were spoken, just two fingers'' width from where the young man''s head was pressed against the wall, a sharp, slim steel needle pierced through, protruding several inches from the wall before stopping."


    "The young man was utterly petrified; he lay there motionless as the needle was slowly drawn back, and then he heard the voice from next door saying, ''Such a pity, so close.''

 Chapter 229 Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)

    By this time, the makeup of the woman in the mirror was nearly complete, with lips already outlined; it was clearly the likeness of Yan Junze, with only a bit left at the chin.However, after Yan Junze finished the story with a "what a pity, just a little bit more," especially at the conclusion of the tale, the woman''s hand trembled, obviously affected once again.


    A long black line was drawn from the chin upwards across the face, stopping only when it reached the corner of the eye.


    This action completely ruined the makeup that had resembled Yan Junze''s face on the woman in the mirror at that moment.


    The woman in the mirror was completely stunned, her hands no longer moving, as she stared blankly at Yan Junze.


    Simultaneously, the scene before Yan Junze''s eyes changed; he found himself holding makeup tools, still seated on the leather stool. The woman in the mirror had been blocking his reflection, but now the person in the mirror reverted back to himself, and the woman''s figure had disappeared.


    After hesitating briefly, Yan Junze recalled the mission prompt. He glanced at the large wardrobe in the mirror that had closed, within which three people, including the exorcist He Zheng, had been confined just a moment ago.


    Of course, in the real world, there was no one inside the large wardrobe.


    Perhaps it was time to take a risk. With Rewind at his disposal, and the current rewind time being sufficiently long for Yan Junze to take chances, he picked up a comb from the vanity and, recalling the method mentioned in the mission for summoning the Mirror Spirit, began to comb his hair.


    Although it wasn''t 12:12 a.m., with strangenesses rampant, the previous conditions could no longer measure whether a strangeness would appear.


    Combing his hair twelve times, Yan Junze also began to chant, "Come out, come out, come out."


    Well, important things must be said three times.


    With that, he stopped combing his hair and placed the comb back on the table, turning his gaze towards the mirror.


    Because there was a full-length mirror on the back of the wardrobe, Yan Junze could see the reflection of his own back in the dressing mirror, cast by the full-length mirror.


    Having put down the comb, he slowly stood up, but at that moment, he noticed that his reflection in the full-length mirror remained seated, his back reflected as if it had never moved.


    Yan Junze watched for a moment, paying it no mind. He already felt the environment around him changing into something odd, as if the air surrounding his body had become stagnant and no longer flowed, but without making it hard to breathe.


    Turning around, with his back to the dressing mirror and facing the full-length mirror, he saw that the reflection still showed his back to the mirror, unchanging.


    "Am I now... in the world of the mirror?" Yan Junze speculated.


    He walked toward the full-length mirror on the large wardrobe, and at that moment, his reflection still showed him sitting facing the dressing mirror, looking quite eerie.


    A frigid chill crept over him as he approached the wardrobe.


    Standing in front of the wardrobe doors, Yan Junze reached out and grasped the doorknob.


    At that instant, behind the mirrors, a grating, grinding sound emerged, making one''s skin crawl.


    Furthermore, the sound seemed to draw nearer, approaching his direction.


    Without any hesitation, Yan Junze flung open the big doors of the wardrobe, revealing three men including He Zheng standing silently inside, eyes wide open, motionless. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He stepped back, reached out with his left hand to grab the other door of the wardrobe and pulled it open again.


    Inside this side of the door stood only one figure, the woman in a black dress.


    This time the woman finally had a face. Though her hair was draped over, it didn''t completely cover her face, revealing an ordinary visage with no distinctive features.


    The woman''s eyes, just like the three men''s, were open, but they lacked any luster, like someone dead.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was almost certain that although He Zheng was new to the Mirror World, he might have already died, no different from the other people there.


    Another commonality was that although they were dead, they were trapped in the Mirror World and could no longer leave.


    The irritating grinding sound continued, seemingly coming from behind the wardrobe.


    First things first: get the people out.


    Decidedly, Yan Junze resolved that no matter what was approaching, he grabbed He Zheng and another man by the arms and dragged them out of the wardrobe.


    Surprisingly, although these two no longer showed signs of life, they still consciously took steps, following Yan Junze out of the wardrobe without much difficulty. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    Coming to the mirror by the vanity, Yan Junze reached out to touch it, and his hand went directly through. He immediately turned, pulling He Zheng towards him and thrust him forcefully into the mirror.


    Then, following the same procedure, he pushed the other man inside.


    Turning quickly, he went back to the wardrobe to pull out the remaining man, who immediately followed him out of the wardrobe, then he grabbed the sole woman, who likewise followed him out.


    Just at that moment, the loud grinding sound abruptly stopped, and from one side of the wardrobe, near the side where the woman had been confined, a black, withered hand with calloused and sharp nails appeared, grasping the edge of the wardrobe as if it were about to reveal its head at any second.


    Yan Junze had no curiosity to see that head, and even without thinking too hard, he could guess that the owner of the black hand must undoubtedly be the Mirror Spirit.

 Chapter 229 Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_2

    He swiftly led the two of them to the vanity mirror, yanked the man violently, causing him to fall towards the mirror with half of his body sticking out. Then, Yan Junze gave a push, making him leave the Mirror World completely.His hands then grasped the woman''s shoulders, about to push her toward the vanity mirror when the sound of "pop pop pop" rose from behind, as if someone was burping up myriad bubbles nonstop, continuously forming and bursting.


    Yan Junze didn''t look back; he knew the scene behind him must be terrifying, and if he took another glance, his mind would be shaken, definitely causing a delay.


    Every second was critical at this moment. All he needed was to push the woman out, then make his escape, and his mission would be accomplished.


    Just as he had pushed the woman about halfway out of the mirror, his shoulder suddenly tightened, caught by a hand.


    Yan Junze''s body tensed, hesitating for nearly two seconds, holding back the urge to look back. He hadn''t expected the Mirror Ghost to move so much faster upon seeing that he intended to leave with the woman.


    According to the speed just moments ago, he would have had enough time to take the woman and leave comfortably.


    But now it seemed impossible.


    Yan Junze still didn''t look back. Mirror Spirits were mysterious, and he was unsure if he would end up like He Zheng, suddenly losing his life upon glancing back.


    So the best option was to initiate the Rewind.


    At this moment, half of the woman''s upper body was out, the other half still in the Mirror World, and Yan Junze''s shoulder was already grasped by the Mirror Spirit, rendering him unable to continue. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next moment, time rewound.


    Yan Junze stood in front of the wardrobe, the intense grinding noise still approaching from not far off, not yet fully near.


    After pondering for a few seconds, this time, Yan Junze didn''t opt to take the other two with him. It seemed there wasn''t enough time; insisting on taking everyone might end up costing himself as well.


    But He Zheng was an Exorcist, after all a colleague of sorts, and taking him along would also be a way to report back to his superiors.


    He grabbed He Zheng, then reached for the woman with his other hand, pulling both toward the vanity mirror.


    This time, the grinding noise behind him noticeably quickened after he grabbed the woman. A black hand emerged from behind the wardrobe, followed by a blurred black figure stepping out, emitting "pop pop" sounds of bursting bubbles from its throat.


    By then, Yan Junze had already pushed He Zheng, who was in front, out of the mirror, turned around, and yanked the woman''s shoulder, pulling her forward. During this process, he caught a glimpse of the black figure approaching from behind.


    Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    The terrifying silhouette of the Mirror Spirit was but an outline in Yan Junze''s eyes. Despite having witnessed many supernatural phenomena, the sight of the Mirror Spirit sent a shudder through him, prompting him to increase his pace.


    After the woman''s upper body entered the mirror, he grabbed her legs and hoisted her up, successfully pushing her out.


    The noise behind became furiously intense, the grinding sound rapidly closing in.


    Yan Junze bowed his body, lying across the vanity, and flipped his legs out through the mirror first. But the black figure had already neared the vanity, stretching out a black, emaciated hand covered in sharp nails towards his head.


    There was no chance to dodge at that moment. Yan Junze prepared to swing his mallet, throwing it to slow down the Mirror Spirit''s incoming speed.


    However, a throw would leave the Black Spirit Mallet behind in the Mirror World, forever unretrievable.


    After hesitating briefly, almost instinctively, he grabbed a drawer from the vanity and yanked it open, smashing it towards the Mirror Spirit. In the process, a small mirror with a handle, about the size of a palm, fell from the drawer.


    Yan Junze was quick to grab it, squeezing his entire body rapidly into the mirror.


    After the drawer hit the Mirror Spirit, it failed to stop its advance, but as it saw Yan Junze grabbing the fallen handle mirror, a voice uttered from the Mirror Spirit''s throat, urgent and pressing.


    "No...don''t."


    Better for it to have remained silent, for upon hearing it, Yan Junze was even less likely to let go. Clutching the mirror in his hand, he contracted his upper body and finally passed through the mirror.


    The moment the handle mirror crossed through, a distortion occurred that Yan Junze couldn''t perceive, as if the world flipped and the mirror''s surface turned into water, rippling with strange waves.


    In the Mirror World, the black hand stretched swiftly toward the small mirror, sharp nails nearing it when the irreversible inversion and distortion of the mirror took place. The black hand, closest to the mirror, quivered and was about to retract, but it was too late.


    A bizarre, heart-wrenching scream erupted as the hand dissolved into a flow of black mist, yanked out through the mirror along with the small mirror. The rest of the body followed suit, transforming into more black mist, streaming rapidly toward the handle mirror.


    Before the small mirror completely emerged from the vanity mirror, all the black mist flowed into it, and the silhouette of the Mirror Spirit disappeared without a trace.


    Finally, Yan Junze pulled the small mirror out of the Mirror World.


    First, there was utter darkness, then a dim light emerged.


    The light came from two cell phone flashlights placed on the vanity. Yan Junze stood up to find two bodies lying on the floor, one was He Zheng, the other the woman.


    At the same time, a mission completion notification popped up.

 Chapter 229 Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_3

    [Person in the Mirror, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, 900 points of Different Dimension Energy obtained.]Yan Junze still felt some palpitations as he stood there, the strength of the Mirror Spirit had completely exceeded his imagination, at least at the Sculpting Spirit level. However, fortunately, as long as he escaped the Mirror World, it would be fine.


    Moreover, now that the task was completed, the woman''s body had indeed left the Mirror World as desired, but He Zheng...


    Yan Junze looked down at He Zheng, whose face had turned a ghastly shade of cyan and whose body was already beginning to grow cold, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.


    Although the Exorcist before him was his first collaborator after joining the ranks, he hadn''t expected this guy to act first, ending up dying miserably right in front of him. He wondered how he was going to explain this to the higher-ups later.


    What was most important was that Yan Junze had no idea what the relationship between He Zheng and He Yun was.


    After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand, which still held the palm-sized little mirror.


    The Mirror Spirit had clearly been very concerned about this item, though Yan Junze didn''t know why he was puzzled.


    Suddenly, as he looked at the small mirror, he saw that the mirror no longer reflected his own shadow but was instead a chaotic darkness, as if surging with some undercurrent, extremely sinister.


    Just one glance, and it seemed as if a pitch-black head appeared within the mirror, roaring fiercely at something outside the bounds, nearly causing Yan Junze to lose his composure, almost snatched away by the thing inside the mirror. Frightened, he quickly turned the small mirror around, not daring to look again.


    "What is this? It seems like... a Mirror Spirit?"


    Yan Junze stared blankly at the back of the mirror in his hand, somewhat astonished. He didn''t understand when the Mirror Spirit had entered this small mirror.


    Perhaps something abnormal had happened while he was leaving the Mirror World.


    But at the moment, it was unknown.


    "As long as I don''t look at this mirror, it should be fine," Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then placed the small mirror in his coat pocket.


    He then turned his head to look around the shop and eventually set his gaze on the dressing mirror in front of him. He saw that the mirror had begun to crack, inch by inch, making a cracking sound.


    Not long after, with a crash, the entire mirrored surface completely shattered, falling onto the dressing table.


    This world within the mirror, it can be said, was completely destroyed.


    However...


    Yan Junze looked down at his coat pocket. The small mirror in his pocket had apparently taken the place of the dressing mirror that had just been destroyed.


    After tidying up the bodies of the woman and He Zheng, arranging them neatly, he found two pieces of grey cloth used to cover furniture and covered the bodies with them.


    Yan Junze dialed He Yun''s number, and as soon as He Yun answered, without waiting for Yan Junze to speak, she asked, "I''ve been trying to call He Zheng, but he hasn''t been answering. What''s the situation over there? Have you dealt with it?"


    "It''s taken care of," Yan Junze replied. "But this Exorcist named He Zheng didn''t wait for me to arrive, he took action on his own."


    "Ah! He''s okay, right? This guy, I told him he had to stick with you," He Yun''s tone obviously became more anxious.


    Yan Junze was startled, sensing something different, and after a moment of thought, he ventured, "He Zheng, he''s not just a colleague to you?"


    A bitter laugh came from He Yun, "I''m sorry, I kept it from you before, he''s actually my younger brother, a somewhat talented but impatient two-star Exorcist, sometimes he doesn''t understand his own limits."


    "Ah..." Yan Junze now understood and sighed, "Doing this... you could harm him."


    "Where is he now?" He Yun asked.


    "Have the staff come clean up the site, the strangeness here has been dealt with, but you should brace yourself."


    Yan Junze couldn''t directly tell He Yun over the phone, so he prepared to make a direct visit to the Exorcist team''s office.


    After hanging up, guessing that He Yun must have already surmised, Yan Junze also felt somewhat heavy-hearted. He left "Bedroom Companion" furniture store and told the security guard at the stairwell that the strange event had been resolved, but the store needed to be temporarily sealed off, with no one allowed near until the Exorcist staff arrived for cleanup.


    The security guard quickly thanked him but seemed puzzled as to why the first young man who went in had disappeared without a trace.


    When he came out, it was already past ten, and the streets were scarcely populated, with even fewer taxis than usual.


    Yan Junze managed to hail a taxi after some difficulty. The driver was very cautious and didn''t immediately unlock the door to let him in but asked some questions. After Yan Junze responded fluently, and the driver made it clear he wouldn''t leave the city or enter alleys, just stop on the main road, he agreed to let Yan Junze in.


    Due to the emergence of Lin Qiao, the number of Exorcists in the city had drastically decreased lately, leading to some strangenesses not being resolved in time and seemingly sprouting up overnight, so people were becoming quite apprehensive.


    Of course, they didn''t know that this was due to the appearance of the Spirit Bridge causing a shortage of Exorcists, and they simply thought that the increase in strange events was too much for the Exorcists to handle.


    Soon, the taxi stopped on People''s Road, a main thoroughfare, just like the driver had said¡ªhe wouldn''t turn into any alleys.


    The Exorcist team''s office belonging to Tianmeng was indeed located in Benefit Alley off People''s Road, in an old-style office building with a sign "Tianmeng Records Bureau No. 6" hung outside, which made it look like just an ordinary local agency to the uninformed.


    After the taxi stopped on People''s Road, Yan Junze paid the fare, got out, and walked toward Benefit Alley. Just as he turned into the alley, a van emerged and turned onto People''s Road, speeding off in the direction Yan Junze had come from.


    As the vehicle passed by, Yan Junze glanced briefly¡ªin the passenger seat there was someone, and the back window was opaque, making it hard to see clearly, but there were definitely more than two people in the car.


    These were likely Exorcist team members dispatched to clean up the "Bedroom Companion" store''s site. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Reaching the old office building with the Records Bureau sign, he showed his hexagonal badge at the duty room and was told to go straight to the fourth floor.


    Unexpectedly, although the exterior seemed very old, the interior decor was quite new. Yan Junze took the internal elevator to the fourth floor and stepped out into a spacious office.


    He looked ahead and saw at least five operators seated there.


    Two were answering calls while another two stood beside one of the female operators, seemingly offering words of comfort.


    This woman wore a striped, form-fitting blouse and a blue knee-length skirt. Her hair was neatly arranged as she leaned over her desk, her shoulders trembling slightly, obviously sobbing.

 Chapter 230 Mo Family Village (4400 words)

    Yan Junze walked over, addressing the sobbing woman, "Are you He Yun?"The woman raised her head from the desk, her eyes slightly red but her tears already wiped away. As the liaison in possession of Yan Junze''s file, she naturally recognized Yan Junze himself.


    She nodded, speaking slowly, "Even though I''ve been mentally prepared ever since he became an exorcist, I still can''t accept it. What exactly happened to He Zheng?"


    Yan Junze sighed, "By the time I got there it was too late; he was completely controlled by the Person in the Mirror, absorbed into the Mirror World. Afterwards, I mustered my courage and entered the Mirror World too, but when I managed to rescue him and that woman who was causing strangeness, I found He Zheng was already dead. From the moment he was taken into the Mirror World, he was dead."


    "He always acted recklessly, never listening to me," He Yun cried out, then suddenly stopped and buried her head in her arms again, beginning to sob, "It''s my fault he''s dead, all my fault."


    Yan Junze had guessed the likely reason on his way here, and now he didn''t know what comforting words to say, given that temporary assignments of exorcists were common in today''s world, provided that the intent was to eliminate strangeness, and it was beneficial for rapid exorcisms.


    But no one expected the Mirror Spirit to be so powerful and He Zheng to be so reckless. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    "After the incident at Spirit Bridge, I always stopped him from going in, knowing what he was like. It''s too dangerous inside, and if you''re not careful, you''ll never come out... who would''ve thought..." He Yun cried out, speaking between sobs. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A short-haired woman beside her comforted her, "Don''t be sad, my boyfriend already became a three-star exorcist, it wasn''t like this last month..."


    "Ah, this world, nothing is predictable," another woman, also a liaison, sighed.


    Seeing that so many people were accompanying He Yun, and having clarified his own concerns, Yan Junze prepared to leave.


    However, just then, one of the tall women on the phone hung up with a changeable expression and turned to everyone.


    "What happened?" The short-haired liaison asked upon seeing her look troubled.


    "Spirit Bridge... something happened," replied the tall woman. "All 13 three-star exorcists and others of equivalent rank are out of contact, including Uncle Guo."


    "Ah!" all the women exclaimed in surprise.


    Even He Yun, who had been leaning over the desk, lifted her head, wiping away the tears on her face, and looked with a frightened expression at the tall liaison.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment and asked, "Uncle Guo... who is that?"


    "Guo Youliang, one of the few exorcists in our district, a four-star," answered the short-haired woman.


    As her words fell, an electronic screen on the wall at the front of the spacious office suddenly lit up, casting a bright red announcement: The strangeness incident at Spirit Bridge has been escalated to Grade A. All personnel are requested to meet in conference room on the sixth floor within five minutes.


    The meeting will be convened by Team Captain Huo Zhisen of the Tianmeng District Exorcist Team.


    Everyone was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, stood up, grabbed notepads and pens, and prepared to head to the sixth floor.


    Yan Junze said to He Yun, "Could I, as an external staff member, possibly sit in on this meeting?"


    "With the situation so urgent, what difference does in-house or external make? Let''s go together!" The short-haired liaison spoke before He Yun had the chance to answer.


    ...


    In Tianmeng District, on the outskirts of West City, Mo Family Village.


    At the fourth junction of the main road outside West City, approximately six kilometers toward Mo Family Village, the road was completely blocked by police barricades and guarded round the clock by some mysterious individuals.


    Starting from the barricades, two kilometers further, the road ahead was shrouded in dense fog, obscuring any further view unless one ventured deep into the mist.


    This area had been declared a "Death Forbidden Zone" by the Tianmeng Exorcist Team.


    Mo Family Village was not very large, comprising about seventy households, but now it had become a realm of death.


    Within the thick fog, about four kilometers further in was the location of Mo Family Village, an even stretch of land dotted with scattered houses, fields, and small woods stretching between each structure.


    At this moment, in the village, whether on the streets, country pathways, or inside houses, there lay the bodies of local villagers, each emitting the smell of decay that permeated the air.


    In one of the farmhouses, four exorcists from the team had gathered.


    All windows and doors of this house had been closed; the four people huddled next to the main door against the wall, with two of them peering through the door crack, watching the outside.


    The other two squatted on the side, whispering to each other. These two were Zhang Xiaomo and her partner Zhang Di.


    The two men looking outside were older and both three-star exorcists.


    Among these four, currently, the most powerful was Zhang Di, a three-star exorcist who was also a Semi-spirit and had appeared with Zhang Xiaomo in the caf¨¦ last time, followed by Fang Zun, then Zhang Xiaomo, and finally Yuan Dingzhou.


    At the moment, in the direction Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou were cautiously observing, there was a semi-circular black arch bridge in mid-air, completely formed by dark mist, stretching across from above, covering almost two-thirds of the entire Mo Family Village.


    After watching for a while, Yuan Dingzhou turned his head and whispered, "Compared to two days ago, it seems like Spirit Bridge is starting to weaken. I hope it''s not my illusion."


    "Does that mean we can go outside now?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.

 Chapter 230 Mo Family Village (4400 words)_2

    "It''s still not safe," Fang Zun turned around, his hair graying, but his features chiseled.He shook his head, "The woman with the lantern is still in that forest; she was last seen ten minutes ago."


    Zhang Xiaomo clicked her tongue, "That woman must have been dead for over eight hundred years, it''s unimaginable."


    Fang Zun nodded, "Her condition is very unstable. If it''s the white lantern state, I believe I have a chance at subduing her. But I can''t guarantee..."


    "Look," Yuan Dingzhou was peering through a crack in the door, looking out, suddenly interrupting Fang Zun''s words.


    Everyone crowded around to see a middle-aged man in a black jacket, walking briskly towards the forest, seemingly ready to cross the small woods towards the road leading out of the village.


    "Isn''t that Li Meng?" Zhang Xiaomo wondered aloud.


    "Li Meng and Jiang Yaofei are on the same team, trapped not far from us, probably hiding in some farmhouse," said Zhang Di.


    "What is he trying to do?" Yuan Dingzhou asked with a suspicious expression.


    "Maybe... he can''t bear it anymore, he wants to make a break for it," said Fang Zun in a low tone, seemingly not optimistic about Li Meng''s action.


    "Won''t Jiang Yaofei stop that guy?" Zhang Xiaomo tapped her foot lightly, her slender fingers balled into fists, watching the man in the jacket approach the forest.


    "Perhaps they can''t be stopped, their food probably ran out two weeks ago. If it weren''t for some non-perishable food in the nearby farmhouses, they couldn''t have lasted until now," Zhang Di analyzed.


    Just then, the man in the jacket, Li Meng, fully entered the forest. However, the trees in the small woods were sparse and not very lush, so everyone''s view was not too obstructed and they could still clearly see the other''s figure.


    Not long after Li Meng entered the forest, a woman in an ancient white dress appeared with an extremely pale face, pale as if she were a porcelain doll, holding a white lantern, approaching where Li Meng was.


    The woman walked very slowly, but she seemed to float off the ground, quickly approaching Li Meng.


    In Li Meng''s eyes, no matter which way he went, he couldn''t avoid encountering the woman head-on.


    "Her lantern is white; maybe Li Meng has a chance," Yuan Dingzhou, who was watching through the crack, said.


    The others didn''t speak, each focusing intently, hoping Li Meng could leave Mo Family Village before everyone else and send a message outside. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Li Meng quickly took out his magnetic knife, but instead of approaching and attacking, he hid the knife behind his back, keeping it hidden. As the Lantern Woman approached, he began to engage her in conversation.


    They were too far away to hear what the two were saying, but it seemed the conversation was going smoothly.


    "Maybe, there''s really a chance!" Fang Zun also spoke up, his eyes lighting up slightly, looking as if he was ready to give it a try afterward.


    The Lantern Woman''s body seemed very stiff, each movement wooden. After interacting briefly with the strangeness, the woman turned and took a few steps in another direction.


    Li Meng visibly relaxed, hiding the magnetic knife in his sleeve, bowing slightly. Once the Lantern Woman walked to the side, he turned around, drew the knife from his sleeve, and aimed at the woman''s back.


    "That idiot, he had his chance to run! What is he doing?" Fang Zun gritted his teeth.


    "Maybe he wants to take this opportunity to get rid of her?" Zhang Xiaomo said.


    "He can''t get rid of her, none of us can," Zhang Di shook his head, "We have only to wait for Uncle Guo."


    "This kid must be crazy," Yuan Dingzhou also said: "If Old Guo doesn''t know about this place, now would have been the best time for Li Meng to run through the woods and inform Old Guo of our plight so he can come rescue us."


    At that moment, Li Meng seemed to finally give up on the idea of a sneak attack, put away his magnetic knife again, turned around, and began to move quickly in the other direction.


    "Good, at least he didn''t do something stupid," Fang Zun nodded.


    "No, look," said Zhang Di, "Look at that Lantern Woman, it''s bad!"


    Everyone immediately looked back and saw the Lantern Woman, who was about to leave, but suddenly halted, her back turned in the direction Li Meng was leaving.


    She stood still with the lantern in hand, and the lantern, which had been white, was slowly changing color, from light white to bloody red. Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    In just a few seconds, the white lantern in her hand had completely turned red, casting an unnaturally bright, blood-drenched hue.


    Li Meng, who had started leaving, suddenly looked back, then began to run, charging towards the end of the woods.


    "Ah!"


    A piercing scream shattered the deadly silence of the land, coming from the woman now holding the red lantern.


    The woman quickly turned around, the red lantern in her hand floating forwards as if pulled by some force, rapidly moving towards the fleeing Li Meng.


    Her speed was like the wind, incomparable to any normal human''s run. The red figure chased after the now-blurry Li Meng and soon vanished from sight.


    Fang Zun turned his head to look at Zhang Xiaomo, Yuan Dingzhou also looked back at Zhang Di and then at Fang Zun, the four exchanging glances, their faces filled with horror.


    About six seconds later, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the forest.


    Everyone shuddered, their expressions bitter.


    With all his might, Li Meng could only last six seconds," Yuan Dingzhou said with an agonized expression.


    Within less than a minute, Li Meng''s figure reappeared, but his steps were unsteady, as if he were drunk or mindlessly walking back. He emerged from the woods and stood swaying by the roadside.

 Chapter 230 Mo Family Village (4400 words)_3

    Before long, four or five seemingly ordinary strangenesses appeared, varying in size, and started moving slowly towards Li Meng, their hands extended while making chuckling noises.At that moment, Li Meng knelt down and lay motionless.


    Upon seeing this, everyone closed their eyes.


    Soon, those strangenesses reached Li Meng and crouched down, beginning to gnaw at his body bite by bite. Throughout this process, Li Meng remained still, as if he were already dead.


    "With that woman appearing in the woods, we have no way of getting out," Zhang Xiaomo turned her head away, her expression dim.


    About seven hundred meters from Zhang Xiaomo''s room was another room.


    This place concealed five Exorcists, two of which were three-star and the other three were two-star.


    A young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes silently withdrew his gaze from outside the window and looked at the people inside the room. Among those three two-star Exorcists, two were injured, one with a broken arm and the other delirious, lying on the ground.


    The recently departed Li Meng had come from this group.


    This wasn''t Li Meng sneaking away on his own accord, but rather he had the consent of the young man named Jiang Yaofei.


    All signals were blocked; they had no choice. If no one managed to escape and notify Guo Youliang to come to their rescue, these people might all die here.


    Although Jiang Yaofei''s group seemed to have more members, their situation was much worse than Zhang Xiaomo''s group. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the west side of Mo Family Village. Near this farmhouse, they had almost cleared out all the strangenesses. However, the Spirit Bridge in the sky suddenly changed, and the likelihood of strangenesses reappearing in the entire area increased again.


    That meant the dead who originally appeared from two or three hundred years ago had now advanced to five hundred or even eight hundred years ago.


    Throughout Mo Family Village, ancient strangenesses over eight hundred years old could now randomly appear.


    The woman carrying the lantern and guarding within the woods was one of them, and Jiang Yaofei''s group had encountered an even more troublesome strangeness.


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he immediately squatted down from his spot by the window, as if afraid of being seen by something outside.


    At that moment, along the path outside the window, a dragging sound came along. Just by listening to this noise, one imagined something heavy being dragged across the ground. Below the gloomy sky, aside from the oppressive sound of dragging, there were no other sounds, creating an especially oppressive silence.


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    Before long, a small, exquisitely carved red coffin appeared on the road. It was about half the size of an ordinary coffin, and oddly, there were two tattered holes on the sides of the coffin. At the moment, two withered purple arms, one on each side, were extending through these holes, propping against the ground and dragging the coffin along the village path.


    The weighty dragging noise was produced in this way, and aside from the grating sound of friction, the surroundings were eerily quiet.


    About half a minute later, the red coffin had completely passed the area of the house where Jiang Yaofei was hiding.


    This Red Coffin had appeared almost simultaneously with the Lantern Woman, but its territory was limited to the area where Jiang Yaofei was located, so much so that Zhang Xiaomo''s group had failed to notice it at all.


    Furthermore, Jiang Yaofei noticed that wherever the Red Coffin appeared, all the strangenesses would disappear instantly, as if they were all avoiding it.


    This was a pressure from the strangenesses that he could not feel, but the facts proved it was very strong, powerful enough that other strangenesses didn''t dare to face it.


    So unless he was too reckless or too foolish, Jiang Yaofei likewise didn''t dare to confront it directly, or even to expose himself in front of the Red Coffin.


    Taking a light breath and gazing through the window at the sky outside, Jiang Yaofei murmured with a soft sigh, "Uncle Guo, if you don''t save us soon, this whole Exorcism team might be wiped out."

 Chapter 231 Into the Perilous Depths

    At the same time, at the entrance of Mo Family Village to the east, just beyond the small grove, beads of sweat the size of soybeans appeared on Guo Youliang''s forehead within a spacious farm courtyard.As a four-star exorcist, he had never felt this stifled in his life.


    Three young people lay beside him, all without breath, and beyond them, within the courtyard five meters away, were the bodies of those who had helped seal off Mo Family Village, scattered haphazardly.


    This area was originally considered safe, and Guo Youliang''s role was simply to stand guard here while the exorcism tasks were mostly left to exorcists below three stars.


    Unexpectedly, the Spirit Bridge suddenly underwent a new round of eruption, followed by a weakening of its energy.


    However, this round of eruption released a few new, stronger strangenesses.


    At least in Guo Youliang''s view, he had never encountered a strangeness more troublesome than this one now.


    "Perhaps, this thing could be classified as an ethereal spirit!" Guo Youliang speculated secretly, "If it really were an ethereal spirit, that would still be manageable. But this strangeness clearly belongs to the very tricky kind."


    A trace of worry crossed his face, imperceptible to others, as his gaze swept over the corpses of his colleagues at his feet before looking through the open door towards the bodies outside in the courtyard.


    At that moment, Guo Youliang realized that his nerves, ever since his advancement to a four-star exorcist, had never been so tense.


    In the inner room''s bedroom of this farmhouse, two wounded colleagues, one three-star and the other two-star, lay unconscious.


    They were the reason Guo Youliang dared not move from his position.


    He had never imagined that this strangeness would completely exceed his understanding.


    Because this strangeness was not in human form.


    It was not only non-human, but it was also highly intelligent and extremely cunning.


    It seemed to know better than to clash directly with Guo Youliang, so it aimed its attacks entirely at those beside him. Anyone targeted by this creature, even with Guo Youliang present, could hardly escape being killed in the end.


    Moreover, with every person it killed, this thing seemed to grow stronger, bit by bit getting more powerful.


    This thing, too, had appeared suddenly after the last eruption of the Spirit Bridge.


    The magnetic knife in Guo Youliang''s hand was not comparable to those of a three-star exorcist. As a four-star exorcist, he had a large amount of magnetic force within him available for use, somewhat resembling a semi-spirit.


    However, unlike the half-spirit transformation, a four-star exorcist would not suffer from the backlash; everything was under his control.


    With the operation of magnetic force, Guo Youliang''s magnetic knife could extend its magnetic blade instantly to two meters or even longer. Strangenesses below the level created by Sculpting Spirit, namely Wandering Spirits, were basically killed in a second. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire


    As he was immersed in magnetic force for a long time, Guo Youliang also possessed a unique skill unlike that of ordinary exorcists. He did not cultivate spirits, and he did not easily display his unique skill; otherwise, it would cause harm whether to strangenesses or humans.


    This was the fundamental difference between a good exorcist and a spirit cultivator with ill intentions.


    Of course, such individuals were extremely rare in this world at present, and there was a silent mutual restraint. Otherwise, the world would have already descended into chaos.


    The magnetic knife in Guo Youliang''s hand was now over a meter long, the blade glowing with a cyan-blue light, resembling ancient weapons laced with poison.


    He slowly twisted his upper body, scanning the room''s furnishings and the bodies on the ground one by one, gripping his magnetic knife tightly, ready to strike at any moment.


    The room was very quiet, the eerie atmosphere not only pervaded the entire house but also soaked into Guo Youliang''s heart.


    His heart beat very slowly; he needed to calm down, or else he might accidentally let this peculiar strangeness escape.


    As Guo Youliang turned his upper body and scanned his surroundings, something under the nearest corpse at his feet began to bulge slightly, as if a snake had slithered into it, silently moving beneath the clothing.


    The next second, without hesitation, Guo Youliang''s magnetic knife plunged downward, piercing through the body of his former colleague who had died.


    The knife passed through the chest and into the ground four or five inches before stopping.


    Fearing some strangeness within the corpse, Guo Youliang did not touch it with his hands but instead twisted the handle of the knife lightly. The magnetic light burst forth, ensuring that the skin of the upper body was not intact anywhere, to prevent whatever was hiding under the clothes from escaping.


    But soon, Guo Youliang''s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He couldn''t feel he had hit anything.


    Just then, a slightly overweight man with a frightened face stepped over the threshold and entered the room, covering his chest with his left hand and saying fearfully, "Big Brother Guo, what happened? Why is everyone else dead?"


    "Liu Zheng?" Guo Youliang looked up at the newcomer. "Brat, I thought you''d died out there."


    Liu Zheng replied, "I was about to die. Where are the others?"


    "Chen Pengyong and the others are wounded, lying in the inner room. Hurry up and go in. Didn''t you hear my order not to come out?" Guo Youliang spoke with great urgency.


    Liu Zheng glanced at Guo Youliang''s magnetic knife, which was still stuck in the body of one of their own.


    Liu Zheng appeared quite surprised, but he didn''t ask any questions and went into the inner room as instructed, closing the door behind him.


    Guo Youliang pulled out the magnetic knife and crouched down to take a closer look at the body at his feet. The skin on the chest wasn''t intact anywhere, but it was impossible to tell exactly where the movement under the skin had come from.


    "This skin¡­"


    Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Guo Youliang''s eyes widened and he stood up abruptly. Before his body could move, he hurled his magnetic knife towards the inner room with his right hand.


    The magnetic knife whipped through the air, burst through the closed door, and plunged inside with a wet thud, followed by the sound of impact as it seemed to nail something to the wall. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rushing into the room, Guo Youliang saw that Liu Zheng, who had just entered a moment ago, was now completely impaled by the magnetic knife at the chest, hanging mid-air against the wall, his feet a dozen centimeters off the ground, motionless.


    And in the bed where the two injured people originally lay, there was now no sign of life to be felt from them.


    Irritated and embarrassed, Guo Youliang took out a green round button resembling a Hidden Buckle from his pocket, and was about to press it against Liu Zheng''s head.


    At this moment, Liu Zheng seemed to be unconscious. Just as the green round button was about to be pressed onto him, his head moved slightly, his facial skin rapidly wrinkling, as if a wet towel initially stuck to his face was suddenly being pulled away.


    It was not just the face, but also the neck, the chest, and the back¡ªnearly all the skin on the upper body was being pulled by an invisible force, and soon after, half of the skin detached from Liu Zheng''s body.


    At this time, Liu Zheng was clearly a dead man; when the skin left his body, what was revealed was an already long-dead obese individual.


    This corpulent figure slumped his head, still pinned to the wall by the Magnetic Blade; however, after the skin had separated from him, it rapidly moved across the wall toward the window. The crumpled wrinkles made it look disgustingly nauseating to behold.


    On the right side of the skin, the hole pierced by the Magnetic Blade remained, but it was slowly healing.


    Guo Youliang pulled the Magnetic Knife out of the wall, letting Liu Zheng''s body fall to the ground.


    By now, the skin had already passed through the window and was running along the external wall.


    Guo Youliang leaped up, his body arching as he smashed through the window in pursuit.


    "Heh heh heh..."


    The half of the peculiar skin that ran outside no longer clung to the wall but, emitting an eerie sound, detached from the wall and, catching the wind like a kite, flew over the roof of the farmhouse and away into the distance.


    Guo Youliang, being just an ordinary person, couldn''t fly. He had to take a detour while clutching the Magnetic Knife and headed to the back of the house.


    ...


    At the same moment.


    Outside Mo Family Village, a short and skinny figure was gradually approaching the entrance of the village through the thick fog.


    Frowning, his eyes squinted, as if he could see through the dense fog.


    If Yan Junze had been there, he would have recognized him instantly¡ªit was Yan Long, Cheng Jingting''s teacher who appeared in his "Great Rewind."


    Only, during the last "Great Rewind," Yan Junze had corrected a ripple of the Butterfly Effect, resulting in Yan Long''s failure to capture Cheng Jingting''s soul. Eventually, Cheng Jingting was completely eliminated by Yan Junze in the body of a strange baby in the funeral home.


    In his hand, Yan Long held a dark red compass, glancing between it and the fog-enshrouded village intermittently.


    After a short while, he chose a direction that bypassed the large farmhouse courtyard near the entrance of the village¡ªwhere Guo Youliang and the eerie skin had their chase.


    Taking his steps, Yan Long soon vanished into the fog as if he had no worries about whether he could find his way out again.


    In the innermost part of the village, the Exorcists were firmly controlled by the Lantern Woman and the Red Coffin, while outside, Guo Youliang had completely set his mind on pursuing that elusive Half of a Skin, vowing to grind it into mincemeat for killing so many of his people.


    ...


    Turning off the main road and onto the village''s access road, the bumpiness of the ride did indeed become more frequent.


    Yan Junze and ten other Exorcists were seated in two vans, silently watching the unceasing fog drifting past the windows.


    As they neared the village, the road ahead became less visible, but it was understood that the blockade''s starting point was about two kilometers from Mo Family Village.


    Upon reaching that point, they would have to disembark and walk in.


    The group of Exorcists on this mission included two external hires like Yan Junze and eight bona fide Exorcists, the in-house staff.


    This team was assembled urgently after a meeting, with the squad leader Huo Zhisen personally setting up the action group.


    The Exorcist squads on Tianmeng''s side were in dire need of personnel, even including external hires.


    Therefore, anyone with some capability like Yan Junze was urgently recruited, and of all Tianmeng''s four-star Exorcists, there were only three. Two were borrowed by other districts and are currently on their way back, while one was Guo Youliang.


    Because the Spirit Bridge incident originally had been stabilizing, with a large number of strangenesses being eliminated thanks to the efforts of existing Exorcists, nobody could foresee that they would suddenly enter an emergency situation again¡ªsomething completely unexpected by the Exorcist teams.


    Other districts were sending more Exorcists, and Yan Junze''s team was the first to arrive here to attempt contact with the group of Exorcists inside Mo Family Village, who had lost all communication. Once there was news, they would immediately inform the people outside.


    In other words, they did not need to take unnecessary risks; their job was to fulfill their own mission.


    And indeed, the squad leader Huo Zhisen was aware of the urgency; as long as the Exorcists inside were safe and awaited reinforcements, there was no point in this group of relatively weak individuals trying to resolve the crisis¡ªsomething that seemed impossible even to contemplate.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn''t give it much thought; the main reason he came was the high salary of one hundred thousand for this single mission, along with various benefits.


    And he could check up on Zhang Xiaomo, whom he hadn''t contacted in many days, and had a legitimate excuse to skip classes. Why not do it?


    The vans soon arrived at the blockade. They stopped, everyone disembarked, left behind satellite phones, and each carried a backpack with provisions and essentials before the vans turned around and left.


    In three days, the vans would return with even more Exorcists from other districts.


    Yan Junze stood on the fog-enshrouded ground, cautious not to breathe deeply or to activate "Perception of Strange Events." He feared that sensing in this location would unleash a proliferation of strangenesses, and the overwhelming volume of strange events might just burst the Spacetime Atlas.


    It was as if he was a wolf cast into a flock of sheep, swarmed with strange events waiting to be addressed¡ªif he so wished.


    Of course, this was not a time for recklessness. With the Spirit Bridge below, there were too many uncontrollable factors. He simply took out the Spirit Detector allotted to him and, following the others, headed toward the entrance of Mo Family Village.

 Chapter 232 High-Level Task from the Village

    These people acted quickly and soon gathered at the entrance of the Mo Family Village.Including the Spirit Detector in Yan Junze''s hand, almost all of the Spirit Detectors were flashing red signals, indicating the presence of strangeness nearby.


    Finding strangeness in this place was no longer unusual, it would have been more surprising if not even one was detected.


    Yan Junze checked the blinking indicator on the Spirit Detector, and according to the size of the strange magnetic field displayed, the phenomena they had just detected were not serious; the exorcists present were confident they could eliminate them one by one.


    Of course, their current priority was to find the others, not to perform exorcisms, unless absolutely necessary.


    They tried the satellite phone, and the middle-aged man leading them looked embarrassed. The phone had worked at the entrance of the village, but now, just ten meters into the village, there was no signal.


    He called a halt to everyone and then instructed two people to step out of the village entrance, and the two of them made calls to each other. The calls connected.


    Then, one of the people at the entrance made a call to the middle-aged leader''s phone, but there was no response.


    "It''s possible that the strange magnetic field of the Spirit Bridge is interfering with all the ranges within the village, while outside it is not affected," guessed the middle-aged leader.


    The others nodded in agreement.


    This also explained why the exorcists had lost contact with those outside. Of course, if it were just a loss of satellite phone connection, it would have been manageable, but now not only had they lost contact, none of the exorcists had left the Mo Family Village.


    This was very peculiar.


    Therefore, at the work meeting they had on their way here, team captain Huo Zhisen hypothesized that, according to the signals from the large detectors outside, the Spirit Bridge had undergone significant changes over a short period, which might be why those exorcists were trapped.


    "You two, stay outside the village," the middle-aged leader ordered. "If you notice anything unusual, immediately contact the event team with the satellite phone. Don''t wait for us to come out."


    The two exchanged a glance, clearly relieved.


    Not having to enter the Mo Family Village was something they had never openly admitted, but in reality, they were very reluctant to go inside.


    Both of them were one-star exorcists, and they knew their own limitations well. Once inside, it was more likely to be fraught with peril than not. At this moment, just staying at the entrance to the village was like holding a golden ticket to safety.


    The others followed the middle-aged leader further into the village, soon approaching the two houses closest to the village entrance. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The middle-aged leader pulled out a map and said, "We must all stick together and not spread out. There are only just over seventy households in this village, so we can search quickly. If anyone disperses on their own, the danger will increase exponentially."


    The others just nodded, staying silent. Their gazes seemed to pierce the thick fog, maintaining high concentration and paying attention to every plant and tree around them.


    The middle-aged leader continued, "Two-star exorcists, take out your Hidden Buckles and be ready to defend against dangers around us. One-stars, stay close to me and prepare your Hidden Buckles for combat."


    As he said this, he suddenly glanced at Yan Junze not far away and added, "Some of you can also follow the Semi-spirit. His strength is no less than mine."


    Yan Junze pretended not to hear, mainly because he didn''t like others calling him "Semi-spirit" directly.


    The middle-aged leader was a three-star exorcist, the only one in this squad, and the exorcists'' team on this side could not deploy anyone more powerful than him.


    The group chose one of the houses, sending four people inside to check it while the rest waited outside.


    The group quickly emerged, shaking their heads.


    The house was so close to the village entrance that it was obvious by sheer logic that the missing exorcists would not be found there; otherwise, they would have already walked out of the village.


    But they couldn''t skip any houses, as the middle-aged leader feared missing some critical information.


    They quickly searched from one house to the next, and before long, they arrived at the farmhouse where Guo Youliang had encountered the Half of a Skin.


    They were startled by the corpses scattered all over the ground at first, but after a closer examination, they realized only some of the exorcists were there; at least more than half were not present.


    However, after discovering the situation there, the middle-aged leader began to hesitate about whether to venture further into the village.


    The situation now seemed very dangerous, and if anything went wrong, the team he led might be completely wiped out.


    He looked up at the houses outside; the fog here was a bit thinner, allowing a clear view of the house opposite.


    Pointing to the slightly smaller courtyard across the way, the middle-aged leader said, "Let''s settle over there first, then Liang and De will go to the entrance of the village to relay the situation here, so the people waiting outside can immediately inform the Tianmeng through satellite phone."


    The few were reluctant to linger in the courtyard full of corpses and immediately entered the opposite farmhouse, while the two young men named Liang and De headed back towards the village entrance.


    The middle-aged leader told the others to rest for a while and have some water.


    Yan Junze found an oval stone bench in the courtyard to sit on, unconcerned about the dust covering it, and took a gulp from the bottled water he had brought in his backpack.


    He noticed that two people had been following him closely, no matter what he did. Both were one-star exorcists, and upon realizing Yan Junze was observing them, they immediately put on a pleasing smile.


    Clearly, in the current situation, such individuals were likely to live a little longer than most.


    Yan Junze felt a certain fondness towards them.


    After sitting down, one of them even passed him some cream-filled biscuits and said, "Big Brother, becoming a Fake Spirit Body has always been my goal. I really admire you!"


    In response to such an opening line, Yan Junze chuckled and shook his head, "Actually, I''m still more interested in the delights of the human world."


    "By the way, what''s your main food now, big brother? Can you tell me?"


    "Right now... I''m almost equivalent to a bug," Yan Junze said with a helpless smile.


    He meant that he was nearly turning into a mosquito, living on a diet of blood, but the thought of drinking blood always felt hair-raising and not exactly an easy topic to broach, so he didn''t find it convenient to say it outright.


    One of the group''s eyes lit up as he cleverly guessed, "Big brother, is your main food eggs?"


    Yan Junze was taken aback: "Why would you think of eggs?"


    "It''s simple," the man said. "When it comes to bugs, the most likely is the fly, and as the saying goes, flies don''t sting flawless eggs. So your main food must be eggs!"


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Another person muttered softly to the side, "I fucking guessed it''s shit."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    The two sensed that the atmosphere was off and quickly changed the subject, trying to curry favor.


    Yan Junze was both amused and irritated, too lazy to listen to more of their nonsense.


    After thinking it over, he simply sat on the stone bench, ready to activate "Perception of Strange Events."


    However, this time, he planned to widen the coverage area. Mo Family Village was not that large, and with Yan Junze''s current energy, covering the entire village wouldn''t be difficult.


    Of course, he would selectively discern, not blindly accepting every task that came his way. If he were to take on a task, it would have to be at least at the "Trembling with Fear" level.


    The energy radiated out quickly, covering all directions, and soon a flurry of information about strangenesses came flooding back to him.


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    At this moment, Yan Junze was completely immersed in the information being received by his brain, still hearing the incessant chatter of the two who followed him, but he ignored them.


    He kept filtering through, at a rough glance, there were at least over a hundred task notifications.


    Under normal circumstances, he would lower his acceptance criteria for tasks, mainly because these tasks represented full points of Different Dimension Energy. Furthermore, they were not high-level and relatively easy to complete¡ªit would be foolish not to capitalize on them.


    But now he was powerless to do so. With one too many eyes around and considering the dangerous environment here, he couldn''t afford to tackle them one by one as he pleased.


    In a short while, he took interest in a few tasks. These tasks were all of higher levels and scattered in different areas of the village¡ªnot too concentrated, preventing the situation where he might not have finished the first task before already entering another strangeness event''s coverage area.


    [Coordinates determined: Mo Xiaofeng''s old house in Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Half of a Skin;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High);


    Task Background: Eight hundred years ago, the Yin-Yang Technique was flourishing, leading to the emergence of many self-proclaimed Onmyojis, and he was one of them. Except he was a charlatan, living by swindling and deceiving.


    Passing by this place, he took advantage of the villagers'' naivety to swindle a large sum of money, then defiled the village head''s just-of-age granddaughter under the pretense of a Spirit Body Passing. When the deception was exposed and the villagers discovered his actions, they beat him to death, skinned him, pulled his tendons, and broke his bones.


    His Obsession after death turned into a catastrophe as he intended to possess 77 people during the eruption of the Spirit Bridge, take a human form, and continue to live a carefree life among humans;]


    Task Instructions: Eliminate the cunning spirit, which only has half of a skin, while he is completing the possession process with others;]


    Task Reward: 1400 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Punishment: He may also possess you;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked Down; 2. The corpse of the village head''s granddaughter, Mo Sheng, is his Achilles'' heel; 3. Do not let this half of a skin get too close to you;


    Remarks: Anyone you see could be him.]


    Yan Junze was very satisfied with this task, mainly because the level was high, and based on the task tips, the victory didn''t solely depend on brute force as long as he could exploit the weakness of this piece of skin.


    Moreover, he had already activated the Rewind loop before entering the village, so he wasn''t afraid of any bizarre accidents happening in this village.


    He then looked at the second task that made him feel a chill in his heart.


    [Coordinates determined: the dried-up well in Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Corpse Qi Spread;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High) ~ Terrified (Low) ~ Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: Mo Da, who had retired to civilian life after serving as a military officer in the Imperial Court, had intended to live out his days in peace upon his return to his hometown. However, during one trip to the well to fetch water, he accidentally fell in. Because the mouth of the well was too deep, no one knew or came to rescue him.


    Coupled with an undercurrent hidden in the well, Mo Da drowned and his body remained hidden there. The bottom of the well happened to be a Land of Extreme Yin that appears once in a thousand years. Mistakenly entering it, Mo Da''s corpse has been well-preserved, continuously nourished by the extreme yin cold air;]


    Task Instructions: Kill the Yin General Mo Da, otherwise, the beings of Tianmeng will suffer great calamity;


    Task Reward: 1500 to 1600 to 1700 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Death;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked Down; 2. Mo Da hated everyone deeply due to the lack of rescue after his death, so his Obsession is profound and cannot be communicated with; 3. The task level will likely increase with the passage of time or after certain events are triggered once Mo Da appears, potentially upgrading to Terrified (Medium);]


    Remarks: Proceed with caution.]

 Chapter 233 Astonishing Discovery (4000 words)

    ```Looking at this task, Mo Da, who drowned after falling into a well, was a general in life. The well in which he resides possesses a Land of Extreme Yin, which has prevented his body from decaying, lasting until today. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, it now seems that following the eruption of the Spirit Bridge, the powerful strange magnetic field vibrated, triggering Mo Da''s "resurrection."


    But the fact that the level of this task can rise due to some probabilistic events is undoubtedly a strong warning signal for Yan Junze. He must be cautious in dealing with it.


    Last time, in the branch task of the "Tricky Silk," he unfortunately fell for the trap set by the Boss-level strangeness within the cave, which could lead to repeated infections by Dark Poison, immune to Rewind.


    The real level of the "Tricky Silk" task was "Terrified (Medium)," and the final promotion level of this "Corpse Qi Spread" task could also reach "Terrified (Medium)."


    This means that if he is not careful, the "Corpse Qi Spread" task could become as dangerous as the "Tricky Silk" task.


    At least until now, Yan Junze has not officially completed the "Tricky Silk" task.


    Moreover, he can no longer complete it because the news reported from Mountain Park did not mention any more strange occurrences. So it''s possible that something changed there after he left.


    In any case, although the second "Corpse Qi Spread" task is quite harrowing for Yan Junze, resolving the current issue and getting information about Zhang Xiaomo and her group is the top priority.


    If he cannot complete the task during this process, he won''t insist, as the task is already high level, and with many onlookers, it''s difficult to control the situation.


    At this moment, the Spacetime Atlas detected a third high-level task popping up.


    [Coordinates determined: In the Plum Blossom Forest of Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: The Woman Carrying a Lantern;]


    [Task Level: Hair-raising (High)~Terrified (Low);]


    [Task Background: Ning Ji''s husband went missing, the couple had an argument about whether to participate in the rural examination again. In a fit of anger, Ning Ji''s husband stormed out and had not returned by dusk. Ning Ji, restless, went out alone with a lantern to look for him but never found him. She was worried about her husband but neglected her own safety;]


    [Task Description: Help Ning Ji find her husband;]


    [Task Reward: 1500 to 1600 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Punishment: Being killed by Ning Ji;]


    [Task Hints: 1, The evil spirit cannot be Locked down; 2, The evil spirit''s Obsession is to search for people, and there is a certain chance of getting entangled by it after completing the task; 3, The Lantern Woman has two forms, with a white lantern she is a woman desperately searching for her husband, with a red lantern, she is a resentful wife abandoned by her husband, and when the lantern turns red, the task can be promoted to a Terrified (Low) level;]


    [Note: Perhaps you need to wear a pair of running shoes.]


    Yan Junze was somewhat dumbfounded; he hadn''t expected yet another task that could evolve to a "Terrified" level.


    Now it seems that the emergence of the Spirit Bridge has indeed made the supernatural occurrences in this region even more terrifying, each one seemingly stronger than the Back-faced Woman or the Resentful Granny.


    It is uncertain whether Aunt Mei hiding in FH Community of Shuntian City could match these high-level task strangenesses.


    Based on the current levels of strangeness, those with a "Hair-raising (Low)" level are roughly equal to a Sculpting Spirit, and "Hair-raising (Medium)" are definitely Sculpting Spirits or equivalent to seasoned Sculpting Spirits.


    And "Hair-raising (High)" strangenesses are for sure a match or equivalent to the higher class of Sculpting Spirits.


    By this measure, Aunt Mei''s strength is also very astonishing, likely surpassing even a Sculpting Spirit.


    Subsequently, the last seemingly higher-level task followed, jumping out in his mind.


    Upon seeing this task, Yan Junze deeply furrowed his brows.


    [Coordinates determined: Near Small Bowl Alley to the west of Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Red Coffin;]


    [Task Level: Terrified (Low);]


    [Task Background: A solitary red coffin wanders aimlessly near Small Bowl Alley. No one knows what it''s doing, perhaps it''s just trying to find a suitable burial site for itself;]


    [Task Description: You may need to interrupt it to discover its true purpose;]


    [Task Reward: 1500 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Punishment: Death;]


    [Task Hints: 1, The evil spirit cannot be Locked down; 2, The task has a branch task waiting to be triggered, detected with an intense Different Dimension Energy presence; 3, With their presence, all evil spirits cannot approach;]


    [Note: Don''t you want to know what''s inside the Red Coffin?]


    It has to be said, the "Red Coffin" task provides very little information in its hints, and many things need to be unraveled by visiting the site.


    And the level of this task has also reached "Terrified," and having had a close call with the "Tricky Silk" task earlier, Yan Junze will definitely be extra careful when facing a "Terrified" task.


    At the very least, he will not recklessly touch any of the bizarre occurrences that may appear during the execution of this task.


    Of course, the infection of Dark Poison that ignored Rewind within "Tricky Silk" was indeed bewildering, and Yan Junze believes that might just be an exception. It is unlikely that strangenesses at the "Terrified" level or above all possess such an odd ability.


    Perhaps even the Boss within "Ghost Silk" is unaware of the true power of the Dark Poison infection.


    As for the branch task mentioned in "Lift the Coffin," Yan Junze now feels a hair-raising sensation just thinking about it.


    ```

 Chapter 233 Shocking Discovery (4000 words)_2

    The mission prompt indicates that the Different Dimension Energy is dense for this side mission, which means that the level of the mission is definitely not low, and it may even be more terrifying.With that thought, he even began to feel like fleeing from Mo Family Village. Fortunately, however, the only high-level missions detected so far were these.


    The rest of the mission alerts came like flakes of snow, all ranking at "Anxiety-Inducing", not even one "Trembling with Fear" mission, nor even the slightly lesser "Hair-Raising" missions; all were at least "High".


    Yan Junze had already guessed the reason for this: the middle-level tasks at the onset of the Spirit Bridge outbreak belonged to a riskier category and thus were likely dealt with by the exorcists who came earlier.


    The ordinary tasks were too numerous, perhaps intended to be cleared slowly after the major dangers had been dealt with.


    Little did anyone know that Spirit Bridge would erupt again, leading to several higher-level missions along with a large number of leftover ordinary tasks.


    After learning about these few high-level tasks, Yan Junze speculated that it was very likely that Zhang Xiaomo and her group of exorcists had lost contact due to these emerging missions.


    That is to say, one must find the coordinates in Mo Family Village to have a chance of finding Zhang Xiaomo and the others.


    Yan Junze revealed a bitter smile, shaking his head slightly.


    At that moment, the two people who were trying to ingratiate themselves with him across the courtyard looked at Yan Junze with puzzled faces.


    They found that Yan Junze had suddenly become very strange; one moment he was surprised and doubtful, the next he was stunned, then his brow furrowed tightly, and another moment he shook his head with a bitter smile¡ª it was an outright live "face-changing" performance.


    One of them even quietly took out a Spirit Detector and started scanning Yan Junze, afraid he had been possessed by a Possession Spirit.


    But on second thought, that wasn''t right either. Wasn''t the guy in front of them already a Semi-spirit? If a Possession Spirit wanted to possess someone, it would have to ask if this Fake Spirit Body was willing.


    "Big... Brother, are you okay?" that person put away the Spirit Detector, a look of sympathy on his face as he couldn''t be sure if Yan Junze had suddenly remembered a tragic and unspeakable childhood.


    Finally snapping back to reality, Yan Junze''s eyes focused on the two sycophants before him, shaking his head, "I''m fine, just got a bit lost in thought."


    What he was considering now was that the four missions just now were sorted by their proximity to him, with the first high-level mission that popped up being "Half of a Skin", which was closest to him, followed by "Corpse Qi Spread" from Yin General Moda, then "The Woman Carrying a Lantern", and last the mission that appeared was "Red Coffin".


    If he was going to face the danger now, the first he could try was "Half of a Skin", a "Hair-Raising (High)" level mission.


    Now the middle-aged man leading their group went to the courtyard gate, looked outside for a while, but didn''t see the two who had gone to the village entrance return.


    After standing for a while, the leader''s countenance shifted unpredictably. He then returned to the courtyard and secured the gate.


    "Something isn''t right, Liang and De have been gone for so long and haven''t come back. It should be quick to exit the village from here."


    Someone said, "Perhaps they chatted for a bit longer, after all, it''s safer outside."


    "How about I go take a look?" Yan Junze stood up, devoured the cookie in his hand, and took a sip of bottled water.


    The middle-aged leader looked at him, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, "Be careful! Whether you see them or not, synchronize your time with me now, you must not exceed half an hour, you need to return here."


    Yan Junze synchronized his time with him, using the pedestrian sports watches uniformly distributed by the event team this time; he did not suggest anyone accompany him.


    And the middle-aged leader did not make that suggestion either.


    Now that the courtyard was considered safe, the leader wasn''t worried about Yan Junze going out alone, but if several more exorcists like Liang and De were to go out, the leader feared he would have no choice but to follow them out himself.


    Yan Junze slung on his backpack, pushed open the courtyard gate, and quickly walked out.


    Because the fog here wasn''t very thick and the surrounding buildings were conspicuous landmarks to follow, he was confident that he could quickly make it to the entrance of the village.


    Moreover, if there was enough time, Yan Junze even considered going out on his own to try and resolve the missions he had just detected.


    At least, the old well that drowned General Moda, as well as the location of that "Half of a Skin," were somewhat closer to here.


    As soon as he thought of the "Half of a Skin" mission, Yan Junze''s brows raised slightly. He remembered the confirmed mission coordinates were "Mo Xiaofeng''s old residence."


    This place name was very common; it was not easy to find at all. How was one to know which house belonged to Mo Xiaofeng?


    At this thought, Yan Junze subconsciously turned to glance at the courtyard gate they had just exited, then his eyes fixed, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.


    Turning around, he looked at the top of the courtyard''s gate where there was an old plaque. The characters on this plaque might have fallen off before, but now they had been redone, which made it possible for him to clearly see the characters on it.


    "Little Wind Zhai?"


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, no longer moving forward, but instead turned back.


    The village had a rather long history, and though mostly inhabited by farmers, there were also those who favored elegance. The few characters above the entrance were quite obvious.


    "Little Wind?" Yan Junze stood at the entrance for a while, then directly pushed the door and went back inside.


    Seeing him suddenly return, the middle-aged man leading them was taken aback and asked, "Did you forget something?"


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, then his gaze swept over the people present, "Is everyone who just came in here?"


    With suspicion arising, the middle-aged man stood up, scanned the area carefully, and shook his head, "Two people went inside to use the latrine, they seem to be over by the outhouse."


    "Gather everyone in the courtyard, it''s very dangerous here," Yan Junze suddenly interjected.


    The middle-aged leader didn''t hesitate and immediately began assembling the group while Yan Junze quickly walked toward the outhouse.


    The location of the outhouse was behind a barn for straw.


    Presently outside of the outhouse, Four-Star Exorcist Guo Youliang was staring at the two young men in front of him with a grim expression.


    These two young men had given him a start when they appeared before him, unexpectedly turning out to be other exorcists that had entered Mo Family Village.


    However, Guo Youliang was now severely troubled.


    For him, the difficulty of eliminating that Half of a Skin was not very high, but what was weird was that this skin could fly and imperceptibly attach itself to someone, with no abnormal signs during the process, and even his eyes, which had been imbued with magnetic force, could not detect any clues.


    This was the reason why the Half of a Skin had been killing people under his watch, and Guo Youliang was helpless to stop it.


    A person after being attached by the skin either ends up killed by him, or would slowly be eroded by the skin and becomes a corpse.


    What''s more, the skin could adhere to both the living and the dead without showing any abnormalities after attachment, further complicating Guo Youliang''s efforts to destroy it. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And until now, Guo Youliang had only managed to kill half of the people the skin had attached itself to, giving him reason to suspect that the skin''s purpose in attaching to people was to absorb their Essence Qi in order to achieve its own goal.


    Actually, Yan Junze knew that after adhering to 77 people, the Half of a Skin could completely transform and hide within human society.


    However, since Guo Youliang had killed half of its hosts, the creature''s plan was thwarted, constantly failing to recover.


    Also, the skin had been injured in the chase by Guo Youliang, and because it was always on the run, it hadn''t had the chance to recover from its wounds.


    Unexpectedly for Guo Youliang, after a chase around the village, the Half of a Skin had returned to the vicinity of where it first appeared and had once again found new targets to attach itself to.


    These two, who had just come out of the outhouse, obviously had just arrived at Mo Family Village.


    Both of them stood there motionless, indicating that a transformation had already occurred.

 Chapter 234 Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)

    Guo Youliang had a reason for such a guess, because the half of a human hide was always of limited size; if it was to attach to two people at the same time, then those two people must inevitably be connected to each other by the skin.The two individuals standing before Guo Youliang, though with different appearances, had their shoulders tightly pressed together.


    Guo Youliang observed carefully and a thought emerged in his mind, to catch them by surprise with the magnetic knife and separate the human hide between them.


    By doing so, even if the other party didn''t die, they would at least be severely injured.


    The very next second, he swung the magnetic knife fiercely.


    Since the two in front of him were already attached by the human hide, and were as good as dead, Guo Youliang had no hesitation whatsoever.


    However, at the moment he swung his knife, a man appeared behind the two young people, a man with glasses and a black backpack, his face slightly surprised. Immediately after appearing, he focused his attention on Guo Youliang, and then quickly moved on to the bizarrely paired young men.


    By now, Guo Youliang''s magnetic knife had already chopped down, targeting the space between the two.


    As the expressionless two were about to be split by the magnetic knife, they suddenly separated, with one face changing instantly, turning ashen as if drained of color, and with a thud, the figure fell to the ground, looking long dead.


    The other person, still full of vigor, turned and fled in the direction of the young man with glasses.


    And that young man was Yan Junze.


    After seeing these three individuals, Yan Junze''s first reaction was to fix his suspicions on Guo Youliang, who was the more unfamiliar to him because he recognized the other two.


    Moreover, Guo Youliang was in the act of killing someone, and the sight of this action gave Yan Junze even more reason to suspect that half of the human hide was attached to Guo Youliang.


    Therefore, much of his wariness was focused on Guo Youliang. After a brief confrontation, the vigorous young man had already turned and was running towards him.


    But Guo Youliang certainly wouldn''t let the young man, who was attached by the human hide, escape. He halted the downward slashing momentum of the magnetic knife and stabbed forward, plunging the blade into the young man''s nape and piercing through at the throat.


    The forward momentum of the young man''s body abruptly stopped, and Yan Junze was startled by the sudden scene, his eyes wide open, staring directly at the young man less than half a meter away from him, and the blade protruding from his throat.


    "Eh, a magnetic knife?"


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned, just as he was about to turn his head to look at Guo Youliang behind the young man, he saw the young man''s face suddenly start to distort, with wrinkles rippling like water waves, layering up before suddenly falling off.


    "The... hide!"


    Yan Junze was shocked, now certain that Guo Youliang, who was using the magnetic knife, was the normal one and that these two young men were the targets of the human hide.


    As the hide fell off the young man''s face, another wound pierced by the magnetic knife appeared behind, and with a flutter, the hide leaped forward, lunging directly at Yan Junze.


    Being too close to the young man, Yan Junze couldn''t withdraw in time to avoid it and was suddenly struck in the face by the half hide. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, a bizarre and cold sensation of merging spread throughout his body, with the strength inside quickly fading, leaving no capacity for resistance.


    However, at the same time another power was awakened within him, and at that moment, Yan Junze seemed to hear the surprised voice of the Back-faced Woman.


    His skin turned instantly tough, and copious amounts of hair were about to burst forth, but the strange sensation that had just enveloped him was now subdued by his eruption into a Semi-Spirit State, resulting in resistance between the two forces.


    "There''s indeed a chance, I won''t be immediately attached by this hide."


    Even in his Semi-Spirit State, Yan Junze remained clear-headed, and he could faintly sense the scene where the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er were currently located.


    Of course, he wouldn''t allow this stalemate to continue; otherwise, the situation would develop unfavorably for him, and he had to turn from passive to active.


    Just as he was about to initiate the Rewind, Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill on his neck.


    The thought of Rewinding was completely severed by the blade of the magnetic knife.


    True to his reputation as a four-star Exorcist, Guo Youliang''s use of the magnetic knife was sublime; even though he remained motionless at that moment, the Magnetic Blade had grown an additional two meters, covering the spot where Yan Junze stood.


    And as for those attached by the human hide, it seemed no one had managed to escape this fate, so in Guo Youliang''s eyes, Yan Junze was already as good as dead.


    Being struck by this unexpected, yet seemingly inevitable blade was a surprise.


    But Yan Junze had not anticipated that despite his ability to resist the intrusion of the hide, he would instead be the first one killed by Guo Youliang.


    At that moment, he fully realized the prowess of the man before him, much stronger than a three-star Exorcist like Zhang Xiaomo, probably indeed a four-star.


    Having been caught off guard by the strike that severed his imminent thought of Rewind, Yan Junze felt as if he had been decapitated, and then a message flashed in his mind.


    [Host detected near death, triggering "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," consuming 500 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    In the blink of an eye, Yan Junze was once again standing outside the door from the hay shed to the toilet, behind those two eerie young men, watching as Guo Youliang was about to chop down his magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze inwardly chuckled bitterly, never expecting he would not die at the hands of the hide but was nearly killed by a presumably four-star Exorcist.

 Chapter 234 Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)_2

    That said, this guy acted way too quickly, didn''t he? Without a second thought, he just slashed down, gifting me such a big welcome present the first time we met. Yan Junze didn''t know whether to feel touched or to seek revenge.


    But Guo Youliang really didn''t know, if he had been aware that I was a Semi-spirit, maybe he wouldn''t have killed me so quickly.


    The rewind time for [Automatic Rewind on Near-Death] was very short this time, it simply allowed Yan Junze to avoid the moment of crisis, which seemed to be already considering energy conservation.


    However, rewinding to this moment clearly wasn''t the best timing, so Yan Junze just pondered for a moment and executed another rewind.


    This time he rewound completely, back to the moment he had just received all his tasks.


    The two bootlickers were still looking at Yan Junze with surprise and skepticism.


    Yan Junze stood up and said directly to the leading middle-aged man, "Gather everyone here, danger is approaching."


    The leading middle-aged man was just about to ask why Liang and De hadn''t come back; hearing Yan Junze''s words, he was stunned for a moment and asked, "How do you know?"


    Yan Junze didn''t want to say too much and made up a reason, "As a Semi-spirit, my perception is very strong, very sensitive."


    The leading middle-aged man didn''t ask anything more and immediately began to gather people.


    Yan Junze, meanwhile, walked toward the direction of the straw shed.


    Those two young men had headed straight for the latrine upon entering this place, definitely out of urgency; by this time, they had already been inside for a while.


    But this time, Yan Junze knew that perhaps the Half of a Skin had already arrived or was about to arrive very soon. Either way, time was of the essence, so he immediately rushed to the latrine and peeked inside.


    "Fuck, what''s your fetish, kid? Like doing this!" one of the young men taking a dump suddenly exclaimed.


    From his voice, it was clear he hadn''t encountered the Skin yet. Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Pull up your pants and assemble outside right away, or no one will be left to collect your corpses."


    Startled, the two in the latrine didn''t say anything and probably didn''t even wipe their asses clean; they just pulled their pants up and rushed out of the latrine.


    Yan Junze pointed outside, "You go first, I''ll follow shortly."


    After they left, he stood outside the latrine, waiting quietly.


    About a minute later, there was a strange noise from the roof. Yan Junze looked up, about to check it out, when a Skin suddenly pounced down from the roof. He was prepared and quickly dodged to the side.


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    The Skin missed its target, but it didn''t fall to the ground. Instead, it turned midair and pounced at him again.


    Taking out the club was sure to be negligible against the Skin at this moment, so Yan Junze didn''t plan to use the club.


    He also didn''t plan to turn into a Semi-spirit right away, instead, he took out a mirror, the small one with a handle that came from the [Person in the Mirror] task.


    The moment the small mirror appeared, he aimed it in the direction of the pouncing Skin.


    The Skin shuddered violently and stopped midair. This was the first time Yan Junze used the small mirror.


    From the earlier reaction, the mirror was a vista of black chaos and a shadow that seemed to be a Mirror Spirit was roaring within, which was quite eerie.


    Yan Junze didn''t believe that the power displayed by the Mirror Spirit couldn''t deal with the Skin.


    The moment the Skin stopped, Yan Junze also felt the mirror trembling slightly, and a black vortex appeared inside it.


    The vortex spun inward, and within a few seconds of its appearance, a black hand reached out, grabbing at the Skin.


    Just then, Guo Youliang jumped down from the roof, holding a magnetic knife and charging over.


    The small mirror trembled again, and the black arm quickly retracted, with all manifestations disappearing.


    The Skin quickly spread out like a kite, flying over the straw shed and towards the courtyard outside.


    After Guo Youliang landed, he glanced at Yan Junze, while at the same moment, from the courtyard outside, a chorus of yells erupted. The arrival of the Skin was like a rat jumping into a soup pot.


    "Not good!" Guo Youliang couldn''t speak in time.


    Ever since he saw Yan Junze standing there, he had guessed that a new batch of Exorcists had arrived, but the demon skin was too bizarre. Its sudden appearance could easily lead to complete annihilation.


    Without communicating with Yan Junze, Guo Youliang immediately broke through the door of the grass shed and rushed out of the courtyard.


    Yan Junze, however, smiled bitterly. He hadn''t expected Guo Youliang''s arrival to cause such chaos, and his guess was not wrong¡ªthe little mirror he carried with him was indeed powerful, and using it to save his life at a critical moment probably wouldn''t be a problem.


    Now that the method was proven ineffective, Yan Junze didn''t follow Guo Youliang but instead chose to Rewind.


    In a blur, he was once again standing outside the latrine, with the two young men already sent away by him.


    But this time, Yan Junze didn''t plan to take out the little mirror again.


    He decided to risk himself.


    Speaking of risk, before the first Rewind, he already knew that even if the demon skin attached itself to him, due to the resistance of the Semi-Spirit State, it could not harm him immediately.


    In that case, he could prevent it from harming others, so...


    This time, when the skin swooped down from the roof, Yan Junze didn''t evade, didn''t take out the mirror, but just stood there, waiting to be plastered in the face by the creature.


    As a sense of merging emerged, the Semi-Spirit State was immediately triggered.


    Unlike ordinary people, Yan Junze remained fully conscious at the moment. He could feel his skin becoming harder, resisting the attachment, and hairs growing through the pores.


    His head also started to twist slowly backward.


    During the twisting, Yan Junze, for convenience, consciously turned around so that his face was facing the direction Guo Youliang would appear from.


    The skin obviously hadn''t expected this person to be so troublesome, and at the same moment, the viewpoint of the Back-faced Woman from Yan Junze''s mind appeared again.


    This time, the Back-faced Woman was not in the previously abandoned warehouse, but unexpectedly walking on a street.


    The street was desolate and empty, with an air of death. The shops along the street were either closed, half open, or directly smashed. Abandoned cardboard boxes, broken wood, old newspapers, and other debris were stirred up by a breeze, looking incredibly bleak.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, unsure of where this was, but it seemed to be a Dead City.


    Then the Back-faced Woman stopped, clearly perceiving the confrontation between Yan Junze and the demon skin. Yan Junze also sensed that, once the Back-faced Woman reacted, she began helping him by continuously exerting force, speeding up the growth of his hair.


    The skin was about to be embedded into Yan Junze''s own skin, but at this moment, the strong resistance brought the encroachment to a deadlock.


    Soon, Guo Youliang jumped down from the roof and saw Yan Junze being attached by the skin. Yan Junze''s reaction was different from others, terrifying, with hair growing all over his body, and his head twisted.


    This scene startled Guo Youliang. He didn''t think about anything else but cursed inwardly at how powerful the attachment had become at that moment; he couldn''t let this creature escape again.


    The magnetic knife in his hand flipped, ready to make a "clean cut" through the middle of Yan Junze''s forehead, and incidentally split the skin in two, ending this menace.


    As the magnetic knife was raised, Yan Junze''s voice suddenly blared, "Don''t cut, I can resist it!"


    This outcry, being unprecedented since the skin had attached to humans, startled the normally polite Guo Youliang into trembling, and an expletive "f*ck" slipped from his mouth. In the end, he didn''t bring the knife down and hastily retreated.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was thinking to himself that he must have had a score to settle with Guo Youliang in his past life since it was only their first meeting, and he had already tried to chop him twice.


    Seeing Guo Youliang''s unsettled expression, Yan Junze added, "I have a Semi-Spirit Body and can resist and temporarily detain it, but there are other colleagues outside."


    Guo Youliang suddenly understood and thought it made sense that this guy showed different symptoms after being attached, it must have been the Semi-Spirit State being stimulated. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having deduced the reason, Guo Youliang turned to leave, saying, "Hold on a bit longer, I''m going to get everyone outside to retreat quickly!"


    Yan Junze: "..."

 Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part 2) (5000 words)

    Guo Youliang left in a hurry, while Yan Junze had originally thought he would help him.


    However, Yan Junze didn''t know that Guo Youliang had a profound experience with the eeriness of the skin and the ruthlessness of ordinary exorcists. He had to drive them away before the skin attached itself to these people, otherwise more would die.


    Seeing the four-star exorcists leave for the yard outside, Yan Junze immediately focused on how to deal with the skin.


    The mission prompt stated that this creature needed to attach to 77 people to transform into a human shape and blend into human society. Since there had been four-star exorcists around, the skin hadn''t had the chance to fully attach to 77 people and absorb their essence qi.


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    Yan Junze was certain of this.


    Nevertheless, the measures taken by Guo Youliang were also very drastic, because no other solution could be found in a short time, and once the skin attached, it was almost equivalent to death, he would simply kill the targeted victims.


    The second mission prompt revealed that the weakness of the skin was the corpse of Mo Sheng, the former village chief''s granddaughter. As long as they found Mo Sheng, they could completely restrain the skin.


    Remembering this, Yan Junze immediately staggered toward a crooked door near the latrine pits.


    Because he had to focus most of his energy on resisting the skin, moving or speaking was difficult for him.


    Soon after pushing open the door, he found a narrow path outside. Without hesitation, Yan Junze stepped out, shut the door behind him, and while walking, pulled out the Mo Family Village map from his backpack.


    At this moment, he appeared very strange to any onlooker.


    Because he was in a Semi-Spirit State, Yan Junze walked like the Back-faced Woman, moving forward in reverse, that is, walking backward. Moreover, his head was twisted 180 degrees, creating an eerie sight.


    But the strangest part was the skin over his neck; it would wrinkle for a while, then become incredibly smooth, like a wet cloth laid over his face, constantly being wrung out and released, making him look like a mannequin.


    There was a moment Yan Junze felt like taking out a small mirror to look at himself.


    But considering the dangers, especially since he was in a Semi-Spirit State; if the Mirror Spirit in the small mirror accidentally injured him while combating the skin, what then?


    This was not just speculation. It was highly likely that with the Mirror Spirit''s power, it would mistake him for the skin and the consequences would definitely not be as simple as one might imagine.


    So Yan Junze suppressed the urge to pull out the small mirror and, looking at the temporary map of Mo Family Village, rapidly made his way in the right direction.


    Although walking felt as if he were wobbling drunk, with the Back-faced Woman''s strength as the foundation, he was able to resist the skin''s erosion for a short time.


    What''s more important was that the skin had already been injured by Guo Youliang earlier. Even though it was constantly attaching and absorbing essence qi, its power was definitely not at its peak.


    Yan Junze quickly vanished after turning several winding paths and alleyways.


    By the time Guo Youliang and the leading middle-aged man had quickly dispersed everyone to prevent them from being caught en masse by the skin, and the two returned to the latrine pits area, they found that Yan Junze had disappeared without a trace.


    "Big Brother Guo, could he have been controlled by the skin?" the leading middle-aged man asked.


    Guo Youliang shook his head slightly, "If he was attached by the skin, he could still speak; even if he were to be controlled, it wouldn''t happen so quickly."


    "What do we do now?"


    "We''ll search around. I''ll circle the area outside the courtyard; I won''t go far. You keep watch over each person here, have them keep a close eye on each other, and immediately let me know at the slightest unusual sign."


    About one kilometer away from Little Wind Zhai, Yan Junze pushed open the door and walked into an old house.


    The house didn''t have electricity, but thankfully it was daytime, and despite the mist, visibility was still possible.


    According to the map, this was where a previous village chief had lived.


    Of course, Yan Junze could not be certain that all the village chiefs had lived in the same place, but since only this location was marked on the map, he could only hope he wasn''t mistaken.


    After entering the old house, the pressure from the skin suddenly increased, and the intense sense of merging resurfaced. For a moment, Yan Junze''s mind went blank, as if his consciousness had been stripped away.


    He swayed on the spot, managing not to fall, and by now, black hair had grown all over his body, forming a dense layer covering his skin.


    At that moment, Yan Junze had two perspectives; one of his own, and the other belonging to the Back-faced Woman. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ever since the Back-faced Woman exerted her strength to help him combat the skin, she had stood still on that desolate street, completely focused.


    Ke''er, seemingly unaware, scampered in front of the Back-faced Woman from time to time in her red dress, sometimes darting into the nearby shops, or rummaging in the old boxes, busily at work.


    To her, this strange and deserted place seemed a source of joy, making it difficult for her to stay calm.


    Suddenly his consciousness returned, and the Back-faced Woman''s power had once again held off the skin''s erosion.


    The skin not only wanted to erode and control Yan Junze but was also locked in a stalemate with the Back-faced Woman, unable to free itself and leave.


    Yan Junze stood at the doorway of the house for a long time before moving again. Sweat beads the size of beans had soaked his entire body, even drenching his clothes, but he did not stop.

 Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)_2

    Yan Junze prepared to search for any classics or written records in the house; usually, the Tianmeng clan had the custom of keeping genealogical records, noting both the living and the dead.


    Just like the Yan Family that Junze belonged to, there was also a genealogy in his ancestral home.


    Now, all he needed to do was find the genealogy, look through the records of the deceased, and he could locate their burial sites.


    Soon, he entered a room that looked like a study, but it was filled with piles of newspapers and magazines, looking very chaotic.


    There were only a few yellowed almanacs on the original bookshelves, not a single book in sight.


    Yan Junze began to search carefully; although he was facing away, his movements were swift. However, during the struggle with the hide, he couldn''t help but tremble slightly.


    At this moment, he believed that if it weren''t for the Back-faced Woman helping him exert strength from the other end, he would have long been completely controlled by this creature. Rewind was the only option.


    He quickly found the information of the deceased and checked the names one by one; finally, his finger stopped on the name "Mo Sheng." Scanning through, he saw that the column for her burial site was blank.


    Looking at the records of others who had passed away, their burial sites were clearly written, even including the size of the graves and the epitaphs used. But only Mo Sheng''s column was blank.


    However, the time of Mo Sheng''s death was exactly 16 years from her birth, meaning she died that year, right after being desecrated by a former life of the hide.


    Yan Junze''s head began to throb with pain; the hide was clearly gaining the upper hand at this moment.


    He felt the skin on his forehead was no longer his own, entirely numb, and there was even a sensation as if his head was bulging outward, extremely strange.


    He quickly forced himself to focus on finding Mo Sheng''s grave. Since it wasn''t clearly stated here, it mustn''t be an oversight; there had to be a reason.


    Upon careful consideration, Mo Sheng''s early death must have had a significant connection with the previous life of the hide, perhaps she couldn''t endure the disgrace and committed suicide.


    Or following the ancient village rules, punishments such as being drowned in a pig cage could have been meted out. In those times, girls who suffered accidents that brought disgrace to the family would have their whole lives ruined because of it. They would not only fail to receive forgiveness but might also be subject to severe punishment by the clanspeople. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If she truly had been submerged in the lake, Yan Junze would have nowhere to cry; this undoubtedly made the task of finding Mo Sheng''s body much more challenging, and for the hide, there would be one less effective means to restrain it.


    If all else failed, he could only try using the small mirror again or rewind to the time before the hide had approached him.


    Yan Junze pondered to himself.


    Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared outside the study, moving rapidly. Originally appearing slowly at the door, in the next moment, it swiftly receded.


    Despite his extraordinary sensitivity at this moment, Junze could still sense the other''s position. He immediately put down the genealogy and hastily pursued backward.


    A sudden surge of pain in his head made Junze stumble, almost falling, but he steadied himself by grabbing the door frame. Across from him, he watched as a shadow behind the door of a room disappeared quickly.


    This time he saw clearly, it was the silhouette of a frail woman, but definitely not a human, for no human''s feet would hover nearly two centimeters off the ground when walking.


    In other words, the slender woman''s shadow was walking on air.


    It must have been the spirit of the woman, preparing to appear before the living as usual, but she hadn''t expected that the other person would be in a Semi-Spirit State and involved in an intense fight with an equally strange piece of hide.


    The pressure between the entities caused the woman''s spirit to panic and flee in terror.


    Yan Junze didn''t hesitate, quickly giving chase.


    The woman fled to a room that led to another hallway, and through it another ordinary room. It was apparent that this home of the village leader was quite expansive.


    After passing through another room, he came to a row of pigpens and cattle sheds; the woman had vanished.


    Yan Junze stood there, one hand on the door, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head; it felt as if the skin on his neck was tightening, as though a thick rope had been tied around it and someone kept pulling from behind him.


    After standing there for a while, Yan Junze noticed something unusual again.


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    Behind him, to the right on the rooftop, opposite the cattle shed, and at the tattered doorway leading to a field path, heads began to emerge one after another.


    Their faces were ashen as death, silent and expressionless, eyes staring blankly, as if looking into the distance, or perhaps at Yan Junze.


    Seeing that they were all dead, to Junze, they were just ordinary strangenesses.


    Despite facing his Semi-Spirit State and the attached hide, these strangenesses did not leave but kept their distance, maintaining a watchful presence, creating a very eerie scene.


    Soon Yan Junze realized that among these people, the woman who had fled was not present, and their cloudy, colorless gazes seemed not to be fixed on him but partially focused on the pigpen.


    At this point, Junze could feel his breathing getting labored; the support from the Back-faced Woman seemed to be fading, and his Semi-Spirit State was also diminishing.

 Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)

    He walked a few steps to the outside of the pigpen, pushing open the half-person tall gate and entered.


    Since the old house was no longer inhabited, there was some lingering filth inside the pigpen, but no severe smell, just a slight stench.


    Yan Junze paid no attention to this; he looked around carefully, not missing any corner.


    Just when he arrived in front of the trough where pigs were fed, a black figure of a woman sat up from the bottom of the trough. She was merely a soul shadow, panicking in the face of Yan Junze''s powerful Semi-Spirit and the oppressive force of the Skin, she immediately floated out upon sitting up and hid in a nearby cattle shed.


    There were other strangenesses hidden inside the cattle shed, but upon seeing the woman seek refuge, they seemed to fear her soul like specters, hastily fleeing from the shed, keeping their distance.


    In Yan Junze''s eyes, this woman''s level of strangeness was probably that of a high-level Wandering Spirit, not reaching Sculpting Spirit.


    As for the other strangenesses, they seemed quite ordinary, with very few even reaching the level of a middle-rank Wandering Spirit, so it was no wonder they feared the woman.


    However, looking at the woman''s face, she seemed very young. Yan Junze did not recognize Mo Sheng''s features; he was merely speculating at this point.


    After the woman fled, he grabbed the pig feed trough on the ground and violently flipped it over.


    In these farmhouses, the troughs used to feed pigs were typically made of stone, about one meter wide, 20 to 30 centimeters high, with an oval pit in the middle, quite heavy.


    But for Yan Junze, lifting such a trough was effortless; the trough he threw out made a loud noise as it hit the ground outside the pigpen.


    The spot where the trough had been revealed an oval pit; the dirt inside was loose, apparently not in its original state.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to dig through this soil, the intense stabbing pain in his head suddenly intensified, causing him to cry out in pain.


    The Skin that had been wrapped around his head, stubbornly contending with the power of the Semi-Spirit, seemed to reach its peak at this moment. A massive force enveloped Yan Junze''s entire head, neck, and chest, applying immense pressure.


    The hairs on the surface of Yan Junze''s skin instantly tightened, his resistance simultaneously maximizing.


    However, the power of resistance was clearly inferior to the strength of the Skin at the moment. The feeling of merging with the skin grew more and more apparent, and Yan Junze''s consciousness was suppressed to the lowest point.


    In a daze, he felt as if he were floating in space, his entire body no longer his own.


    His breathing was severely constricted, his brain oxygen-starved and chaotic, a buzzing noise filled his head, and his consciousness slowly ebbed away.


    Despite Yan Junze''s reluctance, his body seemed to have given up resistance, allowing the Skin to manipulate him as it pleased.


    If he did not Rewind at this moment, the Spacetime Atlas might activate the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" on its own.


    Just as the thought of Rewinding began to emerge...


    "Ke... Ke... Keer..."


    A husky, discontinuous voice suddenly echoed in Yan Junze''s mind. The voice was not his own, nor was it emitted through his mouth by the Skin, and neither did it come from the ordinary strangenesses nearby, but from the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman clearly sensed that Yan Junze''s current state was at its nadir, and despite her own strength, even with continuous support to Yan Junze, she was unable to effectively rescue him.


    This also indicated that in a confrontation only between the Back-faced Woman and the Skin, it would be the Skin that dominated. The standoff had persisted for so long partly because Yan Junze''s own Semi-Spirit Body was exerting effort as well. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    But now, as the Skin suddenly unleashed all its power, the deadlock began to break.


    From the viewpoint of the other ordinary strangenesses, Yan Junze''s upper body seemed to be constricted by an invisible force, his skin surface beginning to turn deeper shades, followed by a flare of fire.


    This fire emanated from the Half of a Skin, the area that had previously been wounded by Guo Youliang. It seemed as though it was burning itself out of sheer exertion, causing flames to surge from the wounded spot first.


    Upon the ignition of the flame, the strange little fire didn''t spread across all the skin but danced only at that single spot.


    However, the appearance of the flame made the Skin''s power increase yet again.


    At this moment, the voice of the Back-faced Woman reached Yan Junze''s mind.


    Ke... Ke? That must be a call for Ke''er.


    Yan Junze clearly knew that the Back-faced Woman''s throat had suffered severe damage, as her neck had been completely twisted, essentially ruining her vocal cords, which made it impossible for her to articulate sounds properly.


    When he first met Ke''er, she had uttered the same sound.


    Through the Back-faced Woman''s perspective, Yan Junze saw that since the Skin ignited the flame and began to exert force, she had ceased to stand, choosing instead to sit on the ground.


    Shortly after the Back-faced Woman called for Ke''er, a red figure appeared at the entrance of a streetside shop whose door had been destroyed. Ke''er glanced at her mother, uttered an inquisitive "Eh," and quickly scrambled toward her, still using her hands and feet.


    Although still young, Yan Junze considered Ke''er''s Perception to be almost unmatched by any strangeness he had encountered.


    Ke''er rapidly climbed into her mother''s embrace, hugging the Back-faced Woman closely. To Yan Junze, because their abilities were interconnected at that moment, he also felt a sweet sensation of being embraced by Ke''er.


    He hadn''t felt such sweetness in a long time.


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    Ke''er tilted her head, looking through her back at her mother''s eyes. From those grey, turbid eyes, she seemed to make a new discovery.


    Just as Ke''er was about to continue with her quizzical "Eh," the Back-faced Woman spoke again, "Ke... Ke..."


    The next second, Ke''er snapped back to reality, tilting her head so that her filthy hair intertwined completely with her mother''s long hair.


    At the same time, Ke''er''s expression turned fierce, her round little face taking on an aggressive look as she yelled, "Yah yah yah!"


    The mother-daughter Bond Evolution suddenly unfolded!


    Immense power soared once again, quickly catching up to the Skin''s invasive force. The eerie little flame clinging tightly to Yan Junze''s skin shuddered, nearly extinguished.


    This time, when the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er combined their strengths, they even displayed a power capable of fighting back against their opponent.

 Chapter 236 Half a Hide (Part Three) (4000 Words)

    Having felt this power, Yan Junze was also invigorated and reached out to grab his own head.


    At this moment, the skin on his head had many wrinkles, clearly resisting. Yan Junze grabbed one of the wrinkles tightly and yanked it outward.


    However, just then, with a puff, another eerie flame appeared on the surface of the skin, adding to the previous flame that was about to go out, the two flames quickly stabilized.


    The force of the skin merging with Yan Junze''s power began to strengthen once again.


    From the Back-faced Woman''s perspective, Ke''er was holding her mother tightly, obviously using all her strength, her long hair intertwining with the Back-faced Woman''s strand by strand, winding so tightly that it made a noise like a rope being twisted. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    Once again, the combined effort of mother and daughter resisted the skin burning with two eerie flames, preventing it from further merging with Yan Junze.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze felt an even greater pressure than before. Two strange forces were pressing on him, making his bones crackle. If it wasn''t for his Semi-Spirit Body foundation, he would have probably been crushed and immobilized long ago.


    "I can''t keep this stalemate going."


    Yan Junze was very clear in his mind, he must act fast or, even with the assistance of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, the damage to his body would be his own to bear.


    He turned around and knelt down, stretching out his hands and frantically digging at the loosened soil.


    This action clearly stimulated the attacking intensity of the skin, and with a puff, a third flame emerged from the surface of the skin.


    In this moment, the skin above Yan Junze''s neck turned completely red, and the three flames burning became larger and larger, as if they were about to ignite his entire head at any moment.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt that his breathing was completely blocked, replaced by a wave of heat stifling his face, his vision turning fiery red, as though he could see nothing else.


    But he still kept on quickly digging through the soil of the ground.


    Soon, beneath the soil that had covered the stone trough, a black coffin was revealed.


    Yan Junze could barely make out that this was a coffin. He reached out and tried to lift the lid, which was not sturdy. Under the strength of his Semi-Spirit Body, he lifted the lid and exposed a mummified corpse with its limbs curled up together.


    This mummy was severely deformed, recognizable as a female only by the clump of hair stuck together, while the rest of the body had lost any distinct features.


    Yan Junze had been unable to breathe, and, relying on the strength of his Semi-Spirit Body, he forced his body down and leaned over.


    At that moment, the skin attached to him ignited a fourth flame without any hesitation. Simultaneously, Yan Junze saw, from the Back-faced Woman''s perspective, Ke''er start to scream "ya ya ya" again.


    Their intertwined hair seemed to have been ignited by something, and smoke was already billowing out.


    On Yan Junze''s side, the hair on his skin, especially near the head, was burnt in large quantities, curling and shriveling.


    Just at that time, he had already come completely close to the mummy in the coffin.


    The task prompt had explained that Mo Sheng''s corpse was the fatal weakness of this skin. Thus, approaching the corpse was currently the best option for Yan Junze.


    Sure enough, shortly after approaching, the mummy in the coffin moved slightly and suddenly stretched out a withered right arm, making a mechanical clicking sound, firmly grabbing a wrinkle of the skin on Yan Junze''s head.


    At the same time, this skin, which had been gaining the upper hand, burst into flames that suddenly spread across its entire surface and burned fiercely in the grasp of the mummy.


    Amidst cries of agony, the mummy extended its other hand, and both hands held the struggling skin, eager to escape, letting it burn intensely without any sign of letting go.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was completely awake. His vision was unobstructed, his breathing smooth, and the oppressive feeling in his body had disappeared.


    However, the Semi-Spirit State had not yet faded. He quickly stepped back two paces, his gaze fixed on the flames burning inside the coffin.


    Before long, the mummy had caught fire entirely, and the skin could no longer escape. After burning and melting, some parts had already stuck firmly to the mummy.


    The flames were very strange, red mixed with a faint green, but even so, the skin was not burned immediately but continued to burn for about ten minutes or so.


    When the flames extinguished on their own, Yan Junze approached for a closer look.


    He found that the mummy in the coffin no longer retained a human shape, turning into a chunk of charcoal, and the skin was completely gone, having merged into the charcoal.


    [Half of a Skin, hair-raising (high), completed, 1400 Different Dimension Energy points earned.]


    Yan Junze withdrew his attention from the task completion alert in his mind and looked at everything before him. This half of a hide had been thoroughly burned in the coffin, and it could also be said to have died under Mo Sheng''s Revenge.


    This entity was indeed too bizarre, not only elusive but even a suspected four-star Exorcist couldn''t capture it accurately, and it was capable of killing so many people, including low-level Exorcists, in such a short time by attaching to them.


    If he were not a Semi-Spirit Body, the consequences would be unthinkable. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, upon reflection, even the Semi-Spirit Body alone was unable to resist the skin. If it wasn''t for the desperate assistance of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, Yan Junze would have been Rewound by now, as he wouldn''t have been able to stop the skin from corrupting him.


    As the Semi-Spirit State gradually subsided, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the other areas around the pigpen. The other strangenesses that had been quietly watching moments ago had all vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 236 Half a Hide (Part 3) (4000 words)_2

    Including the figure of the woman who was suspected to be Mo Sheng''s soul, also disappeared.


    Perhaps, at the moment the human skin was completely burned away, her obsession was thoroughly liberated.


    At the same time, beside a desolate street in an unnamed city.


    The Back-faced Woman held Ke''er in her arms, the mother and daughter sitting skewed on the ground, motionless.


    The Back-faced Woman still had large amounts of black smoke rising from her body, as if ignited, but ultimately, it did not catch fire.


    Moments later, Ke''er lifted her head, trembling uncontrollably, and looked at her mother.


    "Mom¡­ Mommy..."


    The Back-faced Woman shook her head, embraced her daughter, and slowly stood up, then staggered off towards the other side of the street.


    The figures of the mother and daughter moved further away, vanishing at the end of the street.


    Yan Junze stood beside the coffin that had burned, thought for a moment, then took out a hexagonal badge and stuck it where the dried corpse and human skin were burned, absorbing some residual Different Dimension Energy.


    Then he took the coffin lid, covered the coffin with it, and re-covered it with the dirt he had dug up before.


    Regardless, Mo Sheng and the human skin were truly buried in the earth; may they rest in peace and sooner embark on their journey to the Ultimate Bliss World or be reborn.


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    Yan Junze was physically drained and found a comfortable chair in the old house where he sat for a long time. As the day turned to dusk, he finally got up and hurried over to Mo Xiaofeng''s house.


    By then, the middle-aged leader had dispersed the other Exorcists into nearby houses, trying to avoid gathering everyone together to prevent the human skin from taking them all out in one go.


    Meanwhile, Guo Youliang was searching with him nearby, and the two did not dare to stray too far, fearing for the safety of their colleagues here, so they only searched in the vicinity.


    The population of Mo Family Village was not large, but the houses in the village were quite scattered. One family might be located on this end, while another could be on the opposite hillside. At first glance, it did not seem far, but it would take at least half an hour to walk there.


    Yan Junze quickly returned to the place he had originally left. He couldn''t find anyone inside Little Wind Zhai and just walked out when he met Guo Youliang, carrying a magnetic knife, followed by the middle-aged leader.


    "Yan Junze?! Are you okay?" The middle-aged leader showed a look of surprise, but then Guo Youliang abruptly held him back.


    Guo Youliang watched Yan Junze warily, without saying a word.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to speak to the middle-aged leader, "We were assigned into this team right at the meeting chaired by Group Leader Huo Zhisen, and we arrived here the next day."


    Guo Youliang looked at the middle-aged leader, who nodded, confirming Yan Junze''s account was true.


    Guo Youliang asked, "What about the human skin?"


    "I burned it to death." Yan Junze shrugged, "It was evenly matched with my Semi-Spirit State, we were at a stalemate. I took the opportunity to burn it with fire."


    Guo Youliang was curious, "It was attached to your head, how did you burn it?"


    "Wasn''t there a wrinkle?" Yan Junze gestured, "I just grabbed the wrinkle like this, and then used a lighter to burn it. Of course, ordinary flames are useless. My Semi-Spirit State can catalyze the flames, creating an effect similar to Samadhi True Fire."


    "Damn Samadhi True Fire!" The middle-aged leader couldn''t help but let loose a curse.


    The corners of Guo Youliang''s mouth twitched slightly.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Yan Junze really looked like a normal person now, he would have been tempted to split him with his knife.


    "Anyway, it took a great deal of effort to deal with the human skin," Yan Junze said.


    "Can you take me to see it?" Guo Youliang asked.


    "Sure," Yan Junze turned and pointed, "It''s a small path, about a twenty-minute walk."


    "Big Brother Guo, now that the danger here has been temporarily lifted, shouldn''t we go check on the village first? Zhang Di and the others have not come back, they might have encountered danger," the middle-aged leader said.


    Guo Youliang thought for a moment, then nodded, "You don''t need to go there, just stay here. This place is relatively safe right now, and we can maintain contact with the outside at any time."


    "Then, can I go with you?" Yan Junze asked.


    After all, there are no tasks for now on this side, and over where Zhang Xiaomo is, there are still the tasks of [the woman carrying a lantern] and [Lift the Coffin]. Going over there, I might have the chance to complete them when the opportunity arises.


    "No," Guo Youliang shook his head, rejecting Yan Junze''s idea, "It might be even more dangerous over there. I can go alone. You''re quite strong, stay here and protect everyone."


    "First, let''s go inside and eat something," the middle-aged leader reminded them.


    The three of them entered a room diagonally across. Inside, there were two younger Exorcists, sitting and drinking water. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As they saw them come in, the two quickly shared some bread and mineral water. Yan Junze casually ate some, and Guo Youliang also took the opportunity to replenish some food.


    Meanwhile, Yan Junze was thinking about how to slip deeper into the village without letting these four-star Exorcists notice, to stealthily check on the remaining tasks.


    If he had known Guo Youliang''s intentions earlier, he wouldn''t have come back at all but would have gone directly to the western side of the village. Now, it was not a good time to leave.


    As he was pondering this, a violent noise erupted, causing the small house to shake slightly. Dust fell from the ceiling, leaving everyone in the room covered in dust and dirt.


    ...


    Time rewinds to the moment before.


    Mo Family Village has a total of seven wells, but the largest one is under an old pagoda tree on the east side of the village.


    The well had water for several hundred years but turned into a dry well about twenty years ago. The reason was that the upstream groundwater was redirected by constructing an artificial river channel, and several small and medium-sized reservoirs were built one after another.


    Yan Long''s slender figure stood next to the dry well. After about four or five minutes, he took out several glow sticks he carried with him, broke them, and threw them into the well.


    Then, he leaned over to look into the well.


    The glow sticks fell rapidly. The light from two of them was not very clear, but the remaining three landed vertically on the ground of the dry well, clearly reflecting the surrounding scenery.


    Yan Long lay down and watched for a while, then removed what he was carrying, including a backpack, a belt, and a long object wrapped in black cloth. It looked like a thick sword, wide and heavy.


    After placing them on the ground, he took out a rope and secured one end to the lowest branch of the thick old pagoda tree, then threw the rest of the rope into the well.


    Without another word, Yan Long grabbed the rope and climbed down. He was agile, quickly reaching the bottom of the well, firmly standing on the ground.


    There was still some water on the ground, just enough to wet his shoes, but Yan Long didn''t pay it any mind. He took out his Wolf-Eye Flashlight to scan the surroundings and found that the well led to openings on both sides, but one would have to stoop to enter them.


    This also explained why the well was not very far from the Dark River.


    After standing there for a while and determining his direction, he walked towards one of the openings.


    Stooping as he went, the space became narrower until he had to lie completely flat to proceed. Yan Long then stopped.


    He remained silent for a moment, feeling the chill emanating from the place.


    He could normally withstand a bit of chill, but the cold here was indeed once-in-a-hundred or even a thousand years type of cold. Just after standing still for a bit, his eyebrows and eyelashes were already frosted with a layer of white.


    Then, Yan Long took out an Incense Cup, which had a small pink incense candle already placed inside.


    After he took it out, he only fanned it with his hand a couple of times, without even lighting it, and a faint fragrance was already wafting towards him.


    Yan Long immediately placed the Incense Cup further into the opening, allowing the fragrance to quickly drift deeper inside.


    He didn''t linger there but immediately started backing out. Unable to turn around, he almost crawled backward with his hands and feet.


    Not long after he retreated, a deep sigh came from deep within the hole, followed by the sound of something scrambling where the scent of the candle had drifted.


    The sound seemed slow and heavy at first but soon escalated in speed, becoming a concentrated noise close to his ears.


    Yan Long was startled and hastily retreated even faster.

 Chapter 237 Beneath the Dry Well, Amongst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)

    Although Yan Long appeared to be somewhat aged, he was remarkably agile, and even while crawling backward out of the cave, his speed remained swift.


    But as fast as he was, the crawling "thing" inside the cave was even faster. After just a short while, the beam of the Wolf-Eye Flashlight illuminated a head with a bun, rapidly wriggling towards him.


    Yan Long, shocked, threw caution to the wind and scrambled even faster, using hands and feet together to increase his backward speed.


    Shortly after, the tunnel widened, and he immediately arched his body and hastily retreated backward even faster. However, that head with a bun was still crawling as if unable to straighten up.


    Upon exiting the narrow tunnel, Yan Long quickly took out another Incense Cup, waved his hand over it twice to produce a puff of white smoke, then placed the Incense Cup steadily on the ground, and turned to dash toward the well not far away.


    After grabbing the dangling rope, he didn''t climb up using his hands and feet, as that would be too inefficient.


    Just then, the man with the hair bun crawled out of the tunnel, water still dripping from his body, and stood up straight. Since the Wolf-Eye Flashlight didn''t illuminate his face, his features were unclear as he took big strides toward Yan Long.


    At that moment, Yan Long took out an electric pulley, clipping one end to his clothing and the other onto the rope. With a fierce press, the pulley began to spin, swiftly lifting him up.


    The corpse took big strides closer, reaching out for Yan Long''s ankles but grasping nothing. It then stretched out its hand to grab the rope beneath Yan Long''s feet, but was still a step too slow.


    It then raised its head to watch Yan Long as he ascended.


    Seizing the opportunity, Yan Long shone the Wolf-Eye Flashlight downward, its powerful beam directly hitting the face of the male corpse as it looked up. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    The male corpse appeared unaffected by the light, letting it shine upon him as he simply looked upward.


    Upon illuminating the male corpse, Yan Long couldn''t help but shudder and exclaimed, "It''s preserved so well!"


    The male corpse before him was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a face full of heavy stubble. If not for its pallid skin from being in the water for years and the lifeless eyes, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish him from a living person.


    Yan Long was visibly delighted to have had the fortune of finding such a high-caliber corpse.


    If he succeeded in Corpse Refining, this body would probably become his second greatest source of strength. Naturally, his current prime source of strength was the Semi-Spirit Body ¨C the fusion of his body with the Monster Spirit inside him.


    Gazing at the nearly perfect male corpse under the flashlight, Yan Long''s eyes lit up with awe, like a starving man laying eyes on a spit-roasted whole lamb, his mouth almost watering.


    However, he suddenly became alert as he saw the male corpse lower its head then move towards the rock wall by the well. The corpse reached out, grabbing one of the round rocks on the wall and embedding at least half of its fingers into the stone, then did the same with the other hand. Following that, it pushed off with its feet and began to climb up the well''s rock wall.


    Yan Long was startled to see the climbing speed of the male corpse was astonishing, almost matching his electric pulley''s speed, barely trailing him.


    While concerned, Yan Long couldn''t help but admire the corpse. To him, it was simply too perfect.


    But he definitely couldn''t let it just climb up like that, otherwise his Spirit Raising plan would be ruined.


    After increasing the pulley speed, Yan Long ascended even faster. He quickly emerged from the well, landed, and immediately flipped open the backpack on his back, taking out a bundle of Detonators. Lighting the fuse, he swiftly tossed it into the well and then dropped flat onto the ground.


    With a booming sound,


    the Detonator exploded after reaching the bottom of the well, collapsing the entire mouth of the well. The male corpse, which was about to climb out, was buried under the surging mass of mud and rocks.


    The entire opening of the well collapsed inward, burying itself and quickly forming an irregular sinkhole with a radius of five or six meters.


    The male corpse was buried deep inside. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Along with it was the second Incense Cup Yan Long had placed earlier.


    At this moment, even though the Incense Cup was likewise covered, white smoke still emerged from inside, ignoring the collapsed ground and seeping into every available space, gradually filling the gaps between the rocks and soon enveloping the buried male corpse.


    Yan Long packed up his own belongings from the ground and then found a suitable spot to conceal himself, seemingly prepared to settle there for the time being.


    The explosion of the Detonator was not in his plan, but now that it had gone off, the loud noise was sure to be heard by other Exorcists. It would be perfect if those folks were temporarily unable to come due to the strangenesses, but if they did, he had to have a strategy to face them.


    ...


    "What''s happening?" exclaimed a younger Exorcist sitting inside the house.


    "It seems like the vibration came from the east side of the village," the leading middle-aged man said, equally surprised, as he patted the dust off his head.


    Yan Junze was also dusting off his shoulders and casually fixing his trendy hair.


    Guo Youliang said, "This tremor is unusual; it seems like something exploded."


    "I''ll send someone to check it out."


    The middle-aged leader was about to instruct the two younger Exorcists in the house to go out when Guo Youliang stopped him, "Stay here, I''ll take a look."


    As Guo Youliang walked to the door, he seemed to think of something, turned around, and continued, "Now, only you and Yan Junze can go and see what happened on the west side of the village. If you see any other colleagues, immediately bring them back for a rendezvous. But the two of you cannot go at the same time; one must stay here with the others.


    I''ll head directly to the west side in fifteen minutes."

 Chapter 237 Beneath the Dry Well, Amidst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)_2

    Yan Junze and the middle-aged leader nodded at each other.


    Then Guo Youliang extended his hands and patted Yan Junze and the middle-aged leader, "The situation is very urgent now, you''ll be putting in much effort. After this Ghost Bridge incident is over, I will apply to the organization to give you generous remuneration and special treatment."


    He looked at Yan Junze with a tone of concern, "Junze, you just triggered your Semi-Spirit power. I suggest you''d better take a rest and not rush things too much, you should prioritize your own safety."


    "Hmm, understood." Yan Junze nodded.


    Guo Youliang quickly left after opening the door.


    Watching his retreating figure, Yan Junze reflected. The first time he met this four-star Exorcist, the guy nearly finished him off with a slash, and the second time, he was ready to chop again, if not for his timely interjection that saved him from dying a second time.


    But after interacting with him, he realized that Guo Youliang was actually kind-hearted and led people earnestly, it was only when facing strangenesses that he, like all Exorcists, was ruthless and decisive.


    The middle-aged leader closed the door, returned to his seat, and said to Yan Junze, "Should I go check out the western part of the village? You can rest here. I''ve sent people out on patrol, and we''ve just cleared a few ordinary strangenesses. There shouldn''t be any other major dangers around here."


    Yan Junze shook his head, "You are familiar with them, it''s best that you stay here. I''m already used to fighting alone, and besides, my Semi-Spirit power is still abundant. There is really no need for concern. I''ll go!" Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire


    The middle-aged man hesitated, eyeing Yan Junze up and down, as if trying to discern whether he truly was capable or was at the end of his strength.


    To be honest, right now, even Yan Junze himself couldn''t bear to use the Semi-Spirit power, because from the recent encounter with the Back-faced Woman, he deeply understood that if he were to force it, it wouldn''t just affect him, but it could endanger the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er.


    So from that moment on, he decided not to use the Semi-Spirit State at all; if worst came to worst, he would simply rewind time. After all, he had plenty of time, and there was no immediate concern for the Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas.


    However, regardless, Yan Junze still wanted to check out the western part of the village.


    There was an indistinct feeling in his heart that he couldn''t let go of something, whether it was the two detected tasks or something else, he didn''t ponder too deeply.


    "You lead them here, I''ll go alone. If it really is dangerous there, I''ll wait for Uncle Guo to join me before I take any further action with him. You don''t have to worry at all!" said Yan Junze again.


    "Should we accompany you?" asked the other two younger Exorcists in the house.


    Yan Junze shook his head, "I''m used to being alone; having you with me would only make me cautious and hinder my actions. Otherwise, even if I have to escape, with the state of being a Semi-spirit, I have a good chance of getting away on my own."


    "You must be careful over there," the middle-aged leader finally relented.


    "No problem," assured Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze checked the contents of his backpack ¨C food, water, a lighter, and a flashlight were all there; he wasn''t lacking anything essential. He slung the backpack over his shoulders, bade the middle-aged leader and the two young Exorcists farewell, and stepped out the door.


    On the way, he encountered a group of Exorcists arranged by the middle-aged man to patrol nearby. After exchanging greetings, Yan Junze did not linger; following the map, he hurried towards the western side of the village.


    Walking along the flat ground to the village''s west end would take just over ten minutes. However, Mo Family Village''s terrain is unique, with a small Plum Blossom Forest running through the middle of the village, separating the west from the east. Normally, villagers were reluctant to cross the Plum Blossom Forest at night.


    Since the incidents of strangenesses began, this Plum Blossom Forest had never been peaceful, and especially after the emergence of Ghost Bridge, it gave rise to several higher-level strangenesses that even the Exorcists struggled to subdue after exhausting effort.


    Then a woman carrying a lantern appeared. This time, even those Exorcists met their match.


    Yan Junze started out quickly but soon realized something was amiss. Gazing straight ahead, the mist-covered silhouette of the Plum Blossom Forest emerged before his eyes, and it was only then he suddenly noticed the fog around him had thinned even more.


    It was already completely dark, as the day had been sunny. Since entering Mo Family Village, the constant white mist had enveloped him and made it less noticeable, but now, as the fog lessened, Yan Junze immediately spotted the anomaly.


    The white mist that had almost entirely concealed the sky above now, due to its sparsity, revealed parts of the nighttime sky''s outline.


    Yan Junze merely looked up and saw a vague semicircle moon appearing overhead. Moonlight spilled down, piercing through the thin fog, casting his own body in light and stretching a compressed black shadow behind him on the ground.


    "Not good!"


    Startled, Yan Junze turned to look at the ground behind him. In the midst of what seemed like a perfectly normal shadow, an arm extended out, rapidly approaching his ankle and seizing it.


    At the same time, Yan Junze immediately felt a tightness around his ankle, the shadow overlapping his footstep, but he couldn''t see any tangible object.


    Then, a woman''s figure seemed to crawl out from the ground, or rather, revealed her upper body along his own shadow, with her other hand swiftly targeting his other calf.


    As she appeared, the woman let out a mournful laugh, as if deeply grieved, yet laced with a sinister sweetness, almost like an unburdening of endless longing for someone.


    "I want to be next to you every single second!"


    That familiar, hoarse voice emerged out of nowhere, instantly raising goosebumps all over Yan Junze''s skin.


    "Fang Ning? Damn it!"


    Caught off guard, both his feet were caught by the emerging Fang Ning from his own shadow. Though he tried to take a step forward to escape, he ended up sprawling on the ground.


    In this moment, Fang Ning''s upper body, still in shadow, became more evident, contorting and wriggling upwards as if about to completely emerge from Yan Junze''s shadow.


    "I like the moonlight, and I like you too!"


    As she wriggled out, she spoke in that harsh, hoarse, unique voice, her hands gripping Yan Junze''s legs, frantically climbing up his body.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity of falling to the ground to immediately start crawling forward.


    He could see very clearly that he was standing in an area where the fog was thin, but about three meters ahead, the fog thickened again, though not as dense as before, enough to obscure the moonlight from above. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With a great force pulling at him from behind, Yan Junze ignored it and used all his strength to crawl rapidly forward.


    "Rapid" was a relative term, as he barely managed to move forward against the force tugging from behind.


    At the same time, Fang Ning''s shadow continued to climb up, her hands nearing Yan Junze''s knees, gradually taking on substance, the charred appearance from electrical burns emerging.


    After completing the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" mission, the Spacetime Atlas had informed Yan Junze that he had earned Fang Ning''s affection, and the favorability was "Intimate." However, "Intimate" was followed by parentheses¡ªabnormal.


    Yan Junze looked back, wanting to kick out fiercely, but his feet were caught and he couldn''t muster any force.


    He had no choice but to put his arms to greater use, desperately crawling forward.


    Soon, he reached the area where the fog was relatively dense, his upper body entering it, and he felt his thigh muscles tighten, as if Fang Ning had grabbed hold.


    Yan Junze almost decided to rewind, but seeing success so close at hand, there was no need to waste energy. He hurriedly sped up, finally merging most of his body into the enveloping fog, cutting off the moonlight above.


    At this moment, one of the calves that hadn''t been retracted in time was visible, with Fang Ning''s head pressed out of the fog, slowly, as he withdrew his foot, Fang Ning''s shadow along with Yan Junze''s disappeared.


    Gasping for breath, Yan Junze lay on the ground, lifted his head, peered into the Plum Blossom Forest, and glanced at the nearby fog, revealing a bitter smile.


    This time, he had forgotten to bring a very important tool with him¡ªan umbrella.

 Chapter 238 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 1)

    Since he rarely went out at night, Yan Junze never carried an umbrella, and having known in advance that Mo Family Village was already shrouded in fog, he hadn''t even thought of Fang Ning''s matter.


    At this moment, he hadn''t expected to run into trouble over this issue.


    Looking at the thinning fog ahead, he was about three hundred meters away from the Plum Blossom Forest. Although it wasn''t far, getting there would be somewhat troublesome.


    He glanced around. If he didn''t take a straight path, a detour could get him there; it would just take a bit more time.


    As long as he moved towards the denser fog, he would eventually reach the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Yan Junze rested for a while, looked left and right, and realized that the backpack he carried wasn''t very large. If he took it off to cover his head, it wouldn''t completely hide his shadow.


    If he took off his coat and used it to cover his head, he would likely expose his shadow by accident.


    After thinking it over, he removed his coat, put the backpack back on, held the coat over his head with both hands, and quickly moved towards an area with denser fog, being cautious yet swift.


    He stealthily hid in the fog, inching closer to the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest, sometimes sidestepping, sometimes walking diagonally.


    At times, his shadow was exposed under the moonlight, and he could see Fang Ning''s arm reappear. However, Yan Junze was always vigilant and would immediately sprint forward, hiding in the fog again.


    What would have taken only a few minutes to enter the Plum Blossom Forest, he finally burst in after about half an hour.


    He removed the coat from his head and looked up at the moon, obscured by the leaves. With the fog also present in the forest offering a double barrier, he finally evaded Fang Ning.


    However, Yan Junze remembered that this was the very Plum Blossom Forest mentioned in the task involving the "Lantern Woman."


    The task informed that Lantern Woman Ning Ji went out in search of her husband after arguing with him, resulting in his death outside. Therefore, her obsession was to keep searching everywhere with her lantern in hand.


    This woman had two forms. When the lantern in her hand was white, she was a normal strangeness, but when the lantern turned red, Ning Ji would transform into a very terrifying strangeness.


    Yep, the vengeful ghost type.


    Having entered the Plum Blossom Forest, Yan Junze remained tense and cautious, not letting his guard down.


    Apart from watching for any gaps above his head, he also had to be aware of the Lantern Woman''s potential appearance.


    However, the Lantern Woman should be quite noticeable. If she were to appear, he wouldn''t fail to see her.


    The task hint was to help the Lantern Woman find her husband. That being the case, he had to speak with the Lantern Woman; otherwise, any historical information about this ghost of at least 800 years would be impossible to verify.


    Speaking with strangenesses wasn''t something Yan Junze feared. His rich experience in conversing with strangenesses had accrued since the completion of the "Wine red high heels" task.


    When Jian Tong had a conversation with him back then, it was all twists and turns, but in the end, Yan Junze managed to resolve her obsession. Er, although the hug afterwards made Yan Junze feel a bit sick.


    The Plum Blossom Forest wasn''t very large, and after a short walk, Yan Junze could already vaguely see the houses beyond the forest.


    But at this moment, he suddenly paused and then smiled wryly.


    Where his gaze fell, traversing the Plum Blossom Forest to the village to the west, the fog was even sparser, which was why he could see the houses on the other side at a glance.


    In this case, unless he stayed in the Plum Blossom Forest, it would be impossible to reach the other side.


    After some consideration, Yan Junze looked up at the tree branches above him, took out a multipurpose army knife from his backpack, and prepared to chop down the nearby branches and leaves to build a makeshift Moonshade Umbrella to take to the houses on the other side.


    He looked around. Since entering the Plum Blossom Forest until now, he hadn''t seen the Lantern Woman. Perhaps she was just wandering near the forest and not necessarily inside it.


    Yan Junze chose a tree and started to climb. As he rarely climbed trees, his movements were awkward and it took a lot of effort to get a little way up. Barely standing on a knot in the tree, he raised the army knife to chop the branches when he glanced downward.


    From this higher vantage point, he noticed something odd about the ground in the distance.


    The moonlight, less obstructed by the fog outside, allowed him to see farther. At a distance of less than a hundred meters, near the edge of the Plum Blossom Forest, the ground sloped downwards as if there was a ravine there.


    Yan Junze''s eyes brightened slightly. He gave up looking at the branches and climbed back down, then quickly headed towards the direction he had just seen.


    Soon he discovered that alongside the edge of the Plum Blossom Forest, a ravine had been carved out.


    The ravine wasn''t very deep, but even standing fully upright inside it, he would be concealed by the slopes on either side, hidden from the moonlight.


    With that, he could simply jump into the ravine and walk toward the village to the west, quickly entering the village without needing to construct a makeshift Moonshade Umbrella.


    Yan Junze smiled. He looked around, still without any sign of the Lantern Woman.


    At this moment, completing the task involving the "Lantern Woman" wasn''t urgent. As long as he could quickly check if Zhang Xiaomo was still safe, he could wait to complete the task once the situation stabilized or when he returned.


    Moreover, Yan Junze didn''t know the whereabouts of the Lantern Woman and didn''t want to waste more time here.


    Without another word, he jumped into the river ditch, which was nearly dry, only wetting his soles a bit. The bottom of the ditch was hardened with concrete, so there was no soft mud to cling to his shoes.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw indeed there was no moonlight shining in, so he turned on his flashlight and quickly headed towards the other end of the riverbed.


    At this moment, this place was an excellent passageway for him, so Yan Junze, to make up for the time he had just lost, jogged almost all the way, soon reaching the middle of the ditch that was distanced from the village to the west.


    Just then, he abruptly stopped, swiftly turning off the flashlight in his hand, his gaze fixed on a point about ten meters away from him.


    There, a woman dressed in a white, ancient long dress was crouching on the ground, with a white lantern that glowed from within placed beside her. The woman''s hands appeared to be digging at something on the ground.


    For a moment, Yan Junze nearly held his breath. With just one glance, he recognized that the woman before him was undoubtedly the Lantern Woman.


    It hadn''t occurred to him that the Lantern Woman wouldn''t be in the Plum Blossom Forest but, like him, had traveled out along the river ditch.


    And looking at the woman crouching there, she seemed to be digging into the soil of the river ditch''s rocky wall.


    The mission said she was always looking for her husband. Could it be that she had found something? Was her husband''s body buried in the mud of the rocky wall?


    If that was indeed the case, Yan Junze was ready to sing his own elegy.


    If the Lantern Woman completed her Obsession on her own, then he wouldn''t be able to accept the mission.


    However, the river ditch in front of him was very narrow, and with the Lantern Woman squatting there, she nearly blocked most of the passage. To get past, he would need to lift a foot over.


    But doing so would inevitably disturb the Lantern Woman.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, only to see the Lantern Woman stop digging in the soil and lean forward. In a short while, she slowly stood up, cradling something in her hands.


    Yan Junze concealed himself at the corner of the ditch, poking his head out and quietly watching the scene unfold.


    The woman had a slender figure. Even though it was covered by a white long dress, it was evident that in life she must have been a great beauty.


    However, Yan Junze''s definition of "beauty" had completely changed by now. He was well aware that no matter how pretty a woman was in life, her appearance after death could probably scare an entire street.


    The Lantern Woman didn''t reach for the lantern on the ground; instead, she turned around, her gaze intensely fixed on the object in her hands.


    Yan Junze also looked at what she was holding at the first opportunity.


    It was a skull that had seen some years, its surface yellowed and covered with dirt.


    "She actually found it herself," Yan Junze felt a pang of regret.


    The next second, he looked up at the woman''s face and was jolted.


    Unexpectedly, the white-dress Lantern Woman had a delicate and pretty face. Using modern terms, she was a natural beauty.


    Although, like the Back-faced Woman, her hair was loose and disheveled, it was silky smooth, without a hint of filth. Two strands of long hair fell beside her cheeks, and at first glance, she gave off an otherworldly beauty.


    "Fuck! This is the first time I''ve seen this!" Yan Junze exclaimed inwardly.


    The appearance of the Lantern Woman overturned his belief that all strangenesses looked hideously frightening. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the scene that followed made Yan Junze gasp in surprise again. The Lantern Woman suddenly crushed the skull in her hand, reducing it to powder, then calmly picked up the lantern from the ground and began walking towards him.


    "So... that skull was not her husband," Yan Junze realized after a moment''s stun. He immediately wanted to retreat, but then thought that going back would still allow the Lantern Woman to see him. It was better to stand right there and play it by ear.


    The Lantern Woman walked steadily, her upper body barely moving, just her feet beneath the dress moving forward with equal poise. She approached Yan Junze''s location quickly.


    Yan Junze looked down and discovered that the Lantern Woman was practically gliding, with her toes barely touching the ground occasionally. The lantern led the way in front of her. Her movements seemed filled with an eerie grace that was indescribable.


    When the Lantern Woman reached the corner of the ditch, she came face to face with Yan Junze.


    Up close, her face was even more evident to Yan Junze. Illuminated by the light from the lantern, she looked less like a ghost and more like a living person.


    The Lantern Woman''s eyes lifted slightly, glanced at him, and without speaking, continued walking past him as her footsteps never stopped.


    The close approach and eye contact with her had Yan Junze''s heart thumping. He did not know when the woman might go mad. Instead, she simply walked past him, and nothing happened.


    After the Lantern Woman walked by, Yan Junze''s tension eased slightly, and he wondered whether he should complete the mission right then. While thinking, he stepped forward.


    At that moment, the Lantern Woman suddenly stopped, turned around with her lantern, and said to Yan Junze, "Please wait a moment."


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then turned around, looking at her somewhat defensively.


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    "Have you seen my husband?" the Lantern Woman asked.

 Chapter 239 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 2)

    "She really did come." Yan Junze realized, his gaze shifting toward the Lantern Woman.


    At this moment, the Lantern Woman was also staring blankly at him.


    Her eyes weren''t covered with a gray film, but instead were bright and clear, as if she were truly a living person.


    "What did you just say?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Have you seen my husband?" the Lantern Woman asked again, her watery eyes wide open, which made her look unexpectedly beautiful in a different way.


    "What is your husband''s name?" Yan Junze thought for a moment and then asked.


    "Jia Sheng." The Lantern Woman stepped closer, seemingly convinced that Yan Junze might recognize her husband, and kept her gaze fixed on him.


    Yan Junze pretended to think seriously, then shook his head: "I haven''t heard of him."


    "Think again," the Lantern Woman, who had kindled some hope, wasn''t willing to give up.


    After she had spoken these words, Yan Junze suddenly noticed that the lantern in the Lantern Woman''s hand seemed to become much brighter at this moment.


    Not wanting to throw a cold bucket of water on her immediately, Yan Junze "thought about it" again, but still shook his head, "I''m sorry, I really can''t recall that person."


    As the words were spoken, the flame in the lantern in front of him instantly shrank a bit, and even the light around it dimmed somewhat.


    After a brief pause, Yan Junze mused to himself: "Is this woman''s hope reflected through the lantern in her hand? It feels like the size of the flame is related to her emotional changes."


    Even though he knew this, he had no way to help.


    The Lantern Woman''s obsession was to find her husband, and it was natural to have emotional fluctuations when she received news or became disappointed.


    But there was one thing to keep in mind, to not let her lantern turn red.


    Seeing that the Lantern Woman had stopped talking, Yan Junze said: "Although I don''t know him, I think I can still help you look for your husband."


    "How will you help me?" the Lantern Woman asked.


    "Before I help you, forgive me for asking boldly, but how did you die?" Yan Junze said.


    "Did I die?" the Lantern Woman was surprised.


    Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, his face squeezing out an awkward smile, suddenly not knowing how to respond. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You tell me, how did I die?" the Lantern Woman continued to ask, seemingly not finding death to be terrifying or worrying.


    "This¡­ I don''t know." Yan Junze shook his head and said, "Think carefully, did anything unusual happen while you were looking for your husband?"


    The Lantern Woman tilted her head, as if thinking.


    However, after a moment, she shook her head: "I can''t remember anything. I only know that I have to find my husband. Have you seen him?"


    "Here we go again," Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    At this point, Yan Junze had an unreasonable suspicion that when a person turns into a strangeness, her obsession will occupy most of her consciousness, and all her actions will revolve around this obsession; no matter what she does, she will return to that same fixation.


    The Lantern Woman before him was just like that. In previous encounters with other strangenesses, many exhibited similar behaviors.


    After a moment of thought, Yan Junze shook his head and said: "I haven''t seen your husband."


    With those words, he turned to leave, planning to head to the west side of the village to investigate the situation of Zhang Xiaomo and the others first.


    If he arrived late, he was worried that there might be some misfortune.


    As for the task involving "The Woman with the Lantern," as long as the Ghost Bridge didn''t disappear, it would always be here. It wouldn''t be too late to come back and resolve it once he had peace of mind.


    After taking a few steps, Yan Junze looked back, just to be cautious.


    At this time, the Lantern Woman still stood there, her gaze unfocused, loosely staring ahead with a sense of helplessness.


    Yan Junze sighed inwardly, thinking here was another lovelorn woman¡ªhundreds of years had passed, and she still sought her husband.


    With this thought, he looked back once more and suddenly paused.


    He saw the Lantern Woman still standing, but now the flame in the lantern she held grew brighter, and from it emanated a hint of... red!


    "No good, the lantern is turning red."


    Yan Junze was startled, taking a closer look at the lantern.


    It was indeed turning red.


    He didn''t think twice and immediately started to run. Meanwhile, the Lantern Woman in white remained standing silently behind him, her lantern gradually reddening.


    Yan Junze remembered the mission prompt, so he sprinted with all his might towards the other end of the ditch.


    About two hundred meters after he took off, a sharp scream came from behind, distant and roughly at the same two hundred meter interval.


    This meant that during the time Yan Junze was running, the Lantern Woman had stood still in her original spot.


    Yan Junze didn''t know what was happening behind him, but that scream sent a layer of goosebumps across his skin, causing his feet to tremble slightly, but without pausing, he actually sped up even more.


    After turning a corner, he could see the rooftops of houses on the western side of the village from the ditch.


    Just then, a cold breeze blew from behind, and Yan Junze couldn''t help but shudder, looking back to see the Lantern Woman, dressed in white, quickly chasing after him, holding a lantern that had turned completely red.


    The red light was unnaturally bright, casting its glow on her dress, making the white gown appear wholly red at that moment.


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    This scene added an extra layer of creepiness.


    "Fuck!"


    Yan Junze flung his arms and ran for his life.


    At this moment, using Semi-spirit power was absolutely impossible; not only had the Semi-spirit power been completely drained during the treatment of the human skin, but even borrowing the strength from the Back-faced Woman had nearly depleted her.


    If he were to borrow from the Back-faced Woman again, leaving aside if it would be successful, Yan Junze didn''t want to make the mother and daughter suffer any further.


    So all he could do was try to run away by himself.


    If he could dash out of the ditch before the Lantern Woman caught up, perhaps she would no longer pursue him relentlessly outside of her territory.


    However, while ideals are beautiful, reality is often cruel.


    After feeling the cold wind, just a few seconds passed before Yan Junze sensed something was wrong.


    Glancing back, he saw the Lantern Woman''s speed was unimaginably fast, her feet not even touching the ground, the red lantern in her hand seemingly pulling her forward as she charged toward him.


    "I can''t escape!" Yan Junze confirmed immediately.


    He turned around, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the small mirror, facing it towards the approaching Lantern Woman.


    The darkness within the mirror continued to whirl slowly, and at that moment, it seemed something was about to emerge from the swirling vortex.


    Just then, the red lantern neared, pressing fiercely against the mirror''s surface.


    The darkness within the mirror was instantly stained red, and a black arm that was about to reach out was bathed in the red lantern''s light, subsequently unable to extend any further.


    It was in that instant that the Lantern Woman came right up to Yan Junze, extending an arm with fingernails nearly ten centimeters long, white and sharp, reaching out to grab him.


    At close range, Yan Junze could clearly see her current appearance.


    The Lantern Woman no longer had any semblance of elegance; instead, her normally proportionate features were stretched grotesquely.


    The corners of her eyes reached up to her temples, her eyes long and narrow, and her mouth was stretched down to the roots of her ears, revealing terrifyingly white teeth.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had reason to believe that even if the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er themselves were here, they would be at a loss against the Lantern Woman.


    What he hadn''t expected was that the red lantern in her hand could actually suppress the Mirror Spirit in the little mirror, making it impossible for the spirit to break through and harm him!


    With this thought, Yan Junze didn''t hesitate any longer and activated Rewind.


    As the Lantern Woman''s fingers were about to touch his face, the scene froze, and time rewound to when he had just turned the corner and saw the Lantern Woman squatting in the ditch, digging tirelessly.


    But this time, as Yan Junze caught sight of the Lantern Woman''s squatting silhouette, the white lantern by her foot began to brighten.


    Yan Junze didn''t approach but watched in astonishment.


    He remembered that the first time he saw the Lantern Woman, the lantern had looked normal and not as bright as it was now. But this moment seemed different from the previous encounter.


    Yan Junze silently observed the lantern on the ground, and gradually, it shifted from white to slowly transforming, as a shade of red emerged from within, completely altering the color of the lantern.


    Almost at the same time, the hitherto quiet digging Lantern Woman''s soil in front of her burst, forming a small hole; she stood up, crushing a yellowed skull in her hands and muttering to herself, seemingly deranged.


    Yan Junze roughly made out her words, which were, "Not this, not this, not again, where have you gone? Where on earth have you gone?"


    As these words fell, the red lantern on the ground leisurely took flight, ending up in her grasp, as she took steps toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze revealed a bitter smile.


    Clearly, the Lantern Woman had gone mad ahead of time; it was just that she hadn''t noticed him yet.


    In such a situation, he didn''t know how she would react upon seeing him.


    As the thought crossed his mind, the woman holding the red lantern turned the corner and appeared before Yan Junze, immediately spotting this somewhat timid, troubled, and uneasy man.

 Chapter 240 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)

    In the moment when Yan Junze faced the woman holding the red lantern, he didn''t show any reaction, just staring at her, silent.


    The Lantern Woman also gazed directly at Yan Junze, but the next second, she opened her mouth and released a string of questions, and her voice was eerily unnatural.


    "Have you seen... my husband?"


    The first four words came out normal, but as she said "my," the Lantern Woman''s voice suddenly turned hoarse and rough, and by the time she finished with the last "ma" her voice had completely changed, as if a burly man was roaring in fury.


    During this, Yan Junze could clearly feel his hair being blown backward by a foul wind, his clothes rustling, and his vision blurred; he could see nothing at that moment.


    Snap!


    The next second, five fingers pressed onto his head.


    "Rewind."


    This time, Yan Junze found himself returned to the moment before he had entered the gully, standing in the Plum Blossom Forest, eyeing the winding gully ahead, not planning to go down again.


    After all, the Lantern Woman was still squatting in the middle of the gully, scraping at the yellowed skull with both hands; as long as Yan Junze advanced through the gully, he would inevitably run into her, blocking his necessary path.


    And he didn''t know what each rewind changed, but in the previous rewind, the sequence of events had actually changed, causing the Lantern Woman to prematurely enter her red lantern state.


    If he entered the gully again this time, Yan Junze had an intuition that he would likely get intercepted by her again, and would still trigger her red lantern state.


    So, he found a comfortable spot without moonlight and sat down, beginning to wait in silence.


    Making a Moonshade Umbrella out of branches would also take about half an hour, and if Yan Junze''s estimation was not wrong, in about ten or so minutes, the Lantern Woman should return along the gully to the Plum Blossom Forest. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Indeed, after about 12 minutes, a white figure appeared in the gully holding a lantern, only the upper body visible, but soon she came fully into Yan Junze''s sight.


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    The first thing Yan Junze noted was the lantern in her hand, white, which eased his mind slightly. The Lantern Woman walked elegantly, her long dress swaying gently with her steps, unsoiled.


    After waiting a while, the Lantern Woman had fully walked to the bottom of the gully near the Plum Blossom Forest side. If it were Yan Junze, he would be climbing up using his hands and feet, expending some effort to get out of the gully.


    But the Lantern Woman was different; she simply walked up step by step, her body tilted but not falling, standing on top of the gully for a while, before finally entering the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Yan Junze had already stood up; he didn''t hide himself but stood openly in front of the Lantern Woman, and when she approached, he said, "Perhaps I can help you find your husband."


    The Lantern Woman, upon seeing a person, reflexively prepared to ask first, but was surprised the other party spoke directly, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. With a glimmer in her eyes, she quickened her pace and walked over, "Really?"


    "Of course it''s true," Yan Junze nodded, "but I need some information. You must answer me truthfully, or I can''t guarantee that I''ll find your husband."


    The Lantern Woman hesitated for a moment but soon nodded, "Yes, okay. As long as you can find my husband, please speak."


    So it goes to show that the opening address is very important.


    As he spoke, Yan Junze watched the lantern in the woman''s hand closely. The lantern remained white, and its light was not too bright, indicating that her emotions were quite stable at the moment.


    A good opening gambit accounts for half the chances of successfully completing the task.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt some confidence and continued, "May I ask if you live nearby, and where exactly?"


    The Lantern Woman nodded, "My husband and I live in Mo Family Village, but we are outsiders; we''ve settled there for... hmm, four years."


    "Where exactly do you live?" Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman pointed into the forest.


    "Can you take me there?" Yan Junze said.


    The Lantern Woman nodded and led the way. Because the Plum Blossom Forest was quite small, walking quickly through it would take about ten minutes, so the two of them quickly entered the heart of the forest.


    Yan Junze looked around; there was nothing to be seen, and he felt puzzled.


    "I live here," the Lantern Woman walked to a spot that looked somewhat flat and stood still.


    Upon closer inspection, Yan Junze felt that this flat area could be suitable for building a home, perhaps the Lantern Woman and her husband really used to live here, but now time had passed, and the house was gone.


    He definitely wouldn''t find her husband''s whereabouts here.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and asked, "Does your husband have any friends in the village, any house he likes to visit frequently?"


    "My husband is dedicated to his studies, preparing for the imperial examinations, so he does nothing but study at home, and doesn''t really have friends," the Lantern Woman shook her head, "But, if he gets tired of reading, he sometimes goes west to Mo Zhengping''s home, to tutor Mo Zhengping''s two children."


    "Mo Zhengping, where does he live?" Yan Junze asked with a frown.


    The Lantern Woman turned and walked towards the direction of the gully they had come from, and in a short time, the two arrived above the gully.


    She pointed to the house directly in front of them, "That''s Mo Zhengping''s home."


    "Perhaps... we should go take a look," Yan Junze suggested, "You''ve been searching here in the Plum Blossom Forest and its vicinity, no wonder you can''t find your husband. Maybe he''s been at Mo Zhengping''s home all along?"

 Chapter 240 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)_2

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    ```


    The Lantern Woman gave a slight start and nodded, "Mm, I should go check it out."


    "I''ll go with you, but it seems closer to go through the ditch here."


    With those words, Yan Junze was the first to jump down into the ditch and walk forward.


    The Lantern Woman didn''t hesitate, following him down into the ditch and closely trailing behind Yan Junze.


    "Damn, that guy led the Lantern Woman into the ditch, is he coming this way?"


    In the room of Mo Zhengping''s ancestral house, Zhang Xiaomo, Zhang Di, Fang Zun, and Yuan Dingzhou were squeezed together, all crowding at the window facing the direction of Plum Blossom Forest and peering out.


    The fog was much thinner tonight, and the moonlight ample, resulting in excellent visibility.


    They had just witnessed the Lantern Woman walking out of the ditch and then encountering a man, after which the two of them disappeared into Plum Blossom Forest.


    However, it wasn''t long before the two reappeared, then pointed in this direction, and one after the other jumped down into the ditch and disappeared from view.


    The four people in the room had plenty of reasons to suspect that the idiotic figure that appeared to be a man was leading the Lantern Woman in their direction.


    "Who is that guy, anyway? He doesn''t seem like one of us. One person going to die is enough, why the hell is he dragging the rest of us into the pit?" Yuan Dingzhou asked, clearly confused.


    "And that guy seems to be having a pretty good chat with the Lantern Woman!" added Zhang Di.


    "Something''s not right," Fang Zun stood up, pressed his face against the window, and stared out with wide eyes, "If they really come this way, this place is no longer safe to stay."


    "Right," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "We need to find a way to check on Jiang Yaofei''s side, otherwise we''ll not only lose contact with Jiang Yaofei indefinitely, but now this place has also become very dangerous."


    Once the discussion ended, surprisingly in agreement, Yuan Dingzhou walked to the door, gently pushed it open, and looked around by poking his head out.


    Zhang Xiaomo, meanwhile, checked her Spirit Detector.


    The Spirit Detector showed that there were 11 strangenesses nearby, which all seemed to be ordinary; however, there was a chance that the Spirit Detector could fail to detect more bizarre or higher-level strangenesses.


    As for the detected strangenesses, they were unafraid, and in just a moment, the four people successively left Mo Zhengping''s old house.


    Along the way, if they encountered any ordinary strangenesses that were close by, two or three of them would swarm upon it and, without making too much noise, would sever it with a few slashes from their magnetic knives, instantly crushing its magnetic field.


    They only had a rough idea of Jiang Yaofei''s location but didn''t know which house he was in. With all communication signals dead, they could only search blindly.


    Soon, the four had completely left the area of Mo Zhengping''s house and were getting closer to a somewhat more spacious farmhouse where Jiang Yaofei was located.


    Just then, Fang Zun, who was walking in front, suddenly halted. His body swayed gently at the back, and then he crouched down.


    Seeing this, the others also promptly crouched down, motionless as they stared ahead.


    In the middle of the not-so-wide street in front of them, a very small red coffin lay silently on the road.


    The coffin might be even smaller than half the size of a regular one, yet it appeared to be quite heavy. At first glance, it seemed that it could contain a child''s corpse.


    Although it was just a coffin, for some reason, upon seeing this scene, the four Exorcists suddenly became so tense that they dared not even breathe loudly, silently crouching on the ground without moving, trying to keep their heads down as much as possible.


    Zhang Xiaomo shifted her gaze from the Spirit Detector to Zhang Di, who was watching her, and then shook her head.


    There was no display; the Spirit Detector showed nothing about the red coffin in front of them. Clearly, the coffin couldn''t have just appeared in the middle of the road on its own.


    Under the detection of the Spirit Detector, it was as if the coffin in front of them didn''t exist at all.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo knew very well that this situation was the most terrifying.


    No wonder Jiang Yaofei and his team had not come to find their group, as it turned out, they were all trapped here. Now their thoughts must be the same as Jiang Yaofei''s, not to disturb the coffin, and the wise choice would be to find a place to hide first.


    Fortunately, not a single Wandering Spirit dared to roam around nearby.


    Yuan Dingzhou pointed to the nearest brick house, and quickly everyone nodded. Without saying a word, still crouching on the ground, they crawled towards the brick house and slipped through the half-open door.


    Upon entering, everyone paused, surprised to find the place was filled with lots of books and scrolls.


    Looking up, they saw a very crude signboard with the words "Good Character Bookstore" written dimly on it.


    It didn''t take long for Zhang Di to find a sash window between two ancient bookshelves, which he gently pushed open to get a good view in the direction of Mo Zhengping''s house.


    ```


    In the ditch.


    Yan Junze began to pick up the pace as he moved forward, but no matter how fast he walked, the Lantern Woman leisurely followed behind him.


    Yan Junze occasionally looked back, not to see the Lantern Woman but to keep an eye on the color of the lantern.


    Soon he reached the end of the ditch, scrambling up with hands and feet. When he looked back, he saw the Lantern Woman already eerily drifting behind him.


    "Here," the Lantern Woman stretched out her hand to point at the house right in front of them, "This is Mo Zhengping''s home, where my husband often came to tutor his two children."


    Yan Junze nodded and was the first to push the door and enter.


    He was not afraid of any apparitions in the house because even if there were strangenesses, none would be as formidable as the Lantern Woman.


    Moreover, if there really was something more formidable than the Lantern Woman, she would not dare to follow.


    Of course, if the encountering strangenesses were evenly matched, that would be a case of hitting the jackpot.


    The Lantern Woman followed behind Yan Junze, and they quickly made their way around the not-so-large house.


    There was nothing.


    With Yan Junze''s vision and not being a detective, he couldn''t tell if there were any signs that living people had been active here. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Can you sense your husband?" Yan Junze turned around to ask.


    The Lantern Woman shook her head.


    Just then, Yan Junze noticed that the light inside the lantern she was carrying had clearly started to brighten.


    "Damn, it''s starting again," Yan Junze was startled.


    This was only the first place they checked, and they hadn''t seen her husband. Did the woman''s temper really have to be so peculiar that she''d throw a fit just because they hadn''t found him on the first try?


    "Calm down first!"


    "Where is my husband?" The Lantern Woman''s tone began to get colder, and far from calming down, the light inside the lantern started gradually turning fiery red.


    "Calm down, think carefully, and perhaps we will be able to find your husband," Yan Junze said.


    "Are you deceiving me?"


    Boom!


    The Lantern Woman''s white lantern completely turned red at this moment, and at close range, Yan Junze immediately saw the woman''s features elongate with the emerging red glow, turning her into a ghastly and terrifying monster in an instant.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman carrying a white lantern arrived outside the house of Mo Zhengping and stopped.


    "Perhaps, we don''t need to look inside after all," Yan Junze suddenly spoke.


    The Lantern Woman looked up at him, silent.


    Yan Junze definitely wouldn''t choose to enter the house again now; he had to think of a new approach.


    "Because, I feel that your husband wouldn''t be here," Yan Junze continued, "He left after arguing with you, he wouldn''t be in the mood to teach at a time like this. Did he usually like to find a secluded place to clear his mind or something when he was upset?"


    The Lantern Woman thought for a moment, then shook her head, "When unhappy, he liked to stay with his books, he didn''t prefer to go out."


    "Books?" Yan Junze was taken aback, "Where are the most books in this village?"


    "Over there," the Lantern Woman pointed not far across the street, "All the books donated by the village''s former schoolteacher, Mo Liangde, are in the Good character Bookstore."


    "That time''s books are probably turned to dust by now, unless they''re bamboo slips," Yan Junze guessed to himself and then said, "Let''s go and take a look then."


    "Not going to look in Mo Zhengping''s house?" the Lantern Woman inquired.


    "No need to go in; trust me, your husband is very likely in the Good character Bookstore," Yan Junze asserted confidently.

 Chapter 241 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 4)

    Good Character Bookstore.


    In front of the window between two bookshelves, Zhang Di and Yuan Dingzhou were perched there, craning their necks to look outside.


    After a moment, Yuan Dingzhou turned around with a face full of astonishment, looking at Zhang Xiaomo and Fang Zun, he said, "I suspect that the man with the Lantern Woman is here for revenge against us?"


    "Why do you say that?" Fang Zun asked in surprise.


    Standing at the window, Zhang Di also turned back, incredulously saying, "That man talked with the Lantern Woman in front of the house we were just in, without entering. It seemed like the Lantern Woman pointed in this direction, and then, both of them started walking over here."


    "Ah!" Zhang Xiaomo and Fang Zun exchanged looks of alarm.


    "Let''s be honest, did any of you run off with that guy''s wife?" Yuan Dingzhou asked.


    Fang Zun let Zhang Di come down, and he also leaned on the window to look for a moment before shaking his head, "I don''t recognize him, I''ve never seen this person before."


    But Zhang Di said, "I feel like I''ve seen him somewhere, but the distance is too far, I can''t see clearly."


    "There, it''s settled then, he''s here for you," Yuan Dingzhou said angrily. "Look at the mess you''ve made with your antics! Now look at you, just for a few seconds of pleasure, now the retribution is here, dragging us all down with you!"


    "Pfft!" Zhang Xiaomo immediately bent over, covering her mouth with her hand.


    "You''re laughing, but the Lantern Woman is already approaching, and there''s that eerie coffin outside. With danger ahead and behind, our only choice seems to be a hard fight," Yuan Dingzhou said, huffing with anger.


    "It doesn''t necessarily have to be a hard fight," Fang Zun said, peering through the door crack, earnestly observing for a while, "The coffin has disappeared; it seems capable of moving by itself, it''s already gone toward the street corner. We can leave now."


    "Really? Then let''s go!" Yuan Dingzhou said joyfully, rushing towards the door.


    "Eh!" Zhang Di, still standing on the small box beneath the window, suddenly turned his gaze to Zhang Xiaomo, "I think I know who that person is now, Xiaomo, come and take a look to confirm."


    Zhang Xiaomo hesitated, not speaking, and stood on the small box, her gaze passing through the window and outward.


    She soon found the two figures approaching Good Character Bookstore, one was the Lantern Woman in white, fluttering clothes holding a lantern, the other was a man in black.


    Initially, when inside Mo Zhengping''s house, Zhang Xiaomo had seen this man from a great distance, but he was just a vague figure, at most she could tell if it was a man or a woman, unable to discern his features clearly.


    But now it was different, due to the closer distance, Zhang Xiaomo recognized him at a glance.


    "Ah, Yan Junze! What is he doing here?" Zhang Xiaomo turned and looked at Zhang Di.


    Zhang Di just shrugged, "The guy''s got guts, that''s for sure. That''s the Lantern Woman, and he''s been dealing with her all along."


    "But why is Yan Junze always walking under the eaves?" Zhang Xiaomo said, puzzled.


    If it hadn''t been for the light from the Lantern Woman''s lantern, she might not have recognized Yan Junze at first glance.


    "Is he a colleague?" Fang Zun asked.


    "What does it matter if he''s a colleague? That person next to him is a ticking time bomb!" Yuan Dingzhou had already pulled open the door of the bookstore and asked the people inside, "Are you coming or not? If we delay, once the Lantern Woman blocks the door, no one will be able to leave."


    "I''m not leaving," Zhang Xiaomo said almost without thinking, shaking her head.


    "Are you sure?" Zhang Di asked.


    "Yes," Zhang Xiaomo jumped down from the box, stood to one side with her arms crossed over her chest, showing no intention of leaving. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If we delay any longer, it will be too late," Yuan Dingzhou said, heading out while adding, "The Lantern Woman is at least capable of creating a Level B event effortlessly. Once she enters the red lantern state, none of us will stand a chance..." Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    Before he could finish, Fang Zun looked back at Zhang Xiaomo and the others, and also spoke up, "Then let''s split up. We''ll find a place outside to wait for you, and we''ll play it by ear."


    With that, he quickly left with Yuan Dingzhou.


    "You''re not going," Zhang Xiaomo said, turning to Zhang Di.


    Zhang Di shook his head, hopped off the small crate, sighed, and then sat on it.


    As Yan Junze approached the Good Character Bookstore, he sighed inwardly, feeling fortunate; along the way, the eaves of the houses on this side of the street were all very wide and connected in a row.


    The west side of the village was small with only one street, but the houses were densely packed, and even where there were gaps between them, he was able to dash across quickly.


    The moonlight only illuminated him for a second or two before Yan Junze''s body once again took refuge in the shadows.


    Although his walking style was odd, the lantern woman following him said nothing at all.


    Soon, he arrived under the eaves of the Good Character Bookstore and when he stepped up to the door, which he intended to push open, Yan Junze was startled to find it ajar.


    After a moment''s hesitation, he peered in and seemed to see someone inside.


    However, the lantern woman didn''t pause; she stepped forward with her lantern and entered the bookstore.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to follow her, cautiously scanning the surroundings.


    As the lantern woman entered, the light from her lantern brightened the pitch-dark room, and Yan Junze immediately noticed Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who were not hiding.


    "Zhang Xiaomo!!!"


    Yan Junze was overjoyed; he had never expected to stumble upon Zhang Xiaomo in the bookstore before even finding the lantern woman''s husband.


    He quickly glanced over Zhang Xiaomo and sensed nothing amiss; she didn''t seem like a victim of Spirit-Splitting, and she looked to be in good spirits¡ªat least now, showing a face full of shock.


    The man not far from her was also familiar to Yan Junze; it was Zhang Di, who had once taken a cup of cappuccino from him without so much as a thank you¡ªa fellow Exorcist with a Semi-Spirit Body.


    But when Zhang Xiaomo saw Yan Junze, she didn''t show any hint of happiness. In fact, she was panicking inside; if it were not for her concern for Yan Junze''s safety, she would have left long before.


    Zhang Xiaomo''s attention was entirely on the lantern woman. With just a glance at Yan Junze, she immediately signaled him with her eyes.


    Yan Junze saw clearly that Zhang Xiaomo''s intention was for him to stay put and let them handle the lantern woman.


    The lantern woman was also looking at the two newcomers. After a moment, she asked, "Excuse me, have you seen my husband?"


    At that moment, an ominous feeling arose in Yan Junze.


    He knew all too well how fickle the lantern woman could be; one second she might seem quite normal, even somewhat friendly, but the next second she could turn hostile and attack anyone in sight.


    At least Yan Junze himself, fully aware of her temper, had still managed to anger her more than once after a Rewind.


    The Exorcists seemed to realize the lantern woman was dangerous, but it was unclear whether they had accurately gauged her temperament.


    If they angered her, Yan Junze couldn''t just stand by; he would definitely need to help, and the best, most thorough way to do so was to Rewind.


    Using Rewind wasn''t a big deal, but it meant consuming Different Dimension Energy.


    If Zhang Xiaomo and the others carelessly kept offending the lantern woman turning her into the red lantern state, wouldn''t that mean his energy was being needlessly depleted?


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Zhang Xiaomo responded, "No, we haven''t seen your husband. What is your husband''s name?"


    "His name is Jia Sheng," replied the lantern woman.


    "Jia Sheng?" Zhang Di seemed to ponder for a moment, then pointed toward the end of the street outside the bookstore, "I think I saw him; he went that way down the street."


    "Damn, this guy..." Yan Junze was momentarily speechless.


    He knew too well the consequences of being caught lying by the lantern woman, yet Zhang Di''s first words had already committed a grave offense.


    "If you still have your lives when you leave here, split half of your payment with me and treat me to a big meal," he said.

 Chapter 242 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 5)

    The Lantern Woman was momentarily taken aback after hearing Zhang Di''s answer.


    Then she looked at Zhang Xiaomo, who had spoken first, and said to Zhang Di, "Didn''t she just say she didn''t see my husband?"


    Zhang Di''s face stiffened, and he was at a loss for words.


    Yan Junze hastily said, "He didn''t know your husband is Jia Sheng, he thought you were talking about someone else."


    "Didn''t you say my husband was in the Study Room?" the Lantern Woman turned back to Yan Junze, "How come he is now saying he''s not here?"


    Okay, he had gotten himself into a quagmire.


    Yan Junze cast a resentful glance at Zhang Di, who felt a twinge of relief, thankful that the Lantern Woman hadn''t turned her hostility towards him.


    At this moment, the lantern in the Lantern Woman''s hand began to turn red again.


    "That''s not right, her lantern is turning red," Zhang Xiaomo glanced at the lantern and quickly said, "Don''t panic just yet, maybe someone saw wrong."


    Bang!


    The lantern turned completely fiery red.


    Yan Junze flashed a bitter smile, thinking that if comforting words worked, perhaps this woman wouldn''t have such an obsession with finding her husband.


    Rewind!


    Time returned to the moment Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman entered the Study Room, one after the other.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just given Yan Junze a look that said not to make any rash moves, but Yan Junze immediately began to blurt out, "The Lantern Woman''s husband loves to read, and she is here to find her husband. If you don''t know about it, you can leave now, and I will stay here with her to search."


    A whole string of words burst from his mouth, leaving Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di startled, as they exchanged glances and immediately shut their mouths.


    They were not fools; they instantly understood the subtext behind Yan Junze''s speech.


    The Lantern Woman turned back to look at Yan Junze, then at Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, and still asked, "Have you seen my husband?"


    "No, no we haven''t," this time, both Exorcists answered in unison, shaking their heads in remarkably synchronized magnitude and direction.


    From behind the Lantern Woman, Yan Junze gave them a thumbs up.


    "If possible, they might be able to help, like looking around near this Study Room to see if they can find your husband," Yan Junze signaled with his eyes to the two of them, then said to the Lantern Woman.


    His intention was clear, to have the two leave so that he could better handle the Lantern Woman himself; otherwise, unlike him, they could easily trigger the Lantern Woman''s sensitivities.


    Zhang Xiaomo elbowed Zhang Di, indicating they should listen to Yan Junze.


    But then the Lantern Woman shook her head and said to Yan Junze, "Didn''t you say my husband is just in the Study Room? It''s good that they are here; more people can help search around here."


    Zhang Xiaomo turned to Yan Junze, who simply shrugged his shoulders, gesturing for them not to say anything more.


    Yan Junze pointed upstairs, "It seems there''s an attic above; let the two of them go up to the attic to look, maybe your husband is hiding up there sneaking reads, and incidentally hiding from you, perhaps even accidentally starving himself to death up there!"


    "That sounds quite reasonable," Zhang Di quickly nodded in agreement.


    Zhang Xiaomo shot Yan Junze an annoyed glance.


    Seeing that the Lantern Woman said nothing, Yan Junze spoke again, "Then you two go upstairs to search. Remember to search carefully, huh, and don''t come down too early unless you hear me call, search a bit more thoroughly."


    Zhang Di immediately started climbing the wooden ladder, while a look of worry crossed Zhang Xiaomo''s face. She paused, her gaze lingering on Yan Junze for a moment without a word, before following Zhang Di to the second floor.


    "Alright." Yan Junze clapped his hands and said to the Lantern Woman, "Let''s start searching down here; you search over there, and I''ll search here."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he didn''t wait for the Lantern Woman to respond and quickly turned to run to one side, beginning his search.


    The study wasn''t very large, but the amount of stuff piled inside was overwhelming. It should be quite easy to hide a person or a corpse in there, not to mention a skeleton.


    If the skeleton was disassembled and stacked in a corner, it would take hours to find it.


    Meanwhile, noises were also coming from upstairs, indicating there was also a lot of stuff up there. Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were truly searching, hoping to find the Lantern Woman''s husband and be rid of this plague at the earliest.


    Yan Junze could faintly hear the two of them talking.


    He could guess that Zhang Xiaomo was very clear about her approach to handling strangenesses; she was definitely taking this opportunity to introduce her Buddhist Exorcism Method of fulfilling the obsessions to Zhang Di.


    Although this method was not commonly employed by exorcists in their daily work, and many even looked down on it, at this crucial moment, it had become the best option.


    After all, no one was a match for the Lantern Woman; to confront her head-on meant either death or an especially unsightly death, with no third option.


    So, at this moment, the Buddhist Exorcism Method had become the hope.


    After searching for a while, Yan Junze felt that it was very laborious. He approached the center of the study and saw the Lantern Woman still standing there. He asked, "Why don''t you go and search over there? I can''t find anything by myself!"


    "I''ve already searched there and didn''t see my husband," the Lantern Woman shook her head.


    "That fast." Yan Junze was startled and then glanced at the lantern in her hand, "Does your lantern have the function of finding people?"


    "Yes, it will change color as soon as it sees my husband," the Lantern Woman raised the white lantern in her hand, "I''ve just walked over that side and found nothing."


    "There''s such a function?!" Yan Junze was taken aback, never expecting the lantern could change into other colors.


    But then he thought, this didn''t make sense; even in the mission prompt, there was no indication the lantern could turn any color other than red.


    Immediately, he took the Lantern Woman to retrace the area he had just searched, but the lantern remained white as ever, showing no change.


    "My husband isn''t here," the Lantern Woman shook her head. Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire


    "We haven''t searched up there yet, come on, let''s go to the attic," Yan Junze pointed upstairs.


    He took the lead up the staircase, and the Lantern Woman followed, floating eerily up to the attic, soon both standing at the mouth of the wooden stairway.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were still searching in the darkness upstairs, so both had taken out flashlights. Upon seeing Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman come up, both were taken aback.


    Yan Junze hurried over and asked Zhang Xiaomo in a low voice, "Have you seen the lantern change to any other colors? Aside from red and white, I mean."


    "No," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "only red and white."


    "That''s not right," Yan Junze pondered, "This woman said that when she finds her husband, the lantern will change colors, not remain white."


    "Is that so?" Zhang Di furrowed his brows and then shook his head as well, "Because she never found her husband, we haven''t seen the lantern change to any other colors."


    By now, the Lantern Woman had completed her walkthrough of the cramped attic. She didn''t need to rummage through the accumulated clutter; instead, she just walked a circle, seeing everything clearly through her lantern.


    "Still no sign of my husband," she said, her expression growing ugly.


    As she spoke, the lantern in her hand slowly began to turn red, and her facial features rapidly elongated. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di retreated a couple of steps back. Zhang Xiaomo took out her magnetic knife, while Zhang Di was wrapped in a strange aura that made his entire being elusive, as if he had become a Baldy.


    "Ah!"


    The Lantern Woman, now fully in her red lantern state, let out a piercing scream at that moment, causing attic dust to swirl upwards.


    At the exact same time, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who had turned into a Semi-Spirit Body, lunged at her.


    "Wait a minute!" Yan Junze looked at the lantern in the Lantern Woman''s hand; at that moment, he seemed to realize something.

 Chapter 243 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 6)

    Zhang Xiaomo is a three-star Exorcist, while Zhang Di is like Yan Junze, also a Semi-Spirit.


    When these two teamed up, they could withstand the Lantern Woman in her red lantern state, at least for a short while.


    Especially Zhang Di, who had transformed into his Semi-Spirit form, became a bald strangeness, his head shiny and smooth, but his entire body seemed to have grown larger. A set of fangs protruded from his mouth, and his Special Skill seemed to be "Ripping Bite."


    After turning into a semi-spirit, he pounced toward the Lantern Woman and started gnawing viciously at her head.


    Zhang Xiaomo''s magnetic knife was aimed at the Lantern Woman''s wrist at this moment.


    She was very aware that this woman was extremely powerful after transforming into her red lantern state, and it might have something to do with the lantern she was carrying. Therefore, her first move was to sever the connection between her and the lantern.


    If she could slice off the arm holding the lantern in one stroke, that would be ideal.


    The next second, the Lantern Woman caught Zhang Di, who was about to bite her head, by the teeth. Empowered by the red force, she wielded tremendous strength and smashed Zhang Di''s Semi-Spirit Body against the floor, nearly creating a hole in the attic.


    At the same moment, the red lantern in her hand, which swung without any wind, blocked the slash from Zhang Xiaomo. The magnetic knife stabbed into the lantern, making a cracking sound.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback and quickly withdrew her magnetic knife, only to find that the blade had lost a semicircle, directly damaged by the lantern.


    Thud!


    The Lantern Woman''s five sharp nails instantly pierced through Zhang Xiaomo''s chest. At the same time, she raised her leg and stomped down onto Zhang Di''s head, who was on the ground.


    Yan Junze closed his eyes, hearing a sound as brittle as a watermelon being cracked.


    He was wondering, if the Back-faced Woman at her peak faced off against the Lantern Woman, what would the outcome be? What if Ke''er were added to the mix, after a mother-daughter Bond Evolution, against the Lantern Woman?


    In the midst of contemplating, Yan Junze had no mood to watch the broken skull. Of course, he couldn''t bear to watch Zhang Xiaomo, who was coughing up blood, either.


    "You... go quickly!"


    Zhang Xiaomo managed to utter these three words, blood spilling from her mouth.


    "Hold on, I need to take a closer look."


    Yan Junze shook his head, leaned in toward the red lantern that had been pierced by the magnetic knife, not caring that it was swaying side to side, and stared with wide eyes, wanting to see the inside clearly. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ah!" Another terrible scream came from above. The Lantern Woman reached for Yan Junze''s bent-over head and grasped it.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound back to when the four people were on the first floor of the study room, the moment Yan Junze first met Zhang Xiaomo and company. This was the third time Zhang Xiaomo hinted at him with her eyes.


    Yan Junze raised his hand to stop her, stepping forward and turning around to face the Lantern Woman.


    Just as the Lantern Woman was about to deliver her classic line to Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, Yan Junze interrupted her preemptively, pointing at the white lantern and saying, "Ning Ji, where did you get this lantern from?" Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire


    "You actually know her name?" Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di''s mouths fell wide open, a look of utter disbelief on their faces.


    However, the Lantern Woman didn''t react much, simply glancing at the lantern in her hand and replying, "It''s from home, I took it with me when I was searching for my husband."


    She paused, then added, "Didn''t you say my husband was here? Where is he?"


    Yan Junze didn''t answer her question but continued to ask, "This lantern, have you used it before?"


    The Lantern Woman seemed puzzled for a moment, nodded, but then as if remembering something, shook her head, paused bewilderedly, and nodded again.


    "Where is my husband? Have you seen him?" she turned to ask Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who had remained silent the whole time.


    They didn''t answer but simultaneously turned their gazes to Yan Junze.


    Faintly, they both felt that Yan Junze seemed to have discovered something. It was as if they had rehearsed beforehand not to speak and interrupt him.


    "Before your husband disappeared, have you ever seen this lantern?" Yan Junze pressed on, seemingly oblivious to the woman''s inquiries directed at Zhang Xiaomo and company.


    The Lantern Woman fell into deep thought, and after a moment, she lifted her head to look at Yan Junze, "What do you want to say?"


    "I want to know, why did you quarrel with your husband?" Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman did not answer but looked toward Zhang Xiaomo, her obsession driving her to question these two people.


    "When you answer my question, I''ll have these two friends help us look for your husband in this house, we''ll definitely find him for you," Yan Junze immediately added.


    The Lantern Woman withdrew her gaze and looked at Yan Junze again, "My husband was always taking the imperial examinations, but after so many years, he consistently failed. I''d long advised him to give up, who knew that day he suddenly flew into a rage, and he¡­ he beat me violently and stormed out. I don''t know where he went!"


    "He hit you?" Yan Junze was astonished.


    The Lantern Woman became silent.


    After thinking for a while, Yan Junze asked again, "How long after he left did you go looking for him?"


    The Lantern Woman seemed to be recalling something, it took quite a while before she said, "We had a dispute after lunch that day, then he did not return. I couldn''t let go, so I went out to look for him that same night."


    "How did you die?" Zhang Di interjected from the side.


    "You¡­" Yan Junze, unable to stop him in time, turned to glance at him.


    "Did I die?" The Lantern Woman''s words startled both Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di.


    Yan Junze knew that the Lantern Woman wouldn''t admit she was already dead, what followed was the lantern turning red.


    Rewind!


    Having no other choice, he activated another short-term rewind.


    Just as the Lantern Woman finished speaking, he turned his head to Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di and whispered, "Don''t interrupt us when I''m talking to her."


    To tell the truth, Zhang Di''s sentence "How did you die" was already on the tip of his tongue, but it was forcefully choked back by Yan Junze''s words, his face turning red with restraint.


    Zhang Xiaomo thought it was her partner who didn''t understand Yan Junze''s peaceful Exorcism Method, so she quickly lowered her voice to explain it to him.


    Yan Junze ignored them and continued to ask the Lantern Woman, "Did you go out with just this lantern in search of him that night?"


    The Lantern Woman looked at the white lantern in her hand and nodded.


    "May I touch this lantern?" While speaking, Yan Junze reached out his hand.


    "No," the Lantern Woman''s voice changed tone, instantly stern and severe.


    Yan Junze withdrew his hand and then said, "Didn''t you mention that, after finding your husband, the lantern would change color?"


    "Yes." This time the Lantern Woman nodded but pressed the lantern further down, intending to keep it out of Yan Junze''s reach.


    Moreover, Yan Junze noticed she was becoming impatient, the light inside the lantern gradually growing brighter, though it had not turned red yet.


    Yan Junze had no more intention of trying to touch the lantern; instead, he stepped back, folded his arms across his chest, and gazed at the lantern as he said to the woman before him, "I''m guessing that perhaps your husband has always been by your side, you just haven''t noticed."


    "What?" The Lantern Woman immediately looked around, scanning her surroundings front and back, but she didn''t see anyone else.


    By then, Yan Junze had chosen to stand with Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, continuing, "You can''t get angry because once you do, you can''t control your emotions. I don''t know if you realize that it''s because of anger that you had a big argument with your husband, leading to the situation you''re in now."


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, somewhat perplexed, seemed to understand something but not entirely, both tilting their heads in confusion toward Yan Junze.


    "My anger is because I can''t find my husband. My anger is because all of you are lying to me," the Lantern Woman suddenly started to grow excited again.


    Her facial features began to distort, and a hint of red light seeped from the lantern she was holding.


    "I''ve said, your husband may have been right by your side all this time, accompanying you, it''s just that you haven''t noticed," Yan Junze didn''t mind the Lantern Woman''s current transformation but managed to squeeze out what he thought was a very sincere smile, and said word by word, "I wonder, have you ever heard of¡­ Human Skin Lanterns?"

 Chapter 244 The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Finale)

    "Human Skin Lantern?!"


    At this moment, Lantern Woman had no reaction, but Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were startled, as if they had remembered something, and immediately looked at the lantern in the woman''s hand.


    Inspired by Yan Junze''s words, in their minds, it was possible that Lantern Woman had argued with her husband and in a fit of rage, killed him, peeled off his skin, and made this human skin lantern.


    However, after a careful look, Zhang Xiaomo shook her head and said, "The style of this lantern is very common; it doesn''t look like it''s made from skin, does it?"


    "Exactly, the outer layer is just fire-resistant oiled paper, not human skin," Zhang Di also said.


    The two initially thought they had guessed correctly, but now it seemed that wasn''t the case.


    Yan Junze gave them both a disparaging glance, "I was just making a metaphor, you''ve watched too many TV dramas. A lamp made from human skin would have a big difference, it wouldn''t be something that couldn''t be identified at a glance, and its light penetration couldn''t possibly be so good. The texture and quality of its surface, where would it have the appearance of this kind of paper."


    "Then I want to know, what''s the point of you saying that?" Zhang Di suddenly felt like he''d been played by the other party and couldn''t help feeling a bit ashamed and angry.


    Yan Junze seriously looked at him and Zhang Xiaomo and even moved a bit closer, whispering, "Haven''t you noticed that at this moment, the white lantern of Lantern Woman hasn''t turned red?"


    The two of them were suddenly shaken, then remembered that the white lantern in Lantern Woman''s hand had indeed started to emit a red glow not long ago.


    Having observed for so long, they of course knew that this was a sign that Lantern Woman was about to enter a state of rage, but after talking for a while, it seemed that the woman had not turned into a red lantern state.


    Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di simultaneously turned their heads to look at Lantern Woman.


    They saw that at this moment, the lantern in Lantern Woman''s hand, which had just revealed a red glow, now showed no trace of it and was still the previous white color.


    "Huh? It really didn''t turn red this time," Zhang Di expressed in surprise.


    "What''s going on?" Zhang Xiaomo also asked.


    "It''s quite simple," Yan Junze no longer lowered his voice, making sure his current speech could be heard by Lantern Woman across the way, "Although the lantern is not made from human skin, clearly my guess just now triggered some thoughts in Sister Ning Ji, allowing her obsession to find its way back."


    "Sister? Pfft..." Zhang Di covered his mouth with a hand, the corners of his mouth twitching.


    "I feel like I''m beginning to remember..." Lantern Woman slowly began to speak, as if recalling, "My husband is really right beside me!"


    "Think about it, where is he?" Yan Junze urged, "Why do your emotions change with the lantern''s color? Or why does the lantern turn red whenever you get angry?"


    "I... I..." Lantern Woman''s obsession began to grow chaotic, "I found my husband, I found him! I told him to go back, he wouldn''t, he said... he said... he wanted to divorce me!"


    Yan Junze didn''t speak, and Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were at a loss for words.


    At this moment, Zhang Di seemed to somewhat understand Yan Junze''s Buddhist Exorcism Method.


    At that time, the color of the lantern in Lantern Woman''s hand kept changing from red to white, constantly altering, as if mirroring her unpredictable emotions.


    After a while, Yan Junze couldn''t help but say, "Then, you guys fought?"


    The color of the lantern suddenly stopped at red, Lantern Woman froze for an instant, and after a few seconds, she said, "Mm, I told him to go back, he wouldn''t, he wanted to divorce me, divorce me... I cried, I pushed him, he... my husband, he lost his footing and fell down..."


    "Fell where?" Zhang Xiaomo immediately asked.


    "Hee hee hee..." Lantern Woman slowly raised her head, looked at the three of them, and fell silent.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di immediately became cautious, and Zhang Xiaomo nudged Yan Junze with her elbow to get his attention.


    "You haven''t finished speaking, continue," Yan Junze said with a calm expression and even a faint smile.


    Lantern Woman''s gaze turned to Yan Junze, she bared a row of sharp teeth with a grin, and said, "He didn''t want me anymore, my husband didn''t want me..."


    "So, after he died, you just... took his body..." Yan Junze pondered. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    "I took a long detour and found his body under the cliff; I couldn''t let him leave me," the Lantern Woman said slowly.


    "So you wanted to carry his body back?" Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman shook her head, then bowed slightly, "He was too heavy, I couldn''t carry him, but I couldn''t bear to leave him, he couldn''t leave me behind!"


    Suddenly, Yan Junze quietly tugged at Zhang Xiaomo''s sleeve, gesturing for the two of them to follow him as they took three steps back. The Lantern Woman was lost in her memories and didn''t notice their movement.


    "I think I know now," Yan Junze suddenly said, "Can I tell you the truth now?"


    The Lantern Woman looked up, her face blank, just staring at Yan Junze without saying a word. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat, "I want to clarify one fact first, the moon that night and tonight should be the same, very bright, so you could leave Plum Blossom Forest and accompany me here. That is to say, the night your husband died, it was also such a night. So, you didn''t need a lantern to go out, and you didn''t have a lantern at home at all."


    "What?" Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were stunned and turned to look at Yan Junze along with the Lantern Woman.


    "That night, you accidentally killed your husband. You wanted to carry his body back, but you simply couldn''t. Also, because you were jealous and resented him for saying he would divorce you, yet you couldn''t bear to leave him, so in a fit of rage, you cut off his head and only took his head back," Yan Junze articulated each word carefully.


    The other two showed terrified expressions, while the Lantern Woman remained expressionless.


    Yan Junze continued, "So where did this lantern come from, let alone a white lantern, a red lantern? What you''ve been carrying, is clearly your husband''s head! It always has been!"


    As soon as these words fell, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di immediately looked at the lantern in the Lantern Woman''s hand, which had already turned red.


    However, at that moment, they realized the lantern was no longer as it had been, but had turned into a shriveled head, with eyes wide open in death, mouth slightly ajar, and not a single tooth visible.


    "Ah!"


    This head, as if not yet dead, let out an "ah" after revealing its true form, an eerily similar scream to the Lantern Woman''s when she turned into her red lantern state.


    With her husband''s head in hand, and as the head began to move chaotically, the Lantern Woman''s mind was just like the state she was in when she turned into the red lantern.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di inhaled sharply, even Yan Junze himself felt startled when he saw the head appear.


    Normally, the Lantern Woman would have turned red by now and started a rampage, but her husband''s head had now shown its true form, and everyone could see it.


    Yan Junze immediately said again, "Look at what you have been carrying?"


    The Lantern Woman looked down, and with a jolt, the "lantern" in her hand dropped onto the ground with a clap, marking the first time in history that she let it go.


    The furious state disappeared instantly, and on the ground, the head twisted, showing extreme hatred, and naturally, the target of that hatred was the one who had caused his death¡ªthe Lantern Woman.


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di suddenly realized why the Lantern Woman often flew into a rage¡ªit was the influence of the strangeness emanating from her dead husband''s head, causing her to become completely uncontrollable in those moments.


    "Congratulations, you''ve found your husband," Yan Junze said, imitating the etiquette of the ancients, and made a fist salute toward the Lantern Woman.


    However, the Lantern Woman showed no reaction, but it provoked a garbled roar from the head of Jia Sheng on the ground. After the roar, Jia Sheng''s gaze fixed directly on him.


    Zhang Xiaomo immediately shielded Yan Junze behind her, and Zhang Di stepped forward as well.


    Jia Sheng''s head could control or disrupt the Lantern Woman and had a strong visual interference, akin to a blinding technique. Perhaps the strangeness was even more intense, so they were even more wary of the other''s wrath.


    But the Lantern Woman said nothing, silently picked up her husband''s head, and, just like she had been holding the lantern before, turned around silently and walked out of Good character Bookstore.


    [Task: The woman carrying the lantern, Terrified (Low), completed. Gained 1600 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    As the task completion notification suddenly popped up in his mind, Yan Junze''s gaze hadn''t yet moved away from the retreating figure of the Lantern Woman.


    In that moment, he suddenly had an ominous feeling, for a simple reason¡ªthe task originally had a range, from "Hair-raising (High)" to "Terrified (Low)", but now it showed that Terrified (Low) was completed.


    Was the task of being Terrified so simple?

 Chapter 245 Shadow

    In her gaze, the head that the Lantern Woman was holding still turned over, staring at herself with a fierce light in its eyes.


    Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, and Zhang Di, without saying a word, could only watch as the Lantern Woman walked farther away, heading toward the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest.


    In no time, the Lantern Woman, who hadn''t even reached the river ditch yet, simply vanished into thin air.


    "Her obsession has been eradicated," Yan Junze clapped his hands, yet he couldn''t shake off the lingering fear in his heart.


    He always had this peculiar feeling, perhaps the Lantern Woman seemed to have left, but in reality, just as the task had stated, she might have clung to him.


    But in what way could she have clung to him? She neither burrowed into his shadow like Fang Ning, nor did she split her spirit like the Back-faced Woman.


    If she wanted to do Spirit-Splitting, since the Back-faced Woman had already done so earlier, the Lantern Woman would have to engage in a conflict for this to happen. Such an action would undoubtedly cause a commotion. Otherwise, it would not be possible for the Lantern Woman to split her spirit with Yan Junze without him being aware.


    Perhaps, this sensation of being haunted was just Yan Junze''s illusion¡ªafter all, dealing with strangenesses often, he is much more sensitive than the average person in certain aspects.


    "I have a few questions," Zhang Di suddenly spoke up.


    Before speaking, he had already averted his gaze and sizing up Yan Junze up and down several times.


    At first, the idea that Yan Junze was a Semi-spirit, he could comprehend, but after Zhang Xiaomo explained to him Yan Junze''s usual Exorcism Method, and he witnessed it himself, he was filled with doubts.


    "Sure, go ahead," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Normally when I get rid of strangenesses, I direct report it as phone scams." Zhang Di said, "That conclusion is easy to understand, like erasing the strangeness from this world, never to exist here again, but what''s the deal with your Buddhist-style Exorcism Method? Isn''t this releasing the tiger back into the mountain, these supernatural beings are still in the world, are they not?"


    "Zhang Di has been partnering with me for a while, but he has only recently joined the squad," Zhang Xiaomo added.


    Yan Junze replied, "After the obsession is removed, it doesn''t necessarily mean they still remain in this world. Some may reincarnate, others may go elsewhere. However, one thing for sure is, they won''t harm people anymore because of obsession."


    "What about the Lantern Woman just now?" Zhang Di asked.


    "The Lantern Woman''s obsession has been removed; she won''t harm anyone anymore. However¡­" Yan Junze hesitated slightly, "however, it''s hard to say about the head of Jia Sheng that she was carrying, because what I eradicated was the Lantern Woman''s obsession, not Jia Sheng''s."


    Thinking this, Yan Junze remembered that he should have initiated "Perception of Strange Events" just now to detect whether that head was full of obsessive thoughts, and whether he needed to resolve it.


    But now that she had disappeared, and once "Perception of Strange Events" was activated, a barrage of other ordinary supernatural events would flood in, making it difficult to handle.


    Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire


    "You mean¡­ Jia Sheng might still harm people?" Zhang Di asked.


    "It''s just a possibility, but not necessarily," Yan Junze shook his head, "because the Lantern Woman took him away, and being beside the Lantern Woman without obsession, he might not be able to do evil."


    "I just want to ask one thing," Zhang Xiaomo raised her hand and said to Yan Junze, "you mentioned that under the cliff, the Lantern Woman couldn''t carry her husband''s body, so she cut off his head and took it. How did she cut it off?"


    Yan Junze didn''t answer, and Zhang Di, lost in thought, said, "This¡­"


    At this point, he looked up at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze nodded, "Yes, your guess is correct. It''s not hard to find a sharp stone flake under the cliff, full of jagged rocks, or to break a stone and use a sharp fragment from it."


    Zhang Di shook his head, "This woman, she is ruthless."


    Yan Junze leaned over to look outside the house and sat down on a wooden box with a sigh, "Wow, the moonlight is so bright. Let''s rest for a while. Then there''s something, Zhang Xiaomo, I might need your help with."


    "What is it?" Zhang Xiaomo looked at him, sitting on another wooden box.


    Yan Junze didn''t say anything but glanced at Zhang Di, who pretended as if he had seen nothing. Noticing their exchange, Zhang Xiaomo felt it was inappropriate to ask further.


    "I''m going to check outside the door," Zhang Di said tactfully and walked out of the study, standing under the eaves on one side of the street. He took out his Spirit Detector to see if there was any other supernatural activity.


    With Zhang Di gone, Yan Junze lowered his voice and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "I can''t be exposed to moonlight."


    "Why?" Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback.


    "My shadow forms under the moonlight, and within my shadow, there hides a strangeness, a strangeness that could at least cause a C-level incident," Yan Junze spoke slowly.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him in surprise, "You mean, if you stand under the moonlight, the strangeness in your shadow will come out and commit all sorts of mischief?"


    "Not exactly," Yan Junze shook his head, "She will come out, but her target is only me; she wants me to become her... husband."


    "Pfft!" Zhang Xiaomo immediately covered her mouth.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, had a bitter smile on his face.


    "You''re saying a strangeness has fallen in love with you?" The innate curiosity of a woman surfaced, and Zhang Xiaomo''s face lit up with a smile as she leaned in and said, "Come on, tell me, how did you hook up with her?"


    "Mind your language, please," Yan Junze said seriously, "It''s really nothing extraordinary, just some... sweet nothings, talking about... oaths, back to back, holding hands..."


    "Wow, I didn''t expect your tastes to be so bold!" Zhang Xiaomo said excitedly, staring at Yan Junze as if she was seeing him in a new light, "What does she look like? Is she pretty?"


    "How about we talk about something else?" Yan Junze attempted to change the subject.


    "Is there some kind of hardship?" Zhang Xiaomo rested her chin on her hand, blinking as she kept her gaze on Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze''s eyes darted around, "Eh, what was I just about to say? Oh right, could you help me out later? I''ll deliberately walk into the moonlight, and you''ll follow me with the magnetic knife. If that woman shows up, don''t hesitate, just kill her with one strike."


    "No problem," Zhang Xiaomo nodded her head.


    "Don''t reveal your whereabouts," Yan Junze instructed, "The woman in the shadow is very cunning. If she senses a threat, she might not show up."


    ...


    Under the moonlight.


    In the abode where the Exorcist Jiang Yaofei was hiding, he was peering out the window at this moment.


    The alley in front of the door was quiet, without a sound reaching them. Because the night was clear and the stars sparse, visibility was good, and one could see that outside, no one else was passing by either.


    Not a single strangeness insight. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just one hour before, after the Red Coffin had passed by, it had not been seen again, which made Jiang Yaofei consider going out to try his luck.


    At the same time.


    Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou, moving forward along the street at the crossroads.


    Initially, they were afraid they might encounter the Red Coffin they had seen before, but as they continued on their way, they saw nothing, and both men were trying their best to conceal themselves.


    After all, it was a crossroads, and from the direction of the Study Room, there were three paths to take. It wasn''t necessarily their bad luck that they had picked the same road where the Red Coffin disappeared.


    Plus, Jiang Yaofei must be hiding nearby, and with a bit of time, he could be easily found.


    Right then, as they passed by the door of an ordinary-looking house, planning to peep in through the window, Yuan Dingzhou pulled at Fang Zun''s sleeve and pointed at the door.


    Fang Zun looked and saw that the door was actually not closed.


    Not only was it not closed, but the house was also spacious and tidy. If one were to observe from inside, the view would be wide and visibility excellent.


    Yuan Dingzhou suggested, "How about we hide in this house for a while? I checked, the open door can be closed."


    Fang Zun looked around and felt that the location was indeed good, so he nodded his head, "Let''s hide here temporarily and wait. If Xiaomo and the others can come and meet up with us, that would be best. If they don''t come, we''ll try to find Jiang Yaofei."


    The two men agreed, and they crouched down as they made their way into the house, one after the other. Yuan Dingzhou carefully closed the door, the lock clicking softly, but fortunately not too loudly.


    After closing the door, Yuan Dingzhou let out a sigh of relief, his tense spirit relaxing for the moment. As he turned around, he saw Fang Zun motionless, staring into a dark corner of the house. He then looked down at the Spirit Detector in his hand.


    Fang Zun hurriedly peered into the darkness, and there, lying quietly in the darkness, was a modest-sized coffin.

 Chapter 246 Inside the Coffin

    Yuan Dingzhou looked for a moment before reaching behind him, touching Fang Zun, and quickly shaking him, "Tell me, that coffin is not the Red Coffin we saw just now."


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Fang Zun produced a harsh, hoarse voice from his throat, "It seems... to be that coffin?"


    His gaze, like Yuan Dingzhou''s, was firmly fixed on the moderately sized coffin. Although it was too dark to see clearly what color the coffin was, there was at least a fifty percent chance that it was the Red Coffin they had seen on the street before.


    "Should we go take a look?" Yuan Dingzhou pulled out a small flashlight, ready to turn it on and shine it on the semi-large coffin.


    Fang Zun grabbed his hand hastily, "Are you crazy? Let''s leave here, no matter whether this coffin is the one from before, we can''t stay here any longer."


    As he spoke, he turned around to twist the door handle, only to stiffen as he did so, adding more strength to his grip and turning it forcefully a couple of times.


    "What''s wrong?" asked Yuan Dingzhou in surprise.


    "It won''t open," Fang Zun said, breaking into a cold sweat.


    "That can''t be, I didn''t lock it from inside," Yuan Dingzhou replied, somewhat in disbelief, walking over and trying to turn the door handle with force.


    Sure enough, there was no response, whether pulling or pushing, the door did not budge.


    The two men exchanged looks, then instinctively turned around to look at the semi-large coffin quietly lying there in the dark.


    Fortunately, in the thick darkness, the semi-large coffin still lay in place, showing no signs of abnormality.


    "See if the windows can be opened," Fang Zun recovered and suggested.


    Together with Yuan Dingzhou, they went towards the large windows on either side.


    They had chosen this house earlier precisely because of its large and bright windows, which allowed them to easily monitor the surroundings from inside; hence, now that the door could not be opened, it was equally feasible to jump out through the windows.


    The windows could be opened, but they were secured with steel bars, a common anti-theft measure in rural homes where the bars are welded and cannot be removed directly.


    After staring blankly for a moment, Fang Zun went back to the door and tried again to open it. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    Still no luck.


    At that time, Yuan Dingzhou tried bending the bars with his bare hands to find that it was virtually impossible, then promptly took out his magnetic knife.


    Turning his head to check, seeing that the coffin was still untouched in the darkness, he felt a bit relieved.


    Fang Zun also produced his magnetic knife.


    The two men, one slicing at the steel bars with his magnetic knife, the other inserting his magnetic knife into the gap between the door and the lock, worked feverishly to pry.


    Both exerted all their strength, and after about ten seconds, Fang Zun felt an inexplicable chill surge up within him.


    He stopped prying and turned to see that the coffin in the dark seemed to have moved.


    At that moment, Yuan Dingzhou was still diligently cutting the steel bars with his magnetic knife, which emitted a faint blue light. The light wasn''t very strong, but during the cutting process, there was a slight sound similar to electromagnetic noise.


    In the quiet night, it stood out all the more.


    "Stop!" Fang Zun called out in a lowered voice, urgently telling Yuan Dingzhou to cease cutting.


    Yuan Dingzhou was taken aback, turned his head, and saw Fang Zun had turned on his small flashlight, casting its beam towards the coffin in the dark.


    With the illumination from the flashlight, the front of the coffin was finally clear¡ªit was indeed that medium-sized Red Coffin.


    The craftsmanship of the coffin was very intricate, with a streamlined beauty to it. If it weren''t for the age, resulting in much of the red paint peeling off and holes appearing on either side of the coffin, in modern times, it would be considered a highly collectible antique.


    But at that moment, the lid of the Red Coffin... had been shifted aside.


    It was unclear when it had moved; Yan Dingzhou and Fang Zun were too busy earlier, one prying at the door, the other cutting at the window bars, both making noises, so they did not hear any movement from behind.


    Now there was no time to think about that. Yuan Dingzhou also turned on his small flashlight, shining it at the Red Coffin, providing more light and further reducing the darkness''s interference with their sight.


    The opened Red Coffin lay eerily silent, with not a sound emanating from it.


    While Yuan Dingzhou had yet to react, Fang Zun couldn''t remain still any longer as the creepy feeling inside him intensified.


    After a moment''s hesitation, Fang Zun stepped towards the Red Coffin, while saying to Yuan Dingzhou, "We can''t let the lid stay open, or it''ll cause great trouble. Just now when I tried prying the door, it had already loosened somewhat. Keep at it and pry it open, as soon as the door is open get out immediately."


    Watching Fang Zun''s retreating back, Yuan Dingzhou blurted out, "Hurry back, it''s dangerous!"


    "Leaving the lid to open, both of us are in danger!" Fang Zun did not hesitate and quickly approached the Red Coffin.


    Anxious, Yuan Dingzhou had no other choice but to turn back, insert the magnetic knife into the gap in the door, and pry with all his might.


    With that, the door indeed loosened significantly.


    Yuan Dingzhou simply pulled out the magnetic knife, took a step back, and with a strike toward the gap in the door, he slashed down.


    The magnetic glow flickered, and with a clatter, the door panel was split, but it was still not opened.


    Just then, Yuan Dingzhou felt a series of strange noises coming from behind him.


    He immediately looked back, but there was nothing behind him. The strange noise had come out of nowhere, as if¡­ something was crawling on the ground.


    Yuan Dingzhou quickly shone his flashlight everywhere, clear about everything visible, and found nothing out of the ordinary.


    He then looked towards Fang Zun, who was about to close the lid of the coffin. At that moment, Fang Zun stood by the side of the coffin, reaching out to move the displaced coffin back into place to cover it again.


    For safety, Fang Zun didn''t stand directly in front of the open side of the coffin, but at the bottom, ready to react if anything went wrong.


    At least it should be easier to escape.


    Looking from Fang Zun''s direction, the inside of the coffin was pitch black and he could see nothing.


    Fang Zun intended to shine his flashlight inside the coffin, but then he thought better of it. Suppressing his curiosity, he forcefully quelled the impulse and grabbed the coffin lid to close it.


    "Did you hear something just now?" Yuan Dingzhou asked.


    Fang Zun stopped what he was doing and looked up at him, "What?"


    "I feel... like someone was crawling on the ground," said Yuan Dingzhou, his face showing fear.


    Fang Zun was taken aback, then glanced at the size of the coffin in front of him and shook his head, "I didn''t hear anything."


    He reached for the coffin lid again, ready to pull it shut.


    Just then, Fang Zun''s body shuddered, halting the attempt to close the coffin, as he brought his head closer to it.


    Just as Yuan Dingzhou was about to ask him what he saw, Fang Zun''s right hand moved, seemingly flicking off a Hidden Buckle. The Red Coffin emitted a soft "bang" and a burst of white light appeared.


    But at almost the same moment, in Fang Zun''s eyes, a withered arm reached out from inside the coffin, grabbed his collar, and violently pulled him into the coffin.


    The flashlight fell to the ground.


    However, from Yuan Dingzhou''s perspective, there were no arms reaching out. Instead, Fang Zun suddenly became motionless, as if drunk, and toppled headfirst into the coffin without even a chance to make a sound.


    In the nick of time, Fang Zun twisted his right hand, the magnetic knife now in his grasp. With force, he wedged the magnetic knife against the edges of the coffin, preventing himself from being entirely dragged in.


    But to Yuan Dingzhou, watching from outside, all he could see was one hand desperately propping against the coffin. The next second, the magnetic knife was snapped in two, accompanied by the breaking sound of bones. Fang Zun''s hand that was outside the coffin, along with the broken knife, was quickly pulled inside, disappearing without a trace.


    The little flashlight that had fallen just now was still spinning on the ground, but its owner would never see it again.


    All this might sound like a chain of sudden disasters, but it happened in a very brief moment. By the time Yuan Dingzhou, standing at the doorway, attempted a rescue, Fang Zun had already vanished right in front of his eyes.


    At almost the same instant, the crawling sound echoed again in Yuan Dingzhou''s ears.


    At this moment, Yuan Dingzhou was certain there was something crawling on the ground.


    Perhaps, this thing had crawled out the moment the coffin lid was opened.


    He wanted to go and save Fang Zun, but the sound was obviously advancing quickly towards him in the darkness, which, after just witnessing Fang Zun''s bizarre disappearance, caused Yuan Dingzhou''s heart to go numb.


    He turned and took another swipe at the stubborn door that wouldn''t budge.


    Just then, something tightened around his foot. Yuan Dingzhou quickly looked down and, with the help of the moonlight coming from outside, saw a man with only the upper half of his body, ragged clothes clinging on, hugging his right foot on the ground.


    This man seemed to have just experienced a horrific explosion, his lower half likely blasted away, with copious amounts of blood and viscera spilling out.


    This sight sent Yuan Dingzhou''s mind reeling inexplicably, a memory he thought long forgotten, buried deep in his heart from years ago, suddenly flooding his brain.


    A fear that was indescribable and peaked at the very core of his being swept over him like an invisible demon, crushing the three-star Exorcist named Yuan Dingzhou in an instant.


    A primal terror from the depths of his heart made Yuan Dingzhou scream heartrendingly, at which point the half-bodied man had already climbed on top of him.


    The man looked face to face at Yuan Dingzhou, whose face was now exceedingly distorted from fear.


    ...


    "Kill her!" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze shouted loudly.


    Standing under the moonlight, with his shadow stretched long behind him, a dark figure slowly crawled out. As the figure revealed about half of its body, Yan Junze''s reminder exploded like a bombshell.


    Zhang Xiaomo, whose presence had been concealed until now, pounced from her hiding place not far under the eaves. She moved swiftly, the magnetic knife utilizing the force of her leap to strike at the shadow that had crawled halfway out and was about to pounce on Yan Junze''s actual body.


    Clang! The magnetic knife struck the ground, sparking a string of fireflies. Fang Ning''s shadow merely trembled slightly and then froze, quickly retracting back into Yan Junze''s shadow and disappearing from view.


    "I think you should have just stabbed the ground directly with the magnetic knife. Maybe you could have pinned Fang Ning''s shadow down, then I could have run away with elegance and ease, possibly leaving Fang Ning''s shadow behind and breaking free from my own. Alas, a missed opportunity," Yan Junze shook his head and sighed.


    "Do you look elegant and easy when you run?" Zhang Xiaomo put away the magnetic knife. "I''ve seen you chased around by Resentful Granny, flailing about in all sorts of styles¡ªfrom duck-footed to pigeon-toed, yellow dog peeing to old donkey rolling. Elegant and easy?"


    "Speak nicely, how come there are so many comparisons with dogs and donkeys? Zhang Di, don''t listen to her, you can''t believe a word women say," Yan Junze looked towards Zhang Di.


    The latter was counting his fingers, head bowed.

 Chapter 247 Has it already crawled out?

    Yuan Dingzhou''s heart-wrenching cry, at the very moment it began to sound, was fiercely suppressed by an invisible force.


    Jiang Yaofei, who had been looking outside the house, was momentarily stunned and quickly went to another window to look out.


    There was a wall behind, blocking the view, and nothing could be seen.


    However, Jiang Yaofei was sure that the scream had come from somewhere not far beyond that wall.


    "It sounded like a living person''s cry."


    At this time, the only living people who could appear in Mo Family Village were his colleagues.


    Therefore, it was very likely that one of his colleagues was in danger.


    Jiang Yaofei was uneasy and turned around, put on a black garment, and picked up a Strangeness Interferer.


    This device was the same kind that Zhang Xiaomo had used when Yan Junze was evading the Resentful Granny''s pursuit. It had a strong disrupting effect on strangenesses, but its duration was short, and it could have side effects on fertility.


    After preparing, Jiang Yaofei said to another three-star exorcist in the room, "Take good care of the injured people. Do not go out until I return. If there is food outside, I will bring some back."


    "And if... you don''t come back?" The three-star exorcist hesitated briefly before speaking up.


    Jiang Yaofei looked back at him, "It seems like we haven''t seen the Lantern Woman near the Plum Blossom Forest, maybe you can try that. Otherwise, it''s just waiting for death."


    A tinge of sadness appeared on the three-star exorcist''s face, but he quickly composed himself and nodded, "I''ll wait for you to return."


    After watching Jiang Yaofei leave, he quickly closed the door and went back to stay with the other injured people in the inner room, shutting the inner room''s door again.


    Jiang Yaofei tightened the collar of the black garment he was wearing. The garment seemed to be made in a special way, with a click near the neck, and two magnetic buckles came together, gently constricting around Jiang Yaofei''s neck.


    From the back, it looked as if he was wearing a half-finished bat shirt.


    Following the direction of the scream, Jiang Yaofei, holding a Spirit Detector in one hand and the Strangeness Interferer in the other, quickly circled to the back and headed towards the row of houses.


    Soon he saw the house with columns at the entrance and with its door still open, but currently, there was nothing in front of the door of this house.


    Although Jiang Yaofei was moving quickly, he was constantly aware of his surroundings, first standing in the corner opposite the columned room to ensure there were no abnormalities, then he proceeded to approach it.


    The Spirit Detector indicated there were two ordinary strangenesses on the right side, both normal Wandering Spirits, posing no significant threat.


    If they tried to approach Jiang Yaofei, he believed it wouldn''t take him five seconds to deal with these two spirits.


    Of course, Jiang Yaofei had no time to deal with these Wandering Spirits right now.


    If any of his colleagues were still alive and walking outside, they must be nearly as capable as himself. They would not have screamed upon encountering such spirits, so the appearance of these Wandering Spirits was probably unrelated.


    Jiang Yaofei quickly came to the pillar in front of this room''s entrance. The door appeared to have been open all along, never closed.


    Jiang Yaofei peeked inside; the moonlight reached the outdoors but the room was so spacious that the interior layout was not very clear.


    He hesitated briefly, looked around himself again for any abnormalities, took a deep breath, and stepped into the house.


    After entering the house, he did not foolishly close the door behind him. Instead, he pushed it open even more.


    Jiang Yaofei was not certain that the previous cry had come from this place; he quickly turned on his flashlight and shone it inside the room.


    Seconds later, Jiang Yaofei stared in disbelief at a coffin that had appeared before him. It seemed familiar, somewhat like the coffin that could move on its own.


    But the light was poor, and he was unsure for a moment.


    The coffin was very dark in color, seemingly red.


    Had it not been for this coffin crawling outside the courtyard where Jiang Yaofei was hiding, he and his colleagues might have already escaped this area.


    Now that the Red Coffin was here, did it mean that their hiding spot was actually safe? The other colleagues with the injured could easily escape this area.


    Jiang Yaofei immediately turned to leave; he needed to inform the others to take this perfect opportunity to get out.


    However, as soon as he turned, the door that he had purposely left ajar slammed shut with a bang. The room instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint light from the flashlight struggling desperately against the encroaching shadows, gasping for air.


    Jiang Yaofei immediately tightened his collar, quickly turned off the flashlight, and pressed his back against the nearest wall.


    The sudden closure of the door was definitely not accidental, and the half-size red coffin in the room was, indeed, the one he often saw moving on its own.


    It seemed that for the time being, leaving this room was out of the question.


    The cry that had sounded a moment ago must have come from here, but whoever had screamed was probably already out of luck.


    Jiang Yaofei somewhat regretted coming here. If he had known that the Red Coffin was in this house, rather than wandering near his hiding place as before, he would not have come. Instead, he would have led the others away at the very opportunity.


    His heart was racing, but he remained much calmer than Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou.


    The reason was the "bat shirt" he was wearing, known as "Magnetic Shielding Clothes." Once activated, they could create a dynamic ripple effect around the wearer, rendering them invisible and undetectable to the supernatural.


    However, there was a weakness to the Magnetic Shielding Clothes: if the magnetic field of the opposing strangeness was too strong, the dynamic ripple effect could break at any moment.


    Moreover, high-level Sculpting Spirits and above had inherently strong magnetic fields. In close contact, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes would gradually become magnetized by the higher-level Sculpting Spirit, eventually revealing the wearer under the spirit''s gaze and losing their intended effect.


    Jiang Yaofei pressed himself against the wall near the door, motionless. In addition to the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, he also held a "Strangeness Interferer" in his hand, which could prevent a strangeness from approaching for a short time, even if it discovered him.


    In the darkness, with the moonlight seeping into the room, he could barely make out the location of the doorknob. Reaching out his hand, he moved closer to the door.


    Slowly groping for the doorknob, Jiang Yaofei then grasped it and gently pressed downward.


    The door did not respond.


    However, Jiang Yaofei noticed that the doorknob seemed to be broken, with a crack on its surface, as if something had slashed it.


    But in reality, the door, despite looking damaged, was firmly shut, not budging an inch.


    Just then, a rustling sound emerged from the darkness within the room, suggesting the movement of someone dragging heavy feet or perhaps crawling on the ground.


    "Could it be that coffin crawling over?" Jiang Yaofei speculated, straining his eyes to see, but he could see nothing.


    He stopped trying to open the door, withdrew his hand, and gripped the Strangeness Interferer with both hands, trying his best to keep his breathing steady.


    The eerie sound was getting closer.


    Luckily for Jiang Yaofei, his position was lit by moonlight, and he could roughly see a distance of two to three meters. For the moment, he felt confident that the strangeness would not discover him, thanks to his Magnetic Shielding Clothes. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire


    Soon, a shadow wriggled out from the darkness.


    Jiang Yaofei''s eyes widened as he stared unblinkingly at the strangeness slowly emerging from the shadows.


    As the creature fully appeared under the faint moonlight, Jiang Yaofei''s body trembled slightly, his lips parted, and he nearly let out an involuntary cry.


    Before him, a woman dressed in a white cloth gown, with disheveled hair, was kneeling and leaning forward on her hands, slowly crawling along the ground.


    As the woman crawled, her shoulders twisted and her posture was bizarre. Her head also swayed from side to side, but her long hair covered her entire face. Especially conspicuous was her white gown under the dim moonlight. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon seeing the disheveled-haired woman, Jiang Yaofei couldn''t help but look astounded. It was unusual for him, a three-star Exorcist, who had encountered almost every form of supernatural being, to react so strongly after seeing a strangeness.


    The reason for Jiang Yaofei''s terror was simple: he recognized the woman.


    More precisely, he had been deeply familiar with the woman''s appearance since his childhood.


    "This is... Sadako!!!"


    A horrific thought leapt into Jiang Yaofei''s mind the instant he saw the woman. The childhood fear that bloomed in that moment completely overwhelmed his spirit.


    From the woman''s crawling movements and appearance, Jiang Yaofei was certain: she was undoubtedly Sadako.


    Sadako''s hair was still damp, and although it wasn''t dripping excessively, she clearly had just crawled out from the bottom of a well, maintaining that visage the entire time.


    This scene was indelibly etched in Jiang Yaofei''s memory.


    The terrifying scenes from "Midnight Ring" he had watched as a child were surging back, flashing before his eyes one after another.


    The Sadako before him finally stopped crawling as she neared Jiang Yaofei and slowly stood up, her arms hanging down, her long hair draping down to partially obscure her face, leaving only part of her purple lips and one eye visible.


    That one eye was completely black, and as Sadako looked up, a vast expanse of white sclera appeared, filling her entire eye socket and making the sight even more bizarre.


    Jiang Yaofei found himself trembling uncontrollably.


    The trembling was involuntary, a deep-rooted terror from watching "Midnight Ring" as a child, which now completely consumed him.


    Thanks to the effect of the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, Sadako did not see him. After standing up, she twisted her body and moved forward step by step.


    Approaching Jiang Yaofei, she came to a stop.


    She careened her head from side to side as if unconsciously, her movements mechanical and stiff, as she slowly leaned in closer.


    Meanwhile, the hair clinging to Sadako''s face slid away, revealing an even more frightening portion of her visage.


    She then opened her mouth, revealing pitch-black teeth, and from the depths of her black maw, a clicking and disturbing sound emanated.


    To Jiang Yaofei, this spectacle nearly drove him insane, as goosebumps incessantly rose and receded on his skin, an endless cycle of fear.


    He felt his entire body go cold as though he had returned to the moment when he first saw Sadako crawl out of the television as a child. His mind went numb, and he remained rooted to the spot, vulnerable to the mercy of others.


    Fortunately, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes were functioning properly, and Sadako, unable to see him, simply sniffed around before twisting her uncanny limbs and slowly making her way to one side.

 Chapter 248

    At 18, Jiang Yaofei''s mother passed away from a serious illness.


    At that time, Jiang Yaofei couldn''t articulate how sad he felt, not only because he had siblings at home, but also because his mother had a violent temper and solely believed in corporal punishment. Jiang Yaofei was practically beaten from childhood to adolescence.


    So, if he had to name the person he feared the most in life, it was undoubtedly his own mother.


    He still remembered, probably around the age of eleven or twelve, when his mother was at her strictest with him.


    Due to his rebellious phase in early adolescence, he was almost beaten every day, and beaten severely. Sometimes he would limp when walking, or he couldn''t even stand, only sit.


    It was also during that period that Jiang Yaofei''s adolescence was brutally suppressed by his mother. He didn''t know how he survived that period, but he certainly didn''t want to remember it. Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire


    The moment he saw the old woman crouching in the corner, Jiang Yaofei''s body instinctively shuddered. He was not scared of any strangeness but of the deep-seated fear of his own mother that came from the bottom of his heart.


    The old woman in the corner slowly stood up, turning her ashen face towards Jiang Yaofei, devoid of expression.


    Jiang Yaofei began to tremble like a sieve, as if every part of his body was aching, reminiscent of the pain after being beaten brutally.


    The old woman faced him and slowly extended her left hand, gently beckoning him.


    Jiang Yaofei shuddered violently and quickly realized that this person couldn''t possibly be his mother, nor her soul. Even if his mother had turned into a strange entity, she wouldn''t appear here.


    It was the red coffin that was the problem!


    After coming to his senses, his gaze shifted to the open coffin and then back to his "mother," who had already started walking towards him.


    The "Magnetic Shielding Clothes" had malfunctioned!


    Upon seeing the "mother" approaching him, Jiang Yaofei immediately activated the "Strangeness Interferer" he held in his hand. The old woman''s movements halted for a moment, as if she lost her target, but her gaze still fixed on him.


    Jiang Yaofei didn''t dare to delay any longer. He turned around, opened the door, and didn''t care if the Pallbearers were outside; to him, it seemed even more dangerous inside the house at the moment.


    After he flung the door open, he dashed out with his head down. The old woman behind him let out a harsh, raspy sound from her throat, as if she quickened her pace to pursue him. Just as Jiang Yaofei''s back passed the doorway, the old woman''s fingers stretched out to grab him but caught nothing but air.


    Then the hand retracted; she didn''t follow him outside.


    Jiang Yaofei didn''t have time to look at what the Pallbearers inside the house were doing. He just focused on the door lit by the moonlight and charged towards it, regardless of anything else.


    He had the Strangeness Interferer in hand and was confident that in just a short while, if he sped up, no strangeness could catch him.


    The moment he burst through the front door of the house, Jiang Yaofei looked back and saw that the four Pallbearers were still standing in a circle, facing each other, in the middle of the outside room, doing nothing.


    "What on earth is happening? What are they doing?" Jiang Yaofei didn''t stop; he quickly ran across the street to the shelter of a house eave. Once he was certain he had left the dangerous area, he crouched cautiously around the corner to watch.


    The four Pallbearers did not follow him out, nor did they even glance in his direction.


    Jiang Yaofei tried to keep his eyes wide open. He could vaguely make out the tall figures of the Pallbearers standing in the house across from him.


    In less than a minute, the four Pallbearers suddenly started to move, but they didn''t leave. Instead, they turned around and entered the inside room where the red coffin was placed, disappearing from sight. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jiang Yaofei let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the scream he had heard earlier¡ªif it really belonged to a colleague¡ªmeant that his colleague might already be dead.


    He couldn''t stay here any longer. While the Pallbearers were all gathered in that room, he decided to go back immediately, call the others, and rush to the house closest to Plum Blossom Forest; they would look for an opportunity to break through the Lantern Woman''s barrier and then escape to the entrance of the village.

 Chapter 248 Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)

    Jiang Yaofei kept his back against the wall, watching the white-clad figure of Sadako slowly move to one side, her shoulders unevenly rising and falling, wandering farther and farther away until she disappeared into the darkness.


    He felt fortunate, for with the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, she hadn''t noticed him at all.


    It was only when Sadako''s white silhouette had completely merged with the darkness that he slowly exhaled, adjusted his breathing, and once again glanced at the doorknob beside him.


    The door seemed to be broken and couldn''t be opened by normal means.


    Moreover, there surely had been a colleague here just a moment ago, but now there was no one to be seen. The clear crack on the door indicated it had been forcibly damaged, suggesting that he might be experiencing the same fate as his colleague had before.


    "How can I get out?"


    Jiang Yaofei''s mind raced, concluding that violence likely wouldn''t be successful, or the chances of it would be slim, so he needed to come up with another method.


    With a thought, he looked down at his Magnetic Energy Clothing, reached up to the magnetic clasp at the neck, and unfastened it with a click. The bat-like garment no longer clung to his body, instead draping softly over his shoulders without falling off.


    He then cautiously moved into the darkness, clutching the Strangeness Interferer.


    His rationale was simple: the oppressive might of the Red Coffin was intense; a lower-level strangeness wouldn''t dare roam about inside a room nearby.


    Therefore, Sadako''s appearance suggested that this strangeness must have originated from the Red Coffin.


    By that logic, not only was the lid of the Red Coffin open at this moment, but it had also released peculiar entities like Sadako.


    Jiang Yaofei''s thoughts coincided with those of Fang Zun a short time ago; closing the coffin lid would at least temporarily halt the appearance of more strangenesses.


    Plus, with the Magnetic Energy Clothing and the Strangeness Interferer on hand, his chances of leaving the place were significant.


    After activating the Strangeness Interferer and walking into the darkness, Jiang Yaofei became even more cautious. He could vaguely make out the exact location of the Red Coffin and thus didn''t switch on his flashlight.


    Along the way, he kept an eye out for any movements in the dark, particularly listening for sounds similar to Sadako''s crawling.


    But aside from his own soft footsteps, everything was eerily quiet.


    Upon reaching the Red Coffin, Jiang Yaofei took a careful look and saw that the lid was indeed open. He steadied himself and, with his right hand not holding the Strangeness Interferer, reached out to close it.


    Suddenly, a dark figure stood up on the side of the coffin that was open.


    This shadow had been crouching on the exact spot below where the lid opened. Its small stature and lack of movement had kept it hidden from Jiang Yaofei''s perception until it stood.


    The figure seemed to wear dark clothing, short in height, making it immediately apparent that it wasn''t Sadako.


    As soon as the shadow stood, Jiang Yaofei froze, holding onto the coffin lid, daring not to make any sudden moves.


    The figure straightened up and remained silent, standing still and facing the direction of Jiang Yaofei, as if gazing directly at him.


    Jiang Yaofei was well aware that this strangeness didn''t attack not because it didn''t want to but because he held the Strangeness Interferer, whose influence prevented the strangeness from forming an attack magnetic field against him.


    But this standoff wasn''t a solution, and he had to make a move. Besides, Sadako, who had just appeared, might be standing right behind him.


    With that thought, Jiang Yaofei felt a hair-raising sensation rise within him. He decided to switch on the flashlight and immediately shine it behind him.


    He confirmed that his childhood fear¡ªSadako¡ªwas not there before turning back around with the flashlight to illuminate the dark figure standing beside the coffin.


    In the process, Jiang Yaofei knew that even if the shadow was caught in the light, it couldn''t attack him because of the Strangeness Interferer. At this moment, he felt a certain audacious security.


    Regardless, even with the strangeness in front of him, he had to close the coffin lid; otherwise, there was no telling what other things might crawl out of this ominous casket.


    But the moment the flashlight''s beam hit the person in front of him, Jiang Yaofei jolted with such fright that he almost dropped the flashlight, exclaiming involuntarily, "Mom?!"


    The person standing on the other side of the coffin was a short, plump old woman dressed in gray, her countenance somber as she stood there, staring unwaveringly at Jiang Yaofei from the darkness.


    Indeed, this person looked exactly like Jiang Yaofei''s mother.


    At the age of 18, Jiang Yaofei''s mother had passed away due to a severe illness.


    Back then, Jiang Yaofei couldn''t articulate how much sadness he felt, not because he was an only child, but because his temperamental mother believed strictly in physical discipline. He had been beaten from a young age all the way through his upbringing.


    So, if asked who Jiang Yaofei feared the most in life, his mother was the obvious answer. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He remembered, it was at around the age of twelve, a time when his mother treated him the most harshly.


    Due to his adolescent rebellion, he was almost beaten daily, violently so, to the point that sometimes he limped when walking, or could only sit as standing was too much to bear.


    It was also during those times, when his adolescence was forcibly suppressed, that he didn''t know how he ever survived. To this day, he had no desire to remember.


    Now, at the sudden sight of the old woman standing before him, Jiang Yaofei instinctively trembled. It wasn''t fear of the strangeness that shook him but a profound dread arising from the depths of his heart for his own mother. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 248 Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_2

    The old woman''s face was ashen, her expression blank, as she stared indifferently at the trembling Jiang Yaofei.


    At this moment, it seemed as if every part of Jiang Yaofei''s body was in pain, like the ache after being repeatedly beaten.


    The old woman, facing him, slowly extended her left hand.


    Jiang Yaofei shuddered violently and instantly realized, this person could not possibly be his mother, nor could she be his mother''s spirit. Even if his mother had turned into a strangeness, she would not appear here.


    It must be a problem with the red coffin!


    After coming to this realization, he stopped looking at the old woman in front of him and used all his strength to push the lid of the coffin back into place, resealing the Red Coffin.


    The moment the lid was back on, Jiang Yaofei immediately retreated toward the doorway.


    Since the coffin lid was now in place, the door that had remained firmly closed might now cease to function properly, so he wanted to go back and try it.


    At this point, the beam from Jiang Yaofei''s torch was still directed at his mother, and as he backed away, the old woman immediately followed him.


    Even with the Strangeness Interferer in hand, which prevented the old woman from attacking him, she could still keep following him, just like the Resentful Granny had done to Yan Junze before.


    The interferer also had a limited duration of effect, and if the opponent''s magnetic field was too strong, the interference period would correspondingly shorten, forcing Jiang Yaofei to act quickly. He retreated to the door and reached behind to twist the doorknob.


    He didn''t dare to linger for another reason¡ªSadako could also be lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack him.


    If the Strangeness Interferer failed, handling one Sadako might still be manageable, but if it were his own mother added to the equation, he couldn''t assure himself that he''d dare to fight back.


    After all, the shadows in his heart from childhood were far too terrifying.


    Moreover, even his conviction to escape might be lost.


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    Click!


    The door opened.


    A highly anxious Jiang Yaofei, delighted, immediately pulled the door with his backhand.


    Just then, the Strangeness Interferer in his hand trembled slightly, indicating that its energy was nearly exhausted.


    Jiang Yaofei quickly sidestepped, allowing the door to open fully, and stepped out with his right foot. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same moment, he felt a tension in the arm holding the interferer. Jiang Yaofei quickly looked down to see the old woman, not knowing when, had pounced on him and bitten into his left arm.


    "Not good!"


    Jiang Yaofei shook his arm violently, his right hand reaching for the magnetic clasp of the Magnetic Energy Clothing around his neck, and with practiced ease, he fastened it. The Magnetic Shielding Clothes were now in effect.


    The old woman had already released her bite, staring with a pair of dead, ashen eyes, looking around as if searching for something.


    At this moment, she had lost sight of Jiang Yaofei.


    Jiang Yaofei stood just outside the door, his head turned to the side, watching the old woman whose head swiveled left and right.


    The person before him was an exact replica of his mother, which at that moment gave Jiang Yaofei an eerie illusion of being trapped in a memory.


    He steadied himself, spoke not a word, and stepped out with his second foot, moving his body outside the door.


    Glancing back, "Mother" still stood there, still unable to find her target.


    Looking down at his arm that had been bitten, he was grateful that it had been covered by the layer of Magnetic Shielding Clothes. His arm was unharmed by the bite, which had landed fully on the Magnetic Energy Clothing, merely causing a soreness from the pressure.


    With one last deep look at "Mother," a strange feeling arose in Jiang Yaofei''s heart. He stretched out a hand to close the door and quickly walked away, heading across the street.


    This was not a place to linger, but it was now the best opportunity to escape. Taking advantage of the Red Coffin still being inside the house, he would immediately go back, call others, and rush to the house nearest to Plum Blossom Forest. They would wait for the chance to break through the Lantern Woman''s barrier and then flee to the entrance of the village.


    As he resolved to do so, suddenly, he saw a flicker before his eyes and noticed three figures appearing on the other side of the street, walking in his direction along the center of the road.


    By the time Jiang Yaofei reached the other side, ready to take the shortest route through an alley to regroup, the sight of the approaching figures brightened his eyes, and joy sprang to his brows.


    His gaze sharpened, and he quickly recognized the approaching people he knew.


    Waving his hand and calling out softly, "Xiaomo, Zhang Di, over here!"


    Standing beside Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di was naturally Yan Junze, who was also walking in the middle of the street, allowing the moonlight overhead to stretch his shadow long behind him, an expression of helplessness and melancholy on his face.


    After the first incident when Fang Ning''s shadow escaped, just now, Yan Junze had attempted the same technique with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Who would have guessed that after being tricked once, Fang Ning refused to show up this time?


    No matter if Zhang Xiaomo was lying in ambush or not, Fang Ning stubbornly chose not to appear again.


    That was fine too since it allowed Yan Junze to finally stand confidently under the moonlight, well, albeit temporarily.


    Actually, Yan Junze was quite upset. Now that there were exorcists by his side, it would be the best way to defeat Fang Ning if he could use their help as he had done last time with the Resentful Granny.


    Though, the outcomes of the stories were always unexpectedly different.


    He had asked Zhang Xiaomo whether her abilities had strengthened during this time, for otherwise, how could it be that even the strangeness from the "hair-raising (low)" mission was too scared to show up.


    Yan Junze recalled how last time Zhang Xiaomo had been deceived by the Resentful Granny, who was just a Semi-Sculpting Spirit.


    Zhang Xiaomo shyly nodded. The magnetic force within her had indeed increased significantly over this period. She had been intending to apply for a four-star Exorcist test after getting out.

 Chapter 248 Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_3

    But now it seemed that her strength was not as great as she had imagined, because it was only after the Spirit Bridge erupted that she realized what truly formidable strangenesses were.


    Just at that moment, an extremely faint cry reached her ears. She hesitated for a moment and looked to her right front. She saw a head poking out from a corner and waving in their direction.


    "It seems to be Jiang Yaofei," Zhang Di said.


    "Let''s go, over there!"


    Zhang Xiaomo could tell that Jiang Yaofei seemed very cautious. If he was being so cautious, it meant that the area nearby was not safe. Immediately, the three of them crouched down, no longer walking down the street, but instead quickly approached Jiang Yaofei''s position by sticking close to the eaves of the houses by the street.


    The group united.


    The four squeezed into the alley. Jiang Yaofei glanced at Yan Junze and saw that he didn''t recognize the other party, but he didn''t ask further and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "Is it just you three left?"


    "We got separated from Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou a while ago and haven''t found them, so we came over to check," Zhang Xiaomo replied.


    Jiang Yaofei was taken aback, "I just heard someone screaming nearby, obviously in danger, so I came to check it out."


    "Where?" Zhang Di asked.


    Jiang Yaofei pointed across the street with a lingering fear, "That house with the pillars. I just barely escaped from inside using a jammer and Magnetic Energy Clothing. The strongest strangeness in this area¡ªthe Red Coffin¡ªis in that house, very dangerous. It''s likely that Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou have met with misfortune."


    He paused before adding, "Let''s leave here first."


    "Wait." Yan Junze suddenly spoke up, "Are you saying that red coffin is in the house across the street?"


    "Yeah." Jiang Yaofei nodded, looking at Yan Junze with surprise, wondering why he would ask such a thing.


    Yan Junze rubbed his hands together and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "You guys go ahead and meet up. I''m going to see if I can find Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou."


    "Are you crazy?!" Zhang Di couldn''t help exclaiming.


    Jiang Yaofei looked at Yan Junze somewhat at a loss. He didn''t understand why, after knowing how powerful the strangeness was, someone would still choose to rush in. He couldn''t help but ponder to himself that this kind of Exorcist, Yan Junze, was truly courting death with his strength.


    Zhang Xiaomo, however, was taken aback, then nodded her head, "Be careful."


    Yan Junze glanced at her, gave a slight smile, then turned and headed towards the house with the pillars opposite them.


    "Why didn''t you stop him?" Zhang Di said, "We encountered that Red Coffin earlier on the street. It''s very odd, undetectable even by the Spirit Detector. I''m guessing its ghoul level is no lower than that of the Lantern Woman. It''s very dangerous for him to go over like this!"


    "Yeah, who is this guy? Although it''s the first time we''ve met, this has left a deep impression on me!" Jiang Yaofei also said.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave a bitter smile, looked at Zhang Di, "Do you only now understand Yan Junze? To him, there''s only a difference between strangenesses and ordinary people, no distinction of ghoul levels. With his laissez-faire Exorcism Method, tell me, does the level of the opponent matter? Take that Lantern Woman from just now, what were our chances if you and I teamed up?


    And yet this guy, with nothing but his words, managed to pinpoint the opponent''s ''Achilles'' heel.''


    Zhang Di also began to smile wryly, maintaining his silence and speaking no more.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, "The first time I interacted with him, I was assigned the task of protecting him. The strangeness that wanted to kill him was Semi-Sculpting Spirit level, which even tricked me at the time. Guess what happened next?


    When that Semi-Sculpting Spirit returned, this guy actually lured another Sculpting Spirit level strangeness into a fight, making the two strangenesses engage in an inner battle, while he reaped the benefits."


    Jiang Yaofei''s face showed astonishment, and when he looked back in the direction of Yan Junze, he saw that the latter had already pushed open the door and entered the house with the Red Coffin.


    "So... we leave now?" Jiang Yaofei did not want to stay here a moment longer.


    Moreover, now was the perfect opportunity to escape, and they could not delay.


    "You guys go ahead; I''ll keep watch here for a while," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said. She then hugged the magnetic knife, leaned against the wall in the alley, and quietly looked towards the house opposite.


    Zhang Di and Jiang Yaofei both hesitated, looking at Zhang Xiaomo.


    "Are you sure you won''t leave?" Zhang Di asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t speak, but simply nodded her head, her gaze fixed on the house across the street.


    After a moment''s hesitation, Jiang Yaofei pulled off the Magnetic Shielding Clothes he was wearing and handed them to Zhang Xiaomo, "This thing is low on energy, but it can still last a while. Take it and use it if necessary."


    Zhang Xiaomo accepted the Magnetic Energy Clothing, thanked him, and added, "The Lantern Woman has already had her Obsession erased by Yan Junze. After you regroup, go through the Plum Blossom Forest to the village''s east side. We can meet up there if possible."


    Jiang Yaofei''s eyes lit up, "What? The Lantern Woman has been eliminated? Good, good, good!"


    He grabbed Zhang Di, "Let''s go, we''ll lead the others out first."


    Zhang Di just stared at Zhang Xiaomo, his look complex and somewhat sad, and without saying anything else, turned and quickly left the alley with Jiang Yaofei.


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    At that moment, inside the house with the pillars.


    After Yan Junze pushed open the door and entered, just like Jiang Yaofei had done earlier, he deliberately pushed the door wide open and then took off his black backpack, placing it directly on the door to prevent it from closing on its own.


    The area by the door was bathed in ample moonlight, which at that moment allowed Yan Junze to appreciate the benefit of being able to bask in the moonlight and use it to expand his field of vision.


    He stood at the entrance, first peeping inside, then pulled out a flashlight and started shining it around the room.


    Besides the medium-sized red coffin that was placed deeper inside the house, there was nothing else.

 Chapter 248 Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_4

    There were no strange shadows.


    He carefully shone the flashlight on the Red Coffin and found that the lid had not been opened, everything seemed very quiet.


    When he had entered, Jiang Yaofei had not told anyone that he had closed the coffin lid, and Yan Junze had not associated the opening of the lid with the emergence of strangenesses.


    In a short moment, Yan Junze had grasped all the movements inside the room. Apart from the coffins at rest, there were no other danger factors, so he focused his attention on the coffins.


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    Holding the flashlight, he approached the Red Coffin and at that time, he noticed a black hole on the side facing him.


    The hole had already pierced through to the inside of the coffin, dark and bottomless, not even the light from the flashlight could penetrate it.


    Yan Junze carefully walked over, crouched down, and discovered that there was an identical black hole on the other side of the coffin, which looked very symmetrical to the one facing the entrance.


    "Two holes, could it be that it stretches out legs, and the coffin can walk on its own?" Yan Junze wondered, and then another possibility came to him, "Or, is it for extending hands out, to walk supported on the ground?"


    "What a bizarre coffin!"


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, stood up, and was about to walk around this half-large coffin to continue his observation.


    Just then, he noticed something flash past inside the dark holes, that is, inside the coffin, followed by the sound of whimpering cries.


    "Is there someone inside? No, is it a strangeness?"


    Yan Junze crouched down again, the flashlight''s beam aimed at the hole, but it was still pitch dark and nothing could be seen, although one could clearly feel that there was someone crying inside.


    Listening to the sound, it seemed to be a young girl.


    Trying to lower his head as much as possible, Yan Junze asked, "Who''s inside?"


    After saying these words, a wave of familiar memories suddenly flooded his mind.


    These were memories from Yan Junze''s past life. When he was very young, he had once mischievously jumped on a well cover, which inadvertently gave way and he fell in, not to be discovered and rescued until two hours later.


    Luckily, it was a cable well, with no sewage or foul air, so young Yan Junze didn''t suffocate, but during those two undetected hours, it became Yan Junze''s nightmare every night thereafter.


    The suffocating darkness, the feelings of loneliness, helplessness, and fear, for some time after that, Yan Junze was unable to forget; he felt an inexplicable fear.


    And now, the whimpering cries coming from inside the coffin were strikingly similar to his own reactions after having fallen into the well and cried out helplessly.


    Yan Junze was well aware that after he had cried until he was tired, the surroundings had been pitch dark, as if something had been staring at him all along, and the whimpering was completely involuntary.


    Even now, he couldn''t understand why he had made that kind of noise in the past.


    As soon as the words "Who''s inside" escaped his mouth, the crying from inside the coffin suddenly stopped. Then, a slightly hoarse but seemingly childlike voice came out, speaking extremely slowly.


    "Save... me!"


    "Who are you?" Yan Junze couldn''t help the chill in his heart, shivering slightly.


    It was as though he could hear his younger self again, calling out in agony and helplessness for rescue.


    The person inside did not answer him but continued, "Brother, save... me! It''s very dark here, so dark, I... am scared!"


    Yan Junze''s body was covered with goosebumps; his scalp tingled slightly as he asked again, "How can I save you?"


    "Here..." The voice responded, "Here... there is a hole, reach your hand inside, press down the secret latch, and save me... out!"


    "What? Put my hand into this hole?" Yan Junze stared doubtfully at the dark hole.


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 Chapter 249 Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)

    ```


    If Yan Junze had listened to the little girl at this moment and reached his hand into this hole, he would have been an idiot.


    Yan Junze''s goal was simple, to resolve the obsession of this Red Coffin.


    However, the task prompt of the Red Coffin wasn''t very clear; it only mentioned that the coffin wood had been wandering nearby, its exact purpose unknown - perhaps it was just looking for a suitable place to be laid to rest.


    Of course, that might not be the case.


    If one wanted to find out its true purpose, the only way was to interact with it, not to be like high-level exorcists who would just strike it down with a sword.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was very clear that the level of the Red Coffin''s mission was "Terrified (Low)," not active within a range of task levels, but a genuine "Terrified" level mission.


    Even for an exorcist, it would probably only be someone of Guo Youliang''s stature who could eliminate it, and even then, at a certain cost.


    "Let''s communicate in another way," Yan Junze suddenly stood up.


    Speaking with the little girl trapped inside the coffin from such a close distance always gave him the feeling of being a child who had fallen into a sewer. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Somehow, he felt that the coffin wood was doing this intentionally, as if it could successfully evoke his most primal fear instinct.


    So, Yan Junze chose to stand a bit further away, watching the Red Coffin.


    At this moment, instead of the whimpering cries, there was a silent pause in the coffin, followed by a sound as if something was groping around, and then a gray child''s arm stretched out from the hole in the coffin.


    The skin of this arm was dead gray, with four out of five nails rotten, looking disgusting.


    After the arm reached out, the small hand started groping around outside the hole.


    Soon after, the little girl''s voice emitted again, "Brother, where are you? I... I''m scared!"


    This scene made Yan Junze startled, bringing up long-forgotten memories.


    In his previous life, when he was about five years old, he once played with a glass marble and dropped it, which rolled into a corner wall hole.


    Yan Junze really liked that glass marble, so he ran over immediately, knelt on the ground, and reached his right hand into the hole.


    Due to his small hands, almost half of his arm entered the hole, groping around.


    During this time, young Yan touched something sticky, like thin mud or the excrement of something, but despite this, his fingertips brushed the glass marble once, only to push it deeper into the hole.


    Yan Junze really liked the smooth and shiny glass marble; he couldn''t give up. Then he lay down on the ground, pushing almost his entire arm into the hole.


    Sure enough, he soon touched the glass marble again.


    This time, he lifted his fingers above the marble, not touching it directly, but pressed down on it from above, then gently pinched it and started dragging it out of the hole.


    During this process, his bent knuckles suddenly touched a clump of hair, fluffy and soft, as if it also had warmth.


    In Yan Junze''s delusion, that thing seemed to be moving slightly.


    At this moment, Yan Junze''s body tensed, feeling his limbs stiffen, his brain stopped thinking, just mechanically, unconsciously, slowly pulled his arm from the hole.


    Upon looking at his hand, it was covered in a large amount of filth, reeking, but the glass marble was gripped in his hand.


    It took a long while for Yan Junze to realize, that must have been a... rat hole.


    He felt grateful, the rats inside hadn''t bitten his hand, but that fear of the strange and unknown environment was deeply buried in his heart.


    At this moment, seeing the dead gray arm groping left and right, that feeling was once again evoked.


    "I say..." Yan Junze''s adam''s apple moved, "can you not do this, can we have a proper conversation. Um, what I want to know is, are you looking for a suitable place to be buried?"


    The arm paused for a moment, and after about a three-second delay, it suddenly retracted back into the coffin. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    No more sound came from the coffin.


    Yan Junze stared straight at the coffin, no longer speaking.


    Moments later, there was a click from the direction of the door.


    Yan Junze turned to look and saw that the door, which he had propped open with his backpack to prevent it from closing, was now closing on its own.


    Even though the backpack was blocking it, it seemed as if someone was pushing hard from behind the door, tilting the backpack to one side, pushed by the closing door as it slowly moved backward.


    Yan Junze''s attention was drawn by the closing door, but he did not realize that, not far away, the lid of the Red Coffin was being lifted slightly by the force within, moving aside...


    Suddenly, Yan Junze''s gaze returned to the coffin lid.


    This moment, not only was the door closing, but it seemed like the coffin lid couldn''t be held down either.


    "Should I go to open the door or hold down the coffin lid?" Yan Junze had a moment of indecision.


    "Hold down the coffin lid first!"


    He quickly made a decision, walked over to the Red Coffin in a few steps, placed both hands on the lid, and began to push hard in the opposite direction.


    The lid jerked, was resisted, and temporarily could not be fully opened; however, a gap as thick as three books was revealed.


    Yan Junze felt the force moving the lid was great; he was pushing hard against it, but that invisible force was still pushing the lid outward.


    ```

 Chapter 249 Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_2

    He looked back at the door that was closing. At this moment, the backpack had toppled over, creating some resistance that made the door close on its own not so easily. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, the door continued to close at a visibly quick pace.


    "Fuck, is this making it hard for me? Should I Rewind?" Yan Junze hesitated.


    Just then, he abruptly looked down and saw the small, dead grey arm extending slowly from the crevice of the cracking coffin lid, feeling around the edge of the coffin.


    This time, the arm was very close to him, just short of touching Yan Junze''s left hand that was pressing down on the coffin lid.


    Moreover, Yan Junze noticed that the small arm was still lengthening, which forced him to change the direction of his strength, preventing the lid from opening. He shifted his hand slightly and pushed back against the edge of the lid with all his might.


    The dead grey arm kept growing, exceeding the length of a normal human arm. Its fingers spread out, touching the coffin lid and slightly lifting it to search around, producing a series of tap-tap-tap sounds, exuding an inexplicable eeriness.


    Yan Junze couldn''t care less, using all his strength, he slowly pushed the coffin lid back into place.


    When he looked up, he saw the backpack that was blocking the door¡ªhaving toppled over¡ªwas now being pushed further away, slowly rolling outward, losing its blocking effect.


    After nothing obstructed it anymore, the door suddenly sped up, and just as it was about to close, a short knife was thrust in, slipping through the crack and keeping the closing door separated from the frame.


    This was a magnetic knife. After preventing the door from closing, it began to twist slowly, widening the crack of the opening door, and immediately a slender hand pushed the door open.


    The person was none other than Zhang Xiaomo.


    After opening the door, Zhang Xiaomo stepped into the room in a flash.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, said, "Don''t let the door close."


    Zhang Xiaomo came to her senses and reached back for the doorknob, but the door was closing equally fast. As soon as she grabbed the doorknob, the door slammed shut with a bang.


    Zhang Xiaomo twisted the knob, but it didn''t budge.


    "Forget about that door, there''s something strange about this room," Yan Junze advised, then started to consider whether to Rewind right away.


    But after thinking about it, Rewinding now seemed utterly unnecessary because he might take this opportunity to delve deeper into the intention of the Red Coffin.


    Once distracted, the strength in his hand decreased sharply, and the coffin lid slid to one side and opened completely.


    A tuft of green smoke emerged from the coffin, acrid and foul-smelling, but the interior was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen.


    Yan Junze immediately backed away, walking towards Zhang Xiaomo''s direction.


    "What are you doing here? It''s very dangerous," he said as he approached.


    "Let''s get out first and then talk," Zhang Xiaomo replied, not planning to answer him directly. She was still turning the lock, now that she had inserted the magnetic knife into the crack and started to twist it with force.


    Obviously, when she entered the room, she hadn''t anticipated that the self-closing door would possess such strangeness, thinking it was just a normal occurrence.


    After all, the target of the strangeness was the Red Coffin, not the door.


    Now that she discovered she couldn''t open the door, Zhang Xiaomo felt somewhat self-reproachful.


    "We might... not be able to leave for the time being," Yan Junze said, shaking his head.


    That instant, Zhang Xiaomo noticed marks of a knife cut on the door, and looking up, she said, "Let''s go through the window!"


    "Wait a moment, don''t panic," Yan Junze stopped her, "The coffin lid of the Red Coffin can no longer be suppressed and has opened on its own when you just came in. Well, I want to ask you, what were you most afraid of as a child?"


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him, puzzled, and didn''t answer.


    Yan Junze asked, "Afraid of caterpillars?"


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    "Snakes? Cockroaches? Rats?" Yan Junze continued to ask.


    Zhang Xiaomo still shook her head, "The things you mentioned just make one feel disgusted, but I''m not afraid of them. Why are you asking this?"


    Yan Junze was pleased, "You''re not going to tell me that you''ve never been afraid of anything since you were little, right? Hahaha, that would be good, so I can concentrate more when dealing with the strangeness of the Red Coffin."


    "Who said I''m not afraid of anything?" Zhang Xiaomo pouted, her lips slightly parted, then closed again.


    "Afraid of what? Is it hard to say?" Yan Junze was surprised, then he turned his head to glance in the direction of the Red Coffin in the darkness.


    At this moment, the lid of the Red Coffin was open, and it was unclear whether something had emerged, but Yan Junze already had a premonition that whatever he was afraid of, the Red Coffin strangeness would produce something similar or even the same. The goal was to maximize his Fear Value.


    That''s why he had asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    If Zhang Xiaomo wasn''t afraid of anything, that would be the best, so there wouldn''t be any more concerns.


    But in reality, Yan Junze wouldn''t admit anyone could go through life without fear of anything.


    Now that he heard Zhang Xiaomo also had fears, he started feeling uneasy.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to reflect carefully and soon shook her head, "I think... I really don''t have anything I''m afraid of? I had a harmonious family growing up, and the environment was always very good, plus I''ve always been brave."


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    "That''s good, that''s good, it''s good as long as there''s nothing you''re afraid of," Yan Junze said, patting his chest.


    "It''s not that I''m afraid of anything, but I am afraid of one thing, does that count?" Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said.


    Afraid of one thing? Yan Junze''s heart suddenly felt a bad sensation, "What is it?"

 Chapter 249 Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_3

    Zhang Xiaomo looked in the direction of the Red Coffin and saw that there didn''t seem to be any danger. She then said apologetically in a soft voice, "When I was in elementary school, my uncle loved to play tricks on me. He would often unexpectedly stand behind me and pat my shoulder. Every time, it was without me noticing, and a few times, I was scared to tears by him.


    It got to the point where later, I would often worry there was something behind me until it stopped feeling that way after high school."


    As Zhang Xiaomo spoke, Yan Junze''s heart started skipping wildly, thumping like a drum.


    He swallowed hard and said, "Listen to me now. There might be something that will pat our shoulders from behind in a moment. You need to be prepared, don''t get nervous, don''t look back, and definitely don''t turn around and strike with your knife."


    Zhang Xiaomo was visibly frightened by these words.


    Yan Junze continued, "There are two reasons why I don''t want you to slash at it. The first is that I want to resolve the entity''s obsession, and we should avoid direct confrontation unless it is absolutely necessary. The second reason is that it''s a ''Terrified'' entity. I have plenty of reasons to believe that no matter what, you won''t be able to defeat it."


    After saying this, Yan Junze saw that Zhang Xiaomo was quite confused and nodded, "If you have any questions, you can ask me."


    Zhang Xiaomo asked, "What is Terrified? And why are you so sure there will be..."


    Before she could finish, there was a snap from behind both of them, and they felt a pat on their shoulders.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn''t react much because he was mentally prepared. However, Zhang Xiaomo let out a sharp scream. As soon as the scream left her mouth, she quickly covered it with her hand, reacting very quickly.


    But impulsively, Zhang Xiaomo wanted to turn around and look.


    Yan Junze quickly wrapped his arm around her neck, not realizing how intimate the gesture was, "Don''t look back, it''s useless to do so."


    Now both of them were standing with their backs toward the door they had just closed, about half a step away from the door panel and the wall. Zhang Xiaomo found it hard to believe that someone could appear behind them in such a short distance.


    Could it be... the entity had appeared directly in the wall?


    "Let''s move forward a few steps," Yan Junze suggested.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, gripping her magnetic knife, and took five steps forward with Yan Junze before stopping.


    By now they were a little closer to the Red Coffin, and this was the furthest the moonlight from outside could reach. If they moved forward, they would be entering complete darkness.


    "Let''s stop here for a moment," Yan Junze said.


    At the same moment, a chill swept over their backs, and with a snap, they were patted once more. Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    This time, Zhang Xiaomo did not scream. She just shivered and asked, "Why can''t I look back?"


    By implication, she had seen all sorts of entities before, so it was unlikely that any entity could frighten her just by looking back.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look at her, his expression odd, "What I mean is, what if you look back and don''t see any entity, but instead, you see your uncle? What would you do then?"


    "Ah!" Zhang Xiaomo''s face drained of color.


    "See, just mentioning it scares you like this. If the person behind tapping your shoulder really is your uncle, I fear it would be even more dangerous for you," Yan Junze said earnestly, looking straight at her.


    "This entity..." Zhang Xiaomo said through clenched teeth. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, it can evoke the deepest fears in your heart," Yan Junze cut her off, nodding.


    "Let''s stand back to back for now. That way we won''t be afraid of someone patting our shoulders from behind, and we can also take the chance to observe the surroundings of the coffin," Zhang Xiaomo suggested.


    Yan Junze''s expression stiffened as he stared into her bright eyes, "Miss Zhang, do you realize that by making this suggestion, you are inevitably making me relive the hair-raising fear and chilling dread I felt when I stood back to back with Fang Ning under the moonlight, holding hands?"


    After making this remark, Yan Junze looked down at his faint shadow on the ground.

 Chapter 250 Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)

    With Zhang Xiaomo''s previous sneak attack, Fang Ning was not likely to appear again in the short term.


    But Zhang Xiaomo''s current suggestion was indeed good, standing back-to-back meant there wouldn''t be any more instances of someone patting their shoulder from behind. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Yan Junze had developed a psychological shadow from standing back-to-back with a girl, fortunately, the person now was Zhang Xiaomo. Despite what he said, he honestly stood with his back against Zhang Xiaomo''s, watching for any movement on his side.


    "You should be careful, the Red Coffin''s strangeness isn''t limited to just one trick. Just now it found two things that I''ve been afraid of since I was a child," Yan Junze warned Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled and asked, "Which two things?"


    Yan Junze chuckled but did not answer.


    Feeling the warmth coming from Zhang Xiaomo''s back, at that moment Yan Junze realized that this feeling was completely different from that time with Fang Ning.


    Standing back-to-back with Fang Ning, it felt cold, hard, and damp. But standing with Zhang Xiaomo now felt very comfortable, and there was no reason to refuse from any perspective.


    Because of his previous experience standing back with Fang Ning, his heart felt more comfortable at this moment, and Yan Junze''s left hand involuntarily grasped Zhang Xiaomo''s, which was also hanging down.


    He didn''t feel anything special, only that his subconscious considered this handholding a very common action after standing back-to-back.


    Zhang Xiaomo, however, was slightly taken aback, made no movements, and felt the warmth coming from their palms. Her heart suddenly started pounding, and in the darkness of the room, no one noticed her cheeks reddening a bit.


    However, from the moment they backed up against each other, no one''s shoulders were patted again.


    This tactic was evidently very effective.


    "Let''s move closer to the Red Coffin now. Be careful not to separate. I''m going to perform a ''Buddha-style exorcism''," Yan Junze said, mimicking Zhang Xiaomo''s tone.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, and the two moved into the darkness towards the direction of the Red Coffin, their backs still touching and hands clasped.


    Right then, Yan Junze stepped into the water.


    Looking down, he noticed that the floor had somehow become flooded with water. Initially, there hadn''t been much, but now it was slowly seeping from the crevices and corners of the walls, gradually increasing.


    Zhang Xiaomo also lifted her foot, the sole of her black sports shoe soaked through.


    "Why is there water?" Zhang Xiaomo wondered in surprise.


    At that moment, they were only two meters away from the Red Coffin. Yan Junze used his flashlight to glance at the water around his feet, and indeed, there were puddles everywhere, as if the water had suddenly started seeping up from the ground.


    At that moment, he looked up at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly remembered and said seriously, "When I was seven years old, I nearly drowned in a swimming pool."


    Huh¡ª


    Yan Junze took a breath, hurried her to the front of the coffin, and by now the rising water had submerged their feet.


    First, he peered into the darkness of the coffin, Yan Junze said, "If this water is going to rise completely, it would take at least ten minutes to flood this room, and in that time, I plan to get inside the coffin and have a look. Although the coffin looks small, I believe it''s very spacious inside."


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and said, "Maybe I can just smash open this coffin so whatever is inside can''t hide anymore."


    Yan Junze shook his head, "You won''t be able to deal with it with brute force. Trust me, now go back and lean completely against the wall. Even if someone pats your shoulder, don''t pay any attention to it. I will get rid of this trouble before the water in this room drowns you."


    "After I learned to swim, I overcame my fear of drowning," Zhang Xiaomo said. "Don''t worry about me and focus on dealing with this strangeness. Even if the whole room gets flooded, I can hold my breath for four or five minutes. Just be careful yourself!"


    Yan Junze''s gaze brightened slightly as he looked at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Truth be told, in situations like this, the last thing you want is a teammate who causes more trouble. As long as they don''t add to your problems, that''s enough. However, Zhang Xiaomo''s reaction was the greatest support to him, and she didn''t ask too many questions. A woman like her... was rare to find.


    "But if the whole room is flooded and you still haven''t come out, I will stop at nothing. I''ll even use a Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle to destroy the coffin and rescue you before the water I''ve inhaled fills my lungs," Zhang Xiaomo added.


    "You have a Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle?" Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    "My teacher gave it to me," Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    Yan Junze climbed into the coffin, saying, "You won''t drown, trust me. I''m the best when it comes to timing."


    Zhang Xiaomo did not speak anymore, stepped back, and adhered to Yan Junze''s directions, pressing her back tightly against the wall. Looking down, the rising water had already reached her ankles.


    Turning to look in the direction of the coffin, Yan Junze''s whole body, except for one hand on the edge of the coffin, seemed to be entering a deep space inside, and then he let go, allowing his entire body to enter the coffin.


    Zhang Xiaomo forced herself to stay calm and checked her sports watch; the time was 11:35.


    Snap!


    At this moment, her left shoulder felt a palm slapping it once again.


    Now Zhang Xiaomo was certain that the strangeness had merged into the wall, and the hand patting her was definitely protruding from within it.


    Nevertheless, she endured it and didn''t react.


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    Another slap landed on her right shoulder.


    ...


    The moment he stepped into the Red Coffin, Yan Junze felt as if he saw a glimmer of hope.

 Chapter 250 Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_2

    ```


    To be honest, from the moment I entered the room, saw the Red Coffin, and witnessed a series of inexplicable strangenesses, I haven''t quite understood what the purpose of this coffin is, where its Obsession lies, or how to dispel it.


    At first, Yan Junze thought that preventing the coffin from being opened and engaging in a dialogue might reveal a flaw to resolve the Oppression. But now it seemed that entering the coffin might be necessary.


    Indeed, as soon as he stepped into the coffin, a familiar message popped into his mind.


    [A new branch mission triggered by the Red Coffin.]


    After entering Mo Family Village, Yan Junze knew from the moment he detected the [Red Coffin] mission that there was a branch mission associated with it.


    However, he hadn''t expected that entering the coffin was necessary to trigger the branch mission.


    Looking closely, this was a new mission brief.


    [Mission Name: Whispers;


    Mission Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Mission Background: It couldn''t remember how long it had been devoured by this Red Coffin, and it was very lonely, yet unable to leave this place. For hundreds of years, it couldn''t communicate with anyone, and it needed someone to talk to it, even if just a few whispers;


    Mission Statement: Let it know that it was not actually alone; Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire


    Mission Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Penalty: Accompany it in the coffin forever;


    Mission Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Not everything it says can be trusted; 3, It dislikes places with light;]


    Note: Perhaps it knows the secret of this Red Coffin.]


    The message appeared quickly, and just as Yan Junze was squeezing himself into the coffin and had seen the message, he released his hand that had been gripping the edge of the coffin.


    As he had previously thought, the coffin seemed to be only half the size of a regular one from the outside, but the interior space was completely unpredictable.


    After Yan Junze entered the coffin, his feet extended downward until, when he almost thought he was going to fall, his feet finally touched something solid, as if standing on a single piece of black wood.


    He let go with his hands, put the already switched off flashlight into his pants pocket, and everything before his eyes became pitch black, rendering him unable to see anything.


    He waited a few seconds, and there was deathly silence all around.


    Yan Junze began to reach out and touch around.


    At this moment, he was standing, but his whole body was still entirely within the coffin, indicating the genuinely peculiar space inside the coffin, roughly similar to what Yan Junze had speculated.


    After feeling around for a moment, he quickly confirmed that the interior space appeared not very large, structured like a rectangular body, just tall in its dimension.


    And this rectangle looked like the normal size inside a coffin, only slightly more spacious, allowing Yan Junze at this moment to lie down with his arms and legs fully stretched out.


    The introduction to the [Whispers] mission required a little chat with "it," which meant keeping it company and alleviating its problem of not having been able to communicate with anyone for a long time.


    With that thought, Yan Junze simply lay down, ready to deal with the other party in this manner, since if the person were lying down, this form of communication would put less pressure on them, which is conducive to completing the mission.


    Not long after he lay down, there were indeed movements around him.


    A crawling sound was approaching from not too far away.


    Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled; he had felt around earlier, and the actual space around was very small, but the sound made it seem as though there was some distance for whatever was crawling to cover, and he didn''t know where it was crawling from.


    Although he had questions in his mind, Yan Junze didn''t move, but lay there quietly, waiting.


    The sound of crawling grew nearer, and in less than a minute, a bone-chilling breath approached him from the left side of his body.


    The cold aura coming from this body was so strong that it reminded Yan Junze of the first time he approached the Back-faced Woman.


    This convinced him that if this entity could leave the Red Coffin, it would definitely be on the level of the Back-faced Woman.


    After the person approached, they didn''t touch Yan Junze; he estimated that there was about a finger''s width of distance between them.


    This distance was very close, yet the other party remained still, simply motionless and radiating an intolerably cold and piercing aura.


    Yan Junze didn''t see it fit to speak first, the mission tips suggested speaking in whispers, but he didn''t know what to say, the content, or the extent he could go, so he remained silent, waiting for the other party to speak first. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, he also kept an eye on the time, as spending too long inside the coffin without resolving its strangeness could pose a danger to Zhang Xiaomo outside.


    The person beside him kept silent, as if asleep.


    Yan Junze resisted the urge to turn on his flashlight and shine it at the other; he knew from the mission tips that the entity disliked light and should not be directly illuminated.


    No matter what, even if this creature looked extremely horrific, now he couldn''t see it, so Yan Junze ignored it.


    However, the time he had was limited; he couldn''t afford to waste as much time with the strangeness as he had done in past missions.


    After waiting for a while longer, with no movement from the other side, Yan Junze couldn''t hold back anymore and cleared his throat; the person next to him shifted slightly but remained silent.


    Recalling that he needed to whisper with the entity, Yan Junze lowered his voice as much as possible and finally spoke, "Excuse me... what should I call you?"


    ```

 Chapter 250 Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_3

    ```


    Thump!


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chill pierced his abdomen, as if impaled by an ice-cold blade, followed by a surge of intense pain.


    At that moment, Yan Junze knew all too well that the other party had penetrated his stomach with something, perhaps a fingernail.


    Apparently, this kind of opening line was clearly not going to work.


    Rewind!


    This time, when rewinding, Yan Junze deliberately chose the moment just after the figure had approached and stopped near him.


    Knowing the figure would remain silent by his side, every saved minute counted. Outside, Zhang Xiaomo was in danger, and Yan Junze did not want to waste time.


    As soon as the person stopped, he lowered his voice and said, "Do you feel lonely?"


    The person lying before him did not respond or make any move; this time, there was no immediate attack.


    "If you have something to say, you can tell me. Maybe I can be your best audience," Yan Junze felt that with every life-threatening experience, his expertise in dealing with strangenesses was growing.


    The person leaned forward, their face nearly touching Yan Junze''s.


    An even colder sensation spread throughout his body. Yan Junze tightened his collar, weary of provoking any displeasure, so he did not retreat but allowed the figure to come close to him.


    A low voice soon sounded in his ear.


    Yan Junze held his breath, listening intently, but after only a few seconds, he looked puzzled.


    The person was not speaking quickly, but to Yan Junze''s ears, it was incomprehensible because the figure was speaking in a dialect, one from a small area that was incredibly obscure and difficult for Yan Junze to understand.


    The cadence, somewhat eerie, flowed out slowly. In the enclosed space, it was as if caterpillars were crawling around Yan Junze''s ears, tickling unbearably, yet he could not comprehend a single word.


    Shortly after, the person finished speaking a passage and seemed to be waiting for Yan Junze''s reply.


    Yan Junze was completely baffled and tentatively said, using the figure''s peculiar tone, "Can... you... speak... the official language of Great Capital?" Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire


    The figure first remained silent, then spoke in a lowering voice, emitting a string of sentences, appearing to be either questioning or angry.


    But even if they were angry, they dared not make too much noise, as if... they were avoiding something.


    This would not do, Yan Junze felt troubled.


    Unable to understand the other party''s language, how could they communicate, through sign language?


    In this darkness, even if one used sign language, nothing could be seen. Moreover, the task was "Whispers," so speaking was definitely required.


    While pondering, the figure suddenly uttered a phrase of only three or four words. Yan Junze hurriedly memorized the pronunciation and immediately initiated Rewind.


    In an instant, he was back outside the Red Coffin, standing before Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was leaning against the wall, and Yan Junze asked, "Do exorcists usually get trained or learn dialects?"


    Based on his guess, exorcists who often traveled throughout the Great Capital for exorcism should be familiar with basic dialects.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded her head: "Why do you ask that?"


    Yan Junze didn''t have time to explain and rushed to repeat the nearly forgotten dialect with an inaccurate pronunciation, asking, "Can you understand this sentence? What does it mean?"


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment, her elegant brows slightly creasing: "Why do you ask this?"


    "Can you understand it?" Yan Junze countered. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "This is the dialect from the western area near Miantai in Tianmeng, which is still in use. However, most people there can also speak the official language of Great Capital. It''s rare for them to speak the Miantai dialect, except for some local elders."


    "What does this sentence mean?" Yan Junze asked.


    "MMP!" Zhang Xiaomo replied without changing her expression.


    Yan Junze: "..."


    ```

 Chapter 251 Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)

    Although the pronunciation of Miantai language was a bit odd, once I became familiar with it, it wasn''t the kind of language that was obscure and difficult to understand.


    The thing Yan Junze feared most was that the pronunciation of the same word in Miantai language was completely different from the official language of Great Capital. If that was the case, it would be like dealing with an entirely different foreign language.


    To master a foreign language in a short time and to be able to communicate with the person in the coffin without any barriers would certainly be harder than ascending to the heavens.


    After speaking a few sentences with Zhang Xiaomo, he discovered that the pronunciation of Miantai language was indeed very odd, but not incomprehensible.


    After getting briefly accustomed, by now the water in the room had already submerged both of their waists.


    Seeing that Yan Junze had no intention of entering the coffin, Zhang Xiaomo became somewhat anxious, reminding him, "Didn''t you say you wanted to try to remove the coffin''s strangenesses'' ''Obsession''? Why aren''t you going in? Why keep asking me about Miantai language?"


    Quickly, the rising water spread, completely submerging the coffin that was laid flat on the ground, but it seemed as if no water flowed into the coffin. The space outside the coffin appeared to insulate against the current.


    Yan Junze turned his head, gave an awkward smile, and nodded, "Off I go, off I go, I must learn it to better cope with what''s to come."


    With a look from Zhang Xiaomo that seemed to suggest he was an idiot, Yan Junze really did shout like one, "Rewind!"


    Time rewound!


    Shouting that felt great; it reminded him of when he watched ''Moonlight Treasure Box,'' where Zhi Zunbao kept using the treasure box to travel back in time to stop Miss Jingjing from committing suicide.


    He returned to not long after the water started flooding.


    Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo out of curiosity, "Was Mo Family Village eight hundred years ago also speaking Miantai language?"


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, then after a long pause, she shook her head, "I can''t be sure, but perhaps some foreigners might speak it."


    "Hmm," Yan Junze nodded, and as he climbed into the coffin, he said, "If you get completely submerged and can''t breathe later, you can try swimming over to this coffin and stick your head into this space here, there might be fresh air."


    Under Zhang Xiaomo''s astonished gaze, he let go and jumped into the coffin.


    After he vanished, Zhang Xiaomo talked to herself, "This guy, why do I sometimes feel like his brain has been kicked by a donkey? The water has already drowned me, and now I should stretch my head into the coffin, what kind of operation is this?"


    Without any delay this time, Yan Junze entered the coffin and immediately lay down straight, then slowed his breathing and pricked up his ears to listen.


    Shortly after he lay down, the sound of something creeping approached from not too far away, a cold breath drawing nearer.


    This time, prepared, Yan Junze no longer felt the uncertainty he had before.


    He waited quietly until the cold breath was close to him because the other entity was a strangeness, with no sound of breathing, like a giant ice block, remained motionless beside him.


    Yan Junze knew he couldn''t directly ask this entity for its name, as the other would immediately burst into rage. Fortunately, he could speak the official language of Great Capital, which this person seemed to understand but simply couldn''t speak.


    As long as he asked the other to speak more slowly, they could manage to communicate.


    "I came here just to talk with you. If there''s anything you want to say, you can tell me. I can be your best listener," Yan Junze spoke softly, deliberately slowing his speech, fearing the other might not understand.


    The person leaned forward a bit, silent for a moment, then began, "Hungry still costly armor..."


    "Wait a minute," Yan Junze interrupted him, pondered for a moment, and said, "I don''t speak your dialect, so I want to ask, did you just say ''I want to go home''?"


    In the darkness, it was not possible to see the man''s face, only to hear his male voice, and even less to know what expression the man wore at this moment.


    After a silent moment, the man spoke, "I can speak slowly."


    "Okay."


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    From that moment on, Yan Junze felt like he was starting to grasp the general intonation of the other''s language. As long as he formed an understanding of this intonation in his mind, comprehending became much easier.


    "Let me leave this place, I want to get out," the man spoke slowly.


    "Is this his ''Obsession''?" Yan Junze was taken aback.


    If the man''s ''Obsession'' was to leave the coffin, it would be impossible for Yan Junze to help him in the short term, at least not right now.


    "Sorry, I only came here to share ''Whispers'' with you, I can''t make you leave," Yan Junze started, then pointed to the ceiling, "If you really want to leave, maybe you can try finding a way to crawl to the top of the coffin and get out from there."


    Of course, where Yan Junze pointed to was pitch black, devoid of any light.


    Actually, the moment he entered the coffin, the light from above had vanished instantly.


    The man appeared to be surveying a certain direction, and did not speak for a while.


    In this moment, Yan Junze was slightly taken aback, suspecting that this entity could see his hand gestures; the dark did not hinder him at all.


    "I must go back, leave this place," the man spoke again, his voice trembling slightly, "This place is terrifying, I don''t want to stay for an extra second. I''m grateful that you came to accompany me, but please, you must help me."


    Having heard the man''s words, the bad feeling Yan Junze had outside the coffin rose again in his heart.


    His face filled with fear, he asked, "I don''t understand what you mean specifically, could it be... that this place contains the most terrifying thing in your heart?"


    The man gave no answer, but made a sharp inhale, as if gasping for air.

 Chapter 251 Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)_2

    The next second, Yan Junze felt a chill around his ankle as if something had grabbed him.


    At that moment, the man was lying next to him shoulder to shoulder, with both hands above, it was impossible for him to stretch another hand down to grab Yan Junze''s ankle.


    This suggested that there was someone else present.


    Yan Junze was startled at first, then his heart began to thump heavily.


    Recalling what the man had just said, he was now sure that even inside this coffin, one could still encounter the manifestation of their greatest fears.


    And not just ordinary people, but even a strangeness of at least the Sculpting Spirit level would experience this fear manifestation.


    This was the ghastliness of the Red Coffin, no matter if you were human or strangeness, once the coffin set its sights on you, it would bring forth the things you feared the most.


    Yan Junze realized, now, that the cold little hand holding his ankle was likely the same ash-grey child''s arm that had reached out from the hole in the coffin earlier.


    After the girl''s hand touched Yan Junze''s ankle, it did not cling on but moved upwards like a snake, and soon, a second hand grabbed his trouser leg.


    Then Yan Junze felt a child climbing up his clothes, bit by bit.


    The man lying next to him seemed to sense something. He lowered his voice to a whisper, even softer than the Whispers from earlier, and said, "Has your fear arrived?"


    Yan Junze didn''t respond.


    The man continued, "Here, you can only crawl, and you cannot stand up. The fear it inflicts upon you, you simply cannot fight it. Just bear it, endure it, and soon it''ll be over."


    Goosebumps broke out all over Yan Junze''s body, and that terribly uncomfortable little hand was now inching up his neck.


    Sliding over his neck''s skin with a cold, deep chill, it felt like a stainless steel blade, making Yan Junze shiver uncontrollably.


    The man lying beside him remained motionless, without any intention of helping him, perhaps knowing that any assistance was futile.


    At that moment, Yan Junze''s power from the Back-faced Woman''s Semi-spirit was extremely weakened and inoperative, while the little mirror in the hidden pocket on his right waist was impossible to retrieve at the moment.


    Even if he could take it out, he would have to consider the unexpected consequences of using the Mirror Spirit in this place.


    If the outcome was good, of course, it would be ideal, but if it turned out for the worse, the loss would outweigh the gain.


    Darkness surrounded him, truly like when Yan Junze, as a child, fell into a manhole, facing the helpless terror of the pervasive darkness.


    Yan Junze opened his mouth, only to find that he simply couldn''t call out, just like back then, sitting in the manhole, beginning to cry, and after crying, becoming increasingly scared, until he was so frightened that he could only make whimpering sounds.


    The hand that had been stroking his neck was now slowly sliding towards the position of Yan Junze''s hands.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt a sticky sensation between his fingers, as if touching squirming hairy things, similar to rat fur.


    This sensation made his stomach churn suddenly, with nausea and the desire to vomit surfacing, just like the moment from his childhood when he reached into the hole to grab marbles.


    The lingering fear from touching animal fur rushed over him, making his entire body feels sick, with a cold sweat breaking out, almost causing him to shake entirely.


    Yan Junze bit down on his teeth fiercely, enduring the clingy sensation on his fingers that kept resurfacing, along with the silence of the surrounding darkness engulfing him.


    He didn''t realize his clothes were already soaked with sweat, his hair completely drenched.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the sinking, nauseating, sickening feeling finally began to subside. The little hand was gone; the stickiness between the fingers slowly felt real.


    That moment, Yan Junze discovered there indeed was something on his hands, sticky and sludge-like, resembling mud or filth, and he immediately rubbed it off onto the ground.


    Nobody spoke again; the inside of the coffin was dead silent.


    About a minute later, when he was sure his fear had left, Yan Junze let out a sigh of relief and whispered to the man lying next to him, "My fear just now felt entirely real, what''s going on? There really was shit or mud in my hands."


    "All of this... is real," the man replied shakily.


    It was then that Yan Junze noticed he was still shaking, a strangeness actually shaking; it sounded quite ridiculous, but there it was, right in front of him.


    Afterwards, he asked softly, "It was my fear, why are you so scared?"


    The man seemed to lift his head in the darkness, staring at Yan Junze as if afraid that Yan Junze wouldn''t understand, he said word by word in dialect, "She... has... come!"


    "Who? Who''s come?" Yan Junze was stunned, then suddenly realized, "Has your fear... come?"


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    "Don''t look at her!" the man said in a lowered voice, then quickly shut his mouth, refusing to speak any further.


    Meow¡ª


    An inexplicable cat meow suddenly resounded throughout the entire coffin space, followed by rustling, dense sounds that seemed to come from all directions.


    "Damn it! You old geezer, what the hell is the thing you''re afraid of?" Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded.


    Outside the coffin.


    Zhang Xiaomo silently counted; since she had left the coffin to press against the wall, the strange hand from behind the wall had patted her 37 times.


    But each time, she endured, never turning her head to look, not even paying it any attention.


    However, she couldn''t ignore the crisis before her eyes any longer.


    The speed at which the water rose in the room was beyond both her and Yan Junze''s expectations. After reaching her knees, the water level seemed to rise even faster.


    In just a few minutes, the water had risen to Zhang Xiaomo''s chest.


    Fortunately, the flashlight she held was a military-grade multifunctional waterproof model, which still provided illumination under the water.


    She shined it around, and besides behind her, there was nothing eerie in the other surroundings, so Zhang Xiaomo focused all her attention on the rising water level. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After another minute or so, the water had reached her neck.


    The buoyancy of the water completely lifted her up, and Zhang Xiaomo had no choice but to leave the wall behind her.


    Then her shoulder was patted once again, this time after she had moved away from the wall.


    Zhang Xiaomo glided with the current, making sure not to let her body turn around, continuing to ignore what was behind her.


    The ceiling of the room was about 2.5 meters from the floor, and it would take some time for the water to completely fill the room.


    In the meantime, Zhang Xiaomo looked down with her flashlight at the Red Coffin placed on the floor.


    By now, the buoyancy of the water was significant, but the Red Coffin lay there immovable as if it were anchored down.


    Moreover, there was no swirling of water around it, indicating, just as Yan Junze had mentioned earlier, that the water had not flown into the coffin.


    "This kid, was his head not kicked by a donkey after all?" Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself, then paused, "But how did he know that the water wouldn''t enter the coffin?"


    At the same moment.


    Yan Junze felt his ears turning red, but he no longer had the time to care who was thinking about him.


    Just after that cat meow, he thought he saw a pair of pale blue eyes appear in the darkness near the man next to him.


    The light emanating from these eyes was faint, hardly noticeable without close observation.


    The next second, Yan Junze remembered the man''s warning not to look at that thing, and he immediately turned his head away, facing upward, no longer looking around.


    "Could it be that this guy is afraid of... cats? But what''s there to be afraid of about cats?" Yan Junze guessed wildly.


    The dense rustling sound quickly approached.


    This time Yan Junze could hear clearly; it was the sound of clothes scraping across the floor as they moved, and there were also many other finer but nonetheless dense friction sounds.


    In about four or five seconds, the thing approached the man lying next to him.


    Yan Junze suddenly realized that the dense dragging sounds on the floor seemed to be hair, a large amount of hair!

 Chapter 252 Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)

    This abundant and long hair belonged to an old woman dressed in white, who was likewise crawling on the ground.


    It seemed that in this Red Coffin, no one could stand up. Every strangeness that emerged was crawling, including Yan Junze, who was not a strangeness.


    Yan Junze had just tried, it wasn''t that he didn''t want to stand up, but that he truly could not straighten up anymore. Once someone lay down in the coffin, there seemed to be an invisible barrier in the air, preventing him from standing up again.


    The old woman in white, dragging her thick and fine hair, quickly approached the man lying next to Yan Junze.


    The man was a strangeness, a dead person, but at this moment, as the long-haired old woman drew near, he began to tremble madly, and even Yan Junze could feel the frequency of the neighboring man''s trembling body.


    "This guy, he seems really scared of the one in white," Yan Junze thought to himself. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The long-haired old woman slightly lifted her body, propped herself up with her hands, and shakily crawled over the man, not speaking. Her long hair dragged over the man''s body, also touching Yan Junze beside him.


    Yan Junze involuntarily felt a chill rise in his heart. A strand of hair landed on the back of his hand, making him suddenly realize that this strand was not stationary but seemed to be alive, as it was slowly writhing.


    The thought of this old woman''s thick head of hair spread out everywhere, mostly on and around the man''s body, and all wriggling at this moment.


    This scene made Yan Junze feel a cold shudder.


    The long-haired old woman was directly above the man, supporting herself with her hands as if doing push-ups, seemingly staring face-to-face at the trembling man beneath her.


    Of course, the man must have had his eyes closed or his head turned away, not daring to look directly at her.


    "Meow¡ª"


    Another sound, incredibly similar to a cat''s meow, came from the direction of the old woman.


    Yan Junze was taken aback; he couldn''t understand why the old woman, clearly a person, was making the sound of a cat.


    He then felt a large amount of hair from the neighboring area wriggling, quickly spreading over to his side and began moving over his body.


    Soon after, the long-haired old woman slowly moved over, propping herself up with her hands and crawling toward him.


    "Damn it, aren''t you his fear? Why are you coming over to me? I''m not... afraid of you!" Yan Junze was startled and quickly closed his eyes.


    He could feel a dense mass of hair wriggling all over his body, some of which seemed to be entwining around his waist, with other strands moving onto his legs.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes tightly shut, unresponsive.


    After a short while, he heard a noise about ten centimeters from his face that sounded like "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle," resembling an animal snorting through its nose.


    Immediately after, a cat''s meow sounded out, but it was cut off halfway through, as if suppressed by something.


    To the right of Yan Junze, his index finger brushed against the flashlight on the ground, and the light of the flashlight suddenly turned on, interrupting the long-haired old woman.


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    The light of the flashlight didn''t shine in this direction but towards the pitch-black right side. The darkness seemed boundless, and even with the light, visibility was quickly swallowed by the darkness, remaining very low.


    The long-haired old woman, attracted by the sudden light, immediately turned her head to look.


    Yan Junze took this opportunity, immediately opened his eyes, and quickly glanced at the hovering old woman''s face above him, and then shuddered violently, almost forgetting to close his eyes again in fright.


    Although it was just a glimpse, Yan Junze saw the old woman''s features clearly.


    The old woman''s entire face seemed to be squeezed together by some force, her eyes slightly narrowed, her nose somewhat large, and between her nose and lips there was a very obvious crease that looked extremely disgusting.


    Unexpectedly, the thing that frightened the man in the coffin was this kind of rumored creature, and it wasn''t much different from what Yan Junze had learned in his previous life.


    Indeed, he must not look into her eyes; otherwise, his own face might also end up twisted like this cat-visage.


    In Yan Junze''s field of vision, the old woman turned her head back from the flashlight''s glow. Any second she was going to turn her face back towards him; he immediately closed his eyes again.


    The flashlight''s beam had only momentarily drawn the old woman''s attention and hadn''t completely attracted her, so after a brief glance, she lowered her head again to look at Yan Junze, who was fiercely closing his eyes.


    The mass of hair was still slowly writhing all over, almost completely covering Yan Junze''s body, but quickly the hair changed direction, wrapping around the man lying beside him.


    Noticing this, Yan Junze felt somewhat relieved.


    After all, it was the man''s fear that had conjured the old woman; it wouldn''t make sense for his fear to come after me instead.


    Once the hair had fully enveloped the man, the old woman then left Yan Junze, crawling over towards the head of the coffin, her long hair dragging the completely covered man, truly like pulling a corpse, creating a scraping sound as it slowly moved forward.


    Yan Junze had tried before, there wasn''t much space above his head just as there was darkness, the surroundings just a coffin-shaped rectangle.


    But when the old woman dragged the man away, it seemed as if she crawled a great distance, and there was no end to the space above, until the sound of dragging completely disappeared.

 Chapter 252 Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)_2

    "Gone? Just dragged that guy off?" Yan Junze opened his eyes, turned on his flashlight, and shone it above his head, but nothing was visible in the darkness.


    Why, when he had tested just a moment ago, did this space feel limited, yet now it seemed boundless?


    The question had just arisen when Yan Junze realized that when he entered the coffin, he had been standing, so touching the space around him felt not that large ¨C just a bit bigger than a normal coffin.


    But at this moment, now that he had lain down, the surrounding space might have become infinitely large.


    With that thought, he too immediately started crawling in the direction above his head.


    He didn''t have a choice; he hadn''t completed the "Whispers" task yet. Now, the target had been abducted right before his eyes, and he had to find them.


    After crawling quickly for some distance, his previous thoughts were confirmed; indeed, after crawling, the space here had become very, very large, with no end in sight for the time being.


    Frankly, that guy''s fear was indeed much greater than his own. When Yan Junze''s fear manifested, it just frightened him a bit, making him feel terror. But the old woman that this man had attracted actually abducted him directly.


    This level of fear must be many times greater than Yan Junze''s own.


    It was also fortunate that this man himself was a strangeness; otherwise, if he were a living person, he would have been scared to death countless times.


    While thinking and continuing to crawl forward, searching for that man''s position, Yan Junze touched a hand that was still warm.


    He was startled and quickly withdrew it, then he heard an extremely faint moan of pain.


    "No, this isn''t the target of the ''Whispers'' task. The body is warm; it''s clearly a living person."


    Yan Junze immediately realized this and turned on his flashlight, shining it on the person.


    He found a middle-aged man lying on the ground, dressed in clothes somewhat similar to Zhang Di and Jiang Yaofei, with no wounds on his body but blood coming from his mouth and nose, with a bloody chin and a broken knife in his hand ¨C likely a snapped magnetic knife.


    "Hey, can you hear me speaking?" Yan Junze lowered his voice and whispered.


    The man made a slight noise, clearly unable to speak, but it was still an answer to Yan Junze.


    "Are you... an exorcist?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Mhm," the man replied with all the strength he could muster.


    Yan Junze had no idea how the other person came here or where he was injured. After some thought, he started feeling around on his body.


    Before long, he found a flashlight and put it in the man''s hand, softly saying, "I''ll come back for you later. Press the button every once in a while to let me find you, and we''ll get out together."


    The man gently gripped the flashlight, and Yan Junze continued to crawl forward.


    During this process, a cold and indifferent laughter suddenly came from somewhere to the right behind him, followed by a sharp voice speaking.


    "Hee hee hee... Uncle, do you want to play with me?"


    Yan Junze shuddered, goosebumps all over the floor.


    However, he was certain that this peculiar speaker had absolutely nothing to do with him; it must be... the fear within the heart of that injured exorcist lying on the ground.


    He didn''t know exactly what that man feared, but Yan Junze had no time to consider it now and simply quickened his pace.


    But he could still hear the noise behind him, the shrill voice continuing to emit, "Uncle, why don''t you get up? Don''t you like Yingzi? Yingzi can transform, you know. I... I''ll turn into a man for you to see..."


    As the last sentence finished, the sharp voice suddenly changed into a sinister, rough male voice, becoming deeper and more robust as it said "turn into a man," until the final "let''s see" came out, sounding like a great bell. Find more adventures on My Virtual Library Empire


    This speech was so resounding that Yan Junze''s ears buzzed, and his scalp tingled, secretly thinking that these exorcists'' inner fears are all some sort of bizarre creatures, utterly beyond belief.


    Click!


    The sound of a flashlight being turned on came through.


    By now, Yan Junze had crawled some distance. He glanced back toward the direction of the flashlight light hastily ¨C it was from the exorcist he had just given the flashlight to.


    In the illumination of the light, one could vaguely make out a slender figure with thin limbs, but whose head was as large as a bull''s, a humanoid monster lying next to the feet of the injured exorcist, looking down at him.


    As if sensing the gaze, the Minotaur with the chubby head raised its head and looked in Yan Junze''s direction.


    Yan Junze immediately turned his head and quickened his pace, crawling faster.


    The flashlight went out at this moment, obviously turned off by the injured exorcist again.


    Yan Junze did not pay it any mind and crawled rapidly forward for a while before suddenly colliding with something soft and fluffy. He immediately stopped and reached out to touch it.


    Hair, lots of hair!


    The scene of the old woman using her long hair to wrap around the man flashed back in his mind, and now, Yan Junze realized that the hair was retracting, gradually releasing its coiling around the body.


    And without a doubt, this body must be that of the man.


    Yan Junze grabbed onto his clothes and felt the piercing cold. Yes, it was him.


    "Scared to death?" Yan Junze spoke softly, "If not, tell me how I can stand up."


    In his estimation, just as when he had first entered the coffin, if he could stand, maybe then he could find a way out.


    And there must be a place inside the coffin where one could stand.


    ...


    "Yan Junze, did you really die in there?"


    Outside the Red Coffin, the water in the room was fast approaching the ceiling.


    Zhang Xiaomo gently moved her limbs, floating in the water, her head touching the ceiling and tilted to keep her mouth and nose above the water to breathe the little air that remained.


    Looking downward at the direction of the coffin, there was no movement, only the dark space inside the coffin.


    Before long, the water had completely flooded the room.


    Just before she was entirely engulfed by water, Zhang Xiaomo took a deep breath, quickly moved her limbs, and dove towards the direction of the Red Coffin.


    She suspected that Yan Junze''s relaxed approach to exorcism might have failed this time.


    There was no choice, if this guy didn''t come out soon, she''d have to use her Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, Zhang Xiaomo only had this one Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle. Its powerful force could potentially destroy the coffin and rupture the space within if detonated nearby, providing Yan Junze a chance to escape.


    However, if Zhang Xiaomo were to use the Super-Energy Burst to blow up the doorway of this room, there was an equal chance of breaking open the room and escaping herself.


    But she did not hesitate. After swimming quickly towards the Red Coffin, she took out the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle, held it in her palm, and then peered momentarily into the dark space inside the coffin.


    As she had been holding her breath, there came a moment when her chest started to feel stuffy, bringing on a brief sense of panic, as the fear of drowning from her childhood almost surfaced, but Zhang Xiaomo quickly shifted her focus.


    Her gaze turned to the empty space inside the coffin; she remembered something Yan Junze had once said.


    "I can''t hold my breath any longer."


    Zhang Xiaomo, clutching the Super-Energy Burst, leaned forward quickly and plunged her head into the pitch-dark, eerie space inside the coffin.


    ¡ªhuh¡ª


    She exhaled the almost stifled breath in her chest, gasping for air, feeling a bit dizzy, but it was pitch-black before her eyes.


    Indeed, there was no water here, but the air was neither muddy nor fresh, emitting a profoundly strange aura.


    At this moment, she maintained this bizarre posture with her body in the water and her head inside the coffin, quietly looking around and staying vigilant for any strangenesses that might appear within the coffin.

 Chapter 253 Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)

    Yan Junze held one hand on the strange man, and though the man''s body was still shivering, his fear had clearly passed after the cat-faced old woman''s long hair had all retracted.


    Regardless, this guy was already dead; he was just a strangeness.


    If he had been alive, just the mass of hair that had been wrapped around him earlier would have either strangled him to death or suffocated him; he definitely wouldn''t have survived until now.


    "Don''t be afraid anymore, tell me quickly, how can I stand up in this place?" Yan Junze moved closer to the man''s ear and whispered again. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because he was gripping the man''s collar, he felt the man twist his neck, as if shaking his head, and then came that awkward dialect: "No way, can''t stand up, I''ve never stood up before."


    "Impossible." Yan Junze flatly denied and reached down to grasp the man''s cold hand, "Come on, let''s look around, there must be a way out."


    The man did not refuse and let him be dragged along as he crawled in the direction that Yan Junze led.


    Truth be told, at this moment, Yan Junze only vaguely remembered the direction from which they had come because it was too dark here and inconvenient to turn on a flashlight, so his sense of direction was very unclear.


    But nevertheless, the direction to head back was roughly clear, it was just that after crawling for a short while, a flashlight light suddenly lit up to their front left, lasting for about two seconds before going out.


    Yan Junze''s eyes lit up, knowing it was the injured exorcist he had encountered earlier, who must have turned on the flashlight he had, just as Yan Junze had reminded him to do earlier.


    Unexpectedly, the person he encountered at this critical moment ended up helping him.


    Now it seemed that their direction had clearly started to deviate to the right, and had it not been for seeing the flashlight light, he had no idea where they would have ended up crawling to after this deviation.


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    They definitely wouldn''t have been able to find their way back.


    He quickly adjusted their direction, crawling rapidly towards the place where the flashlight had gone out.


    Soon after, Yan Junze and the man reached the place where the injured exorcist was lying.


    Yan Junze first looked left and right and did not see the fat cattle-headed strangeness from before, and then he swiftly turned on his flashlight and looked at the lying exorcist, noticing that the man''s head, which had not been injured before, now had a large swelling on it.


    Clearly, this was left by the cattle-headed strangeness that had appeared just now.


    Yan Junze immediately said to the man next to him: "Carry this person on your back, let''s leave together."


    The man by his side said nothing and suddenly disappeared, then slowly emerged from the ground beneath the injured exorcist, lifting the exorcist up so that he was completely resting on his back.


    The injured exorcist let out another groan of pain, unable to speak, and then was carried on the back of the man, crawling forward beside Yan Junze.


    With the injured exorcist''s location as a new starting point, Yan Junze found that the route he had crawled back on was much smoother.


    However, he still did not dare to guarantee that he hadn''t crawled off course again, so he was extremely cautious, fearing that the fear in the hearts of the man and strangeness beside him would trigger more strangenesses.


    Of course, he had to be wary of the strangenesses that his own fear could bring about.


    Although he did not know whether the strangenesses born of fear inside this coffin occurred in time slots or at set intervals, speeding up was always the right choice.


    After crawling rapidly forward for a long distance, Yan Junze stopped, estimating that this was the position where he had jumped down from above the coffin earlier.


    He then turned over so he could look upwards, examining closely to see where any light was shining through.


    But it seemed that just as before when he had looked up, no light was visible, and the area above him was still shrouded in darkness.


    Yan Junze turned his head and asked the man next to him: "Can you sense which part of the area above our heads leads to the outside world, or with your ''eyesight'' can you see where a faint light is shining through, tell me."


    The man remained silent, but after a moment softly said: "I cannot sense it, this place is very strange, I want to leave."


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes, with one hand on the ground prepared to stand up.


    But before he could fully sit up, his head was blocked by an invisible force, preventing him from straightening up further.


    After struggling for a while, he lay back down again.


    At this moment, Yan Junze wanted to release the Crawler Monster or the strange baby to help him search for a spot where he could stand up.


    But he quickly dismissed this idea.


    Setting aside the mysterious dangers filling the place, if he were to release these beings, what would their fears be? Yan Junze suspected he would soon find out.


    But he did not want to know right now.


    For something that was one hundred percent certain to happen, better to avoid it altogether; Yan Junze would not do it.


    After some thought, having suppressed the idea of releasing the strange baby and the Crawler Monster, another thought suddenly surfaced. Yan Junze considered it and felt there should not be too much of a problem, if anything went wrong he could always Rewind immediately.


    After a brief hesitation, he suddenly burst out in a high-pitched voice: "Zhang Xiaomo, I''m here, can you hear me talking?"


    At the same time.


    Zhang Xiaomo was like an ostrich, burying her head into the space of the coffin while the rest of her body below the neck was soaked in the water, with her feet rhythmically moving through the stream.

 Chapter 253 Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_2

    Yan Junze''s voice suddenly reached her ears, although it was very vague and quiet, Zhang Xiaomo had a unique ability to distinguish Yan Junze''s voice.


    She was slightly startled and hurriedly widened her eyes, straining to look down, but she couldn''t find anything.


    Behind Zhang Xiaomo, about two meters away in the water, the current suddenly surged, and a large clump of black hair appeared in the water.


    The hair seemed to have a life of its own; after emerging, it eerily drifted towards Zhang Xiaomo. The hair moved gently with the water, approaching Zhang Xiaomo''s legs like a jellyfish.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo was twisting her head, searching the inside of the coffin for the source of Yan Junze''s voice.


    After realizing she still couldn''t see anything, she simply called out loudly like Yan Junze, "Yan Junze, where are you? I can hear your voice, but I can''t see..."


    Before she could finish saying "see you," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly felt a tightness around her right foot in the water, as if something had entangled it, and then a great force yanked her out abruptly.


    Her head dropped back into the water, and because of panic and the sudden event, she had only held her breath halfway, not nearly enough to last.


    Zhang Xiaomo fiercely turned to look down at her feet and was horrified to find that a large clump of black hair had wound around her right foot and was moving to entangle her left foot, as if it were alive.


    At that moment, a memory she had long forgotten burst forth in her mind. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo finally realized that the fear she had thought was of drowning wasn''t actually from the fear of drowning, but from a very long time ago, when she was in junior high school, she had witnessed a female corpse being retrieved from a pond by responding safety officers on her way home from school.


    Because she had stumbled upon the scene abruptly and fear instinctively overtook her, Zhang Xiaomo hadn''t taken a close look at the bloated corpse; she only saw the black long hair of the floating corpse from a distance, an abundance of black hair.


    The time had passed, and although she hadn''t seen the true face of the floating corpse, that mass of black hair still left an indelible mark of fear in Zhang Xiaomo''s memory.


    And at this moment, the black hair floating in the water before her eyes exactly resembled the hair of the floating corpse she had tried to forget.


    A surge of dread filled her heart, and Zhang Xiaomo immediately kicked her legs, but couldn''t shake off the mass of hair.


    She swung her magnetic knife at the hair around her feet without hesitation, and with the addition of magnetic force, a streak of blue light appeared around the blade of the knife, causing the water to part slightly to the sides, and a clump of hair was severed.


    However, at the same time, even more hair entangled both of her feet.


    Zhang Xiaomo''s panic reached a peak, and despite kicking forcefully, she could no longer break free; the breath she had hastily held was already spent, and at that moment, with slightly parted lips, she involuntarily gulped down a mouthful of water.


    The water rushed into her lungs quickly, her head buzzed, and she nearly blanked out.


    After the initial breath escaped, the second, third... several gulps of water rushed into her lungs without exception. The hair still wound around her feet, and Zhang Xiaomo no longer showed any signs of struggling.


    Her arms spread open, she floated in the water. Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire


    The next second, the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle clenched in her right hand exploded with a bang.


    The powerful blast from the explosion swept up all the water around her body, and soon pushed everything outwards with a tremendous force, including the Red Coffin that had been resting on the ground, making a whooshing sound as it moved several meters to a corner...


    Inside the coffin, the space rippled and shook at that moment.


    In the darkness, Yan Junze had just heard Zhang Xiaomo''s reply a moment ago, and was initially relieved in his heart, thinking this tactic really worked, when no more sounds came through.


    He called out a few times, feeling fortunate that no strangeness appeared in the dark during this time: no cat-faced old lady, no bull-headed strangeness, nor little girl''s hand grabbing at his ankle.


    After calling out a few times, he felt a vibration, as if it were right above his head not far away, but for the moment he could not pinpoint the exact location.


    Yan Junze was stunned, and immediately exclaimed, "Not good!"


    This sense of vibration, if it wasn''t caused by Zhang Xiaomo triggering a Super-Energy Burst, he couldn''t think of anything else that could make such a big commotion.


    Rewind!


    Without any hesitation, Yan Junze rewound time to the moment he was about to call out to Zhang Xiaomo for the first time.


    Based on the direction from which Zhang Xiaomo had responded before the rewind, Yan Junze roughly pinpointed the direction and twisted his head to say to the strange man beside him, "Follow me, let''s crawl fifteen meters towards the front right."


    They quickly crawled over, and without wasting any time, Yan Junze looked up and shouted, "Zhang Xiaomo, can you hear me?"


    Zhang Xiaomo''s voice came from a spot roughly two to three meters askew from above Yan Junze''s head.


    "Yeah, I can hear you, where are..."


    The words were cut off abruptly.


    "Zhang Xiaomo?" Yan Junze immediately spoke up, a sense of ominous foreboding enveloping him.


    According to his timing, the other party should also have stopped responding at that moment, and just before the last rewind, Zhang Xiaomo had clearly triggered a Super-Energy Burst.


    Yan Junze guessed that she must have encountered danger outside.


    Rewind again!


    After this rewind, Yan Junze immediately had the strange man beside him carry the Exorcist and follow him to the previously determined direction.

 Chapter 253 Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_3

    Moreover, after the second Rewind, Zhang Xiaomo clarified her own positioning further; this time she only climbed twelve meters before stopping, and she made a slight adjustment to the direction as well.


    Looking up, Yan Junze shouted with extreme speed, "Zhang Xiaomo, I know you can hear me. Don''t say anything for now, just listen to me. Look around you immediately to see if anything is amiss, don''t worry about me for the moment!"


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was peering into the coffin, paused for a moment. She heard the sentence very clearly, as if Yan Junze was right beneath her, not far away.


    But it was too dark in front of her, and she still couldn''t see anything.


    Nevertheless, Yan Junze''s words served as a reminder; without hesitation, Zhang Xiaomo took a deep breath, held it, and plunged her head back into the water, turning to look around.


    A mass of black hair fluttered from behind, approaching less than a meter away from her feet.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled. The sensation of the floating hair immediately triggered a memory she had forgotten, and her whole body shuddered violently as she quickly paddled with all limbs while retracting her feet to avoid being entangled by the mass of hair.


    The black hair''s stealthy attack failed, and it tightened like a jellyfish from behind, spreading out fiercely, lunging at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo wielded the magnetic knife in her hand, keeping the hair at bay for a moment, but she also couldn''t get any closer to the Red Coffin.


    Yan Junze didn''t know if his warning had worked, but if this attempt failed, he could Rewind again.


    Without thinking about Zhang Xiaomo''s situation for now, he believed he had found the right position and tried to sit up, encountering no resistance on the way.


    Yan Junze rejoiced and slowly propped himself up to stand.


    It turned out he could indeed stand up in this area, but he didn''t know how large the area where standing was possible actually was.


    He tried to walk a little and found that he could do so. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant, once standing up, he was no longer obstructed by any invisible force and could move freely.


    "Try standing up," he said to the man carrying the Exorcist once he was sure it was possible.


    The man tried at his own spot, but still couldn''t stand up straight.


    Yan Junze pointed to where he had previously been lying, "Move over here first, then try to stand up."


    The man didn''t say anything and immediately did as instructed.


    This time, he indeed stood up with ease.


    But at the same moment, a voice of unknown origin sounded from under his feet.


    "Uncle, are you leaving? Won''t you stay with Yingzi? Yingzi misses you..."


    The voice was piercing and harsh. Yan Junze was startled; this was the very voice he had heard earlier from the fat-headed bovine strangeness.


    Unexpectedly, at this moment, the injured Exorcist was overcome by fear again, and the fat-headed bovine strangeness appeared.


    Its emergence was unusual, probably crawling across the ground to get there, and now that Yan Junze and the man with the Exorcist, as well as the Exorcist himself were all standing, they couldn''t see the strangely genderless entity called "Yingzi."


    Unless they lay down on the ground again.


    "Ignore that thing!" Yan Junze reminded sharply, staying still before reaching upwards. In the darkness, where it seemed there was nothing, he felt the touch of what seemed like wood.


    Immediately, he jumped on the spot, hooking his hands onto the edge of the coffin, noting that water seemed to drench the fingers that poked outside.


    Yan Junze didn''t hesitate, quickly turning to the man with the Exorcist, "Found the exit. No matter how, send me up immediately. Once I''m out, you stand where I am now and jump upwards. Hmm, I know you should be capable of flight, just fly out directly. Remember, take the person on your back."


    No sooner had he finished speaking than a strong force lifted him from below, and Yan Junze plunged into the churning water rapidly.


    Fortunately, he had been holding his breath; he immediately looked around, only to see Zhang Xiaomo''s feet entangled by a mass of black hair.


    Clearly, Zhang Xiaomo wasn''t a match for the hair in the water, even though she''d detected it early. She was still trapped and now couldn''t hold her breath any longer, inhaling a mouthful of water into her lungs.


    "Damn it!" Yan Junze cursed inside, swimming over quickly.


    Zhang Xiaomo had no more resistance but was still conscious, and she too saw that Yan Junze was out of the coffin.


    Just then, another black figure was pushed out of the Red Coffin by the Exorcist.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze''s eyes lit up. He gestured to the person, meaning "I''ve helped you get free; in return, please take care of that disgusting mass of black hair."


    The shadowy figure was fully exposed to Yan Junze''s eyes for the first time; he wore a sackcloth garment with disheveled hair, his whole body pale and bloodless.


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    After seeing Yan Junze''s gestures, he paused for a moment, released the Exorcist from his back, letting the Exorcist float in the water. He then opened his mouth wide and sucked at the black hair.


    The hair stood no chance of resistance and was sucked in completely; suddenly, the water disappeared around them, dropping everyone but himself on the ground.


    Though there was no water, everyone''s clothes were still dripping wet, as if they had just been fished out.


    After ingesting the hair, the man didn''t even bother to say goodbye; he vanished within two seconds after the water flow had dissipated.


    At the same time, a message of task completion emerged in Yan Junze''s mind.


    [Whispers, Hair-raising (Low), Completed, Earn 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze didn''t pay attention to the mission information but crawled over quickly, pressing his hands together on the motionless Zhang Xiaomo''s chest and pushed down.

 Chapter 253 Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_4

    After a few quick compressions, he tilted Zhang Xiaomo''s head to the side.


    Repeating this, it wasn''t long before Zhang Xiaomo''s body twitched slightly, spitting out a mouthful of water, and then she began to cough violently.


    The injured exorcist, having only just come into contact with water, was immediately alright as the water receded at once; he was just choked a bit and was already coughing on his own, no serious issue.


    Yan Junze sat next to Zhang Xiaomo, whose face had turned deathly pale but was gradually regaining consciousness, staring at the Red Coffin lying quietly on the ground with an ashen face.


    At this moment, the coffin lay still, apparently undamaged; its dread was ever-present.


    Zhang Xiaomo slowly regained consciousness, opened her eyes, and looked at Yan Junze. It took her quite a while to come back to her senses.


    "Don''t talk for now, just rest for a bit," Yan Junze said, his gaze still fixated on the motionless Red Coffin, "I think... I''ve found what its Obsession is."


    After a pause, Yan Junze suddenly laughed, "Since you like to devour people''s fear, then fine, I''ll let you have enough of it this time."


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    No more than a minute had passed.


    The Red Coffin in front of them began to shake violently, and a cloud of grey mist emerged from the opened coffin.


    Yan Junze grinned, "Come on, this can be my fear too!"


    Whoosh, a thick, deep-yellow tentacle emerged from the narrow space of the coffin, flinging at least half its length onto the ground outside the coffin, startling Zhang Xiaomo who had just woken up.


    "What is this?" she couldn''t help asking.


    "Another of my fears," Yan Junze said with a smile, turning his head to look once more.


    The tentacle was so massive that, though half of it was flailing outside, the other half was stuck at the mouth of the coffin, writhing furiously.


    The coffin itself began to shake violently, as if it held an ancient beast trying to break free of its cage, to present itself before the person who harbored intense fear of it.


    Zhang Xiaomo could even see fleshly suckers underneath the skin of the exposed tentacle, all slightly opening and closing at this moment, dripping with viscous pus, looking extremely disgusting.


    Crack!


    A crisp sound suddenly emerged; a fissure appeared on the outside of the Red Coffin, followed by another crack bursting open on the opposite side.


    The tentacle''s owner continued to push crazily outward, causing cracking sounds to be incessant in that moment.


    Boom!


    Suddenly, something happened inside the coffin space; a large clump of yellow mist burst forth, collapsing inwards, followed by the cracked Red Coffin collapsing rapidly inside.


    The gigantic tentacle, at that very moment, was also pulled back by some strange force.


    A long, eerie shriek that seemed to have traveled from a great distance, as if through countless centuries, was emitted from the collapsing coffin at that moment.


    Without a doubt, the shriek belonged to the tentacled demon.


    Right before Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo''s eyes, the Red Coffin broke into several wooden fragments, and the large tentacle, rapidly retracted, along with the dark void inside the coffin, disappeared without a trace after the collapse.


    All that could be seen was the shattered coffin.


    The once sizable Red Coffin now seemed to have become merely a pile of very ordinary, broken wooden fragments.


    As Zhang Xiaomo stared at these coffin fragments, her mouth agape in disbelief, she repeatedly glanced over at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze paid no attention to her expression but merely pursed his lips at the pile of broken planks, "Your Obsession was to fill your space with the greatest fear. This time, you should be satisfied."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a task completion message popped up.


    [Red Coffin, Terrified (Low), completed, awarded 1500 Different Dimension Energy points.]


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 Chapter 254 Mutation (4200 words)

    Zhang Xiaomo couldn''t imagine how the Red Coffin, which was so troublesome just a moment ago, could now be completely destroyed right before her eyes.


    And the way it was destroyed was just as inconceivable.


    She now understood that the greatest terror of the Red Coffin was its ability to trigger the deepest fears hidden within everyone''s heart and to manifest those fears.


    For instance, her own fears of being tapped on the shoulder and hair in the water, but Yan Junze, because he entered the room late, hadn''t witnessed what his fear was.


    Yet just now, the moment those huge tentacles reached out from the coffin, Zhang Xiaomo realized, this was Yan Junze''s fear. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She just couldn''t understand what kind of fear these tentacles stemmed from; it couldn''t possibly be that Yan Junze had actually encountered them before, could it?


    If he really had encountered them before, then that would be truly terrifying.


    Seeing Zhang Xiaomo still staring at him unblinkingly, Yan Junze smiled and said, "The huge tentacle from a moment ago belonged to a character from a comic I read when I was a child. It was my first time reading a comic, and after finishing it, I was scared all night and couldn''t sleep."


    "A horror comic?" Zhang Xiaomo asked curiously.


    "Sort of," Yan Junze nodded. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    "So the huge tentacle just now is..." Zhang Xiaomo pointed in the direction of the pile of shattered planks.


    "You can call it... Boss Ke," Yan Junze said.


    Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo didn''t seem to understand, he shrugged his shoulders and explained, "Don''t worry about who Boss Ke is for now. Anyway, that guy really scared me a lot when I was a kid, but I''m not afraid anymore.


    Just now, in order to destroy this Red Coffin, I deliberately immersed myself in that feeling of fear I had the first time I encountered Boss Ke, continuously reminiscing and searching for that fear. Once I found that fear, I kept recalling it over and over in my mind until the Red Coffin sensed it and sure enough, it triggered the appearance of Boss Ke."


    It seems now that every time the Red Coffin stimulates a fear in humans or strangenesses, what appears inside the coffin actually exists, just like the water accumulated a moment ago.


    The walls of this room, including the ceiling, were all soaked through, which proved the existence of water.


    And the strangeness that patted Zhang Xiaomo on the shoulder might have indeed taken on the appearance of her uncle. If Zhang Xiaomo had turned around to look, she might have had an extra uncle for the rest of her life.


    As for the clump of black hair in the water, after being materialized by the Red Coffin, it was indeed real, only to be sucked away by a strangeness in the [Whispers] task, relieving Yan Junze and his colleagues of the encirclement.


    So to say, after Yan Junze''s incubation of fear, the appearance of Boss Ke had become inevitable, and as an almost top-tier representative of human fear towards the unknown, Boss Ke''s appearance would surely cause the coffin to be unable to withstand it, directly getting blown apart by the powerful fear that hadn''t even fully materialized yet.


    Of course, this was also the result of Yan Junze''s careful consideration.


    After all, the task level of [Red Coffin] is only "Terrified (Low)," and for the task difficulty of "Terrified (Low)," he had already gained a deep understanding during his first mission, [Tricky Silk], in the Mountain Park.


    Of course, the Boss in [Tricky Silk] had a very peculiar ability. The infection of Dark Poison could even defy the influence of time and space, which makes Yan Junze suspect now that it wasn''t because the Boss was so powerful, but because of some reason, the power of Dark Poison exceeded the Boss''s own understanding.


    It was like a fluke.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn''t speak, just lying flat on the ground, resting and listening to Yan Junze''s explanation.


    Due to the angle, she naturally tilted her head, staring at Yan Junze, and before she realized it, her head was resting on his thigh.


    Since the position was comfortable, Zhang Xiaomo didn''t intend to move away, and Yan Junze, upon noticing, felt somewhat embarrassed but, thinking that Zhang Xiaomo had nearly suffocated just now, allowed her to rest a bit longer without saying anything.


    After listening to Yan Junze''s explanation, Zhang Xiaomo was still confused, blinking her eyes and just staring at him.


    Yan Junze smiled and said, "If there''s anything you need me to explain further, just ask."


    Zhang Xiaomo thought for a moment and said, "Who is Boss Ke?"


    Yan Junze thought about it, since this world might not have that mythological system, as he had never seen it up to now, and he mused, "You''ve seen ''Pirates of the Caribbean,'' haven''t you?"


    "Hmm," Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    The movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" did exist in this world.


    "The captain in there, Davy Jones, commonly known as the ''Octopus Man,'' well, Boss Ke is probably something like that," Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, then realized, "You mean that captain whose face is covered in octopus tentacles, and all the tentacles squirm when he speaks, making people feel so disgusted they want to throw up?"


    "Right, something like that," Yan Junze nodded.


    Zhang Xiaomo patted her chest, "Good thing that thing didn''t crawl out of the coffin."


    "Yeah," Yan Junze laughed, "It''s a good thing it didn''t come out, otherwise the whole Tianmeng would be in trouble."


    But on the other hand, even with the Red Coffin''s abilities, it couldn''t fully materialize such a great terror.


    "Rest a bit more, and then let''s take that guy away together," Yan Junze said, nodding in the direction of the injured exorcist lying in the corner of the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled, looked over, and only then did she notice someone was lying there.


    "An exorcist?" she asked.


    "Right, a colleague."


    Zhang Xiaomo coughed a few more times, propped herself up with her hands to sit up, covering her chest and gasping slightly.


    Because of the violent coughing, she felt a pain in her chest, as if tearing through her body, stretching from her chest to her back.

 Chapter 254 Mutation (4200 words)_2

    She turned on her flashlight and shone it at the exorcist who seemed to have fainted, blurting out after a clear look, "Fang... Fang Zun!"


    "What about Yuan Dingzhou?" Zhang Xiaomo quickly shone the flashlight around to check.


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    "I only found Fang Zun inside the coffin; I didn''t see anyone else." Yan Junze shook his head.


    "Let''s wait for him to wake up then," Zhang Xiaomo said, her face pale, pointing to her backpack on the ground, "There''s an emergency cushion in there, please open it and move Fang Zun onto it."


    Yan Junze nodded, took off his outer jacket, folded it to form a makeshift cushion, protected Zhang Xiaomo with one hand, moving her back to lean against the cushion against the wall, then got up and opened her backpack.


    As Zhang Xiaomo described, he took out a black, compressed transparent plastic bag from the backpack.


    Opening this sealed bag, he took out the black folded object, grabbed a protruding lock at one end of the fold with his fingers, and pulled hard.


    With a bang, the black folded object began to inflate by itself, quickly expanding to about the size of a person, slightly wider than a person, with a two-finger-wide tow rope on one end for easy dragging. This rope could also be slung over the shoulder or tied around the waist for convenience.


    Yan Junze dragged the cushion over, then moved Fang Zun onto it, fastening his body with the buckles on either side, then dragged the cushion to the door, easily opening the door that had previously been impossible to open.


    Moonlight streamed in, once again bathing him in its light.


    Then Yan Junze returned to Zhang Xiaomo''s side, squatted down, and asked, "Can you move now? Do you want me to carry you?"


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at him, seemingly pondering something, and shook her head, "I can walk slowly, it''s okay."


    "Then let me support you."


    Without saying more, Yan Junze carefully helped Zhang Xiaomo to her feet.


    As they reached the door, Yan Junze first slung the tow rope of the cushion carrying Fang Zun over his shoulder and then supported Zhang Xiaomo. The two of them walked out of the room, afterwards dragging Fang Zun out as well.


    They didn''t worry about any bumps along the way; Fang Zun was already unconscious, and the jostling wouldn''t wake him.


    Outside the house, everything seemed just as it had been when they''d first entered, without any change. Moonlight poured like water onto the silent streets, and not a single sound could be heard.


    Except for the footsteps of Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, and the dragging sound of the cushion on the ground.


    "Just now... did I... stop breathing?" Zhang Xiaomo suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze glanced at her and noticed her gaze flickering, seemingly deliberately avoiding his own. He suddenly understood what she wanted to say and shook his head, "I didn''t give you mouth-to-mouth just now."


    "Oh," Zhang Xiaomo replied very stiffly.


    "But I did press on your chest, 27 times," Yan Junze added.


    "Ah!"


    Zhang Xiaomo instinctively covered her chest with her right hand.


    Yan Junze kept his gaze straight and said no more.


    Along the way, they encountered a few ordinary wandering spirits, but none of these spirits approached them; it was as if they deliberately avoided Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo upon noticing them.


    "Thanks for saving me just now," Zhang Xiaomo said, "I''m just curious, how did you remind me to look behind me while you were in the coffin, so that I was able to notice that bundle of hair trying to sneak attack me one step ahead?"


    Yan Junze maintained his silence; after about ten seconds, he finally replied, "Everyone should have some secrets, and I''m no exception."


    For some reason, he didn''t want to make up any excuse and brush it off, and he was very clear in his mind that by saying this, Zhang Xiaomo would definitely not ask further.


    A sensible woman knows when to stop. Just like when Yan Junze was about to enter the room where the Red Coffin was located, Zhang Xiaomo did not ask anything nor did she stop him but simply said calmly, "Be careful."


    And shortly after Yan Junze entered the room, she chose to appear and help, willing to risk triggering a Super-Energy Burst, all without any unnecessary words during this time.


    This suddenly made Yan Junze feel very settled in his heart.


    After he said this, as expected, Zhang Xiaomo just glanced at him, pursed her lips into a smile, and said nothing more.


    The two arrived at the closest intersection to the Good Character Bookstore and looked around but saw no one else.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Perhaps Jiang Yaofei led everyone through the Plum Blossom Forest and left, including Zhang Di."


    "Yes, we trapped the Red Coffin for so long, they should have headed to the east side of the village a while ago," Yan Junze pointed in the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest, "Wait for you to rest for a bit, then we''ll also cross the Plum Blossom Forest and head back to the east side of the village."


    The Spirit Bridge floating above the village was now weakening, but it couldn''t be ruled out that it might trigger new and even more terrifying strangenesses, so Yan Junze thought it was still safer to return to the east side of Mo Family Village.


    After all, after leaving the village from there, it was the closest to the highway, so if some strangeness erupted on a large scale again, they could leave Mo Family Village at the fastest speed.


    Zhang Xiaomo waved her hand, "I don''t need to rest, let''s go."


    Gently holding her chest, which showed she still felt pain, Yan Junze supported her, dragging Fang Zun towards the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Behind Zhang Xiaomo, as she walked, the hem of her dress fluttered, and a long black hair drifted in the wind.


    But the very next second, the black hair gently contracted, wriggling up along the hem of the dress like an earthworm, quickly reaching the collar of Zhang Xiaomo''s clothes, without stopping, it swiftly merged into her hair and disappeared without a trace. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because they were walking slowly, it took them almost half an hour to reach inside the Plum Blossom Forest, and another half hour to get to the east side of the village through the forest.


    After bringing Fang Zun back to the east side of the village, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo arrived at a courtyard near Little Wind Zhai, pushed the door open to look, but the other people who had been gathered here were nowhere to be seen at the moment.


    Leaving that courtyard, they called out quietly a couple of times, but apart from the faint whistling of the wind, there were no other sounds.


    "You sit here for a bit," Yan Junze pointed to the steps outside the courtyard, settling Zhang Xiaomo down, and then took off the rope slung around his body, laying Fang Zun on the ground below the steps.


    After that, he looked around, walked a circle along the two sides of the street, and returned to the original spot.


    Not a single person was in sight.


    "Could they have already left the village?" Yan Junze wondered to himself.


    Because Jiang Yaofei and Zhang Di definitely brought the others to meet up with the people here first; were they now gone from the village, moving the injured out first after the meeting?


    The possibility was indeed there.


    Being burdened with injured colleagues would not only delay their treatment but also hinder the others from focusing on dealing with the strangenesses.


    Returning to Zhang Xiaomo''s side, Yan Junze also sat down on the steps and shook his head, "They must have left already, not waiting for us, probably because they thought we''d have more misfortune than fortune facing the Red Coffin."


    "I don''t need to rest either and can leave right away," Zhang Xiaomo looked around, the constant whistling of the wind here always gave her an uneasy feeling.


    "Alright."


    Yan Junze was about to help her up when he suddenly realized Zhang Xiaomo''s body trembled lightly, and she said, "There seems to be someone around the corner over there."


    Yan Junze immediately turned around and saw a shadow flit around the corner, then vanish from sight.


    "Wait here for a minute, I''m going to have a look," Yan Junze turned and walked quickly towards where the shadow had appeared.


    He reached the corner and indeed found a person standing there, back towards him, holding a magnetic knife, motionless.


    Yan Junze was puzzled, glanced in Zhang Xiaomo''s direction and saw her sitting there, watching him with concern, so he pointed to his position at the corner and nodded at Zhang Xiaomo, signaling that there indeed was someone there.


    Zhang Xiaomo also nodded, clutching the magnetic knife in her hand, looking around to make sure there was nothing suspicious on her end.


    By now, Yan Junze had turned back and approached the man facing away from him.


    The other person was holding a magnetic knife, and judging by his attire, he was definitely an Exorcist; Yan Junze felt the man looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn''t precisely figure out who it was.


    Upon getting closer, he patted the man''s shoulder.


    The man slowly turned around, and as he faced him, a deep, bone-visible wound suddenly split open in the middle of his forehead, a trickle of blood burst out, slowly running down his cheek.


    The man''s body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground right in front of Yan Junze''s eyes.


    Yan Junze grabbed him, propping him up, and abruptly gasped, "Ah, Guo Youliang!"

 Chapter 255 Yin General Mo Da

    ```


    Time rewound to an earlier moment.


    The ancient well had been exploded with a detonator by Yan Long, and the resulting collapse buried the pursuing ancient corpse underground. However, the incense burning within the Incense Cup kept emitting white smoke, enveloping the entire ancient corpse.


    The strong tremors caused by the explosion of the well covered Yan Junze and everyone in his house in dust, following which Guo Youliang alone came to investigate.


    Due to the strong vibration and its origin from the easternmost part of the village, Guo Youliang didn''t take the wrong path. Analyzing the direction of the tremor, he quickly arrived at the site of the collapsed ancient well.


    At this spot, the region that contained the ancient well had sunk in, forming an irregular deep pit, with no trace of the original appearance of the well visible any longer.


    Moreover, the water at the bottom of the well had long dried up, with no sign of water flowing from anywhere else. Besides the dust that had been thrown up into the sky by the explosion, there was still dust in the air when Guo Youliang arrived, indicating that the disturbance had indeed originated here.


    Guo Youliang was somewhat puzzled. He did not know what could have caused the ground to collapse at this spot. There were no scents of gunpowder in the vicinity, but there was a faint, elusive strange smell.


    Moreover, near the collapsed area of the ground, he could see wisps of white smoke emerging from the cracks in the earth. It seemed that this strange smell was formed by the smoke.


    Looking at the peculiar scene before him, Guo Youliang crossed his arms in front of his chest and hesitated to move.


    Although he did not often come to this place, he remembered that there used to be an ancient well here, one that was very old and had long been without water.


    Taking out the Spirit Detector, Guo Youliang set its power to maximum and spun in place.


    No supernatural presence was detected.


    Before the Spirit Bridge erupted once more, the strangenesses on the eastern side of the village had already been almost completely eradicated by the Exorcists.


    And after the appearance of the Spirit Bridge, even though more powerful strangenesses emerged, Guo Youliang''s presence in the east kept them from causing too much trouble.


    So, relatively speaking, the eastern part of Mo Family Village had the least amount of strangenesses, so scarce that one might struggle to encounter even a single one for a good half-day.


    If there were no strangenesses nearby, how could the ground that contained the ancient well collapse?


    Guo Youliang''s suspicions grew; he did not leave but rather found a flat spot to sit down, placing the magnetic knife on his legs and calmly watching the patch of ground emitting white smoke.


    As he sat down, Yan Long, hidden in the Old Pagoda Tree, began to feel uneasy.


    In Yan Long''s plan, it wasn''t necessary to use the detonator, but the male Yin General turned out to be tough, almost catching up with him in the well, forcing him to use the explosive device.


    The consequence was bound to cause a violent tremor, attracting the attention of the Exorcists.


    Possibly an Exorcist would come to investigate, but that wasn''t certain; with the Spirit Bridge erupting again, more powerful strangenesses were also emerging, which might spread the Exorcists too thin to investigate even if they noticed.


    Yan Long had a thoroughly devised plan and had conducted a detailed investigation before his arrival.


    He knew that the Exorcists gathered in Mo Family Village were already exasperated by the second eruption of the Spirit Bridge, so there was a high probability they would not come to investigate, and might even temporarily declare the area a restricted zone to prevent others from approaching due to the explosive tremors.


    But now, it seemed he had guessed wrong, and not just wrong, but outrageously so.


    The fact was, not only had an Exorcist come to investigate, but from Yan Long''s assessment, this old fellow''s strength was definitely not low.


    "Bad luck hit; this guy might be a four-star Exorcist."


    Yan Long furrowed his brows tightly, unblinkingly sizing up Guo Youliang, who sat on the ground with a calm expression.


    He kept his breathing very low and remained motionless, making it impossible for Guo Youliang to detect him.


    In truth, the Old Pagoda Tree barely had any leaves left, just a lot of branches. If Yan Long didn''t move and Guo Youliang didn''t look up carefully, he wouldn''t notice someone hiding above.


    Another quarter of an hour slipped by, and Yan Long was starting to get restless.


    According to the plan, the second Incense Cup buried in the ground and still functioning should be nearly finished with its smoke emission. The male Yin General was also buried underground, in close proximity to the white smoke.


    Based on Yan Long''s method for refining corpses, half an hour was more than enough to make the perfectly preserved male Yin General temporarily obey his commands under the erosion of the white smoke.


    Of course, his original plan was to take advantage of this and swiftly move the corpse out of Mo Family Village without being discovered by other Exorcists. After getting out, he would find an opportunity to truly subdue it and use it for his own purposes.


    ```


    Just then, the white smoke that had been rising from the crevice ceased, and the strange odor vanished without a trace.


    Yan Long''s heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that it must be because the Incense Cup had burned out. He had prepared the dose for the Incense Cup beforehand; this dosage was exactly enough to make the Ancient Corpse temporarily obey his commands without succumbing to Corpse Poison.


    Now that the Incense Cup had burned out, it was the moment to formally commence his plan, but...


    Yan Long smirked bitterly, looking down at Guo Youliang who was seated on the ground.


    From beneath the collapsed ground, a faint sound of movement filtered through the crevices, seemingly like an animal similar to a pangolin, burrowing through the soil below.


    Guo Youliang was slightly startled. Under the moonlight, he looked towards the area of the collapse, noticing that the billowing white smoke had ceased and that the faint sound seemed to be coming from the depths below the ground.


    The noise was initially very soft, but gradually it grew louder, and more frequent.


    Guo Youliang''s wariness intensified. He slowly stood up, retreated two steps, and stared at the collapsed ground before him, gripping the magnetic knife in his hand tightly.


    Yan Long watched this scene, straightening up slightly himself, but he still dared not move. He reached into an object wrapped in black cloth beside him, and after a while, pulled out a rust-covered ancient sword.


    The ancient sword was about one meter twenty in length; he had been carrying it on his back along with his backpack the whole time.


    The sword, now revealed in the moonlight, appeared rusty and did not reflect any light, even under its beams.


    At that moment, at one point on the collapsed ground, more soil fell away, as if a hollow space had formed underneath.


    The next second, an arm that seemed as if it belonged to a living person stretched out from the dirt, followed by another arm, and then a burly man with a topknot emerged from beneath the ground, expressionless, with lifeless pupils.


    Though the man was clothed in plain garments, just standing there he made Guo Youliang''s heart pound with dread.


    It was as if the man emitted an aura of authority from his life.


    However, Guo Youliang was very certain¡ªthe man before him was a corpse.


    And judging by his attire, he could assert that this was an Ancient Corpse, and its status and position in life had been undoubtedly high.


    It was now quite apparent; this was a strangeness, probably an Ancient Corpse drawn out by the eruption of the Spirit Bridge.


    Unsure whether the Ancient Corpse had seen him, Guo Youliang stepped forward, ready to make the first move.


    But the next second, with a clatter, a rust-stained longsword suddenly fell to the ground, not far from the Ancient Corpse''s feet.


    The Ancient Corpse slightly tilted his head and his murky eyes seemed to shoot out two sharp beams, then he moved his limbs and stepped forward by half a step. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His walk was not stiff; it was indistinguishable from a living person''s, and he even exuded an air of vigor.


    Bending over, he picked up the rusty and somewhat heavy longsword, gripped the hilt, and stood up straight. The Ancient Corpse then suddenly raised his head to look at Guo Youliang.


    "I am Mo Da, anyone who stands in my way... shall die!"


    "It speaks, the Ancient Corpse can actually talk! Its vocal cords are completely intact!?" Guo Youliang''s face was filled with horror as he involuntarily took a step back, shocked at the sight of Yin General Mo Da.


    Hidden atop the Old Pagoda Tree, Yan Long was equally dumbfounded. He had not expected the Ancient Corpse that he had put so much effort into finding to be this perfectly preserved. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    He was aware that this was not the only corpse he had; although the one he currently had was near perfect, it was still not naturally formed, unlike the Yin General Mo Da before him.


    However, Yan Long was still worried. He estimated that the old man wielding the magnetic knife must be a four-star Exorcist. Even if Yin General Mo Da was formidable, he had just emerged and was not stable, possibly not a match for Guo Youliang.


    Indeed, after hearing Mo Da speak, Guo Youliang was surprised, but rather than stepping back, he took a step forward, raising the magnetic knife and striking diagonally. The magnetic glow surged instantly, extending over a meter, and making a beeline for Mo Da''s head.


    Mo Da deflected the strike with the sword, his movements smooth and almost instinctive.


    With a clang, the magnetic glow from the magnetic knife flickered and was repelled, but then quickly reformed.


    Following that, the rust stains covering the longsword fell away after this collision, revealing a bright blade that shone like polished steel in the moonlight, reflecting a faint gleam.

 Chapter 256 Tragic (4400 words)

    Guo Youliang knew the full weight of this blow. Against anomalies like Half of a Skin, if he hadn''t used a human body for defense, a single strike could have chopped it down.


    Yet, before his eyes now, the Ancient Corpse Mo Da managed to nearly shatter the magnetic glow with a rust-covered sword.


    "This sword?"


    Guo Youliang revealed puzzlement and looked up, his gaze penetrating through the Old Pagoda Tree, vaguely sensing a heavy shadow above that seemed out of place.


    However, at that moment, Mo Da, holding the sword in one hand, took several steps forward and raised the sword to chop down towards Guo Youliang''s head.


    The sword was thick, suitable for both chopping and piercing, and appeared to be an ancient sword. It was unclear where Yan Long had acquired it from, but now that Mo Da wielded it, it seemed to match him well.


    Before Guo Youliang could discern what exactly was on the Old Pagoda Tree, he was pressed into a retreat by Mo Da and immediately began engaging in a fierce battle with his magnetic knife.


    From his Exorcist training, he grasped the combat skills with the magnetic knife and basic barehanded combat techniques well, having become quite adept at these fighting tactics.


    Unlike the ancient people who needed to master various martial arts maneuvers, the Exorcist combat techniques contain only the simplest, most direct moves capable of killing anomalies with a single strike.


    However, Mo Da was well-versed in the true arts of battlefield enemy-killing, each move forged in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood ¡ª brutal and ruthless. Every blow, if not fully countered, could potentially injure or even kill Guo Youliang.


    After receiving two blows, Guo Youliang sensed something amiss. The opponent''s strength was immensely powerful; with each contact, the magnetic knife trembled, and it might break if the battle went on like this.


    He immediately retreated several steps, unleashed the magnetic glow, and used it to make contact with his opponent.


    Thus, the tide began to turn. The invisible magnetic glow, despite still physically coming into contact with Mo Da''s ancient sword, could wound Mo Da''s body.


    In less than a minute, Mo Da''s chest had been sliced open with seven or eight cuts.


    Yan Long, witnessing this scene, felt a pang of distress. This Ancient Corpse was perfect and should not be damaged.


    After a moment''s hesitation, he slowly slid down the coiled tree branches, for Guo Youliang''s attention was already elsewhere, allowing him to descend undetected.


    Bending over, he circled the edge of the deep pit and approached the area of fierce battle gradually.


    Although Mo Da appeared to be a normal human, his movements remained sluggish, which aligned with Yan Long''s conjectures that this being was merely perpetually nourished by Yin Energy, keeping its corpse unspoiled, but it didn''t mean it could immediately fly or become invulnerable to swords upon emergence.


    After all, this was no fantasy movie.


    Thump!


    The magnetic glow of the magnetic knife pierced through the right side of Mo Da''s abdomen, flickering away instantly, yet Mo Da''s belly now had a gaping hole, bereft of blood or the kind of injuries living people experience.


    For Mo Da, this wound had no effect on his movements.


    But seeing this, Yan Long''s heart twisted once more, and he hastened toward Guo Youliang, who now had his side facing him.


    Yan Long held a dagger in his hand and, with the swiftness of lightning, aimed a stab near the heart area on Guo Youliang''s left chest. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This stab, Yan Long had carefully considered, aiming right for the heart, would surely be a fatal blow.


    Just as the dagger was about to strike, Guo Youliang sensed a premonition. His head buzzed, and his nerves tensed in an instant as if his thoughts were beyond his control.


    A force of magnetic energy naturally rebounded from within his body, and during this, Guo Youliang intensified the strength of the magnetic rebound.


    The invisible magnetic force caused the dagger about to strike him to pause in mid-air. Yan Long felt an overwhelming turmoil inside.


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    In reality, the nearby magnetic field was disrupted, affecting a person''s normal bodily functions, and giving Yan Long a nausea-inducing feeling of vertigo.


    Mo Da, who was engaged in battle before Guo Youliang and equally affected by the disturbed magnetic field, turned his sword and thrust it towards Yan Long. The blade was unrelentingly sharp and fast approaching his neck.


    Yan Long was startled. He didn''t possess the Exorcist-level ability of magnetic reinforcement. He hadn''t expected that it would not only affect himself but directly interfere with the behaviors of other anomalies.


    Mo Da''s thrust came swiftly. Unable to dodge, Yan Long, in desperation, forced out his Semi-Spirit Body. A black silhouette emerged behind him, blue-faced with fangs, twin horns on its head, and sharp bone spurs growing out from its elbow joints. It extended a hand to snatch at the incoming sword tip.


    A snap.


    The ancient sword was repelled, and the Monster Spirit withdrew its hand, blocking the lethal strike for Yan Long.


    Then Yan Long shook his shoulders, the Monster Spirit seemingly overlapped with him, forming a double image. He stretched his claws towards Guo Youliang, nearby, aiming for the crown of his head.


    At the same moment, Mo Da, having recovered from the magnetic field disruption, shifted his target back to Guo Youliang, swinging the heavy sword at his right shoulder.


    With enemies on both sides, Guo Youliang had to retreat, but his speed was astonishing. In that moment of retreating, he tossed out two High-Energy Collapse bombs.


    Bang! Bang!


    Plumes of white smoke rose up between Yan Long and Mo Da, and the close-range force, compounded, blasted them both to the ground, pushing them a couple of meters backwards.


    Immediately afterward, Guo Youliang threw out three Chilling Hidden Buckle bombs, and masses of icy shards formed and quickly encased the fallen area in frost. Yan Long, including the Monster Spirit at his back, and apparently Mo Da as well, were all encased in a layer of ice.

 Chapter 256 Tragic (4400 words)_2

    Don''t talk about three Chilling Hidden Buckles, even the power of two Chilling Hidden Buckles erupting at the same time could freeze a normal person to death on the spot.


    Guo Youliang believed that with the simultaneous explosion of three Chilling Hidden Buckles, slightly freezing the Semi-Spirit Body and Mo Da who had ambushed him, causing them to temporarily lose the ability to act and be sitting ducks, was a very easy thing to accomplish.


    As long as he took advantage of the moment they were trapped, he could simply raise his hand to behead Mo Da, then tie up the Semi-Spirit who had ambushed him, disrupt the strangenesses in its magnetic field, and successfully take it back for interrogation.


    Seeing the Chilling Hidden Buckles had taken effect, Guo Youliang, holding the magnetic knife, quickly moved toward the fallen Mo Da. He knew that even though the power of the Chilling force had compounded, both individuals in front of him were no ordinary beings, and he had to resolve the situation quickly without any delay.


    However, Guo Youliang didn''t know that the Ancient Corpse Mo Da, who had been soaked in the Land of Extreme Yin for many years, although not for a thousand but around eight hundred years, felt as if he was back home when it came to his body''s reaction to cold.


    Mo Da''s fall was merely caused by the shock wave, having nothing to do with the power emitted by the Chilling force.


    As Guo Youliang approached, he flicked one of the Hidden Buckles embedded in the handle of his magnetic knife, causing the Collapsing Hidden Buckle to fall out. He caught it in his hand and placed it into his pocket, then he quickly pulled out another Chilling Hidden Buckle and pressed it in fiercely.


    The blade of the magnetic knife immediately emitted a ghostly blue color from its magnetic glow, looking like an ice crystal.


    By this time, Guo Youliang had already reached Mo Da, having just changed the Hidden Buckle and not yet had the chance to strike down.


    The fallen Mo Da suddenly opened his eyes, with no hindrance in movement, sweeping his heavy sword across the ground. The sword blade did not hit Guo Youliang, but the hilt still heavily struck Guo Youliang''s ankle.


    With a thud, his ankle didn''t break but a piercing pain shot through it.


    Startled, Guo Youliang endured the severe pain as the magnetic force inside his body surged out once again, disrupting the strange magnetic field around Mo Da, including Yan Long''s.


    Immediately afterwards, Guo Youliang swung his knife toward Mo Da''s chest, but the outcome was beyond his expectations.


    Half of the magnetic knife''s blade had entered Mo Da''s chest, but it failed to freeze the other completely.


    Based on the power of a magnetic knife equipped with a Chilling Hidden Buckle, Guo Youliang was clear that his stab could have split the opponent in two and freeze the entire body solid, then drag it back like frozen meat.


    Alternatively, he could follow up with one more strike, turning the Ancient Corpse into scraps of flesh, and be thoroughly finished with it.


    Well outside his expectations, the result of this strike surprised Guo Youliang, who suddenly exclaimed, "Yin Corpse!?"


    Crack!


    Mo Da sat up again, a third of the magnetic knife breaking off inside his torso, and he thrust his sword once more toward Guo Youliang.


    Guo Youliang, shocked, retreated with a limp.


    At the same moment, the Monster Spirit behind Yan Long awoke, moving him like a puppet to stand, and his entire demeanor turned grim and aggressive as he pounced toward Guo Youliang.


    Guo Youliang, looking at the remaining two-thirds of the magnetic knife in his hand, stumbled backward again and quickly pressed down on the Chilling Hidden Buckle embedded in the knife''s handle, replacing it with an Incinerate Hidden Buckle.


    The broken magnetic knife heated up, an orange essence spreading out from it, but because the magnetic knife had broken, the magnetic glow could not extend far, covering only about half a meter or so.


    The fiery heat enveloped the blade, blocking Mo Da''s sword that was charging toward him.


    The force of this blow was so great, it knocked Guo Youliang backward, sending jolts of excruciating pain through his injured ankle, and he could no longer stand, collapsing onto his back on the ground.


    Seizing this opportunity, Yan Long took a paper package from his bosom, swiftly opened it to reveal a black, clay-like substance inside, grabbed it, and stuffed it into Mo Da''s mouth. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mo Da, as if unfazed, chewed a few times and swallowed it all down, then continued walking toward the fallen Guo Youliang with his long sword.


    Guo Youliang released the magnetic force within his body for the third time, a power that he couldn''t use without limit. For now, the magnetic force could keep his own physical strength abundant and could also be unleashed externally to combat strangenesses.


    However, for higher-level strangenesses, the disruptive power of the magnetic field would be greatly reduced.


    Moreover, each release was necessary only in desperate times for Guo Youliang because it would also reduce his own physical strength.


    After this release, Guo Youliang himself felt weakened and powerless. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Mo Da''s magnetic field was disrupted once again, causing him to stand still on the spot, completely motionless.


    But Yan Long, being at a distance, suffered little effect and closed in on Guo Youliang with swift steps, then ferociously dove down.


    Guo Youliang, lying on the ground unable to rise, immediately raised his knife horizontally in front of him.


    The Monster Spirit''s hands touched the hot magnetic knife, emitting a sizzling noise, while Yan Long clasped Guo Youliang''s hands, trying to prevent him from wielding the magnetic knife ever again.


    The standing Mo Da, at this point, had his magnetic field return to normal after consuming the clay given by Yan Long. Seemingly very obedient, understanding what Yan Long wanted, he walked to the front of Guo Youliang, brandishing his ancient sword and slashing straight down.


    Yan Long and the Monster Spirit withdrew their hands, and in the next second, the ancient sword and broken magnetic knife collided fiercely. The hot magnetic glow of the knife made the ancient sword heat up instantly, transmitting the heat along the blade into Mo Da''s hands.


    But as Mo Da was already a Yin Corpse, the heat from the Incinerate Hidden Buckle contradicted the chilling energy of his body, causing a large amount of white steam to rise from Mo Da.


    However, the broken magnetic knife was no longer as powerful as before and more cracks appeared along the break, and with a snap, it collapsed into pieces.

 Chapter 256 Tragic (4400 words)_3

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    The Hidden Buckle embedded in the hilt of the blade was red-hot at the moment; after the magnetic knife was destroyed, it fell off and landed precisely on Guo Youliang''s right chest. White mist emerged from his clothes, quickly burning a hole, and then the scorching Hidden Buckle stuck to Guo Youliang''s skin and made a sizzling sound.


    Guo Youliang clenched his teeth tightly and ignored it. The moment the magnetic knife shattered, he immediately threw away the fragments in his hand and grabbed the ancient sword Mo Da was pressing down.


    His palm was pierced by the sword blade, and blood spurted out instantly.


    The moment of life and death!


    Guo Youliang, for the last time, released the only remaining magnetic force inside his body.


    Mo Da''s force pressing down the sword dropped sharply, and he stood frozen in place.


    Guo Youliang, dripping with sweat, breathed a sigh of relief, pushed with his legs, ready to take this chance to escape the dangerous situation, but Yan Long, with his Semi-Spirit Body, approached again. At this moment, the Monster Spirit behind him seemed to grow larger, grabbed Guo Youliang''s shoulders and head, and firmly pinned him to the ground, preventing him from rolling away.


    With the Monster Spirit exerting force, Yan Long freed his hand, drew his dagger, and stabbed it into Guo Youliang''s abdomen, then pulled it out and stabbed a second time.


    This second stab was caught by Guo Youliang, who grabbed the handle of the dagger. Yan Long wasn''t as strong as he was and couldn''t pull it out for a third stab. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two were deadlocked.


    Just then, Mo Da started to move again, pressing down further with the ancient sword in his hand.


    With only one hand holding the blade, Guo Youliang resisted desperately, but couldn''t withstand the enormous strength of the Ancient Corpse.


    As the sword blade approached the center of Guo Youliang''s forehead, it pierced the skin, and a trickle of blood flowed out.


    Guo Youliang''s eyes bulged, using all his strength, clenching his teeth tightly, his body trembling incessantly, with the knuckles of his hand gripping the blade all turning white.


    With the naked eye, one could see the ancient sword slowly penetrating his head, almost disappearing into his skull.


    At this moment, Guo Youliang was almost unconscious when he suddenly let go, and immediately from his hand emerged a black Hidden Buckle.


    The next second, a loud explosion sounded!


    A powerful blast wave centered on him swept out in all directions, and thick smoke engulfed the three of them.


    Yan Long''s screams were heard, a severed hand of Mo Da flew out, followed by a large swath of dust spreading.


    This was the commotion of a Super-Energy Burst!


    After the fierce impact, the battlefield, which had been extremely intense, instantly became eerily silent, with only clouds of dust drifting away in all directions.


    About four to five minutes later, the dust finally started to settle, revealing three people lying down.


    Guo Youliang''s head was full of blood, lying on his back with Mo Da''s ancient sword still on his forehead, but Mo Da had been blown off, lying rigidly to one side, motionless.


    As for Yan Long, being small-bodied, he was blown even farther, the Monster Spirit behind him had disappeared, and he too was unconscious.


    Time passed, and it was unknown how long it had been.


    Guo Youliang moved gently.


    The Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle, when triggered, would automatically target all areas except the person triggering it, and though the direction of the person triggering it would still be affected, the impact was not significant.


    That made Guo Youliang the person least affected by the aftermath of the Super-Energy Burst.


    However, his injuries were very severe. A trace of clarity in his Spirit Platform was still holding on. Unconsciously, his legs exerted a slight force, and it took him about two minutes to slowly turn over, attempting to crawl forward.


    The ancient sword was still in his head, and after struggling for about five minutes, he finally stopped moving.


    Soon, another Guo Youliang, a shadow, stood up from within his body, holding a perfect phantom of a magnetic knife, with no sword wound on his forehead and no dagger-stab wound on his abdomen.


    This shadow stood stiffly for a while, then turned around and rigidly walked back in the direction from which he had come.

 Chapter 257 Rescue (4200 words)

    Guo Youliang''s shadow stiffly walked forward, step by step.


    Not long after, it moved out of the ancient well area, and the collapsed place was no longer visible, then his shadow began to hasten its pace. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the Super-Energy Burst triggered a strong shockwave, especially against strangenesses, having a significant fatal effect, it couldn''t match the noise created by the detonation of a Detonator.


    So, although the Super-Energy Burst had been detonated, the resulting noise didn''t spread near the Little Wind Zhai like it did when the Detonator blew up the ancient well.


    The leading middle-aged man and a group of young Exorcists guarding the area didn''t hear anything unusual at all.


    It wasn''t until a young man walked out of the courtyard to urinate at the corner outside the yard that he suddenly got a fright¡ªthere was a figure standing at the corner.


    At first, this young man was panicked and cautious, but then he realized something was off and stared at the person''s back.


    The figure slowly turned around, holding a magnetic knife, and looked directly at the young man.


    About five seconds later, the courtyard door was slammed open, and the young man stumbled in, panicking, "Uncle... Uncle Guo..."


    "What''s Big Brother Guo doing?" asked the leading middle-aged man, seeing the young man was pale with trembling hands and feet. An Exorcist wouldn''t show such a reaction unless he had seen something horrifying.


    This scene made the leading middle-aged man''s heart pound uncontrollably.


    "He..." The young man pointed behind him at the courtyard outside, "He''s standing by the door, just standing there."


    "What''s he doing there?" asked the leading middle-aged man curiously.


    "No, Uncle Guo''s wrong, he, he seems to have become... a strangeness?!" The young man stammered.


    With those words, everybody in the courtyard was shocked. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    The leading middle-aged man was the first to rush out, running to the corner outside the yard and saw Guo Youliang''s shadow standing motionless in the corner.


    The others followed suit, but none dared to get close, just staring unbelievably with open mouths at the scene before them.


    Everyone saw a crack form right on Guo Youliang''s forehead, splitting his skin in two, and blood slowly flowed down, soaking half of his face yet unable to cover his lifeless eyes, which remained open.


    "Big Brother Guo!" Tears had filled the eyes of the leading middle-aged man, ready to fall at any moment.


    The sight before him was so unbelievable that for a moment, he couldn''t accept the truth.


    But the stark reality was laid out before his eyes, leaving no room for doubt.


    "Help... me." Guo Youliang suddenly parted his lips and uttered a muffled voice.


    Those further away couldn''t hear it clearly, but the leading middle-aged man heard it distinctly. He froze, his gaze fixed on Guo Youliang''s shadow.


    "Help me!"


    Guo Youliang''s voice seemed more urgent as he said the words again, this time with much more force.


    This caused the leading middle-aged man to lose his composure completely, his eyes filling with Blood Threads as he roared, "All Exorcists, pair up, split up and search. Lock on the eastern side of the village. You must find Big Brother Guo''s body within an hour!"


    Everyone paused, then scattered explosively, pairing up and spreading in all directions.


    The individuals didn''t waste words, as they darted into streets and alleys, looking around, even pulling out their Spirit Detectors to begin a frantic search.


    The leading middle-aged man stood alone before the strangeness of Guo Youliang. Once everyone had dispersed, he raised his hand and glanced at his watch, "Just before dawn, as long as it''s before sunrise and taken back, we might make it in time!"


    With that, he picked a direction himself and started searching quickly.


    ...


    Hearing Yan Junze''s surprised voice, Zhang Xiaomo forced herself to stand up, clutching her still aching chest and quickly approached the corner outside the courtyard, then stood dumbfounded.


    "Uncle Guo?!"


    Although the blood flowing from Guo Youliang''s forehead covered most of his face, his clothing, physique, and general appearance still allowed Zhang Xiaomo to recognize him at a glance.


    "He... he''s already a... a strangeness!" Yan Junze stared in disbelief at Guo Youliang, murmuring to himself.


    "No, he''s not!" Zhang Xiaomo rushed forward, grabbing Yan Junze''s arm, tears involuntarily falling, but her gaze remained fixed on Guo Youliang, "Uncle Guo... might still be saved!"


    "His soul is already here, how can he be saved?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned her head sharply, staring at Yan Junze, "There''s no time to explain, we have to find the body, we need to find Uncle Guo''s body, fast! It has to be before dawn, to take the body back to the Tianmeng Exorcist Team branch."


    "Help... me!"


    Guo Youliang again suddenly spoke and still those two words, but this time they were said incredibly slowly as if he was running out of all his energy.


    "Just go looking like this? What about Uncle Guo''s strangeness?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo stamped her foot, "Of course, we''re taking it, but I don''t have a strangeness containment device. Those things are expensive, and there are only a few in the entire Tianmeng. Jiang Yaofei has one, but who knows if that guy has already left Mo Family Village by now."


    After a pause, she continued, "If all else fails, we''ll just find the body first. As long as we bring the body here and let Uncle Guo''s soul temporarily reside in its own body, it should work for a short time. We only need to last until we get back."


    At this time, the strangeness produced by Guo Youliang had formed into an Obsession¡ªseeking someone to help him.

 Chapter 257 Rescue (4200 words)_2

    And this strangeness is almost impossible to communicate with, unless one can help realize its Obsession; thus, having the strangeness follow one''s every step is basically unattainable.


    Because on the way, Guo Youliang might very well leave to seek help from as many others as possible.


    So if time could be saved, it would be best to take away the strangeness of Guo Youliang in this corner, but the Exorcism Container is the key tool.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just finished speaking when Yan Junze, after a brief contemplation, said to Guo Youliang, "Uncle Guo, I am now helping you, trying to rescue you, so taking away your soul to find your body is the fastest and most time-saving method."


    Zhang Xiaomo listened in a daze, not understanding what Yan Junze meant by that.


    Yan Junze continued, "So now I need to take away your soul; please do not resist or harbor any adverse thoughts. Because as soon as your soul is taken away, you will be rescued promptly after we find your body!"


    "What?" Zhang Xiaomo looked at Yan Junze in surprise.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had already brought up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, where the silhouettes of two strange babies, one Crawler Monster, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen were all within the 12th node.


    Yan Junze''s thoughts stirred, and he activated [Evil Spirit Solid Lock], rapidly expending 100 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    However, almost the next second, a prompt popped up in his mind: Resistance detected, this Lockdown attempt failed.


    "We will rescue you soon, please do not resist."


    Under Zhang Xiaomo''s astonished gaze, Yan Junze spoke again.


    The second attempt consumed another 100 points of Different Dimension Energy, and he activated [Evil Spirit Solid Lock] again.


    Three seconds later, a second prompt came through: Resistance detected, this Lockdown attempt failed.


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes, feeling the scrutiny from Zhang Xiaomo''s gaze, and turned to give her a confident smile as if to say, "When have I ever let you down?"


    Turning back to Guo Youliang, he continued, "Old Guo, I said I would help you, and I certainly will. Not only will I help you find your body, but I can also help you find the cause of your death. If someone harmed you, they will face the wrath from both Xiaomo and me!"


    Upon finishing, he once again expended 100 points of Different Dimension Energy and initiated "Evil Spirit Solid Lock."


    Time passed, and at this moment, Yan Junze felt as though time was crawling.


    Approximately five seconds later, a prompt emerged in his mind.


    [Lockdown successful, acquired Guo Youliang (Advanced Sculpting Spirit), current Favorability: Neutral]


    At the same moment, the shadow of Guo Youliang before him vanished, and within the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, a silhouette of Guo Youliang appeared.


    "Ah!"


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly noticed Guo Youliang''s soul had disappeared and couldn''t help exclaiming in shock.


    Covering her mouth, she glanced at Yan Junze, who was putting on a smug look as though he feared no lightning strike, and said with an air of superiority, "Don''t worry, I''ve successfully taken him away."


    As he said this, Yan Junze was actually feeling an internal turmoil. He hadn''t expected that Guo Youliang, who had just died not long ago and whose soul was newly formed, would already have a strangeness level so outrageously high, reaching the level of Advanced Sculpting Spirit.


    Keep in mind, when Granny Ren''s son and daughter-in-law had just died, the strangeness they formed was nothing at all, skittishly nibbling on a candle, nowhere near the grand demeanor of Old Guo who became an Advanced Sculpting Spirit the moment he died.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was very clear that a strangeness, after some time, might ascend in level. Perhaps due to some calamity, or maybe a chance happening of cause and effect.


    In other words, Guo Youliang, who had been capable in life, surely experienced a much greater change in the level of his strangeness after death compared to that of an ordinary person.


    Which is to say, although Guo Youliang was already an Advanced Sculpting Spirit, given time, there was a very high chance for Old Guo to ascend one, or even two levels, possibly reaching the state of an Ethereal Spirit.


    Having seen the level of Guo Youliang''s strangeness, a hint of reluctance surged in Yan Junze''s heart; he gazed at Guo Youliang''s silhouette within the 12th node of the Atlas, finding it hard to part with it.


    But he quickly cast that sentiment aside because Zhang Xiaomo was staring at him intently, analyzing his current facial expression.


    "Why are you staring at me?"


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "What do you think you''re doing? Why the constipated look? You know we don''t have much time left, so let''s find Uncle Guo''s body first, and then you can go to the bathroom, okay?"


    Yan Junze''s mouth twitched, and then he pointed in the direction of the eastern part of the village, "I think I know where Old Guo went."


    Before this, Yan Junze had already detected all the high-level missions in the village, and there was one called [Corpse Qi Spread] in the east side of the village. The level of this mission was somewhat peculiar, as it could progress from "hair-raising (low)" to "Terrified (medium)" under certain triggering odds.


    Of course, Yan Junze knew that as a four-star Exorcist, Guo Youliang had enough strength to retreat safely from a mission like "Terrified (medium)," even if he couldn''t kill the strangenesses in the mission.


    He didn''t believe that Guo Youliang would die in the [Corpse Qi Spread] mission; it was indeed hard to make sense of.


    It was either that, or he had thought of a possibility, but this possibility was so unlikely that Yan Junze only speculated it, and didn''t dare to confirm.


    Anyway, it seemed that only this mission in the eastern part of the village could pose some threat to Guo Youliang; beyond that, there was no other reason to explain Guo Youliang ending up in his current state.


    ...


    Next to the collapsed ancient well.


    Guo Youliang''s body stopped moving after crawling, and the second person to wake up was Yan Long.


    Yan Long''s body was ordinary, but once in Semi-Spirit State, with the overlay of a Monster Spirit''s protection, he could reach a state of immense natural strength, as tough as diamond.


    Of course, this was under the condition that he didn''t encounter an Exorcist of four stars or above, especially one as experienced as Guo Youliang.


    Protected by his Semi-Spirit Body, Yan Long was merely knocked unconscious by the powerful shock wave, with the strange magnetic field inside his body in utter chaos. The Monster Spirit that had last protected him withdrew on its own after resisting a Super-Energy Burst at close range.


    At this rate, it seemed he wouldn''t be able to use it again for some time.


    Yan Long was awakened by violent coughing, doubling over and lying on the ground in pain.


    It took quite a while for him to recover. He felt as if every muscle in his body was tearing apart in pain. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after a thorough check, he realized it was just an illusion; he seemed to have not been injured much, except for a patch of dark purple on his chest and stomach, clearly caused by the close-range impact of the shock wave.


    If it weren''t for the Monster Spirit''s bolstering his resistance, this time, he might have been done for.


    After catching his breath for a while, Yan Long looked up and glanced not far away.


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    He saw Guo Youliang''s body lying face down, seemingly attempting to move forward just before death, but now frozen in this strange pose, clearly dead for some time.


    His gaze swept again and didn''t find Mo Da''s body.


    A chill ran down Yan Long''s spine. He quickly propped himself up to stand and looked around, only to find Mo Da lying face up in a slightly lower area, motionless.


    Feeling somewhat reassured, Yan Long was about to look away when he suddenly froze, his gaze shifting toward Mo Da''s right arm.


    There, shockingly, the arm was severed, the entire right arm gone without a trace!


    "Ah!!!"


    To have found this nearly perfect Ancient Corpse was like a connoisseur who had gone to great lengths to find a peerless gem, only to witness a corner of it being forcefully broken off at this moment.


    The pain in his heart surged through Yan Long''s entire body in an instant, the heartache overpowering the pain of his injuries.


    Yan Long''s eyes turned bloodshot as he staggered towards the body of Guo Youliang, lying on the ground.


    Getting close, he wordlessly squatted down, picked up a large stone that had rolled out from the ground due to the earlier blast, and smashed it down hard on Guo Youliang''s head.


    A crack was heard!


    Yan Long remained silent, squatting down again to pick up the stone, and smashed it down vigorously for the second, third, fourth, and fifth times...


    "You bastard, ruining my Ancient Corpse, I want you... mutilated in death!!!"

 Chapter 258 Ambush (4300 words)

    A moment later, Guo Youliang''s body had become a mess of decay, beyond recognition.


    It wasn''t until then that Yan Long felt a sense of balance in his heart. He gasped heavily, threw the stone away, glanced at Mo Da''s resting place, and then walked over. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Arriving at Mo Da''s side, Yan Long pulled out a packet of black powder. He unfolded the paper packet and poured the powder on Mo Da''s nose and mouth.


    About a minute later, the black powder moved in unison as if it were magnetic, seemingly drawn by a suction force, and burrowed into Mo Da''s nostrils.


    Soon, all the black powder vanished without a trace.


    Mo Da''s body twitched, and his closed eyes reopened, lifelessly scanning the surroundings.


    Yan Long knew that the smoke emitted by the second Incense Cup was still affecting Mo Da, allowing him to temporally obey instructions without question. Whether it was the medicine previously fed to him during the fight or the black powder just now, both served to strengthen Yan Long''s control over Mo Da.


    Turning around, after a while, Yan Long found Mo Da''s severed arm on the ground, still clutching the ancient sword.


    The break in the arm was jagged, which meant that even if it were reattached, Mo Da would be left with mismatched arms, not aligning symmetrically.


    His anger towards Guo Youliang resurfaced, and Yan Long glanced at the remains of Guo Youliang that now resembled nothing but minced flesh and then suddenly sharpened his gaze toward the distance.


    Under the moonlight, it seemed someone''s shadow was moving near the eaves of a distant house.


    Witnessing this, Yan Long immediately lay flat on the ground, using hands and feet to crawl over to Mo Da.


    At the moment, Mo Da was still lying down. Yan Long took the ancient sword from the gripping severed arm and placed it into Mo Da''s other intact hand, whispering, "No matter who approaches, kill them at first sight, then we must leave this place quickly."


    Mo Da silently gripped the ancient sword as though he were a puppet.


    Yan Long adopted a side-lying position, facing the direction from which the shadow had appeared, and closed his eyes, not moving an inch.


    About four or five minutes later, two men approached one after the other.


    One was the middle-aged leader, and the other a young Exorcist, looking naive and probably only seventeen or eighteen years old.


    If it weren''t for a special constitution, able to integrate with or tolerate Magnetic Force, a boy so young could not possibly have become an Exorcist. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because the middle-aged leader knew that Guo Youliang''s last farewell coincided with a violent disturbance in the east side of the village, he had come here deliberately, reaching this area faster than the others.


    On the way, the middle-aged leader had encountered this young man and another companion from his group. That companion had suddenly needed to relieve himself and had gone to find a spot, so the middle-aged leader arrived earlier with this youngster.


    Out of everyone, only this three-star Exorcist middle-aged leader knew clearly the importance of finding Guo Youliang''s body. The other Exorcists didn''t dare to ask questions; they simply followed orders.


    As the two men drew near, the man who had gone to relieve himself hurried from behind, trotting and looking around as he said, "Boss, Liang, wait for me. Eh, what the hell happened here? The ground feels like it''s caved in."


    The middle-aged leader turned back and said, "De, you sure are quick on your feet!"


    The youngster beside him, Liang, also looked around and exclaimed, "Boss, it''s not just caved in here, there''s someone lying over there."


    The middle-aged leader was startled and immediately reached out to stop Liang''s impulsiveness to go for a closer look. He took out his Spirit Detector, turned it on, and scanned the area, finding no anomalies.


    The man named De also pulled out his Spirit Detector to check, with the same result of no anomalies found.


    Taking a few steps forward, the three of them were shocked to see a blur of flesh and blood lying on the ground in a concave area, unrecognizable.


    The intense stench of blood wafted through the air, causing their stomachs to churn involuntarily.


    The youngster named Liang gagged and quickly stepped to the side, daring not to look any further.


    De looked toward the middle-aged leader with a shocked expression. The leader''s face was somber, his gaze fixed on the corpse on the ground.


    The body was nearly unrecognizable; not only the face but every part of the body seemed to have been bludgeoned with a blunt object. However, from the clothing, the middle-aged leader could confirm that it was undoubtedly Guo Youliang.


    With the body destroyed, even having found it now was useless. The leader felt dead inside, staring at Guo Youliang''s remains, then a sudden wave of anger surged within him.


    At the same moment, Liang, who was retching to the side, suddenly uttered a noise.


    "Boss, there are two more bodies here."


    The middle-aged leader craned his neck to look and noticed the lower terrain that had obscured his view, so he quickly walked a few steps forward.


    Indeed, below in the depression, one body was lying on its back and another was slumped to the side.


    The middle-aged leader then focused on the body lying flat. It appeared uncommon, but the moonlight was too dim to make out the details clearly.


    He took another couple of steps to get a closer look.


    At this point, Liang, who had discovered the body, had already walked over and was nearing the one lying on its back.


    The middle-aged leader''s gaze suddenly sharpened; only now he could see clearly that the body was dressed in ancient clothes. He couldn''t help but blurt out, "Liang, be careful..."

 Chapter 258 Ambush (4300 words)_2

    Before he could finish speaking, the Ancient Corpse lying on the ground abruptly stood up, stiff as a board, expressionless, emanating a brutal indifference to all life. Its left hand wielded the ancient sword, sweeping it in a motion called Sweeping Thousands Army.


    Unable to react in time, Liang was cut in half at the waist by the ancient sword in an instant.


    His upper body maintained the motion of turning around, but only his severed top half twisted while his lower half remained motionless on the spot, his face frozen in terror. His upper body slid to one side, spilling his organs.


    "Ah!"


    The leading middle-aged man jerked in shock, his eyes bloodshot. On instinct, he pulled out his magnetic knife and slashed at Mo Da.


    In his subconscious, he assumed that the opponent had only been able to kill his colleague with a sneak attack, so their actual strength shouldn''t be very high.


    The reason Guo Youliang had died here must have been something else, and there might be other strangenesses hidden in the vicinity.


    Although he had just witnessed the death of his colleague and was striking back in a rage, the leading middle-aged man still diverted part of his attention to the surroundings, particularly to the emaciated man lying on his side.


    Nevertheless, he put most of his strength into that magnetic knife, extending the magnetic glow to the extreme limit he could muster, about half a meter in length.


    When the magnetic glow collided with Mo Da''s ancient sword, it disappeared instantly, followed by a close physical clash between the magnetic knife and the attacking ancient sword.


    With a clang, the magnetic knife broke, and the ancient sword thrust forward unrelentingly.


    The leading middle-aged man was instantly horrified. He gathered all his attention on the sword tip getting ever closer and rapidly took several steps back while discarding the magnetic knife.


    The ancient sword was still rapidly closing in, the tip growing larger before his eyes.


    "No good," the leading middle-aged man gasped, realizing the Ancient Corpse''s strength was terrifyingly formidable. He let out a loud shout, throwing two High-Energy Collapses at the Ancient Corpse while yelling, "De, run!"


    De was completely panicked. Seeing the situation, he turned and fled.


    The most powerful items the leading middle-aged man carried were these two High-Energy Collapses, aside from the Strangeness Interferer.


    But at this life-and-death moment, with the opponent''s ancient sword already at his face, activating the Strangeness Interferer was essentially futile. Moreover, the interferer was still in his backpack, unretrieved. Even if he could get it out, its effectiveness against the Ancient Corpse was much worse compared to ordinary strangenesses.


    Throwing the two High-Energy Collapses was the leading middle-aged man''s ultimate defense against the opponent.


    Crack!


    The lead High-Energy Collapse collided with the ancient sword''s tip, resulting in a thunderous boom. Shockwaves swept through the area.


    This shockwave didn''t affect the leading middle-aged man greatly, but when it surged towards the Ancient Corpse, Mo Da remained unmoved. His sword tip shifted just slightly, and he continued his forward charge.


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    The second High-Energy Collapse was activated, and another shockwave exploded from the side of the ancient sword.


    With a shake of his arm, Mo Da once again suppressed this level of shockwave. The sword tip veered a little more and was now right up against the leading middle-aged man, plunging into his left chest and piercing through his back.


    The leading middle-aged man abruptly froze, stopped retreating, and looked down at his chest where the ancient sword had entered, just a knuckle''s length away from his heart.


    Then Mo Da twisted the sword hilt, and a surge of corpse energy spread crazily from his center. As the sword twisted, the wound on the leading middle-aged man''s chest burst open with a deafening pop, splitting him in two from the shoulder.


    Mo Da withdrew the ancient sword, then pointed its tip towards De, who was fleeing, and furiously hurled the sword in his direction.


    With a howling noise and a buzz, the ancient sword impaled De''s back, sending him flying forward two or three meters. He collapsed on the ground and never moved again.


    "Not bad, Mo Da!"


    Yan Long, who had been feigning death lying on his side the whole time, stood up now with a smug smile. Although his face was pale, he couldn''t hide his excitement.


    Proudly patting the unmoving Mo Da on the shoulder, Yan Long laughed, but soon he began to cough violently, clutching at his chest in discomfort. It was only after spitting out a mouthful of blood that he felt the congestion in his chest clear. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed he had sustained some internal injuries after all.


    Pointing ahead, he instructed Mo Da, "Retrieve the ancient sword. Then go back to the Old Pagoda Tree and get my backpack down. I need to rest for a while; I''m still feeling quite unwell."


    After retrieving the ancient sword, Mo Da climbed up the tree and took down Yan Long''s two backpacks, one large and one small. Upon returning to Yan Long''s side, Yan Long further instructed him to pick up his severed arm and place it in the backpack.


    After all, even if he ended up with differing arm lengths, it was better than having just one arm.


    Despite the tugging pain in his chest, Yan Long knew it was not safe to linger and hurriedly said, "Let''s get out of here."


    As he stood up, clutching his chest, with Mo Da holding the backpacks, they were about to move forward when he suddenly paused, spotting a figure moving by the eaves of a distant house, seemingly still headed their way.


    "Lie down."


    Yan Long ordered with urgency, dropping to the ground himself first.


    Mo Da''s reaction was a beat slower, but he also lay down beside Yan Long, resuming the position he had just been in.


    The low-lying terrain of the place was indeed suitable for hiding without being noticed.


    Then Yan Long slightly turned, returning to a side lying position, and whispered to Mo Da, "Hold on to the ancient sword and do as you did before. If a few more come, kill them all."

 Chapter 258 Ambush (4300 words)_3

    Although he couldn''t leave at the moment, Yan Long was not in a hurry.


    He knew very well that there weren''t many exorcist teams with four-star exorcists from Tianmeng in this Mo Family Village. Not everyone could be of Guo Youliang''s level.


    Moreover, there must be powerful strangenesses in other parts of the village, so not all exorcists would be here. He just needed to kill the exorcists that had come this time, and then he must hurry to leave; otherwise, staying till dawn would be unfavorable for his actions.


    With Mo Da''s strength, plus the element of surprise, even if two three-star exorcists came at the same time, Yan Long wouldn''t be afraid.


    Under the eaves of a distant house, Yan Junze, who was about to continue walking, was stopped by Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo blinked and stared in the direction where the shape of the Old Pagoda Tree was vaguely visible, as if talking to herself, "Over there... there seemed to be someone standing just now."


    Yan Junze looked in the distance, pulled out a pair of glasses, but still couldn''t see very clearly, shook his head, "I didn''t see anything, are you sure there was someone there just now?"


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "There definitely were people standing there, more than one. But they suddenly disappeared just now."


    Yan Junze looked again but still shook his head. Then he exclaimed, "You have good eyesight, not like someone who is on their phone every day!"


    "Playing on the phone and having good eyesight are two different things," Zhang Xiaomo corrected him.


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    Yan Junze paused, not understanding, and then asked, "Might there be strangenesses over there, so do we go or not?"


    "What''s there to be afraid of? You''re so powerful, you even blew up the Red Coffin," Zhang Xiaomo said, "If it''s dangerous when we find Uncle Guo''s body later, I''ll take the body and go first; you cover our retreat."


    Yan Junze nodded, "No problem, you just run with the body, and if you hear any strangeness screaming behind us, don''t look back. That''s the punishment they deserve."


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn''t help but smile, and the shadow that had been lingering in her heart due to Guo Youliang''s death eased slightly.


    Yan Junze led the way forward, and in a short while, they neared the area where the ancient well had collapsed.


    They then saw a body of an exorcist lying on the ground, head faced towards Yan Junze''s direction, motionless, clearly already dead.


    Upon closer inspection, they found a bloody hole in the person''s back, with blood still slowly seeping out, indicating that he hadn''t been dead for long.


    Zhang Xiaomo frowned slightly and looked towards the front to see if there were any abnormalities.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, crouched down and turned the head of the lying man, examining the face of the deceased.


    Suddenly, he was taken aback, exclaiming, "This person is called De, we entered Mo Family Village together. His skin still has warmth; he must have just died."


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo quickly ran forward a few steps, then crouched down sharply.


    Yan Junze was startled and hurriedly followed, only to see Zhang Xiaomo kneeling in front of a body that was mangled, her expression sorrowful.


    Yan Junze remembered that the mangled body''s clothing was unmistakably Guo Youliang''s.


    But soon he lifted his head and looked to the ground not far away, where another body with a gruesome death lay, its face blurred, not allowing a clear view of its features.


    But from the clothes and appearance, it seemed to be another exorcist.


    Zhang Xiaomo gently wiped away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks, stood up, took out her magnetic knife, and was about to approach the corpse that appeared to have its upper body split open when Yan Junze held her shoulder from behind.


    "Don''t go over there."


    Zhang Xiaomo turned her head to look at him.


    Yan Junze stared into her eyes and let out a gentle sigh, "These people must have died recently. Saving Guo Youliang might no longer be possible, but saving them... I believe I can." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 259 Seeing through the Conspiracy

    When Yan Junze said this, it was clear that Zhang Xiaomo was bewildered.


    The person is already dead, how can they still be saved?


    "You stand here and don''t move, be careful and keep watch, I''ll go and have a look," Yan Junze spoke as he passed Zhang Xiaomo and walked towards the blurred body on the ground.


    As he approached the lower terrain, Yan Junze paused slightly, seeing two other bodies, also not far away.


    One of the bodies looked somewhat familiar, he took a few more steps forward, then stopped and did not advance any further.


    On closer look, he suddenly realized, only to see that one of the bent "bodies" seemed to be Cheng Jingting''s teacher who he had seen in the Great Rewind¡ªYan Long, the thin man whose Semi-Spirit Body was a monstrous spirit.


    Glancing at the body next to Yan Long, dressed in ancient clothing and seemingly holding something in his hand, but that arm was pressed underneath his body, making it unclear what exactly was pinned down.


    However, the person''s ancient attire made Yan Junze''s heart skip a beat, reminding him of the mission prompt he had received earlier.


    The mission was called "Corpse Qi Spread," with the mission level potentially escalating probabilistically from hair-raising (high) to Terrified (medium).


    And the mission''s main target was a general named Mo Da, who, having fallen into a well by accident, harbored resentment towards everyone, and whose body was preserved by the extreme cold energy in the well, making him a rare Ancient Corpse.


    Looking around now, there had been an explosion nearby the house opposite Little Wind Zhai, which was why Guo Youliang rushed over to check, and thinking about it now, this place must be the source of that tremor.


    Seeing Yan Long here and then recalling the discussion about the Spirit Bridge of Mo Family Village during the Great Rewind, since Cheng Jingting was also nurturing spirits, it made sense that Yan Long would specifically come for this ancient corpse.


    "It''s very likely that Old Guo encountered the combined attack of the Ancient Corpse Mo Da and Yan Long here," Yan Junze surmised. "Maybe Old Guo was late, and Yan Long had already subdued Mo Da before he arrived."


    Facing both the Yin General Mo Da and Yan Long at once would indeed lead to the outcome Guo Youliang met.


    Yan Junze felt regret.


    Moreover, now that Guo Youliang''s body had already been destroyed like that, from Zhang Xiaomo''s reaction, such a body, even if found, would be of no help.


    At this moment, Yan Junze did not approach any further.


    He suspected one possibility; now that Guo Youliang was dead, Yan Long lying on the ground was likely the victorious party, likely feigning death so close to Mo Da.


    At the same time, Yan Long, who had been pretending to be dead all this while, felt something amiss. Squinting his eyes, he faintly saw a man approaching but he suddenly stopped and just stood there, not coming any closer.


    The man was a stranger; Yan Long was sure he had never seen him before.


    Meanwhile, Yan Junze''s gaze now turned to the Exorcist''s body he had just seen, realizing it was that leading middle-aged man.


    After having a rough understanding of the situation here, Yan Junze turned to look back at Zhang Xiaomo behind him, then initiated a Rewind!


    Everything blurred, and he and Zhang Xiaomo were back at the corner of the wall where they had discovered Guo Youliang''s strangeness.


    Right now, Guo Youliang''s strangeness had just been locked into the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze looked at the time, estimating that the leading middle-aged man and De probably had not yet reached the depressed area of the ground.


    But even if they hadn''t arrived yet, according to the estimation of time, they should be close to reaching it.


    Trying to catch up now at their current speed to warn the leading middle-aged man and his group would definitely be impossible, which Yan Junze felt was a bit troublesome.


    Though they had Rewinded, and the leading middle-aged man wasn''t dead, he wasn''t far from death either; they needed to find a way to notify them.


    The complex magnetic anomalies in Mo Family Village, combined with the interference of the Spirit Bridge, made all electronic signals inoperative here, even satellite phones couldn''t get through.


    After a bit of thought, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, "Do you know about the dried-up well under the old pagoda tree on the east side of the village?"


    Zhang Xiaomo was marveling at how Yan Junze had collected Guo Youliang''s strangenesses and wanted to ask why when she suddenly hesitated, thought for a moment, and nodded, "I''ve been there once before, I have some impression."


    "Do you have any fastest method to reach that place?" Yan Junze asked further.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Run, running there is the fastest, there are no means of transportation in this village, not even a motorcycle."


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "that won''t be quick enough."


    As he spoke, he suddenly paused and said, "I am going to release one of my spirits now, don''t be surprised, and don''t try to kill it, I need it to help with something."


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him in astonishment, then nodded, inevitably wondering to herself how this lad actually knew how to cultivate spirits.


    That Yan Junze himself was a Semi-Spirit went without saying, but it was unexpected that he also secretly cultivated spirits.


    Of course, Zhang Xiaomo knew Yan Junze''s character. For someone like him to cultivate spirits, it was actually of help to Exorcists, not like those cultivators with vile natures and exceedingly fierce, bringing unpredictable upheaval and instability to this world. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, Yan Junze released two strange infants.


    One of the strange infants was larger and the other smaller, but it was nearly impossible to tell from their appearance which was which.


    The strange infants were not crawling on the ground; instead, they stood slightly upright, their heads hanging low to avoid Yan Junze''s gaze.


    Even now, they were still very sensitive to the gaze of humans and had almost never looked directly into Yan Junze''s eyes.


    Yan Junze could tell that the two little ones were somewhat normal when they first came out, but upon sensing Zhang Xiaomo''s presence, they began to tremble slightly, deliberately drawing closer to him and keeping away from Zhang Xiaomo''s direction.


    "Infant One, Infant Two, to the east side of this village," Yan Junze pointed in the direction of the ancient well, "there are several Exorcists closing in there, and someone has already been killed. You can follow the scent of blood to find your way there. Once you''re there, lure the Exorcists close to that place over to us, we will follow shortly."


    He had a reason not to release the Crawler Monster; the guy with the parted hair was methodical and unhurried in his actions, so waiting for him to get there would take longer than if Yan Junze himself ran over.


    But the strange infants were entirely different. Once they started to run wildly, using all four limbs like crazed, foraging beasts, not even the Back-faced Woman could catch up to them. Only Aunt Mei could subdue them, using her Monster Spirit pressure to make them too scared to move.


    At first, when Yan Junze came into contact with these two strange infants, he was afraid that due to their playful nature, they would run off and disappear as soon as they were released.


    However, after they had stayed inside the Spacetime Atlas''s 12th node for a while, they found it incredibly comfortable and didn''t need to eat candles anymore, instead, being nourished by Different Dimension Energy every day.


    So even when they were released, they would not run away again. In fact, they became very obedient to Yan Junze''s commands; the last time they helped Yan Junze kill the Blood Infant cultivated by Cheng Jingting was a case in point.


    Upon receiving Yan Junze''s order, the two strange infants immediately turned around, stood still as if searching for traces of the bloody scent.


    About seven or eight seconds later, they suddenly moved swiftly in the same direction, charging forward with all fours.


    Yan Junze called out from behind, "Remember not to cause any conflict, just lure them over, that''s all."


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    Whether the strange infants heard him or not, they were out of sight in no time.


    "Their names are... Bear One, Bear Two?" Zhang Xiaomo asked in surprise.


    "It''s Infant One, Infant Two," Yan Junze chuckled.


    "Such a lowbrow name, obviously your work," Zhang Xiaomo commented with a suppressed laugh.


    "Let''s hurry after them. If we''re late, I''m afraid the lead guy might take out those two on the spot. If that angers Aunt Mei and she comes over to take him out, and incidentally takes me out as well, that would be bad," Yan Junze urged.


    Zhang Xiaomo listened, puzzled, staring blankly at Yan Junze.


    However, without asking further, she followed Yan Junze, and the two of them ran quickly toward the direction of the collapsed dry well.

 Chapter 260 Let Me Do It!

    The running speed of the two strange infants was truly remarkable. In less than two minutes, Infant One and Infant Two had already reached the area in front of where the ancient well had collapsed.


    At this moment, the leading middle-aged man, Liang, and De, three exorcists, were nearing the middle of the collapsed ground.


    De, who had just gone to relieve himself, had just caught up with the leading middle-aged man and Liang and was still fastening his belt as he walked.


    The two strange infants glanced at each other, slowed down their pace, and crawled behind the three men.


    Although they were no longer running, their crawling speed was still astonishing in the eyes of ordinary people.


    Making rustling noises, all three men abruptly stopped and turned around to look.


    Upon suddenly seeing the two strange infants, the men were stunned. Liang and De showed a solemn expression, immediately stepping aside, while the leading middle-aged man leaped forward with his magnetic knife, slashing at Infant One.


    The magnetic glow surged about half a meter. Even though the leading middle-aged man had not fully approached the two strange infants, his strike could still harm Infant One.


    However, the blow missed its target.


    As soon as the exorcists spotted them, the two strange infants had already turned and ran, using their hands and feet to move at a rapid pace.


    By the time the leading middle-aged man''s magnetic knife came down, Infant One had already shot two meters away.


    Infant Two made a ''gugu'' sound, running ahead of Infant One and occasionally looking back.


    The three exorcists were taken aback. The leading middle-aged man, holding the magnetic knife, looked left and right at Liang and De, who also appeared surprised.


    Liang glanced down at his Spirit Detector and noticed that in the vicinity, only two strange red dots, those of the infants, were visible; no others were detected.


    And the behavior of these two strangenesses was very odd as if they were only intending to approach them and then immediately ran away without any intention of attacking.


    Furthermore, the two strangenesses kept their heads bowed and did not look directly at them, giving an impression of fear yet a seeming compulsion to approach the three men.


    Realizing the exorcists weren''t chasing after them, the two strange infants stopped immediately, turned around, but still kept their heads down and stood there, baring their teeth and grimacing as if to warn the men, or perhaps to intimidate the leading middle-aged man and the others.


    "Big brother, with your experience and greater knowledge, what do these two strangenesses mean by this?" De couldn''t help but ask.


    The leading middle-aged man, also frowning, shook his head, "It doesn''t seem like they consider us as attack targets, yet it also seems like they are warning us about something."


    "Could it be that this place is their territory, and seeing us about to enter, these two creatures came out to perform an intimidation to stop us?" Liang let his imagination run.


    "Doesn''t seem like it," the leading middle-aged man still shook his head, carrying the magnetic knife, he moved a couple of steps forward.


    Seeing this, the two strange infants immediately turned around and crawled quickly for more than a dozen steps before stopping and turning their heads to look back.


    "Are these guys playing with us?" De suddenly took out a High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle and made a few steps forward.


    This startled the two strange infants, who quickly scrambled forward in a panic. Only after they crawled a considerable distance did they stop and look back again, realizing that the three men were still standing in the same spot, motionless.


    "Something''s not right," De murmured, "It feels like they want us to follow them."


    The leading middle-aged man was also puzzled. He had already noticed that the power of the two strange infants was not strong; he alone could deal with them, not to mention that he had one-star exorcist Liang and De by his side.


    If all three of them took action at the same time to pursue and kill, with the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle deployed for speed suppression, they believed it would take less than ten minutes to eliminate the strangenesses.


    Therefore, the sudden suicidal behavior of the two strange appearances seemed quite abnormal.


    Perhaps they really didn''t want the trio to go to the area of ground collapse.


    Considering this, the leading middle-aged man whispered to Liang and De, "Stay where you are, don''t move. I''ll pretend to turn and walk towards the Old Pagoda Tree, and you two observe the reaction of the two strangenesses."


    Having said that, he turned and walked in the direction of the collapsing ground near the Old Pagoda Tree. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, the two strange infants became anxious, opening their mouths and letting out a few ''ah ah'' cries, with one of them instinctively taking a step forward. However, it quickly sensed the danger and retreated immediately.


    Although they retreated, the two strange infants visibly became more agitated.


    The leading middle-aged man stopped, turned around, and Liang immediately nodded, "Boss, it''s confirmed, they indeed don''t want us to go there."


    "Let''s catch one first and see what''s going on."


    Soon after, the leading middle-aged man turned back around and started walking back, but took a circuitous route.


    Meanwhile, De took out two Hidden Buckles, and Liang pulled out a Strangeness Interferer, each following their respective paths to approach the two strange infants.


    Seeing the leading middle-aged man return, the strange infants stopped their shouting and used their hands and feet to move backwards, but they never turned around, as if they feared that if they did, someone from the trio might turn back again.


    This method of moving inevitably affected their speed; they couldn''t move fast, and the distance between the three exorcists and the strange infants was gradually closing.


    Once they were close enough to the strange infants, the three of them had already moved far from the collapsed area of the ground.


    Suddenly, De threw a Chilling Hidden Buckle.


    It was chilling to the bone, and as soon as it hit the ground beside the strange baby''s feet, a whiff of frost arose, freezing everything within two or three meters, even the air seemed to shake as if it were congealing.


    The two strange babies stiffened unexpectedly, their movements becoming sluggish, while at the same moment, Liang rushed over with the Strangeness Interferer clutched in his hand.


    Next second, the strange babies were enveloped in the disruptive range of the interferer, and the magnetic field became chaotic.


    At this moment, the strange babies clearly panicked; they made gurgling noises, trying to turn around and flee, but their bodies were as though stuck in mud, making even turning difficult.


    The leading middle-aged man no longer hid, and he charged forth in a few strides, his magnetic knife aimed at the strange baby closest to him, and he slashed towards its feet.


    The strange baby was quick, something the man had already noticed, so as long as it was immobilized, it would be easy to capture.


    Infant One, about to have its feet severed, was suddenly startled, completely unable to dodge, and it opened its mouth wide, its pupils drooping as it let out a hopeless shriek.


    Clang!


    A clear collision rang out, and the middle-aged man stepped back, lifting his knife for a look to find that Zhang Xiaomo had somehow positioned herself in front of Infant One, also holding a magnetic knife, completely separating him from the two strange babies.


    "Xiaomo?!" The middle-aged man recognized her at a glance.


    "Brother Tong, so it''s you who have come." Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, but it was evident she was somewhat out of breath.


    "What are you doing? Why are you saving this strangeness?" The middle-aged man called Brother Tong asked, looking puzzled.


    "Heh... heh..." Heavy breathing came from behind, as if at any moment the person might run out of breath and pass out, "I... I... I let her... her... her save them, heh...


    heh..."


    Looking up, it was Yan Junze holding his waist, walking with difficulty. The guy obviously couldn''t run anymore, even walking as if dragging his feet.


    "Semi-spirit? You''re back."


    The middle-aged man, along with Liang and De, were taken aback, not understanding the situation with Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo.


    "These two strangenesses were summoned by Yan Junze to save you guys," Zhang Xiaomo said, taking over the explanation as Yan Junze was panting heavily.


    "Right, over there..." Yan Junze nodded, pointing in the direction of the Old Pagoda Tree.


    "There''s an ancient corpse over there, at least eight hundred years old. If you had approached earlier, you would have died," said Zhang Xiaomo, continuing the explanation.


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    "Ah!"


    The middle-aged man, together with Liang and De, exchanged glances, all surprised.


    They then looked towards the Old Pagoda Tree with frightened eyes, but the distance was a bit far, so whether there was a corpse lying on the ground, they couldn''t see at all.


    "Tong... Tong... Tong..."


    Before Yan Junze could finish speaking, Zhang Xiaomo said to him, "His name is Tong De, you came together, Brother Tong De didn''t even know your name!"


    The middle-aged man Tong De came back to his senses, withdrew his gaze, and somewhat embarrassingly explained, "I got used to calling him Semi-spirit; I still remembered his name just a moment ago, but now I''ve forgotten it after turning around."


    Yan Junze simply panted, saying nothing more, and casually put away the two strange babies.


    Tong De and the other two Exorcists, seeing this, tightened their gazes with surprise but didn''t ask anything.


    After a while, Yan Junze managed to catch his breath, patted his chest, and said, "I have some methods. Through the Semi-Spirit Body and spirits I''m raising, I can detect dangerous places. So, I ordered them to rush over and warn the Exorcists nearby not to get close to that area."


    "What do we do now?" De asked.


    "With the ancient corpse ahead, finding Old Guo''s complete body seems unlikely." Of course, Yan Junze wouldn''t tell them that Guo Youliang''s body had been destroyed; he merely speculated aloud, "The magnetic field around that ancient well is also very strange. It seems that you can only proceed with me present. Of course, you''d better wait for me under the eaves here."


    "Do you need me to go with you?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Yan Junze didn''t respond but suddenly remembered something and asked Tong De, "The surviving Exorcists from the west side of the village should all have come back by now, haven''t they run into you?"


    Tong De nodded, "We saw Jiang Yaofei and others; we''ve already sent someone to escort them out of Mo Family Village. We have people outside the village to meet them; the ambulances should have arrived by now."


    "It''s good that they were rescued." Zhang Xiaomo nodded, then looked at Yan Junze again, asking, "Should I go with you?"


    Having been through so much with Yan Junze, she was well aware of his unique exorcism methods. So if Yan Junze decided to go alone, she wouldn''t volunteer to follow.


    Every time, no matter how dangerous the situation, Yan Junze seemed to have a perfect grip on things, and Zhang Xiaomo completely trusted him in this regard.


    Yan Junze looked at Zhang Xiaomo, then at Tong De, and then brought out the "Corpse Qi Spread" mission from his mind to check it carefully once again.


    Once more looking at Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, he said, "I need to adjust the plan. Both of you need to come with me."


    At the same time, Yan Long, who lay on the ground and was beginning to feel a slight numbness in his body, raised his neck a little and twisted it from side to side, thinking to himself, "What''s going on with those people? I saw them just now; why haven''t they come over already?!"

 Chapter 261 Body Swap (Part 1)

    Yan Junze, of course, didn''t know that Yan Long, lying on the ground, had already begun to grow impatient. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having already sustained internal injuries from the explosion caused by the Super-Energy Burst, Yan Long was, after all, a living person, not like Mo Da who could lie there indefinitely without ever getting up.


    As he grew anxious, he noticed a figure moving in the distance and quickly closed his eyes.


    Leading the way was Yan Junze, with Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De following one on each side of him. Heedful of his warning, they were both on guard, watching their surroundings closely.


    However, Yan Junze focused his attention on the low-lying area and didn''t pay too much notice to the corpse of Guo Youliang that would appear before them.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both exclaimed "Ah" simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the ground ahead where the ruined body of Guo Youliang lay silently.


    They recognized him immediately by his clothing alone.


    Both were shocked and almost ran over, but remembering Yan Junze''s admonition not to act rashly, they immediately suppressed their emotions, eyes fixed steadfastly on Guo Youliang''s corpse.


    "Old Guo is already dead," said Yan Junze, pointing at the ground and then to the low-lying area a bit farther away, "There seems to be someone lying over there too."


    "Should we go and check it out first?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    She had a reason for asking this. During the confrontation with the Red Coffin, she hadn''t seen Yan Junze use his Semi-spirit powers. On the way back, she learned that Yan Junze had nearly exhausted his Semi-spirit powers while dealing with the strangenesses of human skin.


    Therefore, if they encountered any sudden dangers, it would be better if she took the initiative.


    After all, a Fake Spirit Body without Semi-spirit powers wasn''t too different from an ordinary human.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo was also aware that Yan Junze''s methods were not limited to the powers of the Semi-spirit. For example, nurturing spirits, or an eerily predictive sense of danger that could even alert her in advance.


    "No need," Yan Junze shook his head, looking back at Zhang Xiaomo, "You will know when it''s your turn to act."


    Passing by the body of Guo Youliang, Yan Junze didn''t linger; Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De glanced down at it with somber expressions, their eyes struggling to move away.


    Looking ahead, they indeed found two bodies in the depression, one lying on its side, the other supine.


    About ten meters away, Yan Junze stopped and turned, "You might need to go ahead and check, uh, be careful."


    Tong De, with the magnetic knife held horizontally in front of him, walked ahead while Zhang Xiaomo followed.


    Approaching within two or three meters of the two bodies, they could see clearly that one was a person in ancient attire, dressed in plain clothes, and the other was a modern-day individual.


    At first glance, it looked as though the ancient corpse had encountered a problem, and a conflict had occurred between it and the modern individual, resulting in mutual destruction and leaving both unable to move, lying there.


    Upon closer observation, they noticed that one of the arms of the ancient corpse was broken off.


    No sooner had the thought occurred to them than the ancient corpse suddenly stood up straight, its other intact arm swinging from behind, incredibly fast, and at the end of the arm was a sharp ancient sword.


    Tong De was the closest, and with quick reflexes, he immediately raised the magnetic knife to block.


    The ancient sword was ferociously powerful, shattering Tong De''s magnetic knife into two pieces, the Hidden Buckle on the hilt bursting with a bang.


    The tip of the ancient sword grazed across Tong De''s chest, and the next second, a huge rift appeared on the surface of his clothing, with blood seeping through.


    Zhang Xiaomo, without time to closely observe, immediately stepped forward, slashing her knife diagonally at Mo Da''s head, a pale blue magnetic glow bursting forth.


    Mo Da didn''t retreat but instead stepped forward. With a twist of his body, the ancient sword, whose swing had already lost momentum, was swung around by the turn, its force renewed, slicing towards Zhang Xiaomo''s waist.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and, while retreating, swung her knife to block, only to meet the same fate as Tong De, with her magnetic knife instantly splitting into two, and the Hidden Buckle embedded in the handle bursting apart.


    Just at that moment, Tong De let out a loud shout, closing in on Mo Da and swinging a punch at him.


    Upon closing the distance, his fist relaxed, and he pressed the Incinerate Hidden Buckle that he had been gripping in his palm fiercely against Mo Da''s chest.


    A fiery red flash immediately appeared, and Tong De leapt back instantly, while Yan Junze had already pulled Zhang Xiaomo back to his side.


    The Incinerate Hidden Buckle had already erupted into flames, with a strange fire consuming Mo Da''s upper body.


    However, just as everyone thought Mo Da would be burned to death, a burst of white vapor suddenly rose from the surface of Mo Da''s body.


    It was the scene of ice meeting fire, where the flames were extinguished, and after the white vapor had cleared, Mo Da stood there motionless with a large amount of frost formed on his body, having extinguished the special fire of the Incinerate Hidden Buckle completely.


    "This is¡­ a Yin Corpse!?" Tong De exclaimed in horror.


    Mo Da shook his whole body, and the ice that had formed all fell to the ground. He took big strides forward, brandishing an ancient sword with a swift stab aimed at Tong De''s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze didn''t plan to let them continue fighting; according to the task prompt of "Corpse Qi Spread," Yin General Mo Da was very strong, which now appeared to be true indeed.


    It didn''t matter that Mo Da had set up an ambush here, even if Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De were to directly confront him, the two of them would stand no chance whatsoever.


    So, to eliminate the opponent, they couldn''t face him head-on; they had to think of other methods.


    This time, Yan Junze didn''t rewind too far back in time, but only to two minutes prior.


    The three of them stood before a depression, their gazes fixed on Yan Long and Mo Da lying on the ground.


    Yan Junze''s eyes lingered on Mo Da for a moment, aware that the guy was pressing his only arm beneath him in order to hide the ancient sword he was clutching.


    After a moment''s thought, he shifted his gaze to Yan Long who was lying motionless on his side.


    Being an ancient corpse, Yan Junze guessed Mo Da''s intelligence couldn''t possibly be that high to set an ambush. Even if Mo Da''s flesh was incorruptible, like other strangenesses, he was driven only by his own Obsession.


    He couldn''t possibly be lying there, feigning death with deep cunning, despite indeed being dead.


    So, the problem very likely lay with Yan Long; this guy might be pretending as well, not truly dead or unconscious. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire


    Considering his apprentice Cheng Jingting''s habitual nurturing of spirits, Yan Long''s spirit-nurturing means should, accordingly, be more formidable. It was very possible that he had adopted Mo Da''s body after discovering it.


    Yin General Mo Da, coupled with a crafty Yan Long bolstered by a Monster Spirit Body, would only then make the death of Guo Youliang plausible.


    Through such speculation, it seemed everything fell into place.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze turned around, beckoning to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, who consciously leaned in closer.


    In a low voice, Yan Junze said, "Kill the skinny man next to the ancient corpse. Strike fast, don''t hesitate, and while doing so, watch out for that ancient corpse''s counterattack¡ªhe''s lying in ambush."


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De looked at each other in surprise, but neither questioned why, and in tacit agreement, they did not look back at Yan Long''s "corpse".


    With a slight nod, the two of them moved to the side nearest Yan Long, one ahead of the other.


    At this moment, Yan Junze purposefully spoke up, "That corpse in the ancient clothing is very peculiar; you two check out that ancient corpse first. This man''s corpse beside it must have been killed by that ancient corpse."


    "Okay," Zhang Xiaomo agreed smoothly and pretended as if she were going to circle around to Mo Da''s side.


    As she passed by Yan Long''s feet, her steps continued to move, but she suddenly thrust the magnetic knife down fiercely, directing it at Yan Long''s abdomen.


    At the same time, Tong De, following close behind, also swung his magnetic knife, slashing at Yan Long''s throat.

 Chapter 262 Body Swap (Part 2)

    Yan Long had been feigning death, but he was merely squinting, carefully observing his surroundings.


    It wasn''t until Yan Junze and his two companions were completely near him that he had no choice but to close his eyes, not daring to steal a glance, afraid of being noticed by the others.


    However, as a Spirit Cultivator, he was exceptionally sensitive to threats to his life.


    A sense of crisis descended in an instant. Although his Semi-Spirit power had been depleted during the earlier combat with Guo Youliang, and it was nearly impossible to use, he had rested for a while. In the moment the crisis descended, though it was strenuous, he naturally triggered his Fake Spirit Body.


    The terrifying shadow of the Monster Spirit behind Yan Long quickly appeared, grabbing the fatal slice at his neck aimed at him.


    His other hand also caught Zhang Xiaomo''s magnetic knife, preventing her from stabbing into his abdomen.


    But even though the Monster Spirit appeared, its power had been greatly diminished from the earlier consumption, and it was about to falter after only a moment.


    Although the support was short-lived, Mo Da, lying not far beside him, had already been awakened by Yan Long.


    Mo Da swung his ancient sword, Zhang Xiaomo quickly retreated, and the Monster Spirit grabbed the magnetic knife, wresting it away, while Tong De violently withdrew his own magnetic knife, also swiftly retreating, though his knife was not taken by the adversary.


    Mo Da stood up, his ancient sword driving the two back with a strike, immediately advancing several steps. The sword whirled, sweeping toward Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De like a sudden violent storm.


    Without her weapon, Zhang Xiaomo stumbled back, taking cover behind Tong De, who in turn desperately tried to fend off the attacks with his magnetic knife.


    Clang, clang, clang. After only three clashes with the ancient sword, the magnetic knife broke. The ancient sword, unstoppable in its advance, aimed a strike at Tong De''s forehead.


    Against Mo Da''s assault, even the combined efforts of the two three-star Exorcists were futile. Of course, Mo Da''s sudden "resurrection" and immediate onslaught contributed to this.


    With his knife shattered, Tong De raised the fragment, forcefully positioning it above his forehead.


    The next second, the magnetic knife completely fell apart. In desperation, Tong De raised both hands above his head and brought them together, hoping to trap the falling ancient sword between his palms.


    However, the thick and sharp blade of the ancient sword instantly penetrated his practically ineffective defense, striking him on the head.


    "Fuck, this guy!" Even Yan Junze was startled by Tong De''s inexplicable defensive move. "Are you practicing some child''s kung fu? Putting your palms together to clamp a sword blade?!"


    But he quickly came to his senses. Actually, Tong De could have dodged to the side, but Zhang Xiaomo was behind him. If he moved away, she would undoubtedly be struck by the sword. So, in his desperation, the guy came up with the bizarre defense of joining his hands above his head.


    Rewind!


    Inspired by Tong De''s actions, Yan Junze felt a surge of goodwill toward him at that moment.


    Time went back two minutes once again.


    Yan Junze looked at Yan Long and Mo Da lying on the ground, now well aware that not only were they in collusion, but they were also both playing dead. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Of course, there was no need for Mo Da to pretend, for he was indeed dead. It was just that Yan Long''s Semi-Spirit Body was also somehow still operational.


    In fact, in the previous Rewind, Yan Junze was betting that Yan Long had reached the end of his strength; otherwise, he would not have pretended to be dead here after killing Guo Youliang, with Mo Da''s arm broken.


    The reason for the current situation must be that both had been injured. Indeed, upon reflection, to kill Guo Youliang under these circumstances, they were bound to be in a bad state.


    Now knowing that Yan Long could still activate his Semi-Spirit Body, they would need to think of another approach.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze grabbed Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De by the shoulders, drawing them close, almost head to head, not even looking in the direction where Yan Long lay. He whispered, "I''ve detected that one of these two corpses is just a living person in disguise, and the other, the ancient corpse, is truly dead, and likely very powerful. It''s best not to approach now.


    My question is, do you have any long-range attack methods?"


    "Throw Hidden Buckles as hard as we can," Tong De blurted out.


    "How many do you have?" Zhang Xiaomo asked while secretly reaching into her pocket to feel for her Hidden Buckles.


    "Two Chilling, two Incinerate, four Collapse, and one High-Energy Collapse," Tong De said in a low voice.


    Ever since arriving at Mo Family Village, he hadn''t really engaged with any strangenesses, so he had a lot of Hidden Buckles on hand.


    Yan Junze turned to Zhang Xiaomo, who said, "I still have one Super Energy Burst, but all the others were used up when I was trapped by the Lantern Woman on the west side of the village."


    As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Junze and Tong De almost simultaneously said, "Don''t use it for now!"


    Yan Junze said, "I also have a few Hidden Buckles here, but your Super-Energy Burst is too powerful, so don''t use it unless absolutely necessary."


    "How do you know?" Zhang Xiaomo stared at him in surprise.


    Yan Junze chuckled, changing the subject, "Brother Tong, give me the Incinerate Hidden Buckle first. I will throw all the Incinerate Hidden Buckles at the Ancient Corpse later. At the same time, you and Xiaomo should attack the lying thin man, remember to aim for his vital spots.


    Although he looks like an ordinary person right now, you must use the magnetic glow first, then follow up with the physical attack of the magnetic knife."


    He paused before adding, "If the Ancient Corpse shows any signs of counterattack, I''ll use the Hidden Buckles to suppress it, don''t interfere."


    Tong De looked at Yan Junze with shock, not understanding why he suddenly seemed to have entered a prophetic mode.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded and said to Tong De, "I was like you at the beginning, but it gets better over time because you''ll get used to it."


    Tong De was even more surprised; then a question occurred to him, and he asked, "Why are you going to use Incinerate and not Chilling to freeze the Ancient Corpse? You should know that after transporting the Ancient Corpse back, it will be extremely valuable for research."


    "Using Chilling, you would die a terrible death, believe me." Yan Junze patted his shoulder, signaling that it was time to act.


    Putting aside his astonishment for the moment, Tong De, along with Zhang Xiaomo, moved stealthily towards Yan Long with their magnetic knives in hand.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, stepped forward, holding a total of four Incinerate Hidden Buckles including his own, and targeted the Ancient Corpse Mo Da.


    After getting close to Yan Long, Zhang Xiaomo nodded at Tong De, and they both lifted their magnetic knives¡ªone aiming for the chest and the other for the head. They brought them down in unison.


    At the same moment, a half-meter-long magnetic glow burst forth, almost touching Yan Long''s body.


    A sense of crisis triggered Yan Long, and the shadow of a Monster Spirit quickly appeared behind him. It reached out both hands, each catching Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De''s magnetic knives. However, the blades of the magnetic knives immediately shone with a magnetic glow, colliding violently with the Monster Spirit.


    Yan Long was startled, as this already weak Monster Spirit nearly dispersed. Nevertheless, he was very aware that his Semi-Spirit Body couldn''t last long, maybe ten seconds at most, before it would be breached by the magnetic knives, allowing the blades to physically cut him. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, Mo Da suddenly sat up. However, before he could swing the ancient sword in his hands, Yan Junze rapidly threw all four Incinerate Hidden Buckles at him.


    Incinerate ignited upon touching Mo Da. The four Incinerates exploded almost simultaneously, turning Mo Da''s entire body into a sea of fire.


    Massive amounts of white steam wildly seeped out as Mo Da instinctively resisted the Incinerate with his internal Full Yin Energy. However, this time Yan Junze burst out with four Incinerates in a row, with flames burning fiercely. Even with Mo Da''s impressive Yin Energy, he couldn''t overcome it in a short time.


    But this delay caused Yan Long''s Semi-Spirit Body to suddenly weaken, and the Monster Spirit withdrew to Yan Long''s back, no longer appearing.


    The two magnetic knives thundered down, aiming for Yan Long''s neck and chest.


    Who would have expected that in the next second, a hand engulfed in flames still wielded the ancient sword with unerring accuracy, knocking away both magnetic knives.


    Mo Da, his body mingled with flames and white steam, still managed to save the day at the critical moment. He now emitted a burnt and unpleasant odor, clearly burned by Incinerate, yet still free to move.


    Yan Junze immediately threw out three Collapses. The Hidden Buckles hit Mo Da, merely causing him to pause for a couple of seconds but failing to push him away.


    The ancient sword slashed diagonally at Zhang Xiaomo, the closest target.


    Zhang Xiaomo raised her knife in defense, and with a snap, the magnetic knife broke, the magnetic glow dissipated, and the ancient sword chopped at her shoulder.


    Rewind!


    "Damn, unfazed by the Hidden Buckles!"


    Yan Junze''s vision blurred, and he found himself back two minutes earlier, cursing under his breath.


    Suddenly, another idea came to him.


    There was still plenty of Different Dimension Energy left. If one method failed, he would try another. Even if it meant a war of attrition, he was determined to exhaust the enemy right there.


    To Yan Junze, Yan Long, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, was as good as a true dead man. No matter what the method, he had to try until he succeeded in killing him this time.


    Yan Junze vividly remembered his relationship with Cheng Jingting and how Cheng had treated him in the past.


    Since Yan Long could be a teacher and Cheng Jingting his disciple, their malicious intent must be of the same breed. Therefore, Yan Junze, having previously overlooked one ferocious wolf, would not now let go of this fierce tiger.

 Chapter 263 Body Swap (Part 3)

    Once again gripping Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De''s shoulders, Yan Junze bowed his head and spoke softly, "These two are cohorts, intentionally lying on the ground preparing to ambush us, so let''s not go over there just yet."


    Before Tong De could show his surprise, Yan Junze continued, "Brother Tong, give me all of your Hidden Buckles. None of us should go over there; let''s start with a long-range attack."


    Tong De was even more surprised, "All of them? Give you all my Hidden Buckles?"


    "I have some too," said Zhang Xiaomo.


    Yan Junze shook his head, "Keep the Super-Energy Burst for yourself, just give me the regular Hidden Buckles."


    Tong De took all the Hidden Buckles out and handed them to Yan Junze. After receiving them, Yan Junze also took out his own Hidden Buckles and, with his back towards the direction where Yan Long was pretending to be dead, sorted the Hidden Buckles.


    Among them were four Incinerates, two Chilling, one High-Energy Collapse, and three Collapses.


    The three of them whispered for a moment, took several Hidden Buckles each, held them in the palms of their hands, and moved closer to Yan Long and Mo Da.


    At the same time, Yan Junze threw two Chilling at Yan Long, while Tong De threw four Incinerates at Mo Da.


    The second after the four Incinerates exploded, the Collapsing Hidden Buckles in Zhang Xiaomo''s hands all smashed onto Mo Da''s body, which was already ablaze.


    As Mo Da''s body burst into flames, the three Collapsing Hidden Buckles stalled him for two or three seconds, and then his entire body sank into a sea of fire.


    In Yan Long''s direction, the old man was hit by two Chilling, and the surface of his body instantly formed a thin layer of ice.


    If he were an ordinary person, the two Chilling would have been enough to freeze him to death on the spot, but Yan Long''s body was not ordinary. In a critical moment, his stress response allowed the weak Monster Spirit to surface.


    With a sudden movement, the Monster Spirit stretched out two black claws, rapidly breaking through the ice to rescue Yan Long.


    Elsewhere, Mo Da also sat up. Although he was engulfed in flames, by now his body was emitting a great amount of white vapor. The chilling yin energy and the Incinerate flames were resisting each other, allowing Mo Da to attempt to get on his feet and rescue Yan Long.


    That''s when Yan Junze threw the High-Energy Collapse.


    The target of this Hidden Buckle was neither Mo Da nor Yan Long but rather the midpoint between them, merely an arm''s length away.


    The High-Energy Collapse exploded instantly.


    With a "bang," a shockwave pushed outwards in all directions. This wasn''t like an ordinary Collapsing Hidden Buckle, which would only hold Mo Da for two or three seconds if hit.


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    The shockwave of the High-Energy Collapse forcefully pushed Mo Da back four or five meters upon close contact. Although Mo Da''s body wasn''t injured, it widened the distance between him and Yan Long, preventing him from immediately aiding the other.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, as if prepared in advance, leapt forward simultaneously while Yan Long''s body was still being pushed back and had not yet stopped. They brought down their magnetic knives towards Yan Long.


    Yan Long had only a thin layer of ice on him, and the magnetic knives, even with a forceful chop, could easily break through. Additionally, with the assistance of magnetic glow, the Monster Spirit that was breaking the ice behind Yan Long immediately stretched out its hands to grab the descending magnetic knives. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De were well-prepared; their magnetic knives had already generated a magnetic glow before approaching Yan Long. The glow instantly met resistance from the Monster Spirit''s presence, causing the spirit to tremble. The already weak spirit almost dissipated there and then.


    However, even if the struggle lasted for a while, it would not exceed a minute at most, after which the Monster Spirit would also fade and no longer appear.


    Yan Long was extremely weak. If Mo Da was right beside him, he would have already been receiving aid at that moment.


    But Mo Da, engulfed in flames and pushed several meters away, was now emitting a large amount of white steam to resist and was taking strides towards Yan Long.


    With his large build, Mo Da had long strides. Although the shockwave from the High-Energy Collapse had pushed him away and his body unavoidably suffered some damage, he was still able to persist; only his movements had slightly slowed.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo''s knife was aimed at Yan Long''s chest, while Tong De''s knife was still targeting his neck.


    Both exerted their utmost to activate the magnetic glow, which at that moment was more intense than ever. With a whoosh, the Monster Spirit''s apparition dissipated, shattering and swiftly retreating behind Yan Long, vanishing from sight.


    The footsteps of Mo Da approached, his body surrounded by a mixture of fire and white vapor, swinging an ancient sword at the closest Zhang Xiaomo.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze''s expression hardened, and he took a determined step forward, activating his Semi-Spirit Body as he stepped in between them.


    In dealing with the "Half a Hide" task, he had already exhausted his Semi-Spirit energy, and even the Back-faced Woman who provided him with the Fake Spirit Body, including Ke''er, were both depleted of their strength.


    Therefore, throughout the tasks involving "The Woman Carrying a Lantern" and "Red Coffin," Yan Junze did not use any Semi-Spirit energy.


    He was well aware of his inability to use it at the time, and he also wanted to give Back-faced Woman and Ke''er a good rest.


    But at this pressing moment, if he could just block Mo Da for even a dozen seconds, allowing Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De to eliminate Yan Long with their knives, Mo Da, entirely obedient to Yan Long, would likely stop.


    So even though he knew using Semi-Spirit energy was a stretch, success hinged on this single moment. Otherwise, another Rewind was inevitable, and Yan Junze had no choice but to use it.


    His head turned swiftly, and black fur grew out, but then an unprecedented sense of weakness arrived, causing the transformation to come to an abrupt halt, with him only able to maintain that appearance.


    Mo Da''s ancient sword came slashing down, wrapped quickly by Yan Junze''s not-very-long hair, significantly slowing down its advance.


    However, the sound of hair snapping followed immediately after, with each strand, formerly unbreakably strong, breaking like thin threads under the ancient sword''s edge.


    At the same moment, Yan Junze stretched out both hands and grabbed Mo Da''s lapels, giving a fierce shove.


    Usually, after he entered the Semi-Spirit State, his strength would increase several times over, but at this moment, the shove only made Mo Da take two steps backward.


    Mo Da twisted his sword, severing all the hairs that were still wrapped around the blade, and thrust it straight at Yan Junze''s head.


    Yan Junze''s Semi-Spirit Body was extremely weak, already starting to fade, which frightened him into hastily retreating two steps back. Still, the tip of the sword followed closely, leaving him no way to dodge.


    Just then, Yan Long let out a wail. His eyes wide open, he watched as Zhang Xiaomo''s magnetic knife plunged into his chest, causing heart-wrenching pain throughout his body, followed by numbness, no longer feeling the pain.


    While the wail still echoed, the next second, Tong De''s magnetic knife thunked into his neck, causing Yan Long''s entire body to tremble violently as he began to lose consciousness.


    Just as the sword tip was about to stab him, Yan Junze froze, only to find the swiftly approaching ancient sword had suddenly stopped, less than two centimeters away from his eyes.


    Mo Da, maintaining the posture of thrusting the sword, did not move an inch.


    Yan Junze''s Semi-Spirit Body had completely faded by now, large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his heart thumping loudly. Turning back to look at Yan Long on the ground, he saw the knife in his chest, but the fatal blow was on his neck.


    Tong De had put in a lot of strength, nearly severing Yan Long''s neck completely with that one strike.


    "We made it!"


    Yan Junze let out a long sigh of relief and then realized that the ancient sword in front of him was slowly being withdrawn.


    The flames on the Ancient Corpse Mo Da''s body had dissipated, with only wisps of white smoke still coming out, carrying a burnt scent with them.


    Although Mo Da was burned, his body was not severely damaged due to the protection of the Chilling Yin energy.


    After lowering the ancient sword, Mo Da was still staring at Yan Junze with eyes wide open, his lips moving slightly.


    "I am Mo Da. Those who block my way shall die!"


    "Damn it!"


    Yan Junze was startled, not expecting the man to suddenly utter such fierce words. It was too unreasonable.


    But he was no Guo Youliang, so without a second thought, he immediately stepped aside.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De also stepped aside quickly, Tong De even not having time to pull out the magnetic knife from Yan Long''s neck.


    Without lowering his head to look at Yan Long''s corpse on the ground, Mo Da stepped over the body, sword in hand, and continued walking forward.


    "Is he just walking away like that?" Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    No one present dared to block Mo Da''s way. Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De knew their limits¡ªthis ancient corpse was not very old but clearly had undergone special experiences, beyond their strength to withstand.


    They watched Mo Da taking steps forward.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo''s heart felt extremely heavy; she turned her head to look at Guo Youliang''s mangled body that was too painful to behold.


    Tong De also looked at Guo Youliang and sighed softly. Now he had no intention of confronting this terrifying ancient corpse.


    Unless Guo Youliang wasn''t dead.


    "Xiaomo, why were you so eager to find Old Guo''s body before dawn? What use is it?" Yan Junze asked, watching the ancient corpse Mo Da moving away.


    "Exorcists of four stars are very rare. They can preserve their souls with magnetic force until dawn," Zhang Xiaomo replied sadly, "The headquarters has Spirit-Hosting Devices.


    As long as the body is not destroyed, if we retrieve the body and send it back to the Exorcist team''s branch, and release the preserved souls, the headquarters can use the Spirit-Hosting Devices to resurrect Uncle Guo from afar!"


    Yan Junze had roughly guessed as much, but after hearing Zhang Xiaomo say it, he couldn''t help but brighten at the corners of his eyes.


    He dared not imagine that Exorcists of four stars and above had such a unique function, able to temporarily safeguard the soul with magnetic force, and bring the body back for resurrection!


    Nevertheless, now Guo Youliang''s body was too damaged to seem restorable.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly had a thought and asked, "The resurrection has to be with his own body, right?"


    Zhang Xiaomo paused, looking towards Yan Long''s thin body on the ground, "You mean to use this Spirit Cultivator''s body to resurrect Uncle Guo?"


    "But this guy''s neck is almost chopped off by me, isn''t the body already destroyed?" Tong De said.


    Yan Junze shook his head, lifting his gaze towards the direction where Mo Da was gradually disappearing, "I mean, can we use that one''s body?"


    "What?!"


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both froze, staring directly at him.


    "Think about it, that guy''s body is well-preserved, now it''s just missing a hand. Look, isn''t the severed arm right here? It can be reattached completely," Yan Junze explained, "Moreover, this ancient corpse has a special physique, very powerful. If Old Guo can use his body to resurrect, there''s a chance he could be directly promoted to a five-star Exorcist!"

 Chapter 264 Body Swap (Part 4)

    Tong De paused for a long time before saying to Yan Junze, "You really dare to dream. Now that the ancient corpse wants to leave, we can''t even keep it here. And you still want to eradicate its lingering obsession, snatch its body, and then have Big Brother Guo resurrect using his body?"


    "Yes, indeed." Yan Junze nodded.


    Tong De''s head swayed like a rattle drum. "You have quite an imagination. Right now, we should just be thinking about how to keep this ancient corpse in Mo Family Village and count ourselves lucky if it doesn''t harm anyone!"


    Zhang Xiaomo also said, "Junze, you might not understand this, but the ancient corpse has an extremely cold constitution. Even Incinerate Hidden Buckle can''t damage its essence. I''m thinking that even if our other two Four-Star Exorcists, who are on their way, join forces, they would probably only be able to clear away this ancient corpse''s remaining obsession, unable to truly take its body."


    "Why?" asked Yan Junze.


    "Because there will certainly be a struggle, so it''s very hard to avoid damaging the ancient corpse''s body."


    Yan Junze nodded. "You all make sense, but... I still want to try."


    With that, he squatted down and began to search Yan Long''s body.


    By now Mo Da had already left the area where the ground had collapsed and was walking briskly toward the direction from which they had come.


    In that place, Liang and De were still hidden in the dark under the eaves of one of the houses, but Zhang Xiaomo and the others knew very well that they must have seen what was happening here. Now that they saw the ancient corpse walking over, they would definitely not rashly show themselves.


    Yan Junze did not care how far Mo Da had gone. He meticulously searched all over Yan Long''s body, then opened the backpack beside him and dumped everything out.


    The items included a climbing rope with pulleys, several flashlights, a dagger, an Incense Cup, and some small flat boxes that looked like those Yan Junze had seen in his childhood used to store snowflake cream.


    These boxes were round, smaller than the size of a palm, and the lid could be unscrewed to reveal various colors of paste-like substances that resembled ointment.


    Yan Junze picked up a box of completely black ointment, smelled it, but seemed to detect no odor at all, not even that of soil.


    He then picked up another box with light yellow ointment, sniffed it lightly, and a sour and slightly bitter strange scent wafted into his nostrils, causing goosebumps all over his body and giving him a feeling of strangeness.


    "Xiaomo, take a look. What is this?" Yan Junze passed the box with the light yellow ointment to her.


    Zhang Xiaomo took it, glanced at it without bringing it close to her nose, and immediately said, "This is corpse salve, made by condensing various corpse oils and refining them with unique methods. It''s a staple for experienced Spirit Cultivators."


    "Why didn''t you sniff it?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "Corpse salve is toxic to ordinary people." Zhang Xiaomo said. "Just taking a sniff like that can cause dizziness and lightheadedness. If the composition of the corpse salve is high, ordinary people who haven''t been exposed much might faint even with a single sniff."


    Thud!


    No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhang Xiaomo looked down to see Yan Junze slumped on the ground beside Yan Long''s body, his eyes closed and the corners of his mouth slightly hooked up, displaying a mystifying smile, having passed out.


    It was unknown how much time had passed before Yan Junze awoke to find only Zhang Xiaomo squatting by his side, looking at him attentively, while Tong De was nowhere to be seen.


    "You''re awake." Zhang Xiaomo said irritably.


    Yan Junze managed an awkward but polite smile. "You should''ve told me earlier. That sniff was too deep, got a bit of a buzz. Um, where''s Tong De?"


    "He went to follow the ancient corpse, your idea reminded him. So, he took all the ointments from this Spirit Cultivator, planning to give it a try with the ancient corpse. As long as we can control it temporarily, we have a way to subdue it," explained Zhang Xiaomo. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    "How long was I out?" Yan Junze asked.


    "About five or six minutes..."


    As Zhang Xiaomo was answering, they heard a scream from a distance.


    Yan Junze leaped to his feet. "Let''s go and check."


    They both ran off, leaving the ancient well area behind, turned a corner, and arrived on a small street to the east of the village. They saw a blurry figure lying on the ground in the distance with another person crouching next to it.


    Upon getting closer, they realized the person on the ground was Tong De, his face pale as death, breathing barely there, his chest pierced by something that had left a terrifying bloody hole.


    The person holding him was Liang.


    "What just happened?" Zhang Xiaomo asked in shock, looking at Tong De who was clearly not going to make it.


    "Big Brother was using the corpse salve to lure the ancient corpse to eat it, but somehow, the ancient corpse suddenly attacked him and pierced his body with a sword," Liang''s eyes were filled with tears.


    Yan Junze squatted down, picked up the empty box of corpse salve from the ground, and asked, "Which colors of the corpse salve did Brother Tong use?"


    Liang was taken aback before answering, "Back there around the corner, he used a dark red corpse salve, but the ancient corpse only sniffed it, didn''t eat it. The one he used just now was light yellow. Who knew the ancient corpse would suddenly get angry? Big Brother Tong had no way to fight back."


    Yan Junze looked up at Zhang Xiaomo, "See, I''m not being picky, even the ancient corpse doesn''t like this brand of corpse salve."


    Zhang Xiaomo wasn''t in the mood to joke with him at that moment. Annoyed, she gently punched him on the shoulder and asked Liang, "Where did the ancient corpse go?"


    "De followed it, taking with him the other unused corpse salves. I think he entered that alley over there," Liang pointed to an alleyway about three hundred meters away.


    The moonlight was sufficient at that moment to clearly outline the buildings without any hindrance.


    Just then, Tong De, resting in Liang''s arms, suddenly sank down heavily, his breath slipping away.


    "Big Brother, Big Brother..." Liang was immediately grief-stricken, tears uncontrollably falling as he clung to Tong De and started shaking him.


    Yan Junze stood up and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "We should first go to the alley and check, I''m afraid De might be in danger if we delay."


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed not to hear, just looking down at Tong De who had just died, silent.


    Yan Junze touched her arm, "Let''s go to the alley first. That matter is more urgent. If I were to say now that Brother Tong is fine, would you chop me with the magnetic knife?"


    "No," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    Yan Junze was suddenly touched, then heard Zhang Xiaomo say, "But I would think you are naturally cold-hearted."


    "Let''s go to the alley first; I''m afraid De will die too if we''re too late." Yan Junze knew that explanations were useless at that moment, grabbed Zhang Xiaomo''s hand, and the two rushed toward that alley.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned back to Liang, "Stay here and watch over Big Brother Tong''s body, we''ll be back soon."


    Arriving at the entrance of the alley after a short while, the two peered inside; due to the narrowness of the alley, moonlight couldn''t penetrate, and they could only make out shapes faintly ahead.


    Standing at the entrance of the alley, unable to see anyone inside, Zhang Xiaomo immediately walked in front, gripping the magnetic knife with both hands, on guard.


    "Follow behind me."


    The two of them moved slowly, one after the other, entering the alley without making a sound.


    Before long, from behind a row of trash bins, a hand reached out, beckoning them. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo hurried over and crouched down to see De gesture for silence with his hand, then in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible, he said, "The ancient corpse is just standing ahead, doing nothing. I''ve tried two types of corpse salve on it, but neither worked."


    "Which two types?" Yan Junze asked.


    De took out the boxes that had been used for the corpse salve, "These two. I smeared a bit on the ancient corpse, but there was no reaction."


    Yan Junze strained his eyes to look, trying to discern a box with white residue from corpse salve remaining, but couldn''t make out the color of the residue in the other box, muttering to himself, "This... what color is it?"


    "It seems one box is white, and the other is a greenish, transparent kind," De responded.


    Yan Junze looked up at him, he had to admit, this young man''s observation was meticulous, and he wasn''t rash. In just this short time, he managed to test two types of corpse salve on the ancient corpse Mo Da.


    "How many boxes have not been tried?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Just then, the sound of rustling came from a distance, and De said, "The ancient corpse has started walking again, seems like it''s heading further in, but this alley is passable, it might go through. There... it''s very close to the entrance of the village."


    "First, see how many boxes of corpse salve you haven''t tried." Yan Junze repeated Zhang Xiaomo''s question, without the time to worry about Mo Da''s whereabouts. He just wanted to know, which box of corpse salve would work.


    "There are three boxes left, the last three," De answered, then looked at Zhang Xiaomo, "Sis, my strength is too weak. I barely survived approaching the ancient corpse. I think now if you distract it, I can try these three boxes of corpse salve. If one is successful, I can control it immediately."


    Zhang Xiaomo had not responded when Yan Junze already shook his head, "No."


    "Why?" Zhang Xiaomo and De both looked astonished, and then Zhang Xiaomo lowered her head to notice that Yan Junze had grabbed her hand again, without knowing when.


    What was most important was that she had not noticed it herself and was naturally holding his hand.


    "Others might go and try, and they might even die, but you can''t," Yan Junze said.


    He took a deep breath, as if speaking to himself, "Having understood so much, I now have half the confidence that I can subdue the ancient corpse without further tests."


    Rewind!


    The thought arose, and the world before him swayed, his head spinning slightly; then Yan Junze was standing on the collapsed ground around the ancient well.


    Tong De was beside him, Zhang Xiaomo behind him, and the ancient corpse Mo Da was taking steps forward, about twenty-some meters away from the three of them.


    This was the moment they were just discussing who Guo Youliang would use for Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect. Yan Junze didn''t wait for Tong De to refute him as before but immediately crouched down and rifled through Yan Long''s backpack to pull out numerous boxes of corpse salve.


    He quickly opened each box, and under the moonlight, an array of colored corpse salves lay before Yan Junze¡ªdark red, black, white, light yellow, and green, among others.


    Yan Junze quickly ruled out the dark red without a second thought, then the white, light yellow, and the translucent dark green one; however, he kept one that was deep green.


    Now, only three boxes of corpse salve were left in his hands; one green, one pale purple, and another black.


    This time, Yan Junze wisely refrained from smelling the corpse salves.


    With the three boxes in hand, he stood up and said to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, "Just now, that Spirit Cultivator obviously controlled the ancient corpse, so one of these corpse salves must be able to control the ancient corpse. I have made a strict selection, choosing these three to test. Don''t follow, it''s dangerous."


    Tong De came to his senses and nodded. He asked, "I just want to know, how did you choose? What were the selection criteria?"


    "They looked promising," Yan Junze gave a bizarre answer, waved at Zhang Xiaomo, signaling her not to follow, and then, with the corpse salve in hand, he quickly chased after Mo Da''s direction.

 Chapter 265 Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)

    Three jars of corpse salve, one is green, one is light purple, and the other is black.


    Earlier, the other corpse balms had been used up during the last Rewind, proving none were effective; some even enraged Mo Da, and Tong De lost his life because of it.


    So, within these three jars of corpse salve, Yan Junze couldn''t guarantee which one would work on Mo Da, nor could he ensure that after trying the corpse salve on Mo Da, the creature wouldn''t become infuriated and attack him.


    Anyway, if Mo Da really wanted to attack him, given Yan Junze''s current state, he would stand no chance at all. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having approached Mo Da closely, Yan Junze turned his head and saw that Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De had both consciously not followed him but were stretching their necks, watching this direction without blinking.


    Weighing the corpse salve in his hand, Yan Junze thought of another possibility, that maybe none of these remaining three jars would work on Mo Da.


    Because Mo Da had clearly been under Yan Long''s control, perhaps it was during that time that Yan Long had used up all the corpse salve that could work on Mo Da?


    If that was really the case, Yan Junze didn''t know what else he could do to deal with this creature.


    Temporarily putting aside his complex thoughts, Yan Junze stepped closer, opened the jar of green corpse salve, inverted the lid to scoop out some of the greasy substance, and gently smeared it on the back corner of Mo Da''s cloth garment.


    He was very careful as he spread the salve, but as soon as it tainted Mo Da''s clothes, the Ancient Corpse suddenly stopped, turned its head, and looked at the bending Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled, and his guard went up to the highest level as he watched Mo Da, holding the remaining majority of the green corpse salve in his hand, with the other two jars already tucked into his pockets. Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    Mo Da remained silent, simply watching Yan Junze, without making a sound.


    Yan Junze stayed still as well but didn''t dare to continue applying the salve or to force it directly into the other''s mouth.


    If this corpse salve wasn''t suitable for Mo Da, stuffing it in would only result in Mo Da''s rage.


    About half a minute later, Mo Da finally turned back, did nothing, and started walking forward again.


    It seemed that the green corpse salve was unsuitable for controlling him; it only drew Mo Da''s attention without provoking his anger.


    Yan Junze glanced at the green corpse salve in his hand, tossed it aside, and took out the light purple one. Upon opening it, a strong medicinal scent hit him, nearly causing him to sneeze.


    He quickly turned his head, held the light purple salve farther away, trying not to get it too close to his head, and tiptoed quickly to catch up with Mo Da again.


    The pungent smell did not elicit any special reaction from Mo Da, who continued on his silent way.


    Yan Junze repeated the process, used the lid to scoop out some salve, and once again cautiously smeared it on another edge of Mo Da''s garment.


    Although Mo Da didn''t turn back, he almost immediately stopped at the same moment the salve touched his clothing.


    Just like before, Yan Junze stayed motionless, raising his head and waiting for Mo Da''s response.


    However, this time, even though Mo Da remained still, he didn''t turn back to look at Yan Junze as before, indicating that maybe the light purple corpse salve hit the mark.


    Yan Junze carefully observed Mo Da''s reaction and then scooped out a large portion of the salve with the lid. If he was certain it worked on Mo Da, he was ready to make a bold move.


    Just then, Mo Da suddenly turned around, his one arm wielding the ancient sword slashing down towards Yan Junze''s head with fierce momentum, showing almost no sign beforehand.


    Luckily, Yan Junze had been watching for any reaction and, noticing something amiss just as he looked up, saw the sword blade just half an arm''s length from his head.


    Rewind!


    Without time to think any further, Yan Junze''s thoughts flashed, time reversed, and he found himself back at the moment he had approached Mo Da for the second time, holding the light purple corpse salve.


    Now it appeared that this jar of light purple salve couldn''t be used at all, similar to the dark red corpse salve that Tong De used in a previous Rewind, which could make Mo Da suddenly become mad and violent.


    If Yan Junze hadn''t been able to Rewind, his fate would have been the same as Tong De''s.


    He didn''t open the jar of light purple salve this time but instead tossed it away and took out the last jar, the black one.


    Yan Junze remembered this jar of corpse salve; it was the first one he found among those retrieved from Yan Long, which had subtly hinted at him at that time, yet he hadn''t paid attention.


    Now, after testing all other corpse salves and coming full circle, he picked up the jar of black salve again.


    He also remembered that the black one had no scent at all, not even the earthy smell was as strong as this corpse salve.


    Quickly approaching Mo Da again, Yan Junze still used the lid to dig out some black salve, carefully applying it to the back hem of Mo Da''s garment as he continued forward.


    This time, Mo Da showed no reaction and kept striding forward.


    "This might work," Yan Junze thought, pleased, but seeing that Mo Da didn''t stop, it seemed as though the possibility of controlling the Ancient Corpse didn''t exist.


    Thinking it over, he wished Mo Da would just stop right now.


    As the thought arose, he saw Mo Da''s advancing figure pause slightly, appearing somewhat stiff, as if his joints were having difficulty aligning. After struggling for a few steps, his movement eased up once more and returned to the normal pace of before.

 Chapter 265 Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_2

    Yan Junze ceased to ponder and immediately rushed forward in a few steps, scooping up a large clump of black corpse salve and smearing it into Mo Da''s mouth.


    Mo Da''s mouth was slightly agape, and with this smear, half of it entered his mouth, causing him to come to a complete stop, motionless.


    "That should do it," Yan Junze muttered to himself, then gestured to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De behind him that the job was done.


    The two exchanged glances and quickly moved to his side.


    After examining Mo Da closely, Zhang Xiaomo was confident that the ancient corpse was now under their control. Though she didn''t know how long they could maintain this control, he was, for the moment, at their mercy, so they needed to move quickly and decisively.


    "Now that the ancient corpse is under control, how do we allow Old Guo''s spirit to take over his body?" Yan Junze asked the two.


    Tong De said, "Zombies differ from ordinary strangenesses in that they retain part of their consciousness from life, some spiritual wisdom, another form of obsession. If we want another strangeness to successfully possess it, we must eradicate this remaining obsession, whether forcefully or... uh, your... ''Buddhist'' approach."


    He had just heard Zhang Xiaomo give a brief explanation of Yan Junze''s exorcism method. Although it seemed unbelievable, the fact that he had eliminated both the Red Coffin and the Lantern Woman made it hard for him to disbelieve.


    That''s why Tong De suggested Yan Junze''s Buddhist Exorcism Method beforehand.


    No sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Junze shook his head: "This time, we can''t use the Buddhist Exorcism Method. We need to forcibly eliminate his obsession. He''s currently following my orders. Do you have any good ideas?"


    The reason he said this was that Yan Junze was acutely aware that the "Corpse Qi Spread" mission had stated Mo Da''s obsession was to kill anyone he saw. He hated people for not saving him, so this obsession was beyond negotiation.


    Moreover, the fact that Mo Da immediately left the place, instead of attacking Yan Junze and the others after breaking free from control, was very likely because the environment around this dry well posed an obstacle to his obsession. After all, this was where Mo Da met his end.


    According to exorcists, the place where a person dies can restrict his abilities, just like the Lv Family''s people hiding in Granny Ren''s house before.


    However, this is not absolute; for example, after Granny Ren evolved into Resentful Granny, the place of her demise no longer hindered her, and her hatred even grew stronger.


    But for Mo Da, if he leaves this place, he could become extremely powerful in a very short time, which is what was mentioned in the "Corpse Qi Spread" task, from "hair-raising (high)" climbing all the way to "Terrified (medium)".


    Moreover, since the intense battle with Guo Youliang, Yan Junze has been suspecting that the mission level of Mo Da might no longer be "hair-raising (high)", but quite possibly "Terrified (low)".


    In any case, allowing Mo Da to walk out in his current state was extremely dangerous.


    With Mo Da intent only on killing, the Buddhist Exorcism Method wouldn''t solve the problem. It wasn''t an option to assist him in killing one person after another to satisfy his twisted obsession.


    Therefore, direct elimination was the only choice.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze''s question, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both shook their heads.


    "This ancient corpse''s Yin nature is too strong; even if we stand here and use the magnetic knife to hack at him, without the magnetic force boost from a four-star exorcist, we won''t stand a chance against him," Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    "Can''t we just throw him into a fire and incinerate him?" Tong De suggested.


    Yan Junze shook his head: "He was able to suppress even the Incinerate Hidden Buckle with his Yin nature earlier; ordinary flames would be even less effective. And throwing him into the fire could accelerate his return to consciousness and free him from control."


    "Given the ancient corpse''s strong Yin nature, the Chilling Hidden Buckle definitely wouldn''t work either. That would be like giving him the perfect environment to thrive," Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tong De suddenly brightened up with an idea: "What if we have him swallow the Strangeness Interferer? That might force the obsession out of the ancient corpse''s body."


    Zhang Xiaomo dismissed the idea: "I''m afraid the Strangeness Interferer might get stuck and cause him to break free from the corpse salve''s control sooner."


    After pausing for a moment, Zhang Xiaomo said to Yan Junze: "Even if we can now eradicate the ancient corpse''s obsession, allowing Uncle Guo''s spirit to temporarily possess his body, we can''t control it directly. We would still need to send the ancient corpse, with Uncle Guo inside, back to the exorcist squad and use a Spirit-Hosting Device to complete the final ''Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect''."


    Yan Junze folded his arms across his chest and tapped his forehead, pondering: "As long as we destroy the ancient corpse''s obsession, everything else is a minor issue."


    "Is your Buddhist Exorcism Method useless this time?" Zhang Xiaomo asked with concern.


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "it''s his obsession, which I cannot peacefully eliminate."


    "What is his obsession?" inquired Tong De curiously.


    "To kill everyone." Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Yan Junze turned his head to look at Mo Da''s lifeless eyes, unconcerned that Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De already wore faces filled with terror.


    He pondered for a moment, fearing that if they delayed any longer, Mo Da might break free from control.


    Yan Junze decisively released Guo Youliang''s spirit from the Spacetime Atlas.


    After appearing, Guo Youliang stood next to Yan Junze, expressionless. His gaze swept over Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, and Tong De, and he uttered two words.


    "Save... me!"


    Suddenly, Guo Youliang''s gaze fixed on Mo Da. Without any hesitation, he raised his magnetic knife, strode forward, and swung it down at Mo Da''s head, shouting: "Yin Corpse, die!"

 Chapter 265 Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_3

    Yan Junze was startled and immediately intervened, "Uncle Guo, don''t chop him! We''re planning to use him to save you!"


    Guo Youliang stopped, still holding the magnetic knife aloft.


    "Your body has been destroyed and can''t be restored, but Mo Da''s body is largely intact, so we plan to use it to resurrect you," Yan Junze spoke very quickly to explain, "As long as we can dispel the Ancient Corpse''s Obsession. Look, is it possible to directly slay his Obsession without harming his body?"


    Guo Youliang fell silent, the magnetic knife he had raised slowly lowered, and then he looked up at the sky and shook his head mutely.


    Zhang Xiaomo said to Yan Junze, "Uncle Guo has just died recently, his soul is very weak, he cannot fight with Ancient Corpses like other old strangenesses can.


    "Old strangenesses?" Yan Junze stared at Zhang Xiaomo, repeating her words, and suddenly his eyes lit up, slapping his thigh, "How could I have forgotten about it?"


    With that, he took out a small mirror with a handle from his person.


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    Instead of reflecting the surroundings, the mirror''s surface was a dark chaos, as if there was a vortex slowly swirling within.


    "This mirror..." Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De exclaimed at the same time.


    Guo Youliang was similarly astonished, seeming to sense danger, he immediately retreated more than ten meters away, standing in the distance and looking over here.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze slightly shook his head, remembering how the Mirror Spirit had promptly withdrawn upon seeing Guo Youliang''s arrival, surely the living Guo Youliang had a way to suppress it.


    But now that Guo Youliang himself had become a strangeness, he had no choice but to flee from the Mirror Spirit without having regained strength and grown.


    "You guys step back," Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, and then took a step forward, raising the mirror toward Mo Da''s face.


    Mo Da''s body emitted a slight tremor, his lifeless eyes looking toward the mirror as if something had touched them, going somewhat out of control.


    Out of the mirror''s chaotic depths, an exceedingly black withered hand suddenly reached out, grabbing for Mo Da''s head.


    "Thief, how dare you sneak attack this general!"


    Mo Da blurted out, his body swaying, trying to move and strike at the mirror with his sword.


    But his body was still partially under control; he only managed to take half a step, and his body barely moved, unable to dodge, his face immediately enveloped by the black withered hand.


    A white aura emerged around his head as Mo Da began to struggle and roar in anger, but although his body could move, the degree of his struggle was still very limited.


    Mo Da''s body appeared as if it were bound by ropes, close to escaping but just short of the last effort, the surface of the withered hand emitting trails of black aura, as if something ferociously revolved around it, transferring from Mo Da''s face into the mirror along the emaciated black palm.


    The black energy inside the mirror churned, like boiling water, with some of the black energy even spilling out of the mirror. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, after leaving the mirror, it quickly vanished.


    Mo Da''s roar turned into a scream, gradually becoming a wail, before he finally collapsed with a thud.


    Yan Junze immediately crouched down, still holding the small mirror, staring unblinkingly at Mo Da''s actions.


    About two minutes later, Mo Da''s head hung down sharply, motionless, the withered hand that had gripped his cheek retracted, and seemed to have grown significantly stronger, its arm lengthening at least twice as much as before, reaching toward Yan Junze''s arm.


    Yan Junze sharply jerked the mirror, and the entire surface stirred, the black energy once more began to tumultuously roll, the withered hand could no longer extend and was quickly pulled back by the mirror''s suction force.


    Mo Da''s body toppled to the ground with a snap, still in a kneeling posture.


    "Uncle Guo, go quickly!" Zhang Xiaomo immediately reminded.


    Guo Youliang hesitated briefly, then surged towards Mo Da''s body, turned into a phantom, and vanished before everyone''s eyes.


    Yet there was no reaction from Mo Da''s body; even after Guo Youliang''s soul had entered, he still remained tightly curled up.

 Chapter 266 Five Stars? (4300 words)

    Yet such a method was still not enough for Guo Youliang to truly possess a corpse and resurrect. It also required the use of a Spirit-Hosting Device from the Exorcist team.


    Yan Junze speculated that this Spirit-Hosting Device must be a type of instrument specially made by Exorcists.


    The instrument had a unique function in controlling strange magnetic fields; therefore, for Spirit Cultivators who relied on various bizarre methods, possessing a corpse to resurrect could be quite a challenge. But for four-star Exorcists, protected by magnetic force and by controlling strange magnetic fields, they could achieve this.


    After Guo Youliang''s soul entered Mo Da''s corpse, De and Liang, who had been hiding nearby, hurried over. They had obviously been monitoring the situation all along.


    Tong De said, "Quick, lift this ancient corpse, and let''s leave Mo Family Village immediately."


    Given the current situation, there was no longer any need to stay in Mo Family Village, mainly because the aura of the Spirit Bridge was weakening, and the chances of a third outbreak were slim.


    Moreover, for Yan Junze, according to his "Perception of Strange Events," all the high-level strangenesses in this area had been dealt with; it would be laborious and thankless to handle other Wandering Spirit-level strangenesses, and there was no need to continue.


    If possible, leaving a few two-star Exorcists in this place would be sufficient to clean up these strangenesses.


    [Corpse Qi Spread, Terrified (Low), Completed, received 1600 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    As Yan Junze and the other Exorcists were escorting Mo Da''s body out of Mo Family Village, a task completion notification popped up in Yan Junze''s mind.


    This [Corpse Qi Spread] task was actually difficult to resolve. If it hadn''t been for Yan Long''s downfall in this place, leaving behind corpse salve that could temporarily control Mo Da, and with the assistance of two three-star Exorcists, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, and even more so with the Mirror Spirit devouring Mo Da''s obsession, Yan Junze alone would have almost been unable to complete it.


    The main reason was that Mo Da''s obsession was solely to kill, without considering any other conditions.


    The task completion notification only appeared after such a delay because, although Mo Da''s obsession had been devoured, Yan Junze thought that maybe the Spacetime Atlas considered that this guy still had a certain chance of turning things around. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One could imagine that the Mirror Spirit in the small mirror must have also exhausted a tremendous effort to finally subdue this obsession.


    At the entrance of Mo Family Village, the first group of Exorcists who had left earlier were already on a van, departing.


    A few more people were standing outside waiting, and about three minutes after Yan Junze and the others emerged, an ambulance arrived at high speed.


    After lifting Mo Da''s body onto the ambulance, the remaining three people set up a cordon at the entrance of Mo Family Village and placed two warning signs, then stood guard. The others squeezed into the ambulance and left.


    On the ambulance,


    Yan Junze had taken note of the appearance of the ambulance as he boarded. From the outside, it seemed to belong to a district hospital, but once inside, he realized this was a dedicated Exorcist rescue vehicle.


    Because it bore the symbol of a magnetic knife.


    The ambulance quickly left the village road, took to the highway, and began to drive smoothly.


    Yan Junze looked down at Mo Da''s corpse, which had a purplish tinge on its cheeks, and then looked up at Zhang Xiaomo sitting opposite him, asking, "Why do we have to hurry before dawn?"


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    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head gently, "I''m not quite sure of the specifics, but a four-star Exorcist can only maintain the soul with magnetic force for a limited time. I guess after dawn, the magnetic force might become uncontrollable. Moreover, people who have just died must be revived as quickly as possible; if it takes too long, things may go awry."


    The ambulance soon entered Tianmeng City, made several twists and turns, and stopped outside the old office building of the Exorcist team in Benefit Alley.


    Someone was already waiting, and they quickly moved Mo Da''s body down and onto a secretive elevator.


    However, at this time, Zhang Xiaomo, Tong De, and the others did not follow up.


    Yan Junze looked up at the elevator''s floor indicator and noticed that the elevator wasn''t going up but down, displaying the third basement floor, then it stopped.


    After waiting a while, he saw Zhang Xiaomo looking at him, and as their eyes met, Zhang Xiaomo spoke, "The day is about to break, you must be exhausted. Go squeeze into a room and sleep with Tong De and the others. You can go back to the school tomorrow."


    "Do they have extra beds?" Yan Junze asked.


    "There were no extras before, but some Exorcists won''t be returning from Mo Family Village." Tong De said, "So now there are plenty of empty beds; you can pick any to sleep in."


    Yan Junze shivered, "Forget it, I''ll go to the hotel across the street."


    "All right," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Let me know before you leave tomorrow, a phone call will do."


    Yan Junze waved his hand, ready to turn and leave.


    "Wait a second," Zhang Xiaomo''s voice called from behind, and following which, she quickly stepped inside the building.


    In a moment, she came back out with a bag of clothes, "I checked, and these clothes should fit you. Your current outfit is too dirty; change out of it and just throw it away."


    Yan Junze looked down and saw it was indeed so.


    In the [Red Coffin] mission, he had been crawling on the ground all the time. Though it seemed like another space, the dust that should be there was present, making his clothes dirty and even worn out in places.


    Yan Junze took the clothes with a smile and without saying a word, walked out of Benefit Alley toward a hotel with colored lights across the street.


    This area was the working location of the Exorcist team, and in terms of safety, it was definitely top-notch.

 Chapter 266 Five Stars? (4300 words)_2

    But the nearby residents remained unaware, simply thinking that the place had good feng shui and the strangenesses could not invade here.


    Yan Junze was very fatigued. After checking into a hotel, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


    He slept until noon before waking up, roused by his hunger.


    Upon awakening, Yan Junze felt incredibly thirsty. He guzzled down a large pot of water and then took a hot shower, which made him feel refreshed and invigorated.


    It was only when he came out to change into clean clothes that Yan Junze realized Zhang Xiaomo''s thoughtfulness. The clothes she provided the night before were not new, but they were exceptionally clean, and the undergarments, including men''s boxer shorts, were all brand new.


    As he continued to be impressed by Zhang Xiaomo''s attentiveness, Yan Junze nodded, but a strange expression slowly emerged on his face.


    After a long while, he muttered to himself, "How does she have men''s underwear?"


    "Zhang... Xia...omo!" A short-haired girl stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at Zhang Xiaomo, who had just returned from washing up.


    Zhang Xiaomo paused, then put down her washbasin and cup, showing a smile.


    "Where are the undergarments I bought for my boyfriend last week?" the short-haired girl demanded.


    Zhang Xiaomo shrugged, "How much? I''ll pay you the original price, no, let''s make it ten percent more."


    "You, a woman, taking men''s clothes for..."


    Before the short-haired girl could finish, another long-haired girl interrupted, "What do you know? Last night, some strange guy came back with Xiaomo and them, and Xiaomo immediately found the underwear you bought for your boyfriend and offered it up like a borrowed gift, hahaha..."


    The short-haired girl glowered at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was caught between laughter and tears, "The clothes have already been given away and can''t be taken back. I''ve even offered you a ten percent premium, isn''t that enough? Or should I buy you a new set?"


    "Of course not, at least twenty percent," said the short-haired girl.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo''s phone rang. She checked the number; it was a call from the Exorcist team captain, Huo Zhisen.


    As soon as she answered the call, Zhang Xiaomo paused, then replied with a "Yes" and followed with several "Yes," hardly getting a chance to speak.


    After hanging up, she immediately dialed Yan Junze, "Junze, are you up yet?"


    "I''m up. I was about to go out to eat. Do you want to join?" Yan Junze replied.


    As the two spoke, the two women beside Zhang Xiaomo exchanged glances, sneaking up close to eavesdrop.


    "That''s the guy who wore your underwear," the long-haired woman whispered.


    The short-haired girl cursed with a laugh, "Like you could ever spit anything but nonsense from that dog mouth of yours, it wasn''t mine, it was bought for my boyfriend."


    "It''s all the same," the long-haired woman said, engrossed in listening, not minding the misunderstanding.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo was telling Yan Junze, "The captain just told me that they have verified your performance in Mo Family Village and have already deposited your payment into your designated bank account this morning."


    "That efficient?" Yan Junze was surprised.


    "Yeah," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "The captain says you can apply to become an official Exorcist now, but you have to undergo a one-month intensive training, including Magnetic Knife Combat Technique, physical training, and usage of strangeness magnetic fields, among other things."


    "This... I don''t want to do it for the time being," Yan Junze rejected immediately.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to have anticipated his decision and showed no surprise, continuing, "That''s okay, it''s up to you."


    "How was Old Guo last night?" Yan Junze asked.


    "They say the soul resurrection was successful," Zhang Xiaomo said, "That place is strictly confidential. I can''t go down there, but Uncle Guo still needs to undergo an adaptive process. The headquarters said, since the Ancient Corpse is inherently cold, Uncle Guo will need to do a lot of physical adaptation training."


    "I think if Old Guo pulls through this time, he''s definitely going to be a five-star Exorcist," Yan Junze laughed.


    "Let''s hope so," Zhang Xiaomo rarely showed a smile.


    "Come out to eat, I''ll wait for you," Yan Junze said.


    The two women continued to "eavesdrop" brazenly as the two talked.


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    The short-haired girl, distracted by the underwear she bought for her boyfriend, was somewhat absent-minded, but the long-haired girl listened attentively, reveling in the gossip.


    She was very close to Zhang Xiaomo, almost leaning on her back.


    That was when the long-haired girl noticed something moving on Zhang Xiaomo''s back, moving so fast it seemed like hair.


    She was slightly startled, lifted her head, and moved a bit away from Zhang Xiaomo so she could see more clearly.


    Looking again at Zhang Xiaomo''s back, her hair was not tied up but hung loosely behind her shoulders. The long-haired girl inspected carefully but saw no irregularities.


    She rubbed her eyes and reached out to smooth the hair on Zhang Xiaomo''s shoulder, quickly convincing herself it was a trick of the eye.


    "Your hair quality is really good," the long-haired girl complimented.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just hung up the phone, replied, and after changing into a new outfit, she stepped out. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze and she ordered two bowls of wontons at a wonton shop, eating while discussing their experiences in Mo Family Village.


    Through Zhang Xiaomo, he learned that Xiaomo had been an orphan since childhood. The orphanage where she grew up was not called Start Point but Holy Light Orphanage, founded by a priest from Great Capital in the USA.


    At the age of thirteen, Zhang Xiaomo was adopted by her current teachers, both university professors who treated her as their own daughter and raised her with great care.

 Chapter 266 Five Stars? (4300 words)_3

    After the outbreak of strangenesses, Zhang Xiaomo''s teacher discovered that the magnetic field control he was studying played a significant role. He altered his own body''s magnetic field in his experiments, and could be considered one of the first exorcists.


    Subsequently, a large number of people capable of controlling their internal magnetic fields, forming magnetic force, were discovered or unearthed. Then, the exorcist teams were established; while the founders weren''t Zhang Xiaomo''s parents, they were among the first of the veteran members. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Actually, Zhang Xiaomo''s control over magnetic force was only above average, not the best. Now, nearly a year since the outbreak of strangenesses, some more bizarre or, rather, more powerful humans were being discovered and recruited by the exorcist teams.


    For example, people like Yan Junze who possessed the Buddhist Exorcism Method, or those whose sensitivity to strangenesses was at its ultimate peak.


    No matter how you look at it, the world is rapidly changing its structure, and the exorcist teams are playing an increasingly important role.


    After finishing their wontons, Zhang Xiaomo took several Hidden Buckles out of her pocket and said, "You used up your Hidden Buckles in Mo Family Village yesterday, these are to refill your supply."


    Yan Junze took them and placed them in his backpack, smiling, "Once Old Guo gets used to it and can come out, let me know. I want to come see him."


    "No problem," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "He managed to possess a corpse and revive because of your major contribution. Even if I don''t tell you, he will thank you himself."


    "No need for thanks," Yan Junze said, "As long as in the future when you or I face difficulties, if he lends a hand, that''s enough."


    ...


    In the old building of the Tianmeng District''s exorcist team, three floors underground.


    In a room filled with a large amount of medical equipment, an Ancient Corpse, Mo Da, was lying on the central bed. Several medical tubes were inserted into his neck, chest, and abdomen, with some unidentified fluid flowing into his body from the tubes.


    Four or five middle-aged people stood by the head of Mo Da, taking notes while carefully observing the reactions of the person in front of them.


    Before long, one of the middle-aged men said, "Guo Youliang, I know you can hear me; if possible, move your right index finger."


    As he spoke, all eyes were on the right hand of the body.


    About five seconds later, the right index finger lifted slightly and then relaxed back down.


    "The recovery is not bad," the group exchanged opinions, nodding periodically.


    "This Ancient Corpse''s constitution is excellent; the cold energy naturally entered the body without causing any rejection," one person said.


    Another nodded, "Not only that, but the cold energy can also perfectly integrate with the magnetic force, equivalent to doubling or even tripling the attack power."


    Whoosh!


    No sooner had the words been spoken than the body in front of them slightly opened its mouth, and a visible stream of cold air slowly exhaled.


    The people standing felt the air around them drop suddenly at that moment, and two of them couldn''t help but shiver.


    Just then, a man dressed in a light gray suit with a tall and straight figure appeared at the elevator entrance of this third underground level, step by step approaching the lying Guo Youliang.


    "Old Guo has turned a disaster into a blessing this time, our Tianmeng District''s exorcist team''s overall strength has greatly increased," he said.


    Upon seeing the newcomer, the others immediately greeted him, "Captain Huo."


    The man was indeed Huo Zhisen.


    Although Huo Zhisen was just over fifty, he looked to be only in his thirties, with chiseled facial features and a resolute expression.


    After looking over Guo Youliang for a moment, he couldn''t help but say, "That youngster surnamed Yan really opened a whole new world of possibilities with his idea to exorcise the obsession of an Ancient Corpse to enable Old Guo to resurrect!"

 Chapter 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)

    "I heard that Yan Junze is really good, hasn''t the captain considered formally recruiting him?" A middle-aged man in a white lab coat approached Huo Zhisen and suggested.


    Huo Zhisen smiled, "How could I not have considered? But Xiaomo just told me, he refused." Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    "He refused just like that?!" The man in the white lab coat looked astonished.


    "It''s nothing." Huo Zhisen shook his head, "He was recruited by Zhang Xiaomo; we''ve reviewed him earlier, no problems there. He is currently our external hire and still works for us. Plus, his relationship with Xiaomo is good, so we can use him like a regular employee."


    After a pause, Huo Zhisen asked, "How is Old Guo doing now?"


    "He''s recovering well." The man in the white lab coat nodded with a smile, "Once his movements are back to normal, we need to conduct a Strange Body constitution test on him and reassess his exorcist level."


    "Hope it''s five stars." Huo Zhisen pursed his lips and smiled, "Here in Tianmeng, we don''t have a single five-star exorcist, which puts us at a disadvantage, not to mention an exorcist of the ''Reaper'' caliber. A single person like that can hold off a medium-sized Spirit Bridge."


    "If Old Guo really advances to five stars, and he is indeed an impressive five-star exorcist, that would be great, a blessing for Tianmeng, a blessing indeed!" The man in the white lab coat laughed heartily.


    ...


    After parting with Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze switched transportation to reach the bus terminus serving Tianmeng Science University, and twenty minutes later, he boarded the bus back to school, sitting alone in the last row, rocking gently with the motion of the bus. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This encounter with the Spirit Bridge had taught him a lot, whether about high-level exorcists or Spirit Cultivators, as well as zombies; he gained a much deeper understanding.


    And it was at this moment that a very strange thought suddenly occurred to him.


    If the Spirit Bridge was currently appearing above a village, what would happen if one day a powerful and immense strangeness magnetic field erupted, creating a Spirit Bridge spanning an entire large city? Would that mean disaster for the entire city?


    If that were to happen, then with the catalyst of the Spirit Bridge, all the strangeness from a thousand or even two thousand years ago in the city would arise, an absolute disaster of terrifying proportion.


    Definitely Ethereal spirits, or even something more powerful than Ethereal spirits, were possible.


    With this thought in mind, Yan Junze couldn''t help but break out into goosebumps. If it ever came to that, the strangeness that appeared would definitely not be as simple as they are now.


    Perhaps there would be a scene of a deserted city.


    "Deserted city?!"


    Upon thinking of this term, Yan Junze, who was sitting in the last row of the bus and had been dozing off, suddenly started, opening his eyes.


    He clearly remembered that while carrying out the ''Half a Hide'' mission, because he used a considerable amount of Semi-spirit power, he gained the perspective of the Back-faced Woman and clearly saw where her mother and daughter were at the time.


    There was not a soul on the streets, desolate and dilapidated, and the Back-faced Woman and her daughter were just wandering aimlessly in the street.


    With that in mind, had some city already fallen into this state?


    If that were really the case, it was likely that the national machinery had already sealed off all information and was secretly disposing of the situation.


    Just thinking about that scenario was chilling.


    Of course, this was just a guess by Yan Junze; the place might also just be a small town street, and after the outbreak of strangeness, it was possible that most of the local residents had moved out.


    Sitting on the bus lost in these whimsical ideas, Yan Junze seemed to be falling asleep again, but for some reason, the image of Zhang Xiaomo suddenly sprang to his mind, and he became fully alert.


    Yan Junze opened his eyes again and gave a wry smile.


    Being with Zhang Xiaomo felt comfortable and relaxing, and Yan Junze was acutely aware that this feeling had taken up a place in his heart.


    "Hmm, she seemed to have told me she didn''t have a boyfriend before," Yan Junze thought for a bit and then suddenly shook his head.


    He was no longer certain of that, considering that Zhang Xiaomo was a few years older than this body. If something did develop between them, would it mean that this woman would be eating his tender grass?


    But on second thought, he found the idea amusing; if he were to be so petty about age, then adding his previous life''s age, Zhang Xiaomo might have to call him ''uncle.''


    Half an hour later, the bus pulled into the station of Tianmeng Science and Technology University, and Yan Junze got off. Instead of going straight back to school, he visited Ning Shanshan''s clinic outside of school.


    At this time it was the afternoon, the sunlight was warm, and he basked in its comfortable glow.


    The bowl of wonton soup he had earlier didn''t really mean much to Yan Junze; hungry, his main sustenance still came from blood.


    When he arrived at the clinic, Ning Shanshan was busy preparing medicine for someone. After finishing, she took a moment to give Yan Junze two bags of blood.


    Yan Junze stood there chatting with her for a bit and then headed out to a secluded place, quickly downed the two bags of blood, and threw the blood bags into a trash can before heading back to school.


    Thanks to the effects emitted by the exorcist badge, these two bags of blood could sustain Yan Junze for half a month without needing to eat.


    Usually, to avoid drawing attention, he could casually eat something, and even Yan Junze himself was using the Different Dimension Energy from the Atlas to infuse the badge, slowing down his metabolism.


    However, he was still unfamiliar with this method and didn''t know how effective it truly was.


    In summary, his need for blood had significantly decreased, not just in amount but also in frequency.

 Chapter 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)_2

    Because an exorcist squad had helped to request leave from the school authorities before, this time the leave was still for an indefinite period. The school authorities were quite understanding about this and didn''t ask any questions, but inevitably, they started paying closer attention to Yan Junze.


    After Yan Junze returned to dormitory 411, it wasn''t long before the director of education, Yuan Lison, paid a visit. This skinny old man carefully looked Yan Junze over and, not finding any changes, appeared to care on behalf of the school and asked a few questions before leaving.


    At this time, Yan Junze was the only one in the dormitory, as everyone else was in class, so Director Yuan didn''t avoid saying anything.


    However, Yan Junze could tell that the old man had a very good attitude toward him. Everyone knew that this was closely related to Yan Junze''s identity.


    Not long after Yuan Lison left, the captain of the school security team, Wang Tao, also knocked on the door and entered.


    As for the act of knocking, it was surprising for a security team captain to enter a student dormitory in such a manner.


    Usually, when the security team carried out inspections for unauthorized use of electricity, playing poker, and the like, they would enter the dormitories directly, and even kick in the doors if they had conclusive evidence.


    If they encountered a locked door, they had many tricks up their sleeves.


    For instance, during a gambling raid on one of the dormitories where the door was locked by the gamblers inside, Wang Tao had someone deliberately pull the breaker for that floor.


    When the card players inside opened the door in confusion to check, they were overwhelmed by the security team waiting outside, like wolves pouncing on sheep, caught all at once, and criticized in an announcement to the whole school.


    So, the fact that Wang Tao knocked on the door of the dormitory was very abnormal.


    Yet, Yan Junze didn''t find anything inappropriate about it. This guy might have a favor to ask of him, or perhaps he wanted to curry favor with him for future use of the connection.


    Like director of education Yuan Lison, Wang Tao sat down amiably on the bed, chatted with Yan Junze, who was half-reclining, and even patted his shoulder, telling him to call his phone number anytime if he needed anything, always ready to respond.


    After finishing his talk and worried about bothering Yan Junze too much, Wang Tao left a note with his phone number on it, and got up to leave.


    There was still some time before the afternoon classes ended, and it was heard that the rest of the dorm mates had gone to the laboratory building. Usually experiments meant they would finish even later.


    After all, the Peephole Strange Creature there had already been eliminated, not by Yan Junze, but because after Yan Junze had used the "Great Rewind," the timeline had changed, and it was cleared by an exorcist.


    After scrolling through his phone for a while, Yan Junze rubbed his eyes, set the phone down, feeling he had been influenced by Zhang Xiaomo, and was unconsciously reaching for his phone whenever he had a free moment.


    He then summoned the entire Spacetime Atlas in his mind.


    Currently, the illuminated parts of the Spacetime Atlas still hadn''t reached half, and even by observing the illuminated parts, Yan Junze was basically unable to speculate how large half of the Atlas actually was.


    He lacked a tangible reference.


    In its full state, the Atlas could store 17,400 points of Different Dimension Energy and had 86 nodes lit, which, when translated into reversible timelines, equalled to about 29 hours.


    Yan Junze had formed a habit of keeping the cycle on as long as the Different Dimension Energy was plentiful.


    The advantage of this was that no matter where or when he decided to Rewind, he could do it without facing the kind of situation he had experienced before on a bus when he encountered Lv Xin, who had split apart from the Resentful Granny, and was unable to trace back to before that point.


    Although he didn''t know how much of the Atlas had been fully uncovered, the area he could see was growing larger, and in the end, this was a good thing. As long as he had plenty of energy, Yan Junze''s chances of surviving in today''s world increased.


    In today''s Atlas, the 7th node unlocked [Perception of Strange Events], the 12th time node unlocked [Evil Spirit Solid Lock], the 35th node unlocked [Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion], and the 54th node unveiled [Butterfly Effect].


    And among the most recently unlocked spacetime nodes, the 82nd node activated a new [Strange Event Lockdown] feature.


    This function seemed to pair with [Perception of Strange Events].


    According to the function description, once [Strange Event Lockdown] was activated, a strangeness scene (that is, a task), would be instantly locked in the current state.


    For a limited time, the strangeness couldn''t escalate, even if many factors of unrest or instability would be enough to elevate the level of strangeness several times within the event, but once locked, it would remain as it was before the lockdown.


    Of course, the Different Dimension Energy consumed is proportional to the length of time the event is locked. To keep an event locked indefinitely would consume a substantial amount of Different Dimension Energy.


    This feature was very powerful. If facing a troublesome creature that Yan Junze couldn''t deal with at the moment, he could lock the opponent''s level state for the time being.


    Once the conditions were met, he could then look back and deal with the task, which would seem effortless.


    In essence, this was exploiting a loophole in time.


    At this moment, Yan Junze suddenly remembered the terrifying boss in Mountain Park that he had been completely unable to deal with at the time, not just unable to confront, but he couldn''t even solve the Dark Poison released by the opponent.


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    Fortunately, he had managed to dodge a bullet.


    Just then, Yan Junze''s right index finger started to feel a bit numb, and he looked down to see that there was nothing unusual. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He stretched out his other hand and gently pinched the finger, thinking that he might have inadvertently pressed on it earlier.


    After rubbing it for a while, the numbness gradually disappeared.


    A wave of sleepiness came over him, and Yan Junze closed the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and quickly fell asleep.


    When he became conscious again, he found his vision shrouded in pitch-black darkness.


    He seemed to be standing in a black starless sky, everything around him was as dark as ink.


    Yan Junze looked around and felt his head was still heavy, with a lingering sense of sleepiness.


    Standing still for a while, unable to discern his location, Yan Junze decided to walk a few steps forward, then he found himself beginning to move.


    In the boundless darkness, he started to tread carefully forward, just like he had done inside the space of the Red Coffin.


    Only this time, unlike the Red Coffin where he had to crawl, there was no need to here.


    Time passed, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, Yan Junze found himself still trapped in the darkness, unable to find a way out.


    He simply stopped and turned around on the spot, trying to see if there were any abnormalities in any direction, or any hint of light that could penetrate the darkness.


    He soon made a discovery; when he turned in a certain direction, there seemed to be someone crouching or sitting on the ground within the pitch-black night before him.


    Uncertain, he chose this direction and prepared to walk over.


    But at that moment, Yan Junze found that he seemed unable to move anymore and could only stay in place.


    In the pitch darkness before him, the crouching figure now seemed to be moving, with a faint light gradually appearing above the silhouette, casting a hazy shape.


    The figure was a woman.


    Her hair draped softly over her shoulders, and she was indeed crouching on the ground in a long white dress, except she was facing away from Yan Junze.


    The scene felt strangely familiar, and for a moment Yan Junze stood frozen, feeling a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    He rubbed his eyes, straining to see better, but still could not make out the person''s appearance.


    Just then, the woman in white slowly stood up; she had been crouching until now.


    She began to walk backward, moving in Yan Junze''s direction.


    At first glance, Yan Junze thought she was the Back-faced Woman, but upon closer inspection, she was nothing like her.


    Closer and closer she came.


    Her backward-walking posture was elegant, as if gliding above the ground, her arms bent as though she was holding something in front of her.


    As she continued to approach, almost turning towards him, Yan Junze felt his heartbeat suddenly start to quicken.


    The next second, he woke up with a start, his eyes wide open, breathing gently, only to find himself still lying on his dormitory bed. It had all been a dream.


    Yet the scene from the dream remained vivid in his memory.


    Panting, Yan Junze sat up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, the memories from the dream persisting. He clearly remembered that in the last moment of his dream, he had seen what the woman was holding in her hands.


    It was... a lantern.

 Chapter 268 Sudden Shock (4200 words)

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    Lantern Woman!?


    Yan Junze''s heart was in turmoil. After completing the mission involving "the woman with the lantern," he had been feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, but couldn''t quite put his finger on it.


    However, after completing the higher-level task of "Red Coffin," that feeling of unease faded away.


    Now it seemed there were two possibilities: either his intuition was right and the Lantern Woman really was coming after him, or this was all just a dream, his fears unfounded.


    Upon further reflection, Yan Junze couldn''t be sure if this was real or not.


    If the Lantern Woman really had set her sights on him, her way of making her presence felt was much stranger than Fang Ning''s, appearing in his dreams.


    Could she be trying to emulate Freddy the Demon Killer from "Fierce Ghost Street," entering his dreams to kill him?


    With this thought, Yan Junze couldn''t help but shudder. If that was the case, how would he ever be able to sleep again? Would he be killed as soon as he fell asleep?


    It couldn''t be that powerful, Yan Junze shook his head.


    The Lantern Woman wasn''t very high-level in her white dress; it was only when the lantern turned red that she would become ferocious.


    The lantern was her husband''s head, meaning that only with the combined power of the couple, the Lantern Woman would turn red and unleash more powerful attacks.


    As for the ability to enter one''s dreams, if that were really possible, it might be unique to them, but if they could kill a person in their dreams, then no exorcist could defeat them, nearly an invincible state.


    Because Yan Junze couldn''t be sure if his ability to rewind would still work if he was killed in his sleep.


    Most likely, it was impossible.


    It wasn''t long before his dormitory roommates, Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua, returned one after another. They were very happy to see Yan Junze back at school, immediately showing concern for his well-being.


    The weather was gradually cooling down, with the beginning of autumn winds and falling leaves.


    In dormitory 411, Yan Junze and his three roommates chatted for a while and only realized it was late when He Bishou brought it up, mainly because he was getting hungry quickly, and although he wanted to chat more with Yan Junze, his stomach protested.


    The canteen''s dinner time had already passed, but there was still night-time food for sale, which would close promptly at 9 o''clock.


    The nighttime offerings were also plentiful, with noodles, vermicelli, and wontons, but surely no barbecue.


    The four discussed and decided that the external restaurants probably didn''t have much fresh food left at this time, so it would be simpler to eat in the canteen.


    Thus, they all left the dormitory and headed to the canteen.


    The twilight had passed, and the sky was nearing night, but not yet completely dark, giving an obscure feeling.


    The four descended the stairs and walked toward the canteen.


    Occasionally, they saw students walking back from the canteen, but hardly anyone was going there with them.


    As they neared the entrance of the canteen, on the right side of the steps under the canteen''s main door, near the corner, someone was squatting.


    Initially, Yan Junze hadn''t noticed, but when his gaze inadvertently swept over the squatting person, he paused, and a sense of alertness rose in his heart.


    That person was squatting indeed, but with her back facing out and her face turned inward, such an odd posture, as if she had fallen asleep while squatting.


    Moreover, it was the silhouette of a woman.


    Although she wasn''t dressed in a white or red dress, but in a very ordinary pink blouse, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers, her manner of squatting couldn''t help but draw Yan Junze''s attention.


    In the dimming evening light, it seemed all the more eerie.


    Just then, He Bishou also noticed the woman squatting with her back turned out. He nudged Zhao Zheng with his elbow and signaled to Yan Junze and Huahua with his eyes.


    Huahua looked in the direction and was immediately struck with a mix of surprise and barely concealed fear, covering her mouth and not forgetting to point with her elegantly curled finger at the squatting woman, "What''s she doing squatting there? It''s getting dark; isn''t she scared of scaring someone to death?"


    Meanwhile, the four kept walking forward, each sneaking glances at the squatting woman above, feeling as though they were getting closer to her. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the faint light seeping out from the canteen, Yan Junze took a closer look and noticed the woman remained motionless with her back to them, which was indeed very strange.


    "I feel like this person looks a bit like... Liao Jing?!" Zhao Zheng suddenly spoke up.


    Liao Jing was one of the two female members of the Strangeness Association, the other being Zhang Ying. Both girls had attended Yan Junze''s induction ceremony and were quite frightened by the sudden appearance of the eleventh person.


    At the time, both were curious about Yan Junze''s ability to sense strangenesses, and even Zhang Ying took a particular interest in Yan Junze for a while, coming to dormitory 411 a few times to find him.


    But soon Zhang Ying realized Yan Junze wasn''t interested in her, and since Zhao Zheng was always the one entertaining her, they started talking and discovered they had quite a few common topics.


    Yan Junze heard lately that the two were hitting it off, although he wasn''t sure if they had made it official. Zhao Zheng had gone out with Zhang Ying a few times, and almost every time Liao Jing was there, which is why he could recognize Liao Jing''s silhouette at a glance.


    Hearing Zhao Zheng say this, Yan Junze noticed the squatting woman indeed resembled Liao Jing.


    Nevertheless, he grabbed everyone and pulled them to the other side of the staircase: "Let''s go this way, try not to get too close."

 Chapter 268 Sudden Shock (4200 words)_2

    Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua all remained silent, their heartbeats pounding like drums. As they stepped onto the staircase, although they were now very close to the woman, they dared not look directly at her, instead keeping watch from the corners of their eyes for any movement in that direction. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    Only Yan Junze kept his gaze fixed in that direction.


    As the four of them quickly ascended the stairs, the crouching woman twisted her neck as if her limbs were incredibly stiff, making a cracking sound as she slowly turned her head toward the stairs.


    Yan Junze could clearly hear the chilling sound of bones grinding as he quickly pushed the three in front of him up the steps and into the dining hall.


    He was filled with suspicion; the woman seemed to be a strangeness rather than a normal person. But why was she crouching, and why was her back turned to the outside?


    The scene was very much like the first time he encountered the Lantern Woman and the way she appeared in his dreams.


    "It can''t be that coincidental!" Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    "Hey, what a coincidence!" He Bishou suddenly exclaimed at that moment, his gaze fixed on someone exiting the dining hall.


    Huahua also said, "Zhang Ying, are you eating so late?"


    The person was indeed Zhang Ying.


    Zhang Ying also found it coincidental, nodded her head, glanced at Yan Junze, then turned to Zhao Zheng and smiled, nodding at him.


    Zhao Zheng had been all smiles, about to speak when suddenly he jolted and looked over Zhang Ying''s shoulder.


    Liao Jing approached swiftly, holding two cups of freshly squeezed orange juice, saying, "Zhang Ying, slow down. I bought you a cup of orange juice. Why are you in such a hurry?"


    All eyes turned to Liao Jing, who paused, standing still, "What? Why are all of you looking at me?"


    As she finished speaking, she suddenly noticed Yan Junze was there too, and the look of surprise in his eyes as he watched her.


    Liao Jing immediately couldn''t keep calm, shivering all over, she stammered, "Yan... Yan Junze, why, why are you... looking at me like that? Is there someone... behind me? Or is someone...


    sitting on my shoulder? Male... or female?"


    It was fine for others to look at her like that, but not Yan Junze, because in her heart Liao Jing was all too aware that Yan Junze had special sensitivity to strangenesses.


    If he was looking at her like that, it definitely wasn''t a good thing.


    Having just experienced the "The Eleventh Person" task not long ago, Liao Jing''s mind was still filled with shadows. Seeing Yan Junze suddenly staring at her like that, she was already terrified out of her wits.


    Seeing her shake so badly, Yan Junze dared not show any more reaction, rubbing his eyes, he exaggeratedly said, "I told you so! I was afraid I mistook someone else for you, but it really is Liao Jing. Haven''t seen you in days, how did you lose so much weight? Hm, you''ve become prettier."


    Mentioning "slimmer" and "prettier" is usually a joyful thing for any girl to hear. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liao Jing was momentarily taken aback, and the fear in her heart immediately lessened a few degrees.


    By now, Yan Junze had already nudged the others, and He Bishou quickly reacted, following up with, "I was just saying, you really do look better."


    "No one is more qualified to speak about weight loss than me, Jingjing. Don''t listen to them, come to me tomorrow and we can chat about my weight loss journey," Huahua added.


    Zhao Zheng nodded, saying nothing, mainly because Zhang Ying was there, and it wasn''t convenient for him to join the others in buttering up Liao Jing, but the look he gave her also shifted away from expressing surprise.


    "Why are you all eating so late?" Zhang Yingqi asked.


    "Junze just came back to school today, we chatted for a bit longer," Zhao Zheng explained.


    Zhang Ying looked at Yan Junze, and they nodded to each other in greeting.


    Zhang Ying said, "Well, take your time eating; we''re going to leave first."


    As she spoke, she took a cup of orange juice from Liao Jing''s hand and said to Zhao Zheng, "This is freshly bought, take it."


    "No need, you drink it yourself," Zhao Zheng waved his hand.


    Zhang Ying didn''t say anything more and left with Liao Jing.


    Zhao Zheng initially wanted to escort them out but then several other people finished eating and left. With seven or eight people together, there was nothing to worry about.


    Zhao Zheng just followed behind them, peeked outside from the dining hall''s entrance for a moment, and then quickly returned.


    "Still there?" Fat He asked.


    "Gone, saw nothing." Zhao Zheng shook his head.


    "The woman squatting outside just now looked so much like Liao Jing. Could it be that she only resembles her rather than being the same person?" Fat He seemed to be talking to himself.


    "The person outside just now was indeed Liao Jing," Yan Junze continued, "Didn''t you notice? Just now Liao Jing was wearing a pink shirt, jeans, and white sneakers, exactly like the woman squatting outside."


    "So which one is the fake?" Zhao Zheng suddenly felt worried for Zhang Ying.


    "Obviously, the one squatting outside," Yan Junze appeared thoughtful.


    Now, it seemed that the woman squatting was imitating the Lantern Woman''s appearance. Only Yan Junze was clear on this since he had just had that strange dream.


    And the appearance of this mysterious woman was most likely related to the Lantern Woman.


    If so, the Lantern Woman in Yan Junze''s dream just now wasn''t merely a simple dream. It was highly possible that the Lantern Woman really had come in such a bizarre way.


    But now Yan Junze was still guessing. He hadn''t figured out the method of the Lantern Woman, and how to deal with it might require some more time.


    After ordering food and sitting down, He Bishou and Zhao Zheng went to get their meals, and Huahua sat next to Yan Junze, leaning in and saying, "Did you notice, Zhang Ying''s actions just now seemed deliberately done for you to see?"


    Yan Junze was taken aback, "Are you talking about when she asked Zhao Zheng if he wanted orange juice?"


    "And when she saw you just now, she purposefully didn''t greet you first, but instead smiled at Zhao Zheng, and only then turned to you." Huahua analyzed, "Women, ah, might not like you as much as before, but since you''ve rejected her in the past, seeing you still makes her uncomfortable. That''s normal."


    "Speaking of which," Huahua became somewhat excited, "I''ve already been approved to join the Rainbow Girls Friendship Association. In a few days, I''ll choose some good sisters to introduce to you."


    "Forget it," Yan Junze quickly waved his hand, "My aspiration is to research magnetic fields and exorcism, nothing else matters."


    Huahua cocked her head and looked at him, "I can smell your lie. Is there already someone you like? You were making a particular phone call the other day, but it seemed you couldn''t get through and appeared very anxious, then you took leave."


    A few days ago, Zhang Xiaomo was trapped in Mo Family Village, and Yan Junze did indeed make several calls, worried for her safety.


    "You should switch your major," Yan Junze smiled, "Too bad Science and Technology University doesn''t offer Forensic Science, otherwise you''d be perfect for it."


    "Perfect my foot!" Huahua shook her head, "I wouldn''t do that kind of job that scares people to death. Anyway, if there''s someone you like outside, go after her. These days are weird; the world might end any day now. Love for a day is a day gained. We don''t need ''forever and always,'' but at least... "


    Before she could finish speaking He Bishou and Zhao Zheng came back with their food, including a big bowl of hot and sour noodles, effectively shutting Huahua up.


    After the four of them had eaten and left the cafeteria, they paid special attention to the area under the stairs, seeing no strangeness.


    Zhao Zheng, feeling uneasy, made a call to Zhang Ying on the way back to ask about Liao Jing.


    After a few words, a peculiar expression appeared on Zhao Zheng''s face. He seemed somewhat reluctant but switched the phone to speaker anyway.


    Then Zhang Ying''s voice came through, sounding lazy as if lying in bed about to sleep: "You should head back and rest too. You''ve had a day full of classes, and played basketball at noon, don''t wear yourself out. Let''s have breakfast together tomorrow."


    "Alright, I''ll call you after I get up in the morning," Zhao Zheng replied.


    In full view of everyone, his response seemed somewhat awkward.


    Huahua elbowed Yan Junze and whispered, "Why does she want Zhao Zheng to put the phone on speaker? Do you feel it now?"


    "A woman''s heart is like a needle in the sea," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    After saying that, an image of Zhang Xiaomo smiling sweetly and gazing at him appeared in Yan Junze''s mind.


    He felt an unexplained warmth in his heart, as if it was very comforting. Yan Junze shook his head and returned to the dormitory with the others.


    Those reading comics continued, those receiving packages did so, and those lifting dumbbells kept at it, while Yan Junze prepared to freshen up first. At this moment, his phone suddenly rang.


    He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Zhou Dali. He answered the call, putting the phone to his ear before getting a chance to speak. Zhou Dali''s voice had already come through, low and bewildered, with a hint of unspeakable horror.


    "Bao Jie... she''s dead."

 Chapter 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)

    ```


    "Bao Jie... died?"


    Yan Junze only felt a buzz in his head, briefly falling into a void.


    He stood at the dormitory doorway, holding the phone in his right hand and the mouthwash cup in his left, motionless.


    The other roommates noticed something was amiss, one by one putting down what they were doing and looking over.


    Yan Junze felt numb all over, his lips moved as if he had not spoken, yet he made a sound, saying to the person on the other end of the phone, "Say that again."


    Zhou Dali seemed to become choked up, struggling to speak, and after a long time, he managed to reply, "Bao Jie, she''s dead. She took a lot of sleeping pills, committed suicide..."


    "Why?" Yan Junze could not hear his own voice as his mind turned to mush, but he knew he definitely asked this question.


    Zhou Dali''s voice came from the phone, "They say... it was because of him. I only just received the news too, that Jiejie, she''s been dead for three days now, her ashes already sent back to Shuntian City, and no one informed us, nobody told me."


    Yan Junze felt a slight tremble in his body, the news was truly shocking, and he still couldn''t fully believe it to this moment.


    Zhao Zheng, who was closest at the time, walked over, supporting Yan Junze, fearing he might fall.


    Huahua also came over to grasp Yan Junze''s arm; they had all realized that something was off with Yan Junze, likely the news from the phone was a dreadful one.


    They helped Yan Junze sit on the edge of his bed, no one speaking. They could all see the confusion and disbelief on Yan Junze''s face. The phone call was not disconnected, but at this moment no one was speaking; they all maintained their silence.


    After a while, Zhou Dali finally said, "That guy wants us to go over, so tomorrow morning let''s head to Tianmeng University. You come from your side, and I''ll leave from the Sports Institute. We''ll meet at the main gate of Tianmeng University. We''ll talk when we see each other."


    The call was disconnected.


    Yan Junze still held the phone, sitting quietly on the edge of his bed, wordless.


    After a moment, Huahua took the mouthwash cup from his hand and placed it on the desk in front of him, tentatively asking, "Is it someone you knew that had an accident?"


    Yan Junze nodded, "A high school classmate, she killed herself."


    "Ah," Huahua, Zhao Zheng, and He Bishou all wore expressions of surprise.


    "So young, why?" Huahua couldn''t help but extend her index finger delicately.


    Yan Junze''s gaze, which had been distant, slowly focused, shifting to Huahua, and he said, "It seems... it was due to love."


    Zhou Dali''s reference to "him" and "that guy," Yan Junze knew perfectly well who they were talking about.


    Since high school, Bao Jie had always been close to the rich playboy Zhou Jiajie. Bao Jie was attractive and also good at her studies, while Zhou Jiajie was handsome too, plus with his father holding an important position in Shuntian City, he had many connections in Tianmeng District; the two seemed quite well-matched. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the problem lay with Zhou Jiajie. They could all see that this guy wasn''t sincerely invested in his relationship with Bao Jie, giving off the vibe that he was just playing for now, and who knew what might happen later.


    But Bao Jie had been blinded by love, oblivious to what was clear to everyone else.


    Zhou Dali had once been smitten with her, taking care of Bao Jie in every possible way, whether in everyday studies and life or when Yan Junze first formed their group for Spirit Exploration.


    Even when Bao Jie harshly rebuffed Zhou Dali, the guy whose arm was thicker than others'' waists, he acted as if nothing had happened, still beaming joyfully.


    Not until later did Zhou Dali have his awakening, finally crying on the school rooftop in Yan Junze''s arms and giving up his illusions about Bao Jie.


    Before the college entrance exam, Zhou Jiajie''s parents had secured for him a spot at Tianmeng University through their connections, while Bao Jie, lacking powerful backing, had to rely on her own efforts to join Zhou Jiajie there by getting admitted through sheer hard work.


    In theory, the couple being at the same university should have resulted in a happy ending.


    Yet now, not even a semester has ended, and Bao Jie has met with such a tragic fate.


    With everything still unclear, Yan Junze refrained from making hasty judgements, but Bao Jie taking her life with sleeping pills surely wasn''t without a reason.


    For a girl with a bright future, if it was truly troubles in this relationship that drove her to extremes, it was simply too wasteful.


    Yan Junze did not close his eyes all night, just sitting on his bed, waiting for the dawn.


    Normally, he would have classes to attend the next day, but now he could only ask for leave again.


    Fortunately, whether it was the class advisor or the head of discipline, they nearly had no control over him. Yan Junze let Huahua know, asking her to submit a leave request on his behalf, and then left early.


    Exiting Tianmeng Science University and standing at the bus station, it was precisely 7:30.


    Yan Junze quickly boarded a bus, heading towards the heart of Tianmeng District.


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    Tianmeng University, as the best university in the entire Tianmeng area, was located at the opposite end of the city from Tianmeng Science University.


    After entering the city, Yan Junze switched buses, spent another half an hour reaching the starting station of the bus to Meng University, and then took that bus for almost fifty minutes, finally getting off at the main gate of Meng University.


    By the time he arrived at his destination, it was almost 10 in the morning.


    Tianmeng University, being the top academic institution in Tianmeng, had a main gate that appeared exceptionally grand and imposing. Looking inside from the gate, one could see trees providing shade, birds singing among the flowers, marble fountains, jade carvings, and further in, a glimpse of a row of pure white, elegant and majestic buildings.


    ```

 Chapter 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)_2

    Yan Junze had no intention of entering, he simply stood at the gate and glanced inside.


    A security guard came out from the guardhouse by the gate. Since he was far away, he didn''t approach but watched Yan Junze with a hint of alertness.


    According to his years of experience working there, the young man in front of him didn''t look like a student from Meng University. If he wasn''t a student from another school, then there was a good chance he was a local youth.


    He wouldn''t allow a local youth to enter the campus.


    Yan Junze quickly spotted a bronze plaque next to the gate that read: Gate One.


    Turning around and approaching the roadside, Yan Junze stopped. The security guard kept an eye on him from behind.


    After making a phone call to Zhou Dali, and waiting for almost ten minutes, a stocky guy hopped off a bus and walked towards Yan Junze.


    This scene left the watching security guard startled; if he had been suspecting Yan Junze''s identity before, at the sight of Zhou Dali, he was almost certain that both of them were local youths.


    After all, Zhou Dali''s appearance left little distinction from the rumored look of gang enforcers.


    Following Zhou Dali off the bus was a tall girl, his girlfriend, Shang Cuicui, with her long legs and wheat-colored skin. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon meeting, Yan Junze and Zhou Dali hugged each other, but neither had a smile on their face, after all, the reason for their meeting here was too sad to accept.


    After the hug, Yan Junze nodded at Shang Cuicui as a way of greeting.


    Shang Cuicui was dressed in sportswear and black sneakers, her hands tucked into her pockets. However, the pants she wore were those tight-fitting capris often seen on those who work out frequently, perfectly enveloping her enviable long legs.


    With his arm around Shang Cuicui, Zhou Dali said to Yan Junze, "Jiajie didn''t stay at the school, but rented a place off-campus, a two-bedroom apartment, and I heard it''s luxuriously decorated."


    "So, are we going directly to his rented place now?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes," Zhou Dali nodded, "he is waiting for us in there right now."


    Following the address sent by Zhou Jiajie, Dali pointed in a direction, and the three of them walked side by side along the street.


    Yan Junze noticed how Shang Cuicui clung to Zhou Dali''s arm, walking very close to him, seemingly dependent on him.


    Zhou Dali also appeared comfortable, and by the looks of it, the pair seemed to be very much in love. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire


    Yan Junze asked, "Does Jiang Ruixin know about Bao Jie''s death?"


    "Just like you, I told her only yesterday," Zhou Dali replied, "Last night when I was on the phone with Big-eyed Girl, I was so afraid she''d be too heartbroken, I even had her call a friend to stand by her. After I told her the tragic news, sure enough, there was a commotion on the other end, and the girl said Big-eyed Girl had fainted.


    After hanging up, it took a good while before a woken up Big-eyed Girl called back, asking me for more details."


    Pausing, Zhou Dali said, "Her mood is very unstable now, I don''t dare say anything to upset her further."


    "You are too..." Cuicui reproached Zhou Dali with a gentle chide, "so insensitive to drop it on her out of the blue, no wonder she passed out. It''s a good thing you were smart enough to have someone stay with your classmate first."


    Dali hehehe''d with an awkward smile toward Cuicui, as if it had been a long time since he''d last smiled.


    At the same time.


    In an ordinary looking residential complex, within one of the second-floor apartments, Zhou Jiajie turned off the stove''s flame, lifted the freshly boiled noodles, and while stirring them to mix the seasoning evenly, he walked out of the kitchen.


    After reaching the living room, a girl about seventeen or eighteen years old was sitting on the couch in pajamas, her legs curled up, showing off her pale calves, with a somewhat vacant gaze in front of her, seemingly preoccupied.


    The woman had extremely delicate features, petite and exquisite, just one glance was enough to evoke a man''s protective instinct.


    "Jiayao, come on, eat the noodles while they''re hot," Zhou Jiajie called out as he walked towards the girl on the couch, love surfacing on his face.


    The girl came back to her senses and glanced at the bowl in his hand. Pouting slightly, she said playfully, "I don''t want to eat."


    ```


    "Why?" Zhou Jiajie looked at her.


    "I didn''t sleep well last night, and I''m still sleepy now," Jiayao rubbed her eyes.


    "Now that it''s daylight, there''s nothing to worry about. You should get some sleep," Zhou Jiajie placed the bowl of noodles on the marble coffee table in front of him, sat next to Jiayao, and pulled her into his arms, preparing to let her use his thigh as a pillow to sleep.


    Jiayao pushed him away and a look of panic suddenly crossed her face, "Who says it''s all right? I''m scared, really scared."


    Zhou Jiajie was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. After a long while, he said, "I already notified two of my classmates yesterday, and we''ve arranged for them to come over today. Rest assured, one of them has effective methods for eliminating strangeness. There won''t be any problems, and everything will soon be back to normal."


    After he spoke, he suddenly noticed that Jiayao''s expression was wrong; her eyes were fixated behind him.


    Zhou Jiajie turned around to see at the hallway leading from the bedroom to the living room, in a place where the light was somewhat dim, a girl with disheveled hair was standing silently.


    This girl was wearing a set of gray long-sleeved pajamas, expressionless, saying nothing. Her hair hung down, covering her cheeks and only revealing the middle part of her nose, her lips, and the inner corner of her eyes near her eyebrows.


    Around this girl, a chilling aura was spreading.


    Zhou Jiajie saw Jiayao trembling violently, her teeth beginning to chatter, producing the sound of them clashing together. He turned his head to glance at the disheveled girl and fear surged in his heart as well. Turning back around, he prepared to embrace Jiayao in front of him.


    No matter what, at this time, they needed to stick together, as one, to eliminate the fear in their hearts as much as possible.


    "I''m not dealing with this anymore!" Jiayao pushed his hands away violently, stood up pale-faced, grabbed her purse from the corner of the sofa, and prepared to leave.


    "What are you doing?" Zhou Jiajie quickly stood up as well, "Have you lost your mind? She has only appeared, she hasn''t hurt us."


    "You''re the one who''s lost your mind!" Jiayao was almost crying, her emotions seemingly on the verge of collapse, "For three days, these three days, she has been following us, no, following you! I really can''t deal with this anymore, I can''t take it, I''m scared!"


    With her speech ended, Jiayao cast a fearful glance at the disheveled girl standing in the hallway leading to the bedroom, then bypassed Zhou Jiajie to leave.


    Zhou Jiajie grabbed her arm, "What did you say at the beginning? Do you not love me anymore?"


    Jiayao struggled hard, but couldn''t break free. Once again casting a fearful look in the direction of the bedroom hallway, she turned back, tears already falling, "I do, I love you, but I''m more afraid. If you don''t call an exorcist from your family to come as soon as possible, we can''t live like this!"


    "We can''t let the family find out. They all know Bao Jie, and they''ll suspect if Bao Jie turned into a ghost, why she would keep haunting me! Just wait, a bit longer, my classmate is coming, he can..." Zhou Jiajie became somewhat hysterical.


    "No one can, only an exorcist!" Jiayao snapped, cutting him off, "So, I really can''t stay any longer, I''m so scared! If you love me, let me go, okay?"


    At that moment, the woman looked pitiful, with her cheeks streaked with tears and her big eyes flashing.


    Zhou Jiajie just stared at the woman in front of him, as if she had become so foreign to him in that instant, unrecognizable.


    Taking advantage of the moment, Jiayao broke free from his grip, grabbed her purse, and still in her pajamas¡ªtoo scared to go back to the bedroom to change¡ªheaded toward the door, saying, "I''m leaving first, you can bring out my clothes another day. If she is always in the bedroom and you really can''t get them, I don''t want them."


    With that, she opened the door and left quickly.


    Zhou Jiajie stared blankly at the scene before him, watching the person who opened the living room door rush away, so hastily that she didn''t even close the door behind her, leaving him with complex feelings and unable to utter a word.


    Before long, Zhou Jiajie turned his head to glance at the bedroom hallway.


    Only to see the disheveled woman silently turn around and walk off into the deep part of the hallway without a sound, where it was all darkness.


    Before long, the woman disappeared into the darkness, no longer visible.


    Although she was out of sight now, Zhou Jiajie knew very well that she would return at any moment, possibly appearing in some corner, some place, just watching him silently, following him silently.


    Zhou Jiajie found it difficult to breathe, as if something was lodged in his throat, he abruptly sat down on the sofa, gasping for air, his hands tugging at his hair, his sense of helplessness magnifying immensely in this moment.


    ```

 Chapter 270 Love Wound (4200 words)

    Based on the address, Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, and Shang Cuicui entered an slightly outdated apartment complex. They found the unit''s door and were about to go up when a woman, in a hurry, descended the stairs.


    The woman was wearing pajamas, clutching a handbag, and although she hadn''t dressed up or applied makeup, her natural beauty was still captivating.


    Descending the stairs in haste, she glanced back as if afraid something was chasing her. Then without noticing that Yan Junze and the others were about to enter the unit, she squeezed past them to get out first.


    "What''s with her?" Shang Cuicui, who had been bumped on the shoulder, couldn''t help but exclaim.


    The woman paid them no attention and quickly headed for the main gate of the complex.


    "She''s still in her pajamas, there must be some urgent matter, it''s not a big deal," Zhou Dali patted Shang Cuicui''s hand that was holding onto his, and rubbed her shoulder gently to comfort her quietly.


    The three of them followed the staircase to the second floor, where one of the two doors was open.


    As they approached the open door, a chilling aura swept over them. Yan Junze felt a slight shock, but Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui didn''t seem to notice anything off.


    Zhou Dali pulled the door wide open and asked, "Is it Jiajie?"


    A somewhat flustered and anxious voice came from the room, "Dali, you''ve arrived, come in quickly!"


    As the voice spoke, Zhou Jiajie''s figure approached the door. His face was slightly flushed, he was still rubbing his eyes, and his hair was all messy.


    "Don''t bother changing shoes, just come in like this," Zhou Jiajie called out again.


    Without changing shoes, Yan Junze was the first to walk into the room and surveyed the place, noting its tasteful decor.


    Even though it was a rental, according to Zhou Jiajie''s usual practice, he would definitely rent a better place. Skimping on rent was not something he considered.


    However, that cold chill Yan Junze had felt outside the door seemed even more pronounced now that he was inside.


    He said nothing and, following Zhou Jiajie''s lead, walked over to the sofa in the living room and slowly sat down, glancing at the marble coffee table in front of him.


    On the coffee table was a bowl of warm noodles, still emitting a faint steam.


    Walking behind, Shang Cuicui suddenly leaned close to Zhou Dali''s ear and whispered, "The perfume on the woman who came downstairs in pajamas is also in this room."


    Zhou Dali was taken aback, said nothing, but evidently thought of something, his expression turning quite grim.


    "Sit first, I''ll make some tea for you," Zhou Jiajie said as he ran to turn on the electric kettle, took out clean glass cups, and retrieved a box of fine tea leaves, placing some in each cup.


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    As he came back, Yan Junze pointed at the noodles on the coffee table and said, "You haven''t eaten yet, right? You eat first, otherwise the noodles will get cold. We can make the tea later."


    Zhou Jiajie nodded, sat down, but didn''t move to eat the noodles. Instead, he pushed the bowl further into the coffee table to prevent accidentally knocking it over.


    "Who''s that girl who just went down?" Zhou Dali couldn''t hold back anymore, despite Shang Cuicui quietly tugging at his sleeve, he still asked.


    Yan Junze hadn''t noticed this detail and was taken aback, looking towards Zhou Jiajie.


    Zhou Jiajie sighed, his brows knitted tightly together, his gaze shifted towards the still open living room door, and he spoke with a bitter voice, "That''s my current girlfriend, Zhang Jiayao."


    "You..." Zhou Dali tensed up, his right hand twitched, but Shang Cuicui next to him held him down, shaking her head at him.


    "What does that mean?" Yan Junze asked Zhou Jiajie.


    Zhou Jiajie''s face held even more bitterness, as though he couldn''t even sigh out a breath, "I know you''ll blame me, it''s my fault. But with Bao Jie, from the start, I never made any promises that she was my girlfriend; she was the one always clinging to me."


    "Bullshit!" Zhou Dali burst out, "Bao Jie liked you all throughout high school, who in our class didn''t know that? She was always close to you, and you never rejected her, it was clear to see. And now you say you never considered her your girlfriend, you''re fucking lying!!!"


    Having said this, Zhou Dali almost stood up, but was continually pulled down by Shang Cuicui, pressing him into the couch. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, she liked me, I know that," Zhou Jiajie defended, "and I never said I didn''t like her. I had some feelings for her, just... not enough to consider her as a girlfriend."


    "Then you should have rejected her directly!" Yan Junze grew angry too, "Over three years, you''ve strung her along like this, what were you trying to do? Keep a backup, or a fuck buddy?"


    "Damn, that''s freaking low!" Shang Cuicui also couldn''t help but curse.


    "Tell us, how did Bao Jie die? Was it because of you?" Zhou Dali, enraged, slammed his palm onto the coffee table, making the ground feel like it trembled.


    Thankfully, the coffee table was made of marble, otherwise, it might have been smashed to pieces.


    Zhou Jiajie shuddered with fright and quickly said, "What are you talking about?"


    His gaze then shifted to Yan Junze, he nodded and continued, "Yes, I know I was wrong before, I really didn''t do right by her. But after entering university, I made it clear to her, I told her I didn''t love her, and it was impossible between us, but she just wouldn''t give up on me, she kept clinging to me."


    "At that time, did you already know the woman downstairs in pajamas?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhou Jiajie didn''t answer immediately. He wanted to get up to pour the just boiled water for making tea, but when he thought about it, everyone was on edge. What if they couldn''t restrain themselves and splashed the boiling water on him?

 Chapter 270 Love Wound (4200 words)_2

    After some thought, he didn''t get up and shook his head in response to Yan Junze, "I... I had just met Zhang Jiayao at that time, and we hadn''t made our relationship official."


    "A typical case of keeping a backup, now that the main slot is secured, the backup can be kicked away," Shang Cuicui''s phoenix eyes filled with resentment as she coldly stared at Zhou Jiajie and slowly said.


    "I wasn''t fostering a backup," Zhou Jiajie shook his head vigorously, "My feelings for Bao Jie really weren''t that strong. Those few days she kept pressuring me, constantly pressuring me. I couldn''t take it anymore, so I asked her to meet and clarified everything, to have her give up on me.


    As compensation, I even gave her a platinum ring, I truly wanted to repay her for her three years of dedication to me."


    The scene fell into silence.


    After a while, Yan Junze asked, "Then what happened?"


    "I thought she had given up on me, but unexpectedly, she still couldn''t stop thinking about me." Zhou Jiajie was leaning over the coffee table, his hands supporting his forehead, as if sinking into memories he was reluctant to recall, "She began to track me frequently, especially when Zhang Jiayao and I were together; she''d almost always show up and disrupt us.


    That day, I couldn''t restrain myself anymore. We had a huge fight, and I said some really harsh words to her face... she finally stopped appearing afterward."


    Pausing for a moment, Zhou Jiajie lifted his head, his eyes brimming with tears, "Who would have thought that last Friday night, she... she committed suicide. This is my fault; I shouldn''t have hurt her with harsh words, I should have rejected her sooner..."


    Without waiting for the others to speak, Zhou Jiajie continued, "I am very sad, very remorseful, and I''ve taken care of all her funeral expenses. I sent the money anonymously to her parents yesterday, along with additional compensation for emotional distress. I really... feel extremely remorseful, extremely remorseful."


    "I don''t understand. You called us over just to sit here seething with anger while you keep saying how remorseful you are?" Yan Junze swallowed hard, trying to keep his expression calm.


    "Yeah, why didn''t you inform us the day Bao Jie committed suicide?" Zhou Dali also said.


    "I wanted to wait until things had settled down, and I thought the other classmates had already informed you," Zhou Jiajie explained.


    "If we had been informed, we definitely would have come," Zhou Dali said coldly, "Such a thing... can it really be kept secret?"


    "I think, you still haven''t answered my question. Why have you called us here now?" Yan Junze fixed his gaze on Zhou Jiajie''s eyes.


    Zhou Jiajie reached up to wipe away the tears that were about to fall, answering with some difficulty, "I want to ask for your help with Bao Jie, to stop her from suffering even after death, so she can be liberated from her pain soon."


    "What?" Yan Junze gave a sharp jolt.


    "Bao Jie..." Zhou Dali''s face showed surprise, as he looked around, "Has her spirit appeared?"


    Upon hearing this, Shang Cuicui jumped in fright, quickly grabbing onto Zhou Dali''s arm, clinging tightly to him as her head instinctively looked around in terror.


    Zhou Jiajie nodded, "She has appeared, and I often see her. It seems, she still can''t let go of me. Don''t get me wrong, I have nothing to fear from her, but the fact that she can''t rest in peace troubles my heart greatly. I really want to help free her spirit."


    "Why not call an exorcist?" Yan Junze asked, "With your family''s connections, you wouldn''t even need to wait in line."


    Although Yan Junze also hoped Zhou Jiajie wouldn''t call an exorcist, since exorcists'' methods are almost always blunt, simply eradicating the oddities, he did not want Bao Jie''s strangeness to be directly killed by an exorcist but hoped she could fulfill her lingering attachments and be reincarnated soon.


    "I didn''t want to worry my family, and my dad is very strict. If he knew I wasn''t studying properly and was only dating instead, and then caused such a big problem, I fear I''d have a miserable end," Zhou Jiajie said with a despondent look, "There''s no need for me to lie to you about this. So, I implore you, especially you, Yan Junze, please save Bao Jie."


    With those words, Zhou Jiajie stood up and bowed deeply to Yan Junze.


    To the others, it seemed like this might be Zhou Jiajie''s final act of penance for Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze said nothing, merely picked up his phone and, like Zhang Xiaomo typically did, silently scrolled through it.


    Remembering that Bao Jie had become an oddity and was still deeply infatuated, Zhou Dali shook his head and remained silent for a moment.


    Shang Cuicui, snuggling beside him, suddenly raised her head and asked Zhou Jiajie, "You said that as compensation, you gave Bao Jie a platinum ring in the end?"


    "Yeah," Zhou Jiajie said with a pained expression, "It''s not important whether the gift was expensive or not, the most important thing was to make her feel a little better inside."


    "I''m very curious, though, why would you give a ring as a breakup gift? Aren''t rings a symbol of commitment?" Shang Cuicui suddenly had an epiphany, "So I feel like you''re lying."


    "No, no, no," Zhou Jiajie hurriedly waved his hands, "I absolutely did not lie, I really did give her a platinum ring that day."


    Zhou Dali''s eyes were wide open as he stared at him, "Did you give it or not?"


    "I did," Zhou Jiajie nodded vigorously, "If you don''t believe me, you can go search her home, the ring has been returned to Shuntian with her belongings."


    "Yes, perhaps you did give it," Shang Cuicui nodded pensively, "but since you did give the ring, maybe it wasn''t a breakup gift at all, but a way to tell Bao Jie that you still loved her.


    That ring represented your heart for her, making her believe it was true and to keep loving you faithfully and unreservedly, so you could continue to enjoy the affection that Zhang Jiayao and Bao Jie had for you, both publicly and privately."


    "What you''re saying..." Zhou Jiajie, stunned, was about to argue but was interrupted by Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze held up his mobile phone, and on the screen was a news article from a few days ago. He told Zhou Jiajie, "Congratulations, it turns out your dad, Zhou Guhua, is running for deputy mayor of Shuntian City. During this time, your Zhou family really can''t afford any negative news."


    Zhou Jiajie''s face turned beet red as he frantically gestured, "No, you''ve got it wrong. My dad is too strict with me, I didn''t dare tell him. It has nothing to do with his running for deputy mayor."


    "To hell with it, you''ve not only been lying to us but also stringing Bao Jie along without ever letting go!" Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Zhou Dali could no longer hold back. He stood up, stepped forward, and, with his hand big as a fan, grabbed Zhou Jiajie by the collar, lifting him into the air, his feet dangling.


    Undeniably, this man in front of them knew too well how to manipulate a woman''s heart, especially someone as deeply infatuated as Bao Jie. Just as she was about to give up, he would immediately offer her a taste of sweetness, tricking her into believing there was still hope, then continue to lead her on for his amusement.


    Of course, those deserving sympathy often also deserve disdain. Bao Jie''s fault lay in being too infatuated and obsessed, in trusting this man too much, in believing too much in a perfect outcome without a bit of self-protection.


    After grabbing Zhou Jiajie, Zhou Dali was just about to slap the guy a few times and give him a good kicking.


    Suddenly he realized that the whole scene had gone quiet. Yan Junze was looking past him, and Zhou Jiajie, whom he was holding, also began to tremble, his gaze shifting behind him.


    Shang Cuicui turned to look and screamed in fright, quickly covering her mouth and frantically burrowing into Zhou Dali''s embrace.


    Zhou Dali had no choice but to set Zhou Jiajie down temporarily and turn around, his whole body stiffening in shock.


    At the doorway from the kitchen to the living room stood a woman with disheveled hair, silently standing there, her back to the dark kitchen, facing the living room. Her hair partly covered her face, but the exposed cheek was deathly pale.


    "Jie... Jie?!" Zhou Dali blurted out after a moment of shock.


    The woman standing at the kitchen door was slim, with long hair cascading over her shoulders and an oval face¡ªit was Bao Jie''s spirit.


    Bao Jie''s gaze seemed lifeless but emitted a faint chill, staring directly at Zhou Jiajie''s trembling body without any reaction.


    Zhou Dali pulled Shang Cuicui behind him, telling her to stand still, and then he walked toward Bao Jie.


    His body was shaking, not with fear but with pain¡ªan indescribable agony churned within his heart, his expression one of utter sorrow as he struggled to take each step, as if dragging them out of the mud, step by step, pulling himself toward Bao Jie.


    Large tears began to fall. Zhou Dali did not cry out, but his tears flowed like a breached dam.


    He still vividly remembered their last gathering at the bar. Little did he know, that parting would turn out to be their final farewell. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 271 The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)

    In Zhou Dali''s heart, his affection for Bao Jie had come to an end before the university entrance exams.


    And now, his grief and sadness were entirely due to the camaraderie of classmates and friends, that once youthful and beautiful classmate, who had been so outstanding in every aspect, had fallen to such a tragic state, turned into a strangeness, still clinging to the obsession in her heart.


    Perhaps for Bao Jie, the biggest mistake, the most fatal mistake of her life, was getting to know Zhou Jiajie.


    Standing still, Shang Cuicui very much understood Zhou Dali''s feelings at this moment, she didn''t think too much, her heart only filled with unavoidable fear towards the strangeness before her.


    Zhou Dali had come completely close to Bao Jie, but Bao Jie didn''t glance elsewhere, in her obsession, in her eyes, there remained only the man who was shivering before her, terrified to look her in the eye.


    Zhou Dali wiped away his tears with a sweep of his hand, his voice choked up as he softly said, "Why must you do this?"


    Indeed, why persist in the afterlife guarding such scum, continuing such suffering?


    Everyone else in the room, except for Zhou Jiajie, understood the meaning behind Zhou Dali''s words, each of them feeling a sourness in their hearts.


    At this moment, seeing a once vibrant student who excelled in both character and learning now standing before them in such a scene, memories surged, and Yan Junze could not help but have moist eyes.


    He sighed softly, casting Inner Vision into his mind, at the mission notification that popped up the moment Bao Jie''s soul appeared.


    [Mission Name: Like a Shadow;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Mission Background: Since the age of 16, Bao Jie had given all her love to the man before her, but he repeatedly drained her, played with her. Every time Bao Jie was exhausted and wanted to give up, this man would give her a taste of sweetness to maintain her beautiful illusions of love, only to fall into the same mistakes again.


    Finally, Bao Jie could no longer tolerate it, she had no more hope for her own life, hating and loving this man, yet feeling unable to continue with her life. Perhaps, ending her own life was the true liberation;


    Mission Description: She wants to see this man genuinely treating her well;


    Mission Reward: 100 Different Dimension Energy points; S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mission Punishment: Unknown;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit can be locked; 2. Perhaps, most of her Obsession can be resolved through conversation;


    Note: Actually, she''s very kind.] Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire


    After reading the mission notification in his mind, Yan Junze had already guessed that this mission was very simple, as Bao Jie was also considered a newly formed strangeness, with an unstable energy field.


    Furthermore, she had been kind-hearted in life, so even after turning into a strangeness, she simply wanted to see what being truly well-treated by Zhou Jiajie was, rather than directly killing the scoundrel to vent her hatred.


    "Still too naive, even as a strangeness, it remains the same."


    Yan Junze shook his head gently; ever since seeing the mission, he''d had other ideas in mind, and he wasn''t planning to complete it right away, to not so readily relieve Bao Jie of her Obsession.


    For if it were to be so easily accomplished, wouldn''t it be too lenient for the scum at his side?


    Taking a step forward, he came beside Shang Cuicui, and whispered a few words into her ear.


    The frightened Shang Cuicui blinked in surprise and gave Yan Junze a look.


    Yan Junze nodded at her, Cuicui quickly nodded in return, picked up her phone, walked to the living room door, and soon left.


    During this time, Zhou Dali was still enveloped in grief, not noticing his girlfriend had departed; he was just staring at Bao Jie''s pale face, yet not daring to touch her.


    "You''re just torturing yourself like this," Zhou Dali murmured, "it''s not worth it, for such a man."


    Bao Jie showed no response, her gaze cold and fixedly staring at Zhou Jiajie, who had curled up in the corner of the couch, too afraid to look her in the eye again.


    Turning back, Yan Junze said to Zhou Jiajie, "The idea you had for bringing us over was probably to save you from the current predicament."


    He paused, then revealed a hint of an indifferent smile, "No problem, I can, help you get rid of Bao Jie. Actually, her wish is quite simple, just to see you treat her well genuinely for once. But please be aware, her Obsession is very deep, you cannot fake it, it has to be truly, heartfelt good treatment. Under such conditions, she will naturally leave you once her wish is fulfilled."


    In the corner, Zhou Jiajie blinked, seemingly thoughtful.


    Zhou Dali turned back, glaring at the man, and yelled, "Help him, my ass! I''ll slaughter him right now!"


    No sooner had the words been spoken than at the constantly open living room door, Shang Cuicui, who had just gone out, suddenly returned, holding a pack of candles.


    "Cuicui, where did you go?" Zhou Dali asked in surprise and concern.


    "Shopping," Shang Cuicui answered, fearful as she glanced at Bao Jie, approaching Yan Junze, "I found candles for sale at the store downstairs, is this enough?"


    Yan Junze took the candles to inspect. These were the type used for emergency lighting at home, all white, with twelve candles per pack, about as thick as two fingers.


    "This is enough."


    With that, he walked over to Bao Jie, ripping open the plastic wrapping, took out a candle, and handed it over.


    "If you want to fulfill your Obsession faster, eat this first."


    The expressions of the others in the room turned to astonishment, each of them watching Yan Junze''s actions, uncertain of what he had in mind.

 Chapter 271 The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)_2

    ```


    However, just at that moment, Bao Jie, who had been staring intently at Zhou Jiajie, withdrew her gaze and looked down at the candle that had been brought up to her face, remaining silent.


    "Eat it, once you do, you will truly find yourself," Yan Junze said softly, lifting the white candle in his hand.


    At this time, Shang Cuicui came to Zhou Dali''s side, took his arm, and Zhou Dali whispered, "What did Junze ask you to do?"


    "Nothing much, just went down to buy some candles," Shang Cuicui replied.


    "Didn''t buy anything else? Like gold ingots or something?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "No," Shang Cuicui shook her head.


    Zhou Dali didn''t ask any more; he knew that Yan Junze was very skilled in dealing with strangenesses and that it was normal for him not to understand some behaviors and thoughts.


    But suddenly asking Bao Jie to eat a candle was a bizarre act that seemed somewhat unacceptable.


    Just then, Bao Jie reached out her hand, her slender fingers grasping the white candle.


    Yan Junze let go, and she took the candle, slowly bringing it to her mouth, opening wide to reveal scarily white teeth, and gradually placed the candle into her mouth, biting off a piece.


    Dry candle powder fell, and soon there was candle wax flowing out of her mouth.


    Although Bao Jie started eating slowly, after a few bites, she noticeably sped up her chewing, quickly finishing one candle.


    Yan Junze had already pulled out a second one and handed it over; Bao Jie grabbed it quickly, her actions much faster, and then shoved it into her mouth and ate it in a few bites. Yan Junze then passed her a third one.


    Then a fourth, a fifth...


    The room fell deathly silent, everyone staring at Bao Jie as she unceasingly ate the candles, white wax oil dripping down, completely covering her chin.


    But to the others, it was as if the candles were a delicacy of the mortal world, and only after eating the tenth one did Bao Jie start to slow down.


    However, she didn''t stop.


    Yan Junze threw away the packaging bag and continued to hand the last two candles to Bao Jie, who took them. Although her movements had slowed, she still ate the last two candles without leaving a bit behind.


    As she was about to finish the candles, Yan Junze turned around, facing Zhou Jiajie, who was crouching in the corner of the sofa, and spoke, "I am indeed helping you. As soon as Bao Jie finishes her obsession, she will leave you immediately, and you won''t be able to keep her even if you want to.


    From now on, I have stabilized her bizarre magnetic field; as long as one day you truly treat her well, she will definitely leave you."


    "No, no, no, that''s not right..." Zhou Jiajie called out, "What magnetic field? Why are you stabilizing the magnetic field? She has been following me already, you still want to stabilize her magnetic field, why?"


    "In this way..." Yan Junze smiled, "she can truly, fully approach you, let you feel her love for you. Perhaps only then will you really treat her well for once. Hmm, please don''t let down my expectations of you."


    "What?!"


    Zhou Jiajie was stunned, he looked up sharply only to find that Bao Jie, who had just been standing at the kitchen doorway, had disappeared without a trace.


    Just then, he noticed Shang Cuicui suddenly screaming, covering her mouth, and looking behind herself in horror.


    A bone-chilling coldness crept up his back.


    This utmost icy coldness climbed up his neck, reached the back of his head, making his entire spine feel frigid.


    Then, a whisper of breath approached, getting close to Zhou Jiajie''s ear, and a sentence was spoken.


    "I... love... you."


    "Ah!"


    Zhou Jiajie let out an extremely shrill scream, his body breaking out in goosebumps, seemingly summoning strength from nowhere, he leapt up, vaulted over the sofa, and rushed to the middle of the living room.


    He rapidly patted his body, especially his back, his head swinging frantically around, constantly looking in all directions. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, and Shang Cuicui moved back toward the living room door, silently watching him.


    Fortunately, after jumping out of the sofa, it seemed that the chilling feeling on his back had disappeared, and looking back, he didn''t see anything again.


    Zhou Jiajie still felt uneasy, shivering as he looked towards Yan Junze, his lips moving without sound, and it took quite a while before he managed a voice: "Don''t... don''t do it... like this..."


    ```


    ```


    Yan Junze spoke in an even tone, "Trust me, I''m helping you pass on quickly. Oh, and from now on, you don''t have to turn on the air conditioner in this rental anymore. Every night someone will silently hold you, warm your cold blanket, lean close to your ear, and whisper to you. Just the thought of it is...enough to make one shiver."


    Zhou Jiajie looked at Yan Junze with a horrified expression and could no longer utter a word.


    Just then, he felt an itch near his ear and, scared, he quickly turned his head to slap it away.


    There was nothing behind him, and nothing was clinging onto his back, but his ear still itched.


    He reached up to scratch it and found a strand of hair lying across his ear. Zhou Jiajie''s entire body shuddered and his face turned instantaneously pale. His body stiffened as if a tremendous weight pressed down on his neck, but still, he managed to raise his head, looking upward.


    He saw Bao Jie''s face directly above him, her chin still covered with an abundance of white wax, her long hair scattered, resting on top of his head, hanging down by his ear.


    Drip, drip, two drops of wax fell onto Zhou Jiajie''s face.


    "Ah!"


    A hysterical scream erupted from Zhou Jiajie''s mouth.


    The next second, Bao Jie, hovering above him, fell onto his back, embracing him tightly from behind.


    "I so... love you."


    Yan Junze and the other two left the living room, closing the door behind them.


    The final scene in the room was captured as Zhou Jiajie, paralyzed with fear and unable to cry out, was firmly gripped by Bao Jie from behind.


    Outside the room.


    Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui were both gasping for air, almost in unison. Although the terrifying scene was not directed at them, witnessing it firsthand had inevitably filled them with an immense sense of fear.


    One could imagine the level of terror Zhou Jiajie, the person involved, was experiencing at that moment.


    About a minute later, the two of them finally took deep breaths of relief.


    Shang Cuicui spoke up, "He got what he deserved!"


    Zhou Dali looked toward Yan Junze, "Initially, I was going to beat him up myself, careless of the fact his father is some city hall official. But now, it seems even that wouldn''t be as harsh as your method. You did right; he should swallow the bitter fruits of his own doing."


    "Let''s go." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, allowing Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui to walk ahead as he pulled out his phone and dialed Zhang Xiaomo''s number.


    "Hello, Xiaomo."


    "Hmm, what are you up to?" Zhang Xiaomo''s greeting came as a surprise.


    Usually, during their conversations, Zhang Xiaomo would start with "What''s up," but today, she instead asked, "What are you up to?"


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, "I''ve got a situation here, and I need your help."


    Zhang Xiaomo, realizing his tone was not the usual chit-chat, responded, "Okay, tell me."


    "I need you to use your authority to have all exorcists from Tianmeng decline any exorcism requests from Zhou Guhua, the soon-to-be deputy mayor of Shuntian City," Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, shaking her head, "I''m afraid I can''t do that. That''s something Captain Huo Zhisen could handle. Besides, I don''t have the same clout as you. Here''s what I''ll do, I''ll tell him it''s your first request after completing the task in Mo Family Village, and helping Uncle Guo return in a new body. I believe Captain Huo has no reason to refuse.


    No matter if it''s the deputy mayor or even the deputy director of Tianmeng, if we say no, it''s a no."


    Yan Junze smiled awkwardly, "Alright, I''m counting on you."


    As he hung up the phone and walked out of the residential complex, he noticed Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui looking back at him.


    Yan Junze smiled.


    Zhou Dali said, "Junze, once again you''ve completely overturned my expectations."


    "Do you even have expectations?" Yan Junze retorted.


    Shang Cuicui quietly tugged at Zhou Dali''s sleeve, holding onto him, "Your friend is ruthless, but, oh, so satisfying!"


    ```

 Chapter 272 Offering help when theres no trouble (Extra for Alliance Leader Sipping Flower Wine)

    In the rental apartment.


    It was only a moment of deadlock, Zhou Jiajie felt he could no longer stand, his legs trembling like a sieve, he fell to his knees with a thud, but Bao Jie clung firmly to his back, cuddled tight.


    A chilly breath exhaled beside his ear, turning half of his face numb, and with a kneeling and bowing posture, he shivered as he crawled to the marble coffee table; Zhou Jiajie reached out and grabbed his cell phone.


    His fingers, too, trembled fiercely, and it took a long while before the phone screen lit up. He opened the dial interface and fumbled to find a contact labeled "Old Immortal".


    After dialing out, he pressed the speakerphone button.


    Just then, he suddenly felt a damp sensation near his ear, a slimy something sliding under his earlobe, as if... it was a tongue licking.


    This fear was almost enough to make Zhou Jiajie pass out in an instant, his body trembled violently, his head dizzy for a few seconds, no longer feeling the existence of his own body.


    The only sensation was the slimy thing moving under his earlobe, inducing terror, helplessness, and no way to escape.


    The call connected, and a middle-aged man''s voice came through, "Hello, son, I''m in a meeting..."


    The man''s voice was kind, with no hint of harshness toward him.


    "Dad, dad, save me! Save me!" Zhou Jiajie desperately squeezed these words out from his throat, "I need... an exorcist..."


    "Ah!"


    The middle-aged man on the other end of the phone was greatly startled, his "hello" echoing several times, but he received no further response from Zhou Jiajie. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, Zhou Jiajie lay slack beside the table, unconscious and motionless.


    By his side, Bao Jie, dressed in a grey pajamas, licked his earlobe, drew her tongue back, and then lay silently beside Zhou Jiajie.


    She lay straight out, arms and legs extended, her hair spreading on the floor, forming what seemed like a large black dahlia.


    Suddenly, Bao Jie slowly turned her head, her eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at Zhou Jiajie, who lay on the same level as her.


    One could imagine the terror he would feel upon waking and seeing such a pair of eyes staring at him from a hair''s breadth away.


    ...


    On the bus back.


    Yan Junze sat in a middle seat on the bus. Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui were in the double seats at the back, with Shang Cuicui leaning on Zhou Dali, seemingly tired and already asleep.


    Zhou Dali turned his head to gaze out the window, lost in thought.


    Yan Junze, too, gazed at the passing scenery outside, his mind a blank.


    As for Zhou Jiajie''s current predicament, he brought it upon himself, and Yan Junze felt not a shred of sympathy for him.


    In this world, whether it is love or hate, it''s simply a matter of not being able to let go. Only when one truly lets go, does one truly forgive oneself.


    Sigh!


    A quiet sigh escaped from his heart, Yan Junze retracted his gaze and looked down at the floor inside the bus, at the faint shadow reflected there.


    Whenever his shadow appeared under the moonlight, that strangeness that also couldn''t let go of Yan Junze would appear.


    Fang Ning''s love was another kind of obsession, without a specific target, just desiring to possess the person with whom she made that original promise.


    Thinking of the contrast between Fang Ning and Bao Jie, Yan Junze came up with a whimsical idea. If he found another space-time rift and initiated another Great Rewind to go back to before Bao Jie''s suicide and save her, everything could be changed.


    However, the timing of Bao Jie''s suicide was rather inconvenient as he was right in Mo Family Village, contending with numerous high-level hauntings. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Dealing with them was one thing, but at that time Yan Junze had initiated countless rewinds, so many he couldn''t even keep count.


    With each rewind came a shift in fate.


    If he were to go back and stop Bao Jie from committing suicide, he couldn''t imagine what kind of changes would occur in Mo Family Village''s events; the timeline was too complex for Yan Junze to fathom.


    Sitting there, caught in whimsical ideas for a moment, the numb feeling in his right hand returned once again.


    This was the second time he felt this numbing sensation, the first time was when he was returning to the university yesterday.


    Yan Junze looked down at his fingers. His right hand''s index and middle fingers, which were tingling, showed no changes. They just felt non-existent for a few seconds, and he squeezed the fingertips of his fingers.


    The numbness disappeared quickly. He clenched his fist and that, too, felt normal.


    Could it be that there was a problem somewhere in his body?


    Yan Junze felt a bit strange. Could it be that he had overused his Semi-spirit powers last time at Mo Family Village and drained something out of his body?


    After entering the urban area and switching buses at the bus stop, Zhou Dali and his wife bid farewell to Yan Junze.


    Since none of them were in a good mood, they didn''t have the time to catch up with each other. After today''s events, Zhou Dali just felt like going home and hugging his pillow¡ªah, or Shang Cuicui, to sleep and not think about anything else.


    However, Zhou Dali''s view of Yan Junze had changed; not only had Yan Junze grown up fast and joined an Exorcist team, but his words also carried weight among all the Exorcists in Tianmeng.


    Zhou Dali wasn''t the only one who started to see Yan Junze in a new light; Shang Cuicui was also excited about the possibility of using Zhou Dali to befriend Yan Junze.


    On their way home, this woman kept suggesting her close girlfriends to Zhou Dali. She wanted him to arrange a meet-up, thinking that if Yan Junze took a fancy to one of them, she would definitely be set as the matchmaker.


    But Zhou Dali shut her down with one sentence, "Don''t you remember? Last time, Junze said he didn''t like the feeling of looking up. Tell me, which one of your girlfriends is shorter than you? They''re all tall and leggy."


    "Is it my fault they''re tall?" Shang Cuicui stuck out her tongue.


    Yan Junze returned to Tianmeng Science University.


    The following days were relatively quiet. He continued with his university coursework and made a call to his parents in Shuntian City every two or three days.


    From his parents, Yan Junze learned that FH Community had indeed been safe recently with hardly any strangeness.


    He refocused on studying the strange magnetic fields, but during this time, his right-hand fingers still tingled occasionally, and for this reason, Yan Junze even went to Tianmeng Science University''s medical center.


    After a full-body scan with their equipment, there was nothing wrong with his body, except that some of the electronic magnetic devices showed some data anomalies during his check-up.


    This was within Yan Junze''s expectations; after all, he had the power of a Semi-spirit within him and had some control over certain strange magnetic fields, which affected the normal operation of the devices. It was indeed normal.


    Two weeks passed quickly.


    In this time, Yan Junze''s fingers went numb five times, but each time, as long as he squeezed them with his other hand, they quickly returned to normal.


    His medical report came out too, with no abnormalities.


    Yan Junze had even asked Zhang Xiaomo if Exorcists could experience such a thing.


    Zhang Xiaomo''s answer was negative, and fearing her own knowledge was insufficient, she also took the initiative to help him look up a great deal of information, but found nothing about such symptoms.


    In these few days, Wang Tao, the head of security at Tianmeng Science University, daily delivered a large number of snacks and books to Yan Junze''s dorm, room 411.


    Wang Tao was exceedingly kind to Yan Junze, coming over every night to chat before leaving.


    He Bishou gained the most benefits, whether it was those snacks or the obvious majority of comic books. A few days later, he said to Yan Junze, "Junze, maybe Captain Wang has something he needs from you? He seems to be a good person, so you should help him out. If there''s anything you need from me, just tell me."


    "You kid," Yan Junze laughed, "there''s truth to the saying that the more hobbies a person has, the more they become his weaknesses. Proving true indeed! Clearly, you''ve been taken by Captain Wang."


    Fat He touched the back of his head and said with a giddy smile, "Regardless, we''re at the university. It''s better for a head of security to need something from you than vice versa. So, if you can help, do help. After all, you still have a few years here."


    "That''s the logic," Huahua sat on the upper bunk, his fair feet swaying, "Dali is right, and I support him this time. With your capabilities, Captain Wang''s request is probably a piece of cake. If you help him, our dorm life will be much easier, like no random inspections, permission to use electric stoves, and Dali''s not-safe-for-children comics won''t be confiscated anymore."


    Fat He blushed and muttered, "You try not borrowing my ''Perverted Mask.''"


    Huahua''s expression became awkward, and he chuckled sheepishly.


    "What''s ''Perverted Mask''?" Yan Junze looked completely clueless.


    "It''s a superhero series from Great Capital, Japan," Fat He explained. "It''s about an otaku who, by putting panties on his head, transforms into a buff, nearly naked man fighting for justice. It''s also called ''Pants Hero.''"


    Yan Junze: "..."

 Chapter 1 - 1 - 1 Strangenesses Permeate This World

    Chapter 1 ¨C 1 Strangenesses Permeate This World


    Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Strangenesses Permeate This World


    This was the third day since Yan Junze was reborn on this planet after the laboratory explosion, and he was reborn in a country called the Great Capital of Huaying.


    In Tianmeng District, Shuntian City, the city was roughly equivalent to a second or third-tier city in Hua Country on Earth before Yan Junze was reborn.


    Unlike other reincarnators, Yan Junze, after his rebirth, still had both parents alive, hadn¡¯t ¡°kicked the bucket,¡± and was so healthy that even the sellers of health supplements advertising ¡°bring home everything with just ninety-eight¡± couldn¡¯t find an angle to peddle their goods.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was an only child, had no sisters, so those fixated on bone-related plots could directly exit by clicking the top right corner.


    The only difference was that this reborn world was filled with a great deal of nameless strangeness.


    For example, at two o¡¯clock in the morning, the door outside the living room would be knocked on punctually, sending out a pure, mechanical sound that raised goosebumps on one¡¯s skin in the still and dark night.


    ...


    Another example was the strict household rule that prohibited using the bathroom after midnight. Usually around 11:50 p.m., someone would lock the bathroom door with a key.


    Of course, living people can¡¯t be allowed to die from holding in their excretion, so each bedroom was equipped with a simple chamber pot.


    After being reborn, the original owner¡¯s memory did not recover, and Yan Junze slowly built his understanding of this family, this world, and the unexplained strangeness that permeated everything.


    It was on the second day after his rebirth, which was a Saturday, that he began to roughly understand some aspects of this world by browsing information online.


    The so-called strangeness was referred to here as strangeness events.


    About half a year ago, such strangeness events began emerging continuously in this world. Initially considered as isolated incidents, the strangeness events quickly spread across the globe.


    Multiple websites dedicated to strangeness sprouted up like mushrooms after rain, with internet users uploading a multitude of strange photos and personal encounter videos in such volumes it was unimaginable. There were also specialized chat groups, B-station live streams, and more.


    Fortunately, if a strangeness event occurred, it usually only affected a specific area. If one didn¡¯t approach that area, there generally wouldn¡¯t be any anomalies. This was akin to Yan Junze¡¯s parents forbidding him from entering the bathroom after midnight.


    His father, Yan Daguo, mandated that the bathroom door be locked at 11:50 p.m. every night and only unlocked the next morning at 6:30 a.m. As for the reasons behind this, Yan Daguo kept his lips sealed.


    But there were always exceptions to rules, and seeing that Yan Junze had just been reborn and hadn¡¯t fully formed an understanding of this aspect, coupled with not being quite accustomed to his new body, he only realized after washing up and returning to his bedroom on this Saturday night that his glasses were left on the bathroom vanity.


    This body belonged to a high school senior, straining day and night over revisions and exercises, resulting in over three hundred degrees of myopia, but other bodily functions were still fairly decent.


    Just endure this one year, and after lying dead through the college entrance exam, one would once again be a robust man. The original owner¡¯s ideas were somewhat na?ve and laughable.


    Yan Junze deliberately checked the time; the clock had already pointed to 11:54 p.m. Now, retrieving his glasses wouldn¡¯t take a minute, and he wouldn¡¯t be breaking his father Yan Daguo¡¯s rule.


    Besides, he hadn¡¯t developed a profound realization of the severity of entering the bathroom.


    Strangeness events? Would a mouthwash cup jumping up to catch water by itself, a faucet oozing blood, a terrifying face appearing in the mirror, or a washcloth performing Mars Brother¡¯s ¡°Uptown Funk¡± on its hook count?


    Before personally experiencing it, everyone thinks that real horror is far away from them. Yan Junze subconsciously held the same belief.


    Stepping out of the bedroom, squatting in the hallway to retrieve the key hiding under the bathroom door¡¯s water-absorbing carpet, Yan Junze quickly inserted the key into the lock and turned it to open the door.


    The bathroom space was rather cramped, with a vanity and a toilet taking up half the area, leaving the remaining space for a shower. However, when showering, water was bound to splash onto the vanity and even the mirror in front of it.


    The entire bathroom was lined with alternating red and white square tiles, except for the vanity and toilet, which were pure white.


    Turning on the bathroom light, the confined space radiated a warm yellow glow, yet the overall lighting in the bathroom remained dim.


    Yan Junze felt an unexplained emptiness in his heart. His blurred vision swept over various items in the bathroom; everything seemed normal. He stepped forward, grabbed his glasses from the vanity, put them on, and returned to the bathroom entrance, then reached out to turn off the light. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After putting on his glasses, Yan Junze¡¯s vision became significantly clearer. The moment he turned off the light, his eyes inadvertently scanned over something, and immediately, he shuddered violently, staring intently at the corner between the vanity and the toilet.


    There, stood a disheveled little girl who had appeared out of nowhere.


    The girl was about the height of a five or six-year-old, facing the corner with her back towards the bathroom door. She wore a red lace-trimmed dress, with her arms and calves exposed; however, they were covered in clusters of bruises, and her neck was skewed at a 180-degree angle to the right, although the skin had not broken.


    Her little bare feet weren¡¯t wearing shoes, and her right foot seemed to be turned upwards, possibly from a severe impact.


    This felt a bit like Captain Barbossa from ¡°Pirates of the Caribbean¡±¨Cat least he could stash rum in his prosthetic leg, which was downright cool. But in the case of this girl in red, it was downright horrific.


    What was particularly eerie was that the girl¡¯s entire spine curved like an old tree trunk, forming an S-shape, standing there motionless, with thick, dirty, and disheveled hair draping behind her.


    Right now, Yan Junze had no time to consider Captain Barbossa and his rum-storing prosthetic leg as an overwhelming sense of terror quickly rose, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. A chilly sensation spread from the bathroom toward the hallway outside.


    Yan Junze felt as if his breathing had stopped.


    Strangeness events, one of which was happening right before his eyes¡ªthe kind that were breaking out everywhere in this world!


    Seeing news about it on TV and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different. Only now did he realize the vast chasm between them.


    Cold sweat broke out on the palm of Yan Junze¡¯s hands and on his back. He wanted to close his eyes and not look at the girl in red anymore, but his gaze simply couldn¡¯t move away, still fixated on the eerie figure without blinking.


    At that moment, the red-dressed girl, who had remained motionless, her twisted neck began to move, slowly turning towards the bathroom door. This was accompanied by the kaka sound of broken bones grinding against each other, like a century-old tree branch being snapped, exceedingly piercing in the quiet of the night.


    In that instant, Yan Junze felt an icy chill through his limbs. Summoning courage from who knows where, his hand shot out, grabbing the bathroom doorknob and slamming the door shut with a bang, then swiftly turned the key twice in the lock before removing it, his hands trembling as he clutched it.


    The bedroom of Junze¡¯s parents immediately opened, as his bleary-eyed father, Yan Daguo, and mother, Li Man, emerged.


    ¡°Ze, how long have you been reviewing? Why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡± asked Li Man surprised, then glanced over at the now-closed bathroom door.


    ¡°Were you just now in the bathroom?¡± Daguo¡¯s sleepiness had completely vanished as he immediately returned to the bedroom to check the time on his cellphone.


    Four minutes to midnight.


    Yan Daguo stepped out of the bedroom again, approached the bathroom door, and tried the handle, only to find it locked. Then he looked at Junze, standing there with the key still slightly shaking in his hands.


    Taking the key from Junze¡¯s hand, Daguo turned to Li Man with a stern tone, ¡°I told you to keep good care of the keys, to not leave them lying around for convenience¡¯s sake.¡±


    Li Man, having read the unspoken message in Junze¡¯s unsteady expression, simply nodded. At this moment, Daguo was fired up, and she did not engage.


    Daguo turned back to look at Junze¡¯s eyes, his gaze firm but not without concern, and he asked, ¡°Did you see her?¡±


    Junze did not answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as you don¡¯t go into the bathroom during the time she appears, nothing will happen,¡± Daguo said, trying to reassure him.


    ¡°Dad, that thing doesn¡¯t just appear at midnight,¡± Junze spoke up.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I insist on locking the bathroom door ten minutes ahead of time,¡± Daguo replied, then turned to Li Man, ¡°Next time, don¡¯t leave the key in front of the door. I will keep it myself, locking the door every night and opening it again the next day at the same time.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t happen again,¡± Li Man said apologetically, as she approached Junze and placed her hands on his shoulders.


    ¡°Dad, haven¡¯t we reported the strangeness in our house?¡± Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    The role of the security officer, akin to a keeper of public order similar to an ancient constable, was not really equipped to handle strangeness events.


    However, with the rapid increase in the number of strangeness events, even after reporting to exorcists, it might not be possible to get immediate assistance.


    In the early days of the strangeness outbreaks, Buddhist and Taoist practices were popular for a while, but people gradually realized that the various talismans, magical tools, and items meant to subdue demons and ghosts had little effect on the present-day strangeness.


    Because of this, a number of overly traditional people met untimely deaths, and everyone came to realize that only exorcists could effectively deal with such matters.


    The exorcists paid a hefty price to study how to eradicate strangeness. Their secretive methods, beyond the reach and understanding of the common folk, are not something ordinary people have a chance of, nor the ability to, master.


    Daguo sighed, ¡°We reported it a month ago, they said we had to wait in line, but we haven¡¯t even been queued up yet.¡±


    Junze was somewhat speechless.


    Even though the world was riddled with strangeness, the usual social connections and favors likely hadn¡¯t diminished¡ªsaying they were in line might mean someone was jumping the queue through special relationships.


    Waiting for an exorcist to deal with it might take an endless time. During this period, the only option was to temporarily seal off the affected area.


    Fortunately, the red-dressed girl in the bathroom didn¡¯t seem to be the type looking for trouble; though her appearance might be a bit unpleasant to the viewers, she seemed as quiet as a quail. As long as one avoided the bathroom during her appearances, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues.


    His father, Yan Daguo, worked as an office worker in a paper factory¡ªa regular employee earning less than ten thousand a month.


    Indeed, just over three thousand.


    His mother was a cleaning lady at a cleaning company, and together with Daguo, they made a modest living, on par with each other.


    For such a working-class family living in an old-style residential area with just two bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, and a kitchen, moving out of this haunted place wasn¡¯t really an option.


    Furthermore, trying to cut in line after reporting a strangeness event based on the social connections of Daguo and Li Man was completely unrealistic.


    So, the situation remained at a stalemate.


    It would take a rampant strangeness event impacting a wide area to put pressure on Huaying¡¯s Great Capital, compelling the exorcists to come quickly; otherwise, dealing with a seemingly docile red-dressed ghost like the one in their bathroom might mean waiting three to five months in line, an almost apologetic span for the young girl¡¯s deceitfully gentle frightfulness.


    Junze returned to his bedroom, and Li Man followed to comfort him with gentle words. Daguo checked the lock on the bathroom door once more, ensured that the living room door was also securely locked, and then the couple turned off the lights and went back to their own bedroom.


    However, Junze was unable to sleep. The scene he had just witnessed was the first time in his life that he had seen a strangeness with his own eyes, and that genuine sense of experiencing it firsthand continued to give him goosebumps.


    Another reason he couldn¡¯t sleep was that, after seeing the little girl in red, a mysterious mental image of an atlas had inexplicably surfaced in his mind.

 Chapter 2 - 2 - 2: I Can Rewind!

    Chapter 2 ¨C 2: I Can Rewind!


    Chapter 2: Chapter 2: I Can Rewind!


    ¡°`


    This atlas appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind almost simultaneously with the sight of the little girl in red,


    but at that moment, Yan Junze was completely immersed in his visual senses and the terrifying atmosphere, so he didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to it.


    Now lying in bed, he finally had the chance to see what was going on.


    The atlas wasn¡¯t a tangible figure but an entirely illusory object, existing only in his mind. Yan Junze waved his hand in front of his eyes, and indeed, there was nothing.


    In the atlas, many thread-like veins appeared, each linked to another by nodes; currently, only one node at the very bottom lit up, while the rest were a dim hue.


    ...


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Yan Junze felt the object was incredibly familiar, as if he remembered something, and was suddenly startled.


    Before the last life¡¯s laboratory explosion, the space-time collapse experiment was dependent on a kind of quantum spectrum, also known as the Spacetime Atlas. And these nodes were the quantum convergence points that needed to be conquered in the experiment, also called energy accumulation zones, formed by the convergence of some kind of energy that couldn¡¯t be fully mastered. Eventually, node-to-node transfers connected the entire atlas, allowing time to undergo an orderly transformation. (Er, this part can be skipped!)


    That¡¯s what is commonly known as ¡°Space-Time Travel.¡±


    However, Yan Junze thought that the experiment had not succeeded, but now this atlas existed in his own mind, and it was very complete. Did that mean the experiment had actually succeeded but only manifested in this way, using him as a carrier?


    In the previous life¡¯s experiment, Yan Junze was just an ordinary assistant in the laboratory and not a developer. However, after the laboratory explosion, which was of great magnitude, both the developers and assistants were affected, and he was likely wiped out in one fell swoop.


    While puzzled, Yan Junze was again shaken; after he paid attention to this atlas, it obviously changed, with lines of text flashing into existence.


    [Spacetime Atlas construction complete, detecting Different Dimension Energy as well as a complete Dimensional Space Transverse Wave Band, analyzing the wave band¡­]


    [Analysis successful, translating¡­]


    [Translation successful, the wave band is known in this world as ¡°Obsession,¡± a ¡°Task¡± has been established based on the complete wave band values, display task?]


    Though only an assistant, Yan Junze still had a certain understanding of the Spacetime Atlas. The atlas was highly intelligent, and from the beginning, it was endowed with the ability to analyze intelligently and construct illusory space-time.


    Now it seemed the Spacetime Atlas had detected Different Dimension Energy emitted from the strangeness, and based on ¡°Obsession,¡± it analyzed the wave band values to form the so-called ¡°Task.¡±


    Yan Junze guessed that if he wanted to acquire this part of Different Dimension Energy for the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s use, he would have to complete the ¡°Task¡± formed based on ¡°Obsession.¡±


    But what this task was¡­


    ¡°Display it,¡± Yan Junze hesitated slightly, the thought forming in his mind.


    The next moment, another text passage appeared in his mind.


    [Task Name: Hair Washing;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: March 7th is Ke¡¯er¡¯s birthday. The beautiful and clean-loving Ke¡¯er¡¯s favorite color is red. On that day, her mother dressed her in a newly bought red dress and promised to take her to the amusement park. However, a ruthless truck forever separated them. After the accident, Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair became very dirty, so dirty. The cleanliness-loving Ke¡¯er hated her filthy long hair, so she always longed to wash it, even if just seeing someone else wash their hair would satisfy her;


    Task Explanation: Wash your hair in the bathroom at home after midnight for at least three minutes, without engaging in any unrelated activities;


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Hint: 1, The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Completing the task may form a stable Rewind line;


    Note: You wash your hair, she watches.]


    Gazing at the task before him, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    The Spacetime Atlas released the task based on the captured wave band of Obsession, which was clearly from the little girl in red Yan Junze had just seen.


    He hadn¡¯t expected the Spacetime Atlas to capture this so-called Different Dimension Energy in the form of task completion.


    Given the atlas¡¯s intelligence, capturing energy and shaping Obsession into tasks to gain energy, the cause and effect seemed to be interlinked.


    Before triggering the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t dare to think about engaging with strange events, but now it was different.


    If the Spacetime Atlas could absorb enough Different Dimension Energy to light up the entire atlas, perhaps he could freely switch through space-time and return to before the laboratory¡¯s explosion in Hua Country on Earth.


    To acquire more energy, the only way was to complete tasks.


    It must be said, the mode of completing tasks was somewhat eerie and unsettling.


    In this world, not to mention everyone, but at least a good number of people are wary of washing their hair alone in the bathroom. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because after applying shampoo to the hair, to avoid getting it in the eyes, eyes are usually closed, and at that moment, some faint-hearted individuals always get a hair-raising feeling, wondering if someone is standing behind them.


    This chilling sensation persists until the end of the hair washing.


    Yan Junze usually didn¡¯t harbor these thoughts, but he too had experienced them, especially just after watching a horror movie alone in the bathroom. His body would involuntarily tighten up, his head filled with images from the horror movie, plus a bit of his own imagination, causing him to involuntarily look behind him during the hair washing process.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 3 - 3 - 2: I Can Rewind!_2

    Chapter 3 ¨C 2: I Can Rewind!_2


    Chapter 3: Chapter 2: I Can Rewind!_2


    If it were just about washing hair in the washroom, that would be manageable, but now Yan Junze is worried that there might be dangers involved in the process.


    At least after midnight, that little girl in red would appear in the washroom. Washing hair under such circumstances would be even more thrilling than being taken to the execution ground to be beheaded.


    Now it seems that this Golden Finger appears to be quite useless!


    After issuing the task, it just lets him go off to complete it without caring for anything else, what if he encounters danger during the process? Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With continuous whimsical ideas, Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts were tangled between the Spacetime Atlas and the assigned task of washing hair, keeping him awake. Unbeknownst to him, time passed by slowly, and the hands of the clock in the living room moved to point towards two o¡¯clock.


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly, feeling as if a shadow had passed by the window of his bedroom.


    ...


    The shadow moved so slowly that when Yan Junze noticed something off, and immediately put on his glasses to look out, he could still see the passing shadow.


    His bedroom was adjacent to the public corridor outside the house; normally, by opening the window, he could see neighbors passing by his window, and with a sound-activated light outside the corridor, the light would project the silhouette of the passing person onto the window, making it very clear to see.


    The passing figure was a bit hunched over, with uneven footsteps.


    Soon, the uneven footsteps faded, and the shadow vanished as well.


    It looked like some neighbor returning late at night. Yan Junze guessed that activities like playing cards and late-night snacking, no matter in what spacetime, essentially hold the same place in people¡¯s hearts and have not changed.


    It¡¯s quite normal, as there are many people with such preferences.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, knock, knock, knock, a series of crisp knocking sounds emerged, and judging by the source of the sound, it should be on his own door.


    The previous two nights when the knocking had sounded, Yan Junze had only heard it in a drowsy state. He had been deep in sleep and did not attend to it, only to recall the occurrence the next day.


    But at this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s heart inexplicably clenched, because his mind inadvertently connected the figure that had just passed outside the corridor with the person knocking on the door.


    Given the person¡¯s walking pace, the time it took for them to pass by the window and reach his own doorstep seemed to match exactly.


    Whether it was the same person or not, Yan Junze felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest, his back breaking out in a cold sweat again.


    So late at night, someone walking in the corridor with such uneven steps, and silently knocking on someone else¡¯s door¡­


    This person couldn¡¯t possibly be Batman.


    He did not get out of bed to respond but instead instinctively pricked up his ears to listen for any movement in his parents¡¯ room next door.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    The bedroom door of his parents opened, and it seemed that his father, Yan Daguo, had stepped out, with very light footsteps.


    After a while, Yan Daguo stood in the hallway outside the bedroom, motionless, with the intermittent knocking still coming from the entrance of the living room.


    Yan Junze just lay there, slightly raising his head, staring at the doorway of his bedroom, his breathing nearly coming to a halt.


    Yan Daguo remained still, standing quietly outside the bedroom door, the eerie atmosphere so oppressive that Yan Junze found it hard to breathe.


    At that very moment, the knocking suddenly stopped.


    The uneven footsteps were heard again, passing by the living room door, moving along the public corridor, the hunched-over silhouette reappeared outside the window of Yan Junze¡¯s bedroom, slowly passing by.


    Yan Junze could swear, at that moment, his nearsighted eyes behind his glasses were wide as bull¡¯s eyes, intently staring at the shadow passing by outside the window.


    The uneven footsteps, like stepping on his heart, matched the rhythm of his heartbeat in a strangely harmonious way.


    Although the shadow was no longer visible, the sound of footsteps could still be heard, as if the person was leisurely climbing the stairs, and only then did the footsteps fade away completely.


    A door closing sound came from his parents¡¯ bedroom, and Yan Daguo returned to the bedroom at that moment. From start to finish, no one in the house said a word.


    So freaking weird!


    Yan Junze¡¯s thought had just settled when he was startled again. The Spacetime Atlas in his mind surfaced once again.


    [Detection of new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wavebands in progress¡­]


    [Analysis successful, translating¡­]


    [Translation successful, task established, display now?]


    Yan Junze had never expected that in just such a short while, a new task had been captured.


    Without much thought, he immediately brought up the thought of ¡°display,¡± and then the second task appeared.


    [Task Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Intermediate);


    Task Background: The neighbor, Granny Ren, has been distressed lately, for her children haven¡¯t visited her for a long time, and she misses them very much, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. However, Granny Ren is no longer able to tell them. Can you help her?


    Task Instructions: At two in the morning, open the door for the knocking Granny Ren;


    Task Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. There are branch tasks awaiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed another node light up in the Spacetime Atlas in his mind; the line connecting the two lit-up nodes also brightened slightly, showing that this segment of the spacetime line had been fully connected.


    Initially, Yan Junze could clearly see only one node light up on the Atlas, and the second node must have been activated after the reception of [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task, due to some reason.


    Although he didn¡¯t know the reason, Yan Junze was clear about what the line connecting the two lit-up nodes meant, the Rewind timeline.


    Between the two time nodes, represented a timeline that could be revisted.


    For example, if Yan Junze were to place the first time node as the current moment, and the second node five minutes later, as time progressed, he would be able to initiate a rewind at any point before reaching the second time node, instantly reverting back to the moment when the first time node was placed.


    Rewind must be performed consciously, meaning only when one has deliberately placed two time points to form a timeframe, can the timeframe be used to rewind.


    If the timeframe is exceeded, it won¡¯t work, and without deliberate placement, rewinding is also impossible.


    Receiving two tasks consecutively enabled Yan Junze to have the ability to rewind. This time, the Golden Finger finally became complete.


    He might try the [Hair Washing] task, but now Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to attempt a rewind, because the energy between the two time nodes looked extremely weak.


    If he were to really proceed, he feared that he could only rewind once, and then the entire Spacetime Atlas would dim and stop running. The two hard-earned lit-up nodes couldn¡¯t be wasted like that.

 Chapter 4 - 4 - 3 Zhou Dali

    Chapter 4 ¨C 3 Zhou Dali


    Chapter 4: Chapter 3 Zhou Dali


    The situation now was that after receiving two tasks consecutively, Yan Junze faintly illuminated two spacetime nodes on the Spacetime Atlas, enabling the first time rewind line to become usable.


    Through this rewind line, he could create a time rewind of no more than 5 minutes.


    Of course, this time rewind line did not look stable and might completely extinguish after just one use.


    Unless he completed tasks and gained the corresponding Different Dimension Energy, as suggested by the tasks, only then could he illuminate stable spacetime nodes and secure a stable time rewind line.


    If all the nodes on the entire Spacetime Atlas were illuminated, would it be possible to travel through spacetime once more and return to the world he came from before? At the very least, if he could use the Atlas to resolve the Supernatural crisis right before him, would there be even more surprising things waiting for him after lighting up the whole Atlas?


    If things were really as Yan Junze speculated, then he must carefully consider which task to complete first using this single opportunity to rewind time.


    ...


    The first task triggered was ¡°Hair Washing,¡± with a task level of ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Minor).¡± The second task was ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night,¡± with a task level of ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Medium).¡±


    Actually, from the description of the tasks, ¡°Hair Washing¡± felt more terrifying and seemed to carry a higher degree of danger than ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night.¡± However, contrarily, the level of ¡°Hair Washing¡± was only (Minor), evidently not as dangerous as the latter.


    This puzzled Yan Junze quite a bit.


    However, the task hints indicated that ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± had sub-tasks that had yet to be triggered, and he wasn¡¯t very clear whether the slightly higher level was due to this.


    It seemed that choosing the ¡°Hair Washing¡± task first was more reliable.


    After weighing his options for a while, sleepiness finally overcame him, and Yan Junze had made up his mind. He quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    The next morning.


    Yan Daguo woke up early and opened the bathroom door to confirm that the red-clothed little girl had vanished before he washed up and rushed to the factory.


    Li Man also got up early, as the cleaning company had her schedule packed in the morning, and she needed to finish cleaning two families¡¯ homes that had already been booked.


    After cooking a bowl of noodles for Yan Junze, Li Man followed Yan Daguo out.


    Yan Junze gobbled down the noodles in no time and took out his phone to scroll through his usual call logs. Noticing that a name called Zhou Heng appeared with high frequency, he called Zhou Heng¡¯s number.


    A young man¡¯s voice soon came through the phone, somewhat uninhibited, ¡°Hello, little Junze, missing your grandpa already that early?¡±


    Best friend, that must be the best friend of this body¡¯s original owner.


    Yan Junze knew he had guessed correctly and spoke, ¡°Zhou Heng, come to the entrance of my community. We¡¯ll go to school together.¡±


    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Zhou Heng sounded somewhat surprised on the other end.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for your nonsense,¡± Yan Junze deliberately made his tone heavy, ¡°Remember to hurry. Call me when you get here, then I¡¯ll come down.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you little rascal must have done something bad!¡± Zhou Heng laughed heartily, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I, Zhou Dali, am always your strong brother, ready to stand by you no matter what happens.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze pondered a bit and muttered to himself, ¡°Is this guy¡¯s nickname Zhou Dali, or strong brother?¡±


    He had asked Zhou Heng to come pick him up for a reason, without the original body owner¡¯s memories, Yan Junze had no idea where the school was, so he used this method.


    But interacting with classmates would definitely not be the same as before, so Yan Junze prepared to use having experienced strangeness as an excuse to create an image of a boy who just lived through horror, a bit bewildered, and whose behavior contrasted with the past.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible that he¡¯s usually called strong brother because that way of addressing him¡­ is effeminate.¡± Yan Junze stood up and headed for his parents¡¯ bedroom.


    As expected, Yan Daguo did not take the bathroom key with him but left it in the bedside table.


    There are three identical keys, all on the same keyring.


    Yan Junze took one of them out, then removed one of his own bedroom keys and swapped it on.


    The locks were the same, and the shape of the keys barely differed; unless you looked closely at the teeth of the keys, you wouldn¡¯t notice the switch.


    After changing the keys, Yan Junze kept the removed bathroom key close to him, preparing to perform the ¡°Hair-Washing¡± task that very night.


    After waiting for a while, his phone rang. Zhou Heng¡¯s voice seemed to come from a speakerphone, saying he had arrived at the community entrance.


    Yan Junze picked up his sling bag and left the house, locking the door behind him and heading downstairs.


    His residential area was named FH Community, definitely old, at least forty years old. The tallest building only had seven floors, and Yan Junze lived in Building No. 7, which had five floors; his home was on the fourth floor.


    Granny Ren, the old woman who knocked on doors at midnight, lived on the fifth floor.


    Just before leaving the community, Yan Junze looked back at the fifth floor. There were four families living there, and he did not know which one was Granny Ren¡¯s. However, the entire fifth floor seemed eerily quiet, with no one coming in or out, exuding an air of gloom.


    Standing at the community entrance was a boy, also with a sling bag. At the very moment he saw him, Yan Junze understood why the guy was nicknamed ¡°Zhou Dali.¡±


    If you calculated by cross-section, Zhou Heng was at least equivalent to three slender Yan Junzes, not to mention his limbs, thick as hammers.


    Could this guy be born into a family of martial artists? Yan Junze wondered.


    However, he knew from a few days¡¯ acquaintance that although this world was not the same as Earth, it didn¡¯t involve urban powers or cultivation of immortality. There weren¡¯t as many bizarre settings.


    For now, only an exorcist could deal with supernatural events, so even if Zhou Dali was built strong like a passionate bull, he would be of no use in the face of supernatural happenings. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, what did you want to tell me?¡±


    Zhou Heng¡¯s voice was in direct proportion to his body, basically shouting when he spoke, startling the nearby pedestrians with a sudden outburst, drawing astonished glances.


    Yan Junze could barely hold back a laugh, waved his hand, and, hooking arms with him, seemingly led by Zhou Heng, headed towards Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    Zhou Heng made no suggestion to take the bus, and Yan Junze held back from speaking, simply describing the strange encounter in the bathroom the previous night, which left Zhou Heng baffled.


    Zhou Heng then said, ¡°Speaking of supernatural occurrences, your community is really old, so the chances of those happening must be quite high. My community just handed over the houses last year, all new residents, with laughter and prosperity everywhere, a peaceful and prosperous era, without so much strangeness. It¡¯s a lot safer in comparison.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Zhou Heng¡¯s tone shifted, ¡°Nowadays, you really can¡¯t tell. Isn¡¯t there a public restroom in the New Century Residential Area¡¯s square? I¡¯ll tell you, for two straight weeks, no one dares to go in there to use the toilet anymore.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just contradicting yourself?¡± Yan Junze found it amusing, and casually asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    As he spoke, he looked up and saw the gates of Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    FH Community, where he lived, was only about ten minutes away from the school. If he had known it was this close, he could have found it just by walking around, without needing Zhou Heng to come pick him up.


    Zhou Heng, not noticing Yan Junze¡¯s expression, continued, ¡°They say there¡¯s a woman in red high heels in that public restroom; whenever someone uses a stall to poop, the sound of those red heels starts clicking, and soon appears outside the stall. You know Wang Shicong from class six, the fat guy?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know the guy at all, but he nodded anyway.


    ¡°Wang Shicong and I live in the same community. That guy played basketball in the square this weekend, ran into the toilet halfway because his stomach hurt,¡± Zhou Heng vividly recounted, ¡°Later, I heard that right when Fat Wang was halfway through taking a dump, the red shoes showed up. You could see them through the gap under the toilet stall¡¯s door, just standing there motionless outside where Wang was pooping.¡±


    ¡°They say¡­¡± Zhou Heng paused, looking up at a 45-degree angle towards the sky, his face full of admiration, ¡°Fat Wang was so scared that he forcefully used his Shit-Cutting Skill, making three equal lateral cuts of that turd, didn¡¯t even wipe his ass, and finally managed to pull his pants up, climbed over two stalls cursing, and rushed out of the restroom. The guy couldn¡¯t get out of bed when he got home, and his dad has already asked for sick leave from the class headteacher.¡±

 Chapter 5 - 5 - 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)

    Chapter 5 ¨C 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)


    Chapter 5: Chapter 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)


    Yan Junze really couldn¡¯t help but admire Zhou Dali.


    A serious and terrifying incident involving red high-heeled shoes had been transformed by this guy into a comedy sketch that had Yan Junze trying not to laugh, suddenly very curious to see what Fat Wang from Class Six looked like right now.


    Chatting and laughing, the two walked into the campus of Shuntian No.3 Middle School. It was here that Yan Junze finally felt the comfort of being reborn.


    As a top research assistant in his past life in Hua Country, securing a master¡¯s degree in this era was no problem at all, so high school knowledge posed no difficulty for Yan Junze now.


    Instead, he quite enjoyed the tranquil life on campus.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students of Class 5 of Senior Year Three, with only a wall separating them from Fat Wang¡¯s Class 6. Yan Junze had made a point of asking around; indeed, Fat Wang had taken a week off, confirming Zhou Dali¡¯s words.


    ...


    It took Yan Junze a day to roughly understand the situation at school.


    Firstly, the original owner of the body was above average academically, so his sudden improvement in grades now was reasonable and not likely to arouse suspicion.


    What Yan Junze feared was the possibility that the former student was a poor performer because an academic achiever taking over would make it difficult to give it his all.


    Then there was the college entrance exam in less than two months, putting the senior year under immense pressure. Even with supernatural events causing disruptions, Shuntian City¡¯s exorcists would prioritize dealing with any strangeness for the senior year, ensuring students a clean, healthy, green, and pure learning environment, free of any negative energy.


    The homeroom teacher of Class 5 of Senior Year Three was a middle-aged man with a greasy belly, named Xiang Decai. Yan Junze had discovered that Teacher Xiang¡¯s knowledge was indeed as expansive as his prominent beer belly, living up to the description of being profoundly learned.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have much of an impression of the other teachers, except that the sight of Teacher Zhang Tiantian, who taught American English, made the Yan Junze who had no girlfriend in his previous life momentarily bright-eyed, only to extinguish that spark right after.


    Zhang Tiantian was of the petite and cute type, which most boys found irresistible, but not Yan Junze. He did like beautiful women, but not those who needed his constant protection.


    Independent, thoughtful, not timid, relying on him only when necessary, yet calmly dealing with issues on her own ¡ª for such girls, Yan Junze had absolutely no resistance. (Note this down, it¡¯s important.)


    After a day¡¯s classes, Yan Junze found that Shuntian No.3 Middle School seemed quite normal; there was no talk of abandoned ancient wells, no strange staircases with 13 steps, no off-limits fifth toilet cubicle.


    This made Yan Junze wonder if the exorcists had set up a barrier in the school, completely shutting out all supernatural events.


    At the same time, Yan Junze kept reminding himself that there were no superpowers or cultivation here, just pure urban strangeness.


    Zhou Dali was very active at school, and Yan Junze also learned that this guy¡¯s hefty build was closely tied to his family¡¯s genes. Reportedly, he weighed a hefty eleven pounds at birth.


    Zhou Dali also liked to chant a rather lame motto which was, ¡°Shuntian No.3 has Dali, and Dali can work miracles.¡±


    It was undeniable, he was like a bear.


    Lunch was had at school, so it didn¡¯t cost much. Only after school did some students go out to buy snacks nearby.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have this habit. After school, he went straight home, and by the time he arrived, his mother Li Man was already cooking.


    Li Man¡¯s work schedule wasn¡¯t fixed, depending on the cleaning company¡¯s roster, sometimes so busy that she couldn¡¯t return home on weekends.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t cook. After swiftly completing his homework, he helped Li Man serve dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.


    Later, his father Yan Daguo arrived home, and the family gathered around the dining table.


    Concerning their son¡¯s academic performance, the couple wasn¡¯t too worried. If Yan Junze continued to maintain his previous grades, getting into one of the top five universities in the Tianmeng District of Great Capital under Huaying University was very hopeful.


    So what Yan Daguo was more concerned about was his son¡¯s emotions and physical condition. After eating a few bites of food, he asked, ¡°Did you sleep well last night?¡±


    Yan Junze knew it was the dark circles under his eyes that betrayed him; he had only slept three to four hours the previous night, so it was normal for him to look this way. He didn¡¯t plan to hide the truth.


    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep for a long time after seeing that thing and then I don¡¯t know when I fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear any knocking?¡± Yan Daguo asked further.


    This question was meant to confirm whether Yan Junze had been asleep before two in the morning. Undeniably, the midnight knocking of the old woman was more punctual than an alarm clock.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze concealed the truth.


    Yan Daguo nodded, having a rough idea of when Yan Junze had rested.


    Li Man spoke up, ¡°Have you finished your homework?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done, and I¡¯ve finished reviewing as well,¡± Yan Junze put down his chopsticks and took a few sips of soup, ¡°I plan to go to bed early today to make up for last night¡¯s sleep.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, get some rest early,¡± Yan Daguo said, reaching out to ruffle Yan Junze¡¯s hair.


    After dinner, Yan Junze chatted with his parents in the living room for a while, and around eight-thirty, he went to wash up and then headed to his bedroom.


    To avoid disturbing their son, Li Man turned down the volume of the TV in the living room. Even though she and Yan Daguo spoke in deliberately lowered voices, their words still reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    Yan Daguo said, ¡°You should buy some sedative oral liquid tomorrow to help our son with his health.¡±


    Li Man must have nodded as her voice came through, ¡°Mhm, I will go down to the pharmacy first thing in the morning. Ze has indeed been studying hard recently. Today was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen him finish reviewing so early.¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Yan Daguo let out a sigh, ¡°What¡¯s with the world these days? Ordinary life pressure is already suffocating enough, and now there¡¯s suddenly an increase in strangenesses. With the double pressure on the body and mind, how are people supposed to live?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Especially since Ze is facing the college entrance exams, and with the house in its current state, Daguo, can you think of any solutions?¡± Li Man asked.


    Yan Daguo fell silent.


    After a while, he spoke again, ¡°Today I went to see our factory director, who has connections in the city. As long as we¡¯re willing to pay, the director said he can go and ask for us, to cut in line so we can get the bathroom issue sorted as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°How much will it cost?¡± Li Man inquired.


    Yan Daguo must have gestured a number because their conversation fell silent once again.


    After some time, Li Man sighed, ¡°If there¡¯s really no other way, I¡¯ll go to the company and get an advance on my salary. Together with our savings, that should be enough.¡±


    ¡°We must deal with it as soon as possible,¡± Yan Daguo didn¡¯t stop Li Man, ¡°I will go withdraw money tomorrow. Once we have enough, I¡¯ll give it to the factory director and ask him to negotiate for us, to resolve this issue quickly so our son can focus on his exams.¡±


    Yan Junze leaned by the bedroom door and roughly overheard these things; he suddenly felt a complex surge of emotions for the parents of this life and then quietly walked back to his bed to lie down.


    It seems that deciding to carry out the ¡°hair washing¡± task tonight isn¡¯t too late.


    Provided that it can be successfully completed.

 Chapter 6 - 6 - 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)

    Chapter 6 ¨C 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)


    Chapter 6: Chapter 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)


    After eavesdropping on his parents¡¯ conversation in this life, Yan Junze felt an inexplicable warmth rise in his heart. Even though he didn¡¯t have inherent feelings for them, he could still feel the affection.


    However, he really hadn¡¯t rested well last night, and before he could adjust to the emotional touch, he had already fallen asleep.


    When he woke up, it was already late at night.


    Yan Junze started up, opened his eyes, and found the world before him a blur; only then did he remember that this body needed glasses. He reached for his glasses and hastily put them on.


    Checking his phone, it was 1:03 AM.


    He perked up his ears to listen to any noise outside the bedroom. Hearing nothing, he presumed that Yan Daguo and Li Man were already asleep.


    ...


    Fortunately, the mission brief was clear. All he needed to do was to wash his hair once in the bathroom after midnight to pass. It hadn¡¯t specified that it must be washed at exactly midnight, so even though it was past 12 o¡¯clock, as long as the red-dressed little girl Ke¡¯er was still there, completing the hair-washing would count as completing the task.


    Stealthily getting out of bed, Yan Junze fished out the spare bathroom key from his clothes, walked to the bedroom door, gently opened it, then tiptoed onto the corridor.


    He dared not turn on the light, using only the faint glow of his phone to retrieve the key and insert it into the lock of the bathroom door very slowly.


    Taking about five or six seconds, without making too much noise, he got the key fully inserted. Then Yan Junze began to slowly turn the key, ready to unlock the latch.


    Silence enveloped the surroundings, save for the ticking of the wall clock in the living room. The darkness, like an incoming tide, threatened to submerge Yan Junze¡¯s line of sight entirely.


    The dim light from the cell phone struggled against the encroaching darkness.


    Two rotations of the key in, an eerie chill traveled through the doorknob into Yan Junze¡¯s hand. He didn¡¯t know if it was an illusion or a genuine coldness.


    But Yan Junze had no intention of stopping.


    Just one more turn, and at the moment the latch would unlock, a clicking sound would occur ¡ª the moment Yan Junze feared would wake his parents.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth, his tongue involuntarily pressing against the roof of his mouth as he exerted force to twist.


    Click!


    The lock opened.


    Yan Junze stood at the door, letting out the stale breath. He listened intently, and there was no movement from his parents¡¯ bedroom.


    Taking another deep breath, he pushed open the bathroom door.


    The door made no noise as it opened.


    Almost simultaneously with its opening, Yan Junze reached in to find the light switch and immediately turned it on.


    Turning on the bathroom light wouldn¡¯t affect his sleeping parents in the bedroom because their door was closed. The escaping light only touched a small area of the corridor outside the bathroom. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just opening a bathroom door made the whole process feel like filming ¡°Mission Impossible.¡± At the moment, Yan Junze genuinely felt a delusion of turning into Tom Cruise. Except he wasn¡¯t there to steal a chip, but to face a red-dressed girl with a twisted neck and broken feet.


    The moment the light switched on, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze swept through the bathroom. He didn¡¯t see the figure of the red-dressed girl Ke¡¯er.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t see behind the door from where he stood. He would need to enter the bathroom fully to catch a glimpse of all possible locations and ensure that a red-dressed girl wasn¡¯t standing in some corner with her back to him.


    Yan Junze was all in. Standing at the entrance, he glanced once more at his parents¡¯ bedroom. With no sound forthcoming, evidently Yan Daguo and Li Man were sound asleep.


    He pulled up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, the dimly glowing two nodes, and the Rewind line connecting them materialized before his eyes.


    It might be just one chance, so he had to seize this Rewind well.


    Yan Junze knew that the Rewind couldn¡¯t exceed five minutes, and the task of [Washing Hair] must be completed within three minutes.


    This meant he could set the starting point of the Rewind at the moment he entered the bathroom and the endpoint five minutes later.


    As long as he moved quickly and didn¡¯t dawdle upon entering the bathroom, starting the hair-washing immediately and keeping it under three minutes, he wouldn¡¯t exceed the five-minute total of the Rewind line.


    If something happened during that time, Yan Junze could use his sole opportunity to Rewind.


    Having run through the plan in his mind, Yan Junze stood in front of the door, taking several deep breaths. He set his phone screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it to remind him after three minutes. However, he didn¡¯t start the countdown immediately, instead mentally marking the current moment as the starting point of the Rewind line.


    At the same moment, the first node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed instantly.


    Starting point set successfully!


    Yan Junze then thought about setting the end point of the Rewind line five minutes later, and the second node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed as soon as he did.


    End point set successfully!


    ¡°Here we go!¡±


    Yan Junze stepped into the bathroom and gently closed the door behind him.


    The moment the door closed, he quickly turned around, scanning every corner of the bathroom, including behind the door, but he didn¡¯t find Ke¡¯er¡¯s red figure.


    Although he didn¡¯t see the little girl, it didn¡¯t affect the mission proceeding right now.


    Yan Junze moved in front of the sink, facing the mirror.


    In the mirror, a gaunt face with somewhat messy hair and a pair of glasses with over three hundred degrees prescription was seen; his expression was slightly nervous, and his eyes occasionally glanced behind him in the reflection.


    To say he wasn¡¯t nervous would certainly be impossible. Firstly, Yan Junze placed his adjusted phone below the mirror, leaning it towards himself at an angle for easy viewing of the time.


    He pressed the drain stopper in the sink to close it, then began to run the water. After it became hot, he tested the temperature with his hand. Once the sink was more than half full, he turned off the tap.


    After checking the phone screen, he rolled up his sleeves, placed the towel and shampoo within easy reach, and then Yan Junze pressed the three-minute countdown timer on the phone with his index finger.


    It took him less than a minute to enter the bathroom and complete these actions.


    The hair washing officially began.


    Yan Junze bent over, dipping his head into the water to thoroughly wet his hair.


    Because he was in a rush, unfortunately, water got into his eyes.


    Instinctively, he closed his eyes.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill, not sure if it was an illusion or something else, as if the bathroom had turned into a refrigeration unit and the temperature had been drastically lowered.


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    A very faint sound suddenly came from behind him.


    As his nerves were taut at all times, Yan Junze was in a state of high alert, making his senses extraordinarily sharp, and he heard the sound very clearly.


    With a shiver, Yan Junze reached for his towel, quickly drying his eyes. However, he remembered that during the process of washing his hair, he shouldn¡¯t perform any actions unrelated to hair washing.


    Wiping his eyes was permissible, but he dared not turn his head to look behind. Turning your head to look back while washing your hair obviously exceeded the scope of the task.


    Being bent over, he could only sneak a quick glance behind him at the floor not far from beneath his legs.


    Nothing was there.


    From this angle, he did not see Ke¡¯er¡¯s conspicuous red figure.


    But the chill in the room was intensifying.


    He couldn¡¯t waste time, Yan Junze reminded himself, and quickly opened the shampoo to pour some into his hand, applying it to his hair.


    Soon, a great deal of foam emerged.


    However, he quickly realized that this shampoo seemed to cost money.


    Damn, he squeezed too much!

 Chapter 7 - 7 - 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)

    Chapter 7 ¨C 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)


    Chapter 7: Chapter 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)


    ¡°`


    The shampoo was squeezed out too much, which meant there were a lot of bubbles, and more bubbles meant they could easily flow into the eyes.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was most afraid of closing his eyes, even during a normal hair-wash, shampoo might get into the eyes, let alone now when he¡¯d squeezed out too much.


    As expected, soon three streams of foam flowed swiftly toward both eyes, and the left eye received special attention, with two streams coming at it simultaneously.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to close his eyes as they were stung by the shampoo.


    The moment his eyes closed, his brain was flooded with all sorts of strange and bizarre associations.


    ...


    He had a strong feeling that someone was standing behind him, staring at him with a pair of chilling eyes at this very moment.


    Could it be that little girl in red, Ke¡¯er, was standing behind him?


    Yan Junze remembered that the task ¡°Washing Hair¡± included a note: ¡°You¡¯re washing your hair; she is watching.¡±


    That meant, Ke¡¯er was definitely staring at him while he washed his hair.


    Forget it, let her watch if she wants, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on just washing his hair, rubbing it quickly.


    Although he forced himself not to think about anything else, at this moment his senses had been amplified countless times in this special environment, and he could immediately detect any slight movement.


    Such as the indoor temperature falling, or the extremely faint noise coming from the corner near the toilet, or the sensation of an insect crawling up his ankle, making it itch.


    He couldn¡¯t be sure which sensations were real.


    ¡°That should do it,¡± Yan Junze stopped rubbing his hair, suppressing the urge to respond to any abnormalities.


    Next up was rinsing with clean water, then drying his hair with a towel, and he would be finished.


    He was just about to immerse his foamy hair in the sink and turn on the tap to wash it when his body jerked, suddenly feeling his pajama pants tighten, grabbed by something.


    This feeling was definitely not an illusion; it was indeed something grabbing onto him.


    Since he was bent over, it was impossible for Yan Junze to straighten up right away, so even after his pant leg was grabbed, he still dipped his head into the sink¡¯s water.


    The instant his pant leg was seized, Yan Junze¡¯s whole body went numb, and even his head, submerged in water, seemed to no longer belong to him.


    Another tug on his leg followed by the grip, and then something wound around his thigh, crawling up.


    A wave of cold sensation started at his calf, moved up through his thigh, up to his right hip, and finally settled on the right side of his back, with even his shoulder caught by something cold.


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    It must be Ke¡¯er¡­ slowly climbing up his leg onto his back.


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    The same familiar sound of surprise came from behind him again, but this time, the sound came from less than an arm¡¯s length away from Yan Junze¡¯s ear.


    One could imagine such a scene: A red-dressed girl with a crooked neck, out-turned feet, and a curved spine, perched on Yan Junze¡¯s right side, uttering a sound of surprise. Beneath that messy head of hair, a pair of gray eyes focused intently on the man before her, burying his head in the water of the sink like an ostrich.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s right side was ice cold, and goosebumps kept emerging on his skin.


    In that instant, his whole body bristled.


    No longer able to tolerate the sensation of Ke¡¯er lying on him, in fact, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t thought that given Ke¡¯er¡¯s height, to watch him wash his hair for the entire duration, standing below the sink would definitely not offer the best viewing angle.


    Furthermore, the bathroom was small, with no other better spot to watch from, so lying on his back became almost inevitable.


    What mattered most was, it was okay to watch, but she suddenly let out a ¡°huh¡± so close to his ear.


    During his first task, already extremely nervous, Yan Junze exploded like a C4 bomb with the switch pressed upon hearing this sound.


    ¡°Huh your fucking¡ª!¡±


    Involuntarily, Yan Junze¡¯s body jerked, and he subconsciously grabbed Ke¡¯er¡¯s ice-cold thin arm and flung it away.


    Picking up a towel to roughly wipe his eyes clean, Yan Junze hurriedly opened them.


    Without enough time to put on his glasses, he could only see, in a blur, the figure of Ke¡¯er in red, with loose, wild hair, crouched near the ceiling at the corner of the wall, her overwhelming chilling presence enveloping the entire bathroom.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er suddenly opened her dark purple lips, revealing black teeth, and let out a shrill scream.


    It obviously woke his parents, as there was a commotion from the bedroom, and at the same time, the red-clad Ke¡¯er kicked off and pounced towards Yan Junze.


    Her disheveled head enlarged continuously in Yan Junze¡¯s pupils.


    ¡°Rewind!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze had just enough time to have that thought.


    A sudden wave of dizziness washed over his brain, and the scene around him quickly changed as time rewound.


    When the dizziness faded, his vision was crystal clear because he had put on his glasses and was standing at the bathroom door.


    ¡°Rewind¡­ did it rewind?!¡±


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but lower his head, noticing that the sleeves he had rolled up were now down, and his hands were dry. He was standing at the bathroom door just like a few minutes ago.


    Lack of experience, the newbie village is deadly!


    After confirming he had Rewound, Yan Junze felt a wave of fear.


    He was certain that he shouldn¡¯t have thrown Ke¡¯er off his back in a fit of panic. If he had just endured and finished washing his hair, all those uncontrollable events that followed wouldn¡¯t have happened.


    Glancing once again at the Atlas in his mind, it was now completely dark; the two nodes that had been lit, along with the faint line of Rewind time, were now exhausted of energy.


    It was the only chance left.


    Stepping into the bathroom, he closed the door behind him.


    This time, Yan Junze refrained from looking around because he knew that Ke¡¯er was not there at the moment.


    Ke¡¯er would appear after he had officially started washing his hair.


    He placed his mobile phone beneath the mirror, screen facing him. Then, he started filling the sink with water, preparing shampoo and a dry towel.


    Then, Yan Junze lifted his head and looked again at the young and slightly immature face reflected in the mirror. His panic from moments ago had lessened significantly.


    Now he was clear that he had to stay calm throughout the entire hair-washing process.


    Taking off his glasses and rolling up his sleeves, he set a three-minute countdown on his phone and began washing his hair for the second time.


    After wetting his hair, this time, without the initial nerves, the amount of water was just right, and it didn¡¯t get into his eyes.


    The temperature in the room began to drop, a sign that Ke¡¯er was about to appear.


    Yan Junze resisted the chill rising in him, tilted his head slightly, locked onto the location of the shampoo, and reached out to squeeze some onto his hand.


    Almost at the same instant.


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    A familiar voice came from behind.


    His right hand that had just taken the shampoo shook slightly. After a brief half-second pause, he still applied it to his hair.


    This time he hadn¡¯t used too much shampoo either; the amount was just right to create enough foam.


    The cold in the room was intensifying. Yan Junze continued to scrub his hair while his thighs and back grew increasingly cold.


    Even though this was the second attempt. he found his body was still trembling slightly, but the quivering was manageable.


    The second attempt was going well, so no shampoo got into his eyes, and he could keep them open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes open and head down, his line of sight passing between his legs to the ground not far behind him.


    About four or five seconds after Ke¡¯er made her signature ¡°Eh¡± sound, he saw a pair of bruised little feet. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of the feet was broken with the sole turned out, standing just behind him.


    The visual impact was too strong; Yan Junze found himself shaking even more, so he decided to close his eyes.


    His pants tightened, and the next second, he was grabbed by a cold little hand.


    ¡°Again?¡±


    Yan Junze felt a rush of tears but no relief. Obviously, with Ke¡¯er¡¯s short stature, she had to climb onto Yan Junze¡¯s back to get the best viewing angle.


    No matter how many times the Rewind was, this method was still Ke¡¯er¡¯s unvarying choice.


    Yan Junze¡¯s thigh was entwined, quickly followed by a tightening around his waist and back, as Ke¡¯er climbed onto his right side once more.


    His body felt ice cold, and the chill in his heart intensified.


    He could imagine the red-dressed girl hooking her hands over his shoulders, tilting her head to watch how he washed his hair.


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    Ke¡¯er made the same sound for the second time, clearly having gotten a clear view this time.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 8 - 8 - 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)

    Chapter 8 ¨C 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)


    Chapter 8: Chapter 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)


    Hearing the ghost¡¯s incessant ¡°huh¡± right by his ear, Yan Junze honestly struggled several times with the urge to throw the little brat out again.


    The chilly sensation had almost saturated his entire body, and even though the water was hot, Yan Junze could no longer feel it at that moment.


    After continuing to rub his hair, he first rinsed his head in the basin full of water to wash away the shampoo, then drained the foamy water.


    He reached out to turn on the faucet and tested the water temperature; even though it wasn¡¯t just right, the impatient Yan Junze already leaned forward to rinse off.


    Three minutes were almost up, and Yan Junze also wanted to finish washing his hair quickly and not be stared at by Ke¡¯er lying on top of him the whole time.


    During this time, Ke¡¯er hadn¡¯t moved at all, just hooking his left shoulder with her hand, lying on his back, with her head tilted and motionless.


    ...


    If Yan Junze could have turned his head to look, he would have seen that the pupils in Ke¡¯er¡¯s gray eyes were covered by a thin gray film, and it was unclear where the little one¡¯s gaze was focused.


    His hair was quickly washed clean, but, inevitably, water got into his eyes during the process.


    Yan Junze closed his eyes, maintaining steady breathing, and reached out for a dry towel; as long as he wiped his hair dry, the ¡°Hair Washing¡± task would be completed.


    However, just as he grabbed the dry towel, a cold little hand was placed on the back of his hand.


    This sensation was like when a group of people gathered around eating a steaming hot and spicy hot pot, and suddenly someone poured a bucket of cold water over them from head to toe, chilling them to the core, heart soaring.


    Yan Junze¡¯s right hand trembled, not daring to make another move, pressing the towel with one hand, his heart thudding as if it would jump out of his chest, unable to open his eyes, just freezing in place.


    The small hand resting on the back of his hand didn¡¯t move either, showing no intention of letting go.


    The scene was eerie.


    Being a strangeness, Ke¡¯er weighed next to nothing, so even though she lay on Yan Junze¡¯s back, it didn¡¯t put any pressure on him.


    What mattered most now was that Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to ask the little one what she wanted to do because once he asked, that would count as doing something unrelated to washing his hair.


    The cost of task failure was something that the current Yan Junze couldn¡¯t afford.


    Time might almost be up for the three minutes, Yan Junze bit his teeth and didn¡¯t dare to delay any longer, gradually pulling his hand back while still holding onto the towel.


    The cold little hand still didn¡¯t back off, pressing on the back of Yan Junze¡¯s hand without moving, following the movement of his hand.


    Yan Junze no longer minded her and quickened his pace to retrieve the towel.


    As long as he didn¡¯t do anything unrelated to hair washing, he would rather believe Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t make things difficult for him.


    The ten or so seconds he gripped the towel felt like an eternity until his hands finally held the towel, ready to wipe his head, when Ke¡¯er¡¯s small hand finally slowly moved away.


    Yan Junze quickly raised his head and wiped his hair dry, then wiped off the water around his eyes. As he did this, the Spacetime Atlas emerged in his mind.


    ¡°Hair Washing, Anxiety-Inducing (Low), Completed, gained 100 Different Dimension Energy points.¡±


    At the same moment, the initial Rewind line that had disappeared in the Atlas and the two spacetime nodes lit up simultaneously.


    Moreover, after gaining 100 Different Dimension Energy points, the lit Rewind line continued to extend forward, quickly reaching the third spacetime node, which gradually started to glow.


    At that moment, two Rewind lines were illuminated.


    At the same time, after wiping the water from the corners of his eyes, Yan Junze hurriedly opened his eyes.


    The instant he put on his glasses, he didn¡¯t do anything else but immediately looked behind him.


    Because the ¡°Hair Washing¡± task had been successfully completed, and he had also received 100 Different Dimension Energy points as a reward. This meant Ke¡¯er¡¯s Obsession should have been resolved, whether the little one reincarnated or went to her Ultimate Bliss World, she no longer had any reason to stay in his bathroom.


    However, the moment he looked behind him, the relieved Yan Junze jerked sharply, as the sight of a red dress, untidy, fluffy long hair, and bruised limbs caught his eye.


    These noticeable features unmistakably indicated that Ke¡¯er was still lying on his back.


    This scene made Yan Junze feel like he had become Master Roshi from ¡°Dragon Ball¡±, with Ke¡¯er¡¯s bruised hands wrapped around his neck, tightly clasped together, and her feet fiercely wrapped around his waist. Looking at this, he indeed resembled someone carrying a huge turtle shell.


    What¡­ what¡¯s going on?


    Didn¡¯t I complete the task?


    Could this be a sticky ghost that¡¯s just refusing to leave? S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just at that moment, a new line of text suddenly appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Acquired Ke¡¯er (Wandering Spirit), current favorability: Neutral]


    Yan Junze was stunned. He had never imagined that Ke¡¯er really wouldn¡¯t leave.


    At the beginning of the ¡°Hair Washing¡± task, there was no mention of obtaining Ke¡¯er after completing the task. There was only a task tip that said ¡°the Evil Spirit cannot be locked down¡±.


    Now that he thought about it, this so-called lockdown probably meant actively locking down the Evil Spirit, or in other words, capturing it.


    But now the task tip said ¡°acquired¡±, which could mean that Ke¡¯er was following Yan Junze willingly. For Yan Junze, it was a passive acquisition of the Wandering Spirit.


    Although it could not be denied, setting aside those glasses, the contours of this high school student¡¯s face were distinct and had a sense of linearity. However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe it was his looks that had conquered Ke¡¯er.


    It was very likely that¡­ Ke¡¯er had fallen in love with watching him wash his hair.


    If it were before, Yan Junze would never believe that washing his hair could so easily capture a girl obsessed with him in a red dress.


    But now the facts were as such, whether he believed it or not, the girl obsessed with him in a red dress was here, clinging to his back faithfully.


    ¡°Could it be that from now on, she¡¯s just going to follow me around?¡± Yan Junze suddenly felt his scalp tingle, and goosebumps spread all over his body.


    Though Ke¡¯er¡¯s weight was negligible, carrying such a thing around all the time, what would he do about going to the toilet? What about taking a shower? And in case, just in case he got a beautiful girlfriend in the future, and when things got hot and heavy, what would they do about @%#£¤&*?


    With something like that always splayed on his back, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything!


    Just now, Yan Junze had clearly seen that Ke¡¯er¡¯s attitude towards him was neutral.


    What if this young lady got the wrong idea in the future, and her attitude towards him turned into opposition or hostility?


    Yan Junze shook his head with a wry smile, feeling like he wasn¡¯t carrying a Wandering Spirit, but rather a time bomb that occasionally let out a ¡°Yi¡± sound.


    Facing the mirror, Yan Junze twisted his body and discovered that although Ke¡¯er¡¯s back was S-shaped, the posture in which she lay on him was quite natural. She kept her head buried on his back, motionless, as if she had fallen asleep.


    The cold feeling was still there, but not as intense as in the beginning.


    Well, at least I come with built-in air conditioning in the summer.


    As long as it doesn¡¯t harm this young and vigorous body.


    After tidying up the bathroom, Yan Junze tiptoed to turn off the lights and lock the door, then played another thrilling game of ¡°Mission Impossible¡± by locking the bathroom door from the outside. Finally, he silently slipped into his own bedroom.


    Lying in bed, he felt no discomfort whatsoever behind him.


    The Wandering Spirit, Ke¡¯er, might only be visible in mirrors; such Supernatural beings couldn¡¯t be dealt with as though they were physical objects.


    After completing the first nail-biting task, Yan Junze finally took a deep breath.


    ¡°From now on, when I wash my hair, you keep watch. You can watch the process however you like, as long as you don¡¯t absorb my Pure Yang Qi,¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    ¡°Yi.¡± Ke¡¯er seemed to answer.


    ¡°Yi your sister, can you speak?¡±


    ¡°Yi.¡±

 Chapter 9 - 9 - 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!

    Chapter 9 ¨C 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!


    Chapter 9: Chapter 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!


    Although he went to bed very late, Yan Junze, having just completed his first task, was evidently still excited, and spent the night in a daze, hardly getting any real sleep.


    He was awakened by the cold as it was getting light outside.


    In May, even though the morning air is cool, a thin blanket should be enough to keep warm, but Yan Junze was certain that it was the cold that had woken him up.


    Sitting up in bed, he twisted his head to glance behind him and saw nothing, yet a chill that seemed to have soaked into his being made him almost shiver uncontrollably.


    He then got dressed and, standing in front of the wardrobe mirror, Yan Junze glanced at his own reflection, and sure enough, there was Ke¡¯er, clad in red, lying on his back as if she were sound asleep.


    No good, this dead child wasn¡¯t coming down, and he had no way to deal with her for the moment.


    ...


    He needed to find a way to warm himself up first; otherwise, he might freeze to death before strangenesses had a chance to scare him to death.


    Yan Junze rummaged through his closet and quickly found a khaki-colored thick sweater to put on.


    As he was getting dressed, Ke¡¯er behind him seemed to have no effect whatsoever, as if she had become transparent at that moment.


    The incident in the bathroom had been resolved, and Yan Junze must find a chance to convince his parents that there was no longer any need to go to great lengths to call for an exorcist.


    He checked the time, it was already 6:10 AM, and there were 20 minutes left before his father, Yan Daguo, would get up and open the bathroom door.


    After pondering for a moment, and feeling the warmth starting to build up in his body, Yan Junze noted that despite the lack of sleep over the past few days, he was in pretty good shape.


    It seemed that youth was indeed an asset.


    The Ke¡¯er lying on his back seemed to only bring coldness for the time being, and he had not yet discovered any other side effects that might harm his body.


    Yan Junze quickly thought of a plan. He took out the switched bathroom key and, before his parents were up, opened the door and the light switch of the bathroom as if he had done this many times before.


    He then watched the time on his phone.


    At 6:20 AM, adjusting his emotions, he ran to his parents¡¯ bedroom in a panic, first knocking loudly on the closed door, then shouting, ¡°Dad, Mom, get up quick! The bathroom door is open, and that thing seems to have disappeared.¡±


    Three minutes later.


    Yan Daguo, Li Man, and Yan Junze stood in front of the open bathroom door, staring inside with bewildered expressions. They had been standing there for over two minutes, motionless.


    After some hesitation, Yan Daguo finally spoke, asking Yan Junze, ¡°Was the door like this when you got up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the light inside was on too, and it must have been on for quite a while,¡± Yan Junze confirmed with certainty, nodding.


    During the conversation, he deliberately twisted his body, shaking his back in front of Yan Daguo and Li Man, wanting to know if his parents could see Ke¡¯er on his back.


    As it turned out, his concerns were unnecessary, as under the current circumstances, it seemed that no one other than himself could see Ke¡¯er.


    And even Yan Junze himself could only spot Ke¡¯er through a mirror.


    Yan Daguo checked the time; it wasn¡¯t yet 6:30 AM. Based on his experience, at this time of day under normal circumstances, it would not be safe to enter the bathroom, as there was a high chance of encountering the ghost of the red-clad girl.


    A moment later, gritting his teeth and with a look of resignation on his face, Yan Daguo said to Li Man, ¡°Wife, I¡¯ll go in and take a look. You and our son stay outside the door.¡±


    With that, not waiting for Li Man to object, he stepped into the bathroom, and from the slightly trembling of his legs, Yan Junze felt that his father¡¯s step was no different from stepping into hell.


    Time seemed to freeze as Yan Daguo stood in the bathroom for a long time, and the mother and son also stood outside for a long time, staring at each other in silence.


    The hour hand on the living room clock pointed to 6:41 AM when Yan Daguo walked out of the bathroom.


    ¡°`


    ¡°It seems¡­ it¡¯s really gone.¡±


    As he muttered to himself, Yan Daguo checked every room in the house, fearful that the red-clad girl would emerge. If she appeared in other rooms in broad daylight, the situation would be far more serious than it is now.


    Li Man also went up and down, inspecting everywhere.


    Half an hour later, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.


    It appeared to be truly gone.


    Still uneasy, Yan Daguo said to Li Man and Yan Junze, ¡°Let¡¯s keep locking the bathroom door on time for the next two days. After midnight, I¡¯ll go into the bathroom. If I¡¯m certain that thing doesn¡¯t appear again, it may really be gone.¡±


    ¡°Thank heaven!¡± Li Man clasped her hands together and looked up to give thanks, her face showing gratitude for the divine favor.


    Then, lowering her hands, Li Man¡¯s expression turned to one of surprise as she stared at Yan Junze. ¡°Ze, why are you dressed like a zongzi? Is it that cold? You are wearing a thick sweater meant for the dead of winter.¡±


    ¡°Cold,¡± Yan Junze affirmed with a nod.


    ¡°You must take care of yourself these days,¡± Yan Daguo said with concern, then to Li Man, ¡°Now I think we can hold off on asking a friend to call the exorcist. Let¡¯s wait to see if that thing is really still here, and then it won¡¯t be too late to spend money.¡±


    Li Man had no objections to the suggestion.


    The family was already short on money, and it would be best not to have to dip into her meager salary in advance.


    Li Man even felt the surprise of winning a jackpot. When others encountered strangeness, they either endured in terror until the exorcist came or simply moved away. Yet, the strangeness in her own house had just vanished.


    If she knew the real reason why her son was dressed like a zongzi, she wouldn¡¯t feel like she¡¯d won the jackpot, but as if she¡¯d been cursed.


    ¡­


    An hour later.


    At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, Senior Year Class 5.


    The morning reading was underway, with the teacher not yet in the classroom. The mix of reading noises was like the machinery in Yan Daguo¡¯s factory, rumbling and incessant.


    In this world, just like on Earth, there was an international language spoken around the globe, called USA language, similar to the popularity of English on Earth.


    Therefore, there were many students reciting USA language at this time. Yan Junze had looked over the textbooks and felt that the pronunciation and usage were not much different from English, just with some very subtle differences that were negligible for him.


    While he was studying USA language, Zhou Dali was staring at him with a look of astonishment. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon Yan Junze lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Zhou Dali. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why are you dressed like a zongzi?¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s exaggerated expression focussed on Yan Junze¡¯s winter-like attire.


    ¡°Do you have a special fondness for zongzi?¡± Yan Junze internally complained, tightening his coat, which he¡¯d layered over a thick sweater, ¡°I have a bit of a cold, feels chilly.¡±


    ¡°Cold in this weather?¡±


    Zhou Dali didn¡¯t waste the opportunity to flex his thick forearms, which were almost as wide as Yan Junze¡¯s waist. He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his muscles, and swiftly waved them about under the watchful eyes of Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin at the next desk. While showing off his muscles, he also demonstrated his unmatched hand speed and the evident high frequency of shaking from his extensive training.


    The two ladies gave him a look as if he were an idiot, not uttering a word.


    Just then, Yan Junze suddenly felt Ke¡¯er, whom he¡¯d almost forgotten about lying on his back, lightly shift.


    The bell for class rang, and the teacher arrived.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 10 - 10 - 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil

    Chapter 10 ¨C 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil


    Chapter 10: Chapter 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil


    ¡°`


    In his past life, Yan Junze did not like staring at people, considering it rather impolite, even when looking at the teacher during class.


    But now, he found himself really enjoying the USA language courses. Teacher Zhang Tiantian was under 1.6 meters tall, petite, with a head full of wavy curls, and looked as sweet as her name suggested.


    Most importantly, she had a very pleasant voice. Yan Junze became somewhat obsessed with that sweet voice.


    That morning, there were two consecutive USA language classes taught by Zhang Tiantian. Almost all the students in the class were focused, which goes to show that a teacher¡¯s appearance does indeed play a role in stimulating the desire to learn.


    Zhou Dali had already pulled back his Popeye arms and hadn¡¯t absorbed much of the lesson, his gaze frequently sweeping back and forth between Zhang Tiantian and his classmate Bao Jie.


    ...


    Yan Junze understood his dilemma; from the first day of this reborn world¡¯s classes, he knew the guy had a crush on Bao Jie. But now, because it was Zhang Tiantian¡¯s class, Zhou Dali also wanted to steal a few extra glances at her, a typical teenage boy syndrome.


    However, it seemed Bao Jie didn¡¯t like the muscular dumbbell type, nor did she like the weak and skinny type like Yan Junze. Instead, she preferred sun-kissed, athletic guys, like Zhou Jiajie, sitting in the third row.


    Since the class had started, Ke¡¯er was no longer as well-behaved as she had been the night before, moving every few minutes. Although she was nearly weightless, Yan Junze could distinctly feel her constant fidgeting.


    After the first class, Yan Junze went to the men¡¯s restroom downstairs.


    Zhou Dali followed him excitedly, muttering under his breath as they walked, ¡°What¡¯s so great about that Zhou Jiajie? Just a pretty boy. If it wasn¡¯t for the fear of his dad, who is the deputy director of the Shuntian City Municipal Office, I would have found an opportunity to punch him a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite the honest person,¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    Zhou Dali also chuckled along but became frozen when he glanced at the wide mirror on the bathroom wall and stared at it silently.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly looked behind himself through the mirror.


    Ke¡¯er was lying obediently on his back. Although she wasn¡¯t moving, he could clearly see the red-clothed little girl.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Zhou Dali again; the guy was still staring into the mirror, not only unblinking but even stepped forward to take a closer look.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Yan Junze¡¯s heart pounded, unsure whether Zhou Dali could see Ke¡¯er through the mirror just like he could.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Zhou Dali stared at the mirror, leaning in close after a long while and said, ¡°There¡¯s¡­ another pimple popped up?¡±


    ¡°Go to your grandma!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but curse, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.


    Zhou Dali seemed oblivious, trying to squeeze the newly discovered pimple and occasionally rubbing the few strands of beard that had just appeared on his chin.


    Yan Junze was a bit concerned but took the opportunity, as other classmates entered the restroom, to stand in front of the mirror and observe the comings and goings.


    Nobody noticed anything unusual about his back.


    It seemed he had been overthinking it.


    Back in the classroom, for the second USA language class, Yan Junze was still very focused.


    But shortly after sitting down, Ke¡¯er started squirming again, which gave Yan Junze the impression that she did not like to listen to the lesson, as she hadn¡¯t moved once during the ten minutes break.


    It appeared he had to figure out a way to deal with it, as this was beginning to affect his life.


    While Yan Junze pondered, his gaze was fixed on Zhang Tiantian, who was teaching at the podium in her black striped teacher¡¯s outfit.


    Zhang Tiantian was explaining the structure of a USA language sentence pattern very seriously, her sweet voice and those clear eyes capturing most of the students¡¯ attention.


    ¡°This sentence pattern is important and will definitely appear in the college entrance exam, so please take careful notes on what I just said,¡± she prompted, and most of the students, including Zhou Dali, began to jot down notes.


    Yan Junze, engrossed in thoughts concerning Ke¡¯er, did not take notes and was staring at Zhang Tiantian, his mind racing.


    However, Zhang Tiantian suddenly grew still, her action of pointing at the blackboard froze, and she looked beneath the podium with a fixed gaze.


    ¡°`


    At that moment, Yan Junze clearly saw that the clear black pupils in Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eyes had disappeared, replaced by entirely white pupils that filled her eye sockets.


    These white pupils made Zhang Tiantian¡¯s whole person undergo a drastic change in demeanor, the sweet and cute feeling vanished, replaced by a chilling eeriness that surged suddenly.


    This process lasted only about three seconds; the white pupils quickly flipped over, revealing the black pupils once more.


    At this time, Zhang Tiantian, who had previously been pointing at the blackboard, started moving again, lowered her hand, and asked nonchalantly, ¡°Did everyone get that? Does anyone need me to go over it again?¡±


    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Sitting in the third row, Zhou Jiajie suddenly raised his hand, ¡°You just now¡­ What was¡­ What was¡­¡±


    Clearly, it wasn¡¯t only Yan Junze who had noticed something odd about Zhang Tiantian; Zhou Jiajie, who was sitting closer, seemed to have seen it even more clearly.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Zhang Tiantian asked, looking surprised. She seemed to have no awareness of her abnormal behavior just moments before.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face showed terror as he shook his head.


    The class continued.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything, but he was certain that something had happened to Zhang Tiantian.


    During the moment her white pupils appeared, Ke¡¯er on Yan Junze¡¯s back squirmed even more frequently; now he was starting to understand the reason for Ke¡¯er¡¯s restlessness.


    Looking at Zhou Jiajie, it was apparent that he was completely distracted, unable to conceal his terror.


    The other students didn¡¯t notice anything, and Zhang Tiantian herself continued teaching very normally, with no other strange behaviors.


    About five or six minutes later, Zhou Jiajie raised his hand again.


    Zhang Tiantian stopped lecturing and turned her head to look at him.


    ¡°Teacher, I suddenly have a horrible stomach ache, please¡­ may I be excused?¡± Zhou Jiajie seemed to be in so much pain that his face was contorted, and he got to his feet as he spoke.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Zhang Tiantian nodded, ¡°Did you eat something wrong? Tian Hao, go with him to the infirmary and have a look.¡±


    Tian Hao, who shared a desk with Zhou Jiajie, also stood up, ready to help him.


    Zhou Jiajie waved him off: ¡°No need, I can go by myself.¡±


    With those words, he quickened his pace and nearly ran out of the classroom while clutching his stomach.


    ¡°This guy.¡± Yan Junze smiled bitterly.


    Zhou Jiajie clearly realized that something abnormal had happened to Teacher Zhang Tiantian and feared that it might involve him; he found an excuse and slipped away. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In terms of cleverness, this guy had plenty of wits, but when it came to courage, he was quite disappointing to Yan Junze.


    It seemed like if Bao Jie really ended up with this kind of man, her hard days were still ahead.


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s departure didn¡¯t raise any suspicions among the other students, except Zhou Dali who cursed his relative under his breath, ¡°Stomach ache? I curse you to go 30 times a day, until you get a prolapse!¡±


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes at him.


    ¡°Please watch the shape of my mouth, and listen carefully,¡± Zhang Tiantian instructed. ¡°In this sentence from the text, the pronunciation features a connected speech. If you can¡¯t produce it, you won¡¯t be able to understand it clearly.¡±


    As Zhang Tiantian spoke, she opened her mouth, about to make the sound, when suddenly she froze completely.


    Her mouth slightly open, her right hand just beginning to lift, and on her pale cheeks, the black pupils within her eyes suddenly flipped, turning into white pupils once more, and she remained motionless.


    This eerie scene, this time, was clearly seen by everyone in the classroom.

 Chapter 11 - 11 - 10: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)

    Chapter 11 ¨C 10: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)


    Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)


    At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, in the classroom of Grade 12 Class 5, a scene like this was unfolding.


    All the students were staring, dumbfounded, at a petite female teacher on the podium, who stood with her mouth slightly agape, revealing no white teeth, and her clear, bright black pupils completely overtaken by white ones, standing there like a statue.


    This time, it was longer than the last.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but mentally count the seconds, feeling like seven or eight seconds had passed, but Zhang Tiantian still looked weird and terrifying.


    ¡°Teacher¡­ Teacher Zhang!¡±


    After a brief silence, a male student sitting in the front row couldn¡¯t help but call out.


    ... sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As soon as he spoke, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s neck gently twisted with a crackling sound as she turned toward the male student. However, her pupils remained white.


    Her previously slightly open mouth gradually continued to widen, as if an invisible hand was stretching it, still revealing no teeth. At that moment, that once charming and alluring mouth seemed to turn into an unfathomably deep black hole.


    Utter silence. Throughout the widening of her mouth, Zhang Tiantian didn¡¯t make a sound.


    But the next second, at least seven female students screamed simultaneously, their high-pitched squeals rivaling the climax of Vitas¡¯ Opera #2.


    Yan Junze just felt a buzzing in his ears and almost went deaf. All the students stood up and rushed towards the classroom door in a frenzy.


    ¡°Damn, let¡¯s go! Something¡¯s wrong with Teacher Zhang!¡± Zhou Dali grabbed Yan Junze¡¯s collar.


    Yan Junze had no time to think and, in a flash, he and Zhou Dali squeezed out of the classroom. From start to finish, he never had the chance to touch the ground and was dragged to safety by Zhou Dali, like a kite in the wind.


    Hearing the screams, nearby classrooms erupted into chaos as teachers and students alike ran out of their rooms, surging forward to find out what was happening.


    However, after hearing the scattered accounts from the students of Grade 12 Class 5, most people¡¯s faces immediately changed color.


    Just then, someone shouted, ¡°Teacher Zhang fainted!¡±


    Looking into the classroom, they saw Zhang Tiantian lying on her back on the podium, as if she truly had fainted.


    ¡°First¡­ first, let¡¯s carry her to the office!¡± the bald teacher from the neighboring class hurriedly ordered, ¡°Zhao Mengjun, go inform the head of student affairs; there might have been a supernatural event.¡±


    A clever-looking male student responded and hurriedly ran downstairs.


    A few young male students, mustering their courage, re-entered the classroom and found that Zhang Tiantian indeed had fainted. In a fluster, they lifted her and, under the command of the bald teacher, carried her downstairs, panting heavily to the office of the Spacetime Atlas language teacher in the building opposite, on the second floor.


    This office was quite spacious, capable of accommodating eight to ten teachers working at the same time, but as soon as Zhang Tiantian was carried in, the five teachers already present immediately ran out.


    They had already heard about Zhang Tiantian¡¯s ordeal.


    Not long after lying on the office sofa, Zhang Tiantian slowly regained consciousness, looking around in astonishment; she remembered she was teaching a class and didn¡¯t know how she ended up back in the office.


    ¡°Teacher Zhang, you just fainted. You might be feeling unwell. We¡¯ve contacted the hospital, and a doctor will be here soon,¡± said the bald teacher, who seemed to have plenty of experience dealing with supernatural events, blathering away, ¡°For now, just lie down on the sofa, and don¡¯t go anywhere! Don¡¯t trip and fall again.¡±


    With that, the bald teacher signaled to the other students with his eyes, and everyone promptly left the office.


    During class, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s black pupils had turned to white, and her mouth kept unstoppably widening. The students¡¯ descriptions had already left the bald teacher trembling with fear, and he didn¡¯t want to stay there any longer.


    Moreover, the school is a protected area, and even though strange incidents are frequent nowadays, as long as it involves the school, the exorcist organization will immediately activate the emergency mechanism. There¡¯s no need to wait in line, and an exorcist will be quickly dispatched to handle the situation. This is not something they need to worry about.


    What needs to be done now is to prevent any accidents from happening before the exorcist arrives.


    Everyone has gained experience by now, as long as they stay away from the site of the strangeness, the chances of danger are not high.


    And now, it seems that Zhang Tiantian herself is the main entity of this strangeness.


    Outside the office, not only Principal Jiang and Deputy Principal Shen He from Shuntian No.3 Middle School came upon hearing the news, but other teachers and a large number of students as well.


    However, these people stopped orderly on the first floor, and none even went upstairs.


    The level of danger in supernatural events does not need to be explained by anyone, as everyone understands.


    Deputy Principal Shen He took out a folded yellow talisman from his chest and went upstairs alone. He carefully placed it outside Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office door, and then quickly came back down.


    Shen He was one of those very traditional people, who had been carrying various jade objects and talismans on him since the outbreak of the strangeness.


    Although he was aware that these items¡¯ actual effectiveness was almost negligible in the face of strangeness, people always need psychological comfort, and having them was better than not having them at all.


    ¡°Classes are suspended from now. Students can go home, and those who live far away should immediately return to their dormitories,¡± announced Principal Jiang, his white hair gleaming, as he cleared his throat and addressed everyone, ¡°The exorcists will arrive soon to deal with the situation. After you go back, wait for further notice. It¡¯s possible that normal classes will resume tomorrow, and there won¡¯t be any impact.¡±


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali also stood in the crowd, exchanging glances.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go to the internet cafe later,¡± Zhou Dali sent Yan Junze a ¡°you know what I mean¡± look.


    ¡°I¡¯m going home to review,¡± Yan Junze turned and left.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with you? Why have you changed so much all of a sudden? I¡¯m not used to you studying so hard,¡± Zhou Dali muttered, looking down, but then he suddenly bumped into Yan Junze, who had stopped abruptly, ¡°What¡¯s up? Why have you stiffened up as well? Hey, let me see if your eyes have changed color! White or green?¡±


    ¡°Change your sister!¡±


    Yan Junze turned around and looked towards the second-floor office not far away, as a task from the Spacetime Atlas suddenly surfaced in his mind.


    [Detecting new Different Dimensional Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wave Band, analysing¡­]


    [Task Name: Spend Ten Minutes Alone with Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Low);]


    [Task Background: As a Possession Spirit, it¡¯s very lonely. It has never been cared for or held dear by anyone, and it cannot release. Therefore, it loves to attach itself and slowly draw out the essence qi from its host, savoring every gulp;]


    [Task Description: As stated, lasting ten minutes;]


    [Task Reward: 500 points of Different Dimensional Energy;]


    [Task Penalty: Become the second Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Hint: The Evil Spirit can be locked down;]


    [Note: Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe.]

 Chapter 12 - 12 - 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)

    Chapter 12 ¨C 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)


    Chapter 12: Chapter 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze was completely puzzled about how the task had been triggered.


    He felt he was still far from Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office and had no idea that the Spacetime Atlas could detect Different Dimension Energy from such a distance.


    However, at the same moment he saw the task, a bizarre idea inexplicably popped into his mind.


    If one could infinitely increase this detection range, would it be possible to instantly know the exact locations and related tasks of all the strangenesses in the city?


    Crazy, he must be crazy!


    ...


    Yan Junze shook his head. So far, no one would voluntarily approach and investigate unexplainable, mysterious events, apart from himself.


    Looking at the task prompt¡¯s ¡°Task Level¡± column: Trembling with Fear (Low).


    Yan Junze remembered that both the [Hair Washing] and [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] tasks were labeled ¡°Anxiety-Inducing,¡± with one being low and the other medium.


    But now, the level in front of him had changed to ¡°Trembling with Fear.¡± This meant that the difficulty or horror level was definitely higher than the previous tasks.


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to solve the [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task within the next few days, or even tonight, since having someone knock on his door every night was not a small psychological burden for his family.


    But now, he was having some difficulty deciding.


    The task [Alone with Zhang Tiantian in an Office] had appeared suddenly, and the window of opportunity was brief, right now. Otherwise, once the Exorcist arrived, there would be nothing left for Yan Junze to do.


    So, if he wanted to complete it, he had to start now or forever miss the chance.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was filled with unease, as his attention remained primarily on the words ¡°Trembling with Fear (Low).¡±


    The task¡¯s difficulty level escalating from ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± to ¡°Trembling with Fear¡± was a strong, attention-demanding signal. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.


    ¡°Spend 10 minutes with Zhang Tiantian in one office, do I go or not?¡± Yan Junze hesitated internally. He needed to decide quickly and take action before the Exorcist arrived.


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that you¡¯ve changed since you encountered that strange event,¡± Zhou Dali said without knowing what was on his mind, standing behind him, patting Yan Junze with his fan-sized hand in a comforting tone.


    This was exactly the reaction Yan Junze aimed to show as he turned to Zhou Dali and said, ¡°Yeah, go ahead to the internet caf¨¦ and start up a computer for me. I¡¯ll be there soon, it will only take about fifteen minutes at most.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just be careful,¡± Zhou Dali left.


    ¡°Damn, are you setting a flag for me?¡± Yan Junze cursed to himself.


    He felt like a veteran bounty hunter, one day short of retirement, who kept reminding himself he could soon enjoy life at home, just to encounter his last case and then get killed.


    He looked up at the office building in front of him. The building had two stairwells, one on the left, one on the right, and an elevator in the middle. Since the office of the USA language teacher was on the second floor to the left, everyone was gathered at the left stairwell, which was definitely not an option to go up.


    The central elevator had teachers coming down after hearing the news, and if he took the elevator directly to the second floor, he would easily be seen and suspected, so that was out of the question as well.


    That left only the right stairwell.


    Yan Junze decided to try the task, as the Different Dimension Energy rewarded was extremely high, reaching 500 points. If he could complete it, he could light at least five more nodes in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Currently, two timelines in the Spacetime Atlas were illuminated. Assuming a timeline allowed for about five minutes of Rewind, the total time for both could possibly exceed ten minutes.


    Yan Junze¡¯s plan was to set the Rewind starting point, enter the office, and endure ten minutes if possible. If he couldn¡¯t last or if his life was threatened, he would Rewind immediately and exit without a second attempt.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    The consideration that had ceased was, after all, the mission¡¯s level was ¡°Trembling with Fear¡±, and if danger was encountered a second time without the ability to Rewind the timeline, the situation would be irretrievable.


    By this time, most of the students had dispersed, with only a small group that enjoyed spectating and more than twenty teachers still at the staircase entrance on the first floor left side.


    Yan Junze made his way to the right-hand staircase without drawing any attention, about fifty meters from the left staircase. Teachers were discussing in low voices, and for the moment, no one noticed him.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t linger, seizing the opportunity to quickly ascend the stairs. However, upon reaching the second floor, he immediately bent over and hunched his back to walk.


    Due to the limited height of the second-floor corridor, walking upright would soon make him visible to those below, and he would be exposed before he reached the office at the very left.


    Fortunately, the teachers from the second-floor offices had already evacuated upon hearing the news.


    Yan Junze made his way to the English teacher¡¯s office of the USA, crouched down, first peeked towards the left-hand staircase entrance to make sure no one was coming up, then reached for the doorknob and turned it, finding it unlocked.


    This was understandable; if Vice-Principal Shen He had locked the door, it would certainly have alerted Zhang Tiantian and scared her off.


    A folded yellow talisman lay on the ground by the door. It was also Shen He¡¯s doing. Whether it was effective or not, if it could have even a slight effect, that would be good.


    Out of habit, Yan Junze took a deep breath, then took out his phone, set the screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it for a 10-minute countdown.


    At that moment, he felt a twisting on his back. Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back for a long time without moving, now silently slid down, bent her body, the protruding leg bones touching the ground, and stood still against the wall by the office door, dressed in red, facing the wall and not moving an inch.


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned as the chill on his back rapidly faded away.


    He then understood that Ke¡¯er, as a Wandering Spirit, must have sensed the strangeness inside the office, so when she realized that Yan Junze wanted to enter, she chose to leave.


    But she only left Yan Junze¡¯s back and didn¡¯t go far, probably just not wanting to clash with the strangeness in that office.


    Yan Junze remembered that the Atlas had hinted before that Ke¡¯er¡¯s attitude towards him was ¡°neutral¡±, meaning she had no obligation to offend another strangeness on his behalf.


    Never mind the little creature, Yan Junze took another deep breath, set the starting point for the time Rewind in his mind, and then set the end point of the Rewind for 10 minutes and 15 seconds later. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Setup successful!


    In the Atlas in his mind, the two segments of the illuminated timelines disappeared in an instant, but the four connected nodes still remained firmly in place.


    This indicated that it might just be a matter of time, or a need for a brief recovery. As long as the nodes existed, the vanished timelines would slowly reappear.


    Yan Junze turned the doorknob, opening a gap just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and then quickly slipped inside and immediately closed the door.


    The noisy commotion outside vanished the moment the door closed.


    The silence inside formed a stark contrast to the outside, causing Yan Junze¡¯s skin to immediately break out in goosebumps, and his scalp began to tingle slightly.


    From the moment he closed the door, he started the 10-minute countdown on his phone.


    Standing at the doorway, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move just yet.


    The lights in the room were on, allowing his vision to quickly sweep across most of the office.


    But the sofa was now empty; Zhang Tiantian was not lying there.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 13 - 13 - 12: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)

    Chapter 13 ¨C 12: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)


    Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to move hastily either.


    After all, according to the task prompt, as long as he stayed in the same room with Teacher Zhang Tiantian, the task would begin.


    It would be best just to stand there, keep it up for 10 minutes, no matter where Zhang Tiantian ran off to. If she could hide under the desk and not appear before him, even better.


    Of course, reality was harsh.


    Just as he was making his wishful calculations, from the far end of the office, near the window-side desk, came the rustling sound of flipping papers.


    There was Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk.


    ...


    ¡°Who¡¯s at the door?¡±


    Zhang Tiantian¡¯s voice came through.


    The sound of Yan Junze closing the door had still been heard by her.


    However, judging by her voice, it seemed that Zhang Tiantian had already returned to normal.


    ¡°Teacher Zhang, hello.¡±


    Yan Junze braced himself and answered, taking reluctant steps, slowly walking into the office, soon spotting Zhang Tiantian¡¯s petite figure sitting at the innermost row of desks by the window.


    Zhang Tiantian looked normal, as if the effects from before had completely vanished.


    ¡°Are you¡­ a student from Class 3 (5)?¡± Zhang Tiantian looked up at Yan Junze, her hands sifting through a stack of mock exam papers.


    Fortunately, at least she remembered his class, not reducing him to a mere passerby.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved. As a man, whether he liked this woman or not, it was undeniably an honor to have a beautiful woman remember him.


    Although, well, not entirely.


    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± Zhang Tiantian asked, lowering her head again, her right hand holding a red ballpoint pen while the left resumed flipping through the papers.


    ¡°The Dean of Students sent me to see how you¡¯re feeling now, Teacher Zhang,¡± Yan Junze spoke up.


    As he asked, doubts had already arisen in his mind.


    For someone who had just been carried back to the office and laid on the couch, now she was sitting here marking papers as if nothing had happened¡ªif it wasn¡¯t for her abnormality, then maybe she had amnesia!


    Zhang Tiantian didn¡¯t reply.


    In fact, after asking ¡°Is there something you need?¡± her motion of flipping the papers had gradually stiffened and she once again fell into a frozen state.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he looked down at the mobile phone in his hand, which displayed a countdown of 8 minutes and 57 seconds left. Barely over a minute had passed since he entered.


    In this situation, it was best not to draw her attention again.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to expect Zhang Tiantian to answer him. In fact, at this moment, he hoped she wouldn¡¯t speak again.


    It would be best if he became invisible before her, for this woman to completely overlook him and forget him entirely.


    Yan Junze moved slightly, stepping backward with his right foot, stealthily retreating a step to increase the distance from the desk.


    An unnerving atmosphere spread around this desk, giving him a momentary feeling as if he were dreaming, with everything becoming less real.


    Especially the unmoving Zhang Tiantian, like a statue.


    Just as he steadied himself after taking that step, Zhang Tiantian suddenly put down the papers. She didn¡¯t look up but instead, while seated, slowly turned backward in her chair to face the file cabinet behind her, her movements stiff and slow.


    During this process, as the papers were brushed by the reversed backrest of the chair, they slid aside, knocking against a pen holder, which then tipped over on the desk and quickly rolled towards the edge.


    Instinctively, Yan Junze felt the urge to step forward and steady the pen holder, but he restrained himself.


    Crash!


    The pen holder fell from the desk to the ground, breaking in two. Various pen refills, pencils, ballpoint pens, and disposable ink pens scattered across the floor, spreading beneath the desk and chairs.


    Zhang Tiantian¡¯s back seemed to pause for a moment; still seated, she suddenly bent forward, apparently picking up the scattered pens.


    Great opportunity!


    Yan Junze once again backed away quietly, seven or eight steps, getting farther and farther from the desk.


    The unsettling feeling inside him had somewhat eased, and the goosebumps on his skin had considerably reduced.


    Phew!


    Just then, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s body straightened up again, but she still faced the filing cabinet, her back to Yan Junze.


    Because her body leaned forward and then straightened back up, her curly wavy hair was already in disarray. But Zhang Tiantian did not reach out to smooth it, instead just sat there with her hair tousled, sitting motionless.


    The moment she sat up, Yan Junze trembled slightly out of fear, his stepping backward paused momentarily. When he realized there was no other movement, he resumed backing away.


    At that moment, Zhang Tiantian suddenly spoke, ¡°Student, have you seen my pen?¡±


    She¡¯s lucid again?


    Yan Junze, looking surprised, replied, ¡°No¡­ I haven¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Please help me look for it, thank you,¡± Zhang Tiantian said, her tone still seeming very stiff.


    Yan Junze felt troubled. It was hard enough to quietly move back that far, and now he was expected to go there again?


    He looked down at his phone again and at that moment fully understood the meaning of time crawling by.


    So far, only a little more than two minutes had passed.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    He verbally agreed, reluctantly returning to Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk.


    As he approached the desk, that creepy feeling once again spread throughout his body, making his scalp tingle and his limbs stiffen.


    He certainly did not want to go to the side of the desk where Zhang Tiantian was sitting to look for the pen, so he crouched down on the opposite side of the desk and realizing the view wasn¡¯t great, he kneeled down and lay flat on the ground, peeking under the desk.


    Several pens were scattered under the desk, along with half of a broken penholder.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, then asked, ¡°Teacher Zhang, which pen are you looking for? I can only pick up a few here for you, some have fallen under your chair.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want the others, I¡¯m looking for the red one,¡± Zhang Tiantian¡¯s voice was chillingly indifferent.


    ¡°The red one? But weren¡¯t you holding the red pen in your hand the entire time?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    Despite his doubts, he searched carefully and noticed that among the pens that had fallen under the desk, there were no red ones. So, he lay on the ground and peered intently under the chair where Zhang Tiantian was sitting.


    Although Zhang Tiantian was sitting with her back to him, from his angle, he could just make out the lower part of her legs below her calves.


    She was wearing a pair of shiny black high heels, and she seemed to have flesh-colored socks on because her calf muscles were exposed when she sat down due to wearing capri pants, which indeed looked somewhat attractive. Her skin on her feet was delicate, without an ounce of superfluous flesh.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze felt that the skin on Zhang Tiantian¡¯s ankles looked unnaturally white, frighteningly white.


    Soon, he saw a red pen, but it had rolled under her chair.


    ¡°Teacher Zhang, that red pen might be what you¡¯re looking for. But it¡¯s under your chair; I can¡¯t reach it from here,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Before his words had finished, bang!


    With her hair wild and tousled, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s head suddenly dangled down from the other side of the chair, her face upside down, her expression grim as she stared at Yan Junze.


    Her head was upside down, leading to a blood-rushed face. Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eyes seemed almost bulging out, with a faint presence of blood vessels.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled into a sharp shiver by this sudden scare.


    An iconic ¡°reverse hanging kill¡± seen in ghost movies from the early ¡¯90s. Yan Junze never thought he would have the opportunity to experience it firsthand. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± Zhang Tiantian asked calmly, maintaining that position.


    Yan Junze extended his index finger, suppressing the fear in his heart, and pointed to the right side of her upside-down head, ¡°There¡­ it¡¯s on your right side.¡±

 Chapter 14 - 14 - 13: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)

    Chapter 14 ¨C 13: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)


    Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)


    Following the direction of Yan Junze¡¯s pointing finger, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s upside-down head slowly turned, a mechanical motion, as she looked at the red pen.


    Then a wide-open right hand appeared from top to bottom, its finger joints bent, its skin deathly pale, slowly approaching the red pen and gently grasping it.


    Yan Junze had already stood up, rubbing his somewhat numb knees and cursing internally, ¡°Zhang Tiantian must still be possessed! Otherwise, which normal person would pick up a pen in slow motion? Just grab it, why make it so creepy!¡±


    Seizing the moment she bent to pick up the pen, Yan Junze backed away again, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and that office desk.


    It was only when he had backed up to the front of the sofa that he realized if he moved back any further, he would no longer be able to see Zhang Tiantian.


    Yan Junze glanced at his phone that he had been clutching all along¡ªit showed 5 minutes and 28 seconds remaining.


    ...


    This timeline left him speechless, leading him to suspect an issue with the timer on his phone.


    It was at this moment, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s body straightened up again. Her once lovely wavy hair was now even more disheveled, as if she were a lunatic who had escaped from an insane asylum.


    However, she was still facing away from Yan Junze, towards the filing cabinet, unmoving.


    Now that she had found the pen, Yan Junze merely hoped she would sit quietly, just like Ke¡¯er used to watch him wash his hair in silence, without causing any more trouble.


    But almost at the same time, a ¡°huh¡± sound came over.


    At first, Yan Junze thought Ke¡¯er had entered the office and quickly looked behind him, only to realize the sound had come from Zhang Tiantian¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Where is the pen?¡± Zhang Tiantian continued, ¡°Have you seen my pen?¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Yan Junze was completely at a loss for words.


    Hadn¡¯t you just picked it up? Why are you asking again?


    But this time, he had no intention of going over there again, because Zhang Tiantian¡¯s way of asking was clearly a trick to lure him back.


    That red pen must have been in her hand; of this Yan Junze was certain. She had just managed to pick it up and now she was starting to ask him again, wanting him to come over and help search for it.


    No way!


    This time, absolutely not!


    ¡°Never mind, let it be if you can¡¯t find it,¡± Zhang Tiantian¡¯s voice rose again.


    But what she said next made Yan Junze jump, ¡°Just make a cut, suck out her Essence Qi, no need to exert so much.¡±


    At the same time as those words fell, Zhang Tiantian no longer faced the direction of the filing cabinet but turned slowly in her seat.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment. He had planned to retreat to the office door where he could completely lose sight of Zhang Tiantian, but the moment she turned back, he found himself unable to take another step.


    His feet might as well have taken root, glued to the spot, his gaze fixed on the rotating chair.


    Not until Zhang Tiantian had completed her turn to face him again did Yan Junze feel a chill through his body, his scalp tightened sharply, and he felt icy all over.


    The red ballpoint pen, which Zhang Tiantian herself had just picked up, was now inserted in her right eye socket, not very deep and looking as though it could fall out at any moment.


    And Zhang Tiantian herself, although bleeding, seemed completely unaware of it.


    ¡°The Possession Spirit has started to harm its possessed victim!¡± Yan Junze immediately concluded.


    He must not let it hurt Zhang Tiantian.


    And just now, this guy even mentioned something about making an incision and sucking dry her Essence Qi.


    ¡°Troublesome?¡± Yan Junze, not knowing where he got the courage from, didn¡¯t retreat but instead stepped forward, saying, ¡°Teacher, weren¡¯t you looking for that red pen?¡±


    As he spoke, he moved closer to Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk.


    He remembered the task note had warned: Do not try to provoke it, or else the consequences would be severe. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If it was about buying time, then he should save her if he could, before this thing did irreversible harm to Zhang Tiantian. To simply watch Zhang Tiantian being toyed with to death right before his eyes was something Yan Junze simply couldn¡¯t do.


    Moreover, if something happened to Zhang Tiantian, it was very likely that he would be next.


    In just a few minutes, with the Possession Spirit¡¯s strangeness and power, it could torture Yan Junze ten times over.


    The level of Trembling with Fear was indeed not for nothing.


    Seeing Yan Junze walk back, Zhang Tiantian forced a gentle smile on her face, the corners of her mouth curving in a tempting arc, but coupled with the red pen twisted awkwardly in her eye socket, it looked unnerving.


    Blood dripped down, already staining part of her blouse and pants red.


    ¡°Yes, where is the pen? I clearly had it just now, you must find it for me! Quickly!¡±


    Yan Junze had already reached the other side of the desk, forcibly keeping calm and trying to make his tone as even as possible, ¡°Okay, teacher. I will give you the pen now, please don¡¯t move.¡±


    Zhang Tiantian showed a hint of surprise and nodded.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, the task background was very clear, ¡°As a Possession Spirit, it is very lonely. Nobody has ever cared for or cherished it, so it can¡¯t let go. Therefore, it fell in love with attachment, preferring to bask in the embrace of pure auras, slowly draining the Essence Qi of its host, and then swallowing it bit by bit.¡±


    This meant that the entity might actually be reasonable to talk to, albeit with a quirky personality. If he could just meet its demands and stall for a little while, the mission could still be accomplished.


    The main thing was, if it couldn¡¯t find the red pen now, it might start to extract Zhang Tiantian¡¯s Essence Qi.


    Try to satisfy it, do not go against it. Yan Junze made up his mind.


    Suppressing his disgust, nausea, inner resistance, trembling fingers, and the urge to run away, Yan Junze¡¯s left hand supported the desk as he raised his right hand and slowly reached for the red pen embedded in Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    It felt like a very long time before his fingers finally clasped the red ballpoint pen, while Zhang Tiantian, perfectly cooperative, didn¡¯t move at all, her other eye gazing steadily at the sweat-drenched Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt he had badly miscalculated. Because back when he was outside the office, Ke¡¯er had already scampered off his back, and the constant chill that had accompanied him was gone; he should have immediately taken off the thick sweater he was wearing.


    Now, already on edge, combined with the insulation of the thick sweater, he was truly burning up like joss paper in a coffin¡ªoverheated to the point of death.


    The cap of the pen had long since fallen off, leaving just the pen barrel clinging on.


    As Yan Junze gripped the red pen, large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, but without hesitation, he bore the fear and disgust, slowly pulling the red pen from Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye socket.


    Throughout the process, Zhang Tiantian didn¡¯t show any reaction; she didn¡¯t display the slightest pain nor did her lips even twitch.


    Unexpectedly, not much blood flowed out, and the moment the pen tip was completely extracted, a lump of sticky substance also came out with it, with a plop, landing on Zhang Tiantian¡¯s thigh.


    Yan Junze dared not look too closely, his whole right hand trembling severely now.


    The red ballpoint pen was held up in front of Zhang Tiantian¡¯s other eye.


    ¡°Wow, you found it! How did you find it?¡± Zhang Tiantian exclaimed with a joyful smile.

 Chapter 15 - 15 - 14: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)

    Chapter 15 ¨C 14: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)


    Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)


    Yan Junze knew he must be smiling awkwardly, but there was nothing he could do, he just had to try not to make Zhang Tiantian angry, satisfy her demands, and get through these last few minutes.


    ¡°Where did you find this pen?¡± Zhang Tiantian didn¡¯t take the red pen, continuing to inquire.


    ¡°Just¡­ just on you¡­ your body.¡± Yan Junze stuttered.


    ¡°Where?¡± Zhang Tiantian seemed curious, stretching her hand to her face.


    Suddenly, her slender fingers touched the wound by her right eye socket, but didn¡¯t linger. As Yan Junze watched in astonishment, her fingers reached her own eye socket and carefully, gently probed.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt like he was going to throw up.


    ...


    Glancing at the time, eight minutes had already passed. He was about to choose to back away to the office door when Zhang Tiantian¡¯s voice rang out.


    ¡°So it¡¯s already been cut open, I won¡¯t be polite then.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yan Junze suddenly paused, recalling a phrase the Possession Spirit had spoken through Zhang Tiantian¡¯s mouth: ¡°Just make an incision, drain her Essence Qi, no need to put in so much effort.¡±


    It was¡­ planning to use this wound to suck away Zhang Tiantian¡¯s Essence Qi!


    What kind of move is that!?


    Although Yan Junze was completely bewildered, this didn¡¯t prevent him from realizing at that very moment, Zhang Tiantian was in extreme danger.


    He absolutely couldn¡¯t let this creature suck away Zhang Tiantian¡¯s Essence Qi!


    ¡°Wait, the spot you¡¯re touching isn¡¯t the wound,¡± Yan Junze blurted out.


    He didn¡¯t understand why this Possession Spirit was so poorly adapted to the body it inhabited, nor why it had to create a wound on the host body to drain the other¡¯s Essence Qi.


    But now was clearly not the time to let it continue, so a very bold idea, one that would make Yan Junze unwilling to recall for the following three months, popped into his mind.


    After he spoke, the Possession Spirit visibly hesitated.


    As they say, a good opportunity is like an accidental fart, grasp it or it¡¯s gone in an instant.


    Yan Junze seized it.


    Seizing the chance, he reached out, and the red ballpoint pen returned to its original place, yes, he inserted it back into Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye socket.


    In this critical moment, realizing that the ¡°incision¡± the Possession Spirit was referring to was the wound made by the ballpoint pen, Yan Junze definitely wasn¡¯t going to let this creature continue sucking Zhang Tiantian¡¯s Essence Qi from her wound, so he had to block this ¡°incision.¡±


    And with only the pen in his hand, it wasn¡¯t an option to use his own finger.


    The index finger is very important, Yan Junze would need it for many purposes later, he couldn¡¯t waste it here, or else he¡¯d be left with psychological scars, so he used the ballpoint pen instead.


    In the nick of time, he couldn¡¯t feel whether he had inserted it too deep or too shallow, but it was blocked anyway.


    And the Possession Spirit immediately became furious, roaring through Zhang Tiantian, ¡°Where¡¯s the incision? It¡¯s gone!¡±


    Strangely, after the wound in the right eye socket was blocked, the creature couldn¡¯t relocate its precise position.


    Zhang Tiantian suddenly stood up, her face twisted, her body tensed, the veins in her neck protruding, her hands frantically scratching and searching her body, as if she had lost her most important target.


    During the search, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s screams and roars were incessant. One could easily guess that the teachers guarding the stairwell on the first floor were now silent as cicadas, staring in terror at the second floor.


    The outcome was clear, Yan Junze had still managed to enrage the Possession Spirit.


    The mission notes had been very clear, ¡°Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe.¡±


    But Yan Junze asked himself, he couldn¡¯t do that, he couldn¡¯t stand by and watch Zhang Tiantian¡¯s head being gouged open by the Possession Spirit, to have her Essence Qi completely drained while still alive.


    So, things had almost inevitably come to this point.


    Taking advantage of Zhang Tiantian¡¯s frantic search for the wound, Yan Junze suddenly ducked down, using hands and feet together, instantly drawing out his body¡¯s potential, with the speed of thunder and without hesitating, he dived under the office desk.


    This desk was right next to Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk, still very close to the frenzied Zhang Tiantian. Yan Junze had no time to think carefully because this desk was also near the window, so he immediately used the curtains as a cover and crawled under the desk in the second row next to the window, and then the third and fourth rows.


    The fourth row of desks was empty, piled with a large number of test papers and graded test booklets, and the floor in front of the desks was also stacked with many test papers from past years, some of which had grown moldy.


    This place was perfect for hiding a person¡¯s figure, and Yan Junze promptly shrunk himself into the pile of papers, ready to use the weapon of knowledge to eliminate all kinds of demons and ghosts.


    Sometime during his hiding, Zhang Tiantian¡¯s roars had stopped, and only heavy breathing could be heard. A few seconds later, even the breathing sounds gradually disappeared.


    The sound of high heels suddenly rang out, step by step coming from the direction of Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk.


    Because teachers had dress codes, the heels of these high heels were not very high. Even though the Possession Spirit inhabited Zhang Tiantian¡¯s body, it still walked steadily in them.


    The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, no longer hysterical as before; each step seemed to press down on Yan Junze¡¯s nerves.


    Soon, Yan Junze saw Zhang Tiantian¡¯s feet pass by the third row of desks, pass the sofa where she had once lain, and step by step walk towards the fourth row of desks.


    This thing walked very slowly; it hadn¡¯t found him but was searching.


    Yan Junze glanced at the time again; 9 minutes and 21 seconds had already passed.


    Even if there was an error in his phone¡¯s timer, it would not exceed 5 seconds, so the 10-minute mark was almost reached.


    Zhang Tiantian was nearing him; he could already see fresh blood dripping nonstop beside Zhang Tiantian¡¯s feet, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest, as if it had been injected with a stimulant.


    If only the office could be a little quieter, Yan Junze believed that his heartbeat might betray his hiding place.


    Those pale and delicate feet passed by the desk where Yan Junze was hiding, stopped by the window, and from this angle, Yan Junze could still see the heels of the high heels.


    At this moment, his heart was tight with nerves. If something felt wrong, he believed he would immediately activate the ¡°Rewind¡± command.


    About ten seconds passed, and Zhang Tiantian turned and walked away from the window, up to the desk where Yan Junze was hiding.


    Watching those feet stand right before his eyes, he could imagine such a scene where a head with disheveled hair might very likely look down at any moment, and most importantly, that head had a ballpoint pen stuck in it.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t bear the torment any longer; it¡¯s better to act than to be acted upon. With slight hesitation, he lifted a foot and kicked at Zhang Tiantian, who seemed already bent on looking down.


    His kick landed squarely on her ankle, and Zhang Tiantian collapsed to her knees. Yan Junze immediately pushed away the pile of test papers behind him and crawled out from the other side of the desk.


    The familiar roar sounded once again, thump, Zhang Tiantian sprang onto the desk, stepping on the thick pile of test papers, and lunged toward the fleeing Yan Junze.


    Reaching the office door, Yan Junze felt his pant leg tighten; the pouncing Zhang Tiantian had grabbed onto his pant leg, dragging him as if in a walk.


    Yan Junze was about to ¡°Rewind¡±. Turning his head for a glance, he kicked out his left leg right at the disheveled head.


    In a life-and-death moment, he couldn¡¯t care for much. If he really killed Zhang Tiantian, he might just ¡°Rewind¡± and not enter this office again or continue this mission. That should be acceptable, right?


    However, it was clear that the current Zhang Tiantian was lively and hopping, not likely to die anytime soon.


    Reaching for the door handle in haste, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of the timer on his phone, which had stopped, indicating the time was up.


    But to be safe, he decided to wait at least another 5 seconds before daring to open the office door and run out.


    As long as he was out of the office, with more people around, he would have more targets and could take the opportunity to escape in the chaos.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze felt a coldness on his calf. His pant leg had been torn, and Zhang Tiantian¡¯s hand clung tightly to his leg.


    Almost at the same time, a cold, strange, and ferocious breath rushed up his leg into his body. His strength quickly drained away, not even enough to turn the doorknob.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s going to Possess me!¡± Yan Junze nearly had his soul scared out of his body.


    The mission time was up, and yet he had never imagined that he would not be able to escape the office!


    Rewind, he must Rewind!


    Setting the Rewind time to 10 minutes and 15 seconds at the beginning made sense, as even though the 10-minute mission time was complete, there were still a few seconds of buffer time.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to activate Rewind, the office door suddenly burst open with a bang from the outside.


    S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 16 - 16 - 15: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)

    Chapter 16 ¨C 15: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)


    Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)


    The Possession Spirit was attempting to force itself into Yan Junze¡¯s body from Zhang Tiantian¡¯s when, during the process of possession, the host would temporarily become rigid.


    As a result, even though Yan Junze was holding the doorknob, he felt as if his entire body was immobilized and couldn¡¯t turn the knob.


    Meanwhile, the person outside trying to come in also found the doorknob as if it had been frozen; it simply wouldn¡¯t turn.


    Therefore, the person outside kicked the door directly. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This person was very strong, needing only one kick to send the office door lock flying off, and Yan Junze was thrown to one side by the suddenly kicked-open door, causing the Possession Spirit¡¯s attempt to enter his body to fail.


    A cold breath once again returned inside Zhang Tiantian.


    ...


    Zhang Tiantian, who had been laying down like a mummy, stood up rigidly and lunged toward the man in white who had kicked open the door.


    Bang!


    Visible ripples spread out, and the button disappeared.


    The energy from these ripples had already surged into Zhang Tiantian¡¯s body; following that, a white breath was forced out of her body by the translucent ripples, pushed back in front of the fourth row of desks.


    In front of the desk, a pile of test papers burst apart with a puff, revealing the true form of the white entity, a lean creature covered with white fur.


    If this thing stood still it would resemble a white, moldy stick.


    However, at this moment, the ¡°stick¡± was trembling continuously, emitting a wheezing sound like a wounded animal, as if it could dissipate at any moment.


    Whoosh!


    The limbs of the Possession Spirit suddenly folded quickly, moving through the desk to reach the window. Right under Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, it forcefully squeezed itself into the gap in the window, escaping to the outside.


    ¡°It¡¯s running away!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but shout.


    ¡°I can¡¯t kill it,¡± shrugged the man in white, showing no intention of chasing after it, but instead crouched down to look at Yan Junze lying on the ground, ¡°Are you a student? What are you doing in the office?¡±


    Yan Junze was certain that this guy was probably the Exorcist.


    When supernatural events occurred at the school, they needed no queue to handle; these Exorcists really ran fast, arriving at the scene within ten minutes.


    ¡°It was Teacher Zhang¡­ Teacher Zhang asked me to bring¡­ the test papers over,¡± Yan Junze got up, noticed he¡¯d only torn his pants and hadn¡¯t been injured, and pointed towards Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk.


    On the desk, there was a stack of test papers that Zhang Tiantian had just been marking.


    The man in white said nothing, stood up, walked over to the unconscious Zhang Tiantian, checked for her breathing with his hand, and then walked out of the office.


    After a short while, he returned, and the sound of numerous footsteps could be heard at the staircase. Clearly, Principal Jiang, Director Shen, and other teachers had received the news and were swarming up.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky,¡± the man in white told Yan Junze to rest on the couch, ¡°If I had arrived a bit later, it would have entered your body.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than people from the school flooded into the office.


    Principal Jiang¡¯s face was etched with panic, as he looked at Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground, horror struck by the ballpoint pen lodged in her eye socket, then his gaze shifted to the man in white and his very own student, Yan Junze, and his anxious expression turned to one of confusion.


    ¡°Teacher Zhang asked me to bring the test papers over,¡± Yan Junze took the initiative to speak, ¡°Just now¡­ just now she suddenly went crazy and almost¡­ killed me.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Yan Junze?!¡± A plump middle-aged, greasy-looking male teacher stepped forward, staring at Yan Junze with a shock that could not hide his concern.


    This was Teacher Xiang Decai of Senior Three (5) class; he had been focusing on Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground and had not noticed Yan Junze was also in the office.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine now, just scared,¡± the man in white answered for Yan Junze and patted Junze¡¯s shoulder, pointing to Zhang Tiantian on the floor and saying, ¡°Don¡¯t move her, being possessed by a Possession Spirit for more than fifteen minutes, she will be completely delirious even if she wakes up, and whether she can recover is still uncertain.¡±


    ¡°Ah! What should we do?¡± Principal Jiang became agitated, momentarily forgetting about Yan Junze¡¯s presence.


    ¡°We will have someone come to take her away in a while, and notify her family,¡± the man in white said calmly, walking towards Zhang Tiantian¡¯s desk while explaining, ¡°In the past month, over thirty people in Shuntian City have been mentally affected due to Possession Spirit invasions, averaging about one person a day. We have a specialized recovery facility to offer them a chance of recovery, so don¡¯t worry too much.¡±


    As he spoke, the man in white casually flipped through the test papers, now scattered across the desk, and picked up Zhang Tiantian¡¯s cellphone.


    He then lifted the receiver from the desk phone, pressed a button, listened for a moment, and hung up.


    The following events were no longer Yan Junze¡¯s concern. Around five minutes later, he walked out of the office with Teacher Xiang¡¯s support, sat for a while in the security office, and drank a cup of hot water.


    Teacher Xiang was indeed very concerned about his student, bombarding Yan Junze with questions, fearing any issue with his health, but his habit of smoking and drinking all year round made it rather unbearable for Yan Junze.


    After sitting in the security office for about five minutes, Yan Junze felt like he was about to throw up.


    At that moment, an Ikewei car drove out from the direction of the school office building and passed by the security office; Yan Junze saw quite clearly that the exorcist in the white suit was sitting in the co-driver¡¯s seat.


    Zhang Tiantian, who had fallen into a coma, was surely in the back of the car. Poor Zhang Tiantian, having suffered such a fate, it was unknown how long her mental disarray would last.


    Yan Junze was still hoping that the moment he had blocked the injury to her eye had not caused too much damage.


    ¡°Teacher Xiang, I¡¯m fine now; I can go home by myself,¡± Yan Junze stood up, ready to leave.


    Teacher Xiang said, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange something for you tomorrow. When you come to school, Teacher Sun will provide you with psychological counseling. The incident is over, and the college entrance exam is imminent; make sure not to feel any pressure.¡±


    ¡°Mm, thank you, teacher,¡± Yan Junze bowed, feeling that even the overpowering halitosis couldn¡¯t conceal Teacher Xiang¡¯s care and affection for his students.


    Once out of the school, Yan Junze wiped the sweat from his forehead vigorously and realized he had forgotten to take off his sweater.


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt a tight sensation around his legs, and immediately someone climbed onto his back with practiced ease, then remained still.


    A chill spread out, penetratingly cold, uplifting the spirit.


    Ke¡¯er, who had been unaccounted for until now, finally returned.

 Chapter 17 - 17 - 16 Recording Video

    Chapter 17 ¨C 16 Recording Video


    Chapter 17: Chapter 16 Recording Video


    The thick sweater didn¡¯t need to be removed, but the intense 10 minutes just now had already soaked his underwear with sweat. Now that Ke¡¯er was attached to him, it made Yan Junze feel even chillier.


    He didn¡¯t think about anything else and hurried home. If he didn¡¯t take a bath and change his underwear immediately, he was sure to catch a cold.


    Although his body was quite young, it was still somewhat skinny, not like Zhou Dali¡¯s build.


    On the way, he checked the tasks released by the Spacetime Atlas through Inner Vision.


    The task ¡°[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian]¡± had been completed smoothly, and he hadn¡¯t initiated a Rewind. The Rewind line that lasted for about 10 minutes had lit up again.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment. If the Rewind was just set but not initiated, then there would be no consumption issue. Therefore, that timeline was essentially ¡°reclaimed¡± and could be used again.


    ...


    He also looked at the 500 points of Different Dimension Energy he had just received. Together with the 100 points from the ¡°[Washing Hair]¡± task, Yan Junze now had 600 points of energy.


    According to the conversion that 100 points of energy could Rewind about 10 minutes of time, the Rewind lines in the Spacetime Atlas could currently Rewind approximately 60 minutes in total, and 7 nodes had lit up.


    The length of the timeline between nodes was not constant. Moreover, the seventh node was larger and brighter than the others.


    A line of small text floated above that node. Yan Junze looked at it and saw it read: ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± successfully initiated.


    Which means that the node had unlocked a feature of the Atlas, and now he might be able to directly perceive the existence of certain strange events.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to try it out for now. In fact, he was puzzled. Earning 100 points from the ¡°[Washing Hair]¡± task was understandable as he helped Ke¡¯er eliminate her Obsession, but in the task of ¡°[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian], not only did he not help the Possession Spirit, he had actually foiled its plans.


    Yet under such circumstances, why did he still receive 500 points of energy?


    With this question, Yan Junze entered the FH Community, went up to the fourth floor, and came to his front door. He took out his keys and opened the door.


    As soon as he entered the house, he thought of something. Ke¡¯er¡¯s Obsession was washing hair; it was evident from the name of the task. This Obsession might be clear to Ke¡¯er, or she might not be aware of it herself.


    And the name of the Possession Spirit¡¯s task was ¡°[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian].¡± Could it be that the Possession Spirit¡¯s Obsession was actually to have someone spend more time with it, no matter the method, no matter what they were doing?


    Perhaps the Possession Spirit wasn¡¯t even aware of this Obsession.


    As long as the Obsession was resolved, whether actively or passively, consciously or unconsciously, it counted as completing the task.


    Now understanding this point, Yan Junze had found a new set of underwear and was making his way into the bathroom.


    Feeling refreshed after the bath, but just as he suspected, Ke¡¯er had been clinging onto him the whole time. Whether he was washing his hair, or scrubbing on body wash.


    During the hair-washing, the little one got suddenly excited, squirming her body onto his shoulder, and then constantly making ¡°eh¡± sounds, shaking her little head from side to side, clearly treating Yan Junze¡¯s head as a piece of artwork.


    As dusk approached, his parents came home from work.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide anything and told Yan Daguo and Li Man about the incident at school that day, but he didn¡¯t mention anything about entering Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office.


    The couple were very concerned and asked him a series of questions. Yan Junze just said that he came home quickly, hearing that the Exorcist had rushed to the school to deal with the issues, and he should be able to continue classes the following day.


    It was apparent that Yan Daguo and Li Man were much relieved, as the strangeness in the bathroom seemed to have truly disappeared. This meant a large sum of money could be saved, and the problem that affected Yan Junze¡¯s studies and daily mental stress was removed.


    In the end, for families like the Yan Family, the biggest concerns were financial. As for strange events, they would avoid them if possible, and only think of other extreme measures when they were unavoidable.


    Since it was an irregular school dismissal, there were no homework assignments, so Yan Junze casually reviewed some material before lying down on his bed early, preparing to rest sooner than usual today.


    He¡¯d barely lain down when his eyes suddenly shot open, and he blurted out, ¡°Damn it.¡±


    His phone on the bedside table, which was charging, chimed with the sound of a text message. He picked it up to see it was from Zhou Dali, containing only a resentful sentence: I freaking waited for you at the internet cafe for four hours, couldn¡¯t reach you by phone, now I won¡¯t say anything else, I hate you!


    ¡°This tone, why does it feel like you¡¯re blowing me off on a date?¡± Yan Junze shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    After completing the task, he¡¯d clearly been scared and in a rush to get home for a shower and a change of clothes¡ªhe had indeed forgotten about Zhou Dali at the internet cafe.


    He replied with a message: Sorry, bro. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll present you with an exciting story of ¡°My indescribable ten minutes with Teacher Zhang Tiantian¡± as compensation, absolutely thrilling!


    He had barely sent the message when his phone rang within seconds.


    After picking up the call, Zhou Dali¡¯s voice, barely containing his excitement, came from the other end, ¡°Holy shit, dude, what did you guys do in the office? Spill it, I can¡¯t wait till tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice was calm, ¡°Just running everywhere in the office while she chased me and by the way, she was invaded by a Possession Spirit. She¡¯s currently at the exorcist organization¡¯s sanatorium.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t be able to teach classes?¡± Zhou Dali asked, surprised.


    ¡°They say she¡¯s mentally disturbed, so she probably won¡¯t be able to for a short period,¡± Yan Junze answered.


    ¡°What a shame,¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s concern was obviously not in line with Yan Junze¡¯s; he was thinking about when he¡¯d be able to see Zhang Tiantian again.


    After expressing his regret for a while, Zhou Dali added, ¡°I thought you recorded a video of you and Zhang Tiantian in the office and planned to show it to me tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°No, it was dangerous; who had the mood to¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze suddenly paused, a thought that had never occurred to him popping into his mind. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, why did you go into her office?¡± It was only now that Zhou Dali realized this question.


    But Yan Junze had already hung up the phone.


    Sitting up, he opened the ¡°Just Search It¡± app on his phone and began searching with a purpose.


    The most popular platform for strangenesses in the entire Great Capital of Huaying is named ¡°Open Your Eyes,¡± where ¡°eye¡± doesn¡¯t mean the organ, but represents the ¡°camera lens.¡±


    This means encouraging netizens to use their cameras to capture their encounters with the strange and then upload them to the platform to gain a large following and attention. Of course, there are various rewards too.


    One can even live stream strange events on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform, bringing intense visual and psychological thrills to the audience through live broadcasting.


    Yan Junze was thinking about recording the videos of his tasks and uploading them, but he did not plan to do it live because the direction and level of danger of the tasks were unpredictable, and without certainty, he was not willing to take the risk.


    If he could gain a certain fan base through his uploaded videos, that wouldn¡¯t be too bad. At least, as it seemed right now, some high-quality strange videos had over ten million views. As long as the view count reached over 500,000, it was considered trending.


    After browsing the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform for a while, Yan Junze immediately registered an account, planning to record the entirety of his next task, ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night,¡± and then upload it to the platform.


    Of course, he had no such plans for tonight; he was simply too tired. After registering the account, he immediately went to bed. Even at two in the morning, when the old lady from upstairs came down to knock on his door, he somehow didn¡¯t hear it.

 Chapter 18 - 18 - 17 Activate Mission Perception

    Chapter 18 ¨C 17 Activate Mission Perception


    Chapter 18: Chapter 17 Activate Mission Perception


    ¡°`


    After waking up in the morning, Yan Junze thought about it and felt that his nerves had indeed been getting thicker and less sensitive. He was well aware that the terrifying old woman upstairs would come knocking at two in the morning, yet he managed to sleep soundly through it.


    However, becoming braver was a good thing, after all. In the future, when he completed tasks, he at least wouldn¡¯t feel so timid, which could affect his performance.


    Yan Daguo got up early in the morning and seriously inspected the bathroom door, searching but still not finding any trace of the red-dressed girl. The couple¡¯s worries diminished even more.


    Li Man wasn¡¯t working that morning, and as usual, she cooked a bowl of scallion noodles for Yan Junze before taking her basket and rushing to the vegetable market to buy some fresh vegetables.


    After finishing his noodles, Yan Junze checked the time and saw it was still early. At the moment, Ke¡¯er was also lying quietly on him, not moving an inch.


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    He accessed the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and looked at the seven lit-up nodes.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of satisfaction.


    If every task could be completed smoothly, he felt that lighting up the entire Spacetime Atlas wouldn¡¯t be such a difficult task.


    As for the strangenesses Yan Junze had encountered so far, it seemed they differed in levels. For instance, a Wandering Spirit like Ke¡¯er should be considered on the lower end of the spectrum.


    And like the Possession Spirit from yesterday, it definitely ranked higher than Ke¡¯er, otherwise Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have proactively left him outside the office.


    Of course, the insufficient friendship level between Ke¡¯er and Yan Junze was also one of the reasons for her departure.


    Yan Junze speculated that the old woman in the ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± task was probably not high-level either, or else the task level wouldn¡¯t just be Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), which was not as high as the level of the task ¡°Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian.¡±


    Sitting in the living room and pondering for a while, and since it wasn¡¯t time to go to school yet, Yan Junze decided to try out the ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± feature of the seventh node.


    The words ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± only appeared above the seventh node, meaning that Different Dimension Energy had to reach this point to be able to activate the feature.


    But Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure how much energy would be consumed by activating it once, as long as it didn¡¯t deplete the energy from all seven nodes.


    The moment he thought this, the seventh node that was originally lit went out abruptly.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t perceive how much energy radiated out with him as the center at that moment, but his head suddenly jolted as if ripples had spread on a calm sea surface.


    In less than a minute, a stream of information converged towards him, soon presenting itself in his mind.


    [Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional spatial frequency band, decoding in progress¡­]


    [Coordinates determined: FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.]


    [Mission Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);


    Mission Background: Neighbor Granny Ren has been troubled lately because her children haven¡¯t visited her in a long time. She deeply misses them, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. But Granny Ren can no longer tell them that. Can you help her?


    Mission Description: Open the door for Granny Ren when she knocks at two in the morning;


    Mission Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Unknown;


    Mission Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be kept out by locks; 2. There is a branch mission waiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    This was the first mission Yan Junze had detected and one he was preparing to embark on next.


    But other words were still converging, quickly forming a second detected mission.


    [Coordinates determined: In the garden of Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area, near the electric fountain.]


    [Mission Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    ¡°`


    Mission Level: Trembling With Fear (Medium);


    Mission Background: On a night of the full moon, Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years. From the night of the promise up until the next morning, her body was not found until it was fished out of a short-circuited fountain. Yet that person never appeared. Fang Ning was beautiful, but the electrocution burned her for so long that her body underwent metalization; clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues melted together. Still, she continues to wait for that promised moment. As long as someone is willing to stand back to back with her and join hands, to promise eternity under the moonlight.


    Mission Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Mission Reward: 800 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit can be put under Lockdown; 2. The mission must be carried out on a clear and moonlit night;


    Remarks: No matter what she says, just try saying ¡°no.¡±]


    Looking at the mission level marked Trembling With Fear (Medium), Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue. This was damn difficult. Even [Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian] was only rated as Trembling With Fear (Low), and had it not been for the Rewind activation, or if the exorcist hadn¡¯t arrived at the last moment, he would have surely been dead by now.


    FH Community is right next to the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area where he lived. Although it was also an older residential community, the facilities were still quite complete.


    It was just that Yan Junze never expected that such a terrifying accident had occurred in the Flowery Paradise Garden¡¯s electrical fountain.


    Moreover, this Spacetime Atlas was too intelligent; you had to admit, the final remark about the mission was very specific, very vivid, and also very speechless.


    He then looked at the third mission.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Jianye Building Basement Floor 004 Storage Room.]


    [Mission Name: Peeking from the Crack in the Wall;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Mission Background: His fate was tragic, with a wife lost and children scattered. His name was synonymous with loneliness, destined to never catch anyone¡¯s attention in his life. Most unfortunate of all, after an accidental incident, people forgot him in the corner. Yes, he is still there, hidden in the deepest part of the building.


    Mission Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Mission Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become a substitute, trading for his freedom;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be put under Lockdown; he is already pitiable, please let him go; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Remarks: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    The mission level was Anxiety-Inducing (High), not yet reaching the severity of Trembling With Fear. Yan Junze felt slightly relieved.


    But as it appeared, completing these missions wasn¡¯t as easy as imagined. Compared to his first [Hair Washing] mission, it almost seemed like a beginner¡¯s boon.


    At that moment, he felt the Ke¡¯er lying on his back seemed somehow more pleasing to the eye.


    After being reborn, Yan Junze had scouted the vicinity thoroughly; he knew the location of Jianye Building very well, right across the street from his FH Community residence.


    However, it seemed that there was security in the building, and getting in and reaching the basement floor was not so easy.


    Looking at this, after having activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events,¡± the detection distance covered was mostly near his residential area, so the consumption of Different Dimension Energy wasn¡¯t too significant.


    Although one node had gone out, the timeline segment was still lit. Considering its slow recovery rate, even if Yan Junze stopped absorbing energy into the Spacetime Atlas, the 7th node could also recover on its own.


    As he was contemplating, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up because the detection information that had not yet completely disappeared from his mind once again transmitted a text prompt.


    [Detected new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Spatial Waveband, analyzing¡­]


    The moment the mission appeared, Yan Junze¡¯s brain went ¡®boom,¡¯ and he plunged into a momentary blank.

 Chapter 19 - 19 - 18: The Highest Level Task at Present

    Chapter 19 ¨C 18: The Highest Level Task at Present


    Chapter 19: Chapter 18: The Highest Level Task at Present


    The latest detected mission was clearly one that had just appeared, and it was very close to Yan Junze¡¯s home.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Building No. 5, FH Community.]


    [Mission name: Look at Her Face;


    Mission level: Hair-raising (low);


    Mission background: None.


    Mission description: Look at her face and ask her what she needs;


    ...


    Mission reward: 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission punishment: Unknown;


    Mission hints: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot in one¡¯s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot comprehend how terrifying a crazy woman can be.]


    ¡°Hair-raising!!!¡±


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen a mission level identified as ¡°hair-raising.¡±


    As of now, it seemed that horror levels ranked from Anxiety-Inducing to Trembling with Fear, and then to Hair-raising, with higher levels beyond that being unknown.


    [Look at Her Face], this mission was definitely the one with the highest difficulty coefficient among all the missions Yan Junze had encountered so far.


    If completed, just the reward of Different Dimension Energy alone reached an astounding 1000 points.


    However, this mission had no background description. Moreover, why was it called ¡°Look at Her Face¡±? Could her face be difficult to look at, or impossible to see?


    Additionally, the mission was located within FH Community itself. His home was in Building No. 7, while Building No. 5 was right next door. To leave the community without taking the road opposite, one had to pass by Building No. 5.


    At this moment, the words ¡°Perception of Strange Events completed¡± emerged again in Yan Junze¡¯s mind. Please note that known events have been designated current levels, which may have a certain probability of rising or falling over time.


    Up to this point, the ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± function had finally been fully released, and besides [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night], it provided feedback to Yan Junze on three other strange events.


    The last reminder in the text was very important¡ªmeaning that if Yan Junze did not choose to complete these missions at the moment, the levels of certain tasks could increase or decrease as time went by.


    If the level increased, the difficulty of completing the task would grow even greater for Yan Junze.


    ¡°It seems to be urging me to finish quickly,¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    No sooner had he spoken than the living room door opened, and his mother, Li Man, hurried in with an empty basket. She closed the door behind her, put down the basket, changed into slippers, and sat down on the sofa, her face pale.


    Her series of actions were clearly abnormal, and she had actually returned home carrying an empty basket.


    Yan Junze observed that his mother¡¯s complexion was indeed off. He calculated the time and realized that Li Man had been gone for less than ten minutes, a duration insufficient for reaching the market. So why had she run back home alone?


    ¡°Mom, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Son.¡± Li Man came back to her senses, apparently organizing her words. After pausing for a few seconds, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t go near Building No. 5 for the time being. There¡¯s¡­ strangeness happening there again.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself that [Look at Her Face] had been discovered so quickly, and during the daytime no less.


    Under normal circumstances, strange events tend to occur most frequently at night. Cases like broad daylight or early morning are indeed rare.


    That¡¯s why Spacetime Atlas classified the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task as ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± in terms of horror level.


    Before Yan Junze could ask further, Li Man continued, ¡°Auntie Zhao who lives in Building No. 5 has just been taken to the hospital. I personally¡­ personally saw her bleeding from all seven apertures; she was unconscious when they lifted her into the ambulance.¡±


    ¡°Did you call the police?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°We did, but they said they had to put us in line, couldn¡¯t prioritize it as a special case,¡± replied Li Man with visible concern.


    Seeing her still anxious, Yan Junze asked uneasily, ¡°Mom, did you also see that thing? What was it?¡±


    ¡°A woman wearing a white short-sleeve top and white shorts¡­¡± Li Man couldn¡¯t help shivering as she spoke, ¡°There were many onlookers who saw her, but that woman disappeared quickly at the stairwell corner, and now all the residents of Building No. 5 are in a state of panic. When I came up just now, I saw some people already packing up to leave.¡±


    ¡°Did you see this woman¡¯s¡­ face?¡± Yan Junze asked cautiously.


    ¡°No.¡± Li Man looked up at him with a hint of surprise and shook her head, ¡°According to the neighbors from Building No. 5, the woman initially appeared at the first-floor stairwell of Building No. 5, but she was facing away from everyone, facing the wall at the foot of the stairs.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman, this woman must be the Back-faced Woman mentioned in the task.


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine, his skin crawling with unease.


    The horror level was classified as ¡°hair-raising (low)¡±, and although the Back-faced Woman¡¯s task was very close to him, he currently had no desire to engage with this woman.


    He would consider it only after completing a few other tasks, collecting more Different Dimension Energy, and ensuring he had enough to Rewind safely.


    Of course, that was assuming the task level of the Back-faced Woman did not escalate over time and that an Exorcist had not eliminated her.


    ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you going to school? You¡¯re going to be late,¡± Li Man suddenly realized, urging repeatedly.


    Yan Junze immediately grabbed his backpack, and Li Man exited the house with him, descending the stairs.


    They did not take the nearest way out of the community because that would have taken them past Building No. 5; instead, they chose to pass by the adjacent Building No. 4.


    Along the way, Yan Junze glanced in the direction of Building No. 5 and noticed people still leaving in a panic, but there was no sign of the Back-faced Woman.


    After leaving the community and telling his mom to be careful, mother and son parted ways at the street corner, with Li Man heading to the market and Yan Junze to school.


    The incident in Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office the day before had apparently been kept under wraps, known only to the teachers who were present at the school at that time and Zhou Dali; the other students were unaware of it.


    Zhou Dali was tight-lipped and hadn¡¯t spread the word. Seeing Yan Junze panting as he rushed into the classroom, he gave him a knowing wink.


    Yan Junze sat down next to him, and Dali immediately asked, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay? Were you scratched by Teacher Zhang who got possessed?¡±


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and said, ¡°Come, let me give you a detailed description of Teacher Zhang¡¯s face, poked blind with a ballpoint pen, and see if you can dream of her tonight.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh, too bad, class is starting,¡± Dali laughed awkwardly, pointing to Xiang Decai who was entering the classroom.


    But this class wasn¡¯t taught by the form teacher.


    Xiang Decai stood at the classroom door, quickly locked his gaze on Yan Junze, and gestured, ¡°Yan Junze, come with me for a moment, someone is looking for you.¡±


    Yan Junze stood up and looked disdainfully at Zhou Dali, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you aren¡¯t afraid of anything, except for strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± Zhou Dali retorted with a roll of his eyes.

 Chapter 20 - 20 - 19: A One-Star Exorcist

    Chapter 20 ¨C 19: A One-Star Exorcist


    Chapter 20: Chapter 19: A One-Star Exorcist


    The Language Arts office had a total of four teachers, but after Xiang Decai called Yan Junze into the office, the others who had classes went to teach, and those who did not also had the good sense to leave.


    Xiang Decai didn¡¯t enter the office either, and after Yan Junze went in, he closed the door from the outside.


    Yet the moment Yan Junze entered the office, his expression faltered, feeling Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back, twist quickly and slide down.


    Glancing back, he saw Ke¡¯er, dressed in red, had already passed through the recently closed door and left him.


    Turning his head back, inside the office, a short man in a familiar-looking white suit sat in a chair, his gaze fixed on the window, as if lost in thought.


    The breeze outside gently brushed the green-leaved branches, causing them to sway with the wind, as the morning sunlight spread across the windowsill.


    ...


    At this moment, it felt as if the world outside, buzzing with strangenesses, was far removed from him.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you,¡± Yan Junze recognized the man in white; it was the exorcist who had suddenly appeared yesterday and subdued the Possession Spirit.


    The man in white swiveled around in his chair, smiling at him, ¡°Hello, let me introduce myself, I¡¯m Huang Chen. ¡®Chen¡¯ as in ¡®Wu¡¯an libu bu si, ru gui yu wei chen¡¯ from Du Fu.¡±


    This poem was from Du Fu.


    Yan Junze had already figured out that some things in this world were exactly the same as on Earth, some were completely different, and others simply had different names. Hence, Du Fu could exist here, as could Michelangelo, but everything had changed quite a bit after the modern era.


    Just like if a river crab emerged from the water and stared you down, daring you to be impertinent, a single clamp from it could silence the whole world.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Exorcist,¡± Yan Junze was very reserved. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The exorcist¡¯s decision to meet him after the incident with Zhang Tiantian gave Yan Junze an uneasy premonition.


    ¡°Just call me Huang Chen,¡± Huang Chen stood up and extended his hand towards Yan Junze, appearing very friendly.


    Yan Junze reached out to shake his hand and noticed that Huang Chen¡¯s suit buttons were all in place. He remembered that yesterday this man had torn a button off his suit and thrown it at the possessed Zhang Tiantian, causing an explosion of energy that forced the Possession Spirit out of Zhang Tiantian¡¯s body.


    Huang Chen, noticing Yan Junze¡¯s gaze, laughed it off, ¡°This is a Hidden Buckle, a product of the Exorcist organization, specially used for eliminating strangenesses. However, it is forbidden to circulate it to the public, and there would be severe consequences if discovered.¡±


    ¡°Is it very expensive?¡± Yan Junze clicked his tongue and withdrew his gaze.


    ¡°Not expensive, but rare,¡± Huang Chen pointed at a chair nearby, inviting Yan Junze to sit down.


    Before Yan Junze even touched the chair, Huang Chen added, ¡°Tell me, why did you enter Teacher Zhang¡¯s office?¡±


    Yan Junze paused and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Huang Chen revealed a smile, pulling a cellphone out of his pocket, which Yan Junze recognized as Zhang Tiantian¡¯s phone.


    ¡°This is your Teacher Zhang¡¯s phone; I¡¯ve checked the call logs, and there were no calls made to you, nor any texts sent to you,¡± Huang Chen said confidently, as if he controlled everything, ¡°I also checked the office¡¯s landline, and no numbers were dialed during that time period.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Huang Chen stated the purpose of calling Yan Junze over, ¡°What method did Teacher Zhang Tiantian use to ask you to bring the test papers to her office? What were you doing in her office? You already knew she was possessed, so why did you go in there alone?¡±


    After making these remarks, Huang Chen¡¯s eyes pierced into Yan Junze¡¯s, trying to see whether he would lie.


    Confident in his deductions, Huang Chen had always placed a great deal of trust in his own reasoning¡ªa mysteriously unfounded confidence.


    Even sometimes, Huang Chen thought that being an outstanding detective was countless times better than being an exorcist, if only the times had been different.


    However, Yan Junze was just stunned for two seconds. He didn¡¯t seem to overthink it and shattered Detective Huang¡¯s mysterious confidence into pieces with a single sentence.


    ¡°Teacher Zhang told me before class, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can go ask her.¡±


    Huang Chen¡¯s expression instantly stiffened, followed by a twitching at the corners of his mouth.


    Yes, damn it, I was just thinking about checking the phone, but couldn¡¯t she have just spoken face to face before the possession spirit erupted?


    Miscalculation!


    And how could he ask Zhang Tiantian? That woman was still going crazy in the sanatorium.


    Huang Chen¡¯s facial expressions changed four or five times within a few seconds, then he tried to squeeze out a smile: ¡°I was just¡­ casually asking. You know, some kids just love to flock to strangenesses and even take it upon themselves to record things everywhere, then upload it online, without realizing how dangerous that is. For some strangenesses, even if we get there, we can¡¯t deal with it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I understand, I won¡¯t do that. I¡¯m still a student, and I love studying so much, I never go out to play after school,¡± Yan Junze nodded ¡°obediently.¡±


    Although Huang Chen smiled awkwardly and Junze didn¡¯t seem to be lying to him, Huang Chen still had a feeling that something was off.


    ¡°Mr. Huang Chen, I¡¯ve always been very curious about something. Can exorcists directly see those strangenesses that deliberately hide themselves?¡± Yan Junze took the opportunity to ask.


    ¡°I can¡¯t yet, but three-star exorcists can,¡± Huang Chen shook his head.


    ¡°Then how many stars are you?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°One star,¡± Huang Chen stood up, realizing that since his speculation was wrong, there was no point in continuing the investigation. ¡°Go to class! Your studies are important, but so is your health. Eat more nourishing food and don¡¯t dress like a zongzi.¡±


    Yan Junze felt these people had a deep obsession with zongzi, and he mentally sneered. If he had known, Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have needed to scurry outside to hide.


    However, in another way of looking at it, Ke¡¯er¡¯s alertness was quite strong. At least she knew that the person sitting in the room was a threat to her and would react immediately.


    After leaving the office, the class teacher Xiang Decai was waiting outside the door, but they were sensible and didn¡¯t ask anything. Normally, exorcists would choose to inquire about the people who had experienced spiritual encounters, which was also a standard procedure.


    After Huang Chen left, as soon as Yan Junze stepped out into the corridor, Ke¡¯er emerged from nowhere, very adeptly climbed onto his back.


    Then, Yan Junze said something that, if Huang Chen had heard it, he definitely would have been able to spew out an old blood.


    ¡°Actually, you didn¡¯t need to hide; as long as you wanted, that person wouldn¡¯t have noticed you. He¡¯s just a one-star exorcist, pretty lousy.¡±


    Back in the classroom, he told Zhou Dali about registering an account on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform.


    Zhou Dali was very supportive, but his words were evasive, obviously afraid of Yan Junze dragging him into some so-called adventure with strangenesses.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Yan Junze patted his shoulder to comfort him, ¡°I¡¯ll try recording a broadcast myself first. If there are fans and some income, next time I¡¯ll definitely include you.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯ll be an audience member first and help pep up your show,¡± Zhou Dali quickly changed the subject, ¡°What¡¯s your account name?¡±


    ¡°Night Traveling Puppy.¡±

 Chapter 21 - 21 - 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)

    Chapter 21 ¨C 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)


    Chapter 21: Chapter 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)


    Just as Xiang Decai had said, at noon, he arranged an hour of private psychological counseling for Yan Junze.


    The psychologist, Teacher Sun, was over fifty, with graying hair and a deep voice, speaking in an orderly manner.


    It was impossible to tell if the counseling was effective or not, but Yan Junze, listening to that deep voice, felt drowsy and eventually fell asleep, failing to hear clearly what Teacher Sun actually talked about.


    When he woke up, an hour and a half had passed. After coming to his senses, Yan Junze first panicked, then calmed down, as he noticed that Teacher Sun, sitting opposite him, was sleeping even more soundly than him, the rhythm of his snoring quite catchy.


    Being able to put oneself to sleep during a counseling session was no small feat indeed.


    In order not to disturb the teacher¡¯s sweet dreams, Yan Junze yawned and tiptoed out of the counseling room.


    ...


    Once the day¡¯s classes were over, Zhou Dali surprisingly ran off and disappeared just as they ended.


    Yan Junze knew this guy was afraid of being dragged along by him to tackle those frightening events.


    However, online there were indeed some groups specializing in filming these supernatural videos and gaining a large following by uploading them to platforms.


    When he got home, his parents weren¡¯t back yet.


    Yan Junze had paid special attention to Building 5 on his way home and noticed a temporary sign had been erected stating: ¡°This building is haunted, please do not stay alone inside. Residents on the 5th floor must lock their doors and windows as soon as they get home. If you see a thin woman with disheveled hair standing facing the wall, keep silent and leave immediately.¡±


    After quickly finishing his homework, Yan Junze leaned against the window, observing the comings and goings of Building 5.


    Occasionally, he could see two or three people exiting the building, with hurried expressions, glancing back at Building 5, looking very shaken.


    Yan Junze decided that he would resolve ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± tonight and, once he had enough energy points, he would definitely consider the Back-faced Woman of Building 5.


    He had been charging his phone continuously, planning to use it to film the night¡¯s task, and after completing the task, he¡¯d edit the footage and upload the final video to the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform.


    If he could really earn money, he would consider buying a portable camera that could be mounted on the shoulder or chest.


    Late in the evening, his parents came home one after another.


    After hearing Li Man¡¯s report, Yan Daguo¡¯s face also looked gloomy; it seemed that supernatural incidents in this older neighborhood were all too common.


    Even though the red-dressed little girl had disappeared, the issue of someone knocking at the door all night had still not been resolved.


    Not only were the knocking incidents continuing, but now Building 5 nearby was the source of even more terrifying strangeness. Life was becoming unbearable. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During dinner, the couple couldn¡¯t help but give Yan Junze a stern warning. Activities like going out for a walk in the evening were strictly forbidden.


    In fact, since the outbreak of the supernatural events, the streets of Shuntian City had become very quiet at night. Without important reasons, no one had the mood or the courage to go out.


    To conserve his energy, Yan Junze climbed into bed at half-past eight. However, after having a face-to-face sleep with Teacher Sun, who was actually an outstanding hypnotist under the guise of a psychologist at noon, he couldn¡¯t fall asleep easily. He finally managed to doze off just after eleven o¡¯clock.


    At half-past one in the morning, his phone alarm went off. The alarm volume was so low Yan Junze had set it that he almost failed to wake up.


    After getting dressed, he checked his phone to ensure the battery was fully charged.


    This phone was a Great Capital model made entirely in Huaying, with excellent video quality. There was a slight blurriness in low light conditions, but it was still quite good. The battery was also durable. Yan Junze secured it with a blue strap taken from his student ID, hanging it around his neck with one end of the phone tucked into the pocket on his chest, leaving the camera exposed for filming.


    Even before heading home in the afternoon, he had recorded his first video with his cellphone, which looked something like this.


    Sitting at his desk, Yan Junze faced the camera, displaying the grief-stricken expression as if he had lost his parents, his child had gone missing, and his wife had been abducted, and he solemnly stated, ¡°There¡¯s someone who knocks on my door at two o¡¯clock every night, without fail, so tonight, I¡¯ve decided to open the door when ¡®this person¡¯ knocks, to see what it really wants. I¡¯ll be alone throughout the process, and I¡¯ll record the whole thing. If I don¡¯t upload this video, whoever finds this phone must upload it for me. Uh, I am Night Traveling Puppy; please go to ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform and search for YXDog to follow me, and witness the bubbling moments of strangeness together.¡±


    The last sentence seemed to be borrowing from the catchphrase ¡°This is the moment to witness the miracle,¡± and Yan Junze believed that even without the final advertisement, the content alone could still attract a bunch of netizens¡¯ attention.


    At least a part of them would be curious.


    He got up half an hour early just to prepare and after shaking off the drowsiness, Yan Junze opened the bedroom door. The plan was to wait by the living room door as soon as he saw the Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night pass by his bedroom window.


    Because if the door got knocked on repeatedly, his father, Yan Daguo, would definitely wake up again, and there was a very high chance he¡¯d do as he did that day, stepping out of the bedroom and standing in the corridor to listen.


    His own plans must not be discovered by Yan Daguo, at least, not before they were carried out.


    With everything ready and after checking the time, Yan Junze stood between his open bedroom door and corridor outside the bedroom, tilting his head and staring at the window on the side closest to the public hallway.


    As minutes and seconds passed by, Ke¡¯er stayed perched on his back, showing no intention of leaving.


    Suddenly, the voice-activated light outside lit up, and Yan Junze glanced at the time¡ªright at two in the morning.


    He felt for the old lady¡ªit wasn¡¯t easy to be punctual, needing to come out a minute early.


    Then a series of soft footsteps followed, and shortly after, a hunched figure appeared outside the window, moving very slowly; the footsteps were fragmented yet natural. If it weren¡¯t for the unusual silence around, these faint footsteps would not be clearly heard.


    Yan Junze immediately set the Rewind starting point to the current moment, then set the endpoint to a half-hour later.


    Since earning 500 energy points in the mission [Trapped in a Room with Zhang Tiantian], he could Rewind for at least 60 minutes now. Using 30 minutes should be enough.


    Mainly because the task didn¡¯t mention any time constraints, so Yan Junze had to estimate the time himself.


    Of course, if an irremediable emergency occurred within 30 minutes, he would not hesitate to initiate the Rewind to return to this point in time, and then decide whether to attempt a second time based on the difficulty of the unexpected situation.


    After activating the phone¡¯s video recording and casually closing his bedroom door, Yan Junze hurried to the living room¡¯s entrance before the slow, shuffling steps reached the front door and stood watch there first.


    He couldn¡¯t let the thing outside make too much noise knocking, as it would definitely wake his parents.


    The plan was to open the door immediately upon the sound of the knock.


    The scattered footsteps were getting closer, clearer and clearer. Yan Junze reached for the doorknob and unlocked the anti-theft catch.


    Despite the chill from Ke¡¯er¡¯s presence on his back, his palms were still sweaty. He unconsciously wiped them on his pants and then quickly grabbed the doorknob again, uncertain whether his hands might slip at the moment of opening the door.


    The footsteps stopped outside the door for about two seconds. During this time, both inside and outside, there was a deadly silence.


    Yan Junze dared not breathe. He could clearly hear his own heartbeat.


    The next moment, the knocking sounded.


    Thud¡­


    As soon as the sound emerged, Yan Junze pressed the doorknob down, unlocking and opening the living room door.

 Chapter 22 - 22 - 21: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (Part 2)

    Chapter 22 ¨C 21: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (Part 2)


    Very inconveniently, the voice-activated light in the corridor outside went out just as Yan Junze opened the door.


    After opening the door, a cold draft seeped in, coupled with Ke¡¯er, the ¡°mobile air conditioner,¡± lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    Even though he was wearing a thick sweater, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Peering closely, a petite figure was standing at the door, probably only about 1.5 meters tall. In the moonlight, it was apparent that the person knocking was indeed an old woman, with neatly cut shoulder-length hair, wearing a dark blue thin cotton coat, black trousers, and a pair of brown cotton shoes.


    However, it was pitch black outside the corridor, and no sound was emitted. The voice-activated light did not turn on either.


    Yan Junze dared not make a sound, and the old woman in front of him was silent too, her facial contours blurry, seemingly staring straight at him.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and was about to speak in a low voice when the old woman suddenly turned around, facing the corridor. Her body grew slightly taller in that instant as she walked toward the other end of the corridor.


    ...


    With his words stuck in his throat, Yan Junze forcefully swallowed them down. It seemed that after opening the door, the old woman intended for him to follow her.


    Without a word, Yan Junze stepped out of the door and gently closed it behind him.


    As the old woman moved and the faint sound of the door closing was heard, the voice-activated light came on again. This time, Yan Junze finally got a clear view of the old woman¡¯s back. However, upon seeing it clearly, the hairs on his back stood on end instantaneously.


    The old woman walking in front was tiptoeing, which explained why her body seemed taller when walking and also why her footsteps were so fragmented.


    After a clear view, Yan Junze involuntarily paused for a moment.


    But the old woman did not stop. She went straight to the staircase and began ascending.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, remembering he was still recording, and whispered softly, ¡°This old woman¡¯s surname is Ren, seems to live right above my place. I don¡¯t know what she wants, but I¡¯m prepared to follow and see.¡±


    He had underestimated Granny Ren¡¯s speed in going upstairs. It turned out that the old woman on tiptoes climbed the stairs faster. In just the time it took to utter that sentence, she had disappeared around the corner of the staircase.


    Yan Junze hurried to follow and quickly climbed the stairs. As he turned the corner, he couldn¡¯t help but glance over at the neighboring Building 5.


    Wondering if the Back-faced Woman was standing somewhere quietly inside Building 5 right now.


    There was no time for further thought; Yan Junze ascended to the fifth floor.


    His own home was on the fourth floor, while Granny Ren lived on the fifth. According to the latest mission hint from the Spacetime Atlas, Granny Ren resided in Room 503.


    When Yan Junze entered the corridor, he caught just a glimpse of Granny Ren, on tiptoes, disappearing into a doorway.


    He jogged a few steps and while passing Rooms 501 and 502, he took special note of these two households¡¯ conditions. Noticing that dust had accumulated in front of their doors, and that his own footsteps left clear prints, it was obvious that nobody had lived there for some time.


    One could imagine, being so close to Room 503, if Granny Ren came knocking every night at two o¡¯clock without fail, it¡¯s understandable why no one would want to stay here.


    As a result, after those two families moved away, Granny Ren shifted her nightly door-knocking to the floor below, that is, to Yan Junze¡¯s home.


    Quickening his pace once more, he arrived at the door Granny Ren had walked through.


    The door was open, with the number 503 on the adjacent doorplate. He hadn¡¯t gone to the wrong place, but there was no light inside the apartment. It was only possible to make out the vague outline of the furniture through the moonlight streaming in from outside.


    Yan Junze stood in front of the door, straining his eyes but still unable to see where Granny Ren had gone.


    Meanwhile, Ke¡¯er had been lying on his back up to this point, and even after seeing Granny Ren, she showed no intention of leaving Yan Junze¡ªthe complete opposite behavior to when they encountered the Possession Spirit the last time.


    At this moment, she was motionless as if asleep.


    ¡°You know, every time I wash my hair, you get to watch,¡± Yan Junze said as if talking to himself, ¡°If anything unexpected happens later, you better help me out. The worst-case scenario, next time I wash my hair I¡¯ll do it for ten extra minutes, so you can get your fill all at once.¡±


    As he finished speaking, he reached out to the wall near the entrance inside the room, searching for the light switch. He quickly found it but there was no response when he pressed it.


    After several attempts, it seemed the house had been disconnected from the power supply.


    Yan Junze had an unwelcome suspicion. Based on the mission prompt, Granny Ren was supposed to live here alone, and she might have long since died in the room.


    For some reason, her family had never contacted her, perhaps they didn¡¯t even know the old woman had been dead for a long time.


    After bracing himself at the door, Yan Junze turned on the flashlight of his cell phone. Not only could he see, but it would also facilitate the filming. Although the image quality would definitely be poor, there was no other choice. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the flashlight on, he stepped into Room 503, just in time to see Granny Ren¡¯s figure walking from the living room into the bedroom inside, her hunched body still on tiptoes.


    In this unfamiliar environment, the scene exuded a chilling sense that crept into one¡¯s marrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in here for so long, and you¡¯re still standing there, as if I don¡¯t know to check the bedroom,¡± he muttered to himself.


    Yan Junze froze in the living room, not following her immediately.


    With the help of the flashlight, he first looked around to familiarize himself with the living room.


    The home of a solitary elderly person, previously neat and clean, was now covered with a layer of fine dust everywhere¡ªon the TV stand, the coffee table, the sofa, and the floor.


    Though dusty, everything remained neatly arranged.


    After getting a clear view of the living room, Yan Junze located the bathroom, kitchen, and another smaller bedroom, and then walked to the doorway of the master bedroom.


    He observed the layout of the master bedroom using the light.


    A bed, a desk, a chair, two wardrobes, that was all.


    Not seeing Granny Ren who had just entered, Yan Junze looked around the doorway and even peeked carefully through the slightly open door to ensure that Granny Ren wouldn¡¯t act so considerately as to close the door behind him when he entered later.


    He then saw a pair of brown cotton shoes by the bed, a familiar sight to him. They were placed neatly, so that the person in bed could slip into them with ease when getting up.


    His gaze then swept to the bed in the room, and as he focused, he saw what seemed to be a person lying under the covers.


    It was understandable. Granny Ren wasn¡¯t tall, so if the bedding was a bit thick, one might indeed have trouble noticing her lying there without looking closely.


    At that moment, Yan Junze dared to be certain that the body on the bed was definitely Granny Ren¡¯s corpse.


    It appeared Granny Ren had not died from a fall at home, nor from any other accident, but most likely had passed away in her sleep.


    Stepping into the master bedroom and approaching the bed with caution, Yan Junze realized that Granny Ren was not lying flat, but was in a side position, facing inward, her back turned to him.


    Strangely, he couldn¡¯t smell a hint of decay.


    Theoretically, Granny Ren had been dead for so long there was no way her body wouldn¡¯t decompose, nor that it wouldn¡¯t emit a foul odor.


    Unable to make sense of this, Yan Junze decided not to ponder it further and tried to speak, ¡°Granny Ren, I think I know what your unfulfilled wish is. You want to see your family. I¡¯ll try to notify them.¡±


    After a pause, recalling the mission background, he added, ¡°Especially your grandson, Yu Xiaochang, I will definitely bring your family here to see you one last time.¡±


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night has triggered a new branch mission.]


    As soon as he finished speaking, a prompt suddenly appeared from the Spacetime Atlas in his mind.

 Chapter 23 - 23 - 22 The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight (3)

    Chapter 23 ¨C 22 The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight (3)


    Long before Yan Junze received the task ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight,¡± he had learned that the task had a branch task waiting to be triggered.


    Thus, when the Atlas indicated that the branch task was triggered, he was not surprised and immediately looked at the text that appeared. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Task Name: Combing Hair;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: According to the customs of Lotus Town in the Tianmeng District of the Great Capital city of Shuntian, one must comb the hair of the deceased three times for the dead to depart peacefully without any lingering desires. Granny Ren might have passed, but her obsession is deep. Combing her hair three times may allow her to pass away peacefully.


    Task Description: Find a comb, comb Granny Ren¡¯s hair while chanting ¡°Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, remove the worries of this life,¡± ¡°Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, erase the pain of this life,¡± ¡°Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, eliminate the karmic obstacles of this life¡±;


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    ...


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not recite the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly;


    Note: Granny Ren is not a mute.]


    Yan Junze seriously considered it and felt that this branch task was not difficult and could easily be completed on the side. The only thing was, he had no experience in combing the hair of the dead.


    Moreover, he didn¡¯t know how long Granny Ren had been dead, and whether her scalp might come off during the combing process if she had already begun to decompose.


    The mere thought of that scenario sent chills down his spine.


    ¡°Just comb gently, combing hair isn¡¯t the goal, just don¡¯t chant the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly,¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    He turned his head and looked around, the light was dim, and he didn¡¯t see where the comb was placed.


    He left the bedroom to return to the living room and started searching everywhere, not seeing it in the living room, he ran to the bathroom to search, rummaging through drawers and the washbasin.


    A few minutes later, he still hadn¡¯t seen even a shadow of a comb.


    ¡°Could it be that Granny Ren never combed her hair? Impossible, she¡¯s not me.¡±


    Yan Junze talked to himself and returned to the bedroom, standing by the bed, looking at Granny Ren¡¯s body lying on the bed, with only a little hair showing outside the quilt.


    He clearly remembered seeing Granny Ren¡¯s back earlier. Her hair was neatly arranged, and she did not seem like someone who rarely combed her hair.


    ¡°Search again.¡±


    This time, Yan Junze searched inside the bedroom. Since Granny Ren slept here, there was naturally a high chance of finding a comb.


    If he really couldn¡¯t find it, then he would have to go back to his own house to find a comb and bring it back.


    However, Yan Junze was not willing to do so, as making any noise on his return home might wake his parents, and if that happened, it would be too clever by half. The tasks would not be completed, and he dared not contemplate the consequences.


    The bedside table, desk, wardrobe, and even under the bed, Yan Junze searched all the likely places but still did not see the comb.


    This is just bizarre!


    He glanced at the body on the bed and a strange idea suddenly popped into his mind. Yan Junze swallowed and muttered to himself, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be like what happened with Zhang Tiantian, would it?¡±


    Last time, during the task ¡°In a Room with Zhang Tiantian,¡± a ballpoint pen was searched for high and low, only to end up stuck in Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye socket.


    ¡°This comb, could it be stuck in Granny Ren¡¯s corpse?¡± Yan Junze looked suspicious, ¡°She¡¯s already dead; could she have gotten up, found the comb, and stuck it in herself? What kind of move is that?¡±


    Doubtful as he was, he still had to verify whether his guess was right or wrong.


    Yan Junze approached Granny Ren¡¯s bed and reached out to grab the quilt. Throughout, he sniffed hard but still didn¡¯t smell any odor of decay.


    Could it be that Granny Ren turned into an immortal, with a body that does not decay?


    No matter what, he had to find the comb first.


    He slowly peeled back the quilt, revealing Granny Ren in her thin cotton clothes, curled up with her back to him. There was no comb stuck in her back, nor at the back of her head.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right,¡± Yan Junze stared at Granny Ren¡¯s body with a suspicious look on his face.


    If Granny Ren had died in her sleep, why were all her clothes properly worn? Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t sleep in so many clothes.


    With doubts, he walked around the bed and positioned himself in front of Granny Ren, who was lying on her side.


    From this position, he could finally see Granny Ren¡¯s face clearly.


    It was a face full of wrinkles and sickly yellow in color. Her eyes were not open, otherwise, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t pee himself. Those tightly closed eyes and the skin between them were squeezed together, seemingly conveying some indescribable pain.


    Granny Ren¡¯s entire body was bent, and her hands were tightly clasped in front of her chest. The posture felt very odd, if a normal person was sleeping, they wouldn¡¯t assume such an awkward position.


    The comb was nowhere to be seen.


    Yan Junze gave the scene a thorough look-over. Just the way it was now, indeed, there was no comb on Granny Ren.


    At that moment, he remembered the note in the task: Granny Ren was not mute.


    She wasn¡¯t a mute, but now she was a dead person. Could a dead person still speak?


    Yan Junze shook his head, fell silent for a moment, and finally couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°Granny Ren, I¡¯m about to comb your hair now so that you can leave this place peacefully. Could you tell me where the family comb has gone?¡±


    The room fell silent again, with no unusual reactions.


    Yan Junze waited then cleared his throat and spoke again, ¡°I want to help you, no other intentions. If you get your hair combed sooner, I can notify your family earlier, and you can see your grandson Yu Xiaochang sooner.¡±


    No sooner had he finished speaking.


    Granny Ren, lying on the bed with limbs that had long since stiffened, suddenly had a slight twitch of her face, and her mouth slowly opened, emitting a creaking sound, like a long-neglected door being opened, coming from her throat.


    ¡°Ah ah ah¡­¡±


    It was as if a mute had suddenly opened her mouth, wanting to make a sound, wanting to speak.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart raced, but he still braved the fear and leaned in slightly.


    He had to hear clearly what Granny Ren was saying.


    ¡°Here¡­¡±


    Although the voice was very unclear, Granny Ren¡¯s words were so slow that Yan Junze could barely make them out.


    ¡°Here? Where is ¡¯here¡¯?¡± Yan Junze tilted his head, his gaze landing on Granny Ren¡¯s clasped hands on her chest.


    After speaking those two words, Granny Ren no longer moved; her body became rigid again.


    Yan Junze hesitated, then extended his hands, one to each of Granny Ren¡¯s ice-cold clasped hands, and with some exploratory force, which wasn¡¯t too strenuous, he pried her arms apart.


    Immediately, his face changed, and he retreated sharply with a cry of ¡°Ah,¡± almost falling to the ground.


    Lodged in Granny Ren¡¯s chest was an old red comb, inserted into the region of the heart. The end of the comb¡¯s handle was completely out of sight, only the teeth were visible sticking out, blood clung to the comb, and it was already dried.


    It couldn¡¯t have been inserted by Granny Ren after her death.


    She had not died a natural death but from an accident, or murder!


    Yan Junze¡¯s heartbeat intensified even more, and he said aloud, ¡°Luckily, I¡¯ve been recording the whole time, else there¡¯s no way to prove my innocence. Now that Granny Ren has died unnaturally at home, I should be able to help her.¡±


    As for why there was a comb inserted at the location of Granny Ren¡¯s heart, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t a detective, and he didn¡¯t have the time to care about it now.


    What he was concerned about was to complete the Combing Hair task immediately, then call the police and inform Granny Ren¡¯s family to come over.

 Chapter 24 - 24 - 23 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (4)

    Chapter 24 ¨C 23 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (4)


    The comb had been found, and as far as could be seen at the moment, it was the only one in the entire house.


    If Yan Junze¡¯s guess was correct, the end of the comb that was inserted into Granny Ren¡¯s heart should be the sharp part, which is the case with some comb designs; they were originally made for easy hair management, but now it had become a murder weapon.


    Heading to the living room, he grabbed a few tissues from the coffee table, Yan Junze returned to the bedside, wrapped the exposed part of the comb with tissues, and with an inner trembling and nervousness, he slowly pulled the comb out bit by bit.


    As he had imagined, the body had been dead for a long time, and no blood came out.


    The other end of the comb was indeed sharp, Yan Junze glanced at it, deliberately avoiding the bloody specks on the handle of the comb, turning the tissue around, wrapping the handle, and moved to the back of Granny Ren¡¯s body.


    He had no intention of flipping Granny Ren¡¯s body over but instead went to the back of the body and brought the comb close to Granny Ren¡¯s hair.


    After chanting the Words for the Afterlife to himself and ensuring there were no mistakes, he began combing hair, praying silently that the process would go smoothly, without further complications.


    ... S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Granny Ren, you are already dead, and dead people should look the part. Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t make a sound, at your age, you should know that ¡¯silence is golden¡¯.¡±


    The teeth of the comb slid into Granny Ren¡¯s hair and were gently combed downwards, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Head to the blissful afterlife, be rid of the troubles from this life.¡±


    Granny Ren¡¯s hair was neither too dry nor very smooth but could barely be combed down, and the first stroke was completed with ease.


    With newfound confidence, Yan Junze lifted the comb once again, and on the second stroke said, ¡°Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life¡­¡±


    The word ¡°pain¡± hadn¡¯t been fully expressed when the comb suddenly stopped and couldn¡¯t be pulled through anymore, as if something had suddenly appeared in the hair, wedging the comb firmly in place.


    Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingled as he tried with a bit more force, but the comb seemed to be stuck fast and didn¡¯t move an inch.


    He dared not use more force, fearing that he might accidentally tear Granny Ren¡¯s hair and scalp off together.


    Suddenly, he felt Granny Ren¡¯s head move, just as it had earlier when it unexpectedly made a sound, indicating the comb¡¯s location to him.


    ¡°I¡­ pain!¡±


    This time the head turned and uttered the same two words.


    Yan Junze was greatly startled; the second sentence should have been ¡°Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life,¡± but now the comb was stuck halfway, and Granny Ren had uttered her pain.


    It indicated that Granny Ren couldn¡¯t erase the pain from this life.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yan Junze spoke, ¡°Granny Ren, although I don¡¯t know why you are in pain, if I can¡¯t finish combing your hair, I won¡¯t be able to inform your grandson to come.¡±


    By now he knew Granny Ren had a strong longing for her grandson, Yu Xiaochang, and thought by offering to notify him as a condition, she might allow him to finish combing her hair.


    ¡°Pain¡­¡±


    Granny Ren still uttered one word.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt Ke¡¯er on his back stir, no longer in a ¡°sleeping¡± state, but using her hands and feet to climb onto his shoulder, looking towards Granny Ren.


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t attend to her, continued holding the comb and combing, and once again chanted, ¡°Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life¡­ pain.¡±


    He finally finished the second sentence, and the comb smoothly combed through without any further obstruction.


    ¡°Head to the blissful afterlife, rid yourself of the sins from this life.¡±


    The third combing was just as smooth, during which Granny Ren became very quiet and didn¡¯t make those chilling sounds.


    [Combing Hair, Anxiety-Inducing (low), Completed, Acquired 100 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    Yan Junze let out a huge sigh of relief, stood up, placed the old red comb on the nightstand, and then picked up the cellphone hanging around his neck to dial the emergency number.


    Afterward, he found Granny Ren¡¯s cell phone in the drawer of the nightstand; it was turned off, but when turned on, it still had one bar of battery left.


    Yan Junze flipped through the contacts and found numbers saved under names like son and daughter, and dialed each one. Then he spoke into the phone¡¯s camera: ¡°Turns out, it was Granny Ren, who died accidentally, who has been knocking on my door every night. The reason she was knocking might have been to ask me to notify her relatives for her.


    As for the hair combing ritual, you can search for it online if you¡¯re interested; I won¡¯t go into detail here. Well, that¡¯s the end of today¡¯s adventure into the strangeness,¡±


    Turning off the camera, the video recording came to an end; it still needed editing before uploading.


    If the police required it, Yan Junze would also need to provide a copy of the video to the authorities, proving that his involvement in the case was merely out of curiosity and goodwill, and wasn¡¯t related to the event itself.


    While waiting for the rescue team, Yan Junze sat on the couch in the living room. At that moment, he suddenly felt like smoking a cigarette.


    In his past life, although he smoked, he wasn¡¯t heavily addicted. In this new life, due to changes in his environment, he had never felt the urge to smoke again. But at this moment, after the scare, he had an intense need to relax and naturally wanted to smoke one.


    But he definitely wouldn¡¯t find any in Granny Ren¡¯s house, so he had to bear with it.


    About fifteen minutes later, a safety officer¡¯s car arrived at the scene with its hazard lights flashing.


    To avoid disturbing the residents, the safety officer¡¯s car didn¡¯t sound the alarm.


    Yan Junze came out of room 503, leaned over the railing to look down, and could see, with the help of the street lamps and the safety officer car¡¯s lights, that only two safety officers had gotten out of the car, and they were moving slowly, not in much of a hurry.


    A community security guard also came up, spoke a few words with the two safety officers, looked bewildered, then raised his head, and pointed upstairs. Following his gesture, the two officers also looked up.


    Yan Junze quickly waved his hand.


    A few minutes later, one fat and one skinny safety officer appeared on the fifth floor, with Grandpa Zheng, the security guard, trailing behind them, breathing slightly heavily and with a look of fright on his face.


    ¡°Did you report this incident?¡± The fat safety officer shone his flashlight on Yan Junze¡¯s cheeks and asked, panting.


    The skinny safety officer stood at the entrance of room 503, shining the flashlight inside the room but with no intention of entering.


    This was an era of strangeness, and these safety officers had learned to be smart. If they arrived at the scene of an incident, they would first get a full understanding of the situation and make sure there were no strangeness involved, or that the strangeness wasn¡¯t severe, before deciding whether to get involved or to directly call an exorcist.


    Of course, if an exorcist was called, unless the case was serious, they would still have to wait in line, and during that time, the entire scene would be cordoned off by safety officers.


    Safety officers could also, depending on the situation, do the necessary survey and handling at the scene, or take away the body for an autopsy first.


    ¡°Yes, I reported it,¡± Yan Junze pointed towards the bedroom inside the flat. ¡°I live downstairs. It seems Granny Ren died unnaturally; every night at two o¡¯clock, her soul would knock on my door. Today I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, so I came up to check, and found Granny Ren has been dead for who knows how long on the bedroom bed.¡±


    ¡°Bedroom?¡± The skinny safety officer glanced at Yan Junze but still did not enter.


    ¡°Is the soul still there?¡± the fat safety officer asked.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t appeared now. It seems like her wish was to see her relatives, and I have just notified her relatives,¡± Yan Junze answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± finally spoke the skinny safety officer. ¡°It should be a wandering spirit, not a very powerful one.¡±


    It seemed they knew a lot more about supernatural information than the average person.

 Chapter 25 - 25 - 24 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (5)

    Chapter 25 ¨C 24 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (5)


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectation, the security officers, one fat and one thin, walked into room 503¡¯s bedroom for a quick look and came out one after the other shortly after.


    Furthermore, both of them lit a cigarette and stood at the door, blowing smoke rings with a gloomy expression on their faces.


    Yan Junze felt his urge to smoke grow even stronger and said to the fat security officer with a smile, ¡°Could I, perhaps, have a puff?¡±


    The fat security officer gave him a sideways glance, ¡°You¡¯re still a student, aren¡¯t you? Call me Uncle Wei, and this is Uncle Bai.¡±


    The security officer named Bai said to Grandpa Zheng, ¡°Nothing more for you here, head back.¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± Grandpa Zheng had been wanting to leave and nodded, glancing at Yan Junze before departing.


    ¡°Old Wei, what has the world come to?¡± Security Officer Bai turned around and sighed, ¡°Did you ever imagine this would be the end when you first became a security guard? To be a security guard filled with fear is also unexpected.¡±


    ...


    Security Officer Wei held the cigarette in his mouth and spread his hands, ¡°What can we do? Who knew that strangenesses would be everywhere nowadays? Did you see when we came in? There¡¯s a warning sign erected at the bottom of building five in this complex, also having issues with strangeness.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That falls under the jurisdiction of the Exorcist, not a regular case, so it¡¯s none of our business,¡± Security Officer Bai shook his head.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Security Officer Wei glanced into room 503, ¡°This case should be a homicide. The killer has cleaned up the scene and moved the dead old lady onto the bed.¡±


    Security Officer Bai agreed, ¡°Right, but if that comb is the only murder weapon, the incident might have happened by chance, a spontaneous decision, otherwise, it¡¯s impossible not to prepare a sharper knife for the crime.¡±


    ¡°But the comb was left behind, not taken, just placed on the bedside table. Could the killer be so foolish as to leave the murder weapon behind after cleaning the scene?¡± Security Officer Wei said, puzzled.


    ¡°Umm,¡± Yan Junze raised his hand, ¡°I know it¡¯s inappropriate to interrupt both security officers while analyzing the case, but I still want to interject. The comb¡­ I pulled it out of Granny Ren¡¯s chest.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Both security officers turned to look at him in shock.


    ¡°Granny Ren¡¯s soul told me she wanted to comb her hair, saying it¡¯s a custom in Lotus Town. I couldn¡¯t find a comb anywhere and then I saw this one, so¡­¡± Yan Junze¡¯s words were a mix of truth and lies, but when it comes to tales of strangeness, such claims wouldn¡¯t arouse suspicion.


    The two security officers exchanged glances, and after a long while, Security Officer Wei managed a forced smile, ¡°Are you really a student?¡±


    ¡°Genuine Shuntian No.3 Middle School product,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Has the school started teaching ¡¯Bravery Training Classes¡¯ now? Or a course on ¡¯How to Effectively Communicate with the Strange¡¯? Where did you get that kind of courage?¡± Security Officer Bai was taken aback.


    Being locals, they had heard of customs like combing the hair of the dead, so even though they were slightly skeptical of Yan Junze¡¯s words, they didn¡¯t focus their attention on that.


    What they were more concerned with was how audacious this guy was!


    ¡°Born with it,¡± Yan Junze smiled and asked, ¡°Since you two officers have determined it¡¯s a homicide, why not seal off the scene, gather evidence, or call for backup?¡±


    Security Officer Wei chuckled, ¡°We don¡¯t need you telling us what to do.¡±


    Security Officer Bai, however, explained, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that the old lady¡¯s spirit guided you to inform her relatives? So, we too have to wait until her wish is fulfilled to formally seal off the scene and start the investigation, or else many unexpected troubles will arise.¡±


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a van drove into the complex. Following the van, at the entrance to the complex, two taxis stopped, and several people of varying ages alighted and headed straight in this direction.


    ¡°It must be her family that came,¡± the chubby Security Officer Wei said.


    Not long after, accompanied once again by Grandpa Zheng, around five or six people arrived on the fifth floor one after the other. There were men and women, old and young, most of them with sullen faces, but there was no sign of deep sorrow.


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    Grandpa Zheng had an aggrieved expression, looking at Security Officer Bai with a look that said ¡°If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have run down,¡± leaning against a wall and continuously catching his breath.


    ¡°Mr. Security Officer, where is my mother?¡± a short woman with long hair, leading a boy of about seven or eight years old, walked up to them first.


    Listening to her tone, Yan Junze felt that she didn¡¯t display any emotion of sorrow, her voice was eerily calm.


    ¡°In the bedroom? She must have passed away a long time ago,¡± Security Officer Bai said. ¡°The elderly lady had last wishes, you should go and see her first, we will seal the scene for investigation afterward.¡±


    ¡°You can only look inside the bedroom, do not touch anything in the house, and do not enter any other rooms,¡± Security Officer Wei added from the side.


    ¡°Hmm, how come big brother hasn¡¯t come?¡± the woman looked back at the man and woman who had followed her, and then asked another middle-aged woman who arrived last, leading a little girl.


    ¡°He¡¯s drunk and can¡¯t get up,¡± the middle-aged woman said.


    Yan Junze bent down towards the short woman¡¯s little boy and asked, ¡°You are¡­ Yu Xiaochang?¡±


    ¡°Yes, hello uncle,¡± the little boy, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, nodded obediently.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face stiffened, and a twitch began at the corner of his mouth. After a long while, he managed a forced smile and said softly, ¡°Aside from your poor vision, I feel like you are the kindest here, call me brother.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± Yu Xiaochang quickly corrected himself.


    Yan Junze said this for a reason. Among the relatives of Granny Ren who had arrived, so far, he had only seen Yu Xiaochang shed tears; the rest had expressionless faces, including the middle-aged woman¡¯s little girl.


    ¡°Mom, I want to see grandma!¡± Yu Xiaochang lifted his head, looking pitifully at his mother.


    The short-haired woman, impatient, nodded, ¡°It¡¯s only you who remembers her, let¡¯s go, take a look and then we return home. Your eldest uncle and second uncle are here, it¡¯s time for sons to be filial, it¡¯s not our turn as mother and son.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what kind of talk is that?¡± the middle-aged woman leading her daughter retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you her biological daughter? And like I¡¯ve said, your elder brother is still drunk at home, he might not even wake up by tomorrow morning, so it¡¯s still just the two of us. Besides, I¡¯m just an outsider who married into the family, what do I care!¡±


    The man and woman standing nearby, among whom appeared to be the elderly woman¡¯s second son said right away, ¡°Let¡¯s be clear, I¡¯m only here to see mother one last time, then I¡¯m heading home. I have to haul cargo early tomorrow, what if I don¡¯t sleep well and get into an accident?¡±


    ¡°Ah, this fiery temper of mine!¡± Security Officer Wei¡¯s voice suddenly rose by several octaves, ¡°How could you all act like this as her children? What kind of people are you?¡±


    Security Officer Bai, too, was fuming and waved his hand irritably, ¡°Do you want to go in to see her or not? If not, all of you get lost!¡±


    Grandpa Zheng shook his head vigorously from behind.


    ¡°Hey, Xiaochang!¡± Yu Xiaochang¡¯s mother suddenly gasped in surprise as her son had already let go of her hand and run into Room 503 alone.


    At the same moment, a mission completion notification popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Received 200 Different Dimension Energy points]

 Chapter 26 - 26 - 25 Video Editing

    Chapter 26 ¨C 25 Video Editing


    Yan Junze had not expected that Granny Ren¡¯s obsession would dissipate simply because Yu Xiaochang visited her alone in Room 503.


    Apparently, other than Yu Xiaochang, Granny Ren didn¡¯t actually want to see any other family members.


    The conversation between the children just now was enough to make an outsider feel chilled by their cold indifference toward Granny Ren.


    Although he didn¡¯t know why, it couldn¡¯t be that the old lady was only fond of her grandchild Yu Xiaochang before her death. Without knowing the full story, it was indeed difficult for outsiders to comment.


    The others quickly followed Yu Xiaochang into Room 503, but less than two minutes later, almost all of them had come back out, leaving only Yu Xiaochang and his mother inside.


    The reason Granny Ren¡¯s daughter remained inside was simple, Yu Xiaochang was crying his eyes out, unwilling to leave, so she had to stay with him in the bedroom.


    After another three minutes, Security Officer Wei threw away his second cigarette and said, ¡°Alright, we need to seal off the scene. The body will be transferred to the coroner for processing. The subsequent expenses should be borne by you children, and none of you will escape them. Now leave this place.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s starting to stink, really reek,¡± Security Officer Bai emerged from the bedroom, covering his nose and pointing inside, ¡°The body has suddenly started to smell, it¡¯s rotting terribly.¡±


    Ugh!


    Yu Xiaochang¡¯s mother vomited on the spot inside the bedroom, then frantically dragged Yu Xiaochang out of Room 503 and left without looking back.


    ¡°Ha, lucky we came out early,¡± gloated Granny Ren¡¯s second son.


    ¡°Get out! Wait for our notice!¡± Security Officer Wei cursed loudly, not wanting to even glance at these people again.


    ¡°Pah!¡± Grandpa Zheng glared contemptuously and spat behind these people.


    ¡°Come on, you brave high school student, let¡¯s go inform your parents. You might need to come with us to the station to give a statement,¡± Security Officer Bai told Yan Junze. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Downstairs, after waking up Yan Daguo and Li Man, the couple nearly had their eyes pop out when they heard about their son¡¯s incident. Thank goodness Yan Junze was fine, and it seemed that Granny Ren, the one knocking at midnight, didn¡¯t have any ill intentions.


    Then Yan Daguo accompanied his son to the Public Security and Stability Bureau, where Yan Junze explained the cause and effect and also provided the video he had taken.


    Watching the video, not only the security officers but even Yan Daguo himself broke out in a cold sweat.


    Upon leaving, Security Officer Bai patted Yan Daguo on the shoulder, sighing, ¡°Your son is born in a good era that suits his development. What guts he has, it would be a pity if he didn¡¯t become an Exorcist. I won¡¯t lie; just watching the video has my legs trembling.¡±


    Yan Daguo forced a smile, uglier than crying.


    On the street, before Yan Daguo could ask any questions, Yan Junze looked him in the eyes and said earnestly, ¡°Dad, honestly, the only reason I did this was so that you wouldn¡¯t be woken up every night, so that you didn¡¯t have to get up from bed and catch a cold. You¡¯ve already had it tough enough.¡±


    Yan Daguo was taken aback.


    ¡°You understand my good intentions, right?¡± Yan Junze added.


    ¡°You little rascal.¡± Yan Daguo finally reacted, half-crying and half-laughing, and ruffled Yan Junze¡¯s hair, ¡°It was dangerous; it can¡¯t happen again.¡±


    By the time they got back home, it was already broad daylight. Yan Junze only asked for the morning off school and used the time at home to catch up on sleep. He still went to school on time in the afternoon.


    His mother, Li Man, was very worried. She had been scheduled for a cleaning job in the morning but had arranged for a good sister to cover for her at the last minute, staying at home to keep an eye on Yan Junze, fearing he might have another accident.


    It looked like the matter with Granny Ren should have come to an end, and whether her children were filial was no longer Yan Junze¡¯s concern.


    Still, he was very fortunate this time, because he didn¡¯t use the Rewind, so he didn¡¯t consume any Different Dimension Energy.


    In the afternoon, upon arriving at school, Zhou Dali immediately came over to Yan Junze, examining him curiously before finally asking, ¡°Did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°The first time recording a supernatural mystery video; quite thrilling actually, I¡¯ll show you the video later. Oh right, do you know anyone in our class who can do video editing?¡±


    ¡°Jiang Ruixin,¡± Zhou Dali answered without thinking.


    ¡°Is it good or not?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Bao Jie did a good job,¡± Zhou Dali blurted out again.


    ¡°Can you not answer all at once?¡±


    ¡°You ask, I answer, what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    Facing Dali¡¯s peculiar way of thinking, Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, who shared a desk and sat next to the two boys, became alert when they vaguely heard their own names from Zhou Dali¡¯s mouth, and turned to look suspiciously at Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing,¡± Yan Junze politely inquired of the two female classmates, ¡°I have a video that needs some post-production editing, and I might need to add my own commentary. Who among you knows how to do that?¡±


    ¡°What video?¡± Jiang Ruixin¡¯s alertness rose noticeably as she looked at Zhou Dali, ¡°Is it a selfie of Zhou Dali?¡±


    In their eyes, what kind of good video could Zhou Dali possibly make himself? Mostly it would be him flexing his muscles in front of the camera, something like showing off his biceps and triceps, looking like a hammer with those deltoids, and those disgustingly large glute muscles¡­


    Just thinking about that scene made Jiang Ruixin feel nauseous.


    Many times, boys think girls like musclemen, so they hit the gym and work out until they¡¯re as ripped as can be.


    In reality, it¡¯s quite the opposite; girls only like guys with a little muscle, or even none at all, as long as their figure is proportionate, and not someone overly muscular like the oblivious and self-satisfied comrade Dali here.


    ¡°It¡¯s a video I shot myself where I encountered weird stuff,¡± Yan Junze promptly put a stop to the fantastical images in the girls¡¯ minds.


    ¡°Ah, really!¡± Bao Jie immediately beamed with excitement.


    Jiang Ruixin, after a moment of surprise, also showed keen interest.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Afraid, why wouldn¡¯t we be?¡± Bao Jie nodded, ¡°But when it¡¯s just watching a video, my curiosity will overcome my fear.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Jiang Ruixin nodded in agreement, ¡°I¡¯ve watched hundreds of strange videos on that ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform and they all seemed okay.¡±


    ¡°Take it out, I¡¯ll edit it for you,¡± Bao Jie said.


    Without further ado, the girl opened her backpack, took out an ultra-thin laptop from the Whimsical Ideas company, skillfully booted up the system, logged into her account, and with a series of proficient moves, opened a video editor called ¡°One Cutters.¡±


    Before class started, they exported the video from Yan Junze¡¯s phone and quickly copied the ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± video onto the computer.


    All four of them huddled together and intently watched the video.


    The video played quickly, and Yan Junze fast-forwarded through parts like the search for the comb.


    After it ended, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin exchanged glances, both sighing in relief, feeling as if they had just experienced the horror in the video themselves.


    ¡°I just realized¡­¡± Bao Jie turned to look at Yan Junze, ¡°You¡¯re skinny but brave! In the dead of night, daring to open the door by yourself! And you even followed her in!¡±


    ¡°Can you edit it or not? After entering Room 503, brighten up the image for me, and I also want to add some off-screen commentary,¡± Yan Junze said, ignoring her comments and stating his request directly.


    ¡°No problem, after school, let¡¯s finish making it in the classroom before we leave,¡± Bao Jie didn¡¯t refuse.

 Chapter 27 - 27 - 26 Favorability Increase

    Chapter 27 ¨C 26 Favorability Increase


    After school, the two girls didn¡¯t leave. Instead, they stayed in the classroom and edited the video according to Yan Junze¡¯s instructions. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, they plugged in earphones and let Yan Junze record voice-over for several clips, aiming to clarify the situation and background for viewers watching online.


    In the end, Bao Jie thoughtfully added subtitles to the segment where Yan Junze promoted himself, so others who saw the video on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform could quickly search for Yan Junze¡¯s username¡ªNight Traveling Puppy¡ªbased on the text.


    Once the video was finished, the four of them gathered to watch it once through and found that the quality was quite decent. The content successfully piqued curiosity, especially since Yan Junze left the cause of Granny Ren¡¯s death a mystery at the end, undoubtedly attracting viewers to comment below.


    Originally, Yan Junze¡¯s completion of ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± task had taken more than 20 minutes. However, after video editing, it was just over 13 minutes, making the plot tighter.


    ¡°Bao Jie, you might as well apply to a film academy to study directing or editing,¡± Zhou Dali exclaimed from the side.


    ¡°Our Bao Jie could not only study directing but could also be an actress. With that face and figure, she¡¯s definitely got an edge!¡± Jiang Ruixin said with a smile.


    ...


    ¡°Yeah, absolutely,¡± Zhou Dali nodded vigorously. ¡°Future top horror film director of Great Capital¡¯s Huaying¡ªBao Jie. Why top? Because her movies will feature real ghosts. Hehehe¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± The two girls exclaimed in unison, cursing him.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Jiang Ruixin suddenly gasped and reminded Bao Jie, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have plans with Zhou Jiajie?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Stunned, Bao Jie quickly checked the time, closed her laptop, handed the phone with the copied video back to Yan Junze, packed up her stuff, and ran out with her backpack.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s face turned green. Once Bao Jie left the classroom, he grumbled resentfully, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Zhou Jiajie¡¯s dad being in the city hall, I¡¯d take that kid out sooner or later!¡±


    Jiang Ruixin pressed her lips together and snickered.


    Yan Junze just patted Zhou Dali on the shoulder, ¡°To make cowardice and incompetence sound so righteous, you won¡¯t find a second one in the whole school.¡±


    Yan Junze had never been optimistic about Bao Jie liking Zhou Jiajie, but it wasn¡¯t his place to get involved in other people¡¯s business.


    Of course, another reason was that his relationship with Bao Jie was only mediocre, not close enough to warrant his interference.


    When Yan Junze got home, he took advantage of his parents not being back yet to upload the video to the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform. He checked and saw the current view count was ¡°1¡±.


    That ¡°1¡± was his own click, but Yan Junze wasn¡¯t in a hurry. After leaving the platform, he ran into the bathroom to wash his hair, deliberately spending an extra two minutes to give Ke¡¯er on his back something to enjoy.


    Indeed, hearing the continuous ¡°eh¡­ eh¡­ eh¡± from behind his neck while washing his hair turned out to be quite an interesting experience. At least, it wasn¡¯t as boring and dull as before.


    Yan Junze spent the extra minutes catering to Ke¡¯er because he had a feeling that something unexpected might have happened while combing Granny Ren¡¯s hair during ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± task. At that moment, Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, seemed to ¡°wake up.¡±


    Although he didn¡¯t know if Ke¡¯er¡¯s ¡°awakening¡± was linked to that incident, Yan Junze had a hunch that Ke¡¯er¡¯s actions weren¡¯t without reason.


    Otherwise, he might have had to use the Rewind.


    After washing his hair, the Spacetime Atlas suddenly displayed a line of text.


    [Ke¡¯er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Friendly]


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then he realized that since Ke¡¯er began clinging to his back, up until today, he had probably washed his hair about ten times.


    Without fail, Ke¡¯er had watched him wash his hair (including bathing), and now she had finally made progress, their relationship between human and strangeness had begun to turn friendly.


    If he were to guess, this favorability started at ¡°Neutral,¡± then below that might be ¡°Hostile,¡± and above is ¡°Friendly.¡± He just didn¡¯t know if there were any more extreme attitudes, like ¡°Hatred¡± or something.


    If there was, he definitely didn¡¯t want to encounter a strangeness that ¡°Hated¡± him in the future; otherwise, it would be a disaster no matter where he went.


    Late in the day, his parents came back one after the other.


    After closing the door, his mother Li Man didn¡¯t immediately go to the kitchen to get busy but sat down with Yan Daguo on the living room sofa, pulling Yan Junze to join them, their expressions grave.


    ¡°Son, you must not pass by building number five when you go out from now on!¡± Li Man said with a tense expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mom?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    ¡°That woman in white was just discovered standing outside building number five, her back to the road, facing the building,¡± said Yan Daguo.


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise, ¡°The Back-faced Woman has come out? She¡¯s left her active area!¡±


    ¡°Back-faced Woman??¡± Yan Daguo repeated the term his son blurted out, nodding, ¡°That¡¯s quite an apt name. Yes, this Back-faced Woman seems to have a broader range of activity than just building number five.¡±


    Li Man took over, ¡°At noon, just as Uncle Wang from the third floor of our building was going out, he happened to encounter the Ba¡­ Back-faced Woman right outside building number five. At that time, Uncle Wang turned completely purple for some reason. By the time he was found, hair had grown out of his mouth, ears, and nostrils¡­¡±


    ¡°Old Wang from next door!?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in shock, ¡°How is he now?¡±


    Li Man gave her son a displeased look and continued, ¡°He was taken away by an ambulance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the best,¡± Yan Daguo said, patting his thigh, ¡°If this Back-faced Woman has too large an area of activity, it means she¡¯s very dangerous. Exorcists will pay more attention and send someone to deal with her much faster.¡±


    ¡°Could she not be dangerous?¡± Yan Junze pondered to himself.


    The task named ¡°Look at Her Face¡± involving the Back-faced Woman was already rated ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡±, which was the highest and most dangerous one among the tasks he had detected so far.


    This meant that Yan Junze did not currently want to complete this mission. If possible, he would first check out the Jianye Building across the street to resolve ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall.¡±


    After that, he would tackle the mission ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± in the neighboring complex, and only then might he attempt to deal with the Back-faced Woman.


    The task ¡°Look at Her Face¡± should be avoided as much as possible right now, just like his mother Li Man said; upon leaving the building, head straight through the opposite building number six and then exit the complex through buildings number four and two, temporarily avoiding the side near building number five.


    After their conversation, the couple went about their separate tasks; Li Man returned to the bedroom, opened the video she had uploaded to check it out, saw only seven views, not a single comment, and, bored to death, closed the platform again.

 Chapter 28 - 28 - 27 She’s at the Second Floor Corner

    Chapter 28 ¨C 27 She¡¯s at the Second Floor Corner


    The current Spacetime Atlas stores 900 points of Different Dimension Energy and has illuminated 10 nodes.


    When the seventh node was illuminated, it activated the ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± feature. According to Yan Junze¡¯s observation, there is also a line of small text at the twelfth node, but it¡¯s in a grey state and the font is too small to recognize.


    Yan Junze lay on the bed, using Inner Vision to examine the Atlas in his mind.


    In the past two days, the temperature had started to rise a bit. His mother, Li Man, originally wanted to change to a lighter blanket for Yan Junze, but he refused.


    What a joke, with Ke¡¯er lying behind him, the temperature had just begun to rise, making this blanket perfect. Yan Junze mulled over the Spacetime Atlas in his mind while chatting with Ke¡¯er.


    She would occasionally respond with a ¡°huh,¡± so Yan Junze, bored, started the most mundane conversation ever.


    ¡°What do you call your mother¡¯s sister?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°What do you call your mother¡¯s older sister?¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°What do you call your mother¡¯s siblings?¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how many times he repeated himself, nor when he fell asleep.


    When he got up in the morning, his parents had already left early. His father¡¯s factory had leaders coming to inspect work today, and Li Man had a big job assigned by the cleaning company. A dozen cleaning ladies had to sweep the floors of a large building, needing to finish before the end of the workday.


    Therefore, Li Man couldn¡¯t come back to make dinner either.


    He opened the steamer, where his mom had previously heated some steamed buns, which were still steaming hot. Next to the gas stove, there was a plate of fragrant cold dishes and a bowl of warm porridge at the right temperature.


    In his previous life, Yan Junze also liked to eat flour-based food. He quickly grabbed two buns, poked a hole in the middle with chopsticks, stuffed in some cold dishes, took a big bite, and found the taste quite right.


    He lifted the warm porridge and gulped it down. It was very fragrant.


    After finishing breakfast, Yan Junze packed up his books, slung his backpack over his shoulder with a flip of his wrist, and whistled as he stepped out the door.


    As he descended the stairs, he pulled out his phone to check the weather for the upcoming days, feeling that the temperature would continue to rise.


    This was also good; he finally wouldn¡¯t have to wear thick sweaters anymore. When the dog days of summer came around, he would let his classmates see what it meant to have a real portable air conditioner, envy skr!


    At that moment, a news alert popped up at the top of his phone screen. This was a ¡°Real-Time Headlines¡± news push Yan Junze had subscribed to that sent some of the latest news at a fixed time every day, covering local events, Tianmeng District, and even the Great Capital of Huaying.


    However, this particular piece of news caused Yan Junze¡¯s brows to furrow slightly.


    ¡°Breaking: Mysterious Tragic Death of a Couple, Bodies Found at Home Last Night.¡±


    ¡°According to the latest news from the Shuntian City Public Safety and Security Bureau, a murder occurred last night at LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4, where a couple was killed. It was revealed that the case was discovered by cleaning staff who inadvertently saw a large amount of blood seeping out from under the door. Security personnel have already sealed off the scene immediately.


    Homicide has not been ruled out, and follow-up reports will be made available. Reporter Yang Genshuo.¡±


    Putting aside the peculiar name of the reporter for a moment, upon viewing this news, Yan Junze felt an odd sensation welling up inside him.


    This feeling was unclear and nebulous, like a gloomy shadow had been draped over his head, leaving him quite uncomfortable.


    As he was engrossed in his phone, he had unknowingly descended to the second-floor corner when something white seemed to flicker before his eyes. By the time he realized it, Yan Junze discovered there seemed to be someone standing at the corner on the second floor.


    He turned his head and looked: just as he had already moved towards the first floor, his body shuddered violently, his eyes filled with terror, still clutching his phone.


    In his line of sight, at the corner of the second floor, a woman with disheveled hair, skeletal-thin, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, stood at the corner of the wall, facing it with her back toward him.


    ¡°This is¡­ the Back-faced Woman!¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded.


    No matter how much he had calculated, he did not expect to encounter the Back-faced Woman at this moment.


    Looking at her appearance, the Back-faced Woman had already left Building 5 and directly entered Building 7, where his home was located.


    It was as if her activity area was not limited to just next door, but also included the area including Building 7.


    The memory of the mission ¡°Look at Her Face¡± surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s mind. He remembered that this mission had no background at all, just a very brief instruction: look at her face, ask her what she needs.


    But the level of that mission made Yan Junze hesitate.


    Hair-raising! This was not a joke, one false move and not to mention Rewind, he had not prepared in advance, and it was too late to set a Rewind now.


    After just a brief pause for a second, Yan Junze immediately took steps to quickly descend the stairs, deciding not to complete this mission right now.


    However, for safety¡¯s sake, he still set the starting point for Rewind at that moment and set the endpoint ten minutes later, just in case the Back-faced Woman took any action that could get him into trouble.


    If the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t trouble him, as long as he didn¡¯t initiate Rewind, it would automatically erase after the time elapsed and would not deplete Different Dimension Energy.


    There were roughly eleven steps in the half-flight of stairs on the first floor, and with every step Yan Junze took down, it felt as though he was exerting all his strength, his muscles taut, limbs stiff, with all his attention focused behind, terrified that the motionless Back-faced Woman would suddenly move towards him at any moment.


    ¡°No matter what, I can¡¯t look at her face, I absolutely can¡¯t see her face now.¡±


    Yan Junze silently reminded himself, feeling like a century had passed before he finally finished descending the eleven steps and ran out of Building 7.


    He took a breath, turned his head for a glance, and saw that the Back-faced Woman had not followed him. The hair-raising feeling from earlier gradually faded, and memories emerged.


    He had just noticed that the Back-faced Woman was dressed in a summertime outfit, wearing a set of white short-sleeved shirt and shorts. If it was before her death, this woman would have likely had a nice figure, but now become a ghost, she exuded a ghastly, emaciated strangeness.


    And the skin exposed outside the clothes was patchy with blues and purples, hardly any part of it unblemished.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace towards the community gate, but then he paused slightly, realizing that Ke¡¯er, who had been clinging to his back all this while, was nowhere to be seen.


    He looked around but couldn¡¯t see the red figure. Class was about to start, and Yan Junze couldn¡¯t bother with her now, so he left the community and quickly walked towards Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Just as he reached the school entrance, something tightened around his foot, then gripped his waist. Soon after, Ke¡¯er¡¯s familiar crawling gesture returned, and the little guy was back again.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s responses were always a mystery.


    Entering the school with confusion, Yan Junze quickly understood something. Ke¡¯er must have thought he was going to deal with the Back-faced Woman. Considering the hair-raising level of this mission, Ke¡¯er definitely wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against the Back-faced Woman, so¡­ she chose to flee.


    Your sister! What happened to the promised increase in favorability? What happened to pure friendship?


    Faced with a formidable strangeness, she runs faster than a rabbit!

 Chapter 29 - 29 - 28 Temporary Group Formation

    Chapter 29 ¨C 28 Temporary Group Formation


    A day at school.


    The senior year curriculum had fully entered the review stage, and even in class, it was non-stop paper solving, paper solving, paper solving.


    Yeah, important things must be said three times.


    ¡°Enough already,¡± Zhou Dali covered his ears, the big and burly man looking pitifully at Yan Junze, ¡°You¡¯ve already said it three times. My answer is: I¡­ am¡­ not¡­ going!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t go?¡± Yan Junze asked seriously.


    ¡°Where are you guys heading?¡± Bao Jie, from the next desk, leaned over, full of curiosity.


    ¡°To a place where no one else is,¡± Yan Junze said, pretending to be mysterious.


    ...


    ¡°But it has its strangenesses,¡± Zhou Dali added.


    Bao Jie got even more excited: ¡°Are you guys going to shoot a video?¡±


    ¡°Right, I plan to upload my second video to the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ platform,¡± Yan Junze nodded. ¡°But this cowardly Dali doesn¡¯t dare to go.¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m scared.¡±


    In front of the girl he liked, Zhou Dali¡¯s feisty spirit surged up in an instant, but it quickly deflated, and his voice became barely audible, ¡°I just happen to be busy this weekend and can¡¯t make it.¡±


    Yan Junze then turned to Bao Jie: ¡°Do you want to go?¡±


    Bao Jie startled, then her face showed fear, shaking her head: ¡°I only dare watch through a screen, delve into the site of strangeness? I dare not.¡±


    Yan Junze assured them, ¡°You guys can rest easy, no matter what happens, I guarantee there¡¯s no danger for you.¡±


    As he spoke, he took out a black button and weighed it in his palm for a moment.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Zhou Dali leaned closer, took a careful look for a while, and his expression turned to surprise, ¡°Is this that¡­¡±


    ¡°Correct, the Hidden Buckle, an exorcism technique from the Exorcist,¡± Yan Junze immediately put away the black button.


    ¡°How do you have that item?¡± Bao Jie exclaimed in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it on TV, I heard that normal people aren¡¯t supposed to possess Exorcist¡¯s items, otherwise the consequences can be severe.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, my aunt¡¯s neighbor¡¯s dog Erleng, who befriended the Exorcist¡¯s watchdog Er Ya from Shuntian, accidentally brought it back while they were playing.¡±


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali looked at each other, bewildered.


    At that moment Jiang Ruixin returned from the restroom, shaking off her wet hands, and accidentally splashed the water on Zhou Dali¡¯s face.


    Zhou Dali was jolted back to his senses and quickly asked Yan Junze, ¡°What were you just saying?¡±


    ¡°Just that the origin of the Hidden Buckle is quite clear, you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Yan Junze waved his hand.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Bao Jie pondered, ¡°Then count me in. My family has a portable DV, it shoots really well. When the time comes, I¡¯ll be your videographer.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not going now?¡± Yan Junze tilted his head to ask Zhou Dali.


    The guy had a constipated expression, struggled for half a day, and finally said, ¡°Fine! But I¡¯m going only to protect Bao Jie, not to give you face.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°What are you guys talking about? Where are you going?¡± Jiang Ruixin dried her hands and looked up at the three of them, looking somewhat dazed.


    Five seconds later, this supernatural adventure quartet had been temporarily formed.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°We¡¯ve tentatively set the operation for Saturday. I¡¯ll start a group chat, and I¡¯ll notify everyone of the specific location and time in the group. Also, Dali, you need to prepare some tools for Saturday morning, for prying walls and digging. That task is yours.¡±


    ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t be simple when you asked me to come!¡± Zhou Dali grumbled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare several powerful flashlights,¡± Jiang Ruixin offered, raising her hand.


    Her family owned a small supermarket, so getting those things was no problem at all.


    With each person assigned a task, everyone but Yan Junze seemed very nervous, yet the excitement clearly outweighed their nervousness.


    The school day on Friday ended quickly.


    Before leaving school, the four of them started a group chat named ¡°We Are Not Afraid of Strangenesses,¡± which, using one¡¯s little toe, could have been guessed to be the brainchild of Zhou Dali, whose brain was smaller than his own arm in circumference.


    On his way home, Yan Junze casually threw the black button he¡¯d picked up into a trash bin.


    He, of course, didn¡¯t have any Exorcist¡¯s Hidden Buckle; he¡¯d only used that trick to put the others at ease. His secret was not the Hidden Buckle, but the ability to Rewind time, which he obviously couldn¡¯t share with anyone.


    As for choosing them to help him with the ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± mission, there was a reason for that as well. First, the mission notes required tools, which likely meant having to break through walls, a task that seemed tailor-made for Zhou Dali.


    Then there was being in an unfamiliar environment; it was good to have friends along for mutual support. Otherwise, just the thought of Yan Junze sneaking alone into the B1 floor of Jianye Building would seem quite difficult.


    Now, with ample Different Dimension Energy and having not completed many missions, he needed to explore a path suitable for future development. Moreover, some missions probably weren¡¯t as efficient to complete alone as they were with a team.


    Whether alone or in a group, he had to try both to find out.


    Moreover, the level of the ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± mission was classified as ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High),¡± but it did not exceed that level to reach ¡°Trembling with Fear.¡±


    Therefore, completing it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, which was why Yan Junze dared to have these three classmates follow him.


    Of course, before starting, he would preemptively set a Rewind point. Should anything unexpected happen to anyone, he would choose whether to continue or to quit the mission after weighing the pros and cons.


    After returning to FH Community and entering Building 7, Yan Junze instantly saw the white figure of the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman had moved to the side of the wall near the stairs on the first floor; to use the stairs, one had to pass behind her.


    At the moment, a man in his thirties wearing a black jacket was descending the stairs, looking utterly terrified. With one hand over his chest and the other on the stair railing, he seemed too scared to even breathe deeply, his attention fixed on the Back-faced Woman, not even noticing Yan Junze standing at the stair entrance. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless.


    The man, tiptoeing and cautiously descending the steps, finally caught his breath, glanced at Yan Junze, moved his lips, and quickly walked out of Building 7.


    Yan Junze roughly understood that the man was warning him to be careful when he went upstairs.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was terrifying, as long as she wasn¡¯t provoked, she didn¡¯t seem to be very dangerous¡ªespecially when she was standing quietly facing the wall.


    Following the middle-aged man¡¯s lead, Yan Junze stayed close to the railing, quietly ascending the stairs, and when he passed behind the Back-faced Woman, a chill ran down his spine and pierced his heart.


    Thankfully, he made it upstairs without any trouble and immediately sent a text message to his parents, reminding them to be careful when they come back.


    And unsurprisingly, Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back, had long since vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 30 - 30 - 29 Granny Ren

    Chapter 30 ¨C 29 Granny Ren


    Returning home, Yan Junze felt that continuing like this was no solution.


    Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman had settled in Building 7 and wouldn¡¯t leave. Being able to see her coming and going every day was highly dangerous.


    If things didn¡¯t improve, he might as well complete the task rated ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡±!


    No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    So far, out of the three tasks he had completed, only ¡°Staying in a Room with Zhang Tiantian¡± had a higher danger level, rated ¡°Trembling with Fear (Low)¡±, and the Possession Spirit in that task was clearly much more dangerous than Ke¡¯er and Granny Ren.


    Now, asking him to complete the task ¡°Look at Her Face,¡± rated ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡±, Yan Junze really had no confidence.


    After some thought, he decided to stick to the original plan and deal with ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± first.


    ...


    After he finished reviewing his homework, his parents came home one after another. Both appeared normal as they entered the house, clearly not having seen the Back-faced Woman, indicating that she didn¡¯t always linger near the stairwell.


    It wasn¡¯t until Li Man had prepared dinner and the three family members were gathered around the dining table that Yan Junze noticed Ke¡¯er seemed to have been gone the whole time.


    Since the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman downstairs, the little creature had disappeared, and still hadn¡¯t returned.


    Regarding the increase in his Favorability from ¡°Neutral¡± to ¡°Friendly¡± with souls, he started to have his doubts. Ke¡¯er was so scared of the Back-faced Woman that she dared not come back; he really didn¡¯t know who was the strangeness. Was it humans who feared the strangeness, or was it strangeness that feared the strangeness?


    While they were eating, there was a knock at the door.


    The three of them were slightly astonished; usually, people didn¡¯t come to visit at mealtime.


    Li Man, who sat closer to the living room door, stood up to open it and asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡±


    There was a stranger outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m from an Exorcist team.¡± A voice that sounded very familiar to Yan Junze spoke up.


    Then Huang Chen, wearing a white suit, his short figure entered the living room. Upon seeing Yan Junze, who was eating, he pursed his lips in a smile.


    ¡°An Exorcist?¡± Yan Daguo put down his utensils and stood up in surprise to greet him.


    In his mind, the incident in the bathroom involving strangeness was still queued up for resolution; it couldn¡¯t possibly be his turn so soon unless someone pulled strings to queue-jump.


    But he hadn¡¯t found someone to pull strings, so how did the Exorcist show up at his door? Besides, the little girl in the bathroom had disappeared, and it had been a while since she last showed up. Now with the Exorcist¡¯s visit, it seemed there wouldn¡¯t be much use.


    ¡°Let me take a look at your bathroom.¡±


    Sure enough, Huang Chen¡¯s face bore a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile, and without greeting Yan Junze, he went straight to the bathroom after being directed.


    The Yan family looked at each other in bewilderment, saying nothing.


    A moment later, Huang Chen emerged with his hands behind his back, tucking away a palm-sized black disk and shaking his head, ¡°No strangeness here, not a trace of magnetic field fluctuations.¡±


    Yan Daguo and his wife had anticipated this result, but having the Exorcist personally confirm it allowed them to finally feel relieved.


    Both said in unison, ¡°Thank you, Exorcist Master!¡±


    Their tone was very respectful; in this age of strangeness, meeting an Exorcist was often warmer than seeing one¡¯s own parents.


    Making his way to the living room door on his own, Huang Chen glanced at Yan Junze and said to Yan Daguo, ¡°This is your son, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Daguo quickly nodded.


    ¡°This kid is pretty good.¡± Huang Chen cast an appreciative glance at Yan Junze without any hesitation, ¡°I saw the video he filmed of the case in apartment 503 upstairs. Well, there are some things I¡¯d like to discuss with him alone.¡±


    The couple were slightly taken aback, but they still nodded and gestured for Yan Junze to sit on the sofa to talk with Huang Chen. Li Man even ran to prepare tea with enthusiasm.


    Who would have known that Huang Chen would naturally put his arm around Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, and the two of them left the living room to stand in the hallway outside before starting their conversation.


    ¡°I guessed that your parents didn¡¯t know about the possession spirit incident last time.¡± Once alone with Yan Junze, Huang Chen stopped beating around the bush, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and looked up at the sky through the atrium.


    Although Yan Junze had encountered a possession spirit, he hadn¡¯t come to harm, and beside that, they had sought psychological counseling and showed all sorts of concern and care for him. This wasn¡¯t without reason¡ªthey certainly didn¡¯t want unnecessary complications.


    Yan Junze nodded: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry my parents either.¡±


    ¡°And yet you dared to go alone to explore the upstairs for strangenesses?¡± Huang Chen turned to look at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m brave.¡± Yan Junze revealed a smile, ¡°And if the video exploring the strangenesses is complete and gimmicky enough, it can easily go viral. I want to earn my own salt.¡±


    Having said this, it was obvious that the corners of Huang Chen¡¯s mouth twitched. The exorcist was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what was going on in the young people¡¯s minds these days, not knowing what they were thinking all day long.


    ¡°Do you know why I came to you?¡± Huang Chen suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze was startled: ¡°You came¡­ specifically for me? Not to deal with the strangeness in my family¡¯s bathroom?¡±


    Huang Chen took another drag on his cigarette, shaking his head: ¡°I came to deal with the bathroom incident incidentally. Moreover, there seems to be no strangenesses, or the strangenesses have already left. This situation can happen with a certain probability. My main purpose for coming here was to tell you about the incident in room 503 upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yan Junze furrowed his brow.


    In his view, ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± task had already been completed. Could it be that there were new developments? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The security officer has confirmed that Granny Ren was murdered, and the suspects are limited to those she knew well and was close to.¡± Huang Chen continued: ¡°Of course, that¡¯s the security officer¡¯s business. We are powerless when it comes to solving cases. Did you see the news today?¡±


    ¡°What news?¡± Yan Junze was perplexed.


    ¡°Last night, a couple was tragically found dead in their home in the LHTD Community.¡± Huang Chen said.


    Yan Junze remembered now. The news had appeared on his phone that morning, so he nodded in acknowledgment.


    ¡°That couple¡­ were Granny Ren¡¯s second son and daughter-in-law, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Junze was shocked.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you, the case has been classified as a Level D strangeness event, and exorcists have already gotten involved,¡± Huang Chen said, looking into the distance.


    ¡°You mean¡­ Granny Ren¡¯s son¡­ they weren¡¯t killed by someone?¡± Yan Junze caught on.


    Huang Chen nodded: ¡°We exorcists rate the danger level of strangeness events with letters. F is the lowest level, like the bathroom incident in your house. The highest is S level.¡±


    Yan Junze said: ¡°What you mean is, Level D strangeness events don¡¯t need to wait in line.¡±


    Huang Chen nodded again: ¡°If a Level D event isn¡¯t dealt with quickly, it might escalate to Level C. Neighboring Huayun City had a Level C strangeness event two months ago. I remember¡­ many people died that time.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened, a guess forming in his mind but he was reluctant to believe it: ¡°You came to my house just to tell me that Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun were killed by strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Huang Chen dropped the cigarette butt at his feet and stamped it out, looking up at Yan Junze, he said word by word: ¡°They were likely killed by Granny Ren.¡±

 Chapter 31 - 31 - 30 Friendship

    Chapter 31 ¨C 30 Friendship


    ¡°Now, describe in detail what happened that day,¡± Huang Chen said. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment before he began to recount the events.


    In fact, Huang Chen had already watched the video Yan Junze shot of the incident once; now, by listening to Yan Junze¡¯s personal account, he mainly wanted to understand his perspective and feelings.


    Furrowing his brows, Huang Chen listened intently and then said, ¡°Now we have some evidence. If you hear any noises from the floor above in the next few days, don¡¯t take matters into your own hands and go up there.¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid that¡­ Granny Ren¡¯s spirit might have come back?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Huang Chen nodded. ¡°But we can¡¯t be sure. Granny Ren¡¯s spirit might have become stronger now, and we cannot touch her as easily as we did last time, or it would be extremely dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Got it, I know,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    ...


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine as he quietly speculated that if Granny Ren could truly cause a Level D strangeness incident, what level of existence it would be considered in his task display.


    Trembling with fear? Probably not just that. It¡¯s very likely to be at least as hair-raising as the Back-faced Woman task.


    However, regarding Huang Chen¡¯s self-perceived reasoning abilities, Yan Junze had already discounted them in his heart, feeling that this exorcist, apart from looking somewhat cool when throwing the Hidden Buckle at the Possession Spirit, didn¡¯t seem to have done anything particularly impressive.


    ¡°Oh right,¡± Yan Junze reminded, ¡°When you just came up the stairs, did you see any other strangenesses?¡±


    Huang Chen looked at him with a slight astonishment and shook his head: ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well, since you are here, take a look,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s a female ghost wearing a white tee and shorts, with disheveled hair, a slender figure, facing the wall, and she keeps her back turned to everyone who sees her.¡±


    ¡°Did you report it to the strangeness incident team?¡± Huang Chen asked.


    ¡°I did, a long time ago, but it¡¯s probably still in queue,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check it out later,¡± Huang Chen promised promptly. ¡°But if she doesn¡¯t show up, and I can¡¯t find her, I won¡¯t stay here forever. Here, take down my number first.¡±


    After their conversation, Huang Chen did not greet Yan Daguo and his wife and instead turned and walked directly to the stairwell.


    ¡°Son, how come I feel like you¡¯ve known him for a long time?¡± Yan Daguo sat at the dining table, his food cold, as both he and his wife had lost their appetite.


    Yan Junze came back to the room, sat down with a grin, and replied, ¡°Just met, it¡¯s just that we wished we¡¯d met sooner. Oh right, mom and dad, if you see Granny Ren¡¯s spirit again in the next few days, don¡¯t engage with her. That unreliable exorcist guy just told me this, be sure to remember.¡±


    The couple looked at each other with expressions of alarm and fear.


    Right after dinner, Huang Chen called. He had made a round in building number seven and hadn¡¯t seen the Back-faced Woman Yan Junze mentioned. However, not seeing her didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t there; Huang Chen said he would move the strangeness incident¡¯s priority up when he got back, so that the authorities could deal with it as soon as possible.


    Not long after Huang Chen left, Ke¡¯er returned.


    That made Yan Junze suspect that the little rascal Ke¡¯er was actually going out to avoid Huang Chen.


    Before going to bed, Yan Daguo and his wife again grilled Yan Junze about Granny Ren. Yan Junze didn¡¯t tell them that Granny Ren¡¯s son and his wife had been killed; otherwise, his parents would be even more uneasy.


    As for the exorcist becoming acquainted with their son, the couple considered it a pleasant surprise. If they were to encounter a strangeness incident in the future, they might be able to call on this connection.


    Of course, they generally wouldn¡¯t exploit it, as owing someone a favor meant having to repay it.


    Back in his bedroom, Yan Junze logged onto the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform on his account ¡°Night Traveling Puppy.¡± His main page featured only one video he had uploaded.


    The name of the video is identical to the task name displayed in the Spacetime Atlas, titled ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night.¡± At the moment, it has over 3,000 views and more than 500 likes, a rough ratio of 6:1. The number of comments has also exceeded 100, and the overall response looks pretty good.


    The reason for only having this many views is that the video hasn¡¯t been promoted at all. It just quietly sits among countless other short videos, relying entirely on passersby who happen to click in for a look.


    Yan Junze glanced at the comments below the video.


    User ¡°Birdshot vs. Plane¡±: This video is pretty good, with a high level of completion!


    User ¡°Satan Descends¡±: It exudes an inexplicable sense of tension, but it always feels somewhat staged.


    User ¡°2038779412¡±: I stumbled upon this by accident, what a pleasant surprise! Puppy, your video is good, keep it up¡­


    User ¡°My Girlfriend is called Yamedie¡±: It can¡¯t be staged, that¡¯s a real corpse. Even though the face is pixelated, there¡¯s no denying that the comb was pulled out from the position of the heart.


    After a while, Yan Junze felt that the comments were mainly of two types: praise or skepticism, largely revolving around whether the video was a staged fabrication by a professional team.


    The main reason is that the story of ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± is complete, with cause and effect, background information, and under Bao Jie¡¯s perfect control of the ¡°One Cut Gone¡± app, the atmosphere is tense, the plot is tight, and there¡¯s even a free grand finale for the audience¡¯s emotion¡ªcouldn¡¯t be more on-point.


    Although the video isn¡¯t trending, Yan Junze suddenly felt confident that as long as the quality of the videos wasn¡¯t bad, uploading a few more in the future would eventually draw attention.


    Yan Junze opened the ¡°We Aren¡¯t Afraid of Strangeness¡± group chat and shouted, ¡°Tomorrow, all members of the Spirit Exploration Team prepare the tools you need to bring. Take your positions, we¡¯ll meet at the entrance of FH Community¡ªmy neighborhood¡ªat 9 p.m.¡±


    Jiang Ruixin: ¡°Ah, at 9 p.m.! I don¡¯t know if my mom will let me go out, it¡¯s so late and there are hardly any people on the streets, I¡¯m scared¡­¡±


    Bao Jie: ¡°I¡¯ll call a taxi to pick you up then, and we¡¯ll go together.¡±


    Dali: ¡°Jiejie, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pick you two up tomorrow night. You¡¯ll be fine with big brother Dali here.¡±


    Bao Jie: ¡°I¡¯m about to throw up, don¡¯t call me Jiejie, use my full name.¡±


    Dali: ¡°Okay, Jiejie.¡±


    Bao Jie: ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Dali: ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Jiejie. By the way, Jiejie, what are you doing?¡±


    Bao Jie: ¡°Ugh!!!¡±


    After closing the group chat, Yan Junze went to the bathroom to take a shower and changed into darker clothes to facilitate moving in the darkness the next night.


    Bath time was when Ke¡¯er was most active, constantly crawling on Yan Junze, making ¡°Eh eh eh¡± noises.


    Regarding the operation the next night, he wondered if this little guy would follow him.


    The next day, Yan Junze took out a canvas backpack and prepared items like a lighter, a multifunctional army knife, clean cloths, and made sure his phone was fully charged.


    Even though Bao Jie was responsible for filming, he still kept his own phone camera on. This would be a double insurance to ensure there were no blind spots in the filming.


    His father, Yan Daguo, would not be home because of the night shift at the factory, and his mother had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for the early shift, so she went to bed early.


    After Yan Junze packed his stuff, he put on his canvas backpack at 8:45 p.m., gently closed the living room door, and left the community.

 Chapter 32 - 32 - 31 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 1)

    Chapter 32 ¨C 31 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 1)


    [Task Coordinates: Jianye Building Basement Level One, Room 004 Storage.]


    [Task Name: Peeking From the Crack in the Wall;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: His fate was tragic, wife gone, children lost. His name became synonymous with loneliness, destined to go unnoticed by all throughout his life. Most unfortunate of all, he was forgotten in a corner following an accidental incident. Yes, he¡¯s still there, hidden in the deepest recesses of the building.


    Task Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Task Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Become a substitute, to exchange for his freedom;


    ...


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down, he¡¯s already pitiable, please spare him; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Note: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    After leaving the community gates and while waiting for the others, Yan Junze pulled up the task list from the Spacetime Atlas and gave it a careful read.


    This time, the task was to give the Evil Spirit eternal rest, meaning, the poor guy must be in quite an uncomfortable state. He needed a resolution to his predicament, perhaps that would allow him to finally relax and rest in peace.


    The newly formed Spirit Exploration Team members were all very punctual. Before 9 o¡¯clock, a taxi stopped at the entrance to the community. The rear door opened, and Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin jumped out one after the other.


    Both were dressed in dark sportswear for ease of movement and carried small backpacks behind them, bulging with stuff like cameras and flashlights.


    Then, the passenger door opened and Zhou Heng first stretched out an ¡°elephant leg¡± onto the ground. Under the watchful eyes of the three, he gradually shifted his broad cross-section of a body out of the car.


    The moment he got out of the car, it visibly lifted, a true embodiment of the phrase ¡°a load off.¡±


    After paying the taxi fare, Zhou Dali patted his behind and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Are we on time? It¡¯s so late, how about we grab some late-night snacks before we start?¡±


    ¡°Diet.¡± The two girls denied in unison.


    Zhou Dali touched his belly and muttered quietly, ¡°You girls are either on a diet or on the way to start one. Luckily, I came prepared.¡±


    With that, he took out a few packs of biscuits from his backpack, tore them open and started chowing down vigorously.


    Ever since the strangeness descended, the streets at night had very few pedestrians, but there were more patrolling security cars. One would occasionally see patrol cars with flashing lights driving by, silent on the streets.


    Each of the four people carried a backpack, making them especially conspicuous on the sparsely populated streets at night, so they didn¡¯t linger and immediately crossed the road. They walked a hundred meters more and arrived at the entrance of Jianye Building.


    The vehicle access was blocked by an electric gate, beside which was a small iron door. It was slightly ajar and opened with a push.


    However, right next to the small iron door was the guard room, where a middle-aged man in a security uniform was immersed in a TV drama. The plot involved the messy entanglements of ¡°I love you, but you don¡¯t love me, you instead love him, he falls for my sister, I have my sister pretend to love him, he dumps you, and you come back crying, begging for my love.¡±


    For the security uncle, the storyline was captivating. As he was glued to the TV, the small iron door behind him was slowly pushed open. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze and his team tiptoed with hunched backs and slipped into the courtyard of Jianye Building.


    Looking back, they realized someone was missing, and Yan Junze instantly broke out in a cold sweat.


    ¡°Ruixin, come here quickly!¡± Bao Jie also noticed the discrepancy and called out quietly, looking back.


    At that moment, Jiang Ruixin was peeking out from behind the window of the guard room, engrossedly watching the drama alongside the middle-aged man.


    After realizing it, Jiang Ruixin hurried over, complaining, ¡°Just to join you guys in Spirit Exploration, I missed today¡¯s Episode 21 of ¡¯I Love You So Much Yet You Hold Hands with Another in the Park and I Damn Well Want to Punch You to Death.¡¯¡± (Salute to Brother Erguo¡¯s head! (¤Å£þ3£þ)¤Å¨q?¡«)}


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze looked at each other, completely baffled.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying this drama is called¡­¡±


    ¡°I love you so much, yet you¡¯re walking in the park holding someone else¡¯s hand, I seriously want to punch you to death,¡± Bao Jie repeated fluently, then added, ¡°I was following this show last month, but I stopped. Mainly because the plot was a bit far-fetched.¡±


    ¡°Just hearing the name is far-fetched enough,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    Zhou Dali forcefully held back his laughter, finally managing not to laugh out loud.


    The four of them entered Jianye Building.


    The building was 35 stories high, with around 50 companies having offices inside. However, Yan Junze and his group didn¡¯t plan to go upstairs. Instead, they bypassed the elevator and took the stairs down to the basement level.


    The stairwell had sound-activated lights, so to avoid drawing attention, everyone moved silently.


    At the stairway entrance, Jiang Ruixin distributed a small flashlight to each person, which she¡¯d procured from their family¡¯s supermarket.


    Yan Junze led the way as all four descended the stairs to the basement level.


    The stairs were quite clean, it seemed like housekeeping was up to snuff here, not even a scrap of broken cardboard or paper could be seen.


    When they reached the stairway entrance to the basement level, they shone the flashlight and discovered the door was locked with a U-shaped lock.


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhou Dali, who crouched down, opened his backpack, and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters, saying, ¡°I turned my dad¡¯s toolbox upside down, these are the strongest equipment I could bring.¡±


    ¡°We owe you big time for this one,¡± Yan Junze took the opportunity to pat his shoulder, letting the guy feel pumped up for a while.


    Otherwise, given Zhou Dali¡¯s faint-heartedness, if he got scared later and wanted to back out, he¡¯d certainly run faster than a rabbit, which wouldn¡¯t be good for the team¡¯s overall movement.


    Zhou Dali let out a he-he and, holding the bolt cutters, squatted in front of the basement level door and started fiddling with it.


    While he was busy, Yan Junze called up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and, after Zhou Dali snapped the U-lock, set up the starting point for a Rewind. He then set the endpoint for 40 minutes later.


    Of course, if they had to Rewind a certain segment of time due to an emergency in this period, it wouldn¡¯t mean the entire Rewind timeline would vanish, but rather its length would be appropriately shortened.


    If they had to Rewind several times, due to the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, the final length of time they were able to Rewind could potentially be only a few minutes.


    After the door opened, a gust of cold air blew out from the dark corridor, making everyone standing at the top of the stairs shiver involuntarily.


    Only Zhou Dali, brushing the dust off his hands, was completely unaffected by the chill thanks to his robust constitution.


    ¡°It feels like there¡¯s a freezer inside!¡± Bao Jie guessed.


    ¡°Dali, aren¡¯t you cold?¡± with her hands crossed in front of her chest, Jiang Ruixin shivered as she curiously asked.


    ¡°Heh, I can¡¯t feel the cold at all,¡± Zhou Dali said, his confidence soaring at that moment.


    ¡°Then you go in front, block the wind for us,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face stiffened, ¡°You know¡­ actually¡­ it¡¯s a little cold. Also, my eyesight isn¡¯t very good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go then,¡± Yan Junze said with a smirk.


    Bao Jie turned on the portable video camera she had brought. A beam of light from the top of the camera illuminated the darkness of the basement level a bit more.

 Chapter 33 - 33 - 32 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 2)

    Chapter 33 ¨C 32 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 2)


    ¡°Jianye Building has always been plagued by strangenesses, it¡¯s said to be the soul of a man. This man stays on the negative first floor and never leaves, seeming to have some connection with this place. Our Spirit Exploration Team has come to find out why he stays here, and if¡­ we can eliminate the strangeness here, then all the better.¡±


    Yan Junze led the way ahead while seemingly talking to himself.


    It gave off the feeling of a live commentary, and amidst the surrounding darkness, mystery, and silence, the commentary was even more likely to give one goosebumps.


    After entering the negative first floor corridor, they found the reason why the stairwell they had descended was clean and tidy¡ªunwanted items were all piled up inside.


    The corridor was filled on both sides with a large amount of cardboard boxes, and mountains of scrap paper that had been copied or printed out.


    Fortunately, the corridor was spacious, and even with half of it occupied, Yan Junze and the others were able to pass through smoothly.


    The light switches on both sides of the corridor were all broken; otherwise, they would have turned the lights on directly. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    And judging by the looks of it, the surveillance on this floor was also broken. If there were any strangenesses here, the security guards and janitors of this building would have the most say. To avoid the strangenesses, they would keep the negative first floor abandoned and basically unmanaged.


    Once inside, unless someone came down, they wouldn¡¯t be discovered, and after entering the corridor, Zhou Dali had locked the broken U-lock onto the closed corridor door handle to prevent anyone from outside opening it.


    The space, never seeing sunlight, had become very damp, and the cardboard boxes and discarded documents that were against the ground were all soaked through. The damp, moldy scent permeated the air.


    The air was cold, and after a while, Yan Junze noticed that both Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin¡¯s lips had started to turn purple.


    ¡°Dali, take off your jacket and let them wear it.¡±


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, glanced at Bao Jie, and immediately showed a look of distress. He took off his coat¡ªwhich for Bao Jie could serve as a long robe¡ªand carefully draped it over her.


    He was only wearing two pieces of clothing, a jacket and a long-sleeved T-shirt. With no alternative, he also took off the T-shirt and reluctantly slipped it onto Jiang Ruixin.


    Their mission¡¯s coordinates were located in the storage room 004 on the negative first floor of the Jianye Building. Walking along, Yan Junze found that the room numbers near the main entrance were counted backwards, starting at 020.


    That meant room 004 would be the fourth one from the end.


    The doors of the rooms in the corridor were basically all closed, with the occasional door ajar. Yan Junze warned the others not to touch them.


    When they encountered an open door, they only shone their flashlights inside to see some scattered and abandoned desks and chairs, without going in.


    Yan Junze¡¯s goal was clear; aside from entering storage room 004, he wouldn¡¯t go anywhere else.


    After a while, Bao Jie suddenly stopped.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jiang Ruixin, who was walking alongside, also halted and asked Bao Jie.


    Zhou Dali behind them stopped as well.


    Yan Junze turned to look at them.


    ¡°Did you guys¡­ notice that there are¡­ footsteps behind us?¡± Bao Jie stammered, her face turning pale.


    ¡°Of course, there are footsteps,¡± Zhou Dali said nonchalantly from behind, ¡°Aren¡¯t I following you all?¡±


    ¡°Not yours,¡± Bao Jie turned around, ¡°There¡¯s someone walking behind you.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face turned white, and he reflexively jumped, quickly turning around.


    At least three flashlight beams were cast behind them.


    There was nothing there.


    ¡°That¡­ that Jiejie¡­ Jiejie, don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t scare me!¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s teeth clattered uncontrollably, making a rhythmic sound.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Bao Jie gagged, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Jiejie.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that clearly? Could it be the sound of footsteps coming from behind Dali?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It seems¡­ yes.¡± At this moment, Bao Jie was also uncertain.


    ¡°Well, how about this, I¡¯ll walk backward, and you guys continue forward, but walk slowly and wait for me,¡± Zhou Dali, feeling guilty, turned around, and pointed his two flashlights toward the back, his eyes wide open without blinking.


    Although they moved slowly, everyone was on guard for any strangeness that might suddenly rush out of a room, it didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the halfway point of the corridor. Just around the corner and down a stretch of hallway, they would arrive at room 004, near the end.


    Just as Yan Junze was the first to turn the corner, Zhou Dali at the very back shuddered, his eyes bulging.


    He saw a pale hand appear outside the corridor door they had just entered through, reaching through the gap between the doors.


    This hand groped around for a while, grabbed the broken U-shaped lock hanging on the doorknob, and pulled hard at it.


    ¡°Ow, my goodness, a strangeness!!!¡± Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but yell out loud.


    Everyone stopped, Yan Junze returned to the corner, and together with Bao Jie and the others, they looked in the direction of Zhou Dali¡¯s gaze, towards the entrance of the corridor they had come through.


    Under the flashlight beam, they indeed saw a hand pulling at the broken U-shaped lock as if something was trying to enter the corridor from the staircase.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry inside!¡± Jiang Ruixin urged quickly, stomping her feet in fright.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Yan Junze stopped everyone who wanted to run down the hallway. He stared intently at the pale hand, ¡°That¡¯s not right, there¡¯s light coming from outside the door too, it looks like a flashlight! That means¡­ it¡¯s not a strangeness.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than the U-shaped lock was snatched away by the hand and the door opened, revealing the figures of two men, one of whom was wearing a security uniform.


    ¡°It¡¯s people.¡± Zhou Dali breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the situation clearly.


    ¡°Who are you? How did you get in here?¡± The security guard, who had been watching dramas in the security room just now, wore an angry expression and scolded them.


    The other man, recognized by everyone, was Zhou Jiajie, whom they didn¡¯t expect to see at all.


    At the moment, Zhou Jiajie looked embarrassed, having been caught by the security guard during his sneaking in, and he stood quietly to one side, occasionally glancing over at Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze immediately understood everything, suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked Bao Jie in a deep voice, ¡°Did you tell him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Bao Jie lowered her head, not daring to look at the others.


    ¡°Damn it! Women are trouble! Sentimental women are even more trouble! Women who don¡¯t like me, only like pretty boys, are the worst kind of trouble!¡± Zhou Dali roared uncontrollably.


    ¡°Zhou¡­ Zhou Heng! Enough!¡± Bao Jie¡¯s anger surged, glaring hard at Zhou Dali, ¡°Having one more person is an extra pair of hands. I was thinking of everyone¡¯s well-being. How was I supposed to know Jiajie would alert the security guard?¡±


    ¡°Jiajie?¡± Zhou Dali suddenly felt a surge of jealousy, ¡°That sounds so affectionate!¡±


    Thud!


    Just then, from behind everyone at the corner, a hollow noise came from the direction of room 004, like a hammer striking a steel pipe in a sewer.


    ¡°You¡­ you all get out quickly!¡± The middle-aged security guard¡¯s face changed, and he couldn¡¯t help but urge them, ¡°There are strangenesses here, we can¡¯t stay long.¡±


    ¡°It was my miscalculation.¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, he glanced at the others who were looking towards room 004, then shifted his gaze to the terrified security guard, and without hesitation, he silently thought: ¡°Rewind.¡±


    Time rewound.


    The scene before them blurred, and suddenly everyone was standing outside the hallway on the basement floor. Zhou Dali had just broken the U-shaped lock and was standing up.


    ¡°Right now, immediately call Zhou Jiajie, whom you have a crush on, and tell him that today¡¯s operation is canceled, everyone has gone their separate ways. Tell him to turn back too,¡± Yan Junze said to a dumbfounded Bao Jie.

 Chapter 34 - 34 - 33 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 3)

    Chapter 34 ¨C 33 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 3)


    Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.


    It took Zhou Dali quite some time to come back to his senses, ¡°Jiejie, did you quietly tell Zhou Jiajie about today¡¯s affairs?¡±


    Jiang Ruixin also said, ¡°Did you really tell Zhou Jiajie about our operation tonight?¡±


    Bao Jie remained silent.


    Yan Junze reminded again, ¡°If you don¡¯t make this call, I¡¯m canceling today¡¯s Spirit Exploration right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call right away.¡± Bao Jie looked up at Yan Junze, feeling a bit incredulous, nodded her head, took out her phone, and dialed Zhou Jiajie¡¯s number; it was quickly connected.


    Following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, she didn¡¯t say anything else, and from Zhou Jiajie¡¯s voice, it seemed like he didn¡¯t have too much suspicion.


    ...


    After hanging up, Bao Jie scanned the three people and said in a low voice, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t say anything, but Zhou Dali huffed, ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t forgive you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if they forgive me, I don¡¯t need your forgiveness,¡± Bao Jie replied with a cold tone.


    Zhou Dali instantly felt awkward, glancing at Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin, who were struggling to hold back laughter, and with a strained smile said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go in.¡±


    Yan Junze warned aloud, ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s quite cold inside. If Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin really can¡¯t stand the cold, Dali, you should later take off your clothes and give them to wear.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± Zhou Dali nodded.


    Jiang Ruixin looked at Bao Jie, and neither of them objected.


    Yan Junze led the way into the corridor.


    Even though they had just been through it once, as they entered the corridor, Yan Junze was meticulous in his explanation, Bao Jie recorded the video on the side, while Jiang Ruixin and Zhou Dali were shining their flashlights around, appearing as if any small movement would scare them.


    Soon, Zhou Dali conscientiously took off his jacket and gave one to each, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin.


    Bao Jie was initially reluctant, but feeling so cold she was shivering, she reluctantly accepted the jacket and put it on.


    As for the doors of the rooms along the corridor, which were closed, they weren¡¯t so bad, but those that were open, especially the ones ajar, the eerie silence coming from the dark spaces was frightening.


    As they approached the spot where Bao Jie last heard footsteps, Yan Junze recalled something and suddenly stopped, turned around, and shone his flashlight behind Zhou Dali.


    The other people were startled and also stopped, taking a surprised look at Yan Junze before quickly turning to look behind them.


    There was nothing there.


    ¡°Did you just notice something?¡± Bao Jie asked.


    ¡°Junze, is there something behind me?¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s voice trembled.


    ¡°Nothing, there¡¯s nothing,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°Dali, why don¡¯t you walk backwards, shine the flashlight, and keep an eye out for anything unusual behind us.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, that¡¯s a great suggestion!¡± Zhou Dali nodded rapidly, admiring Yan Junze greatly at that moment.


    Actually, he didn¡¯t notice that he had been feeling a chill down his spine all along, but he had been so focused on what was in front of him that he hadn¡¯t realized it.


    Yan Junze turned and continued to lead the way, but the image of a man¡¯s shadow lingered in his mind.


    Just as he turned, he clearly saw a man about the same height as Zhou Dali walking behind him, with movements, the subtle bend of the body, and the pacing almost identical to that of Zhou Dali.


    It was like a substitute!


    However, Yan Junze knew well that the shadow was much thinner than Zhou Dali, and as soon as he turned, it merged into the darkness.


    Should he ¡°Rewind¡± here and turn early to get a clear look at this guy¡¯s true face?


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind flickered with this thought, but after careful consideration, he felt it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Just now, Zhou Jiajie had quietly followed the group, only to be caught by the security, exposing everyone and causing him to use up one of his rewinds.


    The timeline, which could have been rewound by 40 minutes, had now been shortened to 36 minutes.


    He must hurry to complete this mission.


    Soon, the group turned the corner of the corridor and saw the direction to room 004.


    They had not walked far when the familiar, empty collision sound suddenly rang out, startling everyone except Yan Junze, who immediately stopped.


    ¡°This¡­ sound¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­ coming from that 004 storage room?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it.¡±


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin looked nervously in the direction of the storage room 004.


    The few carefully moved forward, noticing that the door to room 004 was ajar, not tightly closed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in first, everyone follow me. Dali, watch your back,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Upon reaching the entrance of storage room 004, the air became even more humid, and an icy breath permeated the area, long enough for a mist to form at the nostrils, much like mucus.


    Wiping his nose carelessly, Yan Junze cautiously pushed open the door of room 004 without rushing in, and instead shone his flashlight inside once.


    There were several gray and white storage cabinets in the room, marked with labels that were unclear.


    In another corner of the room, there was an assortment of miscellaneous items, including many old newspapers and a pile of white plastic tubes, the purpose of which was unknown.


    Yan Junze walked in, followed by Bao Jie who was holding a camera, then Jiang Ruixin, and finally, Zhou Dali, who was walking backwards, constantly watching his back. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once everyone was in the room, Yan Junze instructed Zhou Dali to close the door.


    The sinister shadow that had been following the group clearly had ill intentions, making him unable to relax; closing the door would prevent any worries about the shadow sneaking in.


    And if the shadow did try to break in, the noise would be enough to alert everyone in advance.


    Jiang Ruixin took out two more flashlights from her bag, shining them in different directions to provide the greatest illumination in the storage room.


    ¡°Now, we need to find this man¡¯s soul, to help him,¡± Yan Junze spoke up.


    The others didn¡¯t say a word, and besides Bao Jie¡¯s camera following Yan Junze, the other two searched around with their flashlights.


    The storage room wasn¡¯t very large; if it weren¡¯t for some obstructions, it would have been possible to sweep the entire room with one glance, so within a few minutes, they had searched everywhere with no oddities to be found.


    Zhou Dali moved swiftly, even shifting the plastic tubes that were piled in the corner, yet still found nothing.


    Yan Junze looked at the storage cabinets against the wall and said to Zhou Dali, ¡°Dali, we might need to move the cabinets.¡±


    The storage cabinets were not filled, and one was even empty.


    Zhou Dali, without a second thought, went forward bare-chested, wrapping his arms around a half-full storage cabinet, lifted it, took two steps, and set it aside.


    Just as he was about to move the second cabinet, Yan Junze¡¯s voice came, ¡°Wait.¡±


    He stepped forward, the flashlight shining behind the cabinets onto the wall, where a crack as wide as a finger appeared after moving the cabinet, about half a meter long.


    Just as the crack was revealed, under the illumination of the flashlight, a faint reflection gleamed from within the crack.

 Chapter 35 - 35 - 34 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 4)

    Chapter 35 ¨C 34 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 4)


    ¡°There¡¯s something sinister about the crack in this wall,¡± Yan Junze appeared to be mumbling to himself, but in reality, he was providing a live commentary to the camera.


    ¡°This crack is too small, even if there were any strangeness, it couldn¡¯t squeeze through! I¡¯ll look around for other cracks in the wall,¡± Zhou Dali turned his head to inspect the area.


    He was preparing to move all the other storage cabinets against the wall. Before coming, Yan Junze had not provided detailed instructions, but now it seemed that the strangeness must be hiding inside the wall.


    Yan Junze stopped him, ¡°No need to move them, Dali, take out all the demolition tools you brought, and just drill into the wall¡ªright at this crack.¡±


    ¡°Ah! We¡¯re really drilling?¡± Everyone stared at him.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°The humidity here is high; the inside of the wall must be soaked with moisture. Be careful not to make too much noise, a hole just big enough for one person to freely enter and exit is fine.¡±


    ¡°You mean for you to enter and exit, or me,¡± Zhou Dali looked confusedly at his own robust frame and then at Yan Junze¡¯s frail figure.


    ...


    He had made up his mind that if, after drilling through the wall, Yan Junze still wanted him to enter, he would refuse to do so even if it meant fighting everyone here to death.


    He would resist to the death!


    ¡°It¡¯s enough if I can get in and out,¡± Yan Junze reassured him with a peace-offering.


    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± Zhou Dali nodded, set down his large backpack, and took out various tools like a sledgehammer, electric drill, and hammers, tools both useful and useless.


    The electric drill was charged and ready to use, which was convenient.


    Zhou Dali, holding the electric drill, walked towards the crack, intending to enlarge the hole first. Then, after seeing the structure inside, he would use the hammer to break through.


    But just as he approached within five or six steps of the crack, he suddenly froze, as if he¡¯d instantaneously turned into a clay statue, his index finger already pressing the switch of the drill, its head spinning rapidly in the air.


    The guy didn¡¯t even realize it and just stood there motionless.


    ¡°Dali? What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze approached, puzzled.


    Upon closer inspection, Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes blinked twice, but his body remained still.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt a void in his body as if he had fallen into an abyss, continuously plummeting downward. A sense of panic spread throughout his body, and he felt unable to breathe all of a sudden.


    Piercing screams from Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin echoed in his ears, as if they too had encountered a mishap at the same moment.


    ¡°Not good, we must Rewind!¡±


    No sooner had the thought emerged in Yan Junze¡¯s mind than he heard Zhou Dali speak beside him, ¡°The¡­ the crack in the wall¡­ seems like¡­ it has an eye!¡±


    It appeared only this guy was unaffected.


    As soon as Zhou Dali¡¯s words were spoken, the sensation of free-falling that plagued Yan Junze vanished. His body felt heavy again, and he found himself still standing in the same spot, having not moved an inch.


    However, he was now sweating all over his body.


    It was a hallucination!


    He came to his senses.


    Turning his head, he saw Bao Jie sitting on the ground, a terrified expression still etched on her face, while Jiang Ruixin leaned against the moved storage cabinet, her hands flailing in front of her. It took another second for her to suddenly come to her senses and stop.


    Zhou Dali, meanwhile, blinked and said with trepidation, ¡°Ze, take a look inside the crack¡­ is there¡­ an eye?¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze felt a pitch darkness all of a sudden, all the flashlight beams had vanished.


    A sense of fear involuntarily washed over him. He reached out into the darkness, finding nothing.


    The endless darkness surged toward him like a tide.


    All at once, an icy hand reached out for his throat, its grip as strong as that of a yak, seizing his neck with precision.


    In a panic, he grabbed the chilling hand with both hands, but despite his effort to pry it away, he could not move it; it felt not like a human hand but more like a cold, unfeeling machine.


    After a brief struggle, the icy hand disappeared, and the darkness around was dispelled by the flashlight¡¯s light. Yan Junze found himself back at the spot where he was standing just moments ago.


    The illusion was gone again.


    This time, Zhou Dali was staring intently at the eye peeking from the crack in the wall.


    As if something had triggered him, Yan Junze had a stroke of insight and said, ¡°Dali, focus on that eye you see and don¡¯t blink. Keep staring at it and don¡¯t move.¡±


    The two consecutive immersions into an illusion started after Zhou Dali noticed the eye in the crack of the wall, and Yan Junze realized that as long as Zhou Dali stared at that eye, everyone was fine. But the moment he blinked or looked away, Yan Junze would fall into the illusion.


    Clearly, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were also falling into different illusions at the same time.


    It was a problem with the eye in the crack of the wall.


    ¡°Stare¡­ stare at it¡­ What for?¡± Zhou Dali asked, trembling, ¡°That might be¡­ a Ghost Eye!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not might be, it¡¯s definitely a Ghost Eye.¡±


    Yan Junze decisively pushed Zhou Dali aside and took his place, his gaze preemptively taking over from Dali¡¯s and locked onto the eye in the crack that reflected a faint glow under the flashlight.


    The eye in the crack only showed one eye, as the narrow gap did not allow the other to be seen. This eye likely belonged to a corpse with eyes wide open, unblinking, just peering through the crack at the people outside.


    A thin layer of grayish-white film covered the surface of the pupil, but one could still see the lifeless eyeball through the film.


    From this distance, the corpse inside the wall was not far from the surface. If the action was quick, it could be excavated shortly after breaking through the wall.


    Although Yan Junze didn¡¯t know why looking away from that eye caused others to fall into an illusion, he didn¡¯t have time to think it through at the moment.


    While keeping his gaze on the eye in the crack, he quickly ordered Zhou Dali, ¡°Use all your tools and break through this wall fast. We need to dig out this body!¡±


    Zhou Dali was startled, then reacted. Without using a drill, he picked up the sledgehammer and swung at the wall.


    Thud!


    A dull sound echoed.


    Since it was in the basement, and storage room 004¡¯s door was closed, along with the twisted corridors and the closed door at the stair entrance, the sound was very faint by the time it reached outside.


    Mainly because inside the building, except for during patrol times, there were no security guards around at this hour, and inside the security booth, the uncle was engrossed in his drama series, not hearing anything at all.


    After a few swings of the hammer, the wall caved in, and a large piece of the exterior wall fell off, revealing the stones and a few bent steel bars inside.


    By this time, Yan Junze was struggling to keep up. His eyes had been open the whole time, fixed on that grayish-white dead eye. Not blinking at all was simply impossible.


    The sour sensation quickly surged, and after his eyelids uncontrollably trembled a couple of times, they forcefully closed.


    Simultaneously, darkness fell before Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes. He stopped hammering, dropped the sledgehammer, and grabbed his own throat, struggling and calling for help loudly.


    Bao Jie¡¯s camera also fell to the ground, and she seemed to be drowning, kicking her legs and grasping at the Void, trying to pull something.


    Jiang Ruixin was screaming nonstop, retreating as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Apart from Yan Junze, all three had fallen into an illusion.


    Yan Junze was frantic, forcibly keeping his eyes wide open and staring fiercely again at the pupil in the crack in the wall, even manually propping his eyelids open to prevent them from blinking again.


    The illusions of the three people soon vanished, and each, still shaken, stood motionless for a few seconds before slowly regaining their senses.


    This time, everyone understood what was going on. Jiang Ruixin ran to help Zhou Dali while Bao Jie picked up her camera to check it and, finding it undamaged, patted her chest in relief and continued filming.


    ¡°This no-blinking challenge is really tough!¡±


    Yan Junze propped his eyelids with his fingers, and with his glasses in the way, it was already quite inconvenient. Soon, he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and wanted to close his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, his face showing signs of agony.


    ¡°How about I give it a try?¡± Bao Jie suggested, batting her watery, large eyes from the side.

 Chapter 36 - 36 - 35 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 5)

    Chapter 36 ¨C 35 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 5)


    ¡°Alright, you take over,¡± Yan Junze agreed without hesitation.


    Bao Jie was momentarily stunned, not expecting him to agree so readily.


    But to be honest, Yan Junze had already had enough, constantly weeping and not daring to close his eyes, urging Bao Jie to quickly stand in his place.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the eye?¡± Bao Jie temporarily handed the camera to Jiang Ruixin.


    Yan Junze pointed to a certain spot in the crack of the wall, ¡°Stare at it, keep it dead in sight, and whatever you do, don¡¯t blink.¡±


    As soon as Bao Jie saw the eye, Yan Junze immediately closed his, rubbing them fiercely, and joined Zhou Dali in smashing the wall.


    Before the four of them were killed by hallucinations, they had to dig out the corpse inside as quickly as possible. Otherwise, to be played by an eye to the point of death, and even worse, have it recorded on video, would be an embarrassment beyond measure.


    ... S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were frantically chiseling the wall, the next second, the whole scene turned awkward.


    ¡°Hurry up, I can¡¯t take it anymore,¡± Bao Jie¡¯s anxious voice rang out.


    From the moment she took over from Yan Junze, it had been less than ten seconds before these words were spoken, and as soon as her words ended, Yan Junze¡¯s vision was filled with a hallucination. He saw a withered, shriveled arm stretch out from the crack in the wall, grabbing his collar.


    The stench of decay wafted forth, and from that gripping arm, a mass of maggots crawled out, burrowing into his clothes.


    And the strength of this arm was immense, forcefully trying to drag him into the wall.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s roars echoed in his ears, as if he were wrestling with something, and he was shouting, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not a strangeness, you¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t beat you to death!¡±


    Jiang Ruixin, who was filming, let out a scream, and once again the sound of the camera hitting the ground was heard.


    On Yan Junze¡¯s side, all the rotting flesh on the arm extruding from the wall had completely decayed, part of it falling into his clothes along with the maggots, squirming against his skin.


    Goosebumps erupted all over Yan Junze¡¯s body.


    The next second, everyone snapped back from the illusion, standing stock-still in place.


    There was Bao Jie with her hair in disarray, imitating Yan Junze¡¯s earlier action, using her fingers to forcefully keep her eyelids open, staring unblinkingly at the eye in the wall crack.


    The image of a lady was completely ruined.


    Not only that, although she kept an ungainly posture, Bao Jie still rapidly said, ¡°Who¡­ Who¡¯ll take over for me, this really isn¡¯t my strong suit!¡±


    Yan Junze sighed, about to reply, heard Jiang Ruixin say, ¡°I¡¯ll do it! Where¡¯s the eye?¡±


    At this moment, Jiang Ruixin had rolled up her sleeves, ready to face death.


    It was mainly because the successive hallucinations earlier had nearly scared her out of her wits. Even though she knew they were illusions, she couldn¡¯t endure this kind of scare, so now she was all in, in a desperate state of it¡¯s either you or me.


    After spotting the eye in the wall crack, Jiang Ruixin pushed Bao Jie aside, hands on hips, and roared, ¡°Hurry up and get to work! Leave staring down the eye to me! Shameless thing, think you can outstare me? My mom stared me down while growing up; I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡±


    No sooner had she spoken than Jiang Ruixin bulged her eyes out, flipping her eyelids so widely that it seemed even bigger than Bull¡¯s Eye.


    The other three were taken aback, staring at Jiang Ruixin as if they were seeing her for the first time.


    ¡°Get moving, why are you looking at me?¡± Jiang Ruixin kept her eyes wide open, still furious.


    Zhou Dali clicked his tongue in amazement, ¡°Impressive! Look at those eyeballs, stretched so wide, and she can still see us with the corner of her eyes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s peripheral vision,¡± Yan Junze said speechlessly.


    ¡°Zhou Dali, are you talking about someone¡¯s bladder!!!¡± Jiang Ruixin roared, eyes wide with anger.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    Zhou Dali, feeling a chill, quickly swung the sledgehammer to continue smashing the wall.


    Bao Jie picked up the camera to inspect it, and it turned out that the thing was quite durable; having been dropped twice, it still hadn¡¯t broken, so she again pointed the lens at the three of them.


    Although the basement floor was constantly damp, it was exceptionally well-constructed. The body seemed close to the wall surface, but it was challenging to make an opening large enough for a person to pass through.


    Soon, Zhou Dali¡¯s whole body was drenched in sweat, and the hole they were creating was only halfway done.


    Yan Junze looked and reminded, ¡°No, we still need to smash it.¡±


    He then turned his head to look at Jiang Ruixin.


    This girl still had her almond-shaped eyes wide open, staring intently at the dead body¡¯s eyes that were now mostly exposed.


    At this moment, the corpse¡¯s two grey pupils were revealed, but as Jiang Ruixin stared without blinking, no illusions appeared.


    By this time, not only Yan Junze and Zhou Dali, but even Bao Jie, who was holding the camera, could not help but express admiration, ¡°Ruixin, you¡¯re amazing. It¡¯s been over three minutes and you haven¡¯t blinked once.¡±


    Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t speak, obviously holding her breath, her body tense, not daring to relax in the slightest.


    The gaze that shot out of the ¡°Bull¡¯s Eyes¡± seemed to ignite like stars, illuminating the entire storage room and bringing endless light and warmth to everyone.


    Zhou Dali, while swinging the hammer, said admiringly, ¡°Ruixin, I¡¯m truly impressed! With that killing power in your gaze, in the future, anyone foolish enough to anger you could be stared to death!¡±


    ¡°I feel like you could apply for a Guinness World Record,¡± Bao Jie interjected.


    ¡°The hole is ready; let¡¯s pull out the body,¡± Yan Junze suddenly said.


    Zhou Dali turned to look at him, surprised, ¡°Am I to carry it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s carry it together.¡±


    Yan Junze had already half entered the hole, crouching at the entrance, his hands grasping the corpse¡¯s feet, and said cautiously, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time; the body no longer has a stench. Dali, be gentle, don¡¯t break his limbs.¡±


    Zhou Dali, horrified, helped carry the upper part of the body, found that the corpse had nearly become a mummy, very light in weight. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he and Yan Junze together moved the body out of the hole and gently placed it on the ground.


    At this point, Jiang Ruixin was still moving her feet, fixated on the mummy¡¯s grey eyes.


    Yan Junze looked at her, full of admiration, ¡°Ruixin, try to slowly move your gaze away. If you hear any of us suddenly start shouting, quickly stare back at the corpse¡¯s eyes.¡±


    Under his guess, since the body had been moved from the sealed wall and exposed to daylight again, the illusions that might appear upon shifting the gaze should no longer occur.


    Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he reminded Jiang Ruixin how to react just in case.


    Jiang Ruixin nodded, slowly shifted her gaze, and stopped looking at the grey pupils.


    Nothing unusual happened.


    ¡°You can close your eyes and rest for a while,¡± Yan Junze sighed with relief.


    Jiang Ruixin closed her eyes and walked to the side, gasping for breath.


    Zhou Dali and Bao Jie were focused on Jiang Ruixin, not paying attention to the mummy or Yan Junze for the moment.


    Yan Junze looked at the mummy, which was indistinguishable in features but was confirmed to be a man.


    The clothes on the body had barely remained, the body was gaunt, and it was slightly curled up.


    However, traces of hardened cement slurry were still visible around his mouth and throat.


    Yan Junze remembered, the mission background stated that this man had a tragic fate, estranged from his wife and children. His name was synonymous with loneliness, doomed never to draw anyone¡¯s attention in life.


    Moreover, he had died in an accident.


    Now, it seemed extremely likely that this man was a construction worker who met with an accident while building this skyscraper, got buried alive here, and was never discovered.


    The mission stated that the man must be allowed to rest in peace eternally.


    Now that the body had been dug up, the question remained on how to let the man rest in peace, something Yan Junze could not yet discern.


    But there was at least one piece of good news¡ªthe mummy¡¯s eyes would no longer bring horrific visions to others.


    While pondering, suddenly a series of footsteps came from the corridor outside.


    The footsteps approached from a distance, coming slowly from the end of the corridor. In the silent and dark space, they sounded particularly piercing.

 Chapter 37 - 37 - 36 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 6)

    Chapter 37 ¨C 36 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 6)


    Yan Junze checked the time, noting that 15 minutes had already passed of the remaining 36 minutes he had set for the ¡°Rewind¡± deadline, leaving 21 minutes.


    Listening intently, the footsteps approaching from outside seemed steady, the sound of leather shoes suggesting it was a man.


    Everyone gathered behind the door of storeroom 004, Yan Junze turned to glance at the mummified corpse on the floor, ears perked, listening closely; no one spoke.


    The footsteps quickly neared the door of room 004.


    All four of them held their breath, hearts in their throats.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was guessing whether the person outside was the security guard from the duty room.


    The others unanimously believed that the individual outside was definitely one of the ¡°strangenesses.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The footsteps stopped directly outside room 004 after passing by, followed by a knock about two seconds later.


    A strange male voice came through, ¡°Is there¡­ anyone inside?¡±


    ¡°Huff¡­¡±


    Hearing the voice, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, able to speak and with a quivering tone that betrayed fright; it seemed to be a human after all.


    It seemed the noise from earlier, the pounding on the walls, had been too loud, drawing someone down from above.


    ¡°Who¡¯s out there?¡± Zhou Dali asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m the building security guard. Who are you and what are you hiding in there for?¡± the man¡¯s voice was still shaking violently, ¡°There¡¯s nothing valuable in this place, and moreover, it¡¯s haunted by strangenesses! Come out quickly!¡±


    ¡°We are not thieves.¡± Since they were already discovered, Jiang Ruixin, who was closest to the door, directly opened it.


    Outside stood a tall, thin man in a security guard uniform, wielding a flashlight, but he wasn¡¯t the middle-aged man watching TV series in the duty room¡ªthis guard was much younger, with distinct facial features, and indeed looked like a living person aside from being rather thin.


    The young security guard clearly hadn¡¯t expected to find four people hiding in the storeroom. Upon seeing Yan Junze and the others, he was startled.


    Especially upon seeing Zhou Dali¡¯s elephant-like build, he thought to himself that even three of him combined wouldn¡¯t be a match for the guy opposite him.


    Before he could continue speaking, his flashlight beam swept over the twisted corpse on the floor.


    The young security guard screamed in fright, ¡°There¡­ there¡¯s a body! This place is haunted by strangenesses, you¡­ you guys, hurry¡­ get¡­ get out!


    Quick!¡±


    ¡°We dug out the body,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°From the crack in the wall.¡± Zhou Dali casually pointed at the hole in the wall behind him, a sense of pride welling up as if he had forgotten the scene where his own calf muscles had been trembling.


    ¡°No wonder it¡¯s been haunted by strangenesses! So there has been a¡­ a body here!¡± The young security guard was trembling with fear, shining his flashlight on the mummified corpse below its stomach without pointing it at the face.


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any strangenesses anymore,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°As long as we move the body out, notify the security staff to come over, or just find a place to bury it and let it rest in peace, there won¡¯t be any more strangenesses happening here.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ okay,¡± the young security guard lowered the beam of his flashlight and swallowed hard, ¡°Close the eyes of the corpse, otherwise it will keep staring as if it can¡¯t rest in peace, which is quite frightening.¡±


    ¡°The body is already dried up, it might not be possible to close the eyes,¡± Bao Jie said tremblingly.


    But after the hallucinations they had just experienced, her courage had increased considerably.


    ¡°We can wrap cloth over the eyes,¡± Zhou Dali slapped his thigh, ¡°We should have done that earlier, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have kept staring into its eyes.¡±


    ¡°Where do we find cloth?¡±


    Before Jiang Ruixin could finish speaking, Zhou Dali grabbed her sleeve and tore off a piece with a ripping sound, saying, ¡°The clothes are mine, and it¡¯s reasonable for me to tear my own clothes, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t say anything, her eyes widened in shock, scaring Zhou Dali to take four or five steps back.


    It seems that he had already begun to be wary of Jiang Ruixin¡¯s ¡°Bull¡¯s Eye.¡±


    However, he didn¡¯t wrap the cloth strip around the corpse¡¯s eyes himself, but instead handed it to Yan Junze, ¡°Here, you do it.¡±


    ¡°Whoever comes up with the idea should do it himself,¡± Yan Junze did not take the cloth.


    Zhou Dali hesitated. He looked at the security guard, then at Bao Jie, who was filming, and gritted his teeth: ¡°If it has to be done, I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯s time to brave up.¡±


    He walked over to the mummified corpse, bent down, held his breath, and quickly wrapped a cloth strip around the corpse¡¯s eyes, then tied a knot at the back of the skull.


    ¡°That should do it.¡±


    The young security guard seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this point and pointed with his flashlight in the direction of the corridor¡¯s bend: ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first. As soon as we¡¯re outside, I¡¯ll call the other colleagues over right away to clean up this place.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°We must take the body with us. To be honest, we are a Spirit Exploration Team, and we came specifically for this.¡±


    The young security guard was taken aback. He lowered his head as if pondering something, his cap slightly oversized, now askew on his head, ready to fall off at any moment.


    Suddenly, he whirled around, his cap falling to the ground, demanding as he faced an open door across the hall: ¡°Who¡¯s there? Who is inside?¡±


    This door was directly opposite Storage Room 004 and had been open the whole time, but because there was no light, the interior setup couldn¡¯t be seen clearly.


    As he shouted, the guard¡¯s flashlight lit up the space, but the beam seemed to get sucked into a thick morass of darkness; it was impossible to see what was inside the room.


    This young guard was quite bold, not petrified by fear, and in a few steps, he charged into the room across the way.


    The four people standing at the doorway of Storage Room 004 exchanged glances. Among them, Yan Junze was the bravest, but without a clear understanding of the situation, he wasn¡¯t about to recklessly rush inside!


    As expected, after the guard ran into the room, there was no more sound from him.


    Only the breathing of the few people outside could be heard, and the surroundings were dead silent.


    This kind of waiting was torturous. Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but grunt, about to speak, when suddenly the room across burst into sounds of struggling and banging, getting more and more violent.


    The anxious voice of the young security guard followed promptly: ¡°Someone come help quick!¡±


    Yan Junze and the others were stunned.


    Zhou Dali exclaimed in surprise, ¡°It¡¯s not a strangeness? Wait for grandpa to come and help you clean up!¡±


    As a rising sun, exemplified by the school, and with his own natural strength, Zhou Dali¡¯s blood surged at this moment.


    No sooner had he spoken than he dashed out of Storage Room 004 and plunged into the room across the hall.


    The next second, everything went pitch black. The light from the flashlight in his hand instantly died, leaving no trace of any other light before his eyes.


    Zhou Dali froze, reaching his hands out to grope around, finding nothing in front of him, which scared him so much that he quickly turned back, only to find that the door he had just entered through had also disappeared.


    Logically, Yan Junze and the others were just across the hall, shining their flashlights, and standing inside this room looking at the doorway, flashlight beams should have been visible. But now, there was only darkness before him.


    ¡°Security brother, where are you?¡± Zhou Dali panicked, a bizarre and inexplicable fear creeping into his heart.


    At this moment, his only hope was the young security guard who had just been calling for help.


    He groped around while shouting.


    No sooner had the words left his lips than Zhou Dali¡¯s hand touched an arm.


    This arm had a sleeve, and on the sleeve there seemed to be a few buttons; it must be the security uniform.


    ¡°Security brother, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Zhou Dali felt he might pee himself with fright, his voice trembling as if he was screaming through a voice distorter.


    The arm he was holding suddenly moved, grabbing Zhou Dali¡¯s muscular arm in return.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s body stiffened, completely unable to break free. His pupils darkened rapidly, as if covered by a black cloth; his mouth slowly opened, and from his throat came a series of meaningless chuckles. These sounds, in the darkness, were especially eerie.


    His cheeks quickly shriveled up and veins bulged. Then, with a thud, he collapsed, lifeless.


    ¡°Where are you guys? Why not come help out some more?¡±


    The young security guard¡¯s voice suddenly echoed in the room once more, filled with an indescribable urgency.

 Chapter 38 - 38 - 37 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 7)

    Chapter 38 ¨C 37 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 7)


    The door to Storage Room No. 004 had always been open, and Yan Junze stood at the doorway with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, flashlights in hand.


    Upon seeing Zhou Dali rush into the room across, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin aimed their flashlight beams at the entrance of that room.


    Only Yan Junze turned his flashlight around, keeping an eye on the direction where the dry corpse lay.


    No sound emerged; Zhou Dali, who had entered the opposite room, disappeared as if a drop of water had fallen into the ocean without causing a single ripple.


    ¡°Dali!¡± Yan Junze turned his head and called out tentatively.


    There was no movement in the pitch-dark room.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Jiang Ruixin turned her head and looked at Yan Junze anxiously. ¡°Could it be that Dali is so mighty that as soon as he entered, he took down the opponent?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Yan Junze shook his head. ¡°That guy exaggerates his movements, acting frivolously. Even if he could easily subdue the opponent, he would deliberately roar twice to prove to us how badass he is.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s going on? Who¡¯s going to go check it out now?¡± Bao Jie, standing to the side with the camera, was obviously trembling.


    Just then, the young security guard¡¯s voice rang out again: ¡°Where is everyone? Why won¡¯t more people come and help?¡±


    It seemed that after meeting up with Zhou Dali, he must have had some effect, at least managing to suppress the other party.


    ¡°Bao Jie, come with me,¡± Yan Junze glanced at the dry corpse lying not far behind on the ground, then instructed Jiang Ruixin: ¡°Ruixin, you stay here. If the dry corpse makes any movement, use your eyes to glare at it.¡±


    Jiang Ruixin shuddered with fear: ¡°But his eyes are wrapped up with cloth, I can¡¯t glare at him!¡±


    ¡°How about you tear off the cloth? In case he moves, it¡¯s easier for you to glare at him,¡± Yan Junze suggested, with no hint of jest.


    ¡°Tear your sister! I¡¯m not tearing it, it¡¯s good this way,¡± Jiang Ruixin shook her head like a rattle-drum.


    ¡°When Bao Jie stands at the door of the opposite room, I¡¯ll be the one to go inside. You¡¯ll be able to see her, so both of you will have someone looking out for the other.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders and gave Jiang Ruixin one more instruction before he and Bao Jie approached the opposite side one after the other.


    The flashlight shone inside the room, revealing only about two or three meters ahead; beyond that, it was swallowed by thick darkness, obscuring the inside completely.


    The situation was somewhat eerie.


    Yan Junze hesitated at the doorway, then checked the rewind line in his mind through Inner Vision, 17 minutes left.


    If he encountered danger, he could rewind freely within this time frame back to any moment he wished.


    That should be enough to handle the risk.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze, flashlight in hand, allowed Bao Jie to illuminate him from behind using the camera¡¯s light as he stepped inside the room.


    From Bao Jie¡¯s perspective, the moment Yan Junze entered the room, a dense darkness enveloped him instantly, as if swallowing him whole, along with the flashlight beam, which vanished rapidly.


    ¡°Yan Junze!¡± Bao Jie was startled and quickly called out loudly.


    The reply to her call was utter silence.


    Bao Jie¡¯s heart nearly stopped beating from fear, and she stomped her foot anxiously, ¡°Yan Junze, respond to me! Where are you?¡±


    The light from the camera and flashlight only reached just beyond the door; they could penetrate no deeper into that ink-like blackness.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Jiang Ruixin stood at the entrance of Storage Room No. 004, her face filled with astonishment, ¡°Did he just disappear after walking in?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ he¡¯s gone, and he didn¡¯t answer me,¡± Bao Jie¡¯s voice was on the verge of tears.


    ¡°Should I come over and take a look?¡± Jiang Ruixin proposed. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ever since tasting the fruit of victory, she had come to consider her ¡°Glaring Eyes Mastery¡± as the first triumphant measure against strangeness.


    ¡°You should still watch out for the one behind you¡­¡±


    Before Bao Jie could finish speaking, the camera she was holding seemed to be grabbed by something. Standing at the door, she was suddenly dragged into the room by a strong force. The second half of her sentence, her even a cry for help, never had the chance to be vocalized.


    A piercing scream erupted from Jiang Ruixin, resonating throughout the corridor. Accompanied by the scream, her back tensed, and her clothes contracted backwards as if a huge hand had seized the back of her shirt.


    The next second, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s flashlight dropped, she was yanked into Storage Room No. 004, and the door slammed shut with a bang.


    The basement returned to silence.


    The damp odor seemed to have thickened compared to when they had first arrived.


    Inside the room.


    The thick darkness enveloped Yan Junze.


    No matter which direction he walked, everything before his eyes was pitch-black, and the flashlight in his hand had eerily gone out, completely refusing to turn on.


    Could it be that this house was also haunted? Hadn¡¯t the body already been dug up? Why was it still like this?


    A multitude of questions rose in his heart. Standing still, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly for the time being.


    First, that young security guard had appeared, and then the abnormalities in this house were discovered¡ªsuddenly things had become bizarre.


    If a noise suddenly came from within this house, the guard¡¯s reaction shouldn¡¯t have been to pounce in directly but to instinctively jump in fright and then retreat immediately.


    This wasn¡¯t the reaction of a normal person.


    In a place haunted by strangenesses, being able to hear a noise in the dark and lunge at it with such eagerness, such a matter-of-course attitude, such heedlessness was probably something only an idiot exorcist like Huang Chen would do.


    So, the actions of this security guard were indeed abnormal.


    It was proven that a person¡¯s thinking could only emit powerful operational capabilities in an exceptionally quiet place. And at this moment, that was exactly the case for Yan Junze.


    He hated himself for not thinking of this sooner. Now, he had walked straight into the tiger¡¯s den. The hope of escaping this room easily and getting out seemed bleak.


    Zhou Dali was very likely practicing the mighty punches of his ancestor, Zhou Shentong, by now.


    Yes, Zhou Heng had an ancestor in the local area who was quite famous¡ªa man named Zhou Shentong, not to be confused with Zhou Botong. The man knew nothing of the Ambidextrous Combat Technique, but Zhou Shentong was indeed built like a tiger, with a bear¡¯s back¡ªtallying with his formidable reputation for his punching skill.


    Yan Junze suspected that Zhou Heng¡¯s nickname, Dali, probably had much to do with inheriting this ancestor¡¯s genes.


    Pity about the lost inheritance of intelligence, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have foolishly followed that suspicious security guard into the house.


    Just then, Ke¡¯er, who lay on Yan Junze¡¯s back, stirred, and an inexplicable sense of crisis descended.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but step back twice.


    In the darkness, his foot suddenly stepped on the instep of another foot. It seemed like someone had been standing not far behind him all along, and they had finally bumped into each other by accident.


    Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, issued a dull roar that Yan Junze had never heard before, like an agitated wolf-dog warning the other with a low growl.


    The next second, Ke¡¯er sprung up and lunged out.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see anything, so he quickly turned around to face the direction Ke¡¯er had pounced toward.


    Thud!


    A loud sound of something hitting the wall echoed from not too far away.


    The outcome was unknown.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was in turmoil, but no other sounds came through afterward.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s favorability towards him had already become ¡°friendly¡±, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to lunge at that shadow in the dark.


    After waiting a moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but call out, ¡°Ke¡¯er.¡±


    Clap, a hand was placed on his shoulder from behind.


    This hand was large, not that of a child.


    After sensing the size of the hand, Yan Junze knew the outcome of Ke¡¯er¡¯s charge.


    His heart immediately sank to the bottom.


    Without any hesitation, a resolutely strong thought appeared in his mind.


    Rewind!


    Everything became a blur before his eyes once again saw light.


    It was the light from the flashlight.


    He, along with Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin, were all standing behind the door of storage room 004, listening intently to the footsteps coming from the corridor outside.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face darkened as he lowered his voice and said to everyone, ¡°None of you answer to anyone outside later, and if anyone dares to respond, I¡¯ll fucking strangle him!¡±


    The other three all looked bewildered.


    ¡°Just give a caution, what are you staring at me for?¡± Zhou Dali felt inexplicably wronged as he stared at Yan Junze, feeling he¡¯d been gravely insulted.

 Chapter 39 - 39 - 38 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 8)

    Chapter 39 ¨C 38 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 8)


    In the deathly quiet of the basement level, the approaching footsteps sounded extremely hollow, yet each step was enough to send chills down one¡¯s spine.


    The footsteps stopped in front of storage room 004, pausing for two seconds before a voice suddenly asked, ¡°Is there¡­ anyone inside?¡±


    Throughout this process, Yan Junze had been fixedly staring at Zhou Dali.


    Our comrade Dali opened his mouth, then quickly realized something and hastily closed it again.


    The three of them were somewhat puzzled. Listening to the voice, the person outside didn¡¯t sound like a ghost, but rather a young man; yet, why wouldn¡¯t Yan Junze let them respond?


    Although no answer was given, the person outside didn¡¯t leave but instead reached out and grabbed the doorknob, giving it a twist.


    The door didn¡¯t open.


    ...


    Because inside, Yan Junze was gripping the handle with both hands, preventing it from turning.


    ¡°I know there¡¯s someone inside. What were you smashing down here just now? Open the door quickly, it¡¯s dangerous here with all the strangeness, you shouldn¡¯t linger!¡± The person¡¯s voice rose suddenly, as if warning them.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you opening the door?¡± Bao Jie asked in a hushed, anxious voice.


    ¡°Right, the person should be the building¡¯s duty guard,¡± Jiang Ruixin added.


    Only Zhou Dali kept his mouth shut, obedient under Yan Junze¡¯s dominance.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also felt puzzled. The voice clearly belonged to the young security guard, and it made sense for him to have discovered them. There were no apparent flaws in his reasoning.


    Was it really a mistake when he rushed into the opposite room alone earlier? Did he not only trap himself but lead everyone into this predicament?


    Unable to come up with an answer, the knocking became more urgent.


    Yan Junze decided to open the door.


    Standing at the door was the same young security guard.


    The guard shined his flashlight around, and upon seeing so many people in the room, he unsurprisingly jumped in shock. Then he noticed the mummified corpse inside.


    ¡°Holy shit, there¡¯s¡­ a body! This place¡­ it¡¯s haunted, what are you doing here? There¡¯s nothing of value, everyone out, follow me upstairs now!¡± He was clearly terrified.


    ¡°No, we must take the body with us,¡± Yan Junze flatly refused.


    ¡°Is it¡­ its eyes are open, so scary. Can we close the body¡¯s eyes?¡± The young guard retracted the beam of his flashlight, shivering as he spoke.


    ¡°The body is mummified, the eyes can¡¯t be closed anymore.¡± This time, Yan Junze answered for Bao Jie. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No, you can wrap something around the eyes! Should have thought of this earlier, otherwise what¡¯s the point of letting them stare into space?¡± Zhou Dali, just like before, slapped his thigh and turned to look for a piece of cloth.


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have any cloth¡­¡±


    Jiang Ruixin had barely started speaking when the sound of tearing fabric came; Zhou Dali himself had ripped a piece from the clothes he had given her.


    ¡°This shirt is mine,¡± Zhou Dali said, seeing Jiang Ruixin¡¯s displeased look and hurriedly explaining.


    ¡°Try tearing it again and see what happens!¡± Jiang Ruixin¡¯s eyes began to bulge, frightening Zhou Dali into hastily retreating, unable to meet her gaze.


    This time, perhaps cowed by Jiang Ruixin¡¯s intimidation, Zhou Dali didn¡¯t ask Yan Junze to act but instead went over to the corpse and wrapped its eyes himself, tying a knot at the back of its head.


    ¡°That should do it.¡±


    The young security guard at the door breathed a sigh of relief and pointed with his flashlight down the hallway towards the corner, ¡°Leave this place with me first, after we get out I¡¯ll immediately notify my colleagues to come here, and then we¡¯ll call the police to handle the body.¡±


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately speak. Instead, he began listening intently, his focus directed towards the opposite room with the open door.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Seeing Yan Junze not answering, Bao Jie and the others didn¡¯t dare make a decision for him and all looked at him.


    The young guard was also watching him, clearly aware that he was the leader among the four.


    ¡°No, we must carry the body out ourselves,¡± Yan Junze said after a moment, shaking his head.


    The guard seemed a bit helpless, shrugged his shoulders, and was about to say something when he suddenly startled, turned around, and called out, ¡°Who¡¯s in there?¡±


    As his words fell, he shone his flashlight towards the opposite side and immediately charged into the pitch-black room.


    A moment later, sounds of scuffling and collisions came from the room.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    ¡°Nobody is allowed to follow!¡±


    Yan Junze suddenly spread out his hands, blocking Zhou Dali, who was eager to try, as if he had already anticipated this scene.


    He had been listening intently for any abnormal sounds coming from the room across, but until the security guard had called out, he hadn¡¯t heard anything.


    It was impossible for only the security guard to hear it; at this moment, he was certain the suspiciousness lay not in the room across but rather on this young security guard.


    Just then, the security guard¡¯s voice came from the pitch-black room, ¡°Come quickly, I need help!¡±


    Zhou Dali was startled, but his arm was abruptly seized by Yan Junze, ¡°Do you trust me or not?¡±


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, nodded his head, but he was still ready to go into the room to help.


    It seemed like the young security guard in the room couldn¡¯t subdue the other person. With his own brute strength, there was no reason not to go and help. Moreover, since that person was grappling with the security guard, it meant the situation wasn¡¯t due to any strangeness.


    If it was a person, Zhou Dali had nothing to fear.


    ¡°Trust me, we can¡¯t go in,¡± Yan Junze asserted decisively, ¡°Now help me lift this corpse, we must leave at once.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t the security guard in danger?¡± Zhou Dali and Bao Jie exclaimed in unison.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it once we get upstairs!¡± Yan Junze raised his voice, ¡°Once we¡¯re up, we¡¯ll notify the security at the entrance to come and assist in a team, this place is very dangerous right now.¡±


    Zhou Dali hesitated.


    Bao Jie just held the camera and said no more.


    Jiang Ruixin had been silent the entire time, contemplating.


    At that moment, the room across returned to silence, with no sound coming out.


    Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Security brother, what¡¯s the situation now?¡±


    No one answered.


    It was as if there was never anyone in that room.


    ¡°It seems¡­ a bit eerie,¡± Zhou Dali muttered to himself, feeling somewhat afraid.


    Without further hesitation, Zhou Dali took the body¡¯s shoulders, Yan Junze took the feet, and the two led the way out of the room into the corridor, with Bao Jie continuing to film behind, while Jiang Ruixin, at Yan Junze¡¯s request, walked backward, facing away, cautiously illuminating behind them with the flashlight.


    Actually, the body wasn¡¯t very heavy. If Zhou Dali alone shouldered it, they could move faster, but Zhou Dali flat-out refused to carry a dead body.


    Yan Junze had a rather slight build and didn¡¯t know how far he could carry the corpse on his own, but time was of the essence, and it was faster for two people to carry it together.


    They soon reached the corner of the corridor, and turning the corner would bring them to the main door at the end of the hallway. Once through the main door and up the stairs, they would have left the basement level.


    However, just after they passed the corner of the corridor, Yan Junze suddenly halted, stopping in his tracks.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zhou Dali asked from behind, puzzled.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin also looked over with faces full of confusion.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer; he just tilted his head slightly so that the people behind could clearly see the ¡°thing¡± he was looking at.


    They could see a vague figure lying on the ground near the big door of the corridor, limbs bent at strange angles.


    The light from the flashlight, shining towards the shadow, seemed to be swallowed, unable to reveal any details of its appearance.


    Then, the shadow began to move at an exceedingly slow pace, crawling into a room closer to the main door of the corridor.


    That room number was supposed to be 017.


    After the shadow entered the room, all the doors along both sides of the corridor suddenly slammed open, revealing the pitch-black spaces within.

 Chapter 40 - 40 - 39 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 9)

    Chapter 40 ¨C 39 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 9)


    The corridor¡¯s corner housed two rooms, 010 and 011, which were both open at this moment, revealing pitch darkness; nothing was visible.


    However, right after the room doors opened, there seemed to be a sound of something being dragged across the floor, causing one¡¯s scalp to tingle.


    In room 011, two bare arms appeared from the ground at the doorway, as if someone was crawling on the floor, slowly making their way out.


    Jiang Ruixin let out a scream because, at the doorway of room 010 which was closest to her, there were also two arms crawling out.


    One could even faintly make out a bald head continuously squirming towards the outside. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The very next second, all flashlight beams went out.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    ...


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin screamed again in unison.


    The piercing screams made Yan Junze¡¯s ears buzz, and he was temporarily deafened.


    Yan Junze felt that the most common sound he heard that night was women¡¯s screams, which made him doubt his decision to bring these two female classmates with him for Spirit Exploration.


    Let¡¯s not even mention the strangenesses; just Jiang Ruixin¡¯s scream alone had made him shudder twice. Frankly, it was much more startling than if a strangeness had suddenly appeared before him.


    Unexpectedly, although the flashlight beams were all extinguished, the light from the camera Bao Jie was holding was still on.


    This light was the only source of illumination present, although very weak, very weak indeed.


    Jiang Ruixin immediately clung tightly to Bao Jie, her voice trembling, ¡°Jiejie, quick, shine it behind me, check if that thing has crawled out the door!¡±


    Bao Jie quickly swiveled the camera towards room 010, then shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡±


    Zhou Dali also shouted, ¡°Quick¡­ shine it over here.¡±


    Bao Jie moved the camera again and shook her head, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ shine it on my feet,¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s voice went back into the auto-tune mode.


    The two girls, frightened, hastily backed away, and Bao Jie immediately directed the camera light onto Zhou Dali¡¯s feet.


    They saw a gaunt man with yellowing skin, naked, lying on the ground, his twig-like hands firmly gripping Zhou Dali¡¯s ankles. His eyelids were open, revealing empty black sockets without pupils, and his mouth was also open, toothless, but with lots of white mucus sticking between the upper and lower lips, making no sound at all.


    Thump!


    Zhou Dali fell to the ground stiffly, motionless.


    In the next second, everyone stopped moving, and an abnormal icy sensation spread simultaneously to their feet.


    Bao Jie shakily turned the camera light toward her own and the others¡¯ feet, only to see that each person¡¯s ankles were being held by a skinny, naked man.


    Although these bald men had different features, they all had wrinkled skin, no hair, and were emaciated.


    ¡°Looking for replacements?¡± The idea popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind again.


    At this moment, the two girls were so terrified that they were unable to make a sound, just trembling like sieves, potentially fainting at any moment.


    With a ¡¯puff,¡¯ the camera light finally went out, and the surroundings plunged into endless darkness.


    The psychological horror brought on by the sudden blackout spread like an army of ants, enveloping and gnawing at the last bit of courage everyone had left. This pressure was insanely overwhelming.


    Without a second thought, Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced with an impulse.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, the flashlight¡¯s glow appeared beside them once again.


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Junze were standing together, having returned to Storage Room No. 004, all positioned behind the door.


    Yan Junze looked at the time. Just now, when there were 21 minutes left, he had spent 5 minutes with that young guard. So, this was the second rewind, and after the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, 16 minutes remained.


    This third rewind consumed 4 minutes, which meant that now, after the rewind, there were only 12 minutes of rewind line energy left¡ªthey couldn¡¯t afford to waste it any further.


    Of course, in his Spacetime Atlas, he still had 50 minutes of Different Dimension Energy stored. If possible, it was best not to use this energy at all.


    What Yan Junze feared was that if they set the starting point from here and were still unable to escape the outside strangeness, they would fall into a desperate situation after exhausting all the energy.


    In fact, 12 minutes was completely enough to get out of the basement floor. The most important thing now was to shake off that young guard outside, who might be an anomaly.


    Footsteps sounded from the corridor, coming step by step towards Storage Room No. 004.


    Zhou Dali and the other two were all listening intently to the footsteps; nobody spoke.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity to recall the details of ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall.¡±


    He remembered that the penalty for the mission was to become a substitute, to trade for the freedom of the body inside the wall. Could it be that those identical, withered strangenesses they saw before the rewind were the ones left behind as substitutes?


    But this thought didn¡¯t quite make sense¡ªif there was already a substitute, why didn¡¯t the anomaly inside the wall leave this place, but instead still linger in the basement of Jianye Building?


    Where exactly was the problem?


    There were two hints for this mission: one was that the Evil Spirit was already pitiable, therefore it couldn¡¯t Lockdown; the second hint was that the secret was in its eyes.


    ¡°The secret is in its eyes?¡± Yan Junze muttered softly, his brain whirring at high speed.


    Initially, all four of them had been lured by a multitude of illusions by that eye peering from the wall crack. If not for Jiang Ruixin¡¯s exceptional talent, using her Glaring Eyes Mastery to rescue everyone, without the Golden Finger, they might have been completely wiped out already.


    ¡°Eyes? Secret?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyebrows furrowed deeply.


    By now, the footsteps outside had stopped at the door.


    Yan Junze made a silent gesture, and then mouthed two words to the other three: ¡°Strangeness!¡±


    He then had Zhou Dali block the door, while he quickly moved towards the lying corpse.


    Outside the door, the guard had started to enquire, ¡°Is there¡­ anyone inside?¡±


    This time, though the other three looked puzzled, none of them answered.


    Yan Junze swiftly picked up the corpse and dragged it towards the doorway.


    Ever since the dry corpse had been dug out from the wall, those gray pupils appeared to have lost their ability to induce illusions. However, owing to their previous experience, everyone, including Yan Junze, deliberately avoided those eerie eyes.


    After Yan Junze dragged the corpse to the door, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, frightened, hastily hid to one side, not understanding why he was doing this.


    Zhou Dali, though scared, did not move away since his hands were holding the door.


    ¡°Stop playing dumb, I heard noises, open the door!¡± the young guard said once again, and after failing to turn the doorknob, he knocked on the door.


    Crouched behind the body, Yan Junze propped the corpse up, aligning its eyes with the doorway, and then said to Zhou Dali, ¡°We¡¯re ready, open the door.¡±

 Chapter 41 - 41 - 40 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 10)

    Chapter 41 ¨C 40 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 10)


    Positioning the corpse¡¯s face towards the door, Yan Junze had his substantial conjectures.


    Firstly, the mission hinted that the secret lay within the corpse¡¯s eyes, which proved there was something wrong with those eyes, and at the beginning, all four of them were thrown into an illusion by these eyes.


    The most important point was that he noticed a detail.


    This was that in the previous Rewind, as well as the one before that, it seemed that as soon as the security guard appeared, he intentionally or otherwise reminded everyone that the dried corpse¡¯s eyes were open, which was terrifying, and they should find a way to cover them first.


    Thus, the so-called Zhou Dali, whose muscles and intelligence were inversely proportional, fell for it every time, taking the initiative to find a strip of cloth to cover the corpse¡¯s eyes.


    This proved that perhaps, that guy outside was equally afraid of the dried corpse¡¯s eyes, afraid to look at them directly.


    Before opening the door, Yan Junze gestured to Zhou Dali to dodge to one side as soon as the door opened, so that his mountain-like figure wouldn¡¯t block the entrance tightly and prevent the guard outside from immediately enjoying the deliberately prepared hovering stare.


    ...


    Luckily, Zhou Dali understood the gesture, nodded his head, and as soon as the door opened, he jumped aside like an agile fat rabbit.


    Yan Junze firmly steadied the corpse to prevent it from falling, while looking towards the door, only to be immediately taken aback.


    Because at that moment, there was no one at the doorway¡ªthe guard who had been talking just now had vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Pack up the things, and follow behind me,¡± Yan Junze said as he picked up the corpse, only to realize that it was still quite heavy for him, and said to Zhou Dali, ¡°Dali, give me a hand.¡±


    Zhou Dali hesitated for a moment, ran over to help lift the corpse, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin following behind them.


    After stepping out into the corridor, they looked around with their flashlights, but no trace of the security guard could be found.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali carried the corpse in front, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin behind, the four hastened to the exit at the end of the corridor at Yan Junze¡¯s urging.


    ¡°How do you know that person outside is a Strange Body?¡± Zhou Dali asked as they walked, puzzled.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were in charge of watching for any movements behind them, tense and without the chance to ask Yan Junze; however, they perked up their ears when they heard Zhou Dali¡¯s question.


    ¡°Just guessing,¡± Yan Junze glanced at him, ¡°Speed up, we¡¯re only safe once out of the corridor.¡±


    His urging caused an inexplicable tension and panic among the others, who stopped asking questions and quickened their pace toward the hallway¡¯s exit.


    Suddenly, Jiang Ruixin, who was paying attention to the movements in the rear with the flashlight, trembled, seeing a young security guard step out of a room they had already passed, his face pale and his pupils black, not wielding a flashlight, just following behind the group with a stiff and swift motion.


    ¡°Is¡­ is¡­¡± Her heart pounding, Jiang Ruixin found she couldn¡¯t get out a whole sentence, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.


    Bao Jie noticed something was amiss and immediately turned around.


    It was at this moment that Jiang Ruixin let out another shriek, startling everyone.


    Yan Junze swore to the heavens that, once this mission was over, he would immediately disband the Spirit Exploration Team, never again recruiting a female member with a loud voice, especially those with bell-like eyes and unusually loud voices.


    Turning his head and seeing the walking style of this security guard, Yan Junze was reminded of the shadow that followed behind Zhou Dali when they first entered the basement, finding at least seventy to eighty percent similarity in the way this guard walked at the moment.


    The four sped up again.


    ¡°Stop¡­¡±


    Just then, an empty, angry voice sounded.


    The four, who were jogging, unanimously agreed that stopping at that moment would be idiotic, so none of them paid it any mind.


    Quickly reaching the corridor¡¯s exit, Zhou Dali yanked off the U-shaped lock hanging on the door handle and violently pushed the door, only to find that it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    At that moment, the entire space seemed to have become sealed.


    ¡°This corpse¡­ has no right to leave!¡± that voice continued to echo from behind.


    ¡°Why?¡± Yan Junze turned around, propping the corpse in front of him, intentionally or unintentionally facing the corridor.


    The figure of the security guard disappeared again, seemingly blending into the darkness further down the corridor.


    The other three had not expected that, besides the corpse causing strangeness inside the wall, there were other strange presences here.


    One by one they turned around, their faces filled with terror as they faced the depths of the corridor.


    ¡°He¡¯s a coward! A coward has no right to leave,¡± the voice continued.


    It sounded like the young security guard from earlier was speaking.


    ¡°He just died accidentally, and his body has been trapped in the wall for so many years. Our goal in coming here was to let him find peace,¡± Yan Junze said, moving his flashlight beam around, watching warily.


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t die accidentally,¡± the voice countered. ¡°He committed suicide! He killed himself because of his overwhelming debts, because his wife left him, and his son even took someone else¡¯s surname; because coming out, he couldn¡¯t face his previous life anymore.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled. A security guard¡¯s specter should not be so familiar with a body that had been sealed in a wall for many years.


    The voice fell silent and after about ten seconds, finally spoke: ¡°I am¡­ him.¡±


    Everyone jolted to a stop.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just a coward, undeserving of being human; dead, he should only be buried in concrete forever!¡± The voice did not answer Yan Junze¡¯s question but instead muttered to itself, ¡°And I¡­ I am the perfection. The fact tells me that, whether it¡¯s being human or a specter, one must be ruthless. Ruthless towards others, and even more towards oneself, otherwise there is no way to ever come out on top!¡±


    ¡°What in the world is going on?¡± Zhou Dali was completely baffled.


    He found that he could understand every word spoken by the specter, but when pieced together, they made no sense at all.


    Not just Zhou Dali, but Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were equally confused.


    However, at this moment, Bao Jie seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes began to light up.


    Yan Junze seemed to have a realization and spoke up, ¡°I think I understand. You indeed are him. After he killed himself, you began to take shape gradually and hated this suicidal guy, so you transformed into what you are now, a completely opposing¡­ self in behavior, personality, and even motive, an extreme Strange Body!¡±


    After a brief silence, laughter came from deep down the corridor.


    The laughter wasn¡¯t loud, yet it sent an indescribable shiver down one¡¯s spine.


    Yan Junze could clearly feel the goosebumps rising on his arms, but he disregarded them and spoke again, ¡°But I think you¡¯ve achieved it.¡±


    The laughter gradually ceased, and that voice resounded again: ¡°Achieved what?¡±


    ¡°What you mentioned¡­ being ruthless,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°Nearly all these rooms have corpses, right? They must be your victims for finding replacements.¡±


    The voice did not deny it but instead expressed surprise, ¡°Actually, I was puzzled as to why you directly found Room 004 earlier, instead of entering other rooms?¡±


    ¡°Enter the other rooms and we¡¯d be doomed,¡± Yan Junze scoffed, ¡°How many replacements do you need exactly, to break free from your original body and get out of here?¡±


    ¡°Including you¡­ that would be enough,¡± the voice said darkly.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Bao Jie¡¯s eyes shone even brighter as she explained in a low voice to Zhou Dali and Jiang Ruixin, ¡°This specter is actually the same person as the corpse in the wall. But he hates his past self so much, so the specter he became after death is brutal, cruel, and heartless.


    He¡¯s been finding replacements here, and for some reason, when he has enough, he¡¯ll be able to break free from the body in the wall and leave this place.¡±


    ¡°O my goodness, we can¡¯t let him get out,¡± Zhou Dali exclaimed in shock. ¡°This guy is too evil; if he gets out, who knows how many people he might harm!¡± S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let¡¯s first figure out how we¡¯re going to get out of here!¡± Jiang Ruixin reminded.

 Chapter 42 - 42 - 41 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Finale)

    Chapter 42 ¨C 41 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Finale)


    At this moment, Yan Junze could see that although the man¡¯s strangeness had become extremely evil, he was still a dual entity, like a person suffering from split personality disorder, possessing two distinct personalities.


    The consciousness of the mummified corpse still bore the semblance of its past ill-fated and resigned self, but this strangeness, detached from the body, was unspeakably evil and scheming to escape the building by any means necessary.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Yan Junze spoke to the pitch-black corridor, ¡°If you let us go, we won¡¯t take the corpse with us, nor will we harm it in the slightest, otherwise¡­¡±


    As he said this, he turned his head to look at Zhou Dali. ¡°The hammer in my brother¡¯s hand is enough to turn your actual body into a pile of minced meat within ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°You dare threaten me.¡± The voice suppressed anger.


    ¡°I have no choice, I need to protect myself.¡± Yan Junze shrugged.


    In fact, he was very clear about why that guy had chosen not to appear at this time, because the corpse in his hands was facing the deep end of the corridor, and the guy was still afraid of the eyes of the corpse.


    ...


    The entire basement floor fell into silence.


    After a long while, the voice said, ¡°Fine, as long as you leave the corpse, you may go. However¡­¡±


    ¡°However what?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see the corpse¡¯s ugly, pitiful, and lonely demeaning appearance again. Cover his face, leave the corpse, and get lost!¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and nodded, ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Zhou Dali panicked, ¡°If we leave the corpse behind, he might kill us before we even reach upstairs!¡±


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door of the corridor behind them burst open, and the voice said, ¡°I keep my word. Cover the face of the corpse, leave it behind, and you can leave now.¡±


    Yan Junze stopped Zhou Dali from continuing to speak, took off his own jacket, covered the corpse¡¯s face with it, wrapped the sleeves behind the body, and tied them together very carefully into a knot.


    He then gestured for Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali to exit first.


    However, when he looked at Bao Jie, Yan Junze made a gesture for her to set down the camera she was filming with on the ground.


    Bao Jie put down the camera in her hand, making sure the lens was aimed at the direction of the corpse, and then began to step backward.


    The three quickly exited the corridor door and stood at the stairwell entrance.


    After checking the knot he had tied, Yan Junze started to back away too, but just as he was about to exit the corridor, the corridor door slammed shut with a loud bang.


    The three outside at the stairwell were startled and rushed toward the door, with Zhou Dali swinging his hammer to smash at it, but the corridor door was as solid as a rock and completely immovable.


    Yan Junze inside the corridor paused, and Ke¡¯er on his back began to twist and turn, clearly becoming restless and anxious.


    A figure emerged from room 016, and it was the young security guard.


    However, the guard¡¯s expression was dark and dismal, his eye sockets were devoid of pupils, a pitch black void, his face pale as paper, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just ask me¡­ how many replacements I still needed?¡± The guard smiled. ¡°Now I¡¯ll tell you, just one more.¡±


    Yan Junze spread his hands wide, ¡°Perhaps I should have anticipated your deceit earlier.¡±


    ¡°Too late.¡± The guard walked past the corpse that was propped against the wall, sneering as he advanced towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°No, not too late,¡± Yan Junze squeezed out a smile.


    At the same moment, the shroud that seemed to be tightly knotted and covering the corpse¡¯s face suddenly slid backward, revealing the mouth, nose, and¡­ eyes of the corpse.


    The security guard subconsciously turned his head to glance, and then his body trembled and he let out a painful howl, as his entire body rapidly withered away. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Strands of a visible gas began to emerge from the guard¡¯s hair and clothes under the illumination of the camera light, growing more and more abundant.


    Yan Junze began to back away once again.


    At this time, the corridor¡¯s door suddenly loosened, and Zhou Dali happened to bump into it with his shoulder from the outside, instantly opening the door.


    The three people who were anxiously waiting outside were stunned for a moment, staring wide-eyed as the guard¡¯s tall and thin body rapidly shrunk amid the piteous howls, quickly becoming the size of a child and still swiftly getting smaller.


    Before long, the arrogant figure completely transformed into white gas, which was absorbed by the dry corpse¡¯s eyes.


    The coldness in the entire corridor began to recede rapidly, and the temperature started to rise.


    Click, click, after the lights in the corridor flickered a few times, some of them suddenly switched on, bringing a rare brightness to the gloomy, pitch-black basement floor.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    ¡°So that guy¡­ is he dead?¡± Zhou Dali looked around.


    ¡°He was already dead,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°I should say¡­¡± Bao Jie explained, ¡°that extremely mutated Strange Body was absorbed by its original body.¡±


    ¡°Why was it absorbed?¡± Zhou Dali asked, puzzled.


    ¡°They say the eyes are the windows to the soul,¡± Jiang Ruixin analyzed on her own, ¡°I think, even though this man¡¯s strangeness went to the extreme after his death, his original body wasn¡¯t bad. Especially his eyes, which showed the kindness in his heart, so the mutated strangeness was afraid to see its own eyes.¡±


    ¡°Then why do we also experience hallucinations when we see those eyes?¡± Zhou Dali was even more confused, ¡°Are we all bad guys too?¡±


    ¡°You are, we aren¡¯t,¡± the two girls corrected him.


    ¡°It could also be partly because his grievances could not be vented,¡± Yan Junze chimed in.


    At that moment, the dry corpse leaning against the wall began to disintegrate bit by bit after absorbing its Strange Body, turning into powder, including the tattered clothes that also turned to dust within seconds.


    In front of everyone¡¯s eyes, the corpse disappeared cleanly.


    ¡°It seems this is his true rest,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    A task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas surfaced in his mind.


    [Peeking From the Crack in the Wall, Anxiety-Inducing (High), complete, received 300 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    At the same moment, after the new Different Dimension Energy filled up, the Spacetime Atlas lit up another 4 nodes, totaling 14 lit nodes so far.


    The lengths of time between these nodes are not completely equal, but they generally follow a multiple pattern. For example, the smallest segment of the timeline uses 50 points of Different Dimension Energy (5 minutes), and the slightly longer timelines are around multiples of 50 points, such as 102 points or 149 points.


    With 14 nodes lit, it means that the 12th node seen a few days ago was also lit, and on this node, a segment of text was now clearly displayed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The text was: ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock has been successfully activated.¡±


    Yan Junze focused on the four characters ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock,¡± and soon another line of text appeared.


    [Activating the Evil Spirit Solid Lock, certain Evil Spirits can be locked as slaves or chosen to be converted at an opportune moment, preventing them from harming others. The lockdown mode has three levels of locking strength: large, medium, and small. Please choose the appropriate strength according to the level of the Evil Spirit.]

 Chapter 43 - 43 - 42 Lockdown

    Chapter 43 ¨C 42 Lockdown


    ¡°`


    The Evil Spirit Solid Lock is finally unlocked!


    Yan Junze heaved a sigh of relief internally. Right from the beginning, during the first task, ¡°Hair Washing,¡± he had seen prompts indicating whether ¡°the evil spirit can be locked down¡± or ¡°the evil spirit cannot be locked down.¡±


    At first, he didn¡¯t understand, but later he guessed from the literal meaning that it probably referred to locking down evil spirits in some way.


    Now that the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± feature was activated, this skill, which seemed quite practical, could finally be put to use in the future.


    At this moment, after the corpse had crumbled away bit by bit, the weird magnetic field in this space had completely dissipated, and the ordinary strangenesses that were trapped here due to the search for substitutes scattered one after another.


    Some strangenesses dissipated into puffs of smoke, some escaped through the cracks of the windows, and a few, like crawling reptiles, were slowly making their way out of the corridor¡¯s doorway.


    ...


    As they crawled, their bodies became increasingly transparent, ready to vanish at any moment.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡±


    Yan Junze walked up to one of the ¡°Crawler Monsters,¡± blocking its path: ¡°I recognize you. You¡¯re the one who grabbed my ankle earlier, right?¡±


    The Crawler Monster was all skin and bones, slick and clean, without a single hair, its skin sagging. As it crawled, it squeezed out a lot of wrinkles, which at first glance seemed quite disgusting.


    Anyway, when Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, the two girls, saw the Crawler Monster, they both felt like vomiting.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, the Crawler Monster, with a bald head and a bewildered face, looked up. In its memory, it didn¡¯t seem to have provoked this young man before, they had never met, had they?


    Yan Junze waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Explaining to you is useless. It¡¯s just your bad luck.¡±


    He summoned the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock,¡± and before Yan Junze could operate it himself, the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± mode had automatically activated.


    A line of small text appeared below: A common Wandering Spirit detected, would you like to lock it down? This lockdown will consume 50 small energy points.


    The ¡°small¡± indicated the strength of the lockdown ¨C for locking down a common Wandering Spirit, the smallest level of strength was enough.


    After initiating the lockdown, the bewildered bald Crawler Monster instantly turned into a puff of white vapor and appeared inside the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas, displaying a pattern that matched the true form of the Crawler Monster. However, the pattern was so small that it was almost indistinguishable unless looked at closely.


    Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali stared dumbfounded at Yan Junze as he completed all these actions.


    After dealing with the Crawler Monster that dared to grab his ankle before the last Rewind, Yan Junze slung his backpack over his shoulders again and casually said to the others, ¡°I said I might have the potential of an Exorcist. That makes sense, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it makes sense,¡± the three of them said in unison. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Security Officer Bai said last time,¡± Yan Junze added with a smile.


    Zhou Dali swallowed and gave a thumbs-up: ¡°I¡¯ve always said Junze is the best! Look at you, you didn¡¯t even need to use the Hidden Buckle!¡±


    Yan Junze scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.


    By this time, the other strangenesses looking for substitutes had all fled the building.


    The four of them left quietly along the way they came and when they exited the courtyard of the Jianye Building, the security booth was deserted, although the television was still on.


    The TV screen showed a commercial, with an advertisement countdown timer on the upper right corner.


    It looked like there was an ad break during a TV drama, and the guard probably took the opportunity to go for a break and would be back soon.


    Yan Junze and the others quickly left through the small iron door beside the sliding gates.


    Although it wasn¡¯t very late, it was rare to see anyone on the streets.


    Taxis were scarce as well.


    The four of them didn¡¯t hail a cab outside the Jianye Building but walked a few steps in the direction of Yan Junze¡¯s FH Community before they managed to flag down a taxi.


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze was not quite at ease and followed them into a taxi. After dropping each of them off at their homes, he then returned to the FH Community with the taxi.


    After all this, by the time he got home, it was already past eleven o¡¯clock.


    After washing up, his mother Li Man was still sound asleep. Yan Junze checked the doors and windows before quietly returning to his own bedroom, charged his phone, and soon fell asleep.


    At exactly half-past four in the morning, the alarm on his phone rang out. Yan Junze, bleary-eyed, sat up, glanced at the time, suppressed his fatigue from not having enough sleep, got out of bed, dressed, and opened the bedroom door.


    At this moment, the bathroom light was on. Li Man, who was preparing for the early shift, had already gotten up and was washing up.


    Hearing the noise, Li Man poked her head out in surprise and looked down the hallway. With her mouth full of toothpaste foam, she mumbled unclearly, ¡°Son, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep, it¡¯s only half-past four, it¡¯s still early.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m getting up to see you off. I¡¯ll go back to sleep after you get on the car. It¡¯s been quite restless in the community these past few days,¡± Yan Junze said while rubbing his eyes.


    Li Man was stunned for a moment, her eyes quickly filling with affection and emotion. After rinsing her mouth and wiping it with a towel, she said, ¡°The company¡¯s car picks me up right at the community gate. It¡¯s very safe.¡±


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t say anything more. I have to walk you out of the community to be at ease,¡± Yan Junze said in an indisputable tone.


    Li Man, feeling helpless, ruffled her son¡¯s hair and quickly finished getting ready, not wanting to delay him from sleeping.


    Putting on their coats, they left the apartment one after the other.


    However, just as they stepped out the door, Yan Junze, who was walking in front, suddenly paused, feeling Ke¡¯er, which had been clinging to his back, silently slide down and turn to look.


    Ke¡¯er had already crossed through the living room door that had just been shut, and returned inside the house, clearly not willing to venture out with him.


    A sense of unease instantly surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    Although Ke¡¯er¡¯s favorability towards him was already ¡°friendly,¡± that didn¡¯t mean it was willing to risk itself for him at any given moment.


    Now he understood that usually, Ke¡¯er would follow him, but if it had a strong premonition of danger, the little creature would run faster than a rabbit.


    It had been the case before encountering the Exorcist, and also before encountering the Back-faced Woman.


    And this time, within Building 7, only the Back-faced Woman could presumably make Ke¡¯er avoid being out.


    ¡°Could it be Granny Ren is back?¡± Yan Junze began to entertain whimsical ideas.


    According to the unreliable Exorcist, Huang Chen, if Granny Ren had suspicions for killing her own second son and his wife, then she was no longer an ordinary Wandering Spirit and might have evolved into a medium, or perhaps a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    For Ke¡¯er, a regular Wandering Spirit, encountering such a being would certainly mean avoidance.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sensing that something was off with her son, Li Man asked from behind.


    ¡°Mom, be careful when we go out, stick with me,¡± Yan Junze whispered.


    Li Man was surprised but said nothing, just nodded her head.


    The mother and son made their way to the staircase and began descending.


    At each floor, Yan Junze would gently stomp his foot, causing the voice-activated lights to come on, swiftly scanning the surroundings before hurrying on with his mother.


    The pre-dawn darkness was silent, save for the sound of footsteps, and the air carried a coolness.


    In the eerily quiet stairwell, the two of them unconsciously lightened their steps, making their way down to the third floor.


    As they turned to go down to the second floor, Yan Junze stomped his foot, and the voice-activated light at the corner of the second floor lit up, dispelling the darkness.


    However, at the same time, Yan Junze, who was leading, abruptly stopped in his tracks without proceeding further. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to stop his mother behind him.


    Under the corner¡¯s voice-activated light, the Back-faced Woman in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, hair disheveled, stood facing the wall, motionless.

 Chapter 44 - 44 - 43 Back-faced Woman

    Chapter 44 ¨C 43 Back-faced Woman


    At the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman.


    Li Man was so scared that her body shuddered, and she hurriedly grabbed the back of Yan Junze¡¯s shirt, whispering in a lowered voice, ¡°Son!¡±


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t talk,¡± Yan Junze made a silence gesture.


    He glanced at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner leading to the second floor.


    Although the woman was at the corner of the stairs, she stood in the middle, which was a much narrower space than the two corners.


    This meant that if they were to pass behind her, there would come a moment when they would be very, very close to her.


    In the exceptionally quiet surroundings, it was impossible for either of them to avoid making any sound when walking, so there would definitely be some noise as they approached.


    ...


    Yan Junze pulled Li Man and they took a few steps back, whispering lowly, ¡°Mom, you must follow me closely.¡±


    Li Man paused, then shook her head, ¡°Or¡­ let¡¯s not go.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Not go? Hmm, that¡¯s fine too. But will that affect your work?¡±


    Li Man hesitated, ¡°I¡¯m taking over Sister Tian¡¯s shift. Didn¡¯t I take temporary leave last time to take care of you at home? It was Sister Tian who covered me then. Sister Tian couldn¡¯t make it this time, so I agreed to help her; otherwise, the absence would be recorded under her name.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go, it will be alright,¡± Yan Junze thought to set the Rewind in a moment, simply pretending to be passersby, which was likely not to provoke the Back-faced Woman.


    And even if she was provoked, he still had the Rewind to use.


    Though Li Man was indeed worried, she said no more and followed closely behind Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had stealthily set the time Rewind, just in case.


    He stomped lightly to make just enough noise to activate the voice-controlled light, signaled his mother to follow, and then they slowly descended the stairs, hugging the side of the stair railing one in front of the other.


    During the descent, they were mostly walking on tiptoes, hardly making any significant noise.


    Arriving at the corner of the second floor, Yan Junze took out his phone and turned on the screen.


    As they moved past the midpoint of the corner, they were extremely close to the motionless Back-faced Woman, and could distinctly feel a chilling breath spreading from that direction. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop. He quickly turned the corner and proceeded down from the second floor, with Li Man following closely behind, keeping her head down and not daring to glance at the hair-raising woman in white.


    Just when they were about to reach the second floor, the voice-controlled light suddenly went out.


    Normally, the duration the voice-controlled light stayed on was sufficient enough for one to walk a floor¡¯s worth of stairs, but this time, since they were both tiptoeing and deliberately slowing their movements, it took them longer to descend.


    Not yet at the second floor, the surroundings suddenly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze was ready; the phone in his hand instantly turned on the flashlight function, illuminating their feet, and he continued downstairs, holding his mother¡¯s trembling hand.


    At that moment, a rustling noise came from behind.


    Upon hearing this sound, Yan Junze¡¯s scalp went numb, and he quickened his pace, pulling his mother to the front.


    After reaching the second floor, he dared not make a sound to turn on the voice-controlled light. While pushing his mother towards the first floor, he hastily glanced behind at the stairway.


    He saw the Back-faced Woman was no longer standing motionless; her neck was twisting, and she was turning her head back.


    She wanted to ¡°Look at Her Face.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Yan Junze felt hair-raising chills running down his spine, so he hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look anymore.


    The task associated with the Back-faced Woman was titled ¡°Look at Her Face,¡± and right now, he had no desire to accept the task. If he accidentally saw her face, it would mean he had initiated the task.


    One could say that from then on, life or death would be unpredictable.


    Moreover, his mother was present. Encountering a hair-raising task of this level and having to ensure his mother¡¯s safety would likely mean certain death!


    Well, unless there was no Rewind.


    Regardless of the noises behind them, the mother and son quickly descended to the first floor and rushed out of the staircase.


    Outside the building, the weak streetlights, though not very bright, provided a warm and comforting feeling.


    Yan Junze turned off the flashlight on his phone, still firmly grasping his mother¡¯s hand, and the two quickly reached the entrance of the housing complex.


    The cleaning company¡¯s car had not yet arrived. Li Man, concerned, looked at Yan Junze and said, ¡°Son, I made a bad decision just now. What will you do when you go back?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Yan Junze pursed his lips and smiled. ¡°Maybe by the time I go upstairs, the Back-faced Woman will have disappeared¡ªshe doesn¡¯t always appear. And if she is there, I¡¯ll just sit with Grandpa Zheng in the duty room until it¡¯s almost dawn. It would be even better to sleep in once it gets light.¡±


    At that moment, a white van drove up and stopped in front of them.


    The door slid open, and Li Man greeted the older person inside, ¡°Uncle Da, good morning.¡±


    He was somewhat overweight but appeared shrewd and experienced, and glanced at Yan Junze with a smile, ¡°Is this your son?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Li Man nodded.


    ¡°Very thoughtful of him, coming to drop you off? He knows it¡¯s not safe for you to be out alone this late,¡± Uncle Da chuckled, his attention fixed on appraising Yan Junze, but he didn¡¯t notice that Li Man¡¯s face was clouding over with varied emotions.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom, just get on the bus,¡± Yan Junze urged. ¡°I¡¯m not going upstairs. I¡¯ll just sit in the duty room until dawn. I can catch a nap there too.¡±


    Li Man nodded, ¡°Yeah, look at me, I didn¡¯t think of that at all. You wait in the duty room then. With Grandpa Zheng here, I¡¯ll be more at ease.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze smiled as he watched her.


    After watching Li Man get on the car and gradually drive away, he waved his hand and turned to enter the complex.


    Passing by the entrance security room, he saw the light on inside, but the security guard, Grandpa Zheng, was lying on a large recliner, sleeping soundly.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to keep Grandpa Zheng company; he quickly returned to the bottom of building number seven, looking up into the pitch-dark space within the staircase.


    Although he felt exhausted, Yan Junze¡¯s desire to sleep had vanished by then.


    Since he hadn¡¯t used the Rewind line he set earlier, it had reset. Standing outside the building, he set another ten-minute Rewind, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.


    He stamped his foot onto the ground, and the first-floor¡¯s voice-activated light turned on; he rapidly ascended the stairs.


    Upon reaching the second floor, he stamped again, turning on the second-floor voice-activated light, and glanced toward the staircase corner from the second to third floor, finding that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s silhouette was gone.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart felt slightly steadier, and he proceeded toward the third floor.


    After arriving at the third floor, he turned on the third floor¡¯s voice-activated light. Just as he took a step upward, he abruptly froze.


    Yan Junze raised his head, staring at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner between the third and fourth floor, and revealed a bitter smile.


    At that moment, he even harbored a reckless thought of just completing the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task once and for all, wondering when otherwise this daily torment of ascending and descending the stairs would end.

 Chapter 45 - 45 - 44 She Followed!

    Chapter 45 ¨C 44 She Followed!


    ¡°`


    From the time Yan Junze had sent his mother out of the residential complex to his return, the Back-faced Woman had already climbed one more floor. Yet, she still stood at the midpoint of the corner landing, facing the wall and turning her back on the stairway corner.


    ¡°Are you deliberately toying with me?¡± Yan Junze lowered his head, considering whether he should complete the task of ¡°Look at Her Face.¡±


    After a moment, he lifted his head. Given that he did not have full confidence in the situation at hand, he decided not to tackle the task graded ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± just yet.


    He had already set up the Rewind; he¡¯d go up first and say it. If anything unexpected happened, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to activate the Rewind.


    Resolute, Yan Junze happened to find the voice-activated lights extinguishing right at that moment. He gently stamped his foot to turn the voice-activated lights back on, then proceeded to climb the stairs again.


    This time, without his mother being there, he ascended rapidly, reaching the corner of the staircase in no time, always mindful of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s movements.


    ...


    Thankfully, the woman remained completely still as he passed by her.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace, tiptoeing and springing up to the fourth floor in just a few strides, and hurried towards his home.


    However, as he reached the corridor, footsteps echoed from behind.


    A bizarre sense of palpitation followed right after.


    He stopped in his tracks, and involuntarily glanced back, only to feel his legs and entire body go numb, his mind filled with a roar.


    In front of Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, the Back-faced Woman, still with her back towards him, was stepping backward up the stairs with smooth movements, as if eyes were grown on her back, following him to the fourth floor.


    ¡°Could she be targeting me?¡±


    A peculiar thought surfaced, but Yan Junze ignored the woman and rushed to the doorstep of his home, fumbling for his keys.


    Because the action was somewhat dramatic, the noise was quite loud, turning on all the voice-activated lights in the corridor.


    However, Yan Junze had no time to worry about that. As he took out his keys, he hurriedly glanced back to see the Back-faced Woman positioned at one end of the corridor, with her back still facing him.


    She had not followed him upstairs.


    Feeling slightly relieved, Yan Junze accurately inserted the key into the lock without the melodramatic events of dropping the keys on the floor in panic, or failing to find the keyhole, or trying several keys without success.


    But the unexpected still met him inadvertently.


    The moment he opened the door, inevitably, the door lock emitted a crisp ¡°click¡± sound, which was especially piercing in the silent night.


    Yan Junze flinched and immediately looked towards the Back-faced Woman at the end of the corridor.


    She still stood there as if nothing had happened.


    Just as Yan Junze¡¯s heart was beginning to ease, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s head suddenly twisted around one hundred and eighty degrees and looked his way.


    Whoosh, Yan Junze pushed open his home¡¯s door, stepped inside in one stride, and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see her, damn, if I¡¯d been half a second slower, I would have definitely seen her face.¡± Yan Junze¡¯s heart pounded like a drum as he stood behind the closed door, gasping for air.


    His mother had obviously been worried about him earlier, which was why she seemed so conflicted and had spoken those words about coming back together.


    To keep her from worrying, Yan Junze immediately made a phone call, whispering, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m home now, I didn¡¯t see the Back-faced Woman, yeah, I¡¯m going to bed right away.¡±


    After reassuring Li Man, he hung up the phone. Yan Junze did not turn on the lights in his house but instead approached the living room window, peering out into the corridor lit by the lights outside.


    He did not see the shadow of the Back-faced Woman walking backward.


    After a while, all the voice-activated lights in the corridor went out, but if the Back-faced Woman were to follow, there should still be footsteps to be heard.


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to turn on the lights, and as his heart rate gradually calmed down, he kept his breathing slow, laying by the window and listening intently. He strained his eyes in the dark until he was finally certain the Back-faced Woman hadn¡¯t followed him.


    There were still less than ten minutes left until the Rewind time he had set for himself. If the Back-faced Woman really followed him to his doorstep, he would immediately choose to Rewind and do it all over again, making absolutely sure this woman couldn¡¯t fixate on his home door.


    He sighed with relief. Only now did Yan Junze realize he was bursting with the urge to pee, but he still didn¡¯t turn on the lights. He walked into the bathroom and only then did he switch on the bathroom light.


    The next second, he jumped with fright.


    Ke¡¯er, in a red dress, was squatting by the toilet, facing away from the bathroom door, trembling intensely.


    ¡°Look at the state of you!¡± Yan Junze shook his head in disbelief, ¡°That woman didn¡¯t follow.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and go out, I need to pee¡­ ¡±


    As Yan Junze had just made it to the toilet and hadn¡¯t finished speaking yet, Ke¡¯er stood up. But instead of leaving, she skillfully somersaulted onto his back, clinging firmly and motionless.


    This kind of attachment was enough to bring viewers to tears and listeners to emotion.


    In any case, at that moment, Yan Junze felt like he wanted to cry but had no tears.


    ¡­


    The next day was Sunday.


    He slept soundly, deep and undisturbed, until two o¡¯clock in the afternoon when he woke up.


    After waking up, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to go out. Instead, he searched the news and found no reports about anything going on around Jianye Building. He copied all the videos he took the previous night onto his phone and sent them to Bao Jie for an initial edit.


    When it came to video editing and production, Bao Jie was clearly very dedicated. She spent the whole day holed up at home, not stepping out. She sorted through last night¡¯s footage taken with the portable camera and Yan Junze¡¯s phone, according to the timeline, edited it, and prepared to take it to school the next day.


    Li Man, his mother, came home in the afternoon, bringing with her some roasted chicken wings for her son.


    On the couch, Yan Junze was watching TV and devouring the chicken wings when he received a rather strange phone call.


    The phone displayed an overseas number, and a strange man¡¯s voice came through.


    ¡°Hello, who are you looking for?¡±


    Having no relatives or friends overseas, Yan Junze was sure the caller had dialed the wrong number.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for¡­ you,¡± said the voice on the other end of the line, though seemingly uncertain.


    ¡°Looking for me?¡± Yan Junze puzzled, ¡°Who are you?¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you,¡± the man¡¯s voice was urgent but he did not answer him.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know you,¡± said Yan Junze and hung up.


    Li Man, who was busy in the kitchen with a spatula in hand, poked her head out and asked, ¡°Who was that on the phone?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Probably about an 8800 overseas card transaction, asking if it was my own charge.¡±


    ¡°Fraudster, pure and simple!¡± Li Man affirmed with conviction, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Your journey continues at empire


    ¡°Who¡¯s a fraudster?¡± Yan Daguo had just walked in, not even changing his shoes, he looked up and asked.


    ¡°Just got a call, saying I have an 8800 overseas¡­¡±


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Yan Daguo interrupted him, his tone matching Li Man¡¯s exactly, ¡°Fraudster, no doubt about it!¡±

 Chapter 46 - 46 - 45: The Finishing Touch

    Chapter 46 ¨C 45: The Finishing Touch


    At the dinner table, upon hearing Li Man¡¯s account, Yan Daguo felt that his son had matured a lot.


    Moreover, it seemed that when it came to strangeness, Yan Junze, whether in terms of courage, actions, or thought, truly had the makings of an exorcist.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were not at all wealthy and had no spare money, Yan Daguo might have to consider how to send Yan Junze for professional exorcist training.


    The premise was that he didn¡¯t know how many exorcists died each year while dealing with strange incidents.


    Of course, this was a secret within the exorcist organizations, unknown to outsiders.


    After dinner and watching TV for a while, Yan Junze claimed to be going back to his room to review and, upon entering, closed and locked the door. Then he summoned the Lockdown Evil Spirit¡ªthe unfortunate Crawler Monster.


    This entirely wrinkled, hairless creature lay confused on the ground, glanced up at Yan Junze, and then looked around at the room¡¯s environment.


    ...


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    As a lockdown evil spirit, its master Yan Junze had absolute control over it, and with just a thought, he could seal it in the 12th node if it disobeyed.


    However, once this guy was let out, his innate desires would still drive him to flee from this dangerous place and pursue the freedom he longed for.


    Yan Junze also had the idea of comparing him with Ke¡¯er when letting this creature out.


    Because even among wandering spirits, there were distinctions of high, medium, and low.


    Not long after the Crawler Monster was let out, he knew where it stood in comparison to Ke¡¯er.


    The Crawler Monster began to crawl around the room; all this time Ke¡¯er paid no attention, remaining on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    It wasn¡¯t until the Crawler Monster suddenly went under Yan Junze¡¯s bed and tried to climb up that Ke¡¯er stirred and raised her head.


    Please note that since her head was tilted, it¡¯s basically as if, when she raised her head, Ke¡¯er¡¯s head would be pressed tightly against Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    To an onlooker, this scene of intimate closeness could send a chill down to their very bones.


    The Crawler Monster froze abruptly, like a little mutt encountering a wolfhound, hanging its head low, crawling on the ground and remaining motionless.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er, it looks like you¡¯re the more formidable one,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should just lock you down too, save me the trouble of you always clinging to my back.¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    ¡°Forget I said anything.¡±


    ¡­


    The next day in class.


    After the morning classes ended, using the lunch break, Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin gathered together.


    Bao Jie opened up the video on her laptop that had been preliminarily edited the day before.


    Following Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion, the video was titled ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,¡± and its duration had been shortened to about fifteen minutes.


    It retained the terrifying atmosphere encountered upon entering the Jianye Building, the scenes where everyone took turns staring down the eyes in the wall crack, and the clever finale where they failed to escape with the body but managed to kill the strange body of the corpse.


    The completeness was even higher than ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night.¡±


    This time, because they were well-prepared, the video included footage shot by Bao Jie with a portable camera and by Yan Junze with his phone mounted on his chest, the combination of which created a perfectly crafted atmosphere of terror.


    After some suggestions from everyone, Bao Jie adjusted several details.


    After watching it twice, Yan Junze frowned and said, ¡°I still feel like something¡¯s missing.¡±


    ¡°Is it still not clear enough?¡± Bao Jie asked.


    ¡°Could it be that the picture is too dark, giving a very oppressive feeling?¡± Zhou Dali said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of me. You should just mosaic my glaring eyes,¡± Jiang Ruixin suggested, ¡°I feel that the ghost in this video isn¡¯t scary, but I¡¯ve become the scariest one.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t mosaic your face.¡± Yan Junze shook his head again.


    ¡°Why not?¡± the three asked in unison.


    ¡°Netizens these days are very malicious. It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t add a mosaic. Once you do, the style and feeling of the video immediately changes, and then who knows what they will say. Even if Jiang Ruixin doesn¡¯t drown in spit, she would probably die of shame,¡± Yan Junze stated confidently.


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali suddenly understood.


    Only Jiang Ruixin looked blankly bemused, ¡°Why would I die of shame?¡±


    Bao Jie leaned in and whispered a few words to her, causing Jiang Ruixin¡¯s face to change immediately.


    Pating her ample chest with palpitations, she said, ¡°Then definitely don¡¯t add a mosaic!¡±


    Zhou Dali chuckled, then looked up at Yan Junze, ¡°So what¡¯s still missing?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak for a moment, pondering for a while before saying, ¡°I feel¡­ what¡¯s missing is an introductory quote for the whole video. Something that exudes philosophy, a masterstroke that encapsulates the entire video.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not smart, what kind of masterstroke could there be?¡± Zhou Dali scratched his head.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin seemed to realize something and began to think, resting their chins on their hands.


    Soon after, Yan Junze spoke, ¡°How about this? Before the video starts, before the title comes out, we introduce the following phrase: ¡¯All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different aspects of ourselves. Therefore, there¡¯s a murder that¡¯s never been punished, and that¡¯s the killing of a part of oneself.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Hmm, good, this is a good line!¡± Bao Jie¡¯s eyes lit up and she immediately agreed.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Zhou Dali scratched his head. At this moment, his life¡¯s shortcomings were laid bare.


    However, no one paid him any attention.


    ¡°Then, after the security guard declares himself the Strange Body from within the wall, and after my analysis comes out, we throw in the second line of text,¡± Yan Junze said, tapping his forehead with his index finger as though searching for the right words.


    ¡°What does the second line say?¡± Bao Jie asked.


    Yan Junze thought for five long minutes before finally lifting his head and saying, ¡°There¡¯s a type of Revenge that leaves no trace, that part of oneself that was killed¡­ has come back.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°Well said!¡±


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin applauded in unison.


    ¡°With words like that, this video titled ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡¯ is definitely worth watching!¡± Bao Jie nodded excitedly, ¡°If I ever become a director, I will definitely hire you as a scriptwriter.¡±


    Zhou Dali said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Junze, I always feel like it¡¯s very impressive.¡±


    ¡°Alright, adding this will definitely score points,¡± Jiang Ruixin said with conviction. ¡°Even Dali, who¡¯s slow to react, feels it¡¯s impressive, so other netizens watching it will definitely have a much stronger reaction.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t offend you, did I, Ruixin?¡± Zhou Dali said grievously.


    Jiang Ruixin shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I always feel like you did something annoying to me in the past.¡±


    ¡°Hold on a second, the video will soon be edited,¡± Bao Jie acted swiftly.


    Before long, the complete ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± video was finished. After everyone checked it, they logged into Yan Junze¡¯s account ¡°Night Traveling Puppy¡± on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform and clicked to upload the video.

 Chapter 47 - 47 - 46 The Pain That Can’t Be Erased

    Chapter 47 ¨C 46 The Pain That Can¡¯t Be Erased


    As an editor for the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform, Tang Zhengyi was in charge of the specific video promotion work.


    He had experienced more than ten encounters with strangeness, twice deeply coming into contact with the bizarre and emerging unscathed. He had also witnessed exorcists eliminate strangeness on four occasions.


    He could be described as experienced and well-versed.


    Usually, after finishing his tasks for the day, Tang Zhengyi would set aside a fixed time each day to scan videos on the platform.


    If he found something good or comments below the video seemed quite real, he would take note of the video and then choose an opportune time to do a small-scale trial promotion.


    Video recommendations, unlike others, must first and foremost have a strong sense of authenticity, and only then would he consider the atmosphere, storyline completeness, information delivery, filming techniques, and post-production issues.


    During Tang Zhengyi¡¯s video scanning process, a video named ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± caught his eye.


    ...


    This was because the video¡¯s thumbnail displayed the first frame of the video.


    It was a sentence in white font against a black background, and Tang Zhengyi¡¯s attention was drawn mainly to the text in the image.


    The quote was:


    ¡°All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different layers of our own self. Hence, there¡¯s one kind of murder that has never been convicted, and that is killing a part of oneself.¡±


    There was also a name in the bottom right corner of this passage: Night Traveling Puppy


    ¡°Looks like it has some appeal, but could it be staged?¡± Tang Zhengyi mumbled to himself, clicking on ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡±.


    ¡­


    A few tranquil days passed.


    Inside Building 7 of FH Community, the frequency of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s appearances seemed to be dwindling.


    Anyway, after his last sighting of her, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t seen her at all these past few days.


    According to feedback from other neighbors in the same building, indeed, sightings of the Back-faced Woman had diminished compared to before. Discover stories at empire


    All of them harbored a wish they couldn¡¯t openly express, that now having frequented Building 7, they hoped the woman in white would quickly move on to explore Building 9, and let their next-door neighbors experience what ¡¯hair-raising¡¯ truly felt like.


    That day, Li Man was idle at home; dinner was prepared early, and after eating with the family, they could still see the sunset.


    Yan Junze discovered he had run out of pen refills, so after giving his father Yan Daguo a heads-up, he left the community and headed to the nearby supermarket to buy a box.


    Since the inexplicable emerged, neighborhood shops typically operated only until around 8 PM, with only the braver store owners daring to close after 9 PM.


    And as for those 24-hour convenience stores, they had almost vanished.


    Because according to unofficial reports, almost every store that dared to stay open all night, if not 100%, at least 80% of them had encountered strangenesses.


    Situations like this could be big or small, so within a short period of time, the 24-hour stores had ceased operations, closing their doors on time around 8 PM with due propriety.


    After purchasing a box of pen refills from the supermarket, Yan Junze turned to leave, planning to head back to the community.


    At that moment, a young man stood outside the supermarket, dressed in off-white casual clothes, staring intently at him.


    Yan Junze glanced at the man and realized he didn¡¯t recognize him. As he was about to pass by, the young man suddenly said, ¡°Excuse me, are you Yan Junze?¡±


    Yan Junze stopped, looking surprised. ¡°You are¡­?¡±


    The young man¡¯s face was pale, his expression somewhat bleak as if he had encountered some very bad luck. At this moment, he managed to squeeze out a smile and said, ¡°I called you a couple of days ago, my name is Lv Xin, the son of Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun.¡±


    Yan Junze was initially startled, then he remembered something. ¡°You mean¡­ that overseas call?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lv Xin nodded. ¡°I was studying in Great Capital, USA, and last week, I suddenly received the shocking news of my parents¡¯ death. So I immediately asked for leave from the academy and rushed back here. May I¡­ talk to you?¡±


    Yan Junze pointed at himself and then at Lv Xin, ¡°Do we¡­ have anything to discuss?¡±


    ¡°Some doubts I want to ask you about, please!¡± Lv Xin¡¯s tone was very humble and sincere.


    Yan Junze found it difficult to refuse.


    Lv Xin looked around and pointed to a milk tea shop named ¡°Migu¡± next to FH Community, ¡°Let¡¯s sit in there.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    It was mealtime, so not many customers came in for milk tea, and three small tables were empty.


    The two entered the shop, sat down, and ordered two cups of milk tea.


    Before the milk tea was served, Lv Xin couldn¡¯t wait to ask, ¡°I heard that you recorded a video that night, may I see it?¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s no secret, I¡¯ve already uploaded the video to the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform. You can watch it there.¡±


    Lv Xin was startled for a moment, ¡°Is that the platform that specializes in sharing bizarre videos?¡±


    ¡°Yes, search for Night Traveling Puppy, and you¡¯ll be able to see it,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Without another word, Lv Xin immediately downloaded the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± app on his phone, and quickly found the video. He gave Yan Junze an apologetic smile and then started to watch it intently.


    As the milk tea arrived, Yan Junze just drank his milk tea without speaking, waiting for Lv Xin to finish watching the video.


    After watching, Lv Xin let out a soft sigh, looked up, and asked, ¡°Is this video complete? Are there any extra clips that were not included in the video?¡±


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to explain to Lv Xin, because, after all, Granny Ren appeared in the video as a supernatural being, albeit with her face deliberately blurred. However, this could potentially violate the privacy of her family.


    But now it seemed that Lv Xin¡¯s attitude toward his own grandmother was not much different from that of his father, Lv Jun, and mother, Wei Tingchun. So he really didn¡¯t care.


    At this point, Yan Junze¡¯s favorable impression of Lv Xin began to decrease, and he shook his head, ¡°The video is the entire recording. I cut out the irrelevant scenes like looking for the comb, and there¡¯s no other important information.¡±


    Lv Xin took a sip of milk tea through the straw and seemed to notice Yan Junze¡¯s indifferent expression. He spoke softly, ¡°My relationship with my grandmother was very weak. When I was little, my parents seldom, very seldom, took me to visit her. We almost have¡­ no affection.¡±


    ¡°Your family¡¯s matters, there¡¯s no need to tell me,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°Did my grandmother say anything else to you?¡± Lv Xin asked.


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Just those two sentences in the video, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°When you faced my grandmother, did you feel anything from her?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What kind of feeling? Anger? Resentment?¡± Lv Xin frowned.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It was heaviness, agony. You heard it just now, she said she was in pain. I believe this pain refers to the suffering she experienced in life.¡±


    At this point, Yan Junze suddenly realized something.


    When he was combing Granny Ren¡¯s hair, at the moment he chanted ¡°pass on to utmost bliss, erase the pain of this life,¡± Granny Ren¡¯s response to him was ¡ª ¡°pain.¡±


    That meant, at that time, Granny Ren couldn¡¯t erase the pain of her life. If it weren¡¯t for Ke¡¯er, who moved on his back later and posed a threat to Granny Ren, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to complete the combing hair task.


    Thinking about it, at that time, as a Wandering Spirit, Granny Ren¡¯s rank might not have been high. Otherwise, Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have been able to intimidate her.


    But now, according to Huang Chen, Granny Ren had evolved into a being that could create a D-level Supernatural event. Compared to Ke¡¯er, her rank was definitely higher, and not lower.


    sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 48 - 48 - 47: Popular Video

    Chapter 48 ¨C 47: Popular Video


    Lv Xin placed both hands on the table in front of him, holding a milk tea cup, his expression revealing unease.


    ¡°To tell the truth, I still find it hard to believe what the exorcists say, that my parents were killed by my grandmother¡¯s strangeness.¡±


    Yan Junze did not answer.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    The day-to-day life of a family escalating to the current, almost irreversible situation wasn¡¯t something that could be clarified in just a few sentences.


    ¡°Now my uncle¡¯s family and my aunt¡¯s family, they¡¯re all being protected by the exorcists,¡± Lv Xin said, his hands holding the teacup trembling slightly.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze sat up straight, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you¡¯d better stay with them as well, otherwise, you might encounter danger.¡±


    ...


    ¡°There¡¯s only me left in our family, what else is there to fear?¡± Lv Xin raised his head, revealing a bleak smile filled with self-mockery, ¡°Perhaps we¡¯ve wronged grandma too much. Since she¡¯s now claiming lives, then let it be my life; I won¡¯t resist at all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, you should head back quickly,¡± Yan Junze stood up.


    Lv Xin also stood up: ¡°I¡¯m planning to go take a look at room 503 in building number seven, I¡¯ve brought the keys.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze looked at him in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re going to your grandmother¡¯s house now? You must be joking! That place has been sealed off by the police.¡±


    ¡°I want to see my grandmother¡¯s belongings, start to understand her from now, to get to know her all over again,¡± Lv Xin said with determination, as if he had made up his mind before coming.


    Yet, to Yan Junze, his words carried an indescribable feeling, something he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    ¡°In any case, let me advise you, Granny Ren might not be in room 503 anymore, but if you encounter her now, it¡¯ll be quite dangerous!¡± Yan Junze left the milk tea shop after dropping that warning.


    Lv Xin followed him out.


    As he had expected, the guy didn¡¯t seem to have any intention to leave, following right behind him into FH Community.


    Lv Xin quickened his steps, caught up to Yan Junze, and said, ¡°The videos you shoot are pretty good, I just watched one called ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡¯, it¡¯s getting a lot of heat.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Yan Junze stopped, took out his phone to check, and saw that his recently uploaded video ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± had surged in popularity, breaking past 500,000 views.


    Influenced by that video, even ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡± had surpassed 100,000 clicks.


    Looking at the small flame icon in the upper-right corner of the video, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of excitement.


    Since it had gone viral, rewards like throwing flowers, tossing sedans, and sending rockets definitely wouldn¡¯t be scarce; he¡¯d have to count them carefully when he logged into the backend at home later.


    Yan Junze was somewhat excited, mainly because since coming to this world, he always had the pressing feeling of an ever-empty pocket.


    After putting away his phone, buoyed by his good mood, Yan Junze pointed at the supernatural warning sign placed below building number seven and said to Lv Xin, who was waiting beside him, ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you, our community is quite old, and there¡¯s an especially large number of strangenesses. You should be careful of other supernatural beings in building number seven as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± Lv Xin nodded and entered the building with Yan Junze.


    However, after Yan Junze reached his own floor, the fourth, he didn¡¯t continue going up.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t stop either and went directly up to the fifth floor.


    Yan Junze stood in the hallway of the fourth floor, slightly sticking out his head and pricking up his ears to listen to the noises from the floor above.


    The footsteps were so light that they were inaudible. After listening for a while, he only heard the sound of a key turning in a lock, followed by silence.


    Retracting back, he didn¡¯t plan to interfere any more than he already had. However, he couldn¡¯t help but remain concerned about Lv Xin staying in Granny Ren¡¯s place alone.


    At that moment, the sky gradually darkened.


    Yan Daguo opened the door and saw his son holding a box of pen refills, leaning on the railing outside the hallway, and asked, ¡°Son, it¡¯s getting dark. Why are you leaning out here?¡±


    ¡°Just catching some fresh air,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    ¡°The college entrance exam is coming up, how is your revision going?¡± Yan Daguo also leaned on the railing, looking towards the building across from them.


    At this moment, many lights were on in the building, but there were few like them, who didn¡¯t close their doors even when it got dark, leisurely leaning on the corridor and shooting the breeze.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with the review, I could even take the test right now.¡±


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t joking. When it came to studying, he now only dared not to exert himself too much, because a little bit of effort would not just mean swapping a bike for a car, or a car for a plane, but instantly taking off in a rocket.


    In that case, he had to consider whether his parents could handle such a surprise.


    What if the scores came in, and the breakthrough results put his parents in the hospital beds, that wouldn¡¯t be good for anyone.


    ¡°Still planning to apply for Tianmeng Science University?¡± Yan Daguo asked.


    Huaying Great Capital had five major districts, with Shuntian City located within Tianmeng District, and Tianmeng District itself boasted several universities with excellent educational resources.


    Under normal circumstances, residents of Shuntian City wouldn¡¯t consider schools in other districts, preferring those nearby.


    ¡°Any of the top five universities in Tianmeng District will do.¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°But no matter which one I attend, I only want to study Physics.¡±


    Yan Daguo was shocked, ¡°Is that¡­ easy to find a job in the future?¡±


    ¡°Dad, you forgot, I also have the potential to become an Exorcist.¡± Yan Junze revealed a smile, ¡°In studies, interest is what matters most.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, no matter what you study, as long as you¡¯re interested, that¡¯s good,¡± Yan Daguo seemed very open-minded.


    He tightened his collar and reminded, ¡°Although the weather is warming up, it still gets cold quickly at night. Be careful not to catch a cold, better go inside quickly.¡±


    With that, he himself ran inside to make some tea.


    Bang!


    The sound of a door closing came from upstairs at the same time.


    Yan Junze stretched his neck but still could not hear any footsteps. However, soon at the end of the corridor by the staircase, a figure descended from the fifth floor.


    The sound-activated light turned on, allowing Yan Junze to easily see the person¡¯s appearance¡ªit was Lv Xin, who had just gone up.


    Yan Junze watched him, and although the two were far apart, neither spoke.


    Lv Xin lifted his head, glanced over at Yan Junze, and unexpectedly did not greet him with a wave but turned and continued downstairs.


    It seemed like there was no issue.


    Yan Junze still leaned in the corridor, watching the guy leave Building No. 7 and head toward the community¡¯s gate until he was out of sight.


    A sense of inexplicability surged in his heart, and Yan Junze looked up at the fifth floor, then turned to enter his house and shut the door.


    Not long after he returned to his bedroom, Zhou Dali¡¯s call came through, filled with irrepressible excitement, ¡°Haha, Junze, guess how our uploaded video is doing?¡±


    ¡°It went viral,¡± Yan Junze answered.


    Zhou Dali: ¡°¡­¡±


    However, this guy had typical resilience, and soon he was back to his usual self, saying, ¡°How about it, any donations? What¡¯s the income like?¡±


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    ¡°I just did the math, and it looks like each of us could get around five to six thousand,¡± Yan Junze also started laughing.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Zhou Dali shook his head on the other end of the phone, ¡°You should get more, I¡¯ll just take a thousand, enough for pocket money. I didn¡¯t expect making videos to be so profitable. That video of ¡¯The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡¯ must have earned something as well, right? Too bad your fame wasn¡¯t that big back then.¡±


    Suddenly remembering something, Yan Junze asked, ¡°By the way, the strangeness in the restroom of New Century Home Plaza, has an Exorcist dealt with it yet?¡± S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali replied, ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯s been reported and queued. I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s already a response, and an Exorcist is expected to handle it in the next couple of days.¡±


    ¡°Strike while the iron is hot,¡± Yan Junze grinned, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it tomorrow night and film another video in the process.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ we do it together?¡± Zhou Dali exclaimed.


    ¡°No, this time I¡¯m going alone.¡±

 Chapter 49 - 49 - 48 Big-eyed Girl

    Chapter 49 ¨C 48 Big-eyed Girl


    As the college entrance exam neared, the entire senior year exuded an inexplicable sense of tension.


    All subjects in Shuntian No.3 Middle School¡¯s senior classes had entered an intensive review phase, where each day was filled with ceaseless explanations of key points and difficulties, and a myriad of different types of problems for practice.


    Yan Junze was okay, but Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin all seemed to struggle.


    As for Zhou Jiajie, whom Bao Jie had a crush on, it was said that he had already obtained a guaranteed spot at Tianmeng University through his family¡¯s connections. The criteria he met to get this spot were unknown. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Bao Jie also aspired to attend Tianmeng University. Unlike Zhou Jiajie, she didn¡¯t have such a family background, so she was even more determined to study hard.


    Zhou Dali was also putting in the effort, except his goal was Tianmeng Sports Institute, an institution where one could forge their way with physical strength, without needing much of a brain.


    Academic scores? Nonexistent.


    ...


    When Zhou Dali stood out at the Tianmeng District high school sports meet in March, at least three sports colleges extended offers to him. However, Comrade Dali also had his obsessions.


    He would only consider Tianmeng Sports Institute, which made him a solemn promise: as long as his academic score exceeded 30 points (passing is 50), they would admit him exceptionally.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view today, Zhou Dali must have been deceived by the institute.


    For anything worth doing, a certain level of difficulty is necessary to spark desire and persistence. If something is too easily obtained, it won¡¯t be truly cherished.


    Zhou Dali was exactly like this, dismissing offers from other colleges outright.


    Yan Junze speculated that regardless of Zhou Dali¡¯s academic scores, with his outstanding athletic performance and potential for growth, Tianmeng Sports Institute would still admit him exceptionally.


    Putting pressure on him now and making him work harder couldn¡¯t do any harm.


    During a break after class, Bao Jie took out a portable camera and taught Yan Junze how to clip it to his shirt front for filming.


    This camera had substantial storage and could continuously record videos for about two hours. It automatically switched to night mode and produced extremely high-quality footage compatible with various editing software for post-production.


    Bao Jie had sponsored the portable camera temporarily, which Yan Junze planned to borrow for a while. After testing it and finding the results quite good, he had Bao Jie help him order one online.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need our help?¡± asked Bao Jie.


    ¡°No need, it¡¯s easier to act alone,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    However, it was evident that these three were having mixed feelings, their hearts not in sync with their words, clearly conflicted about taking risks with Yan Junze again.


    With the college entrance exam approaching and the heavy academic workload, their reluctance was understandable.


    Truth be told, after they completed the ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± task, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali were scared post-event, but they still felt a sense of achievement.


    Of course, if Yan Junze had told them that they had died N times before the Rewind, who knows whether the trio would have torn the protagonist apart on the spot.


    After preparing the gear for the evening operation, the conversation quickly turned to the trending video.


    With ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± going viral, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s popularity rose the fastest among them, and she even acquired a resounding nickname¡ªBig-eyed Girl.


    This nickname originated from the scene where she stared down a corpse.


    Far from scaring people as Jiang Ruixin had imagined, that moment made many netizens grow fond of the candidness of the Big-eyed Girl.


    Under peer pressure, Jiang Ruixin reluctantly registered her own account on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform.


    She initially wanted to use the nickname ¡°Big-eyed Girl,¡± but after finding out the name was already taken, she added a ¡°1¡± to make it ¡°Big-eyed Girl1.¡±


    After clicking next, the system indicated that name was taken as well, so she had no choice but to register as ¡°Big-eyed Girl2.¡±


    To distinguish herself from the previously registered Big-eyed Girl users, Jiang Ruixin uploaded her real photo, choosing the one with the best selfie angle and closest to her appearance in the videos.


    As expected, not long after registering, the followers of ¡°Big-eyed Girl2¡± shot up to 100+, with many netizens commenting below, asking if ¡°Big-eyed Girl2¡± was the real person from the ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡± video.


    By the time school ended, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s followers had already soared to 3000+.


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    Since she had filled in her real identity information, and her information verification page had been officially stamped with an authentication badge by the video platform, with a small print introduction: the Big-eyed Girl from the popular video ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall.¡±


    In the eyes of Yan Junze, Bao Jie, and Zhou Dali, Jiang Ruixin seemed to be getting increasingly full of herself as the day progressed.


    Once school was over, Yan Junze called home to inform his family that he was going to study at Zhou Dali¡¯s place in the New Century Residential Area and expected to return home before 9 pm.


    Li Man cautioned him with a few words and didn¡¯t think much of it.


    After leaving school, Yan Junze planned to treat everyone to a meal with the money he had earned, and Bao Jie invited Zhou Jiajie along, but Zhou Jiajie declined.


    According to Jiang Ruixin, Zhou Jiajie was angry with Bao Jie because after the video went viral, Zhou Jiajie found out that they had actually gone to the Jianye Building that night, but Bao Jie deliberately deceived him by saying they hadn¡¯t.


    There was nothing to explain about the lie.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t care about that, and just outside the school, he ordered a few dishes at a little restaurant, got a small hotpot going, and with a bottle of chilled drink for each person, they thoroughly enjoyed their meal.


    ¡°Be careful later on.¡±


    After they finished, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin reminded Yan Junze to be cautious, then left together.


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze took the bus, arriving at Zhou Dali¡¯s place in the New Century Residential Area after three stops.


    The area had seven gardens, and between the first and second gardens was that public square with table tennis tables, badminton courts, basketball courts, and on top of that, a flat little plaza.


    Every evening, the aunties danced energetically on this little plaza.


    The eerily haunted restroom was located in the upper left corner of the public square.


    It was quite spacious, meant to provide convenience for those playing and relaxing in the area¡ªbut now it was anything but convenient.


    Ever since the woman in red high heels started appearing frequently in the restroom, the number of people playing in the square had dwindled, save for a few tenacious auntie dance troops that continued their dance routines unabated.


    ¡°It¡¯s still light out now; do you think the woman in red high heels will appear at this hour?¡± Yan Junze asked, standing in the square with Zhou Dali and eyeing the public restroom not far away, backpacks on their shoulders.


    ¡°Her appearances don¡¯t differentiate between day and night,¡± Zhou Dali said definitively, ¡°But if you were to go in now, too many people would see you, which might not be convenient for your investigation.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go around 8 pm then,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    He went to Zhou Dali¡¯s home, where Dali¡¯s parents¡ªwho were both quite tall¡ªdemonstrated the significance of genetics.


    Yan Junze hung around for a while, and around eight o¡¯clock, he made an excuse to leave. He left his backpack at Zhou Dali¡¯s house, took the portable camera with him, and headed straight for the public square restroom.

 Chapter 50 - 50 - 49: Wine Red High Heels (Part 1)

    Chapter 50 ¨C 49: Wine Red High Heels (Part 1)


    According to Zhou Dali¡¯s claim, the strangenesses with the red high heels in the public restroom will be dealt with by an exorcist within these two days.


    So, after deciding on his next move, Junze knew he had to arrive one step ahead, otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t even be a single slipper to see, let alone high heels.


    Nightfall came.


    The crowd in the square had dispersed, only an elderly janitor was still cleaning up the trash, a solitary figure under the streetlights of the night.


    Witnessing this, Junze was suddenly reminded of his mother in this life, Li Man. As a cleaning lady, her job of sweeping never cares for night or day, always laborious and modestly paid.


    Thinking of giving his earnings to his parents for safekeeping once he returned, Junze quickly made his way to the public restroom in the square.


    There used to be a duty room outside the restroom that sold newspapers and tissues, but it had been closed since the outbreak of strangenesses and never reopened.


    ...


    To conserve Different Dimension Energy, Junze had not activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± before coming here. After all, the task prompt would also pop up as he neared the site of strangeness, so there was no need to waste energy.


    Indeed, not long after standing at the entrance of the restroom, the atlas in his mind immediately popped up with the task information.


    [Task Name: Wine red high heels;]


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: Jian Tong is searching for someone, someone she loved passionately. But this man was a betrayer who swindled all of Jian Tong¡¯s savings and disappeared after making the excuse of going to the restroom. Now, Jian Tong only wants one answer, an answer tied to an obsession until death.


    Task Instructions: Have a conversation with Jian Tong, and the choice of your answer is crucial, please choose wisely;


    Task Reward: 300 points of Dimensional Energy;


    Task Penalty: Depending on your answer, get killed by Jian Tong or spend eternity together with her as the betrayer;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit is subject to Lockdown; 2. You still have a chance to escape before Jian Tong speaks;


    Remarks: No matter what you see, do not show even a hint of surprise, or else¡­]


    Junze read through the task carefully and found that its level was the same as ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,¡± both being Anxiety-Inducing (High), and the reward of Dimensional Energy points was also the same.


    Initially, when completing ¡°Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,¡± the strangeness of the mummy wasn¡¯t that powerful, but that guy was very good at disguising himself, extremely evil, and adept at luring, causing the inexperienced Junze to frequently misjudge until the very last moment, when he finally turned the tables.


    Thus, Anxiety-Inducing (High) simply indicates the danger level of the task and does not fully explain how dangerous the strangeness in the task might be. With a good grasp of the situation, one could complete it with ease, but if handled poorly, it could lead to a dreadful death.


    Junze took a deep breath and entered the public restroom.


    The lights inside the restroom were on continuously, not very bright, but not too dark either.


    This fact gave Junze a bit of relief, at least the lights weren¡¯t motion sensor-activated.


    Otherwise, the prospect of clapping for oneself while defecating to keep the lights on was an embarrassing thought indeed.


    To enter the men¡¯s restroom from the outside of the public restroom, you have to pass a corner first, and only after turning it will you see a row of urinals.


    Opposite to the urinals were the toilet stalls. Junze quickly glanced over and saw there were a total of six stalls, five squatting stalls and one equipped with a Western-style toilet.


    Opening the stall door of the Western-style toilet, he saw an enormous mass of filth darkly clinging to the seat, the whole stall reeked.


    Junze, covering his nose, closed the door of that stall.


    He pushed open the doors of each squatting stall from right to left, checking each one carefully to confirm there were no anomalies and then chose the one closest to the wall on the far end, next to the window.


    This stall had relatively better air circulation and was also a bit cleaner.


    There was no other way, after the supernatural events, the restroom had long been abandoned, and not even the cleaners dared to come in to clean. Fortunately, few people dared to use it anymore, so it didn¡¯t get outrageously dirty.


    After Yan Junze entered a stall, he closed the door and bolted the inside latch, ensuring it couldn¡¯t be opened from the outside.


    It was nearing summer, and as night fell, various sounds of insect chirping came from outside the restroom, avoiding complete silence inside that would add an unnecessary sense of fear.


    However, staying here alone was enough to make anyone¡¯s skin crawl.


    Outside the men¡¯s restroom and around the corner were a row of sinks, but one of the faucets was broken; it seemed like it couldn¡¯t be tightened and the sound of water dripping was continuous.


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    Insect noises and water drips echoed in this eerily quiet public restroom.


    Apart from that, there was only the barely audible sound of Yan Junze¡¯s own breathing. No other sounds could be heard. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had already turned on his chest-mounted camera, and before entering the stall, he had set the Rewind time to half an hour.


    Now, as the Different Dimension Energy increased and accumulated, the timespan available for Rewinding was getting longer. If he wished, he could add even more timelines on top of the current one.


    About two minutes later, Yan Junze simply squatted down.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t time to defecate now; there was no way he was taking off his pants.


    Soon after, a clear sound of high heels resonated.


    Listening to the sound, the person walking seemed to be not far outside the public restroom, appearing out of nowhere.


    Without almost any pause, the sound of high heels entered the men¡¯s restroom, steady and unhurried.


    The tapping of the heels on the ground sounded very hollow, just like Yan Junze¡¯s heart was racing at the moment.


    Even though he squatted in the stall, since he was in the innermost one against the wall, his view couldn¡¯t penetrate the gap under the stall divider to see outside.


    After wearing the high heels into the men¡¯s restroom, it seemed like the person stood in front of the urinals, about two or three meters directly in front of his stall, motionless.


    Squatting down, Yan Junze lowered his body even more, craning his neck as much as possible so that his line of sight could reach further through the gap under the door.


    After some effort, he managed to do so.


    Looking now, he could finally see the tips of the high heels.


    In the dimly lit restroom, the high heels were indeed wine red; when standing, they were not angled outwards but pointed straight ahead.


    Too far to see the feet, Yan Junze still had the eerie illusion that fear was creeping up his spine.


    At this time, Ke¡¯er seemed to be sleeping soundly, paying no attention to anything.


    Moreover, considering that the mission was rated ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High)¡±, if a confrontation did happen later, Ke¡¯er might not be a match for the woman outside.


    As he was carefully peering out, the red high heels began to move again, the tips turning slightly, aiming towards the direction of Yan Junze¡¯s stall, taking steps towards it.


    ¡°She actually knew right away that I was in this stall!¡± Yan Junze was startled and shrunk back a bit.


    Still keeping his head low, his eyes swept through the maximum range visible through the gap below the door.


    The red high heels drew closer, and the woman¡¯s ankles appeared within his line of sight.


    This scene, however, caused Yan Junze to suddenly display a strange expression.

 Chapter 51 - 51 - 50: Wine Red High Heels (Part 2)

    Chapter 51 ¨C 50: Wine Red High Heels (Part 2)


    Under normal circumstances, when a man hears the sound of high heels, an image of a young, beautiful woman with elegant mannerisms automatically constructs itself in his mind.


    At the very least, the woman in his imagination would fit the man¡¯s basic definition of a woman.


    So, when Yan Junze saw the calves above the high heels poking out from under the door, he was genuinely taken aback.


    The woman wore a black mesh skirt, and those heels were exquisite, revealing calves that weren¡¯t very chubby but had a robust feel to them.


    It was clear that the woman had a large build, not conceding much to men.


    The wine red high heels stopped outside the stall where Yan Junze was, with the tips of the shoes pointing straight ahead, showing no sign of being pigeon-toed or splay-footed.


    Silence once again enveloped the surroundings; no one made a sound.


    ...


    Yan Junze forced himself to breathe slowly, eyeing the high heels outside the stall unwaveringly.


    He still remembered the task prompt: he had the chance to slip away before Jian Tong spoke.


    In other words, the woman outside named Jian Tong hadn¡¯t spoken yet, so he still had the opportunity to escape, just as Wang Shicong, the chubby guy from the next class, had successfully fled after seeing those high heels using his ¡°Shit-Cutting Skill.¡±


    Of course, Yan Junze had no intention to flee. He was waiting as well.


    No one spoke, pushing the eerie scene to the peak of tension, with oppression growing every second.


    The faucet in the nearby sink dripped water continuously, and at this moment, the sound of the droplets seemed like heavy hammers pounding on Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    Time crawled by, and three minutes later, the feet in the high heels still hadn¡¯t moved.


    ¡°Are you just going to stand there?¡± Yan Junze nearly couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and grumbled inwardly.


    Staying in the same position, his shoulders began to ache, so he moved them gently and slightly lifted his head.


    Just then, knock, knock, knock¡ªthree knocks on the door sounded.


    The door to Yan Junze¡¯s stall was knocked.


    From his position, he could see those red high heels hadn¡¯t moved, but he was unable to see the woman¡¯s upper body movements.


    He didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°How long exactly are you planning to hide?¡±


    A hoarse voice, unidentifiable as male or female, called from outside the stall, speaking slowly as though each word must be enunciated clearly, giving an illusion of a mannequin talking.


    This woman named Jian Tong had spoken.


    According to the task prompt, if Yan Junze wanted to escape now, it would be absolutely impossible.


    After a moment¡¯s consideration, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m defecating. I¡¯m not hiding.¡±


    The task explained that this woman¡¯s man had betrayed her and even swindled a lot of money from her. She was also obsessively waiting for an answer, and to accomplish this task, stepping into the role of the betraying man might be the best choice.


    As a mere observer, he could not complete the task at all.


    Otherwise, not only would Jian Tong ignore you, but she might also directly take action to kill this observer.


    ¡°I have a question for you,¡± Jian Tong¡¯s voice continued.


    Here it came.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart tightened; this must be what the task description referred to as her ¡°Obsession.¡± Additionally, the task reminded him that the choice of answer was crucial and must be made with great care.


    ¡°Hmm, ask,¡± he replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡± Jian Tong murmured.


    Yan Junze was momentarily startled, then slowly stood up, rubbing his numb legs.


    He really didn¡¯t know how to answer this question. If he considered it from the perspective of that scumbag, the guy definitely didn¡¯t love Jian Tong, or he wouldn¡¯t have cheated her out of so much money.


    But now, was it appropriate to say ¡°doesn¡¯t love¡±?


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze still decided to speak.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t love.¡±


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dull thud came from the cubicle door, as if a fist had smashed hard against the panel.


    Then came the screeching sound of nails scratching on wood, sending a shiver down one¡¯s spine.


    During this process, the entire cubicle door was trembling. It was clear how forcefully the fingers scraping the door were.


    Yan Junze involuntarily stepped backward, nearly stepping into the filth-filled squat toilet, and as he slightly bent down, he saw the wine red high heels approaching from under the door gap.


    One high heel was missing in action, indicating that foot had been raised.


    Then the other foot, also clad in a high heel, lifted, and both feet vanished from view, apparently leaving the ground entirely.


    This scene seemed to spark a realization in Yan Junze, who abruptly looked up.


    Above the cubicle door, two large-boned hands were hooked over the edge, the fingers gripping the panel were not pale but a dark, purplish color, with the nails on each finger measuring at least three centimeters long.


    At this moment, some of the nails still had wood shavings inside them¡ªthe result of scratching the door from the outside.


    As the two hands latched onto the top edge of the panel, a woman¡¯s head slowly emerged from the top, first revealing curved black hair, then a similarly purplish forehead.


    Her hair was abundant, black and thick, almost completely covering her face, with only her eyes faintly visible beneath.


    Soon, the woman¡¯s nose and lips became visible, but they were partly obscured by hair, her head appeared detached from her body, hanging over the top edge of the door.


    She opened her mouth, which was pitch black inside, even her teeth were black. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡­ lie¡­ to me!¡±


    The three words were spat out.


    With each word, Yan Junze felt his whole body tense, his heart seemed to spasm, and his limbs involuntarily curled up together.


    Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, lifted her head and let out the familiar warning cry.


    Suddenly, Ke¡¯er sprang off Yan Junze¡¯s back, stepped on the wall behind him, and with another rebound, lunged toward Jian Tong, whose head was now sticking over the cubicle door.


    Thump!


    The next second, Ke¡¯er¡¯s body was suspended in mid-air.


    Jian Tong remained perched on the door, but she had stretched out her right hand, grabbing Ke¡¯er by the neck, leaving Ke¡¯er hanging in mid-air, unable to move forward.


    Ke¡¯er yelped frantically, her hands flailing and legs kicking, but to no avail.


    Amidst the struggle, the eye-catching red dress stood out starkly.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er is no match for this woman!¡± Yan Junze realized, feeling as though his body had also been harmed by Jian Tong¡¯s words ¡°You lie to me.¡±


    No further thought needed, he immediately activated Rewind.


    But he didn¡¯t choose to Rewind to the moment just after he entered the toilet; instead, he returned to the time before Jian Tong had asked the question.


    The wine red high heels reappeared outside the door, motionless.


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡± came Jian Tong¡¯s voice, indistinguishable as either male or female.


    This time, having experienced the result of the previous Rewind, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate and said, ¡°Love.¡±

 Chapter 52 - 52 - 51: Wine Red High Heels (Part 3)

    Chapter 52 ¨C 51: Wine Red High Heels (Part 3)


    Jian Tong was silent on the other side of the partition, and there were no sounds of banging or clawing at the door panel.


    Good, looking at it this way, this answer can still work.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was slightly more stable.


    ¡°Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?¡± Jian Tong spoke again.


    Yan Junze knew that he had just answered the first question, and that the following answers which extended from it were equally important. A slight misstep could still provoke the end before the Rewind.


    So, he didn¡¯t respond directly, but said, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    At this point, he needed to go along with Jian Tong¡¯s tone as much as possible, and it was best not to touch her sore spots; otherwise, the outcome would be the same.


    ...


    Jian Tong¡¯s tone was still very slow, and it seemed that she was starting to relax somewhat, ¡°They say you¡¯re a scammer, that you not only cheated me out of my money but also deceived my feelings. Is it true?¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Actually, I urgently needed money, and I was going to pay you back as soon as the funds came through. After that¡­ we¡¯ll get married!¡±


    After finishing these words, Yan Junze was deeply ashamed.


    It had to be said, aside from his role as a backup Exorcist, he had discovered he actually had the potential to be a ¡°scumbag.¡±


    At this thought, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Jian Tong¡¯s tone remained slow, even¡­ it had a touch of indifference, ¡°But why is your name fake? Your age is fake? Even your home address is fake?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Yan Junze was flabbergasted. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m speechless.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t expected that Jian Tong had already gathered so much information about this man. She must have conducted an investigation after realizing she had been scammed.


    ¡°You¡­ lied¡­ to me!¡±


    Jian Tong¡¯s dull and angry voice arose from outside the partition.


    At the same moment, sounds of banging and nails scratching at the door panel came through piercingly.


    Rewind!


    The noisy sounds again subsided into silence, with only the echo of water dripping from a broken faucet audible.


    The wine-red high heels stood quietly outside the partition.


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡± The calm and slow voice of Jian Tong rose again.


    Ah, is it love, or is it not?


    Yan Junze squatted in the restroom, his face full of hesitation.


    Why not just activate the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± and forcefully enslave this woman? But in doing so, he wouldn¡¯t be able to complete the task, would lose the Different Dimensional Energy reward, and fail to continue illuminating the timeline. Just locking down such a recalcitrant spirit seemed a bit not worth it.


    Yan Junze did not answer immediately.


    After Jian Tong asked, the entire scene fell silent.


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you answer me?¡± Jian Tong¡¯s voice started to sound irritated, ¡°Are you playing dead?¡±


    No choice, it seemed there was a time limit, and he had to answer.


    Answering ¡°don¡¯t love¡± wouldn¡¯t work. This woman would immediately go mad.


    Answering ¡°love¡± seemed like it could continue the conversation and find a breakthrough opportunity.


    ¡°Love.¡± Yan Junze once again chose this response.


    ¡°Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?¡± asked Jian Tong.


    The question was exactly the same as the one before the last Rewind, not a word different.


    But this time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t say ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard,¡± instead he said, ¡°I have my reasons.¡±


    ¡°What reasons?¡±


    ¡°I have a lot of debts that I can¡¯t pay off. So I changed my identity, and it was only after I got here that I met you.¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­ why you cheated me out of all my savings?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Yan Junze shook his head, his immersion in the character¡¯s role quite convincing, ¡°As soon as I pay off all my debts, I can truly be with you. We¡¯ll work hard together, and I¡¯ll take good care of you for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Jian Tong on the other side seemed to be touched, ¡°You don¡¯t mind me?¡±


    ¡°Mind? Mind what?¡± Yan Junze was a bit puzzled, scratching his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Read the latest on empire


    He dared not ask what specifically she meant by ¡¯mind¡¯; if Jian Tong detected a flaw and became enraged again, he would have to go through it all over.


    ¡°Okay, I believe you, no matter what anyone else says, we can definitely walk together,¡± Jian Tong said, puzzling Yan Junze even more with her words.


    Yan Junze was completely bewildered but could only smile and say, ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    ¡°Open the door,¡± Jian Tong demanded. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m taking a dump, it¡¯s not finished yet,¡± Yan Junze stammered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for me outside? This is the men¡¯s restroom.¡±


    As he spoke, he began to feel doubtful. Now it seemed that his responses were somewhat acceptable. Why didn¡¯t she seem to want to wrap up the conversation? It felt like she was more keen on flying away with him, side by side.


    ¡°Open the door.¡± Jian Tong didn¡¯t leave, and her tone became stern again, ¡°Are you still holding a grudge?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ grudge my ass! What exactly is there to hold a grudge about?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done everything; there isn¡¯t a place on your body I haven¡¯t seen. Open the door!¡±


    There was a bang as Jian Tong started pounding on the door again.


    The shrill sound of nails scraping against the door panel once again reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Again!?¡± Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Although their voices might sound somewhat similar, he was not that heartless man. If he went out now, one look from Jian Tong would give him away.


    It seemed that this answer was still not working.


    Rewind!


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡± Jian Tong returned to the beginning, slowly asking.


    Do I freaking love¡­ or not love her! Yan Junze grabbed his hair.


    ¡°Love.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you, too.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been waiting for me, you¡¯ve been deliberately hiding from me, always in the restroom!¡±


    ¡°I really have been waiting for you, taking a shit and waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ liar¡­¡±


    The sound of clawing at the door rose again.


    Rewind!


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡±


    ¡°Love. Uh, I knew you¡¯d come looking for me, so I kept waiting in the same restroom for you.¡±


    ¡°But they say you¡¯re a con artist, deceiving both for money and love, is that true?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind what others say, my love for you is real, even more so than steamed sponge cake. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m really short on cash right now; I¡¯m in a lot of debt.¡±


    ¡°Did you take my money¡­ to pay off your debts?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been hiding my identity, afraid that debt collectors would find us and cause you trouble.¡±


    ¡°I understand! Open the door.¡±


    ¡°Damn, how did we get back here?¡± Yan Junze said with a bitter smile, ¡°Can I not open it?¡±


    ¡°Why not? Are you embarrassed about me?¡± Jian Tong¡¯s tone grew angry again, ¡°Open the door.¡±


    The sound of nails scratching at the door started up.


    Yan Junze believed that if the door panel could fight back, the woman outside would have been squeezed flat in the door frame by now.


    Rewind!


    Squatting inside the stall, Yan Junze¡¯s face looked as if he had just swallowed an entire bitter melon, full of sorrow, yet his mind was rapidly pondering.


    From what he could tell, he couldn¡¯t bring up a few key terms: ¡°don¡¯t love,¡± ¡°open the door,¡± and ¡°mind.¡±


    Whenever these words were mentioned, it was basically impossible to recover, and he could only rewind or play hardball.


    ¡°Don¡¯t love¡± was easy to avoid by not saying it from the start. But ¡°open the door¡± was Jian Tong¡¯s own demand. It seemed that as long as his answers softened her heart, she would want him to open the door and meet with her.


    As for the key term ¡°mind,¡± Yan Junze was still completely in the dark about what there was to ¡°mind.¡±


    ¡°Do you still love me?¡± Jian Tong¡¯s damning voice echoed once again.

 Chapter 53 - 53 - 52: Wine Red High Heels (Part 4)

    Chapter 53 ¨C 52: Wine Red High Heels (Part 4)


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and said to the woman outside, ¡°I love you, but there are debt collectors looking for me right now, so I can¡¯t come out, and I also don¡¯t mind anything about you.¡±


    This time, he managed to touch upon all the potentially explosive topics in their conversation and skillfully avoided them one by one.


    Suddenly, there was silence from the other side of the partition.


    Yan Junze waited for a moment and noticed that Jian Tong didn¡¯t speak anymore.


    Unassured, he peered through the gap under the partition and saw those wine red high heels still standing outside, facing the partition, motionless; yet Jian Tong remained silent.


    Without her speaking, Yan Junze also stayed silent, and the standoff continued.


    ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡± Jian Tong¡¯s voice suddenly came through, filled with barely suppressed anger.


    ...


    Boom!


    The door of the bathroom stall exploded violently, breaking into seven or eight pieces, revealing Jian Tong standing outside.


    Dressed in red high heels and a long black dress, she appeared exceptionally tall, more than a match for any man. Her black hair danced wildly in the air, but the strands that fell over her face did not move.


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    Her eyes were completely dark, shining black, without white sclera, and her slightly open mouth was also pitch-black.


    Almost in sync with the explosion of the door, Ke¡¯er, who was on Yan Junze¡¯s back, shot out, pouncing towards Jian Tong.


    Yan Junze of course knew that Ke¡¯er was no match for this woman, and with a fierce determination, he simply summoned the Crawler Monster from the Spacetime Atlas as well.


    Since the battle had already begun, he might as well have both his subordinates join the fray to see what the ultimate outcome would be.


    When the Crawler Monster appeared, it was completely bewildered, looking up at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze shouted, ¡°Join Ke¡¯er and take down that woman!¡±


    The Crawler Monster still looked confused, staying put without moving.


    This made Yan Junze suspect that the creature might have been an idiot in its past life.


    ¡°If you take down this woman, I¡¯ll grant you your freedom!¡±


    This time, the Crawler Monster understood at once and, with a grimace, it turned around on the ground and scuttled towards Jian Tong.


    The next second, Jian Tong¡¯s high heel came down, piercing through the creature¡¯s head and pinning it mercilessly to the ground, immobilized.


    Jian Tong¡¯s right hand was tightly wrapped around Ke¡¯er¡¯s neck, causing Ke¡¯er to struggle midair. Her tiny hands scratched wildly forward, but they always fell short, as she cried out incessantly.


    By this time, Yan Junze had realized that Ke¡¯er could only make two sounds, ¡°Eh¡± when she was usual, and ¡°Ya¡± when she was angry.


    But now, it seemed that the combat strength of these Evil Spirits he possessed was still too weak.


    He remembered the mission hint from ¡°Wine red high heels,¡± which stated that the Evil Spirit could be Locked down. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If he managed to complete the mission, Yan Junze already had plans to Lockdown Jian Tong.


    In that case, Jian Tong would become the most powerful among the Evil Spirits he possessed.


    Seeing how things were going, the Crawler Monster and Ke¡¯er were doomed to be slaughtered. Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders.


    Rewind!


    He was squatting in the stall again, gaze fixated on those disturbing high heels beneath the door, lost in thought.


    Fighting was definitely not going to solve the problem, let alone complete the mission. Just now, he let Ke¡¯er and the Crawling Corpse engage with Jian Tong purely to test the combat strength of the two Evil Spirits on hand.


    And the result had proven that they were indeed pathetic.


    Surely the conversation with Jian Tong wasn¡¯t limited to just what had occurred. Yan Junze wondered if he had overlooked some vital information or if his thinking was constrained.


    Is the answer to the first question only ¡°love¡± or ¡°not love¡±?


    Just at this moment, Jian Tong¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Do you still love me?¡±


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, then almost retched from the stench in the bathroom, taking a good while to recover.


    Remaining in a squat, he tilted his head up slightly to look straight at those wine red high heels. After pausing for a few seconds, he replied, ¡°Loved.¡±


    Outside the stall, there was a moment of silence, followed shortly by a faint sound of sobbing.


    It seemed that this answer was much more sophisticated than the previous ones.


    Yan Junze sighed and continued, ¡°Truth be told, I owe a lot of money and have been changing my identity to dodge creditors. After meeting you, I intended only to cheat you out of your money and then disappear. But, to my utter surprise, I actually fell in love with you.¡±


    The sobbing outside the stall began to grow louder, but Jian Tong still did not speak.


    ¡°Deciding to steal your money was a tough choice. On nights when I carried the deception behind your back, I would smash a perfect mirror, and my pillow would be soaked with tears,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice was low, carrying a mix of sorrow, regret, and grief.


    It was undeniable that it was lucky to have usurped someone¡¯s body; otherwise, a regular high school student would never be able to portray such a dramatic mix of love and hate, joy and sorrow.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just tell me? Why deceive me!¡± Jian Tong sobbed.


    ¡°Because I love you, I was afraid of hurting you, of making you sad. I didn¡¯t want you to know my true identity,¡± Yan Junze said slowly, ¡°And because I love you, I don¡¯t want to hurt you anymore, nor do I deserve to be with you, so¡­ I want you to forget about me!¡±


    By then, Jian Tong was sobbing inconsolably.


    ¡°I¡­ I truly love you. They said¡­ you deceived me, and I never believed them; I couldn¡¯t bring myself to believe¡­ that you would do such a thing. Because I know¡­


    I can feel your love!¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt that Jian Tong on the outside was softening.


    If she softened just the slightest, there was a great chance she would let him open the door of the bathroom stall, and then¡­


    No!


    He couldn¡¯t let her soften any further.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! Now I have lost the face to see you, and I dare not harbor any more feelings of love for you. Despite all my calculations, I never expected to bring such tremendous pain to the person I deeply love! I really¡­ can¡¯t face you any longer, nor do I have the courage¡­ to face you again!¡±


    ¡°Jiang Mingjun.¡± Jian Tong¡¯s sobbing slowed down as she uttered the name of the man.


    After a brief pause, she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve forgiven you.¡±


    Perfect!


    Hearing these words, Yan Junze could hardly contain his excitement.


    The conversation with Jian Tong seemed to require a less conventional approach for a successful resolution; orthodox responses just couldn¡¯t elicit her conviction.


    Now that he had received forgiveness, the task was nearly completed. Yan Junze¡¯s heart settled, just waiting for Jian Tong to leave after finishing her speech.


    ¡°Do you remember the place where we first met?¡± Jian Tong suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart, only just put to rest, abruptly leaped to his throat. He subconsciously nodded before realizing that Jian Tong couldn¡¯t see it, and then said aloud, ¡°Of course I remember.¡±


    ¡°The hug you gave me then is etched in my bones and unforgettable even now. I think¡­ I want you to hug me one last time,¡± Jian Tong¡¯s voice resonated faintly.


    Yan Junze lamented, only to find that, after all the twists and turns, he was back to the critical point of opening the stall door.


    While he felt anxious, he suddenly noticed that the wine-red high heels outside the door gap had turned around¡ªthe heels were now facing the stall door, toes pointing outside.


    ¡°Is¡­ is it a hug from behind!?¡± Yan Junze instantly realized.


    With this, maybe he could open the door and embrace her from behind, fulfilling this woman¡¯s final wish.

 Chapter 54 - 54 - 53: Wine Red High Heels (Part 5)

    Chapter 54 ¨C 53: Wine Red High Heels (Part 5)


    Jian Tong now had her back to the cubicle, which meant that the embrace came from the once-named man, Jiang Mingjun, from behind.


    Since it was a hug from behind, and the woman had already voluntarily turned around, it indicated she was no longer willing to see Jiang Mingjun in person.


    She just wanted one last time to feel that warmth and the memories from the beginning.


    With that in mind, Yan Junze prepared to complete this embrace from behind in place of Jiang Mingjun.


    He took a deep breath and almost retched from the stench in the stall. It seemed that his habit of taking deep breaths at critical moments needed to change, especially in places like bathrooms.


    He unlatched the door and gently pulled it open, making a creaking noise.


    He quickly looked up at Jian Tong, who had turned her back, and saw that she was motionless, no different from a dead person.


    ...


    A standing dead person.


    He took off the portable camera from his chest, turned it around, and hung it on the partition door so that the camera still faced the front.


    If he didn¡¯t do this, when he hugged Jian Tong later, the camera would be completely pressed against, failing to achieve the best shooting angle and effect.


    ¡°Just a hug, a hug will do.¡±


    Yan Junze walked forward, encouraging himself in his heart.


    After all, he had embraced a strange entity before, or more accurately, had been embraced by one. Wasn¡¯t Ke¡¯er always clinging onto his back?


    He took two steps out and came behind Jian Tong.


    Up close, he could tell that this woman indeed had a large frame, and Yan Junze wondered if he could fully embrace her or not.


    Unlike Ke¡¯er, Jian Tong emitted a very chilling presence, no less intimidating than the Strange Body in the basement of Jianye Building.


    The moment he drew closer, Yan Junze felt a cold sensation enveloping his body.


    He gritted his teeth and bore it, walked up, extended his arms, and tried his best to control his mind from imagining Jian Tong¡¯s purple-black cheeks, black pupils, pitch-black mouth, and the sharp nails on all ten fingers.


    ¡°She¡¯s a beauty, the most beautiful kind.¡±


    Murmuring to himself, Yan Junze embraced Jian Tong from behind.


    The next second, an exceptionally cold feeling instantly spread into his body, seeping into his skin, infiltrating his bones and blood, and he nearly shivered uncontrollably.


    ¡°So cold.¡±


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first sensation after hugging Jian Tong.


    If Ke¡¯er on his back had this kind of icy sensation, he probably would have frozen stiff by now and wouldn¡¯t have been able to move at all. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Compared to that, Ke¡¯er seemed like a little furnace.


    Jian Tong slowly lowered her head, showing signs of yearning, reminiscence, and a soft emotion reminiscent of enjoyment.


    Yan Junze discovered that Jian Tong¡¯s body was indeed much stronger than other girls¡¯; his arms barely met as he wrapped them around her, just enough to clasp his fingers together.


    Suddenly, he felt Jian Tong¡¯s long nails scraping against the back of his hand¡ªan unconscious motion, yet her sharp nails could easily pierce his skin.


    Fortunately, it was just an unconscious action on Jian Tong¡¯s part, and she didn¡¯t truly mean to harm him.


    Time passed.


    One minute, two minutes¡­


    Gradually, Yan Junze seemed to feel the emotions coming from Jian Tong; he simply closed his eyes.


    Feelings are transferrable.


    Jian Tong stopped scraping her nails.


    This time, Yan Junze was confident that he had taken care of his feelings for Jian Tong very well.


    Two minutes later, Jian Tong spoke softly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    Yan Junze slowly released his arms, but it felt as though his hands no longer belonged to him, stiff and numb, and it took a great effort to withdraw them.


    In order to prevent Jian Tong from turning around, he immediately said after letting go, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m a sinner and no longer worth your affection.¡±


    Jian Tong didn¡¯t turn around or look back, just as Yan Junze had expected, moving forward.


    However, in the process, she kicked off her high heels and, in her socked feet, stepped on the restroom floor, making her way towards the corner by the door.


    Seeing her remove her high heels, Yan Junze was puzzled, but what Jian Tong did next was truly shocking.


    As she walked, Jian Tong ripped off her black, long hair, revealing a fluffy head of men¡¯s short hair, and she took off the black dress, underneath which was men¡¯s underwear.


    Having removed her high heels and black dress, Jian Tong now revealed a strapping physique, her walk no longer mincing but brisk and firm, as if she no longer held any attachment to anyone, anything, or any place here.


    She turned the corner outside the men¡¯s restroom and disappeared from sight.


    ¡°This is a¡­ a cross-dressing¡­ boss!¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s worldview completely collapsed, and he was so struck by the scene that he felt like he was dreaming.


    Indeed, Jian Tong was not a woman, but a genuine, real-deal man!


    ¡°Spacetime Atlas, why the hell didn¡¯t you tell me this was a story about a gay man deceived by another man, who dressed up as a cross-dressing boss in the restroom to search for memories!? Damn!!!¡±


    Yan Junze stood still, immobile for at least five minutes, his mind in turmoil, not even noticing the completion message for the mission prompt.


    What was most troubling was that the feeling of embracing Jian Tong was still there; for a moment, even Yan Junze doubted if he had been seduced into that warmth and yearning.


    But at this moment, ugh¡­


    He couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and contributed a little more to the already filthy floor of the men¡¯s restroom.


    After throwing up, he quickly turned around to turn off the camera hanging on the partition door.


    That feeling still echoed in his mind, causing Yan Junze¡¯s goosebumps to linger.


    By now, the clothes and shoes Jian Tong dropped had vanished without a trace, transparent and gone.


    ¡°This mission¡­ is just unbelievable¡­¡±


    Complaining, he checked his Spacetime Atlas.


    After completing the mission and gaining 300 points of Different Dimension Energy, three more nodes on the Spacetime Atlas lit up, bringing his total Different Dimension Energy up to 1500 points.


    So far, the timelines he could choose to Rewind were continually increasing.


    This provided him with great convenience for accomplishing missions through multiple Rewinds.


    For example, in this ¡°Wine red high heels¡± mission, it was essential to perfectly avoid all the conversational traps set by Jian Tong. If he responded incorrectly, the significance of Rewind couldn¡¯t be overstated.


    Now that the strangeness in the public place was resolved, and after Jian Tong revealed that she was actually a cross-dressing boss, Yan Junze no longer had to Lockdown his thoughts. On the contrary, he still felt a bit nauseous, mainly because he had indeed been too involved just moments ago.


    Imprisoning such a burly Spirit, who preened and posed, within the Spacetime Atlas¡ªthe mere thought of that image was enough to send chills down one¡¯s spine.


    But, fortunately, although the recollection of two big men holding each other was somewhat disgusting, the mission was successfully completed. Because the intervals between Rewinds were short, despite the frequent use, this mission did not consume too much Different Dimension Energy.

 Chapter 55 - 55 - 54: Plot Twist

    Chapter 55 ¨C 54: Plot Twist


    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to his senses in the restroom. After installing his portable camera, he stepped out of the men¡¯s restroom around the corner and turned on a faucet at the sink.


    Cupping his hands, he splashed water onto his face to shake off the grogginess.


    Feeling that it wasn¡¯t enough, he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands into the cold water to soothe his brain.


    ¡°Cross-dressing, cross-dressing! If two men fall in love, let them be, why the need for cross-dressing!?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He shook the water off his hands, unable to find any paper towels, so he just wiped his hands on his clothes and turned around to leave.


    He froze, his gaze drawn to the corner leading to the women¡¯s restroom, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Although there were lights inside the restroom, the corner outside was still faintly illuminated, along with some light spilling over from the plaza, giving him a clear view of the figure standing at the corner coming out of the women¡¯s restroom!


    ...


    A disheveled woman, facing the corner wall, stood in white shorts and a white T-shirt, her exposed skin faintly showing many bruises.


    The Back-faced Woman!


    Yes, it was her!


    The moment Yan Junze saw this woman, his mind buzzed as if he were dreaming.


    But in the next second, he realized something was wrong.


    Logically, the Back-faced Woman should still be in FH Community. Although residents of building seven hadn¡¯t seen her for many days, it was speculated that she might have moved to other buildings.


    But who would have thought she¡¯d appear here? Away from FH Community?


    This was definitely not a coincidence!


    Yan Junze was certain that the source was himself. Perhaps this woman was still after him. Otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence that he was in the restroom at New Century Home Plaza, and she also appeared at the same place at the same time.


    Now, he was about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman, not very close. If she hadn¡¯t been wearing conspicuously white clothes, standing in the corner, she wouldn¡¯t have caught Yan Junze¡¯s attention at all.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t make a sound and had no intention of lingering.


    He slowly turned and cast a glance at the motionless white-dressed woman, quickly walking towards the plaza.


    After walking more than twenty meters, he looked back and saw the Back-faced Woman still standing there quietly, not moving.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace.


    Although he was walking fast, his body trembled even more. It wasn¡¯t him shaking, but Ke¡¯er on his back.


    Perhaps it was the vast gulf between the strengths of two evil spirits that made Ke¡¯er inherently fearful of the Back-faced Woman, an uncontrollable trembling.


    Having left the plaza, Yan Junze decided not to go back to Zhou Dali¡¯s house but called Dali instead, asking him to bring his backpack down.


    Before being certain he wasn¡¯t being followed by the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to draw this extremely strange woman to Zhou Dali¡¯s house.


    Restlessly sitting at home, Dali picked up Yan Junze¡¯s call, relieved to hear that everything was okay, and quickly delivered the backpack downstairs.


    ¡°Was it dangerous just now?¡± Zhou Dali handed the backpack to Yan Junze, asking with concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s been taken care of, no worries,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, his brows furrowing as he suddenly remembered the cross-dressing incident.


    Zhou Dali caught the change in his expression and said with concern, ¡°Let me know if something is wrong, brother. I¡¯ll share the burden with you.¡±


    Yan Junze pursed his lips and said, ¡°I can tell you, but after I do, I¡¯ll have to kill you.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face showed fear as he pointed towards the gate, ¡°There¡¯s a bus if you turn left when you exit, you can also hail a cab. No need to walk you out.¡±


    Yan Junze was quite satisfied with the man¡¯s quick wit, so he smiled broadly, packed up his portable camera into his backpack, waved his hand, and turned to leave.


    He made it home safely without spotting the Back-faced Woman again.


    Once at home, his parents only asked a few questions. Yan Junze, using the excuse of continuing to review his lessons, retreated to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.


    He fiddled with the portable camera for a while and found that although he could export the video he took that day, he indeed didn¡¯t know how to operate video editing software. Fearful of damaging the entire video and having it all be for naught, he dared not tamper with it recklessly.


    After some thought, Yan Junze had no choice but to send the full video to Bao Jie, along with a message, ¡°The original footage is for your eyes only. Once edited, please completely delete the part where the high heels strangeness takes off the clothes¡­ Remember, completely delete it!¡±


    At first, Bao Jie didn¡¯t accept the video file. Probably half an hour later, she must have seen it and then accepted the file.


    About twenty minutes after that, Bao Jie sent an emoji of someone laughing their head off.


    ¡°Am I seeing this right? Don¡¯t tell me that the woman in red high heels is actually a man.¡±


    Yan Junze responded with a bitter smiley and replied, ¡°The last scene is the nightmare of my life. Please make sure you keep it a secret for me.¡±


    Bao Jie replied with a cute avatar nodding vigorously, ¡°But I think the twist in the plot is quite something.¡±


    ¡°Quite something?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled.


    Bao Jie explained, ¡°From the moment you entered the restroom, the atmosphere was oppressive, the visuals dark, constantly delivering a spine-chilling thriller vibe. Then, after you talk to the strangeness, you actually come out of the stall and hug her! That scene was absolutely hair-raising, but later on, it also radiated a sense of warmth.


    If it had ended there, it would have been a quintessential ominous love story unresolved between the living and the dead.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then, the ending completely shifts, revealing the fact that the strangeness is actually a cross-dresser, utterly demolishing what had been built up to that point. Don¡¯t you think such a mind-blowing twist will attract more eyeballs online?¡±


    Yan Junze fell silent.


    ¡°You were resolving the Obsession of an Evil Spirit; although the ending is somewhat comical, the intention was good, and you managed to solve it successfully,¡± Bao Jie became like a soul coach in that moment. ¡°So, I suggest we keep the last part. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Yan Junze replied with another bitter smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start editing the video. If it gets too late, I¡¯ll send you the final product tomorrow. Before you agree, I won¡¯t bring this video to school, in case Dali and Ruixin see it,¡± Bao Jie said.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡±


    After logging off, Yan Junze idly read for a while before heading to the bathroom for a shower.


    The next day. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A man in a gray suit of medium build emerged from Building No. 7 in FH Community. After asking directions from some of the community residents, he entered neighboring Building No. 5.


    Twenty minutes later, the man came out again, a look of surprise on his face.


    Using the black disc in his hand, he could detect a residual magnetic field of strangenesses, but after having searched both Building No. 5 and No. 7 thoroughly, he couldn¡¯t find any trace of the reported strangeness.


    After waiting for about an hour, the man went through both buildings again to make sure the Back-faced Woman was nowhere to be found, then he left FH Community.


    That same day.


    Another man holding a black disc stood at the entrance to the public restroom in New Century Home Plaza, looked up in astonishment, and muttered to himself, ¡°It seems¡­ she¡¯s left.¡±

 Chapter 56 - 56 - 55 The Most Dangerous Place is the Safest

    Chapter 56 ¨C 55 The Most Dangerous Place is the Safest


    LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4.


    For the other residents of Building F, just the elevator stopping on the 12th floor, after Unit 4 became the scene of a bizarre tragedy, was enough to send shivers down their spines.


    And within three days of the couple, Huang Jun and Wei Tingchun, being murdered, the rest of the residents on the 12th floor had all moved away.


    This was because of rumors originating from unknown sources that the couple might have died from strangeness. Especially after the police left the scene, individuals dressed as if they were from the Commission Against Corruption began to frequently enter and leave the scene.


    Thereby, the neighbors on the 12th floor collectively relocated. Those who temporarily had nowhere to move also took their belongings and stayed at relatives¡¯ houses, not daring to remain on the 12th floor of LHTD Community¡¯s Building F.


    However, at this moment, people were unexpectedly living in room 4 of the 12th floor.


    Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, and his wife, Wang Qin were there, along with their eleven-year-old daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan. But Granny Ren¡¯s daughter, L¨¹ Yaoyao, her husband, and their child Yu Xiaochang were not here.


    ...


    It seemed they were being protected separately by the exorcist.


    There were three exorcists in the apartment: one was a middle-aged woman, another a bald man of a greater age, and the last was Huang Chen.


    Wang Qin sat in the living room with her daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan, her face clouded with worry, weighed down by her thoughts. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And her husband, Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, was lying alone in the bedroom, already drunk to the point of stupor.


    Wang Qin looked up at the three exorcists in front of her. After several days of interaction, she was fairly familiar with them and knew they had come specifically to protect her family.


    L¨¹ Yaoyao¡¯s family was similarly under the protection of exorcists at this moment.


    ¡°Ms. Lan Bing,¡± Wang Qin suddenly spoke, addressing the only female exorcist in the room, ¡°Are we really safe here? This place is a murder scene! I can¡¯t help feeling terrified.¡±


    The female exorcist was a middle-aged woman who was slightly overweight, dressed in a tasteful manner. Currently she wasn¡¯t wearing the suit that marked her as an exorcist but rather jeans, a gray short-sleeved shirt, with a light blue knitted garment draped over her shoulders.


    Lan Bing appeared quite composed, clearly of a higher rank than Huang Chen, as the latter always stood beside her, his expression one of reverence.


    She smiled at Wang Qin and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. If the strangeness kills, it creates a huge field of strangeness at the scene. This field quickly forms intense dimensional cross-waves. The cross-waves, being created by the strangeness that committed the murder, repel their own kind. It would be excluded by its own cross-wave field and have a hard time or be unable to enter the scene for a while.¡±


    ¡°This place is the safest for you right now,¡± said another exorcist, an older man sitting at the other end, taking over the conversation.


    This man, named Zhang Lai, was of average height and a bit on the thin side. Like Lan Bing, he was also a two-star exorcist.


    Wang Qin nodded her head and hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, ¡°If the strangeness truly cannot enter the scene of carnage it created, then I can rest easy.¡±


    Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai and realized that he too was looking at her. She had something to say, on the tip of her tongue, but ultimately chose to swallow her words.


    However, Huang Chen couldn¡¯t hold back and said, ¡°Of course, this isn¡¯t an absolute. Some extremely powerful strangeness can force their way into the same frequency cross-wave field they generated. But the likelihood of this happening is very low¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Huang Chen noticed Lan Bing frowning, clearly displeased with his impromptu remark, and he hurriedly shut his mouth.


    Knock, knock, knock¡ªthe sound of knocking echoed.


    The people inside exchanged glances.


    ¡°It might be Xin coming back,¡± said Wang Qin. ¡°Ever since his parents passed away, he¡¯s been very emotionally unstable.¡±


    Huang Chen said, ¡°I told him today not to go out, but he wouldn¡¯t listen.¡±


    While talking, Huang Chen approached the door. He peered through the peephole and then unlocked the door.


    Lv Xin stood drenched outside the door, his hair plastered to his forehead, a picture of distress.


    ¡°It suddenly started raining outside.¡± As he walked into the house, Lv Xin wiped the water off his body.


    ¡°Go to the bathroom and dry yourself with a towel, take a hot shower, or you might catch a cold.¡±


    As an aunt, Wang Qin felt a lot of sympathy for Lv Xin, who had just lost his parents. She married Old Man Lv¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, early on but had been unable to conceive. Thus, L¨¹ Jun and Wei Tingchun¡¯s child ended up being older than her own daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    Ever since the birth of Lv Jiayan, the couple had treasured her like a precious pearl.


    However, their cold attitude towards Granny Ren was also learned by Lv Jiayan. As Granny Ren¡¯s granddaughter, after Old Man Lv passed away and Granny Ren was left to live alone, Lv Jiayan had only visited her once.


    She had no memory of that visit whatsoever.


    Lv Xin nodded his head, without saying a word, and even his expression was indifferent as he hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.


    Shortly after, the sound of hot water from the shower could be heard.


    Zhang Lai glanced at the light emanating from the bathroom, turned to Wang Qin, and asked, ¡°Does your husband always like to drink heavily?¡±


    Wang Qin nodded, ¡°Whenever he¡¯s worried about something, he drinks. But luckily, when he¡¯s drunk, he doesn¡¯t get violent; he just sleeps.¡±


    ¡°You two have been hauling goods¡­ have you been short on cash recently?¡± Zhang Lai continued to inquire.


    Wang Qin answered, ¡°We were tight on money for a while. L¨¹ Qiang even borrowed some money recently. During that period, he was almost always drunk.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not good for his health,¡± remarked Zhang Lai.


    Then, turning to Huang Chen with a meaningful look, Huang Chen understood and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check the bedroom.¡±


    After passing through the narrow hallway to the main bedroom door, Huang Chen pushed the door open and went inside.


    The incandescent light flooded the bedroom, making it very bright, with the snoring from the bed sounding thunderous.


    However, as Huang Chen stepped into the bedroom, it seemed that the noise of the door had caused the snoring to stop abruptly, but the person on the bed was still sound asleep.


    The blanket was haphazardly pulled over the body, with L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s feet sticking out, one foot still clad in a shoe.


    Huang Chen walked over and saw that the man was sleeping with his head covered.


    Fearing that L¨¹ Qiang might suffocate himself in his drunken state, he quickly pulled the blanket off his face.


    L¨¹ Qiang was fast asleep; his mouth slightly open, likely heavy breathing due to alcohol intoxication, necessitating breathing through his mouth.


    The breathing was barely audible, a stark contrast to the overwhelming snoring Huang Chen had heard upon entering the room.


    Huang Chen was surprised and bent down to take a look at the open mouth of L¨¹ Qiang.


    Frowning, he slowly reached out his hand, inserting his thumb and forefinger into L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s open mouth. His fingers could feel a warm breath flow towards them, yet the breathing sound remained faint.


    Soon, Huang Chen¡¯s expression turned to shock as his thumb and forefinger pinched something and pulled it out of the mouth.


    This was¡­ a clump of hair!


    A clump of white hair!

 Chapter 57 - 57 - 56 Two People?

    Chapter 57 ¨C 56 Two People?


    Huang Chen¡¯s expression froze.


    After listening intently for a while, even when he brought his head close to the other person¡¯s mouth and nose, he still found that L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s breathing had become barely audible.


    Startled, Huang Chen quickly reached out again, pried open L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth with his thumb and forefinger, and another large clump of silvery-white hair was pulled out.


    This time, the hair was noticeably longer, some of it having reached at least as far as L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s throat, visibly saliva-coated at the ends.


    At that moment, a crackling sound came from L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s throat, like a drowning person desperately struggling, trying to cry for help but unable to make a sound.


    Huang Chen leaped onto the bed and forcefully pried L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth open wider, this time inserting three fingers to grab and pull out even more hair.


    The silvery-white hair seemed endless, pulled out in clump after clump by Huang Chen.


    ...


    At this moment, Huang Chen¡¯s complexion drastically changed.


    ¡­


    Inside the bathroom.


    While showering, Lv Xin¡¯s voice reached the living room, ¡°Forgot to bring a towel, can someone pass me a bath towel? Thanks!¡±


    Sitting in the living room, Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai; now he was the only male in the room and the only one suited to deliver a bath towel to Lv Xin.


    Zhang Lai said nothing, stood up and asked Wang Qin, ¡°Where¡¯s the towel?¡±


    Wang Qin pointed towards the small bedroom across the hallway, ¡°I saw a dry one hanging on the edge of the bed in there.¡±


    Zhang Lai went into the small bedroom, quickly found a dry white bath towel, and headed for the bathroom.


    Just then, the sound of knocking on the door arose.


    Lan Bing and Wang Qin were startled, exchanging glances. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this time, in this place, other than Lv Xin who had just returned, there would be no one else seeking them out.


    If it were the other neighbors, they¡¯d probably avoid them at all costs, with no one taking the initiative to come knocking.


    It could only be other Exorcists from the Exorcism team.


    With Lv Jiayan in her arms, Wang Qin was not in a position to get up. So Lan Jing stood up, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, and immediately tensed up, frozen in place.


    ¡°Who is it outside?¡± asked Wang Qin.


    Lan Jing turned to look at her, suppressing the shock in her heart, she uttered a sentence that almost made Wang Qin faint.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Lv Xin.¡±


    ¡°Lv¡­ Lv Xin is at the door?¡± Wang Qin paled, unconsciously clutching her daughter, who was also terrified, and casting her gaze towards the direction of the bathroom. ¡°Then¡­ who is¡­ in the¡­ bathroom?¡±


    Lan Jing did not open the door but immediately turned around and dashed towards the bathroom.


    Right as she reached the bathroom door, she braked sharply with one foot and did not proceed further.


    The bathroom door was open, but the interior was pitch-dark, as if she couldn¡¯t see her hand in front of her face.


    The light that had been on just moments ago was now extinguished, and Zhang Lai, who had just entered with a bath towel, had also vanished without a trace.


    As if the bathroom had never been visited at all,


    ¡°Get inside, into the master bedroom! Quick!¡± Lan Jing shouted to Wang Qin.


    No sooner had she spoken than she raised her hand and threw a Hidden Buckle into the bathroom.


    A loud bang sounded out.


    A flash of white light finally revealed the situation inside the bathroom.


    There was no Lv Xin washing up, only Zhang Lai standing there, still holding the white towel, one end of which had drooped to the floor.


    On Zhang Lai¡¯s shoulder, this two-star Exorcist, sat a short, elderly woman with short hair, wearing a light cotton dress.


    The old woman was perched on his shoulder, leaning over and extending her tongue, licking Zhang Lai¡¯s forehead bit by bit, her saliva trickling down his forehead onto his cheeks.


    At this moment, Zhang Lai¡¯s eyes were lifeless, as if he had lost consciousness.


    From outside the living room door, Lv Xin¡¯s voice was heard,¡±Why isn¡¯t the door open? Where is everyone?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come in, leave here immediately!¡± Lan Jing yelled.


    The Hidden Buckle she had thrown out earlier was known as ¡°Sweeper,¡± a basic Exorcism Hidden Buckle commonly equipped by Exorcists, effective in rapidly clearing supernatural magnetic fields in a short time.


    Normally, a single ¡°Sweeper¡± would be enough to clear a typical Wandering Spirit, and two of them should suffice for a higher-ranked Wandering Spirit.


    But the current situation was such that after throwing one ¡°Sweeper,¡± it only made the supernatural entity reveal itself, rather than eliminating the adversary.


    Without giving it a second thought, Lan Jing threw out another ¡°Sweeper.¡±


    Following a bang and a white light, the supernatural being, suspected to be Granny Ren, did not disappear nor show any signs of being affected; it raised its head, no longer licking Zhang Lai¡¯s forehead, and its gaze turned cold and ominous as it looked at Lan Jing standing at the bathroom door.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Lan Jing took a step back in a panic, her eyes wide open as if she had just seen something unbelievable, and she blurted out, ¡°Sculpting¡­ Sculpting Spirit level!¡±


    Inside the bedroom.


    Wang Qin, holding her daughter Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand, burst into the room and quickly closed the door behind her.


    Then the mother and daughter froze, shocked to see Huang Chen standing on the bed, with Lv Qiang still sound asleep and a pile of long and short grey-white hairs next to the pillow.


    Hair of some unknown thing.


    Huang Chen looked up and saw the two entering, and noticing that something was off with Wang Qin¡¯s facial expression, he asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Zhang¡­ Mr. Zhang Lai is in trouble, that person who entered the house¡­ Lv Xin, there¡¯s something¡­ something wrong with him!¡± Wang Qin stammered out.


    But before she could finish, Huang Chen jumped down from the bed and said, ¡°Your husband should be fine now. I¡¯m going out to help. Don¡¯t come out unless you hear our instructions.¡±


    He opened the door and then looked back, ¡°Lock the door!¡±


    After closing the door, Wang Qin hurriedly locked it.


    Mother and daughter stood in the bedroom, hearts thumping loudly, holding hands and listening intently to the noises outside.


    Lv Jiayan, however, turned her head and glanced at her father lying on the bed.


    She saw that Lv Qiang seemed to be sleeping soundly, but his mouth was wide open, which was a bit frightening.


    Especially those piles of grey-white hairs by the pillow, whose origins were unknown, some of which even appeared to be wet.


    Could they be coming from his mouth?


    The young girl¡¯s mind raced, and upon this realization, her panic surged and she involuntarily shrank into her mother¡¯s embrace.


    But Wang Qin¡¯s attention was all on the noises outside, because the scene in the living room had been truly terrifying, especially after hearing Lan Jing say that the person knocking outside was Lv Xin, who had just entered the bathroom to take a shower, which almost made her faint.


    Glancing at her husband, she noticed that Lv Qiang, in his drunken state, was like a pile of mud except for his unusually wide-open mouth, which was strange. But Wang Qin didn¡¯t think too deeply about it, nor did she have the time to ponder.


    It sounded like there were voices outside, but they were very faint, prompting Wang Qin to focus all her attention on her hearing, attempting to discern if Lan Jing and the others had subdued Granny Ren¡¯s strangeness.


    Just then, Lv Jiayan tugged on Wang Qin¡¯s sleeve and whispered in a voice barely audible, ¡°Mom, there¡¯s something moving inside Dad¡¯s mouth.¡±


    At that moment, the lights in the bedroom suddenly went out.


    Because the curtains were drawn completely shut, when the lights went out, the entire bedroom was plunged into darkness.


    Wang Qin had just managed to understand what her daughter was saying when suddenly, she could see nothing but darkness.


    Instinctively, she hugged Lv Jiayan and they moved to the light switch by the bedroom door, fumbling for a moment before hitting the switch, but despite several attempts, it didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Did¡­ did you see it clearly? Your dad is¡­ is sleeping, how can there be something in¡­ in his mouth?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw it clearly, it looked like¡­ it looked like hair coming out of his mouth,¡± said Lv Jiayan definitively.


    Slowly, their eyes began to adjust to the darkness.


    Through the dimness, they thought they saw someone get out of bed and stand rigidly beside it.

 Chapter 58 - 58 - 57 Sculpting Spirit Level

    Chapter 58 ¨C 57 Sculpting Spirit Level


    Upon discovering a black figure get out of bed and stand up, Lv Jiayan¡¯s body began to tremble like a sieve, her voice unclear as she said, ¡°Mom, is it Dad¡­ did Dad get up? I¡¯m¡­ scared!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t only Lv Jiayan; Wang Qin was now shaking more violently than her daughter, feeling a buzzing in her head that might cause her to faint at any moment.


    Although all the curtains were drawn in the bedroom, there was still light seeping in through the window, weak though it was. After adjusting to the darkness, everything could still be seen in a vague blur.


    Wang Qin was certain that it was L¨¹ Qiang standing by the bed at that moment.


    But even after getting up, L¨¹ Qiang didn¡¯t speak. He just stood there, without moving at all.


    Wang Qin felt a surge of panic and almost blurted out L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s name.


    But the intense fear compelled her to keep her mouth shut, so Wang Qin clenched her mouth tightly, resisting calling out to her husband.


    ...


    She leaned close to her daughter¡¯s ear, lowering her voice as much as possible, and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ speak¡­¡±


    In fact, if she could scream right now, she believed her scream could pierce the sky at this moment, easily blow the roof off, and rupture eardrums.


    Yes, eardrums.


    At this moment, not only Wang Qin herself but even Lv Jiayan could feel that the L¨¹ Qiang in front of them was no longer the familiar dad they knew.


    He felt unfamiliar; his body emitted an unfamiliar aura, as if¡­ all of a sudden, there was no life in him.


    The mother and daughter held their breath, standing motionless at the bedroom door, clutching each other¡¯s hands, their bodies continually trembling.


    The bedroom was eerily silent.


    Their gaze fixed steadily on the figure standing by the bed, not daring to blink.


    Suddenly, the figure bent over, a cracking sound coming from his throat, and then he began to vomit.


    From the sounds of vomiting, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t vomiting due to drunkenness. Instead, he was dry heaving, and something very dry was coming out, going on and on as if there was no end. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The faint light from outside allowed Wang Qin to see that those were some soft items, similar to hair, a large amount of very long hair tangled together to the size of a fist, stretching L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth wide, pouring out continuously.


    For a moment, Wang Qin had the impulse to turn the doorknob, open the door, and run away.


    But she didn¡¯t know what the situation was outside, and the noise from turning the doorknob would undoubtedly attract L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s attention.


    She didn¡¯t want to draw his attention.


    She even imagined herself as invisible, as long as she didn¡¯t attract L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s attention, just standing silently behind the door.


    However, contrary to her wishes, after a bout of vomiting, L¨¹ Qiang, still bent over and maintaining the posture of a person vomiting, with a large amount of hair hanging from his mouth, staggered toward the door.


    At this moment, Wang Qin felt as if her scalp was exploding. She disregarded everything, twisted the doorknob with a click.


    This sound indeed startled L¨¹ Qiang, who, seeing his bent figure shake, quickened his pace like a hunched old crone, charging at the mother and daughter.


    The hair hanging from his mouth was now dragging on the floor, causing the mother and daughter to feel a surge of panic and nausea upon seeing this scene.


    Twisting open the door, Wang Qin¡¯s legs trembling, she almost dragged her daughter, whose body had gone limp, out of the bedroom.


    They crashed into a soft, fleshy mass, which turned out to be the slightly plump, two-star Exorcist Lan Jing.


    Lan Jing also looked terrified, a sight rarely seen in an exorcist, especially one who was a two-star Exorcist.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, leave this place!¡±


    Wang Qin was grabbed by the arm, pulled along as they rushed toward the living room door, which was already open at that moment.


    Seconds later, the three of them dashed out of apartment 12-4.


    There stood Huang Chen, pale and trembling slightly, frantically pressing the elevator buttons in the corridor.


    ¡°Lan¡­ Ms. Lan, didn¡¯t you say¡­ my mom couldn¡¯t¡­ come here?¡± Wang Qin blurted out in panic.


    ¡°Your mom has evolved into a Sculpting Spirit class, at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit class, capable of Spirit-Splitting, blocking the transdimensional wave bands, and can resist any attack on Wandering Spirits. Not to mention this place; even if it was our Exorcist Squad branch, she could get in.¡±


    As Lan Jing explained, she looked back, her words leaving Wang Qin completely bewildered.


    The elevator was descending from the twentieth floor and had not yet reached the twelfth floor.


    During this time, Huang Chen glanced again at the stairwell of the safety passage.


    Lan Jing reminded, ¡°You can¡¯t take the stairs; few people go there, the Yin Energy is strong, the path is long, and there are too many variables.¡±


    No sooner had she spoken than a tiptoeing sound of footsteps arose from the dark room of apartment 12-4, as if it were about to emerge any second.


    Lan Jing took out a square-shaped Hidden Buckle and threw it towards the door. It was a ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle that, upon hitting a Strangeness, could spread an extremely high amplitude of energy, shattering the Strange Body instantly.


    The tip of a cotton shoe had just stepped out of the door of apartment 12-4 when the ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle exploded, releasing energy waves that pushed Granny Ren¡¯s Strange Body back into the room.


    The tip of the foot vanished.


    Just then, the elevator arrived.


    ¡°Quick, get in the elevator, the ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle can¡¯t stop her!¡± Lan Jing pushed Wang Qin and Lv Jiayan into the elevator, which had just opened halfway.


    Huang Chen followed without a word and leaped in.


    Lan Jing brought up the rear, the last to step into the elevator.


    Then she glanced back; the tiptoeing footsteps resumed from inside the apartment, moving rapidly and urgently to the front of apartment 12-4.


    The moment the familiar cotton shoe tip appeared outside the door, the elevator closed and began to descend.


    Wang Qin held Lv Jiayan tightly, both mother and daughter white as sheets.


    They never imagined that Granny Ren¡¯s Strangeness had become so formidable, far beyond the common strangenesses usually mentioned by people.


    It was a great malignancy filled with deep resentment.


    The elevator was descending, but Lan Jing was not idle; she took out another square-shaped Hidden Buckle, this one gray, and said to Huang Chen, ¡°This is a ¡¯High-Energy Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle. It¡¯s the only one I have. Once activated, it can create a short-term energy field blockade inside the elevator, preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    However, all three of you will experience temporary dizziness. Remember not to move around, I¡¯ll adjust the wave state, and soon you¡¯ll be able to adapt.¡±


    After hastily finishing her words, without waiting for the three to react, Lan Jing threw the ¡¯High-Energy Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle at her feet.


    With a buzz, a ring of energy ripples spread, instantly filling the entire elevator.


    Huang Chen, Wang Qin, and Lv Jiayan all went blank at the same moment, their vision blurry, unable to see anything, but obediently none of them moved.


    Lan Jing quickly dialed the black disc in her hand with practiced movements.


    About several seconds later, the trio¡¯s vision gradually returned to clarity.


    By then, the elevator had reached the second floor.


    Suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop with a loud bang, and the lights inside flickered a few times before going out completely.


    ¡°She can only trap the elevator, but don¡¯t worry, Granny Ren can¡¯t get in for now,¡± Lan Jing said. ¡°Everyone stay still for safety, form a circle and hold hands. I¡¯ll figure something out!¡±


    ¡°Zhang¡­ Mr. Zhang Lai?¡± Wang Qin, noticing someone was missing, could not help but ask in terror.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Huang Chen answered.


    Wang Qin was so frightened, she couldn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°I had also warned Lv Xin, who was outside the door just now. He should have run far away by now,¡± Lan Jing spoke while taking Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand with one hand and grabbing Huang Chen with the other.


    Huang Chen held Wang Qin, and Wang Qin held her daughter Lv Jiayan, the four people forming a circle in the pitch-dark elevator.

 Chapter 59 - 59 - 58 Waiting for Rescue

    Chapter 59 ¨C 58 Waiting for Rescue


    At the scene where the strangenesses claimed lives, everyone formed a circle, holding hands, which is obligatory training for an exorcist.


    Huang Chen also understood this.


    Where the strangeness ensued, the entity would try to ¡°insert itself¡± during contact with people¡ªthat is to say, it would find ways to enter the human environment by various means and methods.


    Especially at scenes like these, the phenomenon of ¡°inserting itself¡± was fiercer and more bizarre.


    For instance, Granny Ren could split her spirit and become Lv Xin to enter the house, and unless one was a three-star exorcist, it was impossible to sense the true from the false of Lv Xin.


    This was a typical ¡°insertion.¡±


    By entering Lv Qiang¡¯s body and making him vomit a large amount of his own previously fallen grizzled hair, this too was a form of ¡°insertion.¡±


    ...


    But because Lan Jing was well versed in this area and knew that Granny Ren, being at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, could easily catch up with them and insert herself, she did the opposite and immediately threw a ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± Hidden Buckle to her companions, sealing off the entire elevator, thereby temporarily preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    Although Ren couldn¡¯t enter, she still could control the exterior of the elevator.


    Now, with everyone holding hands, they formed a circle, giving Granny Ren no opportunity to insert herself.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Huang Chen asked Lan Jing.


    ¡°Give me all your Hidden Buckles,¡± said Lan Jing. ¡°Don¡¯t let go of each other¡¯s hands, use your fingertips to pry them out and place them all in the palm of my hand.¡±


    Rustling sounds emanated from the elevator as Huang Chen, still holding onto the other¡¯s hand, prised off the buttons from his clothing and the Hidden Buckles in his pockets, slowly placing them on Lan Jing¡¯s palm.


    The elevator was devoid of light; not even the emergency lighting was on, leaving everyone unable to see anything, relying only on touch.


    ¡°Mom¡­ Mommy?¡± Lv Jiayan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out.


    Wang Qin squeezed the hand of her daughter, offering encouragement: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mommy¡¯s here, don¡¯t be scared!¡±


    ¡°Mommy¡­¡± Lv Jiayan¡¯s voice was far from calm, rather it sounded like she was about to cry, ¡°Where are you, Mommy?¡±


    Everyone stiffened abruptly.


    At this moment, it was Wang Qin and Lan Jing who were holding Lv Jiayan¡¯s hands, with Huang Chen on the other side.


    ¡°I¡¯m holding your hand, child; mommy¡¯s here,¡± said Wang Qin, agitated.


    ¡°Mommy, no one¡¯s holding me, I¡¯m over here!¡±


    No sooner had the words been spoken than a small hand suddenly touched Wang Qin¡¯s waist, then tugged on her clothes, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve been standing in the corner of the elevator the whole time, nobody¡¯s holding me.¡±


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Lan Jing let out a cry of alarm, immediately feeling the ¡°Lv Jiayan¡± she was holding. The hand, which had been tender just a moment ago, was now full of wrinkles, the skin lax and parched.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    At the same time, Wang Qin noticed the anomaly and shrieked, as though she was holding a snake, and in her terror, she almost threw it away.


    ¡°Wang Qin, don¡¯t let go, hold onto Granny Ren!¡± Lan Jing shouted, ¡°If you let go, nobody will escape! Huang Chen, hold onto Lv Jiayan!¡±


    Until that moment, even Lan Jing hadn¡¯t anticipated that Granny Ren had still managed to insert herself unnoticed.


    From the second-floor corridor, one could see the elevator stuck there as it emitted a thunderous bang, the whole structure shaking violently.


    About four or five seconds later, the elevator door opened just a crack, enough for a person to slip through sideways.


    Lv Jiayan was violently shoved out, tumbling onto the second-floor corridor.


    The next second, Huang Chen darted out of the elevator, awkwardly bending over to grab Lv Jiayan, hoisting her up, then dashing into the stairwell and running swiftly towards the first floor.


    ¡°Notify the squad headquarters immediately, take Lv Jiayan to Yu Xiaochang¡¯s home. Her life and death depend on her staying with him until the headquarters¡¯ exorcists arrive!¡±


    Lan Jing¡¯s words still echoed in Huang Chen¡¯s ears, lingering for a long time.


    Meanwhile, at the elevator that had opened, now only wisps of white smoke drifted out, and beyond that, there was no other movement.


    ¡­


    Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Yan Junze felt somewhat gloomy; Ke¡¯er had been disappearing and reappearing periodically these past few days, and he had no idea what she was up to.


    Moreover, he spent the day under the weight of several half-mocking, half-smiling gazes, which left him with complex emotions.


    During the break, after Zhou Dali made suggestive gestures towards him for the 17th time, he said, ¡°How did it feel? Come on, tell your good brother, did it feel fleshy when you held her?¡±


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words and punched him hard on his chunky arm, ¡°I should have collected Jian Tong¡¯s soul like capturing a Crawler Monster, and then released it every day to let you taste what flesh feels like.¡±


    Zhou Dali chuckled, ¡°Your puny punches don¡¯t work on me. But what I wanted to say is that this new video is freaking awesome. It feels even better than the previous ones, you know!¡±


    Following Bao Jie¡¯s suggestion, Yan Junze had decided not to delete the last part where he was ¡°dressed as a big shot lady,¡± and simply be his true self, even keeping the section where he vomited and felt sick.


    After all, there was a precedent for this.


    The new internet sensation, Big-eyed Girl, was sitting at the neighboring desk, and she currently had the highest fan count among them, showing nothing but her true self.


    The one with the fewest fans was undoubtedly Zhou Dali. He was even criticized as a ¡°simp,¡± ¡°dramatic,¡± and ¡°how has he not been glared to death in the negative first floor by a dead person¡¯s eyes,¡± plunging him into self-doubt and questions these past few days.


    He had asked Yan Junze the question ¡°Should I continue to love Bao Jie¡± 128 times in three days.


    Before the afternoon classes, Ke¡¯er had disappeared once again.


    Yan Junze, who was already bothered by a headache, took Zhou Dali to the rooftop of the teaching building, speaking with the tone of an elder in a heartfelt manner: ¡°I understand and empathize with your foolish young man¡¯s infatuation. But did you notice? Bao Jie doesn¡¯t like you. Forget about liking; she even harbors a slight disgust towards you. So, I suggest you let go of Bao Jie.


    Turn back while you can. Focus on doing your best, remember, ¡¯where flowers bloom, there butterflies flock.¡¯¡±


    Zhou Dali stared blankly at him, taking a while to snap back to reality, ¡°Why do I suddenly feel like you sound like you¡¯re in your thirties?¡±


    ¡°I am mature beyond my years,¡± said Yan Junze with a serious tone, ¡°In these few days, don¡¯t think about anything else. Just focus on revising and do well on your exams. Enhance your personal charm and strength. Once you¡¯re more capable, you won¡¯t have to worry about a lack of women¡¯s affection.¡±


    Zhou Dali fell silent.


    After a short while, he pursed his lips, his eyes glistening with tears, then suddenly hugged Yan Junze. Seemingly crying and laughing at the same time, he loudly declared, ¡°From this moment on, your big brother Dali¡¯s first love officially ends. I¡¯ll listen to you, focus on my exams, and cast aside everything else!¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s first love, have you even been in love?¡± retorted Yan Junze.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Zhou Dali laughed through his tears.


    ¡°Which student is that on the roof? Class has started, and yet you¡¯re up there making a racket? Hurry up and come down for class!¡± The voice of their class teacher, Xiang Decai, startled the two of them into running down as if smoke were at their heels.


    The rooftop returned to its tranquil state.


    After the rooftop door closed, around the corner next to the door, a thin woman with disheveled hair, wearing a white short-sleeve top and shorts, stood quietly facing the wall.

 Chapter 60 - 60 - 59 Professional Level Cooperation

    Chapter 60 ¨C 59 Professional Level Cooperation


    As expected, the ¡°Wine red high heels¡± video erupted the day it was uploaded to Yan Junze¡¯s homepage on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform.


    Since his previous video was already a hit, the new work naturally gained even more attention.


    The video platform¡¯s promotion editor, Tang Zhengyi, was also following Yan Junze¡¯s page and watched the ¡°Wine red high heels¡± video as soon as it was released.


    He felt that this supernatural video felt more real, with terror seeping through the mundane atmosphere, especially when the ¡°female strangeness¡± turned out to be a ¡°transvestite twist,¡± which added an amazing turn to the video, bringing a wave of light-hearted humor after the eerie reveal, earning the video high marks.


    Of course, after post-production, neither Jian Tong nor Jiang Mingjun had their real names disclosed.


    ¡°Heh heh, this little guy, his video is quite interesting.¡±


    Tang Zhengyi chuckled and quickly arranged a featured spot for ¡°Wine red high heels¡±.


    ...


    Then, Yan Junze¡¯s homepage exploded. Comments from netizens flew in like snowflakes.


    ¡°Puppy, quickly tell us, do you also have that inclination?¡±


    ¡°I just want to ask you, how does it feel?¡±


    ¡°Damn, I was scared to death at the beginning, then I burst out laughing!!!¡±


    ¡°Why did I guess the ending right from the beginning? Do I have that kind of inclination?¡±


    ¡°Great video, keep them coming!¡±


    ¡°Next time I want to see the untold story of Night Traveling Puppy and high heels transvestite¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, guys, Spirit Exploration is a serious matter. Pfft¡­ hahahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously though, it¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    Yan Junze had already adjusted his mindset, treating all comments like fleeting clouds in the sky.


    After all, the number of luxury cars and rockets kept increasing, which was the irrefutable evidence of the video¡¯s popularity.


    The next day, he received a message from the video platform, and when he opened it, the sender was an editor named ¡°Tang Zhengyi¡±.


    Using the work phone number provided in the message, Yan Junze called Tang Zhengyi during the ten minutes break between classes.


    The voice on the other end sounded like it belonged to a man in his forties, warm and slightly magnetic, ¡°May I ask if the videos you upload are all shot by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Two are by me, and another was a collaborative effort with classmates.¡± Yan Junze replied.


    There was a moment of silence on the other end before he said, ¡°If you all are amateurs and not a professional team, I suggest you refrain from spontaneously forming groups to engage in Spirit Exploration; it¡¯s very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that was the first time, just a trial. Even if we decide to form a group in the future, I will make a considered decision.¡±


    ¡°Actually, there is a lot of potential in the videos you uploaded. If our platform were to take over the production, I believe the outcome would be even better,¡± Tang Zhengyi seemed to get to the point.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Are you saying that you would shoot my Spirit Explorations?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tang Zhengyi smiled, ¡°We never send anyone to participate in the actual Spirit Exploration process, our role is limited to initial planning, mid-stage setup, and post-production.¡±


    Yan Junze was silent.


    Tang Zhengyi further said, ¡°Do you know what the most important element of a good horror video is defined as?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze really didn¡¯t know the ins and outs of this.


    ¡°Reality,¡± Tang Zhengyi said. ¡°Reality comes first; as long as it¡¯s real, the video¡¯s broadcast effect won¡¯t be bad. Therefore, even if we plan for you, we won¡¯t dispatch anyone to follow and shoot, which not only eliminates dangers but also increases the credibility of the video.¡±


    ¡°Then how should we shoot?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Install cameras in the Spirit Exploration site in advance, ensuring that the entire place is almost free of blind spots for comprehensive filming. Of course, the protagonist of the Spirit Exploration must have cameras on them as well.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± Yan Junze shook his head. ¡°Some strange places, how can you let you go in advance to install cameras, aren¡¯t the staff courting death?¡±


    ¡°We have remote-controlled robots that can be operated remotely for installation,¡± Tang Zhengyi explained unhurriedly. ¡°If the terrain is complex, we can even control the robot to a corner for live on-site shooting.¡±


    ¡°Alright, having money is capricious,¡± Yan Junze shrugged.


    We¡¯re not actually wealthy, our resources are limited,¡± Tang Zhengyi laughed. ¡°But if you¡¯re considering another Spirit Exploration, I think we can collaborate. Let us know in advance. We¡¯ll get the cameras sorted in the haunted place before your exploration and conduct the most realistic and comprehensive shooting.¡±


    Yan Junze thought about it and nodded, ¡°I might as well give it a try.¡±


    By the way,¡± Tang Zhengyi said, ¡°I just checked your ¡¯Wine red high heels¡¯ video, it¡¯s trending again.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze opened the platform and took a glance, his heart blooming with joy.


    If possible, he planned to contact Tang Zhengyi soon to finish the mission ¡°Look at Her Face¡± involving the Back-faced Woman.


    The reason to finish this mission in advance was directly related to the Back-faced Woman herself. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For some reason, it seemed like this woman was now fixated on him; within a mere week, Yan Junze had seen her four times on different occasions.


    Although each time they were at a distance and no unfortunate events were triggered, that hair-raising sensation followed him like a shadow, and almost as soon as he saw this woman, Yan Junze would immediately activate the Rewind setting to ensure he could get through safely.


    This also explained why Ke¡¯er would run off every now and then, it was due to the innate oppression from the wide gap in the level of strangeness between them.


    In fact, what Yan Junze feared the most was the Back-faced Woman showing up at his home one day.


    If such a high-level horror figure appeared at home, it would be a tremendous threat to his parents.


    Therefore, if the situation allowed, he must resolve it as quickly as possible.


    However, there was another problem, which was the matter of Yan Junze¡¯s parents.


    It¡¯s true that the videos he shot were making money, but he couldn¡¯t hide the source of this income after handing it over to his parents. So, Yan Junze was preparing to come clean to them about still engaging in Spirit Exploration and even making profitable videos.


    That day, after coming home and eating, Yan Junze spilled the beans to Yan Daguo and Li Man about all the unrighteous things he had been doing.


    Initially, the couple was shocked, but Yan Junze admitted he had a special natural gift and, on the spot, ¡°using the Exorcist¡¯s methods,¡± summoned the Crawler Monster, which started rolling around on the floor in a display.


    Upon seeing this spectacle, Li Man gasped and passed out; it was only after Yan Daguo pinched her philtrum for quite a while that she finally came to with a faint breath.


    The first thing she said after waking up was, ¡°Ze, please quickly get rid of this disgusting mangy dog!¡±


    After a night of ideational exchange and thorough conversation, the couple finally accepted Yan Junze¡¯s confession about his Exorcist talent, and in return, they insisted that he must keep it a secret and never stir up trouble outside.


    Yan Junze simply wanted to say that causing trouble was out of the question, trouble found him.

 Chapter 61 - 61 - 60 Your Grandmother is No Longer Your Grandmother

    Chapter 61 ¨C 60 Your Grandmother is No Longer Your Grandmother


    As Granny Ren¡¯s only daughter, Lv Yaoyao had been doted on by her parents since birth, getting almost anything she wanted.


    However, the consequence of such excessive indulgence was that when her parents could no longer satisfy Lv Yaoyao¡¯s growing desires and vanity, she exploded.


    People couldn¡¯t imagine that the hatred accumulated from not being satisfied any longer could make Lv Yaoyao detest her parents to the bone.


    It was as if they were not family, but born enemies.


    Her eldest brother, L¨¹ Qiang, and her second brother, L¨¹ Jun, always resented the favoritism shown to Lv Yaoyao by the old couple, often taking the blame and beatings for her mistakes.


    In L¨¹ Jun¡¯s memory, it seemed Lv Yaoyao had never been hit by their parents, not even scolded.


    ¡°Since you adore Yaoyao so much, let her take care of you, provide for your old age.¡± After the brothers set up their own families and businesses, plus the eruption of some trifles, they almost cut off all contact with their parents.


    ...


    Of course, Lv Yaoyao also harbored profound hatred for her elders.


    It¡¯s often said that those who are pitied also have qualities that are detestable. Deprived of family happiness, the miserable twilight years of Old Man Lv and Granny Ren thus took shape.


    ¡°She is no longer your mother, nor is she their grandmother or maternal grandmother anymore.¡± Huang Chen¡¯s expression was solemn, even somewhat sorrowful, as he spoke word by word, ¡°We¡¯ve already requested assistance from headquarters, and soon three or even four-star exorcists will come down. For now, everyone can only stay here like this; no one can go out alone.¡±


    In Lv Yaoyao¡¯s living room, Huang Chen, Lv Jiayan, Lv Yaoyao, and her husband Yu Tao, were all gathered around Yu Xiaochang, Lv Yaoyao¡¯s son, as if he were the center of attention, like stars around the moon.


    Yu Xiaochang was a bit bewildered, not knowing since when everyone here, no matter what they were doing, always pulled him along to be by their side.


    It was as if he had become a big celebrity overnight; without Yu Xiaochang, it seemed as though these people could not even relieve themselves comfortably.


    Of course, when it came to going to the bathroom, as long as he stood outside the restroom door, the person inside would still be very safe.


    ¡°How soon can your headquarters¡¯ exorcists get here?¡± Yu Tao asked with a deeply furrowed brow, continuously smoking.


    The ashtray on the table was already filled with cigarette butts, and the entire living room was shrouded in smoke, seemingly unconcerned that there was a child present.


    ¡°Very soon. Considering the whole of Great Capital Huaying, the number of three-star and above exorcists isn¡¯t that great, but they will hurry over as soon as possible.¡± Huang Chen wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    He never imagined that, as an exorcist, there would come a day where he would be relegated to being protected by an ordinary little kid.


    It now appeared that Granny Ren¡¯s most spoiled grandchild was Yu Xiaochang; as long as he was present, safety could be assured. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another reason, which even Huang Chen didn¡¯t foresee, was that no one would know why Granny Ren transformed so quickly and ferociously.


    Sculpting Spirit level, capable of creating D-level strangenesses, let alone C-level events.


    Of course, from what could be seen, Granny Ren¡¯s supernatural phenomena were not truly of the Sculpting Spirit level, just like the late Lan Jing had said¡ªshe was very likely a Semi-Sculpting Spirit level strange body.


    But even so, the current team of exorcists here would still be very, very troubled facing her.


    ¡°I hope they move quickly!¡± Lv Yaoyao clasped her hands together, then hugged Yu Xiaochang tightly, ¡°You¡¯ll sleep on the bed with mom and dad tonight.¡±


    She then looked at the others and said, ¡°You¡¯ll just have to make do and sleep on the bedroom floor.¡±


    Huang Chen glanced at Lv Jiayan.


    Lv Jiayan had been frowning all along, occasionally wiping away tears in secret.


    She nodded her head and spoke softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡±


    Before long, two men came out of the restroom, both colleagues of Huang Chen, one named Yang Depei, a two-star exorcist, and the other named Zhao Shuai, also a one-star exorcist like Huang Chen.


    They were initially guarding this place, but an incident had already occurred in the LHTD Community, so now everyone had gathered together.


    Going to the bathroom was something the exorcists didn¡¯t ask Yu Xiaochang to accompany them for. Instead, they went in pairs.


    However, when it came to sleeping at night, everyone squeezed into one room. Fortunately, the bedroom in Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home was large enough to accommodate everyone spaciously on the floor.


    The relationship between the protectors and the protected had become quite delicate. Generally speaking, the exorcists were there to protect Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home. But on the other hand, should a supernatural event occur, everyone would depend on Yu Xiaochang.


    ¡°Right, why haven¡¯t we seen Lv Xin?¡± Yu Tao suddenly remembered him.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lv Yaoyao¡¯s phone rang.


    Looking at it, Lv Yaoyao turned the phone screen towards Yu Tao and said, ¡°It¡¯s Lv Xin calling.¡±


    ¡°Answer it quickly.¡±


    Lv Yaoyao pressed the answer button and then enabled the speakerphone.


    ¡°Auntie,¡± Lv Xin¡¯s voice came through, sounding as if everything was normal with him, his tone quite calm.


    ¡°Where are you now? It¡¯s very dangerous outside,¡± Lv Yaoyao said.


    Although she seemed concerned, Lv Yaoyao did not actually invite him over to her house.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± The environment on Lv Xin¡¯s end sounded very quiet with no noise in the background. ¡°I found some things in Grandma¡¯s room that could be a great help in dealing with the situation. It would be best if you all could come over.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re at the FH Community now?¡± Lv Yaoyao asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been at Grandma¡¯s house the whole time. It¡¯s very safe; Grandma never came back.¡± Lv Xin said, ¡°And I think I know¡­ who killed Grandma. You all should come over quickly.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Lv Yaoyao looked up at everyone.


    ¡°Really¡­do we need to go?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the exorcist named Yang Depei shook his head, ¡°If you know who the murderer is, you should notify the security officer directly. Going there is useless for us.¡±


    ¡°But what if it helps alleviate Granny Ren¡¯s resentment?¡± Zhao Shuai joined in the conversation: ¡°I think it¡¯s worth taking a look, but not everyone should go.¡±


    Huang Chen nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll go over tomorrow. Everyone else stays home and waits for my news. Also, Zhao Shuai, give me a few Hidden Buckles. I¡¯ve used up all the ones from last time.¡±


    Yang Depei took out a ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± Hidden Buckle and handed it to Huang Chen, ¡°Here¡¯s one for you, but don¡¯t use it unless absolutely necessary. As a one-star exorcist, your resistance is still quite weak. If you have to use it, try to stay away from the affected area. Don¡¯t get yourself caught up in it.¡±


    ¡­


    The truth was, the efficiency of the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± supernatural video platform was indeed very high.


    Before Yan Junze decided to take on the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task, he had only informed Tang Zhengyi of his intentions. Yet, by the third day, staff from the platform were already on-site with various types of cameras.


    Considering that the video platform¡¯s headquarters were neither in Shuntian City nor in Tianmeng District, but in Tianyi District, their prompt cross-district mobilization with equipment to support Yan Junze spoke volumes of their prioritization. Moreover, the platform company had managed, through unknown means, to communicate in advance with FH Community¡¯s property management.


    They received permission to install concealed cameras on Building 7, nearby footpaths, and the outer walls of the opposite buildings.


    However, these had to be removed after a week.


    Indeed, Yan Junze planned to complete the Back-faced Woman¡¯s task right inside the FH Community.

 Chapter 62 - 62 - 61 Resentful Granny

    Chapter 62 ¨C 61 Resentful Granny


    Because this place was an apartment complex, and not a location so haunted that staff couldn¡¯t even enter, the efficiency of the installation crew was quite high.


    After surveying the complex, a middle-aged man who seemed like the leader drew a distribution map, instructing the workers to install cameras at the specified spots.


    Then, this obviously experienced middle-aged man patted his bottom and left.


    Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi while at school, and upon returning to FH Community, he found that the workers had already left, but his own Building 7 had noticeably more cameras.


    There were also cameras on the opposing walls and along the pathways.


    During the camera installation, residents saw the process but assumed it was the community¡¯s initiative to strengthen security monitoring, and no one suspected anything unusual.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t tell his parents, either.


    ...


    His plan was to start executing the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task this Saturday night, likely after 1 a.m.


    What Yan Junze didn¡¯t expect was to bump into the Exorcist Huang Chen right at the entrance of the complex upon coming home from school.


    Huang Chen, with his head down, hurried up the stairs, nearly colliding with a young man descending.


    Yan Junze called out to him from behind, ¡°Mr. Huang Chen.¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Huang Chen stopped and turned his head downward; seeing that it was Yan Junze, he slapped his forehead, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot, you live here too.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you here to see me?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    ¡°No,¡± Huang Chen stood there waiting for Yan Junze to catch up, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to Room 503, the Lv kid who studies abroad is waiting for me upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Lv Xin? He¡¯s here again?¡± Yan Junze asked in surprise.


    ¡°You know each other?¡± Huang Chen also showed a puzzled look.


    ¡°He came to see me before, asking about the discovery of his grandmother¡¯s death at home,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide the fact.


    Huang Chen nodded, ¡°I figured he was investigating Granny Ren¡¯s cause of death.¡±


    ¡°Really? Did he find anything?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Lv Xin says, so I came to have a look,¡± Huang Chen replied.


    At this point in the conversation, the two had reached the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Do you want to stop by my place first? My parents won¡¯t be home from work until later, how about a cup of tea first?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Huang Chen waved his hand, ¡°business is business, let¡¯s chat another day.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything more and watched as Huang Chen proceeded up the stairs to the fifth floor.


    After making sure Huang Chen had gone upstairs, he then turned his head to look at Ke¡¯er lying on his back, ¡°You¡¯re getting bolder! You used to avoid Huang Chen at all costs, but now you treat him like he¡¯s thin air.¡±


    Ke¡¯er ignored him and continued lying motionless.


    After a pause, Yan Junze added, ¡°But then again, Huang Chen once told me only exorcists above three stars can sense the presence of strangenesses. Should you encounter an exorcist of that level, you need to be extra careful and avoid them in advance.¡±


    Ke¡¯er stretched out a purplish-black finger and flicked Yan Junze¡¯s hair at the back of his head as a response.


    At the same time, in Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home.


    Yu Tao was furious but helpless as he stared at Lv Yaoyao and said, ¡°How could you let Lv Jiayan go out alone? Her leaving now, as soon as she¡¯s away from us, away from Xiaochang, it¡¯s almost no different from sending her to die!¡±


    Lv Yaoyao was peeling an orange for Xiaochang, without any expression, she said, ¡°Yu Tao, are you blaming me? I told you, she insisted on going to meet Lv Xin, saying that she wanted to help find the cause of Grandma¡¯s death. Tch, she never visited when mom was alive, and now that she¡¯s gone, only when her own life is threatened does she start to care about others. Just like her dad!¡±


    ¡°You should watch your words,¡± Yu Tao helplessly sat down and lit a cigarette.


    Sitting opposite him, Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai looked at each other.


    Unable to contain his anger, Zhao Shuai muttered to himself, ¡°That young girl really doesn¡¯t understand, talking about how capable Lv Xin, our second brother¡¯s son, is, investigating his parents¡¯ death on his own outside. It provoked Lv Jiayan, and she quietly ran out to help. Hey, who said those things to her?¡±


    Lv Yaoyao¡¯s face subtly changed, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.


    But considering the speaker was no less than an Exorcist master, she dared not offend him. She broke off a piece of the peeled orange, carefully fed it to Xiaochang, her face an iron shade, and said no more.


    Yang Depei elbowed Zhao Shuai, ¡°Call Huang Chen, tell him Lv Jiayan might have gone to FH Community. I¡¯m heading over now!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°What?¡±


    Sitting on the couch in Room 503, talking to Lv Xin, Huang Chen¡¯s face changed slightly. Without hanging up the phone, he stood up and quickly walked out of Room 503, leaned over the corridor railing, and looked down.


    About two minutes later, a little girl in light yellow casual pants and a pale purple sweater appeared below, looking up at the building numbers on the exterior wall before stepping into the staircase of building seven.


    ¡°Lv Jiayan, that girl really came!¡± Huang Chen, with a resigned look, turned to Lv Xin, who was still sitting on the sofa inside, ¡°Your sister Lv Jiayan is here, I¡¯ll go down to meet her.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm, it¡¯s good that she came,¡± Lv Xin nodded.


    At the same moment.


    Yan Junze finished his homework and logged onto the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform to casually browse through a few videos.


    The quality of these videos appearing on the homepage was quite high, obviously shot by professional teams.


    He even saw those supernatural videos shot entirely with fixed cameras, indeed they felt much more realistic.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze decided to go out for a walk, stretch his limbs, and check the newly installed cameras in various corners of the building.


    Having just watched her wash his hair, Ke¡¯er was now nowhere to be found, but since following him, she had never appeared in front of his parents¡ªvery obedient. Leaving her alone at home, Yan Junze was not worried.


    After closing the door, he strolled down the hallway.


    As he was about to approach the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, staring blankly ahead as if witnessing some extremely bizarre scene.


    At the same time, Huang Chen met up with Lv Jiayan, who was coming up the stairs. The two had just reached the fourth floor and appeared before Yan Junze.


    What made Yan Junze freeze at that moment was a task notification that suddenly popped into his mind.


    [Task Name: Evil Spirit-eating;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);]


    [Task Background: A terrifying evil spirit has set its sights on Lv Jiayan, intending to kill her. The parents, who had her late in life, cherish Lv Jiayan as the apple of their eye, and her deceased parents will never allow this frightful evil spirit to target her. However, the disparity in strength makes them utterly powerless. Perhaps there¡¯s a slim chance for Lv Jiayan.


    Her father, L¨¹ Qiang, and mother, Wang Qin have prepared for the worst; if they (the Newborn Evil Spirits) are consumed by the malevolent entity, its strength will be sealed for three weeks;]


    [Task Explanation: Find a way to make the ferocious evil spirit consume these two Newborn Evil Spirits, ensuring Lv Jiayan¡¯s survival;]


    [Task Reward: 900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Penalty: You will draw the wrath of the terrifying evil spirit (this penalty is inevitable), unless you kill it;]


    [Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not delude yourself into confronting it head-on; 3. Do not release any friendly evil spirits, or beware of a group wipe-out;]


    [Note: This evil spirit is the ultimate evolution of Granny Ren, you can now call her¡ªResentful Granny!]]

 Chapter 63 - 63 - 62 Evil Spirit-eating (1)

    Chapter 63 ¨C 62 Evil Spirit-eating (1)


    Yan Junze had never dreamed that he would encounter a task released by the Spacetime Atlas just by sitting tired and taking a short walk.


    There were many keywords mentioned in the task, and he couldn¡¯t digest them all at once.


    However, after completing the last task, ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡±, he had talked with his parents about Granny Ren, and learned that Granny Ren had two sons and one daughter, and the Lv Xin he had seen last time was from the family of the second son Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun.


    As for the little girl named Lv Jiayan in front of him, she must be the daughter of the eldest son, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin.


    Yet what struck Yan Junze most was not these people, but Yu Xiaochang, the only grandson Granny Ren deeply cared for and adored.


    From the task background, it could be inferred that besides the couple, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun, the second son of Granny Ren¡¯s, the eldest son¡¯s couple, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin, had also died, and it was Granny Ren¡ªno, the Resentful Granny¡ªwho was now scheming against their daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    And by the looks of it, the evil spirits of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, following Granny Ren¡¯s ultimate evolution, were not her match.


    ...


    The only thing they could do now was to allow the Resentful Granny to devour them, thereby sealing her strength for three days and allowing their daughter, Lv Jiayan, to escape this calamity.


    The task hints also made it very clear about the Resentful Granny¡¯s power, which made Yan Junze wonder if not even Ke¡¯er and the Crawling Corpse, or Jian Tong here, would stand a chance against the Resentful Granny.


    What terrified Yan Junze the most, however, was that, damn it, the task¡¯s punishment was inevitable?!


    Could there be anything more direct than that?


    That is to say, by choosing to complete this task, attracting hatred from the Resentful Granny would become inevitable. Unless he could destroy her.


    Fortunately, the main character of this task wasn¡¯t himself; the Resentful Granny was eyeing Lv Jiayan. Moreover, isn¡¯t the Exorcist Huang Chen also here? Maybe he could figure out a way to complete it.


    Although, Huang Chen always seemed unreliable.


    ¡°To do or not to do?¡±


    Yan Junze stood in the corridor not far from the fourth-floor stairwell, looking preoccupied, completely indifferent even when Huang Chen nodded at him in greeting.


    After Lv Jiayan quietly arrived, Huang Chen, who was a bundle of nerves, saw that Yan Junze seemed to be in a world of his own and did not plan to speak to him; he took Lv Jiayan straight to the fifth floor.


    It was a good thing that Yang Depei had called just now, saying he was on his way. Having this two-star Exorcist come to help was a relief, but Huang Chen was still uneasy.


    It wasn¡¯t until his and Lv Jiayan¡¯s footsteps disappeared into the stairwell that Yan Junze came back to his senses.


    Still, Yan Junze was very conflicted at this moment. According to the rules, the difficulty of the task was ¡°Trembling with Fear (High)¡±, which was a bit harder than the yet uncompleted task ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡±.


    ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± was classified as ¡°Trembling with Fear (Medium)¡±, but ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± was not as difficult as ¡°Look at Her Face¡±.


    ¡°Look at Her Face¡± had reached ¡°hair-raising (Low)¡± difficulty, and he was already preparing to undertake it, which meant that the task¡¯s difficulty level wasn¡¯t the main factor affecting completion.


    So far, what Yan Junze worried about was the punisment of the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task was just too harsh. Even if he completed the task, if he couldn¡¯t destroy the Resentful Granny and shake her off, his future life could probably be described as a dire nightmare.


    Unconsciously arriving at the stairwell, Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the stairs, torn between going up or going down, as if this moment were a multiple-choice question that would determine his fate for life.


    Forget the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡±, just continue preparing for the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task. After all, the Exorcist Huang Chen was there.


    But Granny Ren had evolved, and now Huang Chen, a one-star Exorcist, could he really handle her? After all, this guy was the Exorcist who couldn¡¯t even catch a Possession Spirit the first time.


    While Yan Junze hesitated, a faint sound of footsteps came from the third-floor staircase below.


    The sound was so familiar it almost instantly pulled him back to a certain night, to the familiar footsteps that would arrive punctually at his doorstep every morning at two o¡¯clock.


    Lowering his head, he saw a pair of familiar old cotton shoes in his line of sight.


    Certainly, the person climbing the stairs was walking on tiptoes.


    Inside Room 503, Huang Chen urged Lv Xin, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll leave immediately and talk at your aunt Lv Yaoyao¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lv Xin pulled away, ¡°I found something in grandma¡¯s bedroom, wait for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Then hurry up and get it, after that we¡¯ll leave this place and go check it out at Yu Xiaochang¡¯s house,¡± Huang Chen said, growing anxious as he grabbed Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand.


    Thump, thump, thump, the sound of knocking at the door echoed.


    Huang Chen¡¯s expression changed, he quickly pulled Lv Jiayan behind him, told Lv Xin to come over, and took out the ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± Hidden Buckle that Yang Depei had given him.


    ¡°Mr. Huang Chen, it¡¯s me, Yan Junze.¡± A familiar voice came from outside the door.


    Huang Chen was startled, then his expression relaxed, but he still asked cautiously, ¡°Where did we first meet?¡±


    ¡°In Teacher Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office, duh,¡± Yan Junze was a bit confused.


    The door opened, and Huang Chen, standing at the doorway, showed no intention of inviting him inside, ¡°We¡¯re in a bit of a rush, if you could come back another day for what you need. Please leave for now!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already too late for that,¡± Yan Junze barged into the room and immediately closed the door behind him.


    Huang Chen stood rooted to the spot, ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s too late?¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste any more time talking, he went straight to the point, ¡°Granny Ren is already here, you can¡¯t escape. Now, think about how to deal with her.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ how do you know!?¡± Huang Chen exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°This story goes back to the time when humans first appeared on this planet, do you want to hear it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s save that for later.¡±


    Huang Chen was frantic with worry and had no time for Yan Junze¡¯s digressions, he turned back and ordered, ¡°Close all the doors and windows in the room, we¡¯ll just stay in the living room.¡±


    As soon as Huang Chen finished speaking, Lv Xin immediately ran to the bedroom door, closed it, and then shut all other doors including another small bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen.


    In the meantime, Huang Chen made a phone call to Yang Depei, and then asked Yan Junze to help him move the coffee table in the living room, bringing two chairs over to place directly opposite the couch.


    Four people, Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan on the couch, Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the chairs opposite, formed a circle.


    ¡°When it¡¯s time, hold hands, and no one lets go,¡± Huang Chen spoke seriously.


    While talking, he took out all the Hidden Buckles given to him by Zhao Shuai and Yang Depei, a ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± from Yang Depei, and two ¡°Sweepers¡± and one ¡°Collapse¡± from Zhao Shuai.


    ¡°Yan Junze, actually you didn¡¯t have to come here to notify us, you could have called me, but now I¡¯m afraid it might be dangerous to go outside,¡± Huang Chen signaled everyone to hold hands and said to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer but instead asked, ¡°What is this for?¡±


    ¡°To prevent strangenesses from ¡¯interfering¡¯,¡± Lv Jiayan quickly answered before anyone else.


    ¡­


    ¡°No way!¡± Lv Yaoyao shook her head like a rattle drum, ¡°We¡¯re not going anywhere, home is the safest place.¡±


    Yang Depei, who had already left, upon receiving the call that Huang Chen was unable to leave, he immediately returned to Lv Yaoyao¡¯s house. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing in front of Lv Yaoyao and her husband Yu Tao, he said, ¡°Now, we must take Yu Xiaochang to FH Community, there¡¯s no choice; otherwise, the three people there might all die.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not feeling well, I don¡¯t want to go out¡­¡±


    Before Lv Yaoyao could finish her sentence, Yang Depei interrupted her with gritted teeth, ¡°I¡¯m not asking for your opinion. If you don¡¯t agree, from now until your death, I can guarantee that not a single Exorcist will ever help the Yu family again. You should know that Granny Ren is not the only Evil Spirit in this world.¡±

 Chapter 64 - 64 - 63 Evil Spirit-eating (2)

    Chapter 64 ¨C 63 Evil Spirit-eating (2)


    FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.


    Huang Chen, speaking as fast as he could, briefed Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the specific details of the ¡°strangeness¡± intrusion and said, ¡°We just need to hold on for a little while longer. Before my colleague arrives here with Yu Xiaochang, we can¡¯t let Granny Ren ¡¯intrude¡¯.¡±


    After a pause, Huang Chen added, ¡°If, unfortunately, she does ¡¯intrude¡¯, no one should panic. I can hold her off temporarily, and you all should immediately run for the door. Rush out of the community and wait for Xiaochang to arrive.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Yan Junze had a new idea in mind, silently considering, ¡°If we manage to complete this mission and pull the Resentful Granny¡¯s animosity onto ourselves, having Yu Xiaochang by our side as a sort of ¡¯get-out-of-death-free¡¯ card is at least a decent backup plan.¡±


    The key question was how to keep such a brat by his side when the time came. Should he sacrifice Ke¡¯er a bit and let him play with Ke¡¯er, cultivating a bond from a young age, like childhood sweethearts?


    As Yan Junze was lost in whimsical ideas, the familiar sound of tiptoeing footsteps returned from the corridor outside.


    The sound was very light. Although it was still daytime, there were no longer any residents on the fifth floor, and aside from the faint footsteps, there was only the heavy, rapid breathing of the four people sitting in the room.


    ...


    It was clear that everyone else had heard it too. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All their eyes unconsciously followed the footsteps outside the room, then all gathered at the living room door.


    They waited for a moment, but no knocking came.


    The four exchanged glances, withdrawing their gazes.


    A little while later, a hoarse voice suddenly came from the master bedroom with the door closed.


    ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    All four people in the living room jolted in shock.


    Yan Junze heard it very clearly, the voice was identical to the one Granny Ren had made that night, it must be her in the bedroom.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that in just this short time, the Resentful Granny had already returned to her own bedroom.


    ¡°If she tries to intrude, ignore her.¡±


    Huang Chen warned, holding Yan Junze¡¯s right hand forward, gripping two ¡°Sweeper¡± Hidden Buckle, and with his left hand holding Lv Jiayan, he gripped the ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± Hidden Buckle.


    The pitiful cries of pain did not cease, one after another, as if a steel brush relentlessly scraped against everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Before long, goosebumps covered Yan Junze¡¯s entire body, and Lv Jiayan began to tremble, unable to help but close her eyes.


    Just as she wanted to reach out and cover her ears, at the instant she almost let go, Huang Chen firmly grabbed hold.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move! Ignore the sound, try to shift your focus.¡±


    At that moment, the wailing stopped.


    Lv Xin took a long breath and was about to speak when the sound of scratching came from behind the door of the master bedroom.


    Yan Junze was all too familiar with this sound ¨C it was the sound of fingernails scratching the door. Just like Jian Tong had done while scratching the bathroom stall door.


    However, whereas the stall door had been thin, hollow, and brittle, this bedroom door was heavy and thick, and the scratching sound it produced was not piercing, but eerily subdued.


    A nauseating feeling welled up in his heart, lingering for a long time without dissipating.


    The sound of scratching the door continued for about two minutes, then eventually stopped.


    Then, the bedroom door opened¡­


    As the door swung open, the Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came once more, ¡°Who¡­ has seen my comb?¡±


    A short old lady dressed in a brown thin cotton jacket stood in the doorway of the bedroom. Her pupils were covered by a layer of grey film, making her look like a blind person at a glance, but her hair was neatly combed, and her clothes were very clean.


    The moment Resentful Granny made her appearance, everyone was so frightened that they didn¡¯t even dare to breathe heavily. Huang Chen felt the trembling of Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand he was holding on his left; she was trembling violently, on the verge of crying.


    He pressed his voice down to an extreme whisper, as if scraping a few words from his throat, ¡°Don¡¯t look at her! Don¡¯t talk to her!¡±


    From where Yan Junze was seated, a glance up would land on the figure of Resentful Granny, but upon hearing Huang Chen¡¯s warning, he turned his gaze to the painting on the wall, refusing to stare at Resentful Granny any longer.


    Lv Xin did the same, but he simply bowed his head, eyes fixed on the ground.


    After Resentful Granny finished speaking, no one answered her.


    Suddenly, she seemed to grow a few inches taller, stood on tiptoes, and slowly walked out of the bedroom, into the living room.


    At this moment, the temperature in the entire bedroom dropped to freezing point, as if even the air had solidified.


    Yan Junze could even hear the wooden chair he was sitting on making a creaking noise as the temperature plummeted.


    Normally, an evil spirit wouldn¡¯t easily emit such a powerful magnetic field unless it was deliberate, or the spirit itself was too powerful, which would cause such a strong reaction.


    The four of them were holding hands, both Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan were looking down at the ground, Huang Chen was focusing on the bathroom door, while Yan Junze¡¯s attention was on the Eight Fine Horses Painting on the wall behind the sofa.


    Of course, through their peripheral vision, they could all still roughly make out the position of Resentful Granny, but no one was directly looking at her.


    ¡°Who has seen my comb?¡±


    The old woman didn¡¯t go far but murmured softly as she moved, with the rustling sound of her clothes.


    A few seconds later, she stopped behind Yan Junze.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt as if his heart had stopped beating, and he held his breath, not daring to breathe at all.


    Resentful Granny bent over, sniffed a few times close to Yan Junze¡¯s back, and stretched out her nearly skin-and-bones fingers to lightly slide across his back.


    Yan Junze felt as though his scalp was about to burst, he clenched his teeth tightly, feeling a cold mass slowly skid down from his neck, like a worm crawling, not stopping until it reached his waist.


    After that cold sensation disappeared, Resentful Granny withdrew her hand and walked to the other side.


    Only then did Yan Junze take several deep breaths, releasing the breath he had been holding.


    During all this, the Hidden Buckle that Huang Chen was holding in both hands was subtly pointed in that direction, ready to launch should anything unusual occur.


    In Lv Jiayan¡¯s eyes, her grandmother¡¯s figure was lingering around, showing no intention of leaving the living room to search other rooms for the comb.


    Her face pale with fright, her teeth began to chatter. Bowing her head, her eyes affixed firmly to the ground beneath, she dared not move.


    Suddenly, a waxen, withered cheek appeared abruptly below Lv Jiayan, meeting her downcast gaze.


    ¡°Have you seen my comb?¡±


    Resentful Granny, bending over, filled Lv Jiayan¡¯s entire field of vision with her wrinkled face. Caught off guard, she quivered, her mouth opening as if about to scream.


    But at the same moment, the startled girl remembered Huang Chen¡¯s instruction not to speak; making a noise was surely out of the question.


    She quickly stuffed the hand, which she was holding with Huang Chen¡¯s, into her mouth and bit down hard.


    In her hurriedness, she put her mouth on the wrong hand and ended up biting Huang Chen¡¯s fleshy hand instead.


    Huang Chen almost let out a yelp, holding his breath sharply, his face instantly turning the color of a monkey¡¯s bottom, his eyes nearly bulging out, but he managed to make no sound.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but give a thumbs up, thoroughly impressed.


    Exorcists are indeed formidable, he thought¡ªtheir endurance, their breath control¡ªthey were leagues ahead of him!

 Chapter 65 - 65 - 64 Evil Spirit-eating (3)

    Chapter 65 ¨C 64 Evil Spirit-eating (3)


    Although the young girl was clever, Lv Jiayan managed to bite Huang Chen¡¯s hand just as she was about to scream, but Resentful Granny¡¯s face did not move away.


    She stood beside Lv Jiayan, her already hunched back now bent to an unbelievable angle.


    This waxen, shriveled face, still aimed straight at Lv Jiayan, with pupils covered in a gray film, unblinking as they stared right into Lv Jiayan¡¯s eyes.


    Lv Jiayan quickly lifted her head, looking directly at Lv Xin seated opposite her, and noticed that at some point, Lv Xin had also looked up, meeting her gaze.


    Lv Xin¡¯s expression was calm, his eyes particularly deep at that moment, staring steadily at Lv Jiayan without any intention of looking away.


    Suddenly, Lv Jiayan felt uncomfortable all over. Staring into Lv Xin¡¯s eyes, she felt an inexplicable strangeness, making it impossible to continue looking directly at him.


    She shifted her gaze to Yan Junze.


    ...


    He too was looking at her.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze was very aware that Resentful Granny seemed to have set her sights on Lv Jiayan.


    Evil Spirit-eating? Evil Spirit-eating?


    With Resentful Granny¡¯s ability, it would only take her minutes to kill Lv Jiayan. But until now, he hadn¡¯t spotted the dead Lv Qiang and Wang Qin anywhere.


    If these two didn¡¯t appear soon, he had serious doubts that Huang Chen¡¯s Hidden Buckles would be anywhere near enough to even fill Resentful Granny¡¯s gaps between her teeth.


    Just then, Resentful Granny straightened her bent back and took small, shuffling steps away from Lv Jiayan, heading in Lv Xin¡¯s direction, standing behind him.


    Lv Jiayan let out a sigh of relief, her body swaying. Having been taut with nerves until that moment, she relaxed a little, and her breath became lighter, vision darkening¡ªshe nearly fainted.


    Huang Chen quickly steadied her.


    Knowing that Resentful Granny was standing behind him, Lv Xin remained motionless, his gaze fixed on what was in front of him, the hairs on his back standing on end and a cold chill running down his spine.


    Thud, two dry arms reached from behind and rested on Lv Xin¡¯s shoulders.


    Lv Xin shivered slightly, feeling his forehead suddenly become damp, as if some liquid was there.


    From Huang Chen¡¯s and Lv Jiayan¡¯s perspective, they saw Resentful Granny¡¯s sharp tongue licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, one lick after another.


    Time seemed to freeze.


    After a brief silence, Lv Xin shivered violently and couldn¡¯t help but jump up, releasing his grip on Yan Junze and Lv Jiayan¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Almost at the same moment, Huang Chen¡¯s two ¡°Sweepers¡± shot out, hitting Resentful Granny¡¯s body.


    When the Hidden Buckles exploded, a white light flashed, momentarily illuminating the dim living room with a blinding whiteness.


    If it were a common Wandering Spirit, two ¡°Sweepers¡± would have been enough to obliterate it, but Resentful Granny was a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, and the two ¡°Sweepers¡± only made her take a few steps back.


    ¡°Break out, get out of here!¡±


    Huang Chen shouted loudly as he threw another ¡°Collapse¡± Hidden Buckle.


    The energy ripple from this throw pushed Resentful Granny back two or three meters, up against the living room¡¯s corner.


    Yan Junze was the first to rush to the living room door and opened it, revealing the sky outside that was nearing dusk and a bit yellowish.


    Lv Jiayan and Lv Xin followed closely behind.


    However, as the two scrambled to escape, Lv Xin unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Lv Jiayan¡¯s hoodie, dashing in front himself¡ªwith a backward tug, the small frame of Lv Jiayan was spun around and she tumbled to the ground.


    Time waits for no one. Unable to stand, Lv Jiayan rolled and crawled into the nearest master bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    Originally in the lead, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, allowing Lv Xin to rush past him, out of the house.


    ¡°This silly girl!¡±


    Huang Chen cursed as he ran to the master bedroom, pushed the door open, and charged in.


    The next second, Resentful Granny, who had been pushed away not far, followed to the door of the master bedroom.


    But she didn¡¯t immediately enter, instead, she turned her head to glance at Yan Junze, who had come back.


    The sharp tongue licked the lip, tiptoing to push open the bedroom door and walked in.


    Yan Junze was very clear that once she entered the bedroom, the person inside was more likely doomed than not.


    Just now, the situation was extremely sudden, a series of mistakes led to Lv Jiayan having no chance to escape the room.


    However, if he encountered this again, as long as he avoided it beforehand, this kind of situation definitely wouldn¡¯t happen.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, Yan Junze found himself sitting back in the chair.


    Turning his head, he saw the Resentful Granny stretching out her sharp, long tongue, licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead.


    He knew that in the next second, this guy would leap up and then rush outside without care, dragging Lv Jiayan along in the process, who would then run into the master bedroom, trapping herself within.


    Therefore, Yan Junze let go of Lv Xin¡¯s hand a step ahead, and at the moment when Lv Xin couldn¡¯t bear it and jumped up, he grabbed Lv Jiayan¡¯s arm first.


    Huang Chen¡¯s face changed dramatically as he threw out the Hidden Buckle.


    A loud bang went off, and white light flared.


    As Yan Junze was about to rush toward the direction of the living room door, with Lv Jiayan in tow, a strong force suddenly yanked him from behind, pulling both him and Lv Jiayan back two or three steps.


    For a moment, Yan Junze even had the illusion that it was Zhou Dali exerting force behind him ¨C only to see clearly who was pulling him after he had staggered back.


    The next second, Lv Xin¡¯s figure overtook the two of them and rushed forward, reaching the door, turned the living room door handle, and was the first to dash out into the corridor. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had not expected that this cowardly fellow would snatch the opportunity first!


    ¡°Fuck, rewind!¡±


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t look sideways at the scene of Lv Xin being licked but immediately shook off the hand holding him, and before Lv Xin had jumped or Huang Chen had thrown the Hidden Buckle, he grabbed Lv Jiayan ahead of time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Just as he was about to take a step, Yan Junze¡¯s body suddenly came to a violent halt, solidly frozen in place.


    The clothes behind him were clutched, grabbed by Lv Xin who was still sitting on the chair, with a force so great that his own momentum couldn¡¯t dislodge it!


    Rewind!


    ¡°There¡¯s a problem.¡± Yan Junze sat back down on the chair again, turning his head to stare at Lv Xin who was being licked into despair, ¡°This guy definitely has a problem.¡±


    After two consecutive rewinds, the final outcome was that no matter how early he acted, Lv Xin would pull him back, and then he himself would always be the first to escape.


    Moreover, this guy¡¯s strength was frighteningly great. Yan Junze believed that even if Zhou Dali were here, he would be held back by Lv Xin just the same and unable to leave.


    So this time, he didn¡¯t plan to flee with Lv Jiayan anymore. Instead, when the Resentful Granny was licking Lv Xin and he was about to burst the next second, Yan Junze released Huang Chen¡¯s left hand, swinging a punch straight to Lv Xin¡¯s left cheek.


    He gave it his all in that punch.


    Lv Xin¡¯s attention was entirely on his forehead and couldn¡¯t dodge. After the punch, his cheek swelled up sharply.


    Right at that moment, something bizarre occurred.


    The Resentful Granny, who had been standing behind licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, straddled her legs, and directly mounted Lv Xin¡¯s shoulders, wrapping her arms around his head.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t jump up anymore but just stood there dumbly, emitting a deep roar from his throat, his eyes becoming dull and lifeless as if his consciousness was no longer under control.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two ¡°Sweepers¡± shot out from Huang Chen¡¯s hands, striking both Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny.


    Huang Chen shouted at the same time, ¡°Run, he has been spirit-split!¡±


    Spirit-splitting?


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    Rewind!

 Chapter 66 - 66 - 65 Evil Spirit-eating (4)

    Chapter 66 ¨C 65 Evil Spirit-eating (4)


    This time, Junze didn¡¯t choose to rewind to the moment when Resentful Granny licked Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, but to shortly after the four of them had just sat down, holding hands.


    Now, to Yan Junze, the incident of Lv Xin getting his forehead licked by Resentful Granny seemed a bit like a show and a diversion of everyone¡¯s attention.


    The ¡°Spirit-Splitting¡± Huang Chen talked about earlier must be similar to being possessed by strangenesses, just that the targets of Spirit-Splitting don¡¯t seem to realize their own changes.


    Or perhaps the symptoms they show are just sudden occurrences, and at other times they still consider themselves to be normal people.


    As for when Lv Xin became victim to Spirit-Splitting, that remains unknown.


    Yan Junze had a bold conjecture that the first time he met Lv Xin, when the guy insisted on going to room 503, might have been the very moment he got Spirit-Split by Resentful Granny.


    If Junze went back to the moment when Lv Xin got his forehead licked, that point in time was already too pressing to reverse, which is why he chose to set the rewind time a bit earlier.


    ...


    When he decided to take on the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task, he had set the rewind time to 90 minutes.


    There was no choice; knowing that Resentful Granny was dangerous, having more time to rewind allowed for ease of operation even if there were a few more rewinds, offering more choices.


    Earlier, Huang Chen had said that they must prevent Resentful Granny from ¡°interfering,¡± but now it seemed that after realizing Lv Xin was Spirit-Split, those present had already been interfered with.


    Yan Junze let go of Huang Chen and Lv Xin¡¯s hands, and stood up under the puzzled gazes of the others.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Huang Chen said, ¡°Come over here, we need to form a circle.¡±


    Just then, faint footsteps arose outside in the corridor, one could imagine Resentful Granny tiptoeing closer to room 503.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders, stood in the living room, looked around and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold hands anymore, we¡¯ve already been interfered with.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Huang Chen stood up.


    Everyone¡¯s faces were etched with surprise.


    Yan Junze offered no explanation, instead he glanced at the other doors that Lv Xin had closed, his mind rapidly calculating.


    So far, for some unknown reason, the spirits of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t shown up, and therefore the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task couldn¡¯t possibly be carried out.


    It was essential to find the critical point of the task, and not rely on Huang Chen and his Hidden Buckles.


    The footsteps in the corridor ceased.


    Yan Junze knew that before long, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice would ring out inside the master bedroom.


    ¡°The bedroom?¡±


    He seemed to have thought of something, walked to the doorway of another smaller bedroom, reached for the doorknob and gently turned it.


    Opening the door, he surveyed the room by the dim light streaming in through the window.


    A bed, a wardrobe, that¡¯s all.


    This smaller bedroom was much smaller in size compared to the master bedroom.


    Not feeling reassured, Yan Junze walked in, lay down on the floor, and looked under the bed.


    Nothing there.


    He then walked out and closed the door to the small bedroom.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    Just as he was about to enter the master bedroom, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came from inside: ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    Huang Chen and the others jerked in shock, Lv Jiayan grabbed Huang Chen¡¯s arm tightly, her body couldn¡¯t help but tremble, Lv Xin also unconsciously hid behind Huang Chen, feeling a chill in his heart, his gaze warily fixed on the door of the master bedroom.


    ¡°Already interfered with? And she¡¯s already come in.¡±


    At that moment, Huang Chen felt he had no reason not to believe Yan Junze¡¯s words. Where had he been negligent?


    He glanced sideways at Yan Junze, who had reached the doorway of the master bedroom, and cautioned, ¡°Don¡¯t go in there, let¡¯s leave this place.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave,¡± Junze said.


    Yan Junze turned his head, not looking at Huang Chen, but instead, glanced at Lv Xin, whose face showed fear.


    ¡°He¡­¡± Yan Junze raised his hand and pointed at Lv Xin, ¡°has already been spirit-split by Granny Ren.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Huang Chen was stunned for a moment and looked at Lv Xin, his eyes instantly filling with wariness.


    Because he had personally experienced Granny Ren¡¯s stealthy interference, Huang Chen was being extremely cautious with everything after facing her again.


    And since he hadn¡¯t said anything, Yan Junze, as an ordinary person, shouldn¡¯t have known about the so-called ¡°spirit-splitting.¡±


    If he could say it out loud in this circumstance, the credibility was at least seventy percent.


    ¡°Use your hidden buckle, throw one at him and you¡¯ll know,¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    After speaking, he decided not to enter the master bedroom anymore.


    Because the Resentful Granny had already sneaked in, Lv Qiang and Wang Qin couldn¡¯t possibly be hiding there.


    Standing at the door, he held the handle of the master bedroom without turning it but backed away instead.


    At this moment, the Resentful Granny¡¯s hoarse, nauseating voice continued to scream in pain.


    Before long, she would come to the back of the master bedroom door and scratch at the door panel with her nails. But as soon as she eventually opened the door, she certainly wouldn¡¯t disturb the hand-holding people like she did just now. Instead, upon realizing something was wrong, she would do something even more terrifying.


    Time was running out.


    ¡°Where are the souls of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin? Why haven¡¯t they appeared yet?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze swept around the entire room, then he moved towards the closed bathroom.


    Opening the door, the bathroom was terribly dim, and it was hard to see inside at a glance.


    He switched on the light casually, and his pupils contracted immediately. He saw a man and a woman crouching in the corner of the bathroom, covered in grey, trembling.


    By this moment, Yan Junze had a rough idea of why Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t appeared.


    Perhaps the Resentful Granny was too powerful, and for souls like theirs, newly created, they simply couldn¡¯t compete with her and were instinctively terrified.


    It was like how Ke¡¯er reacted when encountering the Back-faced Woman, running faster than rabbits. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And now, though Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t run away, they just crouched in the bathroom frightened, which was quite brave of them.


    After all, Yan Junze understood their thoughts very well; only by sacrificing themselves could they protect their daughter, Lv Jiayan¡¯s life at this moment.


    They must¡­ let the Resentful Granny devour the two of them, so even though they were terrified, the couple¡¯s souls didn¡¯t flee like Ke¡¯er did.


    ¡°Lv Qiang? Wang Qin?¡± Yan Junze called out.


    At this time, dull scratching noises could be heard from the direction of the master bedroom as the Resentful Granny clawed at the door.


    The two turned their heads, their faces also covered by a layer of grey gloom.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, this should be a sign of newly created souls, who hadn¡¯t fully transformed and entered the realm of a true evil spirit.


    However, he didn¡¯t understand why an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny would want to devour such new souls.


    Was it like a starving beggar suddenly seeing two delicious roast chickens?


    The two souls stood up, looking toward Yan Junze timidly and hesitantly.


    Yan Junze had never met Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, and upon hearing the scratching of the door panel, they were even more frightened, trembling as if they were about to run away at any moment.


    ¡°Your daughter, Lv Jiayan, is in great danger now. No one can stop Granny Ren, including that exorcist outside,¡± Yan Junze spoke very quickly.


    Bang!


    Just then, the sound of the hidden buckle exploding could be heard.

 Chapter 67 - 67 - 66 Evil Spirit-eating (5)

    Chapter 67 ¨C 66 Evil Spirit-eating (5)


    Standing at the bathroom doorway, Yan Junze turned his head for a look.


    By this moment, Huang Chen had already thrown a ¡°Sweeper¡± at Lv Xin.


    The cause was that, after listening to Yan Junze¡¯s advice, he deliberately slowed down while leading Lv Jiayan toward the living room entrance, but Lv Xin¡¯s face turned an iron blue instantly, and strange gurgling noises emerged from his mouth.


    However, before Lv Xin had the chance to stop them, he was already hit by Huang Chen¡¯s Hidden Buckle.


    Following a burst of white light, Lv Xin was knocked to the ground by the energy emitted from the ¡°Sweeper,¡± and a white humanoid gas emerged from directly above his head, seemingly being forcefully expelled by the energy of the ¡°Sweeper.¡±


    But this humanoid gas also appeared to be very powerful, stubborn and unwilling, firmly grasping onto Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    The scene fell into a stalemate.


    ...


    Creak¡­


    The door to the master bedroom flung open at this moment. Resentful Granny didn¡¯t walk out slowly; instead, she tip-toed and dashed extremely fast, not even glancing at Lv Xin, she charged straight at Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    As she sprinted, Resentful Granny¡¯s withered cheeks stretched open with her mouth, emitting a noise like the grinding of two hard metals. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Huang Chen threw out a ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± directly.


    Beneath Resentful Granny¡¯s feet, the Hidden Buckle exploded, a ring of energy ripples spread out, pushing her back.


    Huang Chen immediately opened the living room door and, grabbing Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand, ran out.


    But to those present, this escape seemed almost futile.


    Resentful Granny sustained no damage, just temporarily halted for a moment, and soon turned around to return, emitting a nauseating noise from her mouth. She leaped over Lv Xin, who was still struggling on the ground, and was about to follow them out.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Yan Junze yelled abruptly, one hand clutching L¨¹ Qiang, and the other holding Wang Qin, and with these two souls quivering like husks in a sieve, he forcefully dragged them out of the bathroom.


    Resentful Granny paused, stopped in her tracks, glanced back at Yan Junze, and then looked at the two freshly-emerged souls in his hand.


    In the meantime, Yan Junze even lifted the hand holding L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as if to say your roast chicken has arrived, if there¡¯s nothing else, then go ahead and eat it.


    But to his surprise, Resentful Granny outright chose to ignore it, with an expressionless face, she turned around and rushed out of room 503, straight after Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    ¡°Not eating?!¡± Yan Junze looked down at the two shivering souls, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is there something I haven¡¯t considered?¡±


    Rewind!


    Sitting back in the chair, the four of them joined hands, with the sound of hurried footsteps gradually approaching from outside the hallway.


    Apart from Yan Junze and Huang Chen, the other two showed faces full of terror.


    Yan Junze pondered for a while, then stood up from his seat and leaned over to whisper to Huang Chen, ¡°Mr. Huang Chen, do you know about strangenesses consuming strangenesses?¡±


    Huang Chen glanced sideways at him, his expression somewhat surprised, yet he still nodded, ¡°Yes. Newly formed souls are like an unstable magnetic field energy, easily absorbed by other strangenesses, thereby strengthening their own magnetic field energy.¡±


    Yan Junze looked astonished, ¡°You mean? If a strangeness consumes another newly-born strangeness, the strength of that strangeness can increase?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Huang Chen said, ¡°It depends on the absorption level of the first strangeness and the integration of the magnetic fields. Some magnetic fields have repulsion and might take some time to merge. Moreover, after merging, it is not certain to strengthen; sometimes it may actually reduce its strength.¡±


    ¡°I hope after Resentful Granny eats L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, it reduces your strength, the kind that plummets!¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Huang Chen asked.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Then how can we make this strangeness consume other strangenesses?¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Huang Chen began, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re asking this, and I¡¯ve never tried it¡­ My advisor used to say, if you feed the newly-born strangeness a candle, there¡¯s a chance it can attract other older strangenesses that can¡¯t help but eat it.¡±


    ¡°That works?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t tried it, but what my advisor says wouldn¡¯t be false.¡± Huang Chen nodded firmly.


    Yan Junze was still somewhat uneasy, ¡°Forgive my presumption, but what rank is your mentor?¡±


    ¡°Two stars,¡± Huang Chen answered.


    ¡°One star higher than you, that should be reliable,¡± Yan Junze nodded to himself, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t your mentor come today?¡±


    ¡°He did, but two days ago, Granny Ren killed him,¡± Huang Chen replied earnestly.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face turned green in an instant.


    At this moment, the two of them were no longer deliberately lowering their voices, so Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan heard their conversation.


    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to terms with this cruel reality, his hand sweating as he muttered to himself, ¡°There¡­ there should be candles in this house, right?¡±


    No matter how unreliable Huang Chen was, and no matter how unreliable his mentor was, as Huang Chen said, they were at this point and had to try to find out.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lv Xin said, ¡°When I was looking through grandmother¡¯s belongings, I saw several unlit red candles in the bedroom desk¡¯s cabinet.¡±


    ¡°Bedroom? Do you mean the master bedroom?¡± Yan Junze looked at him.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Lv Xin nodded.


    He listened attentively for a moment to the footsteps outside in the hall; they had already faded away.


    So in a short while, Resentful Granny would appear in the master bedroom and then hoarsely cry out the chilling ¡°pain.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste time with a Rewind, so he took this opportunity to go in and get the candles first.


    Deciding this, he shook off the hands of Huang Chen and Lv Xin, stood up amidst everyone¡¯s astonished gazes, and quickly walked towards the master bedroom.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Huang Chen panicked, ¡°Come back and hold onto us, why go to the master bedroom for candles now? What if there are strangenesses eating you there?!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t pay him any heed; he pushed the master bedroom door open and slipped inside.


    The door closed behind him, and he had no time to care, quickly scanning the room¡¯s furniture layout. The desk was under the window, not far from the large bed, roughly only two steps away.


    The blood-soaked bedding had long been replaced.


    Just to be cautious, Yan Junze looked around everywhere under the bed, in the corner of the wardrobe, under the desk, making sure that at this moment Resentful Granny had not yet appeared in the master bedroom.


    He immediately walked to the desk and opened the middle drawer, which contained some envelopes, notebooks, a few empty red packets for gifting, and several pens with dried ink.


    No candles.


    Crouching down, he opened the three smaller drawers on the right side of the desk one by one. The contents were messy, but it was nothing but waste paper and old newspapers.


    After removing all the things that blocked his view, Yan Junze carefully searched, but still no sign of red candles in the three drawers.


    At this moment, he began to wonder if Lv Xin was deceiving him.


    But he had no intention of running away, so he couldn¡¯t be triggering the fellow¡¯s Spirit-Splitting.


    If the right-hand drawers contained nothing, and there were three more drawers on the left, Yan Junze did not stand up. Still squatting, he moved to the left side, about to pull open the drawer.


    Suddenly, a click sounded in the master bedroom.


    He immediately turned his head to look around; the wardrobe was not open, and there was no one standing behind the door. A few clothes still hung on the wooden rack, with nobody hiding behind them.


    Resentful Granny¡¯s figure was nowhere to be seen.


    Although he saw nothing, Yan Junze¡¯s feeling of unease grew stronger, and goosebumps rapidly appeared on his arms.


    Just then, on the clean, neatly spread big bed, the quilt began to bulge slightly as if someone¡¯s body was forming underneath it, soon shaping into a human figure.


    ¡°Pain¡­¡± a hoarse voice followed.

 Chapter 68 - 68 - 67 Evil Spirit-eating (6)

    Chapter 68 ¨C 67 Evil Spirit-eating (6)


    ¡°`


    ¡°Damn, it came straight out from under the bed!¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze dared not even breathe heavily as he stared blankly at the quilt bulging into a curved human shape.


    From within the quilt, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came out intermittently, just like when that comb had pierced her heart, constantly venting the pain of her body and the bitterness of her heart.


    Fortunately, her entire form was still covered by the quilt, and she hadn¡¯t flipped it open.


    Yan Junze slowly turned and pulled open the first drawer on the left side of his desk, being extremely cautious as he did so.


    He slowed his breathing, one hand pulling the drawer while the other applied strength, trying to lift the drawer slightly to avoid making noise as it came out.


    ...


    It went smoothly, and the drawer was pulled out without making any sound.


    Inside were several yellowed wall calendars, probably from four or five years ago, some of the pages already worn out.


    Yan Junze very carefully closed the drawer because otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to open the second one.


    Turning his head to look, Resentful Granny was still curled up under the quilt, her hoarse voice continuing to emit intermittently.


    She hadn¡¯t been disturbed.


    Yan Junze let out a slight sigh of relief, turned his head back, and repeated the maneuver to open the second drawer.


    Luck was with him, as the moment the drawer opened, he saw a pack of red candles.


    These candles were not slender, but the ordinary thickness used for illumination when the power went out at home.


    Upon a cursory glance, there were about seven or eight left. Would that be enough for L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin to consume?


    Yan Junze gently grasped them, but the transparent plastic bag wrapping the candles inadvertently made a sound, and he instantly felt his heart rise to his throat.


    He stood still, holding the bag, not daring to move.


    After waiting a moment and being sure there was no sound, he slowly withdrew the hand holding the candle bag.


    Wait a second, no sound?!


    The voice of Resentful Granny crying out in pain seemed to have stopped long ago.


    Only then did Yan Junze suddenly realize, and he quickly turned his head.


    He saw that a corner of the quilt on the bed had been flipped open, and Resentful Granny¡¯s dry, waxen head was sticking out, staring unblinkingly at his back, silently watching with no expression.


    Yan Junze¡¯s head buzzed, and he felt instantly numb in his hands and feet.


    He clenched the plastic bag of candles tightly and, despite his legs going numb, used his arm to prop himself up against the edge of the desk and stood up.


    Throughout this process, Resentful Granny¡¯s gaze shifted slightly upwards to follow him, still watching him silently and intently.


    The terrifying gaze was like a sharp knife piercing through Yan Junze¡¯s body, the cool blade clinging to his skin, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.


    Under Resentful Granny¡¯s gaze, Yan Junze turned with difficulty and was about to take a step to leave the place.


    ¡°My¡­ comb?¡± Resentful Granny suddenly said.


    Yan Junze dared not move anymore and looked up at her, then squeezed out the most awkward smile of his life, ¡°Granny Ren, don¡¯t you remember me? I was the one who pulled the comb out of your chest for you! And remember, I combed your hair, too!¡±


    Resentful Granny sat up from the bed, her expression blank, still staring at Yan Junze, ¡°Where is my comb?¡±


    ¡°That comb should be with the safety officer. I was the one who called him for you, and I notified Yu Xiaochang, your favorite grandson, to come to see you. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    As Yan Junze spoke, he moved, gradually getting closer to the bedroom door.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    There was no other way; speaking kindly was the best choice now, considering he had never offended Granny Ren before¡ªin fact, he had even helped her.


    Although the old woman had become more terrifying now, there was no reason for her not to remember past kindness!


    As expected, Resentful Granny didn¡¯t ask about the comb anymore. She just sat on the bed, her gaze following Yan Junze as he moved.


    When he reached the bedroom door, Yan Junze grabbed the doorknob, turned his head, squeezed out the second ugliest smile of his life for Resentful Granny, then twisted the door open and slipped out.


    This suggested that even if the Evil Spirit had become more terrifying, it still held onto old attachments.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think that what he was about to do next would make Resentful Granny spare him because of any sentimental old ties.


    It was even possible that at any second, the old woman would regret why she hadn¡¯t just attacked him directly in the bedroom moments before.


    In the living room, Huang Chen and the other two were holding hands, seated properly on one side of the sofa, still in their defensive stance against intrusion.


    After Yan Junze left the bedroom, Huang Chen didn¡¯t speak but watched him vigilantly.


    The voice of Resentful Granny had come from the bedroom just before, and everyone had heard it. Since Yan Junze was inside at that moment, Huang Chen had every reason to believe that Yan Junze might have been possessed by Resentful Granny¡¯s Spirit-Splitting.


    At this moment, nobody dared to believe that the person before them was still Yan Junze himself.


    But Yan Junze ignored them and briskly crossed the living room, heading toward the closed bathroom door. He twisted the knob, walked in holding the plastic bag containing the candles.


    Behind him, the master bedroom door wasn¡¯t closed, and soon after, the sound of tiptoeing footsteps followed.


    Huang Chen and the others shifted their gaze and saw Resentful Granny appear at the bedroom doorway.


    He immediately lowered his voice, saying to L¨¹ Xin and L¨¹ Jiayan, ¡°Don¡¯t look at her! Don¡¯t talk to her!¡±


    In the bathroom.


    Yan Junze immediately spotted L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, crouching in the corner, shivering with fear.


    This time he didn¡¯t shout but instead went straight up to them, gripped their eerily cold shoulders, and handed over the bag of candles, ¡°If you want to save your daughter, eat them now.¡±


    L¨¹ Qiang was startled for a moment, but upon seeing the candles, his tongue seemed to stretch out instinctively. As a newly born strangeness, he seemed to have no aversion to the idea of eating candles.


    ¡°Eat quickly.¡±


    Yan Junze dropped the candles, returned to the bathroom doorway, and peered out into the living room.


    He noticed that Resentful Granny had already moved next to the sofa, exactly as before the Rewind, bending her waist at an implausible angle, tilting her head as she made eye contact with the bowed-head L¨¹ Jiayan.


    The latter, trembling with fear, had her eyes tightly shut.


    ¡°It might be too late.¡±


    Yan Junze immediately went back, pulled up L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin who were eating the candles.


    As strangenesses, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin were almost weightless, which made it easy for him to drag the couple out of the bathroom and into the living room.


    At that moment, L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth was stuffed full with blood-red candles, as if starved, chewing carelessly. Wang Qin, though eating more gracefully, had also consumed one and a half candles already.


    Hearing the commotion, Huang Chen looked over in surprise, and L¨¹ Xin turned his head as well.


    L¨¹ Jiayan, who had kept her eyes shut, opened them in this moment, her gaze following suit. She was shaken, almost letting go of Huang Chen and L¨¹ Xin¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Dad! Mom!¡±


    A cry escaped her lips, and L¨¹ Jiayan felt as if she had fallen into a dream. She saw her parents come back to life, squatting in front of her, eating something.


    Then she noticed what her parents were eating¡­ it was candles. They were swallowing mouthfuls, lips smeared with red wax, a desperate picture of voracious hunger.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 69 - 69 - 68 Evil Spirit-eating (7)

    Chapter 69 ¨C 68 Evil Spirit-eating (7)


    Lv Jiayan¡¯s scream at this moment enraged the Resentful Granny.


    Her bent back suddenly straightened, and the Resentful Granny also looked over. Upon seeing L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin eating the candle, she hesitated for a moment. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But she immediately turned her head back, looking at the agitated Lv Jiayan, who was about to cry.


    This was simply the best opportunity to intervene.


    The Resentful Granny stretched out her withered arm, reaching for Lv Jiayan¡¯s face.


    ¡°Resentful Granny, they¡¯re eating the candle, look, hey, it smells so good!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s voice came through.


    ...


    Huang Chen was about to throw the Hidden Buckle and flee with Lv Jiayan at that moment.


    But the Resentful Granny¡¯s movements suddenly stiffened, her arm remaining outstretched as she twisted her head back again to look in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    The gaze emanating from her gray pupils paused silently on L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, who were eagerly engulfing the candle.


    Seeing this, Huang Chen finally understood. No wonder Yan Junze was looking for candles; he knew about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin in the restroom and deliberately found candles for them to eat, hence attracting Granny Ren¡¯s attention.


    However¡­ how did this kid know about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin here? Despite being a qualified one-star exorcist, he himself was unaware of it.


    At that moment, the Resentful Granny shook her head, turning back again, issuing a dull clucking sound from her mouth, accompanied by a strange, metal-like friction noise, as she once again redirected her focus to Lv Jiayan.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tempt her!¡±


    Yan Junze, his heart hardening, carried L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin directly behind the Resentful Granny and threw them at her feet.


    At this time, the two strangenesses¡¯ candle-eating movements clearly began to slow, their bodies trembling incessantly, the immense pressure from the Resentful Granny making it impossible for them to continue feeding normally.


    ¡°Hmm, newly born evils feeding on candles, come take a look, what a beautiful scene!¡±


    Yan Junze took two steps backward, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if admiring a beautiful painting.


    Once again, the Resentful Granny stopped her motion toward Lv Jiayan, turned her head back, and slightly lowered it to look at the couple at her feet, slowly chewing on the candles.


    The friction noise from her throat was no longer muffled but became increasingly sharp and piercing.


    Her mouth opened slightly, and a voice as if coming directly from her throat uttered: ¡°Scram¡­¡±


    Just after uttering this word, as the Resentful Granny was about to turn her head back, L¨¹ Qiang, who was feeding on the candle, suddenly reached out and clutched her left foot.


    ¡°Mom!¡± L¨¹ Qiang, his mouth stuffed with red candlewax that was dribbling down the corners of his mouth, mumbled unclearly, ¡°I¡­ was wrong, don¡¯t, she is still¡­ a child¡­¡±


    ¡°Mom!¡± Wang Qin also, with one hand clutching the remaining half of the candle and the other hand holding the Resentful Granny¡¯s right foot, said, ¡°Spare her¡­¡±


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s sallow face first froze in shock and then a hint of anger flashed across her always expressionless face as she stared down at L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Afterward, she slowly extended her index finger, pointing at her son lying at her feet, seeming to carry all the grievances and unwillingness within her, and from her throat, she again spat out two words, gritting her teeth.


    ¡°Beast¡­¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    Wang Qin was about to speak again when L¨¹ Qiang cried out hoarsely, his voice strained, ¡°I was wrong, Mom! I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s happening?¡±


    Yan Junze detected an undertone in their words and couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment.


    Huang Chen was also taken aback, shifting his attention from the Resentful Granny and looking down at L¨¹ Qiang, who was sprawled on the ground.


    ¡°You just need to¡­ give me some money, and I¡¯ll leave, but you refuse! Why¡­ won¡¯t you give it to me? I, your son, am¡­ in a tight spot!¡± L¨¹ Qiang cried out, ¡°I was drinking, and that comb¡­


    I didn¡¯t mean it, sorry¡­ Mom, I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s face was almost contorted at this moment; her gray, flower-like hair stood on end, and the strangeness around her intensified invisibly several times over, blowing the clothes of those present, making them flutter noisily.


    ¡°Such a strong weird magnetic field!¡±


    At this moment, not just Huang Chen, but even Yan Junze, who had become involved in this halfway, could tell that something was amiss. The Resentful Granny before them, at this moment, seemed to be filled with even more resentment, and her terrifying strength was continuously increasing.


    Under this intense pressure, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin couldn¡¯t speak anymore and even their hands, which had been clutching the Resentful Granny, involuntarily let go, curling up to the side.


    The Resentful Granny turned her head again, facing Lu Jiayan, who was shivering violently.


    ¡°Continue¡­ eating the candles,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice rose.


    L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin came to their senses, exchanged a glance of strangeness, and once again clutched the Resentful Granny¡¯s legs, stuffing the candles into their mouths frantically, chewing non-stop.


    The Resentful Granny twisted her head again, but this time it was to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze stepped back involuntarily.


    Under a kind of instinctive allure, the Resentful Granny lowered her head again, her gaze falling on the couple as they consumed the candles.


    Just then, she seemed to swallow a mouthful of saliva.


    Yan Junze stepped further back, his voice instructing, ¡°Look up at her, watch her eat.¡±


    The couple, despite the terror in their hearts, lifted their heads, facing the Resentful Granny, letting her clearly see the entire process of their eating the candles.


    Seeing this scene, an innate craving grew uncontrollably in the heart of the Resentful Granny, the frictional sounds from her throat becoming increasingly intense.


    Suddenly, unable to contain herself any longer, the Resentful Granny bent over and grabbed L¨¹ Qiang by the shoulder.


    L¨¹ Qiang trembled in fright, and without control, he started to levitate; the Resentful Granny¡¯s expression clearly struggling and resisting something.


    But the next second, the old woman opened her mouth anyway.


    Her mouth was like a dried-up old well, pitch-black and profoundly deep.


    ¡°Lu Jiayan, close your eyes!¡± Huang Chen said.


    Lu Jiayan, who had already been terrified out of her wits, immediately closed her eyes, but as she did, tears she had been holding back finally fell from her eyes.


    A spine-chilling crackling sound ensued, causing goosebumps to rise all over one¡¯s body.


    Lu Jiayan felt she was on the verge of collapse, everything around her seemed so unreal, more illusory than a dream, all falsehoods.


    The crackling sound briefly paused.


    About two seconds later, the agonized screams of Wang Qin could be heard. Lu Jiayan couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and fainted on the couch.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, the entire process wasn¡¯t bloody since L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin had already become strangenesses. They were like products of a weird magnetic field, devoid of real bodies. In the mouth of the Resentful Granny, they seemed to disintegrate, their body parts becoming mosaic-like, pieces of them being devoured.


    At first, the Resentful Granny clearly struggled and resisted, but now she was quickening the pace of the spirit-eating, an uncontrollable sense of satisfaction showing in her expression.


    Of course, the influence of the candles played a certain role in this consumption.

 Chapter 70 - 70 - 69 Evil Spirit-eating (8)

    Chapter 70 ¨C 69 Evil Spirit-eating (8)


    As Resentful Granny devoured faster and faster, it took her only half the time to consume Wang Qin¡¯s strangeness compared to L¨¹ Qiang.


    And not only did she eat the two strangenesses, but she also swallowed the candles they were eating.


    The red residue at the corner of her mouth came from the candles, not the blood of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as the two of them had no blood to shed.


    All those present, except for Lv Jiayan, who had already passed out, watched with wide eyes as Resentful Granny ate Lv Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Having consumed the strangenesses, Resentful Granny had an expression of comfort on her face, smacking her lips; however, her brows soon furrowed.


    After her instinctual desires were satisfied, the old woman finally came to her senses.


    She had eaten a spirit!


    ...


    Quickly she sensed the magnetic field of the strangeness absorbing and repelling, beginning to violently evolve. Resentful Granny opened her mouth wide, her gaze turning toward Yan Junze not far away.


    The latter stood there honestly, his eyes glancing at Resentful Granny from time to time, then focusing on the ground beneath his feet, seemingly shy, embarrassed, and at a loss.


    ¡°Oh no, almost forgot¡ªthe water¡¯s still boiling on the gas stove at home! If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll first¡­¡±


    Before Yan Junze could finish speaking, he saw Resentful Granny let out an ¡°ah¡± and charge towards him.


    Bang!


    Huang Chen, despite his unreliability, knew at this moment that Resentful Granny¡¯s period of weakness had come, knowing that once she ate a strangeness, no matter how powerful she was, she had to go through a process of absorption and repulsion.


    So, without hesitation, he immediately threw out his only ¡°High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle.¡±


    As it turned out, although he acted in time, his behavior was still unreliable.


    Though the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle hit Resentful Granny directly, the energy blast it produced was so immense that it still sent everyone else in the room flying.


    Even the coffee table was blown away to the bathroom door, while Yan Junze was thrown against the window, privately relieved that he hadn¡¯t opened it.


    Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan were flipped behind the sofa.


    As for Lv Xin, after being knocked to the ground, he slid several meters away, and the spirit-split within him was blasted out; a white humanoid gas screamed in terror as it flew out through the gap in the window.


    As for Resentful Granny, during her moment of weakness, after being hit by the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, she could no longer resist the energy blast from the Collapsing as easily as before, and her figure rapidly faded and disappeared from sight. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Huang Chen got up from behind the sofa, looked around cautiously, and patted his chest in relief, ¡°Granny Ren ran away, after eating the strangeness, she won¡¯t be able to appear for at least two or three days.¡±


    Smack!


    Yan Junze slid down from the window, straightened himself up, and started to tidy his disheveled clothes and hair.


    Lu Xin lay on the ground moaning, temporarily unable to get up.


    After Huang Chen helped Lv Jiayan back to the sofa and helped Lv Xin to sit up, he then asked Yan Junze, ¡°How did you know Lu Qiang and Wang Qin were in the bathroom? How did you come up with the idea to let Granny Ren eat a spirit? You seem to know everything!¡±


    Yan Junze just chuckled, ¡°Mr. Huang Chen, have you ever heard of people with extraordinary talents? I think¡­ I might be one of them.¡±


    Huang Chen said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a talent like yours before, if that¡¯s really the case, maybe we can do an exorcist test one day.¡±


    Yan Junze was instantly embarrassed.


    Just then, a flurry of footsteps came from the corridor, and several people rushed through the hallway into Room 503.


    Upon seeing the mess in Room 503, everyone was stunned.


    These were Yu Xiaochang and his family of three, who had hurried over with Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai.


    ¡°Eh, Xiaochang, long time no see!¡± Yan Junze waved at a burly-looking youngster.


    ¡°Hello, Uncle!¡± Yu Xiaochang responded obediently.


    Yan Junze¡¯s smile stiffened, and his face immediately turned from sunny to overcast.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Yang Depei, a two-star Exorcist, was the first to approach Huang Chen and ask.


    Huang Chen shook his head and glanced at Yan Junze, replying, ¡°Lv Jiayan just fainted, I¡¯ll explain later. Let¡¯s clean up here and head back first.¡±


    ¡°This person is¡­¡± Zhao Shuai pointed at Yan Junze and asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Mr. Huang Chen¡¯s friend, we met because of Teacher Zhang Tiantian¡¯s case,¡± Yan Junze answered with a smile, then turned to Huang Chen and asked, ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure if I can ask.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Huang Chen nodded.


    Yan Junze touched the back of his head: ¡°Could I¡­ apply for Exorcist personal protection?¡±


    At that moment, three messages from the Spacetime Atlas popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Evil Spirit-eating, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, received 900 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Friendly reminder: You have successfully attracted the hatred of Resentful Granny. The revenge will officially begin after 72 hours.]


    [Resentful Granny (Semi-Sculpting Spirit), Current Favorability: Hatred]


    Knowing his own limitations, Yan Junze was very clear that facing the fully evolved Resentful Granny, aside from Rewind, he couldn¡¯t think of any other effective method to confront this terrifying old woman.


    Therefore, his best choice right now would be to apply for an Exorcist to protect him if it were truly possible.


    Of course, this Exorcist couldn¡¯t be of Huang Chen¡¯s level, and definitely not the unreliable Huang Chen himself. The person protecting him had to be at least three-star or above.


    Because he had heard from Huang Chen before that one of his two-star Exorcist mentors had died at the hands of Resentful Granny. That meant that only an Exorcist of at least three-star level had a chance to contend with Resentful Granny, or else it was all just talk.


    However, Yan Junze was well aware that given his current status in the jianghu, why would a three-star Exorcist offer him 24-hour personal protection? It didn¡¯t really make sense.


    Under these circumstances, all he could do was ask and see. Whether the Exorcist team would send someone to protect him was another matter altogether.


    He didn¡¯t want to miss any chance, no matter how slim.


    As soon as he spoke, Huang Chen understood and looked at Yang Depei beside him, who obviously didn¡¯t know what was going on.


    Huang Chen nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll apply to the higher-ups as soon as I get back and give you an answer as quickly as possible.¡±


    The group quickly tidied up a bit inside the house, and Yan Junze left the building first.


    Lv Xin was in low spirits, the commotion caused by the High-Energy Collapse too great; aside from Yan Junze, no one knew what had happened to him.


    Lv Xin was assisted by Huang Chen and Zhao Shuai, and then Yu Tao carried the unconscious Lv Jiayan on his back. The group quickly left the scene.


    Huang Chen also visited the Bureau of Safety and Stability later on to report about Lv Qiang getting drunk and accidentally killing his mother, Granny Ren.


    This case could finally be closed.


    However, for Yan Junze, it was just the beginning.


    Not long after he returned home, his parents came back from work one after another.


    Yan Junze locked himself in his bedroom, pondering over how to face the most troublesome of the evil spirits he had encountered so far.


    Of course, having decided to complete this mission, he had already thought of two plans for the aftermath.

 Chapter 71 - 71 - 70 Countdown

    Chapter 71 ¨C 70 Countdown


    He went over everything that had just happened in his mind.


    Honestly, Yan Junze had not expected the murderer to be Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang.


    It seemed the guy¡¯s death wasn¡¯t unjustified; a pity for the other members of the Lv family, though.


    Although they were all not very kind to Granny Ren, their actions did not warrant death, yet now Resentful Granny had gone mad. As a so-called ¡°Semi-Sculpting Spirit¡± level Evil Spirit, she could no longer be judged by normal standards.


    This time, if the Exorcist team didn¡¯t send someone to protect him, one of Yan Junze¡¯s plans was to bring Yu Xiaochang to his side.


    But Resentful Granny might still go after Yu Xiaochang¡¯s family. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to move into the Yu family¡¯s house and stop attending classes, thus completely abandoning his previous life.


    Yan Junze laid his head on the desk, elbows propped on the edge, hands buried in his hair, rubbing unconsciously.


    ...


    His second plan was¡­


    Just as he reached this thought, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t need to look back; he knew Ke¡¯er was back.


    When Ke¡¯er saw Yan Junze lying on the desk rubbing his head, she thought he was washing his hair again, which was why she exclaimed in surprise.


    However, after seeing that he was just dry rubbing, her excitement dimmed, and she scurried across the floor to climb onto Yan Junze¡¯s back, clinging tightly to him.


    A chill seeped into his body from his back, calming the frustrated Yan Junze down gradually.


    The second plan was to use Ke¡¯er.


    This girl Ke¡¯er had a habit of disappearing now and then, and every time she ran faster than a rabbit before he could catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman¡ªwith no doubt, even more reliable than an Early Warning Bell.


    At the moment, Yan Junze could set a Rewind timeline of approximately 240 minutes, which is about 4 hours.


    If there was no Rewind during this period, no energy would be consumed, and he could set another Rewind after 4 hours.


    In other words, he could keep setting Rewinds without a break.


    As long as he was within the coverage range of the Rewind timeline, and Ke¡¯er on his back started to flee after sensing danger, he could Rewind to a moment before Ke¡¯er fled, avoiding emergencies in advance.


    Of course, Resentful Granny wouldn¡¯t be seeking revenge all the time, so Rewinds wouldn¡¯t be ongoing indefinitely, which meant there would definitely be room and time for Different Dimension Energy recovery.


    Right now, this seemed to be the most viable method. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Actually, upon further contemplation, it wasn¡¯t impossible for the Exorcists to send someone to protect him. Although he was just a high school senior with no special status, he had helped the Exorcists resolve their recent trouble.


    If Huang Chen proved reliable and applied to his superiors a few times, clarifying his conspicuous role and effective contributions in resolving the Resentful Granny issue, maybe they would send a high-level Exorcist to protect him, right?


    Sure, if Huang Chen turned out to be dependable.


    Smacking his head, a large amount of dust arose from the ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± earlier, which not only covered his clothes but also added a layer of gray to his freshly washed hair, now spreading all over his desk.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, time for a shower and to wash your hair. That ought to give you a good show!¡± Yan Junze temporarily set aside his concerns, ready to satisfy Ke¡¯er as much as he possibly could.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Ke¡¯er tilted her head, lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back, her dark fingers continuously playing with the nape of his neck.


    Then, ten minutes later, Yan Junze in the bathroom taking a shower, his naked self covered in soapy foam, suddenly received a message from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Ke¡¯er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Intimate]


    Yan Junze remembered that Ke¡¯er had initially held a ¡°Neutral¡± attitude towards him, but as they spent more time together, it seemed his habitual head-washing flair had charmed this little red-dressed fan.


    So, the favorability increased to ¡°friendly¡±.


    But now, it¡¯s obvious the favorability has risen again, and it has reached ¡°intimate¡±.


    Thinking about it, this might already be the limit of the evil spirit¡¯s favorability towards me, because after intimacy, it¡¯s not like we could physically commit to each other.


    During dinner, Yan Junze didn¡¯t mention anything about what happened today to avoid worrying his parents.


    As for the possibility of the Resentful Granny really coming in three days, and if there were no exorcist to protect him, he already had plans to move into the school dormitory.


    Currently, there aren¡¯t many students living on campus, and many dorm rooms are vacant, so applying for a dorm would be quick, and he could have a room all to himself, not disturbing anyone else.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything about it now, he intended to wait.


    Ke¡¯er, now in an intimate state with Yan Junze, was almost completely obedient to him. Normally, she would lay on top of him, but as soon as he spoke up, Ke¡¯er would slide off obediently and stand aside.


    Then she would quietly follow Yan Junze around.


    Yan Junze had tried this a few times, and it was very effective.


    The next day after class, Yan Junze made a call to Tang Zhengyi, the editor from the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform.


    Tang Zhengyi was somewhat surprised upon hearing that the filming for Spirit Exploration might need to be put on hold, ¡°Why delay?¡±


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t possibly tell him that he was being hunted by another extremely ferocious and malevolent strangeness, as the editor might come up with some even more exciting suggestions.


    For example, having Yan Junze wear a camera at all times for a live broadcast of a perfect chase by strangeness.


    ¡°Seems like I caught a cold, not feeling well, need a few days to rest and recuperate,¡± Yan Junze said.


    After a brief silence on the other end, Tang Zhengyi said, ¡°Then take some medicine and rest for a few days, let me know immediately once you recover from the cold. The equipment we invested in can¡¯t be left unused for too long.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Suddenly, he remembered that he had forgotten to film the task of consuming spirits, but then he thought that even if he had filmed it, it probably couldn¡¯t be uploaded online.


    After all, for many people, evil spirit-eating wouldn¡¯t be immediately acceptable, and broadcasting it might seem like a crazy pursuit of fame.


    At that time, it wouldn¡¯t just draw attention from the general public, but likely even the exorcist higher-ups in Great Capital Huaying would take notice, making it tremendously difficult to undertake other tasks in the future.


    ¡­


    The countdown to the college entrance examination was getting closer.


    In these days, students rarely talked about other things; the main topics were about studies and the universities they planned to apply to.


    Since his last conversation with Yan Junze on the rooftop, Zhou Dali put away his young heart, completely transforming himself, not only focusing on his cultural studies but also exercising in various ways on the school grounds every day.


    Of course, slogans like ¡°Great Capital has Dali, Dali creates miracles¡± never left his lips.


    After a day at school, Yan Junze suddenly found he had developed a bad habit of frequently checking the time.


    Almost every hour, he would check the time and then calculate in his mind how much was left of the 72 hours.


    That feeling was like setting a countdown to the end of his own world.


    The next day was also spent in this edgy and uneasy mood.


    By the evening of the second day, he planned to ¡°confess¡± to his parents, using the excuse of wanting to study more thoroughly with his classmates as a pretext to temporarily move into the school dormitory.

 Chapter 72 - 72 - 71 Zhang Xiaomo

    Chapter 72 ¨C 71 Zhang Xiaomo


    After dinner, the family sat on the sofa, watching TV.


    Yan Daguo specifically switched to the Tianmeng District education channel for his son.


    The time had come for the preliminary warming-up stage of college entrance examination applications, and education channels like this one featured introductions to various colleges, as well as experience and policy explanations for application submissions.


    Although the couple themselves couldn¡¯t make much sense of it, they thought their son might find it useful to refer to.


    Yan Daguo didn¡¯t say much, just stared blankly at the introductions to various colleges that seemed very foreign to him, occasionally offering his son completely clueless suggestions.


    Yan Junze was watching absentmindedly when, about half an hour later, he spoke up, ¡°Dad, Mom, I need to discuss something with you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what is it?¡± Yan Daguo picked up the remote and turned down the volume a bit.


    ...


    Li Man closed the browser on her phone, placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and focused on her son.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat, about to speak, when suddenly there was a polite knock at the door.


    This knock sounded very courteous, three times in succession, with each knock well-timed and rhythmically spaced, giving the impression that opening the door was a skilled task that required special training.


    All three people in the room were astonished.


    The distant relatives lived in the countryside and rarely came to visit, especially at night.


    Li Man got ready to answer the door, but Yan Junze beat her to it.


    However, just as he was about to get up, Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back, suddenly slipped off and scurried into the bathroom, almost crawling on hands and knees.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his first instinct was, could it be the Resentful Granny?


    But the Resentful Granny wasn¡¯t that polite, right? He had never heard of anyone knocking so courteously when coming for revenge.


    Moreover, it had been only two days since the Resentful Granny devoured a ghost. According to the Spacetime Atlas, she shouldn¡¯t manifest until after 72 hours.


    Still, as he opened the door, Yan Junze felt on guard.


    Unexpectedly, a woman stood outside, about one meter seventy tall, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt with a pink Peppa Pig printed on the front, and casual jeans with a rip at the knee, along with a pair of plain white sneakers. In her hand, she carried a portable travel bag.


    This woman looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, but Yan Junze¡¯s first impression was¡­ she must have the wrong door.


    Although Yan Junze had no memory of his predecessor, his subconscious was certain that this woman was not one of his relatives.


    ¡°Are you¡­ Yan Junze?¡± the woman asked first.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. May I ask who you are¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a three-star Exorcist from the Tianmeng Exorcist squad, Zhang Xiaomo.¡± The woman revealed a shallow smile, ¡°After Huang Chen reported to us, I was dispatched from above to temporarily protect you¡­ um, for a week.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an Exorcist?¡± Yan Junze opened the door wider, stepped back, and looked at the young girl in front of him with some surprise.


    ¡°Nobody said you had to dress like an Exorcist to be called one,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    By this time, Yan Daguo and Li Man, hearing the commotion, had already come to the living room door, moments from staring at Zhang Xiaomo, with even Li Man¡¯s eyes flashing a few times.


    ¡°Young lady, who are you looking for?¡± Li Man asked.


    ¡°Mom, this is the tutor I hired,¡± Yan Junze spoke up first.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment but then nodded with composure.


    ¡°Home tutoring?¡± The couple was surprised.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°I feel like there¡¯s still a lot lacking in my math, physics, and chemistry, and I¡¯m worried about losing points on the college entrance exam. Didn¡¯t I make some money from shooting that video last time? So, I¡¯ve temporarily hired Teacher Zhang to give me a crash course for a few days.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled without saying a word.


    ¡°Okay, if our son can find his own inadequacies, we can¡¯t be of much help either.¡± Yan Daguo said with a smile, ¡°How do you plan to review? Tutoring for two hours every night?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s like this, because I am¡­ an online tutor, just arrived from out of town, and I temporarily have nowhere to stay in Shuntian City. So, I¡¯m planning to find a quiet place to tutor Yan Junze exclusively for a week, during which he won¡¯t go to school or come home.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The couple was stunned.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, ¡°Dad, Mom, you can rest assured, I have no problem with other subjects, I¡¯m now focused on my weak points. I searched online for a long time, and Teacher Zhang has a very good reputation. As long as I review thoroughly this time, it¡¯s possible to score high. I feel¡­ Tianmeng Science University is already waving at me!¡±


    ¡°Teacher Zhang, please¡­ please come in! Sorry for making you stand outside for so long.¡± Yan Daguo finally reacted and invited Zhang Xiaomo into the house.


    Li Man pulled Yan Junze aside and asked softly, ¡°This¡­ home tutoring seems quite expensive!¡±


    ¡°Not expensive, not expensive at all, I have money, Mom, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Yan Junze gestured dismissively.


    Li Man didn¡¯t say anything else, turned around, and brought Zhang Xiaomo a pair of clean female slippers, while Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s travel bag.


    Zhang Xiaomo changed out of her pure white sneakers, squatted down, and meticulously placed her shoes neatly before she got up and walked into the living room.


    Yan Daguo said, ¡°I¡¯ll put your travel bag in the bedroom. So, you and Ze¡¯s mom can sleep in the master bedroom, and Ze and I¡­¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, interrupting him, ¡°I¡¯ll just make do on the sofa in the living room for tonight.¡±


    ¡°You sleep in my room tonight, I¡¯ll sleep in the living room,¡± Yan Junze offered. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The couple didn¡¯t say anything more. Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s travel bag to Yan Junze¡¯s bedroom, and when he came back, Li Man had already poured a cup of hot tea for Zhang Xiaomo.


    After sitting in the living room for a while, Yan Junze used the excuse that Zhang Xiaomo needed to understand his academic foundation, and the two went into the small bedroom.


    After they left, Li Man said to Yan Daguo, ¡°Don¡¯t let our son get deceived by someone. There are many scam home tutors online now.¡±


    Yan Daguo shook his head, ¡°Our son has grown up, and his studies aren¡¯t bad. Whether this tutor is competent or not, he knows better than us, don¡¯t worry!¡±


    Inside the bedroom.


    ¡°Home tutoring? You really came up with a good one.¡± Zhang Xiaomo laughed.


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Had to. I can¡¯t let Mom and Dad worry. By the way, you said we shouldn¡¯t go to school or come home for these seven days, so where should we go?¡±


    ¡°I only provide protection, you need to arrange the rest,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said as she opened her travel bag and began to unpack her belongings.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then made a phone call to Zhou Dali.


    A moment later, Zhou Dali returned the call.


    After a brief conversation and hanging up, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°A classmate of mine has a relative who runs a real estate agency, he¡¯s agreed to provide us with a temporary rental for the next few days, but it¡¯s in the suburbs.¡±


    ¡°The suburbs are just fine,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Although Granny Ren is only targeting you, we should try not to involve people close to you. Family and classmates are both off-limits.¡±

 Chapter 73 - 73 - 72 The Seal

    Chapter 73 ¨C 72 The Seal


    ¡°Where is the bathroom?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Yan Junze pointed to the room opposite the bedroom door outside.


    Zhang Xiaomo set down her travel bag, walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, turned on the light, and closed the door.


    Yan Junze suddenly startled, he then remembered that just a moment before, the ¡°Early Warning Bell¡± Ke¡¯er had sneaked in there, and his heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    Although this woman seemed harmless to both humans and animals, damn it, she was a three-star Exorcist! If she encountered Ke¡¯er inside, Ke¡¯er would definitely be in great danger!


    With this thought, he immediately followed her out and arrived at the bathroom door. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could only hate that he hadn¡¯t set a ¡°Rewind¡± properly before; otherwise, he could have gone straight back to tell Ke¡¯er to run away.


    ...


    After listening for a while, there didn¡¯t seem to be any strange noises, and then the bathroom door suddenly opened.


    At the bathroom entrance, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s gaze met Yan Junze¡¯s.


    Neither of them spoke.


    In this moment, Yan Junze knew from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm eyes that Ke¡¯er was not in the bathroom.


    It seemed that this little girl¡¯s ability to ¡°smell trouble and flee¡± had improved, which was good news for him.


    In the future, even if Zhang Xiaomo were to leave, if the Resentful Granny wanted to catch him off guard for revenge, she would have to consult with Ke¡¯er¡¯s little short legs for approval.


    Before going to sleep, Yan Junze was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when he heard Zhang Xiaomo and her mother Li Man whispering in the corridor outside.


    ¡°Auntie, how does Yan Junze usually behave?¡± This was the question from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°My son is very obedient, studies well, has good daily habits, goes to classes on time, completes his homework and review on time, and his recent test scores have improved a lot, without the need for us to push him¡­¡± Li Man immediately sang high praise for her son.


    Had Zhang Xiaomo not interrupted, she probably could have talked for half an hour.


    ¡°Does he have a girlfriend? Or maybe has a secret crush on a female classmate or something?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Li Man clearly paused for a moment, then shook her head.


    ¡°Does he have the habit of lurking in bathrooms, particularly¡­ the girls¡¯ bathroom?¡±


    Yan Junze, who was washing his face, froze.


    He suspected that after all the beating around the bush, this question from Zhang Xiaomo was the real point.


    Was it just because he had been afraid Ke¡¯er was in danger earlier and had listened at the bathroom door for a while that she had to be so suspicious?


    After listening for quite some time, there was no sound from Li Man¡¯s side, and he guessed she didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    Pretending he heard nothing, he finished washing up, used the toilet, and went back to his bedroom to grab his bedding. By then, Zhang Xiaomo had changed into a cute bear-patterned pink pajama set and was sitting on the bed organizing her things.


    In that moment, it felt like she was completely disconnected from her identity as an Exorcist.


    Yan Junze grabbed the bedding his mother had prepared for him and was about to leave when Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Tonight is just an exception. After we move to the rental tomorrow, for the next seven days, we must sleep in the same room.¡±


    As she spoke, she opened her travel bag, took out some clothes to organize, and then¡­ pulled out a short knife about one-third of a meter long with a blade that gleamed brightly.


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment and said, ¡°What¡¯s this? If I don¡¯t sleep in the same room as you, are you going to use that knife on me?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, ¡°This is a Three-Star Exorcist¡¯s weapon and as for us sharing a room, it¡¯s so I can protect you around the clock.¡±


    Yan Junze then noticed that the hilt of the short sword was inlaid with something very familiar. Upon closer inspection, he pointed at the short sword in surprise, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a Hidden Buckle.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Exorcists below Two-Star can¡¯t fully unleash the Hidden Buckle¡¯s power and can only use it in the most primitive way¡ªby throwing it. Actually, the Hidden Buckle¡¯s full power is only realized when it¡¯s embedded in a magnetic knife, but if one¡¯s physique isn¡¯t up to par, they can¡¯t control the magnetic knife, especially one embedded with a Hidden Buckle.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Yan Junze said as if he had an epiphany, ¡°Do all Exorcists have physiques close to strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they must have such a physique,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said as she placed the short sword under her pillow and covered it with the pillow. ¡°But only Exorcists of Three-Star or above can perform Spirit Communication, which is commonly known as Seeing Ghosts.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that ¡¯Spirit Communication,¡¯ this live skill, someone like Huang Chen, a One-Star Exorcist, can¡¯t do it at all.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Right, for instance, the little strangeness I ran into in the bathroom just now¡ªif it wanted to, it could stand right in front of Huang Chen and he wouldn¡¯t see it.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Junze¡¯s body jolted. He had never expected that Zhang Xiaomo would have seen Ke¡¯er.


    Trying not to show his shock too obviously, he deliberately coughed a few times and feigned composure, ¡°There was¡­ strangeness in the bathroom? Then you¡­ what did you do with that¡­ strangeness?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled mysteriously, ¡°This little one has very little resentment and probably means no harm to your family, so I¡­ took¡­ her¡­¡±


    At this point, she deliberately slowed down her speech and then suddenly asked, ¡°Why are your pupils dilating?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Yan Junze forced a smile, but he knew he couldn¡¯t help but worry about Ke¡¯er¡¯s safety.


    Moreover, it was clear that Zhang Xiaomo was very perceptive and he had definitely left some clues in front of her.


    ¡°I sealed her in the bathroom,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t killed then,¡± Yan Junze breathed a slight sigh of relief.


    ¡°But in no more than half an hour, she will completely dissipate,¡± added Zhang Xiaomo.


    From the moment Zhang Xiaomo left the bathroom to when Yan Junze went in to wash up and use the toilet, then returned to the bedroom for their conversation, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t thought to check the exact time. But it seemed possible that half an hour might have already passed.


    In that moment, he couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore. Putting down the bedding in his hand, he asked, ¡°Where is she sealed?


    ¡°Inside the cabinet under the washbasin,¡± came the reply.


    ¡°How do you unseal it?¡±


    ¡°I only sealed the space inside the cabinet; just carry the little one out to break the seal,¡± she answered.


    Yan Junze rushed out of the bedroom to the bathroom, turned on the light, and immediately dashed to the washbasin.


    Underneath the washbasin was a narrow double-door cabinet, which normally housed laundry detergent, bath products, spare towels, and other items.


    Crouching down, as soon as he opened it, he saw Ke¡¯er with her limbs completely twisted, crammed inside like a stuffed doll, her whole face buried under her limbs and not visible.


    Faint purple ripples emanated from the space inside the cabinet.


    Yan Junze immediately reached in, grabbed Ke¡¯er, and pulled her out forcefully without a second thought.


    Ke¡¯er let out an unintelligible yah-yah sound as if very angry, but without any strength to resist, her body slumped weakly into Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    Yan Junze knew that in front of this Three-Star Exorcist, some things simply couldn¡¯t be concealed. He simply carried her and went back to the bedroom.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression was calm; she seemed to have confirmed something and was still sitting on the bed when she said, ¡°Tell me, what is your relationship with her?¡±

 Chapter 74 - 74 - 73 Knowledge Handbook

    Chapter 74 ¨C 73 Knowledge Handbook


    ¡°How did you find out?¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer Zhang Xiaomo but asked her instead.


    ¡°I noticed it the moment I entered your house,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shrugged. ¡°There is a faint Yin Energy on you. It¡¯s not very strong, but it¡¯s clearly the result of spending a long time with an Evil Spirit.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t harm me, we have a good relationship,¡± Yan Junze placed Ke¡¯er on the bedding he had just thrown on the floor.


    Ke¡¯er remained curled up in a ball, babbling unconsciously.


    ¡°Being with a Wandering Spirit like this for an extended period can harm your body,¡± Zhang Xiaomo warned.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t felt it.¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m talking about is¡­ it will definitely shorten your life.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze paused for a moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m just scaring you with extreme statements,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°We Exorcists of three stars and above, if we really want to subdue an Evil Spirit, we use objects to contain them, not keep them by our side like you do every day.¡±


    ¡°Let me correct you,¡± Yan Junze lifted his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring her along with me. She just clings directly onto my back.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression stiffened.


    ¡°But your advice seems quite sensible, so I¡¯ll consider it,¡± Yan Junze added, ¡°What about Ke¡¯er now?¡±


    ¡°Ke¡¯er?¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at the incoherent Ke¡¯er and said, ¡°No worries, as long as she is out of my seal space, she¡¯ll be fine after some rest. But this Wandering Spirit is very weak. During these days I¡¯m with you, it¡¯s best not to let her get close to us, or even the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic knife alone will weaken her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem,¡± Yan Junze nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take her to the living room now, and as long as you don¡¯t bring the magnetic knife there, it should be fine.¡±


    At that moment, he was considering whether to directly place Ke¡¯er into his Spacetime Atlas, just like the Crawling Corpse. That way, Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t be exposed in front of a high-level Exorcist, and he wouldn¡¯t bear the risk of reduced lifespan anymore.


    Now, every second Ke¡¯er spends with Zhang Xiaomo is another moment of danger.


    With that, Yan Junze immediately picked up the bedding and carried Ke¡¯er to the living room.


    By now, his parents had already gone to their bedroom, and the living room was empty.


    After settling Ke¡¯er on the sofa and making sure she started to stabilize, Yan Junze lay down on another sofa, ready to turn off the lights and sleep.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly entered the living room, clapping her hands to indicate she didn¡¯t bring the magnetic knife.


    ¡°The video you uploaded was quite impressive,¡± she poured herself a cup of cool boiled water and took a sip. ¡°I must say, you¡¯re quite bold for a regular person,¡±


    Yan Junze nodded but said nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo, unconcerned, spoke in a lower voice, ¡°Before coming here, I listened to Huang Chen¡¯s introduction about you and reviewed some video material related to you. Hmm, for now, we can confirm that you have a certain Supernatural constitution, but a detailed inspection is needed for an accurate conclusion.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not considering any inspections in the short term,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t answer, but the sound of flipping paper could be heard.


    Yan Junze lay on the sofa without turning his head to look, but after a moment, he felt someone shake his shoulder. He slightly lifted the blanket to see Zhang Xiaomo standing beside him, holding a cup of water in one hand and an A4 paper in the other, which she passed to him. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go to sleep just yet, memorize the contents of this paper as quickly as you can, read it over multiple times.¡±


    Yan Junze took the A4 paper, glanced at the text, and mumbled, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just text me this information on my phone?¡±


    ¡°This is a secret, don¡¯t put it on the internet.¡± Zhang Xiaomo finished her glass of water in one gulp and turned to go back to the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat up, stretched out the paper, and found that it was printed with some strange knowledge, aimed at giving those being protected a rough understanding, so that they wouldn¡¯t panic when encountering the supernatural and act blindly.


    Although it was just a sheet of paper, it could tentatively be considered a manual of sorts.


    After a careful look, he understood that the strange knowledge he needed to form in his mind could be categorized from low to high into two types: the Wandering Spirits and the Sculpting Spirits.


    Wandering Spirits were also divided into three levels: high, medium, and low, but even within the same level system, the strength of Wandering Spirits could vary greatly.


    Usually, a high-level Wandering Spirit could create E and D level supernatural incidents, while a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Resentful Granny could create C level supernatural incidents, and even B level ones.


    As for the actual Sculpting Spirits, they seemed to be rare at present.


    However, after analyzing the information on the paper, Yan Junze found that it wasn¡¯t very abundant. If a three-star exorcist like Zhang Xiaomo could deal with a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, then a four-star exorcist should be able to handle Sculpting Spirit level strangenesses.


    In that case, what¡¯s the need for a five-star exorcist?


    From what Huang Chen had told him, Yan Junze knew that exorcists could only reach up to a five-star level, which meant, according to the information provided on the paper, that a four-star exorcist should be able to deal with anything below a Sculpting Spirit level.


    So, Yan Junze deduced that there might be even more dangerous strangenesses above the Sculpting Spirits. Otherwise, five-star exorcists would spend their days with nothing to do, perhaps even pondering participation in the Most Beautiful Exorcist Beauty Pageant.


    He also considered it fortunate that he was targeted by a Resentful Granny, a Semi-Sculpting Spirit. Otherwise, he was certain that he would never have accessed any information about the level of Sculpting Spirits.


    The text also warned that an exorcist¡¯s Hidden Buckle should not be used in crowded places unless absolutely necessary, as the energy backlash could cause minor harm to people.


    At this point, Huang Chen¡¯s ears might be red from the scolding they would have received from Yan Junze.


    To this day, Yan Junze still remembered the scene of himself stuck against the window after the ¡°High-Energy Collapse¡± exploded.


    Of course, Huang Chen did do some reliable things, like arranging for a three-star exorcist to protect him.


    The last few lines of the text were three warnings:


    1. If you realize that the scenario you¡¯re currently experiencing contains any unnatural elements, or situations you can¡¯t control, don¡¯t hesitate, please flee immediately.


    2. The strangeness caused by Wandering Spirits is obvious, and even someone who hasn¡¯t graduated from elementary school could easily differentiate it. But the strangeness caused by Sculpting Spirits usually looks very ordinary; it¡¯s only upon closer inspection that one falls under their deadly influence.


    3. Once targeted by a Sculpting Spirit, run if you can. Don¡¯t delude yourself into resisting, unless you are an exorcist.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo said, Yan Junze read and reread the paper many times, and now he had a clear grasp of some previously vague concepts.


    And those life-saving methods, he committed to memory very seriously.


    He didn¡¯t know how many times he had read it before he realized it was nearly two o¡¯clock.


    He folded the paper and put it away, quickly stood up to turn off the light, then lay back down on the couch.


    Ke¡¯er seemed to have recovered and soon crawled up using all fours, laying on Yan Junze¡¯s back and hugging him proficiently.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, and although he was somewhat reluctant to release Ke¡¯er from his embrace, he still decided to activate the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock.¡±


    Ke¡¯er showed no resistance and shrank visibly. She was quickly absorbed into the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, joining the Crawling Corpse together.

 Chapter 75 - 75 - 74: Reckless and Varied Tactics

    Chapter 75 ¨C 74: Reckless and Varied Tactics


    With the presence of a three-star Exorcist, Yan Junze¡¯s previously uneasy heart finally settled down, and sleepiness crept up on him without notice, swiftly falling into a deep slumber.


    The next morning, the alarm on his cellphone rang out.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t gotten enough sleep and knew that for the next week, he wouldn¡¯t be able to attend school, but he had forgotten to turn off the alarm.


    Groggily getting up, he saw that his mother and Zhang Xiaomo had already gotten out of bed and were sitting at the dining table.


    Everything was as usual.


    Yan Daguo had left home early, Li Man had prepared breakfast, and Zhang Xiaomo was already seated at the dining table eating her share.


    ¡°Auntie, did you make this pickled vegetable yourself? It smells so good!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Brought it from my hometown.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, paired with the noodle soup you made, it¡¯s simply a delight of this world.¡±


    ¡°Then eat more, have Ze¡¯s portion as well, I¡¯ll go cook another bowl.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    The two of them chatted while eating.


    Since he was awake, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan on going back to sleep.


    After washing up in the bathroom and coming out, Zhang Xiaomo had finished eating and was wiping her mouth. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze noticed that the short knife she had placed under her pillow at night was now neatly placed on the dining table, sheathed in leather, making it look more like a delicate toy than a knife at first glance.


    Sitting down and taking a sip of the noodle soup his mother had just served him, Yan Junze spoke indistinctly to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you after I eat.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo stood up, and with a touch of her finger, the knife, barely peeking over the edge of the table, sprung up, spun in the air, and was casually caught in her hand as she turned and went into the bedroom to change clothes.


    Li Man, who was drinking soup, almost spat it out, not until Zhang Xiaomo closed the bedroom door did she say, ¡°I somehow feel she isn¡¯t like a teacher who tutors in math and science, but more like one who teaches martial arts.¡±


    Yan Junze also nodded in agreement, ¡°That knife is really sharp, uh no, Teacher Zhang is really flexible!¡±


    He didn¡¯t notice anything wrong with what he said, nor did he notice the meaningful look Li Man was giving him.


    ¡°Son, the college entrance exam is coming up, there are some things¡­¡± Li Man felt that at this critical time, it was necessary to awaken her son with her own experiences from that time.


    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Yan Junze slurped up the noodles quickly and wiped his mouth.


    Zhang Xiaomo emerged from the bedroom, still dressed as she was the day before, the short knife sheathed in its leather scabbard and hung on the side of a cross-body bag, which if not looked at closely, might be mistaken for a mere accessory.


    Yan Junze estimated with his eyes that the short knife could just fit in the bag.


    He went back to the bedroom to pack up his textbooks and put on his backpack, picked up some change of clothes Li Man had prepared for him, said goodbye to Li Man, and the two of them left.


    As they were leaving, Li Man kept instructing them from behind.


    No matter what, in Li Man¡¯s eyes, her son always seemed like he was about to fall into an inescapable internet scam.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t go to school, how will you attend classes these next few days?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked casually as they walked.


    ¡°When it¡¯s time for class, I¡¯ll have Dali open a video feed for me, and I¡¯ll listen to the teacher on my phone, it¡¯s the same thing,¡± Yan Junze said.


    It¡¯s best not to go to school looking like this.


    Because if a strange incident is confirmed to be about to happen, schools usually seal off an area for the safety of other students, or like last time when Zhang Tiantian got possessed, they let out early.


    Right now, I am essentially a walking potential strange incident, so it¡¯s better not to go to crowded places for the time being.


    The two left the FH Community and arrived at the bus stop on the street, soon catching the 803 bus heading to the outskirts.


    Since it was headed toward the suburban area, there weren¡¯t many people boarding at this time, and there were plenty of seats available.


    Sitting toward the back of the bus, Yan Junze said, ¡°My classmate has already contacted me, the rental is in a place called Rock, and the landlord lives there too.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Besides the rental place, don¡¯t go anywhere unfamiliar alone these days, especially crowded places. That way, if something unexpected happens, you¡¯ll have the best chance of escaping in a familiar environment.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded in agreement to this point and remained silent.


    It was 21 stops from FH Community to Rock, and some of the roads beyond the city turned rough, making the bus start to jolt.


    ¡°What are you reciting?¡± Zhang Xiaomo noticed Yan Junze¡¯s lips moving continuously, muttering some unclear words.


    ¡°Memorizing formulas, and some weird USA grammatical structures,¡± Yan Junze said with a wry smile, ¡°It¡¯s a bit easier to remember these things in the early morning.¡±


    Although his knowledge was not bad in the past life, he now realized that he had forgotten a lot of high school material. The information he needed to memorize now mostly belonged to the category that was rarely used and very niche after learning.


    This indicates that in this world, content that leans toward test-oriented education still exists, and in the actual application process, a lot of it is unused.


    ¡°Did you watch the videos I shot?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you really have some nerve,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°During ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,¡¯ it was all amateur Spirit Investigators, and you delved too deep unlike other videos that just barely scratched the surface and only aimed to catch the eye. And you even fancied getting rid of the strangeness there, you just got lucky.¡±


    ¡°I felt the same,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Ever since that time, he decided he would strictly control the depth and the storytelling exploration in future videos. Of course, the ability to ¡¯Rewind¡¯ time would not allow any clues to be revealed during the shooting process.


    After hesitating for a moment, he voiced the doubt in his mind, ¡°How much do you know about people like me, who are always with spirits?¡±


    ¡°Not a lot, but there are some,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°There are also those who are slowly tormented to death by evil spirits, which is to say, having their lifespan reduced to a negative number. Some people have very strong Strange Bodies; much stronger than yours, but they can¡¯t become Exorcists.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°One type of people is naturally timid, to the point where they can scare themselves to death, and the other type has an extraordinary constitution, yet refuse to become Exorcists.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s not that they are afraid of strangenesses, but of death?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Then what are they afraid of?¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, they¡¯re not afraid of anything,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes flashed with a barely perceptible fear, ¡°These people¡¯s Strange Bodies are incredibly strong, and their affinity with evil spirits goes far beyond ordinary people¡¯s imagination. After frequent contact with evil spirits, not only will their lifespan not decrease, but they will also become extremely terrifying.¡±


    ¡°How terrifying?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    ¡°The creators of S-Class supernatural incidents,¡± Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    ¡°Damn, aren¡¯t S-Class incidents caused by strangenesses?¡± Yan Junze blurted out, surprised.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°The world is very complex, much more complex than you can imagine. Our Exorcist team can only temporarily hold back the strangenesses in the Great Capital. What you don¡¯t know is that in places like USA and elsewhere, there are far more terrifying and bizarre supernatural phenomena.¡±

 Chapter 76 - 76 - 75 Day One

    Chapter 76 ¨C 75 Day One


    The bus on Route 803 had been running for about an hour and twenty minutes before it finally arrived at a suburb called ¡°Rock.¡±


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, it wasn¡¯t particularly remote, sort of like the area where the city blends with the countryside.


    There were many newly built houses, but there were just as many old streets and short bungalows, and the rental house that Zhou Dali arranged for Yan Junze was a shabby two-story self-built house.


    The landlord was named Lin Dong, a man in his fifties with already graying hair. Lin Dong¡¯s wife had passed away, and his children worked in other cities, typically only returning once a year.


    Most of the time, this uncle just looked after his self-built house, renting out the extra rooms to gather some company, while spending his days playing chess and chatting with the neighbors outside.


    After getting off the bus, Yan Junze looked up to check if the address matched the street numbers.


    Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile behind him, ¡°If you flunk your college entrance exams and are looking to scrape by, I can give you a letter of recommendation. You could go for an interview and a check-up at our Exorcists¡¯. Given how close you and Ke¡¯er seem, you might just be a promising seedling.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°No way, after the college entrance exam, if you want to find me, you can go to Tianmeng Science University. Hmm, the address seems to be right ahead.¡±


    The first morning revision class had already started, but Yan Junze couldn¡¯t make it in time to follow live. He could only ask Zhou Dali to record it and send it to him later to study.


    The two of them walked up the winding little street that stretched from the main road all the way to the top of the hill, with houses everywhere, though few people were seen.


    The majority of young people had left to find work, and it appeared that some houses were simply uninhabited.


    When they reached what seemed like halfway up the hill, they saw Lin Dong waiting at the door.


    Lin Dong was dressed carelessly, his hair greasy, currently looking bored as he stood at the door picking his nose and flicking it onto the ground.


    Usually, young people who work in the city prefer these suburban houses because they are cheap, plus the transportation is convenient, and they aren¡¯t very far from the city center.


    With a bit of effort throughout the year, they could save a lot of money.


    ¡°Here are the keys, you¡¯ll be living on the first floor, the second floor is already rented out,¡± Lin Dong handed Yan Junze two keys, talking as if they were old acquaintances.


    Yan Junze took the keys cautiously, afraid that the landlord¡¯s boogers might have stuck on them.


    ¡°Where do you live, landlord?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Next door.¡± Lin Dong pointed to the adjoining house that looked relatively well-kept. ¡°Go in and take a look. If you¡¯re missing any household items, you can buy them at the Boom Supermarket at the end of the street; they basically have everything.¡±


    ¡°When you decide to stay, I¡¯ll come over to collect the rent in half an hour. If not, return the keys to me next door.¡± Lin Dong didn¡¯t say much else and turned to go back to his own place next door.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yan Junze said while he took apart the keys and handed one to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo, mimicking his previous action, carefully checked the key and didn¡¯t immediately reach out to take it.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly took the key with relief.


    ¡°What, not afraid it has boogers on it anymore?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It does, but not on this key,¡± Zhang Xiaomo pocketed her key.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Yan Junze only then noticed a lump of booger that had somehow stuck on the back of his own hand and quickly flung his hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo, startled, dodged to one side, desperately hoping to avoid being hit by accident.


    They stood stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.


    ¡°There are quite a few people here,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Her implication was that the place was not very isolated.


    ¡°`


    At least someone was living on the second floor, and if anything went awry, it might affect other people.


    Yan Junze nodded, took out his phone to check the time, and, seeing it was break time between classes, he called Zhou Dali, ¡°Dali, this place isn¡¯t very remote, is it?¡±


    ¡°I asked my uncle, and this is already the best match for your requirements,¡± Zhou Dali said on the other end of the phone. ¡°Besides, the rent is cheap, and there aren¡¯t many people nearby.¡±


    ¡°I see the buildings across the street are empty; it¡¯s actually this place that has neighbors and such,¡± Yan Junze remarked.


    ¡°But they¡¯re not renting out, I can¡¯t help it,¡± Zhou Dali replied, sounding helpless.


    Yan Junze had put the call on speaker, so Zhang Xiaomo could hear as well.


    After hanging up, the two exchanged glances.


    ¡°Let¡¯s settle in first,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Opening the door, they walked around inside for a bit.


    The exterior of the house was simple, but the old-style furniture inside was still usable¡ªthey were only staying for seven days so they weren¡¯t concerned about the quality.


    The house was small, with a living room that doubled as a kitchen and a bedroom¡ªtogether, probably only about thirty-five or thirty-six square meters.


    However, there was no bathroom inside; there was a toilet outside shared with the second-floor tenants, which was a bit more convenient for them since those residents had to come downstairs to use it.


    Still lacking essentials like towels and toiletries, once they decided to rent the place, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went next door to give Lin Dong the agreed-upon seven days¡¯ rent.


    Then, they headed to Boom Supermarket to buy the necessary living supplies.


    Of course, it was Yan Junze who paid.


    Having an exorcist team send a three-star exorcist to protect him without asking him to pay for the protection fee was pretty good already; he couldn¡¯t possibly use Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s money.


    Back at the rented house, Zhang Xiaomo began to tidy up and clean, while Yan Junze watched the class videos that Zhou Dali had sent over again and made some notes.


    During the process, Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t ask Yan Junze for help, quietly doing the cleaning and organizing herself, but she didn¡¯t step out of the house either, always buzzing around Yan Junze, which could be said to be very diligent.


    Of course, Yan Junze was well aware of the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s hint that Resentful Granny would begin her revenge after 72 hours, starting at 17:54 in the afternoon. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant if Resentful Granny was to start her revenge, it would also be after 17:54 today.


    For the moment, he was safe.


    For lunch, the two cooked up two packs of instant noodles, accompanied by their instant noodles consort¡ªShuanggang brand ham sausages.


    In the afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo prepared to cook a sour soup hotpot, having bought all the hotpot ingredients.


    Soon it was five o¡¯clock, and Yan Junze¡¯s heart started to feel restless. Even though he was helping with washing the vegetables, his eyes were constantly vigilant of his surroundings.


    However, to his relief, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s short knife never left her side, even when her hands were full¡ªshe kept it tucked at her waist, ready to use at any moment.


    The two had dinner while it was still light outside, but it was already past six. At that point, any slight rustle outside would instantly put Yan Junze on high alert, ready for action.


    He couldn¡¯t hide his feelings from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes.


    After dinner, Zhang Xiaomo washed the dishes while Yan Junze sat on the nearly peeling fabric sofa in the living room and called his mother.


    After hanging up, he heard Zhang Xiaomo say, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re much more nervous now than this morning. Don¡¯t be too tense, the Semi-Sculpting Spirit isn¡¯t monitoring you every second, we just need to be careful and on guard.¡±


    Actually, by that time, Yan Junze had already activated the Rewind timeline, with a cycle of 4 hours for continuous rewinding.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 77 - 77 - 76 Day Two

    Chapter 77 ¨C 76 Day Two


    After the couple finished eating and cleaning up, the tenants upstairs came back.


    They were a young couple who both worked in Shuntian City and only returned to their suburban rental after getting off work.


    Both of them appeared very frugal, dressed simply and ordinarily, just looking a bit tired and awkward, likely young people who had just entered the workforce after graduating from college.


    Seeing that new neighbors had moved in downstairs, the two smiled at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, who sat in the outer room, but neither side spoke.


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo closed the door.


    Although the air in the suburbs was very good, for the moment, taking a walk after dinner was strictly off-limits.


    In the bedroom inside, Yan Junze pretended to review his lessons, but his mind was already elsewhere.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo laid out new sheets on the only bed, switching out the bedding.


    She removed the old bedding cover and replaced it with a new one, then placed the bedding in the center of the bed, piled firmly, to serve as a divider between the two for sleeping.


    Yan Junze was also aware that Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned the night before that starting tonight, they must sleep together.


    She needed to provide the utmost protection for Yan Junze.


    Actually, Yan Junze could have slept on the floor, but the ground on the first floor was very damp and unsuitable for laying out bedding.


    So, the two reached a mutual understanding on this matter without much discussion.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who loved cleanliness, sprayed some fresh perfume on the bedding and in the room, causing Yan Junze to sneeze several times.


    Because he had gone to bed late the night before, Yan Junze went to bed early.


    He slept on the right side of the bed, while Zhang Xiaomo sat on the left side, leaning against the headboard, flipping through her phone.


    Under other circumstances, Yan Junze might have been influenced by this ambiguous atmosphere, sharing a bed with a beautiful girl he had met just one day ago¡ªa situation that would keep any teenager brimming with youth and hormones awake with excitement.


    But his mind wasn¡¯t on such thoughts at the time.


    He simply felt very safe, and the two maintained a good understanding without a word.


    During that time, they could hear the busy footsteps of the couple upstairs, but after a while, Yan Junze drifted off into a deep sleep without realizing it.


    When he woke up, it was broad daylight.


    Nothing had happened on the first day.


    The couple upstairs had hurried off to work in the city early and were silent.


    Zhang Xiaomo was cooking noodles in the outer room, and the aroma of the water-boiled noodles entered Yan Junze¡¯s nostrils. He sat up, adjusted his mindset, and prepared to face the next few days with a positive attitude amidst his uneasy emotions.


    However, the day passed uneventfully as usual.


    There was nothing unusual in the rental house.


    Yan Junze¡¯s main task was to review and watch the lecture videos sent by Zhou Dali, while Zhang Xiaomo was busy finding things to do, rarely disturbing him.


    Yan Junze found it hard to believe that Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t much older, but she was very adept at household chores, showing no sign of unfamiliarity.


    In the words of a typical male chauvinist, the dishes she cooked were full of a mother¡¯s flavor.


    Of course, if Zhang Xiaomo knew what Yan Junze was thinking, she would have given him a beautiful backhand chop and killed him on the spot.


    Around noon, the landlord Lin Dong dropped by to see if the couple had any difficulties needing assistance since they had just arrived, aiming to exhibit the warmth expected of a local.


    After a few causal inquiries, Lin Dong left to play chess at Old Li¡¯s place on the street corner.


    Just like the previous day, the couple upstairs came back soon after dinner.


    This time they seemed to feel a bit more familiar with Yan Junze and his company. The square-faced man spoke first, ¡°You guys have eaten so early, we¡¯ve only just got home.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo did not respond.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s you who have it tough, commuting back and forth every day.¡±


    ¡°No choice,¡± the man laughed, ¡°to save money.¡±


    His petite girlfriend also smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re going upstairs to cook.¡±


    Footsteps ascended the stairs, the opening and closing of doors, followed by the sound of changing shoes; the soundproofing was very poor.


    Yan Junze suspected that if those two were doing some unspeakable things upstairs, a slight lack of attention might allow everything to be heard loud and clear downstairs.


    With that thought, things became somewhat awkward.


    He didn¡¯t know if they had done anything last night, as he had gone to sleep early and hadn¡¯t heard anything.


    He glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was glued to her phone. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would pull out her phone and keep scrolling endlessly.


    She was nothing like the literary young women who would sit quietly reading a book when there was nothing else to do; instead, she was a completely different kind of person.


    Now, Yan Junze was wondering if having this three-star Exorcist by his side was scaring the Resentful Granny into not appearing at all.


    But this wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. Zhang Xiaomo had made it very clear that she would only protect him for seven days. If the Resentful Granny dared to show up only after those seven days, then he wouldn¡¯t achieve his goal.


    The best outcome would be to leverage Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s power to eliminate the Resentful Granny during this time. That was the result Yan Junze most wanted to see.


    Lying in bed, because of the quilt in the middle of the bed, unless Zhang Xiaomo on the other side sat up, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see her.


    Of course, he could see her now because Zhang Xiaomo was leaning against the headboard, scrolling on her phone.


    ¡°How many Evil Spirits have you killed?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was looking down at her phone, had her shoulder-length short hair hanging down, covering half of her face and revealing her pale cheek skin. From the side, her profile looked very delicate.


    She continued to stare at her phone, replying, ¡°Probably around eighteen or nineteen, I can¡¯t quite remember.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever encountered any danger?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly turned off her phone¡¯s screen, turned her face towards the lying Yan Junze, and said seriously, ¡°Actually¡­ I really don¡¯t know what safety is.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Yan Junze nodded, closing his eyes.


    Just the fact that Huang Chen had mentioned his mentor, a two-star Exorcist, died at the hands of the Resentful Granny, indicated that being an Exorcist was extremely dangerous, almost always skating on the edge of death.


    The night had deepened.


    There were only a few streets at Rock, and during the late hours, only the main road had dim streetlights. The rest of the streets were pitch black.


    After returning from Old Li¡¯s house, Lin Dong walked on the empty street, humming a tune, staggering along with an uneven gait.


    After the chess game, he had a few drinks with Old Li over some dishes. The alcohol was still coursing through him, keeping his spirits high.


    However, he was so familiar with the area that even though he was a bit tipsy, he soon reached his own doorstep and took out his keys to unlock the door.


    Groping for the light switch, he pressed it only to find the light didn¡¯t come on. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lin Dong cursed under his breath and pressed the switch a few more times to no avail.


    He then pulled out his phone from his pocket. Not knowing how to turn on the flashlight feature, he simply lit the screen of the phone and, with the dim light it provided, walked into the house.


    The door closed slowly behind him.


    Groping his way through the living room, he reached the TV cabinet, let out a burp from the booze, squatted down, and opened the drawer to search for candles.


    Lin Dong remembered that because places like Rock frequently had power outages, it was essential for every household to have candles for emergencies.


    He was sure his memory wasn¡¯t wrong and that the candles were in this drawer, but after searching, he found it empty.


    Standing up, and with the light from his phone screen, Lin Dong suddenly saw a short, dark figure standing at the corner of the TV cabinet, facing away from him, shoulders trembling slightly.


    Lin Dong was immediately stupefied, his drunkenness sobering up considerably.


    Because the figure¡¯s back looked very much like his spouse who had died years earlier.


    He raised his phone up so that the screen light could shine farther and more clearly, and asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Ping¡­ Ping?¡±


    Drip, drip, drip¡­


    What was that sound falling onto the floor, ceaselessly dropping?


    Lin Dong looked down and saw that beneath the feet of the person in front of him, candle wax, white candle wax, was constantly dripping.


    At that moment, he thought he knew where the candles had gone.


    After hearing Lin Dong¡¯s voice, the figure slowly turned its head around.


    What Lin Dong saw was the face of an unfamiliar old woman, her mouth stuffed full of white candles. As she chewed, bits of candle and dripping wax continuously flowed from the corners of her mouth.

 Chapter 78 - 78 - 77 Two Tasks

    Chapter 78 ¨C 77 Two Tasks


    He slept soundly until daylight.


    When Yan Junze woke up, Zhang Xiaomo was taking out the trash.


    After coming back, she said to Yan Junze, ¡°The girl on the second floor isn¡¯t going to work today, so keep your voice down, the sound insulation here is not good.¡±


    ¡°How do you know the sound insulation is bad?¡± Yan Junze got out of bed, not noticing that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face was slightly flushed.


    Anyway, he felt that he had been sleeping well these past two days, probably because he had an exorcist by his side, so he didn¡¯t need to be constantly on edge. Plus, this was already the third day, and it seemed like Resentful Granny truly didn¡¯t dare to show up.


    ¡°I¡¯m making potato noodles, do you want some?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°A bowl for me, thanks!¡± Yan Junze often had the illusion that Zhang Xiaomo could have been a high-level nanny if it weren¡¯t for her exorcism career.


    ...


    After getting up and going to the other room to wash up, Zhang Xiaomo was beside him, cooking the noodles and adding seasonings.


    After putting the noodles into the boiling soup, Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°I¡¯ve been observing for the past two days, and there¡¯s a strangeness in the unoccupied building at the end of the street, fourth from the last. It¡¯s best not to walk by there if it¡¯s not necessary.¡±


    While washing his face, Yan Junze paused for a second, having forgotten that this was a remote suburban area at the edge of the city, where strange events were no rarity.


    However, it seemed that these strange events shouldn¡¯t have a big impact on the area, otherwise they would also be lining up for processing by the exorcists.


    Still curious, Yan Junze dried his face towel while opening the ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    Currently, he felt his progress in unlocking the Spacetime Atlas was still insufficient, the atlas only revealing the tip of the iceberg. It was evident that many nodes and timelines remained unopened.


    As for skills, for the time being, he had only mastered ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± and ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock.¡± He could guess that there must be many more skills yet to be unlocked in the unlit parts of the atlas.


    Therefore, if time and conditions permitted, Yan Junze was interested in completing more temporary tasks to accumulate more Different Dimension Energy and light up the nodes of the atlas.


    Just as ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± was activated, a text message immediately flashed in his mind.


    ¡°[Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional cross-wave bands, analyzing¡­]¡±


    ¡°[Coordinates confirmed: Rock Old Street No. 39.]¡±


    ¡°[Mission name: The Hanged Woman;¡±


    ¡°Mission level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);¡±


    ¡°Mission background: After Ye Zhennan¡¯s six-year-old son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, the couple fell into endless grief. Her husband later developed the bad habit of alcohol abuse, beating Ye Zhennan every time he drank. Ye Zhennan clearly remembered that on the day she hung herself, it had been the 79th time her husband had beaten her. She could bear it no longer and decided to join her son.¡±


    ¡°Mission instructions: She still sways under the beam in the house, feeling a sore and painful neck, please loosen it for her;¡±


    ¡°Mission rewards: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;¡±


    ¡°Mission penalties: Unknown;¡±


    ¡°Mission tips: 1. The spirit can be locked down; 2. There are branch missions waiting to be triggered;¡±


    ¡°Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is terrifying.¡±]


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed the mission information in his mind and found that the level of this mission, ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Medium),¡± matched the level of ¡°The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night.¡±


    And coincidentally, it also had branch missions waiting to be triggered.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t go out to complete missions in his current state; as soon as he entered No. 39 on Old Street, he probably wouldn¡¯t even see Ye Zhennan before Resentful Granny, appearing out of nowhere, finished him off.


    He pondered that if Zhang Xiaomo could take care of Resentful Granny within these seven days, maybe afterwards he could boldly and confidently go complete ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± mission.


    After making up his mind, a string of text suddenly jumped into his consciousness.


    It was the second task that had been detected.


    [Coordinates confirmed: No. 114 Rock Back Street, Lin Family Courtyard.]


    [Task name: Drop the Handkerchief;


    Task level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task background: Seven children, hale and hearty, sat in the courtyard, playing merrily. Drop the handkerchief, drop the handkerchief, quietly drop it behind the child, don¡¯t tell him, hurry and catch him, hurry and catch him¡­


    Task description: The Lin Family Courtyard suffered a fire seven years ago, and not one of the seven children playing in the yard managed to escape. No, wait, one did run away. The remaining six children are puzzled, did he really escape or not? They want an answer.


    Task reward: 600 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task penalty: In Dire Straits;


    Task tip: 1. The evil spirit thrives in a group and cannot be locked down; 2. There are other ¡°treasures¡± to be explored inside the Lin Family Courtyard;


    Note: Do you still remember this game? If not, better brush up on it quickly.]


    Having only opened [Perception of Strange Events] for a moment, Yan Junze had received two tasks, with the rewards in Dimensional Energy points being quite substantial. Now, it depended on whether he had the time and opportunity to complete them.


    ¡°Why are you standing there zoning out after washing your face?¡± Zhang Xiaomo had already cooked the sweet potato noodles and was serving herself a bowl.


    They did smell pretty good, though.


    Yan Junze put down the towel, smiled, and also served himself a bowl.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°there seems to be something wrong with the street behind us, and the strange phenomena are even more severe than what I just told you. However, it should have been reported to the Exorcist Squad by now. Someone specialized should come to deal with it.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, gaining a new appreciation for Zhang Xiaomo.


    This three-star exorcist could describe the two tasks he had detected almost perfectly just by relying on her naked eye and instinctive perception. She was really not on the same level as someone like Huang Chen, who was a mere dabbler.


    Why won¡¯t Resentful Granny show up! Hurry up and let Zhang Xiaomo take care of her, so that he could shake off his worries and go complete the tasks!


    Just then, light footsteps were heard, and the female tenant from the lovey-dovey couple upstairs quickly descended from the second floor, turning towards the building next door after reaching the base of the stairs.


    However, she came back after a short while. Wearing cartoon pajamas and a pair of white canvas shoes, she stood at the front door of the outer room where Yan Junze was and asked, ¡°Excuse me, have you seen the landlord today?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°Isn¡¯t he next door?¡±


    ¡°I knocked, but there was no answer,¡± the woman said with a shrug. ¡°By the way, my name is Su Muyao. How do I address you?¡±


    Just hearing that name, it sounded like that of a typical female protagonist. Yan Junze looked up to take a closer look at Su Muyao; she was rather pretty with an appearance slightly above average, and seemed to be quite petite. This was in stark contrast to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s height of 1.7 meters.


    ¡°Yan Junze.¡± He pointed at himself, then glanced at the woman next to him, who was slurping her sweet potato noodles, ¡°This is Zhang Xiaomo. Um, want to have breakfast? We made sweet potato noodles.¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve already eaten,¡± Su Muyao looked at Zhang Xiaomo and sensed a certain aloofness from her, silent and distant as if rejecting people thousands of miles away.


    With a smile towards Yan Junze, Su Muyao turned to go back upstairs.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly spoke up, sitting at the doorway and looking up at her, ¡°Isn¡¯t the landlord usually at home around this time?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t paid attention,¡± Su Muyao said, thinking carefully while standing on the stairs. ¡°But it seems like I see him every day. If he isn¡¯t at home, he¡¯s usually at Old Li¡¯s place on the street corner, playing chess and chatting.¡±

 Chapter 79 - 79 - 78 Day Three

    Chapter 79 ¨C 78 Day Three


    Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo stopped talking, Su Muyao gave her a peculiar look and, without speaking further, turned and clattered up the stairs.


    Yan Junze stared at Zhang Xiaomo, and she put down her bowl and chopsticks and walked out of the door.


    Yan Junze also set down his unfinished glass noodles and came outside.


    The two walked in front of the next-door room, exchanged glances, then looked at the room where Lin Dong lived.


    It was a large self-built bungalow. At the moment, the door was tightly shut, and the curtains in the windows were drawn, so it was impossible to see inside clearly.


    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s something strange?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°The landlord could have gone out early.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Zhang Xiaomo walked to the door. The magnetic knife strapped to her waist bounced with her steps, ready to be grabbed at any moment.


    ...


    When she reached the door, she hesitated briefly, then reached out her right hand and touched the tightly closed door.


    Suddenly, the door loosened and slowly swung open, revealing the dim interior where the furnishings were not immediately discernible.


    ¡°The door was open?¡± Yan Junze said in surprise, taking two steps forward.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t move; standing at the door, she scanned the room with her eyes, grabbed the doorknob but didn¡¯t go in. Instead, she loudly shut the door.


    ¡°Why not go in and take a look?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Strangenesses come in two types, active and passive,¡± Zhang Xiaomo began. ¡°If Granny Ren has already arrived, me entering this room now would result in her passively interfering, which would be to my disadvantage.¡±


    Turning her head back, Zhang Xiaomo turned and walked away: ¡°Whether Lin Dong is in trouble or not, we cannot enter the room at this moment.¡±


    The two returned to their rental property.


    Yan Junze asked worriedly, ¡°So, did Granny Ren come or not? Is Lin Dong in trouble or not?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be sure,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head. ¡°I need to protect you; I can¡¯t let you stay outside alone, and I can¡¯t let you come in and take risks with me. Let¡¯s wait a bit longer.¡±


    Yan Junze went back inside and sat on his bed, feeling somewhat uneasy.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo started washing the dishes, pouring some hot water and dishwashing liquid into the bowl she¡¯d finished eating from.


    Soon after, the light footsteps upstairs sounded again, and Su Muyao ran down and stood at the door, peering into the first-floor room.


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°I need Yan¡¯s help with something,¡± Su Muyao said. ¡°I¡¯m doing a big clean, but the mop head has come off, and I can¡¯t twist it tight enough.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got a cramp in his foot. You can bring it down; I¡¯ll help you twist it on,¡± Zhang Xiaomo quickly replied without thinking.


    Su Muyao looked helplessly at the room, not seeing Yan Junze¡¯s figure.


    Of course, twisting the mop head was just one thing; she actually wanted to find an excuse to have Yan Junze upstairs to also help move the couch for her because there had been a foul smell emanating from under it last night.


    There might be a dead rat decaying underneath, which made Su Muyao feel disgusted.


    But there was no choice; this place was crawling with mice, cockroaches, and other vermin.


    Planning to tell the truth, Su Muyao said, ¡°I also want him to help me lift the couch. There seems to be something underneath giving off a bad smell. I want to move the couch and then clean that area.¡±


    ¡°Yan¡¯s hand joints are disabled at level three; he can¡¯t lift heavy things, sorry.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said again.


    Su Muyao was completely speechless and turned to go back upstairs, visibly annoyed.


    Yan Junze came out of the inner room with a look of grievance and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°I was only in there for a moment, and you¡¯ve made me out to be severely disabled. Lifting something is just a piece of cake, right?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t leave my protection range.¡±


    ¡°You could also come up and help with me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to create unnecessary complications.¡±


    ¡°But your reasoning is also¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t lie; sorry for making it seem like you got hurt,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, managing a smile.


    After a whole day, Yan Junze felt that Zhang Xiaomo was watching him even more closely than the past two days.


    She hadn¡¯t let him leave the house all day, and her gaze was constantly vigilant; she even ignored the greeting from Lin Ling, the male tenant upstairs, when he returned from work.


    It wasn¡¯t even dark yet, and the two of them had already closed the door to the outer room quite early.


    Zhang Xiaomo returned to the inner room, sat on the bed, and prepared to start her daily phone browsing session.


    Yan Junze felt thirsty and went to the outer room to pour himself a glass of water. Holding the cup, he was about to drink.


    Suddenly, he noticed a person standing outside the window, a man¡¯s silhouette.


    He was motionless between the window and the doorway.


    Yan Junze walked up to the window, took a sip of water, and glanced outside towards the door to confirm that the person standing there was their landlord, Lin Dong, whom they hadn¡¯t seen all day.


    It was now dusk, the sky was getting darker, but Yan Junze could still recognize Lin Dong¡¯s figure.


    This guy just stood at the door, motionless for a while, like a paper-mache dummy.


    As Yan Junze began to feel uneasy, there was a knock at the door.


    Lin Dong was knocking.


    Yan Junze, still holding his glass of water, turned and walked into the inner room, saying to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Given the situation right now, should I not open the door, not open the door, or not open the door?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo had also heard the knocking and let out a laugh, but she quickly suppressed it and stood up to go to the outer room, with Yan Junze following behind her.


    Approaching the window, they could still see Lin Dong¡¯s figure outside the door.


    After a few knocks, the man had no more movements; he just stood there straight and stiff. Was he contemplating life?


    ¡°He¡¯s been Spirit-Splitted.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo turned away from the door, and Yan Junze followed, asking, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Experience,¡± Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Yan Junze went into the inner room, placed the glass of water on the nightstand and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you grab the magnetic knife and fight your way out now? If Granny Ren is hiding next door, just cut her down. Then I¡¯ll head to Boom Supermarket to buy some drinks, and we can celebrate with champagne tonight!¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look and shook her head, ¡°If possible, we should try not to harm innocent people. It¡¯s bustling with activity out there, and Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Splitted no more than 48 hours ago. Later tonight, I¡¯ll go next door, save him, and see if Granny Ren is there.¡±


    ¡°Should I go too?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo took out a black, small circular box, which looked like those simple makeup boxes with a mirror that girls often use, and handed it to Yan Junze, saying, ¡°There¡¯s an Energy Radiation Field inside this. Carry it open on your body, and within ten minutes, no supernatural beings will dare to approach you. Don¡¯t go over there, just wait for me here.¡±


    ¡°Energy¡­ Radiation?¡± Yan Junze hesitated as he took it, then asked with concern, ¡°Does it cause any harm to the body?¡±


    ¡°It does, but it won¡¯t affect you much right now,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied definitively.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It just kills sperm.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    Inside the rented apartment on the second floor.


    Su Muyao led her boyfriend Lin Ling to the side of the sofa.


    In fact, Su Muyao had already prepared dinner, and the couple planned to clean up after filling their stomachs, but they couldn¡¯t stand the strange odor coming from under the sofa, so they decided to clean it up before eating.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s under here?¡± Lin Ling pointed to the sofa.


    ¡°You smell it yourself, I can¡¯t stand it, it feels like it¡¯s getting smellier!¡± Su Muyao said in a muffled voice, covering her nose.


    ¡°Come on, give me a hand,¡± Lin Ling crouched down, grabbing one end of the sofa, ¡°Pull the other end a little, no need to lift it, I¡¯ll do the lifting.¡±


    Su Muyao ran to the other end of the sofa, pulled it towards the door, and Lin Ling lifted half of the fabric sofa to the middle of the outer room, revealing what was underneath it.


    However, to their surprise, it wasn¡¯t the dead mouse Su Muyao had talked about, but a clump¡­ of hair, a clump of whitish hair mixed with black mucus.

 Chapter 80 - 80 - 79 The Fourth Day

    Chapter 80 ¨C 79 The Fourth Day


    Having arranged the time for action with Zhang Xiaomo, they set it for after midnight, and then Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo each sat on their respective sides of the bed.


    Zhang Xiaomo, as always, scrolled through her smartphone, while Yan Junze flipped through the textbook to review key knowledge points for the college entrance exam.


    A little past eleven, sleepiness overcame him, and Yan Junze discarded the book without a second thought and immediately fell asleep.


    An hour later.


    Zhang Xiaomo, sitting on the left side of the bed, switched off her phone¡¯s screen and picked up the magnetic knife resting beside her hand, slowly drawing it from its leather sheath.


    After glancing at the sleeping Yan Junze, she reached out to push his shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯m heading next door now, should be back in less than ten minutes. While I¡¯m gone, turn on the Strangeness Interferer, don¡¯t go anywhere, and definitely don¡¯t leave this room.¡±


    Yan Junze opened his eyes, placed the black box on his chest, covered it with both hands, and nodded.


    ...


    The light was on, he had the Strangeness Interferer in hand, and with the Rewind unique skill on top of that, he wasn¡¯t too worried.


    With the magnetic knife in hand, Zhang Xiaomo got up and left.


    He listened as she opened and then closed the door to the outer room, followed by silence.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t get out of bed; he just lay there, waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to return.


    Rock was far away from the main traffic roads, no sounds of vehicles reached them, and the surroundings were very quiet, save for the occasional bark of a dog¡ªno other noises were heard.


    Having just woken up, Yan Junze was still groggy, but at this point, he didn¡¯t dare to sleep again. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He struggled to keep his eyes open, his glasses on the nightstand untouched, just staring at the dirty ceiling, remembering there was half a glass of water on the nightstand, which he now wanted to drink to stay awake.


    But he was too lazy to move, just thinking about wanting water as time ticked away.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t realize his eyes had begun to droop when he suddenly felt a figure walk in from the outer room, their footsteps light, as if afraid to wake him.


    The figure walked to the left side of the bed, climbed up, and lay still, no longer making any movements.


    ¡°Back so soon?¡± Yan Junze mumbled, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    He too was lying down, and because of the thick quilts separating the middle, he couldn¡¯t see Zhang Xiaomo, also lying down, unless he sat up and looked over.


    The other person didn¡¯t reply.


    Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness quickly sharpened, his eyes widened, and an uneasy feeling crept into his heart.


    Damn, was that person just now Zhang Xiaomo?


    Zhang Xiaomo was about 170 centimeters tall. Although he was lying down without his glasses, the glimpse of the figure that walked in didn¡¯t seem very tall!


    With that thought, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze.


    Without thinking further, he immediately turned on the Strangeness Interferer he had been clinging onto.


    If it¡¯s a fight they want, better that than losing his life!


    There was still no movement from the bed beside him, but Yan Junze was certain that someone had come in and was lying on the left side of the bed.


    ¡°Should I take a look, confirm it?¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated internally, figuring that instead of whimsically worrying, it was better to have a look and alleviate his concerns.


    With that thought, he reached his hand towards the nightstand. As the light was on, although his myopic vision was a bit blurry, he quickly grabbed his glasses and put them on right away.


    His vision instantly became much clearer. Yan Junze, holding onto the Interferer, slightly lifted his head, looked over the quilt in the middle of the big bed, and peeked at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s side.


    In his field of vision, there was a figure lying across the bed, but it was not Zhang Xiaomo.


    He saw a waxy yellow face with deep wrinkles, the familiar short salt-and-pepper hair, the familiar light cotton jacket, and the familiar brown cotton shoes filling Yan Junze¡¯s sight.


    The elderly woman was lying on her side. At the same time, someone peeked over from the other side of the bed, she also had her eyes open, staring straight at Yan Junze, who was only halfway exposed.


    Being locked in her gaze caused Yan Junze to jolt, feeling an immediate chill all over his body.


    He didn¡¯t dare to breathe heavily, first squeezing out an awkward yet polite smile and slowly lying back down, the thick quilt in the middle of the bed blocking the line of sight between the living and the ghost.


    Yan Junze felt his heart pounding like a drum, clutching the Supernatural Interferer in his arms, he slowly shifted his body towards the edge of the bed, one foot touching the ground below, ready to get up and leave the bed without alerting the spirit.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the side of the bed, and the quilt separating them fluttered. A head with graying hair slowly emerged¡ªResentful Granny¡¯s eyes appeared and were still fixed on Yan Junze as he was getting down from the bed.


    Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingled, and he hastened his departure from the bed, leaping both feet to the floor, away from the edge.


    Turning to look behind him, Resentful Granny, with her petite frame resembling a marionette, eerily stood up on tiptoes to step over the quilt to his side.


    Her body still floated erratically, as if being carried. She got off the bed and, expressionless, followed Yan Junze who was holding the Strangeness Interferer.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was clear, if he hadn¡¯t been holding the Strangeness Interferer, Resentful Granny would have pounced on him the moment she was on the bed.


    She¡­ hesitated to approach him for now.


    But not daring to approach didn¡¯t mean leaving.


    Resentful Granny just followed closely behind him, maintaining a distance of about half a meter.


    One human, one strangeness, one retreating, the other advancing, they moved from the inner room to the outer room.


    Both rooms were lit. Yan Junze felt his palm gripping the Interferer was full of cold sweat, and soon he moved back to the doorway of the outer room, standing near the window.


    Resentful Granny, expressionless, silently followed.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m about to yell out loud now, you don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± Yan Junze thought for a bit, forced a smile, and said.


    There was still no response from the other side, just a silent gaze fixed on him.


    Can I make it out? If Zhang Xiaomo doesn¡¯t come back soon, I¡¯m afraid the Interferer won¡¯t last much longer.


    Yan Junze pondered in his heart.


    Now that he knew Resentful Granny had come to his side, it was paradoxically less dangerous at the neighbor¡¯s place. Instead of lingering here, it might be better to run next door to find Zhang Xiaomo.


    With that thought, Yan Junze reached for the door handle behind him.


    Resentful Granny¡¯s mouth corners suddenly twitched, and her mouth split open.


    At that same moment, Yan Junze felt the door handle being swiftly twisted, and then the door was pushed open by an external force.


    If it weren¡¯t for his quick reflexes, he would have almost stumbled into Resentful Granny¡¯s embrace.


    A short blade stabbed in from outside the door, aiming straight for Resentful Granny.


    Zhang Xiaomo had arrived.


    As the magnetic knife was about to strike Resentful Granny, the old woman¡¯s body suddenly became like a puff of wind, retreating abruptly.


    The magnetic field from the magnetic knife quickly filled the outer room, locking down all space.


    Resentful Granny, who had seemed to be floating, now appeared stuck in the mire, struggling to move.


    The knife plunged into her chest.


    The old woman opened her mouth to let out a piercing scream. Bang, bang, the lights in both the outer and inner rooms went out, even the electrical wires sparked, and the room instantly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze, still holding the Strangeness Interferer, stood still, not moving, his ears pricked up to listen to the movements around him.


    Seconds later, there was a click, and a cold hand suddenly rested on the back of his hand.


    Yan Junze startled, swung the Interferer in his hand, and almost struck out.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice sounded.


    Yan Junze quickly put on the brakes.


    ¡°Holy crap! Speak slower next time, or my primeval force would have all been unleashed on you.¡±

 Chapter 81 - 81 - 80 Day Five

    Chapter 81 ¨C 80 Day Five


    Both of their cell phone flashlights were turned on, temporarily illuminating the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hands were indeed very cold, something Yan Junze hadn¡¯t noticed before, mainly because he hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to touch her hands.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Granny Ren?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°She ran away, I was just about to finish her off,¡± replied Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Is Lin Dong alright?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve already severed his spirit-splitting and cleared all the magnetic fields of interference from next door. Granny Ren¡¯s yin energy is greatly diminished, and she can¡¯t reset up the interference; Lin Dong is safe for now.¡±


    Just then, footsteps could be heard from upstairs, and soon the lights on the second floor were turned on.


    ...


    The male tenant, Lin Ling, wearing slippers, clattered down the stairs ¨C obviously, the shrill screams of Resentful Granny had awakened this young couple from their sleep.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what had happened, out of concern for his downstairs neighbors, Lin Ling still came down to check.


    Zhang Xiaomo had hurried over and immediately took action against Resentful Granny, so the outer door hadn¡¯t been closed at the moment.


    Yan Junze walked to the door, and just as Lin Ling was coming down the stairs, he looked up at the extinguished lights, puzzled, ¡°Did the wiring burn out? I just heard someone yelling.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and smiled, ¡°It just burned out all of a sudden, sparks flew out and scared my girlfriend into screaming. Sorry for disturbing you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, no trouble at all,¡± Lin Ling glanced at part of the ceiling wiring that was scorched black, ¡°It¡¯s too late now for nighttime work, I¡¯ll come over and replace it for you tomorrow during the day. I learned electrical work before going to university, and I have ready-to-use wires at home.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be troubling you,¡± said Yan Junze.


    ¡°You all should get some rest early too,¡± Lin Ling said with a smile, glancing at the Strangeness Interferer in Yan Junze¡¯s arms, feeling a bit weird inside, and turned to go upstairs.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo said nothing more.


    Although Resentful Granny hadn¡¯t been finished off, she had been badly damaged, and they were at least safe for the next couple of days.


    They both slept in their clothes when they went back to bed.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep, but as soon as it was light out, he woke up.


    He checked next door, and Lin Dong seemed lethargic, lying in bed.


    However, according to Zhang Xiaomo, Lin Dong¡¯s body would recover after a few days of rest and there was no major issue.


    The young couple upstairs were indeed nice people. After seeing Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo get up, Lin Ling immediately came down with his tools, and in just about half an hour, he had replaced the burned-out wiring in the room and installed new fuses.


    Soon electricity was restored to the room.


    At this point, Yan Junze always felt as if he had forgotten something, but after sitting in the room for a long time, he couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    ¡°I have three more days to protect you; I hope we can kill her in that time,¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said as the day was coming to an end.


    With Resentful Granny injured and it not being the usual nerve-wracking situation, the fourth day passed quickly.


    On the evening of the fifth day, the young couple upstairs cordially invited Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze to have dinner with them, and they even brought back a bunch of fresh ingredients, but Zhang Xiaomo still declined.


    Eating the clear soup noodles in his bowl, Yan Junze looked up, frustrated, and asked Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Can we take the initiative instead of being passive, and go directly to Granny Ren¡¯s grandmother¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°Not very realistic,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°Searching for strangenesses requires a lot of equipment and the cost is too high.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Hmm, if I were the President of Great Capital, this problem would be easily solved.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him and suddenly revealed a smile, ¡°If you were the President of Great Capital, it wouldn¡¯t be my job as a three-star exorcist to protect you.¡±


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo would routinely close the door.


    The light bulbs had been replaced with two new ones by Lin Ling, and they were much brighter than the previous ones.


    When it was time to sleep, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo slept. They were each flipping through their phones and books, having a desultory conversation.


    Who knew that shortly after eleven o¡¯clock, an inexplicable noise began to emanate from upstairs.


    The sound had rhythm, as if a wooden board was being compressed, followed by a disjointed noise that quickly escalated to indescribable levels. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shit!


    Yan Junze immediately sensed something was wrong and glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was still browsing on her phone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo decisively turned off her phone screen, placed the phone on the bedside table, turned over and covered herself with the quilt, but her right hand habitually rested on the magnetic knife under her pillow.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s sleep.¡±


    Yan Junze also put down his book, took off his glasses, and lay down to cover himself with the quilt.


    They said sleep, but the sounds from upstairs were soul-stirring and intermittent, relentlessly piercing their ears.


    Yan Junze soon realized that his heartbeat was accelerating and he couldn¡¯t suppress it.


    On the other side of the partitioned bedding, it seemed that Zhang Xiaomo was also not sleeping very well, tossing and turning frequently.


    Yan Junze was sure she hadn¡¯t fallen asleep either.


    After what felt like an eternity, the sounds from upstairs finally ceased.


    By then, Yan Junze had already envisioned Zhang Xiaomo, who lay on the other side, as the Resentful Granny he had seen the night before. With that image, the urge subsided, as did the expectations and illusions, and he felt a lot better.


    Yep, only a straight man suffering from toxic masculinity would do something like this.


    In the rental unit on the second floor.


    Su Muyao, who had already put on her pajamas, lay on the bed with a flushed face and still panting, while her boyfriend Lin Dong had gone to get a drink of water.


    Su Muyao knew Lin Dong¡¯s habit; every time after they did the deed, he always had to put something in his mouth, whether it was eating fruit or drinking water, he wouldn¡¯t just idle around.


    ¡°This guy, it feels like he¡¯s holding back some energy,¡± Su Muyao said with a smile, her eyes closed as she rested, looking content.


    Lin Dong, wearing shorts and bare-chested, went to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, rummaged for something to eat, and soon took out a bottle of yogurt and took a big gulp after twisting open the lid.


    Feeling much more comfortable, Lin Dong closed the fridge door and was about to go back to the bedroom when he suddenly noticed something under the sofa.


    He didn¡¯t turn on the light but instead used the moonlight shining in from the window to look under the sofa.


    ¡°Could it be hair again?¡±


    Lin Dong remembered that just two days ago he had cleaned out a clump of grayish-white hair from under the sofa.


    When that clump of hair was found, it also contained an indescribable black viscous liquid, stuck to the hair and emitting a fishy stench. Afterwards, Lin Dong and Su Muyao scraped up all that liquid and hair into a plastic bag and threw it out.


    Thus, Su Muyao had also checked other places, not finding any more hair, and she had mopped under the sofa several times as well.


    In the dim moonlight, it seemed like there was something under the sofa.


    Lin Dong crouched down, reached out to touch it, and then pulled it out.


    In his hand was a clump of grayish-white hair, quite a large clump, almost the size of wigs sold on the street.


    Lin Dong was stunned for a moment, just standing there in front of the sofa, staring at the hair in his hand.


    The hair also had traces of black viscous liquid, clumping it all together, with a faint fishy smell wafting through.


    After a moment, Lin Dong suddenly, without a word, stretched out the hair and then¡­ rigidly placed it on his own head.


    ¡°Darling, what are you doing? Be careful not to catch a cold, come back to bed and sleep,¡± called Su Muyao¡¯s voice from the bedroom.

 Chapter 82 - 82 - 81 Day Six

    Chapter 82 ¨C 81 Day Six


    It was already midnight.


    Su Muyao¡¯s voice came through to the outer room, just as Lin Ling had placed the white-haired wig onto his own head.


    He didn¡¯t speak, and after putting it on, he continuously stroked and groomed the white hair with his hands.


    Wrinkles slowly appeared on his originally smooth, youthful cheeks, and crow¡¯s feet formed at the corners of his eyes¡­


    ¡°Darling?¡± Su Muyao felt very tired and didn¡¯t want to get up. Lying in bed, she called out again.


    Before long, the bare-chested silhouette of Lin Ling entered the inner room. As he moved, his hands remained still, and his steps were unnaturally stiff.


    Sensing Lin Ling¡¯s presence, Su Muyao said, ¡°Hurry up and get into bed. We need to get up early tomorrow. Don¡¯t catch a cold.¡±


    ...


    With that, she closed her eyes.


    At this moment, Su Muyao was overcome with sleepiness, barely able to keep awake.


    Yet after she spoke, there was no response.


    Just as she was about to drift off, Su Muyao suddenly sensed something amiss, and her drowsiness was cut in half. She opened her eyes and saw that Lin Ling was still standing by the bed, silent and motionless.


    ¡°Lin¡­ Ling?¡±


    In that moment, Su Muyao, who had realized that something was wrong, began to shake, her voice trembling with a sobbing tone, her complexion turning deathly pale.


    Giggling¡­


    From Lin Ling¡¯s mouth came a series of strange grating sounds, and then he, wearing the white hair, leaned over. His face, now full of wrinkles, loomed directly over the utterly terrified Su Muyao. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, a scream shattered the midnight silence.


    Downstairs in the rented apartment.


    Zhang Xiaomo bolted upright.


    Yan Junze also sat up from the bed, and the two exchanged glances.


    ¡°Could it be Granny Ren?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°There¡¯s a good chance. That old lady must be performing spirit-splitting again.¡±


    ¡°This time, I¡¯m not staying in the room alone. Let¡¯s go up together,¡± Yan Junze suggested.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t say anything else, pulled out the magnetic knife from under her pillow and led the way out, while Yan Junze grabbed the unused Strangeness Interferer and followed with it in his arms.


    The two went upstairs, one after the other.


    The second-floor door was closed, and no more sounds came from the room.


    ¡°Step aside, I¡¯ll break the door down!¡±


    Yan Junze hurried forward from behind and, without waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to speak, kicked at the door.


    Then his foot went numb.


    The door didn¡¯t budge.


    Zhang Xiaomo, oblivious to Yan Junze¡¯s embarrassment, looked through the window into the room. She saw Lin Ling, dressed only in shorts, standing bare-chested at the bedroom door, silently watching in this direction.


    His face was full of wrinkles.


    ¡°He¡¯s been taken over by Granny Ren,¡± Yan Junze said from the side.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lin Ling turned and went back into the inner room.


    Soon after, sounds of struggling, accompanied by Su Muyao¡¯s screams, erupted.


    A petite figure suddenly dashed to the bedroom door, her face stricken with terror. She recklessly headed for the main door of the outer room and violently twisted the lock open.


    The door swung open.


    ¡°Quick, get behind me!¡± Yan Junze prepared to rush in first and rescue the trembling Su Muyao.


    But he was pulled back by Zhang Xiaomo, who yanked him behind her.


    Zhang Xiaomo stepped into the room first, and with the magnetic knife in her hand, she plunged it mercilessly into the chest of the defenseless and weakened Su Muyao.


    Yan Junze was immediately stunned.


    The previously terrified Su Muyao froze as well. She lifted her head in horror, looking at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm face, and then looked down at the magnetic knife that had almost completely sunk into her chest.


    The scene was sudden and unexpected.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak. He knew that Zhang Xiaomo wouldn¡¯t do this for no reason. Since she dared to, she must have had her reasons.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a grating laugh coming from Su Muyao¡¯s throat, and she began to tremble, the frequency of her shaking increasing rapidly.


    Bang!


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s illusory figure burst out from Su Muyao¡¯s back, crashing into the cabinet in front of the television.


    Zhang Xiaomo had already pulled out the magnetic knife and chased after her, striking the Resentful Granny who had just been severely wounded again.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s body visibly faded and let out a wail.


    Her body was dissipating quickly, about to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo pressed the Hidden Buckle embedded in the magnetic knife with her left hand. It was as if she caught a faint glimmer of light in her hand, and she forcefully pressed it down on the fading Resentful Granny.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s originally fading illusory figure immediately solidified.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t pause; she plunged the magnetic knife straight into the Resentful Granny¡¯s head.


    A white light burst from within the Resentful Granny, shattering her body into countless fragments that scattered all around.


    The fragments drifted in the air and soon turned into tiny specks that vanished without a trace.


    Yan Junze looked down at Su Muyao who had just been stabbed by the magnetic knife and fell to the ground, to find that the woman¡¯s chest was completely unharmed, without a single wound.


    ¡°The magnetic knife only harms the supernatural, not the human body,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo from the side.


    ¡°Has Granny Ren been eliminated?¡± Yan Junze turned on all the lights in the room at this moment.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know for the time being.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t put away the magnetic knife but walked into the bedroom. There, Lin Ling was lying on the bed bare-chested and unconscious.


    She hesitated slightly before chopping down with the knife at Lin Ling¡¯s chest.


    The next second, a white Spirit-Splitting emerged from above Lin Ling¡¯s head, struggling to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo swung her knife and shattered the Spirit-Splitting into fragments that dissipated into the air.


    ¡°Is this the Spirit-Splitting?¡± Yan Junze asked in surprise from behind.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded. ¡°Just now, Granny Ren¡¯s main body entered Su Muyao, intentionally showing that the Spirit-Splitting moved to this man, to divert our attention to him.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you shatter her main body just now?¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°If the Spirit-Splitting isn¡¯t destroyed, the main body can regenerate from it after dissipating,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained. ¡°Therefore, we should check again to see if there is any remaining Spirit-Splitting at the scene.¡±


    Lin Ling did not wake up, but Su Muyao was gradually coming to.


    Yan Junze had laid her on the sofa, and when she woke up, he asked, ¡°Have there been any unusual occurrences in the house lately?¡±


    Still dazed, Su Muyao didn¡¯t respond until Yan Junze had asked for the third time, and then she seemed to snap back to reality.


    ¡°Yes, right under this sofa,¡± said Su Muyao with some fear. ¡°That day we found a lot of hair, the kind that¡¯s grayish-white, and some really stinky slime.¡±


    ¡°Move the sofa away,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    Yan Junze assisted Su Muyao to another chair to sit down, then he and Zhang Xiaomo moved the sofa away, revealing a dark clump of slime on the floor.


    They saw that the slime was sprouting many grayish-white hairs that seemed to be slowly growing.


    ¡°This must be the place.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself and plunged the magnetic knife right into the center of the slime.


    ¡°Ouch¡­¡±


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s voice suddenly erupted, filling the entire room.


    ¡°Ouch your sister!¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath. ¡°This is your last time feeling pain!¡±


    Waves of energy from the magnetic knife rippled outwards, and after a while, the clump of slime began to contract and the grayish-white hair wilted away.

 Chapter 83 - 83 - 82 Day Seven

    Chapter 83 ¨C 82 Day Seven


    After searching the house once more and questioning both Lin Ling and Su Muyao, who had awakened, I was certain there were no more Spirit-Splitting remnants of the Resentful Granny present.


    Zhang Xiaomo used the magnetic knife to emit an energy field to search again, then she and Yan Junze went back down to the first floor.


    They entered the house and closed the door.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Granny Ren has been dealt with, but to be on the safe side, I¡¯ll still stay with you until tomorrow afternoon.¡±


    ¡°And then do we leave together, or¡­¡±


    Before Yan Junze could finish, Zhang Xiaomo added, ¡°I need to leave first to catch a flight to Sealed City. I booked the ticket seven days ago.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve been through a lot these past few days,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ...


    To be honest, he had been keeping the Rewind timeline open, cycling every four hours, and until now, he dared not close it.


    Anyway, let¡¯s wait until tomorrow.


    The pressure that had been building up in his heart over the last few days gradually dispersed. Lying in bed, Yan Junze soon fell asleep.


    When they woke up in the morning, even Zhang Xiaomo overslept a bit and practically got up at the same time as him.


    For the first time in history, the two of them went down to eat out at a street corner restaurant. However, Yan Junze heeded Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s advice and didn¡¯t open champagne to celebrate.


    Then they brought some food for Su Muyao and Lin Ling, who hadn¡¯t gone to work. These two, just like Lin Dong, were somewhat spiritless after being affected by the Spirit-Splitting, but they would quickly recover after a couple days of rest.


    In the afternoon, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went to see Lin Dong again.


    Lin Dong was already fine, just terribly frightened by the Resentful Granny, looking somewhat out of sorts. Old Li from the street corner even came over to look after him specially.


    This kind of mental trauma could only be healed with time.


    After dinner, Yan Junze suggested they go for a walk.


    Zhang Xiaomo did not refuse.


    The two strolled slowly along the streets of Rock.


    After walking for a while, Yan Junze said, ¡°After this incident, I feel that intruding and Spirit-Splitting are like the two ultimate skills of the supernatural.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head: ¡°For Wandering Spirits, intruding and Spirit-Splitting are child¡¯s play, easy to figure out. But Granny Ren was almost at the level of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, which is why her Spirit-Splitting was so relentless, and her intrusions were unexpected and sometimes looked very weird.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°No matter how weird, they are all seen through in front of you. That was the case yesterday with Su Muyao. If you hadn¡¯t held me back, I might have already¡­¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°This requires training and the accumulation of disposal experience. The more times you encounter it, the more responsive you will become.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded.


    By this time, the two had almost reached the end of the old street, which was precisely where Yan Junze had last detected ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± mission at 39 Old Street.


    Yan Junze glanced up at an empty, abandoned building not far away.


    There were many self-built houses here, and this building also appeared to be self-constructed, only it had three floors, and the external door panels were already broken. One could see the dark interior of the house through the damaged door panels.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, this way,¡± Zhang Xiaomo pointed to another street.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°This should be the place you mentioned before that was haunted by strangenesses. Now that we¡¯ve come across it, why not deal with it directly?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Any strangeness that prevents people from living normally has been reported to the Exorcists and is in line. Unless there is an emergency, I can¡¯t interfere according to the rules. If no one has reported it, it means the strangeness is not dangerous, and I don¡¯t need to act.¡±


    ¡°Just watching it happen right under your nose?¡± Yan Junze still didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°The strangenesses in this world erupted suddenly more than half a year ago, and our team was only established then. That¡¯s why we still face many difficulties that we can¡¯t solve,¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked up at the distant house. ¡°We have our own rules of operation, including that strangenesses can form magnetic fields affecting the area, which is one of the rules that cannot be changed at will.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°It means that if a strangeness isn¡¯t at the point of requiring immediate resolution, and you take care of it, the magnetic field of other strangenesses within the same range¡­ they could become stronger or undergo some kind of unknown mutation.¡±


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned. Wasn¡¯t this what ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± had mentioned before, that the level of an event could probabilistically increase over time?


    It seemed that Exorcists were no pushovers; this much they had clearly grasped as well.


    As the two of them talked, they neared 114 on Rock Back Street.


    This was precisely where Yan Junze had detected the second mission¡¯s Lin Family courtyard.


    He tilted his head slightly to observe Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reaction, only to find that she merely glanced at the seemingly abandoned courtyard and said nothing after withdrawing her gaze.


    Of course, Yan Junze himself wouldn¡¯t bring it up, or his secrets might be exposed.


    He briefly scrutinized the dilapidated courtyard. Its surrounding walls were intact but overgrown with ivy and weeds. The nearby houses all sported the character ¡°Demolish,¡± yet for some reason they remained untouched.


    As a result, no one lived in the vicinity.


    ¡°This place feels quite remote,¡± said Yan Junze, making a deliberate comment.


    ¡°Mhm, let¡¯s go, back to our place,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied without much elaboration.


    Returning to their rental, they greeted Lin Dong, and decided to move out the following day. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lin Dong readily agreed, though he still lay on his bed, looking dejected.


    Seeing him like this made Yan Junze feel somewhat guilty. If it weren¡¯t for his arrival, Lin Dong wouldn¡¯t be in such a state.


    But fortunately, these innocent people hadn¡¯t lost their lives.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the sofa outside tonight. It¡¯s our last day, so you should get a good night¡¯s sleep in the bed,¡± Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t say anything, and soon Yan Junze moved his bedding out, tossing it on the sofa.


    When bedtime came, they turned off the lights in their respective rooms. Moonlight streamed in through the windows and for a while, neither of them fell asleep.


    Eventually, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice carried over: ¡°You have a good constitution. You could come to our place for testing sometime. You might make an excellent Exorcist, so don¡¯t waste it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it some other time.¡± This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t outright refuse.


    He felt that even if he couldn¡¯t become an Exorcist, he would still have many chances to deal with them in the future. This was unavoidable.


    After chatting for a while, Yan Junze didn¡¯t know when he had fallen asleep.


    It was just a dim awareness that he was lying on the sofa when a dark figure slowly approached from the inner room. It looked somewhat like Zhang Xiaomo, yet it didn¡¯t.


    He was unable to open his eyes, nor move at all, as if suddenly hit by sleep paralysis¡ªhis consciousness was clear, but his body was rigid.


    The figure drew near, standing silently by his side.


    Yan Junze felt cold sweat breaking out; he struggled with all his might to open his eyes. His body shook slightly from the desperate attempts.


    The figure moved, bent down, and brought its face close to his.


    In that moment, Yan Junze suddenly opened his eyes wide to see a wrinkled, waxen yellow cheek.


    He knew this face all too well.


    Resentful Granny!


    Huh¡­


    Yan Junze abruptly sat up from the sofa, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, looking around, but there was nothing.


    A dream! Was it just a dream?!


    ¡°After narrowly escaping from being killed by a strong magnetic field strangeness, it is normal to experience delusions and hallucinations for a period. Just ignore it and it will go away,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm voice suddenly came from the bedroom, as if it was something she was accustomed to.

 Chapter 84 - 84 - 83 The Woman in the Old House (Part 1)

    Chapter 84 ¨C 83 The Woman in the Old House (Part 1)


    Yan Junze had lost all desire to sleep, so he simply got up, poured himself a glass of water and sat down on the couch.


    He didn¡¯t respond to Zhang Xiaomo.


    It turned out that Zhang Xiaomo was quite remarkable, and she remained unusually calm no matter what situation she encountered, arguably bringing the composure of a three-star exorcist to its peak.


    Moreover, she was experienced.


    The recent dream had felt so real, as if the Resentful Granny truly stood right before him.


    And Zhang Xiaomo, without even coming out, knew what had happened to Yan Junze, forcing him to regard this woman with newfound respect once again.


    However, at this moment, the feeling that there was something very important he had been unable to recall from the past couple of days filled Yan Junze¡¯s chest again.


    ...


    He sipped his water, straining his memory, unable to grasp what important thing he had forgotten.


    But after a long attempt at recollection, he was still utterly confused, merely feeling a sense of unease in his heart, an inexplicable panic ensuing.


    After finishing his water, he just sat there on the sofa and, unaware, fell asleep.


    The next afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo got her travel bag ready, left Yan Junze her phone number, and then departed ahead of him.


    Yan Junze, using the excuse of having one last meal with Lin Ling and Su Muyao who lived upstairs, told Zhang Xiaomo he would be leaving the following day.


    There were still two missions waiting for him, opportunities to light up the Spacetime Atlas ¨C he could not afford to waste them.


    So, after Zhang Xiaomo had gone, he first went to see Lin Dong to extend his room rental for two days.


    He then went to Boom Supermarket to buy two rechargeable flashlights and a gray face mask and, back at the room, plugged in the flashlights to charge continuously.


    According to the supermarket owner¡¯s introduction, once fully charged, the flashlights could provide light for approximately an hour and a half. Exploring the mission ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± shouldn¡¯t take an hour and a half, especially since he had a second flashlight as backup.


    Of course, Yan Junze did not intend to complete both missions at once; he planned to tackle ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± tonight, and the following night, visit the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard to complete the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± mission.


    The reason for acting at night was simple: only under the cover of darkness could he avoid detection. If he were to try during the day, being spotted by just one person could ruin the mission.


    After enjoying a hot pot he had cooked himself with Lin Ling and Su Muyao, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo revealed what had truly happened that night, leaving the couple to continue thanking them, believing that they might have been ruined had it not been for their timely arrival.


    Yan Junze, not wanting to say much, had a great time dining with the couple, but he didn¡¯t dare to drink alcohol, and Lin Ling, seeing his youthful and tender appearance, didn¡¯t urge him to drink either.


    The gathering dispersed around nine o¡¯clock, and after expressing his gratitude, Yan Junze returned downstairs.


    He checked the flashlights, both fully charged.


    Now he just waited for the dead of night to begin his action.


    Around half-past eleven, it was already difficult to see a single person on Rock¡¯s streets.


    Yan Junze put on a black coat, equipped the gray mask, and stepped out with his mobile phone and the two flashlights in hand.


    He had silenced his phone in advance.


    Walking down the street, he could only see lights on in one or two houses, even Lin Ling and Su Muyao upstairs had gone to sleep.


    He quickly arrived at number 39 on the old street.


    Looking up, the place was just as it had been during the day: the door was in tatters, but the exterior walls were still solid. There were large cobwebs at the entrance, clearly untouched by humans for a long while.


    Yan Junze stood at the corner of the wall, glanced around to make sure no one was there, then turned and went up the steps of number 39.


    The steps, made of stone, were very stable underfoot.


    In a few strides, he reached the door. He didn¡¯t need to unlock anything and simply stepped over the broken door panel to enter.


    Once inside, Yan Junze turned his head and peered through the door panel towards the street, checking for passersby. Not a soul went by; it was quiet.


    He turned around, switched on the flashlight, dimmed its light, and walked into the house.


    The old-fashioned houses built in the countryside used to have a front room designed to serve as a shopfront, which was usually vacant and only contained a few stools, devoid of other furniture.


    Yan Junze quickly crossed this empty room, a musty smell permeating the air.


    But luckily, he was wearing a mask and had anticipated that the air quality would be poor since the place hardly saw any sunlight.


    He had sized up the building from the outside during the daytime; it was a three-story self-built house fallen into disrepair, with multiple areas of the exterior wall peeling away.


    The staircase leading up was also quite narrow. Yan Junze reached the foot of the stairs and shone the flashlight upwards, only to discover that they were covered in moss.


    Clearly, the interior was very damp. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, upon closer inspection, the stairs at the corner also continued downwards.


    That meant there was a basement in the building.


    Standing there for a while, Yan Junze pondered whether to go up or down.


    The mission briefing hinted that Ye Zhennan, who had hanged herself, was still swaying beneath the house¡¯s beams, but it didn¡¯t specify which floor, which posed a dilemma for Yan Junze.


    He shone his flashlight toward the basement; it seemed even darker inside, less bright than upstairs. At least the second floor and above allowed some moonlight to penetrate, which was far better than the basement.


    ¡°Where would a person usually choose to hang themselves if they wanted to do it alone?¡±


    Yan Junze stood at the staircase entrance, contemplating in the dead silence, with no sound coming from around him.


    He tried to put himself in the mindset of the woman seeking death¡ªif one wanted to die without being discovered and saved, they would certainly choose a place where people rarely went.


    So it seemed the basement might be more fitting.


    After shining the flashlight around the second floor for a while, Yan Junze abandoned the idea of going upstairs and decided to head straight to the basement.


    As expected, the stair steps leading down to the basement were even more slippery and wet, with a thick covering of green moss underfoot. And these self-built houses, to save money, didn¡¯t even have railings on the staircases to the basement.


    Yan Junze had to support himself against the wall with one hand, moving down with extreme caution, step by step.


    As long as he didn¡¯t slide down directly on his rear in a ¡°falling goose¡± style, taking his time to descend safely was certainly the better approach.


    Therefore, he made almost no noise while descending the stairs.


    When he was about halfway down to the basement, a strange noise suddenly came from upstairs.


    The sound resembled that of a rope being tightened to its limit¡ªan eerily distinctive twang that stood out in the quiet of the night.


    Yan Junze froze, ¡°Could it be I guessed wrong? Is the woman not hanging in the basement but upstairs instead?¡±


    However, from where he stood, he could only vaguely determine that the noise was coming from upstairs; whether it was the second or third floor remained unknown.


    Should he go straight up to check?


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then decided against it.


    Since he had already come halfway down the stairs to the basement, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to check there first before going up.


    Just as he was about to continue down the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped.


    Because he had heard a noise from upstairs, he had instinctively shone the flashlight upward.


    And at that moment, his flashlight had just moved away from the area above.


    But in the brief instant as the light withdrew, he caught sight of a pair of feet at the corner on the first floor¡ªa pair of feet in white women¡¯s shoes. Next to the feet hung a rope, about as thick as a finger.

 Chapter 85 - 85 - 84 The Woman in the Old House (Part 2)

    Chapter 85 ¨C 84 The Woman in the Old House (Part 2)


    ¡°`


    Because the basement staircase had not been fitted with handrails, Yan Junze, standing on the staircase, only had to look up to see the ground level of the first floor parallel to his gaze.


    At that moment, a pair of white ladies¡¯ shoes stood on the ground near the stairs, toes pointing in the direction of the stairs he was on, one end of a dirtied rope dragging on the ground, the other end extending upwards.


    From this angle, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see where the other end of the rope was.


    However, he could imagine that if the woman were facing the staircase where he stood, the other end of the rope might be wrapped around her neck this very moment.


    Yan Junze remembered that the task had mentioned the woman felt a soreness and pain in her neck, requesting help to loosen it.


    Now that Ye Zhennan¡¯s ghost stood before him, the likelihood of her having hung herself in the basement seemed very small.


    ...


    As Yan Junze was hesitating, the pair of white ladies¡¯ shoes turned around and slowly walked towards the staircase that led to the second floor, the rope on the ground being slowly dragged behind the white shoes.


    To Yan Junze, that rope was definitely tied around her neck.


    Then, there came the faint sound of footsteps ascending the stairs.


    It seemed the woman wanted to tell him that she had hung herself upstairs, not in the basement.


    Turning back to the first floor, he shone his flashlight onto the staircase leading to the second floor, and no longer saw the slender, white-shoed feet.


    Yan Junze climbed the stairs to the second floor.


    The stairs had moss on them, too, but not as severely as the basement stairs; with a bit of caution, he quickly reached the second floor.


    This appeared to be a regular living room, with a kitchen, a balcony, and a storage room crammed with sundries.


    The living room was spacious; standing in the doorway, Yan Junze illuminated every corner methodically with his flashlight, not missing any spot, and looked up at the ceiling as well. He could not see the rope.


    He did not even find a place that seemed suitable for hanging.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt a sudden tingle at the back of his neck, and his hairs stood on end.


    Turning his head to look behind, he saw the white ladies¡¯ shoes reappear on the staircase leading to the third floor, still dragging the dirty rope beneath them.


    Standing on the stairs, the feet were still facing in Yan Junze¡¯s direction, as if¡­ waiting for him.


    ¡°It seems it¡¯s not on the second floor either.¡±


    Yan Junze realized, and turned towards the stairwell of the second floor.


    As he moved toward the stairwell, the white shoes had already proceeded towards the third floor, the trailing rope also disappearing behind them.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and followed up the stairs to the third floor.


    After Ye Zhennan¡¯s suicide by hanging, her husband had left Rock and has been missing ever since.


    This self-built house had seen a death and couldn¡¯t be sold, which is why it had been left vacant.


    However, what puzzled Yan Junze was, knowing that someone had died here, how could it be possible for Ye Zhennan¡¯s body to remain hanging from the beam instead of being cremated or buried.


    What were the people here thinking?


    Carrying this question to the third floor, he saw no further sign of the owner of the feet.


    The third floor was well lit, making the moonlight even more abundant. With the aid of his flashlight, the surrounding objects were clearly visible.


    The furnishing of the rooms was similar to the second floor, but the living room had no furniture at all.


    Only a¡­ coffin was placed.


    This coffin was positioned in the center of the room, its lid moved to one side, revealing the empty inside.


    An empty third floor, and right in the middle of the room, a coffin!


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt goosebumps all over his head.


    No wonder Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul had lured him upstairs; as it turned out, her body was indeed placed in the coffin on the third floor.


    Yan Junze took another deep breath, the mask preventing him from being overwhelmed by the damp air. Then, he slowly approached the coffin.


    With each step closer, the tension in his heart steadily grew.


    Until he stood beside the coffin, Yan Junze suppressed the fear that filled his heart, peered into the coffin, while the beam of his flashlight followed inside.


    ¡°`


    Then he froze.


    There was no one.


    The coffin was actually empty.


    Not exactly empty, though.


    Yan Junze quickly saw a piece of light yellow rice paper inside, which seemed to have a full page of characters written with a brush.


    He looked around the room and noticed nothing unusual. Then he reached into the coffin and took out the rice paper.


    The first line read: A letter from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    These characters appeared to be written by a ¡°Lin Yishan,¡± a Yin Yang Master.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had encountered a traditional Yin Yang Master in a strangeness event.


    Because, according to the ways this world dealt with supernatural events, the traditionally passed-down tools, such as coin swords, talismans, jade Buddhas, and black dog blood, were almost ineffective against supernatural forces.


    Which meant these Yin Yang Masters were either unemployed or on the verge of unemployment.


    Now, it was rare to see someone claiming to be a Yin Yang Master.


    Yan Junze read the contents of the paper at a glance, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter, until they were completely knitted together.


    The contents of the rice paper contained a warning from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    From the text, Yan Junze quickly gathered the following crucial information:


    1. The soul of Ye Zhennan had been wandering in this building for half a year, and traditional methods had failed to eliminate her, but the locals at Rock did not inform the paranormal event team and instead had the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan conduct an exorcism.


    2. It was impossible to bury Ye Zhennan¡¯s body because every time after the burial, her body would return to the site of her hanging, the reason remained a mystery. Therefore, the locals simply placed the coffin in her home, letting her cause trouble only within her own house.


    3. The hanging didn¡¯t take place on the third floor but in¡­ the basement.


    4. If you encounter the soul of Ye Zhennan in the building, remember, never follow her, don¡¯t look straight at her face, and especially don¡¯t stare at her protruding tongue.


    When he got to the last piece of information, Yan Junze was utterly baffled.


    He couldn¡¯t help but curse the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan eighteen times in his mind, for fuck¡¯s sake, if I hadn¡¯t come up to read what you wrote, how would I know not to follow Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul? sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now that he¡¯d followed her here, what could he do?


    However, it seemed that Lin Yishan had written these words, perhaps intending them for the exorcist, but the locals had not reported to the exorcist team.


    Knowing now not to follow, Yan Junze prepared to immediately retreat downstairs. Just as he turned to leave, a piece of information flashed through his mind.


    [The Hanged Woman has triggered a new branch mission.]


    [Mission Name: Tongue;]


    [Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);]


    [Mission Background: Ye Zhennan loved beauty in life, so when she chose to hang herself, she regretted it. She didn¡¯t expect the hanging to cause her jaw to be strangled, making her tongue muscles slack due to relaxation, plus the loss of central control, after death, Ye Zhennan¡¯s tongue protruded out of her mouth by about ten centimeters.]


    [Mission Instructions: Find Ye Zhennan¡¯s body and stuff her tongue back into her mouth;]


    [Mission Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Mission Penalty: Unknown;]


    [Mission Tip: 1. This evil spirit is Lockdown-capable; 2. Affected by the supernatural territory, Ye Zhennan¡¯s evil spirit will naturally protect her body from any disturbance by outsiders, please proceed with caution;]


    [Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is very terrifying.]


    Having seen the new branch mission, Yan Junze knew he couldn¡¯t linger on the third floor any longer and immediately moved to leave.


    But after taking only one step, he stopped and stared straight ahead.


    At the doorway of the room stood a woman with disheveled hair, a rope tied around her neck, dressed in a white dress and white shoes.


    As she stood, her shoulders slanted to the left, one side higher than the other, as if unable to maintain balance.

 Chapter 86 - 86 - 85 The Woman in the Old House (Part 3)

    Chapter 86 ¨C 85 The Woman in the Old House (Part 3)


    The moment Yan Junze caught a glimpse of Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, he immediately diverted his gaze and stopped staring at her.


    He vividly remembered the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan¡¯s advice, not to stare at this woman¡¯s face, especially her tongue.


    It seemed that after death, Ye Zhennan was very dissatisfied with her own appearance, which is why staring at her had become taboo.


    Although it was just a fleeting glance and he quickly shifted his gaze, Yan Junze still vaguely saw the woman¡¯s face, particularly the area around her lips, which was quite conspicuous.


    A soft, limpy thing was dangling down from her lips to her chin, clearly her elongated tongue.


    ¡°How am I going to get down?¡± Yan Junze quickly pondered in his mind.


    Now Ye Zhennan was blocking the doorway without moving, her stance was exceedingly abnormal, her shoulders uneven, emanating an inexplicable creepiness. Gradually, the room housing the coffin filled with an increasingly chilling atmosphere.


    ...


    A man and a strangeness stood facing each other.


    After a moment, Yan Junze finally spoke, ¡°Can you¡­ speak?¡±


    Ye Zhennan lifted her head, tilting it, and let out a garbled sound from her mouth.


    Yan Junze was startled, then he realized, it seemed to be a curse, something like ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    He had politely asked her a question, so why would she start cursing right away?


    But the next second, he figured it out, ¡°Damn it, with a huge tongue stuffed in her mouth, she definitely couldn¡¯t speak properly.¡±


    His question had succeeded in angering Ye Zhennan; after she cursed, her tongue suddenly stretched out rapidly, coiling straight towards Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze once again found himself at the stair entrance on the first floor.


    He had been maintaining the four-hour continuous rewind, and at this moment, he was back to the time right after he entered house number 39 and stood at the entrance to the staircase on the first floor.


    So far, Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul had not appeared yet, but the task related to the ¡°tongue¡± had not been triggered either.


    Having foreknowledge of the contents on the piece of Xuan paper in the coffin, Yan Junze already had a plan.


    He immediately climbed the stairs, heading for the third floor.


    Along the way, being very cautious, he didn¡¯t see Ye Zhennan¡¯s figure.


    According to the timeline of his previous attempt, he was still halfway down the stairs to the basement, soon to spot Ye Zhennan¡¯s white shoes standing not far away.


    Therefore, at this moment, that woman should not be on the third floor. As long as he moved quickly and triggered the ¡°tongue¡± task, he could immediately head to the basement to find the body.


    He swiftly entered the room that housed only a single coffin; the lid was still pushed to one side. Yan Junze approached, about to reach inside to take out the Xuan paper.


    But the next second, he froze in shock ¨C he had never imagined that Ye Zhennan would be lying inside the coffin!


    The woman had a pale face, messy hair, eyes slightly closed, and that tongue still stretched out of her mouth, resting on the corner of her lips. The Xuan paper was concealed beneath her body, only a corner visible.


    Yan Junze could not determine whether the Ye Zhennan in the coffin was her soul or her body, but a person who had been dead for so long would have decayed by now, and certainly not appear as she did.


    This was also the question lingering in Yan Junze¡¯s mind; since the ¡°tongue¡± task required him to stuff Ye Zhennan¡¯s tongue back into her mouth, at the very least, that thing had to be flexible. If it had decayed, how could he still stuff it?


    Moreover, the air in the room was damp, significantly increasing the likelihood of the body decomposing.


    This question would persist until he actually saw Ye Zhennan¡¯s body.


    Now it seemed that only Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul lay in the coffin.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and glanced at the Xuan paper that was partially covered by her body, revealing just a corner. It looked as if the paper was not fully pressed down, merely covered by the body.


    With this in mind, he slowed his breathing and carefully reached his hand into the coffin, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on what appeared to be the sleeping Ye Zhennan.


    In fact, the features of Ye Zhennan weren¡¯t ugly, at least she was above average, but that long tongue sticking out greatly detracted from her overall attractiveness.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan wrote on the paper, ¡°Do not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, and do not look at her tongue.¡± This was under the assumption that Ye Zhennan had her eyes open, but now the woman¡¯s eyes were tightly closed, as if she weren¡¯t ¡°awake¡± yet.


    Looking at her at this time seemed to have no adverse effect.


    Grabbing the corner of the Xuan paper, Yan Junze gently tugged it, and the paper moved, indeed it was loose!


    He immediately applied more force, his fingers brushing against Ye Zhennan¡¯s white dress several times, but fortunately, he succeeded in slowly pulling out the Xuan paper bit by bit.


    He sighed with relief and finally grasped the Xuan paper completely in his hand.


    A task notification popped up, ¡°Side Quest [Tongue] has been activated.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, he immediately dropped the Xuan paper and turned to walk towards the door.


    Just then, a click sounded from behind him, coming from the direction of the coffin.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw a pale hand resting on the edge of the coffin lid, and the next second, it seemed the person inside was about to sit up. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He sped up and rushed out of the room, heading for the staircase and swiftly descending. Several times he stepped on the wet moss and nearly fell.


    It was a close call, but he finally reached the first floor.


    Listening carefully, he could hear faint footsteps on the third-floor stairs; Ye Zhennan was also coming down.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare delay, using the light from his flashlight, he quickly went down to the basement.


    Before Rewind, he had already figured out that Ye Zhennan¡¯s body was in the basement, where she had hung herself, which matched his previous speculations.


    Only this time, he had been misled by Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, leading him to go upstairs. However, it was also a stroke of luck, as otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have triggered the side quest.


    According to the [Tongue] quest, Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit was instinctively protecting her own Ghost Domain territory and would inherently block any outsiders from disturbing her body.


    So he could be sure that the entity upstairs would soon come down to the basement.


    He had to move faster.


    Bracing himself against the wall, Yan Junze hurried down, slipping twice on the wet stairs, but he finally made it to the basement.


    Without the help of moonlight, it was very dark here, and Yan Junze had no choice but to switch on a second flashlight.


    He first placed one flashlight on the ground, directing its light toward the direction of the basement stairs so that if Ye Zhennan came down, he would be able to spot her right away.


    Then he quickly scanned the basement with the flashlight; the basement was cluttered, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.


    However, at the furthest end of the basement, under one of the beams, hung an elongated object that was perfectly still in the absence of wind.


    According to the Yin Yang Master, Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse would move on its own. Anyone moving her down would soon find the body climbing back up to the beam, maintaining the posture of being hanged.


    That must be what he was seeing now.


    After locating the target, Yan Junze quickly walked over.

 Chapter 87 - 87 - 86 The Woman in the Old House (Part 4)

    Chapter 87 ¨C 86 The Woman in the Old House (Part 4)


    After walking a distance, he looked back at the basement staircase but saw no sign of the woman in the white dress.


    Approaching the hanging object, Yan Junze climbed onto a wooden box on the floor and reached out to touch it, confirming it was a corpse.


    The body was in an advanced state of decay, with only a skeleton remaining, although the white dress was barely tattered. However, a thick layer of dust covered the surface of the dress, making it indistinguishable from ordinary clothing.


    Yan Junze wondered how, despite such decay, the protruding tongue could still be intact?


    It should have rotted away to nothing by now.


    The wooden box was not high enough. Carrying a sense of wonder, he carefully stepped on the box, moving in front of the hanging woman.


    The box creaked alarmingly, as if it might break under his weight at any moment.


    ...


    Yan Junze steadied himself cautiously and then looked up, only to be taken aback.


    The disheveled skeletal face held a soft, limp tongue hanging down; surprisingly, only this tongue and the hair remained intact.


    Yan Junze glanced toward the basement staircase; under the flashlight¡¯s beam, he didn¡¯t see Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    There was still time.


    He thought for a moment, suppressing his disgust, and tiptoed to reach out.


    Since the tongue hung down nearly ten centimeters, even standing on the box was enough to touch it.


    The touch was not as Yan Junze had imagined; it didn¡¯t crumble or turn to powder. In fact, the tongue was soft and seemed as fresh as that of a pig just slaughtered, with little difference.


    A wave of queasiness swept over him. Yan Junze shivered and looked down to see if there was anything else to stand on to get higher.


    Because at this height, he could only touch the tongue and could not put it back in the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    Under the light of the flashlight, he quickly spotted a stepladder lying on the ground, almost buried in dust. If not for careful observation, he would have missed its existence.


    Yan Junze prepared to jump down from the box to set the ladder up and then climb it. Once he was level with the height of the hanging body, he planned to find a way to stuff the tongue back into Ye Zhennan¡¯s mouth.


    However, before jumping off the box, he felt a prick of caution and looked back at the basement staircase again.


    He saw a pair of feet in a white dress already appearing at the stairs, standing on the last step before descending into the basement, only three steps away from reaching the basement floor.


    Those feet, illuminated under the focused beam of his flashlight, were strikingly conspicuous.


    ¡°She¡¯s here already.¡±


    Yan Junze dared not delay any longer, jumping down from the box and quickly lifting the ladder, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. The dust filled the air, causing him to choke several times.


    Once the ladder was steady, he immediately began climbing without missing a beat.


    The ladder creaked worryingly, showing signs of neglect and threatening to break under a slightly more forceful step.


    He slowed down, making sure his last step was secure before daring to take the next.


    Having climbed to the second-to-top rung of the stepladder and straddled it, his body was now stable enough. He was at a height where he could stuff the tongue into Ye Zhennan¡¯s skeletal mouth.


    Before grabbing the tongue, Yan Junze glanced once more toward the basement stairway, where the pair of white shoes remained.


    Yan Junze felt a surge of relief inside, hoping that Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul would continue to stand there until he completed his task.


    After all, he was struggling for her beauty!


    He extended his right hand and gently grasped the drooping tongue, which felt soft and lifeless, devoid of the slippery sensation due to lack of saliva.


    Goosebumps rose and fell repeatedly on Yan Junze¡¯s arms¡­


    He couldn¡¯t stuff the tongue back with one hand, so with no other option, Yan Junze put the flashlight in his mouth and used both hands to vigorously stuff the limp tongue back into the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    But he soon realized that the upper and lower jaws of the skeleton were loose and couldn¡¯t close, so after half of the tongue was stuffed in, it quickly slipped out again.


    ¡°This won¡¯t work.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, holding the tongue in both hands, and subconsciously glanced at the basement staircase.


    Suddenly, he shuddered, only to see that the pair of feet that had been standing on the steps just a moment ago had now vanished without a trace.


    Under the beam of his flashlight at the staircase entrance, there was nothing but empty space.


    ¡°Did she go upstairs? Or did she come into the basement?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s heart pounded like a drum.


    He quickly turned his head, the light from the flashlight in his mouth rapidly scanning the surroundings, but it seemed he saw no sign of Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    It couldn¡¯t have gone up; that woman¡¯s soul must have already entered the basement.


    Yan Junze knew he had to speed up. He forced himself to focus on the long tongue, grabbed it again, and stuffed it violently into the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    At the same time, this time he finally saw clearly what the structure inside the mouth of Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse really was. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He saw at the end of the tongue, inside the mouth, there was a clump that looked like spider silk, a sticky substance that firmly held the tongue in place, preventing it from slipping out completely.


    If he could stuff the sharp end of the tongue in and stick it to that sticky substance, then the whole tongue, even if fully inserted, would not slip out again.


    Yan Junze had an idea.


    Just as he was about to use both hands to stuff in the tongue, a muffled and unclear voice suddenly rang out from behind him, as if talking with something in the mouth, the words garbled and indistinct.


    Just like before the Rewind, this time, the clever Yan Junze understood again that the meaning of the sentence was roughly: ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The voice emanated right behind his head, making him dare not turn around, for to do so would have been to come face-to-face with her.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan once said that one must not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan, so when the voice sounded, Yan Junze just gave an involuntary shudder, then continued to work hard at stuffing the tongue.


    One could imagine, at this moment, Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul was hovering in mid-air, parallel to him who was standing on the stepladder.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    The instinct to protect her own body was triggered, and the woman behind him barked a muffled and hoarse command.


    ¡°I¡¯m helping you!¡±


    However, far from letting go, Yan Junze gripped the greasy tongue even more vigorously, working hard to stick the sharp end onto that innermost sticky substance.


    Whew!


    Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill on his neck as the soul¡¯s hands wrapped around it. The flashlight in his mouth dropped, landing perfectly on the wooden plank at the very top of the stepladder.


    Almost instinctively, Yan Junze was about to Rewind.


    However, he knew that at this moment, he was racing against time. If he could stick the tongue before the soul acted, then his great task would be accomplished.


    The critical issue was that he needed to pay constant attention to his breathing. If he began to struggle for breath, nearing the point of suffocation, then he would have no choice but to Rewind.


    Fortunately, the woman¡¯s strength did not reach its peak the moment she grasped his neck; otherwise, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes would have bulged out of their sockets.


    Her hands¡¯ force was gradually increasing, which provided Yan Junze with the opportunity to stuff the tongue in one fierce attempt.


    Even so, at that moment he still felt his head swell and breathing grow difficult, as if a steel hoop were tightening around his neck.


    With his left hand, he grabbed the tip of the long tongue and forcefully stuffed it to the spot with the sticky substance, pressing down hard on the spot before Yan Junze finally let go.


    This time, the tongue stayed put, no longer sliding out of the mouth.


    [Tongue, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Awarded 300 Different Dimension Energy points.]

 Chapter 88 - 88 - 87 The Woman in the Old House (Part 5)

    Chapter 88 ¨C 87 The Woman in the Old House (Part 5)


    And at the same moment, the tightening force around his neck loosened, and the woman¡¯s hands released in the next second.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now, it¡¯s okay,¡± Yan Junze patted his chest, without turning his head back he said, ¡°I helped you put your tongue back in. This should make you look a bit prettier, I meant no harm.¡±


    ¡°Thank¡­thank you.¡±


    The voice of the woman behind him became extraordinarily clear, obviously her tongue that had been hanging out of her mouth had also retracted.


    ¡°Now, may I look at you?¡± Yan Junze asked cautiously, still not turning around. Continue your saga on empire


    ¡°Sorry for scaring you just now,¡± Ye Zhennan said. ¡°Yes, you can look at me.¡±


    Yan Junze was encountering such a polite strangeness for the first time, so for a moment, he, who had been tormented by the Resentful Granny and the earlier Ke¡¯er, found it somewhat disconcerting.


    ...


    At this moment, he realized the true meaning of the so-called ¡°cheapness¡± unintentionally revealed in human nature itself.


    First, he bent down to pick up the flashlight that had fallen on the stepladder, and then Yan Junze turned his head back.


    Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul was indeed floating behind him; now in a flowing white dress with her hair drifting, her face had returned to normal, albeit a bit pale, making her look not like a ghost, but more like a celestial maiden from the mortal world.


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re restored, fully restored,¡± Yan Junze nodded in approval.


    He then remembered the next task and spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m going to loosen the rope around your neck now. If you don¡¯t mind, I can carry your body back and place it properly in that coffin.¡±


    Ye Zhennan gently shook her head.


    To Yan Junze, this woman was the most human-like evil spirit he had encountered to date; as long as her tongue was put back into her mouth, she acted like a normal person.


    Whatever he said, he could immediately get feedback from her, rather than just ¡°eh,¡± ¡°ah,¡± or ¡°ouch.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be loosened?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    The task called [The Hanged Woman] suggested that Ye Zhennan¡¯s neck was very sore and painful and asked him to help her loosen it.


    Now it seemed that Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit bore him no malice, so wasn¡¯t doing this task just a matter of lifting a hand? And he was even offering an additional free service¡ªcarrying the corpse.


    Ye Zhennan was still shaking her head faintly, ¡°I am guilty, my son¡­ died wrongfully. It¡¯s my fault!¡±


    Yan Junze began to understand: Ye Zhennan¡¯s son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, and she felt she hadn¡¯t looked after the child properly, hence her continuous self-blame.


    Her suicide had two causes: one was her husband¡¯s frequent beatings, and the second might be her own wish to die, to atone for the sin of not taking good care of her child.


    A man and a ghost looked at each other in silence.


    After a while, Yan Junze said, ¡°So you mean that even if I take your body down now and carry it back to the coffin, in a few days you will still come out on your own and hang yourself here again?¡±


    Ye Zhennan nodded.


    ¡°How about this,¡± Yan Junze said helplessly, ¡°if you want to atone to your son, I will figure out a way. But I still need to take down your body and put it back into the coffin for now. What do you think?¡±


    This time, Ye Zhennan gave no response.


    Yan Junze no longer bothered with her, turned back around, reached up, and grabbed onto the rope that was looped around the skeleton¡¯s neck.


    The rope was actually worn very badly, with some areas already frayed and showing signs of near breakage. But mysteriously, it seemed like it would never actually snap.


    After grabbing onto the rope, Yan Junze gently embraced the corpse, then lifted it slightly upwards, its neck coming free from the rope.


    Fortunately, the skeleton wasn¡¯t very heavy. Yan Junze slowly descended the stepladder, then turned around to carry the skeleton on his back. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He shone the flashlight around but did not see Ye Zhennan¡¯s ghost again.


    Forget it for now, just get her corpse onto my back and place it in the coffin, before the body comes down on its own and hangs itself up again. If I can find Ye Zhennan¡¯s son, I, Yan Junze, will immediately help her fulfill her wish.


    Fortunately, the skeleton was light, so it took less than five minutes for him to carry the body up to the third floor and carefully place it into the opened coffin.


    Originally, Yan Junze prepared to cover the coffin with its lid, but after thinking it over, even if he did cover it, Ye Zhennan¡¯s body would still come out when it needed to, and the lid certainly wouldn¡¯t hold it down.


    So he decided not to cover it at all.


    After finishing these tasks, he still hadn¡¯t seen Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    Yan Junze dusted off his hands. Now, this task of The Hanged Woman could only be considered half completed. To truly ¡°untie¡± the rope around Ye Zhennan¡¯s neck, he would have to find her deceased son first.


    He looked at the white-dressed skeleton lying in the coffin and said, ¡°Hold on for two days and don¡¯t come out. As soon as I have news, I¡¯ll immediately help you find your son.¡±


    With that, Yan Junze turned and left.


    He hadn¡¯t expected things to be so complicated. Although he had completed the ¡°Tongue¡± task, he was now stuck on the second half of The Hanged Woman, and he had to go out and find another way.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, Ye Zhennan¡¯s body likely wouldn¡¯t hang itself again within a day or two.


    While pondering, he descended the stairs and quickly reached the first floor.


    He entered the empty room without any furniture that led to the outside of the building. At this moment, moonlight shone through the large hole in the door, providing fairly good lighting in the room.


    Even without a flashlight, he could still move around.


    But Yan Junze had only walked a few steps when he stopped in his tracks, no longer moving forward.


    In his line of sight, outside the broken door and under the moonlight, the figure of a lonely, emaciated person in white shorts and a short-sleeve shirt appeared before him.


    At this moment, that person had their back to him.


    ¡°Back-faced Woman?!¡±


    A shock went through Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    He thought he had seen wrong, but after a closer look, he confirmed it was indeed the Back-faced Woman.


    In the seven days Zhang Xiaomo had spent with him, the Back-faced Woman had never appeared before Yan Junze.


    But now she had.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, the Back-faced Woman probably had reservations about Zhang Xiaomo, a three-star exorcist, which is why she chose to hide.


    And now that Zhang Xiaomo had left, her movements immediately returned to normal.


    But this was not a good time for her to show up. The Back-faced Woman stood right where he needed to pass to get out the door, and if he went through there, he would have to get very close to her ¨C so close that as soon as Yan Junze stepped out, he would be in an intimate embrace with the Back-faced Woman, as if they were lovers hugging from behind.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t go this way.¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yan Junze immediately turned around.


    He hadn¡¯t even completed The Hanged Woman¡¯s task yet; he certainly didn¡¯t want to trigger the ¡°Look at Her Face¡± task so readily.


    After all, even until now, he hadn¡¯t encountered a ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± level task. During the very dangerous Evil Spirit-eating task, even with an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny, that task¡¯s level was only ¡°trembling with fear (high)¡± ¨C one level below ¡°Look at Her Face¡±.


    Of course, in the Evil Spirit-eating task, the Resentful Granny¡¯s target wasn¡¯t himself but Lv Jiayan.


    So, relatively speaking, the Evil Spirit-eating task was somewhat less difficult for Yan Junze.

 Chapter 89 - 89 - 88 It’s just such a coincidence!

    Chapter 89 ¨C 88 It¡¯s just such a coincidence!


    Yan Junze returned to the staircase entrance.


    ¡°Go up to the second floor and jump straight down from a suitable spot?¡±


    He thought about it, then dismissed the idea.


    Jumping down would also be on the street side, and the noise would be quite loud¡ªit would definitely attract the attention of the Back-faced Woman standing at the door.


    ¡°This woman, when exactly did she start taking an interest in me? Following me all day long, appearing from time to time to give me a fright.¡± Yan Junze was puzzled, not understanding what had attracted this woman¡¯s attention to him.


    Could it be simply because he was handsome?


    Since he couldn¡¯t leave from upstairs, he thought about checking out the basement.


    ... sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    According to his understanding from his previous life, given that Tianmeng District was roughly in the south of Hua Country before his rebirth, these suburban self-built houses usually would not have basements.


    And if a basement was to be built, it was likely that the original plot of land was a depression. To save construction costs, local people wouldn¡¯t fill in the depression before building; instead, they would use the land as it was, constructing a basement below and putting up beams around, building the house above it.


    So if Yan Junze¡¯s guess was correct, due to the natural geographical features from before, the basement could connect to the outside.


    He quickly returned to the basement. Yan Junze turned on both of his flashlights, then started at the basement stairs, following the wall and carefully looking for the vents piece by piece.


    His focus was on the locations with cross-shaped ventilation outlets. Since the basement must be ventilated, these outlets had to face outside.


    Soon, Yan Junze found three vents, facing three different directions, and each had faint moonlight peeking through, but he wasn¡¯t sure which one would allow him to crawl out.


    First, he placed the stepladder at the first vent and looked for a long time. Then he moved the ladder to the second vent, and as he approached this vent to carefully peek outside,


    ¡°What are you¡­ looking at?¡± A woman¡¯s voice sounded out of nowhere from behind him.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled and nearly fell off the ladder.


    After steadying himself, his heart pounded madly. He thought for a moment, then without turning around, he asked, ¡°Are you Ye Zhennan or¡­¡±


    He had just spoken a few words with Ye Zhennan, and some of them even sounded slurred. He still did not have a deep impression of the woman¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m Zhenzhen.¡± The voice came again.


    ¡°Zhenzhen? It must be Ye Zhennan then, but¡­ the Back-faced Woman might also be called Zhenzhen.¡±


    Yan Junze still did not turn around, asking, ¡°Which vent here can I use to get outside smoothly?¡±


    ¡°Why not take the main entrance?¡± the woman¡¯s voice asked curiously.


    This time, Yan Junze was sure that the woman behind him was Ye Zhennan. He turned around and saw the woman in a white dress floating behind him. He said, ¡°There¡¯s an Evil Spirit outside, more powerful than you, waiting for me. Can you deal with her?¡±


    Ye Zhennan shook her head: ¡°I can¡¯t get out.¡±


    ¡°So I have to find another way.¡± Yan Junze pointed at the vent, ¡°Which one can I break open to climb out?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± The next second, Ye Zhennan¡¯s voice suddenly came from the third vent.


    This woman¡¯s Spirit was flitting in and out so unpredictably, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded.


    With no choice, he climbed down the ladder, carried the stepladder to the third vent, and after climbing up, he looked out and felt the space outside seemed to be much wider.


    But how could he make a hole big enough to crawl through? At this moment, Yan Junze missed the days when Zhou Dali was around.


    If that guy were here, considering the kind of vent it was, he could probably just tear it open with his bare hands and make a big hole.


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    ¡°Is there a sledgehammer in the house?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Come down first,¡± Ye Zhennan said.


    Yan Junze was puzzled but climbed down from the ladder and stood aside.


    Meanwhile, Ye Zhennan continued to float in mid-air, her white dress billowing.


    She moved closer to the vent, suddenly opened her mouth, and a long tongue shot out with a bang, hitting the vent. After the dust settled, the vent had been turned into an opening large enough for one person to climb through.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°That impressive?¡±


    Ye Zhennan retracted her tongue, looking somewhat bashful as she reached up to wipe the corner of her mouth: ¡°Sorry for the embarrassment.¡±


    I have to say, this is the most cooperative evil spirit Yan Junze has ever encountered.


    ¡°Since your tongue is so powerful, why didn¡¯t you just use it to strangle me when I was moving your body just now, instead of using your hands?¡± Yan Junze voiced his question.


    ¡°I just wanted to kill you, not disgust you to death,¡± Ye Zhennan answered.


    Well, as a ghost who loved beauty and cleanliness when she was alive, that was quite frank.


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    He climbed up the stepladder again and crawled out through the hole he had just opened.


    Once outside, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hurry to get up. Instead, he shone his flashlight into the basement behind him and saw that Ye Zhennan had disappeared.


    He immediately turned off the flashlight, and using the moonlight, looked around the area, noting the terrain was slightly sunken here. He was right at the back of the house with the number 39 on its doorplate. There was a small path coming from one end, passing through here and winding towards the other end.


    After surveying the area for a moment and making sure he didn¡¯t see the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze quickly got up and left at a brisk pace.


    He followed the path to the main road and then made his way back to his rental, where he went straight to bed without washing or brushing up, utterly exhausted from the night¡¯s ordeal.


    The task of ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± was still incomplete, and he would have to come up with a plan quickly the next day, so he needed to rest as much as possible to regain his energy for the task ahead.


    After contemplating for a moment, he released Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er appeared and immediately uttered a sound of surprise before quickly embracing Yan Junze, her face full of longing, as if she were seeing a long-lost relative.


    This scenario unexpectedly gave Yan Junze a very strange feeling, as if, for a moment, he too had missed Ke¡¯er.


    He allowed Ke¡¯er to embrace him, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his body.


    Yan Junze spoke, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep for a while. You keep watch and listen for any movement around us. If the Back-faced Woman gets close, make sure to wake me up first before you run! Do you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Yan Junze covered himself with the blanket and peacefully fell asleep.


    The next day he slept until past ten in the morning, when he was woken by a call from Zhou Dali.


    Zhou Dali strongly suspected that Yan Junze was feigning illness merely as an excuse to go out and relieve stress. Their homeroom teacher, Xiang Decai, had already expressed concern about this, so Yan Junze had no choice but to call his father and have him speak to the teacher directly, requesting an additional two days of leave.


    Regardless of the approval, Yan Junze got up and headed to the bathroom outside to take a shower and wash his hair, fulfilling Ke¡¯er¡¯s long-unmet desires.


    After that, he went next door to Lin Dong¡¯s place.


    This time, Lin Dong was not lying on his bed, but on a rocking chair at home, with a cup of strong ginger tea placed beside him. His good friend, Old Li, had come over early in the morning to bring him breakfast.


    The two of them were chatting.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t even begun to speak when he entered and saw that there were cut pieces of youtiao (fried dough sticks) on the table.


    Lin Dong smiled and said, ¡°Those youtiao haven¡¯t been touched, and the bowl of soy milk hasn¡¯t been drunk either. If you haven¡¯t had breakfast, then eat it, otherwise it will be wasted.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yan Junze replied with no pretense, sitting down and dunking the youtiao into the soy milk before eating it with big bites.


    ¡°Uncle Lin, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve heard from others, and I wanted to ask you about it.¡± While eating, Yan Junze spoke.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Lin Dong said, lighting a cigarette and taking a puff.


    ¡°About house number 39 on our street, I heard that their son drowned. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, he died in a reservoir.¡±


    ¡°What about the body?¡±


    ¡°After it was retrieved, they buried it.¡±


    Old Li chimed in, ¡°It was quite tragic. That boy used to hang out with a few kids from the western back street. They often played games in the abandoned Lin Family courtyard. Who would¡¯ve known that one day, a fire broke out in the courtyard, and all those kids were burnt to death inside. Not one came out alive.¡±


    Yan Junze, who was mid-bite with a youtiao, paused and said, ¡°Huh, what a coincidence!¡±

 Chapter 90 - 90 - 89 Who Says You Have to Go Bald to Get Strong?

    Chapter 90 ¨C 89 Who Says You Have to Go Bald to Get Strong?


    Lin Dong shook his head, ¡°Old Li, you don¡¯t know, the fire at the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard wasn¡¯t sudden. It was the kids, having nothing better to do, playing with open flames in the abandoned kitchen. And there were still leftover unspent liquefied gas cylinders in there.¡±


    Old Li was stunned for a moment, ¡°This I can¡¯t quite remember.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Does that mean during the fire, that kid from house number 39 wasn¡¯t in the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard? Or had the child drowned before that?¡±


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Dong shook his head, ¡°In any case, it was only after the fire that the boy¡¯s body was found in the reservoir, said to have been in the water for days. The exact time, I¡¯m not too sure.¡±


    ¡°What was the name of the drowned child?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Zhu Zhanglong, we all called him¡­ Long,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Long was usually well-behaved; I don¡¯t know how he ended up going to the reservoir to play in the water alone. He was too bold.¡± Old Li sighed, ¡°His mother, Zhenzhen, was frequently beaten by his alcoholic father, Zhu Yansheng, because of this, and later on she committed suicide by hanging herself.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Right,¡± Lin Dong suddenly remembered something and reminded Yan Junze, ¡°You should avoid going near number 39, there¡¯s something unclean over there. But as long as you don¡¯t go in, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Zhu Yansheng left Rock because of guilt later on, and the building he left behind has been nearly forgotten by the locals,¡± Old Li sighed again.


    Having gathered enough information, Yan Junze had also finished the soy milk and dough sticks on the table and said to Lin Dong, ¡°Thank you, Uncle Lin. I came to let you know that I will stop renting after tomorrow. You can have the agency put up the rental information.¡±


    Old Li laughed, ¡°He has already put it up.¡±


    Lin Dong also smiled, ¡°No problem, when you leave, just pack up and go. Remember to bring me the keys. If I¡¯m not home, just leave them under the pot with the Chinese rose at the doorway.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to inspect the room?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Young people nowadays are very honest and polite; there¡¯s nothing to see. I trust you,¡± Lin Dong said.


    After chatting with the two for a while and thanking them again for the free breakfast, Yan Junze left Lin Dong¡¯s home and returned to the rental house.


    Ke¡¯er had been lying on top of him all the way until they returned to the rental house, where she then got off, hanging her head and standing barefoot on one side (one of which was still broken).


    In the absence of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s protection, it was only with Ke¡¯er by his side that Yan Junze could feel at ease.


    Thinking it over, he could only complete the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± task under the cover of night to avoid prying eyes, and for now, he could only wait.


    The ¡°Hanged Woman¡± task was still half unfinished, but now it seemed that this child named Long might have been on good terms with the few kids who died in the Lin Family courtyard fire.


    If he could further determine Long¡¯s whereabouts in the process of completing the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± task, that would be ideal.


    But one thing Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand was that since Long¡¯s body had been recovered, his parents would definitely have gone to identify it. Couldn¡¯t they recognize their own son?


    Why did Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit still need to find her own child before she could truly rest in peace?


    After pondering for a long while, Yan Junze could only assume that perhaps it was just the unconscious perception of Ye Zhennan after death.


    There are some things that the person involved might subconsciously feel are wrong, even though they themselves might not understand why.


    This was like the doubts that had been lingering in Yan Junze¡¯s mind these past few days, as if a key point always eluded him, but he could never pin down where he had forgotten it.


    After a while, seeing that Ke¡¯er was also quite bored standing there, Yan Junze let the Crawler Monster out as well.


    However, after letting it out, its appearance gave him a shock.


    Previously, Yan Junze¡¯s impression of the Crawler Monster was that it was hideous, emaciated, its entire body covered in wrinkles, with sunken eye sockets and a bald head.


    But now, it not only looked rounder, having moved beyond the ¡°emaciated¡± category, but its skin also seemed shiny, with much fewer wrinkles, less sunken eye sockets, and its originally bald head had grown a fair amount of hair, even revealing a trending side part.


    ¡°`


    ¡°Damn it, what¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze was confused and turned his head to look at Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er had also been locked in the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas these past few days; if the Crawler Monster had undergone these changes, she should be the clearest about it.


    Of course, during the period they were locked, spirits could not communicate with each other as they existed independently.


    Ke¡¯er cocked her head, her gaze falling on Yan Junze: ¡°Eh.¡±


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    ¡°Fine, forget I asked,¡± Yan Junze sighed helplessly.


    At that moment, he really wished he had a spirit like Ye Zhennan, one who could relay all sorts of information to him, at least allowing unobstructed communication between the two.


    Looking down at the Crawler Monster again, the creature seemed somewhat restrained, as if it had gained some advantage or reaped some benefits without telling Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was even more puzzled, bent down, and looked at the creature: ¡°Can you speak?¡±


    The Crawler Monster shook its head.


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re literally mute,¡± Yan Junze said helplessly. ¡°You¡¯ve been locked by me all this time; how did you get so fat?¡±


    Hmm, wait, eat?!


    Suddenly, Yan Junze thought of something and immediately performed Inner Vision on his Spacetime Atlas.


    At first glance, the Atlas didn¡¯t seem to have any abnormal changes, but he soon noticed that the twelfth node, the one imprisoning the spirit, was absorbing Different Dimension Energy from nearby branches at an extremely slow pace.


    This absorption was slow and consumed little energy, barely noticeable unless one observed very carefully.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ after Locking the spirits, I can feed them with Different Dimension Energy?¡± Yan Junze seemed to have found the answer.


    He looked down again at the Crawler Monster, shining with oily sheen. It had just extended its forked tongue, licking at its sparsely grown fur, but when it saw Yan Junze looking at it again, it immediately put on a coy and reserved demeanor, as if guilty about indulging in a bounty it feared might be punished for.


    ¡°From the looks of it, you don¡¯t want to get rid of my Lockdown anymore because this way you can grow, huh!¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He lifted his head to look at Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er had been locked by him for a week, and although it wasn¡¯t as long as the Crawler Monster had been locked, she might have undergone some changes too.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er.¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    ¡°Use all your strength, jump up, come over here to me.¡±


    Whoosh! Thud! Crack!


    The next second, Ke¡¯er was lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    Yan Junze was stunned for two seconds before he looked back at the spot where Ke¡¯er had been standing; it had sunk in about four to five centimeters. He then looked at the ceiling. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ke¡¯er seemed to have exerted too much force when she jumped up, hitting the ceiling directly, causing a large flake of paint to fall off and the ceiling to bulge upwards, before Ke¡¯er ended up on his back.


    Both spirits had grown stronger!


    Yan Junze guessed that Ke¡¯er¡¯s jumping speed could now be termed as ¡°human cannonball.¡±


    But now there was trouble, just now Lin Dong had said that young people nowadays were very honest and there was no need to check the rented house again when Yan Junze left, but fuck, what now?


    ¡°`

 Chapter 91 - 91 - 90 Drop the Handkerchief (Part One)

    Chapter 91 ¨C 90 Drop the Handkerchief (Part One)


    Since he had to go out to complete the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± mission that night, Yan Junze planned to sleep again during the day to store up energy.


    After confirming that both Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster had become stronger, this surprise was beyond his expectations. Though the consumption of Different Dimension Energy had increased in the process, the consumption was negligible to these two Evil Spirits¡¯ appetites at the moment.


    Yan Junze was eager to let Ke¡¯er enter the node and absorb more Different Dimension Energy to enhance her own strength.


    But under the current circumstances, with the Back-faced Woman lurking nearby, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel comfortable letting Ke¡¯er go in and leaving only the Crawler Monster as a sentinel.


    Mainly because the Crawler Monster¡¯s performance in the ¡°Wine Red High Heels¡± task had been worrisome, acting like it might have had some intellectual disability in its past life, it took Yan Junze two goes to direct it to charge at Jian Tong.


    And that¡¯s not to mention that it got KO¡¯d with one move by the other party.


    Of course, if it were the current strength of the Crawler Monster, it might hold out a bit longer. But Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe that just absorbing energy for such a short time would allow an Evil Spirit¡¯s strength to leap qualitatively.


    ...


    The one thing he could be more relieved about now was that, during the execution of the mission, these two Evil Spirits could at least offer an additional assurance for his safety, rather than relying solely on Rewind.


    Of course, the precondition for releasing the Evil Spirits was that it wouldn¡¯t hinder the completion of the mission. If he let Ke¡¯er out and the little guy started killing weaker Evil Spirits than herself, then what¡¯s the bloody point of the mission!


    Yan Junze took back the Crawler Monster, leaving only Ke¡¯er outside, and he went to sleep.


    During that time, he felt a chill on his back as he dozed off; Ke¡¯er had already climbed onto the bed and embraced him, and then he drifted back to sleep.


    This sleep lasted for two hours, and when he awoke, he was incredibly recharged.


    The two flashlights were still fully charged; since the mission was in the Lin Family¡¯s yard and the air should be good, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to wear a mask.


    Besides, the weather had been nice these past few days, and there was plenty of moonlight at night. If the place was outdoors, the visibility would still be quite extensive.


    That evening, the young couple upstairs returned home, and initially, Su Muyao let out a surprised scream, then ran downstairs thump thump thump.


    Yan Junze was preparing instant noodles without Zhang Xiaomo around, as he wouldn¡¯t make anything else to eat.


    The door was open, Su Muyao knocked on the door and came in, first surprised to see a dent in the floor, then looked up to see the bulging ceiling overhead.


    ¡°There¡¯s a bump on the second-floor surface, we dare not step on it. What happened here?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed awkwardly, as he opened a packet of Shuanggang brand instant noodle companion, saying, ¡°I was killing a cockroach, just now there was one on the floor, then it ran to the ceiling¡­¡±


    Su Muyao was dumbfounded.


    Lin Dong¡¯s voice rose at the doorway, apparently he had also heard Yan Junze¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°I just want to ask, just for killing a cockroach, have you trained in Iron Legs or Iron Head Kung Fu?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s face was a picture of distress, feeling he couldn¡¯t spin the tale any further, and asked, ¡°Uncle Lin, just name your price, I¡¯ll pay for the damages.¡±


    Lin Dong came in, looked carefully at the extent of the damage, and held up three fingers: ¡°Three thousand yuan. Both upstairs and downstairs need fixing. I know you¡¯re a student, so this is already a friendly price.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, Ke¡¯er, your one move just cost me three thousand,¡± Yan Junze mourned inwardly, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to transfer the money as he said he would.


    Having quelled the trouble, he silently finished his instant noodles and sat at home waiting.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, Yan Junze prepared to take action.


    He took Ke¡¯er into the Spacetime Atlas, closed the door, and headed towards the back street.


    When he wasn¡¯t asleep, he didn¡¯t worry about the Back-faced Woman approaching, because every time she appeared, she was standing in some place, waiting for him.


    This was quite advantageous, giving Yan Junze ample reaction time.


    What he feared most was falling asleep only to have the Back-faced Woman appear in the room. If she waited until he was completely still, she might just walk backward to face him, and then, once he opened his eyes, it would be GAME OVER!


    By the time he reached the back street, there wasn¡¯t a soul in sight.


    Moreover, a section of the back street was awaiting demolition. Although he didn¡¯t know why it hadn¡¯t been demolished, this stretch of road was deserted.


    The Lin Family¡¯s yard was right in that section.


    He quickly arrived at the courtyard¡¯s enclosing wall, which, though intact, had some bricks jutting out, making it easy to climb.


    The moonlight tonight was just as abundant, and even without turning on his flashlight, Yan Junze could clearly see at least twenty meters ahead.


    After looking around, Yan Junze found an easy place to climb and swiftly scaled the wall using both hands and feet. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting on the wall, he looked inside. The yard was about four hundred square meters, with about five connected living quarters on one side, while a large courtyard was situated along the wall.


    The trees and plants in the yard had all withered. Stone benches and tables that were originally there had toppled over, and nearly every one showed signs of breakage.


    The ground was littered with dead leaves and weeds; it looked like it had indeed been abandoned for a long time.


    After making sure there were no hard objects where he would land below the wall, Yan Junze turned off his flashlight and jumped down.


    According to the mission instructions, originally seven children played a game here, but it seemed one had run off, leaving six behind.


    The mission¡¯s goal was to resolve the six children¡¯s confusion about whether the other child had run off or something else had happened. Yan Junze needed to solve their doubts.


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    The way to complete the mission was most likely to play the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± game with them, a game Yan Junze had played in his previous life as a child.


    Drop the Handkerchief could be said to be everlastingly popular.


    However, he also remembered from the task hint that there was a ¡°treasure¡± to be discovered within the Lin Family¡¯s yard.


    As for what type of treasure it was, that remained unknown, and he would need to find time to explore it later on.


    Walking into the yard, he looked around, and it was silent, with no sensation of the wind moving through the grass.


    The souls of those six children had not appeared.


    If they still didn¡¯t show up, Yan Junze was prepared to go inside to look for the ¡°treasure.¡±


    With this in mind, he immediately walked towards the row of rooms. All rooms had been hit by a fire, two of them almost reduced to their frames, and the other three slightly better off, but still pitch-black and crumbling in places.


    Yan Junze chose the first room that seemed relatively intact. As he approached the door, he switched his flashlight on in advance.


    He tried the door. It made a grating noise as it opened, and he had to exert some effort to push it open.


    First, he shone his flashlight inside. The room bore the scorched traces of a large fire.


    He walked in a few steps and looked around. Other than the burned furniture, nothing out of the ordinary was found.


    He moved into two further back rooms, also filled with charred furniture. But he opened every piece of furniture that could still be opened and searched carefully, yet he did not find the so-called ¡°treasure.¡±


    ¡°Hehe¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a child¡¯s laughter rang out.


    It wasn¡¯t coming from any of these three rooms, nor was it from the courtyard outside, but from the room next door.

 Chapter 92 - 92 - 91 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Two)

    Chapter 92 ¨C 91 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Two)


    Yan Junze immediately went to the next room, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.


    The destruction in this room was more severe; the door could only be opened halfway, so Yan Junze had to squeeze his way through.


    He swept the room with his flashlight first; all the furniture inside had been burned to ash, none in decent shape or able to be opened. If that was the case, then the so-called treasure definitely wouldn¡¯t be here¡ªit would have been incinerated long ago.


    Yan Junze walked into the inner room.


    There was a large bed, but it too was burned beyond recognition, only a few blackened rods that seemed to belong to the bed frame were toppled to one side; above was the night sky, the roof had been burned away long ago.


    At one end of the bed, a large clump of black objects was piled on the ground, indistinct and unclear.


    Yan Junze simply switched on two flashlights and scrutinized the pile of black objects more closely. It looked like garbage after burning, but the sheer volume of it, now comparable to the size of the charred bed next to it, was startling.


    ...


    What on earth was it?


    The laughter from before had definitely come from this room; of this, Yan Junze was certain.


    Was the issue with this pile of black objects, or was there something buried underneath?


    With this thought, he to find an iron shovel or something to dig through this pile to see.


    Just as he was about to go out looking for something, he suddenly noticed that the pile of black matter in front of him seemed to move slightly.


    Yan Junze stepped back, staring intently at the pile of strange matter.


    Indeed, it moved again, and then, like something waking from a sleep, it slowly ¡°stood¡± up, limbs stretching out in all directions.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡±


    That familiar laugh sounded once more.


    At that moment, under the illumination of two flashlight beams, Yan Junze finally saw clearly the true nature of the black pile in front of him.


    It was a pile¡­ of bodies!


    As the fire approached, six children clung together, and their final fate was that they could no longer separate even in death.


    The black mass had now completely stood up, and from Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, he could see four children¡¯s heads, each looking in different directions, but only seven feet and six arms were visible.


    The limbs were distributed in various positions, making it impossible to distinguish whose arms and legs belonged to whom in this big charred pile.


    Of course, Yan Junze knew that what he was seeing now were just the Evil Spirits of the six children who had died in the fire; the real bodies had long been cleaned up from the scene.


    At least, it wasn¡¯t at the time when the strangeness erupted.


    ¡°Hehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Someone¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°Just one person?¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    The heads all opened their eyes, mouths beginning to move, and started conversing.


    Yan Junze felt his stomach churn at this sight and was about to vomit, retreating several more steps involuntarily.


    But thankfully, none of them, unseeingly, called him ¡°Uncle.¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡±


    A child¡¯s voice came from behind the mass of bodies.


    Then, the pile of corpses turned in a direction, revealing the heads of another boy and girl¡ªtwo more children. Of course, this side also had limbs that were mutilated and fused together.


    Normally a charred body could not be identified as male or female, but Yan Junze noticed that one of the heads wore a burned butterfly clip that had melted into the skin and could not be removed.


    This must have been a little girl.


    He slowly retreated to the edge of the door.


    ¡°Brother, are you here to play a game?¡±


    The pile of corpses moved slowly following him, the moving feet indistinct, as if it were a pitch-black mass rolling forward.


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed that after the pile of corpses rolled over, a hand from within the pile seemed to have picked up a pitch-black, long, stick-like object¡ªit appeared to be a wood carving blackened by fire.


    However, the arm quickly put it down again, and the wooden sculpture tumbled into the depression where the pile of corpses had been lying just moments earlier.


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted briefly.


    ¡°Yes, I came to play a game,¡± he replied, ¡°It¡¯s too narrow in here, let¡¯s go outside to play.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he slipped out through the door, which couldn¡¯t be fully opened.


    He backed away into the courtyard and stood there, waiting to see how these little ones would come out.


    Before long, the half-open door panel shook, then caved inward, and the entire door panel disappeared without a trace.


    A massive cluster of pitch-black corpses appeared at the doorway. First, they blocked the doorframe, and then with great effort, they squeezed out en masse, the pile staying intact as it rolled out.


    ¡°Shall we play Drop the Handkerchief?¡±


    A child¡¯s voice suggested.


    Yan Junze was perplexed. Of course, he knew the game Drop the Handkerchief, but under the current circumstances¡ªsix children were indeed all here, but damn it, they were all stuck together. Such a big clump; how to play Drop the Handkerchief? Left hand dropping to the right hand? Which one is the left hand?


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    The other children expressed their consent one after another.


    Feeling confused, Yan Junze then heard a chilling child¡¯s voice come from within the pile of corpses, ¡°Big brother, you sit down with your back to us first, we¡¯ll be right over.¡±


    Suddenly, Yan Junze somewhat understood, nodded his head, turned off his flashlight, and sat down on the ground.


    Soon after, sounds of pulling and tearing came from behind him, like chunks of frozen meat being pried apart by a great force, producing a grating, sickening noise.


    This sound repeated over and over, and in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, he pictured the scene he had just witnessed, where the pile of corpses split into a multitude of disjointed limbs and body parts, becoming a collection of incomplete corpses.


    ¡°This one¡¯s mine¡­¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s my leg?¡±


    ¡°The hand is mine!¡±


    Voices kept coming from behind Yan Junze, with content that sent chills down one¡¯s spine.


    After a short while, footsteps sounded, and a boy walked up next to him, peeking down with only half a head remaining, giving Yan Junze a giggling smile as he sat beside him.


    Yan Junze saw that the boy was incomplete, with some pitch-black areas melded into a mass. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once seated, the child fell silent and motionless, fitting his status as one of the dead.


    Not long after, a second child approached Yan Junze¡¯s other side with heavy steps, sat down without looking at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw that the youngster¡¯s feet were completely misshapen, and it was a mystery how he had managed to walk over given he only had one hand.


    Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth.


    The fifth child was the only girl among the six.


    A butterfly clip used to pin back her hair was completely embedded in the skin on the left side of her forehead, a token of her femininity, with her face blackened and indistinct.


    Finally, the sixth one arrived, sitting directly opposite Yan Junze.


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    This one exuded a fierce air, and even though the features on his face were blurred, one could still sense a sinister presence.


    As soon as he spoke up, Yan Junze knew he was the one who had told him to sit down earlier.


    ¡°One of us has run away, a coward and a scaredy-cat, and we need to find him out!¡±


    ¡°Lucky for us, big brother came to join us,¡± the first child who had arrived next to Yan Junze tilted his half-head, grinning at him, ¡°Otherwise, we would be one player short for the game!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to talk, please don¡¯t face me with your face, thank you,¡± Yan Junze said, without looking sideways.

 Chapter 93 - 93 - 92 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Three)

    Chapter 93 ¨C 92 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Three)


    The boy who seemed to be the leader of this little group spoke up again, ¡°Drop the Handkerchief, we¡¯ll play 5 times, and the loser of each round must answer three questions from the others. Whoever finds the one who runs away first wins.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the other children agreed in unison.


    Only Yan Junze raised his hand, ¡°Who goes first?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the leader!¡± the boy beside him, half a head taller, said excitedly.


    The gloomy leading boy did not speak, but cracked a smile.


    A ragged grey handkerchief was clenched in his hand. He then stood up and began to jog around the outside of the circle where everyone was seated, following a clockwise direction.


    The other children immediately began singing a rhyme.


    ...


    ¡°Drop the Handkerchief, quietly drop it behind a friend, don¡¯t tell him, catch him quickly, catch him quickly¡­¡±


    As the song began, Junze also murmured along softly. He knew that the one who dropped the handkerchief had to secretly place it behind one of the children before the song ended.


    It could not be dropped between two people, nor too far away; it had to be right behind someone.


    Those sitting in the circle could not alert others; they could not constantly look back or continuously feel for the handkerchief with their hands.


    So, they had to keep an eye on the hands of the child with the handkerchief; as long as it was still in his hands, there was no need to look back.


    If they noticed the handkerchief was suddenly gone, then they had to be aware that it might have been thrown behind them.


    The boy with the handkerchief ran very fast; before the song was even finished, he had already made two laps around the group.


    By the time the song reached ¡°don¡¯t tell him,¡± he had already run past Junze¡¯s back for the third time.


    Then, Junze glanced at his hands; the handkerchief was gone.


    The few who had just been passed by instinctively turned back to check behind them.


    Junze also turned to look behind him, and there was nothing there.


    However, the boy sitting to his left with only one arm had snatched the grey handkerchief that had been thrown behind him and stood up to chase the boy with the handkerchief who had already run half a lap.


    The other boy was already a fast runner; this one-armed boy, gripping the handkerchief, had deformed legs that nearly dragged on the ground as he walked, completely unable to give chase.


    Soon, the leader had completed a full lap and claimed the one-armed boy¡¯s spot, plopping down in his place.


    Turning his head, he gave Junze, who sat beside him, a chilling smile.


    The one-armed boy, holding the handkerchief, returned to the middle of the circle and stood still, silently staring at the leader, as if accepting his loss without any arguments.


    ¡°Are you Ning or Dogie?¡± the leader asked.


    ¡°Dogie,¡± the boy with the disabled legs answered.


    Hearing their exchange, Junze suddenly realized that these kids couldn¡¯t fully recognize each other at the moment.


    No wonder, or else they would know who had run off.


    Looking more closely, among those present, the girl¡¯s strangeness was obvious, followed by the leader; the most talkative one was the boy with half a head, sitting to his own right. The rest of the people had no obvious characteristics from before and did not speak.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask the boy with half a head, quietly.


    The boy turned his head and looked at him seriously, ¡°You can¡¯t ask my name; I didn¡¯t lose.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Junze feigned understanding, nodded, and stopped talking.


    At this moment, the leader continued questioning the boy named Dogie with the misshapen legs.


    ¡°Did you see Ning and Long take my stuff?¡±


    ¡°Long?¡± Junze¡¯s eyes brightened slightly, musing to himself, ¡°Is he talking about Ye Zhennan¡¯s son Zhu Zhanglong?¡±


    From Lin Dong¡¯s words earlier in the morning, he knew that Long got along well with these kids, and now he was hearing about Long from them.


    Based on the timeline, the period around the fire¡¯s occurrence was exactly the time when Long had drowned in the Rock Reservoir.


    Could it be that these events happened simultaneously? And among them, the one who fled was Long, who for some unknown reason, fell into the reservoir and drowned after he escaped.


    Yan Junze suddenly remembered that the punishment from the mission seemed to be a hint, the punishment for this task was: In Dire Straits.


    If he didn¡¯t complete this task, would he be punished with either fire or water, either burned to death or drowned?


    ¡°I saw it,¡± the boy called Dogie answered the Kid King¡¯s question at this moment.


    ¡°Where have you hidden the stuff?¡± the Kid King asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dogie shook his head.


    ¡°Is Ning among us?¡± the Kid King asked again.


    ¡°I have answered all three of my questions,¡± Dogie reminded, and then he said no more.


    The Kid King did not ask any further questions.


    The game continued.


    This time, it was Dogie¡¯s turn to Drop the Handkerchief, but he moved slowly. He hadn¡¯t walked half the circle from the beginning to the end of the chant.


    As expected, the handkerchief was dropped behind the last person, the only girl present.


    The girl reached behind and grabbed the handkerchief in one go, immediately standing up.


    She knew it would be all too easy to catch up to Dogie, she could grab him in just a few steps.


    As she was about to take off, Dogie suddenly sprawled on the ground, using his hands and feet to dash forward with incredible speed. His burnt and deformed legs acted like power boosters at that moment, crawling half the circle in a blink of an eye.


    Even as the little girl ran swiftly, she still couldn¡¯t catch up to the crawling speed of Dogie, and soon Dogie had taken her place.


    ¡°Does that count as foul play?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help asking the half-head beside him.


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    ¡°If the boss didn¡¯t say so, then it¡¯s not,¡± the half-head replied.


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    At this time, the little girl walked to the center of the circle and stood there. If it wasn¡¯t for a butterfly clip embedded in her hair, one couldn¡¯t tell from her voice whether she was a boy or a girl.


    Truth be told, with this pile of bodies lying there, without any prominent and effective features, it would be impossible to distinguish who was who with the naked eye.


    ¡°Rou, do you like Long or me more?¡± Dogie asked.


    ¡°Long.¡±


    ¡°You still like Long even though he steals?¡± Dogie pressed on.


    Girl Rou shook her head: ¡°Long didn¡¯t steal.¡±


    ¡°Is he¡­ still among us?¡± Dogie asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    All three questions had been asked.


    Yan Junze suddenly felt that this was a lot of information.


    Firstly, it was possible that Long and Ning took something belonging to the Kid King together, but the girl Rou firmly believed Long didn¡¯t take anything; thus, it might have been Ning who took it by himself.


    Now, both the Kid King and Dogie had posed questions, but the content of their questions revolved around Ning and Long, specifically whether they were among the dead bodies or not.


    That is to say, whether these two were present was what the children most wanted to know.


    And Yan Junze¡¯s purpose for coming here was also simple, to find out who had escaped from among them.


    So far, it seems more likely that it was Long who had escaped, and moreover, it was very possible that it was during that time that Long fell into the reservoir and drowned.


    ¡°No, that can¡¯t be right!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled and shook his head; he suddenly thought of a key issue.

 Chapter 94 - 94 - 93 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Four)

    Chapter 94 ¨C 93 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Four)


    The key issue lay with Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse wouldn¡¯t consent to be buried¡ªeach time she was placed in a coffin, she would extend a long tongue and run out on her own, to hang herself under the house beam once again.


    This was a behavior of her subconscious.


    Yet, Ye Zhennan had already seen her son¡¯s bloated corpse after it was drowned. So, why wasn¡¯t she at peace?


    This suggested that maybe the child who drowned¡­ wasn¡¯t Ye Zhennan¡¯s son, Long, at all!


    This problem might have come to light only after Ye Zhennan had become a strangeness.


    When she first saw the swollen corpse of the child, she couldn¡¯t possibly recognize the face, and could only rely on the clothing to identify him.


    ...


    If the drowned child wasn¡¯t Long, could it be the Ning mentioned by these children, who had stolen something from the King of the Children? But why would Ning be wearing Long¡¯s clothes?


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    Moreover, since Long hadn¡¯t appeared since then, it definitely meant he had also died.


    Could it be that Long never left, and like the other children, was burned to death right here in this courtyard?


    Thinking this, Yan Junze looked up at the other children.


    Among the children sitting in a circle now, the King of the Children himself could be ruled out, as it was his belongings that were stolen.


    Then there was Rou, with a butterfly clip embedded in her head¡ªshe could be ruled out too.


    The one-armed boy who claimed to be Dogie, and also answered the King of the Children¡¯s questions, could be ruled out as well.


    That left the children with half a head, the one with an empty chest, and the one with only one leg.


    Actually, to Yan Junze, the child with half a head seemed quite close to the King of the Children; if it had been Long who stole from the King of the Children, he wouldn¡¯t have displayed such closeness.


    This meant there was a high chance the child with half a head was not Long.


    Therefore the target was narrowed down to the boy with an empty chest and the one-legged boy.


    So far, neither of these two had spoken a word, of course, they hadn¡¯t had the chance to.


    This time, it was Rou¡¯s turn to ¡°Drop the Handkerchief.¡±


    As the other children started singing rhymes, Rou began to trot along, running around the circle cheerily.


    Yan Junze paid close attention to when the handkerchief in her hand would vanish, but Rou held it tightly, and soon she had run two laps.


    The rhyme was almost finished when Rou seemed to trip while running, stumbled forward without falling, and then continued her run.


    It was at this moment, that Yan Junze noticed the handkerchief was no longer in her hand.


    Immediately turning his head, he discovered the handkerchief had dropped behind him.


    Yan Junze grabbed the handkerchief, stood up, and chased after her.


    Though it was easy for him to catch up with Rou with his stride, he intentionally slowed down his pace, waiting until Rou had quickly completed a lap and sat down in her spot.


    Then, Yan Junze stopped, shook the gray handkerchief in his hand, and showed a resigned smile.


    He walked into the center of the circle formed by the children and stood still.


    The King of the Children looked at Rou, and Rou began to question Yan Junze, ¡°Do you know Ning or Long?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you doing here?¡± Rou continued.


    ¡°Looking for something,¡± Yan Junze answered.


    It wasn¡¯t incorrect to say¡ªhe could also be searching for the so-called ¡°treasure¡± of the courtyard.


    Of course, Yan Junze now dared not tell outright lies; he was unsure if these little ones had the ability to discern which of his words were true and which were false.


    However, at least for now, he hadn¡¯t told any lies.


    After two questions had passed, Rou quickly asked the third question, ¡°Then have you seen the thing that was stolen from Hu Gang?¡±


    ¡°Who is Hu Gang?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment.


    ¡°Me.¡± The child king suddenly spoke up.


    The item Rou was referring to was naturally the one they had designated for Ning or Long to steal.


    Of course, Rou didn¡¯t believe it was Long who had stolen it.


    However, this question posed a bit of a problem for Yan Junze.


    Just now, when he witnessed the pile of corpses surging up from the ground, he clearly saw a hand behind the pile throw something resembling a wooden carving into the pit at the foot of the bed.


    Could it be that the item they were talking about was that wooden carving?


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Since he wasn¡¯t certain, Yan Junze thought for a moment and then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Not knowing whether the wooden carving was the item Hu Gang had stolen, he could naturally say he didn¡¯t know. There was no deceit in his answer.


    Just as Yan Junze finished speaking, the child king Hu Gang suddenly asked, ¡°Were you hesitating just now?¡±


    ¡°No, I was considering,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    Hu Gang slowly stood up: ¡°Either you know or you don¡¯t, why did you have to consider?¡±


    ¡°Boss, was that your fifth question?¡± The boy with half a head suddenly piped up.


    ¡°Right, I¡¯m not going to answer,¡± Yan Junze nodded, silently applauding the rebelliousness of the boy with half a head.


    ¡°Sit down!¡±


    Hu Gang glared at the boy with half a head and barked angrily but indeed did not pursue any further questions.


    Regardless, it seemed these children still abided by the rules of the game.


    ¡°So now¡­ it¡¯s my turn to Drop the Handkerchief,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Holding the gray handkerchief in his hand, he went outside the circle of ghosts and began to walk around it. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His steps were large, so he didn¡¯t need to run, while at the same time, the other children began singing the Drop the Handkerchief rhyme.


    However, after one lap, Yan Junze dropped the handkerchief behind the one-legged boy.


    Before dropping the handkerchief, he had already considered carefully; the boy with the hollow chest and this one-legged boy looked no different from the other silent children.


    Things like hair, height, build, and features, all had shriveled, twisted, and deformed after a big fire.


    One could say that at this moment, they looked more like charred wood than their former selves.


    Thus, it was impossible to guess their identities based merely on sight.


    However, their sitting postures were different; the boy with the hollow chest held his head up, always observing the entire game, while the one-legged boy occasionally lifted his head, but most of the time he kept it lowered, looking up a bit more frequently when Rou spoke.


    These details were only picked up by Yan Junze; the other souls, no matter how they might have been as children, could not possibly have reached this level of thoughtfulness or observation.


    Besides, after becoming strangenesses, they were controlled by an Obsession, losing even the instinctual thought that humans possess.


    Unless, the strangeness in question had evolved to a high level! Like the Resentful Granny.


    The one-legged boy noticed the handkerchief behind him, picked it up, and immediately stood on one foot, hopping after Yan Junze with a ¡¯thump, thump, thump¡¯.


    At first, Yan Junze thought the kid might have Dogie¡¯s kind of crawling skill, so he was all ready to run, but who knew the boy would hop on one foot like a golden rooster, making it completely impossible to catch up with him.


    So Yan Junze simply quickened his pace, quickly completing a lap and stealing the one-legged boy¡¯s spot, sitting down with a plop.


    The one-legged boy, holding the handkerchief, hopped to the middle of the circle, facing Yan Junze, without saying a word.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak either, for the moment.


    The other little ghosts all stared at Yan Junze as well, also silent.


    After staring at the one-legged boy for a while, Yan Junze finally asked, ¡°Why did you switch clothes with Ning?¡±

 Chapter 95 - 95 - 94 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Five)

    Chapter 95 ¨C 94 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Five)


    Upon hearing that, all the children clearly appeared surprised.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Hu Gang, the children¡¯s leader, stood up and stared at the boy with one leg in the center, asking, ¡°You are¡­ Long? You didn¡¯t run away?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I haven¡¯t finished my question yet,¡± Yan Junze reminded aloud.


    Hu Gang was taken aback, touched his head, and said nothing more, sitting back down again.


    Yan Junze once again looked at the boy with one leg: ¡°Answer my first question, why did you switch clothes with Ning?¡±


    ¡°He forced me,¡± the boy with one leg finally spoke up.


    At this point, if it were anyone else, they would certainly go with the flow and ask ¡°why,¡± but Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t. He only had three opportunities to ask questions, and he must make good use of each one. Each question must have value, otherwise, it would all be for naught.


    ...


    ¡°What did Ning say to you after he stole Hu Gang¡¯s belongings?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The boy with one leg clearly didn¡¯t expect him to ask this. He was slightly startled, looked straight at Yan Junze for a moment, and then replied, ¡°He made me switch clothes with him, and if I didn¡¯t, he would tell Hu Gang that I was the one who stole the things, and he would also tell my mom that I like Rou.¡±


    ¡°These little brats! It¡¯s such a trivial matter!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel speechless.


    But sometimes it¡¯s just like that; what adults don¡¯t think matters much is more important than the sky in a child¡¯s eyes.


    Regardless, Long absolutely couldn¡¯t let his mom know he liked Rou. Nor could he allow Hu Gang to say he was the one who stole his things.


    Yan Junze stood up and addressed all the little ghosts, especially the so-called children¡¯s king Hu Gang, ¡°I think¡­ there¡¯s no need to continue with ¡¯Drop the Handkerchief,¡¯ the answer is quite clear.¡±


    He turned to the boy with one leg and asked, ¡°Last question, who are you?¡±


    ¡°Zhu Zhanglong,¡± the boy with one leg answered.


    Long, where are my things?¡± Hu Gang suddenly stood up.


    Before Long could answer, Yan Junze had already walked over and grabbed his hand, feeling as though he¡¯d grabbed a piece of charred wood or charcoal.


    Looking up at Hu Gang, he said, ¡°The things were taken by Ning, it has nothing to do with Long.¡±


    ¡°Then where¡¯s Ning?¡± Hu Gang asked, frustrated.


    ¡°What were you all doing when the fire broke out?¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer, instead countered with his own question.


    ¡°We were in that room, looking for my stuff,¡± Hu Gang pointed to the room that had just been jostled out of the pile of corpses.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Ning stole your stuff, then blackmailed Long into switching clothes with him to frame him, but at that moment, you gathered everyone together to search for your lost belongings. It must¡¯ve been late, and Ning, who had yet to escape, was afraid of being exposed. While you were summoning others, he simply set fire to the next room.¡±


    ¡°He originally wanted to use the fire to distract you, so he could escape with the treasures he¡¯d hidden, but Ning didn¡¯t anticipate the presence of liquid gas in the house. The ensuing explosion terrified him, completely beyond his control, so he panicked and fled, leaving you all to burn to death here.¡±


    Yan Junze looked up at a place not far from the Lin Family courtyard, where the light of the moon faintly shimmered, reflecting light upwards. Rock Reservoir must be nearby.


    It was very likely that Ning, frightened out of his wits, had plunged into the reservoir in his panic.


    The course of events was probably just like this, although, of course, some details are now impossible to ascertain.


    And yet, Yan Junze still kept some things to himself. For instance, whether the wooden statue was indeed what Hu Gang had lost, and now he knew whose hand it was that he had seen sticking out of the pile of corpses in the room.


    It was Long¡¯s hand; even though he hadn¡¯t taken the wooden statue, nor had Ning taken it away. The item had always been hidden in that room, well protected by Long¡¯s soul.


    Yes, this item must be the ¡°treasure¡± mentioned in the mission!


    ¡°Now everything is clear; it was Ning who took Hu Gang¡¯s item, and it has nothing to do with Long.¡± Yan Junze looked at the piece of ¡°charcoal¡± he was holding and told everyone, ¡°I¡¯m taking him to see his relatives now, and I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Long is with us; we cannot separate,¡± Rou¡¯s voice rang out.


    Indeed, the mission hint made it very clear this was a group-living strangeness, condemned to be inseparable.


    But since Ye Zhennan couldn¡¯t leave number 39 on the main street, taking her son to meet her was the only option.


    Actually, the problem wasn¡¯t that difficult. It was just a temporary separation, much like when they played Drop the Handkerchief, not a permanent one. However, at this moment, the children¡¯s leader, Hu Gang, was furious, and it might be very difficult to convince him to let Long leave alone.


    Of course, Yan Junze had ways to calm Hu Gang down, such as telling him that the wooden statue was in a pit under the bed in the room, but by doing so, his own mission to find the treasure would naturally go cold.


    He certainly didn¡¯t want to just hand over the ¡°treasure¡± he was about to obtain.


    If it came down to a confrontation, then so be it. He could endure until he got to Ye Zhennan¡¯s place. By then, with the hanged ghost intervening, this bunch of little brats wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much trouble.


    If all else failed, he could always Rewind.


    Yan Junze had made up his mind.


    ¡°Are you sure Long can¡¯t leave for a while?¡± he asked again.


    ¡°No,¡± Hu Gang¡¯s answer was adamant.


    The next second, a Crawler Monster appeared beside Yan Junze¡¯s foot, and soon after, Ke¡¯er appeared, lying on his back.


    Yan Junze turned his head and whispered something to Ke¡¯er. The little creature sprang into action, darting toward the back and scampering into the room that had just held a pile of bodies.


    Before long, Ke¡¯er came running out on all fours, leaping back onto Yan Junze¡¯s back as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Yan Junze grabbed the silent Long and walked towards the courtyard¡¯s main gate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave!¡± Experience tales at empire


    Hu Gang¡¯s voice became chillingly cold at that moment.


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er on Yan Junze¡¯s back turned her head, baring her teeth at the children about her size, her hands bracing on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulders as she stood upright on all fours, her body tensed, both defensive and warning, staring down all the strangenesses.


    The Crawler Monster symbolically split its mouth open and howled once, then extended its forked tongue and began grooming the hair on its head.


    Yan Junze was speechless: ¡°Could you act a little more professionally?¡±


    No sooner had he spoken, than the half-headed child closest to him suddenly charged.


    The Crawler Monster, which had been grooming itself, lashed its tongue out sharply, striking the boy on his waist and sending him flying.


    ¡°Everyone come back, together,¡± Hu Gang¡¯s juvenile voice turned vicious.


    With a loud shout, all the children, except Long, gathered around him.


    Their limbs began to twist and distort, merging into the darkness. In just a moment, the pile of bodies appeared again, rolling and crowding forward.


    This time, however, the pile of bodies was missing one.


    Long had already been snatched by Yan Junze, who was at the courtyard gate, kicked open the decayed gate, and charged onto the street.

 Chapter 96 - 96 - 95: Long-tongued Zhenzhen

    Chapter 96 ¨C 95: Long-tongued Zhenzhen


    Ke¡¯er braced herself on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, gazing at the pursuers behind them.


    The Crawler Monster was also breaking the rear under Yan Junze¡¯s feet. Although it appeared to be very concerned about its image, it fought without hesitation.


    This was a Crawler Monster that had evolved within the Spacetime Atlas, and at this moment, it brought a pleasant surprise to Yan Junze.


    The rolling mound of corpses quickly followed them onto the street, still madly pursuing Yan Junze.


    These children had been burned to death, and even though they remained in the Lin Family courtyard, they were not confined there. Their Obsession was to find out who had left and to ensure that everyone stayed together now.


    So even though they now knew that the one who left was Ning, the fact that Long had left again was absolutely not acceptable.


    It was also fortunate that they had been causing chaos in the courtyard for so long; it was now nearing one in the morning, and the people of Rock were asleep. Otherwise, such a large pile of corpses appearing on the street would likely have meant that the supernatural event team¡¯s 4747 hotline would be bombarded with calls from the local people of Rock all at the same time.


    ...


    Yan Junze was of average stamina. Even though the weight of Ke¡¯er on his body could be ignored, running with something tucked away was definitely not as effortless as sprinting alone, and it took some extra effort.


    Before he could even get out of the back street, he was already gasping for air.


    The mound of corpses behind him rolled quickly, with black viscous liquid dripping continuously during the roll.


    Apparently, the mound of corpses was naturally sticky, so every time it rolled, something sticky would get stuck to it, and then be flung off due to the rolling, making a sound like repeatedly kneading rubber clay.


    To Yan Junze¡¯s ears, this sound seemed like a death knell, compelling him to keep desperately running, without any slack.


    If this were a world of martial arts or cultivation, the individual strangenesses from before could be considered one of The Seven True Masters, but now these brats were essentially united as one, forming a True Sword Formation or having mastered the Unrivaled Sovereignty Technique.


    Their strength, undoubtedly, was not even in the same league as before.


    Yan Junze was not in the mood to let the Crawler Monster and Ke¡¯er engage in a fight with the enemy. Of course, the notion of being outnumbered and pulling off a miracle wasn¡¯t likely. If a fight did take place, the outcome would probably be his own side coming to an unfortunate end.


    Now, it was a race against speed; reaching Building 39 on Main Street would mean they had achieved victory.


    At that moment, a stone struck Yan Junze on the back of his head.


    Yan Junze winced with pain and turned his head to see that the little tykes had stretched their arms out of the corpse pile and were grabbing stones from the road to furiously throw at him.


    ¡¯¡¯Hey, you little brats, playing dirty, huh!¡¯¡¯


    As his head throbbed with pain, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but curse out loud.


    Ke¡¯er on his shoulder shot out with a swoosh, heading straight for the mound of corpses.


    In the process of leaping over, Ke¡¯er¡¯s limbs grew rapidly, much like the time when she was flung out by Yan Junze while washing hair, becoming akin to a humanoid spider as she pounced onto the mound of corpses.


    ¡°Yah yah yah¡­¡±


    With a flurry of frenzied scratching and biting, Ke¡¯er¡¯s attacks were unexpectedly swift and fierce, large chunks of black viscous fluid fell off, along with half a finger, chunks of charred flesh, and so on.


    Then Ke¡¯er sprung back, landing on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder once more.


    They had now entered Main Street, with Building 39 not far ahead.


    The panting Yan Junze, carrying Long, hurried his steps. His legs, which felt as if they were filled with lead, now seemed reinvigorated as if injected with new vitality, propelling him over fifty meters forward to the entrance of the target building.


    As if responding to their arrival, Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit appeared simultaneously at the entrance of Building 39. She was in a white dress, fluttering in the breeze, and her gaze fell instantly on the ¡°charred¡± son in Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    ¡¯¡¯That¡­ uh¡­ hey¡­ hey¡­¡¯¡¯ No longer able to support himself, Yan Junze threw Long down in front of Ye Zhennan, gasping, ¡¯¡¯Your¡­ son¡­ hey¡­


    was¡­ burned¡­ burned to death¡­ hey¡­ hey, it¡¯s¡­ him.¡¯¡¯


    The next second, the mound of corpses rolled up from behind.


    Yan Junze immediately retrieved Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster into a node, turned around to face the mound of corpses, and stood beside Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan seemed to have grasped the situation; her gaze suddenly turned sharp as she stared at the approaching mound of corpses.


    As it neared, she opened her mouth, and her Long-tongued Zhenzhen lashed out, striking the fused mass of corpses and shattering it to pieces.


    Massive dismembered remains split apart, as though a light rain had suddenly started to fall, spreading over the ground in front of building number 39.


    No longer could one discern a complete child.


    ¡°That intense?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, watching as the shattered remnants on the ground remained still for about ten seconds before they started to slowly move, gather, and reassemble themselves.


    This time, however, these little fellows suddenly became very quiet, neatly gathering together without making a sound, without showing any hint of daring to come forward again.


    It seems that some things are naturally subdued by others.


    Yan Junze summed up his insights from this ¡°strangeness chasing people¡± encounter.


    At this time, Ye Zhennan had already taken her son, Little Long, into her arms, and looking at the child whose appearance was completely unrecognizable, she was still certain from the bottom of her heart that this was her true child.


    ¡°Mom,¡± Little Long spoke.


    And gently embraced Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan also silently hugged Little Long back.


    Yan Junze was pleasantly surprised, as the anticipated scene of weeping and wailing and crying in each other¡¯s arms did not occur.


    It seems television dramas are all deceitful.


    Strangeness, they only seek to fulfill the obsessions of their former lives.


    ¡°Child, mom was wrong,¡± Ye Zhennan said softly, ¡°I didn¡¯t take good care of you.¡±


    Yan Junze walked to the side, giving mother and son some time to talk, while his gaze stayed fixed on the pile of corpses on the street side that dared not move anymore.


    At this moment, the pile of corpses seemed to be glaring at Yan Junze too, exuding resentment and unwillingness.


    ¡°Alright, now I want to challenge Jiang Ruixin¡¯s record,¡± Yan Junze got excited, staring unblinkingly at the pile of corpses.


    However, not long after the staring contest had begun, the Spacetime Atlas sent a notification of task completion.


    [The Hanged Woman, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Drop the Handkerchief, Trembling with Fear (Medium), Completed, Reward: 600 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze looked up to see Ye Zhennan leading Little Long towards the waiting pile of corpses, and as Little Long glanced back at his mother, his body slowly merged into the pile.


    After Little Long had successfully rejoined the pile, it did not depart but simply vanished transparently right under Yan Junze¡¯s watch.


    Ye Zhennan turned around, walking towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°Your obsession is fulfilled, you can leave this home now,¡± said Yan Junze, with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ye Zhennan nodded, her expression calm.


    Yan Junze remained seated on the steps, asking, ¡°How do ¡¯strangenesses¡¯ understand the word ¡¯freedom¡¯?¡±


    Ye Zhennan was slightly taken aback but did not respond.


    Perhaps she deemed it unimportant, or maybe for strangenesses, the concept of ¡°freedom¡± no longer existed.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Yan Junze decided not to worry about it any further and stood up.


    A moment later, the likeness of a woman in a white dress was added to the 12th node. Read new chapters at empire S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Acquired Long-tongued Zhenzhen (High-Level Wandering Spirit), Current Favorability: Friendly]

 Chapter 97 - 97 - 96: Statue

    Chapter 97 ¨C 96: Statue


    ¡°`


    He tiptoed back into the rental house.


    It was already half past one in the morning. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if the noise on the streets had awakened any of the neighbors, or if anyone had spotted him from their windows.


    But even if someone did see him, there was nothing he could do. In this era teeming with strangeness, who hasn¡¯t seen a supernatural event? To be shocked by such things was unlikely; at most, people would be scared to death.


    So Yan Junze planned to sneak away as soon as dawn broke. After all, he had already compensated for the repairs of the house, and he had informed the landlord. He could leave anytime without anyone complaining.


    After taking off his coat covered in black ash, Yan Junze whimsically thought that it would be nice if the lockdown spirit could help him clean up, manage household chores, and wash his clothes.


    However, he immediately discarded this otaku fantasy; after all, this wasn¡¯t ¡°Ghost Slave Tales.¡± The creatures that were showing up were no easy deal. It was lucky that he handled them well¡ªif not, it would be more likely that he would end up being enslaved by them.


    ...


    His body was covered in black ash, and he couldn¡¯t possibly sleep in that state.


    The weather was gradually getting hot, and at this hour, Yan Junze felt it would be inappropriate to take a bath in the outside bathroom for fear of disturbing the neighbors upstairs and next door.


    He drew a basin of cold water and carried it back to the inner room.


    Then, he let out Long-tongued Zhenzhen, Ke¡¯er, and the Crawler Monster in the outer room to mingle with each other while he went to the inner room to wipe down his body.


    After cleaning himself and changing into pajamas, Yan Junze went back to the outer room to pour out the water, only to find that the three creatures were just the same as when he had first entered.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen stood by the sofa, Ke¡¯er was upside down against the opposite wall, and the Crawler Monster was still diligently grooming its parted hair with its forked tongue.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze put down the empty basin and asked Zhenzhen.


    She was the one he communicated with most smoothly, so he naturally started by asking her.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er is very hostile towards strangers she doesn¡¯t recognize, and she seems¡­ reluctant to speak,¡± Zhenzhen said after observing for a while.


    ¡°Right,¡± Yan Junze nodded. He had recently felt that Ke¡¯er wasn¡¯t unable to speak, but rather unwilling to.


    ¡°I asked her a few questions just now, but then I didn¡¯t dare to ask anymore,¡± Zhenzhen said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled.


    ¡°I felt that if I kept asking, this little thing might go crazy and pounce on me,¡± Zhenzhen said with a wry smile.


    As they were speaking, Ke¡¯er had already pounced, but her aim was not Long-tongued Zhenzhen; it was Yan Junze.


    Soon she clung to Yan Junze¡¯s back, showing a sense of attachment.


    ¡°What about the Crawler Monster?¡± Yan Junze asked further.


    Zhenzhen looked surprised, glanced at Ke¡¯er, and then seemed to be choosing her words, lowering her voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m right, but this person¡­ seemed to be mentally challenged before death.¡±


    ¡°I have the same feeling,¡± Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°But probably a beauty-loving mentally challenged person.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Yan Junze turned to Zhenzhen, ¡°What did it feel like for you while in the node just now?¡±


    Yan Junze was very interested in the phenomenon of evil spirits becoming gradually stronger after being locked down, but since Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t inform him, he had been thinking of asking Zhenzhen after locking her down.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    ¡°That environment was very comfortable, it felt like taking a bath, that kind of full-body relief after soaking,¡± she replied.


    This was the only sentence Zhenzhen could use to describe the experience of being locked down in the node and imbued with energy from a different dimension.


    Yan Junze had no comment for that analogy.


    ¡°`


    However, when it came to sensing higher-level strangenesses, Ke¡¯er was still the strongest among the three creatures, so when it was time to sleep, Ke¡¯er stayed outside, while Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were retracted back into the node.


    The main reason was that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t understand why the Back-faced Woman kept following him; he was very puzzled and, therefore, eager to resolve this hidden danger after finishing the matters in Rock.


    Now that he had dealt with Resentful Granny, it was time to go back and notify the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform to prepare to film the task ¡°Look at Her Face.¡±


    The surveillance equipment had already been placed in the FH Community and had been idle for more than a week. According to Tang Zhengyi, the platform editor, every day that the equipment was left there, money was going down the drain.


    So it was also time to set Tang Zhengyi¡¯s mind at ease.


    Lying in bed, Ke¡¯er lay beside him, hugging Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Yan Junze said softly, ¡°Ke¡¯er, spit that thing out.¡±


    Ke¡¯er changed positions as told, opened her mouth, and her abdomen began to churn. Soon, a black object appeared from her mouth, showing a tip.


    ¡°How can this be so disgusting?¡± Yan Junze sat up and grabbed the tip of the object, carefully pulling it out.


    Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t even look at the black object; after spitting it out, she still hugged Yan Junze just like she usually did.


    The object in his hand was very heavy; it was the so-called ¡°treasure¡± from the Lin Family courtyard.


    After letting Ke¡¯er out, Yan Junze had immediately instructed her to enter the house and steal this thing. Now, it seemed it was indeed a statue, but not a wooden one, rather¡­


    Yan Junze took a couple of tissues and vigorously wiped the surface of the statue, revealing a hint of gold.


    He immediately turned on his flashlight and took a careful look at it, it didn¡¯t seem to be made of bronze, could it be gold?


    Thinking it over, he decided to wait until he got home to clean it properly and reveal the true nature of this thing. If he cleaned this object and carried it with him now, he might attract the attention of people with ulterior motives and invite unnecessary trouble.


    Yan Junze wrapped the statue with two newspapers, but as he was wrapping it, he unintentionally wiped off another dark spot, revealing two characters on the surface of the statue.


    The two characters were ¡°Yishan.¡±


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the notes of the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan he had seen in the task ¡°The Hanged Woman.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Lin Family courtyard? Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?


    Yan Junze quickly rubbed the newspaper on the front of ¡°Yishan,¡± and sure enough, a ¡°Lin¡± character also appeared.


    The statue seemed to be a human form, and near the base part, there were these three characters¡ªLin Yishan.


    A statue that looked like a human form and was possibly made of gold, representing Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?!


    After much thought, Yan Junze speculated that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, might have lived in the Lin Family courtyard to begin with.


    Later, as that area was set for demolition, the Lin Family members moved out one after another, leaving a large space that became a playground for little ghosts, until a fire broke out later on.


    However, six months ago, when strangenesses erupted, the ¡°resurrected¡± body of Long-tongued Zhenzhen kept hanging itself, and it seemed that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, had also appeared and specifically left instructions for the Exorcist on that piece of rice paper, but now his whereabouts were unknown.


    Since the task also hinted that this thing was a treasure for Yan Junze, maybe Lin Yishan was a person with real talent and learning, and this statue of himself could be of great use to him.


    As for Hu Gang saying this thing was his, it now seemed to be a joke. This little guy might have been the first to find the statue in the Lin Family courtyard and so claimed it for himself.


    The other kids, seeing that it was gold, like Ning, were not content, so they secretly stole it, causing such a big incident later on.

 Chapter 98 - 98 - 97 Uninvited Guest

    Chapter 98 ¨C 97 Uninvited Guest


    ¡°`


    After hypothesizing the origins and development of the incident, Yan Junze wrapped the statue in multiple layers and secured it with a plastic bag before placing it in his backpack. He set the backpack by the bedside and then returned to bed to sleep.


    Perhaps due to exhaustion, he still had a good night¡¯s sleep during his last night at Rock.


    Although he had gone to bed late, Yan Junze didn¡¯t wake up until the first light of dawn, when his cell phone alarm annoyed him awake.


    The first early morning bus, number 803, headed to the center of Shuntian City departs around 6:40 AM. This is an exceptionally early bus; even the couple living upstairs who rush to work in the morning don¡¯t take it¡ªthey opt for the 7:30 AM bus.


    Yan Junze¡¯s aim was to interact with as few people as possible, which is why he chose the first bus.


    He had packed his things in advance. After quickly getting up and washing up, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.


    ...


    He left the rental keys in a flowerpot at the landlord¡¯s doorway without disturbing anyone, then turned and departed.


    Arriving at the bus stop for the 803, the early bus had not yet arrived.


    It was now 6:44 AM, but the sky was already bright.


    Yan Junze reckoned that the 803 bus would take less than ten minutes to arrive at Rock after starting from the first station, as it was only the third stop from there.


    The bus started at 6:40 AM, and he was confident he could catch it.


    True enough, right at 6:50 AM, he saw bus 803 slowly driving from the end of the road.


    He stopped in front of it, paid the fare, and boarded; aside from a middle-aged driver, there were no other passengers.


    This was perfect¡ªcatching the bus early turned it into his private ride.


    Yan Junze found a seat towards the back, put his backpack on the adjacent chair, propped his hand as a pillow, and made himself comfortable.


    He took out his phone to browse the news. The bus started moving rhythmically, swaying gently, and Yan Junze quickly felt drowsy. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    Today¡¯s lack of sleep didn¡¯t help, and Yan Junze turned off his phone and simply held it in his hand as he closed his eyes.


    Images of the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and Resentful Granny intermittently flashed through his mind.


    Apart from Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the other ghosts had left too deep an impression on him; now, whenever he had a moment of rest, their images uncontrollably appeared in his thoughts.


    He was tired, but sleep didn¡¯t come easily.


    The 803 bus proceeded with its stops, and at one of them, a young man got on.


    This young man, hands in his pockets, immediately took the seat closest to the driver upon entering.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t pay much attention. His posture was upright, reminiscent of a primary school student listening attentively in class.


    Half-awake, Yan Junze opened his eyes and stared at the back of the young man¡¯s head, his thoughts drifting to that crucial detail that had been bothering him these past few days, something he just couldn¡¯t remember.


    It seemed vitally important, a detail triggered in a moment of conversation with Zhang Xiaomo; however, it was interrupted by another matter and buried beneath other thoughts, never resurfacing.


    Sometimes, the harder one tries to recall something¡ªlike urgently searching for an item at home¡ªthe more elusive it becomes at the moment it¡¯s needed.


    Then unexpectedly, on some unremarkable day, the once elusive item will suddenly appear before your eyes, effortlessly found.


    At this moment, as Yan Junze watched the young man seated not far from the driver, he finally grasped the idea that last time had been buried deep in his thoughts.


    He remembered, when he found out that Landlord Lin Dong had been affected by Spirit-Splitting from Resentful Granny, Zhang Xiaomo had said something like this: ¡°Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split just under 48 hours ago; later tonight I¡¯ll go next door, rescue him, and see if Granny Ren is there.¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze had a thought, but it was swept away by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s introduction of the Strangeness Interferer¡ªno, not that¡ªthe Spirit Destroying Device, which diverted his attention and prevented the thought from developing into a coherent idea.


    Now at last, Yan Junze had the realization.


    If Zhang Xiaomo said that Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split less than 48 hours ago and that they could rescue him later, does that mean if it had been over 48 hours, there would be no hope for rescue?


    If that were true?


    Yan Junze abruptly shivered and grabbed his phone. No matter how early it was or whether the other party had woken up, he immediately dialed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s number.


    ¡­


    ¡°`


    Tianmeng District, Sealed City.


    Within the courtyard of a temple.


    Normally, this place called Thunder King Temple would have already attracted an endless stream of pilgrims, and the daily income from incense offerings alone was no less than a seven-figure sum.


    However, at this moment, there was not a single pilgrim in the entire temple courtyard, only one person standing.


    With shoulder-length short hair, wearing a pure white cartoon short-sleeved T-shirt, casual jeans, and white mesh sneakers, Zhang Xiaomo stood alone with a knife in hand, in the middle of the courtyard, next to the gigantic incense burner.


    Inside the incense burner, which was previously unceasing with burning incense, there was now a pile of cold ashes, without the slightest scent of incense or candles.


    This time, the cartoon pattern on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s chest was switched to HelloKitty, but her expression seemed as usual, and she had just pulled the dagger out from the chest of an old monk who had fallen to the ground.


    The body of the old monk was gradually disappearing, and after a moment, only a transparent shadow could be seen.


    Not far from the old monk, on the steps below, lay the body of a young monk, which was also becoming more and more faint, now barely visible.


    And in the main hall, another body had long since vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Three high-level Wandering Spirits, dealt with!¡±


    Having put away her magnetic knife, Zhang Xiaomo earnestly made a note in her notebook. However, her brows furrowed slightly as she wrote.


    Seconds later, she capped her pen and tucked it into her notebook, muttering to herself, ¡°Why is it like this?¡±


    After her words fell, Zhang Xiaomo took out her phone and called her mentor, who was with the exorcist team in Huaying District of the Great Capital of Huaying.


    She was well aware that her mentor was an early riser and would already be awake at this time, so she wouldn¡¯t be disturbing him.


    ¡°Xiaomo.¡± A voice with a hint of vicissitude rang out. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mentor, I have a question.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo always cut to the chase when speaking with her mentor. Her straightforwardness was well known among the people in the Supernatural Incidents unit, so it seemed the mentor didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve just slain three malevolent Wandering Spirits, high-level ones,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo. ¡°It took quite an effort, so I recorded it. But considering the Evil Spirits I¡¯ve slain these past few days, I suddenly have a doubt. I want to know, precisely speaking, how many high-level Wandering Spirits would equal one Sculpting Spirit?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ There¡¯s no comparability,¡± the voice from the phone responded, ¡°In terms of the strength of Evil Spirits, one Sculpting Spirit would be roughly equivalent to around ten high-level Wandering Spirits. However, this is without considering the intervention and Spirit-Splitting tendencies of the Sculpting Spirit.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°So, if we take everything into account, does the strength of a Sculpting Spirit exceed that of ten high-level Wandering Spirits?¡±


    ¡°Definitely more than that.¡± The mentor paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Are you¡­ hmm, let me check your task records.¡±


    After a few seconds, his voice came through again: ¡°A Semi-Sculpting Spirit? You killed one two days ago? Hmm, you are capable of handling that, how did it feel?¡±


    ¡°The feeling¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s foreboding feeling grew stronger at this moment, ¡°I haven¡¯t dealt with Semi-Sculpting Spirits before, but it felt¡­ barely different from the three high-level Wandering Spirits I¡¯ve just killed!¡±


    There was silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the mentor¡¯s voice: ¡°With your ability, fully killing a Semi-Sculpting Spirit must have been difficult. Now¡­ come back immediately!¡±


    ¡°Mentor¡­¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo hadn¡¯t finished speaking when suddenly her phone signaled another call waiting to be answered.


    Glancing at the phone screen, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s pupils narrowed, and without further conversation with her mentor, she immediately switched calls.


    ¡°Zhang Xiaomo, don¡¯t ask anything, just listen to me first!¡± It was the voice of Yan Junze, ¡°Answer me immediately, what happens to a person who has been inflicted by Spirit-Splitting for more than 48 hours?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback and replied, ¡°They can never be saved. Why are you asking this, where are you? Right now you must¡­¡±


    Her words were interrupted by Yan Junze.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time, guess who I saw.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Lv Xin.¡±

 Chapter 99 - 99 - 98 Spirit-Splitting

    Chapter 99 ¨C 98 Spirit-Splitting


    The back of the head of the person sitting in the front row did indeed give Yan Junze a flicker of familiarity.


    Then, his memory was fully activated, and the doubts that he had failed to connect in the past few days suddenly made sense.


    Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned that not more than 48 hours had passed since Lin Dong was subjected to Spirit-Splitting, and deep in his subconscious, Yan Junze had already thought of Lv Xin.


    Because after the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task ended, Lv Xin¡¯s divided spirit had been ejected by a High-Energy Collapse and escaped through the window.


    However, according to Yan Junze¡¯s analysis, from the day he first encountered Lv Xin, Lv Xin had entered room 503 of FH Community where Granny Ren resided. If he had undergone Spirit-Splitting, although the exact time was unknown, if it were calculated from that point, it would definitely not be just 48 hours but far more.


    Now, having obtained confirmation over the phone from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze was certain that there was no saving Lv Xin after the Spirit-Splitting, even though it seemed that the Spirit-Splitting had already ejected it from his body that day.


    That is to say, Resentful Granny had always been hiding inside him.


    ...


    If the entity they killed at Lin Ling and Su Muyao¡¯s home was Resentful Granny¡¯s main body, then after the main body was destroyed, the divided spirit that had been hiding inside Lv Xin could also evolve into a new main body.


    With all the information pieced together, only at this moment did Yan Junze realize that Resentful Granny might have known she was no match for Zhang Xiaomo, so she purposefully let her main body be destroyed, leading to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s departure and then sending Lv Xin to come.


    This was not a technique used by Wandering Spirits; even high-level Wandering Spirits couldn¡¯t pull off such a trick.


    She had not only deceived him but even Zhang Xiaomo, the three-star Exorcist, had been deceived.


    Sitting on the shaky bus.


    Almost the second he noticed something was off, Yan Junze activated the starting point of the Rewind timeline, then without setting an endpoint, directly entered a loop.


    He now regretted not having kept a loop of about four hours of Rewind going as he had done the day before; otherwise, he could have simply rewound to before boarding the bus and could rethink his plan.


    Although, based on the current situation, Resentful Granny must have premeditated for a long time, and the idea of not boarding the bus to escape the predicament was nearly impossible.


    Calling Zhang Xiaomo was just Yan Junze¡¯s way of confirming his suspicion, and now this guess he was reluctant to believe had become reality.


    Zhang Xiaomo was far away in the Sealed City, and distant waters could not quench a nearby fire; she simply couldn¡¯t rush over immediately from there.


    She did say over the phone that she would immediately alert the Exorcist squad of Shuntian City, but having Huang Chen and those few Exorcists come over would be no different from sending them to their deaths.


    Relying on outsiders for rescue was virtually an optionless path; at this moment, he was isolated, isolated on this bus.


    Observing the back of Lv Xin, who sat up straight without looking around or ever turning his head to look his way.


    Yan Junze¡¯s drowsiness had long been swept away; he put his phone back in his backpack and stared silently at Lv Xin¡¯s back, with no intention of approaching.


    He was waiting for the next stop to arrive.


    As soon as the bus reached a stop, he would immediately grab his backpack and get off, alighting first, not wanting to stay in the same space as Lv Xin. Read latest chapters at empire


    At that moment, the bus was passing through a rough road section, with one side abutting the mountain and the other a steep slope of about thirty meters.


    Among the routes from Rock to the city, only this section was tougher to navigate and carried a degree of risk.


    However, the bus drivers were accustomed to it, with the driver even whistling.


    After this section, there would be a bus stop, but given the secluded terrain and the early hour, there might not be any passengers waiting at the stop.


    Yan Junze gripped the strap of his backpack, ready to leap off as soon as the bus pulled over and the doors opened.


    However, in his mind, he knew that after taking such an action, Lv Xin, who had remained silent till now, would definitely react, and he would certainly not allow Yan Junze to escape just like that.


    Just at that moment, Lv Xin suddenly stood up.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his gaze fixed intently on him.


    He saw that Lv Xin didn¡¯t turn around, not even glancing back at himself, but instead got up and walked straight towards the bus driver who was whistling.


    ¡°What are you doing? The road here is steep and dangerous, be careful not to fall, sit down quickly.¡± The driver, noticing Lv Xin coming towards him, promptly voiced a warning.


    Lv Xin¡¯s movements suddenly quickened, and in a few steps he was beside the driver¡¯s cabin.


    Next to the driver¡¯s cabin was a metal railing, installed to prevent passengers from getting too close to the driver and interfering with the operation of the vehicle.


    But after Lv Xin neared the driver, he tensed his footsteps, stooped slightly, and with a fierce shoulder bump, he sent the sturdy metal railing flying. The powerful impact did not stop there but continued to hit the driver and the steering wheel.


    The driver never expected a person could exert such a great impact force. In just an instant, his hands were off the steering wheel, and he was knocked down by Lv Xin against the cabin door, falling unconscious instantly.


    The steering wheel flew off as well, and the whole bus tilted to the left.


    It was only then that Yan Junze reacted, realizing that Lv Xin wasn¡¯t going to trouble him directly but instead, his target was the whole bus.


    It seemed slow, but in just a few seconds, the bus had completely veered off the road and was charging down a steep slope with a drop of over thirty meters.


    Having done this, Lv Xin turned his head back with a chilly gaze, staring fixedly at Yan Junze who was gripping the seatback in front of him tightly.


    The bus plunged down the steep slope, and the vehicle¡¯s entire body was penetrated by the strong and violent impact force, then Lv Xin himself was flung out first.


    Rewind!


    The bus was about to turn over; Yan Junze could only ¡°rewind¡±.


    He sat back down, and Lv Xin had just boarded the bus and settled down not long ago, precisely when Yan Junze saw him and began to suspect.


    He didn¡¯t call Zhang Xiaomo to confirm because confirmation was no longer needed, but he knew that Zhang Xiaomo might call soon, so he set his phone to vibrate.


    ¡°Master, stop the bus, I need to get off.¡± Yan Junze suddenly shouted.


    The driver, without turning his head, said, ¡°We don¡¯t stop midway; we stop at the bus station ahead.¡±


    Lv Xin obviously heard their conversation, but he showed no reaction.


    Yan Junze stood up, shouldered his backpack, and walked over directly, pretending not to notice Lv Xin. He came to the metal railing outside the driver¡¯s seat, leaned on the railing, and said, ¡°Master, please stop the bus, I¡¯ve forgotten something at the bus station where I boarded.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop now, there are rules,¡± the driver still refused.


    Yan Junze leaned his upper body closer to him and lowered his voice, whispering, ¡°The person sitting not far from you is a ¡¯strangeness¡¯. Look at him, he has been emotionless and staring at you for quite some time.¡±


    ¡°You want to get off, right.¡± The driver suddenly shivered, touched something on his chest somewhat guiltily.


    In this era, one might not believe other things, but when it comes to ¡¯strangenesses¡¯, as soon as they appear, almost no one doubts. Besides, if there were doubts, it would be after the fact ¡ª nobody would joke with their own lives on the spot.


    As for the thing the driver couldn¡¯t help touching, Yan Junze believed it must be something like a Jade Buddha he was wearing.


    Suddenly, the bus pulled to the side and came to a stop with inertia. The driver also stood up, casting a glance at Lv Xin, intentionally or not.


    The latter was indeed emotionless, just sitting there vacantly, staring blankly.


    The driver felt even more uneasy: ¡°I also need to take a leak.¡±


    The door of the bus opened.

 Chapter 100 - 100 - 99 Three Spirits Assistance

    Chapter 100 ¨C 99 Three Spirits Assistance


    Without strangeness, everything is easy to handle, but once strangeness arrives, some seemingly ordinary people exhibit surprisingly quick reactions.


    Take our bus driver, for instance. After opening the door, he managed to surpass Yan Junze and was the first to rush out of the bus.


    However, upon exiting, he instantly turned back to glance inside the bus, only to find that the young passenger who had been sitting in the front row had now vanished without a trace.


    The young man who had warned him about the strangeness, carrying a backpack, was still standing there, staring at him in shock, neither getting off the bus nor making any other movements.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The driver felt a chill running down his spine.


    Today, there was no sunshine; it was cloudy turning overcast, casting an inherently cold feeling, despite it being morning.


    ¡°Master, just keep walking, don¡¯t look back,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice came from the back of the bus. Explore hidden tales at empire


    ...


    But he had stood still the entire time, staring fixedly at the bus driver. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No, he was staring at something behind the bus driver.


    At that moment, the bus driver¡¯s heart raced even faster, his legs going numb as he kept guessing why Yan Junze was looking behind him, and wondering where was the person who had been sitting in the first row.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t turn back, he told me not to turn back, could it be¡­¡±


    The driver realized his body was starting to tremble, a pressing urge to urinate nearly uncontrollable, and although he was moving forward unconsciously, he was doing so more slowly than a snail.


    ¡°What¡­ What¡¯s behind me? Is that young man following me?¡±


    The driver¡¯s imagination was vivid, conjuring up thoughts that perhaps the young man was currently perched on his shoulders or clinging to his back.


    The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became until he could no longer move, his legs giving way, and he fell to his knees.


    Right then, a cold sensation crept up from behind him.


    Unable to withstand such torture, the driver shakily turned his head.


    Then he felt two palms pressing tightly against his face, his head jerking backward violently, with a crisp snap, and his consciousness faded away.


    Lv Xin stood up expressionlessly, a faint breath escaping the driver¡¯s nostrils and wafting into his own.


    Lv Xin¡¯s body trembled involuntarily twice as if he found it quite comfortable, then he turned his head towards the bus.


    Gone.


    The bus that had been stationary just moments ago had now disappeared without a trace.


    In the distance at the end of the road, a faint wisp of smoke could still be seen coming from the bus¡¯s exhaust, barely recognizable as it curled around the mountain road, then went out of sight.


    If not now, when?


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected that after the driver alighted, Lv Xin would follow so closely behind him; when he told the driver not to look back, he had simply feared the driver would be frightened, not intentionally luring the driver to lead Lv Xin away.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t know what Lv Xin was up to following the man.


    But it was a good opportunity: they went down, leaving him alone with the bus, the keys still in the ignition!


    Yan Junze, sweating profusely, gripped the steering wheel of the bus, his expression focused, staring intently at the road ahead, not daring to relax for a second.


    True, he knew how to drive from his previous life, but after getting his license, he had mostly driven automatic cars; he had only occasionally touched manual ones, just not as adeptly.


    As for a bus like this, he had never even touched one before.


    However, Yan Junze knew about starting in second gear and was aware that a bus has complex gear shifts, which he had once studied out of curiosity.


    This moment had finally come after much difficulty in driving the bus away, and his mood became very complex.


    First, the road was steep and winding, and second, he couldn¡¯t control the clutch properly, so he had to pay close attention the entire time, not even daring to blink.


    He wanted to go faster, but just couldn¡¯t speed up!


    It wasn¡¯t long before the bus charged onto the mountain road that curved back and forth, with a 30-meter steep slope on the left. Due to the uneven road surface, he couldn¡¯t get the hang of the clutch, and shortly after ascending, the bus stalled outright.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart raced with urgency as he turned his head to look back, then suddenly froze, his hands leaving the steering wheel.


    He saw Lv Xin sitting in the first row of the bus, calmly looking at him.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯ve arrived?¡± Yan Junze stood up, putting down his backpack, ¡°Look at you, not even saying hello when you arrive!¡±


    He knew that driving the bus away was a momentary burst of effort and that any slip up along the way would mean losing their last chance to escape.


    Lv Xin leaned forward slightly, like a marionette being pulled up, approaching Yan Junze swiftly on tiptoes, just as he had followed the bus driver before.


    The next second, the Crawler Monster, Ke¡¯er, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen appeared before Yan Junze in succession.


    Yan Junze shouted fiercely, ¡°Attack him!¡±


    Although he knew what the final outcome would be, he was now in the most unfavorable position, so whatever happened, he would seize any opportunity that arose.


    If he found a flaw, Yan Junze would immediately Rewind and look for a chance to break through.


    The three strangenesses charged at Lv Xin simultaneously.


    This time the Crawler Monster wasn¡¯t as dim-witted and helpless as when it faced the cross-dressing gang leader Jian Tong. Instead, it was ferociously charging forward, although still less rapid than Ke¡¯er.


    Upon seeing Lv Xin, Long-tongued Zhenzhen immediately said to Yan Junze, ¡°You should run, he¡¯s very strong, we won¡¯t be able to hold him off for long!¡±


    Thud!


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s head had been squashed flat under Lv Xin¡¯s foot.


    Ke¡¯er had pounced onto Lv Xin¡¯s shoulder at that moment, limbs elongated, mouth open wide, biting at Lv Xin¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Aah!¡±


    A strange scream came from Lv Xin¡¯s mouth as his body violently shook, and Ke¡¯er was instantly flung away, hitting the bus roof then tumbling back down onto the seats.


    Zhenzhen stepped forward, her crimson tongue lashing out rapidly at Lv Xin¡¯s face.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t dodge but instead reached out to grab it with his hand, biting off a piece of the tongue and chewing it before swallowing.


    Zhenzhen didn¡¯t back down either. Instead, she stepped closer, her tongue rapidly coiling around in the middle section, forming two circles, one end still held by the opponent, the rest wrapping around Lv Xin¡¯s neck.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er climbed up from the seat, baring her teeth and issuing a ¡°yah yah yah¡± warning sound, and sprang toward Lv Xin again with a push of her legs.


    But while she was still in the air, Lv Xin reached out with his other hand, gripping Ke¡¯er¡¯s throat before she could reach him, intercepting her in mid-flight and pinning her down, rendering her scratching and kicking futile.


    Lv Xin plunged his fingers into the captured tongue of Zhenzhen, causing her body to shudder violently, as if she would fall apart at any moment.


    The Crawler Monster, with its shattered skull, lay at Lv Xin¡¯s feet. It licked its disheveled parting with what remained of its tongue, weakly extended its tiny fists, and staggered to Lv Xin¡¯s ankle to deliver a punch before lying on the ground, motionless.


    Regardless, it had done its best!


    The three strangenesses gave their selfless help from the bottom of their hearts, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded, and then, the next second¡­


    Rewind!

 Chapter 101 - 101 - 100 Escape is Futile

    Chapter 101 ¨C 100 Escape is Futile


    Experience more tales on empire


    Wang Jianguo¡¯s home was located at the base of Rock, with two daughters, both of school-going age.


    His wife didn¡¯t have a job, so the burden essentially fell entirely on Wang Jianguo¡¯s shoulders.


    His ancestors had left him a self-built house at the base of Rock, so housing wasn¡¯t an issue for the family; the main problem was the daily living expenses and the tuition fees for his two daughters, which were quite a headache.


    Through a loan, Wang Jianguo bought a second-hand niche-brand car from the used car market. He would rise early and return home late, shuttling back and forth between the suburbs and the city center to pick up passengers¡ªwhat¡¯s commonly known as ¡°driving a black cab.¡±


    Without a business license, and without company management, the money he earned, after deducting fuel and maintenance costs, was still the main source of income for his family.


    Moreover, Wang Jianguo was incredibly hardworking¡­ when others were still soundly asleep, he might have already made several trips into the city.


    ...


    Every day at around 6:30 a.m., Wang Jianguo would wake up on time and habitually turn on the ¡°Taxi¡± app he had registered, setting it to ready-for-hire mode.


    When he didn¡¯t have acquaintances or regulars to support his black cab business, he was, in essence, a part-time ride-hailing driver.


    Around 6:50 a.m., just after finishing at the toilet and freshening up, the sound of an order notification suddenly came from Wang Jianguo¡¯s phone.


    He quickly took out his phone and saw that the map showed a passenger at a bus stop around two stops away from Rock had requested the service.


    Wang Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then noticed that the passenger¡¯s location shown on display was slowly moving. After some thought, he decided to simply make a phone call.


    ¡°Hello, is it you who ordered the car?¡± Wang Jianguo asked as soon as the phone was connected.


    ¡°Yes, I did. How far are you from me?¡± came the voice of Yan Junze.


    ¡°I live on Rock Street; if I leave now, I¡¯ll be there in a couple of minutes. But I see you¡¯re moving. What¡¯s going on?¡± said Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry to get to the city center. I¡¯m currently on a bus. Drive over here to pick me up, the quicker, the better! If you¡¯re fast enough, I¡¯ll give you an extra 200 yuan.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Jianguo was immediately excited.


    He hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys, and went out the door. He settled into the driver¡¯s seat, secured his phone, plugged in the charging cable, started his beloved niche-brand sedan, and zoomed out of the main street of Rock.


    ¡­ S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s second Rewind after encountering Lv Xin.


    After the bus plunged down the steep slope, he had performed his first Rewind. The second time he was supposed to take the bus and run away, but he was discovered and pursued, so he had no choice but to release his three Spirits and eventually Rewind after being overpowered.


    This time, he decided not to startle the snake in the grass but to change his approach and not take the bus.


    Upon noticing that Lv Xin had boarded, he immediately opened the ¡°Taxi¡± app and soon got a response from Wang Jianguo.


    With an extra 200 yuan to motivate him, Wang Jianguo almost floored the gas pedal, and in just four minutes, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang.


    ¡°Hello, are you on bus route 803? I¡¯m right behind you guys,¡± said the voice of Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Wait for me at the next stop.¡±


    As soon as the call ended, a silver-gray niche-brand sedan whizzed by, rushing ahead of the bus route 803 and stopping at the visible bus stop ahead.


    There, apart from this sedan, there was only one person waiting for the bus.


    It was a woman, dressed in white shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with disheveled hair, her back to the street, seemingly looking at the ad board on the platform.


    Before long, the bus approached the stop.


    The moment the rear door opened, Yan Junze, who was all set with his backpack, leaped off the bus and immediately dove into the waiting sedan.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze immediately looked over to the bus and saw Lv Xin sitting motionless, seemingly unaware that he had gotten off.


    Then, Yan Junze realized something was off about the platform.


    He turned his head, his gaze landing on the bus platform, and his pupils instantly narrowed.


    The bus driver had waited barely two seconds before seeing that the woman in white, who had her back turned to the bus, showed no signs of boarding. Therefore, he closed the doors and started driving forward.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, pick up the pace,¡± Yan Junze instructed Wang Jianguo, retracting his gaze. ¡°Head downtown.¡±


    Wang Jianguo had already started the sedan. At the words, he nodded, pressed the accelerator, and the car shot forward, quickly catching up to the departing Route 803 and surging past it into the distance.


    Yan Junze turned his head again to observe the movement of the bus behind them and took another glance at the platform. Finding no abnormalities, he turned back and let out a soft sigh of relief.


    Indeed, a private car was quite convenient. It had quickly passed through the most rugged part of the mountain road and had probably left the bus far behind.


    As they drew closer to the urban area, more houses appeared on both sides of the road, and Yan Junze¡¯s heart gradually settled down.


    Soon, the sedan entered the only inbound road to the city center, where, for some unknown reason, a massive traffic jam had formed with a long line of cars stalled.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze leaned forward from the back seat to the driver¡¯s cabin, eyeing the impenetrable road ahead.


    All the cars in front had stopped, with no one trying to cut in line.


    In fact, there were so many cars that it was impossible to cut through; each vehicle was orderly following the one ahead.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to get stuck here, at this time of day.


    ¡°It must be the rush hour, and there might have been a minor collision,¡± Wang Jianguo murmured, guessing to himself.


    Unable to see the exact location of the collision, there was nothing to do but wait.


    Yan Junze checked the time and made a call to his parents.


    His father, Yan Daguo, had worked the night shift at the factory and had not come home, while his mother had left early for the morning shift.


    So, there was no one at home right now.


    Given the current situation, Yan Junze seemed to have rid himself of the Resentful Granny¡¯s pursuit, but he was all too aware that the real trouble lay ahead.


    Zhang Xiaomo wouldn¡¯t be able to rush back momentarily, and the other members of the Exorcist team here might not have anyone above a three-star Exorcist. If it were two-star Exorcists or lower who arrived, they would be of no use.


    If push came to shove, he planned to implement the previous plan, going to Yu Xiaochang and waiting for Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s arrival.


    In the meantime, he would use Ke¡¯er¡¯s Rewind early warning to temporarily evade.


    As he was contemplating, a bizarre thought suddenly emerged.


    This idea even surprised Yan Junze himself; he couldn¡¯t understand why it had suddenly popped into his head. But upon further thought, it seemed not entirely impossible.


    After all, he currently had three Evil Spirits at his disposal. Though they were no match for the Resentful Granny, this crazy idea might just work.


    Just then, a familiar silhouette of a car appeared to the right of the silver-gray sedan Yan Junze was riding in. He instinctively turned his head for a glance and was immediately stunned.


    He saw Route 803 bus actually overtaking them, having come up alongside the stalled stream of vehicles.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure about other cities, but typically in second or third-tier cities like Shuntian City, buses would frequently overtake, hog lanes, cross lines, and push through with reckless abandon, earning them the nickname ¡°Sweeper of the City Streets.¡±


    Therefore, it was no surprise that their car was overtaken by the Route 803 bus amidst the congested traffic.


    Inside the bus, that familiar young person was still seated, and there were several other passengers aboard now.


    As Yan Junze was observing, Lv Xin, who had been sitting primly, suddenly moved his head. Slowly he turned it around and, through the bus window, fixed his gaze directly on Yan Junze seated in the small car.


    ¡°Fuck it, no more hiding! Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    Looking into Lv Xin¡¯s eyes felt like staring into the eyes of the Resentful Granny. At that moment, Yan Junze made a decision and immediately set out to execute the plan that had spontaneously come to mind.

 Chapter 102 - 102 - 101 Burning the Boats

    Chapter 102 ¨C 101 Burning the Boats


    ¡°At that moment, Wang Jianguo also saw the 803 bus, which had managed to get ahead despite setting off later. He offered an apologetic smile and explained to Yan Junze, ¡°Sorry, young man. We would have already reached the city center if it hadn¡¯t been for the traffic jam.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, master,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile. ¡°Just head to FH Community now, I¡¯ll give you the extra two hundred as agreed.¡±


    Wang Jianguo was momentarily taken aback, his eyes lighting up with joy as he nodded, ¡°Alright. It seems like the point of collision is not far from here. Once we get past this stretch, the road conditions will improve and we¡¯ll quickly reach FH Community.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Yan Junze fell silent and turned his head, only to find that the 803 bus, which had been in the lane next to them, had now squeezed ahead and managed to wedge itself into the lane closest to the sidewalk.


    Whenever that driver needed to change lanes, he would just swing the front of the bus into the lane, cutting off the cars behind, who then wouldn¡¯t dare to move forward.


    It wasn¡¯t really that they didn¡¯t dare, but more that any collision would involve calling the police, insurance companies, and assessors, taking a lot of time.


    ...


    Without coming across someone who was particularly insistent, private cars usually yielded and let buses cut in.


    While Wang Jianguo¡¯s lesser-known brand car was still stuck in traffic, Yan Junze saw the 803 bus already stopping up ahead, with passengers getting off.


    Soon after, the 803 resumed its journey and quickly disappeared into the sea of cars.


    After inching forward for another seven or eight minutes, they finally reached the location of the earlier fender-bender. Indeed, three cars had scraped against each other, and the drivers were still arguing on the roadside, with no sign of the traffic police.


    Once they got past this traffic jam, the road ahead opened up and the cars started to accelerate.


    Wang Jianguo couldn¡¯t wait. He¡¯d collected an extra two hundred from Yan Junze and hadn¡¯t yet shown the value of that extra money. He now pressed down hard on the accelerator and surged forward.


    After driving for about two minutes, when they were about to turn right, there was someone standing by the roadside.


    As a qualified and even quite outstanding illegal taxi driver, Wang Jianguo had developed a conditioned reflex. Whenever he saw someone standing by the road, he would instinctively pull over and lightly tap the brakes, then roll down the window and call out, ¡°Where to?¡±


    These street-side pickups were quite common; they¡¯d even become an unwritten rule, whereby drivers didn¡¯t have to ask their passengers for permission anymore.


    Wang Jianguo gently braked, his habit to stop and ask taking over, when Yan Junze also leaned forward to look and immediately recognized the person standing by the roadside.


    Lv Xin, wearing casual clothes and expressionless, was standing at the curb, raising his hand and waving to the approaching car.


    ¡°Master,¡± Yan Junze spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ve added two hundred to your fare, and now you¡¯re still picking up riders on the street. Do you think that¡¯s appropriate?¡±


    Wang Jianguo suddenly realized his mistake, looked quickly at Yan Junze with an apologetic face, ¡°Sorry, occupational habit. Moving on now, not picking up anyone on the road, no more passengers!¡±


    At this point, the car was almost coming to a stop, and Lv Xin bent down, peering in through the window as though he was about to get in. Wang Jianguo waved him off, ¡°Not taking passengers.¡±


    Saying that, he floored the accelerator and darted away.


    Yan Junze looked back and saw that the man had straightened up without any show of emotion and started following in the direction in which the car had driven off, at a leisurely pace.


    ¡°He¡¯s still following.¡± Seeing this, Yan Junze became even more convinced of the plan in his mind.


    The road became incredibly smooth, and in less than twenty minutes, they arrived at FH Community.


    Having not been home for many days, Yan Junze was greeted with the familiar surroundings, and in that moment, he felt a sense of great relief.


    Of course, he knew that things were just beginning and it wouldn¡¯t be easy.


    At this time, people who were working or studying had already left, leaving behind only some elderly people and children at home.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to disturb anyone else. He returned home, placed his backpack down, then left the house without closing the door behind him. But instead of going downstairs, he went straight up to the fifth floor.


    Because of the Resentful Granny, the entire fifth floor had long been unoccupied, the entire floor deserted and covered in dust. Ever since the last ¡°Ghost-eating¡± task, even the community¡¯s cleaners had stopped coming up to clean.


    Yan Junze arrived at the fifth floor and stood at the stairwell, taking a brief look downstairs before moving into the corridor of the fifth floor.


    After the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task had been completed, the exorcist resealed room 503, and till now, no one had gone back inside.


    Moreover, Yan Junze did not intend to enter it now either. Stay connected with empire


    The reason he had come to the fifth floor was simple: there was nobody here, which was convenient for carrying out the plans he had next.


    He walked from one end of the corridor to the stairwell and back again three times. The entire fifth floor was very quiet, with not a single anomaly.


    Yan Junze could hardly wait any longer, pulling out his phone to check the time and estimating how long it would take for Lv Xin to reach this place on foot.


    Of course, that guy could no longer be considered human, so you couldn¡¯t estimate his walking speed using normal human standards. Maybe he moved very slowly, or maybe he was faster than an airplane.


    After another round trip on the fifth floor, the surroundings remained quiet with no signs of strangeness. Yan Junze stopped, leaned on the corridor railing, and rested his cheek on his hand, lost in thought.


    Why wouldn¡¯t she appear? In the past, he would encounter her just by casually passing by a place, and just now, he had inadvertently met her at the deserted bus station. So why, at this critical moment, had she decided to play a game of hide and seek?


    Yan Junze was getting impatient. Standing at the entrance of the fifth-floor stairwell, with a thought, he released Ke¡¯er from the Spacetime Atlas. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er, you¡¯re the most sensitive to higher-level strangenesses. Quickly help me check where the Back-faced Woman is,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    No sooner had he finished speaking than he noticed Ke¡¯er¡¯s reaction was somewhat off.


    Usually, this little girl would immediately cling to Yan Junze¡¯s back upon appearing, but now, she not only refrained from embracing him but also took a step back in the opposite direction, her gaze fixed intently on the end of the corridor.


    Yan Junze turned to look and saw, at the very end of the fifth-floor corridor, in the corner where rubbish had accumulated, a white figure silently standing there, motionless.


    With one look, he confirmed it was the Back-faced Woman, without a doubt.


    How long had she been there? He hadn¡¯t even noticed her appearance!


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened as Ke¡¯er beside him let out ¡°yah yah¡± warning sounds and turned to run.


    But she was recaptured into the Spacetime Atlas by Yan Junze a step ahead, thwarting her attempt to escape.


    Yan Junze rubbed his hands together and approached the Back-faced Woman.


    He was about to initiate the task ¡°Look at Her Face¡± at this moment, even though it seemed to be started hastily and he wasn¡¯t fully prepared, but given the pressing situation, he had no time for careful planning.


    As he walked towards her, he pulled up the task information to refresh his memory.


    [Task Name: Look at Her Face;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: None.


    Task Description: Look at her face, ask her what she needs;


    Task Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. This evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot at one¡¯s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot fathom how terrifying a madwoman can be.]

 Chapter 103 - 103 - 102 Look at Her Face (Part One)

    Chapter 103 ¨C 102 Look at Her Face (Part One)


    The Back-faced Woman was always dressed in the same summer outfit: a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which were not form-fitting, but rather the kind that was loose and comfortable for wearing at home.


    However, upon closer inspection, this white clothing was actually covered with dirt and a few bloodstains.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t very long and wasn¡¯t tied up; instead, it hung down disheveled over her shoulders, with some strands twisted together.


    This detail reminded Yan Junze of Ke¡¯er¡¯s dirty hair.


    But there was nothing he could do¡ªwashing a strangeness¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t something the Yan Junze of today could manage; maybe he could in the future, but that would probably require a close encounter with an Exorcist first.


    As he gradually approached the Back-faced Woman, a chilling sensation began to permeate his body, growing colder and colder.


    By the time he reached the second half of the fifth-floor corridor, Yan Junze felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave; in this early summer season, he was almost trembling from the cold.


    ...


    He was certain that it was lucky he had carried Ke¡¯er on his back before; had he carried the Back-faced Woman, she might have frozen him to death within minutes.


    The Rewind timeline was always on with a four-hour loop; at this critical moment, Yan Junze dared not stop it.


    Therefore, there was no need to consider setting the endpoint for the Rewind.


    Slowly, he came to stand behind the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze stopped in place, exhaled softly, and he spoke.


    ¡°Hello¡­,¡± he said.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had politely greeted an Evil Spirit while on a task.


    The Back-faced Woman still did not move, nor did she make any turning motion; she just stood silently in the corner.


    After a moment of thought, Yan Junze reached out his hand, drew close to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s shoulder, and gently touched it.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    Suddenly, in a flash, the silhouette of the Back-faced Woman almost turned into a phantom and lunged madly at Yan Junze.


    The movement was incredibly fast and abrupt; the next second, Yan Junze only felt a chill at his neck, and his entire body went numb with a jolt.


    The attack of the Back-faced Woman was so quick it surpassed the reaction speed of a normal person. His brain only realized he had been bitten in that instant, and before the thought of Rewinding could even surface, the blood vessels in his neck burst open and he fell down.


    His vision spun, and everything became a blur of white. For a moment, Yan Junze thought his Rewind had failed and that he had fallen into a Different Dimension space.


    However, quickly, the view before his eyes came back into focus. Yan Junze blinked hard, standing in place, still somewhat dazed.


    Just then, a message popped up in his mind from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Detecting the host is approaching death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered for the first time. 500 units of Different Dimension Energy consumed this time.]


    As the message appeared, Yan Junze noticed that the 25th node on the Spacetime Atlas lit up briefly before dimming, though not going completely dark.


    This 25th node had been lit by the Different Dimension Energy he gained after completing ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± and ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± tasks.


    Currently, Yan Junze had a total of 2700 energy units, with 25 nodes lit, allowing for approximately 4.5 hours of Rewind time. Explore new worlds at empire


    The Spacetime Atlas did not provide any prompt as it had when the 12th node was lit and the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± feature was enabled.


    If he hadn¡¯t almost died this time, he would have been completely unaware that he possessed the ability of ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death.¡±


    After being stunned for a moment, Yan Junze realized that he was standing about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman; the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± had taken him back by less than ten seconds.


    Although the rewind was brief, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy was astonishing, draining about 500 points in roughly ten seconds.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know whether the duration of the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± was always around ten seconds, or if it varied depending on the severity of the life-threatening situation at the time.


    For instance, if the Spacetime Atlas determined that rewinding ten seconds was not enough to avoid the threat to his life, would it automatically add more time to the rewind?


    If that were the case, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy might be even more astonishing.


    Anyway, this was a life-saving feature, and Yan Junze¡¯s life could be considered worry-free only when he had an ample supply of Different Dimension Energy, just like the incident that had just occurred with the sudden violent attack from the Back-faced Woman.


    Watching the Back-faced Woman not far in front of him, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but curse in his mind, thinking how this woman, usually silent and seemingly easy to get along with, could attack without a word?


    Not only did she bite, but it was a lethal strike that left him with no chance to resist or strategize.


    What an oversight! If it weren¡¯t for the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± he might now be singing his swan song in another dimension.


    For the moment, the supply of Different Dimension Energy was sufficient, but Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to rely on activating ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± carelessly. He was now fully focused on heightening his guard, preferring to rewind time himself if possible; otherwise, the energy costs were indeed unbearable.


    He approached the Back-faced Woman again.


    This time, he didn¡¯t intend to touch her shoulder; perhaps the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t like being touched by others.


    Yan Junze remembered the task mentioned needing to look at this woman¡¯s face and then ask what she needed.


    But how could he get her to turn around?


    He recalled the last time at the stairwell corner, when the slight noise of his footsteps while descending almost caused her to turn.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze took a couple of steps back, coughed, and deliberately stamped his feet on the ground a few times.


    He had been cautious and made no noise while approaching her, but this time he did it on purpose, making louder sounds to draw her attention. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly moved, a movement Yan Junze captured with precision.


    Then Yan Junze coughed twice more, and the Back-faced Woman¡¯s neck shook slightly, the dirty tangled hair quivering with the movement. Then she began to turn her body around.


    This time, instead of turning her head abruptly like the time she followed Yan Junze home, she moved her feet lightly, spinning in place at a rapid rate.


    Her entire body, like a wooden figurine, made a series of tapping noises as she quickly rotated.


    The thick, dirty hair also covered her entire face. Yan Junze tried to look intently but couldn¡¯t see through it at all.


    Remembering the task prompt, he had to look at her face and ask what she needed.


    So seeing her face was a must, but his experiences reminded him not to touch the Back-faced Woman, putting him in a difficult position.


    ¡°No matter what difficulties you¡¯ve encountered, I¡­ can help you!¡± Yan Junze tried to speak.


    He remembered the note from the task, ¡°You cannot comprehend how terrifying a deranged woman can be.¡±


    However, he already understood that after just one touch, his life was nearly taken. Isn¡¯t that madness?


    So now, he preferred not to act but to speak.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Back-faced Woman lifted her gaunt, bruised arm and began to slowly push aside the hair that covered her face, revealing something Yan Junze absolutely did not expect to see.


    What appeared before Yan Junze was not a face but an entire piece of scalp, a complete, intact scalp.


    ¡°This seems¡­ to be the back of her head!?¡± Yan Junze looked closely and was instantly startled.

 Chapter 104 - 104 - 103 Look at Her Face (Part Two)

    Chapter 104 ¨C 103 Look at Her Face (Part Two)


    Now the Back-faced Woman had turned around, but how could she present a view with the back of her head facing me?


    Yan Junze was stupefied for a long time.


    However, he still reached a conclusion: it was impossible for both sides of a person to be the back of the head; there must be a front side. But at present, the front side of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s body was facing him, yet it was the back of her head that was revealed.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had a chilling thought; it was possible that the true face of the Back-faced Woman was on the back of her body.


    Her head might have been twisted 180 degrees, always looking backward.


    If that was truly the case, Yan Junze suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body. It would mean that although the Back-faced Woman stood with her back to everyone, her face was always turned around, obscured by dirty and thick hair, staring through the strands at everyone passing behind her without blinking.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    ...


    With this realization, Yan Junze felt a shudder run through him.


    He remembered the few times he had cautiously passed behind her, the woman had actually been watching him all along.


    ¡°This¡­ this is not your face,¡± Yan Junze tried to stay calm, looking at the chilling back of the head, reminding her, ¡°Please look at me, I want¡­ to help you.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman remained silent and slowly lowered her withered hands that were messing with her hair. Then, she began to turn around again.


    Yan Junze just watched her, motionless.


    Not until the Back-faced Woman turned her back to him once more did her hands stretch out from behind her body, clearly in the opposite direction of the joints, followed by a series of crackling sounds as bones rubbed against each other violently. Her hands, at an inconceivable angle, parted the hair at her back.


    As she parted her hair, a mangled and shattered face was revealed.


    The face appeared to have been subjected to a severe impact, the right side caved inwards, the nose skewed, and the chin dislocated.


    Because her head was rotated 180 degrees, the skin on the Back-faced Woman¡¯s neck was wrinkled, folded over itself like a tightly wrung cloth.


    Just one glance at the Back-faced Woman¡¯s face was enough to make Yan Junze¡¯s stomach churn.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible she died from a fall, her head knocked and twisted around!¡± Yan Junze speculated internally.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    By this time, Yan Junze also finally understood why the Back-faced Woman always faced away from everyone, because with her head twisted, only in this way was her face looking straight at everyone.


    One of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s eyes was askew, as if not looking at Yan Junze but somewhere else.


    Her jaw was dislocated, unable to open or close, and at this moment, she could only make a sound from her throat, somewhat muffled.


    ¡°Chi¡­ ld!¡±


    Yan Junze heard it clearly; the woman was saying ¡°child.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying¡­ you¡¯re looking for a child?¡± Yan Junze asked, ¡°Whose child? Yours?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman made no indication.


    At this moment, Yan Junze began to feel bolder, taking a small step closer, ready to Rewind at any time.


    There was no choice; the actions of the Back-faced Woman were too fast. Only now did he realize that when she had killed him in an instant before, she hadn¡¯t turned around at all; she¡¯d simply pounced on him and bitten him.


    Pitifully, he hadn¡¯t seen how she bit, from where she bit, or how deep the bite was until he was dead.


    ¡°Chi¡­ ld.¡±


    ¡°`


    The Back-faced Woman still uttered the same two words, without any superfluous language.


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze suddenly froze, as the Spacetime Atlas detected a task information prompt.


    [New dimensional waveband detected¡­]


    [The following is a request from the Back-faced Woman¡­]


    [She is looking for her child. Two strange baby evil spirits have appeared in the underground parking of FH Community. She is not certain if they are her children. Please reach the underground parking to help the Back-faced Woman confirm.]


    [Hint: Strange babies are extremely sensitive evil spirits. Any slight disturbance can scare them off; they are also malignant, with a strong crisis response to human gaze. Perhaps, you could approach them by walking in the same manner as the Back-faced Woman.]


    Staring at the task information in his mind, Yan Junze became perplexed.


    The task information reminder this time was evidently aberrant, not the usual type of task release pattern.


    In other words, it was a message intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas after temporarily cutting into a dimensional waveband. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the target of the interception, of course, had only one source, coming from the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze had not expected that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s obsession could be directly intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas and formulated into text.


    At this moment, the Atlas had essentially become a translator of information between humans and strangenesses.


    It¡¯s possible the Back-faced Woman had a lot to say, but for her to communicate it all in this state, Yan Junze might as well lie on the couch, brew a cup of tea, and let her sit down and speak slowly.


    Therefore, the textual prompting of the task became much more significant.


    In just a few minutes, he understood the purpose of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s presence in the FH Community¡ªit turned out that there were two strange babies in the community¡¯s underground parking, and the Back-faced Woman wanted to know if they were her children.


    The parking area of the FH Community was old and could only accommodate a small number of residents¡¯ cars. Furthermore, due to years of disrepair, some pipes often leaked, leaving the ground very damp.


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    Yan Junze had heard people say that the community originally did not have a parking area. The current parking area was formed after the original basement storeroom was converted to meet the increased demand for parking.


    Thus, the parking space was very narrow and poorly ventilated, with many rats and bugs. Just a bit of unattended garbage would quickly become unbearably stinky.


    Some female residents didn¡¯t dare go down alone to drive their cars.


    Anyway, Yan Junze had never been down there himself, because he didn¡¯t own a car.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Yan Junze nodded to the Back-faced Woman. ¡°I¡¯ll head down to the underground parking right now. Are you coming?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman made no response.


    Yan Junze glanced at her, then turned and walked towards the stairwell.


    Catching a glimpse behind him, the Back-faced Woman was still facing away, motionless, as if she had no intention to follow.


    As he descended the stairs, Yan Junze didn¡¯t encounter a single resident. In fact, the number of residents on this floor was originally small, and most had gone out in the morning, so it was normal not to see anyone.


    He moved quickly, concerned that Lv Xin, split by the Resentful Granny¡¯s spirit, might show up at any moment, so he kept his gaze on the staircase below, worried Lv Xin might spring an ambush while coming up the stairs.


    Luckily, he reached the first floor without incident.


    Since the underground parking was a conversion, one couldn¡¯t get there directly via the staircase but had to push through another door on the first floor, usually kept closed.


    Pushing the door open, he faced a damp flight of steps that clearly seemed like an afterthought compared to the building¡¯s other staircases.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and walked down. However, once inside, he looked back one more time, and the Back-faced Woman had still not followed.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 105 - 105 - 104 Look at Her Face (Part Three)

    Chapter 105 ¨C 104 Look at Her Face (Part Three)


    The renovated underground parking lot had poor ventilation and a musty smell, with not much space overhead.


    As Yan Junze descended the stairs, his feet hit the flat ground, but the mass of pipes above gave him a claustrophobic feeling.


    The lighting in the garage was dim and not very bright.


    Just as he came down, a hatchback started up, slowly moved out of its parking space, and headed towards the exit.


    Yan Junze stood to one side, waiting for the car to pass before continuing forward.


    But after that car, he did not see any other vehicles moving in the garage, nor did he spot a single person.


    In the quiet underground garage, intermittent sounds of dripping water could be heard, followed by cracking noises from inside the pipes, which made it all seem very spacious.


    ...


    ¡°Strange baby? Where could such a thing hide?¡±


    Yan Junze murmured to himself as he walked.


    He occasionally looked back and noticed the Back-faced Woman had still not followed; in fact, Yan Junze was apprehensive that upon turning around, he would see Lv Xin standing behind him.


    After walking around, he didn¡¯t notice anything unusual.


    Yan Junze stood still and thought, if there really were two strange babies lurking in the underground garage, it was impossible for them to remain unseen by people.


    If no one had seen them, that would imply they did not appear in passages or lanes frequently traversed by people.


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    With this thought, he turned his head to look around, and a small door caught his attention.


    This small door was tucked away in the southeast corner of the garage, easy to overlook if one was not paying attention.


    At that moment, the small door was ajar, likely leading to a storage area or a maintenance room for the pipes. In any case, people rarely entered that place; if they did, it was for maintenance or to clean up the clutter.


    ¡°Hmm, I didn¡¯t bring a flashlight.¡±


    Yan Junze approached the door, had no choice but to take out his phone, turn on the flashlight feature, and gently pushed open the small door.


    The room behind the door was also lit, but the lighting was a dim yellow. With the help of the flashlight from his phone, he could see more clearly.


    Yan Junze took another look behind him before stepping through the small door.


    The lock on the small door was broken and couldn¡¯t be closed, but he did not plan to close it.


    The room just inside the door was piled with miscellaneous items and some unopened ceramic tiles, bundled up in the corner.


    There were more rooms inside this room, and at this moment, no light shone through from them.


    First, Yan Junze carefully inspected the room with the flashlight on his phone, confirming there were no abnormalities. Afterwards, he walked towards the inner rooms.


    Just as he approached the door, a scuttling noise came from within the room. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound was soft, as if something was dragging itself across the floor.


    Though the lights were off, Yan Junze instinctively pointed his flashlight in that direction, thinking it might be a rat. However, under the beam of light, a small human leg appeared in view and quickly hid behind a large cardboard box.


    Yan Junze saw it clearly: it was the leg of a child, pale and even a bit bruised, with no shoes on, and its little feet seemed to be completely rotted away.


    He suddenly remembered the mission had warned him that if they were indeed strange babies, these creatures were highly sensitive to light, especially to the human gaze.


    To get close to them, he could try using the walking method suggested by Look at Her Face.


    ¡°Damn, doesn¡¯t that mean walking backwards? And I can¡¯t use the lights or shine the flashlight on them,¡± Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart.


    ¡°`


    It felt as if walking across would be no different from tightrope walking alone in the sky.


    But if he were to turn on the lights in this room, or use a flashlight to illuminate the way, he might attract unnecessary trouble and fail to complete the task, ¡°Look at Her Face.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t even try to switch the lights on; he didn¡¯t attempt to see if the room¡¯s lights were working. Then, he turned off the flashlight on his cell phone.


    Instantly, the surrounding area plunged into darkness.


    A smattering of light from the outside room faintly illuminated the entrance, but it was not strong, only reaching the doorway.


    Yan Junze turned around, his back to the room¡¯s interior, and began to cautiously make his way inside.


    During this process, he constantly reminded himself to Rewind.


    Although there was the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± feature, the damn thing used up too much energy. It would be best if he could Rewind on his own the moment he perceived danger.


    Due to moisture, the floor beneath his feet was a bit slippery. Yan Junze walked slowly, his gaze fixed only on the doorway where light seeped through. He was highly tense, his attention fully on what was behind him.


    He was not the Back-faced Woman; his head couldn¡¯t constantly watch what was behind him. Walking backward like this meant exposing his entire back to the other party, filling him with a sense of being out of control.


    This feeling made Yan Junze very uncomfortable, a primal survival instinct constantly reminding him he needed to turn around quickly. Behind him was the presence of the strange baby!


    But he held back, slowly retreating until he reached the middle of the room.


    His heel bumped into a stack of cardboard boxes on the floor, and Yan Junze stopped.


    Close behind him, a rustling sound arose, as if something was crawling on the ground.


    Yan Junze fought the urge not to turn his head to look. He remembered the task information that warned the strange baby was extremely sensitive to human gazes. At this critical juncture, he must not ruin everything at the last moment.


    Reaching back with the opposite hand, he felt around behind him.


    The boxes that his heel had touched were stacked two high, reaching about to the level of his chest. Yan Junze tried to push them but couldn¡¯t budge them.


    If he was to continue moving backward, he could only try to get around these boxes.


    Behind him, the rustling sounds persisted, but whatever was making the noise didn¡¯t come closer to him, which made him feel suddenly anxious.


    He imagined that at this moment, two unclothed, pale-skinned strange babies might be crawling on the slippery ground behind the stack of boxes.


    Goosebumps broke out on Yan Junze.


    Just as he was fumbling on the side to get past the two boxes, the boxes behind him suddenly moved.


    The sensation of movement was strong, and not caused by Yan Junze. It was as if something from behind¡­ had climbed up.


    Yan Junze, who had been about to get around the boxes, immediately stopped and stayed still, feeling the sensation transmitted from the boxes.


    The boxes were indeed shaking; something had crawled up from the other side. Its movements must have been slow, causing the shaking to be not very intense.


    At this moment, Yan Junze even more wanted to turn his head to look, but he clenched his teeth and refrained from doing so, until the shaking of the boxes diminished and a tap-tap sound ensued. Something had completely climbed onto the box and was now close behind him.


    If it had been the former Yan Junze, he would have freaked out by now, likely dashing out of the room.


    But the current Yan Junze had a much stronger resolve. His heart rate sped up a bit, and he was very curious to turn his head to look, but he had no intention of leaving the place.


    The tap-tap sounds drew nearer, shortly arriving right behind him.


    Because the creature was likely propped on the boxes, it was at the same height as Yan Junze.


    The next second, an arm as thin as a tree branch was laid upon Yan Junze¡¯s left shoulder.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 106 - 106 - 105 Look at Her Face (Part Four)

    Chapter 106 ¨C 105 Look at Her Face (Part Four)


    After feeling something resting on his shoulder, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking that just looking at what was on his shoulder without making eye contact shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    With that thought, he turned his head slightly to look at his left shoulder, but because the room was so dark, he could see absolutely nothing, just pitch black.


    He could only sense something resting on his left shoulder that was slowly moving towards his neck.


    Each time it slid over an inch of skin, that patch of skin would break out in goosebumps, making Yan Junze¡¯s heart feel queasy.


    Since he couldn¡¯t look directly at them, maybe he could still talk.


    ¡°There¡¯s a person¡ªno, there¡¯s a strangeness that wants to meet you. I don¡¯t know why she won¡¯t come in here, but if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll take you out now, so you can meet and see if there¡¯s been a misunderstanding,¡± Yan Junze spoke out.


    The thing moving on his shoulder paused for a moment, then continued to slide towards the skin of his neck.


    ...


    Yan Junze felt something wet and viscous, like a slug crawling onto his neck and sliding up his cheek.


    ¡°Is this a hand?¡±


    A doubt rose in his mind, as it didn¡¯t feel like a hand.


    If it really were a hand, then its skin must be caked in a large amount of sticky liquid.


    Yan Junze did not move rashly, nor did he turn to look. Instead, he slowly raised his own hand towards the thing that was nearing his cheek.


    Then, he grasped it.


    It indeed was a hand, but this hand was extremely gaunt, not much thicker than the twigs of a tree branch, and its surface was abnormally sticky. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if after grabbing it, he could rid his own hand of the viscous coating well enough to let go of it.


    When he grabbed the arm of this thing, the little hand clearly jittered slightly before tensing up.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t let go, but continued, ¡°Come on, follow me, we¡¯ll go out and see her.¡±


    The little hand didn¡¯t retract, and its owner made no sound.


    But Yan Junze dared not look back, and added, ¡°Where¡¯s your other little buddy? Come out, let¡¯s all go together.¡±


    After saying this, he reached out his other hand, groping in a different direction.


    There was no movement from behind, and after groping for a while, Yan Junze touched nothing. Even if he tried to look behind him now, he wouldn¡¯t see anything due to the darkness, so he could only rely on touch.


    Slightly turning his body and reaching towards the far end of the cardboard box, Yan Junze¡¯s hand continued to explore further back.


    Yet the hand holding onto the skeletal arm did not release its grip, having finally caught one, he couldn¡¯t just let it slip away.


    Besides, it seemed that the little creature wasn¡¯t resisting.


    Perhaps it just looked frightening. In actuality, the strange baby should be easy to communicate with.


    Before long, Yan Junze, who had been searching behind him, finally caught another arm.


    But then he was momentarily taken aback.


    This arm was much larger than the one he had caught on the left side, though overall it remained skinny and emaciated.


    If both were from strange babies, this one must be the kind of giant-headed strange baby that weighed over ten pounds at birth!


    The more Yan Junze thought about it, the weirder he felt in his heart, but now, even if he turned back to look, he didn¡¯t want to see.


    Holding one strange baby in each hand, both feeling sticky, Yan Junze held back his disgust, didn¡¯t look at them, and started walking towards the doorway where a sliver of light was infiltrating.


    Both arms were obedient, without any resistance. Yan Junze could hear rustling noises following behind him, indicating that the mission was going rather smoothly.


    Though he had been bitten by the Back-faced Woman and nearly met his end, as long as he could take these two ghostly children out for the Back-faced Woman to identify¡ªwhether they were her children or not¡ªat least the mission would be complete. With a thousand points of Different Dimension Energy in hand, what mattered most was he could continue with his plan.


    As he walked out of the room, dragging an arm in each hand, in the furthest corner of the house¡ª


    A strange baby was crawling here, its bald head slightly raised, a look of indescribable fear in its eyes, staring intently at the two things being dragged by Yan Junze.


    One was another strange baby, which now half-lay on the ground, somewhat reluctantly being dragged out the door by the man.


    And in the man¡¯s other hand was the arm of an apparently corpulent old woman, with slender limbs and long, curly white hair cascading over her shoulders.


    In the eyes of this strange baby, the eerie old woman remained silent, following the man toward the door with a compliant gait.


    Just one glance at the back of the old woman was enough to make the strange baby hidden in the corner shiver all over, burying its bald head deeply.


    Yan Junze quickly led the two ¡°strange babies¡± out of the dark room and into a brighter outer one.


    However, according to the task instructions, strange babies are highly sensitive to human gazes, and in fear of scaring the two little ones back into that room, he still didn¡¯t turn his head back but looked around, noticing the Back-faced Woman did not follow into this room.


    Grasping both arms, he quickly left the place and headed for the underground car garage.


    Although this was a corner of the car garage, there were still two cars parked, but the entire garage was quiet and empty, without a single person around.


    No sooner had he stepped out of the room than Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fixed on someone.


    At first, he thought Lv Xin had followed, but he quickly realized that the figure was slender, silently and forlornly standing at the rear of an SUV, immobile, undoubtedly the Back-faced Woman.


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought them here, come and take a look,¡± Yan Junze said.


    However, because he was worried about people coming down into the garage, he didn¡¯t speak loudly, and his words only reached where the Back-faced Woman stood.


    The Back-faced Woman did not respond or come forward, just stood there, her back facing this way.


    But now Yan Junze understood her neck structure and knew she was watching this place.


    ¡°Look, are they your children?¡± Yan Junze spoke again.


    He then pulled the two things behind him closer to the Back-faced Woman.


    Suddenly, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s body shook violently, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying and swiftly retreated.


    Well, of course, her retreat was actually moving forward, putting more distance between herself and Yan Junze. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, noticing that the departure of the Back-faced Woman was clearly out of fear of the things behind him.


    He was puzzled and had no choice but to turn his head and look. The thing he was holding in his left hand was a bald, pale-skinned infant, lying listlessly on the ground.


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    After Yan Junze glanced at him, he became visibly scared and struggled to get away.


    But Yan Junze gripped tighter. With such a critical moment at hand, he wouldn¡¯t let him escape!


    Turning to look at the thing in his right hand, the arm of the strange baby that was noticeably thicker, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes bulged, and he was stumped.


    What the heck, was this supposed to be a strange baby? This was more like a Strange Granny!


    Only then did he realize that an old lady was standing behind him.


    This was not Resentful Granny; the old lady had curly white hair down to her shoulders, a corpulent figure, and was dressed in a thick cotton-padded coat that showed tears everywhere, revealing the blackened cotton inside.


    What surprised Yan Junze the most was that the old lady¡¯s limbs were slender, completely out of proportion with her body; she looked like a character straight out of an anime.


    But what shocked Yan Junze the most was that the Back-faced Woman was clearly terrified of this old lady!?


    Who was the Back-faced Woman? The protagonist of a hair-raising task!


    And yet, she feared an old lady who had followed her up from the basement!


    What was going on?

 Chapter 107 - 107 - 106 Look at Her Face (Part Five)

    Chapter 107 ¨C 106 Look at Her Face (Part Five)


    He may have seen her, but Yan Junze was first shocked, then surprised, to discover that he was gripping the hand of an unfamiliar old lady.


    The shock was due to the fear that this old lady might harm him, but when he saw that she was looking at him with a face exuding kindness and a gentle smile, his surprise took over his shock.


    Could it be that it wasn¡¯t a strange baby, and that he had grabbed the wrong hand in the dark?


    Yan Junze realized his mistake.


    But what puzzled him the most at the moment was that the Back-faced Woman seemed frightened of this old lady. Though she didn¡¯t turn to run immediately, she kept retreating step by step, distancing herself from Yan Junze¡¯s side.


    He had to figure out what was going on first.


    Yan Junze already had a guess in his heart, but if he didn¡¯t clarify things, this mission would never be completed.


    ...


    Firstly, the Back-faced Woman had discovered that the underground garage of the building she lived in harbored strange babies and, so far it seemed, they hadn¡¯t endangered anyone. Otherwise, an Exorcist would have been alerted and called in already.


    Then the Back-faced Woman suspected the strange babies were her own children. Yan Junze temporarily assumed she had lost her child because if she wasn¡¯t the mother, she wouldn¡¯t be so determined to find her offspring.


    Yan Junze then went to the underground garage to help her search, and in the darkness, he mistook the hand he grabbed. The hand wasn¡¯t another strange baby¡¯s, but belonged to the old lady with the smiling face.


    This old lady had kind features and didn¡¯t look terrifying, but there she stood, scaring even the Back-faced Woman into continuously backing away.


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood why the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t come herself to claim the Corpse Baby. It was likely because this old lady was always in the underground garage.


    So the question arose, no one in the FH Community had noticed the peculiarity to date, which meant that the old lady, like the two strange babies, hadn¡¯t posed any danger here.


    This could be seen from the expression on the old lady¡¯s face, which was kindly and smiling as she gazed at Yan Junze.


    Such a loving, dead old lady!


    This was the first time Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure whether this old lady was truly benevolent or might suddenly lash out the next second, becoming a horrifying, vicious, utterly despicable Evil Spirit.


    Regardless, it seemed the old lady was the real boss if she could scare the Back-faced Woman away!


    This kind of Evil Spirit could only be outsmarted, not overpowered by force.


    Because he was so close to the old lady, the strange baby that Yan Junze was holding in his other hand had been terrified to the point of collapse, lying motionless on the ground, not just lackluster.


    Yan Junze realized he was still holding the old lady¡¯s hand, quickly let go, and raised his hand, revealing his white teeth and a sincerely warm smile.


    ¡°Hello, granny,¡± even Yan Junze himself didn¡¯t expect his voice to be so soft at that moment, possibly enough to melt the sun, ¡°It was too dark in that room just now, so I didn¡¯t notice and grabbed your hand by mistake, my apologies!¡±


    The old lady maintained her smile, looking at him with twinkling eyes.


    But after Yan Junze finished speaking, the old lady gently shook her head.


    A reaction!


    Yan Junze was momentarily excited. Since she shook her head, it indicated she didn¡¯t mind. The best option was not to worry about it; whatever the nature of the strange babies, they must belong to this old lady. Even if the Back-faced Woman wanted them, it would be impossible with the old lady present.


    Of course, if the old lady was indeed easy to talk to, then after Yan Junze caught his breath, he could go upstairs, bring down a cup of tea, sit with her, and try to persuade her to hand over the two strange babies to the Back-faced Woman for identification. It wasn¡¯t impossible.


    But now, the Back-faced Woman had disappeared without a trace, not even having the chance to identify the strange baby.


    ¡°The woman just now, she was looking for her child. Since you have two strange babies here, I brought her over to let her have a look. If they¡¯re not her children, I¡¯ll return them to you,¡± Yan Junze explained patiently.


    The old crone still didn¡¯t speak, seemingly mute. After Yan Junze finished speaking, she nodded again.


    ¡°Means she agrees,¡± Yan Junze guessed to himself, and then said, ¡°Well now, I¡¯ll go call the Back-faced Woman back to identify the strange baby. For now, let me take you back to that room to wait; don¡¯t catch a cold here.¡±


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Yan Junze, commendably gentle for a change, took hold of the old crone¡¯s hand as if he had turned into a nursing home attendant, carefully escorting her toward the direction of the small door.


    During the walk, the old crone merely glanced at the strange baby lying on the ground as if half-dead, which promptly stood up and staggered after them.


    Yan Junze noticed that the strange baby walked as if it were drunk, its stature and build not much different from Gollum in ¡¯The Lord of the Rings,¡¯ only a size smaller.


    Shortly after returning to the room, Yan Junze walked out alone. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, he unexpectedly discovered that he too had a hidden talent for caring and protecting the elderly. Of course, this was provided that the elderly person was easy to get along with and not the aloof type with a temper so strange that a single wrong look could be deadly.


    According to plan, now it was time to call the Back-faced Woman back and then just bring out the two strange babies for her to recognize, complete the task, and go home to sleep!


    Of course, reality was not as he imagined. Yan Junze searched the entire underground garage and didn¡¯t catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman.


    This woman was a hair-raising kind of evil spirit. Although he didn¡¯t know what level specifically, being scared silly by an old woman in an underground garage was quite something.


    With no choice left, Yan Junze left the underground garage, planning to go upstairs to see if the Back-faced Woman had run off to some floor.


    Climbing the stairs from the garage, Yan Junze looked at the stairwell entrance¡ªno one was there.


    He climbed from the first to the second floor, checking each corner and the stairwell landing, especially the blind spots of the corridors, to see if the Back-faced Woman was standing there.


    He encountered people coming down the stairs, but nothing was out of the ordinary.


    Soon he reached the fifth floor, looked everywhere, but still did not find the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze even laid down outside the window of Room 503 where Resentful Granny used to live, craning his neck to peer inside for a long time, without seeing the woman in the white short-sleeved shirt and shorts.


    Back in the fifth-floor corridor, he thought for a moment, then leaned on the railing of the corridor and softly called out ¡°Back-faced Woman¡± several times before turning his head to look around.


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    When his gaze accidentally fell to the floor below, Yan Junze froze.


    At the entrance to the community, he saw Lv Xin¡¯s figure at the path leading to Building 7, walking steadily toward the direction of the first-floor staircase of Building 7.


    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±


    Yan Junze grew somewhat anxious. After a quick look around confirming he hadn¡¯t seen the Back-faced Woman, he immediately rushed down from the fifth floor and returned to his own home on the fourth floor.


    Closing the living room door, he checked the Rewind, which was still maintaining a cycle with only a small amount of energy being consumed for now.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s tongue began to itch terribly, as if the whole tongue in his mouth had become unbearably ticklish at this moment.


    Unable to bear it, he reached out and touched his tongue; there was nothing, but it was very itchy.


    Rushing into the bathroom, he turned on the light and approached the mirror, where Yan Junze stuck out his tongue.


    In the mirror, he saw that his tongue had grown a significant number of black hair tips, thick and densely covering his entire tongue.

 Chapter 108 - 108 - 107 Look at Her Face (Part Six)

    Chapter 108 ¨C 107 Look at Her Face (Part Six)


    His entire tongue was covered in hair, making it appear black at a glance.


    It wasn¡¯t just that; he quickly felt an intense itching all over his body, unbearably so, even inside his mouth, where black hairs sprouted from every part, including his gums.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    The severe itchiness almost brought Yan Junze to his knees. Explore more at empire


    He quickly remembered that his mother, Li Man, had told him about Old Wang from next door who, after provoking the Back-faced Woman while going downstairs, sprouted a lot of black hair all over his body.


    Eventually, Old Wang was hospitalized and saved, but it was said that the hairs had to be surgically plucked out one by one by the doctors.


    Just thinking about it was chilling.


    ...


    And now, the same situation was happening to him, and it seemed that the curse from the Back-faced Woman was much worse than Old Wang¡¯s.


    What big deal had Old Wang done? He just lived next door, but Yan Junze had clearly upset the Back-faced Woman even more.


    If he continued like this, he would be finished even before Lv Xin found him.


    ¡°This crazy woman!¡± Fighting against the extreme itchiness, Yan Junze rushed out of the bathroom and into the living room, yelling, ¡°Back-faced Woman! I¡¯m helping you, not harming you!¡±


    Right at the entrance to the living room, he finally saw the Back-faced Woman standing motionless behind the door.


    Of course, her head was turned around, and her eyes, hidden beneath her hair, were staring at Yan Junze.


    From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s point of view, she thought Yan Junze was going to help her, so she had gone to the underground parking garage, only to find that not only had he failed to bring out the two strange babies, but he had also brought out the Resentful Granny, whom she feared the most.


    Wasn¡¯t this harming her rather than helping?


    So, the punishment for Yan Junze became inevitable.


    The intense itchiness gradually turned into pain all over his body, as more hair kept emerging through his skin.


    Yan Junze sat down on the floor, ready to Rewind.


    But deciding to what point to Rewind to was the problem; ever since he came out of the underground parking garage, he couldn¡¯t find the Back-faced Woman, and he had been cursed even before she appeared.


    To what point in time should he rewind to efficiently avoid being cursed by the Back-faced Woman first?


    For now, it seemed that there was no immediate threat to his life; he would die only when completely covered with black hair.


    Therefore, he still had moments to ponder the timing.


    However, just then, the figure of Lv Xin appeared outside the window, step by step he crossed the hallway and reached the entrance of the living room.


    The Resentful Granny already had a profound impression of Yan Junze¡¯s door, but at this moment the door was not locked.


    Lv Xin stood outside, turned the handle, and the door opened, revealing the calm-faced young man.


    The moment the door opened, he caught sight of Yan Junze sitting on the floor.


    Lv Xin stepped into the living room and walked toward Yan Junze.


    ¡°Gurgle¡­ gurgle¡­ gurgle¡­¡±


    The strange sound came from behind the living room door, causing Lv Xin, who had been focusing solely on Yan Junze, to pause briefly and stop in his tracks, turning his head to look.


    Upon seeing the Back-faced Woman, Lv Xin looked somewhat surprised, and he glanced back and forth between the sitting Yan Junze, now an easy catch, and the woman, seemingly hesitating.


    The next second, unwilling to give up, he opened his mouth slightly and uttered a single word to the Back-faced Woman.


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    Listening to that voice, it certainly didn¡¯t come from a young person, but from an incredibly aged old crone¡ªthe Resentful Granny. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman continued to emit a ¡°gurgle, gurgle, gurgle¡± sound, unmistakably a warning. Ever since Lv Xin had entered the room, this bizarre warning sound hadn¡¯t ceased.


    Yan Junze sat on the ground, propping himself up with his arms, slowly moving backward.


    Seeing this scene, he breathed a sigh of relief. The plan formed in his mind that morning seemed to be unfolding as expected at this moment.


    The seed of this idea sprouted in Yan Junze¡¯s heart the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman at the bus stop.


    According to the task¡¯s level, the mission involving the Back-faced Woman was classified as ¡°hair-raising (low),¡± the most challenging one he¡¯d encountered so far.


    Therefore, Yan Junze had a strange thought that morning: in the absence of Zhang Xiaomo, he might be able to use the encounter between the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny to his advantage.


    Of course, the prerequisite was that there had to be a conflict of interest between them, like both targeting him, to ensure the two parties would clash and a fight would ensue.


    But after several unforeseen mishaps, things had deviated from Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, yet, fortuitously, it had come full circle to this scene.


    Wasn¡¯t this moment precisely the outcome he wanted?


    What Yan Junze hadn¡¯t anticipated was that he would be cursed by the Back-faced Woman first, leaving his entire body covered in hair. Although the hair was very short and hadn¡¯t fully grown out yet, he was uncertain if it could be restored.


    Luckily, the two extremely ferocious evil spirits were finally butting heads at this moment!


    If they wanted to kill him, now was the perfect opportunity. The Resentful Granny wouldn¡¯t miss it, and the Back-faced Woman, still angry over the incident in the underground garage, similarly would not let him go.


    Fine then, you fight, and whoever wins can have me!


    The Back-faced Woman no longer gave any warnings, but Yan Junze felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.


    Always emitting a warning sound as if he had a strangeness himself, also exhibiting the same behavior.


    The warning ceased, and the Back-faced Woman moved step by step closer to the Resentful Granny, who had split her spirit into Lv Xin.


    At this time, Lv Xin¡¯s body was bent in a shape reminiscent of the Resentful Granny, tensed all over, arms slightly apart, legs ready to leap at any moment, eyes warily fixed on the ¡°retreating¡± Back-faced Woman.


    The distance between the two rapidly closed in.


    It was then that Yan Junze suddenly had an ominous premonition; he felt he must retreat, the farther the better.


    The thought had just arisen, but it was already too late.


    When the Back-faced Woman was about a meter away from the Resentful Granny, she suddenly accelerated. At that moment, the Resentful Granny¡¯s ghastly form fully emerged from Lv Xin¡¯s face, hideous and contorted, mouth wide open, letting out a piercing scream.


    The two strangenesses collided with a bang. A mass of cloud-like energy exploded with a boom, unleashing a wave of air that shoved Yan Junze directly under the dining table.


    Nearby shoe racks, sofas, coffee tables, and other items were overturned by the blast, either thrown high into the air before crashing down or smashed directly against the walls. The living room windows shattered in unison at that moment.


    The powerful and eerie blast made it impossible for Yan Junze to keep his eyes open, but he strained to do so, eager to witness what seemed to be an extraordinarily thrilling battle.


    Back-faced Woman VS Resentful Granny!


    The violent sounds of impact and tearing ripped through the rolling mist, as the attacks from the two strangenesses were ferociously intense. Occasionally, the Back-faced Woman could be seen mounting one shoulder of Lv Xin, her fingers digging into his head.


    Other times, Lv Xin could be seen pinning the Back-faced Woman to the ground with one knee, his hands fiercely yanking at her neck.


    The harrowing screams followed one after the other, indistinguishable as to whom they belonged.


    At this point, Yan Junze¡¯s living room was in complete disarray, unrecognizable from before.

 Chapter 109 - 109 - 108 Look at Her Face (Part Seven)

    Chapter 109 ¨C 108 Look at Her Face (Part Seven)


    Yan Junze, who had been watching with great interest, felt a momentary relief from the itchy and painful sensation as the growth of black hair on his body had stopped; his attention had been diverted, and he had temporarily forgotten about the changes happening to his own body.


    However, he soon shifted his focus to the living room and made a bitter face.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, the TV and the furniture are all done for!¡±


    Yan Junze realized that while the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, he had to crawl quickly from under the dining table.


    As he crawled, the itchy and painful sensation returned, but he bore it and quickly slipped toward the door.


    The rolling mist had reached the middle of the living room. Within a five-meter radius centered on this mass of fog, there was no furniture left intact.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t care less by then; reaching the door, he gently twisted the handle, opened it, and darted out.


    ...


    At that moment, within the tumbling mist, a change occurred; Lv Xin¡¯s head, which had completely transformed into Resentful Granny¡¯s, was pushed out of the fog, with a pair of hands around her neck¡ªthose were the bruised arms of Back-faced Woman.


    Though it seemed Resentful Granny was at a disadvantage, she still resisted fiercely, with the fog under her feet constantly churning.


    She seemed to be struggling!


    The next second, Resentful Granny freed one hand and, with a slap, hit Back-faced Woman¡¯s head hard.


    Back-faced Woman vanished into the fog, and immediately Resentful Granny let out a piercing scream as her head submerged back into the mist.


    But just two or three seconds later, the fog violently contracted before expanding rapidly. With a bang, Resentful Granny was flung out, crashing through the window and falling outside the corridor.


    Just then, Yan Junze happened to be tiptoeing outside the corridor. He was crouching down as he walked, wary of being seen by the two ferociously evil spirits.


    However, the next second the window above his head shattered, and he saw Lv Xin¡¯s figure falling out, landing right in front of Yan Junze.


    A man and a strangeness, less than half a meter apart.


    Lv Xin abruptly lifted his head, and what showed was the wrinkled face of Resentful Granny, her grey pupils staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then squeezed out what he thought was his most sincere smile, ¡°Granny, why aren¡¯t you taking the usual path?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Resentful Granny stretched out her right hand and grabbed toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, who was already prepared, shrank his body back and narrowly dodged the grab.


    A white shadow flew out of the window, with Back-faced Woman following closely behind, landing between Yan Junze and Resentful Granny, her head facing Yan Junze.


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    In the next second, Resentful Granny exploded with fury, pouncing onto Back-faced Woman like a starving beast, pinning her down and biting fiercely into her twisted neck.


    Back-faced Woman¡¯s arms immediately contorted in reverse, making a series of cracking sounds as if they were breaking, and she wrapped them around Resentful Granny.


    Under the force of their immense strength, the two strangenesses thrashed on the ground, rolling several times before Resentful Granny was thrown away, tumbling along the corridor and crashing near the staircase entrance.


    Back-faced Woman stood up, seemingly giving Yan Junze a glance. She did not approach him but walked toward Resentful Granny, her steps as calm as ever, not at all hurried.


    By this time, the growth of black hair on Yan Junze¡¯s body had completely stopped, and the itchy and painful sensation had lessened significantly.


    But the situation was still dire because Back-faced Woman and Resentful Granny were nearing the staircase, and if they blocked it, he would not be able to escape this floor.


    The fight between the strange creatures resumed at the entrance to the staircase. Initially, Yan Junze could see them continuously Ripping Bite at each other, but soon another layer of grey mist rose up, enveloping them within. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It wasn¡¯t until Yan Junze stepped outside the house that he really got a good look at this kind of mist. The mist was a light gray color, and after the two strange creatures fought each other, the gray mist began to spread and corrode about a five-meter radius around their bodies.


    Within this area, even during the day, the lighting was dim, the magnetic field twisted, and the ground and walls it covered gradually started to yellow and blacken, then, bit by bit, crumbled away. Even mold began to grow from the cracks in the walls.


    At this moment, this section of the stairwell was utterly inaccessible.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, that patch of ground and air was all gradually darkening, as if the gray mist was a domain, a realm belonging to the strangenesses.


    After staring for a while, he felt as if the air itself was distorting.


    This scene made Yan Junze think of his home¡¯s condition. Just now, these two strange creatures had also fought in his living room, turning it into this state. If a weird domain really formed, would it affect his life in the future?


    While thinking this, the mass of mist suddenly started to tremble, and in the next second, Resentful Granny, with seeming disregard for her own life, sprinted out, bursting through the mist and heading straight for Yan Junze at the other end of the corridor.


    Her toes touched the ground, and her speed was bizarrely fast.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that some parts of her body had already come off, like plastered paper, and her waist had become tattered.


    But this did not slow down Resentful Granny¡¯s charge. At this moment, the old woman seemed to be throwing caution to the wind, resolved to reach Yan Junze no matter what.


    Yan Junze swiftly retreated, quickly making it back to his own doorstep.


    But Resentful Granny was faster, now less than five meters from him.


    The mass of gray mist in the stairwell quickly dissipated, and the figure of Back-faced Woman became visible, but it was clear that she couldn¡¯t reach Yan Junze before Resentful Granny, not a chance.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was about to ¡°Rewind.¡±


    Then he saw Back-faced Woman¡¯s body suddenly bend backward in a reverse arch, making a series of grating cracking sounds. Her dirty, clumped hair instantly stretched out at this moment.


    Her hair drew a straight line, with countless strands aiming at Resentful Granny¡¯s back, piercing through her body in the next second. Resentful Granny, who had been running, was frozen in place.


    Back-faced Woman¡¯s body sprung back like a coil, instantly reverting to its original form. Her hair retracted, dragging Resentful Granny, who had been pierced through, back toward the direction of the stairwell.


    Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    And at the same time, as Back-faced Woman used her hair as a weapon, Yan Junze noticed that the black hairs that had just sprouted on his body receded back, leaving not a single one visible.


    Resentful Granny, with her body pierced by the hair, was rapidly pulled back into the roiling gray mist, which then closed up, emitting two sharp screams in succession.


    The mist immediately dissipated, revealing the standing Back-faced Woman, and Lv Xin, lying on the ground motionless.


    The face of Lv Xin was now back to his own, the appearance of Resentful Granny having vanished.


    But regardless of who it was, the figure on the ground now showed no sign of life, lying stiffly, probably truly dead.


    Whoosh!


    The hair that had pierced the body retracted, and Back-faced Woman slowly turned, her back towards Yan Junze, step by step approaching.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t retreat, nor did he dive into his house to hide; instead, he stood there waiting for her.


    At this moment, Yan Junze once again felt an itchy sensation on his body.


    Without waiting for Back-faced Woman to get closer, he spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ve persuaded the old lady in the basement. She¡¯s agreed to let you see the strange babies.¡±


    Back-faced Woman paused, no longer moving forward.

 Chapter 110 - 110 - 109 Look at Her Face (Part Eight)

    Chapter 110 ¨C 109 Look at Her Face (Part Eight)


    The old lady in the underground garage was an unknown entity, but from appearances, she seemed to be caring for those two strange babies.


    Moreover, both of the strange babies were very fearful of her.


    This fear could have been due to the old lady¡¯s inherently fierce nature, or perhaps it was caused by the innate oppression of a higher-level evil spirit.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, the old lady was mild in disposition, and the fact that the strange babies were afraid of her was likely due to the oppression inherent in their evil spirit instincts.


    It was like how Ke¡¯er would run faster than a rabbit when encountering an evil spirit of a higher rank.


    Earlier in the underground garage, it was due to Yan Junze¡¯s mistake, not clarifying and mainly not daring to look back, that he grabbed the wrong hand and led the old lady feared by the Back-faced Woman out instead.


    As a higher-ranking evil spirit, the Back-faced Woman shared the natural fear of other evil spirits towards those more formidable than herself.


    ...


    To Yan Junze, however, the old lady seemed very gentle and was easy to talk to, unlike those ferocious evil spirits.


    Upon hearing what Yan Junze said, the Back-faced Woman stopped, no longer showing any intent to attack him, and seemed to be pondering.


    ¡°The two strange babies are waiting for us in the underground garage right now; we can go and meet them immediately!¡± Seeing the Back-faced Woman hesitating, Yan Junze quickly added another line.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly turned around and began walking backward toward the stairwell.


    Yan Junze knew she had agreed and immediately followed her.


    As they passed by the next two households, regardless of whether or not anyone was inside or whether these people were watching in horror from behind the windows at that moment, he warned each one.


    ¡°There¡¯s a fight between strange entities outside; you mustn¡¯t come out. The exorcist will arrive very soon!¡±


    Of course, he hadn¡¯t made the 4747 call yet.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman was already descending the stairs, but Lv Xin¡¯s corpse still lay on the inevitable path they had to take. As Yan Junze passed through the stairwell, he had to step over or go around his body.


    Upon reaching the stairwell, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but glance down at the deceased Lv Xin and saw that parts of the body had rotted away during the fight with the Back-faced Woman, and his face had turned a purplish hue, as if he had been dead for quite some time.


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    However, Lv Xin¡¯s expression was serene, not at all hideous, as if he was merely sound asleep.


    ¡°Resentment is but an obsession; may you let it go and reincarnate soon!¡±


    Yan Junze murmured softly, carefully stepping over Lv Xin¡¯s body and following the Back-faced Woman downstairs.


    Throughout the descent, the Back-faced Woman led the way, while Yan Junze also took the opportunity to take out his phone, but instead of dialing 4747, he directly called Huang Chen.


    After quickly explaining the situation in a few words, he hung up, and by then, the human and the strange entity had already reached the first floor.


    They did not encounter anyone along the way.


    The Back-faced Woman stood motionless in front of the small door leading to the underground garage, seemingly waiting for Yan Junze to help her open it.


    Yan Junze took a few steps forward, and upon opening the small door, the Back-faced Woman still did not move.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    Just then, a middle-aged man entered the stairwell behind them and, upon looking up, cried out in fright.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly turned to wave at the man, ¡°Don¡¯t come over, leave this place!¡±


    After the initial shock, the middle-aged man showed a look of surprise. Even though he kept retreating, he noticed that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t a strange being. Why would he be together with the white-clothed woman who had been lingering in the building for many days?


    In this age of strangeness, anyone with common sense would not ask too many questions in such a situation.


    Despite being full of questions, the middle-aged man heeded Yan Junze¡¯s words, immediately left Building 7, and stood outside, staring into the building with a mix of fear and shock.


    The Back-faced Woman made no moves.


    If Old Wang from next door had encountered the Back-faced Woman before, his inattention might have caused too much noise, entangling him in a situation where hair sprouted all over his body, which was worse than death itself.


    It seemed that the Back-faced Woman was so eager to recognize her children that she no longer cared about the passersby.


    After opening the door and seeing the Back-faced Woman not going down, Yan Junze hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t trust me, I¡¯ll go first, and you can follow behind me from a distance.¡±


    As he finished speaking, he knew the Back-faced Woman wouldn¡¯t reply; he quickly stepped into the staircase leading to the underground parking. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After swiftly descending the stairs, Yan Junze immediately headed to the small storage room door in the southeast corner. After walking about two hundred meters and turning his head back, he could vaguely see the Back-faced Woman standing on the steps where he¡¯d just come down.


    He didn¡¯t linger any longer, quickly approaching the small door in the southeast corner, which was ajar due to a broken lock.


    Gently pushing the door open, Yan Junze said, ¡°Hello Granny, I¡¯ve brought the Back-faced Woman to recognize the two little ones.¡±


    The room was dimly lit, and as far as the eye could see, there was no one to be found.


    He then turned his attention to the completely dark room inside.


    About ten seconds later, a bloated shadow appeared at the doorway, walking with an odd gait, its shoulders swaying from side to side. It stopped at the doorway of the second room.


    It was indeed Granny.


    At this moment, her slender hands were holding onto two strange babies, who appeared somewhat timid and shrinky under her management.


    The Granny still wore a smile, her face round and plump; although wrinkled, it looked much more normal compared to the Resentful Granny.


    ¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled back, but he was only staring at Granny and deliberately avoided looking directly at the strange babies.


    That was because these little creatures were particularly averse to the direct gaze of humans, which could easily make them irritable and enraged.


    Yan Junze glanced back, standing by the door to check the garage behind him. He saw the Back-faced Woman had followed, standing by the side of a car but still at a considerable distance from this spot.


    ¡°Granny, perhaps the pressure you emit is too strong, and the Back-faced Woman doesn¡¯t dare to come over. You see, why don¡¯t you give me the strange babies? I¡¯ll take them to meet the Back-faced Woman,¡± Yan Junze suggested.


    Almost without hesitation, Granny kept her smile and, leading the two strange babies with a swaying motion, came forward and handed over their hands to him.


    Looking at the Granny¡¯s sincere yet rigid smile, Yan Junze felt that his smile was not much different from hers. He reached out and took the small hands of the two strange babies.


    ¡°Granny, you¡¯re actually quite nice, it¡¯s just that your smile is a bit¡­¡±


    At this moment, looking closely at Granny, Yan Junze felt her smile become increasingly unsettling, giving him the sensation of countless tiny bugs crawling up his back.


    The Granny seemed to understand his words, but she just nodded her head, continuing to maintain that mysterious and eerie smile.


    Awkwardly leading the two strange babies, Yan Junze walked out of the small door and headed towards where the Back-faced Woman was standing.


    The Granny did not come out; she just stood there in the room, watching the two strange babies with a benevolent smile on her face.


    Initially, the strange babies struggled in Yan Junze¡¯s hands, but perhaps because Granny was watching, the two little ones quickly followed him obediently towards the Back-faced Woman.


    At the same time,


    In the staircase of Building No. 7 on the fifth floor, the body of Lv Xin, which was lying on the ground waiting for an Exorcist to come and deal with it, suddenly twitched slightly.


    Something beneath Lv Xin¡¯s clothes at his chest puffed up a bit, then settled back down.


    The familiar voice of the Resentful Granny suddenly came from his chest: ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    The next second, Lv Xin¡¯s eyes slowly opened, but he didn¡¯t get up. Instead, he started to speak as if talking to himself, ¡°Old woman, you¡¯ve become a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, but it seems you¡¯re still not up to par.¡±

 Chapter 111 - 111 - 110 Look at Her Face (Part Nine)

    Chapter 111 ¨C 110 Look at Her Face (Part Nine)


    Yan Junze quickly walked with the two strange babies and soon arrived in front of the Back-faced Woman.


    By this time, the two strange babies had clearly become agitated and anxious, and the strong oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman was also intense, overwhelming them momentarily.


    However, agitated as they were, it seemed that the old woman had given a warning before, so the two little ones did not break free and run away.


    Yan Junze let go, allowing the two strange babies to stand in front of him, facing the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless, just staring silently at the anxious creatures before her.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were half-crouching on the ground, struggling to stand up due to underdeveloped lower limbs, wobbling as if they might fall over at any moment.


    So under normal circumstances, they preferred to crawl on the ground, which significantly increased their speed of movement.


    ...


    In that respect, they were somewhat similar to the Crawler Monster.


    After a moment, the Back-faced Woman bent down to kneel, naturally, she knelt forward.


    Then, with her hands reaching back, she parted her hair to reveal her fragmented and twisted face to the two strange babies. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were no longer restless but instead tried to open their disproportionately large eyes wide, curiously staring at the face of the Back-faced Woman.


    As they watched, the Back-faced Woman let her hair fall back in place and slowly stood up.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat taken aback.


    At that moment, the two Corpse Babies seemed to sense something was amiss and immediately made squeaking noises, like rats, rapidly retreating backward until they were behind Yan Junze.


    While Yan Junze himself felt nothing particular, he knew the two strange babies must have felt the anger and oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman, hence their instinctive retreat for cover.


    ¡°Child¡­ Child!¡± came the indistinct voice of the Back-faced Woman.


    It was quite clear now that the two strange babies were not the child she was looking for.


    Suddenly, the strange babies turned their heads and scurried back toward the small door in the southeast corner of the garage, no longer paying attention to this place.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body jolted, and once again, he felt that unbearable itchy sensation return.


    ¡°Damn it, does this woman have any sense of reason?¡±


    He crossed his arms only to feel a large number of hairs trying to penetrate through his skin¡¯s pores, wanting to grow out.


    If he couldn¡¯t find her child, would she simply kill him?


    Looking back toward the direction of the southeast corner, the strange babies had already run into the small door and were out of sight.


    However, the Resentful Granny with her peculiar and formidable strength had not appeared.


    In fact, the Resentful Granny had no connection to Yan Junze and the others; she had already done him a favor by bringing out the strange babies for him to present to the Back-faced Woman; now, not even Yan Junze himself believed she would come forward to help again.


    The difficulty level of the mission was defined as ¡°Hair-raising (Low),¡± not only because of the high strength of the Evil Spirit involved, but also due to the high risk it posed.


    And now, in Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, the Back-faced Woman only cared about her child, paying no heed to anyone else.


    If the child was found, all would be well. If not, she would take his life without any reason.


    Looking down at his unbearably itchy hand, he noticed a large amount of black hair had begun to regrow.


    Yan Junze lifted his head and said to the Back-faced Woman, ¡°Let¡¯s think of another way, we will definitely find the child. Besides, if you kill me now, can you find the child?¡±


    The intense itching caused his body to tremble, and as he spoke, his voice also shook uncontrollably.


    The itchy sensation paused, then stopped completely.


    But the densely packed black hairs that had grown on the skin did not recede.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs first,¡± Yan Junze said.


    As he finished speaking, he glanced back at the small door in the southeast corner. Although he was eager to enlist the help of the old woman to resolve this nuisance, it was clearly unwise.


    First of all, she had agreed to help him once, but that didn¡¯t mean she would agree a second time, and it could very well anger her. Then there was also the risk of angering the Back-faced Woman.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was afraid of the old woman, there was no need to offend the Back-faced Woman especially when the task was not yet complete.


    He had just used her to get rid of Resentful Granny; being constantly targeted by higher-level strangenesses was trouble enough, wasn¡¯t it?


    So there must be a solution to this problem, and he couldn¡¯t let things escalate to a completely unmanageable situation unless absolutely necessary.


    Yan Junze walked ahead, glancing back once again. This time, the Back-faced Woman followed closely behind.


    The itchiness on his skin had disappeared, but the hairs remained. They weren¡¯t very long, but a careful look revealed them to be very noticeable.


    How tragic, he might maintain his hairy state until he resolved this task! However, it was a relief that only his skin had grown hair, and not all organs.


    Pushing open the small door leading to the basement garage, Yan Junze walked out first with the Back-faced Woman following closely behind.


    It seemed the Back-faced Woman would stick with him until they found the child.


    When he had called Huang Chen earlier, he asked him to come later because he feared Huang might arrive too soon while his task was still unfinished.


    If Huang encountered the Back-faced Woman, with her strength surpassing that of Resentful Granny, she might very well wipe out the entire exorcist squadron here.


    Luckily, the Back-faced Woman was deeply obsessed with finding the child. Nothing could delay her search, so she didn¡¯t cause a large-scale disturbance in the area.


    ¡°Obsession?¡± Yan Junze quietly uttered the word, frowning slightly as he pondered, ¡°If this woman is looking for a child, why did she come to me instead of asking others for help? Could she see something different in me that could help a strangeness rid itself of its obsession?¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± he shook his head at the thought.


    Perhaps there was some other reason.


    For strangenesses, the formation of some obsessions is unconscious and natural, and sometimes they themselves can neither understand nor become aware of them.


    For example, Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s unconscious knew that the son who identified her body in life was not her own; hence, after becoming a strangeness, she was obsessed with this memory, forming an obsession without precise awareness of it herself.


    Could the Back-faced Woman be the same?


    All the while climbing the stairs, Yan Junze kept thinking.


    Discovering the strange baby and wanting to recognize it was the reason for the Back-faced Woman¡¯s appearance in the FH Community. But why did she come to him afterward?


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe it was merely his looks that captivated the Back-faced Woman¡¯s heart, making her willingly come to him for help.


    There had to be another reason!


    ¡°What could the reason be?¡±


    Thinking this, Yan Junze turned to glance at the Back-faced Woman who was following him up the stairs. However, he was convinced that even if he asked her, she might not understand any more than Long-tongued Zhenzhen did.


    Soon, the man and the strangeness arrived on the fourth floor. As Yan Junze was climbing the last few steps, he looked up sharply and halted.


    There, in the stairwell, the body of Lv Xin was gone.


    ¡°Could it be that Huang Chen and the others have already arrived?¡±


    Yan Junze lifted his head, looking around, but he did not see the warning tapes that exorcists typically strewn about.


    However, at the same time, the Back-faced Woman following him made a ¡°gurgling¡± sound, her distinctive warning noise.

 Chapter 112 - 112 - 111 Look at Her Face (Part Ten)

    Chapter 112 ¨C 111 Look at Her Face (Part Ten)


    ¡°It¡¯s not Huang Chen and the others coming.¡± Yan Junze looked around, and as soon as he heard the Back-faced Woman¡¯s warning from behind, his heart immediately went on high alert.


    ¡°Could it be that the Resentful Granny is not dead?!¡±


    If she were indeed not dead, the old woman could be awarded the ¡°Best Dying Supporting Character.¡±


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a strange noise came from above, as if someone were laughing, yet it also sounded like a wail.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw Lv Xin clinging to the ceiling of the stairwell like a spider, not climbing with his body facing inwards but rather sticking to the ceiling with his back to the wall, facing downwards.


    His face was directly above Yan Junze and the Back-faced Woman.


    What horrified Yan Junze the most was that Lv Xin¡¯s chest area had completely burst open, and from the middle of the skin in his chest, a pale yellow head with graying hair was emerging.


    ...


    Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Resentful Granny herself, her expression distorted, and that wailing was coming from her mouth.


    At the same time, Lv Xin was no longer like before, as if he had been possessed by the Resentful Granny. His consciousness seemed very clear, and his face twisted fiercely as he fixated his gaze on Yan Junze.


    In that moment, Yan Junze was totally baffled. It was true that the Resentful Granny hadn¡¯t been eliminated, but why was Lv Xin¡¯s consciousness still present? And it seemed as though he was the one in control, with the Resentful Granny struggling.


    The next second, before Yan Junze had time to react, Lv Xin, who had become a monstrous shape, lunged violently at him.


    Whoosh!


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s hair flew out wildly, wrapping around Lv Xin¡¯s body and forcefully pulling him off course, causing him to land on the staircase steps between Yan Junze and herself.


    Yan Junze immediately rushed forward, bounding up to the fourth floor in a few steps and charging into the corridor.


    Behind him, the fierce fighting noise between the Back-faced Woman and the one who was uncertain whether it was Lv Xin or the Resentful Granny could already be heard.


    A large cloud of grey mist rose again, entirely shrouding the stairwell of the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze retreated to the door of the closest household to the stairwell. The Li family lived there; the man of the house was about the same age as Yan Junze¡¯s father, Yan Daguo. However, it was heard that he had taken long-term sick leave two months ago and had been idling at home since.


    At this moment, Yan Junze guessed that if Old Li hadn¡¯t gone out, he definitely knew about the noise outside. Turning his head, indeed, he saw a flicker of the curtains in the house, and Old Li¡¯s face, full of horror, appeared.


    Yan Junze waved his hand to signal that he was alright.


    Old Li opened the window a crack and said, ¡°Ze, how did you provoke such murderous strangenesses? I¡¯ve already called 4747.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Li, it¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t come out just now,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer directly but veered off subject.


    ¡°That young man, the strange one, didn¡¯t he die just now¡­¡± Old Li stammered in fright, ¡°But soon after you all left, he suddenly sat up again, and from his chest¡­ chest¡­ right here, a¡­ head grew out!¡±


    While speaking, Old Li gestured within the window, his body still trembling non-stop.


    Yan Junze, unable to comprehend the scene, said, ¡°Uncle Li, please close the window quickly, don¡¯t come out, and wait for the Exorcist to arrive.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Old Li immediately closed the window and drew the curtains shut.


    At this time, the fog in the stairwell grew thicker, with large patches of wall paint peeling off the walls, revealing mottled marks that seemed aged, and a lot of mold began to proliferate.


    At this moment, a foul stench wafted out.


    Regardless, Yan Junze guessed that even if the Back-faced Woman wasn¡¯t a Sculpting Spirit, she was at least a stronger Semi-Sculpting Spirit than the Resentful Granny.


    Although her malice towards him persisted due to not finding her child, in the current situation, the Back-faced Woman became Yan Junze¡¯s protector in order to stop other strangenesses from killing him.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved, thankful that those two strange babies weren¡¯t her children. Had they been, by now the Back-faced Woman might have disappeared with her children.


    Waiting alone and defenseless to go upstairs now would leave me undoubtedly dead at the hands of Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    Currently, the situation is unclear. But overall, the odds seem to be in my favor, at least from what I could tell, Resentful Granny couldn¡¯t stand up to the Back-faced Woman. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a figure from within the gray mist suddenly shook violently and was flung out, flying up to the fourth-floor corridor and crashing hard against the corridor¡¯s stone balustrade.


    Yan Junze, with a face full of horror, stared at the figure that had been thrown up and exclaimed in shock, ¡°Back-faced Woman!¡±


    Bang!


    The fog at the stairwell quickly dispersed to reveal Lv Xin climbing the stairs, and on his chest, Resentful Granny¡¯s head was still swaying from side to side, continuously wailing in pain.


    For a moment, it seemed to Yan Junze as if Resentful Granny was trapped within Lv Xin¡¯s body, suffering from pain that couldn¡¯t be released.


    Such a bizarre scene!


    Unexpectedly to Yan Junze, the Back-faced Woman appeared to be at a disadvantage. Previously in their fight, the Back-faced Woman had always been dominating Resentful Granny.


    Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Yan Junze retreated once more, backing up to his front door, but he didn¡¯t enter his home, instead continuing to the end of the corridor.


    The Back-faced Woman quietly stood up, her body once again contorting strangely, and her long hair, like a waterfall, extended out toward the approaching Lv Xin.


    This time, Lv Xin didn¡¯t dodge or avoid. He allowed the long hair to pierce through his body and also through Resentful Granny¡¯s head.


    But the next second, the hair that had passed through her body began to wither and melt, creating a strong pulling force that dragged the Back-faced Woman step by step towards himself.


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted as it seemed that the Back-faced Woman was no longer a match.


    What¡¯s happening? Has Resentful Granny evolved again, merging with Lv Xin? Wasn¡¯t Lv Xin just a normal person before?


    But if she can¡¯t win, staying here means certain death.


    Although Yan Junze could Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage with the Back-faced Woman, avoiding the now monstrous Lv Xin was just a temporary plan. In the long run, this threat had grown too large to estimate.


    Just pondering for a moment, the Back-faced Woman had already been completely dragged in front of Lv Xin.


    Lv Xin grabbed her arm, yanked harshly, and her left arm fell off. With a kick, the Back-faced Woman was not sent flying but instead had her stomach pierced through, with Lv Xin¡¯s foot extending directly out the other side.


    ¡°It¡¯s no good, she¡¯s really no match for this guy!¡±


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, was nearly convinced of the impending outcome.


    If the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t defeat the opposition, then the consequence would be their total annihilation. As soon as Resentful Granny was taken out, Lv Xin would definitely turn his sights on me immediately.


    By this time, the gray mist that had been swirling around the feet of the two strangenesses was no longer enveloping them.


    Yan Junze crouched at the end of the hallway, pondering whether to Rewind? And to which moment should he return?


    Regardless, he needed the assistance of a strangeness like the Back-faced Woman to help him through the current crisis.


    Of course, it would be best if this woman could find her child. Without locating the child, her target for venting her resentment would also be directly aimed at him.


    If the Back-faced Woman had succeeded in recognizing her child just now, perhaps I could take the opportunity to approach the old lady in the underground garage and have her resolve this current predicament.


    Considering that the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t dare to get close to this old lady, it should be easy for her to take out this creature, whether it¡¯s Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    But the problem is that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s child isn¡¯t here; damn it, if it¡¯s not here, why has she been following me?


    Suddenly, Yan Junze had a moment of realization, he seemed to have guessed a possibility!

 Chapter 113 - 113 - 112 Look at Her Face (Part Eleven)

    Chapter 113 ¨C 112 Look at Her Face (Part Eleven)


    Asking a granny who I had just met to help solve the current dilemma seemed easy enough in theory, but it was incredibly difficult to put into practice.


    However, if I could help the Back-faced Woman find her child before ending up in the underground parking garage again, or before Lv Xin transformed again, then Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have to be threatened by her anymore and wouldn¡¯t have to grow hair all over his body.


    In that case, there would be a chance to cozy up to the granny. Although she might not eventually step in to help, just intimidating the Back-faced Woman a bit could possibly aid in resolving the current crisis.


    So at this moment, Yan Junze had a guess, a guess regarding why the Back-faced Woman kept following him.


    Wasn¡¯t she looking for her child?


    At this moment, Yan Junze prepared to confirm his speculation. If he guessed correctly, he would immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the Back-faced Woman had just recognized the two strange babies.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er.¡±


    ...


    With a thought, Yan Junze summoned Ke¡¯er from the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, where she was Locked down.


    The moment Ke¡¯er in her red dress appeared, she instinctively tried to climb up to Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    But the next second, as if she realized something, she turned her head and saw the grey mist that had stirred up not far away. She immediately let out terrified cries and turned to dart up to the railing of the corridor, ready to leap down to the next floor.


    Yan Junze was prepared and quickly grabbed Ke¡¯er, preventing her from running away in fear.


    At this time, the Back-faced Woman in the distance had been devastated by Lv Xin and was in terrible shape. One of her legs was broken, dangling from the thigh, leaving her unable to stand. A hole gaped from her chest to her back, while most of her hair had been melted by Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    The Resentful Granny on Lv Xin¡¯s chest continued to howl, while Lv Xin himself had a grim expression, his lips curling into a cruel smile as he grabbed the Back-faced Woman by her hair, lifting her from the ground.


    The Back-faced Woman, who had already lost most of her hair, had her disheveled face exposed even more by Lv Xin yanking her up by the hair.


    It was at this moment that Ke¡¯er, who had been struggling to break free and flee, suddenly lay still in Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Eh?!¡±


    Ke¡¯er let out her trademark sound.


    Her gaze shifted to the Back-faced Woman who was lifted nearby, looking at her ragged face.


    ¡°Eh!!!¡±


    This was Ke¡¯er¡¯s second cry of surprise.


    But soon, she wriggled out of Yan Junze¡¯s arms, stood up on her own, and faced the direction of the Back-faced Woman. Her mouth opened slightly, and she uttered the first sentence Yan Junze had ever heard her say.


    ¡°Mom¡­ mom¡­¡±


    As this cry was heard, not only was Yan Junze left dumbfounded on the spot, but even Lv Xin and the Back-faced Woman nearby momentarily paused their actions.


    ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s really so!¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    After uttering a word, Ke¡¯er immediately dropped to the ground and rushed toward the Back-faced Woman on all fours.


    ¡°Ke¡­ ke¡­¡± From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s torn-open throat, a fuzzy sound emerged, vaguely sounding as though she was calling Ke¡¯er¡¯s name.


    By this time, Ke¡¯er had already dashed in front of the Back-faced Woman.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er is truly the Back-faced Woman¡¯s child!¡± Yan Junze thought excitedly. ¡°Your mom is in such a state and still can recognize you, absolutely your own flesh and blood.¡±


    Now that it was confirmed that the Back-faced Woman could find her own child, it was time to immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the black hair hadn¡¯t yet grown on his body.


    And before that, Yan Junze could take the initiative to release Ke¡¯er a step earlier, letting her and the Back-faced Woman have their mother-daughter reunion. Once the Back-faced Woman¡¯s issue was resolved, he could then return to the little door in the southeast corner of the parking garage.


    See Granny to find a way to break through the current predicament.


    At that moment, Lv Xin released the hair of the Back-faced Woman he was holding, and Ke¡¯er quickly leaped onto her mother¡¯s back, hugging the Back-faced Woman tightly.


    Sounds kept emanating from her mouth.


    ¡°Mommy¡­ Mommy¡­ Mommy¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman, now left with only one hand, turned around to hug Ke¡¯er, her head nodding continuously, obviously, at this moment, her obsession was greatly satisfied.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s inherent sensitivity had always caused her to flee at the first sign of danger, which is why she and the Back-faced Woman had never truly met.


    But after finding the two strange babies in the underground parking lot, the Back-faced Woman wandered around upstairs, afraid of Granny Ren, and inadvertently noticed something odd about Yan Junze, which was also unconscious.


    Even she couldn¡¯t understand why she had started following Yan Junze from that time on.


    The mystery was unraveling: it was a subtle connection between mother and daughter. Even with the oppression of strangenesses at play, at this moment, mother and daughter finally met. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The obsession of an Evil Spirit is delicate, like the Back-faced Woman¡¯s need to find her child, leading her to leave no stone unturned, regardless of whether the child spirit was one, two, four, or five years younger than Ke¡¯er prior to death ¨C as long as it was a child, the Back-faced Woman subconsciously had to acknowledge it.


    Now that they have met and confirmed the mother-daughter relationship between the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze was about to Rewind immediately.


    However, the next second, he stopped the thought of Rewinding and looked ahead.


    He saw that shortly after meeting Ke¡¯er, the Back-faced Woman suddenly stood up.


    At this moment, she was left with only one leg, as the other leg had been broken below the knee by Lv Xin, hanging by skin and flesh alone.


    She grabbed the severed leg, reattached it to where it was broken, and then the Back-faced Woman truly steadied herself.


    Witnessing this scene, Yan Junze abandoned the plan to Rewind immediately, as he seemed to have discovered an opportunity.


    ¡°Seems like she got stronger?!¡±


    With the Back-faced Woman now steady on her feet, her hair, which had partially melted away, was visibly growing back rapidly, soon reaching its original length.


    It was at this moment that Yan Junze realized he had been mistaken, for the hair of the two mother and daughter was so similar, both with long hair, and both full of dirty adhesions clumped together into bundles of thick knots.


    Once the Back-faced Woman stood upright, Ke¡¯er still clung firmly to her back, effectively embracing the Back-faced Woman from the front.


    The Back-faced Woman tossed her hair, extending a portion of it to wrap around the left hand and arm that had been thrown away, and violently pulled it back.


    Just like before, she directly stuffed the severed limb back into its original place.


    At this time, mist was rising under her feet and quickly formed a dense fog surrounding her, more intense than before.


    ¡°Having Ke¡¯er, this is¡­ a Super Saiyan transformation!¡± Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    It seems that there¡¯s no need to Rewind for now, judging from the aura displayed by the Back-faced Woman after acquiring Ke¡¯er, it seems like she might stand a chance against the grotesque Lv Xin.


    Although he didn¡¯t quite understand these phenomena, it was clear that this might just be the opportunity for a strangeness to undergo an evolution.


    And for the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er¡¯s appearance was that opportunity. Just like how Granny Ren, after her death and the intense hatred caused by her son killing her, encountered the opportunity leading to her own evolution, transforming into the Resentful Granny.


    Of course, the current state of the Resentful Granny after entering Lv Xin¡¯s body puzzled Yan Junze.


    It seemed that it was no longer as simple as the initial Semi-Sculpting Spirit state of the Resentful Granny, or else she wouldn¡¯t have been able to overpower the Back-faced Woman.

 Chapter 114 - 114 - 113 Look at Her Face (Final)

    Chapter 114 ¨C 113 Look at Her Face (Final)


    The fog beside them formed a semi-circular vortex, continuously surrounding the mother and daughter.


    Unlike the fast-spinning vortices seen on TV, these breaths were not intense, but rather emitted an inexplicable eeriness.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er was no longer calling out ¡°Mama¡± constantly, but slowly raised her head, looking at Lv Xin, her dead and lifeless eyes faintly revealing a hidden hatred.


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    Lv Xin¡¯s expression became guarded, the Resentful Granny¡¯s head on his chest, which had been wailing, now screamed even more shrilly.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s guess, it wasn¡¯t just the fourth floor, but possibly any residents on the first floor of Building 7, if there were any there, would have clearly heard those mournful cries.


    Lv Xin kicked out with his legs, lunging at the Back-faced Woman.


    ...


    The Back-faced Woman stood still and didn¡¯t move, instead, her newly regrown long hair whipped forward violently.


    At the same moment, Ke¡¯er, lying on her, let out a ¡°ya,¡± tossing her head as well and throwing out her own never-washed long hair.


    The mother and daughter¡¯s hair instantly entangled with each other, forming even more hair strands, moving with incomparable speed, directly targeting the approaching Lv Xin.


    Bang!


    Lv Xin¡¯s entire body was penetrated by countless strands of hair, but this time, unlike before, the force was so strong, exceeding any previous attack.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s head on Lv Xin¡¯s chest didn¡¯t last even a second before it dissipated, revealing a huge hole in his chest, with not a drop of blood splashing out.


    Meanwhile, Lv Xin¡¯s body and limbs were penetrated by numerous strands of hair, he was lifted into the air, and his head was equally damaged.


    After about two or three seconds of this stalemate, the hair retracted, and Lv Xin¡¯s body fell.


    Yan Junze just glanced at him and felt that there was indeed a term that very much suited Lv Xin¡¯s current state.


    Riddled with holes!


    After falling, there was no movement from Lv Xin, and soon enough, his blood slowly began to ooze out, more and more, soaking the ground beneath him.


    Judging by this, it now seemed to be truly the end for him.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er who had killed Lv Xin were silent, while Ke¡¯er lying on the Back-faced Woman kept nuzzling in her mother¡¯s embrace, with her little head deeply buried and extremely dependent.


    Yan Junze blinked for quite a while before accepting this fact.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s level of strangeness should not have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit, possibly between Semi-Sculpting Spirit and Sculpting Spirit, a bit higher than the Resentful Granny.


    But the final form of Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny, integrated as one, was superior to the Back-faced Woman, which is to say, they may have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit.


    However, the final recognition between Ke¡¯er and her mother, the unity of the mother and daughter brought about a qualitative leap.


    At this moment, even if Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand too well, he was sure that the Back-faced Woman in her mother-daughter form with Ke¡¯er was definitely at the level of Sculpting Spirit, and not even a lower one at that.


    The black hairs on his skin had completely receded, and the itch was gone, Yan Junze stroked his arm a few times to make sure there were no anomalies.


    Under the influence of Ke¡¯er and her mother¡¯s recognition, he had been paying attention to that side, only now did he look up at the sky and notice that the sky over Building 7 was covered in a cloud-like gray.


    But this condition was quickly dissipating and did not persist.


    It seemed that a high-level struggle between weird entities could cause significant changes and impacts on the nearby environment.


    Just at this moment, the task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas popped up.


    [Look at Her Face, hair-raising (low), completed, obtained 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    The energy that was consumed due to triggering the Automatic Rewind on Near-Death, as well as the self-initiated rewind, had been replenished, and the timeline¡¯s nodes extended further, lighting up three more.


    One end of the entire Spacetime Atlas, about the tip of one corner, was completely revealed, but through this corner of the Atlas, one could roughly glimpse the whole area of the Atlas, which was much, much larger.


    To light up the entire Atlas, and potentially allow oneself to truly travel through time and space, rather than merely performing a rewind of time, was something Yan Junze looked forward to with great anticipation.


    Regardless, there were too many uncertainties in this world, and if it were possible to return to the spacetime universe he had come from and live a normal life, it would probably not only be his own wish but also the desire of most people in this world.


    Whether he could go back or not, once the entire Atlas was lit, Yan Junze believed it would bring him a surprise.


    After killing Lv Xin, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er stood in place for a while, then the Back-faced Woman walked towards Yan Junze.


    Ke¡¯er clung tightly to the Back-faced Woman until they were very close to Yan Junze. Then she slipped down nimbly, turning her little feet around, which looked terrifying as she stood in front of Yan Junze.


    She reached out a hand and quickly touched the back of Yan Junze¡¯s neck, her favorite spot to caress, and gently rubbed it for a moment.


    Ke¡¯er tilted her head and drew close to Yan Junze¡¯s nose, staring at him without blinking, and soon uttered a word.


    ¡°Eh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± Yan Junze nodded and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m glad that you and your mother have recognized each other, and thank you for solving the big problem for me. You can go with your mom, anywhere is fine.¡±


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er let out a series of sounds similar to those she made before attacking, but she just moved forward, wrapping her arms around Yan Junze¡¯s head and held him tightly for a while.


    Yan Junze also reached out and gently embraced her, though Ke¡¯er in his arms felt very cold, there seemed to be a warm current slowly flowing through his heart, very warm.


    ¡°Being with your mom is good, that way you are the safest,¡± Yan Junze said with a bit of disappointment in his heart, yet still managed a smile, ¡°At least, from now on, you don¡¯t have to run away like a rabbit anymore.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er continued to make sounds, let go of Yan Junze, and returned to her mother¡¯s side.


    ¡°Come back when you have time, I¡¯ll figure out¡­ how to wash your hair,¡± Yan Junze said.


    So far, he could only touch Ke¡¯er but treating Ke¡¯er as a real person was something he couldn¡¯t do, like actually cleaning her up through washing her hair or taking a bath.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, this should be a matter of professional technique, and he probably needed to ask a high-ranking Exorcist about what methods to master in order to achieve this.


    Right now, he couldn¡¯t do it.


    The Back-faced Woman said nothing and showed not much reaction, just stood there, quietly staying for a moment, then turned around and retreated backward.


    Ke¡¯er skillfully climbed onto her body, lying on top, motionless, just as she had done earlier with Yan Junze. The mother and daughter soon disappeared from Yan Junze¡¯s sight.


    Yan Junze remembered clearly that the task notification said the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t be locked down, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t mind locking her down.


    If he could, it would be possible to keep Ke¡¯er and also bring the powerful Back-faced Woman by his side.


    Moreover, once together, the mother and daughter¡¯s combat power would increase again, which was simply too perfect.


    Of course, now that he had locked down Ke¡¯er, he could also insist on not letting her go, and the other side couldn¡¯t do anything about it. However, this would depend on whether the Back-faced Woman was willing.


    After all, letting the mother and daughter reunite was perhaps the best outcome.

 Chapter 115 - 115 - 114: Turned Against Instead?

    Chapter 115 ¨C 114: Turned Against Instead?


    After Ke¡¯er left, Yan Junze checked the Spacetime Atlas and found that on the 12th node, where Ke¡¯er¡¯s image used to be, now displayed the word ¡°empty¡±.


    However, it was not erased.


    In Ke¡¯er¡¯s ¡°Hair Washing¡± mission, Yan Junze remembered the mission background once said that Ke¡¯er died in a car accident.


    But her mother did not die in this car accident, which was the ¡°eternal separation¡± mentioned in the mission. Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman must have died after Ke¡¯er¡¯s accident.


    As for the reason, it was unknown.


    Yan Junze speculated that the Back-faced Woman, due to her overwhelming grief and guilt over her daughter¡¯s death, might have chosen to commit suicide by jumping off a building.


    Because the current appearance of the Back-faced Woman was not much different from someone who had died from jumping off a building.


    ...


    In the early morning when she sent her mother to work, the Back-faced Woman might have felt Ke¡¯er¡¯s presence at Yan Junze¡¯s place, so she started following him all the way to Yan Junze¡¯s home¡¯s corridor.


    Yan Junze remembered that just before he was about to enter his home, it felt as if she was about to turn her head to look at him. But only after completing the mission did he realize the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t turn her head at all.


    Back then, he was nervous inside, always afraid that seeing her face would trigger the mission ahead of time, so he might have subconsciously thought that the Back-faced Woman was going to turn around.


    But that was not the case.


    Having understood the causes and effects, the grey clouds in the sky had now almost completely dissipated, becoming clear again.


    Yan Junze was wondering why Huang Chen and his team had not arrived when his phone rang; it was Huang Chen calling.


    After picking up, Huang Chen¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Yan Junze?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Why haven¡¯t you guys arrived?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t die?¡± Huang Chen obviously breathed a sigh of relief on the other end, ¡°We arrived a while ago, but an area of the Spiritual Realm manifested halfway up the FH Community, and with our current manpower, we couldn¡¯t get close, so we had to wait outside for a bit.¡±


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    Putting aside the fact that his first question was whether he was dead or not, being incapable of handling the situation was the truth, but claiming they couldn¡¯t get close at all seemed rather hypocritical.


    Such phenomena, involving the appearance of a Spiritual Realm, were probably triggered by a Sculpting Spirit¡¯s struggle, so Huang Chen and others could only stay put. Recklessly charging in would likely lead to more death and injury.


    In fact, this struggle didn¡¯t harm any bystanders at all, not even Old Li, who was the closest and stayed at home, lost a single hair.


    Well, at most he was so scared he wet himself and took a few extra months of sick leave. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not long after hanging up, a group of people in suits and leather shoes entered the FH Community, but the exterior blockade remained in place.


    This was a kind of invisible blockade, not like the one the police would put in place with big banners and no entry allowed for anyone. Explore new worlds at empire


    Outside the community, there were special staff members from the Exorcist office, and from the surface, it didn¡¯t look like there was anything unusual here.


    Of course, apart from the Spiritual Realm that appeared in mid-air just now.


    Yan Junze stood on the fourth floor waiting for Huang Chen and his team to come up, and soon six or seven people arrived at the fourth floor, among whom Yan Junze recognized a few.


    Apart from Huang Chen, there was the one-star Exorcist Zhao Shuai and two-star Exorcist Yang Depei; the rest were unfamiliar faces.


    ¡°`


    However, once everyone arrived, they began to get busy: securing the scene, collecting evidence, and examining Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    Huang Chen was understanding the situation alongside Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze informed him of everything that had happened over the past few days, except for his own secrets and the completion of ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± and ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± tasks; he told everything else honestly, including the seven days he spent with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo taking over the Resentful Granny case was, of course, known to Huang Chen, but he hadn¡¯t anticipated that the subsequent events would be so complex and bizarre.


    It seemed that Yan Junze was quite fortunate; in the process of being chased by the Resentful Granny, he happened to be hunted by the white-dressed woman who had already been causing strangeness in this building. As a result of the two strangenesses clashing, the woman in white emerged victorious, leading to the current outcome.


    ¡°You¡¯re definitely special, kid. Really, why don¡¯t you come over here and do a test?¡± Huang Chen proposed again.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°If I were to go, I wouldn¡¯t go to the exorcists in the city. Zhang Xiaomo said I could use her recommendation letter to go to Tianmeng District for the test.¡±


    Huang Chen shrugged his shoulders, not insisting any further.


    Soon, Zhao Shuai came over and said to Huang Chen, ¡°Brother Chen, we¡¯ve checked; Lv Xin didn¡¯t turn into a walking corpse due to Spirit-Splitting. He died very recently.¡±


    ¡°Ah, how could that be?¡± Huang Chen said in surprise.


    A two-star exorcist, Yang Depei, also came over; he seemed to have more experience and was just now using a magnifying glass to examine the mold growing on the walls in the stairwell.


    ¡°I suspect that it¡¯s not as simple as Lv Xin being afflicted by Spirit-Splitting,¡± Yang Depei pointed at the body lying on the ground, ¡°He¡­ might have been a Spirit Cultivator. Or at least, he had the constitution of one.¡±


    ¡°The actual situation is that he was split by the Resentful Granny when she devoured the souls of her own son,¡± Huang Chen said thoughtfully.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yang Depei nodded, ¡°but this guy used a Spirit Cultivator¡¯s methods to turn the Resentful Granny inside him to his advantage. A trick even the Resentful Granny had no clue about, until it suddenly erupted just now.¡±


    Yan Junze found this inconceivable and said, ¡°I heard from Zhang Xiaomo that the true body of Resentful Granny was killed by her at the Rock, but if a Spirit-Splitting remained, it would gradually evolve into the original body. Has the Spirit-Splitting of Resentful Granny that remained in Lv Xin already transformed into the original body?¡±


    ¡°It might have transformed,¡± Huang Chen nodded, ¡°But there is a stabilization period, during which its strength won¡¯t be as strong as the original entity. Of course, if it¡¯s inside the body of a Spirit Cultivator, that¡¯s a different story.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ a Spirit Cultivator has ways to enhance the strength of the strangeness inside their body,¡± Yan Junze said, curious.


    ¡°There are so many ways,¡± Yang Depei shook his head, ¡°Lv Xin might well have been using the Resentful Granny instead, and she had no idea.¡±


    ¡°Your exorcist world is very complex,¡± Yan Junze scratched his head and turned to look at the chaos in the home, ¡°What I want to know now is, if strangenesses cause widespread damage, do you exorcists provide compensation during the restoration process?¡±


    ¡°No chance,¡± Huang Chen said with a smile, ¡°Our funds are limited, and such troubles are something you need to resolve on your own.¡±


    Yan Junze just asked casually and did not expect them to actually do anything. Just being able to protect as much as possible to prevent the strangenesses from harming people was enough for him.


    Soon after, people came up to carry Lv Xin¡¯s body away, saying it would be taken to Tianmeng District for research followed by various cleanup operations at the scene.


    When the cleanup was nearly finished, Yan Junze suddenly thought of something.


    He smiled bitterly, looked up at the cameras covering the floor and feeling a sense of apology, quickly took out his phone and called Editor Tang from the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform.


    As soon as the call connected, Yan Junze immediately started with an apologetic tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Editor Tang. The incident happened suddenly. I wanted to tell you that I¡¯ve completed the Spirit Exploration of the Back-faced Woman in a rush.¡±


    There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by Tang Zhengyi¡¯s voice, which, instead of expressing any disappointment, calmly said, ¡°I forgot to inform you, we recorded the incident that just happened.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 116 - 116 - 115: Statue or Weapon

    Chapter 116 ¨C 115: Statue or Weapon


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled when he heard Tang Zhengyi continue over the phone, ¡°It¡¯s really a coincidence, you haven¡¯t contacted us for many days, and just this morning I had the studio check the surveillance equipment in FH Community to make sure it was still functional. Who would have thought that not long after turning it on, I saw you¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you record everything?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Almost everything.¡± Tang Zhengyi said, ¡°We haven¡¯t installed cameras in the underground garage, so there¡¯s no footage from there, but aside from inside your home, we¡¯ve captured almost every single frame in the corridors.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence indeed,¡± Yan Junze marveled.


    However, it seemed as if Tang Zhengyi became somewhat hesitant, stammering for a while before asking, ¡°Mr. Yan, may I ask about your relationship with the exorcists?¡±


    Yan Junze guessed what he was thinking and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no special relationship, we just interact quite frequently.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Tang Zhengyi didn¡¯t probe further, ¡°This video content is somewhat shocking, so we also need to study it. We may have to get consent from the exorcism team at Tianmeng before it can be released, and there may be several parts that need editing.¡±


    ¡°No problem, you do what you see fit.¡±


    As for the video platform ¡°Open Your Eyes,¡± Yan Junze believed they had a better sense of judgment than he did. After all, he was not a professional in this field.


    Now that his house was destroyed, repurchasing furniture and repairing doors and windows would cost a considerable amount of money.


    If the video sold well, that would be great. At least he could use the money to cover these expenses, and there might even be some left over.


    After ending the call with Tang Zhengyi, whether the video could be sent out or not would be something to wait for in the coming days.


    After the hallway scene was cleaned up, the staff of the exorcist team conducted a final check inside Yan¡¯s house, collecting some debris before withdrawing completely.


    From start to finish, no police were involved.


    Zhang Xiaomo called not long after Huang Chen and the others left.


    Yan Junze briefly explained what had happened, and Zhang Xiaomo was full of marvel over the phone at his idea of using one strangeness to counteract another.


    However, since the incident was resolved, she no longer needed to rush to Shuntian City. She said she would look for Yan Junze later to catch up. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Daguo, his father, returned home around noon because he had worked a night shift the previous evening. He had slept on the sofa at the factory when it was nearly dawn, which was why he got home late.


    When he arrived home, Yan Junze was tidying up the living room.


    He couldn¡¯t move the large pieces of damaged furniture, so he had cleaned up the broken wood, debris, glass shards, etc., and placed any movable items to one side.


    The broken items were ready to be thrown away, while those that could still be used would be utilized for the time being.


    Yan Daguo was completely baffled by the scene, and besides the secret of his ability to rewind and the mission he had to complete, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide anything else.


    After learning about the cause of the mess, Yan Daguo said nothing at first. He inquired whether Yan Junze had been injured or if there was anything off about his health.


    While helping to clean up, he also kept an eye out for any unusual reactions from Yan Junze. He was, in fact, unconcerned about the loss to their home.


    What¡¯s broken is broken, as long as everyone is safe.


    ¡°The exorcists just checked the house again to make sure there¡¯s nothing abnormal left behind,¡± Yan Junze added in order to soothe his father¡¯s worries.


    Yan Daguo nodded, ¡°When your mother comes back later, I¡¯ll explain things to her. As you know, if it¡¯s not explained properly she¡¯ll keep bringing it up.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled.


    He moved the large pieces left from the damaged furniture out of the room, piling them in the corridor first. Yan Daguo was still not reassured by his son¡¯s explanation and made another trip to Uncle Li¡¯s place next door to get some information.


    Of course, Uncle Li was terrified, and his view of the details wasn¡¯t very clear. Moreover, during the time when the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, Uncle Li was so scared that he ran into his bedroom to hide and didn¡¯t dare to watch at all.


    Later in the evening, when his mother, Li Man, got home, she was inevitably shocked. It wasn¡¯t until late at night that the father and son managed to calm her down.


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    After a rough estimate, they concluded that the household had lost a sofa set, a coffee table, a television, three wooden chairs, and some odds and ends. Since none of the items were high-end goods, the total damage was estimated to be around ten thousand yuan.


    Yan Daguo figured they could slowly replace the other pieces of furniture, but they had someone come to install a new window on that very day.


    Li Man was very worried that this incident would affect Yan Junze¡¯s studies, so once the house was in order, she immediately sent him back to his bedroom to focus on studying and not to think about anything else.


    As for the frequent occurrence of their son attracting strangenesses, the couple had formed a common view that their son¡¯s physique was definitely special and that he might indeed follow the path of an exorcist one day.


    This prospect left them somewhat at a loss. In this era, the profession of exorcist was undoubtedly very respectable, but it also seemed fraught with danger, as evident from the events of today.


    The physical destruction caused by the strangenesses was significant enough to make the couple reassess the exorcist profession they used to respect immensely, and they began to worry.


    Yan Junze returned to his bedroom, first placing his books on the desk¡ªjust for show¡ªthen took out the statue of the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan, from his backpack.


    The statue was quite heavy in his hand; even if it wasn¡¯t made entirely of gold, it surely contained a significant amount of gold.


    After opening the statue, Yan Junze vigorously wiped it down with old newspapers, quickly removing the black dirt that covered it, revealing the gleaming golden statue underneath.


    However, to completely clean it and restore it to its original state, he would probably need to go to a jewelry store.


    Though he had received a replenishment of Different Dimension Energy after completing tasks that day, the Spacetime Atlas¡¯ Different Dimension Energy was not filled up but was absorbing slowly.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimates, without completing other tasks, it would take about a week of this slow absorption to completely fill the current Spacetime Atlas with nodes and timelines.


    So, when he was holding the statue that he had just quickly cleaned, he suddenly paused because he felt the rate at which the Missing Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas was being restored was speeding up.


    What was the reason?


    Yan Junze placed the statue on the desk and felt it again, and the rate was normal.


    When he picked up the statue again, the rate of energy restoration sped up once more¡ªit appeared he had stumbled upon a treasure!


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood what the ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡± task meant by the treasure.


    The statue could also absorb Different Dimension Energy, or maybe what the Yin Yang Master called ¡°Yin Energy¡±¡ªeither way, the statue was currently filled with a significant amount of Different Dimension Energy.


    With it, the Spacetime Atlas could speed up its energy restoration, which could mean directly extracting energy from within the statue.


    Thus, as the Spacetime Atlas was restoring energy, the statue was also absorbing and storing it, and could even accelerate the transfer of energy to the Atlas,


    Examining the statue closely for a moment, Yan Junze noticed that Lin Yishan looked to be about sixty, exuding a sense of a hermit, if not quite a celestial air.


    ¡°It¡¯s a waste to use this merely as a statue,¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself, ¡°why not turn it into some kind of weapon? One that can store Different Dimension Energy and also inflict damage on strangenesses!¡±


    Of course, if the statue were to be turned into a weapon, he couldn¡¯t alter its essence, otherwise, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe a hammer, once transformed from the statue, would still serve as a hammer.

 Chapter 117 - 117 - 116

    Chapter 117 ¨C 116 ¡°Astonishing¡± Remuneration


    If Lin Yishan were still alive, hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words would probably infuriate him to death.


    Transform his own Golden Body Statue into a weapon, a weapon that can pose a threat to the strangenesses?


    One must admit, Lin Yishan did have some skills, having used some methods to create such a statue that could actually collect Different Dimension Energy.


    Different Dimension Energy is likely to be similar to what the world calls Yin Energy, but it is not exactly the same.


    So if used correctly, it could serve to cultivate strangenesses, but under circumstances of excessive energy, it could also cause severe damage to them.


    Just like gasoline that can power a car for driving can also be used to incinerate the whole vehicle.


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze moved the nightstand, hid the statue behind it, and planned to inquire about it before possibly transforming it into a weapon.


    ...


    Before going to bed, he took a shower.


    While showering, the absence of the little girl who always went ¡°Eh¡± nearby was suddenly disconcerting.


    He had classes the next day.


    Early in the morning, after arriving at school, he first went to his homeroom teacher Xiang Decai to report back from his leave, and after filling out a situation report, he was all set.


    The college entrance exam was just two weeks away.


    At this point, the curriculum was at the tail end of comprehensive review, which is to say it was time to consolidate any key points or difficulties that hadn¡¯t been mastered yet.


    If one¡¯s basic knowledge couldn¡¯t be made up, cramming for just two weeks would hardly be effective.


    What every subject¡¯s teacher emphasized most in class was, relax, relax¡­ S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze believed that he was probably the most relaxed candidate in the whole school.


    ¡­


    ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± Video Broadcasting Technology Corporation Limited had its headquarters in Tianyi District, but it also opened a branch in Tianmeng District.


    The Tianmeng District branch was located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of Huadu Building, and at this moment in the video conference room on the 53rd floor, several senior executives from the branch were seated, with the headquarters¡¯ executives appearing via video.


    The ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform is currently the hottest product for supernatural exploration across the network.


    Unlike the smaller city of Shuntian, the safety level for residents of Tianmeng District was relatively higher, especially in the places where important people resided, where Exorcists were almost always present.


    So there were even those influential and powerful individuals who have never encountered any strangenesses since the outbreak began.


    However, most ordinary people living in the district had seen them, and though they were fearful, curiosity and the desire to explore were greater, hence the emergence of video platforms like ¡°Open Your Eyes.¡±


    The Spirit Explorers were all experienced people, some highly professional, and there were even Spirit Exploration Teams that had been expensively crafted by certain groups of people.


    Of course, most of the videos on the platform were taken by ordinary people during unexpected encounters with strangenesses, incomplete though they might be, the sense of reality they conveyed was extremely strong, evoking an intense sense of tension that in turn stimulated a greater desire to watch.


    On the other side of the conference room, a projection was playing a scene from FH Community where two strangenesses were fighting fiercely.


    A moment passed, and the video ended.


    Editor Tang Zhengyi was seated at the end of the conference table, which showed that his status among these people was not high.


    Had it not been for his involvement with the video, he might not have been able to attend such a high-level meeting.


    ¡°They should all be Sculpting Spirit-level strangenesses,¡± a bald man in a crisp suit turned and said to everyone.


    He was the chief officer for the Tianmeng District, directly appointed by the Tianyi platform headquarters.


    A chubby man beside the bald one grinned, ¡°Such a video is simply not allowed to be spread.¡±


    Another man sitting opposite, tall and in his fifties, spoke up, ¡°Zhengyi, have you found out? Is that student really just an ordinary person without any connections to Exorcists?¡±


    Tang Zhengyi replied, ¡°Some connection, they seem to have had several contacts, so they appear quite familiar with each other, but there is no financial relationship or special employment arrangement.¡±


    ¡°Employment?¡± The bald man laughed, ¡°Such a young lad, even if he has special abilities, Exorcists wouldn¡¯t hire him specially.¡±


    Special employment was somewhat akin to a special appointment, which even held a more exceptional status than the Exorcists¡¯ own team members, hence the bald one¡¯s disbelief.


    ¡°So¡­what do we do with this video?¡± Tang Zhengyi asked.


    The chubby man took a sip of the strong tea placed before him and said, ¡°We can¡¯t report it to Exorcists, or else in addition to confiscating the video, they might also give us a warning.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s simple,¡± the bald man suggested to the tall man opposite him, ¡°Lao Liu, go find a buyer and sell it.¡±


    ¡°President Er, are you saying to sell it to those interested?¡± Tang Zhengyi asked in surprise.


    ¡°Of course, those people love this stuff. It would be a shame to not make a profit from such an exciting video,¡± President Er said, turning to the headquarters on the video, and inquired, ¡°Does anyone have a better idea?¡±


    ¡°No objections,¡± the man seated at the center on the video side nodded.


    Your next chapter awaits on empire


    ¡°Then get moving on that contact, Lao Liu,¡± President Er commanded.


    ¡°If the video isn¡¯t uploaded to the platform, what about Yan Junze¡­¡± Tang Zhengyi hurriedly interjected.


    ¡°Offer him a sum of money, just say our company bought it, but considering the impact, we¡¯ve decided not to include it in the platform¡¯s video library for the time being,¡± President Er responded.


    ¡°How much money?¡± Tang Zhengyi asked again.


    President Er tapped his forehead with his index finger and said, ¡°You decide.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Twenty-eight thousand?!¡±


    Just after school, Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi, who stated that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s video wouldn¡¯t be broadcast for now, but the company would pay to acquire it, offering ¡°twenty-eight thousand.¡±


    Yan Junze had not expected that even if the video was not broadcasted, he could still make money off it.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t aware of the market value, the amount of money offered was far from his expectation.


    But there was no helping it; Yan Junze was well aware that he had no channels to sell this type of video. If he tried to sell it online, it would certainly be seized by Exorcists first, and drawing further attention would be even worse.


    Given that his family¡¯s savings were already modest, this sum of money was better than nothing for Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze simply responded with an ambivalent, standard-issue reply: ¡°Heh heh.¡±


    ¡°That settles it then. The money will be transferred to your account registered on the platform within a week; be sure to check for it,¡± Tang Zhengyi said, ¡°Also, someone will come to collect the filming equipment tomorrow. Thanks for your cooperation recently.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°Heh heh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got more good news. After deliberation, our company decided to promote your ¡¯Night Traveling Puppy¡¯ account to Honorary Master of Spirit Exploration. In the future, if you have more videos to upload, they will be given priority display on the platform¡¯s homepage. Donations and other user payments will be split fifty-fifty with the platform, not at forty-sixty,¡± Tang Zhengyi added.


    ¡°Heh heh.¡± Yan Junze hung up the call, his feelings mixed and hard to articulate.

 Chapter 118 - 118 - 117 Yan Junze’s Weapon

    Chapter 118 ¨C 117 Yan Junze¡¯s Weapon


    Now that he had some money, Yan Junze was planning to have the Golden Body Statue altered at a goldsmith shop this weekend.


    Into a handy weapon that could pose a threat to the strangenesses.


    He had already asked Zhou Dali at school, and Dali, though occasionally annoying due to his personality, was nonetheless wide-connected and never muddled when it came to helping friends.


    Well, as long as it wasn¡¯t Spirit Exploration.


    Dali¡¯s aunt¡¯s cousin¡¯s younger sister rented out a shop space to a goldsmith shop called ¡°Zhou Erfu,¡± which was fairly sizable and reputed to have skilled craftsmen.


    But the Golden Body Statue was a bit too large, making the alteration a bit troublesome and time-consuming.


    Trusting in Zhou Dali and ¡°Zhou Erfu,¡± the very next day after school, Yan Junze put the Golden Body Statue in his backpack and, together with Zhou Dali, dashed to the ¡°Zhou Erfu¡± goldsmith shop.


    ...


    Upon arriving, they entered a shop that indeed seemed fairly large, where two female clerks in professional attire immediately approached them with a warm welcome.


    After Zhou Dali explained their purpose, one of the clerks escorted them to a back door within the shop.


    A sign reading ¡°Workshop¡± hung on the door.


    Upon entering, they were greeted with a slightly pungent smell, and although three craftsmen were present, two were busy while the apparent master craftsman was idling nearby, smoking.


    Zhou Dali nudged Yan Junze with his elbow and then approached the smoking man, greeting him, ¡°Brother Gu, hello, we were referred here by Auntie Feng.¡±


    The smoking man named Gu lifted his head, appearing somewhat listless.


    Yan Junze noticed the man¡¯s deep-set eyes and dark circles, suggesting he was in a very poor state of mind.


    At this sight, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help doubting whether entrusting the Golden Body Statue to this man for remelting was a good idea.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m Gu Bai,¡± said the man as he extinguished his cigarette and stood up, ¡°Sister Feng told me about you. Let me have a look at your item first.¡±


    Yan Junze, who had been on the verge of backing out, figured that since he was already there, it couldn¡¯t hurt to let him take a look.


    He pulled out the Golden Body Statue wrapped in newspaper from his backpack and handed it to Gu Bai.


    After Gu Bai unwrapped the newspaper, Lin Yishan¡¯s statue appeared, prompting a slight pause from him.


    ¡°Such a large piece, this must be about 80% gold content.¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Regardless of its gold content, I just want to remelt this statue.¡±


    ¡°Into what?¡± asked Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze had already made up his mind and without hesitation said, ¡°If it doesn¡¯t damage the essence, I¡¯d like a club, about the length of half an arm, the kind one would use by the river to wash clothes.¡±


    He had considered making a knife, but that would be too conspicuous to carry around and problematic if classified as a controlled weapon. Plus, the statue already somewhat resembled a club, so transforming it into one would likely be the most time- and effort-efficient option.


    ¡°A club?¡± Gu Bai looked skeptical for a moment.


    He inspected the statue closely, commenting, ¡°This was made with very ordinary craftsmanship; no special techniques are enclosed, nor does it seem to have any special structure. Hmm, but I¡¯ll handle it with care.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes widened, and he reached out to touch Yan Junze¡¯s forehead, ¡°You¡¯re not feverish! Are you planning on opening a wet wash place by the river with this club?¡±


    Yan Junze slapped his hand away and looked at Gu Bai, ¡°So, is this¡­ going to be troublesome?¡±


    Gu Bai chuckled, ¡°We don¡¯t have a mold for a club; we¡¯ll need to make one from scratch, which will take a bit of time.¡±


    ¡°No problem, just let me know if there¡¯s any cost involved; I can¡¯t expect you to foot the bill for helping me,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Gu Bai handed back the Golden Body Statue, ¡°Come back the day after tomorrow, it¡¯s the weekend. Once I¡¯ve prepared the mold for the club¡­ the club, I¡¯ll craft it for you right here on the spot. It¡¯ll be quick.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yan Junze wrapped the statue up again.


    Zhou Dali went to the store, poured a few cups of tea, and handed one to Gu Bai. After all, asking for someone¡¯s help and then leaving immediately after striking a deal seemed a bit rude.


    Once they sat down, they began to chat casually with Gu Bai.


    ¡°Brother Gu, I notice you don¡¯t seem very fit. You should really take care of yourself and exercise more.¡± As soon as Zhou Dali spoke, he steered the conversation towards something he was particularly proud of.


    While he spoke, he flexed his biceps, intending to show off. Indeed, they looked sturdy and strong.


    But it seemed as if Gu Bai didn¡¯t see, simply lighting a cigarette for himself.


    Knowing that Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students, he didn¡¯t hesitate to smoke in front of them and took a deep drag before saying, ¡°It¡¯s chronic sleep deprivation, nothing I can do about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have insomnia?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Gu Bai shook his head, ¡°I do want to sleep. I can even fall asleep at work during the day, but when night comes, ah¡­ let¡¯s not talk about it.¡±


    Zhou Dali was slightly surprised and asked, ¡°Is it because you¡¯ve encountered¡­ strangenesses?¡±


    Gu Bai looked at him, still shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s that. I¡¯ve already called 4747, but there¡¯s a long waiting list. The main thing is, even I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s that.¡±


    After finishing, he stood up: ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, you better head home. Just remember to come and find me over the weekend.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali got up to leave. Since Gu Bai didn¡¯t want to elaborate, they naturally didn¡¯t press the matter.


    Zhou Dali didn¡¯t mind, since he was timid. After hearing it might be a strangeness, he lost the desire to inquire further.


    However, Yan Junze was more attentive. Looking at Gu Bai¡¯s demeanor, he feared that Gu Bai had been dealing with a strangeness for a while. Usually, these kinds of strangeness tasks are of a higher level, at least medium.


    At the moment, Yan Junze¡¯s standards were also rising. He could complete lower-level tasks, but the Different Dimension Energy points he¡¯d get were not substantial.


    Moreover, these strangeness incidents were mostly dealt with by Exorcists directly. It was only in emergency situations involving his own relatives, or if not handled, that more people would be affected, that Yan Junze might take on a lower-level task. Read latest stories on empire


    He would see over the weekend. If Gu Bai helped him with his favor, he had to repay it, even if it meant taking on a lower-level task.


    After leaving the gold shop with Zhou Dali, they went their separate ways home.


    As he got off the bus, his mom¡¯s call came, asking how soon he would be home.


    ¡°Just reached the entrance of the community.¡±


    Yan Junze said, hung up the phone, and as he was about to enter the community gate, noticed that Grandpa Zheng was eating dinner alone in the guardhouse. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two dishes and a soup, one meat and one vegetable, the pairing was not bad at all.


    Grandpa Zheng poured himself a small glass of wine and was enjoying his meal heartily, not noticing Yan Junze outside the duty room staring at him.


    A moment later, Yan Junze opened the door to the duty room: ¡°Grandpa Zheng, having dinner?¡±


    ¡°Eh, Ze, just getting back from school? Want to join your grandpa for a bit of dinner?¡± Grandpa Zheng offered with a smile.


    ¡°No thanks, about to have dinner at home,¡± Yan Junze said as he found a stool to sit on.


    Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s stance showed no intention to leave, Grandpa Zheng asked, ¡°Is there something you want?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to ask you, when was our community¡¯s underground garage renovated?¡± Yan Junze said.


    A reminiscent look came over Grandpa Zheng, ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t quite remember. It¡¯s been over a decade! Why do you ask?¡±


    Yan Junze leaned forward and asked, ¡°Were there ever any scavengers or workers who lived in there before?¡±


    Grandpa Zheng took a bite of his dish and pondered, ¡°When it was still an underground warehouse, there was a scavenger, but I heard he died a long time ago, that was when I first came here.¡±

 Chapter 119 - 119: The 118th Chapter: She’s Called Aunt Mei

    Chapter 119: The 118th Chapter: She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei


    ¡°`


    ¡°That scavenger, was it a man or a woman?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°A woman.¡± Grandpa Zheng answered while recalling.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, ¡°Who else in the community might remember this incident?¡±


    Grandpa Zheng wiped his mouth and pointed inside the community, saying, ¡°Elder Pu living on the first floor of Building No. 4, I mean, I call him Elder Pu, but you should call him Old Master. He has lived here for a long time and might know something.¡±


    ¡°Then Grandpa Zheng, you take your time eating.¡±


    Yan Junze left the duty room and didn¡¯t immediately go home, but went straight to the building opposite his own, Building No. 5.


    ...


    Elder Pu must be over 90 years old, hard of hearing, and after Yan Junze knocked, Elder Pu¡¯s daughter came to open the door.


    Yes, his daughter is 64 years old, and Yan Junze calls her grandma.


    Elder Pu was lying in bed because his legs and feet were not agile ¨C he rarely got out of bed, and even if he did, he usually sat in a wheelchair.


    Since the outbreak of ¡°strangenesses,¡± he hardly ever went out.


    Yan Junze had seen this old master before ¨C Elder Pu¡¯s hair had already fallen out, his frame was skinny, his cheeks hollow. It was said he loved to chat.


    Yan Junze said he was there to ask Elder Pu about something from the past in the community, and the daughter let him into the bedroom.


    As soon as he entered the bedroom, he cheerfully said, ¡°Old Pu, how are you? I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you? I¡¯ve come to understand some matters.¡±


    Elder Pu raised his head, showing a kind smile as he looked at Yan Junze.


    Worried that he might not hear him, Yan Junze raised his voice, ¡°Old Grandpa, hello!¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hmm, nice weather, the weather is good today,¡± Elder Pu nodded.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face turned embarrassed, and he said again, ¡°Grandpa, I just want to ask you two questions.¡±


    ¡°How did you know I can paint?¡± Elder Pu looked surprised.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Elder Pu¡¯s daughter standing behind him, and she shook her head with a resigned smile, ¡°He¡¯s always like this now, answering out of context, maybe¡­ just go with the flow.¡±


    ¡°Go with the flow?¡± Yan Junze found that the old people nowadays were quite humorous. He turned back to Elder Pu and raised his volume even more, emphasizing each word, ¡°Grandpa, do you still remember anything about the FH Community¡¯s underground storeroom before it was remodeled?¡±


    ¡°I remember,¡± Elder Pu finally gave a correct response.


    ¡°Then tell me about it, I would like to understand some things,¡± Yan Junze nodded and sat down by the bed.


    ¡°I remember that year, my father said, the underground resistance in Shuntian was pursued and intercepted by the enemy forces, and eventually had no choice but to change their appearance¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, Grandpa, my mistake.¡± Yan Junze stood up and gave Elder Pu¡¯s daughter a wry smile, then said to Elder Pu, ¡°I won¡¯t bother you any longer, you rest well.¡±


    Just as he was about to leave, Elder Pu¡¯s daughter curiously asked, ¡°What did you want to inquire about? Maybe I know something as well.¡±


    Yan Junze casually said, ¡°Just wanted to ask about a woman who used to scavenge in the underground garage.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean Aunt Mei.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? You really know her,¡± Yan Junze said, surprised.


    Elder Pu¡¯s daughter nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve heard the old master talk about her. Aunt Mei had been scavenging for a lifetime, quite pitiful. Later, when her economic condition got a bit better, she always lived in the underground storeroom of FH Community.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the storeroom later remodeled into a parking lot?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes, but there was a maintenance tunnel inside, and Aunt Mei lived in there afterward. Her rheumatism was severe, and it seems it led to other diseases, which caused her death.¡±


    ¡°Was she married? Did she have any children?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Elder Pu¡¯s daughter lowered her head and thought for a moment, ¡°Apparently, later she found a pair of abandoned infants with disabilities. It is said that Aunt Mei was raising them, but they were rarely seen, and it was only half a month after Aunt Mei died that her body was discovered.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°What about the infants?¡±


    ¡°They died before Aunt Mei, couldn¡¯t be raised, and Aunt Mei was heartbroken for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯ve got a rough idea, thank you, Grandma Pu.¡± Yan Junze revealed a smile, nodded to Old Pu¡¯s daughter, then took his leave.


    Now it seemed certain that the old lady in the underground garage was indeed Aunt Mei, and the two strange babies were the disabled abandoned infants she had picked up.


    However, what made Yan Junze curious was that when he activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±, he didn¡¯t detect any mission information regarding Aunt Mei and the two strange babies.


    This meant that Aunt Mei and the babies might not have any obsessions, or that the strange babies did have obsessions but were being heavily suppressed by Aunt Mei.


    This could be determined from the way the strange babies shrank back in fear whenever they looked at Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze was filled with absolute curiosity towards this strangeness that was Aunt Mei.


    First of all, the old lady was incredibly powerful; the Back-faced Woman, upon seeing her, didn¡¯t say a word and ran away, just like Ke¡¯er did upon encountering other high-level strangenesses, without even the thought of challenging her.


    This showed that Aunt Mei¡¯s strangeness level was very high, though its exact level was unknown.


    Most importantly, Yan Junze now saw that Aunt Mei was very kind to people, had no obsessions or resentment. At least for now, he couldn¡¯t see any threat to others, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be quietly living in the underground garage for who knows how long.


    If possible, it would be more beneficial than detrimental to foster a good relationship with Aunt Mei.


    Only, Yan Junze knew that his ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± skill seemed unable to lock down strangenesses above the semi-Sculpting Spirit level. It wouldn¡¯t work on the Resentful Granny, the Back-faced Woman, and certainly not on Aunt Mei.


    ¡°Might as well do this: in a couple of days, I¡¯ll buy some candles to visit her, activate Rewind beforehand, and probe whether it¡¯s possible to establish some rapport with Aunt Mei.¡±


    Yan Junze made up his mind.


    He returned home without another word the whole way.


    On the weekend, the school announced ahead of time that all seniors would have a large classroom session, with university teachers coming over to give lectures and former top students sharing their examination experience.


    This was completely unexpected by Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t last long and ended around 3 pm.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali immediately went to the ¡°Zhou Erfu¡± jewelry store and, upon arriving at the workshop, found only the two apprentices there without Master Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze saw that the mold for the mallet had been finished and was placed neatly on the table, but there was no sign of Gu Bai.


    ¡°Master Gu said he will be here later, you guys just wait for a bit,¡± one apprentice called out and then hurried off to busily tend to other tasks.


    About half an hour later, Gu Bai finally arrived, looking very late.


    The guy had very noticeable dark circles under his eyes, drooping eyelids, and shuffling steps, clearly having not rested well.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was actually worried about him starting work now.


    However, Gu Bai seemed to be aware of his condition and didn¡¯t immediately start working, but instead sat down to rest for a while, smoked a cigarette, drank several sips of the strong tea the apprentice had brewed, and started work when he felt less tired.


    Yan Junze was puzzled about what this guy had been up to at night to be so tired. Was it just poor sleep?


    Curiosity aside, it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to ask questions at the moment. Standing with Zhou Dali, he just watched from a distance.


    ¡°Brother Gu, if you find any special structures inside, please stop and let me consider whether to continue,¡± Yan Junze spoke up as a reminder.


    Gu Bai nodded, then shook his head, ¡°From my experience, the craftsmanship of this statue isn¡¯t very fine, so the chance of finding any special structures inside is very small.¡±


    Though he said this, he was still very careful and, before long, the Lin Yishan statue in front of him melted into a large mass. Gu Bai carefully poured it into the mold.


    At that moment, a black bead rolled out from the molten golden liquid.


    Continue reading on empire


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Yan Junze immediately spoke up.

 Chapter 120 - 120 - 119: The Photo Studio Mystery

    Chapter 120 ¨C 119: The Photo Studio Mystery


    Everyone saw the bead, it was just that Yan Junze was quick to speak and immediately yelled for a halt.


    By the time he called for a stop, Gu Bai had already ceased his actions.


    He seemed quite curious about the object and then extended a special pair of tongs into the mold to clasp the black bead.


    The bead wasn¡¯t very large, only about the size of a checker, but it was pitch-black and lacked any shine.


    However, the mold¡¯s temperature was already around a thousand degrees, and the fact that the bead could roam around inside without any damage was indeed unusual.


    They definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to touch it now, but Yan Junze knew this black bead was the key reason the sculpture could absorb Different Dimension Energy. So if he discarded the bead during the crafting of the mace, then the mace would be nothing more than a plain mace to him.


    ¡°Wait for me to take a photo before putting it back.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the black bead. Stay tuned with empire


    ¡°Are you going to put it back?¡± Gu Bai asked, surprised.


    He thought that since the object looked so strange and they had already found it, they ought to study it thoroughly.


    Why put it back and melt it into the mace?


    ¡°Yes, put it back, melt it into the core of the mace.¡± Yan Junze pointed at the mold and said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Without saying anything further, Gu Bai promptly returned the bead and proceeded to the next step.


    As the process continued and seemed to take a while, Yan Junze and Zhou Dali sat near the entrance to the workshop, watching the entire procedure and chatting intermittently with Gu Bai.


    The reason the process was quick was due to Yan Junze¡¯s low-maintenance and straightforward request: to simply make the mace, without the need for additional artistic embellishments such as chasing, wire brushing, or sandblasting, only a simple stamping was used.


    Before long, the golden mace took shape and was subjected to cooling treatment.


    After completing the work, Gu Bai lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then came over to sit down and poured two large sips of strong tea for himself.


    ¡°Thanks for your hard work, Brother Gu,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Brother Gu, if you get too little sleep at night, it¡¯s really not good for your health in the long run,¡± Zhou Dali said from the side.


    ¡°Ah, I basically take naps in the store now, that¡¯s the only place I can fall asleep,¡± Gu Bai said with a bitter smile and a shake of his head.


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to talk about it, feel free to tell me,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°Perhaps I could help you out.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Gu Bai looked at him.


    ¡°Yes, my buddy often goes on Spirit Explorations and even uploads the videos online, very popular,¡± Zhou Dali immediately boasted as if it wasn¡¯t Yan Junze¡¯s work, but his own.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Gu Bai immediately shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t put up videos online; we can¡¯t let other people know about it.¡±


    ¡°Not all explorations are for videos,¡± Yan Junze explained with a smile. ¡°It depends on the situation. Some Spirit Exploration videos are not suitable for the internet; I get that.¡±


    Zhou Dali said, ¡°My brother has dealt with a lot of strangeness, and I even got involved once myself, though I didn¡¯t dare to go afterward. But if you share your experience with us, maybe he can help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already called Exorcism,¡± Gu Bai said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, if you think you can hold on, then wait for the exorcist to come investigate,¡± Yan Junze said, taking a sip of tea, standing up, and preparing to check on the cooling hammer.


    Gu Bai looked up at him deeply, then suddenly turned to his two apprentices and said, ¡°Put aside the work for now and go outside to use the restroom.¡±


    The two disciples were startled, exchanged glances, then agreed and tactfully left the workshop.


    Yan Junze sat back down.


    Gu Bai seemed to be organizing his thoughts, and after more than ten seconds, he finally began, ¡°My wife loves photography, so we opened a photo studio which does pretty well most of the time. Since we spent all our savings on the store, we also live there.¡±


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali did not speak, waiting for Gu Bai to continue.


    Gu Bai continued, ¡°My wife is quite retro; she loves film photography, so she specially remodeled one of the rooms into a darkroom to develop film. Of course, she also uses digital cameras, but she has a greater affinity for film photography.¡±


    ¡°Starting last month, the photo studio began experiencing some abnormalities. There¡¯s nothing unusual during the day, but at night, there are always strange noises, especially frequent in the darkroom.¡±


    ¡°A few times when there were strange noises, I went to check, but I couldn¡¯t see anything. However, after the noises, I¡¯d find some of the freshly washed photos had fallen down, and a lot of the developing chemicals my wife prepares would be significantly less.¡±


    ¡°Just last week, another disturbance arose in the middle of the night. Startled awake, I ran to see and found photos either fallen or halved as if something had eaten them. And I always felt like someone was present in the darkroom, but I couldn¡¯t see anyone. Later, my wife started screaming in bed. I rushed over to ask her what happened, and she said, in a daze, she felt someone pulling at her feet.¡±


    ¡°You need to understand, our bedroom is separated from the darkroom by just one room, set up this way for the convenience of my wife¡¯s work. And then¡­¡±


    At this point, Gu Bai paused and his body suddenly shivered.


    ¡°Then last night, there were strange noises from the darkroom again, but I was too tired. My wife was sleepy too, and, being timid, she didn¡¯t dare to check. I actually wanted to get up, but due to lack of rest, I fell asleep again in a haze. At that moment, I felt something grab my foot and jerk it hard, as if in a dream, abruptly waking me up.¡±


    ¡°Did you see anything when you got up?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t see anything,¡± said Gu Bai, still shaken, ¡°If it really becomes unbearable, I¡¯m prepared to move out. But we¡¯ve invested so much into that place, it would all go to waste if we left, and we¡¯re very reluctant to do so!¡±


    Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Gu Bai looked up at Yan Junze and Zhou Dali, ¡°Honestly, if it¡¯s strangeneses, my wife and I haven¡¯t seen anything. We don¡¯t feel our lives are threatened, but the constant disturbances every day, if it goes on like this, I feel like I¡¯m on the verge of going mad.¡±


    ¡°How about this,¡± Yan Junze started, ¡°tonight you don¡¯t sleep on the bed. I¡¯ll sleep there, ah, I mean, you and your wife should sleep somewhere else, not on the bed.¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too,¡± Zhou Dali chimed in.


    ¡°What are you going to do there?¡± Yan Junze asked with surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, okay, there¡¯s probably some strangeneses there, let Zhou Dali go to draw its attention. The guy¡¯s got a large frame, easy to attract hate,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± Zhou Dali laughed heartily, ¡°My studies aren¡¯t as good as yours, and I have exams coming up, so I need to review at home.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it disrupt your exams?¡± Gu Bai asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s just the weekend. If I don¡¯t sleep at night, I can still catch up on sleep during the day.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ thank you for your trouble.¡±


    At this moment, Gu Bai felt a bit like he was grasping at straws, mainly because he wasn¡¯t sure if it was really strangeneses, and even if it was, they were still in line waiting for the exorcist, with no idea when it would be their turn.


    If they didn¡¯t handle it soon, Gu Bai felt he might go crazy himself.

 Chapter 121 - 121 - 120 Black Spirit

    Chapter 121 ¨C 120 Black Spirit


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    Gu Bai sent the address of the photography studio to Yan Junze¡¯s phone, and then they agreed on a time.


    The time was tonight at 10 p.m.


    To sneak out easily in the evening, Yan Junze also needed to get his story straight with Zhou Dali, telling his parents that he was going to Dali¡¯s house to study and would stay over, not coming back until the next day.


    Before long, a brand new mace was finally forged.


    Gu Bai checked it once more, then handed it over to Yan Junze.


    The golden mace was about the length of a forearm, and at first glance, it looked quite like the previous statue, but was more convenient to carry and use for attack.


    ...


    When Yan Junze took it, he felt its weight in his hand, as the mace was somewhat heavy.


    However, to threaten strangenesses with it, he would need to carry it in his backpack at all times, which would be very inconvenient.


    If only he could place it directly into the Spacetime Atlas like ¡°Lock Evil Spirits,¡± that would be perfect.


    Yan Junze had an idea.


    No sooner had the idea emerged than a line of text popped up in his mind from the Spacetime Atlas.


    ¡°[Black Spirit detected, initiate Lockdown?]¡±


    ¡°What the hell is a ¡¯Black Spirit¡¯?¡± Yan Junze, holding the mace, looked around but didn¡¯t notice any other strangenesses in the area.


    Shortly after, he lowered his head to gaze at the mace in his hand.


    With a thought, he tentatively commanded in his mind, ¡°Lockdown.¡±


    The mace in his hand vanished instantly, and the next second, it appeared within the 12th node, perfectly occupying the empty echo left by Ke¡¯er.


    ¡°Oh sh*t!¡±


    Despite being prepared, the sudden disappearance of the mace startled Yan Junze. With suddenly empty hands, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble.


    Gu Bai was just pouring hot water into a teacup. Looking up, he asked in surprise, ¡°Eh, where did the mace go?¡±


    Yan Junze immediately adopted a nonchalant pose, resting his chin on his hand and shrugging, ¡°I just¡­ put it into my bag.¡±


    Zhou Dali also widened his eyes, ¡°Woah, your sleight of hand is so fast, I didn¡¯t even see it. You must practice a lot with action movies at night, huh?¡±


    ¡°Get lost,¡± laughed Yan Junze.


    After saying goodbye to Gu Bai, the two left the gold shop.


    As for the trouble that Yan Junze was supposed to help Gu Bai with that night, Dali had no interest in joining. He was busy ¡°studying,¡± after all!


    But he had no problem helping Yan Junze fabricate an excuse.


    On his way home, Yan Junze passed by a funeral supplies shop and conveniently went in to buy a big bag of ceremonial candles.


    In his opinion, since Resentful Granny and her son and daughter-in-law even ate those kind of household candles, these special ceremonial candles for the deceased should definitely suit Aunt Mei¡¯s taste.


    When he returned home, his parents were still at work, and no one was at home.


    Yan Junze took out the ceremonial candles and scurried downstairs, first opening the Rewind before pushing open the small door that led to the underground parking garage.


    Just as he entered the garage, he happened to meet a neighbor coming up. The neighbor saw Yan Junze carrying the candles and entering the garage with a mysterious smile, which caused the neighbor to look back in suspicion for a while before leaving.


    The southeastern corner of the garage was very secluded; one could not see it at all from the entrance. So after familiarly making his way over, Yan Junze directly opened the door and walked in.


    Standing outside the room, with ceremonial candles in hand as if holding a bunch of roses, he stood respectfully and softly called out, ¡°Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I¡¯ve come to see you!¡±


    Soft rustling sounds quickly came from inside the unlit room. The noise continued for quite some time, then finally, Aunt Mei¡¯s corpulent body slowly appeared, standing at the inner room¡¯s door.


    But he did not see the strange baby¡¯s figure.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, you must be hungry by now, these are incense and candles, they¡¯re really tasty. I bought them especially for you,¡± Yan Junze said while approaching Aunt Mei, preparing to hand over the incense and candles.


    Aunt Mei still wore a smile on her face, staring steadily at Yan Junze, and did not reach out.


    Being watched with a smile like that, Yan Junze started feeling uneasy, extending his hand with the incense and candles a bit more.


    But Aunt Mei still showed no intention of taking them.


    Just then, from the darkness behind the door, by Aunt Mei¡¯s side, a slender and pale little hand slowly reached out and suddenly grabbed the incense and candles from Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    Yan Junze immediately let go, and a large handful of incense and candles were swiftly snatched into the darkness.


    Before long, the sound of unwrapping the incense and candles and then chewing noises filled the room.


    Clearly, the strange baby was gnawing on the incense and candles.


    Actually, at this moment, Yan Junze was somewhat surprised; he did not understand why these evil spirits, if they all enjoyed eating wax and incense, did not go directly to the funeral supply store where there was an abundance of such items.


    However, after thinking it over carefully and considering the initial reluctance of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, Resentful Granny¡¯s son and daughter-in-law, to eat candles, it seemed that eating candles might just be a passive instinct of the evil spirits, one that they didn¡¯t actively pursue in normal times.


    Of course, it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that some starved evil spirits might seek out places selling candles and such for food. But on second thought, they were probably in the minority.


    The sound of gnawing candles in the room was intense, indicating that both strange babies were eating. Yet, Aunt Mei still stood at the entrance, watching Yan Junze with a smile, motionless.


    Yan Junze¡¯s uneasiness grew, and the sight of Aunt Mei smiling at him made him wonder if this old lady had died from laughing.


    Otherwise, why would she smile so much? Always with a beaming expression.


    ¡°Take it slow, don¡¯t rush, relationships are built step by step,¡± he murmured to himself, and stepping back, he said, ¡°Aunt Mei, then you take your time eating, I won¡¯t disturb you if there¡¯s nothing else. Um, I¡¯ll come to see you again next time.¡±


    Aunt Mei said nothing, standing at the doorway, smilingly watching Yan Junze back away until the door slowly closed with her peculiar smiling face still on.


    This visit had been quite sudden, and without any specific purpose besides bringing over some items, but Corpse Granny hadn¡¯t made things difficult for him. This perhaps was a good sign.


    Yan Junze made his way home, mentally justifying this ¡°rich¡± outcome for himself.


    Once home, his parents soon returned. During dinner, he told them that he would go to Zhou Dali¡¯s place for a study session and would not return until Sunday.


    Yan Daguo and his wife didn¡¯t overthink it, and knowing Yan Junze seemed quite out of the ordinary, they even started to believe that ordinary strangenesses wouldn¡¯t affect their son anymore.


    Nevertheless, the couple still warned him to spend the night at Zhou Dali¡¯s home and not to go out.


    After dinner, Yan Junze researched the release and retraction of the mallet in his room. Only now did he realize that the black bead should be called ¡°Black Spirit,¡± so this mallet could also be referred to as the ¡°Black Spirit Mallet.¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After reading for a while, as it was getting dark, Yan Junze left the house.


    If he left home too late, his parents would still be suspicious.


    Thus, when he arrived at Gu Bai and his wife¡¯s photo studio on Lion Awakening Road, it was only eight-thirty, still an hour and a half before the arranged meeting time of ten o¡¯clock.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze called Gu Bai.


    ¡°Sorry for coming early,¡± Yan Junze explained as soon as Gu Bai picked up the phone.


    ¡°No problem, no problem, we¡¯re both at home. You can come in and familiarize yourself with the surroundings,¡± Gu Bai hung up and in a short while, he came running out from the shop to stand by the street.


    Yan Junze spotted him at once.

 Chapter 122 - 122 - 121 Photographing (1)

    Chapter 122 ¨C 121 Photographing (1)


    This Lion Awakening Road is an old street, not very bustling, but also not lacking in people, so maintaining a small business here shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    If the business gains a bit of fame, there¡¯s no shortage of repeat customers, and one might even make a small fortune.


    As Yan Junze got closer to Gu Bai, Gu Bai put his arm around his shoulder, very enthusiastically.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw that the storefront, named ¡°Fantasy Photo Studio,¡± wasn¡¯t very big. The exterior of the shop was only about twenty square meters, but the decoration was exquisite, giving off a feeling that although it was small, it had all the essentials.


    Inside the storefront, apart from the closed doors, there was also a thick black cloth hanging at the entrance. According to Gu Bai¡¯s introduction, this room was the darkroom, usually used for developing films, so it had to be kept dark.


    There was another room on the side of the shop, which was the living quarters for Gu Bai and his wife Lin Meng, and within this living space, they had sectioned off two small compartments.


    One compartment was used for cooking to prevent the smell of smoke from drifting into the bedroom and soiling the bedding.


    ...


    The other compartment was the photography room, which maximized the use of space in the room.


    The moment he saw Gu Bai¡¯s wife, Yan Junze had an epiphany about why Zhou Dali, that guy, upon hearing that he would be sleeping here at night, immediately volunteered to come over to sleep, not even afraid of the strangeness anymore.


    That kid must have heard something beforehand.


    This woman had light yellow wavy curls, of average height, with a slender figure, fair skin, curvy in all the right places, and even her voice was incredibly sweet when she spoke.


    ¡°Gu Bai, this guy, is really lucky with women!¡±


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first impression upon seeing his wife.


    However, she seemed somewhat spiritually weary, but she had applied light makeup to cover it, and if he hadn¡¯t looked carefully, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed it. Your journey continues with empire


    ¡°This is my wife, Lin Meng,¡± Gu Bai introduced, ¡°Normally, she sleeps very deeply, so I hear the most sounds from the darkroom. Last time, if someone hadn¡¯t tugged at her ankle in her sleep, she probably wouldn¡¯t have woken up.¡±


    ¡°But ever since that incident, I¡¯ve been too scared to sleep at night,¡± Lin Meng said timidly.


    As she spoke, her beautiful eyes moved and looked toward the direction of the darkroom, ¡°Now, I don¡¯t dare to go near the darkroom alone.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, everything is normal during the day,¡± Gu Bai said, ¡°It¡¯s only at night that things become strange.¡±


    ¡°Is it certain that strange things happen every night?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Gu Bai nodded, ¡°Almost every night, although sometimes the sounds that come out are very soft, but I am very sensitive and still hear them.¡±


    The obviously nerve-weakened man rubbed his forehead and pointed to the cup of tea in front of Yan Junze, saying, ¡°The water¡¯s not hot, you can drink now.¡±


    ¡°Mm,¡± Yan Junze picked up the teacup and took a sip.


    Gu Bai then added some freshly boiled water to it.


    ¡°Tonight, you should sleep in the bed,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°With this storefront in between the bedroom and the darkroom, I¡¯ll just sleep on the sofa here. It¡¯s a good way to keep you and the darkroom separated.¡±


    The couple exchanged glances.


    Gu Bai nodded, ¡°All right, we really appreciate your help this time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you some clean bedding,¡± Lin Meng stood up and walked into the bedroom.


    Her movements were brisk, and in no time, she had spread a sky-blue sheet and a quilt on the sofa.


    The bedding was indeed very clean, still carrying the fresh scent of laundry detergent, and it was very comfortable to lie on.


    Since his arrival, Yan Junze had been observing the Spacetime Atlas, but the Atlas had not transmitted any task-related information.


    It was very likely that the strangeness that appeared at night had not shown up yet.


    ¡°Is there any detail that you haven¡¯t mentioned?¡± Yan Junze asked after sitting down.


    The couple thought for a bit.


    Lin Meng suddenly became a bit bashful and hesitated for a moment before speaking, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just a dream, but these past few days, when I¡¯m asleep, I always feel like someone is touching me.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Gu Bai and Yan Junze both widened their eyes at the same time.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me?¡± Gu Bai immediately asked.


    It was as if Yan Junze saw little sprouts growing out of Gu Bai¡¯s head, the lush green kind.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not,¡± Lin Meng glanced at Yan Junze, seeming a bit embarrassed, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood, it wasn¡¯t that kind of touching. It felt like I was dreaming, feeling someone touching my foot, or maybe it wasn¡¯t touching, just a sensation like the hand was covered in oil, greasy and slimy.¡±


    Yan Junze felt that as Lin Meng continued to describe, it got darker and darker, no, for Gu Bai, it was getting greener and greener.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Gu Bai¡¯s tone was beginning to sound a bit off.


    ¡°At first I thought it was you, but then it felt like I was dreaming, and there was nothing out of the ordinary when I woke up in the morning,¡± Lin Meng said.


    The atmosphere between the couple became somewhat rigid.


    ¡°Well, I think I understand the situation now,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°As for this matter, I think you should go back to your room to talk it out, and I¡¯ll sort through it myself. Don¡¯t come out if you hear any noise tonight, just wait in the bedroom unless I notify you.¡±


    The couple nodded.


    The photo studio had closed after eight o¡¯clock, and now it was half past nine. Yan Junze had made a point of going to the bathroom in the bedroom beforehand, then lay down on the sofa in the outside storefront.


    Then Gu Bai and Lin Meng went back to the bedroom and closed the door behind them.


    There still wasn¡¯t any task information popping up, and Yan Junze, half lying on the bed, took out his phone and started browsing through Moments.


    Not long after, he received a message from Xiaomo. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯m returning to Tianmeng District tomorrow, but I¡¯m staying in Shuntian overnight; it¡¯s the weekend, do you want to come out for a midnight snack?¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°Sis, where can you find midnight snacks at this time of night, unless it¡¯s opened by you exorcists.¡±


    Xiaomo: ¡°The hotel here has some. If you¡¯re free, come over and I¡¯ll ask you in detail about the other day¡¯s situation, and I¡¯ll send you back afterward.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°I can¡¯t; I still have to review for my classes, let¡¯s talk when we meet up another time.¡±


    After chatting for a bit and putting down the phone, Yan Junze wondered if this was the first time he had turned down a girl¡¯s invitation to go out.


    It just seemed a bit mixed up, though¡ªif it were a real date, in this situation, it should be the gentleman sending the lady home, not the other way around.


    This damn era of strangeness!


    There wasn¡¯t a single noise in the house; Yan Junze closed his eyes, pondering whether it was all just Gu Bai and Lin Meng¡¯s imagination¡ªwas there really no strangeness here at all, or else why wouldn¡¯t the task notification pop up?


    He drifted off, not knowing when he fell asleep.


    When he woke up, it was deep into the night, the lights in the room were out, only a faint gleam from the streetlamps outside filtered in.


    Just at that moment, the Spacetime Atlas in Yan Junze¡¯s mind suddenly popped up with a task notification.


    [Task name: Photographing;


    Task level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task background: In life, he was a veteran street photographer who roamed alleys and streets stalking beautiful women, constantly skirting the edge of the law. After provoking a local mobster¡¯s girlfriend, he was caught by these enraged thugs, forced into various poses for eighteen sets of nude pictures, and had them all spread out. Then, he killed himself¡ªbut without a hint of remorse¡­


    Task description: He was a deeply treacherous, morally depraved, shameless scoundrel, and in death, he remains the same. So, complete eradication is the only fitting end for him;


    Task reward: 700 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task punishment: He will make you consume all the photos in the darkroom;


    Task tips: 1. The Evil Spirit may be locked down, but would you want to lock down such scum? 2. His abhorrence of photography has turned his ghostly form very bizarre; 3. Perhaps you need the help of a tool;


    Note: Do not let him get close to you.]

 Chapter 123 - 123 - 122 Photographing (2)

    Chapter 123 ¨C 122 Photographing (2)


    Looking at this task information prompt, Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°This guy developed a deep hatred for cameras, hence his strangeness takes a weird form.¡± What does that mean? Could it be that his strangeness is different from other strangenesses?


    Task prompt¡ªperhaps I need a tool.


    What tool? Yan Junze was completely baffled.


    Just then, he heard rustling sounds coming from somewhere not far away, seemingly¡­ from that darkroom.


    Yan Junze still lay on the sofa without getting up, listening intently with perked ears.


    By this time, any trace of sleepiness had vanished, his concentration was at its peak, and after listening for a while, he confirmed that the noises were coming from the darkroom.


    ...


    The sounds weren¡¯t loud and resembled a mouse rummaging, producing extremely sporadic noises.


    At this moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but admire Gu Bai; the kid was still asleep in his bedroom, yet he could hear these sounds¡ªhe must be exceedingly sensitive.


    Yan Junze believed that if it were not for the task prompt popping up and his own persistent vigilance, even in sleep, maintaining alertness, he would never have noticed this peculiarity under normal circumstances.


    After setting up Rewind, Yan Junze slowly sat up from the sofa.


    The sofa was quite old and made creaking sounds as he got up. During this time, the noises from the darkroom suddenly ceased; there was no further movement.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to move any further, just sitting quietly without turning on any lights or the flashlight on his phone, sitting in the dark, listening attentively.


    About two or three minutes later, the sound started once again.


    This time Yan Junze heard it clearly; the noise seemed like something being nibbled on, just like a rat stealing food.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t really be just a rat,¡± Yan Junze thought with a sense of oddness.


    But the task prompt had already appeared, it couldn¡¯t be that simple.


    He stretched his feet to the ground, slowly put on his shoes, and then Yan Junze slowly stood up, leaving the sofa behind.


    His movements were very slow, as he feared making any loud noises, even deliberately reducing the number of times he breathed.


    Still, the moment he left the sofa, the damned sofa made a noise again.


    Once more, the activity in the darkroom stopped.


    Yan Junze just stood there, motionless. This time, it took at least five minutes before the sounds resumed from the darkroom.


    At this point, Yan Junze began to move, quietly approaching the darkroom. Knowing he was moving at night, he had switched to a pair of soft-soled sneakers before coming, and at this moment, his movements were cautious, without making a sound.


    Standing at the entrance of the darkroom, Yan Junze noticed that the door of the darkroom wasn¡¯t shut tight. After lifting the heavy black curtain, he could push the door open and enter directly.


    Taking a deep breath and touching the door gently, he exerted a bit of force and tried to push the door of the darkroom open at the slowest possible speed.


    It was nighttime, and the outside area of the shop was also very dark, so opening the door to the darkroom wouldn¡¯t cause any sudden exposure that could ruin the photos inside.


    Fortunately, it seemed, the darkroom wasn¡¯t completely dark but bathed in a hazy dark red light that allowed anyone entering to still see.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t rush in, but instead lifted the black curtain and stood beneath it, pushing the darkroom¡¯s door open just enough for someone to slip in sideways, then stood still at the doorway to observe.


    With the aid of the dark red light, his current position was actually darker, which made it easier to observe the inside.


    On closer examination, the row of tables inside the darkroom was neatly lined with large quantities of film rolls and stacks of developed photos. The row closer to him had a rectangular sink for developing film, which still contained soaking chemicals.


    Above the sink were multiple lines strung across, with photos clipped onto them, hanging to dry.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that many of the photos drying weren¡¯t complete¡ªeither a corner was missing, or half of the photo was gone.


    The door to the darkroom was thick and didn¡¯t make a sound when pushed open; Yan Junze then pushed it a bit wider.


    He widened his eyes, looking carefully. He even crouched down to inspect closer to the ground.


    He saw nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary where his gaze fell.


    But the rustling sound persisted.


    He looked up again at the darkroom¡¯s ceiling, half-expecting to see a strangeness lying there, staring down at him without blinking.


    But there was nothing.


    ¡°How come there¡¯s nothing?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    With a thought, he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Normally, when completing tasks, depending on the task, it was not appropriate to release other strangenesses for help. But the situation of this task was different.


    The mission briefing was simple, exterminate this scum. That was the goal. No matter the method, as long as the strangeness was exterminated, it would suffice.


    But the problem was that he couldn¡¯t find it at all now? That suggested that this creature might be incredibly adept at hiding itself.


    Therefore, releasing Long-tongued Zhenzhen to help find and kill it should be the right move.


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    Long-tongued Zhenzhen was a high-level Wandering Spirit. Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe the strangeness in this photographing studio was above a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, otherwise, the mission level wouldn¡¯t be as it was.


    Even if Long-tongued Zhenzhen couldn¡¯t handle it, didn¡¯t he still have the club in his hand? If all else failed, he would just smash it dead!


    After Long-tongued Zhenzhen came out, Yan Junze directly pushed open the door of the darkroom and entered. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Long-tongued Zhenzhen followed behind and asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s a strangeness here, help me find it,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°If it resists, kill it immediately.¡±


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen nodded and immediately began to look around.


    As soon as Yan Junze entered the darkroom, he closed the door and stood by the entrance, not moving.


    Then he released the club into his hand, holding it while his gaze wandered among all the suspicious spots in the darkroom.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing! I don¡¯t see anything,¡± Long-tongued Zhenzhen turned back and told Yan Junze.


    ¡°Nothing? Even you can¡¯t see it?¡± Yan Junze felt even more bewildered.


    At that moment, the rustling sound started up again from inside the room, and soon Yan Junze felt something tug at his trouser leg, as if it was caught by something.


    He immediately looked down, only to find nothing there.


    The next second, a stabbing pain shot through his leg, and a terrifying wound appeared on his thigh. His trousers tore, a large chunk of flesh was missing, and blood gushed out.


    Bam!


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s tongue swept in, striking hard just next to Yan Junze¡¯s wounded leg against the darkroom door, denting it with the impact.


    But it struck nothing; there was nothing in front of Yan Junze¡¯s leg.


    Yet the flesh from his thigh was gone, and that was the bloody truth.


    ¡°It¡¯s invisible!¡± came Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s voice.


    Rewind!


    Having been injured, he definitely couldn¡¯t complete the task normally anymore, and the high-level Wandering Spirit, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, couldn¡¯t even see the opponent. This was getting interesting.


    Enduring the sudden pain, Yan Junze chose to Rewind.

 Chapter 124 - 124 - 123 Photographing (3)

    Chapter 124 ¨C 123 Photographing (3)


    This time, he rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.


    According to Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s guess, this creature could possibly be invisible, otherwise, not only he couldn¡¯t see it, even Long-tongued Zhenzhen who is also a strangeness couldn¡¯t see it.


    Actually, in Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, shouldn¡¯t strangenesses detect each other through sensing? Otherwise, where would the notion of a pecking order come from?


    But looking at the current situation, the strangeness lurking in the darkroom was indeed not of ordinary form, even the perception was inaccurate. Even Long-tongued Zhenzhen could not sense it at all.


    ¡°Do I need to make use of a tool?¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the glass showcase in the shop, which displayed four or five cameras of different specifications.


    The task hint might mean he needed some kind of tool, and thinking about it, Yan Junze understood.


    ...


    The task stated that this strangeness had a very special form, and Zhenzhen had already mentioned that it could possibly be invisible.


    If that was the case, then things were getting interesting.


    Yan Junze walked up to the glass showcase, took out his cell phone, turned on the flashlight function, and shone the light onto the cameras inside the showcase.


    He could see five cameras neatly arranged there, but it was unclear whether they were broken and merely for display, or if they were actually functioning.


    He should have asked Lin Meng earlier.


    Out of the five cameras, three were traditional film cameras, while the other two were digital. One of the digital ones was a point-and-shoot, and the other was a DSLR.


    Holding onto the glass door of the showcase, Yan Junze gently pushed it aside.


    The glass door wasn¡¯t smooth, hesitating a few times as he slid it, creating an unavoidable noise, so Yan Junze simply extended his other hand inside, clamping the glass with both hands, and lifted it up, finally opening it silently.


    However, the noise he had made caused the sound that had been continuously coming from the darkroom to stop.


    Yan Junze did not pay attention to that for the time being and reached in to take out the two digital cameras, while he gave no consideration to the other three that required film.


    If it really was as he suspected, that photographing was necessary to see the strangeness, then using film cameras was essentially useless.


    Only with digital cameras, which provided instant results, could one immediately see the captured image, thus achieving the goal.


    After taking the two digital cameras in hand, Yan Junze weighed them in his palms and then hesitated for a moment.


    Something felt off.


    He immediately put down the point-and-shoot, turned the DSLR around, opened the battery compartment, and found it empty.


    Not only was the battery missing, but there was also no memory card.


    While Yan Junze was intently inspecting the camera, the door to the darkroom, which wasn¡¯t fully closed to begin with, slowly opened a crack from the inside.


    Nothing could be seen, but the heavy black curtain outside the door moved slightly.


    Without a sound, not a whisper came through.


    After discovering the DSLR had no battery and no memory card, Yan Junze quickly put it down and picked up the point-and-shoot digital camera again.


    Searching around, unlike the DSLR, he found the battery compartment on the side of the camera, opened it, and found no battery, though a memory card was inserted inside.


    It appeared these cameras were just for show, and whether they worked or not was unknown.


    Yan Junze put the point-and-shoot camera back and stood there, looking around. Read exclusive chapters at empire


    In the showcase near the street side, there seemed to be more cameras and a large amount of albums, artistic photographs, etc., but it looked like the showcase was locked, and the key was probably with Lin Meng or Gu Bai.


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll go to the bedroom and have them give me the key,¡±


    Yan Junze had this thought and was about to move when he suddenly realized he hadn¡¯t heard a sound from the darkroom for quite some time.


    Whether it was the storefront, the bedroom, or the darkroom, it was all silent at this moment.


    An ominous premonition enveloped his heart.


    Just then, he felt something grab him again. It seemed as if the hem of his shirt was tugged on; he quickly looked down.


    In the store, although the light from the street lamps outside was minimal, his eyes, having adjusted to the darkness, could still make out the layout of the room and the objects nearby in this faint light.


    However, when Yan Junze looked down, he saw nothing, but he did feel something clutching the waist of his clothing, and then he felt a touch on his shoulder.


    At that moment, he didn¡¯t dare to turn around. He just stood there, afraid to move carelessly.


    Holding his clothing, it was as if an invisible hand rested on his shoulder. Could it be that the entity was standing right beside him, staring intently at him?


    Yan Junze¡¯s palms were sweaty, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, sending a chill from his neck down his spine.


    ¡°What on earth is this thing¡¯s form? It seems¡­ it¡¯s not just as simple as being invisible!¡±


    Without moving, he pricked up his ears and listened for sounds from the right side, yet no noise came.


    Strangenesses are incapable of making breathing sounds.


    But Yan Junze definitely felt something odd beside him, as if a transparent entity certainly stood by his side.


    ¡°What is this thing doing next to me? Admiring my charming profile?¡±


    The next second, Yan Junze released Long-tongued Zhenzhen again.


    ¡°Strike the air on my right. There¡¯s an invisible strangeness here.¡±


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, initially somewhat befuddled upon appearing, didn¡¯t think too much after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s order. Her tongue shot out, striking the air to Yan Junze¡¯s right. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her tongue passed through the area and directly smashed the glass case holding the cameras, creating a loud crashing sound.


    At this moment, there was nothing to Yan Junze¡¯s right.


    ¡°Gone! Or¡­ was there never anything at all?¡±


    Yan Junze had a strange thought.


    Then he suddenly felt a coldness on the left side of his neck and, knowing it was bad, he immediately activated the Rewind without waiting to instruct Long-tongued Zhenzhen to attack.


    Although the Spacetime Atlas contained the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± the feature consumed an astonishing amount of energy. As long as it wasn¡¯t a situation where he couldn¡¯t react in time, it was better to perform a manual Rewind in critical situations.


    He Rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move immediately.


    He stood there, continually pondering in his head. He faced attacks from that entity after two Rewinds. What was the reason?


    Gu Bai had entered the darkroom to investigate after discovering anomalies as well, but he wasn¡¯t attacked.


    Thinking about it, the issue might have arisen when he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    The entity must have felt threatened; each time, it began attacking him shortly after Long-tongued Zhenzhen appeared.


    The problem was that Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t turned the tide for Yan Junze. So this time, he decided not to release her again for help; it might only make things worse.

 Chapter 125 - 125 - 124 Photographing (4)

    Chapter 125 ¨C 124 Photographing (4)


    Now Yan Junze was more certain that the strangeness hidden in the darkroom was sensitive to photographing, or it could only be seen through the act of taking photos.


    Having a digital camera at hand seemed very important.


    This time, he did not touch the cameras in the glass display because he knew they were all useless, and the row of cabinets in the store were locked, with no way to get the cameras inside.


    So Yan Junze walked directly to the bedroom, with footsteps barely audible. The sounds from the darkroom began to stir shortly before he reached the bedroom door.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, controlling the strength in his hand as he gently turned the doorknob.


    Considering he was outside, Gu Bai had not locked the bedroom door, so after turning it, Yan Junze gently pushed the door open and entered.


    He wanted to ask Lin Meng which digital camera was usable, then retrieve the keys, open the cabinet, and take one for use.


    ...


    At the moment, a dimmer bedside lamp was on in Gu Bai and Lin Meng¡¯s bedroom, and the soft light allowed Yan Junze to approximately make out the room¡¯s interior.


    However, the moment he stepped into the bedroom, he shivered with fear.


    He saw Gu Bai lying on the bed not far away, eyes wide open, staring straight at him without blinking.


    It was so late, yet this person was not only wide awake, but he seemed to have no trace of sleepiness at all.


    You¡¯re not sleepy is one thing, but to lie on the bed with your body exposed, glaring with a pair of dead fish eyes, fixated on the bedroom door. If this had been the old Yan Junze, he would have definitely freaked out, jumping up and banging his head on the door frame.


    Yan Junze closed the bedroom door behind him and approached the bedside.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you slept?¡±


    ¡°I heard that sound again,¡± said Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze was speechless, ¡°With your hearing, you must¡¯ve practiced pinpointing the position of a fly by its sound in the past!¡±


    Gu Bai sat up.


    Lin Meng, who had been sleeping beside him, also groggily opened her eyes. Upon seeing Yan Junze at the bedside, she instinctively pulled the covers, even though she was wearing home-style pajamas.


    ¡°Has that thing¡­ come?¡± Lin Meng asked in astonishment.


    ¡°It has,¡± Yan Junze nodded, then spread his hands toward her, ¡°The cabinets outside are locked, where are the keys? I need to take a usable digital camera.¡±


    Lin Meng then sat up and asked, ¡°A camera?¡±


    ¡°Yes, to photograph¡­ the strangeness,¡± Yan Junze did not hide it.


    Although this bedroom was separated from the darkroom by a store space and the bedroom door was closed, all three of them spoke very softly.


    After all, not everyone was Gu Bai, whose hearing could apply for a Guinness World Record.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, Lin Meng did not give him the keys, but instead, after the initial shock, she got out of bed, opened the bedside table, and took out a digital point-and-shoot camera from underneath.


    ¡°This one is usable,¡± Lin Meng handed the camera over to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took the camera, learned how to use it after asking Lin Meng, and told the couple, ¡°Don¡¯t come out. If you find the bedroom door opening by itself without any wind, you must notify me immediately.¡±


    Upon hearing the latter part of his sentence, Gu Bai broke into a cold sweat, and Lin Meng clutched his clothes tightly.


    Yan Junze, holding the camera, returned to the front of the bedroom door, turned down the handle, and gently pulled the door open, slipping out.


    Gu Bai quickly followed, arriving at the door to ensure that the bedroom door was securely closed. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He then lay down by the door to listen for a while before returning to the bed, shakily, to hold his beautiful wife.


    When Yan Junze returned to the room in the store, because he had just entered the darkness from a lit area, his eyes were temporarily unable to see. He stood still, blinking rapidly to adjust.


    After a moment, the outline of the room became clear.


    He then looked towards the direction of the darkroom. There was no sound coming from it, and there were no signs that the black cloth curtain had been moved. However, only by walking over could he see whether the door to the darkroom was open.


    Because he had left the room for a while to get the camera, Yan Junze now couldn¡¯t be certain whether that thing was still inside the darkroom or had already come into the shop.


    To be on the safe side, he turned on the digital camera in his hand.


    The camera had been manually set to night mode by Lin Meng, with automatic compensation for low light, eliminating the need for a flash. Otherwise, the flash triggering during the act of photographing could have unintended consequences.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath. If his guess was right, he could now try to see if that thing had made its way into this room of the shop.


    First, he took a photo towards the entrance of the darkroom.


    The photographing was also set to silent mode, so there was no sound mimicking that of a traditional camera shutter.


    Yan Junze immediately glanced at the screen of the camera to see the image he had just captured. Although the picture quality was much darker, he could still make out the layout in the direction of the darkroom.


    From the look of it, there seemed to be no anomaly.


    He stepped back a bit and took another picture towards the direction of the sofa. After checking it, everything appeared normal.


    Perhaps, that thing was still in the darkroom and had not come out at all.


    With that thought, Yan Junze went to the entrance of the darkroom and lifted the black curtain, only to find the door ajar, seemingly just as he had last seen it before ¡°Rewind¡±.


    It was possible that the strangeness had not come out.


    Yan Junze gently pushed open the door with one hand while holding the camera in the other, taking photos of both the table and the film developing sink.


    He didn¡¯t go inside, and then checked the photos carefully. Again, he found nothing.


    In fact, he also hadn¡¯t heard any unusual sounds at that moment.


    He went directly into the darkroom, stood in its center, and photographed every corner, including behind the door. Then he stood still and carefully examined the pictures he had taken.


    He looked at each photo, but still, no anomalies were found.


    Could it be that the task hint required a camera, but not in this way? Could it be about using the camera¡¯s video recording feature instead?


    That couldn¡¯t be right either. If recording video was as useful as taking photos, the hint would just say he needed a video camera.


    So it must still be related to the traditional function of a camera¡ªphotographing.


    Or perhaps, the strangeness was no longer in the darkroom.


    Thinking of this, Yan Junze tiptoed out of the darkroom and into the shop¡¯s room. However, he stood only at the front of the black curtain and didn¡¯t go far.


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    Then he raised the camera and took a photo of most of the room inside the shop. He lowered his head, brought up the photo he had just taken, and took a look.


    Before long, he slightly furrowed his brows, pressed a few buttons, and zoomed in on the photo, his expression turning somewhat eerie.


    From the perspective of the darkroom¡¯s entrance, this photo encompassed the sofa, the side of the glass cabinet, the side of the counter, and two corners of the room.


    And now, in the photo, near the back of the counter, there was a black silhouette of a man. The man was crouched low with his head down, his face blurry, seemingly staring at the ground with his hands wrapped around his legs.


    ¡°Saw it for real!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled and immediately lifted the camera to take another photo towards the back of the counter.


    After taking the shot, he quickly pulled up the photo.


    In this photo, the black silhouette was no longer crouching but had stood up, still with his head down.

 Chapter 126 - 126 - 125 Photographing (5) (Please recommend!)

    Chapter 126 ¨C 125 Photographing (5) (Please recommend!)


    Seeing the figure of the man in the photo standing up, Yan Junze was startled.


    The man in black in the photo was wearing clothes that didn¡¯t seem fit for a normal person, but rather like funeral attire for a burial, and he appeared to be at least 1.75 meters tall, with a slender build.


    His head, however, was always lowered, adding an eerie touch.


    At that moment, Yan Junze hardly hesitated before he immediately aimed at the counter and pressed the shutter button again.


    He quickly raised the camera to check, and in the photo, the man seemed to be moving, and the direction of movement was toward him.


    Unconsciously, Yan Junze took a step back, his back pressed firmly against the darkroom door and the black curtain.


    ¡°This guy seems to be invisible,¡± he thought, ¡°but I can only see him by taking photos.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze had a plan in his mind, but at the same time, a hair-raising feeling surged through him.


    How was he supposed to kill it? Keep photographing with the camera?


    Of course, there wasn¡¯t much time to think about it now.


    He raised the camera again, pressed the shutter, and immediately looked down at the photo.


    In the center of that photo, the figure of a man in black was fully displayed with his head lowered, almost filling half of the picture.


    The reason it filled half of the picture was that he had gotten much closer to Yan Junze; by estimate, there was less than two meters between them.


    Of course, that was the distance when the photo was taken, but he must have gotten even closer by now.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Yan Junze almost jumped out of his skin.


    At the same time, he subconsciously felt that something was drawing near him.


    He immediately dodged to the left, retreating to the wall corner near the sofa along the wall.


    At the same time, an idea struck him, and the Black Spirit Mallet was now in his hand. He aimed the camera in the direction he had dodged and took another photo.


    In a hurry, he looked down and saw just a drooped head nearly filling the entire photo, even closer than before.


    Yan Junze swung his mallet.


    A crisp thud sounded.


    If it had been a normal mallet, this strike would have hit nothing but air, let alone hitting such a peculiar Spirit.


    But not with the Black Spirit Mallet; although Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see the target, he could still estimate the rough direction.


    So, with one swing of the mallet, whether it hit the head or the body, it made contact.


    The next second, Yan Junze immediately took a photo in front of him, and after looking down, he saw nothing.


    Just then, from the direction of the bedroom, the tightly shut bedroom door moved slightly, opening a crack, and then closed.


    ¡°Not good.¡±


    Yan Junze rushed over in a few steps, grasped the doorknob, and pushed hard, only to find it wouldn¡¯t budge.


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    At that moment, the bedroom door had been locked from the inside.


    Yan Junze kicked the bedroom door, but it was exceptionally sturdy, numbing his right leg from the impact.


    Inside the bedroom.


    Gu Bai and Lin Meng, the couple, were originally sitting closely together on the bed. They heard Yan Junze¡¯s movements outside, then the rapid, light running of his evasion, followed by a dull thud.


    The thud sounded like a blow from a cudgel, although it was unclear whether it hit someone or Yan Junze had been struck.


    Just a few seconds later, the bedroom door was opened, they didn¡¯t see anything, and then it closed again.


    At first, Gu Bai and Lin Meng thought it was Yan Junze entering the room. The two exchanged a glance, immediately sensing something was amiss.


    ¡°Yan Junze, something¡¯s come in!¡± Gu Bai shouted in a hurry.


    Lin Meng reacted swiftly. She remembered Yan Junze had mentioned the camera was for photographing the strange, and judging by current appearances, the strangeness was clearly invisible; otherwise, that bedroom door wouldn¡¯t be opening and closing on its own.


    She quickly tapped Gu Bai¡¯s arm, ¡°Quick, get the camera, it¡¯s in your wardrobe over there.¡±


    In the wardrobe near Gu Bai, there lay a new digital SLR camera that had seldom been used.


    Of course, it had a battery and memory card, though stored separately, they would require some time to assemble properly.


    Normally, the battery included with a new camera has some charge left, even though not much, but under the current circumstances, there was more than enough to take a few pictures.


    Gu Bai opened the wardrobe and took out the new camera that had been unboxed once before.


    Lin Meng took it over, turned it on immediately, and expertly removed the SLR, taking only a few seconds to install the battery and memory card, and switched on the camera.


    She used the setting that allowed immediate display on the screen after photographing, which made her appear far more professional than Yan Junze¡¯s half-baked efforts.


    The sound of something hitting the door came from the bedroom earlier, which was obviously Yan Junze trying to get in.


    Gu Bai wanted to run over to open the door, but the distance from the bed to the bedroom door was much farther than to the nearby wardrobe. The entity had already entered the bedroom, and if it were to appear, it was most likely to be on the path from the big bed to the door.


    After hesitating for a moment, Gu Bai did not move forward.


    By now, Lin Meng was ready and immediately aimed the camera in the direction of the bedroom door and the partitioned small kitchen, swiftly taking two shots.


    After the photos were taken, the two immediately looked down at the pictures.


    The kitchen area looked normal in the photos, and they quickly flipped to the first picture, with both of their pupils constricting as they stared intently at the photo.


    In the photo, in the corner behind the bedroom door, a tall, thin man in black clothes stood with his head lowered, his face not visible, standing silently there.


    Gu Bai and Lin Meng reflexively looked up, their gaze turning toward the back of the door where nothing could be seen, completely empty.


    It would be better if they could see something because what¡¯s truly frightening is when your eyes can¡¯t see anything at all.


    This scene sent Lin Meng into shivers, her body trembling. She raised the SLR camera in her hand, aiming it at the doorway, while the camera screen still displayed the photo she had just taken.


    In the photo, the thin man in black clothes stood huddled in the corner behind the door, with his head down, while in the field of vision, there was no one in the corner behind the door.


    ¡°Take, another¡­ another¡­ another shot!¡± Gu Bai stammered, hardly able to speak clearly.


    Lin Meng¡¯s hands trembled as she pressed the shutter button again.


    Both of them simultaneously looked at the newly taken photograph.


    In the picture, the back of the man in black clothes was bent forward, like a person who had drunk too much, his limbs seemingly dragged along as he walked, still with his head down.


    He had already left the corner behind the door and was walking towards the direction of the big bed.


    Lin Meng instantly screamed in fright, while Gu Bai jumped out of bed, grabbed Lin Meng, and the two of them retreated to the front of the wardrobe.


    Gu Bai held a mobile phone in his hand, also snapping several quick pictures towards the front, but looking down at his phone, there was nothing there.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why, but there was no time to think about it anymore.


    Lin Meng¡¯s slender fingers were shaking so vigorously that she felt she could hardly hold onto the camera.


    She hurriedly raised the camera again, aiming it toward the direction of the bedroom door, and pressed the shutter.


    Then the couple quickly looked at the photo displayed on the little screen, which showed the thin man in black, his body bent forward, standing at the end of the bed, already completely close to the bedside. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And at that moment, Gu Bai and Lin Meng were standing in front of the wardrobe on this side of the bed.


    ¡°Take, take, keep taking pictures, we¡¯ll move¡­ towards the door,¡± Gu Bai urged Lin Meng, who couldn¡¯t move her legs, as they circled half around the big bed, aiming to get closer to the bedroom door to seize the chance to open it.

 Chapter 127 - 127 - 126 Photographing (6) (Please recommend!)

    Chapter 127 ¨C 126 Photographing (6) (Please recommend!)


    Under Gu Bai¡¯s urging, Lin Meng, who was scared to the point of nearly collapsing, desperately shuffled her feet along with Gu Bai, while still pressing the shutter in the direction of the big bed.


    With a click, the two hurriedly looked at the camera¡¯s small screen again during the run, but then they were stunned.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    In the photo, it was empty, the black-clad man who had just been bending over at the edge of the bed had now disappeared without a trace.


    ¡°Quick¡­ photograph somewhere else!¡± Gu Bai exclaimed in alarm.


    Lin Meng was also frightened out of her wits. Initially, the strangeness was invisible to the naked eye, relying solely on the camera in her hand, this unpredictable and uncontrollable feeling had already brought her fear to the extreme.


    Now, even the camera hadn¡¯t captured it.


    ...


    Of course, the strangeness must have moved, otherwise the camera would have definitely captured it.


    Click, click, click, click¡­


    This time, Lin Meng activated burst mode and began to frantically snap photos all around them.


    No matter the direction, at least one photo should capture whatever was there.


    Just now, to dodge the strangeness by the bed, the couple had made a half-circle around the bedroom, and now they were retreating toward the bedroom door while Lin Meng continued to shoot.


    Looking down.


    The first two photos were normal, showing no sign of the black-clad man, but in the third photo, the corner of the man¡¯s black clothes was captured, seemingly not far from the two.


    In the fourth photo, half of the black-clad man¡¯s body appeared, his speed of movement seemed to be accelerating, but he was still dragging his limbs as he walked.


    In the fifth photo, parts of the black clothes had disappeared, but it revealed the man¡¯s head that he had been hanging down, with black hair occupying about a third of the photo.


    This photo left the couple dumbfounded.


    By this time, they had reached the bedroom door; Gu Bai stretched out his hand to unlock and open the door.


    Just then, Lin Meng¡¯s body shivered, she suddenly felt something wrong behind her, a sensation on her shoulder as though someone had touched her.


    She shakily turned the camera around and pressed the shutter towards the space behind her shoulder.


    In the photo, the black-clad man was now completely standing behind her, revealing a blurred face.


    The next second, before the bedroom door could be opened, Yan Junze standing outside only heard Lin Meng let out a piercing scream, followed by a thud on the floor and then the sound of something being dragged.


    At this moment, Yan Junze stood outside the door, swinging his mace, not knowing how many times he had struck the bedroom door, and by now he had developed a deep grudge against it.


    Damn it¡¯s too sturdy!


    If he were to die at this moment, Yan Junze believed, he¡¯d definitely possess this door and become a Wandering Spirit haunting it.


    Only then would it quell his Obsession.


    Unable to open the bedroom door, and with something unexpected clearly happening inside, Yan Junze found it difficult to rescue them; he didn¡¯t hesitate any further and Rewinded time again.


    ¡­


    This time, Yan Junze chose a very soul-stirring moment to Rewind to.


    It was the moment after he had gotten the digital camera and entered the darkroom, where he hadn¡¯t discovered anything amiss whilst Photographing.


    Because he knew, when he was in the darkroom taking photos to confirm the existence of this Evil Spirit, the entity had actually left the darkroom and was squatting behind the store counter directly opposite the darkroom door. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Rewinding, Yan Junze didn¡¯t even look at the camera in his hand; with a thought, he hefted the mace in his hand, walked out of the darkroom, lifted the black curtain, and went straight towards the direction behind the counter.


    The impression of the black-clothed man, who was first discovered in the photograph earlier, still lingered; Yan Junze clearly remembered that this guy was squatting in a position somewhat closer to the corner.


    So, when he walked in front of this position, Yan Junze swung his stick and brought it down with a thud.


    The blow landed solidly on something.


    But Yan Junze had no intention of stopping, because he knew if this guy really started moving, he would be very fast; just a moment of carelessness on his part, and the man had darted into Gu Bai¡¯s bedroom.


    Blow after blow followed, each hitting something, until after the last strike, when it seemed the target began to deviate.


    The stick slightly slid to the side.


    ¡°Brother Gu, hold the bedroom door, don¡¯t let him in!¡± Yan Junze called out a reminder.


    Gu Bai in the bedroom had his ears perked up to the outside noise the whole time, and upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s instruction, he immediately jumped off the bed, rushed to the bedroom door, locked it from the inside, and then pressed his body hard against it.


    Yan Junze lifted his camera and immediately began photographing around the room, moving constantly during the process instead of standing still.


    The mission had advised not to let this guy get close, and since Yan Junze had already been approached by him twice at the start, both times ending badly, he wouldn¡¯t let him easily close in again, even now when he could not see him.


    In his vigilance, he quickly glanced down at the photos he had taken; there were about eight or nine shots, and not a single one captured this eerie individual.


    Not in this room, could he have run back into the darkroom?


    The photographs in the darkroom had been gnawed beyond recognition by this man, and it seemed he had even drunk quite a bit of the developing solution used for washing the film from the pool.


    And after that bout of fierce beating, Yan Junze felt that the stick¡¯s power was not as great as he had imagined; since this man was wary of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, he wasn¡¯t a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    If he was only an intermediate or upper intermediate level Wandering Spirit, to have withstood so many hits from the stick and not be scared witless suggested that the stick was more useful for beating ghosts than for killing them.


    If that were the case, he couldn¡¯t pin all his hopes on the stick in the future; aggressive attacks, while straightforward, brutal, and simple, would not solve the ultimate problem against an Evil Spirit.


    But because the ¡°Photographing¡± task was very direct, killing this Evil Spirit would suffice, so in this task, the stick played out its role completely.


    If it were any other mission, the same might not hold true.


    Unable to see the guy here, Yan Junze was about to head for the darkroom when he suddenly paused, as if he realized something, and looked up to take a photograph of the ceiling.


    In the photograph, the black-clothed man was hanging upside down from the ceiling, head down, his obscure face facing the camera.


    It seemed he was right above Yan Junze.


    The next second, a chill crept from Yan Junze¡¯s forehead.


    With exertion, Yan Junze swung his right hand and sent the stick crashing into an uncertain position above his head, resulting in violent noises above him.


    The man seemed to fall down; guessing his approximate location by the sound, Yan Junze did not pause to take a photo but swung the stick several more times, each blow striking the man.


    This time, there was no reason to let him escape again.


    Yan Junze tossed the camera aside, grabbed the stick with both hands, and kept swinging, drenched in sweat, hands trembling, the dull noise of impact unceasing in the room, spreading throughout the house.


    In the bedroom.


    Gu Bai turned to look at Lin Meng, who was still sitting on the bed; they both had heard the strange loud noise.


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    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Gu Bai couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Pounding¡­ stakes?¡± Lin Meng was uncertain.


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    ¡°I saw him come empty-handed though, what¡¯s he using to make that noise, could it be your camera?¡± Gu Bai said again.


    ¡°No, a camera wouldn¡¯t make that kind of sound,¡± Lin Meng shook his head.

 Chapter 128 - 128 - 127 Photographing (7) (Please recommend with votes!)

    Chapter 128 ¨C 127 Photographing (7) (Please recommend with votes!)


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t even know how many times he had smashed down, but at some point, he couldn¡¯t even lift the mallet anymore.


    Fortunately, with every strike, it felt like he hit the target, and that thing couldn¡¯t flee like it did before.


    Panting heavily, Yan Junze turned on the light in the outer room and plopped down on the couch, placing the mallet beside him.


    However, he suddenly felt something was off. Looking down, he saw the mallet had actually deformed! The side that got hit the worst during the smashing was the most distorted, and not only that, the surface of the mallet even started to show signs of cracking.


    ¡°Damn it, this won¡¯t do!¡±


    Just when he thought he had found a comfortable weapon against the strangenesses, Yan Junze found himself speechless at this moment.


    Gold¡¯s hardness isn¡¯t enough. It looks like he¡¯ll need to refine it into an alloy with other metals to enhance its hardness if he gets the chance in the future, probably for a better effect.


    ...


    Of course, this had the most direct connection with the Black Spirit Bead melted inside it. If the bead were melded into a dagger, the dagger could also be powerful.


    But if you¡¯re talking about the thrill of bashing strangenesses, using this kind of mallet feels more satisfying.


    We¡¯ll talk about that later. After all, this was his first time taking on a strangeness with a mallet, so noticing the shortcomings early and making targeted improvements was best.


    And now, the creature on the floor had been so thoroughly battered that even its own mother wouldn¡¯t recognize it. After such relentless pounding, if it still wasn¡¯t dead, Yan Junze was ready to let this strangeness pose for a photo shoot, being as bold as possible. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze picked up the camera he had thrown onto the couch earlier, snapped a picture of the ground, then glanced at it and shivered, shaking his head. The scene was so gruesome he couldn¡¯t bear to look directly at it.


    ¡°Come out, it¡¯s okay now!¡± Yan Junze called to the person inside the bedroom as he set down the camera.


    The door to the bedroom opened a crack. Gu Bai didn¡¯t come out right away. Instead, he peeked out for a moment before opening the door. As he stepped out, he looked around timidly and cautiously before standing in front of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spoke up first, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about other things first. Which company installed your bedroom door? Give me their contact number when you have time.¡±


    Gu Bai was stunned, not understanding why Yan Junze suddenly brought up the door, then asked in astonishment, ¡°Where¡¯s the strangeness? Did it get away?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± Gu Bai hurriedly looked towards the dark room.


    ¡°You might be stepping on its hand,¡± Yan Junze pointed underneath Gu Bai¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Ah shit!¡±


    Gu Bai jumped in fright, leaping aside and looking at the empty floor.


    ¡°Use this,¡± Yan Junze handed him the camera.


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    At that moment, Lin Meng also walked out from the house, trembling with fear in the same manner as Gu Bai when he came out.


    Approaching Gu Bai, he aimed the camera at the spot where he had just been standing and took a picture.


    From this angle, it seemed even closer and clearer.


    Then he lifted the camera, looking at the small screen in the middle.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectation, just one glance made Gu Bai¡¯s eyes roll back as he collapsed, going limp.


    What surprised Yan Junze even more was that Lin Meng, who was standing beside him, not only had an incredible resilience, with nothing happening to her but also grabbed the camera from Gu Bai¡¯s hands the moment he started to fall.


    Right, she didn¡¯t protect her husband; her first instinct was to safeguard her beloved camera.


    Only after Gu Bai hit the floor did Lin Meng remember about him. She quickly knelt down to help him, and with Yan Junze¡¯s assistance, they laid Gu Bai on the couch, where he finally came around.


    Yan Junze pointed to the ground, ¡°This guy should be out of commission. I¡¯ll keep an eye on it, and if there¡¯s no reaction by tomorrow morning, it should be over.¡±


    As he finished speaking, a task alert popped up in his mind.


    [Photographing, Trembling with Fear (Medium), completed. You have received 700 points of Different Dimensional Energy.]


    Two more nodes in the Atlas were illuminated, reaching a total of 30, and the accumulated Different Dimensional Energy was now 4,400 points, allowing for a Rewind time span of 440 minutes.


    ¡°`


    ¡°Give me the camera.¡± After seeing the mission completion prompt, Yan Junze asked Lin Meng for the camera and took another picture of the ground.


    Looking at the photo, he saw that the voyeuristic maniac who had resembled a puddle of mud a moment ago was now gradually evaporating and vanishing, piece by piece. The image even captured his body slowly dissolving.


    He handed the camera to Gu Bai, who had regained consciousness.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, this guy is completely finished,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving at dawn.¡±


    Gu Bai dared not look at the photos and passed the camera to his wife. He sat up from the sofa, his face full of gratitude, ¡°I really can¡¯t thank you enough for this time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no problem,¡± Yan Junze shook his head and then picked up the deformed mallet.


    Gu Bai glanced at it, shocked, ¡°Did you use this thing to hit that guy?! Where¡­ where¡­ did you bring it from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always had it hidden in my crotch,¡± Yan Junze laughed, ¡°but it¡¯s just not hard enough.¡±


    Gu Bai¡¯s eyes widened as he took a look at Yan Junze¡¯s pants, as if measuring the length of the trouser leg with his eyes, then said, ¡°I can solve this problem. I can combine some metals and non-metals in the mixture to melt them together, increasing its hardness. That way, it won¡¯t be less effective than high-strength alloys.¡±


    ¡°That would be perfect,¡± Yan Junze mulled to himself, ¡°With the Black Spirit Pearl not being very powerful, I¡¯ll have to rely on the mallet¡¯s hardness to seek the strength and satisfaction of beating strangenesses.¡±


    As the saying goes, when capability falls short, hardness comes to compensate.


    However, Yan Junze estimated that even if the mallet¡¯s hardness were further increased, at best it would only pose a threat to Wandering Spirits, and that would still require him to be fully energized.


    If faced with a strangeness like Resentful Granny or anything above a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, even wielding the mallet wouldn¡¯t stop him from being thoroughly done for.


    The three of them talked for a while, and after confirming that the voyeuristic maniac had been eliminated, Lin Meng went to the darkroom to completely clear out all the half-eaten photos.


    At that moment, she finally dared to enter the darkroom alone.


    But after only a short while, Lin Meng came out with a dark expression, biting her lower lip tightly, and handed a stack of photos to Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze curiously leaned in to take a look, immediately felt his face heat up, and averted his gaze.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know when these were taken, but they seem to be all of me,¡± Lin Meng said softly.


    These photos appeared to be taken inside the bedding, from various difficult angles, and even included close-ups.


    ¡°Damn it, even in death as a strangeness, he really got what he deserved!¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    The couple felt embarrassed and quickly returned to their bedroom. Whether they could sleep was uncertain, but not long after they entered, Yan Junze fell asleep on the sofa.


    He slept until morning and after arranging a time to remake the mallet with Gu Bai, Yan Junze left Lion Awakening Road and returned to the FH Community.


    After eating something, he took another rest and then got up to read for a while, reviewing the important knowledge points.


    For the next period, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to take on any more missions; he would wait until after the college entrance examination.


    Of course, he would still regularly visit Aunt Mei in the underground garage and bring some ¡°local specialties¡± or the like. Yan Junze had a hunch that maintaining a good relationship with this strangeness could bring benefits to himself.


    ¡­


    In Great Capital, Tianyi District.


    Beside an ordinary street, within an old stone arch, this place was once the courtyard of a landlord, later converted into residential buildings. Now the residents here are mostly older, with few young people to be seen.


    On the top floor of the innermost residential building, on the fifth floor, there sat a young man in the middle of a room. He wore a headset with a microphone and in front of him were a computer and a simple wooden desk.


    At this moment, he was busily clicking the mouse, switching the computer screen, and the 16:9 monitor displayed at least four different backgrounds from simultaneous streams.


    In one of the scenes, the Back-faced Woman and Lv Xin, whose chest was protruding the head of Resentful Granny and who was in the midst of battle, were playing out.


    The room was extremely dark, not due to poor lighting, but because the curtains were all drawn, only allowing slivers of light to filter through, leaving half of the young man¡¯s face shrouded in darkness.


    ¡°I went through some connections on the platform to get this video,¡± the young man spoke smoothly, his expression calm, showing no hint of surprise or fear, ¡°That young man¡¯s name is Lv Xin, previously he followed my lessons online from the USA. Like you, he possesses a special constitution that is outstanding and has reached the Spirit-Nurturing stage, but he was exposed too soon.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 129 - 129 - 128: The True Video Platform (Vote for Recommendations!)

    Chapter 129 ¨C 128: The True Video Platform (Vote for Recommendations!)


    In the headset the young man was wearing, the voices of some people came through.


    He nodded slightly and then said, ¡°Lv Xin resorted to the ¡¯Heart Cultivate Spirit¡¯ method, which has the advantage of quickly controlling strangenesses, but the downside is instability. When the body can¡¯t bear it, it can have extremely severe repercussions.¡±


    After listening to the voices in the headset for a while longer, he said, ¡°I suggest using ¡¯Cultivate Spirit in Womb,¡¯ especially for female spirit cultivators. The strangenesses nurtured in this way are not only under control but also won¡¯t have too strong a backlash and the abilities are much more powerful than those cultivated through ¡¯Heart Cultivate Spirit.¡¯¡±


    The voices in the headset were still talking. The young man showed a smile, with a teasing tone in his voice, ¡°Right, I¡¯ve tried everything, otherwise why would I be the one sitting here talking to you? Hmm, who said men can¡¯t ¡¯Cultivate Spirit in Womb¡¯? There are even more bizarre methods you¡¯ve never heard of, like ¡¯Cultivate Body,¡¯ you know, which means nurturing a dead person¡¯s body.


    But have you ever heard of nurturing within the body? I¡¯ll tell you more about it tomorrow.¡±


    He paused and said, ¡°That¡¯s it for today; I¡¯m very busy.¡±


    With that, he reached out to click the mouse, shutting off the video.


    ...


    A line of text appeared in the corner of the computer screen: Encrypted video channel 1 has been closed.


    The lighting in the room remained very dark. The young man had no intention of opening the curtains or turning on the lights inside. He clicked the mouse and lit up the call button for the second video.


    Now the person on the other end could see him.


    ¡°Boss Ao, hello,¡± the young man said.


    A fifty-something-year-old man¡¯s image appeared on the screen. The lighting was very good on his end, and Boss Ao¡¯s square face was clearly visible to the young man.


    ¡°The video of the two strangenesses fighting came out all right, didn¡¯t it?¡± Boss Ao said with a smile.


    ¡°Boss Ao is willing to pay a high price to acquire it and provide it for my enjoyment for free, of course it¡¯s alright,¡± the young man said with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Boss Ao replied. ¡°How are the two Spirit Exploration Teams doing, the ones I funded together with Boss Tian and Boss Zuo recently?¡±


    ¡°Not bad; following my plan, we¡¯ve taken care of several strange incidents, like Guhui Village Corpse House, Tun Street Black-clothed Girl, and Shal Yi International Hospital. The videos captured are extremely entertaining to watch.¡± The young man said with a smile, ¡°As soon as I¡¯ve processed the videos, I can send them to you.


    Then whether you post them online for everyone to enjoy or keep them for a private viewing is up to you, Boss Ao.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Boss Ao nodded, but then his expression turned puzzled, and he asked, ¡°I heard that the team mainly funded by Boss Tian encountered some danger?¡±


    The young man laughed, ¡°It¡¯s more than danger; they nearly got wiped out. But no worries, I¡¯ve taken care of it. The last, fiercest strangeness there has shifted its focus to me. The two survivors in the team are no longer in any serious trouble.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Boss Ao, who had just relaxed, now widened his eyes in shock, ¡°You mean the last strangeness has set its sights on you?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡± The young man moved his chair slightly away from the computer to reveal the curtained window behind him.


    At this moment, behind the drawn curtains, close to the corner of the wall, one could vaguely see a woman dressed in a white nightgown, with disheveled hair, standing there. Her eyes were wide open, the pupils filled with blood threads, as if she had no eyelids, just staring right at the back of the young man sitting in front of the computer.


    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re not afraid!¡± Boss Ao shuddered just from one glance.


    ¡°She has been watching me for a week now, but she can¡¯t move against me at the moment,¡± the young man said as he righted his chair and sat back down. ¡°These past few days, I¡¯ve been researching new methods of nurturing spirits. When the time is right, I¡¯ll use her to test the results.¡±


    Boss Ao glanced inadvertently over the young man¡¯s shoulder again and waved his hand, ¡°You¡¯re not scared but I am. I¡¯m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I¡¯ll log off now; we can chat another day.¡±


    Your next chapter is on empire


    The young man nodded, grasped the mouse, and clicked to end the call.


    Once more, a line of text appeared in the bottom right corner of the computer screen: Encrypted video channel 2 has been closed.


    He moved the mouse and clicked the button labeled ¡°Public Video Channel 7.¡±


    Before doing so, the young man had already turned on the desk lamp beside him, and the bright light fully illuminated him in front of the computer, revealing a sunny and handsome face.


    The moment the light came on, the figure of the woman who had been standing in the corner behind him suddenly vanished.


    Of course, the young man was well aware that as soon as the light went off, the woman would reappear.


    The video channel at this moment was showing a room that had just finished playing a spooky video, which attracted quite a few viewers, all of whom were leaving comments en masse.


    Messages were popping up continuously at the bottom.


    The young man opened the audio call, smiled, and said, ¡°This video was recorded by a night school teacher on their cell phone. It¡¯s terrifying, isn¡¯t it? However, the ¡¯strangeness¡¯ has already been dealt with by an exorcist. The video is currently trending on the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ platform, but you have to pay to watch it.


    You are different, though; since you¡¯ve paid the membership fee to enter this room, watching paid videos here is free.¡±


    He paused, then added, ¡°I need everyone to help me promote this more, after all, this is how I make a living on the platform, and I have a family to support. Please search for my real name, I¡¯m looking forward to your attention. My name is¡­ Cheng Jingting.¡±


    ¡­


    Two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.


    The college entrance exams arrived.


    In that time, Yan Junze had visited Aunt Mei twice, each time bringing incense and candles, though he still had not seen Aunt Mei eat with his own eyes.


    Normally, he would hear the sounds of the strange babies gorging themselves inside the house soon after he delivered the offerings.


    The second time he went, Yan Junze bought even more, unsure if the strange babies would leave any for Aunt Mei.


    Each time, Aunt Mei just watched him with a smile, never speaking or showing any other sign. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because he couldn¡¯t quite gauge Aunt Mei¡¯s temperament, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to say much, delivering the incense and candles just to scrape together some favorability.


    However, it seemed to have some effect. On the eve of the college exams, he made another trip to the underground parking garage.


    This time, Aunt Mei came out of the inner room in advance, and it was no longer the strange babies that came to take the incense and candles, but she took them herself.


    Of course, when in her hands, the strange babies did not dare to snatch them away and stayed a distance away.


    Yan Junze spoke a few words to her, but, getting no response, he quickly retreated.


    Honestly, Aunt Mei¡¯s smile became creepier the more he looked at it. In the past few days, Yan Junze had dreamt about it several times. That seemingly kindly smile had an eerie magic to it that made it unforgettable once seen.


    ¡°Just what level is she? It can¡¯t be higher than a Sculpting Spirit, can it? So terrifying! This is definitely a monk from Shaolin Temple!¡±


    Although Yan Junze was curious, he dared not tell the exorcist, Zhang Xiaomo. No matter how curious he was, he had to keep it to himself.


    Despite a series of bizarre encounters before the college entrance exams, Yan Junze¡¯s foundation remained, and with no psychological pressure, he breezed through the days of testing lightly.


    But not Zhou Dali. After the unified college entrance examination, he had to brace himself for the physical exam happening half a month later, his nerves had not relaxed at all.

 Chapter 130 - 130: Listing Remarks

    Chapter 130: Listing Remarks


    The book will be listed this Friday at 12 PM, and it feels like after a two-month trial run, the shop is finally ready to open its doors for real.


    This is my first foray into supernatural fiction; I¡¯ve read a lot of city-themed stories but rarely ever wrote one.


    So I don¡¯t know why, but on a whim, I thought about writing a supernatural story. That¡¯s how ¡°Rewind¡± came to be and how it¡¯s been uploaded until now.


    There have been many shortcomings in the process of writing the book, and some toxic and cringe-worthy elements which I couldn¡¯t control or handle well led to some readers cursing me out thoroughly, but I¡¯m still very grateful to those who have supported me and tolerated the book all the way to this announcement of going live¡ªyou guys are the real deal! I love you! Mua!(*¨s3¨t)


    The plot will continue to improve, because I am too!


    Thanks to the chief editor Yisuo, the responsible editor Ziliang, and all the friends who supported this book. Thanks to the alliance leader Xiao Haozi for the generous red packet, which sent the book¡¯s collection count soaring. Thanks to the helmsman Zhu Youqi and Close Contact, and to Magritte Nightingale and Blooming Virtue in the book group for their constant help with the management.


    I¡¯m grateful to every friend who has rewarded the book, voted, and stuck by it without fail! I truly appreciate you all!


    ...


    On the first day of the listing, there will be a burst release of ten chapters. On the second day, there will be an added chapter for the alliance leader. On the third day, I will release as much as I write. Please forgive my clumsy hands; I don¡¯t want the quality of the book to drop, so I won¡¯t be able to have burst releases every day.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    As of the writing of this announcement, the book has nearly 25,000 collections, so as things stand, I probably won¡¯t be doing the cross-dressing thing any time soon (phew).


    Good performance is the key! At the very least, let ¡°Rewind¡± climb to the top three of the supernatural bestsellers and stay there for a stable week (evil grin).


    After listing, the update schedule will be adjusted. After midnight, I will update the first chapter of the day, followed by the second chapter at 12:10 PM. If there¡¯s an extra update for the day, it will be at 8:10 PM, or I might notify you about the time of the temporary extra update.


    Lastly, I implore everyone to subscribe and support the book, so that ¡°Rewind¡± can go even further, and I, the old dog, can concentrate on delivering an even better story to you.


    Asking for subscriptions! Vote tickets! Recommendations! I earnestly request your support!


    Also, welcome to join the book group, the only way to see the author in women¡¯s clothing (if possible)¡ªGroup one: 641434073, Group two: 599154574, active in both. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 131 - 131 - 129: The Last Supper (Subscribe Request 1/10)

    Chapter 131 ¨C 129: The Last Supper (Subscribe Request 1/10)


    Three days before Zhou Dali¡¯s physical exam, Yan Junze invited him, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin out for a big meal by the sea.


    Except for Dali, the other three had already been on vacation and weren¡¯t staying at school.


    He was the only one coming from school.


    The location was set at ¡°Heaven,¡± a restaurant located in the center of Shuntian City, moderately priced but with an excellent environment.


    After receiving the 28,000 yuan payment for the video sale, Junze¡¯s family spent 10,000 yuan on upgrading furniture and appliances, leaving 15,000 yuan for university tuition and miscellaneous fees.


    Of course, this amount was definitely not enough for tuition; his mother, Li Man, had already saved up the tuition, and whatever else was needed would be added in.


    As for the remaining 3,000 yuan, it was for Yan Junze¡¯s own use; his parents didn¡¯t take a cent.


    ...


    Their son was earning money, and not a small amount either, which delighted his parents. However, if they knew the true price of that video sale, the couple would probably hop on a flight straight to Tianmeng District¡¯s ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform branch and perform an all-out protest¡ªcrying, causing a ruckus, even threatening self-harm, in utter turmoil.


    This time, Bao Jie had informed everyone in advance that Zhou Jiajie would also come and that he, the rich playboy, would treat them all.


    Everyone was about to graduate anyway, they were all classmates, and no one intended to stir up unpleasantness with others at this time; however, the treat turned into Dutch pay in the end.


    Five people were seated in a private room, with seven dishes and one soup on the table, a balanced selection of meat and vegetables, plus a plate of brown sugar glutinous rice cakes, a fruit platter, and two bottles of beer for each person.


    After three rounds of drinks and five flavors of dishes,


    the atmosphere in the private room was surprisingly good. The minor grudges and rivalries from school seemed to have dissipated like smoke from the past, leaving only a sense of regret and wistfulness, along with aspirations and confusion about the future.


    Of course, none of these feelings were in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    ¡°While at school, I had many a friction with you, sorry about that, Jiajie!¡±


    Having had some beer, Zhou Dali¡¯s cheeks were flushed, and at this moment, he grabbed Zhou Jiajie¡¯s hand, stroked the back of his hand, and couldn¡¯t help but express his feelings, creating an ambiguous scene.


    Zhou Jiajie felt somewhat awkward; despite his usual lofty demeanor, not paying much mind to other students, he was very aware of his own limitations.


    If it weren¡¯t for his family pulling strings and seeking help, he wouldn¡¯t even have been able to get through Tianmeng University¡¯s thresholds, let alone be recommended for admission.


    However, it seemed Bao Jie¡¯s efforts had paid off; according to her, she felt quite good about the exams, which were closely aligned with the pre-examination tests, and it was highly likely she would get into Tianmeng University.


    Zhou Jiajie and Bao Jie, these two seemed to have quite a destiny together now.


    ¡°No big deal, it¡¯s normal to have some friction among classmates; I¡¯ve long forgotten it,¡± Zhou Jiajie managed to force a smile, trying to pull away from Dali¡¯s hand, but he couldn¡¯t find the right moment.


    Zhou Dali, still oblivious, kept rubbing Zhou Jiajie¡¯s hand, nodding, ¡°Right, just a little friction, and afterwards it¡¯s all okay.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°You kid, had enough of rubbing? Haven¡¯t you noticed Bao Jie¡¯s eyes are about to pop out?¡±


    Zhou Dali came to his senses, hurriedly let go, raising his hands, ¡°I swear, there¡¯s nothing but pure friendship between Jiajie and me, Bao Jie, listen to my explanation.¡±


    Before Bao Jie could speak, Jiang Ruixin, pretending to be Bao Jie, shook her head exaggeratedly and imitated Bao Jie¡¯s voice, ¡°I won¡¯t listen, I won¡¯t listen, whatever you say I won¡¯t hear¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡±


    The private room erupted with laughter.


    ¡°Are you still going to apply for Tianmeng Science University?¡± Bao Jie asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m preparing to study in the physics department,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Why do you want to study physics?¡± Zhou Jiajie asked curiously, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to find a job in this field after graduation.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m just interested in mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, and electromagnetism, and I want to delve deeper and explore them.¡±


    ¡°I heard that the appearance of strangenesses is related to electromagnetism,¡± Zhou Dali said mysteriously from the side. ¡°And also atomic physics and quantum theory. Anyway, whenever there¡¯s something weird you don¡¯t understand, just link it to quantum theory, and no one dares to bullshit you about it.¡±


    ¡°Who told you that?¡± Jiang Ruixin asked.


    ¡°My great-uncle¡¯s second aunt¡¯s cousin¡¯s daughter¡¯s husband is a physics teacher, I heard it from him.¡±


    ¡°Only your family could be that large,¡± everyone said in unison.


    Yan Junze smiled and then said, ¡°Actually, I did have that in mind when applying for the physics department, to really study these things. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯d like to develop in this direction.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°That¡¯s great, you should become an exorcist. If I ever get into trouble, you have to help me!¡±


    ¡°Right, we would all depend on you,¡± the others chimed in.


    In this era of strangeness, the biggest misfortune in life was encountering supernatural events, so the value of having a friend who was an exorcist became apparent.


    Even Zhou Jiajie, who was usually rather arrogant, now looked at Yan Junze with different eyes, no longer aloof, but much more approachable.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Speaking of joining the exorcist organization, all Yan Junze had to do right now was nod, and Zhang Xiaomo would instantly give him a recommendation letter to go test with the exorcist team in Tianmeng District.


    But if he really did that, he felt he had no confidence at all.


    The reason was clear to him, his ability to encounter strangenesses and complete every mission was tied to the power granted by the Spacetime Atlas, not because he had some special physique.


    So if he was found to have a special physique during the test, that would be fine, but if they discovered he didn¡¯t, that would be a big problem. Otherwise, how would he explain the achievements he had made in spirit exploration before? Continue your adventure at empire


    This would just lead to suspicion among the exorcists. So, just to be on the safe side, he definitely would not go for any physique testing at the current stage.


    Interacting with exorcists was one thing, but because of his secret, it was not suitable for him to work with them for an extended period.


    At least, not now. This was very clear to Yan Junze.


    Looking up, he turned to Jiang Ruixin and asked, ¡°Big-eyed girl, which university did you apply for? Still that¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, the Normal University. Tianyi Normal University is quite a good one,¡± Jiang Ruixin said with a smile. ¡°Although it¡¯s not in Tianmeng District, it¡¯s in Tianyi District, but I hope I can get in, my relatives are there.¡±


    ¡°Why not apply for Great Capital Normal University in Huaying District?¡± Zhou Jiajie asked.


    Jiang Ruixin stuck out her tongue, ¡°Are you kidding? That score is scary. Well, although Huaying District is currently the safest area in Great Capital. I heard that some people there have never encountered any strangenesses.¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The others secretly clicked their tongues. In today¡¯s age, there are still people who have never seen any supernatural events.


    Even if someone was really extremely lucky and never encountered them, at least they must have seen them from afar, right?


    Instantly, the classmates at the table felt that life in Huaying District was blissful.


    However, the truth of the matter¡­ was it really so blissful?

 Chapter 132 - 132 - 130: Task Level Upgrade (Seeking Subscriptions 2/10)

    Chapter 132 ¨C 130: Task Level Upgrade (Seeking Subscriptions 2/10)


    Right at eight o¡¯clock, Big-eyed Girl Jiang Ruixin¡¯s parents came to pick her up by car, and Zhou Jiajie also drove his family¡¯s car; he was responsible for taking Bao Jie home.


    Only Yan Junze and Zhou Dali shared a taxi together.


    After getting into a taxi, Zhou Dali, slightly tipsy, half-jokingly said to the taxi driver, ¡°Driver, aren¡¯t you afraid of encountering strangenesses while driving at night?¡±


    ¡°Afraid? Of course, I am,¡± the middle-aged taxi driver replied, immediately prompted by Zhou Dali¡¯s question, ¡°But luckily, ever since the outbreak of strange events, I¡¯ve only encountered one strangeness during my night shifts.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, if you don¡¯t mind, tell us about it,¡± Yan Junze became interested, scooting forward in the back seat.


    ¡°You know, strangenesses typically happen in certain areas, and they usually don¡¯t leave those areas, so for us night shift drivers, as long as we don¡¯t drive recklessly everywhere, it¡¯s actually not as dangerous as you think.¡±


    The taxi driver smacked his lips, ¡°The strangeness I encountered seemed to have another purpose, using my taxi to travel a distance. I remember it was a little past one in the morning, and I was driving empty. Suddenly, I realized there was someone sitting in the back seat and almost wet myself with fright.


    ...


    But luckily, I¡¯ve seen a lot and kept silent, not staring at them through the rearview mirror continuously, only glancing over with the corner of my eye a couple of times. Then I just kept driving, going wherever I needed to go.¡±


    ¡°And then what happened?¡± Zhou Dali asked.


    ¡°Well, there was a stretch of road where the street lights were broken, and I focused more on the road conditions for a bit. When I came back to my senses, I found the person in the back seat was gone,¡± the taxi driver explained.


    ¡°Did they leave you any fare?¡± Zhou Dali asked with a grin.


    ¡°Pah, pah, pah, who wants a dead person¡¯s money? I might earn it but have no life to spend it,¡± the taxi driver waved his hand dismissively.


    The taxi first arrived at Zhou Dali¡¯s community, driving him right into his neighborhood and stopping the car downstairs.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Do you need me to walk you up?¡±


    Zhou Dali glanced at the taxi driver, seeming a bit embarrassed, ¡°With all my brute strength, ghosts and spirits shall fear me, would I need you to walk me?¡±


    With those words, he strode upstairs and stumbled on the stairway.


    Yan Junze and the taxi driver burst out laughing.


    The taxi drove off and swiftly reached the main road, arriving at FH Community in less than ten minutes.


    Since they had been talking about strange encounters, the taxi driver was still immersed in the topic.


    After stopping the car and collecting the fare, he looked up at FH Community and said to Yan Junze, ¡°This is an old community, better hurry back inside, don¡¯t run into anything unclean.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and walked into the community.


    Now that the college entrance exam was over and all tasks had been completed, especially after dealing with the Resentful Granny and eliminating the hidden dangers, he felt much more at ease.


    Of course, the scene where the Resentful Granny¡¯s head emerged from Lv Xin¡¯s chest still puzzled Yan Junze.


    It was just that, according to two-star exorcist Yang Depei, Lv Xin was very likely a Spirit Cultivator.


    This made Yan Junze think of what Zhang Xiaomo had once said; some people have extremely powerful special constitutions, their closeness to evil spirits far beyond normal people¡¯s imagination. After frequent contact with evil spirits, rather than losing life span, they become terrifyingly strong.


    It now seemed that Lv Xin was probably one of those people, though the terror he displayed didn¡¯t seem very strong. Unfortunately for him, he encountered the Bond Evolution of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter.


    Mulling over the details of his experiences, he climbed the stairs and returned home.


    His parents were at home. By now, they had grown accustomed to their son going out alone at night.


    To imagine that strangenesses had wreaked such havoc in their home, yet their son remained unscathed was beyond any skill the couple had ever seen.


    When astonishing events keep recurring, they eventually become ordinary.


    Experience more on empire


    Yan Junze sat in his bedroom, gathered all the review books from before the college entrance exam, and planned to wait for a clear, moonlit night to take everything out and burn it, celebrating the first major hurdle in life after his rebirth.


    Just then, he was momentarily startled.


    On a clear night with a full moon, he was reminded of a task he had never gotten around to completing, ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡±.


    With that thought, Yan Junze immediately pulled up the information for that task from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Task Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task Background: It was a promise made on a night with a full moon. Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years. From the night of the promise until the next morning, her body was only discovered after it had been electrocuted in a fountain. However, the person she was waiting for never showed up.


    Fang Ning was beautiful, but she had been electrocuted for so long that her body underwent a metallic transformation¡ªher clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues fused together. Yet, she still awaits that promise. As long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    Task Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Task Reward: 800 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit can be lockdown; 2. You must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    Note: No matter what she says, just try responding with a ¡°No¡±.]


    This was the task Yan Junze detected the first time he activated the Perception of Strange Events feature and remains, to this point, the only task he has yet to complete.


    Although he hadn¡¯t precisely calculated it, the time span was roughly two months.


    Looking at the task information, the task level was the same as the ¡°Photographing¡± task, both rated as ¡°Trembling with Fear (Medium)¡±. The main difficulty of the Photographing task was that the strangeness was invisible, adding an additional layer of challenge.


    And by the looks of it, dealing with the strangeness of Fang Ning in the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± task seemed like it might be more troublesome than the Peeping Tom.


    While he was pondering, suddenly the task-related tips in his mind started flickering, the font becoming blurry. Roughly three seconds later, the task information became clear again.


    A line of new tips popped up first.


    [Detected changes in task information, as time has passed, the task level has shown a probabilistic increase, the following is the new task information.]


    Seeing this tip, Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment and then looked at the updated task information again.


    [Task Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: It was a promise made on a night with a full moon. Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years¡­ As long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    Task Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Task Reward: 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be lockdown; 2. You must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    Note: No matter what she says, just try responding with a ¡°No¡±.]


    It had changed, Yan Junze stared at the task information.


    Now not only had the task level increased from ¡°Trembling with Fear (Medium)¡± to ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡±, but the tip also indicated that the Evil Spirit could no longer be lockdown.


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 Chapter 133 - 133 - 131 Investigation Clues (Subscription request 3/10)

    Chapter 133 ¨C 131 Investigation Clues (Subscription request 3/10)


    ¡°`


    Looking back now, if a strangeness is left unhandled, its resentment builds up, significantly increasing the chance of it rising in rank.


    And that¡¯s precisely the case with the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± quest.


    The coordinates of the quest were located in an electric fountain within the garden of the first zone of Flowery Paradise Garden.


    Flowery Paradise Garden is right next to the FH Community where Yan Junze lives, also an old residential area, but not as dilapidated as FH Community.


    Due to the property management¡¯s negligence, the property fees for Flowery Paradise Garden were essentially in arrears, with no homeowners paying, so the environment of the residential area was even worse than that of FH Community.


    The electric fountain, which once electrocuted a person, was broken long ago, filled with rainwater and covered with fallen leaves and garbage, with no one ever clearing it up.


    ...


    In fact, almost all residents of Flowery Paradise Garden knew that there was a strangeness at the electric fountain, but the fountain was off the beaten path and somewhat secluded, so normally nobody went there.


    Since it has never been cleaned up, that place has been subconsciously marked as a no-go zone, no one goes there to play anymore, and it hasn¡¯t posed a threat to the residents.


    Whether anyone has reported this strangeness to an exorcist or not is unknown, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t have the time to investigate this. Now that he had decided to complete the quest, and since the quest had reached a level comparable to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s ¡°Look at Her Face,¡± he had to take it very seriously.


    First of all, based on his experience, a strangeness that featured in the ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡± level of quests could definitely kill him in an instant.


    Whether it was a club or the manual ¡°Rewind,¡± none would be possible in the face of an attack from such a strangeness.


    Moreover, the quest information was different from that of ¡°Photographing.¡± All he needed to do was to meet with Fang Ning and make the initial promise together.


    In such quests, brute force cannot solve any issues, and could instead bring unexpectedly severe consequences.


    The next day, Yan Junze made a trip to Grandpa Zheng at the security room. He knew that Grandpa Zheng had the habit of reading newspapers and that he kept the old newspapers instead of throwing them away.


    ¡°Newspapers from two years ago?¡± Grandpa Zheng looked puzzled.


    However, he didn¡¯t ask many questions and led Yan Junze to a room of his own near the entrance, opened the door, and pointed to an old wardrobe.


    ¡°The newspapers are all in there, some are three or four years old, you can take your time to search through them.¡±


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    ¡°Mm, thank you, Grandpa Zheng.¡±


    Yan Junze walked over to open the wardrobe and began taking out the old newspapers stack by stack. Grandpa Zheng meanwhile turned around and went back to the security room.


    It was clear that Grandpa Zheng was meticulous; the read newspapers were all stacked in chronological order, which made Yan Junze¡¯s search much quicker. In no time at all, he had found all the newspapers from two years ago.


    After spending nearly half an hour, he saw a piece of news in an evening newspaper from June.


    ¡°Breaking News: Frequent Hazards at Electric Fountain, Young Woman Electrocuted to Death.¡±


    ¡°Latest news from the Shuntian City Police Department, this morning the body of a woman was found inside the electric fountain in zone one of the garden in Flowery Paradise Garden. The police have confirmed the identity of the woman and established that the girl had fallen into the fountain the previous night and died from electric shock, with the time of death being more than 12 hours ago.


    In the meantime, the fountain remained electrified because the incident went unnoticed. Our reporter has learned and verified that the young woman did not live in the residential area but is suspected to have accidentally fallen into the fountain while waiting for someone. This report is by the reporter Yang Genshuo.¡±


    ¡°Yang Genshuo, again?!¡± Yan Junze paused for a moment when he saw this name.


    He remembered the news of Granny Ren¡¯s son and his wife¡¯s tragic death, which was also reported by this reporter named Yang Genshuo. It was quite a coincidence to come across his name here again.


    He flipped to the bottom of the newspaper where the news hotline was listed, and Yan Junze took out his phone and called. A staff member answered.


    After stating that he wanted to talk to reporter Yang Genshuo for an exclusive scoop on some news, the staff member transferred his call to Yang Gensuo.


    ¡°Hello.¡± A deep, middle-aged voice came through, which didn¡¯t match the flashy nature of his name at all.


    ¡°Is this reporter Genshuo?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Uh¡­ please go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the incident from two years ago involving a woman who was electrocuted to death in an electric fountain in a certain residential area?¡± Yan Junze asked bluntly.


    ¡°You¡­ aren¡¯t you here to report news?¡± Yang Genshuo¡¯s tone suddenly became skeptical.


    ¡°`


    ¡°I¡¯m currently haunted by that strangeness, so I¡¯m turning to you to understand the situation back then.¡± Yan Junze¡¯s reason was very straightforward.


    In this era, only such a straightforward reason as being haunted by strangeness could possibly gain someone¡¯s trust and thereby uncover some of the insider information they desired to know.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Yang Genshuo¡¯s tone indeed changed immediately, asking, ¡°Is it serious?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve already reported to an exorcist,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t go into details, simply stating, ¡°I just want to know who this woman was waiting for back then. Do you have that person¡¯s contact information?¡±


    ¡°That person used to live in the residential area by the fountain, but it seems that he moved away later,¡± Yang Genshuo recalled. ¡°You should ask some of the long-term residents there, they might have a clue.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything else and hung up the phone.


    After putting away the newspaper he had found, and returning it to the wardrobe, he closed the door and went to Grandpa Zheng in the security room.


    ¡°Grandpa Zheng, do you know the security guard from the neighboring Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area?¡±


    The answer was indeed as he had guessed.


    Grandpa Zheng nodded: ¡°Of course, I know him. I see him all the time. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Just curious.¡± Yan Junze roughly recounted the incident of someone being electrocuted by the fountain but naturally omitted a great deal.


    Then, he left the security room, bought half a pound of marinated pig¡¯s ears for Grandpa Zheng to enjoy as an evening snack with his drink. Grandpa Zheng hee-hawed his way to the security room of the next residential area and came back about ten minutes later.


    He handed Yan Junze a note: ¡°Just so happens, the security guard from Flowery Paradise Garden has the contact information for that guy who moved away. He said if anyone wants to rent a place, they should contact him with this number.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Grandpa, take your time eating. I¡¯m heading back,¡± Yan Junze said as he took the note and left the security office.


    When he got home, he spread out the note and saw not only a phone number but also the man¡¯s name. Yan Junze dialed the number on the note.


    Soon, a man who sounded to be in his thirties picked up.


    ¡°Jiang Hao?¡± Yan Junze was already prepared with what to say, so as soon as the call connected, his voice immediately took on a somber tone as he directly called out the other party¡¯s name.


    The person on the other end was clearly taken aback before responding, ¡°This is me, may I ask who this is¡­¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°An exorcist currently dealing with Fang Ning¡¯s haunting,¡± Yan Junze spoke at an even pace, ¡°If I can¡¯t resolve her completely, she will likely find you soon.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± The man named Jiang Hao was evidently startled.


    ¡°However, to resolve her, I need a general understanding of the situation between you two. Were you lovers before?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Silence fell on the other end of the line; it was unclear whether Jiang Hao was hesitating or had concerns.


    ¡°Well then, I suppose we¡¯ll meet soon. When she finds you, you can contact me,¡± Yan Junze threatened to hang up the phone on purpose.


    ¡°Wait, please wait, I¡¯ll tell you,¡± Jiang Hao quickly said. ¡°Yes, we were lovers; we met at work. Where is she now¡­?¡±


    ¡°Answer my question first,¡± Yan Junze was not one to mince words, ¡°When you two were dating, did you make any promises to each other?¡±


    This was, after all, Yan Junze¡¯s ultimate goal after beating around the bush.


    Otherwise, during the mission, he would have to speak of the original promises made to Fang Ning¡ªsomething he knew nothing about¡ªand it would be weird not to be caught off guard on the spot.


    ¡°Promises?¡± Jiang Hao pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°She would often say: I hope the world can be so small, so small that I¡¯d see you the moment I turn around. Then I¡¯d reply: I hope the world can be so vast, so vast that I could hold your hand and we¡¯d never reach its end.¡±


    Are they shooting a romance drama or what?


    Yan Junze held the phone, stunned for quite a while.


    ¡°And the last part,¡± Jiang Hao continued, ¡°Then she would make me say: I don¡¯t want any sea-drying, rock-crumbling promises, not the next life, not forever. I just want that every second, you are still by my side.¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze broke into a cold sweat.

 Chapter 134 - 134 - 132 Lethal Sweet Nothings (Subscribe 4/10)

    Chapter 134 ¨C 132 Lethal Sweet Nothings (Subscribe 4/10)


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    After waiting a moment, since there was no further response from Jiang Hao, Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s all,¡± Jiang Hao said.


    ¡°Think again, are you sure you haven¡¯t remembered it wrong?¡± Yan Junze asked for confirmation.


    There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then Jiang Hao spoke up, ¡°No, when we were together, she liked to speak sweet nothings, yes, I wouldn¡¯t remember it wrong.¡±


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, revealing a smile, ¡°Forgive my boldness, but why did you two break up? Or more precisely, why didn¡¯t you go to the appointment that time?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao didn¡¯t speak for a long time, and then his voice began to choke, ¡°I let her down, I had no idea that not going that night would lead to such serious consequences, I¡¯m full of regret.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze remained silent, waiting for Jiang Hao to vent his emotions.


    ¡°She was very clingy, not only wanting to be with me every day, to exchange sweet nothings, but also calling me at least twenty or thirty times a day even when we weren¡¯t together. I couldn¡¯t take it, I felt as if I were being tied down by something, unable to breathe, unable to think clearly, and even¡­ even later on¡­ I started to be afraid of the love I had for her.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, indeed, loving someone to this extent could be daunting to anyone.


    ¡°So I started looking for excuses, avoiding her. She was sensitive and after being dodged by me several times, she broke down. I had her best friend keep her company, talk with her, and try to guide her. About a month passed, and she hadn¡¯t come looking for me. That day, the day she died, I received a call from her.


    She said she was at the fountain in our community, she wanted to meet me one last time, then she would leave completely.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ you didn¡¯t go,¡± said Yan Junze.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to go,¡± Jiang Hao said with a bitter laugh, ¡°To avoid seeing her again, I even quit my job. But this¡­ might have been the biggest mistake of my life. I should have gone, even if she clung to me again, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen into the electrified fountain. I¡­ I¡¯m sorry to her!


    I¡¯m sorry to Fang Ning!¡±


    At that moment, both ends of the phone fell into silence once more; no one spoke, and no one hung up.


    After a long while, Jiang Hao spoke again, ¡°You are an exorcist, even if she now hates me to the bone, please, you must help her.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me that,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Let me confirm once more. The words you liked to say were, she would say: ¡¯I wish the world could be very small, so small that I could see you the moment I turn around.¡¯ Then you would say: ¡¯I wish the world could be very big, so big that I could hold your hand and we could never reach the end.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°And then Fang Ning would ask you to say: ¡¯I don¡¯t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. I just want you by my side every second,¡¯¡± Yan Junze added.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it was,¡± Jiang Hao¡¯s voice was very low, as if he were in a terrible emotional state at the moment.


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    ¡°Alright, Mr. Jiang Hao, thank you for your cooperation,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Jiang Hao, however, continued to hold the phone emitting a busy tone, not pressing the disconnect button until it cut off by itself. He sat motionless in the chair, his mind filled with past memories.


    Past scenes and the sweet nothings they had exchanged kept resurfacing in his mind. He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed when he suddenly came to a stop, gradually coming out of his recollections.


    Talking to himself, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. I just want¡­ every second for you to still be by my side.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that doesn¡¯t seem right,¡± Jiang Hao showed confusion, repeating it again to himself, ¡°I just need¡­ each next second¡­ for you to still be by my side, I just need¡­ every second¡­ for you to still be by my side? Hiss, which one is it actually?¡±


    It had been two years since he tried hard to forget those memories, and this moment brought a sense of uncertainty to Jiang Hao.


    ¡­


    ¡°What did you say our son did?¡± Li Man placed freshly washed fruit on the coffee table in front of Yan Daguo, looking puzzled, ¡°Is he¡­ in love?¡±


    Yan Daguo picked up an apple and took a bite, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    Li Man sat down and glanced toward the bedroom, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? He¡¯s been saying all day that he wishes the world was small so that he could see you with just a turn of his head, and then wishes it was big enough to travel to the ends of the earth hand in hand with someone.¡±


    ¡°Is it travel to the ends of the earth?¡± Yan Daguo was surprised, ¡°I thought it was ¡¯walk to the edge of the world.¡¯¡±


    ¡°And you said you didn¡¯t hear it?¡± Li Man was both annoyed and amused.


    ¡°No, I thought he was on the phone,¡± Yan Daguo explained.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s suspicious. Do you know who the girl on the other side of the phone is?¡± Li Man asked.


    ¡°You go ask him. The child has grown up and is about to go to college. I have no right to interfere,¡± Yan Daguo looked quite enlightened.


    Li Man didn¡¯t get up, clearly not planning to ask Yan Junze, but simply sat there, talking to herself, ¡°He even mentioned ¡¯till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble, wanting to be by my side every second.¡¯ It gave me goosebumps.¡±


    ¡°Mom, where¡¯s the apple you washed for me?¡± Yan Junze suddenly came out from the bedroom.


    ¡°Here.¡± Li Man pointed to the coffee table in front of her.


    Yan Junze walked over, took an apple and took a bite, still mumbling, ¡°All that ¡¯till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble,¡¯ ¡¯next lifetime,¡¯ ¡¯forever,¡¯ I don¡¯t want any of that¡­ Mm, it¡¯s a sunny day, huh? Mom, what¡¯s the lunar date today?¡±


    ¡°May fifteenth,¡± Li Man replied without thinking, but she watched Yan Junze with a scrutinizing look.


    As if he sensed the ¡°judgmental gaze,¡± Yan Junze shuddered suddenly and turned to look back.


    All he saw was his parents sitting together peacefully, eating apples and calling out, ¡°Sweet,¡± with nothing amiss. Their recovery speed had already broken through the skies.


    The moon was quite full tonight, and the weather was nice, so carrying out the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± task was possible.


    Yan Junze went through the ¡°sweet nothings¡± Jiang Hao had told him over and over again, ensuring he wouldn¡¯t mess up during the mission, and at this moment, he was certain that even under pressure, he wouldn¡¯t make a mistake.


    He went back to his bedroom and closed the door.


    As usual, he prepared two flashlights, a lighter, a dry towel, a portable camera and camera head, and everything else he packed into a black backpack¡ªwhether it was needed or not, he stuffed it in first.


    Then Yan Junze made a call to Tang Zhengyi, informing him that he would be recording a Spirit Exploration video and uploading it soon.


    The response from Tang Zhengyi was simple; as the honorary ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± platform¡¯s Master of Spirit Exploration, the best promotional spot was waiting. The moment the video was uploaded, it would be thrust into the spotlight.


    After dinner, Yan Junze said he was going to stop by Zhou Dali¡¯s place. After all, he had used that boy as a shield countless times; one more wouldn¡¯t make a difference. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Around eight thirty, he left the house with his black backpack. His parents were watching TV and reminded him that he had to be home by ten o¡¯clock at the latest.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, Yan Daguo and Li Man seemed to be growing more and more confident in him. After thinking it over, ever since he had taken possession of the body, it seemed like he¡¯d resolved all the strange occurrences in the house and the neighborhood.


    Although his parents hadn¡¯t truly realized it, subconsciously, they felt very secure with him around. In fact, when Yan Junze was home, they¡¯d become unconsciously more at ease.


    Even the person in question hadn¡¯t noticed this.


    But regardless, ensuring that his family in this life could live safely and without worries was currently Yan Junze¡¯s greatest wish.


    Of course, lighting up the Atlas to maximize his strengths was the guarantee of all this and equally important.


    He soon arrived in the neighboring community. Yan Junze took a deep breath as he looked into the depths of Flowery Paradise Garden and stepped inside.

 Chapter 135 - 135 - 133 Reflection Under the Moonlight (1) (Please subscribe 5/10)

    Chapter 135 ¨C 133 Reflection Under the Moonlight (1) (Please subscribe 5/10)


    The FH Community had long since fallen out with the homeowners, resulting in the formation of a homeowner committee. Therefore, both security and sanitation in the community were employed by the homeowner committee.


    However, due to frequent inadequacy of funds, the number of personnel hired was extremely limited, leading to poor sanitation in the community which could not match the environmental quality of the FH Community.


    When Yan Junze entered the Flowery Paradise Garden, there wasn¡¯t even a security guard in the gatehouse. He wondered if the security brother familiar to Grandpa Zheng had run off again for a chat. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The address of the fountain pool was within the garden of Zone One in the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area. Experience more on empire


    The numbering of the community zones started from the inside out. When Yan Junze entered through the main gate, he saw the zone number near the gate marked as eight. Hence, Zone One would be at the very inside.


    Junze hadn¡¯t turned on his flashlight since there were streetlights all along the way. Watching the zone numbers on the exterior of the buildings, he made his way deeper in and soon reached the staircase marked with Zone One.


    ¡°Garden?¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze muttered to himself as he looked around.


    He had never been in here before, so he had to search on the spot.


    The moon overhead was round and big, its light spilling down so that even without the streetlights, the surrounding scenery was clearly visible.


    This was very conducive for Yan Junze to carry out his mission.


    He continued along the winding road until he reached a corner, where he saw a sign that read ¡°Zone One Garden¡±.


    Standing in front of the sign, and following the direction indicated by the arrow, Junze noticed the so-called garden was behind several residential buildings in Zone One. At first glance, the path led through a secluded garden surrounded by an abundance of dense vegetation.


    Because few people came this way, some plants had almost completely obscured the path, making it nearly imperceptible unless one paid close attention.


    Glancing deeper into the garden, the area became very dark, obscuring visibility.


    To Yan Junze, it felt as though there was a huge beast lurking in the darkness ahead, gaping maw and fangs exposed, waiting for him.


    Standing at the sign, preparing to head to the Zone One Garden, Yan Junze activated Rewind.


    He had no choice; the current task level was [Hair-raising (low)], identical to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s mission. He had to be fully alert and focused.


    Moreover, he absolutely had to follow the task prompts. Any attempt to complete the mission through force rather than adhering to the rules was doomed to have severe consequences.


    Because Rewind was on, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think much further. He tightened his collar and hurried down the path toward the garden behind.


    Passing through the dense vegetation, the path was overgrown with weeds and concealed for years, making the ground somewhat slippery.


    With no other option, Junze turned on a flashlight to illuminate his footsteps, taking just over a minute to reach a spacious area.


    This was the Zone One garden, constructed from stone, with even the ground paved with neatly cut stone bricks. There was a stone fountain in the center, with stone benches installed in all eight directions.


    They formed a perfect circle around the fountain.


    However, due to years of neglect, the place was filthy, with a faint odor wafting through the air.


    The trees surrounding the garden grew quickly and had overshadowed the area, nearly covering the space above the surrounding benches.


    Fortunately, the direction of the fountain in the center was still exposed under the moonlight, providing clear visibility.


    Yan Junze first surveyed the environment, lingering his gaze on the fountain for a few seconds. He then took off his backpack, pulled out the portable camera, found the best filming angle, and placed it on one of the stone benches.


    The lens was directed towards the fountain, and then he put on the portable camera on his chest, switching it on to test.


    Until now, Yan Junze had not approached the fountain pool because he feared that getting closer might trigger the task.


    After all the preparation was ready, Yan Junze looked toward the fountain pool, took a deep breath, turned on the camera on the stone bench, crouched down, and said to the camera, ¡°This electric fountain once electrocuted a young and beautiful woman who, it¡¯s said, was waiting for someone to keep an appointment. And our Spirit Exploration today is right here, I¡¯m the Night Traveling Puppy.¡±


    With those words, Yan Junze stood up and walked toward the fountain pool.


    The moonlight was like silver, spilling over him, and likewise onto the water in the fountain pool in front of him.


    Standing at the edge of the pool, Yan Junze lowered his head slightly and looked into the water.


    Although the pool water had been drained after someone died there, time had passed, and through continual rainfall, the pool had once again accumulated a large amount of water, reaching about waist-high for an adult standing in it.


    Of course, there were also fallen leaves, trash bags, snack wrappers, and such, all floating on the surface of the water.


    ¡°Damn snack wrappers!¡± muttered Yan Junze.


    In his mind, wherever there was garbage, the shadows of various snack wrappers were bound to exist.


    Standing at the edge of the pool, looking into it, he couldn¡¯t see anything because of the large amount of garbage and fallen leaves shielding the view.


    Yan Junze thought about the task prompt, Fang Ning was still waiting for that appointment, and as long as someone was willing to stand back-to-back, hand-in-hand with her, and promise eternity under the moonlight.


    So, should he wait now or run straight into the fountain pool?


    How is he supposed to stand back-to-back or hand-in-hand if he runs into the water?


    It seems unlikely.


    Yan Junze just stood by the pool, looking up at the moon.


    After a while, he mused aloud, ¡°Such a big moon, such ample moonlight, it¡¯s a clear night with a full moon alright, it won¡¯t shy away from appearing, right!¡±


    After speaking, he stood to the side of the fountain pool, facing it sideways and sighed as he gazed at the moon.


    Time slipped by without notice and, about seven or eight minutes later, the water in the fountain pool rippled slightly, making a faint sound.


    Yan Junze had been watching his surroundings closely, and upon hearing the noise, he immediately focused his attention to the side, but he did not turn his head to look.


    The task hadn¡¯t indicated whether the woman still recognized her former boyfriend. It was best if she didn¡¯t, but if she was too obsessed with the man¡¯s appearance, he feared that turning his head would give him away.


    So, to be on the safe side, he decided it was best not to look at her, not to face her, and to keep their backs to each other if possible.


    But since the task didn¡¯t specify, Yan Junze guessed that there was a good chance that Fang Ning¡¯s obsession was merely to fulfill the date, and with whom might not matter as much.


    Another ripple of water rang out, this time much clearer than before. Yan Junze didn¡¯t look over, instead, he kept an eye on the movements in the fountain pool from the corner of his eye.


    He could vaguely see that shortly after the water rippled, on the surface blanketed with numerous leaves, a figure arched upwards slightly, and the leaves arched as well, as the water flowed down both sides.


    With the figure rising slowly from the water, a cacophony of the spilling sound intensely burst forth at that moment, reaching Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    At the same time, a foul stench wafted into his nose.


    ¡°You¡­ have¡­ come,¡± a strange voice suddenly emitted.


    This voice was extremely grating, as if the vocal cords of the speaker had been torn apart, no longer distinguishing male from female.

 Chapter 136 - 136 - 134 Reflection Under the Moonlight (2) (Please subscribe 6/10)

    Chapter 136 ¨C 134 Reflection Under the Moonlight (2) (Please subscribe 6/10)


    Yan Junze did not turn his head to take a good look; he simply replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here.¡± Stay updated through empire


    Through his peripheral vision, he could see the silhouette of a person standing in the water, seemingly very slender and motionless.


    After his own response to her, the figure began to move, wading through the water, slowly walking towards him.


    The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the sound of water rushing from the fountain. The stench-emitting silhouette gradually drew closer to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze stood there like a statue, waiting for Fang Ning to approach.


    To complete the task, it was impossible to evade; although the approaching Fang Ning reeked, and after being electrocuted for a long time, her corpse had become terrifying. Even Yan Junze at this moment had no desire to turn around for a glance.


    However, according to the background explanation provided by the task, he could already imagine what Fang Ning looked like at this moment.


    ...


    A person¡¯s body, after being electrocuted for a prolonged period, will exhibit characteristics of metalization. At this time, accessories, watches, and other items on the body will dissolve and fuse firmly with the skin and muscles, unable to be removed.


    And since Fang Ning had been electrocuted by the leaking fountain all night, the long duration of electrocution coupled with the moisture from the water, her skin and muscles had decayed, melding with the accessories on her body.


    One could imagine that Fang Ning¡¯s appearance had long since lost her beauty from when she was alive; in its place was a face charred and dissolved in the water, with no part left intact.


    When the police initially performed the autopsy, if they did not consider her personal belongings, they could not possibly identify her.


    Splash!


    From the fountain to the right of Yan Junze, ripples spread as the figure drew closer, one foot emerging from the water, stepping over the edge of the pool onto the stone-cold ground.


    Then the other foot also stepped out of the water.


    During this time, Yan Junze stood motionless in his original spot.


    The stench surrounding him grew thicker and thicker.


    Pat pat, the sound of footsteps arose, step by step, like clumps of sludge falling onto the ground, drawing closer to Yan Junze.


    Before long, Yan Junze felt something cold touching his hanging right hand, realizing only then that it was being held by another hand.


    This hand was extremely rough, its texture no longer discernible, the skin¡¯s surface akin to scabs formed after an injury.


    There was no sound from behind, but this hand groped for a moment before slowly taking hold of his right hand.


    Yan Junze did not resist, naturally opening his fingers, suppressing his disgust, holding it in the palm of his hand.


    Immediately afterward, his left hand also felt cold as another hand took hold of it. This hand, too, had scab-like skin, making Yan Junze feel as if he were holding onto an old tree branch.


    The next second, his back felt a chill as if a large block of ice had approached, pressing tightly against his back.


    ¡°Huuuh¡­¡±


    That eerie and hoarse voice resounded the instant it pressed up against Yan Junze¡¯s back, as if it had found something to cling to, a long-lost sensation.


    Those past memories and moments, as the two stood back to back, drawing close, found their destination. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The icy feeling intensified as the human and strangeness pressed completely together. Within less than a minute, Yan Junze felt his entire spine numb from the cold.


    Fang Ning did not speak, and he too decided to remain silent.


    Hand holding hand, back against back, an inexplicable atmosphere spread.


    This was not romance; in Yan Junze¡¯s view, this was freakishly bizarre!


    A task graded as ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± strangeness, clinging tightly to his back, hand holding hand, without uttering a word.


    Is it going to be like this forever?


    The eerie atmosphere slowly solidified, and after maintaining the same posture for over ten minutes, Yan Junze felt his legs starting to tremble slightly.


    At that moment, Fang Ning¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, ¡°Look at tonight¡¯s moon, how round and beautiful it is!¡±


    Yan Junze could imagine that she had been looking up at the sky all along, admiring the moon above.


    This is also why the task prompt suggested completing the task on a clear, full moon night.


    It seemed that Fang Ning might have been very fond of this type of romantic setting when she was alive.


    Of course, Yan Junze felt no romance at the moment, replaced instead by a thick sense of horror and oppression.


    His lips moved slightly, and he thought he should still respond to the woman; otherwise, something unpredictable might happen, so he tried to speak up, ¡°Yes, such a round and beautiful moon that it outshines all the other stars in the sky. It¡¯s as if the whole night sky is left with only its unique splendor.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­.¡±


    Fang Ning let out a laugh, which surely would have been like a melodious silver bell if it had been during her lifetime.


    However, due to her throat being deformed by electrocution, the laugh that now came out gave Yan Junze goosebumps all over, and it sounded even more penetrating than the noise of scrubbing the bottom of a pan with a steel wool pad.


    After several seconds, the laughter stopped, and Fang Ning became very quiet, still leaning on Yan Junze¡¯s back, standing motionless.


    ¡°Not talking again?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    After waiting awhile and seeing that Fang Ning was indeed as still as if she were dead, with no more signs of movement,


    ¡°Is it that I¡¯m supposed to say something?¡± Yan Junze pondered for a while, deciding to speak up and test the waters, but just as he was about to speak, Fang Ning suddenly spoke again, uttering words that startled Yan Junze.


    ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!¡±


    Listening to these familiar words, they seemed exactly the same as the previous sentence.


    For a moment, Yan Junze wondered if he had ¡°Rewound,¡± returning to an earlier point in time, which was why Fang Ning was repeating the question.


    But on second thought, something felt off. He hesitated for a moment and then said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you¡­ just say that?¡±


    Fang Ning gave no answer, still standing there.


    Yan Junze held her cold, icy hand, feeling as if his own hands were about to freeze stiff, with the goosebumps on his body never subsiding.


    After a long wait, there was still no reply from her.


    Before long, Fang Ning spoke up again, ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!¡±


    ¡°Fuck, is this some kind of loop?!¡± Yan Junze started to realize what was happening.


    He now understood that, as a ¡°hair-raising¡± level task, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to just pass through it.


    In the previous task of this level, he was killed in an instant by the Back-faced Woman, then cursed to grow black hair all over his body, tormented in life and death.


    This had never happened in other tasks before.


    Now, it seemed that these words must have been what Fang Ning wished to say when she saw Jiang Hao but tragically never got the chance before dying, so they had turned into a strong ¡°Obsession.¡±


    He had to break it, or he couldn¡¯t move on to the next step.


    After these words, Fang Ning fell silent again.


    Yan Junze carefully considered for a moment, Fang Ning¡¯s wish was very likely to have a date with Jiang Hao, to say goodbye, and to see the full moon one last time.


    ¡°Hmm, I remember feeling very sweet inside when I was with you,¡± Yan Junze ventured.


    Before he could finish speaking, his hands were suddenly grasped tightly, held in a death grip by Fang Ning¡¯s scab-like rough palms, and his bones made cracking noises.


    At the same time, the cold feeling on his back vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of merging.


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel as if he were back to back with Fang Ning anymore but rather as if their backs had become fused together like conjoined beings.


    He was startled and immediately took a step forward, feeling a sensation of ripping and piercing pain on his back.


    At this point, Fang Ning remained silent, as if what Yan Junze was carrying on his back was a dead person, a woman electrocuted to death.


    Yan Junze was even more terrified, furiously shaking his hands only to find they were stuck to the other¡¯s palms, with a copious amount of thick exudate making it impossible for him to separate his hands from Fang Ning¡¯s.

 Chapter 137 - 137 - 135 Reflection Under the Moonlight (3) (Please subscribe 7/10)

    Chapter 137 ¨C 135 Reflection Under the Moonlight (3) (Please subscribe 7/10)


    Yan Junze knew his answer was definitely problematic. Without further hesitation, he immediately chose Rewind.


    The timeline for the Rewind wasn¡¯t long; man and strangeness were once again back to back, hand in hand, looking at the full moon above.


    ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!¡± Fang Ning spoke up.


    Yan Junze remained silent, thought it over carefully, and said softly, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s beautiful. Not only is tonight¡¯s moon beautiful, but the moons in the future will be even more so.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than a familiar sense of merging came over him again.


    His body and Fang Ning¡¯s body once again felt as though they were fusing together.


    He dared not take another step forward, or else that heart-wrenching sensation of being torn apart would spread throughout his body.


    ...


    ¡°Still not right.¡±


    He had no choice but to initiate Rewind once again.


    Man and strangeness, back to back, hand in hand, stood under the moonlight, both without a word.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced as he recalled his conversation with Fang Ning.


    The first time when Fang Ning said, ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is,¡± he had complimented her offhandedly. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As a result, Fang Ning let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh, but she did not merge with him. Instead, after a brief silence, she continued to repeat the same sentence.


    After the second time, Yan Junze¡¯s answer was tinged with reminiscence, but it immediately led to the fusion with Fang Ning. Experience more content on empire


    It seemed that reminiscing was not an option; to this woman, comparing the good memories of the past with her current ordeal was an indescribable pain.


    And the third time Fang Ning said, ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s response was about the future. It contained a hint of advising her to look ahead, but this too wasn¡¯t an answer that satisfied Fang Ning.


    All three lines of response had to be avoided.


    Yan Junze pondered carefully. He couldn¡¯t speak of the past, nor of the future; perhaps the present was what Fang Ning desired to possess, the moment she considered the most beautiful might just be this very one.


    ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!¡± Fang Ning¡¯s voice rang out again.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and began slowly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful. Not just the moon, but the time is also beautiful. I¡¯ll remember this moment tonight forever.¡±


    ¡°Do you still remember the words we said together?¡± Fang Ning asked again.


    ¡°Yes, passed!¡± Yan Junze rejoiced inwardly.


    It really was this very moment that mattered most to Fang Ning; the past, the future¡ªneither mattered at all.


    ¡°I remember, of course, I remember.¡±


    Making a joke, he had recited it countless times throughout the day; he was even reciting it while eating and using the bathroom. How could he forget?


    No sooner had his answer finished than Fang Ning¡¯s head, already devoid of hair and wet, gently pressed against the back of Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    The cold, stiff touch made Yan Junze¡¯s heart churn, and the hairs on his back stood on end.


    Then he heard Fang Ning whispering softly as if to herself, ¡°I wish this world could be very small, so small that I could see you with a turn around.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart stirred, he perked up, and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible as he replied, ¡°I wish this world could be very big, so big that I could hold your hand and never reach the end.¡±


    Under the soft moonlight, next to the foul-smelling pond, in a garden full of trash and filth, man and strangeness, back against back, hand in hand, were exchanging terms of endearment.


    Yan Junze believed that if this scene were edited and uploaded onto platforms, it would definitely cause a sensation; at the very least, it would not lack in tips. Then Tang Zhengyi might just make it free to watch only the first fifteen seconds, and that would be a big moneymaker.


    After saying these loving words, Yan Junze felt both hands tighten; the hand holding his own cold, rigid palm suddenly increased its firm grip.


    As if¡­ Fang Ning finally felt something at this moment.


    The icy coldness from behind once again got closer to him by a fraction, instilling within Yan Junze the illusion that he and Fang Ning had become inseparable.


    However, fortunately, Fang Ning had merely gotten closer to him and did not create the sensation of a complete fusion with Yan Junze.


    ¡°What else?¡± Fang Ning spoke, her voice hoarse and eerie as if laced with an indescribable tenderness.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s also¡­¡± Yan Junze tried to keep his voice calm and even wore a slight smile as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want promises of mountains crumbling and seas drying up, of next lifetimes, of forever. I just want every second¡­ you¡¯re still by my side.¡±


    It was over.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief.


    According to the task hint, all he had to do was make the original promise to Fang Ning to complete this task; and it was thanks to his thorough preparation at the early stage, having mastered sufficient clues in advance, otherwise he would have been utterly clueless now, with no way out.


    As he was feeling relieved, unexpectedly, a terrifying sensation came thundering from his back where it was pressed against Fang Ning¡¯s, leaving Yan Junze completely unable to react. His body instantly went numb, consciousness vanished, and his vital signs began to rapidly fade away.


    [Host detected on the verge of death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± has been triggered, consuming 500 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    A familiar feeling surged into his heart, and at first, a white light flashed before his eyes, soon after which he was able to see again.


    Yan Junze found himself still back-to-back, hand in hand with Fang Ning, standing together.


    But the memory he had just before he made his last promise seemed to involve being pierced by an incredibly strong electric current that knocked him out instantly.


    At this moment, the only person who could control such a strange electric shock to attack him was the woman whose back was pressed against his.


    ¡°Did I say something wrong?!¡±


    Having nearly died once, Yan Junze stayed befuddled in his current posture, not daring to make any other move. His mind raced to recall the sweet nothings he had heard from Jiang Hao, comparing them carefully with his own memories.


    There shouldn¡¯t be a mistake.


    ¡°I hope the world can be very small, so small that I can see you just by turning around,¡± said Fang Ning once again.


    Yan Junze realized that the automatic rewind had taken him back to this point in time.


    Clearing his throat, he thought it over, then slowly replied, ¡°I hope the world can be very big, so big that holding your hand, we could never reach its end.¡±


    There was nothing wrong with this phrase. Now it seemed that the issue lay with the very last sentence he had said before.


    ¡°What else?¡± After a brief pause as before, Fang Ning asked again.


    ¡°Here it comes.¡± Yan Junze took a deep breath, a typical gesture when he felt nervous, and his mind desperately recalled every word, then spoke in segments: ¡°Wishes of mountains crumbling and seas drying up¡­¡±


    After finishing this segment, he paused and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.


    It wasn¡¯t this sentence.


    Then he continued, ¡°Wishes of another lifetime¡­¡±


    Still no abnormalities.


    It wasn¡¯t this sentence, either.


    ¡°Wishes of forever, none of that I want¡­¡±


    Yan Junze paused again, wary.


    In fact, he knew that the powerful attack he had just experienced was not much different from the time the Back-faced Woman had suddenly bit him. At such a short distance, the speed and strength of the attack meant he couldn¡¯t possibly react in time; his only recourse was to rely on the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death.¡±


    Fang Ning behind him remained motionless.


    ¡°It seems it¡¯s not that either.¡± Yan Junze hesitated and, after a moment¡¯s thought, decided to repeat that last sentence, in case he had gotten a word wrong the last time, ¡°I just want every second you¡¯re still at my side.¡±


    No sooner had he finished speaking than his body shuddered violently. And just as he was about to collapse, in an instant, his body was sucked onto Fang Ning¡¯s back, as copious amounts of adherent secretion oozed out, tightly pressing their two bodies together.

 Chapter 138 - 138 - 136 Reflection Under the Moonlight (4) (Please subscribe 8/10)

    Chapter 138 ¨C 136 Reflection Under the Moonlight (4) (Please subscribe 8/10)


    [Host near death detected, triggering ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± consuming 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy this time]


    When Yan Junze regained consciousness, he looked miserably at the information in his mind.


    He didn¡¯t expect that the consumption of energy would double with the second ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± immediately following the first.


    The first rewind consumed 500 points, while the second one took up 1000 points. If there was to be another one¡­ Discover hidden content at empire


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to imagine. At present, he had only 4400 points of Different Dimension Energy left. If it kept consuming at this rate, he guessed that after another two times, he would be completely done for.


    However, he now roughly understood where the problem lay.


    It wasn¡¯t that the entire declaration of love had issues, but rather, the problem was with the last sentence of this declaration.


    ...


    As soon as he uttered, ¡°I only want you by my side every second,¡± disaster immediately struck, and the ¡°Death Attack¡± from Fang Ning, who was pressed against his back, was just too perfect.


    Even with preparation, Yan Junze still had no time to react, and he was instantly killed by this strangeness. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now that he thought about it carefully, it was probably because he was fully back to back with Fang Ning that made it easy for her to instantly kill him, just like when he had inadvertently gotten too close to the Back-faced Woman before.


    ¡°I got it wrong. The last promise was wrong, that damn Jiang Hao!¡± Yan Junze realized in his heart at this moment.


    But on the other hand, this guy almost went crazy because of Fang Ning and kept running away. It¡¯s likely that he might subconsciously deliberately want to forget these sickening declarations of love.


    Regardless, the same mistake couldn¡¯t continue.


    At this moment, Fang Ning had already begun to ask, ¡°Do you still remember what we used to say together?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer her but simply triggered the rewind.


    The rewind brought him back to the moment he had just arrived at the garden with the fountain, before he had approached the fountain.


    After setting down his backpack, Yan Junze glanced in the direction of the fountain pool. Since he hadn¡¯t gone there yet, Fang Ning¡¯s evil spirit wouldn¡¯t climb out from the filthy water in the pool.


    Looking at the time, it was already night, but still early.


    Yan Junze took out his phone and dialed Jiang Hao¡¯s number.


    The call was quickly answered, and Jiang Hao¡¯s voice came through without any surprise, clearly remembering or having saved Yan Junze¡¯s number.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    ¡°Exorcist, sir,¡± Jiang Hao said as soon as he answered.


    Yan Junze skipped the pleasantries and asked, ¡°Think carefully about those phrases you told me you would often say. Is there any mistake? Especially the last one!¡±


    Jiang Hao chuckled bitterly on the other end of the line, his tone apologetic, ¡°After you hung up last time, I thought about it carefully, but I really can¡¯t remember clearly. It seemed that the last sentence was: No matter the oceans dry up and the rocks decay, no matter the next life, no matter forever, I want none of it, I just want you by my side every second.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s exactly the same as what¡¯s in my memory, and you said it without a mistake. But the facts proved it was wrong.¡±


    ¡°Huh? How did you prove that?¡± Jiang Hao¡¯s tone now held surprise.


    ¡°Do I need to explain myself to you?¡± Yan Junze retorted.


    ¡°No, no, not at all! Mr. Exorcist, sir, you misunderstand, I was just curious,¡± Jiang Hao quickly replied.


    ¡°Think carefully, then tell me,¡± Yan Junze dismissed his explanation.


    In fact, Yan Junze held some resentment towards this guy, or he wouldn¡¯t have lost 1500 points of Different Dimension Energy for nothing.


    To know that without completing the task, although the already activated segments of Different Dimension Energy would slowly recover, the pace of recovery was akin to that of a tortoise.


    With the blunder in this mission, it was uncertain how long it would take to fully recover at such a slow rate.


    ¡°Hmm, let me think,¡± Jiang Hao said, nodding incessantly on the other end, mainly because he feared that if Yan Junze couldn¡¯t handle Fang Ning, then Fang Ning would personally come to have a face-to-face talk with him.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ that last sentence, I can¡¯t quite remember it,¡± Jiang Hao said after a moment.


    ¡°You go ahead and say it,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t rush him, as haste might instead worsen his memory recall.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Jiang Hao articulated slowly: ¡°I only want every second you¡¯re by my side? No, that¡¯s not right, I only want every second¡­ um, every next second¡­ you¡¯re still by my side. I only want¡­ the next second¡­


    you at my side, that¡¯s not right either.¡±


    ¡°It might be the middle sentence,¡± Yan Junze likewise pondered and voiced a reminder.


    Jiang Hao paused for a bit, then repeated, ¡°What seas may wither and rocks may rot, what next life, what forever, I don¡¯t want them, I only want¡­ every next second¡­ you¡¯re still by my side. Are you saying this sentence is correct?¡±


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t thought of anything else, then it must be this one,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Think about it, since you want to be by her side every second, then what¡¯s the point of saying no to forever, no to withering seas and crumbling rocks? If you¡¯re by her side every second, isn¡¯t that forever? So, it feels redundant to me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it seems so,¡± Jiang Hao agreed.


    ¡°Therefore, in terms of the meaningful connection between sentences, ¡¯every next second¡¯ would be more appropriate,¡± Yan Junze continued: ¡°She doesn¡¯t want withering seas with you, doesn¡¯t want a next life with you, nor does she want forever. She just wants you to be by her side every next second. It¡¯s a very clever and playful way to put it.


    If you¡¯re with her every next second, then you don¡¯t need to mention all that eternal stuff before.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Jiang Hao seemed to have an epiphany, his tone firming up, ¡°I only want every next second you¡¯re still by my side. Yes, that¡¯s the sentence, it can¡¯t be wrong.¡±


    ¡°Sure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure, it can¡¯t be wrong,¡± he affirmed.


    Yan Junze smiled, ¡°Mr. Jiang Hao, you should know I can¡¯t afford more losses. If it turns out to be wrong again, even if Fang Ning doesn¡¯t come looking for you, with an exorcist¡¯s means¡­ If a Wandering Spirit follows you everywhere, I believe your life from here on out will be anything but normal.¡±


    Jiang Hao on the phone suddenly shivered, his complexion turning pale, falling silent for a while before speaking up again: ¡°Mr. Exorcist, I swear, it must be this sentence; your previous words reminded me of it.¡±


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll trust you this one more time, and it¡¯s the last time,¡± Yan Junze hung up the call.


    He looked at the fountain, and like before, he set up the camera on the stone bench and put on the portable camera.


    This time, however, he placed the camera over his shoulder, a bit closer to his back.


    Since it was going to be back to back with Fang Ning, from the perspective of allowing the netizens to watch, a camera pointing backwards would clearly capture the scene of Fang Ning emerging from the fountain, giving a fright to those thrill-seekers on the platform.

 Chapter 139 - 139 - 137 Reflection Under the Moonlight (5) (Please subscribe 9/10)

    Chapter 139 ¨C 137 Reflection Under the Moonlight (5) (Please subscribe 9/10)


    Of course, having been tricked by Jiang Hao once before, Yan Junze didn¡¯t place all his hopes entirely on the young man this time.


    Now he had about 2,700 points of Different Dimension Energy left. If there was still a problem at the same stage as last time, it wouldn¡¯t entirely be Jiang Hao¡¯s fault, it was possible that the guy genuinely couldn¡¯t remember his promise from before.


    In that case, Yan Junze could still initiate one more ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± and then he would immediately do another manual rewind, going back to the moment before he saw the garden road sign in the first district, exiting this mission without further execution.


    This was the worst plan he had made so far.


    Coming to the fountain pool, this time Yan Junze simply turned his back to the center of the pool, standing under the moonlight, motionless.


    With the experience from the last time, he knew he had to wait a little longer for Fang Ning to appear.


    About eight minutes later, the sound of moving water came from the middle of the pool.


    ...


    ¡°You¡­ have¡­ come,¡± a hoarse and eerie voice sounded.


    ¡°Yes, I have,¡± Yan Junze answered.


    Caught on camera from over his shoulder, a slim figure, pitch-black all over, arched out of the water, followed by a splash of water, leaves, and garbage bags flowing in all directions, revealing the metallic torso of Fang Ning post-electrocution.


    Standing in the pool for a while, Fang Ning began to move her feet, walking stiffly towards the direction of the camera.


    Step by step, stirring the water, she reached the edge of the pool.


    In the camera¡¯s view, a hairless, pitch-black head clearly appeared within, deformed features all squeezed together, the upper and lower lips seemed sealed, oozing out copious amounts of thick mucus when they parted.


    Afterward, Fang Ning stepped over the pool and walked towards Yan Junze.


    Before long, her entire face drew near to Yan Junze¡¯s back and also close to the camera on his shoulder.


    She reached out, seemingly wanting to touch Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder. From the angle of the camera, it was clear to see that her wristwatch, pitch-black, had fused into her skin and muscle, becoming one with her wrist.


    But soon, Fang Ning lowered her hand, turned around, and with two palms, cracked like stones, pulled from behind at Yan Junze¡¯s hands, holding them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try again,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    Suddenly feeling a chill in his back, Fang Ning¡¯s back had pressed against his own.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    This moment would take a long time; Yan Junze knew it was as if Fang Ning needed to feel the emotional comfort she had finally found after such a long time at this very moment.


    They waited like this for over ten more minutes.


    Compared with the first time, Yan Junze had adapted much more to the situation. After all, Ke¡¯er had often lain on his body, and even though the current creature was more terrifying and ferocious, ready to take his life at any moment, they were fundamentally both ice-cold.


    Only, this one was a bit larger.


    Fang Ning finally spoke, ¡°Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!¡±


    This was simple, after all, it had been exchanged for two manual rewinds.


    Yan Junze immediately responded, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful, not just the moon but also time itself is beautiful, I will always remember this moment tonight.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the words we once said together?¡± Fang Ning asked.


    ¡°Yes, I remember,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice was very gentle.


    Whether influenced by the ambiguous atmosphere under the moonlight, or by the hair-raising female creature behind him, he felt that at this moment he truly became Jiang Hao¡¯s character.


    He lowered his head, looking at the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight.¡±


    Because he was very close to Fang Ning behind him, their reflected images under the moonlight looked bloated, just like a couple holding each other tightly in an embrace, unwilling to part.


    ¡°I hope the world can be very small, so small that I can see you the moment I turn around.¡±


    Fang Ning uttered the first line of her love confession.


    That hoarse and eerie voice, coupled with gentle words, conveyed an indescribable sense of terror. Your next read awaits at empire


    When she finished, after a brief pause, Yan Junze replied, ¡°I wish the world could be huge, so vast that I could hold your hand and never reach the end.¡±


    The next second, Fang Ning took a small step back, causing her pitch-black, stiff, and damp back to press even closer against Yan Junze.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°Sigh.¡± Yan Junze breathed out, rehearsed the response in his head once more, and slowed down his speech as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want the seas to dry up, the stones to rot away, not even the next lifetime, or forever. I just want¡­ every next second¡­ for you to still be by my side.¡±


    As soon as he had spoken, he immediately prepared to Rewind.


    Since in the previous ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± he was instantly killed by Fang Ning despite being prepared, he considered using Rewind a step earlier this time, in case he answered incorrectly.


    Of course, if he couldn¡¯t outpace Fang Ning¡¯s instant kill, then he¡¯d have to resign himself to fate.


    And all this was predicated on the assumption that his answer this time¡­ was still wrong.


    As feelings of high alertness, suspicion, and hesitation were flooding in, Yan Junze suddenly paused, sensing Fang Ning¡¯s grip on his hand suddenly loosening.


    At the same time, the pressure on his back vanished as the body that had been pressed against him retreated. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fang Ning¡¯s voice rang out, carrying an otherworldly gentleness, ¡°Turn around.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled.


    It seemed he had passed the test. Jiang Hao was right, the last promise was indeed correct, otherwise Fang Ning wouldn¡¯t have let go of him and asked him to turn around.


    Just turn around like this? Face to face, what if she recognized him, knew he wasn¡¯t Jiang Hao?


    Clearly, this was a new challenge.


    Although the obsession of the strangeness was strong and sometimes no longer retained the thinking and behavior patterns from before death, there was still no guarantee that Fang Ning wasn¡¯t still fixated on Jiang Hao, especially if his appearance was her final obsession, what then?


    ¡°To turn or not to turn?¡± Yan Junze hesitated, ¡°This might be her last request. I could turn around for a look, and if she notices something odd, I¡¯ll Rewind and think of another solution.¡±


    In general, as long as he survived the initial promise without being instantly killed by Fang Ning, that was enough.


    He decided to turn around.


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze felt his body stiffen like Fang Ning¡¯s, he moved his feet and slowly turned on the spot, facing Fang Ning who had already turned to face him.


    Of course, during this process, he also turned the camera on his shoulder so it was facing Fang Ning head-on.


    It was apparent that the Fang Ning before him had a beautiful figure: not only slender but also quite tall, almost the same height as Yan Junze when they stood back to back.


    But at this moment of turning around, Yan Junze realized he had been overly concerned.


    For Fang Ning¡¯s eyes were already gone.


    Seeing this horrifying sight, Yan Junze, not reassured, waved his hand in front of her eyes and got no reaction.


    ¡°A blind ghost¡­¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t love me anymore.¡± Fang Ning¡¯s lips parted slightly, emitting a hoarse sound, and between her lips, one could see a lot of sticky drool.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Yan Junze nodded, his gaze shifted away to avoid the nauseating sight.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t let go of you,¡± Fang Ning said again, ¡°Can you keep me company?¡±


    ¡°I am keeping you company right now,¡± Yan Junze sensed something was off.


    ¡°But I want¡­ every next second¡­ to be by your side.¡±

 Chapter 140 - 140 - 138 Reflection Under the Moonlight (6) (Please subscribe 10/10)

    Chapter 140 ¨C 138 Reflection Under the Moonlight (6) (Please subscribe 10/10)


    Yan Junze knew that the task level determination was influenced by the strangeness level within said task.


    In other words, if the strangeness level was high, then generally, the task level would also be high. But there were exceptions.


    For example, if the strangeness was difficult to deal with, or if the way to complete the task was very special, then the task level would likewise be high and not easy to complete.


    Since the task ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± has been upgraded to ¡°hair-raising (low)¡±, Fang Ning¡¯s strength must have been increased accordingly.


    Of course, it¡¯s also highly possible that the task mode has changed, becoming no longer that simple; at least like the Back-faced Woman before her Bond Evolution with Ke¡¯er, with Fang Ning fully approached, she could kill Yan Junze in one hit.


    However, if this is what a ¡°hair-raising¡± level task is, it somehow feels like something is missing.


    At this moment, Yan Junze realized, this was not exactly a task punishment, because as long as his performance satisfied Fang Ning, there was a certain chance of her growing fond (obsessed) with him.


    ...


    No matter whether the object of her affection was Jiang Hao or someone else. In any case, this affection might fade away, or perhaps from this moment, it would find a new home.


    Now Yan Junze strongly suspected that Fang Ning¡¯s affection had once again found its home.


    Like the promise she made before, she wished ¡°to stay by his side every next second¡±.


    In fact, Yan Junze had deeply experienced the uncertainty after task completion, like the ¡°Hair Washing¡± task, which didn¡¯t specify that Ke¡¯er would stay by his side, but in reality, Ke¡¯er chose to stay of her own volition.


    So for the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± task to eventually turn out like this, he could accept it, but emotionally¡­ he was very resistant.


    Now looking back, to successfully complete this task, there was a very high chance that Fang Ning would come to admire him.


    And Yan Junze also remembered, the task prompt dared him to say a ¡°no¡± to anything Fang Ning said.


    Such a damn domineering woman!


    If he said no now, he believed that what awaited him would definitely be a new round of being instantly killed.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Yan Junze looked up at the bright moon and sighed. After a moment of silence, he looked again at Fang Ning.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The task prompt popped up at this moment.


    [¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight,¡± hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1000 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    [Friendly Reminder: You have successfully gained the affection of Fang Ning; her love is crazy.]


    [Fang Ning (Semi-Sculpting Spirit), current Favorability: Intimate (Abnormal)]


    At the same time, Fang Ning, standing in front of Yan Junze, tilted her stiff head up blankly towards the bright moon in the sky.


    At this moment, she suddenly laughed happily, ¡°I like the moonlight.¡±


    Then she lowered her head as if looking at Yan Junze and said, word by word from her torn throat, ¡°And¡­ like¡­ you¡­¡±


    As soon as these words were spoken, right under Yan Junze¡¯s eyelids, Fang Ning¡¯s charred body visibly dissolved, a large amount of ink-like blackness merging into the ground, forming an eerie black shadow.


    This shadow had no substance and was truly just like a person¡¯s shadow, a person¡¯s¡­ reflection, visible but intangible.


    The moment this black reflection formed, it flowed like water toward Yan Junze¡¯s direction, and without any defense from him, the shadow merged directly into Yan Junze¡¯s own shadow under the moonlight.


    The entire event took no more than two or three seconds.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned, sensing something bad, he immediately turned off the camera, rushed to the portable camera set on the stone bench, stuffed everything into the black backpack resting beside him, then took off along the path he had come.


    After running to the path, he turned his head to glance in the direction of the electric fountain.


    Everything was eerily quiet, the area surrounding the fountain was dead silent, as if Fang Ning had never existed.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, Fang Ning just became the Reflection Under the Moonlight, and that reflection clearly entered her own shadow,¡± Yan Junze thought rapidly.


    Although the change had happened very fast, so fast that it caught him off guard, he still saw it clearly¡ªthe shadow that Fang Ning had turned into seemed to have merged with his own shadow.


    ¡°Together, merged with my own?¡± As the thought arose, Yan Junze involuntarily shivered. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He turned on the flashlight he had taken out beforehand, the trees on both sides of the path were dense, and the canopy overhead was thick enough to block any moonlight from seeping through.


    Under the illumination of the flashlight, Yan Junze sprinted through the path at top speed, arriving at the community road with the signpost.


    He didn¡¯t pause but quickly headed for the main entrance of the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area.


    At this time, without the obstruction of the trees overhead, the moonlight spilled down once again, shining on Yan Junze as he walked quickly across the ground, forming a small, shrunken reflection to the right in front of his feet.


    About a dozen steps later, the shadow sinisterly began to grow, and then a slender black shadowy arm emerged from the pitch-dark shadow, climbing up Yan Junze¡¯s lower leg and seizing hold of it.


    Yan Junze, who was in the midst of running, stumbled and plunged forward, crashing heavily onto the ground.


    The shadow at his feet began to crawl up following his movements, and at the same time, a hoarse and eerie laugh rang out¡ªit was the sound of Fang Ning who had just disappeared under Yan Junze¡¯s very eyes.


    Feeling an ice-cold sensation spreading up his legs, Yan Junze finally understood, and he looked up at the moon in the sky. Before the eerie chill had completely engulfed him, he immediately rolled on the spot.


    The next second, he rolled under the tree next to the road, a landscaping tree.


    The branches and leaves of this tree were not very dense, but they were just enough to block the moonlight.


    After he rolled under the tree, the shadow at his feet instantly vanished, and the cold feeling on his legs disappeared as well.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to sit up yet, but his heart was pounding like a drum; he tried bending his legs a bit and there was nothing abnormal.


    No abnormalities, that was good. After hiding under this tree, because the reflection at his feet disappeared, so did Fang Ning.


    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±


    Yan Junze murmured with a bitter smile, slowly sitting up straight, and looking at the moonlight on the ground outside, he came to an unfavorable conclusion in his mind.


    From now on, at least until he found a way to deal with Fang Ning, he feared he could no longer expose himself under the moonlight.


    Could there be any more troublesome tactic than merging into one¡¯s own shadow?


    Yan Junze sat under the tree, leaning against the trunk, shaking his head with a wry smile.


    From now on, it seemed that he had to be very cautious before taking on tasks above the ¡°hair-raising¡± level, and it was best to avoid them if possible.


    He now believed that if it weren¡¯t for the mother-daughter recognition and Ke¡¯er¡¯s extremely close relationship with him during the last encounter with the Back-faced Woman, she would have never let him remain intact as he was today.


    This point was evident from the fact that the Back-faced Woman, taking Ke¡¯er with her, showed no concern for Yan Junze when they left. Read new chapters at empire


    After sitting under the tree for a while, Yan Junze finally came to terms with this fact.


    It seemed that as long as he didn¡¯t expose himself to moonlight and didn¡¯t cast a shadow under the moon, he shouldn¡¯t attract any of Fang Ning¡¯s ¡°love you to death¡± actions toward him.


    He would just need to be careful in the future, and wait until he found a solution.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze checked the time on his phone; it was only half-past nine, not very late.


    He called his father, Yan Daguo: ¡°Dad, uh, I¡¯m currently in the neighboring Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area. Come and pick me up, and remember to bring an umbrella¡ªthe largest one we have, the one with the Huang Feihong fighting handle. No, it¡¯s not raining, just bring it over first.¡±

 Chapter 141 - 141 - 139

    Chapter 141 ¨C 139 ¡°Great Rewind¡± (Please Subscribe, Alliance Leader Xiao Haozi Update More)


    When Yan Daguo came over with the large umbrella and saw Yan Junze, he looked utterly baffled.


    The wind was gentle, and the moon shone brightly, casting its silvery glow. It wasn¡¯t pouring rain, so why were you hiding under the tree like you were avoiding it?


    ¡°Dad, give me the umbrella.¡± With a flattering smile on his face, Yan Junze took the umbrella from Yan Daguo¡¯s hand, opened it but didn¡¯t hurry out from under the tree.


    Instead, he first made sure to completely conceal himself under the umbrella and then carefully and slowly moved his body, ensuring that his silhouette was not exposed to the moonlight and therefore not forming a reflection.


    A man with an umbrella walked out.


    Yan Junze¡¯s figure was completely hidden by the large umbrella; the moonlight poured on its surface, unable to cast his shadow.


    Perfect!


    ...


    Seeing his son suddenly sporting a foolish grin, Yan Daguo felt an impulse to slap him at that moment. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This kid had been becoming more and more incomprehensible recently.


    First, he was continually encountering strangenesses, then he was closely associated with an exorcist, and the last time he had turned the house upside down, while also fiddling with making some videos. But it turned out that he had managed to bring in some money.


    Out of the ordinary, Yan Daguo was now more and more convinced that this kid would definitely be extraordinary in the future.


    ¡°Ze, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad, don¡¯t worry.¡± Hiding under the umbrella, Yan Junze said, ¡°There was a minor issue, which is completely manageable.¡±


    ¡°Here¡­¡± Yan Daguo suddenly looked around, ¡°is there some strangeness?¡±


    At that moment in Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area, except for this father and son, there was no one else in the public area, and the moonlight that fell on the ground seemed somehow cold and eerie, as if there was something sinister lurking within it.


    Otherwise, why else would his son use an umbrella to block the moonlight!


    Thinking of this, Yan Daguo looked up at the sky and couldn¡¯t help shivering.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go home,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Soon, the father and son returned to their home in the neighboring community, and to avoid being exposed to moonlight in the corridor as well, Yan Junze kept the umbrella up until they entered their home.


    It was apparent that only reflections under the moonlight would cause Fang Ning to appear and attack him. As for the light in the house, which made Yan Junze¡¯s shadow appear normal, there wasn¡¯t anything unusual.


    Of course, parental worry was inevitable, so after a brief chat with Li Man and Yan Daguo, mainly to reassure them, Yan Junze went back to his bedroom.


    He inserted the video he had shot into the computer and exported the footage he had just filmed.


    In the two days after finishing his college entrance exams, Yan Junze had spent two days learning video editing and production with Bao Jie. Although he hadn¡¯t fully mastered it, he could handle the basic operations without any problems.


    After opening the video, he deleted the last part, the scene where Fang Ning¡¯s shadow pounced on him, and then exported and forwarded it to Tang Zhengyi.


    He sent it to Tang Zhengyi because the platform had a video editing team to professionally handle it; they were pretty skilled at making videos, so it was best to let the platform produce the final cut.


    After the video was sent, Tang Zhengyi immediately called saying he had received it.


    Yan Junze went to the bathroom to wash up, then lay back down on the bed.


    Now he finally had time to take a good look at the Spacetime Atlas. After completing the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± mission, he received 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy, but beforehand, he had triggered ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± twice, along with his own manual rewind, resulting in excessive energy consumption.


    Even with the 1000 points, the loss could not be recouped, so while 35 spacetime nodes have already been illuminated, there are many segments of the corresponding time rewind lines that lacked energy replenishment.


    At the illuminated 35th spacetime node, a row of extremely small condensed characters appeared, indicating that a new function had been activated.


    Yan Junze thoroughly inspected it internally, and immediately the text magnified and popped up in his mind.


    ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion, using this function, you can be inserted into a specific point in spacetime for a period of time. Please note, it requires the occurrence of a space-time rift to complete the corresponding insertion, and the consumed energy points directly relate to factors such as the length of time crossed, personal involvement, and spacetime stability.¡±


    ¡°Serious Warning: Even with utmost caution, spacetime insertion can easily bring about the Butterfly Effect. It is suggested to use this in conjunction with the next function.¡±


    Fuck, that¡¯s a lot of information!


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, and read the text several times until he roughly grasped the concept.


    This ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion,¡± to be frank, is like a rewind with an even greater temporal reach. The difference is, upon returning to that point in time, one can only maintain their presence for a while before automatically returning to the present.


    Therefore, if one were to change an event at some past point in time, it would not merely alter the specific incident they intended to change. Instead, it could potentially lead to a series of cascading effects on future events.


    That is the so-called Butterfly Effect.


    That is indeed terrifying. A slight misstep could not only prevent achieving one¡¯s own goals but could also result in the situation going completely off track, leading to an even more bizarre, stranger, and unexpected result upon returning to the present.


    This cannot be used, it absolutely cannot be used rashly!


    However, the Atlas also indicated that it really isn¡¯t something one can just use as they wish. It can only be initiated in conjunction with the appearance of a space-time rift for ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± to be activated.


    And a critical point is in the last warning, suggesting the use in combination with the next function.


    This means that the appearance of the next function is closely related to the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion,¡± and the two functions need to be used together to be somewhat safer.


    So for now, he shouldn¡¯t use it, Yan Junze immediately decided.


    There are at least a few reasons he cannot use the function: first, without the appearance of a space-time rift, which is a prerequisite; second, if it triggers the Butterfly Effect, the consequences could be severe; and third, he didn¡¯t know how much energy it would take to use the function just once.


    But now thinking about it, this kind of ¡°Great Rewind¡± function must consume an extremely shocking amount of energy.


    Read new chapters at


    He would discuss it more slowly.


    At the moment, Yan Junze was careful when he needed to be, but overall, the strangeness he had encountered had brazened him considerably. He lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep in no time.


    Early the next morning, the video platform had processed the final footage and sent it over to Yan Junze.


    He waited until after breakfast to watch it, and upon reviewing it, he realized that professionals truly offered something different. The team had even adjusted the video¡¯s color tone to a pale white due to the moonlight shooting, adding to the effect.


    Just one look was enough to send a hair-raising chill down his spine, let alone him standing alone by the poolside.


    With Fang Ning¡¯s appearance, the horror atmosphere intensified immediately. Even Yan Junze, who had personally experienced it, felt an urge to flee the moment he saw Fang Ning emerge in the video.


    Without any suggestions for changes, Yan Junze simply sent Tang Zhengyi a big ¡°thumbs up,¡± and Tang Zhengyi quickly replied.


    The video would be prominently displayed on the homepage, potentially bringing in an income for Yan Junze that might not be much less than the last time.

 Chapter 142 - 142 - 140: Attracting Attention (Please Subscribe)

    Chapter 142 ¨C 140: Attracting Attention (Please Subscribe)


    A few days later, the college entrance exam scores were released.


    Comparing his score to the admission cut-offs previously set by various institutions, Yan Junze found that he had exceeded the Tianmeng Science University¡¯s admission line by 87 points, so there was absolutely no problem in getting into their physics department.


    His parents were overjoyed by this news. They were a bit excited that day; Yan Daguo took the day off from the factory, and Li Man happened not to have work that day either.


    Explore stories on .com


    The couple got busy, first calling their hometown to report the good news, then slaughtering chickens and fish, and at night, they prepared a table full of delicious food. Yan Daguo took the opportunity to bring out the Fetal Hair Wine he had been saving for many years, poured himself a glass contentedly, and even asked Junze if he wanted some.


    Under Li Man¡¯s fierce gaze, Yan Daguo reluctantly withdrew the wine glass he had handed to Junze and started drinking by himself.


    The atmosphere at the dinner table was good, but the couple¡¯s conversation kept revolving around what Junze should do after going to university.


    ...


    All Junze wanted to say was that not only had he done both his bachelor¡¯s and master¡¯s degrees consecutively in his past life, but he had also stayed on as a lecturer for three years. When it came to university life, he was the one with the most say.


    But the point wasn¡¯t his parents¡¯ nagging; the point was their concern for him.


    Sometime later, he received a call from Zhou Dali. After asking about Junze¡¯s scores, he immediately started congratulating him, though his own total score hadn¡¯t come out yet due to a delay in the physical education results.


    After inquiring about the scores of Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, it turned out they were both pretty good, making it into the admission lines of their respective universities.


    Seeing that most of his classmates had settled down, Zhou Dali became even more anxious. He rambled on the phone with Junze for a long time, actually seeking comfort.


    It wasn¡¯t until after the Yan Family had dinner that he hung up the phone.


    As soon as he hung up, the phone rang again. Junze took it out and saw that it was Bao Jie calling.


    After answering the call, sure enough, it was about the scores again. This time, it looked like Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie would have no problem being together after they both entered Tianmeng University.


    After discussing their scores, Bao Jie added, ¡°I just checked the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video out of curiosity, and I saw you¡¯ve made another strangeness video. It¡¯s currently on the homepage with a little red badge lit up in the top right corner!¡±


    The so-called ¡°little red badge¡± is a symbol of a flaming torch, which is the official mark of a trending video.


    That is to say, ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± had once again become a trending video.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯ll check it out later,¡± Junze said with a smile.


    ¡°At this rate, you won¡¯t even need your parents to give you money for university,¡± Bao Jie joked.


    ¡°If another video comes along, I should have enough for next year¡¯s tuition,¡± Junze joked back.


    There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.


    Junze waited for a moment, and seeing that Bao Jie had nothing to say, he said, ¡°If you¡¯re busy with something, we can hang up now.¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Bao Jie hurriedly responded. ¡°There¡¯s something¡­ I may need to trouble you with.¡±


    ¡°Ok, tell me,¡± Junze said, somewhat curious.


    ¡°My aunt¡¯s family, they¡¯ve been acting really weird lately, and I was hoping you could come over to take a look,¡± Bao Jie said somewhat sheepishly.


    Then she added, ¡°They can pay you.¡±


    Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not about the money, um, how much are they offering?¡±


    The change of topic was too abrupt, and Bao Jie was taken aback for a moment before replying, ¡°As long as you can solve their problem, money really isn¡¯t an issue. You can discuss it with them in person.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Junze nodded. ¡°Set up a time with them, and we can meet up in a few days.¡±


    So far, aside from the Aunt Mei and the strange baby in the underground parking lot, the strangenesses around FH Community had been pretty much cleared up.


    Of course, there are certainly many more in other parts of Shuntian City, and because there are so many, they¡¯re not that easy to resolve.


    Don¡¯t underestimate each task; they can¡¯t all be solved by force. Otherwise, Junze could just grab a club, not think about anything, and just hammer his way through, with Different Dimension Energy pouring in incessantly.


    ¡°`


    In fact, some tasks were not only mentally and time-consuming, but the energy generated after the investment often did not pay back much. For Yan Junze, there was no need to waste his efforts on them.


    Moreover, with exorcists around, common supernatural events could be left to them to handle.


    Of course, there were also events in Shuntian that exorcists couldn¡¯t handle, like the Back-faced Woman or the likes of Fang Ning.


    Fortunately, these supernatural beings with strong obsessions did not indiscriminately kill the innocent or cause irreparable damage. Some high-level supernatural events were even unnoticed by most people, perhaps still hidden in some corner.


    Although dealing with common and numerous supernatural events was troublesome and Yan Junze did not want to spend too much time on them, if a good friend or classmate needed help, he would step in without hesitation.


    After hanging up the phone, he opened the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± app to check his videos.


    Sure enough, the video had been set up for pay-per-view.


    Of course, Yan Junze was mainly interested in looking at the revenue from the background. Normally, revenue statistics could be seen two weeks later, but now he could know the number of clicks and comments, as well as how many times he had been rewarded.


    While looking through the comments, most netizens commented with phrases like ¡°beautifully done,¡± ¡°immersive experience,¡± ¡°so terrifying,¡± ¡°spectacular,¡± ¡°perfectly matched couple,¡± ¡°get together, get together,¡± and so on.


    Yan Junze browsed casually and found that the number of comments was already close to a thousand.


    But soon, his brow furrowed as his gaze fixed on a particular comment.


    The content of this comment was: ¡°It looks like a lot of preparation was done in advance, and every step was carefully planned. Not only is it courageous, but each move seems to have been considered beforehand. Very impressive.¡±


    Someone leaving such a comment was either a seasoned veteran regularly active here or someone who had made similar videos themselves.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes moved to the poster.


    ¡°Cheng Jingting?¡±


    There was even an official platform verification logo on the top right corner of the name, indicating that his profession was the same as Yan Junze¡¯s, both being authors.


    Upon visiting his homepage, Yan Junze discovered he was also a platform broadcaster.


    Yan Junze took note of the person who left the comment, making a mental impression of him.


    Below his profile were video resources he recommended. Curiosity piqued, Yan Junze clicked in to have a look. After watching three videos, he lifted his head and exhaled softly.


    It seemed that he had underestimated these people.


    The Spirit Exploration Teams looked very professional. Even without the exorcists¡¯ ability to perform exorcisms, they knew how to gather information and find the weaknesses and rules of the supernatural beings, breaking them one by one.


    Moreover, since they carried professional equipment, the videos they produced were of high quality and the editing was great. The popularity of their videos was higher than even those Yan Junze had shot.


    ¡­


    At the same time.


    In Tianyi District, within an old residential area.


    Cheng Jingting had just woken up, sitting groggily on his bed. He turned his head and glanced towards the bottom of the bed where, against the wall, a row of terracotta urns was arranged¡ªresembling the kind used by olden households for pickling.


    At that moment, the lid of one of the urns shifted slightly.


    Cheng Jingting pressed his lips into a charming smile: ¡°It seems about time. Once you come out, it¡¯ll be her turn.¡±


    As he spoke, he turned to look towards the window by the bedside.


    In the shadows in front of the floor-to-ceiling curtains, a woman clad in a white nightgown stood with a menacing look. She had no eyelids, and her round eyes stared out, two streams of bloody tears trailing down from them.


    She silently confronted the young man on the bed. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 143 - 143 - 141 Refusal to Cooperate (Subscribe Please)

    Chapter 143 ¨C 141 Refusal to Cooperate (Subscribe Please)


    ¡°`


    Staring at the woman standing in front of the curtains, Cheng Jingting seemed to harbor no fear.


    He had been asleep on this bed just now, while this woman had simply stood by, staring at the person on the bed with an aura of chilly gloom enveloping her, but Cheng Jingting appeared to be unfazed.


    It was clear that he had slept rather soundly.


    After taking out his phone and opening an app, he remained seated on the bed and after a moment¡¯s thought, picked up the phone and dialed a number.


    The call connected after a short while.


    ¡°Hello there, Editor Tang,¡± Cheng Jingting said with a smile.


    ...


    ¡°Mm, Jingtian, hello to you,¡± came the voice of Tang Zhengyi. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I wanted to ask if you¡¯re in charge of someone called ¡¯Night Traveling Puppy¡¯?¡± Cheng Jingting asked without beating around the bush.


    Tang Zhengyi hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Yes, is there an issue?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯d like to request your help in contacting him,¡± Cheng Jingting said. ¡°His videos are quite good, and if possible, I¡¯d like to collaborate with him.¡±


    ¡°Collaborate?¡± Tang Zhengyi was somewhat surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Cheng Jingting said with a smile. ¡°You know I¡¯m connected with many Spirit Exploration Teams, and if Night Traveling Puppy agrees to work with us, there are quite a few significant strangenesses sites here that have yet to be explored. We could give it a try.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to ask him about that,¡± Tang Zhengyi responded with a nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ll await your good news,¡± Cheng Jingting said before hanging up the call.


    Meanwhile, among the row of earth jars near the wall, one covered with a red cloth strip moved slightly, as if something inside was pushing it.


    Cheng Jingting pursed his lips in a smile, looking at that jar and muttered to himself, ¡°Eager to come out early?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Collaborate?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat surprised.


    He didn¡¯t expect that just after seeing a person named ¡°Cheng Jingting¡± comment on his video, in the blink of an eye, this guy had sent an invitation through Tang Zhengyi.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Tang Zhengyi explained. ¡°Cheng Jingting is quite famous on the platform, a part-time anchor, and many netizens call him Young Master Ting. This fellow has close business dealings with several tycoons and the Spirit Exploration Teams he¡¯s formed with these people are very active. Put simply, he¡¯s quite powerful on our platform; even the boss wouldn¡¯t dare to offend him.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t collaborate with others,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Having had a prior experience with collaboration, Yan Junze now found the concept of exploring spirits with ordinary people distasteful.


    It might have been another matter if the others were exorcists, but in the end, these people were just experienced in spirit exploration, still just ordinary people.


    Tang Zhengyi paused on the other end of the phone, then asked, ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t collaborate with them? The videos they¡¯ve uploaded are extremely popular, and if you were to work together, I believe the videos¡¯ popularity would soar further. Whether it¡¯s attracting the attention of video buyers or directly being featured on a paid platform, it would be a considerable amount.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Yan Junze still refused. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable working with others.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you collaborate once before? With your classmate,¡± Tang Zhengyi persisted, reminding him.


    ¡°Only that one time,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    Had it not been for the need to break the wall last time, he wouldn¡¯t have involved Zhou Dali. Yet Zhou Dali was such a coward that he wouldn¡¯t have agreed without Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin coming along. And since Bao Jie was needed for the video, one thing led to another, and the temporary exploration team was formed.


    Luckily, everything had gone smoothly with no mishaps. However, that experience made Yan Junze decide not to explore spirits with ordinary people again¡ªunless it was with an exorcist.


    ¡°`


    Tang Zhengyi tried persuading for a while longer, but seeing that Yan Junze¡¯s lips remained sealed, he had no choice but to say a few words and then hang up the phone.


    Afterward, Tang Zhengyi called Cheng Jingting.


    ¡°Oh, he won¡¯t join the Spirit Exploration Team. Mm-hmm, okay, nothing much.¡±


    Cheng Jingting hung up the phone with a smile still beaming on his face, which betrayed no hint of displeasure. He got up from the bed, dressed himself, put on his shoes, and went to crouch beside the row of earthen jars.


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    The jar covered with a red cloth lid was fluctuating frequently now, as if whatever was inside was eager to come out.


    Looking at it, Cheng Jingting took out his phone to check the calendar, ¡°It should be about time.¡±


    A hand reached over and lifted the red cloth lid, and a wisp of blue mist rose from the jar, dissipating into the air without a trace.


    At the same time, an indescribable foul odor hit him, permeating the room with a scent of decay and withering.


    Cheng Jingting placed the lid on the ground and extended his hand into the open jar. Sounds similar to stirring in mud echoed, followed by a look of surprise and delight on his face.


    He grabbed something from inside the jar and yanked it out with force.


    In his hands was a blue-skinned boy. The strangeness that emerged from the jar visibly grew larger until it stopped at the size of a five-year-old.


    Without emitting a sound, upon Cheng Jingting¡¯s release, the child landed naked on the floor, standing erect to the side, with stinky blue liquid continuing to drip from his body. Blue liquid also streamed from the sockets of his eyes, which showed nothing but white.


    ¡°The jar is freed up now,¡± Cheng Jingting said, not paying any mind to the boy standing to one side, but turning his head to address the woman in the white nightgown standing beneath the window curtain, brimming with chilly aura, ¡°It¡¯s your turn now.¡±


    ¡­


    Two days later.


    Yan Junze, after finishing his dinner, lay on the couch at home watching TV when Zhou Dali¡¯s phone call suddenly came through.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone, glanced at it, and pressed the answer button ¡ª Zhou Dali¡¯s laughter immediately burst through, not saying anything, just a series of loud ¡°hahahahas.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Yan Junze said, and then hung up, continuing to watch TV.


    Zhou Dali was left baffled, his smile still plastered on his face, the epitome of awkwardness.


    The phone rang again shortly after, and when Yan Junze answered, Zhou Dali blurted out angrily, ¡°What the hell, I just laughed a few times, didn¡¯t even say anything, and you congratulate me for what?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Knowing your character, wouldn¡¯t you laugh like an idiot only if something joyous happened? And in the past couple of days, the only thing that could make you so happy is naturally getting into Tianmeng Sports Institute.¡±


    ¡°Spot on!¡± Zhou Dali, not caring how prescient Yan Junze was, excitedly said, ¡°I¡¯ve booked us a spot at Tuberose Bar, just a few close classmates. Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin are coming too. Hurry over so we can celebrate! I¡¯ve even booked a Divine Camel Exclusive Car to take us home later, we play for a while, and head back by nine.¡±


    Yan Junze moved the phone away from his ear, sat up from the couch, and peeked out the window, ¡°The weather¡¯s good today, huh? Stars strewn across the moonlit sky.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the weather is really good,¡± Zhou Dali hurriedly responded.


    ¡°Too good. I¡¯m not coming,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Zhou Dali was befuddled once more, but after a moment, he called again, ¡°Hey Junze, if you¡¯re making excuses, at least make them plausible! What does ¡¯too good¡¯ weather even mean? What kind of weather are you waiting for to come out, a downpour or a hailstorm?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Yan Junze let out a resigned smile, ¡°You guys go on and enjoy. I really won¡¯t be coming.¡±


    ¡°You, I mean¡­¡± Zhou Dali began to protest in frustration, ¡°Bao Jie heard you were coming and even invited some relatives over for you since she was planning to seek your help with something recently. Are you really going to stand her up like this?!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze sat up straighter again.

 Chapter 145 - 145 - 143 Everyone in the Family is Abnormal!

    Chapter 145 ¨C 143 Everyone in the Family is Abnormal!


    As soon as these words came out, everyone looked shocked, even Jiang Ruixin and Bao Jie¡¯s faces showed a look of terror.


    There was something very strange about the family; the problem must have been quite serious.


    ¡°My husband, Yan He, since marrying me, we have never slept separately,¡± Bao Yunjing began to recall, narrating, ¡°But have you ever encountered this situation?¡±


    ¡°What situation?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Sleeping and waking up in the middle of the night, I hazily opened my eyes, only to see my husband lying beside me, his eyes wide open, staring at me unblinkingly,¡± Bao Yunjing said, still frightened by the memory.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Jiang Ruixin screamed, covering her mouth.


    ¡°You have to know, it was after three in the morning. I was already very groggy, and suddenly seeing my husband staring at me like that, I was so scared I almost lost my soul,¡± Bao Yunjing said. ¡°Just as I was scared back to full awareness, he turned over, facing away from me, and soon started snoring.¡±


    ...


    Pausing for a moment, Bao Yunjing continued, ¡°At that moment, I was covered in cold sweat, shivering uncontrollably for a while before I could recover. Then I pushed my husband and asked him what had just happened, and he actually said he didn¡¯t know anything, that he had been sleeping the whole time?!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, is there more?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°There is more.¡± Bao Yunjing picked up the wine glass in front of her, took a big gulp, thought for a bit, and said, ¡°That day my husband was late from entertaining guests, and because he was worried about encountering strangenesses on the way, he didn¡¯t come home. I slept alone.


    Oh, I forgot to mention, besides my husband and me, there¡¯s also a 13-year-old daughter and her grandfather in our family, making it four of us.¡±


    ¡°What about the grandmother?¡± Zhou Dali asked.


    ¡°Grandmother passed away early, and grandfather never remarried,¡± Bao Yunjing answered, then continued, ¡°That night, I also woke up around three in the morning, roused by a murmuring voice. Having had the previous experience, and with my husband not by my side, I immediately felt fear upon waking.¡±


    ¡°Listening carefully, I realized the voice was very faint, as if it came from the next room. The room next to the bedroom is my daughter Yan Wenwen¡¯s room, and it sounded as if she was talking to someone.¡±


    At this point, Yan Junze noticed that Jiang Ruixin had unconsciously grabbed Bao Jie¡¯s hand. The two of them didn¡¯t realize that they were gripping each other¡¯s hands so tightly that their fingernails were digging into the skin.


    ¡°Did you get up to check?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes, I got up,¡± Bao Yunjing said, recalling the experience suddenly made her shiver involuntarily before continuing, ¡°We usually sleep with the bedroom door closed, so when I got up and opened the door, I found that the voices really came from my daughter¡¯s room.¡±


    ¡°The door to my daughter¡¯s room was also closed, but I didn¡¯t immediately go in, nor did I turn on the light. Instead, I first listened at the door. I heard one voice that was my daughter¡¯s, but there was another that was unfamiliar. The voice was very soft, I could only make out some of the words.¡±


    ¡°What did you hear?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s curiosity was fully piqued, but he also noticed that Zhou Dali was biting his lower lip tightly, holding the wine glass in front of him firmly, trying his best to restrain his discomfort. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bao Yunjing took another sip of wine and said, ¡°My daughter said: ¡¯No, it will find out.¡¯ The voice said: ¡¯Just have a look, only looking.¡¯ Then my daughter continued to say: ¡¯No.¡¯ The voice kept saying ¡¯look, look.¡¯ But my daughter wouldn¡¯t relent, still repeating ¡¯no.¡¯ Unable to stand it anymore, I wanted to know who it was, and then I pushed the door open forcefully and went in.¡±


    As everyone listened to Bao Yunjing¡¯s description, they were startled and looked up at her. She continued, ¡°As soon as I opened the door, I screamed. I saw my daughter, standing at the door in her pajamas, eyes wide upon my entrance. That scene, it was so similar to what happened with her father that night.¡±


    ¡°But even after I screamed, my daughter had no reaction. She just turned around, walked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down, as if she had been sleeping the whole time, and then there was no more sound.¡±


    ¡°Where is the person she was talking to?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone,¡± Bao Yunjing shook her head. ¡°After I recovered, although my body was shaking with fright, I still took the opportunity to look around all the corners of the room, even inside the wardrobe. There was nothing, no one.¡±


    ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Bao Jie suddenly shivered and said, ¡°Is Wenwen¡­ talking to herself?¡±


    Bao Yunjing clearly hadn¡¯t thought of this, and when Bao Jie mentioned it, she was suddenly stunned, then shook her head: ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Your family is a bit strange,¡± Yan Junze pinched the center of his palm and found it had broken out in a layer of sweat beads.


    Breaking out in a cold sweat just from listening to ghost stories was rare for him nowadays.


    ¡°Have there been any other strangenesses?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bao Yunjing nodded. ¡°Last night, Wenwen had to go to the tutoring center the next day, so she went to bed early. Her grandfather also tended to go to bed early. I was in the bathroom washing up at the time, and then I heard a ¡¯thud thud thud¡¯ noise, as if someone was hammering on the wall.¡±


    ¡°I was still holding a washcloth to my face, and when I came out of the bathroom, I went to her grandfather¡¯s bedroom door and found it slightly ajar, and the knocking sound was coming from inside the room.


    Her grandfather had already turned off the lights and gone to bed, so I didn¡¯t make a noise; I just pushed the door open gently, and with the light from the living room, I saw her grandfather standing by the wall, his limbs stiff, repeatedly¡­ banging his head against the wall¡­¡±


    Bang!


    The sudden sharp noise startled everyone who was engrossed in the story, and even Bao Yunjing was terrified into forgetting what she was going to say next.


    Everyone looked up to see Zhou Dali, pale as death.


    At that moment, the wine glass that Zhou Dali had been holding was crushed by him, glass shards scattered on the table, but his palms were thick enough to prevent any bleeding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore, let¡¯s not,¡± Zhou Dali said with an awkward face, lifting his head to force out an ugly smile, and waved his hand: ¡°We¡¯re here to have fun, why are we telling ghost stories?¡± Discover exclusive tales on .com


    Seeing that the fellow was indeed badly frightened, Yan Junze also smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Auntie, I¡¯ll go and take a look at your house; let¡¯s set it for tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, thank you so much,¡± Bao Yunjing hurriedly said: ¡°How much should I pay you? Should I give you some compensation in advance?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that, no worries,¡± Yan Junze waved his hand.


    No one mentioned the hair-raising strangenesses anymore, and the topic quickly shifted to the scores of the recent exams.


    As long as they didn¡¯t talk about strangenesses, Zhou Dali recovered quickly, his voice once again grew louder, and he boasted about how he would make a remarkable entrance in the fitness academy after enrollment.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t talk much, instead, he pondered over the strangenesses occurring in Bao Yunjing¡¯s home and came to an initial guess.


    If everyone in the family was acting abnormally, then it was very likely they were invaded by a Possession Spirit.

 Chapter 146 - 146 - 144: Borrowing a Hand (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    Chapter 146 ¨C 144: Borrowing a Hand (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend) S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The group enjoyed some light drinks, deliberately avoiding the topic of strangenesses, and finally, a bit of atmosphere seemed to settle over the gathering.


    Around ten past nine, Zhou Dali called for the Divine Camel Exclusive Car, a minivan he had booked earlier that, besides the driver, could seat six people.


    There were five of them in total, and after they all got on the car, they first dropped off Yan Junze, who lived the closest.


    Only then did they proceed to drop off the others one by one.


    When the minivan reached FH Community, Yan Junze said goodbye to everyone, arranged a time to meet with Bao Yunjing, and got off the car alone, slowly walking into FH Community under the protection of an umbrella.


    Watching his figure disappear into the rain with the umbrella, Bao Yunjing waited until the minivan started up again before turning to Bao Jie to ask, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your classmate always give off an air of mystery?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Bao Jie shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s a mysterious aura with an inexplicable touch of teenage angst.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I agree with that,¡± Zhou Dali nodded on the side.


    Jiang Ruixin covered her mouth and sniggered.


    ¡­


    As Yan Junze entered the gates of the community with his umbrella, he glanced at Grandpa Zheng in the duty room.


    Grandpa Zheng was absorbed in watching TV, completely unaware of the person standing outside with an umbrella.


    Yan Junze walked straight to Building No. 7 and, just as he was about to turn into the stairwell, the door leading to the underground garage suddenly moved slightly.


    Yan Junze stopped in his tracks, still holding the umbrella, and turned his head to peer through the crack in the door, widened slightly in the moonlight. Near the bottom of the door, a pair of eerie eyes flickered and then disappeared.


    He paused, then turned around and walked out of Building No. 7 to Grandpa Zheng¡¯s duty room. He began, ¡°Grandpa Zheng, do you have any candles here?¡±


    Grandpa Zheng, who was watching a tear-jerker about caring for the elderly, dabbed gently at a tear about to fall, and without noticing why Yan Junze was holding an umbrella, opened the glass door of the duty room and asked, ¡°What do you need the candles for?¡±


    As he spoke, and without waiting for Yan Junze¡¯s reply, he bent down to pull a pack of candles from a drawer: ¡°How many do you need?¡±


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    ¡°Give me seven or eight,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you a new pack tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°No worries, I have plenty at home.¡± Grandpa Zheng handed over eight candles to Yan Junze, then looked up at the sky in confusion and asked, ¡°Is it raining?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it just started a little while ago, but it¡¯s stopped now; I didn¡¯t bother to close my umbrella,¡± Yan Junze, fabricating a story, took the candles and quickly returned to Building No. 7 of the community.


    The candles Grandpa Zheng provided were the kind used for illumination during a power outage, not the ritual candles sold for the deceased, so they were quite a bit smaller.


    Arriving at the door to the underground garage, Yan Junze squatted down and took out a candle, slowly extending it through the crack in the door, swaying it left and right inside the doorframe.


    At that moment, a withered, shriveled hand suddenly reached out, grabbed the candle, and violently pulled it back.


    Soon after, the sound of chewing echoed.


    Yan Junze stood up, took out another candle, opened the door, and walked in.


    He closed his large umbrella behind him and, in the dim light, saw a strange baby crouching behind the door on the stone stairs leading to the underground garage, hungrily devouring the candle. In just a short moment, half of the candle in its hand had been eaten.


    ¡°How did you get out?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, dangling another candle in front of the strange baby, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    He walked down the stairs.


    The strange baby hadn¡¯t finished eating the candle in its hand and reached out to grab the one Yan Junze was holding, but Yan Junze deliberately kept it out of reach.


    ¡°`


    Having no choice, the strange baby had to crawl toward the direction of the pipe room in the southeast corner of the garage while biting the candle in its hand.


    Soon they reached the small door and stopped in front of it. By this time, the strange baby had already snatched his second candle and was voraciously eating it.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, this little ghost has run out, and I¡¯ve brought it back to you!¡± Yan Junze pushed open the door, not entering, but standing at the doorway and calling.


    After a brief moment, without any sound coming through, a head with fluffy hair approached the door from the pitch-black room inside, smiling, yet the body underneath the head could not be seen.


    It was indeed Aunt Mei¡¯s head, but perhaps it was too dark to see her body; just a head, floating in mid-air, smiling at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled to see the strange baby trembling under his feet as it turned around, grabbed the remaining candle from his hand, and staggeringly ran into the room.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head still seemed to hang on the door frame, smiling at him.


    Yan Junze did not leave, in fact, bringing the strange baby back was just one of his objectives; he had another motive concerning himself.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, if it¡¯s convenient for you right now, I¡¯d like to ask you to come out for a moment. You see¡­ is that okay?¡±


    This was the first time he had made a request to Aunt Mei, and after uttering these words, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    He stared unblinkingly at the smiling Aunt Mei, and the atmosphere became stagnant.


    About ten seconds later, Aunt Mei¡¯s head, which appeared to be hanging, moved, flying straight out and hovering in front of Yan Junze, still with a full-faced smile.


    ¡°Your¡­ your body?¡± Yan Junze was dumbfounded and took a long time before asking, ¡°This¡­ how¡­ how can you go out like this?¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than he noticed a fresh blood thread connected below Aunt Mei¡¯s seemingly floating head, extending into the darkness of the room, its destination unknown.


    However, one could imagine that the other end of the thread was likely connected to Aunt Mei¡¯s body at the neck, and just the thought of this made Yan Junze shudder.


    Just then, Aunt Mei¡¯s head drew closer, reaching Yan Junze¡¯s elbow and giving it a gentle touch.


    Yan Junze paused and then said, ¡°Are you asking me¡­ to directly carry your head¡­ out?¡±


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head touched his elbow again.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and held her head.


    At that moment, the blood thread connected below snapped with a pop.


    It was time to go.


    Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart, and the head of Aunt Mei felt soft and squishy as he touched it, then he proceeded to walk out of the underground garage carrying the head.


    Inviting Aunt Mei out was for a reason.


    After ascending the stone steps and arriving in front of the small door to the underground garage near the first floor, Yan Junze looked down at Aunt Mei¡¯s head; the old lady still had a smile on her face, as if nothing was amiss.


    The moonlight was bright, shining in the stairwell of the first floor. Just by opening this small door, Yan Junze could bathe in the cold moonlight.


    And this time, he didn¡¯t plan on carrying an umbrella. After he had entered the underground garage earlier, the large umbrella had been left leaning against the back of the door.


    Carrying the head, Yan Junze took a deep breath and stepped through the door directly.


    The moonlight came down, casting the shadows of him standing outside the door, along with the head of Aunt Mei in his arms, behind them.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 147 - 147 - 145: Inside the House, Another World? (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    Chapter 147 ¨C 145: Inside the House, Another World? (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)


    At the moment the moonlight shone upon him, Yan Junze immediately turned his head to look behind him.


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    The head of Aunt Mei, which he was holding with both hands, was now cradled to his left side for an easier view over his shoulder.


    And Aunt Mei, wearing a smile as well, followed his gaze to look behind them.


    One second, two seconds, three seconds¡­ after more than ten seconds, Yan Junze remained motionless, his gaze fixed intently on his own shadow.


    There was nothing unusual.


    Bathed in the moonlight at this moment, his shadow, clearly cast behind him, surprisingly exhibited no strange alterations.


    ...


    Fang Ning did not appear.


    Yan Junze then turned around and continued walking back and forth at the doorway while holding Aunt Mei¡¯s head. After a minute, there were still no signs of any abnormalities in his shadow.


    ¡°My apologies, Aunt Mei,¡± Yan Junze began to explain, ¡°A woman has attached herself to me, seemingly entering my shadow. As long as my shadow appears under the moonlight, she insists that I stay with her every second that follows.¡±


    He paused, seeing that Aunt Mei simply smiled without responding, he added, ¡°So I wanted to ask for your help to see if we could either get rid of her or persuade her to leave my shadow.¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°But from the looks of it now, with you here, this woman doesn¡¯t dare to come out at all. That is to say, she doesn¡¯t dare show herself to you.¡±


    The head of Aunt Mei nestled between his arms suddenly moved. To Yan Junze, it seemed as if she nodded, affirming his thoughts.


    ¡°Then I will take you back now.¡±


    Yan Junze turned and walked towards the small door that led to the underground garage; not long after, he returned to the doorway of the southeastern room. Looking down, he noticed the blood thread that had been connected to Aunt Mei¡¯s head was still on the floor.


    As he approached, the blood thread reattached itself, reconnecting with Aunt Mei¡¯s head. Her head slipped from his hands and hovered to the entrance of the inner room.


    Turning back and smiling at Yan Junze, Aunt Mei¡¯s head nodded and then vanished inside the room.


    Yan Junze waved his hand as if to say goodbye and then turned to leave.


    Reaching the stairs, he took out the large umbrella from behind the door and went to the entrance.


    Yan Junze looked down at his feet, then opened the large umbrella, readied himself and then stepped one foot outside the underground garage. Moonlight cascaded down, precisely illuminating that foot and casting its shadow.


    But only seconds later, the shadow of his foot began to twist. A black arm emerged from the shadow, reaching out to grab him.


    Yan Junze quickly held the open umbrella over himself, and the abnormality disappeared instantly.


    He sighed as he stepped fully out, entirely shielded by the large umbrella from any sliver of moonlight. Shaking his head, he spoke to himself, ¡°My shadow has now become your best hiding place.¡±


    If Aunt Mei appeared, Fang Ning would choose to disappear. But once Aunt Mei was no longer there, Fang Ning¡¯s return happened without any delay, even faster than Yan Junze had anticipated.


    ¡°There should still be other ways to deal with her,¡± Yan Junze pondered as he returned home with his umbrella.


    At the same time.


    In that southeastern room of the underground garage.


    The floating head of Aunt Mei, guided by the blood thread, slowly made its way back to a room inside.


    In the pitch-dark room, behind stacked boxes and on the damp floor, Aunt Mei¡¯s headless body lay there. The floating head slowly approached it.


    However, the body suddenly began to stir, and two strange babies fought to crawl out from the swollen neck of the headless torso.


    Their movements created a series of unsettling noises.


    After the strange babies emerged, their mouths were covered in a black fluid. One of them grabbed a candle that had fallen to the floor and shared some with the other baby. The two chewed as they retreated to a corner of the room.


    Guided by the blood thread, Aunt Mei¡¯s head reattached itself to the neck of the corpse.


    Soon the body moved as if being restored, and she stood up with a smile on her face.


    ¡­


    The next day, while Yan Junze was still enjoying his sleep, Bao Yunjing¡¯s phone call came through.


    She could not wait any longer and urgently needed Yan Junze to hurry over and deal with the strangeness in her house.


    After informing his parents and stating that he might not return until late, he again used Zhou Dali, the professional scapegoat, as a pretext.


    By the afternoon, Yan Junze, with his backpack slung over his shoulder and umbrella in hand, stepped out of the door.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know if there would be a moon out tonight, it was better to be prepared than to have nothing at all.


    However, Yan Junze did not immediately head to Bao Yunjing¡¯s home but first made a detour to the ¡°Zhou Erfu¡± jewelry store where he retrieved the mallet Gu Bai had re-cast for him a few days ago.


    Because some new techniques had been incorporated into it, the process took a little longer this time.


    This time, the mallet had been refined and made from a variety of metals and non-metals to create an alloy mallet, which was much more durable than the previous one. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, in line with Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, the Black Spirit Bead was not melted into it, but rather set as an inlay, encased in a non-transparent metallic glass containing palladium, and mounted a bit further up on the handle of the mallet.


    This metallic glass containing palladium, according to Gu Bai, was extremely hard, almost on par with the alloy itself. It was something he had managed to obtain through his connections, and the raw material was not abundant.


    Had it not been for Yan Junze solving his family¡¯s trouble last time, Gu Bai would certainly not have offered this favor, which originally was owed to someone else.


    Yan Junze swung the mallet a few times, feeling that although it was heavier than before, it fit better in his hand; and the spot where the Black Spirit Bead was mounted, with its bulging metallic glass, looked quite beautiful, scoring extra points for the whole mallet.


    Nevertheless, even with the improvements, Yan Junze believed the mallet¡¯s effectiveness against strangeness would hardly surpass the original by much, at best it would be less likely to get damaged after such encounters.


    But using it against anything more powerful than a Semi-Sculpting Spirit would still be a dead end.


    Yan Junze¡¯s current definition for this mallet was that it could serve as a tool for beating Wandering Spirits, provided their forms weren¡¯t too bizarre.


    In dire circumstances, the mallet could also be used for self-defense, offering at least some protection against the attack of ferocious strangeness, rather than relying solely on Rewind or Evil Spirit Solid Lock to resolve the issue.


    After thanking Gu Bai and having a brief chat, Yan Junze called Bao Yunjing to confirm her address before leaving the jewelry store and heading straight to her home.


    Bao Yunjing¡¯s husband, Yan He, was the financial director of a large corporation in Shuntian City, often busy with work and away from home for at least ten days a month.


    Her residence was in a neighborhood well-known in Shuntian City, a famously wealthy community called Spectacular Courtyard. It was said that when other neighborhoods were selling at ten thousand per square meter, Spectacular Courtyard had already started at thirty thousand.


    Upon arrival, Yan Junze signed in at the gate and was then allowed to enter.


    He noticed that there were at least three young security guards on duty at the main gate. Bao Yunjing¡¯s family must be quite eminent in Shuntian to live here, and should they find strangeness, getting an Exorcist would be a piece of cake for them.


    But at the time, he didn¡¯t inquire whether Bao Yunjing had reported to the Exorcists or not.


    Or perhaps, she had never intended to make such a report.


    After entering Spectacular Courtyard, the area was divided into two sections: one was a villa district, and the other was a garden villa area.


    According to the information Bao Yunjing sent him, her family lived in unit 3-1, in building B-6 of the garden villa area¡¯s second section.


    Having called Bao Yunjing, Yan Junze quickly located the address, and upon reaching the third floor, Bao Yunjing had already opened the door, waiting for him at the entrance.


    The moment Yan Junze approached the door, he felt a chill emanating from behind Bao Yunjing, coming from inside the house¡ªit was as if it were from another world.


    ¡°Your place here¡­ is much cooler than outside,¡± Yan Junze commented half-jokingly while entering and changing his shoes.


    Bao Yunjing smiled and said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the design of the house. It gets really warm inside during winter.¡±


    After changing into slippers and glancing up, Yan Junze saw an old man with a head full of white hair standing at the corridor leading to the bedroom; he was only showing half of his body, with the other half concealed in the corridor, standing motionless and peering over with one eye.

 Chapter 148 - 148 - 146: Strange Happenings at the Yan Family (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    Chapter 148 ¨C 146: Strange Happenings at the Yan Family (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment.


    But he felt that the old man, half-hidden in the corridor, had an even heavier chill emanating from behind him.


    The next second, he followed Bao Yunjing into the living room.


    Bao Yunjing had also seen the old man¡¯s eerie appearance standing in the corridor. She shivered, turned her back, and said to Yan Junze, ¡°That¡¯s my father-in-law. You can call him Grandpa Yan.¡±


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Bao Yunjing shook her head. ¡°He was fine just now. I told him we were having a guest today, and he said he would cook some good dishes. I don¡¯t know how it turned into this. Look¡­ everyone in my family is¡­¡±


    At this point, Bao Yunjing¡¯s face was full of worry.


    ...


    Yan Junze could only try to comfort her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, leave it to me to handle.¡±


    As he spoke, he turned his head to look again at Grandpa Yan standing at the entrance of the corridor, only to find that the old man had vanished without a trace.


    Noises came from the kitchen, as if Old Yan was already busy preparing to cook.


    Truly a bit ominous!


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing poured a cup of tea for Yan Junze, carefully lifted it, and placed it in front of him.


    ¡°Where is your daughter Wenwen?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s in her room doing her tuition homework. I¡¯ll call her out so you can meet her, get familiar,¡± Bao Yunjing said.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, just nodded his head.


    Bao Yunjing turned and went to her daughter¡¯s room. A short while later, a girl who was only half a head shorter than her followed Bao Yunjing out.


    This girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and wore a pale pink home pajama. She stood behind Bao Yunjing to the right, calmly staring at Yan Junze. Find adventures at


    ¡°Say hello,¡± Bao Yunjing said with a hint of reproach.


    ¡°Hello, Brother,¡± Yan Wenwen said with an unchanged expression, nodding slightly to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Hmm, sensible, didn¡¯t call me Uncle,¡± Yan Junze thought with relief and said, ¡°You go ahead with your homework. I might be disturbing you all today.¡±


    At that moment, Yan Wenwen¡¯s gaze suddenly flickered, as if she was anxious, trying to hide something, but quickly her expression returned to normal, and she blinked at Yan Junze.


    After Yan Wenwen went back to her room to continue her homework, Yan Junze asked Bao Yunjing, ¡°What about Uncle Yan?¡±


    ¡°I just called him. He¡¯s going to be late today, so we won¡¯t wait for him for dinner.¡± After saying this, Bao Yunjing took some newly bought fruit into the kitchen to wash.


    Yan Junze was sipping his tea while watching the television news.


    Before long, Old Yan came out of the kitchen carrying the fruit Bao Yunjing had taken to wash, while Bao Yunjing stayed in the kitchen.


    Gone was the look of indifference and stiffness. Old Yan smiled, placed the fruit tray filled with fruit in front of Yan Junze, and said, ¡°Child, have some, I¡¯ve been busy in the kitchen and didn¡¯t notice the guest arrive.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at him in surprise. ¡°Grandpa Yan, didn¡¯t you see me in the hallway just now?¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± Old Yan seemed bewildered, ¡°I haven¡¯t left the kitchen, I¡¯ve been washing vegetables. I just took the opportunity to wash the fruit that Yunjing brought.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something. ¡°Then where is Auntie? She just went into the kitchen to wash the fruit, but you came out with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s better at stir-frying green peppers with shredded pork, so she took over.¡± Just as Old Yan finished speaking, the sound of stir-frying could be heard from the kitchen.


    Yan Junze nodded. ¡°Has Grandpa Yan noticed anything amiss lately?¡±


    Old Yan shook his head, suddenly closed his eyes, and after about two or three seconds, opened them again and said, ¡°I¡¯m getting old, many of my memories are very blurred. Sometimes I forget the things I did in the morning by the afternoon. I don¡¯t remember much.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your head here?¡± Yan Junze pointed to a bruised area on Old Yan¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Bumped into something when I got up, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Old Yan waved his hand, ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll go check the kitchen, you just sit and relax.¡±


    Of course, Yan Junze remembered Bao Yunjing saying that one night, the old man had been hitting his head against the wall by himself.


    Not long after Old Yan entered, Bao Yunjing¡¯s stir-fried pork with green peppers should be ready, and she came out with an apron tied around her waist.


    Once she sat down, Yan Junze said, ¡°Aunt, I may need to shoot some videos this time, is that okay? Of course, I¡¯ll blur out everyone¡¯s face in post-production and will not expose any family or personal privacy.¡±


    Bao Yunjing paused for a moment, then said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, but you need to show us the final video first.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°I won¡¯t record now, I¡¯ll start recording in the evening, which is the time you said things get more serious. Also, may I ask if you have reported this strangeness to an exorcist?¡±


    Bao Yunjing nodded, ¡°I remember we did.¡±


    ¡°Then why not use connections to prompt them?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I remember we also prompted them.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    Soon, the dining table near the kitchen was filled with delicious dishes, and Bao Yunjing called Yan Junze over to sit down, while Old Yan went to call Yan Wenwen, who was still doing homework.


    The area of the room was quite spacious, about over 180 square meters, and the dining room next to the kitchen was also roomy. Bao Yunjing prepared eight dishes and one soup to entertain Yan Junze well.


    There were seafood, chicken, duck, fish, and home-cooked dishes, making Yan Junze exclaim they had gone to too much trouble.


    Everything seemed normal now, except for when he first entered the door. Not long after dinner, Yan He came home.


    This guy was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with a pot-belly, hair meticulously combed, and golden glasses, looking every inch a business elite.


    After learning the purpose of Yan Junze¡¯s visit, Yan He became very enthusiastic and privately asked Yan Junze to prepare some charms or conduct an exorcism, one that could drive away the evil spirit once and for all.


    It was clear that this guy had no clue about this field and was ignorant of the spread of strangenesses these days.


    Having obtained the homeowners¡¯ permission, in the evening, Yan Junze took out his camera from his backpack, turned it on, and placed it on the living room¡¯s decorative cabinet, aiming the lens at most of the living room, also covering the doors of several bedrooms.


    He, meanwhile, continued to wear a camera on himself.


    Yan Junze had initially planned to sleep on the living room sofa, but at Bao Yunjing and her husband¡¯s insistence, he ended up sharing the big bed with Old Yan.


    The bed was large, with a blanket for each, there was still plenty of space.


    The old man was accustomed to sleeping early, and he had already fallen asleep on the bed while Yan Junze was still setting up the camera.


    After everyone went back to their bedrooms and closed the doors, the house soon quieted down.


    Yan Junze fiddled with the camera to make sure it wouldn¡¯t be tilted by lying down, while the steady snoring of Old Yan reached his ears.


    Fortunately, the snoring was not loud, and Yan Junze could totally accept it.


    Now, what puzzled him was that since he had arrived at the house, he had not received any notifications about a mysterious mission.


    It seemed there were already some oddities here, but why hadn¡¯t he received any mission notifications?


    This, Yan Junze could not understand.


    Lying in bed, he checked his phone, which was almost eleven o¡¯clock. Could it be that the entity knew he was here and chose to hide itself?


    He turned off the phone screen and placed it on the bedside table next to him. Yan Junze lay down fully clothed, his eyes slightly narrowed, unsure how much time had passed.


    Suddenly, he felt his phone screen light up. He opened his eyes slightly and lifted his head to glance at it. He saw not only was the screen on, but it also displayed the password input screen.


    At that moment, a line of text popped up.


    Yan Junze saw it very clearly, the line of text read: Wrong password entered, 4 more tries remaining.

 Chapter 149 - 149 - 147 Who is the most bizarre? (Alliance Leader Sabahdanis 1221 added more)

    Chapter 149 ¨C 147 Who is the most bizarre? (Alliance Leader Sabahdanis 1221 added more)


    ¡°Password entered incorrectly, 4 more attempts remaining.¡±


    Seeing this line suddenly appear on his phone screen, Yan Junze got a jolt that made the hairs on his back stand, feeling a chill permeating his entire body.


    He immediately sat up from lying down, turned his head and looked around. Although it was rather dark, he could still see objects in the bedroom, and everything was as quiet as before, without any unusual occurrences.


    He looked again at the lit phone screen, the line of text was still there.


    Had someone just touched his phone? And they had entered the wrong password to boot.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and flipped through it casually; nothing was amiss.


    More importantly, no mission prompt had come up so far.


    ...


    Unsure if it was a problem with the phone system or if there really were some anomalies, Yan Junze held his phone, continuously pondering.


    ¡°Is this ¡¯strangeness¡¯ really so laid-back? Devoid of any obsession, its purpose here purely to tease people?¡±


    Not feeling quite reassured, he decided to get out of bed and tiptoed to open the bedroom door, stepping out into the living room.


    On the elegantly refined decorative cabinets in the living room, the camera lens was pointed at most of the living room, still operating.


    Yan Junze stood inside the room, looked around, and an eerie silence filled the air, without a sound.


    Some light from outside came through the windows, allowing him to make out the layout clearly.


    He had activated the rewind feature before lying down in bed, keeping it on loop ever since. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing nothing unusual in the living room, Yan Junze was about to check the bathroom, kitchen, and balcony.


    But just as he was about to move, the door of the room where Yan Wenwen was sleeping suddenly moved slightly, opening a crack, and an eye peeked through quietly.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly walked over. The eye behind the crack withdrew immediately.


    Without making a sound, Yan Junze approached the door and gently pushed it open, and there stood Yan Wenwen in a light red nightgown, looking fearfully at Yan Junze.


    ¡°Wenwen?¡±


    Having heard from Bao Yunjing about the strange happenings, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if Wenwen was normal at the moment or if some anomaly had occurred.


    Yan Wenwen nodded her head, her eyes bright, and she made a silencing gesture to Yan Junze, seeming quite normal.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡± Yan Junze whispered.


    Yan Wenwen carefully closed the bedroom door, pulled Yan Junze to the desk, and then in a very quiet voice said, ¡°Brother Yan, everyone in this house is very peculiar, including my parents, especially my mother. You have to save us.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat stunned for a moment. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it your mother who felt something was peculiar at home, which led to my being called over?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t directly say that, in reality, it was Bao Yunjing who felt that everyone else in the family was peculiar, and that¡¯s why she had reached out to him through Bao Jie.


    Yan Wenwen, as if frightened of being overheard, quickly shook her head, her hands gesturing rapidly in front of her chest, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it; I¡¯ve been telling my mother to call the exorcist, she said she did. But a couple of days ago, when I applied to check, there was no report from us on record.¡±


    ¡°Then you reported it afterward?¡± asked Yan Junze, surprised.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s when I reported it myself,¡± nodded Yan Wenwen. ¡°But when I asked my dad and mom, they both said they had reported it.¡±


    ¡°That is strange!¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, then looked towards Yan Wenwen again, ¡°You said your mother was peculiar, what is peculiar about her? I think she seems very normal.¡±


    Yan Wenwen nervously shook her head, glanced at the bedroom door, and then checked her watch, ¡°Half past twelve, every night at half past twelve, she comes punctually to¡­ comb my hair.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Junze got a shock.


    ¡°Even when I was asleep, she would come and comb my hair while kneeling beside my bed. I was so scared to death that I didn¡¯t dare to open my eyes,¡± said Yan Wenwen, her body beginning to tremble.


    ¡°It¡¯s just to your room?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Wenwen shook her head, ¡°every room. After she finishes combing my hair, she goes to Grandpa¡¯s room. Sometimes I hear her talking to someone, but Grandpa¡¯s dementia is so severe and he¡¯s always been a heavy sleeper. Except for waking up at five o¡¯clock sharp every morning, he wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by anything else during that period.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and asked, ¡°Was this what you wanted to tell me earlier today, during the day?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± said Yan Wenwen, ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to speak up with Mom around.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I understand,¡± Yan Junze checked the time on his cellphone, which showed it was just shy of midnight. He said to Yan Wenwen, ¡°Keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing. If your mom comes in to comb your hair, don¡¯t open your eyes, just endure it. According to what you¡¯ve said, she will leave here and go to my place afterward. Wait for me to handle it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Brother Yan. You must save us!¡± Yan Wenwen looked at him pitifully.


    After leaving her room, Yan Junze had no intention to wander around the other rooms, and he returned to Old Yan¡¯s room. Sure enough, the old man was in a deep slumber, his snoring loud and steady, oblivious to anyone moving around him.


    He lay back down on his bed, took out his cell phone and placed it back on the bedside table. This time, Yan Junze did not plan to sleep again.


    He was waiting for half-past midnight to see if what Yan Wenwen said was true. If Bao Yunjing¡¯s strangeness was greater, this situation could be very complicated.


    Because so far, Yan Junze had not received any notifications about the mission.


    This had him doubting whether the current events were really the work of a spirit, or if there was some other explanation.


    Time passed.


    As he pondered, the time finally reached half-past midnight.


    It was clear by then that Yan Wenwen next door, in her bedroom, had definitely not fallen asleep. Instead, she was trembling with fear, waiting for her mother to come and comb her hair.


    With a click, the sound of a bedroom door being opened echoed from outside, followed by soft footsteps. The footsteps paused at the door next to his, then the sound of the door opening and again, more footsteps.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sleepy at all; in fact, his mind was exceptionally clear, so he listened very carefully.


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing should be combing her daughter¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Damn, just thinking about it sends chills down the spine,¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but shake his head, feeling a wave of disgust.


    Every night like this, it was a wonder what had kept Yan Wenwen holding on until today.


    It wasn¡¯t long before noises started coming from the other side again.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes and listened as the door to the room next door closed and soft footsteps approached Old Yan¡¯s bedroom.


    Old Yan was still sleeping soundly, showing no sign of disturbance.


    After about ten seconds of silence, the bedroom door was pushed open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes closed, pretending to be sound asleep, and positioned himself so that he faced left with one hand near his head, ensuring he could react quickly if anything happened.


    As the footsteps entered the room, an inevitable hair-raising sensation crept over him.


    The footsteps, neither fast nor slow, ceased after entering the room. Based on the sound, it seemed as if they had stopped in the middle of the bedroom. Stay connected via .com


    Another two or three minutes passed with no movement.


    Yan Junze grew somewhat impatient. He hadn¡¯t moved his body, only twisted his neck slightly, then squinted his eyes, peering through the dim light from the window.


    In his line of sight, a woman with disheveled hair, wearing a red nightgown, stood at the foot of the bed, motionless, seemingly staring at the person lying there.

 Chapter 150 - 150 - 148 The Person Standing by the Bed

    Chapter 150 ¨C 148 The Person Standing by the Bed


    Upon witnessing this scene, Yan Junze¡¯s scalp exploded.


    He dared not move nor fully open his eyes to watch, but even with the limited view he had, he could still make out a resemblance to Bao Yunjing in that woman wearing the red nightgown.


    However, during the daytime, Bao Yunjing¡¯s bangs were always neatly done, whereas now, this woman¡¯s disheveled hair added a layer of terror.


    What mattered the most was that she had entered the room and didn¡¯t move. She just stood at the foot of the bed like a wooden mannequin, her gaze unclear as if her eyes were closed, yet they seemed to be open as well.


    Yan Junze softly twisted his neck a bit more, slightly opening his eyes a bit more, but he was confident that with his back to the light coming in from outside, Bao Yunjing wouldn¡¯t notice this minor movement.


    Upon opening his eyes slightly wider, it seemed he could see more clearly that the woman in the red nightgown was indeed Bao Yunjing, but it appeared as though her eyes were open.


    The reason Yan Junze got the impression she had her eyes closed was that in the eyes of the woman, there was no white in them, they were completely black, like ink.


    ...


    Fearful of being discovered, Yan Junze glanced briefly and then immediately closed his eyes.


    At the same time, he felt secretly relieved that Yan Wenwen had kept her eyes closed while Bao Yunjing was combing her hair; otherwise, if she had opened them for a look, she might have been scared into screaming immediately.


    What kind of consequences that would bring about was simply unimaginable.


    Bao Yunjing, wearing the red nightgown, just stood there, showing no intention of leaving, the scene was dead silent.


    Apart from Uncle Yan¡¯s fearless snoring, there was the soundless, eerie aura spreading from Bao Yunjing throughout the room.


    Perhaps after another seven or eight minutes, Yan Junze remained rigid in his sleeping posture, not relaxing at all, so his limbs quickly began to feel numb.


    Just then, the sound of Bao Yunjing¡¯s footsteps arose as she began to move, and her direction was toward Yan Junze¡¯s side where he lay.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing, making himself look as if he was truly asleep.


    However, his ears were more sensitive than ever, not missing any movement made by Bao Yunjing.


    Bao Yunjing¡¯s pace was still very slow. As she moved, her hands didn¡¯t swing but hung straight down, like a lifeless corpse.


    Upon reaching the side where Yan Junze lay, she didn¡¯t move further, just standing in front of him.


    Yan Junze once again narrowed his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he could see the woman in the red nightgown standing less than half a meter away from him.


    He dared not lift his head to look, so he didn¡¯t know if the woman was looking down at him at the moment, or simply staring straight ahead.


    Perhaps Bao Yunjing no longer had a gaze at that moment, for there was no white in her eyes, only a field of black.


    Faintly, Yan Junze could see Bao Yunjing¡¯s red nightgown undulating slightly. This indicated that the woman was indeed alive and not dead, as she was still breathing.


    Yet her current appearance was indistinguishable from that of a corpse, even more terrifying.


    It was very strange. Considering Bao Yunjing looked like she was possessed by the Possession Spirit, why had his Atlas not given any task notification?


    Could it be that this Possession Spirit truly had no Obsession?


    But without Obsession, then why would she behave in such a bizarre manner?


    Yan Junze was filled with a mass of thoughts but still couldn¡¯t grasp any clues.


    Just then, the nightgown began to fold. Yan Junze was startled, realizing there was only one possibility for the nightgown to fold up like that ¨C Bao Yunjing was crouching down.


    He immediately closed his eyes, this time not even daring to risk narrowing his eyes to slits.


    Bao Yunjing did indeed crouch down, her head level with Yan Junze who lay on the bed.


    Her breathing was even, but her expression was stiff, her body slowly leaning forward, her eyes wide open, the pitch-black pupils seeming to glare at the ¡°sleeping¡± Yan Junze.


    Even with his eyes closed, Yan Junze could still feel ¡°something¡± approaching his face, like an intuition, a sixth sense.


    He could hear his own heartbeat clearly, like a heavy drum on the battlefield, pounding incessantly, almost leaping out of his throat.


    At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s whole body was covered in goosebumps, and a chill emerged, spreading all around his body.


    If it were any other time, he believed he would¡¯ve damn well thrown a punch or already jumped out of the bed by now, but now, he managed to hold back.


    A moment later, Bao Yunjing¡¯s lips began to slowly open, but they did not fully part; instead, halfway through, she made a bizarre sound from her throat next to Yan Junze¡¯s ear.


    The sound was initially very soft but gradually began to grow louder.


    Yan Junze pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a few sentences, only to find the syllables uttered by Bao Yunjing were odd, not understanding a single one, yet she kept on making noises, kept on saying something non-stop.


    An eerie and inexplicable woman, lying next to one¡¯s bed in the dead of night, with pupils that are black, mouth wide open, constantly uttering strange words.


    In this moment, Yan Junze felt he was about to lose his composure.


    However, he noticed at the same time that this way of speaking sounded much like someone muttering in their sleep, which is usually very mumbled. Clearly enunciated sleep talk is rare, unless the sentence is very short.


    After enduring for a while, just as Yan Junze felt he truly couldn¡¯t keep it together any longer, the snoring of Old Yan sleeping beside him abruptly stopped.


    Old Yan mumbled something in his mouth as if he, too, was talking in his sleep. Then his body moved, appearing to wake up, mumbling something, suddenly shouting, ¡°Who the hell is making noise in the middle of the night, shut up, shut up!¡±


    The Bao Yunjing, who was making those strange sounds, suddenly stopped with her mouth still open, her black pupils wide, completely motionless.


    ¡°Damn, the old man is awesome!¡± Yan Junze, inadvertently rescued, felt a surge of genuine admiration for Old Yan.


    Squinting again, he looked forward. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He saw that Bao Yunjing¡¯s mouth had closed, and she was slowly standing up from beside him.


    ¡°Not good, is this woman going to meddle with the old man?!¡± Yan Junze began to worry.


    He thought about whether he should take advantage of the moment Bao Yunjing walked to Old Yan¡¯s side, to come up behind her and strike with a club.


    But then he thought about how there were no mission prompts yet, whether it was really a strangeness, and if it was, why would such a situation occur? If it turned out not to be a strangeness causing trouble, then if he were to hit Bao Yunjing with a club, wouldn¡¯t he be sending her straight to the hospital?


    It would be a total loss if he ended up not receiving any reward but had to fork out a hefty medical bill.


    While considering this, unexpectedly, Bao Yunjing in her red dress stood up but did not walk to the side where Old Yan lay; instead, she turned and headed for the bedroom door.


    She opened the door, and the soft footsteps faded away.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, immediately sat up, and stood up without putting on his shoes.


    He then turned to glance at Old Yan and noticed that the snoring had picked up again as he had fallen back asleep. So, barefoot, he went to the bedroom door, likewise opened it, and quietly stepped out of the bedroom.


    Just as he left the bedroom, Yan Junze paused, only to see Yan Wenwen also coming out of her bedroom, seemingly peeking around into the master bedroom where Bao Yunjing had been.


    To avoid startling Yan Wenwen, Yan Junze made a ¡°shh¡± sound to alert her, and then patted her shoulder from behind.


    Yan Wenwen remained standing in place, unresponsive.


    Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled and patted her shoulder again.


    The next second, Yan Wenwen turned around with a rigid posture, her pupils pitch black, her mouth slightly open, emitting that familiar eerie sound from her throat, looking at Yan Junze.

 Chapter 151 - 151 - 149 Old Yan

    Chapter 151 ¨C 149 Old Yan


    Yan Junze never expected that Yan Wenwen standing here would also look just like Bao Yunjing had a moment ago.


    The instant he saw Yan Wenwen¡¯s face, he was so frightened that his whole body shivered, and he nearly released the club in his hand to swing at her.


    However, in his haste, he chose to back away, stepping back to the doorway of Old Yan¡¯s bedroom and then taking another step back, closing the door behind him with a reverse grip.


    The Yan Wenwen, who had turned around, did not chase after him but stared at Yan Junze with pitch-black pupils, her mouth slightly open, continuing to mutter something¡ªan extremely eerie scene!


    After closing the door, Yan Junze did not leave the doorway but gripped the doorknob with his right hand, his elbow lightly resting against the door.


    If Yan Wenwen tried to push from outside, he needed to ensure she could not burst through.


    Up to now, there was still no task prompt appearing.


    ...


    At this moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but pull up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind to check it carefully. The Rewind line in the Atlas was operating normally, but there was still no new task prompt.


    What¡¯s going on?


    Just as Yan Junze was perplexed, his right hand gripping the doorknob tightened¡ªsomeone was turning the doorknob from the outside.


    Immediately, Yan Junze increased the strength in his arms, leaning forward so that not only was he firmly holding down the doorknob, but he was also pushing his elbow against the door, making it impossible for the person outside to force it open with brute strength.


    At this point, Yan Junze really couldn¡¯t gauge how strong Yan Wenwen might be, so he had to make adequate defenses while the strength she was applying was not yet overwhelming.


    In the moment when both inside and outside were exerting force, he freed his left hand, took hold of the bedroom door¡¯s deadbolt, and twisted it sharply.


    With a click, the door was deadbolted.


    Phew!


    Yan Junze took a breath, slowly eased the strength in his arm twisting the doorknob, then gradually let go, keeping his hands ready to grab the doorknob again if needed, slowly moving away from it.


    He didn¡¯t notice that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his palm was also clammy from gripping the doorknob.


    ¡°That should¡­keep her out for the time being.¡±


    The next second, the doorknob moved slightly, but the locked door did not turn, and then no more sounds came through.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze was fixed tightly on the doorknob, silent.


    After a moment, he realized it was unnaturally quiet, and noticed that Old Yan¡¯s snoring had disappeared at some point.


    Slowly turning his head, his pupils contracted when he saw that Old Yan was no longer lying in bed but had sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed as if ready to put on shoes and get up.


    This position looked very normal, just like Yan Wenwen who was peering into the master bedroom from the doorway; it looked like nothing was amiss from the back.


    But Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to call out to Old Yan carelessly, learning from his past mistake. He just stood there at the bedroom doorway, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on the motionless Old Yan.


    It was very weird; this old fellow might have become just like Bao Yunjing and Yan Wenwen.


    Old Yan just sat on the edge of the bed, silent, without any movement as time slowly passed.


    The bedroom fell silent without his snoring, dead silent.


    No more sounds came from outside the door; it was uncertain whether Yan Wenwen was still standing there waiting.


    Yan Junze hesitated over whether to open the door to check.


    At that moment, Old Yan¡¯s sitting figure moved slightly as he stood up but did not put on his shoes. Barefoot, he stepped onto the floor, dragging his legs away from the edge of the bed.


    His walking posture was very strange; his head hung low, his hands hung down and did not swing, but his back was straight. Only his feet seemed to be dragged along. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One step, another step, he moved away from the bed, walked to the center of the bedroom, to the same spot where Bao Yunjing had previously stood.


    However, he did not stop, but took one step after another, slowly walking towards Yan Junze.


    Not a sound was made.


    There stood Yan Junze at the doorway, unblinkingly staring at the eerily approaching Old Yan.


    Upon seeing this scene, his body involuntarily moved back, pressing against the door; his right hand reached out to grab the doorknob, while his left hand clasped the latch of the door lock.


    His gaze was still fixed on Old Yan, who continued to approach.


    As soon as Old Yan got within three meters of him, he would immediately open the door and leave the bedroom.


    If Yan Wenwen was still guarding outside the door at this moment, he would have no choice but to Rewind. Otherwise, unless he took out a club for a forceful attack, there would be a high likelihood of accidentally harming these people.


    Just as Old Yan was about to reach Yan Junze, the next second, Old Yan suddenly changed direction, heading towards the wall not far from the door.


    On that snow-white wall, about the height of a person, there was a faint black mark; Old Yan went to the wall, his body rigid as a rod, devoid of any feebleness of old age, silently standing facing the wall.


    After witnessing this sight, Yan Junze was perplexed when a sudden ¡¯thud¡¯ startled him.


    He saw Old Yan¡¯s forehead hitting the wall continually, creating ¡¯thud thud thud¡¯ sounds.


    Each collision was loud, like the regular swing of a pendulum, striking the wall without any sense of pain. It was then that Yan Junze finally understood how the black mark on the wall came to be.


    ¡°Should I Rewind?¡± Yan Junze began to ponder.


    There had been no task alert yet, but by this point, he had not encountered any danger except for the chilling horror; the situation did not seem to have escalated to a very serious level.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly realized a terrifying fact. Perhaps, the people in this Yan family, every night, were like this.


    The collision still continued; Yan Junze had no intention of intervening, for fear of triggering some unforeseen terror.


    After some thought, he gritted his teeth, turned the privacy latch with a ¡¯click,¡¯ then quickly twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and stood in the doorway.


    There was nothing outside the door; Yan Wenwen was no longer there.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and immediately stepped outside, closing the door behind him.


    The sound of the collision inside the room continued to resonate, leading Yan Junze to suspect that the old man¡¯s claim of having severe amnesia might stem from actions like these.


    He took a closer look at Yan Wenwen¡¯s room; the door was closed, and no noise was coming from inside. Yan Junze did not dare to open the door and court disaster.


    Approaching the door of the master bedroom nearby, he found, to his surprise, that the door was ajar.


    Could it be that Bao Yunjing hadn¡¯t returned to the bedroom?


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the master bedroom, pushing the door slightly more open so that the light from the outside could shine in. He leaned in, squinting to see.


    Someone was sleeping on the bed, but it wasn¡¯t the male owner, Yan He; it was the female owner, Bao Yunjing¡ªas the slippers on the floor were women¡¯s.


    Bao Yunjing had gone back to the bedroom and lain down again, while the side of the bed where Yan He would usually sleep was empty, without a trace.


    Bao Yunjing seemed to be sleeping deeply, her breathing heavy, almost at the point of snoring.


    Yan Junze turned around and listened carefully; the colliding sound in Old Yan¡¯s room had ceased. Indeed, if one kept ramming like that, it wouldn¡¯t just be amnesia¡ªa direct descent into dementia was possible.


    Yan Wenwen must have returned to her own bedroom by now.


    Standing at the doorway of the master bedroom, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the video camera set up in the living room, which was still operating.


    Certainly, the camera on his chest was also running.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the direction of the balcony.

 Chapter 152 - 152 - 150: Everyone’s Been Had

    Chapter 152 ¨C 150: Everyone¡¯s Been Had


    ¡°`


    The rustling sound was very faint, as if a mouse were scurrying, or something snatching at food.


    Yan Junze turned his head and looked towards the balcony.


    To get to the balcony from the master bedroom, one had to pass through the living room¡¯s bathroom and then push open the balcony door.


    However, at this moment, the balcony door was open.


    After a brief thought, he walked over and arrived at the glass sliding door to the balcony. He didn¡¯t step out immediately but first checked the weather tonight.


    Just as he suspected, there were heavy clouds piled up, not a trace of the moon in sight, and no moonlight shining through.


    ... S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If it weren¡¯t for the streetlights outside, he might have needed to turn on a flashlight to see the balcony¡¯s decor at this moment.


    He stepped out slowly onto the balcony, his gaze fixed on a man crouched with his back to him.


    The man wore only a pair of shorts, bare-chested and barefoot, crouching in front of a row of flower pots planted with vegetation, from where the rustling sounds were coming.


    From Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, it was clear that the man, although not seeming especially fat, still had enough flesh to show off rolls of fat as he crouched there, looking as if he were wrapped with a lifebuoy around his stomach.


    Who else could this be if not Yan He?


    Not sleeping, instead crouching outside on the balcony at this hour, fiddling with the flower pots. No normal person would do such a thing.


    So, it was highly probable that, like the people inside the house, he too had encountered a strangeness.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t call out to him but just stood at the entrance to the balcony and stared at him for a moment, then tiptoed back into the living room.


    Crouched before the flower pots, Yan He now held the soil in his hands, his eyes pitch-black, slowly bringing it to his mouth, taking a deep breath, and then mechanically putting the soil into his mouth.


    One bite at a time, he chewed unhurriedly.


    After returning to the room, Yan Junze didn¡¯t enter Old Yan¡¯s bedroom but went to the sofa in the living room and sat in the shadow by the corner of the wall.


    From this position, unless someone came close and looked carefully, it was very difficult to spot him sitting in the corner¡¯s shadow.


    After sitting down, Yan Junze composed himself slightly.


    Now that the whole family was showing abnormalities, if it were a Possession Spirit, then the horror of this Possession Spirit was probably far beyond Yan Junze¡¯s imagination. Moreover, the attachments were sudden, suggesting that it was probably not as simple as just one.


    Once seated, Yan Junze began to wrack his brains in thought.


    Since he had walked into this house, each person had shown some manner of strange behavior, some more and some less. It was only because Yan He had come back later that it wasn¡¯t apparent.


    But by the time night fell, everyone had changed.


    Hmm, everyone?


    Yan Junze suddenly paused. He took down the camera he had on his chest, removed the memory card inside, walked over to the decorative cabinet in the living room, stopped the camera that was recording, and looked around the room for a moment.


    Then, Yan Junze entered the bathroom next to the kitchen, closed the door, and locked it.


    Next, he inserted the memory card taken from the camera into the camcorder. The screen showed that it was reading data.


    After reading the data, Yan Junze opened the file on the memory card and searched for a moment, muted the volume, and then began to play the video just recorded.


    The camera started recording from the moment he lay down on the bed in Old Yan¡¯s room.


    Yan Junze remembered being very careful when he turned over in bed; he was afraid of dislodging the direction of the camera.


    The video started playing from the moment he laid down on the bed. Since the camera was worn on his chest, it looked a bit like a first-person perspective.


    In the video, after lying down, he placed his phone on the bedside table, then quietly closed his eyes.


    At that time, he hadn¡¯t paid attention to how much time had passed.


    But according to the video, it was 5 minutes and 41 seconds after the recording started that his hand suddenly raised, covering the camera for a second, and then reached for the phone on the bedside table the next second.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s brows furrowed as he stared at the actions of himself in the video.


    ¡°`


    What¡¯s going on?


    He remembered lying down without moving, only fully opening his eyes and picking up the phone after he suddenly noticed the screen lighting up.


    But at this moment, the video showed his right hand slowly reaching toward the phone and then lighting up the screen.


    Looking from the direction of the camera, the frame was a bit tilted, but still visible. And when the phone lit up, showing a screen that required a password, Yan Junze¡¯s hand hesitated.


    About two or three seconds later, his index finger reached out and tapped several times on the phone screen.


    ¡°Password incorrect, you have 4 attempts left¡± text prompt immediately popped up.


    The hand that was reached out snapped back quickly, and the next second, his own body moved.


    Awake!


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt a chill spread throughout his body, feeling as if none of his limbs belonged to him at that moment.


    He had never expected that he had been asleep at the time, and that shortly after he had fallen asleep, something unusual happened¡ªit was as if someone controlled his body, lit up the phone on the bedside table, and even entered the password incorrectly.


    All along, Yan Junze had only thought there was something odd about the family in this house, but he did not expect that on his first night here, he too would be subjected to an unknown control.


    The moment just then was very short, and only his right hand acted unconsciously. He believed it was not possible for a Possession Spirit to have attached itself to him, perhaps¡­ there was some other unknown reason?


    The moment he realized the phone password was incorrect, he felt no abnormalities, truly just shutting his eyes for a while, without any discomfort.


    But this room¡­


    Yan Junze lifted his head, feeling as if every corner of the room was no longer safe, as though hiding a strangeness undetectable even by the Spacetime Atlas, lurking somewhere, ready to move at any moment, controlling everyone.


    After he involuntarily glanced around the corner of the bathroom, footsteps came from outside the door.


    The sound was similarly of bare feet on the floor, heavy.


    After a while, a silhouette slowly passed by outside the glass door of the bathroom.


    With a bit of a belly, slightly overweight, it was Yan He who had been squatting on the balcony just before.


    Through the glass door, it was clear to see that his way of walking was just as strange, standing with a straight back, hands hanging stiff at his sides, his feet as if weighted with lead, dragging along the ground.


    He quickly passed by the front of the bathroom, and from the sound of it, he entered the master bedroom and there was no more noise.


    One could guess that he probably went back to lie down in bed.


    Yan Junze had not seen Yan He eat dirt, so he had no idea that when Bao Yunjing awoke early the next morning and saw her husband¡¯s mouth full of dirt, she would be utterly terrified.


    From his point of view, the eerie scenes in this house seemed to have come to an end for the evening. Not only the Yan family members, but even himself, a newcomer of just one day, had experienced abnormalities to some extent.


    ¡°No mission prompt, there¡¯s been no mission prompt.¡±


    He muttered to himself quietly.


    It couldn¡¯t be a problem with the Spacetime Atlas, and given the abnormal behavior of this family, it was hard for Yan Junze to believe it had nothing to do with strangeness.


    But what was the cause of the current situation?


    ¡°There is strangeness, definitely strangeness!¡±


    Yan Junze whispered to himself.


    The next second, his eyes slightly brightened as he immediately accessed the Atlas in his mind, using Different Dimension Energy to activate the ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±.


    In the instant the function was activated, in just under two seconds, a mission information was rapidly detected and popped up.


    Just one glance at the content of the mission, especially the mission level, Yan Junze¡¯s face immediately turned pale, as he involuntarily read out loud.


    ¡°Mission level: Terrified (Medium).¡±

 Chapter 153 - 153 - 151: Terrified

    Chapter 153 ¨C 151: Terrified


    ¡°` S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The task information that popped up in his mind left Yan Junze briefly glimpsing it before he was completely shocked by the ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± mentioned in the task level.


    He had never expected that the level of the task he detected would be so high!


    Before this, the highest level task he had encountered was only ¡°Hair-raising (Low),¡± which were [Look at Her Face] and the upgraded [Reflection Under the Moonlight].


    [Look at Her Face] was smoothly completed without any worries due to Ke¡¯er¡¯s existence. However, [Reflection Under the Moonlight], although completed, obviously left a tail¡ªan enigmatic Fang Ning who wanted ¡°every next second¡± of his company, hidden within his own shadow.


    Yan Junze had never thought that the task he now detected would be ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡±!


    This was clearly a higher level than the ¡°Hair-raising¡± level tasks.


    ...


    Once he had steadied himself from the initial shock, he carefully read through all the content of the task that had popped up.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Spectacular Courtyard No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park, in the sealed underground space.]


    [Task Name: Tricky Silk;


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: As the prime instigator of numerous strangenesses, perhaps for it, this is all but a joke.


    Task Description: Join it in a game, or pull an even bigger joke on it;


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Become its plaything;


    Task Tip: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Pay attention to those threads;


    Note: It is recommended not to contact it before you have enough Different Dimension Energy to Rewind.]


    Although Yan Junze did not know where No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park in the Spectacular Courtyard was, the information in the task was very clear.


    The detected supernatural entity was of a high, terrifying level and enjoyed joking around, being the culprit behind many strange events.


    Looking at it this way, Yan Junze had already guessed the weird occurrences happening within the Yan family¡¯s home.


    It was likely related to the horror in No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park¡ªeverything might just be one of its jokes, a terrifying, even fatal joke to ordinary people.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was stunned as, without any warning, four pieces of task information surged into his mind.


    These tasks were different from the usual ones, with brief content and a similar nature, leaving Yan Junze almost unable to react for a moment.


    [Detecting subtasks¡­]


    [The Yan family at Unit 3-1, Building B, No. 6 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ¡­


    [The Lin family at Unit 11-2, Building F, No. 7 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The four subtask pieces of information came from the Yan, Lin, Li, and Zhao families, all residing within the Spectacular Courtyard but from different buildings.


    This indicated that besides the Yan family, there were three other families within the community also affected by the supernatural from Mountain Park, disturbed by some Ghost Silk.


    However, these four subtasks had no task rewards, meaning that even if completed, Yan Junze would receive no Different Dimension Energy unless he completed the main task named [Tricky Silk].


    Now he finally understood why since he had entered the Yan family¡¯s residence and noticed something was amiss, he had not automatically sensed any task information.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    The original source was not in the house, but in an underground space of Mountain Park No. 2, which should be some distance away from here.


    By now, Yan Junze had gradually formed an idea in his mind.


    For him at the moment, completing a task rated ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± was basically impossible.


    Or even if it could be completed, with the constant use of Rewind, it would probably be a case of more-likely-dead-than-alive.


    Because the task prompt made it clear that he should have enough Different Dimension Energy for Rewind; otherwise, if the energy was insufficient, there was a high probability of being drained to death there.


    Upon further consideration, the task filled Yan Junze with dread.


    He couldn¡¯t take it on; the high-level task was still beyond his current capabilities.


    However, not being able to take on this task did not mean the four subtasks were impossible to complete. Even though the subtasks did not offer Different Dimension Energy as a reward, rewards were not necessarily energy¡ªmoney would do as well.


    And in cases where there was no energy but only money as a reward, Yan Junze would certainly ask for more as compensation.


    As for the real main task, he would wait until the day when his strength was sufficient.


    After putting away the camera and the heads, Yan Junze left the bathroom and checked the time on his phone¡ªit was almost 3 a.m.


    He didn¡¯t plan to go back to Old Yan¡¯s bedroom to sleep; otherwise, if the old man suddenly got up while asleep, it always gave him an unsettling feeling.


    Yan Junze lay down on the sofa in the living room and made do for the night.


    In the second half of the night, there were no more disturbances in the room. However, he still only managed to fall asleep around 5 a.m.


    He was woken up by Bao Yunjing¡¯s shouting.


    Upon waking up and seeing her husband¡¯s mouth full of dirt, as well as the pillow and sheets stained with soil, Bao Yunjing was so scared that she exploded on the spot.


    After waking up, Yan He was equally shocked by his own appearance and vomited in the bathroom before hurriedly taking a shower. Meanwhile, Bao Yunjing hurriedly changed the bedding.


    Additionally, Old Yan lay on the bed, groaning, and when the family gathered around, they found the old man as if he had won a lottery, with a large, shiny bump on his head, which scared Bao Yunjing into hastily applying some lard to it with utmost care.


    After dealing with everything, Yan Junze sat on the sofa and called everyone over.


    He pointed to the camera placed to the side and began, ¡°Your strange behaviors last night have all been recorded, and I have a general understanding of what happened. I have found the cause.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± asked Bao Yunjing.


    ¡°It¡¯s not serious, you were just possessed by a Possession Spirit,¡± he said.


    The real situation was very complicated, and Yan Junze did not plan to tell them.


    ¡°Then, may I ask, how long will it take for you to deal with this?¡± Yan He, who had just finished showering and was drying his hair, asked eagerly.


    ¡°Just a few days, mainly because I still need to prepare some things,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s no problem¡­ Thank you in advance,¡± Bao Yunjing nodded, then looked at Yan He.


    Yan He understood, turned around, went back to the bedroom, and came out a short while later with a stuffed envelope. It was bulging with money.


    ¡°This is just part of it,¡± Bao Yunjing said. ¡°After you¡¯ve done the job, we will treat you to a meal and thank you some more!¡±


    ¡°We appreciate your help,¡± added Yan He.


    Yan Wenwen watched Yan Junze but didn¡¯t speak.


    However, Yan Junze nodded at her, ¡°Wenwen, it¡¯s okay, just hang in there a few more days.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied.


    At this time, Old Yan did not come out but lay in the bedroom with a severe headache.


    After leaving the Yan family¡¯s place, Yan Junze didn¡¯t go home but immediately headed to the management office of Spectacular Courtyard with his backpack.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 155 - 155 - 153: Mountain Park No. 2

    Chapter 155 ¨C 153: Mountain Park No. 2


    Before long, Yan Junze had negotiated with the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family. Apart from the young Lin Hong who had to go back and consult with his family, the other two families agreed on the spot.


    Later that evening, Yan Junze came over to install cameras at home.


    Upon leaving the Spectacular Courtyard, Yan Junze immediately called Bao Jie, briefly explained the situation at her aunt¡¯s place, and then asked to borrow a few more pieces of recording equipment.


    Whether portable cameras or webcams, as long as they could record video, he wanted to borrow them.


    Bao Jie normally enjoyed tinkering with these things, and to her credit, she was indeed able to lend out five devices. Regardless of their size, model, or resolution, as long as they worked, Yan Junze didn¡¯t care.


    Together with his own camera and one webcam, he had nearly enough equipment.


    Of course, he did not reveal the true supernatural occurrences he had discovered to Bao Jie, merely explaining them as a Possession Spirit.


    ...


    Everyone knew about Possession Spirits. Previously, Teacher Zhang Tiantian from the school had been possessed by one, and now she was said to be living in a Rehabilitation Hospital, showing some improvement, though it was uncertain when she could be discharged.


    The primary purpose of collecting footage of the strange occurrences at the other three families¡¯ homes was twofold. First, to ascertain whether their experiences were similar to Bao Yunjing¡¯s, as this involved the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mentioned in the task.


    If the strangenesses differed, he would need to formulate a new plan.


    Using recording equipment for filming could gather information quickly. If he went to experience each family¡¯s situation in person, it would not only take too much time, but also risk causing additional trouble. A prolonged delay could even endanger the lives of these families.


    The second purpose was to process and edit the videos before uploading them to a video platform. He believed that with the professional team from Tang Zhengyi¡¯s end handling the production and editing, these videos of roughly similar encounters would make for intriguing and thrilling short clips.


    Yan Junze still remembered a horror movie from his previous life, where a family¡¯s house was haunted. The homeowner had bought a DV camera to record in the bedroom at night, capturing a series of terrifying scenes.


    The authenticity of those images made the film a box office success, yielding a huge profit for the investors. Your next chapter awaits on .com


    Of course, that was a movie, while his current footage was real, and being a series of shorts, he believed the effect after editing would undoubtedly be even better.


    That evening, armed with the recording equipment, Yan Junze visited the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family successively.


    Old Master Li from the Li Family even went to Bao Yunjing¡¯s home to verify Yan Junze¡¯s claims, and after confirming the truth, he promptly gave Yan Junze a deposit of ten thousand yuan.


    Once the installation and testing were complete with no issues, Yan Junze also warned the members of the three households not to tamper with the installed equipment. He would return first thing the next morning to collect the footage, and then take care of their troubles.


    Afterward, Yan Junze obtained the address of Mountain Park from Bao Yunjing and headed to Spectacular Courtyard¡¯s No. 2 leisure Mountain Park.


    This Mountain Park, situated near the Garden Villa area, covered a large area. The developers had transformed an original small hill into a park, and at its base was a large plaza fitted with various exercise equipment.


    When Yan Junze arrived to scout the location, the plaza was bustling with people. In such affluent living spaces, any strangeness would usually be resolved quickly.


    Thus, the residents had little to worry about.


    What they did not know was that beneath the Mountain Park, a highly mysterious and terrifying entity was hidden in an Underground Space.


    What exactly an Underground Space was, Yan Junze was also not too clear. By literal definition, it should be an individual space created below or inside the small hill when the park was built.


    Or perhaps the hill was originally hollow, and the interior might have been repurposed to construct an Underground Space to store miscellaneous items.


    Yan Junze circled the Mountain Park and found a closed iron gate at the foot of the hill on the opposite side of the plaza. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This iron gate resembled an old school gate but was sealed, hiding its interior from view. A warning sign was posted on the outside: No Trespassing.


    If we¡¯re talking about an underground space, this place might be the most similar to the one under Mountain Park.


    Unfortunately, because the area outside the door is rather spacious and flat, it has already been occupied by a group of elderly men and women spinning tops.


    There were at least a dozen huge tops spinning on the ground, humming and whistling, and Yan Junze even saw an old man in a vest and shorts, wielding a whip in each hand, simultaneously lashing two giant tops, truly impressive.


    He turned around and left.


    With such a group of old men and women here, it would be virtually impossible to come by during the day to pick up tasks, only at night when no one¡¯s around.


    Moreover, the weather was good today, and there was likely to be moonlight tonight, and since the video shooting was still ongoing, Yan Junze decided not to act this evening.


    When he got home, he threw the money in two envelopes to his mother, Li Man, ¡°Mom, this is what I just earned. This time, we really don¡¯t have to worry about the college tuition; you can keep the money you¡¯ve saved up for something you like.¡±


    ¡°Son, did you shoot another video?¡± Yan Daguo¡¯s eyes lit up as he approached.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°This time the video was easy to shoot, and it¡¯s a series of videos. I expect the earnings to be sky-high, so brace yourselves.¡±


    To alleviate his parents¡¯ concerns, when it came to making money from video shooting, he was always vague and planned to include the compensation from the four families in the video fees as well.


    That night, the Yan couple was extremely excited; they hadn¡¯t expected their son to be so adept at this line of work, and it seemed to them it wasn¡¯t as dangerous as they had imagined.


    Having hardly slept the night before at Bao Yunjing¡¯s house, Yan Junze climbed into bed early and had a good night¡¯s sleep.


    The next day, he immediately hurried to Spectacular Courtyard, visiting the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family in succession.


    He didn¡¯t immediately take the videos away but sat in each of their homes, reviewed the footage, found that all had captured strange occurrences, and then took the equipment with him.


    Back at home, he copied all the videos into his computer, did a rough edit for each family to keep them separate, and made sure they wouldn¡¯t get mixed up.


    Upon careful observation, the strangenesses encountered by these three families were basically no different from those at Bao Yunjing¡¯s house. If they were affected by Tricky Silk, the effects should be the same.


    Then Yan Junze gave Tang Zhengyi a call, making it clear that all faces in the videos had to be concealed, and some of the valuable room furnishings needed to be blurred. As the other side was waiting to receive the videos, he transmitted them, leaving the professional team at the platform to handle the production.


    Of course, he would need to watch the sample pieces first and approve them before they could be uploaded to the platform.


    Tang Zhengyi valued this series of videos greatly because such videos were rare. He stated that he would personally oversee the editing to ensure the most true, most bizarre, most terrifying effects.


    When someone gets serious, the speed can be strangely fast.


    By the afternoon, the video was produced and reviewed by Tang Zhengyi, then passed on to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze watched it twice, pointed out a few areas that needed to be modified, and after showing it to Bao Yunjing, he agreed to upload it to the platform.


    He had planned to start his task that day, completing the four sub-tasks, but to his surprise, the weather had been good for several days in a row, with bright moonlight every night.


    At this time, he didn¡¯t dare to go out to execute the task at random, since the main task was ¡°Terrified (Medium),¡± and it was best not to encounter other dangers while carrying out its branches.


    If the moonlight was bright at a critical moment and Fang Ning suddenly appeared to interfere, it could become the last straw that broke him.


    So Yan Junze kept his patience and held back.


    Although he hadn¡¯t been able to go out to execute the task, there was suddenly big news from the video platform.

 Chapter 156 - 156 - 154 The Spread of Smiling Anger

    Chapter 156 ¨C 154 The Spread of Smiling Anger


    ¡°Your video series has been explosive,¡± Tang Zhengyi couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.


    As a veteran editor who had been through thick and thin on video platforms, to tell the truth, it had become quite rare for any piece of work to make him lose control.


    Tang Zhengyi couldn¡¯t remember the last time he had seen such an explosion of video series, but as far as his memory served, this was the first of its kind.


    Still excited on the phone, Tang Zhengyi continued, ¡°Four clips, each with over one and a half million hits. That clip where you¡¯re wearing the camera is the hottest, with hits breaking three million, comments surpassing two hundred thousand.¡±


    Yan Junze was also surprised, then quickly asked, ¡°Is it pay-per-view, or free?¡±


    ¡°According to the platform¡¯s rules, the first twelve hours are free, then it switches to pay-per-view,¡± Tang Zhengyi laughed. ¡°I set a very reasonable price, and with your honorary title, you¡¯ll split the revenue fifty-fifty with the site. And that doesn¡¯t even include tips!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, he was already calculating roughly how much revenue he¡¯d receive.


    ...


    ¡°However, according to most of the comments, these videos, while terrifying and thrilling, end without a conclusion. It¡¯s a minor flaw,¡± Tang Zhengyi added. ¡°If you manage to capture and conclude the stories of these families, the effect would be even better.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I plan to finish filming the following videos in the next couple of days and then send them to you,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Do you need us to join in?¡± Tang Zhengyi asked. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No need,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s easier for me to work alone, and less likely that unnecessary accidents will happen.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting for your good news,¡± Tang Zhengyi hung up.


    Because another call was coming in at that moment, he looked at the screen, which displayed Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi frowned and answered the call.


    ¡°Editor Tang, hello,¡± Cheng Jingting¡¯s voice sounded rather pleased. ¡°That Night Traveling Puppy providing videos for you, fantastic! Four clips shot in succession, each one more splendid than the last. You¡¯re surely a shoo-in for this year¡¯s editorial department¡¯s grand year-end bonus.¡±


    ¡°Just good luck,¡± Tang Zhengyi smiled.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll get straight to the point,¡± Cheng Jingting immediately dove into the main issue, ¡°He¡¯s really good. Help me contact him again; I really need him for my next Spirit Exploration project. Ask him once more if he¡¯s willing.¡±


    ¡°That puts me in a tough spot,¡± Tang Zhengyi¡¯s smile faded.


    Cheng Jingting seemed not to notice the change in his tone and said, ¡°Just one word from me, and Boss Ao, Boss Tian, they can buy your videos in the future. Price is not an issue. Videos purchased can be uploaded to the platform after seven days. You know they could easily lift you up to the chief editor position.¡±


    Tang Zhengyi didn¡¯t say a word.


    Cheng Jingting continued, ¡°You know, Editor Mo Tingting has many more tricks up her sleeve than you, and I know at least three bosses supporting her. Without someone to look after you from behind the scenes, it¡¯s hard to climb up, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Puppy has already declined your invitation last time,¡± Tang Zhengyi spoke, ¡°I think if I were to ask again, the result would be no different from before.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to contact him. Give me his number, and I¡¯ll handle it directly,¡± said Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t give you his number, but right now Night Traveling Puppy is busy shooting the final part of this series. He¡¯s tight on time and probably doesn¡¯t have the energy to join your Spirit Exploration.¡±


    ¡°Oh? There¡¯s one more part? If that comes out, the achievements are going to be¡­¡± Cheng Jingting¡¯s voice wavered, then after a pause, he spoke with a smile, ¡°The homes in those videos on the platform, they seem quite lavishly decorated, shot in some luxury residence, right?¡±


    Tang Zhengyi remained silent.


    ¡°FS Residence? Crown Three Thousand County? Purple Luxury Residence? Spectacular Courtyard?¡± As Cheng Jingting was guessing, he continued, ¡°If I persuade him to join my Spirit Exploration Team, that counts as your achievement too. The big bosses will back you to overpower Mo Tingting in minutes.¡±


    Tang Zhengyi¡¯s face tensed a bit.


    ¡°You just need to give me his number and name, I¡¯ll take care of the rest. OK?¡±


    After roughly half a minute of silence, Tang Zhengyi quickly blurted out a few words, then hung up the phone.


    ¡­


    The dark clouds engulfed the moon tonight, making it seem like the perfect weather for Yan Junze to venture out.


    As he peered at the sky that looked ready to rain at any moment, Yan Junze felt a surge of excitement. After preparing his backpack, he immediately left the house.


    The weather was such that even if it did rain, it wouldn¡¯t be heavy, and it was very likely to be just a passing shower.


    Of course, he could have waited a little longer, but having been waiting for several days already, and finally encountering a moonless night, Yan Junze considered that those living in Spectacular Courtyard might not be as willing to wait.


    Just as he stepped out, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was an unfamiliar number. Yan Junze hesitated for two seconds before pressing the end call button.


    Before he even reached the stairway, the phone rang again.


    It was the same number displaying on the screen.


    Generally, it was unlikely for a telemarketing call to come through twice in a row¡ªmeaning it might actually be important.


    After a brief consideration, Yan Junze pressed the answer button.


    ¡°Hello, Night Traveling Puppy, this is Cheng Jingting,¡± a stranger¡¯s voice came through.


    Yan Junze paused, recalling the fellow Tang Zhengyi had mentioned before, who seemed to be some sort of internet celebrity on the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform.


    ¡°Hmm, how did you get my number?¡±


    Cheng Jingting laughed, ¡°On the platform, no one¡¯s contact information is a secret. Hmm, I¡¯m inviting you to join a Spirit Exploration Team, would you be interested? The compensation is quite substantial.¡±


    ¡°Not interested,¡± Yan Junze said as he descended the stairs, ready to hang up after his reply.


    ¡°You might want to think it over, no need to rush. In a week¡¯s time¡­¡±


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s words were cut off as Yan Junze interrupted him, ¡°No need to think about it, I can answer now. Really not interested.¡±


    The call ended.


    Sitting in front of the computer, Cheng Jingting held the phone that now emitted a busy tone, his face adorned with a playful smile.


    After sitting for two minutes, he slowly stood up.


    Recalling what Tang Zhengyi had just said, he muttered to himself, ¡°By the sound of it, he¡¯s rushing to finish the final video shoot, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    As he spoke, he walked over to a wall adorned with an overhead map of Shuntian City, which had areas marked in black and red.


    Some were circled, others crossed out.


    Cheng Jingting extended his index finger, tapping on the map, and muttered, ¡°Luxury residential area?¡±


    His finger glided across the map, eventually coming to rest above the Spectacular Courtyard.


    There, on the side of the Spectacular Courtyard close to Mountain Park, a circle was drawn in red.


    ¡°Damn, this guy¡¯s got guts! Must¡¯ve found this place.¡±


    He remembered that their Spirit Exploration Team had marked it as one of the most dangerous areas of strangeness in Shuntian City, also currently a forbidden zone for their investigations.


    Cheng Jingting had estimated that should any strangeness erupt in this place, it would be at least Grade B or higher.


    ¡°This Night Traveling Puppy, even if he does go to the Spectacular Courtyard, he probably wouldn¡¯t dare to enter this forbidden zone; there might be another reason.¡± As he spoke, Cheng Jingting slapped his forehead, as if he had thought of something, and said to himself, ¡°Even if you¡¯re not going there, since you don¡¯t want to join us, then I might just spice things up for you.¡±


    With that, he turned to glance towards the bedside behind him.


    Enjoy new chapters from


    There, a naked child with purplish-blue skin stood silently, blue liquid dripping drop by drop from the corners of his lips and nostrils.

 Chapter 157 - 157 - 155: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 1)

    Chapter 157 ¨C 155: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 1)


    Of course, where Night Traveling Puppy actually went to film videos was just a guess by Cheng Jingting, and he wasn¡¯t completely sure.


    But this guess was already worth a try.


    After some thought, Cheng Jingting walked over to a row of clay pots in the corner, opened one of them, and reached inside, stirring something around as if mixing it.


    Then he scooped out a large blob of pitch-black liquid that was extremely viscous, resembling the mucus sprayed out by some giant monster, and dropped it on the floor with a splat.


    The child who had been standing behind him began to tremble slightly at the sight of the black, viscous liquid, as if some desire inside him was surging, with more green liquid seeping from his eyes, nose, and corners of his mouth.


    Cheng Jingting ignored the boy¡¯s changes and squat down, extending his index finger to stir the viscous liquid, seemingly trying to make it more even.


    Then, he started writing in it with deliberate strokes.


    ...


    In no time, the three characters for ¡°Yan Junze¡± were messily inscribed in the thick liquid.


    Cheng Jingting looked at his handiwork, seemingly pleased, stood up, and while admiring the three characters without looking up, he spoke to the boy standing by the bed, ¡°Little Su Jie, it¡¯s your turn to go on stage. Remember to bring back all those chaotic video cameras and other equipment.¡±


    The boy named Little Su Jie silently walked towards the black sludge, his shivers growing more violent. Approaching it, he suddenly pounced to the floor and started greedily sucking it in mouthful after mouthful.


    Soon, he had licked all the viscous liquid clean, and the three characters for Yan Junze were all consumed into his belly.


    Cheng Jingting watched in silence as Little Su Jie stood up, then leaped soundlessly to the wall next to the window, clinging to it like a large spider, and quickly crawled out through the open window.


    Thud thud thud¡­


    The sound of knocking suddenly arose at that moment.


    Cheng Jingting was slightly startled, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, then frowned and opened the door. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Outside stood a haggard woman in a earthy yellow dress, around her early thirties, with a rather dull and lifeless gaze.


    After Cheng Jingting opened the door, she spoke mechanically, ¡°My child, my child is missing. Have you¡­ have you seen my child?¡±


    ¡°Er, sorry, I haven¡¯t seen him,¡± Cheng Jingting was about to close the door but then thought better of it and opened it a crack again, saying, ¡°This is the 37th time you¡¯ve asked me, and I don¡¯t want there to be a next time. Otherwise, I will report you for neighbor harassment. Thank you.¡±


    With an indifferent face, as if she had lost her spirit, the woman turned silently away. However, instead of leaving, she went to the door across from Cheng Jingting¡¯s room and knocked on that family¡¯s door.


    Cheng Jingting closed the door, muttering, ¡°It¡¯s only a child, can¡¯t she just have another one at her young age? She¡¯s a crazy woman indeed.¡±


    ¡­


    Even though there was no moonlight, Yan Junze still carried an umbrella when he left the house.


    The objective of this mission was simple, to locate the underground space in Mountain Park, and, without touching the creator of Tricky Silk, the main mission¡¯s Boss, clear out the Tricky Silk that connected the four families and complete the side quest.


    For now, he didn¡¯t plan on completing the Tricky Silk, the high-level horror task.


    That would have to wait for later, and, at the very least, it wouldn¡¯t happen until Exorcists of four or five stars hadn¡¯t already discovered and dealt with the culprit behind the Tricky Silk.


    Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be his turn.


    After registering at the Spectacular Courtyard¡¯s security duty room for a visit, naturally to Bao Yunjing¡¯s family, Yan Junze ran over to Bao Yunjing¡¯s place to inform them that he would solve their problem that night.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, he left the house and headed towards Mountain Park No. 2.


    There were still people moving about at night in the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area, but far fewer in number. Yan Junze had changed into a black tracksuit that day to avoid being spotted as he roamed around Mountain Park.


    He arrived at the closed iron gate at the back of the park with practiced ease, following the locations he had previously scouted.


    At this time, the open ground in front of the gate was deserted; the old men and women who had been spinning tops there had long dispersed, but the marks left by the spinning tops on the ground were still very clear.


    Standing before the gate, Yan Junze activated the Rewind and kept it cycling, then he took the camera out of his backpack, placed it on his chest, and set the video camera on a flat stone facing the gate.


    Next, he took out a pair of portable bolt cutters and slowly approached the gate.


    As he neared the gate without yet attempting to snip the iron lock, a mission information suddenly popped up in his mind.


    [Tricky Silk]


    The content of the mission information was exactly the same as what he had detected on his own last time. It seemed that this place was indeed the Underground Space mentioned in the mission.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze hesitated slightly; if he opened the gate, would he simultaneously trigger the main mission?


    But on second thought, since the mission prompt included these four sub-missions, it indicated that the sub-missions could be completed separately, as long as he was careful.


    If it was too dangerous, he could just Rewind to the present and think of another strategy.


    Lifting the bolt cutters, he clamped onto the iron lock, and with a snap, the lock was easily cut through.


    Yan Junze placed the bolt cutters on the ground behind him, gently removed the broken iron lock, handled it with care, and then pulled on the right side of the gate, slowly opening it outward.


    To his surprise, the iron gate made no sound as it opened, very quiet.


    After the iron gate was opened, a pitch-black space was revealed, where nothing could be seen.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t faze the clever Yan Junze, who exuded a strong air of youthful bravado. He took out two flashlights, turned them both on, fixed one to his waist, and held the other in his left hand.


    Then, he released the club with his right hand.


    He didn¡¯t plan to release Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster again; there was no way around it. After facing the instigator behind the Tricky Silk, aside from exposing the fact that their levels were too low and they were more bother than help, they were almost of no use.


    For now, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste Rewind Energy on this, as the mission prompt was clear: before provoking ¡°it,¡± he had to ensure he had enough Rewind Energy.


    In the dark space near the gate, a large amount of messy tables and chairs were placed. Most of these tables and chairs were already damaged, along with discarded wooden boxes, some construction waste left from building Mountain Park, rusty pipes, and discarded decoration parts, among other things.


    From the outside, it was impossible to tell what was there, but Yan Junze felt intuitively that this underground space was larger or deeper than what met the eye.


    Thick layers of dust covered the numerous items, which were webbed over with cobwebs.


    Yan Junze proceeded to put on the prepared mask, sidestepped the stacked tables and chairs, stepped onto the discarded construction debris, and walked in.


    The light from the flashlights in his hand and on his waist, after going in about four or five steps from the direction of the gate, could no longer be seen from the outside.


    It was as if he was instantly swallowed by darkness.


    At the same moment, a small, withered body that crawled like a spider approached the open gateway of this underground space.


    But as it was about to near the iron gate, this purplish-green body suddenly shivered and retreated frantically more than ten steps, hiding fearfully behind a large flat boulder.


    Your journey continues at


    Quietly, it did not move again.


    Atop this large flat boulder was a running portable video camera with its lens pointed straight at the gate.

 Chapter 159 - 159 - 157: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 3) (2/3)

    Chapter 159 ¨C 157: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 3) (2/3)


    Yan Junze strained his eyes wide, bringing his flashlight closer to ensure he could fully make out whether the figure lying ahead was indeed a person and not a hallucination created by his crawling in the pitch-black tunnel.


    In the beam of the flashlight, he saw very clearly, there was indeed a man in front.


    The man seemed frail, his clothes somewhat tattered, facing Yan Junze as he lay motionless.


    Moving the flashlight around the tunnel, Yan Junze noticed there was a passageway branching off between him and the eerie man, its destination unknown.


    Behind the man appeared to be a small Deadwater Pool with no way out, and a faint stench wafted through the air.


    Looking at the situation, it seemed impossible that the man was still alive.


    In the deathly silent tunnel, the confined space housed what seemed to be a decaying corpse before him, rising a ominous premonition in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    ...


    He stayed put for about a minute, waiting silently. Once he felt there was nothing amiss, he began crawling forward again, planning to turn into the branching passageway.


    This time, he didn¡¯t dare to move quickly for that would create too much noise, and the stillness of the nearby corpse wasn¡¯t entirely figured out yet, so caution was prudent.


    As Yan Junze crawled forward a few steps, there suddenly came a noise from ahead.


    ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­ ah¡­¡±


    A strange, faintly quivering sound emerged from a throat.


    Yan Junze quickly pointed his flashlight ahead, only to see the formerly motionless corpse beginning to stir.


    The body slowly propped itself up on its elbows, its entire frame twisting eerily. Without lifting its head, it began to inch forward, nearer and nearer.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the fork in the road, he was a bit closer to it, and there was a good chance he could be the first to crawl into it.


    At that point, he couldn¡¯t care less about being silent. He moved as quickly as he could on hands and knees towards the forking path.


    Throughout its crawling, the corpse never lifted its head, making a hair-raising ¡°ah¡­ ah¡­¡± sound that echoed through the expansive tunnel, causing Yan Junze to shudder with dread.


    The creature had just begun to move and it was clear that Yan Junze was faster by a fraction, gaining the upper hand.


    The corpse¡¯s initial movements appeared slow, but its body contorted violently, gradually gaining momentum as it picked up speed.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of dread as his pupils contracted slightly.


    Then, he saw the thing¡¯s legs spread its knees apart, pressing against the tunnel walls to both sides. In no time, its whole body began to rise into the air.


    Once airborne, it was like a spider scuttling along, the body¡¯s speed sharply increasing.


    Yan Junze was startled and didn¡¯t mind his hands and feet getting scraped painfully, he hurried toward the fork, tumbling and scraping off a patch of skin on his arm, leaving bruises in other places.


    He burst into the branching passage first, continuing to crawl hastily forward without slowing down.


    The body reached the fork just two or three seconds later, emitting unpleasant throat sounds, ah¡­ ah, as it pursued Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze¡¯s anxiety spiked as he scrambled onward desperately. In his panic, his body involuntarily lifted, and his head banged hard against the rocky ceiling multiple times, seeing stars, yet he still couldn¡¯t escape the shocking speed of the corpse behind him.


    For a second, he was even ready to engage the Rewind.


    But even if he used Rewind, he would still have to pass through here. According to Yan Junze¡¯s guess, the body lying in front of Deadwater Pool was destined to come back to life and obstruct his way.


    Soon, the passage ahead began to slope downward. Once it descended, Yan Junze¡¯s speed finally picked up; using all fours, by the end, he was nearly sliding forward in his rush.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, the light suddenly fell into the darkness not too far away.


    This meant that the exit was just ahead; though still shrouded in darkness, it marked the end of the tunnel.


    Yan Junze immediately braced himself to hit the ground, but at that moment, the ¡°ah¡­ ah¡± sound was right upon him. Something had grabbed his ankle.


    A wet sensation emanated from his skin¡ªthe grip of a palm that had been soaking in the Deadwater Pool, complete with the grotesque illusion of peeling flesh still clinging to his own.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t bother with caution anymore; in critical moments, who has time for that? He freed his other foot and kicked back fiercely, unsure of what he struck.


    Yet his foot was seized even more tightly. In desperation, Yan Junze kicked violently again.


    By now, he was sliding toward the edge of the tunnel, nearly half of his body dangling out, but his ankle was still held in a vice-like grip.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze reached for the crowbar fastened at his waist. The crowbar, forged from solid iron with a curved hooked end, was razor-sharp. Flipping it in reverse, he thrust the hooked end savagely into an unknown part of the corpse behind him.


    The force was so fierce that upon impact, he felt the grip on his foot loosen, and at last, he was free.


    He hurriedly lunged forward, tumbling out of the tunnel and onto the flat ground.


    Fortunately, the tunnel exit was just a little over a meter above the ground, so his fall resulted only in a dusty face, without any injuries.


    Upon landing, Yan Junze, not yet having time to stand up, immediately crouched at the bottom of the tunnel entrance, pressing himself against the rock wall while also turning off both flashlights in his hand.


    The entire space was plunged into darkness, rendering him blind. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From above, the sound of skittering movement came, accompanied by the scraping of metal against rock.


    One could imagine that the iron crowbar must have gotten hooked onto some part of the corpse, sinking in deep and getting stuck.


    As the body moved, the crowbar naturally scraped against the rock wall, producing a clear friction sound.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled, feeling that the crowbar must have been thrust into the corpse¡¯s neck or even its head, but he dared not confirm it.


    Though he was gasping for air, Yan Junze still tried not to breathe heavily, squatting there, sticking close to the rock wall beneath the tunnel entrance. From the darkness above, something seemed to poke out its head, with small clumps of soil falling onto his hair.


    It was as if the air itself had frozen. Yan Junze held his breath to the best of his ability, focusing his attention entirely overhead.


    Drip.


    A drop of foul water from the Deadwater Pool fell, landing on Yan Junze¡¯s right cheek.


    Drip, another drop followed, hitting the same spot on his cheek.


    The stinking water trickled slowly down his face and into his neck.


    Yan Junze endured it, resisting the urge to wipe it away.


    About ten seconds later, the thing above didn¡¯t come out of the tunnel but slowly withdrew its head, followed once more by the sound of the crowbar scraping against the rock wall, gradually fading into the distance of the tunnel.


    Yan Junze began to breathe lightly, yet he still did not move.


    With his back pressed against one side of the rock wall, he waited about two more minutes in this darkness-enshrouded space, until the sound of the crowbar¡¯s friction could no longer be heard. He then stirred, his senses consolidating and focusing on the pitch-black space before him.


    His back did not leave the wall; he still crouched against it, not daring to move carelessly.


    Because from the moment he burst out of the tunnel to the immediate shutdown of his flashlights and subsequent concealment, there had been no time to take a good look around. But the space seemed larger, though the air was incredibly stale and turbid.


    Yan Junze believed that he could last at most half an hour in this place; if he stayed too long, he feared he might pass out. And now, he was already feeling dizzy and headed.


    After some thought, he decided to switch on his flashlight; otherwise, sitting here in complete darkness would be pointless.


    The moment the two flashlights turned on, the scene before Yan Junze made his head buzz, he froze on the spot, and a torrent of uncontrollable terror swept through his body.

 Chapter 160 - 160 - 158: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 4) (3/3)

    Chapter 160 ¨C 158: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 4) (3/3)


    Unexpectedly, the dark space in front of me was very large, about the size of a lecture hall in a school.


    But the moment Yan Junze turned on the flashlight and shone it forward, he was completely scared by the scene before him.


    Within the range of the flashlight, densely packed figures stood.


    All of these people were facing away from him, each wearing old, even tattered clothes, both men and women, silently standing without making a sound, as if¡­ they were all dead.


    The people standing here occupied at least one third of the entire Underground Space.


    Junze¡¯s flashlight swept around and found that apart from the side near the tunnel, where no one stood, the other three sides were filled with standing figures.


    So many dead bodies squeezed in here, yet they didn¡¯t emit any foul odor, suggesting they must have been dead for a long time and were mostly in a state of dried corpses.


    ...


    Junze didn¡¯t dare to move rashly. After observing the surroundings, he began to ponder his next move.


    His head was swelling with pain, and his breathing was murky. He had to find a way to eliminate the Ghost Silk connecting those four families as soon as possible.


    Otherwise, if he delayed any longer, he would collapse here himself.


    With this in mind, he slowly stood up and walked towards the closest standing corpse.


    The back of this corpse suggested it was a young person. Covered with dust and severely damaged, the original design of the clothes was indecipherable.


    Upon getting closer, Junze carefully leaned in from behind to see if there was anything unusual about the corpse standing here, or if there was anything acting as a support.


    Otherwise, it was hard to imagine dozens of corpses standing neatly in this Underground Space.


    After scrutinizing the area and seemingly finding nothing, Junze turned to look at the corpse¡¯s front, and the eerie scene that met his eyes made him shiver.


    He saw that the young corpse¡¯s eye sockets were empty, just black holes, and its mouth was wide open. Not just that one¡ªlooking down the row, regardless of gender, all had the same appearance.


    The chill in his heart intensifying, Junze couldn¡¯t help but touch the goosebumps on his arm, where the skin had already been scraped and bruised in the tunnel¡ªpatches of blue and purple.


    Just then, his gaze fixed on the young corpse¡¯s mouth, as he directed the flashlight beam straight into it.


    He saw an extremely thin thread stretching out of the mouth, turning a corner at the corner of its lips, apparently extending towards the back.


    He looked at the back of the head, but there was nothing out of the ordinary to see.


    The thread seemed to vanish after extending towards the back.


    After some thought, Junze reached out and lightly touched the thread still outside the mouth, but possibly because it was too thin, there was almost no sensation to it¡ªit was like trying to feel a spider¡¯s web.


    If this was indeed Ghost Silk, how could he sever it? Just pull it out?


    He didn¡¯t have a clear idea where the source of the Ghost Silk connected to the four families was located.


    Trapped in the space filled with corpse after corpse, the bitterly cold breath was becoming more and more prominent. Moreover, Junze felt as if a layer of gauze had been wrapped around his nose and mouth, making it very difficult to breathe.


    Unable to find the reason here, perhaps moving further in might reveal some clues.


    As the thought emerged, Junze stopped paying attention to these corpses and instead started walking towards the deepest part of the Underground Space.


    About ten steps after he set out, arriving near the center, a female corpse closer to the rock wall tunnel, its mouth thread suddenly moved.


    The next second, after the thread was tugged, the female corpse slowly turned to face Junze¡¯s direction, mouth gaping open, and eye sockets dark and empty, as if staring at Junze¡¯s retreating back.


    All was silent. In that moment, Junze felt somewhat dizzy and did not notice anything unusual behind him.


    ¡°`


    In the middle of this Underground Space, Yan Junze stood for a moment before advancing further in, where two rows of standing corpses were also facing away from the outside. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Yan Junze started moving, the woman corpse that had turned around began moving silently towards him.


    Yan Junze suddenly shivered, feeling the cold intensifying as he delved deeper into this place.


    Both flashlights were shining ahead; he did not notice the movement behind him, and from when the woman corpse turned until it started moving, there was no sound at all.


    Soon Yan Junze stopped and looked behind the last row of corpses.


    The woman corpse that was almost upon him also ceased moving at this moment, standing quietly with her mouth agape.


    The corpses in this row all looked the same, strings extending from their mouths, turning at the corners of their lips before vanishing from sight.


    This time, Yan Junze did not examine the corpses closely but instead looked down to see if there was anything unusual at the far end of the space.


    Upon looking, indeed, a discovery was made under the light of the flashlights.


    At the very end, in the corner behind the last row of corpses, there was another wall opening though much narrower.


    Of course, Yan Junze could still enter, but it would take much more effort compared to the tunnel he had just passed through, and the space inside might not match what he could see from the entrance.


    The current Underground Space was already fraught with danger, and the air was extremely poor; even if he could squeeze into this hole, he had no intention of proceeding.


    If the key to completing this side mission lay beyond, then Yan Junze would have to give up and not risk descending further. It was very possible that the entity from the main mission was inside.


    Glancing at the hole, Yan Junze suddenly made an odd expression, noticing something peculiar about its location, and immediately approached with his flashlight.


    After he moved, the woman corpse not far behind started moving again, still silent, with the distance between them steadily shrinking.


    Reaching the hole, Yan Junze crouched down, shone the flashlight at its edge, and observed an abundance of web-like silk, with numerous threads projecting outward. Similarly, these projecting threads vanished after a certain distance.


    Just like the threads coming from the corners of the corpses¡¯ mouths.


    Yan Junze became pensive.


    ¡°Could it be,¡± he mused, ¡°that the threads became invisible after stretching out?¡±


    Turning his head to look at the nearest row of standing corpses, ¡°If the threads from the corners of the corpses¡¯ mouths are connected to the threads at the entrance of this hole, then a part of them would be invisible to me.¡±


    Just then, he felt an icy chill approach rapidly.


    Because he was looking sideways, he didn¡¯t turn his head, but the chilling presence drew ever closer. Instinctively, he felt as if a corpse was nearing him, very, very close.


    Looking from the direction of the hole covered in silk, Yan Junze was seen with his face to the side, and to his left rear, a woman corpse with her mouth open had her head drawn near.


    In this moment, both remained utterly still.


    ¡°Is there something behind me?¡± Yan Junze held his position, without any other movement, taking a glimpse to his side and rear with the corner of his eye, sensing a silhouette crouching there.


    ¡°What does this guy want to do?¡±


    At the same time, he noticed that the person approaching from the side and rear ceased their movements and seemed to be staring straight at him.


    If he didn¡¯t move, that person also remained motionless.


    Turning his gaze back to the hole below, he noticed the silk wrapped around the entrance suddenly started to darken, as if soaked by ink, with the blackness swiftly climbing up the threads.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 161 - 159: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 5) (1/3)

    Chapter 161: Chapter 159: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 5) (1/3)


    ¡°Silk threads?¡± Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, ¡°Could it be these invisible threads that have entangled me with these corpses?¡±


    The mission hint had mentioned to be wary of those threads.


    However, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be certain that apart from the thread ends, the rest of the extensions were all invisible.


    In such a situation, while in a dark space, how could he possibly be wary?


    He had not moved an inch.


    He maintained this posture, and the female corpse behind him also remained still.


    ...


    It seemed highly likely that he had inadvertently hooked the silk thread of this corpse, and now the female corpse seemed to have set its sights on him.


    Looking at the thread ends entwined around the entrance, they had all turned black, and though the invisible parts couldn¡¯t be seen, one could imagine they had blackened as well.


    Why had they turned black?


    Yan Junze frowned, feeling the chill behind him. His gaze turned to the inside of the entrance¡ªpitch-black. Even with the flashlight shining, he could not see anything.


    He put the flashlight on the ground and then released the club, holding it in his left hand.


    Suddenly, his right hand reached out, grabbed a large amount of thread ends at the entrance, and yanked them fiercely.


    At the same moment, a chill spread across his shoulder. The female corpse leaned over, its pitch-black mouth closing rapidly, and bit down on his neck.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s plan, he was supposed to swing his club to attack the shadow behind him at the same time. But unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t even have the chance to wield the club before the female corpse¡¯s attack had been too swift. Half of his body went numb instantaneously, and the club dropped to the ground.


    His neck and left hand slowly turned black before his very eyes.


    And at this time, not even half of the thread ends outside the hole had been pulled down.


    The female corpse released his neck, opened its mouth wide again, revealing teeth blackened as if soaked in ink. It bit down once more towards Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    This time, up close, Yan Junze could clearly see those pitch-black, sharp teeth that seemed to have been dipped in poison¡ªno wonder the left side of his body had completely gone limp.


    Rewind!


    The next moment, he stood near the tunnel in this Underground Space again, just after having checked the corpse of the young man and noticed the thread protruding from his mouth.


    Yan Junze did not immediately walk into the interior of the Underground Space, but instead started searching among the standing corpses with a flashlight.


    Less than a minute later, he saw a female corpse.


    This female corpse was positioned directly opposite him, also near the tunnel.


    It seemed to be this same female corpse that had attacked him earlier. But now, it stood there just fine, showing no abnormalities.


    This time, Yan Junze was not prepared to let this woman off.


    He still walked towards the entrance of the Underground Space wrapped in numerous silk threads, but this time, he walked backwards.


    With the memory of the last time, he was very clear about the location of the entrance. However, he didn¡¯t know when the female corpse would start moving, so he had to keep a clear view.


    A flashlight was clipped to his waist, while the other was switched to his left hand. Yan Junze released the club and watched that female corpse, which still stood motionless with its back to the outside, taking steps backward toward the entrance.


    As he walked backwards to the center of the Underground Space, the female corpse still hadn¡¯t moved, not even turning around.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right. Could I have seen it wrong?¡± Yan Junze wondered, puzzled at the sight.


    The next second, a male corpse slightly behind him to the side suddenly moved. The head slowly turned, although the rest of the body below the neck remained still. Only the head had turned, facing Yan Junze as he backed away.


    About two or three seconds later, the male corpse turned halfway around and walked towards Yan Junze, moving silently.


    ¡°Maybe this time I didn¡¯t disturb the female corpse,¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    Just then, he suddenly realized something and quickly turned around, just in time to see a male corpse lunging at him.


    In a desperate, instinctive reaction, he swung the club in his hand at the male corpse¡¯s head¡ªthere was a thunk, and the male corpse¡¯s head immediately caved in, but it didn¡¯t stop the corpse¡¯s movements.


    The male corpse still overpowered Yan Junze, grabbing his arms with immense strength, making it impossible for him to break free. Even the club in his hand couldn¡¯t be lifted.


    Then, the male corpse, with its mouth perpetually agape, bared its pitch-black teeth and bit towards Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Shit, not again!¡±


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to experience that excruciating pain again, and since he knew he couldn¡¯t break free, he immediately chose to rewind time.


    However, in the moment before the rewind, he hastily glanced at his hands, which were struggling against the male corpse.


    To his surprise, his right index finger was entirely black.


    A wave of dizziness hit, and after rewinding, Yan Junze found himself standing once again behind the young male corpse.


    He seemed a bit out of breath, but he knew that was just his brain retaining the memory from right before the rewind, when he was still fighting the corpse, resulting in this continuous memory.


    In reality, he was in good physical condition and had not expended any energy from struggling.


    Subsequently, Yan Junze subconsciously looked down at his index finger, which was normal; he still remembered discovering it had turned black before he rewound time.


    At that time, when the male corpse had just pounced on him and was grabbing his arms, it hadn¡¯t touched his fingers, so the possibility of the blackness spreading from the corpse was very low.


    This made Yan Junze think of the thread wrapped around the entrance of the hole; just before the previous rewind, it had similarly turned black rapidly as if soaked in ink.


    And the female corpse¡¯s teeth seemed to be exactly the same as the male corpse¡¯s¡ªnot only pitch-black but also extremely sharp.


    With this in mind, he went back to the first young male corpse, shone his flashlight, and leaned in close to examine the mouth.


    Indeed, the teeth were black.


    Yan Junze speculated that if he walked backward this time, he would likely still attract that male corpse, meaning the invisible thread would snag the corpse.


    But if he walked normally towards the entrance of the hole, he would attract the attack of the female corpse.


    Now it seemed necessary to get close to that entrance, as the thread wrapped around it was very likely the key to lifting the affliction of Ghost Silk on Bao Yunjing and her family.


    Just then, he subconsciously lifted his hand and looked towards his right index finger, and was shocked to find the tip had turned black!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he exclaimed in surprise as he turned to look at the young male corpse, ¡°I don¡¯t think I touched him just now, did I?!¡±


    Puzzled, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dwell on it for long. This time he decided not to walk backwards, but instead to observe his surroundings as he moved.


    Since the threads were invisible, even if he was extra careful, there was still a possibility of touching them and drawing the attention of a corpse.


    So, perhaps the only solution was to move quickly. It was best not to touch any threads, but if he did, he would have to strip all the threads from the entrance before the corpses began to move.


    Once this thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze immediately rushed towards the direction of the entrance.


    During this process, he continuously swept the flashlight around to watch for movements. Just as he reached the middle of the space, the young male corpse he had checked previously suddenly turned around.


    Yan Junze immediately noticed and his pupils contracted, he then turned and ran quickly towards the entrance wrapped in threads, crouched down sharply, and began tearing at them.


    His guess was right.


    These Tricky Silks indeed connected all the corpses here, and they might also be linked to the people outside.


    After ripping off a vast quantity of Tricky Silk at an extremely fast pace, the young male corpse, that had been quickly approaching from behind, suddenly stiffened as if losing its support and collapsed forward, motionless.


    At the same moment, all the other standing corpses thudded down, none of them maintaining their previous posture.


    Yan Junze picked up his flashlight and stood up, swiftly scanning to make sure all corpses had fallen, and then he looked at the threads around the entrance¡ªall had been removed.


    The area of the entrance, however, had become completely black, as if something within was spreading outward. Had those threads still been present, they would have been soaked black at this moment.


    With the crisis in the Underground Space resolved, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he still did not know the condition of the four families outside.


    No sooner had this thought arisen than a task completion notification popped into his mind.


    Yan Junze was pleased and was about to use his Inner Vision when suddenly he froze, lifting his hands in front of him. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His hands had turned completely black without him noticing and it wasn¡¯t just a simple color change; this blackened skin and muscle were visibly shrinking at an alarming rate.


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 Chapter 162 - 160: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 6) (2/3)

    Chapter 162: Chapter 160: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 6) (2/3)


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt awkward.


    He had completed the task, but he hadn¡¯t foreseen the severe repercussions that followed. The silken threads at the entrance of the hole kept spreading with blackness; it was clear he couldn¡¯t touch them.


    However, after ripping off all the Tricky Silk, the blackness that had crept out of the hole seemed to halt, staying just at the rim of the entrance.


    Ripping off the Tricky Silk was effective, but he himself couldn¡¯t touch it, nor could he touch any of the corpses here.


    Because by the look of it, every corpse here seemed to have been tainted with the blackness, meaning they were ¡°poisonous¡±.


    He had to think of another method.


    ...


    Even though the task was already complete, Yan Junze had no choice but to Rewind at this moment, or else not only would his hands be ruined, but his life might also be in danger.


    After the Rewind, Yan Junze stood behind the young corpse and didn¡¯t touch anything anymore.


    He looked at the remaining Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Before executing this branch mission, his energy could maintain a 540-minute, or 9-hour, Rewind cycle.


    He started the energy cycle with the outermost iron gate and continued through entering the first hole and moving the wooden boxes outside it; this took 37 minutes. Crawling through the hole took 22 minutes, and upon entering this underground space, the first round took roughly 20 minutes.


    Altogether it was 79 minutes.


    However, up to this point, Yan Junze had initiated the Rewind three times, and after each Rewind, time was consumed again. The total time consumed and the energy spent on Rewinds had almost reached 70 minutes.


    Unnoticed, there were about 390 minutes left of the 540.


    Before the last Rewind, it had been proven that as long as he could rip off the Tricky Silk at the entrance of the hole, he could complete the branch mission. The target was clear; the question was how to rip off the Tricky Silk without using his own hands.


    Since he couldn¡¯t touch it, maybe he could try using tools instead.


    Yan Junze felt a bit remorseful at the moment. The crowbar he¡¯d brought earlier would have been an excellent tool, perfect for snapping off those sticky threads. It was precise every time.


    But at this moment, the crowbar was stuck in the body of the male corpse in the tunnel, and he couldn¡¯t reach it.


    If he released the mallet, its round blunt end couldn¡¯t peel off the Tricky Silk.


    What about using the flashlight in his hand?


    Yan Junze looked down and smiled bitterly¡ªnone were the best tools.


    Just then, his gaze toward the flashlight shifted as he looked down at his right hand holding the flashlight.


    On his right index finger, a smudge of black was slowly emerging. In just a few seconds, the topmost segment of the index finger was fully saturated with black.


    ¡°How¡­ what¡¯s happening?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in shock.


    He vividly remembered that after the Rewind, he hadn¡¯t touched any corpse here at all.


    No, something was still wrong!


    Looking down at his right index finger, the speed at which the black spread was increasing. He had been so focused on the Tricky Silk at the entrance of the hole that he hadn¡¯t noticed¡ªjust now, his entire index finger was nearly fully blackened.


    The blackness continued to spread, creeping toward his palm and other fingers.


    With a thought, Yan Junze Rewound again.


    This time, he chose the moment just after he had fallen into this underground space from the tunnel, leaning against the rocky wall beneath the tunnel and waiting for the corpse in the tunnel above to leave.


    The sound of friction between the crowbar stuck in the corpse and the rocky wall of the tunnel gradually faded. Yan Junze didn¡¯t turn on the flashlight at this time.


    When the sound finally faded away, and it didn¡¯t return upon discovering the light, he then turned on the flashlight.


    Knowing beforehand that the area was full of standing corpses, he didn¡¯t look around but immediately shone the light on his right index finger.


    It was intact, with only some dirt on the skin, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary.


    However, Yan Junze was not reassured. He did not shift his gaze and kept staring at the finger.


    About two or three minutes later, his expression gradually turned to surprise as the finger began to show a layer of blackness, which quickly covered the fingertip and then the uppermost knuckle.


    ¡°What on earth is going on?¡±


    Yan Junze shone the flashlight around the underground space; the numerous corpses still looked the same, their backs turned outward.


    He had only just come in and hadn¡¯t touched anything¡ªhow could he still be ¡°poisoned¡±?


    He looked at his finger again, and at that moment the blackness continued to spread on his index finger.


    Well, now it had become a Golden Finger, or perhaps the ¡°Hand of God¡±.


    It seemed that the blackening of his finger was faster than before the Rewind. Why was that?


    Yan Junze looked up at the underground space¡ªmaybe he wasn¡¯t supposed to enter here? Was there something wrong with the air?


    He remembered the hint in the main quest Tricky Silk: ¡°It is advised not to touch it before having enough Different Dimension Energy for a Rewind.¡±


    This ¡°it¡±¡ªdoes it refer to the big boss of Tricky Silk, or to the¡­ silk threads?


    At this moment, Yan Junze was somewhat bewildered.


    If he couldn¡¯t even enter this underground space, then the difficulty of this branch quest was extraordinarily high! Although he knew that tearing off the Tricky Silk outside of that hole could complete the task, he couldn¡¯t escape the invasion of the Dark Poison.


    After thinking it over, he decided to Rewind again to the moment in the tunnel, but definitely not to the moment after encountering that male corpse in the tunnel.


    That fellow crawled incredibly fast; if he were to Rewind to after encountering him, he¡¯d have to run for his life as soon as he emerged, which was unacceptable.


    However, the Spacetime Atlas could only Rewind, not jump forward in time, meaning that if he Rewound to before encountering the tunnel male corpse, he would have to bite the bullet and go through the chase and sprint with that tunnel male corpse again.


    Seeing the speed at which the blackness spread to his other fingers, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate any longer.


    ¡°If heaven has given me the chance to do this again, no, to do this n times, there¡¯s no reason not to seize it properly!¡±


    If he had to restart, it was better than dying of full-body atrophy.


    Yan Junze chose to Rewind to shortly after entering the tunnel, at the moment before he had encountered the tunnel male corpse.


    A familiar feeling of dizziness came over him, and he found himself once again lying inside the tunnel, with a bend about twenty meters ahead. Beyond that bend lay the male corpse in front of the Deadwater Pool.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t crawl forward immediately; he was thinking about how he might tear off those silk threads.


    It now seemed that shortly after entering that underground space, he would be infected by the eerie blackness, just like those standing corpses, even without touching anything.


    So, he wondered if there was another way to destroy those silk threads, for instance, by using the tunnel male corpse.


    Looking at it now, directly releasing Long-tongued Zhenzhen or the Crawler Monster seemed highly likely to fail, as their first encounter had shown that these strangenesses could not be assimilated by this eerie place.


    At this thought, Yan Junze subconsciously glanced at his right hand and then jolted sharply.


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 Chapter 164 - 162: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 8)

    Chapter 164: Chapter 162: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 8)


    Watching his fingers turn darker and darker, Yan Junze still waited, this time to see roughly how long it would take for the Dark Poison to completely infiltrate him.


    About seven or eight minutes later, not only had both palms turned black, but even the parts above the elbows began to be overtaken by the Dark Poison.


    This spread was slow, but as the Dark Poison spread, finally a hint of pain surfaced, signaling the start of muscle atrophy.


    Another three minutes passed, and the Dark Poison had fully infected both arms, and it started to seep towards the indescribable areas below the neck, while also daringly covering the describable areas above the neck.


    Advancing from both above and below, attacking simultaneously.


    The sensation of muscles rapidly atrophying arrived, accompanied by pain that grew more and more intense.


    ...


    While Yan Junze was timing this process, he had already formed a plan in his mind, but this plan could no longer be carried out by himself. Instead, he had to entrust it to the Lockdown strangeness.


    Release Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    After Zhenzhen stood in front of him and saw Yan Junze¡¯s pitch-black hands, she jumped in fright and exclaimed, ¡°What¡¯s with you¡­ Have you switched to coal mining?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer her but instead asked, ¡°There¡¯s a male corpse in front of the Deadwater Pool in the tunnel, can you¡­ go into his body?¡±


    Zhenzhen¡¯s face showed fear, ¡°You mean¡­ a strangeness entering another strangeness?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Yan Junze thought for a moment and then added, ¡°It¡¯s just a fully physically present corpse. It just happens to be able to move.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same as a strangeness entering another strangeness.¡± Zhenzhen nodded, ¡°As long as its level isn¡¯t higher than mine, I think I can do it. Only¡­¡±


    ¡°Only what?¡±


    Zhenzhen¡¯s expression turned solemn, ¡°After entering, I might be influenced by that strangeness¡¯s magnetic field and become quite confused for a while. As you say, there may be shifts in spirit or other changes. In any case, the influence is substantial, and I might cause you trouble.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m dying now, I need you to save me. As long as you can enter a strangeness, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    After thinking for a bit, he added, ¡°This cave generates a peculiar suction affecting external strangenesses, but has no effect on the strangenesses that reside within it. Just now, the Crawler Monster was nearly sucked in.¡±


    Zhenzhen nodded, ¡°The guy with the side-parting is far weaker than me, I think I can hold on until I find that male corpse.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    With that, Yan Junze immediately initiated a Rewind, rewinding to the moment before the Crawler Monster moved the second-to-last box.


    He then withdrew the Crawler Monster and released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    At this time, the tip of Yan Junze¡¯s right index finger was still normal, without any changes, but in less than ten minutes, his hands would be completely infected by the Dark Poison.


    He didn¡¯t have much time left.


    ¡°Zhenzhen, there¡¯s a male corpse in this tunnel. As soon as you go in, immediately enter his body, then crawl into an Underground Space. Find a hole in the upper-left corner that has a lot of entangled silk threads and tear all those threads off. And keep looking, especially inside the hole, in case you see any other threads, tear them off as well.¡±


    Yan Junze said all this in one breath, not waiting for Zhenzhen to react, he added, ¡°This tunnel will exert a suction on you; just resist until you find that male corpse, then going into his body won¡¯t affect you.¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Are you saying¡­ a strangeness entering another strangeness?¡± Zhenzhen echoed in surprise, repeating what she had said earlier.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°I know it affects you, but if you don¡¯t help me now, I¡¯ll be done for soon. Go quickly, do exactly as I told you, and make sure you tear off all the silk threads. Once inside the tunnel, rush straight in until you find the male corpse and immediately enter his body.¡±


    Zhenzhen nodded, said nothing further, and extended her long tongue towards the wooden box blocking the entrance to the tunnel. With a loud bang, she sent the wooden box and everything inside, including the screws, flying.


    Yan Junze felt nothing at that moment, but to Zhenzhen, the moment the box was opened, a sudden suction force arose in the tunnel, pulling her towards it uncontrollably.


    At the same time, an inexplicable and eerie fear crept over Zhenzhen¡¯s entire body, causing her to shiver uncontrollably and blurt out, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, inside there is¡­ there is¡­ something very powerful¡­¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°There is indeed a very powerful strangeness, but it may be hiding under the second hole. You just need to not go in there and use that male corpse to complete the task I assigned to you. Remember, I will only wait for you for ten minutes. If you don¡¯t come back after ten minutes, I will think of other ways.¡±


    Implicit in his words was that if Zhenzhen, with her long tongue, could not return in ten minutes, chances were slim, and he would Rewind to try again.


    Zhenzhen nodded, gave up resisting the force, and along with her innate ability for hovering flight, whooshed into the entrance of the tunnel and disappeared from sight.


    Yan Junze watched the time on his phone, beginning the countdown.


    Upon entering the tunnel, Zhenzhen did not need to crawl; she simply hovered forward, so in terms of speed, she was more than ten times faster than Yan Junze. Moreover, she did not need light in the darkness and could see things just as well.


    In barely a minute¡¯s time, she reached the front of the Deadwater Pool, emitting a foul stench. Sure enough, a ragged-clothed male corpse was lying prone, with its feet still soaking in the pool.


    As she delved deeper into the tunnel, that mysterious suction force became stronger for Zhenzhen. Hovering there, there was always a strong pulling force that seemed to direct her towards that passageway to the Underground Space.


    Desperately resisting, Zhenzhen saw the male corpse that Yan Junze referred to and almost without hesitation, she didn¡¯t think about what the subsequent strange possession would bring upon her. She darted towards the male corpse.


    Just as she approached above the male corpse, the one lying on the ground moved slightly, as if it sensed something unusual, and lifted its head, revealing a rotten face that had decayed to the point where only the skull was left.


    The next second, Zhenzhen entered its body.


    The male corpse¡¯s body shuddered violently as if in resistance, followed by a series of intense shaking and struggling, emitting hoarse growls from its throat.


    A moment later, the male corpse settled down, limbs stretched out. However, unlike Zhenzhen who could hover and fly, it supported itself on the rock walls on either side of the tunnel and quickly crawled toward the direction of the Underground Space.


    Although she could no longer fly, Zhenzhen relied on the crawling speed of this being and soon reached the exit of the Underground Space.


    Without any hesitation, Zhenzhen immediately jumped down.


    After landing, she remembered that Yan Junze had told her that the second hole was in the farthest upper left corner here, so she ignored the other motionless corpses and quickly crawled toward the second hole.


    But just as she crawled to the center of the Underground Space, a male corpse suddenly turned around and approached Zhenzhen rapidly.


    Zhenzhen used the legs of the corpse to spring up, and her whole body took flight. At the same time, her almost ethereal tongue lashed out, striking the onrushing male corpse and sending it flying back.


    However, that male corpse, with its chest already caved in, immediately got up after falling and approached her swiftly again.


    By then, Zhenzhen had reached the hole entangled with a mass of Tricky Silk. Following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, she did not use her own tongue but instead rapidly pulled out all of the Tricky Silk with the hands of this strangeness, not leaving a single thread behind.


    The bodies standing behind her fell with a clatter, including the one that had lunged at her.


    But she also remembered Yan Junze¡¯s requirement was not only to remove the silk of this place¡ªthere might be other silk threads in the hole that weren¡¯t removed cleanly, so she immediately controlled the body of the strangeness to stick its upper body into the hole.


    Indeed, she saw two more bundles of Tricky Silk just inside the hole. Zhenzhen reached out to grab one bundle, about to pull it out, when.


    The body suddenly shuddered violently, and the head that had extended in was grasped by a black hand, perfectly positioned on top of its head.


    A scream emerged, not only the instinctive cry of the possessed body but also the piercing scream of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, mingled within.


    From the outside of this hole, it could be seen that the body of the strangeness was abruptly dragged into the hole by a powerful force, followed by silence.


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 Chapter 165 - 163: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Final) (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Chapter 165: Chapter 163: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Final) (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)


    Ten minutes passed quickly, and by now, Yan Junze¡¯s arm had turned completely black.


    But there was no news of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and not even a whisper of wind came from the hole¡¯s location.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ she can¡¯t come back.¡± An idea he didn¡¯t want to admit surfaced, and Yan Junze shook his head and sighed.


    The main issue was that he did not know where Zhenzhen had gone, and which part had gone wrong.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do, I can¡¯t let Zhenzhen go in there alone,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Rewind!


    ...


    After the Rewind, he released Zhenzhen again and said the same words to her.


    But this time, Yan Junze was prepared to let Zhenzhen take him with her into the tunnel.


    The method was simple, Zhenzhen holding onto him, surfing through the tunnel as if sliding, the two of them floating and flying inside the tunnel at a similarly fast speed.


    At the same time point, they arrived at the dead man by the Deadwater Pool, Zhenzhen set down Yan Junze, no longer able to resist the pull, and she immediately pounced on the corpse that had just raised its head.


    Soon, Zhenzhen, possessed by strangeness, made the corpse rise and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Get on my back.¡±


    Yan Junze did as he was told.


    The stench emanating from the body was foul enough to nearly make Yan Junze vomit on the spot, but he could only endure it now. If he tried to crawl to the Underground Space on his own, time would have already run out.


    Depending on this body, they crawled rapidly, quickly passing through the tunnel and arriving at the Underground Space. Yan Junze hopped down and looked at his fingers, discovering his entire fingertip had turned black.


    Last time, it was about this point in time when Long-tongued Zhenzhen reached this place.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lean against the rock wall over here; once you pull out those silk threads, all these standing corpses will lose control,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhenzhen nodded and controlled the possessed body to approach the second hole swiftly.


    ¡°Be careful,¡± Yan Junze said as he saw a man¡¯s body turn around swiftly, moving toward the crawling Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen turned her head and delivered a Long Tongue Skill, knocking the man¡¯s corpse flying into a pile of other bodies, then quickly crawled to the second hole and in a flash pulled off all the Tricky Silk.


    All the standing corpses fell, losing their control.


    But Yan Junze looked down and saw that the Dark Poison on his hand was still spreading.


    It seemed there were still some silk threads not pulled out.


    At this moment, Zhenzhen was already controlling the possessed body to look into the hole.


    ¡°There are two more here,¡± her voice came.


    But the very next second, the body shuddered violently, let out a scream, and rapidly got pulled into the hole.


    Yan Junze was startled, quickly shining his flashlight over there, only to see that at the mouth of the hole, Zhenzhen¡¯s control over the possessed body was gone, and the sinister Dark Poison had spread about a meter outside the hole and was still spreading, soaking into the rock wall like a rising tide.


    ¡°Could the terrifying strangeness from the main mission be inside there?¡± Yan Junze was stunned.


    Just now, he had gone through seven Rewinds in a row; the first was after noticing his fingertips turning black, going back to the spot behind the standing young corpse, the second was Rewind to the moment of being chased by the tunnel corpse and falling into the Underground Space against the rock wall, the third was Rewind to the moment just before encountering the tunnel corpse.


    The fourth was a direct Rewind to outside the warehouse, but he still found his fingertips turning black. The fifth again was a Rewind outside the warehouse, but this time he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    The sixth Rewind began, dispatching Zhenzhen to use the strangeness on top of the strangeness to come down and pull out the Tricky Silk.


    The seventh was this time, coming down with Zhenzhen.


    Unexpectedly, he discovered that hidden inside the second hole was a more ferocious strangeness.


    Most likely, that creature is the ¡°it¡± mentioned in the main mission, the one with an extremely high level of strangeness.


    Although currently Yan Junze could Rewind again, to be honest, his Different Dimension Energy was running low.


    ¡°`


    This indeed confirmed what was mentioned in the main task: before making contact, it was necessary to ensure there was a sufficient amount of energy to ¡°Rewind¡±.


    Moreover, this time Yan Junze was only carrying out a sub-task and did not intend to touch the main quest. Yet unexpectedly, he still faced interference.


    Whether the interference was intentional or accidental, it had already left Junze in a quite difficult situation.


    Calculating the seven ¡°Rewinds¡±, along with the time consumed after each, Junze was left with just enough Different Dimension Energy for about two more ¡°Rewinds¡±, with each no longer than twenty minutes. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After some thought, he chose to ¡°Rewind¡± again. It was not that he insisted on completing the task, but now Junze was in too deep to pull out. Without finding the cause of the Dark Poison infection, he would be unable to escape this interference.


    This ¡°Rewind¡± only took him back two minutes. It was the moment Long-tongued Zhenzhen tore off the threads from the outside and all the corpses fell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go in yet!¡± Junze warned aloud.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, who was about to poke her bizarre body into the cave, stopped upon hearing this and turned back in surprise.


    Not daring to touch the corpses with his hands, Junze stood up and said, ¡°There are two Tricky Silk clumps just inside the cave entrance. Stuff a corpse in there first. No matter what happens, immediately clear the silk clumps as fast as possible.¡±


    As to why Junze knew about the two clumps of Tricky Silk inside the cave wall, Zhenzhen was somewhat astonished. However, she did not ask any questions. She grabbed the nearest corpse and shoved it into the cave entrance with force.


    The body was only half-stuffed in when it suddenly halted as if meeting some resistance.


    Suddenly the body trembled, was grabbed by something, and was abruptly dragged in, disappearing without a trace.


    ¡°Now!¡± Junze shouted loudly.


    Zhenzhen immediately maneuvered her strange form to the spot inside the hole, spotted the two Tricky Silk clumps, and quickly wiped each one out with her claws, cleaning up all the silk in sight.


    Looking down, Junze saw the Dark Poison which had spread to his arm no longer spreading; instead, it began to recede slowly.


    ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± he rejoiced internally. He then heard a strange noise from the opening of the cave, followed by a swift spread of Dark Poison along the edges of the entrance.


    By then, Zhenzhen had already retreated from inside the strange body.


    Without delay, Junze commanded, ¡°Stuff a few more corpses in there, then we pull out!¡±


    Zhenzhen promptly extended her ethereal tongue and in a swift motion, wrapped it around two bodies, one after the other, and shoved them into the cave, then threw three more corpses to block the cave entrance.


    After completing these actions, she manipulated her strange body to crawl over quickly, grabbed Junze, ready to haul him onto her back, and then make a run for it.


    Behind them, at the cave entrance, the crowding bodies quickly turned pitch black, as if stained with ink, and began to dissolve, clearing some space at the entrance.


    Junze only managed to glance hurriedly behind him, catching sight of this terrifying scene before turning his head and instructing, ¡°Head back the way we came, using all your abilities, or we¡¯ll both die here. I can only die once, whereas you would be dying for the second time.¡±


    Now, it seemed that he still had one more chance to use ¡°Rewind¡±, which he could not afford to use carelessly anymore.


    Without being told, Long-tongued Zhenzhen thrust her strange body into the tunnel they had come from with even greater speed than before.


    Junze was unaware that when Zhenzhen was using her strange body, this kind of expenditure of Supernatural Energy was most damaging to herself, and he didn¡¯t know what side effects it might bring her after this time.


    But their lives were at stake, so there wasn¡¯t time to worry about that anymore.


    ¡°Hee hee hee hee¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, from the direction of the Underground Space, an eerie laughter could be heard, followed by an even stronger suction force than before.


    Even with her strange body, Zhenzhen was beginning to lose control; the speed at which she had been charging forward drastically reduced, and she was forcibly pulled backward.


    In this moment of peril, a voice rang out, surprisingly someone speaking, coming suddenly from inside the Underground Space into the tunnel.


    ¡°You like to play games, huh? I¡¯ll play with you.¡±


    How could there still be someone inside?


    Junze was taken aback by the voice, which seemed somewhat unfamiliar, yet he felt he had heard it somewhere before.


    At that moment, the sucking force suddenly lessened, giving Zhenzhen the chance to burst forth quickly.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 166 - 164: Dead End? (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Chapter 166: Chapter 164: Dead End? (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)


    [Ghost Silk branch task, completed, no Different Dimension Energy gained upon completion of the task.]


    Inside his mind, the task completion prompt popped up while Yan Junze still lay on the back of the male corpse.


    This strangeness was being controlled by Zhenzhen, desperately rushing toward the tunnel exit, but Yan Junze noticed that the body beneath him was shaking violently.


    This trembling didn¡¯t stop as they moved away from the Boss, but rather intensified.


    When they were about halfway to the tunnel exit, Yan Junze warned, ¡°Zhenzhen, disengage from this strangeness, we can leave now.¡±


    The male corpse crawling forward suddenly face-planted into the ground without any reaction, while Zhenzhen¡¯s soul had already flown out, grabbing Yan Junze who almost tumbled out as well and using a flying method to quickly escape the tunnel.


    ...


    After exiting the tunnel, Yan Junze slipped from Zhenzhen¡¯s grasp and fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times.


    The fall made him grimace in pain, and it took a good while for him to recover his senses, rubbing his waist as if it were torn, slowly sitting up.


    A flashlight had also flown out, but there was still one clipped to his waist.


    Yan Junze immediately took out this flashlight, switched it on, and shone it around, only to find that Zhenzhen, who had just fallen out as well, had now vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Zhenzhen.¡±


    Sitting in place and looking around, eventually, he vaguely saw a figure standing behind a row of old sofas against the wall, motionless.


    Yan Junze, enduring the intense pain in his waist, propped himself up with one hand and stood up with much effort, flashlight in the other hand, limping over there.


    ¡°Zhenzhen?¡± he called out to the figure, but there was no response.


    Yan Junze was puzzled and moved a few steps closer; from this angle, he could see most of the figure in the darkness, and he was sure that it was Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    But strangely, Zhenzhen seemed very calm, showing no eagerness like the one she showed rushing out of the tunnel, just standing quietly facing the wall, not looking back at Yan Junze approaching.


    Yan Junze felt something was wrong and illuminated Zhenzhen with the flashlight: ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Exposed to the light, Zhenzhen seemed to react and slowly turned toward the direction of the flashlight.


    The moment he saw her, Yan Junze was startled.


    Zhenzhen¡¯s expression was gloomy, her lips slightly parted, and a tongue at least half a meter long hung out of her mouth, swaying gently as she turned.


    ¡°How did you turn into this?¡±


    Yan Junze was initially shocked, then he remembered the side effects of taking on a strangeness¡¯s body, noticing Zhenzhen¡¯s cold gaze, it seemed she no longer recognized him.


    With a step forward, Zhenzhen walked towards him.


    The moment the thought crossed Yan Junze¡¯s mind, without waiting for Zhenzhen to make any further move, he immediately stored her into the Atlas.


    ¡°It must be the disturbance and confusion caused by the strangeness¡¯s magnetic field after taking on its body; she should return to normal after resting for some time,¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    He then looked at his own palm, no longer bearing any trace of being tainted by the Dark Poison¡ª it seemed that the threads controlling both strangenesses and humans had been cleared away.


    Yan Junze pressed against his waist, perhaps he had twisted a muscle earlier, as now, just after walking for a short while, cold sweat appeared on his forehead.


    With the task completed, it was time to leave this warehouse.


    But his waist hurt terribly, and because the place was cluttered with debris, it had taken him over twenty minutes to walk in from the outside, and he wondered how long it would take now in his condition.


    Yan Junze simply released the Crawler Monster and instructed, ¡°Clear the path to the outside, I need to get out.¡±


    The Crawler Monster, without a word of protest, shook its off-parting and got to work right away.


    It first used its tongue to roll up large items blocking the way, stacking them elsewhere, and the smaller debris at hand was simply shoveled away with its hands.


    About five or six minutes later, a path to the outside was roughly cleared by the Crawler Monster.


    Yan Junze tossed the backpack on the ground to the Crawler Monster, ¡°Carry it for me, let¡¯s talk after we get out.¡±


    The Crawler Monster seemed somewhat speechless, picked up the backpack, and slowly crawled towards the outside of the warehouse.


    Yan Junze, clutching his waist, followed behind.


    A monster and a man walked out of the warehouse and stopped outside the warehouse door.


    Looking up at the sky, although the night was overcast and there were signs of impending rain, it still hadn¡¯t rained by the time Yan Junze¡¯s mission was complete.


    Motioning with his mouth toward the camera set on a flat stone not far away, Yan Junze wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, ¡°Go get that camera, and let¡¯s head back.¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked back and crawled toward the camera.


    Just as it neared the operating camera, suddenly a dark shadow jumped out from behind the large flat stone and shot past the Crawler Monster at incredible speed.


    No longer as before, since obtaining nourishment from the Different Dimension Energy in the Atlas, the Crawler Monster had greatly improved its strength. The instant it spotted the dark shadow leaping, its forked tongue immediately lashed out.


    The next second, the long tongue was neatly severed, black liquid splattered in the air, the Crawler Monster retracted its severed tongue, black fluid leaked from the corner of its mouth, it retreated in panic, its body shaking.


    In front of it and Yan Junze, a child with dark purplish skin crawled on the ground. This child had thin limbs, sticky hair that clung to the scalp, and its fingers and toes seemed to be deformed, becoming long and sharp as if they were blades.


    And it was those sharp nails that had just severed the Crawler Monster¡¯s forked tongue in a brief encounter.


    The Crawler Monster was retreating, while Yan Junze was staring in shock at the strange and unknown child in front of him that looked like a boy.


    He had never seen this boy before, but it seemed like it had been hidden behind the stone where the camera was placed all along. Fortunately, it was the Crawler Monster that had gone to retrieve the camera; had it been himself, his throat would probably have been slit by the child¡¯s sharp nails by now. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It now appeared the Crawler Monster was no match for this creature.


    Yan Junze was standing on the spot, clutching his waist; even standing and moving were already difficult for him, let alone running.


    Even if he could run, he believed he wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun this swiftly moving, eerie child.


    ¡°This guy¡­ could it be related to the Boss in the Ghost Silk, or is it the strangeness itself? It has caught up so quickly?¡± Yan Junze speculated inside his head.


    At that moment, the crawly child suddenly accelerated, leaping towards Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    The Crawler Monster, which had been in front, scuttled behind Yan Junze fast, due to the fear of having its tongue cut.


    Yan Junze, who was impeded, brandished the cudgel in his hand and swung it over.


    The bizarre child moved erratically, and after several swings of the cudgel, not even a corner was touched.


    It was at that moment that Yan Junze felt a chill on his neck, as if a liquid was seeping out and slowly dripping down.


    The child, unnoticed, was already perched on his shoulder, its nails piercing through the skin of his neck.


    Rewind!


    This was his last chance!


    After a dizzy spell, Yan Junze stood inside the warehouse door with the Crawler Monster, not immediately leaving.


    Yan Junze crouched on the floor, pressing his sore waist with his left hand; his energy could only get him back here, and this had been the last time, as the rewind feature was now unusable.


    His gaze was cold as he stared intently behind the large flat stone.


    From this position, nothing could be discerned, but Yan Junze knew that a sinister child was hiding there.


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 Chapter 167 - 165: A Fine Line Between Life and Death (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Chapter 167: Chapter 165: A Fine Line Between Life and Death (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze had never felt death so close to him before.


    At this moment, he was certain that the strange boy hidden outside was definitely not the real Tricky Silk; otherwise, he might have been done for at their first encounter, without any chance to fight back.


    He checked the time; it was still a long way off from dawn. If he lingered here, he didn¡¯t know when that concealed child would become impatient and enter the warehouse to search for him.


    Of course, if Yan Junze knew that the boy feared the Tricky Silk strangeness and didn¡¯t even dare to enter the warehouse, he would have made another plan.


    After all, the Tricky Silk strangeness was still far away, and the boy¡¯s sensitivity to the oppressive aura of strangenesses had surpassed Long-tongued Zhenzhen, almost on par with Ke¡¯er.


    ...


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the Crawler Monster lying beside him with a backpack on its back.


    ¡°The child¡¯s target should be me; he¡¯s not very interested in you. Maybe you can draw his attention so that I can find an opportunity to leave the warehouse and slip away from the base of the mountain,¡± he said.


    Although it understood the words, the Crawler Monster was as bewildered as ever. It looked up at Yan Junze, confused about his strange idea.


    In fact, it would have been best to have Zhenzhen come out and divert the strange child¡¯s attention, but Zhenzhen¡¯s magnetic field was extremely unstable at the moment, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare release her for fear of causing even greater disasters.


    ¡°Like this¡­¡±


    Just as Yan Junze was about to put his plan into action, he suddenly stopped, looked up, and saw a purple-green child¡¯s head peeking out from behind the large stone¡ªthen, the skinny body of the child crawled to the front of the stone like a giant spider.


    The child had sensed the events unfolding in the Underground Space after waiting for so long, and the oppression he felt from the Tricky Silk strangeness was weakening.


    At this moment, the warehouse in front of him no longer seemed as intimidating as before.


    After crawling out, the child sniffed a few times, as if he was able to confirm that his perceptions were correct. He immediately bent his body and scurried toward the warehouse door.


    During the crawl, a trail of greenish slime was left behind him.


    ¡°Not good, it seems like he¡¯s found us.¡±


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was startled and immediately pointed towards the left side of the door, instructing the Crawler Monster, ¡°You go that way, get out first and attract his attention, quick!¡±


    The Crawler Monster fully understood the command and immediately crawled out of the warehouse door, rapidly moving to the left with the black backpack on its back.


    The approaching child was taken aback, not expecting the appearance of the Crawler Monster. So, he immediately turned to look at it with caution, facing in the direction where the Crawler Monster had escaped.


    He seemed to be considering whether to pursue, and at this moment, the child was turned sideways facing the warehouse door.


    Yan Junze swiftly slipped out of the door, his left hand still clutching his waist, his teeth clenched tightly, and he quickly left towards the right side, outside the door.


    He was very careful with his footsteps, making no noise, and since the child¡¯s attention was on the Crawler Monster, just a few more seconds of distraction would mean that once Yan Junze slipped behind the mountain base, he would no longer be found.


    However, it turned out that an immature plan was akin to fantasy.


    Yan Junze had only taken four or five steps when the child turned its head around.


    Clearly, his focus wasn¡¯t on the departing Crawler Monster. Since consuming the three words ¡°Yan Junze,¡± the obsession implanted by Cheng Jingting had made Yan Junze the sole target of his assassination.


    Upon turning his head, the child immediately spotted Yan Junze attempting to escape, and instantly his mouth split open, oozing green slime as he bent his hind legs and leaped towards him.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, making him feel chilled from head to toe. He released a club and swung it backward, but hit nothing.


    The child¡¯s movements and dodging speed were astonishing, and he seemed different from the common Wandering Spirits, as well as unlike Sculpting Spirits or Semi-Sculpting Spirits.


    For Yan Junze, the child was like a jar of fermented pickles, a marinated corpse, a very pure body that didn¡¯t seem to be any kind of spirit.


    This was highly unusual; he had never encountered such a situation before.


    Who exactly was it? Why was this individual targeting him?


    At this point, Yan Junze had no time to think further, for, after his missed strike with the club, a cold sensation immediately spread across his body, soon followed by a scorching pain.


    Looking down, he saw a terrifying wound on his abdomen, through which the outline of his intestines could be vaguely seen.


    ¡°`


    Not only that, but the pain in his spine was excruciating, with at least two spots slashed deep enough to expose the bone.


    The Rewind Energy was insufficient; unable to rewind, Yan Junze¡¯s will to survive was now fully ignited.


    He quickly pressed his back against the rocky wall at the base of the mountain, preventing the child from attacking him from behind, and then desperately swung his hammer down at the child attacking again.


    The blow went astray again, and upon contact with the child¡¯s body, it felt slimy, almost completely sliding off the force of the hammer.


    The child merely tilted slightly to the side, stretched out a claw, and buried its sharp fingertips deep into Yan Junze¡¯s thigh.


    Using this grip, the child climbed up onto his shoulders.


    ¡°Fuck¡­ your mother!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he caught sight of the Crawler Monster shivering in the distance, not daring to get closer.


    In this life-or-death moment, he didn¡¯t think twice and released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Normally, Zhenzhen would have rushed to Yan Junze¡¯s aid immediately upon seeing him in trouble. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, Zhenzhen had just possessed a strangeness, the magnetic field was extremely chaotic, and Yan Junze was unsure whether releasing her would help or harm him, but he had to try.


    Zhenzhen stood to one side, pressing closely against the rocky wall as if she were a corpse, motionless.


    Her head hung low, her half-meter-long tongue swaying slightly, seemingly unconcerned about the crisis Yan Junze was facing.


    Thud!


    Sharp nails pierced Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, the tearing pain forcing a dreadful scream from him.


    In the deserted hinterland of Mountain Park, there was no one to hear him scream.


    Zhenzhen seemed to have lost her spirit intellect, the strangeness magnetic field in chaos, just gloomily standing against the rock wall as if ready to explode at any disturbance, yet showing no response even to Yan Junze¡¯s scream.


    At the brink of death!


    Yan Junze violently threw his hammer at Zhenzhen, hoping to rile her up, make her notice him, and ideally get the two strangenesses to fight one another, just like Resentful Granny and Back-faced Woman did previously.


    But just as the hammer was about to hit Zhenzhen, her tongue lashed out, colliding with the hammer mid-air.


    With a loud bang, the hammer was repelled and fell to the ground.


    Zhenzhen also let out a muffled grunt, staggered backward, and pressed completely up against the wall.


    Clearly, the hammer could inflict a certain level of damage to her, but the impact wasn¡¯t severe.


    Thud!


    The other shoulder of Yan Junze was once again penetrated by the child¡¯s sharp nails, blood gushing out, flowing rapidly from the pierced holes, rendering both arms immovable.


    At this moment, his complexion was ashen, he lurched forward, and slammed heavily onto the ground.


    And Long-tongued Zhenzhen, after repelling the hammer, did not come over or shift her attention here.


    It¡¯s over!


    Yan Junze felt a sense of despair.


    His head, pressed against the ground, was stepped on by the child. The child extended its razor-sharp nails, lightly tracing Yan Junze¡¯s neck, puncturing the skin and flesh and reaching the artery.


    After a brief two-second pause, with a forceful move, the artery was instantly severed.


    A large amount of blood surged from Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    [Host detected on the brink of death, triggering ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± Different Dimension Energy insufficient, trigger failed¡­]


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 Chapter 168 - 166: Video Playback (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)

    Chapter 168: Chapter 166: Video Playback (Please subscribe, request monthly ticket)


    Yan Junze only felt a pain at the back of his neck, and then the pain began to slowly fade away as the lower part of his body seemed to become moist, as if it were blood.


    He lay prostrate on the ground, his head to one side, gazing blankly ahead, his eyes gradually losing their luster.


    In his fading vision, the Crawler Monster that was trembling in terror, lying there with a backpack on, had completely lost its composure.


    Rewind!


    Rewind!


    Rewind!


    ...


    In his subconscious, he had repeated the thought of rewinding countless times to no avail, and his consciousness began to slip away.


    Convulsions, his entire body began to twitch due to excessive blood loss, but Junze could no longer feel it.


    Everything before his eyes became blurry, the shadow of the Crawler Monster vanished, and the scenery outside the warehouse disappeared alongside it.


    All he could see was a grayish-white world, a world of monochrome grey and white.


    He felt as if he had fallen asleep, as if he was dreaming. He dreamt of his parents, his classmates, Ke¡¯er, the Back-faced Woman, Aunt Mei, Resentful Granny, and Lv Xin¡­


    In the dream, it seemed they were all smiling at him, with only Ke¡¯er ceaselessly crawling around.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Ke¡¯er crawled onto his back, leaning sideways to bring her head in front of Yan Junze¡¯s eyes. She appeared perplexed, yet there was a hint of excitement.


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er recognized him, her little cheeks nuzzling gently against Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    Gazing vacantly at all this, Yan Junze felt nothing, just existing in the grey world as an onlooker, silently observing everything happening before him.


    In the moment before death, Ke¡¯er¡¯s figure became increasingly distinct, as if he could see clearly the scenery and the objects around the setting she was in.


    It seemed that Junze saw trees, green grass, and burial mounds, and then his consciousness started to fade bit by bit, completely vanishing.


    ¡­


    Time passed, and the fish-belly white of the sky appeared, gradually dispelling the darkness.


    At that moment, a light drizzle began to fall.


    The cold raindrops fell onto the side of Junze¡¯s prostrate face, one by one.


    Suddenly, his eyelid twitched.


    About a minute later, he slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if lifting his eyelids was as heavy as lifting a thousand jun. Just opening them seemed to exhaust all his strength.


    The moment he opened his eyes, a piercing pain coursed through his body, jerking his eyelids, but after his gaze gradually focused, his senses began to recover, followed by a wave of bewilderment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead? I didn¡¯t die?¡±


    Two minutes later, Yan Junze came to his senses.


    Although he was still lying on the ground outside the Mountain Park warehouse, he found that he was stubbornly alive.


    He tried to move his limbs, which felt almost alien to him but were still somewhat mobile.


    After about five minutes, he propped himself up with his hands and slowly sat upright, the light rain continuing to fall. He looked at the spot where he lay; there was no blood beneath him. Then, turning his head to look around, Junze¡¯s pupils contracted, and his face showed horror.


    He saw that the green-skinned child had nothing left intact except its head; its torso and limbs were mere fragments, with no other parts visible.


    And the spot where he had been lying was not the position where he remembered collapsing against the rock wall; the ground where he had originally fallen was now soaked red with blood.


    Junze believed that was the blood that had flowed out after his neck had been slashed open.


    With that thought, he reached out to touch his neck, finding it unharmed, without even a scar.


    He quickly checked his stomach and found the frightening wound was also absent.


    He knew, though he couldn¡¯t see his back, that the wound there must have also healed because there was no longer a sensation of pain from a wound.


    Instead, there was a deep exhaustion, as if every movement drained all the energy from his body.


    Yan Junze noticed that Long-tongued Zhenzhen was still standing in the direction of the rock wall, silent as ever, in the same pose as before.


    Turning once again to search for the Crawler Monster, it didn¡¯t take long to spot the creature under the eaves near the warehouse door.


    Possibly because of the rain, the Crawler Monster had run under the eaves to take shelter. Otherwise, its parted hair on the head could easily stick together, making it troublesome to manage.


    But Yan Junze noticed that when he looked at the Crawler Monster, the creature immediately shuddered involuntarily, stepped back, and the look in its eyes was not just fear but had reached the point of terror.


    Yan Junze had the feeling that, right now, if he made his gaze even more fierce, the creature might very well scare itself into incontinence¡ªif it was capable of urinating, that is.


    What on earth¡­ just happened?


    Zhenzhen, being in the midst of the magnetic field chaos, might not know what happened.


    But the Crawler Monster had clearly witnessed everything, and it seemed now to be extremely afraid of him, almost to an extreme degree.


    Why is that?


    Glancing at the mangled body of the green child on the ground, it looked as though its body had been torn apart by sheer force.


    Who did it?


    Just then, the Crawler Monster seemed to realize something. It no longer cared that its hair was getting wet and ran out from under the eave, picked up the camera from the flat rock, and returned under the eave.


    Regardless, ever since reaping the benefits from the Atlas, the creature had been very loyal to Yan Junze. This was evident from how it risked its parted hair getting wet to fetch the camera so diligently.


    ¡°Camera?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up slightly, but his body was really too weak to do much; being able to sit up was already quite an accomplishment.


    Unable to stand, he crawled towards the eaves beneath the warehouse door, emulating the Crawler Monster¡¯s movements.


    The Crawler Monster, seeing him approach, immediately scurried away in terror.


    Once under the eave, Yan Junze reached out to it with a hoarse voice, ¡°Camera¡­ give it to me.¡±


    The Crawler Monster hesitated, looked at the camera it was holding, then wiped it a couple of times before shuffling closer to Yan Junze and carefully handing it over.


    After obtaining the camera, the creature quickly retreated to one side, not daring to come close again.


    Now completely limp and exhausted, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t leave for the time being.


    Even if the boss of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission burst out of the underground space behind the tunnel, he couldn¡¯t care less. If he died, then so be it. There was no energy left to escape anymore.


    The camera had been recording towards the direction of the warehouse a door all along, so it must have captured the events as they unfolded. Since Yan Junze couldn¡¯t find out the details himself, he had to resort to watching the playback of the recording.


    Lacking the strength to leave, he leaned against the metal door, extended one hand and struggled quite a bit before he managed to adjust the playback video correctly.


    It appeared that the rain had only just started, and the camera hadn¡¯t been completely soaked through. Otherwise, it would have been damaged already.


    Setting the playback to just when he had walked out of the warehouse, Yan Junze widened his eyes and stared intently.


    The angle of the camera was a bit off from where his throat had been slashed, but thankfully, the scene was still visible. He quickly jumped the footage to the moment the Corpse Child¡¯s nail had severed his carotid artery.


    In the video, he collapsed to the ground as a copious amount of blood spurted from his throat while the Corpse Child stood on him, watching silently.


    Soon after, as his body lost too much blood in a short period, he began to twitch slightly.


    About three minutes later, the twitching stopped, and he seemed to have¡­ died?!


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then looked down at himself and checked his own pulse.


    Alive, for sure!


    Just then, in the video, the Corpse Child suddenly startled, leaping away from the body it had been standing on, landing nearby with a shocked stare at the prone body.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he leaned in closer to see the screen, noticing what seemed to be a large amount of hair growing from his prone body at an alarming rate, clear even from a distance.


    Then, his body got up in a strange and awkward position, head and limbs dangling as if they had no strength.


    Once he became fully upright, he slowly turned around in a grotesque manner, presenting his back to the shocked Corpse Child.


    And then, a scene occurred that struck Yan Junze with terror.


    In the video, his own neck began to slowly rotate one hundred and eighty degrees to face the Corpse Child.


    Recognizing this familiar scene, an unbelievable suspicion surged in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, making him blurt out something vulgar.


    ¡°Damn, so it turns out¡­ I was subjected to Spirit-Splitting!¡±


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    Paragraph copied

 Chapter 170 - 168 Fake Spirit Body

    Chapter 170: Chapter 168 Fake Spirit Body


    Yan Junze thought it over but felt something was off.


    If it had been a simple spirit-splitting like that of the Resentful Granny, he would have been completely controlled by her much earlier and wouldn¡¯t have waited until the moment when he was about to be killed for it to explode forth.


    Could it be¡­ the Back-faced Woman planted this spirit-splitting in him to help him?


    If it truly was for his own good, then this method was far too terrifying.


    Regardless, it seemed that his body had now returned to normal, even the fatal wounds had disappeared, which for the time being was good news for him.


    After a bout of whimsical ideas, Yan Junze quickly fell into a deep sleep.


    ...


    He slept until six in the evening before waking up, his head felt groggy, and his limbs were still weak and limp. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After waking, he lay in bed for quite a while.


    When he arrived at the bathroom, a glance in the mirror gave Yan Junze quite a shock.


    His reflection was as pale as paper; had his eyes not been blinking, he would have been indistinguishable from a dead person.


    ¡°Is this a symptom of having undergone spirit-splitting?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He then remembered that he was severely lacking blood, and although it seemed he could stand here, there was hardly any blood in his body.


    This was definitely not good for him.


    Should the lost blood be replenished through a transfusion at the hospital, or should he drink directly?


    Thinking it over, if he went to the hospital and requested a blood transfusion directly, it would probably cause a sensation. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain how someone could walk into a hospital alive with a completely insufficient blood supply inside their body.


    He decided to try drinking some blood to see if his body would absorb it and convert it into his own blood supply.


    Immediately, he took out his phone and called Zhou Dali.


    ¡°What, you need fresh blood? What for? Catching a vampire?¡± Zhou Dali sounded obviously shocked on the other end.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just get me some,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Do you want human blood, or¡­¡±


    ¡°Animal¡­ animal blood will do, any problem?¡±


    Zhou Dali nodded, ¡°Should be no problem, my great-uncle¡¯s godmother¡¯s daughter¡¯s husband¡¯s sister¡¯s husband has a farm, I¡¯ll ask him.¡±


    Yan Junze had gotten used to Zhou Dali¡¯s intricate web of relatives and connections. There was always a line to follow, a person to find, and a way to help whenever needed.


    ¡°If possible, could you hurry? I¡¯ll pay you for the blood,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°What are you talking about money for, that hurts the feelings,¡± Zhou Dali hung up the phone and went off to make arrangements.


    After a quick wash of his face, Yan Junze¡¯s mother, Li Man, came home.


    She had seen her son sleeping in the morning, so she did not wake him. But now, seeing Yan Junze¡¯s pale face, she was startled and began asking many concerned questions.


    Yan Junze only claimed he had stayed up too late and was feeling a bit of a cold, had taken some cold medicine, and then retreated back to his bedroom to rest.


    Seeing that he was simply pale and not exhibiting any other symptoms, Li Man hurried to the kitchen, defrosted two fish, and started cooking chicken with mushrooms, planning to give Yan Junze a nourishing meal that evening.


    While lying in bed, Yan Junze made a call to Zhang Xiaomo.


    The two hadn¡¯t seen each other for a while, and after a bit of small talk, Yan Junze found an opportunity to ask, ¡°By the way, you mentioned last time that after 48 hours of being spirit-split, there would be no saving them. What would such a person turn into then?¡±


    ¡°Completely controlled by the strangeness itself, devoid of their own thoughts, they become like walking corpses.¡± Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment, although she didn¡¯t know why he would ask such a question, she still quickly responded.


    ¡°Are there any exceptions?¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°For instance, the person appears completely normal, without any anomalies, only under certain special conditions might the state of Spirit-Splitting be triggered.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo had an epiphany: ¡°What you¡¯re talking about isn¡¯t Spirit-Splitting; it¡¯s a Fake Spirit Body. Only strangenesses of at least the Sculpting Spirit level can achieve a Fake Spirit Body. If a person is imbued with a Fake Spirit Body, when the life of the Fake Spirit Body is in danger, the Spirit Body will be activated, temporarily possessing the power of that Sculpting Spirit level strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Are there any side effects?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Of course, there are.¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied, ¡°As soon as the Fake Spirit Body is activated for the first time, that person is referred to by us exorcists as a ¡®Semi-spirit,¡¯ which is between that of strangeness and human. Normally they seem like an ordinary person, even exorcists can hardly detect them, but once the Fake Spirit Body is activated, they can be considered equivalent to a true strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Do you have to exterminate such¡­ Semi-spirits?¡± This was a matter of great concern to Yan Junze.


    It seemed he had already activated the Fake Spirit Body, unquestionably making him the ¡°Semi-spirit¡± described by Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°That depends on the purpose for which the person activated the Fake Spirit Body,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile, ¡°I remember telling you that some people have very powerful special constitutions, making them most suitable for activating a Fake Spirit Body, and some of them are also Spirit Cultivators. After nurturing a powerful strangeness, they merge with it on purpose through certain methods to obtain a Fake Spirit Body.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s such a situation?¡± Yan Junze was astonished.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, ¡°The motives of these kinds of Semi-spirits are very bad, definitely the targets we exorcists exterminate. But the good Semi-spirits are not to be exterminated. If used well, they can still be a potent ally.¡±


    That¡¯s more like it.


    Yan Junze sighed in relief, otherwise if he failed to collect Different Dimension Energy and ended up being hunted by exorcists every day, would he still have a life to live?


    ¡°Why do you ask these questions? Did you encounter a ¡®Semi-spirit¡¯?¡± Zhang Xiaomo inquired.


    Yan Junze made up a story, ¡°No, just asking for a friend who encountered one, didn¡¯t know what it was, and was curious to ask you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Zhang Xiaomo smiled, ¡°To make a person a ¡®Semi-spirit,¡¯ a strangeness of at least Sculpting Spirit level usually has to pay a considerable price. This thing¡­ can¡¯t really be said to be good or bad, if not handled carefully, it¡¯s possible to become a True Spirit Body, that is, the so-called Ethereal spirit.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is an Ethereal spirit?¡± Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    ¡°Uh, above Sculpting Spirit.¡±


    After rambling on with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, Yan Junze gained a few more insights into the concept of strangenesses.


    Looking at the situation, him becoming a ¡°Semi-spirit¡± was now a fact, as he had already triggered the Fake Spirit Body state during the critical moment last night, and with the first activation, he was now a Semi-spirit.


    But Zhang Xiaomo had said that to plant a Fake Spirit Body requires a considerable cost from a Sculpting Spirit level strangeness. If the Back-faced Woman intentionally planted it in him, then her intentions may not be malicious toward him.


    Still, if she really meant to help him, then the price was too steep.


    Zhang Xiaomo was currently in the Tianmeng District office, she had agreed with Yan Junze to have a meal together when he reported to Tianmeng University of Science and Technology, and then she hung up the phone.


    Before long, Li Man had prepared the meals, and Yan Daguo had also come home.


    Yan Junze, pushing through his frailty, got up and, after smelling the fragrant fish soup that made his mouth water, he gulped down most of the bowl in one go, then ate a small bowl of chicken stewed with mushrooms.


    Just as he was about to add some more rice and eat some homely dishes,


    suddenly his stomach churned, his already pale cheeks turned purplish-green in an instant, and his stomach began to roil.


    Under the astonished eyes of his parents, he hurried into the bathroom and retched, vomiting everything he had just eaten.


    Li Man thought he was severely ill and quickly brought him a cup of hot water.


    At this moment, the text message tone from Yan Junze¡¯s phone in his pocket rang. Wiping his mouth with a towel, he casually took out his phone and unlocked the screen to see that it was from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier. A Semi-spirit can only consume very little human food, however, it will seek out its own kind of food; this is also an important factor in identifying whether that Semi-spirit poses a threat.¡±


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 Chapter 171 - 169: Yan Junzes Staple Food

    Chapter 171: Chapter 169: Yan Junze¡¯s Staple Food


    Couldn¡¯t stomach anything anymore.


    Having already vomited everything out, at the sight of the text message from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze completely lost his appetite.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that after activating his Fake Spirit Body, he would have to eat very little human food and mainly seek out his own kind of sustenance.


    ¡°How the hell am I supposed to know what I¡¯m supposed to eat?¡±


    Yan Junze lay back on the bed, his mother placed a wet towel on his forehead, and then took out a thermometer usually kept at home to take his temperature.


    Five minutes later, Li Man took the thermometer and showed it to Yan Daguo.


    ...


    Then Yan Daguo vigorously shook the thermometer a few times and said bluntly, ¡°The mercury might be broken.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± Yan Junze asked, lifting his head.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t even reached 35 degrees,¡± Yan Daguo frowned and answered.


    This type of mercury thermometer generally has a minimum scale of 35 degrees. Now the mercury hadn¡¯t even reached the 35-degree mark and was far from the minimum, leading Yan Daguo to believe the thermometer was broken.


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait; we¡¯re going to the hospital now,¡± Li Man suggested.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Mom,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I just haven¡¯t rested well these past couple of days. I¡¯ll sleep a bit more, and I¡¯ll recover by tomorrow.¡±


    Just then, there was a knock on the living room door, followed by Zhou Dali¡¯s booming voice, ¡°Junze, open up, I¡¯m here to see you.¡±


    Yan Daguo went out to open the door.


    Seeing it was Yan Daguo, Zhou Dali immediately looked down and gave an embarrassed smile, ¡°Uncle, is Junze in? I came to see him.¡±


    As he spoke, he lifted the black plastic bag he was carrying.


    ¡°He¡¯s feeling a bit unwell and is lying in bed. Go on in,¡± Yan Daguo thought the bag contained nutritional supplements and nodded.


    Once inside the bedroom, Li Man also stepped out and closed the bedroom door.


    Zhou Dali sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the black plastic bag he had been carrying, taking out five bags of fresh blood.


    The bags of blood weren¡¯t large, each about the same size as the bagged milk bought for breakfast.


    ¡°It¡¯s all chicken blood, from chickens killed just a while ago. I froze it in the fridge to prevent it from coagulating into blood clots, so it¡¯s still icy,¡± explained Zhou Dali. ¡°What are you planning to do with it?¡±


    ¡°Put it under the bed for now,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer his question, and instead said, ¡°Tomorrow I need you to do something for me. Go to the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area from where you picked me up and collect a few payments. Here¡¯s the address.¡±


    As he said this, he took out a piece of paper with an address already written on it from the drawer of his bedside table.


    ¡°Remember to bring your ID. I¡¯ll call these people in advance and tell them you¡¯ll be coming over.¡±


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Even though Zhou Dali didn¡¯t know what Yan Junze was up to, he was clear-headed when it came to collecting money.


    They chatted about going to university next month. Seeing that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t in good shape, Zhou Dali didn¡¯t stay for long, said he¡¯d take care of the task the next day, and then got up to leave. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not long after Zhou Dali left, the parents came into the bedroom and urged him to go to the hospital.


    After some sweet-talking, Yan Junze finally convinced his parents to leave. Then he locked the bedroom door, took out the bags of fresh blood from under the bed, and randomly picked one.


    There were no straws, so he bit open the bag, frowned, and carefully tried sipping a mouthful before slowly swallowing.


    It was fishy, but not as bad as he had imagined.


    So for the second sip, he took a bit more, swallowed, and then paid close attention to any changes in his body.


    Feeling nothing, he ended up finishing off the bag in a few gulps, wiped his mouth clean with a couple of tissues, and then lay back on the bed.


    About half an hour later, the anticipated stomach pain or diarrhea didn¡¯t materialize; instead, the body aches began to fade away.


    Although the fatigue hadn¡¯t totally subsided, it had significantly improved. Not only that, but Yan Junze even felt somewhat full.


    After a long while, he let out a wry smile. It seemed he had found his main source of sustenance, but why wasn¡¯t it bread and milk? Why was it blood?


    Although the sense of fatigue had diminished, his body was still weak. After a moment, he took out the second bag from under the bed, bit it open, and gulped it down quickly, much faster than the first time.


    Then he took out the third bag, the fourth bag, and finally, the last one.


    In the blink of an eye, he had drunk all five bags of blood.


    His strength was rapidly returning, and the feeling of weakness was mostly gone, with only occasional sensations of lethargy.


    There were no mirrors in the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat on the bed, took a selfie with his phone, and struck a victory pose, having turned off the beautification and filters in advance.


    He looked at the photo, the angle was quite good, and it showed potential for a selfie expert. His cheeks were still a bit pale, but much better than at the beginning.


    As a ¡°Semi-spirit,¡± it seemed that drinking animal blood was a lot more effective than drinking fish soup.


    Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yan Junze¡¯s mind went blank for a moment. He hadn¡¯t expected his body to end up like this, and there was still a process of acceptance he needed to go through.


    He wasn¡¯t saying he couldn¡¯t eat human food anymore, but he could only consume it in moderation, and his main food¡­


    He turned his head to look at the empty bags thrown into the trash bin and let out a wry smile. Even if he stole animal blood, he needed to figure out how to dispose of the trash properly, or it could raise suspicion from his parents and friends.


    He had recovered a lot of energy. Though not fully recharged, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to sleep anymore.


    He booted up his computer and copied all the videos from the camcorder and the camera on his chest, watching them carefully.


    In the footage, the part where he¡¯s carried aloft by Long-tongued Zhenzhen after entering the tunnel had to be deleted, and so did the interaction with the Crawler Monster.


    The scene outside the warehouse in Mountain Park, where he was ambushed by a child and then fought back, was also deleted.


    After these cuts, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but both laugh and cry.


    The entire video no longer seemed complete, just bits and pieces, as if there was no storyline. It required voice-over or text explanations in order to roughly describe the entire Spirit Exploration process.


    But the good news was that the cave had given off a strong sense of mystery, which should do well in terms of horror atmosphere.


    After editing, he contacted Tang Zhengyi and sent over the video.


    Only then did he start to feel a bit hungry again. Without blood, he could still eat human food, at least enough to stave off hunger in critical moments.


    He took the trash can with the discarded blood bags, carried the plastic bag out of the bedroom, opened the door, and threw it into the waste disposal nearby.


    He returned home and managed to find some leftovers from dinner in the kitchen.


    He didn¡¯t dare to eat much, just a little, then went back to his room to lie down. At this point, he felt as though his days were numbered, for he had already lost a lot of blood and definitely hadn¡¯t drunk enough animal blood yet.


    But under the current circumstances, he could only think of visiting a blood center. He certainly couldn¡¯t go around randomly biting people on the streets, right?


    Yan Junze felt troubled, took out his cellphone, and took a selfie showing a five-toothed smile, looking at the photo.


    At least he hadn¡¯t grown zombie teeth.


    He didn¡¯t know how long he pondered, but eventually, he fell asleep.


    Early the next day, Yan Junze called the four families from the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area. Actually, they already knew the situation had been handled without needing his notice.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, Zhou Dali notified Yan Junze that he had received all the money and had confirmed it, but he couldn¡¯t leave at the moment because the police and a team of Exorcists had sealed off the entrances and exits of Spectacular Courtyard.


    Especially on the Mountain Park side, where police lines had been put up.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze had a thought: if the Tricky Silk Boss of the Underground Space were discovered by the Exorcists, he wondered what the outcome would be.


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 Chapter 172 - 170: Mysterious Identity

    Chapter 172: Chapter 170: Mysterious Identity


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t worried about Tricky Silk¡¯s boss being taken out by an exorcist before him. Now, it seemed that the guy was too strong; he didn¡¯t have the ability to cope with it at all.


    So it didn¡¯t matter whether the exorcist managed to dispose of it or not.


    He was just afraid that his trail would be discovered.


    Yan Junze had checked beforehand, and there were no security cameras installed behind the Mountain Park. Usually, other than the elderly playing with spinning tops, no one else went there to wander around.


    The warehouse contained nothing but sundries and held nothing of value, so it was in a surveillance blind spot.


    The surveillance inside the community didn¡¯t affect him much; he had already told Old Master Li from Spectacular Courtyard Villa C5-1 in the morning; the old man had considerable influence in the community and could easily take the surveillance footage.


    ... sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After thinking for a while, Yan Junze made a call to Huang Chen.


    Huang Chen was on-site behind Mountain Park at Spectacular Courtyard, and as soon as he answered the call, Yan Junze blurted out, ¡°Brother Chen, I heard there was a big incident at Spectacular Courtyard! Are you over there?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. The area¡¯s been sealed off, and the police are present,¡± Huang Chen said. ¡°You¡¯re really well-informed, kiddo! What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Did you discover any strangeness?¡± Yan Junze asked, feigning a bit of curiosity.


    ¡°Yes, we did,¡± Huang Chen nodded, ¡°Right at the foot of the mountain, but it¡¯s already dead, only its head remains.¡±


    ¡°How powerful was it, what level?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°We can¡¯t determine that for the time being, but¡­¡± Huang Chen seemed to move to a more secluded spot, whispering, ¡°It should be related to a Spirit Cultivator. This dead strangeness, to be precise, belongs to the category of strangeness but should more appropriately be called a ¡®corpse¡¯.¡±


    ¡°A corpse?¡± Yan Junze expressed his shock and doubt.


    It seemed that the blue child who tried to kill him belonged to some Spirit Cultivator.


    If that was the case, it wasn¡¯t just the child that wanted to kill him but rather a problem with that Spirit Cultivator.


    When had he offended a Spirit Cultivator?


    Yan Junze wondered and then continued to ask, ¡°If it¡¯s related to a Spirit Cultivator, is it possible to trace its master¡¯s whereabouts?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s difficult,¡± Huang Chen shook his head, ¡°If we were prepared beforehand, it might be possible to trace, but right now we¡¯re also in the dark. And even if we were prepared, we¡¯d have to hand it over to the exorcists from Tianmeng District, we¡¯re powerless here.¡±


    After a pause, Huang Chen chuckled, ¡°You¡¯ve finished your college entrance exams, haven¡¯t you? Since you¡¯re so interested in strange cases, why not come to our team for a test tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but don¡¯t trick a minor. I still have to study!¡± Yan Junze was about to hang up the phone, but he thought for a moment and asked, ¡°So, did you only find that one strangeness there? Nothing else?¡±


    ¡°Nothing else,¡± Huang Chen replied. ¡°We¡¯ve deployed five Spirit Detectors to scan the area, and we didn¡¯t detect any other spirit magnetic field fluctuations.¡±


    They hadn¡¯t discovered the Tricky Silk boss?


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment; maybe there were two possibilities. One was that the guy was too powerful, overshadowing the Spirit Detectors¡¯ scanning. The other was that the mysterious person who had intercepted the boss had possibly already taken care of it.


    At the same time.


    In the Garden Villa of Spectacular Courtyard, Bao Jie¡¯s aunt, Bao Yunjing, and her family of four were sitting at home. Her husband, Yan He, had just made a trip to Mountain Park.


    Even though the site was sealed off and he couldn¡¯t get in to see,


    Yan He still confidently told his family, ¡°They say a strangeness died there, and the scene was very brutal. And according to Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, we kept watch all night yesterday in turns. There weren¡¯t any anomalies, so this strangeness was probably dealt with by him.¡±


    Not only that, the Lin Family who lived in the Garden Villa and the Zhao Family from the villa area had family members visit the scene to take a look, and according to instructions, they took turns keeping watch the night before, and nothing unusual occurred.


    The old Master Li from villa C5-1 in the villa area had gathered all his family members at this moment, filling up the living room.


    Old Master Li¡¯s expression was solemn, but a hint of relief and ease could be seen at the corner of his eyes. He spoke in a deep voice, ¡°I just went to the scene myself to take a look, and I saw up close the strangeness that Master Yan killed, nothing left but a green head. It¡¯s over, I¡¯m certain our Li Family is safe now.¡±


    About two hours later, Yan Junze received a phone call from Zhou Dali, telling him that he had gotten out and was on his way to FH Community.


    The largest of the four payments this time came from the wealthy Li Family, a direct deposit of 500,000 into Yan Junze¡¯s account. The Lin and Zhao families each contributed 200,000, one via bank transfer and the other in cash.


    As for the cheapest, it was Bao Yunjing¡¯s family, who received a friend¡¯s rate of 20,000, considering Bao Jie¡¯s face.


    This action had netted him 920,000, and this didn¡¯t even include the platform¡¯s fees.


    With the money secured, tuition and the cost of university life were no longer a concern, and Yan Junze felt a weight lift from his heart.


    Zhou Dali soon returned, because his parents had gotten up early in the morning and saw that Yan Junze indeed seemed much better. Although he was still pale, after letting their worries go, they reminded him to continue taking his medicine, and then both went off to work.


    Only Yan Junze was at home.


    The backpack Zhou Dali brought back contained 220,000 in cash, with the rest already deposited into Yan Junze¡¯s account.


    Yan Junze took out 10,000 from the stack of money and handed it to Zhou Dali, ¡°This is your hard-earned money.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes lit up, but he scratched his head sheepishly, ¡°This¡­ seems a bit inappropriate, I didn¡¯t exert much effort. It was just that I didn¡¯t register when entering the Spectacular Courtyard, and the community security asked me questions with ill intentions. Then the community was sealed off, and I was interrogated by the police like a suspect for a while. On the way back, I missed the bus and spent some money on a taxi, then there was¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough, enough,¡± Yan Junze cut him off, unable to listen any longer, ¡°Just take it, will ya? Why all the fuss?¡±


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Zhou Dali blushed, taking the 10,000 and hurriedly stuffing it into his pocket.


    His pocket immediately swelled conspicuously.


    Yan Junze took out another 10,000, and Zhou Dali immediately waved his hands, ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t take that much, it¡¯s not right¡­¡±


    ¡°This is for buying blood,¡± Yan Junze tossed the money to him. ¡°From now on, get me more, every week¡­ uh¡­ at least twenty bags.¡±


    Seeing Zhou Dali¡¯s puzzled face, Yan Junze quickly shut him up, ¡°Don¡¯t ask any questions, now that you have the money, take the time to have some good fun these next few days, but don¡¯t go to bathhouses, no saunas or foot massages, and definitely no into those hair salons that have red lights and masquerade as something else. You¡¯ll have an entrance exam after you start school, don¡¯t wreck yourself during this time.¡±


    Zhou Dali looked surprised, ¡°Holy shit, how do you know so much? Someone without experience couldn¡¯t list it off like that!¡±


    ¡°Bring me 5 bags of blood today, chicken, duck, or black dog blood, any will do, go now!¡± Yan Junze pushed him out of the room.


    According to his own guess, if his main sustenance was drinking blood, it might not necessarily be limited to the blood of certain animals.


    That is, possibly any kind of animal blood should be drinkable; with his current ¡°Semi-spirit¡± body, he should be able to absorb it all.


    At the same moment.


    In an old residential building in Tianyi District.


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s face was dark as he rolled up his sleeves, staring at the skin on the inside of his right elbow.


    This patch of skin was already covered by a hard black shell, the surface of the shell pitted and distorted, looking very much like the clot of secretion he had thrown to the ground for the Corpse Child to lick earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯ve expended ¡®Magnetic Field Tremor¡¯ to send you to Tianmeng District in Shuntian City in a short time, and you were so useless?!¡± Cheng Jingting muttered to himself.


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 Chapter 173 - 171 Aunt Mei Speaks Up

    Chapter 173: Chapter 171 Aunt Mei Speaks Up


    ¡°`


    Fortunately, the piece of hard black material on his arm wasn¡¯t very big. He couldn¡¯t see anything unusual with the sleeves down, but it still greatly angered Cheng Jingting.


    This was the backlash from the destruction of the nurtured spirit. You¡¯re lucky that the strength of the green child wasn¡¯t very strong; otherwise, his backlash could have been greater.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t expect him to be killed?!¡± Cheng Jingting muttered to himself as he lowered his sleeve, ¡°Could he also be a spirit cultivator? Otherwise, how do you explain his consistent success in spirit exploration? Hmm, maybe he has a special method for exorcism.¡±


    However, Cheng Jingting wasn¡¯t worried. It was just the death of a child; no one would be able to trace it back to him.


    He turned to look at a row of clay jars in the corner. Though there were over a dozen jars, there weren¡¯t many nurturing spirits inside; they were basically ¡°food.¡±


    ...


    There were also two other children, but they hadn¡¯t taken shape at all.


    For Cheng Jingting, his specialty was corpses, not genuine spirit nurturing, which he rarely dealt with. He only knew a bit about the methods.


    In past video tutorials, he had essentially just orally shared the basic methods of spirit nurturing, allowing potential spirit cultivators scattered throughout Great Capital Huaying to experiment with these methods.


    Now that the child had been eliminated and he had suffered a backlash, it put him in a very bad mood.


    The woman in the pajamas who had been following him couldn¡¯t stay long in the clay jar vacated by the child. She wasn¡¯t tamed at all ¨C if let out, she would still think of harming him at any moment.


    Knock, knock, knock¡­


    There came a knock at the door.


    Cheng Jingting frowned and stood up to go to the door. He looked through the peephole and his expression darkened.


    The knocking continued.


    Just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly got an idea, turned back into the room, and fetched a clean disposable paper cup. He walked over to the row of jars, opened one, scooped out some black paste, and placed it into the cup.


    After setting the cup aside, the intermittent knocking still hadn¡¯t stopped, as if it would continue indefinitely if the door wasn¡¯t opened.


    At that moment, Cheng Jingting¡¯s expression became very natural as he reached the door and opened it.


    Outside stood the same woman in the earthy yellow dress, looking haggard.


    Upon seeing Cheng Jingting open the door, she immediately asked, ¡°My child, have you seen my child?¡±


    Cheng Jingting put on a smile, ¡°This is your 38th time asking me. Hmm, I think I might have seen him.¡±


    The woman had been asking everyone in the neighborhood every day, to the point where everyone was tired of her. But she was persistent, almost crazily searching, and although everyone¡¯s answers disappointed her, she never thought of giving up.


    This time, she didn¡¯t expect to get a completely surprising answer from a neighbor, and her usually dull and lifeless eyes suddenly lit up.


    ¡°You¡­ You saw my child? You saw Little Su Jie? Where is he?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Come in, come inside and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± Cheng Jingting said with a smile, pulling the door open a bit more.


    The woman, not thinking anything else, hurried inside.


    The door closed behind her.


    Cheng Jingting invited the young mother to sit down on a cloth sofa, saying, ¡°You must be tired from looking for your child every day. Sit down for a moment; I¡¯ll pour you some hot tea.¡±


    Turning his back to her, he picked up the cup that had already been prepared, filled with black paste, added some tea leaves, and poured hot water in, swirling the cup a few times.


    The black paste dissolved quickly in the hot water, leaving the water cloudy. At first glance, it didn¡¯t look much different from steeped tea.


    He placed the cup in front of the woman and sat down opposite her, his eyes smiling, ¡°Have a sip of hot water, and then I¡¯ll tell you about my encounter with Little Su Jie.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, thank you.¡± The haggard-looking woman picked up the cup.


    The strong tea flavor couldn¡¯t mask another scent in the water, but she was so preoccupied that she didn¡¯t notice it. After blowing on it twice, she quickly took a sip.


    ¡°`


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s brows relaxed, and he fixed her with a chuckling gaze¡­


    ¡­


    For a whole week, Yan Junze didn¡¯t leave the house, focusing solely on nursing his body back to health.


    The first activation of the ¡°Fake Spirit Body¡± had cost him dearly. Though it didn¡¯t kill him, it seemed to have damaged various bodily functions, especially the supply of blood.


    Even now, his complexion was still somewhat pale.


    Yan Junze believed that he, as a ¡°Semi-spirit,¡± would probably maintain this pale complexion for a long time to come.


    A week later, he took the opportunity to go out, deposited the 200 thousand cash into his own account, and then transferred 50 thousand to his mother Li Man¡¯s account.


    He couldn¡¯t transfer too much for the first time; otherwise, his parents would still be suspicious. In the future, he would transfer money regularly to prove that his high income was stable and to ease their worries.


    After wandering the streets for half a day, remembering that he hadn¡¯t visited Aunt Mei for a while, Yan Junze bought a large number of candles and returned to FH Community.


    On the way, he stared at the candles in his hand, incredulously thinking it was fortunate his main diet was blood, not candles. Otherwise, what an experience it would be to gnaw on candles all day.


    On second thought, Zhang Xiaomo had said that there might be other Spirit Cultivators who could be Semi-spirits, and their main diet might be beyond his understanding, possibly even more bizarre.


    Reaching the underground parking garage, Yan Junze walked straight into the southeast corner¡¯s utility room, arms full of candles, and called out, ¡°Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I¡¯ve brought candles for you and the strange babies.¡±


    Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­


    Two strange babies rushed out from inside a room, one of them grabbing the plastic bag full of candles from Yan Junze; he quickly let go, and the strange babies, one after the other, dragged the candles into the back room.


    Soon after came the sounds of tearing plastic and chewing.


    Next second, Aunt Mei, with her elongated limbs and bloated body, staggered out of the back room¡¯s door, maintaining her friendly smile as she looked at Yan Junze.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, how have you been these past few days?¡± Yan Junze asked with a cheeky grin.


    Suddenly, he noticed the smile fading from Aunt Mei¡¯s face, slowly disappearing.


    Then Aunt Mei extended her arm, which grew longer and longer. Her body didn¡¯t move, but her arm reached across the outer room, almost the entire distance of the room, and rested on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder.


    Yan Junze was startled, not daring to move or resist, merely looking at the hand on his shoulder and then back at Aunt Mei in amazement.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡±


    Corpse Granny¡¯s lips didn¡¯t move, yet this was the first time he heard her speak, as if the words were echoing directly in his mind.


    ¡°You¡­ can you speak?¡± Yan Junze asked in surprise.


    Corpse Granny nodded, but her lips remained still, her voice once again resonating in Yan Junze¡¯s mind: ¡°Spirit Body¡­ dangerous¡­ refrain from using.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± Yan Junze was stunned, ¡°Aunt Mei, you can tell I¡¯ve become a ¡®Semi-spirit¡¯? Yes, the Fake Spirit Body, I triggered it accidentally a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Refrain from using¡­ otherwise¡­ True Spirit,¡± Corpse Granny¡¯s voice was intermittent, ¡°No cure¡­ possible.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s serious?¡± Yan Junze was shocked.


    Corpse Granny¡¯s words were concise, implying that if he used the Fake Spirit Body repeatedly, then Yan Junze might become a true strangeness, and there would be no cure for him.


    In fact, ever since the first activation of the Fake Spirit Body, Yan Junze himself had the feeling that he could trigger it again at any moment, if he wished, given his current condition.


    But he was equally worried that this thing seemed to have no benefits for him, just as Zhang Xiaomo had said, if triggered too frequently, there were bound to be severe consequences.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, this Fake Spirit Body was planted by that Sculpting Spirit strangeness that you met last time. Do you have any way to remove it?¡± Yan Junze eagerly inquired.


    Corpse Granny shook her head; however, she still uttered two words: ¡°Neutralize it.¡±


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 174 - 172 Exchange Conditions

    Chapter 174: Chapter 172 Exchange Conditions


    ¡°Neutralize?¡±


    Aunt Mei¡¯s words were brief, yet there certainly was reason in them.


    With puzzlement, Yan Junze returned to his home upstairs, locked himself in the bedroom, and pondered over the phrase seriously.


    Currently, his Different Dimension Energy had been in a state of deficiency, and the already unfolded Atlas could store approximately 5400 points of energy, but only about 400 points had been recovered so far.


    If he didn¡¯t complete tasks, to recover on his own might take roughly a month or so to fully replenish his current energy levels.


    This was not a worry for Yan Junze, as he did not plan to take on any more tasks for the time being. Even if he encountered strangenesses, he did not intend to touch them, preferring to wait until both his body and the Atlas¡¯s energy were fully recovered.


    ...


    Could ¡®neutralize¡¯ mean to use Different Dimension Energy to neutralize the Fake Spirit Body within him? But Aunt Mei might not know that he possessed Different Dimension Energy, although it now seemed very similar to what is known as Yin Energy.


    There was another possibility, which was to harmonize the Fake Spirit Body with someone like Aunt Mei once more, such as Fang Ning hidden within the shadows.


    Thinking of this possibility, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes slightly lit up.


    If he really could draw out Fang Ning¡¯s soul from the shadows and have it neutralize with his Fake Spirit Body, there might be two possible outcomes.


    One would be mutual cancellation or depletion after the conflict¡ªeither both parties would annihilate each other, or one would barely triumph and be left severely weakened.


    The second outcome could be that rather than neutralizing, the state of the Fake Spirit Body might be augmented. In such a case, it could very well lead to him becoming a True Spirit Body, which Aunt Mei referred to as beyond redemption.


    ¡°I dare not try unless absolutely necessary,¡± Yan Junze was somewhat troubled.


    If the results didn¡¯t develop as he had imagined, he could solve it by using Rewind, but what he feared was, if he turned into a True Spirit Body, lost his rationality, or turned to an evil alignment, what would he do if he was unable to use Rewind?


    Anything was possible, so he couldn¡¯t act with impatience; he had to take it step by step. For now, he just shouldn¡¯t use the Fake Spirit Body state.


    After much thought, Yan Junze decided not to rush into experimenting; waiting until he had some assurance before trying wouldn¡¯t be too late.


    Before reporting to Tianmeng District University of Science and Technology, he rested quietly at home, occasionally went out with Zhou Dali, and visited Aunt Mei and the strange baby, without taking on any other tasks.


    The day for university freshmen to register arrived in a blink of an eye.


    Yan Junze did not plan on having his parents send him to Tianmeng Science University, and Li Man and Yan Daguo were likewise very confident in their son.


    Lately, Yan Junze¡¯s growth had been extraordinary, giving them a sense of newfound respect; not only was he unafraid of strangenesses, but he also resolved some strange issues and even consistently secured a high and steady income.


    Therefore, concerning Yan Junze, the couple was now much more at ease. Since Yan Junze did not request them to see him off, they did not insist.


    FH Community, the underground parking garage.


    Yan Junze sat on a large cardboard box between pipes, watching the two strange babies gnawing at incense sticks, while Aunt Mei sat on the other side, wearing a kind smile as she watched Yan Junze.


    Since the last time Aunt Mei had spoken after discovering Yan Junze¡¯s Fake Spirit Body, she had since returned to silence, not conveying any thoughts in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    Yan Junze suspected that communicating in such a way might have some impact, so Aunt Mei did not converse with others lightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving, Aunt Mei,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°I¡¯m going to study in Tianmeng District, so I won¡¯t be able to visit you often or bring incense sticks for you anymore.¡±


    Aunt Mei smiled and nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back to see you during vacations,¡± continued Yan Junze. ¡°There¡¯s just one thing, I might need to ask for your help. Um, during the time I¡¯m not here, the FH Community¡­ Can I ask you to take care of it?¡±


    Aunt Mei did not speak or show any other expression. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze added, ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do anything, you just need to let out some of the strangeness pressure that you usually keep reined in. That should scare off other strangenesses from entering the community.¡±


    As soon as her words fell, Aunt Mei suddenly turned her head and looked at the strange infants nibbling on sweet-smelling candles nearby.


    The infants shuddered slightly, set the candles down, and looked up at Aunt Mei with surprise.


    Aunt Mei glanced back at Yan Junze and reached out, seizing each infant by the neck with one hand. Startled, they dropped their candles and were held motionless as Aunt Mei brought them before Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised and, after a moment of silence, asked, ¡°Do you want me to¡­ take them with me?¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded.


    ¡°Actually, they listen very well to you. If I take them¡­¡± Yan Junze paused mid-sentence as if he had just remembered something, then corrected himself, ¡°If I don¡¯t take them away, won¡¯t you have trouble focusing on taking care of the entire community because of having to look after them?¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded again.


    ¡°I see!¡± said Yan Junze, nodding in return, ¡°No problem, they will follow me from now on. However, right now, Aunt Mei, you have to get them to let their guard down against me. Otherwise, I can¡¯t bring these two rascals under control.¡±


    Aunt Mei smiled and brought the strange infants closer to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze explained, ¡°Just so you know, I have a skill called ¡®Lock Evil Spirits,¡¯ but it can only be used on evil spirits of a lower level or those who choose to cooperate with me. Otherwise, I can¡¯t apply the lockdown.¡±


    Aunt Mei gave no other response but still pushed the infants up against Yan Junze.


    Understanding the situation, Yan Junze activated the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± on the two infants.


    The next second, the huddled forms of the two infants appeared in the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, and a new condensed location was generated, occupied by both infants together, not one each.


    It seemed that even when locked, they were treated as one singularity.


    Seeing the infants vanish from her hands, Aunt Mei wasn¡¯t surprised at all, maintaining her smile as she withdrew her hands.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled,¡± Yan Junze smiled as well, ¡°I¡¯ll take good care of these two strange infants. In return, I¡¯m counting on you to look after the community, especially my parents.¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded slightly.


    It was just as well in Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, considering that ever since Long-tongued Zhenzhen had taken on a strange body, she had been affected by a powerful field of strangeness and it was uncertain when she might recover.


    Therefore, having the assistance of the two strange infants alongside the Crawler Monster might prove advantageous in certain perilous moments.


    When the time came to register at university, Yan Junze didn¡¯t choose to travel by plane, high-speed rail, or train; instead, he opted for a black car.


    There was no special reason, except that he was carrying over a dozen bags of animal blood.


    What normally would have been a one-hour flight or a roughly two-hour high-speed rail journey to Tianmeng, he spent from morning till night in the black car to reach his destination.


    He was the last among his classmates to leave; Zhou Dali was the first because he needed to attend an entrance examination at the sports academy, followed by Jiang Ruixin, whose university was in the Tianyi District, farther away.


    Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie chose to take a flight.


    The Tianmeng District is the central district of the entire area, governing several cities, such as Shuntian City. Generally, entering the central district is referred to as entering Tianmeng.


    Having arrived at Tianmeng and since the registration time had passed, Yan Junze found a hotel to stay in for the night.


    Now that he had money, there was no need to skimp, and fearing that the blood he brought with him might expire, he specifically chose an upscale hotel equipped with household appliances. Upon entering, he immediately opened the fridge and stored the bagged blood there to keep it chilled.


    After resting for a while, he ordered a seafood fried rice delivered to his room as a side dish and drank two bags of duck blood, finally feeling full.


    Now in unfamiliar territory, he needed to figure out a solution for his blood supply.


    Finding a few regular vendors at the market to provide various kinds of poultry blood seemed like a viable approach, even though it might require some effort.


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 Chapter 175 - 173: Self-Triggered Mission

    Chapter 175: Chapter 173: Self-Triggered Mission


    ¡°`


    After sleeping until 7:30 am in the hotel, Yan Junze got up, freshened up, packed his luggage, checked out of his room and set off for Tianmeng Science University to register.


    Tianmeng Science University is located in the Southern Suburb of Tianmeng Main District, about thirty kilometers from the center of the main district. Yan Junze was not going alone; outside the high-speed rail station, he found the school¡¯s reception.


    The school had arranged transportation, and they soon arrived at the college.


    Undeniably, the scenery in the Southern Suburb area was beautiful, with lush vegetation, abundant water resources, birds singing and flowers fragrant, and the air was pleasant.


    After Yan Junze reached the college, some senior students immediately acted as guides and took a carload of new students to register.


    ...


    At the registration area, they were further divided according to the departments applied and each department¡¯s senior students led the registration process.


    The senior student receiving Yan Junze was from the previous year, named Yang Yang, a tall and handsome-looking boy.


    Yan Junze noticed that Yang Yang also sported a side part, but unlike the greasy middle-aged corpse of the Crawler Monster, Yang Yang¡¯s hair was luxuriant, clean, smooth, and he had a distinct facial contour, making it a world apart.


    ¡°My name is Yang Yang, from Shuntian City,¡± Yang Yang said enthusiastically.


    Yan Junze reached out and shook his hand, ¡°What a coincidence, I¡¯m also from Shuntian City. Yan Junze. I look forward to learning from you, senior.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to speak of,¡± Yang Yang waved his hand and took him to the registration desk where a bald teacher with glasses quickly registered him and handed over a registration form with details of his class, dormitory building, and room number.


    Yang Yang leaned over to take a look, ¡°411, your dorm is right next to mine, I¡¯m in 412, so we¡¯re neighbors now.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled.


    Without saying much else, Yang Yang led him to collect his daily necessities and to put his luggage in the dormitory.


    It was apparent that unlike other departments, the Physics Department had fewer students registering, with several seniors busy with reception duties, leaving only Yang Yang standing at the door of Yan Junze¡¯s dormitory, making casual conversation with him.


    ¡°What made you decide on the Physics Department?¡± asked Yang Yang.


    Yan Junze was candid, ¡°I like researching the supernatural and am very interested in things like magnetic fields with strangeness, so on an impulse, with a twitch in my foot and a shiver through my body, I registered.¡±


    Yang Yang burst into laughter, feeling more fondness for Yan Junze, ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like making a decision, but more like the aftereffects of watching too many action movies from Great Capital of Japan.¡±


    ¡°As the mentors of our generation¡¯s life enlightenment and the birthplace of romance films, we can exchange notes sometime in the future,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That sounds great,¡± agreed Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang seemed to have found a kindred spirit and with a smile, he took the initiative to help Yan Junze make his bed and organize the luggage he had taken out, already feeling quite familiar with him.


    After doing all this, Yan Junze also took the opportunity to clean up the dormitory. He was the first to arrive, with other classmates expected to come one after another. Having cleaned up, the dormitory would be ready for the new roommates moving in.


    Yang Yang stood outside in the corridor, waiting for him to come out. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the new students walking back and forth downstairs, carrying their luggage.


    ¡°Do you smoke?¡± Yang Yang asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t, thank you,¡± Yan Junze declined.


    Just as he finished speaking, he was suddenly startled by a mission prompt that popped up in his mind.


    [Mission Name: The Brother Sleeping on the Upper Bunk;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);


    ¡°`


    Mission Background: A living person should not die from holding their urine, but Chen Rui¡¯an from room 511 did. Just because he slipped while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, his occiput heavily collided with the edge of the washbasin behind him, fracturing his skull and causing intracranial hemorrhage which rendered him unconscious instantly. Since the fall occurred at 2:47 AM, no one knew about it. It was only when a classmate went to wash up the next morning that they discovered him, by which time Chen Rui¡¯an had lost bladder control and his body was nearing icy cold.


    Mission Statement: Before his death, his biggest problem had not been resolved. Please think of a solution for him;


    Mission Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Penalty: Unknown;


    Mission Tips: 1. The evil spirit can be locked down; 2. If you don¡¯t let him solve his problem, he will become very aggressive;


    Note: This strange event was actually lurking in the shadows but was triggered due to your arrival. The ¡°magnetic field tremor¡± caused by the influence of your own magnetic field led to the event being activated.]


    After carefully reading the text in his mind, Yan Junze¡¯s attention was drawn to the mission note at the end.


    The note actually suggested that the strangeness was initially dormant, meaning it wouldn¡¯t have occurred, but it was triggered into the event called ¡°The Brother Sleeping on the Bunk Above¡± due to ¡°magnetic field tremor¡± caused by the magnetic field effect from his arrival.


    As for why he could generate a magnetic field effect, it was probably related to his being a ¡°Semi-spirit,¡± or maybe it had something to do with hiding a Fang Ning in his shadow.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think this magnetic field effect would always work, meaning not every lurking strangeness would be triggered by his presence; this time was probably just an exception.


    But either way, the event was activated.


    Seeing Yan Junze stand in the corridor without speaking, Yang Yang thought he was observing the junior girls passing by downstairs and started making a serious introduction: ¡°Forget about finding any pretty girls in our Engineering Institute. There are even fewer girls there in general. The majors with the most girls are Management, Literature, and Arts. If you¡¯re looking for a girlfriend in the future, I¡¯ll help you pick from these three departments, but you need to take the initiative as well.¡±


    Yan Junze responded with a wry smile and asked, ¡°Senior, does our institute have a permanent Exorcist squad?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yang Yang shook his head, laughing, ¡°Bro, you¡¯re still living in your secondary school days, huh. Indeed, in Tianmeng Main District, only a few higher-grade primary and secondary schools have permanent Exorcists. At most other schools, when a supernatural event occurs, they just enjoy the benefit of not having to queue up.¡±


    ¡°So, Tianmeng Science University doesn¡¯t have any, either?¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Yang Yang said, ¡°It¡¯s not that our institute doesn¡¯t have them, it¡¯s that none of the institutes does. After all, we¡¯re not elementary students anymore. We only have the privilege of priority handling of supernatural events when we call 4747. However, I¡¯ve noticed that the response of Exorcists isn¡¯t very fast, definitely not as quick as in primary and secondary schools.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure,¡± Yan Junze nodded again.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Yang Yang suddenly turned towards him, ¡°did you say you applied for the Physics department purely out of interest in strange magnetic fields and such?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t deny it, since he was going to study those areas specifically and didn¡¯t see the need to hide it.


    ¡°Would you be interested in joining the ¡®Strangeness Research Alliance Club¡¯ we established?¡± Yang Yang asked.


    Yan Junze was startled: ¡°There¡¯s a club like that?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Yang Yang seemed a bit proud, ¡°rest assured, the Strange Club is affiliated with the university¡¯s student union and approved by the institute, originating from a reputable lineage. It¡¯s not a rinky-dink operation started on a whim. Plus, I¡¯m the vice president and have the power to pull people into the club privately¡­¡±


    The more Yan Junze listened, the more he frowned, feeling it was a trap, not much different from pyramid schemes roping people in.


    Yang Yang, of course, had no idea what he was thinking and kept talking: ¡°Just one thing, no matter who joins the club, they must tell a strange story during the initiation ceremony, preferably one from personal experience. We have 9 auditors, and your story needs to scare and impress at least a third of them enough to get a thumbs-up in order to officially join.¡±


    He paused and added: ¡°Once you join, we will share with you the data and results of the club¡¯s physics-related research on strangeness since its establishment. I think you¡¯ll like it.¡±


    Originally, Yan Junze had no interest in joining the club, but his mind changed after listening to Yang Yang¡¯s last remarks.


    ¡°Has there ever been a story told at the initiation ceremony that scared and impressed all 9 auditors?¡±


    Yang Yang laughed heartily: ¡°You¡¯re joking, right? Our veteran members have been through a lot. There¡¯s no such possibility.¡±


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 Chapter 176 - 174 Someone in the Upper Bunk?

    Chapter 176: Chapter 174 Someone in the Upper Bunk?


    After Yang Yang left, Yan Junze neatly arranged the shoes he had brought and placed them all in his assigned section of the wardrobe and shoe cabinet.


    The dormitory buildings at Tianmeng Science University were decorated in a simple and functional manner. In Yan Junze¡¯s view, they were much better than the dorms he had lived in during his previous life, almost on par with an apartment.


    Once he had finished tidying up, he picked up his newly issued thermos flask, ready to go to the water room to fill it with hot water, but as soon as he stepped out into the corridor, he saw Yang Yang suddenly returning.


    ¡°Senior, did you forget something in my dorm?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s something I forgot to tell you.¡± Yang Yang had just climbed up to the fourth floor and was somewhat out of breath, ¡°Under my care, you can now be considered a provisional member of the Strange Club. Although you haven¡¯t passed the final test, I still need to remind you of something.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, remind me about what?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    ...


    ¡°Be careful if you ever have the chance to go to the No. 4 laboratory building of the college,¡± Yang Yang said with a slightly mysterious air.


    ¡°Why? Is there something strange going on?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°You can¡¯t really say that,¡± Yang Yang shook his head. ¡°If you come across any lab door that is slightly ajar in that building, either leave quickly or go immediately to close the door fully, or just open it all the way.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Yan Junze was even more puzzled.


    ¡°Because if you ignore that slightly open door, after some time, a person will appear standing behind the gap of the ajar door, spying on you,¡± Yang Yang explained.


    ¡°Damn, isn¡¯t that weird?¡± Yan Junze stared at him.


    Yang Yang shrugged, ¡°That person just stands behind the gap of the ajar door and spies, without doing anything else. And once it gets to that point, no one dares to push the ajar door open to see who it really is, they all just hurry away.¡±


    He paused for a moment before adding, ¡°Our Strange Club is also studying that thing. Once you join the club, you¡¯ll have to look at and research all strange phenomena from a scientific perspective. So, it¡¯s not right to simply use the term ¡®strange¡¯ to describe all unknown skeptical phenomena. You¡¯ll know more about these things later.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Vice President, you¡¯re so wise,¡± Yan Junze managed a smile.


    After telling Yan Junze about this, Yang Yang left to meet other students, while Yan Junze went to the water room to rinse his thermos flask and then filled it with a full pot of boiling water.


    When he returned to dorm 411, two more roommates had arrived, one of whom had a strong physique, about one meter eighty in height, and seemed like he probably enjoyed playing basketball. However, his appearance suggested he was very naive and straightforward.


    The other was a chubby guy, fair and clean looking, who seemed to have just entered the dorm and hadn¡¯t had time to make his bed yet. He had chosen the bunk bed below Yan Junze¡¯s, and on the desk opposite, a neat pile of snacks such as chips, biscuits, nuts, and cola had already been arranged.


    The guy¡¯s appetite clearly matched his physique.


    The three of them introduced themselves, the tall guy¡¯s name was Zhao Zheng, true to his name, he looked very upright. The chubby one was called He Bishou; Yan Junze suspected his parents named him based on his body size, perhaps originally intending him to live a long life, but now it had become a motto for his physique.


    The dorm was set up for four people, and it wasn¡¯t long before the last roommate arrived.


    This person looked very frail, with a head full of thick hair that could compete with Yang Yang¡¯s, and it seemed to have been permed. Dressed in slightly tight-fitting clothes, he had a somewhat flamboyant air as he dragged his suitcase into the dorm room.


    The other three were taken aback when they saw the newcomer set down his suitcase, make a gesture of holding a flower between his fingers, and ask, ¡°Where¡¯s the last bed?¡±


    His voice was soft and a bit shrill, and the gesture was even more suggestive.


    ¡°Over there!¡± Both Yan Junze and He Bishou pointed toward the upper bunk above Zhao Zheng at the same time.


    Zhao Zheng looked bewilderedly at his new roommate, harboring an uneasy feeling, but couldn¡¯t quite say what was wrong at the moment.


    ¡°Thank you, my name is Xie Hua, my nickname is Hua Hua,¡± Xie Hua said to the three of them after pushing his suitcase over, ¡°But¡­ I like to be called ¡®Huahua¡¯.¡±


    The three of them exchanged awkward glances, the atmosphere awkward yet tinged with a fresh and light feeling akin to a spring breeze.


    Looking around the dormitory, Yan Junze felt he was the most normal one here.


    But then again, was he really normal?


    A day passed by quickly.


    Within the span of a single day, the new students who had just registered at the university only got to know the main buildings, such as the dormitory, cafeteria, water room, shower room, and the general locations of the teaching buildings, library, etc.


    ¡­


    As a senior at Tianmeng Science University, Han Zhao, who lived in Room 511, had arrived on campus early because, like those other returning students, he was one of the guides welcoming the new students this time.


    The other roommates would not arrive on campus for at least another five or six days.


    After a day of busyness, Han Zhao calculated that he had guided more than 40 students in total, and he only returned to his dorm after making sure each one was settled in their dormitory, which showed his dedication.


    During dinner time, he went to the cafeteria to pack some food to bring back because he was feeling too tired. He only ate half of the meal before climbing onto the lower bunk and covering himself with a blanket to rest for a while.


    Once he rested, he fell asleep quickly.


    He slept straight through to midnight, unclear exactly what time it was, but when Han Zhao woke up, he found that the dormitory lights had been turned off collectively, and only the streetlights from the campus square were shining through the window.


    The light shone in, casting a shadowy and blurry dance of the trees.


    Young people tend to be heavy sleepers, and even if they go to bed early, Han Zhao would normally sleep until dawn, or at least until after six in the morning when he would naturally wake up.


    But now he was awake, not because he had woken up naturally, but because a slight shaking had startled him awake.


    Yes, the lower bunk where he was sleeping was shaking slightly, which normally would be caused by someone on the upper bunk turning over.


    But the problem was, he was the only one in the entire dormitory; the others hadn¡¯t returned to school yet.


    The drowsiness that had not yet dissipated vanished the moment Han Zhao realized this, and he became instantly alert.


    He opened his eyes wide, wondering if he was half-asleep and dreaming, creating the illusion that someone was in the top bunk when that couldn¡¯t be possible.


    The brother who slept on the top bunk was named Guo Jintao, who lived in Tianyi District, so even if he were to come back, he would probably be the last one to arrive at the university.


    ¡°Could it be that Taozi came back last night while I was asleep?¡± Han Zhao guessed.


    But he couldn¡¯t have been sleeping that deeply, and besides, that guy wouldn¡¯t have come back without waking him.


    So who was sleeping in the upper bunk?


    At this moment, Han Zhao suddenly felt a chill in his heart. His eyes wide open, he carefully observed the bunk across from him, and with the light coming in from the window outside, he saw that both the upper and lower bunks were empty, with no one in them.


    Just then, the bunk shook slightly again, as if someone on the top bunk had turned over.


    ¡°How can there be someone?!¡±


    Han Zhao curled up on the bed, his scalp tingling and his entire body feeling cold.


    He didn¡¯t dare to look in the direction of the top bunk, afraid that just as he looked up, a head would suddenly lower itself from above, staring at him.


    But Han Zhao was mistaken; no head appeared, but a bare foot came over, hooking onto the ladder in the next moment, seemingly ready to climb down.


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 Chapter 177 - 175: Return Again

    Chapter 177: Chapter 175: Return Again


    The legs were all hairy, obviously belonging to a man.


    Han Zhao immediately closed his eyes, leaving only a sliver open to secretly watch the feet that had appeared so suddenly.


    Without any sound, another foot descended, and after firmly stepping on the ladder, a man in a black tank top and large shorts silently climbed down from the upper bunk. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man¡¯s face was backed by the light, and coupled with the dim illumination, Han Zhao had already broken out in a cold sweat from fear and didn¡¯t dare to keep staring, so he couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s features clearly.


    He was only quietly observing the figure that had climbed down through the narrow opening of his eyes, using his peripheral vision.


    Unfamiliar.


    ...


    He was certain he didn¡¯t recognize this person.


    After descending, the man didn¡¯t have shoes on his feet and suddenly stood still, just standing at the end of Han Zhao¡¯s bed, facing the direction of the lower bunk.


    At this moment, Han Zhao¡¯s heart was pounding in his throat, so frightened that he almost stopped breathing, daring not to make any move, his hands firmly gripping the edge of the blanket.


    For about five minutes, the air in the entire dormitory was stagnant, emanating a chill.


    Afterward, the silent and stationary man suddenly turned around and walked towards the door of the dormitory.


    His way of walking was very odd, arms not swinging, barefoot and tiptoeing, all ten toes splayed out, firmly grasping the ground, and without a sound, he reached the door, pulled it open,


    Before the door was fully open, the man creepily and silently walked out.


    The dormitory door wasn¡¯t closed, and after he walked out, it slowly swung shut but stopped when there was still a crack, revealing the pitch-black corridor, with no sign of that man¡¯s figure anymore.


    ¡°Is he gone, gone?¡±


    At this point, Han Zhao was soaked through with sweat, large beads rolling down his forehead and soaking the pillow, yet he dared not breathe loudly.


    From his lying position, he could see the dark corridor outside through the crack in the door, feeling as though some unspeakable fear was lurking in the unknown darkness beyond.


    Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, the ¡°Peephole Strange Creature¡± rumored to exist within the college, and behind this door gap, might the Peephole Strange Creature be peering at him? Could that person be the Peephole Strange Creature?


    With this thought, Han Zhao scared himself.


    But then he thought, the legend of ¡°peeping¡± was associated with the college¡¯s Building 4, not likely to occur in the dormitory area since he had never heard such tales about this place.


    Regardless, the guy who was sleeping in the bunk above him should have left, but the door had to be closed.


    Thinking this, although Han Zhao was too frightened to move, he still clenched his teeth and threw back the Summer Quilt.


    He too was barefoot, and he walked to the door, about to close it.


    Suddenly, a hair-raising chill assaulted him, and he distinctly felt this bone-piercing cold was coming from outside the door, drawing nearer.


    ¡°Fuck your mother!¡±


    Han Zhao was so startled that he shuddered, didn¡¯t even manage to close the door, and in two large steps, scrambled back onto his bed, covering himself with the blanket in a hurry, leaving one foot uncovered.


    He couldn¡¯t bother with that now, tightly grasping the edge of the blanket, he lay with his eyes shut, motionless.


    The next second, the door to the dormitory was pushed open, and the man in the black tank top and large shorts walked in again.


    His movements as he entered mirrored those from when he left, with his bare feet slightly raised and his toes splayed out, gripping the floor firmly.


    After entering, he stood for a while facing Han Zhao¡¯s direction, then turned around and closed the door.


    Han Zhao squinted his eyes as the man¡¯s silhouette entered the room, discreetly taking in the man¡¯s face.


    Conveniently, a beam of light from outside the window fell on the doorway, allowing him to see the man¡¯s appearance clearly.


    Even squinting, the angle was enough to clearly make out the other person¡¯s face.


    He didn¡¯t recognize him. Han Zhao was certain this was a strange face, a calm expression, even somewhat gloomy. Although the man¡¯s eyes were open, Han Zhao always felt that those eyes were dull and gray, as if belonging to a dead person.


    In the instant the man turned around to close the door, with the back of his head facing this way under the outdoor lighting, Han Zhao, who was watching him, shuddered violently and then began to tremble uncontrollably, as if sifting chaff.


    Only to see at the back of this black-vested man¡¯s head, a piece of bone and flesh had turned inside out, revealing a dark cavity within the wound, with no blood flowing out, as if the wound had existed for quite some time.


    But Han Zhao still clearly remembered that when the man had walked out to open the door just now, the back of his head had been fine, without any wound.


    Upon seeing that terrifying head wound, Han Zhao found he couldn¡¯t stop his body from shaking. After the man in the black vest approached the bedside, his trembling grew even worse.


    The man stood by the bed, just like before, falling again into silence.


    ¡°No, no, this won¡¯t do. If I keep shaking like this, he¡¯ll definitely realize I¡¯m awake.¡±


    Han Zhao knew that at this critical moment, he absolutely couldn¡¯t show weakness, couldn¡¯t shake. The next second, he bit his tongue fiercely, a wave of pain spreading through him.


    The intense pain diverted his attention, and the shaking of his body gradually stopped.


    After about two or three minutes, the man who had been standing at the end of the bed finally moved, grabbed the ladder that led to the top bunk, and quickly climbed up with hands and feet.


    Then, from above, came a sensation of the body shifting and the bunk shaking which, after about a minute, gradually settled down.


    Han Zhao, frightened to the point of ice-cold limbs, felt as if they no longer belonged to him, shivering as he picked up the cell phone from beside the pillow, covered both his head and the phone under the quilt, and turned on the screen to check the time.


    It was still two minutes before 3 o¡¯clock in the morning.


    That night, Han Zhao not only failed to fall asleep again, but he also didn¡¯t dare to turn over, lying awake with his eyes open until daylight.


    But after the man climbed to the upper bunk, there was no further sound.


    When daylight had fully arrived and sounds of other students getting up to wash and use the bathroom echoed through the hallway, Han Zhao finally dared to get up.


    He quietly peered outside the bed and took a glance at the upper bunk, only to be completely dumbfounded.


    The upper bunk was perfectly normal, with nothing on it. Even Guo Jintao¡¯s quilt was rolled up neatly, exactly as it had been left at the end of the previous term, untouched.


    ¡­


    Outside Tianmeng Science University lay a street roughly shaped like the character ¡°Æ·¡±, bustling due to its proximity to the university, chiefly featuring restaurants, beverage shops, and small hotels.


    Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Xie Hua sat inside a restaurant, looking at a table full of delicious dishes. He Bishou¡¯s saliva, nearly dripping out, had been wiped away five times already, yet Yan Junze had not shown up.


    ¡°Where did this guy run off to?¡± He Bishou¡¯s eyes were fixed on a plate of braised pork knuckle, and his words seemed to be directed at the knuckle.


    Unfortunately, the knuckle didn¡¯t talk. A talking knuckle would be out of the ordinary.


    Xie Hua was checking his cheeks, nose, and mouth in the small mirror he carried, noting his lips looked especially red, as if he had applied lipstick.


    Zhao Zheng glanced at Xie Hua and felt a chill, quickly shifting his focus and speaking, ¡°Yan Junze seems to be pretty wealthy, look at the feast he¡¯s hosting for us, it must be at least three to four hundred bucks, right?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, just eat your fill and enjoy,¡± said He Bishou, shifting his gaze from the knuckle and finally spotting Yan Junze jogging over.


    ¡°Where did you run off to just after ordering the food?¡± Zhao Zheng asked.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°I went to the kitchen to make sure they¡¯re using fresh ingredients, to avoid them serving us anything stale.¡±


    ¡°There are so many people eating here every day, there won¡¯t be any stale ingredients,¡± He Bishou picked up his chopsticks, ¡°Let¡¯s dig in, what are we waiting for?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat, eat,¡± said Yan Junze as he too picked up his chopsticks.


    Suddenly Xie Hua said, ¡°Junze, why are the corners of your mouth red? Is that blood, or did you fail to wipe your lipstick off cleanly? Let me tell you, before applying lipstick, you have to prepare the lips with a base, and before that, you need to apply a layer of moisturizer to hydrate. That way, the lipstick you put on will be full and rich. By the way, what brand are you using?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled awkwardly, ¡°Can I say¡­ it¡¯s actually blood? I accidentally bumped my mouth at the door when I was coming out just now.¡±


    After placing the order, Yan Junze had taken the opportunity to look around the restaurant¡¯s kitchen, just in time to see a chef butchering chickens for plucking. He seized the moment to drink a few mouthfuls of chicken blood collected in a bowl.


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 Chapter 178 - 176: Membership Review (Please subscribe, ask for recommendations)

    Chapter 178: Chapter 176: Membership Review (Please subscribe, ask for recommendations)


    The tableful of food vanished like a whirlwind, cleaned out by four people.


    Yan Junze and Xie Hua ate the least, while the chubby He Bishou and Zhao Zheng both ate a lot, with Zhao Zheng having a strong build and naturally a big appetite, and He Bishou not wanting to be outdone¡ªmost of the large plate of pork knuckle had been taken care of by him alone.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, he originally thought that he wouldn¡¯t eat much, but Xie Hua quickly put down her chopsticks with an air of delicacy, claiming she couldn¡¯t be bothered to reapply her lipstick later.


    Three of them took notice that even after eating for a while, Huahua really was very careful and hadn¡¯t disturbed the shiny color on her lips.


    After putting down his chopsticks, Yan Junze said he wanted to stroll around.


    Zhao Zheng was heading to the sports field to play basketball for a while, He Bishou was thinking about the anime book he had just bought and hadn¡¯t had time to read yet in his dormitory, and Huahua was going to pick up a parcel.


    ...


    Everyone was puzzled, considering the guy had just reported to school yesterday, and his parcels had arrived like a shadow, it seemed another shopping addict had arrived, and a very effeminate one at that.


    The four of them left the restaurant and went their separate ways, with Yan Junze wandering around the streets for a while.


    Ever since leaving Shuntian City and arriving at Tianmeng Science University, he felt a comfortable sense of leisure as if he had returned to his life on campus in his previous life.


    Being able to experience this feeling twice in life, no matter what, was already a win.


    After walking through the neighboring streets, Yan Junze returned and walked into a clinic near the back door of the college.


    This clinic was a suite, with the outer room serving as the outpatient area, responsible for dispensing medication, injections, and intravenous drips, with a few beds in the inner room for patients who needed to lie down for their drips.


    In the medicine cabinet outside the clinic, there was a pharmaceutical freezer.


    After entering, Yan Junze smiled and said to a woman who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with fair skin and wearing a white lab coat, ¡°Doctor Ning, I¡¯ve come to collect my things.¡±


    This female doctor, with a sweet smile, was named Ning Shanshan. At a young age, she had opened a clinic outside the college. The clinic had an intern doctor and two nurses.


    ¡°Oh, okay, just wait.¡±


    On seeing Yan Junze, Ning Shanshan¡¯s face lit up with a smile. She nodded at him, turned around, opened the pharmaceutical freezer behind her, and took out a black plastic bag from the innermost part of the bottom freezer drawer.


    ¡°How many bags do you want?¡± Ning Shanshan asked.


    ¡°Two bags.¡±


    In no time, Ning Shanshan took out two bags of blood and handed them to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took them and expressed his thanks, ¡°I¡¯ll come back the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Cooking animal blood curd every other day, is this your special dietary preference?¡± Ning Shanshan looked at Yan Junze¡¯s slightly pale face, seemingly curious.


    She couldn¡¯t help but ask out of her professional medical concern.


    Yan Junze shook his head. After coming to the college, he had thought of this way to maintain the freshness of the blood. He searched for a clinic with a pharmaceutical freezer to store the animal blood he bought.


    The reason he gave was that he had always liked eating blood curd and considered it a special preference, but was afraid that what was available outside wasn¡¯t clean, so he would regularly cook it himself.


    Yan Junze gave Ning Shanshan some money to use the freezer to store his blood.


    Every time he wanted to eat, he would come over beforehand to take it back to his dormitory and discreetly cook on a small stove.


    Leaving blood bags in the school was never a good idea. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ning Shanshan¡¯s clinic had high overhead costs every month. Although she knew that what she was doing was not quite right, the fact that she was getting paid and that it was his private affair¡ªnothing really strange about it¡ªmade her want to help out. Besides, it was just storing something, so she had simply made some space for him in the pharmaceutical freezer.


    This freezer, used exclusively for storing medicine and subjected to special disinfection treatments, made Yan Junze feel much more at ease than if it were stored in a random small shop or restaurant freezer.


    This also indirectly showed that although Yan Junze had a special little quirk when it came to food, he also cared about hygiene.


    However, deceiving Ning Shanshan made Yan Junze feel rather guilty.


    After placing the two bags of blood in his pocket, Yan Junze bid farewell to Ning Shanshan and left the clinic.


    He didn¡¯t head straight back to school but walked to the extending wall outside the back gate of the school. He had scouted the area earlier; there were no surveillance cameras here.


    He bit open the blood bag, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and tossed the empty bag into the trash.


    Drinking in such a sneaky manner was really unsatisfying. Yan Junze felt that in the future, he would need to repackage the blood bags, perhaps to look like tomato juice or sour plum drink.


    That way, when he took them out, he could drink without restraint, even in front of a crowd.


    Over the next three days, as new students continued to arrive for registration, the dormitory was filled with unfamiliar faces carrying their luggage.


    With the end of registration, the returning students also began to trickle back to school.


    All the new students participated in the large classes organized by the college. Yan Junze was assigned to the Class 2 of the Physics Department, Grade 19; Zhao Zheng and Huahua were in Class 1; He Bishou and Yan Junze were both in Class 2.


    Zhao Zheng was speechless about being in the same class with Huahua once again. When the two of them went to class together, Zhao Zheng always chose to leave at different times, not daring to walk with Huahua.


    During these few days, as long as Huahua had free time, he would immediately start sharing his knowledge on beauty, dressing, and makeup. He claimed to have opened a class on ¡°Tremble,¡± the most famous short video platform in the Great Capital, with a fan count not far behind Yan Junze¡¯s on the strangeness platform.


    Of course, these people did not associate the ¡°Night Traveling Puppy¡± with Yan Junze himself.


    It¡¯s just that sometimes Huahua would look at Yan Junze with a strange gleam in his eye, as if pondering something.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t too concerned about it. As long as Huahua didn¡¯t fall in ¡°love¡± with him, everything else was negotiable.


    After attending classes for two formal days, Yan Junze ran into Yang Yang after eating dinner in the cafeteria on the third day.


    It seemed that Yang Yang had come looking for him on purpose.


    ¡°Have you eaten?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    Yang Yang said, ¡°Look at your memory. Didn¡¯t I introduce you to join the Strange Club? The initiation ceremony is tonight, at 8 p.m. sharp in the 207 Activity Room on the second floor of the library. It¡¯s only for you. Remember, it¡¯s open only to you.¡±


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    It¡¯s just an introductory club for researching strangenesses, yet it¡¯s being made out to be so secretive that anyone unaware might think they were about to join some international organization with a world-shaking secret.


    After a trip back to the dormitory, Yan Junze headed to the library as it was nearing 8 p.m.


    The library of Tianmeng Science University was huge, with corridors outside the library being two to three times wider than ordinary corridors. The book rooms were above the third floor, while the second floor and below housed several independent activity rooms.


    Normally, these were used to conduct reading clubs and book fan meetings, but the Student Union would also typically choose these rooms for organizing various activities.


    It was evident that although Yan Junze had arrived early, everyone else was already there.


    The moment he entered the activity room, Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted slightly, and he looked surprised as if he had remembered something, taking about four or five seconds to react before shaking his head and walking in.


    Nine people, ten chairs placed together, with one empty chair clearly left for Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze glanced around; among these people, there were two girls, but he only recognized Yang Yang, the rest were strangers.


    ¡°Take a seat, we¡¯ve just arrived,¡± said a man with thick glasses and a crew cut, pointing at the empty chair.


    Yan Junze went over and sat down.


    Yang Yang had mentioned that the story he told had to make at least three people feel fear for it to count. He looked at the nine people seated; there were only two women among them.


    Indeed, it was tricky. Women typically have smaller courage, and even if they felt fear, there were only two women present, which wasn¡¯t enough. So he had to make at least one of the men feel fear as well, which would undoubtedly increase the difficulty.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze looked at the two women.


    Yang Yang seemed to have understood his intention and suddenly started laughing, with the others joining in the laughter.


    Yan Junze was perplexed, looking toward Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang soon stopped laughing and pointed at the two women, saying, ¡°Let me introduce you. This is Zhang Ying, and this is Liao Jing. They also have two nicknames¡ªZhang Ying is known as Lady Yama, and Liao Jing is called Mother Rakshasa.¡±


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 Chapter 179 - 177: The Eleventh Person (Part 1)

    Chapter 179: Chapter 177: The Eleventh Person (Part 1)


    Hearing this nickname, Yan Junze suddenly realized.


    Those who could earn such a title must have courage that was either boundless or at least audaciously large.


    It seemed he had misjudged; these two girls might actually be the ones among the auditors with the greatest courage.


    Zhang Ying had a short haircut typically seen on men, wore a white short-sleeve shirt with jeans and looked very sharp. Liao Jing was dressed in sportswear with white sneakers and a ponytail, exuding a lively vibe as well.


    ¡°This is our club president¡ªMa Dun,¡± Yang Yang pointed at the bespectacled man with a crew cut who had asked Junze to take a seat earlier.


    ¡°The Strange Club has two vice presidents, apart from me, Living Yanluo Zhang Ying is also one,¡± Yang Yang added.


    ...


    Yan Junze nodded in acknowledgment.


    His gaze swept over the nine individuals seated before him.


    ¡°You may start whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± Zhang Ying said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Junze began to think. He had many stories of strangeness that he could tell, and of course, those he had experienced himself would feel more authentic.


    While pondering, he noticed the barely concealed excitement among the group as their eyes moved eagerly over him. Listening to stories seemed to be more than just a formality; it was a preference for them.


    After deliberating inconspicuously for a moment, Yan Junze began, ¡°I¡¯ll tell a true story I was involved in, about something that had to be discussed with my USA English teacher¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on a second,¡± Yang Yang interrupted him, reminding, ¡°We want to hear stories of strangeness, not those messy ones.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and continued, ¡°After class that day, she became attached by a Possession Spirit, but I was unaware. After class, I brought her a stack of papers to grade in the office, where she was the only teacher present¡­ Oh, and that Possession Spirit as well¡­¡±


    Yan Junze narrated slowly and carefully, omitting the fact that he had a task to complete and chose not to tell the stories of other strange events he had filmed and uploaded, as he couldn¡¯t guarantee that these researchers of the strange had not seen those videos.


    He described everything in great detail, from his suspicion about teacher Zhang Tiantian¡¯s behavior to his attempts to leave the office but being unable to do so, to picking up a pen for Zhang Tiantian, plucking it from her eye and putting it back, delaying the Possession Spirit¡¯s complete control over Zhang Tiantian, then hiding under a desk until the final struggle, culminating in the arrival of the Exorcist at a critical juncture.


    While the actual events weren¡¯t much different, Yan Junze altered some details, ensuring his description of the eerie atmosphere was just about right. Gradually, an unnerving silence began to pervade the activity room.


    Apart from Yan Junze¡¯s storytelling, no other sound could be heard at this moment.


    As he spoke about reinserting the pen into Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye socket, he clearly saw two of the male listeners shiver slightly.


    By the time he finished the tale with the harrowing moment of near-possession by the spirit and wrapped up the story, Yan Junze paused.


    The room was quiet, with no one speaking for the time being.


    Yan Junze noticed that apart from the two guys who had just shivered, the expressions of the others remained fairly composed.


    Club president Ma Dun spoke up, ¡°Did this really happen to you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the genuine article,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Very well, but I¡¯m afraid it doesn¡¯t meet our entry requirements,¡± Ma Dun shook his head, clearly skeptical, and turned to the others, saying, ¡°Auditors present, please rate Yan Junze¡¯s story.¡±


    Rating meant either raising hands or showing approval for Yan Junze¡¯s story. If more than three people agreed that the story was terrifying, then Yan Junze would be granted membership.


    However, since Ma Dun had already set the tone, Yan Junze could only think about laughing to himself.


    With the president having stated that the story didn¡¯t meet the requirements for membership, Junze was curious to see how the others would vote.


    As expected, when it came to a show of hands, only two people¡ªthe same two who had shivered earlier¡ªindicated approval, while the rest, including Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, remained indifferent.


    Yan Junze had anticipated this scene.


    Ma Dun asked the two who agreed the story was good enough, ¡°Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, did you find this story terrifying?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The tall, thin-faced man named Xu Yongqiang nodded, ¡°It was a bit disgusting, I was grossed out by the part where the ballpoint pen stabbed into the eye socket.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Xia Kai raised his hand.


    ¡°Alright, I failed.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders with a somewhat helpless look, preparing to stand up.


    Zhang Ying immediately stopped him, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t rush off, you still have two more chances.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Liao Jing also said, ¡°We can make a temporary decision on the admission application, you still have two more chances, try again.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yan Junze looked towards Yang Yang.


    Yang Yang coughed once and did not speak.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m starting to suspect that you actually just want to hear stories,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    ¡°Tell another one, and make sure to scare us,¡± Ma Dun said with a smile, without responding to him.


    Yan Junze thought seriously for a moment, then nodded, ¡°Okay, this next story is called ¡®The Hanged Woman¡¯.¡±


    It was one of the two missions he completed near Rock at the outskirts of Shuntian City. Compared to the mission ¡°Drop the Handkerchief¡±, which was disgusting, ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± leaned more towards psychological horror because of the environmental factors.


    Experience had proven that disgust could only make a very small part of people feel terrified, but psychological terror had the potential to touch the deepest fears of many more people.


    This time, he narrated in greater detail, particularly emphasizing the description of the interior environment of the dilapidated house, incessantly repeating details like dampness, darkness, coffins, basements, hanging, the long tongue, and the eerily odd walking posture of the woman in white.


    When he described reaching into the coffin and slowly pulling out the xuan paper that was under the corpse, it was evident that at least four people¡¯s expressions had changed, and two others were hugging their arms tightly together, clearly unable to hide their nervousness.


    The end of the story was altered by Yan Junze. After a series of harrowing events, he finally took down the woman¡¯s body from the hanging beam in the basement.


    The story ended.


    This time, there should be no problem.


    Yan Junze smiled, looking at the several people opposite him, including Yang Yang, Xu Yongqiang, and others, who all involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief.


    The number of people who had felt fear was definitely more than three.


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing exchanged glances, both faces calm, then turned their heads to look at President Ma Dun.


    Ma Dun reached out to adjust the glasses on his nose, without speaking.


    Yang Yang whispered a few words with Zhang Ying, then spoke softly to Ma Dun.


    Ma Dun raised his head and spread his hands, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the story was indeed very exciting, but the terror atmosphere you created always had some deliberate overtones, it wasn¡¯t very natural.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    The others all showed a smile.


    Ma Dun also smiled, ¡°Why don¡¯t you use up all three chances, and then tell the final story? From the perspective of diligence, even if the last one isn¡¯t very scary, we will consider your membership application.¡±


    ¡°Sigh!¡± Yan Junze sighed, ¡°Alright, the last one, is the one you asked for.¡±


    After saying this, he lowered his head and was silent for about ten seconds, then suddenly raised his head, squeezed out a smile, and his gaze swept over everyone present.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you all noticed that there have been 11 people sitting here the whole time?¡±


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 Chapter 180 - 178: The Eleventh Person (Part 2)

    Chapter 180: Chapter 178: The Eleventh Person (Part 2)


    Yan Junze¡¯s words caused a sudden start among everyone sitting there, as they looked at each other, perplexed. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°11 people?¡± Ma Dun reacted, chuckled lightly, ¡°There are 9 of us in the membership review committee, plus you, doesn¡¯t that make exactly 10? Where would an extra one come from?¡±


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, however, furrowed their brows and immediately began counting. Not only that, but after hearing what Yan Junze said, the others also felt a sudden chill down their spines and began counting the number of people at the same time, quietly.


    Ma Dun, Yang Yang, Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, Li Bin, the 9 membership review members, plus Yan Junze, made a total of 10 people, right.


    Seeing everyone else counting, Ma Dun couldn¡¯t help but count again quietly, even though he was the first to speak.


    That¡¯s right, including Yan Junze, there were a total of 10 people here.


    ...


    ¡°Your story isn¡¯t scary, nor does it achieve the desired effect,¡± Ma Dun put away his smile and shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about a story,¡± Yan Junze remained seated, calm, paused, and then as if he had just realized, said, ¡°Oh, I forgot. You counted wrong, it¡¯s not the people, but the chairs.¡±


    ¡°Count the chairs?¡± Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.


    Isn¡¯t there one chair for each person? There¡¯s no need to count them.


    But even though that¡¯s what they thought, after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, they couldn¡¯t suppress the sense of eeriness that emerged, a goosebump-inducing sensation across their skin.


    Immediately, someone began to covertly count the chairs.


    A few seconds later, the boy named Jin Wei let out an ¡°Ah!¡± and exclaimed in a lost voice, ¡°Eleven¡­ eleven chairs!¡±


    Xia Kai and Mao Jin¡¯an sitting not far from him also turned pale, because they had just finished counting and there were indeed 11 chairs.


    But there were only 10 people sitting in this activity room at the moment, how could there be an extra chair?


    Moreover, because they had been so focused on counting the chairs, they hadn¡¯t paid attention to who was sitting in each chair. Thinking about it now, it seemed like, when counting earlier, all 11 chairs¡­ had people sitting in them!


    ¡°Impossible,¡± Ma Dun spoke out.


    No sooner had he spoken than he immediately counted the chairs again, then his face turned pale and his gaze flickered constantly.


    ¡°I think¡­ maybe we should call it a night,¡± Yang Yang stammered.


    He had also just recounted, and indeed while counting people there were 10, but as soon as he counted only the chairs, an extra chair appeared, making 11.


    ¡°Let¡¯s break up, break up, let¡¯s disperse for now.¡±


    As soon as Yang Yang spoke up, several others immediately echoed, and even Xia Kai and Mao Jin¡¯an had already stood up, obviously not wanting to stay any longer.


    The activity room was spacious, with a circle of chairs in the middle with people sitting, and only two blackboards and a few desks around. Apart from that, there was nothing else.


    It was around nine in the evening, the glass windows of the activity room were large, and the interior lighting dim. Outside, the branches were swaying, and the shadows cast by the lights entered the activity room, falling on the floor. At this moment, the shaking shadows seemed to become incredibly sinister.


    Just now it hadn¡¯t been noticeable, but after realizing that things were getting increasingly strange, everyone in the room, including Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, felt a coldness slowly permeating their entire body.


    ¡°Nobody move,¡± Ma Dun spoke again, after a brief moment of panic, he looked at Yan Junze, ¡°How did you notice?¡±


    ¡°Quite simple,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile, ¡°When I entered the room just now, I counted the chairs.¡±


    ¡°Chairman, let¡¯s call it quits, it¡¯s so late!¡± Xu Yongqiang said.


    ¡°I think¡­ let¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Before Yang Yang finished speaking, Ma Dun had already interrupted him, ¡°No, we must figure this out.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze also nodded, ¡°We must figure it out. If we don¡¯t, this extra person might just stick to you guys.¡±


    These words caused a chill to run down everyone¡¯s spine in the room.


    This time Ma Dun didn¡¯t say anything, but everyone who stood up sat back down again, each casting their gaze towards Ma Dun.


    Fortunately, there were still lights in the activity room. Although they had deliberately turned off half of them earlier to create the atmosphere, at this moment, the brighter the lights, the better.


    Zhang Ying spoke, ¡°Li Bin, please turn on all the lights in the room.¡±


    Li Bin appeared rather honest and, upon hearing the vice president¡¯s command, he immediately ran to the entrance and pressed all the light switches.


    Instantly, the activity room was much brighter than before.


    ¡°Now, nobody leaves. I¡¯ll count again.¡±


    Ma Dun looked at everyone seated and found that it was still impossible to spot any anomalies this way. He took a deep breath and started to count the chairs again.


    But this time was different. As Ma Dun counted each chair, he immediately lifted his gaze to see who was sitting on it.


    That way, even if he counted an extra chair, he could immediately notice who was sitting on it. He would know whether it was a counting mistake or there really was an extra person.


    He started counting from his right: Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, then Yan Junze sitting across him, and after Yan Junze was Li Bin.


    Following the seating order, next to Li Bin were Liao Jing, Zhang Ying, and then Yang Yang, and it would turn back to himself.


    After Ma Dun counted Yan Junze¡¯s chair, he looked up at Yan Junze himself and saw that Yan Junze was watching him with a faint smile.


    So far, as he counted, there seemed to be no problem, and the people matched up.


    Then Ma Dun continued to count beyond Yan Junze¡¯s side.


    ¡°The sixth chair,¡± Ma Dun counted silently, and then he lifted his eyelids to see who was on the chair, ¡°Li Bin.¡±


    Next one.


    Ma Dun¡¯s gaze moved to the next chair, ¡°The seventh.¡±


    Then he looked up.


    However, at that moment, Ma Dun¡¯s brows slightly furrowed because, as he counted slowly, he paid attention to the person sitting on the chair.


    The seventh chair should have been occupied by Liao Jing, who wore sportswear, but it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case. After Ma Dun paid attention to the person on the chair, his vision suddenly became clear at that moment, and not just focused on the chair.


    The first thing he noticed was a gray long dress, indicating a woman was sitting on the seventh chair.


    It was a young woman with pale, slender arms hanging down, and that gray dress clung to her body as if it were wet all over.


    Ma Dun felt like he was having trouble breathing. He clearly remembered that after Li Bin, it should have been Liao Jing, but who was this strange woman?


    Sitting there, water continuously dripped down from her body. As his gaze moved upward, he saw the woman with her hair loose and hanging down, her head lowered, and her long hair soaked with water, clinging to her cheeks and neck, obscuring her face.


    But at this moment, Ma Dun was certain, they had encountered strangeness.


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 Chapter 181 - 179: The Eleventh Person (Part 3)

    Chapter 181: Chapter 179: The Eleventh Person (Part 3)


    As the president of the Strangeness Alliance Association, Ma Dun was known for his bravery. Even upon encountering the unfamiliar woman before him, his face might have turned pale, but he managed to maintain his composure and shifted his gaze to the next chair.


    Sitting on the eighth chair was Liao Jing, everything as normal; the girl was staring right at him.


    Glancing back again at the seventh chair, the same woman in the soaking wet gray dress was there, sitting with her feet together, very proper and demure.


    However, this time, when Ma Dun¡¯s gaze returned to her, she seemed to respond, slowly lifting her bowed head as if her neck were a bit rusty. The movement wasn¡¯t smooth but jerky, like a stiff puppet.


    During this action, some of the long hair that had been clinging to her cheek fell away, exposing terribly pale skin and eyes devoid of whites. Her head slowly tilted back, her gaze seeming to slant downward, looking at Ma Dun.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ma Dun shuddered with fright.


    ...


    He pulled his gaze back, and in a blur, when he looked again, the woman in the long gown had vanished without a trace, leaving only Li Bin staring at him in confusion.


    The others had noticed that Ma Dun had visibly shuddered just now and turned to look at him.


    Yang Yang, who was beside him, leaned over and said, ¡°You okay? What did you see?¡±


    Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, the two girls, also stared at Ma Dun in surprise. They remembered that even when encountering the ¡°Peephole Strange Creature¡± at Experiment Building No. 4, the president had not shown such an expression of terror.


    ¡°I saw an eleventh person,¡± Ma Dun said, extending his hand, his finger trembling as he pointed in Li Bin¡¯s direction, ¡°Right next to Li Bin, there was a woman sitting all drenched, as if she had just been pulled out of water.¡±


    Whish!


    As if avoiding the plague, the others stood up abruptly, pushed their chairs away, and hurried towards Ma Dun¡¯s direction.


    Li Bin, scared stiff, grasped the arms of his chair and found himself shaking all over, unable to stand up.


    Amongst them, only Ma Dun, Zhang Ying, and Liao Jing remained seated.


    And, of course, there was Yan Junze.


    Liao Jing turned her head to look at Li Bin, who hadn¡¯t been able to stand up beside her, and inquired in confusion, ¡°Is there someone else next to me? Isn¡¯t it just Li Bin?¡±


    Zhang Ying nodded in agreement.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°They have all moved now, certainly there¡¯s nobody there. In dealing with strangenesses, this phenomenon has a specific term, called ¡®insertion.¡¯ You don¡¯t realize when this woman mixed in among you, and you never even noticed her. If she had wanted to harm you, she would have done it already, not waited until now.¡±


    ¡°So why would she blend in with us?¡± Ma Dun seemed to have forgotten Yan Junze¡¯s identity, a freshman who had not officially joined the Strange Club yet.


    ¡°Obsession. Perhaps someone among you has caused her to form some sort of obsession,¡± Yan Junze explained. ¡°If this strangeness prefers to ¡®insert¡¯ herself, it doesn¡¯t matter how many people you bring, it¡¯s futile, you can¡¯t stop her.¡±


    By now, except for Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, and Li Bin, everyone else had fled behind Ma Dun, eyes wide with terror and staring in Li Bin¡¯s direction.


    Li Bin, not that he didn¡¯t want to join the others, his legs had just gone weak. Although they weren¡¯t as weak at that moment, he couldn¡¯t leave because Liao Jing and Zhang Ying hadn¡¯t moved.


    Turning his head to look around, Yan Junze on the other side hadn¡¯t moved either, and Li Bin hadn¡¯t seen any long-dressed woman himself.


    Just as Yan Junze had finished speaking about the ¡®insertion,¡¯ the door of the activity room was suddenly pushed open, and a boy walked in, flinging his wet hands around, probably having just returned from the restroom.


    When the boy realized everyone was staring at him, he froze in place, unsure whether to advance or retreat, and asked in a daze, ¡°What¡¯s going on with¡­ everyone? I¡­ I went to the restroom, and now you don¡¯t recognize me?¡±


    ¡°Yang Yang?¡± Ma Dun looked at the person who had just come in from outside with a fearful expression.


    Not just him; everyone wore a look of terror, including the two bold girls, Zhang Ying and Liao Jing.


    Everyone remembered that Yang Yang had been in the activity room the whole time and had never left. So, who was this person who¡¯d come in claiming he had just gone to the restroom?


    If he is Yang Yang, who was the person that just hid behind Ma Dun with the others?


    Upon that thought, Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, and the others who were still hiding beside Ma Dun turned their heads toward the spot where Yang Yang was originally standing.


    Where Yang Yang had been standing just moments before, they now saw a woman in a gray long dress, the garment clinging tightly to her body, her hair matted together by water, emitting the foul stench of sewage.


    The woman was dripping wet, and a puddle had already formed on the floor where she stood.


    Splash!


    Including Ma Dun, everyone was so frightened that they rushed towards Yan Junze¡¯s seating area, knocking over several chairs, even the bravest of them, Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, hid behind Yan Junze in terror.


    Subconsciously, at that moment, they all regarded Yan Junze as a reliable person to turn to.


    Because it was he who first noticed that there were eleven people in the room and articulated the method to spot the eleventh person by counting chairs.


    Just now, Yan Junze had also described the way this strange woman appeared among them, calling it some sort of intrusion.


    Although these people were only interested in studying strange magnetic fields from a scientific perspective and did not know much about exorcism, they still possessed the basic discernment to feel that Yan Junze¡¯s words were probably not far off. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Otherwise, why was he the first to notice the oddity while no one else did?


    So at that moment, subconsciously, after fully confronting the real form of the strange woman for the first time, everyone¡¯s first reaction was to seek refuge behind Yan Junze.


    If push came to shove, even if they had to flee through the door, they wanted to do it quickly, as at least Yan Junze was the closest to the exit. Even Yang Yang, who had just returned from the restroom, hid behind Yan Junze with a face full of terror and confusion.


    He couldn¡¯t understand how things turned strange right after he returned from using the bathroom.


    But fortunately, no one ran away yet, because Yan Junze¡¯s demeanor was too calm. From beginning to end, he sat there without moving an inch.


    For a moment, Ma Dun somewhat regretted, wondering if this wouldn¡¯t have happened had he not let Yan Junze tell one last story?


    But on second thought, it seemed unlikely. Even if Yan Junze hadn¡¯t told his third story, if this woman was already here, she would still have intruded into their midst, and wouldn¡¯t have refrained from appearing because Yan Junze didn¡¯t tell a story.


    At that time, Yan Junze was sizing up this strange creature. Coincidentally, the moment he walked into the activity room, he had noticed the woman¡¯s presence.


    But, sensing no immediate danger, he had remained still, waiting to see what would happen. Little did he know that Ma Dun¡¯s actions had pressed him into a corner.


    Since he wasn¡¯t scared, he thought that this should satisfy them by now.


    After a careful observation, Yan Junze guessed that this strangeness must be the spirit of someone who drowned otherwise, there was no explaining the continuous dripping.


    It surely couldn¡¯t be that she died from drinking water until she burst¡ªthat would be absurd.


    ¡°Has her intrusion always been here?¡± Liao Jing suddenly asked beside his ear.


    ¡°From what it seems¡­ yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Yan Junze,¡± Zhang Ying suddenly spoke into his other ear, ¡°I always felt you were extraordinary. Do you have a way to deal with her so that she can¡¯t intrude on us?¡±


    Zhang Ying indeed had nerve; even in the current situation, she could still calmly consider the issue, which somewhat impressed Yan Junze.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Junze gave a definitive answer and first turned his head towards Ma Dun, ¡°Now do you believe the stories I just told are from personal experience?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ believe.¡± Ma Dun nodded awkwardly.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Yan Junze turned back around and shrugged, ¡°Her intrusion is because of obsession. Now¡­ if anyone here recognizes this woman, step forward and claim her.¡±


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 Chapter 182 - 180: The Eleventh Person (Part 4)

    Chapter 182: Chapter 180: The Eleventh Person (Part 4)


    As these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw that everyone was puzzled, clearly, no one recognized the Water Ghost. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Do you recognize her?¡± Zhang Ying asked Liao Jing.


    Liao Jing shook her head.


    ¡°Perhaps too much time has passed, and the memory of her appearance might differ. Think carefully whether you have seen this woman or not.¡±


    Yan Junze pointed ahead, casting his gaze in that direction and then he froze for a moment because the long-dressed woman who had been standing there was now gone without a trace.


    ...


    The water stains on the ground had also disappeared, as if the woman had never appeared.


    ¡°Gone?¡± Mao Jin¡¯an said, ¡°Could it be that she left after we discovered her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Li Bin nodded.


    In any case, he was scared. This was hardly the third tale, it was outright a horror strangeness live broadcast, for God¡¯s sake!


    Now, not only did they want Yan Junze to join the Strange Club, but if Li Bin had his way, they would even appoint him as president, as long as Ma Dun agreed.


    ¡°Is she¡­ gone?¡± Ma Dun leaned on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, staring intently ahead.


    Just a moment ago, he had turned to glance at his friends nearby, and when he looked back, the woman had vanished.


    Everyone eagerly looked to Yan Junze, hoping he could give a definite answer.


    Regardless of the future, for now, no one wished to stay here any longer.


    Yan Junze shook his head and quickly shattered their hopes: ¡°She hasn¡¯t left; you¡¯ve been stepped in between. You can¡¯t see her now because she¡¯s with you again.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Xu Yongqiang jumped up as if electrocuted, exclaiming, ¡°Yan Junze, you can¡¯t scare people like that! Where is she, where is that woman?!¡±


    As he spoke, the others too jumped with fright, scattering in all directions with faces filled with terror, looking left and right, not daring to group together anymore.


    At that moment, apart from Yan Junze, even Zhang Ying and Liao Jing felt a chill in their hearts, thinking about the soaking wet woman who had been following them, having goosebumps sprouting all over.


    The two girls involuntarily grabbed each other¡¯s hands and stood together.


    ¡°Yan Junze, you must think of something fast,¡± Zhang Ying couldn¡¯t help saying again.


    She knew how to read the room; at this moment, even if they left separately, the female strangeness might still follow them, so nothing felt safe. They only had Yan Junze to rely on for a solution.


    Yan Junze, looking at several pairs of eyes scattered around, not daring to stand together anymore, pondered for a moment before speaking: ¡°As I just said, the only way to get her to leave is to fulfill her Obsession. But since none of you recognize her, we have a problem.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other way?¡± Yang Yang asked.


    ¡°There is, but you must cooperate with me, otherwise this strangeness will continue to haunt you,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°You just tell us, we¡¯ll do it,¡± Ma Dun said.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll all cooperate,¡± Xu Yongqiang added.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze moved over to Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin¡ªpeople who hadn¡¯t spoken yet.


    Although they didn¡¯t express it clearly, their eyes appeared desperate, sharing the same thoughts as Ma Dun and the others, all willing to cooperate.


    ¡°Good,¡± Yan Junze smiled and explained, ¡°Since none of you knows, or someone does but doesn¡¯t want to admit that they recognize this strangeness, I¡¯ll have to use the process of elimination.¡±


    After these words, he looked at everyone and instructed, ¡°Now, please split into two groups of nine people, form two circles, and stand holding hands together, without letting go.¡±


    After finishing these words, Yan Junze stood up to close all the curtains in the activity room and then went to stand by the light switch at the door, placing his hand on the switch: ¡°After you¡¯ve joined hands and formed a circle, I will turn off the lights, plunging the entire activity room into darkness. Remember, no one can let go of hands, and don¡¯t use your phones for light.¡±


    ¡°Should we¡­ do we need to go to the lab and bring over the strangeness detector?¡± Xia Kai suddenly said.


    Yan Junze looked at him in astonishment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Ma Dun told Yan Junze, ¡°Just now, everyone saw that female strangeness, no point in checking further, that thing is just something we came up with, it¡¯s not even sure if it¡¯s useful, and now that woman is definitely still among us.¡±


    ¡°Oh hell, the curtains are drawn, the lights are out, this¡­ this is a bit scary, man!¡± Li Bin couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Can we¡­ can we pull the curtains open a bit?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°Then if I get nervous later on, can I whistle?¡± Mao Jin¡¯an asked.


    ¡°Can I talk after the lights go out?¡± Xu Yongqiang also said, ¡°I like to hop and talk when I¡¯m nervous, like this¡­¡±


    As he spoke, he started hopping around.


    ¡°I mean¡­¡± Yan Junze frowned and looked at Ma Dun, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with all these old members of your Strange Club?¡±


    Ma Dun smiled awkwardly and then glanced at the others, ¡°Quiet down, listen to Yan Junze now.¡±


    Yang Yang also shouted, ¡°What¡¯s with all the fuss? In front of a new member, you guys have lost all face for the Strange Club.¡±


    ¡°So this means¡­ I¡¯m in the club,¡± Yan Junze smiled.


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Ma Dun turned to the others, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would object.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Isn¡¯t the condition for joining the club to scare you all?¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± Zhang Ying suddenly spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m sweating all over my forehead right now, I¡¯ve reached that point, I believe there¡¯s no one left who hasn¡¯t been scared.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Everyone form a circle and hold hands, hold on to each other, no letting go. Then listen to my next instruction.¡±


    The nine people standing in the middle of the activity room moved all the chairs aside, forming two groups: one of five people and one of four people, each group forming a circle, then holding hands and looking at Yan Junze.


    The group of five consisted of Ma Dun, Yang Yang, Zhang Ying, Liao Jing, and Xu Yongqiang, while the group of four included Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin.


    ¡°Damn, their group has two girls, and we don¡¯t have a single one,¡± Li Bin muttered under his breath.


    Liao Jing turned her head and glared at him. The guy immediately looked down, pretending not to see.


    Snap!


    Yan Junze turned off the light in the activity room.


    Since the curtain blocked the light from outside, the entire activity room plunged into darkness the moment the lights were off.


    The curtains of the activity room were thick and heavy, so they were excellent at blocking out light, and not a single ray could penetrate.


    In the instant of complete darkness, as tensions had been kept up all along, someone couldn¡¯t help but let out a cry, but then they immediately shut their mouth.


    In the darkness, a deathly silence ensued.


    All the people holding hands, even their breathing became very light, as if afraid that any extra noise in the pitch-black space would draw the Water Ghost¡¯s attention to them.


    About ten seconds later, Yan Junze¡¯s voice rang out.


    ¡°If you¡¯re interfered by strangeness, under no specific conditions or environment, it¡¯s fundamentally impossible to clear that interference. And just now, thanks to my reminder, you did discover the interfering strangeness and even saw her, but you can¡¯t get rid of her. So I¡¯m sorry to say, I misled everyone, if I¡¯m not wrong, there¡¯s a pair among you holding hands, and one of those hands belongs to that female strangeness.¡±


    When Yan Junze¡¯s words rang out, the two groups holding hands in the darkness immediately exploded into chaos.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    ¡°Screw you and your grandma¡¯s leg!¡±


    ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    Almost everyone was scared into making a noise, and at this moment, they had thrown the Strange Club¡¯s reputation completely out of the window.


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 Chapter 183 - 181: The Eleventh Person (Part 5)

    Chapter 183: Chapter 181: The Eleventh Person (Part 5)


    After he spoke, Yan Junze didn¡¯t turn on the light, nor did he speak again.


    At this moment, both Ma Dun¡¯s group and Xia Kai¡¯s group were truly terrified, but after a brief panic, they immediately began to feel the hand they were holding to see if there was anything odd.


    Everyone still remembered who had been standing by their side, so as long as they paid a little attention to their sense of touch, they could almost be 100% sure whether the hand they were holding was normal.


    Seven or eight seconds later, voices of confirmation began to rise.


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯m holding onto Yang Yang and Zhang Ying,¡± Ma Dun said.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine too,¡± Zhang Ying said, the other hand of hers was holding Liao Jing.


    ...


    Liao Jing quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m with Xu Yongqiang here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± Xu Yongqiang said, ¡°and I¡¯m certain on the other side is the president.¡±


    The first group was clear.


    ¡°Second group?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    At this moment, the darkness in the activity room reached its apex, and even though their eyes could adapt to the dark, they still couldn¡¯t see anything and had to rely on the sense of touch.


    In the second group, Li Bin felt the left hand he was holding, which felt normal and belonged to Jin Wei, while on the other side was Mao Jin¡¯an.


    Jin Wei was holding onto Xia Kai and now he squeezed Xia Kai¡¯s somewhat slender palm a bit too hard due to his nervousness, but he still confirmed it was him and hadn¡¯t changed.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just too tense,¡± Jin Wei quickly apologized, afraid that he had squeezed Xia Kai too hard.


    But Xia Kai didn¡¯t say a word, for his feet were shaking as if he were dancing the ghost step, focusing on the hand in his right.


    He remembered that he had clearly been holding Mao Jin¡¯an¡¯s hand just before, but now the hand had changed in the instant when the light went off and everything plunged into darkness.


    It seemed¡­wet!


    At this moment, Xia Kai focused all his attention on this hand, so he didn¡¯t hear Jin Wei¡¯s apology at all.


    He slightly moved his fingers, and a drop of water from the hand he was holding rolled over, reached the tip of his thumb, and then dripped off.


    He confirmed it, the hand was indeed covered with water.


    In this moment, Xia Kai felt his entire right hand go numb, completely powerless, as if it no longer belonged to him.


    On the other hand, Mao Jin¡¯an had not made a single sound, as he too felt something was off with the hand he was holding, causing his entire body to tremble.


    The trembling was so intense and rapid that it was as if he had turned on electric shock mode.


    Li Bin, who was holding onto Mao Jin¡¯an¡¯s hand, sensed something was amiss, squeezed Mao Jin¡¯an¡¯s hand, and said, ¡°Dude¡­wait, no¡­¡±


    Li Bin got a shock, thought of something, and suddenly felt a chill rise up his spine.


    Fearing that Mao Jin¡¯an¡¯s fear might cause him to leap up at any moment, Li Bin was about to speak to remind him when he suddenly felt his hand go loose; Mao Jin¡¯an had abruptly let go of his hand. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same instant, the terrified Mao Jin¡¯an also let go of the hand belonging to that female ghost.


    But the moment after he let go of the wet hand, the already fully trembling Mao Jin¡¯an suddenly felt a stench-laden chill hit him in the face.


    What was getting close to him?!


    In the darkness, Mao Jin¡¯an did not notice that his face had already twisted in fear, his eyes bulging, but he could see nothing.


    Suddenly, completely unprepared, he felt a coldness on his face, as a frigid face pressed up against his own right cheek, sticking closely and motionless.


    A brief silence for two seconds.


    ¡°¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°My God!¡±


    A bloodcurdling scream of terror erupted.


    The cry was so horrifying, so piercing, that for a moment the other group couldn¡¯t make out who was screaming.


    Thump! The screaming stopped abruptly as someone collapsed to the ground.


    Yan Junze immediately turned on the light.


    The blinding light made everyone¡¯s eyes unable to open at first, taking nearly three seconds before they could finally see clearly.


    They all turned towards the second group and saw Mao Jin¡¯an lying rigid on the floor with nothing around him.


    Xu Yongqiang, Jin Wei, and Li Bin hurriedly gathered around, propped Mao Jin¡¯an up on a chair, and began to stimulate the philtrum to revive him.


    Xu Yongqiang then suddenly turned his head, glanced towards Ma Dun, and then to Yan Junze, ¡°He¡­ his left hand¡­ is wet.¡±


    The others were jolted with surprise, and only then noticed that Xia Kai was still standing in the same spot, pale as a ghost, his pupils seemingly unfocused, blankly staring into space, completely out of sorts.


    Then, their eyes dropped to his right hand, which was also dripping water at this moment.


    ¡°It seems it¡¯s appeared in the second group, hmm, intruding between Mao Jin¡¯an and Xia Kai,¡± Yan Junze approached, ¡°However, this doesn¡¯t mean that the female ghost is looking for Xia Kai and Mao Jin¡¯an specifically. It could be the other people in the second group, or maybe everyone in it.¡±


    Approaching Mao Jin¡¯an, he observed that the man was likely in a temporary faint due to an excess of shock and was now beginning to stir weakly, humming unconsciously but could sit on the chair by himself.


    Liao Jing went to the water dispenser to pour him a cup of hot water, and brought it over to Mao Jin¡¯an; Jin Wei, who was beside him, took it and carefully fed it to Mao Jin¡¯an sip by sip.


    However, everyone could see that Jin Wei¡¯s hands, holding the cup, were also trembling.


    ¡°He fainted from the shock, should be fine after resting a bit,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Yang Yang asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with the first group anymore,¡± Yan Junze glanced at him, ¡°If anyone in the second group is willing to admit to or realizes that they recognize that female strangeness, I think we could avoid further trouble.¡±


    With that, he turned to look towards the four men of the second group: Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin.


    Apart from Mao Jin¡¯an, who had just come around and was still humming, the other three appeared unable to conceal their terror, showing no signs of concealment.


    So there were two possibilities: the first was that none of these four men recognized the woman, or they couldn¡¯t identify her; the second was that someone had already recognized her, but they were desperately concealing it and not admitting to it.


    The first scenario was somewhat easier to address, since it meant no one was hiding anything. However, if it were the second scenario, it would require some effort.


    Yan Junze sighed and checked the task notification that popped up in his Inner Vision.


    This task notification had appeared just as he had entered the activity room and saw these people sitting there.


    [Task Name: Kiss;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: That person no longer loved her, trapped by emotion, Ling committed suicide by throwing herself into the river, and even as she died, that person never gave her one last look. Ling was gentle and kind throughout her life, never malevolent. After drowning, her body sank to the bottom of the river, caught among the water weeds and never surfacing;


    Task Description: All she wants now is to kiss him one last time;


    Task Reward: 500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: If she does not receive this kiss, she will continue to exist (not targeting the host);


    Task Notes: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Ling is very good at intruding;


    Remarks: Help Ling find this person, but do not use means that would harm him, because Ling has always cared about him deeply.]


    ¡°¡±¡±¡±


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 Chapter 184 - 182: The Eleventh Person (Part 6)

    Chapter 184: Chapter 182: The Eleventh Person (Part 6)


    After discovering the task labeled ¡°Kiss,¡± Yan Junze had initially planned to observe these nine individuals covertly after becoming a member, to determine which one fit the task description, and then wait for the right moment to complete the task.


    But who could have known that these guys were eager for ghost stories to get a thrill, so they kept pressing him. Fine then, encountering weirdnesses on the spot is far more stimulating than hearing stories, and so Yan Junze gave them a live demonstration.


    It turned out that listening to stories was one thing, but being truly confronted with ghostly apparitions was quite another matter.


    At present, every one of the Strangeness Alliance Association¡¯s members seemed incomparably cowardly, except Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, who appeared to be slightly better off, though equally drenched in a cold sweat.


    Regardless, after doing as Yan Junze instructed, there were only four remaining suspects among these nine people.


    They were Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin; otherwise, the strangeness would not have chosen to interfere with this group.


    ...


    Once Mao Jin¡¯an had fully recovered, Yan Junze said to the four, ¡°We can almost be certain now that the spirit is looking for one of you four. Think carefully about her appearance, and determine whether you recognize her or not.¡±


    The four of them were first frightened, then began to force themselves to recall clearly.


    During this period, Yan Junze observed them closely; he needed to ascertain whether any of these folks actually recognized the spirit but were concealing it all along.


    Despite watching for a while, confused expressions emerged on the faces of Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin. Each of them appeared serious, as if they were straining to remember.


    ¡°Damn, if someone is actually hiding something, then this guy¡¯s performance is worthy of an Academy Award; there¡¯s not the slightest hint of irregularity,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself, shaking his head.


    He spoke up to remind them, ¡°Think about people you were close to before coming to university, like classmates, deskmates, neighbors you¡¯ve played with since childhood, or even relatives.¡±


    After a moment, the same confused look could still be seen on the faces of the four.


    Having no other option, Yan Junze turned back to the light switch near the door, saying, ¡°Now the four of you, do as I say. Just stand in place without moving, and after I turn off the light, slowly say, ¡®You¡¯re here? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time.''¡±


    As these words were uttered, Jin Kai and others were startled, then felt a chill run down their spines.


    Li Bin said, ¡°But there¡¯s nothing in front of us! Are we just talking to the air?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, this method isn¡¯t bad,¡± Yang Yang said, stroking the few bristles on his chin, pondering, ¡°There is nothing now, but perhaps after those words are spoken, there will be.¡±


    This guy, after being assured by Yan Junze that they had nothing to do with the female apparition, now seemed to be in a state of detached concern, feeling much better and starting to make judgmental comments.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Just say it like that, but after you finish, you¡¯ll need to make a gesture as well.¡±


    ¡°What gesture?¡± Jin Wei asked.


    Subconsciously, he and the other three felt that whatever Yan Junze was asking them to do typically wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. The hand-holding earlier was already evidence, and this time was no exception.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°After you say it, reach out your arms and hug the air in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± The four of them were taken aback.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the woman who¡¯s searching won¡¯t let him embrace the air. Hmm, let¡¯s begin. Everyone stand still,¡± Yan Junze then looked at the other five from the first group, ¡°Stand there with your backs against the wall and don¡¯t move, and don¡¯t secretly pull on anyone¡¯s hands, especially not Zhang Ying and Liao Jing, until I turn the light back on.¡±


    ¡°Start.¡±


    Yan Junze snapped off the light switch in the activity room once more, plunging it into total darkness again.


    Apart from Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, Jin Wei, and Li Bin, the other five immediately backed against the walls of the activity room, motionlessly.


    Although they had already been proven unrelated, at this moment, these five were equally tense, their backs pressed firmly against the wall, straining their eyes to try and see what was happening with the four others.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Yan Junze urged in a somewhat stern tone after waiting a long time without a word from the four.


    Seconds ticked by before Xia Kai finally stammered out, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re here? I¡¯ve been waiting¡­ waiting for you a long time.¡±


    As he finished speaking, the other three also started speaking up, repeating the same sentence.


    Yan Junze then reminded them again, ¡°Stretch out both hands and embrace the ¡®thing¡¯ before you.¡±


    ¡°Thing?¡± The four people were startled, their faces filled with horror as they reached out their arms and embraced the void before them.


    The activity room fell silent, not a sound could be heard, as if everyone had frozen in place after completing the ¡°embrace.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak either. Given the current situation, someone must have embraced ¡°her,¡± but due to the high tension and fear, even if this person had already managed to hold ¡°her,¡± they certainly would not dare to make a noise, so asking was pointless now.


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze did not ask but deliberately said, ¡°If someone is holding ¡®someone,¡¯ please do not let go, otherwise I can¡¯t be certain what will happen to her. Now¡­ I¡¯m going to turn on the lights.¡±


    With that, the lights in the activity room were turned back on.


    Regardless of the glare, all eyes immediately turned to the four people in the center of the room.


    There Xia Kai, Mao Jin¡¯an, and Li Bin were seen making motions of embracing forward, but there was nothing between their arms, absolutely nothing. However, they too didn¡¯t dare to move an inch.


    Turning to Jin Wei, the person in his embracing arms was indeed a person, but upon seeing who it was, everyone was startled.


    Zhang Ying exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Liao Jing?!¡±


    ¡°What, how could it be Liao Jing?¡±


    Ma Dun turned his head toward the direction where Liao Jing, who had been standing near him against the wall before the lights were turned off, but now that place was empty.


    It was clear to everyone that the person Jin Wei was holding was Liao Jing.


    Liao Jing had a vacant look in her eyes, her arms hanging down, standing in front of Jin Wei, firmly embraced in his arms. But this guy had none of the expressions of enjoyment, replaced by endless panic, his hands holding Liao Jing shaking wildly.


    He had been so frightened when he suddenly found himself holding someone that he nearly lost control of his bladder and bowels. He had been holding it in the entire time, not daring to let go.


    ¡°You can let go now,¡± Yan Junze moved forward and saw that Liao Jing seemed unconscious, just standing stiffly on the spot.


    Jin Wei couldn¡¯t wait to let go, and as soon as he heard Yan Junze¡¯s words, he immediately did.


    Liao Jing fell sideways and was caught by Yan Junze, who along with Xia Kai, Zhang Ying, and others who had hurried over, helped Liao Jing sit down on a chair.


    ¡°How could it be her?¡± Zhang Ying looked at Yan Junze, bewildered, hoping to find an answer.


    Yan Junze did not respond but looked at Liao Jing¡¯s current condition, feeling it was a bit like Spirit-Splitting, but what had she just done, and why would it split her spirit?


    Could it also have something to do with her?


    ¡°Did you know Liao Jing before?¡± Yan Junze asked Jin Wei.


    Jin Wei shook his head, shivering.


    ¡°Then, do you recognize that long-dressed woman from just now?¡± Yan Junze asked again, his gaze now carrying an evaluative intent.


    Because this time, it was clear the strangeness had not embraced anyone else but had specifically chosen Jin Wei and even by the means of Spirit-Splitting, which was worthy of reflection.


    Jin Wei was already terrified and shook his head in confusion, ¡°I¡­ really don¡¯t know that woman.¡±


    Yan Junze looked sharply at Jin Wei, then turned his head to gaze at the unconscious Liao Jing and said, ¡°Ms. Strange Entity, let¡¯s talk this out. You¡¯re looking for Jin Wei, right? It shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with this girl, so why bother splitting her spirit?¡±


    He looked down at the water cup that had fallen on the floor, the same cup Mao Jin¡¯an had drunk from earlier.


    He thought, he knew when Liao Jing had her spirit split.


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 Chapter 185 - 183: The Eleventh Person (End) (Request for Monthly Votes, Recommendations)

    Chapter 185: Chapter 183: The Eleventh Person (End) (Request for Monthly Votes, Recommendations)


    The task prompt says that this woman named Ling is adept at meddling in relationships.


    In other words, she¡¯s very skilled at getting involved with others romantically, and can do so in a variety of situations and gestures.


    This female strangeness died from jumping into a river, and her appearance constantly dripping with water suggests a significant connection to it.


    And just now, the first person who came into contact with water was Liao Jing, who poured a glass of water for Mao Jin¡¯an after he fainted.


    She must have accidentally touched the water while pouring it, and then it seemed she passed the water cup to someone else, who then helped Mao Jin¡¯an drink.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled that the person seemed to be¡­ Jin Wei.


    ...


    And coincidentally, it was Jin Wei who just hugged Liao Jing.


    Coming to this realization, Yan Junze turned his head and looked at Jin Wei, ¡°Tell me, do you really know this woman or not? Don¡¯t try to hide anything else; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen to possess Liao Jing and embrace you.¡±


    Jin Wei stared at Yan Junze, dumbfounded. His reaction was quite normal, and even more panic surfaced on his face after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, as he incredulously looked around him.


    ¡°No, no, no, that¡¯s impossible! I really don¡¯t know this woman.¡± After a moment, he vehemently shook his head, like a frightened bird, his hands flailing wildly.


    ¡°I have nothing to do with her; I truly don¡¯t know her, I¡¯ve absolutely not lied to you all!¡± Realizing that everyone was looking at him, Jin Wei became even more agitated and nearly shouted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get excited yet,¡± Yan Junze advised, seeing his demeanor which suggested Jin Wei really wasn¡¯t trying to hide something, ¡°Think carefully, before coming to Tianmeng Science University, any girls you dated or girls who had a crush on you that you didn¡¯t reciprocate.¡±


    ¡°Damn it.¡±


    The young men present all turned their surprised eyes towards Jin Wei. They all found it hard to believe that this average-looking guy, with no outstanding physique or American-style curves, could evoke Yan Junze to say such things.


    ¡°Having to remember which girls he dated?!¡± Xu Yongqiang¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he glared at Jin Wei, thinking, ¡°If it was me, would I even need to remember? The only girl I pursued in the second year of high school resulted in me running myself ragged, not only did she not agree in the end, but I also almost lost my life at the hands of her father¡¯s stick.¡±


    A chill went down Yang Yang¡¯s spine next to Xu Yongqiang, as if he too recalled some horrifying past event.


    At the same moment, Li Bin stomped his foot and shook his head, likely never having held a girl¡¯s hand before University. Now hearing that Jin Wei had to rely on his memory to recall which girl it was, he looked like someone who¡¯d eaten shit and found it insufficient.


    Jin Wei thought hard; it wasn¡¯t that he had dated many girls, but now he was completely terrified, his thinking much slower than usual, his mind muddled.


    After pondering, he shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m sure, I had two girlfriends before starting University, but we both parted on amicable terms, and it¡¯s not possible that any of them would die then come looking for me. Plus, those two girls don¡¯t look anything like this strangeness.¡±


    Yan Junze recalled the mission background and prompted, ¡°Think about it, who once loved you, or pursued you, that you didn¡¯t accept.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than at least three young men raised their hands.


    Yan Junze frowned as he looked over, and Xu Yongqiang, speaking as their representative, clutched his wrist in a gesture of deep regret, ¡°Can we request to be excused? This is too much of a blow to our self-esteem; we can¡¯t stand to listen any longer.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°If it¡¯s not handled properly, you all might already be possessed too, just not showing it yet.¡±


    ¡°Then I choose to stay,¡± declared Xia Kai.


    Compared to not having a girlfriend, he thought his life was of the utmost importance.


    The others fell silent, all of them looking at Jin Wei.


    Jin Wei thought it over and nodded, ¡°A girl pursued me; at first, I thought she was quite nice and we had dinner a few times, but it didn¡¯t reach the stage of dating. But she didn¡¯t die, she¡¯s still alive and well.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Yan Junze was puzzled, the previous scene was quite clear, the female strangeness chose to possess Liao Jing and embrace Jin Wei as a way to evade his investigation, yet didn¡¯t want to give up embracing the one she loved.


    That would be the only reason she¡¯d do that.


    But looking at it now, if there¡¯s still no connection, maybe Jin Wei was still hiding something.


    But why would he hide it? Could it be he killed this woman?


    No way.


    Yan Junze looked at Jin Wei¡¯s cowardly expression and dismissed the idea.


    Of course, you can¡¯t outright confirm it through appearance, but at least he had an intuition that not only did Jin Wei seem timid, but after interacting with him for a while, he really did seem timid.


    However, timid people can also have moments of audacity.


    ¡°Did you kill this woman?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Jin Wei jumped in fright, ¡°I don¡¯t even know her, why would I kill her? My whole life, I haven¡¯t even killed a chicken, let alone¡­ dare to kill someone?!¡±


    Yan Junze frowned, shook his head, and seemed to have entered a wrong line of thought.


    He dragged the nearest chair over, sat down, bent over, propped up his chin with his hands, and stared at Liao Jing who was still unconscious, occasionally turning to look at Jin Wei who appeared anxious and fearful.


    Where did he go wrong?


    It now seemed obvious that the strangeness¡¯s choice of whom to embrace couldn¡¯t all be wrong. Was she intentionally leading him down the wrong path?


    Unlikely, her obsession was strong; even if she was adept at meddling, she wouldn¡¯t go against her own obsession to embrace the wrong person up close.


    Could it be that the target of this female strangeness wasn¡¯t men but Liao Jing, whom she had split her spirit with?


    Struck by this thought, Yan Junze startled himself.


    It seemed that Jian Tong from Wine Red High Heels had influenced him too much, with thoughts of men with men, women with women, constantly trying to burst forth.


    The mission, it was still the problem with this mission.


    Yan Junze thought carefully; the mission background stated that the woman drowned herself in the river, so it wasn¡¯t homicide. Furthermore, after she drowned, her body got tangled in the water weeds and has yet to surface.


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t surfaced?¡±


    Yan Junze suddenly froze for a moment, something dawning on him as he turned his gaze to Jin Wei.


    At this moment, Jin Wei was so terrified that, seeing Yan Junze¡¯s unkind look, he couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back in fear.


    ¡°Tell me, the girl who had a crush on you but whom you didn¡¯t reciprocate, what¡¯s her name? Does she have a commonly used nickname, or how do you address her?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Jin Wei said, ¡°Her name is Bai Ling, I always called her¡­ Ling.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s her.¡± Yan Junze nodded with certainty, ¡°Bai Ling is already dead, you just don¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jin Wei¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in fright.


    ¡°Because you rejected her, she threw herself into the river and committed suicide, but her body hasn¡¯t been found yet, she¡¯s just been listed as a missing person. You haven¡¯t been in contact with her and haven¡¯t heard any other news about her, so you¡¯d think she¡¯s living just fine,¡± Yan Junze analyzed.


    ¡°How¡­ how could you know?¡± Jin Wei was astonished.


    Everyone else also looked confused.


    Yan Junze began to bluff, ¡°I possess a special ability that allows me to understand the Obsession of strangenesses, so I can know roughly what caused her death and what her Obsession is.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ if¡­ it really is Ling? She has been following me¡­ what¡­ what does she want at the end of it all?¡± Jin Wei stammered as he asked.


    Yan Junze revealed a smile, glanced at the others, and spoke, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s quite simple, she wants to Kiss you once.¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone paused for a moment, then Ma Dun said, ¡°That¡¯s very simple, Jin Wei, why don¡¯t you just kiss Liao Jing right now and be done with it?¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Jin Wei looked at Yan Junze, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips.


    By his look, he wasn¡¯t opposed to kissing Liao Jing, and since Liao Jing herself was sunny and youthful, with good looks, perhaps Jin Wei had some feelings for her as well.


    Yan Junze promptly shattered his illusion, ¡°Not necessarily. How about this, I¡¯ll turn off the lights, and then you go kiss Liao Jing. No matter whom you actually kiss, it should be enough to pass the test.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jin Wei thought for a moment and nodded.


    ¡°No way,¡± Ma Dun immediately objected, ¡°we won¡¯t be able to see what happens this way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what if he screws up?¡± Yang Yang also said, I want to see it happen.


    ¡°Damn, are you guys even brothers?¡± Jin Wei asked, irritated.


    ¡°No,¡± all the men shook their heads together, ¡°we¡¯re just members here.¡±


    ¡°Cut it out,¡± Yan Junze laughed, about to return to the door to turn off the light, but Xu Yongqiang beat him to it.


    Xu Yongqiang pressed the light switch with a grin, saying at the same time, ¡°I¡¯ll do it, Jin Wei, just be quick with your move.¡±


    Jin Wei didn¡¯t respond, but soon there was the sound of rustling. It was unclear what stage things had progressed to.


    About ten seconds later, there was a snap, and the lights came on again.


    Aside from Yan Junze, everyone looked eagerly towards Jin Wei and Liao Jing¡¯s direction with cheerful smiles.


    What they saw was Jin Wei indeed kissing someone. However, the recipient of the kiss was a woman dressed in a grey long dress, dripping wet all over, while Liao Jing was lying on the floor, not sitting in the chair at all.


    The wet-haired woman¡¯s hair clung to half of her face, revealing only parts of her excessively pale skin. Her bulging eyes had no whites, just black.


    As she was being kissed, one of her hands was clasping Jin Wei¡¯s neck tightly, with water flowing down and soaking into Jin Wei¡¯s spine, drenching his clothes.


    It was clear to everyone that Jin Wei¡¯s body was violently trembling, bent over as he kissed, as if he might collapse at any moment.


    Everybody had been excited to witness this scene, yet upon actually seeing it, a chill ran up their spines and goosebumps appeared all over.


    Imagining those cold, stinking lips against their own, most of the men felt like they were about to throw up.


    It was at this time that Yan Junze saw Jin Wei mumbling something with his eyes closed, uttering three words that, despite being unclear, he still heard.


    Those three words were, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry¡­¡±


    Points, definitively points. Yan Junze nodded inwardly.


    Indeed, after Jin Wei uttered those three words, the woman¡¯s lips parted, and she made a clicking sound in her throat. She didn¡¯t speak but instead released more foul-smelling water.


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 Chapter 186 - 184: The Strange Magnetic Field

    Chapter 186: Chapter 184: The Strange Magnetic Field


    Although the female ghost couldn¡¯t speak, from the frequency and speed at which the foul water emerged from her mouth, it was clear that the last three words Jin Wei uttered had moved her.


    Despite trembling and feeling terrified, Jin Wei was quick to shake his head and dodge when the stenchy water sprayed out.


    Whoosh¡­


    The foul water kept flowing from the mouth of the water ghost, as if it would never cease.


    At the same time, Ling let go of the hand she was holding onto Jin Wei, and her entire body rose off the ground, away from the chair she had been sitting on, floating upwards as if she were under water.


    Everyone, including Jin Wei, looked up and watched as Ling floated upwards, with water still dripping down her soaking wet dress.


    ...


    Yan Junze guessed that at this moment, the weeds wrapped around the woman¡¯s corpse might have loosened, causing her body to slowly rise to the surface.


    Moreover, the river where Ling had thrown herself in might be a Deadwater Pool, the depths maintaining a low temperature year-round, which prevented her corpse from decomposing significantly.


    Regardless, as soon as her body surfaced, it would quickly be discovered by someone.


    In this way, it could be considered the fulfillment of her wish.


    [Kiss, Anxiety-Inducing (High), Completed, Reward 500 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Now that various quests had been completed, Yan Junze could approximate that the lowest-level ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± quests corresponded to Different Dimension Energy rewards ranging from 100-500 points.


    Tasks of the next higher level, ¡°Trembling with Fear,¡± rewarded between 500-1000 Different Dimension Energy points. The even higher-level ¡°Hair-raising¡± tasks offered rewards between 1000-1500 points.


    Of course, depending on the difficulty of the task and other conditional factors, the energy rewards obtained can vary, with each similar task selecting a number within a range of values.


    As Ling floated upward, her figure began to fade slowly until finally, it vanished without a trace¡­


    The others rushed over at this moment; some helped Liao Jing up, while others steadied Jin Wei.


    As Ling disappeared, Liao Jing had already begun to regain consciousness.


    When she was fully awake, Yan Junze knew that the Spirit-Splitting within her had disappeared, and if there were others affected by Spirit-Splitting, they too would vanish at that moment.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze clapped his hands, walked over to the water dispenser, took a paper cup, poured himself a glass of water, and turned around to ask, ¡°Does anyone want some water?¡±


    Everybody immediately shook their heads like rattle drums.


    Yan Junze drank the water in his cup in one gulp, casually threw the cup in the trash, sat back down, and announced to everyone, ¡°Well, the third story¡­ it¡¯s finished.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, Yan Junze. Welcome to the Strangeness Research Alliance Club affiliated with the student council of the academy,¡± Ma Dun forced a smile, walked over, and extended his hand to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t stand up but simply reached out to shake hands with him, pointed to a chair next to him for him to sit, and asked, ¡°President, I just heard that the Strange Club is also researching some sort of Spirit Detector?¡±


    Ma Dun nodded: ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard that exorcists have Spirit Detectors too, but ours definitely can¡¯t compare to theirs. What we have developed entirely with our physical knowledge is still full of flaws and imperfections.¡±


    ¡°President, there are some questions I just want to understand a bit about, and you know much more than I do on this topic,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ma Dun quickly waved his hand, ¡°Don¡¯t call me President, just call me by my name. When it comes to understanding strangenesses, you¡¯d be second to none here,¡± he said.


    At that moment, Yang Yang took a seat on the other side, while Zhang Ying, together with Xu Yongqiang, Xia Kai, Li Bin, and others, was helping Liao Jing prepare to leave.


    ¡°Liao Jing needs to rest, we¡¯re going to head out,¡± Zhang Ying said.


    ¡°Go ahead, and be careful on the way,¡± Ma Dun said with an apologetic face, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about today, everyone.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me who should be sorry,¡± Jin Wei interjected from the side.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Xu Yongqiang laughed, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been easy for you either, you¡¯ve really opened our eyes.¡±


    Thinking back to the kiss from earlier, Jin Wei shivered for no apparent reason.


    ¡°Go on, get going, hurry back,¡± Yang Yang said.


    As Zhang Ying led Liao Jing away, she cast a deep glance at Yan Junze. Her new understanding of the young man before her was like a revelation.


    Before long, only Ma Dun, Yang Yang, and Yan Junze were left in the activity room as the others gradually left.


    Before departing, Jin Wei expressed his special thanks to Yan Junze, insisting on treating him to a meal the next afternoon. This was no casual offer¡ªthe name of the restaurant and the appointment at six o¡¯clock sharp were all set.


    Yan Junze did not decline.


    Once there were only three people left in the activity room, Ma Dun and Yang Yang involuntarily looked around, feeling a hair-raising sensation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the earlier question,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°I merely rely on some special abilities. You guys, as my seniors, have delved much deeper into the physics behind strangenesses than I have, and there¡¯s no doubt about that, so I genuinely want to learn from you.¡±


    ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± Ma Dun nodded.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Based on your current research or from a physics perspective, what exactly is the strangenesses of this world?¡±


    Ma Dun thought for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before saying, ¡°In our living environment, each of us generates a tremendous amount of electromagnetic waves, creating countless electromagnetic fields. For instance, those guys in biology believe that our spirit is produced by the neurons in our brain and is closely related to the activity of nerve cells, which I think is quite reasonable. However, we are studying in a different direction¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, how is it different?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°It¡¯s like this,¡± Yang Yang took over, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, ¡°The cells in our body are always pulsating, including our blood which carries electric ions, forming small magnetic fields to some extent. The emergence of strangenesses, we believe, is due to a kind of energy that seeks to return to its original state, a manifestation in the external world.¡±


    Yan Junze blinked, pondering seriously for a moment, then said, ¡°I¡¯ve only studied theories of time and space, and I want to know if there¡¯s a relationship between this special energy and space-time energy?¡±


    ¡°Of course, there is a connection,¡± Ma Dun nodded, ¡°Have you noticed? Strange Energy can freely pass through certain spatial materials, but we cannot. Clearly, they are not constrained by space, so I believe that some high-level, even very high-level strangenesses, which are those of strong origin, can break the constraints of time.¡±


    Yan Junze did not respond, lost in thought.


    Yang Yang added, ¡°Over in Great Capital, USA, there was a professor named Kronro Pusinger who proposed ¡®the relationship between strangenesses and the electromagnetic field.¡¯ Later, this professor was directly employed by the official Great Capital authorities and is said to have joined the largest Exorcism Organization in the USA ¨C the Half-Moon Exorcism Association.¡±


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 Chapter 187 - 185 Putsinger Experiment

    Chapter 187: Chapter 185 Putsinger Experiment


    Yan Junze had never heard of such an organization, but by the looks of it, it appeared to have a similar nature to the Exorcism teams in Great Capital¡¯s Huaying.


    However, it seemed that the ¡°Half-Moon Exorcism Association¡± might be divided into several factions and possibly had more members, but it was not as organized and orderly as the Exorcist teams.


    Because those called associations, although they had a common purpose, were mostly more scattered in terms of organization.


    These organizations were not yet Yan Junze¡¯s concern; he quickly retracted his thoughts and asked, ¡°So, what about Professor Kronro Putsinger¡¯s theory? Has it been proven?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Yang Yang nodded, ¡°He conducted a great number of experiments himself and proved his hypothesis. His hypothesis is that certain environments or people, objects, etc., can generate magnetic fields that we can¡¯t detect, which affect the normal activity of the brain¡¯s temporal lobes, making people feel like there¡¯s something in the room.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This means, the reason we can see or sense strangenesses is because their magnetic fields affect our brains, allowing us to perceive them,¡± Yan Junze mused, ¡°Then there¡¯s Fang Ning in my shadow, and I myself am a Semi-spirit; there could be an overlap of magnetic fields, which might have affected the supernatural entity in the dorm above, triggering its Obsession and creating a new strangeness event.¡±


    ...


    Seeing that Yan Junze was deep in thought and not speaking, Ma Dun and Yang Yang exchanged glances and did not interrupt his train of thought, but sat quietly by his side.


    Not until Yan Junze lifted his head again, ¡°Hmm, please continue.¡±


    Yang Yang nodded and said, ¡°Professor Putsinger conducted many experiments for this. Among them, the ¡®Headless Cat,¡¯ the ¡®Decaying Infant,¡¯ and the ¡®Broken-Winged Angel¡¯ are three very famous experiments that even those outside our field would have heard about.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of them,¡± Yan Junze shook his head decisively.


    Being an outsider who had not inherited the original person¡¯s memories, his understanding of the supernatural had also been built up bit by bit, so of course, he had not heard of these things.


    ¡°Let me talk about the Headless Cat experiment,¡± Ma Dun cleared his throat and took over, ¡°In that experiment, Professor Putsinger decapitated a cat that was about to die from illness. After throwing away the head, he immediately placed the cat¡¯s headless body within a specially prepared magnetic field environment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was a sealed room. About thirty minutes after the headless cat corpse was stimulated by that magnetic field, it exuded a large amount of yellow-red body fluid, and then it stood up on its own, showing motions of playing with its previous owner, though its movements were stiff, it apparently still retained its memories.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s not about memories, but probably¡­ Obsession?¡± Yan Junze blurted out.


    Ma Dun nodded, ¡°Later, when he was preparing to apply this experiment to dying humans, he joined the Half-Moon Exorcism Association, and the experiment was classified as top secret, so no information about subsequent experiments was ever released.¡±


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°What about the ¡®Decaying Infant¡¯ experiment?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell it,¡± Yang Yang appeared somewhat excited and spoke faster, ¡°First, the infant was dead, and its body was already stiff, not just recently deceased like the Headless Cat. At the start of the experiment, Professor Putsinger intended to stimulate the dead infant to cause a miracle similar to that of the cat, that is, to turn into the living dead, um, or what you could call zombies. But during the experiment, something unexpected happened.¡±


    ¡°What change?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    ¡°The dead infant indeed became a walking corpse like the cat, but at the same time, the infant¡¯s innate strangeness was also stimulated,¡± Yang Yang¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°That is, there were two strangenesses; one was the infant¡¯s corpse becoming what we in Great Capital call a zombie, and the other was the strangeness formed by the soul of the dead baby that floated out from the body.¡±


    Yan Junze widened his eyes, ¡°So¡­ did this walking corpse still exhibit the Obsessions it had in life?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± Ma Dun said, shaking his head from the side.


    Yang Yang immediately added, ¡°Not only did it lack Obsession, but after Professor Putsinger stimulated the already dead nerves of the corpse with electromagnetic flow, the dead infant was able to follow some of his commands and even developed its own instincts, like eating raw meat and drinking blood.¡±


    ¡°And the strangeness that floated out of the body continued to exist in the way we traditionally view souls, retaining the Obsessions of the dead infant and remembering many things from its life,¡± Ma Dun said.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°So, after turning into two strangenesses, the dead baby became a zombie on one side and the soul, leaving the body, turned into what we consider a traditional strangeness. The zombie is a walking corpse, while the strangeness that left the body retains its obsession.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    Yan Junze thought of the child who ambushed him outside Mountain Park. This little fellow¡¯s signs were no different from those of a zombie, and according to Yang Yang, Professor Putsinger could also issue certain commands to those infants who died in the experiments, which they were able to complete.


    Does this mean that the Spirit Cultivator who intended to harm him knew how to turn normal people into zombies?


    Then, the Spirit Cultivator had sent this child to ambush him, but what was the purpose?


    Was it a coincidence that the child was there, or had the child been waiting for him all along?


    Now, it seemed more likely that someone had purposefully waited for him outside Mountain Park, because the last time he did a Rewind, Yan Junze chose to hide inside a warehouse and not show himself. Yet, the child decided to crawl out and search for him in the warehouse, which made it pretty obvious.


    Who knew that he was going to Mountain Park at that time?


    Yan Junze thought about this. Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t have known, and Bao Jie was even less likely. Then his gaze paused for a moment.


    Could it be Tang Zhengyi? Or that guy who called him that day, what was his name, Cheng something Ting?


    But the host with the surname Cheng did not have enough reason to harm Yan Junze. Could it be simply because he didn¡¯t accept his invitation to join his Spirit Exploration Team?


    For a moment, his thoughts wandered too far. Yan Junze pulled back his thoughts and looked at Ma Dun and Yang Yang, ¡°So what about the last experiment, ¡®Broken-Winged Angel¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Speaking of this experiment,¡± Yang Yang shivered involuntarily, his expression suddenly became very mysterious, and he lowered his voice, ¡°The subject of the Broken-Winged Angel experiment was not an inanimate object, but a living person.¡±


    ¡°A living person?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yang Yang nodded, ¡°But I don¡¯t know much about it, let Ma Dun speak, he has studied it in detail.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at Ma Dun. Ma Dun paused for a moment before saying, ¡°The so-called Broken-Winged Angel is a man who has one arm, the other having been completely severed from the shoulder in a car accident. After testing by Professor Putsinger, the man¡¯s brain waves were found to be extremely developed, with values different from normal people, and also very active.¡±


    ¡°To achieve the purpose of the experiment, Professor Putsinger directly took the amputee into the sealed room that activated the Headless Cat, used power more than seven times higher than usual, and subjected him to magnetic field stimulation, to maximally evoke his potential, even more intense brain waves. Guess what happened in the end?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head.


    Yang Yang, also curious, said, ¡°Come on, tell us, what happened?¡±


    Ma Dun deliberately paused for a few seconds, then said, ¡°After leaving the laboratory, this guy actually grew a new arm in seven days, uh, though it was deformed.¡±


    ¡°Why did that happen?¡± Yan Junze asked, frowning.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ma Dun shook his head, ¡°But later I found a theory in other books, called ¡®Spirit¡¯.¡±


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 Chapter 188 - 186 Changing the Magnetic Field

    Chapter 188: Chapter 186 Changing the Magnetic Field


    Living beings are spoken of in contrast to dead spirits.


    According to Ma Dun¡¯s personal summary, dead spirits refer to the strange entities that people like Yan Junze have encountered, while living beings are the living.


    In the experiments, Professor Putsinger found that the brainwaves of the ¡°Broken-Winged Angel¡± were extremely intense and, after being stimulated by the magnetic field, this armless person imagined that he actually grew an arm out of thin air.


    This was utterly inconceivable!


    To know that this person was not dead but alive, that a living person could stir up a commotion like that of the strangeness, was simply beyond a perfect scientific explanation. Professor Putsinger¡¯s experimental results exceeded everyone¡¯s understanding of the strangeness.


    It was also the first time Junze had heard of the term ¡°living beings.¡±


    ...


    But now it seemed that whether it was living beings or dead spirits, the strange magnetic field they emanated was the key.


    ¡°Have you ever conducted specialized research on the strange magnetic fields, such as whether it¡¯s possible to change the strangeness by interfering with the magnetic field? That is to say, to alter the form, abilities, or even the obsessions of the strangeness,¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Before asking this question, Yan Junze thought of Ke¡¯er¡¯s filthy hair. If it were truly possible to change her strange magnetic field, maybe they could give her a wash and completely fulfill her wish.


    Ma Dun and Yang Yang exchanged glances, then Ma Dun turned to Yan Junze, ¡°In theory, it¡¯s possible, as long as we can change the magnetic field. But I¡¯m not even talking about us; even those special research institutes are probably helpless. Perhaps only the research institutions within the Exorcist teams have a way.¡±


    ¡°If we really understood the principle of the strange magnetic fields, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily require them,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself, nodding without saying a word.


    The three talked for a while, then left the library¡¯s activity room. At the entrance to the male dormitory, they said goodbye to Ma Dun, who lived in another building.


    Yan Junze and Yang Yang walked up to their own floor. On the way, Yang Yang remembered something and said, ¡°By the way, have you heard about what happened in room 511 upstairs?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart skipped a beat, remembering the supernatural event triggered by his arrival mentioned in the mission briefing. He pretended not to know and shook his head, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Yang Yang explained, ¡°They say that room 511 might be haunted by the supernatural. A few days ago, a guy named Han Zhao was living there because he came to school early to guide the newcomers, and he was alone in the dormitory. That night, he saw with his own eyes someone climb down from the bunk above where he was sleeping. It¡¯s said the person had a hole in the back of their head, oozing blood. After leaving the dormitory, the person quickly returned and climbed back onto the upper bunk. When Han Zhao got up the next morning, there was nothing on the upper bunk.¡±


    ¡°Does this happen every night?¡± Yan Junze frowned and asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Yang Yang shook his head, ¡°It seems to happen about every six days. Tonight happens to be the night after the second set of six days. I heard that the people in 511 are planning to stay up all night to watch out for this strangeness and even prepare to film it and upload the video to ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯.¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t requested a dormitory change?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    Yang Yang said, ¡°They have applied, but the freshman have just arrived, and the dormitory space is tight. There¡¯s no separate room to switch to, so these people need to be placed in other rooms. Of course, the school might not be aware of their plans to film the video tonight.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Strange Club planning to look into this?¡±


    Ah!¡± Yang Yang jumped in surprise, ¡°We¡¯re a research society, not a Spirit Exploration Team. We didn¡¯t even investigate the ¡®Peephole Strange Creature¡¯ in the No. 4 experimental building, let alone this fellow that¡¯s monopolizing someone¡¯s bed.¡±


    By then, the two had reached their dormitory doors. Yang Yang added, ¡°Those guys are just sneaking around filming. They definitely won¡¯t make a peep. Let¡¯s rest, go to sleep early, and forget about them.¡±


    Returning to the dormitory, Zhao Zheng and Xie Hua were already asleep. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhao Zheng liked to exercise and needed early sleep for his body to recover, while Huahua supposedly needed beauty sleep for skincare routines, usually heading to bed at nine o¡¯clock sharp every night.


    When Yan Junze entered the dormitory, he noticed that Huahua still hadn¡¯t removed the cucumber slices from his forehead.


    He Bishou was the only one with the small desk lamp on, staying up late to read comic books.


    Yan Junze returned and greeted his roommates without even glancing their way.


    He took his washbasin and toiletries and headed out to the sinks to wash up. After that, Yan Junze laid down on his bed and started to ponder.


    The level of the task ¡°The Brother Sleeping in the Top Bunk¡± was ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)¡±. Truth be told, for Yan Junze as he was now, such a difficulty level was quite low.


    This meant that the strangeness associated with the task posed a relatively small threat to humans; even with superficial contact, there wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue as long as there wasn¡¯t any deep interaction.


    However, there was a new problem within this task that Yan Junze hadn¡¯t encountered before.


    The mission statement read, ¡°Before he died, his biggest issue was left unresolved. Find a way to resolve it for him.¡± Initially, Yan Junze thought this mission was somewhat shameless¡ªwas he expected to step in and lend a hand to resolve an issue the man couldn¡¯t resolve before his death?


    But after careful consideration, that clearly wasn¡¯t the case.


    Feeling unresolved was only his perception while he was alive, but it remained with him even after death, forming a strong obsession. To help him, one would have to find a way to make him feel that his issue had been resolved.


    Going around in circles, it seemed the problem circled back to changing the electromagnetic field.


    If he could alter the guy¡¯s electromagnetic field, perhaps he would finish urinating through the altered ¡°field¡±.


    The issue was that this method was beyond the reach of the academy¡¯s current research; it was simply not something he could find out.


    Unleashing the Crawler Monster to assist was not an option either, as an immediate oppressive force would arise between the two strangenesses, making assistance nearly impossible¡ªnot fighting would already be a good outcome.


    After some thought, a bizarre idea suddenly popped into his head.


    Yan Junze looked down at his hands, ¡°I¡¯m a Fake Spirit Body now, which is to say, a ¡®Semi-spirit¡¯.¡±


    ¡­


    Room 511.


    Han Zhao went to bed early, bundling himself up tightly with his summer quilt, gripping the edge even as sweat beaded on his forehead.


    This time, in the upcoming video, he was to play a role that wasn¡¯t quite the protagonist¡ªthat of the on-screen presence alongside the strangeness the moment it appeared in the top bunk.


    The other three roommates were on a bed diagonally across, leaving the mosquito net down as they covertly shot the scene with two smartphones.


    After Han Zhao¡¯s first encounter with the strangeness, the other three roommates returned one after another, including Guo Jintao, who originally slept in the bunk above Han Zhao. Han Zhao immediately informed them of the incident.


    However, due to the uncertainty of whether this strangeness appeared on a regular basis and the absence of any anomalies over the next two days, Guo Jintao and the others remained skeptical of Han Zhao, suspecting that he was playing a prank.


    In the end, even Han Zhao began to doubt himself, wondering if the encounter that night had been nothing more than an exceptionally vivid nightmare.


    Therefore, on the first night after six days passed, Guo Jintao, who was lying on his side on the bunk above Han Zhao, thought his roommates were messing with him when he felt someone pulling his blanket.


    He was in a drowsy state when suddenly he felt a chill on his back. Without thinking, he reached out to touch and realized his blanket was gone.


    Without considering the fact that in such weather, one wouldn¡¯t feel cold without a blanket, Guo Jintao reached back to grab a corner of the blanket, intending to drag it over himself.


    Then he touched another hand on the blanket, a cold hand.


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 Chapter 189 - 187: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 1)

    Chapter 189: Chapter 187: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 1)


    The moment Guo Jintao touched that icy hand, he instantly snapped awake, his eyes wide open, but since he was lying on his side facing the wall, he couldn¡¯t see to whom the cold hand belonged.


    But without a doubt, at this hour, around two or three in the morning, no one would climb into his bed, and the hand felt so icy.


    Startled, Guo Jintao quickly withdrew his hand and didn¡¯t dare to reach for the quilt again, just lying on his side, motionless.


    There was no sound of breathing from behind him as if there was no one there, but he could distinctly feel a chill crawling up his spine, reaching his neck, and climbing onto the back of his head.


    His back had gone completely numb.


    Guo Jintao¡¯s eyes were wide open, utterly devoid of slumber. At that moment, he wished the wall in front of him was a mirror so that he could see what was behind him.


    ...


    But at the same time, he also didn¡¯t want to see anything terrifying, which would deliver another severe blow to his already fragile heart.


    Before long, a rustling sound came from behind him, and then the bed moved slightly twice, as if the person was turning over.


    At this moment, the one who stole his quilt, seemed to have turned over, now with their back to him.


    Guo Jintao waited a few seconds to make sure the other party wasn¡¯t moving anymore; then he slowly turned his head to look, and what he saw next could be listed as the most horrifying thing he had seen in his life, without a doubt.


    After seeing this scene, Guo Jintao wished he could take a regret pill immediately, or gouge out his eyes right there and then.


    He had estimated wrong.


    The person behind him indeed had turned over; only they had been facing away from him before, and now, after turning, they were facing him.


    A deathly pale face, with dull gray eyes, stared motionlessly at him.


    Suddenly, Guo Jintao shivered all over, feeling as though his soul had flown out of his body, almost bursting into a high-pitched scream.


    He bit down hard on his tongue, his whole body tense, his fearful gaze fixed on the unfamiliar face so close to him.


    All of a sudden, Guo Jintao realized that although the person¡¯s eyes were open, they seemed to be in a deep sleep, or perhaps, they were just the likeness of a corpse.


    Since there was no movement from the other party, he turned his head back slowly and cautiously. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All the while holding his breath, until he had turned away, then he began to breathe again with very gentle breaths.


    At this time, Guo Jintao dared not get up, just enduring and watching the time, hoping that the creature behind him wouldn¡¯t touch him, for that would be terribly awkward.


    Fortunately, after about a few minutes, something moved behind him again; the man seemed to sit up and turn over.


    Guo Jintao¡¯s eyes were wide as he focused intently on the movement behind him, feeling the man crawling towards the edge of the bed.


    At this moment, he was certain that the person he had encountered was the very ¡°strangeness¡± Han Zhao had mentioned.


    Without daring to look back, until the man crawled out of bed and left through the door, Guo Jintao immediately sat up and glanced toward the door below ¨C it wasn¡¯t fully closed.


    At this moment, Han Zhao was also awakened by the noise of getting out of bed, his eyes wide and face filled with terror as he stared at Guo Jintao, who was shivering as he slid down from the top bunk.


    ¡°The ¡®strangeness¡¯ is gone; why are you still on the top bunk?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t talk, move in closer, I¡¯ll sleep next to you,¡± Guo Jintao, trembling all over, squeezed onto Han Zhao¡¯s bed.


    The two roommates across didn¡¯t wake up.


    Not until the strangeness returned and crawled back onto the top bunk did Guo Jintao hold Han Zhao tightly, both of them motionless, spending the whole night in terror.


    It wasn¡¯t until the next day that they noticed a large wet patch where the two lay, which, of course, was sweat, not something else.


    Since each of the strangenesses had specific times and locations for their activity, no one else was to be disturbed while recording the videos; it was sufficient for the dorm roommates to work together.


    Aside from Han Zhao, who was pretending to sleep, Guo Jintao held a cellphone, hiding across the bunk to record a video, and another roommate named Zhang Wei was also filming with another cellphone.


    Another named Chen Kun was responsible for keeping watch, for he was short-sighted, and after wearing glasses, his vision was much clearer than the mildly nearsighted Guo Jintao and Zhang Wei, so in the darkness, he could play a bigger role.


    The three on the bottom bunk across from them waited, waiting for around three in the morning, when the strangeness on the top bunk¡ªGuo Jintao¡¯s bed, above Han Zhao¡ªwould appear.


    Since after 12 o¡¯clock, the three waiting individuals had been whispering to each other, but as time passed, they gradually fell silent.


    And Han Zhao, who was sleeping on the bottom bunk, seemed to have stopped moving too, leading Guo Jintao to strongly suspect that this guy had definitely fallen asleep.


    They had no choice but to lie in bed and wait for the strangeness to appear, and with someone else guarding the scene, it was entirely possible to fall asleep as they waited.


    The world wasn¡¯t peaceful now; strangenesses were everywhere, but life had to go on, especially since the appearance of strangenesses wasn¡¯t usually to a murderous, mass-killing extent.


    So, some people¡¯s nerves began to toughen up, and after encountering a strangeness, as long as they didn¡¯t provoke it, some could even ignore it completely.


    The reactions of the people in the dorm room were still relatively normal, so no one was surprised that Han Zhao could sleep, feeling at most that he was too reckless.


    Gradually, when the time reached 2:48 in the morning, not only Han Zhao but also Guo Jintao and Zhang Wei, who were ready to film with their cellphones, had dozed off, sitting on their beds.


    Only Chen Kun persisted, but there was a moment when he too grew groggy. When he suddenly regained consciousness, Chen Kun¡¯s eyes widened as he saw a human-shaped bulge appear under the Summer Quilt on the bunk across.


    Instinctively, Chen Kun turned his head to check whether the other two were still there.


    Guo Jintao, holding his cellphone, was curled up on one side, drooling in his sleep at that moment. Zhang Wei looked much the same.


    Chen Kun quickly nudged the two awake, gestured for them to be silent, and pointed to the top bunk across.


    The two were initially confused, but upon seeing the situation on the top bunk, they immediately became alert, turned on the cellphones they were holding, and started to record without daring to use the flash, just like that.


    A slightly dark image didn¡¯t matter, since post-production could adjust it, and the guys from the college¡¯s computer department weren¡¯t to be underestimated.


    The occupant under the Summer Quilt on the top bunk seemed to move a bit, then turned over, facing outwards.


    This time, the three saw clearly that it was the face of a strange man, and his eyes weren¡¯t closed but kept open the whole time.


    However, with his experience, Guo Jintao already knew that although the man¡¯s eyes were open, they looked as if they belonged to someone dead. Last time when he slept with him, he chose to ignore Guo Jintao, and it was unlikely he would notice anyone filming from below now.


    Wondering whether Han Zhao was awake yet, the strangeness on the top bunk turned over, sat up expressionless, and the whole process was captured by the cellphones.


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 Chapter 190 - 188: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 2)

    Chapter 190: Chapter 188: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 2)


    ¡°`


    Of course, whether Han Zhao is awake or not, the purpose of recording this bizarre video has been achieved.


    The three people in the lower bunk opposite were silent, quietly filming.


    Chen Kun was constantly attentive to the strangeness¡¯s every move.


    Sitting up, the boy lifted his quilt with an expressionless face, wearing only his boxer shorts and a black tank top, and climbed down from the upper bunk.


    His movements were stiff, like they were part of a preset program, with every action executed by the book.


    ...


    Soon, the boy reached the ground, standing in front of Han Zhao¡¯s bed without moving.


    At that moment, the other three didn¡¯t believe Han Zhao could still be asleep. The noise just now, combined with the currently spreading chill, must have surely awakened him long ago.


    The young man stood at the foot of Han Zhao¡¯s bed for several minutes, then turned around. Although the lighting was dim, his face was still clearly captured on the cell phone camera.


    Walking to the dormitory door, he opened it and slowly walked out.


    It was about half a minute later before anyone dared to speak softly.


    Zhang Wei whispered, ¡°Did you see the way he walked? So weird!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not only walking on tiptoes, but even his toes were spread apart, like hands grasping the ground,¡± Chen Kun, wearing glasses, observed closely.


    ¡°It feels as if¡­ he¡¯s afraid of falling over,¡± Guo Jintao couldn¡¯t help saying.


    After waiting a moment, there was still no sound from the hallway.


    Their video was still running, but the man did not return after going out.


    Seeing this, Zhang Wei said, ¡°Should we go out and have a look? Otherwise, we might miss some exciting footage.¡±


    ¡°Big bro, there¡¯s only one corridor outside. If we go out and run into him coming back, do you want a face-to-face hug with him?¡± Guo Jintao said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take a look at the door.¡±


    Chen Kun adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, slipped off the bed without putting on shoes, and ran to the half-closed door. He pulled open the door to reveal the somewhat dark corridor outside and stuck his head out.


    The other two watched his movements. In less than half a minute, Chen Kun reached back and gestured for them to come, turning his head to say, ¡°There¡¯s a street light outside the building. It¡¯s fairly visible. The guy hasn¡¯t come back. Should we go to the washroom and film?¡±


    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m scared,¡± Guo Jintao shook his head.


    ¡°Scared of what? As long as you don¡¯t touch him or block his way, what can he do to you?¡± Zhang Wei jumped down from the bed, put on his shoes, opened the door, and, still filming on his phone, went out.


    Chen Kun still stood at the door, turning back to ask Guo Jintao, ¡°Are you going? Zhang Wei has gone to the washroom. You don¡¯t have to go there. Just film here in the corridor, and you can capture the man coming back.¡±


    After a moment of hesitation, Guo Jintao nodded, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and before leaving, he reached out and gave the still and silent Han Zhao on the lower bunk a pat: ¡°Lil¡¯ bro, your brothers are risking their necks for you, through hell and high water, and you still have the nerve to sleep!¡±


    Without waiting for Han Zhao to respond, he turned and left the dormitory.


    Considering this, they had earlier thought Han Zhao was awoken by the noise of the man in the black tank top getting out of bed, but it now seemed utterly impossible; the guy was truly asleep, sleeping like a log.


    Chen Kun stood by the door, still holding it.


    Once out of the dormitory, Guo Jintao immediately pressed his back against the wall outside the corridor by the dormitory side and aimed his phone¡¯s camera down the corridor toward the washroom.


    ¡°`


    From the video he was filming, one could see that the bravest Zhang Wei, who had ventured out first, had stealthily reached the doorway of the washroom. However, he didn¡¯t go inside. Instead, he squatted beside the door, crouching low, and used his phone to film inside.


    The washroom was quite spacious. The outside section had a row of U-shaped washbasins, accommodating up to twelve people washing at the same time, and the inside area was the toilet, with eight stalls.


    The toilet was routinely cleaned, so it was quite tidy.


    As Zhang Wei reached the outermost entrance to the washroom, he saw the eerie man standing at the door leading to the toilets.


    After filming with his phone for a while, the man didn¡¯t go towards the washbasins but walked straight into the toilet. Then, the sound of a stall door opening and closing could be heard.


    ¡°Could it be that strangenesses also get up to use the toilet in the middle of the night?¡± Zhang Wei listened intently, hesitated at the doorway for a moment, then slowly moved, inching closer to the toilets.


    It¡¯s said that the world never lacks people with a death wish, no matter how dangerous the situation or how dire the circumstances, there will always be one or two individuals who leap out, performing acts beyond anyone¡¯s imagination.


    Guo Jintao, who was standing in the hallway filming, couldn¡¯t believe Zhang Wei was sneaking in and immediately wanted to pull out a 40-meter-long sword, allow the guy to walk 39.9 meters, and then chop him to death with one strike.


    Standing in the hallway to film was already Guo Jintao¡¯s limit, so he couldn¡¯t comprehend Zhang Wei¡¯s actions.


    As Guo Jintao anxiously contemplated whether to warn the guy or simply turn around and head back to the dormitory, his eyes suddenly widened, staring ahead. He broke out in a cold sweat as he saw another unfamiliar black shadow appear right after Zhang Wei sneaked in, following him to the entrance of the washroom.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Wei cautiously approached the toilet door and peeked inside.


    The lights in the toilet were always on, and despite being dim, made it easy to clearly see the surroundings.


    The eerie man had just come in not long ago, and after a quick glance, Zhang Wei noticed that only the third stall from the end, nearest the interior, was closed.


    It was certain that the strange man had entered this stall.


    After some thought, Zhang Wei couldn¡¯t resist the urge to take a historic step closer to the brink of disaster.


    Upon entering the toilet, Zhang Wei¡¯s plan was to run to the side of the third stall from the end¡ªthe fourth stall¡ªto possibly capture even more sensational footage.


    For instance, footage of strangenesses urinating. After all, if he really got such footage, it would most definitely make him a hit on the video platform.


    Many people were particularly keen on doing this.


    As long as it hit the trending list, it didn¡¯t matter whether the livestream involved drinking spicy water or swallowing a large bowl of garlic in one go. There had been people on platforms like ¡°Tremor¡± who had done even more outrageous stunts, and some had even died during a livestream.


    In the end, the goal was fame. Madness was the price of fame.


    After sneaking into the fourth stall, Zhang Wei immediately pulled the door shut behind him with a quick lift, making sure it closed without a sound.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to lock the door, as that would surely make noise.


    Then Zhang Wei crouched down, aiming his phone¡¯s camera through the gap between the stall door and the floor.


    His movements were so practiced, his timing so perfect, and his angle so precise, it was as if he had done this sort of thing many times before. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, tilting his head to look at the screen of his phone that displayed the footage, he froze.


    On the screen, an upside-down face completely filled the frame, staring directly at him on this side of the partition.


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 Chapter 191 - 189: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 3)

    Chapter 191: Chapter 189: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Part 3)


    Zhang Wei had never expected that he had just come in to sneak some photos when he was discovered by the other party.


    Being discovered was bad enough, but he could have taken the chance to run back, yet this guy¡¯s face filled the entire screen, what was that all about?


    This sight frightened Zhang Wei so much that he shivered violently and dropped his phone on the floor, which then slid under the stall partition.


    ¡°Damn it, my brand new Banana phone X plus!¡±


    The person bending over and looking his way seemed as if nothing had happened, straightened up, and didn¡¯t even bother to pick up the phone that had fallen over. Instead, he silently unzipped his pants, apparently really preparing to use the toilet.


    Zhang Wei looked down and saw that the phone had fallen beside the man¡¯s foot, some distance from the poop trough. He clenched his teeth tightly, hesitated a moment, and then reached out his hand.


    ...


    In this situation, if it were Guo Jintao here, he would have definitely turned around and walked away. Still want the phone? He wouldn¡¯t want it even if there were ten phones.


    But Zhang Wei was different, recklessly brave, voracious for money, and desperate to become famous; these were his labels.


    After only a slight hesitation, he decided he had to get his phone back, especially since the guy over there seemed to have only glanced at him momentarily and wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    He reached out his hand, groped around for a while, and Zhang Wei was extremely careful not to touch the man¡¯s foot as he gently grabbed the phone.


    He picked up the phone, slowly moving it back towards his stall.


    The next second, an icy hand grabbed his wrist that held the phone. Zhang Wei froze for a moment as a strong force pulled him violently.


    Zhang Wei¡¯s head smashed against the partition door, and he instantly fell unconscious.


    The icy hand did not let go of Zhang Wei but continued to drag him towards the next stall with a death grip, causing Zhang Wei¡¯s face to be squeezed severely against the partition, completely deforming it.


    In a little while, this guy would likely either have a broken arm or his head squashed.


    Just then, a baton fell from the sky and thudded against the wrist of the mysterious man holding onto Zhang Wei.


    The man immediately let go and stepped back, landing a foot in a puddle. He fell straight backward, his head smashing through the partition door and hitting the step of the urinal across from it. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, Yan Junze walked over, picked up the baton with a look of surprise, and, gazing at the man lying on the ground, muttered to himself, ¡°That¡¯s not right, Chen Rui¡¯an, the task notice says your fall has nothing to do with me. This time it must be a coincidence. Even if I hadn¡¯t hit your hand with the baton, you would¡¯ve fallen anyway.¡±


    After speaking, Yan Junze looked over at Zhang Wei in the other stall¡ªhis face almost deformed, unconscious¡ªand shook his head. He went into the stall where Zhang Wei was, straightened up the poor fellow, laid him down, and then stood in the stall, closing the door behind him.


    About ten seconds later, the man in the black tank top, Chen Rui¡¯an, slowly got up without making a sound, just silently standing up and touching the back of his head.


    At the back of his head a horrifying hole had appeared, the skull fractured, but no blood flowed, as if the wound had been formed a long time ago.


    Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s movements were stiff. He seemed not to remember how he had fallen or whether he had finished peeing. He simply turned around with rigid limbs and walked out of the restroom, exiting the washroom.


    Since he was barefoot and tiptoeing, his toes clinging to the ground, he made no sound as he walked.


    When he left, Yan Junze had already closed the stall door in advance, so Chen Rui¡¯an did not see him and the unconscious Zhang Wei.


    After estimating Chen Rui¡¯an had been gone for a while, Yan Junze crouched down to lay Zhang Wei, who was in a provocative pose, flat again for some comfort, before opening the door and walking out.


    As he left, Yan Junze noticed that although Zhang Wei was unconscious, he was still tightly clutching his regained phone.


    Inside the corridor.


    Having just witnessed another shadow closely following Zhang Wei into the bathroom, Guo Jintao worried about Zhang Wei¡¯s safety, his heart burning with anxiety, yet fear kept him from daring to approach.


    He mustered all his courage and moved forward step by step, inching to about the midway point between the dorm room and the bathroom, still remaining in the corridor, carefully leaning against the wall and observing the direction of the bathroom.


    Right at that moment, a figure flashed past the bathroom door, someone emerged, walking in a peculiar manner as if floating off the ground, moving into the corridor.


    The person wore a black tank top, baggy shorts, and had a vacant look in their eyes, an expressionless face.


    ¡°Is that the strangeness?!¡±


    Upon seeing who it was, Guo Jintao shuddered with fright.


    At that time, he didn¡¯t dare turn around and run towards the dorm; after all, there was only this one corridor, and now that the strangeness had appeared in it, running would make him an incredibly easy target¡ªmaybe he would be chased down immediately.


    ¡°As long as I don¡¯t touch him, don¡¯t confront him head-on, it should be fine, it must be.¡±


    Guo Jintao encouraged himself inwardly and instead moved quickly two steps forward towards the direction Chen Rui¡¯an was coming from, standing in front of Room 505¡¯s door, pressing his body and hiding by the doorknob.


    Although the door of Room 505 was closed, the space by the door didn¡¯t align perfectly flush with the wall¡ªit receded slightly inward, and this recess became Guo Jintao¡¯s hiding spot.


    Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s walk was not only peculiar but also swift, crossing the space with a few light steps.


    Guo Jintao pressed his back against the door of Room 505 behind him as hard as he could, not daring to let out a breath, eyes closed tightly as Chen Rui¡¯an approached, out of sheer fright.


    But after only two seconds, he opened them again.


    He couldn¡¯t help it; Guo Jintao was too terrified. What if, the moment he closed his eyes, Chen Rui¡¯an suddenly decided to harm him as he passed?


    So, he could only squint his eyes; this way, he could stay aware of Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s movements and yet fool himself into a false sense of security, feeling somewhat more at ease.


    As Chen Rui¡¯an neared, the chilling sensation intensified. Guo Jintao, petrified, kept his body completely pressed against the door, not moving an inch.


    Squinting through his eyelids, he watched as Chen Rui¡¯an passed slowly in front of him, feeling the temperature around his body drop suddenly, the sight of that pair of feet gliding eerily over the floor causing a shiver down his spine, a buzzing in his ears.


    As Chen Rui¡¯an passed by, Guo Jintao felt as if the world around him had become surreal, as though he were in a dream.


    His gaze fixated, watching Chen Rui¡¯an walk past him and continue on without stopping.


    Time seemed to slow to a crawl at that moment, so much so that Guo Jintao felt like cursing out of frustration.


    Finally, Chen Rui¡¯an had completely passed by without glancing in his direction.


    Guo Jintao¡¯s heart, which had climbed to his throat, gradually settled down.


    Just then, with a click, the door to Room 511, which Chen Kun had been holding open, suddenly closed.


    Guo Jintao was startled, and now he genuinely wanted to curse.


    As long as Chen Rui¡¯an walked into the dorm and climbed up to the top bunk, this weird incident would have been over, and he never expected that at this critical moment, that kid would actually lock the door!?


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 Chapter 193 - 191: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Final)

    Chapter 193: Chapter 191: The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk (Final)


    Of course, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t really planning to bludgeon him to death with the club, otherwise what mission would be completed?


    Having the club in hand was merely a means of deterrence, to make the guy obediently follow him to the bathroom, rather than waiting for an opportunity to keep splitting his spirit and fulfill an impossible Obsession.


    After following the guy back to the dormitory, Yan Junze was certain that only Han Zhao had been subjected to Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s Spirit-Splitting, and the range wasn¡¯t very large, which is why he decided to immediately resolve this task.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Yan Junze simply reached out his hand and grabbed Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s wrist.


    Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s facial expression was still that of a rigid corpse, his pupils a dull grey haze, and after being grabbed by Yan Junze, he made no movements, just followed and left the dorm.


    ...


    The moment he left, Han Zhao, who had been standing all this while, fell to the ground with a thud, frightening Chen Kun who hurried over to check on him.


    Once in the corridor, Yan Junze didn¡¯t let go of Chen Rui¡¯an; he just held his wrist in one hand and the club in the other, heading in the direction of the wash area.


    Along the way, they encountered Guo Jintao, who was hurrying back. Still hugging the wall as he walked, upon seeing Chen Rui¡¯an reappear in the corridor, Guo was startled, promptly reverting to his old trick by pressing himself against the nearest dormitory door, motionless.


    Watching a strange young man pass by with that Back-faced Woman in tow, Guo Jintao clearly saw the young man holding the club smile at him as they passed.


    That smile nearly made him wet his pants just like Han Zhao.


    Anyway, a guy who could walk and hold hands with strangenesses had to be a strangeness himself, at least that was what Guo Jintao thought.


    After making sure Yan Junze and his companion had passed, he immediately left the door he was sticking to and ran fast toward his own Room 511, diving straight in.


    At this point, who cared about Zhang Wei¡¯s fate? Although that poor guy never came out after he entered the bathroom, his chances were slim to none.


    Yan Junze quickly arrived at the wash area, dragging Chen Rui¡¯an with him and went straight into the bathroom, randomly choosing an open stall and pointing inside.


    ¡°Stand in there and get ready to pee.¡±


    At this moment, he felt like he had transformed into a kindergarten teacher, explaining to each little child the nuances of going to the bathroom as if it were his main professional duty.


    Of course, Chen Rui¡¯an was now a strangeness and could not actually complete the act of using the toilet, meaning he couldn¡¯t pee at all.


    The formation of all this was solely controlled by the Obsession, and if no one helped, the Obsession would persist until the day the strangeness perished for some reason.


    Chen Rui¡¯an walked into the toilet stall mechanically, pulled down his zipper, and made all the moves he wanted to make in front of a big problem before, then just like the previous times, he remained motionless.


    What followed was that he would fall backward, then bump his head on the urinal step outside.


    But not this time.


    After he walked in, Yan Junze quickly reviewed the thoughts he had before deciding to carry out this task, then stretched out a hand and pressed it against Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s back.


    In his mind, his blood seethed, and soon Yan Junze¡¯s face turned crimson with an uncontrollable urge to slaughter all the lower-level strangenesses in front of him boiling within him.


    He did not notice as his body began to sprout dense black hair, and his neck began to contort, slowly turning backward, at an extremely slow pace.


    In his field of vision, he no longer saw the bathroom surroundings, but instead, a new environment emerged as if it were an illusion.


    Unlike the first time the ¡°Fake Spirit Body¡± was triggered, this time the scenery before his eyes was not the lush green grass fields of the outskirts, nor were there any gravesites visible; instead, he saw an abandoned and dilapidated factory.


    The factory was filled with a large number of idle, damaged machines, but not a single person was in sight.


    However, at this moment, a little girl in a red dress ran by, ducking under one of the discarded pieces of equipment. It wasn¡¯t long before the little girl¡¯s head peeked out from the gap, her head tilted as she looked toward Yan Junze.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Confirmed, it was Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er looked this way and quickly crawled out from under the equipment, running on all fours to Yan Junze¡¯s front, swiftly climbing up his body.


    In fact, Yan Junze was well aware that this was the Back-faced Woman¡¯s body. Now he was just sharing the same viewpoint as the Back-faced Woman.


    ¡°Mom¡­ Mom?¡±


    Ke¡¯er, hugging the Back-faced Woman (Yan Junze)¡¯s neck, felt something was off and couldn¡¯t help calling out, obviously seeking confirmation.


    A sudden surge of inexplicable warmth flooded Yan Junze¡¯s heart. He remembered the first time he¡¯d heard Ke¡¯er speak a complete sentence; it was this word, ¡°Mom.¡±


    ¡°Ke¡¯er.¡± Unable to resist, Yan Junze called out. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Ke¡¯er tilted her head, still sensing something off about the Back-faced Woman, and stared eagerly at her mother.


    All at once, Ke¡¯er shuddered, her limbs trembling slightly as she brought her head closer, rubbing her cheeks non-stop on the Back-faced Woman (Yan Junze)¡¯s face.


    Even separated by a great distance, having no idea where the mother and daughter were at this moment, Yan Junze could feel Ke¡¯er¡¯s attachment.


    He closed his eyes involuntarily.


    But the next second, an erupting sensation of burning pain coursed through his veins as if it were about to burst all his blood vessels. The pain brought Yan Junze violently back to reality.


    For a moment, he could feel the air around him twisting in a bizarre way, the previously still atmosphere suddenly becoming distorted, stretched, dispersed, and pulled back.


    Once he came to, Ke¡¯er¡¯s affectionate face disappeared, and the scene of the restroom reappeared in front of him.


    ¡°It¡¯s the change in the magnetic field!¡±


    Yan Junze deeply felt that at this moment, with the Semi-Spirit State initiated by him, although not fully activated, he could still manipulate or slightly alter the strangenesses¡¯ magnetic field.


    Around Chen Rui¡¯an, ripples and distortions originally were present, but now they had been smoothed out by the magnetic field around Yan Junze, appearing almost seamless, their operation beginning to run more smoothly.


    The next second, Chen Rui¡¯an suddenly exhibited a shivering motion.


    It was clear, he was finished.


    Or rather, he felt that he had finished.


    Once Yan Junze was sure, he tried to loosen the hand pressing against his back.


    Chen Rui¡¯an moved slowly, painstakingly completing the subsequent actions after using the toilet.


    Then he turned around slowly; now, Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s pupils were no longer a dull gray mass, seeming to have a hint of color, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly as if he was smiling.


    From beginning to end, he had not spoken a word, just staring at Yan Junze, or more precisely, at the Semi-Spirit State Yan Junze.


    Soon, Chen Rui¡¯an¡¯s body slowly began to turn transparent, bit by bit, until he completely disappeared¡­


    Yan Junze put away the club he held in his hand, his mind still revolving around that clear and controlled feeling of having touched the magnetic field just now.


    But the next moment, his body felt as if it would explode, blood boiling, all vessels bulging, his head buzzing.


    The previously twisted head didn¡¯t turn a full 180 degrees but had still twisted close to half, and the black hair that had grown out had not retracted.


    In this moment, Yan Junze felt an extreme bloodlust.


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 Chapter 194 - 192: Crazy Feasting

    Chapter 194: Chapter 192: Crazy Feasting


    ¡°`


    [The Brother Sleeping on the Top Bunk, Anxiety-Inducing (Part 2), Completed, earned 300 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    The mission completion prompt popped up in his mind, but Yan Junze had no time to pay attention to it.


    Testing whether he could control the strangeness magnetic field in the Semi-Spirit State was an immature idea of his. However, to verify his long-standing speculation, even an immature idea was worth a try.


    Now it was proven feasible to control the field even when the Semi-Spirit State was not fully activated, but it required a significant amount of blood as support for the energy consumed, something he had not anticipated.


    Maintaining his current state, Yan Junze was still lucid, yet teetering on the brink of madness.


    ...


    He growled from his throat, turned back to the outside of the washroom, stepped onto the washroom¡¯s windowsill, and leapt down.


    Even though this was the fifth floor, with some of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s powers, he landed lightly and then rushed off towards the area outside the school.


    To say he ran was an understatement; Junze¡¯s movements were now spectral, his strange surrounding magnetic field distorting his presence, invisible to surveillance. In less than a minute, he arrived outside the school at the doorstep of Ning Shanshan¡¯s clinic.


    This storefront did not have a roll-up door; rather, after closing the glass doors, they were locked with a U-shaped lock.


    Upon Yan Junze¡¯s arrival, his throat emitted uncomfortable growls as if copious amounts of hair were about to burst forth. He simply snapped the U-shaped lock, opened the door, and walked in.


    He found the medicine freezer containing blood bags, took out some animal blood stored there by Shanshan, bit open the bag, and swallowed it in a few large gulps.


    The only two remaining bags of blood were quickly consumed, yet he still felt incredibly agitated.


    Looking around, Yan Junze saw no other blood stored in the clinic, so he quickly left and headed to a restaurant across the street, squeezing his body through the closed metal roller door.


    What was terrifying was that even though Yan Junze¡¯s whole body passed through the roller door, the metal only tore open a small crack, just the length of a forearm.


    This bizarre situation could only be explained by the use of strange abilities.


    Although he was aware of the oddity, Yan Junze had no time to bother with it as he still felt every vein in his body throbbing as if they were about to burst.


    After entering the restaurant, he immediately found the kitchen, walked in, and opened the refrigerator. Besides frozen meat and vegetables, there were also three large bowls filled with coagulated blood, either pork or chicken.


    Without a second thought, he lifted the bowls and gulped them down in thunderous slurps, not bothering to chew, then grabbed the second and third bowls and did the same.


    Although consuming the three large bowls subdued the hair on Yan Junze¡¯s body and his head turned back considerably, he still felt uncomfortable. Thus, he broke through the wall and into the next-door restaurant.


    In the process of breaking through the wall, a small hole was made, and his body squeezed through without any difficulty.


    The second restaurant was much larger. Perhaps there was a reservation for the next day, and the kitchen had just slaughtered over a dozen chickens at night. The chicken blood in the buckets was still fresh, some just beginning to clot.


    Yan Junze walked over, lifted the bucket, and fiercely drank from it.


    After quickly downing the bucket¡¯s contents, he set it down, came to his senses, and felt the hair on his body diminish substantially, his head returning to normal.


    Seeming to remember something, he hurried to the door, twisted off the iron lock, pushed open the door, and strode out.


    Returning to the campus and entering the dormitory building, the feeling of swelling gradually faded, and he felt a lot more relaxed.


    Voices and footsteps echoed from the fifth floor, likely the prodigies of room 511 bringing back the kid who had fainted in the restroom.


    Yan Junze paid them no mind, first went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, then returned to room 411, took off his blood-stained clothes, and threw them under the bed, planning to dispose of them properly the next day.


    Then he found some clean clothes to change into.


    ¡°`


    He moved quietly throughout the whole process, along with the fact that Zhao Zheng and He Bishou were in deep sleep, they didn¡¯t wake up for the moment. Only Huahua, who was sleeping in the bunk above Zhao Zheng, showed no sign of movement¡ªit was unclear whether he had been disturbed.


    After Yan Junze laid in bed, he saw Huahua turn over but didn¡¯t make any other sound.


    Lying in bed for a while, his thoughts were complicated, but Yan Junze was certain about one thing: his conjecture about the application of the strange magnetic fields was correct.


    Being true strangenesses, they definitely couldn¡¯t, like a normal person such as himself, comprehend how to use their own magnetic fields to achieve their desired goal, but instead, they were acting on instinct.


    He, on the other hand, was different. Once he mastered it, he could alter the magnetic fields of lower-grade strangenesses.


    In other words, if he could go back to the past, he would be able to wash Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair. And after washing her hair, Ke¡¯er¡¯s long locks would no longer be in a constantly thick, filthy state, but would become clean, truly clean.


    If only he could frequently use the ¡°Semi-Spirit¡± state, not only just drinking blood to replenish energy but also relying on Different Dimension Energy for sustenance¡­ that would be great.


    ¡°Hmm, Different Dimension Energy? Blood?¡±


    An inexplicable thought suddenly popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind and vanished in a flash; he wanted to grasp the idea.


    But his mind was already getting fuzzy, and a wave of sleepiness hit him. Fatigued, he struggled for a few seconds before still closing his eyes and falling asleep.


    When he woke up, the floor above was in an uproar. The incident with the strangeness in Room 511 had become known to everyone in the dormitory, and even the Academic Affairs Office had sent teachers with security guards.


    But according to the people in Room 511, the strangeness had already been resolved, and it had been resolved by someone named Yan Junze.


    Upon checking, Yan Junze lived just below in Room 411.


    Soon, Guo Jintao from Room 511, accompanied by Director Yuan from the Academic Affairs Office and Captain Wang from Security, arrived at Yan Junze¡¯s bedside.


    Yan Junze had no intention of concealing his ability to resolve strangenesses. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have completed the ¡°Kiss¡± task in front of nine members of the Strange Club.


    After a brief introduction, Yan Junze informed them that he had the constitution of an Exorcist, that he had always encountered strangenesses at home, and had always been able to resolve them well. If they didn¡¯t believe him, they could ask the president of the Strangeness Research Alliance Club, Ma Dun, and he had also just joined the Strange Club.


    Director Yuan was a man in his fifties, small and seemingly shrewd. He nodded and said, ¡°Nowadays, strangenesses are happening everywhere. Although I cannot interfere with your actions, since you are at the academy, you must protect your own safety and not do anything that risks your life or violates school regulations.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded his head. Whatever Old Yuan said, he was just going to agree¡ªthat in essence, he shouldn¡¯t cause trouble for the academy.


    Captain Wang from Security had been silent, but as he left with Director Yuan, he turned his head and gave Yan Junze a deep look.


    Guo Jintao didn¡¯t leave but sat on the bed with a tone that was both grateful and apologetic. ¡°On behalf of everyone in Room 511, I thank you! I¡¯m sorry, we thought you were a strangeness yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Not too different,¡± Yan Junze mused to himself, smiled, but said nothing.


    The other three in the dorm were all looking at him with expressions as if they had eaten something awful. Zhao Zheng and the others had not expected that Yan Junze would possess such a rare talent.


    ¡°Who would have thought that among the new batch of students, there would be an exorcism prodigy!¡± Guo Jintao showed no sign of leaving, with admiration on his face, he said, ¡°Junze, are you acquainted with the Exorcists, that is, the Exorcist team members?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know them,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Damn, big bro, I must cling to your mighty thigh!¡± Guo Jintao was ecstatic.


    ¡°No wonder I felt you came back very late last night in my half-asleep state,¡± Huahua peered from the upper bunk, her head sticking out of the window, looking happily at Yan Junze, with her legs playfully swinging back and forth, like a little girl.


    ¡°Quick, tell us, how did you perform the exorcism?¡± He Bishou, clearly excited, scrambled out of bed and shufflerdly moved closer in his slippers.


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 Chapter 195 - 193: Looking for the Cat

    Chapter 195: Chapter 193: Looking for the Cat


    ¡°`


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the means of an exorcist,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s just that I have a certain special constitution, so I can help strangenesses resolve some issues.¡±


    Fat He looked at him with surprise: ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t have the skills of an exorcist? Then how do you perform exorcism?¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s simple, just help the strangeness complete its obsession.¡±


    ¡°So, you mean you outsmart them, whereas exorcists directly get rid of them?¡± Guo Jintao said.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s roughly like that.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ...


    ¡°I feel like your method is even more awesome! Are you trying to tell us that your IQ can crush all sorts of demons and monsters?¡± He Bishou exclaimed in amazement.


    Zhao Zheng and Guo Jintao grinned, while Yan Junze could only give a bitter smile.


    As if remembering something, Yan Junze looked up at Guo Jintao: ¡°I saw you guys were filming with smartphones, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Guo Jintao nodded. ¡°I was filming, and so was Zhang Wei who got scared and fainted in the restroom, but it seems his phone later fell on the ground, covering the camera, so the latter half didn¡¯t get recorded.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded inwardly; the latter half in the restroom was precisely when he entered the scene with a club. However, even if it had been caught on camera, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. He then said to Guo Jintao, ¡°The video you guys are going to upload, let me check it first.¡±


    ¡°No problem, we¡¯ve already handed it over to the computer science guys who are brilliant at this stuff. It will be edited shortly, and you can watch it before we post it.¡±


    ¡°Which platform will you upload it to?¡±


    ¡°Open Your Eyes,¡± Guo Jintao said.


    Huahua suddenly exclaimed at that moment, ¡°Right, Junze, I¡¯ve always felt like I¡¯ve seen you somewhere before. Did you post a video on ¡®Tremble¡¯ before?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t give away the truth, merely shaking his head.


    Huahua pondered, having felt a sense of familiarity since meeting Yan Junze, but still couldn¡¯t remember why.


    Guo Jintao quickly left to take care of Han Zhao, who had just woken up after experiencing Spirit-Splitting. Not long after, Chen Kun from room 511 came over, holding a USB drive.


    This guy had crushed his glasses underfoot the night before, and was now wearing a pair of spare ones with a lower prescription, so he was squinting because he couldn¡¯t see very clearly.


    It took Yan Junze a while to be sure that he had come to see him.


    Chen Kun handed over the USB to Yan Junze, saying, ¡°Guo Jintao asked me to let you check it first, then we¡¯ll upload it to the platform.¡±


    Yan Junze borrowed He Bishou¡¯s laptop, plugged in the USB, and watched the video. Because it wasn¡¯t shot with a professional camera, the image was a bit blurry. The light adjustment was enhanced in the dark, which made it quite clear to view.


    Yan Junze paid attention to the fact that he appeared twice in the entire video, both times in the hallway on Guo Jintao¡¯s phone.


    In the restroom where he saved Zhang Wei, the latter¡¯s phone camera was facing the ground and didn¡¯t capture him, but the video had some text explanations added to that part, which would prevent viewers from getting confused after watching it.


    ¡°No problem.¡± He nodded, took out the USB, and returned it to Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun was more reserved in character, unlike Guo Jintao. Although he knew Yan Junze was somewhat remarkable, he didn¡¯t show an immediate desire to cozy up to him. Instead, he took the USB back with both hands, politely thanked Yan Junze, and then departed.


    ¡­


    In Tianyi District, inside the Stone Arch of an old-style neighborhood, on the fifth floor.


    A pure white cat climbed onto the bed edge of a fifth-floor home where the window had not been closed.


    ¡°Meow¡ª¡±


    The color of this cat was exceptionally beautiful, with smooth fur, showing that its owner took great care of it regularly.


    It stretched out its paw, licked it, then used its paw to smooth its face. After glancing into the room, the white cat jumped inside.


    A fat old man wearing a white tank top and wielding a hand fan was looking around. He raised his head and seemed to see a white shadow abruptly vanish on the fifth-floor window ledge.


    ¡°`


    The fat old man couldn¡¯t help but call out, ¡°Bai, come down!¡±


    Seeing no trace of anyone, the fat old man walked to the staircase entrance and, gasping for air, began to climb towards the fifth floor.


    There was no one in the room.


    The white cat stood on the table next to the windowsill, looked around, then jumped off the table and, with the graceful steps of a cat, walked into the room.


    There were two computers set up in the living room, lights with stands in front of them, and various devices like microphones and headphones. Aside from that, there was also a bed.


    One side of the bed was lined with clay pots, and at the other end of the pots was a cloth curtain, which presumably hid the room¡¯s bathroom, though there wasn¡¯t a door for the bathroom.


    The white cat approached the row of clay pots and then suddenly stopped. It sniffed one of the pots and immediately, as if smelling some foul odor, shook its nose.


    ¡°Meow¡ª¡±


    Lifting its head, the white cat looked towards the cloth curtain of the bathroom, moved closer by a few steps, and stretched its head forward to sniff the curtain.


    The next second, the fur on its neck bristled, and it made a motion as if to immediately retreat, but at that very moment, a decayed, slender hand shot out like lightning from behind the curtain and pressed down on the cat¡¯s body.


    The white cat bared its teeth and grimaced. Its body suddenly tensed as if being squeezed smaller by the hand, letting out a pitiful scream before being snatched through the curtain, after which there was no more movement.


    Soon, a knocking sound was heard.


    The fat old man, while fanning himself, said gaspingly from outside the door, ¡°Is anyone home? Sorry, my cat Bai ran in here. Could you open the door, please?¡±


    ¡°Mister, who are you looking for?¡± A young man¡¯s voice sounded from behind the old man.


    The fat old man turned his head and saw a familiar face, although he didn¡¯t know the man¡¯s name, he often saw him around the neighborhood.


    ¡°Young man, is this your home? May I ask what your name is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The young man nodded and walked to the door, ¡°My name is Cheng Jingting, I live here.¡±


    ¡°My cat ran into your place; it jumped in from the windowsill. Could you be a dear and open the door for me? Thank you,¡± the fat old man squeezed a smile onto his chubby face. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s eyes quickly darted around, and with an unaffected expression, pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, and went inside.


    The fat old man, still fanning himself, followed into the apartment, but after entering, Cheng Jingting didn¡¯t move far and just stood by the door.


    As the old man came in, he casually closed the door behind him.


    The fat old man looked surprised, and the fan in his hand stopped moving. Ever since entering the room, he felt inexplicably cold.


    Though it was hot outside, there was an indescribable chill inside the room, seeping into his skin, drilling into his bones.


    ¡°Old sir, go ahead and have a look for yourself, see where the cat might be.¡± Cheng Jingting stood there with a smile, reminding him.


    The fat old man glanced around. The light in the room was dim because the curtains were mostly drawn, except for the window through which he had just seen Bai enter, which was open.


    Several corners of the room were extremely dark, utterly invisible from where he stood. The fat old man quickly shifted his gaze back, letting it rest on Cheng Jingting¡¯s ambiguously smiling face.


    Suddenly, he shuddered, shook his head, and said, ¡°No need to look any further, he probably ran out the window again. The little fella never gives me a moment¡¯s peace.¡±


    Having said that, he took a step forward and realized Cheng Jingting was blocking the doorway. The fat old man looked up, forced a strained smile, and said, ¡°Thank you for your help just now, young man.¡±


    ¡°No trouble at all,¡± said Cheng Jingting.


    Right then, from behind the bathroom curtain not far behind him, he heard a series of teeth chattering softly, grinding together.


    The fat old man heard it clearly. Without reason, his scalp tingled, a cautious fear rising in his heart, he stammered, ¡°Please¡­ could you open the door for me, thank you.¡±


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 Chapter 196 - 194: Nurturing the Spirit

    Chapter 196: Chapter 194: Nurturing the Spirit


    ¡°Old man, you¡¯re not looking for the cat anymore?¡± Cheng Jingtian asked.


    To the fat old man, the smile on his face became increasingly unnerving.


    ¡°No, no, old man I am optimistic. What¡¯s losing a cat in the grand scheme of things?¡± The fat old man suddenly shook his fan vigorously, ¡°And let me tell you, the old man naturally has a strong voice, I shout and the whole building can hear.¡±


    As he spoke, his voice suddenly rose several times louder, buzzing in Cheng Jingtian¡¯s ears and stiffening his face, and even outside the stairway corridor, it could be heard clearly.


    ¡°Dad, are you in there?¡± the voice of a middle-aged man came from outside the door at that moment.


    Cheng Jingtian stepped aside and opened the door.


    ...


    The fat old man¡¯s expression brightened as he walked out with his fan, saying, ¡°Son, I didn¡¯t see Bai, let¡¯s look elsewhere.¡±


    As he spoke, he shivered and turned his head to glance at the still door curtain behind him.


    That position was similar to the layout of his home; it should be the restroom.


    After he walked out, Cheng Jingtian closed the door behind him without a word.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, downstairs,¡± the fat old man immediately told his son.


    The middle-aged man, seeing his father¡¯s changed expression, followed with some surprise, ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°That young man¡¯s house is gloomy; there must be something bad in there, or maybe it¡¯s haunted with strangeness,¡± said the fat old man, descending the stairs rapidly while supporting himself on the railing.


    ¡°And Bai? Did you see him?¡± the middle-aged man asked.


    The old man shook his head, ¡°He probably slipped out through the window again. Normally, when he smells me, he comes closer, but the room was too dark for me to see clearly.¡±


    Inside the room.


    Cheng Jingtian stood behind the door, quietly listening to the noises outside.


    Not until the sounds of conversation faded away did he turn around and mutter, ¡°Bai?¡±


    As he finished speaking, his gaze turned to the restroom door curtain, and he walked over to lift it.


    It was very dark inside; other than the area near the door that had some light, deeper parts were not visible.


    Cheng Jingtian spoke slowly, ¡°Come out.¡±


    About five seconds later, something in the darkness moved.


    Then, a frail figure with stiff footsteps emerged, dressed in a gray long dress, hair cascading down. Her features were mostly rotten, whether it was her face or the skin on her exposed hands and feet, all presenting a dreadful white.


    On closer inspection, this whiteness seemed to be coated with a layer of powder, likely from being soaked in a certain white liquid for an extended time, adhering to the skin, and turning into this state after the liquid completely dried.


    When walking, the woman¡¯s lower limbs didn¡¯t bend, remaining rigid, which resulted in her walking posture being extremely creepy.


    When she shuffled to Cheng Jingtian¡¯s front, the woman stopped. The foul smell from her was faint, with only occasional wafts of strong chemical odor, but it wasn¡¯t formaldehyde.


    At this moment, Cheng Jingtian noticed the woman¡¯s mouth was covered in white fur. He shook his head, resigned, cleaned the fur from her mouth, and said, ¡°I only went out for a moment, and you¡¯ve already swallowed a cat whole. If I were gone for half a day, you might just swallow a person whole.¡±


    He turned around and walked to the computer, nudging the mouse, causing all of the computer screens to light up. Then, Cheng Jingting turned on the lamps on both sides of the desktop, illuminating the area around him.


    After sitting down, he said to the screen, ¡°To all the students, today I¡¯m delivering a benefit. I will personally explain how to raise spirits and the precautions one should take.¡±


    At the bottom of the encrypted channel, it showed that a total of 32 channels were connected, meaning that at least 32 people on the other end were paying to watch.


    ¡°Come over.¡± Cheng Jingting finished saying this and then turned his head to give an order.


    The woman¡¯s corpse in a gray skirt moved a few steps forward with rigid limbs, coming into the light.


    Immediately, numerous text dialogue boxes appeared on the computer screen, sent by people watching from different locations at the same time.


    Of course, all the chats were anonymous.


    ¡°This female corpse is so well-preserved!¡±


    ¡°Young Master Cheng, how much sodium ammonia solution did you use? It seems like some areas were not covered and have started to rot.¡±


    ¡°I bet she was absolutely beautiful when she was alive.¡±


    ¡°She still looks good now¡­¡±


    Cheng Jingting smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t have such a morbid taste. My conditions here are insufficient. If you have the means, you can mix sodium ammonia with water at a ratio of 1:100, soak the corpse for about a week, then you can retrieve it. This can prevent the body from rotting and the skin will be as tender as a puff.¡±


    ¡°Can it be like a living person?¡± someone asked, adding an emoji with stars in the eyes.


    ¡°Of course not, all the internal organs are rotten,¡± Cheng Jingting shook his head, ¡°But as long as the corpse is well preserved, it may not be exposed for a short time if it stays among the living.¡±


    ¡°The face of this one is so decayed, it definitely won¡¯t work,¡± remarked one participant.


    ¡°Of course, it won¡¯t work, I just said my conditions here are not sufficient,¡± Cheng Jingting said, ¡°I only applied a coating of sodium ammonia solution to her body.¡±


    ¡°Can raising spirits in this way be similar to ordinary strangenesses that can turn invisible, pass through walls, perform Spirit-Splitting, and intervene?¡± another asked.


    ¡°Yes and no,¡± Cheng Jingting smiled mysteriously, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you a method. If you¡¯re raising other strangenesses around you, try to make this corpse consume that strangeness, what is commonly called ¡®Evil Spirit-eating.¡¯ There is a chance this corpse will become somewhat like a ¡®Semi-spirit,¡¯ similar to what the Exorcists call a ¡®Fake Spirit Body,¡¯ but you need a living person for a ¡®Fake Spirit Body.''¡±


    At this point, Cheng Jingting leaned closer to the camera, his smile looking eerie as he said, word by word, ¡°This type of corpse, we insiders call ¡®Corpse Spirits,¡¯ very horrifying. If you don¡¯t adjust it correctly while making it consume a spirit and fail to make it recognize you as its master, then you¡¯re in for bad luck!¡±


    As he finished speaking, he moved back from the camera and continued to explain the steps and methods of raising spirits. Occasionally, he interacted and answered questions from the audience live.


    About fifty minutes later, Cheng Jingting concluded, ¡°This is just the most common method of raising spirits. Last time, I mentioned raising spirits inside the body. What was that guy¡¯s name? Oh, Lv Xin, who had no choice but to try it out. I want to remind you again, do not attempt anything before you fully understand it! That poor guy was a pity, had a special constitution even better than mine¡­¡±


    After shutting down the encrypted channel, Cheng Jingting, without turning his head, said, ¡°Go back.¡±


    The woman¡¯s corpse in the gray skirt stiffly turned around and walked in the direction of the restroom. Shortly after entering behind the curtain, there was no further movement.


    Cheng Jingting switched to a regular channel, entered his chat room to take a look. He did not start a video link but browsed through some of the conversations of the netizens before exiting the chat room and entered the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± homepage.


    Before long, his gaze settled on a highly-clicked video. It was uploaded by a college student; this fellow had uploaded two videos, but none had as many clicks as this one.


    Minutes later, as Cheng Jingting watched the corridor scene presented in the video, his gaze sharpened after seeing a person passing by, and he blurted out, ¡°A night-wandering¡­ puppy?¡±


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 Chapter 197 - 195: Cheng Jingtings Perfect Plan

    Chapter 197: Chapter 195: Cheng Jingting¡¯s Perfect Plan


    Tianmeng District, a dormitory building of Tianmeng Science University.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity when there was no one in the dorm to call Zhang Xiaomo. Before the call connected, his ears suddenly turned red.


    ¡°Could it be that Zhang Xiaomo is starting to miss me even before the call goes through? Have Three-Star Exorcists really become this powerful?¡± he mumbled to himself.


    Soon after he had that thought, the call connected, and the familiar voice of Zhang Xiaomo came through: ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Were you just thinking of me?¡± Yan Junze blurted out.


    Zhang Xiaomo paused for a moment before replying, ¡°Crazy! It hasn¡¯t been that long since we last saw each other. Why so narcissistic all of a sudden?¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment, and he coughed before asking, ¡°I just wanted to ask if you are in Tianmeng right now, or if you¡¯re out on a business trip.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in Tianmeng. There¡¯s a big case here that I¡¯m working on, so I can¡¯t travel for the time being. What¡¯s up?¡± Zhang Xiaomo seemed to be speaking with someone else beside her. After saying this, she continued chatting with the other person.


    ¡°Nothing much, just wanted to ask you about the Fake Spirit Body.¡±


    ¡°The Fake Spirit Body? What are you planning to do?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°I got a bit curious after hearing you mention it last time,¡± Yan Junze said with a laugh.


    ¡°You, you?!¡± Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t answer, but her tone seemed to be one of suspicion, ¡°I can squeeze an hour out for you. Meet me at the ¡®Time Boat Caf¨¦¡¯ on Minhe Road in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Sister, our college is in the suburbs, half an hour? Let¡¯s see if I can even get into the district,¡± Yan Junze said, but he only heard a busy tone as the call ended.


    As he put down the phone, he knew Zhang Xiaomo had guessed the truth.


    An Exorcist undoubtedly has broader connections than he did, and ever since Yan Junze stayed with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, they had built mutual trust and each found the other quite agreeable.


    The fact that Zhang Xiaomo had phoned him last time to inform him that the Resentful Granny had not been eliminated was enough to prove that she truly cared for him.


    Someone who cared about him could not possibly harm him, and there were no conflicts of interest between them.


    Actually, Yan Junze thought that Zhang Xiaomo might have been suspicious when he inquired about the ¡°Fake Spirit Body¡± over the phone last time. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have followed up with a text to remind him.


    Well, now that she knew, so be it. After all, there would be many opportunities to deal with Exorcists in the future, and it was better to establish friendly relations rather than harbor mutual suspicion or even hostility.


    Being a Semi-spirit and drinking blood was not a proper solution after all, and he needed to find out if there were other alternatives.


    Previously, due to the incident of missing blood bags at night, Dr. Ning Shanshan from the clinic had even made a special trip to apologize to Yan Junze.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the clinic that was involved. The two restaurants by the street also witnessed eerie scenes, but the investigation came to a halt as soon as the police arrived on the scene.


    After all, it was just some animal blood that was lost. Once the issue was reported to the Exorcists and queued up for investigation, someone would look into it.


    As for whether the truth could be uncovered, that was another matter altogether.


    After ending the call, Yan Junze immediately left the campus. He was lucky to catch a bus that had just pulled up to the curb and climbed aboard.


    It was impossible to hail a taxi here; there were none available and, due to the suddenness of the situation, there was no time to use ¡°Papa Cab,¡± so his only option was to sit on the bus and sway into the district.


    Last time, Yan Junze had speculated that the Different Dimension Energy of the Spacetime Atlas could nourish the locked-up strangenesses.


    If strangenesses could be nourished and grow, could his own ¡°Fake Spirit Body¡± do the same?


    If he could absorb the Different Dimension Energy into his body to replace the need for blood, then he wouldn¡¯t need to search for blood bags anymore. Instead, he could replenish his energy through the Spacetime Atlas.


    Furthermore, now that Fang Ning was lurking in his shadow, if he could use the Fake Spirit Body to kill or exorcise her, that would be ideal.


    Of course, these were just Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts. At present, he had no way of doing any of these things.


    At the same time.


    Cheng Jingting was staring at the computer screen, recognizing that the video with ¡°Night Traveling Puppy¡± had finished playing. However, at the end of the video, whether it was the intent of the video¡¯s creator or the act of the publisher, a line of text appeared.


    It was a teaser of sorts, suggesting the audience look forward to the next Spirit Exploration: The Peephole Strange Creature in the laboratory building. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing this, Cheng Jingting couldn¡¯t help but laugh. His eyes shifted subtly as he turned around and approached a row of clay pots, inspecting them before abruptly picking one up.


    The jar contained a large amount of black goo and the creature that had been following him, the woman in the white nightgown from last time. However, now the creature had been mostly refined.


    As he opened the lid of the jar, Cheng Jingting reached in, piercing through the goo and grasped the woman, yanking her out forcefully.


    The creature in his hand had become tiny, roughly the size of a cat, and the once fierce woman in the nightgown now had her clothes and hair all clumped together by the goo, even her limbs tightly coiled up, rendering her immobile.


    Cheng Jingting took her behind the shower curtain in the bathroom. Without turning on the lights, as if familiar with the position where the grey-skirted corpse stood, he passed the nightgown woman over.


    ¡°Eat her up,¡± he instructed.


    The creature in his hands didn¡¯t move, and the grey-skirted corpse didn¡¯t extend a hand to take it.


    About ten seconds later, Cheng Jingting chuckled and spoke again, ¡°If you don¡¯t eat her, I¡¯ll make you suffer through your memories from before you died again.¡±


    Upon saying that, he kicked out with his right foot, landing it squarely on the corpse¡¯s belly.


    Splat!


    A large glob of the black goo erupted from its mouth, splattering on the floor of the bathroom.


    Cheng Jingting then extended the nightgown woman again, ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re hungry now, should be able to eat this time.¡±


    The corpse leaned in with its decaying face.


    With a sly grin, Cheng Jingting let go of his hold.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go,¡± he said, clapping his hands. ¡°After eating her and with the black concoction I formulated in the clay jar, you can smoothly transform into a Corpse Spirit. But first, you need to acknowledge your master.¡±


    With that, he bit into his right index finger, and the fresh blood that seeped out quickly dripped into the mouth of the corpse.


    Turning to leave the bathroom, Cheng Jingting muttered to himself, ¡°Now let¡¯s play a big game, shall we? You like filming, don¡¯t you? Filming from the perspective of a strangeness, wouldn¡¯t that attract more viewers?¡±


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 Chapter 198 - 196 Outsourced Staff

    Chapter 198: Chapter 196 Outsourced Staff


    Minhe Road is located in the South City of Tianmeng, and its location is not very remote, but it is secluded and very quiet.


    The ¡°Time Boat¡± coffee shop is at the end of Minhe Road. By the time Yan Junze arrived, Zhang Xiaomo was already sitting inside.


    Yan Junze checked the time; although he had taken a car as soon as he left his house, he was still almost fifteen minutes late.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait,¡± Yan Junze walked into the shop and sat down directly opposite Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was still dressed casually, with a small cross-body bag that could fit a magnetic knife on the table, sipping a cup of strong coffee.


    ¡°Order whatever you want,¡± Zhang Xiaomo called the waiter over.


    ...


    Yan Junze ordered a coffee casually and, looking at Zhang Xiaomo, said, ¡°You seem unrested, with dark circles under your eyes.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head with a sigh, ¡°Yeah, very unrested. I¡¯ve only slept six hours in total over the past three days.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what had happened, but he didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate to ask, so he just chuckled dryly.


    Zhang Xiaomo took a sip of her coffee and said, ¡°I still have important things to do later. I called you out because I wanted to ask if you¡¯ve become a ¡®Semi-spirit¡¯?¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a wry smile, ¡°Do you have to be so blunt? Couldn¡¯t you have phrased the question more subtly?¡±


    ¡°I just knew it.¡± Zhang Xiaomo lightly slapped the table, ¡°Look at your pale complexion, that¡¯s the first sign of a semi-spirit. Is blood your staple food? How did you become a semi-spirit?¡±


    ¡°I refuse to answer that question,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how you became one, just curious and asked casually. But luckily, I¡¯m quite familiar with you, I investigated your background and knew your nature beforehand, otherwise, you would have to face a strict review by the Exorcist team regarding semi-spirits.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, taking out a copper six-pointed star badge from her bag. The badge had an embossed word ¡°Spirit¡± on it.


    ¡°This is the special badge issued by our incident team for external hires,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°From now on, you¡¯re our special hired staff. Well, there¡¯s no salary usually, only a bounty is paid upon completing a case.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ hired from outside?¡± Yan Junze paused for a moment and didn¡¯t take the copper badge, asking, ¡°What if I refuse? You can¡¯t possibly force me.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled, seemingly unconcerned about him refusing, and said, ¡°With this badge, you can get blood for free and delivered to your home. You don¡¯t have to worry or fear about your secret being exposed anymore. Do you want it?¡±


    ¡°You play hardball!¡± Yan Junze snatched the badge and held it in his hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but cover her mouth and snicker, explaining, ¡°Actually, this thing is all benefits no drawbacks for you. Establishing a good relationship with the Exorcist team is beneficial for you, your family, and friends. Hmm, if someone close to you is in danger, we can prioritize handling it for you.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that easy,¡± Yan Junze firmly shook his head.


    Zhang Xiaomo burst into laughter and said, ¡°Right, if we need help or assign you tasks on the spot, we ask for your full cooperation. You may do your best to complete it, but full effort is required.¡±


    After their exchange, Zhang Xiaomo seemed much happier, her fatigue having vanished. She took another sip of her coffee and added, ¡°Initially, I suggested you join the Exorcist team, which would have required a physical examination, but now that¡¯s unnecessary since you¡¯ve become a semi-spirit, bypassing many procedures.¡±


    ¡°But you just believe I¡¯m a semi-spirit without testing me?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll test you.¡± As if performing a magic trick, Zhang Xiaomo pulled a large bag of fresh blood from her bag, ¡°This is pig blood I just got. Drink it in front of me, and then you¡¯ll pass.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that easy?¡± Yan Junze took the bag, bit into it without a word, and quickly drained it.


    He had been thirsty all day and now there was free staple food; he couldn¡¯t keep the act up any longer.


    After he had finished, Zhang Xiaomo watched him closely for a moment and nodded, ¡°Hmm, your complexion is rosier now. Looking into your eyes, I can confirm you¡¯re a semi-spirit.¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, ¡°Now, try to sense it. Hold the badge in your hand, feel the changes within you.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated but then began to sense it. The badge was originally very cold in his hand, but now it emitted a warm sensation.


    He then felt his blood flow slowing down, and his understanding of his body seemed much clearer. The badge felt like it was emitting some sort of strange energy, very familiar.


    The metabolic rate of the blood consumption in his body was decreasing!


    Yan Junze was elated; this meant he didn¡¯t have to consume blood as frequently. At this rate, even if he drank a bag only every two or three days, it would be sufficient.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze was startled and realized why this energy felt so familiar.


    It was¡­ Different Dimension Energy!


    But it wasn¡¯t entirely that; rather, it was some kind of energy that contained Different Dimension Energy. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t as concentrated as the energy stored in the Spacetime Atlas, approximately only a quarter of it.


    But this quarter of Different Dimension Energy, when released through the badge, could slow blood metabolism, which was unexpected for Yan Junze.


    If this was the case, then it¡¯s indirectly relying on energy to replace blood. Moreover, with the stronger energy concentration he possessed, if it was infused into the badge, the effect might be even better.


    What a pleasant surprise!


    Yan Junze almost couldn¡¯t maintain his expression and quickly secured the badge close to him, nodding, ¡°Right, a bag of blood seems to last me a long time now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the third benefit of joining us,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded. ¡°There are countless more advantages you will learn in the future, and all it costs is helping us complete some tasks.¡±


    Yan Junze almost rolled his eyes. He knew these tasks would definitely not be easy. But, worth it!


    Zhang Xiaomo clapped her hands, ¡°Since you¡¯re getting so many benefits, you¡¯re paying for the coffee this time.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Yan Junze smiled and nodded. ¡°I made some money from video blogging, not just for this coffee. After you complete your task, I¡¯ll treat you to a big meal.¡±


    ¡°Perfect timing, I also need to remind you,¡± Zhang Xiaomo seemed to remember something, ¡°From now on, you¡¯d better stop video blogging. As a specially hired member of the Exorcist team, we have our own rules. Some things might cause widespread panic and even become uncontrollable. So now, in West City, there¡¯s a strict ban on spreading videos.¡±


    ¡°Is it that serious?¡± Yan Junze was surprised, ¡°What happened over in West City?¡±


    Now that he was somewhat a part of the Exorcist team, his earlier hesitations were gone, so he asked directly.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t conceal the information, speaking in a low voice, ¡°A Spirit Bridge has appeared in the outskirts of West City, the fourth one in Great Capital Huaying. Seven days ago, every resident of Mo Family Village died overnight.¡±


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 Chapter 199 - 197 Blockade

    Chapter 199: Chapter 197 Blockade


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s words startled Yan Junze, his face changing as he asked, ¡°A whole village of people, all dead?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    Then Yan Junze asked, ¡°What is¡­ a Spirit Bridge?¡±


    Instead of answering, Zhang Xiaomo glanced at a table about two tables away where a young man in black was sitting, wearing sunglasses and sipping a cup of cappuccino iced coffee alone.


    Yan Junze also turned his head for a look.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be suspicious of him; he¡¯s your colleague now. He came here with me. His name is Zhang Di.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Is he your brother?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Just because he has the surname Zhang, he¡¯s related to me? Then is Confucius¡¯s disciple Yan Hui your ancestor?¡± Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look.


    Yes, the ancient history of this parallel world was basically the same as the one in which Yan Junze was reborn. So there was Confucius, and there was Yan Hui.


    Yan Junze showed an awkward but reasonable smile, ¡°After getting to know you, I¡¯ve found you somehow become more and more hurtful when you talk?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Zhang Xiaomo realized, but her next sentence almost choked Yan Junze on his own saliva, ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it later.¡±


    Then, glancing at Zhang Di not too far away, she introduced him, ¡°He is like you, a Semi-spirit. Initially, a strangeness wanted to devour him, but it just so happened that due to a previous mission, he had been accumulating corpse qi from a Corpse Spirit for about two months, which he couldn¡¯t get rid of temporarily. Later, the dense corpse qi ended up melting that strangeness, turning Zhang Di into a Semi-spirit.¡±


    Yan Junze listened, puzzled, ¡°What is a Corpse Spirit?¡±


    ¡°A creature that becomes a Corpse Spirit after a zombie eats a strangeness,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°It inherits the strangeness¡¯s powers and has the characteristics of a zombie; it¡¯s very troublesome. And its Obsession is complicated. The method you used before, relying on Obsession to solve strangenesses, basically won¡¯t work with Corpse Spirits because they have more than one Obsession. While you have not resolved the first, the second may have already killed you.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°So what¡¯s the main diet of this elder brother Zhang Di?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo laughed, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t guess,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°What¡¯s this Spirit Bridge you just mentioned? It can cause such massive destruction, resulting in the death of all the villagers!¡±


    ¡°We call the Spirit Bridge a bridge that connects hell to the mortal world, because once the shadow of a Spirit Bridge appears, people who once died in that place will be selectively summoned as strangenesses. That means, it could cause a person who died there a hundred years ago, or even a thousand years ago, to appear,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    ¡°Damn, then we¡¯re dealing with old strangenesses!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help exclaiming, ¡°Are there any stronger than Sculpting Spirits?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°So far there¡¯s been no discovery of any above the Sculpting Spirit level; they all fail to reach Ethereal spirit status. But once they appear, there are several, a dozen, or even dozens of old Sculpting Spirits, which are very troublesome. Moreover, our Exorcist squad suspects that it might be the Ethereal spirits causing the appearance of the Spirit Bridges, leading to dangerous strangeness events threatening an entire area.¡±


    ¡°You just said that Huaying¡¯s Great Capital has seen the emergence of four Spirit Bridges so far; we¡¯re the fourth one. Where are the other three?¡± Yan Junze curiously asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo replied, ¡°The other three, one is in Huaying District, one in Tianyi District, and another in Yannan District. The one in Yannan District is the largest and has been sealing off the surrounding area up to now. The fourth one here by Tianmeng side is the smallest Spirit Bridge, but we have still sealed the outskirts exit that leads to West City.¡±


    ¡°What impact did the large Spirit Bridge in Yannan District cause?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help asking.


    Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t talk about it for now, but it¡¯s very serious. The information is being blocked. So I suspect that the business of strange videos is going to become a sunset industry soon, because once the Spirit Bridge outbreak occurs, all these strange videos will be immediately banned.¡±


    ¡°Tang Zhengyi will have to change his line of work,¡± Yan Junze nodded, then asked the question on his mind, ¡°If I keep using the power of a Semi-spirit, will I turn into a ¡®True Spirit Body¡¯, and then it will be game over for me?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo patted his shoulder and gave him an encouraging look, ¡°That¡¯s why I said, this is one of the many advantages of you choosing to join the Exorcists. It¡¯s the same with the hexagonal medal; it can suppress the state when your Semi-spirit power bursts out. You can exert the abilities of a Semi-spirit while effectively preventing your body from being damaged. Of course, if you really want to go all out, you can fully unleash it, but you must stop at the right moment. This kind of thing shouldn¡¯t be overdone.¡±


    Yan Junze listened, dumbfounded. He always felt like Zhang Xiaomo was messing with him, but he had no evidence.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to issue me any weapons? Like your magnetic knife or those Hidden Buckles?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re not really a three-star Exorcist, so you can¡¯t handle the magnetic knife. I don¡¯t have any Hidden Buckles here, but you can use the medal to get them at this address, which I¡¯ll send to your phone.¡±


    After saying that, she tapped on her phone a few times and sent Yan Junze an address in the eastern part of Tianmeng.


    After sending the address, Zhang Xiaomo finished her coffee in one gulp, stood up, and gave a signal to leave to Zhang Di, who was sitting not far away. She said to Yan Junze, ¡°You¡¯ll pick up the tab later, alright? I also ordered two cups of espresso to take away. I have to pull an all-nighter on duty tonight, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you could take care of it.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo hurriedly went to the counter to pick up her to-go coffees, and when she came back, she said to Yan Junze, ¡°By the way, these past few days nearly all the Exorcists from Tianmeng went over to the Spirit Bridge, so there might be no time to deal with the strange incidents in the city or it might take some time to handle them. You need to be careful on your own.¡±


    ¡°Finally, a word of human wisdom,¡± Yan Junze took a sip of his coffee and looked up at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Then Zhang Xiaomo added, ¡°Because we¡¯re going to directly assign you some missions.¡±


    Pff!


    Yan Junze spat out a mouthful of coffee onto the table.


    That Zhang Di also went to the counter to pick up a cappuccino to go. Before leaving, he didn¡¯t express any gratitude to Yan Junze, only gave him a deep, friendly look.


    Yan Junze could only think that the Exorcist team must be behind on paying their staff. They were all poorer than him, a mere student.


    However, this meeting with Zhang Xiaomo did provide him with a lot of crucial information, and he had sort of been formally recruited.


    Well, not exactly. It was compulsory.


    But for Yan Junze, this status was much better than joining the Exorcist team through normal medical examination, at least his many secrets would not be exposed.


    Being externally hired is like being specially appointed, at least there are far fewer restrictions compared to being a formal employee.


    After sitting for a while, Yan Junze settled the bill, got up, and prepared to go to the Exorcist¡¯s rendezvous point to collect blood.


    Having just obtained the official right to take blood, he had to make good use of it. He planned to get several bags of blood. He came out with a black backpack, and he figured he might as well fill it up.


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 Chapter 200 - 198 Hidden Buckle

    Chapter 200: Chapter 198 Hidden Buckle S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unexpectedly, the exorcist¡¯s meeting place did not provide blood, but sent Yan Junze to the blood center of the Third Hospital.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just human blood stored there; they also had a section for animal blood, specifically reserved for exorcists. This made Yan Junze suspect that there were semi-spirits who also needed to drink blood, though probably in smaller quantities.


    This suspicion deepened when he asked the old man in charge of the blood supply to pack more into his backpack, only to be told that they could only provide ten bags at a time.


    Fortunately, these blood bags were large and contained a good volume of blood¡ªall of it pig, chicken, and duck blood.


    It wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle to return to the district center for blood now and then. Resignedly, Yan Junze packed the blood bags into his backpack and was about to leave when he heard the old man addressing him.


    ¡°Last night, our permanent exorcist at San Yi was also recalled. What do we do if there¡¯s paranormal activity in the hospital? Your exorcist team knows, hospitals are hotspots for strangenesses. It wouldn¡¯t do to be without you, especially around the morgue area.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze turned around and said, ¡°I follow the group¡¯s arrangements. It¡¯s probably not just your hospital experiencing this. It should improve in a couple of days. If something happens, you should call first, and whoever the group sends will handle it. It may not necessarily be me.¡±


    The old man nodded, said nothing more, and retreated back into the management room.


    As Yan Junze left the hospital and just stepped outside the main gate, his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. He took it out and saw ¡°47477,¡± similar to the exorcist team¡¯s emergency number, but with an extra ¡°7¡± at the end.


    After answering, a friendly female voice came through, ¡°Hello, Yan Junze, I am He Yun, your liaison in the team.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hello,¡± Yan Junze responded.


    This He Yun sounded like she was in her early twenties but was clearly familiar with the incident team¡¯s procedures. She spoke confidently and wasn¡¯t overly courteous, even though Yan Junze was a semi-spirit.


    ¡°Xiaomo has transferred all your information to me, and from now on, I will be responsible for your communication with the group. If you need to contact me, just dial this number. The system will automatically connect you to me based on your phone number. If there are mission assignments, I will directly notify you.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°If I need something, do I contact you as well?¡±


    ¡°May I ask what kind of need you are referring to?¡± He Yun asked.


    Then Yan Junze felt embarrassed, paused, and said awkwardly, ¡°Although I¡¯m not sure if your ¡®kind of need¡¯ includes ¡®that kind,¡¯ what I meant was concerning material needs, like how many Hidden Buckles I can apply for.¡±


    ¡°Let me explain those to you,¡± He Yun said. ¡°For exorcists below two-star, the group provides the ¡®Sweeper¡¯ Hidden Buckle, which can temporarily clear strangenesses. There¡¯s also the ¡®Chilling,¡¯ which can freeze strangenesses and capture them with a receiver. And then there¡¯s the ¡®Incinerate¡¯ Hidden Buckle, which releases high-combustion phosphorus powder that burns strangenesses when combined with Dimensional Energy. Usually, we recommend using the ¡®Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle since it can directly dissolve the strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Are there higher-level ¡®Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckles?¡± Yan Junze recalled a powerful Hidden Buckle one-star exorcist Huang Chen used against Resentful Granny.


    He Yun replied, ¡°You¡¯re talking about the ¡®High-Energy Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle, which can dissipate higher-level strangenesses, such as advanced Wandering Spirits and affect Semi-Sculpting Spirits. Then there¡¯s the ¡®Super-Energy Burst,¡¯ but due to its immense power and difficulty to produce, it¡¯s provided in very limited amounts¡ªtwo-star exorcists get one only about every half a year, if at all.¡±


    ¡°Do I, as an external contractor, have the chance to get one?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    He Yun chuckled lightly, ¡°Your current benefits are the same as those of a two-star exorcist, aside from a monthly salary¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know, it¡¯s piece-rate pay,¡± Yan Junze added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you the address for material collection in a moment. You can go there monthly to collect your Hidden Buckles. And don¡¯t lose that bronze medal¡ªit¡¯s very important,¡± He Yun advised.


    Not long after hanging up, Yan Junze received a message. He checked the address sent by He Yun, which was the same one Zhang Xiaomo had given him.


    Following the address, Yan Junze made a trip to Tianmeng in the east of the city and took the last bus back to Tianmeng Science University as the sky darkened.


    The bag not only contained ten bags of fresh blood, but he also collected ten Hidden Buckles, among which there were three Sweepers, one Incinerate, five Collapses, and one High-Energy Collapse.


    Just as He Yun had said, Collapse Hidden Buckles were the most numerous, hence they made up half of the count, followed by Sweeper, then Incinerate and High-Energy Collapse.


    There was actually another kind of Hidden Buckle called ¡°Chilling¡±, which was supposed to be used in conjunction with the stranges absorber, but Yan Junze felt there was no need for that; his own ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± could perfectly replace that function.


    The main point was, he needed these Hidden Buckles only for emergency situations and not as the primary method of exorcism.


    Since the objective was to light up all the temporal nodes on the Atlas, even after joining the exorcist team and having access to a variety of exorcism methods, Yan Junze still adhered to one principle during his missions: to primarily deal with Obsessions. Otherwise, without collecting enough Different Dimension Energy, lighting up the Atlas would remain an unattainable goal.


    Hidden Buckles were not essential, but they were a means of emergency.


    On the way back, he made a call to Ning Shanshan asking her to delay the clinic¡¯s closing time by half an hour, as he needed to store the newly-purchased bags of blood at the clinic.


    Ning Shanshan felt somewhat moved by Yan Junze¡¯s trust in her; she agreed without hesitation and sat in the clinic waiting for him.


    Ever since the supernatural events, her clinic at best stayed open a few minutes past eight before shutting down and heading home.


    But this time, it was well past eight forty when Yan Junze arrived with a light jog.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can wait,¡± though Ning Shanshan had clearly been waiting for quite a while.


    Yan Junze took out the bags of blood and handed them to her, and she immediately placed them in the freezer space she had cleared earlier, then pointed to a steaming cup on the counter.


    ¡°Inside is a glucose solution I just mixed for you. Have it, your complexion always looks pale; you must not be in good health. Or at least not well cared for. You can come over for a drink anytime; I¡¯ll prepare it for you in advance.¡±


    Yan Junze lifted the mug and was greeted with a pleasantly fragrant scent. Without overthinking, he gulped it down.


    Indeed it was slightly sweet and bitter, but he could tell for certain Ning Shanshan had added other vitamins to the cup.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yan Junze put down the cup, ¡°How much do I owe you?¡±


    Ning Shanshan rolled her eyes at him: ¡°What money? It¡¯s not worth much. Just come and drink in the future; the money is already included in the storage fee you pay me.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°It¡¯s getting late; let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll walk you home.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect because I¡¯m also scared,¡± Ning Shanshan wouldn¡¯t refuse; as a girl, she was naturally fearful.


    She pointed towards her house, and Yan Junze locked the clinic¡¯s door with her before escorting Ning Shanshan all the way home, only leaving after she safely closed her door.


    Before he returned to the university, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang. It was Guo Jintao from dorm 511 upstairs, reporting that the Peephole Strange Creature rumored to haunt Building 4 had reappeared that afternoon.


    The creature had frightened a teacher who was conducting experiments, and they had reported the incident to the exorcist team. Unfortunately, they had to wait in line. As for the real situation, only Yan Junze, who had just joined the exorcists, knew the details.


    Most importantly, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared and vanished unpredictably. An exorcist had once come to the university and spent three days guarding the lab building, but the creature never showed itself.


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 Chapter 201 - 199: Powerful Different Dimension Energy

    Chapter 201: Chapter 199: Powerful Different Dimension Energy


    Speaking of which, the Peephole Strange Creature hadn¡¯t appeared for about a month; the last time it was seen in Experiment Building No. 4, it was encountered by a student who had just completed an experiment assignment.


    Someone had gone out and forgotten to close the door, and the student, absorbed in his experiment, didn¡¯t notice until he felt a chill. When he looked up, he saw a silhouette standing in the door gap that hadn¡¯t been closed.


    Dark, cold eyes stared straight at him.


    On the spot, the guy was so terrified he wet himself. It was said that he shuddered so violently that the milky white liquid in his test tube splashed across his face, and he eventually climbed out the window, crying and yelling, making his escape.


    Luckily, there was a corridor outside the window; otherwise, the student would have been waiting for someone to come and collect his corpse.


    After their experience with the ¡°Brother Sleeping on the Upper Bunk¡± mission, Guo Jintao, Chen Kun, and others, tasting the sweetness of having their video nearing the hot videos list, started to prepare to film the Peephole Strange Creature which had finally reappeared.


    ...


    Ever since he was warned by Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze also felt increasingly passive about video making. If things turned out as Zhang Xiaomo predicted, this thing might end up as nothing more than a club for the amusement of the wealthy.


    Of course, if those guys wanted to film, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t stop them, but he had no intention of getting involved anymore.


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun seemed excited, but Han Zhao, who had been affected by the Spirit-Splitting before, decisively refused to participate. As for Zhang Wei, he had been lying in the hospital for the past two days because he had hit his head on the toilet stall door after fainting.


    Only now had the swelling on one side of his face begun to subside, but he wouldn¡¯t be discharged from the hospital anytime soon.


    The very next afternoon, there was a lab class, and Yan Junze¡¯s class¡¯s lab session was scheduled on the fifth floor of Experiment Building No. 4, where they had equipment like the magnetic field mapping apparatus and the fixed string vibration apparatus. Usual experiments were conducted on the fifth floor of Experiment Building No. 4.


    With no choice, Yan Junze and the other students were divided into groups in the 501 to 507 labs, and his group was in Lab 505.


    The teacher leading this group was a white-haired old man, who seemed to be a retired professor rehired by the university, his face covered with wrinkles, but he was very kind.


    Standing in the lab, he first gave a nearly half-hour talk about the operation techniques and measurement experiences concerning those instruments.


    After that, they began to divide into smaller groups for hands-on practice.


    Yan Junze was actually quite familiar with these experimental devices, but ever since his arrival in this world and the encounters with the strangenesses, especially the great shock given to him by the Spacetime Atlas, his focus had entirely shifted to the strange magnetic fields.


    He wasn¡¯t so interested in traditional physics research anymore.


    After fiddling with the magnetic field mapping apparatus with the other three, Yan Junze looked up at the white-haired professor.


    The professor went to the side, filled his tea cup with hot water, sat down, and began sipping slowly.


    At that moment, the professor looked up at the door; a second before, a student had left the room, apparently to use the bathroom on the corridor.


    There¡¯s an unwritten rule in Experiment Building No. 4 when conducting experiments, which most people have always adhered to very well.


    That is the habit of closing the door behind you when you leave.


    Because the Peephole Strange Creature had been rumored for a long time, it¡¯s said that during the period when the creature appeared most frequently, nearly every teacher working in the experiment building had seen it. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, the creature would only appear behind the door, and as long as one didn¡¯t interfere, it would disappear after watching for a while, though there were also times when it persisted.


    Once, a door in the laboratory had not been closed properly, and halfway through an experiment, the wind blew it open, but no one noticed.


    As a result, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared. It was said that the experiment began at four in the afternoon and did not end until ten at night.


    Because the Peephole Strange Creature did not leave during that time, and no one dared to close the door, everyone was trapped in the laboratory. It was only after a teacher made a call that another brave teacher came from outside and opened another door, causing the Peephole Strange Creature to disappear from the one that had been open.


    Later, an experiment showed that as long as the Peephole Strange Creature appeared, someone who was brave enough to close the door or open it fully would cause the strangeness to vanish.


    Because an unwritten rule had formed, when the white-haired professor saw that the door was not completely closed, he put down his teacup and immediately went to close it properly.


    Turning around, he saw Yan Junze looking at him. He smiled, raised his voice and said, ¡°Since everyone here is a freshman, let me remind you once more, while conducting experiments in the science building, always remember to close doors when entering or leaving, that¡¯s the rule.¡±


    After the class ended, Yan Junze thought it over. As he would always need to study and live at the school, having the Peephole Strange Creature in the science building was always inconvenient. Now that he had become an unofficial member of the Exorcists, he might as well resolve the issue tonight.


    It would seem remiss if his team were to find out he was here and yet he had done nothing about it.


    Having made up his mind, he called He Yun. Once she answered, he went straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯ve encountered a strange creature. Can I take it upon myself to eliminate it, and then ask for remuneration on a per-case basis from you?¡±


    ¡°You may, but since we cannot assess the level of the event, we can only pay you the remuneration for the lowest level,¡± He Yun said.


    ¡°What is the lowest level?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Level F,¡± He Yun replied.


    ¡°How much money?¡±


    ¡°Two thousand yuan. After killing the strange creature, use the badge to absorb some of its residual strange energy. You can collect the remuneration once you bring it to us for verification,¡± He Yun explained.


    Yan Junze nodded. He Yun had previously told him exactly how to use the badge, but he realized that the strange energy was probably not much different from the Different Dimension Energy in his Spacetime Atlas.


    In that case, if he were short on cash, he could just absorb some of the Atlas¡¯ energy into the badge, and then exchange it for remuneration upon verification by the event team.


    Thus, this Different Dimension Energy could now not only be exchanged for his staple food but also for money, making it a panacea.


    However, upon further thought, things did not seem as promising as he had first imagined.


    Logically, each strange creature would have its unique Different Dimension Energy, with subtle variations. But once absorbed by the Atlas, these differences would be assimilated, meaning the Atlas would convert it into the same pure Different Dimension Energy inside it.


    And the Hexagonal Star Badge¡¯s recognition of each strange event was precisely based on these subtle differences between creatures. If he were to consistently use the energy from his Atlas to imitate the different strange energies collected after completing tasks, hence earning remuneration, the Strange Event Team would eventually notice something amiss.


    Doing it once might be okay, but in the long run, it would not be to his advantage.


    Yan Junze was very clear about this.


    After hanging up the phone, he went to the cafeteria to get some food, eating only a little since with the badge, his blood food¡¯s metabolism was very slow, and he did not feel very hungry.


    Then he sat in his dormitory, quietly waiting for nightfall, ready to deal with the Peephole Strange Creature tonight.


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 Chapter 202 - 200: Peeping at the Door (Part 1)

    Chapter 202: Chapter 200: Peeping at the Door (Part 1)


    While waiting for nightfall, Yan Junze suddenly remembered a question: if the Hexagonal Star Badge could suppress his digestion of staple foods, then maybe his metabolism in other areas had also slowed down.


    For example, going to the bathroom.


    Having thought about it, he realized that it seemed like he hadn¡¯t had a bowel movement in two or three days.


    Even urination, which he usually didn¡¯t pay attention to, seemed to have happened only once today.


    This is bad, Yan Junze¡¯s heart clenched. He didn¡¯t want to become an Undying Zombie. If he no longer needed to eat, drink, eliminate, or sleep, how could he continue to live?


    With apprehension in his heart, night descended.


    ...


    Now, unless it was a critical study period, the academy generally didn¡¯t arrange evening self-study sessions or activities that required nighttime attendance. The last to close in the entire academy was only the library.


    After waiting a bit longer, making sure there were few students on the road, Yan Junze left the house and headed directly for the fourth experimental building.


    The weather these past few days had been quite good for him, without a hint of moonlight.


    That is to say, Fang Ning had no chance of showing up.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t bring an umbrella and went straight to the experimental building, only encountering a couple that seemed to be students on the way.


    But upon entering the fourth experimental building, he saw no one at all.


    Actually, at this time, there were still people conducting experiments in the other experimental buildings, but this one was utterly empty.


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance to the stairs for a while, making sure no one was around. He then took a stroll around the first floor, and nothing seemed out of place.


    He also didn¡¯t turn on the flashlight on his phone; instead, he directly climbed to the second floor and started walking through it, quickly passing each laboratory and office, still finding nothing.


    He paused for a moment before continuing up to the third floor. He didn¡¯t use a flashlight the entire way. Although there wasn¡¯t any distinct moonlight, it wasn¡¯t pitch-black either. At this moment, Yan Junze could still see his surroundings.


    And if he turned on a flashlight inside the building, people passing by outside would be able to see very clearly.


    If he used a flashlight despite the lights being off, it could easily arouse the suspicion of passersby and attract the security of the academy.


    Time passed quickly, and after he finished walking through the third floor, he immediately proceeded to the stairs leading to the fourth floor.


    At this point, Yan Junze was beginning to doubt whether he would successfully encounter the Peephole Strange Creature, because there had been Exorcists who came before, but they left the entire experimental building without finding anything.


    So, it wasn¡¯t impossible.


    He was halfway up the stairs, turning a corner when a task prompt suddenly appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Task Name: Peephole;


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);


    Task Background: In life, he had possessed exceptional expertise in geometry, and as a math genius, he died due to an accident. Unwilling to accept his fate, he sought resurrection. However, his strong Obsession led him into a scenario he couldn¡¯t escape. Now, he is continuously looking for the chance, waiting for rebirth;


    Task Description: Make him realize that resurrection is impossible for him, although it¡¯s feasible, it merely requires a heavy price;


    Task Reward: 800 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Penalty: He might try to use your body for resurrection;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Lockdown; 2. Although you can see him, he exists in a very geometric world;


    Remarks: He is not a Possession Spirit.]


    Standing at the stairwell corner, Yan Junze perused the task prompt inside his mind at lightning speed, then his gaze settled on the task reward section.


    He hadn¡¯t expected the level of the task to be so high, reaching the degree of ¡°Trembling with Fear (High)¡±.


    One should know that the last ¡°Trembling with Fear (high)¡± level task was the ¡°Evil Spirit-eating¡± task.


    And in that task, there was the presence of entities like Resentful Granny that were of the Semi-Sculpting Spirit level.


    Could the Peephole Strange Creature in this task have already reached the Semi-Sculpting Spirit level?


    On second thought, it seems improbable.


    For starters, according to Yan Junze¡¯s current understanding, this strangeness hasn¡¯t hurt anyone yet; those people have just scared themselves.


    However, looking at it from another angle, this fellow has been standing behind the door peeping. Indeed, it could make one¡¯s hair stand on end, and it¡¯s impossible not to get scared.


    Usually, a task¡¯s level will include some necessary conditions to determine it, like the task¡¯s strangeness being extremely powerful, fierce, or difficult to deal with, or the obsessions are hard to solve, or perhaps the conditions required to complete the task are very intricate.


    In any case, tasks of the ¡°Trembling with Fear¡± level are somewhat troublesome.


    Of course, that is speaking of Yan Junze, the ¡°Merciful Executioner¡± whose main approach is to resolve the other party¡¯s obsession.


    If it were other powerful exorcists, they would be the true incarnation of executioners. A wrong word said or just the discovery of the strangeness would immediately result in them eradicating or capturing it.


    Merciful Executioner?


    Yan Junze thought about this apt description of himself and couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips and give a smile.


    No matter what, he had already decided to complete this task.


    Continuing up the stairs and standing inside the stairwell on the fourth floor, he did not rush over but looked around instead.


    This place only had a bathroom door facing him; however, the bathroom was closed. If that strangeness was on this floor, there was no door gap for it to appear through.


    Yan Junze took steps toward the corridor. Who would have known that just after taking four or five steps, a flash of light passed through the window of a lab not far ahead in the corridor, and then it disappeared quickly.


    Yan Junze immediately pressed his back against the wall, hugging the wall closely, trying to conceal his presence as much as possible.


    He had seen that flash of light very clearly just now; it was from a flashlight. Obviously, there was someone in the lab, and this person was using a flashlight instead of turning on the lights. This made it plain that the person inside was up to something secretive.


    Soon after, Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    The person inside must be out of their mind. If they keep flashing that light a few more times, they¡¯ll eventually be discovered by the people outside the building. If that attracts security guards, not only will that person be done for, but Junze would be dragged into it as well.


    With that in mind, Yan Junze prepared to abandon the action tonight.


    At this time, to be engaging in these kinds of sneaky acts inside the lab building, apart from people like himself, there could only be thieves.


    There was no choice. Under these circumstances, not going to the security office to report it would be letting Yan Junze down after all the effort he went through to make it here tonight.


    Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Yan Junze suddenly paused. He considered another possibility.


    The person might not actually be a thief.


    Just then, voices came from that lab, very faint, but still somewhat audible. It was a dialogue between two people. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In this lab, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun stood on opposite sides, each holding a flashlight. They both had their cell phones on, with the cameras recording.


    Besides them, there was no one else.


    Zhang Wei was still hospitalized, and after being Spirit-Split once, Han Zhao completely lost his nerve and refused to come this time, no matter what.


    Next to where Guo Jintao stood, there was a door to an equipment room inside this lab; it was currently closed.


    At this moment, Guo Jintao nodded at Chen Kun, signaling him to be attentive, and spoke, ¡°Get ready, I¡¯ll open this door a little bit, leave a crack. You have to record everything thoroughly.¡±


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 Chapter 203 - 201: Peeping at the Door (Part 2)

    Chapter 203: Chapter 201: Peeping at the Door (Part 2)


    Chen Kun didn¡¯t say anything, he just made a gesture and aimed his smartphone camera at the door next to Guo Jintao.


    Guo Jintao reached out his hand, gently turned the doorknob, and then pushed the door partly open, creating a gap about three fingers wide.


    He didn¡¯t let go immediately, instead, he steadied the door to prevent it from closing on its own.


    About seven or eight seconds later, feeling the door wouldn¡¯t move anymore, he withdrew his hand.


    The moment he pulled his hand back, Guo Jintao quickly moved away from the open door and came over to stand with Chen Kun.


    Both of their smartphone cameras were aimed at the partly open door, and both of their flashlights were shining on it too.


    ...


    ¡°Legend has it there¡¯s a Peephole Strange Creature in our experiment building,¡± Chen Kun began, ¡°Although you and I have never encountered it, many students and teachers have had firsthand experiences with it.¡±


    Guo Jintao continued, ¡°The appearance of this Peephole Strange Creature is very mysterious. If there¡¯s any door within the building not completely shut, just ajar, there¡¯s a certain chance it will appear. Moreover, when it does appear, it just stands behind the gap, peering out with its eyes at everything outside, as if¡­¡±


    ¡°As if it has never attacked anyone.¡± Chen Kun immediately interjected, ¡°Its peculiar habit is to spy; if you don¡¯t want to see this creature again, you can either go and fully open the door or shut it directly, and it will vanish without a trace.¡±


    ¡°So¡­tonight, we bring everyone to the scene for an adventure, eagerly anticipating the appearance of the Peephole Strange Creature!¡± Guo Jintao finished his last sentence.


    Both of them fell silent, their flashlights illuminating the entrance to the equipment room, their smartphone cameras continuously filming in that direction.


    After waiting like this for about four minutes, a black shadow flashed past the doorway.


    Since the light from the flashlight was temporarily blocked for about half a second by this shadow, it was certain that something had moved past the door.


    Guo Jintao was startled and turned to look at Chen Kun, noticing that Chen Kun was also looking at him.


    ¡°What was it? Did you see clearly?¡± asked Chen Kun.


    Guo Jintao shook his head, ¡°Could it be a cat inside? The shadow seemed rather small to me.¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± Chen Kun shook his head, ¡°Where would a cat come from here? You think this is a movie set or something!¡±


    Just as he finished speaking, the flashlight illuminating the gap could no longer penetrate. It was clear that something seemed to be blocking the gap.


    Chen Kun had already put on a new pair of glasses, now with 5.2 vision through his lenses he could see very clearly. He nodded, ¡°I¡¯m certain someone is there.¡±


    Their flashlights moved upwards, and soon, at the height where a person might stand, a sliver of light reflected back the flashlight¡¯s beam. The reflection was faint, but it was still captured by the smartphone cameras.


    The Peephole Strange Creature had appeared!


    A man about 1.6 meters tall was standing behind the door of the equipment room, clad in black clothes, motionless, with only one eye revealed, peering at the activity outside the door.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, this person did not avoid the light but continued standing there, completely still and silent, like a statue.


    Because of the slight distance, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun couldn¡¯t see very clearly, and if they tried to zoom in with their smartphone cameras, the slightest shaking of their hands would cause the footage to become extremely shaky and blurry.


    So the two of them walked shoulder to shoulder a few steps forward, bringing themselves closer to the Peephole Ghost to get a clearer shot of its appearance.


    Even if only half a face could be captured, that would be fine.


    As they drew closer, the figure of the man standing behind the door became clearer. His black attire was of an indiscernible material, revealing only about a quarter of his face. The exposed part of his skin was a grayish-white color, clearly not the hue of living human flesh.


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun couldn¡¯t help but stop, inching their phones forward to capture a clearer shot.


    Now, they could almost see the eyes of the man behind the door, which appeared to be constantly open, never blinking, and covered with a thin layer of gray film.


    The figure was utterly still.


    Just moments after approaching, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun felt an intense chill, though they were still ten steps away. The area behind the door felt like a different world, distinct from the one where Guo Jintao and Chen Kun stood.


    Soon, they couldn¡¯t help but shiver, goosebumps breaking out on their skin.


    ¡°Everyone, take a look. You should see it quite clearly now. This is the Peephole Strange Creature, a sinister man who induces hair-raising fear,¡± Guo Jintao said softly, suppressing his tremor.


    ¡°We two are risking our lives to bring you this close-up video of a ghost, so we hope everyone will generously reward, like, and share, because we will have even more contact to come,¡± Chen Kun added.


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn,¡± said Guo Jintao, turning his head.


    ¡°No way,¡± Chen Kun shook his head, ¡°You do it. If I get nervous and start running, I might lose my glasses again, and then I¡¯ll be blind as a bat.¡±


    Without waiting for Guo Jintao to respond, Chen Kun murmured to himself, ¡°Next, we will walk over there and close the door, and we¡¯ll be filming the whole process. After the door is closed, this Spirit Exploration will be over. Rest assured, there have never been any reports of the Peephole Ghost harming anyone or running out from inside,¡±


    Guo Jintao didn¡¯t move but mumbled for a while before saying, ¡°You go ahead. As you know, I used up all my courage just opening the door earlier. It¡¯s only fair that you close it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re impossible,¡± Chen Kun had no choice.


    He shook his head and said to Guo Jintao, ¡°Make sure you film properly. Don¡¯t let my back block the camera angle. Move over a bit.¡±


    Then, Chen Kun handed his flashlight to Guo Jintao to hold together, and he, holding the recording phone, approached the equipment room door and drew closer to the Peephole Ghost. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the meantime, Guo Jintao immediately moved to the side, ensuring his filming was unobstructed by Chen Kun. He perfectly captured the scene of him walking over and the dull expression and eyes of the man behind the door slit.


    With light footsteps, Chen Kun reached the door. As he drew near, his hair stood on end, and he felt numb all over. He dared not delay any longer or say a couple more pretentious words to the camera.


    He immediately grabbed the door handle and pulled it slightly toward himself. The door began to move, reducing the gap in the door slit by a fraction.


    At that moment, the man behind the slit remained motionless, proving he didn¡¯t reach out to harm the person closing the door.


    It seemed that the rumors spreading throughout the academy were true, not just exaggerations.


    Chen Kun didn¡¯t hesitate any longer, but he also dared not act hastily; he slowly and gently closed the door to the equipment room.


    The slit in the door vanished completely.


    Both of their cameras were aimed at this moment, observing the man in black behind the door disappearing bit by bit.


    Almost at the same moment as the door closed, neither of them noticed that the laboratory door leading to the corridor outside, which had been securely closed and even locked by Guo Jintao, was slowly opening inward.


    There was no sound as the door opened.


    Similarly, after the door was opened about the width of three fingers, it stopped moving. The direction of the door slit was perfectly aligned with the backs of Guo Jintao and Chen Kun, who had just closed the door to the equipment room.


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 204 - 202: Peeping at the Door (Part 3)

    Chapter 204: Chapter 202: Peeping at the Door (Part 3)


    These two guys had just closed the door to the equipment room, sighed with relief, and were certain that the door was securely locked.


    The ¡°Spirit Exploration¡± mission was complete.


    At this moment, the two immediately felt an uptick in their cool factor, smiling broadly as they turned their phones around to speak into the camera, wrapping up their video.


    Thanking CTV, MTV, and their parents for giving birth to them and raising them to become outstanding amateur ¡°Spirit Investigators.¡±


    Guo Jintao even took the opportunity to thank his ex-girlfriend for thinking little of him and suggesting they break up. At the time, he had unashamedly begged her to get back together, but now, looking back, he felt it was right not to. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to become the ¡°Spirit Exploration¡± trendsetter he was today.


    As he finished saying this, and was about to give his thanks to the tall, handsome guy who had cuckolded him, he suddenly realized that it had become very quiet around him.


    ...


    That made no sense.


    You have to understand that while he was thanking, Chen Kun had also been talking. Just a moment ago, Guo Jintao had heard the guy thanking the old hen at home, grateful for the egg it laid every day which allowed him to eat an egg daily, attributing his sharp mind to this¡ªdespite having slightly crossed and short sighted eyes, with a touch of astigmatism.


    Turning his head around, he found Chen Kun staring blankly at the laboratory door, phone put aside, with only the flashlight in his hand pointing towards the door.


    Puzzled, Guo Jintao turned around to look at the door, directing his flashlight there as well.


    The door, which had been securely locked by himself just moments ago, leading out to the corridor, was now open. What¡¯s more, after opening inward, it revealed a crack about three fingers wide, directly facing the direction where they stood.


    And at that moment, when the beam of the flashlight shone toward it, it failed to penetrate through the crack to illuminate the corridor outside.


    The only reason it couldn¡¯t reach outside the hallway was that someone had approached it.


    Soon, a familiar figure appeared at the door, standing outside the crack, leaning close with a head, and peering into the room through the gap with one eye.


    It was an eyeball covered with a gray film.


    Buzz!


    Guo Jintao and Chen Kun¡¯s minds roared in unison, blank for a moment.


    Guo Jintao even stumbled backward several steps, nearly sitting down on his backside.


    He had never imagined that the door leading to the corridor, which was locked, could be opened. And why, after opening just a three-finger-wide crack, was it just like before? And then, the ¡°Peephole Strange Creature¡± they had just trapped inside the room appeared in the corridor almost instantly afterward.


    Yes, it was that ¡°Peephole Strange Creature.¡±


    No sooner had they closed the door of the equipment room on this side than the ghost had appeared outside in the corridor, looking through the crack behind the laboratory door. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chen Kun was a bit more composed than Guo Jintao. After regaining his senses, he stepped forward shakily, illuminating with his flashlight again, and found the ¡°Peephole Strange Creature¡± still maintaining the same pose, motionless, peering through the crack at both him and Guo Jintao.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, didn¡¯t you lock the door just now?¡± Seeing that the ¡°Peephole Ghost¡± only maintained the pose without any other movement, Chen Kun boldly turned to Guo Jintao to ask.


    Guo Jintao nodded, ¡°I¡¯m sure, I really locked the door, but now it¡¯s open, and I didn¡¯t hear the sound of the lock being turned.¡±


    ¡°Close¡­ close¡­ close the door, we must close the door,¡± Chen Kun pointed at the cracked door.


    Guo Jintao immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, ¡°I¡¯m not going, you close it; I don¡¯t dare to go there.¡±


    ¡°You coward!¡±


    Chen Kun was fuming, as it was he who had closed the door of the equipment room just before, but he knew it was of no use talking to Guo Jintao now, as the guy had already chickened out.


    Turning to look back at the door crack and the eye within it, Chen Kun shivered, but still bravely walked forward.


    It seems that growing up eating eggs from the old hen at home truly made him braver than most, and unlike Zhang Wei, who though daring, was also prone to courting disaster.


    Holding his phone, continuing to film with the camera, he slowly approached and said, ¡°Just now, everyone saw that the ¡®Peephole Strange Creature¡¯ reappeared from the door behind us. Hmm, accurately speaking, from outside the door, because the corridor is out there, and this ¡®Peephole Ghost¡¯ is now standing outside in the corridor, peeping at me and my cowardly little buddy.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Chen Kun continued, ¡°Now¡­ I¡¯m going to close this door again, not allowing this guy to spy on us anymore because his presence is really making my skin crawl.¡±


    With that, he had reached the door.


    With the experience of closing the door just before, Chen Kun did not hesitate this time. He grabbed the doorknob, his movements light and swift as he pulled the door closed, and a click signified the door was locked.


    And from the moment he grabbed the doorknob to the instant he closed the door, his attention remained fixed on the man behind it.


    But just like before, the peeping man did not move an inch, allowing Chen Kun to shut the door, rendering him unseen.


    At the same time, the door to the equipment room slowly opened inwards, silently.


    However, at that moment Guo Jintao had taken a few steps back, which put him parallel to the direction of the equipment room door. The corner of his eye seemed to detect something amiss, and he shone his flashlight over while turning his head to look. He was so startled that he let out a loud ¡°Ah!¡± and fell to the ground, scrambling towards Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun, startled by the sudden scream, turned around sharply, only to see an eye pressed up to the gap in the door of the equipment room, about three fingers wide, staring straight at him with a membranous pupil.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Chen Kun exclaimed, stepping back in fright and bumping into the recently closed door of the lab.


    By this time, Guo Jintao had crawled over, trembling as he stood up and grabbed Chen Kun, stuttering, ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­ go, let¡¯s leave right now, forget about¡­ that guy, don¡¯t bother closing¡­ the door, just leave like this, quick!¡±


    Chen Kun also realized that something was off and quickly turned to grab the door handle leading to the corridor outside, twisting it forcefully but it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Then he pulled and pushed, still without any reaction.


    At this moment, the door of the lab seemed to be locked by some unseen force.


    The Peephole Strange Creature inside the equipment room was still watching them, not making any other moves, just staring silently.


    The two of them panicked, jumping around, but with no way to open the door.


    ¡°Out the window!¡± Chen Kun suddenly said.


    They immediately ran to the window and pushed, only to find it immovable. Looking down, they realized that all the windows had been deliberately nailed shut.


    Chen Kun turned and took a close look at the lab, cursing, ¡°You wimp, look at the place you picked. All top-notch equipment not meant for ventilation, these lab windows can¡¯t be opened at all!¡±


    ¡°Ah, what do we do now?¡± Guo Jintao asked, shivering as he glanced back, noticing that the Peephole Strange Creature was still watching them. He quickly said, ¡°Smash it, smash the glass, break the window and we can get out!¡±


    ¡°Smash your sister!¡± Chen Kun couldn¡¯t contain his anger, ¡°Do you really want us to get penalized, delay graduation for a year or maybe not even graduate? You do the smashing then.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, then what?¡± Guo Jintao became frantic.


    Chen Kun looked toward the man behind the door who was not making any moves, just silently staring, and pondered, ¡°This strangeness only makes my skin crawl, but it doesn¡¯t harm anyone. I¡¯m going to close the door to the equipment room now, but at the same time you hold down the door leading to the corridor outside. Then, after I¡¯ve closed that one, come and try to open it. Otherwise, we can¡¯t get out at all.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No problem,¡± agreed Guo Jintao, immediately heading to the door of the lab and grabbing the doorknob.


    Meanwhile, Chen Kun also immediately went toward the door of the equipment room, no longer bothered by the person peeping from behind it, telling Guo Jintao, ¡°Hold it tight.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he shut the equipment room door, isolating the Peephole Strange Creature behind it.


    At the same time, Guo Jintao felt the door leading to the corridor outside moved slightly. A force beyond any resistance appeared, automatically pushing the door inward.


    Guo Jintao was startled and immediately tried to resist the door desperately, but it was futile.


    Shortly after, the door opened again to a gap three fingers wide and then stopped. A shadowy figure appeared outside the door, slowly approaching the gap.


    Frightened, Guo Jintao quickly ran away, yelling, ¡°Can¡¯t cover it, damn this coffin board, it cannot be covered.¡±


    Chen Kun became increasingly irritated and said sternly, ¡°If we can¡¯t close it then open the door. Didn¡¯t they say that once we encounter this guy, we can both close and open the door? I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    He walked over in a few strides.


    Just as the shadowy figure and the eerie eye was about to peek through, Chen Kun reached the door and pulled it wide open.


    The figure in black, which should have been fully visible upon opening the door, disappeared in an instant.


    But when Chen Kun opened the door, he was stunned by what he saw.


    Instead of the corridor, the opened door revealed the same setting and furnishings as the equipment room.


    At the exact same moment, Yan Junze had just arrived outside the corridor, approaching the room, when the door as if pulled by someone swung open violently, startling him. He tilted his head to peer inside.


    The door was open, but there was no one at the entrance, nor anyone in the lab.


    It was empty.


    Yan Junze paused at the doorway, puzzled. He did not rush in but instead carefully recalled the past moments.


    There was no mistake, he had indeed heard voices from this lab, and the flash of flashlight light he saw was also from within this room.


    How could there be no one?


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 205 - 203: Peeping at the Door (Part 4)

    Chapter 205: Chapter 203: Peeping at the Door (Part 4)


    Standing in the laboratory, Chen Kun looked at the door that had just been opened in front of him. The door, which originally led to the corridor outside, now revealed the scene from the equipment room behind him when opened.


    He had an expression like he¡¯d swallowed shit, his neck stiff as he turned his head to look at Guo Jintao.


    Guo Jintao was still gasping for air, breathing in sharply, and Chen Kun seriously doubted whether this guy might just keel over and drop dead right there.


    Ignoring Guo Jintao, Chen Kun reached out, grabbed the door handle, and quickly shut the door.


    He strode into the room and then grabbed the handle of the door leading to the equipment room, twisting it forcefully and pushing the door open.


    It was still the same equipment room, with no changes.


    ...


    Chen Kun stood there for a moment, steadying the doorknob. He turned his head back to Guo Jintao and shouted, ¡°Quick, go open the lab¡¯s door and take a look. I¡¯ll hold this one steady here.¡±


    Although Guo Jintao was thoroughly spooked, he knew the situation was very bad. He mustered his courage, walked to the laboratory door, reached out, and pulled, but the door did not budge.


    ¡°Can¡¯t open it, it¡¯s like it¡¯s locked tight,¡± Guo Jintao said.


    ¡°But that can¡¯t be, I just closed it; I didn¡¯t lock it,¡± Chen Kun said, puzzled.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t lock it, but it won¡¯t open,¡± Guo Jintao confirmed that the door lock was normal, his face stricken with horror.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Chen Kun closed the door to the equipment room and said, ¡°Try again now.¡±


    Guo Jintao nodded, exerted force with his hand, and just as he did, the door was pulled open.


    He quickly stuck his head out to look outside the door and then twisted his head back, his expression even more terrified.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Chen Kun asked.


    Without speaking, Guo Jintao widened the door so that Chen Kun behind him could see clearly.


    Chen Kun immediately shone his flashlight through it, only to find that what lay beyond the door was not the corridor but the equipment room again.


    ¡°It seems like¡­ space is looping!¡±


    Chen Kun quickly tried to push the door leading to the equipment room on his side, finding it completely immovable, as if locked by some bizarre force once again.


    ¡°Fuck me! What do we do now? Only one door can be opened at a time, and each door leads to the equipment room.¡±


    Looking at the door of the laboratory that was open, which should have led outside to the corridor, now the scene of the equipment room was still showing inside.


    Chen Kun hesitated briefly before saying, ¡°We can¡¯t get out. Here¡¯s the plan: I¡¯ll go into this equipment room, you close the door, and I¡¯ll try to open the door from inside. Maybe, just maybe, that will open the lab¡¯s door to the corridor. If we can manage to open it, we may have a chance to get out.¡±


    ¡°Just me going in, and not you?¡± Guo Jintao asked worriedly, uncertain whether he was more concerned about himself or Chen Kun.


    ¡°Do you want both of us to end up in danger?¡± Chen Kun said.


    After that, he had Guo Jintao close the laboratory¡¯s door, and with a gentle twist, surely, the equipment room¡¯s door was opened again.


    Chen Kun shone his flashlight inside to ensure there was nothing unusual, then took a step in, turned to look at the still panic-stricken Guo Jintao, gestured for him to stay calm, and then closed the door behind him.


    Once the door was closed, Chen Kun started to feel a chill. He turned around and shone his flashlight everywhere, but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.


    He walked to the interior part of the equipment room, which was not large¡ªthe whole room could be seen at a glance¡ªand there was nothing.


    After waiting a moment, he opened the equipment room¡¯s door and looked outside. He had hoped to see the corridor, but what he saw next still left him disappointed.


    Outside was the laboratory, with no change at all, and Guo Jintao still stood there with a dumbfounded face, looking at Chen Kun opening the door.


    Chen Kun was immediately at a loss for words, given Guo Jintao¡¯s expression. This guy probably thought that upon opening the door, the Peephole Strange Creature would appear before him, not expecting it to be Chen Kun himself.


    ¡°You mistook me for a Strangeness?¡± Chen Kun asked with a wry smile, staring at him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Guo Jintao nodded, ¡°Dad thought the Peephole Strange Creature had come out again.¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± Chen Kun walked out of the equipment room, ¡°This door opens normally from the inside, how can it be like this?¡±


    ¡°Why not try again, this time you go in and don¡¯t pull the door, I¡¯ll push it open from the outside.¡± Guo Jintao suggested.


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s the only way.¡± Chen Kun nodded, then turned back into the equipment room and closed the door behind him.


    Standing inside the equipment room, he didn¡¯t touch the door anymore, as if afraid of unintentionally triggering something.


    Outside, Guo Jintao stood cautiously, reaching out to gently twist the doorknob and then slowly pushed open the door to the equipment room.


    Now, he had developed a severe psychological shadow regarding opening doors; his entire body would tremble just from touching a door.


    The door was pushed open, but not with much force, revealing only a slight crack.


    At that moment, Guo Jintao saw a shadow flit inside the door and, thinking it was Chen Kun stepping forward to pull the door open, he stepped back to let the other person do it.


    In the equipment room, Chen Kun, who had been standing about two or three meters from the door, didn¡¯t move when he saw the door being pushed open by Guo Jintao to reveal a gap about three fingers wide.


    He leaned forward to take a look and noticed a shadow moving outside the door, so he also refrained from pulling it open, waiting for Guo Jintao to push it.


    With this misunderstanding, the door to the equipment room remained open at a three-finger width for about ten seconds.


    Then, Chen Kun was the first to realize something was wrong. He quickly approached, shining the flashlight through the gap, and saw the light at the door being blocked by a shadow standing outside the crack.


    This person was dressed in black with half a face pressed to the door, a familiar gray eye peering through the crack at him.


    Chen Kun shuddered in fright and immediately backed away; he had never expected the Peephole Strange Creature to appear outside the door, that is, in the laboratory itself.


    If the Peephole Strange Creature was outside, then something must have happened to Guo Jintao in the laboratory¡­


    At the same moment, Guo Jintao also backed away in panic, seeing inside the crack, in the equipment room, a man in black standing rigid, with one eye peeking out, staring at him.


    ¡°The Peephole Ghost!¡±


    Guo Jintao sat down hard on the ground, still scrambling backwards in fear.


    ¡°Guo Jintao!¡± Chen Kun¡¯s voice suddenly came through, exactly from that equipment room, ¡°Are you okay? I see the Peephole Strange Creature standing in the laboratory looking at me, hurry and run away, don¡¯t come over.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Guo Jintao suddenly stiffened, and blurted out, ¡°Isn¡¯t that guy on your side? I see him standing inside the equipment room, peeking out at me through the crack.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Chen Kun¡¯s voice was filled with terror.


    And at this time, Guo Jintao felt equally terrified.


    Could it be¡­ there are two Peephole Strange Creatures?


    ¡°No, it must be because of a space issue!¡± Chen Kun shook his head, looking only out the door at the man peeping in, whereas his side was as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But from Guo Jintao¡¯s perspective, the view was the same as his own, freakishly strange!


    Just then, a thought flashed through Chen Kun¡¯s mind, he blurted out: ¡°Guo Jintao, don¡¯t panic just yet, it seems like the spaces have merged, go open the laboratory¡¯s door right now and see if it¡¯s the hallway, hurry!¡±


    Guo Jintao was taken aback, then quickly understood, scrambled up, not caring about the Peephole Ghost still watching him, and rushed to the laboratory door leading outside, grabbed the doorknob, and yanked it open.


    This time, the door opened easily.


    And in the moment the door opened, Guo Jintao was so frightened by the scene outside that he jumped up, but when he looked carefully, he found a person standing there, and with surprise said, ¡°Yan Junze?!¡±


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 206 - 204: Peeping at the Door (Part 5)

    Chapter 206: Chapter 204: Peeping at the Door (Part 5)


    As Yan Junze stood outside in the hallway, he was completely baffled by the past few minutes.


    He just saw the hallway door open for a while, then close, then open again, and close once more.


    Moreover, every time it opened and closed, there was no sign of anyone operating it, yet the speed at which it moved was as if someone was pushing and pulling it.


    There he stood, outside in the corridor, watching the door open and close, reflecting on life in the same way, never knowing when a door would open for you, and then suddenly shut, until the last time.


    The door opened again, but this time, there was finally someone inside. And that person, on seeing Yan Junze, jumped in fright, then showed a look of joy.


    It was an uncontrollable, genuine happiness, as if seeing a savior.


    ...


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Guo Jintao? It is indeed you!¡±


    Guo Jintao immediately turned to speak to someone inside the room, ¡°Chen Kun, the door¡¯s open, it¡¯s the hallway! And, Yan Junze is here!¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze remembered the mission hint, which mentioned that the strangeness in this mission was obsessed with geometry. Although it could see him, the thing had been living in a geometric world after its death.


    The door¡¯s constant opening and closing, without seeing anyone, very much resembled the connection between different spaces to some extent.


    ¡°Chen Kun is in there too?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Guo Jintao nodded like a pecking chicken, pointing towards the direction of the equipment room, ¡°We couldn¡¯t get out. The door kept opening to the inside of the equipment room, so he simply went into the equipment room and let me open the door from the outside. Finally, it has connected to the outside, but¡­ but he¡¯s still back in the equipment room.¡±


    Yan Junze entered, gesturing to Guo Jintao not to close the lab door; In fact, without being told, Guo Jintao had already propped the door open, fearing it would close again.


    Approaching the door to the equipment room, Yan Junze was startled by the eyes and the half face of a pale corpse peeking through the crack.


    However, he quickly calmed down and turned to Guo Jintao, ¡°Is this the Peephole Strange Creature?¡±


    Guo Jintao was taken aback, realizing he had forgotten to warn Yan Junze.


    But immediately after, he showed a look of amazement, clicking his tongue in admiration, ¡°Brother Yan is awesome. To see the Peephole Strange Creature and show no fear at all!¡±


    This Brother Yan was indeed worth clinging to.


    ¡°To make the Peephole Strange Creature disappear, we can either open the door or close it completely,¡± Guo Jintao reminded.


    ¡°Yan Junze, are you here?¡±


    Chen Ku¡¯s voice then rang from inside, it seemed indeed as Guo Jintao had said, he had gone into the equipment room.


    ¡°I won¡¯t close the door now; I¡¯ll open it instead, be alert,¡± Yan Junze spoke.


    Since closing the door could lead to anomalies in space, he thought the best approach was not to actually close the door, as it would be too unpredictable and hard to control.


    Therefore, opening the door was the right move, at least according to Guo Jintao, who had said that whether the door was closed or open, the Peephole Strange Creature would immediately disappear.


    After pushing open the door to the equipment room, the eye and half-face behind the crack vanished almost instantly.


    Then, the inside of the equipment room was revealed, with some display cabinets, but very few devices actually placed there. Most were just documents and piles of old instruments.


    Yan Junze turned on the flashlight on his phone, shining it inside only to find the room completely empty! Chen Kun was not there.


    Turning his head toward Guo Jintao, he exclaimed in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s nobody here.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Guo Jintao not only didn¡¯t run over but instead stepped backward, retreating to outside the corridor, ¡°Take another look, look more carefully, how can there be nobody? I just heard Chen Kun speaking.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes swiveled as he said, ¡°There¡¯s indeed something very strange about this place. You go back first, and Chen Kun and I will be back in a bit.¡±


    As he spoke, he went to the corridor, pressed his hand against the door, and signaled Guo Jintao to leave.


    In fact, as soon as Guo Jintao finally saw the corridor outside, he had wanted to leave, but he had been holding back because of the camaraderie between classmates.


    Hearing Yan Junze say this, he readily nodded in agreement, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you guys in the dormitory for half an hour. If you haven¡¯t come back by then, I¡¯ll bring the others over to rescue you!¡±


    While speaking, he quickly walked away, as if fearing something chasing him from behind.


    Yan Junze smilingly said from behind, ¡°By then, there¡¯s no need for a rescue; just coming to collect the bodies would be faster.¡±


    Guo Jintao¡¯s body shook violently, and he didn¡¯t dare look back, running even faster.


    ¡°Haha, this guy!¡± Yan Junze shook his head with a smile. His words were intended to scare Guo Jintao because if people thought that encountering strangeness was easy and they could always get through it smoothly like the mission ¡°The Brother on the Bunk Above,¡± they¡¯d be mistaken.


    After Guo Jintao left the building, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate to enter the laboratory and closed the door to the corridor behind him.


    Although the Rewind loop was always active, he had just stepped out to create a point in time on this timeline where he was outside in the corridor. That way, if later they encountered danger inside or couldn¡¯t come out, he could immediately activate Rewind and return to the moment he was standing outside the corridor.


    Back in the laboratory, the place had once again become silent. It was empty and chilly, exuding a slight coolness.


    This chill seemed to emanate from the fear of the unknown and was also seemingly given off by the cold instruments. Just after standing in the room for a while, Yan Junze¡¯s skin was already breaking out in goosebumps.


    He tightened his collar and turned his head towards the door of the equipment room that was left open. There was not a single person inside, just as deserted as the outside laboratory.


    The Chen Kun Guo Jintao spoke of seemed to have disappeared just like that.


    Meanwhile, Chen Kun stood inside the equipment room, staring in shock at the door that had suddenly closed in front of him; the Peephole Strange Creature that had been behind the crack of the door in the laboratory vanished without a trace.


    He immediately went up to it, grabbed the doorknob, and tried to pull it open with force, but the door wouldn¡¯t budge and seemed to be locked.


    Just a moment ago, Yan Junze had told him to be careful and to push the door open from the outside, but why had it closed so quickly? And it seemed to be locked as well.


    After pulling a few more times and confirming he could not move it, a chill ran up his spine and Chen Kun shivered, quickly turning back to see that there was nothing behind him.


    No sooner had he turned his head forward again than he stiffened and slowly turned back around, his gaze landing on the left corner of a display cabinet.


    There, a man dressed in black was standing with his back turned outward, motionless, looking almost like a shadow of the display cabinet if one didn¡¯t pay close attention. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chen Kun, trembling, turned to face the man in black, stretching his right hand behind him to fiercely twist the doorknob, but the door remained immovable.


    Then he noticed that the man in black had begun to move.


    This man¡¯s movement wasn¡¯t to turn around and walk, nor was it to walk backward like the Back-faced Woman, but to edge along the corner of the wall and the side of the cabinet little by little in parallel steps, with the rest of his body unchanged, still with his back turned outward.


    Chen Kun watched this scene in horror; this time, he could see very clearly, this man in black was undoubtedly the Peephole Strange Creature.


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 Chapter 207 - 205: Peeping at the Door (Part 6)

    Chapter 207: Chapter 205: Peeping at the Door (Part 6)


    The man in black moved in very small steps, shuffling sideways, but continuously, silently, and without a sound.


    This sight made Chen Kun¡¯s hair stand on end. He pressed himself against the door, not daring to move an inch, staring with wide eyes. His flashlight illuminated the ground not far in front of him, but he didn¡¯t dare to shine it directly on the shifting figure.


    He stared as the man in black moved silently across the room, quickly covering half the distance, getting closer and closer to him.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s going to reach me soon.¡±


    Chen Kun shivered, tried the door one last time, still unable to open it, and quickly moved away from his position, mimicking the man in black¡¯s method of walking, sticking close to the wall to sidestep away.


    The only difference was that he faced outward, his back against the wall, keeping an eye on the man in black¡¯s movements, the exact opposite of the other.


    ...


    Before long, they had swapped places in the room, with Chen Kun running to the inside of the equipment room, while the man in black had sidestepped to the door.


    At this moment.


    Yan Junze stood outside the equipment room door, watching the door he had just closed.


    After noticing Chen Kun¡¯s disappearance, he had tried the door; first, he closed it completely, then opened it again, nothing out of the ordinary, still no sign of Chen Kun.


    After trying several times, it was clear this method was ineffective.


    Thinking it over, he followed the school legend, reopened the equipment room door, but only pushed it ajar leaving a crack, and then stopped.


    He took two steps back, looking through the crack he had left.


    At the same time.


    Inside the equipment room, Chen Kun witnessed the door, which he had been unable to open no matter how he tried, now slowly creating a crack, then stopping.


    After that, the man in black who had just sidled over to the door simply passed through the crack and slipped out of sight.


    About ten or so seconds later, Chen Kun cautiously approached the door of the equipment room, peering out to see a familiar eye appearing outside the crack, looking at him.


    By this point, he had grown somewhat immune to that eye, but the strangeness inside the room, the sudden developments after opening and closing the door, filled him with deep fear and no sense of safety.


    Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard Yan Junze¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Chen Kun, can you hear me now?¡±


    Chen Kun was startled, joy appearing on his face, and he quickly answered, ¡°I can hear you, I can hear you, Yan Junze where are you?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer his question but instead said, ¡°Now go to the door, directly pull open the equipment room¡¯s door, and then come out.¡±


    ¡°Are you¡­ sure?¡± Chen Kun hesitated.


    But without waiting for Yan Junze to respond, he had already walked over, deliberately ignoring the eye in the crack, grabbed the door handle, and violently pulled the door open.


    The eye in the crack quickly vanished, and after a swirl of pitch-black fog, there stood Yan Junze outside the door.


    Similarly, what Yan Junze saw outside through the crack in the door was half the face and one eye of the man in black.


    When Chen Kun opened the door, what he had seen also disappeared.


    A puff of black smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a terror-stricken Chen Kun.


    Chen Kun ran out quickly, giving Yan Junze a bear hug, the look on his face that of someone who had survived a disaster: ¡°Bro, although I¡¯m really curious about how I got out, can we please leave here first and then talk? Even if you beat me to death, I¡¯m never doing experiments again!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°you leave first, just like Guo Jintao did just now.¡±


    Chen Kun was startled, and then heard Yan Junze speak, ¡°Now, to open this door of the lab and get to the corridor outside, it seems we must recreate the situation where the Peephole Strange Creature could be seen from both sides. Otherwise, we still can¡¯t leave.¡±


    ¡°But this way, only one person can get out,¡± Chen Kun quickly said.


    ¡°Right, you go, I¡¯ll stay and deal with this guy,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°No way! We leave together!¡± Chen Kun grabbed his shoulder.


    Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°I have many tricks up my sleeve; don¡¯t worry. Now do as I say.¡±


    He looked up at the open door to the equipment room: ¡°Now I¡¯ll go in, then leave a crack in the door. As soon as the Peephole Strange Creature appears, you immediately go to open the outside door. If it connects to the corridor, leave right away and don¡¯t worry about me. But remember, prop the outside door open before you leave; it¡¯s best to use something to keep it from closing again on its own.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, you must come out,¡± Chen Kun, hearing Yan Junze instruct him so, felt he must be confident about leaving and said nothing more. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze entered the equipment room, closed the door behind him, leaving a narrow crack, then both of them stood there, one inside and one outside, staring at the crack.


    In about ten seconds or so, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared in its black clothing, with the same look, the same voyeuristic intent.


    ¡°The Peephole Strange Creature is here on my side,¡± Chen Kun reminded.


    From inside the room, Yan Junze¡¯s voice came: ¡°It¡¯s here on my side too. Now, go and open the outer door right now. Remember, prop it before you leave.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Chen Kun turned around and walked a few steps to the lab door, pulling it open.


    After seeing the scene outside, his heart settled, and he turned back to the room, ¡°The door is open, it¡¯s the corridor, just be careful by yourself.¡±


    With that, he immediately turned, took the still damp mop from behind the door.


    Chen Kun flipped the lower end of the mop upside down, propping one end against the lower corner of the door, and the end with the cloth against the rotating hinge, ensuring the door wouldn¡¯t swing back and close on its own.


    Having done that, he warned inside, ¡°Yan Junze, I¡¯ve propped the door open, you must be careful.¡±


    After saying this, he waited, but did not hear Yan Junze¡¯s response.


    Chen Kun was somewhat puzzled but was determined not to go back into that room to check. Hesitating at the door, he finally decided to leave.


    In this situation, having one more person here was useless and might even lead to both of them getting caught. Since Yan Junze was so confident about dealing with the Peephole Strange Creature, for Chen Kun to insist on staying and helping would be no different from being a fool.


    After making sure the door wouldn¡¯t close on its own, he quickly walked away down the corridor.


    When he reached the stairwell, and was about to go down the stairs, Chen Kun suddenly froze, a hard to describe sensation of terror instantly crawled all over his body, and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver violently.


    This fear was so intense, not only did he shiver, but he also almost couldn¡¯t hold back a strong need to urinate.


    Chen Kun was somewhat baffled and immediately looked down the stairs; he still had his flashlight in hand, so he shone it downwards.


    He saw a woman in a gray dress, with long, messy hair, slowly climbing the stairs. Her posture was stiff, her head tilted forward at an odd angle, and she awkwardly ascended the stairs.


    The woman was also shrouded in a faint mist of darkness, but it was dissipating now.


    At that moment, a strange smell of medicinal liquid wafted up from below.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 208 - 206: Peeping at the Door (Part 7)

    Chapter 208: Chapter 206: Peeping at the Door (Part 7)


    Chen Kun was so frightened that his face turned pale, even more so than when he had encountered the Peephole Strange Creature in the laboratory.


    His mouth was agape, but he couldn¡¯t make a sound, retreating backwards subconsciously.


    The long-haired woman in the gray dress continued to climb the stairs stiffly, her movements bizarre. As she neared the top, the odd scent of medicinal liquid grew stronger.


    Chen Kun, with a look of terror on his face and mouth wide open, turned his head and saw that not far behind him was the restroom on this floor, albeit the women¡¯s restroom, while the men¡¯s restroom was either upstairs or downstairs.


    ¡°Screw it, to the women¡¯s restroom!¡±


    At this point, Chen Kun couldn¡¯t care less; he darted into the restroom, passed the washbasins, entered a stall at random, and concealed himself, leaving just a crack in the stall door to spy on any movement outside.


    ...


    The atmosphere was eerily silent, the sound of the woman ascending the stairs barely audible. Only by straining his ears could he catch the occasional faint noise.


    After about a minute, the woman climbing the stairs first came into view of Chen Kun¡¯s eyes.


    Of course, he had by now switched off his flashlight and was watching the woman before him in the vague light of the night.


    The distance was too great to see her face clearly, but Chen Kun was also grateful he couldn¡¯t, as just the sight of the woman walking was enough to assure him her appearance could not be pleasant.


    It might be quite terrifying, actually.


    Chen Kun mentally filled in the woman¡¯s appearance until she walked past the staircase and instead of continuing upward, she slowly passed the restroom door and walked into the hallway of this floor.


    Chen Kun thought she would keep going upstairs, but seeing this, he stiffened for a moment. After hesitating, he couldn¡¯t help but push the stall door open gently and stealthily stepped out.


    Reaching the restroom door, he didn¡¯t dare to leave. Peeking out, he quietly glanced down the hallway.


    In his line of sight, the woman in the gray dress swayed as she neared the open door of the laboratory.


    Chen Kun immediately had a bad feeling, his heart leaping to his throat, wanting to warn Yan Junze but not knowing how.


    A few seconds later, he watched helplessly as the woman entered the open laboratory door and did not come out again.


    ¡­


    Yan Junze had not heard anything from Chen Kun, but he still waited a bit longer. When he felt enough time had passed for Chen Kun to have escaped if possible, he went to the door of the equipment room.


    At that moment, the Peephole Strange Creature was still standing at the door, silently watching him.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and, after grasping the doorknob, he did not close the door¡ªdoing so might have made it impossible to reopen. Instead, he chose to pull the door open.


    As the door opened, the Peephole Strange Creature vanished.


    The dim and cold laboratory appeared before him, suddenly feeling very unfamiliar, without a single beam of light penetrating the gloom.


    Yan Junze stepped out of the equipment room and immediately looked towards the laboratory¡¯s door that led to the hallway.


    The door was closed!


    He walked over and tried to open the door, but it was in vain; it seemed to be locked tight.


    Could it be that Chen Kun didn¡¯t follow his instructions to block the open door before leaving?


    Turning his head to check other parts of the laboratory, he shuddered suddenly. There, by the back corner near a row of equipment, stood a man in black.


    The man, facing away, was not completely still; he was quietly and gently shifting his feet, sidestepping towards the window.


    The man was moving along the wall, so it wouldn¡¯t be long before he reached the spot where Yan Junze stood.


    After a moment of surprise, Yan Junze made out the man¡¯s clothes and appearance, surely, it was the Peephole Strange Creature itself.


    As it turned out, once the equipment room door was closed from inside, it couldn¡¯t be opened again, unless someone from outside helped open it. And if the equipment room door was opened, the Peephole Strange Creature would appear in the room outside.


    One could infer that, if the door was closed, the creature would very likely appear inside the equipment room as well.


    In any case, under these circumstances, it would appear.


    The mission background stated clearly that this creature was waiting for a chance at Resurrection. It never intended to just die like that but was looking to use someone else¡¯s body to come back to life.


    This point must be heeded.


    Now, Yan Junze guessed that maybe as long as he avoided making contact with the creature, it might prevent it from using his body to resurrect itself.


    Beyond this, he couldn¡¯t think of any other method at the moment.


    But if the situation turned wrong, he would immediately choose to Rewind and remain in this room to think of other methods. Only in a truly critical moment would he probably Rewind to the moment before he entered.


    The Peephole Strange Creature kept approaching. Yan Junze observed how it always moved along the wall or slid across the instruments near the wall. Its gait was oddly ¡°geometric¡± in nature.


    So, he didn¡¯t try to mimic the creature¡¯s wall-hugging method to avoid it but instead stepped towards the center of the lab.


    He figured that place was somewhere the creature couldn¡¯t reach. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, just as the thought occurred to him, the man in black who had been moving along the wall suddenly darted to the right side of an instrument and then vanished from sight.


    Yan Junze immediately looked around.


    Suddenly, he discovered that right behind him, in front of a row of instruments that was nearly touching him, the man in black had appeared as if he had just sidled out from beside the instruments, still closely sliding past them, only an arm¡¯s length from Yan Junze.


    And as Yan Junze noticed this man, he reached out his hand, about to grab at Yan Junze.


    With the ashen fingers nearly touching Yan Junze¡¯s back, he quickly stepped forward and turned to face the man in black.


    He glanced at the side of the instrument where the man had emerged but found nothing unusual there. The creature had just been moving in front of him a moment ago¡ªhow did it suddenly get behind him?


    Yan Junze remembered it circling around another instrument, and the next time it appeared, it was beside the instrument right behind him.


    Indeed very strange.


    There was no choice but to keep away from these instruments.


    However, apart from the tightly arranged instruments, there wasn¡¯t much space to move around in the lab.


    The man in black moved horizontally to a half-man-high instrument, turned a corner, and in the next second, appeared beside the experiment table to Yan Junze¡¯s right, very close, reaching out to grab him.


    Yan Junze immediately dashed forward, reaching the equipment room door in a few steps. The door was open, so he simply leaned his back against the wall right by the door.


    At that moment, the man in black did not choose to navigate between instruments but instead returned to the side of the wall, facing the wall, and slid towards Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    Yan Junze thought fast, quickly reaching out to pull the equipment room door towards him. He didn¡¯t close it all the way but left a crack, then turned to watch the man in black sliding toward him.


    In his conjecture, now that there was a crack in the door, the Peephole Strange Creature might be naturally drawn to it, wanting to peer through the gap and therefore give up on approaching Yan Junze.


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 Chapter 209 - 207: Peeping at the Door (Part 8)

    Chapter 209: Chapter 207: Peeping at the Door (Part 8)


    However, just a few seconds later, Yan Junze dismissed that guess.


    The man in black still sidled toward his direction, showing no interest whatsoever in the crack of the equipment room door that had appeared.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡±


    After a moment of hesitation, Yan Junze decisively walked into the equipment room, turned around to close the door, but not completely, leaving a crack open again.


    By doing so, he was effectively forcing the Peephole Strange Creature outside to leave a crack in the door, which had a high probability of attracting it over if its target remained on him, prompting it to actively peer through the crack.


    As expected, after leaving the crack open, Yan Junze retreated about five or six steps into the equipment room; the man in black approached, but instead of diving in through the crack or pushing the door open, he maintained his usual demeanor, starting to peer through the crack.


    ...


    Now Yan Junze had two choices: the first was to close the door, thereby trapping the stranger outside the equipment room, but the door itself could no longer be opened from the inside, effectively locking him in, only able to rely on someone from outside to push it open.


    The second choice was to open the door, which would mean the Peephole Strange Creature outside would disappear the moment the door opened. However, what followed could either be a repeat of what had just happened, with no way out of the lab and the door closed, or there could be other unexpected developments.


    Regardless, the space now was very peculiar, and experiencing something that hadn¡¯t happened before was the best choice rather than choosing to repeat the same risky experiences.


    Yan Junze turned to look inside the equipment room, which had five upright display cabinets, each with upper and lower doors. Without hesitation, he went over and opened all the cabinet doors, leaving just a crack.


    After ensuring that the opened cracks would not close on their own, Yan Junze returned to the door of the equipment room, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pulled the door open.


    The Peephole Strange Creature outside the crack disappeared instantly. If at this moment Yan Junze chose to walk out, he might repeat the same mistake.


    Therefore, he did not leave, but rather, after pulling open the door, he immediately closed it again with the back of his hand.


    This time, he shut the equipment room door completely.


    He had done so, relying on his ability to ¡°Rewind¡± if the idea didn¡¯t work; he would immediately return to the time before he closed the equipment room door.


    After closing the equipment room door, Yan Junze approached the display cabinets and carefully inspected the slits of the cracked doors.


    If his guess was correct, there was a good chance that the Peephole Strange Creature would be attracted by the numerous slits after he opened and closed the door of the equipment room.


    Whether the creature could enter these display cabinets and peer out through the slits was no longer within Yan Junze¡¯s consideration.


    That¡¯s because he knew that the space in which the Peephole Strange Creature resided was anomalous, and any seemingly irrational phenomena seemed to make sense here; there was no question of rationality or irrationality.


    Of course, if Yan Junze¡¯s prediction was wrong, he could simply ¡°Rewind¡± to the time point before the equipment room door was closed and think of another plan.


    As he waited, in about two or three minutes, a cold sensation descended, and Yan Junze leaned forward to take a closer look at the display cabinets. Under the glow of his cellphone¡¯s flashlight, he indeed saw an eye quietly peering at him through the slit in the third display cabinet.


    He had guessed right.


    Perhaps even the Peephole Strange Creature didn¡¯t know how it had gotten in; it became its instinct to appear at the slit in the door.


    Yan Junze immediately backed away to the door of the equipment room and yanked the door with force. Unlike when Chen Kun had tried to open it before, where it wouldn¡¯t budge as if locked, the door opened immediately under Yan Junze¡¯s pull, revealing the lab outside.


    In the room of the laboratory, a faint light shone in from the outside, no longer the same dim, cold atmosphere as before.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened, and without looking back, he immediately walked out.


    Glancing sideways, he noticed that the laboratory¡¯s door was actually open, with a mop turned around and propped against the doorway to prevent the door from closing on its own.


    This time, it should be the right way to open it, indicating that when Chen Kun left just now, he indeed helped block the door for himself.


    Since the way back was right before his eyes, Yan Junze no longer had any concerns, and now, he was ready to resolve the Peephole Strange Creature¡¯s obsession.


    He didn¡¯t leave the laboratory, but rather returned to the equipment room, kept the door of the equipment room wide open, and then shut all the double doors of the display cabinets, including the one housing the Peephole Strange Creature.


    Afterward, he left the equipment room, pulled the door partially closed, leaving a crack, and stepped back two steps to quietly wait.


    In less than a minute, a shadow appeared in the gap, and soon the Peephole Ghost¡¯s half-face and those grey pupils leaned into the doorway, staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze clapped his hands, saying relaxedly, ¡°Have you noticed anything? You¡¯ve been trapped in a cycle of space for a very long time.¡±


    The other party stared at him silently, without any response.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Whether you accept it or not, ever since the day you truly died, you have never left this cyclical space. And in my guess, the reason this space was formed is very simple, originating from your obsession. You can¡¯t accept the fact that you¡¯re dead, which is why you¡¯re stuck in this repeated loop here.¡±


    At this point, the shadow behind the door seemed to move slightly.


    Yan Junze accurately caught the other party¡¯s movement, and seeing there was hope, immediately continued speaking.


    However, just as he began to speak again, about six or seven meters behind him, a shadow stumbled out from behind the open laboratory door, dressed in a grey skirt, with her hair unkempt, silently approaching.


    Yan Junze¡¯s attention was completely on the Peephole Strange Creature, because he saw it move again, and that grey pupil even gently turned.


    The woman in the grey dress reach behind Yan Junze, extending her long and somewhat decayed fingers slowly towards his neck.


    Just then, Yan Junze stopped speaking, his nostrils flared a few times, and he suddenly turned around.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A sharp cry came out from the woman¡¯s mouth as her outstretched fingers aimed at his cheek.


    Almost instinctively, Yan Junze¡¯s blood churned instantly within him, his bones, especially those in his neck, made cracking sounds, and his hairs almost pierced through his skin to sprout, nearly transforming into a Fake Spirit Body.


    ¡°No.¡± Yan Junze realized immediately and in the next second, he chose to Rewind.


    His head spinning, he was standing back in the equipment room.


    At this moment, the Peephole Strange Creature already stood within the third display cabinet, peering out through the crack in the door, but Yan Junze¡¯s attention was no longer on it. Instead, he immediately opened the door of the equipment room, didn¡¯t step out, but just poked his head out to look in the direction of the open door of the laboratory.


    He remembered that the woman who sneak-attacked him had a scent of antiseptic about her. If he hadn¡¯t been fully focused on persuading the Peephole Strange Creature at the time, he wouldn¡¯t have failed to notice the antiseptic smell.


    Not only that, he also noticed something on the woman¡¯s chest¡­it seemed like a camera flitted past, although he didn¡¯t get a good look at it, it indeed resembled a camera.


    ¡°How could this be, a camera on a corpse?¡±


    Yan Junze mumbled to himself, standing at the door of the equipment room with no intention of going out again. He guessed that at this moment, it was very likely the woman¡¯s corpse was hiding behind the open door of the laboratory. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as he was carefully observing and even preparing to use ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± to probe the hidden woman¡¯s corpse, a hand as grey as a dead person¡¯s reached out from the crack of the third display cabinet¡¯s door behind him. It grasped the door, pushing it outward.


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 Chapter 210 - 208 Chaotic Obsession

    Chapter 210: Chapter 208 Chaotic Obsession


    This was the first time the Peephole Strange Creature had directly pushed the door open and walked out.


    The movements of the man in black had never made any sound, not even from the somewhat old display cabinet door, which inevitably makes noise when opened or closed. At this moment, it still eerily made not the slightest sound.


    The Peephole Strange Creature stood in front of the display cabinet, still turned around, facing the cabinet and with its back to the outside, moving closely towards Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    When it neared the edge of a cabinet, the Peephole Strange Creature immediately made a turn, pressing against the side of the cabinet, and then its figure disappeared.


    The next time it appeared, it was already on the right side of another display cabinet, as if it had just turned a corner and was meant to arrive there all along.


    In front of the equipment room.


    ...


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze had been fixed on the position behind the laboratory door, although the place was dark, a careful observation seemed to reveal a figure standing in the corner, not moving.


    The person who had attacked him just now was definitely a corpse because at the last moment her fingers had touched Yan Junze¡¯s skin, making him feel a wave of coldness.


    Moreover, the woman¡¯s face was rotten, no living person would look like this.


    However, the Spacetime Atlas in his mind did not issue any task prompts, which was highly unusual. It should be known that the corpse had been attacking him, and a strangeness would not just attack a person without any obsession.


    This did not make sense¡ªcould it be that the purpose of the strangeness was simply to kill upon seeing someone?


    So Yan Junze was certain that the female corpse did have an obsession.


    The Spacetime Atlas not automatically popping out task prompts was not just once or twice, sometimes it was influenced by the environment, sometimes it related to the strangeness itself.


    After thinking for a moment, he remembered what had happened the last time at Bao Jie¡¯s aunt Bao Wenjing¡¯s house, so he simply activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±.


    Indeed, the moment the energy spread out, he immediately received feedback in his mind.


    [Task Name: Where is my child?


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu¡¯s child went missing. In the three months after the disappearance, she has been searching tirelessly but to no avail, with the police also having no news to offer. Shen Wanqiu gradually began to lose her mind until everyone in the neighborhood knew that she had gone mad for her child;


    Task Description: Let her know where her child is;


    Task Reward: 1100 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Death;


    Task Prompts: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. The Evil Spirit is highly aggressive;


    Note: What you see appears to be a corpse, but in fact, she is not.]


    ¡°So she¡¯s here to find her child?¡± Yan Junze nodded, but then a doubt emerged, ¡°But if you¡¯re looking for your child, why attack me?¡±


    No sooner had the thought arisen than another task information popped up in his mind, causing him to freeze, his face full of horror as he stared at the task that had just appeared.


    [Task Name: Kill Yan Junze;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Medium);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu only remembered entering a live streamer¡¯s room where the man gave her a glass of water, and then, she began to feel dazed. After that, she couldn¡¯t stop eating, consuming food incessantly. Shen Wanqiu remembered consuming a lot of mucus, sticky and foul-smelling, yet it made her appetite grow. She even consumed a strangeness, until at last, in the food she consumed, the name ¡°Yan Junze¡± appeared;


    Task Description: Escape Shen Wanqiu¡¯s pursuit by any means necessary;


    Task Reward: 1300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Death;


    Task Prompts: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Perhaps this is not her true intention;]


    Note: ¡°If you don¡¯t take her down, or strip her of her ability to attack, she will chase you endlessly.¡±] Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Yan Junze saw the second task, he was completely stunned.


    He had never imagined that the arrival of this female corpse was actually for him.


    However, the task prompt was very clear, based on the capture of Shen Wanqiu¡¯s obsession, it turned out she had entered the room of a host and was then murdered.


    ¡°Host?¡± Yan Junze paused for a moment; suddenly, he thought of someone.


    Cheng Jingting!?


    So far, the only host Yan Junze had met and dealt with was him, and their first conversation had been rather unpleasant.


    And before he encountered that green child, he had spoken over the phone exclusively with Cheng Jingting. Could it be that this guy had tracked his location at that time?


    But was it simply because he had not agreed to join him that he sought to completely eliminate him?


    But then again, on second thought, these things were unclear. In the vastness of the woods, various birds exist; some people are narrow-minded, perhaps annoyed not only because he didn¡¯t join them, but perhaps also jealous of the strangeness videos he recorded.


    Or could it be¡­ coveting his special physique? After all, looking at it now, this guy seemed to be able to nurture spirits.


    There were many speculations, and any of them could be possible.


    But if it indeed proved to be related to this host named Cheng Jingting, with a target in mind, Yan Junze would start considering how to deal with this guy.


    And it was made very clear in the task description that Shen Wanqiu had consumed a strangeness.


    Yan Junze had just heard this from Zhang Xiaomo; after a zombie eats a strangeness, it becomes something called ¡°Corpse Spirits,¡± which is more terrifying, and obviously, Shen Wanqiu had already become one.


    As he was deep in thought, he suddenly jerked violently, his eyes bulging and his mouth gaping open.


    Because at this moment, in his mind, the third task prompt popped up again.


    [Task Name: Revenge;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High);


    Task Background: Shen Wanqiu was murdered, and she suffered greatly, craving death deep within her subconscious. But her assailant was formidable, leaving her powerless to retaliate, turning her into a walking corpse. She yearned for freedom, to break free from these invisible shackles, desiring to seize the one who murdered her, to feed on their flesh, to drink their blood;


    Task Description: Help her exact revenge, or take revenge on her behalf;


    Task Reward: 1500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Shen Wanqiu¡¯s target is very strong; 3. Revenge may be a long-term task, or it might be completed in an instant;


    Note: Given the uniqueness of this task, the Atlas activates the ¡°Obsession Storage¡± feature. This task may pre-store the energy rewards of the completed obsession in the Atlas, and upon task completion, the corresponding energy rewards will be obtained.]


    The emergence of the third task had completely exceeded Yan Junze¡¯s expectations; he had not imagined that just a female corpse could lead to three different obsessions, thereby bringing about three different tasks.


    The task levels of this female corpse were surprisingly high, and the methods of completing the tasks had also changed from before.


    The three tasks, the first [Where is my child?] represented the obsession that the female corpse had been searching for in life; the second [Kill Yan Junze] had an obvious purpose, targeting him.


    The third [Revenge] was the female corpse¡¯s own hatred towards the person who had murdered her. Now, it looked very likely that the person was Cheng Jingting, the one who had caused Shen Wanqiu to become what she was now.


    But the difficulty of completing the third task was the greatest, reaching the level of ¡°Hair-raising (High).¡±


    Of course, this did not mean that Shen Wanqiu, now a zombie ghost, had become completely stronger than the Back-faced Woman. Rather, her desire for revenge had increased the level of difficulty of the task to this extent.


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 Chapter 211 - 209: Bizarre Response Techniques

    Chapter 211: Chapter 209: Bizarre Response Techniques


    ¡°`


    Three consecutive tasks appeared, shaking Yan Junze to the core. The moment he was checking these tasks, the Peephole Strange Creature from behind had moved along the wall and positioned itself right next to him.


    Yan Junze had not anticipated that the creature would crawl out of the crack in the door. It was the first time this had happened, so without any guard up, a palm landed on his shoulder.


    This jerked him harshly back to reality from the shock of the three tasks.


    Turning his head, he saw that the Peephole Strange Creature had already gotten extremely close. He immediately prepared to use his Rewind Skill.


    However, by the time the creature¡¯s hand was on his shoulder, his head was spinning, the scene before his eyes shifted, and Yan Junze found himself no longer in the equipment room but at the entrance to the laboratory outside.


    ...


    The Peephole Strange Creature still had its hand on his shoulder, and at this moment, the door to the laboratory was open with a mop wedged against it, preventing it from closing.


    As soon as he arrived at this place, the hand on his shoulder had merged into his body, and it seemed that the Peephole Strange Creature was preparing to enter Yan Junze¡¯s body and then strut out of the laboratory boldly.


    For who knows how long, he had been anticipating this moment¡¯s arrival.


    Never had he been so close to a person to such an extent.


    At this time, the Semi-spirit within Yan Junze once again showed signs of being aroused, but he likewise did not plan to use it and instead prepared to Rewind to a point directly before this scene occurred.


    Just then, the laboratory door that was slightly open moved a bit, and the woman¡¯s corpse hidden behind the door extended her dry arm, grabbing the Peephole Strange Creature that was trying to merge into Yan Junze.


    The Peephole Strange Creature, just like Yan Junze who was completely captivated by the three tasks moments ago, was utterly unprepared for the appearance of another strange creature attacking it in a deadly manner.


    Then, Shen Wanqiu viciously grabbed its head; her fingers sank deep into the skull, gripping it firmly.


    Of course, as a strange creature, it was impossible for it to be restrained by this action.


    The Peephole Strange Creature immediately ceased its invasion of Yan Junze, pressing tightly against the door panel, and in the next second vanished eerily.


    Shen Wanqiu, who was grabbing its head, also disappeared quickly.


    The space behind Yan Junze was suddenly empty, and he no longer considered using Rewind but immediately turned around.


    He saw nothing.


    However, soon after, noises came from the equipment room, but only the intense sounds of collision, no other shouts.


    Because of the Rewind Skill, Yan Junze was emboldened and did not hesitate to turn back towards the entrance of the equipment room and look inside.


    He saw Shen Wanqiu¡¯s right hand still inserted into the Peephole Strange Creature¡¯s head. At this time, because the Peephole Strange Creature was preempted, it simply kept trying to dodge away.


    It glued itself to the side of the fifth display cabinet, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to have broken through this spatial constraint, appearing behind the first display cabinet. However, Shen Wanqiu could still follow and disappear with it, appearing simultaneously.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned but then quickly realized.


    If it were under normal circumstances, the Peephole Strange Creature would have long escaped because it was a true strange creature, not like Shen Wanqiu who was a type of zombie.


    But precisely because Shen Wanqiu was not a pure zombie but a Corpse Spirit that had consumed a strange creature.


    Now it seems that this kind of Corpse Spirit, being between semi-spirit and zombie, possesses both abilities, which makes their strength terrifying.


    This was why the Peephole Strange Creature could escape quickly, and Shen Wanqiu could equally follow suit.


    As for the fingers still embedded in the Peephole Strange Creature¡¯s head, it was for this reason that the Peephole Strange Creature could not break free and escape.


    This Peephole Strange Creature seemed unable to speak, and upon realizing it couldn¡¯t get away, it stopped facing the wall and turned around, revealing a face as if chiseled by a knife.


    This face didn¡¯t look natural but strangely parallel, and looked very eerie.


    The Peephole Strange Creature stretched out its two hands and grabbed Shen Wanqiu in return. Visibly, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s body seemed to be torn apart as it suddenly split to the sides.


    From this, it was evident that the Peephole Strange Creature was also powerful, but its method of attack was unpredictable.


    Just then, within the split body of Shen Wanqiu, a long-haired head suddenly appeared.


    This head had a face completely different from Shen Wanqiu¡¯s, and the moment it appeared, it immediately bit at the Peephole Strange Creature.


    The supernatural field around the Peephole Strange Creature immediately trembled, falling into an unstable state.


    ¡°`


    Click!


    Half of his head was bitten off.


    Yet, this scene made Yan Junze suddenly freeze.


    A head emerging from the chest!?


    When Lv Xin was split by the Resentful Granny and hid at the stairwell to ambush him, he looked exactly like this.


    Could it be that Lv Xin is related to this guy named Cheng Jingting? Or is this a unique method of nurturing spirits by Spirit Cultivators? S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Click, another bite.


    Now, the Peephole Strange Creature had only a small part of its head left, and it immediately turned around, ready to escape again through the display cabinet behind it.


    However, the strangeness magnetic field was trembling violently, with ripples vibrating, and a mist followed, making it impossible for him to move anymore.


    The woman¡¯s head in front of Shen Wanqiu took another bite.


    Looking at the current situation, it seemed that the Peephole Strange Creature was doomed.


    It wanted to resurrect through a human body but ended up like this, the poor creature really hit rock bottom.


    But Yan Junze suddenly woke up, thinking that if this guy perished, the ¡°Peephole¡± task wouldn¡¯t be completed at all!


    This was a ¡°Trembling with Fear (High)¡± task with an 800-point Different Dimension Energy reward, was it just going to slip away right before his eyes?


    And again, as soon as the Peephole Strange Creature was done for, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s next target would immediately be him.


    Shortly after his thought, the body of the Peephole Strange Creature suddenly became fragmented, as if a pile of well-placed blocks collapsed at that moment.


    The strange creature inside Shen Wanqiu had consumed nearly half of the Peephole Strange Creature, which meant that the Corpse Spirits had once again devoured another strange creature at this moment.


    Although it hadn¡¯t consumed it entirely, having the power of two strangenesses inside her body, Yan Junze didn¡¯t doubt that Shen Wanqiu¡¯s strength was probably even stronger than before.


    There were three tasks related to Shen Wanqiu, namely finding the child, killing herself, and revenge.


    Up until now, Yan Junze had no clue on how to complete these tasks.


    If it really wouldn¡¯t work out, after the Peephole Strange Creature was devoured by Shen Wanqiu, he would have to choose to leave here first and see if he could complete these tasks when the timing was better.


    At least dealing with Cheng Jingting was certain, and incidentally completing these tasks seemed like the best choice.


    Unfortunately, with the demise of the Peephole Strange Creature, the 800 points of Dimensional Energy he could have gained were also going down the drain.


    Having made up his mind, he turned around, preparing to leave.


    However, all of a sudden, he froze, struck by a eureka moment, and walked back to look at Shen Wanqiu, who had now triumphed in the equipment room.


    He simply found a chair outside the lab to sit on and then opened the video on his phone.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu turned her head, her rotten face facing Yan Junze at the door, and then she started moving her legs, walking towards him in a crooked manner.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try, maybe it¡¯ll work?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself while sitting on the chair.


    After all, if this idea proved unworkable, he could still Rewind to the moment when Shen Wanqiu and the Peephole Strange Creature were fighting each other and leave calmly.


    As Shen Wanqiu drew closer, Yan Junze opened one of the videos stored on his phone.


    He had deleted this video from the computer when he edited it, but since it involved his first transformation into a Semi-spirit, it had some sentimental value.


    What can you do, when Yan Junze is someone who likes to reminisce about the past?


    Thus, he kept a copy on his phone.


    After opening the video, he pointed the phone¡¯s screen towards Shen Wanqiu who was approaching. The video showed a blue-skinned child being brutally beaten by someone covered in black hair (actually Yan Junze in his Semi-Spirit State).


    ¡°Here, this¡­ is your child,¡± said Yan Junze, and then he shrugged, ¡°Though he might, should, could, probably¡­ have been turned into this by the livestreamer who murdered you.¡±


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 Chapter 212 - 210: The New Feature of the Atlas

    Chapter 212: Chapter 210: The New Feature of the Atlas


    Shen Wanqiu, who was approaching, abruptly halted; her lifeless eyes, seemingly unable to see anything, were fixed on the smartphone screen that Yan Junze was holding up.


    After approximately half a minute, her lips moved slightly, and she uttered two words: ¡°Jie ¡­ little Jie!¡±


    It was confirmed¡ªthe green child was indeed the very child Shen Wanqiu had been searching for.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face showed a trace of regret as he spoke in a heavy tone, ¡°This mother, I am deeply saddened right now because what I am about to tell you may be something you will find hard to accept.¡±


    He paused, letting Shen Wanqiu absorb his words, before he continued, ¡°Your child, little Jie, is now dead and, perhaps, should, might, probably has been turned into a zombie by that fellow Cheng Jingting.¡±


    Having said this, seeing that Shen Wanqiu remained silent, standing there, Yan Junze simply waited quietly without speaking further.


    ...


    He remembered the task description of ¡°Where is my child?¡± that only required him ¡°to let her know where her child was¡±¡ªnot necessarily to return her child to her.


    Perhaps Shen Wanqiu herself was also aware that her child¡¯s prospects were bleak and had been simply unwilling to accept this guess. The obsession lurking in her subconscious was merely to find out the whereabouts of little Jie, nothing more.


    Regardless, she should now be very clear.


    [Where is my child? Hair-raising (Low), completed, 1100 Different Dimension Energy points obtained.]


    ¡°Damn, completing tasks like this feels so good!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself.


    He had only tried it out just now, not expecting it to actually succeed. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In truth, if one really wanted to complete this task, it would certainly not be easy. One would need to collect evidence and even investigate on-site, visit Shen Wanqiu¡¯s neighbors to gather a comprehensive analysis to reach a final conclusion.


    Moreover, during the process of doing the above work, one would also need to be cautious of Shen Wanqiu, who was always looking to trouble him.


    In any case, it wasn¡¯t going to be this easy to complete.


    But, as luck would have it, not only did Yan Junze know that Cheng Jingting was the real culprit, but he had also narrowly escaped from the green child not long ago, and had inadvertently recorded a video.


    Now, it seems that any words were superfluous since even the most eloquent rhetoric cannot compare with the naked truth of the video evidence.


    Thus, this task rated as ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡± was resolved so easily by him.


    A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.


    Yan Junze had not expected that after losing the Peephole Strange Creature and the 800 Dimensional Energy points that went with it, he would recover them in such a manner.


    Not only that, but he had also earned an additional 300 points.


    Well, not quite, there were still two tasks.


    Looking at the current situation, it seems like the task has literally fallen into his lap.


    After contemplating for a moment, he set the video to loop and stood up, carefully placing the phone on the chair he had been sitting on so the screen faced Shen Wanqiu, who was standing there, motionless, still staring intently at the phone.


    Then, Yan Junze tiptoed behind Shen Wanqiu.


    Shen Wanqiu, who hadn¡¯t seen her child in a very long time, was completely captivated by the video on the phone, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the green child, with no tears, no movement¡ªas a Corpse Spirit, she just stared blankly.


    This one glance had become the permanent separation between mother and child.


    Standing behind Shen Wanqiu, Yan Junze let out a sigh and thought to himself, ¡°Although I know you¡¯re pitiful, I¡¯m sorry, if I don¡¯t kill you now, the moment you finish watching the video might be when you and my Fake Spirit Body fight to the death. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to be constantly on guard against your attacks.¡±


    As soon as the thought settled, Yan Junze activated his Semi-Spirit State.


    Hair sprouted from the surface of his skin, his neck made a crackling sound as it twisted, and at the same time, the copper badge placed over his chest emitted a warm sensation.


    This feeling seemed to have a stabilizing effect on his Semi-Spirit State, preventing Yan Junze from losing control and triggering an unexpected outbreak.


    Shen Wanqiu sensed the anomaly behind her and abruptly opened her mouth, but almost simultaneously, her head was clamped by the hands of Yan Junze in his Semi-Spirit State with a snap, yanked away from the body.


    Shen Wanqiu¡¯s chest burst open, revealing the head of the nightgown woman about to emerge and continue her attack on Yan Junze.


    However, almost in the next second, Yan Junze, well-prepared, held Shen Wanqiu¡¯s head with one hand, while the other pierced through her body, and extracted the head of the nightgown woman through the chest in the same way.


    Both heads were impaled by the profusion of hair growing from his palms, turned into a honeycomb-like mess.


    All of this was accomplished in just a few seconds, because Shen Wanqiu¡¯s Obsession concerning her child had just been released, and taking advantage of this moment, Yan Junze struck swiftly, achieving his goal with little effort.


    Shen Wanqiu, now headless, knelt forward, then fell to the ground, the peculiar medicinal scent on her unable to mask the strong stench of blood and a strange, foul odor that emanated from her.


    After waiting a moment, the head of the nightgown woman in his left hand gradually dissipated, while the head of Shen Wanqiu in his right hand slowly turned rigid.


    Yan Junze still wasn¡¯t reassured, so he used his hair to thoroughly impale Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse again, waited another moment, and there was no sign of movement. It seemed highly unlikely that she would come back to life.


    He then dropped the heads and waited in silence.


    About two minutes passed when a mission completion prompt popped up.


    [Kill Shen Wanqiu, Hair-Raising (Medium), completed, gained 1300 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    With the foundation of the first completed mission, although the second mission exhausted his Semi-spirit power, it was relatively easy to accomplish as well.


    Yan Junze began to withdraw his Semi-spirit power, and his stomach churned, followed by a craving to eat some staple food. But he quickly suppressed that thought.


    Completing two ¡°Hair-Raising¡± level tasks in a row was vital; both luck and timing were important, but the danger was not absent.


    If Shen Wanqiu had not held such a deep Obsession for her child, it would have been very difficult for him to have the opportunity to complete the second task.


    As for the third mission, ¡°Hair-Raising (High)¡± level task [Revenge], it was due to the special nature of the mission that the Atlas activated the ¡°Obsession Storage¡± function. Therefore, upon learning of this task, Yan Junze immediately performed ¡°Obsession Storage.¡±


    Currently, a large amount of Energy Light Particles that represent Obsession, all 1500 points, surrounded the now-illuminated Spacetime Atlas but had not filled the timeline.


    To enter the timeline, Yan Junze needed to truly complete the task and fulfill the Obsession for the energy to enter the correct path.


    Although unable to claim the 1500 energy points just yet, the two tasks he had swiftly resolved provided Yan Junze with 2400 points of Different Dimension Energy, which was three times the amount for completing the Peephole Strange Creature task.


    This was beyond Yan Junze¡¯s expectations.


    The acquisition of this Different Dimension Energy instantly brought the total energy in Yan Junze¡¯s Atlas to 8600 points, lighting up the spacetime nodes from 42 to 58 in one fell swoop.


    And upon breaking through the 54th node, a gleam of light flickered, revealing a line of text.


    [Butterfly Effect Stabilization, now activated.]


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 Chapter 213 - 211 Revenge

    Chapter 213: Chapter 211 Revenge


    ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization?!¡±


    Upon seeing this line of text, Yan Junze immediately realized that after he completed the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± mission, the Atlas had activated the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± function.


    This function was extremely terrifying and was privately referred to by Yan Junze as ¡°Great Rewind¡±.


    However, the original introduction to the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± function stated that it was advisable to wait for the next function to be unlocked and to pair them together before using it.


    Therefore, Yan Junze, although very curious about this function, had patiently waited without daring to use it recklessly.


    Now, this ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± was clearly the skill that was meant to complement ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡±.


    ...


    Feeling a surge of excitement, Yan Junze immediately used Inner Vision to look at the introduction of ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡±.


    [¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization,¡± this function allows the host to change something at a certain point in the past and ensure that the change does not cause a butterfly effect, nor will it affect the future timeline. To be used in conjunction with Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.]


    [Note: Even with Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion and Butterfly Effect Stabilization, it is still necessary to wait for the right space-time rift to appear to use them together.]


    [Would you like to spend 1000 Different Dimension Energy points to detect a space-time rift now?]


    ¡°Holy shit! Is this energy free or what?¡± Yan Junze was startled.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that just one detection of a space-time rift would consume 1000 Different Dimension Energy points, and it wasn¡¯t even sure that anything would be detected.


    That is to say, after spending 1000 points of energy, it was possible that nothing would be found.


    After thinking it over, he decided it didn¡¯t matter if he just tried it out.


    Who asked him to have just completed two ¡°hair-raising¡± level missions? He now had the capital to splurge.


    As the thought occurred to him, a long stretch of timeline within the Spacetime Atlas instantly dimmed, followed by an invisible energy ripple that spread out fiercely from Yan Junze as the center.


    About four or five seconds later, a vibrating sensation came from a certain point.


    Yan Junze felt that place clearly.


    At the same moment, a text message popped up in his mind.


    [Detected a space-time rift, located in the pine forest behind Tianmeng Science University, the rift is currently at its peak and will start to weaken after 4 a.m., and is expected to disappear around 11 p.m. tomorrow night.]


    Yan Junze raised his head and looked through the window in the direction of the university¡¯s pine forest.


    According to the detection, there was a space-time rift there now, which would disappear tomorrow night.


    Was it possible for him to utilize this space-time rift at the moment?


    ¡°Great Rewind? To use a space-time rift for a Great Rewind, just out of sheer curiosity, would be ridiculously idle,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    There was nothing else to do in this laboratory building now, just tidy up Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse without anyone finding out.


    If he really wanted to use the Great Rewind, he had to think about what he could actually do with it.


    Yan Junze had no immediate plans to leave; he walked over, removed the mop blocking the laboratory door, then closed the door, and came back to sit in the chair he had been in before.


    Gazing at Shen Wanqiu¡¯s headless female corpse on the ground, with the odd smell from the body entering his nostrils from time to time, he began pondering seriously.


    The only mission he had left was ¡°Revenge,¡± a mission that was obviously very special¡ªtaking revenge for Shen Wanqiu by killing Cheng Jingting.


    Let¡¯s not even mention helping Shen Wanqiu for now, Yan Junze himself wanted to take down that disgusting guy.


    However, the mission faced several problems now, the first being that Yan Junze had no idea where Cheng Jingting lived, was it in Tianmeng District or outside of it?


    Of course, he could call Tang Zhengyi for help with a search.


    But that would be obviously too exposing, if Tang Zhengyi had just informed him of the other party¡¯s address, and then Cheng Jingting suddenly got killed, Tang Zhengyi might guess that the guy¡¯s death was related to Yan Junze with just his toes.


    Moreover, even if Yan Junze knew where Cheng Jingting was, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could easily kill him. After all, the man was a Spirit Cultivator, capable of raising Corpse Spirits like Shen Wanqiu, so his strength couldn¡¯t be too weak.


    ¡°Corpse Spirits?¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thought for a bit, then picked up the phone and called He Yun, his contact in the Exorcist team.


    According to what He Yun had said before, as long as Yan Junze needed to find her, she would be available 24 hours a day, and for He Yun, she was the 24-hour personal secretary for the Exorcists.


    However, judging by the voice coming from the other end, it was clear that He Yun had been woken up from her sleep.


    ¡°Hello, sorry to disturb your sweet dreams, He Yun,¡± Yan Junze apologized.


    ¡°Hmm, go ahead,¡± He Yun¡¯s tone showed no displeasure; being disturbed in her position was not uncommon for her.


    ¡°I want to ask you, is there any danger involved in the process of refining a Corpse Spirit?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    As the liaison for the Exorcists, He Yun¡¯s knowledge about strangenesses must be very broad, even more than an ordinary Exorcist.


    Moreover, her position gave her access to a large amount of data on strangenesses, which she could consult if necessary, and provide answers immediately after searching through them.


    If there was information that even He Yun could not find, it was either core secret or even the Exorcist team itself did not possess it.


    After hearing Yan Junze¡¯s question, He Yun did not look up any information but immediately replied, ¡°Of course there is danger. A Corpse Spirit is formed through the refining of zombies consuming at least one strangeness. During this process, the Corpse Spirit needs to recognize its master, and only by doing so will it not turn on the master immediately after its formation.¡±


    ¡°Through what does it recognize its master?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°By drinking that person¡¯s blood, even a drop is enough,¡± He Yun said.


    ¡°Are there other dangers?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°During the process of refining a zombie,¡± He Yun thought carefully, ¡°Actually, zombies all have very strong and deep grievances because no one would want to become that sort of being. So, in other words, there is always a certain chance that zombies might turn on their masters, it just depends on whether there are conditions to trigger it.¡±


    ¡°Like what conditions?¡±


    ¡°Such as during the refining process or right after they are refined, if they are doused with black dog blood, drink virgin boy¡¯s urine, see sunlight, or lock eyes with a black cat.¡±


    Yan Junze repeated it and asked, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s about it,¡± He Yun paused and then inquired, ¡°Did you find someone cultivating a spirit?¡±


    ¡°Seems like¡­ yes,¡± Yan Junze did not hide it, ¡°If possible, I will take care of this guy.¡±


    He Yun reminded him, ¡°Usually, in such cases, our incident team would send a squad to investigate, and if the person is confirmed to be doing evil, they will be immediately eliminated. But right now, we are short-handed due to a special event that occurred, and I don¡¯t recommend you going alone.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll just investigate first and not rush into action,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    He looked up again in the direction of the pine forest of the academy and muttered to himself, ¡°Black dog blood, virgin boy¡¯s urine, sunlight, and¡­ a black cat.¡±


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 Chapter 214 - 212: A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)

    Chapter 214: Chapter 212: A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)


    Yan Junze sat there thinking for a while. No matter what, this Cheng Jingting, the streamer, must be very strong; if it came to a direct confrontation, it was uncertain who would ultimately win.


    If he could travel back in time and appear at that moment, then arranging an ¡°accident¡± for him would be the best form of revenge.


    However, Yan Junze had not used the ¡°Great Rewind¡± Golden Finger even once, and was quite unfamiliar with it.


    To use it for the first time, especially against a Spirit Cultivator like Cheng Jingting, he did not have much confidence.


    But no matter what, he had to try it once. Otherwise, he could never find the guy¡¯s address in reality, and striking while the iron was hot, he could possibly complete all three tasks related to Shen Wanqiu at once and, by the way, deal with Cheng Jingting who had been detrimental to him multiple times. The risk was worth taking.


    ¡°Black dog blood, virgin boy¡¯s urine, sunlight, and a black cat?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself again.


    ... Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s so late now, where could he find black dog blood? Sunlight was even more unrealistic; the weather tonight was too bad, without even moonlight, let alone sunlight. Otherwise, Fang Ning would have come out to join Yan Junze in a romantic encounter long ago.


    First, he had to find a way to bury Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse.


    Yan Junze stood up and started searching around in the equipment room. Soon, he found a big woven bag that was slightly tattered, filled with remnants of instruments, probably waiting to be sold.


    He emptied the bag of its contents, piled them neatly, then returned to the laboratory and exerted some effort to put Shen Wanqiu¡¯s headless body and the head into the woven bag.


    He tidied up the laboratory and dragged out the body during dusk.


    Even though it was late, there were virtually no pedestrians on the academy¡¯s sports field, but to prevent an accidental encounter, Yan Junze chose to walk behind the laboratory.


    There was a stone path here that few used during the day, and even fewer at this hour.


    If it weren¡¯t for the era plagued by strangenesses, this place would be the perfect quiet spot for young lovers to rendezvous at night, but given the current situation, people would surely avoid it.


    Yan Junze quickly dragged the body into the pine forest, the exact place where the Atlas had detected a space-time rift.


    Yan Junze released the Crawler Monster and had it dig a deep hole in a secluded spot inside the pine forest, then dragged the woven bag into it and buried it.


    In fact, he could have released the two strange babies, as with their assistance, the Crawler Monster would work more efficiently.


    But those two were very troublesome and disobedient; as soon as they were released, if Yan Junze wasn¡¯t careful, they¡¯d be out of sight quickly.


    What mattered most was their strong aggressiveness. If he wasn¡¯t watchful and they escaped, causing injury to someone, Yan Junze would have nowhere to even cry over it.


    While the Crawler Monster was busy burying the body, Yan Junze located the position with the space-time rift as indicated by the Atlas.


    It was between two slightly larger pine trees within the pine forest, but to the naked eye, nothing could be seen.


    Yan Junze walked over, reached out, and touched the air, feeling nothing.


    However, according to the Atlas, as long as he initiated the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion and Butterfly Effect Stabilization at this location, he could automatically find the space-time rift and initiate the ¡°Great Rewind.¡±


    And as per the Atlas, this was when the space-time rift was at its most vigorous. If he missed this point, the rift would begin to weaken and eventually vanish.


    Clearly, to perform the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± it would be best done when the rift¡¯s energy was at its peak. Should the rift¡¯s energy begin to wane, who knew what accidents might occur during the return after traveling back.


    Yan Junze had never tried it before and could not be certain his guess was correct, but undertaking it during this time was definitely the right choice.


    He thought about it, then returned to where the Crawler Monster was busy at work.


    The Crawler Monster had just finished refilling the hole it had dug, and it seemed a lot smarter, even knowing to gather fallen pine needles to cover the freshly turned soil.


    Yan Junze sent an approving glance and said, ¡°You fellow seem not too dumb after all.¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked up at him, meanwhile stretching out its forked tongue to tidy up its somewhat disheveled parted hair from the busy workout.


    ¡°Alright, alright, you win.¡± Yan Junze recalled it into the Atlas.


    Then he swiftly returned to the dormitory.


    At this time, Guo Jintao and Chen Kun were not in their rooms but were waiting, quite in sync, in Yan Junze¡¯s room 411.


    Zhao Zheng, Huahua, and He Bishou, all unable to sleep, were listening to Guo Jintao¡¯s vivid description of their laboratory encounter. After Guo Jintao¡¯s story, it was Chen Kun¡¯s turn.


    Chen Kun¡¯s tale even more so scared everyone to the point of being dumbstruck and breaking out in cold sweats, particularly when he mentioned encountering a woman in a skirt walking up the stairs.


    Then Yan Junze returned, and the people showed delight, forgetting to continue their stories.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Guo Jintao was the first to ask.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°It¡¯s taken care of, from now on there won¡¯t be any more knocking strangenesses in the lab.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention there¡¯s also a woman in a skirt who¡¯s a strangeness?¡± asked the plump He Bishou, surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Chen Kun nodded, ¡°When I was going downstairs just now, I nearly bumped into a woman wearing a skirt; her hair was a mess, and her walk was odd, as if her limbs were stiff. I saw her with my own eyes, entering the laboratory where you were.¡±


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 Chapter 215 - 212: A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)_2

    Chapter 215: Chapter 212: A Child? (4,000-word Mega Chapter)_2


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Nope, didn¡¯t see any woman. Ever since we got rid of that Peephole Strange Creature, I haven¡¯t seen anything all the way back here.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s not right,¡± Chen Kun scratched the back of his head.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Maybe you saw it wrong. You just escaped from the clutches of the Peephole Strange Creature, which is skilled in the connection of spaces, and could have sent you into another dimension. You escaped after Guo Jintao, and you were trapped longer than he was, so it¡¯s normal to have hallucinations afterward,¡±


    ¡°Was it a hallucination?¡± At this point, Chen Kun was somewhat confused, and muttering to himself, he said, ¡°I remember it wasn¡¯t just seeing, I also smelled a strange medicinal scent.¡±


    Yan Junze ignored him, suddenly displaying a weird smile as he looked around at everyone in the dorm, speaking softly, ¡°Well, this is good, you¡¯re all here, I need to ask you guys for a favor.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhao Zheng asked.


    ...


    ¡°If it¡¯s going to the lab building, count me out,¡± Huahua immediately flicked his orchid finger, giving Yan Junze a sidelong glance, preemptively shutting down that possibility.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going either,¡± He Bishou quickly shook his head in agreement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you guys to go, I¡¯ll take care of this myself,¡± Yan Junze grinned, ¡°Right now we just need some Virgin Boy¡¯s Urine over there. Sprinkling a little on-site can get rid of the Yin Energy and mildew accumulated in the lab building over many years. So what I want to ask is, among those present, who can provide me with some?¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m going back to sleep,¡± Guo Jintao was the first to speak.


    He was immediately ruled out.


    Chen Kun also gave an awkward smile, ¡°Sorry, I have a girlfriend back at the academy.¡±


    He, too, was out of the question.


    Yan Junze looked towards Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua.


    Zhao Zheng also turned to glance at his roommate beside him, then revealed an exceedingly proud smile, ¡°I was the captain of the basketball team in high school, and at one point, seven people were chasing me¡­¡±


    ¡°Were they the Seven Dwarfs?¡± He Bishou joked, ¡°Just missing a grandpa then.¡±


    ¡°Get lost,¡± Zhao Zheng laughed and cursed.


    It seemed that this guy hit puberty earlier, so he was also out of the running.


    Yan Junze turned his gaze to He Bishou.


    He Bishou lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes and said nothing.


    After waiting a while, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Well, are you going to give a straight answer or not?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m dying to know!¡± Huahua chimed in from the side.


    His remark seemed to carry a double entendre, causing Guo Jintao, Chen Kun, and Zhao Zheng all to look at him. Huahua didn¡¯t care, just staring at He Bishou who looked like a child who had done something wrong.


    ¡°It¡¯s confirmed, this fatty has definitely broken the rules, I¡¯m sure of it!¡± Huahua raised his voice by an octave, becoming somewhat shrill.


    ¡°Keep it down,¡± He Bishou said quickly, startled.


    ¡°Damn, Fatty, didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t have a girlfriend?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I had just broken up when I came to the university,¡± He Bishou hedged.


    ¡°Why break up?¡± Huahua was curious.


    For someone like He Bishou, a bona fide fat shut-in, starting to date at such a young age was rare, and not only did he have a girlfriend, he even dared to boast about it.


    He Bishou hesitated for a long time before finally saying, ¡°She always insisted she eats more than I do. Then one day, we made a bet, she ate six bowls of beef noodles in one go, I ate eight bowls. She got angry about it, the kind of mad you can¡¯t just sweet-talk away.¡±


    The room fell silent.


    The others exchanged glances.


    After a long pause, Huahua asked, ¡°And¡­ you broke up just like that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± He Bishou nodded and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s over, and that¡¯s okay, the main thing is, she ran off angry, and I ended up paying for those fourteen bowls of noodles. A bowl of beef noodles was twelve yuan, fourteen bowls add up to one hundred sixty-eight, but the main thing is, that girl also added extra meat and eggs to the bowls. Extra meat was five yuan per bowl, extra eggs were¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve had enough,¡± Zhao Zheng couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough,¡± Yan Junze said as well, and then he turned his head to look at Huahua.


    Huahua was startled, and with an awkward demeanor, she looked back at him, appearing as if she had something to say but was holding back.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze on Huahua began to change to one of surprise; they all widened their eyes, even He Bishou, who had just been too embarrassed, now forgot his own deeply etched romantic humiliation and turned his attention to Huahua.


    Huahua wasn¡¯t shy, just unsure how to put her thoughts into words.


    After an awkward moment, Yan Junze felt he had to break the silence; he cleared his throat and asked, ¡°I just want to ask you one question, that person¡­ male or female?¡±


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s exactly what I meant,¡± Zhao Zheng eagerly said.


    Guo Jintao patted Yan Junze on the shoulder, his face lit up with excitement, ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve asked what¡¯s on my mind.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that almost killed me,¡± Chen Kun said as he patted his chest, clearly in agreement.


    Huahua¡¯s face stiffened as she looked at this bunch of ¡°animals¡±. Then, her beautiful eyes shifted towards He Bishou, who had been silent all along, thinking to herself that at crucial times, at least the fat otaku was a friend who wouldn¡¯t judge her with prejudice.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s a guy,¡± He Bishou said, shattering all the nice illusions Huahua had about him.


    She glared resentfully at everyone, stamped her foot, and huffed before scolding, ¡°You bunch of stinky men!¡±


    Everybody shuddered in response to her words, feeling a chill run down their spines. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As soon as she had spoken, Huahua¡¯s face turned frosty; she climbed into her bed, stuck her butt up in the air, and buried her face in the pillow, saying no more.


    The atmosphere turned somewhat awkward.


    Everyone exchanged glances, unsure whether to offer comfort or apologies, which felt oddly misplaced.


    After a prolonged silence, Zhao Zheng finally spoke up, ¡°Huahua, I support you, I believe it¡¯s a girl.¡±


    Huahua let her raised butt down, sat up on the bed, and looked coldly at everyone. After a while, her gaze settled on Yan Junze and she asked, ¡°Why do you have to ask us? Why don¡¯t you urinate yourself, or are you no longer a virgin boy either?¡±


    Yan Junze forced a strained smile and said, ¡°To be honest, I really don¡¯t know.¡±


    All of a sudden, Huahua¡¯s eyes brightened, as if the unpleasantness from moments before had been cast to the winds. She eagerly asked, ¡°Could it be that you were drugged? Was there something in your drink? This girl is something else, turning the tables and serving you guys your own medicine, it serves you stinky men right!¡±


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile, shook his head, and said nothing.


    The truth was, because of his rebirth, he had no memory of the original body¡¯s owner. He really didn¡¯t know if the previous Yan Junze had ever had a first time.


    The current Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure, so he didn¡¯t dare to bet.


    What if his expectations were too unrealistic, assuming that his predecessor was a virgin, but it turned out not to be the case?


    On the way back to the dorm, Yan Junze had thought it over; his classmates at Shuntian No.3 Middle School were basically nice to him, including some female classmates with whom he got along quite well.


    But he couldn¡¯t tell if anyone was particularly kind or especially interested in him.


    Mainly because the original Yan Junze had an average appearance, not very handsome but also not ugly. Such a face would be forgotten as soon as it was lost in a crowd.


    Yan Junze truly couldn¡¯t be sure if that guy had ever had a sexual encounter.


    To be on the safe side, it was best not to rely on his ¡°virgin boy¡¯s urine.¡± But given the current circumstance, he had no choice but to try his own. It was worth the gamble to see if it would work; otherwise, knocking on doors dorm by dorm this late would cause a great commotion, which wouldn¡¯t be good for him.


    Black dog blood was impossible to find in a hurry, and then there was the black cat, which was also difficult to come across at this time.


    Ignoring Huahua¡¯s inquiries, Yan Junze found an empty water bottle, inspected the neck, then swapped it for a Drink bottle and headed towards the restroom.


    The people in the dorm behind him cast their eyes on the Drink bottle, then looked at the water bottle that Yan Junze had discarded at the foot of the table.


    Huahua¡¯s eyes sparkled with curiosity!


    After cleaning the bottle at the wash basin, Yan Junze went into a toilet stall, urinated into it, screwed the cap back on tight, and came out.


    He didn¡¯t return to the dorm but instead carried the Drink bottle straight towards Pine Forest.


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 Chapter 216 - 213: Initiate

    Chapter 216: Chapter 213: Initiate ¡°Great Rewind


    The energy required to activate ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± was not much, consuming only 200 points for one activation, though if one wished to return to a specific moment in the past, the energy cost would be calculated based on the length of time.


    Besides, the energy needed to initiate ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± was also not much, requiring just 500 points.


    The combined energy consumption for both was 700 points, which was negligible for Yan Junze who now had a full capacity of 8600 points.


    Having spent 1000 points to detect the space-time rift earlier, he was left with 7600 points. After starting the Great Rewind and Butterfly Effect Stabilization, he would still have 6900 points.


    This meant that after the ability to perform the Great Rewind was available, these 6900 points of Different Dimension Energy were the capital Yan Junze could use to choose a time and space in the past to travel back to.


    Standing at the space-time rift detected by the Atlas, between those two large pine trees, Yan Junze took a deep breath and activated the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡±.


    ...


    The Atlas immediately popped up a prompt.


    [A space-time rift detected, insertion is possible. Do you wish to activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization simultaneously?]


    ¡°Activate,¡± thought Yan Junze.


    At the same time, he put the drink bottle into his coat pocket, which bulged out, filling the pocket.


    Right after choosing to activate ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion,¡± a crack suddenly split open in the darkness of the Void in front of Yan Junze, revealing a rotating black vortex from which shone a vast galaxy.


    Yan Junze stood less than two steps away from this newly appeared rift and immediately stepped forward, entering the fissure.


    After his entry, the rift abruptly closed, and the surroundings instantly returned to calm, showing no signs of anything unusual.


    Within the rift, Yan Junze stood in the Void, looking down at his feet to find nothing to stand on; he seemed to be hovering in midair.


    A little farther away, a tremendous starry sea scattered with numerous stars was visible, while numerous black space-time fissures seemed to cover all areas.


    A timeline scale appeared before him, and soon after, the Spacetime Atlas popped up another prompt.


    [Please move the timeline scale to locate the moment you wish to return to.]


    Yan Junze carefully observed the scale and found that the entire timeline was movable, but the end leading toward the future could only be turned backward, not forward, meaning that he could not go into the future, only to the past.


    By turning the scale backward, he could align the markers on the scale with specific years, months, and days, with smaller scales for hours, minutes, and seconds.


    Looking at the highly accurate timeline, Yan Junze was somewhat baffled.


    Mainly because he had no idea when Cheng Jingting started Corpse Refining, how could he choose?


    After a brief hesitation, Yan Junze asked in his mind, ¡°Is it possible to directly specify a moment for the timeline scale to find and then locate it?¡±


    No sooner had the thought formed than another message popped up.


    [Please provide a detailed description to facilitate better Atlas location.]


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then described in his mind, ¡°This person is called Cheng Jingting, a live-streamer for the ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ supernatural video platform and a Spirit Cultivator who performed Corpse Refining on a woman named Shen Wanqiu. The space-time I want to locate and return to is the most vulnerable moment for backlash during his Corpse Refining. Remember, it¡¯s about space-time, not just that period; I need to be at the location where he performed the Corpse Refining.¡±]


    Information began to pop up successively.


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Analysis complete, locating¡­]


    [Location determined, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 4600 Different Dimension Energy points, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze chose to return to the period when Cheng Jingting originally refined the grey-skirted female corpse. The reason he didn¡¯t choose to go back to before Shen Wanqiu was killed by Cheng Jingting, thus preventing Shen Wanqiu¡¯s death, was due to a paradox.


    If Shen Wanqiu hadn¡¯t been turned into a corpse by Cheng Jingting, she wouldn¡¯t have gone to Tianmeng Science University to find Yan Junze, nor would she have been caught by Yan Junze and discovered that Cheng Jingting was the real culprit, thus the event of the Great Rewind wouldn¡¯t have occurred.


    Therefore, choosing to go back to that time period was fundamentally impossible to insert into, as it involved the very root cause of the incident. It wasn¡¯t a matter of simply avoiding with a [Butterfly Effect Stabilization], but rather, it would create a direct paradox.


    It wasn¡¯t that Yan Junze was unwilling to save Shen Wanqiu or even her child, Little Su Jie, but these events were fundamental. Even Spacetime Insertion couldn¡¯t change them, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t even meet the conditions to initiate this insertion.


    The consumption of 4600 Different Dimension Energy points was adjusted according to the captured timeline and the location of Cheng Jingting himself. If Cheng Jingting was in the same Tianmeng District or even city as Yan Junze, the energy consumption would definitely be much lower.


    This energy consumption was bidirectional, including the energy loss after Yan Junze¡¯s return.


    After deducting 4600 points, he now only had 2300 points left.


    ¡°Enter,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    As soon as the thought appeared, he felt a void under his feet and experienced an intense dizziness, more severe than the previous Rewinds, making his whole body feel heavy and without strength. After roughly a few seconds, his feet suddenly felt heavy as he finally landed on the ground.


    An involuntary sense of stability and solidity rose in his mind.


    The darkness before his eyes, like fog, gradually cleared, and his eyes slowly adapted to the surrounding environment.


    Yan Junze found himself standing in an unfamiliar room.


    This room had thick curtains, and at the moment, only one window¡¯s curtains weren¡¯t drawn, which caused the room¡¯s light to be overall dim. The arrangements were very ordinary; there was a large bed against the wall, and opposite the bed was a spacious computer desk with a computer on it that appeared to have a high configuration.


    On either side of the computer chair to the back were two fill lights, with headphones, microphones, and other items all present, which looked like a broadcaster¡¯s setup.


    Yan Junze looked back at the ground. To the side of the large bed, near the wall was a row of old-fashioned clay pots, around a dozen of them, neatly placed in the corner against the wall.


    At the moment, it was obvious there was no one in the room, but it was daytime outside, and the air in the room carried an eerie and cold feeling.


    Yan Junze shifted his gaze from the row of strange clay pots and looked up towards a door opening without a door, which was covered by a thick piece of cloth curtain.


    From beyond the curtain, Yan Junze sensed something was off, as if something was hidden behind it, yet it seemed devoid of any life.


    Now it seemed that this place must be Cheng Jingting¡¯s home, only now there was no one at home. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Yan Junze wondered, from the open window, a cat¡¯s meow suddenly sounded. He turned his head to look and saw a white cat with soft fur standing on the windowsill, peering inside.


    At the same time, a strong, powerful shout came from downstairs, ¡°Bai, come down quickly!¡±


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 Chapter 217 - 214: A Persian Cat Named

    Chapter 217: Chapter 214: A Persian Cat Named ¡°Bai


    Yan Junze had a certain understanding of cats from his previous life, he knew that the cat¡¯s long and silky fur meant it was definitely someone¡¯s pet, and it was clear that it was usually well cared for.


    The cat was likely a Persian, but obviously a mixed breed, its purity not quite up to standard, its white fur glaringly bright to the eyes.


    To Yan Junze, it felt somewhat unreal.


    The shouts from the person downstairs were heard distinctly by Yan Junze, who was sure that they were calling for this cat named ¡°Bai.¡±


    But Bai ignored the calls, leaping from the windowsill into the room and perching on the desk near the window.


    It lifted its head, its gaze resting on Yan Junze.


    ...


    ¡°Meow¨D¡±


    This meow didn¡¯t sound very friendly, rather it had a grating quality to it.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t move, just watched the white cat as it jumped down from the desk, tail swishing, walking over towards the edge of the bed.


    The cat didn¡¯t seem to care much for Yan Junze, especially since he remained still, appearing no threat in its eyes.


    It approached a clay pot, brought its nose close, and sniffed a few times.


    Then Bai lifted its head, looked towards the bathroom behind the curtain, and with an enchanting cat walk, started to move in that direction.


    At that moment, Yan Junze moved.


    Bai startled, immediately stopping in place, warily watching Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t do anything to Bai but instead walked towards the curtain, took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and with a sweep, the light from the flashlight filled the bathroom.


    Though he braced himself, the scene before him still took Yan Junze by surprise.


    The bathroom was damp and dim, its walls covered in black, with a few towels hanging. To the left on the floor stood a large wooden tub for bathing filled with a white liquid.


    A strong medicinal scent hit Yan Junze in the face.


    Next to the bathtub stood a woman in a gray dress with long hair, her cheeks rotting, her skin covered in white marks, as if the water from the tub had stuck to her skin, drying and forming a crust.


    Yan Junze was certain, this was the corpse of the woman named Shen Wanqiu, no mistake.


    Upon being illuminated by the flashlight, Shen Wanqiu, who had been standing motionless, began to twitch slightly, though the movement was subtle, it was evident she would start moving soon.


    ¡°Meow¨D¡±


    A meow sounded from below, Yan Junze froze for a moment, and looking down, he saw Bai standing beside him, head stretched forward, seemingly curious about the activity in the bathroom.


    Just then, Shen Wanqiu stretched out a hand, stepped forward, and lunged towards the white cat.


    Bai seemed to sense the danger, fur bristling, ready to dart away.


    Yan Junze, whose pulse had been prepared and active, lunged forward ahead of time, spraying Shen Wanqiu in the face with his ¡°Virgin Boy¡¯s Urine.¡±


    It didn¡¯t just hit Shen Wanqiu¡¯s rotting face but also her clothes and the skin on her arms, all were now tainted with Yan Junze¡¯s vengeful virgin boy¡¯s resentment.


    Shen Wanqiu paused slightly, showing no abnormal reaction to being doused with the virgin boy¡¯s urine, only after about two or three seconds, she continued reaching out to grab.


    By then, the white cat had already made a getaway, causing Shen Wanqiu to grasp at thin air.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded!


    That was his own¡ªVirgin Boy¡¯s Urine?!


    What was happening? How could it have no effect?!


    Seeing that he failed to capture the white cat, Shen Wanqiu immediately twisted her arm with her bones making crackling sounds, reaching to claw at Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡±


    Out of instinct, Yan Junze released the Black Spirit Mallet into his hand, swung it toward Shen Wanqiu¡¯s face, and smashed her head askew.


    He seized this opportunity to quickly retreat from the bathroom door.


    Just then, a knock sounded from outside the door, along with the voice of an old man which seemed to be coming from upstairs, breathing heavily. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is anyone there? I¡¯m sorry, my Bai has run inside, please open the door.¡±


    Of course, Yan Junze had no intention of opening the door.


    And right after the old man had finished speaking, another younger man¡¯s voice said, ¡°Old man, who are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s back!¡±


    Yan Junze was alarmed. He had planned not to answer the old man knocking at the door and wait for him to leave before making any plans, but he had not expected Cheng Jingting to return right behind him.


    Now, it was very likely that Cheng Jingting would open the door and let the old man come in to take Bai away.


    The moment had been missed. Once the two of them came in, his plan would fail.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced, dismissing the idea of a direct confrontation with Cheng Jingting, inwardly chanting, ¡°Rewind!¡±


    Right, even though he was currently in the ¡°Great Rewind¡± mode, the Atlas had introduced that as long as he still had sufficient energy, Yan Junze could still perform an interval rewind within the time frame he had traveled back to.


    The interval for the rewind was only during the current ¡°Great Rewind¡± timeline.


    In the blink of an eye, he was back to the moment when he had just appeared in Cheng Jingting¡¯s room, and the white cat was already standing by the window frame but had not yet intended to come in.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was still puzzled why his Virgin Boy¡¯s Urine had no effect on Shen Wanqiu.


    Yan Junze felt speechless.


    But soon, he redirected his attention to the heavy curtain, determined to try again, at least once before Bai successfully provoked Shen Wanqiu¡¯s anger in her corpse form.


    By now, Bai had already crawled through the window and was standing on the table.


    Yan Junze walked over swiftly, twisted off the cap of the pulsing bottle, and relying on his memory from earlier, aimed quickly at the position where Shen Wanqiu had been standing in the bathroom, pouring out the entire bottle of urine.


    The sound of splashing urine drenched Shen Wanqiu almost entirely.


    Then he turned on his phone flashlight and examined the entire body carefully. Indeed, his aim had been nearly accurate, but the female corpse still stood there motionless, without any abnormal reaction.


    ¡°It¡¯s confirmed, my urine doesn¡¯t have any effect,¡± Yan Junze was certain that he was no longer a virgin.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    After cursing, he prepared to give up on this Great Rewind.


    Although it had consumed so much energy, this was only his first attempt. After recovering energy later and having the condition to do so again, he could try once more. After all, with the ¡°Great Rewind¡± Golden Finger activated, there were virtually infinite opportunities to kill Cheng Jingting.


    Just as he was about to leave, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of the white cat jumping off the table, glanced at him, and walked towards the row of clay pots in the corner.


    ¡°What a pity, if only this cat were pure black, I could have used it right now, instead of waiting so eagerly for next time.¡±


    Yan Junze sighed, and suddenly, his gaze stiffened. He looked up at Bai again.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, since this guy is white, but why was Shen Wanqiu¡¯s reaction so intense when she saw Bai?¡±


    Even now, pouring urine directly on Shen Wanqiu¡¯s head, she didn¡¯t flinch, but just now, with Bai standing at his feet, peeking into the bathroom, Shen Wanqiu had immediately reached out her arm to claw at Bai.


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, giving up on the idea of returning right then.


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 Chapter 218 - 215 Ambush (4000 words)

    Chapter 218: Chapter 215 Ambush (4000 words)


    The hybrid Persian cat Bai, at this moment, was heading towards the row of clay pots in the corner, evidently attracted by the strange scent emanating from within.


    However, it was stopped halfway when Yan Junze pressed down on its back.


    ¡°Meow¡ª¡±


    Bai suddenly crouched, its white fur bristling, but it was already caught by Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze reached out with his other hand, picked it up, walked to the curtain in the bathroom, and violently ripped the curtain aside, then hung it on a hook on the doorframe, where it couldn¡¯t fall down.


    Instead of turning on his phone¡¯s flashlight, and with the bathroom light also broken, Yan Junze held Bai a bit higher so it could get a clear view of the inside of the bathroom.


    ...


    At this moment, Bai, while staring into the pitch-black bathroom, had its pupils slightly change color, narrowing into vertical slits.


    A cat¡¯s eyes, unlike human eyes, are incredibly adaptable, and even though Yan Junze could not see Shen Wanqiu standing in the bathroom at all, Bai could see her very clearly.


    And at this moment, Bai was not only looking at Shen Wanqiu but also staring intently at her eyes.


    After being stared at by Bai, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse, which was originally motionless, started to tremble slightly, then she moved, taking a step forward, then a second, and a third¡­


    Before long, the corpse walked out of the bathroom, fully visible in front of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, holding Bai, slowly backed away, noticing that Shen Wanqiu had no eyelids anymore, so she couldn¡¯t close her eyes and could only stare straight ahead, at Bai, who was staring back at her.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s zombified body clearly underwent an abnormal change.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say it had to be a black cat? How come a white cat works too?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    But now was not the time to ponder deeply, for after Shen Wanqiu stepped out of the bathroom, she couldn¡¯t, due to the distance, grab the cat and eat it as before, so she was left with no choice but to maintain eye contact.


    During the staring contest, white fur visibly began to grow on the surface of Shen Wanqiu¡¯s body, first on her cheeks, then her arms and the calves exposed under her skirt, and even copious amounts of white fur appeared under her clothes.


    ¡°Click click click¡­¡±


    A strange noise came from Shen Wanqiu¡¯s throat, and her steps began to falter, but she kept moving towards Yan Junze, who was holding Bai.


    Yan Junze kept backing away precisely to allow Bai to stare at Shen Wanqiu a little longer.


    It now seemed that using a white cat to stare at a zombie was also effective.


    Just then, a voice came from outside the door: ¡°Is anyone there? I¡¯m sorry, my Bai has run in here, please open the door.¡±


    Yan Junze immediately retreated quickly, knowing that soon after the fat uncle finished speaking, Cheng Jingtian would appear, so he had to hide quickly.


    In its current state, Shen Wanqiu had grown white fur all over her body, presumably due to the effect of being stared at by Bai.


    So, it was worth waiting to see if her, now covered in white fur, could pose a threat to Cheng Jingtian.


    Indeed, Cheng Jingtian¡¯s voice came shortly after, starting a conversation with the fat uncle.


    Yan Junze, now holding the white cat, had retreated behind the computer desk, near a corner where it was even darker. If Bai didn¡¯t make any noise, no one would notice them hiding there.


    The door opened.


    A young man with delicate features entered, a faint smile on his face. Following him was a fat old man wearing a traditional Chinese jacket, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.


    Yan Junze¡¯s hiding spot was well-concealed, and at this moment, he slightly lifted his head to look towards the doorway, clearly seeing the young man. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This guy must be Cheng Jingtian.


    Cheng Jingtian, who had maintained his faint smile, had all his attention on the fat old man behind him at first, but upon entering the room, his whole body shook violently.


    His gaze fixed on Shen Wanqiu, who was standing not far from the door, and the smile on his face was replaced by a look of horror.


    At this point, all parts of Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse were covered with white hair. Originally, she was being made uncomfortable by Bai¡¯s gaze, but Bai suddenly hid behind the computer desk at the same time the sound of the door opening came from behind her.


    Shen Wanqiu turned around, her eyes meeting Cheng Jingtian¡¯s.


    ¡°Ahh!!!¡± The fat old man behind Cheng Jingtian let out a terrified scream, ¡°Strangenesses!¡±


    The old man¡¯s voice was certainly powerful; that shout, if not heard throughout the entire building, could at least be clearly heard by several floors above and below.


    The shout was so loud it made Yan Junze¡¯s ears ring and caused Cheng Jingtian to shudder, successfully drawing Shen Wanqiu¡¯s attention.


    Shen Wanqiu bared her mouth, revealing the sharp fangs that had grown alongside the white fur on her body, and lunged at Cheng Jingtian, who was closest to her.


    A chill swept over them, and the strength of the corpse stench emanating from Shen Wanqiu was so intense that it rivalled that of the Back-faced Woman, an oppressive feeling descending upon them.


    Cheng Jingtian was too near to her, from the moment he saw Shen Wanqiu, to the fat old man¡¯s scream of terror, to Shen Wanqiu lunging at him, it had been only two or three seconds.


    In desperation, he reached back and grabbed the fat old man¡¯s clothing with such force that he yanked the old man forward, placing him between himself and Shen Wanqiu.


    Thud!


    Shen Wanqiu¡¯s sharp right fingernails slashed across the fat old man¡¯s cheek, and at this instant, he was too paralyzed with fear to scream. His face was divided into four parts by Shen Wanqiu¡¯s nails, sliding down like scattered blocks.


    Cheng Jingtian took this opportunity to push the old man¡¯s bulky body towards Shen Wanqiu, blocking her attack, while he himself escaped outside the door.


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 Chapter 219 - 215 Ambush (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 219: Chapter 215 Ambush (4000 words)_2


    ¡°`


    Bang!


    In the process of escaping, Cheng Jingting also slammed the door shut, completely isolating himself and Shen Wanqiu.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Yan Junze, who was hiding behind the computer desk, saw it all clearly. With his state of mind, he certainly didn¡¯t understand Cheng Jingting¡¯s ruthlessness, so he never expected the man would sacrifice an innocent person in exchange for a chance to escape.


    The Fat Old Man was killed by Shen Wanqiu in an instant, while Cheng Jingting managed to escape, causing the plan to fail.


    ...


    After killing the Fat Old Man, Shen Wanqiu, blocked by the door, didn¡¯t continue to pursue Cheng Jingting but stood there, grabbed the Fat Old Man¡¯s corpse, and bit into it, as if she was about to start feeding.


    Rewind!


    Having no choice, Yan Junze chose to rewind.


    This time, to avoid the accidental killing of the Fat Uncle who was looking for the cat, he had to change his strategy.


    Bai had just jumped in from outside the window and was standing on the table near the window, peering around curiously.


    Yan Junze first turned the chair at the computer desk to face the direction of the bathroom.


    Then he picked up Bai and quickly moved to the bathroom curtain, lifting it and hanging it on the nail of the doorframe, allowing Bai to see clearly the corpse of Shen Wanqiu inside.


    After that, Yan Junze carefully backed up, moving steadily and at an even pace, until he reached the computer chair, and then carefully placed Bai on the chair.


    However, Bai had already been drawn to Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse in the bathroom, her eyes fixed intently on Shen Wanqiu¡¯s eyes that couldn¡¯t close, just standing on the chair, unmoving.


    After a while, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s corpse began to move, taking one step after another, slowly walking out of the bathroom.


    Yan Junze, having placed Bai down, immediately retreated back to the entrance of the living room, standing behind the door and watching Shen Wanqiu as she took step by step moving out.


    At this point, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s gaze was completely captivated by Bai, her body slowly growing white hair.


    Upon leaving the bathroom, to get to the computer chair¡¯s direction, she had to pass by the entrance of the living room, which was precisely where Yan Junze was standing now.


    Yan Junze pressed himself against the wall, watching as Shen Wanqiu passed by him bit by bit, he held his breath, also isolating the strong antiseptic smell emanating from her body.


    Since her gaze was completely caught by Bai, Shen Wanqiu didn¡¯t see him at all. After she passed the spot where Yan Junze stood, she reached the doorway.


    At the same moment, there was a knock at the door, followed by the Fat Uncle¡¯s voice.


    After a few seconds passed, another younger voice rang out; it was Cheng Jingting returning.


    After saying a few words, Cheng Jingting quickly pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.


    When Yan Junze heard the sound of the keys, his heart rose to his throat, watching Shen Wanqiu who had already passed the living room door.


    At that moment, Shen Wanqiu just had to turn her head to see Cheng Jingting opening the door.


    The door opened.


    Cheng Jingting, while talking, walked into the house.


    Yan Junze was tense all over, standing behind the door. After the door opened, he gently reached out and pressed against the door panel.


    The Fat Uncle, wearing an old man¡¯s shirt and fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, was about to follow into the house with a cheerful face when the door panel suddenly moved, and bang, it was closed.


    The Uncle took a half step back, stunned for a moment. Fortunately, he drew back quickly; otherwise, the door might have hit his nose.


    ¡°This damned kid, he looks polite enough, but why did he suddenly close the door after entering the house?¡± the Fat Uncle muttered to himself.


    In the moment the door was closed, Cheng Jingting immediately looked behind it. Upon discovering that someone was hiding behind the door at home, his expression turned cold, and he immediately became alert.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± As soon as he spoke, he felt this person looked somewhat familiar; Cheng Jingting gave an ¡°ah¡± sound.


    Although familiar-looking, he couldn¡¯t recall who the individual before him was at that moment.


    ¡°`


    The main issue was that at this time, this place, he had not connected ¡°Night Traveling Puppy¡± with the young man before him, even if he had thought of it, he wouldn¡¯t dare to believe it.


    It was at this moment that a sense of crisis descended from behind.


    Cheng Jingting had no time to think further and immediately turned around to dodge, only to see Shen Wanqiu, who had already grown a coat of white hair, pouncing toward him.


    The momentum of the attack was extremely ferocious, like a maddened lion, with sharp, elongated fingernails and fangs that had already flipped over her lips.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    Cheng Jingting had no time to think, a thought flashed through his mind, and he felt a pain in his shoulder. A chunk of flesh had been gouged out by Shen Wanqiu¡¯s five fingers, the wound deep enough to expose bone.


    This strike, while avoiding vital areas, left Cheng Jingting with a serious injury.


    And Shen Wanqiu did not stop there, immediately sweeping her right hand again and grasping at Cheng Jingting¡¯s face.


    When the first strike occurred, Cheng Jingting had already retreated. Now, with the second strike following quickly, Jingting found himself with no room to retreat, his back against the door.


    As his face was about to be clawed, Cheng Jingting suddenly reached out and grabbed Shen Wanqiu¡¯s arm.


    At that moment, Cheng Jingting¡¯s arm swelled, growing significantly larger than before, veins bulging and his strength suddenly increasing several times over.


    Shen Wanqiu, having become powerful after her transformation, found that Cheng Jingting¡¯s strength, with his arm suddenly growing thicker, was now comparable to hers.


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s face twisted into something ferocious, as if his facial features were starting to change.


    He opened his mouth wide toward Shen Wanqiu; it seemed as though someone was inside, forcefully stretching it wider and wider.


    Crack!


    A mass of red flesh was spat out from his mouth, which after writhing for a few seconds and trembling twice, astonishingly formed into a blood-red infant.


    This infant couldn¡¯t stand but crawled on the ground. However, it moved with surprising speed, and after latching onto Shen Wanqiu¡¯s right foot, it climbed up her leg, covered in white hair.


    Shen Wanqiu let out a piercing scream as the white hair on her leg degenerated and melted away.


    She freed a hand, bent down, and grasped the blood-red infant on her leg. The hand holding the infant also emitted copious amounts of white vapor, as if she were holding a red-hot iron.


    She flung the infant behind her. It collided with the wall before falling onto the bed.


    At that moment, Shen Wanqiu¡¯s other hand once more reached for Cheng Jingting. Jingting had no choice but to block with his other, ordinary hand.


    Instantly, Cheng Jingting¡¯s body jerked, blood seeping out of his nose, ears, and eyes. His ordinary hand, upon being seized by Shen Wanqiu, saw its veins and muscles shrink and snap, the half-forearm quickly turning a purplish blue.


    Cheng Jingting struggled desperately, stomping his right foot hard on the ground several times. Like the other arm, his injured limb began to visibly swell but was quickly suppressed by Shen Wanqiu again.


    As both hands were entangled with Jingting¡¯s, leaving her unable to use them, Shen Wanqiu flipped out her fangs and bit towards Cheng Jingting¡¯s head.


    Just then, the infant on the bed lunged forward, clamping onto the back of Shen Wanqiu¡¯s head.


    Steam surged out as if boiling water was churning. Shen Wanqiu screamed once more, hair and scalp falling off her head in chunks.


    At this moment, Shen Wanqiu was suddenly at a disadvantage.


    Yan Junze saw that the situation was bad, flipped his hand, and released the mace into his grip, then without a second word, strode forward and slammed the mace down on the infant¡¯s head atop Shen Wanqiu.


    Thud¡ªa muffled sound.


    The infant was struck and fell, but it clung to Shen Wanqiu¡¯s shoulder, preventing itself from falling.


    It turned its head, looking at Yan Junze. Its eye sockets were void of eyeballs, and it opened its mouth to emit huffing roars, the inside similarly pitch-black, devoid of anything.


    Yet, it seemed as if there was a potent corrosive liquid around its body; the blood touching Shen Wanqiu¡¯s white-haired corpse immediately provoked her agonizing screams.


    Although the infant continued to roar threateningly at Yan Junze, he paid no attention and struck it hard again on its head with the mace.


    ¡°Enough, you!¡± Cheng Jingting shouted angrily, then his eyes lit up as if he had remembered something. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°You¡­ it¡¯s you, you damn Night¡­ You are¡­ Yan Junze!¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 220 - 216 Difficult Kill

    Chapter 220: Chapter 216 Difficult Kill


    Bang!


    Just as Cheng Jingting finally recognized Yan Junze, he took a solid hit from a club to his forehead.


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s head spun, stars bursting before his eyes, but with his hands held by Shen Wanqiu, he could not defend himself.


    Yan Junze kept hammering down with the club, one blow after another, while saying, ¡°Recognized me? Does it feel good? Are you satisfied? What the hell have I done to you for you to try and make me look like a fool and go viral over and over? Are you crazy or what?¡±


    Moments later, Cheng Jingting¡¯s head was a mess of bruises, swollen so badly he looked like Sakyamuni.


    However, Yan Junze also realized a problem, which was that hitting a person with a club did not have the same effect as hitting strangenesses.


    ...


    Hitting a person could only inflict physical damage, depending entirely on the hardness of the club. But when hitting strangenesses, it could disperse their magnetic field and deplete their energy, making each strike much more effective.


    Yan Junze quickly gave up on continuing to beat Cheng Jingting.


    Yes, using the word ¡®beat¡¯ is more apt.


    Cheng Jingting at this point was obviously different from an ordinary person; although his head had been beaten to the point where even his mother wouldn¡¯t recognize him, his body had undergone a mutation, and even with his head swollen like a pig¡¯s, it still wouldn¡¯t endanger his life.


    Hence, Yan Junze once again turned his attention to the baby, determining that eliminating the strange baby to free Shen Wanqiu¡¯s hands to deal with Cheng Jingting was the best course of action.


    The strange baby had once again climbed onto Shen Wanqiu¡¯s head, but Yan Junze swiftly swung his club sideways, glancing off her scalp and striking the baby hard, sending it flying off like a baseball.


    With a squelch, it stuck to the wall like a clump of mud.


    But this mass of flesh did not stand still, continuously wriggling. It was conceivable that, given time, the baby would reform and attack again.


    With the baby no longer a distraction, Shen Wanqiu again bared her elongated fangs towards Cheng Jingting¡¯s swollen ¡°pig¡¯s head,¡± and she looked ready to bite down.


    At the critical moment, Cheng Jingting let out a loud shout, and from under his feet, a billow of mist rolled out. It seemed illusory, but Yan Junze had seen this scene before.


    During the battle between Resentful Granny and Back-faced Woman, the same scene had appeared. According to the exorcist Huang Chen, this was a manifestation of the Spiritual Realm formed during battles between high-level strangenesses.


    But Cheng Jingting before them was not a strangeness; he was a flesh-and-blood person.


    Yan Junze stared in shock at Cheng Jingting, who was emitting a large amount of mist, and then looked at Shen Wanqiu.


    Under Shen Wanqiu¡¯s feet, mist had also started to spread. It was understandable that this woman had evolved beyond her original state, but what was going on with Cheng Jingting?


    Indeed, the situation was complex. Cheng Jingting, who could nurture spirits, was not as simple as Yan Junze had initially anticipated.


    At this point, Cheng Jingting¡¯s skin had turned a dull, lusterless gray, akin to that of a corpse, devoid of any shine, sagging and drooping, his hair withered, limbs wasted away.


    Though it appeared as if his body was significantly degenerating, Shen Wanqiu now began to tremble slightly, as though her strength had reached its limit. The mist at her feet started thinning, getting enveloped by Cheng Jingting¡¯s mist in return.


    From Cheng Jingting¡¯s direction, Yan Junze could feel the strangeness magnetic field rapidly intensifying, gradually overshadowing Shen Wanqiu.


    Simultaneously, Cheng Jingting¡¯s seemingly weakened limbs firmly grasped Shen Wanqiu, his fingers sinking into the flesh of her arms, encircling the bones with a series of cracking sounds.


    Shen Wanqiu¡¯s body shook even more violently.


    At that moment, the mass of flesh on the wall reassembled itself into the strange baby, baring its teeth and crawling down the corner of the wall towards them.


    ¡°This really is troublesome!¡±


    Seeing this, Yan Junze activated his Semi-spirit State and immediately released the Crawler Monster.


    ¡°Kill that baby.¡±


    He commanded the Crawler Monster, and his body hair had already grown rapidly. Extending his arms forward, a mass of hair stretched out, quickly wrapping around Cheng Jingting¡¯s neck and shoulders.


    At this moment, Cheng Jingting appeared like a dead man, with no sense of feeling. As the hair wrapped around him and pierced through his skin, burrowing into his body, he still showed no reaction, merely biting Shen Wanqiu while holding her in his arms.


    Yan Junze¡¯s hair began to speed up as it drilled into Cheng Jingting¡¯s body. However, since Cheng Jingting had undergone mutation, his body might look weakened, but it was actually hard for the hair to penetrate him. If it had been any other creature as ordinary as the strangenesses, it would have been completely impaled by the hair by now.


    Thump!


    At that moment, the Crawler Monster was unexpectedly bitten on the shoulder by the strange baby and flung away, crashing behind the computer desk.


    After all, the foundations of the Crawler Monster were too weak. Although it was constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas, it was still no match for the baby. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Its forked tongue had just wrapped around the strange baby when it immediately began emitting a copious amount of white steam, as if it was about to be cooked.


    That moment, the tongue hung outside its mouth, still emitting heat, too embarrassed to pull back inside, looking extremely awkward.


    Yan Junze, with a steeled heart, released the two naughty strange babies once more.


    This was the first time these two strange babies had been summoned to assist him since he had taken them from Aunt Mei.


    Since the strange babies were afraid of brightly lit places, upon releasing them, Yan Junze also extended some of his hair to push closed the only window that was open in the room and drew the curtains shut.


    The next second, the room became very dark, and as the two strange babies appeared, Yan Junze immediately said, ¡°Assist the Crawler Monster, kill that strange baby!¡±


    The two strange babies hesitated for a moment, then looked towards the bed. At this moment, the baby on the bed had just thrown the Crawler Monster. Its pitch-black eye sockets turned, seemingly fixing their gaze on the twin strange babies.


    Thump! Thump!


    The two strange babies pounced without a word, their eyes flashing with an inexplicable excitement. In an instant, they leaped onto the bed, wrestling and biting viciously with the strange baby.


    ¡°Break!¡±


    Since the Semi-Spirit State had been activated, Yan Junze had completely twisted his head one hundred eighty degrees. The hair that had extended out now possessed maximum offensive power, a large amount of it drilling into Cheng Jingting¡¯s body.


    The hair, like steel spikes, forced Cheng Jingting to redirect much of his energy towards fighting the hair, and the force he was using to press down on Shen Wanqiu weakened instantly.


    Shen Wanqiu¡¯s head tilted back, and she viciously bit into Cheng Jingting¡¯s neck. Visible to the naked eye, a green poison began spreading along the skin of his neck.


    Meanwhile, the hair inside Cheng Jingting¡¯s body, while extending toward the pulsating heart, was withering away in huge patches. But soon, it was replaced by new hair stubbornly aiming for the fiercely pulsating heart.


    Yan Junze could clearly feel that this bizarre body of the man before him was just too strong. It was impossible to pierce through him with the hair alone, so he resorted to the next best thing, aiming to penetrate his heart as a more direct method.


    Finally, the situation tipped completely to one side, the strange baby unable to fend off both the Crawler Monster and the two strange babies at the same time. Much of its flesh was bitten off.


    On the outside, Shen Wanqiu was finally gaining the upper hand, infecting Cheng Jingting¡¯s skin with the Corpse Poison from her teeth, while the hair Yan Junze had drilled into his body was also close to reaching the heart. In every aspect, Cheng Jingting was being suppressed to the verge of death.


    Just then, Cheng Jingting¡¯s eyes regained a momentary clarity. His lips moved slightly, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth as he gasped and said, ¡°Spirit Guarding, Spirit Guarding, guide me into the spirit, the spirit returns to the beginning, those who kill me shall die!¡±


    At the same moment, two pieces of information popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Detecting intense Butterfly Effect fluctuations.]


    [Previously detected 3 Butterfly Effect incidents. Estimated energy cost to resolve them is 1000 points. A fourth powerful Butterfly Effect fluctuation detected¡ªexpected energy cost to handle it is 2000 points. If clearing all, current energy is insufficient¡­]


    ¡°What?¡± Seeing these two messages, Yan Junze froze in shock.


    After initiating the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± he had 2300 points of Different Dimension Energy left. He had used two small rewinds in this room, but the time was short and the energy consumed was negligible.


    But now, he had caused a Butterfly Effect that would need a total of 3000 points of energy to settle. What should he do?


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 Chapter 221 - 217 Butterfly Effect Stabilization

    Chapter 221: Chapter 217 Butterfly Effect Stabilization


    Cheng Jingtian, after uttering that incomprehensible talk about ¡°Spirit Guarding,¡± suddenly lost the clarity in his eyes. His gaze dimmed in an instant, and his head drooped down as if life had left him.


    In the next second, a gray light ascended above his head, a blurry shadow.


    This shadow was only half the size of a person, seeming to break free from its cage. First, it stretched out its hands from the top of Cheng Jingtian¡¯s head and then crawled out with difficulty.


    Once it had emerged, Yan Junze finally saw clearly that the shadow took the form of Cheng Jingtian, albeit listless. It hunched its back, standing atop its own body.


    In less than two seconds, the gray shadow swiftly dissipated into nothingness.


    After the shadow vanished, Cheng Jingtian¡¯s body ceased its resistance, instead becoming eerily quiet. Then, his body began to swell rapidly as if it were a balloon that was abruptly inflated.


    ...


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Yan Junze felt a tremendous force squeezing out the hair that penetrates Cheng Jingtian¡¯s body, and he immediately retracted all his hair, retreating frantically.


    But Shen Wanqiu, who was oblivious to these sensations, moved forward fiercely and hugged Cheng Jingtian¡¯s body, devouring it desperately after Yan Junze stepped aside.


    Bang!


    Right where Cheng Jingtian stood, his body exploded into pieces, not only turning into a mush of flesh but also generating a powerful blast of air.


    Shen Wanqiu, who was directly on top of Cheng Jingtian, bore the brunt of the blast. Even with her evolved strength, she was still torn into five or six pieces and hurled away by the explosion.


    The living room door behind Cheng Jingtian was blown clear off to the staircase passage outside, with the adjacent walls collapsing inwards, leaving them bloodstained and marred.


    The bed in the room, also caught in the blast, was pushed up against the desk near the window. The strange baby on the bed, together with the two odd babies and the Crawler Monster fighting over it, were smeared with exploding gore and flung into the wall with a brutal impact.


    Having anticipated Cheng Jingtian¡¯s body explosion, Yan Junze was still in Semi-Spirit State despite being nearby, which helped him resist the shockwave.


    As expected, the impact of the self-detonation blew his Semi-Spirit Body into the bathroom, causing a loud crashing noise, and even the thick curtain outside the bathroom was blown away.


    Indeed, Cheng Jingtian¡¯s last attack before death was extremely terrifying.


    Yan Junze felt his head spinning and heavy, but after regaining some clarity, he didn¡¯t hesitate. He immediately collected the two odd babies smeared against the wall and the stunned Crawler Monster into the Atlas.


    The Atlas contained Different Dimension Energy, which would allow them to recover slowly, so there was no need to worry for now.


    Following the explosion, Yan Junze used the semi-Spirit State to withstand the impact, then forced himself to recover rapidly.


    About ten seconds later, he reverted to his normal body, but immediately felt a wave of weakness and hunger wash over him.


    He steadied himself and exited the bathroom. By then, the room was in complete disarray, with hardly an inch of space near the living room door left intact.


    Only in the direction of the computer desk, which had shifted position, was everything relatively untouched.


    ¡°Meow¡ª¡±


    A cat¡¯s meow came from beneath the computer desk.


    Yan Junze bent down to see Bai crouched underneath, curled up into a ball with eyes filled with terror, shivering fearfully.


    He reached out to pick up Bai and then examined Shen Wanqiu¡¯s scattered remains, noticing that her dismembered body no longer twitched. Obviously, she died nearly at the same time as Cheng Jingtian.


    Fortunately, the ¡°Revenge¡± mission had also been completed. Whether or not Cheng Jingtian¡¯s soul had escaped, his death was an undeniable fact.


    Just as he thought this, a mission completion notification popped up.


    [¡°Revenge, Hair-Raising (High),¡± completed, earn 1500 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze was left with just over 2200 points of energy; now with an additional 1500 points, he had a total of 3700 points.


    He had just been warned by the Atlas about insufficient energy points for ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization,¡± but now it seemed he had more than enough.


    Carrying Bai, Yan Junze coughed twice and walked straight out the living room door.


    At this moment, the dust still whirled in the air outside the living room at the top of the stairs from the explosion, though it was beginning to dissipate gradually. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking down from the stairway, the Fat Old Man fanning himself stood on the floor below, craning his neck and looking upward, his face etched with panic.


    Apart from that, neighbors from upstairs and downstairs stood at their respective stair entrances to look, but none dared to approach.


    The neighbors on this floor, whether they were home or not, never opened their doors.


    Upon seeing the fat old man, Yan Junze stroked Bai in his arms, signaling that he could come over to be held.


    When the fat old man suddenly saw Bai, he was startled, then became hesitant.


    After a brief moment of indecision, he still climbed the stairs and hurried over to Yan Junze and Bai.


    Following the fat uncle was a middle-aged man who seemed to be his son.


    Once the fat old man got closer, Yan Junze handed Bai over to him and said, ¡°Fat uncle, did you have your cat groomed?¡±


    The fat uncle didn¡¯t immediately answer him. Instead, after taking Bai, he glanced into Cheng Jingting¡¯s room, saw nothing in the pitch darkness, and then replied, ¡°Hmm, it used to be black. It always ran off and hid in hard-to-see corners, and with my poor eyesight, I couldn¡¯t spot it, so I decided to dye it white. Let¡¯s see how it tries to hide now?¡±


    ¡°May I ask who you are¡­?¡± The fat uncle¡¯s son, who was behind him, expressed doubt and began to inquire.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak; he just nodded and turned to enter the room.


    At this moment, there was no longer any need for him to stay there. He took a deep breath, called up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, and initiated the return command.


    From the perspective of a third person watching, one could see a black point suddenly appear in front of Yan Junze, while Yan Junze himself rapidly shrank and was sucked into the black point.


    Once again, he stood in the gap space of spacetime, but this time, a prompt immediately popped up for ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡±


    [The current ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± has resulted in 4 butterfly effects. The first butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 300 points, and it has generated 572 ripple events. The second butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 300 points, and it has generated 580 ripple events. The third butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 400 points, and it has generated 769 ripple events.]


    Yan Junze looked closely, mentally prepared for the number of ripple events a single butterfly effect could cause.


    So, even though he had changed only the fact of Cheng Jingting¡¯s death, if he allowed the event to trigger butterfly effects without intervening, who knows? By the time he returned to his own time period, many historical events might have changed.


    For instance, he might not be able to attend university because Tianmeng Science University could have been forcibly shut down by the authorities. Or he might never meet his current roommates, or he might not even live in Room 411 anymore.


    In any case, constant shifts in more than 500 ripple events from a single butterfly effect ultimately form the altered outcome ¨C the complexity of which was almost too daunting to contemplate.


    Just then, the Atlas popped up with information about the fourth butterfly effect.


    [The fourth butterfly effect requires an estimated energy consumption of 2000 points, generating 34 ripple events. If the ripple events are realized, they will have a fatal impact on the host. Ripple event number 18 is the key, with infinite variability, and must be addressed personally by the host. A maximum of 500 points of Rewind Energy may be used with caution.]


    Reading this Atlas information, Yan Junze took a moment to digest it before going over it again to fully understand.


    It turned out that not only did the fourth butterfly effect consume a large amount of energy, but it also required his personal intervention due to its high variability ¨C meaning he would have to make another trip.


    At this moment, the Spacetime Atlas displayed another prompt.


    [The first, second, and third butterfly effects can be handled personally at your discretion or corrected automatically by ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡± During the automatic process, the host may choose to observe from a third-person perspective. Would you like to start now?]


    Yan Junze thought for a bit and mentally agreed to begin.


    [We will now commence the stabilization of the first butterfly effect. Please choose whether to handle it personally or let the Atlas automatically correct it.]


    ¡°Let it automatically correct. I will observe from a third-person perspective,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    The space in front of him suddenly quivered, a fissure yawned open, revealing a segment of a timeline.


    It felt as if Yan Junze was instantly transported there, standing within this scene, watching the people passing by, chatting animatedly, yet no one could see him.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was as if an invisible observer.


    Not far in front of him stood the fat old man, holding Bai, and standing with his son at the bottom of the stairs.


    Downstairs was now crowded with many residents, there were police cars stopped inside the complex, and beyond that, Yan Junze also saw some men in suits entering the building, likely belonging to the Exorcism team.


    A man in a suit was inquiring about the incident from the fat old man at the time.


    The fat old man¡¯s account mostly matched reality¡ªhe heard several people fighting in the room, sounding not like ordinary people, their cries harrowing and spine-chilling to anyone who listened.


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 Chapter 222 - 218: The Unexpected Lianyi Incident

    Chapter 222: Chapter 218: The Unexpected Lianyi Incident


    Yan Junze stood next to Fat Uncle, watching as the exorcist in a suit listened intently to the old man¡¯s description.


    At the end, the exorcist asked, ¡°The young man who brought the cat out to you, if you see him again, would you be able to recognize him?¡±


    Just then, a message popped up before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    [This is the first point where the Butterfly Effect has occurred, correction is about to proceed, would you like to view the uncorrected clip once?]


    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s watch it once,¡± Yan Junze replied curiously.


    To be honest, he was also curious to see what would have happened without the Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    ...


    As the message popped up earlier, Fat Uncle, the exorcist, and everyone else in the surrounding scene had all frozen as if the frame had paused.


    It wasn¡¯t until Yan Junze gave his affirmative reply that the scene started playing again.


    Fat Uncle told the exorcist, ¡°I remember, of course I remember. That young man probably doesn¡¯t live in this neighborhood, I had never seen him before.¡±


    ¡°Then, can you come back with us to do a composite sketch?¡± the exorcist asked again.


    While stroking Bai in his arms, Fat Uncle hesitated, ¡°Although I can recognize the man if I see him again, I¡¯m not sure if I can do a composite sketch exactly like him.¡±


    ¡°Approximately accurate is fine,¡± the exorcist said.


    ¡°I remember, I can assist you,¡± Fat Uncle¡¯s son came over at that moment and spoke to the exorcist.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± the exorcist asked.


    ¡°Sure, I have a good memory,¡± Fat Uncle¡¯s son nodded.


    The scene paused again.


    Yan Junze looked up at the new message that had just popped up.


    [This is the first ripple event of the Butterfly Effect, would you like to watch the remaining 571 ripple events?]


    Yan Junze was astonished; there were still 571 clips to watch, but he didn¡¯t have the time to delve into all of them. He shook his head, ¡°No need, proceed with correcting the Butterfly Effect here.¡±


    The scene instantly returned to the moment the exorcist was questioning Fat Uncle about recognizing Yan Junze.


    This time, Fat Uncle frowned deeply and after a long thought, he shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t remember clearly, it seems that it was the owner of that house who brought the cat out to me. After handing the cat to me, he went back inside and didn¡¯t come out again.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Think hard,¡± the exorcist said.


    Fat Uncle¡¯s son came over at this point, and Fat Uncle looked up to ask, ¡°Son, did you see the young man who brought the cat out to us? Was it the young guy living in that house or someone else?¡±


    His son blinked, then showed a regretful smile, ¡°Sorry, I was so concerned whether Bai was injured or not, I didn¡¯t pay attention to him. Plus, I haven¡¯t come to see you for a month. I¡¯m really not familiar with the people here.¡±


    [The first Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    A message popped up, and just then, the scene where Yan Junze stood started to shift rapidly.


    Fat Uncle and his son disappeared along with the exorcist. The onlookers were also nowhere to be seen. The scene shifted, and Yan Junze found himself standing in a room.


    He was familiar with this room because it was here that Cheng Jingting had exploded.


    The door of the room had been cordoned off with yellow police tape, but there were no police inside; they were all standing outside the tape, not entering the room.


    Inside, there were only three people, two men and one woman. The men were one fat and one thin, and the woman was pretty with an air of scholarly grace about her.


    At that moment, the woman was squatting at the spot where Cheng Jingting had exploded. She wore white gloves and was speaking as she slowly stood up, ¡°Confirmed, the explosion occurred after the cadaveric qi had expanded.¡±


    ¡°Is it from this dismembered white-haired corpse?¡± the thin man asked from the corner, pointing at a part of Shen Wanqiu¡¯s body.


    This piece of the body was part of the back with a lot of white hair still attached, which allowed the exorcists to quickly determine her powers.


    ¡°No,¡± the woman shook her head, her gaze moving to the bathroom and the walls, ¡°There¡¯s something odd, there are signs of impact in these places. There must have been someone else in this room.¡±


    Everyone suddenly froze.


    A message appeared in front of Yan Junze.


    [This is the second point where the Butterfly Effect has occurred, correction is about to proceed, would you like to watch the uncorrected clip once?]


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and felt there was no need to watch the clip before repair, so he shook his head, indicating his decision.


    The scene continued.


    The fat man pointed at the blood and flesh residue left by the Blood Infant on the bed and said to the female exorcist, ¡°There were others. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the person living here, in addition to refining a corpse, also refined an infant. Look at this, these should be left by the infant.¡±


    ¡°Most likely, the guy was too greedy and got backfired upon,¡± the thin man nodded in agreement.


    The woman still had her brows furrowed, but said nothing. Instead, she walked over to the bed and carefully examined the remnants left by the infant.


    A few moments later, she nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Then, is there any need to run another strangeness magnetic field detection?¡± the fat man asked.


    Without much thought, the woman shook her head, ¡°No need. It¡¯s just an unlucky Spirit Cultivator; there¡¯s no involvement of Wandering Spirits or Sculpting Spirits.¡±


    The scene came to a halt once more.


    [The second Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    As the information popped up, Yan Junze¡¯s location remained unchanged; he was still inside the room. However, the scene within the room was rapidly shifting.


    Once the scene had stabilized, the three exorcists had vanished, darkness enveloped the outside, the scattered corpses had been cleared away, and the traces of the explosion were cleaned up.


    The door of the room had been knocked off its hinges, so it remained open, allowing a clear view outside. At the moment, the blockade outside the door was still in place, but beyond the stairwell entrance, there was a deathly silence, not a sound to be heard.


    Judging by the looks of it, the current time was at least two or three in the morning. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand why the third Butterfly Effect Stabilization appeared at this time. It seemed that the police and exorcists had already surveyed the scene, everyone had retreated, and it was now the middle of the night.


    About a minute later, the sound of rustling footsteps came from the bottom of the stairs, and soon enough, a man dressed in black with a duckbill cap, the brim pulled down very low, appeared at the stairwell entrance.


    The man first looked around to make sure no one was there, then crossed the police line and walked into Cheng Jingting¡¯s room.


    As he passed by Yan Junze, Yan Junze noticed the man was somewhat slim and short, but each step he took was very firm, giving the impression of a robust physique.


    Not only was the man¡¯s hat brim pulled down low, but he also turned up his collar to cover half of his face so his features were unclear.


    After entering the room, the man neither used a flashlight nor turned on the light. Instead, he walked around the corners of the room, noticed the imprint of the earthen jar, but what was left of the jars were either broken or taken away by the exorcists.


    After circling around, he walked to the middle of the room, extended a finger, and produced some black powder from somewhere, sprinkling it around in a circle at his feet.


    He stood within the circle of powder without stepping out, and soon after, the man¡¯s shoulders began to shrug.


    Yan Junze watched curiously, wondering what kind of trick this fellow was pulling.


    As the man¡¯s shoulders moved up and down, to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, it seemed as if they started to rise as if bones were stretching out.


    But upon closer inspection, it wasn¡¯t so.


    Yan Junze walked closer to the man, up to his face, and carefully observed his features.


    Although the man¡¯s lower face was obscured, the distance allowed Yan Junze to still make out the man¡¯s general appearance.


    The man¡¯s eyes were very small, and even when they were open, they seemed as if they were asleep.


    As the man continued to shrug, Yan Junze stepped back several paces, knowing full well he didn¡¯t need to retreat, that he and the man were in entirely different dimensions.


    The man¡¯s shoulders appeared to have a double image, but soon Yan Junze could see clearly that it was another person¡¯s shoulders, slowly rising from within the man¡¯s body and standing up. The black shadow and the man¡¯s body overlapped and merged so that at first glance, it appeared the man¡¯s shoulders had extruded bones.


    The shadow looked somewhat fierce and terrifying, with two horns growing from its head and a skeletal structure of immense size. Its arms were excessively sturdy, totally out of proportion to its body and legs, and a bone spur protruded from each of its elbows.


    After the black shadow completely stood up from the man¡¯s body, it looked left and right, and its hollow gaze swept over Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    Even though it couldn¡¯t see Yan Junze, it still caused him to shiver silently, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.


    Suddenly, the shadow seemed to find something and brutally grasped toward the darkness in the front right side, seizing an oval pebble that was placed on a computer desk.


    The pebble was somewhat large, usually used as an ornamental stone on the table, and rarely caught anyone¡¯s attention.


    However, after the shadow seized the pebble, it crushed it without a second thought.


    The scene abruptly stopped, and a message appeared before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    [This is the third Butterfly Effect origin point. Correction will commence. Would you like to view the uncorrected footage once?]


    Yan Junze was totally stunned; he had not expected that this seemingly Spirit Cultivator who was a thin, middle-aged man would show up, and judging from the Monster Spirit strangeness inside him, it was clear that this man was even more terrifying than Cheng Jingting.


    Who was this guy? Why did he come here? Was he part of the exorcist team, or did he have some connection with Cheng Jingting?


    At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s mind was filled with questions.


    This time, he definitely chose to first view the footage before the Butterfly Effect correction.


    As the thought to watch it arose, the paused scene resumed.


    At the moment the Monster Spirit shadow crushed the pebble, a half-human-sized black figure emerged from the shattered stone but was immediately seized by the Monster Spirit shadow, unable to move.


    Upon seeing the half-human-sized black figure, Yan Junze was taken aback and couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Cheng Jingting!¡±


    It was indeed Cheng Jingting¡¯s fleeing soul that had escaped. Yan Junze thought he had left, little knowing that it had hidden inside the pebble, unnoticed even by the exorcists.


    As Cheng Jingting was discovered by the stranger, at first, he was terrified, but then he came to a realization, and looking at the Monster Spirit shadow holding him, the half-human-sized figure gradually became calm.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± the thin man asked.


    ¡°The corpse I was refining was disrupted and destroyed by a guy named Yan Junze, who set a trap for me,¡± Cheng Jingting replied.


    ¡°How could you be so careless?¡± the thin man rebuked.


    ¡°Teacher, you must save me,¡± Cheng Jingting said.


    The thin man sighed softly and after a moment of silence, spoke, ¡°There appeared a Spirit Bridge in Tianmeng District, and I was about to try my luck there. So for now, follow me and when the opportunity arises, I¡¯ll help you with a Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect.¡±


    At that moment, the scene paused again, and a message appeared in front of Yan Junze.


    [This is the first ripple event of this Butterfly Effect. Do you wish to play the remaining 768 ripple events?]


    ¡°Teacher?¡±


    Yan Junze stared at the information prompt, though in his mind he was recalling the conversation between Cheng Jingting and the thin man.


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 Chapter 223 - 219: Spirit Guarding (1)

    Chapter 223: Chapter 219: Spirit Guarding (1)


    Now, it seemed that the thin man wearing a duckbill cap was the teacher who taught Cheng Jingting how to nurture his spirit.


    This also explained why he was able to find the hidden place of Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul.


    Furthermore, if the thin man located Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul and let this guy possess a corpse to resurrect, it would definitely be unfavorable for Yan Junze in the future.


    No matter what, things definitely could not continue to develop this way.


    Yan Junze first denied continuing to play the remaining 768 ripple events, then issued the command for Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    The scene in front of him changed rapidly, returning to the moment when the Monster Spirit¡¯s shadow behind the thin man stretched out its hand, reaching for the cobblestone, and then the scene froze.


    ...


    Then, it started playing again.


    The Monster Spirit suddenly grasped the ordinary-looking cobblestone on the computer desk and crushed it with one squeeze.


    However, this time, the moment the cobblestone was crushed, Cheng Jingting¡¯s shadowy soul whizzed out, moving at an incredibly fast speed.


    The shadow frantically darted around the room like a headless fly, its flight path completely erratic, as if it might crash into a wall at any moment.


    The Monster Spirit did not reach out to grab it again, and the thin man started muttering to himself, ¡°What on earth did this guy encounter just now? He¡¯s been scared out of his wits.¡±


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul roamed wildly in the room for a moment and spoke to the thin man, ¡°Yan Long, so you want to harm me as well?¡±


    The thin man, furious and in a lowered voice, cursed, ¡°You little brat, even daring to directly call your teacher by name, don¡¯t even think about me helping you possess a corpse to resurrect!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± The soul of Cheng Jingting laughed, and by the looks of it, he was seriously ill at that moment.


    Just as the thin man Yan Long said, it seemed that Cheng Jingting had been scared out his soul, and his soul became fragmented.


    However, although Yan Long said so, he still wanted to help his student. The tall Monster Spirit shadow that arose from his body reached out again towards Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul, attempting to take him away.


    Who would have thought that at that moment, Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul flew to the window and with a whoosh, darted through the windowpane, disappearing without a trace.


    Yan Long was taken aback, then shrugged his shoulders again, and talked to himself, ¡°Get out, you little brat, if you want to leave so badly, just be a lonely ghost!¡±


    As he shrugged his shoulders, the manifested Monster Spirit gradually shrank and slowly retracted into his body.


    [The third Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief.


    The scene before his eyes began to change again, and he knew this was the fourth and final Butterfly Effect of the ¡°Great Rewind¡±.


    According to the previous hints from the Spacetime Atlas, if this fourth Butterfly Effect was not stabilized, it would pose a lethal threat to Yan Junze.


    So, the moment the scene changed, Yan Junze immediately became alert. Once the scene stabilized, he looked intently and was stunned on the spot.


    The scene before him was completely unfamiliar, not in the community or Cheng Jingting¡¯s home, but inside a spacious hall.


    At first, Yan Junze was a bit puzzled, but upon seeing the arrangement in the hall, he immediately came to his senses.


    At the back of the hall were rows of black and white banners_, with many yellow plastic flowers stuck on the wall, among which was a large ¡°Offering¡± character; this was a Funeral Hall.


    Directly beneath the ¡°Offering¡± character, a coffin with a viewing window lay, it was currently powered on, and perhaps the cooling was set too high, as mist had formed inside, obscuring the view of the body.


    Around the viewing coffin were large clusters of fresh flowers, and at the foot of the coffin stood two refined wooden tables with offerings, ingot-shaped candles, and other items. In the middle of the tables was a bowl of cooked, clean rice with three sticks of incense inserted in it.


    These three sticks of incense would be replaced periodically to ensure the incense kept burning continuously.


    In front of the tables were three cushions, and at this moment, someone was kneeling there, crying out loud in grief, while family members were nearby, receiving condolences.


    Yan Junze stood in the Funeral Hall like an outsider, watching these people busily carry out their duties in an orderly manner, with a heavy atmosphere permeating the air.


    In such an environment, even an outsider like him couldn¡¯t help but feel solemn.


    Looking around, he realized this place was not just a Funeral Hall, but also likely inside a funeral home, as outside the hall¡¯s door, he could see across to another hall¡¯s door, but it was closed with apparently no one inside.


    It was then that an information prompt popped up.


    [Up next, begin stabilization of the fourth Butterfly Effect. Since this event involves more than three unstable strangeness factors, you will need to handle it personally.]


    [Reminder: 1. You cannot appear in your true form during the Butterfly Effect Stabilization; 2. The Atlas will designate the best avatar for you based on the strangeness you have locked down, which will enter the scene via a Different Dimension space re-projection; 3. Do not interact with anyone in the scene; 4. You only have 500 points of Different Dimension Energy available for Rewind use.]


    [Warning: Interacting with others is the worst course of action, likely causing unstable Butterfly Effect ripple events that cannot be stabilized. Besides this, Butterfly Effect Stabilization will automatically correct other minor ripple events.]


    The information was somewhat overwhelming.


    Yan Junze carefully read it over, especially the few lines in the reminder section, which he pondered over several times.


    He could now guess that the fourth Butterfly Effect incident would occur inside the funeral parlor¡¯s Funeral Hall. He wondered what fatal threats would arise if he didn¡¯t address the issue?


    As he was pondering, another piece of information popped up in his mind.


    [After screening, Long-tongued Zhenzhen is in a state of chaos due to the strangenesses magnetic field and cannot be used; the Crawler Monster is disabled in its legs, inconvenient for free movement during the mission; after screening, the strange babies of various sizes are all suitable for use in Different Dimension space re-projection. Please choose?]


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood. He didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately chose the slightly larger strange baby.


    [Host has selected the re-projection target. The Ripple event is expected to start in one hour¡­]


    Having done this, Yan Junze turned his gaze toward one side of the Funeral Hall.


    There, a group of men and women in mourning clothes sat; some were staring into space, others were quietly grieving, some younger ones were playing with their phones, and a few were speaking softly.


    Dressed in hemp clothes, Cui Zhiyong sat alone in a corner, lighting a cigarette and taking puffs, his gaze occasionally drifting toward the direction of the coffin.


    The person lying in that coffin was none other than his wife, Ren Susu.


    Ren Susu had committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills, and the cause was not complicated¡ªit all started with an argument with Cui Zhiyong. In a moment of anger, she took a path of no return.


    In this Funeral Hall, Cui Zhiyong didn¡¯t know how many times he had already cried. At this moment, having only taken a few drags from his cigarette, he once again began to silently shed tears.


    Cui Zhiyong¡¯s sister, Cui Xiaocan, sat opposite, gazing at him with a heart full of pity.


    Ever since her sister-in-law passed away, she had seen her brother silently cry more than seven or eight times. She knew this silent grief represented the deepest pain. It was likely that Cui Zhiyong¡¯s heart was already dead, and when it came to self-blame, it had reached its extremity.


    Cui Xiaocan gently hugged her brother¡¯s and sister-in-law¡¯s seven-year-old daughter, Yuanyuan, who was by now sleeping on her lap. Later, Cui Xiaocan would have to take Yuanyuan back to rest; she couldn¡¯t let the child get too tired.


    The visitors who came to offer comfort were mostly friends. The Cui Family had few relatives, and with their parents gone, they only had this one sister, Cui Xiaocan.


    The relatives of the late Ren Susu, who lived out of town, were overwhelmed upon arriving at the Funeral Hall and fainted, and were taken to the hospital. Considering the elders¡¯ health, their family hesitated to let them come again.


    By 11:30 p.m., the only people left in the Funeral Hall were Cui Zhiyong and his good buddy Sun Guodong.


    Sun Guodong was a decent person, busying himself and helping out. Without his arrangements, things here would not be as they were now.


    After bidding farewell to the last few colleagues from their workplace, Sun Guodong poured a cup of hot water and sat down next to Cui Zhiyong, sipping the water.


    Cui Zhiyong passed a cigarette over: ¡°Thank you, brother!¡±


    ¡°Why mention it?¡± Sun Guodong waved his hand and pushed the cigarette back, ¡°I¡¯m not smoking anymore. I haven¡¯t rested well these past few days, and smoking hurts my throat.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say anything, but I¡¯ll remember your kindness,¡± Cui Zhiyong patted Sun Guodong on the shoulder.


    Sun Guodong grinned, took a sip of water, held the cup in both hands, and gazed at the ice coffin, recalling the days he spent with the couple. Just a couple of days ago, he saw a perfectly fine person, who was now gone suddenly.


    Life is unpredictable.


    At this time, Cui Xiaocan, who was sitting opposite, turned her head and glanced at her husband: ¡°What time is it?¡±


    ¡°Almost midnight,¡± her husband looked at his watch and said, ¡°It will be cold for the child to sleep here. Let¡¯s go back. Big brother and his friend are here.¡±


    Cui Xiaocan glanced at Cui Zhiyong across from her, his expression fading, shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay here with big brother tonight. You take Yuanyuan back to rest.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay too, to accompany them. Go on, I¡¯ll drive you and Yuanyuan home first. You both have a good night¡¯s rest, and I¡¯ll go back to sleep after you come over in the morning,¡± Cui Xiaocan¡¯s husband said.


    Cui Xiaocan stared blankly at her husband, her eyes filled with love, and without saying anything further, she simply nodded her head.


    She knew her husband had been working late for the past couple of days and hadn¡¯t rested well. Although she felt reluctant to let him keep vigil here, it was a necessity.


    Thinking of this, Cui Xiaocan reached out and gently patted the sleeping little girl on her lap: ¡°Yuanyuan, come on, it¡¯s time to go. Let¡¯s go home and sleep.¡±


    Yuanyuan didn¡¯t respond.


    Just then, Cui Xiaocan froze for a moment because she noticed that her husband was staring at Yuanyuan in amazement.


    ¡°She¡­ isn¡¯t asleep,¡± her husband said, pointing to the little girl on her lap.


    Cui Xiaocan looked down and saw that Yuanyuan¡¯s eyes were wide open, staring intently at a certain part of the Funeral Hall.


    Cui Xiaocan remembered that Yuanyuan had been asleep just now and didn¡¯t know when she had woken up; she was silent and her expression was unusual. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following Yuanyuan¡¯s gaze, the couple saw someone squatting at the entrance of the Funeral Hall. It was a boy, about four or five years old, naked and squatting there, seemingly shivering from the cold.


    ¡°Quick, go check on him! Whose child is this?¡± Cui Xiaocan was startled and immediately called to her husband.


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 Chapter 224 - 220: Spirit Guarding (2)

    Chapter 224: Chapter 220: Spirit Guarding (2)


    Cui Xiaocan¡¯s husband, Zeng You, was momentarily stunned before hurrying to his feet and rushing over.


    By this time it was nearly midnight, and the outside temperature had indeed dropped sharply. The child had been squatting next to the door of the Funeral Hall, shivering silently.


    Zeng You approached the child and crouched down next to him, ¡°Kid, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?¡±


    To be honest, in this environment, suddenly seeing a naked child appear, it was impossible not to feel a flutter of panic.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the child in front of him was shivering from the cold, Zeng You would have thought him a strangeness.


    The child was none other than Yan Junze, who had been counter-projected into the Butterfly Effect Stabilization; the body he had been projected into was that of the slightly larger strange baby.


    ...


    Zeng You took off his own coat, draped it over him, and then said, ¡°You come inside first, I¡¯ll notify the funeral home¡¯s office, and they will find your parents very soon.¡±


    Cui Xiaocan, holding Yuanyuan, had already walked over, Yuanyuan¡¯s eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at Yan Junze.


    After listening to Zeng You¡¯s words, Yan Junze nodded, then stood up with difficulty and followed them into the hall of the Funeral Hall, sitting down on a chair against the wall.


    Cui Xiaocan had planned to stay here for Spirit Guarding, so she had intentionally brought a slightly thicker coat from home, and now she took it out and draped it over Yan Junze¡¯s legs.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong from the other side of the hall came over, one after the other.


    ¡°The kid was just squatting at the door, shivering from the cold; didn¡¯t see his parents anywhere,¡± Cui Xiaocan said a few words before reaching out to touch Yan Junze¡¯s arm. Although it was a bit icy, there was still warmth coming from it, which slightly eased her worries.


    Sun Guodong glanced at Cui Zhiyong and whispered, ¡°Could it be¡­ those things?¡±


    In this era, especially in a place like a funeral home, such a situation would naturally make them think of strangenesses. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cui Zhiyong reached out to touch Yan Junze¡¯s forehead, shaking his head, ¡°No, he¡¯s warm.¡±


    Then he lowered his head and asked Yan Junze, ¡°Kid, how did you get here? Where are your mom and dad?¡±


    ¡°I asked him just now,¡± Zeng You said. ¡°He seems unable to speak; there was no reaction to my questions.¡±


    As he spoke, Zeng You headed outside, calling out as he went, ¡°I¡¯m going to the funeral home office.¡±


    Sun Guodong hesitated for a moment, then hurried after him, lowering his voice, ¡°Next to the funeral home office is the Exorcist¡¯s resident office. If possible, it¡¯s best to call them together.¡±


    Zeng You paused, looked back in the direction of Yan Junze, and nodded.


    He hadn¡¯t been gone long when Cui Xiaocan stood up and said, ¡°Brother, watch the kid for me, I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡±


    ¡°Auntie, I want to go too,¡± Yuanyuan said.


    The two left the hall together.


    The restroom was conveniently located next to the hall of the Funeral Hall. Since it was within the funeral home, the lights inside were always on during the day, so it was still well-lit at night.


    At this time, Cui Zhiyong asked Yan Junze a few more questions, to which Yan Junze did not respond.


    Sun Guodong said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just like what Zeng You said; the child may have communication barriers.¡±


    Cui Zhiyong sat by, watching the child, while Sun Guodong turned his back to the hall, also watching Yan Junze.


    Neither of them noticed the noise in the hall at this moment.


    Just as they were talking, the ice coffin placed in the middle of the hall towards the inside quietly opened its lid without making a sound, and only a large amount of cooling gas from inside spilled out, filled with an indescribable strange smell.


    Neither of them saw that the coffin lid was slowly opening, and with Sun Guodong being closer to the direction of the ice coffin, the smell from the body and the coffin became stronger as the cooling gas escaped, causing him to suddenly frown and sniff, turning around.


    What he saw in front of him was like a scene from a dream: the coffin lid, akin to a cabinet door, was not only open, but a terrifyingly pale hand had stretched out from the inside to the edge of the coffin. Pressing down on the edge, the shadows of a shroud could be seen fluttering.


    Apparently, the person inside the coffin was crawling out.


    Because Sun Guodong was positioned in the same direction that the coffin lid had opened, most of his view was blocked by the lid. To see the full scene, he would have to move forwards a bit and walk around the edge of the lid.


    But he no longer had the courage, his face white as a sheet, eyes fixed in horror at the scene before him.


    After a moment, Sun Guodong came to his senses and reached out to touch Cui Zhiyong, who was looking down.


    ¡°Bro¡­ Brother, your wife¡­ she¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s getting up.¡±


    Cui Zhiyong initially didn¡¯t understand but after about two seconds, he stiffened, stood up, looked over, and with a gasp, he trembled all over, frozen in place.


    Although the view was mostly obscured by the opened coffin lid, from their angle, they could still see that the shroud originally worn by Ren Susu was moving and then completely vanished.


    Then, the back of a head with a hair band came into stillness behind the coffin lid, clearly indicating that the person from inside the coffin had stood up, but was facing away from them.


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong stood there motionless, covered in cold sweat, their hands and feet chilled, feeling as though even breathing became difficult.


    Yan Junze simply stared silently at the direction in which the coffin lid was opening. He wasn¡¯t tall enough to see the body which was completely blocked by the coffin lid.


    However, he also remembered the Atlas¡¯s warning not to interact with these people, so up to now, he stayed like a dummy, without any interaction with them.


    It wasn¡¯t until the coffin lid opened that Yan Junze realized that Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul might have emerged.


    It was indeed Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!


    After the third Butterfly Effect had stabilized, this guy became wary of his teacher Yan Long, or perhaps became very irrational due to the loss of his soul, so he didn¡¯t rely on Yan Long¡¯s means to accomplish Resurrection.


    It now seemed that he subconsciously wanted to accomplish it himself.


    At this time, Yan Junze remembered the words Cheng Jingting said in his last moments before death, ¡°Spirit Guarding, Spirit Guarding, ferry me into spirit, spirit returns at the beginning, those who killed me shall die.¡±


    ¡°`


    Initially, he didn¡¯t know what those words meant, but now it seemed they were part of some sinister spell Cheng Jingting was using for resurrecting by possessing a corpse after his death.


    Moreover, if this fourth Butterfly Effect was allowed to continue unchecked, it would pose a mortal threat to Yan Junze. That meant that if not stopped, Cheng Jingting would definitely have succeeded later on.


    So this time, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t afford to be careless.


    The entire Funeral Hall was eerily quiet at this moment. After the ice coffin was opened, the already spacious hall seemed to have been filled with even more chilling air, making one¡¯s heart turn cold.


    Most importantly, this chilly air was intermingled with a strange odor emanating from the ice coffin, which was very uncomfortable after taking a whiff.


    Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong both remained motionless, simply standing there stiffly.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, these two were completely petrified with fear. It was already good that they hadn¡¯t fainted, and surely no one would dare to go over to take a look.


    About two to three minutes later, the corpse, which was mostly obscured by the coffin lid, suddenly moved, slowly turning its body and stepping out from the cover of the lid toward the direction of the offering table.


    ¡°It moved!¡± Sun Guodong¡¯s voice trembled from his throat, his body then starting to shake violently.


    Cui Zhiyong was also abruptly startled, his gaze following the moving hairband intently. Soon, the entire side of his wife¡¯s body appeared, rigidly walking out from behind the hindrance of the coffin lid and coming to a stop next to the offering table at the end of the ice coffin.


    Ren Susu was slender and had delicate features. Now, donning funeral attire with her eyes shut, she moved.


    The atmosphere within the Funeral Hall seemed to instantly plummet to freezing point. Neither Cui Zhiyong nor Sun Guodong had any more capacity to pay Yan Junze any mind, staring wide-eyed and terrified at Ren Susu, who moved with her eyes closed, not daring to make a sound.


    Ren Susu looked perfectly fitted in her funeral clothes; with the hairband adorned with floral patterns, she resembled someone from ancient times, giving off a very unreal sensation.


    She stopped next to the offering table, and after a few seconds, reached out with her stiff, un-bendable hand and grasped the candle closest to her on the right.


    These candles were white, long, and thick. The flames they bore were also quite large¡ªone could burn for about 40 minutes.


    After grabbing the candle, Ren Susu pulled on it and then withdrew her hand.


    Due to the extended period in the ice coffin, her limbs were so stiff that she couldn¡¯t manage to put the candle into her mouth.


    So after a brief pause, Ren Susu leaned in closer, her body making crackling noises, finally bringing herself near enough to the candle before opening her mouth wide and biting down.


    The candle was still burning. The wax near the flame had melted, and her bite extinguished the flame instantly, a gush of the melted wax flowing into Ren Susu¡¯s mouth. Some also dribbled down her lips to her chin, solidifying swiftly.


    This sight utterly stunned Cui Zhiyong and Sun Guodong, causing them to tremble violently.


    But Ren Susu didn¡¯t stop; she continued to devour the candle ravenously, as if a person starved for days had finally found food.


    Yan Junze watched this scene and realized the truth.


    Cheng Jingting was no ordinary man; as a Spirit Cultivator, he surely knew what was most needed after resurrecting through corpse possession and before achieving stabilization.


    Now it seemed that what was needed was to consume some ceremonial candles to stabilize the current state.


    Quickly consuming the first candle, the woman moved on to the one in the middle, repeating the process before the eyes of the three men, voraciously eating the second candle.


    Now her chin was completely smeared with candle wax, covered with a thin layer of wax that had solidified.


    She then turned and began her stiff walk towards the entrance of the Funeral Hall.


    Seeing her about to leave, Cui Zhiyong, who hadn¡¯t dared to take any actions, began to panic. Although he didn¡¯t understand why his wife¡¯s corpse was ¡°reviving,¡± this departure was clearly beyond his expectations.


    His lips quivered, and a hoarse sound emerged from his throat as Cui Zhiyong was about to call out his wife¡¯s name.


    Sun Guodong, already aware that something was off, preempted him, pressing his voice low and sternly said, ¡°Don¡¯t shout. Your sister-in-law¡­ she¡¯s no longer human. Don¡¯t be foolish!¡±


    The words had barely left his lips, uttered quietly as they were, but the rigidly walking Ren Susu still came to a halt.


    With her eyes closed, she turned her body toward the direction of the voice. Her pallid face was fully exposed to everyone¡¯s view.


    Most disturbingly, her mouth was smudged with red wax, resembling dry blood.


    It wasn¡¯t clear who she was ¡°watching,¡± but after a frozen moment, she turned and continued her walk out of the Funeral Hall.


    This time, neither Sun Guodong nor Cui Zhiyong spoke again. Once Ren Susu¡¯s corpse had completely left, they carefully made their way over to take a look.


    Right then, the lid of the opened ice coffin slammed shut with a loud bang that resonated in the quiet night, causing both of them to shudder violently, Cui Zhiyong even jumping in fright.


    They quickly turned to look.


    Seizing the moment, Yan Junze left his chair and quickened his pace as he ran out of the Funeral Hall.


    The upper garment he was wearing could cover his entire body if he zipped it up.


    Once outside the Funeral Hall, he glanced left and right. Eerily, Ren Susu, who had just left through the main door, was nowhere to be seen.


    At the same time.


    Outside the bathroom stall, Cui Xiaocan said to Cui Yuanyuan, ¡°Are you done yet? Hurry up, dad is waiting for us.¡±


    From inside came Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s voice, ¡°I¡¯m ready, I can do it myself.¡±


    After that remark, there was the rustling sound of clothes being adjusted.


    Cui Xiaocan pushed open the stall door, which hadn¡¯t been locked, and said, ¡°Let me help you tidy up, you never fasten your clothes properly.¡±


    The truth was, she wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.


    To be honest, using the bathroom in a funeral home made almost everyone¡¯s hair stand on end, unless it was crowded.


    And at this moment, nearly midnight with just the two of them, feeling nervous and scared was inevitable.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 225 - 221: Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)

    Chapter 225: Chapter 221: Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)


    The silence in the bathroom always gave Cui Xiaocan a hair-raising feeling.


    She tucked Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s shirt into her pants as quickly as possible, then straightened the outer skirt.


    During this time, footsteps could be heard outside the bathroom. Someone, unhurried, walked into the women¡¯s restroom.


    Upon hearing the footsteps, Cui Xiaocan¡¯s previously growing fear had somewhat stabilized.


    Having someone else around gives a subconscious sense of security, preventing the panic from persisting.


    While Cui Xiaocan was fixing Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s skirt, she caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of the person who had entered the toilet entering the first stall.


    ...


    But then Cui Xiaocan froze for a moment, a chill running up her spine.


    Although she had been bending over to fix Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s skirt, the person she saw out of the corner of her eye seemed to be wearing a shroud.


    Cui Xiaocan turned pale, stood up straight, grabbed Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s small hand, and stared at the first stall in the bathroom.


    After entering the toilet, the person had walked straight into the stall without any sound of the door closing or clothes rustling.


    ¡°Auntie, there¡¯s someone in there.¡± Cui Yuanyuan didn¡¯t see the person who came in but heard the sound and suddenly spoke up.


    Cui Xiaocan quickly nodded and gestured for her to be quiet, clutching Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s hand tightly and hurrying towards the restroom exit.


    Her heart was in turmoil. The shroud she¡¯d glimpsed earlier ¨C she wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d been mistaken but the lack of any sound from the person entering the restroom was equally strange.


    The two, one big and one small, quickly passed the first stall.


    The door of the stall was open, and Cui Xiaocan instinctively looked up and immediately froze, as if she¡¯d fallen into a dream.


    And Cui Yuanyuan, who had not planned to look in that stall, when her aunt suddenly froze, lifted her head to look inside the stall and was taken aback, exclaiming in surprise, ¡°Mom?¡±


    Cui Xiaocan snapped back to reality, terrified, and reached out to cover Cui Yuanyuan¡¯s mouth: ¡°Don¡¯t talk!¡±


    But it was already too late.


    Ren Susu, wearing the shroud, was facing away from the stall, but she was slightly bowing her head. Upon hearing a voice, she raised her head, eyes tightly closed, revealing a deathly pale face and a chin covered in red wax.


    That scene, to Cui Xiaocan, the red on the chin looked like blood, and she screamed out loud, trembling and dragging Cui Yuanyuan as she ran.


    When they reached the restroom¡¯s entrance, a short figure came towards them, wearing only a shirt, with no legs, which shocked Cui Xiaocan so much that she nearly fell to the ground.


    Then Cui Yuanyuan let out a surprised ¡°Eh¡± as she immediately recognized the person who came in; it was the child they had noticed earlier at the entrance of the Funeral Hall. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The coat the child was wearing belonged to Uncle Zeng You.


    But the child was so small that, draped in the coat, it seemed as if only the upper body was there, missing the lower half.


    Yan Junze said nothing; he did not intend to interact with these people but quickly entered the women¡¯s restroom and stood outside the first stall.


    Cui Xiaocan eventually recognized him but also realized something was off. The child¡¯s behavior was obviously strange at this moment. She dared not speak, holding back the fear in her heart, pulling Cui Yuanyuan out of the women¡¯s restroom.


    Yan Junze stared at Ren Susu¡¯s face.


    Ren Susu still had her eyes closed as if the soul of Cheng Jingting was not yet enough to make her appear normal.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve just possessed a corpse to resurrect and you¡¯re already planning to hide in the restroom?¡± Yan Junze spoke for the first time.


    As he spoke, he released the Black Spirit Mallet, grabbing its handle, but the other end, due to his short stature, rested directly on the ground.


    Of course, Yan Junze did not doubt that the Great Strange Baby had the strength to wield this mallet.


    Suddenly, Ren Susu in the stall trembled but did not respond; she did not open her eyes, instead reaching out her hand towards Yan Junze¡¯s head with a swift motion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡±


    Yan Junze lifted the mallet and swung it towards Ren Susu¡¯s waist.


    ¡­


    Miss Hall.


    This Funeral Hall was smaller than the one Ren Susu was in, so the cost of renting this hall was half as much, suitable for families not well-off financially.


    At this moment, only the person performing the Spirit Guarding ritual remained inside. He was a bald man in his fifties, and all the other relatives and friends had already left.


    The bald man had already laid down on a bench and fallen asleep; he was covered with a coat with a pillow under his head, sleeping soundly.


    Before falling asleep, the bald man had checked all the burning incense and had also set an alarm on his phone to ensure it would wake him when the incense was about to burn out so he could add more.


    Just then, the lid of the electrically-powered ice casket slowly rose, and an old man dressed in brown and black funeral clothes slowly sat up from the ice casket.


    After sitting for about two minutes, he began to move his stiff limbs, wriggling out of the ice casket and placing his feet on the floor.


    Though he made some noise in the process, it wasn¡¯t loud; the old man took tentative steps, approaching the candlestick on the altar.


    But by that time, the incense candles were nearly burned out, leaving just a bit of wax close to one side of the candlestick. The old man stood there for a moment, then turned and slowly walked towards the bald man lying on the bench.


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 Chapter 226 - 221: Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 226: Chapter 221: Spirit Guarding (3) (4000 words)_2


    ¡°`


    The time still had a while, so the alarm hadn¡¯t rung yet, and the bald man was sleeping soundly.


    After the old man approached him, he just stood in front of him, motionless.


    The man was still in his dreams, seemingly feeling the cold, as he subconsciously tightened the coat around his neck, but he did not open his eyes.


    At the same time.


    Zeng You called over a staff member from the funeral home office and, following Sun Guodong¡¯s reminder when he left, he also summoned the exorcist who was sleeping in the office.


    ...


    This exorcist was probably in his early forties, somewhat short and stout, yet he walked very quickly. To be stationed in the funeral home, he must be at least a two-star exorcist.


    To reach the funeral hall where Ren Susu was located, it was necessary to pass through Miss Hall, and Zeng You, being in a hurry, did not look closely but just focused on the way ahead.


    The three of them quickly passed through Miss Hall, and after a few more steps, the exorcist suddenly said, ¡°Wait a moment.¡±


    Zeng You and the staff member turned their heads in puzzlement.


    The exorcist¡¯s face showed surprise as he stepped back several paces, then turned his head, his gaze landing on the interior of the Miss Hall funeral hall.


    Zeng You and the staff member exchanged glances and also walked back, following the exorcist¡¯s gaze towards the funeral hall of Miss Hall.


    On one side of the funeral hall, a man was lying across a bench, deeply asleep.


    Next to the bench stood an old man dressed in funeral garments, his head lowered, as if silently watching the person sleeping on the bench.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Zeng You and the staff member both cried out in surprise because they also saw that the lid of the ice coffin inside the funeral hall was open.


    Connecting this to the old man in the funeral clothes made everything clear.


    The exorcist, already moving towards Miss Hall, gripped two hidden buckles in his hand and stepped into the funeral hall.


    Just then, the sound of the alarm rang out, vibrating from the pocket of the trousers of the sleeping bald man.


    The man woke up startled, his eyes flying open to see an old man in funeral clothes standing before him. At first, he was confused, but after a few short seconds, he realized what was happening. He turned his head, saw the open coffin lid, and the bald man was so frightened he jolted like he¡¯d been electrocuted and leaped from the bench.


    ¡°Mama mia!¡±


    At that moment, a hidden buckle hit the old man in the funeral clothes.


    With a bang, a white mist spread out and the old man took a few stiff steps to the side before steadying himself and turning his head toward the person entering the door of the funeral hall.


    Unlike Ren Susu, the old man¡¯s eyes were open, but they appeared grey and cloudy.


    Just having steadied himself, the second hidden buckle hit his body, sending up another puff of white mist. The old man toppled backward, rigidly falling to the ground with no further reaction.


    Zeng You, the staff member, and the bald man standing on the bench were all left gaping at the scene.


    The exorcist then crouched in front of the old man and searched around with a spirit detector, then stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s all right now, but this body must be cremated as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ no problem, I¡¯ll arrange it immediately,¡± said the staff member behind him, his face pale with fright as he quickly nodded and took out his phone to make a call.


    The exorcist said to the bald man, ¡°First, notify your other relatives to come over, and for now, no one should touch this body.¡±


    Turning his head to Zeng You, he said, ¡°Lead me quickly to the funeral hall on your side.¡±


    The two left one after the other.


    The staff member stayed behind.


    In the restroom.


    Yan Junze, wielding a mallet that was grossly disproportionate to his body, struck at the half-person-tall shadow of Cheng Jingting on the ground over and over again.


    ¡°`


    Meanwhile, Ren Susu¡¯s lifeless body lay nearby, motionless.


    After being struck countless times by the club, Cheng Jingting¡¯s shadow began to visibly split apart. Without making any sound, it shattered into pieces right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, and then dissipated.


    Empowered by the strength of the Great Strange Baby, Yan Junze felt no fatigue from the continuous beating. He thought, had he not had the club, he could have relied on the instinct of the strange baby to tear apart Cheng Jingting, who had just possessed a corpse to resurrect.


    After waiting for about a minute to ensure that the shadow had been dispersed, Yan Junze put away the club and walked out of the restroom.


    ¡°Was it really that easy?¡± At this moment, he was a bit puzzled. It seemed much easier to rid of Cheng Jingting, who had possessed a corpse to resurrect, than he had imagined.


    Because Cheng Jingting had just possessed a corpse to resurrect and was in an unstable state, he could easily be taken care of once discovered.


    But¡­ it seemed too easy.


    After leaving the restroom, Yan Junze did not return to the Funeral Hall. Instead, he turned a corner and stood against the wall beside the restroom, ready to wait for the Atlas¡¯s prompt to return to the space-time rift.


    However, as he waited, not only did he not receive any prompts, but he also heard several people rushing into the restroom.


    At this time, knowing that someone had come back from the dead and still daring to enter the restroom surely meant that exorcists were involved.


    Yan Junze quickly made this guess.


    Funeral homes, like hospitals, are considered high-risk areas for strangenesses to occur in the current situation, so there must be exorcists stationed there. Their prompt arrival confirmed their identity as exorcists.


    Luckily, he had already resolved the issue with Cheng Jingting, so there was no risk of exposing himself to the exorcists.


    If he interacted with them, the minor ripples that arose could be stabilized by the Atlas on its own; however, it was of course better to avoid contact if possible.


    The voices coming from the restroom were clear to Yan Junze.


    These people were talking amongst themselves; they had not detected the presence of any strangeness, Ren Susu¡¯s corpse was now stable, but they needed to cremate it as soon as possible.


    Listening in, Yan Junze recognized the voices of Ren Susu¡¯s family members from the Funeral Hall, as well as the unfamiliar voice of an exorcist who probably belonged to the funeral home staff.


    But soon, Yan Junze was startled when he heard the stranger say, ¡°This corpse and the one in Miss Hall need to be cremated immediately. I suggest you simplify the procedures and let your loved one rest in peace as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Could there be other corpses that have been possessed to resurrect?¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze recalled the Atlas¡¯s prompt, stating that because more than three strangeness events had occurred, he needed to personally correct the Butterfly Effect. This meant that Cheng Jingting was not just using one corpse to resurrect, but was simultaneously possessing three corpses.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how Cheng Jingting managed to do it, but if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it was indeed possible for him to use more than three corpses to resurrect at the same time.


    After all, this was a funeral home; there was no shortage of people who had just passed away.


    As these thoughts crossed his mind, people began to leave the restroom. Someone went to notify the office, while the exorcist continued to converse with Cui Zhiyong.


    ¡°Mr. Exorcist, you just mentioned, besides my wife suddenly returning to life, there was another corpse that also came back to life?¡± Cui Zhiyong asked.


    The exorcist replied, ¡°It¡¯s not really coming back to life. The reason is complicated. It could be due to a Possession Spirit invasion, so for the safety of the corpses, they need to be cremated as soon as possible. Just now, a corpse of an old man in Miss Hall was in the same situation as your wife, but it has been dispatched for clearance. You should expedite the procedures and proceed with cremation.¡±


    Cui Zhiyong nodded, ¡°That strange, naked kid from just now might also be a strangeness. Now we don¡¯t know where he¡¯s gone.¡±


    The exorcist said, ¡°There haven¡¯t been any other cases of resurrections for the time being, I will take a look around. If there¡¯s any abnormality on your side, immediately notify me or the office.¡±


    The two continued talking as they left the area.


    Soon, a corpse transporter arrived at the restroom to take care of Ren Susu¡¯s corpse and headed towards the cremation area.


    Yan Junze stood still, having not moved from his spot. The exorcist said there were no other cases of resurrections discovered, which meant that the third possession to resurrect had not happened yet.


    Not necessarily.


    He quickly dismissed this thought. If the possessions were happening simultaneously, it was very possible that they had already occurred, just not in the Funeral Hall.


    Where then, could the third location of possession to resurrect be?


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 Chapter 227 - 222: Spirit Guarding (4)

    Chapter 227: Chapter 222: Spirit Guarding (4)


    The sky had started drizzling at this time, and the staff at the funeral parlor were bustling about, preparing to expedite the process and send the old man who had acted like a corpse and Ren Susu to the cremation room one after the other.


    The exorcist, on the other hand, was examining each funeral hall. The funeral parlor was quite spacious, with over 80 halls just for the spirits; some were quite a distance from each other.


    Some halls were even situated halfway up the hill and required a drive or climbing many steps to reach.


    Checking them one by one would take some time.


    Of course, it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that the acting corpses were only in the halls. If there was any abnormality in any hall, the grieving family members would have either run to the parlor¡¯s duty room or made a call to 4747 by now.


    After careful consideration, Yan Junze, with the help of the exorcist, decided not to inspect the halls any further.


    ...


    He quickly came up with a plan, left the restroom quickly, and followed the signs toward the funeral parlor¡¯s offices.


    Along the way, he deliberately hugged the walls of the buildings; the funeral parlor was already desolate at night, and he hardly saw anyone else on his walk.


    Moreover, since it wasn¡¯t his own body, he wouldn¡¯t worry about Fang Ning appearing even if the shadow of the strange baby was cast by the moonlight.


    He soon approached the office. Due to the scarcity of duty staff, who were busy with the cremation process for the two acting corpses, the office was lit but unoccupied.


    Yan Junze walked in and looked at the funeral parlor¡¯s layout map on the wall.


    The indicators were clear on the map, and he quickly found his location, then looked toward the surrounding buildings.


    Before long, he noticed a building marked ¡°Lonely Hall.¡±


    The words ¡°Lonely Hall¡± were marked with a different font size and color, clearly distinguished from the other halls.


    Moreover, the word ¡°Lonely¡± indirectly indicated that there might not be anyone performing spirit guarding there.


    After taking note of the position, voices suddenly came from outside.


    Yan Junze realized he couldn¡¯t leave and hurriedly crouched down, squeezed under a desk, pulled a chair over to block his figure, and silently squatted down.


    Soon, two people walked into the office.


    They arrived in a rush, one opening a drawer to grab a logbook, the other taking a few freshly printed papers from the printer while they talked rapidly.


    ¡°How is it? Noticed anything unusual elsewhere?¡±


    ¡°The director and the exorcist are checking each hall one by one. I think there shouldn¡¯t be any more issues.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and send those two bodies for cremation. I always feel like those two corpses might move again, and I was so scared earlier I didn¡¯t dare look at their faces.¡±


    ¡°I saw it just now. The old man wasn¡¯t that bad, but that woman¡¯s chin was covered with mortuary wax, very terrifying.¡±


    While talking, the two people quickly left the office and their footsteps faded into the distance.


    Yan Junze crawled out from under the desk, confirmed that there was no one outside, opened the door, and left the office, quickly disappearing into the night.


    Before long, a short figure slipped into a flat-roofed building that looked pitch-dark from outside, with a very dim light shining over its gate that could only be seen from up close.


    Next to the electric light, if one didn¡¯t look carefully, they would almost miss the words ¡°Lonely Hall.¡±


    The structure of Lonely Hall was different from other funeral halls; entering it one first came across a spacious but still dimly lit corridor.


    Perhaps to save electricity, about every fifteen meters, there would be one light the same as the dim one outside, casting a quiet stillness within the entire Lonely Hall, not a sound to be heard.


    Even as Junze occupied the body of the Great Strange Baby, and even though he was a semi-spirit himself, the environment still could not stop a chill from creeping up inside him.


    He had guessed an unclaimed body, or one with no relatives to be found, that¡¯s what Lonely Hall meant. Such bodies were likely gathered by the local authorities and handed over to the funeral parlor for processing, with the burial expenses covered by social welfare programs.


    Passing through the dim corridor and around a corner, he found himself before an open hall.


    The decor inside the hall wasn¡¯t much different from the smaller ordinary halls, the difference being that it housed more than one body. Each one was covered with a white cloth, and beside each body was a dimly lit lamp.


    A quick glance revealed there were probably more than twenty bodies.


    More than twenty bodies were arranged in two opposite rows; they didn¡¯t enjoy the luxury of individual ice coffins, but Junze could feel the cold inside the hall¡ªthere was central air conditioning, and the temperature was set quite low.


    This was more cost-effective than individual ice coffins for each body.


    He stood at the entrance for a moment before walking in.


    Although the body he occupied wasn¡¯t his, the eerie environment still made his skin tingle.


    Because of his short stature, he couldn¡¯t see the bodies at the back very clearly, nor did he know whether the people beneath those white cloths were all still lying there properly.


    Furthermore, the lighting here was really dim; you had to get close to see clearly.


    Step by step he moved closer, quickly passing the first two bodies in the row. The walkway was in the middle, with a body on each side of him. Standing by the feet of the corpses, he peered closely with the help of the dim light, found everything in order, with no sign of movement.


    He continued to walk forward.


    At each body, he would stop, lean in, and take a careful look.


    Some of the bodies were beginning to emit a foul odor, but it wasn¡¯t severe; you had to get close to smell it.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was feeling increasingly cold, but it wasn¡¯t due to the strange baby; rather, the central air conditioning in the hall was turned up high, and the corpse baby was only wrapped in a coat, with nothing underneath.


    Especially around the groin area, it felt constantly chilly and hollow, as if something was missing.


    Yan Junze looked down and came to a conclusion: underdeveloped.


    Enduring the cold, he soon reached the eleventh row, beyond which he couldn¡¯t proceed.


    Because the corpse on the left was covered with a white cloth and looked ordinary, but the white cloth on the corpse to the right showed signs of movement.


    As unclaimed corpses, in order to save costs, their feet were left exposed, with a name tag hung on the big toe to prevent mix-ups by the morgue staff.


    Yan Junze stepped closer to examine the name tag on the oddly covered corpse.


    ¡°Jiang Yinan, male or female?¡±


    The upper half of the white cloth was wrinkled, obscuring the corpse¡¯s sex.


    He released the mallet and, due to his height, dragged it along the ground, the sound of metal scraping echoing as he approached the head of the corpse named Jiang Yinan.


    The grating noise in the eerily silent Lonely Hall was unsettling. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the white cloth on the surface of the corpse had moved, the body itself remained indifferent, lying there motionless and silent.


    Just as Yan Junze reached the left side of the corpse, the white cloth beside him suddenly moved, and a pale, slender hand emerged.


    Yan Junze thought the hand was going to grab him, so he immediately stopped and stepped aside, nearly swinging his mallet down in defense.


    However, he soon paused, realizing that the hand wasn¡¯t reaching for him but had slipped out, hanging limply in the air.


    Now he was certain that the corpse named Jiang Yinan was a female.


    The fallen hand and arm were slender and the skin was delicate, suggesting that she must have had tender skin in life.


    It was clear that not only was Jiang Yinan female, but she must have been young at the time of her death.


    While Yan Junze was examining the arm, the corpse he had his back turned to began to slowly sit up.


    Because the white cloth covering it was draped so high, it was above the corpse¡¯s head, the cloth only slowly slid down after the body had silently sat upright.


    Revealing the disheveled white-haired old woman beneath: the wrinkles on her face were deep enough to hold a pencil in place, and her drooping eyelids nearly covered her eyes.


    After sitting up, she turned her stiff head to look at the back of Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    With no sound to warn him, Yan Junze was contemplating whether to walk over and uncover the white cloth over the female corpse Jiang Yinan, ready to swing the mallet if necessary.


    The old crone¡¯s corpse behind him stared at Yan Junze for a few seconds before slowly opening her mouth wider and wider, then leaning forward to the right, inching closer to the back of his head.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡±


    A sigh-like sound suddenly rose behind Yan Junze¡¯s head, as if a demon, eager for its feast, couldn¡¯t help but express its delight.


    Yan Junze instantly felt goosebumps erupt on his spine, as though something was nearing his scalp.


    Almost instinctively, he whipped around to see a wrinkled face right in front of him, the gaping mouth almost touching his nose, nearly taking a bite.


    A foul stench rushed at his senses.


    Thud!


    The next second, Yan Junze¡¯s mallet connected squarely with the old woman¡¯s head, knocking half of her body sideways off the mortuary bed.


    Just then, the white cloth covering the corpse of Jiang Yinan was furiously flung aside, and a naked woman leaped up, pouncing behind Yan Junze. She opened her lips to reveal a row of sharp teeth coated with a thick yellow mucus, and bit down hard on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder.


    Clang!


    Yan Junze preemptively lifted the mallet from behind, causing Jiang Yinan¡¯s bite to land squarely on its surface instead, producing a clear sound.


    With the strange baby¡¯s body, swinging the mallet was effortless. Yan Junze gripped it with both hands, spun around, and struck Jiang Yinan who was preparing for another bite.


    Jiang Yinan fell to the ground, and Yan Junze quickly followed with a second and third strike, forcing out a half-human-sized shadow from her body.


    Ignoring Jiang Yinan, Yan Junze continued to hammer at the shadow.


    At that moment, he felt a tightness around his ankle and a surge of pain. Looking down, he saw the old crone he had just knocked down had crawled over and bitten his little ankle.


    Since the body wasn¡¯t his own, and the strange baby was already a ghost body, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t worried that the bite would harm it.


    He swung the mallet down onto the head of the crone biting his ankle, pinning her to the ground.


    Then he lifted the mallet and shattered the half-human-sized shadow.


    The old crone, however, was still struggling.


    ¡°There¡¯s even a fourth one!¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


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 Chapter 228 - 223: The Exorcist Is Missing

    Chapter 228: Chapter 223: The Exorcist Is Missing


    ¡°`


    Originally, the Atlas indicated that within Butterfly Effect Stabilization, if more than three strange events were caused, they would need to be handled personally, rather than being stabilized by the Atlas itself.


    Now it seems that with Jiang Yinan and the old woman¡¯s feigned death, this is already the fourth strange event.


    Fortunately, Yan Junze¡¯s strange baby body is not weak either, and even though the old woman bit his foot, he still wielded the mallet deftly.


    After wiping out the shadow hiding inside Jiang Yinan, he once again aimed a blow at the struggling old woman¡¯s head without holding back.


    After all, a dead person wouldn¡¯t know pain, and he struck as hard as he could; at this moment, Yan Junze, in order to thoroughly eliminate Cheng Jingting, couldn¡¯t afford to consider too much.


    ...


    A few blows from the mallet later, Cheng Jingting¡¯s shadow was once again driven out of the old woman¡¯s body. The old woman¡¯s corpse lay motionless on the ground, while Yan Junze turned his attention to the shadow.


    After beating the shadow for about a minute, Yan Junze felt hopeful.


    Because the previous shadows had dispersed quickly, taking no more than a dozen hits to vanish, but the current shadow had endured a minute of fierce pounding and was still stubbornly clinging on.


    It seemed this one was likely the last.


    Although Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how Cheng Jingting could possess four corpses at the same time, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to have infinite avatars.


    Suddenly, Cheng Jingting¡¯s unconscious scream pierced through, and the shadow in front of him shattered and dissipated like fragments.


    Having just died recently, Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul was in its most fundamental weak state. Facing Yan Junze¡¯s Black Spirit Mallet, it hardly had any resistance and inevitably perished under the strikes, each hit depleting its energy.


    A message immediately popped up following that.


    [The 4th Butterfly Effect has stabilized, the remaining minor ripple effects have been corrected by the Atlas.]


    [You will automatically leave the current spacetime after the countdown ends, 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1]


    The scene before his eyes began to change again.


    Yan Junze felt as if he were being pulled back by a great force. When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in the space-time rift just like before.


    The prompt that appeared before him was simple.


    [Butterfly Effect Stabilization has ended, Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion has ended, locating the previous spacetime, returning¡­]


    Everything blurred before his eyes, and Yan Junze felt the sensation of being sucked away again. After stumbling forward, he steadied himself and found he was standing in the pine forest behind the academy¡¯s back gate.


    Turning his head, he saw no sign of the space-time rift.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Yan Junze felt like he was dreaming, checked the time on his phone, and it was still the same as before¡ªas if he had never left.


    ¡°Well then, in the blink of an eye, history has been rewritten by me.¡±


    Yan Junze mused to himself, then stood still for a moment as he felt some memories being crammed into his mind. These memories had not mixed with the ones he had before but formed two distinct pathways.


    One was from before the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± and the other was from now.


    Before the Great Rewind, the peephole strangeness was killed by Shen Wanqiu, but in this spacetime, Shen Wanqiu had been killed by the suicide explosion of Cheng Jingting, and therefore she could no longer kill the peephole strangeness.


    That is to say, the peephole strangeness¡­


    Yan Junze accessed the new memory in his mind and slowly revealed a bitter smile.


    In this new memory, the peephole strangeness indeed had not been killed by Shen Wanqiu, but neither was it in the No. 4 laboratory building anymore, because in the new timeline, it had been exterminated by an exorcist from an exorcist team.


    Nonetheless, Yan Junze still did not receive the Different Dimension Energy from that mission.


    What is not meant for him was always out of reach.


    Returning to his dormitory, the ¡°Laboratory Spirit Exploration Trip¡± by Chen Kun and Guo Jintao did not happen in this new timeline, so the other roommates had already fallen asleep.


    And Chen Kun and Guo Jintao on the floor above never came down.


    All was quiet.


    The campus life in college also began to calm down.


    Yan Junze attended classes and conducted experiments with fellow students on a regular schedule, and with members of the Strangeness Association, he used his knowledge of physics to reveal various strangenesses. Though his motives differed from others, he still found unexpected benefits in the process.


    To date, Yan Junze¡¯s Spacetime Atlas had illuminated 65 different spacetime nodes, storing a total of 11,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, meaning, a rewind time span of 1,100 minutes, just over 18 hours.


    Of course, reaching a 24-hour cover range doesn¡¯t mean an infinite loop is possible. 24 hours is a collective term for a day. After those 24 hours, for Yan Junze, it¡¯s just 25 hours or more.


    Rewind time, unlike a 24-hour cycle, can¡¯t be endlessly looped.


    The Atlas¡¯s current benefits to Yan Junze were not only rewind and ¡°Great Rewind¡± but also ¡°Strangeness Detection,¡± ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock,¡± ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion,¡± and ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡±


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe those were the only features in the Atlas, he was certain more would be revealed as more nodes were illuminated.


    Moreover, Yan Junze had no doubt about the future potential of the Atlas¡¯s capabilities, as the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± and ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± alone seemed immensely powerful for now.


    At least, individuals like Cheng Jingting had virtually no chance of fight back under these two functions. All their escape routes were tightly sealed until they were finally extinguished.


    ¡°`


    After spending a comfortable two weeks on campus without any strangeness to disturb me, life felt as if it had returned to the spacetime before my rebirth, giving a sense of stability.


    My roommate introduced me to a girl in the same grade and insisted on dragging me to treat her to a meal.


    Of course, everyone from our dorm joined in on the meal.


    The girl was very cute, but it seemed like I wasn¡¯t too interested.


    ¡°What type of girl do you like? Sister will find one for you,¡± Huahua said to me after the meal.


    In the dorm, he always referred to himself as ¡°sister¡±, and everyone had grown accustomed to it and didn¡¯t find it as strange as before. It was the people from other dorms who would occasionally give Huahua odd looks.


    I just smiled and said nothing.


    ¡°Do you like that¡­ what¡¯s her name¡­ Zhang Ying?¡± He Bishou stuffed some potato chips into his mouth and asked.


    ¡°You know Zhang Ying?¡± I was puzzled.


    Zhang Ying was the vice president of the Strangeness Association. Among the girls I had met, she was one of the braver ones. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, in this era where strangeness roamed freely, being brave was not necessarily a good thing. Those who were timid and careful, who fled immediately upon seeing any strangeness, were more likely to live longer.


    After all, not everyone could rewind.


    Zhang Ying had come to look for me a few times during the few days I had joined the association. Each time, she seemed very proactive. Any observant person could tell that the girl had a bit of interest in me.


    Even if that interest wasn¡¯t romantic, it at least signified her strong curiosity about me.


    Of course, after going out twice, I began to refuse.


    ¡°Zhang Ying is not Junze¡¯s type,¡± Huahua declared, as if an expert on the matter, climbing into bed and adding, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no rush, sister is applying to join the Rainbow Girls Friendship Association. Once I¡¯m in, I¡¯ll introduce you to tons of girls.¡±


    Pfft!


    Zhao Zheng, who had been silent, was drinking water and upon hearing this, he spluttered it all over the wall.


    These past days, I had called Zhang Xiaomo, but no one answered. There was always no response.


    After lying in the dorm for a while, and with no classes in the afternoon, I wandered around the playground alone. As I was considering whether to visit the exorcist team in the east of the city to inquire about Zhang Xiaomo, my phone rang. It was He Yun, my contact from the event team, calling.


    ¡°Is it time to collect my salary?¡± I answered the phone with this first question.


    This almost confused He Yun completely, who after a few seconds of silence said, ¡°Don¡¯t joke. You can collect the salary, but you must first complete a task.¡±


    I frowned, ¡°What task?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send the task information to your phone,¡± He Yun said. ¡°It¡¯s issued based on the basic data we have on you, so there¡¯s a high probability that you won¡¯t encounter something you can¡¯t handle. From the moment you receive the task, you have three days to complete it. If it¡¯s not done by then, the event team will send another exorcist.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I nodded, ¡°Can I ask if the three-star exorcist Zhang Xiaomo has returned to the event team these past few days? I have been unable to reach her.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± He Yun replied, ¡°It¡¯s not just her, more than thirty exorcists we sent to handle the Spirit Bridge incident have gone missing, and so far only very few can be contacted.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I was surprised.


    I had expected He Yun to avoid discussing the Ghost Bridge, but she didn¡¯t hide anything and told me straightaway.


    ¡°Because a special magnetic field area has been formed there, signals can¡¯t get in. We can only make contact once they leave the Spirit Bridge area,¡± He Yun explained.


    ¡°I see, send me the task information, and I¡¯ll go check it out in the next two days,¡± I said and hung up.


    Soon a text message alert sounded on my phone. Upon opening it, the task information was concise.


    ¡°Address: Crown Furniture City ¡®Bedroom Companion¡¯ store in North City District Xinmin Street;


    Supernatural: Currently, only 1 identified;


    Witness description: This supernatural entity is temporarily referred to as ¡®Person in the Mirror¡¯, appearing in various mirrors in the furniture store such as dressing mirrors, makeup mirrors, etc. It can interact with people, alter their images, and make bizarre requests. At least two people have disappeared, and the store has been closed;


    Event level: D;


    Treatment suggestions: It¡¯s recommended to freeze its escape route with the Chilling Hidden Buckle upon discovering the Person in the Mirror. If necessary, use Semi-spirit power to eliminate it.¡±


    Reading this task summary reminded me of the first time I heard about Granny Ren killing her son and daughter-in-law from Huang Chen. He had also said that the incident was classified as D level.


    Now it seemed that only events leading to more than two deaths were likely to be classified as D level.


    So, it¡¯s highly probable that the two missing people in the Person in the Mirror task were already in grave danger.


    Regardless, with almost all of Tianmeng¡¯s exorcists from the eastern, southern, western, and northern cities currently at Spirit Bridge and not knowing the current situation there,


    Should a few significant strangeness incidents suddenly erupt within these four cities, it would indeed be a challenging situation for the exorcist teams to handle.


    If I have the chance, after dealing with the Person in the Mirror, I plan to go and see what¡¯s happening at Spirit Bridge.


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 Chapter 229 - 224 Cooperation or Go It Alone?

    Chapter 229: Chapter 224 Cooperation or Go It Alone?


    ¡°`


    With no classes in the afternoon, Yan Junze decided to take the opportunity to just go out and complete his task.


    After some thought, he first visited the clinic off-campus to pick up a blood bag from Ning Shanshan. After a brief chat, he left, found a secluded spot to drink the blood, and then boarded a bus headed to the city center.


    He had just settled into a seat when his phone rang; it was Zhou Dali calling.


    Ever since that guy entered Tianmeng Sports Institute, this was the first time he had initiated a call. According to Junze, the long-legged big girls at the institute must have stolen his soul, so of course, he completely forgot about his brother here.


    The moment the call connected, Zhou Dali¡¯s almost yelling voice boomed through, forcing Junze to quickly hold the phone away from his ear.


    ...


    If you didn¡¯t know Zhou Dali¡¯s temperament, you might have thought there was a fight or something going on at the other end.


    ¡°Little Junze, did you miss me?¡±


    ¡°Miss¡­ my ass,¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    ¡°But I did miss you. Haven¡¯t seen you for so long. Can we go out for a meal today?¡± Zhou Dali was unfazed, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you no matter how late it is.¡±


    Yan Junze paused and then laughed, ¡°Perfect timing, I just got on a bus to the city center, where are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off today and shopping,¡± Zhou Dali laughed. ¡°To be exact, I¡¯m shopping with my girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± Yan Junze was hesitant, uncertain as he asked, ¡°Are you joking?¡±


    ¡°Little Junze,¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s tone carried a hint of grievance, ¡°Does Dali really lack charm that much? Let me tell you, she¡¯s the class belle. You¡¯ll see when you get here.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No need to say more. I bet there¡¯s only one girl in your class,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Stop messing around. We¡¯re waiting for you at Changhua Pedestrian Street in North City District. Call me when you get here.¡± Zhou Dali hung up after speaking.


    What a coincidence, the location for the gathering was also in North City District.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and decided that since that was the case, he¡¯d meet up with Zhou Dali first and later in the evening, he¡¯d go to that ¡°Bedroom Companion¡± furniture store at Crown Furniture City to complete his task.


    While still on the bus, he called He Yun to let her know he would deal with it today, but not until after dinner. He asked her to tell the furniture city to keep a door open for him in advance.


    This felt less like an exorcism and more like a child sneaking back home late at night, afraid that their parents would lock the door early.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but smirk.


    He dozed off on the bus for a while and when he woke up, he had arrived at the last stop. He got off and immediately hailed a taxi to Changhua Pedestrian Street.


    Shortly after He Yun ended her call with Yan Junze, her office phone suddenly rang. Picking up the receiver, a man¡¯s voice came through.


    ¡°Sis, the strangeness in Guan Lake has been dealt with. It wasn¡¯t much of a challenge. Do you have any other tasks on hand? I¡¯m in North City District right now.¡±


    The man¡¯s voice was a bit sharp, and with careful listening, it wasn¡¯t much different from He Yun¡¯s talking manners.


    He Yun frowned, her tone containing a scolding note, ¡°He Zheng, can¡¯t you just settle down for one day? The strange incident at Guan Lake was only F-level, not difficult to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Sis, have you forgotten?¡± The man on the phone, named He Zheng, defended, ¡°What was the level of that strange incident at the cake shop last time? E-level, right? The two-star exorcist before me couldn¡¯t handle it, but wasn¡¯t it resolved after I arrived?¡±


    ¡°You were just damn lucky,¡± He Yun retorted angrily.


    ¡°Sis,¡± He Zheng said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m your own brother, and now I am a two-star exorcist. Just give me a few more tasks. Once I reach the minimum Merit Points for a three-star exorcist, I can be promoted. Do you want me to stay like this forever?¡±


    He Yun was silent.


    He Zheng continued, ¡°The number of strange incidents is increasing. Some can¡¯t be accurately defined by a single level; it¡¯s complicated. Sis, you know this better than I do. All I do all day is throw Hidden Buckles. Even though, as a two-star exorcist, I¡¯m immune to the radiation impact from them, it¡¯s not a solution in the long run. I want to improve too.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, do you think being a three-star exorcist isn¡¯t dangerous?¡± He Yun said, ¡°Right now, there are over ten three-star exorcists in the Spirit Bridge, and the situation there is even more dangerous and complicated.¡±


    ¡°Sis, you¡¯ve got to help me out.¡± He Zheng seemed not to hear her, simply saying, ¡°If the remaining tasks are difficult, you can have other exorcists work with me. As long as I can earn Merit Points, it doesn¡¯t matter how much or how little.¡±


    He Yun remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke, ¡°There¡¯s a Person in the Mirror task here in North City District¡¯s Xinmin Street at Crown Furniture City. I¡¯ve already assigned it to someone else. Unlike you, he¡¯s not an official exorcist, but he¡¯s stronger than you. So, he doesn¡¯t get Merit Points for completing tasks. The Merit Points can all be yours, but you must fully cooperate with him.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± He Zheng agreed immediately, then asked, ¡°What level is this strange incident¡­?¡±


    ¡°Because there are two missing persons, it¡¯s tentatively classified as D-level,¡± He Yun said. ¡°I¡¯ll inform him now. You can meet up with him on Xinmin Street when you arrive, and then you can proceed.¡±


    ¡°Got it. If he¡¯s stronger than me, I¡¯ll definitely listen to him,¡± He Zheng nodded, ¡°Sis, send me the task details and that guy¡¯s phone number first.¡±


    Yan Junze was staring in astonishment at Zhou Dali and his girlfriend on Changhua Pedestrian Street when He Yun¡¯s call reached him.


    Then the voice on the phone shifted his attention away from them.


    ¡°What? A new exorcist is joining,¡± Yan Junze lowered his voice, puzzled, ¡°This is my first time executing a task for exorcists, don¡¯t you trust me to get it done?¡±


    He Yun explained, ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Exorcists often collaborate on tasks. It just so happens this time. With two people, the strange incident can be quelled at the fastest speed.¡±


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze was somewhat speechless.


    He knew that what He Yun had said was true; two exorcists working together could indeed quickly handle strangenesses.


    But all that was based on eliminating strangenesses through violence, whereas Yan Junze relied on resolving the other party¡¯s obsessions to eliminate strangenesses and earn Different Dimension Energy.


    This kind of cooperation with an exorcist was exactly what he had always been most uneasy about, and now, to his knowledge, he had encountered it on his very first mission.


    ¡°Is it possible to adjust it so that I can handle it alone?¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s already been decided,¡± He Yun said quickly and hung up the phone.


    Immediately afterward, Yan Junze¡¯s phone received a text message, showing that the exorcist he was to cooperate with was a two-star exorcist named He Zheng, and it also included his phone number.


    But he paid it no attention and didn¡¯t call the person.


    He had already informed He Yun that he would go to complete the task after dinner, so let that person wait.


    Then, Yan Junze turned his attention back to Zhou Dali and his girlfriend next to him.


    He really guessed right; Zhou Dali¡¯s new girlfriend from Tianmeng Sports Institute was indeed tall, only half a head shorter than Dali, with healthy wheat-colored skin, and most notably, those indeed were 1.8-meter-long legs (exaggerated description).


    The woman¡¯s name was Shang Cuicui, a year senior to Zhou Dali, a national third-level athlete, specialized in pole vaulting.


    No wonder then, long legs were an advantage in her sport.


    After strolling around the street for a while, the three of them found a restaurant and walked in.


    Although it was still a bit early for dinner, they could still eat now.


    Yan Junze was the host, a first-time treat for Shang Cuicui, and ordered a few good dishes, starting a conversation with Zhou Dali.


    During the conversation, when he asked about Zhou Jiajie and Bao Jie, who had been admitted to Tianmeng University, Zhou Dali shook his head: ¡°I heard that the two are still the same, on and off, with Zhou Jiajie like a fish in water there, winning over many girls¡¯ hearts, and Bao Jie keeping a very close watch on him.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I was on the phone with Jiang Ruixin, and the Big-eyed Girl told me that Bao Jie used to call her every night to complain, sometimes even crying,¡± Zhou Dali said while serving Shang Cuicui a bowl of rice and piling up her plate with food.


    Yan Junze was surprised: ¡°Their relationship seemed fine, how could it be like this?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that,¡± Zhou Dali shook his head.


    At first, he liked Bao Jie, then woke up and later, when facing Bao Jie, he no longer had the passion he once did. Now all his affection was poured into the 1.8-meter-long legs by his side, leaving no room to ponder another woman¡¯s thoughts.


    Yan Junze looked at Zhou Dali seriously and noticed that his skin was also tanned dark, then looked at Shang Cuicui and asked, ¡°Shang Cuicui, forgive my bluntness, but do you have nearsightedness? Like me.¡±


    As he finished speaking, Yan Junze touched the glasses on his nose.


    ¡°No,¡± Shang Cuicui shook her head in surprise.


    ¡°No nearsightedness, then how could you fall for this guy?¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    ¡°You little brat, not even eating food can shut you up,¡± Zhou Dali cursed loudly.


    Shang Cuicui covered her mouth and giggled.


    After a while, she suddenly said to Yan Junze, ¡°Speaking of which, I have a close girlfriend who is currently single. I could introduce her to you, would you consider it?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then said, ¡°May I ask about her height, is she about your height?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about the same,¡± Shang Cuicui nodded.


    ¡°Then never mind,¡± Yan Junze waved his hand, ¡°to always have to look up when even dating, what kind of experience would that be.¡±


    Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui laughed heartily.


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s phone on the dining table rang. He was about to dismiss it as an unknown number, but upon closer inspection, he seemed to recognize the number and decided to answer the call.


    A young voice came through: ¡°Is this Yan Junze? I¡¯m He Zheng, a two-star exorcist. I¡¯ve arrived at Crown Furniture City on Xinmin Street. How long will it take for you to get here?¡±


    Yan Junze frowned slightly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m still having dinner, might be a while.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±


    After hanging up, He Zheng stood across the street, looking up at the commercial building in front of him. The words ¡°Crown Furniture¡± were written prominently on the upper part of the building, and while the commercial center was still open for business, the fourth floor, where Crown Furniture was located, was deserted.


    After standing for less than ten minutes, He Zheng checked the time and muttered to himself, ¡°An exorcist not on the register, what an attitude? I wait for no ghost!¡±


    With that, he stepped off the curb and entered the commercial center¡¯s entrance.


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 Chapter 230 - 225: Person in the Mirror (1) (4000 words)

    Chapter 230: Chapter 225: Person in the Mirror (1) (4000 words)


    Other stores continued to operate, but He Zheng didn¡¯t even glance at them as he went straight to take the elevator to the fourth floor.


    The entire fourth floor sold furniture, and as it was close to closing time, there weren¡¯t many customers around.


    After exiting the elevator, He Zheng quickly found the security guard for this floor.


    The guard, in his forties and working late hours, was sitting in the security room, lifting a box of fast food to eat.


    He Zheng stood outside and knocked on the window.


    The guard looked up in surprise and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ...


    He Zheng said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for the manager of this furniture mall. Please notify him to come over.¡±


    The guard put down his spoon and chopsticks and opened the window, ¡°Mr. Liang is not here today. You can tell me what it is, and I¡¯ll pass the message when he comes back.¡±


    He Zheng hesitated briefly and then said, ¡°I¡¯m an exorcist. I¡¯ve come to deal with the strangenesses here. I heard it¡¯s in the ¡®Bedroom Companion¡¯ furniture store.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± the guard exclaimed in surprise and then smiled, quickly stepping out of the door. ¡°So you¡¯re the exorcist, sir. I just got a call from Mr. Liang, saying that an exorcist was coming to help us resolve the strangeness. Yes, I have the keys and can help you open the door of Bedroom Companion.¡±


    He Zheng nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Just open the door and then you can head back and continue with your meal. I will let you know after I¡¯ve dealt with the strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Exorcist,¡± said the guard, leading the way while barely containing his excitement. ¡°Honestly, that ¡®Person in the Mirror¡¯ is too scary. It¡¯s good you¡¯ve come. Every day when I pass Bedroom Companion, my heart¡¯s pounding.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve seen this strangeness?¡± asked He Zheng.


    The guard nodded, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, let me tell you, once you¡¯re inside the Bedroom Companion furniture store, do not believe anything you see in the mirrors there, not even your own reflection.¡±


    At this, the guard shivered for no reason and added, ¡°And it¡¯s not just inside Bedroom Companion; even passing by the shop¡¯s front, if you see the mirrors, don¡¯t linger, just leave quickly.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± He Zheng said with a faint smile.


    At that moment, the two of them arrived at the storefront of a furniture store. The rolling door was closed, and there was a sign with the stores name, ¡°Bedroom Companion,¡± although the sign was not lit up.


    All around this store, the other storefronts were also closed. As soon as it got dark, the furniture stores on this floor would normally start closing one after another, and it was rare for any to stay open past 9 p.m. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As He Zheng had walked over before, he noticed that only the stores near the elevator and escalator hadn¡¯t closed yet because they were by the entrance and had a security room nearby; the other inner stores had mostly shut down.


    Bedroom Companion and the surrounding stores were all closed, and there were even two store spaces that had only the glass doors closed, not even the rolling doors pulled down.


    But He Zheng glanced and saw they were empty; they must all have moved out.


    The guard took out a bunch of keys, quickly found the right one, and inserted it into the lock, turning it twice, making a sound as the lock opened.


    Yet he didn¡¯t lift the rolling door. Instead, he stood up with an apologetic smile, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m too scared to open this door. Could you do it? Um, I¡¯ll go back to the security room.¡±


    He Zheng smiled and nodded, not saying anything, watching the guard go his way until he disappeared around the corner.


    He then turned his attention back to his surroundings.


    Aside from the lights, the area was eerily silent, not a sound to be heard. There were at least eight nearby stores, but ever since Bedroom Companion started experiencing strangenesses, those stores had not opened at all.


    He Zheng even had the illusion that in the darkness of the two stores without the rolling doors pulled down, there seemed to be something watching from inside.


    He pulled out a black disc-shaped Spirit Detector, turned it on, and its coverage quickly enveloped the area.


    Yet, there was not a single strangeness detected nearby.


    Turning off the Spirit Detector, He Zheng thought perhaps that entity usually hid within the mirrors, in a different space, so the Spirit Detector couldn¡¯t pick it up.


    This also proved that there were no strangenesses in the dark interiors of the two stores that had not pulled down their rolling doors; it was all just He Zheng¡¯s imagination.


    He tucked away the Spirit Detector, crouched down, and lifted the rolling door, revealing the inside of Bedroom Companion bathed in darkness. Other than the pieces of furniture placed near the entrance, the rest of the space seemed to be swallowed by the dark.


    He took out his phone, opened the call interface, looking at Yan Junze¡¯s number, and prepared to click.


    Moments later, he looked up in the direction he came, not seeing anyone approach. He moved his thumb away from Yan Junze¡¯s phone number, closed the call interface, and turned on the flashlight function, walking into Bedroom Companion.


    By the door, he tried the light switch, but there was no response.


    The store might have been closed for so long that it hadn¡¯t paid its electricity and water bills, so the power could have been cut off.


    Of course, the strangenesses might have also been the cause.


    He Zheng had no choice but to use his phone¡¯s flashlight to light his way deeper into the store.


    From the entrance, at first, one could still see the light of the flashlight moving further into the darkness, but after a short while, that light was completely engulfed, no longer visible.


    Although the store was called Bedroom Companion, the majority of the furniture for sale was not beds; they mostly sold dressing tables and wardrobes with mirrors, and so on.


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 Chapter 231 - 225: Person in the Mirror (Part One) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 231: Chapter 225: Person in the Mirror (Part One) (4000 words)_2


    ¡°`


    So it was inevitable that there were a large number of mirrors.


    He Zheng had only walked in for a short while when he saw at least seven or eight mirrors, including a full-length mirror that was part of a big wardrobe, the kind that can reflect a person¡¯s entire body.


    These mirrors reflected and refracted the light from his flashlight, making the room seem not as dark as it was when he first entered, in He Zheng¡¯s opinion.


    It was just that occasionally, the light coming through the mirrors gave him the illusion that someone else was walking towards him.


    Ever since he entered the store, He Zheng skillfully flicked his right hand behind him, pinching four Hidden Buckles between the fingers, ready to throw them at the target anytime.


    ...


    At this moment, other than He Zheng¡¯s footsteps and breathing, no other sound could be heard in the entire store.


    Even He Zheng himself felt somewhat oppressed. He couldn¡¯t help but cough and stopped in front of an exquisite vanity, standing still.


    This vanity was equipped with a small but very delicate stool, whose cushion was made of leather and surrounded by beautifully carved patterns.


    The reason He Zheng stood there without moving elsewhere was that he noticed there was very little dust on the leather stool compared to other chairs, clearly indicating it had been used recently.


    In other words, someone had sat on this stool at least in the recent past.


    Behind He Zheng was a big wardrobe with a full-body oval mirror on its surface, angled towards the vanity so that He Zheng could see the area behind him in the wardrobe mirror through the vanity mirror.


    Staring at the vanity mirror, He Zheng didn¡¯t plan to move. His right hand was slightly raised so that he could flick the Hidden Buckles at any moment, then he watched carefully, unblinkingly, through the world in the vanity mirror.


    If it was a Person in the Mirror, it was very likely that this strangeness would appear in the mirror.


    He Zheng¡¯s plan was to throw a few Hidden Buckles at it the moment it appeared, no questions asked. After freezing it in the mirror with a Chilling Hidden Buckle, he would decide whether to burn it with fire or smash the mirror to kill the entity.


    Based on He Zheng¡¯s speculation, there was a fifty-fifty chance of killing the entity if he smashed the mirror, while the other half was to release it into the real world.


    If it was released into his world, he was confident that he could still crush it, perhaps even capture it alive.


    From the past missions he had completed, like the strangeness at Guan Lake, the event team had rated it as an F-level, but in reality, its strength was definitely high enough to cause an E-level strangeness event; it just never had the chance to show it.


    When He Zheng arrived there, he noticed the abnormality and still managed to kill it. This demonstrated the complexity of strangeness event levels.


    Now, the ghost in the mirror, despite causing the disappearance of two people, in He Zheng¡¯s opinion, there was a good chance those people weren¡¯t dead but were pulled into the Mirror World by this strangeness.


    This sort of strangeness may sound frightening but actually has low lethality, which is why He Zheng dared to act before Yan Junze arrived.


    As long as nobody was killed, the level may not even reach D; reaching E would be considered good.


    While pondering, He Zheng¡¯s eyebrows twitched slightly. Under the illumination of the flashlight, he saw in the vanity mirror the world deep within it, as if someone was standing to the left of the big wardrobe behind him, barely discernible.


    The person was dressed in dark clothes, with no visible features, unknown when they had appeared there.


    Instinctively, He Zheng immediately turned to look in the direction of the wardrobe behind him, only to find nothing there.


    Then he turned his head back and was startled, his whole body shuddering. The dark figure, which had been standing beside the wardrobe in the mirror, was now completely out and walking toward him with a straight posture, hands hanging naturally by the sides without swinging.


    It was clear that this person only appeared in the world of the mirror, which is why there was nothing behind He Zheng at that moment.


    Now He Zheng could see clearly; it was a woman, a woman with shoulder-length hair that completely covered her face.


    The woman was dressed in a black, long-sleeved dress, so her arms were not exposed, and the only part of her hands that was visible was a deathly pale, as if watching a black and white silent film.


    ¡°`


    The woman¡¯s shoulders seemed to rise slightly, almost parallel with her chin, completely close to the dresser mirror, so she felt like she stood exactly where He Zheng was standing now. But in the mirror, He Zheng no longer saw himself but was replaced by this woman.


    He was a bit surprised, took a slight step to the left, trying to move his shadow in the mirror out of the spot where the woman stood.


    But as he moved, the woman also took a small step, still appearing where He Zheng¡¯s shadow should be in the mirror, making it so he still couldn¡¯t see himself, only this woman whose cheeks were completely covered by her hair.


    By this time, he no longer hesitated and flicked the Chilling Hidden Buckle that was pinched between his thumb and forefinger out.


    With a bang, the Hidden Buckle scattered upon hitting the mirror¡¯s surface.


    The whole mirror made a cracking sound, and a white layer spread over it, completely freezing the mirror¡¯s surface.


    During this process, He Zheng didn¡¯t move, nor did the Person in the Mirror. It wasn¡¯t until the whole mirror was completely frozen over, that is, enveloped in a layer of transparent ice shards, that He Zheng tried to move again.


    However, unexpectedly, the Person in the Mirror hadn¡¯t been frozen at all, still following his steps, unchanged, stubbornly obstructing He Zheng¡¯s projection in the mirror.


    He Zheng let out a cold snort, kicked forcefully at the mirror. He used all his strength for this kick, and the vanity mirror wasn¡¯t very sturdy; if hit, it would easily shatter.


    As long as he could force the Person in the Mirror out, he was still confident he could deal with her.


    Who knew that when his foot struck the mirror, it would emit a solid thud without any change.


    His leg started to tingle; it felt like he had kicked a steel plate, not a mirror at all.


    After that kick, the frozen ice shards on the mirror dropped off, the thin layer of white mist covering the mirror vanished, and the woman inside the mirror moved slightly. This time she didn¡¯t follow He Zheng but slowly sat down, as if on the empty leather stool.


    He Zheng was stunned for a moment, suddenly unsure how to proceed.


    ¡°Sit.¡±


    A woman¡¯s voice came from the mirror, and as it sounded, one could see the mirror¡¯s surface trembling slightly.


    He Zheng thought he had misheard, but after seeing the woman indeed sitting down inside the mirror, he hesitated for a moment and then followed, slowly sitting down on the leather stool himself.


    By then, he had made up his mind; if all else failed, he would throw a High-Energy Collapse.


    With the power of the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, not just the vanity mirror in front of him, but also the two cabinets nearby, would be destroyed together.


    Moreover, He Zheng had an even stronger unique skill. As his sister worked in the Exorcist team, he had received a Super-Energy Burst long ago and had never used it.


    Even at this moment, he didn¡¯t believe he would need to use the Super-Energy Burst.


    Could the strangeness in this mirror really reach the level of Sculpting Spirit? And even if it were a Sculpting Spirit, with the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle in hand, He Zheng had nothing to fear.


    After sitting down, the woman¡¯s mouth hidden in her hair spoke again, ¡°Do you like to hear stories?¡±


    He Zheng frowned tightly, not speaking.


    The woman asked again, ¡°Do you like to tell stories?¡±


    He Zheng still did not speak.


    The Person in the Mirror continued on her own, ¡°I do.¡±


    With that, she reached out her hands towards He Zheng, slowly parting the hair that covered her face.


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 Chapter 232 - 226: Person in the Mirror (Part Two)

    Chapter 232: Chapter 226: Person in the Mirror (Part Two)


    At the very moment the woman in the mirror parted her hair, it¡¯s fair to say that He Zheng¡¯s heartbeat involuntarily began to quicken.


    Suddenly, the scene in the mirror rendered him utterly dumbstruck, and he was overcome with a tingling numbness in his hands and feet.


    Upon separating her hair, the woman revealed cheeks devoid of any features, with only slightly concave areas where the eye sockets should be, a subtle protrusion for the nose bridge, but where the mouth should have been, there was nothing but flatness, no sign of lips whatsoever.


    The faceless woman!


    He Zheng quickly came to his senses.


    That woman combed back her hair then hung it behind her ears, fully exposing the featureless visage to He Zheng.


    ...


    She could still speak, yet with no lips to be seen moving¡ªonly the entire dressing mirror vibrated faintly as she talked.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve sat down, let¡¯s tell stories. I like listening to stories, especially horror stories,¡± the woman in the mirror slowly spoke up.


    He Zheng sneered, ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m an Exorcist, and I¡¯m here to get rid of you, not to listen to your stories or tell you any.¡±


    With that, he prepared to unleash the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle at the mirror.


    However, at that moment, He Zheng discovered that he could no longer move the arm and fingers that he had placed on the dressing table.


    This realization shocked him, and soon he found that his entire body, seated on the stool, had become as if petrified, unable to move at all.


    The only thing he could move was above his neck; everything below it was completely immobilized.


    ¡°Let¡¯s tell a story, or you won¡¯t be leaving this place,¡± the woman laughed sinisterly. As she spoke, she began to draw an array of makeup tools from the drawers of the mirror¡¯s dressing table.


    He Zheng quickly tried to calm himself down because by the look of things, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t in immediate danger. If it really came down to it, he would have to crush the High-Energy Collapse in his hand.


    Typically, a High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle was thrown and only activated upon impact, but the situation was different now. If possible, He Zheng could also crush it directly in his hand.


    Once crushed, it would create a shockwave that could repel him away from the dressing mirror, thus escaping the control of the woman in the mirror. At the same time, there was a good chance that the shockwave might also injure the woman in the mirror.


    Of course, the best course of action right now was to go along with the woman in the mirror¡¯s plan and wait for an opportunity to move his fingers and crush the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle.


    ¡°You said we¡¯d tell a story, so what are you doing now?¡± He Zheng asked.


    ¡°I like it this way, telling a story while doing my makeup,¡± she replied.


    The woman in the mirror didn¡¯t stop, skillfully laying out the foundation brush, eyeshadow brush, sponge ball, eyebrow pencil, powder puff, and then opening over ten different makeup boxes, covering the surface of the mirror¡¯s dressing table.


    The current scene looked very eerie.


    The room was without any light except for the faint glow from the flashlight He Zheng held in his left hand.


    But He Zheng believed that even if it were entirely dark with not a hint of light, the woman in the mirror could still apply her makeup with ease.


    ¡°What story should I tell?¡± After a moment¡¯s silence, and upon seeing the woman had started applying makeup, he finally inquired.


    The woman was adept in her movements, applying makeup, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s each tell a horror story, the shorter the better, the more brilliant the better, preferably with a twist in the end that catches me by surprise. Maybe then, you can leave here unscathed.¡±


    He Zheng chuckled coldly, unable to move his body, but his right hand kept trying to crush the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, he said, ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m not too familiar with this, why don¡¯t you start?¡±


    The woman, graceful in her actions, by now had drawn her eyebrows and nose bridge, her movements fluid without any hesitation or thought, she began, ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll go first. This story is called¡ªMakeup.¡±


    She paused, then in an even tone began her story.


    ¡°A man wanted to play a prank on his girlfriend and decided to dress up as a ghost to scare her. So the man used the spare key his girlfriend gave him to enter her apartment early, before she returned home. While she was still out, he used lipstick, an eyebrow pencil, and other tools found in the room to paint a horrific makeup on himself. Since it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, he wasn¡¯t sure how it looked, so he went to the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror.¡±


    ¡°What he saw was so terrifying that the lipstick-made lips seemed stretched, his eyebrows drooped, and his skin appeared to dangle from his face, grimacing and grinning¡ªin fact, he scared himself. Thinking this would surely faint his girlfriend, he quickly washed off the makeup. Later, when his girlfriend came back, he told her what he¡¯d planned, only to find her expression turn into one of utter horror¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He Zheng couldn¡¯t help asking.


    ¡°His girlfriend told him that the bathroom mirror had been broken for days, removed and never replaced with a new one.¡±


    As she finished, the woman in the mirror had already drawn her own eyeballs: ¡°How about that story?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, not bad,¡± He Zheng nodded without any trace of fear or surprise.


    At that moment, he saw the woman¡¯s freshly applied eyeballs suddenly seem to move quickly.


    Even though his body couldn¡¯t move, He Zheng felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn¡¯t have any scary stories to tell. Normally, He Zheng wasn¡¯t fond of reading stories, let alone taking the time to sit down and read them.


    Agreeing to tell the Person in the Mirror a story was purely to buy time, so that he could activate the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle and use the Exorcist¡¯s methods to quickly deal with this eerie woman.


    But now, he discovered that although he could slightly move his fingers, he still couldn¡¯t muster enough strength to actually burst the Hidden Buckle.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time.


    So He Zheng racked his brains for a story, and the Person in the Mirror spoke up at that moment, ¡°It¡¯s your turn¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me think,¡± He Zheng said.


    He frowned, trying to recall any scary story he¡¯d heard or seen somewhere, but despite racking his brain, he couldn¡¯t come up with anything.


    At this moment, the Person in the Mirror, having finished drawing her brows, nose, and now her lips, kept her painted eyeballs moving subtly. They seemed to be watching He Zheng outside the mirror or perhaps something else, giving off an oddly eerie vibe.


    Suddenly, He Zheng froze. He found these eyes eerily familiar.


    Then He Zheng remembered a story he had seen on a website before. It was somewhat familiar, but nevertheless, it could be considered a tightly-paced short story.


    ¡°I¡¯ll begin then. My story is very short,¡± he cleared his throat and began, while continuing to put all his effort into pressing the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle between his fingers.


    ¡°In an ordinary family, every evening as dusk approached, a six-year-old boy would stand on the sofa, looking out the window, waving his hand and mumbling something. His mother didn¡¯t notice at first, but she later found her son¡¯s behavior strange. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, ¡®What are you doing?¡¯ The boy replied, ¡®Mom, I¡¯m saying goodbye to uncle.''¡±


    ¡°Uncle? The mother¡¯s face turned pale when she heard this because they lived on the sixth floor. No one could be outside the window where her son waved each day. Horrified, her voice trembling, she asked, ¡®Son, there¡¯s no one outside, where is this uncle?¡¯ At this point, the boy pointed to the sky, ¡®There, Uncle Sun.¡¯


    As He Zheng finished speaking, the Person in the Mirror, who had been applying her makeup, paused for a moment before continuing, while saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t a scary story.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want a twist? My story started off with suspense and horror and indeed ended with a twist,¡± He Zheng said, breaking into a sweat.


    At that moment, he found he could essentially move his right hand.


    At the same time, the Person in the Mirror had finished applying her lipstick, and the hands that had been moving across her face finally came to a rest.


    The woman smiled at He Zheng, who stared blankly at her, no longer applying makeup, as if he had just seen an extremely bizarre scene. He even forgot to press the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    Or rather, he could now move his fingers, but he still didn¡¯t have enough strength to actually press it down.


    What he saw was the Person in the Mirror¡¯s face after makeup, and that face eerily matched his own.


    Aside from their figures and hairstyles, the face was a perfect replica of He Zheng¡¯s own countenance.


    Upon seeing the other¡¯s eerie appearance, He Zheng froze for a few seconds. Then, an inexplicable sense of panic overwhelmed him, and he exerted all his strength to press the Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    However, at the same moment, the woman in the mirror slowly raised her hands, and likewise, He Zheng involuntarily raised his outside the mirror, as if his body was no longer under his control.


    He Zheng¡¯s facial expression distorted with fear as he found himself performing the same motions as the Person in the Mirror.


    Yet at that moment, the woman grew a face of her own ¡ª truly as if she was looking at her own reflection.


    Then the woman retracted her raised hands, slowly reaching towards her own neck, and He Zheng, outside the mirror, also uncontrollably reached for his neck, gently grasped it, and then began to tighten his grip ¡ª gradually his breathing became difficult.


    While He Zheng¡¯s hands tightened around his neck, the veins popping out, the Person in the Mirror, though wearing his face, displayed a mysterious smile, watching him quietly. She, too, tightened her grip on her neck viciously, as if it didn¡¯t belong to her at all.


    Just as He Zheng felt like he was about to faint, his arms were suddenly grabbed by another pair of hands, and his neck was promptly released, allowing him to finally catch his breath.


    Refocusing his gaze and looking up, he saw a stranger beside him, holding his hands. And in front of him, on the dressing table ¡ª that is, in front of the vanity mirror ¡ª were numerous makeup boxes.


    And the person in the mirror was clearly He Zheng himself, with no one else present.


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 Chapter 233 - 227: Person in the Mirror (Part Three)

    Chapter 233: Chapter 227: Person in the Mirror (Part Three)


    ¡°`


    ¡°You are¡­¡± He Zheng felt like he had survived a catastrophe, gasping for air, and it took a long time for him to realize, ¡°You are Yan Junze? Thank God you came, or else¡­ the consequences¡­¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that the man was still grabbing his hands, saying nothing, without any other movements, just staring straight into his eyes, expressionless.


    ¡°`


    ...


    ¡°`


    After calming down, He Zheng began to feel suspicious.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    No matter what, if it were Yan Junze who had rushed over, his reaction wouldn¡¯t be like this after rescuing him.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    With this thought, he immediately turned his head to look again at the mirror on the dressing table, and when he saw the reflection clearly, he instantly took a sharp intake of breath.


    ¡°` sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`


    He saw that his reflection in the mirror was still sitting nicely, smiling at him, with no sight of anyone else, nor any sign that he had turned around, when in fact someone was holding his wrists.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    The He Zheng in the mirror sat quietly, still holding the makeup tools, as if he was still putting on makeup.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Feeling the strength from the person holding his wrist, He Zheng was certain someone was grabbing him. A shock went through his heart, and he stopped staring at the mirror and turned his head slowly back to look at the person holding him.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    What appeared before his eyes was a woman in a black cloth dress, with long hair cascading over her shoulders, completely covering her face. She was the very same ¡®Person in the Mirror¡¯ He Zheng had seen earlier.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    And now, this ¡®Person in the Mirror¡¯ was holding his hands, motionless.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    He Zheng swallowed, glanced down, and saw that his cellphone, which was lit by the flashlight, had been placed on the dressing table, with the screen facing the table, shining upward. Therefore, the ground was pitch dark, and the dropped High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not¡­ Yan Junze¡­¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    He Zheng became stammering; a second ago he thought he was saved, only to find out later that this was another nightmare.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Regardless, it seemed now that the woman had walked out of the mirror.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    He Zheng tried to pull back his hands, which were being held by the woman, but she was surprisingly strong and didn¡¯t budge at all.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Not only did he fail to retract his arms, but sensing He Zheng¡¯s struggle, the woman bent down, brought her head close to He Zheng, slowly lifted his hands that she was holding and started brushing away the hair that completely covered her cheeks with his hands.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Touching the woman¡¯s hair, He Zheng couldn¡¯t help but feel a chilling coldness that he hadn¡¯t felt in a long time, yet he was still unable to break free.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    He watched his hands move at an extremely slow speed, lifting the hair that covered the woman¡¯s cheeks. The nervousness in his heart reached its peak.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Before he could get a clear look at the woman¡¯s face, He Zheng closed his eyes sharply. At this moment, he could only close his eyes, having no other way to resist.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    In his mind, ever since he sat on this leather stool, he had been in a passive state, interfered with by this ¡®Person in the Mirror.¡¯


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Not long after he closed his eyes, he could feel the woman¡¯s face slowly getting closer. Although he couldn¡¯t see it, a bone-chilling coldness was getting nearer and nearer. It seemed as if she was breathing, and her breath was piercing cold.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Damn, how can this be so scary?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    At this time, He Zheng felt a fear like never before, a kind of fear he had never encountered in his career as an exorcist.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    In the past, his exorcisms with the Collapsing Hidden Buckle had been successful with a single try, making him confident and unrivaled. But today, he had encountered a challenge like never before.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Now, with fear taking root in his heart, it spread uncontrollably throughout his body, causing goosebumps to rise, a chill ran down his spine, and a numbness at the back of his head, almost causing him to collapse.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and upon seeing the face that was now completely close to him, He Zheng¡¯s eyes rolled back, and with a thud, he fainted.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    In front of the dressing table, Yan Junze was holding He Zheng¡¯s hands with a bewildered look on his face, watching as he suddenly fell into unconsciousness.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    He hadn¡¯t been at ¡°Bedroom Companion¡± furniture store for long, but he saw that the roller shutter door was already open, so he was sure the exorcist who was to cooperate with him had already entered.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Originally, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to continue with this assignment, firstly because this exorcist clearly didn¡¯t play by the rules, acting on his own and leaving Yan Junze behind, and also because cooperating with such a man might expose his own secrets.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Since he was so cocksure, let him deal with the ¡®Person in the Mirror¡¯ alone, Yan Junze thought. He would just wash his hands off and walk away.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Just as Yan Junze was about to leave, he heard a noise from within the darkness of the furniture store. He stood at the entrance and called out.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    There was no answer.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    And at this time, no mission prompts popped up in the atlas in his mind. Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to activate his ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±. He was already here; he could directly approach the site of the strangeness without wasting any more energy.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    So he stepped inside.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    To navigate more easily, Yan Junze also turned on his phone¡¯s flashlight. There were many mirrors inside, and walking too quickly could cause illusions, making it feel as if someone else holding a flashlight was walking towards him.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    After about two minutes, he stood beside a wardrobe and turned off the flashlight on his phone. In the darkness, he quietly watched everything that was happening in front of the vanity.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    What he saw was a young man with ¡°Exorcist¡± practically written on his forehead, sitting alone in front of the vanity, his face wearing a strange smile, talking to the mirror and applying make-up on his face from the tools on the table.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Initially, Yan Junze thought there was some strangeness in the mirror, but when he took a closer look, he found that no person in the mirror appeared.


    The person in the mirror was still He Zheng, who was sitting in front of the dressing table, applying makeup.


    ¡°This guy¡­ why does it feel like a possession spirit has taken over him?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, watching He Zheng¡¯s mechanical movements.


    He then saw He Zheng use eyebrow pencils and other items to smear his face beyond recognition, while concurrently telling himself stories in clear articulation and practiced motions.


    Yan Junze watched and listened; he had to admit, in this quiet and dark environment, it was quite the spooky experience.


    Soon after the second story about ¡°Uncle Sun¡± ended, he saw He Zheng put down his makeup tools, raise his hands, and then slowly start to choke himself, as if the neck was not his own, almost as if it came free with a phone recharge.


    After more than ten seconds, veins protruded on He Zheng¡¯s neck, his eyes bulged out, and his face swelled up to a deep red.


    Yan Junze knew he had to intervene, or else this guy would seriously hurt himself right there.


    And so the scene from earlier unfolded.


    But even now, Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand why He Zheng fainted. He looked at himself as if he saw a different kind of horror, the reason for which was unknown to him.


    Since He Zheng had fainted, Yan Junze simply helped him to the ground to lie down properly, so he wouldn¡¯t get in the way.


    Then he placed his own phone on the dressing table, with the flashlight of both phones providing a bit of light, just a little stronger than before.


    Afterward, Yan Junze looked towards the mirror on the dressing table.


    Through that mirror, he could see his own reflection being cast from another mirror behind him.


    Remembering He Zheng¡¯s bizarre behavior just now, he looked down at the dressing table and the beautifully designed leather stool that was part of it..


    Yan Junze had no intention of sitting down for the time being.


    Because all of He Zheng¡¯s strange behavior happened while sitting there, he didn¡¯t want to touch anything in the area for now.


    Looking again at the mirror in front of him, this time, he saw the vague outline of a figure appearing in it.


    Or more accurately, beside the large wardrobe that stood behind him.


    Since only the silhouette was visible, it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. The figure just stood there, motionless.


    Yan Junze turned around to look and found nothing out of the ordinary beside the wardrobe¡ªno figure appeared.


    He was surprised and turned back to the mirror to check if he had been mistaken. But upon turning his head, he was taken aback to see that the figure, which had just been standing beside the wardrobe, was now coming out, shoulders hunched high, almost level with the chin, and slowly stepped up to the mirror.


    It was a woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders, completely obscuring her face.


    Where Yan Junze used to see his own reflection in the mirror, the woman had now approached from within the mirror and his image was completely replaced¡ªor rather, obscured by the woman in the mirror.


    Yan Junze looked down at his feet and then frowned; he realized that even though He Zheng had recently been lying on the ground, his figure had vanished without a trace.


    He then looked at the mirror, where the woman had already taken a seat, seemingly on the leather stool within the mirror.


    Shortly after she sat down, the figure of a man stood up from behind the woman in the mirror, his back to the outside, and it was the silhouette of He Zheng.


    He Zheng stood up as if he had lost his souls, silently walking toward the wardrobe.


    Yan Junze was astonished and turned to look behind him again, but still, there was nothing there.


    It seemed as though He Zheng had been pulled into the mirror by some bizarre force.


    By the time He Zheng reached the front of the wardrobe, he extended his hand like a puppet being controlled, slowly pulling the wardrobe door open and then silently stepped inside.


    The moment the wardrobe door opened and he stepped in, Yan Junze clearly saw two men standing motionless inside the wardrobe, with dull eyes.


    Bang, the wardrobe door closed.


    ¡°Do you like to hear stories?¡± The woman, seemingly oblivious to the scene behind her, suddenly spoke, and at the same time, the entire mirror surface began to tremble slightly.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, without responding, but his mind flashed back to the scene of He Zheng telling himself stories.


    Interesting. It looked like he was now re-experiencing what He Zheng had gone through earlier.


    As the thought emerged, the information about the task published by the Atlas popped into his mind.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 234 - 228: Person in the Mirror (Part Four)

    Chapter 234: Chapter 228: Person in the Mirror (Part Four)


    [Task Name: The Person in the Mirror;]


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);]


    Task Background: She was very fond of horror stories and engaging in Spirit Exploration adventures was her passion before the worldwide eruption of strangeness. After the outbreak, she came across a story somewhere which claimed that at 12:12 midnight, if a person alone in their room combed their hair twelve times in front of a mirror and said ¡°Come out¡± three times, an incredible Mirror Spirit would appear that could grant the summoner¡¯s wish. However, the price was¡­ She didn¡¯t know how she had died, only remembering sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair, and then she could never leave;]


    Task Description: Release her from the mirror;]


    Task Reward: 900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    Task Punishment: You could become one of the ones in the mirror;]


    ...


    Task Tips: 1. This Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Be cautious of the real Mirror Spirit behind you;]


    Remarks: To fulfill her obsession, you will need a rich reading history.]


    Yan Junze scrutinized the task prompt that had popped up. The task¡¯s name was The Person in the Mirror, but looking at the current situation, the oddity in the mirror wasn¡¯t the only one.


    And the woman in the mirror in front of him was the Person in the Mirror mentioned in the task, while in this mirror, there appeared to be an even more formidable Mirror Spirit.


    Now, it seemed that since there was no specific task for the Mirror Spirit, its obsession wasn¡¯t here. He just needed to fulfill this woman¡¯s obsession.


    Of course, he would certainly have to be wary of the Mirror Spirit during this process.


    ¡°No wonder He Zheng was muttering horror stories to himself just now; it turns out this woman is a story enthusiast,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Before entering this shop, he had already initiated Rewind, so right now he was not worried about anything. After pondering briefly, he then sat down on a leather stool and looked at the woman in the mirror.


    ¡°I like listening to stories, especially horror stories,¡± Yan Junze responded to the woman in the mirror.


    ¡°I like them too.¡± The woman seemed to be smiling.


    After saying this, she stretched out her grey-white hands and slowly lifted her hair, tucking it behind her ears.


    What Yan Junze saw was also a face without any features.


    Having seen He Zheng earlier sitting in front of a dressing table doing his own makeup, at this moment, Yan Junze had every reason to suspect that, just like He Zheng, he was facing the woman in the mirror, but in reality, it was himself.


    Then the woman in the mirror picked up some makeup tools and began to draw on her face, and as she did, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s each tell a story in turn. They must be horror stories, short and to the point, with a twist at the end. Hmm, I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Yan Junze replied concisely.


    The woman in the mirror took her time doing her makeup and began, ¡°This story¡¯s title is ¡®Dormitory.¡¯ It¡¯s said that in dorm room 215 of a university, the new students who had just arrived for registration weren¡¯t familiar with the environment, so they didn¡¯t know each other well and didn¡¯t talk much at night. But Lin was an exception. Seeing the dorm so silent, he climbed off his bed, sat up, and broke the quiet: ¡®Have you guys noticed? There is no room 214 on this floor¡ª it jumps directly from 213 to ours, 215.''¡±


    ¡°No one in the room answered him. Lin didn¡¯t mind and continued: ¡®Probably you don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ve heard that someone died in a fire in room 214 after they secretly used electricity and forgot to cut off the power, causing a fire in the dead of night that burned everyone in that room to death. Not sure if you¡¯ve ever walked into the wrong room ¨C these dorm rooms are exactly alike. Just now, when I came back, I went into room 213 by mistake.''¡±


    ¡°As he spoke, still no one answered him, but everyone quietly lifted their heads and stared at Lin. Lin felt something was off, wondering why all these buddies from all over the country gathered here wouldn¡¯t talk. But the next second, Lin seemed to realize something, his brows furrowed tightly¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that the end?¡± Yan Junze, noticing the woman in the mirror suddenly stopped talking, asked.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it.¡± The woman was still applying makeup, having drawn her eyes and eyebrows, and was now drawing the bridge of her nose.


    ¡°That story is brilliant,¡± Yan Junze clapped his hands, ¡°It¡¯s chilling and has a twist at the end.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn,¡± said the woman in the mirror.


    Ever since his experience with joining the Strangeness Association at Tianmeng Science University, Yan Junze found that being able to come up with several thrilling horror stories at a moment¡¯s notice was a basic survival skill in this era.


    Although the horror stories he told, which were based on his own experiences, weren¡¯t very popular during the process of joining the Strangeness Association, Yan Junze had gained some experience.


    So after that, he specially looked up several websites dedicated to strangenesses, most of which were text-based, and deliberately memorized a few horror stories. These stories weren¡¯t necessarily all about strangenesses, and their lengths varied, but they all featured bizarre twists and turns, which couldn¡¯t have come in handier than now.


    ¡°The name of my story is ¡®Mother,''¡± Yan Junze cleared his throat, beginning his tale, ¡°There was a couple that always fought, arguing day and night, and when their fights escalated, they would end up hitting each other. One day, the arguments got particularly intense, and in the heat of the moment, the husband accidentally killed his wife. He buried her body in the backyard and life continued as if nothing had happened.¡±


    ¡°However, a few days later, the husband noticed that his six-year-old daughter was acting strangely, as she hadn¡¯t seen her mother for several days and showed no sign of worry. So he asked his daughter, ¡®Your mother hasn¡¯t been home for a few days, why aren¡¯t you worried or asking me where she¡¯s gone?¡¯ The daughter replied, ¡®I¡¯m not worried, but I find it strange, Daddy, why have you been carrying Mommy on your back these past few days?''¡±


    As Yan Junze spoke, the action of the woman in the mirror applying makeup suddenly paused and stopped.


    Then Yan Junze saw that the bridge of the nose she was drawing had become crooked, clearly shocked by the ending of the story, and distracted, she hadn¡¯t drawn it correctly.


    Upon a closer look, he realized that the eyes she had drawn looked very familiar, almost like his own.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but speculate wildly.


    ¡°This story¡­ not bad,¡± the woman in the mirror said slowly, wiping off the misdrawn nose with a cotton ball.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had reason to believe that ever since he had taken a seat on this stool, what he was seeing was no longer the real scene. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps, like He Zheng, he was simply sitting on the stool himself, with the illusion that the woman in the mirror was putting on makeup, when in fact, it was he who was doing it.


    Now he could only hope that he wasn¡¯t turning himself into a pig-headed figure.


    ¡°Is it my turn again?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The woman didn¡¯t answer but began telling the next story while she started redrawing her nose.


    ¡°This story is called ¡®Birthday.¡¯ It was a son¡¯s third birthday, and his parents were very happy, having arranged a small birthday party for him. The party was meticulously planned, with a big water bed, building blocks, and various soft toys. The son was also delighted, bouncing around on the bed, while his parents happily filmed him, to capture this precious moment. Suddenly, the son stepped into a void and fell under the bed, his head striking sharply against several pointed blocks, and despite all efforts, he died.¡±


    ¡°The parents were inconsolably sad. It took them months to start recovering gradually. Out of intense longing for their son, they took out the video of the day he died and mustered the courage to play it. Both sat together, watching in silence. Then, they saw something in the playback. As their son jumped on the water bed, a man covered in blood was standing by the bed, grabbing their son¡¯s hair and pulling it up and down, over and over, before lifting him and violently throwing him onto the floor.¡±


    ¡°Phew,¡± Yan Junze exhaled and said, ¡°I hope this is just a story, not the truth.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn again,¡± the woman in the mirror said as she finished drawing her nose and began to work on her lips.


    Seeing the face in the mirror that was nearly complete, Yan Junze was almost certain that the woman was drawing his own likeness.


    He paused for a moment and said, ¡°This story is called ¡®So Close, Yet So Far.¡¯ There was a young man who had just moved into a single room that he had rented. The room was quite large and the facilities were not outdated; it was perfect for one person, and he was very satisfied with it. After spending a day moving in, he began sorting out various odds and ends in the evening. After getting his bed arranged, he suddenly noticed that on the wall next to his bed, there were six or seven small holes that weren¡¯t big enough to fit a nail or hang anything on, and he had no clue what they were for.¡±


    ¡°At that moment, he thought he faintly heard voices coming from next door, but the sound was too low, or perhaps the people were speaking in hushed tones, so he couldn¡¯t make out what was said. Curious, the young man went closer, pressed his ear against the wall, and listened intently. After a while, he was finally able to make out some fragments of conversation, something like ¡®Almost there, just about ready.¡¯


    ¡°The young man thought he had struck gold, as on his first day there, he seemed to overhear from next door some inappropriate and indescribable sounds. He glued his ear against the wall, not wanting to miss a thing. But after a long time, it was still those few phrases being repeated, ¡®Almost, almost, should be soon.''¡±


    ¡°He was confused, although the fantasies of a lonely guy kept him from giving up and he continued to listen closely. That was when he heard the voice say, ¡®Yeah, that¡¯s it, right there.¡¯ As soon as the words were spoken, just two fingers¡¯ width from where the young man¡¯s head was pressed against the wall, a sharp, slim steel needle pierced through, protruding several inches from the wall before stopping.¡±


    ¡°The young man was utterly petrified; he lay there motionless as the needle was slowly drawn back, and then he heard the voice from next door saying, ¡®Such a pity, so close.¡¯


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 Chapter 235 - 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)

    Chapter 235: Chapter 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)


    By this time, the makeup of the woman in the mirror was nearly complete, with lips already outlined; it was clearly the likeness of Yan Junze, with only a bit left at the chin.


    However, after Yan Junze finished the story with a ¡°what a pity, just a little bit more,¡± especially at the conclusion of the tale, the woman¡¯s hand trembled, obviously affected once again.


    A long black line was drawn from the chin upwards across the face, stopping only when it reached the corner of the eye.


    This action completely ruined the makeup that had resembled Yan Junze¡¯s face on the woman in the mirror at that moment.


    The woman in the mirror was completely stunned, her hands no longer moving, as she stared blankly at Yan Junze.


    Simultaneously, the scene before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes changed; he found himself holding makeup tools, still seated on the leather stool. The woman in the mirror had been blocking his reflection, but now the person in the mirror reverted back to himself, and the woman¡¯s figure had disappeared.


    ...


    After hesitating briefly, Yan Junze recalled the mission prompt. He glanced at the large wardrobe in the mirror that had closed, within which three people, including the exorcist He Zheng, had been confined just a moment ago.


    Of course, in the real world, there was no one inside the large wardrobe.


    Perhaps it was time to take a risk. With Rewind at his disposal, and the current rewind time being sufficiently long for Yan Junze to take chances, he picked up a comb from the vanity and, recalling the method mentioned in the mission for summoning the Mirror Spirit, began to comb his hair.


    Although it wasn¡¯t 12:12 a.m., with strangenesses rampant, the previous conditions could no longer measure whether a strangeness would appear.


    Combing his hair twelve times, Yan Junze also began to chant, ¡°Come out, come out, come out.¡±


    Well, important things must be said three times.


    With that, he stopped combing his hair and placed the comb back on the table, turning his gaze towards the mirror.


    Because there was a full-length mirror on the back of the wardrobe, Yan Junze could see the reflection of his own back in the dressing mirror, cast by the full-length mirror.


    Having put down the comb, he slowly stood up, but at that moment, he noticed that his reflection in the full-length mirror remained seated, his back reflected as if it had never moved.


    Yan Junze watched for a moment, paying it no mind. He already felt the environment around him changing into something odd, as if the air surrounding his body had become stagnant and no longer flowed, but without making it hard to breathe.


    Turning around, with his back to the dressing mirror and facing the full-length mirror, he saw that the reflection still showed his back to the mirror, unchanging.


    ¡°Am I now¡­ in the world of the mirror?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    He walked toward the full-length mirror on the large wardrobe, and at that moment, his reflection still showed him sitting facing the dressing mirror, looking quite eerie.


    A frigid chill crept over him as he approached the wardrobe.


    Standing in front of the wardrobe doors, Yan Junze reached out and grasped the doorknob.


    At that instant, behind the mirrors, a grating, grinding sound emerged, making one¡¯s skin crawl.


    Furthermore, the sound seemed to draw nearer, approaching his direction.


    Without any hesitation, Yan Junze flung open the big doors of the wardrobe, revealing three men including He Zheng standing silently inside, eyes wide open, motionless.


    He stepped back, reached out with his left hand to grab the other door of the wardrobe and pulled it open again.


    Inside this side of the door stood only one figure, the woman in a black dress.


    This time the woman finally had a face. Though her hair was draped over, it didn¡¯t completely cover her face, revealing an ordinary visage with no distinctive features.


    The woman¡¯s eyes, just like the three men¡¯s, were open, but they lacked any luster, like someone dead.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was almost certain that although He Zheng was new to the Mirror World, he might have already died, no different from the other people there.


    Another commonality was that although they were dead, they were trapped in the Mirror World and could no longer leave.


    The irritating grinding sound continued, seemingly coming from behind the wardrobe.


    First things first: get the people out.


    Decidedly, Yan Junze resolved that no matter what was approaching, he grabbed He Zheng and another man by the arms and dragged them out of the wardrobe.


    Surprisingly, although these two no longer showed signs of life, they still consciously took steps, following Yan Junze out of the wardrobe without much difficulty.


    Coming to the mirror by the vanity, Yan Junze reached out to touch it, and his hand went directly through. He immediately turned, pulling He Zheng towards him and thrust him forcefully into the mirror. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, following the same procedure, he pushed the other man inside.


    Turning quickly, he went back to the wardrobe to pull out the remaining man, who immediately followed him out of the wardrobe, then he grabbed the sole woman, who likewise followed him out.


    Just at that moment, the loud grinding sound abruptly stopped, and from one side of the wardrobe, near the side where the woman had been confined, a black, withered hand with calloused and sharp nails appeared, grasping the edge of the wardrobe as if it were about to reveal its head at any second.


    Yan Junze had no curiosity to see that head, and even without thinking too hard, he could guess that the owner of the black hand must undoubtedly be the Mirror Spirit.


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 Chapter 236 - 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_2

    Chapter 236: Chapter 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_2


    He swiftly led the two of them to the vanity mirror, yanked the man violently, causing him to fall towards the mirror with half of his body sticking out. Then, Yan Junze gave a push, making him leave the Mirror World completely.


    His hands then grasped the woman¡¯s shoulders, about to push her toward the vanity mirror when the sound of ¡°pop pop pop¡± rose from behind, as if someone was burping up myriad bubbles nonstop, continuously forming and bursting.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t look back; he knew the scene behind him must be terrifying, and if he took another glance, his mind would be shaken, definitely causing a delay.


    Every second was critical at this moment. All he needed was to push the woman out, then make his escape, and his mission would be accomplished.


    Just as he had pushed the woman about halfway out of the mirror, his shoulder suddenly tightened, caught by a hand.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body tensed, hesitating for nearly two seconds, holding back the urge to look back. He hadn¡¯t expected the Mirror Ghost to move so much faster upon seeing that he intended to leave with the woman.


    ...


    According to the speed just moments ago, he would have had enough time to take the woman and leave comfortably.


    But now it seemed impossible.


    Yan Junze still didn¡¯t look back. Mirror Spirits were mysterious, and he was unsure if he would end up like He Zheng, suddenly losing his life upon glancing back.


    So the best option was to initiate the Rewind.


    At this moment, half of the woman¡¯s upper body was out, the other half still in the Mirror World, and Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder was already grasped by the Mirror Spirit, rendering him unable to continue.


    The next moment, time rewound.


    Yan Junze stood in front of the wardrobe, the intense grinding noise still approaching from not far off, not yet fully near.


    After pondering for a few seconds, this time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t opt to take the other two with him. It seemed there wasn¡¯t enough time; insisting on taking everyone might end up costing himself as well.


    But He Zheng was an Exorcist, after all a colleague of sorts, and taking him along would also be a way to report back to his superiors.


    He grabbed He Zheng, then reached for the woman with his other hand, pulling both toward the vanity mirror.


    This time, the grinding noise behind him noticeably quickened after he grabbed the woman. A black hand emerged from behind the wardrobe, followed by a blurred black figure stepping out, emitting ¡°pop pop¡± sounds of bursting bubbles from its throat.


    By then, Yan Junze had already pushed He Zheng, who was in front, out of the mirror, turned around, and yanked the woman¡¯s shoulder, pulling her forward. During this process, he caught a glimpse of the black figure approaching from behind.


    The terrifying silhouette of the Mirror Spirit was but an outline in Yan Junze¡¯s eyes. Despite having witnessed many supernatural phenomena, the sight of the Mirror Spirit sent a shudder through him, prompting him to increase his pace.


    After the woman¡¯s upper body entered the mirror, he grabbed her legs and hoisted her up, successfully pushing her out.


    The noise behind became furiously intense, the grinding sound rapidly closing in.


    Yan Junze bowed his body, lying across the vanity, and flipped his legs out through the mirror first. But the black figure had already neared the vanity, stretching out a black, emaciated hand covered in sharp nails towards his head.


    There was no chance to dodge at that moment. Yan Junze prepared to swing his mallet, throwing it to slow down the Mirror Spirit¡¯s incoming speed.


    However, a throw would leave the Black Spirit Mallet behind in the Mirror World, forever unretrievable.


    After hesitating briefly, almost instinctively, he grabbed a drawer from the vanity and yanked it open, smashing it towards the Mirror Spirit. In the process, a small mirror with a handle, about the size of a palm, fell from the drawer.


    Yan Junze was quick to grab it, squeezing his entire body rapidly into the mirror.


    After the drawer hit the Mirror Spirit, it failed to stop its advance, but as it saw Yan Junze grabbing the fallen handle mirror, a voice uttered from the Mirror Spirit¡¯s throat, urgent and pressing.


    ¡°No¡­don¡¯t.¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Better for it to have remained silent, for upon hearing it, Yan Junze was even less likely to let go. Clutching the mirror in his hand, he contracted his upper body and finally passed through the mirror.


    The moment the handle mirror crossed through, a distortion occurred that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t perceive, as if the world flipped and the mirror¡¯s surface turned into water, rippling with strange waves.


    In the Mirror World, the black hand stretched swiftly toward the small mirror, sharp nails nearing it when the irreversible inversion and distortion of the mirror took place. The black hand, closest to the mirror, quivered and was about to retract, but it was too late.


    A bizarre, heart-wrenching scream erupted as the hand dissolved into a flow of black mist, yanked out through the mirror along with the small mirror. The rest of the body followed suit, transforming into more black mist, streaming rapidly toward the handle mirror.


    Before the small mirror completely emerged from the vanity mirror, all the black mist flowed into it, and the silhouette of the Mirror Spirit disappeared without a trace.


    Finally, Yan Junze pulled the small mirror out of the Mirror World.


    First, there was utter darkness, then a dim light emerged.


    The light came from two cell phone flashlights placed on the vanity. Yan Junze stood up to find two bodies lying on the floor, one was He Zheng, the other the woman.


    At the same time, a mission completion notification popped up.


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 Chapter 237 - 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_3

    Chapter 237: Chapter 229: Person in the Mirror (5) (5000 words)_3


    [Person in the Mirror, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, 900 points of Different Dimension Energy obtained.]


    Yan Junze still felt some palpitations as he stood there, the strength of the Mirror Spirit had completely exceeded his imagination, at least at the Sculpting Spirit level. However, fortunately, as long as he escaped the Mirror World, it would be fine.


    Moreover, now that the task was completed, the woman¡¯s body had indeed left the Mirror World as desired, but He Zheng¡­


    Yan Junze looked down at He Zheng, whose face had turned a ghastly shade of cyan and whose body was already beginning to grow cold, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.


    Although the Exorcist before him was his first collaborator after joining the ranks, he hadn¡¯t expected this guy to act first, ending up dying miserably right in front of him. He wondered how he was going to explain this to the higher-ups later.


    What was most important was that Yan Junze had no idea what the relationship between He Zheng and He Yun was.


    ...


    After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand, which still held the palm-sized little mirror.


    The Mirror Spirit had clearly been very concerned about this item, though Yan Junze didn¡¯t know why he was puzzled.


    Suddenly, as he looked at the small mirror, he saw that the mirror no longer reflected his own shadow but was instead a chaotic darkness, as if surging with some undercurrent, extremely sinister.


    Just one glance, and it seemed as if a pitch-black head appeared within the mirror, roaring fiercely at something outside the bounds, nearly causing Yan Junze to lose his composure, almost snatched away by the thing inside the mirror. Frightened, he quickly turned the small mirror around, not daring to look again.


    ¡°What is this? It seems like¡­ a Mirror Spirit?¡±


    Yan Junze stared blankly at the back of the mirror in his hand, somewhat astonished. He didn¡¯t understand when the Mirror Spirit had entered this small mirror.


    Perhaps something abnormal had happened while he was leaving the Mirror World.


    But at the moment, it was unknown.


    ¡°As long as I don¡¯t look at this mirror, it should be fine,¡± Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then placed the small mirror in his coat pocket. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He then turned his head to look around the shop and eventually set his gaze on the dressing mirror in front of him. He saw that the mirror had begun to crack, inch by inch, making a cracking sound.


    Not long after, with a crash, the entire mirrored surface completely shattered, falling onto the dressing table.


    This world within the mirror, it can be said, was completely destroyed.


    However¡­


    Yan Junze looked down at his coat pocket. The small mirror in his pocket had apparently taken the place of the dressing mirror that had just been destroyed.


    After tidying up the bodies of the woman and He Zheng, arranging them neatly, he found two pieces of grey cloth used to cover furniture and covered the bodies with them.


    Yan Junze dialed He Yun¡¯s number, and as soon as He Yun answered, without waiting for Yan Junze to speak, she asked, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to call He Zheng, but he hasn¡¯t been answering. What¡¯s the situation over there? Have you dealt with it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s taken care of,¡± Yan Junze replied. ¡°But this Exorcist named He Zheng didn¡¯t wait for me to arrive, he took action on his own.¡±


    ¡°Ah! He¡¯s okay, right? This guy, I told him he had to stick with you,¡± He Yun¡¯s tone obviously became more anxious.


    Yan Junze was startled, sensing something different, and after a moment of thought, he ventured, ¡°He Zheng, he¡¯s not just a colleague to you?¡±


    A bitter laugh came from He Yun, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I kept it from you before, he¡¯s actually my younger brother, a somewhat talented but impatient two-star Exorcist, sometimes he doesn¡¯t understand his own limits.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yan Junze now understood and sighed, ¡°Doing this¡­ you could harm him.¡±


    ¡°Where is he now?¡± He Yun asked.


    ¡°Have the staff come clean up the site, the strangeness here has been dealt with, but you should brace yourself.¡±


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t directly tell He Yun over the phone, so he prepared to make a direct visit to the Exorcist team¡¯s office.


    After hanging up, guessing that He Yun must have already surmised, Yan Junze also felt somewhat heavy-hearted. He left ¡°Bedroom Companion¡± furniture store and told the security guard at the stairwell that the strange event had been resolved, but the store needed to be temporarily sealed off, with no one allowed near until the Exorcist staff arrived for cleanup.


    The security guard quickly thanked him but seemed puzzled as to why the first young man who went in had disappeared without a trace.


    When he came out, it was already past ten, and the streets were scarcely populated, with even fewer taxis than usual.


    Yan Junze managed to hail a taxi after some difficulty. The driver was very cautious and didn¡¯t immediately unlock the door to let him in but asked some questions. After Yan Junze responded fluently, and the driver made it clear he wouldn¡¯t leave the city or enter alleys, just stop on the main road, he agreed to let Yan Junze in.


    Due to the emergence of Lin Qiao, the number of Exorcists in the city had drastically decreased lately, leading to some strangenesses not being resolved in time and seemingly sprouting up overnight, so people were becoming quite apprehensive.


    Of course, they didn¡¯t know that this was due to the appearance of the Spirit Bridge causing a shortage of Exorcists, and they simply thought that the increase in strange events was too much for the Exorcists to handle.


    Soon, the taxi stopped on People¡¯s Road, a main thoroughfare, just like the driver had said¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t turn into any alleys.


    The Exorcist team¡¯s office belonging to Tianmeng was indeed located in Benefit Alley off People¡¯s Road, in an old-style office building with a sign ¡°Tianmeng Records Bureau No. 6¡± hung outside, which made it look like just an ordinary local agency to the uninformed.


    After the taxi stopped on People¡¯s Road, Yan Junze paid the fare, got out, and walked toward Benefit Alley. Just as he turned into the alley, a van emerged and turned onto People¡¯s Road, speeding off in the direction Yan Junze had come from.


    As the vehicle passed by, Yan Junze glanced briefly¡ªin the passenger seat there was someone, and the back window was opaque, making it hard to see clearly, but there were definitely more than two people in the car.


    These were likely Exorcist team members dispatched to clean up the ¡°Bedroom Companion¡± store¡¯s site.


    Reaching the old office building with the Records Bureau sign, he showed his hexagonal badge at the duty room and was told to go straight to the fourth floor.


    Unexpectedly, although the exterior seemed very old, the interior decor was quite new. Yan Junze took the internal elevator to the fourth floor and stepped out into a spacious office.


    He looked ahead and saw at least five operators seated there.


    Two were answering calls while another two stood beside one of the female operators, seemingly offering words of comfort.


    This woman wore a striped, form-fitting blouse and a blue knee-length skirt. Her hair was neatly arranged as she leaned over her desk, her shoulders trembling slightly, obviously sobbing.


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 Chapter 238 - 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)

    Chapter 238: Chapter 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)


    Yan Junze walked over, addressing the sobbing woman, ¡°Are you He Yun?¡±


    The woman raised her head from the desk, her eyes slightly red but her tears already wiped away. As the liaison in possession of Yan Junze¡¯s file, she naturally recognized Yan Junze himself.


    She nodded, speaking slowly, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve been mentally prepared ever since he became an exorcist, I still can¡¯t accept it. What exactly happened to He Zheng?¡±


    Yan Junze sighed, ¡°By the time I got there it was too late; he was completely controlled by the Person in the Mirror, absorbed into the Mirror World. Afterwards, I mustered my courage and entered the Mirror World too, but when I managed to rescue him and that woman who was causing strangeness, I found He Zheng was already dead. From the moment he was taken into the Mirror World, he was dead.¡±


    ¡°He always acted recklessly, never listening to me,¡± He Yun cried out, then suddenly stopped and buried her head in her arms again, beginning to sob, ¡°It¡¯s my fault he¡¯s dead, all my fault.¡±


    Yan Junze had guessed the likely reason on his way here, and now he didn¡¯t know what comforting words to say, given that temporary assignments of exorcists were common in today¡¯s world, provided that the intent was to eliminate strangeness, and it was beneficial for rapid exorcisms.


    ...


    But no one expected the Mirror Spirit to be so powerful and He Zheng to be so reckless.


    ¡°After the incident at Spirit Bridge, I always stopped him from going in, knowing what he was like. It¡¯s too dangerous inside, and if you¡¯re not careful, you¡¯ll never come out¡­ who would¡¯ve thought¡­¡± He Yun cried out, speaking between sobs.


    A short-haired woman beside her comforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, my boyfriend already became a three-star exorcist, it wasn¡¯t like this last month¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, this world, nothing is predictable,¡± another woman, also a liaison, sighed.


    Seeing that so many people were accompanying He Yun, and having clarified his own concerns, Yan Junze prepared to leave.


    However, just then, one of the tall women on the phone hung up with a changeable expression and turned to everyone.


    ¡°What happened?¡± The short-haired liaison asked upon seeing her look troubled.


    ¡°Spirit Bridge¡­ something happened,¡± replied the tall woman. ¡°All 13 three-star exorcists and others of equivalent rank are out of contact, including Uncle Guo.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± all the women exclaimed in surprise.


    Even He Yun, who had been leaning over the desk, lifted her head, wiping away the tears on her face, and looked with a frightened expression at the tall liaison.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment and asked, ¡°Uncle Guo¡­ who is that?¡±


    ¡°Guo Youliang, one of the few exorcists in our district, a four-star,¡± answered the short-haired woman.


    As her words fell, an electronic screen on the wall at the front of the spacious office suddenly lit up, casting a bright red announcement: The strangeness incident at Spirit Bridge has been escalated to Grade A. All personnel are requested to meet in conference room on the sixth floor within five minutes. The meeting will be convened by Team Captain Huo Zhisen of the Tianmeng District Exorcist Team.


    Everyone was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, stood up, grabbed notepads and pens, and prepared to head to the sixth floor.


    Yan Junze said to He Yun, ¡°Could I, as an external staff member, possibly sit in on this meeting?¡±


    ¡°With the situation so urgent, what difference does in-house or external make? Let¡¯s go together!¡± The short-haired liaison spoke before He Yun had the chance to answer.


    ¡­


    In Tianmeng District, on the outskirts of West City, Mo Family Village.


    At the fourth junction of the main road outside West City, approximately six kilometers toward Mo Family Village, the road was completely blocked by police barricades and guarded round the clock by some mysterious individuals.


    Starting from the barricades, two kilometers further, the road ahead was shrouded in dense fog, obscuring any further view unless one ventured deep into the mist.


    This area had been declared a ¡°Death Forbidden Zone¡± by the Tianmeng Exorcist Team.


    Mo Family Village was not very large, comprising about seventy households, but now it had become a realm of death.


    Within the thick fog, about four kilometers further in was the location of Mo Family Village, an even stretch of land dotted with scattered houses, fields, and small woods stretching between each structure.


    At this moment, in the village, whether on the streets, country pathways, or inside houses, there lay the bodies of local villagers, each emitting the smell of decay that permeated the air.


    In one of the farmhouses, four exorcists from the team had gathered.


    All windows and doors of this house had been closed; the four people huddled next to the main door against the wall, with two of them peering through the door crack, watching the outside.


    The other two squatted on the side, whispering to each other. These two were Zhang Xiaomo and her partner Zhang Di.


    The two men looking outside were older and both three-star exorcists.


    Among these four, currently, the most powerful was Zhang Di, a three-star exorcist who was also a Semi-spirit and had appeared with Zhang Xiaomo in the caf¨¦ last time, followed by Fang Zun, then Zhang Xiaomo, and finally Yuan Dingzhou.


    At the moment, in the direction Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou were cautiously observing, there was a semi-circular black arch bridge in mid-air, completely formed by dark mist, stretching across from above, covering almost two-thirds of the entire Mo Family Village.


    After watching for a while, Yuan Dingzhou turned his head and whispered, ¡°Compared to two days ago, it seems like Spirit Bridge is starting to weaken. I hope it¡¯s not my illusion.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean we can go outside now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 239 - 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 239: Chapter 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)_2


    ¡°It¡¯s still not safe,¡± Fang Zun turned around, his hair graying, but his features chiseled.


    He shook his head, ¡°The woman with the lantern is still in that forest; she was last seen ten minutes ago.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo clicked her tongue, ¡°That woman must have been dead for over eight hundred years, it¡¯s unimaginable.¡±


    Fang Zun nodded, ¡°Her condition is very unstable. If it¡¯s the white lantern state, I believe I have a chance at subduing her. But I can¡¯t guarantee¡­¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± Yuan Dingzhou was peering through a crack in the door, looking out, suddenly interrupting Fang Zun¡¯s words.


    Everyone crowded around to see a middle-aged man in a black jacket, walking briskly towards the forest, seemingly ready to cross the small woods towards the road leading out of the village.


    ...


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Li Meng?¡± Zhang Xiaomo wondered aloud.


    ¡°Li Meng and Jiang Yaofei are on the same team, trapped not far from us, probably hiding in some farmhouse,¡± said Zhang Di.


    ¡°What is he trying to do?¡± Yuan Dingzhou asked with a suspicious expression.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ he can¡¯t bear it anymore, he wants to make a break for it,¡± said Fang Zun in a low tone, seemingly not optimistic about Li Meng¡¯s action.


    ¡°Won¡¯t Jiang Yaofei stop that guy?¡± Zhang Xiaomo tapped her foot lightly, her slender fingers balled into fists, watching the man in the jacket approach the forest.


    ¡°Perhaps they can¡¯t be stopped, their food probably ran out two weeks ago. If it weren¡¯t for some non-perishable food in the nearby farmhouses, they couldn¡¯t have lasted until now,¡± Zhang Di analyzed.


    Just then, the man in the jacket, Li Meng, fully entered the forest. However, the trees in the small woods were sparse and not very lush, so everyone¡¯s view was not too obstructed and they could still clearly see the other¡¯s figure. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not long after Li Meng entered the forest, a woman in an ancient white dress appeared with an extremely pale face, pale as if she were a porcelain doll, holding a white lantern, approaching where Li Meng was.


    The woman walked very slowly, but she seemed to float off the ground, quickly approaching Li Meng.


    In Li Meng¡¯s eyes, no matter which way he went, he couldn¡¯t avoid encountering the woman head-on.


    ¡°Her lantern is white; maybe Li Meng has a chance,¡± Yuan Dingzhou, who was watching through the crack, said.


    The others didn¡¯t speak, each focusing intently, hoping Li Meng could leave Mo Family Village before everyone else and send a message outside.


    Li Meng quickly took out his magnetic knife, but instead of approaching and attacking, he hid the knife behind his back, keeping it hidden. As the Lantern Woman approached, he began to engage her in conversation.


    They were too far away to hear what the two were saying, but it seemed the conversation was going smoothly.


    ¡°Maybe, there¡¯s really a chance!¡± Fang Zun also spoke up, his eyes lighting up slightly, looking as if he was ready to give it a try afterward.


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s body seemed very stiff, each movement wooden. After interacting briefly with the strangeness, the woman turned and took a few steps in another direction.


    Li Meng visibly relaxed, hiding the magnetic knife in his sleeve, bowing slightly. Once the Lantern Woman walked to the side, he turned around, drew the knife from his sleeve, and aimed at the woman¡¯s back.


    ¡°That idiot, he had his chance to run! What is he doing?¡± Fang Zun gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Maybe he wants to take this opportunity to get rid of her?¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°He can¡¯t get rid of her, none of us can,¡± Zhang Di shook his head, ¡°We have only to wait for Uncle Guo.¡±


    ¡°This kid must be crazy,¡± Yuan Dingzhou also said: ¡°If Old Guo doesn¡¯t know about this place, now would have been the best time for Li Meng to run through the woods and inform Old Guo of our plight so he can come rescue us.¡±


    At that moment, Li Meng seemed to finally give up on the idea of a sneak attack, put away his magnetic knife again, turned around, and began to move quickly in the other direction.


    ¡°Good, at least he didn¡¯t do something stupid,¡± Fang Zun nodded.


    ¡°No, look,¡± said Zhang Di, ¡°Look at that Lantern Woman, it¡¯s bad!¡±


    Everyone immediately looked back and saw the Lantern Woman, who was about to leave, but suddenly halted, her back turned in the direction Li Meng was leaving.


    She stood still with the lantern in hand, and the lantern, which had been white, was slowly changing color, from light white to bloody red.


    In just a few seconds, the white lantern in her hand had completely turned red, casting an unnaturally bright, blood-drenched hue.


    Li Meng, who had started leaving, suddenly looked back, then began to run, charging towards the end of the woods.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A piercing scream shattered the deadly silence of the land, coming from the woman now holding the red lantern.


    The woman quickly turned around, the red lantern in her hand floating forwards as if pulled by some force, rapidly moving towards the fleeing Li Meng.


    Her speed was like the wind, incomparable to any normal human¡¯s run. The red figure chased after the now-blurry Li Meng and soon vanished from sight.


    Fang Zun turned his head to look at Zhang Xiaomo, Yuan Dingzhou also looked back at Zhang Di and then at Fang Zun, the four exchanging glances, their faces filled with horror.


    About six seconds later, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the forest.


    Everyone shuddered, their expressions bitter.


    With all his might, Li Meng could only last six seconds,¡± Yuan Dingzhou said with an agonized expression.


    Within less than a minute, Li Meng¡¯s figure reappeared, but his steps were unsteady, as if he were drunk or mindlessly walking back. He emerged from the woods and stood swaying by the roadside.


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 Chapter 240 - 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 240: Chapter 230: Mo Family Village (4400 words)_3


    Before long, four or five seemingly ordinary strangenesses appeared, varying in size, and started moving slowly towards Li Meng, their hands extended while making chuckling noises.


    At that moment, Li Meng knelt down and lay motionless.


    Upon seeing this, everyone closed their eyes.


    Soon, those strangenesses reached Li Meng and crouched down, beginning to gnaw at his body bite by bite. Throughout this process, Li Meng remained still, as if he were already dead.


    ¡°With that woman appearing in the woods, we have no way of getting out,¡± Zhang Xiaomo turned her head away, her expression dim.


    About seven hundred meters from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s room was another room.


    ...


    This place concealed five Exorcists, two of which were three-star and the other three were two-star.


    A young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes silently withdrew his gaze from outside the window and looked at the people inside the room. Among those three two-star Exorcists, two were injured, one with a broken arm and the other delirious, lying on the ground.


    The recently departed Li Meng had come from this group.


    This wasn¡¯t Li Meng sneaking away on his own accord, but rather he had the consent of the young man named Jiang Yaofei.


    All signals were blocked; they had no choice. If no one managed to escape and notify Guo Youliang to come to their rescue, these people might all die here.


    Although Jiang Yaofei¡¯s group seemed to have more members, their situation was much worse than Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s group.


    This was the west side of Mo Family Village. Near this farmhouse, they had almost cleared out all the strangenesses. However, the Spirit Bridge in the sky suddenly changed, and the likelihood of strangenesses reappearing in the entire area increased again.


    That meant the dead who originally appeared from two or three hundred years ago had now advanced to five hundred or even eight hundred years ago.


    Throughout Mo Family Village, ancient strangenesses over eight hundred years old could now randomly appear.


    The woman carrying the lantern and guarding within the woods was one of them, and Jiang Yaofei¡¯s group had encountered an even more troublesome strangeness.


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he immediately squatted down from his spot by the window, as if afraid of being seen by something outside.


    At that moment, along the path outside the window, a dragging sound came along. Just by listening to this noise, one imagined something heavy being dragged across the ground. Below the gloomy sky, aside from the oppressive sound of dragging, there were no other sounds, creating an especially oppressive silence.


    Before long, a small, exquisitely carved red coffin appeared on the road. It was about half the size of an ordinary coffin, and oddly, there were two tattered holes on the sides of the coffin. At the moment, two withered purple arms, one on each side, were extending through these holes, propping against the ground and dragging the coffin along the village path.


    The weighty dragging noise was produced in this way, and aside from the grating sound of friction, the surroundings were eerily quiet.


    About half a minute later, the red coffin had completely passed the area of the house where Jiang Yaofei was hiding.


    This Red Coffin had appeared almost simultaneously with the Lantern Woman, but its territory was limited to the area where Jiang Yaofei was located, so much so that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s group had failed to notice it at all.


    Furthermore, Jiang Yaofei noticed that wherever the Red Coffin appeared, all the strangenesses would disappear instantly, as if they were all avoiding it.


    This was a pressure from the strangenesses that he could not feel, but the facts proved it was very strong, powerful enough that other strangenesses didn¡¯t dare to face it.


    So unless he was too reckless or too foolish, Jiang Yaofei likewise didn¡¯t dare to confront it directly, or even to expose himself in front of the Red Coffin.


    Taking a light breath and gazing through the window at the sky outside, Jiang Yaofei murmured with a soft sigh, ¡°Uncle Guo, if you don¡¯t save us soon, this whole Exorcism team might be wiped out.¡±


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 Chapter 241 - 231 Into the Perilous Depths

    Chapter 241: Chapter 231 Into the Perilous Depths


    At the same time, at the entrance of Mo Family Village to the east, just beyond the small grove, beads of sweat the size of soybeans appeared on Guo Youliang¡¯s forehead within a spacious farm courtyard.


    As a four-star exorcist, he had never felt this stifled in his life.


    Three young people lay beside him, all without breath, and beyond them, within the courtyard five meters away, were the bodies of those who had helped seal off Mo Family Village, scattered haphazardly.


    This area was originally considered safe, and Guo Youliang¡¯s role was simply to stand guard here while the exorcism tasks were mostly left to exorcists below three stars.


    Unexpectedly, the Spirit Bridge suddenly underwent a new round of eruption, followed by a weakening of its energy.


    However, this round of eruption released a few new, stronger strangenesses.


    ...


    At least in Guo Youliang¡¯s view, he had never encountered a strangeness more troublesome than this one now.


    ¡°Perhaps, this thing could be classified as an ethereal spirit!¡± Guo Youliang speculated secretly, ¡°If it really were an ethereal spirit, that would still be manageable. But this strangeness clearly belongs to the very tricky kind.¡±


    A trace of worry crossed his face, imperceptible to others, as his gaze swept over the corpses of his colleagues at his feet before looking through the open door towards the bodies outside in the courtyard.


    At that moment, Guo Youliang realized that his nerves, ever since his advancement to a four-star exorcist, had never been so tense.


    In the inner room¡¯s bedroom of this farmhouse, two wounded colleagues, one three-star and the other two-star, lay unconscious.


    They were the reason Guo Youliang dared not move from his position.


    He had never imagined that this strangeness would completely exceed his understanding.


    Because this strangeness was not in human form.


    It was not only non-human, but it was also highly intelligent and extremely cunning.


    It seemed to know better than to clash directly with Guo Youliang, so it aimed its attacks entirely at those beside him. Anyone targeted by this creature, even with Guo Youliang present, could hardly escape being killed in the end.


    Moreover, with every person it killed, this thing seemed to grow stronger, bit by bit getting more powerful.


    This thing, too, had appeared suddenly after the last eruption of the Spirit Bridge.


    The magnetic knife in Guo Youliang¡¯s hand was not comparable to those of a three-star exorcist. As a four-star exorcist, he had a large amount of magnetic force within him available for use, somewhat resembling a semi-spirit.


    However, unlike the half-spirit transformation, a four-star exorcist would not suffer from the backlash; everything was under his control.


    With the operation of magnetic force, Guo Youliang¡¯s magnetic knife could extend its magnetic blade instantly to two meters or even longer. Strangenesses below the level created by Sculpting Spirit, namely Wandering Spirits, were basically killed in a second.


    As he was immersed in magnetic force for a long time, Guo Youliang also possessed a unique skill unlike that of ordinary exorcists. He did not cultivate spirits, and he did not easily display his unique skill; otherwise, it would cause harm whether to strangenesses or humans.


    This was the fundamental difference between a good exorcist and a spirit cultivator with ill intentions.


    Of course, such individuals were extremely rare in this world at present, and there was a silent mutual restraint. Otherwise, the world would have already descended into chaos.


    The magnetic knife in Guo Youliang¡¯s hand was now over a meter long, the blade glowing with a cyan-blue light, resembling ancient weapons laced with poison.


    He slowly twisted his upper body, scanning the room¡¯s furnishings and the bodies on the ground one by one, gripping his magnetic knife tightly, ready to strike at any moment.


    The room was very quiet, the eerie atmosphere not only pervaded the entire house but also soaked into Guo Youliang¡¯s heart.


    His heart beat very slowly; he needed to calm down, or else he might accidentally let this peculiar strangeness escape.


    As Guo Youliang turned his upper body and scanned his surroundings, something under the nearest corpse at his feet began to bulge slightly, as if a snake had slithered into it, silently moving beneath the clothing.


    The next second, without hesitation, Guo Youliang¡¯s magnetic knife plunged downward, piercing through the body of his former colleague who had died.


    The knife passed through the chest and into the ground four or five inches before stopping.


    Fearing some strangeness within the corpse, Guo Youliang did not touch it with his hands but instead twisted the handle of the knife lightly. The magnetic light burst forth, ensuring that the skin of the upper body was not intact anywhere, to prevent whatever was hiding under the clothes from escaping.


    But soon, Guo Youliang¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He couldn¡¯t feel he had hit anything.


    Just then, a slightly overweight man with a frightened face stepped over the threshold and entered the room, covering his chest with his left hand and saying fearfully, ¡°Big Brother Guo, what happened? Why is everyone else dead?¡±


    ¡°Liu Zheng?¡± Guo Youliang looked up at the newcomer. ¡°Brat, I thought you¡¯d died out there.¡±


    Liu Zheng replied, ¡°I was about to die. Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°Chen Pengyong and the others are wounded, lying in the inner room. Hurry up and go in. Didn¡¯t you hear my order not to come out?¡± Guo Youliang spoke with great urgency.


    Liu Zheng glanced at Guo Youliang¡¯s magnetic knife, which was still stuck in the body of one of their own.


    Liu Zheng appeared quite surprised, but he didn¡¯t ask any questions and went into the inner room as instructed, closing the door behind him.


    Guo Youliang pulled out the magnetic knife and crouched down to take a closer look at the body at his feet. The skin on the chest wasn¡¯t intact anywhere, but it was impossible to tell exactly where the movement under the skin had come from.


    ¡°This skin¡­¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes widened and he stood up abruptly. Before his body could move, he hurled his magnetic knife towards the inner room with his right hand.


    The magnetic knife whipped through the air, burst through the closed door, and plunged inside with a wet thud, followed by the sound of impact as it seemed to nail something to the wall.


    Rushing into the room, Guo Youliang saw that Liu Zheng, who had just entered a moment ago, was now completely impaled by the magnetic knife at the chest, hanging mid-air against the wall, his feet a dozen centimeters off the ground, motionless.


    And in the bed where the two injured people originally lay, there was now no sign of life to be felt from them.


    Irritated and embarrassed, Guo Youliang took out a green round button resembling a Hidden Buckle from his pocket, and was about to press it against Liu Zheng¡¯s head.


    At this moment, Liu Zheng seemed to be unconscious. Just as the green round button was about to be pressed onto him, his head moved slightly, his facial skin rapidly wrinkling, as if a wet towel initially stuck to his face was suddenly being pulled away.


    It was not just the face, but also the neck, the chest, and the back¡ªnearly all the skin on the upper body was being pulled by an invisible force, and soon after, half of the skin detached from Liu Zheng¡¯s body.


    At this time, Liu Zheng was clearly a dead man; when the skin left his body, what was revealed was an already long-dead obese individual.


    This corpulent figure slumped his head, still pinned to the wall by the Magnetic Blade; however, after the skin had separated from him, it rapidly moved across the wall toward the window. The crumpled wrinkles made it look disgustingly nauseating to behold.


    On the right side of the skin, the hole pierced by the Magnetic Blade remained, but it was slowly healing.


    Guo Youliang pulled the Magnetic Knife out of the wall, letting Liu Zheng¡¯s body fall to the ground.


    By now, the skin had already passed through the window and was running along the external wall.


    Guo Youliang leaped up, his body arching as he smashed through the window in pursuit.


    ¡°Heh heh heh¡­¡±


    The half of the peculiar skin that ran outside no longer clung to the wall but, emitting an eerie sound, detached from the wall and, catching the wind like a kite, flew over the roof of the farmhouse and away into the distance.


    Guo Youliang, being just an ordinary person, couldn¡¯t fly. He had to take a detour while clutching the Magnetic Knife and headed to the back of the house.


    ¡­


    At the same moment.


    Outside Mo Family Village, a short and skinny figure was gradually approaching the entrance of the village through the thick fog.


    Frowning, his eyes squinted, as if he could see through the dense fog.


    If Yan Junze had been there, he would have recognized him instantly¡ªit was Yan Long, Cheng Jingting¡¯s teacher who appeared in his ¡°Great Rewind.¡±


    Only, during the last ¡°Great Rewind,¡± Yan Junze had corrected a ripple of the Butterfly Effect, resulting in Yan Long¡¯s failure to capture Cheng Jingting¡¯s soul. Eventually, Cheng Jingting was completely eliminated by Yan Junze in the body of a strange baby in the funeral home.


    In his hand, Yan Long held a dark red compass, glancing between it and the fog-enshrouded village intermittently.


    After a short while, he chose a direction that bypassed the large farmhouse courtyard near the entrance of the village¡ªwhere Guo Youliang and the eerie skin had their chase.


    Taking his steps, Yan Long soon vanished into the fog as if he had no worries about whether he could find his way out again.


    In the innermost part of the village, the Exorcists were firmly controlled by the Lantern Woman and the Red Coffin, while outside, Guo Youliang had completely set his mind on pursuing that elusive Half of a Skin, vowing to grind it into mincemeat for killing so many of his people.


    ¡­


    Turning off the main road and onto the village¡¯s access road, the bumpiness of the ride did indeed become more frequent.


    Yan Junze and ten other Exorcists were seated in two vans, silently watching the unceasing fog drifting past the windows.


    As they neared the village, the road ahead became less visible, but it was understood that the blockade¡¯s starting point was about two kilometers from Mo Family Village.


    Upon reaching that point, they would have to disembark and walk in.


    The group of Exorcists on this mission included two external hires like Yan Junze and eight bona fide Exorcists, the in-house staff.


    This team was assembled urgently after a meeting, with the squad leader Huo Zhisen personally setting up the action group.


    The Exorcist squads on Tianmeng¡¯s side were in dire need of personnel, even including external hires.


    Therefore, anyone with some capability like Yan Junze was urgently recruited, and of all Tianmeng¡¯s four-star Exorcists, there were only three. Two were borrowed by other districts and are currently on their way back, while one was Guo Youliang.


    Because the Spirit Bridge incident originally had been stabilizing, with a large number of strangenesses being eliminated thanks to the efforts of existing Exorcists, nobody could foresee that they would suddenly enter an emergency situation again¡ªsomething completely unexpected by the Exorcist teams.


    Other districts were sending more Exorcists, and Yan Junze¡¯s team was the first to arrive here to attempt contact with the group of Exorcists inside Mo Family Village, who had lost all communication. Once there was news, they would immediately inform the people outside.


    In other words, they did not need to take unnecessary risks; their job was to fulfill their own mission.


    And indeed, the squad leader Huo Zhisen was aware of the urgency; as long as the Exorcists inside were safe and awaited reinforcements, there was no point in this group of relatively weak individuals trying to resolve the crisis¡ªsomething that seemed impossible even to contemplate.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t give it much thought; the main reason he came was the high salary of one hundred thousand for this single mission, along with various benefits.


    And he could check up on Zhang Xiaomo, whom he hadn¡¯t contacted in many days, and had a legitimate excuse to skip classes. Why not do it?


    The vans soon arrived at the blockade. They stopped, everyone disembarked, left behind satellite phones, and each carried a backpack with provisions and essentials before the vans turned around and left.


    In three days, the vans would return with even more Exorcists from other districts.


    Yan Junze stood on the fog-enshrouded ground, cautious not to breathe deeply or to activate ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡± He feared that sensing in this location would unleash a proliferation of strangenesses, and the overwhelming volume of strange events might just burst the Spacetime Atlas.


    It was as if he was a wolf cast into a flock of sheep, swarmed with strange events waiting to be addressed¡ªif he so wished.


    Of course, this was not a time for recklessness. With the Spirit Bridge below, there were too many uncontrollable factors. He simply took out the Spirit Detector allotted to him and, following the others, headed toward the entrance of Mo Family Village.


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 Chapter 242 - 232: High-Level Task from the Village

    Chapter 242: Chapter 232: High-Level Task from the Village


    These people acted quickly and soon gathered at the entrance of the Mo Family Village.


    Including the Spirit Detector in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, almost all of the Spirit Detectors were flashing red signals, indicating the presence of strangeness nearby.


    Finding strangeness in this place was no longer unusual, it would have been more surprising if not even one was detected.


    Yan Junze checked the blinking indicator on the Spirit Detector, and according to the size of the strange magnetic field displayed, the phenomena they had just detected were not serious; the exorcists present were confident they could eliminate them one by one.


    Of course, their current priority was to find the others, not to perform exorcisms, unless absolutely necessary.


    They tried the satellite phone, and the middle-aged man leading them looked embarrassed. The phone had worked at the entrance of the village, but now, just ten meters into the village, there was no signal.


    ...


    He called a halt to everyone and then instructed two people to step out of the village entrance, and the two of them made calls to each other. The calls connected.


    Then, one of the people at the entrance made a call to the middle-aged leader¡¯s phone, but there was no response.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that the strange magnetic field of the Spirit Bridge is interfering with all the ranges within the village, while outside it is not affected,¡± guessed the middle-aged leader.


    The others nodded in agreement.


    This also explained why the exorcists had lost contact with those outside. Of course, if it were just a loss of satellite phone connection, it would have been manageable, but now not only had they lost contact, none of the exorcists had left the Mo Family Village.


    This was very peculiar.


    Therefore, at the work meeting they had on their way here, team captain Huo Zhisen hypothesized that, according to the signals from the large detectors outside, the Spirit Bridge had undergone significant changes over a short period, which might be why those exorcists were trapped.


    ¡°You two, stay outside the village,¡± the middle-aged leader ordered. ¡°If you notice anything unusual, immediately contact the event team with the satellite phone. Don¡¯t wait for us to come out.¡±


    The two exchanged a glance, clearly relieved.


    Not having to enter the Mo Family Village was something they had never openly admitted, but in reality, they were very reluctant to go inside.


    Both of them were one-star exorcists, and they knew their own limitations well. Once inside, it was more likely to be fraught with peril than not. At this moment, just staying at the entrance to the village was like holding a golden ticket to safety.


    The others followed the middle-aged leader further into the village, soon approaching the two houses closest to the village entrance.


    The middle-aged leader pulled out a map and said, ¡°We must all stick together and not spread out. There are only just over seventy households in this village, so we can search quickly. If anyone disperses on their own, the danger will increase exponentially.¡±


    The others just nodded, staying silent. Their gazes seemed to pierce the thick fog, maintaining high concentration and paying attention to every plant and tree around them. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The middle-aged leader continued, ¡°Two-star exorcists, take out your Hidden Buckles and be ready to defend against dangers around us. One-stars, stay close to me and prepare your Hidden Buckles for combat.¡±


    As he said this, he suddenly glanced at Yan Junze not far away and added, ¡°Some of you can also follow the Semi-spirit. His strength is no less than mine.¡±


    Yan Junze pretended not to hear, mainly because he didn¡¯t like others calling him ¡°Semi-spirit¡± directly.


    The middle-aged leader was a three-star exorcist, the only one in this squad, and the exorcists¡¯ team on this side could not deploy anyone more powerful than him.


    The group chose one of the houses, sending four people inside to check it while the rest waited outside.


    The group quickly emerged, shaking their heads.


    The house was so close to the village entrance that it was obvious by sheer logic that the missing exorcists would not be found there; otherwise, they would have already walked out of the village.


    But they couldn¡¯t skip any houses, as the middle-aged leader feared missing some critical information.


    They quickly searched from one house to the next, and before long, they arrived at the farmhouse where Guo Youliang had encountered the Half of a Skin.


    They were startled by the corpses scattered all over the ground at first, but after a closer examination, they realized only some of the exorcists were there; at least more than half were not present.


    However, after discovering the situation there, the middle-aged leader began to hesitate about whether to venture further into the village.


    The situation now seemed very dangerous, and if anything went wrong, the team he led might be completely wiped out.


    He looked up at the houses outside; the fog here was a bit thinner, allowing a clear view of the house opposite.


    Pointing to the slightly smaller courtyard across the way, the middle-aged leader said, ¡°Let¡¯s settle over there first, then Liang and De will go to the entrance of the village to relay the situation here, so the people waiting outside can immediately inform the Tianmeng through satellite phone.¡±


    The few were reluctant to linger in the courtyard full of corpses and immediately entered the opposite farmhouse, while the two young men named Liang and De headed back towards the village entrance.


    The middle-aged leader told the others to rest for a while and have some water.


    Yan Junze found an oval stone bench in the courtyard to sit on, unconcerned about the dust covering it, and took a gulp from the bottled water he had brought in his backpack.


    He noticed that two people had been following him closely, no matter what he did. Both were one-star exorcists, and upon realizing Yan Junze was observing them, they immediately put on a pleasing smile.


    Clearly, in the current situation, such individuals were likely to live a little longer than most.


    Yan Junze felt a certain fondness towards them.


    After sitting down, one of them even passed him some cream-filled biscuits and said, ¡°Big Brother, becoming a Fake Spirit Body has always been my goal. I really admire you!¡±


    In response to such an opening line, Yan Junze chuckled and shook his head, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m still more interested in the delights of the human world.¡±


    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s your main food now, big brother? Can you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Right now¡­ I¡¯m almost equivalent to a bug,¡± Yan Junze said with a helpless smile.


    He meant that he was nearly turning into a mosquito, living on a diet of blood, but the thought of drinking blood always felt hair-raising and not exactly an easy topic to broach, so he didn¡¯t find it convenient to say it outright.


    One of the group¡¯s eyes lit up as he cleverly guessed, ¡°Big brother, is your main food eggs?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback: ¡°Why would you think of eggs?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± the man said. ¡°When it comes to bugs, the most likely is the fly, and as the saying goes, flies don¡¯t sting flawless eggs. So your main food must be eggs!¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    Another person muttered softly to the side, ¡°I fucking guessed it¡¯s shit.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    The two sensed that the atmosphere was off and quickly changed the subject, trying to curry favor.


    Yan Junze was both amused and irritated, too lazy to listen to more of their nonsense.


    After thinking it over, he simply sat on the stone bench, ready to activate ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    However, this time, he planned to widen the coverage area. Mo Family Village was not that large, and with Yan Junze¡¯s current energy, covering the entire village wouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    Of course, he would selectively discern, not blindly accepting every task that came his way. If he were to take on a task, it would have to be at least at the ¡°Trembling with Fear¡± level.


    The energy radiated out quickly, covering all directions, and soon a flurry of information about strangenesses came flooding back to him.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was completely immersed in the information being received by his brain, still hearing the incessant chatter of the two who followed him, but he ignored them.


    He kept filtering through, at a rough glance, there were at least over a hundred task notifications.


    Under normal circumstances, he would lower his acceptance criteria for tasks, mainly because these tasks represented full points of Different Dimension Energy. Furthermore, they were not high-level and relatively easy to complete¡ªit would be foolish not to capitalize on them.


    But now he was powerless to do so. With one too many eyes around and considering the dangerous environment here, he couldn¡¯t afford to tackle them one by one as he pleased.


    In a short while, he took interest in a few tasks. These tasks were all of higher levels and scattered in different areas of the village¡ªnot too concentrated, preventing the situation where he might not have finished the first task before already entering another strangeness event¡¯s coverage area.


    [Coordinates determined: Mo Xiaofeng¡¯s old house in Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Half of a Skin;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High);


    Task Background: Eight hundred years ago, the Yin-Yang Technique was flourishing, leading to the emergence of many self-proclaimed Onmyojis, and he was one of them. Except he was a charlatan, living by swindling and deceiving. Passing by this place, he took advantage of the villagers¡¯ naivety to swindle a large sum of money, then defiled the village head¡¯s just-of-age granddaughter under the pretense of a Spirit Body Passing. When the deception was exposed and the villagers discovered his actions, they beat him to death, skinned him, pulled his tendons, and broke his bones. His Obsession after death turned into a catastrophe as he intended to possess 77 people during the eruption of the Spirit Bridge, take a human form, and continue to live a carefree life among humans;]


    Task Instructions: Eliminate the cunning spirit, which only has half of a skin, while he is completing the possession process with others;]


    Task Reward: 1400 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Punishment: He may also possess you;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked Down; 2. The corpse of the village head¡¯s granddaughter, Mo Sheng, is his Achilles¡¯ heel; 3. Do not let this half of a skin get too close to you;


    Remarks: Anyone you see could be him.]


    Yan Junze was very satisfied with this task, mainly because the level was high, and based on the task tips, the victory didn¡¯t solely depend on brute force as long as he could exploit the weakness of this piece of skin.


    Moreover, he had already activated the Rewind loop before entering the village, so he wasn¡¯t afraid of any bizarre accidents happening in this village.


    He then looked at the second task that made him feel a chill in his heart.


    [Coordinates determined: the dried-up well in Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Corpse Qi Spread;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (High) ~ Terrified (Low) ~ Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: Mo Da, who had retired to civilian life after serving as a military officer in the Imperial Court, had intended to live out his days in peace upon his return to his hometown. However, during one trip to the well to fetch water, he accidentally fell in. Because the mouth of the well was too deep, no one knew or came to rescue him. Coupled with an undercurrent hidden in the well, Mo Da drowned and his body remained hidden there. The bottom of the well happened to be a Land of Extreme Yin that appears once in a thousand years. Mistakenly entering it, Mo Da¡¯s corpse has been well-preserved, continuously nourished by the extreme yin cold air;]


    Task Instructions: Kill the Yin General Mo Da, otherwise, the beings of Tianmeng will suffer great calamity;


    Task Reward: 1500 to 1600 to 1700 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Death;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked Down; 2. Mo Da hated everyone deeply due to the lack of rescue after his death, so his Obsession is profound and cannot be communicated with; 3. The task level will likely increase with the passage of time or after certain events are triggered once Mo Da appears, potentially upgrading to Terrified (Medium);]


    Remarks: Proceed with caution.]


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 Chapter 243 - 233: Astonishing Discovery (4000 words)

    Chapter 243: Chapter 233: Astonishing Discovery (4000 words)


    ¡°`


    Looking at this task, Mo Da, who drowned after falling into a well, was a general in life. The well in which he resides possesses a Land of Extreme Yin, which has prevented his body from decaying, lasting until today.


    However, it now seems that following the eruption of the Spirit Bridge, the powerful strange magnetic field vibrated, triggering Mo Da¡¯s ¡°resurrection.¡±


    But the fact that the level of this task can rise due to some probabilistic events is undoubtedly a strong warning signal for Yan Junze. He must be cautious in dealing with it.


    Last time, in the branch task of the ¡°Tricky Silk,¡± he unfortunately fell for the trap set by the Boss-level strangeness within the cave, which could lead to repeated infections by Dark Poison, immune to Rewind.


    The real level of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task was ¡°Terrified (Medium),¡± and the final promotion level of this ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± task could also reach ¡°Terrified (Medium).¡±


    ...


    This means that if he is not careful, the ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± task could become as dangerous as the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task.


    At least until now, Yan Junze has not officially completed the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task.


    Moreover, he can no longer complete it because the news reported from Mountain Park did not mention any more strange occurrences. So it¡¯s possible that something changed there after he left.


    In any case, although the second ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± task is quite harrowing for Yan Junze, resolving the current issue and getting information about Zhang Xiaomo and her group is the top priority.


    If he cannot complete the task during this process, he won¡¯t insist, as the task is already high level, and with many onlookers, it¡¯s difficult to control the situation.


    At this moment, the Spacetime Atlas detected a third high-level task popping up.


    [Coordinates determined: In the Plum Blossom Forest of Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: The Woman Carrying a Lantern;]


    [Task Level: Hair-raising (High)~Terrified (Low);]


    [Task Background: Ning Ji¡¯s husband went missing, the couple had an argument about whether to participate in the rural examination again. In a fit of anger, Ning Ji¡¯s husband stormed out and had not returned by dusk. Ning Ji, restless, went out alone with a lantern to look for him but never found him. She was worried about her husband but neglected her own safety;]


    [Task Description: Help Ning Ji find her husband;]


    [Task Reward: 1500 to 1600 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Punishment: Being killed by Ning Ji;]


    [Task Hints: 1, The evil spirit cannot be Locked down; 2, The evil spirit¡¯s Obsession is to search for people, and there is a certain chance of getting entangled by it after completing the task; 3, The Lantern Woman has two forms, with a white lantern she is a woman desperately searching for her husband, with a red lantern, she is a resentful wife abandoned by her husband, and when the lantern turns red, the task can be promoted to a Terrified (Low) level;]


    [Note: Perhaps you need to wear a pair of running shoes.]


    Yan Junze was somewhat dumbfounded; he hadn¡¯t expected yet another task that could evolve to a ¡°Terrified¡± level.


    Now it seems that the emergence of the Spirit Bridge has indeed made the supernatural occurrences in this region even more terrifying, each one seemingly stronger than the Back-faced Woman or the Resentful Granny.


    It is uncertain whether Aunt Mei hiding in FH Community of Shuntian City could match these high-level task strangenesses.


    Based on the current levels of strangeness, those with a ¡°Hair-raising (Low)¡± level are roughly equal to a Sculpting Spirit, and ¡°Hair-raising (Medium)¡± are definitely Sculpting Spirits or equivalent to seasoned Sculpting Spirits.


    And ¡°Hair-raising (High)¡± strangenesses are for sure a match or equivalent to the higher class of Sculpting Spirits.


    By this measure, Aunt Mei¡¯s strength is also very astonishing, likely surpassing even a Sculpting Spirit.


    Subsequently, the last seemingly higher-level task followed, jumping out in his mind.


    Upon seeing this task, Yan Junze deeply furrowed his brows.


    [Coordinates determined: Near Small Bowl Alley to the west of Mo Family Village.]


    [Task Name: Red Coffin;]


    [Task Level: Terrified (Low);]


    [Task Background: A solitary red coffin wanders aimlessly near Small Bowl Alley. No one knows what it¡¯s doing, perhaps it¡¯s just trying to find a suitable burial site for itself;]


    [Task Description: You may need to interrupt it to discover its true purpose;]


    [Task Reward: 1500 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Punishment: Death;]


    [Task Hints: 1, The evil spirit cannot be Locked down; 2, The task has a branch task waiting to be triggered, detected with an intense Different Dimension Energy presence; 3, With their presence, all evil spirits cannot approach;] S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Note: Don¡¯t you want to know what¡¯s inside the Red Coffin?]


    It has to be said, the ¡°Red Coffin¡± task provides very little information in its hints, and many things need to be unraveled by visiting the site.


    And the level of this task has also reached ¡°Terrified,¡± and having had a close call with the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task earlier, Yan Junze will definitely be extra careful when facing a ¡°Terrified¡± task.


    At the very least, he will not recklessly touch any of the bizarre occurrences that may appear during the execution of this task.


    Of course, the infection of Dark Poison that ignored Rewind within ¡°Tricky Silk¡± was indeed bewildering, and Yan Junze believes that might just be an exception. It is unlikely that strangenesses at the ¡°Terrified¡± level or above all possess such an odd ability.


    Perhaps even the Boss within ¡°Ghost Silk¡± is unaware of the true power of the Dark Poison infection.


    As for the branch task mentioned in ¡°Lift the Coffin,¡± Yan Junze now feels a hair-raising sensation just thinking about it.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 244 - 233 Shocking Discovery (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 244: Chapter 233 Shocking Discovery (4000 words)_2


    The mission prompt indicates that the Different Dimension Energy is dense for this side mission, which means that the level of the mission is definitely not low, and it may even be more terrifying.


    With that thought, he even began to feel like fleeing from Mo Family Village. Fortunately, however, the only high-level missions detected so far were these.


    The rest of the mission alerts came like flakes of snow, all ranking at ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡±, not even one ¡°Trembling with Fear¡± mission, nor even the slightly lesser ¡°Hair-Raising¡± missions; all were at least ¡°High¡±.


    Yan Junze had already guessed the reason for this: the middle-level tasks at the onset of the Spirit Bridge outbreak belonged to a riskier category and thus were likely dealt with by the exorcists who came earlier.


    The ordinary tasks were too numerous, perhaps intended to be cleared slowly after the major dangers had been dealt with.


    Little did anyone know that Spirit Bridge would erupt again, leading to several higher-level missions along with a large number of leftover ordinary tasks.


    ...


    After learning about these few high-level tasks, Yan Junze speculated that it was very likely that Zhang Xiaomo and her group of exorcists had lost contact due to these emerging missions.


    That is to say, one must find the coordinates in Mo Family Village to have a chance of finding Zhang Xiaomo and the others.


    Yan Junze revealed a bitter smile, shaking his head slightly.


    At that moment, the two people who were trying to ingratiate themselves with him across the courtyard looked at Yan Junze with puzzled faces.


    They found that Yan Junze had suddenly become very strange; one moment he was surprised and doubtful, the next he was stunned, then his brow furrowed tightly, and another moment he shook his head with a bitter smile¡ª it was an outright live ¡°face-changing¡± performance.


    One of them even quietly took out a Spirit Detector and started scanning Yan Junze, afraid he had been possessed by a Possession Spirit.


    But on second thought, that wasn¡¯t right either. Wasn¡¯t the guy in front of them already a Semi-spirit? If a Possession Spirit wanted to possess someone, it would have to ask if this Fake Spirit Body was willing.


    ¡°Big¡­ Brother, are you okay?¡± that person put away the Spirit Detector, a look of sympathy on his face as he couldn¡¯t be sure if Yan Junze had suddenly remembered a tragic and unspeakable childhood.


    Finally snapping back to reality, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes focused on the two sycophants before him, shaking his head, ¡°I¡¯m fine, just got a bit lost in thought.¡±


    What he was considering now was that the four missions just now were sorted by their proximity to him, with the first high-level mission that popped up being ¡°Half of a Skin¡±, which was closest to him, followed by ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± from Yin General Moda, then ¡°The Woman Carrying a Lantern¡±, and last the mission that appeared was ¡°Red Coffin¡±.


    If he was going to face the danger now, the first he could try was ¡°Half of a Skin¡±, a ¡°Hair-Raising (High)¡± level mission.


    Now the middle-aged man leading their group went to the courtyard gate, looked outside for a while, but didn¡¯t see the two who had gone to the village entrance return.


    After standing for a while, the leader¡¯s countenance shifted unpredictably. He then returned to the courtyard and secured the gate.


    ¡°Something isn¡¯t right, Liang and De have been gone for so long and haven¡¯t come back. It should be quick to exit the village from here.¡±


    Someone said, ¡°Perhaps they chatted for a bit longer, after all, it¡¯s safer outside.¡±


    ¡°How about I go take a look?¡± Yan Junze stood up, devoured the cookie in his hand, and took a sip of bottled water.


    The middle-aged leader looked at him, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, ¡°Be careful! Whether you see them or not, synchronize your time with me now, you must not exceed half an hour, you need to return here.¡±


    Yan Junze synchronized his time with him, using the pedestrian sports watches uniformly distributed by the event team this time; he did not suggest anyone accompany him.


    And the middle-aged leader did not make that suggestion either.


    Now that the courtyard was considered safe, the leader wasn¡¯t worried about Yan Junze going out alone, but if several more exorcists like Liang and De were to go out, the leader feared he would have no choice but to follow them out himself.


    Yan Junze slung on his backpack, pushed open the courtyard gate, and quickly walked out.


    Because the fog here wasn¡¯t very thick and the surrounding buildings were conspicuous landmarks to follow, he was confident that he could quickly make it to the entrance of the village. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, if there was enough time, Yan Junze even considered going out on his own to try and resolve the missions he had just detected.


    At least, the old well that drowned General Moda, as well as the location of that ¡°Half of a Skin,¡± were somewhat closer to here.


    As soon as he thought of the ¡°Half of a Skin¡± mission, Yan Junze¡¯s brows raised slightly. He remembered the confirmed mission coordinates were ¡°Mo Xiaofeng¡¯s old residence.¡±


    This place name was very common; it was not easy to find at all. How was one to know which house belonged to Mo Xiaofeng?


    At this thought, Yan Junze subconsciously turned to glance at the courtyard gate they had just exited, then his eyes fixed, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.


    Turning around, he looked at the top of the courtyard¡¯s gate where there was an old plaque. The characters on this plaque might have fallen off before, but now they had been redone, which made it possible for him to clearly see the characters on it.


    ¡°Little Wind Zhai?¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, no longer moving forward, but instead turned back.


    The village had a rather long history, and though mostly inhabited by farmers, there were also those who favored elegance. The few characters above the entrance were quite obvious.


    ¡°Little Wind?¡± Yan Junze stood at the entrance for a while, then directly pushed the door and went back inside.


    Seeing him suddenly return, the middle-aged man leading them was taken aback and asked, ¡°Did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, then his gaze swept over the people present, ¡°Is everyone who just came in here?¡±


    With suspicion arising, the middle-aged man stood up, scanned the area carefully, and shook his head, ¡°Two people went inside to use the latrine, they seem to be over by the outhouse.¡±


    ¡°Gather everyone in the courtyard, it¡¯s very dangerous here,¡± Yan Junze suddenly interjected.


    The middle-aged leader didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately began assembling the group while Yan Junze quickly walked toward the outhouse.


    The location of the outhouse was behind a barn for straw.


    Presently outside of the outhouse, Four-Star Exorcist Guo Youliang was staring at the two young men in front of him with a grim expression.


    These two young men had given him a start when they appeared before him, unexpectedly turning out to be other exorcists that had entered Mo Family Village.


    However, Guo Youliang was now severely troubled.


    For him, the difficulty of eliminating that Half of a Skin was not very high, but what was weird was that this skin could fly and imperceptibly attach itself to someone, with no abnormal signs during the process, and even his eyes, which had been imbued with magnetic force, could not detect any clues.


    This was the reason why the Half of a Skin had been killing people under his watch, and Guo Youliang was helpless to stop it.


    A person after being attached by the skin either ends up killed by him, or would slowly be eroded by the skin and becomes a corpse.


    What¡¯s more, the skin could adhere to both the living and the dead without showing any abnormalities after attachment, further complicating Guo Youliang¡¯s efforts to destroy it.


    And until now, Guo Youliang had only managed to kill half of the people the skin had attached itself to, giving him reason to suspect that the skin¡¯s purpose in attaching to people was to absorb their Essence Qi in order to achieve its own goal.


    Actually, Yan Junze knew that after adhering to 77 people, the Half of a Skin could completely transform and hide within human society.


    However, since Guo Youliang had killed half of its hosts, the creature¡¯s plan was thwarted, constantly failing to recover.


    Also, the skin had been injured in the chase by Guo Youliang, and because it was always on the run, it hadn¡¯t had the chance to recover from its wounds.


    Unexpectedly for Guo Youliang, after a chase around the village, the Half of a Skin had returned to the vicinity of where it first appeared and had once again found new targets to attach itself to.


    These two, who had just come out of the outhouse, obviously had just arrived at Mo Family Village.


    Both of them stood there motionless, indicating that a transformation had already occurred.


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 Chapter 245 - 234: Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)

    Chapter 245: Chapter 234: Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)


    Guo Youliang had a reason for such a guess, because the half of a human hide was always of limited size; if it was to attach to two people at the same time, then those two people must inevitably be connected to each other by the skin.


    The two individuals standing before Guo Youliang, though with different appearances, had their shoulders tightly pressed together.


    Guo Youliang observed carefully and a thought emerged in his mind, to catch them by surprise with the magnetic knife and separate the human hide between them.


    By doing so, even if the other party didn¡¯t die, they would at least be severely injured.


    The very next second, he swung the magnetic knife fiercely.


    Since the two in front of him were already attached by the human hide, and were as good as dead, Guo Youliang had no hesitation whatsoever.


    ...


    However, at the moment he swung his knife, a man appeared behind the two young people, a man with glasses and a black backpack, his face slightly surprised. Immediately after appearing, he focused his attention on Guo Youliang, and then quickly moved on to the bizarrely paired young men.


    By now, Guo Youliang¡¯s magnetic knife had already chopped down, targeting the space between the two.


    As the expressionless two were about to be split by the magnetic knife, they suddenly separated, with one face changing instantly, turning ashen as if drained of color, and with a thud, the figure fell to the ground, looking long dead.


    The other person, still full of vigor, turned and fled in the direction of the young man with glasses.


    And that young man was Yan Junze.


    After seeing these three individuals, Yan Junze¡¯s first reaction was to fix his suspicions on Guo Youliang, who was the more unfamiliar to him because he recognized the other two.


    Moreover, Guo Youliang was in the act of killing someone, and the sight of this action gave Yan Junze even more reason to suspect that half of the human hide was attached to Guo Youliang.


    Therefore, much of his wariness was focused on Guo Youliang. After a brief confrontation, the vigorous young man had already turned and was running towards him.


    But Guo Youliang certainly wouldn¡¯t let the young man, who was attached by the human hide, escape. He halted the downward slashing momentum of the magnetic knife and stabbed forward, plunging the blade into the young man¡¯s nape and piercing through at the throat.


    The forward momentum of the young man¡¯s body abruptly stopped, and Yan Junze was startled by the sudden scene, his eyes wide open, staring directly at the young man less than half a meter away from him, and the blade protruding from his throat.


    ¡°Eh, a magnetic knife?¡±


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned, just as he was about to turn his head to look at Guo Youliang behind the young man, he saw the young man¡¯s face suddenly start to distort, with wrinkles rippling like water waves, layering up before suddenly falling off.


    ¡°The¡­ hide!¡±


    Yan Junze was shocked, now certain that Guo Youliang, who was using the magnetic knife, was the normal one and that these two young men were the targets of the human hide.


    As the hide fell off the young man¡¯s face, another wound pierced by the magnetic knife appeared behind, and with a flutter, the hide leaped forward, lunging directly at Yan Junze.


    Being too close to the young man, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t withdraw in time to avoid it and was suddenly struck in the face by the half hide.


    The next second, a bizarre and cold sensation of merging spread throughout his body, with the strength inside quickly fading, leaving no capacity for resistance.


    However, at the same time another power was awakened within him, and at that moment, Yan Junze seemed to hear the surprised voice of the Back-faced Woman.


    His skin turned instantly tough, and copious amounts of hair were about to burst forth, but the strange sensation that had just enveloped him was now subdued by his eruption into a Semi-Spirit State, resulting in resistance between the two forces. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°There¡¯s indeed a chance, I won¡¯t be immediately attached by this hide.¡±


    Even in his Semi-Spirit State, Yan Junze remained clear-headed, and he could faintly sense the scene where the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were currently located.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t allow this stalemate to continue; otherwise, the situation would develop unfavorably for him, and he had to turn from passive to active.


    Just as he was about to initiate the Rewind, Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill on his neck.


    The thought of Rewinding was completely severed by the blade of the magnetic knife.


    True to his reputation as a four-star Exorcist, Guo Youliang¡¯s use of the magnetic knife was sublime; even though he remained motionless at that moment, the Magnetic Blade had grown an additional two meters, covering the spot where Yan Junze stood.


    And as for those attached by the human hide, it seemed no one had managed to escape this fate, so in Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes, Yan Junze was already as good as dead.


    Being struck by this unexpected, yet seemingly inevitable blade was a surprise.


    But Yan Junze had not anticipated that despite his ability to resist the intrusion of the hide, he would instead be the first one killed by Guo Youliang.


    At that moment, he fully realized the prowess of the man before him, much stronger than a three-star Exorcist like Zhang Xiaomo, probably indeed a four-star.


    Having been caught off guard by the strike that severed his imminent thought of Rewind, Yan Junze felt as if he had been decapitated, and then a message flashed in his mind.


    [Host detected near death, triggering ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death,¡± consuming 500 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    In the blink of an eye, Yan Junze was once again standing outside the door from the hay shed to the toilet, behind those two eerie young men, watching as Guo Youliang was about to chop down his magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze inwardly chuckled bitterly, never expecting he would not die at the hands of the hide but was nearly killed by a presumably four-star Exorcist.


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 Chapter 246 - 234 Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 246: Chapter 234 Half a Hide (Part 1) (4000 words)_2


    That said, this guy acted way too quickly, didn¡¯t he? Without a second thought, he just slashed down, gifting me such a big welcome present the first time we met. Yan Junze didn¡¯t know whether to feel touched or to seek revenge.


    But Guo Youliang really didn¡¯t know, if he had been aware that I was a Semi-spirit, maybe he wouldn¡¯t have killed me so quickly.


    The rewind time for [Automatic Rewind on Near-Death] was very short this time, it simply allowed Yan Junze to avoid the moment of crisis, which seemed to be already considering energy conservation.


    However, rewinding to this moment clearly wasn¡¯t the best timing, so Yan Junze just pondered for a moment and executed another rewind.


    This time he rewound completely, back to the moment he had just received all his tasks.


    The two bootlickers were still looking at Yan Junze with surprise and skepticism.


    ...


    Yan Junze stood up and said directly to the leading middle-aged man, ¡°Gather everyone here, danger is approaching.¡±


    The leading middle-aged man was just about to ask why Liang and De hadn¡¯t come back; hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, he was stunned for a moment and asked, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to say too much and made up a reason, ¡°As a Semi-spirit, my perception is very strong, very sensitive.¡±


    The leading middle-aged man didn¡¯t ask anything more and immediately began to gather people.


    Yan Junze, meanwhile, walked toward the direction of the straw shed.


    Those two young men had headed straight for the latrine upon entering this place, definitely out of urgency; by this time, they had already been inside for a while.


    But this time, Yan Junze knew that perhaps the Half of a Skin had already arrived or was about to arrive very soon. Either way, time was of the essence, so he immediately rushed to the latrine and peeked inside.


    ¡°Fuck, what¡¯s your fetish, kid? Like doing this!¡± one of the young men taking a dump suddenly exclaimed.


    From his voice, it was clear he hadn¡¯t encountered the Skin yet. Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Pull up your pants and assemble outside right away, or no one will be left to collect your corpses.¡±


    Startled, the two in the latrine didn¡¯t say anything and probably didn¡¯t even wipe their asses clean; they just pulled their pants up and rushed out of the latrine.


    Yan Junze pointed outside, ¡°You go first, I¡¯ll follow shortly.¡±


    After they left, he stood outside the latrine, waiting quietly.


    About a minute later, there was a strange noise from the roof. Yan Junze looked up, about to check it out, when a Skin suddenly pounced down from the roof. He was prepared and quickly dodged to the side.


    The Skin missed its target, but it didn¡¯t fall to the ground. Instead, it turned midair and pounced at him again.


    Taking out the club was sure to be negligible against the Skin at this moment, so Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to use the club.


    He also didn¡¯t plan to turn into a Semi-spirit right away, instead, he took out a mirror, the small one with a handle that came from the [Person in the Mirror] task.


    The moment the small mirror appeared, he aimed it in the direction of the pouncing Skin.


    The Skin shuddered violently and stopped midair. This was the first time Yan Junze used the small mirror.


    From the earlier reaction, the mirror was a vista of black chaos and a shadow that seemed to be a Mirror Spirit was roaring within, which was quite eerie.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe that the power displayed by the Mirror Spirit couldn¡¯t deal with the Skin.


    The moment the Skin stopped, Yan Junze also felt the mirror trembling slightly, and a black vortex appeared inside it.


    The vortex spun inward, and within a few seconds of its appearance, a black hand reached out, grabbing at the Skin.


    Just then, Guo Youliang jumped down from the roof, holding a magnetic knife and charging over.


    The small mirror trembled again, and the black arm quickly retracted, with all manifestations disappearing.


    The Skin quickly spread out like a kite, flying over the straw shed and towards the courtyard outside.


    After Guo Youliang landed, he glanced at Yan Junze, while at the same moment, from the courtyard outside, a chorus of yells erupted. The arrival of the Skin was like a rat jumping into a soup pot.


    ¡°Not good!¡± Guo Youliang couldn¡¯t speak in time.


    Ever since he saw Yan Junze standing there, he had guessed that a new batch of Exorcists had arrived, but the demon skin was too bizarre. Its sudden appearance could easily lead to complete annihilation.


    Without communicating with Yan Junze, Guo Youliang immediately broke through the door of the grass shed and rushed out of the courtyard.


    Yan Junze, however, smiled bitterly. He hadn¡¯t expected Guo Youliang¡¯s arrival to cause such chaos, and his guess was not wrong¡ªthe little mirror he carried with him was indeed powerful, and using it to save his life at a critical moment probably wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Now that the method was proven ineffective, Yan Junze didn¡¯t follow Guo Youliang but instead chose to Rewind.


    In a blur, he was once again standing outside the latrine, with the two young men already sent away by him.


    But this time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to take out the little mirror again.


    He decided to risk himself.


    Speaking of risk, before the first Rewind, he already knew that even if the demon skin attached itself to him, due to the resistance of the Semi-Spirit State, it could not harm him immediately.


    In that case, he could prevent it from harming others, so¡­


    This time, when the skin swooped down from the roof, Yan Junze didn¡¯t evade, didn¡¯t take out the mirror, but just stood there, waiting to be plastered in the face by the creature.


    As a sense of merging emerged, the Semi-Spirit State was immediately triggered.


    Unlike ordinary people, Yan Junze remained fully conscious at the moment. He could feel his skin becoming harder, resisting the attachment, and hairs growing through the pores.


    His head also started to twist slowly backward. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During the twisting, Yan Junze, for convenience, consciously turned around so that his face was facing the direction Guo Youliang would appear from.


    The skin obviously hadn¡¯t expected this person to be so troublesome, and at the same moment, the viewpoint of the Back-faced Woman from Yan Junze¡¯s mind appeared again.


    This time, the Back-faced Woman was not in the previously abandoned warehouse, but unexpectedly walking on a street.


    The street was desolate and empty, with an air of death. The shops along the street were either closed, half open, or directly smashed. Abandoned cardboard boxes, broken wood, old newspapers, and other debris were stirred up by a breeze, looking incredibly bleak.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, unsure of where this was, but it seemed to be a Dead City.


    Then the Back-faced Woman stopped, clearly perceiving the confrontation between Yan Junze and the demon skin. Yan Junze also sensed that, once the Back-faced Woman reacted, she began helping him by continuously exerting force, speeding up the growth of his hair.


    The skin was about to be embedded into Yan Junze¡¯s own skin, but at this moment, the strong resistance brought the encroachment to a deadlock.


    Soon, Guo Youliang jumped down from the roof and saw Yan Junze being attached by the skin. Yan Junze¡¯s reaction was different from others, terrifying, with hair growing all over his body, and his head twisted.


    This scene startled Guo Youliang. He didn¡¯t think about anything else but cursed inwardly at how powerful the attachment had become at that moment; he couldn¡¯t let this creature escape again.


    The magnetic knife in his hand flipped, ready to make a ¡°clean cut¡± through the middle of Yan Junze¡¯s forehead, and incidentally split the skin in two, ending this menace.


    As the magnetic knife was raised, Yan Junze¡¯s voice suddenly blared, ¡°Don¡¯t cut, I can resist it!¡±


    This outcry, being unprecedented since the skin had attached to humans, startled the normally polite Guo Youliang into trembling, and an expletive ¡°f*ck¡± slipped from his mouth. In the end, he didn¡¯t bring the knife down and hastily retreated.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was thinking to himself that he must have had a score to settle with Guo Youliang in his past life since it was only their first meeting, and he had already tried to chop him twice.


    Seeing Guo Youliang¡¯s unsettled expression, Yan Junze added, ¡°I have a Semi-Spirit Body and can resist and temporarily detain it, but there are other colleagues outside.¡±


    Guo Youliang suddenly understood and thought it made sense that this guy showed different symptoms after being attached, it must have been the Semi-Spirit State being stimulated.


    Having deduced the reason, Guo Youliang turned to leave, saying, ¡°Hold on a bit longer, I¡¯m going to get everyone outside to retreat quickly!¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


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 Chapter 247 - 235 Half a Hide (Part 2) (5000 words)

    Chapter 247: Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part 2) (5000 words)


    Guo Youliang left in a hurry, while Yan Junze had originally thought he would help him.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t know that Guo Youliang had a profound experience with the eeriness of the skin and the ruthlessness of ordinary exorcists. He had to drive them away before the skin attached itself to these people, otherwise more would die.


    Seeing the four-star exorcists leave for the yard outside, Yan Junze immediately focused on how to deal with the skin.


    The mission prompt stated that this creature needed to attach to 77 people to transform into a human shape and blend into human society. Since there had been four-star exorcists around, the skin hadn¡¯t had the chance to fully attach to 77 people and absorb their essence qi.


    Yan Junze was certain of this.


    Nevertheless, the measures taken by Guo Youliang were also very drastic, because no other solution could be found in a short time, and once the skin attached, it was almost equivalent to death, he would simply kill the targeted victims.


    ...


    The second mission prompt revealed that the weakness of the skin was the corpse of Mo Sheng, the former village chief¡¯s granddaughter. As long as they found Mo Sheng, they could completely restrain the skin.


    Remembering this, Yan Junze immediately staggered toward a crooked door near the latrine pits.


    Because he had to focus most of his energy on resisting the skin, moving or speaking was difficult for him.


    Soon after pushing open the door, he found a narrow path outside. Without hesitation, Yan Junze stepped out, shut the door behind him, and while walking, pulled out the Mo Family Village map from his backpack.


    At this moment, he appeared very strange to any onlooker.


    Because he was in a Semi-Spirit State, Yan Junze walked like the Back-faced Woman, moving forward in reverse, that is, walking backward. Moreover, his head was twisted 180 degrees, creating an eerie sight.


    But the strangest part was the skin over his neck; it would wrinkle for a while, then become incredibly smooth, like a wet cloth laid over his face, constantly being wrung out and released, making him look like a mannequin.


    There was a moment Yan Junze felt like taking out a small mirror to look at himself.


    But considering the dangers, especially since he was in a Semi-Spirit State; if the Mirror Spirit in the small mirror accidentally injured him while combating the skin, what then?


    This was not just speculation. It was highly likely that with the Mirror Spirit¡¯s power, it would mistake him for the skin and the consequences would definitely not be as simple as one might imagine.


    So Yan Junze suppressed the urge to pull out the small mirror and, looking at the temporary map of Mo Family Village, rapidly made his way in the right direction.


    Although walking felt as if he were wobbling drunk, with the Back-faced Woman¡¯s strength as the foundation, he was able to resist the skin¡¯s erosion for a short time.


    What¡¯s more important was that the skin had already been injured by Guo Youliang earlier. Even though it was constantly attaching and absorbing essence qi, its power was definitely not at its peak.


    Yan Junze quickly vanished after turning several winding paths and alleyways. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By the time Guo Youliang and the leading middle-aged man had quickly dispersed everyone to prevent them from being caught en masse by the skin, and the two returned to the latrine pits area, they found that Yan Junze had disappeared without a trace.


    ¡°Big Brother Guo, could he have been controlled by the skin?¡± the leading middle-aged man asked.


    Guo Youliang shook his head slightly, ¡°If he was attached by the skin, he could still speak; even if he were to be controlled, it wouldn¡¯t happen so quickly.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll search around. I¡¯ll circle the area outside the courtyard; I won¡¯t go far. You keep watch over each person here, have them keep a close eye on each other, and immediately let me know at the slightest unusual sign.¡±


    About one kilometer away from Little Wind Zhai, Yan Junze pushed open the door and walked into an old house.


    The house didn¡¯t have electricity, but thankfully it was daytime, and despite the mist, visibility was still possible.


    According to the map, this was where a previous village chief had lived.


    Of course, Yan Junze could not be certain that all the village chiefs had lived in the same place, but since only this location was marked on the map, he could only hope he wasn¡¯t mistaken.


    After entering the old house, the pressure from the skin suddenly increased, and the intense sense of merging resurfaced. For a moment, Yan Junze¡¯s mind went blank, as if his consciousness had been stripped away.


    He swayed on the spot, managing not to fall, and by now, black hair had grown all over his body, forming a dense layer covering his skin.


    At that moment, Yan Junze had two perspectives; one of his own, and the other belonging to the Back-faced Woman.


    Ever since the Back-faced Woman exerted her strength to help him combat the skin, she had stood still on that desolate street, completely focused.


    Ke¡¯er, seemingly unaware, scampered in front of the Back-faced Woman from time to time in her red dress, sometimes darting into the nearby shops, or rummaging in the old boxes, busily at work.


    To her, this strange and deserted place seemed a source of joy, making it difficult for her to stay calm.


    Suddenly his consciousness returned, and the Back-faced Woman¡¯s power had once again held off the skin¡¯s erosion.


    The skin not only wanted to erode and control Yan Junze but was also locked in a stalemate with the Back-faced Woman, unable to free itself and leave.


    Yan Junze stood at the doorway of the house for a long time before moving again. Sweat beads the size of beans had soaked his entire body, even drenching his clothes, but he did not stop.


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 Chapter 248 - 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)_2

    Chapter 248: Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)_2


    Yan Junze prepared to search for any classics or written records in the house; usually, the Tianmeng clan had the custom of keeping genealogical records, noting both the living and the dead.


    Just like the Yan Family that Junze belonged to, there was also a genealogy in his ancestral home.


    Now, all he needed to do was find the genealogy, look through the records of the deceased, and he could locate their burial sites.


    Soon, he entered a room that looked like a study, but it was filled with piles of newspapers and magazines, looking very chaotic.


    There were only a few yellowed almanacs on the original bookshelves, not a single book in sight.


    Yan Junze began to search carefully; although he was facing away, his movements were swift. However, during the struggle with the hide, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble slightly.


    ...


    At this moment, he believed that if it weren¡¯t for the Back-faced Woman helping him exert strength from the other end, he would have long been completely controlled by this creature. Rewind was the only option.


    He quickly found the information of the deceased and checked the names one by one; finally, his finger stopped on the name ¡°Mo Sheng.¡± Scanning through, he saw that the column for her burial site was blank.


    Looking at the records of others who had passed away, their burial sites were clearly written, even including the size of the graves and the epitaphs used. But only Mo Sheng¡¯s column was blank.


    However, the time of Mo Sheng¡¯s death was exactly 16 years from her birth, meaning she died that year, right after being desecrated by a former life of the hide.


    Yan Junze¡¯s head began to throb with pain; the hide was clearly gaining the upper hand at this moment.


    He felt the skin on his forehead was no longer his own, entirely numb, and there was even a sensation as if his head was bulging outward, extremely strange. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He quickly forced himself to focus on finding Mo Sheng¡¯s grave. Since it wasn¡¯t clearly stated here, it mustn¡¯t be an oversight; there had to be a reason.


    Upon careful consideration, Mo Sheng¡¯s early death must have had a significant connection with the previous life of the hide, perhaps she couldn¡¯t endure the disgrace and committed suicide.


    Or following the ancient village rules, punishments such as being drowned in a pig cage could have been meted out. In those times, girls who suffered accidents that brought disgrace to the family would have their whole lives ruined because of it. They would not only fail to receive forgiveness but might also be subject to severe punishment by the clanspeople.


    If she truly had been submerged in the lake, Yan Junze would have nowhere to cry; this undoubtedly made the task of finding Mo Sheng¡¯s body much more challenging, and for the hide, there would be one less effective means to restrain it.


    If all else failed, he could only try using the small mirror again or rewind to the time before the hide had approached him.


    Yan Junze pondered to himself.


    Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared outside the study, moving rapidly. Originally appearing slowly at the door, in the next moment, it swiftly receded.


    Despite his extraordinary sensitivity at this moment, Junze could still sense the other¡¯s position. He immediately put down the genealogy and hastily pursued backward.


    A sudden surge of pain in his head made Junze stumble, almost falling, but he steadied himself by grabbing the door frame. Across from him, he watched as a shadow behind the door of a room disappeared quickly.


    This time he saw clearly, it was the silhouette of a frail woman, but definitely not a human, for no human¡¯s feet would hover nearly two centimeters off the ground when walking.


    In other words, the slender woman¡¯s shadow was walking on air.


    It must have been the spirit of the woman, preparing to appear before the living as usual, but she hadn¡¯t expected that the other person would be in a Semi-Spirit State and involved in an intense fight with an equally strange piece of hide.


    The pressure between the entities caused the woman¡¯s spirit to panic and flee in terror.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, quickly giving chase.


    The woman fled to a room that led to another hallway, and through it another ordinary room. It was apparent that this home of the village leader was quite expansive.


    After passing through another room, he came to a row of pigpens and cattle sheds; the woman had vanished.


    Yan Junze stood there, one hand on the door, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head; it felt as if the skin on his neck was tightening, as though a thick rope had been tied around it and someone kept pulling from behind him.


    After standing there for a while, Yan Junze noticed something unusual again.


    Behind him, to the right on the rooftop, opposite the cattle shed, and at the tattered doorway leading to a field path, heads began to emerge one after another.


    Their faces were ashen as death, silent and expressionless, eyes staring blankly, as if looking into the distance, or perhaps at Yan Junze.


    Seeing that they were all dead, to Junze, they were just ordinary strangenesses.


    Despite facing his Semi-Spirit State and the attached hide, these strangenesses did not leave but kept their distance, maintaining a watchful presence, creating a very eerie scene.


    Soon Yan Junze realized that among these people, the woman who had fled was not present, and their cloudy, colorless gazes seemed not to be fixed on him but partially focused on the pigpen.


    At this point, Junze could feel his breathing getting labored; the support from the Back-faced Woman seemed to be fading, and his Semi-Spirit State was also diminishing.


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 Chapter 249 - 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)

    Chapter 249: Chapter 235 Half a Hide (Part Two) (5000 Words)


    He walked a few steps to the outside of the pigpen, pushing open the half-person tall gate and entered.


    Since the old house was no longer inhabited, there was some lingering filth inside the pigpen, but no severe smell, just a slight stench.


    Yan Junze paid no attention to this; he looked around carefully, not missing any corner.


    Just when he arrived in front of the trough where pigs were fed, a black figure of a woman sat up from the bottom of the trough. She was merely a soul shadow, panicking in the face of Yan Junze¡¯s powerful Semi-Spirit and the oppressive force of the Skin, she immediately floated out upon sitting up and hid in a nearby cattle shed.


    There were other strangenesses hidden inside the cattle shed, but upon seeing the woman seek refuge, they seemed to fear her soul like specters, hastily fleeing from the shed, keeping their distance.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, this woman¡¯s level of strangeness was probably that of a high-level Wandering Spirit, not reaching Sculpting Spirit.


    ...


    As for the other strangenesses, they seemed quite ordinary, with very few even reaching the level of a middle-rank Wandering Spirit, so it was no wonder they feared the woman.


    However, looking at the woman¡¯s face, she seemed very young. Yan Junze did not recognize Mo Sheng¡¯s features; he was merely speculating at this point.


    After the woman fled, he grabbed the pig feed trough on the ground and violently flipped it over.


    In these farmhouses, the troughs used to feed pigs were typically made of stone, about one meter wide, 20 to 30 centimeters high, with an oval pit in the middle, quite heavy. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But for Yan Junze, lifting such a trough was effortless; the trough he threw out made a loud noise as it hit the ground outside the pigpen.


    The spot where the trough had been revealed an oval pit; the dirt inside was loose, apparently not in its original state.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to dig through this soil, the intense stabbing pain in his head suddenly intensified, causing him to cry out in pain.


    The Skin that had been wrapped around his head, stubbornly contending with the power of the Semi-Spirit, seemed to reach its peak at this moment. A massive force enveloped Yan Junze¡¯s entire head, neck, and chest, applying immense pressure.


    The hairs on the surface of Yan Junze¡¯s skin instantly tightened, his resistance simultaneously maximizing.


    However, the power of resistance was clearly inferior to the strength of the Skin at the moment. The feeling of merging with the skin grew more and more apparent, and Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness was suppressed to the lowest point.


    In a daze, he felt as if he were floating in space, his entire body no longer his own.


    His breathing was severely constricted, his brain oxygen-starved and chaotic, a buzzing noise filled his head, and his consciousness slowly ebbed away.


    Despite Yan Junze¡¯s reluctance, his body seemed to have given up resistance, allowing the Skin to manipulate him as it pleased.


    If he did not Rewind at this moment, the Spacetime Atlas might activate the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± on its own.


    Just as the thought of Rewinding began to emerge¡­


    ¡°Ke¡­ Ke¡­ Keer¡­¡±


    A husky, discontinuous voice suddenly echoed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind. The voice was not his own, nor was it emitted through his mouth by the Skin, and neither did it come from the ordinary strangenesses nearby, but from the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman clearly sensed that Yan Junze¡¯s current state was at its nadir, and despite her own strength, even with continuous support to Yan Junze, she was unable to effectively rescue him.


    This also indicated that in a confrontation only between the Back-faced Woman and the Skin, it would be the Skin that dominated. The standoff had persisted for so long partly because Yan Junze¡¯s own Semi-Spirit Body was exerting effort as well.


    But now, as the Skin suddenly unleashed all its power, the deadlock began to break.


    From the viewpoint of the other ordinary strangenesses, Yan Junze¡¯s upper body seemed to be constricted by an invisible force, his skin surface beginning to turn deeper shades, followed by a flare of fire.


    This fire emanated from the Half of a Skin, the area that had previously been wounded by Guo Youliang. It seemed as though it was burning itself out of sheer exertion, causing flames to surge from the wounded spot first.


    Upon the ignition of the flame, the strange little fire didn¡¯t spread across all the skin but danced only at that single spot.


    However, the appearance of the flame made the Skin¡¯s power increase yet again.


    At this moment, the voice of the Back-faced Woman reached Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    Ke¡­ Ke? That must be a call for Ke¡¯er.


    Yan Junze clearly knew that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s throat had suffered severe damage, as her neck had been completely twisted, essentially ruining her vocal cords, which made it impossible for her to articulate sounds properly.


    When he first met Ke¡¯er, she had uttered the same sound.


    Through the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, Yan Junze saw that since the Skin ignited the flame and began to exert force, she had ceased to stand, choosing instead to sit on the ground.


    Shortly after the Back-faced Woman called for Ke¡¯er, a red figure appeared at the entrance of a streetside shop whose door had been destroyed. Ke¡¯er glanced at her mother, uttered an inquisitive ¡°Eh,¡± and quickly scrambled toward her, still using her hands and feet.


    Although still young, Yan Junze considered Ke¡¯er¡¯s Perception to be almost unmatched by any strangeness he had encountered.


    Ke¡¯er rapidly climbed into her mother¡¯s embrace, hugging the Back-faced Woman closely. To Yan Junze, because their abilities were interconnected at that moment, he also felt a sweet sensation of being embraced by Ke¡¯er.


    He hadn¡¯t felt such sweetness in a long time.


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    Ke¡¯er tilted her head, looking through her back at her mother¡¯s eyes. From those grey, turbid eyes, she seemed to make a new discovery.


    Just as Ke¡¯er was about to continue with her quizzical ¡°Eh,¡± the Back-faced Woman spoke again, ¡°Ke¡­ Ke¡­¡±


    The next second, Ke¡¯er snapped back to reality, tilting her head so that her filthy hair intertwined completely with her mother¡¯s long hair.


    At the same time, Ke¡¯er¡¯s expression turned fierce, her round little face taking on an aggressive look as she yelled, ¡°Yah yah yah!¡±


    The mother-daughter Bond Evolution suddenly unfolded!


    Immense power soared once again, quickly catching up to the Skin¡¯s invasive force. The eerie little flame clinging tightly to Yan Junze¡¯s skin shuddered, nearly extinguished.


    This time, when the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er combined their strengths, they even displayed a power capable of fighting back against their opponent.


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 Chapter 250 - 236 Half a Hide (Part Three) (4000 Words)

    Chapter 250: Chapter 236 Half a Hide (Part Three) (4000 Words)


    Having felt this power, Yan Junze was also invigorated and reached out to grab his own head.


    At this moment, the skin on his head had many wrinkles, clearly resisting. Yan Junze grabbed one of the wrinkles tightly and yanked it outward.


    However, just then, with a puff, another eerie flame appeared on the surface of the skin, adding to the previous flame that was about to go out, the two flames quickly stabilized.


    The force of the skin merging with Yan Junze¡¯s power began to strengthen once again.


    From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, Ke¡¯er was holding her mother tightly, obviously using all her strength, her long hair intertwining with the Back-faced Woman¡¯s strand by strand, winding so tightly that it made a noise like a rope being twisted.


    Once again, the combined effort of mother and daughter resisted the skin burning with two eerie flames, preventing it from further merging with Yan Junze.


    ...


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze felt an even greater pressure than before. Two strange forces were pressing on him, making his bones crackle. If it wasn¡¯t for his Semi-Spirit Body foundation, he would have probably been crushed and immobilized long ago.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep this stalemate going.¡±


    Yan Junze was very clear in his mind, he must act fast or, even with the assistance of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, the damage to his body would be his own to bear.


    He turned around and knelt down, stretching out his hands and frantically digging at the loosened soil.


    This action clearly stimulated the attacking intensity of the skin, and with a puff, a third flame emerged from the surface of the skin.


    In this moment, the skin above Yan Junze¡¯s neck turned completely red, and the three flames burning became larger and larger, as if they were about to ignite his entire head at any moment.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt that his breathing was completely blocked, replaced by a wave of heat stifling his face, his vision turning fiery red, as though he could see nothing else.


    But he still kept on quickly digging through the soil of the ground.


    Soon, beneath the soil that had covered the stone trough, a black coffin was revealed.


    Yan Junze could barely make out that this was a coffin. He reached out and tried to lift the lid, which was not sturdy. Under the strength of his Semi-Spirit Body, he lifted the lid and exposed a mummified corpse with its limbs curled up together.


    This mummy was severely deformed, recognizable as a female only by the clump of hair stuck together, while the rest of the body had lost any distinct features.


    Yan Junze had been unable to breathe, and, relying on the strength of his Semi-Spirit Body, he forced his body down and leaned over.


    At that moment, the skin attached to him ignited a fourth flame without any hesitation. Simultaneously, Yan Junze saw, from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, Ke¡¯er start to scream ¡°ya ya ya¡± again.


    Their intertwined hair seemed to have been ignited by something, and smoke was already billowing out.


    On Yan Junze¡¯s side, the hair on his skin, especially near the head, was burnt in large quantities, curling and shriveling.


    Just at that time, he had already come completely close to the mummy in the coffin.


    The task prompt had explained that Mo Sheng¡¯s corpse was the fatal weakness of this skin. Thus, approaching the corpse was currently the best option for Yan Junze.


    Sure enough, shortly after approaching, the mummy in the coffin moved slightly and suddenly stretched out a withered right arm, making a mechanical clicking sound, firmly grabbing a wrinkle of the skin on Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    At the same time, this skin, which had been gaining the upper hand, burst into flames that suddenly spread across its entire surface and burned fiercely in the grasp of the mummy.


    Amidst cries of agony, the mummy extended its other hand, and both hands held the struggling skin, eager to escape, letting it burn intensely without any sign of letting go.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was completely awake. His vision was unobstructed, his breathing smooth, and the oppressive feeling in his body had disappeared.


    However, the Semi-Spirit State had not yet faded. He quickly stepped back two paces, his gaze fixed on the flames burning inside the coffin.


    Before long, the mummy had caught fire entirely, and the skin could no longer escape. After burning and melting, some parts had already stuck firmly to the mummy.


    The flames were very strange, red mixed with a faint green, but even so, the skin was not burned immediately but continued to burn for about ten minutes or so.


    When the flames extinguished on their own, Yan Junze approached for a closer look.


    He found that the mummy in the coffin no longer retained a human shape, turning into a chunk of charcoal, and the skin was completely gone, having merged into the charcoal.


    [Half of a Skin, hair-raising (high), completed, 1400 Different Dimension Energy points earned.]


    Yan Junze withdrew his attention from the task completion alert in his mind and looked at everything before him. This half of a hide had been thoroughly burned in the coffin, and it could also be said to have died under Mo Sheng¡¯s Revenge.


    This entity was indeed too bizarre, not only elusive but even a suspected four-star Exorcist couldn¡¯t capture it accurately, and it was capable of killing so many people, including low-level Exorcists, in such a short time by attaching to them. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If he were not a Semi-Spirit Body, the consequences would be unthinkable.


    In fact, upon reflection, even the Semi-Spirit Body alone was unable to resist the skin. If it wasn¡¯t for the desperate assistance of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, Yan Junze would have been Rewound by now, as he wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop the skin from corrupting him.


    As the Semi-Spirit State gradually subsided, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the other areas around the pigpen. The other strangenesses that had been quietly watching moments ago had all vanished without a trace.


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 Chapter 251 - 236: Half a Hide (Part 3) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 251: Chapter 236: Half a Hide (Part 3) (4000 words)_2


    Including the figure of the woman who was suspected to be Mo Sheng¡¯s soul, also disappeared.


    Perhaps, at the moment the human skin was completely burned away, her obsession was thoroughly liberated.


    At the same time, beside a desolate street in an unnamed city.


    The Back-faced Woman held Ke¡¯er in her arms, the mother and daughter sitting skewed on the ground, motionless.


    The Back-faced Woman still had large amounts of black smoke rising from her body, as if ignited, but ultimately, it did not catch fire.


    Moments later, Ke¡¯er lifted her head, trembling uncontrollably, and looked at her mother.


    ...


    ¡°Mom¡­ Mommy¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman shook her head, embraced her daughter, and slowly stood up, then staggered off towards the other side of the street.


    The figures of the mother and daughter moved further away, vanishing at the end of the street.


    Yan Junze stood beside the coffin that had burned, thought for a moment, then took out a hexagonal badge and stuck it where the dried corpse and human skin were burned, absorbing some residual Different Dimension Energy.


    Then he took the coffin lid, covered the coffin with it, and re-covered it with the dirt he had dug up before.


    Regardless, Mo Sheng and the human skin were truly buried in the earth; may they rest in peace and sooner embark on their journey to the Ultimate Bliss World or be reborn.


    Yan Junze was physically drained and found a comfortable chair in the old house where he sat for a long time. As the day turned to dusk, he finally got up and hurried over to Mo Xiaofeng¡¯s house.


    By then, the middle-aged leader had dispersed the other Exorcists into nearby houses, trying to avoid gathering everyone together to prevent the human skin from taking them all out in one go.


    Meanwhile, Guo Youliang was searching with him nearby, and the two did not dare to stray too far, fearing for the safety of their colleagues here, so they only searched in the vicinity.


    The population of Mo Family Village was not large, but the houses in the village were quite scattered. One family might be located on this end, while another could be on the opposite hillside. At first glance, it did not seem far, but it would take at least half an hour to walk there.


    Yan Junze quickly returned to the place he had originally left. He couldn¡¯t find anyone inside Little Wind Zhai and just walked out when he met Guo Youliang, carrying a magnetic knife, followed by the middle-aged leader.


    ¡°Yan Junze?! Are you okay?¡± The middle-aged leader showed a look of surprise, but then Guo Youliang abruptly held him back.


    Guo Youliang watched Yan Junze warily, without saying a word.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to speak to the middle-aged leader, ¡°We were assigned into this team right at the meeting chaired by Group Leader Huo Zhisen, and we arrived here the next day.¡±


    Guo Youliang looked at the middle-aged leader, who nodded, confirming Yan Junze¡¯s account was true.


    Guo Youliang asked, ¡°What about the human skin?¡±


    ¡°I burned it to death.¡± Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°It was evenly matched with my Semi-Spirit State, we were at a stalemate. I took the opportunity to burn it with fire.¡±


    Guo Youliang was curious, ¡°It was attached to your head, how did you burn it?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a wrinkle?¡± Yan Junze gestured, ¡°I just grabbed the wrinkle like this, and then used a lighter to burn it. Of course, ordinary flames are useless. My Semi-Spirit State can catalyze the flames, creating an effect similar to Samadhi True Fire.¡±


    ¡°Damn Samadhi True Fire!¡± The middle-aged leader couldn¡¯t help but let loose a curse.


    The corners of Guo Youliang¡¯s mouth twitched slightly.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Yan Junze really looked like a normal person now, he would have been tempted to split him with his knife.


    ¡°Anyway, it took a great deal of effort to deal with the human skin,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Can you take me to see it?¡± Guo Youliang asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Yan Junze turned and pointed, ¡°It¡¯s a small path, about a twenty-minute walk.¡±


    ¡°Big Brother Guo, now that the danger here has been temporarily lifted, shouldn¡¯t we go check on the village first? Zhang Di and the others have not come back, they might have encountered danger,¡± the middle-aged leader said.


    Guo Youliang thought for a moment, then nodded, ¡°You don¡¯t need to go there, just stay here. This place is relatively safe right now, and we can maintain contact with the outside at any time.¡±


    ¡°Then, can I go with you?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    After all, there are no tasks for now on this side, and over where Zhang Xiaomo is, there are still the tasks of [the woman carrying a lantern] and [Lift the Coffin]. Going over there, I might have the chance to complete them when the opportunity arises.


    ¡°No,¡± Guo Youliang shook his head, rejecting Yan Junze¡¯s idea, ¡°It might be even more dangerous over there. I can go alone. You¡¯re quite strong, stay here and protect everyone.¡±


    ¡°First, let¡¯s go inside and eat something,¡± the middle-aged leader reminded them.


    The three of them entered a room diagonally across. Inside, there were two younger Exorcists, sitting and drinking water.


    As they saw them come in, the two quickly shared some bread and mineral water. Yan Junze casually ate some, and Guo Youliang also took the opportunity to replenish some food.


    Meanwhile, Yan Junze was thinking about how to slip deeper into the village without letting these four-star Exorcists notice, to stealthily check on the remaining tasks.


    If he had known Guo Youliang¡¯s intentions earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have come back at all but would have gone directly to the western side of the village. Now, it was not a good time to leave. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he was pondering this, a violent noise erupted, causing the small house to shake slightly. Dust fell from the ceiling, leaving everyone in the room covered in dust and dirt.


    ¡­


    Time rewinds to the moment before.


    Mo Family Village has a total of seven wells, but the largest one is under an old pagoda tree on the east side of the village.


    The well had water for several hundred years but turned into a dry well about twenty years ago. The reason was that the upstream groundwater was redirected by constructing an artificial river channel, and several small and medium-sized reservoirs were built one after another.


    Yan Long¡¯s slender figure stood next to the dry well. After about four or five minutes, he took out several glow sticks he carried with him, broke them, and threw them into the well.


    Then, he leaned over to look into the well.


    The glow sticks fell rapidly. The light from two of them was not very clear, but the remaining three landed vertically on the ground of the dry well, clearly reflecting the surrounding scenery.


    Yan Long lay down and watched for a while, then removed what he was carrying, including a backpack, a belt, and a long object wrapped in black cloth. It looked like a thick sword, wide and heavy.


    After placing them on the ground, he took out a rope and secured one end to the lowest branch of the thick old pagoda tree, then threw the rest of the rope into the well.


    Without another word, Yan Long grabbed the rope and climbed down. He was agile, quickly reaching the bottom of the well, firmly standing on the ground.


    There was still some water on the ground, just enough to wet his shoes, but Yan Long didn¡¯t pay it any mind. He took out his Wolf-Eye Flashlight to scan the surroundings and found that the well led to openings on both sides, but one would have to stoop to enter them.


    This also explained why the well was not very far from the Dark River.


    After standing there for a while and determining his direction, he walked towards one of the openings.


    Stooping as he went, the space became narrower until he had to lie completely flat to proceed. Yan Long then stopped.


    He remained silent for a moment, feeling the chill emanating from the place.


    He could normally withstand a bit of chill, but the cold here was indeed once-in-a-hundred or even a thousand years type of cold. Just after standing still for a bit, his eyebrows and eyelashes were already frosted with a layer of white.


    Then, Yan Long took out an Incense Cup, which had a small pink incense candle already placed inside.


    After he took it out, he only fanned it with his hand a couple of times, without even lighting it, and a faint fragrance was already wafting towards him.


    Yan Long immediately placed the Incense Cup further into the opening, allowing the fragrance to quickly drift deeper inside.


    He didn¡¯t linger there but immediately started backing out. Unable to turn around, he almost crawled backward with his hands and feet.


    Not long after he retreated, a deep sigh came from deep within the hole, followed by the sound of something scrambling where the scent of the candle had drifted.


    The sound seemed slow and heavy at first but soon escalated in speed, becoming a concentrated noise close to his ears.


    Yan Long was startled and hastily retreated even faster.


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 Chapter 252 - 237: Beneath the Dry Well, Amongst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)

    Chapter 252: Chapter 237: Beneath the Dry Well, Amongst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)


    Although Yan Long appeared to be somewhat aged, he was remarkably agile, and even while crawling backward out of the cave, his speed remained swift.


    But as fast as he was, the crawling ¡°thing¡± inside the cave was even faster. After just a short while, the beam of the Wolf-Eye Flashlight illuminated a head with a bun, rapidly wriggling towards him.


    Yan Long, shocked, threw caution to the wind and scrambled even faster, using hands and feet together to increase his backward speed.


    Shortly after, the tunnel widened, and he immediately arched his body and hastily retreated backward even faster. However, that head with a bun was still crawling as if unable to straighten up.


    Upon exiting the narrow tunnel, Yan Long quickly took out another Incense Cup, waved his hand over it twice to produce a puff of white smoke, then placed the Incense Cup steadily on the ground, and turned to dash toward the well not far away.


    After grabbing the dangling rope, he didn¡¯t climb up using his hands and feet, as that would be too inefficient.


    ...


    Just then, the man with the hair bun crawled out of the tunnel, water still dripping from his body, and stood up straight. Since the Wolf-Eye Flashlight didn¡¯t illuminate his face, his features were unclear as he took big strides toward Yan Long.


    At that moment, Yan Long took out an electric pulley, clipping one end to his clothing and the other onto the rope. With a fierce press, the pulley began to spin, swiftly lifting him up.


    The corpse took big strides closer, reaching out for Yan Long¡¯s ankles but grasping nothing. It then stretched out its hand to grab the rope beneath Yan Long¡¯s feet, but was still a step too slow.


    It then raised its head to watch Yan Long as he ascended.


    Seizing the opportunity, Yan Long shone the Wolf-Eye Flashlight downward, its powerful beam directly hitting the face of the male corpse as it looked up.


    The male corpse appeared unaffected by the light, letting it shine upon him as he simply looked upward.


    Upon illuminating the male corpse, Yan Long couldn¡¯t help but shudder and exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s preserved so well!¡±


    The male corpse before him was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a face full of heavy stubble. If not for its pallid skin from being in the water for years and the lifeless eyes, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish him from a living person.


    Yan Long was visibly delighted to have had the fortune of finding such a high-caliber corpse.


    If he succeeded in Corpse Refining, this body would probably become his second greatest source of strength. Naturally, his current prime source of strength was the Semi-Spirit Body ¨C the fusion of his body with the Monster Spirit inside him. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gazing at the nearly perfect male corpse under the flashlight, Yan Long¡¯s eyes lit up with awe, like a starving man laying eyes on a spit-roasted whole lamb, his mouth almost watering.


    However, he suddenly became alert as he saw the male corpse lower its head then move towards the rock wall by the well. The corpse reached out, grabbing one of the round rocks on the wall and embedding at least half of its fingers into the stone, then did the same with the other hand. Following that, it pushed off with its feet and began to climb up the well¡¯s rock wall.


    Yan Long was startled to see the climbing speed of the male corpse was astonishing, almost matching his electric pulley¡¯s speed, barely trailing him.


    While concerned, Yan Long couldn¡¯t help but admire the corpse. To him, it was simply too perfect.


    But he definitely couldn¡¯t let it just climb up like that, otherwise his Spirit Raising plan would be ruined.


    After increasing the pulley speed, Yan Long ascended even faster. He quickly emerged from the well, landed, and immediately flipped open the backpack on his back, taking out a bundle of Detonators. Lighting the fuse, he swiftly tossed it into the well and then dropped flat onto the ground.


    With a booming sound,


    the Detonator exploded after reaching the bottom of the well, collapsing the entire mouth of the well. The male corpse, which was about to climb out, was buried under the surging mass of mud and rocks.


    The entire opening of the well collapsed inward, burying itself and quickly forming an irregular sinkhole with a radius of five or six meters.


    The male corpse was buried deep inside.


    Along with it was the second Incense Cup Yan Long had placed earlier.


    At this moment, even though the Incense Cup was likewise covered, white smoke still emerged from inside, ignoring the collapsed ground and seeping into every available space, gradually filling the gaps between the rocks and soon enveloping the buried male corpse.


    Yan Long packed up his own belongings from the ground and then found a suitable spot to conceal himself, seemingly prepared to settle there for the time being.


    The explosion of the Detonator was not in his plan, but now that it had gone off, the loud noise was sure to be heard by other Exorcists. It would be perfect if those folks were temporarily unable to come due to the strangenesses, but if they did, he had to have a strategy to face them.


    ¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± exclaimed a younger Exorcist sitting inside the house.


    ¡°It seems like the vibration came from the east side of the village,¡± the leading middle-aged man said, equally surprised, as he patted the dust off his head.


    Yan Junze was also dusting off his shoulders and casually fixing his trendy hair.


    Guo Youliang said, ¡°This tremor is unusual; it seems like something exploded.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to check it out.¡±


    The middle-aged leader was about to instruct the two younger Exorcists in the house to go out when Guo Youliang stopped him, ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll take a look.¡±


    As Guo Youliang walked to the door, he seemed to think of something, turned around, and continued, ¡°Now, only you and Yan Junze can go and see what happened on the west side of the village. If you see any other colleagues, immediately bring them back for a rendezvous. But the two of you cannot go at the same time; one must stay here with the others. I¡¯ll head directly to the west side in fifteen minutes.¡±


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 Chapter 253 - 237: Beneath the Dry Well, Amidst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)_2

    Chapter 253: Chapter 237: Beneath the Dry Well, Amidst the Mist (4000 words, please subscribe)_2


    Yan Junze and the middle-aged leader nodded at each other.


    Then Guo Youliang extended his hands and patted Yan Junze and the middle-aged leader, ¡°The situation is very urgent now, you¡¯ll be putting in much effort. After this Ghost Bridge incident is over, I will apply to the organization to give you generous remuneration and special treatment.¡±


    He looked at Yan Junze with a tone of concern, ¡°Junze, you just triggered your Semi-Spirit power. I suggest you¡¯d better take a rest and not rush things too much, you should prioritize your own safety.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, understood.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Guo Youliang quickly left after opening the door.


    Watching his retreating figure, Yan Junze reflected. The first time he met this four-star Exorcist, the guy nearly finished him off with a slash, and the second time, he was ready to chop again, if not for his timely interjection that saved him from dying a second time.


    ...


    But after interacting with him, he realized that Guo Youliang was actually kind-hearted and led people earnestly, it was only when facing strangenesses that he, like all Exorcists, was ruthless and decisive.


    The middle-aged leader closed the door, returned to his seat, and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Should I go check out the western part of the village? You can rest here. I¡¯ve sent people out on patrol, and we¡¯ve just cleared a few ordinary strangenesses. There shouldn¡¯t be any other major dangers around here.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°You are familiar with them, it¡¯s best that you stay here. I¡¯m already used to fighting alone, and besides, my Semi-Spirit power is still abundant. There is really no need for concern. I¡¯ll go!¡±


    The middle-aged man hesitated, eyeing Yan Junze up and down, as if trying to discern whether he truly was capable or was at the end of his strength.


    To be honest, right now, even Yan Junze himself couldn¡¯t bear to use the Semi-Spirit power, because from the recent encounter with the Back-faced Woman, he deeply understood that if he were to force it, it wouldn¡¯t just affect him, but it could endanger the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    So from that moment on, he decided not to use the Semi-Spirit State at all; if worst came to worst, he would simply rewind time. After all, he had plenty of time, and there was no immediate concern for the Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas.


    However, regardless, Yan Junze still wanted to check out the western part of the village.


    There was an indistinct feeling in his heart that he couldn¡¯t let go of something, whether it was the two detected tasks or something else, he didn¡¯t ponder too deeply.


    ¡°You lead them here, I¡¯ll go alone. If it really is dangerous there, I¡¯ll wait for Uncle Guo to join me before I take any further action with him. You don¡¯t have to worry at all!¡± said Yan Junze again.


    ¡°Should we accompany you?¡± asked the other two younger Exorcists in the house.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m used to being alone; having you with me would only make me cautious and hinder my actions. Otherwise, even if I have to escape, with the state of being a Semi-spirit, I have a good chance of getting away on my own.¡±


    ¡°You must be careful over there,¡± the middle-aged leader finally relented.


    ¡°No problem,¡± assured Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze checked the contents of his backpack ¨C food, water, a lighter, and a flashlight were all there; he wasn¡¯t lacking anything essential. He slung the backpack over his shoulders, bade the middle-aged leader and the two young Exorcists farewell, and stepped out the door.


    On the way, he encountered a group of Exorcists arranged by the middle-aged man to patrol nearby. After exchanging greetings, Yan Junze did not linger; following the map, he hurried towards the western side of the village.


    Walking along the flat ground to the village¡¯s west end would take just over ten minutes. However, Mo Family Village¡¯s terrain is unique, with a small Plum Blossom Forest running through the middle of the village, separating the west from the east. Normally, villagers were reluctant to cross the Plum Blossom Forest at night.


    Since the incidents of strangenesses began, this Plum Blossom Forest had never been peaceful, and especially after the emergence of Ghost Bridge, it gave rise to several higher-level strangenesses that even the Exorcists struggled to subdue after exhausting effort.


    Then a woman carrying a lantern appeared. This time, even those Exorcists met their match.


    Yan Junze started out quickly but soon realized something was amiss. Gazing straight ahead, the mist-covered silhouette of the Plum Blossom Forest emerged before his eyes, and it was only then he suddenly noticed the fog around him had thinned even more.


    It was already completely dark, as the day had been sunny. Since entering Mo Family Village, the constant white mist had enveloped him and made it less noticeable, but now, as the fog lessened, Yan Junze immediately spotted the anomaly.


    The white mist that had almost entirely concealed the sky above now, due to its sparsity, revealed parts of the nighttime sky¡¯s outline.


    Yan Junze merely looked up and saw a vague semicircle moon appearing overhead. Moonlight spilled down, piercing through the thin fog, casting his own body in light and stretching a compressed black shadow behind him on the ground.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Startled, Yan Junze turned to look at the ground behind him. In the midst of what seemed like a perfectly normal shadow, an arm extended out, rapidly approaching his ankle and seizing it.


    At the same time, Yan Junze immediately felt a tightness around his ankle, the shadow overlapping his footstep, but he couldn¡¯t see any tangible object.


    Then, a woman¡¯s figure seemed to crawl out from the ground, or rather, revealed her upper body along his own shadow, with her other hand swiftly targeting his other calf.


    As she appeared, the woman let out a mournful laugh, as if deeply grieved, yet laced with a sinister sweetness, almost like an unburdening of endless longing for someone.


    ¡°I want to be next to you every single second!¡±


    That familiar, hoarse voice emerged out of nowhere, instantly raising goosebumps all over Yan Junze¡¯s skin.


    ¡°Fang Ning? Damn it!¡±


    Caught off guard, both his feet were caught by the emerging Fang Ning from his own shadow. Though he tried to take a step forward to escape, he ended up sprawling on the ground.


    In this moment, Fang Ning¡¯s upper body, still in shadow, became more evident, contorting and wriggling upwards as if about to completely emerge from Yan Junze¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°I like the moonlight, and I like you too!¡±


    As she wriggled out, she spoke in that harsh, hoarse, unique voice, her hands gripping Yan Junze¡¯s legs, frantically climbing up his body.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity of falling to the ground to immediately start crawling forward.


    He could see very clearly that he was standing in an area where the fog was thin, but about three meters ahead, the fog thickened again, though not as dense as before, enough to obscure the moonlight from above.


    With a great force pulling at him from behind, Yan Junze ignored it and used all his strength to crawl rapidly forward.


    ¡°Rapid¡± was a relative term, as he barely managed to move forward against the force tugging from behind.


    At the same time, Fang Ning¡¯s shadow continued to climb up, her hands nearing Yan Junze¡¯s knees, gradually taking on substance, the charred appearance from electrical burns emerging.


    After completing the ¡°Reflection Under the Moonlight¡± mission, the Spacetime Atlas had informed Yan Junze that he had earned Fang Ning¡¯s affection, and the favorability was ¡°Intimate.¡± However, ¡°Intimate¡± was followed by parentheses¡ªabnormal.


    Yan Junze looked back, wanting to kick out fiercely, but his feet were caught and he couldn¡¯t muster any force.


    He had no choice but to put his arms to greater use, desperately crawling forward.


    Soon, he reached the area where the fog was relatively dense, his upper body entering it, and he felt his thigh muscles tighten, as if Fang Ning had grabbed hold.


    Yan Junze almost decided to rewind, but seeing success so close at hand, there was no need to waste energy. He hurriedly sped up, finally merging most of his body into the enveloping fog, cutting off the moonlight above.


    At this moment, one of the calves that hadn¡¯t been retracted in time was visible, with Fang Ning¡¯s head pressed out of the fog, slowly, as he withdrew his foot, Fang Ning¡¯s shadow along with Yan Junze¡¯s disappeared.


    Gasping for breath, Yan Junze lay on the ground, lifted his head, peered into the Plum Blossom Forest, and glanced at the nearby fog, revealing a bitter smile.


    This time, he had forgotten to bring a very important tool with him¡ªan umbrella.


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 Chapter 254 - 238: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 1)

    Chapter 254: Chapter 238: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 1)


    Since he rarely went out at night, Yan Junze never carried an umbrella, and having known in advance that Mo Family Village was already shrouded in fog, he hadn¡¯t even thought of Fang Ning¡¯s matter.


    At this moment, he hadn¡¯t expected to run into trouble over this issue.


    Looking at the thinning fog ahead, he was about three hundred meters away from the Plum Blossom Forest. Although it wasn¡¯t far, getting there would be somewhat troublesome.


    He glanced around. If he didn¡¯t take a straight path, a detour could get him there; it would just take a bit more time.


    As long as he moved towards the denser fog, he would eventually reach the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Yan Junze rested for a while, looked left and right, and realized that the backpack he carried wasn¡¯t very large. If he took it off to cover his head, it wouldn¡¯t completely hide his shadow.


    ...


    If he took off his coat and used it to cover his head, he would likely expose his shadow by accident.


    After thinking it over, he removed his coat, put the backpack back on, held the coat over his head with both hands, and quickly moved towards an area with denser fog, being cautious yet swift.


    He stealthily hid in the fog, inching closer to the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest, sometimes sidestepping, sometimes walking diagonally.


    At times, his shadow was exposed under the moonlight, and he could see Fang Ning¡¯s arm reappear. However, Yan Junze was always vigilant and would immediately sprint forward, hiding in the fog again.


    What would have taken only a few minutes to enter the Plum Blossom Forest, he finally burst in after about half an hour.


    He removed the coat from his head and looked up at the moon, obscured by the leaves. With the fog also present in the forest offering a double barrier, he finally evaded Fang Ning.


    However, Yan Junze remembered that this was the very Plum Blossom Forest mentioned in the task involving the ¡°Lantern Woman.¡±


    The task informed that Lantern Woman Ning Ji went out in search of her husband after arguing with him, resulting in his death outside. Therefore, her obsession was to keep searching everywhere with her lantern in hand.


    This woman had two forms. When the lantern in her hand was white, she was a normal strangeness, but when the lantern turned red, Ning Ji would transform into a very terrifying strangeness.


    Yep, the vengeful ghost type.


    Having entered the Plum Blossom Forest, Yan Junze remained tense and cautious, not letting his guard down. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Apart from watching for any gaps above his head, he also had to be aware of the Lantern Woman¡¯s potential appearance.


    However, the Lantern Woman should be quite noticeable. If she were to appear, he wouldn¡¯t fail to see her.


    The task hint was to help the Lantern Woman find her husband. That being the case, he had to speak with the Lantern Woman; otherwise, any historical information about this ghost of at least 800 years would be impossible to verify.


    Speaking with strangenesses wasn¡¯t something Yan Junze feared. His rich experience in conversing with strangenesses had accrued since the completion of the ¡°Wine red high heels¡± task.


    When Jian Tong had a conversation with him back then, it was all twists and turns, but in the end, Yan Junze managed to resolve her obsession. Er, although the hug afterwards made Yan Junze feel a bit sick.


    The Plum Blossom Forest wasn¡¯t very large, and after a short walk, Yan Junze could already vaguely see the houses beyond the forest.


    But at this moment, he suddenly paused and then smiled wryly.


    Where his gaze fell, traversing the Plum Blossom Forest to the village to the west, the fog was even sparser, which was why he could see the houses on the other side at a glance.


    In this case, unless he stayed in the Plum Blossom Forest, it would be impossible to reach the other side.


    After some consideration, Yan Junze looked up at the tree branches above him, took out a multipurpose army knife from his backpack, and prepared to chop down the nearby branches and leaves to build a makeshift Moonshade Umbrella to take to the houses on the other side.


    He looked around. Since entering the Plum Blossom Forest until now, he hadn¡¯t seen the Lantern Woman. Perhaps she was just wandering near the forest and not necessarily inside it.


    Yan Junze chose a tree and started to climb. As he rarely climbed trees, his movements were awkward and it took a lot of effort to get a little way up. Barely standing on a knot in the tree, he raised the army knife to chop the branches when he glanced downward.


    From this higher vantage point, he noticed something odd about the ground in the distance.


    The moonlight, less obstructed by the fog outside, allowed him to see farther. At a distance of less than a hundred meters, near the edge of the Plum Blossom Forest, the ground sloped downwards as if there was a ravine there.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened slightly. He gave up looking at the branches and climbed back down, then quickly headed towards the direction he had just seen.


    Soon he discovered that alongside the edge of the Plum Blossom Forest, a ravine had been carved out.


    The ravine wasn¡¯t very deep, but even standing fully upright inside it, he would be concealed by the slopes on either side, hidden from the moonlight.


    With that, he could simply jump into the ravine and walk toward the village to the west, quickly entering the village without needing to construct a makeshift Moonshade Umbrella.


    Yan Junze smiled. He looked around, still without any sign of the Lantern Woman.


    At this moment, completing the task involving the ¡°Lantern Woman¡± wasn¡¯t urgent. As long as he could quickly check if Zhang Xiaomo was still safe, he could wait to complete the task once the situation stabilized or when he returned.


    Moreover, Yan Junze didn¡¯t know the whereabouts of the Lantern Woman and didn¡¯t want to waste more time here.


    Without another word, he jumped into the river ditch, which was nearly dry, only wetting his soles a bit. The bottom of the ditch was hardened with concrete, so there was no soft mud to cling to his shoes.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw indeed there was no moonlight shining in, so he turned on his flashlight and quickly headed towards the other end of the riverbed.


    At this moment, this place was an excellent passageway for him, so Yan Junze, to make up for the time he had just lost, jogged almost all the way, soon reaching the middle of the ditch that was distanced from the village to the west.


    Just then, he abruptly stopped, swiftly turning off the flashlight in his hand, his gaze fixed on a point about ten meters away from him.


    There, a woman dressed in a white, ancient long dress was crouching on the ground, with a white lantern that glowed from within placed beside her. The woman¡¯s hands appeared to be digging at something on the ground.


    For a moment, Yan Junze nearly held his breath. With just one glance, he recognized that the woman before him was undoubtedly the Lantern Woman.


    It hadn¡¯t occurred to him that the Lantern Woman wouldn¡¯t be in the Plum Blossom Forest but, like him, had traveled out along the river ditch.


    And looking at the woman crouching there, she seemed to be digging into the soil of the river ditch¡¯s rocky wall.


    The mission said she was always looking for her husband. Could it be that she had found something? Was her husband¡¯s body buried in the mud of the rocky wall?


    If that was indeed the case, Yan Junze was ready to sing his own elegy.


    If the Lantern Woman completed her Obsession on her own, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to accept the mission.


    However, the river ditch in front of him was very narrow, and with the Lantern Woman squatting there, she nearly blocked most of the passage. To get past, he would need to lift a foot over.


    But doing so would inevitably disturb the Lantern Woman.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, only to see the Lantern Woman stop digging in the soil and lean forward. In a short while, she slowly stood up, cradling something in her hands.


    Yan Junze concealed himself at the corner of the ditch, poking his head out and quietly watching the scene unfold.


    The woman had a slender figure. Even though it was covered by a white long dress, it was evident that in life she must have been a great beauty.


    However, Yan Junze¡¯s definition of ¡°beauty¡± had completely changed by now. He was well aware that no matter how pretty a woman was in life, her appearance after death could probably scare an entire street.


    The Lantern Woman didn¡¯t reach for the lantern on the ground; instead, she turned around, her gaze intensely fixed on the object in her hands.


    Yan Junze also looked at what she was holding at the first opportunity.


    It was a skull that had seen some years, its surface yellowed and covered with dirt.


    ¡°She actually found it herself,¡± Yan Junze felt a pang of regret.


    The next second, he looked up at the woman¡¯s face and was jolted.


    Unexpectedly, the white-dress Lantern Woman had a delicate and pretty face. Using modern terms, she was a natural beauty.


    Although, like the Back-faced Woman, her hair was loose and disheveled, it was silky smooth, without a hint of filth. Two strands of long hair fell beside her cheeks, and at first glance, she gave off an otherworldly beauty.


    ¡°Fuck! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen this!¡± Yan Junze exclaimed inwardly.


    The appearance of the Lantern Woman overturned his belief that all strangenesses looked hideously frightening.


    But the scene that followed made Yan Junze gasp in surprise again. The Lantern Woman suddenly crushed the skull in her hand, reducing it to powder, then calmly picked up the lantern from the ground and began walking towards him.


    ¡°So¡­ that skull was not her husband,¡± Yan Junze realized after a moment¡¯s stun. He immediately wanted to retreat, but then thought that going back would still allow the Lantern Woman to see him. It was better to stand right there and play it by ear.


    The Lantern Woman walked steadily, her upper body barely moving, just her feet beneath the dress moving forward with equal poise. She approached Yan Junze¡¯s location quickly.


    Yan Junze looked down and discovered that the Lantern Woman was practically gliding, with her toes barely touching the ground occasionally. The lantern led the way in front of her. Her movements seemed filled with an eerie grace that was indescribable.


    When the Lantern Woman reached the corner of the ditch, she came face to face with Yan Junze.


    Up close, her face was even more evident to Yan Junze. Illuminated by the light from the lantern, she looked less like a ghost and more like a living person.


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s eyes lifted slightly, glanced at him, and without speaking, continued walking past him as her footsteps never stopped.


    The close approach and eye contact with her had Yan Junze¡¯s heart thumping. He did not know when the woman might go mad. Instead, she simply walked past him, and nothing happened.


    After the Lantern Woman walked by, Yan Junze¡¯s tension eased slightly, and he wondered whether he should complete the mission right then. While thinking, he stepped forward.


    At that moment, the Lantern Woman suddenly stopped, turned around with her lantern, and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then turned around, looking at her somewhat defensively.


    ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡± the Lantern Woman asked.


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 Chapter 255 - 239: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 2)

    Chapter 255: Chapter 239: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 2)


    ¡°She really did come.¡± Yan Junze realized, his gaze shifting toward the Lantern Woman.


    At this moment, the Lantern Woman was also staring blankly at him.


    Her eyes weren¡¯t covered with a gray film, but instead were bright and clear, as if she were truly a living person.


    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡± the Lantern Woman asked again, her watery eyes wide open, which made her look unexpectedly beautiful in a different way.


    ¡°What is your husband¡¯s name?¡± Yan Junze thought for a moment and then asked.


    ...


    ¡°Jia Sheng.¡± The Lantern Woman stepped closer, seemingly convinced that Yan Junze might recognize her husband, and kept her gaze fixed on him.


    Yan Junze pretended to think seriously, then shook his head: ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of him.¡±


    ¡°Think again,¡± the Lantern Woman, who had kindled some hope, wasn¡¯t willing to give up.


    After she had spoken these words, Yan Junze suddenly noticed that the lantern in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand seemed to become much brighter at this moment.


    Not wanting to throw a cold bucket of water on her immediately, Yan Junze ¡°thought about it¡± again, but still shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really can¡¯t recall that person.¡±


    As the words were spoken, the flame in the lantern in front of him instantly shrank a bit, and even the light around it dimmed somewhat.


    After a brief pause, Yan Junze mused to himself: ¡°Is this woman¡¯s hope reflected through the lantern in her hand? It feels like the size of the flame is related to her emotional changes.¡±


    Even though he knew this, he had no way to help.


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s obsession was to find her husband, and it was natural to have emotional fluctuations when she received news or became disappointed.


    But there was one thing to keep in mind, to not let her lantern turn red.


    Seeing that the Lantern Woman had stopped talking, Yan Junze said: ¡°Although I don¡¯t know him, I think I can still help you look for your husband.¡±


    ¡°How will you help me?¡± the Lantern Woman asked.


    ¡°Before I help you, forgive me for asking boldly, but how did you die?¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Did I die?¡± the Lantern Woman was surprised.


    Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, his face squeezing out an awkward smile, suddenly not knowing how to respond.


    ¡°You tell me, how did I die?¡± the Lantern Woman continued to ask, seemingly not finding death to be terrifying or worrying.


    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Yan Junze shook his head and said, ¡°Think carefully, did anything unusual happen while you were looking for your husband?¡±


    The Lantern Woman tilted her head, as if thinking.


    However, after a moment, she shook her head: ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything. I only know that I have to find my husband. Have you seen him?¡±


    ¡°Here we go again,¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    At this point, Yan Junze had an unreasonable suspicion that when a person turns into a strangeness, her obsession will occupy most of her consciousness, and all her actions will revolve around this obsession; no matter what she does, she will return to that same fixation.


    The Lantern Woman before him was just like that. In previous encounters with other strangenesses, many exhibited similar behaviors.


    After a moment of thought, Yan Junze shook his head and said: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen your husband.¡±


    With those words, he turned to leave, planning to head to the west side of the village to investigate the situation of Zhang Xiaomo and the others first.


    If he arrived late, he was worried that there might be some misfortune.


    As for the task involving ¡°The Woman with the Lantern,¡± as long as the Ghost Bridge didn¡¯t disappear, it would always be here. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to come back and resolve it once he had peace of mind.


    After taking a few steps, Yan Junze looked back, just to be cautious.


    At this time, the Lantern Woman still stood there, her gaze unfocused, loosely staring ahead with a sense of helplessness.


    Yan Junze sighed inwardly, thinking here was another lovelorn woman¡ªhundreds of years had passed, and she still sought her husband.


    With this thought, he looked back once more and suddenly paused.


    He saw the Lantern Woman still standing, but now the flame in the lantern she held grew brighter, and from it emanated a hint of¡­ red!


    ¡°No good, the lantern is turning red.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, taking a closer look at the lantern.


    It was indeed turning red.


    He didn¡¯t think twice and immediately started to run. Meanwhile, the Lantern Woman in white remained standing silently behind him, her lantern gradually reddening.


    Yan Junze remembered the mission prompt, so he sprinted with all his might towards the other end of the ditch.


    About two hundred meters after he took off, a sharp scream came from behind, distant and roughly at the same two hundred meter interval.


    This meant that during the time Yan Junze was running, the Lantern Woman had stood still in her original spot.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what was happening behind him, but that scream sent a layer of goosebumps across his skin, causing his feet to tremble slightly, but without pausing, he actually sped up even more.


    After turning a corner, he could see the rooftops of houses on the western side of the village from the ditch.


    Just then, a cold breeze blew from behind, and Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but shudder, looking back to see the Lantern Woman, dressed in white, quickly chasing after him, holding a lantern that had turned completely red.


    The red light was unnaturally bright, casting its glow on her dress, making the white gown appear wholly red at that moment.


    This scene added an extra layer of creepiness.


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    Yan Junze flung his arms and ran for his life.


    At this moment, using Semi-spirit power was absolutely impossible; not only had the Semi-spirit power been completely drained during the treatment of the human skin, but even borrowing the strength from the Back-faced Woman had nearly depleted her.


    If he were to borrow from the Back-faced Woman again, leaving aside if it would be successful, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to make the mother and daughter suffer any further.


    So all he could do was try to run away by himself.


    If he could dash out of the ditch before the Lantern Woman caught up, perhaps she would no longer pursue him relentlessly outside of her territory.


    However, while ideals are beautiful, reality is often cruel.


    After feeling the cold wind, just a few seconds passed before Yan Junze sensed something was wrong.


    Glancing back, he saw the Lantern Woman¡¯s speed was unimaginably fast, her feet not even touching the ground, the red lantern in her hand seemingly pulling her forward as she charged toward him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t escape!¡± Yan Junze confirmed immediately.


    He turned around, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the small mirror, facing it towards the approaching Lantern Woman.


    The darkness within the mirror continued to whirl slowly, and at that moment, it seemed something was about to emerge from the swirling vortex.


    Just then, the red lantern neared, pressing fiercely against the mirror¡¯s surface.


    The darkness within the mirror was instantly stained red, and a black arm that was about to reach out was bathed in the red lantern¡¯s light, subsequently unable to extend any further.


    It was in that instant that the Lantern Woman came right up to Yan Junze, extending an arm with fingernails nearly ten centimeters long, white and sharp, reaching out to grab him.


    At close range, Yan Junze could clearly see her current appearance.


    The Lantern Woman no longer had any semblance of elegance; instead, her normally proportionate features were stretched grotesquely.


    The corners of her eyes reached up to her temples, her eyes long and narrow, and her mouth was stretched down to the roots of her ears, revealing terrifyingly white teeth.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had reason to believe that even if the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er themselves were here, they would be at a loss against the Lantern Woman.


    What he hadn¡¯t expected was that the red lantern in her hand could actually suppress the Mirror Spirit in the little mirror, making it impossible for the spirit to break through and harm him!


    With this thought, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and activated Rewind.


    As the Lantern Woman¡¯s fingers were about to touch his face, the scene froze, and time rewound to when he had just turned the corner and saw the Lantern Woman squatting in the ditch, digging tirelessly.


    But this time, as Yan Junze caught sight of the Lantern Woman¡¯s squatting silhouette, the white lantern by her foot began to brighten.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t approach but watched in astonishment.


    He remembered that the first time he saw the Lantern Woman, the lantern had looked normal and not as bright as it was now. But this moment seemed different from the previous encounter.


    Yan Junze silently observed the lantern on the ground, and gradually, it shifted from white to slowly transforming, as a shade of red emerged from within, completely altering the color of the lantern.


    Almost at the same time, the hitherto quiet digging Lantern Woman¡¯s soil in front of her burst, forming a small hole; she stood up, crushing a yellowed skull in her hands and muttering to herself, seemingly deranged.


    Yan Junze roughly made out her words, which were, ¡°Not this, not this, not again, where have you gone? Where on earth have you gone?¡±


    As these words fell, the red lantern on the ground leisurely took flight, ending up in her grasp, as she took steps toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze revealed a bitter smile.


    Clearly, the Lantern Woman had gone mad ahead of time; it was just that she hadn¡¯t noticed him yet.


    In such a situation, he didn¡¯t know how she would react upon seeing him.


    As the thought crossed his mind, the woman holding the red lantern turned the corner and appeared before Yan Junze, immediately spotting this somewhat timid, troubled, and uneasy man.


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 Chapter 256 - 240: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)

    Chapter 256: Chapter 240: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)


    In the moment when Yan Junze faced the woman holding the red lantern, he didn¡¯t show any reaction, just staring at her, silent.


    The Lantern Woman also gazed directly at Yan Junze, but the next second, she opened her mouth and released a string of questions, and her voice was eerily unnatural.


    ¡°Have you seen¡­ my husband?¡±


    The first four words came out normal, but as she said ¡°my,¡± the Lantern Woman¡¯s voice suddenly turned hoarse and rough, and by the time she finished with the last ¡°ma¡± her voice had completely changed, as if a burly man was roaring in fury.


    During this, Yan Junze could clearly feel his hair being blown backward by a foul wind, his clothes rustling, and his vision blurred; he could see nothing at that moment.


    Snap!


    ...


    The next second, five fingers pressed onto his head.


    ¡°Rewind.¡±


    This time, Yan Junze found himself returned to the moment before he had entered the gully, standing in the Plum Blossom Forest, eyeing the winding gully ahead, not planning to go down again.


    After all, the Lantern Woman was still squatting in the middle of the gully, scraping at the yellowed skull with both hands; as long as Yan Junze advanced through the gully, he would inevitably run into her, blocking his necessary path.


    And he didn¡¯t know what each rewind changed, but in the previous rewind, the sequence of events had actually changed, causing the Lantern Woman to prematurely enter her red lantern state.


    If he entered the gully again this time, Yan Junze had an intuition that he would likely get intercepted by her again, and would still trigger her red lantern state.


    So, he found a comfortable spot without moonlight and sat down, beginning to wait in silence.


    Making a Moonshade Umbrella out of branches would also take about half an hour, and if Yan Junze¡¯s estimation was not wrong, in about ten or so minutes, the Lantern Woman should return along the gully to the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Indeed, after about 12 minutes, a white figure appeared in the gully holding a lantern, only the upper body visible, but soon she came fully into Yan Junze¡¯s sight.


    The first thing Yan Junze noted was the lantern in her hand, white, which eased his mind slightly. The Lantern Woman walked elegantly, her long dress swaying gently with her steps, unsoiled.


    After waiting a while, the Lantern Woman had fully walked to the bottom of the gully near the Plum Blossom Forest side. If it were Yan Junze, he would be climbing up using his hands and feet, expending some effort to get out of the gully.


    But the Lantern Woman was different; she simply walked up step by step, her body tilted but not falling, standing on top of the gully for a while, before finally entering the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Yan Junze had already stood up; he didn¡¯t hide himself but stood openly in front of the Lantern Woman, and when she approached, he said, ¡°Perhaps I can help you find your husband.¡±


    The Lantern Woman, upon seeing a person, reflexively prepared to ask first, but was surprised the other party spoke directly, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. With a glimmer in her eyes, she quickened her pace and walked over, ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°but I need some information. You must answer me truthfully, or I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll find your husband.¡±


    The Lantern Woman hesitated for a moment but soon nodded, ¡°Yes, okay. As long as you can find my husband, please speak.¡±


    So it goes to show that the opening address is very important.


    As he spoke, Yan Junze watched the lantern in the woman¡¯s hand closely. The lantern remained white, and its light was not too bright, indicating that her emotions were quite stable at the moment.


    A good opening gambit accounts for half the chances of successfully completing the task.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt some confidence and continued, ¡°May I ask if you live nearby, and where exactly?¡±


    The Lantern Woman nodded, ¡°My husband and I live in Mo Family Village, but we are outsiders; we¡¯ve settled there for¡­ hmm, four years.¡±


    ¡°Where exactly do you live?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman pointed into the forest.


    ¡°Can you take me there?¡± Yan Junze said.


    The Lantern Woman nodded and led the way. Because the Plum Blossom Forest was quite small, walking quickly through it would take about ten minutes, so the two of them quickly entered the heart of the forest.


    Yan Junze looked around; there was nothing to be seen, and he felt puzzled.


    ¡°I live here,¡± the Lantern Woman walked to a spot that looked somewhat flat and stood still.


    Upon closer inspection, Yan Junze felt that this flat area could be suitable for building a home, perhaps the Lantern Woman and her husband really used to live here, but now time had passed, and the house was gone.


    He definitely wouldn¡¯t find her husband¡¯s whereabouts here.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Does your husband have any friends in the village, any house he likes to visit frequently?¡±


    ¡°My husband is dedicated to his studies, preparing for the imperial examinations, so he does nothing but study at home, and doesn¡¯t really have friends,¡± the Lantern Woman shook her head, ¡°But, if he gets tired of reading, he sometimes goes west to Mo Zhengping¡¯s home, to tutor Mo Zhengping¡¯s two children.¡±


    ¡°Mo Zhengping, where does he live?¡± Yan Junze asked with a frown.


    The Lantern Woman turned and walked towards the direction of the gully they had come from, and in a short time, the two arrived above the gully.


    She pointed to the house directly in front of them, ¡°That¡¯s Mo Zhengping¡¯s home.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­ we should go take a look,¡± Yan Junze suggested, ¡°You¡¯ve been searching here in the Plum Blossom Forest and its vicinity, no wonder you can¡¯t find your husband. Maybe he¡¯s been at Mo Zhengping¡¯s home all along?¡±


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 Chapter 257 - 240: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 257: Chapter 240: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 3) (4000 words)_2


    ¡°`


    The Lantern Woman gave a slight start and nodded, ¡°Mm, I should go check it out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, but it seems closer to go through the ditch here.¡±


    With those words, Yan Junze was the first to jump down into the ditch and walk forward.


    The Lantern Woman didn¡¯t hesitate, following him down into the ditch and closely trailing behind Yan Junze.


    ¡°Damn, that guy led the Lantern Woman into the ditch, is he coming this way?¡±


    ...


    In the room of Mo Zhengping¡¯s ancestral house, Zhang Xiaomo, Zhang Di, Fang Zun, and Yuan Dingzhou were squeezed together, all crowding at the window facing the direction of Plum Blossom Forest and peering out.


    The fog was much thinner tonight, and the moonlight ample, resulting in excellent visibility.


    They had just witnessed the Lantern Woman walking out of the ditch and then encountering a man, after which the two of them disappeared into Plum Blossom Forest.


    However, it wasn¡¯t long before the two reappeared, then pointed in this direction, and one after the other jumped down into the ditch and disappeared from view.


    The four people in the room had plenty of reasons to suspect that the idiotic figure that appeared to be a man was leading the Lantern Woman in their direction.


    ¡°Who is that guy, anyway? He doesn¡¯t seem like one of us. One person going to die is enough, why the hell is he dragging the rest of us into the pit?¡± Yuan Dingzhou asked, clearly confused. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°And that guy seems to be having a pretty good chat with the Lantern Woman!¡± added Zhang Di.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right,¡± Fang Zun stood up, pressed his face against the window, and stared out with wide eyes, ¡°If they really come this way, this place is no longer safe to stay.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°We need to find a way to check on Jiang Yaofei¡¯s side, otherwise we¡¯ll not only lose contact with Jiang Yaofei indefinitely, but now this place has also become very dangerous.¡±


    Once the discussion ended, surprisingly in agreement, Yuan Dingzhou walked to the door, gently pushed it open, and looked around by poking his head out.


    Zhang Xiaomo, meanwhile, checked her Spirit Detector.


    The Spirit Detector showed that there were 11 strangenesses nearby, which all seemed to be ordinary; however, there was a chance that the Spirit Detector could fail to detect more bizarre or higher-level strangenesses.


    As for the detected strangenesses, they were unafraid, and in just a moment, the four people successively left Mo Zhengping¡¯s old house.


    Along the way, if they encountered any ordinary strangenesses that were close by, two or three of them would swarm upon it and, without making too much noise, would sever it with a few slashes from their magnetic knives, instantly crushing its magnetic field.


    They only had a rough idea of Jiang Yaofei¡¯s location but didn¡¯t know which house he was in. With all communication signals dead, they could only search blindly.


    Soon, the four had completely left the area of Mo Zhengping¡¯s house and were getting closer to a somewhat more spacious farmhouse where Jiang Yaofei was located.


    Just then, Fang Zun, who was walking in front, suddenly halted. His body swayed gently at the back, and then he crouched down.


    Seeing this, the others also promptly crouched down, motionless as they stared ahead.


    In the middle of the not-so-wide street in front of them, a very small red coffin lay silently on the road.


    The coffin might be even smaller than half the size of a regular one, yet it appeared to be quite heavy. At first glance, it seemed that it could contain a child¡¯s corpse.


    Although it was just a coffin, for some reason, upon seeing this scene, the four Exorcists suddenly became so tense that they dared not even breathe loudly, silently crouching on the ground without moving, trying to keep their heads down as much as possible.


    Zhang Xiaomo shifted her gaze from the Spirit Detector to Zhang Di, who was watching her, and then shook her head.


    There was no display; the Spirit Detector showed nothing about the red coffin in front of them. Clearly, the coffin couldn¡¯t have just appeared in the middle of the road on its own.


    Under the detection of the Spirit Detector, it was as if the coffin in front of them didn¡¯t exist at all.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo knew very well that this situation was the most terrifying.


    No wonder Jiang Yaofei and his team had not come to find their group, as it turned out, they were all trapped here. Now their thoughts must be the same as Jiang Yaofei¡¯s, not to disturb the coffin, and the wise choice would be to find a place to hide first.


    Fortunately, not a single Wandering Spirit dared to roam around nearby.


    Yuan Dingzhou pointed to the nearest brick house, and quickly everyone nodded. Without saying a word, still crouching on the ground, they crawled towards the brick house and slipped through the half-open door.


    Upon entering, everyone paused, surprised to find the place was filled with lots of books and scrolls.


    Looking up, they saw a very crude signboard with the words ¡°Good Character Bookstore¡± written dimly on it.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Zhang Di to find a sash window between two ancient bookshelves, which he gently pushed open to get a good view in the direction of Mo Zhengping¡¯s house.


    ¡°`


    In the ditch.


    Yan Junze began to pick up the pace as he moved forward, but no matter how fast he walked, the Lantern Woman leisurely followed behind him.


    Yan Junze occasionally looked back, not to see the Lantern Woman but to keep an eye on the color of the lantern.


    Soon he reached the end of the ditch, scrambling up with hands and feet. When he looked back, he saw the Lantern Woman already eerily drifting behind him.


    ¡°Here,¡± the Lantern Woman stretched out her hand to point at the house right in front of them, ¡°This is Mo Zhengping¡¯s home, where my husband often came to tutor his two children.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and was the first to push the door and enter.


    He was not afraid of any apparitions in the house because even if there were strangenesses, none would be as formidable as the Lantern Woman.


    Moreover, if there really was something more formidable than the Lantern Woman, she would not dare to follow.


    Of course, if the encountering strangenesses were evenly matched, that would be a case of hitting the jackpot.


    The Lantern Woman followed behind Yan Junze, and they quickly made their way around the not-so-large house.


    There was nothing.


    With Yan Junze¡¯s vision and not being a detective, he couldn¡¯t tell if there were any signs that living people had been active here.


    ¡°Can you sense your husband?¡± Yan Junze turned around to ask.


    The Lantern Woman shook her head.


    Just then, Yan Junze noticed that the light inside the lantern she was carrying had clearly started to brighten.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s starting again,¡± Yan Junze was startled.


    This was only the first place they checked, and they hadn¡¯t seen her husband. Did the woman¡¯s temper really have to be so peculiar that she¡¯d throw a fit just because they hadn¡¯t found him on the first try?


    ¡°Calm down first!¡±


    ¡°Where is my husband?¡± The Lantern Woman¡¯s tone began to get colder, and far from calming down, the light inside the lantern started gradually turning fiery red.


    ¡°Calm down, think carefully, and perhaps we will be able to find your husband,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Are you deceiving me?¡±


    Boom!


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s white lantern completely turned red at this moment, and at close range, Yan Junze immediately saw the woman¡¯s features elongate with the emerging red glow, turning her into a ghastly and terrifying monster in an instant.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman carrying a white lantern arrived outside the house of Mo Zhengping and stopped.


    ¡°Perhaps, we don¡¯t need to look inside after all,¡± Yan Junze suddenly spoke.


    The Lantern Woman looked up at him, silent.


    Yan Junze definitely wouldn¡¯t choose to enter the house again now; he had to think of a new approach.


    ¡°Because, I feel that your husband wouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°He left after arguing with you, he wouldn¡¯t be in the mood to teach at a time like this. Did he usually like to find a secluded place to clear his mind or something when he was upset?¡±


    The Lantern Woman thought for a moment, then shook her head, ¡°When unhappy, he liked to stay with his books, he didn¡¯t prefer to go out.¡±


    ¡°Books?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Where are the most books in this village?¡±


    ¡°Over there,¡± the Lantern Woman pointed not far across the street, ¡°All the books donated by the village¡¯s former schoolteacher, Mo Liangde, are in the Good character Bookstore.¡±


    ¡°That time¡¯s books are probably turned to dust by now, unless they¡¯re bamboo slips,¡± Yan Junze guessed to himself and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look then.¡±


    ¡°Not going to look in Mo Zhengping¡¯s house?¡± the Lantern Woman inquired.


    ¡°No need to go in; trust me, your husband is very likely in the Good character Bookstore,¡± Yan Junze asserted confidently.


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 Chapter 258 - 241: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 4)

    Chapter 258: Chapter 241: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 4)


    Good Character Bookstore.


    In front of the window between two bookshelves, Zhang Di and Yuan Dingzhou were perched there, craning their necks to look outside.


    After a moment, Yuan Dingzhou turned around with a face full of astonishment, looking at Zhang Xiaomo and Fang Zun, he said, ¡°I suspect that the man with the Lantern Woman is here for revenge against us?¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Fang Zun asked in surprise.


    Standing at the window, Zhang Di also turned back, incredulously saying, ¡°That man talked with the Lantern Woman in front of the house we were just in, without entering. It seemed like the Lantern Woman pointed in this direction, and then, both of them started walking over here.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhang Xiaomo and Fang Zun exchanged looks of alarm.


    ...


    ¡°Let¡¯s be honest, did any of you run off with that guy¡¯s wife?¡± Yuan Dingzhou asked.


    Fang Zun let Zhang Di come down, and he also leaned on the window to look for a moment before shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him, I¡¯ve never seen this person before.¡±


    But Zhang Di said, ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere, but the distance is too far, I can¡¯t see clearly.¡±


    ¡°There, it¡¯s settled then, he¡¯s here for you,¡± Yuan Dingzhou said angrily. ¡°Look at the mess you¡¯ve made with your antics! Now look at you, just for a few seconds of pleasure, now the retribution is here, dragging us all down with you!¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately bent over, covering her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re laughing, but the Lantern Woman is already approaching, and there¡¯s that eerie coffin outside. With danger ahead and behind, our only choice seems to be a hard fight,¡± Yuan Dingzhou said, huffing with anger.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be a hard fight,¡± Fang Zun said, peering through the door crack, earnestly observing for a while, ¡°The coffin has disappeared; it seems capable of moving by itself, it¡¯s already gone toward the street corner. We can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then let¡¯s go!¡± Yuan Dingzhou said joyfully, rushing towards the door.


    ¡°Eh!¡± Zhang Di, still standing on the small box beneath the window, suddenly turned his gaze to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°I think I know who that person is now, Xiaomo, come and take a look to confirm.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo hesitated, not speaking, and stood on the small box, her gaze passing through the window and outward.


    She soon found the two figures approaching Good Character Bookstore, one was the Lantern Woman in white, fluttering clothes holding a lantern, the other was a man in black.


    Initially, when inside Mo Zhengping¡¯s house, Zhang Xiaomo had seen this man from a great distance, but he was just a vague figure, at most she could tell if it was a man or a woman, unable to discern his features clearly.


    But now it was different, due to the closer distance, Zhang Xiaomo recognized him at a glance.


    ¡°Ah, Yan Junze! What is he doing here?¡± Zhang Xiaomo turned and looked at Zhang Di.


    Zhang Di just shrugged, ¡°The guy¡¯s got guts, that¡¯s for sure. That¡¯s the Lantern Woman, and he¡¯s been dealing with her all along.¡±


    ¡°But why is Yan Junze always walking under the eaves?¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, puzzled.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the light from the Lantern Woman¡¯s lantern, she might not have recognized Yan Junze at first glance.


    ¡°Is he a colleague?¡± Fang Zun asked.


    ¡°What does it matter if he¡¯s a colleague? That person next to him is a ticking time bomb!¡± Yuan Dingzhou had already pulled open the door of the bookstore and asked the people inside, ¡°Are you coming or not? If we delay, once the Lantern Woman blocks the door, no one will be able to leave.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said almost without thinking, shaking her head.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo jumped down from the box, stood to one side with her arms crossed over her chest, showing no intention of leaving.


    ¡°If we delay any longer, it will be too late,¡± Yuan Dingzhou said, heading out while adding, ¡°The Lantern Woman is at least capable of creating a Level B event effortlessly. Once she enters the red lantern state, none of us will stand a chance¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Fang Zun looked back at Zhang Xiaomo and the others, and also spoke up, ¡°Then let¡¯s split up. We¡¯ll find a place outside to wait for you, and we¡¯ll play it by ear.¡±


    With that, he quickly left with Yuan Dingzhou.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, turning to Zhang Di.


    Zhang Di shook his head, hopped off the small crate, sighed, and then sat on it.


    As Yan Junze approached the Good Character Bookstore, he sighed inwardly, feeling fortunate; along the way, the eaves of the houses on this side of the street were all very wide and connected in a row.


    The west side of the village was small with only one street, but the houses were densely packed, and even where there were gaps between them, he was able to dash across quickly.


    The moonlight only illuminated him for a second or two before Yan Junze¡¯s body once again took refuge in the shadows.


    Although his walking style was odd, the lantern woman following him said nothing at all.


    Soon, he arrived under the eaves of the Good Character Bookstore and when he stepped up to the door, which he intended to push open, Yan Junze was startled to find it ajar.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he peered in and seemed to see someone inside.


    However, the lantern woman didn¡¯t pause; she stepped forward with her lantern and entered the bookstore.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to follow her, cautiously scanning the surroundings.


    As the lantern woman entered, the light from her lantern brightened the pitch-dark room, and Yan Junze immediately noticed Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who were not hiding.


    ¡°Zhang Xiaomo!!!¡±


    Yan Junze was overjoyed; he had never expected to stumble upon Zhang Xiaomo in the bookstore before even finding the lantern woman¡¯s husband.


    He quickly glanced over Zhang Xiaomo and sensed nothing amiss; she didn¡¯t seem like a victim of Spirit-Splitting, and she looked to be in good spirits¡ªat least now, showing a face full of shock.


    The man not far from her was also familiar to Yan Junze; it was Zhang Di, who had once taken a cup of cappuccino from him without so much as a thank you¡ªa fellow Exorcist with a Semi-Spirit Body.


    But when Zhang Xiaomo saw Yan Junze, she didn¡¯t show any hint of happiness. In fact, she was panicking inside; if it were not for her concern for Yan Junze¡¯s safety, she would have left long before.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s attention was entirely on the lantern woman. With just a glance at Yan Junze, she immediately signaled him with her eyes.


    Yan Junze saw clearly that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s intention was for him to stay put and let them handle the lantern woman.


    The lantern woman was also looking at the two newcomers. After a moment, she asked, ¡°Excuse me, have you seen my husband?¡±


    At that moment, an ominous feeling arose in Yan Junze.


    He knew all too well how fickle the lantern woman could be; one second she might seem quite normal, even somewhat friendly, but the next second she could turn hostile and attack anyone in sight.


    At least Yan Junze himself, fully aware of her temper, had still managed to anger her more than once after a Rewind.


    The Exorcists seemed to realize the lantern woman was dangerous, but it was unclear whether they had accurately gauged her temperament.


    If they angered her, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t just stand by; he would definitely need to help, and the best, most thorough way to do so was to Rewind.


    Using Rewind wasn¡¯t a big deal, but it meant consuming Different Dimension Energy.


    If Zhang Xiaomo and the others carelessly kept offending the lantern woman turning her into the red lantern state, wouldn¡¯t that mean his energy was being needlessly depleted?


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Zhang Xiaomo responded, ¡°No, we haven¡¯t seen your husband. What is your husband¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°His name is Jia Sheng,¡± replied the lantern woman. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Jia Sheng?¡± Zhang Di seemed to ponder for a moment, then pointed toward the end of the street outside the bookstore, ¡°I think I saw him; he went that way down the street.¡±


    ¡°Damn, this guy¡­¡± Yan Junze was momentarily speechless.


    He knew too well the consequences of being caught lying by the lantern woman, yet Zhang Di¡¯s first words had already committed a grave offense.


    ¡°If you still have your lives when you leave here, split half of your payment with me and treat me to a big meal,¡± he said.


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 Chapter 259 - 242: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 5)

    Chapter 259: Chapter 242: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 5)


    The Lantern Woman was momentarily taken aback after hearing Zhang Di¡¯s answer.


    Then she looked at Zhang Xiaomo, who had spoken first, and said to Zhang Di, ¡°Didn¡¯t she just say she didn¡¯t see my husband?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Di¡¯s face stiffened, and he was at a loss for words.


    Yan Junze hastily said, ¡°He didn¡¯t know your husband is Jia Sheng, he thought you were talking about someone else.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say my husband was in the Study Room?¡± the Lantern Woman turned back to Yan Junze, ¡°How come he is now saying he¡¯s not here?¡±


    Okay, he had gotten himself into a quagmire.


    ...


    Yan Junze cast a resentful glance at Zhang Di, who felt a twinge of relief, thankful that the Lantern Woman hadn¡¯t turned her hostility towards him.


    At this moment, the lantern in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand began to turn red again.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, her lantern is turning red,¡± Zhang Xiaomo glanced at the lantern and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic just yet, maybe someone saw wrong.¡±


    Bang!


    The lantern turned completely fiery red.


    Yan Junze flashed a bitter smile, thinking that if comforting words worked, perhaps this woman wouldn¡¯t have such an obsession with finding her husband.


    Rewind!


    Time returned to the moment Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman entered the Study Room, one after the other.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just given Yan Junze a look that said not to make any rash moves, but Yan Junze immediately began to blurt out, ¡°The Lantern Woman¡¯s husband loves to read, and she is here to find her husband. If you don¡¯t know about it, you can leave now, and I will stay here with her to search.¡±


    A whole string of words burst from his mouth, leaving Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di startled, as they exchanged glances and immediately shut their mouths.


    They were not fools; they instantly understood the subtext behind Yan Junze¡¯s speech.


    The Lantern Woman turned back to look at Yan Junze, then at Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, and still asked, ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡±


    ¡°No, no we haven¡¯t,¡± this time, both Exorcists answered in unison, shaking their heads in remarkably synchronized magnitude and direction.


    From behind the Lantern Woman, Yan Junze gave them a thumbs up.


    ¡°If possible, they might be able to help, like looking around near this Study Room to see if they can find your husband,¡± Yan Junze signaled with his eyes to the two of them, then said to the Lantern Woman.


    His intention was clear, to have the two leave so that he could better handle the Lantern Woman himself; otherwise, unlike him, they could easily trigger the Lantern Woman¡¯s sensitivities.


    Zhang Xiaomo elbowed Zhang Di, indicating they should listen to Yan Junze.


    But then the Lantern Woman shook her head and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say my husband is just in the Study Room? It¡¯s good that they are here; more people can help search around here.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo turned to Yan Junze, who simply shrugged his shoulders, gesturing for them not to say anything more.


    Yan Junze pointed upstairs, ¡°It seems there¡¯s an attic above; let the two of them go up to the attic to look, maybe your husband is hiding up there sneaking reads, and incidentally hiding from you, perhaps even accidentally starving himself to death up there!¡±


    ¡°That sounds quite reasonable,¡± Zhang Di quickly nodded in agreement.


    Zhang Xiaomo shot Yan Junze an annoyed glance.


    Seeing that the Lantern Woman said nothing, Yan Junze spoke again, ¡°Then you two go upstairs to search. Remember to search carefully, huh, and don¡¯t come down too early unless you hear me call, search a bit more thoroughly.¡±


    Zhang Di immediately started climbing the wooden ladder, while a look of worry crossed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face. She paused, her gaze lingering on Yan Junze for a moment without a word, before following Zhang Di to the second floor.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Junze clapped his hands and said to the Lantern Woman, ¡°Let¡¯s start searching down here; you search over there, and I¡¯ll search here.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he didn¡¯t wait for the Lantern Woman to respond and quickly turned to run to one side, beginning his search.


    The study wasn¡¯t very large, but the amount of stuff piled inside was overwhelming. It should be quite easy to hide a person or a corpse in there, not to mention a skeleton.


    If the skeleton was disassembled and stacked in a corner, it would take hours to find it.


    Meanwhile, noises were also coming from upstairs, indicating there was also a lot of stuff up there. Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were truly searching, hoping to find the Lantern Woman¡¯s husband and be rid of this plague at the earliest.


    Yan Junze could faintly hear the two of them talking.


    He could guess that Zhang Xiaomo was very clear about her approach to handling strangenesses; she was definitely taking this opportunity to introduce her Buddhist Exorcism Method of fulfilling the obsessions to Zhang Di.


    Although this method was not commonly employed by exorcists in their daily work, and many even looked down on it, at this crucial moment, it had become the best option.


    After all, no one was a match for the Lantern Woman; to confront her head-on meant either death or an especially unsightly death, with no third option.


    So, at this moment, the Buddhist Exorcism Method had become the hope.


    After searching for a while, Yan Junze felt that it was very laborious. He approached the center of the study and saw the Lantern Woman still standing there. He asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and search over there? I can¡¯t find anything by myself!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already searched there and didn¡¯t see my husband,¡± the Lantern Woman shook her head.


    ¡°That fast.¡± Yan Junze was startled and then glanced at the lantern in her hand, ¡°Does your lantern have the function of finding people?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it will change color as soon as it sees my husband,¡± the Lantern Woman raised the white lantern in her hand, ¡°I¡¯ve just walked over that side and found nothing.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s such a function?!¡± Yan Junze was taken aback, never expecting the lantern could change into other colors.


    But then he thought, this didn¡¯t make sense; even in the mission prompt, there was no indication the lantern could turn any color other than red.


    Immediately, he took the Lantern Woman to retrace the area he had just searched, but the lantern remained white as ever, showing no change.


    ¡°My husband isn¡¯t here,¡± the Lantern Woman shook her head.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t searched up there yet, come on, let¡¯s go to the attic,¡± Yan Junze pointed upstairs.


    He took the lead up the staircase, and the Lantern Woman followed, floating eerily up to the attic, soon both standing at the mouth of the wooden stairway.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were still searching in the darkness upstairs, so both had taken out flashlights. Upon seeing Yan Junze and the Lantern Woman come up, both were taken aback.


    Yan Junze hurried over and asked Zhang Xiaomo in a low voice, ¡°Have you seen the lantern change to any other colors? Aside from red and white, I mean.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°only red and white.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± Yan Junze pondered, ¡°This woman said that when she finds her husband, the lantern will change colors, not remain white.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhang Di furrowed his brows and then shook his head as well, ¡°Because she never found her husband, we haven¡¯t seen the lantern change to any other colors.¡±


    By now, the Lantern Woman had completed her walkthrough of the cramped attic. She didn¡¯t need to rummage through the accumulated clutter; instead, she just walked a circle, seeing everything clearly through her lantern.


    ¡°Still no sign of my husband,¡± she said, her expression growing ugly.


    As she spoke, the lantern in her hand slowly began to turn red, and her facial features rapidly elongated.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di retreated a couple of steps back. Zhang Xiaomo took out her magnetic knife, while Zhang Di was wrapped in a strange aura that made his entire being elusive, as if he had become a Baldy.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The Lantern Woman, now fully in her red lantern state, let out a piercing scream at that moment, causing attic dust to swirl upwards.


    At the exact same time, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who had turned into a Semi-Spirit Body, lunged at her.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Yan Junze looked at the lantern in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand; at that moment, he seemed to realize something.


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 Chapter 260 - 243: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 6)

    Chapter 260: Chapter 243: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Part 6)


    Zhang Xiaomo is a three-star Exorcist, while Zhang Di is like Yan Junze, also a Semi-Spirit.


    When these two teamed up, they could withstand the Lantern Woman in her red lantern state, at least for a short while.


    Especially Zhang Di, who had transformed into his Semi-Spirit form, became a bald strangeness, his head shiny and smooth, but his entire body seemed to have grown larger. A set of fangs protruded from his mouth, and his Special Skill seemed to be ¡°Ripping Bite.¡±


    After turning into a semi-spirit, he pounced toward the Lantern Woman and started gnawing viciously at her head.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife was aimed at the Lantern Woman¡¯s wrist at this moment.


    She was very aware that this woman was extremely powerful after transforming into her red lantern state, and it might have something to do with the lantern she was carrying. Therefore, her first move was to sever the connection between her and the lantern.


    ...


    If she could slice off the arm holding the lantern in one stroke, that would be ideal.


    The next second, the Lantern Woman caught Zhang Di, who was about to bite her head, by the teeth. Empowered by the red force, she wielded tremendous strength and smashed Zhang Di¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body against the floor, nearly creating a hole in the attic.


    At the same moment, the red lantern in her hand, which swung without any wind, blocked the slash from Zhang Xiaomo. The magnetic knife stabbed into the lantern, making a cracking sound.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback and quickly withdrew her magnetic knife, only to find that the blade had lost a semicircle, directly damaged by the lantern.


    Thud!


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s five sharp nails instantly pierced through Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s chest. At the same time, she raised her leg and stomped down onto Zhang Di¡¯s head, who was on the ground.


    Yan Junze closed his eyes, hearing a sound as brittle as a watermelon being cracked.


    He was wondering, if the Back-faced Woman at her peak faced off against the Lantern Woman, what would the outcome be? What if Ke¡¯er were added to the mix, after a mother-daughter Bond Evolution, against the Lantern Woman?


    In the midst of contemplating, Yan Junze had no mood to watch the broken skull. Of course, he couldn¡¯t bear to watch Zhang Xiaomo, who was coughing up blood, either.


    ¡°You¡­ go quickly!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo managed to utter these three words, blood spilling from her mouth.


    ¡°Hold on, I need to take a closer look.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, leaned in toward the red lantern that had been pierced by the magnetic knife, not caring that it was swaying side to side, and stared with wide eyes, wanting to see the inside clearly.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Another terrible scream came from above. The Lantern Woman reached for Yan Junze¡¯s bent-over head and grasped it.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound back to when the four people were on the first floor of the study room, the moment Yan Junze first met Zhang Xiaomo and company. This was the third time Zhang Xiaomo hinted at him with her eyes. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze raised his hand to stop her, stepping forward and turning around to face the Lantern Woman.


    Just as the Lantern Woman was about to deliver her classic line to Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, Yan Junze interrupted her preemptively, pointing at the white lantern and saying, ¡°Ning Ji, where did you get this lantern from?¡±


    ¡°You actually know her name?¡± Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di¡¯s mouths fell wide open, a look of utter disbelief on their faces.


    However, the Lantern Woman didn¡¯t react much, simply glancing at the lantern in her hand and replying, ¡°It¡¯s from home, I took it with me when I was searching for my husband.¡±


    She paused, then added, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say my husband was here? Where is he?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer her question but continued to ask, ¡°This lantern, have you used it before?¡±


    The Lantern Woman seemed puzzled for a moment, nodded, but then as if remembering something, shook her head, paused bewilderedly, and nodded again.


    ¡°Where is my husband? Have you seen him?¡± she turned to ask Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, who had remained silent the whole time.


    They didn¡¯t answer but simultaneously turned their gazes to Yan Junze.


    Faintly, they both felt that Yan Junze seemed to have discovered something. It was as if they had rehearsed beforehand not to speak and interrupt him.


    ¡°Before your husband disappeared, have you ever seen this lantern?¡± Yan Junze pressed on, seemingly oblivious to the woman¡¯s inquiries directed at Zhang Xiaomo and company.


    The Lantern Woman fell into deep thought, and after a moment, she lifted her head to look at Yan Junze, ¡°What do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°I want to know, why did you quarrel with your husband?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman did not answer but looked toward Zhang Xiaomo, her obsession driving her to question these two people.


    ¡°When you answer my question, I¡¯ll have these two friends help us look for your husband in this house, we¡¯ll definitely find him for you,¡± Yan Junze immediately added.


    The Lantern Woman withdrew her gaze and looked at Yan Junze again, ¡°My husband was always taking the imperial examinations, but after so many years, he consistently failed. I¡¯d long advised him to give up, who knew that day he suddenly flew into a rage, and he¡­ he beat me violently and stormed out. I don¡¯t know where he went!¡±


    ¡°He hit you?¡± Yan Junze was astonished.


    The Lantern Woman became silent.


    After thinking for a while, Yan Junze asked again, ¡°How long after he left did you go looking for him?¡±


    The Lantern Woman seemed to be recalling something, it took quite a while before she said, ¡°We had a dispute after lunch that day, then he did not return. I couldn¡¯t let go, so I went out to look for him that same night.¡±


    ¡°How did you die?¡± Zhang Di interjected from the side.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Yan Junze, unable to stop him in time, turned to glance at him.


    ¡°Did I die?¡± The Lantern Woman¡¯s words startled both Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di.


    Yan Junze knew that the Lantern Woman wouldn¡¯t admit she was already dead, what followed was the lantern turning red.


    Rewind!


    Having no other choice, he activated another short-term rewind.


    Just as the Lantern Woman finished speaking, he turned his head to Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt us when I¡¯m talking to her.¡±


    To tell the truth, Zhang Di¡¯s sentence ¡°How did you die¡± was already on the tip of his tongue, but it was forcefully choked back by Yan Junze¡¯s words, his face turning red with restraint.


    Zhang Xiaomo thought it was her partner who didn¡¯t understand Yan Junze¡¯s peaceful Exorcism Method, so she quickly lowered her voice to explain it to him.


    Yan Junze ignored them and continued to ask the Lantern Woman, ¡°Did you go out with just this lantern in search of him that night?¡±


    The Lantern Woman looked at the white lantern in her hand and nodded.


    ¡°May I touch this lantern?¡± While speaking, Yan Junze reached out his hand.


    ¡°No,¡± the Lantern Woman¡¯s voice changed tone, instantly stern and severe.


    Yan Junze withdrew his hand and then said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that, after finding your husband, the lantern would change color?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± This time the Lantern Woman nodded but pressed the lantern further down, intending to keep it out of Yan Junze¡¯s reach.


    Moreover, Yan Junze noticed she was becoming impatient, the light inside the lantern gradually growing brighter, though it had not turned red yet.


    Yan Junze had no more intention of trying to touch the lantern; instead, he stepped back, folded his arms across his chest, and gazed at the lantern as he said to the woman before him, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that perhaps your husband has always been by your side, you just haven¡¯t noticed.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The Lantern Woman immediately looked around, scanning her surroundings front and back, but she didn¡¯t see anyone else.


    By then, Yan Junze had chosen to stand with Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, continuing, ¡°You can¡¯t get angry because once you do, you can¡¯t control your emotions. I don¡¯t know if you realize that it¡¯s because of anger that you had a big argument with your husband, leading to the situation you¡¯re in now.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di, somewhat perplexed, seemed to understand something but not entirely, both tilting their heads in confusion toward Yan Junze.


    ¡°My anger is because I can¡¯t find my husband. My anger is because all of you are lying to me,¡± the Lantern Woman suddenly started to grow excited again.


    Her facial features began to distort, and a hint of red light seeped from the lantern she was holding.


    ¡°I¡¯ve said, your husband may have been right by your side all this time, accompanying you, it¡¯s just that you haven¡¯t noticed,¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t mind the Lantern Woman¡¯s current transformation but managed to squeeze out what he thought was a very sincere smile, and said word by word, ¡°I wonder, have you ever heard of¡­ Human Skin Lanterns?¡±


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 Chapter 261 - 244: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Finale)

    Chapter 261: Chapter 244: The Woman Carrying a Lantern (Finale)


    ¡°Human Skin Lantern?!¡±


    At this moment, Lantern Woman had no reaction, but Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were startled, as if they had remembered something, and immediately looked at the lantern in the woman¡¯s hand.


    Inspired by Yan Junze¡¯s words, in their minds, it was possible that Lantern Woman had argued with her husband and in a fit of rage, killed him, peeled off his skin, and made this human skin lantern.


    However, after a careful look, Zhang Xiaomo shook her head and said, ¡°The style of this lantern is very common; it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s made from skin, does it?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, the outer layer is just fire-resistant oiled paper, not human skin,¡± Zhang Di also said.


    The two initially thought they had guessed correctly, but now it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ...


    Yan Junze gave them both a disparaging glance, ¡°I was just making a metaphor, you¡¯ve watched too many TV dramas. A lamp made from human skin would have a big difference, it wouldn¡¯t be something that couldn¡¯t be identified at a glance, and its light penetration couldn¡¯t possibly be so good. The texture and quality of its surface, where would it have the appearance of this kind of paper.¡±


    ¡°Then I want to know, what¡¯s the point of you saying that?¡± Zhang Di suddenly felt like he¡¯d been played by the other party and couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit ashamed and angry.


    Yan Junze seriously looked at him and Zhang Xiaomo and even moved a bit closer, whispering, ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that at this moment, the white lantern of Lantern Woman hasn¡¯t turned red?¡±


    The two of them were suddenly shaken, then remembered that the white lantern in Lantern Woman¡¯s hand had indeed started to emit a red glow not long ago.


    Having observed for so long, they of course knew that this was a sign that Lantern Woman was about to enter a state of rage, but after talking for a while, it seemed that the woman had not turned into a red lantern state.


    Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di simultaneously turned their heads to look at Lantern Woman.


    They saw that at this moment, the lantern in Lantern Woman¡¯s hand, which had just revealed a red glow, now showed no trace of it and was still the previous white color.


    ¡°Huh? It really didn¡¯t turn red this time,¡± Zhang Di expressed in surprise.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zhang Xiaomo also asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple,¡± Yan Junze no longer lowered his voice, making sure his current speech could be heard by Lantern Woman across the way, ¡°Although the lantern is not made from human skin, clearly my guess just now triggered some thoughts in Sister Ning Ji, allowing her obsession to find its way back.¡±


    ¡°Sister? Pfft¡­¡± Zhang Di covered his mouth with a hand, the corners of his mouth twitching.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m beginning to remember¡­¡± Lantern Woman slowly began to speak, as if recalling, ¡°My husband is really right beside me!¡±


    ¡°Think about it, where is he?¡± Yan Junze urged, ¡°Why do your emotions change with the lantern¡¯s color? Or why does the lantern turn red whenever you get angry?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Lantern Woman¡¯s obsession began to grow chaotic, ¡°I found my husband, I found him! I told him to go back, he wouldn¡¯t, he said¡­ he said¡­ he wanted to divorce me!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, and Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were at a loss for words.


    At this moment, Zhang Di seemed to somewhat understand Yan Junze¡¯s Buddhist Exorcism Method.


    At that time, the color of the lantern in Lantern Woman¡¯s hand kept changing from red to white, constantly altering, as if mirroring her unpredictable emotions.


    After a while, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Then, you guys fought?¡±


    The color of the lantern suddenly stopped at red, Lantern Woman froze for an instant, and after a few seconds, she said, ¡°Mm, I told him to go back, he wouldn¡¯t, he wanted to divorce me, divorce me¡­ I cried, I pushed him, he¡­ my husband, he lost his footing and fell down¡­¡±


    ¡°Fell where?¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately asked.


    ¡°Hee hee hee¡­¡± Lantern Woman slowly raised her head, looked at the three of them, and fell silent.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di immediately became cautious, and Zhang Xiaomo nudged Yan Junze with her elbow to get his attention.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t finished speaking, continue,¡± Yan Junze said with a calm expression and even a faint smile.


    Lantern Woman¡¯s gaze turned to Yan Junze, she bared a row of sharp teeth with a grin, and said, ¡°He didn¡¯t want me anymore, my husband didn¡¯t want me¡­¡±


    ¡°So, after he died, you just¡­ took his body¡­¡± Yan Junze pondered.


    ¡°I took a long detour and found his body under the cliff; I couldn¡¯t let him leave me,¡± the Lantern Woman said slowly.


    ¡°So you wanted to carry his body back?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The Lantern Woman shook her head, then bowed slightly, ¡°He was too heavy, I couldn¡¯t carry him, but I couldn¡¯t bear to leave him, he couldn¡¯t leave me behind!¡±


    Suddenly, Yan Junze quietly tugged at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s sleeve, gesturing for the two of them to follow him as they took three steps back. The Lantern Woman was lost in her memories and didn¡¯t notice their movement.


    ¡°I think I know now,¡± Yan Junze suddenly said, ¡°Can I tell you the truth now?¡±


    The Lantern Woman looked up, her face blank, just staring at Yan Junze without saying a word.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat, ¡°I want to clarify one fact first, the moon that night and tonight should be the same, very bright, so you could leave Plum Blossom Forest and accompany me here. That is to say, the night your husband died, it was also such a night. So, you didn¡¯t need a lantern to go out, and you didn¡¯t have a lantern at home at all.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were stunned and turned to look at Yan Junze along with the Lantern Woman.


    ¡°That night, you accidentally killed your husband. You wanted to carry his body back, but you simply couldn¡¯t. Also, because you were jealous and resented him for saying he would divorce you, yet you couldn¡¯t bear to leave him, so in a fit of rage, you cut off his head and only took his head back,¡± Yan Junze articulated each word carefully.


    The other two showed terrified expressions, while the Lantern Woman remained expressionless. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°So where did this lantern come from, let alone a white lantern, a red lantern? What you¡¯ve been carrying, is clearly your husband¡¯s head! It always has been!¡±


    As soon as these words fell, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di immediately looked at the lantern in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand, which had already turned red.


    However, at that moment, they realized the lantern was no longer as it had been, but had turned into a shriveled head, with eyes wide open in death, mouth slightly ajar, and not a single tooth visible.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    This head, as if not yet dead, let out an ¡°ah¡± after revealing its true form, an eerily similar scream to the Lantern Woman¡¯s when she turned into her red lantern state.


    With her husband¡¯s head in hand, and as the head began to move chaotically, the Lantern Woman¡¯s mind was just like the state she was in when she turned into the red lantern.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di inhaled sharply, even Yan Junze himself felt startled when he saw the head appear.


    Normally, the Lantern Woman would have turned red by now and started a rampage, but her husband¡¯s head had now shown its true form, and everyone could see it.


    Yan Junze immediately said again, ¡°Look at what you have been carrying?¡±


    The Lantern Woman looked down, and with a jolt, the ¡°lantern¡± in her hand dropped onto the ground with a clap, marking the first time in history that she let it go.


    The furious state disappeared instantly, and on the ground, the head twisted, showing extreme hatred, and naturally, the target of that hatred was the one who had caused his death¡ªthe Lantern Woman.


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di suddenly realized why the Lantern Woman often flew into a rage¡ªit was the influence of the strangeness emanating from her dead husband¡¯s head, causing her to become completely uncontrollable in those moments.


    ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve found your husband,¡± Yan Junze said, imitating the etiquette of the ancients, and made a fist salute toward the Lantern Woman.


    However, the Lantern Woman showed no reaction, but it provoked a garbled roar from the head of Jia Sheng on the ground. After the roar, Jia Sheng¡¯s gaze fixed directly on him.


    Zhang Xiaomo immediately shielded Yan Junze behind her, and Zhang Di stepped forward as well.


    Jia Sheng¡¯s head could control or disrupt the Lantern Woman and had a strong visual interference, akin to a blinding technique. Perhaps the strangeness was even more intense, so they were even more wary of the other¡¯s wrath.


    But the Lantern Woman said nothing, silently picked up her husband¡¯s head, and, just like she had been holding the lantern before, turned around silently and walked out of Good character Bookstore.


    [Task: The woman carrying the lantern, Terrified (Low), completed. Gained 1600 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    As the task completion notification suddenly popped up in his mind, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze hadn¡¯t yet moved away from the retreating figure of the Lantern Woman.


    In that moment, he suddenly had an ominous feeling, for a simple reason¡ªthe task originally had a range, from ¡°Hair-raising (High)¡± to ¡°Terrified (Low)¡±, but now it showed that Terrified (Low) was completed.


    Was the task of being Terrified so simple?


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 Chapter 262 - 245 Shadow

    Chapter 262: Chapter 245 Shadow


    In her gaze, the head that the Lantern Woman was holding still turned over, staring at herself with a fierce light in its eyes.


    Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, and Zhang Di, without saying a word, could only watch as the Lantern Woman walked farther away, heading toward the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest.


    In no time, the Lantern Woman, who hadn¡¯t even reached the river ditch yet, simply vanished into thin air.


    ¡°Her obsession has been eradicated,¡± Yan Junze clapped his hands, yet he couldn¡¯t shake off the lingering fear in his heart.


    He always had this peculiar feeling, perhaps the Lantern Woman seemed to have left, but in reality, just as the task had stated, she might have clung to him.


    But in what way could she have clung to him? She neither burrowed into his shadow like Fang Ning, nor did she split her spirit like the Back-faced Woman.


    ...


    If she wanted to do Spirit-Splitting, since the Back-faced Woman had already done so earlier, the Lantern Woman would have to engage in a conflict for this to happen. Such an action would undoubtedly cause a commotion. Otherwise, it would not be possible for the Lantern Woman to split her spirit with Yan Junze without him being aware.


    Perhaps, this sensation of being haunted was just Yan Junze¡¯s illusion¡ªafter all, dealing with strangenesses often, he is much more sensitive than the average person in certain aspects.


    ¡°I have a few questions,¡± Zhang Di suddenly spoke up.


    Before speaking, he had already averted his gaze and sizing up Yan Junze up and down several times.


    At first, the idea that Yan Junze was a Semi-spirit, he could comprehend, but after Zhang Xiaomo explained to him Yan Junze¡¯s usual Exorcism Method, and he witnessed it himself, he was filled with doubts.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Normally when I get rid of strangenesses, I direct report it as phone scams.¡± Zhang Di said, ¡°That conclusion is easy to understand, like erasing the strangeness from this world, never to exist here again, but what¡¯s the deal with your Buddhist-style Exorcism Method? Isn¡¯t this releasing the tiger back into the mountain, these supernatural beings are still in the world, are they not?¡±


    ¡°Zhang Di has been partnering with me for a while, but he has only recently joined the squad,¡± Zhang Xiaomo added.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°After the obsession is removed, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they still remain in this world. Some may reincarnate, others may go elsewhere. However, one thing for sure is, they won¡¯t harm people anymore because of obsession.¡±


    ¡°What about the Lantern Woman just now?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    ¡°The Lantern Woman¡¯s obsession has been removed; she won¡¯t harm anyone anymore. However¡­¡± Yan Junze hesitated slightly, ¡°however, it¡¯s hard to say about the head of Jia Sheng that she was carrying, because what I eradicated was the Lantern Woman¡¯s obsession, not Jia Sheng¡¯s.¡±


    Thinking this, Yan Junze remembered that he should have initiated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± just now to detect whether that head was full of obsessive thoughts, and whether he needed to resolve it.


    But now that she had disappeared, and once ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± was activated, a barrage of other ordinary supernatural events would flood in, making it difficult to handle.


    ¡°You mean¡­ Jia Sheng might still harm people?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a possibility, but not necessarily,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°because the Lantern Woman took him away, and being beside the Lantern Woman without obsession, he might not be able to do evil.¡±


    ¡°I just want to ask one thing,¡± Zhang Xiaomo raised her hand and said to Yan Junze, ¡°you mentioned that under the cliff, the Lantern Woman couldn¡¯t carry her husband¡¯s body, so she cut off his head and took it. How did she cut it off?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer, and Zhang Di, lost in thought, said, ¡°This¡­¡±


    At this point, he looked up at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Yes, your guess is correct. It¡¯s not hard to find a sharp stone flake under the cliff, full of jagged rocks, or to break a stone and use a sharp fragment from it.¡±


    Zhang Di shook his head, ¡°This woman, she is ruthless.¡±


    Yan Junze leaned over to look outside the house and sat down on a wooden box with a sigh, ¡°Wow, the moonlight is so bright. Let¡¯s rest for a while. Then there¡¯s something, Zhang Xiaomo, I might need your help with.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at him, sitting on another wooden box.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything but glanced at Zhang Di, who pretended as if he had seen nothing. Noticing their exchange, Zhang Xiaomo felt it was inappropriate to ask further.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check outside the door,¡± Zhang Di said tactfully and walked out of the study, standing under the eaves on one side of the street. He took out his Spirit Detector to see if there was any other supernatural activity.


    With Zhang Di gone, Yan Junze lowered his voice and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°I can¡¯t be exposed to moonlight.¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback.


    ¡°My shadow forms under the moonlight, and within my shadow, there hides a strangeness, a strangeness that could at least cause a C-level incident,¡± Yan Junze spoke slowly.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him in surprise, ¡°You mean, if you stand under the moonlight, the strangeness in your shadow will come out and commit all sorts of mischief?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°She will come out, but her target is only me; she wants me to become her¡­ husband.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately covered her mouth.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, had a bitter smile on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying a strangeness has fallen in love with you?¡± The innate curiosity of a woman surfaced, and Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face lit up with a smile as she leaned in and said, ¡°Come on, tell me, how did you hook up with her?¡±


    ¡°Mind your language, please,¡± Yan Junze said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s really nothing extraordinary, just some¡­ sweet nothings, talking about¡­ oaths, back to back, holding hands¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect your tastes to be so bold!¡± Zhang Xiaomo said excitedly, staring at Yan Junze as if she was seeing him in a new light, ¡°What does she look like? Is she pretty?¡±


    ¡°How about we talk about something else?¡± Yan Junze attempted to change the subject.


    ¡°Is there some kind of hardship?¡± Zhang Xiaomo rested her chin on her hand, blinking as she kept her gaze on Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes darted around, ¡°Eh, what was I just about to say? Oh right, could you help me out later? I¡¯ll deliberately walk into the moonlight, and you¡¯ll follow me with the magnetic knife. If that woman shows up, don¡¯t hesitate, just kill her with one strike.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t reveal your whereabouts,¡± Yan Junze instructed, ¡°The woman in the shadow is very cunning. If she senses a threat, she might not show up.¡±


    ¡­


    Under the moonlight.


    In the abode where the Exorcist Jiang Yaofei was hiding, he was peering out the window at this moment.


    The alley in front of the door was quiet, without a sound reaching them. Because the night was clear and the stars sparse, visibility was good, and one could see that outside, no one else was passing by either.


    Not a single strangeness insight.


    Just one hour before, after the Red Coffin had passed by, it had not been seen again, which made Jiang Yaofei consider going out to try his luck.


    At the same time.


    Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou, moving forward along the street at the crossroads.


    Initially, they were afraid they might encounter the Red Coffin they had seen before, but as they continued on their way, they saw nothing, and both men were trying their best to conceal themselves.


    After all, it was a crossroads, and from the direction of the Study Room, there were three paths to take. It wasn¡¯t necessarily their bad luck that they had picked the same road where the Red Coffin disappeared.


    Plus, Jiang Yaofei must be hiding nearby, and with a bit of time, he could be easily found.


    Right then, as they passed by the door of an ordinary-looking house, planning to peep in through the window, Yuan Dingzhou pulled at Fang Zun¡¯s sleeve and pointed at the door.


    Fang Zun looked and saw that the door was actually not closed.


    Not only was it not closed, but the house was also spacious and tidy. If one were to observe from inside, the view would be wide and visibility excellent.


    Yuan Dingzhou suggested, ¡°How about we hide in this house for a while? I checked, the open door can be closed.¡±


    Fang Zun looked around and felt that the location was indeed good, so he nodded his head, ¡°Let¡¯s hide here temporarily and wait. If Xiaomo and the others can come and meet up with us, that would be best. If they don¡¯t come, we¡¯ll try to find Jiang Yaofei.¡±


    The two men agreed, and they crouched down as they made their way into the house, one after the other. Yuan Dingzhou carefully closed the door, the lock clicking softly, but fortunately not too loudly.


    After closing the door, Yuan Dingzhou let out a sigh of relief, his tense spirit relaxing for the moment. As he turned around, he saw Fang Zun motionless, staring into a dark corner of the house. He then looked down at the Spirit Detector in his hand.


    Fang Zun hurriedly peered into the darkness, and there, lying quietly in the darkness, was a modest-sized coffin.


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 Chapter 263 - 246 Inside the Coffin

    Chapter 263: Chapter 246 Inside the Coffin


    Yuan Dingzhou looked for a moment before reaching behind him, touching Fang Zun, and quickly shaking him, ¡°Tell me, that coffin is not the Red Coffin we saw just now.¡±


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Fang Zun produced a harsh, hoarse voice from his throat, ¡°It seems¡­ to be that coffin?¡±


    His gaze, like Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s, was firmly fixed on the moderately sized coffin. Although it was too dark to see clearly what color the coffin was, there was at least a fifty percent chance that it was the Red Coffin they had seen on the street before.


    ¡°Should we go take a look?¡± Yuan Dingzhou pulled out a small flashlight, ready to turn it on and shine it on the semi-large coffin.


    Fang Zun grabbed his hand hastily, ¡°Are you crazy? Let¡¯s leave here, no matter whether this coffin is the one from before, we can¡¯t stay here any longer.¡±


    As he spoke, he turned around to twist the door handle, only to stiffen as he did so, adding more strength to his grip and turning it forcefully a couple of times.


    ...


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Yuan Dingzhou in surprise.


    ¡°It won¡¯t open,¡± Fang Zun said, breaking into a cold sweat. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be, I didn¡¯t lock it from inside,¡± Yuan Dingzhou replied, somewhat in disbelief, walking over and trying to turn the door handle with force.


    Sure enough, there was no response, whether pulling or pushing, the door did not budge.


    The two men exchanged looks, then instinctively turned around to look at the semi-large coffin quietly lying there in the dark.


    Fortunately, in the thick darkness, the semi-large coffin still lay in place, showing no signs of abnormality.


    ¡°See if the windows can be opened,¡± Fang Zun recovered and suggested.


    Together with Yuan Dingzhou, they went towards the large windows on either side.


    They had chosen this house earlier precisely because of its large and bright windows, which allowed them to easily monitor the surroundings from inside; hence, now that the door could not be opened, it was equally feasible to jump out through the windows.


    The windows could be opened, but they were secured with steel bars, a common anti-theft measure in rural homes where the bars are welded and cannot be removed directly.


    After staring blankly for a moment, Fang Zun went back to the door and tried again to open it.


    Still no luck.


    At that time, Yuan Dingzhou tried bending the bars with his bare hands to find that it was virtually impossible, then promptly took out his magnetic knife.


    Turning his head to check, seeing that the coffin was still untouched in the darkness, he felt a bit relieved.


    Fang Zun also produced his magnetic knife.


    The two men, one slicing at the steel bars with his magnetic knife, the other inserting his magnetic knife into the gap between the door and the lock, worked feverishly to pry.


    Both exerted all their strength, and after about ten seconds, Fang Zun felt an inexplicable chill surge up within him.


    He stopped prying and turned to see that the coffin in the dark seemed to have moved.


    At that moment, Yuan Dingzhou was still diligently cutting the steel bars with his magnetic knife, which emitted a faint blue light. The light wasn¡¯t very strong, but during the cutting process, there was a slight sound similar to electromagnetic noise.


    In the quiet night, it stood out all the more.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Fang Zun called out in a lowered voice, urgently telling Yuan Dingzhou to cease cutting.


    Yuan Dingzhou was taken aback, turned his head, and saw Fang Zun had turned on his small flashlight, casting its beam towards the coffin in the dark.


    With the illumination from the flashlight, the front of the coffin was finally clear¡ªit was indeed that medium-sized Red Coffin.


    The craftsmanship of the coffin was very intricate, with a streamlined beauty to it. If it weren¡¯t for the age, resulting in much of the red paint peeling off and holes appearing on either side of the coffin, in modern times, it would be considered a highly collectible antique.


    But at that moment, the lid of the Red Coffin¡­ had been shifted aside.


    It was unclear when it had moved; Yan Dingzhou and Fang Zun were too busy earlier, one prying at the door, the other cutting at the window bars, both making noises, so they did not hear any movement from behind.


    Now there was no time to think about that. Yuan Dingzhou also turned on his small flashlight, shining it at the Red Coffin, providing more light and further reducing the darkness¡¯s interference with their sight.


    The opened Red Coffin lay eerily silent, with not a sound emanating from it.


    While Yuan Dingzhou had yet to react, Fang Zun couldn¡¯t remain still any longer as the creepy feeling inside him intensified.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Fang Zun stepped towards the Red Coffin, while saying to Yuan Dingzhou, ¡°We can¡¯t let the lid stay open, or it¡¯ll cause great trouble. Just now when I tried prying the door, it had already loosened somewhat. Keep at it and pry it open, as soon as the door is open get out immediately.¡±


    Watching Fang Zun¡¯s retreating back, Yuan Dingzhou blurted out, ¡°Hurry back, it¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Leaving the lid to open, both of us are in danger!¡± Fang Zun did not hesitate and quickly approached the Red Coffin.


    Anxious, Yuan Dingzhou had no other choice but to turn back, insert the magnetic knife into the gap in the door, and pry with all his might.


    With that, the door indeed loosened significantly.


    Yuan Dingzhou simply pulled out the magnetic knife, took a step back, and with a strike toward the gap in the door, he slashed down.


    The magnetic glow flickered, and with a clatter, the door panel was split, but it was still not opened.


    Just then, Yuan Dingzhou felt a series of strange noises coming from behind him.


    He immediately looked back, but there was nothing behind him. The strange noise had come out of nowhere, as if¡­ something was crawling on the ground.


    Yuan Dingzhou quickly shone his flashlight everywhere, clear about everything visible, and found nothing out of the ordinary.


    He then looked towards Fang Zun, who was about to close the lid of the coffin. At that moment, Fang Zun stood by the side of the coffin, reaching out to move the displaced coffin back into place to cover it again.


    For safety, Fang Zun didn¡¯t stand directly in front of the open side of the coffin, but at the bottom, ready to react if anything went wrong.


    At least it should be easier to escape.


    Looking from Fang Zun¡¯s direction, the inside of the coffin was pitch black and he could see nothing.


    Fang Zun intended to shine his flashlight inside the coffin, but then he thought better of it. Suppressing his curiosity, he forcefully quelled the impulse and grabbed the coffin lid to close it.


    ¡°Did you hear something just now?¡± Yuan Dingzhou asked.


    Fang Zun stopped what he was doing and looked up at him, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I feel¡­ like someone was crawling on the ground,¡± said Yuan Dingzhou, his face showing fear.


    Fang Zun was taken aback, then glanced at the size of the coffin in front of him and shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    He reached for the coffin lid again, ready to pull it shut.


    Just then, Fang Zun¡¯s body shuddered, halting the attempt to close the coffin, as he brought his head closer to it.


    Just as Yuan Dingzhou was about to ask him what he saw, Fang Zun¡¯s right hand moved, seemingly flicking off a Hidden Buckle. The Red Coffin emitted a soft ¡°bang¡± and a burst of white light appeared.


    But at almost the same moment, in Fang Zun¡¯s eyes, a withered arm reached out from inside the coffin, grabbed his collar, and violently pulled him into the coffin.


    The flashlight fell to the ground.


    However, from Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s perspective, there were no arms reaching out. Instead, Fang Zun suddenly became motionless, as if drunk, and toppled headfirst into the coffin without even a chance to make a sound.


    In the nick of time, Fang Zun twisted his right hand, the magnetic knife now in his grasp. With force, he wedged the magnetic knife against the edges of the coffin, preventing himself from being entirely dragged in.


    But to Yuan Dingzhou, watching from outside, all he could see was one hand desperately propping against the coffin. The next second, the magnetic knife was snapped in two, accompanied by the breaking sound of bones. Fang Zun¡¯s hand that was outside the coffin, along with the broken knife, was quickly pulled inside, disappearing without a trace.


    The little flashlight that had fallen just now was still spinning on the ground, but its owner would never see it again.


    All this might sound like a chain of sudden disasters, but it happened in a very brief moment. By the time Yuan Dingzhou, standing at the doorway, attempted a rescue, Fang Zun had already vanished right in front of his eyes.


    At almost the same instant, the crawling sound echoed again in Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s ears.


    At this moment, Yuan Dingzhou was certain there was something crawling on the ground.


    Perhaps, this thing had crawled out the moment the coffin lid was opened.


    He wanted to go and save Fang Zun, but the sound was obviously advancing quickly towards him in the darkness, which, after just witnessing Fang Zun¡¯s bizarre disappearance, caused Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s heart to go numb.


    He turned and took another swipe at the stubborn door that wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Just then, something tightened around his foot. Yuan Dingzhou quickly looked down and, with the help of the moonlight coming from outside, saw a man with only the upper half of his body, ragged clothes clinging on, hugging his right foot on the ground.


    This man seemed to have just experienced a horrific explosion, his lower half likely blasted away, with copious amounts of blood and viscera spilling out.


    This sight sent Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s mind reeling inexplicably, a memory he thought long forgotten, buried deep in his heart from years ago, suddenly flooding his brain.


    A fear that was indescribable and peaked at the very core of his being swept over him like an invisible demon, crushing the three-star Exorcist named Yuan Dingzhou in an instant.


    A primal terror from the depths of his heart made Yuan Dingzhou scream heartrendingly, at which point the half-bodied man had already climbed on top of him.


    The man looked face to face at Yuan Dingzhou, whose face was now exceedingly distorted from fear.


    ¡­


    ¡°Kill her!¡±


    Yan Junze shouted loudly.


    Standing under the moonlight, with his shadow stretched long behind him, a dark figure slowly crawled out. As the figure revealed about half of its body, Yan Junze¡¯s reminder exploded like a bombshell.


    Zhang Xiaomo, whose presence had been concealed until now, pounced from her hiding place not far under the eaves. She moved swiftly, the magnetic knife utilizing the force of her leap to strike at the shadow that had crawled halfway out and was about to pounce on Yan Junze¡¯s actual body.


    Clang! The magnetic knife struck the ground, sparking a string of fireflies. Fang Ning¡¯s shadow merely trembled slightly and then froze, quickly retracting back into Yan Junze¡¯s shadow and disappearing from view.


    ¡°I think you should have just stabbed the ground directly with the magnetic knife. Maybe you could have pinned Fang Ning¡¯s shadow down, then I could have run away with elegance and ease, possibly leaving Fang Ning¡¯s shadow behind and breaking free from my own. Alas, a missed opportunity,¡± Yan Junze shook his head and sighed.


    ¡°Do you look elegant and easy when you run?¡± Zhang Xiaomo put away the magnetic knife. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you chased around by Resentful Granny, flailing about in all sorts of styles¡ªfrom duck-footed to pigeon-toed, yellow dog peeing to old donkey rolling. Elegant and easy?¡±


    ¡°Speak nicely, how come there are so many comparisons with dogs and donkeys? Zhang Di, don¡¯t listen to her, you can¡¯t believe a word women say,¡± Yan Junze looked towards Zhang Di.


    The latter was counting his fingers, head bowed.


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 Chapter 264 - 247: Has it already crawled out?

    Chapter 264: Chapter 247: Has it already crawled out?


    Yuan Dingzhou¡¯s heart-wrenching cry, at the very moment it began to sound, was fiercely suppressed by an invisible force.


    Jiang Yaofei, who had been looking outside the house, was momentarily stunned and quickly went to another window to look out.


    There was a wall behind, blocking the view, and nothing could be seen. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Jiang Yaofei was sure that the scream had come from somewhere not far beyond that wall.


    ¡°It sounded like a living person¡¯s cry.¡±


    At this time, the only living people who could appear in Mo Family Village were his colleagues.


    ...


    Therefore, it was very likely that one of his colleagues was in danger.


    Jiang Yaofei was uneasy and turned around, put on a black garment, and picked up a Strangeness Interferer.


    This device was the same kind that Zhang Xiaomo had used when Yan Junze was evading the Resentful Granny¡¯s pursuit. It had a strong disrupting effect on strangenesses, but its duration was short, and it could have side effects on fertility.


    After preparing, Jiang Yaofei said to another three-star exorcist in the room, ¡°Take good care of the injured people. Do not go out until I return. If there is food outside, I will bring some back.¡±


    ¡°And if¡­ you don¡¯t come back?¡± The three-star exorcist hesitated briefly before speaking up.


    Jiang Yaofei looked back at him, ¡°It seems like we haven¡¯t seen the Lantern Woman near the Plum Blossom Forest, maybe you can try that. Otherwise, it¡¯s just waiting for death.¡±


    A tinge of sadness appeared on the three-star exorcist¡¯s face, but he quickly composed himself and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you to return.¡±


    After watching Jiang Yaofei leave, he quickly closed the door and went back to stay with the other injured people in the inner room, shutting the inner room¡¯s door again.


    Jiang Yaofei tightened the collar of the black garment he was wearing. The garment seemed to be made in a special way, with a click near the neck, and two magnetic buckles came together, gently constricting around Jiang Yaofei¡¯s neck.


    From the back, it looked as if he was wearing a half-finished bat shirt.


    Following the direction of the scream, Jiang Yaofei, holding a Spirit Detector in one hand and the Strangeness Interferer in the other, quickly circled to the back and headed towards the row of houses.


    Soon he saw the house with columns at the entrance and with its door still open, but currently, there was nothing in front of the door of this house.


    Although Jiang Yaofei was moving quickly, he was constantly aware of his surroundings, first standing in the corner opposite the columned room to ensure there were no abnormalities, then he proceeded to approach it.


    The Spirit Detector indicated there were two ordinary strangenesses on the right side, both normal Wandering Spirits, posing no significant threat.


    If they tried to approach Jiang Yaofei, he believed it wouldn¡¯t take him five seconds to deal with these two spirits.


    Of course, Jiang Yaofei had no time to deal with these Wandering Spirits right now.


    If any of his colleagues were still alive and walking outside, they must be nearly as capable as himself. They would not have screamed upon encountering such spirits, so the appearance of these Wandering Spirits was probably unrelated.


    Jiang Yaofei quickly came to the pillar in front of this room¡¯s entrance. The door appeared to have been open all along, never closed.


    Jiang Yaofei peeked inside; the moonlight reached the outdoors but the room was so spacious that the interior layout was not very clear.


    He hesitated briefly, looked around himself again for any abnormalities, took a deep breath, and stepped into the house.


    After entering the house, he did not foolishly close the door behind him. Instead, he pushed it open even more.


    Jiang Yaofei was not certain that the previous cry had come from this place; he quickly turned on his flashlight and shone it inside the room.


    Seconds later, Jiang Yaofei stared in disbelief at a coffin that had appeared before him. It seemed familiar, somewhat like the coffin that could move on its own.


    But the light was poor, and he was unsure for a moment.


    The coffin was very dark in color, seemingly red.


    Had it not been for this coffin crawling outside the courtyard where Jiang Yaofei was hiding, he and his colleagues might have already escaped this area.


    Now that the Red Coffin was here, did it mean that their hiding spot was actually safe? The other colleagues with the injured could easily escape this area.


    Jiang Yaofei immediately turned to leave; he needed to inform the others to take this perfect opportunity to get out.


    However, as soon as he turned, the door that he had purposely left ajar slammed shut with a bang. The room instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint light from the flashlight struggling desperately against the encroaching shadows, gasping for air.


    Jiang Yaofei immediately tightened his collar, quickly turned off the flashlight, and pressed his back against the nearest wall.


    The sudden closure of the door was definitely not accidental, and the half-size red coffin in the room was, indeed, the one he often saw moving on its own.


    It seemed that for the time being, leaving this room was out of the question.


    The cry that had sounded a moment ago must have come from here, but whoever had screamed was probably already out of luck.


    Jiang Yaofei somewhat regretted coming here. If he had known that the Red Coffin was in this house, rather than wandering near his hiding place as before, he would not have come. Instead, he would have led the others away at the very opportunity.


    His heart was racing, but he remained much calmer than Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou.


    The reason was the ¡°bat shirt¡± he was wearing, known as ¡°Magnetic Shielding Clothes.¡± Once activated, they could create a dynamic ripple effect around the wearer, rendering them invisible and undetectable to the supernatural.


    However, there was a weakness to the Magnetic Shielding Clothes: if the magnetic field of the opposing strangeness was too strong, the dynamic ripple effect could break at any moment.


    Moreover, high-level Sculpting Spirits and above had inherently strong magnetic fields. In close contact, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes would gradually become magnetized by the higher-level Sculpting Spirit, eventually revealing the wearer under the spirit¡¯s gaze and losing their intended effect.


    Jiang Yaofei pressed himself against the wall near the door, motionless. In addition to the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, he also held a ¡°Strangeness Interferer¡± in his hand, which could prevent a strangeness from approaching for a short time, even if it discovered him.


    In the darkness, with the moonlight seeping into the room, he could barely make out the location of the doorknob. Reaching out his hand, he moved closer to the door.


    Slowly groping for the doorknob, Jiang Yaofei then grasped it and gently pressed downward.


    The door did not respond.


    However, Jiang Yaofei noticed that the doorknob seemed to be broken, with a crack on its surface, as if something had slashed it.


    But in reality, the door, despite looking damaged, was firmly shut, not budging an inch.


    Just then, a rustling sound emerged from the darkness within the room, suggesting the movement of someone dragging heavy feet or perhaps crawling on the ground.


    ¡°Could it be that coffin crawling over?¡± Jiang Yaofei speculated, straining his eyes to see, but he could see nothing.


    He stopped trying to open the door, withdrew his hand, and gripped the Strangeness Interferer with both hands, trying his best to keep his breathing steady.


    The eerie sound was getting closer.


    Luckily for Jiang Yaofei, his position was lit by moonlight, and he could roughly see a distance of two to three meters. For the moment, he felt confident that the strangeness would not discover him, thanks to his Magnetic Shielding Clothes.


    Soon, a shadow wriggled out from the darkness.


    Jiang Yaofei¡¯s eyes widened as he stared unblinkingly at the strangeness slowly emerging from the shadows.


    As the creature fully appeared under the faint moonlight, Jiang Yaofei¡¯s body trembled slightly, his lips parted, and he nearly let out an involuntary cry.


    Before him, a woman dressed in a white cloth gown, with disheveled hair, was kneeling and leaning forward on her hands, slowly crawling along the ground.


    As the woman crawled, her shoulders twisted and her posture was bizarre. Her head also swayed from side to side, but her long hair covered her entire face. Especially conspicuous was her white gown under the dim moonlight.


    Upon seeing the disheveled-haired woman, Jiang Yaofei couldn¡¯t help but look astounded. It was unusual for him, a three-star Exorcist, who had encountered almost every form of supernatural being, to react so strongly after seeing a strangeness.


    The reason for Jiang Yaofei¡¯s terror was simple: he recognized the woman.


    More precisely, he had been deeply familiar with the woman¡¯s appearance since his childhood.


    ¡°This is¡­ Sadako!!!¡±


    A horrific thought leapt into Jiang Yaofei¡¯s mind the instant he saw the woman. The childhood fear that bloomed in that moment completely overwhelmed his spirit.


    From the woman¡¯s crawling movements and appearance, Jiang Yaofei was certain: she was undoubtedly Sadako.


    Sadako¡¯s hair was still damp, and although it wasn¡¯t dripping excessively, she clearly had just crawled out from the bottom of a well, maintaining that visage the entire time.


    This scene was indelibly etched in Jiang Yaofei¡¯s memory.


    The terrifying scenes from ¡°Midnight Ring¡± he had watched as a child were surging back, flashing before his eyes one after another.


    The Sadako before him finally stopped crawling as she neared Jiang Yaofei and slowly stood up, her arms hanging down, her long hair draping down to partially obscure her face, leaving only part of her purple lips and one eye visible.


    That one eye was completely black, and as Sadako looked up, a vast expanse of white sclera appeared, filling her entire eye socket and making the sight even more bizarre.


    Jiang Yaofei found himself trembling uncontrollably.


    The trembling was involuntary, a deep-rooted terror from watching ¡°Midnight Ring¡± as a child, which now completely consumed him.


    Thanks to the effect of the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, Sadako did not see him. After standing up, she twisted her body and moved forward step by step.


    Approaching Jiang Yaofei, she came to a stop.


    She careened her head from side to side as if unconsciously, her movements mechanical and stiff, as she slowly leaned in closer.


    Meanwhile, the hair clinging to Sadako¡¯s face slid away, revealing an even more frightening portion of her visage.


    She then opened her mouth, revealing pitch-black teeth, and from the depths of her black maw, a clicking and disturbing sound emanated.


    To Jiang Yaofei, this spectacle nearly drove him insane, as goosebumps incessantly rose and receded on his skin, an endless cycle of fear.


    He felt his entire body go cold as though he had returned to the moment when he first saw Sadako crawl out of the television as a child. His mind went numb, and he remained rooted to the spot, vulnerable to the mercy of others.


    Fortunately, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes were functioning properly, and Sadako, unable to see him, simply sniffed around before twisting her uncanny limbs and slowly making her way to one side.


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 Chapter 265 - 248

    Chapter 265: Chapter 248


    At 18, Jiang Yaofei¡¯s mother passed away from a serious illness.


    At that time, Jiang Yaofei couldn¡¯t articulate how sad he felt, not only because he had siblings at home, but also because his mother had a violent temper and solely believed in corporal punishment. Jiang Yaofei was practically beaten from childhood to adolescence.


    So, if he had to name the person he feared the most in life, it was undoubtedly his own mother.


    He still remembered, probably around the age of eleven or twelve, when his mother was at her strictest with him.


    Due to his rebellious phase in early adolescence, he was almost beaten every day, and beaten severely. Sometimes he would limp when walking, or he couldn¡¯t even stand, only sit.


    It was also during that period that Jiang Yaofei¡¯s adolescence was brutally suppressed by his mother. He didn¡¯t know how he survived that period, but he certainly didn¡¯t want to remember it.


    ...


    The moment he saw the old woman crouching in the corner, Jiang Yaofei¡¯s body instinctively shuddered. He was not scared of any strangeness but of the deep-seated fear of his own mother that came from the bottom of his heart.


    The old woman in the corner slowly stood up, turning her ashen face towards Jiang Yaofei, devoid of expression.


    Jiang Yaofei began to tremble like a sieve, as if every part of his body was aching, reminiscent of the pain after being beaten brutally.


    The old woman faced him and slowly extended her left hand, gently beckoning him.


    Jiang Yaofei shuddered violently and quickly realized that this person couldn¡¯t possibly be his mother, nor her soul. Even if his mother had turned into a strange entity, she wouldn¡¯t appear here.


    It was the red coffin that was the problem!


    After coming to his senses, his gaze shifted to the open coffin and then back to his ¡°mother,¡± who had already started walking towards him.


    The ¡°Magnetic Shielding Clothes¡± had malfunctioned!


    Upon seeing the ¡°mother¡± approaching him, Jiang Yaofei immediately activated the ¡°Strangeness Interferer¡± he held in his hand. The old woman¡¯s movements halted for a moment, as if she lost her target, but her gaze still fixed on him.


    Jiang Yaofei didn¡¯t dare to delay any longer. He turned around, opened the door, and didn¡¯t care if the Pallbearers were outside; to him, it seemed even more dangerous inside the house at the moment.


    After he flung the door open, he dashed out with his head down. The old woman behind him let out a harsh, raspy sound from her throat, as if she quickened her pace to pursue him. Just as Jiang Yaofei¡¯s back passed the doorway, the old woman¡¯s fingers stretched out to grab him but caught nothing but air.


    Then the hand retracted; she didn¡¯t follow him outside.


    Jiang Yaofei didn¡¯t have time to look at what the Pallbearers inside the house were doing. He just focused on the door lit by the moonlight and charged towards it, regardless of anything else.


    He had the Strangeness Interferer in hand and was confident that in just a short while, if he sped up, no strangeness could catch him.


    The moment he burst through the front door of the house, Jiang Yaofei looked back and saw that the four Pallbearers were still standing in a circle, facing each other, in the middle of the outside room, doing nothing.


    ¡°What on earth is happening? What are they doing?¡± Jiang Yaofei didn¡¯t stop; he quickly ran across the street to the shelter of a house eave. Once he was certain he had left the dangerous area, he crouched cautiously around the corner to watch.


    The four Pallbearers did not follow him out, nor did they even glance in his direction.


    Jiang Yaofei tried to keep his eyes wide open. He could vaguely make out the tall figures of the Pallbearers standing in the house across from him.


    In less than a minute, the four Pallbearers suddenly started to move, but they didn¡¯t leave. Instead, they turned around and entered the inside room where the red coffin was placed, disappearing from sight.


    Jiang Yaofei let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the scream he had heard earlier¡ªif it really belonged to a colleague¡ªmeant that his colleague might already be dead.


    He couldn¡¯t stay here any longer. While the Pallbearers were all gathered in that room, he decided to go back immediately, call the others, and rush to the house closest to Plum Blossom Forest; they would look for an opportunity to break through the Lantern Woman¡¯s barrier and then escape to the entrance of the village.


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 Chapter 266 - 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)

    Chapter 266: Chapter 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)


    Jiang Yaofei kept his back against the wall, watching the white-clad figure of Sadako slowly move to one side, her shoulders unevenly rising and falling, wandering farther and farther away until she disappeared into the darkness.


    He felt fortunate, for with the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, she hadn¡¯t noticed him at all.


    It was only when Sadako¡¯s white silhouette had completely merged with the darkness that he slowly exhaled, adjusted his breathing, and once again glanced at the doorknob beside him.


    The door seemed to be broken and couldn¡¯t be opened by normal means.


    Moreover, there surely had been a colleague here just a moment ago, but now there was no one to be seen. The clear crack on the door indicated it had been forcibly damaged, suggesting that he might be experiencing the same fate as his colleague had before.


    ¡°How can I get out?¡±


    ...


    Jiang Yaofei¡¯s mind raced, concluding that violence likely wouldn¡¯t be successful, or the chances of it would be slim, so he needed to come up with another method.


    With a thought, he looked down at his Magnetic Energy Clothing, reached up to the magnetic clasp at the neck, and unfastened it with a click. The bat-like garment no longer clung to his body, instead draping softly over his shoulders without falling off.


    He then cautiously moved into the darkness, clutching the Strangeness Interferer.


    His rationale was simple: the oppressive might of the Red Coffin was intense; a lower-level strangeness wouldn¡¯t dare roam about inside a room nearby.


    Therefore, Sadako¡¯s appearance suggested that this strangeness must have originated from the Red Coffin.


    By that logic, not only was the lid of the Red Coffin open at this moment, but it had also released peculiar entities like Sadako.


    Jiang Yaofei¡¯s thoughts coincided with those of Fang Zun a short time ago; closing the coffin lid would at least temporarily halt the appearance of more strangenesses.


    Plus, with the Magnetic Energy Clothing and the Strangeness Interferer on hand, his chances of leaving the place were significant.


    After activating the Strangeness Interferer and walking into the darkness, Jiang Yaofei became even more cautious. He could vaguely make out the exact location of the Red Coffin and thus didn¡¯t switch on his flashlight.


    Along the way, he kept an eye out for any movements in the dark, particularly listening for sounds similar to Sadako¡¯s crawling.


    But aside from his own soft footsteps, everything was eerily quiet.


    Upon reaching the Red Coffin, Jiang Yaofei took a careful look and saw that the lid was indeed open. He steadied himself and, with his right hand not holding the Strangeness Interferer, reached out to close it.


    Suddenly, a dark figure stood up on the side of the coffin that was open.


    This shadow had been crouching on the exact spot below where the lid opened. Its small stature and lack of movement had kept it hidden from Jiang Yaofei¡¯s perception until it stood.


    The figure seemed to wear dark clothing, short in height, making it immediately apparent that it wasn¡¯t Sadako.


    As soon as the shadow stood, Jiang Yaofei froze, holding onto the coffin lid, daring not to make any sudden moves.


    The figure straightened up and remained silent, standing still and facing the direction of Jiang Yaofei, as if gazing directly at him.


    Jiang Yaofei was well aware that this strangeness didn¡¯t attack not because it didn¡¯t want to but because he held the Strangeness Interferer, whose influence prevented the strangeness from forming an attack magnetic field against him.


    But this standoff wasn¡¯t a solution, and he had to make a move. Besides, Sadako, who had just appeared, might be standing right behind him.


    With that thought, Jiang Yaofei felt a hair-raising sensation rise within him. He decided to switch on the flashlight and immediately shine it behind him.


    He confirmed that his childhood fear¡ªSadako¡ªwas not there before turning back around with the flashlight to illuminate the dark figure standing beside the coffin.


    In the process, Jiang Yaofei knew that even if the shadow was caught in the light, it couldn¡¯t attack him because of the Strangeness Interferer. At this moment, he felt a certain audacious security.


    Regardless, even with the strangeness in front of him, he had to close the coffin lid; otherwise, there was no telling what other things might crawl out of this ominous casket.


    But the moment the flashlight¡¯s beam hit the person in front of him, Jiang Yaofei jolted with such fright that he almost dropped the flashlight, exclaiming involuntarily, ¡°Mom?!¡±


    The person standing on the other side of the coffin was a short, plump old woman dressed in gray, her countenance somber as she stood there, staring unwaveringly at Jiang Yaofei from the darkness.


    Indeed, this person looked exactly like Jiang Yaofei¡¯s mother.


    At the age of 18, Jiang Yaofei¡¯s mother had passed away due to a severe illness.


    Back then, Jiang Yaofei couldn¡¯t articulate how much sadness he felt, not because he was an only child, but because his temperamental mother believed strictly in physical discipline. He had been beaten from a young age all the way through his upbringing.


    So, if asked who Jiang Yaofei feared the most in life, his mother was the obvious answer.


    He remembered, it was at around the age of twelve, a time when his mother treated him the most harshly. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Due to his adolescent rebellion, he was almost beaten daily, violently so, to the point that sometimes he limped when walking, or could only sit as standing was too much to bear.


    It was also during those times, when his adolescence was forcibly suppressed, that he didn¡¯t know how he ever survived. To this day, he had no desire to remember.


    Now, at the sudden sight of the old woman standing before him, Jiang Yaofei instinctively trembled. It wasn¡¯t fear of the strangeness that shook him but a profound dread arising from the depths of his heart for his own mother.


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 Chapter 267 - 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_2

    Chapter 267: Chapter 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_2


    The old woman¡¯s face was ashen, her expression blank, as she stared indifferently at the trembling Jiang Yaofei.


    At this moment, it seemed as if every part of Jiang Yaofei¡¯s body was in pain, like the ache after being repeatedly beaten.


    The old woman, facing him, slowly extended her left hand.


    Jiang Yaofei shuddered violently and instantly realized, this person could not possibly be his mother, nor could she be his mother¡¯s spirit. Even if his mother had turned into a strangeness, she would not appear here.


    It must be a problem with the red coffin!


    After coming to this realization, he stopped looking at the old woman in front of him and used all his strength to push the lid of the coffin back into place, resealing the Red Coffin.


    ...


    The moment the lid was back on, Jiang Yaofei immediately retreated toward the doorway.


    Since the coffin lid was now in place, the door that had remained firmly closed might now cease to function properly, so he wanted to go back and try it.


    At this point, the beam from Jiang Yaofei¡¯s torch was still directed at his mother, and as he backed away, the old woman immediately followed him.


    Even with the Strangeness Interferer in hand, which prevented the old woman from attacking him, she could still keep following him, just like the Resentful Granny had done to Yan Junze before.


    The interferer also had a limited duration of effect, and if the opponent¡¯s magnetic field was too strong, the interference period would correspondingly shorten, forcing Jiang Yaofei to act quickly. He retreated to the door and reached behind to twist the doorknob.


    He didn¡¯t dare to linger for another reason¡ªSadako could also be lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack him.


    If the Strangeness Interferer failed, handling one Sadako might still be manageable, but if it were his own mother added to the equation, he couldn¡¯t assure himself that he¡¯d dare to fight back.


    After all, the shadows in his heart from childhood were far too terrifying.


    Moreover, even his conviction to escape might be lost.


    Click!


    The door opened. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A highly anxious Jiang Yaofei, delighted, immediately pulled the door with his backhand.


    Just then, the Strangeness Interferer in his hand trembled slightly, indicating that its energy was nearly exhausted.


    Jiang Yaofei quickly sidestepped, allowing the door to open fully, and stepped out with his right foot.


    At the same moment, he felt a tension in the arm holding the interferer. Jiang Yaofei quickly looked down to see the old woman, not knowing when, had pounced on him and bitten into his left arm.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Jiang Yaofei shook his arm violently, his right hand reaching for the magnetic clasp of the Magnetic Energy Clothing around his neck, and with practiced ease, he fastened it. The Magnetic Shielding Clothes were now in effect.


    The old woman had already released her bite, staring with a pair of dead, ashen eyes, looking around as if searching for something.


    At this moment, she had lost sight of Jiang Yaofei.


    Jiang Yaofei stood just outside the door, his head turned to the side, watching the old woman whose head swiveled left and right.


    The person before him was an exact replica of his mother, which at that moment gave Jiang Yaofei an eerie illusion of being trapped in a memory.


    He steadied himself, spoke not a word, and stepped out with his second foot, moving his body outside the door.


    Glancing back, ¡°Mother¡± still stood there, still unable to find her target.


    Looking down at his arm that had been bitten, he was grateful that it had been covered by the layer of Magnetic Shielding Clothes. His arm was unharmed by the bite, which had landed fully on the Magnetic Energy Clothing, merely causing a soreness from the pressure.


    With one last deep look at ¡°Mother,¡± a strange feeling arose in Jiang Yaofei¡¯s heart. He stretched out a hand to close the door and quickly walked away, heading across the street.


    This was not a place to linger, but it was now the best opportunity to escape. Taking advantage of the Red Coffin still being inside the house, he would immediately go back, call others, and rush to the house nearest to Plum Blossom Forest. They would wait for the chance to break through the Lantern Woman¡¯s barrier and then flee to the entrance of the village.


    As he resolved to do so, suddenly, he saw a flicker before his eyes and noticed three figures appearing on the other side of the street, walking in his direction along the center of the road.


    By the time Jiang Yaofei reached the other side, ready to take the shortest route through an alley to regroup, the sight of the approaching figures brightened his eyes, and joy sprang to his brows.


    His gaze sharpened, and he quickly recognized the approaching people he knew.


    Waving his hand and calling out softly, ¡°Xiaomo, Zhang Di, over here!¡±


    Standing beside Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di was naturally Yan Junze, who was also walking in the middle of the street, allowing the moonlight overhead to stretch his shadow long behind him, an expression of helplessness and melancholy on his face.


    After the first incident when Fang Ning¡¯s shadow escaped, just now, Yan Junze had attempted the same technique with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Who would have guessed that after being tricked once, Fang Ning refused to show up this time?


    No matter if Zhang Xiaomo was lying in ambush or not, Fang Ning stubbornly chose not to appear again.


    That was fine too since it allowed Yan Junze to finally stand confidently under the moonlight, well, albeit temporarily.


    Actually, Yan Junze was quite upset. Now that there were exorcists by his side, it would be the best way to defeat Fang Ning if he could use their help as he had done last time with the Resentful Granny.


    Though, the outcomes of the stories were always unexpectedly different.


    He had asked Zhang Xiaomo whether her abilities had strengthened during this time, for otherwise, how could it be that even the strangeness from the ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± mission was too scared to show up.


    Yan Junze recalled how last time Zhang Xiaomo had been deceived by the Resentful Granny, who was just a Semi-Sculpting Spirit.


    Zhang Xiaomo shyly nodded. The magnetic force within her had indeed increased significantly over this period. She had been intending to apply for a four-star Exorcist test after getting out.


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 Chapter 268 - 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_3

    Chapter 268: Chapter 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_3


    But now it seemed that her strength was not as great as she had imagined, because it was only after the Spirit Bridge erupted that she realized what truly formidable strangenesses were.


    Just at that moment, an extremely faint cry reached her ears. She hesitated for a moment and looked to her right front. She saw a head poking out from a corner and waving in their direction.


    ¡°It seems to be Jiang Yaofei,¡± Zhang Di said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, over there!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo could tell that Jiang Yaofei seemed very cautious. If he was being so cautious, it meant that the area nearby was not safe. Immediately, the three of them crouched down, no longer walking down the street, but instead quickly approached Jiang Yaofei¡¯s position by sticking close to the eaves of the houses by the street.


    The group united.


    ...


    The four squeezed into the alley. Jiang Yaofei glanced at Yan Junze and saw that he didn¡¯t recognize the other party, but he didn¡¯t ask further and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Is it just you three left?¡±


    ¡°We got separated from Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou a while ago and haven¡¯t found them, so we came over to check,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jiang Yaofei was taken aback, ¡°I just heard someone screaming nearby, obviously in danger, so I came to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    Jiang Yaofei pointed across the street with a lingering fear, ¡°That house with the pillars. I just barely escaped from inside using a jammer and Magnetic Energy Clothing. The strongest strangeness in this area¡ªthe Red Coffin¡ªis in that house, very dangerous. It¡¯s likely that Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou have met with misfortune.¡±


    He paused before adding, ¡°Let¡¯s leave here first.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Yan Junze suddenly spoke up, ¡°Are you saying that red coffin is in the house across the street?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Jiang Yaofei nodded, looking at Yan Junze with surprise, wondering why he would ask such a thing.


    Yan Junze rubbed his hands together and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°You guys go ahead and meet up. I¡¯m going to see if I can find Fang Zun and Yuan Dingzhou.¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± Zhang Di couldn¡¯t help exclaiming.


    Jiang Yaofei looked at Yan Junze somewhat at a loss. He didn¡¯t understand why, after knowing how powerful the strangeness was, someone would still choose to rush in. He couldn¡¯t help but ponder to himself that this kind of Exorcist, Yan Junze, was truly courting death with his strength.


    Zhang Xiaomo, however, was taken aback, then nodded her head, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at her, gave a slight smile, then turned and headed towards the house with the pillars opposite them.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡± Zhang Di said, ¡°We encountered that Red Coffin earlier on the street. It¡¯s very odd, undetectable even by the Spirit Detector. I¡¯m guessing its ghoul level is no lower than that of the Lantern Woman. It¡¯s very dangerous for him to go over like this!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, who is this guy? Although it¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve met, this has left a deep impression on me!¡± Jiang Yaofei also said.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave a bitter smile, looked at Zhang Di, ¡°Do you only now understand Yan Junze? To him, there¡¯s only a difference between strangenesses and ordinary people, no distinction of ghoul levels. With his laissez-faire Exorcism Method, tell me, does the level of the opponent matter? Take that Lantern Woman from just now, what were our chances if you and I teamed up? And yet this guy, with nothing but his words, managed to pinpoint the opponent¡¯s ¡®Achilles¡¯ heel.¡¯


    Zhang Di also began to smile wryly, maintaining his silence and speaking no more.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, ¡°The first time I interacted with him, I was assigned the task of protecting him. The strangeness that wanted to kill him was Semi-Sculpting Spirit level, which even tricked me at the time. Guess what happened next? When that Semi-Sculpting Spirit returned, this guy actually lured another Sculpting Spirit level strangeness into a fight, making the two strangenesses engage in an inner battle, while he reaped the benefits.¡±


    Jiang Yaofei¡¯s face showed astonishment, and when he looked back in the direction of Yan Junze, he saw that the latter had already pushed open the door and entered the house with the Red Coffin.


    ¡°So¡­ we leave now?¡± Jiang Yaofei did not want to stay here a moment longer.


    Moreover, now was the perfect opportunity to escape, and they could not delay.


    ¡°You guys go ahead; I¡¯ll keep watch here for a while,¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said. She then hugged the magnetic knife, leaned against the wall in the alley, and quietly looked towards the house opposite.


    Zhang Di and Jiang Yaofei both hesitated, looking at Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t leave?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t speak, but simply nodded her head, her gaze fixed on the house across the street.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Jiang Yaofei pulled off the Magnetic Shielding Clothes he was wearing and handed them to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°This thing is low on energy, but it can still last a while. Take it and use it if necessary.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo accepted the Magnetic Energy Clothing, thanked him, and added, ¡°The Lantern Woman has already had her Obsession erased by Yan Junze. After you regroup, go through the Plum Blossom Forest to the village¡¯s east side. We can meet up there if possible.¡±


    Jiang Yaofei¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°What? The Lantern Woman has been eliminated? Good, good, good!¡±


    He grabbed Zhang Di, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll lead the others out first.¡±


    Zhang Di just stared at Zhang Xiaomo, his look complex and somewhat sad, and without saying anything else, turned and quickly left the alley with Jiang Yaofei.


    At that moment, inside the house with the pillars.


    After Yan Junze pushed open the door and entered, just like Jiang Yaofei had done earlier, he deliberately pushed the door wide open and then took off his black backpack, placing it directly on the door to prevent it from closing on its own.


    The area by the door was bathed in ample moonlight, which at that moment allowed Yan Junze to appreciate the benefit of being able to bask in the moonlight and use it to expand his field of vision.


    He stood at the entrance, first peeping inside, then pulled out a flashlight and started shining it around the room.


    Besides the medium-sized red coffin that was placed deeper inside the house, there was nothing else.


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 Chapter 269 - 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_4

    Chapter 269: Chapter 248: Red Coffin (Part 1) (6000 words)_4


    There were no strange shadows.


    He carefully shone the flashlight on the Red Coffin and found that the lid had not been opened, everything seemed very quiet.


    When he had entered, Jiang Yaofei had not told anyone that he had closed the coffin lid, and Yan Junze had not associated the opening of the lid with the emergence of strangenesses.


    In a short moment, Yan Junze had grasped all the movements inside the room. Apart from the coffins at rest, there were no other danger factors, so he focused his attention on the coffins.


    Holding the flashlight, he approached the Red Coffin and at that time, he noticed a black hole on the side facing him.


    The hole had already pierced through to the inside of the coffin, dark and bottomless, not even the light from the flashlight could penetrate it.


    ...


    Yan Junze carefully walked over, crouched down, and discovered that there was an identical black hole on the other side of the coffin, which looked very symmetrical to the one facing the entrance.


    ¡°Two holes, could it be that it stretches out legs, and the coffin can walk on its own?¡± Yan Junze wondered, and then another possibility came to him, ¡°Or, is it for extending hands out, to walk supported on the ground?¡±


    ¡°What a bizarre coffin!¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, stood up, and was about to walk around this half-large coffin to continue his observation.


    Just then, he noticed something flash past inside the dark holes, that is, inside the coffin, followed by the sound of whimpering cries.


    ¡°Is there someone inside? No, is it a strangeness?¡±


    Yan Junze crouched down again, the flashlight¡¯s beam aimed at the hole, but it was still pitch dark and nothing could be seen, although one could clearly feel that there was someone crying inside.


    Listening to the sound, it seemed to be a young girl.


    Trying to lower his head as much as possible, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Who¡¯s inside?¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After saying these words, a wave of familiar memories suddenly flooded his mind.


    These were memories from Yan Junze¡¯s past life. When he was very young, he had once mischievously jumped on a well cover, which inadvertently gave way and he fell in, not to be discovered and rescued until two hours later.


    Luckily, it was a cable well, with no sewage or foul air, so young Yan Junze didn¡¯t suffocate, but during those two undetected hours, it became Yan Junze¡¯s nightmare every night thereafter.


    The suffocating darkness, the feelings of loneliness, helplessness, and fear, for some time after that, Yan Junze was unable to forget; he felt an inexplicable fear.


    And now, the whimpering cries coming from inside the coffin were strikingly similar to his own reactions after having fallen into the well and cried out helplessly.


    Yan Junze was well aware that after he had cried until he was tired, the surroundings had been pitch dark, as if something had been staring at him all along, and the whimpering was completely involuntary.


    Even now, he couldn¡¯t understand why he had made that kind of noise in the past.


    As soon as the words ¡°Who¡¯s inside¡± escaped his mouth, the crying from inside the coffin suddenly stopped. Then, a slightly hoarse but seemingly childlike voice came out, speaking extremely slowly.


    ¡°Save¡­ me!¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help the chill in his heart, shivering slightly.


    It was as though he could hear his younger self again, calling out in agony and helplessness for rescue.


    The person inside did not answer him but continued, ¡°Brother, save¡­ me! It¡¯s very dark here, so dark, I¡­ am scared!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s body was covered with goosebumps; his scalp tingled slightly as he asked again, ¡°How can I save you?¡±


    ¡°Here¡­¡± The voice responded, ¡°Here¡­ there is a hole, reach your hand inside, press down the secret latch, and save me¡­ out!¡±


    ¡°What? Put my hand into this hole?¡± Yan Junze stared doubtfully at the dark hole.


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 Chapter 270 - 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)

    Chapter 270: Chapter 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)


    ¡°`


    If Yan Junze had listened to the little girl at this moment and reached his hand into this hole, he would have been an idiot.


    Yan Junze¡¯s goal was simple, to resolve the obsession of this Red Coffin.


    However, the task prompt of the Red Coffin wasn¡¯t very clear; it only mentioned that the coffin wood had been wandering nearby, its exact purpose unknown ¨C perhaps it was just looking for a suitable place to be laid to rest.


    Of course, that might not be the case.


    If one wanted to find out its true purpose, the only way was to interact with it, not to be like high-level exorcists who would just strike it down with a sword.


    ...


    Moreover, Yan Junze was very clear that the level of the Red Coffin¡¯s mission was ¡°Terrified (Low),¡± not active within a range of task levels, but a genuine ¡°Terrified¡± level mission.


    Even for an exorcist, it would probably only be someone of Guo Youliang¡¯s stature who could eliminate it, and even then, at a certain cost.


    ¡°Let¡¯s communicate in another way,¡± Yan Junze suddenly stood up.


    Speaking with the little girl trapped inside the coffin from such a close distance always gave him the feeling of being a child who had fallen into a sewer.


    Somehow, he felt that the coffin wood was doing this intentionally, as if it could successfully evoke his most primal fear instinct.


    So, Yan Junze chose to stand a bit further away, watching the Red Coffin.


    At this moment, instead of the whimpering cries, there was a silent pause in the coffin, followed by a sound as if something was groping around, and then a gray child¡¯s arm stretched out from the hole in the coffin.


    The skin of this arm was dead gray, with four out of five nails rotten, looking disgusting.


    After the arm reached out, the small hand started groping around outside the hole.


    Soon after, the little girl¡¯s voice emitted again, ¡°Brother, where are you? I¡­ I¡¯m scared!¡±


    This scene made Yan Junze startled, bringing up long-forgotten memories.


    In his previous life, when he was about five years old, he once played with a glass marble and dropped it, which rolled into a corner wall hole.


    Yan Junze really liked that glass marble, so he ran over immediately, knelt on the ground, and reached his right hand into the hole.


    Due to his small hands, almost half of his arm entered the hole, groping around.


    During this time, young Yan touched something sticky, like thin mud or the excrement of something, but despite this, his fingertips brushed the glass marble once, only to push it deeper into the hole.


    Yan Junze really liked the smooth and shiny glass marble; he couldn¡¯t give up. Then he lay down on the ground, pushing almost his entire arm into the hole.


    Sure enough, he soon touched the glass marble again.


    This time, he lifted his fingers above the marble, not touching it directly, but pressed down on it from above, then gently pinched it and started dragging it out of the hole.


    During this process, his bent knuckles suddenly touched a clump of hair, fluffy and soft, as if it also had warmth.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s delusion, that thing seemed to be moving slightly.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s body tensed, feeling his limbs stiffen, his brain stopped thinking, just mechanically, unconsciously, slowly pulled his arm from the hole.


    Upon looking at his hand, it was covered in a large amount of filth, reeking, but the glass marble was gripped in his hand.


    It took a long while for Yan Junze to realize, that must have been a¡­ rat hole.


    He felt grateful, the rats inside hadn¡¯t bitten his hand, but that fear of the strange and unknown environment was deeply buried in his heart.


    At this moment, seeing the dead gray arm groping left and right, that feeling was once again evoked.


    ¡°I say¡­¡± Yan Junze¡¯s adam¡¯s apple moved, ¡°can you not do this, can we have a proper conversation. Um, what I want to know is, are you looking for a suitable place to be buried?¡±


    The arm paused for a moment, and after about a three-second delay, it suddenly retracted back into the coffin.


    No more sound came from the coffin.


    Yan Junze stared straight at the coffin, no longer speaking.


    Moments later, there was a click from the direction of the door.


    Yan Junze turned to look and saw that the door, which he had propped open with his backpack to prevent it from closing, was now closing on its own.


    Even though the backpack was blocking it, it seemed as if someone was pushing hard from behind the door, tilting the backpack to one side, pushed by the closing door as it slowly moved backward.


    Yan Junze¡¯s attention was drawn by the closing door, but he did not realize that, not far away, the lid of the Red Coffin was being lifted slightly by the force within, moving aside¡­


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze returned to the coffin lid.


    This moment, not only was the door closing, but it seemed like the coffin lid couldn¡¯t be held down either. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Should I go to open the door or hold down the coffin lid?¡± Yan Junze had a moment of indecision.


    ¡°Hold down the coffin lid first!¡±


    He quickly made a decision, walked over to the Red Coffin in a few steps, placed both hands on the lid, and began to push hard in the opposite direction.


    The lid jerked, was resisted, and temporarily could not be fully opened; however, a gap as thick as three books was revealed.


    Yan Junze felt the force moving the lid was great; he was pushing hard against it, but that invisible force was still pushing the lid outward.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 271 - 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 271: Chapter 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_2


    He looked back at the door that was closing. At this moment, the backpack had toppled over, creating some resistance that made the door close on its own not so easily.


    Still, the door continued to close at a visibly quick pace.


    ¡°Fuck, is this making it hard for me? Should I Rewind?¡± Yan Junze hesitated.


    Just then, he abruptly looked down and saw the small, dead grey arm extending slowly from the crevice of the cracking coffin lid, feeling around the edge of the coffin.


    This time, the arm was very close to him, just short of touching Yan Junze¡¯s left hand that was pressing down on the coffin lid.


    Moreover, Yan Junze noticed that the small arm was still lengthening, which forced him to change the direction of his strength, preventing the lid from opening. He shifted his hand slightly and pushed back against the edge of the lid with all his might.


    ...


    The dead grey arm kept growing, exceeding the length of a normal human arm. Its fingers spread out, touching the coffin lid and slightly lifting it to search around, producing a series of tap-tap-tap sounds, exuding an inexplicable eeriness.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t care less, using all his strength, he slowly pushed the coffin lid back into place.


    When he looked up, he saw the backpack that was blocking the door¡ªhaving toppled over¡ªwas now being pushed further away, slowly rolling outward, losing its blocking effect.


    After nothing obstructed it anymore, the door suddenly sped up, and just as it was about to close, a short knife was thrust in, slipping through the crack and keeping the closing door separated from the frame.


    This was a magnetic knife. After preventing the door from closing, it began to twist slowly, widening the crack of the opening door, and immediately a slender hand pushed the door open.


    The person was none other than Zhang Xiaomo.


    After opening the door, Zhang Xiaomo stepped into the room in a flash.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, said, ¡°Don¡¯t let the door close.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo came to her senses and reached back for the doorknob, but the door was closing equally fast. As soon as she grabbed the doorknob, the door slammed shut with a bang.


    Zhang Xiaomo twisted the knob, but it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Forget about that door, there¡¯s something strange about this room,¡± Yan Junze advised, then started to consider whether to Rewind right away.


    But after thinking about it, Rewinding now seemed utterly unnecessary because he might take this opportunity to delve deeper into the intention of the Red Coffin.


    Once distracted, the strength in his hand decreased sharply, and the coffin lid slid to one side and opened completely.


    A tuft of green smoke emerged from the coffin, acrid and foul-smelling, but the interior was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen.


    Yan Junze immediately backed away, walking towards Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s direction.


    ¡°What are you doing here? It¡¯s very dangerous,¡± he said as he approached.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out first and then talk,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied, not planning to answer him directly. She was still turning the lock, now that she had inserted the magnetic knife into the crack and started to twist it with force.


    Obviously, when she entered the room, she hadn¡¯t anticipated that the self-closing door would possess such strangeness, thinking it was just a normal occurrence.


    After all, the target of the strangeness was the Red Coffin, not the door.


    Now that she discovered she couldn¡¯t open the door, Zhang Xiaomo felt somewhat self-reproachful.


    ¡°We might¡­ not be able to leave for the time being,¡± Yan Junze said, shaking his head.


    That instant, Zhang Xiaomo noticed marks of a knife cut on the door, and looking up, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go through the window!¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment, don¡¯t panic,¡± Yan Junze stopped her, ¡°The coffin lid of the Red Coffin can no longer be suppressed and has opened on its own when you just came in. Well, I want to ask you, what were you most afraid of as a child?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him, puzzled, and didn¡¯t answer.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Afraid of caterpillars?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    ¡°Snakes? Cockroaches? Rats?¡± Yan Junze continued to ask.


    Zhang Xiaomo still shook her head, ¡°The things you mentioned just make one feel disgusted, but I¡¯m not afraid of them. Why are you asking this?¡±


    Yan Junze was pleased, ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me that you¡¯ve never been afraid of anything since you were little, right? Hahaha, that would be good, so I can concentrate more when dealing with the strangeness of the Red Coffin.¡±


    ¡°Who said I¡¯m not afraid of anything?¡± Zhang Xiaomo pouted, her lips slightly parted, then closed again.


    ¡°Afraid of what? Is it hard to say?¡± Yan Junze was surprised, then he turned his head to glance in the direction of the Red Coffin in the darkness.


    At this moment, the lid of the Red Coffin was open, and it was unclear whether something had emerged, but Yan Junze already had a premonition that whatever he was afraid of, the Red Coffin strangeness would produce something similar or even the same. The goal was to maximize his Fear Value.


    That¡¯s why he had asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    If Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t afraid of anything, that would be the best, so there wouldn¡¯t be any more concerns.


    But in reality, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t admit anyone could go through life without fear of anything.


    Now that he heard Zhang Xiaomo also had fears, he started feeling uneasy.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to reflect carefully and soon shook her head, ¡°I think¡­ I really don¡¯t have anything I¡¯m afraid of? I had a harmonious family growing up, and the environment was always very good, plus I¡¯ve always been brave.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good, it¡¯s good as long as there¡¯s nothing you¡¯re afraid of,¡± Yan Junze said, patting his chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of anything, but I am afraid of one thing, does that count?¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said.


    Afraid of one thing? Yan Junze¡¯s heart suddenly felt a bad sensation, ¡°What is it?¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 272 - 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 272: Chapter 249: Red Coffin (Part 2) (4400 words)_3


    Zhang Xiaomo looked in the direction of the Red Coffin and saw that there didn¡¯t seem to be any danger. She then said apologetically in a soft voice, ¡°When I was in elementary school, my uncle loved to play tricks on me. He would often unexpectedly stand behind me and pat my shoulder. Every time, it was without me noticing, and a few times, I was scared to tears by him. It got to the point where later, I would often worry there was something behind me until it stopped feeling that way after high school.¡±


    As Zhang Xiaomo spoke, Yan Junze¡¯s heart started skipping wildly, thumping like a drum.


    He swallowed hard and said, ¡°Listen to me now. There might be something that will pat our shoulders from behind in a moment. You need to be prepared, don¡¯t get nervous, don¡¯t look back, and definitely don¡¯t turn around and strike with your knife.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was visibly frightened by these words.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°There are two reasons why I don¡¯t want you to slash at it. The first is that I want to resolve the entity¡¯s obsession, and we should avoid direct confrontation unless it is absolutely necessary. The second reason is that it¡¯s a ¡®Terrified¡¯ entity. I have plenty of reasons to believe that no matter what, you won¡¯t be able to defeat it.¡±


    After saying this, Yan Junze saw that Zhang Xiaomo was quite confused and nodded, ¡°If you have any questions, you can ask me.¡±


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo asked, ¡°What is Terrified? And why are you so sure there will be¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, there was a snap from behind both of them, and they felt a pat on their shoulders.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t react much because he was mentally prepared. However, Zhang Xiaomo let out a sharp scream. As soon as the scream left her mouth, she quickly covered it with her hand, reacting very quickly.


    But impulsively, Zhang Xiaomo wanted to turn around and look.


    Yan Junze quickly wrapped his arm around her neck, not realizing how intimate the gesture was, ¡°Don¡¯t look back, it¡¯s useless to do so.¡±


    Now both of them were standing with their backs toward the door they had just closed, about half a step away from the door panel and the wall. Zhang Xiaomo found it hard to believe that someone could appear behind them in such a short distance.


    Could it be¡­ the entity had appeared directly in the wall?


    ¡°Let¡¯s move forward a few steps,¡± Yan Junze suggested.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, gripping her magnetic knife, and took five steps forward with Yan Junze before stopping.


    By now they were a little closer to the Red Coffin, and this was the furthest the moonlight from outside could reach. If they moved forward, they would be entering complete darkness.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for a moment,¡± Yan Junze said.


    At the same moment, a chill swept over their backs, and with a snap, they were patted once more.


    This time, Zhang Xiaomo did not scream. She just shivered and asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t I look back?¡±


    By implication, she had seen all sorts of entities before, so it was unlikely that any entity could frighten her just by looking back.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look at her, his expression odd, ¡°What I mean is, what if you look back and don¡¯t see any entity, but instead, you see your uncle? What would you do then?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face drained of color.


    ¡°See, just mentioning it scares you like this. If the person behind tapping your shoulder really is your uncle, I fear it would be even more dangerous for you,¡± Yan Junze said earnestly, looking straight at her. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This entity¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo said through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Yes, it can evoke the deepest fears in your heart,¡± Yan Junze cut her off, nodding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stand back to back for now. That way we won¡¯t be afraid of someone patting our shoulders from behind, and we can also take the chance to observe the surroundings of the coffin,¡± Zhang Xiaomo suggested.


    Yan Junze¡¯s expression stiffened as he stared into her bright eyes, ¡°Miss Zhang, do you realize that by making this suggestion, you are inevitably making me relive the hair-raising fear and chilling dread I felt when I stood back to back with Fang Ning under the moonlight, holding hands?¡±


    After making this remark, Yan Junze looked down at his faint shadow on the ground.


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 Chapter 273 - 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)

    Chapter 273: Chapter 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)


    With Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s previous sneak attack, Fang Ning was not likely to appear again in the short term. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s current suggestion was indeed good, standing back-to-back meant there wouldn¡¯t be any more instances of someone patting their shoulder from behind.


    Although Yan Junze had developed a psychological shadow from standing back-to-back with a girl, fortunately, the person now was Zhang Xiaomo. Despite what he said, he honestly stood with his back against Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s, watching for any movement on his side.


    ¡°You should be careful, the Red Coffin¡¯s strangeness isn¡¯t limited to just one trick. Just now it found two things that I¡¯ve been afraid of since I was a child,¡± Yan Junze warned Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled and asked, ¡°Which two things?¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled but did not answer.


    ...


    Feeling the warmth coming from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s back, at that moment Yan Junze realized that this feeling was completely different from that time with Fang Ning.


    Standing back-to-back with Fang Ning, it felt cold, hard, and damp. But standing with Zhang Xiaomo now felt very comfortable, and there was no reason to refuse from any perspective.


    Because of his previous experience standing back with Fang Ning, his heart felt more comfortable at this moment, and Yan Junze¡¯s left hand involuntarily grasped Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s, which was also hanging down.


    He didn¡¯t feel anything special, only that his subconscious considered this handholding a very common action after standing back-to-back.


    Zhang Xiaomo, however, was slightly taken aback, made no movements, and felt the warmth coming from their palms. Her heart suddenly started pounding, and in the darkness of the room, no one noticed her cheeks reddening a bit.


    However, from the moment they backed up against each other, no one¡¯s shoulders were patted again.


    This tactic was evidently very effective.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move closer to the Red Coffin now. Be careful not to separate. I¡¯m going to perform a ¡®Buddha-style exorcism¡¯,¡± Yan Junze said, mimicking Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s tone.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, and the two moved into the darkness towards the direction of the Red Coffin, their backs still touching and hands clasped.


    Right then, Yan Junze stepped into the water.


    Looking down, he noticed that the floor had somehow become flooded with water. Initially, there hadn¡¯t been much, but now it was slowly seeping from the crevices and corners of the walls, gradually increasing.


    Zhang Xiaomo also lifted her foot, the sole of her black sports shoe soaked through.


    ¡°Why is there water?¡± Zhang Xiaomo wondered in surprise.


    At that moment, they were only two meters away from the Red Coffin. Yan Junze used his flashlight to glance at the water around his feet, and indeed, there were puddles everywhere, as if the water had suddenly started seeping up from the ground.


    At that moment, he looked up at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly remembered and said seriously, ¡°When I was seven years old, I nearly drowned in a swimming pool.¡±


    Huh¡ª


    Yan Junze took a breath, hurried her to the front of the coffin, and by now the rising water had submerged their feet.


    First, he peered into the darkness of the coffin, Yan Junze said, ¡°If this water is going to rise completely, it would take at least ten minutes to flood this room, and in that time, I plan to get inside the coffin and have a look. Although the coffin looks small, I believe it¡¯s very spacious inside.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and said, ¡°Maybe I can just smash open this coffin so whatever is inside can¡¯t hide anymore.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to deal with it with brute force. Trust me, now go back and lean completely against the wall. Even if someone pats your shoulder, don¡¯t pay any attention to it. I will get rid of this trouble before the water in this room drowns you.¡±


    ¡°After I learned to swim, I overcame my fear of drowning,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me and focus on dealing with this strangeness. Even if the whole room gets flooded, I can hold my breath for four or five minutes. Just be careful yourself!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze brightened slightly as he looked at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Truth be told, in situations like this, the last thing you want is a teammate who causes more trouble. As long as they don¡¯t add to your problems, that¡¯s enough. However, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reaction was the greatest support to him, and she didn¡¯t ask too many questions. A woman like her¡­ was rare to find.


    ¡°But if the whole room is flooded and you still haven¡¯t come out, I will stop at nothing. I¡¯ll even use a Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle to destroy the coffin and rescue you before the water I¡¯ve inhaled fills my lungs,¡± Zhang Xiaomo added.


    ¡°You have a Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°My teacher gave it to me,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    Yan Junze climbed into the coffin, saying, ¡°You won¡¯t drown, trust me. I¡¯m the best when it comes to timing.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo did not speak anymore, stepped back, and adhered to Yan Junze¡¯s directions, pressing her back tightly against the wall. Looking down, the rising water had already reached her ankles.


    Turning to look in the direction of the coffin, Yan Junze¡¯s whole body, except for one hand on the edge of the coffin, seemed to be entering a deep space inside, and then he let go, allowing his entire body to enter the coffin.


    Zhang Xiaomo forced herself to stay calm and checked her sports watch; the time was 11:35.


    Snap!


    At this moment, her left shoulder felt a palm slapping it once again.


    Now Zhang Xiaomo was certain that the strangeness had merged into the wall, and the hand patting her was definitely protruding from within it.


    Nevertheless, she endured it and didn¡¯t react.


    Snap!


    Another slap landed on her right shoulder.


    ¡­


    The moment he stepped into the Red Coffin, Yan Junze felt as if he saw a glimmer of hope.


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 Chapter 274 - 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 274: Chapter 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_2


    ¡°`


    To be honest, from the moment I entered the room, saw the Red Coffin, and witnessed a series of inexplicable strangenesses, I haven¡¯t quite understood what the purpose of this coffin is, where its Obsession lies, or how to dispel it.


    At first, Yan Junze thought that preventing the coffin from being opened and engaging in a dialogue might reveal a flaw to resolve the Oppression. But now it seemed that entering the coffin might be necessary.


    Indeed, as soon as he stepped into the coffin, a familiar message popped into his mind.


    [A new branch mission triggered by the Red Coffin.]


    After entering Mo Family Village, Yan Junze knew from the moment he detected the [Red Coffin] mission that there was a branch mission associated with it.


    ...


    However, he hadn¡¯t expected that entering the coffin was necessary to trigger the branch mission.


    Looking closely, this was a new mission brief.


    [Mission Name: Whispers;


    Mission Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Mission Background: It couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been devoured by this Red Coffin, and it was very lonely, yet unable to leave this place. For hundreds of years, it couldn¡¯t communicate with anyone, and it needed someone to talk to it, even if just a few whispers;


    Mission Statement: Let it know that it was not actually alone;


    Mission Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Penalty: Accompany it in the coffin forever;


    Mission Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Not everything it says can be trusted; 3, It dislikes places with light;]


    Note: Perhaps it knows the secret of this Red Coffin.]


    The message appeared quickly, and just as Yan Junze was squeezing himself into the coffin and had seen the message, he released his hand that had been gripping the edge of the coffin.


    As he had previously thought, the coffin seemed to be only half the size of a regular one from the outside, but the interior space was completely unpredictable.


    After Yan Junze entered the coffin, his feet extended downward until, when he almost thought he was going to fall, his feet finally touched something solid, as if standing on a single piece of black wood.


    He let go with his hands, put the already switched off flashlight into his pants pocket, and everything before his eyes became pitch black, rendering him unable to see anything.


    He waited a few seconds, and there was deathly silence all around.


    Yan Junze began to reach out and touch around. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, he was standing, but his whole body was still entirely within the coffin, indicating the genuinely peculiar space inside the coffin, roughly similar to what Yan Junze had speculated.


    After feeling around for a moment, he quickly confirmed that the interior space appeared not very large, structured like a rectangular body, just tall in its dimension.


    And this rectangle looked like the normal size inside a coffin, only slightly more spacious, allowing Yan Junze at this moment to lie down with his arms and legs fully stretched out.


    The introduction to the [Whispers] mission required a little chat with ¡°it,¡± which meant keeping it company and alleviating its problem of not having been able to communicate with anyone for a long time.


    With that thought, Yan Junze simply lay down, ready to deal with the other party in this manner, since if the person were lying down, this form of communication would put less pressure on them, which is conducive to completing the mission.


    Not long after he lay down, there were indeed movements around him.


    A crawling sound was approaching from not too far away.


    Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled; he had felt around earlier, and the actual space around was very small, but the sound made it seem as though there was some distance for whatever was crawling to cover, and he didn¡¯t know where it was crawling from.


    Although he had questions in his mind, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move, but lay there quietly, waiting.


    The sound of crawling grew nearer, and in less than a minute, a bone-chilling breath approached him from the left side of his body.


    The cold aura coming from this body was so strong that it reminded Yan Junze of the first time he approached the Back-faced Woman.


    This convinced him that if this entity could leave the Red Coffin, it would definitely be on the level of the Back-faced Woman.


    After the person approached, they didn¡¯t touch Yan Junze; he estimated that there was about a finger¡¯s width of distance between them.


    This distance was very close, yet the other party remained still, simply motionless and radiating an intolerably cold and piercing aura.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t see it fit to speak first, the mission tips suggested speaking in whispers, but he didn¡¯t know what to say, the content, or the extent he could go, so he remained silent, waiting for the other party to speak first.


    Meanwhile, he also kept an eye on the time, as spending too long inside the coffin without resolving its strangeness could pose a danger to Zhang Xiaomo outside.


    The person beside him kept silent, as if asleep.


    Yan Junze resisted the urge to turn on his flashlight and shine it at the other; he knew from the mission tips that the entity disliked light and should not be directly illuminated.


    No matter what, even if this creature looked extremely horrific, now he couldn¡¯t see it, so Yan Junze ignored it.


    However, the time he had was limited; he couldn¡¯t afford to waste as much time with the strangeness as he had done in past missions.


    After waiting for a while longer, with no movement from the other side, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and cleared his throat; the person next to him shifted slightly but remained silent.


    Recalling that he needed to whisper with the entity, Yan Junze lowered his voice as much as possible and finally spoke, ¡°Excuse me¡­ what should I call you?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 275 - 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 275: Chapter 250: Red Coffin (Part 3) (4400 words)_3


    ¡°`


    Thump!


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chill pierced his abdomen, as if impaled by an ice-cold blade, followed by a surge of intense pain.


    At that moment, Yan Junze knew all too well that the other party had penetrated his stomach with something, perhaps a fingernail.


    Apparently, this kind of opening line was clearly not going to work.


    Rewind!


    ...


    This time, when rewinding, Yan Junze deliberately chose the moment just after the figure had approached and stopped near him.


    Knowing the figure would remain silent by his side, every saved minute counted. Outside, Zhang Xiaomo was in danger, and Yan Junze did not want to waste time.


    As soon as the person stopped, he lowered his voice and said, ¡°Do you feel lonely?¡±


    The person lying before him did not respond or make any move; this time, there was no immediate attack.


    ¡°If you have something to say, you can tell me. Maybe I can be your best audience,¡± Yan Junze felt that with every life-threatening experience, his expertise in dealing with strangenesses was growing.


    The person leaned forward, their face nearly touching Yan Junze¡¯s.


    An even colder sensation spread throughout his body. Yan Junze tightened his collar, weary of provoking any displeasure, so he did not retreat but allowed the figure to come close to him.


    A low voice soon sounded in his ear.


    Yan Junze held his breath, listening intently, but after only a few seconds, he looked puzzled.


    The person was not speaking quickly, but to Yan Junze¡¯s ears, it was incomprehensible because the figure was speaking in a dialect, one from a small area that was incredibly obscure and difficult for Yan Junze to understand.


    The cadence, somewhat eerie, flowed out slowly. In the enclosed space, it was as if caterpillars were crawling around Yan Junze¡¯s ears, tickling unbearably, yet he could not comprehend a single word.


    Shortly after, the person finished speaking a passage and seemed to be waiting for Yan Junze¡¯s reply.


    Yan Junze was completely baffled and tentatively said, using the figure¡¯s peculiar tone, ¡°Can¡­ you¡­ speak¡­ the official language of Great Capital?¡±


    The figure first remained silent, then spoke in a lowering voice, emitting a string of sentences, appearing to be either questioning or angry.


    But even if they were angry, they dared not make too much noise, as if¡­ they were avoiding something.


    This would not do, Yan Junze felt troubled.


    Unable to understand the other party¡¯s language, how could they communicate, through sign language?


    In this darkness, even if one used sign language, nothing could be seen. Moreover, the task was ¡°Whispers,¡± so speaking was definitely required.


    While pondering, the figure suddenly uttered a phrase of only three or four words. Yan Junze hurriedly memorized the pronunciation and immediately initiated Rewind.


    In an instant, he was back outside the Red Coffin, standing before Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was leaning against the wall, and Yan Junze asked, ¡°Do exorcists usually get trained or learn dialects?¡±


    Based on his guess, exorcists who often traveled throughout the Great Capital for exorcism should be familiar with basic dialects.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded her head: ¡°Why do you ask that?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to explain and rushed to repeat the nearly forgotten dialect with an inaccurate pronunciation, asking, ¡°Can you understand this sentence? What does it mean?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment, her elegant brows slightly creasing: ¡°Why do you ask this?¡±


    ¡°Can you understand it?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°This is the dialect from the western area near Miantai in Tianmeng, which is still in use. However, most people there can also speak the official language of Great Capital. It¡¯s rare for them to speak the Miantai dialect, except for some local elders.¡±


    ¡°What does this sentence mean?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°MMP!¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied without changing her expression.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 276 - 251: Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)

    Chapter 276: Chapter 251: Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)


    Although the pronunciation of Miantai language was a bit odd, once I became familiar with it, it wasn¡¯t the kind of language that was obscure and difficult to understand.


    The thing Yan Junze feared most was that the pronunciation of the same word in Miantai language was completely different from the official language of Great Capital. If that was the case, it would be like dealing with an entirely different foreign language.


    To master a foreign language in a short time and to be able to communicate with the person in the coffin without any barriers would certainly be harder than ascending to the heavens.


    After speaking a few sentences with Zhang Xiaomo, he discovered that the pronunciation of Miantai language was indeed very odd, but not incomprehensible.


    After getting briefly accustomed, by now the water in the room had already submerged both of their waists.


    Seeing that Yan Junze had no intention of entering the coffin, Zhang Xiaomo became somewhat anxious, reminding him, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to try to remove the coffin¡¯s strangenesses¡¯ ¡®Obsession¡¯? Why aren¡¯t you going in? Why keep asking me about Miantai language?¡±


    ...


    Quickly, the rising water spread, completely submerging the coffin that was laid flat on the ground, but it seemed as if no water flowed into the coffin. The space outside the coffin appeared to insulate against the current.


    Yan Junze turned his head, gave an awkward smile, and nodded, ¡°Off I go, off I go, I must learn it to better cope with what¡¯s to come.¡±


    With a look from Zhang Xiaomo that seemed to suggest he was an idiot, Yan Junze really did shout like one, ¡°Rewind!¡±


    Time rewound!


    Shouting that felt great; it reminded him of when he watched ¡®Moonlight Treasure Box,¡¯ where Zhi Zunbao kept using the treasure box to travel back in time to stop Miss Jingjing from committing suicide.


    He returned to not long after the water started flooding.


    Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo out of curiosity, ¡°Was Mo Family Village eight hundred years ago also speaking Miantai language?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, then after a long pause, she shook her head, ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, but perhaps some foreigners might speak it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Yan Junze nodded, and as he climbed into the coffin, he said, ¡°If you get completely submerged and can¡¯t breathe later, you can try swimming over to this coffin and stick your head into this space here, there might be fresh air.¡±


    Under Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s astonished gaze, he let go and jumped into the coffin.


    After he vanished, Zhang Xiaomo talked to herself, ¡°This guy, why do I sometimes feel like his brain has been kicked by a donkey? The water has already drowned me, and now I should stretch my head into the coffin, what kind of operation is this?¡±


    Without any delay this time, Yan Junze entered the coffin and immediately lay down straight, then slowed his breathing and pricked up his ears to listen.


    Shortly after he lay down, the sound of something creeping approached from not too far away, a cold breath drawing nearer.


    This time, prepared, Yan Junze no longer felt the uncertainty he had before.


    He waited quietly until the cold breath was close to him because the other entity was a strangeness, with no sound of breathing, like a giant ice block, remained motionless beside him.


    Yan Junze knew he couldn¡¯t directly ask this entity for its name, as the other would immediately burst into rage. Fortunately, he could speak the official language of Great Capital, which this person seemed to understand but simply couldn¡¯t speak.


    As long as he asked the other to speak more slowly, they could manage to communicate.


    ¡°I came here just to talk with you. If there¡¯s anything you want to say, you can tell me. I can be your best listener,¡± Yan Junze spoke softly, deliberately slowing his speech, fearing the other might not understand.


    The person leaned forward a bit, silent for a moment, then began, ¡°Hungry still costly armor¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Yan Junze interrupted him, pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t speak your dialect, so I want to ask, did you just say ¡®I want to go home¡¯?¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the darkness, it was not possible to see the man¡¯s face, only to hear his male voice, and even less to know what expression the man wore at this moment.


    After a silent moment, the man spoke, ¡°I can speak slowly.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    From that moment on, Yan Junze felt like he was starting to grasp the general intonation of the other¡¯s language. As long as he formed an understanding of this intonation in his mind, comprehending became much easier.


    ¡°Let me leave this place, I want to get out,¡± the man spoke slowly.


    ¡°Is this his ¡®Obsession¡¯?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback.


    If the man¡¯s ¡®Obsession¡¯ was to leave the coffin, it would be impossible for Yan Junze to help him in the short term, at least not right now.


    ¡°Sorry, I only came here to share ¡®Whispers¡¯ with you, I can¡¯t make you leave,¡± Yan Junze started, then pointed to the ceiling, ¡°If you really want to leave, maybe you can try finding a way to crawl to the top of the coffin and get out from there.¡±


    Of course, where Yan Junze pointed to was pitch black, devoid of any light.


    Actually, the moment he entered the coffin, the light from above had vanished instantly.


    The man appeared to be surveying a certain direction, and did not speak for a while.


    In this moment, Yan Junze was slightly taken aback, suspecting that this entity could see his hand gestures; the dark did not hinder him at all.


    ¡°I must go back, leave this place,¡± the man spoke again, his voice trembling slightly, ¡°This place is terrifying, I don¡¯t want to stay for an extra second. I¡¯m grateful that you came to accompany me, but please, you must help me.¡±


    Having heard the man¡¯s words, the bad feeling Yan Junze had outside the coffin rose again in his heart.


    His face filled with fear, he asked, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean specifically, could it be¡­ that this place contains the most terrifying thing in your heart?¡±


    The man gave no answer, but made a sharp inhale, as if gasping for air.


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    Paragraph copied

 Chapter 277 - 251: Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 277: Chapter 251: Red Coffin (Part 4) (4000 words)_2


    The next second, Yan Junze felt a chill around his ankle as if something had grabbed him.


    At that moment, the man was lying next to him shoulder to shoulder, with both hands above, it was impossible for him to stretch another hand down to grab Yan Junze¡¯s ankle.


    This suggested that there was someone else present.


    Yan Junze was startled at first, then his heart began to thump heavily.


    Recalling what the man had just said, he was now sure that even inside this coffin, one could still encounter the manifestation of their greatest fears.


    And not just ordinary people, but even a strangeness of at least the Sculpting Spirit level would experience this fear manifestation.


    ...


    This was the ghastliness of the Red Coffin, no matter if you were human or strangeness, once the coffin set its sights on you, it would bring forth the things you feared the most.


    Yan Junze realized, now, that the cold little hand holding his ankle was likely the same ash-grey child¡¯s arm that had reached out from the hole in the coffin earlier.


    After the girl¡¯s hand touched Yan Junze¡¯s ankle, it did not cling on but moved upwards like a snake, and soon, a second hand grabbed his trouser leg.


    Then Yan Junze felt a child climbing up his clothes, bit by bit.


    The man lying next to him seemed to sense something. He lowered his voice to a whisper, even softer than the Whispers from earlier, and said, ¡°Has your fear arrived?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t respond.


    The man continued, ¡°Here, you can only crawl, and you cannot stand up. The fear it inflicts upon you, you simply cannot fight it. Just bear it, endure it, and soon it¡¯ll be over.¡±


    Goosebumps broke out all over Yan Junze¡¯s body, and that terribly uncomfortable little hand was now inching up his neck.


    Sliding over his neck¡¯s skin with a cold, deep chill, it felt like a stainless steel blade, making Yan Junze shiver uncontrollably.


    The man lying beside him remained motionless, without any intention of helping him, perhaps knowing that any assistance was futile.


    At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s power from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s Semi-spirit was extremely weakened and inoperative, while the little mirror in the hidden pocket on his right waist was impossible to retrieve at the moment.


    Even if he could take it out, he would have to consider the unexpected consequences of using the Mirror Spirit in this place.


    If the outcome was good, of course, it would be ideal, but if it turned out for the worse, the loss would outweigh the gain.


    Darkness surrounded him, truly like when Yan Junze, as a child, fell into a manhole, facing the helpless terror of the pervasive darkness.


    Yan Junze opened his mouth, only to find that he simply couldn¡¯t call out, just like back then, sitting in the manhole, beginning to cry, and after crying, becoming increasingly scared, until he was so frightened that he could only make whimpering sounds.


    The hand that had been stroking his neck was now slowly sliding towards the position of Yan Junze¡¯s hands.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt a sticky sensation between his fingers, as if touching squirming hairy things, similar to rat fur.


    This sensation made his stomach churn suddenly, with nausea and the desire to vomit surfacing, just like the moment from his childhood when he reached into the hole to grab marbles.


    The lingering fear from touching animal fur rushed over him, making his entire body feels sick, with a cold sweat breaking out, almost causing him to shake entirely.


    Yan Junze bit down on his teeth fiercely, enduring the clingy sensation on his fingers that kept resurfacing, along with the silence of the surrounding darkness engulfing him.


    He didn¡¯t realize his clothes were already soaked with sweat, his hair completely drenched.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the sinking, nauseating, sickening feeling finally began to subside. The little hand was gone; the stickiness between the fingers slowly felt real.


    That moment, Yan Junze discovered there indeed was something on his hands, sticky and sludge-like, resembling mud or filth, and he immediately rubbed it off onto the ground.


    Nobody spoke again; the inside of the coffin was dead silent.


    About a minute later, when he was sure his fear had left, Yan Junze let out a sigh of relief and whispered to the man lying next to him, ¡°My fear just now felt entirely real, what¡¯s going on? There really was shit or mud in my hands.¡±


    ¡°All of this¡­ is real,¡± the man replied shakily.


    It was then that Yan Junze noticed he was still shaking, a strangeness actually shaking; it sounded quite ridiculous, but there it was, right in front of him.


    Afterwards, he asked softly, ¡°It was my fear, why are you so scared?¡±


    The man seemed to lift his head in the darkness, staring at Yan Junze as if afraid that Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t understand, he said word by word in dialect, ¡°She¡­ has¡­ come!¡±


    ¡°Who? Who¡¯s come?¡± Yan Junze was stunned, then suddenly realized, ¡°Has your fear¡­ come?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at her!¡± the man said in a lowered voice, then quickly shut his mouth, refusing to speak any further.


    Meow¡ª


    An inexplicable cat meow suddenly resounded throughout the entire coffin space, followed by rustling, dense sounds that seemed to come from all directions.


    ¡°Damn it! You old geezer, what the hell is the thing you¡¯re afraid of?¡± Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded.


    Outside the coffin.


    Zhang Xiaomo silently counted; since she had left the coffin to press against the wall, the strange hand from behind the wall had patted her 37 times.


    But each time, she endured, never turning her head to look, not even paying it any attention.


    However, she couldn¡¯t ignore the crisis before her eyes any longer.


    The speed at which the water rose in the room was beyond both her and Yan Junze¡¯s expectations. After reaching her knees, the water level seemed to rise even faster.


    In just a few minutes, the water had risen to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s chest.


    Fortunately, the flashlight she held was a military-grade multifunctional waterproof model, which still provided illumination under the water.


    She shined it around, and besides behind her, there was nothing eerie in the other surroundings, so Zhang Xiaomo focused all her attention on the rising water level.


    After another minute or so, the water had reached her neck.


    The buoyancy of the water completely lifted her up, and Zhang Xiaomo had no choice but to leave the wall behind her.


    Then her shoulder was patted once again, this time after she had moved away from the wall.


    Zhang Xiaomo glided with the current, making sure not to let her body turn around, continuing to ignore what was behind her.


    The ceiling of the room was about 2.5 meters from the floor, and it would take some time for the water to completely fill the room.


    In the meantime, Zhang Xiaomo looked down with her flashlight at the Red Coffin placed on the floor.


    By now, the buoyancy of the water was significant, but the Red Coffin lay there immovable as if it were anchored down.


    Moreover, there was no swirling of water around it, indicating, just as Yan Junze had mentioned earlier, that the water had not flown into the coffin.


    ¡°This kid, was his head not kicked by a donkey after all?¡± Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself, then paused, ¡°But how did he know that the water wouldn¡¯t enter the coffin?¡±


    At the same moment.


    Yan Junze felt his ears turning red, but he no longer had the time to care who was thinking about him.


    Just after that cat meow, he thought he saw a pair of pale blue eyes appear in the darkness near the man next to him.


    The light emanating from these eyes was faint, hardly noticeable without close observation.


    The next second, Yan Junze remembered the man¡¯s warning not to look at that thing, and he immediately turned his head away, facing upward, no longer looking around.


    ¡°Could it be that this guy is afraid of¡­ cats? But what¡¯s there to be afraid of about cats?¡± Yan Junze guessed wildly.


    The dense rustling sound quickly approached.


    This time Yan Junze could hear clearly; it was the sound of clothes scraping across the floor as they moved, and there were also many other finer but nonetheless dense friction sounds.


    In about four or five seconds, the thing approached the man lying next to him.


    Yan Junze suddenly realized that the dense dragging sounds on the floor seemed to be hair, a large amount of hair!


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 Chapter 278 - 252: Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)

    Chapter 278: Chapter 252: Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)


    This abundant and long hair belonged to an old woman dressed in white, who was likewise crawling on the ground.


    It seemed that in this Red Coffin, no one could stand up. Every strangeness that emerged was crawling, including Yan Junze, who was not a strangeness.


    Yan Junze had just tried, it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to stand up, but that he truly could not straighten up anymore. Once someone lay down in the coffin, there seemed to be an invisible barrier in the air, preventing him from standing up again.


    The old woman in white, dragging her thick and fine hair, quickly approached the man lying next to Yan Junze.


    The man was a strangeness, a dead person, but at this moment, as the long-haired old woman drew near, he began to tremble madly, and even Yan Junze could feel the frequency of the neighboring man¡¯s trembling body.


    ¡°This guy, he seems really scared of the one in white,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    ...


    The long-haired old woman slightly lifted her body, propped herself up with her hands, and shakily crawled over the man, not speaking. Her long hair dragged over the man¡¯s body, also touching Yan Junze beside him.


    Yan Junze involuntarily felt a chill rise in his heart. A strand of hair landed on the back of his hand, making him suddenly realize that this strand was not stationary but seemed to be alive, as it was slowly writhing.


    The thought of this old woman¡¯s thick head of hair spread out everywhere, mostly on and around the man¡¯s body, and all wriggling at this moment.


    This scene made Yan Junze feel a cold shudder.


    The long-haired old woman was directly above the man, supporting herself with her hands as if doing push-ups, seemingly staring face-to-face at the trembling man beneath her.


    Of course, the man must have had his eyes closed or his head turned away, not daring to look directly at her.


    ¡°Meow¡ª¡±


    Another sound, incredibly similar to a cat¡¯s meow, came from the direction of the old woman.


    Yan Junze was taken aback; he couldn¡¯t understand why the old woman, clearly a person, was making the sound of a cat.


    He then felt a large amount of hair from the neighboring area wriggling, quickly spreading over to his side and began moving over his body.


    Soon after, the long-haired old woman slowly moved over, propping herself up with her hands and crawling toward him.


    ¡°Damn it, aren¡¯t you his fear? Why are you coming over to me? I¡¯m not¡­ afraid of you!¡± Yan Junze was startled and quickly closed his eyes. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could feel a dense mass of hair wriggling all over his body, some of which seemed to be entwining around his waist, with other strands moving onto his legs.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes tightly shut, unresponsive.


    After a short while, he heard a noise about ten centimeters from his face that sounded like ¡°gurgle, gurgle, gurgle,¡± resembling an animal snorting through its nose.


    Immediately after, a cat¡¯s meow sounded out, but it was cut off halfway through, as if suppressed by something.


    To the right of Yan Junze, his index finger brushed against the flashlight on the ground, and the light of the flashlight suddenly turned on, interrupting the long-haired old woman.


    The light of the flashlight didn¡¯t shine in this direction but towards the pitch-black right side. The darkness seemed boundless, and even with the light, visibility was quickly swallowed by the darkness, remaining very low.


    The long-haired old woman, attracted by the sudden light, immediately turned her head to look.


    Yan Junze took this opportunity, immediately opened his eyes, and quickly glanced at the hovering old woman¡¯s face above him, and then shuddered violently, almost forgetting to close his eyes again in fright.


    Although it was just a glimpse, Yan Junze saw the old woman¡¯s features clearly.


    The old woman¡¯s entire face seemed to be squeezed together by some force, her eyes slightly narrowed, her nose somewhat large, and between her nose and lips there was a very obvious crease that looked extremely disgusting.


    Unexpectedly, the thing that frightened the man in the coffin was this kind of rumored creature, and it wasn¡¯t much different from what Yan Junze had learned in his previous life.


    Indeed, he must not look into her eyes; otherwise, his own face might also end up twisted like this cat-visage.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s field of vision, the old woman turned her head back from the flashlight¡¯s glow. Any second she was going to turn her face back towards him; he immediately closed his eyes again.


    The flashlight¡¯s beam had only momentarily drawn the old woman¡¯s attention and hadn¡¯t completely attracted her, so after a brief glance, she lowered her head again to look at Yan Junze, who was fiercely closing his eyes.


    The mass of hair was still slowly writhing all over, almost completely covering Yan Junze¡¯s body, but quickly the hair changed direction, wrapping around the man lying beside him.


    Noticing this, Yan Junze felt somewhat relieved.


    After all, it was the man¡¯s fear that had conjured the old woman; it wouldn¡¯t make sense for his fear to come after me instead.


    Once the hair had fully enveloped the man, the old woman then left Yan Junze, crawling over towards the head of the coffin, her long hair dragging the completely covered man, truly like pulling a corpse, creating a scraping sound as it slowly moved forward.


    Yan Junze had tried before, there wasn¡¯t much space above his head just as there was darkness, the surroundings just a coffin-shaped rectangle.


    But when the old woman dragged the man away, it seemed as if she crawled a great distance, and there was no end to the space above, until the sound of dragging completely disappeared.


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 Chapter 279 - 252: Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 279: Chapter 252: Red Coffin (Part 5) (4000 words)_2


    ¡°Gone? Just dragged that guy off?¡± Yan Junze opened his eyes, turned on his flashlight, and shone it above his head, but nothing was visible in the darkness. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why, when he had tested just a moment ago, did this space feel limited, yet now it seemed boundless?


    The question had just arisen when Yan Junze realized that when he entered the coffin, he had been standing, so touching the space around him felt not that large ¨C just a bit bigger than a normal coffin.


    But at this moment, now that he had lain down, the surrounding space might have become infinitely large.


    With that thought, he too immediately started crawling in the direction above his head.


    He didn¡¯t have a choice; he hadn¡¯t completed the ¡°Whispers¡± task yet. Now, the target had been abducted right before his eyes, and he had to find them.


    ...


    After crawling quickly for some distance, his previous thoughts were confirmed; indeed, after crawling, the space here had become very, very large, with no end in sight for the time being.


    Frankly, that guy¡¯s fear was indeed much greater than his own. When Yan Junze¡¯s fear manifested, it just frightened him a bit, making him feel terror. But the old woman that this man had attracted actually abducted him directly.


    This level of fear must be many times greater than Yan Junze¡¯s own.


    It was also fortunate that this man himself was a strangeness; otherwise, if he were a living person, he would have been scared to death countless times.


    While thinking and continuing to crawl forward, searching for that man¡¯s position, Yan Junze touched a hand that was still warm.


    He was startled and quickly withdrew it, then he heard an extremely faint moan of pain.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t the target of the ¡®Whispers¡¯ task. The body is warm; it¡¯s clearly a living person.¡±


    Yan Junze immediately realized this and turned on his flashlight, shining it on the person.


    He found a middle-aged man lying on the ground, dressed in clothes somewhat similar to Zhang Di and Jiang Yaofei, with no wounds on his body but blood coming from his mouth and nose, with a bloody chin and a broken knife in his hand ¨C likely a snapped magnetic knife.


    ¡°Hey, can you hear me speaking?¡± Yan Junze lowered his voice and whispered.


    The man made a slight noise, clearly unable to speak, but it was still an answer to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Are you¡­ an exorcist?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± the man replied with all the strength he could muster.


    Yan Junze had no idea how the other person came here or where he was injured. After some thought, he started feeling around on his body.


    Before long, he found a flashlight and put it in the man¡¯s hand, softly saying, ¡°I¡¯ll come back for you later. Press the button every once in a while to let me find you, and we¡¯ll get out together.¡±


    The man gently gripped the flashlight, and Yan Junze continued to crawl forward.


    During this process, a cold and indifferent laughter suddenly came from somewhere to the right behind him, followed by a sharp voice speaking.


    ¡°Hee hee hee¡­ Uncle, do you want to play with me?¡±


    Yan Junze shuddered, goosebumps all over the floor.


    However, he was certain that this peculiar speaker had absolutely nothing to do with him; it must be¡­ the fear within the heart of that injured exorcist lying on the ground.


    He didn¡¯t know exactly what that man feared, but Yan Junze had no time to consider it now and simply quickened his pace.


    But he could still hear the noise behind him, the shrill voice continuing to emit, ¡°Uncle, why don¡¯t you get up? Don¡¯t you like Yingzi? Yingzi can transform, you know. I¡­ I¡¯ll turn into a man for you to see¡­¡±


    As the last sentence finished, the sharp voice suddenly changed into a sinister, rough male voice, becoming deeper and more robust as it said ¡°turn into a man,¡± until the final ¡°let¡¯s see¡± came out, sounding like a great bell.


    This speech was so resounding that Yan Junze¡¯s ears buzzed, and his scalp tingled, secretly thinking that these exorcists¡¯ inner fears are all some sort of bizarre creatures, utterly beyond belief.


    Click!


    The sound of a flashlight being turned on came through.


    By now, Yan Junze had crawled some distance. He glanced back toward the direction of the flashlight light hastily ¨C it was from the exorcist he had just given the flashlight to.


    In the illumination of the light, one could vaguely make out a slender figure with thin limbs, but whose head was as large as a bull¡¯s, a humanoid monster lying next to the feet of the injured exorcist, looking down at him.


    As if sensing the gaze, the Minotaur with the chubby head raised its head and looked in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    Yan Junze immediately turned his head and quickened his pace, crawling faster.


    The flashlight went out at this moment, obviously turned off by the injured exorcist again.


    Yan Junze did not pay it any mind and crawled rapidly forward for a while before suddenly colliding with something soft and fluffy. He immediately stopped and reached out to touch it.


    Hair, lots of hair!


    The scene of the old woman using her long hair to wrap around the man flashed back in his mind, and now, Yan Junze realized that the hair was retracting, gradually releasing its coiling around the body.


    And without a doubt, this body must be that of the man.


    Yan Junze grabbed onto his clothes and felt the piercing cold. Yes, it was him.


    ¡°Scared to death?¡± Yan Junze spoke softly, ¡°If not, tell me how I can stand up.¡±


    In his estimation, just as when he had first entered the coffin, if he could stand, maybe then he could find a way out.


    And there must be a place inside the coffin where one could stand.


    ¡­


    ¡°Yan Junze, did you really die in there?¡±


    Outside the Red Coffin, the water in the room was fast approaching the ceiling.


    Zhang Xiaomo gently moved her limbs, floating in the water, her head touching the ceiling and tilted to keep her mouth and nose above the water to breathe the little air that remained.


    Looking downward at the direction of the coffin, there was no movement, only the dark space inside the coffin.


    Before long, the water had completely flooded the room.


    Just before she was entirely engulfed by water, Zhang Xiaomo took a deep breath, quickly moved her limbs, and dove towards the direction of the Red Coffin.


    She suspected that Yan Junze¡¯s relaxed approach to exorcism might have failed this time.


    There was no choice, if this guy didn¡¯t come out soon, she¡¯d have to use her Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle.


    In fact, Zhang Xiaomo only had this one Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle. Its powerful force could potentially destroy the coffin and rupture the space within if detonated nearby, providing Yan Junze a chance to escape.


    However, if Zhang Xiaomo were to use the Super-Energy Burst to blow up the doorway of this room, there was an equal chance of breaking open the room and escaping herself.


    But she did not hesitate. After swimming quickly towards the Red Coffin, she took out the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle, held it in her palm, and then peered momentarily into the dark space inside the coffin.


    As she had been holding her breath, there came a moment when her chest started to feel stuffy, bringing on a brief sense of panic, as the fear of drowning from her childhood almost surfaced, but Zhang Xiaomo quickly shifted her focus.


    Her gaze turned to the empty space inside the coffin; she remembered something Yan Junze had once said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hold my breath any longer.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo, clutching the Super-Energy Burst, leaned forward quickly and plunged her head into the pitch-dark, eerie space inside the coffin.


    ¡ªhuh¡ª


    She exhaled the almost stifled breath in her chest, gasping for air, feeling a bit dizzy, but it was pitch-black before her eyes.


    Indeed, there was no water here, but the air was neither muddy nor fresh, emitting a profoundly strange aura.


    At this moment, she maintained this bizarre posture with her body in the water and her head inside the coffin, quietly looking around and staying vigilant for any strangenesses that might appear within the coffin.


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 Chapter 280 - 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)

    Chapter 280: Chapter 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)


    Yan Junze held one hand on the strange man, and though the man¡¯s body was still shivering, his fear had clearly passed after the cat-faced old woman¡¯s long hair had all retracted.


    Regardless, this guy was already dead; he was just a strangeness.


    If he had been alive, just the mass of hair that had been wrapped around him earlier would have either strangled him to death or suffocated him; he definitely wouldn¡¯t have survived until now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid anymore, tell me quickly, how can I stand up in this place?¡± Yan Junze moved closer to the man¡¯s ear and whispered again.


    Because he was gripping the man¡¯s collar, he felt the man twist his neck, as if shaking his head, and then came that awkward dialect: ¡°No way, can¡¯t stand up, I¡¯ve never stood up before.¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Yan Junze flatly denied and reached down to grasp the man¡¯s cold hand, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s look around, there must be a way out.¡±


    ...


    The man did not refuse and let him be dragged along as he crawled in the direction that Yan Junze led.


    Truth be told, at this moment, Yan Junze only vaguely remembered the direction from which they had come because it was too dark here and inconvenient to turn on a flashlight, so his sense of direction was very unclear.


    But nevertheless, the direction to head back was roughly clear, it was just that after crawling for a short while, a flashlight light suddenly lit up to their front left, lasting for about two seconds before going out.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up, knowing it was the injured exorcist he had encountered earlier, who must have turned on the flashlight he had, just as Yan Junze had reminded him to do earlier.


    Unexpectedly, the person he encountered at this critical moment ended up helping him.


    Now it seemed that their direction had clearly started to deviate to the right, and had it not been for seeing the flashlight light, he had no idea where they would have ended up crawling to after this deviation.


    They definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to find their way back.


    He quickly adjusted their direction, crawling rapidly towards the place where the flashlight had gone out.


    Soon after, Yan Junze and the man reached the place where the injured exorcist was lying.


    Yan Junze first looked left and right and did not see the fat cattle-headed strangeness from before, and then he swiftly turned on his flashlight and looked at the lying exorcist, noticing that the man¡¯s head, which had not been injured before, now had a large swelling on it.


    Clearly, this was left by the cattle-headed strangeness that had appeared just now.


    Yan Junze immediately said to the man next to him: ¡°Carry this person on your back, let¡¯s leave together.¡±


    The man by his side said nothing and suddenly disappeared, then slowly emerged from the ground beneath the injured exorcist, lifting the exorcist up so that he was completely resting on his back.


    The injured exorcist let out another groan of pain, unable to speak, and then was carried on the back of the man, crawling forward beside Yan Junze.


    With the injured exorcist¡¯s location as a new starting point, Yan Junze found that the route he had crawled back on was much smoother.


    However, he still did not dare to guarantee that he hadn¡¯t crawled off course again, so he was extremely cautious, fearing that the fear in the hearts of the man and strangeness beside him would trigger more strangenesses.


    Of course, he had to be wary of the strangenesses that his own fear could bring about.


    Although he did not know whether the strangenesses born of fear inside this coffin occurred in time slots or at set intervals, speeding up was always the right choice.


    After crawling rapidly forward for a long distance, Yan Junze stopped, estimating that this was the position where he had jumped down from above the coffin earlier.


    He then turned over so he could look upwards, examining closely to see where any light was shining through.


    But it seemed that just as before when he had looked up, no light was visible, and the area above him was still shrouded in darkness.


    Yan Junze turned his head and asked the man next to him: ¡°Can you sense which part of the area above our heads leads to the outside world, or with your ¡®eyesight¡¯ can you see where a faint light is shining through, tell me.¡±


    The man remained silent, but after a moment softly said: ¡°I cannot sense it, this place is very strange, I want to leave.¡±


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes, with one hand on the ground prepared to stand up.


    But before he could fully sit up, his head was blocked by an invisible force, preventing him from straightening up further.


    After struggling for a while, he lay back down again.


    At this moment, Yan Junze wanted to release the Crawler Monster or the strange baby to help him search for a spot where he could stand up.


    But he quickly dismissed this idea.


    Setting aside the mysterious dangers filling the place, if he were to release these beings, what would their fears be? Yan Junze suspected he would soon find out. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he did not want to know right now.


    For something that was one hundred percent certain to happen, better to avoid it altogether; Yan Junze would not do it.


    After some thought, having suppressed the idea of releasing the strange baby and the Crawler Monster, another thought suddenly surfaced. Yan Junze considered it and felt there should not be too much of a problem, if anything went wrong he could always Rewind immediately.


    After a brief hesitation, he suddenly burst out in a high-pitched voice: ¡°Zhang Xiaomo, I¡¯m here, can you hear me talking?¡±


    At the same time.


    Zhang Xiaomo was like an ostrich, burying her head into the space of the coffin while the rest of her body below the neck was soaked in the water, with her feet rhythmically moving through the stream.


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 Chapter 281 - 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_2

    Chapter 281: Chapter 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_2


    Yan Junze¡¯s voice suddenly reached her ears, although it was very vague and quiet, Zhang Xiaomo had a unique ability to distinguish Yan Junze¡¯s voice.


    She was slightly startled and hurriedly widened her eyes, straining to look down, but she couldn¡¯t find anything.


    Behind Zhang Xiaomo, about two meters away in the water, the current suddenly surged, and a large clump of black hair appeared in the water.


    The hair seemed to have a life of its own; after emerging, it eerily drifted towards Zhang Xiaomo. The hair moved gently with the water, approaching Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s legs like a jellyfish.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo was twisting her head, searching the inside of the coffin for the source of Yan Junze¡¯s voice.


    After realizing she still couldn¡¯t see anything, she simply called out loudly like Yan Junze, ¡°Yan Junze, where are you? I can hear your voice, but I can¡¯t see¡­¡±


    ...


    Before she could finish saying ¡°see you,¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly felt a tightness around her right foot in the water, as if something had entangled it, and then a great force yanked her out abruptly. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her head dropped back into the water, and because of panic and the sudden event, she had only held her breath halfway, not nearly enough to last.


    Zhang Xiaomo fiercely turned to look down at her feet and was horrified to find that a large clump of black hair had wound around her right foot and was moving to entangle her left foot, as if it were alive.


    At that moment, a memory she had long forgotten burst forth in her mind.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo finally realized that the fear she had thought was of drowning wasn¡¯t actually from the fear of drowning, but from a very long time ago, when she was in junior high school, she had witnessed a female corpse being retrieved from a pond by responding safety officers on her way home from school.


    Because she had stumbled upon the scene abruptly and fear instinctively overtook her, Zhang Xiaomo hadn¡¯t taken a close look at the bloated corpse; she only saw the black long hair of the floating corpse from a distance, an abundance of black hair.


    The time had passed, and although she hadn¡¯t seen the true face of the floating corpse, that mass of black hair still left an indelible mark of fear in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s memory.


    And at this moment, the black hair floating in the water before her eyes exactly resembled the hair of the floating corpse she had tried to forget.


    A surge of dread filled her heart, and Zhang Xiaomo immediately kicked her legs, but couldn¡¯t shake off the mass of hair.


    She swung her magnetic knife at the hair around her feet without hesitation, and with the addition of magnetic force, a streak of blue light appeared around the blade of the knife, causing the water to part slightly to the sides, and a clump of hair was severed.


    However, at the same time, even more hair entangled both of her feet.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s panic reached a peak, and despite kicking forcefully, she could no longer break free; the breath she had hastily held was already spent, and at that moment, with slightly parted lips, she involuntarily gulped down a mouthful of water.


    The water rushed into her lungs quickly, her head buzzed, and she nearly blanked out.


    After the initial breath escaped, the second, third¡­ several gulps of water rushed into her lungs without exception. The hair still wound around her feet, and Zhang Xiaomo no longer showed any signs of struggling.


    Her arms spread open, she floated in the water.


    The next second, the Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle clenched in her right hand exploded with a bang.


    The powerful blast from the explosion swept up all the water around her body, and soon pushed everything outwards with a tremendous force, including the Red Coffin that had been resting on the ground, making a whooshing sound as it moved several meters to a corner¡­


    Inside the coffin, the space rippled and shook at that moment.


    In the darkness, Yan Junze had just heard Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reply a moment ago, and was initially relieved in his heart, thinking this tactic really worked, when no more sounds came through.


    He called out a few times, feeling fortunate that no strangeness appeared in the dark during this time: no cat-faced old lady, no bull-headed strangeness, nor little girl¡¯s hand grabbing at his ankle.


    After calling out a few times, he felt a vibration, as if it were right above his head not far away, but for the moment he could not pinpoint the exact location.


    Yan Junze was stunned, and immediately exclaimed, ¡°Not good!¡±


    This sense of vibration, if it wasn¡¯t caused by Zhang Xiaomo triggering a Super-Energy Burst, he couldn¡¯t think of anything else that could make such a big commotion.


    Rewind!


    Without any hesitation, Yan Junze rewound time to the moment he was about to call out to Zhang Xiaomo for the first time.


    Based on the direction from which Zhang Xiaomo had responded before the rewind, Yan Junze roughly pinpointed the direction and twisted his head to say to the strange man beside him, ¡°Follow me, let¡¯s crawl fifteen meters towards the front right.¡±


    They quickly crawled over, and without wasting any time, Yan Junze looked up and shouted, ¡°Zhang Xiaomo, can you hear me?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice came from a spot roughly two to three meters askew from above Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    ¡°Yeah, I can hear you, where are¡­¡±


    The words were cut off abruptly.


    ¡°Zhang Xiaomo?¡± Yan Junze immediately spoke up, a sense of ominous foreboding enveloping him.


    According to his timing, the other party should also have stopped responding at that moment, and just before the last rewind, Zhang Xiaomo had clearly triggered a Super-Energy Burst.


    Yan Junze guessed that she must have encountered danger outside.


    Rewind again!


    After this rewind, Yan Junze immediately had the strange man beside him carry the Exorcist and follow him to the previously determined direction.


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 Chapter 282 - 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_3

    Chapter 282: Chapter 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_3


    Moreover, after the second Rewind, Zhang Xiaomo clarified her own positioning further; this time she only climbed twelve meters before stopping, and she made a slight adjustment to the direction as well.


    Looking up, Yan Junze shouted with extreme speed, ¡°Zhang Xiaomo, I know you can hear me. Don¡¯t say anything for now, just listen to me. Look around you immediately to see if anything is amiss, don¡¯t worry about me for the moment!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was peering into the coffin, paused for a moment. She heard the sentence very clearly, as if Yan Junze was right beneath her, not far away.


    But it was too dark in front of her, and she still couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Nevertheless, Yan Junze¡¯s words served as a reminder; without hesitation, Zhang Xiaomo took a deep breath, held it, and plunged her head back into the water, turning to look around.


    A mass of black hair fluttered from behind, approaching less than a meter away from her feet.


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled. The sensation of the floating hair immediately triggered a memory she had forgotten, and her whole body shuddered violently as she quickly paddled with all limbs while retracting her feet to avoid being entangled by the mass of hair.


    The black hair¡¯s stealthy attack failed, and it tightened like a jellyfish from behind, spreading out fiercely, lunging at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo wielded the magnetic knife in her hand, keeping the hair at bay for a moment, but she also couldn¡¯t get any closer to the Red Coffin.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know if his warning had worked, but if this attempt failed, he could Rewind again.


    Without thinking about Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s situation for now, he believed he had found the right position and tried to sit up, encountering no resistance on the way. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze rejoiced and slowly propped himself up to stand.


    It turned out he could indeed stand up in this area, but he didn¡¯t know how large the area where standing was possible actually was.


    He tried to walk a little and found that he could do so.


    That meant, once standing up, he was no longer obstructed by any invisible force and could move freely.


    ¡°Try standing up,¡± he said to the man carrying the Exorcist once he was sure it was possible.


    The man tried at his own spot, but still couldn¡¯t stand up straight.


    Yan Junze pointed to where he had previously been lying, ¡°Move over here first, then try to stand up.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t say anything and immediately did as instructed.


    This time, he indeed stood up with ease.


    But at the same moment, a voice of unknown origin sounded from under his feet.


    ¡°Uncle, are you leaving? Won¡¯t you stay with Yingzi? Yingzi misses you¡­¡±


    The voice was piercing and harsh. Yan Junze was startled; this was the very voice he had heard earlier from the fat-headed bovine strangeness.


    Unexpectedly, at this moment, the injured Exorcist was overcome by fear again, and the fat-headed bovine strangeness appeared.


    Its emergence was unusual, probably crawling across the ground to get there, and now that Yan Junze and the man with the Exorcist, as well as the Exorcist himself were all standing, they couldn¡¯t see the strangely genderless entity called ¡°Yingzi.¡±


    Unless they lay down on the ground again.


    ¡°Ignore that thing!¡± Yan Junze reminded sharply, staying still before reaching upwards. In the darkness, where it seemed there was nothing, he felt the touch of what seemed like wood.


    Immediately, he jumped on the spot, hooking his hands onto the edge of the coffin, noting that water seemed to drench the fingers that poked outside.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, quickly turning to the man with the Exorcist, ¡°Found the exit. No matter how, send me up immediately. Once I¡¯m out, you stand where I am now and jump upwards. Hmm, I know you should be capable of flight, just fly out directly. Remember, take the person on your back.¡±


    No sooner had he finished speaking than a strong force lifted him from below, and Yan Junze plunged into the churning water rapidly.


    Fortunately, he had been holding his breath; he immediately looked around, only to see Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s feet entangled by a mass of black hair.


    Clearly, Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t a match for the hair in the water, even though she¡¯d detected it early. She was still trapped and now couldn¡¯t hold her breath any longer, inhaling a mouthful of water into her lungs.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Yan Junze cursed inside, swimming over quickly.


    Zhang Xiaomo had no more resistance but was still conscious, and she too saw that Yan Junze was out of the coffin.


    Just then, another black figure was pushed out of the Red Coffin by the Exorcist.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up. He gestured to the person, meaning ¡°I¡¯ve helped you get free; in return, please take care of that disgusting mass of black hair.¡±


    The shadowy figure was fully exposed to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes for the first time; he wore a sackcloth garment with disheveled hair, his whole body pale and bloodless.


    After seeing Yan Junze¡¯s gestures, he paused for a moment, released the Exorcist from his back, letting the Exorcist float in the water. He then opened his mouth wide and sucked at the black hair.


    The hair stood no chance of resistance and was sucked in completely; suddenly, the water disappeared around them, dropping everyone but himself on the ground.


    Though there was no water, everyone¡¯s clothes were still dripping wet, as if they had just been fished out.


    After ingesting the hair, the man didn¡¯t even bother to say goodbye; he vanished within two seconds after the water flow had dissipated.


    At the same time, a message of task completion emerged in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Whispers, Hair-raising (Low), Completed, Earn 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t pay attention to the mission information but crawled over quickly, pressing his hands together on the motionless Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s chest and pushed down.


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 Chapter 283 - 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_4

    Chapter 283: Chapter 253: Red Coffin (Conclusion) (6000 words)_4


    After a few quick compressions, he tilted Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s head to the side.


    Repeating this, it wasn¡¯t long before Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s body twitched slightly, spitting out a mouthful of water, and then she began to cough violently.


    The injured exorcist, having only just come into contact with water, was immediately alright as the water receded at once; he was just choked a bit and was already coughing on his own, no serious issue.


    Yan Junze sat next to Zhang Xiaomo, whose face had turned deathly pale but was gradually regaining consciousness, staring at the Red Coffin lying quietly on the ground with an ashen face.


    At this moment, the coffin lay still, apparently undamaged; its dread was ever-present.


    Zhang Xiaomo slowly regained consciousness, opened her eyes, and looked at Yan Junze. It took her quite a while to come back to her senses.


    ...


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk for now, just rest for a bit,¡± Yan Junze said, his gaze still fixated on the motionless Red Coffin, ¡°I think¡­ I¡¯ve found what its Obsession is.¡±


    After a pause, Yan Junze suddenly laughed, ¡°Since you like to devour people¡¯s fear, then fine, I¡¯ll let you have enough of it this time.¡±


    No more than a minute had passed.


    The Red Coffin in front of them began to shake violently, and a cloud of grey mist emerged from the opened coffin.


    Yan Junze grinned, ¡°Come on, this can be my fear too!¡±


    Whoosh, a thick, deep-yellow tentacle emerged from the narrow space of the coffin, flinging at least half its length onto the ground outside the coffin, startling Zhang Xiaomo who had just woken up.


    ¡°What is this?¡± she couldn¡¯t help asking. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Another of my fears,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, turning his head to look once more.


    The tentacle was so massive that, though half of it was flailing outside, the other half was stuck at the mouth of the coffin, writhing furiously.


    The coffin itself began to shake violently, as if it held an ancient beast trying to break free of its cage, to present itself before the person who harbored intense fear of it.


    Zhang Xiaomo could even see fleshly suckers underneath the skin of the exposed tentacle, all slightly opening and closing at this moment, dripping with viscous pus, looking extremely disgusting.


    Crack!


    A crisp sound suddenly emerged; a fissure appeared on the outside of the Red Coffin, followed by another crack bursting open on the opposite side.


    The tentacle¡¯s owner continued to push crazily outward, causing cracking sounds to be incessant in that moment.


    Boom!


    Suddenly, something happened inside the coffin space; a large clump of yellow mist burst forth, collapsing inwards, followed by the cracked Red Coffin collapsing rapidly inside.


    The gigantic tentacle, at that very moment, was also pulled back by some strange force.


    A long, eerie shriek that seemed to have traveled from a great distance, as if through countless centuries, was emitted from the collapsing coffin at that moment.


    Without a doubt, the shriek belonged to the tentacled demon.


    Right before Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes, the Red Coffin broke into several wooden fragments, and the large tentacle, rapidly retracted, along with the dark void inside the coffin, disappeared without a trace after the collapse.


    All that could be seen was the shattered coffin.


    The once sizable Red Coffin now seemed to have become merely a pile of very ordinary, broken wooden fragments.


    As Zhang Xiaomo stared at these coffin fragments, her mouth agape in disbelief, she repeatedly glanced over at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze paid no attention to her expression but merely pursed his lips at the pile of broken planks, ¡°Your Obsession was to fill your space with the greatest fear. This time, you should be satisfied.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, a task completion message popped up.


    [Red Coffin, Terrified (Low), completed, awarded 1500 Different Dimension Energy points.]


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 Chapter 284 - 254: Mutation (4200 words)

    Chapter 284: Chapter 254: Mutation (4200 words)


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t imagine how the Red Coffin, which was so troublesome just a moment ago, could now be completely destroyed right before her eyes.


    And the way it was destroyed was just as inconceivable.


    She now understood that the greatest terror of the Red Coffin was its ability to trigger the deepest fears hidden within everyone¡¯s heart and to manifest those fears.


    For instance, her own fears of being tapped on the shoulder and hair in the water, but Yan Junze, because he entered the room late, hadn¡¯t witnessed what his fear was.


    Yet just now, the moment those huge tentacles reached out from the coffin, Zhang Xiaomo realized, this was Yan Junze¡¯s fear.


    She just couldn¡¯t understand what kind of fear these tentacles stemmed from; it couldn¡¯t possibly be that Yan Junze had actually encountered them before, could it?


    ...


    If he really had encountered them before, then that would be truly terrifying.


    Seeing Zhang Xiaomo still staring at him unblinkingly, Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°The huge tentacle from a moment ago belonged to a character from a comic I read when I was a child. It was my first time reading a comic, and after finishing it, I was scared all night and couldn¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°A horror comic?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked curiously.


    ¡°Sort of,¡± Yan Junze nodded. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°So the huge tentacle just now is¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo pointed in the direction of the pile of shattered planks.


    ¡°You can call it¡­ Boss Ke,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t seem to understand, he shrugged his shoulders and explained, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about who Boss Ke is for now. Anyway, that guy really scared me a lot when I was a kid, but I¡¯m not afraid anymore. Just now, in order to destroy this Red Coffin, I deliberately immersed myself in that feeling of fear I had the first time I encountered Boss Ke, continuously reminiscing and searching for that fear. Once I found that fear, I kept recalling it over and over in my mind until the Red Coffin sensed it and sure enough, it triggered the appearance of Boss Ke.¡±


    It seems now that every time the Red Coffin stimulates a fear in humans or strangenesses, what appears inside the coffin actually exists, just like the water accumulated a moment ago.


    The walls of this room, including the ceiling, were all soaked through, which proved the existence of water.


    And the strangeness that patted Zhang Xiaomo on the shoulder might have indeed taken on the appearance of her uncle. If Zhang Xiaomo had turned around to look, she might have had an extra uncle for the rest of her life.


    As for the clump of black hair in the water, after being materialized by the Red Coffin, it was indeed real, only to be sucked away by a strangeness in the [Whispers] task, relieving Yan Junze and his colleagues of the encirclement.


    So to say, after Yan Junze¡¯s incubation of fear, the appearance of Boss Ke had become inevitable, and as an almost top-tier representative of human fear towards the unknown, Boss Ke¡¯s appearance would surely cause the coffin to be unable to withstand it, directly getting blown apart by the powerful fear that hadn¡¯t even fully materialized yet.


    Of course, this was also the result of Yan Junze¡¯s careful consideration.


    After all, the task level of [Red Coffin] is only ¡°Terrified (Low),¡± and for the task difficulty of ¡°Terrified (Low),¡± he had already gained a deep understanding during his first mission, [Tricky Silk], in the Mountain Park.


    Of course, the Boss in [Tricky Silk] had a very peculiar ability. The infection of Dark Poison could even defy the influence of time and space, which makes Yan Junze suspect now that it wasn¡¯t because the Boss was so powerful, but because of some reason, the power of Dark Poison exceeded the Boss¡¯s own understanding.


    It was like a fluke.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t speak, just lying flat on the ground, resting and listening to Yan Junze¡¯s explanation.


    Due to the angle, she naturally tilted her head, staring at Yan Junze, and before she realized it, her head was resting on his thigh.


    Since the position was comfortable, Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t intend to move away, and Yan Junze, upon noticing, felt somewhat embarrassed but, thinking that Zhang Xiaomo had nearly suffocated just now, allowed her to rest a bit longer without saying anything.


    After listening to Yan Junze¡¯s explanation, Zhang Xiaomo was still confused, blinking her eyes and just staring at him.


    Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need me to explain further, just ask.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo thought for a moment and said, ¡°Who is Boss Ke?¡±


    Yan Junze thought about it, since this world might not have that mythological system, as he had never seen it up to now, and he mused, ¡°You¡¯ve seen ¡®Pirates of the Caribbean,¡¯ haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    The movie ¡°Pirates of the Caribbean¡± did exist in this world.


    ¡°The captain in there, Davy Jones, commonly known as the ¡®Octopus Man,¡¯ well, Boss Ke is probably something like that,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, then realized, ¡°You mean that captain whose face is covered in octopus tentacles, and all the tentacles squirm when he speaks, making people feel so disgusted they want to throw up?¡±


    ¡°Right, something like that,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Zhang Xiaomo patted her chest, ¡°Good thing that thing didn¡¯t crawl out of the coffin.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze laughed, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing it didn¡¯t come out, otherwise the whole Tianmeng would be in trouble.¡±


    But on the other hand, even with the Red Coffin¡¯s abilities, it couldn¡¯t fully materialize such a great terror.


    ¡°Rest a bit more, and then let¡¯s take that guy away together,¡± Yan Junze said, nodding in the direction of the injured exorcist lying in the corner of the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled, looked over, and only then did she notice someone was lying there.


    ¡°An exorcist?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Right, a colleague.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo coughed a few more times, propped herself up with her hands to sit up, covering her chest and gasping slightly.


    Because of the violent coughing, she felt a pain in her chest, as if tearing through her body, stretching from her chest to her back.


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 Chapter 285 - 254: Mutation (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 285: Chapter 254: Mutation (4200 words)_2


    She turned on her flashlight and shone it at the exorcist who seemed to have fainted, blurting out after a clear look, ¡°Fang¡­ Fang Zun!¡±


    ¡°What about Yuan Dingzhou?¡± Zhang Xiaomo quickly shone the flashlight around to check.


    ¡°I only found Fang Zun inside the coffin; I didn¡¯t see anyone else.¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for him to wake up then,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, her face pale, pointing to her backpack on the ground, ¡°There¡¯s an emergency cushion in there, please open it and move Fang Zun onto it.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, took off his outer jacket, folded it to form a makeshift cushion, protected Zhang Xiaomo with one hand, moving her back to lean against the cushion against the wall, then got up and opened her backpack.


    As Zhang Xiaomo described, he took out a black, compressed transparent plastic bag from the backpack.


    ...


    Opening this sealed bag, he took out the black folded object, grabbed a protruding lock at one end of the fold with his fingers, and pulled hard.


    With a bang, the black folded object began to inflate by itself, quickly expanding to about the size of a person, slightly wider than a person, with a two-finger-wide tow rope on one end for easy dragging. This rope could also be slung over the shoulder or tied around the waist for convenience.


    Yan Junze dragged the cushion over, then moved Fang Zun onto it, fastening his body with the buckles on either side, then dragged the cushion to the door, easily opening the door that had previously been impossible to open.


    Moonlight streamed in, once again bathing him in its light.


    Then Yan Junze returned to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s side, squatted down, and asked, ¡°Can you move now? Do you want me to carry you?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at him, seemingly pondering something, and shook her head, ¡°I can walk slowly, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Then let me support you.¡±


    Without saying more, Yan Junze carefully helped Zhang Xiaomo to her feet.


    As they reached the door, Yan Junze first slung the tow rope of the cushion carrying Fang Zun over his shoulder and then supported Zhang Xiaomo. The two of them walked out of the room, afterwards dragging Fang Zun out as well.


    They didn¡¯t worry about any bumps along the way; Fang Zun was already unconscious, and the jostling wouldn¡¯t wake him.


    Outside the house, everything seemed just as it had been when they¡¯d first entered, without any change. Moonlight poured like water onto the silent streets, and not a single sound could be heard.


    Except for the footsteps of Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, and the dragging sound of the cushion on the ground.


    ¡°Just now¡­ did I¡­ stop breathing?¡± Zhang Xiaomo suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze glanced at her and noticed her gaze flickering, seemingly deliberately avoiding his own. He suddenly understood what she wanted to say and shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t give you mouth-to-mouth just now.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied very stiffly.


    ¡°But I did press on your chest, 27 times,¡± Yan Junze added.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo instinctively covered her chest with her right hand.


    Yan Junze kept his gaze straight and said no more.


    Along the way, they encountered a few ordinary wandering spirits, but none of these spirits approached them; it was as if they deliberately avoided Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo upon noticing them.


    ¡°Thanks for saving me just now,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°I¡¯m just curious, how did you remind me to look behind me while you were in the coffin, so that I was able to notice that bundle of hair trying to sneak attack me one step ahead?¡±


    Yan Junze maintained his silence; after about ten seconds, he finally replied, ¡°Everyone should have some secrets, and I¡¯m no exception.¡±


    For some reason, he didn¡¯t want to make up any excuse and brush it off, and he was very clear in his mind that by saying this, Zhang Xiaomo would definitely not ask further.


    A sensible woman knows when to stop. Just like when Yan Junze was about to enter the room where the Red Coffin was located, Zhang Xiaomo did not ask anything nor did she stop him but simply said calmly, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    And shortly after Yan Junze entered the room, she chose to appear and help, willing to risk triggering a Super-Energy Burst, all without any unnecessary words during this time.


    This suddenly made Yan Junze feel very settled in his heart.


    After he said this, as expected, Zhang Xiaomo just glanced at him, pursed her lips into a smile, and said nothing more.


    The two arrived at the closest intersection to the Good Character Bookstore and looked around but saw no one else.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Perhaps Jiang Yaofei led everyone through the Plum Blossom Forest and left, including Zhang Di.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we trapped the Red Coffin for so long, they should have headed to the east side of the village a while ago,¡± Yan Junze pointed in the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest, ¡°Wait for you to rest for a bit, then we¡¯ll also cross the Plum Blossom Forest and head back to the east side of the village.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Spirit Bridge floating above the village was now weakening, but it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that it might trigger new and even more terrifying strangenesses, so Yan Junze thought it was still safer to return to the east side of Mo Family Village.


    After all, after leaving the village from there, it was the closest to the highway, so if some strangeness erupted on a large scale again, they could leave Mo Family Village at the fastest speed.


    Zhang Xiaomo waved her hand, ¡°I don¡¯t need to rest, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Gently holding her chest, which showed she still felt pain, Yan Junze supported her, dragging Fang Zun towards the direction of the Plum Blossom Forest.


    Behind Zhang Xiaomo, as she walked, the hem of her dress fluttered, and a long black hair drifted in the wind.


    But the very next second, the black hair gently contracted, wriggling up along the hem of the dress like an earthworm, quickly reaching the collar of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s clothes, without stopping, it swiftly merged into her hair and disappeared without a trace.


    Because they were walking slowly, it took them almost half an hour to reach inside the Plum Blossom Forest, and another half hour to get to the east side of the village through the forest.


    After bringing Fang Zun back to the east side of the village, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo arrived at a courtyard near Little Wind Zhai, pushed the door open to look, but the other people who had been gathered here were nowhere to be seen at the moment.


    Leaving that courtyard, they called out quietly a couple of times, but apart from the faint whistling of the wind, there were no other sounds.


    ¡°You sit here for a bit,¡± Yan Junze pointed to the steps outside the courtyard, settling Zhang Xiaomo down, and then took off the rope slung around his body, laying Fang Zun on the ground below the steps.


    After that, he looked around, walked a circle along the two sides of the street, and returned to the original spot.


    Not a single person was in sight.


    ¡°Could they have already left the village?¡± Yan Junze wondered to himself.


    Because Jiang Yaofei and Zhang Di definitely brought the others to meet up with the people here first; were they now gone from the village, moving the injured out first after the meeting?


    The possibility was indeed there.


    Being burdened with injured colleagues would not only delay their treatment but also hinder the others from focusing on dealing with the strangenesses.


    Returning to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s side, Yan Junze also sat down on the steps and shook his head, ¡°They must have left already, not waiting for us, probably because they thought we¡¯d have more misfortune than fortune facing the Red Coffin.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to rest either and can leave right away,¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked around, the constant whistling of the wind here always gave her an uneasy feeling.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Yan Junze was about to help her up when he suddenly realized Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s body trembled lightly, and she said, ¡°There seems to be someone around the corner over there.¡±


    Yan Junze immediately turned around and saw a shadow flit around the corner, then vanish from sight.


    ¡°Wait here for a minute, I¡¯m going to have a look,¡± Yan Junze turned and walked quickly towards where the shadow had appeared.


    He reached the corner and indeed found a person standing there, back towards him, holding a magnetic knife, motionless.


    Yan Junze was puzzled, glanced in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s direction and saw her sitting there, watching him with concern, so he pointed to his position at the corner and nodded at Zhang Xiaomo, signaling that there indeed was someone there.


    Zhang Xiaomo also nodded, clutching the magnetic knife in her hand, looking around to make sure there was nothing suspicious on her end.


    By now, Yan Junze had turned back and approached the man facing away from him.


    The other person was holding a magnetic knife, and judging by his attire, he was definitely an Exorcist; Yan Junze felt the man looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn¡¯t precisely figure out who it was.


    Upon getting closer, he patted the man¡¯s shoulder.


    The man slowly turned around, and as he faced him, a deep, bone-visible wound suddenly split open in the middle of his forehead, a trickle of blood burst out, slowly running down his cheek.


    The man¡¯s body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground right in front of Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Yan Junze grabbed him, propping him up, and abruptly gasped, ¡°Ah, Guo Youliang!¡±


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 Chapter 286 - 255: Yin General Mo Da

    Chapter 286: Chapter 255: Yin General Mo Da


    ¡°`


    Time rewound to an earlier moment.


    The ancient well had been exploded with a detonator by Yan Long, and the resulting collapse buried the pursuing ancient corpse underground. However, the incense burning within the Incense Cup kept emitting white smoke, enveloping the entire ancient corpse.


    The strong tremors caused by the explosion of the well covered Yan Junze and everyone in his house in dust, following which Guo Youliang alone came to investigate.


    Due to the strong vibration and its origin from the easternmost part of the village, Guo Youliang didn¡¯t take the wrong path. Analyzing the direction of the tremor, he quickly arrived at the site of the collapsed ancient well.


    At this spot, the region that contained the ancient well had sunk in, forming an irregular deep pit, with no trace of the original appearance of the well visible any longer.


    ...


    Moreover, the water at the bottom of the well had long dried up, with no sign of water flowing from anywhere else. Besides the dust that had been thrown up into the sky by the explosion, there was still dust in the air when Guo Youliang arrived, indicating that the disturbance had indeed originated here.


    Guo Youliang was somewhat puzzled. He did not know what could have caused the ground to collapse at this spot. There were no scents of gunpowder in the vicinity, but there was a faint, elusive strange smell.


    Moreover, near the collapsed area of the ground, he could see wisps of white smoke emerging from the cracks in the earth. It seemed that this strange smell was formed by the smoke.


    Looking at the peculiar scene before him, Guo Youliang crossed his arms in front of his chest and hesitated to move.


    Although he did not often come to this place, he remembered that there used to be an ancient well here, one that was very old and had long been without water.


    Taking out the Spirit Detector, Guo Youliang set its power to maximum and spun in place.


    No supernatural presence was detected.


    Before the Spirit Bridge erupted once more, the strangenesses on the eastern side of the village had already been almost completely eradicated by the Exorcists.


    And after the appearance of the Spirit Bridge, even though more powerful strangenesses emerged, Guo Youliang¡¯s presence in the east kept them from causing too much trouble.


    So, relatively speaking, the eastern part of Mo Family Village had the least amount of strangenesses, so scarce that one might struggle to encounter even a single one for a good half-day.


    If there were no strangenesses nearby, how could the ground that contained the ancient well collapse?


    Guo Youliang¡¯s suspicions grew; he did not leave but rather found a flat spot to sit down, placing the magnetic knife on his legs and calmly watching the patch of ground emitting white smoke.


    As he sat down, Yan Long, hidden in the Old Pagoda Tree, began to feel uneasy.


    In Yan Long¡¯s plan, it wasn¡¯t necessary to use the detonator, but the male Yin General turned out to be tough, almost catching up with him in the well, forcing him to use the explosive device.


    The consequence was bound to cause a violent tremor, attracting the attention of the Exorcists.


    Possibly an Exorcist would come to investigate, but that wasn¡¯t certain; with the Spirit Bridge erupting again, more powerful strangenesses were also emerging, which might spread the Exorcists too thin to investigate even if they noticed.


    Yan Long had a thoroughly devised plan and had conducted a detailed investigation before his arrival.


    He knew that the Exorcists gathered in Mo Family Village were already exasperated by the second eruption of the Spirit Bridge, so there was a high probability they would not come to investigate, and might even temporarily declare the area a restricted zone to prevent others from approaching due to the explosive tremors. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, it seemed he had guessed wrong, and not just wrong, but outrageously so.


    The fact was, not only had an Exorcist come to investigate, but from Yan Long¡¯s assessment, this old fellow¡¯s strength was definitely not low.


    ¡°Bad luck hit; this guy might be a four-star Exorcist.¡±


    Yan Long furrowed his brows tightly, unblinkingly sizing up Guo Youliang, who sat on the ground with a calm expression.


    He kept his breathing very low and remained motionless, making it impossible for Guo Youliang to detect him.


    In truth, the Old Pagoda Tree barely had any leaves left, just a lot of branches. If Yan Long didn¡¯t move and Guo Youliang didn¡¯t look up carefully, he wouldn¡¯t notice someone hiding above.


    Another quarter of an hour slipped by, and Yan Long was starting to get restless.


    According to the plan, the second Incense Cup buried in the ground and still functioning should be nearly finished with its smoke emission. The male Yin General was also buried underground, in close proximity to the white smoke.


    Based on Yan Long¡¯s method for refining corpses, half an hour was more than enough to make the perfectly preserved male Yin General temporarily obey his commands under the erosion of the white smoke.


    Of course, his original plan was to take advantage of this and swiftly move the corpse out of Mo Family Village without being discovered by other Exorcists. After getting out, he would find an opportunity to truly subdue it and use it for his own purposes.


    ¡°`


    Just then, the white smoke that had been rising from the crevice ceased, and the strange odor vanished without a trace.


    Yan Long¡¯s heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that it must be because the Incense Cup had burned out. He had prepared the dose for the Incense Cup beforehand; this dosage was exactly enough to make the Ancient Corpse temporarily obey his commands without succumbing to Corpse Poison.


    Now that the Incense Cup had burned out, it was the moment to formally commence his plan, but¡­


    Yan Long smirked bitterly, looking down at Guo Youliang who was seated on the ground.


    From beneath the collapsed ground, a faint sound of movement filtered through the crevices, seemingly like an animal similar to a pangolin, burrowing through the soil below.


    Guo Youliang was slightly startled. Under the moonlight, he looked towards the area of the collapse, noticing that the billowing white smoke had ceased and that the faint sound seemed to be coming from the depths below the ground.


    The noise was initially very soft, but gradually it grew louder, and more frequent.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s wariness intensified. He slowly stood up, retreated two steps, and stared at the collapsed ground before him, gripping the magnetic knife in his hand tightly.


    Yan Long watched this scene, straightening up slightly himself, but he still dared not move. He reached into an object wrapped in black cloth beside him, and after a while, pulled out a rust-covered ancient sword.


    The ancient sword was about one meter twenty in length; he had been carrying it on his back along with his backpack the whole time.


    The sword, now revealed in the moonlight, appeared rusty and did not reflect any light, even under its beams.


    At that moment, at one point on the collapsed ground, more soil fell away, as if a hollow space had formed underneath.


    The next second, an arm that seemed as if it belonged to a living person stretched out from the dirt, followed by another arm, and then a burly man with a topknot emerged from beneath the ground, expressionless, with lifeless pupils.


    Though the man was clothed in plain garments, just standing there he made Guo Youliang¡¯s heart pound with dread.


    It was as if the man emitted an aura of authority from his life.


    However, Guo Youliang was very certain¡ªthe man before him was a corpse.


    And judging by his attire, he could assert that this was an Ancient Corpse, and its status and position in life had been undoubtedly high.


    It was now quite apparent; this was a strangeness, probably an Ancient Corpse drawn out by the eruption of the Spirit Bridge.


    Unsure whether the Ancient Corpse had seen him, Guo Youliang stepped forward, ready to make the first move.


    But the next second, with a clatter, a rust-stained longsword suddenly fell to the ground, not far from the Ancient Corpse¡¯s feet.


    The Ancient Corpse slightly tilted his head and his murky eyes seemed to shoot out two sharp beams, then he moved his limbs and stepped forward by half a step.


    His walk was not stiff; it was indistinguishable from a living person¡¯s, and he even exuded an air of vigor.


    Bending over, he picked up the rusty and somewhat heavy longsword, gripped the hilt, and stood up straight. The Ancient Corpse then suddenly raised his head to look at Guo Youliang.


    ¡°I am Mo Da, anyone who stands in my way¡­ shall die!¡±


    ¡°It speaks, the Ancient Corpse can actually talk! Its vocal cords are completely intact!?¡± Guo Youliang¡¯s face was filled with horror as he involuntarily took a step back, shocked at the sight of Yin General Mo Da.


    Hidden atop the Old Pagoda Tree, Yan Long was equally dumbfounded. He had not expected the Ancient Corpse that he had put so much effort into finding to be this perfectly preserved.


    He was aware that this was not the only corpse he had; although the one he currently had was near perfect, it was still not naturally formed, unlike the Yin General Mo Da before him.


    However, Yan Long was still worried. He estimated that the old man wielding the magnetic knife must be a four-star Exorcist. Even if Yin General Mo Da was formidable, he had just emerged and was not stable, possibly not a match for Guo Youliang.


    Indeed, after hearing Mo Da speak, Guo Youliang was surprised, but rather than stepping back, he took a step forward, raising the magnetic knife and striking diagonally. The magnetic glow surged instantly, extending over a meter, and making a beeline for Mo Da¡¯s head.


    Mo Da deflected the strike with the sword, his movements smooth and almost instinctive.


    With a clang, the magnetic glow from the magnetic knife flickered and was repelled, but then quickly reformed.


    Following that, the rust stains covering the longsword fell away after this collision, revealing a bright blade that shone like polished steel in the moonlight, reflecting a faint gleam.


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 Chapter 287 - 256: Tragic (4400 words)

    Chapter 287: Chapter 256: Tragic (4400 words)


    Guo Youliang knew the full weight of this blow. Against anomalies like Half of a Skin, if he hadn¡¯t used a human body for defense, a single strike could have chopped it down.


    Yet, before his eyes now, the Ancient Corpse Mo Da managed to nearly shatter the magnetic glow with a rust-covered sword.


    ¡°This sword?¡±


    Guo Youliang revealed puzzlement and looked up, his gaze penetrating through the Old Pagoda Tree, vaguely sensing a heavy shadow above that seemed out of place.


    However, at that moment, Mo Da, holding the sword in one hand, took several steps forward and raised the sword to chop down towards Guo Youliang¡¯s head.


    The sword was thick, suitable for both chopping and piercing, and appeared to be an ancient sword. It was unclear where Yan Long had acquired it from, but now that Mo Da wielded it, it seemed to match him well.


    ...


    Before Guo Youliang could discern what exactly was on the Old Pagoda Tree, he was pressed into a retreat by Mo Da and immediately began engaging in a fierce battle with his magnetic knife.


    From his Exorcist training, he grasped the combat skills with the magnetic knife and basic barehanded combat techniques well, having become quite adept at these fighting tactics.


    Unlike the ancient people who needed to master various martial arts maneuvers, the Exorcist combat techniques contain only the simplest, most direct moves capable of killing anomalies with a single strike.


    However, Mo Da was well-versed in the true arts of battlefield enemy-killing, each move forged in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood ¡ª brutal and ruthless. Every blow, if not fully countered, could potentially injure or even kill Guo Youliang.


    After receiving two blows, Guo Youliang sensed something amiss. The opponent¡¯s strength was immensely powerful; with each contact, the magnetic knife trembled, and it might break if the battle went on like this.


    He immediately retreated several steps, unleashed the magnetic glow, and used it to make contact with his opponent. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, the tide began to turn. The invisible magnetic glow, despite still physically coming into contact with Mo Da¡¯s ancient sword, could wound Mo Da¡¯s body.


    In less than a minute, Mo Da¡¯s chest had been sliced open with seven or eight cuts.


    Yan Long, witnessing this scene, felt a pang of distress. This Ancient Corpse was perfect and should not be damaged.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he slowly slid down the coiled tree branches, for Guo Youliang¡¯s attention was already elsewhere, allowing him to descend undetected.


    Bending over, he circled the edge of the deep pit and approached the area of fierce battle gradually.


    Although Mo Da appeared to be a normal human, his movements remained sluggish, which aligned with Yan Long¡¯s conjectures that this being was merely perpetually nourished by Yin Energy, keeping its corpse unspoiled, but it didn¡¯t mean it could immediately fly or become invulnerable to swords upon emergence.


    After all, this was no fantasy movie.


    Thump!


    The magnetic glow of the magnetic knife pierced through the right side of Mo Da¡¯s abdomen, flickering away instantly, yet Mo Da¡¯s belly now had a gaping hole, bereft of blood or the kind of injuries living people experience.


    For Mo Da, this wound had no effect on his movements.


    But seeing this, Yan Long¡¯s heart twisted once more, and he hastened toward Guo Youliang, who now had his side facing him.


    Yan Long held a dagger in his hand and, with the swiftness of lightning, aimed a stab near the heart area on Guo Youliang¡¯s left chest.


    This stab, Yan Long had carefully considered, aiming right for the heart, would surely be a fatal blow.


    Just as the dagger was about to strike, Guo Youliang sensed a premonition. His head buzzed, and his nerves tensed in an instant as if his thoughts were beyond his control.


    A force of magnetic energy naturally rebounded from within his body, and during this, Guo Youliang intensified the strength of the magnetic rebound.


    The invisible magnetic force caused the dagger about to strike him to pause in mid-air. Yan Long felt an overwhelming turmoil inside.


    In reality, the nearby magnetic field was disrupted, affecting a person¡¯s normal bodily functions, and giving Yan Long a nausea-inducing feeling of vertigo.


    Mo Da, who was engaged in battle before Guo Youliang and equally affected by the disturbed magnetic field, turned his sword and thrust it towards Yan Long. The blade was unrelentingly sharp and fast approaching his neck.


    Yan Long was startled. He didn¡¯t possess the Exorcist-level ability of magnetic reinforcement. He hadn¡¯t expected that it would not only affect himself but directly interfere with the behaviors of other anomalies.


    Mo Da¡¯s thrust came swiftly. Unable to dodge, Yan Long, in desperation, forced out his Semi-Spirit Body. A black silhouette emerged behind him, blue-faced with fangs, twin horns on its head, and sharp bone spurs growing out from its elbow joints. It extended a hand to snatch at the incoming sword tip.


    A snap.


    The ancient sword was repelled, and the Monster Spirit withdrew its hand, blocking the lethal strike for Yan Long.


    Then Yan Long shook his shoulders, the Monster Spirit seemingly overlapped with him, forming a double image. He stretched his claws towards Guo Youliang, nearby, aiming for the crown of his head.


    At the same moment, Mo Da, having recovered from the magnetic field disruption, shifted his target back to Guo Youliang, swinging the heavy sword at his right shoulder.


    With enemies on both sides, Guo Youliang had to retreat, but his speed was astonishing. In that moment of retreating, he tossed out two High-Energy Collapse bombs.


    Bang! Bang!


    Plumes of white smoke rose up between Yan Long and Mo Da, and the close-range force, compounded, blasted them both to the ground, pushing them a couple of meters backwards.


    Immediately afterward, Guo Youliang threw out three Chilling Hidden Buckle bombs, and masses of icy shards formed and quickly encased the fallen area in frost. Yan Long, including the Monster Spirit at his back, and apparently Mo Da as well, were all encased in a layer of ice.


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 Chapter 288 - 256: Tragic (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 288: Chapter 256: Tragic (4400 words)_2


    Don¡¯t talk about three Chilling Hidden Buckles, even the power of two Chilling Hidden Buckles erupting at the same time could freeze a normal person to death on the spot.


    Guo Youliang believed that with the simultaneous explosion of three Chilling Hidden Buckles, slightly freezing the Semi-Spirit Body and Mo Da who had ambushed him, causing them to temporarily lose the ability to act and be sitting ducks, was a very easy thing to accomplish.


    As long as he took advantage of the moment they were trapped, he could simply raise his hand to behead Mo Da, then tie up the Semi-Spirit who had ambushed him, disrupt the strangenesses in its magnetic field, and successfully take it back for interrogation.


    Seeing the Chilling Hidden Buckles had taken effect, Guo Youliang, holding the magnetic knife, quickly moved toward the fallen Mo Da. He knew that even though the power of the Chilling force had compounded, both individuals in front of him were no ordinary beings, and he had to resolve the situation quickly without any delay.


    However, Guo Youliang didn¡¯t know that the Ancient Corpse Mo Da, who had been soaked in the Land of Extreme Yin for many years, although not for a thousand but around eight hundred years, felt as if he was back home when it came to his body¡¯s reaction to cold.


    Mo Da¡¯s fall was merely caused by the shock wave, having nothing to do with the power emitted by the Chilling force.


    ...


    As Guo Youliang approached, he flicked one of the Hidden Buckles embedded in the handle of his magnetic knife, causing the Collapsing Hidden Buckle to fall out. He caught it in his hand and placed it into his pocket, then he quickly pulled out another Chilling Hidden Buckle and pressed it in fiercely.


    The blade of the magnetic knife immediately emitted a ghostly blue color from its magnetic glow, looking like an ice crystal.


    By this time, Guo Youliang had already reached Mo Da, having just changed the Hidden Buckle and not yet had the chance to strike down.


    The fallen Mo Da suddenly opened his eyes, with no hindrance in movement, sweeping his heavy sword across the ground. The sword blade did not hit Guo Youliang, but the hilt still heavily struck Guo Youliang¡¯s ankle.


    With a thud, his ankle didn¡¯t break but a piercing pain shot through it.


    Startled, Guo Youliang endured the severe pain as the magnetic force inside his body surged out once again, disrupting the strange magnetic field around Mo Da, including Yan Long¡¯s.


    Immediately afterwards, Guo Youliang swung his knife toward Mo Da¡¯s chest, but the outcome was beyond his expectations.


    Half of the magnetic knife¡¯s blade had entered Mo Da¡¯s chest, but it failed to freeze the other completely.


    Based on the power of a magnetic knife equipped with a Chilling Hidden Buckle, Guo Youliang was clear that his stab could have split the opponent in two and freeze the entire body solid, then drag it back like frozen meat.


    Alternatively, he could follow up with one more strike, turning the Ancient Corpse into scraps of flesh, and be thoroughly finished with it.


    Well outside his expectations, the result of this strike surprised Guo Youliang, who suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Yin Corpse!?¡±


    Crack!


    Mo Da sat up again, a third of the magnetic knife breaking off inside his torso, and he thrust his sword once more toward Guo Youliang.


    Guo Youliang, shocked, retreated with a limp.


    At the same moment, the Monster Spirit behind Yan Long awoke, moving him like a puppet to stand, and his entire demeanor turned grim and aggressive as he pounced toward Guo Youliang.


    Guo Youliang, looking at the remaining two-thirds of the magnetic knife in his hand, stumbled backward again and quickly pressed down on the Chilling Hidden Buckle embedded in the knife¡¯s handle, replacing it with an Incinerate Hidden Buckle.


    The broken magnetic knife heated up, an orange essence spreading out from it, but because the magnetic knife had broken, the magnetic glow could not extend far, covering only about half a meter or so.


    The fiery heat enveloped the blade, blocking Mo Da¡¯s sword that was charging toward him.


    The force of this blow was so great, it knocked Guo Youliang backward, sending jolts of excruciating pain through his injured ankle, and he could no longer stand, collapsing onto his back on the ground.


    Seizing this opportunity, Yan Long took a paper package from his bosom, swiftly opened it to reveal a black, clay-like substance inside, grabbed it, and stuffed it into Mo Da¡¯s mouth.


    Mo Da, as if unfazed, chewed a few times and swallowed it all down, then continued walking toward the fallen Guo Youliang with his long sword.


    Guo Youliang released the magnetic force within his body for the third time, a power that he couldn¡¯t use without limit. For now, the magnetic force could keep his own physical strength abundant and could also be unleashed externally to combat strangenesses.


    However, for higher-level strangenesses, the disruptive power of the magnetic field would be greatly reduced.


    Moreover, each release was necessary only in desperate times for Guo Youliang because it would also reduce his own physical strength.


    After this release, Guo Youliang himself felt weakened and powerless.


    Mo Da¡¯s magnetic field was disrupted once again, causing him to stand still on the spot, completely motionless.


    But Yan Long, being at a distance, suffered little effect and closed in on Guo Youliang with swift steps, then ferociously dove down.


    Guo Youliang, lying on the ground unable to rise, immediately raised his knife horizontally in front of him.


    The Monster Spirit¡¯s hands touched the hot magnetic knife, emitting a sizzling noise, while Yan Long clasped Guo Youliang¡¯s hands, trying to prevent him from wielding the magnetic knife ever again.


    The standing Mo Da, at this point, had his magnetic field return to normal after consuming the clay given by Yan Long. Seemingly very obedient, understanding what Yan Long wanted, he walked to the front of Guo Youliang, brandishing his ancient sword and slashing straight down.


    Yan Long and the Monster Spirit withdrew their hands, and in the next second, the ancient sword and broken magnetic knife collided fiercely. The hot magnetic glow of the knife made the ancient sword heat up instantly, transmitting the heat along the blade into Mo Da¡¯s hands.


    But as Mo Da was already a Yin Corpse, the heat from the Incinerate Hidden Buckle contradicted the chilling energy of his body, causing a large amount of white steam to rise from Mo Da.


    However, the broken magnetic knife was no longer as powerful as before and more cracks appeared along the break, and with a snap, it collapsed into pieces.


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 Chapter 289 - 256: Tragic (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 289: Chapter 256: Tragic (4400 words)_3


    The Hidden Buckle embedded in the hilt of the blade was red-hot at the moment; after the magnetic knife was destroyed, it fell off and landed precisely on Guo Youliang¡¯s right chest. White mist emerged from his clothes, quickly burning a hole, and then the scorching Hidden Buckle stuck to Guo Youliang¡¯s skin and made a sizzling sound.


    Guo Youliang clenched his teeth tightly and ignored it. The moment the magnetic knife shattered, he immediately threw away the fragments in his hand and grabbed the ancient sword Mo Da was pressing down.


    His palm was pierced by the sword blade, and blood spurted out instantly.


    The moment of life and death!


    Guo Youliang, for the last time, released the only remaining magnetic force inside his body.


    Mo Da¡¯s force pressing down the sword dropped sharply, and he stood frozen in place.


    ...


    Guo Youliang, dripping with sweat, breathed a sigh of relief, pushed with his legs, ready to take this chance to escape the dangerous situation, but Yan Long, with his Semi-Spirit Body, approached again. At this moment, the Monster Spirit behind him seemed to grow larger, grabbed Guo Youliang¡¯s shoulders and head, and firmly pinned him to the ground, preventing him from rolling away.


    With the Monster Spirit exerting force, Yan Long freed his hand, drew his dagger, and stabbed it into Guo Youliang¡¯s abdomen, then pulled it out and stabbed a second time.


    This second stab was caught by Guo Youliang, who grabbed the handle of the dagger. Yan Long wasn¡¯t as strong as he was and couldn¡¯t pull it out for a third stab.


    The two were deadlocked.


    Just then, Mo Da started to move again, pressing down further with the ancient sword in his hand.


    With only one hand holding the blade, Guo Youliang resisted desperately, but couldn¡¯t withstand the enormous strength of the Ancient Corpse.


    As the sword blade approached the center of Guo Youliang¡¯s forehead, it pierced the skin, and a trickle of blood flowed out.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes bulged, using all his strength, clenching his teeth tightly, his body trembling incessantly, with the knuckles of his hand gripping the blade all turning white.


    With the naked eye, one could see the ancient sword slowly penetrating his head, almost disappearing into his skull.


    At this moment, Guo Youliang was almost unconscious when he suddenly let go, and immediately from his hand emerged a black Hidden Buckle.


    The next second, a loud explosion sounded!


    A powerful blast wave centered on him swept out in all directions, and thick smoke engulfed the three of them.


    Yan Long¡¯s screams were heard, a severed hand of Mo Da flew out, followed by a large swath of dust spreading. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the commotion of a Super-Energy Burst!


    After the fierce impact, the battlefield, which had been extremely intense, instantly became eerily silent, with only clouds of dust drifting away in all directions.


    About four to five minutes later, the dust finally started to settle, revealing three people lying down.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s head was full of blood, lying on his back with Mo Da¡¯s ancient sword still on his forehead, but Mo Da had been blown off, lying rigidly to one side, motionless.


    As for Yan Long, being small-bodied, he was blown even farther, the Monster Spirit behind him had disappeared, and he too was unconscious.


    Time passed, and it was unknown how long it had been.


    Guo Youliang moved gently.


    The Super-Energy Burst Hidden Buckle, when triggered, would automatically target all areas except the person triggering it, and though the direction of the person triggering it would still be affected, the impact was not significant.


    That made Guo Youliang the person least affected by the aftermath of the Super-Energy Burst.


    However, his injuries were very severe. A trace of clarity in his Spirit Platform was still holding on. Unconsciously, his legs exerted a slight force, and it took him about two minutes to slowly turn over, attempting to crawl forward.


    The ancient sword was still in his head, and after struggling for about five minutes, he finally stopped moving.


    Soon, another Guo Youliang, a shadow, stood up from within his body, holding a perfect phantom of a magnetic knife, with no sword wound on his forehead and no dagger-stab wound on his abdomen.


    This shadow stood stiffly for a while, then turned around and rigidly walked back in the direction from which he had come.


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 Chapter 290 - 257 Rescue (4200 words)

    Chapter 290: Chapter 257 Rescue (4200 words)


    Guo Youliang¡¯s shadow stiffly walked forward, step by step.


    Not long after, it moved out of the ancient well area, and the collapsed place was no longer visible, then his shadow began to hasten its pace.


    Although the Super-Energy Burst triggered a strong shockwave, especially against strangenesses, having a significant fatal effect, it couldn¡¯t match the noise created by the detonation of a Detonator.


    So, although the Super-Energy Burst had been detonated, the resulting noise didn¡¯t spread near the Little Wind Zhai like it did when the Detonator blew up the ancient well.


    The leading middle-aged man and a group of young Exorcists guarding the area didn¡¯t hear anything unusual at all.


    It wasn¡¯t until a young man walked out of the courtyard to urinate at the corner outside the yard that he suddenly got a fright¡ªthere was a figure standing at the corner.


    ...


    At first, this young man was panicked and cautious, but then he realized something was off and stared at the person¡¯s back.


    The figure slowly turned around, holding a magnetic knife, and looked directly at the young man.


    About five seconds later, the courtyard door was slammed open, and the young man stumbled in, panicking, ¡°Uncle¡­ Uncle Guo¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Big Brother Guo doing?¡± asked the leading middle-aged man, seeing the young man was pale with trembling hands and feet. An Exorcist wouldn¡¯t show such a reaction unless he had seen something horrifying.


    This scene made the leading middle-aged man¡¯s heart pound uncontrollably.


    ¡°He¡­¡± The young man pointed behind him at the courtyard outside, ¡°He¡¯s standing by the door, just standing there.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing there?¡± asked the leading middle-aged man curiously.


    ¡°No, Uncle Guo¡¯s wrong, he, he seems to have become¡­ a strangeness?!¡± The young man stammered.


    With those words, everybody in the courtyard was shocked.


    The leading middle-aged man was the first to rush out, running to the corner outside the yard and saw Guo Youliang¡¯s shadow standing motionless in the corner.


    The others followed suit, but none dared to get close, just staring unbelievably with open mouths at the scene before them.


    Everyone saw a crack form right on Guo Youliang¡¯s forehead, splitting his skin in two, and blood slowly flowed down, soaking half of his face yet unable to cover his lifeless eyes, which remained open.


    ¡°Big Brother Guo!¡± Tears had filled the eyes of the leading middle-aged man, ready to fall at any moment.


    The sight before him was so unbelievable that for a moment, he couldn¡¯t accept the truth.


    But the stark reality was laid out before his eyes, leaving no room for doubt.


    ¡°Help¡­ me.¡± Guo Youliang suddenly parted his lips and uttered a muffled voice.


    Those further away couldn¡¯t hear it clearly, but the leading middle-aged man heard it distinctly. He froze, his gaze fixed on Guo Youliang¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°Help me!¡±


    Guo Youliang¡¯s voice seemed more urgent as he said the words again, this time with much more force.


    This caused the leading middle-aged man to lose his composure completely, his eyes filling with Blood Threads as he roared, ¡°All Exorcists, pair up, split up and search. Lock on the eastern side of the village. You must find Big Brother Guo¡¯s body within an hour!¡±


    Everyone paused, then scattered explosively, pairing up and spreading in all directions.


    The individuals didn¡¯t waste words, as they darted into streets and alleys, looking around, even pulling out their Spirit Detectors to begin a frantic search.


    The leading middle-aged man stood alone before the strangeness of Guo Youliang. Once everyone had dispersed, he raised his hand and glanced at his watch, ¡°Just before dawn, as long as it¡¯s before sunrise and taken back, we might make it in time!¡±


    With that, he picked a direction himself and started searching quickly.


    ¡­


    Hearing Yan Junze¡¯s surprised voice, Zhang Xiaomo forced herself to stand up, clutching her still aching chest and quickly approached the corner outside the courtyard, then stood dumbfounded.


    ¡°Uncle Guo?!¡±


    Although the blood flowing from Guo Youliang¡¯s forehead covered most of his face, his clothing, physique, and general appearance still allowed Zhang Xiaomo to recognize him at a glance.


    ¡°He¡­ he¡¯s already a¡­ a strangeness!¡± Yan Junze stared in disbelief at Guo Youliang, murmuring to himself.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not!¡± Zhang Xiaomo rushed forward, grabbing Yan Junze¡¯s arm, tears involuntarily falling, but her gaze remained fixed on Guo Youliang, ¡°Uncle Guo¡­ might still be saved!¡±


    ¡°His soul is already here, how can he be saved?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned her head sharply, staring at Yan Junze, ¡°There¡¯s no time to explain, we have to find the body, we need to find Uncle Guo¡¯s body, fast! It has to be before dawn, to take the body back to the Tianmeng Exorcist Team branch.¡±


    ¡°Help¡­ me!¡±


    Guo Youliang again suddenly spoke and still those two words, but this time they were said incredibly slowly as if he was running out of all his energy.


    ¡°Just go looking like this? What about Uncle Guo¡¯s strangeness?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo stamped her foot, ¡°Of course, we¡¯re taking it, but I don¡¯t have a strangeness containment device. Those things are expensive, and there are only a few in the entire Tianmeng. Jiang Yaofei has one, but who knows if that guy has already left Mo Family Village by now.¡±


    After a pause, she continued, ¡°If all else fails, we¡¯ll just find the body first. As long as we bring the body here and let Uncle Guo¡¯s soul temporarily reside in its own body, it should work for a short time. We only need to last until we get back.¡±


    At this time, the strangeness produced by Guo Youliang had formed into an Obsession¡ªseeking someone to help him.


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 Chapter 291 - 257: Rescue (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 291: Chapter 257: Rescue (4200 words)_2


    And this strangeness is almost impossible to communicate with, unless one can help realize its Obsession; thus, having the strangeness follow one¡¯s every step is basically unattainable.


    Because on the way, Guo Youliang might very well leave to seek help from as many others as possible.


    So if time could be saved, it would be best to take away the strangeness of Guo Youliang in this corner, but the Exorcism Container is the key tool.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just finished speaking when Yan Junze, after a brief contemplation, said to Guo Youliang, ¡°Uncle Guo, I am now helping you, trying to rescue you, so taking away your soul to find your body is the fastest and most time-saving method.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo listened in a daze, not understanding what Yan Junze meant by that.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°So now I need to take away your soul; please do not resist or harbor any adverse thoughts. Because as soon as your soul is taken away, you will be rescued promptly after we find your body!¡±


    ...


    ¡°What?¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at Yan Junze in surprise.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had already brought up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, where the silhouettes of two strange babies, one Crawler Monster, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen were all within the 12th node.


    Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts stirred, and he activated [Evil Spirit Solid Lock], rapidly expending 100 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    However, almost the next second, a prompt popped up in his mind: Resistance detected, this Lockdown attempt failed.


    ¡°We will rescue you soon, please do not resist.¡±


    Under Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s astonished gaze, Yan Junze spoke again.


    The second attempt consumed another 100 points of Different Dimension Energy, and he activated [Evil Spirit Solid Lock] again.


    Three seconds later, a second prompt came through: Resistance detected, this Lockdown attempt failed.


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes, feeling the scrutiny from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s gaze, and turned to give her a confident smile as if to say, ¡°When have I ever let you down?¡±


    Turning back to Guo Youliang, he continued, ¡°Old Guo, I said I would help you, and I certainly will. Not only will I help you find your body, but I can also help you find the cause of your death. If someone harmed you, they will face the wrath from both Xiaomo and me!¡±


    Upon finishing, he once again expended 100 points of Different Dimension Energy and initiated ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock.¡±


    Time passed, and at this moment, Yan Junze felt as though time was crawling.


    Approximately five seconds later, a prompt emerged in his mind.


    [Lockdown successful, acquired Guo Youliang (Advanced Sculpting Spirit), current Favorability: Neutral]


    At the same moment, the shadow of Guo Youliang before him vanished, and within the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, a silhouette of Guo Youliang appeared.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly noticed Guo Youliang¡¯s soul had disappeared and couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in shock.


    Covering her mouth, she glanced at Yan Junze, who was putting on a smug look as though he feared no lightning strike, and said with an air of superiority, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve successfully taken him away.¡±


    As he said this, Yan Junze was actually feeling an internal turmoil. He hadn¡¯t expected that Guo Youliang, who had just died not long ago and whose soul was newly formed, would already have a strangeness level so outrageously high, reaching the level of Advanced Sculpting Spirit.


    Keep in mind, when Granny Ren¡¯s son and daughter-in-law had just died, the strangeness they formed was nothing at all, skittishly nibbling on a candle, nowhere near the grand demeanor of Old Guo who became an Advanced Sculpting Spirit the moment he died.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was very clear that a strangeness, after some time, might ascend in level. Perhaps due to some calamity, or maybe a chance happening of cause and effect.


    In other words, Guo Youliang, who had been capable in life, surely experienced a much greater change in the level of his strangeness after death compared to that of an ordinary person.


    Which is to say, although Guo Youliang was already an Advanced Sculpting Spirit, given time, there was a very high chance for Old Guo to ascend one, or even two levels, possibly reaching the state of an Ethereal Spirit.


    Having seen the level of Guo Youliang¡¯s strangeness, a hint of reluctance surged in Yan Junze¡¯s heart; he gazed at Guo Youliang¡¯s silhouette within the 12th node of the Atlas, finding it hard to part with it.


    But he quickly cast that sentiment aside because Zhang Xiaomo was staring at him intently, analyzing his current facial expression.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Why the constipated look? You know we don¡¯t have much time left, so let¡¯s find Uncle Guo¡¯s body first, and then you can go to the bathroom, okay?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s mouth twitched, and then he pointed in the direction of the eastern part of the village, ¡°I think I know where Old Guo went.¡±


    Before this, Yan Junze had already detected all the high-level missions in the village, and there was one called [Corpse Qi Spread] in the east side of the village. The level of this mission was somewhat peculiar, as it could progress from ¡°hair-raising (low)¡± to ¡°Terrified (medium)¡± under certain triggering odds.


    Of course, Yan Junze knew that as a four-star Exorcist, Guo Youliang had enough strength to retreat safely from a mission like ¡°Terrified (medium),¡± even if he couldn¡¯t kill the strangenesses in the mission.


    He didn¡¯t believe that Guo Youliang would die in the [Corpse Qi Spread] mission; it was indeed hard to make sense of.


    It was either that, or he had thought of a possibility, but this possibility was so unlikely that Yan Junze only speculated it, and didn¡¯t dare to confirm.


    Anyway, it seemed that only this mission in the eastern part of the village could pose some threat to Guo Youliang; beyond that, there was no other reason to explain Guo Youliang ending up in his current state.


    ¡­


    Next to the collapsed ancient well.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s body stopped moving after crawling, and the second person to wake up was Yan Long.


    Yan Long¡¯s body was ordinary, but once in Semi-Spirit State, with the overlay of a Monster Spirit¡¯s protection, he could reach a state of immense natural strength, as tough as diamond.


    Of course, this was under the condition that he didn¡¯t encounter an Exorcist of four stars or above, especially one as experienced as Guo Youliang.


    Protected by his Semi-Spirit Body, Yan Long was merely knocked unconscious by the powerful shock wave, with the strange magnetic field inside his body in utter chaos. The Monster Spirit that had last protected him withdrew on its own after resisting a Super-Energy Burst at close range.


    At this rate, it seemed he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it again for some time.


    Yan Long was awakened by violent coughing, doubling over and lying on the ground in pain.


    It took quite a while for him to recover. He felt as if every muscle in his body was tearing apart in pain.


    But after a thorough check, he realized it was just an illusion; he seemed to have not been injured much, except for a patch of dark purple on his chest and stomach, clearly caused by the close-range impact of the shock wave.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Monster Spirit¡¯s bolstering his resistance, this time, he might have been done for.


    After catching his breath for a while, Yan Long looked up and glanced not far away.


    He saw Guo Youliang¡¯s body lying face down, seemingly attempting to move forward just before death, but now frozen in this strange pose, clearly dead for some time.


    His gaze swept again and didn¡¯t find Mo Da¡¯s body.


    A chill ran down Yan Long¡¯s spine. He quickly propped himself up to stand and looked around, only to find Mo Da lying face up in a slightly lower area, motionless.


    Feeling somewhat reassured, Yan Long was about to look away when he suddenly froze, his gaze shifting toward Mo Da¡¯s right arm.


    There, shockingly, the arm was severed, the entire right arm gone without a trace! S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡±


    To have found this nearly perfect Ancient Corpse was like a connoisseur who had gone to great lengths to find a peerless gem, only to witness a corner of it being forcefully broken off at this moment.


    The pain in his heart surged through Yan Long¡¯s entire body in an instant, the heartache overpowering the pain of his injuries.


    Yan Long¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot as he staggered towards the body of Guo Youliang, lying on the ground.


    Getting close, he wordlessly squatted down, picked up a large stone that had rolled out from the ground due to the earlier blast, and smashed it down hard on Guo Youliang¡¯s head.


    A crack was heard!


    Yan Long remained silent, squatting down again to pick up the stone, and smashed it down vigorously for the second, third, fourth, and fifth times¡­


    ¡°You bastard, ruining my Ancient Corpse, I want you¡­ mutilated in death!!!¡±


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 Chapter 292 - 258: Ambush (4300 words)

    Chapter 292: Chapter 258: Ambush (4300 words)


    A moment later, Guo Youliang¡¯s body had become a mess of decay, beyond recognition.


    It wasn¡¯t until then that Yan Long felt a sense of balance in his heart. He gasped heavily, threw the stone away, glanced at Mo Da¡¯s resting place, and then walked over.


    Arriving at Mo Da¡¯s side, Yan Long pulled out a packet of black powder. He unfolded the paper packet and poured the powder on Mo Da¡¯s nose and mouth.


    About a minute later, the black powder moved in unison as if it were magnetic, seemingly drawn by a suction force, and burrowed into Mo Da¡¯s nostrils.


    Soon, all the black powder vanished without a trace.


    Mo Da¡¯s body twitched, and his closed eyes reopened, lifelessly scanning the surroundings.


    ...


    Yan Long knew that the smoke emitted by the second Incense Cup was still affecting Mo Da, allowing him to temporally obey instructions without question. Whether it was the medicine previously fed to him during the fight or the black powder just now, both served to strengthen Yan Long¡¯s control over Mo Da.


    Turning around, after a while, Yan Long found Mo Da¡¯s severed arm on the ground, still clutching the ancient sword.


    The break in the arm was jagged, which meant that even if it were reattached, Mo Da would be left with mismatched arms, not aligning symmetrically.


    His anger towards Guo Youliang resurfaced, and Yan Long glanced at the remains of Guo Youliang that now resembled nothing but minced flesh and then suddenly sharpened his gaze toward the distance.


    Under the moonlight, it seemed someone¡¯s shadow was moving near the eaves of a distant house.


    Witnessing this, Yan Long immediately lay flat on the ground, using hands and feet to crawl over to Mo Da.


    At the moment, Mo Da was still lying down. Yan Long took the ancient sword from the gripping severed arm and placed it into Mo Da¡¯s other intact hand, whispering, ¡°No matter who approaches, kill them at first sight, then we must leave this place quickly.¡±


    Mo Da silently gripped the ancient sword as though he were a puppet.


    Yan Long adopted a side-lying position, facing the direction from which the shadow had appeared, and closed his eyes, not moving an inch.


    About four or five minutes later, two men approached one after the other.


    One was the middle-aged leader, and the other a young Exorcist, looking naive and probably only seventeen or eighteen years old.


    If it weren¡¯t for a special constitution, able to integrate with or tolerate Magnetic Force, a boy so young could not possibly have become an Exorcist. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because the middle-aged leader knew that Guo Youliang¡¯s last farewell coincided with a violent disturbance in the east side of the village, he had come here deliberately, reaching this area faster than the others.


    On the way, the middle-aged leader had encountered this young man and another companion from his group. That companion had suddenly needed to relieve himself and had gone to find a spot, so the middle-aged leader arrived earlier with this youngster.


    Out of everyone, only this three-star Exorcist middle-aged leader knew clearly the importance of finding Guo Youliang¡¯s body. The other Exorcists didn¡¯t dare to ask questions; they simply followed orders.


    As the two men drew near, the man who had gone to relieve himself hurried from behind, trotting and looking around as he said, ¡°Boss, Liang, wait for me. Eh, what the hell happened here? The ground feels like it¡¯s caved in.¡±


    The middle-aged leader turned back and said, ¡°De, you sure are quick on your feet!¡±


    The youngster beside him, Liang, also looked around and exclaimed, ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not just caved in here, there¡¯s someone lying over there.¡±


    The middle-aged leader was startled and immediately reached out to stop Liang¡¯s impulsiveness to go for a closer look. He took out his Spirit Detector, turned it on, and scanned the area, finding no anomalies.


    The man named De also pulled out his Spirit Detector to check, with the same result of no anomalies found.


    Taking a few steps forward, the three of them were shocked to see a blur of flesh and blood lying on the ground in a concave area, unrecognizable.


    The intense stench of blood wafted through the air, causing their stomachs to churn involuntarily.


    The youngster named Liang gagged and quickly stepped to the side, daring not to look any further.


    De looked toward the middle-aged leader with a shocked expression. The leader¡¯s face was somber, his gaze fixed on the corpse on the ground.


    The body was nearly unrecognizable; not only the face but every part of the body seemed to have been bludgeoned with a blunt object. However, from the clothing, the middle-aged leader could confirm that it was undoubtedly Guo Youliang.


    With the body destroyed, even having found it now was useless. The leader felt dead inside, staring at Guo Youliang¡¯s remains, then a sudden wave of anger surged within him.


    At the same moment, Liang, who was retching to the side, suddenly uttered a noise.


    ¡°Boss, there are two more bodies here.¡±


    The middle-aged leader craned his neck to look and noticed the lower terrain that had obscured his view, so he quickly walked a few steps forward.


    Indeed, below in the depression, one body was lying on its back and another was slumped to the side.


    The middle-aged leader then focused on the body lying flat. It appeared uncommon, but the moonlight was too dim to make out the details clearly.


    He took another couple of steps to get a closer look.


    At this point, Liang, who had discovered the body, had already walked over and was nearing the one lying on its back.


    The middle-aged leader¡¯s gaze suddenly sharpened; only now he could see clearly that the body was dressed in ancient clothes. He couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Liang, be careful¡­¡±


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 Chapter 293 - 258: Ambush (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 293: Chapter 258: Ambush (4300 words)_2


    Before he could finish speaking, the Ancient Corpse lying on the ground abruptly stood up, stiff as a board, expressionless, emanating a brutal indifference to all life. Its left hand wielded the ancient sword, sweeping it in a motion called Sweeping Thousands Army.


    Unable to react in time, Liang was cut in half at the waist by the ancient sword in an instant.


    His upper body maintained the motion of turning around, but only his severed top half twisted while his lower half remained motionless on the spot, his face frozen in terror. His upper body slid to one side, spilling his organs.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The leading middle-aged man jerked in shock, his eyes bloodshot. On instinct, he pulled out his magnetic knife and slashed at Mo Da.


    In his subconscious, he assumed that the opponent had only been able to kill his colleague with a sneak attack, so their actual strength shouldn¡¯t be very high.


    ...


    The reason Guo Youliang had died here must have been something else, and there might be other strangenesses hidden in the vicinity.


    Although he had just witnessed the death of his colleague and was striking back in a rage, the leading middle-aged man still diverted part of his attention to the surroundings, particularly to the emaciated man lying on his side.


    Nevertheless, he put most of his strength into that magnetic knife, extending the magnetic glow to the extreme limit he could muster, about half a meter in length.


    When the magnetic glow collided with Mo Da¡¯s ancient sword, it disappeared instantly, followed by a close physical clash between the magnetic knife and the attacking ancient sword.


    With a clang, the magnetic knife broke, and the ancient sword thrust forward unrelentingly.


    The leading middle-aged man was instantly horrified. He gathered all his attention on the sword tip getting ever closer and rapidly took several steps back while discarding the magnetic knife.


    The ancient sword was still rapidly closing in, the tip growing larger before his eyes.


    ¡°No good,¡± the leading middle-aged man gasped, realizing the Ancient Corpse¡¯s strength was terrifyingly formidable. He let out a loud shout, throwing two High-Energy Collapses at the Ancient Corpse while yelling, ¡°De, run!¡±


    De was completely panicked. Seeing the situation, he turned and fled.


    The most powerful items the leading middle-aged man carried were these two High-Energy Collapses, aside from the Strangeness Interferer.


    But at this life-and-death moment, with the opponent¡¯s ancient sword already at his face, activating the Strangeness Interferer was essentially futile. Moreover, the interferer was still in his backpack, unretrieved. Even if he could get it out, its effectiveness against the Ancient Corpse was much worse compared to ordinary strangenesses.


    Throwing the two High-Energy Collapses was the leading middle-aged man¡¯s ultimate defense against the opponent.


    Crack!


    The lead High-Energy Collapse collided with the ancient sword¡¯s tip, resulting in a thunderous boom. Shockwaves swept through the area.


    This shockwave didn¡¯t affect the leading middle-aged man greatly, but when it surged towards the Ancient Corpse, Mo Da remained unmoved. His sword tip shifted just slightly, and he continued his forward charge. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The second High-Energy Collapse was activated, and another shockwave exploded from the side of the ancient sword.


    With a shake of his arm, Mo Da once again suppressed this level of shockwave. The sword tip veered a little more and was now right up against the leading middle-aged man, plunging into his left chest and piercing through his back.


    The leading middle-aged man abruptly froze, stopped retreating, and looked down at his chest where the ancient sword had entered, just a knuckle¡¯s length away from his heart.


    Then Mo Da twisted the sword hilt, and a surge of corpse energy spread crazily from his center. As the sword twisted, the wound on the leading middle-aged man¡¯s chest burst open with a deafening pop, splitting him in two from the shoulder.


    Mo Da withdrew the ancient sword, then pointed its tip towards De, who was fleeing, and furiously hurled the sword in his direction.


    With a howling noise and a buzz, the ancient sword impaled De¡¯s back, sending him flying forward two or three meters. He collapsed on the ground and never moved again.


    ¡°Not bad, Mo Da!¡±


    Yan Long, who had been feigning death lying on his side the whole time, stood up now with a smug smile. Although his face was pale, he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.


    Proudly patting the unmoving Mo Da on the shoulder, Yan Long laughed, but soon he began to cough violently, clutching at his chest in discomfort. It was only after spitting out a mouthful of blood that he felt the congestion in his chest clear.


    It seemed he had sustained some internal injuries after all.


    Pointing ahead, he instructed Mo Da, ¡°Retrieve the ancient sword. Then go back to the Old Pagoda Tree and get my backpack down. I need to rest for a while; I¡¯m still feeling quite unwell.¡±


    After retrieving the ancient sword, Mo Da climbed up the tree and took down Yan Long¡¯s two backpacks, one large and one small. Upon returning to Yan Long¡¯s side, Yan Long further instructed him to pick up his severed arm and place it in the backpack.


    After all, even if he ended up with differing arm lengths, it was better than having just one arm.


    Despite the tugging pain in his chest, Yan Long knew it was not safe to linger and hurriedly said, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    As he stood up, clutching his chest, with Mo Da holding the backpacks, they were about to move forward when he suddenly paused, spotting a figure moving by the eaves of a distant house, seemingly still headed their way.


    ¡°Lie down.¡±


    Yan Long ordered with urgency, dropping to the ground himself first.


    Mo Da¡¯s reaction was a beat slower, but he also lay down beside Yan Long, resuming the position he had just been in.


    The low-lying terrain of the place was indeed suitable for hiding without being noticed.


    Then Yan Long slightly turned, returning to a side lying position, and whispered to Mo Da, ¡°Hold on to the ancient sword and do as you did before. If a few more come, kill them all.¡±


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 Chapter 294 - 258: Ambush (4300 words)_3

    Chapter 294: Chapter 258: Ambush (4300 words)_3


    Although he couldn¡¯t leave at the moment, Yan Long was not in a hurry.


    He knew very well that there weren¡¯t many exorcist teams with four-star exorcists from Tianmeng in this Mo Family Village. Not everyone could be of Guo Youliang¡¯s level.


    Moreover, there must be powerful strangenesses in other parts of the village, so not all exorcists would be here. He just needed to kill the exorcists that had come this time, and then he must hurry to leave; otherwise, staying till dawn would be unfavorable for his actions.


    With Mo Da¡¯s strength, plus the element of surprise, even if two three-star exorcists came at the same time, Yan Long wouldn¡¯t be afraid.


    Under the eaves of a distant house, Yan Junze, who was about to continue walking, was stopped by Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo blinked and stared in the direction where the shape of the Old Pagoda Tree was vaguely visible, as if talking to herself, ¡°Over there¡­ there seemed to be someone standing just now.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze looked in the distance, pulled out a pair of glasses, but still couldn¡¯t see very clearly, shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything, are you sure there was someone there just now?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°There definitely were people standing there, more than one. But they suddenly disappeared just now.¡±


    Yan Junze looked again but still shook his head. Then he exclaimed, ¡°You have good eyesight, not like someone who is on their phone every day!¡±


    ¡°Playing on the phone and having good eyesight are two different things,¡± Zhang Xiaomo corrected him.


    Yan Junze paused, not understanding, and then asked, ¡°Might there be strangenesses over there, so do we go or not?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? You¡¯re so powerful, you even blew up the Red Coffin,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous when we find Uncle Guo¡¯s body later, I¡¯ll take the body and go first; you cover our retreat.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°No problem, you just run with the body, and if you hear any strangeness screaming behind us, don¡¯t look back. That¡¯s the punishment they deserve.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but smile, and the shadow that had been lingering in her heart due to Guo Youliang¡¯s death eased slightly.


    Yan Junze led the way forward, and in a short while, they neared the area where the ancient well had collapsed.


    They then saw a body of an exorcist lying on the ground, head faced towards Yan Junze¡¯s direction, motionless, clearly already dead.


    Upon closer inspection, they found a bloody hole in the person¡¯s back, with blood still slowly seeping out, indicating that he hadn¡¯t been dead for long.


    Zhang Xiaomo frowned slightly and looked towards the front to see if there were any abnormalities.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, crouched down and turned the head of the lying man, examining the face of the deceased.


    Suddenly, he was taken aback, exclaiming, ¡°This person is called De, we entered Mo Family Village together. His skin still has warmth; he must have just died.¡±


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo quickly ran forward a few steps, then crouched down sharply.


    Yan Junze was startled and hurriedly followed, only to see Zhang Xiaomo kneeling in front of a body that was mangled, her expression sorrowful.


    Yan Junze remembered that the mangled body¡¯s clothing was unmistakably Guo Youliang¡¯s.


    But soon he lifted his head and looked to the ground not far away, where another body with a gruesome death lay, its face blurred, not allowing a clear view of its features.


    But from the clothes and appearance, it seemed to be another exorcist.


    Zhang Xiaomo gently wiped away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks, stood up, took out her magnetic knife, and was about to approach the corpse that appeared to have its upper body split open when Yan Junze held her shoulder from behind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go over there.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo turned her head to look at him.


    Yan Junze stared into her eyes and let out a gentle sigh, ¡°These people must have died recently. Saving Guo Youliang might no longer be possible, but saving them¡­ I believe I can.¡±


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 Chapter 295 - 259: Seeing through the Conspiracy

    Chapter 295: Chapter 259: Seeing through the Conspiracy


    When Yan Junze said this, it was clear that Zhang Xiaomo was bewildered.


    The person is already dead, how can they still be saved?


    ¡°You stand here and don¡¯t move, be careful and keep watch, I¡¯ll go and have a look,¡± Yan Junze spoke as he passed Zhang Xiaomo and walked towards the blurred body on the ground.


    As he approached the lower terrain, Yan Junze paused slightly, seeing two other bodies, also not far away.


    One of the bodies looked somewhat familiar, he took a few more steps forward, then stopped and did not advance any further.


    On closer look, he suddenly realized, only to see that one of the bent ¡°bodies¡± seemed to be Cheng Jingting¡¯s teacher who he had seen in the Great Rewind¡ªYan Long, the thin man whose Semi-Spirit Body was a monstrous spirit.


    ...


    Glancing at the body next to Yan Long, dressed in ancient clothing and seemingly holding something in his hand, but that arm was pressed underneath his body, making it unclear what exactly was pinned down.


    However, the person¡¯s ancient attire made Yan Junze¡¯s heart skip a beat, reminding him of the mission prompt he had received earlier.


    The mission was called ¡°Corpse Qi Spread,¡± with the mission level potentially escalating probabilistically from hair-raising (high) to Terrified (medium).


    And the mission¡¯s main target was a general named Mo Da, who, having fallen into a well by accident, harbored resentment towards everyone, and whose body was preserved by the extreme cold energy in the well, making him a rare Ancient Corpse.


    Looking around now, there had been an explosion nearby the house opposite Little Wind Zhai, which was why Guo Youliang rushed over to check, and thinking about it now, this place must be the source of that tremor.


    Seeing Yan Long here and then recalling the discussion about the Spirit Bridge of Mo Family Village during the Great Rewind, since Cheng Jingting was also nurturing spirits, it made sense that Yan Long would specifically come for this ancient corpse.


    ¡°It¡¯s very likely that Old Guo encountered the combined attack of the Ancient Corpse Mo Da and Yan Long here,¡± Yan Junze surmised. ¡°Maybe Old Guo was late, and Yan Long had already subdued Mo Da before he arrived.¡±


    Facing both the Yin General Mo Da and Yan Long at once would indeed lead to the outcome Guo Youliang met.


    Yan Junze felt regret.


    Moreover, now that Guo Youliang¡¯s body had already been destroyed like that, from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reaction, such a body, even if found, would be of no help.


    At this moment, Yan Junze did not approach any further.


    He suspected one possibility; now that Guo Youliang was dead, Yan Long lying on the ground was likely the victorious party, likely feigning death so close to Mo Da.


    At the same time, Yan Long, who had been pretending to be dead all this while, felt something amiss. Squinting his eyes, he faintly saw a man approaching but he suddenly stopped and just stood there, not coming any closer.


    The man was a stranger; Yan Long was sure he had never seen him before.


    Meanwhile, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze now turned to the Exorcist¡¯s body he had just seen, realizing it was that leading middle-aged man.


    After having a rough understanding of the situation here, Yan Junze turned to look back at Zhang Xiaomo behind him, then initiated a Rewind!


    Everything blurred, and he and Zhang Xiaomo were back at the corner of the wall where they had discovered Guo Youliang¡¯s strangeness.


    Right now, Guo Youliang¡¯s strangeness had just been locked into the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze looked at the time, estimating that the leading middle-aged man and De probably had not yet reached the depressed area of the ground.


    But even if they hadn¡¯t arrived yet, according to the estimation of time, they should be close to reaching it.


    Trying to catch up now at their current speed to warn the leading middle-aged man and his group would definitely be impossible, which Yan Junze felt was a bit troublesome.


    Though they had Rewinded, and the leading middle-aged man wasn¡¯t dead, he wasn¡¯t far from death either; they needed to find a way to notify them.


    The complex magnetic anomalies in Mo Family Village, combined with the interference of the Spirit Bridge, made all electronic signals inoperative here, even satellite phones couldn¡¯t get through.


    After a bit of thought, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Do you know about the dried-up well under the old pagoda tree on the east side of the village?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was marveling at how Yan Junze had collected Guo Youliang¡¯s strangenesses and wanted to ask why when she suddenly hesitated, thought for a moment, and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve been there once before, I have some impression.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any fastest method to reach that place?¡± Yan Junze asked further.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Run, running there is the fastest, there are no means of transportation in this village, not even a motorcycle.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°that won¡¯t be quick enough.¡±


    As he spoke, he suddenly paused and said, ¡°I am going to release one of my spirits now, don¡¯t be surprised, and don¡¯t try to kill it, I need it to help with something.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him in astonishment, then nodded, inevitably wondering to herself how this lad actually knew how to cultivate spirits.


    That Yan Junze himself was a Semi-Spirit went without saying, but it was unexpected that he also secretly cultivated spirits.


    Of course, Zhang Xiaomo knew Yan Junze¡¯s character. For someone like him to cultivate spirits, it was actually of help to Exorcists, not like those cultivators with vile natures and exceedingly fierce, bringing unpredictable upheaval and instability to this world.


    The next second, Yan Junze released two strange infants.


    One of the strange infants was larger and the other smaller, but it was nearly impossible to tell from their appearance which was which.


    The strange infants were not crawling on the ground; instead, they stood slightly upright, their heads hanging low to avoid Yan Junze¡¯s gaze.


    Even now, they were still very sensitive to the gaze of humans and had almost never looked directly into Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Yan Junze could tell that the two little ones were somewhat normal when they first came out, but upon sensing Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s presence, they began to tremble slightly, deliberately drawing closer to him and keeping away from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Infant One, Infant Two, to the east side of this village,¡± Yan Junze pointed in the direction of the ancient well, ¡°there are several Exorcists closing in there, and someone has already been killed. You can follow the scent of blood to find your way there. Once you¡¯re there, lure the Exorcists close to that place over to us, we will follow shortly.¡±


    He had a reason not to release the Crawler Monster; the guy with the parted hair was methodical and unhurried in his actions, so waiting for him to get there would take longer than if Yan Junze himself ran over.


    But the strange infants were entirely different. Once they started to run wildly, using all four limbs like crazed, foraging beasts, not even the Back-faced Woman could catch up to them. Only Aunt Mei could subdue them, using her Monster Spirit pressure to make them too scared to move.


    At first, when Yan Junze came into contact with these two strange infants, he was afraid that due to their playful nature, they would run off and disappear as soon as they were released.


    However, after they had stayed inside the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s 12th node for a while, they found it incredibly comfortable and didn¡¯t need to eat candles anymore, instead, being nourished by Different Dimension Energy every day.


    So even when they were released, they would not run away again. In fact, they became very obedient to Yan Junze¡¯s commands; the last time they helped Yan Junze kill the Blood Infant cultivated by Cheng Jingting was a case in point.


    Upon receiving Yan Junze¡¯s order, the two strange infants immediately turned around, stood still as if searching for traces of the bloody scent.


    About seven or eight seconds later, they suddenly moved swiftly in the same direction, charging forward with all fours.


    Yan Junze called out from behind, ¡°Remember not to cause any conflict, just lure them over, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Whether the strange infants heard him or not, they were out of sight in no time.


    ¡°Their names are¡­ Bear One, Bear Two?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s Infant One, Infant Two,¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    ¡°Such a lowbrow name, obviously your work,¡± Zhang Xiaomo commented with a suppressed laugh.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry after them. If we¡¯re late, I¡¯m afraid the lead guy might take out those two on the spot. If that angers Aunt Mei and she comes over to take him out, and incidentally takes me out as well, that would be bad,¡± Yan Junze urged.


    Zhang Xiaomo listened, puzzled, staring blankly at Yan Junze.


    However, without asking further, she followed Yan Junze, and the two of them ran quickly toward the direction of the collapsed dry well.


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 Chapter 296 - 260 Let Me Do It!

    Chapter 296: Chapter 260 Let Me Do It!


    The running speed of the two strange infants was truly remarkable. In less than two minutes, Infant One and Infant Two had already reached the area in front of where the ancient well had collapsed.


    At this moment, the leading middle-aged man, Liang, and De, three exorcists, were nearing the middle of the collapsed ground.


    De, who had just gone to relieve himself, had just caught up with the leading middle-aged man and Liang and was still fastening his belt as he walked.


    The two strange infants glanced at each other, slowed down their pace, and crawled behind the three men.


    Although they were no longer running, their crawling speed was still astonishing in the eyes of ordinary people.


    Making rustling noises, all three men abruptly stopped and turned around to look.


    ...


    Upon suddenly seeing the two strange infants, the men were stunned. Liang and De showed a solemn expression, immediately stepping aside, while the leading middle-aged man leaped forward with his magnetic knife, slashing at Infant One.


    The magnetic glow surged about half a meter. Even though the leading middle-aged man had not fully approached the two strange infants, his strike could still harm Infant One.


    However, the blow missed its target.


    As soon as the exorcists spotted them, the two strange infants had already turned and ran, using their hands and feet to move at a rapid pace.


    By the time the leading middle-aged man¡¯s magnetic knife came down, Infant One had already shot two meters away.


    Infant Two made a ¡®gugu¡¯ sound, running ahead of Infant One and occasionally looking back.


    The three exorcists were taken aback. The leading middle-aged man, holding the magnetic knife, looked left and right at Liang and De, who also appeared surprised.


    Liang glanced down at his Spirit Detector and noticed that in the vicinity, only two strange red dots, those of the infants, were visible; no others were detected.


    And the behavior of these two strangenesses was very odd as if they were only intending to approach them and then immediately ran away without any intention of attacking.


    Furthermore, the two strangenesses kept their heads bowed and did not look directly at them, giving an impression of fear yet a seeming compulsion to approach the three men.


    Realizing the exorcists weren¡¯t chasing after them, the two strange infants stopped immediately, turned around, but still kept their heads down and stood there, baring their teeth and grimacing as if to warn the men, or perhaps to intimidate the leading middle-aged man and the others.


    ¡°Big brother, with your experience and greater knowledge, what do these two strangenesses mean by this?¡± De couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    The leading middle-aged man, also frowning, shook his head, ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like they consider us as attack targets, yet it also seems like they are warning us about something.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that this place is their territory, and seeing us about to enter, these two creatures came out to perform an intimidation to stop us?¡± Liang let his imagination run.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it,¡± the leading middle-aged man still shook his head, carrying the magnetic knife, he moved a couple of steps forward.


    Seeing this, the two strange infants immediately turned around and crawled quickly for more than a dozen steps before stopping and turning their heads to look back.


    ¡°Are these guys playing with us?¡± De suddenly took out a High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle and made a few steps forward.


    This startled the two strange infants, who quickly scrambled forward in a panic. Only after they crawled a considerable distance did they stop and look back again, realizing that the three men were still standing in the same spot, motionless.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right,¡± De murmured, ¡°It feels like they want us to follow them.¡±


    The leading middle-aged man was also puzzled. He had already noticed that the power of the two strange infants was not strong; he alone could deal with them, not to mention that he had one-star exorcist Liang and De by his side.


    If all three of them took action at the same time to pursue and kill, with the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle deployed for speed suppression, they believed it would take less than ten minutes to eliminate the strangenesses.


    Therefore, the sudden suicidal behavior of the two strange appearances seemed quite abnormal.


    Perhaps they really didn¡¯t want the trio to go to the area of ground collapse.


    Considering this, the leading middle-aged man whispered to Liang and De, ¡°Stay where you are, don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll pretend to turn and walk towards the Old Pagoda Tree, and you two observe the reaction of the two strangenesses.¡±


    Having said that, he turned and walked in the direction of the collapsing ground near the Old Pagoda Tree.


    At that moment, the two strange infants became anxious, opening their mouths and letting out a few ¡®ah ah¡¯ cries, with one of them instinctively taking a step forward. However, it quickly sensed the danger and retreated immediately.


    Although they retreated, the two strange infants visibly became more agitated.


    The leading middle-aged man stopped, turned around, and Liang immediately nodded, ¡°Boss, it¡¯s confirmed, they indeed don¡¯t want us to go there.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s catch one first and see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Soon after, the leading middle-aged man turned back around and started walking back, but took a circuitous route.


    Meanwhile, De took out two Hidden Buckles, and Liang pulled out a Strangeness Interferer, each following their respective paths to approach the two strange infants.


    Seeing the leading middle-aged man return, the strange infants stopped their shouting and used their hands and feet to move backwards, but they never turned around, as if they feared that if they did, someone from the trio might turn back again.


    This method of moving inevitably affected their speed; they couldn¡¯t move fast, and the distance between the three exorcists and the strange infants was gradually closing.


    Once they were close enough to the strange infants, the three of them had already moved far from the collapsed area of the ground.


    Suddenly, De threw a Chilling Hidden Buckle.


    It was chilling to the bone, and as soon as it hit the ground beside the strange baby¡¯s feet, a whiff of frost arose, freezing everything within two or three meters, even the air seemed to shake as if it were congealing.


    The two strange babies stiffened unexpectedly, their movements becoming sluggish, while at the same moment, Liang rushed over with the Strangeness Interferer clutched in his hand.


    Next second, the strange babies were enveloped in the disruptive range of the interferer, and the magnetic field became chaotic.


    At this moment, the strange babies clearly panicked; they made gurgling noises, trying to turn around and flee, but their bodies were as though stuck in mud, making even turning difficult.


    The leading middle-aged man no longer hid, and he charged forth in a few strides, his magnetic knife aimed at the strange baby closest to him, and he slashed towards its feet.


    The strange baby was quick, something the man had already noticed, so as long as it was immobilized, it would be easy to capture.


    Infant One, about to have its feet severed, was suddenly startled, completely unable to dodge, and it opened its mouth wide, its pupils drooping as it let out a hopeless shriek.


    Clang!


    A clear collision rang out, and the middle-aged man stepped back, lifting his knife for a look to find that Zhang Xiaomo had somehow positioned herself in front of Infant One, also holding a magnetic knife, completely separating him from the two strange babies.


    ¡°Xiaomo?!¡± The middle-aged man recognized her at a glance. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Brother Tong, so it¡¯s you who have come.¡± Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, but it was evident she was somewhat out of breath.


    ¡°What are you doing? Why are you saving this strangeness?¡± The middle-aged man called Brother Tong asked, looking puzzled.


    ¡°Heh¡­ heh¡­¡± Heavy breathing came from behind, as if at any moment the person might run out of breath and pass out, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I let her¡­ her¡­ her save them, heh¡­ heh¡­¡±


    Looking up, it was Yan Junze holding his waist, walking with difficulty. The guy obviously couldn¡¯t run anymore, even walking as if dragging his feet.


    ¡°Semi-spirit? You¡¯re back.¡±


    The middle-aged man, along with Liang and De, were taken aback, not understanding the situation with Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°These two strangenesses were summoned by Yan Junze to save you guys,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, taking over the explanation as Yan Junze was panting heavily.


    ¡°Right, over there¡­¡± Yan Junze nodded, pointing in the direction of the Old Pagoda Tree.


    ¡°There¡¯s an ancient corpse over there, at least eight hundred years old. If you had approached earlier, you would have died,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo, continuing the explanation.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The middle-aged man, together with Liang and De, exchanged glances, all surprised.


    They then looked towards the Old Pagoda Tree with frightened eyes, but the distance was a bit far, so whether there was a corpse lying on the ground, they couldn¡¯t see at all.


    ¡°Tong¡­ Tong¡­ Tong¡­¡±


    Before Yan Junze could finish speaking, Zhang Xiaomo said to him, ¡°His name is Tong De, you came together, Brother Tong De didn¡¯t even know your name!¡±


    The middle-aged man Tong De came back to his senses, withdrew his gaze, and somewhat embarrassingly explained, ¡°I got used to calling him Semi-spirit; I still remembered his name just a moment ago, but now I¡¯ve forgotten it after turning around.¡±


    Yan Junze simply panted, saying nothing more, and casually put away the two strange babies.


    Tong De and the other two Exorcists, seeing this, tightened their gazes with surprise but didn¡¯t ask anything.


    After a while, Yan Junze managed to catch his breath, patted his chest, and said, ¡°I have some methods. Through the Semi-Spirit Body and spirits I¡¯m raising, I can detect dangerous places. So, I ordered them to rush over and warn the Exorcists nearby not to get close to that area.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± De asked.


    ¡°With the ancient corpse ahead, finding Old Guo¡¯s complete body seems unlikely.¡± Of course, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t tell them that Guo Youliang¡¯s body had been destroyed; he merely speculated aloud, ¡°The magnetic field around that ancient well is also very strange. It seems that you can only proceed with me present. Of course, you¡¯d better wait for me under the eaves here.¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to go with you?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t respond but suddenly remembered something and asked Tong De, ¡°The surviving Exorcists from the west side of the village should all have come back by now, haven¡¯t they run into you?¡±


    Tong De nodded, ¡°We saw Jiang Yaofei and others; we¡¯ve already sent someone to escort them out of Mo Family Village. We have people outside the village to meet them; the ambulances should have arrived by now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that they were rescued.¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, then looked at Yan Junze again, asking, ¡°Should I go with you?¡±


    Having been through so much with Yan Junze, she was well aware of his unique exorcism methods. So if Yan Junze decided to go alone, she wouldn¡¯t volunteer to follow.


    Every time, no matter how dangerous the situation, Yan Junze seemed to have a perfect grip on things, and Zhang Xiaomo completely trusted him in this regard.


    Yan Junze looked at Zhang Xiaomo, then at Tong De, and then brought out the ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± mission from his mind to check it carefully once again.


    Once more looking at Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, he said, ¡°I need to adjust the plan. Both of you need to come with me.¡±


    At the same time, Yan Long, who lay on the ground and was beginning to feel a slight numbness in his body, raised his neck a little and twisted it from side to side, thinking to himself, ¡°What¡¯s going on with those people? I saw them just now; why haven¡¯t they come over already?!¡±


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 Chapter 297 - 261: Body Swap (Part 1)

    Chapter 297: Chapter 261: Body Swap (Part 1)


    Yan Junze, of course, didn¡¯t know that Yan Long, lying on the ground, had already begun to grow impatient.


    Having already sustained internal injuries from the explosion caused by the Super-Energy Burst, Yan Long was, after all, a living person, not like Mo Da who could lie there indefinitely without ever getting up.


    As he grew anxious, he noticed a figure moving in the distance and quickly closed his eyes.


    Leading the way was Yan Junze, with Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De following one on each side of him. Heedful of his warning, they were both on guard, watching their surroundings closely.


    However, Yan Junze focused his attention on the low-lying area and didn¡¯t pay too much notice to the corpse of Guo Youliang that would appear before them.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both exclaimed ¡°Ah¡± simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the ground ahead where the ruined body of Guo Youliang lay silently.


    ...


    They recognized him immediately by his clothing alone.


    Both were shocked and almost ran over, but remembering Yan Junze¡¯s admonition not to act rashly, they immediately suppressed their emotions, eyes fixed steadfastly on Guo Youliang¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°Old Guo is already dead,¡± said Yan Junze, pointing at the ground and then to the low-lying area a bit farther away, ¡°There seems to be someone lying over there too.¡±


    ¡°Should we go and check it out first?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    She had a reason for asking this. During the confrontation with the Red Coffin, she hadn¡¯t seen Yan Junze use his Semi-spirit powers. On the way back, she learned that Yan Junze had nearly exhausted his Semi-spirit powers while dealing with the strangenesses of human skin.


    Therefore, if they encountered any sudden dangers, it would be better if she took the initiative.


    After all, a Fake Spirit Body without Semi-spirit powers wasn¡¯t too different from an ordinary human.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo was also aware that Yan Junze¡¯s methods were not limited to the powers of the Semi-spirit. For example, nurturing spirits, or an eerily predictive sense of danger that could even alert her in advance.


    ¡°No need,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, looking back at Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°You will know when it¡¯s your turn to act.¡±


    Passing by the body of Guo Youliang, Yan Junze didn¡¯t linger; Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De glanced down at it with somber expressions, their eyes struggling to move away.


    Looking ahead, they indeed found two bodies in the depression, one lying on its side, the other supine.


    About ten meters away, Yan Junze stopped and turned, ¡°You might need to go ahead and check, uh, be careful.¡±


    Tong De, with the magnetic knife held horizontally in front of him, walked ahead while Zhang Xiaomo followed.


    Approaching within two or three meters of the two bodies, they could see clearly that one was a person in ancient attire, dressed in plain clothes, and the other was a modern-day individual.


    At first glance, it looked as though the ancient corpse had encountered a problem, and a conflict had occurred between it and the modern individual, resulting in mutual destruction and leaving both unable to move, lying there.


    Upon closer observation, they noticed that one of the arms of the ancient corpse was broken off. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had the thought occurred to them than the ancient corpse suddenly stood up straight, its other intact arm swinging from behind, incredibly fast, and at the end of the arm was a sharp ancient sword.


    Tong De was the closest, and with quick reflexes, he immediately raised the magnetic knife to block.


    The ancient sword was ferociously powerful, shattering Tong De¡¯s magnetic knife into two pieces, the Hidden Buckle on the hilt bursting with a bang.


    The tip of the ancient sword grazed across Tong De¡¯s chest, and the next second, a huge rift appeared on the surface of his clothing, with blood seeping through.


    Zhang Xiaomo, without time to closely observe, immediately stepped forward, slashing her knife diagonally at Mo Da¡¯s head, a pale blue magnetic glow bursting forth.


    Mo Da didn¡¯t retreat but instead stepped forward. With a twist of his body, the ancient sword, whose swing had already lost momentum, was swung around by the turn, its force renewed, slicing towards Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s waist.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and, while retreating, swung her knife to block, only to meet the same fate as Tong De, with her magnetic knife instantly splitting into two, and the Hidden Buckle embedded in the handle bursting apart.


    Just at that moment, Tong De let out a loud shout, closing in on Mo Da and swinging a punch at him.


    Upon closing the distance, his fist relaxed, and he pressed the Incinerate Hidden Buckle that he had been gripping in his palm fiercely against Mo Da¡¯s chest.


    A fiery red flash immediately appeared, and Tong De leapt back instantly, while Yan Junze had already pulled Zhang Xiaomo back to his side.


    The Incinerate Hidden Buckle had already erupted into flames, with a strange fire consuming Mo Da¡¯s upper body.


    However, just as everyone thought Mo Da would be burned to death, a burst of white vapor suddenly rose from the surface of Mo Da¡¯s body. It was the scene of ice meeting fire, where the flames were extinguished, and after the white vapor had cleared, Mo Da stood there motionless with a large amount of frost formed on his body, having extinguished the special fire of the Incinerate Hidden Buckle completely.


    ¡°This is¡­ a Yin Corpse!?¡± Tong De exclaimed in horror.


    Mo Da shook his whole body, and the ice that had formed all fell to the ground. He took big strides forward, brandishing an ancient sword with a swift stab aimed at Tong De¡¯s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to let them continue fighting; according to the task prompt of ¡°Corpse Qi Spread,¡± Yin General Mo Da was very strong, which now appeared to be true indeed.


    It didn¡¯t matter that Mo Da had set up an ambush here, even if Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De were to directly confront him, the two of them would stand no chance whatsoever.


    So, to eliminate the opponent, they couldn¡¯t face him head-on; they had to think of other methods.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t rewind too far back in time, but only to two minutes prior.


    The three of them stood before a depression, their gazes fixed on Yan Long and Mo Da lying on the ground.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lingered on Mo Da for a moment, aware that the guy was pressing his only arm beneath him in order to hide the ancient sword he was clutching.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he shifted his gaze to Yan Long who was lying motionless on his side.


    Being an ancient corpse, Yan Junze guessed Mo Da¡¯s intelligence couldn¡¯t possibly be that high to set an ambush. Even if Mo Da¡¯s flesh was incorruptible, like other strangenesses, he was driven only by his own Obsession.


    He couldn¡¯t possibly be lying there, feigning death with deep cunning, despite indeed being dead.


    So, the problem very likely lay with Yan Long; this guy might be pretending as well, not truly dead or unconscious.


    Considering his apprentice Cheng Jingting¡¯s habitual nurturing of spirits, Yan Long¡¯s spirit-nurturing means should, accordingly, be more formidable. It was very possible that he had adopted Mo Da¡¯s body after discovering it.


    Yin General Mo Da, coupled with a crafty Yan Long bolstered by a Monster Spirit Body, would only then make the death of Guo Youliang plausible.


    Through such speculation, it seemed everything fell into place.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze turned around, beckoning to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, who consciously leaned in closer.


    In a low voice, Yan Junze said, ¡°Kill the skinny man next to the ancient corpse. Strike fast, don¡¯t hesitate, and while doing so, watch out for that ancient corpse¡¯s counterattack¡ªhe¡¯s lying in ambush.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De looked at each other in surprise, but neither questioned why, and in tacit agreement, they did not look back at Yan Long¡¯s ¡°corpse¡±.


    With a slight nod, the two of them moved to the side nearest Yan Long, one ahead of the other.


    At this moment, Yan Junze purposefully spoke up, ¡°That corpse in the ancient clothing is very peculiar; you two check out that ancient corpse first. This man¡¯s corpse beside it must have been killed by that ancient corpse.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Zhang Xiaomo agreed smoothly and pretended as if she were going to circle around to Mo Da¡¯s side.


    As she passed by Yan Long¡¯s feet, her steps continued to move, but she suddenly thrust the magnetic knife down fiercely, directing it at Yan Long¡¯s abdomen.


    At the same time, Tong De, following close behind, also swung his magnetic knife, slashing at Yan Long¡¯s throat.


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 Chapter 298 - 262: Body Swap (Part 2)

    Chapter 298: Chapter 262: Body Swap (Part 2)


    Yan Long had been feigning death, but he was merely squinting, carefully observing his surroundings.


    It wasn¡¯t until Yan Junze and his two companions were completely near him that he had no choice but to close his eyes, not daring to steal a glance, afraid of being noticed by the others.


    However, as a Spirit Cultivator, he was exceptionally sensitive to threats to his life.


    A sense of crisis descended in an instant. Although his Semi-Spirit power had been depleted during the earlier combat with Guo Youliang, and it was nearly impossible to use, he had rested for a while. In the moment the crisis descended, though it was strenuous, he naturally triggered his Fake Spirit Body.


    The terrifying shadow of the Monster Spirit behind Yan Long quickly appeared, grabbing the fatal slice at his neck aimed at him.


    His other hand also caught Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife, preventing her from stabbing into his abdomen.


    ...


    But even though the Monster Spirit appeared, its power had been greatly diminished from the earlier consumption, and it was about to falter after only a moment.


    Although the support was short-lived, Mo Da, lying not far beside him, had already been awakened by Yan Long.


    Mo Da swung his ancient sword, Zhang Xiaomo quickly retreated, and the Monster Spirit grabbed the magnetic knife, wresting it away, while Tong De violently withdrew his own magnetic knife, also swiftly retreating, though his knife was not taken by the adversary.


    Mo Da stood up, his ancient sword driving the two back with a strike, immediately advancing several steps. The sword whirled, sweeping toward Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De like a sudden violent storm.


    Without her weapon, Zhang Xiaomo stumbled back, taking cover behind Tong De, who in turn desperately tried to fend off the attacks with his magnetic knife.


    Clang, clang, clang. After only three clashes with the ancient sword, the magnetic knife broke. The ancient sword, unstoppable in its advance, aimed a strike at Tong De¡¯s forehead.


    Against Mo Da¡¯s assault, even the combined efforts of the two three-star Exorcists were futile. Of course, Mo Da¡¯s sudden ¡°resurrection¡± and immediate onslaught contributed to this.


    With his knife shattered, Tong De raised the fragment, forcefully positioning it above his forehead.


    The next second, the magnetic knife completely fell apart. In desperation, Tong De raised both hands above his head and brought them together, hoping to trap the falling ancient sword between his palms.


    However, the thick and sharp blade of the ancient sword instantly penetrated his practically ineffective defense, striking him on the head.


    ¡°Fuck, this guy!¡± Even Yan Junze was startled by Tong De¡¯s inexplicable defensive move. ¡°Are you practicing some child¡¯s kung fu? Putting your palms together to clamp a sword blade?!¡±


    But he quickly came to his senses. Actually, Tong De could have dodged to the side, but Zhang Xiaomo was behind him. If he moved away, she would undoubtedly be struck by the sword. So, in his desperation, the guy came up with the bizarre defense of joining his hands above his head.


    Rewind!


    Inspired by Tong De¡¯s actions, Yan Junze felt a surge of goodwill toward him at that moment.


    Time went back two minutes once again.


    Yan Junze looked at Yan Long and Mo Da lying on the ground, now well aware that not only were they in collusion, but they were also both playing dead.


    Of course, there was no need for Mo Da to pretend, for he was indeed dead. It was just that Yan Long¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body was also somehow still operational.


    In fact, in the previous Rewind, Yan Junze was betting that Yan Long had reached the end of his strength; otherwise, he would not have pretended to be dead here after killing Guo Youliang, with Mo Da¡¯s arm broken.


    The reason for the current situation must be that both had been injured. Indeed, upon reflection, to kill Guo Youliang under these circumstances, they were bound to be in a bad state.


    Now knowing that Yan Long could still activate his Semi-Spirit Body, they would need to think of another approach.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze grabbed Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De by the shoulders, drawing them close, almost head to head, not even looking in the direction where Yan Long lay. He whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve detected that one of these two corpses is just a living person in disguise, and the other, the ancient corpse, is truly dead, and likely very powerful. It¡¯s best not to approach now. My question is, do you have any long-range attack methods?¡±


    ¡°Throw Hidden Buckles as hard as we can,¡± Tong De blurted out.


    ¡°How many do you have?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked while secretly reaching into her pocket to feel for her Hidden Buckles.


    ¡°Two Chilling, two Incinerate, four Collapse, and one High-Energy Collapse,¡± Tong De said in a low voice.


    Ever since arriving at Mo Family Village, he hadn¡¯t really engaged with any strangenesses, so he had a lot of Hidden Buckles on hand.


    Yan Junze turned to Zhang Xiaomo, who said, ¡°I still have one Super Energy Burst, but all the others were used up when I was trapped by the Lantern Woman on the west side of the village.¡±


    As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Junze and Tong De almost simultaneously said, ¡°Don¡¯t use it for now!¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I also have a few Hidden Buckles here, but your Super-Energy Burst is too powerful, so don¡¯t use it unless absolutely necessary.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Zhang Xiaomo stared at him in surprise.


    Yan Junze chuckled, changing the subject, ¡°Brother Tong, give me the Incinerate Hidden Buckle first. I will throw all the Incinerate Hidden Buckles at the Ancient Corpse later. At the same time, you and Xiaomo should attack the lying thin man, remember to aim for his vital spots. Although he looks like an ordinary person right now, you must use the magnetic glow first, then follow up with the physical attack of the magnetic knife.¡±


    He paused before adding, ¡°If the Ancient Corpse shows any signs of counterattack, I¡¯ll use the Hidden Buckles to suppress it, don¡¯t interfere.¡±


    Tong De looked at Yan Junze with shock, not understanding why he suddenly seemed to have entered a prophetic mode.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded and said to Tong De, ¡°I was like you at the beginning, but it gets better over time because you¡¯ll get used to it.¡±


    Tong De was even more surprised; then a question occurred to him, and he asked, ¡°Why are you going to use Incinerate and not Chilling to freeze the Ancient Corpse? You should know that after transporting the Ancient Corpse back, it will be extremely valuable for research.¡±


    ¡°Using Chilling, you would die a terrible death, believe me.¡± Yan Junze patted his shoulder, signaling that it was time to act.


    Putting aside his astonishment for the moment, Tong De, along with Zhang Xiaomo, moved stealthily towards Yan Long with their magnetic knives in hand.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, stepped forward, holding a total of four Incinerate Hidden Buckles including his own, and targeted the Ancient Corpse Mo Da.


    After getting close to Yan Long, Zhang Xiaomo nodded at Tong De, and they both lifted their magnetic knives¡ªone aiming for the chest and the other for the head. They brought them down in unison.


    At the same moment, a half-meter-long magnetic glow burst forth, almost touching Yan Long¡¯s body.


    A sense of crisis triggered Yan Long, and the shadow of a Monster Spirit quickly appeared behind him. It reached out both hands, each catching Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De¡¯s magnetic knives. However, the blades of the magnetic knives immediately shone with a magnetic glow, colliding violently with the Monster Spirit.


    Yan Long was startled, as this already weak Monster Spirit nearly dispersed. Nevertheless, he was very aware that his Semi-Spirit Body couldn¡¯t last long, maybe ten seconds at most, before it would be breached by the magnetic knives, allowing the blades to physically cut him.


    At that moment, Mo Da suddenly sat up. However, before he could swing the ancient sword in his hands, Yan Junze rapidly threw all four Incinerate Hidden Buckles at him.


    Incinerate ignited upon touching Mo Da. The four Incinerates exploded almost simultaneously, turning Mo Da¡¯s entire body into a sea of fire.


    Massive amounts of white steam wildly seeped out as Mo Da instinctively resisted the Incinerate with his internal Full Yin Energy. However, this time Yan Junze burst out with four Incinerates in a row, with flames burning fiercely. Even with Mo Da¡¯s impressive Yin Energy, he couldn¡¯t overcome it in a short time.


    But this delay caused Yan Long¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body to suddenly weaken, and the Monster Spirit withdrew to Yan Long¡¯s back, no longer appearing.


    The two magnetic knives thundered down, aiming for Yan Long¡¯s neck and chest.


    Who would have expected that in the next second, a hand engulfed in flames still wielded the ancient sword with unerring accuracy, knocking away both magnetic knives.


    Mo Da, his body mingled with flames and white steam, still managed to save the day at the critical moment. He now emitted a burnt and unpleasant odor, clearly burned by Incinerate, yet still free to move.


    Yan Junze immediately threw out three Collapses. The Hidden Buckles hit Mo Da, merely causing him to pause for a couple of seconds but failing to push him away.


    The ancient sword slashed diagonally at Zhang Xiaomo, the closest target.


    Zhang Xiaomo raised her knife in defense, and with a snap, the magnetic knife broke, the magnetic glow dissipated, and the ancient sword chopped at her shoulder.


    Rewind!


    ¡°Damn, unfazed by the Hidden Buckles!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s vision blurred, and he found himself back two minutes earlier, cursing under his breath.


    Suddenly, another idea came to him.


    There was still plenty of Different Dimension Energy left. If one method failed, he would try another. Even if it meant a war of attrition, he was determined to exhaust the enemy right there.


    To Yan Junze, Yan Long, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, was as good as a true dead man. No matter what the method, he had to try until he succeeded in killing him this time.


    Yan Junze vividly remembered his relationship with Cheng Jingting and how Cheng had treated him in the past.


    Since Yan Long could be a teacher and Cheng Jingting his disciple, their malicious intent must be of the same breed. Therefore, Yan Junze, having previously overlooked one ferocious wolf, would not now let go of this fierce tiger.


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 Chapter 299 - 263: Body Swap (Part 3)

    Chapter 299: Chapter 263: Body Swap (Part 3)


    Once again gripping Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De¡¯s shoulders, Yan Junze bowed his head and spoke softly, ¡°These two are cohorts, intentionally lying on the ground preparing to ambush us, so let¡¯s not go over there just yet.¡±


    Before Tong De could show his surprise, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Brother Tong, give me all of your Hidden Buckles. None of us should go over there; let¡¯s start with a long-range attack.¡±


    Tong De was even more surprised, ¡°All of them? Give you all my Hidden Buckles?¡±


    ¡°I have some too,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Keep the Super-Energy Burst for yourself, just give me the regular Hidden Buckles.¡±


    Tong De took all the Hidden Buckles out and handed them to Yan Junze. After receiving them, Yan Junze also took out his own Hidden Buckles and, with his back towards the direction where Yan Long was pretending to be dead, sorted the Hidden Buckles.


    ...


    Among them were four Incinerates, two Chilling, one High-Energy Collapse, and three Collapses.


    The three of them whispered for a moment, took several Hidden Buckles each, held them in the palms of their hands, and moved closer to Yan Long and Mo Da.


    At the same time, Yan Junze threw two Chilling at Yan Long, while Tong De threw four Incinerates at Mo Da.


    The second after the four Incinerates exploded, the Collapsing Hidden Buckles in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hands all smashed onto Mo Da¡¯s body, which was already ablaze.


    As Mo Da¡¯s body burst into flames, the three Collapsing Hidden Buckles stalled him for two or three seconds, and then his entire body sank into a sea of fire.


    In Yan Long¡¯s direction, the old man was hit by two Chilling, and the surface of his body instantly formed a thin layer of ice.


    If he were an ordinary person, the two Chilling would have been enough to freeze him to death on the spot, but Yan Long¡¯s body was not ordinary. In a critical moment, his stress response allowed the weak Monster Spirit to surface.


    With a sudden movement, the Monster Spirit stretched out two black claws, rapidly breaking through the ice to rescue Yan Long.


    Elsewhere, Mo Da also sat up. Although he was engulfed in flames, by now his body was emitting a great amount of white vapor. The chilling yin energy and the Incinerate flames were resisting each other, allowing Mo Da to attempt to get on his feet and rescue Yan Long.


    That¡¯s when Yan Junze threw the High-Energy Collapse.


    The target of this Hidden Buckle was neither Mo Da nor Yan Long but rather the midpoint between them, merely an arm¡¯s length away.


    The High-Energy Collapse exploded instantly.


    With a ¡°bang,¡± a shockwave pushed outwards in all directions. This wasn¡¯t like an ordinary Collapsing Hidden Buckle, which would only hold Mo Da for two or three seconds if hit.


    The shockwave of the High-Energy Collapse forcefully pushed Mo Da back four or five meters upon close contact. Although Mo Da¡¯s body wasn¡¯t injured, it widened the distance between him and Yan Long, preventing him from immediately aiding the other.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, as if prepared in advance, leapt forward simultaneously while Yan Long¡¯s body was still being pushed back and had not yet stopped. They brought down their magnetic knives towards Yan Long.


    Yan Long had only a thin layer of ice on him, and the magnetic knives, even with a forceful chop, could easily break through. Additionally, with the assistance of magnetic glow, the Monster Spirit that was breaking the ice behind Yan Long immediately stretched out its hands to grab the descending magnetic knives.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De were well-prepared; their magnetic knives had already generated a magnetic glow before approaching Yan Long. The glow instantly met resistance from the Monster Spirit¡¯s presence, causing the spirit to tremble. The already weak spirit almost dissipated there and then.


    However, even if the struggle lasted for a while, it would not exceed a minute at most, after which the Monster Spirit would also fade and no longer appear.


    Yan Long was extremely weak. If Mo Da was right beside him, he would have already been receiving aid at that moment.


    But Mo Da, engulfed in flames and pushed several meters away, was now emitting a large amount of white steam to resist and was taking strides towards Yan Long.


    With his large build, Mo Da had long strides. Although the shockwave from the High-Energy Collapse had pushed him away and his body unavoidably suffered some damage, he was still able to persist; only his movements had slightly slowed.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s knife was aimed at Yan Long¡¯s chest, while Tong De¡¯s knife was still targeting his neck.


    Both exerted their utmost to activate the magnetic glow, which at that moment was more intense than ever. With a whoosh, the Monster Spirit¡¯s apparition dissipated, shattering and swiftly retreating behind Yan Long, vanishing from sight.


    The footsteps of Mo Da approached, his body surrounded by a mixture of fire and white vapor, swinging an ancient sword at the closest Zhang Xiaomo.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze¡¯s expression hardened, and he took a determined step forward, activating his Semi-Spirit Body as he stepped in between them.


    In dealing with the ¡°Half a Hide¡± task, he had already exhausted his Semi-Spirit energy, and even the Back-faced Woman who provided him with the Fake Spirit Body, including Ke¡¯er, were both depleted of their strength.


    Therefore, throughout the tasks involving ¡°The Woman Carrying a Lantern¡± and ¡°Red Coffin,¡± Yan Junze did not use any Semi-Spirit energy.


    He was well aware of his inability to use it at the time, and he also wanted to give Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er a good rest.


    But at this pressing moment, if he could just block Mo Da for even a dozen seconds, allowing Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De to eliminate Yan Long with their knives, Mo Da, entirely obedient to Yan Long, would likely stop.


    So even though he knew using Semi-Spirit energy was a stretch, success hinged on this single moment. Otherwise, another Rewind was inevitable, and Yan Junze had no choice but to use it.


    His head turned swiftly, and black fur grew out, but then an unprecedented sense of weakness arrived, causing the transformation to come to an abrupt halt, with him only able to maintain that appearance.


    Mo Da¡¯s ancient sword came slashing down, wrapped quickly by Yan Junze¡¯s not-very-long hair, significantly slowing down its advance.


    However, the sound of hair snapping followed immediately after, with each strand, formerly unbreakably strong, breaking like thin threads under the ancient sword¡¯s edge.


    At the same moment, Yan Junze stretched out both hands and grabbed Mo Da¡¯s lapels, giving a fierce shove.


    Usually, after he entered the Semi-Spirit State, his strength would increase several times over, but at this moment, the shove only made Mo Da take two steps backward.


    Mo Da twisted his sword, severing all the hairs that were still wrapped around the blade, and thrust it straight at Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    Yan Junze¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body was extremely weak, already starting to fade, which frightened him into hastily retreating two steps back. Still, the tip of the sword followed closely, leaving him no way to dodge.


    Just then, Yan Long let out a wail. His eyes wide open, he watched as Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife plunged into his chest, causing heart-wrenching pain throughout his body, followed by numbness, no longer feeling the pain.


    While the wail still echoed, the next second, Tong De¡¯s magnetic knife thunked into his neck, causing Yan Long¡¯s entire body to tremble violently as he began to lose consciousness.


    Just as the sword tip was about to stab him, Yan Junze froze, only to find the swiftly approaching ancient sword had suddenly stopped, less than two centimeters away from his eyes.


    Mo Da, maintaining the posture of thrusting the sword, did not move an inch.


    Yan Junze¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body had completely faded by now, large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his heart thumping loudly. Turning back to look at Yan Long on the ground, he saw the knife in his chest, but the fatal blow was on his neck.


    Tong De had put in a lot of strength, nearly severing Yan Long¡¯s neck completely with that one strike.


    ¡°We made it!¡±


    Yan Junze let out a long sigh of relief and then realized that the ancient sword in front of him was slowly being withdrawn.


    The flames on the Ancient Corpse Mo Da¡¯s body had dissipated, with only wisps of white smoke still coming out, carrying a burnt scent with them.


    Although Mo Da was burned, his body was not severely damaged due to the protection of the Chilling Yin energy.


    After lowering the ancient sword, Mo Da was still staring at Yan Junze with eyes wide open, his lips moving slightly.


    ¡°I am Mo Da. Those who block my way shall die!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, not expecting the man to suddenly utter such fierce words. It was too unreasonable.


    But he was no Guo Youliang, so without a second thought, he immediately stepped aside.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De also stepped aside quickly, Tong De even not having time to pull out the magnetic knife from Yan Long¡¯s neck.


    Without lowering his head to look at Yan Long¡¯s corpse on the ground, Mo Da stepped over the body, sword in hand, and continued walking forward.


    ¡°Is he just walking away like that?¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    No one present dared to block Mo Da¡¯s way. Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De knew their limits¡ªthis ancient corpse was not very old but clearly had undergone special experiences, beyond their strength to withstand.


    They watched Mo Da taking steps forward.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s heart felt extremely heavy; she turned her head to look at Guo Youliang¡¯s mangled body that was too painful to behold. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tong De also looked at Guo Youliang and sighed softly. Now he had no intention of confronting this terrifying ancient corpse.


    Unless Guo Youliang wasn¡¯t dead.


    ¡°Xiaomo, why were you so eager to find Old Guo¡¯s body before dawn? What use is it?¡± Yan Junze asked, watching the ancient corpse Mo Da moving away.


    ¡°Exorcists of four stars are very rare. They can preserve their souls with magnetic force until dawn,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied sadly, ¡°The headquarters has Spirit-Hosting Devices. As long as the body is not destroyed, if we retrieve the body and send it back to the Exorcist team¡¯s branch, and release the preserved souls, the headquarters can use the Spirit-Hosting Devices to resurrect Uncle Guo from afar!¡±


    Yan Junze had roughly guessed as much, but after hearing Zhang Xiaomo say it, he couldn¡¯t help but brighten at the corners of his eyes.


    He dared not imagine that Exorcists of four stars and above had such a unique function, able to temporarily safeguard the soul with magnetic force, and bring the body back for resurrection!


    Nevertheless, now Guo Youliang¡¯s body was too damaged to seem restorable.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly had a thought and asked, ¡°The resurrection has to be with his own body, right?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo paused, looking towards Yan Long¡¯s thin body on the ground, ¡°You mean to use this Spirit Cultivator¡¯s body to resurrect Uncle Guo?¡±


    ¡°But this guy¡¯s neck is almost chopped off by me, isn¡¯t the body already destroyed?¡± Tong De said.


    Yan Junze shook his head, lifting his gaze towards the direction where Mo Da was gradually disappearing, ¡°I mean, can we use that one¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both froze, staring directly at him.


    ¡°Think about it, that guy¡¯s body is well-preserved, now it¡¯s just missing a hand. Look, isn¡¯t the severed arm right here? It can be reattached completely,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°Moreover, this ancient corpse has a special physique, very powerful. If Old Guo can use his body to resurrect, there¡¯s a chance he could be directly promoted to a five-star Exorcist!¡±


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 Chapter 300 - 264: Body Swap (Part 4)

    Chapter 300: Chapter 264: Body Swap (Part 4)


    Tong De paused for a long time before saying to Yan Junze, ¡°You really dare to dream. Now that the ancient corpse wants to leave, we can¡¯t even keep it here. And you still want to eradicate its lingering obsession, snatch its body, and then have Big Brother Guo resurrect using his body?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Tong De¡¯s head swayed like a rattle drum. ¡°You have quite an imagination. Right now, we should just be thinking about how to keep this ancient corpse in Mo Family Village and count ourselves lucky if it doesn¡¯t harm anyone!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo also said, ¡°Junze, you might not understand this, but the ancient corpse has an extremely cold constitution. Even Incinerate Hidden Buckle can¡¯t damage its essence. I¡¯m thinking that even if our other two Four-Star Exorcists, who are on their way, join forces, they would probably only be able to clear away this ancient corpse¡¯s remaining obsession, unable to truly take its body.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°Because there will certainly be a struggle, so it¡¯s very hard to avoid damaging the ancient corpse¡¯s body.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze nodded. ¡°You all make sense, but¡­ I still want to try.¡±


    With that, he squatted down and began to search Yan Long¡¯s body.


    By now Mo Da had already left the area where the ground had collapsed and was walking briskly toward the direction from which they had come.


    In that place, Liang and De were still hidden in the dark under the eaves of one of the houses, but Zhang Xiaomo and the others knew very well that they must have seen what was happening here. Now that they saw the ancient corpse walking over, they would definitely not rashly show themselves.


    Yan Junze did not care how far Mo Da had gone. He meticulously searched all over Yan Long¡¯s body, then opened the backpack beside him and dumped everything out.


    The items included a climbing rope with pulleys, several flashlights, a dagger, an Incense Cup, and some small flat boxes that looked like those Yan Junze had seen in his childhood used to store snowflake cream.


    These boxes were round, smaller than the size of a palm, and the lid could be unscrewed to reveal various colors of paste-like substances that resembled ointment.


    Yan Junze picked up a box of completely black ointment, smelled it, but seemed to detect no odor at all, not even that of soil.


    He then picked up another box with light yellow ointment, sniffed it lightly, and a sour and slightly bitter strange scent wafted into his nostrils, causing goosebumps all over his body and giving him a feeling of strangeness.


    ¡°Xiaomo, take a look. What is this?¡± Yan Junze passed the box with the light yellow ointment to her.


    Zhang Xiaomo took it, glanced at it without bringing it close to her nose, and immediately said, ¡°This is corpse salve, made by condensing various corpse oils and refining them with unique methods. It¡¯s a staple for experienced Spirit Cultivators.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sniff it?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    ¡°Corpse salve is toxic to ordinary people.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°Just taking a sniff like that can cause dizziness and lightheadedness. If the composition of the corpse salve is high, ordinary people who haven¡¯t been exposed much might faint even with a single sniff.¡±


    Thud!


    No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhang Xiaomo looked down to see Yan Junze slumped on the ground beside Yan Long¡¯s body, his eyes closed and the corners of his mouth slightly hooked up, displaying a mystifying smile, having passed out.


    It was unknown how much time had passed before Yan Junze awoke to find only Zhang Xiaomo squatting by his side, looking at him attentively, while Tong De was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said irritably.


    Yan Junze managed an awkward but polite smile. ¡°You should¡¯ve told me earlier. That sniff was too deep, got a bit of a buzz. Um, where¡¯s Tong De?¡±


    ¡°He went to follow the ancient corpse, your idea reminded him. So, he took all the ointments from this Spirit Cultivator, planning to give it a try with the ancient corpse. As long as we can control it temporarily, we have a way to subdue it,¡± explained Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°About five or six minutes¡­¡±


    As Zhang Xiaomo was answering, they heard a scream from a distance.


    Yan Junze leaped to his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s go and check.¡±


    They both ran off, leaving the ancient well area behind, turned a corner, and arrived on a small street to the east of the village. They saw a blurry figure lying on the ground in the distance with another person crouching next to it.


    Upon getting closer, they realized the person on the ground was Tong De, his face pale as death, breathing barely there, his chest pierced by something that had left a terrifying bloody hole.


    The person holding him was Liang.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked in shock, looking at Tong De who was clearly not going to make it.


    ¡°Big Brother was using the corpse salve to lure the ancient corpse to eat it, but somehow, the ancient corpse suddenly attacked him and pierced his body with a sword,¡± Liang¡¯s eyes were filled with tears.


    Yan Junze squatted down, picked up the empty box of corpse salve from the ground, and asked, ¡°Which colors of the corpse salve did Brother Tong use?¡±


    Liang was taken aback before answering, ¡°Back there around the corner, he used a dark red corpse salve, but the ancient corpse only sniffed it, didn¡¯t eat it. The one he used just now was light yellow. Who knew the ancient corpse would suddenly get angry? Big Brother Tong had no way to fight back.¡±


    Yan Junze looked up at Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°See, I¡¯m not being picky, even the ancient corpse doesn¡¯t like this brand of corpse salve.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t in the mood to joke with him at that moment. Annoyed, she gently punched him on the shoulder and asked Liang, ¡°Where did the ancient corpse go?¡±


    ¡°De followed it, taking with him the other unused corpse salves. I think he entered that alley over there,¡± Liang pointed to an alleyway about three hundred meters away.


    The moonlight was sufficient at that moment to clearly outline the buildings without any hindrance.


    Just then, Tong De, resting in Liang¡¯s arms, suddenly sank down heavily, his breath slipping away.


    ¡°Big Brother, Big Brother¡­¡± Liang was immediately grief-stricken, tears uncontrollably falling as he clung to Tong De and started shaking him.


    Yan Junze stood up and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°We should first go to the alley and check, I¡¯m afraid De might be in danger if we delay.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed not to hear, just looking down at Tong De who had just died, silent.


    Yan Junze touched her arm, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the alley first. That matter is more urgent. If I were to say now that Brother Tong is fine, would you chop me with the magnetic knife?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    Yan Junze was suddenly touched, then heard Zhang Xiaomo say, ¡°But I would think you are naturally cold-hearted.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the alley first; I¡¯m afraid De will die too if we¡¯re too late.¡± Yan Junze knew that explanations were useless at that moment, grabbed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, and the two rushed toward that alley.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned back to Liang, ¡°Stay here and watch over Big Brother Tong¡¯s body, we¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    Arriving at the entrance of the alley after a short while, the two peered inside; due to the narrowness of the alley, moonlight couldn¡¯t penetrate, and they could only make out shapes faintly ahead.


    Standing at the entrance of the alley, unable to see anyone inside, Zhang Xiaomo immediately walked in front, gripping the magnetic knife with both hands, on guard.


    ¡°Follow behind me.¡±


    The two of them moved slowly, one after the other, entering the alley without making a sound.


    Before long, from behind a row of trash bins, a hand reached out, beckoning them.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo hurried over and crouched down to see De gesture for silence with his hand, then in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible, he said, ¡°The ancient corpse is just standing ahead, doing nothing. I¡¯ve tried two types of corpse salve on it, but neither worked.¡±


    ¡°Which two types?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    De took out the boxes that had been used for the corpse salve, ¡°These two. I smeared a bit on the ancient corpse, but there was no reaction.¡±


    Yan Junze strained his eyes to look, trying to discern a box with white residue from corpse salve remaining, but couldn¡¯t make out the color of the residue in the other box, muttering to himself, ¡°This¡­ what color is it?¡±


    ¡°It seems one box is white, and the other is a greenish, transparent kind,¡± De responded.


    Yan Junze looked up at him, he had to admit, this young man¡¯s observation was meticulous, and he wasn¡¯t rash. In just this short time, he managed to test two types of corpse salve on the ancient corpse Mo Da.


    ¡°How many boxes have not been tried?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Just then, the sound of rustling came from a distance, and De said, ¡°The ancient corpse has started walking again, seems like it¡¯s heading further in, but this alley is passable, it might go through. There¡­ it¡¯s very close to the entrance of the village.¡±


    ¡°First, see how many boxes of corpse salve you haven¡¯t tried.¡± Yan Junze repeated Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s question, without the time to worry about Mo Da¡¯s whereabouts. He just wanted to know, which box of corpse salve would work.


    ¡°There are three boxes left, the last three,¡± De answered, then looked at Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Sis, my strength is too weak. I barely survived approaching the ancient corpse. I think now if you distract it, I can try these three boxes of corpse salve. If one is successful, I can control it immediately.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo had not responded when Yan Junze already shook his head, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Xiaomo and De both looked astonished, and then Zhang Xiaomo lowered her head to notice that Yan Junze had grabbed her hand again, without knowing when.


    What was most important was that she had not noticed it herself and was naturally holding his hand.


    ¡°Others might go and try, and they might even die, but you can¡¯t,¡± Yan Junze said.


    He took a deep breath, as if speaking to himself, ¡°Having understood so much, I now have half the confidence that I can subdue the ancient corpse without further tests.¡±


    Rewind!


    The thought arose, and the world before him swayed, his head spinning slightly; then Yan Junze was standing on the collapsed ground around the ancient well.


    Tong De was beside him, Zhang Xiaomo behind him, and the ancient corpse Mo Da was taking steps forward, about twenty-some meters away from the three of them.


    This was the moment they were just discussing who Guo Youliang would use for Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect. Yan Junze didn¡¯t wait for Tong De to refute him as before but immediately crouched down and rifled through Yan Long¡¯s backpack to pull out numerous boxes of corpse salve.


    He quickly opened each box, and under the moonlight, an array of colored corpse salves lay before Yan Junze¡ªdark red, black, white, light yellow, and green, among others.


    Yan Junze quickly ruled out the dark red without a second thought, then the white, light yellow, and the translucent dark green one; however, he kept one that was deep green.


    Now, only three boxes of corpse salve were left in his hands; one green, one pale purple, and another black.


    This time, Yan Junze wisely refrained from smelling the corpse salves.


    With the three boxes in hand, he stood up and said to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, ¡°Just now, that Spirit Cultivator obviously controlled the ancient corpse, so one of these corpse salves must be able to control the ancient corpse. I have made a strict selection, choosing these three to test. Don¡¯t follow, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    Tong De came to his senses and nodded. He asked, ¡°I just want to know, how did you choose? What were the selection criteria?¡±


    ¡°They looked promising,¡± Yan Junze gave a bizarre answer, waved at Zhang Xiaomo, signaling her not to follow, and then, with the corpse salve in hand, he quickly chased after Mo Da¡¯s direction.


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 Chapter 301 - 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)

    Chapter 301: Chapter 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)


    Three jars of corpse salve, one is green, one is light purple, and the other is black.


    Earlier, the other corpse balms had been used up during the last Rewind, proving none were effective; some even enraged Mo Da, and Tong De lost his life because of it. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, within these three jars of corpse salve, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t guarantee which one would work on Mo Da, nor could he ensure that after trying the corpse salve on Mo Da, the creature wouldn¡¯t become infuriated and attack him.


    Anyway, if Mo Da really wanted to attack him, given Yan Junze¡¯s current state, he would stand no chance at all.


    Having approached Mo Da closely, Yan Junze turned his head and saw that Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De had both consciously not followed him but were stretching their necks, watching this direction without blinking.


    Weighing the corpse salve in his hand, Yan Junze thought of another possibility, that maybe none of these remaining three jars would work on Mo Da.


    ...


    Because Mo Da had clearly been under Yan Long¡¯s control, perhaps it was during that time that Yan Long had used up all the corpse salve that could work on Mo Da?


    If that was really the case, Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what else he could do to deal with this creature.


    Temporarily putting aside his complex thoughts, Yan Junze stepped closer, opened the jar of green corpse salve, inverted the lid to scoop out some of the greasy substance, and gently smeared it on the back corner of Mo Da¡¯s cloth garment.


    He was very careful as he spread the salve, but as soon as it tainted Mo Da¡¯s clothes, the Ancient Corpse suddenly stopped, turned its head, and looked at the bending Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled, and his guard went up to the highest level as he watched Mo Da, holding the remaining majority of the green corpse salve in his hand, with the other two jars already tucked into his pockets.


    Mo Da remained silent, simply watching Yan Junze, without making a sound.


    Yan Junze stayed still as well but didn¡¯t dare to continue applying the salve or to force it directly into the other¡¯s mouth.


    If this corpse salve wasn¡¯t suitable for Mo Da, stuffing it in would only result in Mo Da¡¯s rage.


    About half a minute later, Mo Da finally turned back, did nothing, and started walking forward again.


    It seemed that the green corpse salve was unsuitable for controlling him; it only drew Mo Da¡¯s attention without provoking his anger.


    Yan Junze glanced at the green corpse salve in his hand, tossed it aside, and took out the light purple one. Upon opening it, a strong medicinal scent hit him, nearly causing him to sneeze.


    He quickly turned his head, held the light purple salve farther away, trying not to get it too close to his head, and tiptoed quickly to catch up with Mo Da again.


    The pungent smell did not elicit any special reaction from Mo Da, who continued on his silent way.


    Yan Junze repeated the process, used the lid to scoop out some salve, and once again cautiously smeared it on another edge of Mo Da¡¯s garment.


    Although Mo Da didn¡¯t turn back, he almost immediately stopped at the same moment the salve touched his clothing.


    Just like before, Yan Junze stayed motionless, raising his head and waiting for Mo Da¡¯s response.


    However, this time, even though Mo Da remained still, he didn¡¯t turn back to look at Yan Junze as before, indicating that maybe the light purple corpse salve hit the mark.


    Yan Junze carefully observed Mo Da¡¯s reaction and then scooped out a large portion of the salve with the lid. If he was certain it worked on Mo Da, he was ready to make a bold move.


    Just then, Mo Da suddenly turned around, his one arm wielding the ancient sword slashing down towards Yan Junze¡¯s head with fierce momentum, showing almost no sign beforehand.


    Luckily, Yan Junze had been watching for any reaction and, noticing something amiss just as he looked up, saw the sword blade just half an arm¡¯s length from his head.


    Rewind!


    Without time to think any further, Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts flashed, time reversed, and he found himself back at the moment he had approached Mo Da for the second time, holding the light purple corpse salve.


    Now it appeared that this jar of light purple salve couldn¡¯t be used at all, similar to the dark red corpse salve that Tong De used in a previous Rewind, which could make Mo Da suddenly become mad and violent.


    If Yan Junze hadn¡¯t been able to Rewind, his fate would have been the same as Tong De¡¯s.


    He didn¡¯t open the jar of light purple salve this time but instead tossed it away and took out the last jar, the black one.


    Yan Junze remembered this jar of corpse salve; it was the first one he found among those retrieved from Yan Long, which had subtly hinted at him at that time, yet he hadn¡¯t paid attention.


    Now, after testing all other corpse salves and coming full circle, he picked up the jar of black salve again.


    He also remembered that the black one had no scent at all, not even the earthy smell was as strong as this corpse salve.


    Quickly approaching Mo Da again, Yan Junze still used the lid to dig out some black salve, carefully applying it to the back hem of Mo Da¡¯s garment as he continued forward.


    This time, Mo Da showed no reaction and kept striding forward.


    ¡°This might work,¡± Yan Junze thought, pleased, but seeing that Mo Da didn¡¯t stop, it seemed as though the possibility of controlling the Ancient Corpse didn¡¯t exist.


    Thinking it over, he wished Mo Da would just stop right now.


    As the thought arose, he saw Mo Da¡¯s advancing figure pause slightly, appearing somewhat stiff, as if his joints were having difficulty aligning. After struggling for a few steps, his movement eased up once more and returned to the normal pace of before.


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 Chapter 302 - 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 302: Chapter 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_2


    Yan Junze ceased to ponder and immediately rushed forward in a few steps, scooping up a large clump of black corpse salve and smearing it into Mo Da¡¯s mouth.


    Mo Da¡¯s mouth was slightly agape, and with this smear, half of it entered his mouth, causing him to come to a complete stop, motionless.


    ¡°That should do it,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, then gestured to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De behind him that the job was done.


    The two exchanged glances and quickly moved to his side.


    After examining Mo Da closely, Zhang Xiaomo was confident that the ancient corpse was now under their control. Though she didn¡¯t know how long they could maintain this control, he was, for the moment, at their mercy, so they needed to move quickly and decisively.


    ¡°Now that the ancient corpse is under control, how do we allow Old Guo¡¯s spirit to take over his body?¡± Yan Junze asked the two.


    ...


    Tong De said, ¡°Zombies differ from ordinary strangenesses in that they retain part of their consciousness from life, some spiritual wisdom, another form of obsession. If we want another strangeness to successfully possess it, we must eradicate this remaining obsession, whether forcefully or¡­ uh, your¡­ ¡®Buddhist¡¯ approach.¡±


    He had just heard Zhang Xiaomo give a brief explanation of Yan Junze¡¯s exorcism method. Although it seemed unbelievable, the fact that he had eliminated both the Red Coffin and the Lantern Woman made it hard for him to disbelieve.


    That¡¯s why Tong De suggested Yan Junze¡¯s Buddhist Exorcism Method beforehand.


    No sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°This time, we can¡¯t use the Buddhist Exorcism Method. We need to forcibly eliminate his obsession. He¡¯s currently following my orders. Do you have any good ideas?¡±


    The reason he said this was that Yan Junze was acutely aware that the ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± mission had stated Mo Da¡¯s obsession was to kill anyone he saw. He hated people for not saving him, so this obsession was beyond negotiation.


    Moreover, the fact that Mo Da immediately left the place, instead of attacking Yan Junze and the others after breaking free from control, was very likely because the environment around this dry well posed an obstacle to his obsession. After all, this was where Mo Da met his end.


    According to exorcists, the place where a person dies can restrict his abilities, just like the Lv Family¡¯s people hiding in Granny Ren¡¯s house before.


    However, this is not absolute; for example, after Granny Ren evolved into Resentful Granny, the place of her demise no longer hindered her, and her hatred even grew stronger.


    But for Mo Da, if he leaves this place, he could become extremely powerful in a very short time, which is what was mentioned in the ¡°Corpse Qi Spread¡± task, from ¡°hair-raising (high)¡± climbing all the way to ¡°Terrified (medium)¡±.


    Moreover, since the intense battle with Guo Youliang, Yan Junze has been suspecting that the mission level of Mo Da might no longer be ¡°hair-raising (high)¡±, but quite possibly ¡°Terrified (low)¡±.


    In any case, allowing Mo Da to walk out in his current state was extremely dangerous.


    With Mo Da intent only on killing, the Buddhist Exorcism Method wouldn¡¯t solve the problem. It wasn¡¯t an option to assist him in killing one person after another to satisfy his twisted obsession.


    Therefore, direct elimination was the only choice.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s question, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De both shook their heads.


    ¡°This ancient corpse¡¯s Yin nature is too strong; even if we stand here and use the magnetic knife to hack at him, without the magnetic force boost from a four-star exorcist, we won¡¯t stand a chance against him,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just throw him into a fire and incinerate him?¡± Tong De suggested.


    Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°He was able to suppress even the Incinerate Hidden Buckle with his Yin nature earlier; ordinary flames would be even less effective. And throwing him into the fire could accelerate his return to consciousness and free him from control.¡±


    ¡°Given the ancient corpse¡¯s strong Yin nature, the Chilling Hidden Buckle definitely wouldn¡¯t work either. That would be like giving him the perfect environment to thrive,¡± Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself.


    Tong De suddenly brightened up with an idea: ¡°What if we have him swallow the Strangeness Interferer? That might force the obsession out of the ancient corpse¡¯s body.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo dismissed the idea: ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Strangeness Interferer might get stuck and cause him to break free from the corpse salve¡¯s control sooner.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After pausing for a moment, Zhang Xiaomo said to Yan Junze: ¡°Even if we can now eradicate the ancient corpse¡¯s obsession, allowing Uncle Guo¡¯s spirit to temporarily possess his body, we can¡¯t control it directly. We would still need to send the ancient corpse, with Uncle Guo inside, back to the exorcist squad and use a Spirit-Hosting Device to complete the final ¡®Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect¡¯.¡±


    Yan Junze folded his arms across his chest and tapped his forehead, pondering: ¡°As long as we destroy the ancient corpse¡¯s obsession, everything else is a minor issue.¡±


    ¡°Is your Buddhist Exorcism Method useless this time?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked with concern.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°it¡¯s his obsession, which I cannot peacefully eliminate.¡±


    ¡°What is his obsession?¡± inquired Tong De curiously.


    ¡°To kill everyone.¡±


    Yan Junze turned his head to look at Mo Da¡¯s lifeless eyes, unconcerned that Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De already wore faces filled with terror.


    He pondered for a moment, fearing that if they delayed any longer, Mo Da might break free from control.


    Yan Junze decisively released Guo Youliang¡¯s spirit from the Spacetime Atlas.


    After appearing, Guo Youliang stood next to Yan Junze, expressionless. His gaze swept over Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, and Tong De, and he uttered two words.


    ¡°Save¡­ me!¡±


    Suddenly, Guo Youliang¡¯s gaze fixed on Mo Da. Without any hesitation, he raised his magnetic knife, strode forward, and swung it down at Mo Da¡¯s head, shouting: ¡°Yin Corpse, die!¡±


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 Chapter 303 - 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 303: Chapter 265: Body Swap (Finale) (4400 words)_3


    Yan Junze was startled and immediately intervened, ¡°Uncle Guo, don¡¯t chop him! We¡¯re planning to use him to save you!¡±


    Guo Youliang stopped, still holding the magnetic knife aloft.


    ¡°Your body has been destroyed and can¡¯t be restored, but Mo Da¡¯s body is largely intact, so we plan to use it to resurrect you,¡± Yan Junze spoke very quickly to explain, ¡°As long as we can dispel the Ancient Corpse¡¯s Obsession. Look, is it possible to directly slay his Obsession without harming his body?¡±


    Guo Youliang fell silent, the magnetic knife he had raised slowly lowered, and then he looked up at the sky and shook his head mutely.


    Zhang Xiaomo said to Yan Junze, ¡°Uncle Guo has just died recently, his soul is very weak, he cannot fight with Ancient Corpses like other old strangenesses can.


    ¡°Old strangenesses?¡± Yan Junze stared at Zhang Xiaomo, repeating her words, and suddenly his eyes lit up, slapping his thigh, ¡°How could I have forgotten about it?¡±


    ...


    With that, he took out a small mirror with a handle from his person.


    Instead of reflecting the surroundings, the mirror¡¯s surface was a dark chaos, as if there was a vortex slowly swirling within.


    ¡°This mirror¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De exclaimed at the same time.


    Guo Youliang was similarly astonished, seeming to sense danger, he immediately retreated more than ten meters away, standing in the distance and looking over here.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze slightly shook his head, remembering how the Mirror Spirit had promptly withdrawn upon seeing Guo Youliang¡¯s arrival, surely the living Guo Youliang had a way to suppress it.


    But now that Guo Youliang himself had become a strangeness, he had no choice but to flee from the Mirror Spirit without having regained strength and grown.


    ¡°You guys step back,¡± Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, and then took a step forward, raising the mirror toward Mo Da¡¯s face.


    Mo Da¡¯s body emitted a slight tremor, his lifeless eyes looking toward the mirror as if something had touched them, going somewhat out of control.


    Out of the mirror¡¯s chaotic depths, an exceedingly black withered hand suddenly reached out, grabbing for Mo Da¡¯s head.


    ¡°Thief, how dare you sneak attack this general!¡±


    Mo Da blurted out, his body swaying, trying to move and strike at the mirror with his sword.


    But his body was still partially under control; he only managed to take half a step, and his body barely moved, unable to dodge, his face immediately enveloped by the black withered hand.


    A white aura emerged around his head as Mo Da began to struggle and roar in anger, but although his body could move, the degree of his struggle was still very limited.


    Mo Da¡¯s body appeared as if it were bound by ropes, close to escaping but just short of the last effort, the surface of the withered hand emitting trails of black aura, as if something ferociously revolved around it, transferring from Mo Da¡¯s face into the mirror along the emaciated black palm.


    The black energy inside the mirror churned, like boiling water, with some of the black energy even spilling out of the mirror.


    However, after leaving the mirror, it quickly vanished.


    Mo Da¡¯s roar turned into a scream, gradually becoming a wail, before he finally collapsed with a thud.


    Yan Junze immediately crouched down, still holding the small mirror, staring unblinkingly at Mo Da¡¯s actions.


    About two minutes later, Mo Da¡¯s head hung down sharply, motionless, the withered hand that had gripped his cheek retracted, and seemed to have grown significantly stronger, its arm lengthening at least twice as much as before, reaching toward Yan Junze¡¯s arm.


    Yan Junze sharply jerked the mirror, and the entire surface stirred, the black energy once more began to tumultuously roll, the withered hand could no longer extend and was quickly pulled back by the mirror¡¯s suction force.


    Mo Da¡¯s body toppled to the ground with a snap, still in a kneeling posture.


    ¡°Uncle Guo, go quickly!¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately reminded. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Guo Youliang hesitated briefly, then surged towards Mo Da¡¯s body, turned into a phantom, and vanished before everyone¡¯s eyes.


    Yet there was no reaction from Mo Da¡¯s body; even after Guo Youliang¡¯s soul had entered, he still remained tightly curled up.


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 Chapter 304 - 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)

    Chapter 304: Chapter 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)


    Yet such a method was still not enough for Guo Youliang to truly possess a corpse and resurrect. It also required the use of a Spirit-Hosting Device from the Exorcist team.


    Yan Junze speculated that this Spirit-Hosting Device must be a type of instrument specially made by Exorcists.


    The instrument had a unique function in controlling strange magnetic fields; therefore, for Spirit Cultivators who relied on various bizarre methods, possessing a corpse to resurrect could be quite a challenge. But for four-star Exorcists, protected by magnetic force and by controlling strange magnetic fields, they could achieve this.


    After Guo Youliang¡¯s soul entered Mo Da¡¯s corpse, De and Liang, who had been hiding nearby, hurried over. They had obviously been monitoring the situation all along.


    Tong De said, ¡°Quick, lift this ancient corpse, and let¡¯s leave Mo Family Village immediately.¡±


    Given the current situation, there was no longer any need to stay in Mo Family Village, mainly because the aura of the Spirit Bridge was weakening, and the chances of a third outbreak were slim.


    ...


    Moreover, for Yan Junze, according to his ¡°Perception of Strange Events,¡± all the high-level strangenesses in this area had been dealt with; it would be laborious and thankless to handle other Wandering Spirit-level strangenesses, and there was no need to continue.


    If possible, leaving a few two-star Exorcists in this place would be sufficient to clean up these strangenesses.


    [Corpse Qi Spread, Terrified (Low), Completed, received 1600 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    As Yan Junze and the other Exorcists were escorting Mo Da¡¯s body out of Mo Family Village, a task completion notification popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    This [Corpse Qi Spread] task was actually difficult to resolve. If it hadn¡¯t been for Yan Long¡¯s downfall in this place, leaving behind corpse salve that could temporarily control Mo Da, and with the assistance of two three-star Exorcists, Zhang Xiaomo and Tong De, and even more so with the Mirror Spirit devouring Mo Da¡¯s obsession, Yan Junze alone would have almost been unable to complete it.


    The main reason was that Mo Da¡¯s obsession was solely to kill, without considering any other conditions.


    The task completion notification only appeared after such a delay because, although Mo Da¡¯s obsession had been devoured, Yan Junze thought that maybe the Spacetime Atlas considered that this guy still had a certain chance of turning things around.


    One could imagine that the Mirror Spirit in the small mirror must have also exhausted a tremendous effort to finally subdue this obsession.


    At the entrance of Mo Family Village, the first group of Exorcists who had left earlier were already on a van, departing.


    A few more people were standing outside waiting, and about three minutes after Yan Junze and the others emerged, an ambulance arrived at high speed.


    After lifting Mo Da¡¯s body onto the ambulance, the remaining three people set up a cordon at the entrance of Mo Family Village and placed two warning signs, then stood guard. The others squeezed into the ambulance and left.


    On the ambulance,


    Yan Junze had taken note of the appearance of the ambulance as he boarded. From the outside, it seemed to belong to a district hospital, but once inside, he realized this was a dedicated Exorcist rescue vehicle.


    Because it bore the symbol of a magnetic knife.


    The ambulance quickly left the village road, took to the highway, and began to drive smoothly.


    Yan Junze looked down at Mo Da¡¯s corpse, which had a purplish tinge on its cheeks, and then looked up at Zhang Xiaomo sitting opposite him, asking, ¡°Why do we have to hurry before dawn?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head gently, ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure of the specifics, but a four-star Exorcist can only maintain the soul with magnetic force for a limited time. I guess after dawn, the magnetic force might become uncontrollable. Moreover, people who have just died must be revived as quickly as possible; if it takes too long, things may go awry.¡±


    The ambulance soon entered Tianmeng City, made several twists and turns, and stopped outside the old office building of the Exorcist team in Benefit Alley.


    Someone was already waiting, and they quickly moved Mo Da¡¯s body down and onto a secretive elevator. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, at this time, Zhang Xiaomo, Tong De, and the others did not follow up.


    Yan Junze looked up at the elevator¡¯s floor indicator and noticed that the elevator wasn¡¯t going up but down, displaying the third basement floor, then it stopped.


    After waiting a while, he saw Zhang Xiaomo looking at him, and as their eyes met, Zhang Xiaomo spoke, ¡°The day is about to break, you must be exhausted. Go squeeze into a room and sleep with Tong De and the others. You can go back to the school tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Do they have extra beds?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°There were no extras before, but some Exorcists won¡¯t be returning from Mo Family Village.¡± Tong De said, ¡°So now there are plenty of empty beds; you can pick any to sleep in.¡±


    Yan Junze shivered, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll go to the hotel across the street.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Let me know before you leave tomorrow, a phone call will do.¡±


    Yan Junze waved his hand, ready to turn and leave.


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice called from behind, and following which, she quickly stepped inside the building.


    In a moment, she came back out with a bag of clothes, ¡°I checked, and these clothes should fit you. Your current outfit is too dirty; change out of it and just throw it away.¡±


    Yan Junze looked down and saw it was indeed so.


    In the [Red Coffin] mission, he had been crawling on the ground all the time. Though it seemed like another space, the dust that should be there was present, making his clothes dirty and even worn out in places.


    Yan Junze took the clothes with a smile and without saying a word, walked out of Benefit Alley toward a hotel with colored lights across the street.


    This area was the working location of the Exorcist team, and in terms of safety, it was definitely top-notch.


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 Chapter 305 - 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 305: Chapter 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)_2


    But the nearby residents remained unaware, simply thinking that the place had good feng shui and the strangenesses could not invade here.


    Yan Junze was very fatigued. After checking into a hotel, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


    He slept until noon before waking up, roused by his hunger.


    Upon awakening, Yan Junze felt incredibly thirsty. He guzzled down a large pot of water and then took a hot shower, which made him feel refreshed and invigorated.


    It was only when he came out to change into clean clothes that Yan Junze realized Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s thoughtfulness. The clothes she provided the night before were not new, but they were exceptionally clean, and the undergarments, including men¡¯s boxer shorts, were all brand new.


    As he continued to be impressed by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s attentiveness, Yan Junze nodded, but a strange expression slowly emerged on his face.


    ...


    After a long while, he muttered to himself, ¡°How does she have men¡¯s underwear?¡±


    ¡°Zhang¡­ Xia¡­omo!¡± A short-haired girl stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at Zhang Xiaomo, who had just returned from washing up.


    Zhang Xiaomo paused, then put down her washbasin and cup, showing a smile.


    ¡°Where are the undergarments I bought for my boyfriend last week?¡± the short-haired girl demanded.


    Zhang Xiaomo shrugged, ¡°How much? I¡¯ll pay you the original price, no, let¡¯s make it ten percent more.¡±


    ¡°You, a woman, taking men¡¯s clothes for¡­¡±


    Before the short-haired girl could finish, another long-haired girl interrupted, ¡°What do you know? Last night, some strange guy came back with Xiaomo and them, and Xiaomo immediately found the underwear you bought for your boyfriend and offered it up like a borrowed gift, hahaha¡­¡±


    The short-haired girl glowered at Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo was caught between laughter and tears, ¡°The clothes have already been given away and can¡¯t be taken back. I¡¯ve even offered you a ten percent premium, isn¡¯t that enough? Or should I buy you a new set?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, at least twenty percent,¡± said the short-haired girl.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s phone rang. She checked the number; it was a call from the Exorcist team captain, Huo Zhisen.


    As soon as she answered the call, Zhang Xiaomo paused, then replied with a ¡°Yes¡± and followed with several ¡°Yes,¡± hardly getting a chance to speak.


    After hanging up, she immediately dialed Yan Junze, ¡°Junze, are you up yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m up. I was about to go out to eat. Do you want to join?¡± Yan Junze replied.


    As the two spoke, the two women beside Zhang Xiaomo exchanged glances, sneaking up close to eavesdrop.


    ¡°That¡¯s the guy who wore your underwear,¡± the long-haired woman whispered.


    The short-haired girl cursed with a laugh, ¡°Like you could ever spit anything but nonsense from that dog mouth of yours, it wasn¡¯t mine, it was bought for my boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all the same,¡± the long-haired woman said, engrossed in listening, not minding the misunderstanding.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo was telling Yan Junze, ¡°The captain just told me that they have verified your performance in Mo Family Village and have already deposited your payment into your designated bank account this morning.¡±


    ¡°That efficient?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°The captain says you can apply to become an official Exorcist now, but you have to undergo a one-month intensive training, including Magnetic Knife Combat Technique, physical training, and usage of strangeness magnetic fields, among other things.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t want to do it for the time being,¡± Yan Junze rejected immediately.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to have anticipated his decision and showed no surprise, continuing, ¡°That¡¯s okay, it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    ¡°How was Old Guo last night?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°They say the soul resurrection was successful,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°That place is strictly confidential. I can¡¯t go down there, but Uncle Guo still needs to undergo an adaptive process. The headquarters said, since the Ancient Corpse is inherently cold, Uncle Guo will need to do a lot of physical adaptation training.¡±


    ¡°I think if Old Guo pulls through this time, he¡¯s definitely going to be a five-star Exorcist,¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± Zhang Xiaomo rarely showed a smile.


    ¡°Come out to eat, I¡¯ll wait for you,¡± Yan Junze said.


    The two women continued to ¡°eavesdrop¡± brazenly as the two talked.


    The short-haired girl, distracted by the underwear she bought for her boyfriend, was somewhat absent-minded, but the long-haired girl listened attentively, reveling in the gossip.


    She was very close to Zhang Xiaomo, almost leaning on her back.


    That was when the long-haired girl noticed something moving on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s back, moving so fast it seemed like hair.


    She was slightly startled, lifted her head, and moved a bit away from Zhang Xiaomo so she could see more clearly.


    Looking again at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s back, her hair was not tied up but hung loosely behind her shoulders. The long-haired girl inspected carefully but saw no irregularities.


    She rubbed her eyes and reached out to smooth the hair on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s shoulder, quickly convincing herself it was a trick of the eye.


    ¡°Your hair quality is really good,¡± the long-haired girl complimented.


    Zhang Xiaomo had just hung up the phone, replied, and after changing into a new outfit, she stepped out.


    Yan Junze and she ordered two bowls of wontons at a wonton shop, eating while discussing their experiences in Mo Family Village.


    Through Zhang Xiaomo, he learned that Xiaomo had been an orphan since childhood. The orphanage where she grew up was not called Start Point but Holy Light Orphanage, founded by a priest from Great Capital in the USA.


    At the age of thirteen, Zhang Xiaomo was adopted by her current teachers, both university professors who treated her as their own daughter and raised her with great care.


    COMMENT S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 306 - 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)_3

    Chapter 306: Chapter 266: Five Stars? (4300 words)_3 S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the outbreak of strangenesses, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher discovered that the magnetic field control he was studying played a significant role. He altered his own body¡¯s magnetic field in his experiments, and could be considered one of the first exorcists.


    Subsequently, a large number of people capable of controlling their internal magnetic fields, forming magnetic force, were discovered or unearthed. Then, the exorcist teams were established; while the founders weren¡¯t Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s parents, they were among the first of the veteran members.


    Actually, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s control over magnetic force was only above average, not the best. Now, nearly a year since the outbreak of strangenesses, some more bizarre or, rather, more powerful humans were being discovered and recruited by the exorcist teams.


    For example, people like Yan Junze who possessed the Buddhist Exorcism Method, or those whose sensitivity to strangenesses was at its ultimate peak.


    No matter how you look at it, the world is rapidly changing its structure, and the exorcist teams are playing an increasingly important role.


    After finishing their wontons, Zhang Xiaomo took several Hidden Buckles out of her pocket and said, ¡°You used up your Hidden Buckles in Mo Family Village yesterday, these are to refill your supply.¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze took them and placed them in his backpack, smiling, ¡°Once Old Guo gets used to it and can come out, let me know. I want to come see him.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°He managed to possess a corpse and revive because of your major contribution. Even if I don¡¯t tell you, he will thank you himself.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°As long as in the future when you or I face difficulties, if he lends a hand, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡­


    In the old building of the Tianmeng District¡¯s exorcist team, three floors underground.


    In a room filled with a large amount of medical equipment, an Ancient Corpse, Mo Da, was lying on the central bed. Several medical tubes were inserted into his neck, chest, and abdomen, with some unidentified fluid flowing into his body from the tubes.


    Four or five middle-aged people stood by the head of Mo Da, taking notes while carefully observing the reactions of the person in front of them.


    Before long, one of the middle-aged men said, ¡°Guo Youliang, I know you can hear me; if possible, move your right index finger.¡±


    As he spoke, all eyes were on the right hand of the body.


    About five seconds later, the right index finger lifted slightly and then relaxed back down.


    ¡°The recovery is not bad,¡± the group exchanged opinions, nodding periodically.


    ¡°This Ancient Corpse¡¯s constitution is excellent; the cold energy naturally entered the body without causing any rejection,¡± one person said.


    Another nodded, ¡°Not only that, but the cold energy can also perfectly integrate with the magnetic force, equivalent to doubling or even tripling the attack power.¡±


    Whoosh!


    No sooner had the words been spoken than the body in front of them slightly opened its mouth, and a visible stream of cold air slowly exhaled.


    The people standing felt the air around them drop suddenly at that moment, and two of them couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Just then, a man dressed in a light gray suit with a tall and straight figure appeared at the elevator entrance of this third underground level, step by step approaching the lying Guo Youliang.


    ¡°Old Guo has turned a disaster into a blessing this time, our Tianmeng District¡¯s exorcist team¡¯s overall strength has greatly increased,¡± he said.


    Upon seeing the newcomer, the others immediately greeted him, ¡°Captain Huo.¡±


    The man was indeed Huo Zhisen.


    Although Huo Zhisen was just over fifty, he looked to be only in his thirties, with chiseled facial features and a resolute expression.


    After looking over Guo Youliang for a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°That youngster surnamed Yan really opened a whole new world of possibilities with his idea to exorcise the obsession of an Ancient Corpse to enable Old Guo to resurrect!¡±


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 Chapter 307 - 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)

    Chapter 307: Chapter 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)


    ¡°I heard that Yan Junze is really good, hasn¡¯t the captain considered formally recruiting him?¡± A middle-aged man in a white lab coat approached Huo Zhisen and suggested.


    Huo Zhisen smiled, ¡°How could I not have considered? But Xiaomo just told me, he refused.¡±


    ¡°He refused just like that?!¡± The man in the white lab coat looked astonished.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Huo Zhisen shook his head, ¡°He was recruited by Zhang Xiaomo; we¡¯ve reviewed him earlier, no problems there. He is currently our external hire and still works for us. Plus, his relationship with Xiaomo is good, so we can use him like a regular employee.¡±


    After a pause, Huo Zhisen asked, ¡°How is Old Guo doing now?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s recovering well.¡± The man in the white lab coat nodded with a smile, ¡°Once his movements are back to normal, we need to conduct a Strange Body constitution test on him and reassess his exorcist level.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hope it¡¯s five stars.¡± Huo Zhisen pursed his lips and smiled, ¡°Here in Tianmeng, we don¡¯t have a single five-star exorcist, which puts us at a disadvantage, not to mention an exorcist of the ¡®Reaper¡¯ caliber. A single person like that can hold off a medium-sized Spirit Bridge.¡±


    ¡°If Old Guo really advances to five stars, and he is indeed an impressive five-star exorcist, that would be great, a blessing for Tianmeng, a blessing indeed!¡± The man in the white lab coat laughed heartily.


    ¡­


    After parting with Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze switched transportation to reach the bus terminus serving Tianmeng Science University, and twenty minutes later, he boarded the bus back to school, sitting alone in the last row, rocking gently with the motion of the bus.


    This encounter with the Spirit Bridge had taught him a lot, whether about high-level exorcists or Spirit Cultivators, as well as zombies; he gained a much deeper understanding.


    And it was at this moment that a very strange thought suddenly occurred to him.


    If the Spirit Bridge was currently appearing above a village, what would happen if one day a powerful and immense strangeness magnetic field erupted, creating a Spirit Bridge spanning an entire large city? Would that mean disaster for the entire city?


    If that were to happen, then with the catalyst of the Spirit Bridge, all the strangeness from a thousand or even two thousand years ago in the city would arise, an absolute disaster of terrifying proportion.


    Definitely Ethereal spirits, or even something more powerful than Ethereal spirits, were possible.


    With this thought in mind, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but break out into goosebumps. If it ever came to that, the strangeness that appeared would definitely not be as simple as they are now.


    Perhaps there would be a scene of a deserted city.


    ¡°Deserted city?!¡±


    Upon thinking of this term, Yan Junze, who was sitting in the last row of the bus and had been dozing off, suddenly started, opening his eyes.


    He clearly remembered that while carrying out the ¡®Half a Hide¡¯ mission, because he used a considerable amount of Semi-spirit power, he gained the perspective of the Back-faced Woman and clearly saw where her mother and daughter were at the time.


    There was not a soul on the streets, desolate and dilapidated, and the Back-faced Woman and her daughter were just wandering aimlessly in the street.


    With that in mind, had some city already fallen into this state?


    If that were really the case, it was likely that the national machinery had already sealed off all information and was secretly disposing of the situation.


    Just thinking about that scenario was chilling.


    Of course, this was just a guess by Yan Junze; the place might also just be a small town street, and after the outbreak of strangeness, it was possible that most of the local residents had moved out.


    Sitting on the bus lost in these whimsical ideas, Yan Junze seemed to be falling asleep again, but for some reason, the image of Zhang Xiaomo suddenly sprang to his mind, and he became fully alert.


    Yan Junze opened his eyes again and gave a wry smile.


    Being with Zhang Xiaomo felt comfortable and relaxing, and Yan Junze was acutely aware that this feeling had taken up a place in his heart.


    ¡°Hmm, she seemed to have told me she didn¡¯t have a boyfriend before,¡± Yan Junze thought for a bit and then suddenly shook his head.


    He was no longer certain of that, considering that Zhang Xiaomo was a few years older than this body. If something did develop between them, would it mean that this woman would be eating his tender grass?


    But on second thought, he found the idea amusing; if he were to be so petty about age, then adding his previous life¡¯s age, Zhang Xiaomo might have to call him ¡®uncle.¡¯


    Half an hour later, the bus pulled into the station of Tianmeng Science and Technology University, and Yan Junze got off. Instead of going straight back to school, he visited Ning Shanshan¡¯s clinic outside of school.


    At this time it was the afternoon, the sunlight was warm, and he basked in its comfortable glow.


    The bowl of wonton soup he had earlier didn¡¯t really mean much to Yan Junze; hungry, his main sustenance still came from blood.


    When he arrived at the clinic, Ning Shanshan was busy preparing medicine for someone. After finishing, she took a moment to give Yan Junze two bags of blood.


    Yan Junze stood there chatting with her for a bit and then headed out to a secluded place, quickly downed the two bags of blood, and threw the blood bags into a trash can before heading back to school.


    Thanks to the effects emitted by the exorcist badge, these two bags of blood could sustain Yan Junze for half a month without needing to eat.


    Usually, to avoid drawing attention, he could casually eat something, and even Yan Junze himself was using the Different Dimension Energy from the Atlas to infuse the badge, slowing down his metabolism.


    However, he was still unfamiliar with this method and didn¡¯t know how effective it truly was.


    In summary, his need for blood had significantly decreased, not just in amount but also in frequency.


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 Chapter 308 - 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)_2

    Chapter 308: Chapter 267 Event Lockdown (4100 words)_2


    Because an exorcist squad had helped to request leave from the school authorities before, this time the leave was still for an indefinite period. The school authorities were quite understanding about this and didn¡¯t ask any questions, but inevitably, they started paying closer attention to Yan Junze.


    After Yan Junze returned to dormitory 411, it wasn¡¯t long before the director of education, Yuan Lison, paid a visit. This skinny old man carefully looked Yan Junze over and, not finding any changes, appeared to care on behalf of the school and asked a few questions before leaving.


    At this time, Yan Junze was the only one in the dormitory, as everyone else was in class, so Director Yuan didn¡¯t avoid saying anything.


    However, Yan Junze could tell that the old man had a very good attitude toward him. Everyone knew that this was closely related to Yan Junze¡¯s identity.


    Not long after Yuan Lison left, the captain of the school security team, Wang Tao, also knocked on the door and entered.


    As for the act of knocking, it was surprising for a security team captain to enter a student dormitory in such a manner.


    ...


    Usually, when the security team carried out inspections for unauthorized use of electricity, playing poker, and the like, they would enter the dormitories directly, and even kick in the doors if they had conclusive evidence.


    If they encountered a locked door, they had many tricks up their sleeves.


    For instance, during a gambling raid on one of the dormitories where the door was locked by the gamblers inside, Wang Tao had someone deliberately pull the breaker for that floor.


    When the card players inside opened the door in confusion to check, they were overwhelmed by the security team waiting outside, like wolves pouncing on sheep, caught all at once, and criticized in an announcement to the whole school.


    So, the fact that Wang Tao knocked on the door of the dormitory was very abnormal.


    Yet, Yan Junze didn¡¯t find anything inappropriate about it. This guy might have a favor to ask of him, or perhaps he wanted to curry favor with him for future use of the connection.


    Like director of education Yuan Lison, Wang Tao sat down amiably on the bed, chatted with Yan Junze, who was half-reclining, and even patted his shoulder, telling him to call his phone number anytime if he needed anything, always ready to respond.


    After finishing his talk and worried about bothering Yan Junze too much, Wang Tao left a note with his phone number on it, and got up to leave.


    There was still some time before the afternoon classes ended, and it was heard that the rest of the dorm mates had gone to the laboratory building. Usually experiments meant they would finish even later.


    After all, the Peephole Strange Creature there had already been eliminated, not by Yan Junze, but because after Yan Junze had used the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± the timeline had changed, and it was cleared by an exorcist.


    After scrolling through his phone for a while, Yan Junze rubbed his eyes, set the phone down, feeling he had been influenced by Zhang Xiaomo, and was unconsciously reaching for his phone whenever he had a free moment.


    He then summoned the entire Spacetime Atlas in his mind.


    Currently, the illuminated parts of the Spacetime Atlas still hadn¡¯t reached half, and even by observing the illuminated parts, Yan Junze was basically unable to speculate how large half of the Atlas actually was.


    He lacked a tangible reference.


    In its full state, the Atlas could store 17,400 points of Different Dimension Energy and had 86 nodes lit, which, when translated into reversible timelines, equalled to about 29 hours.


    Yan Junze had formed a habit of keeping the cycle on as long as the Different Dimension Energy was plentiful.


    The advantage of this was that no matter where or when he decided to Rewind, he could do it without facing the kind of situation he had experienced before on a bus when he encountered Lv Xin, who had split apart from the Resentful Granny, and was unable to trace back to before that point.


    Although he didn¡¯t know how much of the Atlas had been fully uncovered, the area he could see was growing larger, and in the end, this was a good thing. As long as he had plenty of energy, Yan Junze¡¯s chances of surviving in today¡¯s world increased.


    In today¡¯s Atlas, the 7th node unlocked [Perception of Strange Events], the 12th time node unlocked [Evil Spirit Solid Lock], the 35th node unlocked [Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion], and the 54th node unveiled [Butterfly Effect].


    And among the most recently unlocked spacetime nodes, the 82nd node activated a new [Strange Event Lockdown] feature.


    This function seemed to pair with [Perception of Strange Events].


    According to the function description, once [Strange Event Lockdown] was activated, a strangeness scene (that is, a task), would be instantly locked in the current state.


    For a limited time, the strangeness couldn¡¯t escalate, even if many factors of unrest or instability would be enough to elevate the level of strangeness several times within the event, but once locked, it would remain as it was before the lockdown.


    Of course, the Different Dimension Energy consumed is proportional to the length of time the event is locked. To keep an event locked indefinitely would consume a substantial amount of Different Dimension Energy.


    This feature was very powerful. If facing a troublesome creature that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t deal with at the moment, he could lock the opponent¡¯s level state for the time being.


    Once the conditions were met, he could then look back and deal with the task, which would seem effortless.


    In essence, this was exploiting a loophole in time.


    At this moment, Yan Junze suddenly remembered the terrifying boss in Mountain Park that he had been completely unable to deal with at the time, not just unable to confront, but he couldn¡¯t even solve the Dark Poison released by the opponent.


    Fortunately, he had managed to dodge a bullet.


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s right index finger started to feel a bit numb, and he looked down to see that there was nothing unusual.


    He stretched out his other hand and gently pinched the finger, thinking that he might have inadvertently pressed on it earlier.


    After rubbing it for a while, the numbness gradually disappeared.


    A wave of sleepiness came over him, and Yan Junze closed the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and quickly fell asleep.


    When he became conscious again, he found his vision shrouded in pitch-black darkness.


    He seemed to be standing in a black starless sky, everything around him was as dark as ink.


    Yan Junze looked around and felt his head was still heavy, with a lingering sense of sleepiness.


    Standing still for a while, unable to discern his location, Yan Junze decided to walk a few steps forward, then he found himself beginning to move.


    In the boundless darkness, he started to tread carefully forward, just like he had done inside the space of the Red Coffin.


    Only this time, unlike the Red Coffin where he had to crawl, there was no need to here.


    Time passed, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, Yan Junze found himself still trapped in the darkness, unable to find a way out.


    He simply stopped and turned around on the spot, trying to see if there were any abnormalities in any direction, or any hint of light that could penetrate the darkness.


    He soon made a discovery; when he turned in a certain direction, there seemed to be someone crouching or sitting on the ground within the pitch-black night before him.


    Uncertain, he chose this direction and prepared to walk over.


    But at that moment, Yan Junze found that he seemed unable to move anymore and could only stay in place.


    In the pitch darkness before him, the crouching figure now seemed to be moving, with a faint light gradually appearing above the silhouette, casting a hazy shape.


    The figure was a woman.


    Her hair draped softly over her shoulders, and she was indeed crouching on the ground in a long white dress, except she was facing away from Yan Junze.


    The scene felt strangely familiar, and for a moment Yan Junze stood frozen, feeling a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    He rubbed his eyes, straining to see better, but still could not make out the person¡¯s appearance.


    Just then, the woman in white slowly stood up; she had been crouching until now.


    She began to walk backward, moving in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    At first glance, Yan Junze thought she was the Back-faced Woman, but upon closer inspection, she was nothing like her.


    Closer and closer she came.


    Her backward-walking posture was elegant, as if gliding above the ground, her arms bent as though she was holding something in front of her.


    As she continued to approach, almost turning towards him, Yan Junze felt his heartbeat suddenly start to quicken.


    The next second, he woke up with a start, his eyes wide open, breathing gently, only to find himself still lying on his dormitory bed. It had all been a dream.


    Yet the scene from the dream remained vivid in his memory.


    Panting, Yan Junze sat up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, the memories from the dream persisting. He clearly remembered that in the last moment of his dream, he had seen what the woman was holding in her hands.


    It was¡­ a lantern. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 309 - 268: Sudden Shock (4200 words)

    Chapter 309: Chapter 268: Sudden Shock (4200 words)


    Lantern?


    Lantern Woman!?


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was in turmoil. After completing the mission involving ¡°the woman with the lantern,¡± he had been feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, but couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it.


    However, after completing the higher-level task of ¡°Red Coffin,¡± that feeling of unease faded away.


    Now it seemed there were two possibilities: either his intuition was right and the Lantern Woman really was coming after him, or this was all just a dream, his fears unfounded.


    Upon further reflection, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure if this was real or not.


    ...


    If the Lantern Woman really had set her sights on him, her way of making her presence felt was much stranger than Fang Ning¡¯s, appearing in his dreams.


    Could she be trying to emulate Freddy the Demon Killer from ¡°Fierce Ghost Street,¡± entering his dreams to kill him?


    With this thought, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but shudder. If that was the case, how would he ever be able to sleep again? Would he be killed as soon as he fell asleep?


    It couldn¡¯t be that powerful, Yan Junze shook his head.


    The Lantern Woman wasn¡¯t very high-level in her white dress; it was only when the lantern turned red that she would become ferocious.


    The lantern was her husband¡¯s head, meaning that only with the combined power of the couple, the Lantern Woman would turn red and unleash more powerful attacks.


    As for the ability to enter one¡¯s dreams, if that were really possible, it might be unique to them, but if they could kill a person in their dreams, then no exorcist could defeat them, nearly an invincible state. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure if his ability to rewind would still work if he was killed in his sleep.


    Most likely, it was impossible.


    It wasn¡¯t long before his dormitory roommates, Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua, returned one after another. They were very happy to see Yan Junze back at school, immediately showing concern for his well-being.


    The weather was gradually cooling down, with the beginning of autumn winds and falling leaves.


    In dormitory 411, Yan Junze and his three roommates chatted for a while and only realized it was late when He Bishou brought it up, mainly because he was getting hungry quickly, and although he wanted to chat more with Yan Junze, his stomach protested.


    The canteen¡¯s dinner time had already passed, but there was still night-time food for sale, which would close promptly at 9 o¡¯clock.


    The nighttime offerings were also plentiful, with noodles, vermicelli, and wontons, but surely no barbecue.


    The four discussed and decided that the external restaurants probably didn¡¯t have much fresh food left at this time, so it would be simpler to eat in the canteen.


    Thus, they all left the dormitory and headed to the canteen.


    The twilight had passed, and the sky was nearing night, but not yet completely dark, giving an obscure feeling.


    The four descended the stairs and walked toward the canteen.


    Occasionally, they saw students walking back from the canteen, but hardly anyone was going there with them.


    As they neared the entrance of the canteen, on the right side of the steps under the canteen¡¯s main door, near the corner, someone was squatting.


    Initially, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t noticed, but when his gaze inadvertently swept over the squatting person, he paused, and a sense of alertness rose in his heart.


    That person was squatting indeed, but with her back facing out and her face turned inward, such an odd posture, as if she had fallen asleep while squatting.


    Moreover, it was the silhouette of a woman.


    Although she wasn¡¯t dressed in a white or red dress, but in a very ordinary pink blouse, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers, her manner of squatting couldn¡¯t help but draw Yan Junze¡¯s attention.


    In the dimming evening light, it seemed all the more eerie.


    Just then, He Bishou also noticed the woman squatting with her back turned out. He nudged Zhao Zheng with his elbow and signaled to Yan Junze and Huahua with his eyes.


    Huahua looked in the direction and was immediately struck with a mix of surprise and barely concealed fear, covering her mouth and not forgetting to point with her elegantly curled finger at the squatting woman, ¡°What¡¯s she doing squatting there? It¡¯s getting dark; isn¡¯t she scared of scaring someone to death?¡±


    Meanwhile, the four kept walking forward, each sneaking glances at the squatting woman above, feeling as though they were getting closer to her.


    With the faint light seeping out from the canteen, Yan Junze took a closer look and noticed the woman remained motionless with her back to them, which was indeed very strange.


    ¡°I feel like this person looks a bit like¡­ Liao Jing?!¡± Zhao Zheng suddenly spoke up.


    Liao Jing was one of the two female members of the Strangeness Association, the other being Zhang Ying. Both girls had attended Yan Junze¡¯s induction ceremony and were quite frightened by the sudden appearance of the eleventh person.


    At the time, both were curious about Yan Junze¡¯s ability to sense strangenesses, and even Zhang Ying took a particular interest in Yan Junze for a while, coming to dormitory 411 a few times to find him.


    But soon Zhang Ying realized Yan Junze wasn¡¯t interested in her, and since Zhao Zheng was always the one entertaining her, they started talking and discovered they had quite a few common topics.


    Yan Junze heard lately that the two were hitting it off, although he wasn¡¯t sure if they had made it official. Zhao Zheng had gone out with Zhang Ying a few times, and almost every time Liao Jing was there, which is why he could recognize Liao Jing¡¯s silhouette at a glance.


    Hearing Zhao Zheng say this, Yan Junze noticed the squatting woman indeed resembled Liao Jing.


    Nevertheless, he grabbed everyone and pulled them to the other side of the staircase: ¡°Let¡¯s go this way, try not to get too close.¡±


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 Chapter 310 - 268: Sudden Shock (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 310: Chapter 268: Sudden Shock (4200 words)_2


    Zhao Zheng, He Bishou, and Huahua all remained silent, their heartbeats pounding like drums. As they stepped onto the staircase, although they were now very close to the woman, they dared not look directly at her, instead keeping watch from the corners of their eyes for any movement in that direction.


    Only Yan Junze kept his gaze fixed in that direction.


    As the four of them quickly ascended the stairs, the crouching woman twisted her neck as if her limbs were incredibly stiff, making a cracking sound as she slowly turned her head toward the stairs.


    Yan Junze could clearly hear the chilling sound of bones grinding as he quickly pushed the three in front of him up the steps and into the dining hall.


    He was filled with suspicion; the woman seemed to be a strangeness rather than a normal person. But why was she crouching, and why was her back turned to the outside?


    The scene was very much like the first time he encountered the Lantern Woman and the way she appeared in his dreams.


    ...


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that coincidental!¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    ¡°Hey, what a coincidence!¡± He Bishou suddenly exclaimed at that moment, his gaze fixed on someone exiting the dining hall.


    Huahua also said, ¡°Zhang Ying, are you eating so late?¡±


    The person was indeed Zhang Ying.


    Zhang Ying also found it coincidental, nodded her head, glanced at Yan Junze, then turned to Zhao Zheng and smiled, nodding at him.


    Zhao Zheng had been all smiles, about to speak when suddenly he jolted and looked over Zhang Ying¡¯s shoulder.


    Liao Jing approached swiftly, holding two cups of freshly squeezed orange juice, saying, ¡°Zhang Ying, slow down. I bought you a cup of orange juice. Why are you in such a hurry?¡±


    All eyes turned to Liao Jing, who paused, standing still, ¡°What? Why are all of you looking at me?¡±


    As she finished speaking, she suddenly noticed Yan Junze was there too, and the look of surprise in his eyes as he watched her.


    Liao Jing immediately couldn¡¯t keep calm, shivering all over, she stammered, ¡°Yan¡­ Yan Junze, why, why are you¡­ looking at me like that? Is there someone¡­ behind me? Or is someone¡­ sitting on my shoulder? Male¡­ or female?¡±


    It was fine for others to look at her like that, but not Yan Junze, because in her heart Liao Jing was all too aware that Yan Junze had special sensitivity to strangenesses.


    If he was looking at her like that, it definitely wasn¡¯t a good thing.


    Having just experienced the ¡°The Eleventh Person¡± task not long ago, Liao Jing¡¯s mind was still filled with shadows. Seeing Yan Junze suddenly staring at her like that, she was already terrified out of her wits.


    Seeing her shake so badly, Yan Junze dared not show any more reaction, rubbing his eyes, he exaggeratedly said, ¡°I told you so! I was afraid I mistook someone else for you, but it really is Liao Jing. Haven¡¯t seen you in days, how did you lose so much weight? Hm, you¡¯ve become prettier.¡±


    Mentioning ¡°slimmer¡± and ¡°prettier¡± is usually a joyful thing for any girl to hear.


    Liao Jing was momentarily taken aback, and the fear in her heart immediately lessened a few degrees.


    By now, Yan Junze had already nudged the others, and He Bishou quickly reacted, following up with, ¡°I was just saying, you really do look better.¡±


    ¡°No one is more qualified to speak about weight loss than me, Jingjing. Don¡¯t listen to them, come to me tomorrow and we can chat about my weight loss journey,¡± Huahua added.


    Zhao Zheng nodded, saying nothing, mainly because Zhang Ying was there, and it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to join the others in buttering up Liao Jing, but the look he gave her also shifted away from expressing surprise.


    ¡°Why are you all eating so late?¡± Zhang Yingqi asked.


    ¡°Junze just came back to school today, we chatted for a bit longer,¡± Zhao Zheng explained.


    Zhang Ying looked at Yan Junze, and they nodded to each other in greeting.


    Zhang Ying said, ¡°Well, take your time eating; we¡¯re going to leave first.¡±


    As she spoke, she took a cup of orange juice from Liao Jing¡¯s hand and said to Zhao Zheng, ¡°This is freshly bought, take it.¡±


    ¡°No need, you drink it yourself,¡± Zhao Zheng waved his hand.


    Zhang Ying didn¡¯t say anything more and left with Liao Jing.


    Zhao Zheng initially wanted to escort them out but then several other people finished eating and left. With seven or eight people together, there was nothing to worry about.


    Zhao Zheng just followed behind them, peeked outside from the dining hall¡¯s entrance for a moment, and then quickly returned.


    ¡°Still there?¡± Fat He asked.


    ¡°Gone, saw nothing.¡± Zhao Zheng shook his head.


    ¡°The woman squatting outside just now looked so much like Liao Jing. Could it be that she only resembles her rather than being the same person?¡± Fat He seemed to be talking to himself.


    ¡°The person outside just now was indeed Liao Jing,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice? Just now Liao Jing was wearing a pink shirt, jeans, and white sneakers, exactly like the woman squatting outside.¡±


    ¡°So which one is the fake?¡± Zhao Zheng suddenly felt worried for Zhang Ying.


    ¡°Obviously, the one squatting outside,¡± Yan Junze appeared thoughtful.


    Now, it seemed that the woman squatting was imitating the Lantern Woman¡¯s appearance. Only Yan Junze was clear on this since he had just had that strange dream.


    And the appearance of this mysterious woman was most likely related to the Lantern Woman.


    If so, the Lantern Woman in Yan Junze¡¯s dream just now wasn¡¯t merely a simple dream. It was highly possible that the Lantern Woman really had come in such a bizarre way.


    But now Yan Junze was still guessing. He hadn¡¯t figured out the method of the Lantern Woman, and how to deal with it might require some more time.


    After ordering food and sitting down, He Bishou and Zhao Zheng went to get their meals, and Huahua sat next to Yan Junze, leaning in and saying, ¡°Did you notice, Zhang Ying¡¯s actions just now seemed deliberately done for you to see?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Are you talking about when she asked Zhao Zheng if he wanted orange juice?¡±


    ¡°And when she saw you just now, she purposefully didn¡¯t greet you first, but instead smiled at Zhao Zheng, and only then turned to you.¡± Huahua analyzed, ¡°Women, ah, might not like you as much as before, but since you¡¯ve rejected her in the past, seeing you still makes her uncomfortable. That¡¯s normal.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Huahua became somewhat excited, ¡°I¡¯ve already been approved to join the Rainbow Girls Friendship Association. In a few days, I¡¯ll choose some good sisters to introduce to you.¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Yan Junze quickly waved his hand, ¡°My aspiration is to research magnetic fields and exorcism, nothing else matters.¡±


    Huahua cocked her head and looked at him, ¡°I can smell your lie. Is there already someone you like? You were making a particular phone call the other day, but it seemed you couldn¡¯t get through and appeared very anxious, then you took leave.¡±


    A few days ago, Zhang Xiaomo was trapped in Mo Family Village, and Yan Junze did indeed make several calls, worried for her safety.


    ¡°You should switch your major,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°Too bad Science and Technology University doesn¡¯t offer Forensic Science, otherwise you¡¯d be perfect for it.¡±


    ¡°Perfect my foot!¡± Huahua shook her head, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that kind of job that scares people to death. Anyway, if there¡¯s someone you like outside, go after her. These days are weird; the world might end any day now. Love for a day is a day gained. We don¡¯t need ¡®forever and always,¡¯ but at least¡­ ¡±


    Before she could finish speaking He Bishou and Zhao Zheng came back with their food, including a big bowl of hot and sour noodles, effectively shutting Huahua up.


    After the four of them had eaten and left the cafeteria, they paid special attention to the area under the stairs, seeing no strangeness.


    Zhao Zheng, feeling uneasy, made a call to Zhang Ying on the way back to ask about Liao Jing.


    After a few words, a peculiar expression appeared on Zhao Zheng¡¯s face. He seemed somewhat reluctant but switched the phone to speaker anyway.


    Then Zhang Ying¡¯s voice came through, sounding lazy as if lying in bed about to sleep: ¡°You should head back and rest too. You¡¯ve had a day full of classes, and played basketball at noon, don¡¯t wear yourself out. Let¡¯s have breakfast together tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call you after I get up in the morning,¡± Zhao Zheng replied.


    In full view of everyone, his response seemed somewhat awkward.


    Huahua elbowed Yan Junze and whispered, ¡°Why does she want Zhao Zheng to put the phone on speaker? Do you feel it now?¡±


    ¡°A woman¡¯s heart is like a needle in the sea,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    After saying that, an image of Zhang Xiaomo smiling sweetly and gazing at him appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    He felt an unexplained warmth in his heart, as if it was very comforting. Yan Junze shook his head and returned to the dormitory with the others.


    Those reading comics continued, those receiving packages did so, and those lifting dumbbells kept at it, while Yan Junze prepared to freshen up first. At this moment, his phone suddenly rang.


    He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Zhou Dali. He answered the call, putting the phone to his ear before getting a chance to speak. Zhou Dali¡¯s voice had already come through, low and bewildered, with a hint of unspeakable horror.


    ¡°Bao Jie¡­ she¡¯s dead.¡±


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 Chapter 311 - 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)

    Chapter 311: Chapter 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)


    ¡°`


    ¡°Bao Jie¡­ died?¡±


    Yan Junze only felt a buzz in his head, briefly falling into a void.


    He stood at the dormitory doorway, holding the phone in his right hand and the mouthwash cup in his left, motionless.


    The other roommates noticed something was amiss, one by one putting down what they were doing and looking over.


    Yan Junze felt numb all over, his lips moved as if he had not spoken, yet he made a sound, saying to the person on the other end of the phone, ¡°Say that again.¡±


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    Zhou Dali seemed to become choked up, struggling to speak, and after a long time, he managed to reply, ¡°Bao Jie, she¡¯s dead. She took a lot of sleeping pills, committed suicide¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Yan Junze could not hear his own voice as his mind turned to mush, but he knew he definitely asked this question.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s voice came from the phone, ¡°They say¡­ it was because of him. I only just received the news too, that Jiejie, she¡¯s been dead for three days now, her ashes already sent back to Shuntian City, and no one informed us, nobody told me.¡±


    Yan Junze felt a slight tremble in his body, the news was truly shocking, and he still couldn¡¯t fully believe it to this moment.


    Zhao Zheng, who was closest at the time, walked over, supporting Yan Junze, fearing he might fall.


    Huahua also came over to grasp Yan Junze¡¯s arm; they had all realized that something was off with Yan Junze, likely the news from the phone was a dreadful one.


    They helped Yan Junze sit on the edge of his bed, no one speaking. They could all see the confusion and disbelief on Yan Junze¡¯s face. The phone call was not disconnected, but at this moment no one was speaking; they all maintained their silence.


    After a while, Zhou Dali finally said, ¡°That guy wants us to go over, so tomorrow morning let¡¯s head to Tianmeng University. You come from your side, and I¡¯ll leave from the Sports Institute. We¡¯ll meet at the main gate of Tianmeng University. We¡¯ll talk when we see each other.¡±


    The call was disconnected.


    Yan Junze still held the phone, sitting quietly on the edge of his bed, wordless.


    After a moment, Huahua took the mouthwash cup from his hand and placed it on the desk in front of him, tentatively asking, ¡°Is it someone you knew that had an accident?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°A high school classmate, she killed herself.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Huahua, Zhao Zheng, and He Bishou all wore expressions of surprise.


    ¡°So young, why?¡± Huahua couldn¡¯t help but extend her index finger delicately.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze, which had been distant, slowly focused, shifting to Huahua, and he said, ¡°It seems¡­ it was due to love.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s reference to ¡°him¡± and ¡°that guy,¡± Yan Junze knew perfectly well who they were talking about.


    Since high school, Bao Jie had always been close to the rich playboy Zhou Jiajie. Bao Jie was attractive and also good at her studies, while Zhou Jiajie was handsome too, plus with his father holding an important position in Shuntian City, he had many connections in Tianmeng District; the two seemed quite well-matched.


    But the problem lay with Zhou Jiajie. They could all see that this guy wasn¡¯t sincerely invested in his relationship with Bao Jie, giving off the vibe that he was just playing for now, and who knew what might happen later.


    But Bao Jie had been blinded by love, oblivious to what was clear to everyone else.


    Zhou Dali had once been smitten with her, taking care of Bao Jie in every possible way, whether in everyday studies and life or when Yan Junze first formed their group for Spirit Exploration.


    Even when Bao Jie harshly rebuffed Zhou Dali, the guy whose arm was thicker than others¡¯ waists, he acted as if nothing had happened, still beaming joyfully.


    Not until later did Zhou Dali have his awakening, finally crying on the school rooftop in Yan Junze¡¯s arms and giving up his illusions about Bao Jie.


    Before the college entrance exam, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s parents had secured for him a spot at Tianmeng University through their connections, while Bao Jie, lacking powerful backing, had to rely on her own efforts to join Zhou Jiajie there by getting admitted through sheer hard work.


    In theory, the couple being at the same university should have resulted in a happy ending.


    Yet now, not even a semester has ended, and Bao Jie has met with such a tragic fate.


    With everything still unclear, Yan Junze refrained from making hasty judgements, but Bao Jie taking her life with sleeping pills surely wasn¡¯t without a reason.


    For a girl with a bright future, if it was truly troubles in this relationship that drove her to extremes, it was simply too wasteful.


    Yan Junze did not close his eyes all night, just sitting on his bed, waiting for the dawn.


    Normally, he would have classes to attend the next day, but now he could only ask for leave again.


    Fortunately, whether it was the class advisor or the head of discipline, they nearly had no control over him. Yan Junze let Huahua know, asking her to submit a leave request on his behalf, and then left early.


    Exiting Tianmeng Science University and standing at the bus station, it was precisely 7:30.


    Yan Junze quickly boarded a bus, heading towards the heart of Tianmeng District.


    Tianmeng University, as the best university in the entire Tianmeng area, was located at the opposite end of the city from Tianmeng Science University.


    After entering the city, Yan Junze switched buses, spent another half an hour reaching the starting station of the bus to Meng University, and then took that bus for almost fifty minutes, finally getting off at the main gate of Meng University.


    By the time he arrived at his destination, it was almost 10 in the morning.


    Tianmeng University, being the top academic institution in Tianmeng, had a main gate that appeared exceptionally grand and imposing. Looking inside from the gate, one could see trees providing shade, birds singing among the flowers, marble fountains, jade carvings, and further in, a glimpse of a row of pure white, elegant and majestic buildings.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 312 - 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 312: Chapter 269 Bao Jie (4300 words)_2


    Yan Junze had no intention of entering, he simply stood at the gate and glanced inside.


    A security guard came out from the guardhouse by the gate. Since he was far away, he didn¡¯t approach but watched Yan Junze with a hint of alertness.


    According to his years of experience working there, the young man in front of him didn¡¯t look like a student from Meng University. If he wasn¡¯t a student from another school, then there was a good chance he was a local youth.


    He wouldn¡¯t allow a local youth to enter the campus.


    Yan Junze quickly spotted a bronze plaque next to the gate that read: Gate One.


    Turning around and approaching the roadside, Yan Junze stopped. The security guard kept an eye on him from behind.


    ...


    After making a phone call to Zhou Dali, and waiting for almost ten minutes, a stocky guy hopped off a bus and walked towards Yan Junze.


    This scene left the watching security guard startled; if he had been suspecting Yan Junze¡¯s identity before, at the sight of Zhou Dali, he was almost certain that both of them were local youths.


    After all, Zhou Dali¡¯s appearance left little distinction from the rumored look of gang enforcers.


    Following Zhou Dali off the bus was a tall girl, his girlfriend, Shang Cuicui, with her long legs and wheat-colored skin.


    Upon meeting, Yan Junze and Zhou Dali hugged each other, but neither had a smile on their face, after all, the reason for their meeting here was too sad to accept.


    After the hug, Yan Junze nodded at Shang Cuicui as a way of greeting.


    Shang Cuicui was dressed in sportswear and black sneakers, her hands tucked into her pockets. However, the pants she wore were those tight-fitting capris often seen on those who work out frequently, perfectly enveloping her enviable long legs.


    With his arm around Shang Cuicui, Zhou Dali said to Yan Junze, ¡°Jiajie didn¡¯t stay at the school, but rented a place off-campus, a two-bedroom apartment, and I heard it¡¯s luxuriously decorated.¡±


    ¡°So, are we going directly to his rented place now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhou Dali nodded, ¡°he is waiting for us in there right now.¡±


    Following the address sent by Zhou Jiajie, Dali pointed in a direction, and the three of them walked side by side along the street.


    Yan Junze noticed how Shang Cuicui clung to Zhou Dali¡¯s arm, walking very close to him, seemingly dependent on him.


    Zhou Dali also appeared comfortable, and by the looks of it, the pair seemed to be very much in love.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Does Jiang Ruixin know about Bao Jie¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°Just like you, I told her only yesterday,¡± Zhou Dali replied, ¡°Last night when I was on the phone with Big-eyed Girl, I was so afraid she¡¯d be too heartbroken, I even had her call a friend to stand by her. After I told her the tragic news, sure enough, there was a commotion on the other end, and the girl said Big-eyed Girl had fainted. After hanging up, it took a good while before a woken up Big-eyed Girl called back, asking me for more details.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pausing, Zhou Dali said, ¡°Her mood is very unstable now, I don¡¯t dare say anything to upset her further.¡±


    ¡°You are too¡­¡± Cuicui reproached Zhou Dali with a gentle chide, ¡°so insensitive to drop it on her out of the blue, no wonder she passed out. It¡¯s a good thing you were smart enough to have someone stay with your classmate first.¡±


    Dali hehehe¡¯d with an awkward smile toward Cuicui, as if it had been a long time since he¡¯d last smiled.


    At the same time.


    In an ordinary looking residential complex, within one of the second-floor apartments, Zhou Jiajie turned off the stove¡¯s flame, lifted the freshly boiled noodles, and while stirring them to mix the seasoning evenly, he walked out of the kitchen.


    After reaching the living room, a girl about seventeen or eighteen years old was sitting on the couch in pajamas, her legs curled up, showing off her pale calves, with a somewhat vacant gaze in front of her, seemingly preoccupied.


    The woman had extremely delicate features, petite and exquisite, just one glance was enough to evoke a man¡¯s protective instinct.


    ¡°Jiayao, come on, eat the noodles while they¡¯re hot,¡± Zhou Jiajie called out as he walked towards the girl on the couch, love surfacing on his face.


    The girl came back to her senses and glanced at the bowl in his hand. Pouting slightly, she said playfully, ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhou Jiajie looked at her.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep well last night, and I¡¯m still sleepy now,¡± Jiayao rubbed her eyes.


    ¡°Now that it¡¯s daylight, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. You should get some sleep,¡± Zhou Jiajie placed the bowl of noodles on the marble coffee table in front of him, sat next to Jiayao, and pulled her into his arms, preparing to let her use his thigh as a pillow to sleep.


    Jiayao pushed him away and a look of panic suddenly crossed her face, ¡°Who says it¡¯s all right? I¡¯m scared, really scared.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. After a long while, he said, ¡°I already notified two of my classmates yesterday, and we¡¯ve arranged for them to come over today. Rest assured, one of them has effective methods for eliminating strangeness. There won¡¯t be any problems, and everything will soon be back to normal.¡±


    After he spoke, he suddenly noticed that Jiayao¡¯s expression was wrong; her eyes were fixated behind him.


    Zhou Jiajie turned around to see at the hallway leading from the bedroom to the living room, in a place where the light was somewhat dim, a girl with disheveled hair was standing silently.


    This girl was wearing a set of gray long-sleeved pajamas, expressionless, saying nothing. Her hair hung down, covering her cheeks and only revealing the middle part of her nose, her lips, and the inner corner of her eyes near her eyebrows.


    Around this girl, a chilling aura was spreading.


    Zhou Jiajie saw Jiayao trembling violently, her teeth beginning to chatter, producing the sound of them clashing together. He turned his head to glance at the disheveled girl and fear surged in his heart as well. Turning back around, he prepared to embrace Jiayao in front of him.


    No matter what, at this time, they needed to stick together, as one, to eliminate the fear in their hearts as much as possible.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dealing with this anymore!¡± Jiayao pushed his hands away violently, stood up pale-faced, grabbed her purse from the corner of the sofa, and prepared to leave.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhou Jiajie quickly stood up as well, ¡°Have you lost your mind? She has only appeared, she hasn¡¯t hurt us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s lost your mind!¡± Jiayao was almost crying, her emotions seemingly on the verge of collapse, ¡°For three days, these three days, she has been following us, no, following you! I really can¡¯t deal with this anymore, I can¡¯t take it, I¡¯m scared!¡±


    With her speech ended, Jiayao cast a fearful glance at the disheveled girl standing in the hallway leading to the bedroom, then bypassed Zhou Jiajie to leave.


    Zhou Jiajie grabbed her arm, ¡°What did you say at the beginning? Do you not love me anymore?¡±


    Jiayao struggled hard, but couldn¡¯t break free. Once again casting a fearful look in the direction of the bedroom hallway, she turned back, tears already falling, ¡°I do, I love you, but I¡¯m more afraid. If you don¡¯t call an exorcist from your family to come as soon as possible, we can¡¯t live like this!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let the family find out. They all know Bao Jie, and they¡¯ll suspect if Bao Jie turned into a ghost, why she would keep haunting me! Just wait, a bit longer, my classmate is coming, he can¡­¡± Zhou Jiajie became somewhat hysterical.


    ¡°No one can, only an exorcist!¡± Jiayao snapped, cutting him off, ¡°So, I really can¡¯t stay any longer, I¡¯m so scared! If you love me, let me go, okay?¡±


    At that moment, the woman looked pitiful, with her cheeks streaked with tears and her big eyes flashing.


    Zhou Jiajie just stared at the woman in front of him, as if she had become so foreign to him in that instant, unrecognizable.


    Taking advantage of the moment, Jiayao broke free from his grip, grabbed her purse, and still in her pajamas¡ªtoo scared to go back to the bedroom to change¡ªheaded toward the door, saying, ¡°I¡¯m leaving first, you can bring out my clothes another day. If she is always in the bedroom and you really can¡¯t get them, I don¡¯t want them.¡±


    With that, she opened the door and left quickly.


    Zhou Jiajie stared blankly at the scene before him, watching the person who opened the living room door rush away, so hastily that she didn¡¯t even close the door behind her, leaving him with complex feelings and unable to utter a word.


    Before long, Zhou Jiajie turned his head to glance at the bedroom hallway.


    Only to see the disheveled woman silently turn around and walk off into the deep part of the hallway without a sound, where it was all darkness.


    Before long, the woman disappeared into the darkness, no longer visible.


    Although she was out of sight now, Zhou Jiajie knew very well that she would return at any moment, possibly appearing in some corner, some place, just watching him silently, following him silently.


    Zhou Jiajie found it difficult to breathe, as if something was lodged in his throat, he abruptly sat down on the sofa, gasping for air, his hands tugging at his hair, his sense of helplessness magnifying immensely in this moment.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 313 - 270 Love Wound (4200 words)

    Chapter 313: Chapter 270 Love Wound (4200 words)


    Based on the address, Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, and Shang Cuicui entered an slightly outdated apartment complex. They found the unit¡¯s door and were about to go up when a woman, in a hurry, descended the stairs.


    The woman was wearing pajamas, clutching a handbag, and although she hadn¡¯t dressed up or applied makeup, her natural beauty was still captivating.


    Descending the stairs in haste, she glanced back as if afraid something was chasing her. Then without noticing that Yan Junze and the others were about to enter the unit, she squeezed past them to get out first.


    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± Shang Cuicui, who had been bumped on the shoulder, couldn¡¯t help but exclaim.


    The woman paid them no attention and quickly headed for the main gate of the complex.


    ¡°She¡¯s still in her pajamas, there must be some urgent matter, it¡¯s not a big deal,¡± Zhou Dali patted Shang Cuicui¡¯s hand that was holding onto his, and rubbed her shoulder gently to comfort her quietly.


    ...


    The three of them followed the staircase to the second floor, where one of the two doors was open.


    As they approached the open door, a chilling aura swept over them. Yan Junze felt a slight shock, but Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui didn¡¯t seem to notice anything off.


    Zhou Dali pulled the door wide open and asked, ¡°Is it Jiajie?¡±


    A somewhat flustered and anxious voice came from the room, ¡°Dali, you¡¯ve arrived, come in quickly!¡±


    As the voice spoke, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s figure approached the door. His face was slightly flushed, he was still rubbing his eyes, and his hair was all messy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother changing shoes, just come in like this,¡± Zhou Jiajie called out again. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without changing shoes, Yan Junze was the first to walk into the room and surveyed the place, noting its tasteful decor.


    Even though it was a rental, according to Zhou Jiajie¡¯s usual practice, he would definitely rent a better place. Skimping on rent was not something he considered.


    However, that cold chill Yan Junze had felt outside the door seemed even more pronounced now that he was inside.


    He said nothing and, following Zhou Jiajie¡¯s lead, walked over to the sofa in the living room and slowly sat down, glancing at the marble coffee table in front of him.


    On the coffee table was a bowl of warm noodles, still emitting a faint steam.


    Walking behind, Shang Cuicui suddenly leaned close to Zhou Dali¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°The perfume on the woman who came downstairs in pajamas is also in this room.¡±


    Zhou Dali was taken aback, said nothing, but evidently thought of something, his expression turning quite grim.


    ¡°Sit first, I¡¯ll make some tea for you,¡± Zhou Jiajie said as he ran to turn on the electric kettle, took out clean glass cups, and retrieved a box of fine tea leaves, placing some in each cup.


    As he came back, Yan Junze pointed at the noodles on the coffee table and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten yet, right? You eat first, otherwise the noodles will get cold. We can make the tea later.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie nodded, sat down, but didn¡¯t move to eat the noodles. Instead, he pushed the bowl further into the coffee table to prevent accidentally knocking it over.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that girl who just went down?¡± Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, despite Shang Cuicui quietly tugging at his sleeve, he still asked.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t noticed this detail and was taken aback, looking towards Zhou Jiajie.


    Zhou Jiajie sighed, his brows knitted tightly together, his gaze shifted towards the still open living room door, and he spoke with a bitter voice, ¡°That¡¯s my current girlfriend, Zhang Jiayao.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhou Dali tensed up, his right hand twitched, but Shang Cuicui next to him held him down, shaking her head at him.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhou Jiajie.


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face held even more bitterness, as though he couldn¡¯t even sigh out a breath, ¡°I know you¡¯ll blame me, it¡¯s my fault. But with Bao Jie, from the start, I never made any promises that she was my girlfriend; she was the one always clinging to me.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Zhou Dali burst out, ¡°Bao Jie liked you all throughout high school, who in our class didn¡¯t know that? She was always close to you, and you never rejected her, it was clear to see. And now you say you never considered her your girlfriend, you¡¯re fucking lying!!!¡±


    Having said this, Zhou Dali almost stood up, but was continually pulled down by Shang Cuicui, pressing him into the couch.


    ¡°Yes, she liked me, I know that,¡± Zhou Jiajie defended, ¡°and I never said I didn¡¯t like her. I had some feelings for her, just¡­ not enough to consider her as a girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Then you should have rejected her directly!¡± Yan Junze grew angry too, ¡°Over three years, you¡¯ve strung her along like this, what were you trying to do? Keep a backup, or a fuck buddy?¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s freaking low!¡± Shang Cuicui also couldn¡¯t help but curse.


    ¡°Tell us, how did Bao Jie die? Was it because of you?¡± Zhou Dali, enraged, slammed his palm onto the coffee table, making the ground feel like it trembled.


    Thankfully, the coffee table was made of marble, otherwise, it might have been smashed to pieces.


    Zhou Jiajie shuddered with fright and quickly said, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    His gaze then shifted to Yan Junze, he nodded and continued, ¡°Yes, I know I was wrong before, I really didn¡¯t do right by her. But after entering university, I made it clear to her, I told her I didn¡¯t love her, and it was impossible between us, but she just wouldn¡¯t give up on me, she kept clinging to me.¡±


    ¡°At that time, did you already know the woman downstairs in pajamas?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhou Jiajie didn¡¯t answer immediately. He wanted to get up to pour the just boiled water for making tea, but when he thought about it, everyone was on edge. What if they couldn¡¯t restrain themselves and splashed the boiling water on him?


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 Chapter 314 - 270 Love Wound (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 314: Chapter 270 Love Wound (4200 words)_2


    After some thought, he didn¡¯t get up and shook his head in response to Yan Junze, ¡°I¡­ I had just met Zhang Jiayao at that time, and we hadn¡¯t made our relationship official.¡±


    ¡°A typical case of keeping a backup, now that the main slot is secured, the backup can be kicked away,¡± Shang Cuicui¡¯s phoenix eyes filled with resentment as she coldly stared at Zhou Jiajie and slowly said.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t fostering a backup,¡± Zhou Jiajie shook his head vigorously, ¡°My feelings for Bao Jie really weren¡¯t that strong. Those few days she kept pressuring me, constantly pressuring me. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore, so I asked her to meet and clarified everything, to have her give up on me. As compensation, I even gave her a platinum ring, I truly wanted to repay her for her three years of dedication to me.¡±


    The scene fell into silence.


    After a while, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    ¡°I thought she had given up on me, but unexpectedly, she still couldn¡¯t stop thinking about me.¡± Zhou Jiajie was leaning over the coffee table, his hands supporting his forehead, as if sinking into memories he was reluctant to recall, ¡°She began to track me frequently, especially when Zhang Jiayao and I were together; she¡¯d almost always show up and disrupt us. That day, I couldn¡¯t restrain myself anymore. We had a huge fight, and I said some really harsh words to her face¡­ she finally stopped appearing afterward.¡±


    ...


    Pausing for a moment, Zhou Jiajie lifted his head, his eyes brimming with tears, ¡°Who would have thought that last Friday night, she¡­ she committed suicide. This is my fault; I shouldn¡¯t have hurt her with harsh words, I should have rejected her sooner¡­¡±


    Without waiting for the others to speak, Zhou Jiajie continued, ¡°I am very sad, very remorseful, and I¡¯ve taken care of all her funeral expenses. I sent the money anonymously to her parents yesterday, along with additional compensation for emotional distress. I really¡­ feel extremely remorseful, extremely remorseful.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You called us over just to sit here seething with anger while you keep saying how remorseful you are?¡± Yan Junze swallowed hard, trying to keep his expression calm.


    ¡°Yeah, why didn¡¯t you inform us the day Bao Jie committed suicide?¡± Zhou Dali also said.


    ¡°I wanted to wait until things had settled down, and I thought the other classmates had already informed you,¡± Zhou Jiajie explained.


    ¡°If we had been informed, we definitely would have come,¡± Zhou Dali said coldly, ¡°Such a thing¡­ can it really be kept secret?¡±


    ¡°I think, you still haven¡¯t answered my question. Why have you called us here now?¡± Yan Junze fixed his gaze on Zhou Jiajie¡¯s eyes.


    Zhou Jiajie reached up to wipe away the tears that were about to fall, answering with some difficulty, ¡°I want to ask for your help with Bao Jie, to stop her from suffering even after death, so she can be liberated from her pain soon.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze gave a sharp jolt.


    ¡°Bao Jie¡­¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s face showed surprise, as he looked around, ¡°Has her spirit appeared?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Shang Cuicui jumped in fright, quickly grabbing onto Zhou Dali¡¯s arm, clinging tightly to him as her head instinctively looked around in terror.


    Zhou Jiajie nodded, ¡°She has appeared, and I often see her. It seems, she still can¡¯t let go of me. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I have nothing to fear from her, but the fact that she can¡¯t rest in peace troubles my heart greatly. I really want to help free her spirit.¡±


    ¡°Why not call an exorcist?¡± Yan Junze asked, ¡°With your family¡¯s connections, you wouldn¡¯t even need to wait in line.¡±


    Although Yan Junze also hoped Zhou Jiajie wouldn¡¯t call an exorcist, since exorcists¡¯ methods are almost always blunt, simply eradicating the oddities, he did not want Bao Jie¡¯s strangeness to be directly killed by an exorcist but hoped she could fulfill her lingering attachments and be reincarnated soon.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry my family, and my dad is very strict. If he knew I wasn¡¯t studying properly and was only dating instead, and then caused such a big problem, I fear I¡¯d have a miserable end,¡± Zhou Jiajie said with a despondent look, ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to lie to you about this. So, I implore you, especially you, Yan Junze, please save Bao Jie.¡±


    With those words, Zhou Jiajie stood up and bowed deeply to Yan Junze.


    To the others, it seemed like this might be Zhou Jiajie¡¯s final act of penance for Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze said nothing, merely picked up his phone and, like Zhang Xiaomo typically did, silently scrolled through it.


    Remembering that Bao Jie had become an oddity and was still deeply infatuated, Zhou Dali shook his head and remained silent for a moment.


    Shang Cuicui, snuggling beside him, suddenly raised her head and asked Zhou Jiajie, ¡°You said that as compensation, you gave Bao Jie a platinum ring in the end?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zhou Jiajie said with a pained expression, ¡°It¡¯s not important whether the gift was expensive or not, the most important thing was to make her feel a little better inside.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious, though, why would you give a ring as a breakup gift? Aren¡¯t rings a symbol of commitment?¡± Shang Cuicui suddenly had an epiphany, ¡°So I feel like you¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Zhou Jiajie hurriedly waved his hands, ¡°I absolutely did not lie, I really did give her a platinum ring that day.¡±


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes were wide open as he stared at him, ¡°Did you give it or not?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Zhou Jiajie nodded vigorously, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go search her home, the ring has been returned to Shuntian with her belongings.¡±


    ¡°Yes, perhaps you did give it,¡± Shang Cuicui nodded pensively, ¡°but since you did give the ring, maybe it wasn¡¯t a breakup gift at all, but a way to tell Bao Jie that you still loved her. That ring represented your heart for her, making her believe it was true and to keep loving you faithfully and unreservedly, so you could continue to enjoy the affection that Zhang Jiayao and Bao Jie had for you, both publicly and privately.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying¡­¡± Zhou Jiajie, stunned, was about to argue but was interrupted by Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze held up his mobile phone, and on the screen was a news article from a few days ago. He told Zhou Jiajie, ¡°Congratulations, it turns out your dad, Zhou Guhua, is running for deputy mayor of Shuntian City. During this time, your Zhou family really can¡¯t afford any negative news.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face turned beet red as he frantically gestured, ¡°No, you¡¯ve got it wrong. My dad is too strict with me, I didn¡¯t dare tell him. It has nothing to do with his running for deputy mayor.¡±


    ¡°To hell with it, you¡¯ve not only been lying to us but also stringing Bao Jie along without ever letting go!¡±


    Zhou Dali could no longer hold back. He stood up, stepped forward, and, with his hand big as a fan, grabbed Zhou Jiajie by the collar, lifting him into the air, his feet dangling.


    Undeniably, this man in front of them knew too well how to manipulate a woman¡¯s heart, especially someone as deeply infatuated as Bao Jie. Just as she was about to give up, he would immediately offer her a taste of sweetness, tricking her into believing there was still hope, then continue to lead her on for his amusement.


    Of course, those deserving sympathy often also deserve disdain. Bao Jie¡¯s fault lay in being too infatuated and obsessed, in trusting this man too much, in believing too much in a perfect outcome without a bit of self-protection.


    After grabbing Zhou Jiajie, Zhou Dali was just about to slap the guy a few times and give him a good kicking.


    Suddenly he realized that the whole scene had gone quiet. Yan Junze was looking past him, and Zhou Jiajie, whom he was holding, also began to tremble, his gaze shifting behind him.


    Shang Cuicui turned to look and screamed in fright, quickly covering her mouth and frantically burrowing into Zhou Dali¡¯s embrace.


    Zhou Dali had no choice but to set Zhou Jiajie down temporarily and turn around, his whole body stiffening in shock.


    At the doorway from the kitchen to the living room stood a woman with disheveled hair, silently standing there, her back to the dark kitchen, facing the living room. Her hair partly covered her face, but the exposed cheek was deathly pale.


    ¡°Jie¡­ Jie?!¡± Zhou Dali blurted out after a moment of shock.


    The woman standing at the kitchen door was slim, with long hair cascading over her shoulders and an oval face¡ªit was Bao Jie¡¯s spirit.


    Bao Jie¡¯s gaze seemed lifeless but emitted a faint chill, staring directly at Zhou Jiajie¡¯s trembling body without any reaction.


    Zhou Dali pulled Shang Cuicui behind him, telling her to stand still, and then he walked toward Bao Jie.


    His body was shaking, not with fear but with pain¡ªan indescribable agony churned within his heart, his expression one of utter sorrow as he struggled to take each step, as if dragging them out of the mud, step by step, pulling himself toward Bao Jie.


    Large tears began to fall. Zhou Dali did not cry out, but his tears flowed like a breached dam.


    He still vividly remembered their last gathering at the bar. Little did he know, that parting would turn out to be their final farewell.


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 Chapter 315 - 271: The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)

    Chapter 315: Chapter 271: The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)


    In Zhou Dali¡¯s heart, his affection for Bao Jie had come to an end before the university entrance exams.


    And now, his grief and sadness were entirely due to the camaraderie of classmates and friends, that once youthful and beautiful classmate, who had been so outstanding in every aspect, had fallen to such a tragic state, turned into a strangeness, still clinging to the obsession in her heart.


    Perhaps for Bao Jie, the biggest mistake, the most fatal mistake of her life, was getting to know Zhou Jiajie.


    Standing still, Shang Cuicui very much understood Zhou Dali¡¯s feelings at this moment, she didn¡¯t think too much, her heart only filled with unavoidable fear towards the strangeness before her.


    Zhou Dali had come completely close to Bao Jie, but Bao Jie didn¡¯t glance elsewhere, in her obsession, in her eyes, there remained only the man who was shivering before her, terrified to look her in the eye.


    Zhou Dali wiped away his tears with a sweep of his hand, his voice choked up as he softly said, ¡°Why must you do this?¡±


    ...


    Indeed, why persist in the afterlife guarding such scum, continuing such suffering?


    Everyone else in the room, except for Zhou Jiajie, understood the meaning behind Zhou Dali¡¯s words, each of them feeling a sourness in their hearts.


    At this moment, seeing a once vibrant student who excelled in both character and learning now standing before them in such a scene, memories surged, and Yan Junze could not help but have moist eyes.


    He sighed softly, casting Inner Vision into his mind, at the mission notification that popped up the moment Bao Jie¡¯s soul appeared.


    [Mission Name: Like a Shadow;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Mission Background: Since the age of 16, Bao Jie had given all her love to the man before her, but he repeatedly drained her, played with her. Every time Bao Jie was exhausted and wanted to give up, this man would give her a taste of sweetness to maintain her beautiful illusions of love, only to fall into the same mistakes again. Finally, Bao Jie could no longer tolerate it, she had no more hope for her own life, hating and loving this man, yet feeling unable to continue with her life. Perhaps, ending her own life was the true liberation;


    Mission Description: She wants to see this man genuinely treating her well;


    Mission Reward: 100 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Punishment: Unknown;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit can be locked; 2. Perhaps, most of her Obsession can be resolved through conversation;


    Note: Actually, she¡¯s very kind.]


    After reading the mission notification in his mind, Yan Junze had already guessed that this mission was very simple, as Bao Jie was also considered a newly formed strangeness, with an unstable energy field.


    Furthermore, she had been kind-hearted in life, so even after turning into a strangeness, she simply wanted to see what being truly well-treated by Zhou Jiajie was, rather than directly killing the scoundrel to vent her hatred.


    ¡°Still too naive, even as a strangeness, it remains the same.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head gently; ever since seeing the mission, he¡¯d had other ideas in mind, and he wasn¡¯t planning to complete it right away, to not so readily relieve Bao Jie of her Obsession.


    For if it were to be so easily accomplished, wouldn¡¯t it be too lenient for the scum at his side?


    Taking a step forward, he came beside Shang Cuicui, and whispered a few words into her ear.


    The frightened Shang Cuicui blinked in surprise and gave Yan Junze a look.


    Yan Junze nodded at her, Cuicui quickly nodded in return, picked up her phone, walked to the living room door, and soon left.


    During this time, Zhou Dali was still enveloped in grief, not noticing his girlfriend had departed; he was just staring at Bao Jie¡¯s pale face, yet not daring to touch her.


    ¡°You¡¯re just torturing yourself like this,¡± Zhou Dali murmured, ¡°it¡¯s not worth it, for such a man.¡±


    Bao Jie showed no response, her gaze cold and fixedly staring at Zhou Jiajie, who had curled up in the corner of the couch, too afraid to look her in the eye again.


    Turning back, Yan Junze said to Zhou Jiajie, ¡°The idea you had for bringing us over was probably to save you from the current predicament.¡±


    He paused, then revealed a hint of an indifferent smile, ¡°No problem, I can, help you get rid of Bao Jie. Actually, her wish is quite simple, just to see you treat her well genuinely for once. But please be aware, her Obsession is very deep, you cannot fake it, it has to be truly, heartfelt good treatment. Under such conditions, she will naturally leave you once her wish is fulfilled.¡±


    In the corner, Zhou Jiajie blinked, seemingly thoughtful.


    Zhou Dali turned back, glaring at the man, and yelled, ¡°Help him, my ass! I¡¯ll slaughter him right now!¡±


    No sooner had the words been spoken than at the constantly open living room door, Shang Cuicui, who had just gone out, suddenly returned, holding a pack of candles.


    ¡°Cuicui, where did you go?¡± Zhou Dali asked in surprise and concern.


    ¡°Shopping,¡± Shang Cuicui answered, fearful as she glanced at Bao Jie, approaching Yan Junze, ¡°I found candles for sale at the store downstairs, is this enough?¡±


    Yan Junze took the candles to inspect. These were the type used for emergency lighting at home, all white, with twelve candles per pack, about as thick as two fingers. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This is enough.¡±


    With that, he walked over to Bao Jie, ripping open the plastic wrapping, took out a candle, and handed it over.


    ¡°If you want to fulfill your Obsession faster, eat this first.¡±


    The expressions of the others in the room turned to astonishment, each of them watching Yan Junze¡¯s actions, uncertain of what he had in mind.


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 Chapter 316 - 271: The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 316: Chapter 271: The Most Ruthless Way of Revenge (4000 words)_2


    ¡°`


    However, just at that moment, Bao Jie, who had been staring intently at Zhou Jiajie, withdrew her gaze and looked down at the candle that had been brought up to her face, remaining silent.


    ¡°Eat it, once you do, you will truly find yourself,¡± Yan Junze said softly, lifting the white candle in his hand.


    At this time, Shang Cuicui came to Zhou Dali¡¯s side, took his arm, and Zhou Dali whispered, ¡°What did Junze ask you to do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much, just went down to buy some candles,¡± Shang Cuicui replied.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t buy anything else? Like gold ingots or something?¡± Zhou Dali asked.


    ...


    ¡°No,¡± Shang Cuicui shook her head.


    Zhou Dali didn¡¯t ask any more; he knew that Yan Junze was very skilled in dealing with strangenesses and that it was normal for him not to understand some behaviors and thoughts.


    But suddenly asking Bao Jie to eat a candle was a bizarre act that seemed somewhat unacceptable.


    Just then, Bao Jie reached out her hand, her slender fingers grasping the white candle.


    Yan Junze let go, and she took the candle, slowly bringing it to her mouth, opening wide to reveal scarily white teeth, and gradually placed the candle into her mouth, biting off a piece.


    Dry candle powder fell, and soon there was candle wax flowing out of her mouth.


    Although Bao Jie started eating slowly, after a few bites, she noticeably sped up her chewing, quickly finishing one candle.


    Yan Junze had already pulled out a second one and handed it over; Bao Jie grabbed it quickly, her actions much faster, and then shoved it into her mouth and ate it in a few bites. Yan Junze then passed her a third one.


    Then a fourth, a fifth¡­


    The room fell deathly silent, everyone staring at Bao Jie as she unceasingly ate the candles, white wax oil dripping down, completely covering her chin.


    But to the others, it was as if the candles were a delicacy of the mortal world, and only after eating the tenth one did Bao Jie start to slow down.


    However, she didn¡¯t stop.


    Yan Junze threw away the packaging bag and continued to hand the last two candles to Bao Jie, who took them. Although her movements had slowed, she still ate the last two candles without leaving a bit behind.


    As she was about to finish the candles, Yan Junze turned around, facing Zhou Jiajie, who was crouching in the corner of the sofa, and spoke, ¡°I am indeed helping you. As soon as Bao Jie finishes her obsession, she will leave you immediately, and you won¡¯t be able to keep her even if you want to. From now on, I have stabilized her bizarre magnetic field; as long as one day you truly treat her well, she will definitely leave you.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, that¡¯s not right¡­¡± Zhou Jiajie called out, ¡°What magnetic field? Why are you stabilizing the magnetic field? She has been following me already, you still want to stabilize her magnetic field, why?¡±


    ¡°In this way¡­¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°she can truly, fully approach you, let you feel her love for you. Perhaps only then will you really treat her well for once. Hmm, please don¡¯t let down my expectations of you.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Zhou Jiajie was stunned, he looked up sharply only to find that Bao Jie, who had just been standing at the kitchen doorway, had disappeared without a trace.


    Just then, he noticed Shang Cuicui suddenly screaming, covering her mouth, and looking behind herself in horror.


    A bone-chilling coldness crept up his back.


    This utmost icy coldness climbed up his neck, reached the back of his head, making his entire spine feel frigid. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, a whisper of breath approached, getting close to Zhou Jiajie¡¯s ear, and a sentence was spoken.


    ¡°I¡­ love¡­ you.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Zhou Jiajie let out an extremely shrill scream, his body breaking out in goosebumps, seemingly summoning strength from nowhere, he leapt up, vaulted over the sofa, and rushed to the middle of the living room.


    He rapidly patted his body, especially his back, his head swinging frantically around, constantly looking in all directions.


    Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, and Shang Cuicui moved back toward the living room door, silently watching him.


    Fortunately, after jumping out of the sofa, it seemed that the chilling feeling on his back had disappeared, and looking back, he didn¡¯t see anything again.


    Zhou Jiajie still felt uneasy, shivering as he looked towards Yan Junze, his lips moving without sound, and it took quite a while before he managed a voice: ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t do it¡­ like this¡­¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Yan Junze spoke in an even tone, ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m helping you pass on quickly. Oh, and from now on, you don¡¯t have to turn on the air conditioner in this rental anymore. Every night someone will silently hold you, warm your cold blanket, lean close to your ear, and whisper to you. Just the thought of it is¡­enough to make one shiver.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie looked at Yan Junze with a horrified expression and could no longer utter a word.


    Just then, he felt an itch near his ear and, scared, he quickly turned his head to slap it away.


    There was nothing behind him, and nothing was clinging onto his back, but his ear still itched.


    He reached up to scratch it and found a strand of hair lying across his ear. Zhou Jiajie¡¯s entire body shuddered and his face turned instantaneously pale. His body stiffened as if a tremendous weight pressed down on his neck, but still, he managed to raise his head, looking upward.


    He saw Bao Jie¡¯s face directly above him, her chin still covered with an abundance of white wax, her long hair scattered, resting on top of his head, hanging down by his ear.


    Drip, drip, two drops of wax fell onto Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A hysterical scream erupted from Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mouth.


    The next second, Bao Jie, hovering above him, fell onto his back, embracing him tightly from behind.


    ¡°I so¡­ love you.¡±


    Yan Junze and the other two left the living room, closing the door behind them.


    The final scene in the room was captured as Zhou Jiajie, paralyzed with fear and unable to cry out, was firmly gripped by Bao Jie from behind.


    Outside the room.


    Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui were both gasping for air, almost in unison. Although the terrifying scene was not directed at them, witnessing it firsthand had inevitably filled them with an immense sense of fear.


    One could imagine the level of terror Zhou Jiajie, the person involved, was experiencing at that moment.


    About a minute later, the two of them finally took deep breaths of relief.


    Shang Cuicui spoke up, ¡°He got what he deserved!¡±


    Zhou Dali looked toward Yan Junze, ¡°Initially, I was going to beat him up myself, careless of the fact his father is some city hall official. But now, it seems even that wouldn¡¯t be as harsh as your method. You did right; he should swallow the bitter fruits of his own doing.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, allowing Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui to walk ahead as he pulled out his phone and dialed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s number.


    ¡°Hello, Xiaomo.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what are you up to?¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s greeting came as a surprise.


    Usually, during their conversations, Zhang Xiaomo would start with ¡°What¡¯s up,¡± but today, she instead asked, ¡°What are you up to?¡±


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, ¡°I¡¯ve got a situation here, and I need your help.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo, realizing his tone was not the usual chit-chat, responded, ¡°Okay, tell me.¡±


    ¡°I need you to use your authority to have all exorcists from Tianmeng decline any exorcism requests from Zhou Guhua, the soon-to-be deputy mayor of Shuntian City,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, shaking her head, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that. That¡¯s something Captain Huo Zhisen could handle. Besides, I don¡¯t have the same clout as you. Here¡¯s what I¡¯ll do, I¡¯ll tell him it¡¯s your first request after completing the task in Mo Family Village, and helping Uncle Guo return in a new body. I believe Captain Huo has no reason to refuse. No matter if it¡¯s the deputy mayor or even the deputy director of Tianmeng, if we say no, it¡¯s a no.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled awkwardly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    As he hung up the phone and walked out of the residential complex, he noticed Zhou Dali and Shang Cuicui looking back at him.


    Yan Junze smiled.


    Zhou Dali said, ¡°Junze, once again you¡¯ve completely overturned my expectations.¡±


    ¡°Do you even have expectations?¡± Yan Junze retorted.


    Shang Cuicui quietly tugged at Zhou Dali¡¯s sleeve, holding onto him, ¡°Your friend is ruthless, but, oh, so satisfying!¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 318 - 273 Ugly Girl (4000 words)

    Chapter 318: Chapter 273 Ugly Girl (4000 words)


    The dorm room fell silent for a moment before Huahua finally said, ¡°Junze, don¡¯t listen to the fatso¡¯s nonsense¡ªthat ¡®perverted mask¡¯ TV show is really funny; I was just drawn in by the plot.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± He Bishou said with a grin, ¡°Especially the parts where the main character Cheng Kuangjie transforms¡ªthose pages have been flipped by Huahua until they¡¯re falling apart.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that exaggerated?¡± Yan Junze was surprised, ¡°Why only flip through those pages?¡±


    ¡°Think about it, muscle men!¡± He Bishou smiled mysteriously.


    Yan Junze looked up at Huahua, ¡°Huahua, you¡¯re acting a bit out of the norm today, why are you starting to speak up for the fatso? Did you also get something nice from Captain Wang?¡±


    Flipping her not-too-long hair, Huahua slyly stuffed a stack of unopened face masks under the pillow and replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m just speaking the truth.¡±


    ...


    Later that evening, when everyone was in the dorm room, the security captain Wang Tao came to Room 411 again.


    Since the others had already spoken for Yan Junze, after Wang Tao¡¯s arrival, Huahua, He Bishou, and Zhao Zheng tactfully left the room to go play poker next door.


    Yan Junze sat on the edge of his bed and said to Wang Tao, ¡°Captain Wang, there¡¯s no need to beat around the bush, tell me, what do you need my help with?¡±


    Wang Tao, with a smile on his face, turned to close the door of the dorm room and came back to sit across from Yan Junze on a stool before finally saying, ¡°Indeed, I need your help with something, but it might be a bit troublesome for you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, I¡¯ll take a look first,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you to get rid of a strangeness for our Wang Family Bay,¡± said Wang Tao.


    ¡°Why not call an exorcist?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re still queued up, but we can¡¯t wait any longer over there,¡± Wang Tao said with a troubled expression.


    Yan Junze frowned, ¡°With your identity as the captain of Tianmeng Science University¡¯s security team, getting the university president to do you a favor and push you up the list shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡±


    Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively, ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I¡¯m from Tianyi District, and Wang Family Bay is in the suburbs of Tianyi. I don¡¯t hold as much sway there as I do at Tianmeng.¡±


    ¡°So you want me to go to Tianyi District and eliminate the strangeness in Wang Family Bay?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°Not far, not far at all. Just take a flight, then a transfer from Tianyi City District and you¡¯ll be there. I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Wang Tao hurriedly explained, fearing that Yan Junze would be reluctant to go.


    Yan Junze indeed felt a bit reluctant¡ªif it were around Tianmeng, he wouldn¡¯t need to exert much effort to eliminate the strangeness, but if he had to go to Tianyi District, the journey would be much longer, and he would be delayed at least two days.


    At the moment, he had some theories about the sporadic numbness in his fingers, but he needed to conduct experiments to confirm them, so if he was delayed too long, Yan Junze feared his body might undergo other, more unexpected changes.


    ¡°If you decide to go, we can leave tomorrow at noon, arrive at Wang Family Bay in Tianyi by the afternoon, and perform the exorcism that evening. We can return the next morning, and if we¡¯re early, you can still make it to your afternoon classes,¡± Wang Tao explained non-stop, concerned that Yan Junze would refuse on the grounds that it would disrupt his studies.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t agree immediately and asked, ¡°First, tell me about this strangeness. What¡¯s the situation like?¡±


    Wang Tao got up, grabbed a disposable cup, poured himself some water, and drank it in one gulp before clearing his throat and starting his story.


    Wang Family Bay used to be a rural village in the outskirts of Tianyi District, but in recent years, Tianyi City District has developed rapidly. Now, the boundaries of the city district have nearly reached Wang Family Bay, turning the area into an urban-rural interface.


    The value of the land in Wang Family Bay skyrocketed overnight, making many people wealthy. Of course, this wasn¡¯t from hard work, so incidents of discord were frequent.


    There was a local man named Wang Kunpeng who married a woman named Li Lanlan from a nearby area. Shortly after the marriage, as the land in Wang Family Bay appreciated in value, many locals had their old houses bought out and rebuilt, including Wang Kunpeng¡¯s ancestral home.


    Because his ancestral land was in a prime location, he was compensated with another plot of land further away to rebuild his house, plus he received two storefronts and four apartments near Tianyi City District. The rent from these properties alone was enough for him and his wife to lead a carefree life.


    At this point, the couple had a daughter. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Who would¡¯ve thought the girl would be born so exceptionally ugly that she nearly caused the hospital nurses to faint.


    Now that the couple was affluent, naturally, they wanted offspring with better genes, so after careful planning, they had another child, a healthy boy. As time went by, they grew more and more displeased with the unsightly daughter and started thinking about abandoning her.


    The girl was aware of her condition, very obedient, never causing trouble. No children played with her from a young age because they would usually cry upon seeing her for the first time.


    The couple couldn¡¯t bear to leave her behind, but she was also an eyesore, so they allocated a tiny parcel of their land next to their house to build a small two-story structure, separated by high walls with only a small door, and moved the ugly daughter in to live there, delivering meals to her at set times every day.


    From that point on, the ugly girl was never seen again by others. The couple didn¡¯t dare send her to school, fearing she would frighten other students or, even more so, fearing ridicule from others.


    Once she came of age, the couple lied to others, claiming the girl had gone out to work, found a boyfriend, settled down, and would not return.


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 Chapter 319 - 273 Ugly Girl (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 319: Chapter 273 Ugly Girl (4000 words)_2


    That was the year before the global outbreak of strangeness; the girl was 16 years old.


    Li Lanlan, his wife, delivered meals on time every day, placing the dishes full of food outside the small door of the detached building. Sometimes the Ugly Girl had a poor appetite, ate very little, or didn¡¯t eat at all, but Li Lanlan still took back the food and replaced it with fresh ones.


    When delivering the food, Li Lanlan would occasionally stand outside the door and talk to the Ugly Daughter inside, who would respond from within and also inquire about her parents¡¯ health and whether her genetically healthy brother was well.


    The girl never mentioned wanting to go out because she knew from a young age that she was ugly, and going out would frighten people, bring shame to the family, and perhaps make her parents never able to lift their heads in pride again.


    Days went by one after another.


    Suddenly one day, Li Lanlan found that the two meals she had delivered the day before hadn¡¯t been touched inside the small door.


    ...


    She spoke a few words at the door to her Ugly Daughter, but there was no response.


    Li Lanlan was puzzled. She removed the uneaten food from before and replaced it with fresh ones.


    However, when she returned in the afternoon to deliver food, she found that the morning¡¯s meals were still untouched.


    After three consecutive days of this, Li Lanlan told her husband Wang Kunpeng that their daughter might have had an accident inside the room. But she was scared and didn¡¯t dare to go in.


    Wang Kunpeng didn¡¯t think so. He suspected that the ugly girl might have found an opportunity to run away.


    After all, having been locked up for so many years, it was normal for a child to grow up and want to go out and see the world.


    Of course, it would be good if she ran far away and never came back. They feared she might show up nearby and startle people. If the neighbors discovered that this couple had been lying all along, it would be hard to explain.


    The illiterate couple knew they were in the wrong, and no matter what, letting it get out would definitely ruin their reputation.


    So Wang Kunpeng decided to wait until nightfall when it was dark and others couldn¡¯t see, to check the room inside the high wall.


    That evening, he prepared a flashlight and drank a large bowl of alcohol to muster up the courage to open the small door that led to the area inside the high wall.


    Li Lanlan, also holding a flashlight, waited outside for him; the temperature was minus five degrees that night, which was quite cold in the south.


    Before long, Li Lanlan¡¯s lips turned purple and her body began to shiver, though it was unclear if it was from the cold or fear. The beam of the flashlight she was holding trembled violently.


    Not long after Wang Kunpeng entered, there was suddenly a sound of hurried footsteps, as if someone was desperately running out, including sounds of falling. Then Wang Kunpeng was seen rushing out with a dusty face, swiftly closing the small door behind him.


    Li Lanlan asked if he had seen their daughter when he went in, but he didn¡¯t speak.


    After two days of silence at home, under Li Lanlan¡¯s repeated questioning, Wang Kunpeng finally opened up. He said as soon as he walked behind the high wall, he felt fear and didn¡¯t dare to enter the small building. He just stood outside, peering inside through the window nailed shut with iron nails.


    Although it was only a fleeting glance, there was indeed a figure swaying inside. It was unclear who it was, but Wang Kunpeng suddenly heard the figure say a sentence, ¡°Do you want to come in¡­ and keep me company?¡±


    The voice was ethereal and indistinct; in his terror, he couldn¡¯t tell if it was a man or a woman, which scared him into running straight back out.


    A week passed like that, and the food delivered went untouched.


    The couple could only guess that their daughter was either dead or had escaped.


    This speculation was confirmed a week later.


    As the weather started to warm up, a faint stench of decay wafted from the neighboring stand-alone building. Wang Kunpeng didn¡¯t notice at first, until Li Lanlan realized something was amiss.


    She approached the small door, took a deep breath, and almost passed out from the overpowering stench.


    By then, the couple could finally confirm that their daughter had died inside the building; the smell must have been from her decomposing body.


    They dared not enter the building, nor did they dare to alert anyone. When Wang Kunpeng went to the market, he purchased a large quantity of lime powder and scattered it around the exterior of the stand-alone building, then he took advantage of daylight to enter the high-walled enclosure and quickly spread lime powder over the building¡¯s outer walls, as well as burning a vast amount of dry grass outside the high walls.


    This kind of dry grass was special; when burned, its thick smoke exuded a strong odor that completely masked the stench of decay.


    Thus, every day Wang Kunpeng was spreading lime powder and burning dry grass at irregular intervals. After two weeks, the smell gradually dissipated.


    At this time, the couple still had not ventured inside the stand-alone building.


    The reason was simple: as Wang Kunpeng spread the lime powder on the outer walls within the high enclosure, he inadvertently looked up and thought he saw a shadowy figure swaying in the window on the second floor.


    He took a closer look, then dropped the lime powder he hadn¡¯t finished spreading and ran out, his face deathly pale.


    Back in the main house, he told his wife Li Lanlan that he had just seen their daughter, at the position of the second floor of the stand-alone building.


    After analyzing the situation, they surmised that the Ugly Girl had hanged herself on the second floor, and her body was still hanging from the beam. What Wang Kunpeng had seen must have been his daughter¡¯s body swaying slightly on the beam.


    Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s account, Yan Junze said, ¡°That sounds quite ordinary. If that¡¯s considered a strange occurrence, I fear you¡¯ve never seen truly terrifying strangeness.¡±


    Wang Tao quickly shook his head: ¡°I haven¡¯t finished. At the time, it did seem normal, it¡¯s just that Wang Kunpeng and his wife scared themselves. But they had always kept their secret from everyone and did not dare to enter the stand-alone building. So they planned to find an opportunity to tear down the building and let their unfortunate and ugly daughter rest in peace here. For this reason, Li Lanlan even specifically purchased a large amount of offerings for the deceased and burned them outside the high walls, praying that her daughter would be released soon.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm, and then?¡± Yan Junze was feeling that something was amiss.


    ¡°And then?¡± Wang Tao paused, then his face became terrifying, ¡°Then, the strangeness erupted.¡±


    He paused again, then said, ¡°Actually, for a few months before the strangeness erupted, everything was normal. To others, that stand-alone building was just a storage room that Wang Kunpeng had modified, and no one suspected anything. Until Wang Kunpeng borrowed an excavator, planning to flatten the building himself. You know, he learned how to operate excavators when he was young. By doing this, he could secretly bury his daughter¡¯s body underground, never to be seen again.¡±


    ¡°Was the building flattened?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Wang Tao shook his head: ¡°No, because the day before he was set to start the work, Wang Kunpeng suddenly fell ill and became completely paralyzed. The excavator remained outside the building, and from its high cab, one could just see into the second-floor window of the stand-alone building.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao affirmed: ¡°You could clearly see the spot where the ugly child hanged herself. The person who had borrowed the excavator wanted to drive it away; after climbing into the cab and catching a glimpse of what was upstairs, he got so frightened that he tumbled down, leaving the excavator behind. Only then did Wang Kunpeng¡¯s secret come to light, but by that time the strangeness had already erupted, and no one dared to entertain any thoughts about that stand-alone building anymore.¡±


    ¡°Later, someone else, disbelieving the tales, climbed into the cab of the excavator and after seeing the scene in the second-floor window, while not panicked to the point of insanity as before, came down with a pale face and trembling body, saying the Ugly Girl¡¯s body was still hanging there, and it seemed, it seemed to have undergone some changes.¡±


    ¡°Changes? What kind of changes?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    Wang Tao swallowed his saliva, his gaze blank as he stared ahead, unaware of Yan Junze¡¯s expression, and spoke slowly, ¡°According to observers, the girl was indeed hanged from the beam, and her hair had covered her ugly face. Although she was dead, her hair seemed to be continuously growing. Two weeks ago it had passed her shoulders, and upon a later observation, it had grown down to her waist.¡±


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 Chapter 320 - 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)

    Chapter 320: Chapter 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)


    After talking with Wang Tao for a while, Yan Junze had a good understanding of the subsequent situation regarding the incident.


    As the strangeness intensified, several eerie occurrences erupted in Wang Family Bay. At that time, people did not have an understanding of these ¡°strangenesses¡± and resorted to traditional methods to exterminate or transcend the souls of the deceased.


    However, after several of the ritual conductors died, everyone was terrified. As a result, many people moved out of Wang Family Bay. Only in the recent months, when the severity of the eerie events somewhat subsided or some were eliminated by exorcists, did people start moving back gradually.


    Then people slowly returned because they came to understand that exorcists could eliminate the ¡°strangenesses,¡± and life for everyone gradually got back on track.


    Even after encountering some eerie occurrences, as long as they avoided provoking trouble in certain places, life was mostly peaceful.


    Moreover, the locals knew very well to call 4747 upon encountering any ¡°strangeness¡± and then to wait quietly in line.


    ...


    At that time, Wang Kunpeng, just like his wife and son, had moved out of the place, living for a while in a commercial apartment close to the Tianyi City District before starting to move back as others did.


    Even though Wang Kunpeng was only temporarily paralyzed with numbness at that time, he took a long time to recover, and his movements remained somewhat sluggish.


    His son attended the No. 7 Middle School in the Tianyi City District and stayed on campus, so only the couple moved back to Wang Family Bay.


    But on the second day after they moved back, they moved out again, adamant never to return.


    The other neighbors thought they were overwhelmed by poignant memories, grieving for their deceased ugly daughter, while the couple remained silent.


    Everyone knew that the woman¡¯s body was still in that detached house, yet the exterior of the building was marked with warning signs cautioning that there was ¡°strangeness¡± inside, and that area had become a restricted zone.


    As for why no one called 4747 to inform the exorcist, it was mainly because Wang Kunpeng and his wife never intended to. Besides, people only noticed that the hair of the hanging corpse inside the building was still growing. Other than that, no other anomalies occurred that threatened anyone, so people had started to consider that detached house as the grave of the ugly girl.


    The detached house¡¯s back faced a derelict field, while the front looked out over Wang Kunpeng¡¯s main house, situated quite a distance from other residences.


    From others¡¯ perspectives, in these times of frequent eerie events, which village or compound didn¡¯t have a few abandoned and eerie buildings? Just like the outskirts of Shuntian City¡¯s Rock, there have been sightings of eerie entities like ¡°The Hanged Woman¡± and ¡°Long-tongued Zhenzhen.¡±


    In the time that followed, aside from Wang Kunpeng and his wife not returning, everything else was normal, and the other villagers of Wang Family Bay lived well.


    Occasionally, when they encountered anything strange, calling 4747 usually meant the exorcist would come and deal with the ¡°strangeness¡± within a month.


    If they encountered a more formidable ¡°strangeness,¡± the residents of that area would move away until an exorcist came and resolved the situation, after which they would move back.


    The odd incidents began last month.


    Wang Tao¡¯s Second Uncle Wang lived not far from the detached house where the ugly girl had committed suicide, but still at least a thousand meters away, with a whole street between them.


    One night, after having a few extra drinks at dinner, Second Uncle Wang was awoken in the middle of the night by the need to urinate, so he got up to go to the bathroom.


    After relieving himself in the restroom, Second Uncle Wang was about to return to bed to continue sleeping, feeling still a bit groggy, but then he heard some noise coming from next door.


    The room next door was also a bedroom, where his eleven-year-old daughter, Wang Mengmeng, lived. Wang Mengmeng was usually a heavy sleeper and went to bed early.


    Second Uncle Wang couldn¡¯t understand why his daughter hadn¡¯t gone to sleep at this hour.


    Wearing his slippers, he went to the door of the next room, leaned in to listen, and heard the soft rustle decrease significantly, but it remained audible.


    Curious, he tried the doorknob, the door opened with a sound, continuing to make a faint noise as he pushed it.


    Catching the light from the street lamp outside, Second Uncle Wang noticed that there was no one in his daughter¡¯s bed, which startled him. As he prepared to flip the switch to look for his daughter, he suddenly froze.


    He started to tremble slightly, his gaze locked onto a spot about a meter away from his daughter¡¯s bed where a children¡¯s wardrobe was situated. The wardrobe door was fitted with a full-length mirror.


    And right in front of it, his daughter, clad in a short sleeve top and shorts, stood facing the mirror, holding a wooden comb and combing her hair.


    Her shoulder-length hair rustled under the vigorous combing with the wooden comb, and for a moment, Second Uncle Wang even wondered if the combing would tear off his daughter¡¯s scalp.


    As she combed her hair, Wang Mengmeng¡¯s eyes remained closed the whole time.


    In the silent depths of the night, this scene terrified Second Uncle Wang. Despite his trembling body, he realized that his daughter might be sleepwalking.


    Usually, the chances of children sleepwalking during sleep are much higher than for adults; as they grow up, the symptoms often lessen or slowly disappear.


    With this judgment in mind, Second Uncle Wang decided to wait quietly for a bit, hoping his daughter would go back to bed and continue sleeping after finishing combing her hair.


    But just then, Wang Mengmeng, who was combing her hair, stopped, and gently petted her own hair as if she were speaking to the mirror and asked, ¡°Do I look pretty?¡±


    Second Uncle Wang instantly felt his hands and feet go cold, his body numb, petrified where he stood, unable to take his eyes off his daughter¡¯s figure.


    Wang Mengmeng reached out towards the mirror, gesturing someone to come closer, and said again, ¡°Come, come and see me, do I look pretty?¡±


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 Chapter 321 - 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)_2

    Chapter 321: Chapter 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)_2


    This time, Second Uncle Wang was very clear that Wang Mengmeng was waving at him. In the darkness, her eyes seemed to have opened, staring at him through the reflection in the mirror.


    Almost screaming out in fright, Second Uncle Wang quickly shut his daughter¡¯s bedroom door with a slam. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But then he thought that his daughter might be in danger. Torn for a few seconds, he opened the door again and immediately reached in to turn on the light. Focusing his gaze, he saw his daughter Mengmeng had collapsed on the floor, curled up in front of the mirror, motionless.


    The sound of the door closing had woken his wife, who was fast asleep in the next room, also known as Second Aunt Wang. She ran over, her face filled with terror, and together with Second Uncle Wang, they lifted the unconscious Mengmeng onto the bed.


    Then, the couple noticed a large clump of curly black hair on the floor where Mengmeng had fallen.


    At this point, Wang Tao stood up to pour himself another cup of water, drank it down in one gulp, and said, ¡°My second aunt said that the hair was of good quality, very thick. She picked it up, and there was a big bundle of it. Then, frightened, my uncle immediately took it outside and burned it with fire.¡±


    ...


    Pausing, Wang Tao added, ¡°My second uncle has already reported it to an exorcist, but it¡¯s been a month, and no one has come to take a look yet. Apparently, there¡¯s been a shortage of exorcists recently, which has led to us not being reached yet.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled and thought to himself that it wasn¡¯t impossible for Tianyi District to dispatch an exorcist to assist with the Spirit Bridge incident in Mo Family Village on Tianmeng side.


    Although the Spirit Bridge in Mo Family Village hadn¡¯t erupted again, precautions were essential, so it was very obvious that Tianyi might indeed send an exorcist to provide support.


    If that were the case, Wang Tao¡¯s second uncle wouldn¡¯t have been left waiting this long.


    After thinking for a moment, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Why are you so sure the strange events at your second uncle¡¯s house are connected to the Ugly Girl in that building?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re certain,¡± Wang Tao nodded firmly, ¡°because it¡¯s not just my second uncle¡¯s daughter who is experiencing this strangeness. Nearly every family with a daughter in Wang Family Bay has encountered the exact same situation.¡±


    Yan Junze was surprised, then listened as Wang Tao continued, ¡°Although the situation is terrifying, thankfully there isn¡¯t a fatal danger. As long as you burn that clump of black hair, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just that after a while, it happens again.¡±


    ¡°So you think this is related to that Ugly Girl,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Think about it, the girl was hanged, but people still saw her hair growing, and now it¡¯s unknowably long. It¡¯s right there in that building, just the thought of it sends chills down your spine,¡± Wang Tao shook his head.


    ¡°Book the flight tickets, we¡¯ll head over early tomorrow,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Wang Tao was delighted, nodding with a beaming smile: ¡°Junze, we¡¯re not asking you to come over for nothing. No matter what the outcome of this handling is, we¡¯ll give you a reward.¡±


    Yan Junze understood the hint in his words: if he could solve their strangeness, the reward would certainly be a lot more. If not, it might just be a consolation fee.


    It wasn¡¯t about the consolation fee; mainly, Yan Junze had developed some interest in the oddities involving the Ugly Girl. At least the girl had suffered enough while alive, and if an exorcist went over to forcibly eliminate her, it would only make the strangeness worse.


    If he used his own Buddhist Exorcism Method instead, at least he could perfectly liberate the girl¡¯s spirit, which would be good.


    ¡°If the Ugly Girl¡¯s family was wealthy, why didn¡¯t they consider plastic surgery for her? No matter how expensive the surgery, a few hundred thousand or even a million should be enough, right?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked.


    Wang Tao shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s not possible. I heard that her facial bones are seriously deformed. If she were to undergo surgery, it couldn¡¯t be done in one go ¡ª at least six or seven times, maybe even more than ten times to truly fix it. And, Wang Kunpeng and his wife poured a lot of their energies into their son. Perhaps deep down, they just didn¡¯t want to spend that money on their daughter.¡±


    Yan Junze let out a soft sigh and said no more.


    Wang Tao thanked him again, agreeing that they would depart together the next day, then he got up to leave.


    At that moment, in the neighboring bedroom, Huahua, Zhao Zheng, and He Bishou were engrossed in their card game and hadn¡¯t come back.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s long tongue was no longer hanging out, having finally retracted. But her strange magnetic field from the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission had been disrupted by another spirit¡¯s strangeness and hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet.


    Frankly speaking, Yan Junze was quite grateful to Zhenzhen. If it weren¡¯t for her fighting to save him at the risk of her own life, he might have triggered his Semi-Spirit Body, also known as Fake Spirit Body, back inside that cave.


    Even if he had become a Semi-spirit, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would have been able to escape from the Tricky Silk boss¡¯s grasp or endure until that mysterious voice arrived, shielding his escape from the boss for a moment.


    Zhenzhen stood in front of Yan Junze. Although she no longer spat out that unsettling tongue, she looked very somber, bowing her head in his direction, silent, her mind still seemingly confused.


    Yan Junze watched her, and after a while, he called out, ¡°Zhenzhen?¡±


    Zhenzhen seemed to react, silently lifting her head, her gaze as if unable to focus, looking toward Yan Junze.


    The next second, she split her mouth, revealing pearly white teeth, and then, with a swish, her half-meter long tongue slid out again, swaying in midair.


    ¡°Well, it still can¡¯t be helped,¡± Yan Junze shook his head helplessly.


    With a thought, he retracted Zhenzhen back into the timeline node. This time, Yan Junze used Inner Vision on the 12th node, focusing on the flow of Different Dimension Energy in the timeline, and paid special attention to the area where Zhenzhen was located.


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 Chapter 322 - 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)_3

    Chapter 322: Chapter 274: Do I Look Good? (4500 words)_3


    Looking at her now, Zhenzhen is gradually getting better, it just requires more time.


    If we give her more Different Dimension Energy to nourish her, maybe her recovery could speed up.


    After all, Yan Junze, who is quite chatty, really can¡¯t stand the silent Crawler Monster and those two naughty babies that can¡¯t speak and keep causing mischief.


    Late in the evening, his roommates returned one after another. Yan Junze casually mentioned that he¡¯d be going out tomorrow to Tianyi District with Wang Tao and would be back by the day after at the latest.


    ¡°Going to Tianyi, huh? That far?¡± Huahua seemed quite surprised.


    Yan Junze nodded.


    ...


    Zhao Zheng said, ¡°With all the busyness of studying, you¡¯re even busier than the professors, will you be able to graduate?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head.


    He Bishou also added, ¡°Brother Jun could graduate in a minute if he wants to, it¡¯s really up to him.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, then shook his head again.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say anything, yet I still know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± He Bishou feigned horror.


    Yan Junze smiled helplessly and lay down to sleep.


    The next day Wang Tao came over early to tell him that the plane tickets had been booked, but the only flight was at two in the afternoon, they¡¯d arrive in Tianyi District around four, and after taking another ride to Wang Family Bay, it¡¯d probably be six o¡¯clock. Then after having dinner, they would start the exorcism, which would likely be around the time it gets dark.


    Truth be told, Yan Junze really didn¡¯t want to perform exorcisms in the dark. Although these days he¡¯s somewhat of a laid-back exorcist, dealing with strangenesses in the darkness still kept him on edge, and he felt very uncomfortable.


    Especially knowing that the corpse of the Ugly Girl was still in the building and her hair was continuously growing.


    This kind of psychological suggestion was already telling him that the environment would be terrifying.


    But as much as he felt this way, there was nothing to say. He had Wang Tao inform the folks at Wang Family Bay to prepare flashlights and other tools for moving at night. He attended class in the morning and then left school with Wang Tao at noon.


    Wang Tao had booked a Shunfeng papapa ride-hailing car in advance, which picked them up right at the school gate and took them directly to the airport.


    There were almost no delays on the way, and the two of them boarded the plane to Tianyi District smoothly, arriving at their destination about two hours later.


    Another Shunfeng papapa had been waiting at the airport. Yan Junze and his companion deplaned and boarded again. Due to the airport being a long distance from Wang Family Bay, speeding to reach it as fast as possible, they arrived just before six o¡¯clock, a bit earlier than anticipated.


    Having received a notification from Wang Tao earlier, Second Uncle Wang and his wife had been waiting outside. When they saw the two disembark, they immediately greeted them with great courtesy.


    The meal was already prepared, but Yan Junze looked up at the sky. Even though it was getting dim, he could still see into the distance.


    He asked Second Uncle Wang, who seemed like a somewhat honest middle-aged man, ¡°Second Uncle, where is that standalone building?¡±


    Second Uncle Wang pointed towards a spot diagonally opposite his house on the left side: ¡°If you walk from here, it¡¯s about nine hundred meters. It¡¯s not very clear from this spot. Let¡¯s have dinner first, then after eating, I¡¯ll go with you and Xiao Tao.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s take advantage of the remaining light. I want to go check out the surroundings of the building first. Oh, and is the excavator that was originally there to demolish the building still there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still there; it broke down a long time ago.¡± Second Uncle Wang nodded, ¡°Later on, Wang Kunpeng even spent over three hundred thousand to buy it, kind of as compensation to the owner.¡±


    ¡°Can you see the second floor from the driver¡¯s seat of the excavator? I want to go take a look now,¡± Yan Junze said.


    As he spoke, he was already walking toward the direction Second Uncle Wang had indicated.


    Second Uncle Wang and Wang Tao exchanged a glance, said nothing, and hurried to follow.


    ¡°Come back soon, or the food will get cold,¡± his wife called out from behind, pulling a slender, petite girl to her, and the two of them stood watching the three men¡¯s retreating figures, not entering the house.


    Soon after, a few curious neighbors came over to ask if the person who had arrived was an exorcist. While hugging Wang Mengmeng¡¯s shoulder and stroking her hair, Second Uncle Wang¡¯s wife nodded gently. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then she shuddered, looking down at the handfuls of hair in her own hand, while on Wang Mengmeng¡¯s head, areas that had once had thick hair were now faintly revealing scalp.


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 Chapter 323 - 275 Ugly Girl (Part 1) (4000 words)

    Chapter 323: Chapter 275 Ugly Girl (Part 1) (4000 words)


    Yan Junze¡¯s strides were large, and he walked quickly, mainly because it was already getting dark. If he didn¡¯t hurry, he might not be able to observe the situation of the isolated building from the outside.


    Wang Tao and his Second Uncle Wang started to jog from behind.


    However, Wang Tao, the head of the security team who had served in the military in his early years, was in good shape. Though he jogged all the way, he steadily supported Second Uncle Wang with his hand, keeping close to Yan Junze.


    After a short while, it was Yan Junze who started to huff and puff, while the two men behind him were just fine.


    The nearly one-kilometer distance was covered in no time, and what came into view were two self-built houses. One was much larger and should be the place where Wang Kunpeng, Li Lanlan, and their son lived.


    The building had three floors, and next to it was a very small independent building. Yan Junze estimated that although the small building had two floors, each floor was only slightly larger than an ordinary living room.


    ...


    It could be said that from the outside, it indeed looked like a room used for storage; at least no person would live in such an oddly shaped small building.


    The sky was already turning a greyish hue, a sign that it was about to darken completely, and Yan Junze ran directly over.


    A square high wall encircled the independent building, built solidly with green bricks.


    Standing under the high wall and looking up, one could see nothing; it was only by stepping back that the view improved.


    Meanwhile, an orange-yellow excavator covered in dust was parked quietly not far in front of the independent building, about ten meters away.


    According to the time, it was already the latter part of sunset, but the weather was not good that day. It was overcast, the sun was not visible, the clouds above were somewhat heavy, and it looked like it might rain later on.


    Yan Junze looked up at the sky, then at the facade of the small building in front of him, while Wang Tao and his Second Uncle stood a few steps behind, both looking at the small building with a look of fear.


    Only when looking at Yan Junze did their hearts feel a bit more settled.


    The two then saw Yan Junze climb up into the cab of the excavator. Second Uncle Wang followed, approaching the base of the excavator. He looked around on the ground and soon picked up a piece of rag, vigorously dusting it off before handing it to Yan Junze.


    ¡°The cab¡¯s glass might be too dirty, making it unclear. Use this to wipe it,¡± Second Uncle Wang said.


    Yan Junze leaned down to take the rag, wiped the glass inside the cab a few times, then extended his hand to wipe the outside glass twice. After clearing a spot on the glass enough to see through clearly, he didn¡¯t bother wiping anywhere else.


    He then sat inside the cab, looking up at the second floor of the independent building.


    Indeed, from this position, he could see the entire area around the second-floor windows. Although the light was fading, he could still see quite clearly, except¡­


    Yan Junze frowned, staring hard at the second-floor windows, but he quickly gave up.


    He hadn¡¯t anticipated that so much time had passed. The windows were covered in a dusty haze, the dust was so thick that he couldn¡¯t see anything inside the room.


    After a while, the sky darkened further, turning duskier. This time, even if the glass on the second floor were clear, Yan Junze would no longer be able to see anything inside.


    He sighed, climbing down from the cab of the excavator.


    Wang Tao approached and said, ¡°Junze, it¡¯s getting dark, and you haven¡¯t eaten anything yet. Let¡¯s go back for dinner first. After eating, we¡¯ll bring more flashlights and call a few more men with daughters at home to come and take a look.¡±


    His meaning was clear: not only was there strength in numbers, but their courage would also be much bolstered. Furthermore, these men all had daughters, and now that Yan Junze had come to help them rid themselves of the ¡°strangenesses,¡± these fathers had no reason not to help.


    As for now, standing here as the light continued to fade, Wang Tao felt his body grow cold as though his heart was soaked in a chilling frost, making him uncomfortable all over.


    He believed that if he stood there a little longer, he would probably start shivering.


    Yet, Yan Junze shook his head, asking Second Uncle Wang, ¡°Second Uncle, do you have the key to the small door inside the high wall?¡±


    Second Uncle Wang was taken aback and shook his head, ¡°The key is with Wang Kunpeng and his wife, perhaps they left it somewhere in the main house; we can go in and look for it.¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°No need.¡±


    He squatted down, picked up a handy stone, and walked towards the single small door in the high wall.


    Wang Tao exclaimed in alarm, ¡°Junze, are you going in now? Not waiting for us to call other people?¡±


    As Yan Junze moved closer to the door, he answered, ¡°Since we¡¯re here, strike while the iron is hot, let¡¯s go in and take a look.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t bring a flashlight!¡±


    ¡°The phone will do.¡±


    Since the small door in the high wall was close to the main house where Wang Kunpeng and his wife lived, Yan Junze spoke while nearing the main house, leaped over a not-too-high wooden fence, stepped onto the only path leading to the small door, and approached it with the stone in hand.


    The door lock was not the kind embedded in the door but a separate lock fixed to the door bolt.


    Yan Junze aimed at the lock, swung the stone down hard, breaking the lock with just one hit. He then discarded the stone, removed the broken lock, and threw that away as well.


    By now, the sky was almost completely dark, barely emitting a faint light.


    Yan Junze turned back to glance at Wang Tao and his Second Uncle standing far away, their eyes wide, staring at him, their expressions coincidentally uniform, unable to hide their fear.


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 Chapter 324 - 275 Ugly Girl (Part 1) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 324: Chapter 275 Ugly Girl (Part 1) (4000 words)_2


    ¡°¡±You don¡¯t have to wait here; you can go back and have a meal first,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Both of them shook their heads at the same time, without making any sound.


    As Yan Junze knocked open the lock, their hearts had already risen to their throats, as if something inside the building had been released, causing the two men to become terrified all of a sudden.


    Yan Junze no longer paid them any attention and gently pushed open the broken door.


    This wooden door hadn¡¯t been opened in a long time, and the process of opening it produced a creaking friction sound, which was particularly harsh in this eerie place at dusk.


    Wang Tao and Second Uncle Wang unconsciously took a step back and saw Yan Junze walk in, with no other sounds coming afterward.


    ...


    ¡°I definitely don¡¯t qualify as an exorcist,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said, ¡°Firstly, I¡¯d scare myself to death before anything else, I¡¯d much rather have a tough fight with the enemy on the battlefield.¡±


    Second Uncle Wang also said, ¡°I can¡¯t be an exorcist either, I¡¯d rather not sleep in separate beds from your second aunt than ever be an exorcist.¡±


    Wang Tao was stunned, as if he had discovered a secret, and turned his head to look at his second uncle.


    The latter¡¯s face turned red, knowing he had misspoken, and hurriedly squeezed out an awkward smile.


    ¡°Second Uncle, next time I¡¯ll bring you some kidney-tonifying supplements,¡± Wang Tao responded with a ghost of a smile.


    Second Uncle Wang kept his mouth tightly shut and said no more.


    Since it was becoming difficult to see the surroundings clearly, both of them took out their cellphones, turned on the weak flashlight, and tried to dispel the darkness in front of them as they waited, trembling with fear.


    After entering the tall walls, Yan Junze caught sight of another door that led to the first floor of this detached building, which seemed to be ajar and not tightly closed.


    The building was only about two meters from the tall walls, so he walked over in a few steps, looked around, and noticed that although there was a lot of dust on the ground and the walls, one could still faintly make out the traces of lime powder that had been scattered.


    Beyond that, there were remnants of burnt weeds and rubbish that had gotten soaked by the rain and had formed into clumps.


    There was nothing else suspicious around the small building, nor any hairs to be seen; Yan Junze quickly reached out, touched the door panel, and gently pushed, the door creaking open ¨C it really wasn¡¯t locked.


    It was already dark outside, and the room was even darker; Yan Junze directed his phone¡¯s flashlight into the room and stepped in.


    Before he could take a good look at the environment inside the room, a mission information flashed abruptly in his mind.


    [Mission Name: Ugly Girl;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: Her appearance made her feel inferior; her appearance led her life onto a completely different trajectory; her appearance caused her to live a life consumed by endless self-blame and sorrow. Her self-esteem was shattered by her appearance. Even becoming a strangeness could not change this; she yearns for a lot of hair to cover her face, so that no one will ever see it;


    Task Description: She¡¯s running out of hair and starting to fall into fear again; you need to help her face herself with confidence;


    Task Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Do you want to know what it¡¯s like to suffocate buried under hair?


    Task Tip: 1, The evil spirit can lockdown; 2, Her abilities are very fickle, so you must be fully alert to confront her; 3, Timing is very important, perhaps direct confrontation is the worst choice. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Note: Having a sharp blade is a good start.]


    After the mission information popped up, Yan Junze had just stepped through the doorway when he froze.


    In the mission information that popped up, what surprised him the most was the level of the task, which was only ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High).¡±


    It should be noted that an ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High)¡± level task is only comparable to that of [Peeking from the Crack in the Wall], whereas the task for Granny Ren, who initially lived upstairs in his house and was killed by her own son, was already at the level of ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Medium).¡±


    According to Wang Tao¡¯s description, Yan Junze initially thought that the task difficulty level should be at least ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Medium),¡± but to his surprise, it was forcefully lowered by one level to just ¡°Trembling with Fear (High).¡±


    Trembling with Fear, Anxiety-Inducing, Hair-Raising, Terrified ¨C Anxiety-Inducing is already the lowest difficulty level for the tasks.


    However, Yan Junze sensed something different in the air from the subsequent task hints. It seemed that to deal with this strangeness, he must be extremely careful and cautious.


    Right then, he was startled to discover that in the task information that had just popped up in his mind, the difficulty level ¡°Trembling with Fear (High)¡± suddenly jumped to ¡°Hair-Raising (Medium).¡±


    At the same moment, something appeared to rub against Yan Junze¡¯s shoes. He looked down with his phone¡¯s light and saw a clump of greasy black something quickly retract.


    Another second passed, and the difficulty level in his mind jumped again from ¡°Hair-Raising (Medium)¡± to ¡°Hair-Raising (High).¡±


    Yan Junze had already turned his phone flashlight on, following the greasy black object with his eyes. He saw the wooden staircase that spiraled upwards.


    The greasy black thing retracted up the stairs and quickly disappeared out of sight.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes narrowed. In just a moment, he had seen it clearly¡ªit was a large clump of hair.


    At the same time, the difficulty level in his mind jumped once more, from ¡°Hair-Raising (Medium)¡± to ¡°Hair-Raising (High).¡±


    Yan Junze frowned tightly, not daring to move.


    Right then, numerous rustling sounds erupted from above, like rain pouring down. The task difficulty level in his mind changed yet again.


    This time, without any hesitation, Yan Junze immediately backed away, stepped out the door, and with a swift motion, closed it behind him.


    At that moment in his mind, the difficulty level, after another jump, showed ¡°Terrified (Low).¡±


    A cold chill that couldn¡¯t quite be described or understood pervaded Yan Junze¡¯s body in an instant, dousing him as if he were covered with a bucket of cold water, even the tip of his tongue felt icy.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible for the task difficulty level to increase this fast!?¡±


    Thinking of the task hints, Yan Junze seemed to have an epiphany; he didn¡¯t think further and immediately chose to Rewind.


    He Rewound to the moment just after he had pushed the door open but had yet to step inside.


    After the Rewind, he stepped back right away, rushed out of the walled enclosure, leaped over the wooden railing, and ran back in the direction he came from without even glancing at Wang Tao and his Second Uncle Wang, who were waiting outside.


    ¡°Holy shit, why is he running???¡± Second Uncle Wang shivered with fright, feeling that the Ugly Girl inside the little building might be too dangerous, even causing the Exorcist to give up.


    Without a second thought, he turned and immediately pulled the dazed Wang Tao to run with him.


    At this moment, Wang Tao¡¯s head buzzed with numbness, and he too wondered why Yan Junze would choose to flee. Was it because the strangeness inside was too powerful, too terrifying? Or was it that Yan Junze was really not skilful enough, having always put on a brave front, but in reality, he couldn¡¯t handle that thing at all?


    Just then, as Yan Junze ran, his voice came through: ¡°Second Uncle, call Second Aunt right away and make sure she keeps a close watch on your daughter. And Captain Wang, hurry back as fast as you can and inform all the other families with daughters. They must keep their children safe! Quick!¡±


    Wang Tao was stunned, not understanding the situation.


    His Second Uncle was also startled, but with more experience, he slapped the back of Wang Tao¡¯s head the next second and shouted, ¡°Move it, do as the Exorcist Master instructed! Hurry!¡±


    With that, Second Uncle Wang immediately dialed his wife¡¯s phone, calling while running after Yan Junze.


    Meanwhile, Wang Tao, mustering the strength from his days as a soldier, left the two behind and dashed in the direction of Second Uncle Wang¡¯s house, passing Yan Junze in mere seconds. In the darkness, only the light from the flashlight in his hand could be seen waving with the movement of his running arms.


    Over here, Second Uncle Wang¡¯s call rang a few times, but no one answered on the other end.


    ¡°No answer,¡± said Second Uncle Wang, his heart suddenly sinking.


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 Chapter 325 - 276 Ugly Girl (Part 2) (4000 words)

    Chapter 325: Chapter 276 Ugly Girl (Part 2) (4000 words)


    ¡°Mengmeng, Mengmeng?¡±


    Second Aunt Wang frowned as she stood at the entrance of the living room. Behind her was a round table, loaded with lavish dishes that were now lacking steam and felt chillingly cold.


    Second Aunt Wang was astonished. She had waited outside until it was dark, and her husband, along with two others, hadn¡¯t returned. The other neighbors had dispersed, so she and her daughter had to wait inside.


    Mengmeng had said she was hungry, and, fearing her daughter might get too hungry, Second Aunt Wang had scooped a small bowl of rice for her.


    Mengmeng was sitting on the sofa and mentioned needing to use the restroom. Second Aunt Wang agreed, busying herself with adding dishes to Mengmeng¡¯s bowl, while Mengmeng went to the bathroom alone.


    The bathroom wasn¡¯t inside the living room but had to be reached by going out the back door of the living room and towards the corridor near the bedroom.


    ...


    In suburban areas like this one, the layout of self-built houses often lacked consideration, convenience frequently ignored.


    By the time Second Aunt Wang had finished preparing the food and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Mengmeng hadn¡¯t returned.


    She waited, thinking Mengmeng might have gone for a number two, but the sky outside had darkened. Besides, with the arrival of the exorcist, Yan Junze, to eliminate the strangenesses today, whether it was suggestion or something else, she couldn¡¯t help but feel jumpy and nervous.


    After sitting for two minutes and checking the time on her phone, Second Aunt Wang put it back on the coffee table and stood up to move through the back door of the living room towards the corridor that led to the bathroom.


    In the corridor lit by motion-sensing lights, Second Aunt Wang suddenly froze, staring straight at the bathroom near the bedroom door. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bathroom door was wide open, yet it was empty.


    Her heartbeat quickened as she flung open each bedroom door and flicked on the lights, but there was no sign of Mengmeng. She then rushed to the backyard to check upstairs, where two other families rented. Only the third floor was lit; the second-floor tenants hadn¡¯t returned, and their place was shrouded in darkness.


    In a panic, Second Aunt Wang began calling out Mengmeng¡¯s name loudly and rushed through the living room towards the front courtyard.


    She turned on the lights in the courtyard but still no sight of anyone.


    Second Aunt Wang wandered over to the street, looking left and right. There were no streetlights here; the area at night relied solely on the light spilling out from each household, dimly illuminating the surroundings.


    After scanning the area and seeing nothing, she called out for Mengmeng a few more times.


    The man from the house across the street, hearing her, came out and yelled, ¡°Sister Qiu, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°My Mengmeng¡¯s gone missing,¡± said Second Aunt Wang. ¡°Did she go to your place? Is she playing with He?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the man shook his head. ¡°He is having dinner and we haven¡¯t seen Mengmeng. Keep looking. Do you need help?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Second Aunt Wang gestured with her hand, feeling increasingly anxious, and turned back towards the house.


    As soon as she entered the living room, she was struck with stupefaction. There was Wang Mengmeng, sitting perfectly on the sofa, exactly where she¡¯d been earlier, as if she had never left.


    Mengmeng was now slightly tilting her head down, her sparse, long hair falling around her cheeks, seemingly staring at the bowl and chopsticks laid out on the coffee table, not eating, just quietly looking.


    The small bowl was filled with rice topped with some of Mengmeng¡¯s favorite dishes, and the chopsticks were set aside.


    Seeing this scene, Second Aunt Wang, who had been disturbed by the strangenesses recently, immediately became alert. After the initial shock, she didn¡¯t dare to call out to Mengmeng. Standing at the entrance of the living room, she felt fearful, but was even more afraid something had happened to her child.


    Mengmeng made no response and also didn¡¯t look up at her mother.


    Just as Second Aunt Wang could no longer bear it and was about to call out to Mengmeng, the child slowly stretched out her hand, reaching forward to seize the chopsticks.


    ¡°Mengmeng, if you¡¯re hungry, eat up. Don¡¯t starve yourself,¡± Second Aunt Wang saw this and felt relief, thinking everything must be alright with her child.


    But then, Mengmeng took the chopsticks and slowly inserted them straight into the bowl filled with rice and dishes.


    Second Aunt Wang¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. She knew that inserting chopsticks like that was done only when offering food to the deceased. Then Mengmeng withdrew her hand, still staring ahead, showing no intention of touching the food.


    ¡°Mengmeng¡­¡±


    Second Aunt Wang¡¯s voice was shaking violently. As she called out, Mengmeng remained unresponsive, but suddenly the phone on the coffee table began to ring, breaking the silence and tension in the room.


    From the entrance, Second Aunt Wang couldn¡¯t see who was calling on the phone. She glanced at Mengmeng and then took a couple of steps forward, intending to get closer to the coffee table.


    That¡¯s when Mengmeng lifted her head, twisting her neck stiffly to look at her.


    Second Aunt Wang recoiled in fright and immediately halted, not daring to come any closer.


    Mengmeng then grabbed her hair and yanked it forcibly before stuffing it into her mouth to chew. Before even swallowing, she pulled out another handful and crammed it into her mouth.


    ¡°Mengmeng, stop it!¡±


    Terrified, Second Aunt Wang didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and rushed over, seizing Mengmeng¡¯s arms to prevent her from pulling out more hair and eating it.


    Regardless of her own fear, Second Aunt Wang had to stop Mengmeng from hurting herself.


    Mengmeng suddenly lunged into Second Aunt Wang¡¯s arms. Clenching her teeth tightly, Second Aunt Wang didn¡¯t flinch. Instead, she hugged Mengmeng firmly, gripping her arms while speaking in terror, ¡°Mengmeng, stop moving, Mommy is here, Mommy is here¡­¡±


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 Chapter 326 - 276 Ugly Girl (Part 2) (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 326: Chapter 276 Ugly Girl (Part 2) (4000 words)_2


    Mengmeng wasn¡¯t struggling anymore, and her arms were also held tight by Second Aunt Wang, so she couldn¡¯t pull her own hair anymore; she just rested her head on her mother¡¯s shoulder, head tilting to the side, which allowed her to reach Second Aunt Wang¡¯s hair and bite it off, mouthful by mouthful, then quietly swallowing it without a sound.


    ¡­


    Across the street, the male homeowner returned to find the female homeowner feeding their daughter He.


    He looked about three or four years old, chubby and adorable. The mother scooped some steamed egg with rice onto a spoon and brought it to her open mouth, smiling and saying, ¡°He, be good, eat slowly¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡±


    As soon as the husband returned, the wife looked up and casually asked.


    ...


    ¡°Mengmeng is missing, her mother is looking for her,¡± the husband replied.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The wife expressed surprise, ¡°Didn¡¯t that child follow her dad to the ¡®Ugly Girl¡¯ building?¡±


    The husband was taken aback, shook his head, and said, ¡°Impossible, it¡¯s so dark outside, how can a little kid dare to go that far. Hey, hey, He, what are you doing¡­¡±


    The wife was surprised; she was sitting low, looking up to talk to her husband, but when she heard his reminder, she immediately looked down and saw He beside her, leaning over and biting her own hair.


    The wife¡¯s long hair had been permed into beautiful waves just a few days ago. Now, He managed to get a good bite of the ends of her hair.


    The next second, the wife let out a piercing scream, feeling a sharp pain on her scalp as He tilted her head and yanked a strand of her hair out with her teeth.


    After biting off the hair, He didn¡¯t spit it out, but instead stuffed it into her mouth with both hands and began to chew vigorously.


    ¡°He, what are you doing?¡±


    The husband took swift steps forward, crouched down, grabbed her small cheeks, and reached into her mouth to retrieve it.


    Crack!


    The sound of breaking bone echoed instantly; the husband cried out in pain, pulling his finger out to find only half of his index finger left¡ªthe other half still in He¡¯s mouth.


    A trickle of blood ran down He¡¯s mouth as she turned her head and bit again at the wife¡¯s curly waves.


    At that very moment, in every household in Wang Family Bay with daughters under 16, a strangeness emerged.


    Wang Tao ran swiftly, first to his Second Uncle Wang¡¯s house, and upon pushing open the living room door, he saw Second Aunt Wang pinned down on the sofa, still struggling fiercely.


    He rushed over and grabbed Mengmeng by the collar, lifting her straight up.


    Mengmeng¡¯s mouth was full of hair, still swallowing it, but at this moment, her eyes rolled back till only the whites were visible, in a state as though she was about to suffocate yet still desperately swallowing.


    ¡°Quick, quick, get it out!¡± Second Aunt Wang screamed frantically.


    She could see her daughter was about to suffocate; no matter what, the hair had to be removed from her mouth first.


    Wang Tao, without a word, reached for the hair sticking out of Mengmeng¡¯s mouth and pulled hard, quickly extracting a large bunch of hair from both Second Aunt Wang and Mengmeng herself.


    Immediately Mengmeng began coughing violently, retching involuntarily with tears and snot running down, her entire face turning bright red.


    Her mouth was wide open, which looked terrifying.


    ¡°There¡¯s still hair inside!¡± Second Aunt Wang cried out, terrified.


    Wang Tao reached into Mengmeng¡¯s mouth, quickly tugged at some hair strands, and pulled out another small clump.


    Mengmeng slumped to the side, falling onto the sofa, motionless.


    Screams from the residents across the street pierced the air, along with subdued crying.


    ¡°Does the family across have a daughter too?¡± Wang Tao asked, turning his head to Second Aunt Wang.


    All Second Aunt Wang could do was nod, unable to speak.


    ¡°Second Uncle and the others are at the back, they¡¯ll be here right away.¡±


    After dropping these words, Wang Tao bolted out the living room door and ran toward the house across the street.


    When Yan Junze and Second Uncle Wang arrived, Mengmeng was still unconscious, curled up into a ball like a snail, her body trembling slightly. Second Aunt Wang kept calling her, but there was no response.


    Second Uncle Wang¡¯s heart clenched as he asked Second Aunt Wang, ¡°What happened? How did this suddenly occur?¡±


    Second Aunt Wang turned her head to look at him, her expression terrified, helpless, and flustered. It wasn¡¯t until she saw Yan Junze that she spoke, ¡°Mengmeng suddenly started eating her own hair. I tried to stop her, but then she began gnawing on my hair¡­¡±


    As she spoke, she pointed to the damp clump of hair on the ground, her fingers quivering.


    Second Uncle Wang went pale, turning helplessly towards Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze watched the scene, not yet having the chance to speak when the living room door was suddenly pushed open and Wang Tao came in, gasping for breath. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze return, he pointed breathlessly at the house across the way, ¡°Over there, that family has a daughter too, and she¡¯s eating hair. Her mother¡­ at least one-fifth of her hair has been pulled out. And¡­ she even bit off her father¡¯s finger.¡±


    Yan Junze inhaled sharply.


    Second Uncle Wang and Second Aunt Wang were even more terrified, so scared they couldn¡¯t speak a word.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s speculation, after entering the small detached house where the Ugly Girl had committed suicide, he indeed triggered a certain aspect of the Ugly Girl Strange Creature, causing her power to start gathering and increasing rapidly in a short period, insanely jumping from the ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± level to a ¡°Terrified¡± state in just a few moments.


    Now it seemed that every time he entered that detached house, it would inevitably trigger an elevation in the Ugly Girl¡¯s power.


    And her power increased simply by using all the girls in Wang Family Bay to consume hair, boosting the Ugly Girl¡¯s strength rapidly in a short time.


    Yan Junze now somewhat understood that the Ugly Girl had not completely controlled these girls; this was not Spirit-Splitting.


    If it had been Spirit-Splitting, these girls would definitely have been under its influence for over 48 hours, which meant there was no saving them.


    Growing a lot of hair to cover her own cheeks was an obsession of the Ugly Girl, so she used the bizarre method of other girls consuming hair to sustain this obsession.


    Yan Junze did not know how she did it, but he was now very clear that the Ugly Girl Strange Creature¡¯s power was definitely not that of a Wandering Spirit but rather firmly at the level of a Sculpting Spirit.


    Of course, she should not have reached the level of an Ethereal Spirit.


    The method she used to become a Sculpting Spirit was to have these girls provide her with a large amount of hair.


    The scene before him, combined with Wang Tao¡¯s return and the news of what happened in the house across, had confirmed Yan Junze¡¯s suspicion, and now, the result was something he did not wish to see.


    Even before the exorcism had started, their side had already paid a heavy price, something Yan Junze could not allow.


    He needed to come up with a comprehensive strategy that would allow him to enter the Ugly Girl¡¯s detached house and also prevent the controlled girls from consuming hair.


    After a brief moment of thought, Yan Junze enacted a Rewind.


    This time he was very thorough with his Rewind.


    Before him, the scene blurred, and standing beside him was Wang Tao, not far from the trio of Second Uncle Wang, Second Aunt Wang, and Mengmeng.


    He chose to Rewind to just as they had arrived at Wang Tao¡¯s second uncle¡¯s doorstep.


    He could now rewind time up to almost 30 hours, and for the moment, it seemed like enough time for Yan Junze to figure things out.


    Wang Tao introduced Yan Junze to Second Uncle Wang and his wife, who both seemed very warm and welcoming, while Mengmeng blinked with curiosity, staring at Yan Junze.


    Second Uncle Wang said, ¡°Exorcist, let¡¯s eat first, the food is all ready.¡±


    At that moment, the sky was beginning to darken.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Sure, we can eat and, at the same time, ask Second Uncle to notify some other people.¡±


    ¡°Which people?¡± Second Uncle Wang seemed puzzled.


    ¡°All the families in Wang Family Bay with daughters under the age of 16,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°Ask them to bring their daughters here, and let¡¯s gather at this spot. We can¡¯t miss a single family.¡±


    Wang Tao and Second Uncle Wang and his wife were all stunned, not understanding what Yan Junze was getting at.


    ¡°Then find some rope, the sturdy kind, and bring me a sharp pair of scissors,¡± Yan Junze continued.


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 Chapter 327 - 277 Ugly Girl (Part 3)

    Chapter 327: Chapter 277 Ugly Girl (Part 3)


    Notifying all the families in Wang Family Bay with girls under the age of sixteen was not difficult. Second Uncle Wang just made one phone call to the director of Wang Family Bay.


    Of course, the director was aware of the recent strangenesses occurring in the area, so without saying another word, he immediately pulled out the household census and had someone call each family.


    About forty minutes later, every eligible family in this tiny place had sent their daughters to Second Uncle Wang¡¯s house.


    They couldn¡¯t all fit in the living room, so they moved to the front yard, where Second Uncle Wang hurriedly drew an extra power line, hooking up two high-brightness light bulbs to chase away the darkness.


    All the chairs in the house were brought out, but it still wasn¡¯t enough, so they borrowed a dozen more from nearby neighbors.


    Once everyone had arrived, Director Wang Dafa of Wang Family Bay also rushed over with the registration forms to do a roll call on the spot. Everyone was accounted for; not a single family was missing.


    ...


    Alongside Director Wang came masters from the area¡¯s two barber shops. There were five barbers in total, all looking puzzled as they followed along, not understanding why Director Wang had suddenly summoned everyone.


    At that time, Yan Junze and others had just finished their meal and were sitting in the living room having a cup of tea before they came out to the front yard.


    After getting acquainted with Director Wang and exchanging a few words, Yan Junze asked, ¡°How many families meet the criteria?¡±


    ¡°In the whole Wang Family Bay, there are seventeen households with girls under sixteen,¡± Director Wang Dafa said. ¡°The oldest child is fifteen, the youngest is one year old.¡±


    ¡°Even a one-year-old?¡± Yan Junze frowned.


    Looking in the direction where Director Wang was pointing, he saw a plump mother holding a one-year-old child on her lap. The child seemed somewhat thin, huddled closely in her mother¡¯s embrace, and when she looked at everyone, her gaze was fearful.


    Director Wang nodded, ¡°Yes, that child. These past few days, her mother has said that her spirit has not been well, always needing her mother by her side. The moment she¡¯s left alone, she¡¯d start crying bitterly, and¡­ and she would quietly pull on her own hair¡­¡±


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Director Wang, can you confirm once more that everyone is here?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is here,¡± Director Wang nodded.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Yan Junze had Wang Tao bring the prepared rope to the front yard and cleared his throat. He addressed everyone, ¡°I know many of you may be feeling uneasy because tonight, I will rid us of the strangeness that the Ugly Girl has become. So, from now on, however bizarre my orders are, I hope no one asks why. All you need to do is follow my instructions. I assure you that after tonight, Wang Family Bay will be at peace.¡±


    The people present nodded their heads, though it was clear from their expressions that they were worried, and quite a few looked terrified.


    ¡°Now, barbers, please shave the heads of all the girls under sixteen. And remember not to leave a single hair,¡± Yan Junze ordered. ¡°For the little ones, mothers need to hold them steady and be careful not to hurt them.¡±


    This command, those who were attentive could probably guess the reason, as the recent odd behavior of their daughters was mostly related to hair. It seemed that from the moment the Exorcist Master had arrived, he had found the crux of the problem.


    Many people found new hope, nodding their heads, with some even urging the barbers to shave their children first.


    The five barbers, after receiving confirmation from Director Wang, took out their tools and began to shave the heads of the seventeen children.


    The older children were quickly shaved, as it took just a few swipes, but the younger girls who needed to be held by their mothers cried their hearts out, and it was not easy to finish the job.


    Yan Junze then said, ¡°Now, let¡¯s shave the heads of the mothers holding their children.¡±


    A few mothers were startled and seemed like they wanted to say something but ultimately held back and let the barbers shave their heads.


    Subsequently, Yan Junze checked and had people collect the shaved hair, place it in a bag, and burn it in an open space.


    A moment later, he gathered all the girls under the age of 16 to sit together in the front courtyard, with the younger ones held by their mothers, also sitting alongside the others.


    Yan Junze first sighed softly before he began, ¡°Now, I will use rope to tie up all the children so that they will be temporarily unable to move.¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ah! This¡­¡± Second Uncle Wang exclaimed in shock.


    The others were equally surprised.


    Yan Junze turned to Wang Dafa, ¡°Director Wang, please ensure they comply with my request.¡±


    The girls¡¯ parents had mostly come along, with some families only the father or mother present because the other was not at home.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s intentions to tie up the children, the parents naturally resisted the idea.


    Right at this moment, Wang Dafa spoke up, ¡°Everyone, if you want your children to be safe, please follow the exorcist master¡¯s orders, otherwise I can¡¯t guarantee that anyone¡¯s child will remain as they were after tonight¡¯s events.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll follow the instructions. My child can be tied up,¡± one father said first, although he still seemed hesitant, he at least supported Yan Junze¡¯s decision.


    Before long, the others also expressed their acceptance, and those who did not speak implicitly agreed to it as well.


    Yan Junze gave Wang Tao a look, and Wang Tao began running around the place distributing ropes and also joined in to help the parents tie up their children.


    Yan Junze reminded them, ¡°Parents, pay attention, do not tie the ropes too loosely, otherwise you might end up very tired later. The consequence of tying too loosely is that it might affect all the children here.¡±


    Soon enough, this task was also completed. The very young children were not tied up, instead, their mothers were instructed to hold them well, with fathers assisting by their side.


    Yan Junze walked around all the children sitting in the middle of the courtyard to make sure everything was in order, then said to Wang Tao, ¡°Captain Wang, after I go to the small building where Ugly Girl is kept, you must keep a close eye on all the girls here. If any child eludes watch, you¡¯ll have to help out, especially those families where only the mother is present and the father isn¡¯t.¡±


    Wang Tao nodded and asked in surprise, ¡°We¡¯re not going with you?¡±


    ¡°I can handle it there by myself. This place needs you more,¡± Yan Junze patted his shoulder and added to Wang Dafa, ¡°Director Wang, please assist Captain Wang. There cannot be any slip-ups here.¡±


    Wang Dafa, somewhat moved, held Yan Junze¡¯s hands, his eyes seemingly glistening, ¡°Exorcist master, thank you for your help. Not only are you risking your life to rid us of the strangeness but also caring so much for the other children affected by it. On behalf of everyone at Wang Family Bay, I thank you!¡±


    Yan Junze smiled awkwardly. Indeed, he intended to protect the children, to safeguard every person here. However, at the moment, there was another reason for his actions¡ªupon entering the independent small building, it seemed he would trigger an enhancement in Ugly Girl¡¯s powers.


    And the source of power enhancement seemed to be through afflicting these girls under the age of 16. Therefore, to eliminate Ugly Girl¡¯s obsession perfectly, it was necessary to sever the source of her growing power.


    Otherwise, with his current strength, Yan Junze really couldn¡¯t properly face a mission rated ¡°Terrified.¡± Mainly because, if left unchecked, the mission might very well escalate to ¡°Terrified (High).¡±


    Taking the sharp scissors and two flashlights that Wang Tao had prepared earlier, one flashlight he put in his pocket and the other he carried in his hand, Yan Junze quickly made his way towards the independent small building.


    After he left, the courtyard fell silent. Although everyone was quiet, their hearts were unsettled, and it was apparent they were all very nervous.


    Only Second Uncle Wang, looking in the direction Yan Junze had gone, approached Wang Tao and asked in surprise, ¡°Exorcist master, how did he know where Ugly Girl¡¯s family lived?¡±


    Wang Tao was taken aback, ¡°You already call him master; what doesn¡¯t the master know? If he didn¡¯t know, would he have us make all these preparations? Second Uncle, make sure to keep a close eye on Mengmeng later, we can¡¯t afford any mistakes.¡±


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 Chapter 328 - 278 Ugly Girl (Part 4)

    Chapter 328: Chapter 278 Ugly Girl (Part 4)


    ¡°`


    A person had walked for a while, quickly approaching the independent small building.


    Yan Junze stood outside the building, shining his flashlight upwards, but there was no movement. The windows were covered in grime, making it impossible to see inside.


    He recalled the mission information once again, the mission instructions indicated that he had to make Ugly Girl bravely face herself.


    For Ugly Girl at present, it was precisely because she knew she was ugly and lacked confidence, that she used so much hair to cover her face. It was as if she was always in a state of not having enough hair.


    As before, Yan Junze found a handy stone on the ground, flipped over the wooden railing, arrived at the small door in the tall wall, and smashed the lock with the stone.


    ...


    Then, holding the flashlight in one hand and the sharp scissors in the other, he pushed the door open and walked into the high wall.


    Ignoring everything else, he went straight to the slightly open door leading to the small building and pushed it open with a shove.


    Standing at the doorway, he shone the flashlight around inside. The furnishings were almost all old and decrepit, two cabinets, a long table, and two chairs, with a dilapidated little stove in the middle of the room.


    A chimney rested on top of the stove, but rather than extending outside, it released the smoke created by burning wood directly inside the room.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt as if he could smell the strong scent of smoke, unable to comprehend how the girl had lived like this for so many years.


    Moreover, according to the descriptions from other residents of Wang Family Bay, the windows of this small building were rarely opened, usually closed all year round.


    Perhaps the smoke was too choking, and Ugly Girl rarely used the little stove.


    Yan Junze entered the house, confirming there was nothing unusual on the first floor of the small building, and the hair that had slipped from his feet the last time he entered had not appeared.


    The room¡¯s door seemed unable to close anymore, but Yan Junze did not bother with it, instead pointing his flashlight at the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.


    The staircase was simply constructed. Due to the narrowness of the building¡¯s interior, there was only one corner; four steps up to the landing, then another ten steps to reach the second floor.


    However, in that moment, Yan Junze had no immediate intention of ascending the stairs; he was shocked by what the flashlight revealed below.


    All the stair treads were covered in a layer of black material which, upon closer look, turned out to be hair.


    This hair was not broken but was all very long, as if it had been dragged down directly from the second floor, layering over all the steps completely.


    Yan Junze believed that if he had arrived any later, in a few days, the first floor would also be covered in long hair from the second floor.


    The dense mass of hair, starting from the first step right before his eyes up to every step, gave a strong visual impact although it lay still like dead matter.


    Yan Junze suddenly felt very nauseated.


    When he had a Semi-Spirit Body before, his consciousness was not clear, much like Back-faced Woman, and his sensations were neither as profound nor as intense.


    After an inner struggle, Yan Junze still lifted his foot and tentatively placed it lightly on the first stair tread, feeling a rustling sound beneath his sole and his skin breaking out into goosebumps.


    Yan Junze carefully examined his feet, the hair that was stepped on showed no anomalies; it did not wind around his ankle as he had imagined, nor did it quickly retract upwards.


    He then looked up, shining the flashlight on several steps above, which also revealed no abnormalities.


    Feeling slightly reassured, Yan Junze proceeded up the stairs, making sure each step was firm before moving to the next, with rustling sounds with every step that made him feel sick at heart. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the higher he went, the thicker the hair underfoot seemed to become. However, reaching the midpoint of the staircase, it felt as though he was stepping on a thick carpet, still producing rustling sounds, but the sensation was unsettling for Yan Junze at this moment.


    At the same instant.


    ¡°`


    In the courtyard of Second Uncle Wang, Wang Tao was conversing with Director Wang Dafa. The second aunt had gone into the room to steep a cup of tea for Wang Dafa, who took it, blew on it twice, and sipped a little.


    Although the second aunt was tending to others, her gaze remained on her daughter Mengmeng, who was tied up with rope in the middle of the courtyard.


    The next second, the second aunt, who had been turning to look at Mengmeng, suddenly became startled. She noticed that Mengmeng had lowered her head without their knowing. Looking at the other children, all the girls over three years old had simultaneously frozen, heads down, staring blankly at the ground.


    The younger girls, held in their mothers¡¯ arms, seemed to have their eyes half-closed as if they had slipped into a semi-conscious state.


    The mothers had all noticed this oddity and were gently shaking their children, calling out their names, but the atmosphere was oppressive, their voices subdued, emanating terror.


    Wang Dafa, who had been drinking tea, quickly put down his cup and stood up with Wang Tao.


    Wang Tao gestured for silence and they spread out, surrounding the 17 children, ready to intervene immediately if anything amiss was detected.


    Seconds later, half of the children began to struggle, attempting to free their bound hands.


    The younger children, still cradled by their mothers, started to act restlessly in their semi-consciousness, wriggling and making noises involuntarily.


    The mothers remembered Yan Junze¡¯s instruction and dared not call out their children¡¯s names again. They held their daughters tight, terrified that the strangenesses would snatch them away.


    Shortly after, all 17 children fell unconscious, their hands and feet twisting, trying to escape the confines of the ropes.


    Two girls, about seven or eight years old, had their ropes loosened suddenly, on the verge of falling off.


    Wang Dafa was taken aback and yelled at one of the flustered men nearby, ¡°Wang Xiaolin, what the hell is going on? Didn¡¯t you tie the rope tight?¡±


    Wang Xiaolin was panicking and did not dare to approach, ¡°I was scared¡­ scared of hurting the child.¡±


    Before Wang Dafa could curse out loud, Wang Tao had already rushed over and said to the man called Wang Xiaolin, ¡°Hold your child, I¡¯ll do the tying.¡±


    Just then, another girl had broken free from the rope, her hands released, reaching for her own head, only to find nothing there but smooth skin.


    Wang Dafa roared at the child¡¯s parents, ¡°Hold her down, I¡¯ll do the tying!¡±


    The parents, terrified, hurriedly went to hold their daughter, who was wildly tugging at her own head. The mother, who was closer, got her hair bitten by the girl who stretched out her neck. With a fierce shake of her head, a clump of hair was jerked off.


    The mother, in both pain and shock, let out a piercing scream, and was replaced by the father holding the child. Wang Dafa charged over, picking up the rope to tie while saying to the other parents, ¡°Keep a close watch on your own kids, don¡¯t let them break free.¡±


    The others were panic-stricken, eyeing their children closely, and the mothers holding the younger girls did so with all their might because they too had been shaved bald, and there was nothing the children could grab and pull.


    Inside the standalone house.


    Yan Junze had finally ascended the staircase and arrived on the second floor.


    What he saw before him was shocking. In the flashlight¡¯s beam, he saw that all of the furniture and the flooring on the second floor, including beds, beams, and the ceiling, were completely covered by masses of black hair, obscuring their original forms.


    Hanging from a beam by the window was a pitch-black corpse, motionless. The flashlight illuminated it, revealing what appeared to be a long-sleeved gray garment. Thick hair sprawled out dragging on the floor, extending to all corners of the room.


    Although the body of the woman corpse was visible, her face was obscured by copious strands of hair.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was reminded once again of a saying that circulated among the residents of Wang Family Bay.


    ¡°Although that girl had been dead for a long time, her hair is still growing, relentlessly growing.¡±


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 Chapter 329 - 279 Ugly Girl (Part 5) (4200 words)

    Chapter 329: Chapter 279 Ugly Girl (Part 5) (4200 words)


    At this moment, Yan Junze was certain that ever since he entered this building, the girls in Second Uncle Wang¡¯s courtyard had definitely begun to act strangely.


    He did not know if those parents and Wang Dafa could control the situation, so he had to speed up the process here.


    Luckily, his earlier preparations proved quite effective; at least, the task notification that had popped up showed no change in the task level. It remained ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High)¡± up to the moment he ascended the stairs.


    The hair filling this second-floor room gave Yan Junze an overwhelming sense of oppression, as if even breathing had become difficult.


    The hair under his feet felt like a soft, thick carpet, but every step was distinctly uncomfortable. He was always worried that it might suddenly wrap around his feet or even spread over his entire body, completely enveloping him.


    After glancing around, Yan Junze went back downstairs, fetched a chair from the first floor to the second, and placed it under the hanging corpse¡¯s feet, then carefully climbed onto the chair and stood up.


    ...


    Because the floor was covered with a mass of hair, the chair, resting on these downy strands, wasn¡¯t very stable. Yan Junze wobbled a bit as he stood, knowing he could easily fall if he lost his balance.


    Once he was sure he was stable, the flashlight beam illuminated the Ugly Girl¡¯s corpse that was now just inches away from him.


    The body hanging there had been in place for many years and should have been mummified by now. However, the hair covering her exuded a sense of vitality, as if it belonged to a living person.


    The thick mass of hair covered the Ugly Girl¡¯s cheeks, trailing down to her chest.


    To Yan Junze, this heavy hair seemed like a dense growth of aquatic plants, firmly obscuring the Ugly Girl¡¯s face.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze could feel his arm skin break out in goosebumps. He reached out and gently touched the hair.


    Yan Junze clipped the scissors onto his waistband and used his hands to part the hair, pushing it to the sides.


    With this parting, he discovered that the hair covering the Ugly Girl¡¯s face was entangled as if knotted, and it also seemed to be wound around underneath, rendering it immovable.


    Just then, Yan Junze froze for a moment as the task information in his mind suddenly flickered, and the task level started to change. ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (High)¡± instantly shifted to ¡°Trembling with Fear (Low)¡±.


    At the same time, he felt the hair covering the Ugly Girl¡¯s cheeks move abruptly.


    It wasn¡¯t just the hair on the body; even the hair on the floor¡ªthe strands under the chair legs¡ªmoved slightly, as the chair had also been shaking slightly.


    Yan Junze could not afford to delay any longer, aware that time was pressing. Something unexpected might have happened back in Second Uncle Wang¡¯s courtyard.


    He reached out with both hands and tried to push the hair away from the Ugly Girl¡¯s face, but it was futile. He quickly pulled out the scissors from his waist and began cutting through the hair.


    Despite being pressed for time, Yan Junze was still careful not to cut too deeply, as the hair covered the Ugly Girl¡¯s face. A misstep could result in a scar or puncture wound, and the last thing he wanted was to give the Ugly Girl a reason for Revenge.


    With a snip of the scissors, a swath of hair was cleanly cut; the scissors were indeed very sharp.


    However, Yan Junze immediately felt a chill, like standing in front of an open fridge door¡ªthe cold emanating from the Ugly Girl¡¯s corpse in front of him, as if by cutting her hair, he had opened a door to a freezer.


    But the hair was thick, and he still could not see the face.


    As Yan Junze was about to continue cutting the hair, the task level in his mind shifted again. ¡°Trembling with Fear (Low)¡± became ¡°Trembling with Fear (Medium)¡±.


    In Second Uncle Wang¡¯s courtyard.


    Nearly every parent was holding down their child. These children had gone from sudden silence to rapid outbursts, taking everyone by surprise.


    Wang Tao was already overwhelmed. He had just helped a mother restrain her daughter and rebind her, when another scream erupted.


    This household only had the mother present; the father was away on business and usually returned only once a month.


    Despite her daughter being one of the older ones at thirteen and having her hands and feet securely bound, efficiency was expected. However, the girl managed to break free, displaying astonishing strength, even snapping the ropes.


    Her mother, taken aback, rushed over and hugged her child.


    But the girl embraced her mother in return and began biting into the hair that was wrapped around her mother¡¯s head.


    Since the child was large enough not to require carrying, this mother hadn¡¯t shaved her head and was observing from outside the circle. At that moment, her child¡¯s embrace caused her hairband to snap, pulling some of her hair out. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Responding quickly, though terrified, the mother knew she couldn¡¯t let her daughter consume the hair, as it would have significant effects on her body.


    The mother immediately released her daughter and covered her head with her hands, curling up on the ground. She used her back to keep her daughter away, denying her any chance to bite.


    Wang Tao rushed over and lunged at the thirteen-year-old girl, intent on restraining her before tying her up again.


    The girl turned abruptly, her eyes wide but gaze empty, and charged toward the courtyard gate.


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 Chapter 330 - 279 Ugly Girl (Part 5) (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 330: Chapter 279 Ugly Girl (Part 5) (4200 words)_2


    Wang Tao lunged at nothing, and with a start, he saw that the girl had already stepped out of the courtyard and was walking away.


    ¡°Second Uncle, is all the hair outside burned off?¡± Wang Tao shouted as he chased after her.


    Second Uncle Wang said, ¡°Burned¡­ it¡¯s burned off, but I don¡¯t know if everything covering it is completely burnt through.¡±


    When Wang Tao got outside, he saw that the girl had already thrown herself beside the pile of hair, which was nearly burnt to ashes, about to crouch down and feast on it.


    He rushed over in a few steps, grabbed the girl¡¯s ankle, and hoisted her up forcefully.


    Wang Tao had been an all-around model soldier back in his army days, which is why he had been recruited by Tianmeng Science University, and had risen to the rank of security chief within a few years.


    ...


    With all his strength, he hefted the girl over his shoulder in a fireman¡¯s carry, and she could no longer break free. He quickly walked back.


    When he returned to the front courtyard, Wang Tao was startled once more to see all the parents staring at their children in astonishment. None of the little girls were struggling anymore; they all sat quietly, as if they had become absent-minded again.


    Wang Tao also felt the girl on his back stop resisting, so he hurriedly sent her back to her spot with the help of her mother. He picked up the rope that had come loose and tied her up again, much tighter this time, not sparing even if it left bright red marks from the rope.


    Second Uncle Wang ran to close the courtyard door and locked it with a padlock.


    This time, no one dared to take the situation lightly. They all watched over the children, who had their eyes open but showed no reaction.


    Inside the separate building.


    After a few snips, Yan Junze had cut off most of the hair covering the Ugly Girl¡¯s cheeks, revealing a small part of her face.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, he tried to make out the features and thought he saw a nose, but it was unlike any normal nose.


    The main issue was that the nose was entirely skewed, with only one nostril visible. The place where the other nostril should be looked as if it had been naturally sealed by skin, unable to function properly.


    Just by seeing this one part, Yan Junze could roughly guess the extent of the disfigurement of Ugly Girl¡¯s face¡ªindeed, even her facial bones were deformed.


    Although surprised, Yan Junze did not stop cutting. The scissors quickly thinned out the hair on the other side, revealing her mouth.


    The mouth¡¯s lips were completely turned outwards, exposing the upper row of teeth and a large area of gums, which looked extremely unpleasant at first glance.


    Of course, under normal circumstances, these organs should have all decayed by now, and at most, only a deformed skeleton should remain. However, what Yan Junze was seeing appeared to be a body that had not been dead for long.


    The next second, he realized something.


    Given that Wang Kunpeng and his wife had smelled the stench of the corpse long ago, the Ugly Girl¡¯s body must have decayed. But why did it look undecayed on the outside to him now?


    This was actually easy to understand because the appearance of the Ugly Girl in front of him was exactly what she wanted Yan Junze to see.


    In other words, what appeared before Yan Junze was not just a corpse,¡ªcalling it a strangeness would be more accurate.


    At the sight of the turned-out lips and the many exposed areas of gum, Yan Junze felt an overwhelming urge to close his eyes and poke them out.


    The lips weren¡¯t just turned out¡ªthey were a harelip, a crooked bucktoothed harelip.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, chose to ignore it, and was about to cut off the hair covering the Ugly Girl¡¯s eyes when his wrist suddenly turned cold, firmly grasped by a hand.


    The hand was the Ugly Girl¡¯s, and not surprisingly, the muscles and skin of her palm were also intact. It seemed that the corpse was showing more characteristics of a strangeness.


    The instant that icy hand grasped him, Yan Junze¡¯s whole body broke out in goosebumps, a chilling feeling spreading throughout, making his limbs tingle. He hadn¡¯t felt such horror in a long time.


    His hand holding the scissors twitched, but the Ugly Girl still held on to him, preventing any further movement.


    Man and corpse faced each other¡ªYan Junze standing on a stool, faced with the body hanging from the beam, motionless, as the hand of the corpse reached out and held him.


    After a moment, he sighed softly and ventured, ¡°Actually, your appearance isn¡¯t completely unacceptable.¡±


    The hand gripping his wrist shook slightly, but showed no sign of letting go.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I believe you¡¯ve simply lost your self-confidence over time. You can and will face everyone, as long as you believe in yourself.¡±


    The task in his mind was very clear, Ugly Girl was always falling into fear over her appearance, she had to face her flaws calmly.


    So Yan Junze was certain, as long as he gave her enough reason to stop minding her appearance, the problem would be more than half solved.


    But this time, after speaking, Ugly Girl made no response.


    Perplexed, Yan Junze continued, ¡°You actually don¡¯t need to hide behind your hair because the way you naturally are, that¡¯s the most authentic and natural you. If your parents were here, I believe they would also want you to return to the original you. Accept your flaws and face them bravely, face everyone¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Ugly Girl¡¯s hands relaxed, and Yan Junze was certain his words had had an effect.


    He quickly raised his scissors and snipped away the hair that covered Ugly Girl¡¯s forehead, including the area over her eyes, cutting with increased speed as he had a rough idea of the depth of hair from her face.


    When Ugly Girl¡¯s entire face was finally fully exposed to Yan Junze, his heart trembled violently as if it had stopped beating, his gaze fixed on this face, no longer aware of his own breathing.


    At that moment, as her face fully revealed itself, it still overturned Yan Junze¡¯s fundamental understanding of ugliness.


    Within Second Uncle Wang¡¯s courtyard.


    All the girls sat quietly, none of them struggled or tried to chew on their hair.


    This scene had been going on for about five minutes.


    Not only were the girls motionless, but the surrounding adults were also trembling, none of them spoke, each one staring intently at their own child, occasionally glancing at others¡¯ children.


    The spectacle from just moments ago was still fresh in everyone¡¯s memory.


    These little girls, now sitting quietly, left the adults uncertain whether the danger had passed or if it was the calm before the storm.


    Just then, one of the girls, about seven or eight years old, made a movement. She didn¡¯t struggle or try to stand up, but instead slowly lifted her head, looking at the standing adults.


    Her parents became somewhat excited, feeling that their child seemed to be gradually regaining consciousness, starting to recognize them.


    But they soon discovered something was wrong, as the girl¡¯s gaze was vacant, sliding across them as if focusing on nothing. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then came a snapping sound, like bones cracking.


    Everyone saw the girl¡¯s nose suddenly twist, followed by her lips flipping outwards, baring much of her teeth.


    Soon after, the philtrum between her mouth and nose split open violently, resembling a cleft lip, then slowly sealed back, but with a clearly visible crack remaining.


    At that time, the other children began to move, one by one slowly raising their heads, looking at the people around.


    The same occurrence happened to each one, as their faces all became terrifying, disgusting, with some oozing sticky yellow fluid, leaving the attending adults in extreme horror and helplessness.


    ¡°No, no, something¡¯s wrong¡­¡±


    Wang Tao suddenly realized something and shakily took out his phone to call Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had just recovered a bit of his senses from the shock of seeing Ugly Girl¡¯s full face, and the next instant his phone vibrated, he pressed the answer button.


    Wang Tao¡¯s panicked voice came through, ¡°Jun¡­ Junze, it¡¯s bad, all the children, their faces¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s phone almost dropped to the ground as he snapped to full awareness.


    He looked up again at that face and felt an extreme sense of helplessness, then whispered to himself, ¡°Rewind.¡±


    His vision blurred, and Ugly Girl¡¯s hair that had covered the top half of her face once again fell over her.


    This time, having seen the true face of the situation, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to cut it away again.


    With a bitter smile, he said, ¡°I forgot, if it weren¡¯t for your extreme personality, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this.¡±


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 Chapter 331 - 280: Ugly Girl (Six) (4400 words)

    Chapter 331: Chapter 280: Ugly Girl (Six) (4400 words)


    Yan Junze¡¯s guess was correct. If he hadn¡¯t previously made that remark about letting Ugly Girl bravely face others with her true appearance, the faces of the children in Second Uncle Wang¡¯s courtyard wouldn¡¯t have become twisted and deformed, looking exactly like Ugly Girl.


    Although he seemed to be comforting Ugly Girl, in her ears, his words took on a different flavor, triggering her paranoid personality.


    ¡°Since you let me face everyone bravely with my true appearance, what if all these children turned into my likeness? Would the adults be scared then?¡±


    After understanding Ugly Girl¡¯s personality, Yan Junze knew he couldn¡¯t speak like that anymore. Looking at the crooked mouth and distorted nose in front of him, he lowered the scissors, no longer intending to cut the hair covering her eyes.


    His previous words had to be expressed differently.


    Yan Junze quickly drafted a response in his mind and said, ¡°What¡¯s most beautiful in a person isn¡¯t their appearance, but their soul.¡±


    ...


    At that moment, he felt like he had suddenly become a master of soul-soothing clich¨¦s.


    ¡°At first, I was curious and wanted to see for myself if you looked as ugly and terrifying as people said,¡± Yan Junze seemed to be speaking to the air, but his gaze did not shift from Ugly Girl¡¯s body.


    He paused there and added, ¡°But now, I¡¯ve realized that it doesn¡¯t matter. What is important is that I can feel you¡¯re actually kind, not unreasonable, paranoid, or weird as they said. At least¡­ from the time I entered the house until now, you haven¡¯t shown any hostility towards me, which shows that you need someone to understand you. And I, understand you.¡±


    The assessment of Ugly Girl¡¯s paranoid and weird personality was Yan Junze¡¯s speculation; nobody had mentioned it before. But whether she bore him any ill will needed no guesswork; she definitely did, only because in the last Rewind, he had known about it, and in this Rewind, shaving off all the girls¡¯ hair effectively removed Ugly Girl¡¯s reliance for lashing out.


    Otherwise, Yan Junze might have already been wrapped up into a giant zongzi by all the hair by this point.


    As he finished speaking, he saw the hanging corpse move slightly, its hands slowly extending.


    But this time, Ugly Girl didn¡¯t reach for Yan Junze¡¯s hand; instead, she touched the hair on the upper half of her face and gently pushed it aside to reveal her full cheek.


    Although he had been prepared, and had already seen her true face in the last Rewind, Yan Junze nearly lost his composure the instant Ugly Girl swept her hair aside.


    His eyelids twitched several times, but he managed not to close his eyes, and with a zombie-like smile on his face, he softly said, ¡°In this world, there are many people whose appearances are bright and attractive, but on the inside, they are vile and heartless, as venomous as snakes and scorpions, with just a fine outer shell, but their actions are worse than those of pigs and dogs. I believe that your heart is a hundred times more beautiful, a thousand times kinder than theirs.¡±


    Ugly Girl had basically grown up confined since she was a child, without much contact with the outside world, and she rarely even had the chance to communicate with her parents, let alone have strangers talk to her this much and explain so many things to her.


    Hence, Yan Junze¡¯s words easily reached deep inside her, as long as they did not cause a misunderstanding like the last time, that would then manifest in the children.


    No sooner had Yan Junze finished speaking than the grotesque face in front of him moved slightly, the crooked lips trembling, the large buck teeth parted, and a thick yellow liquid flowed down as Ugly Girl spoke.


    ¡°What you said¡­ Is it true?¡±


    The voice was hardly distinguishable as male or female, even quite hoarse, as if even Ugly Girl¡¯s vocal cords were deformed.


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°This world is complex and so are the definitions of beauty and ugliness, good and evil. They aren¡¯t just judged by a person¡¯s appearance. For instance, when I look at you, I feel a sense of familia¡­ warmth. I know you are not as repulsive as people might think, but you have developed a mistaken belief that being ugly means you have to feel inferior and hide. ¡±


    Ugly Girl¡¯s body began to tremble slightly, as if she were crying, but there was no sound.


    After a moment, she lowered the hand that had pushed the hair away and stretched out both hands to Yan Junze, making a gesture as if she wanted a hug.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he managed a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I¡¯ll tidy you up first, you have too much hair on your body. You have to know, these don¡¯t belong to you, and they have even made you no longer look like yourself.¡±


    With that, he picked up the scissors and began to cut away the excess hair from Ugly Girl. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because Ugly Girl¡¯s hair had continued to grow after her death and it had become so long that it could cover her entire body, cutting it bit by bit would definitely be slow.


    Yan Junze estimated the length and said, ¡°Leaving your hair until the middle of your waist should be about right.¡±


    Without waiting for Ugly Girl to respond, he cut across her waist in a clean sweep, snipping off the excess hair.


    Then he trimmed the hair in front of Ugly Girl¡¯s cheeks. Although his hair-cutting skills were lacking, it was still passable.


    During this process, Yan Junze¡¯s right hand, including his index and middle fingers, suddenly started to go numb again, unable to exert force.


    He looked down and blinked hard, because at the moment he looked down, he thought he saw his fingers becoming somewhat translucent.


    But after blinking, looking closely once more, everything seemed normal, and the numb sensation was fading.


    Holding the scissors, he continued to trim Ugly Girl¡¯s hair at the forehead.


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 Chapter 332 - 280 Ugly Girl (Part 6) (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 332: Chapter 280 Ugly Girl (Part 6) (4400 words)_2


    Actually, to tell the truth, after getting used to that face, slowly it didn¡¯t seem so unacceptable anymore.


    But if it were possible, Yan Junze would still rather not look.


    More than ten minutes later, the ugly corpse hanging from the beam was fully in view, dressed in grey long sleeves and trousers, with waist-length hair and slightly disheveled bangs that nevertheless matched the popular asymmetric hairstyle of the day.


    The face under the asymmetric bangs, uh, let¡¯s not talk about that.


    Yan Junze put down the scissors, seemingly quite satisfied with his work, only to see the Ugly Girl¡¯s hands rise again in a gesture as if she wanted a hug.


    He felt helpless in his heart, thought for a moment, closed his eyes, and leaned in.


    ...


    The next second, as if a block of ice was in his embrace, Yan Junze felt numb in his limbs.


    He tried not to think about the face pressing against his shoulder and just silently counted seconds in his mind.


    About five seconds later, he said, ¡°Do you feel a bit better? If it eases your heart a little, I can take down your body from the beam right now.¡±


    The Ugly Girl let go of her embrace, her eyes still closed, as if a dead person without any unusual signs.


    ¡°No need.¡±


    A voice sounded, and the corpse in front of him rapidly decayed, withered to a skeleton in plain sight, and the clothes on it turned to fragments, fluttering down like butterflies.


    Then, the old and worn rope hanging from the beam snapped with a ¡®pop,¡¯ and the skeleton fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, scattered all over the place.


    Surprised, Yan Junze turned his head and saw the Ugly Girl¡¯s spirit had left her body and was now standing quietly at his back to the right, head lowered, still as a wax statue.


    At this time, however, there was no task completion prompt.


    Yan Junze jumped down from the chair, stepping on the thick hair, which did not dissipate or shatter, for hair can be preserved for a long time unless burned.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, why don¡¯t you come to see me?¡± At that moment, the Ugly Girl¡¯s voice emerged with a question.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and said, ¡°Like I just said, the definition of beauty and ugliness in this world is very complex, and everyone understands it differently. Your parents might just have defined ¡®beauty¡¯ as being only about a pretty skin.¡±


    The Ugly Girl became silent suddenly, standing without saying a word.


    ¡°If you still want to see them once more, I can take you there,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°No thanks.¡± The Ugly Girl lifted her head to face Yan Junze, who was smiling awkwardly.


    The Ugly Girl continued, ¡°I am grateful to them for giving me life, but I also hate them. Because not only is my face deformed, my life was also deformed.¡±


    ¡°Now you can let go of your obsession and start a new cycle of reincarnation, to welcome a new and beautiful life,¡± Yan Junze said, fearing she might harbor thoughts of revenge against her family, and quickly changed the subject.


    The Ugly Girl shook her head: ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me? The beauty and ugliness of this world are very complex, and everyone¡¯s understanding is different. I think¡­ I want to see for myself.¡±


    As soon as her voice fell, a line of text suddenly popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [You have gained the Ugly Girl (Sculpting Spirit), current favorability: Neutral]


    ¡°Damn!¡± Yan Junze was startled, a familiar feeling emerging spontaneously.


    He remembered that after he had completed the very first task [Hair Wash], Ke¡¯er had started following him around in this way, regardless of her willingness, forcibly turned into a servant.


    But upon closer inspection, whether it was Ke¡¯er, Fang Ning, the Lantern Woman, or any other strangeness, not a single one had followed him with his consent.


    Thinking about it, these female strangenesses seemed to be a bit too intimate with him.


    Now great, add one more Ugly Girl, the pinnacle of life.


    The next second, the task completion prompt popped up.


    [The Ugly Girl, Trembling with Fear (Medium), completed, gained 700 Different Dimension Energy points]


    In fact, Yan Junze was well aware that, just like her task description, the Ugly Girl¡¯s abilities were mutable, and if left unchecked, this Sculpting Spirit level strangeness would likely become something he could not possibly exorcise.


    But now, it seemed, he had completed the task so perfectly, thanks to his Rewind ability and his silver tongue.


    Glancing at the Ugly Girl, Yan Junze¡¯s eyelids twitched a few times. Although this woman¡¯s manner of getting close to him was the same as Ke¡¯er¡¯s, there was certainly no need to keep her by his side all the time like Ke¡¯er.


    Cough, cough, it wasn¡¯t just about appearances.


    ¡°How about this,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°I will Lockdown you now. Don¡¯t resist. After the Lockdown, Different Dimension Energy will nourish you, which is very helpful for enhancing your abilities.¡±


    The Ugly Girl didn¡¯t speak.


    Shortly after, in the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, the silhouette of the Ugly Girl appeared, with a portion of the flowing Different Dimension Energy diverting towards the silhouette.


    However, overall, the most energy flowed towards Long-tongued Zhenzhen, as Yan Junze was helping Zhenzhen recover as quickly as possible.


    Emerging from the isolated building, Yan Junze walked back to Second Uncle Wang¡¯s house.


    The courtyard was bustling at the time, as all the children had regained their senses, and the parents seemed to have guessed the outcome of Yan Junze¡¯s visit, with everyone showing smiles and starting to speculate in conversation.


    But without the final order, they didn¡¯t dare to untie the ropes from the children.


    Not until Yan Junze returned did everyone pause, catching the result they wanted from his face, and they heard the Exorcist say, ¡°It¡¯s over, all the children can be untied and go home now.¡±


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    S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 333 - 280 Ugly Girl (Part 6) (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 333: Chapter 280 Ugly Girl (Part 6) (4400 words)_3


    The scene immediately became very enthusiastic, and many people expressed their gratitude to Yan Junze.


    Second Aunt Wang immediately spoke to Second Uncle Wang for a moment, who then pulled Director Wang Dafa closer and whispered in his ear. Wang Dafa, bursting with laughter, nodded and said to everyone, ¡°For inviting the exorcist master this time, since it was through Captain Wang Tao¡¯s connections and not by waiting in line, the base payment for each household will be 5,000 yuan, with no cap.¡±


    After a pause, he continued, ¡°Everyone has seen what happened to the children just now. If it weren¡¯t for the exorcist master¡¯s advance preparations, we would have surely been in trouble. You all can also give other gifts to the exorcist master without restriction, but make sure not to give anything that would make him look down on us.¡±


    The others chuckled and nodded in agreement, then Wang Tao added a few more words, the gist of which was that Yan Junze was invited by Second Uncle Wang¡¯s side, so the uncle had said that he would give the lion¡¯s share of the remuneration, and the rest would contribute as previously discussed.


    It¡¯s just that these people were mostly from the second-generation wealthy, so they definitely wouldn¡¯t be stingy with such an amount.


    Gradually, everyone dispersed, and soon after, several households brought over their payment and gifts, with none below ten thousand yuan, even including gold and silver jewelry among the gifts.


    ...


    Some residents were very down-to-earth, not only giving payment but also bringing several baskets of eggs, and some ham, leaving Yan Junze both amused and bemused.


    After a busy while, he stayed overnight at Second Uncle Wang¡¯s house. As people left one by one, the yard gradually became quiet.


    Yan Junze checked the time, guessing that Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t asleep, and picked up the phone to call her.


    The call was quickly connected, and Yan Junze asked bluntly, ¡°What¡¯s your opinion on the phrase ¡®A man¡¯s mouth lies more than a ghost¡¯?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo on the other end was taken aback, then burst into laughter, ¡°I know what you mean. I had that feeling when dealing with the Lantern Woman. Are you just coming to this realization now?¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat speechless, ¡°Yes, some of it is by chance, but some is inevitable. I think I now know why I¡¯m so popular.¡±


    ¡°Popular with whom?¡± asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand later,¡± Yan Junze replied with a wry smile.


    There was a moment of silence on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s end before she suddenly asked, ¡°The Lantern Woman hasn¡¯t left, has she? Is she following you?¡±


    ¡°Being too clever as a woman can make life very exhausting. Don¡¯t you know that?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression was unknown, but her voice suddenly softened, ¡°Take care of yourself. If necessary, I can spend a few days with you like in the past. Regardless of whether it¡¯s Fang Ning, who has been shadowing you and expressing her love, or the Lantern Woman who has just become smitten with you and sought you out, I think I can handle them both.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°I feel like there¡¯s a hidden meaning in your words. Have you sensed some kind of danger?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± scolded Zhang Xiaomo with a laugh, ¡°But speaking of which, didn¡¯t I just come out from dealing with the Spirit Bridge in Mo Family Village? The Spirit Bridge was almost gone, which should mean the matter there is settled, but a whole heap of trouble has erupted here. In the last few days, Tianmeng City and other towns have experienced a lot of strangenesses, and we remaining exorcists are almost going insane dealing with it all day long.¡±


    ¡°Do you need help?¡± asked Yan Junze. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No need,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°But do you remember the Spirit Cultivator who together with the Ancient Corpse killed Uncle Guo the last time?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± replied Yan Junze.


    ¡°We¡¯ve found out, his name is Yan Long, he owns a shop, but he¡¯s secretly been cultivating spirits and has some tricks up his sleeve,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°After finding out Yan Long¡¯s address, we were ordered to join forces with the exorcists from Tianyi District to raid his den and prevent any other hidden threats. I was in charge of the operation, but I¡¯ve been tied up here and couldn¡¯t leave.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°A coincidence? What do you mean?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was puzzled.


    ¡°I¡¯m currently in Tianyi District,¡± said Yan Junze, ¡°And I was a participant back then too, wasn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Alright, what are you trying to say? No need to say anymore, you go. I¡¯ll give you the contact of the exorcist from that side,¡± Zhang Xiaomo decisively said.


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 Chapter 334 - 281 Dreams Inside and Outside (4200 words)

    Chapter 334: Chapter 281 Dreams Inside and Outside (4200 words)


    Yan Junze was still somewhat curious about the Spirit Cultivator, Yan Long.


    He had met the man for the first time when he performed the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± of course, the latter did not recognize him.


    But considering Yan Long was Cheng Jingting¡¯s teacher and Cheng Jingting, as a Spirit Cultivator, hoarded so many pots and jars at home and even raised a white-haired zombie, Junze wouldn¡¯t have discovered the cruel deeds Cheng was up to if he hadn¡¯t activated the Great Rewind to go back.


    If even his disciple, Cheng Jingting, tinkered with so many spirit-nurturing items at home, then Yan Long, being the teacher, would likely have even more at his ¡°secret lair.¡±


    Curious about everything related to Spirit Cultivators, and now that he was in Tianyi District and about to join other Exorcists to destroy Yan Long¡¯s den without much complexity and danger involved, Junze readily accepted the task.


    After chatting with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, the two got more and more engrossed in the conversation, and before they knew it, it was one o¡¯clock in the morning.


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t finished the report for the strangeness we exorcised today. Looks like I¡¯ll have to pull an all-nighter.¡±


    Yan Junze curiously asked, ¡°Do you have to write a report for each strangeness you exorcise?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Zhang Xiaomo sighed, ¡°I wrote the entire report for you for the strangeness you exorcised at Mo Family Village last time.¡±


    ¡°But why has my contact, He Yun, never asked me to write one?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°She probably wrote it for you,¡± Zhang Xiaomo guessed, ¡°The reports aren¡¯t complicated; sometimes they¡¯re just a matter of a few sentences. Only the encounter in Mo Family Village needed to be described in detail. The rest don¡¯t usually need it.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a few more words, they hung up the phone.


    Not long after, Zhang Xiaomo sent a text message. Yan Junze looked at it, which included the name and contact information of an Exorcist from Tianyi District.


    But it was late, and it wasn¡¯t convenient to contact them at this time. Junze planned to call the next day.


    Lying in bed, he could still hear Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice as if she was speaking right next to him. Smiling to himself, Junze drifted off to sleep.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed when he ¡°woke up¡± to find himself standing in the darkness, surprisingly clear-headed without the groggy feeling that usually followed waking up.


    Yan Junze was a bit startled and looked around. Everything was pitch-black, and he couldn¡¯t see anything. He had no idea which part of Wang Family Bay he was in.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The next second he suddenly came to a realization, the surroundings becoming familiar. Hesitating for a moment, he tried to walk forward.


    He had only taken a few steps when the figure of someone crouching came into view.


    The person was facing away from him, crouched in the corner of a wall that was only partially visible, as if the wall was made of aging red clay. They crouched there, ceaselessly digging at something in front of them, with chunks of clay falling to their feet.


    The figure had long hair that seemed very smooth and was slender-waisted, their silhouette graceful.


    Junze could suddenly see this crouching figure because right beside her foot was a lit lantern, a white lantern.


    Yan Junze abruptly stopped, wanting to retreat, but found his body was immobile.


    The woman who was digging at the wall ceased her movement and slowly stood up, lifting the white lantern with one hand, while the other seemed to be holding something.


    Junze¡¯s gaze was fixed on the hand holding something, and when the woman turned around completely, he felt as if he were back in Mo Family Village because in her hand was a yellowing skull.


    With one hand holding the lantern and the other clutching a skull, the Lantern Woman quickly approached Yan Junze, her dark eyes staring straight into his without making a sound.


    A sense of danger loomed, but Yan Junze found himself still unable to step back or even move sideways.


    ¡°I¡¯m dreaming, I must wake up, I must wake up now!¡±


    With alarm in his heart, the Lantern Woman¡¯s pace quickened, her white dress fluttering as though she was floating.


    Junze bit his tongue sharply, and intense pain spread through his entire body. He felt himself begin to wake up, his body becoming weightless, as if suspended in mid-air.


    At that moment, the Lantern Woman let out a piercing scream, throwing down the skull, and the lantern in her other hand turned red and lunged forward, grabbing Yan Junze¡¯s arm.


    The next second, Yan Junze opened his eyes and found himself safely in bed, still in his uncle Wang Tao¡¯s house in Wang Family Bay.


    It was already light outside the window. He breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his phone to check the time, and saw it was 7:10 in the morning.


    But then Junze froze, shifting his gaze from the phone screen to his arm. There were five fresh, red finger marks, as if they had just appeared.


    He swung his arm; there was no feeling of discomfort. Remembering the Lantern Woman grabbing him in the dream, it was a surprise that there were real marks as if it had happened in reality.


    At that moment, Wang Tao came knocking on the door, telling Yan Junze to get ready to head to the airport.


    After such a tumultuous experience in his dream, Yan Junze still felt tired, as if he hadn¡¯t slept enough. He got up, opened the door, and said to Wang Tao, ¡°I might not go back until tomorrow. I received a request to assist an Exorcist here in Tianyi District last night.¡±


    Wang Tao was taken aback and replied, ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait for you. I¡¯ll go cancel the plane ticket now, and you go back to sleep a bit more.¡±


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 Chapter 335 - 281 Dreams Inside and Outside (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 335: Chapter 281 Dreams Inside and Outside (4200 words)_2


    Yan Junze went to bed late, and he didn¡¯t know how long the dream he just had lasted; he felt extremely exhausted and indeed wanted to sleep some more. He nodded, closed the door, and went back to bed to continue sleeping.


    In his drowsy state, however, he couldn¡¯t fall back asleep, as there was always some worry that the dream might recur.


    Lost in whimsical ideas, his mind gradually became muddled.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, a ringing phone woke him up. Yan Junze groggily glanced at the number, seeing it was an unfamiliar one. He didn¡¯t hang up, however, and pressed the answer button instead.


    The voice of a middle-aged man came through the phone, but it sounded dry as if he hadn¡¯t had water in a long time, his throat parched.


    ¡°Is this Yan Junze?¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze immediately became alert and responded, ¡°Yes, it is. May I ask who this is¡­?¡±


    ¡°This is the Exorcism team from Tianyi District, Liu Hao, a three-star Exorcist. Zhang Xiaomo asked me to contact you. Where are you right now?¡±


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected to be contacted so quickly by the other party before he had the chance to reach out himself.


    Glancing at the time, Yan Junze sat up, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m at Wang Family Bay and can come over any time. How soon are we going to Yan Long¡¯s address?¡±


    ¡°We can do it now,¡± said Liu Hao. ¡°We¡¯re waiting for you at 136 Priest Street; let¡¯s meet up in about forty minutes.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    Yan Junze hung up the phone, got up to get dressed, finished washing up, ate the soy milk and fried dough sticks prepared by Second Aunt Wang, and said goodbye to Wang Tao before leaving.


    Wang Tao was in the living room, tidying up the gifts other families had brought for Yan Junze, as some of them had only been delivered that morning. The living room was piled with all sorts of things, with every variety of local farm produce imaginable, and someone had even brought two roosters, alive, their feathers shiny and bright¡ªit was just beautiful.


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile. He couldn¡¯t possibly take live chickens to school, so he decided to give them to Second Uncle Wang¡¯s family, but Second Uncle Wang stubbornly refused to accept them. After some thought, Yan Junze suggested they simply slaughter the chickens that night; they could stew or fry them, and the family could enjoy them together.


    Upon hearing that Yan Junze was about to leave, Second Uncle Wang immediately went over to the house across from them, the one where the little girl named He lives, to have the man of the house take Yan Junze in his van.


    Soon after, Yan Junze was on his way to Tianyi City District in the van.


    Upon arriving at Priest Street, he got out of the van at the street corner and told the man not to wait for him.


    The weather was nice today, sunny but not blinding.


    After the van left, Yan Junze stood on the street and looked around; he took several deep breaths. The bakery on the street corner had just baked a new batch of bread, and the scent of toasted bread wafted through the air. A well-dressed lady wearing a rose-red dress passed by, her light jasmine perfume gently tickling his nose. At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s sense of smell was immensely satisfied, and he began to walk slowly down the street.


    After a few steps, however, he paused suddenly.


    In his mind, the Spacetime Atlas suddenly popped up involuntarily, with a line of text appearing right after.


    [Lockdown node detected strong magnetic field fluctuations; would you like to spend 1,000 Different Dimension points for stabilization?]


    ¡°What? Magnetic fluctuations? Spend energy to stabilize?¡± Yan Junze was utterly confused, as this was his first encounter with such an event.


    As he was pondering, he distinctly felt something from the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± node suddenly break through, and in the next second, his vision blurred, and the Ugly Girl, dressed in gray and with her hair disheveled, appeared in the street before him.


    She stood with her head pressed down, silent.


    Yan Junze was startled; he hadn¡¯t expected this woman to be so powerful that she could directly break through the lockdown node and forcibly appear before him.


    Of course, this was the first time he¡¯d encountered such a situation, and if it were to happen again, Yan Junze would directly use his power to suppress it.


    However, this also implied indirectly that a truly Sculpting Spirit-level strangeness would be as formidable as the Ugly Girl.


    ¡°Why have you come out?¡± Yan Junze scolded in a lowered voice, glancing around to see if any of the passersby were watching him.


    It seemed that they couldn¡¯t see the Ugly Girl.


    But just because ordinary people couldn¡¯t see her didn¡¯t mean Exorcists couldn¡¯t. It was fortunate that Yan Junze had left the van on the street corner; if he had gotten off right in front of 136 Priest Street, the Ugly Girl¡¯s appearance would have been exposed immediately.


    The Exorcist named Liu Hao had already said that he was a three-star Exorcist, so if a real strangeness appeared, he wouldn¡¯t be like the one-star Exorcist Huang Chen, who couldn¡¯t clearly perceive it.


    The Ugly Girl kept her head low, without saying a word.


    ¡°Why did you come out?¡± Yan Junze asked in a low voice again.


    The Ugly Girl slightly lifted her head, and Yan Junze turned away, pretending to look at the passersby, actually unwilling to look directly at her face.


    ¡°I wanted¡­ to see the beauty of this world, and to understand what you mean by ¡®ugly,''¡± the Ugly Girl said softly.


    Before Yan Junze could respond, she turned her head to look at the woman who had just walked by, the one with the scent of jasmine perfume wafting from her. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is she¡­ beautiful?¡±


    Yan Junze felt somewhat helpless as he redirected his gaze from the passersby to the Ugly Girl.


    The deformed and terrifying features of the Ugly Girl made the corner of his eyes twitch slightly, and he shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know if that woman is beautiful, but her appearance is certainly nice; at least it¡¯s pleasing to a man¡¯s eye.¡±


    ¡°Is this what beauty is?¡± the Ugly Girl asked curiously.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head again, ¡°That¡¯s not the beauty I¡¯m talking about. Beauty is a perception, not just visual, but something that comes from within, starting with the soul. That woman looks good, but I don¡¯t know if her soul is beautiful, which can only be judged after getting to know her.¡±


    At that moment, the woman wearing the rose-red dress who had walked some distance away suddenly slipped. She almost screamed but steadied herself in time, fortunately not falling.


    She then touched her head; there was a strange pain that seemed to come from her scalp, but it wasn¡¯t too strong.


    Only she knew that she hadn¡¯t actually slipped, but felt as if someone had tugged at her hair. Yet now that she touched it and looked around, there was no sign of any hair loss.


    At the same time, the long hair of the Ugly Girl, which draped around her waist, had grown a bit without anyone noticing.


    ¡°This, must be some kind of beauty,¡± she thought.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t hear the inner thoughts of the Ugly Girl. He only feared that bystanders would see him suddenly speaking to the air, so he lowered his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m taking you back now, don¡¯t resist. There¡¯s an Exorcist ahead. If they see you, you will be in danger.¡±


    The Ugly Girl nodded silently.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to retract her, he saw her shake her head again. The Ugly Girl raised her hand and pointed her index finger towards Priest Street, not far ahead and directly opposite Yan Junze.


    ¡°She¡¯s also very strange, why only take me?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, following the direction of the Ugly Girl¡¯s finger. A sudden realization struck him as he saw a short-haired strange woman crouching at the corner against the wall about twenty meters away from him.


    For the present Yan Junze, this scene was all too familiar.


    It was not only similar to the scene where the Lantern Woman appeared in his dream but also reminiscent of the last time he saw a strange woman resembling Liao Jing next to the stone steps outside the canteen after his first dream of the Lantern Woman.


    At this moment, Yan Junze realized what he had discovered.


    It seemed that every time he saw the Lantern Woman in his dreams, when he woke up, a bizarre woman performing the same actions as the Lantern Woman would appear in the real world, encountering him by chance.


    Possibly, she was the Lantern Woman¡¯s incarnation in reality!


    Seeing the stranger woman¡¯s back, crouching behind the corner, Yan Junze speculated wildly.


    The passersby kept walking past the crouching woman, although her posture was odd, none of them glanced at her. Clearly, they couldn¡¯t see her.


    But Yan Junze was sure that if he went over there, the woman crouching would stand up and turn towards him.


    However, it didn¡¯t seem like there was a lantern placed next to her.


    ¡°Although she is a bit strange, I don¡¯t know her, and we have no connection,¡± Yan Junze answered the Ugly Girl.


    The Ugly Girl tilted her head, looking at the crouching bizarre woman: ¡°Is she¡­ beautiful?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll head over there first.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer; at that moment, a whimsical idea popped into his head.


    The Ugly Girl didn¡¯t know what he was thinking and didn¡¯t speak further, simply following beside Yan Junze, almost shoulder to shoulder, as they walked towards the inside of Priest Street.


    And from this point entering the street, no matter the distance, they would inevitably pass by behind the crouching woman.


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 Chapter 336 - 282: Regret (4600 words)

    Chapter 336: Chapter 282: Regret (4600 words)


    One person and one strangeness walked slowly, the closer they got to the crouching woman.


    At this time, Ugly Girl spoke again, ¡°Is she beautiful?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the short-haired woman crouching there. From this position, he couldn¡¯t see her face clearly, but her figure seemed quite obese, indicating she was probably not young.


    After all, if this crouched woman was just the physical incarnation of Lantern Woman, then Lantern Woman herself indeed had the appearance of a beauty.


    Yan Junze remembered the first time he saw Lantern Woman in Mo Family Village, she only looked extremely pale, but she had well-defined facial features, elegant black hair, and wore a fluttering white dress, as if she was ethereal and otherworldly.


    However, after turning into a red lantern, the contrast with her white lantern was enormous; she went from a fairy to a ferocious tigeress, ruthless and cruel beyond measure.


    ...


    At the end of the day, if we¡¯re talking about appearance, Lantern Woman was indeed beautiful.


    ¡°She is not beautiful,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Her name is Lantern Woman, her real name Ning Ji. Like you, she¡¯s a strangeness and has been following me.¡±


    With Ugly Girl by his side, he didn¡¯t plan to hide anything from this na?ve strangeness, nor was there anything worth hiding.


    Ugly Girl¡¯s face was deformed and very stiff, so after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, there was no noticeable expression of surprise on her face.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°When we approach her in a bit, this crouched woman may very well attack me. At that moment, you might be able to tell whether her soul is as beautiful as her looks, of course, assuming my safety is fully assured.¡±


    Ugly Girl seemed thoughtful but did not speak.


    They quickly arrived behind the crouching woman, and just as they were passing by, sure enough, the short-haired woman stood up and began to slowly turn around.


    In her hands, it looked as if she was holding something, but Yan Junze saw nothing upon closer inspection.


    It was as though she was holding an illusory stick in her hand, with a lantern on the other end.


    Whether it was an illusion or something else, Yan Junze felt he could sense a dim white light emanating from the lantern on the other end of the phantom stick.


    The next second, the white light began to turn red, gradually changing color¡­


    Yan Junze stepped back, not daring to turn his back on the short-haired woman, and said to Ugly Girl, ¡°I once revealed to Lantern Woman the brutal truth that her husband had been killed by her. She couldn¡¯t accept this, and now she has followed me, most likely for revenge. Do you think she is beautiful?¡±


    At this time, the short-haired woman holding the illusory lantern started walking towards Yan Junze, one step at a time, with the lantern emanating an eerie red color without any visible light source.


    After hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, Ugly Girl slightly bowed her head as if she was pondering.


    The short-haired woman picked up the pace; she was only four or five steps away from reaching Yan Junze, who quickly retreated.


    Ah!


    The ordinary-looking short-haired woman suddenly opened her mouth and let out a piercing scream at Yan Junze. Her dark mouth was seemingly bottomless, and her hand holding the illusory red lantern burst into a fierce red hue.


    At this moment, Ugly Girl lifted her head, seemingly having an epiphany, and said, ¡°She¡­ is not beautiful, quite hideous.¡±


    As she spoke, Ugly Girl stepped in front of Yan Junze, silent and tilting her head, her deformed face directly facing the short-haired woman.


    Now the short-haired woman was only a step away from her, the two of them incredibly close, just silently staring at each other.


    About four or five seconds later, the short-haired woman¡¯s entire body suddenly relaxed, and her physical form became a shadow. Right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, she gradually became transparent and disappeared.


    Throughout this process, Ugly Girl kept her unwavering gaze on her, until she could no longer see her at all.


    ¡°Lantern Woman¡­ is gone?¡± Yan Junze stared in surprise at the scene.


    He hadn¡¯t expected his idea to actually work, and that Ugly Girl was fully capable of handling Lantern Woman.


    Of course, Yan Junze had only intended to try and see; if Ugly Girl hadn¡¯t clashed with Lantern Woman, or if there had been a large discrepancy in strength between Ugly Girl and Lantern Woman, he would have chosen to Rewind and think of another way to get past this obstacle.


    But now it seemed they had another option for dealing with Lantern Woman in the future.


    ¡°Now¡­¡± Yan Junze¡¯s heart settled down as he looked at Ugly Girl and asked, ¡°Have your ideas about beauty and ugliness started forming a rough concept?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Ugly Girl nodded, ¡°Lantern Woman is ugly on the outside and inside.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed wryly, shaking his head, ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t her true form just now; actually, her real appearance is not bad.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ugly Girl said nothing more. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts moved, and he retrieved her into the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas. This time, Ugly Girl offered no resistance.


    He followed the street numbers until he arrived at Priest Street number 136. The building there was constructed of old-style red bricks, appearing somewhat time-worn but well preserved.


    Number 136 was part of this stretch, and upon reaching his destination, Yan Junze looked up to find that it was a clinic.


    Upon reflection, Zhang Xiaomo had told him the night before that Yan Long had opened a shop, but she seemed to have not mentioned it being a clinic.


    Outside the clinic, there were two people standing, a young man and a middle-aged man.


    The middle-aged man gave Yan Junze a look and then stepped forward, ¡°Are you Yan Junze?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Three-star Exorcist Liu Hao?¡±


    The middle-aged man pointed to the young man beside him, ¡°This is Yu, a two-star Exorcist.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for making you wait, how long have you been here?¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    ¡°Not long,¡± Liu Hao said, nodding towards a man of about thirty standing by the clinic door.


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 Chapter 337 - 282: Regret (4600 words)_2

    Chapter 337: Chapter 282: Regret (4600 words)_2


    Yan Junze looked over and heard Liu Hao say in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s fine for us, but you made him wait for twenty minutes. Go over and greet him, and make sure to be polite.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback and likewise lowered his voice, ¡°He is¡­¡±


    ¡°Shi Tai, a four-star Exorcist,¡± Yu whispered.


    ¡°Shi Tai?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled.


    Liu Hao gave Yu a glance, seemingly blaming him for not making things clear, and explained, ¡°The Shi as in ¡®no other recourse¡¯, the Tai as in ¡®remain calm¡¯.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°He¡¯s a four-star Exorcist. Is he here because you¡¯ve discovered something dangerous in Yan Long¡¯s lair?¡±


    ...


    Liu Hao smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the team only asked Shi Tai to come as a precaution. He¡¯ll leave after a quick check, and the detailed search will still be conducted by us.¡±


    Yu quickly added, ¡°And when you talk to him, don¡¯t even mention words like ¡®poor monk¡¯ or ¡®old monk¡¯, not even homophones, or Shi Tai will get angry at you. Once he gets mad, neither Brother Liu nor I can hold him back.¡±


    Yan Junze pressed his lips together to suppress a laugh, but still nodded his head and scuttled over, a look of embarrassment on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Big Brother Shi, because of exorcising a strangeness last night, I was up until midnight, and woke up late this morning.¡±


    Shi Tai was of average appearance and not very tall. He seemed to be no more than thirty-five, much younger compared to Guo Youliang, who was over fifty with greying hair. Yet, Shi Tai was already a four-star Exorcist, which showed he must have had a very strong foundation.


    To tell the truth, Shi Tai was somewhat annoyed. Having a dignified four-star Exorcist like him wait for Yan Junze for twenty minutes, doing nothing, was costly in terms of time for an Exorcist team.


    After the check here, Shi Tai had to rush to Yannan District immediately to assist another Exorcist team in eliminating a powerful strangeness.


    So he was definitely not too pleased internally.


    Shi Tai nodded his head, giving Yan Junze a cold once-over, and said nothing.


    ¡°Shall we¡­ go in now and start?¡± Yan Junze proposed.


    Yu ran over to open the clinic¡¯s main door, which had been under lock and key, while Liu Hao removed the seal put up by the Safety Bureau.


    Shi Tai didn¡¯t lift a finger but just watched everything, and asked Yan Junze, ¡°How many stars are you, Exorcist?¡±


    Yan Junze took out his bronze badge, ¡°I¡¯m not officially on board yet, currently working as a contractor.¡±


    Shi Tai¡¯s mouth twitched slightly, his gaze turning to Yu, who was struggling to pull up the heavy rolling shutter of the clinic, and asked, ¡°Semi-spirit?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s your attitude towards strangenesses?¡± asked Shi Tai.


    Because those with a Semi-Spirit Body were usually humans who had partially combined with strangenesses. These people were somewhat like Spirit Cultivators, and if their intentions were not pure, they could easily misuse their semi-spirit powers and go astray.


    Knowing that Yan Junze was a Semi-spirit, Shi Tai intended to probe him with a question or two from the onset because he didn¡¯t take a liking to him, even though he was well aware that the Exorcist team must have conducted a background check on Yan Junze beforehand.


    ¡°I stand against strangenesses my whole life,¡± Yan Junze declared with conviction.


    As he finished speaking, Liu Hao and Yu, who had just opened the clinic door, suddenly turned around, looking at him in surprise.


    Looking again at Shi Tai, the corners of his mouth twitched several times.


    ¡°Monk? My whole life?¡± Yan Junze pondered carefully, smacking his lips, ¡°There¡¯s a rolled ¡®r¡¯ sound. Could it be that Shi Tai is sensitive even to the distinction between retroflex and non-retroflex sounds?¡±


    ¡°I meant, my whole life is committed to opposing strangenesses,¡± he decided to amend his words just to be safe.


    After all, it was Shi Tai¡¯s territory, and it was important to give the man some respect.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± Shi Tai said, as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, and gave the order.


    Liu Hao and Yu immediately took the lead, turning on all the lights in the clinic and started their separate investigations.


    Yan Junze also began searching, focusing on corners to check for any jars or pots, as Yan Long¡¯s disciple liked to fiddle with those things, and it was likely that the master and his disciple shared similar methods of cultivating spirits.


    Yan Long seemed to be not much older than Guo Youliang, but in fact, he was already in his seventies. Once retired from Tianyi District¡¯s Seventh Hospital, he had opened this clinic. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Normally, he treated all kinds of patients, but his cures for skin diseases were particularly remarkable.


    The clinic wasn¡¯t very big. Besides the somewhat spacious room at the front, there were two rooms inside¡ªone was for the doctor¡¯s rest, and the other had two beds for patients who needed to be on a drip.


    Yan Junze, Liu Hao, and Yu were still inspecting the larger exterior room when Shi Tai had already moved on to one of the interior rooms.


    Because the outer room was filled with large medicine cabinets, diagnostic equipment, and furniture, it took more effort to search.


    After Yan Junze and the others confirmed there was nothing abnormal, they proceeded to the room with the infusion beds, where they discovered the door on the other side was wide open, and Shi Tai was nowhere to be seen.


    They walked through the infusion room into the resting room that Yan Long usually used.


    There, Shi Tai stood in the middle of the room, next to a small bed for resting, with a desk on the other side strewn with over a dozen medical books.


    Due to the lack of any visitors for a while and the absence of windows, the bedding on the bed had developed significant mold spots and was emitting a musty smell.


    After Yan Junze and the others entered, Shi Tai ignored them and walked towards the desk.


    He lifted the desk with one movement, positioning it about ten centimeters away from the rear wall, and then bent down to carefully inspect the wall.


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 Chapter 338 - 282: Regret (4600 words)_3

    Chapter 338: Chapter 282: Regret (4600 words)_3


    A moment later, he asked Liu Hao to turn on the flashlight and pass it to him, then squatted down and fiddled with a black protrusion in the corner of the wall.


    With a swoosh, the entire bed flipped over, revealing a pitch-black passage extending downward.


    A rush of damp and chilly air surged up.


    Yu, standing at the bedside inspecting, was startled by the sudden flipping of the bed. He quickly stepped back, but still the cold air approached him, causing him to shiver violently.


    Shi Tai hurried over, shone the flashlight down the passage, and then was the first to descend the slippery staircase.


    Liu Hao was the second to go down, and also handed a flashlight to Yan Junze.


    ...


    Yan Junze zipped up his open jacket, turned on his flashlight, and followed Liu Hao into the basement.


    The basement wasn¡¯t as deep or as large as one might imagine. After walking down twelve steps, they arrived at the bottom.


    A sweep of the flashlight revealed the entire basement at a glance.


    It looked like Yan Long had dug this out by himself, quietly, to avoid detection. Presumably unable to use heavy machinery, the chiseled walls were uneven with pits and bumps, and the space inside was very cramped.


    Just one look at this basement and Yan Junze was certain that this was Yan Long¡¯s lair.


    There were jars everywhere on the floor. Some of them were filled with a black, viscous liquid that was almost overflowing and even bubbling.


    There were also dried bloodstains on the basement floor, but no smell of blood.


    The lack of the blood scent was due to the overwhelming ancient medicinal smell, and at the far end of the basement was a crudely handcrafted wooden rack, with densely packed various sized medicines on its five shelves.


    Some were empty bottles, others were half-full, and some contained a little of an unidentified liquid.


    In the middle of the basement was a hospital emergency room¡¯s kind of push bed, but the four casters underneath had been removed, and the push bed had been firmly fixed to the ground.


    Three or four layers of white bedsheets were spread on the bed, which were stained with some chemicals and could not be washed away. There were also large patches of red marks, likely blood.


    As Yan Junze, Liu Hao, and Yu were shocked by the discovery of this basement, Shi Tai had already checked the space and taken out a strangeness detector to thoroughly scan it.


    Then, pointing at the jars on the floor, he said, ¡°This one, this one, and this one, these three jars have been infused with spirits. However, they haven¡¯t fully grown yet. Notify someone to transport them back for disposal.¡±


    Yu hurriedly gathered the three jars Shi Tai had pointed out to one side, storing them carefully.


    Shi Tai then made another round with the detector, put away the device, grabbed the magnetic knife, and released a two-meter-long magnetic glow, sweeping through the basement.


    He then nodded and said to Liu Hao, ¡°There are no other anomalies now. Remember, these three jars must be processed immediately upon being transported back.¡±


    As he spoke, he glanced at Yan Junze and said to the three of them, ¡°There are no other anomalies here. I¡¯m leaving now, I have to catch a plane at the airport.¡±


    Implicit in his words was some dissatisfaction with Yan Junze for delaying him, and he deliberately emphasized the words ¡°catch a plane.¡±


    Yan Junze bowed slightly, with an apologetic smile on his face.


    After watching Shi Tai leave, he turned to Liu Hao and asked, ¡°Are you sure there are no other anomalies here?¡±


    Liu Hao nodded, ¡°A four-star exorcist has spoken, rest assured, there definitely aren¡¯t any more.¡±


    Yan Junze then used Inner Vision to inspect his own mind. The moment he entered the basement, he had activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events,¡± and not long after, the perception had sent him information alerts.


    According to the information now, not only were there still strangenesses in the basement, but there were also many and complex ones. Some of the detected obsessions were incomplete, either lacking a beginning or an end, or only fragments of thoughts remained.


    Yan Junze had already been shocked by this flood of information, which was why he had merely stood by quietly and watched Shi Tai search for anomalies, posturing as though he was not concerned.


    He made no comment even after Shi Tai confirmed there were no anomalies and left, but instead, used Liu Hao to double-check their information.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was certain that the other exorcists really hadn¡¯t discovered anything unusual.


    ¡°Obsession? The plethora of obsessions here¡­ are actually remnant obsessions!¡±


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 Chapter 339 - 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)

    Chapter 339: Chapter 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)


    Residual emotions pervaded this basement, but such things were subtle and could not even be detected with a Spirit Detector.


    Or to put it more strictly, residual emotions might not count as actual spirits.


    The signal in the basement was poor, so Yu went upstairs to call the exorcism team in Tianyi District, and soon came down to tell Liu Hao that a car would arrive shortly.


    Because there were many jars and pots here, which were also fragile, a small transport vehicle was called directly, and some foam had been pre-loaded inside it.


    After all, they had to be transported back to the exorcists¡¯ office on the street, and in case any jar broke on the way and that black viscous liquid leaked out, unpredictable situations might occur if it came into contact with ordinary people.


    While waiting for the vehicle to arrive, Yan Junze pretended to inspect the basement and even took out his phone to record a video, claiming it was to report back to the exorcism team after returning to Tianmeng.


    ...


    The exorcists originally thought they would find some kind of formidable strangeness in Yan Long¡¯s lair, given that he was the person who had killed the four-star exorcist Guo Youliang along with the Ancient Corpse, so they couldn¡¯t be careless, which is why they had sent the four-star exorcist Shi Tai this time.


    The outcome now was pretty good, with no more dangerous strangenesses left¡ªjust a cleanup of the site remained.


    After a short while, the team¡¯s transport vehicle arrived, followed by two other sedans with staff members inside, not exorcists.


    These people quickly performed a covert lockdown of the site and, following Liu Hao¡¯s instructions, orderly made an inventory of all items in the basement, including the pushcart in the middle.


    Subsequently, everyone transferred the jars and pots one by one, placing them on the transport vehicle, isolating them with foam, and after loading them all up, a white cloth was uniformly laid over the jars, with the edges securely fastened.


    Yan Junze kept up his pretense of taking notes on his own; he did not step in to help these people, and Liu Hao didn¡¯t plan to let him either.


    Half an hour later, all items of value had been loaded onto the transport vehicle, and even the empty vials were all cleared.


    In the basement, all that remained were the empty wooden shelves along the wall and the pushcart in the middle; the sheets stained with traces of medicine and blood had also been taken away.


    When it was time to seal off the place, Yan Junze came up to help, and after the work was finished, he stood on the street corner with Liu Hao and Yu, the two exorcists.


    ¡°Do you want to come to our team¡¯s office? Since it¡¯s our first meeting, let me treat you,¡± Liu Hao said.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No need, I¡¯m still in class, I might have to rush back to Tianmeng in the afternoon.¡±


    Liu Hao did not insist; he and Yu had much work to do after the items were transported back, so after greeting Yan Junze, they both boarded one of the black sedans.


    Yan Junze waved and watched them leave.


    He then turned to glance at the clinic sealed with tape, a tape not marked by the exorcists but rather the standard seal of Tianyi District Security Bureau.


    There was no helping it; if the seal were that of the exorcists, the residents nearby would become panicky, and it could invite other troubles, so the exorcists¡¯ seals used in their routine work were all uniformly those of the Security Bureau.


    Since the clinic was close to the street and there was a lot of foot traffic, Yan Junze watched for a moment before walking to the side.


    When he reached the side of the row of red brick buildings, he came upon a red brick wall that wasn¡¯t very high and could be easily climbed over.


    On the other side of this wall, Yan Junze guessed that it wasn¡¯t far from the clinic¡¯s infusion room.


    After surveying the terrain for a while, he returned to the main street and began to wander around.


    Checking the time, it was still early, so Yan Junze called Wang Tao, ¡°Captain Wang, I might be late leaving, so don¡¯t wait for me. I¡¯ll be back at school in two days at the latest.¡±


    Wang Tao sounded surprised, ¡°Are you going to help the exorcists here?¡±


    Yan Junze embraced the opportunity and nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll assist in eliminating a few strangenesses and return soon. You don¡¯t have to wait for me; you can leave today if there¡¯s nothing else.¡±


    Wang Tao said, ¡°Ugly Girl¡¯s parents, Wang Kunpeng and Li Lanlan, came back today and said they wanted to thank you, they¡¯re waiting at your uncle¡¯s house right now.¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a somewhat mocking tone, ¡°No need, I don¡¯t want to see them. Tell that couple to demolish that detached house, bury Ugly Girl¡¯s bones, and build a grave for her right there. Don¡¯t skimp on the expenses; make it nice. If they wish, they can live in the main house next to Ugly Girl¡¯s grave afterwards.¡±


    Wang Tao¡¯s expression on the other end of the phone was unknowable as he replied, ¡°I think¡­ they won¡¯t be living here anymore.¡±


    The two of them chatted briefly more, and Yan Junze hung up the phone, then went to a restaurant and ordered a few delicate dishes to eat alone; it was still quite early.


    He decided to take this as an opportunity to familiarize himself with Tianyi City District and started wandering around.


    During the exploration, he saw a movie theater showing a magical blockbuster from the Great Capital, the USA, titled ¡°The Lord of the Rings,¡± and it was a triple feature. After calculating the time, the screenings would take about seven hours.


    The movie theater was quite interesting, with the advertisement on the giant poster outside proclaiming: This theater cordially invites exorcists to conduct regular Spirit Explorations and provides 24-hour exorcism services. Each screening room is characterized by an elegant environment, cool and clean. The theater sincerely promises that if you discover any strangeness during the movie, after alerting the exorcists for immediate removal, you will be awarded a diamond card, which allows for one year of free movies at this and all chain theaters.


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 Chapter 340 - 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_2

    Chapter 340: Chapter 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_2


    Upon hearing such a serious promise, Yan Junze felt there must be some trickery afoot with the cinema and the exorcist team. Ordinary people had to queue for exorcisms, but here one could summon help at will, surely due to regular service fees being paid.


    But this was just fine. The film series would kill enough time; Yan Junze bought a ticket and also picked up some popcorn and mineral water before entering the cinema on his own.


    There were ten-minute breaks between each installment of ¡°The Lord of the Rings¡± trilogy for the audience to use the restroom.


    Yan Junze¡¯s metabolism was slow; he never went to the bathroom not even once. Moreover, if it hadn¡¯t been for wanting to try the food in Tianyi District, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to eat at all.


    There weren¡¯t many watching ¡°The Lord of the Rings¡±, but it wasn¡¯t deserted either. When the series ended and Yan Junze left the cinema, there wasn¡¯t a soul in sight further from the entrance.


    Some taxis were parked at the entrance waiting for customers. One of the taxi drivers, a man with a large beard, rolled down his window and called out, ¡°Sir, get in the car. Walking alone so late is dangerous, strangenesses appear around here at night.¡±


    ...


    Some viewers who had pre-booked their rides through the rapid taxi service just hopped in and left, which made the taxis more competitive at that time.


    Yan Junze got into the car and gave the address, ¡°To Priest Street.¡±


    The bearded driver started the car and said, ¡°I can only go to the main road of Priest Street, won¡¯t turn into side streets, and will only stop under street lights, not in dark places.¡±


    ¡°Alright, no problem,¡± nodded Yan Junze.


    Without another word, they arrived at Priest Street. Instead of choosing to disembark in front of Clinic 136, Yan Junze asked the bearded driver to stop earlier, under a lit street lamp.


    After paying and getting out of the taxi, he waited for the car to drive off before heading toward Yan Long¡¯s clinic. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Approaching the clinic, Yan Junze, fearing surveillance cameras nearby, didn¡¯t continue forward but turned into the side of the building with the wall he had seen during the day.


    He took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and with its light, he took two steps back to get a running start and then leaped to grab onto the wall. With a push of his feet, he swiftly climbed over.


    All was silent around him, no sound to be heard, nor a person nearby to fear being seen.


    Standing at the corner of the wall and observing his surroundings, Yan Junze noticed that the infusion room was indeed about ten meters away from here. The ground here, rarely trodden, remained damp and mossy, making it slippery to walk on.


    He tiptoed to the window of the infusion room and noticed that the window bolt was locked from the inside.


    After considering for a moment, he channeled a sliver of his semi-spiritual power and extended a single hair through the gap in the window, effortlessly unlocking the bolt.


    Opening the window, which lacked any security bars, Yan Junze climbed through it.


    Once inside the infusion room, the door leading to Yan Long¡¯s personal room was sealed with tape. Without any hesitation, he walked over and gently tore it along a pre-existing gap made during the day, without causing any damage.


    Entering Yan Long¡¯s personal room, the bed was still flipped up, revealing the dark entrance to the basement below.


    With the limited brightness of his phone¡¯s flashlight, Yan Junze had to strain his eyes to discern his surroundings in the pitch darkness of the basement.


    Holding his phone warily, he descended the basement steps, his ears alert to the utmost, dreading any sudden noise.


    Yet as he listened while descending, no strange sound emerged. Soon he reached the bottom of the basement.


    Basing his actions on speculations made during the day, Yan Junze again activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events,¡± quickly receiving feedback. However, these weren¡¯t complete mission details, but rather fragments of obsessive utterances.


    Standing still, he tried to make sense of the information, his brow gradually furrowing, yet he did not move.


    His mind was flooded with disjointed phrases, some abrupt and incomplete, their meanings elusive.


    ¡°So much pain¡­ I¡¯m in so much pain.¡±


    ¡°That bastard, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    ¡°Why is this happening? Why do I have to suffer so cruelly?¡±


    ¡°I want to eat¡­¡±


    ¡°Mom, where are you? I¡¯m scared! So scared!¡±


    ¡°Where is this?¡±


    ¡°Drifting, drifting, my unrestrained pride¡­¡±


    What was particularly annoying was that some of the obsessive remnants were actually singing.


    Yan Junze aimed his phone¡¯s flashlight toward the center of the basement, particularly at the ground beneath the gurney, and walked over.


    ¡°It should be here,¡± he muttered.


    He squatted down and tried to lift the gurney, which had been fixed to the ground. The legs made a loud clang on the floor, startling Yan Junze in the quiet environment.


    Mainly, the silence all around and the fact that the basement was constructed by the spirit cultivator Yan Long, with so much residual obsession, already made it eerie.


    Right now, Junze felt like someone was watching him from behind.


    Several times he turned with his flashlight to check, but there was nothing, although the dark patch on the floor appeared to be dried blood.


    Whether it was human or animal blood was unknown.


    Squatting down again, he placed his phone on the ground, flashlight beam upward, and grabbed two legs of the gurney. With a strong pull, this time the sound was not so loud since the legs had broken free from the floor and he lifted it.


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 Chapter 341 - 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_3

    Chapter 341: Chapter 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_3


    Gently shifting it aside and placing it nearby, Yan Junze moved to another direction, grabbed the other two fixed bedposts, and lifted forcefully. This time, too, the noise was not loud as the bedposts came apart.


    He moved the wheeled bed aside.


    The underground cellar had been quietly constructed by Yan Long alone, so the floor was not smooth, and it was all clumps of soil, yet these clumps had been firmly trodden.


    Yan Junze pressed on the soil and found that although it was equally tight, it was somewhat looser than the soil on the outside.


    He touched a slightly protruding area and forcefully broke it off, flipping over a chunk of soil as big as the palm of his hand. The soil was hard, but the part underneath was much softer.


    Seeing potential, Yan Junze simply knelt on the ground and started breaking off chunks of soil with his hands.


    ...


    These clumps seemed to form a continuous layer, but once one was broken off, it became easy to dislodge the others.


    Before long, he had flipped almost all of the remaining soil, and then his body shook, his fingers as if touching something soft, akin to skin.


    He quickly grabbed his cellphone flashlight and shone it down to find two fingers.


    The lower ends of the fingers were still buried in the soil.


    Yan Junze stood up and summoned the Crawler Monster, which lay on the ground after appearing, looking up at Yan Junze pleasingly, and then turned its gaze to the two fingers exposed on the ground.


    The fingers were delicate and the skin was snowy white; although smeared with some soil, it was clear they should belong to a woman.


    ¡°Brother, dig out what¡¯s underneath. Be careful not to damage it,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    The Crawling Corpse flicked its already long side part and began to dig rapidly with its hands, occasionally using its tongue to help loosen the surrounding soil. In about five minutes, it had dug up the entire corpse buried below to the surface.


    Since the temperature in the cellar was very low, and a somewhat pungent medicinal smell wafted out as the body was exposed, Yan Junze took a closer look and found that the corpse was completely intact, the skin soft, as if it were a living person.


    This was the naked body of a woman. Even lying on the ground, her slender figure was apparent, her body devoid of any excess fat, as naturally perfect as jade.


    Then Yan Junze shone the light of his cellphone flashlight on the woman¡¯s face, and the next second, he was stunned.


    It could be said that, whether in his past life or this one, he swore he had never seen such a stunningly gorgeous face. The features were exquisitely crafted without a single flaw.


    Looking at the proportions of the female corpse¡¯s body, everything seemed just right, not a bit too much or too little, as if every inch of skin, every bone, had been meticulously calculated.


    If not for the medicinal scent emitting from the body every so often, Yan Junze would have almost thought the woman was alive.


    He stared blankly at the female corpse, not knowing how long he gazed.


    Swish.


    A forked tongue appeared and swept viciously across the woman¡¯s face, snapping Yan Junze out of his trance.


    Turning his head, he saw the Crawler Monster smacking its lips, enraptured. It was clearly an uncontrollable act, that tongue lick.


    Its mouth opened, and the forked tongue was about to lick the female corpse¡¯s cheek again. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze quickly used his mind and retracted the creature back into the Atlas.


    Turning back to the female corpse, his Adam¡¯s apple moved involuntarily. Even the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t resist wanting to lick the stunning beauty of this woman¡¯s face, which reminded Yan Junze to be careful.


    After regaining his composure, he bent down and leaned in close to inspect the corpse and noticed that it might not be complete. The skin bore fine scars and lines, twisted and irregular, like the clumps of soil on the ground, as if it was pieced together.


    Just then, the door of the room above creaked, as if something had come in.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly retreated to a corner of the cellar, turning off the flashlight on his phone.


    Barely audible footsteps began to move, reaching Yan Long¡¯s room on the floor above, and after a short while, patter patter, the person began to slowly descend the cellar steps.


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 Chapter 342 - 284 Possession (4400 words)

    Chapter 342: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)


    The person¡¯s footsteps were light and slow; if Yan Junze had been fully focused on the female corpse, he might have easily overlooked the sound.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the screech of the door opening above, it¡¯s likely that the other person could have descended to the basement and walked up behind Yan Junze without him noticing.


    Fortunately, the sound of the door alerted him. Yan Junze, huddled in a corner of the basement, had turned off his phone¡¯s flashlight, and was now engulfed in darkness, unable to even see the steps at the entrance of the basement.


    A faint light filtered from the room above, so he could only vaguely make out the approximate location above the entrance.


    Just then, a dark figure blocked the last bit of light seeping in and slowly descended the stairs.


    The person moved very slowly, as if carrying a thousand pounds, with footsteps that sounded like they were dragging along the ground.


    ...


    Then the light reappeared above the entrance, indicating the dark figure had moved away from the entrance and reached the bottom of the steps.


    The footsteps remained unhurried, methodically descending without pause, heading towards the center of the basement.


    The darkness was intense; Yan Junze squatted in the corner, straining his eyes, but still unable to discern who had entered the basement. If not for the barely audible footsteps, he would not be certain there was anyone else present.


    To his perception, the person kept moving towards the center of the basement, dragging their feet as if they were drunk.


    At the moment, the nearly perfect female corpse lay in the middle; if the individual took a few more steps forward, they might end up stepping directly on it.


    Just as Yan Junze was getting concerned, the footsteps suddenly stopped.


    Instant silence filled the basement; not only did Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widen, but his ears perked up too, listening intently.


    But after a while, he heard nothing, not even the sound of breathing from across the space.


    ¡°Could that person have seen me?¡± Yan Junze grew anxious, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be wearing night-vison goggles, would they?¡±


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt as if a pair of eyes were indeed watching him.


    ¡°Could it be Shi Tai, the four-star Exorcist, has come back?¡±


    During the day, that guy had rushed through his check of the place and left to catch a flight; what if he had realized something was amiss and made a roundabout return? Or could it be that he lied about catching a flight and intended to sneak in at night, with the beautiful female corpse as his target?


    After a moment, the figure still stood motionless.


    Growing impatient, Yan Junze thought of his Rewind ability and, without hesitation, clicked on his phone, turning on its flashlight to shine in the direction of the other person.


    As the light hit the standing figure, Yan Junze¡¯s body shuddered violently, almost letting out a cry.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, a man¡¯s slender figure stood, lacking a head, or rather, having a head that was almost completely severed, resting on the left side of the shoulder, seemingly about to fall off at any moment.


    Besides this, the man had a ghastly wound at his abdomen, from which blood had poured and now dried, cementing the clothes and skin together.


    In the instant he saw the head, Yan Junze recognized him.


    ¡°Yan Long!!!¡±


    The person in front of him was indeed Yan Long, or rather, he shouldn¡¯t be called a person anymore but a strangeness that Yan Long had become after death. Otherwise, Yan Long¡¯s body would have been cremated by the Tianmeng Exorcist Team, leaving no possibility for him to move around like this.


    At this moment, still astonished, Yan Junze saw under the flashlight that Yan Long¡¯s strangeness seemed to react. He took two heavy steps forward, coming to stand beside the feet of the female corpse.


    During this process, the head perched on his shoulder wobbled, as if it might carelessly fall at any minute.


    This scene, in the silence of the basement, added a grotesque and terrifying magnitude. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet what surprised Yan Junze even more was yet to come. After standing next to the female corpse for about two seconds, Yan Long suddenly lunged forward, his entire body pouncing onto the corpse.


    Getting close to it, Yan Long had turned into a shadow, overlapping with the body of the woman lying on the ground, and then his shadow rolled over, aligning horizontally.


    Right before his eyes, Yan Long¡¯s shadow gradually vanished, replaced by convulsions from the naked female corpse.


    Yan Junze realized suddenly that this strangeness had returned to his clinic with the same intent as his apprentice, Cheng Jingting.


    Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!


    It seemed though, Yan Long¡¯s strangeness appeared quite bedraggled as it traveled from the Tianmeng Exorcist Team back to Tianyi, spending quite some time in the process.


    Regardless, Yan Long had returned, and he targeted the nearly perfect female corpse that Yan Junze had just recently uncovered for his resurrection.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    The female corpse began to wriggle, her legs curled up, her hands and feet awkwardly separating as if unable to fully control her limbs, exerting uneven force.


    But even though the force wasn¡¯t even, and her body was twisted backward, she still slowly stood up, with her head dangling beside her shoulder like Yan Long¡¯s just moments before, turning to face the direction of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was taken aback.


    He knew that Yan Long had been quite powerful, and now, with the backing of this perfect female body, the consequences of a successful possession were too dreadful to contemplate.


    At this moment, he definitely couldn¡¯t allow Yan Long to succeed.


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 Chapter 343 - 284 Possession (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 343: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)_2 S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The thought had barely formed when the female corpse stretched out her hands toward Yan Junze and quickly walked over.


    ¡°Rewind!¡±


    Time rewound to the moment before the door above the basement had been opened, and Yan Junze no longer focused on the female corpse. Instead, he turned and went to the entrance steps of the basement.


    Squatting down, he first brought out his Black Spirit Mallet, gripping it with both hands, and then released the Crawler Monster and two strange babies.


    The Crawler Monster had just been retrieved because it licked the pretty face of the female corpse. Now released, it still remembered the location of the female corpse and even glanced back at it, with a trace of reluctance in its eyes.


    ¡°Damn, side-part, seems like she¡¯s got you hooked,¡± Yan Junze said speechlessly.


    ...


    Unexpectedly, after the two strange babies appeared, they felt very comfortable in the dark and scurried toward the spot where the female corpse lay, making squeaking noises and ignoring Yan Junze¡¯s calls.


    The two strange babies crouched down, one to the left and one to the right, and observed the body of the female corpse with greedy eyes.


    ¡°Come back!¡± Yan Junze called out again.


    The two strange babies paid him no heed; they didn¡¯t even glance in his direction.


    Just then, a squeaking noise came from upstairs as the door opened.


    Having no other choice, Yan Junze drew back the disobedient creatures and turned off his phone¡¯s flashlight. He then turned to the Crawler Monster and said, ¡°Get ready to ambush. As soon as I turn on the flashlight, act immediately.¡±


    The sound of dragging footsteps reached their ears. Silent, the Crawler Monster lay on the other side of the steps, while Yan Junze squatted on this side, mallet in hand, ready to strike at any moment.


    Not long after, Yan Long began to descend the steps with a cocked head, blocking the outside light with his figure, causing the light to flicker with his movements.


    Although the visibility was poor, Yan Junze silently counted the approximate number of steps, and when he felt Yan Long was in the right position to attack, he immediately turned on the flashlight.


    As the light came on, the Crawler Monster on the other side was the first to attack, its forked tongue lashing out and violently wrapping around Yan Long¡¯s skinny body.


    Seizing the opportunity, Yan Junze stood up and swung his mallet hard at Yan Long.


    He had no intention of stopping, relentlessly hammering away. The spiritual power in the Black Spirit Mallet could have a special effect on the strange creatures, even though at the moment, with only one Black Spirit Pearl, it could not effectively annihilate higher level strangenesses.


    Yan Junze ensured that each hit weakened Yan Long a bit more. Although he couldn¡¯t hit the head, he didn¡¯t miss any crucial parts of the body.


    Yan Long¡¯s head had originally been chopped off by the exorcist Tong De, and Zhang Xiaomo was the creator of the terrifying cut in his abdomen.


    Now that the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue had entangled Yan Long, he couldn¡¯t move, so Yan Junze¡¯s attacks never missed their target.


    Moreover, the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue continued to tighten¡ªif possible, it would soon cut Yan Long¡¯s body in half.


    However, at that moment, Yan Long¡¯s body shivered, and the head that was twisted began to transform, becoming fierce. His lips turned outwards, growing two sharp fangs, and joints on his body began to bulge, with sharp bone spurs protruding from his elbows.


    His body quickly expanded in size, almost breaking the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mallet hit fell on Yan Long¡¯s shoulder, producing a dull thud, as if striking heavy iron, and his entire arm went numb.


    He was shocked, not expecting that Yan Long, who had transformed into a strange creature, would still be able to merge with his own Semi-Spirit Body from his previous life.


    And the current transformation of Yan Long was clearly taking the form of a Monster Spirit.


    The mallet was useless, and the Crawler Monster¡¯s abilities were no match for Yan Long at this point. Releasing the two strange babies might help, but they were likely to be distracted by the female corpse.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was tempted to activate his own Semi-Spirit Body, but he knew very well that the Yan Long in front of him was a combination of a strange creature and a Semi-spirit. This situation was very special, very odd, and considering the overuse of his Semi-Spirit Power before, if he had to face Yan Long in his Semi-Spirit Body¡ªand even kill him¡ªit would probably ¡°hurt¡± the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, mother and daughter, quite a bit.


    Unless his life was in danger, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to act rashly now.


    The strange magnetic field of Long-tongued Zhenzhen had yet to be adjusted, and since Ugly Girl had just been captured with a ¡°neutral¡± favorability, it was uncertain if she would help him against the combination of Yan Long and the Monster Spirit.


    ¡°Ugly Girl?¡±


    Thinking of Ugly Girl, Yan Junze suddenly froze, his mind at that moment grasping a novel and even abnormal idea.


    Boom!


    The Crawler Monster had its tongue grabbed by Yan Long, who lifted and threw it against the basement wall, sending dust flying in all directions.


    And in the next second, Yan Junze had his collar grabbed by Yan Long, his feet dangling in the air as he was lifted up.


    But before the opponent could do anything further, Yan Junze had already chosen to Rewind.


    This time, with the Rewind, he set the time to just after the Crawler Monster had dug out the perfect female corpse.


    Everything blurred, and he was back to the moment when he was lying on the ground, staring at the female corpse.


    A medicinal odor hit him. It wasn¡¯t very strong. Yan Junze believed that after the odor had spread some on the ground and was then masked by the scent of perfume, it could be hidden.


    Realizing that the Crawler Monster was about to extend its tongue to lick the female corpse, Yan Junze immediately retrieved it and released Ugly Girl.


    As Ugly Girl stood in the basement, looking around, her long hair draped over her waist swaying gently, she asked, ¡°Where is this?¡±


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 Chapter 344 - 284 Possession (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 344: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)_3


    ¡°A basement,¡± Yan Junze said, then pointed at the perfect female corpse on the ground, ¡°I have an idea, although you¡¯ve been dead for so long, long past the time for Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect, but now I still hope you can attach yourself to this beautiful corpse.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Attachment? A beautiful corpse?¡± Ugly Girl blinked in confusion, looking at the corpse with snow-white skin lying on the ground, ¡°Is she¡­ pretty?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the corpse¡¯s cheek and nodded, ¡°Her appearance can be described as stunningly beautiful.¡±


    ¡°But is her spirit beautiful?¡± Ugly Girl asked again.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to take over her body. Whether her heart is beautiful or not will depend on you.¡±


    Ugly Girl moved to the side of the corpse and knelt down directly, allowing her to fully see the delicate face of the corpse. Yan Junze even made a point of bringing the flashlight closer, so she could see more clearly.


    ...


    ¡°This female corpse will be yours from now on. You can even go shopping and watch movies using this body, and live a normal person¡¯s life, but you must act not like the dead, and you must stay with me. If you need to leave me for a moment, you must have my consent,¡± Yan Junze said slowly.


    Ugly Girl didn¡¯t say anything. She just carefully observed the corpse in front of her, stretching out her hand and gently caressing the delicate face, then the arms, abdomen, and legs¡­


    ¡°You need to understand that besides a beautiful spirit, a beautiful appearance is also a very important bonus,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°I hope you can use this body, combined with your pure heart, to find everything you lost in life, and to find your love for life and living.¡±


    Ugly Girl¡¯s sliding hand stopped, and she fell silent, as if in thought.


    Yan Junze checked the time on his phone, guessing that Yan Long was about to arrive, and asked, ¡°So, have you decided?¡±


    After several seconds of silence, Ugly Girl nodded suddenly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve made my decision. Thank you!¡±


    With her words, she lunged forward, just like Yan Long did during the last Rewind, her body turning into a shadow, merging perfectly with the female corpse.


    Shortly after, the corpse¡¯s fingers twitched.


    Yan Junze, who was watching intently, advised, ¡°Because it¡¯s been so long, you can no longer resurrect through Possessing a Corpse, but you can perfectly control this body. Start by getting used to the movement of each joint, familiarize yourself with the feeling of control.¡±


    At that moment, the fingers of the corpse¡¯s other hand also twitched, followed by the feet, then the shoulders¡­


    When Yan Junze just happened to shine the flashlight on her face, the corpse¡¯s eyes opened. It was a pair of sky-blue irises, gem-like magnificent, deep blue like the ocean.


    Looking at these eyes, Yan Junze¡¯s own eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected the corpse¡¯s eyes to be sky-blue, just like the people from the USA in the Great Capital.


    At this point, he had probably guessed that this female corpse looked so perfect, and with many fine scars and patterns on her body, it was indeed possible that she was artificially created, by the Spirit Cultivator, Yan Long.


    Given Yan Long¡¯s ruthlessness, he was capable of anything, killing people and taking only the most essential parts, then assembling them into this nearly perfect female corpse.


    This also explained why Yan Junze could sense so many fragments of souls drifting around. They were remnants from the various parts of the female corpse¡¯s body.


    Now, because of Ugly Girl¡¯s strange Attachment, these fragments were naturally expelled by her stronger spiritual field.


    After completing the female corpse, Yan Long used preservative treatments properly, allowing the corpse to remain undecayed indefinitely.


    Whether his original intention was to turn the female corpse into a zombie or to keep it for his own use remained unknown.


    But it¡¯s highly unlikely that it was for his own use. Thus, Yan Long¡¯s strangeness returning to his clinic in Tianyi District might be due to necessity, relying on this perfect female corpse for a chance at resurrecting.


    Just as Ugly Girl was about to sit up in control of the corpse, upstairs, the sound of a door opening could finally be heard.


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 Chapter 345 - 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)

    Chapter 345: Chapter 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)


    Looking at this, Ugly Girl was clearly still adapting to the female corpse, whether in terms of manipulation or fusion with the body; this all required a process.


    However, the chance to possess such a stunningly beautiful corpse was obviously a delightful and appreciated surprise for Ugly Girl.


    Having been filled with a great lack of confidence in her own appearance from a young age, which ruined her life, the opportunity for change now lay before her. Although it had come a bit late, Ugly Girl had no reason to refuse it.


    In that moment, Yan Junze knew he was very grateful to himself because, as she sat up, a message popped up in the Spacetime Atlas in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Ugly Girl (Sculpting Spirit) Favorability has increased, current favorability: Friendly]


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel quite happy when he saw the word ¡°Friendly.¡±


    ...


    Because ¡°Neutral¡± meant that even if he encountered Yan Long now, and got into a fight with Yan Long, Ugly Girl was very likely not to help him. But ¡°Friendly¡± was different; this level of favorability meant that Ugly Girl had a high likelihood of helping Yan Junze take on Yan Long.


    Footsteps came from the room above, the familiar sound of dragging feet across the floor, as Yan Long arrived at the entrance to the basement, blocking some of the light from outside as he started descending the stairs.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t turn off his phone¡¯s flashlight, and at this point, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered by Yan Long either.


    Because the purpose of Yan Long¡¯s visit had already been realized by Ugly Girl ahead of time.


    Whispering beside Ugly Girl¡¯s ear, he said, ¡°How do you feel now? Quickly adapt to this body, we might have to deal with another strangeness next. That strangeness is also here to snatch this body, ready to ¡®Possess a Corpse to Resurrect.¡¯


    The female corpse turned her face towards him, her crystal-clear blue eyes looked at Yan Junze, and although her voice sounded somewhat surprised, her expression was extremely stiff, not changing at all: ¡°He¡­ why does he want to snatch a corpse?¡±


    ¡°The bad guys, what else would they do if not bad stuff?¡± Yan Junze confidently asserted.


    Ugly Girl said, ¡°Then the heart of this person must be extremely ugly.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Quick, get used to the body! Be fully prepared to deal with him.¡±


    Pitter-patter, the sounds of footsteps on the stairs were drawing nearer.


    Yan Junze looked up and shone the light from the flashlight over, only to see Yan Long coming down the stairs, with the top half of his body already turned around, his head, which had broken off and was resting on his shoulder, was blinking and watching over here.


    Because the body had turned half-around, the stab wound in Yan Long¡¯s belly had split open.


    ¡°He¡¯s not only ugly in spirit, but in appearance as well,¡± Ugly Girl added.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh.


    As Ugly Girl talked, she awkwardly stood up, not in the bizarre joint-reversed way the corpse had stood up under Yan Long¡¯s control during the last Rewind, but in a normal manner, making her seem much easier on the eyes.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze involuntarily swept over the standing Ugly Girl.


    It had to be said, the body proportions of this female corpse were simply perfect, slender where it needed to be, with hair falling over her shoulders, long and straight legs, even her toes seemed finely carved, like identical pebbles by the river.


    If one didn¡¯t know what Ugly Girl looked like inside this female corpse, an average man would probably be bewitched with just one glance. Fortunately, Yan Junze quickly called up the image of Ugly Girl in his mind, and even tripled it in size, then he was startled into a severe shudder and instantly lost all his earlier interest.


    By now, Yan Long had fully descended the stairs and was walking towards this side.


    Ugly Girl lifted her hands, looked at them, clenched her fists, and began to reacquaint and feel the strength in these fair-skinned arms.


    ¡°I feel¡­ this body¡­ is very powerful?¡± Ugly Girl suddenly spoke.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze became sharp, then he suddenly realized, considering Yan Long¡¯s Spirit Cultivator¡¯s nature, he wouldn¡¯t create such a perfect female corpse without reason. If he wanted to cultivate a spirit, surely he had other plans. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps this female corpse was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, and every inch of skin, every muscle, every bone had undergone some kind of strangeness.


    Moreover, now that her body was controlled by Ugly Girl, perhaps it would become even more powerful.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yan Long, with his head askew, had already closed in, lunging towards Ugly Girl. She stretched out a hand and grabbed Yan Long¡¯s wrist, snapping it with a crack.


    Yan Long reached out with his other hand, which Ugly Girl also grabbed easily.


    However, this time, Yan Long¡¯s entire body began to swell instantaneously, the power of the Monster Spirit emanated, and not only did his broken arm repair itself, but both hands also swelled to more than triple their size.


    Ugly Girl held his two arms and twisted them again, visibly twisting the muscles in those arms like ropes, though no breaking sound was heard this time.


    The head on Yan Long¡¯s shoulder roared angrily; at this moment, he was well aware that his carefully cultivated female corpse had been taken over by someone else.


    And it was clear that the strangeness that had taken over the corpse was equally strong.


    Bang!


    Ugly Girl put forth a foot, the snow-white sole of her foot kicking out and hitting Yan Long squarely in the chest, sending the man flying backwards and slamming into the side of the basement entrance stairs.


    The two swollen arms that were still grasped by Ugly Girl broke off at the shoulders and were then casually thrown aside by her.


    ¡°Damn, so fierce!¡±


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of excitement, not expecting that having Ugly Girl possess this beautiful corpse would result in such terrifying strength, effectively gaining a powerful ally by his side. And she was such a beauty to behold, truly a feast for the eyes.


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 Chapter 346 - 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 346: Chapter 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)_2


    Ugly Girl discarded the severed arm of the Monster Spirit and felt her control over her body increase marginally. Although her movements still appeared very stiff, she stepped towards the fallen Yan Long, grabbed his shoulder with a grip so tight that her fingers sank into his flesh, lifted him, and hurled him away.


    Without any power to resist, Yan Long was thrown out of the basement entrance and flew into the room above, crashing heavily onto the floor.


    Yan Junze was taken aback and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t cause too much commotion, pull him down, make it quick and decisive.¡±


    Ugly Girl¡¯s legs propelled her like a superwoman, launching her whole body out of the basement and into the room above. She grabbed Yan Long and leaped back into the basement, tossed him onto the ground, and then smashed down with her fist, making his chest cavity collapse instantly.


    One punch followed another. Yan Long¡¯s Monster Spirit form couldn¡¯t withstand it for long and soon let out a scream, but Ugly Girl immediately twisted his head off, smashing all his facial features into a pulp.


    She didn¡¯t stop smashing until, in the end, even Yan Junze couldn¡¯t bear to watch, covering his mouth and retreating to a corner.


    ...


    About two minutes later, Yan Long¡¯s body began to turn into specks of phantom light, scattering into the air, his body becoming transparent.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze knew that this guy was completely finished this time.


    At the moment when the phantoms entirely vanished, he smiled and said to Ugly Girl, ¡°Congratulations, this body suits you well. With the strength of its strangenesses combined with the body¡¯s own transformative powers, even I can¡¯t estimate how strong you are now.¡±


    Having smashed Yan Long, Ugly Girl stood up, still rubbing her hands together with evident excitement about being further able to master control of this body. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°By the way.¡± Yan Junze remembered something and said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve become beautiful too, it wouldn¡¯t make sense to keep calling you Ugly Girl, right? Your real name is¡­¡±


    ¡°Wang Zhenxiang,¡± Ugly Girl said.


    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re not surnamed Shi,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°Since we already have a Zhenzhen, I¡¯ll call you Xiang¡¯er then.¡±


    ¡°I have a pet name,¡± Ugly Girl added.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Jie¡¯er.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    A brief, excruciatingly awkward silence fell over the basement.


    ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll call you Xiang Er, Wang Xiang¡¯er,¡± Yan Junze decided firmly.


    ¡°Xiang Er,¡± Ugly Girl nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You still need more practice to master this body. Take this opportunity to restore the basement now; refill it with the clumps of dirt you dug out, and be meticulous,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Without another word, Xiang Er knelt down and began to dig, intending to fill the hole that had just concealed the female corpse.


    Yan Junze was alarmed and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t kneel directly on the floor; don¡¯t be too rough with your movements. This body is your reliance; tearing the skin, injuring the muscles, or fracturing the bones could be problematic. In any case, I don¡¯t know how to nourish a spirit or repair a zombie¡¯s body right now.¡±


    Xiang Er stood up as told, bent over to glance at her knees, and shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Right after, she touched her fist and brought it close to Yan Junze, ¡°Look, this got hurt when I was smashing that strangeness earlier, but it¡¯s healing now.¡±


    Yan Junze looked closer and saw that her fist had some broken skin, likely from smashing Yan Long too vigorously, but the torn skin was slowly stretching back, recovering over the breaks.


    ¡°What kind of spirit had Yan Long been nurturing that it can even restore itself!¡±


    However, after careful observation, the skin was merely covering without fully bonding with the rest of the skin. Maybe reconnecting tissue would take time, or maybe it would stay this way indefinitely.


    Not fully understanding the situation, Yan Junze still instructed Xiang Er to be careful.


    After all, this body was much stronger than a normal human¡¯s; as long as it was used well and cherished, it could be effective for a long time.


    Xiang Er continued to fill the hole with care, then used her feet to tamp the clumps of earth neatly. She moved the gurney back in place and reassembled it according to Yan Junze¡¯s directions.


    During this period, Xiang Er felt a stronger sense of control over this body, obviously becoming more proficient in movement. Although her limbs were still somewhat stiff, it felt like they were just unaccustomed, not mechanical and awkward like they were at first.


    Yan Junze went up to the room above and found a white lab coat and a pair of soft-soled nurse shoes.


    It seemed that Yan Long had hired nurses when he ran the clinic previously. Although the clothing was secondhand, given the limited options, there was no helping it.


    There was a faucet in the basement, so Yan Junze had Xiang Er wash her hands carefully, trying not to spill any water, and then had her put on the lab coat and nurse shoes.


    There were several pairs of nurse shoes, and Yan Junze chose the largest. Xiang Er¡¯s body was roughly 1.75 meters tall, so the shoes fit snugly, but the lab coat was like a tight-fitting garment on her, tight everywhere.


    Yan Junze initially thought she might not even be able to button it up, but after Xiang Er managed to do so, it brightened Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Looking at Xiang Er in front of him, he suddenly thought of the beautiful nurses wielding scalpels in ¡°Silent Hill¡±.


    Compared with the image in his mind, it was strikingly similar, almost like a duplicate.


    If she went out dressed like this, especially with Xiang Er¡¯s graceful figure, it would undoubtedly attract a crowd of men.


    Fortunately, it was late at night. After carefully checking the basement again and finding no other traces, Yan Junze called Xiang Er back upstairs, closing the door that Yan Long had opened when he came in.


    They planned to return the same way they came, through the window.


    Before leaving, Yan Junze checked and found that Yan Long¡¯s strangeness had appeared directly in the room and then came through the door, so the seal on the clinic¡¯s outside door was still intact.


    The two climbed out the window, sneaking back over the wall. The street was definitely empty at this time, and Yan Junze was worried that Xiang Er¡¯s buttons might pop off during the climb, but luckily the garment was sturdy.


    Reaching the street, Yan Junze took out his phone to quickly search the map and discovered that about 600 meters away, at the head of Priest Street, there was a ¡°One Week Chain Hotel¡± with parentheses (24-hour service).


    Lucky them, in this era, there weren¡¯t many small hotels brave enough to operate 24 hours a day. Yan Junze confirmed that there was no security bureau next to the ¡°One Week Hotel¡±, nor was it likely that an Exorcist was stationed there.


    With lingering questions, he pulled Xiang Er and headed straight there.


    They didn¡¯t see any patrol cars on the street, only two taxis passing by. Both of them hid in the shadows under the eaves of the buildings on the side of the street, not too ostentatious.


    Upon arrival at the ¡°One Week Chain Hotel¡±, they found the main door indeed open. However, there was just an advertisement board set outside, no colorful lights or anything to attract attention.


    If the board were too eye-catching, it might attract not only guests but also strangenesses.


    After Yan Junze entered the hotel with Xiang Er, he suddenly realized that this place used self-service hotel check-in, with no one on duty.


    At the self-service kiosk, they registered their identities, checked and chose from the remaining hotel rooms, then scanned to pay, and a room card quickly popped out of the card slot below the machine.


    Yan Junze picked a standard room with two single beds.


    They went upstairs, feeling like thieves, and only after they had entered the room and closed the door did Yan Junze let out a long sigh of relief¡ªhe had indeed been afraid of being seen.


    Mainly because Xiang Er¡¯s attire was too provocative. If they were suddenly seen checking into a hotel at this time, they wouldn¡¯t be able to explain themselves even if they had mouths all over their body.


    After drawing the curtains, Yan Junze took a quick shower and lay on the bed, his whole body aching. He told Xiang Er, ¡°Go wash up; you¡¯re dirtier than I am.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded without saying anything and went to the bathroom.


    By the time she was clean and came out, Yan Junze was already asleep. Xiang Er didn¡¯t speak or put back on the dirtied, tight lab coat. Instead, she moved in front of the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked at the dim streetlights below and the neon lights of the city.


    After an indeterminate amount of time, Xiang Er squinted her eyes, focusing on the reflection of herself in the window glass. She reached out to touch her well-defined shoulder blades and then slowly caressed her cheeks, her high nose, her full lips, her delicate chin¡­


    It took quite a while before she whispered to herself, ¡°So, this is beauty.¡±


    Then she paused, ¡°No, this is just the beauty of appearance. True beauty is here.¡±


    She let go of her face, touched the area over her heart on this body, but there was no heartbeat to be felt, no blood flow, no vitality in the cells. Everything was so quiet.


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 Chapter 347 - 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)

    Chapter 347: Chapter 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)


    Yan Junze woke up to find the day already bright, and upon opening his eyes, he noticed there was nobody in the adjacent bed. He knew Xiang Er didn¡¯t need to sleep, so he wasn¡¯t surprised.


    Just as he sat up in bed, he saw Xiang Er standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window without any clothes on, having pulled all the curtains open, curiously observing the pedestrians and vehicles on the street below.


    Yan Junze was startled, quickly got up, and rushed over to draw the curtains, saying, ¡°Do you want to make the news?¡±


    Xiang Er had been standing there all night and only now did she realize her mistake, replying, ¡°Ever since I became attached to this female corpse, I¡¯ve always felt this body is just like a piece of clothing, so sometimes I feel like I¡¯m wearing clothes and I still can¡¯t adapt.¡±


    Yan Junze patted her shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯ll get used to it eventually.¡±


    When he touched her shoulder, a chilling coldness came through; after all, this was still a cold corpse.


    ...


    After freshening up in the bathroom, Yan Junze came out and glanced at the time. He said to Xiang Er, ¡°I¡¯m going to buy you a set of clothes now. You must stay in the hotel, don¡¯t go anywhere, and don¡¯t leave this room, understand?¡±


    Xiang Er nodded her head.


    Yan Junze added, ¡°Don¡¯t open the door for anyone except me. When I knock on the door, I¡¯ll tell you: it¡¯s Yan Junze, open the door. Got it?¡±


    Xiang Er nodded again.


    As Yan Junze left the room and turned to close the door behind him, he saw that Xiang Er was still staring at him woodenly. The eyes of this body were very direct and couldn¡¯t accurately reflect Xiang Er¡¯s true thoughts.


    But Yan Junze could roughly guess that Xiang Er¡¯s childhood had been very miserable, with almost no life experience, suffering from self-blame and pain, having never felt what love is from a young age.


    For her, the world she was experiencing and witnessing now was almost completely foreign. Even though Xiang Er was now very strong, her heart was so frail it might even be weaker than that of a primary school student.


    That¡¯s why she could stand by the bed watching the neon lights all night, watching the pedestrians and vehicles in the morning.


    After leaving the hotel, Yan Junze strolled around nearby before entering a women¡¯s clothing store that seemed somewhat fashionable.


    Upon entering, a female sales associate with a smile on her face approached and asked, ¡°Young man, are you buying clothes for your girlfriend?¡±


    Yan Junze said little and just nodded, ¡°She is probably about one seventy-five, not fat or thin. Recommend something to me; I want something casual. Also, sneakers, she might need size 40, and pick out a few pairs of socks.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sales associate paused, her gaze sweeping up and down Yan Junze¡¯s height, wondering to herself how the girl he was dating could be taller than him and if that didn¡¯t cause him any pressure usually?


    However, she merely nodded repeatedly, said nothing, and quickly brought over two pairs of jeans, one pair with rips, and recommended two hoodies with fashionable patterns. Yan Junze glanced at them and thought they looked fine.


    The price wasn¡¯t too expensive; he wasn¡¯t one to haggle much. Just as he was about to pay, he thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Do you sell underwear?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the sales associate nodded.


    ¡°What about sleepwear?¡±


    ¡°We have those too, but only in two styles.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    The sales associate estimated Xiang Er¡¯s height and selected two sets of underwear and sleepwear based on Yan Junze¡¯s description.


    Yan Junze paid and took the bags of clothes, saying, ¡°If they don¡¯t fit, I will need to bring them back for an exchange.¡±


    ¡°You can check the fit of the underwear before wearing, but once tried on, they cannot be returned. The other items can be exchanged, but all the clothes must not be washed before exchanging,¡± the sales associate said with a smile.


    Carrying the clothes, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head straight back to the hotel but instead went to a nearby women¡¯s cosmetics shop and bought a bottle of perfume emitting a faint fragrance that lingered.


    Back at the hotel, he knocked on the door and said, ¡°It¡¯s Yan Junze, open the door.¡±


    A few seconds later, the door opened, and Xiang Er stood in front of it, her skin as white as snow.


    Fearing her appearance might be seen by someone passing by, Yan Junze quickly entered, closed the door, and tossed the clothes to her, saying, ¡°Try them on to see if they fit.¡±


    After speaking, he added, ¡°Do you need to wash the underwear first?¡±


    Then he shook his head, ¡°With your body, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you wash them or not.¡±


    Xiang Er took the clothes and held her right fist up to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, ¡°Look, the skin that was torn yesterday is all healed today.¡±


    Yan Junze looked carefully and, indeed, the skin on her fist that had burst open when she fought Yan Long was now indistinguishable from before.


    Seeing this, it seemed that Xiang Er now truly had the ability to self-repair. This was nothing short of defying the heavens.


    Xiang Er, who had never known what refinement was from a young age, opened the clothes and tried them on one by one; they all seemed fine. However, these clothes were matched by the sales associate, and they looked not bad on her, very casual.


    Once she had chosen her clothes and was ready to go, Yan Junze unplugged his phone, which was charging, and booked a favorable ride on an app. The starting point was where they were currently in Tianyi City District, and the destination was Peak City in Tianmeng District, which was the closest to Tianyi.


    Since the distance was quite long, the ride was a bit expensive, but Yan Junze had no choice but to do this now.


    Since Xiang Er had no identity information, she couldn¡¯t travel by plane or other means of transportation, so this was the only way to get back to Tianmeng.


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 Chapter 348 - 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 348: Chapter 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)_2


    The journey was quite long, and it took about ten minutes before someone took the order. After a phone call, the two decided to meet outside the hotel in half an hour.


    No sooner had they hung up than Zhang Xiaomo called.


    When Yan Junze answered, he heard her ask, ¡°How are things over there? Did you find anything when sealing off Yan Long¡¯s lair?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story; I can¡¯t explain it over the phone. I¡¯ll tell you when I get back,¡± Yan Junze said with a smirk, ¡°By the way, could you get me some identification information?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t understand at first.


    ¡°Here¡¯s someone who has no identity information at the security bureau. I want to register a legal identity for her. Can you do that?¡± Yan Junze explained again.


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s impossible. We have a close cooperative relationship with the security bureau, but it depends on the situation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story; let¡¯s wait until I get back to talk about it,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°You little rascal, always waiting until you get back to talk about what you¡¯re doing out there,¡± Zhang Xiaomo sighed, and then asked, ¡°Are you coming back today?¡±


    ¡°Are you missing me?¡± Yan Junze asked with a mischievous smile, on purpose.


    ¡°The¡­ The¡­ The signal¡­ Why has it suddenly gotten so bad,¡± Zhang Xiaomo stuttered all of a sudden, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when you get back.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily.


    Sounds of busyness quickly came from the other end of the phone; Yan Junze knew Zhang Xiaomo must be cursing him right now.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze noticed Xiang Er had been watching him, with the same kind of look he usually gave Crawler Monsters.


    Yan Junze waved his hand: ¡°That¡¯s your future sister-in-law, so it¡¯s understandable if I act a little out of the ordinary.¡±


    Regardless of whether his logic made sense or not, Xiang Er just nodded without saying anything.


    While waiting for the car to arrive, Yan Junze let Xiang Er walk a few steps in front of him, instructing her on how to make her movements less stiff during actions to avoid giving the impression of a corpse moving.


    People in this world are now very sensitive and might associate any abnormal behavior with strangeness. It¡¯s important not to stand out in a crowd.


    Moreover, it was even more important to teach Xiang Er never to show herself in front of unfamiliar exorcists.


    After a short while, the Shunfeng P¨¡p¨¡ ride-hailing car arrived, and the two gathered their things and got in, both sitting in the back seats.


    Yan Junze clearly noticed that after Xiang Er got into the car, the ride-hailing driver stole a few more glances at her through the rearview mirror.


    That was normal; Xiang Er already had a high rate of people turning heads to look at her on the street.


    Because he had sprayed her with the newly bought perfume, the car was filled with a faint scent. Only Yan Junze, who was sitting closer to Xiang Er, could catch the faint hint of medicinal smell from her.


    Shortly after the car started, Xiang Er quietly asked Yan Junze, ¡°Do people keep staring at those who are beautiful in appearance as well?¡±


    She knew that an ugly appearance not only drew attention but also could cause horror and make people turn and flee. But now, the table had turned; being beautiful to a certain extent also resulted in people watching intently.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Beauty can make people feel comfortable, so everyone likes to admire beauty. Whether they are men or women, the mindset of admiring beauty differs, but envy is inevitable. It¡¯s not only about letting people know that you look beautiful, but it¡¯s also important for them to feel that your spirit is just as beautiful.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded thoughtfully, looking at the scenery flashing by outside the window, and fell silent.


    The two spoke very little during the trip.


    After five hours on the highway, they entered the territory of Tianmeng District and spent another half-hour to reach Peak City.


    After getting off the bus, Yan Junze called another rideshare, and by evening they arrived at a small city called Zhen County. They found a hotel to rest for the night and continued their journey the next day.


    Because Xiang Er didn¡¯t have any identification, it was inconvenient. It took them two days, and it was only by noon the next day that they arrived at Tianmeng District.


    Yan Junze had never been on a vehicle for so long. His butt was sore from sitting and he felt more tired than if he had walked.


    Finding it inconvenient to bring Xiang Er into school, he found a rental room just outside it.


    There were plenty of rental rooms outside the school, and they were cheap. Apart from buying an extra bed quilt, everything else was ready. Most importantly, Xiang Er didn¡¯t have to cook for her meals.


    Even the purchased bedding was just for show.


    The rented room was slightly secluded, located on the second floor of an old building, right in the corner. This was Yan Junze¡¯s deliberate choice, to stay as far from the crowds as possible and to avoid attracting attention.


    But with Xiang Er¡¯s current appearance, it was difficult not to draw attention. On second thought, this also provided her with a good opportunity to get to know and train herself.


    After settling Xiang Er in, Yan Junze went down to the telecom shop to buy her a cheap mobile phone and a SIM card. When he returned, he gave her the phone and told her he would be studying at the nearby school and would come to see her every day.


    When he wasn¡¯t visiting her, he hoped she¡¯d occasionally go out for a walk and try not to interact too much with others.


    In fact, Xiang Er could leave her body in the room at any time and become the Ugly Girl Strange Creature, and she could visit Yan Junze whenever she wanted.


    However, Yan Junze did this so she could use this opportunity to reconnect with a life she had never imagined before and rediscover the beauty of this world.


    That evening, Yan Junze left Xiang Er and returned to his university dormitory.


    The head of the security team, Wang Tao, came over to see him right away. After expressing his gratitude, he told Yan Junze that the local products from Wang Family Bay had been mailed over and some snacks were placed in the security office.


    Yan Junze had his roommates move everything to their dorm to distribute. The chubby He Bishou was especially pleased, gorging himself and even burping in his sleep that night.


    For those products that needed to be prepared as food, Yan Junze asked Wang Tao to send them to his home in Shuntian City and called his mother to ask her to receive them.


    Finally, everything was taken care of.


    Moreover, Yan Junze had found an excellent teacher for Xiang Er¡¯s growth and education, this teacher being his own roommate Huahua.


    The second day of classes, after explaining the situation to Huahua, the kind-hearted Huahua readily agreed.


    Of course, Yan Junze told him that Xiang Er was his sister from the countryside, who had no experience in the ways of the world and was currently preparing to come work in the city, but she hadn¡¯t yet found a place to go.


    After class, Huahua followed Yan Junze to Xiang Er¡¯s rental house and was then shocked. After talking to Xiang Er, he came out and shared three opinions with Yan Junze.


    The first was that Xiang Er didn¡¯t seem like Yan Junze¡¯s sister; she was almost half a head taller than Yan Junze. This was easy for Yan Junze to explain; he said she was his cousin and had always been physically robust since childhood.


    The second was that Xiang Er was indeed innocent like a blank page, sometimes a bit stubborn. Huahua felt the pressure, but he believed he could take good care of Xiang Er. It was a motivation, especially since Xiang Er¡¯s appearance made her very approachable.


    The third point, which amazed Huahua the most, was that Xiang Er was incredibly beautiful, with a perfect figure and facial features. If it weren¡¯t for Huahua¡¯s own peculiarities, he probably would have been smitten by now.


    Yan Junze had anticipated this as well, and if he hadn¡¯t known about Huahua¡¯s peculiarities and that he was enthusiastic, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to bring him to teach Xiang Er.


    In the end, Huahua said, ¡°Junze, I can honestly tell you, compared to just looks, none of the girls at Tianmeng Science University¡¯s sororities can match up to your cousin.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He added one more thing, ¡°It might not be safe for her to live alone outside. You better keep an extra watchful eye.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled slightly, thinking to himself that those who might have designs on Xiang Er were the ones who would probably be in danger. Whether they got scared witless or beaten black and blue, he had already warned Xiang Er.


    She must show restraint and not do anything too overt or eye-catching.


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 Chapter 349 - 287: Pleading (4400 words)

    Chapter 349: Chapter 287: Pleading (4400 words)


    To avoid gossip, Yan Junze had never brought Xiang Er to school to show her off. Even his roommates, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou, had never met her.


    They had only heard from Huahua that Yan Junze had brought a cousin who was currently living off-campus. Huahua was also tight-lipped and didn¡¯t reveal any more information.


    If they knew how stunning this cousin was, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou would probably have taken the opportunity to follow Huahua to visit her long ago.


    Huahua¡¯s assistance to Xiang Er was exceptionally thorough, from how a girl should dress and basic social etiquette to communicating with others of the same or opposite sex, what a true friend is, and when emotions spark into love¡ªall as if reciting treasures from her chest, resembling the rhythm of a life coach.


    That day, Yan Junze and Huahua went to the rented apartment together, and he listened with interest, learning alongside Xiang Er as they both became students of Huahua¡¯s teachings.


    Eventually, Yan Junze added, ¡°You said you have a lot of fans on the Trembling platform. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but now I finally do.¡±


    ...


    With a proud smile, Huahua replied, ¡°I¡¯m about to break 5 million fans, and I¡¯ve taken some side gigs promoting cosmetics. Right, I can bring a few for Xiang Er for free.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at Xiang Er. He could feel that, although she remained silent, she was clearly yearning, so he nodded, ¡°That would be great, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Brother Hua,¡± Xiang Er said.


    Huahua waved her hand dismissively, ¡°Don¡¯t call me brother, just call me Huahua.¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°Or maybe you could call her Sister Hua.¡±


    Huahua raised her small fists and gave Yan Junze a few punches on the chest, then suddenly remembered something and reminded him, ¡°Does Xiang Er usually have poor health? I feel her temperature is quite low. Yesterday when I tutored her in makeup, her whole face felt cold.¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Their whole family has this kind of constitution¡ªhands and feet always cold, unable to warm up even when bundled, but their health is really good, no need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, but girls need to take more care of themselves,¡± Huahua continued smoothly, ¡°especially around the abdominal area, which really needs to be kept warm. If it¡¯s constantly too cold, you can buy some womb-warming patches online. I know of a good brand¡­¡±


    Yan Junze quickly excused himself.


    ¡°Female¡± conversations weren¡¯t quite his place to interject.


    When he got back to school, he found the security captain Wang Tao waiting for him at the dormitory entrance. Since the other two roommates hadn¡¯t returned yet, he stood there in the hallway, causing the other dormitory residents to panic, thinking there was another room inspection. They promptly closed their doors and hurriedly hid any contraband.


    Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, and waited for Yan Junze to return. Then, with a beaming smile, he cheerfully asked, ¡°Junze, have the villagers¡¯ payments reached your account?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nearly three hundred thousand in total, thanks to everyone.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No,¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, ¡°they should be thanking you. They¡¯ve sent the money but still weren¡¯t at ease, insisting I come over again in person to say thank you.¡±


    Yan Junze gave a toothy grin, waving his hand, ¡°No need to be so formal.¡±


    Wang Tao then added, ¡°By the way, did Director Yuan from the guidance office contact you?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°No, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Wang Tao said, ¡°I overheard Director Yuan on the phone today; it seemed like someone in an important position had called him, looking to meet with you. But Director Yuan didn¡¯t say anything, just kept refusing.¡±


    ¡°Someone in an important position?¡± Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded, ¡°Director Yuan spoke very politely to him, but still didn¡¯t yield, not revealing any of your information.¡±


    Although that¡¯s what was said, Yan Junze was well aware that if the other party really wanted his information, there were plenty of ways to find it even without Director Yuan¡¯s help.


    As Wang Tao finished speaking, they both paused; a black sedan was slowly approaching along the road by the row of plane trees at the bottom of the dormitory building.


    Normally, the school forbade entry to outside vehicles¡ªunless it was for official business or someone had connections.


    After the black sedan parked, a slim figure scuttled all the way from a distance.


    Yan Junze took a closer look; the hurrying person was none other than the guidance office head, Yuan Lison.


    Right as Director Yuan ran up to the car, the door opened, and a tall, plump man got out. Wearing a dark blue suit, with a big belly, followed by a woman of about his age.


    Once the woman got out, she looked up at the dormitory building, spotting Yan Junze and Wang Tao looking in their direction.


    After exchanging a couple of words with the man, Director Yuan also looked up and saw Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze saw the two people who had gotten out of the car, he guessed who they were.


    The man in particular, with his facial features resembling Zhou Jiajie¡¯s, and given Wang Tao¡¯s recent mention of an important figure in contact with Yuan Lison, was likely Zhou Jiajie¡¯s father, the Deputy Mayor of Shuntian City, Zhou Guhua.


    And the woman, who had alighted from the car and taken Zhou Guhua¡¯s arm, was probably Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother.


    The driver didn¡¯t get out, leaving Yuan Lison feeling helpless¡ªhe didn¡¯t expect that despite his consistent refusals, the other party had directly found the college. Now that Yan Junze was in the building and witnessing the scene, evasion was no longer an option.


    Initially, on the phone, Zhou Guhua sounded anxious and slightly accusatory, which wouldn¡¯t be good for Yan Junze to find out about, so Yuan Lison had tirelessly blocked for him till now.


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 Chapter 350 - 287: Pleading (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 350: Chapter 287: Pleading (4400 words)_2


    Looking at the situation now, Yuan Lison feared that Yan Junze would be displeased with him, rendering all his previous efforts to ingratiate himself a complete waste.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think so. He calmly opened the door to the bedroom and lay down on the bed after entering.


    Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate to follow him in, so he stood at the door to block for him.


    Before long, Zhou Guhua and his wife ascended the stairs. Despite being out of breath, they moved quickly. Yuan Lison followed behind them with a gloomy face, casting occasional glances at the couple.


    Wang Tao stretched out his hand to stop Zhou Guhua and his wife at the door, pretending not to recognize who they were, ¡°Excuse me, what are you doing here?¡±


    Zhou Guhua didn¡¯t answer him. Instead, he stood at the doorway and looked around inside the room. Upon seeing only Yan Junze lying on the bed, he asked, ¡°Excuse me, are you Yan Junze?¡±


    ...


    Yan Junze, half-reclining, didn¡¯t bother with small talk and responded directly, ¡°You might as well go back, no need to say more. Zhou Jiajie brought this upon himself; nobody else is to blame for this matter.¡±


    Zhou Guhua was taken aback and momentarily lost for words.


    Wang Tao and Yuan Lison, standing at the doorway, pricked up their ears to listen carefully, and a big gossip symbol seemed to appear in their minds. Who says men don¡¯t love gossip? It¡¯s just a matter of timing.


    Only Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother immediately retorted, ¡°How can you say no one else is to blame? Young man, let¡¯s reason this out. Does it take just one hand to clap? It¡¯s said that there is no love without hate. Doesn¡¯t that girl Bao Jie bear any responsibility?¡±


    ¡°Right, you are correct.¡± Yan Junze sat up, turned towards the door and said, ¡°Bao Jie indeed had her faults; she brought it upon herself. But that¡¯s only in our view. For the person involved, she has also spent days hating herself, several times trying to leave Zhou Jiajie, but what did your son do in the end?¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Every time Bao Jie resolved to give up and leave Zhou Jiajie for good, your son would act like a ¡®prodigal son¡¯ who suddenly became good to her, reigniting her hope, even at the cost of various gifts to win back her love so that she could continue to treat him as before.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother was stunned.


    Yan Junze went on to say, ¡°Let me put it this way, everyone knows dogs are very loyal to humans. For instance, if you raise a dog, and every time you cut it, then feed it and nurse its wounds, treating it well. After some time you cut it again, repeating the steps over and over, until finally, the dog doesn¡¯t know whether to hate you or love you. There are only three possible outcomes: the dog goes mad, it kills its owner, or it commits suicide. Clearly, Bao Jie chose the latter.¡±


    After hearing this, Wang Tao and Yuan Lison seemed to understand the situation, but they didn¡¯t know why Zhou Jiajie¡¯s parents were seeking out Yan Junze now.


    ¡°Regardless¡­¡± Zhou Guhua said, ¡°My son already realizes his mistake. He¡¯s just someone who erred, not a murderer. He shouldn¡¯t have to suffer so much torment. Do you know how he has been these past few days? He has become inhuman, on the brink of mental collapse, to the point where even we can barely recognize him.¡±


    ¡°Damn, what the hell did Yan Junze do to that guy Zhou Jiajie?¡± Wang Tao felt bewildered hearing this.


    Yuan Lison had the same thought, but neither felt it was their place to speak.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders: ¡°I¡¯ve already let him go. As long as he allows Bao Jie to truly feel loved, she will leave the very next moment she feels it. And she will never appear again.¡±


    Those words turned Wang Tao and Yuan Lison pale in an instant, the two exchanging glances, suddenly feeling a chill run down their spines.


    After talking for so long, it seemed that the suicidal girl turned into a strangeness, haunting this guy named Zhou Jiajie.


    ¡°He is so scared of that strangeness that he is about to die; how can he love? Tell me, how can he love?¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother was nearly hysterical, her voice becoming shrill.


    By this time, other people from the dormitory had come out to watch the excitement, whispering among themselves.


    Yan Junze spread his hands, somewhat helpless: ¡°That means he hasn¡¯t fully realized and is still resisting. Tell him to let go first, then accept. If he can do that, Bao Jie might leave for good today instead of clinging on without end.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Do you think this could work?¡± Zhou Guhua said in a tone, seeking a compromise, ¡°We could¡­ cancel that¡­ ban and seek other exorcists.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged: ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t impose that ban. You can go and talk to Captain Huo Zhisen.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already approached Huo Zhisen,¡± Zhou Guhua said urgently. ¡°He told us the same thing, only he told us to come to you.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Yan Junze said with a tight-lipped smile, then fell silent.


    The scene quieted down, with the couple outside the door looking earnestly at Yan Junze. But Zhou Guhua was very smart. He knew that at this time, neither status nor wealth should be used as a means of negotiation.


    Because to an exorcist like Yan Junze, status, power, and wealth may very well be the least of his concerns, and mentioning them might even backfire.


    After about five minutes of silence with neither the couple leaving nor Yan Junze speaking any further, Wang Tao and Yuan Lison stood there not knowing what to say. However, they had somewhat figured out the whole situation.


    Both felt that it wasn¡¯t clear-cut who was entirely right or wrong. From Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, even considering the relationship with Zhou Dali and their past as schoolmates, he would side with Bao Jie.


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 Chapter 351 - 287: Pleading (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 351: Chapter 287: Pleading (4400 words)_3


    And if a completely unrelated third party were to look at the situation, they would think both parties were at fault, both deserving of their fates. Some people with more extreme views might even blame all the wrongdoing on Bao Jie, simply because she was ¡°asking for it.¡±


    However, for Bao Jie, she only had one sentence to say to Zhou Jiajie, which was ¡°Every cause has its effect, your retribution is me.¡±


    Eventually, Yan Junze broke the silence, ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Your son should be growing up now. I believe he will surely pay back this debt of affection; you should believe in him too.¡±


    The couple outside the door were so angry they were speechless.


    Yan Junze added, ¡°I¡¯ll repeat what I said. Go back and tell him, first let go, then accept. Captain Wang, could you please close the door for me? Thank you.¡±


    Wang Tao immediately shut the door from the outside.


    ...


    Zhou Guhua and his spouse did not linger any longer. They turned around and left with gloomy faces.


    Yuan Lison escorted them to their car but did not know what to say, as after all, it was their family affair.


    Outside of Tianmeng University, in the luxurious rental apartment of a certain community.


    Relatives of the Zhou family were sitting in groups outside the living room. These relatives were very close to Zhou Guhua and Zhou Jiajie, which was why they had been waiting here all this time.


    However, even though they were sitting in the living room, these people occasionally let out a whiff of fear, casting glances towards the bedroom. After shivering from the chill, they would then look away and slightly bow their heads.


    The whole room was filled with a chilling coldness as if a draft of cold air blew in from an unknown place, finding its way under everyone¡¯s collars no matter how many layers of clothing they wore.


    A slightly braver man went to stand at the entrance to the corridor leading to the bedroom and listened for a moment. He came back shaking his head, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no sound from inside, Jiajie must be asleep.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, he should be tired,¡± a middle-aged woman nodded in agreement.


    However, barely had her words fallen when a scream of uncontrollable terror emitted from the bedroom. The voice was hoarse, feeble, strained as if it were the last struggle of a person on the brink of death, ready to give out at any moment.


    The people outside the living room shuddered upon hearing this familiar sound, a sound they had grown all too accustomed to over the past days, sounding almost every couple of hours.


    Yet no one dared to push open the bedroom door to check.


    About five or six minutes later, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s parents hurried back. As the couple entered, the others stood up, their eyes filled with sycophancy as they looked at Zhou Guhua. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How is it? How is Jiajie?¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother asked with concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same as before,¡± the brave man replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in and see.¡±


    So far, only Zhou Guhua and his wife dared to muster up the courage to enter the bedroom and stay with their son, although there were several instances where Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother had been scared unconscious by Bao Jie.


    After Zhou Guhua made the suggestion, his wife said nothing. Though she was trembling like a sieve, she still clung to her husband¡¯s arm, and both of them walked tentatively toward the bedroom.


    The others stood at the entrance of the corridor, watching the couple with eyes wide with fright.


    Arriving at the bedroom door, Zhou Guhua glanced at his wife, took a deep breath, and twisted the doorknob, gently pushing open the door.


    The bedroom light was on, their son curled up on the bed, the bedding in utter disarray. Zhou Jiajie kept his head buried deep beneath the pillow, not even lifting his head upon hearing the door open.


    The couple did not enter the bedroom immediately but peeked inside from the doorway, not seeing that woman¡¯s shadow.


    Just then, the head of a woman suddenly appeared in front of them, hanging upside down from the ceiling near the door, her hair disheveled, and her eyes coldly staring at them.


    The couple shuddered in fright, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother quickly covering her mouth to stifle a scream.


    The upside-down woman¡¯s head slowly tilted to one side, and, like a spider, she used her hands and feet to crawl into the room from the ceiling, down the wall, and onto the bed by the wall.


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 Chapter 352 - 288: Whats the Real Reason? (4400 words)

    Chapter 352: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)


    Zhou Guhua and his wife trembled all over, but from somewhere, they found the courage to support each other and shakily entered the bedroom with unsteady steps.


    Their gaze was fixed on the woman, who had already climbed onto the bed and was lying next to their son, a picture of strangeness.


    Zhou Jiajie remained curled up, motionless as if he were dead.


    His clothes were filthy, as though he hadn¡¯t bathed in ages. His body was visibly thinner, covered with bruises, leaving one to wonder what exactly had happened to him.


    As Zhou Guhua and his wife slowly approached the bed, Bao Jie lifted her head. Her icy gaze fell on the two of them, her lips parted slightly, and a soft, continuous sound emanated from her throat.


    To Zhou Guhua and his wife, it seemed like a warning: if they came any closer, unthinkable consequences would follow.


    ...


    The couple stopped immediately, standing less than a meter away from the bed, anxiously looking at their unmoving son but not daring to look at the strange woman again, standing there cowering.


    ¡°Son¡­ son.¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother began, ¡°Dad, mom are here to see you again¡­¡±


    Zhou Jiajie showed no reaction.


    His mother began to grow anxious, and she glanced at Zhou Guhua but dared not come any closer.


    At this moment, Bao Jie, who had been lying next to Zhou Jiajie, retracted her gaze from Zhou Guhua and his wife, her head cricked as she unnaturally burrowed her own head under the pillow that covered Zhou Jiajie¡¯s head.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    The next second, Zhou Jiajie let out a weak scream, tore off the pillow covering his head, and struggled to crawl away, trying to sit up.


    When he finally managed to sit up against the headboard, he found that Bao Jie was no longer in sight.


    Looking down, he saw Bao Jie¡¯s long hair peeking out from the now bunched up duvet, a pair of eyes appeared faintly in the darkness beneath the duvet, staring coldly at him.


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s body began to tremble again, as if he would collapse at any moment.


    ¡°Son!¡± His mother cried out, ¡°We went, we went to find Yan Junze, he said you could do it, we all believe you can do it.¡±


    Zhou Guhua added, ¡°He told you to learn to ¡®let go before accepting,¡¯ he said you can definitely ¡®let go before accepting¡¯ her. Son, you can do it!¡±


    ¡°We believe in you, you¡­ you can definitely do it, son, you can.¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother¡¯s heart was in a knot.


    Zhou Jiajie was completely out of it, and upon hearing his parents¡¯ repeated words, he was stunned for a moment, his hollow gaze slowly beginning to focus as he muttered to himself.


    ¡°Let go before accepting, let go before accepting, let go before accepting¡­¡±


    He kept repeating the words, gradually biting his lips harder.


    After a moment, large tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.


    ¡°Let go, accept, let go, accept¡­¡±


    As his repetition continued, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face was covered with tears, he straightened up, his gaze not avoiding, staring at the cold eyes in the duvet, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I wronged you, Bao Jie, I wronged you¡­¡±


    The eyes in the duvet did not change, silently watching him.


    At this time, Zhou Jiajie looked like a decayed tree that was about to die, ready to take his last breath at any moment, but the one who had always been silent, always in panic and fear, seemed to finally open his heart.


    Weakly propping himself up on the bed, he bent his knees and knelt down, facing Bao Jie¡¯s direction, he buried his head deeply, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Bao Jie, I lied to you, I¡­ I actually did love you before, I didn¡¯t lie completely, I just really enjoyed¡­ enjoyed the love you gave me, I was too selfish, I just wanted to be comfortable myself, I never considered or even once thought about your feelings.¡±


    He continued, his body shaking with sobs, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s emotions completely collapsed.


    His parents stood close by, never having seen their son like this, they stood frozen, their minds blank.


    ¡°Bao Jie, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Did you ever love me?¡± Bao Jie¡¯s voice suddenly came forth.


    Her head, with long hair scattered, emerged from under the duvet, her body supple as though boneless, eerily moving beside Zhou Jiajie.


    At this moment, Zhou Jiajie watched her approach without a blink, for the first time in history, without showing any recoil.


    ¡°Did you ever love me?¡± Bao Jie asked again.


    Zhou Jiajie didn¡¯t answer, but instead closed his eyes, more tears flowing.


    Seeing no response from him, Zhou Guhua and his spouse began to panic, fearful that their son¡¯s avoidance would once again anger the strange woman, possibly prompting her to do something even more frightening to Zhou Jiajie.


    As they worried, Zhou Jiajie suddenly extended his hands and took Bao Jie into his embrace, the coldness piercing through his body, yet at that moment, pulling her even closer.


    The couple was taken aback, startled by their son¡¯s action.


    At this moment, although Bao Jie was expressionless, she made no other move and was simply held by Zhou Jiajie, motionless.


    After what felt like ages, even while Zhou Guhua and his wife wondered if their son might already be dead, they saw Zhou Jiajie slowly rest his head on Bao Jie¡¯s shoulder, his voice trembling with endless regret, saying word by word, ¡°I did love you, I really loved you back then. Bao Jie, I¡¯m¡­ so¡­ sorry!¡±


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 Chapter 353 - 288: Whats the Real Reason? (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 353: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_2


    Whoosh!


    From the perspective of Zhou Guhua and his wife, they saw Zhou Jiajie¡¯s motion of holding Bao Jie abruptly become empty, as if the thing in his arms had vanished into thin air, and Bao Jie¡¯s figure had already disappeared.


    The next second, Zhou Jiajie, having lost his balance, plunged onto the bed. He made no other movement but let out a loud wail, crying as if a dam had burst, tears pouring out uncontrollably.


    The couple glanced at each other, tears streaming down the face of Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother as well, and Zhou Guhua had tears running down his cheeks, too.


    The other relatives, hearing the commotion, had gathered at the bedroom door, speechless and shocked at the scene.


    That day, it seemed like everyone in Zhou Guhua¡¯s family understood something, something hidden deep within their hearts, and it had fundamentally changed.


    ...


    ¡­


    [Shadowing, Anxiety-Inducing (Low), Completed, gained 100 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Yan Junze, lying on his dormitory bed, suddenly blinked, sitting up to look inward at the mission information that had popped up in his mind.


    This ¡°Shadowing¡± mission originated from Bao Jie¡¯s obsession, and now it abruptly appeared, and after Zhou Guhua and his wife left, in that span of time, it seemed they must have done something, and Zhou Jiajie had finally let go and accepted it.


    As the mission information in his mind gradually faded, Yan Junze began to recall the last few months of senior year. Even though he was an interloper in this body, he had still developed some degree of affection for these classmates he often interacted with.


    It was inevitable.


    Nobody would have anticipated that such a drastic change would happen in less than a year.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly had a bizarre thought: what if he activated the Great Rewind, went back to high school, interfered with Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie earlier on, told Zhou Dali that at the Tianmeng Sports Institute, a girl with long legs, 1.8 meters tall, was waiting for him? Maybe everything could have been different.


    Of course, things could change, but then he would have to deal with a multitude of ensuing Butterfly Effects that would need correcting.


    The thought was just that, a thought. He couldn¡¯t possibly do that again.


    Yan Junze lay back down on the bed, and not long after, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou came back to the dormitory, followed shortly by Huahua.


    This guy seemed to have become addicted to teaching Xiang Er; even upon returning to the dorm, he looked like he hadn¡¯t had his fill.


    After chatting with his roommates for a bit, Yan Junze decided to go to sleep early.


    Just as he had gotten comfortable under the covers, his right hand suddenly went numb, a familiar sensation of numbness overtaking him, stronger than the previous times.


    He pulled back the bedding with his left hand, feeling as though his right hand no longer belonged to him, and when he looked down, he abruptly did a double-take; for a moment, it seemed he could no longer see where his right hand was.


    Blinking hard, he finally saw his right hand was fine, inside the bedding. Perhaps it had just been an optical illusion.


    As he was thinking, his right hand again became ethereal, then reappeared solidly. This time, the numb sensation was even stronger. His left index and middle finger had also begun to go numb.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze was utterly confused, not understanding what was happening.


    After about four or five minutes, the numbness gradually subsided, and once his right hand returned to normal, he examined it closely and pinched it hard a few times, finding nothing unusual, as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination.


    ¡°Why did it become ethereal? It¡¯s as if my entire hand disappeared.¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    He knew very well that such a situation must have a cause; it couldn¡¯t have occurred for no reason. Now wide awake, he lay on his bed, meticulously thought back for over an hour, but still came up with nothing.


    Every time he encountered a strangeness and dealt with it, Yan Junze clearly remembered that, upon completing each task, if there were any residues of the task left, they would definitely follow him.


    Like Fang Ning, Ugly Girl, Lantern Woman, Mirror Spirit. If there were no residues, then why would his hand go numb, why did it briefly disappear?


    The deeper he pondered, the more Yan Junze felt a chilling fear, as if something bad had found him. And he thought, could it be related to the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission he had encountered?


    After all, he had almost died during that mission, leaving a profound impression on him.


    Moreover, no matter how many times he Rewound during that mission, he was infected by Dark Poison, and had Zhenzhen not used her unique abilities to reverse defeat into victory by pulling out all the Tricky Silk at the cave entrance, all the Different Dimension Energy would have been drained there.


    Yan Junze, to this day, has not figured out why that situation occurred.


    The end of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task felt almost inescapable to him and Zhenzhen, but for some unknown reason, someone who suddenly spoke up blocked the enormous suction force behind them, ultimately allowing them to escape.


    Now thinking back, if there were any hidden residues to speak of, they most likely came from the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission, as most other task residues had already surfaced, and for those without residues, he was certain he had cleaned them up.


    The only mission Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure about was ¡°Tricky Silk.¡±


    Of course, this was just speculation, with no evidence to prove it, and Yan Junze also didn¡¯t know how to prove it, nor how to find the reason for the numbness and temporary disappearance of his right hand.


    With a restless night and poor sleep, he decided to skip the morning classes the next day, choosing to sleep in the dormitory, only going to class in the afternoon.


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    S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 354 - 288: Whats the Real Reason? (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 354: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_3


    By the time all the classes had ended, Zhang Xiaomo called him. After answering, Zhang Xiaomo told him that she had arrived and was in the drink shop diagonally opposite the main gate of Tianmeng Science University.


    Yan Junze quickly reached the drink shop. He felt as if it had been a long time since he had seen Zhang Xiaomo. When he saw the girl dressed in casual wear with cartoon patterns, he couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t notice because she was staring at Yan Junze just as intently, her gaze sweeping from head to toe, examining him thoroughly.


    When she had looked her fill and was satisfied, she finally asked, ¡°Want a glass of juice?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°That person you mentioned, the one without a legal identity, where are they?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ...


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I was planning on resting for a few days before coming to you about this matter. I didn¡¯t expect you to beat me to it.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t tell Yan Junze the truth because she always had the feeling that the person he mentioned must be a woman.


    This feeling was baseless, purely a sixth sense.


    ¡°Call that person over, I want to have a look.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Not here, come on, let¡¯s go to the rental house.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and stood up with her drink in hand, ¡°Rental house? You¡¯re living in a rental with that person?¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Yan Junze gave her a look, ¡°She lives in the rental house alone; I still stay in the dorm.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo uttered an ¡°oh¡± and hurriedly took a few steps, handing the half-finished drink to Yan Junze, ¡°I can¡¯t finish it, you drink it.¡±


    As she spoke, her gaze subtly glanced at Yan Junze, seemingly to observe his facial expression.


    Yan Junze naturally took the drink cup, sipped through the straw, and said, ¡°Mm, it tastes good, no sugar added, but with cheesecake melting into the milk tea, the flavor becomes very sweet.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°You also like it this way?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Then you drink it all.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    The two of them quickly arrived outside the rental house. The door was closed. Yan Junze called out ¡°Xiang Er,¡± and about two seconds later, the door opened from the inside.


    A tall woman with pale skin stood at the door, looking emotionlessly at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo who was behind him.


    ¡°They¡¯re all familiar faces,¡± Yan Junze began.


    Xiang Er stepped aside, Yan Junze went in first and turned on the light to brighten up the place, and then Zhang Xiaomo walked in.


    Zhang Xiaomo furrowed her brows, her gaze constantly moving over Xiang Er, not saying a word.


    ¡°Do you see anything special about her?¡± Yan Junze asked with a smile.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked skeptical, glanced seriously at Xiang Er, and shook her head slightly, ¡°Aside from being pretty and well-built, I can¡¯t see anything else for the time being.¡±


    Yan Junze pointed to a chair on the opposite side and said to Xiang Er, ¡°Go sit over there.¡±


    Xiang Er complied and went to sit down. She was also sizing up Zhang Xiaomo, feeling an instinctive sense of palpitations since the woman entered the room, not the relaxed mood she felt when facing Huahua.


    Seeing Xiang Er¡¯s movements as she went to sit, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s brow furrowed even more, and after a moment she said, ¡°I feel¡­ she seems like a fake person? It¡¯s like something is controlling her.¡±


    Yan Junze clapped his hands and said, ¡°See, Xiang Er, I told you that you still need to practice more. As a three-star Exorcist, Xiaomo just came in and took two glances, and she¡¯s already noticed something off.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaomo abruptly stood up, her magnetic knife drawn, pointing at Xiang Er, ¡°She¡­ Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!?¡±


    Then she added, ¡°No, that¡¯s not right, it¡¯s not Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect, it¡¯s Attachment, this strangeness has attached to a female corpse??¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop Zhang Xiaomo but pointed at Xiang Er and said, ¡°This strangeness¡¯s real name is Wang Zhenxiang, I call her Xiang Er, and what you are seeing now, this nearly perfect female corpse, comes from Spirit Cultivator Yan Long¡¯s final masterpiece. It was probably made, at least or perhaps, from piecing together more than fifty female bodies.¡±


    Clang!


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife dropped to the floor. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 355 - 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)

    Chapter 355: Chapter 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)


    Xiang Er lay naked and flat on the bed of the rented room, while Zhang Xiaomo bent over, observing her meticulously and occasionally touching the skin patterns at the fracture sites with her fingers. She watched intently for a full hour.


    Knock, knock, knock, the sound of knocking on the door came from outside, and Yan Junze said, ¡°May I come in now?¡±


    ¡°Wait a little longer,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said without turning her head.


    And with that, another half hour passed.


    The weather was turning cold, and night had fallen. Yan Junze, who had been standing outside all this time, felt a bone-chilling cold in his limbs and said, ¡°If you want to study her properly, then I¡¯ll go back first. You can sleep with Xiang Er tonight, she¡¯s yours.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had he spoken than the door opened, and Zhang Xiaomo squeezed her body out. The door was not opened very wide, as if she was afraid that Yan Junze would peek at the charming spring scenery inside.


    ...


    After coming out, Zhang Xiaomo closed the door immediately, shaking her head and sighing, ¡°Perfect, every part of this woman¡¯s body is perfect. Yan Long, just how twisted does one¡¯s mind have to be to do such a thing?¡±


    ¡°To scheme with an Ancient Corpse to kill Old Guo just shows how ruthless and overly obsessed he is. We ordinary people can¡¯t imagine what goes on in the minds of such people,¡± Yan Junze said with a shrug.


    ¡°You¡¯re an ordinary person?¡± Zhang Xiaomo blinked at him.


    Yan Junze chuckled and changed the subject, ¡°After looking for so long, did you find anything?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Each part of the body was bonded with a special corpse salve used by the Spirit Cultivators, with no traces of stitching between the cracks, and the muscles and skin are joined perfectly. Even in the early stages of bonding, these muscles and skin showed signs of slow growth, which is why we see the growth effect we do now.¡±


    ¡°Will this body continue to grow?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    ¡°No, that was just a kind of induced growth, like the effect of hormones, it can¡¯t continue indefinitely,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    Then her expression became mysterious, ¡°Did you secretly move this thing out without letting the Exorcist squad of Tianyi District know?¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t notice her at first, not until I was about to leave. I didn¡¯t know what it was and thought there was a big strangeness hidden there, so I decided to take it out quietly by myself. But instead, I dug up this fellow.¡±


    ¡°Lying to ghosts?¡± Zhang Xiaomo sniffed, ¡°With the four-star Exorcist Shi Tai there, why didn¡¯t you notify him of a big strangeness and instead decided to deal with it yourself?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know me? I¡¯m very resistant to directly killing strangenesses; Zen-style exorcism is real love,¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    ¡°But speaking of which,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression became a bit odd, ¡°this girl, attached to the female corpse, why does it feel like she¡¯s a blank slate when interacting with her? She doesn¡¯t understand anything and keeps asking ¡®why¡¯ no matter what I say.¡±


    Yan Junze briefly described the background of Ugly Girl. After listening for a while, Zhang Xiaomo seemed to feel a twinge of sympathy for Ugly Girl¡¯s predicament and turned to enter the room, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to check on her again. You can only come in after she gets dressed. Oh, by the way¡­¡±


    She suddenly stopped in her tracks, standing at the door, and turned her head to look at Yan Junze suspiciously, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen her naked body, have you?¡±


    ¡°The moon is really nice tonight,¡± Yan Junze pointed at the sky.


    Zhang Xiaomo was exasperated, ¡°Fine then.¡±


    She knew that he must have seen Xiang Er¡¯s naked body, and not just once. Of course, it was inevitable to see each other¡¯s bodies in that situation, but it was natural for a twinge of jealousy to arise in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s heart.


    So she too lifted her head to look at the sky, adopting an exaggerated tone, ¡°Wow, how big and round the moon is, perfect for you to stand outside a bit longer. The person in the shadow there probably misses you a lot.¡±


    With that, she closed the door.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    About two minutes later, the door of the rented room opened, and Zhang Xiaomo stood there with a mischievous smile on her face.


    ¡°What, she didn¡¯t come out to find you? Such a fine moonlight, what a pity,¡± she said.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°The human heart is poisonous, the eaves are deep, life is tough for me.¡±


    Having said that, he quickly slipped into the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo punched him on the chest, chiding him, ¡°Who are you calling poisonous?¡±


    Yan Junze grabbed her fist without letting go and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a gaze on him. Turning his head, he saw Xiang Er sitting on the bed, curiously staring at the two of them.


    Now Xiang Er could control the gaze of this body, making expressions similar to human eye contact, though not very clear and requiring careful discernment.


    But at this moment, her eyes were obviously filled with surprise, staring unblinkingly at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo wanted to pull her hand back but hesitated and stood there dumbfounded without moving.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Your hand is a bit cold, just like Xiang Er¡¯s. You need to warm it up, starting from now for at least half an hour.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo blushed with annoyance and let him hold her hand, merely shooting Yan Junze a glare, ¡°Men, not one good thing among them.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Xiang Er suddenly spoke up.


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± Yan Junze hastened to shake his head, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Xiaomo¡¯s nonsense. There are many good men, like me.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but laugh and remained silent.


    ¡°Always holding the magnetic knife, look, you¡¯ve got calluses in the palm,¡± Yan Junze took her hand to touch the calloused spot, but Zhang Xiaomo quickly clenched her hand, suddenly turning it into her holding Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


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 Chapter 356 - 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 356: Chapter 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)_2


    ¡°Look,¡± Yan Junze raised his hand, addressing Xiang Er, ¡°Women, they¡¯re all insincere by nature.¡±


    ¡°Go away,¡± Zhang Xiaomo stomped her foot, then burst into laughter shortly after.


    Xiang Er, watching Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hot-and-cold expressions, nodded thoughtfully.


    The next second, Yan Junze suddenly turned serious and said to Xiang Er, ¡°Remember, true love between men and women is also one of the greatest kindnesses in this world.¡±


    ¡°What a load of bull,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a half-smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, are we going back tonight?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced back at Xiang Er and said, ¡°I¡¯ll sleep here with her tonight.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid to sleep with a corpse?¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    ¡°On your turf, I¡¯d be more scared not to sleep with a corpse,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, then covered her mouth and giggled.


    They sat in the rental for another hour before Yan Junze finally left to return to his dormitory. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next morning when he went to the rental, he found only Xiang Er there; Zhang Xiaomo had already left.


    Yan Junze called her, and Zhang Xiaomo said she had been assigned a last-minute mission outside the district and had already rushed to the airport with her partner, Zhang Di.


    The matter of arranging identity information for Xiang Er had already been set in motion by her, and the ID card would be mailed to Tianmeng Science University within a week at the most.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what Zhang Xiaomo had said to Xiang Er that night, but according to Xiang Er, they talked a lot; anyway, Xiang Er didn¡¯t need to sleep, so she just kept chatting until Zhang Xiaomo dozed off.


    In the following days, life returned to normal. Although the numbness in his arm didn¡¯t reoccur, Yan Junze was still somewhat preoccupied.


    Every day passed in a routine: attending classes, researching magnetic field phenomena, conducting various experiments, and sometimes he would accompany Xiang Er for a walk around the area.


    Of course, he usually brought Huahua along during these times to avoid any rumors if classmates saw them.


    A month went by, and the semester was nearing its end.


    After class each day, apart from his fixed time visiting Xiang Er, Yan Junze basically spent his time with a professor from the Department of Physics named Di Zhiwen.


    Old Professor Di had already published several papers on time theory in the most authoritative academic journals in the Great Capital of Huaying.


    Although the research on timelines in this world wasn¡¯t as advanced technologically as in Yan Junze¡¯s previous world, nothing could stop the development of thoughts and imagination.


    Someone once argued that if a person could travel through time and kill their earlier self, it would mean that their present self never existed¡ªa time paradox.


    However, Old Professor Di once speculated that time paradoxes don¡¯t exist. If you really could go back to the past, you wouldn¡¯t be able to kill yourself, because in that process, countless ¡°chances¡± and ¡°coincidences¡± would occur, preventing the time paradox from being fulfilled.


    In other words, various coincidences would make it impossible for you to kill your past self.


    In the lab before the explosion in his past life, Yan Junze was an assistant, but he participated in some of the development.


    He knew, according to experts who had already achieved some research results, those so-called time paradoxes were likely because of a jump in the timeline, jumping to another timeline, which is why it was possible to kill ¡°oneself.¡±


    In reality, that person was not ¡°oneself.¡±


    As for the laboratory¡¯s research at that time, it was only about the traversal within the same timeline and they had yet to overcome the unthinkable experiment of jumping back and forth across multiple timelines.


    Furthermore, the research on traversal within the same timeline had already consumed countless efforts and sweat, and even at the end, when the explosion happened, they still did not know if it was successful.


    If Yan Junze hadn¡¯t carried the Spacetime Atlas to this world, he wouldn¡¯t have known that the experiment actually succeeded.


    As for whether there were any jumps in the timeline of this world, he could not be certain, but he was sure that every time he used Rewind, it was on the same timeline.


    It couldn¡¯t be that every time he used Rewind, he actually appeared in another identical parallel universe.


    Because the current Spacetime Atlas simply couldn¡¯t achieve that level of jump.


    If that were the case, it wouldn¡¯t just be him being able to Rewind after hitting a strangeness; it would be like changing the entire map.


    The reason he engaged in deep discussions with Professor Di was because Yan Junze learned of an inference from him, which is, on the same timeline, if you were supposed to die, but due to a turnaround in the future, that turnaround could act in such a way that you wouldn¡¯t die at that time. That is to say, it was impossible for you to die at that moment.


    Thinking back to the last moments in the Tricky Silk mission, he and Zhenzhen were nearly sucked back into the Underground Space by the tremendous pulling force, when suddenly he heard a man¡¯s voice.


    After that, the pulling force vanished, and he was able to escape and return to the surface.


    At that time, the voice sounded very familiar, but because of the rushed escape, he had no time to listen closely; now that he thought about it, the sudden speaker sounded exactly like Yan Junze himself when he recorded his own voice.


    In other words, that speaker seemed to be Yan Junze himself.


    That seemed to make sense.


    Following Professor Di¡¯s argument, one couldn¡¯t go back to kill oneself because a time paradox simply couldn¡¯t exist, but one could go back to save oneself.


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 Chapter 357 - 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)_3

    Chapter 357: Chapter 289: Save Yourself! (4300 words)_3


    As for what would happen if he couldn¡¯t return, Professor Di couldn¡¯t speculate; only Yan Junze himself was clear on that.


    Because his body had already begun to numb intermittently, and when the condition worsened, even his limbs would start to feel unreal.


    It was understood that if he didn¡¯t go back to save his past self at a certain point in time, it was very likely that after that specified time had passed, the current him would completely disappear.


    In other words, he would still have died in the Underground Space during the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission.


    The initial conclusion deeply shocked Yan Junze, but after returning to his dormitory and thinking it over carefully, it seemed that only this could explain the oddities happening to him.


    Without the appearance of any strangenesses, his body would go numb, his fingers would turn ethereal, briefly disappearing.


    ...


    All of these were indications that if he didn¡¯t initiate the ¡°Great Rewind¡± to save his past self soon, he would indeed die back then.


    After communicating with Professor Di for several days, the professor was also eager to discuss topics of time with Yan Junze because some of Junze¡¯s ideas and thought processes likewise interested him and even expanded upon his own preliminary concepts.


    Soon, Professor Di Zhiwen and Yan Junze¡¯s relationship became closer than that of other students and teachers, which was a good thing for Junze.


    But now Yan Junze found it hard to feel happy; having roughly confirmed his suspicions, he knew he didn¡¯t have much time left, so he spared no expense using a significant amount of Different Dimension Energy, walking around Tianmeng Science University and the surrounding villages.


    Each time consuming 1,000 points of energy, detecting possible Space-Time Rifts.


    Because the detection range was less than 2 kilometers, roughly covering a little over a kilometer, Yan Junze had to expend another 1,000 points to initiate the next detection after surpassing this distance.


    As a result, his daily energy consumption kept increasing, but the results of the detection were increasingly disheartening.


    Upon reflection, the last time he activated the Space-Time Rift detection and immediately found a rift in the campus woods seemed like striking a jackpot.


    Occasionally, Yan Junze would even take the bus towards the city area, estimating the distance and detecting at intervals. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet even as he approached the city outskirts, he returned empty-handed.


    Because his energy consumption far outpaced his recovery, he could only venture out irregularly and be very cautious with his usage.


    But even so, his Different Dimension Energy, which originally amounted to over 18,000 points, was exhausted down to only 2,000 points.


    This energy was the minimum threshold Junze had set for himself; no matter what, he could not use more than this bare minimum.


    Because at a critical moment, this could be life-saving energy.


    Failing to find a Space-Time Rift was only one of the two big problems Yan Junze was facing.


    The other problem was, even if he found a Space-Time Rift and used energy to initiate the Great Rewind to return to the Underground Space in Mountain Park, he still didn¡¯t know how to effectively deal with that boss, right?


    So, before he could actually go back, Yan Junze also had to figure out a way to eliminate the boss.


    The problems that initially lay before him were troublesome enough, but just on this day, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly called with a tone that seemed very anxious. She didn¡¯t waste words and only said, ¡°Come quickly, I really need your help.¡±


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 Chapter 358 - 290: Spirits (1)

    Chapter 358: Chapter 290: Spirits (1)


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything, he could hear that Zhang Xiaomo was very anxious as she spoke on the other end of the phone, and after hanging up, he immediately took a taxi to Tianmeng City District.


    Upon arrival at the city district, Zhang Xiaomo and the others were not in the city, but at another end of the city district near the outskirts.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t get out of the car, but directly took the car to a three-story old-style building, which was the latest location Zhang Xiaomo had sent him.


    The building was very old, built with old-fashioned corridor layouts; the corridors were close to the street side, usually, if someone were to hang any clothes there, the dust raised by passing vehicles would completely cover them.


    Yan Junze got out of the car and stood in front of the old building, looking up to see that some residents¡¯ doors were broken, half-open, while some had no doors at all.


    From the looks of it, it seemed like no one lived here anymore, possibly because the building had been marked as a dangerous structure.


    ...


    Soon, Yan Junze noticed that at the far end of the second floor, there were two doors that were firmly closed, their condition good, and their style incongruous with the surroundings, seemingly newly installed.


    Yan Junze checked the Spacetime Atlas with his Inner Vision, as he had been searching for the location of the space-time rift recently, consuming a shocking amount of Different Dimension Energy, and at this moment, he had slightly over 2000 points of energy left.


    This was because, on the route here, he had dared not release the Dimensional Energy to search for the space-time rift. Usually, once he had used Dimensional Energy and the remaining energy approached around 2000 points, he would force himself to stop and wait for the energy to slowly recover.


    Now with slightly over 2000 points of energy available for use, it seemed there should be no problem handling the tricky situation Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned.


    Just as he was about to go upstairs, his phone rang; it was Zhang Xiaomo calling.


    After Yan Junze answered, he heard her voice deliberately lowered, quietly asking, ¡°Are you here yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here, at the bottom of the building, on which floor are you?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Second floor, the penultimate room at the end of the corridor,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied, still keeping her voice very low, ¡°Don¡¯t come up yet, think it over because this mission is very dangerous.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, sensing something different in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice, he asked, ¡°How dangerous?¡±


    ¡°The mission level was misrated,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°We only realized later that what was originally rated as an E-level mission should now be C-level, and it could even escalate to B-level at any moment.¡±


    ¡°Did you inform higher-level Exorcists, like Old Guo?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Uncle Guo went to Huaying District for physical rehabilitation training. There are also two four-star Exorcists: one is guarding the Spirit Bridge in Mo Family Village as it fades away, and another left a month ago with the four-star Exorcists from Tianyi District¡ªShi Tai and his team¡ªon a mission and has not returned.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice was calm, suggesting a current sense of safety, but still very soft, ¡°We believe that to complete this task, having a higher-level Exorcist won¡¯t be very helpful. This thing is very strange, so you were the first person I thought of. Perhaps only you can resolve this crisis.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°I¡¯m coming up now.¡±


    ¡°Tread lightly, and when you come up, don¡¯t speak loudly,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ending the call.


    Yan Junze immediately went upstairs from the staircase next to him. The steps of the staircase were somewhat broken and not wide enough, so he had to be very careful not to twist his ankle or slip.


    He moved carefully, and upon reaching the second floor, he didn¡¯t continue to the third floor but moved slowly toward the new doors at the far end of the second-floor corridor.


    The building was old, but the floor was still very sturdy. Yan Junze didn¡¯t make a sound as he moved forward, coming to a stop in front of the first closed door at the end of the corridor.


    Counting from the inside out, this was precisely the second-to-last room.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to listen for any abnormal sounds nearby, the clearly newly installed door slowly opened inward, and a head peeked out through the crack, looking outward.


    Yan Junze recognized him¡ªit was Zhang Di.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze, Zhang Di made a gesture for silence, moved back inside the room, and gestured for Yan Junze to enter.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, stepping sideways into the room, and as he did, the light dimmed and the door closed behind him.


    The curtains in the room were all drawn, and he could barely make out Zhang Xiaomo standing in front of him, frowning slightly.


    Looking back, there was only Zhang Di, who had just let him in.


    Yan Junze asked in a low voice, ¡°Why not turn on the light?¡±


    It seemed like there was no one else in the room, and he didn¡¯t understand why they would prefer to stay in the dark.


    Zhang Xiaomo pulled him to the corner window on the wall, the position farthest away from the last room next door, and then leaned close to Yan Junze¡¯s ear to whisper, ¡°Next door is our mission target, he¡¯s very sensitive, very cautious, we can¡¯t let his emotions fluctuate at all, otherwise all of us would be in great danger.¡±


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned, ¡°You two, working together, can¡¯t handle this guy? How long has this strangeness been dead?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°He¡¯s not a strangeness, he¡¯s not dead.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Junze was somewhat confused, ¡°If he¡¯s not dead, then he¡¯s a living person; he can¡¯t be a zombie. Could it be that this person is a Spirit Cultivator, and either extremely vicious or has a gun?¡±


    Zhang Di joined in, lowering his voice, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have anything, simply empty-handed, but very terrifying. These past two days we haven¡¯t been able to get near him at all.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard of Dead Spirits?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°Dead Spirits?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s memory was jogged.


    He remembered when he first started school, he had heard the chairman and others from the Strangeness Association mention that strangenesses were usually referred to as Dead Spirits, and that there was another kind different from strangenesses called Living Spirits.


    There was once a Putsinger experiment, which was conducted by a professor named Putsinger from the Great Capital of USA, where a living person with an exceptionally developed brain wave and a severed arm was locked in a room and subjected to brain stimulation by a powerful magnetic field.


    After being stimulated, seven days later, this man grew a new arm from where his had been severed, although the arm was deformed and had lost many normal functions, it was purely created by the magnetic field stimulation, resulting from the man¡¯s mental intentions.


    Recalling this experiment, Yan Junze spoke to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Are you saying that the man next door can cause himself to mutate with his mind?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re underestimating Living Spirits,¡± Zhang Di took over, ¡°We don¡¯t call it intention, but a special kind of Obsession. But this man¡¯s Obsession is very strong, very terrifying, Xiaomo and I are completely unable to resist it, and it¡¯s useless how many people come.¡±


    ¡°Initially, based on the mission information feedback, we didn¡¯t even know this was a Living Spirit.¡± Zhang Xiaomo pouted slightly, somewhat aggrieved.


    ¡°What is his Obsession? Is it not to turn himself into a monster?¡± Junze wondered.


    ¡°If only it were that simple,¡± Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°He¡¯s very sensitive and loves to fantasize. When we went to the airport to pick him up, there was nothing abnormal at first, but while sitting in the back seat of the car, I always felt a hand resting on my shoulder. You know, there was no one behind me; Zhang Di was driving in front, and that guy was sitting in the passenger seat.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Junze asked in surprise.


    ¡°Just as I was about to turn around to look, I heard that guy suddenly start talking.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°He said, ¡®Don¡¯t turn around, there¡¯s something terrifying behind you, don¡¯t ever turn around,''¡± Xiaomo said with lingering fear. ¡°I was startled, but my first thought was that some fierce strangeness was clinging to him, and now, after we picked him up, this uninformed strangeness had actually found its way to Exorcists.¡±


    ¡°So, you turned around to look?¡± Junze asked.


    ¡°No, my hand lashed out with a blade,¡± Xiaomo said with a slight smile, pretending not to see Junze¡¯s quietly raised thumb.


    ¡°What was behind you?¡± Junze inquired curiously.


    ¡°A woman, with a face terrifying indeed, her features as if they were melting like wax, all slowly drifting downward. But with that one slice, I severed her head too, it¡¯s just¡­¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°Not long after I beheaded her, the severed head started to disappear bit by bit right before my eyes, eventually leaving no trace at all.¡±


    ¡°Did you manage to capture any residual energy from that strangeness?¡± Junze quickly asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo also had a badge, but it was a silver one issued for official members. In the past, every time a strangeness was killed, a bit of the residual magnetic field energy of that strangeness would be collected by the badge, allowing for payment per case upon return.


    This was why Junze asked the question.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°I used the badge to collect it, but I got nothing.¡±


    ¡°No magnetic field energy?¡± Junze was surprised.


    ¡°None,¡± Zhang Di took over, ¡°Later we came to know that the strangeness appearing behind Xiaomo, was a figment of this man¡¯s imagination.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Junze almost exclaimed, quickly covering his mouth.


    He never could have imagined that such a Living Spirt, this man¡¯s special Obsession, could be so powerful as to conjure up a strangeness out of thin air.


    ¡°Did this guy show any other anomalies later on?¡± Junze asked. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed reluctant to recall, letting out a light sigh, ¡°You can¡¯t imagine how we held out until here, that guy¡¯s various thoughts kept emerging endlessly, but he couldn¡¯t control them and seemed in great pain. By the time we got here, I had killed at least twenty strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°I took down a dozen or so,¡± Zhang Di added.


    Only then did Junze notice Xiaomo¡¯s bandaged arm, due to the insufficient light in the room; he had not realized it until now and asked with concern, ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not too serious,¡± Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°We called you because the things this guy imagines are getting more and more bizzare and even stronger in strength; Zhang Di and I can¡¯t hold out much longer.¡±


    ¡°Why did you lock him in the room next door?¡± Junze walked to the wall.


    ¡°That room is our secret detention room, completely sealed, without light, and with an isolating magnetic field. He said he could find peace of mind inside, and indeed, after he went in, he fantasized a lot less,¡± Zhang Di explained.


    ¡°After he went in, did he still imagine strangenesses attacking you?¡± Junze frowned.


    ¡°There were two times, but no attacking strangenesses appeared; instead, very odd¡­ things did,¡± Zhang Di seemed at a loss for words.


    During the conversation, he unconsciously reached to touch the back of his neck, as if there was still something uncomfortable sticking to it.


    Junze breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°I think, I more or less understand the whole process of events now. By the way, before I came in, has it always been just the two of you here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhang Di nodded.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Junze stretched out his hand pointing towards a still silhouette standing in a dark corner near the door, ¡°who is he?¡±


    Following the direction of his finger, Xiaomo looked over and let out a cry of alarm, but she quickly suppressed the shout, then covered her mouth with her hand.


    In the vague darkness, she indeed saw, in the corner not far from the door, a silhouette standing there.


    But before she could get a clearer look, Junze had already withdrawn his gaze, looking towards Zhang Di, asking, ¡°And¡­ who are you?¡±


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 Chapter 359 - 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)

    Chapter 359: Chapter 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)


    In the dark room.


    All the windows were nailed shut with wooden boards, and even the spots that could let in light were filled with small pieces of wood, pierced by long, slender nails and tightly fixed to the wall.


    The moment Zhang Di woke up, he opened his eyes and saw nothing, initially thinking he had gone blind.


    He blinked hard, but still couldn¡¯t see anything, yet he was certain that it was because the space he was in was pitch black, and it had nothing to do with his eyes.


    He reached out to feel around and discovered he was lying on the rough ground, with the floor somewhat uneven, and Zhang Di propped himself up slowly with his hands.


    He shook his head gently, feeling dizzy and unable to recall when he had passed out or why he had woken up in this place.


    ...


    ¡°This place?¡±


    Suddenly, Zhang Di realized something, remembering that not long ago (though the exact time was indeterminate), he and his partner Zhang Xiaomo had been together.


    Where was Zhang Xiaomo now?


    The two of them had received a report that someone plagued by strangenesses sought protection¡ªalthough the level of the manifestations wasn¡¯t very high, their frequency was extremely high.


    They took a trip to the airport, picked up this person, only to encounter trouble on the way back, and Zhang Xiaomo immediately suggested that they take the guy to the exorcist¡¯s secret isolation room before making any further plans.


    Yes, Zhang Di remembered, they had brought that person here, and he was locked up in the isolation room next door.


    His memory took him this far, and he instinctively looked around, but it was still pitch black, and he could see nothing.


    However, Zhang Di was very clear that the exorcist¡¯s room next to the isolation room was not like this, even in darkness there would be some light filtering in because of the curtains, not a situation where windows were blocked with boards.


    Now he guessed there was an eighty percent chance that he was inside the isolation room rather than the exorcist¡¯s room where he had been before losing consciousness.


    The blackness in front of him naturally brought a sense of fear to the bottom of his heart, and Zhang Di knew full well that the person locked up in this room might not be a strangeness, but was more terrifying because it was, damn it¡­ a Spirit, a creature capable of conjuring all kinds of horrors at any moment!


    The most important thing was, this guy had unpredictable and sensitive thoughts, highly unstable, and the smallest external disturbance could send him into a wild chain of thoughts, even beyond his own control.


    Breathing, after Zhang Di had calmed down, he heard the sound of breathing.


    The breathing was slow and subdued, but it sounded troubled, as if trying hard to suppress the thoughts in his mind, to prevent them from surfacing.


    Zhang Di felt his whole body was cold; not because of the weather, but a chill that had crept up from deep inside since he woke up in this dark space.


    ¡°Zhao¡­ Zhao Qi,¡± Zhang Di called out the man¡¯s name, his voice as calm and relaxed as possible, not to put any pressure on the other person, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, I¡¯ve just woken up myself, I want to ask, how did I get in here just now?¡±


    A voice came through but halted midway, then the mouth opened again, and the voice continued: ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, ever since I¡¯ve been in this isolation room, I¡¯ve been wondering if you might be in the next room, watching or eavesdropping on my every move.¡±


    The voice sounded very honest, not the slick type, just seemingly very fearful and helpless in the moment.


    ¡°And then what?¡± Zhang Di asked.


    ¡°Then¡­ then I wanted to see you too, so, so I thought, why don¡¯t you come over and keep me company? Why do you insist on locking me up alone in here?¡± Zhao Qi stuttered his way through.


    ¡°So, I just came over?!¡± Zhang Di¡¯s expression was bitter.


    He found it incomprehensible. Zhao Qi might be a Spirit, but he should not be capable of controlling someone¡¯s mind, making them unconscious and bringing them here ¨C there had to be another reason.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± Zhao Qi¡¯s voice came from somewhere inside the room, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had come until just now, I heard breathing and thought, thought¡­¡±


    ¡°Thought what?¡± Zhang Di suddenly had an ominous feeling.


    ¡°Have you ever seen a movie from Great Capital Japan called ¡®Doppelganger¡¯?¡± Zhao Qi asked. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Di shook his head blankly, then realizing that the other person couldn¡¯t see his gesture, he said aloud, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I have, so I thought of ¡®Avatar¡¯, the idea that there might be a person with a doppelganger,¡± Zhao Qi said.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhang Di felt a sense of foreboding; a guess was already taking shape in his mind.


    ¡°Also, don¡¯t move, just stay there, don¡¯t move at all,¡± Zhao Qi trembled, ¡°this room has become very dangerous.¡±


    ¡­


    Zhang Xiaomo was originally surprised at the blurry figure standing in the corner, wondering who it could be, when Yan Junze suddenly came out with a hair-raising question for Zhang Di.


    She saw Yan Junze ask Zhang Di with all seriousness, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    At the moment of questioning, Zhang Di exhibited surprise on his face, but it quickly faded away.


    His head drooped slightly, maintaining a cold, indifferent calm, and he remained silent, simply standing there quietly.


    Zhang Xiaomo unconsciously moved closer to Yan Junze, taking hold of his sleeve, her gaze fixed on ¡°Zhang Di¡±.


    Even she couldn¡¯t understand why, in the presence of Yan Junze, she had become as quiet as a quail, whereas normally she would face a strangenesses head-on, possibly with a swipe of a magnetic knife, with such dominating moves, precise angles, and ruthlessly efficient strikes, more masculine than any man.


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 Chapter 360 - 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 360: Chapter 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)_2


    Could it be that deep down, I want to rely on him?


    Thinking this, Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but look up at Yan Junze¡¯s profile, and damn, she felt her heart fluttering.


    Yan Junze had no idea that a woman could still have so many thoughts under such circumstances. After asking ¡°Who are you?¡±, he focused his attention on this ¡°Zhang Di,¡± realizing that his behavior was indeed very strange.


    ¡°Go and draw back the curtains,¡± Yan Junze instructed Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo ¡°obediently¡± nodded, turned around, and flung open the curtains.


    Light from outside filled the room. Zhang Di stood still in his original position, but the abundant light now clearly outlined the figure standing in the corner near the door.


    ...


    This person was wearing black sneakers, jeans, and an orange hoodie, with what seemed to be designs on both the front and the back.


    Upon seeing the figure clearly, Zhang Xiaomo froze on the spot.


    Yan Junze immediately looked back at her outfit: black sneakers, jeans, and an orange hoodie, with a HelloKitty design on the front and a Tippy Bear on the back.


    Taking another look at the figure standing against the wall, its back also featured a Tippy Bear design.


    ¡°That person¡­ is you!¡± Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Before Zhang Xiaomo could respond, the woman who had been facing the corner began to turn around slowly, unmistakably bearing the face of Zhang Xiaomo.


    And at this moment, this ¡°Zhang Xiaomo¡± was also looking over coldly and silently.


    Yan Junze started to hesitate, glancing back at Zhang Xiaomo, who was still holding the curtains, forgetting to let go, and then again at the person across the room who looked just like her.


    Ever since entering this room, Yan Junze had felt an abnormal eeriness, but he couldn¡¯t specifically pinpoint it until he noted that ¡°Zhang Di¡± seemed unfamiliar.


    However, with Zhang Xiaomo, he hadn¡¯t noticed anything amiss; their interactions were the same as before, seemingly unchanged.


    Only after another ¡°Zhang Xiaomo¡± appeared did he begin to harbor doubts.


    ¡°Her behavior is obviously very abnormal, and at a time like this you better not get a screw loose and start suspecting me,¡± the curtain-holding Zhang Xiaomo quickly reminded him.


    Yan Junze turned his back to her and walked toward the corner where the ¡°Zhang Xiaomo¡± was now making her way over, asking, ¡°Have you ever seen a horror movie from Great Capital of Japan called ¡®Doppelganger¡¯?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head.


    ¡°I have,¡± Yan Junze said as he came to her side. ¡°Doppelganger means that there is another you in this world, living in a different place, your double, but she is vicious and cruel. If by chance you meet, she will try everything to kill you and take over your life.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± it was the first time Zhang Xiaomo had heard of such a thing.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Of course, that¡¯s the plot of the movie. So, I¡¯m wondering if that creature in the next room might also have seen that movie.¡±


    ¡°What about the real Zhang Di?¡± asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    At this moment, the pace of the Doppelganger ¡°Zhang Xiaomo¡± quickened, and she clearly redirected her path towards Zhang Xiaomo who was beside Yan Junze.


    Speaking more quickly, Yan Junze said, ¡°This woman is clearly your Doppelganger, and now she¡¯s going to kill you and take over your life. If possible, you need to get rid of her first.¡±


    ¡°I can do it.¡± Zhang Xiaomo stepped forward, drew her magnetic knife, and swung it down at her doppelganger¡¯s head.


    Clang!


    The Doppelganger also pulled out a magnetic knife, and her style of wielding the blade was exactly the same as Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s, clashing with a crisp sound.


    Zhang Xiaomo only felt her arm go numb; she was clear about one thing¡ªshe hadn¡¯t expected the Doppelganger to not only copy her appearance but also her abilities and skills exactly.


    Beyond having the same skills, the Doppelganger¡¯s expression was extremely ferocious and cruel¡ªYan Junze believed that Zhang Xiaomo would never be able to make such an intensely vicious expression.


    Yan Junze sidestepped, half his attention on the fight between Zhang Xiaomo and her Doppelganger, the other half on the silent Zhang Di.


    However, he was very clear that the Zhang Di present was only a Doppelganger; the real Zhang Di wasn¡¯t in this room. If the real body isn¡¯t present, then this Doppelganger should not have a target to kill.


    Of course, all of these guesses were based on Yan Junze¡¯s interpretation of the movie ¡°Doppelganger.¡± If the creature had a different understanding, then the figure he imagined could potentially step forward to assist, joining forces with the Doppelganger Zhang Xiaomo to kill the original.


    So in this situation, to seek a quick resolution, Yan Junze had to help.


    He activated his Semi-Spirit power, retaining close to half his strength and, in the brief moment his black fur sprouted, he stepped forward and grabbed the shoulders of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s Doppelganger.


    Zhang Xiaomo was already deeply aware of Yan Junze¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body; if Yan Junze¡¯s head turned 180 degrees completely, it would signify the full activation of the Semi-Spirit Body without holding back. However, since it was turned 90 degrees at this stage, it meant he was reserving strength.


    Indeed, under these circumstances, as long as he could lend a hand, it was necessary to conserve energy to be wary of Zhang Di¡¯s Doppelganger standing to the side.


    As Yan Junze grabbed the other¡¯s shoulders, the Doppelganger reversed her magnetic knife, and it looked like she was about to strike Yan Junze¡¯s neck with the backhand. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 361 - 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)_3

    Chapter 361: Chapter 291: Spirits (2) (4300 words)_3


    Zhang Xiaomo seized this opportunity and struck from the front, cleaving right into the doppelganger¡¯s forehead.


    At the same time, Yan Junze¡¯s neck was also hit, but he only felt a great force impact him, and thanks to his Semi-Spirit Body, he was fully capable of resisting. He did not, however, feel the weakening of the magnetic field that would occur if truly hit by a magnetic knife.


    The black hair rapidly entwined around the Fake Magnetic Knife, shredding it into pieces.


    The doppelganger also screamed in agony as it was cleaved by Zhang Xiaomo, its body emitting a plume of green smoke before disappearing right before their eyes.


    After dealing with this one, the two immediately turned to where ¡°Zhang Di¡± had been standing and found that this guy had already moved to the door, opened it, and quickly slipped out.


    Yan Junze had returned to his original body and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°He must be going after Zhang Di¡¯s real body.¡±


    ...


    As he finished speaking, the two of them reached the door one after the other, opened it, and just happened to hear the sound of the door closing next door.


    The two were taken aback, looking at each other in confusion.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°He went into the isolation room, the same room where the spirit is held. How did he get in? The isolation room was already locked from the inside.¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If these two doppelgangers could enter the room of an exorcist like you, there¡¯s no reason they can¡¯t enter this isolation room,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°When exactly was Zhang Di replaced by his doppelganger?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo pondered for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s very likely that it happened when he went out to the toilet. The toilet is just next door and for private use. But I didn¡¯t notice anything odd when he came back.¡±


    Yan Junze approached the door of the isolation room and pushed it, finding that it was indeed locked from the inside, immovable. He said offhandedly, ¡°I told you just now that something was off with him, and you wouldn¡¯t have realized it otherwise.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo asked curiously, ¡°How did you spot it so quickly?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t at first glance,¡± Yan Junze shook his head. ¡°It took me many glances to notice. The way the real Zhang Di looks at you makes me feel uncomfortable, but this one didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t get that feeling when he looked at you.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Give me the key,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°You¡¯re going in?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked worriedly, ¡°The spirit is in the isolation room, it¡¯s very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°We have to go in, even if it¡¯s dangerous. I am certain, to the tune of two hundred percent, that kid Zhang Di is locked up in there,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression turned solemn, and she handed him a key, ¡°Be careful, and if you run into danger and need my help, just call out. I¡¯ll be waiting at the door.¡±


    She knew how Yan Junze conducted his exorcisms. Partnering up with him might actually cause more trouble, so staying still was her best option. Figuring out how to cooperate with Yan Junze in exorcisms was the experience Zhang Xiaomo had gathered over time.


    When she was needed, Yan Junze would naturally let her know.


    Yan Junze took the key, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned the lock that was bolted from the other side.


    Strangely enough, though he had distinctly heard the door close just moments ago, the lock still appeared to be bolted from the outside, with no sign of having been opened.


    He handed the key back to Zhang Xiaomo with a soft voice, ¡°After I go in, lock the door from the outside.¡±


    Once Zhang Xiaomo took the key, he pushed the door open and walked in. The light disappeared as the door closed behind him, plunging the space into darkness.


    However, in just the moment before the light vanished, the gaze of a man inside the room accurately captured the person entering.


    The next second, as Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s entire attention was on the closed door of the isolation room, about a meter behind her, a puff of green smoke gathered soundlessly, quickly taking the form of a man standing behind her with an indifferent expression.


    This man was the spitting image of Yan Junze.


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 Chapter 362 - 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)

    Chapter 362: Chapter 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)


    After closing the bedroom door, thick darkness enveloped Yan Junze instantaneously; he found that this room was unlike the adjacent exorcists¡¯ room, for not a single gleam of light could be seen.


    Without hesitation, Yan Junze immediately turned on the flashlight on his phone.


    The beam of the flashlight, upon activation, was directed at the floor.


    Therefore, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze remained fixed on the floor, and when the light appeared, the sight that met his eyes made his heart jolt violently.


    From where he stood, which was at his feet, there were densely packed kneeling figures of women, dressed in the white servant attire of the middle ages from the Great Capital of USA.


    These women originally had their hair done up, but at this moment, all their hair had cascaded down, following the curves of their bodies as they crouched and knelt on the ground, spilling beside them.


    ...


    The women were very close to one another, one right up against the other, and as Yan Junze shined the flashlight over them, he saw that beyond where the light ended, there were still countless maids kneeling without any visible end.


    This scene made him seriously doubt whether he was still inside the isolation room.


    Because judging by the exterior appearance of the room, the interior space of this isolation room couldn¡¯t possibly be this vast, and the densely packed kneeling maids were utterly silent, their disheveled hair strewn across the floor, creating an incredibly oppressive and terrifying atmosphere.


    Indeed, the floor was made of hardwood, the kind with an ornate redwood pattern. And yet, despite so many people crammed inside, there wasn¡¯t the slightest feeling of stuffy air; instead, Yan Junze felt an eerie spaciousness. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, he was acutely aware that it was very likely that that creature had envisioned this scene, making it manifest, causing him to be trapped within it.


    But Junze was somewhat puzzled; if that being was so powerful, why didn¡¯t it conjure up a greater terror, simply flattening this city or wiping out the exorcism team in one fell swoop?


    Upon further thought, based on the results of the Putsinger experiment, the capabilities of these spirits also varied in strength. For example, the creature in the experiment that grew a deformed arm in response to a stimulus was clearly much weaker compared to the one he faced now.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?????????????????.co


    And the being inside the isolation room now, although powerful, was not endlessly so; it might be unable to handle too vast a manifestation of imagination.


    Currently, it seemed that its abilities could at most support the manifestation of scenes, strangenesses, and its own body mutation, or perhaps there were other imaginings not yet revealed.


    As for the ability to overturn the current environment, that was likely beyond its capabilities.


    Yan Junze, at this moment, didn¡¯t move recklessly, but stood still, widening his eyes and carefully scrutinizing everything with the light of his phone¡¯s flashlight.


    He was certain that if he wasn¡¯t previously aware of the creature¡¯s imaginative manifestation at play, he too would have believed he had encountered a real specter and fallen into a truly horrific scene.


    But was the scene before his eyes not real now?


    It was at this moment that all the white-clad kneeling maids began to move, one by one lifting their heads, their hair spread on the ground slowly gathered up, faces slowly turning towards Yan Junze.


    For some unknown reason, just before they lifted their faces, a sense of crisis enveloped Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    A gut feeling rose within Yan Junze; he must not look directly into these maids¡¯ faces, no matter what.


    From all around, the kneeling white-clad maids tilted their faces towards Yan Junze, who at the same time closed his eyes.


    Though his eyes were closed, he felt as if he could perceive them¡ªhis intuition told him that all the women dressed in the medieval maid attire of the USA were indeed looking up at him.


    And they were probably all of fair-skinned ethnicity, with high nose bridges, deep-set eyes, blue, or hazel pupils.


    Who knows what whimsical ideas filled this creature¡¯s head.


    While Yan Junze¡¯s eyes remained closed, not moving, the flashlight in his hand was still on, and he could sense shadows beginning to move in front of him, as if the maid standing closest to him had risen and staggered toward him.


    The light from the flashlight seemed to grow much brighter at this moment, increasingly intense, as if it was shining directly into his eyes like a high-beam flashlight, an unnerving sensation.


    Click!


    Yan Junze simply turned off the flashlight function.


    The sensation of bright light before his eyes vanished instantly, and all he could hear were rustling noises nearby; he stood firm in his spot without taking a step.


    After a dozen seconds or so, something brushed across his cheek, like¡­ a strand of hair.


    Yan Junze¡¯s whole body broke out in goosebumps, but he suppressed it and remained standing in place.


    He wasn¡¯t like the creature, unable to control his own thoughts; Yan Junze did not envision himself surrounded by these long-haired maids, nor did he imagine that now there were several maids pressing close to him, eyes full of blood threads, extending snake-like tongues, tilting their heads as they stared at him.


    He strove to maintain inner calm until light appeared before him once again.


    At this time, Yan Junze was sure he hadn¡¯t turned on his phone¡¯s flashlight, yet despite his closed eyes, he could still sense the light in front of him.


    However, this light was flickering slightly, giving the impression that the source was unstable.


    Yan Junze prepared to open his eyes because after the appearance of the light, the sensation of the shadows in front of him had disappeared, suggesting there was no one ahead.


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 Chapter 363 - 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 363: Chapter 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)_2


    He first lowered his head, then squinted his eyes into a slit, and the first thing he saw was his own feet.


    There were no other people¡¯s feet around his, nor were there the snow-white hands of maids kneeling and prostrated on the ground, stretching forward.


    Then, Yan Junze opened his eyes wider. With the help of the faintly flickering light ahead, he could confirm that there was nobody nearby. However, the flooring was still the same mahogany pattern, indicating he was still in this space, having not left.


    Slowly raising his head, his line of sight no longer contained the figures of the white-dressed maids; it was as if at the same moment the flickering light had appeared, those women had instantaneously vanished.


    Soon, Yan Junze located the source of the light. It was a fireplace, within which were a few logs burning, their flames dancing. This was why the light had been flickering steadily.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look around and discovered that this was a spacious room. The layout was done in the medieval style of Great Capital, with fine upholstered sofas arrayed in the room facing the direction of the fireplace.


    ...


    On the other side was a semicircular liquor cabinet topped with several bottles of red wine, some of which were half-poured, and there was unfinished red wine in the tall glasses on the table.


    At this moment, Yan Junze stood at the entrance. Stepping forward onto the soft, comfortable, old red carpet, he was continuously aware that there was not a soul in sight.


    As the flames burned, the logs crackled from time to time. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This monotonous sound, on the contrary, made the entire space even more silent and oppressive.


    Although he had just stepped out from a completely dark space, being in a place with light should have made him feel much safer, Yan Junze had no intention of approaching the fireplace.


    These areas were all conjured up from the imagination of the creature. The deeper he went, the more dangerous it could be.


    Just then, the coffee-colored curtain on the large window across from Yan Junze rustled slightly. There was only this large window in the room, and it was completely covered with wide, dark curtains, making it impossible to see outside.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t go over, nor did he contemplate going to check behind the curtain.


    But suddenly, he felt a pulling force dragging him, making him walk involuntarily towards the coffee-colored curtain, and at the same time, the curtain moved again.


    In his sight, an orange, wrinkled hand reached out. The hand was very thin and long, with nails on the five fingers that were also very long, the longest reaching about three centimeters.


    Upon closer inspection, it didn¡¯t look like a human hand at all but rather like the hand of a withered corpse.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that this hand was currently pulling at the edge of the curtain right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, he would have almost been certain that there might be a dead body standing behind the curtain.


    ¡°Was this creature scared by someone behind a curtain when it was young?¡± Seeing this scene, that was Yan Junze¡¯s first reaction.


    Usually, to concoct a vivid illusion, at least there must be images in the mind, and those images would surely come from the most deeply engraved scenes in memory. Therefore, the current scene was very likely the clearest memory that the creature had.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t expect that the owner of the hand hiding behind the curtain would suddenly speak, ¡°Oh, my dear, you¡­ found me. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so good at this, Mommy really wants to play with you a bit longer.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then noticed the emaciated fingers clutching the curtain edge twitch, as the voice came out again, ¡°Child, you just need to lift this curtain to find me. What are you waiting for? I can hardly wait.¡±


    While speaking, those thin, elongated, sharp fingers that were pulling the edge of the curtain gently waved, performing an elegant gesture.


    But having seen the form of that hand, if Yan Junze were to reach for the curtain now, it would mean he had been kicked in the head by a donkey.


    It was almost certain that lifting the curtain would reveal an unknown entity behind it that would most definitely be malevolent towards him.


    ¡°Wait for your sister.¡± Yan Junze muttered under his breath, turned away, and left the window.


    Just as he turned, the scenery before his eyes changed again.


    He found himself standing before a long dining table laden with an abundance of delicious food. There was freshly baked bread steaming with fragrance, roasted lamb legs golden and dazzling, and fresh juicy fruits. These foods were piled high, the aromas heady, yet without mixing, stirring a voracious appetite.


    Standing in front of the long table, Yan Junze reached a conclusion: This creature¡¯s train of thought was indeed too erratic; various imagined realizations appeared without any connection.


    But upon further reflection, it seemed some commonalities could be found.


    The first scene featured a large number of maids kneeling on the ground, who then suddenly all looked up at him, but Yan Junze immediately chose to close his eyes and not look at them.


    Now that he thought about it, this choice was probably the right one.


    The second scene was playing hide-and-seek with a ¡°mother¡± akin to a dried corpse, who was likewise tempting him, urging him to lift the curtain and find her.


    Yan Junze was certain that whatever would come out after lifting the curtain could be more terrifying than seeing those maids with open eyes.


    He had no recollection of the two previous scenes, just making choices based on the rich experience he had accumulated after encountering strangenesses. But this third scene gave Yan Junze a slight sense of familiarity.


    It seemed like he had seen this scene somewhere before.


    A table covered with delicacies from mountain and sea, this scene felt very familiar. Yan Junze suddenly paused, grasping at some memories, and as he turned, he saw a chair at one end of the long table where an odd person was sitting.


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 Chapter 364 - 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 364: Chapter 292: Spirits (3) (4400 words)_3


    The strange person sat with their head bowed as if in deep sleep, unclothed, their skin dry and emaciated as if they were nothing but skin and bones, without a single hair on their body. The skin gathered in unsightly folds.


    Yan Junze took a closer look and noticed that his skin was a sickly yellow, faintly emitting a strange red hue.


    The creature was seated at one end of the long table, its slender hands placed neatly on the surface, all five fingers stretched out, the nails grotesquely long. He sat motionless, sleeping soundly as if oblivious to the feast laid out before him.


    Even though the skeleton-like being seemed to be sleeping with its head down, Yan Junze observed that it had no eyes on its face, not even sockets where eyes should be, just a smooth expanse; no nose bridge either, just two slightly nauseating nostrils.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was certain he was within an illusory scene conjured by some creature¡¯s imagination.


    The seemingly sleeping figure before him was actually a boss-level monster, cursed by a True God to never sleep soundly.


    ...


    Its quiet state, as if asleep, was actually a trap, waiting for someone to enter the room, approach the table, and then feast unreservedly on the food.


    The moment someone consumed this food would be the moment to ¡°awaken¡± the skeletal strangeness.


    According to the plot setup, anyone who came near the table, lured by the delicacies, would instinctively choose their favorite food to gorge on.


    But standing before the table now, Yan Junze felt absolutely no desire for the food, his heart devoid of the slightest urge to taste it.


    This showed that while a creature could manifest its imagination, to fully stimulate the desires of the target was a difficult feat indeed.


    Yet, just then, Yan Junze saw a little girl walk into the room. With her brown hair and plain features, she was immediately drawn to the feast on the table as she entered.


    She didn¡¯t see the skeletal creature seated at one end of the table; she hurried to the table, picked her favorite purple grape, popped it into her mouth, and juice dribbled down her chin as a look of immense satisfaction spread across her face.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Yan Junze immediately looked toward the seemingly sleeping skeleton creature, and saw its shoulders twitch slightly, followed by a mechanical lifting of its head, making a creaking noise as if its neck were rusted.


    Indeed, it had only nostrils and a lipless mouth on its face.


    The moment terrified the little girl, who turned in shock to look at the monster.


    The skeletal strangeness twisted its neck, raised its hands slowly from the table, clenched its fists, and then placed the backs of its hands where the eyes on its face would be. Immediately after, it spread its fingers wide.


    In the palms of both hands, round eyeballs appeared, blinking, peering around.


    With its hands pressed against its face acting as eye sockets, the creature twisted its head to observe both the little girl and Yan Junze. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After witnessing this, the girl turned and ran towards Yan Junze, shouting something in the language of the USA, which amounted to ¡°Brother, save me¡± or something similar.


    But what greeted her was Yan Junze¡¯s club.


    The next second, the club struck the girl¡¯s face, knocking her back, as the skeletal strangeness behind caught up, grabbing the screaming girl, and with its gaping, lipless mouth, bit near her neck on the shoulder.


    A crisp sound of bones breaking echoed; Yan Junze had no time to watch as he immediately turned and started walking back the way he came.


    After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and suddenly returned, heading toward the skeletal creature that was biting the girl.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t there to save the girl. This was an illusionary manifestation, devoid of real humans, so there was no point in playing the fool or deceiving oneself.


    Yan Junze simply had an idea he wanted to test. Stopping about one meter in front of the skeletal creature, he called up the Spacetime Atlas from his mind, and with a single thought, he activated it.


    Evil Spirit Solid Lock!


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 Chapter 365 - 293: Spirits (4) (4200 words)

    Chapter 365: Chapter 293: Spirits (4) (4200 words)


    Because he had no idea what level of strangeness the Skeleton Evil Spirit was, and since the entity was merely a figment of imagination made real, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure he could lock it down.


    But at least he could try.


    So when he initiated the ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock,¡± he adjusted the lockdown level to the highest, which was a high-level lockdown.


    The moment he activated it, the skeleton monster, which was gnawing on a little girl who was also a product of imagination, froze suddenly, lifted its head, and at the same time raised its right hand, placing the back of the hand against its face where the eyes would be, spread its fingers so the eye in the palm could see Yan Junze.


    In case he couldn¡¯t deal with the creature even after initiating a high-level lockdown, Yan Junze had already prepared a mallet.


    As the creature watched him with the eye on its palm, he greeted the skull monster¡¯s head with his mallet at the same time.


    ...


    There was a dull thud.


    The skeleton monster¡¯s body shuddered, and then began to tremble all over. It opened its lipless mouth, revealing sharp teeth, and let out a weird, ghastly scream.


    Visibly, its body turned into streams of black mist and got absorbed by the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, because the process of locking this monster was different from others. In the past, once Yan Junze initiated the lockdown, if the entity was within the range of the lockdown, it would directly enter the node and form a shadowy figure.


    But now, this skeleton monster turned directly into black mist and was absorbed into the Spacetime Atlas.


    Yan Junze immediately practiced Inner Vision and found that the twelfth node didn¡¯t form a shadowy figure of the skeleton monster but was quickly being filled with the black mist.


    The thick black mist swirled and churned within the node, and suddenly, it rapidly converged, funneling into the shadowy figure of the Crawler Monster and quickly vanished.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    During this process, the avatars of the two strange babies were also filled with some black mist, but overall, they didn¡¯t absorb as much as the Crawler Monster, which seemed to have taken in about 80 percent of it.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know if there were any side effects after the black mist was absorbed by the Crawler Monster and the strange babies, but he figured if they could actively absorb it, even if there were side effects, they shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem.


    Moreover, the appearance of the skeleton monster seemed somewhat similar to the Crawler Monster, so a fusion was certainly possible.


    After the absorption of the skeleton monster, the scene in front of him changed in an instant, disappearing into endless darkness.


    Yan Junze stood still in his original spot.


    He didn¡¯t know how long the entity could maintain its ability to turn imagination into reality, but if it could go on indefinitely, such a power was far too formidable; by now, some great horror could have been made real.


    Therefore, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe the entity could keep imagining without end; there had to be a time when it needed to rest or its energy would be depleted.


    Dim thuds reached his ears, as if emanating from within the room itself.


    The darkness before him was exactly the same as when Yan Junze first entered the room, giving him the feeling of having returned to reality; he immediately turned on his phone¡¯s flashlight.


    When the limited light came on, Yan Junze was certain that he was no longer in the realm of imagination but stood in the isolation room.


    In fact, he might have always been standing there; the uneven floor beneath his feet was a feature of the old building, and all the windows on the wall were nailed shut with planks, preventing any light from seeping in. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just then, a calm, troubled voice tinged with a hint of guilt came from behind him to the left, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, just meeting and you were put in danger, I didn¡¯t want to¡­¡±


    Yan Junze turned around, shining the flashlight over, and saw a small bed in the far end of the room with some clean bedding neatly folded at the foot of the bed, and an attractive young man was sitting cross-legged on it, leaning against the wall, continuously banging the back of his head against it.


    ¡°You are¡­¡±


    ¡°My name is Zhao Qi.¡± The man seemed very pale, as if he hadn¡¯t rested well in a long time.


    Yan Junze noticed that the man¡¯s hands on his knees were slightly trembling.


    ¡°Are you very scared?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m terrified, scared out of my wits! Why is this happening to me?¡± As he spoke, Zhao Qi increased the intensity with which he banged his head against the wall behind him, creating a thudding sound.


    It was as if he wanted to bash his own head in.


    Yan Junze could tell this man was deeply conflicted inside, but he had no time to play the role of a psychological counselor; he needed to find a way to calm him down first, to stop him from having Whimsical Ideas.


    ¡°Where is Zhang Di? Is he here?¡±


    Zhao Qi stretched out a hand and pointed to the ground under the foot of the bed, ¡°He¡¯s there, seems like he passed out, I couldn¡¯t get him out. Sometimes the Spirit, sometimes not.¡±


    Yan Junze aimed the flashlight under the bed and found Zhang Di¡¯s curled-up figure on the ground, but at the moment Zhang Di was covered with a thin layer of black film, like a cocoon waiting to hatch.


    ¡°Why has he become like this?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Just now¡­ his Doppelganger came in.¡± Zhao Qi said, ¡°Do you know what a Doppelganger is?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s like an avatar of the original self, but not under his control, and even directly threatening his existence, embodying evil and brutality. A Doppelganger on seeing its original self would try to kill him at any time and then replace him to continue living.¡±


    After hearing Yan Junze¡¯s explanation, Zhao Qi was obviously taken aback; he clearly hadn¡¯t expected Yan Junze to be so knowledgeable.


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 Chapter 366 - 293: Spirits (4) (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 366: Chapter 293: Spirits (4) (4200 words)_2


    ¡°`


    ¡°You¡¯re right. So when his Doppelg?nger came in just now, it immediately wanted to do him harm. I was afraid Zhang Di would get hurt, so I thought if he could curl up inside like a cocoon, he might be able to protect himself well and no longer be hurt by the Doppelg?nger,¡±


    After a pause, Zhao Qi continued, ¡°Then Zhang Di was enveloped by this thin membrane. He was crying out for help, I heard him, but I was powerless. Even in my imagination, the cocoon was filled with a large volume of liquid similar to amniotic fluid, enveloping and nourishing him.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat speechless and asked, ¡°So Zhang Di¡¯s Doppelg?nger couldn¡¯t do anything to his original self in the form of a cocoon, either?¡±


    ¡°Right, it lingered for a while and then quickly disappeared,¡± Zhao Qi said, ¡°In the meantime, you suddenly came in, and that feeling, I thought a Demon had entered.¡±


    In the darkness, Yan Junze rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Then you had the imaginary scene of a Demon being sacrificed by a host of God¡¯s maids.¡±


    ...


    ¡°No, they were not God¡¯s maids,¡± Zhao Qi shook his head, ¡°They were the Demon¡¯s wives¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze stopped him from continuing, ¡°For now, just breathe slowly. Take deep breaths in and exhale slowly. Try to keep your heart calm, and it¡¯d be best if your mind remained blank.¡±


    Zhao Qi forced a bitter smile, ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t stop my own thoughts, even if my heart is very calm, they will suddenly pop out, I simply can¡¯t suppress them.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the current situation quite good? Just maintain it like this, with no imagined manifestations,¡± Yan Junze spread his hands.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m tired, I want to rest for a while,¡± Zhao Qi said, revealing the truth.


    ¡°Then you should rest for now. If any thoughts come up, warn me ahead of time to be on guard,¡± Yan Junze knew he could not change the other¡¯s personality or habits in the blink of an eye and walked towards Zhang Di, who was at the foot of the bed.


    He pulled out a dagger from the black backpack he had been carrying, stabbed it into the thin membrane, made a fierce cut, and whoosh, a large amount of yellow liquid flowed out as the membrane rapidly deflated.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Yan Junze retracted the dagger, moved forward, squatted down, and pulled the membrane clinging to Zhang Di¡¯s body off. He touched his head, it was still warm; he checked his pulse, it was still beating; his mouth and nose were not blocked, but yellow liquid was slowly seeping out of his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.


    Yan Junze let him continue to lie on his side, which would help in expelling the liquid faster.


    As long as he wasn¡¯t dead, that was good enough. Yan Junze looked down at the liquid that had flowed out. He was currently squatting in it, and the liquid had completely submerged the soles of his shoes.


    Just then, Zhao Qi, who had been silently sitting on the bed, suddenly spoke, ¡°Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t move at all, no matter what happens, do not move, do not shout.¡±


    Yan Junze froze, squatting still.


    Because he was holding a cell phone, the flashlight was still on, and the light was shining right above his head. He had been ready to stand up, so he could only stay this way.


    Just after Zhao Qi¡¯s words faded, Yan Junze felt something strange at his stomach. Looking down, he saw that his shirt was slightly bulging, as if something was wriggling beneath it.


    Suddenly, the buttons of the shirt burst open, and two fingers protruded from the torn gap.


    These were human fingers, and even whiter and more delicate, not like a man¡¯s.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, and in the next second, a complete hand stretched out from the opening of the burst buttons, prying open the shirt resting on his stomach, followed by another hand crawling out.


    Throughout this process, Yan Junze felt no pain at all.


    After extending out half an arm¡¯s length, the hands began to grope upwards, first touching Yan Junze¡¯s chest, then his neck.


    The hands were also wet, as if freshly pulled from water.


    Should he still remain motionless in such a situation?


    Yan Junze felt that things were very wrong. Two hands reached out from his shirt as if they had come out of thin air, but it seemed very likely that they had passed through his stomach to appear.


    However, at the moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel any pain at all, making him doubt if the hands were really coming from inside his stomach, or if they were simply close to his skin before tearing through the shirt.


    Moreover, he was lucky that the strange hands were reaching up toward his chest. If they had been reaching downward, and Zhao Qi still told him not to move¡­


    Not moving would have been impossible then. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the thought arose, the hands that had touched his neck suddenly stopped, slowly retracted, hung down naturally, and then something else started moving in his stomach again.


    Pop, pop, two more buttons burst open, and a round object laboriously started to burrow out.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think his shirt could still hide such a large round object underneath.


    ¡°`


    Without a doubt, this thing had come from inside the stomach.


    Although he still felt no pain, Yan Junze did not want to remain passive. This did not align with his usual approach to dealing with strangenesses.


    He turned his head to look at Zhao Qi, who was sitting on the bed.


    This guy was hugging his head with both hands, his crossed legs trembling slightly as if he was engaged in a fierce inner struggle, wanting to stop this thought.


    But Yan Junze knew very well that it was all in vain for this guy.


    Looking down again, he saw a head with wet hair had already burrowed out from his clothing, the moisture dampening Yan Junze¡¯s clothes, with the back of the head facing up, directly facing Yan Junze.


    Clearly, this was a woman¡¯s head, her hair soaked with a large amount of water, clinging to the head, still dripping down,


    Yan Junze stared blankly at the head, feeling completely numb in his stomach, but now he was certain that the head was burrowing out from his stomach.


    In his sight, the head began to slowly rotate, the back of the head, which was initially facing up, turned downwards, while the face turned towards Yan Junze¡¯s gaze.


    The wet strands of hair almost completely covered half of her face, but Yan Junze could still see that the woman¡¯s cheek skin was entirely dark blue, slowly turning, gradually aligning with his eyes.


    A powerful sense of crisis descended. In this moment, Yan Junze dared to be certain that if he did not do something and just followed Zhao Qi¡¯s advice to stay still and not speak, he might never be able to speak again.


    At this moment, the woman¡¯s head had completely turned around, her gaze directly meeting Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze did not want to heed Zhao Qi¡¯s whimsical ideas and remain sitting ducks. It was always better to take the initiative.


    Time rewound to the moment he asked Zhao Qi to rest well and clear his mind; originally, Yan Junze was going to approach Zhang Di to cut open the thin layer on his body and rescue him.


    But now Yan Junze had changed his mind. After telling Zhao Qi to rest, he walked towards Zhang Di while pretending to take something out of his backpack.


    As he was about to approach the foot of the bed, Yan Junze suddenly sidestepped a large distance, arriving directly in front of Zhao Qi, who was sitting on the bed, with the club appearing in his hand and striking down viciously on the guy¡¯s head.


    With a thud, Zhao Qi fell in response.


    Yan Junze was startled himself. He had merely intended to strike swiftly to prevent Zhao Qi from reacting, but he hadn¡¯t expected to strike so fiercely that he was frightened after the fact.


    He hadn¡¯t really just killed the other party, had he?


    He didn¡¯t know if killing this creature was within the purview of the Exorcist squad; what if, like this rare species, the squad was meant to cultivate and protect it?


    His blow might be interpreted as striking at the entire squad¡¯s future hope for saving humanity.


    Err, that was thinking a bit too far ahead.


    Yan Junze reached out to touch the other¡¯s nose, the breathing was even, no issues there.


    But now, it seemed the biggest problem had been easily solved.


    Knocked out, Zhao Qi would naturally not continue with whimsical ideas, creating so many manifestations of imagination. Such a simple method; why hadn¡¯t he thought of it just now? Or, Zhang Xiaomo and the others should have thought of it in advance.


    No, that¡¯s not right!


    Yan Junze suddenly started, realizing he had overlooked a critical point.


    If Zhao Qi did not merely manifest imaginations but could also¡­


    The thought had barely begun when tap tap tap tap tap¡­ a rapid sequence of something crawling on the ground resounded.


    Yan Junze immediately turned his phone flashlight towards the direction of the sound. He saw something quickly avoiding the light near the bottom of the window, diving into the darkness.


    Because it was too fast, he only caught a glimpse of a trailing piece of a torn trouser leg.


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 Chapter 367 - 294: Spirits (5) (4300 words)

    Chapter 367: Chapter 294: Spirits (5) (4300 words)


    Tap tap tap tap tap¡­


    A series of crawling sounds echoed in the room. Yan Junze quickly swung his cellphone flashlight around, chasing the source of the noises, but he could no longer see the owner of the pant leg he had just glimpsed.


    Now he understood why Zhang Xiaomo and the others hadn¡¯t just knocked Zhao Qi out¡ªbecause his dream manifestations were equally terrifying.


    Moreover, it could be said that the imaginations that came to him while he was conscious were even harder to control than those that manifested without his awareness.


    Zhang Xiaomo and her people were experienced in handling strangenesses, and although they had encountered a Spirit for the first time, they might have learned these essential facts during their training.


    Still, Yan Junze had never expected that Zhao Qi, who had just fainted, would immediately manifest a dream into reality so swiftly¡ªit was utterly inconceivable.


    ...


    However, this also indirectly showed that Zhao Qi¡¯s thoughts were too active, several times more so than an ordinary person¡¯s, and combined with his status as a Spirit, it was a perfect match, a despair-inducing combination!


    The crawling noise persisted throughout the room, now to Yan Junze¡¯s left, now to his right, and before long, it seemed to have moved onto the walls and the ceiling, completely erratic.


    Yan Junze tried to track the crawling with his flashlight several times but never succeeded.


    Just then, the skittering sound resurfaced, as though burrowing under the bed behind him, and the distance between it and Yan Junze was closing in, making a rustling noise and no longer just crawling.


    Yan Junze spun around, flashlight beam aimed forwards, and his entire being jolted in shock.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that the person who had been crawling would stand up after emerging from under the bed, let alone stand less than half a meter behind him; he turned around to be almost face-to-face with the figure.


    If it had been a normal person¡¯s face, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have been startled, but this face was swollen like a steamed bun, with lips parted and two rows of sharp teeth, resembling those of a piranha.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    The person¡¯s eyeballs bulged slightly, the irises were amber-brown, and a multitude of blood vessels spider-webbed across them. The neck was also much thicker than normal, and the veins bulged so much that they seemed ready to burst through the skin.


    As Yan Junze faced this visage, the figure¡¯s mouth opened slightly, a viscous yellow fluid oozing out, trickling down the rags that cloaked its body.


    ¡°Damn, Zhao Qi, always full of whimsical ideas, who knows what this is about?¡±


    Having just fainted, there was no rousing him now, so Yan Junze chose to Rewind once more.


    This time, upon Rewinding, he found himself back at the moment after finishing his conversation with Zhao Qi. However, he no longer planned to knock the guy out; instead, he pulled out a dagger from his backpack and quickly moved to Zhang Di, who resembled a cocooned moth, slicing open the thin membrane and rescuing him.


    He acted quickly this time; while the idea of a ¡°strangeness crawling out from the belly¡± had not yet surfaced in Zhao Qi¡¯s mind, Yan Junze had already dragged Zhang Di to the edge of the bed, yanking down the duvet to wrap Zhang Di securely, leaving a corner of the sheet for easy pulling.


    Right now, Zhao Qi was clutching his head; any moment now, his troublesome thoughts would resurface. It was evident that he was struggling fiercely.


    After dealing with Zhang Di, Yan Junze stood straight and spoke to the floundering Zhao Qi, ¡°Discard that thought about something crawling out of your belly, and if you can¡¯t resist it, switch your thinking¡ªimagine a woman giving birth¡­¡±


    Clutching his head, Zhao Qi, who was caught in anguish, paused, lifting his head in astonishment to look at Yan Junze.


    He didn¡¯t understand how the other knew what he was thinking, and not only was it accurate, but Yan Junze had also offered advice on how to change his thought process.


    This shock interrupted Zhao Qi¡¯s bizarre thoughts, but within a few seconds, they surfaced again, stubborn as burrowing maggots, impossible for Zhao Qi to shake off.


    Yet, enlightened by Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion, he tried to shift his thought process.


    Yan Junze carefully watched Zhao Qi¡¯s reactions while occasionally glancing at his own stomach to check for any abnormalities.


    Seconds later, in the corner of the bed where Zhang Di had curled up, the shriveled membrane suddenly expanded into a human shape, followed by a woman¡¯s screams and cries as if suffering through unbearable pain¡ªa sound unmistakably from a delivery room.


    Indeed, inspired by Yan Junze, Zhao Qi successfully shifted his thoughts, transforming the idea of a strangeness crawling out of the belly into an image of a woman in childbirth. Upon manifestation, not only did a woman appear, but she was indeed in the midst of giving birth. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This method seems to work,¡± Yan Junze thought, seeing a glimmer of hope and having an idea for what to do next.


    However, this plan required Zhao Qi to stick with him constantly and not to be kept in isolation as he was now.


    In reality, Zhao Qi being kept in a separate room had provided little benefit, or else Zhang Di and Zhang Xiaomo would not have encountered a Doppelganger so stealthily.


    Grabbing the corner of the sheet dragging Zhang Di, Yan Junze turned to Zhao Qi and said, ¡°From now on, you stick with me and follow my orders.¡±


    Zhao Qi was somewhat perplexed but still nodded his head; the reason for his assent was simple¡ªYan Junze had indeed helped him before.


    Truthfully, he felt helpless and had even fallen into despair, so having his thoughts successfully redirected by Yan Junze was like clutching a lifeline, sparking a flicker of hope in his heart that he had never felt before.


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 Chapter 368 - 294: Spirits (5) (4300 words)_2

    Chapter 368: Chapter 294: Spirits (5) (4300 words)_2


    ¡°`


    Wow!


    Just then, a baby¡¯s loud cry echoed, and the woman¡¯s screams came to a halt.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment; without looking in the direction of the swollen cocoon, he dragged Zhang Di and motioned Zhao Qi to follow by his side as they hurried toward the door of the isolation room.


    But as they nearly reached the door, the baby¡¯s crying suddenly deepened, losing the ¡°wah wah¡± sound and turning into a low growl, like the warning rumble of a beast about to attack.


    Immediately, the woman who had just been giving birth let out a piercing shriek, a shadow swiftly crawled out of the cocoon, dragging something along as it quickly approached Yan Junze and Zhao Qi.


    ...


    Yan Junze whirled around, his phone flashlight shining in that direction. Under the beam of light, a green-skinned and slippery baby with a ferocious face crawled toward him, still trailing its uncut umbilical cord.


    Behind the umbilical cord seemed to be something else being dragged, but Yan Junze dared not look any longer.


    He immediately shifted his gaze to Zhao Qi, who had been burying his head all along.


    Zhao Qi¡¯s face was bitter, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t control it. This child¡­ he must have been born dead, which is why he turned into a monstrosity and even killed his mother.¡±


    Yan Junze was speechless, knowing that this was also a whimsical idea that had just occurred to Zhao Qi, yet this guy couldn¡¯t control his own mind.


    Rewind!


    Time traveled back thirty seconds.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    At this moment, the woman conjured by imagination was screaming in pain from childbirth, the cocoon showing incessant movements, Yan Junze held onto the corner of the sheet wrapped around Zhang Di, signaling Zhao Qi to follow him out.


    When they were about to reach the door, a baby¡¯s cry of ¡°wah¡± sounded, followed immediately by the cessation of the woman¡¯s agonized shouting.


    Yan Junze spoke up promptly to Zhao Qi, ¡°Now, imagine that the baby that just cried out is you, envision the scene of years ago, that tender moment when your mother gave birth to you.¡±


    Zhao Qi was taken aback, then his body suddenly shook violently, trembling in disbelief as he stared at Yan Junze. The bizarre idea about a ¡°dead infant becoming a monstrosity¡± that had just sprung to mind was interrupted the instant Yan Junze spoke.


    His lips trembled with fear, completely puzzled how his thoughts had just arisen and how Yan Junze knew about them.


    After moments of shivering, he finally managed to utter, ¡°You know what I¡¯m thinking?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer him but instead turned his head to stare into Zhao Qi¡¯s eyes.


    Zhao Qi realized that the notion of the dead infant turning into a monstrosity had once more surfaced uncontrollably. However, he followed Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion and began to imagine that he too was a newborn, the scene of being held in his mother¡¯s arms in the delivery room right after being born.


    A warm sensation arose, a bit of warmth filled his heart, replacing the fear and taking over the horrifying thoughts he could not accept but kept emerging.


    At that moment, the woman in the cocoon behind them gave birth to the baby, and the infant, instead of becoming a monstrosity, lay there quietly after crying a few times, seemingly enjoying the warmth of the mother¡¯s embrace as well.


    This method was Yan Junze¡¯s current temporary measure to cope with the living spirits.


    He had no choice, for this guy¡¯s thoughts were so capricious that he would easily come up with uncontrollable bizarre ideas from a single impression, so Yan Junze had to use a bit of energy to go back before Zhao Qi came up with that idea, and provide a similar, distracting scenario that could replace it and shift the guy¡¯s attention.


    The downside to this approach is the need to repeat the process continuously and the constant drain of Different Dimension Energy. Fortunately, each rewind was brief, and the energy expended was not too substantial.


    For now, Yan Junze could still persevere.


    In fact, Zhao Qi¡¯s whimsical thoughts typically only lasted a few seconds to perhaps a minute at most, and they would likewise be disrupted by external factors or other thoughts of his own.


    But this guy was powerful, capable of conceiving a monstrosity in the brief span of a few seconds with a single thought or imagination.


    By shifting the thought of the deceased infant to the scene of his own birth, the feeling of being held in his mother¡¯s arms allowed Zhao Qi to forget continuing the imagination of the dead baby, and thus the thought vanished.


    Yan Junze had already grabbed the doorknob, turned it with one swift movement, and walked out while dragging Zhang Di.


    Zhao Qi, startled, hurriedly followed, stepping out of the isolation room and standing in the hallway.


    But as Yan Junze was the first to step out of the hallway, his body suddenly froze, and the sight before him nearly frightened him out of his wits.


    In front of him, Zhang Xiaomo held another Yan Junze¡¯s head in her left hand, exposing his neck completely, while her right held a magnetic knife. In one swift, resolute stroke, she slashed at the neck of the Yan Junze in her grasp.


    The decisiveness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of the act, devoid of any past affection, made Yan Junze¡¯s heart pound furiously.


    ¡°`


    Discarding another Yan Junze whose neck had nearly been snapped, Zhang Xiaomo raised her head, inserted the magnetic knife into her belt, and casually patted her hands with a nonchalant smile on her face, ¡°You¡¯ve finally come out.¡±


    ¡°I think I might still be safer in the isolation room,¡± Yan Junze swallowed nervously.


    His mind was still haunted by that terrifying scene, as if his own neck felt a cold draft.


    No joke, witnessing that woman ferociously slashing at her own neck upon his first glimpse was a jarring experience for anyone.


    Of course, the very next second after witnessing the scene, he knew that the Yan Junze being attacked was his doppelganger. Zhang Xiaomo cutting that guy¡¯s neck couldn¡¯t be wrong, it¡¯s just that her manner was a bit¡­ Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Actually, I just want to know who gets to call the shots at home in the future,¡± Yan Junze suddenly remarked.


    Zhang Xiaomo rolled her eyes at him but seemed pleased, looking behind him, she said, ¡°Is everything okay now? What¡¯s Zhang Di up to?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just unconscious, nothing serious,¡± Yan Junze replied, then pointed at Zhao Qi, ¡°He needs to stick with me for now, I can help him temporarily.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded in confusion, not asking for an immediate explanation.


    Yan Junze suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go into the Exorcist¡¯s room. There¡¯s a couch in there. We can rest for a bit.¡±


    Zhao Qi gave Zhang Xiaomo an embarrassed smile. Without speaking, Zhao Qi helped Yan Junze carry Zhang Di into the Exorcist¡¯s room, where they laid him down on a small bed.


    The room had three large sofas and a small bed. After laying the unconscious Zhang Di on the bed, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo took a seat on one of the sofas, while Zhao Qi naturally found a seat on another.


    ¡°Have you run out of ideas now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°I have,¡± Zhao Qi replied with a bitter smile, and then shook his head, ¡°For now, I don¡¯t have any. I need some rest.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo turned towards Yan Junze, just in time to see him fiddling with his phone. He quickly sent a voice message: ¡°I¡¯ve sent you the address. Navigate here immediately. We need your help here.¡±


    ¡°Who did you send that to?¡± Zhang Xiaomo inquired.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± Yan Junze set down his phone and said, ¡°This situation is more complex than I thought. First of all, Zhao Qi isn¡¯t really a strangeness. This is different from the usual exorcisms, so I can¡¯t harm him. Most importantly, he should be a good person.¡±


    Yan Junze whispered the last sentence close to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s ear; Zhao Qi did not hear it.


    But the man was hanging his head low, seemingly rife with volatile emotions again.


    Zhang Xiaomo pulled Yan Junze aside to a window near the small bed, looked at Zhao Qi who was still staring downward, and asked Yan Junze in a hushed voice, ¡°Can you directly eliminate his Spirit Body identity?¡±


    Yan Junze raised his hand in a gesture of helplessness: ¡°Kidding, this guy¡¯s magnetic field is terrifyingly strong. You should really consider bringing him back to headquarters for research, not eliminating such abilities.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo sighed softly.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t headquarters have any effective means to restrict this person¡¯s abilities?¡± Yan Junze suggested, ¡°Like some kind of helmet that isolates magnetic fields, or a device that could reduce emotional stimuli for him?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo explained, ¡°During training, I heard there¡¯s a helmet that can reduce the emotional perception of a Spirit, causing its thinking to become dull. A thought could take a very long time to form, and by the time it does, it poses no threat to others.¡±


    ¡°Where is that helmet?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°In Great Capital, USA. It¡¯s said that the research facility of the Half Moon Association¡ªan organization of Exorcists there¡ªhas successfully invented it, and it¡¯s currently in the testing phase,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at the same moment.


    Across the street from that old building, outside an alleyway, stood a tall man clad in a grey-white trench coat.


    The man wore a duckbill cap, pulled very low over his face, obscuring most of it, leaving only the lips and tip of the nose visible; yet one could still notice his distinctly chiseled facial features and high-bridged nose.


    He stared silently at the second floor of the old building while, in the alleyway behind him, four other men stood in silence.


    One of them was holding a small, sealed metal box.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 369 - 295: Spirits (Six) (Seeking Monthly Votes, Recommendations, and Support!!!)

    Chapter 369: Chapter 295: Spirits (Six) (Seeking Monthly Votes, Recommendations, and Support!!!)


    Throughout his conversation with Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze kept an eye on Zhao Qi¡¯s movements.


    The guy had been hanging his head since they began talking, and now, Yan Junze noticed his hands and feet trembling slightly.


    Zhang Xiaomo was also paying attention to Zhao Qi, but because Yan Junze had just mentioned he could help Zhao Qi solve his current problem, she didn¡¯t put on a wary demeanor.


    Otherwise, Zhang Xiaomo would have already drawn her magnetic knife, ready to deal with any strangeness that might suddenly appear.


    ¡°Right, when did you notice my doppelganger?¡± Yan Junze recalled the chilling scene he saw when he came out of the isolation room earlier.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Right after you went in, I turned around and saw it.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    ¡°I had been in the isolation room for a while, and you two had been fighting for so long. So, was my doppelganger as powerful as the real me?¡± Yan Junze shamelessly asked.


    ¡°Powerful my ass,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile on her face, ¡°At first, I wasn¡¯t prepared to finish him off, even talked to him a bit. I was just curious to test who was smarter, you or your doppelganger. But after talking to him for a bit, I realized he was slow, always baring his teeth and grimacing as if he wanted to hit someone. So, I simply took action.¡±


    ¡°How long had you been fighting when I came out?¡± Yan Junze was still somewhat unwilling to let it go.


    ¡°It had just started,¡± Zhang Xiaomo laughed heartily.


    Well, as soon as it began, it ended.


    Yan Junze chuckled awkwardly, changing the subject: ¡°From now on, my actions might seem abnormal or inconceivable to you. You can either just watch or follow my instructions, but don¡¯t doubt or question me, as I may not have time to explain.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was momentarily stunned, then nodded silently after two seconds.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    By then, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze had already moved from Zhang Xiaomo to behind Zhao Qi, who had been keeping his head down all along.


    Behind the cloth sofa where Zhao Qi sat, a cockroach emerged, crawling along the backrest.


    This cockroach seemed quite large, probably an adult, and Yan Junze, upon seeing it, made no particular reaction, just watched silently.


    As the cockroach nearly reached the back where Zhao Qi leaned, Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted slightly, and the cockroach moved to where Zhao Qi¡¯s back was, out of sight.


    Moments later, Zhao Qi reached back to grab something, and startled, flung away the cockroach he had caught.


    Almost simultaneously, more cockroaches began to crawl out from the seam between the backrest and the seat cushion of the sofa, and at first glance, there appeared to be hundreds of them.


    These cockroaches moved quickly, scattering in all directions as soon as they came out of the crevices. Not only that, but many cockroaches also emerged from the wall behind the sofa, spreading like a tide along the walls.


    ¡°Are you afraid of cockroaches?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhao Qi, turning his head.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Qi responded, having already jumped up, trembling all over and now standing next to Yan Junze.


    Not just him, at this moment faced with the overwhelming plague of cockroaches, Yan Junze believed there was no one in the room who wasn¡¯t afraid, or at least disgusted, but it seemed there was no way to instantly eliminate such a multitude of cockroaches.


    Using fire would only burn down this hideout as well.


    And if these cockroaches were just ordinary ones, it would be easy to handle, but Yan Junze was afraid the cockroaches that came into being through imagination might reveal some of the strangeness¡¯s characteristics.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound to the moment the first cockroach appeared.


    Yan Junze shifted his gaze to the cockroach that had crawled up from behind the sofa and whispered into Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s ear, ¡°There¡¯s a cockroach not far behind Zhao Qi. Use your magnetic knife to chop it and then immediately dispose of it, without letting Zhao Qi see even a hint of that cockroach.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback, but she soon recalled that Yan Junze had just told her his actions might seem abnormal and that she just needed to follow his instructions without question.


    With that thought, she turned her head and sure enough saw a large cockroach crawling on the backrest, heading toward Zhao Qi¡¯s back.


    With a swish, the magnetic knife struck, instantly hitting the cockroach and smashing the bug into a pulp, then with a backhand swipe, the blade pushed the insect¡¯s remains to the wall corner behind the sofa.


    Zhao Qi reacted at this point, raising his lowered head to take a look behind him.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Just a small bug, no worries.¡±


    Zhao Qi only saw a slightly damp spot on the sofa and nothing else. He nodded and continued to bow his head anxiously, struggling with his thoughts.


    In the following time, Zhang Xiaomo kept observing Zhao Qi¡¯s movements.


    About two minutes later, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a moment when the doorway fell into darkness, as if someone were standing outside, blocking the light filtering in.


    Zhang Xiaomo sat up straight and looked carefully, noticing that the shadow hadn¡¯t left but remained outside the door. She quietly got to her feet.


    At the same time, Yan Junze also noticed something was off and stood up, but he looked at Zhao Qi and asked, ¡°Are you thinking about the strangeness related to shadows?¡±


    Zhao Qi lowered his hands and looked up at him, a bit bewildered.


    In that instant, the shadow outside the room flowed like water through the door gap into the room, reaching towards the sofa and already covering half of the wall from the doorway.


    Yet, it was still impossible to discern exactly what kind of shadow it was, only through the vast shadow one could see dense, fluffy hairs covering it.


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 Chapter 370 - 295: Spirit (Six) (Asking for Monthly Pass, Recommendations, and Support!!!)_2

    Chapter 370: Chapter 295: Spirit (Six) (Asking for Monthly Pass, Recommendations, and Support!!!)_2


    These fine hairs were long, and each one writhed about, moving in different directions as if every single hair were a separate living entity with its own trajectory.


    At first glance, the sight was dense and squirming all over; anyone with a severe fear of clusters would likely faint on the spot at such a scene.


    Zhang Xiaomo clutched her chest, seeming to be utterly disgusted as well.


    But in just this brief moment, the massive shadow had completely approached the sofa, and after overlapping with it, the wooden sofa suddenly emitted a loud bang, as if its boards had snapped instantaneously.


    Not only that, but the fabric on the surface of the sofa caved in, turning pitch black as if stained with venom, and with several more snaps, more boards splintered¡­


    ¡°Can we deal with this thing?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    ...


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t hesitate and shook her head immediately, ¡°I¡¯ll hold it off, you guys leave first¡­¡±


    Rewind!


    Before she could finish, Yan Junze once again rewound time to one minute before.


    In fact, had he been able to stop Zhao Qi¡¯s imagination from manifesting on the spot, he wouldn¡¯t have wasted energy on a Rewind since he had already been searching for a Space-Time Rift earlier; now his stored energy was not plentiful.


    But the black shadow¡¯s strangeness had no physical form yet could destroy the physical sofa with terrifying means; he had also guessed that Zhang Xiaomo was completely unable to deal with it.


    After the Rewind, Zhang Xiaomo just noticed that the light at the room¡¯s entrance was blocked by a wisp of shadow.


    Yan Junze, without even looking, spoke to Zhao Qi, ¡°Have you ever seen shadow puppetry?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Zhao Qi was hugging his head, mired in gloom, his mind battling the bizarre ideas that kept surfacing.


    Hearing Yan Junze¡¯s question, he paused, then lifted his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen shadow puppetry, a very traditional and fun form of performance,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°which is to cast the shadows of puppets with a light source, operated by people for the audience to enjoy¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Yan Junze noticed that the shadow outside the door was getting smaller, shrinking to the point where it no longer blocked the light from outside.


    At that moment, Zhao Qi pursed his lips into a smile, ¡°I remember now, that¡¯s shadow puppetry, I¡¯ve seen it on TV before.¡±


    After he spoke these words, the shadow outside the door disappeared completely.


    Good, the shift of attention was successful once more.


    Zhang Xiaomo withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Yan Junze, feeling somewhat incredulous.


    If Yan Junze could deduce what Zhao Qi¡¯s imagination would manifest next through that suddenly appearing shadow, he was practically prophetic.


    And right now, that is exactly what Yan Junze was displaying.


    Seeing Zhang Xiaomo staring intently at him, Yan Junze laughed and said, ¡°Do you think that staring at me will make me feel embarrassed? Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Zhang Xiaomo teased with a laugh.


    Yan Junze suddenly said, ¡°I need you to do something for me. Please pour out all the water in that teapot, not leaving a single drop.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked puzzled, but she still remembered the reminder from Yan Junze earlier and didn¡¯t say a word, got up, picked up the half-full teapot on the table, went to the sink, and poured all the water down the drain.


    As she poured out the tea, numerous tea leaves also spilled out, but among these leaves, Zhang Xiaomo saw a strand of hair.


    This strand of hair, like a small snake, was moving on its own, turning over the tea leaves, attempting to leave.


    However, by that time, the tea had already been poured out, flushing down into the drain. Zhang Xiaomo then turned on the tap further, increasing the water flow. She saw the curious strand of hair tumble a few times, still unable to struggle free, and, along with the tea leaves, was washed away.


    After setting down the now empty teapot, she returned to sit beside Yan Junze. He softly asked, ¡°Did you pour it all out?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo, increasingly astounded, looked at Yan Junze anew and nodded, ¡°Flushed it down the drain.¡±


    Yan Junze said no more, extending his hand to hold the back of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand subconsciously prepared to withdraw, but it only twitched slightly before stopping still, letting Yan Junze hold it.


    The back of her hand was very smooth, several times silkier than her palm, which was calloused from holding the knife.


    The room fell into silence, creating a peculiar atmosphere between Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze, but for Zhao Qi, he was still struggling in agony.


    Just then, Yan Junze suddenly let go of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand and said to Zhao Qi, ¡°Without a source of fire, it¡¯s impossible for a building to burn down. This house has just been abandoned for many years; there wouldn¡¯t be any cases of a fire here, so there¡¯s no chance of a woman and a child burned to death wandering around inside.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Zhao Qi looked up, smiled at Yan Junze, and the thought that had just sprouted in his mind once again vanished. At this moment, he had developed a strong sense of dependence on Yan Junze, feeling as if the man before him was nothing short of a savior. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because only this man could penetrate his inner world, directly reaching the depths of his heart to relieve those burdensome thoughts he couldn¡¯t resist on his own.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave Yan Junze a discreet thumbs-up, feeling that she had definitely found the right person this time.


    Just about to speak, she saw the light at the doorway dim once more, and a familiar shadow blocked the entrance.


    Yan Junze was puzzled and asked Zhao Qi, ¡°The shadow by the door¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, thump, thump, thump¡­


    Knocking sounds came from outside the door, accompanied by a man¡¯s voice, ¡°Huaying Great Capital Exorcism Team, please open the door.¡±


    The people inside were taken aback, and Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Did you call them?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo replied, ¡°Before you came, I called my teacher in Huaying Great Capital. He said he¡¯d look for solutions immediately, but it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for them to send someone so quickly. Unless they were already nearby.¡±


    ¡°May I ask who you are¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo stood up, walked to the door, but did not open it immediately.


    The person outside said, ¡°We can control this spirit; there¡¯s no need to worry, please open the door.¡±


    ¡°Please say your name.¡± Zhang Xiaomo insisted.


    There was silence from outside.


    Yan Junze stood up at this moment as well, a sense of alertness rising within him.


    Boom!


    A powerful force suddenly exploded as if a small explosive device had been triggered outside the door. The powerful impact busted open the room¡¯s door, breaking it off its hinges, and struck Zhang Xiaomo, who was completely unprepared.


    Zhang Xiaomo was flung into the air and crashed onto the square table that held a teapot, shattering the table completely.


    Yan Junze was also toppled by the force, landing seated on the sofa, while Zhao Qi, who was closer to the door, was pushed into a corner near the wall.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was hit head-on by the blast, was the most seriously injured.


    Several men charged into the room. These men were dressed in black tracksuits and waved away the dust from the explosion. After glancing at Yan Junze, they quickly turned and walked towards Zhao Qi, who was cowering in the corner.


    Following these men was another man in a trench coat, who stood at the doorway without entering, coldly surveying the chaos within the room.


    Even though the man was wearing a duckbill cap with the brim pulled down low, Yan Junze, almost lying on the sofa, had a clear view from his angle.


    He realized that the man in the trench coat was not from Huaying Great Capital; he had a distinct facial structure, a high nose bridge, and deep-set eyes, likely from the USA or Olay Great Capital.


    ¡°What the hell, who are these people?!¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look at Zhang Xiaomo, who was lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely from her head, and a wave of nameless rage surged within him.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound.


    Yan Junze released Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand and whispered to her, ¡°We are being watched. Draw your magnetic knife and from now on, ensure Zhao Qi¡¯s safety. Leave the rest to me.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to explain and turned to Zhao Qi, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with his head buried in his hands, and said, ¡°Keep up your imagination. Yes, people have died in this old house before, a mother and her child, and their deaths were gruesome! They are always wandering the stairwell and the corridor, and they will attack anyone trying to enter this old building. And right now, they are just outside in the hallway¡­ Target acquired.¡±


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 Chapter 374 - 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)

    Chapter 374: Chapter 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)


    ¡°Who¡¯s come?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked curiously.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°A friend you just met last time.¡±


    At the same time, in a taxi on the move.


    Xiang Er placed her cellphone very carefully into her jeans pocket and glanced at the rearview mirror inside the taxi, noticing that the driver was still looking at her.


    Xiang Er had been counting carefully; this was the 127th time the guy had sneaked a peek at her since she got on the car. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After possessing this perfect female corpse, every day brought Xiang Er a fresh sensation, whether it was the people or objects around her, things that happened, or interacting and communicating with others, all were completely different from her feelings when she was alive.


    ...


    Xiang Er¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t that profound; she simply felt that everyone paid a lot of attention to her, unable to ignore her, just like the driver currently driving.


    Of course, among these people, only Yan Junze¡¯s attention felt different to her.


    To Xiang Er, everything she now had was given to her by Yan Junze, and saying he had granted her a second life was no exaggeration.


    Therefore, she couldn¡¯t let Yan Junze encounter any danger, absolutely not.


    The cellphone was bought for her by Yan Junze, and Xiang Er treasured it. Hence after securing the phone, she looked up and asked the taxi driver, ¡°Driver, how long until we reach the address I gave you?¡±


    ¡°About¡­ four blocks.¡± While waiting for the red light, the driver took the opportunity to turn and stare at her face, ¡°That place is a bit remote, beauty. What are you going there for, all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait anymore.¡±


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    Xiang Er didn¡¯t answer the driver, took out the spending money Yan Junze gave her, pulled out a hundred yuan, and handed it to the driver.


    ¡°What, you¡¯re not riding anymore?¡± The driver reflexively accepted the money, touching Xiang Er¡¯s fingers and discovering that her hand was frighteningly cold with not a bit of warmth.


    ¡°Mhm, no need for change.¡±


    With that, Xiang Er opened the car door and ran off, her movements quick and nimble.


    The driver only saw a blur before he couldn¡¯t see Xiang Er among the pedestrians on the street anymore. He hastily shouted, and pressed the window while speaking loudly, ¡°It¡¯s not about not needing change, but your fare isn¡¯t enough! From Tianmeng Science University, that¡¯s so far; the journey crosses the entire Tianmeng city. Hey, where did she go?¡±


    At this moment, Xiang Er couldn¡¯t care what the people on the road thought. In fact, her speed was so fast, whether in sprinting or jumping, she had long broken past the limits of ordinary humans tenfold or even dozens of times, to the point that pedestrians couldn¡¯t even react in time.


    If it had been just Xiang Er herself with her strangeness, she could have flown straight there by now, but after possessing this corpse, she couldn¡¯t bring the corpse to fly with her.


    However, the corpse¡¯s constitution was very special; even if unable to fly, the speed of sprinting and jumping alone was already terrifying enough.


    ¡­


    In a room on the second floor of an old building.


    The magnetic field interference from the metal sphere had been activated, and the fog separating the two sides had disappeared, revealing the man in the trenchcoat and his subordinate holding the metal case at the door.


    However, the scene inside the room was different from before the Rewind.


    A sofa and a square table had been moved in advance, blocking the center of the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were standing behind the barricade, Zhang Xiaomo holding a magnetic knife, and Zhang Di also wielding something resembling a bed leg.


    Yan Junze and Zhao Qi were close to the small bed, Yan Junze softly said to Zhao Qi, ¡°Imagine outside the door, right in the corridor area, can any strangenesses appear?¡±


    Zhao Qi shook his head quickly, ¡°Just now I kept thinking there were ¡®Silent Hill¡¯ pyramid head monsters roaming outside the door, but it seems there is no response.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. Now it appeared that the metal sphere¡¯s interference covered a wide range, not only this room but even the corridor outside couldn¡¯t produce a strangeness magnetic field.


    However, he had made arrangements in advance, knowing that the man in the trenchcoat was forceful in his actions, so he didn¡¯t let Zhang Xiaomo and the others attack proactively, but rather took a defensive approach, aiming to delay time.


    Seeing the setup inside the room, the man in the trenchcoat paused for a moment, then stepped into the room, his subordinate following him in.


    The moment they entered the room, Yan Junze and the others immediately threw the Hidden Buckles they had prepared.


    Obviously, the Chilling Hidden Buckle was out of the question; the building was too old and likely to catch fire, so they could only use other Hidden Buckles, and Chilling was the first to be thrown.


    As long as it could freeze the opponents, whether or not it could freeze them to death, at least it would render them immobile. If that didn¡¯t work, they could throw a few Collapse or even High-Energy Collapse.


    But unless absolutely necessary, Yan Junze and the others were reluctant to throw the Collapsing Hidden Buckles, because Collapse¡¯s target was strangeness, and after detonation, it would automatically seek out the direction of strangeness for impact. But their opponents were two human beings.


    This meant that after Collapse exploded, without any strangeness to lock onto, it would burst in all directions, impacting everyone present.


    That was entirely a strategy of harming the enemy but also heavily damaging oneself, and they wouldn¡¯t use it until it was critically necessary.


    Two Chilling Hidden Buckles were thrown with excellent precision, heading straight for the man in the trenchcoat and his subordinate. They were about to scatter in the next second and cover the two men completely.


    But just at the moment before they were about to explode, a white light flashed inside the Chilling Hidden Buckles, splitting them in two, and they fell to the ground.


    Everyone was stunned to hear Zhang Di, as though he¡¯d realized something, say, ¡°The Hidden Buckles have magnetic field target features, which can be captured by that metal sphere.¡±


    This way, as long as the Hidden Buckles activated their magnetic field targeting at the moment of explosion, aiming to lock onto the position of strangeness, the metal sphere would sense it prematurely and interfere with its self-destruction.


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 Chapter 375 - 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2

    Chapter 375: Chapter 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2


    The Hidden Buckle fell, and these items were also unusable under the cover of the metal sphere. The man in the trench coat took a few steps forward and kicked the table that lay on its side on the floor facing him, splitting it into pieces.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s strategy was defensive attack, and after the table shattered, she slashed down with her knife.


    Zhang Di also struck at the same moment toward the underling in the tracksuit with his stick. He had a sofa to block him, which was a better situation, but after Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s table had been kicked away, she had no cover left.


    The man in the trench coat punched out, hitting Zhang Xiaomo right in the wrist, and the magnetic knife dropped to the ground.


    The trench coat man¡¯s punch was as fast as lightning, leaving Zhang Xiaomo almost no chance to react, as he threw a straight punch at her face.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly stepped back, but it was still a step too late.


    ...


    Just as her nose was about to be hit by the punch, a mallet suddenly descended in mid-air, striking squarely on the man¡¯s fist and completely cutting him off.


    Yan Junze charged forward, swinging another mallet blow toward his forehead.


    Now that all strangenesses were ineffective, they could only rely on brute force to contend with the opponent, and to Yan Junze, that black metal sphere was simply a godsend.


    If thrown into a place affected by strangenesses, it could disturb the strange magnetic field and instantly bring about a peaceful golden age.


    But then he thought, if it had such a powerful function, wouldn¡¯t the other Exorcist organizations of Great Capital have already cleared their respective areas of strangeness cleanly? Why then would they come here and vie with Huaying¡¯s Exorcist team for a single Spirit?


    Perhaps the technology using this metal sphere wasn¡¯t quite mature, and Yan Junze¡¯s mind was racing. As for whether using the sphere would have any side effects on those present, that was unknown.


    It isn¡¯t going to sterilize us, is it!


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    The thought had just crossed his mind when his mallet had already hit the trench coat man, but it hit his fist, not his head.


    The man¡¯s fist collided with the mallet, making a crisp clashing sound, but there was no sound of bones breaking. His fist was like iron.


    You should know that Yan Junze¡¯s mallet had been modified, with alloy incorporated into the metal, greatly enhancing its hardness. Although it wasn¡¯t the strongest, the fact that this guy dared to meet a mallet with his bare fist was a testament to his toughness. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t care about such things. Since your fist is so tough, let¡¯s try hitting it again. After all, it¡¯s not his own fist that¡¯s doing the hitting.


    He swung his mallet repeatedly, without any particular technique¡ªjust using strength wherever it felt right, striking wherever felt comfortable.


    But just after a few swings, he received a fierce kick in the stomach, which sent Yan Junze flying backward, his face turning bright red as he curled up on the ground, unable to catch his breath for quite some time.


    Seeing that things were going south, Zhao Qi hurried to Yan Junze¡¯s side and squatted down. Before he could even ask, Zhang Xiaomo screamed as she was punched in the shoulder by the man in the trench coat and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Go to hell, you bastard!¡±


    Zhang Di roared and tried to extricate himself from the fight with the tracksuit man to help, but the man in the trench coat took the opportunity to land a swinging punch directly on his face, slapping him to the ground with a swollen cheek, knocking him unconscious.


    The trench coat man stepped toward Zhao Qi, grabbed his collar, and hoisted him up from where he knelt by Yan Junze, then turned to his subordinate and ordered, ¡°Open the case and be quick about it.¡±


    The subordinate nodded, placed the metal case on the sofa, manipulated the combination lock, and soon the case clicked, its lid popping slightly open.


    The subordinate opened the metal case lid completely, revealing a grey-black helmet. This helmet seemed rather unsightly, with some circuitry exposed on its surface, and inside, there were flashing lights in a pattern of two short, one long¡ªseemingly a particular sequence.


    At this point, Yan Junze and the others were all lying on the ground, unable to see what was inside the case. Yan Junze¡¯s stomach hurt terribly, as if his intestines had been kicked apart, and he couldn¡¯t stand up at all.


    He still had the Energy Rewind in his Spacetime Atlas, but he wasn¡¯t planning to activate it. Despite being injured, he was still observing his surroundings. Although Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were down, they seemed to be only injured, not critically.


    If he used Rewind, the outcome might be similar, or perhaps even worse.


    Yan Junze could accept the current situation, and he needed to wait rather than constantly Rewind and suffer over and over in situations that weren¡¯t too bad.


    At the moment the tracksuit subordinate took out the helmet, it seemed that he understood, and his gaze, along with Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s, was fixed on that helmet.


    The trench coat man took the helmet, moved it toward Zhao Qi¡¯s head, and without caring whether it fit, he pressed it down hard on Zhao Qi¡¯s head. Fearing it wasn¡¯t secure enough, he also gave a firm pat on the top of the helmet.


    Zhao Qi was completely disoriented and unable to resist.


    ¡°Kill these damn bastards and get the Turner Sphere back!¡±


    The man in the trench coat said something to his subordinate in USA language, and walked out of the house carrying Zhao Qi, who was already wearing a helmet.


    At the doorway, the man in the tracksuit who was following him squatted next to the unconscious Zhang Di, pulled a metal wire from his watch, and wrapped it around Zhang Di¡¯s neck.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo and the others, aside from weapons used against strangenesses, they didn¡¯t have more efficient weapons for killing, and the method of strangulation was the cheapest and least bloody.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze knew he had to Rewind or, given Zhang Di¡¯s current condition, he would be completely done in at most ten seconds.


    Now he felt numbness in both of his hands again, as well as a momentary state of being insubstantial.


    As the man in the tracksuit applied pressure, Yan Junze was about to Rewind when suddenly, there was a thud from outside the hallway, as if something had fiercely hit the ground, causing light shaking in the room as well.


    Then everyone saw the man in the trench coat, who had already made it outside to the corridor, looking surprised as he dragged Zhao Qi backward step by step, retreating back to the doorway and into the room.


    About a meter in front of him stood Xiang Er, staring at him unblinkingly with a grim expression.


    After entering the room, Xiang Er turned around and suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Junze, are you all right?¡±


    Enduring the pain, Yan Junze replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°No time to talk, save the one with the helmet, then kill that foreigner and the one in the tracksuit.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the man in the trench coat finally realized that this terrifying woman was Yan Junze¡¯s backup. The reason he had retreated was that this woman had leapt from the first floor to the second directly in front of him, blocking his way.


    From that display alone, the trench coat man knew this woman was the difficult type to deal with.


    After receiving Yan Junze¡¯s command, Xiang Er immediately used her strangeness powers and the inherent strength of her body to prepare to attack the man in the trench coat, but the next second, her body trembled and she couldn¡¯t help but fall to her knees.


    Yan Junze immediately said, ¡°There¡¯s interference in the room, just control this body, don¡¯t use your own power.¡±


    Xiang Er, coming to her senses, looked up, only to find the trench coat man had already dropped Zhao Qi, freeing up his hands to punch her in the head.


    This man¡¯s punch was so powerful that it could knock Zhang Di unconscious. If it hit Xiang Er¡¯s head and she was a normal person, it could subdue her in one blow.


    A second later, Xiang Er raised her hand and firmly caught the trench coat man¡¯s fist.


    The trench coat man¡¯s body shook as an intense pain shot up from his fingers. The woman had not only grabbed his fist but had also directly dislocated his knuckles.


    In that moment, the bones in his right hand were almost all broken.


    Maintaining her half-kneeling position, Xiang Er grabbed the man¡¯s hand and slowly stood up, snapping his muscular arm with a crackle. The man in the trench coat groaned quietly, managing not to cry out.


    Seeing that things were going badly, the tracksuit subordinate gave up on strangling Zhang Di, stood up to flee, but was kicked in the waist by Xiang Er, projected against the wall, and fell to the ground, limp as a pile of mush.


    ¡°Xiang Er, break this guy¡¯s limbs and tie him up,¡± Yan Junze said, managing to stand up in pain, taking deep breaths, and sitting on the bed to command.


    Zhang Xiaomo was sitting on the sofa nearby, clutching her shoulder, her face covered in sweat.


    The sounds of bones breaking intermittently reached everyone¡¯s ears, but the trench coat man only muffled his groans, not letting out any screams of agony.


    Yan Junze called out to Zhao Qi several times and found him motionless, but his eyes were open, looking cloudy, as if his thoughts were a mess.


    Upon inspecting the helmet on Zhao¡¯s head, it seemed to have taken effect, preventing Zhao Qi from thinking normally.


    This meant that Zhao Qi would not be able to perform Imaginative Manifestation anymore.


    At this thought, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo exchanged looks and turned their attention to the grey helmet.


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 Chapter 376 - 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)

    Chapter 376: Chapter 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)


    Xiang Er was remarkably efficient, breaking the windbreaker-clad man¡¯s limbs before finding some nylon rope in the house and tying him up tightly.


    She also tied up his unconscious henchman.


    However, this henchman seemed to be seriously injured, barely even breathing.


    Yan Junze speculated that Xiang Er¡¯s kick must have been much harder than the one delivered to the man in the windbreaker; it might have damaged the guy¡¯s internal organs.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo pulled down her shoulder clothing a bit to reveal skin that had turned bruise-black, painful to the touch.


    ...


    She shook her head, ¡°My bones are intact, I should be fine after some rest.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°The support you requested should arrive soon. Xiang Er can¡¯t make contact with them for now, so she and I will leave first. You rest on the couch for a bit.¡±


    He paused, his gaze moving away from the black metal ball, and said, ¡°Everything here, including that metal ball and the helmet, is a considerable fortune for the current Great Capital¡¯s Exorcist organization. It will allow the organization¡¯s research institutions to make good use of it.¡±


    After speaking, he glanced at Zhang Di, who was still unconscious.


    And Zhao Qi, with the helmet on, sat on the ground like a complete fool, unmoving and oblivious to what was going on around him.


    ¡°Remember to go to the hospital for a check-up after you leave, especially the injured parts of your body, don¡¯t be careless,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said softly.


    Yan Junze nodded and left first, assisted by Xiang Er. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    After descending the stairs, his legs suddenly began to numb, prompting him to look down. There was no sign of his feet turning ethereal, but the numbness felt exactly like that in his hands.


    ¡°Can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, offering no explanation.


    Xiang Er thought he had injured his foot and promptly carried him on her back, moving briskly.


    Resting on Xiang Er¡¯s back, Yan Junze felt an icy chill against his chest as if he was holding a block of ice.


    He could also smell a faint scent of medicine, but after advice from Zhang Xiaomo and Huahua, Xiang Er had learned how to use perfume. The fresh fragrance emanating from her was light, distinct and did not mix with the medicinal scent to create an unpleasant odor.


    After walking for a while, the ride Yan Junze had ordered arrived, and the two got into the vehicle. At that moment, several vans zoomed past, heading towards the old building.


    Yan Junze was familiar with these vans; they were the specialized vehicles of Tianmeng¡¯s Exorcist squads and must be the support that had arrived.


    But if Xiang Er hadn¡¯t arrived in time to rescue them, those vans would now only be collecting their corpses.


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er did not go straight home. After Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reminder, Xiang Er insisted that Yan Junze get a medical examination first.


    The two went to the nearest hospital, where an examination revealed that aside from some bruises, his internal organs were unharmed.


    Following the doctor¡¯s advice, Yan Junze stayed in the hospital overnight for observation and left the next day at noon, once certain everything was fine.


    Xiang Er stayed by his side the whole time, and during this period, Yan Junze occasionally checked on the recovery of his Different Dimension Energy.


    After the ordeal with the spirit event, the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s energy continued to diminish, yet the recovery rate remained unchanged. For Yan Junze, he needed a lot of energy to search for Space-Time Rifts.


    But the current rate of recovery was clearly insufficient.


    Now, not only were his hands numbing, but his legs had started as well. He did not know how long it would be before the main trunk of his body would also succumb to numbness or even disappear entirely.


    All of this constantly reminded him that he must expedite using the Great Rewind, to return to the previous ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission and face that Boss who could control humans with Tricky Silk.


    After returning to school, Yan Junze focused on attending classes on time and recuperating.


    To accelerate the recovery of energy in the Spacetime Atlas, he even extracted the Different Dimension Energy absorbed by the Black Spirit Mallet into the Atlas, and he didn¡¯t spare the energy stored inside the badges given by the Exorcist squads.


    But for him now, the rate of energy recovery was still slow.


    With less than a month left in the semester, Yan Junze was anxious, but one cannot rush to eat hot tofu; with insufficient energy and no leads on the Space-Time Rift, haste was of no use.


    In the following days, he did not use Different Dimension Energy even once, instead quietly resting in his dormitory for a few days and returning to normal routine, shuttling back and forth between the school and Xiang Er¡¯s rental place daily.


    The weather turned much cooler, and to avoid raising suspicion, Yan Junze asked Huahua to buy some thick clothes for Xiang Er online.


    It must be said that Huahua had good taste. Plus, with Xiang Er¡¯s shapely figure, she could pull off any style, making anything she wore look good.


    Money was not an issue for Yan Junze at the moment. He planned to personally hand the substantial reward he had received after completing the task at Wang Family Bay to his parents on his next vacation.


    During the time he was resting, Zhang Xiaomo was also busy. Due to work requirements, she took off only a week and was then summoned back by the squad leader, Huo Zhisen.


    Yan Junze and she had a few phone calls where she mentioned that the black metal ball and helmet had been sent to the headquarters of the Exorcist squad for research and analysis. It seems that theirs was not the only black metal ball the headquarters had obtained.


    However, it required cross-referencing data from multiple metal balls, so this acquisition was still a significant one.


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 Chapter 377 - 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2

    Chapter 377: Chapter 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2


    As for the helmet that could bring a living being¡¯s thought process to a standstill, headquarters had also been independently researching it and had reached the condition to produce a semi-finished product. It¡¯s just that at the time, Zhang Xiaomo was not aware of the development of the helmet.


    Now, this helmet from the Great Capital Exorcist organization of the USA had some key technologies that Great Capital didn¡¯t have control over. It was just in time to provide help in an emergency, with a value greater than that black metallic sphere.


    In order to reward Zhang Xiaomo, Zhang Di, and Yan Junze, Huo Zhisen gave Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di a sum of bonus money, and for Yan Junze, it was an Exorcist-exclusive travel permit. With this travel permit, one could substitute it for an identity card, and it could even grant access to certain areas restricted to regular personnel.


    According to Zhang Xiaomo, such a permit is only available to official Exorcists, and as an external member like him, he never received one.


    It was clear that Huo Zhisen never treated him as an external member,


    In the week before the holiday break, Yan Junze¡¯s injured body had long recovered, and his Different Dimension Energy has also restored to over 8,000 points. That day after class, before heading back to the dorm, he received a call from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ...


    As soon as Yan Junze answered, Zhang Xiaomo said on the other end of the line, ¡°Someone is coming to see you, guess who it is.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Guo Youliang,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo pouted, ¡°Can¡¯t you pretend to be clueless and let me be happy for a while?¡±


    ¡°Alright, ask me again,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Guess who¡¯s coming to see you?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked with a smirk, unable to contain her laughter.


    ¡°Wow, who¡¯s coming to see me? Who is it? I¡¯m so excited, so curious! Who could it be, tell me quickly¡­¡± Yan Junze ¡°excitedly¡± said, ¡°Hmm, let me guess, it¡¯s your aunt Flo.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, hahaha¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo was already laughing so hard on the other end of the phone that she couldn¡¯t straighten up.


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    It took a long time before she could speak again, and she burst into laughter as soon as she did, ¡°Yan Junze, if I die one day, it¡¯ll be because of laughter, and you¡¯ll be fully responsible.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can take responsibility for the rest of your life,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile and a nod.


    There was sudden silence on the other end of the phone, and Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s breathing could be heard, but neither of them spoke.


    After a moment, Zhang Xiaomo broke the silence and spoke softly, her voice tender to the extreme, ¡°Why suddenly¡­ I really feel like hitting you.¡±


    Yan Junze did not speak and just chuckled.


    Zhang Xiaomo said seriously, ¡°Idiot, originally only Uncle Guo was coming over to see you later, but now I¡¯ve decided to join him. Don¡¯t go roaming too far. We¡¯ll arrive in about forty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go to the restaurant outside the school and book a table full of delicacies now. We can have dinner together when you arrive,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    After hanging up the phone and putting his books away in the dorm, he encountered Professor Di Zhiwen on the way to the school gate.


    Professor Di had been discussing and researching topics such as timelines and parallel universes with Yan Junze for a while and was very pleased with him, one could say he offered him extra care.


    After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Di Zhiwen said, ¡°I heard you were sick a few days ago, and your health was poor. Are you feeling better now?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Professor, for your concern. I¡¯ve completely recovered,¡± Yan Junze replied with a smile.


    ¡°Hmm, these past few days I¡¯ve been researching the blooming effect of string theory,¡± Di Zhiwen, never straying from his profession, immediately began talking about his work, ¡°In theorizing, I¡¯ve incidentally found that the timeline, during its extension, can enter an unstable state, similar to a blooming effect.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what kind of instability?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a complete brick,¡± Di Zhiwen began his analogy, ¡°If it becomes unstable, there¡¯s a high chance that cracks will appear. But the brick remains the same brick, and the presence of cracks doesn¡¯t much interfere with the continued progression of the timeline.¡±


    ¡°Cracks?¡± Yan Junze mused, asking, ¡°If there really are such cracks, how would one go about proving or discovering them?¡±


    Di Zhiwen, smiling, pulled out his phone, brought up a photo he had taken, pointed at it and said, ¡°See this stone here? I took a picture of it a couple of days ago. The crack on it was as thick as a finger a month ago, but now, it¡¯s only as thick as a chopstick, which means its cracks are narrowing, as if it¡¯s reverse growing.¡±


    ¡°Stones reverse growing?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    Di Zhiwen said, ¡°Of course not, but if the timeline in that area is unstable, then this subtle situation can occur. Original cracks in stones would usually get wider with wind and sun exposure, but in this unstable time state, there might be a day when the crack narrows, and on another day, the crack might suddenly get much bigger.¡±


    ¡°Where is this place?¡± Yan Junze asked, pointing at the stone in the photo, his heartbeat quickening.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the yard of a friend¡¯s house,¡± Di Zhiwen answered.


    ¡°Wow, this place is amazing! Professor, does your friend live in¡­¡±


    ¡°Right in Tianmeng City.¡±


    After chatting with Di Zhiwen for a while and upon leaving, Yan Junze seemed very excited.


    According to Di Zhiwen¡¯s somewhat vague description, if one could verify the site, there was a high possibility that a space-time rift was in that place.


    Such targeted searching was preferable, as it would no longer involve the wasteful scattering of Different Dimension Energy.


    Currently, for Yan Junze, the most energy-consuming task was searching for space-time rifts.


    As he pondered, he quickly arrived outside the school and went to the restaurant he often visited with his roommates. Yan Junze ordered several of their specialty dishes, estimated the time, and asked the staff to serve them slowly.


    After sitting for about twenty minutes, Guo Youliang and Zhang Xiaomo arrived.


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the restaurant, waved his hand, and his gaze was entirely fixed on Guo Youliang.


    In reality, the Guo Youliang he now saw was the tall, physically strong Ancient Corpse, Mo Da. Only, Mo Da¡¯s hair bun was gone, his hair was cut short, and he was dressed in modern clothes, lacking the ancient style.


    When Guo Youliang walked over, his gait was steady as the wind, his hands empty, without a spot on his person where a magnetic knife could be fitted.


    Zhang Xiaomo was following close behind and almost had to jog to keep up. On seeing Yan Junze, her eyes slightly brightened, and her gaze stayed on him without wavering.


    Yan Junze understood that this girl might truly have missed him.


    ¡°Uncle Guo,¡± Yan Junze extended his hand.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s face showed a sincere smile, he grasped Yan Junze¡¯s hand firmly and said, ¡°Junze, I came especially to thank you.¡±


    ¡°Please, no need for formality, let¡¯s sit inside, the dishes will be served soon,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    After Guo Youliang sat down, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s not speak of such formalities; I now consider you one of our own. The help you¡¯ve given me is like giving me a new lease on life, something I can never repay.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what to say, so he poured a cup of tea for Guo Youliang and Zhang Xiaomo. However, the phrase ¡°new lease on life¡± sounded somewhat familiar to him; it seemed that Xiang Er had said the same thing a few days ago.


    ¡°How are you feeling now, Uncle Guo?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Guo Youliang patted his chest, producing a sound like a heavy drum: ¡°This body is in excellent condition, and it has a very negative constitution, which not only allowed me to successfully Possess a Corpse to Resurrect but also led to other significant gains. Although¡­ it was a bit hard to get used to during the first few days.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo went to scald the chopsticks and bowls with boiling water, brought them back and set them up before speaking, ¡°Uncle Guo is no longer a four-star Exorcist now, but a five-star. He completed his rehabilitation training at the squad headquarters and then passed the rank promotion test shortly thereafter. He¡¯s not only a five-star but also a very powerful one at that.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened as he scrutinized Guo Youliang: ¡°Uncle Guo, do tell, what changes have you experienced?¡±


    Although Yan Junze had guessed this might be the result, his confidence was not strong. Now that it was confirmed, he was very pleased.


    Guo Youliang said cheerfully, ¡°Because I merged with this extremely negative constitution, and with my previous control over Magnetic Force, I¡¯ve now come to truly master the Ultimate Law, an Exorcist Technique only a five-star Exorcist can control. Hmm, no need for a magnetic knife.¡±


    ¡°And Uncle Guo has mastered not just one form of Ultimate Law but two,¡± Zhang Xiaomo added, ¡°making him one of the very formidable five-star Exorcists.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze, unfamiliar with the term ¡°Ultimate Law,¡± had no concept of it, but it sounded very powerful, so he could only express his admiration with a nod.


    ¡°Captain Huo said that from now on Uncle Guo will be Tianmeng¡¯s protector,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said happily.


    ¡°And the protector of you and your loved ones,¡± Guo Youliang added, kindly looking at Yan Junze.


    ¡°You mean, from now on, I can strut around Tianmeng?¡± Yan Junze joked.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always been strutting?¡± Zhang Xiaomo retorted.


    Guo Youliang gave Zhang Xiaomo a glance, then looked back at Yan Junze, a knowing look in his eyes.


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 Chapter 378 - 299: The Jian Familys Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 378: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    They had dinner and chatted until the sky turned dark, and it was only after the restaurant staff reminded them that they were closing that the three of them finished their meal.


    By now, Yan Junze had a rough understanding: five-star Exorcists usually congregated in Huaying District, forming the elite of the Exorcist teams with very few in number.


    Previously, there was a five-star in Tianmeng District, but they perished along with a strangeness during the handling of a terrifying incident and the position had since remained vacant.


    Because of the scarcity of five-stars, Huaying District didn¡¯t offer special treatment to Tianmeng District, encouraging the local Exorcists to upgrade their abilities and to take the promotion test to four-star in hopes of becoming the new five-star Exorcist and filling the vacancy.


    As for the five-star Exorcists gathered in Huaying District, it was said they had more important missions to undertake, which Guo Youliang could potentially be assigned to if he performed well following his promotion.


    In Guo Youliang¡¯s own words, although his overall strength seemed decent now, the headquarters still had concerns.


    ...


    The first reason for their concern was that Guo Youliang had just been promoted, and they feared he might not have a firm grasp on his new powers, warranting further observation. The second reason was related to the body of Mo Da.


    Mo Da¡¯s body was still that of an Ancient Corpse, not Guo Youliang¡¯s original form, which made him different from other five-star Exorcists as there was no precedent for possessing a corpse to resurrect in an 800-year-old Ancient Corpse.


    So it was normal for headquarters to observe him, and even Guo Youliang himself was very concerned about his current condition, always mindful of any changes in this body.


    Regardless, the fact of his increased strength was indisputable and unchangeable.


    Latter, Yan Junze learned about the concept of the Ultimate Law, which was a special method for slaying strangenesses that only the five-star Exorcists possessed.


    What is a five-star?


    The bodies of these Exorcists are intrinsically exceptional, and if not naturally so, they could be transformed via a magnetic field later on in life.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    However, Exorcists who are artificially altered by the magnetic field after birth still fall short in overall capabilities compared to those five-stars born with the innate traits.


    Fortunate five-stars like Guo Youliang are after all in the minority.


    An extraordinary physique is fundamental; these individuals undergo changes in their body structure due to the magnetic field, which allows them to absorb some Spiritual Energy (Ghost Qi) for their use. Of course, Yan Junze referred to it as Different Dimension Energy.


    In the process of controlling the magnetic field and absorbing Spiritual Energy, every five-star Exorcist specializes in different aspects, hence their Ultimate Laws vary as well.


    The so-called Ultimate Law isn¡¯t about having a ¡°secret manual¡± lying around for any five-star Exorcist to practice.


    The Ultimate Law is merely a general term, and each five-star Exorcist¡¯s Ultimate Law is uniquely created based on their body, rendering them all distinct.


    This concept is very mysterious, and even Guo Youliang, though adept in its use, couldn¡¯t thoroughly explain it.


    But Yan Junze had come to understand the uniqueness of the five-star Exorcists, a level above the four-star.


    Moreover, according to Guo Youliang, there were even more powerful individuals beyond five-star, but they weren¡¯t referred to as Exorcists. Due to their rarity and eminent status, even the Exorcist organization had to treat them with great respect.


    Upon leaving the restaurant, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°You should practice more and strive to become a four-star Exorcist soon.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long. I¡¯m much more skilled at controlling the Magnetic Force than before,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    ¡°After returning now, I¡¯ll first follow Captain Huo¡¯s instructions to sweep through Mo Family Village,¡± said Guo Youliang. ¡°Once it¡¯s confirmed that all the strangenesses there have been cleared, I¡¯ll come back and personally mentor Zhang Xiaomo to help her get promoted sooner.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Guo,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a beaming smile.


    Guo Youliang shook his head, ¡°What concerns you and Junze, concerns me too. Don¡¯t say thank you again.¡±


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo exchanged glances, both aware of what Guo Youliang meant. He wasn¡¯t a fool; dinner was enough time for him to surmise that the two had a delicate relationship.


    When they were about to part, Zhang Xiaomo handed Yan Junze a card, ¡°This is the Exorcist¡¯s Travel Permit. You have an A-grade permit, which allows access to many places.¡±


    Yan Junze took it and examined it closely.


    The card was exquisitely made, with gold-threaded edges, and had embossed lettering on both sides. It probably contained an embedded chip.


    ¡°Does it have a tracker?¡± Yan Junze raised the card and asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo rolled her eyes, ¡°The data chip contains your Exorcist identity information, with no tracking capabilities.¡±


    A car they had booked earlier was already waiting by the curb. Concerned that Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze still had more to say, Guo Youliang politely entered the vehicle first and waited inside.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo to Yan Junze, opening the car door but not immediately getting in.


    Yan Junze spread his arms, ¡°Do you need a hug before you go?¡±


    Blushing, Zhang Xiaomo stomped her foot gently and glanced at Guo Youliang, who sat in the car pretending to see and hear nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t embrace Yan Junze but pinched his arm hard as if using force while getting into the car.


    As the sedan drove away, Yan Junze stood at the curb and waved goodbye, then looked at the spot on his arm where she had pinched him. It was a bit red ¨C the woman apparently didn¡¯t have the heart to pinch too hard.


    When the tail lights of the car were no longer visible, Yan Junze was about to head back to the school when suddenly his legs went numb. He immediately reached down to brace his legs, but grasped nothing.


    He lay on the ground and hurried to look down, only to see his legs had turned transparent, with only a faint outline visible. But just a moment ago, his hand had indeed touched nothing. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Chapter 379: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    Yan Junze turned over and sat on the ground, watching his legs flicker in and out of visibility, the intense numbness relentlessly attacking him. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was already dark, and with no one around, he didn¡¯t fear being seen.


    About two or three minutes later, his legs finally stopped phasing into ghostly silhouettes.


    Yan Junze took out his phone and called Xiang Er, asking her to come and pick him up.


    Xiang Er had been inside the rental apartment all day and arrived at Yan Junze¡¯s location in less than a minute after receiving the call.


    Seeing Yan Junze sitting on a roadside flowerbed, continuously massaging his legs, she curiously asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you sitting here so late at night?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I just sent Zhang Xiaomo off and suddenly my legs gave out; I couldn¡¯t walk,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Zhang Xiaomo left? And then your legs went weak?¡± Xiang Er stared at him unblinkingly.


    ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Whether she comes or not has nothing to do with the weakness of my legs. Even if she hadn¡¯t come, I¡¯d still be without strength in my legs.¡±


    ¡°Then you should eat something to strengthen yourself,¡± Xiang Er said seriously, ¡°My dad used to say, ¡®you are what you eat¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, help me back to the dorm building, then you can go back to the rental,¡± Yan Junze hurriedly stopped her from continuing.


    Xiang Er supported him, and the two headed towards the academy.


    At this time, there were still occasional people in the school. Once Yan Junze reached the base of the dorm building, he told Xiang Er to go back quickly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    He then grasped the stair railing and slowly made his way up the stairs.


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t go far and hid in the deep shadows of the trees opposite, squatting silently and watching him climb the stairs.


    Only after he entered the dorm did Xiang Er stand up and quickly leave.


    The situation was becoming increasingly serious and could no longer be delayed. Yan Junze lay back on his bed, too lazy to wash up, and just lay there.


    The other people in the dormitory were busy with their own things, oblivious to his condition.


    Not long after, overcome with exhaustion, Yan Junze fell asleep quickly.


    The next day he got up very early and waited outside Professor Di Zhiwen¡¯s residence before morning self-study.


    Although Professor Di Zhiwen lived in Tianmeng City District, he only went back on weekends and generally rested in his dorm after work on weekdays.


    At this time, Di Zhiwen had already gotten up and was doing his morning exercises, stretching his body.


    His dormitory had a small backyard; after finishing his exercises and returning to the front to open the door, Yan Junze greeted him with a smile.


    ¡°Professor, you¡¯re up,¡± he said.


    Di Zhiwen was taken aback and laughed, ¡°Why so early?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I came specifically to ask about your friend¡¯s yard, where the rocks have undergone peculiar de-aging. Curiosity kept me up all night, so I thought I¡¯d check it out. Is that okay?¡±


    Di Zhiwen thought for a moment, ¡°It seems he¡¯s not in Tianmeng for the next few days; he told me he had to go on a business trip to Yannan District for a few days and probably hasn¡¯t returned.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head with a bitter smile, ¡°Looks like¡­ I won¡¯t be able to sleep for a few days.¡±


    Di Zhiwen laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s young people like you who have the spirit we need¡ªfull of curiosity for anything and determined to investigate it thoroughly.¡±


    Yan Junze gave an embarrassed smile.


    Di Zhiwen took out his phone, ¡°Wait for me a moment; I think there are other people in his house. I¡¯ll ask him, and if it¡¯s convenient, I¡¯ll let them know to expect you. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to go and have a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yan Junze quickly nodded.


    Di Zhiwen dialed a number and walked into the house; after a bit, his voice could be heard speaking, and two minutes later, he came out and said, ¡°No problem, his daughter will be home after five o¡¯clock tomorrow afternoon. Just give your name when you get there, and she¡¯ll receive you.¡±


    ¡°Professor, aren¡¯t you going?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there many times,¡± Di Zhiwen said with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯ve even conducted research and proposed to bring that rock to my lab, but Jian Yifan has always been reluctant. By the way, this friend of mine is named Jian Yifan, a minor official in Tianmeng City District.¡±


    Yan Junze asked a few more questions, mainly if his visit would disturb the household, what to pay attention to, and whether the rock could be moved or not.


    After a short conversation, the two parted ways.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel the numbness that day, but he grew increasingly anxious, his limbs feeling uneasy as though he might disappear at any moment.


    After barely getting through the day, Xiang Er, hearing that he was going out the next day and thinking it was another mission, insisted on going with him.


    But Yan Junze said that this time no one could help him except himself.


    He even spoke very candidly, telling Xiang Er that if he didn¡¯t come back, she should find Zhang Xiaomo. Zhang Xiaomo, out of respect for him, would surely arrange everything for her and not directly let a high-level exorcist drive her out of the female corpse.


    Knowing Xiang Er¡¯s temperament, Yan Junze also made her promise not to search for him or make contact with anyone, so as not to involve others.


    Xiang Er was on the verge of tears after his words, her lips trembling.


    Yan Junze stroked her head, ¡°I¡¯m just considering all possibilities. It¡¯s not that bleak, otherwise, if I suddenly went missing without saying anything, you¡¯d be worried too.¡±


    As a corpse, Xiang Er naturally had no tears to shed and couldn¡¯t cry; she nodded her head but couldn¡¯t speak.


    Leaving Xiang Er¡¯s rental house, Yan Junze decided not to tell Zhang Xiaomo; he knew her concern for him was incomparable to Xiang Er¡¯s.


    She would surely follow him if she heard about any danger involved in this matter, which not only wouldn¡¯t be helpful but might even make things worse.


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 Chapter 380 - 299: The Jian Familys Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 380: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    If Yan Junze couldn¡¯t come back after this Great Rewind, Xiang Er would still tell Zhang Xiaomo afterward, although the specifics were unclear, at least there was someone to pass the message.


    To be honest, Yan Junze was also guessing whether his actions this time were reasonable, because in theory, on this timeline, he had already successfully launched the Great Rewind. He had rescued his past self from the Underground Space of Mountain Park and had survived safely up to the present.


    If he could go back to attempt a rescue this time, but wasn¡¯t successful, wouldn¡¯t it be contradictory to the current sequence of events?


    Of course, regarding the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± feature in the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze only knew how to use it and had no understanding of the principles behind it.


    But since he had used the Great Rewind once before, killing Cheng Jingting and changing the present, and was also able to use ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± to make everything seem reasonable, this timeline under the effect of the Great Rewind could definitely develop in a different direction.


    This was equivalent to using the Great Rewind to make the events on the timeline bend and then smoothing over the resulting Butterfly Effect.


    ... S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant, if this time Yan Junze¡¯s rescue of himself didn¡¯t succeed, the current timeline would still bend, erasing everything that belonged to him and smoothing over any ripples related to him.


    Inclusive but not limited to having other people or events replace any actions he had performed, to rationalize them, even making them impeccable.


    That afternoon, Yan Junze didn¡¯t attend class and, after asking for leave, left the campus.


    Anyway, his taking leave had become normal, and for this reason, the school had provided him with a fast track. Sometimes he didn¡¯t even need to mention it beforehand and could leave directly. The leave note could be submitted afterward.


    Yan Junze chose to leave early because he couldn¡¯t wait. After all, Jian Yifan¡¯s daughter would be home after 5 p.m., and he just needed to be there on time.


    He checked the address that Di Zhiwen had sent him; it was a location near the center of the urban area.


    Yan Junze arrived at the place, got out of the car, took out his phone to check the map, and then walked to an old house with a front yard, murmuring to himself as he observed closely.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    ¡°For a small official to live in a single-family house with a yard in the center of the city?¡±


    The house, although aged, was quite elegant and exquisite. The green brick and tile roof, despite its weathered spots, still struck every bit of the eye, conveying a sense of simplicity and dignity.


    After observing for a moment, Yan Junze took a deep breath and checked the time; it was just 5 o¡¯clock.


    He walked to the door of the courtyard, raised his hand, and pressed the doorbell. Then he looked up and saw a camera above the door blinking a red light.


    Footsteps sounded shortly after, someone approached, and the courtyard door opened. A young woman with common features but an elegant demeanor stood at the door, sizing him up: ¡°May I ask who you are¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yan Junze,¡± he answered with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here,¡± the woman glanced at her watch, ¡°right on time. Come in, I just got home.¡±


    Yan Junze followed her inside, apologizing, ¡°Sorry for troubling you. May I know how to address you?¡±


    ¡°Jian Tong,¡± the woman answered without turning.


    Yan Junze was startled, ¡°Jian Tong?¡±


    His mind immediately flashed to the long-gone scene of the cross-dressing man in the public restroom.


    Undoubtedly, the hug with Jian Tong, especially the commitment at that time, the disregard of everything, followed by the depression, the stomach churning, had become the most severe shadow of his life up to this point.


    ¡°May I ask, which ¡®Tong¡¯ is it?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°The ¡®Tong¡¯ with three drops of water and a child,¡± the woman replied, turning her head with a look of surprise.


    Yan Junze pretended to nod nonchalantly and followed Jian Tong into the yard.


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    Chapter 381: Chapter 300: Time-Space Loop (Please Subscribe, Request Monthly Ticket)


    Upon entering the courtyard, Yan Junze realized he had misjudged the situation.


    The detached residence, which appeared somewhat old from the outside, was a different story inside. A large variety of flowers were planted along the walls enclosing the courtyard, which were covered with lush green moss, creating a dazzling display.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look around; in addition to the clusters of flowers, there was an abundance of green vines, each branch pruned just right, neither too dense nor too sparse. It contrasted starkly with the bustling traffic and surging crowds outside, like a haven in a chaotic world.


    On either side of the room¡¯s entrance near the courtyard, there were two large bonsai trees planted with verdant pine trees, twisting and full of vigor.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze surmised that Professor Di Zhiwen¡¯s words could be unreliable at times. His friend, whom he called Jian Yifan, was definitely not some minor official in Tianmeng City.


    But since the man didn¡¯t mention it himself, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate to inquire directly.


    ...


    ¡°Come and sit in the living room first,¡± Jian Tong stood at the house¡¯s front entrance.


    Yan Junze waved his hand, ¡°No need, no need to go to so much trouble, I¡¯ll just sit in the courtyard for a while. By the way, the stone that Professor Di mentioned should be somewhere in this courtyard, right?¡±


    Jian Tong smiled gracefully, sensing Yan Junze¡¯s impatience, but she said nothing and pointed to a spot near the wall in the courtyard where a collection of different sizes and colors of exquisite bonsai trees were neatly arranged.


    ¡°It¡¯s that stone, the round one. Dad put it together with these bonsai trees. He spends the whole day observing and admiring it,¡± she explained.


    Yan Junze feigned realization and walked over to look at the stone placed among the bonsai trees; the stone indeed had a somewhat round shape.


    Upon closer inspection, a faint crack could be seen in the center of the stone, as if it had only recently appeared.


    Yan Junze pointed at the crack, and before he could speak, Jian Tong said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a crack before but a fissure, about half a finger¡¯s width. Then somehow, it slowly sealed itself up and turned into the crack you see now.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, observing carefully.


    Jian Tong saw his deep interest and chose not to interrupt; she turned back into the house and returned about two or three minutes later with a cup of freshly brewed tea, which she handed to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Careful, it¡¯s hot.¡±


    Yan Junze took it, his gaze still fixed on the stone, observing while asking, ¡°Has this stone always been here?¡±


    ¡°Not always,¡± Jian Tong shook her head, ¡°It was previously buried in the soil of the flower bed. Dad unearthed it by chance while tending the garden. He was about to discard it but then noticed its round shape and decided to place it there.¡±


    Yan Junze followed the direction of Jian Tong¡¯s finger and saw that the spot was filled with colorful flowers. He walked over, pointing at the empty space along the edge of the flower bed, and asked, ¡°Was it here?¡±


    Jian Tong nodded. She didn¡¯t understand why Yan Junze was so concerned about the exact spot where the stone was found.


    Of course, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t tell her that his Different Dimension Energy was running low; he didn¡¯t want to waste another 1000 points to use the Space-Time Rift detection.


    If he could determine the rough location of the Space-Time Rift this way, it would save both effort and Different Dimension Energy.


    At the moment, Yan Junze¡¯s recovered energy was only slightly over 8900 points, while his total energy storage had actually reached 18100 points, meaning the energy he had recovered hadn¡¯t even hit half of his total yet.


    If it weren¡¯t for the increasing numbness and surreal feeling in his body, he wouldn¡¯t be so anxious to find a Space-Time Rift to return and save himself.


    The cost of detecting a Space-Time Rift was too great for Yan Junze at the moment, so he preferred to save whenever possible.


    After determining the stone¡¯s origin, Yan Junze was more than halfway certain that the likelihood of a Space-Time Rift bursting open at the location of the flower bed was high.


    Naturally, this whole conjecture was predicated on the accuracy of Professor Di¡¯s research being related to the Space-Time Rift. If the research turned out to be incorrect, then Yan Junze¡¯s guess would also be baseless.


    Now, all he could do was place his hopes on this spot in the flower bed and initiate a Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion instead of expending an unnecessary extra 1000 points to detect the Space-Time Rift first.


    If there was a Space-Time Rift present, the feedback from initiating the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion would tell Yan Junze if his guess was correct.


    With his mind made up, Yan Junze glanced at Jian Tong from the corner of his eye.


    Jian Tong was clearly very helpful, being introduced by her father¡¯s old friend, and showed no sign of neglect.


    However, this rather made it difficult for Yan Junze to act under her watchful eye.


    After some thought, he blew on the tea in his cup a couple of times and gulped down most of it. He stuck out his tongue (which was actually scorched) and said, ¡°Sor¡­ sorry¡­ for the trouble¡­ you.¡±


    With that, he handed the tea cup back to her.


    Jian Tong, surprised by his behavior, took the cup without saying anything and turned to go back inside to pour him another cup of tea.


    Yan Junze kept his mouth shut, his tongue moving quickly inside, his cheeks reddening slightly, cursing under his breath that he might have blistered it.


    As soon as Jian Tong disappeared through the doorway into the house, he immediately turned back to look at the round stone and, having already summoned the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, activated the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.


    The next second, a piece of information popped up.


    Yan Junze immediately looked at it, and upon reading the text, an overwhelming joy washed over him.


    [Space-Time Rift detected, insertion possible. Would you like to activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization as well?] S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Chapter 382: Chapter 300: Time-Space Loop (Please Subscribe, Request Monthly Ticket)_2


    Activating ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± only requires 200 points of Different Dimension Energy, which is far less than the 1000-point cost of opening a detection space-time rift.


    Therefore, at the precise moment he located the space-time rift, Yan Junze saved 800 points of energy.


    And to activate ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± only costs 500 points, meaning that initiating both ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± and ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± only consumed 700 points, a much better deal than the 1000 points required for detection alone.


    Now, with a shortage of energy points, Yan Junze had to be meticulous and frugal.


    Upon seeing the text prompt, he immediately chose to activate ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡± A familiar crack tore through the void in front of him, revealing a rotating black vortex within the space-time rift, and beyond the vortex lay the vast galaxy he had seen before.


    Though the galaxy seemed boundless, it no longer shocked Yan Junze as it did the first time he saw it; instead, he felt a nameless strangeness emanating from it.


    ...


    This expanse of stars was definitely not one he had seen before, not even from the universe his own world belonged to.


    Without much thought, Yan Junze stepped into the space-time rift and disappeared on the spot.


    The rift quickly contracted after his entrance and likewise vanished.


    Yan Junze¡¯s vision blurred, and he found himself standing in the void of space, feet not touching anything, suspended in midair.


    The familiar timeline scale appeared, indicating that he could manipulate the scale to return to the specific moment in time he wished to go back to.


    In the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission, Yan Junze had come close to death, so the memory was deeply etched in his mind, unforgettable for a lifetime.


    Almost without thinking, he swiftly adjusted the timeline scale, down to the precise year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    It was late at night then, and Yan Junze remembered it very clearly.


    He had been observing the time during the moment of repeated Dark Poison infection, so there was no mistake in his recollection. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, returning to that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s greatest fear was still being infected by that strange Dark Poison, a kind that was immune to ¡°Rewind¡± and still an unsolved mystery to him to this day.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t believe that the master of Dark Poison, that Tricky Silk Boss, definitely knew that the poison could transcend the limits of time; there was likely an element of stumbling upon it by accident.


    As long as he was careful not to come into contact with the Dark Poison, that should be sufficient.


    Having selected the time scale, a line of text appeared before his eyes.


    [Please visualize the insertion point according to the set time, and then confirm.]


    Yan Junze was startled; the last time he performed a Great Rewind, he had not manipulated the timescale due to not knowing the exact time.


    The whole process was verbal, recognized by the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± and then he was inserted into that point in space-time, which was Cheng Jingting¡¯s home.


    Now, after adjusting the timeline scale, he was prompted to imagine the space-time point he wanted to insert into, and then the ¡°Great Rewind¡± could locate and confirm by itself.


    Yan Junze immediately started imagining the underground space in the No. 2 Mountain Park within the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area in Shuntian City, where the Tricky Silk Boss was hiding.


    Once he confirmed the location in his mind, he sent a confirmation feedback.


    [Locating¡­]


    [Location determined, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 5200 points of Different Dimension Energy, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze jolted, looking at the ¡°5200¡± figure with a bitter smile in his heart.


    He had felt that this Great Rewind would not cost less energy than the last one where he eliminated Cheng Jingting. Last time, the insertion consumed 4600 points. He had not expected it to be a full 600 points higher this time.


    It was only because his coffers were currently lean that the expenditure of these energy points caused him pain. If it was back when he had an abundance of energy, he probably wouldn¡¯t have even spared a second thought for the cost.


    This Great Rewind thus had already used up 5300 points, leaving only 3600 points of the original 8900. He had to use them sparingly.


    Since he was returning to deal with the Tricky Silk Boss, it was impossible not to resort to Rewind.


    However, Yan Junze had thought it through quite clearly. There were not many chances to use the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± this time, and it was very likely that he wouldn¡¯t need to take action himself. The automatic stabilization alone could correct the vast majority of the ripple events.


    Because this time, unlike the Great Rewind, there was no present version of himself going back to save his past self, which meant none of what was happening now would have occurred. If a butterfly effect were truly to arise, it could be said to be minimal, as the events that could have triggered it had mostly already taken place.


    After a brief contemplation, Yan Junze stopped hesitating and silently thought, ¡°Confirm entry.¡±


    Immediately, he felt the sensation of his body falling downward. In a mere two seconds, his feet hit the ground, and his whole body sank, standing firm on the solid earth.


    Because of the sudden landing after descending, his body felt shaky and unstable. Yan Junze quickly bent his waist, steadying himself to prevent a fall.


    He was prepared and knew that he would appear in that dark underground space. As soon as he materialized, he promptly took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone it in all directions.


    Just then, a strange laugh rang out, filling the entire space, as if countless little bugs were frantically burrowing into Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    The laugh was creepy, causing goosebumps to spread over Yan Junze¡¯s entire body. He felt the space he was in slightly sway, the ground seeming unsteady.


    In a rush, he used the light from his flashlight to observe that he was indeed in the underground space of Mountain Park No. 2. This familiar scene, with the immobile bodies that had been standing upright, had all fallen to the ground.


    A visible wave of Dark Poison spread from the hole suspected to be the lair of the Tricky Silk Boss, soaking the fallen bodies. These corpses, tainted by the Dark Poison, rapidly dissolved in a bizarre scene.


    Given the progression of events at the time, Yan Junze knew clearly that his past self was at that moment commanding Long-tongued Zhenzhen, already mutated, to speed up their escape toward the surface.


    At this moment, not only was Dark Poison spreading in the underground space, but a multitude of mixed scents was stirring continuously around, which was causing his instability.


    This agitated air was like an immense suction force for Yan Junze and Zhenzhen who were trying to escape. Although they seemed to have left the underground space and were running toward the ground, they were actually being pulled back by the suction force, unable to move forward in the tunnel and even retreating backward.


    If he didn¡¯t act now, his past self and Long-tongued Zhenzhen would be sucked back into the underground space by this entity, and the consequences were unimaginable.


    All of Yan Junze¡¯s memories were awakened at this moment, and within a few seconds, he was fully immersed in the perilous situation at hand.


    He turned his head and saw a dark figure crawling out of the hole that had been covered with many Tricky Silk Clumps. From this figure, a huge amount of Dark Poison spread like a liquid over the ground and walls.


    Without a doubt, this character was the real Boss of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task.


    The chaotic air was still intensifying. Yan Junze could not delay any longer. As soon as that pitch-black figure crawled out of the hole and stood up, Yan Junze immediately spoke up.


    ¡°You like playing games, huh? I¡¯ll play with you.¡±


    Because of the tumultuous air, Yan Junze feared the shadow might not hear him, so he shouted with all the strength he could muster.


    Moreover, Yan Junze remembered that in the task information for ¡°Terrified (Medium),¡± it was mentioned that this character liked playing games, which was why he had shouted such a statement.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the chaotic air in the underground space suddenly paused, coming to a complete stop.


    At that moment, Yan Junze knew that his past self managed to finally escape to the surface with Zhenzhen just then.


    After the turbulent air ceased, he looked up at the black figure approaching step by step, calling to mind the task called ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± that he had encountered first.


    [Task Name: Tricky Silk;


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: As the instigator of many strangeness events, perhaps for it, it was just a joke.


    Task Instructions: Play a game with it or play a bigger joke on it;


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Become its plaything;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Pay attention to those silk threads;


    Note: It is advised not to engage with it until you have enough Different Dimension Energy points to Rewind.]


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 383 - 301: Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Monthly Pass, and Recommend)

    Chapter 383: Chapter 301: Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Monthly Pass, and Recommend)


    Before Yan Junze¡¯s memory, he lay on the back of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, hearing a voice that seemed familiar yet strange speaking in the Underground Space, and then the pulling suction that held them disappeared, allowing them to escape.


    And a person¡¯s own voice often sounds unfamiliar to themselves, just like the feeling when listening to one¡¯s own recording.


    At that time, Yan Junze escaped in a hurry and did not think carefully about who the speaker was. If he knew that person was his future self, he might have even felt a thrill of excitement.


    After the chaotic aura in the Underground Space stopped, Yan Junze looked at the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task information again.


    At this moment, the silhouette slowly approached; this strangeness had a tall and slender stature, like a composite fake person.


    When it approached, Yan Junze looked up and saw that this creature was a good two heads taller than him, hairless with a prominently high nose bridge¡ªstrikingly like a foreigner.


    ...


    But upon closer inspection, aside from the nose that felt very three-dimensional, all other features were quite ordinary.


    This strangeness looked at him with a very bland expression, no hint of emotion on its face, but to Yan Junze, it felt like it was smiling.


    This feeling was peculiar; even though Yan Junze clearly saw its flat expression, he could not suppress the thought that the other was smiling.


    As it approached Yan Junze, not only did the chaotic aura no longer flow, but the entire Underground Space seemed to have changed the setting.


    There were no rock walls around, no corpses lying in disarray, no Dark Poison¡ªas if standing amidst dark chaos.


    Yan Junze looked around and confirmed this was not the Spectacular Courtyard No. 2 of the Mountain Park in the Great Capital. The environment seemed to be under the control of the strangeness in front of him.


    Without speaking, the strangeness sat down and pointed behind Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze turned his head in surprise and found that a black stone stool had appeared behind him.


    He then looked underneath the strangeness and saw that it, too, was seated on a black stone stool.


    Yan Junze tried to sit down slowly; the stool felt very real, as if it had always been there, not a figment of imagination.


    After both were seated face to face, one meter apart,


    the strangeness pointed in front of Yan Junze, toward the ground. Junze looked down and saw that a line of text had emerged from the darkness at some point.


    The text protruded clearly from the black ground.


    The line read, ¡°What game do you want to play?¡±


    Yan Junze understood that this creature was really addicted to playing games, it went straight to the point without caring about his intent¡ªas if everything other than the game was insignificant.


    While looking at the text on the ground, Yan Junze observed the creature¡¯s skin. It was unclothed, the skin dark and seemingly textured, somewhat reminiscent of Mystique from ¡°X-Men,¡± only these patterns were completely disordered.


    This scene made Yan Junze pause slightly; he didn¡¯t believe an ordinary strangeness would present itself in this form.


    Usually, a strangeness¡¯s appearance is greatly related to the way it died, remaining mostly the same, but surely this one had not been a monster in life.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play your favorite game,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°By the way, what should I call you?¡±


    As soon as he had spoken, two characters emerged from the ground: Rock.


    ¡°Rock,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, then looked up once more at the man, wondering if this creature was from Huaying¡¯s Great Capital or some other place.


    After all, the name, like his facial features, gave no clue as to where he was from.


    At this moment, a slew of text emerged from the ground, and Yan Junze looked down.


    ¡°My favorite game is scaring people, collecting their fears, feeling the joy each person¡¯s fear brings. So let¡¯s scare some people,¡± it read.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze nodded, but then shrugged, ¡°But I am not you. I can¡¯t manipulate Tricky Silk, and I can¡¯t control people with Tricky Silk to scare them for the game¡¯s purpose.¡±


    Rock bowed slightly, as if contemplating.


    Soon, with a wave of his hand, the scenery changed all around, and Yan Junze looked up to find himself back in the Underground Space again.


    At this time, the corpses that had just been infected with Dark Poison but had not yet disintegrated were still there. After they appeared, all the Dark Poison faded away, preserving these corpses.


    Yan Junze stood still, unclear about what Rock was up to, when he saw Rock walk towards one of the male corpses and enter it; immediately, the man¡¯s body stirred to life.


    His eyes opened, revealing grayish-white pupils as he walked toward Yan Junze, and the man uttered, ¡°Although you cannot manipulate humans with Tricky Silk, you can control any of these corpses here. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to balance my abilities effectively in this game. It would then lose its fun.¡±


    ¡°I can control them? How?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened.


    ¡°You control the corpses directly with Tricky Silk,¡± Rock explained through the possessed man. ¡°My ability allows me to control any ordinary person I want to with Tricky Silk¡ªchase the source of their fear, relish in the thrill when they are hair-raising scared. But you can¡¯t, so I grant you this power, through which you can control any corpse here, using them to make humans experience real fear.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­¡± Yan Junze pondered. ¡°You scare people by controlling the humans themselves, while I will control these corpses to scare people, and in the end, we will see whose scare is most successful?¡±


    Rock nodded.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°In that case, it seems like you¡¯re at a disadvantage. Because you scare people with people, while I scare them with corpses, benefiting from a tool advantage.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately shook his head, ¡°No, under normal circumstances, what scares people the most are the people and things around them. The truest fear often comes exactly from such abnormal and strange occurrences within the most familiar aspects of life.¡±


    This time, Rock made no indication, as if there was no need to defend himself, simply staring at him.


    Yan Junze also looked up at Rock: ¡°Just like with the Yan family¡¯s incident, is it scarier for a mother to squat by her daughter¡¯s bed with her mouth wide open staring at her every night, or for a stranger whose status between life and death is unknown to appear in the room?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, the former was even more chilling because that would be a person well known in daily life. If there was an abnormality with such a person, the fear felt by others who knew her would be amplified countless times.


    ¡°This is the only way I can think of to balance the scales between you and me,¡± Rock spoke.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then nodded.


    After all, this game-playing idea was proposed by him in order to save himself. He had to go through with it; otherwise, who knows what this strangeness would do to him.


    In his view, Rock¡¯s strength did not seem to be limited to ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± missions; maybe just playing the game was enough for him to reach such a terrifying level.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s Buddhist Exorcism Method, dealing with strangenesses shouldn¡¯t provoke their sensitive spots. Resolving issues along their lines of thought was the correct way, especially with a creature possessing such terrifying and unknown power.


    ¡°To ensure the game proceeds well, I will follow the rules and suggestions you¡¯ve put forward,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°But I also have two suggestions.¡±


    Rock made no response, simply watching him and waiting for him to speak.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°First, the targets we choose to scare cannot be what I consider good people, and the definition of a good person is for me to determine. Second, we can only scare; during this process, some unconventional methods may be adopted, but ultimately, it must not endanger lives.¡±


    ¡°My ultimate purpose in controlling with Tricky Silk is to turn them into corpses I can store, just like these,¡± Rock shrugged and glanced around.


    ¡°I hope our competition will be an exception,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, very sincere.


    Rock fell silent for a moment, then nodded, ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s a competition, there should be a way to determine the result,¡± Yan Junze spoke in a consultative tone.


    Since the other party had agreed to his suggestions, he couldn¡¯t be too demanding. At least on the surface, he had to show respect for this individual.


    Rock walked over to where the Tricky Silk Clumps had initially formed around the entrance to the underground space. He returned after a little while, holding two half-transparent stones in his hand.


    The stones were pentagonal, with several strands of Tricky Silk, visible as white threads, wrapped around the perimeter.


    Rock handed one of the stones to Yan Junze: ¡°Stone of Fear, you and I each control one, the difference being that I control humans and you control the corpses here. The Tricky Silk on the other end of the Stone of Fear can collect fear while controlling either corpses or humans. If the stone turns completely black, the Tricky Silk will become ineffective, meaning that side has won.¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated a moment, but still took the half-transparent stone. It felt like an ordinary stone in his hand, and the white threads of the Tricky Silk seemed normal as well, not blackened, nothing that made him feel wary.


    However, after taking the Stone of Fear, Yan Junze¡¯s mind grew increasingly uneasy. Rock¡¯s behavior seemed to exceed his definition of a strangeness.


    Aren¡¯t strangenesses supposed to have Obsessions?


    He just needed to find a way to remove that Obsession. So why did this individual have so many tricks? With Tricky Silk, the Stone of Fear, and gathering fear?


    Moreover, Rock¡¯s form was abnormal, his skin patterned, tall and thin, with limbs too delicate, requiring attachment to a corpse to communicate normally.


    All these signs demonstrated his unusual nature, not at all like any strangeness Yan Junze had encountered before.


    ¡°Ethereal spirit? Could this guy be an Ethereal spirit?¡±


    A thought flashed, and Yan Junze¡¯s mind buzzed, finding it somewhat unbelievable.


    If the other party were truly an Ethereal spirit, he must remain fully alert and treat this game with the utmost seriousness.


    And just before, having already faced several ¡°Terrified¡± missions in Mo Family Village, Yan Junze was still confident he could handle the current situation.


    After all, based on his past encounters, as long as he had enough energy and was careful, he could generally complete missions of the ¡°Terrified¡± level without the constant threat of death.


    But if the opponent were an Ethereal spirit, that¡¯d be different, because he had no experience in dealing with Ethereal spirits, and even though the mission was ¡°Terrified,¡± there was no guarantee it wouldn¡¯t escalate following certain events.


    After all, such escalations weren¡¯t a rarity.


    Considering this, Yan Junze¡¯s attitude instantly became very proactive, very positive, very sincere. Holding the Stone of Fear, he asked the suspected Ethereal spirit Rock, ¡°May I know how I am supposed to use this thing?¡±


    Even though he had to confront the opponent with all his might, Yan Junze was not without a plan. In this respect, he was very confident, even if the opponent was an Ethereal spirit.


    Controlling corpses to scare people, it might seem less terrifying than using the abnormal and strange behavior of people close to the target, but with the right method of control, it could also be turned into a formidable tool for scaring.


    For instance, after Rock had described the rules for the game of scaring, a plan had already formed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    This plan was inspired by a movie he had seen in his previous life, where a highly creative method of scaring people was employed, which, coupled with the corpses he could control, would be a perfect match.


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    SEND GIFT

 Chapter 384 - 302: The Game Rules of Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)

    Chapter 384: Chapter 302: The Game Rules of Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)


    Actually, at the beginning of the Great Rewind, Yan Junze already had some guesses about how to play the game with the Tricky Silk Boss.


    After all, this guy started by using Tricky Silk to control the Yan Family and several other families at Spectacular Courtyard. Not only did he control them, but he also seemed to greatly enjoy preventing them from calling for an Exorcist.


    Therefore, Yan Junze felt that if he played the game, it would most likely involve using Tricky Silk to control people.


    However, he hadn¡¯t expected that he lacked Rock¡¯s abilities and couldn¡¯t directly control thinking humans, and could only control corpses that were nothing but empty shells.


    He ran his fingers over the Stone of Fear he had acquired for the first time; the stone was semi-transparent, with winding lines inside that resembled meridians and were also transparent.


    Numerous strands of Tricky Silk with white tips twisted around the surface of the stone. The Tricky Silk was visible and touchable at the end near the Stone of Fear, but at the extending end, it became invisible and untouchable as before.


    ...


    However, after Yan Junze held the Stone of Fear, although he could neither see nor touch the other end of the Tricky Silk, he could clearly feel where these strands were going, as if they were his own arms, and he could control them freely.


    He focused his thoughts on a female corpse lying closest to him on the ground. Although he still couldn¡¯t see it, he could feel one strand of Tricky Silk slowly descending and resting on the body of the woman.


    The Tricky Silk then moved like a slithering snake, the tip quickly finding the corpse¡¯s lips and burrowing into the corner of her mouth.


    This action awakened Yan Junze¡¯s memory.


    He remembered that when he first entered the Underground Space, he found a white silk thread tip at the corner of the mouths of every standing corpse. Only now did he finally understand how that came to be.


    After the Tricky Silk entered the corner of the woman¡¯s mouth, a tug, and the corpse stood upright, still with its eyes closed, standing motionless.


    Feeling the connection to the Tricky Silk through the Stone of Fear in his hand, Yan Junze felt that he could control this female corpse.


    With a mere thought, he immediately felt the Tricky Silk connected to the Stone of Fear quivering. This tremble was so slight that it would have been imperceptible to the naked eye had he not established a connection.


    The female corpse began to move her shoulders and then took a step forward, but stopped immediately.


    Maintaining the posture of having stepped forward, her head began to turn.


    The male corpse possessed by Rock looked at Yan Junze, that wooden face showing a trace of surprise for the first time; he probably hadn¡¯t expected Yan Junze to be able to perform these actions the first time he controlled a corpse.


    But to Yan Junze, this wasn¡¯t anything too difficult. After all, ever since Xiang Er possessed that perfect female corpse, Yan Junze had been watching her grow.


    During that time, Xiang Er had discussed with him multiple times her confusions and misunderstandings about control since possessing the corpse. Sometimes Yan Junze could offer suggestions, but other times he was just as clueless.


    Once Xiang Er figured it out, she occasionally gave feedback to him, and that¡¯s when he came to understand.


    So, compared to ordinary people with no such experience, Yan Junze was far from ignorant.


    ¡°You can practice with it first,¡± Rock said, walking out from the possessed male corpse and crawling back into his own burrow.


    Without his control, the male corpse slumped to one side and lay motionless.


    Yan Junze glanced at it but said nothing, instead carefully controlling and feeling the presence of the Tricky Silk.


    He used not just the one female corpse for control tests but nearly all of the corpses that had not been corroded by Dark Poison and were usable, including the male corpse that Rock had just vacated.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but after a while of manipulation, he felt fairly proficient.


    At that moment, Rock¡¯s tall and slender shadow emerged from the hole in the ground once again.


    Simultaneously, a fluorescent glow appeared before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, and the text that had surfaced earlier reappeared.


    He knew that because Rock wasn¡¯t attached to a corpse, he couldn¡¯t speak aloud and was instead using this method to communicate with him.


    It was clear that this method of communication would become the main way the two of them interacted from now on.


    The text that emerged read, ¡°These are the requirements for this game, you and I, through the Stone of Fear and Tricky Silk, must startle one family each. The two families we startle must fall within the ¡®not good people¡¯ category as you¡¯ve defined and we must only scare them without endangering their lives.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°There are two families here. One bears the surname Meng, residing in Yannan District, Zhuhua City, running the largest leather factory in the area. They secretly discharge vast amounts of pollutants into the nearby rivers, the main culprits of local environmental pollution, causing downstream inhabitants to give birth to deformed children multiple times. The other family, surnamed Zeng, lives in Tianmeng District, Gaohe City. Eight years ago, in their rural hometown in Tianyi District, they had a dispute over a trivial matter with their neighbors. The couple killed the entire neighboring family, with their son participating in hiding the corpses. They then fled overnight, living incognito in Tianmeng¡¯s Gaohe.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze looked down, watching the text appear on the ground.


    With Rock¡¯s abilities, getting this information wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him. He was just surprised about a place like Yannan District, which was already very far from Tianmeng; how could they complete the task from such a distance?


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze asked, ¡°During this game, do we need to act separately?¡±


    Rock¡¯s reply quickly surfaced on the ground.


    ¡°Tricky Silk can ignore distance constraints, you don¡¯t even need to leave this underground space.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a bit and said, ¡°I¡¯m not like you. You control those people, I control the corpses here, so I still need to consider distance. Hmm, I¡¯ll pick the Zeng family. Gaohe isn¡¯t too far from Shuntian City.¡±


    He paused, then added, ¡°And you can directly control humans with Tricky Silk, so even if Yannan District, Zhuhua City is far, you can ignore that.¡±


    Rock¡¯s reply appeared before Yan Junze, ¡°That works, the game begins from the moment we¡¯ve chosen, when the Stone of Fear assigned to you is filled with the black fear it represents, that will be the moment the end comes. You¡¯re quite interesting, I didn¡¯t even notice how you got in here. If you lose this game, I¡¯ll use Tricky Silk to pierce every single cell in your body and study you in detail.¡±


    ¡°And if you lose?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you go and leave this place, no longer pursuing the effects you and your friend who just escaped have had on me.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded. It was only natural that Rock mistook him for a friend of Yan Junze of the current time period, otherwise no stranger would take the risk to entrap themselves in such a situation and face this horror that was incomprehensible in strength.


    ¡°However¡­¡± Yan Junze tapped his forehead with his index finger. Since entering this place, he had been careful not to touch anything other than the Stone of Fear for fear of Dark Poison.


    Moreover, before touching the Stone of Fear, he made sure to check carefully for any signs of Dark Poison before daring to hold it in his hand.


    ¡°However what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been at a disadvantage from the start of this game,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°You control humans who could be relatives or even the targets themselves, maximizing the sense of terror, but I don¡¯t have that. You control ordinary people as the perfect means of hiding, unnoticed by others and catching them entirely off guard for the greatest effect of terror, but I don¡¯t have that either. Think about it, if a corpse keeps appearing in public to scare people, the chances of being discovered by an exorcist are high. How can I complete the game then?¡±


    Rock barely hesitated before immediately answering the question with text.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, although you can¡¯t directly control ordinary people, you can use a subsidiary thread of Tricky Silk to connect to the target you want to scare, and the main thread to the corpse. In this way, only the target will be able to see the corpse, creating a customized fright exclusive to them. To anyone else, the corpse will be invisible.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s face lit up with understanding, smiling he said, ¡°I think I have no more questions, we can start now.¡±


    And then, a line of bold text appeared on the ground: ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±


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 Chapter 389 - 305: Tricky Silk - Its Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 389: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    ¡°It¡¯s over, I¡¯ve encountered a strangeness!¡±


    This was Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s first reaction.


    He didn¡¯t think that early in the morning, everyone in this breakfast shop was conspiring to play a prank on him.


    Besides, he didn¡¯t know these people, so there was no reason for them to do such a thing.


    The only explanation was that he must have encountered a strangeness, otherwise it would have been impossible for everyone else to not see the old man, while only he could.


    Although at this moment everyone in the breakfast shop was looking at him, the shop owner included, and the situation was very odd, the shop owner didn¡¯t chase after Zeng Shiyuo to ask for the breakfast money.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo had no time to pay them any mind, as his gaze was still firmly fixed on the strange old man.


    Having missed his initial aim, the old man slowly turned around, his face still expressionless, his slightly open lips closed, and his outstretched hands lowered back to his sides, still motionless. He stepped off the platform, advancing again towards Zeng Shiyuo.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo murmured, his heart pounding as he turned and jogged away.


    He thought about running back home, but then it occurred to him, what if he brought the wolf into the den?


    Perhaps this old strangeness had latched onto him when he came out of the residential area earlier, and going back now might put his family in jeopardy.


    With this thought in mind, Zeng Shiyuo turned toward the construction site. Upon reaching the bus stop, his bus, the 702, just happened to arrive. He stepped on, paid the fare, and walked into the bus.


    Since it was early, there were plenty of empty seats. He found one by the window and sat down, peering out through the glass.


    In his field of view, he could still see the bare-chested old man, who moved neither fast nor slow, maintaining his walking pace in the direction the bus was going.


    And just as Zeng Shiyuo saw, people on the street occasionally passed by the old man, but everyone looked right through him, completely unable to see him.


    That is to say, the old man was definitely fixated on him, and he was the only one who could see him.


    As the bus gradually drove away, the old man¡¯s figure was no longer visible, Zeng Shiyuo came back to himself. After thinking for a moment, he was certain that this strangeness wasn¡¯t any of the neighbors from his hometown that he had killed.


    The face was unfamiliar; he didn¡¯t recognize it at all.


    ¡­


    Underground Space.


    Rock glanced at the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand and noticed that within the semi-transparent stone, the veins were showing signs of very few black elements. The blackness was sparse and did not even traverse the entire vein, let alone the entirety of the stone.


    ¡°Have you started?¡± Rock asked.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve started.¡±


    Rock broke into laughter, his voice sounding odd, ¡°If that¡¯s all the Fear Value brought about by just that scare, then you¡¯ve got your work cut out for you. You should know that even if you directly placed a corpse next to the Zeng family¡¯s bed, so they¡¯d see it as soon as they woke up, the resulting Fear Value they¡¯d get would be much more than this.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled too but didn¡¯t offer any explanation.


    Rock¡¯s expression was amused as he gave Yan Junze a sideways glance for a while before diverting his gaze.


    At this moment, he had finished preparing the seventh Tricky Silk thread clump, but he still didn¡¯t continue to manipulate the Tricky Silk to scare the Meng Family.


    ¡­


    After a while, Zeng Shiyuo, not worrying about whether he would wake up his wife and son, quickly made a phone call to inform them that he had encountered a strangeness on his way out and to be cautious;


    especially his wife, Tian Xiaoxia, as she would be going to the market to buy vegetables for the construction site¡¯s canteen shortly after seven o¡¯clock. It was not too late, and when leaving the residential area, there was still a chance she might run into the strange old man.


    The mother and son were also scared out of their wits and asked Zeng Shiyuo if it was the family that they had killed coming back as a strangeness to get them.


    Zeng Shiyuo said it wasn¡¯t, and it was very likely a strangeness he had encountered by chance.


    After giving his advice and hanging up the phone, his heart was still tumultuous. Encountering a strangeness early in the morning gave him a sense of horror that he believed would stick with him for the rest of the day, maybe even for the next few days.


    Fifty minutes later, Zeng Shiyuo arrived at the construction site and quickly changed into his security guard uniform.


    The place he worked was the construction site of a commercial plaza, and as a security guard, Zeng Shiyuo was stationed at gate number 4 which led into the construction site.


    Normally, work started around 8 a.m., with overnight work on occasions to meet deadlines.


    It was not yet time for the work to begin; while Zeng Shiyuo was changing into his security uniform, one of his colleagues, a man in his fifties, went to buy breakfast.


    By the time Zeng Shiyuo came out in his uniform, his colleague was returning with two bowls of freshly made noodles.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had breakfast, right? I bought an extra bowl.¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo paused for a moment, then shook his head, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    The dreadful experience he had had eating breakfast was not something he wanted to remember.


    The colleague placed disposable bowls and chopsticks in front of him, ¡°Eat up before it gets cold.¡±


    Still haunted by the breakfast incident, Zeng Shiyuo didn¡¯t say anything but picked up the chopsticks. They sat opposite each other, the colleague facing the door while Zeng Shiyuo had his back to it.


    ¡°I need to go out around ten o¡¯clock; watch the shift for me,¡± said the colleague after they had been eating for a while. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Zeng Shiyuo nodded, distracted even as he ate his noodles.


    Just then, as he took a sip of soup, he glanced back towards the door of the security room as if on edge.


    Instantly, he stiffened. From his vantage point, he could see a long-haired woman walking step by step toward them down the street.


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 Chapter 390 - 305: Tricky Silk - Its Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 390: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    ¡°`


    If one were to merely glance at her, she¡¯d seem just another passerby, but now Zeng Shiyuo was completely stunned.


    Because he realized that woman¡¯s gaze had been fixed on the direction of the security room, and most importantly, this woman was only wearing a very thin shirt, sans pants. The length of the gossamer shirt barely covered her thighs, and the shirt was not properly worn, covering only half of her body, while the other half was fully exposed, as she walked down the street.


    To Zeng Shiyuo, who had an encounter this morning, this scene was all too familiar.


    He threw down his chopsticks, stood up abruptly, and turned to face the security room door.


    His colleague, who had been eating noodles with him, was surprised and remained seated, watching him. Seeing that Zeng Shiyuo kept staring at the street outside the door, he also stood up and looked outside, but apart from people passing by, everything seemed normal.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s voice began to tremble as he asked, ¡°Did¡­ did you see¡­ that woman?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± his colleague replied in astonishment.


    ¡°Just¡­ just that one!¡± Zeng Shiyuo pointed at the street, ¡°That woman¡­ the one whose clothes aren¡¯t properly worn!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± his colleague was even more surprised, looked carefully again, ¡°There¡¯s no one whose clothes are improperly worn!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo shivered suddenly, almost leaping up, pointing at the woman who was now approaching the security room, ¡°She¡¯s coming, that¡¯s the one, approaching right now! Can¡¯t you see her?¡±


    His colleague looked bewildered, but clearly became frightened, and hesitantly poked his head toward the door, ¡°There¡¯s no one out there.¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The woman had already come right up to the door of the security room. Without pausing, she stepped in, raised her hands at the same time, fingers splayed, and opened her mouth wide at Zeng Shiyuo.


    Not only that, her eyes were fixed on Zeng Shiyuo as if they were about to pop out.


    Zeng Shiyuo screamed in terror, turned, and ran towards the window. Relying on his slender frame, he squeezed through the open window, the woman¡¯s outstretched hands not even brushing his clothes.


    His colleague, confused, watched as Zeng Shiyuo jumped out the window to escape, and then turned back to peer into the room, which still appeared empty.


    Zeng Shiyuo looked back and saw this scene, sure that his colleague couldn¡¯t see anything, and that only he could see the woman.


    He felt very frightened. What he had seen in the early morning was a bare-chested old man, but now it seemed a young woman with disheveled clothes followed him.


    Moreover, the movements of both strangenesses were very similar, both silently advancing towards him, even when Zeng Shiyuo had his back to the outside.


    Zeng Shiyuo could swear that if it weren¡¯t for a random glance back, he might not have known the woman was behind him.


    Though his colleague sat opposite him, he apparently couldn¡¯t see either of the strangenesses. Only Zeng Shiyuo himself could see them.


    Zeng Shiyuo quickly concluded that had he not looked back, he would surely have been doomed just now.


    The face of this woman was also unfamiliar to him; he had never seen her before.


    Wearing the security uniform, Zeng Shiyuo quickly fled along the street, occasionally looking back to check behind him. He noticed the woman had left the security room, but her pace was the same as before, and she was unable to catch up to him.


    Feeling slightly more at ease, Zeng Shiyuo caught his breath and dared not return to the construction site.


    The two strangenesses wanting to harm him were different, but their behavior patterns were very similar. Zeng Shiyuo couldn¡¯t understand why, but in any case, he admonished himself to be vigilant of what was behind him from now on.


    Just thinking about what would have happened if he hadn¡¯t looked back sent shivers down his spine and his heart racing uncontrollably.


    Once he made sure the woman couldn¡¯t catch up with him, Zeng Shiyuo considered taking the bus, when suddenly his phone rang in his pocket, startling him in his state of panic.


    Pulling out his phone, he saw it was his wife, Tian Xiaoxia, calling. Upon answering, her anxious voice immediately came through, ¡°Shiyuo, what should we do? Hurry over!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Zeng Shiyuo was startled and checked the time, which would be when Tian Xiaoxia should be at the market buying groceries for the construction site canteen.


    Tian Xiaoxia said on the other end, ¡°Someone¡­ someone is following me. He was staring at me as he walked over at the market. I felt he wanted to steal my purse, so I quickly avoided him, but he¡¯s been staring at me ever since and following me.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Zeng Shiyuo felt his heart plunge into an abyss, and he stammered with urgency, ¡°Xia¡­ Xiaoxia, listen¡­ listen to me, is that man¡¯s dress¡­ very odd? Or¡­ is he not wearing clothes?¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia seemed to look back, and after two seconds, responded, ¡°No, he¡¯s wearing clothes, but they seem very old-fashioned.¡±


    ¡°Do the people around¡­ can they not¡­ see him?¡± Zeng Shiyuo quickly asked.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Tian Xiaoxia sounded somewhat flustered, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±


    ¡°Run, run fast!¡± Zeng Shiyuo suddenly shouted into the phone, ¡°That person is very likely a strangeness, just like the old man I told you about earlier. Don¡¯t let him get close to you, run fast!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia began running, screaming as she sprinted.


    ¡°Go home, we¡¯ll talk when you¡¯re home.¡± Zeng Shiyuo hung up and quickly flagged down a taxi by the roadside.


    As long as he heard his wife start running, he wasn¡¯t too worried because he guessed that man was like the strangeness he had encountered, who, in any case, would only walk slowly and not chase after his target.


    If he noticed early on, there was a great chance to avoid it.


    ¡°`


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    Chapter 391: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    The taxi had just started when Zeng Shiyuo made another call to his wife, and Tian Xiaoxia¡¯s breathless voice came through as soon as the connection was made.


    To avoid being overheard by the taxi driver, he spoke in a hushed voice, ¡°On your way back, always check if someone is following you, remember, don¡¯t let anyone get close to you, it¡¯s best to take a taxi home.¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia kept agreeing.


    After hanging up the phone, Zeng Shiyuo suddenly thought of something and hurriedly called his son, Zeng Ziming.


    If nothing unexpected happened, his son should still be sleeping now, but he had to warn him.


    The phone rang for a long time without answer; he didn¡¯t know if the boy was sleeping too soundly to hear it, or if there was some other reason.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo was beside himself with worry, fidgeting in the cab. He tried the number again and on the third attempt, the call was finally answered.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, dad?¡± Zeng Ziming¡¯s lazy, groggy voice came through, sounding like he had just woken up.


    ¡°Son, stay at home, don¡¯t go anywhere, wait for me to come back,¡± Zeng Shiyuo immediately said.


    ¡°Where can I go?¡± Zeng Ziming responded in a slurred voice, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you waking me up, I¡¯d still be asleep.¡±


    ¡°You sleep, just continue to sleep, we¡¯ll talk when I¡¯m back, hanging up now,¡± Zeng Shiyuo said.


    ¡°Sleep? Someone knocked on the door and woke me up. Otherwise, I had my phone on silent, do you think I¡¯d notice your call?¡± Zeng Ziming said, with a tinge of emotion in his voice.


    He seemed to be moving around while talking, probably heading toward the living room door.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zeng Shiyuo shouted in fright, startling the taxi driver so much that the driver jumped and the cab halted in the middle of the road.


    ¡°Stop, you can¡¯t open the door, you mustn¡¯t open the door, stop, don¡¯t go over there!¡± Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s face turned bright red as he nearly bellowed into the phone.


    Zeng Ziming froze in the middle of the living room, phone to his ear, motionless, his sleepiness completely gone.


    ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Did you open the door? Did you open the door?¡± Zeng Shiyuo asked urgently.


    ¡°No¡­ I didn¡¯t, I¡¯m still standing¡­ in the living room,¡± Zeng Ziming replied.


    ¡°Wait for me to come back, anyway, you can¡¯t open the door now. No matter who knocks, do not open it, your mom and I both have keys to the house, wait for us to return.¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo hung up the phone and noticed that the taxi driver was looking back at him while the vehicles behind were honking incessantly.


    He tapped the driver¡¯s seat restlessly, ¡°Sorry about just now, please start driving, I¡¯m in a rush to get back!¡±


    At Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s home.


    The busy tone came from Zeng Ziming¡¯s phone. He moved the phone away from his ear and his gaze gravitated towards the living room door, where knocking sounds continued to emanate.


    After a moment of hesitation, Zeng Ziming walked to the living room door. He didn¡¯t open it but leaned in close to the peephole to take a careful look outside.


    Thud, thud, thud, the door was knocked three more times.


    Then, Zeng Ziming stepped back, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.


    Through the peephole, he couldn¡¯t see anyone standing outside, but just now the door continued to be knocked.


    ¡°Is it¡­ strangeness? Or just a prank?¡±


    Zeng Ziming thought about how serious and hurried his father¡¯s words had been; he didn¡¯t believe it was a prank.


    Thud, thud, thud, the door was struck again.


    Zeng Ziming¡¯s adam¡¯s apple moved as if he almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath from fright; he stepped back several paces, quickly turned around, and tiptoed back to sit in front of the sofa in the living room, eyes filled with fear as he stared at the tightly shut living room door.


    Outside the door.


    A naked man with purplish skin silently stood there, slowly retracting the hand that had been knocking.


    This man resembled a dwarf, only slightly taller, his height such that the person inside couldn¡¯t possibly see him through the peephole.


    ¡­


    In the Underground Space.


    Rock suddenly paused, his eyes shifting towards the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    He noticed that just a moment ago, the speed of the black color growing within the Stone of Fear had noticeably accelerated.


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 Chapter 392 - 306: Tricky Silk - Rocks Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 392: Chapter 306: Tricky Silk ¨C Rock¡¯s Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    When it all started, the black within the veins of the Stone of Fear that Yan Junze held had not been filled in.


    Although the black color had begun to increase gradually, and the speed of its increase was accelerating, for Rock, this was nothing out of the ordinary.


    As a veteran at controlling Tricky Silk to scare others, Rock once had the experience of collecting Fear Values the fastest, and even now, the speed at which he collected Fear Values from the Meng Family was also very quick.


    Looking at it now, even though Yan Junze¡¯s collection speed had sped up, it had not reached a level that shocked him. At most, it was slightly surprising, given how slowly the black color representing fear had initially filled up in the Stone of Fear.


    Meanwhile, at the Zeng Family, three people were shaking with fear.


    Seeing that Yan Junze might pose a threat, Rock put down the clump of Tricky Silk threads he was holding, picked up the Stone of Fear that had always been by his side, and submerged his mind within it.


    ...


    Yannan District, Zhuhua City, Meng Family.


    After struggling through the night, Meng Yongshou finally managed to send Old Master Meng¡¯s body back to the funeral parlor.


    Someone helping out quietly reminded Meng Yongshou that since the Old Master had exhibited strangeness, they could not delay any longer, nor could they put the corpse back into the ice coffin for another three days, or else something bigger might happen.


    Meng Yongshou had to accept this suggestion. To be honest, he was also afraid that last night¡¯s scenario would repeat itself.


    He contacted the funeral parlor in a hurry, got a slot early in the morning, and sent Old Master Meng¡¯s body to the cremation chamber, where it was turned into ashes and brought out in an urn.


    Since the burial site was already selected and everything was arranged, they hired a Yin Yang Master for various rituals and to pave the way with Talismans. With a lot of knocking and ringing, they escorted the urn up the burial hill and into the grave site that had been reserved for Old Master Meng.


    The issue of Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection had come to an end, but at the same time, Meng Yongshou¡¯s son Meng Hang was displaying extremely odd behavior, scaring his sister Meng Tingting quite a bit.


    But with the commotion downstairs over Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection taking center stage, Meng Yongshou¡¯s wife, Pan Ya, was too frightened by both her son¡¯s and Old Master Meng¡¯s predicaments to assert herself.


    After learning that her son had also become odd, she, led by a terrified Meng Tingting, tiptoed to her son¡¯s bedroom, where they found Meng Hang lying on the floor unconscious, with a bloody mouth, and indeed, the computer desk was covered in keyboard plastic and fragments of teeth.


    Together, Pan Ya and her daughter managed to lift their son onto the bed and called for Meng Yongshou.


    While Meng Yongshou was shocked, the matter with the Old Master downstairs was more pressing. After asking Pan Ya to contact the family¡¯s private doctor, he rushed away to deal with the resurrection incident.


    The private doctor arrived to find that Meng Hang had merely chipped his mouth on something hard, causing it to bleed. His physical condition was stable, resembling someone in a deep sleep rather than showing signs of being unconscious.


    After leaving some anti-inflammatory medicine and advice that the dental issue would require a visit to the hospital, the private doctor left.


    Once Meng Yongshou had the Old Master¡¯s burial taken care of and returned home, the family finally had time to seriously analyze the situation.


    By this time, Meng Hang had woken up, sitting groggily to one side, holding his mouth and remaining silent.


    Meng Yongshou looked at him and asked, ¡°When did you go to sleep yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember, I just felt very tired.¡± Meng Hang answered.


    Watching her son with a worried look, Pan Ya found last night¡¯s events far too bizarre. To her, Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection was a minor issue; she would have given up her own life if it meant her son could be safe and sound.


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Meng Yongshou analyzed, ¡°Xiaohang and dad both had incidents at the same time last night, it¡¯s very possible that dad¡¯s resurrection affected him, leading to the abnormalities.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ spirit possession?¡± Pan Ya exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°No,¡± Meng Yongshou shook his head, ¡°it should just be an influence. Let¡¯s keep observing for now. After all, the Old Master has been peacefully buried, and all strangeness has passed. I¡¯ve spent a lot of money buying a villa, a supercar, servants for him, and this morning, I¡¯ve already burned and sent them all to him. I hope he will not disturb the younger generation¡¯s normal lives anymore.¡±


    Pan Ya immediately clasped her hands together, looked up at the ceiling, and quietly murmured something.


    The family members had their own concerns and dispersed to rest.


    Having not slept well the night before, Meng Yongshou and Pan Ya hadn¡¯t slept at all the previous night and were now exhausted.


    Yawning, the couple returned to the master bedroom.


    Meng Tingting didn¡¯t leave her brother¡¯s bedroom immediately. Looking at his half-missing front teeth, she teased, ¡°Rest today; I¡¯ll go with you to the hospital tomorrow.¡±


    Standing up to leave, she glanced at the fish tank next to the computer desk and noticed that a goldfish had already turned belly up, floating motionless on the surface of the water.


    The fish tank was plugged in, constantly supplied with oxygen, and even had soft blue lighting, but it seemed that since Meng Hang had the fish, he had never bothered to care for them.


    He had no interest in maintaining such things; even if all the goldfish died, it wouldn¡¯t matter to him.


    ¡°How long has it been since you fed them?¡± Meng Tingting asked, frowning as she walked over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t paying attention,¡± Meng Hang replied as he lay back on the bed. His mouth still hurt despite the anti-inflammatory medication.


    Overwhelmed by a lack of rest, he just wanted to sleep. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lying on his side on the bed, he saw Meng Tingting walk over to the fish tank, seemingly reaching to the side of the tank to grab a packet of fish food.


    Since he was facing away, Meng Hang couldn¡¯t see Meng Tingting¡¯s movements, just her hands busily working.


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 Chapter 393 - 306: Tricky Silk - Rocks Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 393: Chapter 306: Tricky Silk ¨C Rock¡¯s Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    After a moment, Meng Hang, who had almost fallen asleep, suddenly woke up and saw Meng Tingting still standing in front of the fish tank, as if she had never left.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed and couldn¡¯t be bothered to check his phone, so he called out, ¡°Sis.¡±


    Meng Tingting didn¡¯t turn around, still standing motionless in front of the fish tank.


    Meng Hang felt surprised and climbed out of bed, calling out ¡°Sis¡± again, but she still didn¡¯t turn around.


    Without another word, Meng Hang got out of bed, put on his slippers, and walked toward Meng Tingting. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Sis? Feeding them is enough, hurry back to sleep. What¡¯s so interesting about these fish?¡±


    ...


    As Meng Hang spoke, he neared Meng Tingting¡¯s side and stopped abruptly when he got close.


    He saw that Meng Tingting wasn¡¯t feeding the fish at all, and the bag of fish food had actually been thrown into the tank whole, now sinking to the bottom.


    At this moment, both sleeves of Meng Tingting¡¯s arms were dripping with water, her hands each holding a goldfish, tearing into them with her mouth.


    When Meng Hang looked over, the goldfish in her right hand had just had its head brutally bitten off, and she was chewing.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The scene made Meng Hang¡¯s stomach churn, and he nearly vomited.


    ¡°Sis, what¡­what are you doing?¡±


    Meng Tingting seemed to hear nothing, her gaze fixed straight ahead. After stuffing the remaining half of the fish¡¯s body into her mouth, she immediately reached into the fish tank again, her sleeve soaking through from the water.


    Her movements were extremely fast and precise. In the instant her hand entered the water, one of the little goldfish hidden in the fake rock was startled and swam out, only to be caught by Meng Tingting in a flash, withdrawn from the water, and stuffed into her mouth again.


    Meng Hang quickly reached out to stop her.


    ¡°Sis, have you gone mad!?¡±


    Meng Tingting¡¯s actions ceased, and she slowly turned around to face Meng Hang. At that moment, her eyes bulged fiercely, staring intently at Meng Hang, resembling the eyes of a fish.


    In the master bedroom.


    Meng Yongshou took off his coat, lay on the bed, and pulled the blanket over himself, telling Pan Ya, ¡°Go sleep now. We can easily get sick without proper rest at our age. Tomorrow I¡¯ll have Doctor Li recommend some nourishing foods for the family to have a good recuperation.¡±


    Pan Ya hummed in response, ¡°You go to sleep; I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡±


    By the time she came out of the bedroom¡¯s restroom, Meng Yongshou¡¯s snoring had already begun.


    The lights in the room were too bright, and Pan Ya, worried about affecting Meng Yongshou¡¯s sleep quality, went over and drew all the curtains of the French windows.


    But after closing them, the bedroom was too dark, so she opened a slit in the middle of the curtains to let in a little light, enough to illuminate the bedroom without affecting rest.


    After doing this, Pan Ya yawned heavily, changed into her pajamas, and sat on the bed¡­


    Time passed.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s snoring was loud; he felt he had slept for a long time, and in his drowsy state, his right side was beginning to numb, naturally prompting him to want to turn over.


    As he turned over, his eyes were slightly squinted, heavy with sleepiness.


    After completing the turn, just as he was about to fall back asleep, he suddenly opened his eyes, the scene he glimpsed while turning over with half-closed eyes re-emerged in his mind.


    During that instant of turning over, he thought he saw his wife, Pan Ya. Although the light was dim, the figure resembled Pan Ya.


    Sitting up a little and turning his head, indeed it was Pan Ya sitting on the edge of the bed in her nightgown, motionless.


    After rubbing his eyes and confirming he wasn¡¯t mistaken, Meng Yongshou said, ¡°Wife, why aren¡¯t you sleeping? I feel like I¡¯ve been asleep for a while; how long have you been sitting there?¡±


    Pan Ya didn¡¯t respond, continuing to just sit there.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s curiosity piqued, and his sleepiness quickly dissipated.


    He sat up, leaned over, and nudged his wife¡¯s shoulder.


    Pan Ya still showed no movement, as if she had already fallen asleep while sitting.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Meng Yongshou sat up beside her, slipped his feet into his slippers, and glanced at Pan Ya.


    The room was dimly lit, but he could see that Pan Ya was not asleep; her eyes were open. However, Pan Ya had let her coiled hair down, covering part of her cheek from the side and obstructing a clear view.


    A strange feeling suddenly crept into Meng Yongshou¡¯s heart, and he glanced at his wife again, an inexplicable terror beginning to crawl up within him.


    He stood up slowly, keeping Pan Ya in his peripheral vision, and walked steadily to the floor-to-ceiling window. He gradually pulled the curtains open, letting in a flood of light that cleared his vision.


    The light streaming in through the opened curtains shone directly on Pan Ya¡¯s face as she sat on the edge of the bed.


    Meng Yongshou focused his gaze and suddenly felt a chill all over his body, feeling as though he was still dreaming and hadn¡¯t truly woken up.


    In his vision, sitting on the bed, Pan Ya¡¯s mouth split into a smile, the corners of her eyes arched upwards, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. She was smiling, smiling very hard.


    It was evident that Pan Ya¡¯s smile was forced, strained to the extreme, and she maintained this expression without any change.


    This smile lacked any warmth. Instead, it gave off a chilling, horrifying sensation.


    At this moment, that was exactly how Meng Yongshou felt. Thinking back to how he had been soundly asleep just a moment ago, and his wife had been sitting next to him all this time with that expression, the indescribable fear made goosebumps break out all over his body, his limbs ice cold.


    He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, no longer daring to approach Pan Ya.


    At this time, Pan Ya was still gazing straight ahead, her creepy smile unchanged. At a glance, she looked as though she had transformed into a life-sized porcelain doll.


    Meng Yongshou could no longer feel his own breathing or heartbeat, his entire focus was on Pan Ya. His body pressed against the curtain and the wall, he cautiously moved toward the bedroom door.


    Fortunately, Pan Ya only maintained the eerie smiling face without making any other movements, her gaze still fixed forward, her head not following Meng Yongshou¡¯s movements as he shifted.


    Approaching the bedroom door, Meng Yongshou reached out, and just as he was about to touch the doorknob, the bedroom door suddenly opened.


    Meng Yongshou startled, pulling his hand back quickly.


    The bedroom door was only pushed open a crack, and the sound of rapid thudding ensued as if someone was crawling on all fours.


    Shortly after, a person with long hair peeked their head through the gap at the bottom of the door, and then, supporting themselves with their hands, half of their body crawled into the bedroom.


    This person raised their head, saw Meng Yongshou standing by the door with a look of terror, their mouth corners slowly creased into a smile, revealing the uneaten tail of a goldfish between their teeth. Their eyebro w- ends curved upwards, and their cheeks puffed, the smile eerily similar to the one Pan Ya had while sitting on the bed.


    ¡°Dad¡­ Dad, where are you going?¡±


    ¡­


    In Tianmeng District, Gaohe City, at the Zeng Family¡¯s home.


    Zeng Shiyuo, his wife Tian Xiaoxia, and their son Zeng Ziming, all sat on the living room couch in silence, their moods heavy.


    After a long while, Zeng Shiyuo finally spoke, ¡°Starting now, we must always be aware of any noise behind us, and not expose our backs for long periods under those ¡®strangenesses¡¯ watchful eyes.¡±


    ¡°How many ¡®strangenesses¡¯ are there? We¡¯ve already encountered three!¡± Tian Xiaoxia said with worry.


    Zeng Shiyuo paused, then sighed heavily, ¡°It could be¡­ anyone. In any case, we must be vigilant, don¡¯t let anyone approach you from behind.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Zeng Ziming¡¯s voice trembled as he reached out and held his mother¡¯s hand, clearly getting panicked, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly not go out, right?¡±


    ¡°We definitely need to go out,¡± Zeng Shiyuo said, ¡°We all still have to work, but given the current special circumstances, we need to take a couple of days off. You should not go to the bar for now.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Tian Xiaoxia also nodded, ¡°There are too many people in the bar. If a ¡®strangeness¡¯ appears, only you would be able to see it. In such a crowded place, it would easily get close to you, and it¡¯s virtually impossible to defend against.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this for the next few days: we take turns sleeping, and we can¡¯t all fall asleep at the same time, otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to react if something happens,¡± Zeng Shiyuo patted his son¡¯s shoulder.


    Just then, a clatter came from the kitchen, as if a soup spoon or something had fallen to the floor.


    The three of them looked at each other.


    Zeng Ziming stood up, glanced at his parents, swallowed, and slowly walked towards the kitchen.


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 Chapter 396 - 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

    Chapter 396: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets)


    ¡°`


    Hearing the voice of an unfamiliar man coming from the phone, Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s entire body broke out in goosebumps. He dared not imagine what had happened to his wife or why the phone was in this man¡¯s hands.


    He quickly turned and ran toward his home, but had only taken a few steps when a voice rang out from behind: ¡°Dad, Dad, I¡¯m here!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo turned his head and saw his son, Zeng Ziming, stumbling along the street, calling out to him while looking back over his shoulder.


    Passersby all cast surprised glances his way, but Zeng Ziming paid them no heed.


    Upon approaching Zeng Shiyuo, he pretty much threw himself at him, his arms and legs visibly weak, barely able to stand.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo hurriedly steadied him and asked, ¡°Are you okay? Where did you run off to?¡±


    Zeng Ziming pointed behind him, panting, ¡°A¡­ disgusting old hag was chasing me! She wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes, and her bones were almost poking through her skin¡­¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo looked in the direction his son had come from, of course seeing nothing. He steadied Zeng Ziming and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s get back home. Your mom might be in trouble!¡±


    Zeng Ziming¡¯s face turned pale with shock. Since seeing that tall, thin man, his face had been bloodlessly pale, and now it was terrifyingly white, as if he might faint from fright at any moment.


    The father and son supported each other as they hurried toward the residential area where their home was located.


    After a moment, Zeng Ziming hesitantly said, ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t we call an exorcist?¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo didn¡¯t immediately respond. As they nearly reached the gate of their old residential complex, he finally spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s go home first and see how your mom is. If something bad has happened to her, we¡¯ll call the exorcist. If¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s eyes bulged, seeing a woman staggering out from the complex.


    This woman was Tian Xiaoxia.


    Tian Xiaoxia was in very bad shape, empty-handed, carrying nothing, her hair in disarray as though she had just had a violent conflict with someone before running out.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s a strangeness in the house, a dwarf man, all purple¡­ He knocked on my head, clambered on my back¡­¡± Tian Xiaoxia was somewhat incoherent.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your phone?¡± Zeng Shiyuo asked.


    ¡°At home. I broke free from the dwarf and just ran out, didn¡¯t grab anything.¡± Tian Xiaoxia was shaking all over, on the verge of tears.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t go back.¡±


    At this time, Tian Xiaoxia and Zeng Ziming were both scared senseless, nearly collapsing. Only Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s emotions seemed relatively stable, but he was equally filled with tremendous fear, he just didn¡¯t show it as clearly.


    Grasping the hands of his son and wife, their hands were all as cold as ice at that moment, feeling no different from a dead person¡¯s.


    ¡°So¡­ where do we go now?¡± Zeng Ziming asked.


    Zeng Shiyuo hesitated slightly and then said, ¡°We can¡¯t go where there are lots of people. Come on, follow me, I know where to go.¡±


    After speaking, he reminded his wife and son, ¡°Before we reach our destination, you must constantly watch your backs. No one else can help with this; only you can see the strangeness that is seeking you. During this time, none of us can separate, we must¡­ we must be careful!¡±


    ¡­


    Underground Space.


    Rock held the Stone of Fear, which had mostly turned black, in both hands. The threads of Tricky Silk wrapped around the Stone of Fear were rhythmically twitching, and the other end of the threads, being invisible, it was unknown who they were connected to.


    The black color in his Stone of Fear continued to spread at a steady pace throughout the inner space of the stone.


    Although the yield was gratifying, Rock couldn¡¯t get excited. His gaze was fixed on the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    In this moment, massive amounts of blackness were continuously injected into the inner space of Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear. The dosage and speed of this injection had not changed since three hours ago and were still steady.


    ¡°What could possibly be the reason that the family Yan Junze is frightening can generate an unlimited amount of fear of the same intensity without stopping?¡±


    Inside, Rock felt a pressure that had gone from initial astonishment, to surprise, and now to shock, and it had even escalated to extreme curiosity.


    If the Stone of Fear continued to absorb in this manner over the next few hours, Rock was certain that he would undoubtedly lose in this competition.


    Rock was now well aware that he needed to step up his game, otherwise, although the Meng Family had four people, the fear they generated would not surpass the continuous and stable output from the Zeng Family, which only had three people. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He withdrew his gaze and immersed his concentration into the Stone of Fear and Tricky Silk he held, controlling it with full focus.


    If things really came to it, Rock considered unleashing his Ultimate Move at the necessary moment.


    Yannan District, Zhuhua City, Meng Family.


    Meng Tingting crawled in through the door, blocking her father Meng Yongshou who was trying to escape, while her brother Meng Hang rushed out of his bedroom and over to them.


    The moment he opened the door, he saw Meng Yongshou pressed frightfully against the wall near the doorway, forgetting to flee, his face ashen, staring at the scene before him, breathing heavily.


    Meanwhile, Meng Tingting and her mother Pan Ya both fell into unconsciousness, collapsing motionless on the ground.


    It took a good while for the father and son to snap out of their shock. Part of the fear subsiding, they finally took action. They first lifted Meng Tingting onto the bed and then carried Pan Ya, who lay beside the bed, onto it as well.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 397 - 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 397: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    The mother and daughter lay side by side, not regaining consciousness for quite a while.


    ¡°No, this might¡­ not be caused by your grandfather¡¯s faked death yesterday, call the Exorcist,¡± Meng Yongshou told Meng Hang.


    His gaze was unfocused, as if he was speaking to himself.


    Meng Hang quickly nodded, ¡°Right, Dad, call 4747 immediately.¡±


    Meng Yongshou said nothing further and immediately walked to the bedside table, picking up the smartphone that was placed there.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he swiftly dialed a series of numbers and put the phone to his ear.


    ...


    Soon the call connected, and Meng Yongshou spoke into the phone. In less than a minute, he hung up.


    Turning around, he saw his son staring at him in astonishment, ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Calling the Exorcist,¡± said Meng Yongshou.


    Meng Hang exclaimed in surprise, ¡°No, you dialed¡­ the food delivery number, you just ordered takeout.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Meng Yongshou became angry, ¡°I don¡¯t have time to joke with you right now. I have a contact in the city security system. I didn¡¯t dial 4747 directly, because that would mean waiting in line, and who knows when it would be our turn. I just informed Uncle Jiang who works at the security bureau, and he will arrange it for us immediately.¡±


    ¡°No, no, Dad, you really did just dial the food delivery number,¡± Meng Hang gesticulated with his hands, ¡°You ordered a serving of stir-fried rice noodles, light on the salt, and added a chicken leg.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense?!¡± Meng Yongshou¡¯s eyes went round with fury as he glared at Meng Hang, ¡°You little rascal, are you possessed by a Spirit Possession like your mother and sister?¡±


    Seeing Meng Yongshou¡¯s anger, Meng Hang immediately fell silent, standing aside and not daring to speak anymore.


    After a moment, Meng Yongshou shifted his attention back to the unconscious Pan Ya and Meng Tingting, rushing downstairs to have the maid bring up a basin of hot water so he could apply hot compresses to Pan Ya and Meng Tingting¡¯s heads with a towel.


    Then he called the private doctor.


    During this time, Meng Yongshou noticed his son had disappeared. Though he was just angry with him, he still worried that something had happened to Meng Hang. He went to his son¡¯s bedroom to check but found no one there.


    After asking the downstairs maid, nobody had seen the boy leave the house.


    While circling the first floor, he finally heard someone talking in a low voice inside the maids¡¯ bathroom.


    There, in the bathroom where Meng Hang could not be found anywhere else, he was indeed hiding. Meng Hang had clearly seen that his father, Meng Yongshou, had not dialed 4747 or contacted his old friend for a shortcut; he had actually made a food delivery call.


    His father definitely had a problem and even got angry after his own objections, so Meng Hang dared not mention it in front of him.


    But since Meng Yongshou did not call 4747, he had to make the call himself, determined to report the strangenesses at home to the Exorcist.


    Yet he didn¡¯t dare to make the call in front of Meng Yongshou, fearing that his father, who seemed to be attached by a Possession Spirit, might harm him.


    Therefore, Meng Hang chose to hide in the downstairs maids¡¯ bathroom to make the call.


    Unexpectedly, although he was hiding here, his father found him. Meng Yongshou couldn¡¯t understand what his son was up to, acting so sneakily all of a sudden.


    Right now, he silently put his ear to the bathroom door, holding his breath to listen to the sound inside.


    Meng Hang quickly connected the call, looking back guiltily at the bathroom door, which he had locked from the inside, preventing anyone from entering.


    As the call went through, the voice on the other end said, ¡°Hello, welcome to ¡®Full Yet?¡¯ Takeout. Um, your previous delivery address has already been displayed, what would you like to order?¡±


    Hearing the voice, Meng Hang felt nothing amiss, but he lowered his voice, as if speaking with an Exorcist, and said, ¡°I¡¯d like a bowl of Wang¡¯s Beef Noodles, original broth please.¡±


    Meng Yongshou: ¡°¡­¡±


    The voice on the phone replied, ¡°Okay, sir, anything else you¡¯d like to add?¡±


    Meng Hang looked back cautiously once more at the bathroom entrance, then continued in a tone that was both solemn and pleading, ¡°Less spicy, more green onions and garlic, and add a few slices of pickled vegetables.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Would you like to add an egg?¡±


    ¡°Add one.¡±


    ¡°Fried or marinated?¡±


    ¡°Marinated.¡±


    After the call ended, Meng Hang pressed the hang-up button, thinking to himself that he had finally reported to the Exorcist.


    He let out a long sigh of relief.


    Outside the bathroom.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s expression was just like Meng Hang¡¯s from earlier, utterly dumbfounded, as he looked up.


    At this moment, he felt a complex mix of emotions.


    ¡°This fool of a son, locking himself in the bathroom like a thief just to order a bowl of beef noodles with a marinated egg, what¡¯s he thinking?¡±


    Shortly after, Meng Yongshou heard Meng Hang start to urinate, so he quietly left and returned to the second floor.


    Meanwhile, the maid was still applying hot towels to Pan Ya and Meng Tingting in the bedroom, but luckily, both had opened their eyes, and although they were both complaining of dizziness, at least they were conscious.


    Soon after, Meng Hang came upstairs nonchalantly and entered the master bedroom.


    ¡°Where have you been just now?¡± Meng Yongshou asked on purpose.


    He looked at his son with eyes that could hardly disguise the profound, coddling affection for someone he thought was intellectually challenged.


    Meng Hang dodged his gaze as if consciously avoiding it and replied, ¡°I stepped out into the yard for some fresh air.¡±


    Just then, the private doctor arrived. As the Meng Family¡¯s specially appointed doctor, he was very dedicated, always giving priority to the Meng family¡¯s needs no matter how busy he was.


    After all, the salary provided by the Meng family each month was not low, and who would want to fight with money?


    Every time this Dr. Li came over, he would bring necessary medical equipment for physical examination and some emergency medicines in his car. Listening to heartbeats, taking blood pressure, and checking blood sugar could be done right there at home.


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 Chapter 398 - 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 398: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    After a series of necessary checks, Doctor Li told Meng Yongshou that there was nothing seriously wrong with either of the women¡¯s health, but it seemed that Meng Tingting had eaten something wrong and was experiencing nausea. He could prepare some medicine on site to help her digest.


    Returning to the car to bring over the medicine, Doctor Li left.


    Meng Tingting, following his instructions, took two pills at a time. Not long after taking the medicine, her stomach suddenly began to churn violently, and in less than ten minutes, she was vomiting messily.


    The vomit startled everyone, except for Meng Hang, who appeared very calm, displaying an attitude that nothing could disgust him now.


    But in Meng Yongshou¡¯s eyes, this boy was becoming more and more suspicious.


    And in Meng Hang¡¯s eyes, which watched his old dad, were likewise filled with scrutiny and suspicion.


    ...


    Soon, the takeout they had ordered arrived one after the other, Meng Yongshou looked at his stir-fried rice noodles with extra chicken legs, Meng Hang looked at his beef noodles with an added marinated egg, father and son were both bewildered.


    However, Meng Tingting, having just vomited not long ago, assumed it was something the two had bought for her and, without a second thought, started eating happily.


    At this time, Pan Ya went towards the master bedroom¡¯s bathroom. She normally paid a lot of attention to grooming, and now with her hair in a mess, she needed to take good care of it.


    When asked if he had called the Exorcist, Meng Yongshou said he had pulled some strings so there would be no need to wait in line, and the Exorcist should arrive soon to deal with the situation.


    Pan Ya¡¯s heart settled, and after entering the bathroom, she washed her face with warm water and then picked up the comb to start Combing Hair, organizing her disheveled hair.


    Meng Yongshou, not entirely at ease, cautioned Meng Tingting not to mess up the bedroom carpet while eating and followed into the bathroom of the bedroom.


    Catching a glimpse of Pan Ya Combing Hair, he went to the toilet, lifted the lid, and began to urinate.


    Pan Ya glanced back at him but said nothing.


    Not long after, Meng Yongshou, who was urinating, spoke, ¡°Fix yourself up and rest a bit more, I¡¯ll call you when the Exorcist arrives.¡±


    Pan Ya didn¡¯t answer.


    Meng Yongshou looked at her sideways and asked again, ¡°Is your head still feeling dizzy?¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pan Ya still didn¡¯t answer, just kept Combing Hair continuously.


    Meng Yongshou had now developed a conditioned reflex; sensing something was off, he panicked inside, shook off the last few drops, pulled up his pants, and pressed the toilet flush button.


    ¡°Wife?¡±


    Pan Ya was still facing the mirror Combing Hair, ignoring him.


    Through the mirror, Meng Yongshou could see Pan Ya¡¯s expression was calm, watching her reflection, composedly brushing her hair.


    She couldn¡¯t have failed to hear him speak and, if she had heard, she wouldn¡¯t just ignore him.


    The more flustered Meng Yongshou became, the less he dared approach Pan Ya. He stood his ground, the spot closest to the bathroom door; if something was amiss, he would choose to run, just like before, and then figure out what to do.


    Just then, Pan Ya, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly paused the comb, as if she had reached a knot, getting stuck.


    However, instead of carefully combing through again, she gripped the comb tightly and pulled down with all her might.


    Because of the excessive force, her head was pulled askew by the action, yet she did not cease.


    ¡°Pan Ya, what are you doing?¡± Meng Yongshou was terrified by the scene.


    He believed if the pulling continued, the next moment could be very horrifying.


    Just as the thought struck him, there was a sound of something tearing.


    Meng Yongshou shuddered.


    ¡­


    Pan Ya had already finished grooming her hair, she set the comb down, turned her head, and noticed Meng Yongshou was still urinating.


    ¡°How much water did you drink?¡± Pan Ya picked up a box of moisturizer, squeezed some onto her hand, and started applying it while questioning.


    Meng Yongshou didn¡¯t respond, with only the sound of urination continuing.


    Surprised, Pan Ya turned around again to see Meng Yongshou had finished urinating and was reaching out to press the flush button but suddenly stopped, motionless.


    Her heartbeat inexplicably started to quicken and after hesitating, she turned and called out softly to Meng Yongshou, ¡°Yongshou?¡±


    Meng Yongshou turned around, looking at her expressionlessly.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Pan Ya.


    ¡°So¡­ thirsty.¡±


    These two words were squeezed out of Meng Yongshou¡¯s mouth, then he knelt in front of the toilet, plunging his head into it, with the sound of loud gulping following.


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 Chapter 402 - 310: Tricky Silk - Racing Against Time (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 402: Chapter 310: Tricky Silk ¨C Racing Against Time (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    Although Yan Junze had been manipulating Tricky Silk to control the corpses and scare the Zeng Family, he was also closely observing the Stone of Fear in Rock¡¯s hands.


    It must be said, when he noticed that the black fear gathering speed in Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear began to crazily increase, he felt somewhat uneasy himself.


    Because it was not just the speed that had accelerated; the black density was also astonishing, and in a short amount of time, it almost completely filled the Stone of Fear.


    Filling the Stone of Fear was simple; it meant that no transparent element could be seen inside the stone anymore. This could be discerned with the naked eye and was the sign for determining who had ultimately completed their scare.


    Now, to Yan Junze¡¯s view, Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was already about 95% filled, very rapidly and with a high density, surpassing his own.


    If Yan Junze didn¡¯t step up his efforts, he could easily lose this competition.


    ...


    At least, as things stood now, the outcome of the competition was quickly tipping in Rock¡¯s favor.


    Little did Yan Junze know that his concerns would last only a moment; suddenly he saw Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear shudder, with Rock appearing somewhat disconcerted but more annoyed, mumbling to himself.


    ¡°What? Went overboard with the Ultimate Move?¡± Yan Junze was astounded.


    Immediately after, he saw the progress of the black filling in Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear gradually stop until it came to a complete standstill.


    Upon closer examination, it indeed stopped where it was, still lacking about 5% Fear Value to be completely filled.


    At that moment, Rock, holding the Stone of Fear in both hands, was extremely careful as if afraid of dropping it, muttering to himself, ¡°What happened? Why suddenly feel faint, and all at once?¡±


    Yan Junze understood in his heart; it turned out this guy had frightened all his intended targets into fainting.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    Indeed, if they had all fainted, there was no one left to scare, and the Fear Value was definitely gone, or if not entirely absent, then very little and negligible.


    With that being the case, Yan Junze grinned, looked down at his own Stone of Fear, which was also filled with a significant amount of black, and it looked to be about 87%, not quite reaching 90%.


    Now that the opponent¡¯s progress had halted, surpassing Rock seemed just a matter of time.


    ¡°Oh dear, look at what you¡¯ve done; how am I supposed to feel good about this?¡±


    Yan Junze teased, with a hint of a smile on his lips, then immediately immersed himself in controlling the Tricky Silk.


    It was about time for a grand finale for the Zeng Family.


    Rock, on the other hand, had a look of grievance, furrowed his brows, and stared at the continuing stream of black Fear Value entering Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear.


    He had not given up; they were nearing the end, and Rock would certainly give it his all if there was any chance left.


    ¡­


    In Tianmeng District, Gaohe City.


    Alongside a riverbank of a river called Dayuan River, where the vegetation was dense, the space open and the air moist; this place was situated on the outskirts of Gaohe City.


    On weekends, some families would come to play by the riverbank, as it was very close to Gaohe City and not too remote.


    But at this time, it was working hours, and the riverside was drizzled with incessant rain, devoid of people.


    Zeng Shiyuo, Tian Xiaoxia, and Zeng Ziming were hiding in a wooden cabin by the river.


    This cabin was usually rented to campers for temporary accommodation and was equipped with basic facilities. However, after the outbreak of strangeness a year ago, few people rented it anymore.


    The cabin had windows on all four sides. The windows were large and let in a lot of light, so anyone staying in the cabin had an excellent view. You could stand inside and turn in a circle; if anything was amiss in any direction, it could be noticed immediately.


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s plan was for the family to stay here for a while, looking after each other, without anyone leaving alone.


    The strangenesses had always appeared in the city, especially in crowded places, which was very disadvantageous for them. After coming here, perhaps the strangenesses would not seek them out again.


    Even if they did come, in this area with excellent visibility, they could react in advance. If one of them was captured by the strangeness, the others could try their best to rescue them.


    After all, no one could face the strangeness alone.


    Equipped with their previous experiences, Zeng Shiyuo, Tian Xiaoxia, and Zeng Ziming also developed a detailed set of measures against the strangenesses, and they even set up simple traps outside the cabin. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The purpose of the traps was simple; although the strangenesses were invisible, they could at least be temporarily trapped, winning the intended target time to escape.


    After tidying up the cabin a bit, Tian Xiaoxia also organized the bedding.


    Having once committed a major crime, the three of them had experienced several escapes and had developed a certain level of counter-surveillance capability. They would quickly grasp the environmental layout wherever they went, stay inconspicuous and had formed a good understanding between themselves.


    Thus, altering the surrounding environment was no big problem for them.


    But this time, they were not facing the security officers of this world but rather the eerie and indescribably strange strangenesses. All three were on high alert.


    After everything was prepared, Tian Xiaoxia boiled some water for the father and son, used some of it to wash her face, and then made a pot of tea with the rest.


    About thirty meters away from the cabin, a clearly makeshift row of simple wooden sticks suddenly collapsed.


    Observing the situation, Zeng Ziming immediately said, ¡°There might be strangeness coming; the ¡®alarm¡¯ over there has fallen.¡±


    ¡°Did you see anything?¡± asked Tian Xiaoxia, who was washing her face by the window. On hearing this, her body slightly trembled, and she quickly asked, then immediately moved closer to the window to look in the direction Zeng Ziming was pointing.


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 Chapter 405 - 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk

    Chapter 405: Chapter 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk


    Actually, after the rules of the competition were set, Yan Junze¡¯s plan was to follow the pattern of ¡°It¡¯s Behind You¡± from the movies he¡¯d seen to unfold the entire process of scaring the target.


    Because the goal of the competition was to collect Fear Value, he was self-aware that whether it was in terms of scaring experience or the control of Tricky Silk, he was not as strong as Rock.


    After all, Rock¡¯s hobby was on full display here. Competing head-on in an unfamiliar domain against the expertise of the other would likely result in a miserable defeat, so he needed to borrow some successful experiences.


    Yan Junze remembered when he first watched the movie ¡°It¡¯s Behind You,¡± the scenes where one always needed to be wary of someone approaching from behind captured his attention throughout.


    The intense feeling of fear accompanied him long after the movie had ended, making for an excellent viewing experience.


    So Yan Junze decided to replicate this method of frightening for dealing with Rock.


    ...


    Indeed, keeping the Zeng family constantly in fear of the inexplicable strangenesses appearing behind them was a good method for collecting Fear Value.


    Because they had to be afraid of the strangenesses suddenly appearing behind them, their sense of fear was constant and never ceased, although not at the highest level, it was still quite intense.


    Most importantly, the collection of Fear Value was continuous and never interrupted.


    And just as Yan Junze expected, Rock¡¯s techniques for scaring were far superior to his. If it was only a matter of the amount of Fear Value collected with each scare, he would definitely be left far behind by Rock, with no chance of catching up.


    During the competition between the two, Rock¡¯s mentality was not very stable. He originally had full confidence of winning in scare tactics.


    But upon seeing the steady pace at which Yan Junze¡¯s Fear Value was being collected, Rock felt odd and astonished, to the point where he lost his composure and wanted to hasten his victory.


    If he could have slowed down and maintained the same level of scaring the Meng Family, perhaps he would have won by now.


    But now, the result was that the Meng Family had been scared into fainting from being too overwhelmed.


    It must be said that Rock¡¯s control was indeed very strong; to achieve the maximum level of scare and quickly collect Fear Value, he was able to faint everyone at the same time, with the longest interval between them being no more than three seconds.


    Either way, Rock¡¯s clever plan had backfired and he was more anxious than anyone.


    Especially since at Yan Junze¡¯s, the speed of collecting Fear Value suddenly increased significantly, he knew that his opponent was also using his Ultimate Move.


    At that moment, he wished he could break the rules of the game and use Tricky Silk to wake up those from the Meng Family immediately.


    But professional ethics still had to be respected. Rock suppressed the urge to cheat and waited anxiously with bated breath.


    The third person to wake up was Meng Yongshou.


    Seeing Meng Yongshou awake, Rock¡¯s spirits lifted.


    About five seconds later, Meng Yongshou, who hadn¡¯t come to his senses yet, let out a choke and was scared unconscious once more.


    Rock turned his malicious gaze towards Pan Ya.


    And sure enough, the last to wake up was Pan Ya. She hadn¡¯t even managed to sit up when she simply opened her eyes and was immediately scared unconscious by the horror, the grotesque, the bizarre, the indescribable, and the utterly inhumane sight that appeared before her.


    And then, the frantic Rock was completely out of options.


    Although Yan Junze was fully immersed in controlling the ball of corpses creeping towards the cabin, he still kept an eye on the commotion over at Rock¡¯s location.


    However, the sounds that reached him from Rock¡¯s direction were: ¡°Damn, what¡¯s going on? It¡¯s over, they fainted again. Oh my god, they just opened their eyes, I¡¯m still preparing my Ultimate Move¡­¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s lips curled into a smile, unable to suppress his amusement.


    He suddenly realized that apart from Rock being a powerful strangeness in his own right, there was a strangely endearing quality to his true nature.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to try getting any closer, for fear of what might happen.


    By now, Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was about 97% full, whereas Yan Junze¡¯s was already above 98%.


    At that moment, in front of the cabin on the outskirts of Gaohe City, a ball formed by more than twenty corpses was rolling about, having completely approached the cabin.


    Limb after limb thrusted out from within the writhing mass, along with heads that kept twisting and turning, coupled with occasional screams.


    Plastered against the window, this terrifying scene seeped into the cabin, causing the Zeng family to huddle together involuntarily, faces full of panic, their features distorted, heads bowed tightly.


    Outside the cabin, the sky had turned completely dark, yet the light that passed from inside the cabin to the outside windows made the writhing mass appear even more hideous and terrifying, like a vast unknown monster with half its body hidden in the darkness.


    Slap, slap, slap, hands kept taking turns striking the glass.


    Every strike caused the three huddled and shrunken figures in the corner to jump, trembling as if shaking like chaff from fright. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zeng Ziming mustered the courage to raise his head slightly, and swiftly glanced towards the window, just in time to see the shattered cheek of a man smack against the glass, peering inside with a grotesquely opened mouth, dripping pale yellow fluid.


    Zeng Ziming let out a loud scream.


    Originally, the three of them had planned to flee the cabin, to escape altogether. But now that it was night, staying inside the cabin was slightly better as they could at least see the strangenesses. If they ran outside, they would never know if the strangenesses followed them, and they could be in danger at any moment.


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 Chapter 406 - 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk_2

    Chapter 406: Chapter 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk_2


    ¡°`


    Hearing Zeng Ziming¡¯s loud scream, Zeng Shiyuo couldn¡¯t help but look up.


    Smack, another wrinkled old woman¡¯s cheek pressed against the window glass followed shortly by a hand that clearly belonged to a young woman. The palm pressed against the glass, her fingers bent, and her sharp nails scratched back and forth on the glass, emitting an ear-piercing sound.


    It seemed as if the glass could hardly support any longer and would shatter at any moment due to the pressure from the mass of flesh outside.


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s skin broke out in goosebumps instantly, a strong sense of fear rose from his heart and rushed to his forehead.


    He could no longer hold it in, took out his mobile phone, his voice carrying a cry, and shakily said, ¡°Dial 4747, I must¡­ I must report¡­ the Exorcist¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Dial quickly.¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia, who had kept her head deeply buried, was already scared out of her wits just by the sounds outside the room. If she looked once more, she might very well faint, so she immediately agreed with Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s decision.


    Zeng Ziming didn¡¯t say anything; it seemed he was too frightened to speak.


    The phone was quickly connected, and Zeng Shiyuo immediately shouted, ¡°Exorcist, I need an Exorcist, our family is in a wooden house by the Dayuan River outside Gaohe City. More than twenty strangenesses, yes, more than twenty strangenesses, please, come and save us¡­¡±


    Ding!


    Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear suddenly started to vibrate slightly, then emitted a crisp sound.


    He recollected his thoughts, looked down at the Stone of Fear.


    The entire inside of the Stone of Fear was filled with blackness, and at this moment, it stopped absorbing Fear Value.


    He immediately made the corpse flesh ball that was lying on the outside of the wooden house window roll slowly away from the wooden house. After entering the woods, all the corpses dispersed, and under the control of the Tricky Silk, they headed towards Shuntian City.


    Underground Space.


    Rock looked at the Fear Value in his hand that was just a bit shy of being full, he slowly shook his head, a smile appeared on his face that was covered with patterns.


    ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve won.¡±


    ¡°It was a stroke of luck, just a stroke of luck.¡± Yan Junze was still in the process of controlling the corpses to hurry back, so he didn¡¯t stop just yet.


    Rock didn¡¯t immediately retract the Tricky Silk from the unconscious members of the Meng Family either, instead, he put the Stone of Fear aside and freed his hand.


    In fact, the Fear Value from the Meng Family was still slowly flowing into the Stone of Fear, albeit at a very slow pace.


    At this point, not only had every member of the Meng Family fainted, but they had also fainted twice, yet even in their subconscious, their fear lingered.


    If this were under normal circumstances, such a Fear Value would be negligible, but now Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was about to be filled, so the Fear Value flowing slowly from the Meng Family was not insignificant.


    Even though none of them came to, given the current rate of filling, it would still be possible to fill the Stone of Fear after some time.


    Rock returned to the entrance of the hole and sat down, picked up the clump of Tricky Silk threads and began to wrap them again, while wrapping, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve won, and you¡¯ve saved your friend who escaped. When those corpses return, you can take your prize and leave this place.¡±


    ¡°Prize?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback.


    At the start of the competition, there had been no rule that a prize would be given to the winner, so this so-called prize was merely Rock¡¯s own assertion.


    Of course, if Yan Junze had lost, perhaps even his life would have been left there; that would have been his prize to Rock.


    However, as Yan Junze was in a ¡°Great Rewind,¡± he could also cheat and leave directly even if he lost the competition.


    But that would not conform to the original timeline, and if he were to forcefully leave after losing, the ripple effect that would result might be something the current Different Dimension Energy could not repair.


    Rock pointed to the Stone of Fear he was holding in his hand.


    Yan Junze looked down and asked, ¡°Is this my prize, what can I do with it?¡±


    Rock shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°There are many uses.¡±


    He didn¡¯t elaborate but started to wrap the Tricky Silk thread clump again.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Once the objects were in his hands, he would study them carefully and surely figure them out.


    Controlling more than twenty corpses for an entire night¡¯s journey, although this simple action did not consume too much of Yan Junze¡¯s attention, he was still somewhat exhausted.


    ¡°`


    Currently, for Yan Junze, he was still within the time of the Rewind, but his biological clock was indeed depleting, and he would still feel tired. However, this fatigue was strange; it was slightly better than usual.


    So, he was still able to hold on until the sky began to brighten when all the corpses had finally returned to the Underground Space one after another.


    Yan Junze took a breath, and now he could finally put down the Stone of Fear he had been holding in his hands the whole time. He wasn¡¯t reassured, so he counted them again with his naked eyes to make sure that not a single body was missing.


    Otherwise, Yan Junze suspected that Rock might make him compensate with one of his own. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a short rest, Yan Junze said to Rock, ¡°In that case, I¡¯m ready to leave.¡±


    Rock put down the Tricky Silk thread clump in his hands, walked over to the Stone of Fear that Yan Junze had placed on the ground, bent down to pick it up, glanced inside the space, then quickly flung it causing the Stone of Fear¡¯s interior to start shaking violently.


    This technique was like shuffling cards, and Yan Junze surmised that he was trying to even out the Fear Value inside the Stone of Fear.


    Rock soon stopped his motions, and at that point, the Stone of Fear actually started making cracking sounds, as if something inside had coalesced.


    Yan Junze watched this scene in surprise, then saw Rock directly break the Stone of Fear in half with his hands as if it had turned into vacuum inside, and a small object rolled out.


    Yan Junze took a careful look, and then was startled, nearly blurting out loud.


    Because he recognized what that was, it was a bead, completely black, as if formed from all the condensed Fear Value.


    ¡°Black Spirit Pearl.¡±


    Yan Junze thought to himself; the full name of his mallet was the ¡°Black Spirit Mallet,¡± which had been modified thanks to a Black Spirit Pearl.


    And now, with only one Black Spirit Pearl inlaid on the surface of his mallet, if he added this new one, its power would certainly far surpass that of before.


    Although he knew what the bead was, Yan Junze did not show it.


    Rock picked up the bead and handed it to him: ¡°This is your reward.¡±


    ¡°What can I use it for?¡± Yan Junze deliberately asked.


    Rock said, ¡°You can continue to absorb fear, or Strange Energy, or even disrupt magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°So many functions!¡± Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, ¡°It can disrupt magnetic fields too?¡±


    Rock nodded, and just then, a ¡®ding¡¯ sound came from the Stone of Fear that he had put on the ground.


    Rock turned around, picked up the Stone of Fear, and did as before, shaking it violently for a moment before breaking it open with both hands, and another Black Spirit Pearl rolled out.


    Without a second thought, Rock picked up this Black Spirit Pearl and handed it again to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Two pearls, both yours.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Yan Junze had to say thanks this time.


    He originally felt like he was about to soar with two Black Spirit Pearls, but now another one had appeared.


    Three Black Spirit Pearls to craft an exquisite mallet; he wondered what power it would have. Perhaps in the future, he would no longer need to activate his Semi-Spirit Body to withstand those strangenesses that couldn¡¯t be dealt with using the Buddhist Exorcism Method.


    Just thinking about it was exciting.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask Rock, ¡°Are Black Spirit Pearls common for you?¡±


    In his view, the way the other party gave him the pearls was as if they cost nothing, hence his question.


    In other words, he was inquiring if there were many Stones of Fear because, without a collection of Fear Value, even with a frightful target, no Black Spirit Pearls would be produced.


    Rock shook his head and said, ¡°Not many, only I can make Black Spirit Pearls, not just anyone can have them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment.


    If he remembered correctly, the Black Spirit Pearl inside his mallet came from a statue belonging to Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan.


    If only Rock could produce Black Spirit Pearls, then how did Lin Yishan get it?


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 Chapter 407 - 312 A Family

    Chapter 407: Chapter 312 A Family


    Yan Junze had no time to think about much else, making sure the Black Spirit Pearl was secure. He already had a plan, all three Black Spirit Pearls would be embedded into the mace, creating a fine weapon.


    ¡°Now you can leave,¡± Rock picked up the Tricky Silk thread clumps he had twined absentmindedly while convincing himself he had lost, and walked towards the hole he had crawled out of.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving? This place is likely to be exposed once my friend leaves.¡±


    ¡°I can leave at any time,¡± Rock had already started crawling into the hole.


    Yan Junze stood there watching his retreating figure, seeing the large and oddly-shaped figure slowly disappear into the hole. Then, after looking around to make sure no one was watching, he too started climbing into the tunnel leading out of the underground space.


    The area was not as tumultuous as when Yan Junze had first arrived; it had become very quiet.


    ...


    If he were to disappear directly from this location now, he feared it might arouse Rock¡¯s suspicion.


    So, for safety, Yan Junze decided to deliberately crawl through the tunnel; he used his hands and feet to advance into the crawlway.


    After crawling in the tunnel for a while, the mission completion message popped up in his mind.


    [Tricky Silk, Terrified (Medium), completed, obtained 1800 Different Dimension Energy points]


    Yan Junze originally had 3600 points, which Rock was unaware of, while Yan Junze had made several mistakes using Tricky Silk to scare the people of the Zeng Family.


    After all, it was his first time handling Tricky Silk; these mistakes greatly reduced the scare¡¯s level of terror. Thus, whenever a mistake occurred, Yan Junze would initiate a brief Rewind, fine-tuning the Tricky Silk.


    And if any mishap happened during the second scare, Yan Junze would silently Rewind those few minutes and try again.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã0


    Regardless, as a novice, he must ensure that each of his scares reached the peak within his capabilities to achieve the maximum effect.


    So, the original 3600 Different Dimension Energy points he had upon entering the underground space were now just over 2700, with an additional 1800 upon completing the [Tricky Silk] mission, totaling over 4500 points.


    The tunnel was pitch black, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to turn on any lights. Instead, after crawling some distance, he initiated the return command.


    The next second, he appeared again in that eerie starry space.


    Standing upon the Void, the familiar prompt for [Butterfly Effect Stabilization] popped up before his eyes.


    [This ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± has generated 3 instances of the Butterfly Effect, with the first effect estimated to consume 400 energy points, producing 654 ripple events. The second effect is estimated to consume 300 energy points, producing 515 ripple events. The third effect is estimated to consume 500 energy points, producing 778 ripple events.]


    Yan Junze paid close attention; this time, there was no occurrence of the lethal ripple events described after the ¡°Great Rewind¡± during the Cheng Jingting incident.


    Therefore, there was no case requiring his personal intervention to adjust ripple events.


    Soon the second message popped up.


    [All above Butterfly Effects can be handled personally or completed automatically by ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡± During the automatic completion, the host can choose to observe from a third-person perspective. Start now?]


    At this point, Yan Junze was very tired. He considered for a moment and decided he didn¡¯t have the energy to return to the scene to watch the entire stabilization process from a third-person perspective. Now, he just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.


    Yan Junze silently thought ¡°Start¡± in his mind, opting not to observe but letting the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± proceed automatically.


    Another line of text appeared.


    [Since the host has chosen to let the Butterfly Effect Stabilization complete itself, the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion is concluded. Locating previous spacetime, returning¡­]


    It wasn¡¯t long before the eerie Void scenery changed abruptly, as if a giant curtain had been swiftly lifted.


    Yan Junze then felt a strong pull from behind, dragging him backwards.


    His vision blurred, he wobbled, already standing in front of the flower bed in the Jian Family¡¯s courtyard, barely avoiding falling into it.


    The round stone was still in front of him, lying there unchanged.


    Footsteps sounded from behind; Jian Tong had added some hot water to Yan Junze¡¯s teacup and was now carrying it outside.


    To Jian Tong, it was just a minute she had spent inside to refill the water, but for Yan Junze, that brief moment had been an experience of life and death. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning to take the teacup, an exhausted Yan Junze managed a weary smile. He took a sip of tea, chatted a few words with Jian Tong, showing curiosity about the stone.


    Setting down the teacup, he took out his phone to take several photos of the stone from different angles, exchanged a few more words with Jian Tong, then excused himself, claiming he needed to rush back to school and departed.


    After leaving the Jian Family, Yan Junze was too tired. He didn¡¯t want to walk to the bus station and instead hailed a taxi on the street, stating he was going to Tianmeng Science University, then collapsed in the back seat and soon fell asleep.


    When he woke up, it was the taxi driver who had woken him. He looked up and saw the entrance to Science and Technology University.


    After paying the fare, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head straight to his dormitory but instead went to visit Xiang Er¡¯s rental house.


    He was simply too exhausted; after maintaining a high level of concentration controlling the Tricky Silk for so long, once his spirit relaxed, all he wanted was to sleep.


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 Chapter 408 - 312 A Family_2

    Chapter 408: Chapter 312 A Family_2


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze felt that resting at Xiang Er¡¯s place would be more reliable.


    When he entered the rental, Xiang Er was sitting on the bed, scrolling through the news on her phone.


    This woman never slept, and was always looking for things to do; Yan Junze no longer had to do laundry. He¡¯d change at school and bring his clothes over in a big bag for Xiang Er to take care of.


    Not only that, but she had also volunteered to wash all of Huahua¡¯s clothes.


    Anyway, there was a washing machine here and half the room could be used to hang clothes, which was very convenient.


    After entering the room, Yan Junze looked up and saw that his clothes had already been washed, exuding the fresh scent of laundry detergent; not only that, but there were also Xiang Er¡¯s clothes hanging in the room.


    ...


    These days, she had also learned to be clean, fearing that the smell of her potions was too strong so she changed her clothes frequently. Under Huahua¡¯s guidance, her choice of attire had indeed become quite fashionable.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes showed a trace of perplexity as he stared at a pair of women¡¯s shorts on the drying rack.


    These shorts were seamless, and their shape was very close to a ¡°thong,¡± plus they were rose red.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but raise his hand, pointing at the shorts, ¡°Xiang Er, you¡­ you wear these now?¡±


    ¡°No, those are Huahua¡¯s,¡± Xiang Er glanced up briefly.


    Yan Junze almost choked, clutching his chest and climbing into bed.


    No wonder, he had been puzzled because he had never seen Huahua¡¯s shorts when hanging laundry in the dorms. It turns out this guy had such tastes, such inclinations.


    Now, Yan Junze was considering whether he should change dorms.


    ¡°Go sit over there on the chair, I need to sleep for a while,¡± Yan Junze said and shortly after lying down, his eyes closed.


    Xiang Er did as told, sitting on the chair and curiously glanced at Yan Junze, wondering why he was so tired.


    She then looked up at Huahua¡¯s shorts again, the style, that pattern, even as an entity of strangeness, Xiang Er involuntarily shivered.


    Soon, the sound of Yan Junze¡¯s soft snoring could be heard, the man was truly exhausted.


    He slept until 10 am the next day, the quality of his sleep was high, making him feel refreshed upon waking.


    Xiang Er was standing outside in the hallway basking in the sun. Hearing noise from the room, she turned and walked in.


    The first thing Yan Junze did when he woke up was to look in the direction of those dazzling shorts, which Xiang Er had tidied away, thankfully, as she understood him well.


    Still, he sat on the bed, in no immediate rush to get up.


    Xiang Er, seeing that he appeared to be thinking about something, stayed quiet, just standing by the door, her back bathed in sunlight, soaking up the warmth.


    At some point, basking in the sun had become Xiang Er¡¯s hobby; she was naturally cold, and the feeling of soaking up the sun gave her a bit of that long-missed warmth and comfort¡ªit was incredibly pleasant.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t actually contemplating anything; upon waking, he had simply noticed something odd in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Looking within the Atlas, the peculiar vibrations emanated from the 12th node, where the most noticeable was the miniature figure of Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    With a thought, Yan Junze instantly released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    As soon as she appeared, her long tongue was hanging out of her mouth, swaying around, but with a slurp, she quickly retracted it back into her mouth.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze said happily, ¡°Zhenzhen, you¡¯ve recovered!¡±


    The look in Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s eyes was much clearer, no longer staring down constantly with her tongue dragging on the ground, silent as before.


    She looked at Yan Junze, smiled faintly, a smile that had been missing for so long, and nodded, ¡°Mm, these past days have felt like a dream, I¡¯ve been so muddled.¡±


    ¡°Had it not been for you jumping onto that strangeness and rescuing me from the Underground Space, my own magnetic field wouldn¡¯t have been disturbed, and I wouldn¡¯t have taken so long to recover,¡± Yan Junze said with relief.


    As he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something.


    He had performed a Great Rewind to save himself, which then caused a ripple event, followed by a Butterfly Effect Stabilization to correct it, and it was after that event Long-tongued Zhenzhen had been affected by the disturbed magnetic field.


    Could it be that during this Butterfly Effect Stabilization, her magnetic field disturbance was somehow adjusted to a certain extent? That might be why she was able to wake up now, or else she might have remained in that chaotic state for some more time.


    Since Yan Junze hadn¡¯t chosen to observe the Butterfly Effect Stabilization as a third-party observer, he was only speculating now and had no evidence.


    However, the outcome was good, as long as Long-tongued Zhenzhen recovered.


    After Zhenzhen spoke, she suddenly felt a rush of panic and immediately turned to look at Xiang Er standing at the door.


    Her whole body tensed up, ready to attack at any moment.


    Though she was in an attack state, Zhenzhen¡¯s body was trembling, overwhelmed by the oppression emanating from Xiang Er, which filled her with immense fear.


    Yan Junze quickly reached out to stop her, ¡°Zhenzhen, no need to be nervous! This is Xiang Er, get to know each other, we¡¯re all family, all family.¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xiang Er was just looking at Zhenzhen, not making any moves.


    Zhenzhen was somewhat surprised, and her attack state quickly dissipated, but she still seemed very cautious when looking at Xiang Er.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and mumbled to himself, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, since we¡¯re all family, let¡¯s all meet today so we can look out for each other later, no need to be so distant.¡±


    With that, he released the two strange babies and the Crawler Monster in succession.


    As soon as the two strange babies appeared, they initially wanted to get excited. Their excited expressions were all over their faces, but they froze instantly, shrieking with a ¡®gah¡¯ sound, and immediately scrambled under the bed.


    On being released, the Crawler Monster immediately sensed that something was off and felt a massive wave of oppression descending upon it. Not diving under the bed like the strange babies, it leaped onto the bed, spreading its arms and facing the direction of the door, it positioned itself in front of Yan Junze.


    As expected, all strangenesses felt the oppression coming from Xiang Er.


    The two strange babies were the most unreliable, and previously, the Crawler Monster was too, but now, it seemed to have learned to protect its master.


    However, when Yan Junze looked down, he saw that although the creature was spreading its arms protectively, it couldn¡¯t resist extending its forked tongue to tidy up its side part, which had become slightly disheveled due to the fright.


    After taking a glance, Yan Junze felt that the creature seemed to have gotten fatter.


    As he looked at Zhenzhen, he noted that she also seemed a bit plumper now.


    It seemed that constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy within the Spacetime Atlas, these strangenesses were living quite comfortably.


    While their abilities weren¡¯t improving quickly, their physical sizes had grown significantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, everything¡¯s fine, the one standing at the door, Xiang Er, is one of us, just like Zhenzhen, all part of the family,¡± Yan Junze patted the side of the bed and called out to those under it, ¡°You two little guys, come out, come and meet.¡±


    The Crawler Monster was slow to react, still spread-eagled in a protective stance.


    Yan Junze patted its head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m touched, now go pull out those two from under the bed.¡±


    The Crawler Monster shot Yan Junze a reproachful look, extended its tongue to fix the side part that Yan Junze had ruffled, and then darted under the bed to chase out the two strange babies.


    Once all the strangenesses were assembled, Yan Junze pointed to Xiang Er at the door and said, ¡°This is Xiang Er, the strongest among you.¡±


    Then, pointing to Zhenzhen, he said to Xiang Er, ¡°This is Long-tongued Zhenzhen, a woman who died by hanging, like the way you died. You two should talk more, but don¡¯t lead these little ones astray.¡±


    After introducing the Crawler Monster and the strange babies one by one, Yan Junze felt a bit sentimental, ¡°Actually, there are two more in our big family, a mother and daughter, no idea where they¡¯ve gone off to. Speaking of Ke¡¯er, I suddenly miss her.¡±


    Aside from Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, who nodded in understanding, the other strangenesses did not know who Yan Junze was talking about.


    After his moment of reflection, Yan Junze suddenly became enthusiastic. He got off the bed, picked up his phone, and transferred some money to Xiang Er, ¡°Xiang Er, go buy some vegetables and hotpot base ingredients, we¡¯re going to have a family hotpot for lunch.¡±


    He paused and then added, ¡°Um, and buy some more incense sticks while you¡¯re at it.¡±


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 Chapter 409 - 313: Dont Look Behind You!

    Chapter 409: Chapter 313: Don¡¯t Look Behind You!


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first time eating a meal cooked by the strangenesses.


    To be honest, Xiang Er¡¯s cooking skills were terrible. In her life, she had always been locked up at home and never came out, relying on the meals her mother brought to her, so her inability to cook was understandable. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fortunately, there was a long-tongued beauty¡ªZhenzhen¡ªnext to her. Zhenzhen¡¯s culinary skills were clearly top-notch, and with a bit of guidance, a pot of aromatic hot pot was soon ready.


    Along with some slices of meat, fish balls, and vegetables, the fragrance wafting from the pot alone was enough to make Yan Junze¡¯s taste buds explode.


    Before long, everyone was sitting around the steaming hot pot, although almost none of the strangenesses present ate from it, except for Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er¡¯s body was very special, as she had tried before; she could eat a bit of food, and as long as she was in a state of possession, she could completely digest what she ingested without producing any waste.


    ...


    But for the current Xiang Er, eating was unnecessary.


    In fact, for Yan Junze, apart from blood, eating hot pot was also unnecessary, but at least eating normally still had its pleasures, such as enjoying the taste.


    When it came to actually eating, Yan Junze didn¡¯t eat much, mainly for the atmosphere.


    Apart from him and Xiang Er, Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the strange baby were just gnawing on incense candles by the side.


    The strange baby was originally mischievous, but right now, with Xiang Er present, the oppressive presence of the strangenesses loomed over them, and these two guys were being much better behaved as they nibbled on their incense candles.


    Sitting upright at the table with knees together, they gnawed methodically at the incense candles, as if they were corn cobs. At first glance, they even looked somewhat cute.


    However, neither Yan Junze nor Xiang Er paid much attention to these two brothers because they were still very sensitive to the gaze of humans; there was no problem only when the strangenesses looked at them.


    Although the Crawler Monster was also eating incense candles, it did so in a leisurely fashion as if it wasn¡¯t particularly fond of it.


    Ever since he came out, nearly every half hour, he had to point a finger at Yan Junze.


    Although he couldn¡¯t speak, Yan Junze understood: the creature was signaling his desire to return. And of course, the place he wanted to go back to was the Spacetime Atlas.


    It seemed the Crawler Monster had taken a liking to the sensation of being constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy. Even eating incense candles, a highly tempting affair for the strangenesses, turned out to be tasteless for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to come out, so stay with everyone a bit longer. Don¡¯t hide in the Atlas all day, or you might end up with social withdrawal or depression,¡± Yan Junze said while eating. ¡°Actually, there are two other strangenesses here, but those two are not very friendly.¡±


    Xiang Er and Zhenzhen looked up at him, surprised.


    ¡°Who else is there?¡± Zhenzhen asked.


    ¡°One in my shadow, one in my dreams,¡± Yan Junze shrugged. ¡°But these two strangenesses are very unfriendly to me. The one in my shadow will seek me out whenever my shadow is formed under the moonlight, wanting to be with me every second. As for the one in my dreams, I still don¡¯t know what she wants exactly. Hm, the last time Xiang Er was with me in the Tianyi District, we already encountered her once.¡±


    That time, Yan Junze happened to dream about the Lantern Woman, and the next day in reality, he met a woman squatting against a wall with her back to him. Xiang Er was present at the time, which prevented the woman from acting against Yan Junze.


    For Yan Junze, these two strangenesses posed too many threats. If possible, it would be best to find a way to sever this danger; otherwise, sooner or later there would be problems.


    After pausing, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Then the last one is Aunt Mei, whom I haven¡¯t seen for a long time.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the two strange babies stopped gnawing on their incense candles and, ignoring their sensitivity to human gazes, looked towards Yan Junze.


    Out of consideration for them, Yan Junze immediately narrowed his eyes to reduce the sensitivity as much as possible.


    ¡°Aunt Mei has been a great help to me and is still guarding the FH Community,¡± Yan Junze said to the strange babies. ¡°We¡¯ll be having a break soon, and we can go back to Shuntian City to see our families.¡±


    Suddenly, the strange babies became excited. While sitting there, they began flailing their arms and legs, but still did not dare to stand up, instead moving restlessly in place.


    Yan Junze looked at Xiang Er and laughed heartily.


    ¡­


    Two weeks passed.


    With the start of the school winter vacation, Yan Junze suddenly realized a problem: did he need to bring Xiang Er with him to Shuntian City during the holiday?


    If he brought her back to Shuntian City, where should she stay? In the basement with Aunt Mei, or should he rent a hotel or an apartment elsewhere?


    Leaving Xiang Er alone in the rental outside Tianmeng Science University until he returned after the winter break might be too long, right?


    There would be many unstable factors during this period.


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze decided to take Xiang Er back to Shuntian City. There was a small hotel opposite his home where she could stay for starters.


    Bringing Xiang Er back, Yan Junze had another consideration. In her life, the Ugly Girl had been kept alone for so many years, feeling very lonely and thus unable to keep up with modern society.


    Now that she was out, she was still alone like before, and Yan Junze felt a sense of compassion.


    If her family before had not given her a sense of home, perhaps she could join his family during the winter vacation and the New Year, and enjoy the atmosphere of a home, which would not be bad either.


    Having packed up what he needed to take back with him at school, Yan Junze went out to buy a suitcase, preparing to go to Xiang Er¡¯s rental place and pack her things into the suitcase.


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 Chapter 410 - 313: Dont Look Behind You!_2

    Chapter 410: Chapter 313: Don¡¯t Look Behind You!_2


    Per the suggestion of the other roommates, everyone agreed to have a meal together before parting ways.


    Yan Junze and Zhao Zheng, along with He Bishou, chatted for a bit, then Yan told them he would head directly to the restaurant outside of the university and wait there before exiting the dorm to his rental place.


    At the dormitory door, he meant to say something to Huahua, but seeing her on the phone, he simply waved his hand and left.


    On the phone with Huahua was a close girlfriend; in fact, almost all of Huahua¡¯s friends were female, and they never treated him differently, with most of their conversations revolving around cosmetics, fashion, and shopping.


    After talking for a while, Huahua said in a slightly coquettish tone, ¡°Honey, I haven¡¯t seen you for so long. You didn¡¯t even tell me you were back in Tianmeng early. Now I¡¯ve already bought my plane ticket and I¡¯m heading back home soon; I won¡¯t be able to join you guys.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice coming from the phone was crisp and pleasant, filled with a tone of regret.


    ...


    Huahua suddenly said, ¡°Hang up, let¡¯s video call so I can see if you¡¯ve changed at all.¡±


    Soon the call ended, and Huahua redialed for a video call, which connected shortly after. The phone screen displayed a young woman.


    This woman was quite good-looking, with an even set of features and shoulder-length hair. She wore a set of light purple and slightly loose fleece pajamas.


    After taking a close look at Huahua, she said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Xie Hua, haven¡¯t seen you for a while and you¡¯ve gotten even prettier. Wow, such nice skin! What brand of skincare products are you using now?¡±


    The background where this girl was standing seemed to be her home, with a glimpse of the living room sofa and the wall clock and painting on the wall.


    Judging by the home d¨¦cor, her family was quite affluent, with high-quality leather on the sofa and expensive wall tiles. Just that exquisite pilgrimage painting embedded in the wall would cost at least a hundred thousand to acquire.


    Huahua rolled her eyes playfully, ¡°Si Nannan, what are you talking about? Wasn¡¯t I fair-skinned before? And call me Huahua, not Xie Hua, that sounds too manly. Hmm, if you want the cosmetics, I¡¯ll mail a set to you when I get home, super whitening¡­¡±


    Si Nannan by now had propped her legs up and was sitting on the couch with a slice of pizza she had just bitten into, smiling, ¡°Thanks in advance, and I won¡¯t even ask about the price, because I know you wouldn¡¯t charge me anyway.¡±


    ¡°You little rascal.¡± Huahua extended her finger, her lips forming a playful smirk, mockingly saying, ¡°Only a semester away and you¡¯ve got a boyfriend, huh? Seem to care less if you still have me as a friend.¡±


    ¡°No, no, not at all.¡± Si Nannan straightened up and replied with a laugh, ¡°You will always be my good sister.¡±


    The Huahua in the video covered her mouth and giggled, ¡°A good sisterly advice for you, eat less high-calorie food, or be careful not to get married.¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not a problem for me, I never gain weight no matter how much I eat.¡±


    Si Nannan shook her head, one hand holding the phone, the other still stuffing large bites of delicious-looking pizza into her mouth.


    Even though Si Nannan always presented herself with grace and sweetness when outside, now that she was alone at home, she didn¡¯t need to mind her manners while eating¡ªthis was the real her.


    Having gotten close with Huahua, she deliberately opened her mouth wide and took another big bite of the pizza in front of her, revealing a satisfied expression, ¡°Mmm, delicious.¡±


    Huahua had been laughing, but after those words, her smile instantly faded as she asked, ¡°Nannan, are you home alone?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without noticing the change in Huahua¡¯s expression, Si Nannan nodded, ¡°Yeah, my parents haven¡¯t returned, it¡¯s just me.¡±


    ¡°Get up, get off the couch,¡± Huahua said with a serious face, no longer joking.


    Si Nannan, sensing something was amiss, asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I was sitting comfortably, why get up?¡±


    Nevertheless, she stood up as told, the pizza still unfinished in her hand.


    ¡°Could you go outside for a bit? It¡¯s too dark inside, and I can¡¯t see you clearly.¡± Huahua continued, her demeanor strict, obviously not kidding.


    Waving her hand, Si Nannan said, ¡°I¡¯m in my pajamas now. If you can¡¯t see me, let me turn on the light.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, that¡¯s fine, go turn it on, quickly,¡± Huahua nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you? So secretive,¡± Si Nannan commented, one hand holding the phone, the screen facing her. She put down the unfinished pizza and walked over to the entrance of the living room, turning on the light.


    ¡°Can you see clearly now?¡± Si Nannan asked.


    Huahua didn¡¯t respond. She just silently watched through the phone¡¯s screen.


    Si Nannan did not notice that Huahua¡¯s eyelids were twitching slightly at this moment, even her lips were trembling very lightly.


    He was restraining himself, holding back something.


    After a while, Huahua spoke again, ¡°Nannan, your signal isn¡¯t very good. Why don¡¯t you go outside because I¡¯m having trouble with the video feed on your side.¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it be a problem with your signal?¡± Si Nannan asked with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely an issue on your side,¡± Huahua explained without a trace of a smile, ¡°Our school has a base station right here. We never have a problem with bad reception. Trust me, go outside, don¡¯t bother changing your clothes, go now. Once you¡¯re out, I¡¯ll tell you something.¡±


    Si Nannan frowned but eventually compromised.


    With one hand holding her phone, which was still in the middle of a video call, she bent down to put on a pair of white casual shoes suitable for walking outdoors, picked up her keys that were on the shoe cabinet by the door, opened the door, and was about to turn back to switch off the lights and close the door.


    Huahua¡¯s voice rose again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the lights and the door, just go, hurry up, hurry¡­¡±


    Hearing Huahua¡¯s suddenly urgent voice, Si Nannan began to panic for no reason, her body trembled, and the hand that was reaching back to turn off the lights quickly retracted. She didn¡¯t care about closing the door either, rushing outside.


    At that moment, Huahua¡¯s voice changed completely, anxious, urgent, extremely tense, almost hysterically shouting from the other end of the video, ¡°Run, Nannan, run fast, don¡¯t look back! Never look back! Run!¡±


    Nannan¡¯s delicate body trembled violently, and she burst into tears, crying as she ran without caring for her image at all.


    The phone in her hand also moved up and down with the swinging of her arm, and at this moment, the image became very unclear.


    ¡­


    A restaurant outside of Tianmeng Science University.


    The 411 dorm often chose this restaurant for their gatherings for two reasons: the food tasted good and the portions were generous; and, the second reason was the affordable prices, fair and square.


    Selling well outside of school, taste, portion size, and price are the key factors, and this restaurant certainly possessed all of these.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had brought Xiang Er to meet his dorm mates other than Huahua.


    On the contrary, right now, Huahua was the only one missing as the other two roommates, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou, were staring unblinkingly at Xiang Er across the dining table.


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t mind, but Yan Junze couldn¡¯t stand these two guys¡¯ thirsty gazes that were as if they hadn¡¯t seen a woman in ages.


    ¡°Enough from you two. Zhao Zheng, are you carrying a generator with you? Look at those electrifying eyes. And you, Fat He, wipe the drool from your chin before it drips into the dishes. Then, call Huahua to hurry him up,¡± Yan Junze said.


    With a naive sincerity, He Bishou wiped his chin with a paper napkin, but instead of calling Huahua, he pointed at Xiang Er and said, ¡°That¡­ that, Junze, are you sure she¡¯s your cousin?¡±


    ¡°Ah, is there a problem?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°This, this isn¡¯t scientific,¡± He Bishou scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Just how ugly do I have to be for all this to seem so unscientific?¡± Yan Junze replied.


    ¡°Alright, alright, Fat He wasn¡¯t referring to you,¡± intervened Zhao Zheng, but his gaze remained on Xiang Er. Turning to her, he said, ¡°Does Sister Xiang Er have a boyfriend? Do you like playing basketball? I could teach you, hands-on.¡±


    ¡°Do you like comics? What about anime adaptations? Do you prefer someone like Fujiwara Sawa or like Edward Elric?¡± Fat He continued.


    Just as the words fell, a figure sat down beside them.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw that Huahua had arrived.


    But at this moment, Huahua¡¯s face was very pale, with beads of sweat on his forehead and a dazed expression.


    ¡°Did you run all the way here?¡± Zhao Zheng said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush; we were all waiting for you.¡±


    Huahua ignored him and suddenly looked up at Yan Junze, ¡°Junze, help me.¡±


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 Chapter 411 - 314: What Exactly is Behind?

    Chapter 411: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?


    ¡°Queuing, queuing, always queuing!!!¡±


    Si Dehua, unable to contain his anger, roared after hanging up the phone.


    His daughter, Si Nannan, shrank fearfully into her mother Rong Guilan¡¯s arms. She was still wearing the pajamas she had on during the video call with Huahua, although they looked dirty, and she hadn¡¯t changed out of them.


    Rong Guilan, feeling distressed, hugged her daughter and gently stroked her shoulder, murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s all right now, it¡¯s all right, it might have been a one-off thing, it¡¯s gone now.¡±


    After speaking, Rong Guilan asked Si Dehua, ¡°Did you get a good look just now? Are you sure that thing isn¡¯t in the house anymore?¡±


    Si Dehua was still fuming from being told they had to queue even after reporting to the Exorcist, his face red with anger. But his tone immediately softened when speaking to his wife, ¡°It¡¯s not here, I¡¯m certain that thing isn¡¯t in the house. The living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom¡ªI even searched inside the walls and the closet four times. I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s not here.¡±


    ...


    Rong Guilan was somewhat surprised and turned to her daughter, asking, ¡°Nannan, are you sure you didn¡¯t see it wrong? Was there really nothing behind you at that time?¡±


    Si Nannan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded, ¡°I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn¡¯t dare to look. Huahua, who was on the video call with me, kept telling me not to look. I was so scared, I ran and ran, and then I fell¡­¡±


    By now, the bruises on Si Nannan¡¯s elbow had been treated with medicine, and her pajamas were obviously dirtied from the fall.


    After receiving a call from Si Nannan claiming she had encountered strangenesses, her parents were terrified and rushed home from work. But until now, they had only heard Si Nannan¡¯s account and hadn¡¯t seen a thing themselves.


    Hearing Si Nannan¡¯s description, Si Dehua said in surprise, ¡°Daughter, are you saying you didn¡¯t see the strangeness that was chasing you either?¡±


    Si Nannan wiped her tears and shook her head while looking wide-eyed, ¡°No, but Huahua saw it. He was on a video call with me and warned me, telling me to run.¡±


    The couple shared a puzzled look, silent, but both sensed the doubt in each other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Huahua is that Xie Hua, the effeminate one?¡± Rong Guilan asked.


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t keep calling people effeminate. Huahua is actually quite a nice person,¡± Si Nannan corrected her.


    ¡°Did he tell you what it was that he saw?¡± Si Dehua asked.


    Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°After I fell, he panicked on the other end, told me to aim my phone camera behind me, and then said he didn¡¯t see the strangeness anymore, but he was very worried about me.¡±


    At this, Si Nannan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, ¡°Oh, right, he said he was going to find a friend for help, claimed that his friend could get rid of strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Which friend? We haven¡¯t even spotted where the strangeness is,¡± Si Dehua¡¯s hunch felt increasingly correct, ¡°Is Huahua the type to joke around? Maybe he saw you were alone at home and decided to scare you on purpose.¡±


    Si Nannan paused, remembering that Huahua did initially ask her if she was alone at home when she sat down on the living room sofa.


    However, upon reflection, Huahua wasn¡¯t the type to joke around with such serious matters.


    Everyone knew that in this era, joking about strangenesses could be a grave matter that might lead to loss of life unless the joker was an idiot.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°And he was really concerned, he wasn¡¯t faking it. He said he would try to get his friend over as soon as possible. He was supposed to leave Tianmeng today, he¡¯s even cancelled his flight because of this.¡±


    The couple exchanged another look and fell silent once more.


    After telling Si Nannan to change her clothes quickly, the parents left their daughter¡¯s bedroom and returned to the living room.


    Rong Guilan glanced towards her daughter¡¯s bedroom and said to Si Dehua, ¡°I don¡¯t think that Xie Hua would deceive our daughter. After all, they have known each other for many years. It¡¯s not worth it for them to scare each other with this kind of thing.¡±


    Si Dehua also nodded, ¡°But I really didn¡¯t see any strangeness, I¡¯ve looked everywhere in and out of the house.¡±


    After all, Si Dehua was just an ordinary man, and searching every nook for a strangeness would require guts he would normally not have if not for the safety of his daughter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see for a bit longer, it¡¯s hard to say what¡¯s going on right now,¡± Rong Guilan sighed.


    She went to the side to boil water for tea for her husband, while Si Dehua glanced at the half-eaten pizza on the coffee table in front of the sofa, apparently ordered by his daughter.


    It must have been bought just before she got scared.


    Picking up a piece, Si Dehua noticed the pizza had gone cold, but he didn¡¯t mind and began to eat it slowly.


    Rong Guilan brewed a pot of tea and carefully placed it in front of Si Dehua, reminding him to be careful not to burn his mouth.


    In this household, Si Dehua was essentially the lord of the manor, not needing to do any housework. He was a senior executive at an international finance company with a generous annual salary, making his family unmistakably affluent.


    After finishing a piece of pizza, Si Dehua picked up his teacup, blew on it twice, and took a sip. At that moment, Rong Guilan brought out washed fruits from the kitchen and placed them on the coffee table. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The door to their daughter¡¯s bedroom opened, and Si Nannan came out in a new set of casual home clothes. Although there was still a look of terror on her face, she seemed in better spirits.


    Scratching her hair, she started to say, ¡°Mom, the decorative button on these clothes came off, have you seen it¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, she noticed her parents staring at her intently.


    Rong Guilan had just turned around, her gaze fixed on her daughter without moving.


    And Si Dehua was about to eat a piece of fruit, but had frozen mid-pose, looking over motionlessly.


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 Chapter 412 - 314: What Exactly is Behind?_2

    Chapter 412: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?_2 Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Si Nannan was taken aback as she realized they were not looking at her, but rather something behind her. In an instant, a chill seeped through her body, making her shiver uncontrollably, her teeth clattering rhythmically.


    ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    After uttering this cry, Si Nannan couldn¡¯t help but tilt her head slightly backward as if attempting to look behind her.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t look back, Nannan, come here¡­¡± Rong Guilan¡¯s voice trembled, shaking as she spoke.


    Si Dehua too, pale-faced, said, ¡°Nannan, walk over slowly, don¡¯t look back, come to us.¡±


    Si Nannan felt as if she were about to descend into madness. Her back was already cold, numb, devoid of any other sensation.


    ...


    She did not understand why her parents¡¯ words were exactly the same as Huahua¡¯s.


    Logically, if there was something strange behind her, whether it was Huahua or her own parents, having seen the strangeness, they should have been scared, feeling horrified, instead of, as now, being scared but still able to keep calm and talk to her, instructing her what to do.


    At that moment, she was both afraid and eager to look back and see for herself what it was.


    Could it be¡­ not a strangeness?


    If it wasn¡¯t a strangeness, what else could it be? Could there be something else in this world that was frightening?


    Engulfed in whimsical ideas, Si Nannan walked towards her mother, too scared to even swing her arms, her expression filled with terror.


    When she reached her mother, Rong Guilan grabbed her and pulled her close, hugging her. Immediately thereafter, Rong Guilan let out a sound of shock.


    A sound of surprise came from behind, from Si Dehua.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone, that thing is gone.¡±


    Hearing this, Si Nannan hurriedly looked back, only to see an empty space behind her, nothing there.


    Si Nannan¡¯s body was still trembling. She clung to her mother without letting go, her voice quivering as she asked, ¡°Mom, what was it just now¡­ was there something behind me?¡±


    After carefully checking behind her daughter and making sure she saw nothing, Rong Guilan slightly relaxed her hold on the girl, about to speak when suddenly Si Nannan let out a scream, her pupils dilated as she stared in Si Dehua¡¯s direction.


    Rong Guilan quickly turned to look and was shocked at what she saw.


    It was only now that Si Nannan finally understood why Huahua and her parents had told her to hurry away and not to look back.


    Because at this moment, on her father, Si Dehua, she saw the same scene.


    ¡°Dad, don¡¯t look back, you, you, come here quickly! Come here!¡± Si Nannan cried out anxiously.


    Si Dehua was stunned for a moment, immediately feeling numbness in his limbs, for he had just seen the scene behind his daughter, so now when Si Nannan told him the same thing, he knew exactly what he was facing.


    His scalp tingled, his body went stiff, and his head roared, his ears buzzing. Si Dehua dared not imagine the scene behind him appearing on himself.


    He stood up from the couch as soft sounds came from behind him, sounds that would have been inaudible without the high degree of attention he was paying to what was happening there.


    Circling the coffee table, he walked stiffly toward the living room door, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t stay at home any longer. Everyone leave, quickly!¡±


    Rong Guilan and Si Nannan rushed toward the living room door, and while Rong Guilan was still holding Si Nannan¡¯s hand, she turned back, and upon seeing what was behind her daughter, she immediately covered her mouth.


    Si Nannan was taken aback by her mother¡¯s reaction, knowing that something must have appeared behind her again, and with a shudder, she froze on the spot.


    ¡°Go on, keep moving, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Rong Guilan covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, yet she managed to speak.


    She never let go of her daughter¡¯s hand and glanced over at Si Dehua, moving toward the living room door, experiencing the same ordeal as her daughter.


    Soon the family reached the door, and Rong Guilan, shivering, reached out to open it. At the sight of what was outside the door, all three inside the house let out a loud scream.


    This scream startled the two people standing outside, too. They were about to knock when the door suddenly opened. The opening itself was surprising enough, but then the people inside the house all let out a sudden scream, startling Yan Junze and Huahua who had just arrived at the door, unprepared.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just the two of them outside; Xiang Er was there too.


    However, Xiang Er was completely unfazed by the shock, instead looking curiously at the people inside and outside the door.


    Of course, the moment Xiang Er appeared, the eerie scene that had been behind Si Dehua and Si Nannan vanished cleanly, as if it had never occurred.


    Nobody outside the door saw anything.


    ¡°Does your friend¡¯s family always welcome guests in this special way?¡± After recovering from the fright, Yan Junze patted his chest and asked Huahua.


    Before Huahua could reply, Si Nannan, who was standing inside the living room door, already started shouting.


    Surprised and delighted, Si Nannan rushed outside, grabbing Huahua¡¯s hand, both of them like the best of friends.


    Si Nannan¡¯s excitement was not without reason. First, Huahua had promised to come, and indeed, she had. Furthermore, Huahua had said she would find someone to perform an exorcism for them. Now that she hadn¡¯t come alone, it was very likely that the other two people were there for the exorcism.


    The prospect of having the supernatural issue resolved in such a short time was like striking the jackpot for Si Nannan, who had just gone through the ordeal of not knowing how long she would have had to wait for this special treatment.


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 Chapter 413 - 314: What Exactly is Behind?_3

    Chapter 413: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?_3


    By then, Rong Guilan had glanced behind her husband and daughter and found that there was nothing there. The weirdness from moments ago had vanished.


    Then, the couple turned their gaze to Yan Junze and Xiang Er.


    They recognized Huahua, so these two strangers must naturally be the ones Huahua had called upon to dispel the strangenesses. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, their savior had arrived!


    When Huahua first sought Yan Junze¡¯s help, he didn¡¯t think twice. After learning it was about strangenesses, he agreed immediately.


    Because he had never seen Huahua looking like that, clearly terrified, and his relationship with this girl named Si Nannan was very strong. Since she lived within Tianmeng City, helping her out was just a matter of changing a plane ticket.


    ...


    On the way there, Huahua had given Yan Junze a detailed description of what he had seen.


    It turned out that while Huahua was chatting with Si Nannan, he suddenly noticed an extra figure behind her.


    At first, the figure was not very clear, and Huahua thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But soon, he realized something was amiss, and asked Si Nannan if she was home alone.


    Upon receiving a negative response, Huahua realized that his best girlfriend might have encountered a strangeness.


    Because the figure behind Si Nannan was getting clearer.


    At the time, Si Nannan was sitting on the sofa, snacking and video chatting with Huahua, while the emerging figure was behind the sofa, near the curtains by the window.


    Even when the figure became fully clear in the video, which was when Huahua saw it, he still half-guessed that he might be seeing things.


    Not for any other reason, but because the clear figure was no other than his best friend herself¡ªSi Nannan.


    The person appearing behind Si Nannan was Si Nannan herself.


    However, the Si Nannan at the back wasn¡¯t facing the video. She was moving backwards, back towards it.


    From Huahua¡¯s perspective, his actual best friend was chatting with him, while another Si Nannan appeared behind her, this one facing completely away.


    Although she was facing away, the figure had short bobbed hair, was wearing light purple pajamas, and moved casual just like Si Nannan herself, with no distinction whatsoever.


    After noticing the peculiarity, Si Nannan casually flipped her hair, slightly tilting her head, and the ¡°herself¡± behind her did the same, almost as if she were about to turn around.


    At that moment, Si Nannan looked back at the video again, her head not turning around, so the ¡°herself¡± behind her didn¡¯t turn either. Otherwise¡­


    Having observed all these bizarre events, Huahua then urged Si Nannan to run as soon as she got out the door and not to look back, not to turn her head no matter what.


    No one could guarantee what terrifying scene might occur the moment Si Nannan turned around if the ¡°herself¡± behind her also turned her head.


    Moreover, it seemed that Si Dehua and his wife shared Huahua¡¯s view, because their daughter nearly turned back, and the ¡°herself¡± behind her also turned her head halfway, just like Si Nannan, not completely around.


    That¡¯s why, terrified as they were, they quickly urged Si Nannan not to look back.


    ¡°This guy, kind of interesting!¡±


    Yan Junze, standing outside the house, had already become intrigued. He glanced at Si Dehua and Rong Guilan inside the door, who still wore horrified expressions, but upon seeing him, their faces showed a mix of excitement and joy.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately enter but moved closer to the front door and took a moment to observe the household¡¯s layout, then finally stepped into the Si Family¡¯s living room.


    At that very moment, the task information popped up in his mind.


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 Chapter 414 - 315: The Back (Part 1)

    Chapter 414: Chapter 315: The Back (Part 1)


    [Task Name: Shadowed Back;]


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task Background: None


    Task Description: Attachment is its ultimate goal, all else is insignificant;


    Task Reward: 800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Would you like to see the moment when only the shadows of this family remain?


    ...


    Task Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, You might need to pay attention to certain objects;


    Note: The presence of a more powerful strangeness nearby does not necessarily mean it will be scared away.]


    Truth be told, Yan Junze found the task information somewhat anticlimactic. Although it appeared to be similar to other tasks, something seemed to be missing.


    Yan Junze remembered when the task ¡°Look at Her Face¡± concerning the Back-faced Woman was released, the ¡°Task Background¡± section was also blank.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time the task appeared with a blank ¡°Task Background¡±, but the level of this ¡°Shadowed Back¡± task was a notch lower; ¡°Look at Her Face¡± was at a hair-raising level, whereas this one was merely trembling with fear.


    Moreover, as Yan Junze read the task information, he got the impression that it was haphazardly put together, as if the words could convey too little of the story.


    He, along with Xiang Er and Huahua, walked into the living room one after another, not bothering to change their shoes, and then sat on the sofa.


    The Si Family had initially planned to flee, but now that the Exorcists had arrived, they felt somewhat relieved, though still feeling that everything in the house had become eerie and hair-raising.


    They followed back to the sofa, and Rong Guilan closed the living room door behind them.


    ¡°How should we address you, Master?¡± Si Dehua asked with respect, seated beside Yan Junze.


    Rong Guilan had already gone to pour tea, and Si Nannan originally wanted to help, but now she was so scared that she felt weak all over, and even standing up was an effort.


    ¡°My name is Yan Junze. I¡¯m studying at Tianmeng Science University, and I share a dorm room with Huahua. We¡¯re also part of an Exorcist team¡­¡±


    ¡°It really is an Exorcist!!!¡± Si Dehua was secretly thrilled.


    Looking over at Rong Guilan, who was bringing over the tea, and then at his daughter, he saw a hint of elation in everyone¡¯s eyes. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They had thought the person Huahua called for help might just be someone who knew a bit about the matter or even someone who did traditional exorcisms, but they¡¯d actually managed to summon a real Exorcist.


    Moreover, hearing Yan Junze mention that he was already part of an Exorcist team while still in university, it was hard to fathom such a talent.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fell upon Si Nannan, and he asked, ¡°Before Huahua warned you from the video, did you notice anything unusual around you recently?¡±


    Si Nannan thought for a moment and shook her head, ¡°It seems¡­ not, but I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    Her mind had been overrun by fear time and time again, so it was normal for her to be confused now. If she had to recall in detail, she couldn¡¯t possibly remember everything on the spot.


    ¡°Who else encountered the weirdness just now?¡± Yan Junze asked further.


    ¡°Me.¡± Si Dehua raised his hand, ¡°It was right behind me, my wife and they all saw it.¡±


    ¡°Then have you encountered any other strange events these past few days?¡±


    ¡°No, I think everything felt normal, like¡­ like the strangeness just sprouted from inside our house.¡± Si Dehua looked around with a touch of fear.


    Useful information was still scarce, Yan Junze sighed inwardly and turned his attention back to the task information.


    The task clearly described the ultimate goal of the weirdness; it wanted to attach itself to a target. And the likely outcome of attachment was the family eventually being left with nothing but their shadows.


    What a peculiar method of attachment?!


    Yan Junze then looked toward Xiang Er, who was sitting on the side, looking very reserved. She had never been to a stranger¡¯s house before as a guest.


    Now, Yan Junze was like her guardian, bringing her to visit someone. So, at the moment, Xiang Er sat upright on the couch with her hands on her knees, quiet and straight-faced, like a primary school student in the midst of a lesson.


    Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°Xiang Er, why don¡¯t you go out for a walk? Don¡¯t go too far, and come back when I call you.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded, stood up, and left the Si Family¡¯s home.


    The Si family members were somewhat perplexed by her sudden departure. They looked up to see her off, but noticed that Xiang Er¡¯s expression didn¡¯t show even a hint of unwillingness or anger.


    Everything seemed natural.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡± Si Dehua couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like this,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°Xiang Er¡¯s special constitution is too strong. If she stays here, the weirdness simply won¡¯t dare show up, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of it either.¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone appeared shocked, especially Huahua.


    Huahua said, ¡°I¡¯ve known Xiang Er for so long and had no idea she was this amazing.¡±


    Yan Junze mysteriously added, ¡°It seems like everyone in our clan has some kind of talent in this area.¡±


    Hearing this, the gaze of everyone present towards him naturally grew warmer. Nobody would refuse to befriend such a remarkable person in this era.


    Especially Huahua, who felt honored at that moment.


    With Xiang Er¡¯s constitution being so formidable, no ghost or deity would dare approach¡ªa natural lightning rod when taken outdoors. In today¡¯s day and age, that was a treasure, and she was beautiful, too. Whoever married her would be fortunate.


    The main thing was Huahua didn¡¯t fancy that sort, otherwise, even he might have been tempted.


    Yan Junze had to send Xiang Er away, or else with her presence, the weirdness would definitely not emerge, and after they left in vain, the weirdness would surely return.


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 Chapter 415 - 315: The Back (Part 2)

    Chapter 415: Chapter 315: The Back (Part 2)


    Unless the strangeness appeared in a flash and Xiang Er immediately eliminated the opponent, it now seemed that the creature was obviously a very cunning kind.


    Not long after the living room door was closed, everyone inside fell silent, Yan Junze stopped asking questions and just sipped his tea, quietly waiting.


    Seeing his demeanor, no one else spoke up.


    The three members of the Si Family sat together, Huahua and Yan Junze sat next to each other.


    A few moments later, Yan Junze said, ¡°Like this, you three separate and don¡¯t sit together. Go about whatever you need to do now, you don¡¯t have to keep sitting. I¡¯ll be observing you.¡±


    ¡°Right, this way the strangeness might not appear,¡± Si Dehua also said, then pointed at the freshly washed fruit on the coffee table, ¡°Master, have some fruit. Guilan, go check how much fresh food we have in the kitchen, get ready, we¡¯ll have the master stay for dinner.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my face,¡± Si Nannan also stood up and reached out her hand to Huahua, ¡°Huahua, come with me.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Huahua quickly went forward, linking arms with her good friend as they entered the bathroom.


    Si Dehua and Rong Guilan looked at each other and gave a wry smile.


    Yan Junze, seeing how natural Huahua acted in this scene, couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Everyone busied themselves, Yan Junze occasionally stood up to walk around, checking if Rong Guilan in the kitchen showed any abnormalities, and then looking behind Si Dehua to see if anything unusual was there. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sounds of water and the conversation between Si Nannan and Huahua came from the bathroom, and about twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opened and the two girls, still arm-in-arm, walked out.


    At that moment, Yan Junze, who had been alert to the surroundings, fixed his gaze behind the two girls and did not look away.


    The two who had just walked into the living room were startled when they saw Yan Junze¡¯s expression.


    Yan Junze did not speak to Si Nannan but called out to Huahua, ¡°Huahua, come here first.¡±


    Si Nannan¡¯s delicate body trembled, she clearly knew what Yan Junze had seen behind her, she stood still, not daring to move, her face full of fear, looking like she could cry at any moment.


    Rong Guilan rushed out of the kitchen, and Si Dehua also left the sofa, standing firm next to Yan Junze, and all eyes fell on what was behind Si Nannan.


    Behind her, at this moment, another Si Nannan was standing with her back to everyone, less than one meter away from the original.


    Si Nannan was wearing a pink casual home outfit, and the ¡°Si Nannan¡± behind her wore the same clothes, no longer the light purple pajamas she wore when she first appeared.


    After Si Nannan stopped and didn¡¯t move, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± following behind her also stopped and stood still, not making a single sound.


    Reflecting on the previous encounter, because she was afraid something might happen to her daughter, Rong Guilan was almost about to shout out, telling her daughter not to look behind and to hurry to her side.


    Because the previous approach to dealing with this strangeness seemed to still be effective, as long as you don¡¯t look behind you or look back, the strangeness following you seems to just follow the original and won¡¯t engage in any other dangerous behaviors.


    However, no one knew how long this following would last, so escaping from it as soon as possible was the best option.


    Nevertheless, this time Yan Junze was not prepared to do that; if he didn¡¯t try, he wouldn¡¯t know how this shadowy strangeness managed to perform possession.


    And what actions would follow after the possession.


    ¡°Nannan, take two steps forward,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Si Nannan trembled all over and, under everyone¡¯s gaze, she obediently walked two steps forward, standing in the living room.


    At the same moment, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± behind her also stepped back, maintaining a distance of less than one meter between them.


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze then said, ¡°Nannan, slowly turn around, take a look at what is behind you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°That probably¡­ isn¡¯t safe.¡±


    ¡°Junze?¡±


    Rong Guilan, Si Dehua, and Huahua all spoke out at once, clearly startled by Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion.


    Yan Junze raised his hand to silence the others, and continued, ¡°Nannan, slowly turn around, slowly look behind you, don¡¯t be nervous, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat curious about the mission prompt that mentioned, ¡°Do you want to see the moment when this family is left with only a shadow?¡± If one was really possessed, how could there possibly be a moment when only the shadow remained?


    He had to understand what the strangeness sought to achieve, by what means, and what the final effects would be.


    Perhaps only then could he completely eliminate it. After all, this creature was very cunning; to have Xiang Er set up an ambush at home, one did not know how long it would take to catch it off guard and eliminate the strangeness when it appeared.


    Si Nannan¡¯s eyes, filled with terror, focused on her parents. Si Dehua was also looking at her, his expression anxious, but he did not speak out in opposition again.


    Rong Guilan no longer showed any reaction.


    Si Nannan nodded lightly, standing still, suppressing the overwhelming fear rising inside her and slowly turning her head backward.


    At the same moment, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± who had her back to everyone also began to turn her head slowly, moving at the same pace as the real person. However, the direction was the opposite; while the real Si Nannan turned to the left, the shadowy ¡°Si Nannan¡± turned to the right.


    Seeing this, everyone held their breath, aside from Yan Junze. They dared not even breathe heavily, their eyes intently fixed on the ¡°Si Nannan¡± who was turning around.


    At this moment, Si Nannan felt as though her neck was no longer her own, becoming stiff while she managed to turn it mechanically. She wanted to close her eyes so that it wouldn¡¯t matter what she saw upon turning¡ªbut fear would not grip her.


    Yet a voice from her subconscious told her not to close her eyes, that she must see what it was, must witness that entity. Driven by intense curiosity, she blinked but did not shut her eyes; instead, her eyes widened as she looked behind.


    Just as Si Nannan completed her turn, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± with her back to everyone fully turned her head as well.


    What came into everyone¡¯s view was a face identical to the original, including hairstyle and clothes. The only difference, perhaps, was the expression on this other face at this moment.


    Si Nannan looked stunned, her expression horrified, as she stared directly at the ¡°self¡± in front of her. Her gaze, as if fixed in place, could no longer be retracted.


    The ¡°Si Nannan¡± opposite her, however, had the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, a hint of a smirk on her face, as she looked back at the true Si Nannan with unblinking eyes and a rigid smile.


    The two of them just stared at each other, motionless for the time being.


    ¡°Nannan?¡± Rong Guilan couldn¡¯t help but call out.


    The real Si Nannan, keeping her turned position, did not turn back. Instead, her body began to rotate in the direction of her head, slowly turning around.


    At the same time, the eerie ¡°Si Nannan¡± also began to turn, keeping her head still as her body faced everyone.


    Seconds later, the two Si Nannans stood facing each other.


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, touched his chin thoughtfully. He neither spoke nor immediately stepped forward.


    ¡°Daughter?!¡± Si Dehua sensed something was wrong and called out involuntarily.


    ¡°Nannan, answer me, turn back! Answer me!¡± Rong Guilan¡¯s tone became frantic.


    Huahua approached Yan Junze, looking at him anxiously, then at Si Nannan who was showing only her backside to everyone, but she said nothing.


    Nannan remained with her back to everyone, giving no answer or reaction.


    Just then, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± with the uncanny smile suddenly stepped forward, joining the true Si Nannan on the same line.


    Then she took another step forward, passing the true Si Nannan.


    After passing her true self, the real Si Nannan showed no reaction, still facing away from everyone, motionless.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    The ¡°Si Nannan¡± who moved forward tilted her head, maintaining that odd smile, looked at everyone, and finally settled her gaze on Rong Guilan, speaking in a tone identical to the original.


    ¡°Mom¡­ Mom.¡±


    Rong Guilan and Si Dehua shuddered, this nightmarish scene rendering them speechless for a moment.


    Realization dawned on Yan Junze upon seeing this.


    It seemed one truly shouldn¡¯t turn around, for once you do, the fake Si Nannan also turns and then¡­ takes over the original¡¯s place.


    And from then on, the real daughter left to the Si family would be just the never-returning backside of Si Nannan.


    ¡°So it¡¯s not an actual possession; this kind of attachment is more like looking for a replacement!¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, but then another thought suddenly arose, and he immediately looked at Si Dehua.


    Since this strangeness sought a substitute, why provide two at once, and why appear simultaneously?


    It seemed not just one strangeness was searching for a replacement; Yan Junze came to understand.


    Rewind!


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 Chapter 416 - 316: The Back (Part 2)

    Chapter 416: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)


    This time, Yan Junze set the Rewind to the moment right after he had called Xiang Er out of the Si Family house.


    However, he didn¡¯t let everyone go about their own business to lure the strangeness into appearing, having already seen the scene of finding a substitute very clearly.


    Sitting on the sofa, Yan Junze fell into deep thought, and no one spoke.


    Just like before the Rewind, the three members of the Si Family sat close together, with Si Nannan snuggling against her mother.


    With everyone huddled together, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, the strangeness wouldn¡¯t appear.


    As long as the three of them separated, it would give the strangeness looking for a substitute the opportunity to intervene.


    ...


    Yan Junze, pondering, looked up at the three members of the Si Family and asked, ¡°Was Nannan the first to be targeted?¡±


    Si Nannan nodded.


    Huahua also said, ¡°It was me who first noticed she was being targeted during a video call.¡±


    ¡°And then who?¡± Yan Junze asked again, his gaze shifting between Si Dehua and Rong Guilan.


    ¡°Then it was me,¡± Si Dehua said, ¡°After a strangeness appeared behind my daughter, then they discovered that I too was being targeted by the strangeness, in the same situation as Nannan.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Yan Junze nodded, looking towards Rong Guilan.


    Rong Guilan shook her head and said, ¡°So far, I haven¡¯t noticed anything unusual.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I want to confirm a suspicion. Please aunty stay alone for a while, either in the bedroom or the bathroom, and stay there for about ten minutes before coming out. If you notice anything unusual during this time, you can come out immediately. Remember, no matter what you hear behind you, don¡¯t turn around, just come right out.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Rong Guilan startled and looked towards her husband and daughter.


    Si Dehua and Si Nannan were also somewhat frightened, with Si Dehua saying, ¡°Is this¡­ dangerous?¡±


    Yan Junze merely wanted to convey that with him there, no matter how dangerous, nothing was a Rewind couldn¡¯t solve, and if it didn¡¯t work, they would try two more times.


    Not to Rewind until the strangeness suspected a ghostly trick would be admitting defeat.


    After assuring them, Rong Guilan relaxed, tugged her husband¡¯s hand, hugged her daughter, then stood up, trembling with fear, glanced towards the direction of the bedroom, and began to walk slowly over.


    The feeling was no different from being taken to the execution ground.


    ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯s okay,¡± Yan Junze still encouraged from behind, like a spiritual guide, ¡°If you feel something strange behind you, remember not to turn back; just come out, leave the rest to me. If nothing unusual happens, stay for the full ten minutes before coming out.¡±


    Rong Guilan, trembling, entered the bedroom and, following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, closed the bedroom door behind her.


    The living room sank once again into a silence, as Si Dehua and his daughter occasionally glanced in the direction of the bedroom, then turned to look at Yan Junze, seeing that he remained composed, showing no particular reaction.


    A few minutes passed, and no sound came from the house, yet Si Dehua had clearly become increasingly restless.


    ¡°Four minutes left,¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    With Yan Junze present, Si Dehua didn¡¯t get up, but he was all ears, constantly listening for any sound from the bedroom.


    After ten minutes, the bedroom door opened, and Rong Guilan emerged with a terrified expression, shivering as if something was indeed following her. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone immediately turned their gaze behind her, but saw nothing.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Could it be that these strangenesses are seeking only the two members of the Si Family, Si Dehua and Si Nannan?¡±


    At that moment, he recalled the information from the task prompt, which in prompt 2, indicated the need to pay attention to certain items.


    His gaze left the Si family, falling upon the coffee table in front of him.


    At that moment, the coffee table held an ashtray, washed fruits, freshly brewed tea, and a box of pizza that was opened but not finished.


    Yan Junze pointed to the items on the coffee table, asking, ¡°Which of the three of you did not drink tea?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Si Nannan said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t either,¡± Rong Guilan answered.


    ¡°Who didn¡¯t eat the fruit?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Si Nannan repeated.


    ¡°Who didn¡¯t have the pizza?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Rong Guilan answered again.


    Yan Junze paused, his gaze settling on Si Dehua and Si Nannan, ¡°Which means, both of you ate the pizza at the same time?¡±


    Si Dehua and Si Nannan looked at each other, nodding simultaneously, though they were clueless about what Yan Junze meant by his question.


    Yan Junze stopped talking and just stared at the half box of pizza that had long since gone cold.


    If it was indeed eating this pizza that led to being targeted by the strangeness, what kind of mechanism was this? What kind of strangeness attaches itself to food, causing humans to start seeking a substitute after consumption?


    Up until now, Yan Junze was merely speculating, and if not for the task prompt¡¯s information, reminding him to be wary of certain items, he wouldn¡¯t have paid any attention to the assortment of items on the coffee table.


    About a minute later, Yan Junze reached out and, to the astonishment of everyone, picked up a piece of pizza and began eating it.


    The only way to prove his suspicion correct was to eat a slice of pizza himself; then everything would be clear.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t let others get involved anymore, eating this piece of pizza himself wasn¡¯t an issue¡ªafter all, the strangenesses following Yan Junze weren¡¯t limited to just one, and if push came to shove, he could Rewind.


    In terms of power, the strangenesses following him were leagues beyond the one for this task, the likes of Fang Ning and Lantern Woman Ning Ji.


    In terms of threat to Yan Junze, this strangeness presented no pressure to him.


    ¡°Master, is there¡­ something wrong with this pizza?¡± Si Dehua couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°If there¡¯s a problem, then you shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze had already eaten the piece of pizza he held in his hand.


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 Chapter 417 - 316: The Back (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 417: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)_2


    Yan Junze wiped his mouth with a paper towel he grabbed from the table and cleaned his hands before standing up.


    ¡°You guys sit tight; stay together, I¡¯m going to the bathroom,¡± he said.


    Everyone watched him enter the bathroom, after which Yan Junze locked the door from the inside, and no sound was heard.


    After he was done, he didn¡¯t leave the bathroom immediately. If the previous assumption was correct¡ªthat Si Nannan and Si Dehua had eaten the pizza and then encountered the strangeness¡ªthen having eaten the pizza himself, he should also encounter the strangeness now.


    All that remained was to see when it would show up; most importantly, he needed a private space to make the phenomenon manifest quickly.


    Thus, Yan Junze remained standing in the bathroom, facing the mirror, occasionally checking his phone for time, and from time to time, through the mirror, checking behind himself.


    ...


    Ten minutes quickly passed, but throughout he didn¡¯t turn around, simply opting to observe behind him through the reflection in the mirror.


    However, there was nothing behind him.


    Could it be that it wasn¡¯t due to the pizza?


    Yan Junze was somewhat perplexed.


    Still, he didn¡¯t turn around to look directly; after checking once again in the mirror, he opened the bathroom door and walked out.


    Seeing him come out, everyone in the living room looked up and towards him.


    But soon, they couldn¡¯t help but shift their gazes, expressions turning to surprise as they looked behind Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze faltered, stopping in his tracks as he noticed the expressions of horror on the faces of those looking behind him.


    ¡°Did it appear?¡± Yan Junze asked calmly.


    All of them nodded.


    It was now certain that the strangeness could only be seen with the naked eye and would not reflect in the mirror, which was why he couldn¡¯t tell whether it had appeared by looking into the mirror.


    The thought of having a double standing right behind him, an exact copy facing away, was intriguing, and a strong curiosity arose in him, giving him the urge to turn around and take a look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t follow me,¡± he told everyone.


    Without any delay, he stepped backward toward the bathroom he had just exited, and as he moved back, the strangeness behind him, in actuality, walked forward, always keeping less than a meter¡¯s distance from him.


    Walking backward into the bathroom, the door closed behind him.


    Only then did the people in the living room come back to their senses, looking at each other with frightened faces, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay; he¡¯ll figure it out. He¡¯s an exorcist,¡± Huahua kept reassuring herself.


    Although none of them had the memory of the strangeness seeking a doppelganger from the last rewind, everyone could guess that one must not turn around at this moment, as the behavior of the mysterious entity was very peculiar, and turning around would surely lead to unexpected events.


    Of course, if Huahua were to witness what happened in the bathroom the next second, he might be so angry he¡¯d spit blood.


    In the bathroom, Yan Junze first checked the mirror and, as expected, saw nothing, but he was confident that the creature was right behind him.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze began to turn around¡­


    At the same time, the mysterious entity mimicking Yan Junze also started to turn its head, the speed of its movement matching his identically.


    As he had already observed the entire process of Si Nannan turning around, Yan Junze knew very well that the entity was also turning to look at him.


    So, as his head turned partway, he stopped. At this angle, even the periphery of his vision could catch sight of a person standing behind him who had also partially turned their head toward him.


    Wearing the same clothes, keeping the same posture as he turned his head.


    Yan Junze could even faintly make out half of the other¡¯s side profile.


    The expression on that side profile was exactly like the fake Si Nannan¡¯s: an eerie, barely there smile. Only now, that smile belonged to Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze stopped turning, the other stopped as well.


    And then, Yan Junze unleashed the Black Spirit Mallet.


    He didn¡¯t believe the impostor could mimic a mallet out of thin air.


    Thud!


    The surprise hit, due to the close distance, the unpredictability, and Yan Junze¡¯s precision, landed solidly on the fake Yan Junze¡¯s head, leaving an indelible mark of the mallet¡¯s texture on that sinisterly smiling side profile.


    At the moment of impact, the fake Yan Junze was completely baffled, still maintaining its head-turning posture while the real Yan Junze had not only turned his head but also completely turned his body around.


    After the first blow, hits from the Black Spirit Mallet rained down like a torrential downpour.


    And the target was all aimed at that smile which Yan Junze found so disgustingly creepy, pretending to be mysterious, and was actually nauseating.


    Instantly, the fake Yan Junze¡¯s cheeks vanished, revealing another man¡¯s face that had never been seen before. However, that face too was unclear at the moment as the muscles of the cheek twisted and the skin clumped together under the incessant battering of the mallet, creating turbulent ripples.


    What was most important was that the strange entity had never anticipated that in this situation, it could be injured by a physical weapon.


    And to add to its confusion, the stunning woman who had previously threatened it with a mighty weirdness pressure had left the room; nobody here should have been able to threaten it anymore, so what was with this unremarkable young man wielding a mallet? S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 418 - 316: The Back (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 418: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)_3


    It did not feel any intimidation from Yan Junze, but the fact that it was being brutally beaten by him was undeniable.


    The beating sounds from the bathroom quickly alarmed the people in the living room. Si Dehua was the first to rush over, followed closely by everyone else. They huddled at the bathroom door, listening intently to the noises inside without daring to breathe too loudly.


    There were no cries of pain; in fact, this strangeness wouldn¡¯t make any sound other than the heavy thuds of blows and Yan Junze gasping for air.


    Before long, Yan Junze was still striking, and as he did so, he spoke out, ¡°Seeking a vessel, seeking a vessel, could you not have chosen something better to do than seek a vessel? And above all, on my head. Do you know how many strangenesses are after me? There are loads. To find me, you¡¯ll need to take a number!¡±


    Si Nannan, looking terrified, turned to Huahua. Huahua believed that her best friend¡¯s sense of alarm came not from fear of that strangeness.


    Shivering, Si Nannan said, ¡°Your¡­ exorcist friend, he¡¯s quite vicious.¡±


    ...


    Huahua forced a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve just realized, even strangenesses fear him.¡±


    In the bathroom, he watched as the strangeness in front of him gradually shrank and finally condensed into an indescribable mass.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, slowing down the frequency of his blows, but he continued to beat the thing ruthlessly. About five minutes later, the condensed mass had completely disappeared, and only then did he stop.


    If he could perform exorcisms in a more relaxed manner, he wouldn¡¯t want to resort to violence. The task was clear, though. The creature¡¯s ultimate goal was to possess, leaving no other option. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since reasoning was out of the question, his Black Spirit Mallet was the final argument.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that the other two Black Spirit Pearls he had just obtained were not yet fixed into the mallet, Yan Junze was certain that, given the low resistance of the creature before him, a single strike would have sufficed.


    After a while, he stowed the mallet away, opened the bathroom door and, mimicking the Crawler Monster (though certainly not with his tongue), tidied up his hair, and walked out.


    Those at the door immediately looked inside the bathroom but saw nothing.


    Yan Junze returned to the living room couch, took a deep gulp of tea, caught his breath, and said, ¡°From now on, everyone can go about their own business. That strangeness should be eradicated, but I¡¯ll keep observing.¡±


    No sooner had he finished speaking than a message popped up in his mind, indicating task completion.


    [Shadow, Trembling with Fear (Medium), completed, gained 800 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Yan Junze¡¯s lips curled into a slight smile; his speculation had been correct. There was only one strangeness, but it could seek vessels from multiple people at once. As long as it achieved its purpose with one person, it¡¯d be satisfied.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, the three members of the Si Family were somewhat skeptical, after all, they had only heard the sounds of beating from the bathroom and hadn¡¯t seen any strangeness themselves.


    But since Yan Junze had said so, they did not dare show their doubts and scattered to their own devices, with Si Dehua chatting with Yan Junze, Si Nannan and Huahua heading to the bedroom, and Rong Guilan busy in the kitchen.


    Nothing unusual occurred until dinnertime came.


    At this moment, the Si Family¡¯s hearts finally began to settle, warming up to Yan Junze even more.


    After calling Xiang Er back, they all sat down for dinner, then Yan Junze excused himself, saying it was getting late and he had to pack his luggage at the university, to catch a flight to Shuntian the next day.


    At his departure, Si Dehua thoughtfully handed him a bank card with a string of numbers written on the back.


    Although he was helping Huahua, Yan Junze, knowing that the Si Family was affluent, did not refuse and accepted the card.


    ¡°The world these days is full of oddities. Be careful with everything, and throw away that pizza you ordered. It¡¯s not safe to eat,¡± he advised.


    With those parting words, Yan Junze left with Huahua and Xiang Er, departing from the Si Family home.


    They hailed a taxi on the street. Only after offering to pay double the fare did the driver agree to go to the suburban Science and Technology University.


    However, no sooner had the three of them settled into the car when Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang. To his surprise, the caller was He Yun, the liaison of the exorcist team, whom he hadn¡¯t been in contact with for a long time.


    After pressing the accept call button, Yan Junze said, ¡°Hello, He Yun, it¡¯s been a while since we last talked.¡±


    He Yun seemed to have recovered from the traumatic incident involving her brother¡¯s death during the Person in the Mirror task. Her voice was calm, exuding professionalism, ¡°Hello, Yan Junze. We have a new task that requires your attention.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Yes, right now.¡±


    ¡°I was planning to return to Shuntian tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Considering your capabilities, it might delay you for a day or two. It¡¯s a superior¡¯s command, sorry about this,¡± He Yun¡¯s tone embarrassed.


    Yan Junze always had smooth dealings with her and bore no ill will towards her personally. He nodded and said, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s the task?¡±


    ¡°In recent days, near your university, which is also Southern District under Tianmeng, we¡¯ve received several reports of strangeness. Multiple families have been harassed by strangenesses with varying symptoms, but one thing was common before the incidents.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°They all had ordered takeout.¡±


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 Chapter 419 - 317: Takeout (Part One)

    Chapter 419: Chapter 317: Takeout (Part One)


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze said to Huahua and Xiang Er, ¡°We¡¯ve encountered an unexpected incident and might have to stay here for the night, so I won¡¯t be returning to school today.¡±


    He then said to Huahua, ¡°If you want to go back, you can take this car. Xiang and I will get off here.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Huahua immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum, ¡°No way, no way, I¡¯m not going back to school alone. Everyone in the dormitory has left, and if I go back alone, I¡¯ll be scared to death at night. No, I¡¯ll stay here with you guys.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and said to the taxi driver, ¡°Brother driver, please stop ahead; we won¡¯t be going to the Science and Technology University anymore.¡±


    The Si family¡¯s home was located in the Southern District of Tianmeng, which happened to be the area where He Yun mentioned the sudden outbreak of strangenesses.


    When Yan Junze heard about the commonalities among the families that had experienced these strangenesses, his heart skipped a beat, recalling the pizza that had been on the coffee table in the Si family¡¯s living room.


    ...


    Clearly, Si Nannan and Si Dehua, including himself later on, were entangled by the strangeness looking for a substitute because they had eaten a piece of that pizza.


    Now, it seemed that the Si family was not the only one that had been targeted by the strangenesses more than once; several families in the vicinity of the Southern District were beleaguered by strangenesses after eating takeout.


    For such a series of events involving strangeness, the Exorcism team needed to respond more swiftly, treating it as a priority incident.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, they should call for an official Exorcist to handle this, why get him, an auxiliary member, involved?


    After all, he knew that the Exorcism team no longer regarded him as an auxiliary member, or at least they did not equate his capabilities with those of an auxiliary member¡¯s.


    In any case, since he had already encountered this issue in advance at the Si family¡¯s home, dealing with it now wouldn¡¯t leave him completely in the dark.


    At Huahua¡¯s request, he didn¡¯t want to delay Yan Junze¡¯s work, so he planned to go back to Si Nannan¡¯s home and stay there for the night, wait until the next morning to return to school to pack up his things, and then take a flight home.


    His return to Si Nannan¡¯s place was perfect timing as Yan Junze and Xiang Er could take him there and inquire about the details of the incident with Si Nannan.


    In fact, after learning that it was the pizza that led to the possession by the strangeness, Yan Junze also became suspicious of the pizza. However, with the multitude of bizarre incidents occurring nowadays, if he were to probe into each one thoroughly, he wouldn¡¯t be able to attend to anything else.


    Currently, his focus was on problem-solving; once the problem at hand was resolved and the strangeness cleared, it would be considered the completion of the task, and he rarely went back to contemplate the cause of the problem.


    If one were to talk about causes, then why strangeness exists in the world at all is what should truly be explored and understood.


    But now, things were different. Since the Exorcism team was already paying attention to it and the strangeness displayed the characteristics of a chain event, it piqued Yan Junze¡¯s curiosity as well. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back at Si Nannan¡¯s home, Huahua simply said that Yan Junze and Xiang Er had other matters to deal with, and that he was afraid to go back alone, so he wanted to rest at Si Nannan¡¯s for the night.


    Naturally, Si Nannan was happy, and the Si Dehua couple were very hospitable. After all, if it weren¡¯t for Huahua calling Yan Junze over, they might have already moved out to stay with relatives.


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er stood at the door without entering and said to Si Nannan, ¡°There¡¯s something we need to ask you about.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Brother Yan, what is it?¡± Si Nannan nodded.


    ¡°What time did you order the pizza today?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Si Nannan suddenly became a bit flustered and did not answer immediately.


    Yan Junze frowned as he watched her, but did not press the question.


    After a moment, Si Nannan, with an embarrassed look, said, ¡°I didn¡¯t order it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± everyone gasped, including her parents standing right beside her.


    ¡°I had just gotten home, and then I heard someone ring the doorbell, saying that the takeout I ordered had arrived,¡± Si Nannan said. ¡°I checked and indeed it was a delivery person, so I opened the door, and they handed me a steaming pizza. I asked if there had been a mistake, but the person confirmed the address was here, then said the bill had been paid and walked away.¡±


    ¡°And then you just accepted it and ate the pizza?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Well, I was a bit hungry,¡± Si Nannan admitted sheepishly with a nod.


    ¡°You silly girl, how can you be so unguarded?¡± Si Dehua finally learned the truth and was somewhat angry.


    The main concern was that he had also eaten a piece of pizza; he feared that if there were drugs in the food, with his daughter alone at home, the danger would be as great, if not greater, than the threat of possession by a spirit.


    It should be known that in today¡¯s world, if someone¡¯s intentions are malicious, even the most powerful and ferocious spirits have to step aside.


    ¡°Did you get a good look at the person who delivered the takeout?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°His hat was pulled down low, I could only see the lower half of his face, not his full appearance.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any surveillance cameras outside in the hallway?¡±


    Yan Junze looked up around him, and before Si Nannan could answer, he had already spotted a white camera with a red light blinking next to it, indicating that it was operating normally.


    Si Dehua, having put on his shoes, promptly walked out into the hallway and looked up. Upon seeing the camera, he said, ¡°I can go with you to the security office and have them pull up the surveillance footage.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Everyone else stayed at home while Si Dehua, Yan Junze, and Xiang Er went to the security office.


    The security office and surveillance room were connected; one had to enter the security office to access the surveillance room.


    Thanks to Si Dehua¡¯s connections in the residential complex, he promptly gained the right to view the surveillance footage through an acquaintance who was a property manager. A security guard led them into the surveillance room, where they began searching the camera footage based on the time Si Nannan received the pizza.


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 Chapter 420 - 317: Takeout (Part Two)

    Chapter 420: Chapter 317: Takeout (Part Two)


    Soon they saw the surveillance camera installed outside the Si Family¡¯s corridor. After adjusting the time, a man wearing ¡°Chou Tuan¡± delivery service uniform appeared on the screen.


    The man was slightly thin, wearing a matching hat with the uniform, with the brim pulled down very low, just as Si Nannan had described, indeed making it difficult to discern his face.


    When he arrived at the front door of the Si Family, he hardly paused and immediately knocked on the door.


    Shortly after, he seemed to be talking with someone inside, and then Si Nannan opened the door, peeked out her head, exchanged a few words with the delivery guy, and took the pizza box from his hands.


    After receiving the delivery, Si Nannan quickly closed the door.


    The man immediately turned and left, but as he was about to exit the corridor, he turned back to glance in the Si Family¡¯s direction.


    ...


    ¡°Judging by his behavior, he doesn¡¯t seem to exhibit strangeness. Moreover, his walk and the way he delivers don¡¯t seem stiff, also not like a creature such as a controlled corpse,¡± Yan Junze analyzed to himself, then he turned to look at Xiang Er, who was standing behind him.


    What if it was a strangeness similar to Xiang Er¡¯s type, possessing a corpse?


    If it was like Xiang Er, who had mastered the skill of freely controlling a corpse, there would be no flaws visible through the surveillance.


    But Yan Junze believed that if he faced this individual in person, he would still be able to tell whether or not he was alive.


    After all, he had spent a considerable amount of time with Xiang Er, and from her initial confusion and difficulty in controlling a corpse to now being able to handle it adeptly, Yan Junze had gained considerable understanding.


    This was because Xiang Er would tell him everything in detail, from any issues she encountered to how she solved them.


    After watching the video, Si Dehua had an entirely different take, continuously slapping his thigh with a scared look: ¡°This girl, she opened the door so quickly to a stranger, despite not having ordered the delivery herself. How dangerous is that!¡±


    Suddenly, Yan Junze pointed at the video and said, ¡°Security brother, could you please show me the surveillance footage of the corridor downstairs, about two to three minutes before this timestamp.¡±


    The security guard did as requested, finding the camera downstairs and then opening the footage from two minutes prior to when Si Nannan accepted the delivery.


    As expected, Yan Junze saw the same delivery man.


    This time, though, the man still had the delivery in his hands but unexpectedly did not immediately go up to the Si Family¡¯s floor. Instead, he lingered on that level, stood at the door of one of the residences, and knocked.


    From time to time, the lower half of his face appeared on the camera, his lips moving as if he was talking to someone inside.


    But the occupant of this apartment did not open the door, and after failing to gain entry, the man soon left.


    About half a minute later, he reappeared on that floor, went to another apartment, and gently knocked, looking around from time to time during the process.


    But it seemed like no one was home this time either, as he knocked for a while without any subsequent conversation.


    The delivery man then left this level and started walking up the stairs.


    ¡°This guy, it seems that he didn¡¯t have a specific target and was choosing at random,¡± Yan Junze realized upon seeing this scene.


    As long as he had the opportunity to hand out the delivery he was carrying, he didn¡¯t seem to be ¡°picky¡±; any acceptance of his delivery would do.


    Having collected enough information, he and Si Dehua left the security room. However, Yan Junze declined Si Dehua¡¯s invitation to visit their home again and left with Xiang Er.


    Upon exiting the complex, Yan Junze said to Xiang Er, ¡°You saw the video just now. The ¡®Chou Tuan¡¯ delivery guy in the video, do you think he looks like a person possessed by strangeness?¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°His movements were very natural, without any stiffness. I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°Now, if you were under surveillance, could you move as smoothly as that person in the video, without revealing any signs that could be detected on camera?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked with a smile.


    Xiang Er thought for a moment, then replied, ¡°Mmh, no problem.¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang. It was a text message from He Yun, providing the addresses of several families who had experienced strangeness after dialing 4747. Each address was followed by a description of the related manifestations of strangeness.


    Just after he finished reading these descriptions, his phone signaled another message. It was a clip of security footage sent by He Yun.


    The accompanying text read: This video is the clearest segment of surveillance captured of the person delivering the food, but after he left the complex, no further traces of him were captured.


    Yan Junze opened the video. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was also a corridor surveillance snippet from another complex stairwell, timestamped at 12:10 PM a week ago. However, the person in the frame was a short man wearing a ¡°Bao Le Me¡± delivery uniform.


    The man was average height, slightly overweight, but he also had his hat brim pulled down very low, obscuring his features.


    His appearance on the scene made Yan Junze and Xiang Er exchange puzzled glances.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze said.


    It now seemed that a strangeness had controlled different corpses to carry out the task of delivering eerie meals.


    However, this level of skill in manipulating a possessed corpse was too proficient, as nothing unusual could be detected in the surveillance footage, not even by Xiang Er, who had experienced such things herself.


    With this development, Yan Junze felt he couldn¡¯t be sure that it was strangeness controlling corpses. If the person was a regular, living individual, then it was possible that a group was committing the acts, rather than any one person shown in the surveillance.


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 Chapter 421 03-25 - 317: Takeout (Part Three)

    Chapter 421: Chapter 317: Takeout (Part Three)


    At this time, the likelihood of zombies committing the crimes had dropped to the lowest.


    But if it¡¯s ordinary people behind the crimes, why would they do this? What reason would make them deliver food randomly and cause other people to be entangled with strangenesses? S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Is it just for fun?


    Yan Junze suspected that it should not be just a joke, after all, there was only one Rock in this world.


    Even though the exorcist team allowed security personnel in this district to assist with the investigation of the delivery men, it seemed that these suspects were familiar with the area and knew where the surveillance cameras were.


    Therefore, the street surveillance had no footage of them. Or perhaps they were among the crowd, just in disguise, looking nothing like the delivery men in their uniforms.


    ...


    With both exorcists and security personnel short-staffed, it wasn¡¯t feasible to stop every delivery man on the street for interrogation, as that would leave no time for other tasks.


    After all, it was now impossible to look anywhere on the streets without seeing a delivery man.


    ¡°This really is a deadlock!¡± Yan Junze frowned and glanced at Xiang Er, ¡°Could it be that the Tianmeng exorcist team has run out of options and is passing the buck to me?¡±


    Xiang Er was unable to provide a clear answer and simply stared silently at the pedestrians on the street, especially when a delivery man appeared, watching them intently as if every delivery person had become suspicious at that moment.


    Yan Junze checked the time. It was just half-past seven in the evening. Around eight o¡¯clock, people on the street would start to dwindle, and by around nine, there would hardly be anyone around.


    He looked up at a hotel diagonally across the street and said to Xiang Er, ¡°We¡¯ll stay here tonight, let¡¯s go book a double room first.¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head and said, ¡°You book a single room. It¡¯s more comfortable to sleep in a big bed, and I don¡¯t need to sleep at night.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Yan Junze did not object, but when they went to book the room, the reception informed them that the double rooms were full and that only singles were available, deluxe ones at that.


    Deluxe single it would be, then. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t lacking money at the moment. He took out his ID card to register but didn¡¯t head straight to the room with Xiang Er.


    Since there was still time, he planned to follow up on the information sent by He Yun to the nearest home, which was right next to the hotel in the community¡ªa man named Sun Chang Biao¡ªto deal with the strangeness that occurred after they had ordered delivery and to see if he could find out more useful information about the delivery man.


    At that moment, within the community next to the hotel, in room 003 on the second floor of block A.


    A short-haired middle-aged woman was carrying a cup of freshly brewed tea, placing it in front of a sullen-looking, middle-aged man with his head hanging down.


    The man sighed heavily, showing no other reaction but picked up the tea, blew on it twice, and carefully brought it to his lips.


    However, all of a sudden, upon noticing the ripples on the surface of the tea close up, which seemed to contain a strand of hair, the man¡¯s expression turned to one of terror as if he had been bitten by a snake, and he threw down the teacup with a splash.


    Not only did the teacup shatter, but tea also spilled all over the floor.


    ¡°You foolish woman, you foolish woman, how dare you bring water for me to drink, why don¡¯t you just poison me?¡± the middle-aged man cursed, ¡°I told you, don¡¯t drink water at home, we can¡¯t have any water in sight here. Remember that!¡±


    He stomped his right foot on the ground: ¡°Go, pour out all the water in the kettle! Not a single drop should remain.¡±


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 Chapter 422 03-25 - 318: Takeout (Part Two)

    Chapter 422: Chapter 318: Takeout (Part Two)


    The middle-aged woman, apparently accustomed to being scolded at home, had no thought of talking back. She ran off, silent as a cicada in winter, picked up the teapot, and hurried into the kitchen.


    The sound of water pouring soon followed as she quickly dumped all the hot, steaming tea into the kitchen sink.


    ¡°Is it all poured out?¡± the man yelled from the main room.


    ¡°It¡¯s all poured out, not a drop left,¡± the woman hastily responded, afraid that the man would come to check. She turned her head toward the kitchen door and saw that he had not entered.


    But in the moment she turned her head, from among the tea pouring down the sink drain, a finger emerged, its fingernail broken and cracked, the dried blood caked on the pad.


    However, as the tea crazily poured into the drain, the finger only stuck out for about a second before it disappeared with the flowing tea deep into the drain.


    ...


    The woman turned back around, seeing nothing, but her fear was directed at the man outside. She quickly put the teapot back in its place, not daring to turn on the tap to clean it.


    The man¡¯s voice rose again from outside: ¡°Once it¡¯s poured out, come clean up the broken teacup on the floor. You¡¯re always dragging your feet. Remember, don¡¯t open the faucet. There shouldn¡¯t be a single drop of water visible in the house.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the woman replied. She walked into the living room, squatted down, picked up the larger pieces of the broken teacup, and tossed them into the nearby trash bin.


    As she squatted down again to pick up other larger pieces, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her finger. Her arm trembled, and she brought it close to her face for a look, only to discover that her index finger was bleeding from a cut caused by a shard.


    ¡°Stupid wife, don¡¯t we have a broom in the house? You¡¯re utterly foolish!¡±


    Ever since she had come out of the kitchen, the man had been watching her, and seeing the state she was in, not only did he show no concern, but he also berated her angrily.


    Without a word, the woman sucked on her index finger for a moment, not even thinking to dress the wound right away. Instead, she took a broom and dustpan back to the living room and swept up the rest of the teacup shards from the floor.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    After returning the broom to the kitchen, she noticed that her index finger was bleeding again, the blood about to drip down.


    Instinctively, she moved to turn on the kitchen tap to rinse the wound, but as her hand approached the sink, she suddenly jerked back, remembering the prohibition against using the tap. She quickly left the kitchen and headed to the bedroom.


    While walking, she sucked on her finger again.


    The man watched her enter the bedroom from the corner of his eye, then turned his attention back to the television screen that was still on.


    After a while, the middle-aged man picked up the mobile phone beside him, glanced at the string of 4747 numbers he had dialed, and heaved a sigh.


    After the woman entered the bedroom, she rifled through her belongings looking for a bandage, but found nothing.


    She remembered that there might be one in the living room cabinet, but she did not dare search for it in front of her husband lest she gets scolded again. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she decided against looking for it altogether, simply sitting on the edge of the bed and sucking on her index finger.


    At that moment, the blood from the wound had stopped flowing.


    Shortly after she had put her finger in her mouth, her tongue suddenly felt something sharp. She pulled her finger out to take a closer look.


    There, at the tip of her index finger, was a black hair sharp poking out from the wound¡ªit was this that her tongue had touched.


    Upon closer inspection, it seemed as though two more hair tips were trying to emerge from the wound.


    Knock, knock, knock¡ªthe sound of knocking came.


    ¡°Go open the door!¡± the man in the living room yelled, even though he was closest to the door, he was reluctant to move.


    The woman said nothing, walked out of the bedroom, came to the living room door and, instead of opening it immediately, asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Exorcist,¡± came the voice of a young man from outside.


    The woman was startled.


    The man sitting on the sofa was overjoyed, immediately rising from the sofa with excitement in his voice, ¡°Open the door, open the door quickly, the Exorcist Master has arrived!¡±


    The door opened, and Yan Junze and Xiang Er stood outside, peering in.


    ¡°Is this Sun Changbiao¡¯s home?¡±


    The middle-aged man had already stood up and scuttled over in his slippers, saying eagerly, ¡°It is, I am Sun Changbiao. Exorcist Master, please come in, come in!¡±


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er stepped into the house one after the other.


    Upon seeing Xiang Er, Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes lit up, lingering greedily upon her for a few seconds before finally turning to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Master, the strangeness in my house is terrible. You must help us, please rid us of it quickly,¡± Sun Changbiao said.


    Yan Junze gave him a glance. To be honest, he very much disliked the way this fellow eyed Xiang Er, Sun Changbiao¡¯s wife was likely there, but he looked at Xiang Er with no consideration whatsoever, as if his own wife did not exist. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s normal for a man to appreciate a beautiful woman, but the greediness in Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes was such that, even in the presence of his own wife, it seemed as if he wanted to devour Xiang Er right then and there.


    Just from the first impression, Yan Junze had already begun to dislike this man.


    ¡°Tell me exactly what is the situation,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Immediately, Sun Changbiao nodded earnestly: ¡°Master, please sit. I will tell you all about it. Now that you are here, I can finally relax a little.¡±


    Sun Changbiao had not expected the Exorcist to arrive so quickly.


    After Yan Junze and Xiang Er were seated, he said to his wife, ¡°What are you standing around for, go make some tea!¡±


    His words were followed by a sharp pause, ¡°No, no, no, no need for tea¡­¡±


    Then with a forced smile, he turned to Yan Junze and Xiang Er, ¡°Sorry about that. The strangeness in our house is related to water. We can¡¯t have any water here; as soon as water appears, the strangeness shows up.¡±


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 Chapter 423 03-25 - 318: Takeout (Part Two)_2

    Chapter 423: Chapter 318: Takeout (Part Two)_2


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Tell me.¡±


    Sun Changbiao acknowledged with a sound and immediately began to recount.


    About a week ago, it was just he and his wife at home, as their son was attending university in another city and hadn¡¯t come home.


    When it was almost time for dinner, Sun Changbiao went to the bathroom to wash his hands. He first wet his hands, then began to apply hand soap.


    The faucet was on, still gushing water, but soon the flow began to diminish. Sun Changbiao was somewhat surprised, tapped the faucet, yet saw no increase in the water flow; on the contrary, it got weaker.


    It felt like the faucet was blocked. Curious, he extended his index finger and prodded the spout, feeling something clogging it.


    ...


    With a hook of his finger, a clump of hair was pulled out.


    But the hair didn¡¯t fall out completely; it seemed to be still connected to the other end inside the pipe.


    Sun Changbiao was extremely puzzled. He reached for the hairs dangling outside and started to tug, thinking if he didn¡¯t pull all the hair out, the whole pipe might get clogged.


    However, after pulling for a while, not only did the hair not come out completely, but it seemed to have caught in a knot, perhaps because there was too much hair, which got stuck inside the pipe.


    Sun Changbiao gave a strong pull and found it immovable. Just as he released his grip, he saw the clump of hair that he had just pulled out and left in the sink suddenly move and was violently yanked back, swiftly sliding into the faucet¡¯s opening.


    This scene startled Sun Changbiao.


    He dared not reach out again but instead took two steps back, his gaze fixated in horror on the hair until all of it was pulled back into the faucet.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Sun Changbiao saw clearly that as the hair was pulled back, it wasn¡¯t at a continuous speed, but indeed as if someone on the other end was pulling the hair at different rhythms, just like him.


    He watched in horror as all the hair re-entered the faucet and disappeared completely.


    Suddenly, a slender finger emerged halfway out of the faucet¡¯s opening¡ªthis finger seemed to belong to a woman, and the nails were dirty and damaged, not intact.


    That damaged nail was partly flipped, as if it had been broken while straining to pull something. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After this slender finger extended from the faucet, it slightly bent and gripped the edge of the opening; clearly, it was ¡°alive.¡±


    Sun Changbiao was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t speak. At this moment, his wife outside the bathroom just reminded him to come out and eat.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t respond, his attention still fixed on the half-finger gripping the faucet. Then he saw the finger loosen and slowly retract back into the pipe.


    With a ¡°plop,¡± a thin stream of water flowed out of the faucet, quite unstable.


    Then, the water flow began to increase until, before Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes, it returned to normal.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t dare touch the water again, hastily wiped the foam off his hands with a wet towel, and rushed out of the bathroom.


    As for his wife, Wu Xiaoyan, she noticed something abnormal later that evening while washing dishes.


    At that time, Sun Changbiao was so scared out of his wits, but because it happened so suddenly, he firmly believed it was just a trick of the eye, attributed to working overtime in the past few days and possibly due to lack of rest.


    So after dinner, Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t tell his wife and immediately went back to the bedroom to sleep under the covers.


    Uninformed, Wu Xiaoyan started washing the dishes.


    While washing, because the sink was filled with a lot of dish soap foam, it wasn¡¯t a clear water surface.


    As Wu Xiaoyan washed, she felt something else in the sink; she remembered there were three plates to wash, one large bowl, and two small ones.


    But now the large bowl she touched seemed to have multiplied to two.


    Surprised, Wu Xiaoyan took out the other dishes and bowls that hadn¡¯t been washed yet and once again reached into the foamy sink to feel around, and then she touched the larger object again.


    But this time, because she was more cautious, it didn¡¯t feel like a large bowl. The surface was hard, but it was an oval-shaped object, and¡­ there were hairs on it.


    She suddenly screamed, withdrew her hands from the sink, and stepped back in horror.


    In the sink, filled with foam, a black, round object slowly surfaced.


    The black part was the hair of the object, and when it revealed a pair of eyes, Wu Xiaoyan was certain, it was a human head.


    The human head that surfaced had its eyelids closed, appearing to be a woman¡¯s.


    But as Wu Xiaoyan got a clear look, the head¡¯s eyelids began to tremble slightly, and then opened, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes that, as the head bobbed in the water, stared unblinkingly at Wu Xiaoyan.


    Wu Xiaoyan screamed and turned to flee from the kitchen.


    Sun Changbiao rushed out of the bedroom, but after hearing Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s description, he didn¡¯t dare to enter the kitchen at all.


    The couple was so frightened that they didn¡¯t take care of anything, they ran back to the bedroom in a panic and locked the bedroom door.


    About four or five minutes later, a sound of something hitting the floor was heard, followed by the sound of an object dragging on the ground. The dragging noise continued, eventually coming to a stop outside the bedroom door.


    Sun Changbiao and Wu Xiaoyan were so scared they didn¡¯t dare breathe; they hid behind the wardrobe, peering out at the direction of the bedroom door, shaking uncontrollably.


    There was no movement, and for a long time, there was silence outside the door.


    After a while, just when Sun Changbiao thought the strangeness must have disappeared, he quietly stepped out from behind the wardrobe and was about to approach the door when the dragging sound started up again.


    This time, however, the sound gradually receded from the door, as if returning to the living room.


    That night was the most painful one for the couple, they dared not close their eyes all night, constantly alert for any noise outside the door.


    They curled up on the bed, the sound of dragging from outside kept ringing in their ears; this situation lasted until dawn.


    The next day, once Sun Changbiao was certain there was no noise outside, they opened the door and walked around the house, finding nothing.


    They then went to the kitchen and saw that the sink, originally full of water, had leaked out overnight because the drain plug wasn¡¯t sealed tightly.


    However, there were traces of water stains all over the floor, even under the sofa.


    Sun Changbiao hadn¡¯t slept all night, and seeing that the terror seemed to have passed, he quickly poured a cup of hot water, intending to drink it to calm his nerves.


    As he held the glass in his hand, the originally clear and transparent water suddenly became muddy, and then an abnormal red color emerged, like blood. Right there in Sun Changbiao¡¯s hand, the water quickly turned into a blood-like liquid.


    Sun Changbiao was so scared that he quickly poured it out, and he finally realized that whenever he touched water, strangeness would occur.


    Without a second thought, he immediately instructed Wu Xiaoyan to pour out all the water in the house, and then to not turn on the taps again.


    After several days of experimenting, they found that using water inside the house would frequently cause strangeness, while outside, they could quickly drink a cup of water in a crowded place without issue. However, if they spent a long time with water, abnormalities would still occur.


    Although they had called 4747 a few days ago, the couple had already gotten used to living this way; as long as there was no water, life went on as usual.


    After listening to Sun Changbiao¡¯s narration, Yan Junze noticed that Wu Xiaoyan had tried to interject several times but was shut down by this man.


    He pointed at Wu Xiaoyan, saying, ¡°Maybe she has something to say.¡±


    Sun Changbiao waved his hand, continuing to silence Wu Xiaoyan, ¡°What does this silly woman know? She¡¯ll only add to the chaos. These past few days she always forgets that we can¡¯t use water. I can¡¯t leave her alone for a second without her slipping up. Just now she even made me a cup of tea, can you believe it?¡±


    After speaking, he subtly pointed at Wu Xiaoyan and then to his own head, whispering, ¡°Had surgery.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, Sun Changbiao meant that Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t working well, probably due to having had brain surgery.


    Of course, he could also see that Sun Changbiao was treating his own wife as nothing more than a servant.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re now aware of the general situation here,¡± Yan Junze stood up.


    ¡°This¡­ you¡¯re not going to perform the Exorcism now?¡± Sun Changbiao stood up, looking confused.


    ¡°The time is not right yet,¡± Yan Junze said with a mysterious smile, ¡°Tomorrow is the best time to clear this strangeness.¡±


    Sun Changbiao still looked puzzled; he felt the person speaking to him didn¡¯t seem like an Exorcist at all, but rather like an early-era Daoist who had to wait for the right moment to dispel strangeness.


    ¡°No, something must be wrong, did I inadvertently offend them?¡±


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 Chapter 424 03-25 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)

    Chapter 424: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)


    Yan Junze was set on leaving, walking toward the living room door with Xiang Er in tow.


    At this point, Xiang Er also felt somewhat puzzled.


    To her knowledge, exorcism didn¡¯t depend on any specific time, and as long as the strangeness was present, it could be exorcised if the capability was sufficient.


    She didn¡¯t understand what Yan Junze was playing at.


    As the two approached the door, an anxious Sun Changbiao followed them to the entrance, with his wife Wu Xiaoyan seeming at a loss, worried that she had done something wrong, and uneasily followed suit.


    Yan Junze turned around and said, ¡°No need to see me out.¡±


    ...


    Sun Changbiao was inwardly frantic, thinking I¡¯m not trying to see you out, how can you leave now?


    Unable to hold back, he was about to speak, when Yan Junze¡¯s next comment stopped him in his tracks: ¡°On the day you encountered the strangeness, did you receive a wrongly delivered takeout?¡±


    Startled, Sun Changbiao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it arrived right around dinner time. Seeing that this foolish woman hadn¡¯t prepared dinner yet, I lost my patience and ended up eating it.¡±


    ¡°What was this takeout¡­?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    Sun Changbiao hesitated, as if recollecting: ¡°Uh, it was some kind of dry mixed glass noodles, with ketchup, onions, and beef granules. It was sour and had no soup, not very tasty.¡±


    ¡°Pasta,¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself, then asked, ¡°What did the deliveryman look like?¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t see very clearly,¡± Sun Changbiao shook his head. ¡°The guy was both skinny and tall, probably over forty as well, but it¡¯s quite dark outside in our hallway, so I couldn¡¯t make out his face well.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Skinny and tall?¡±


    According to Sun Changbiao¡¯s description, Yan Junze compared the appearance of this man who delivered pasta with that of the man who delivered pizza to Si Nannan and felt that their statures were quite similar, likely the same person.


    This indicated that there weren¡¯t many people delivering the eerie takeout. One was the tall, skinny man, and the other was the shorter, middle-aged man.


    ¡°But¡­ but, master, why can the strangeness only be exorcised tomorrow?¡± Seeing that Yan Junze had already walked outside, Sun Changbiao couldn¡¯t hold back and finally spoke up.


    Yan Junze offered another teasing smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring my tools.¡±


    Once out of the complex, walking on the street, Yan Junze took out his phone to check the information on the other families who had experienced strangenesses after eating takeout.


    Xiang Er leaned over, curious, ¡°Why does it have to be tomorrow?¡±


    Yan Junze countered Xiang Er¡¯s question, ¡°After seeing Sun Changbiao, what did you think?¡±


    Xiang Er, who had been following Yan Junze for some time and quickly progressing, thoughtfully nodded, ¡°His gaze towards me was very aggressive, and moreover, he didn¡¯t treat his wife like a family member.¡± Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Yan Junze pressed on.


    ¡°He¡­ He¡­¡±


    Struggling to articulate her thoughts, Xiang Er hesitated as Yan Junze took over, ¡°He might be hiding something from us.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Xiang Er nodded. ¡°He kept preventing his wife from speaking.¡±


    ¡°Such people disgust me, so it¡¯s only natural for him to suffer a bit longer,¡± Yan Junze concurred.


    Xiang Er voiced her concern, ¡°If the strangeness isn¡¯t exorcised today, what if they get killed by the strangeness tonight?¡±


    Yan Junze began to laugh, glancing inwardly at the mission information that had popped up in his mind when he entered Sun Changbiao¡¯s house, no longer saying a word.


    Back at the hotel next door, Yan Junze was making plans in his mind, preparing to spend the whole of tomorrow visiting all the families afflicted by strangeness due to the eerie takeout.


    The addresses of these families were all in the Southern District of Tianmeng, not too far apart.


    Only after collecting enough information would he be able to speculate and make a judgment to find out who the delivery person was.


    Yan Junze believed that only by locating the ultimate source of the takeout, would the issues of the people haunted by the strangeness after eating it be truly resolved. Currently, if he were to exorcise each strangeness one by one, he would probably die of exhaustion.


    Returning to Shuntian City anytime soon was out of the question.


    Back at the hotel and lying on the wide, soft bed, Yan Junze swiftly fell into a deep sleep.


    Xiang Er sat in the chair beside the bed for a while, waited for Yan Junze to fall asleep before heading to the bathroom for a shower, and then wrapped in a bath towel, she stepped out barefoot and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, silently observing the city under the cover of night.


    She thoroughly enjoyed this sensation, recalling how on her first stay in a hotel with Yan Junze, she had stood by the window watching the night view all night long.


    At such times, Xiang Er felt a sense of belonging to the city, as if she had integrated into every social circle, and could communicate effortlessly with anyone. This contrasted starkly with her previous life and left her feeling intoxicated.


    ¡­


    At Sun Changbiao¡¯s home,


    after Yan Junze and Xiang Er had left, Sun Changbiao¡¯s face darkened.


    Huffing with irritation, he returned to the bedroom, shut the door, took off his jacket, sat on the bed, and lit a cigarette, not caring whether the room was ventilated, and began to smoke heavily.


    Seeing his demeanor, Wu Xiaoyan became even more anxious. She wasn¡¯t worried about Yan Junze failing to exorcise the strangeness, but she knew her husband was very angry. Based on past experiences, this anger was likely to be taken out on her.


    After aimlessly turning off the TV in the living room and checking the doors and windows, she cautiously opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t even look at her as he smoked and said, ¡°What did you want to say earlier? Constantly trying to interrupt while I was talking to the exorcist master. Don¡¯t you know any better?¡±


    Wu Xiaoyan hurriedly shook her head, ¡°Because¡­ you¡­ what you said was not right.¡±


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 Chapter 425 03-25 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)_2

    Chapter 425: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)_2


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sun Changbiao took a fierce drag on his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray on the nightstand, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that human head while you were washing dishes? Weren¡¯t you scared away? Didn¡¯t I rush over?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you didn¡¯t go into the kitchen, you pushed me, I fell into the kitchen, and the head¡­ it talked to me¡­¡± Wu Xiaoyan stammered.


    ¡°Did I push you? Damn woman, you fell in yourself.¡± Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes widened as he pointed at Wu Xiaoyan, ¡°You can eat whatever crap you want, but don¡¯t talk nonsense. Don¡¯t go spreading rumors, I never touched you.¡±


    ¡°You pushed me,¡± Wu Xiaoyan still insisted, ¡°and you¡­ you shut the kitchen door.¡±


    ¡°Say that one more time.¡± Sun Changbiao stood up from the bed, clenched his fists, and glared ominously at the woman before him.


    Wu Xiaoyan shut up out of fear, too scared to speak again.


    ...


    Sun Changbiao sat back down: ¡°You¡¯re also saying that the head talked to you, you were almost scared senseless, how could you hear the head talk.¡±


    ¡°You, you ran into the bedroom, so you didn¡¯t hear it, I heard it,¡± Wu Xiaoyan said.


    ¡°What did the head say?¡± Sun Changbiao asked.


    ¡°She asked me¡­ where her fingers went?¡±


    ¡°Toilet paper is in the damn bathroom.¡± Sun Changbiao roared, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell her to get it herself? A thing that shits without wiping its ass, stupid woman, always talking nonsense.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not, not toilet paper, it¡¯s fingers¡­¡± Wu Xiaoyan became more anxious, extending her own fingers to gesture.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t even look at her, he lay back on the bed, covered himself with the quilt, and said viciously, ¡°This is the last time; if you tell anyone else that I pushed you and shut the door on you, just wait and see how I deal with you!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Seeing him ready to sleep, Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s heart eased slightly, but she didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore and just stood timidly at the bedroom door. Only when she heard Sun Changbiao¡¯s snoring, sure that he had fallen asleep, did Wu Xiaoyan dare to move.


    She slowly approached the bed, took off her outerwear, lifted a corner of the quilt, and quietly slipped in.


    She didn¡¯t dare to make too much noise for fear that waking her husband would lead to more blame; even after lying down, her body stayed close to her side of the bed, remaining motionless.


    If it were any other woman with clear senses, she definitely wouldn¡¯t dare sleep with Sun Changbiao now, preferring even the sofa.


    But Wu Xiaoyan was different, her intelligence had indeed declined a lot after undergoing brain surgery, sometimes drooling unknowingly when conscious.


    In her mind, a husband and wife should sleep in the same bed, no matter how bad their relationship.


    The quilt she pulled over didn¡¯t completely cover her body, just most of it, and after Wu Xiaoyan no longer felt cold, she slowly closed her eyes.


    On the recently pricked tip of her finger, several strands of black hair had completely grown out, wrapping around Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s finger.


    She was very scared, but she didn¡¯t dare tell her husband for fear that Sun Changbiao would curse or even beat her if he found out.


    ¡°Sleep through this, everything will be fine when I wake up tomorrow,¡± Wu Xiaoyan comforted herself in her thoughts.


    The room quickly became quiet, aside from Sun Changbiao¡¯s occasional snoring and an extremely faint rustling sound that intermittently arose.


    It was around three in the morning.


    Sun Changbiao woke up, something had pricked him awake.


    Startled from sleep, Sun Changbiao was still a bit disoriented, feeling as if he were still dreaming.


    The bedroom was dark, but there was light from outside the window, so it wasn¡¯t completely pitch-black.


    He looked around and then realized something had pricked his arm, on the side near where Wu Xiaoyan was sleeping.


    Sun Changbiao turned on the nightstand light and looked over to Wu Xiaoyan, who appeared to be sound asleep.


    ¡°Damn woman, what is this on you, putting stuff on the bed that pricks people?¡±


    Sun Changbiao grumbled and from his side, he could only see her hair protruding from the quilt. He grabbed and flung the quilt abruptly, only to find even more hair.


    Upon closer inspection, Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s body was now wrapped in a mass of hair that was only leaving her toes visible, the rest covered by this horrifying, thick mass of hair.


    A wave of fear and nausea overcame him, and Sun Changbiao¡¯s sleepiness vanished in an instant, sending a shiver through him, filled with dread.


    His wife lay on the bed without a single movement, whether she was dead or not, he didn¡¯t care at the moment.


    He tiptoed towards the bedroom door; with Wu Xiaoyan looking like this, Sun Changbiao no longer had the courage to stay; all he wanted was to escape as fast as he could.


    Reaching the bedroom door, he pressed his hand on the doorknob and was about to push hard when suddenly, a voice came from behind.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao turned his head and saw his wife, now entangled in copious hair, had sat up at some unknown time. A dark silhouette with countless hairs wriggling over it was facing him, making unclear speech.


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 Chapter 426 03-25 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)_3

    Chapter 426: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)_3


    Sun Changbiao was so scared that he shuddered violently, flung open the bedroom door, and ran out.


    In his panic, he rushed into his son¡¯s bedroom across the hall, slammed the door shut, and then crawled into the wardrobe.


    He turned around and slowly pulled the wardrobe door close, peering outside through the air vent in the door.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s voice was still sounding, unhurried, followed by a series of rustling noises, indicating that the woman seemed to be getting out of bed.


    Sun Changbiao was shaking terribly. He bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain distracting him from his fear, focusing his attention on the sounds coming from outside.


    ...


    The rustling moved out of the bedroom, onto the hallway outside, and gradually faded away.


    It seemed to head toward the living room; then another ¡°Changbiao¡± was heard, faintly coming from that direction.


    Sun Changbiao took a deep breath, feeling a bit less afraid. He slowly opened the wardrobe door, moved behind the door of his son¡¯s bedroom, and listened for a while.


    At first, he could still hear the rustling noise in the distance, but then it disappeared; Wu Xiaoyan might have sat down in the living room, or returned to the master bedroom and lay back down on the bed.


    Sun Changbiao dared not breathe too deeply. After waiting a while, he reached for the doorknob, ready to open the door and take a look.


    He had run in the wrong direction in his panic. If his hair-covered wife had returned to the master bedroom, now was his chance to flee¡ªboldly dash through the living room to escape this place.


    Just as he was about to turn the knob, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao shuddered with fright, quickly withdrew his hand, turned around, and bolted for the still-open wardrobe as fast as lightning.


    Behind him, noises of someone turning the doorknob from the outside echod.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao leaped into the wardrobe in one bound, thankfully his feet landed on clothes, making no sound, and with a swift movement, he pulled the wardrobe door shut.


    Click!


    Click!


    The sound of his son¡¯s bedroom door opening synchronized perfectly with the wardrobe door closing, and Sun Changbiao, hiding in the wardrobe, felt as if his heart had stopped beating.


    He practically held his breath, slowly turning around in the wardrobe, his face stricken with fear, looking outside.


    Through the air vent in the wardrobe door, he saw his wife, enveloped in long hair, slowly walking in.


    Her body was so tightly entwined with the hair that only a human silhouette covered by hair was visible, moving past the bed where his son slept, by the desk, and then, slowly approaching the wardrobe.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    The unclear voice emanated from within the mass of hair, adding a layer of eeriness.


    Sun Changbiao, hiding in the wardrobe, stared intensely at the approaching hair-covered figure, his face turning pale with fear, barely breathing.


    The hair-enveloped figure seemed to turn its head, scanning around for any movement.


    After a short time, it stopped moving its head and, instead, faced directly toward the wardrobe; the upper body leaned forward, almost pressing against the wardrobe door.


    Seeing this, Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out as he stared through the vent at the hair-wrapped head outside the wardrobe.


    Everything froze for three seconds.


    He felt a tickling sensation on his feet, as he had not had time to put on slippers and was currently barefoot.


    No good, the tickling was getting more intense, not just at the tips of his toes, but also his heels and calves began to itch.


    Unable to resist, he reached down to scratch and suddenly felt several strands of hair wrapped around his calf. Looking down quickly, he noticed numerous hairs had slithered in from under the wardrobe door, climbing up his feet.


    With a swoosh, the wardrobe door opened.


    The hair-covered figure stood outside the wardrobe, its head jerking sharply twice, letting out a muffled sound.


    ¡°Changbiao, have you seen my index finger?¡±


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 Chapter 427 03-25 - 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Chapter 427: Chapter 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)


    The pitch darkness before him was finally dispelled by a speck of light.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how long he had walked, for ever since he regained consciousness, he felt as if he had been walking endlessly forward in this darkness.


    But he didn¡¯t feel fatigue, just blindly moved ahead.


    The light that appeared before him came from a hazy lantern. The moment Yan Junze saw the lantern, he realized that he was indeed in a dream.


    And in this dream, he once again encountered the so-called ancient version of ¡°Freddy¡±¡ªthe Lantern Woman.


    This time, the Lantern Woman¡¯s way of appearing seemed a bit different. She wasn¡¯t squatting on the ground, her back turned to Yan Junze, doing her own thing. Instead, she held the lantern and swaggered into view before him.


    ...


    It seemed that there was still a distance between himself and the Lantern Woman.


    Yan Junze stopped moving, adjusted his direction in the dark, and continued forward, choosing not to meet the Lantern Woman.


    As he walked, he kept looking back at the movements over there and noticed that the Lantern Woman was getting further and further away from him.


    At this moment, Yan Junze wanted to wake up, but instead felt the dream becoming clearer, with no sign of awakening.


    He could only continue onward.


    About several seconds later, the light of another lantern appeared before him, and the previously shaken-off Lantern Woman appeared before him once again.


    Yan Junze paused, halting in his tracks.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    He looked back and sighed inwardly, realizing that if he chose another direction, the outcome would probably be the same; he couldn¡¯t escape the Lantern Woman¡¯s control.


    After thinking it over, he decided to simply stand still and wait, watching as the Lantern Woman with her white lantern slowly approached.


    This woman was indeed beautiful¡ªwith delicate features, fair skin, fluttering long hair, and her dress hem dancing in the wind, she neared Yan Junze like a graceful fairy. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, only Yan Junze knew that he must not be fooled by this woman¡¯s appearance, for when the lantern turned red, the malevolence Ning Ji exhibited could instantly kill an entire group of Exorcists.


    ¡°Always appearing in my dreams, what exactly do you want?¡± Seeing Ning Ji approaching, Yan Junze spoke first, breaking the silence.


    He saw the white lantern in Ning Ji¡¯s hand starting to glow red as she drew closer to him, and it was very likely to turn into a red lantern soon, and attack him directly like last time in his dream.


    Ning Ji paused in her steps, no longer moving forward, lifted her head to look at Yan Junze, and lightly parted her red lips, ¡°You need to help me.¡±


    ¡°Help you with what? Haven¡¯t I already helped you find your husband?¡± Yan Junze pointed at the lantern in her hand, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you two having a lovers¡¯ spat, and your husband is ignoring you?¡±


    Ning Ji looked down at the lantern in her hand, then suddenly leaned forward towards Yan Junze, abruptly lifting her head as her long hair behind her burst out wildly. Her delicate features were instantly distorted by some force, her eyes filled with blood threads, her eyebrows knitted together, and her lips tore apart to reveal sharp, terrifyingly white teeth as she roared at Yan Junze.


    ¡°He is my husband, but only his head is left. Where is my husband¡¯s body? I want his entire corpse!¡±


    As she roared, the white lantern in her hand exploded into a ball of red fire, as if the flames burning within the lantern ignited everything around at that moment.


    In the second after the lantern turned into flames, a human head tumbled up from the fire¡ªit was Ning Ji¡¯s husband, Jia Sheng.


    As the lantern transformed into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, the black hair and the flickering flames reflected each other, making it appear as though the hair on this head had turned red in that moment. Jia Sheng¡¯s face also looked ferocious, with teeth bared in a nearly maddened manner.


    The crazed appearance of this couple, true to say they were indeed a family.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze immediately tried to step back, but found he couldn¡¯t move at all. In his gaze, the Lantern Woman furiously flung the head in her hand. Jia Sheng¡¯s mouth opened wide enough to be torn apart as he bit down towards Yan Junze.


    In desperation with no way to retreat, Yan Junze could only try to block with his hand. Jia Sheng bit down on his arm, the sharp pain piercing his very soul.


    Yan Junze cried out in pain, his consciousness quickly beginning to clear.


    But even as he became more awake, the pain in his arm remained intense. Not only that, the feeling of Jia Sheng¡¯s head biting into his flesh, the teeth sinking into his muscles felt incredibly vivid, as if his body had truly been bitten.


    As his consciousness continued to clear, the pain grew stronger.


    Something was wrong¡ªhe couldn¡¯t wake up!


    Yan Junze suddenly started to panic, looked down, and saw the head on his arm beginning to blur, but it was still there, not completely disappearing.


    He shook violently, unable to break free from its grip, and the half-asleep, half-awake sensation turned into endless fear, as if he would never be able to wake up again.


    Just then, his arm loosened, Jia Sheng¡¯s head vanished in an instant, and his eyes flew open¡ªhe was sitting up in bed.


    Before him was a woman¡¯s figure¡ªit was Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er was holding his right arm, and at this moment, his arm was bleeding profusely. Xiang Er¡¯s other hand firmly grasped a clump of black spirit, which was trying to break free from her control but couldn¡¯t escape.


    Xiang Er¡¯s face was somber, and with a tight clench of her fist, there was a snap, and the clump of black spirit in her hand instantaneously disintegrated into nothingness.


    Yan Junze looked down at his bleeding arm, at the exact spot where Jia Sheng had bitten him in the dream. There was a clear bite mark running through his muscle, but the wound wasn¡¯t too deep, thankfully due to Xiang Er¡¯s timely intervention.


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 Chapter 428 03-25 - 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    Chapter 428: Chapter 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2


    The hotel room had a family first-aid kit. Xiang Er opened it and used alcohol to disinfect Yan Junze¡¯s wound, then stopped the bleeding, and quickly wrapped it with a compression bandage.


    This was something Yan Junze had taught her. Knowing some first-aid techniques could come in handy at critical moments.


    It was already daylight, and Xiang Er was still wrapped in a bath towel. She sat on the edge of the bed and said, ¡°I was actually looking at the scenery outside the window when I heard you struggling. Then I noticed a mass of black energy enveloping your arm. Your eyes were closed, you were sweating profusely, and you kept struggling, but there was no response when I called you.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°It was a strangeness that has been invading my dreams. From now on, you must be present when I sleep. If you notice something wrong with me, help me like you just did.¡±


    As he spoke, the images of Ning Ji and Jia Sheng rose in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The couple acted as if they had gone mad. He had already helped her find her husband¡¯s head, and now she also wanted him to find Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body.


    ...


    Where could that headless corpse be? Eight hundred years had passed, and the cliff where Jia Sheng had died had long since changed beyond recognition. His headless body might have already decomposed into nothingness.


    Therefore, the idea of finding Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body was practically impossible.


    In other words, the Lantern Woman would continue to harass him in his dreams in the future.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mouth was dry, and Xiang Er quickly poured him a cup of warm water. After he drank it all in one gulp, he said to Xiang Er, ¡°You should recognize this strangeness¡­ the woman who was squatting on the street side with her back to us last time we were in Tianyi City District, do you remember her?¡±


    Xiang Er pondered, ¡°Is it her?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°In reality, she appears differently every time. The woman we saw last time was just one of her appearances.¡±


    After placing the water glass on the bedside table, Yan Junze¡¯s body was soaking wet with sweat. Despite the wound on his arm, he was ready to take a shower. He said to Xiang Er, ¡°Look around the room, and then walk around outside in the hallway and the staircase.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    ¡°Look for what?¡± Xiang Er wondered.


    ¡°See if there¡¯s a person squatting with their back to you in a corner of the wall or somewhere. If you call her, and she has no reaction and behaves strangely, you can take action and finish her off,¡± Yan Junze explained.


    Normally, only Yan Junze could see the woman squatting on the street with her back to him, while other passersby completely ignored her. But Xiang Er was different. So far, it seemed that as long as Yan Junze could see the strangeness, she could see it too.


    Xiang Er nodded slightly, pulled off her bath towel, and began to dress in front of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze blushed slightly and while walking towards the bathroom, he said, ¡°Next time be careful, wait until I turn my back before you change.¡±


    Xiang Er replied calmly, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Attachment to this woman¡¯s corpse made her feel as though she was wearing a very special set of clothing, which is why Xiang Er felt no shyness doing these things in front of Yan Junze.


    Once Yan Junze began bathing, Xiang Er dressed and did a thorough check around the room. She looked carefully under the furniture and the bed, and after confirming nothing was amiss, opened the door and stepped out.


    The hotel¡¯s hallway was wide, with a layer of thick, old red-patterned carpet in the middle that felt soft underfoot.


    Xiang Er walked on it without making a sound. She looked around, but the corridor was empty.


    She first went to the left towards the end of the corridor where it turned, then came back and checked to the right from the room¡¯s doorway. Still, she saw no suspicious person, let alone a woman squatting with her back to her.


    Soon, she had checked the entire floor¡¯s hallways without finding anything suspicious.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s conjecture, each time he dreamt about the Lantern Woman, he would encounter a strange woman squatting on the path he would take after waking up. So, this time should be no exception.


    And the path Yan Junze would take after leaving the room included the hallway outside and possibly the stairwell.


    A moment later, Xiang Er emerged from the stairwell, still without sighting any suspicious people.


    She thought that perhaps the woman who was bound to appear was waiting for Yan Junze out on the street. If that was the case, she couldn¡¯t act directly, only intimidate the woman as she had done before.


    Just as the thought crossed her mind, the elevator doors not far to the side opened, and three guests walked out. Two of the men glanced at Xiang Er, clearly stunned by her beauty.


    Xiang Er paid no mind and glanced inside the elevator. Just as she was about to turn back, she suddenly paused.


    After the three people exited, they revealed another figure in the elevator¡ªa woman in a white T-shirt and jeans, squatting motionless in a corner of the elevator, with her back to the doorway.


    Xiang Er¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she swiftly stepped into the elevator just as the doors were about to close.


    The elevator began its ascent.


    As the display indicated the fifth floor, a shrill scream emanated from within the elevator, but it was quickly as if repressed by something, stopping abruptly.


    Some guests in the building faintly heard the sound but weren¡¯t clear about its origin.


    The elevator soon began descending, stopping at the third floor, where the doors opened and Xiang Er walked out, relaxed and comfortable. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the elevator corner where the woman in jeans had been crouching, there was no longer a figure, only a dark mark near the corner that looked like a scorch trace left behind.


    ¡°Did you see it?¡±


    When Xiang Er returned to the room, Yan Junze had already finished his bath and was drying his hair, casually asking.


    ¡°Yes, eradicated it,¡± Xiang Er nodded, ¡°I feel that it might have hurt the Lantern Woman¡¯s essence, she won¡¯t appear in your dreams for a while.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°No matter the strangeness, our combination of Xiang Er and the perfect corpse is far more formidable.¡±


    Standing by his side, Xiang Er suddenly said with concern: ¡°I wonder how the Sun family fared last night? Since you didn¡¯t eradicate that strangeness, would they be in danger?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Actually, that mission was quite easy. The strangeness I saw yesterday, aside from inducing fear, posed no real threat to humans.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Xiang Er was curious.


    ¡°Has Xiang Er started to learn to ask why now?¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    Xiang Er stamped her foot lightly and sat down to one side, seemingly a bit embarrassed.


    Without further conversation, Yan Junze recalled the mission information that had popped up in his mind after entering the Sun family¡¯s house the day before.


    It was this mission information that had eased his mind and made him leave the Sun family, allowing Sun Changbiao to wallow in fear.


    [Mission Name: Where¡¯s my index finger?


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Mission Background: Many summers ago, she and a friend discovered a pond with exceptionally clear water during a countryside picnic. As an enthusiastic outdoors person, she jumped into the pond for a swim. Unfortunately, her hair got tangled in a mass of underwater vines. In the struggle with the Reaper, she desperately yanked at the tough, sharp vines, slicing her finger open. From the force, her finger was severed but she couldn¡¯t free herself.


    Mission Description: She bore no ill will toward the friend who didn¡¯t know how to swim and couldn¡¯t save her. She blamed no one, she just wanted to find her lost index finger;


    Mission Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Penalty: None;


    Mission Hint: 1. The Evil Spirit can be locked down; 2. Her goal may be right here;


    Note: Although her appearance may be frightening to ordinary people, helping her find that index finger can¡¯t be wrong.]


    This mission was only of the lowest level, ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Low),¡± the same as Yan Junze¡¯s first mission [Hair Washing].


    It¡¯s not to say that the strength of the strangeness in the mission was similar to that of Ke¡¯er back then, rather that this strangeness was of the harmless type, mostly just inducing fear.


    This could be inferred from the mission penalty being ¡°None.¡± To be honest, Yan Junze had never seen a mission with no penalty so far.


    That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t prepared to complete the mission last night, letting Sun Changbiao taste what fear was like.


    Even now, Yan Junze had no intention of dealing with Sun Changbiao.


    He had accidentally gotten his bandaged arm wet during the bath and had Xiang Er rebandage it. Yan Junze planned to use the rest of the day to revisit all the families who had ordered takeout.


    He was well aware that ordinary Exorcists might not be able to find the delivery person in a short amount of time, but he could, with enough information. He was confident that he could pinpoint that delivery person within the day.


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 Chapter 429 03-25 - 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Chapter 429: Chapter 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er packed their things but Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to check out of the hotel; in case they couldn¡¯t complete the task today, they might need to stay another day.


    After drinking a small bag of pig¡¯s blood that he usually prepared, Yan Junze and Xiang Er left the room.


    On the way, he took out his cellphone again to check the addresses He Yun had sent, besides Sun Changbiao¡¯s house which could be ignored for now, it was necessary to visit the others.


    Yan Junze made a choice to start from the family closest to them.


    According to the map, the Guo family was 1.1 kilometers away from their location.


    When they arrived at the bus station, a bus came by, and after they checked its route, they found out it passed through the Guo family¡¯s neighborhood, so they got on directly.


    ...


    They rode for one stop and found the Guo family¡¯s home upon getting off at the second stop.


    An elderly person, hard of hearing and with a heavy local accent, opened the door. Yan Junze explained the reason for their visit, but there was obvious communication difficulty.


    Then the elderly person shakily took out an old cell phone, pressed a speed dial button, dialed a series of family contact numbers, and after getting through, handed the phone to Yan Junze.


    Upon asking, Yan Junze found out that the person on the other end of the phone was the old man¡¯s grandson who had just turned 18.


    ¡°Is it the Exorcist?¡± the boy¡¯s voice quivered with excitement.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded, frankly stating, ¡°We have come to understand the situation first, not to immediately resolve the strangenesses; you start by telling us what is going on at home.¡±


    ¡°Every night at two o¡¯clock, without fail, there will be this very crisp knocking sound, like monks hitting a wooden fish in a temple. My father and I have looked everywhere, but we haven¡¯t found anything,¡± said the boy, speaking quickly yet very clearly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Does anyone in the household have any abnormalities?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No,¡± the boy replied, ¡°During the day everything is normal, but at night these strange noises appear, disturbing the whole family to the point of being unable to sleep. We even stayed in a hotel nearby for a night, but it was no use; at exactly midnight, the sound would also start in the hotel room, but still, we couldn¡¯t find the cause.¡±


    While he was explaining, Yan Junze had already read through the task prompts that had popped up in his mind upon entering the Guo family¡¯s home. He said directly, ¡°I won¡¯t remove this strangeness today because it¡¯s not just your family that¡¯s experiencing this. I will eliminate the root of all this as quickly as possible.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The person on the phone didn¡¯t speak, he just listened carefully.


    ¡°Now, do as I say,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°Buy a copy of the Ksitigarbha Sutra and every night before going to sleep, recite it twice in the southeast corner of your room. Remember, recite it twice every night before you can go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°You, you use Buddhism to eliminate strangeness?¡± the boy said in surprise.


    From what he knew, nowadays these strangenesses did not respond to Buddhist or Taoist practices, but now Yan Junze was clearly telling him to use the methods of Buddhism to eliminate the strangeness, which was obviously contrary to the traditional ways of handling such phenomena.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°This has nothing to do with using Buddhism to exorcise strangenesses. It¡¯s that the spirit that¡¯s attached to you all was a faithful Buddhist in life, resilent in reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra twice daily. Otherwise, you all will be plagued by his knocking on the wooden fish.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the boy said, suddenly enlightened, ¡°So if we recite it a few more times, will he leave us?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Of course not, this is just a temporary method. When I remove the root cause, then the problem will be truly solved. On the day when the strangeness occurred, did your family eat a takeout meal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I ordered a box of fried rice for myself. When it arrived, I thought it was just that. But when I opened the takeout box, it turned out to be bacon baked rice. It was quite delicious, though,¡± the boy replied.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Xiang Er, who, being confined all year round, obviously didn¡¯t know what food this was.


    ¡°Do you remember what the delivery person looked like?¡± Yan Junze asked the boy.


    ¡°Tall and skinny, I can¡¯t remember what he looked like anymore,¡± the boy said.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got all the information we need for now. I¡¯ve already told you how to temporarily stop the strangeness; tell your family to wait for our news,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone and returned the old cell phone to the old man.


    After leaving the Guo home, Yan Junze asked Xiang Er, ¡°Have you noticed any commonality?¡±


    Xiang Er, perplexed, shook her head.


    Yan Junze counted on his fingers, ¡°The takeout includes pizza, pasta, bacon baked rice. This means that, as far as we can see, it¡¯s all Western food.¡±


    Xiang Er thoughtfully said, ¡°This means that the person pretending to deliver takeout might be best at making Western food.¡±


    ¡°Did this guy get his head stuck in a door jam? Using a special method to attach spirits to the takeout, and after people eat it, immediately they¡¯re plagued by strangeness; what exactly is he after?¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    Xiang Er suggested, ¡°Could these people be raising spirits?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Raising spirits is for one¡¯s own benefit. After these strangenesses attach to innocent people, we haven¡¯t seen them approach these people to bargain or seek benefits before resolving the issue.¡±


    ¡°So what exactly is it for?¡± Xiang Er frowned slightly.


    Yan Junze looked down at the phone message, ¡°Let¡¯s go, visit another family. For the other, more distant families, I will directly contact them by phone, clarify these key points, and then we should be able to find the delivery person based on this information.¡±


    The Cai Family was closer to the Guo family.


    This time Yan Junze called in advance; the three members of the Cai Family were all at home and hadn¡¯t gone anywhere.


    From their tone, it seemed the strangeness were causing more severe disturbances in this family, as the head of the family, Cai Yongheng, spoke tremblingly.


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 Chapter 430 03-25 - 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    Chapter 430: Chapter 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2


    Yan Junze offered his reassurances and said he would get there as soon as possible before hanging up the phone.


    Cai Yongheng placed the phone beside him, his tense expression slightly relaxing. He looked up at his family and said, ¡°The exorcist master is coming right away, just hang in there a little longer.¡±


    Cai Yongheng¡¯s sixteen-year-old son, Cai Hao, perked up upon hearing that the exorcist was coming soon, and excitedly said to his mother beside him, ¡°Mom, did you hear that? The exorcist is coming, we¡¯re going to be saved!¡±


    His mother, Yang Zhen, nodded her head, but her eyes still betrayed her terror as she glanced at the other rooms in the house.


    At that moment, whether it was the kitchen or the bedroom, the bathroom or the balcony, all the doors were tightly shut.


    ¡°Come, sit next to me. Right now, we don¡¯t worry about anything else; we just wait for the exorcist master to arrive. It¡¯s going to be okay, it¡¯s going to be okay¡­¡±


    ...


    With one arm around his son and the other around his wife, Cai Yongheng sat with them on the couch. Though the couch was spacious, the three of them huddled close together, forming a tight group. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Cai Family¡¯s home exuded an extremely cold and somber air. The three individuals were all dressed in thick sweaters and down jackets, and a heavy cotton quilt lay on the couch.


    Not long after the three had huddled together, the bedroom door suddenly opened.


    The trio jolted with fear, their eyes darting to the door, only to see an old man in a gray cotton-padded coat walking out.


    The elderly man was hunchbacked, his face pale and eyes as if covered with a thin film, his limbs stiff and radiating an aura of chill.


    After walking out of the bedroom, he came directly to the living room, approaching the couch where the three were sitting, then stopped.


    The old man opened his lips, adhesive strings connecting his upper and lower lips, and asked, ¡°Son, where is the belt I left on the back of the chair in the study?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Hallucination, hallucination, there¡¯s nothing there, I didn¡¯t see anything¡­¡± Cai Yongheng dared not lift his head to look at the old man, simply bowing his head and trembling, constantly muttering to himself.


    ¡°Son, I am talking to you, did you hear me?¡± The old man was clearly getting angry.


    Ignoring the old man completely was an action that showed a stark lack of respect for him.


    However, Cai Yongheng still remained silent, just continually muttering.


    The old man became even more incensed, stepping forward and reaching out his calloused, wrinkled hand towards the bowed head of Cai Yongheng.


    ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± Cai Hao couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and quickly spoke up.


    The old man¡¯s reaching hand hesitated, stopping in its tracks.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandpa, I damaged your belt last time and then threw it away,¡± Cai Hao explained, ignoring his mother¡¯s tug on his arm.


    ¡°Disobedient! Disobedient!¡± The old man stamped his foot hard, huffing as he turned around and walked back to the bedroom. It was evident that he was walking on the tips of his toes, his gait unnervingly weird.


    As he entered the bedroom, the door to the bathroom on the opposite side opened, and a portly old crone came out and made her way to the living room.


    This old crone, too, was wearing a cotton-padded jacket, walking on the balls of her feet, with her arms hanging straight down without swinging, her eyes a grey blur, gazing straight ahead.


    ¡°There¡¯s no paper in the toilet, what on earth do you do all day, you lazy daughter-in-law?¡±


    Although she seemed to be looking at the window behind the couch when she spoke, she was actually addressing the people seated on the couch.


    After seeing the fat old crone appear, Cai Hao¡¯s mother, Yang Zhen, began to tremble violently. Upon hearing the old woman¡¯s words, Yang Zhen explained in a frightened stammer, ¡°Mom, there is paper in the bathroom. It¡¯s in the roll holder on the wall, not like before when it was placed on a small stool.¡±


    ¡°Talking back, you lazy daughter-in-law! I¡¯m hungry, aren¡¯t you going to cook?¡± After saying this, the fat old crone turned around and walked away, her arms hanging stiffly by her side.


    But she didn¡¯t go far, instead standing by the television cabinet, her back against the wall, staring blankly at the people sitting on the couch.


    At this moment, the three on the couch trembled like chaff, and Yang Zhen whispered to Cai Yongheng, ¡°Quickly bring your mother inside, I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared too, my mother has always been fierce, I¡¯ve been terrified of her since I was a child,¡± Cai Yongheng said in a whisper, not daring to breathe loudly.


    It was Cai Hao who swallowed his saliva and mustered the courage to say, ¡°Grandma¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to cook?¡± The fat old crone suddenly let out a sharp shriek, her voice piercing and eerie.


    The threesome on the couch jolted violently, and Yang Zhen, as if on reflex, stood up immediately. Her hands and feet seemed to move on their own, verging on tears as she slowly made her way to the closed kitchen door and began to shuffle toward it.


    The old woman turned to follow her movements, silently watching her as she fumbled with the kitchen door.


    Cai Yongheng spoke out, ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    The fat old crone paid no attention to her son, still silently staring at Yang Zhen, who was now opening the kitchen door.


    Yang Zhen¡¯s hands and feet shook as she pushed open the kitchen¡¯s swing door.


    There was a reason all the doors in the house were kept shut, but now it was clear that closing them was useless.


    The moment Yang Zhen pushed open the kitchen door, her gaze fell into the dimly lit kitchen. Instantly, her entire body shook violently, and she turned to run back toward the couch, nearly falling over during her frantic return, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.


    From the couch, you could see toward the kitchen, and Cai Yongheng and his son, Cai Hao, quickly looked over to see two other elderly people and a middle-aged man with a child standing vaguely in the kitchen.


    One of the elderly, a gaunt old man, spoke in a hoarse voice, ¡°Zhen, we¡¯ve already made dinner, it¡¯s ready to eat.¡±


    The middle-aged man, holding the child¡¯s hand, each lifted a dish with their free hands. The dish was filled with something sticky and indistinct, still writhing.


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 Chapter 431 - 431 321 Takeout (Part 5) (Request for Monthly

    ?Chapter 431: Chapter 321 Takeout (Part 5) (Request for Monthly Pass!)_3 Chapter 431: Chapter 321 Takeout (Part 5) (Request for Monthly Pass!)_3 Cai Yongheng and the other two were nearly driven to collapse upon witnessing this scene.


    On the same day they ate takeout, their long-deceased parents had suddenly appeared at home one after another, behaving eerily. Soon after, Yang Zhen¡¯s elder brother, who had died in a car accident, along with his children, appeared as well.


    These people aimlessly wandered around the house, terrifying Cai Yongheng, Yang Zhen, and Cai Hao.


    Even when they moved out, these deceased individuals followed, frightening friends and relatives, forcing them to move back in.


    Soon, the elderly from the kitchen also came out, each holding ¡°dishes¡± with two plates dripping blood, which quickly covered the table and were placed in front of the three of them.


    Yang Zhen¡¯s parents, her elder brother and son, along with Cai Yongheng¡¯s father who emerged again from the room and his mother standing beside the TV unit, all approached the sofa and stared intently at them.


    ¡°Eat, while it¡¯s hot!¡±


    ¡°Here, try this, just caught.¡±


    ¡°It tastes better when it¡¯s bloody.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you eating?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to eat or not!¡±


    The surrounding crowd all spoke up one after another, their voices cold, hurried, and chilling.


    Cai Yongheng stretched out his arms and tightly embraced Yang Zhen and his son; he didn¡¯t lift his head, nor did he respond.


    He knew that as long as he endured a little longer, regardless of the terror in his heart, these people would vanish, only to reappear again later.


    But this time it seemed different. Upon seeing that none of the three had touched the food on the plates, Yang Zhen¡¯s mother reached out and suddenly grabbed Cai Yongheng¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Eat!¡±


    Her gaunt fingers sunk into Cai Yongheng¡¯s arm, leaving behind a black handprint.


    Cai Yongheng instantly became panic-stricken and cried out in fear.


    Bang!


    The room door was suddenly kicked open from the outside.


    A stunning woman stepped into the room; it was Xiang Er.


    The moment she appeared, the six strange figures standing in front of the living room sofa burst into a wisp of light smoke and vanished on the spot.


    Yan Junze followed closely into the room, looked around, and saw that the Cai family was still desperately clinging to each other, afraid to let go.


    ¡°We are exorcists; it¡¯s okay now.¡± Yan Junze spoke, easing their tension and fear, while he carefully reviewed the task information that had just popped up in his mind.


    ¡°Exorcist, has the master exorcist arrived?!¡± Cai Yongheng released his family members, his body weak. Although he was shouting, he was utterly unable to stand.


    By then, Yan Junze had finished reviewing the task information alert, and with a slight frown, he said to Xiang Er, ¡°The strangeness this family is facing is a bit more formidable; dealing with it might be a bit tricky.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Xiang Er looked around.


    She knew very well that if she hadn¡¯t appeared, those vanished strange figures might have harmed the Cai family.


    Regardless, even if this strangeness seemed powerful, it was still frightened by the natural authoritative presence emanated by Xiang Er.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer Xiang Er but instead looked up at Cai Yongheng and asked, ¡°What was the takeout you ate?¡±


    ¡°Pizza.¡±


    ¡°What did the delivery person look like?¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Tall and skinny.¡±


    Yan Junze turned back to Xiang Er and said, ¡°You stay here; you can deter the strange figure that appeared just now. I¡¯ll handle the delivery person alone. You should be careful though; although the spirit is afraid of you, its illusions are very strong.¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t follow you, what if those people try to harm you?¡± Xiang Er asked.


    Now, it seemed highly likely that the delivery person was a living human. If it were a spirit, Yan Junze could handle it, but if it was a living person, she worried he might get hurt.

 Chapter 432 - 432 322 Takeout (Part 6) (Request for

    ?Chapter 432: Chapter 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 432: Chapter 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can handle the delivery guy,¡± Yan Junze patted Xiang Er¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You stay at the Cai family¡¯s home, I¡¯ll try to finish this task today so we can return to Shuntian early.¡±


    After speaking, he said to Cai Yongheng and the others, ¡°We¡¯ll leave an Exorcist here, please rest assured, the strangeness won¡¯t dare to trouble you again.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡±


    The Cai Yongheng couple quickly nodded their heads.


    Although they did not know why an Exorcist would come and not get rid of the strangeness immediately, at least now with an Exorcist in presence, the strangeness wouldn¡¯t dare to appear again, and for the time being, the family was safe.


    Yan Junze turned and left, and Xiang Er closed the door before turning to sit down on the sofa in the living room, saying, ¡°You can move around freely in the house, I can¡¯t feel the strangeness inside right now, it seems to have run off for the moment.¡±


    The three members of the Cai family breathed a sigh of relief, Xiang Er¡¯s words were like a calming pill for them.


    Yang Zhen got up to pour water for Xiang Er and instructed her son to wash some apples in the kitchen for their guest.


    Cai Hao stood up, still somewhat timid, glanced at the kitchen to make sure no one was there, quickly turned on the kitchen light, and then dared to walk in.


    The Cai family¡¯s strange event was stable, but this was only temporary, leaving Xiang Er at the Cai family was just a stopgap measure, Yan Junze knew he had to hurry to find the delivery guy.


    He left the Cai¡¯s and called the remaining families who were a bit farther away.


    After hanging up, he had learned that the delivery guy had been delivering the same few types of Western food, nothing else.


    This indicated that the person¡¯s specialty was indeed Western cuisine, then using this means to deliver the strangeness-attached takeout, and have people eat it.


    If it were a normal Exorcist, he would have already started working with the security officers, searching all the restaurant owners in the nearby neighborhoods.


    But Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to do that, he had a more straightforward method.


    Walking down the street and after covering some ground, he estimated that he was roughly in the central area of Tianmeng¡¯s Southern District, then he activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    Whoosh, after four or five seconds, information about more than ten strange events quickly flooded into his mind.


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed them, he had certain criteria in mind for selection, so the first step was to look at the name of the task, and then the description of the task.


    He rapidly went through the dozen odd task information and then Yan Junze scrolled back to the beginning, looking from the first one again, pondering slowly, one by one.


    When he reached the ninth one, he stopped, his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought.


    [Task Name: Special Attraction;


    Task Level: ¡ª¡ª


    Task Background: Ku Zai is his nickname, because since childhood his constitution has been very unique, skinny and bony, his skin yellow and muscles frail, even though he eats a lot, he remains as such. After the outbreak of strangeness, Ku Zai slowly discovered that he can see many things that others cannot, even some things that Exorcists can¡¯t see. Not only that, many of these things appear in great numbers and seem to be following him, intentionally or unintentionally. Now the situation is getting worse, to the extent that he has started to suspect if his body has a strong attraction to those weird things. From initial shock, to concern, and finally to despair, the current Ku Zai is no different from a man on the brink of death.


    Task Explanation: Ku Zai desires freedom;


    Task Reward: ¡ª¡ª points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: A group assault by the strangeness is terrifying;


    Task Tip: 1. The task has multiple Evil Spirits that can be Locked down; 2. Due to variations in the level of strangeness, the task cannot yield an accurate level;


    Note: Sometimes, death too is a form of freedom.]


    Yan Junze scrutinized each segment of the task¡¯s text, discerning from the words that this man called Ku Zai must possess a special constitution that attracts strangeness, and now he is beleaguered by strangeness and desires freedom.


    At first glance, the task seemed rather normal, the only unusual aspects being the task level not defined and the reward points for Different Dimension Energy not specified.


    But upon careful analysis, it was certain that more than one strangeness was swirling around Ku Zai.


    The deeper he thought, the more suspicious Yan Junze found the task.


    He glanced over some other tasks ¨C there were tasks labeled as ¡°hair-raising¡± and others as ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡±, but the tips and descriptions of the tasks all seemed quite ordinary. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fearing that he might miss some key information revealed by other tasks, he reviewed them again, still uncertain, but ultimately his gaze returned to the task called [Special Attraction].


    Checking the task¡¯s address information, it was just two blocks from here, Yan Junze directly hailed a taxi to go there.


    Compared to a normal Exorcist, activating [Perception of Strange Events] is Yan Junze¡¯s unique skill, while others might still be joining forces with security officers to pursue the investigation, Junze¡¯s event perception could handle the bulk of the trouble.


    Soon after, the taxi pulled up on an old street in the Southern District.


    He alighted and confirmed the address shown by the task, it was the right place.


    He called Xiang Er to inquire about the situation at the Cai¡¯s, and Xiang Er reported back that all was normal.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve found the source of everything; I¡¯m about to confirm it. It¡¯s on the corner of the old street in the Southern District,¡± Yan Junze looked up at the sign above, ¡°This place is called ¡®South City Old Lane Spicy Hot Pot¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 433 - 433 322 Takeout (Part 6) (Request for

    ?Chapter 433: Chapter 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 433: Chapter 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze confirmed the address once again and walked into the spicy hotpot restaurant.


    The facilities in the shop were very ordinary, but since it dared to open in the central location of the entrance to the old street and appeared to have been in business for quite some time, it must have some capabilities.


    It was still early for the lunch rush, and there were no customers in the shop now.


    The chairs in the restaurant were not yet arranged, just stacked in piles.


    Yan Junze stood in the shop for a while, and a plump woman lifted her head from behind the counter and called out to him, ¡°Sir, we officially open in an hour. If you¡¯re not here for anything urgent, you can sit over there, and I¡¯ll pour some tea for you right away.¡±


    Yan Junze waved his hand, ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone.¡±


    The plump woman looked surprised, stood up, and asked, ¡°May I know who you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment and replied, ¡°We used to call him¡ªKu Zai as kids.¡±


    The plump woman was taken aback, ¡°We don¡¯t have anyone by that name here.¡±


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Perhaps he doesn¡¯t go by that nickname, but a different name. Hmm, he¡¯s very skinny, frail, and often ill.¡±


    The plump woman shook her head in disbelief, apparently still having no recollection.


    ¡°What about your boss?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°He won¡¯t be here until the afternoon,¡± replied the plump woman.


    ¡°Could you give me his contact details?¡± Yan Junze asked further.


    The plump woman shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t just give that out. If you¡¯re looking for him, come back in the afternoon.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, nodded, and walked out. He turned a corner upon exiting, darted down an alley next to the spicy hotpot restaurant, took several turns, and arrived at the back door of the establishment.


    Shortly after he left the shop, a tall and thin man lifted the curtain leading to the kitchen, stood at the doorway, and asked the plump woman, ¡°Who was that person looking for just now?¡±


    ¡°Something¡­ Ku Zai?¡± the plump woman said.


    The tall and thin man, who had an apron tied around him, looked slightly stern after hearing the plump woman¡¯s response. He tore off his apron in one swift motion and casually picked up an iron shovel that was leaning against the door, following right behind Yan Junze as he left the shop.


    Before entering the alley, Yan Junze looked back, but no one was following him.


    Upon reaching the back door of the spicy hotpot restaurant, he looked up and saw the door was tightly shut. However, there was an open window next to it. Although the window was barred with iron, it provided an opportunity to peek inside and scope out the situation.


    He sneaked closer, cautiously peering inside.


    This side was somewhat removed from the street, so it was quieter. Yan Junze pressed up against the window, holding his breath and spying. The inside looked like a typical restaurant kitchen, but it was devoid of chefs or helpers, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.


    Only at the far end of the kitchen was there a thick alloy door, shiny and gleaming, though it was unclear if it was a cold storage room or something else.


    Meanwhile, the tall and thin man with the iron shovel approached Yan Junze without making a sound.


    He noticed that Yan Junze remained fixated on peering through the window, entirely oblivious to anyone approaching from behind. Considering his own silent movements, even though he felt uneasy at heart. The tall and thin man gripped the shovel with both hands, carefully stepping towards Yan Junze.


    After taking a deep breath, he raised the iron shovel high. At that moment, Yan Junze, who appeared to be completely unguarded and focused on his spying, suddenly turned around with an alloy mallet in his hand. Without any hesitation and as if anticipating the man¡¯s exact location and height, he swung the mallet and struck the tall man squarely on the cheek.


    The man¡¯s iron shovel instantly flew from his grasp, and as his head was struck by the mallet, he looked stunned, fainting on the spot with a thud.


    Before losing consciousness, he couldn¡¯t understand how Yan Junze, who seemed utterly defenseless, could have such precise knowledge of his movements, capturing his exact position and height to perfection as if there had been a rehearsal before the confrontation.


    At this moment, Yan Junze spoke in an irritated tone as if releasing some pent-up frustration, ¡°Feels good, huh? That¡¯ll teach you to sneak up on me.¡±


    Those words, however, fell on deaf ears as the tall and thin man could no longer hear them.


    Yan Junze squatted down and took a closer look; he was now seventy percent certain that this tall and thin man and one of the delivery people were one and the same.


    He searched the man¡¯s body and quickly found a set of keys. He went in front of the back door, tried the keys one by one in the lock, and soon the lock clicked, opened by one of the keys.


    Yan Junze peeked inside to make sure it was empty; then he walked in, quickly approaching the door resembling that of a cold storage and began to try the keys again.


    It was easy to find the right key for the cold storage because the lock was specially made, and the key was large; Yan Junze only had to try once before twisting it open. Just as he pushed open the heavy door, a weak voice suddenly echoed from behind, sounding pleading.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go in! It¡¯s dangerous inside.¡±


    Yan Junze turned around and saw that the tall and thin man had woken up and stumbled into the kitchen. His left cheek was swollen, distorting his speech.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to find Ku Zai,¡± Yan Junze said bluntly.


    The man waved his hands and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have anyone called Ku Zai here; you¡¯ve got the wrong person. If you don¡¯t leave now, I will call the police.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and call the police, and while you¡¯re at it, dial 4747 to bring the exorcist over,¡± Yan Junze sneered.


    The tall and thin man was taken aback. Yan Junze added, ¡°Oh, no need to dial 4747; I am the exorcist. What I want to know is¡­ why are you guys sending out those deliveries?¡±


    Startled, the tall and thin man waved his hands frantically and argued, ¡°No, no, we run a hot pot restaurant, we don¡¯t do deliveries. I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°Fine, if you won¡¯t talk, I¡¯ll see for myself.¡± Yan Junze took out a mallet and pointed it at the tall and thin man, signaling for him to not try any funny business, then proceeded to the cold storage.


    The tall and thin man suddenly looked shocked, unable to comprehend where Yan Junze had pulled out the mallet from, startled, feeling it had just appeared in his hand out of nowhere. So his gaze kept lingering around Yan Junze¡¯s crotch area, guessing the likely spot where a mallet could be hidden.


    Once inside, he looked at the cold storage door, which had an emergency unlocking mechanism to prevent it from closing, and it could also be opened directly with a key from the inside, so it wouldn¡¯t matter if this guy closed the door after he went in.


    Stepping into the cold storage, surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t cold inside; nor was there much stored. Instead, some plastic sheets covered part of the cold storage, with the scene inside only becoming visible upon walking further in.


    The tall and thin man didn¡¯t think twice; he followed right in and said, ¡°We really are in the hot pot business, we don¡¯t deliver. Are you¡­ sure you¡¯ve got the wrong place?¡±


    ¡°Still trying to lie.¡± Yan Junze stopped, turned his head to look at him, and said, ¡°Would I come here without concrete evidence? Tell me, is Ku Zai inside?¡±


    The tall and thin man grew even more anxious but didn¡¯t answer Yan Junze¡¯s question. Instead, he hastily said, ¡°Don¡¯t go any further, you really shouldn¡¯t go that way; it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    Sensing the man was still not telling the truth, Yan Junze turned and went on; after a few steps, he discovered that behind the plastic sheets, there was yet another iron door.


    He took out the set of keys again, trying them in the lock one by one, and quickly, another click, the lock opened.


    The tall and thin man behind him was utterly frantic, ready to pounce, and Yan Junze immediately waved the mallet, forcing the man to retreat.


    The tall and thin man seemed desperate, repeating, ¡°Don¡¯t open the door, it¡¯s dangerous, it¡¯s really dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, I can help him,¡± Yan Junze remarked, and with a swoosh, he opened the iron door. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tall and thin man didn¡¯t advance any further, instead hastily backing away.


    At that moment, from the grey space behind the opened iron door, a rapid series of footsteps resounded, and seconds later, accompanied by a shrill scream, descended.


    A woman dressed in red, with dishevelled hair, reached out her arms, her fingernails sharp and long, rushed to the iron door, lunging to scratch Yan Junze.


    Thud!


    Yan Junze swung the Black Spirit Mallet he held, hitting the red-dressed woman on the head just in time. Then he knocked her to the floor with another swing, and a flurry of blows followed, each with practiced speed and precision.


    ¡°Crap, this exorcist¡­¡± The tall and thin man outside watched, dumbfounded, as if he had never seen such a ferocious way of exorcism.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    ¡°Hiss hiss hiss¡­¡±


    Suddenly, other eerie noises emanated from the room behind the iron door.

 Chapter 434 - 434 323 Takeout (Part 7) (23 Request for

    ?Chapter 434: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 434: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Yan Junze seemed to have anticipated this, taking a step back without entering through the iron door.


    Before he retreated, he greeted the woman in red with another heavy blow from the club in his hand. At first, the woman was howling in agony, but now she was instinctively crawling inward, trying to escape without being able to make a sound.


    Accompanied by various strange noises from inside the room, a fat man armed with a butcher¡¯s knife stepped out, his right half of the face completely decayed, and his stomach had a long gash through which red was wriggling, the cause of his death unknown.


    Following him was another strangeness unable to be identified as either an adult or a child, its entire body curled up into a ball, swiftly moving forward on the ground, with its hind legs snapped off and gone.


    The two strangenesses rapidly closed in on Yan Junze.


    By now, the tall and thin man had already run to the entrance of the cold storage, looking over in a panicked state, ready to shut the cold storage door at any moment should the strangenesses approach.


    However, knowing the truth of the situation, he was still somewhat concerned for Yan Junze¡¯s safety. Although the other party was an exorcist, capable of combating strangenesses, if he came out unscathed, it would mean less responsibility for himself.


    But if Yan Junze were to be defeated and unable to come out, there would be no choice but to shut the cold storage door. If the problem in the cold storage was resolved, all was well, but if Yan Junze failed, the tall and thin man could only bury his corpse along with it. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking from the direction of the entrance, the sight was largely obstructed by the mass of hanging plastic cloth, so much so that the tall and thin man could hardly see what was happening inside.


    But the eerie cries reaching his ears were very real, causing him to tremble, gripping the door handle without letting go, occasionally catching glimpses of different shadows around the iron door.


    This scene made him feel even colder.


    As for Yan Junze, upon seeing the two strangenesses charging at him, one in front and one behind, he immediately released Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and two strange babies.


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s tongue lashed out, wrapping around the head of the butcher in the front, while the Crawler Monster started to fight with the creature crawling on the ground.


    Boom!


    The butcher¡¯s head was crushed by Zhenzhen¡¯s hard tongue, but the headless body still flailed the butcher¡¯s knife chaotically.


    Zhenzhen drew back her tongue, then shot it out repeatedly, the tongue striking with bullet-like speed, different from the Crawler Monster¡¯s forked tongue.


    The butcher strangeness¡¯s body took hit after hit and quickly became riddled with holes, falling backward, then vanished into thin air.


    ¡°That was a mid-level Wandering Spirit,¡± Long-tongued Zhenzhen informed Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze first locked her down in Rock¡¯s old house, Zhenzhen was already an advanced Wandering Spirit. Now, after absorbing Different Dimension Energy in the Atlas for so long, her strength had grown, though not quite a true Sculpting Spirit, she wasn¡¯t far off.


    Zhenzhen was now superior to the likes of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Resentful Granny.


    Similarly, the Crawler Monster, having spent even more time in the Atlas, was no longer the weakling it once was.


    Its tongue was more on the flexible side, and it now had the black, footless strangeness entangled and pinned down, its ten sharp fingers ferociously clawing at the creature.


    The strangeness on the ground couldn¡¯t withstand the assault, screeching and flailing wildly at the Crawler Monster.


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s strength was now verging on that of an advanced Wandering Spirit, and it hadn¡¯t felt such exhilarating combat with its kind for a long time. Once among the lowest ranks of strangenesses, it now savoured a moment of triumph.


    Even its side parting hairdo, normally so neat, was now disheveled as it fought with abandon, occasionally letting out shrill, unpleasant cries, making others think it was incurring heavy self-damage whilst injuring the enemy.


    Noises were still coming from inside the iron door, and the two strange babies, excited by the sounds, had already darted inside.


    Concerned for their safety, Yan Junze hurriedly said to Zhenzhen, ¡°Quick, follow the babies in, don¡¯t let them get hurt.¡±


    Mainly because Aunt Mei had taken care of these two, and now that he was about to return to Shuntian City, if Aunt Mei found out that these two kids met with some misfortune, he would have trouble explaining himself.


    Zhenzhen levitated and drifted through the iron door.


    Soon, the sounds of a struggle accompanied by the thrilled cries of the strange babies could be heard. These two fought much like the Crawler Monster, the only difference being their lack of a tongue.


    Over here, the Crawler Monster flipped the dark creeper onto the ground, reducing it to a cloud of black smoke that dissipated completely.


    It then shook its hair into place, looking at Yan Junze with an expression seeking recognition for its achievements.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, inside.¡±


    Yan Junze patted its head and led the way into the iron door, with the Crawler Monster following behind.


    Upon entering, they found the room behind the iron door to be a steel chamber, filled with poor air quality and engulfed in a stinky and even somewhat rotten smell.


    Zhenzhen and the two strange babies had already dispatched the unrecognizable strangenesses that were making noises earlier, leaving two blurred masses of flesh on the floor, gradually fading away.


    The room no longer harbored any other strangeness that posed a threat to them, but various strange sounds still emanated from the deepest part of the room.


    As Yan Junze was about to walk deeper, Zhenzhen reminded him, ¡°I feel very afraid; there¡¯s something in there that¡¯s very bad, very bad indeed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re feeling fear too?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    Zhenzhen shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of something, it¡¯s more like I have an instinctual sense of fear.¡±

 Chapter 435 - 435 323 Takeout (Part 7) (23 Request for

    ?Chapter 435: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 435: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Yan Junze was very familiar with this sensation of fear and oppression; initially, Ke¡¯er had been the most sensitive among them, immediately turning tail and fleeing at the slightest hint of a terrifying disturbance.


    This meant that the strangeness inside was oppressive even to a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Zhenzhen.


    ¡°If you all feel oppressed, retreat back into the Atlas first, and I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhenzhen immediately shook her head, ¡°No, we can resist for a while. Even if it¡¯s stronger than me, I can block it to let you escape.¡±


    As they drew closer, the two strange babies became restless and anxious, scratching their ears and cheeks, crawling back and forth at the feet of Yan Junze and Zhenzhen.


    Only the Crawler Monster, oblivious as always, crawled along with a confused expression, lifting its head to look at Yan Junze and Zhenzhen, who proceeded with caution.


    As they walked deeper into the house, a weak ray of light shone down from above. It was a dull, dimly lit bulb hanging over a large wooden chair.


    At that moment, a man sat on the chair, his clothes hanging off him as if they might drop at any second, his entire body reduced to skin and bones, his hair dirty and unkempt, his face gaunt.


    The man wasn¡¯t asleep; his eyes were half-open, his body nearly slumped over the chair, unable to sit upright, listlessly watching Yan Junze and the others as they approached. During this time, his expression did not change at all.


    If it weren¡¯t for the slight rise and fall of the man¡¯s chest, Yan Junze would think him nearly indistinguishable from a dead person.


    The source of the foul stench in the room emanated partly from the man himself and partly from the bed beside the large wooden chair.


    That bed, likely where the man usually rested, had its bedding soiled with sweat or something else, now congealed into a mass that couldn¡¯t be pried apart. It was evident that the whole bed was damp.


    ¡°Zhenzhen, where is the fear you sensed coming from?¡±


    About three meters away from the malnourished man, Yan Junze stopped and looked around before asking Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen, half a step behind him and standing to the side, answered with a hint of fear, ¡°It¡¯s coming from this man.¡±


    ¡°But he should be human,¡± Yan Junze was sure this guy was the protagonist of the quest ¡°Special Attraction.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see it?¡± Zhenzhen suddenly said in surprise.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a strangeness on this man.¡±


    Yan Junze intently stared at the man before him and shook his head.


    Indeed, he saw nothing; in fact, this was the first time he discovered that he couldn¡¯t see a strangeness.


    Strangenesses can appear in many ways: some at specific locations, others at particular times, and some only appear when certain people are present. There are even those that require the right combination of time, place, and people to materialize.


    Starting from the level of entities like Ke¡¯er, they can choose whether or not to be visible to people.


    If a strangeness so pleases, it can be seen by everyone. If it wants to remain hidden, it can do so or selectively reveal itself to certain individuals (requiring a higher level).


    Of course, when a strangeness attacks a target, it naturally reveals itself, ensuring that the target can see it.


    Like the strangeness skilled in covert photographing from the ¡°Photographing¡± quest, its state of invisibility was rare even among strangenesses.


    Under normal conditions, a three-star Exorcist can see the vast majority of the strangenesses in this world with the naked eye, regardless of whether those entities want to be seen.


    This is the fundamental difference between Exorcists and ordinary people. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As far as Yan Junze could tell, there was only that scrawny young man sitting on the large wooden chair in the entire room, listless, with nothing strange beside him.


    But Zhenzhen, being a strangeness herself, immediately noticed a shabbily dressed male strangeness clinging tightly to the right side of the young man, moving occasionally, and looking very eerie.


    At this moment, the two normally mischievous strange babies behaved themselves and lay quietly at Yan Junze¡¯s feet, trembling and clearly frightened.


    The formerly clueless Crawler Monster finally sensed something amiss, its befuddled gaze turned toward the scrawny young man. It then hunched its shoulders and hung its head low, fixing its eyes on the ground, not daring to look up again.


    Clearly, it could also see the strangeness that Zhenzhen saw, and it was utterly intimidated by it.


    Just then, the half-dead young man slightly lifted his drooping eyelids and glanced at Yan Junze and the others, his face unchanged and devoid of any ripples of emotion.


    After a moment, his lips moved faintly, uttering his first words upon seeing these people: ¡°You see¡­ only one?¡±


    Right at that moment, Zhenzhen involuntarily took two steps back.


    Yan Junze turned to look at her.


    Zhenzhen said, ¡°The strangeness on this young man has lifted its head and is looking at me.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure the fear you feel is coming from this strangeness?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    Zhenzhen hesitated slightly, then shook her head: ¡°It seems there¡¯s something else, a very strange feeling.¡±


    Yan Junze turned back to the scrawny young man: ¡°Are you Ku Zai?¡±


    The young man¡¯s expression changed, showing surprise for a moment before quickly returning to normal, but he did not respond.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I am an Exorcist.¡±


    Fear flickered across the young man¡¯s face as he shifted slightly, as if contemplating escape, but an unseen force instantly pressed him back down.

 Chapter 436 - 436 323 Takeout (Part 7) (23 Request for

    ?Chapter 436: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_3 Chapter 436: Chapter 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_3 ¡°`


    He opened his mouth, seemingly intending to speak at a normal pace, but his body was so weak that he still sounded breathless, ¡°Don¡¯t catch me, don¡¯t take me back, I¡¯m very normal, don¡¯t study me.¡±


    With this, Yan Junze finally understood why this fellow had not been calling for an exorcist.


    He shook his head and replied, ¡°I won¡¯t catch you, I¡¯m here to help you, your condition is very bad right now, if we don¡¯t figure out something¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the gaunt young man.


    The guy¡¯s complexion was pale, utterly devoid of any color, and his cheeks were so thin they seemed to be just skin over bone as he lifted his face to stare at Yan Junze, skull-like.


    ¡°No one wants you to die.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and in that moment, he activated his Semi-Spirit Body.


    The hair on his body began to grow wildly, and his head slowly twisted around. At the same time, Yan Junze himself was turning, allowing his head to face the gaunt young man directly.


    Upon seeing this scene, the gaunt young man¡¯s eyelids twitched slightly, but then he returned to normal. He was already used to the appearance of strangenesses.


    At this time, Yan Junze, through the perspective of the Back-faced Woman, looked at everything before him.


    First, he looked in the direction of the gaunt young man and then his body shook violently. On the wooden chair, where the young man was seated, which was also being climbed on by the young man, there were at least five strangenesses.


    These five strangenesses included the ragged one seen by Zhenzhen, as well as four others which Zhenzhen could not see but could feel the oppressive fear from.


    The strangenesses each lifted their heads from the young man¡¯s body, some hugging their arms, others riding on his shoulders, some winding around his back, or simply lying across the young man¡¯s thighs¡­ S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of the strangenesses didn¡¯t have a head at all, another was a skeleton draped in clothing, and there was also a bloated strangeness whose flesh was rotting away, with bits of flesh dropping from its body now and then, plopping down at the gaunt young man¡¯s feet.


    Besides the strangenesses climbing on him, there was also a figure even thinner than the young man, looking like a shriveled old woman standing rigidly behind the gaunt young man. She intermittently stretched out a blackish-grey tongue to lick her lips, her gaze fixed on the young man with a hint of greed.


    Next to this old woman was a man with a swollen body. He too wasn¡¯t climbing on the gaunt young man. One of his eyes bulged, nearly popping out of its socket, while the other eyeball had already fallen out, just hanging by the optic nerve against his cheek, swinging back and forth.


    Dirty fluid occasionally seeped through the cracks in his bloated skin, creating an extremely nauseating sight.


    It wasn¡¯t that these two standing strangenesses didn¡¯t want to climb on the gaunt young man; there simply wasn¡¯t any space left for them, as the young man¡¯s body was already covered in other strangenesses.


    ¡°So, there really is more than one.¡± Yan Junze spoke slowly after getting a clear view.


    ¡°You¡­ you see them all?¡± The gaunt young man appeared surprised again.


    Zhenzhen asked, ¡°Are there still more? How many are there?¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Besides the one you saw, there are four more climbing on him, and another two standing behind, making a total of seven strangenesses around this guy. As of now, they should all be at least Semi-Sculpting Spirits.¡±


    Zhenzhen immediately became terrified.


    Whoosh, whoosh, two strange babies hurriedly clung to Yan Junze¡¯s legs, pulling at his trouser legs incessantly, begging Yan Junze to send them back into the Atlas.


    The Crawler Monster, a bit slower on the uptake, had the opposite reaction; it didn¡¯t seem to find the situation very frightening and had just lifted its dangling head.


    With its master nearby, the creature stretched out its forked tongue, starting to leisurely groom its side parting.


    ¡°Seeing this gaunt young man, what do you feel right now?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen focused and replied, ¡°I feel close to him, I want to be near him. If it weren¡¯t for the presence of those higher-level strangenesses, I might also want to go over and hug him.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°The strangenesses we killed earlier probably felt the same way you do now, but they were forced to hold back because more powerful strangenesses had beaten them to the punch. They couldn¡¯t get close and were just circling nearby. So, upon hearing us come in, they could free themselves to immediately attack us, treating us like strangenesses wanting to ¡®share the feed¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What about these ones?¡± Zhenzhen asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re enjoying themselves for now, too busy to bother with us,¡± Yan Junze said with a grin.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 437 - 437 324 Takeout (Finale) (33 Request for

    ?Chapter 437: Chapter 324: Takeout (Finale) (3/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 437: Chapter 324: Takeout (Finale) (3/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Actually, when Yan Junze activated his Semi-Spirit Body, through the perspective of the Back-faced Woman, he could see all the strangenesses surrounding the emaciated young man. At the same time, these strangenesses also began to slowly turn their heads or look up at him, whose head had twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees.


    From this Semi-Spirit Body, they faintly sensed something and had to heighten their vigilance.


    ¡°Ku Zai, being entangled by these things every moment, it mustn¡¯t be a pleasant feeling, right?¡± Yan Junze said, taking a step forward as he spoke.


    Although the emaciated young man denied it to death, there was no doubt that he was Ku Zai.


    And the reason for his denial was simple: knowing that he was very unusual, he feared that not even an Exorcist could find another like him. So, it wasn¡¯t just him; Ku Zai¡¯s entire family was very worried.


    With such a child attracting strangenesses, in this day and age, it was simply a disaster, a walking time bomb, liable to be captured by Exorcists at any moment for dissection.


    Now, although plagued by strangenesses, it was a move of desperation, but if he really were caught and handed over to the state, they were sure that Ku Zai would undoubtedly die.


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious, through what method do you take the strangenesses that should be binding you and manage to send them out like delivery orders?¡±


    While talking, Yan Junze took another step forward.


    The five strangenesses entwined around Ku Zai began to squirm, turning their heads one by one, either flailing broken arms or opening their mouths to reveal dense arrays of teeth.


    And the fat strangeness, whose flesh was falling off its body, began stamping its feet and emitting a low growl, as if to issue a warning.


    By this time, Yan Junze¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body had reached its peak, and he was holding the Black Spirit Mallet in his hand.


    The only shortcoming was that there was only one Black Spirit Pearl embedded in the mallet; he believed that if the remaining two pearls were also set in it, his deterrent power would be even stronger.


    But presently, it seemed there was still insufficient deterrence.


    Ku Zai spoke up, his voice sounding enervated: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really don¡¯t want this, but¡­ you see, there are just too many of them, I truly¡­ can¡¯t take it. I must find a way¡­ to send them out¡­¡±


    ¡°Who are the people delivering these ¡®orders¡¯?¡± Yan Junze asked, taking another step forward.


    Zhenzhen, from behind, anxiously called out: ¡°You can¡¯t go any further!¡±


    Because after Yan Junze¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body had posed a threat to all the strangenesses present, they had all appeared, including Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the two strange babies. At that moment, they could all see that Ku Zai was covered with many of his unsettling kindred.


    Upon viewing these strangenesses, apart from the Crawler Monster, both Zhenzhen and the two strange babies, under the immense pressure, involuntarily retreated, with their fear intensifying with every moment. Zhenzhen knew very well that if she didn¡¯t retreat, she would soon collapse.


    The Crawler Monster wasn¡¯t retreating not because it chose not to, but because its reaction was extremely slow, always lagging.


    Previously, in the Mountain Park outside of Tricky Silk, when Yan Junze was ambushed by the green child, he had dared to approach the obviously unbeatable child to retrieve the camera, which showed just how slow his reaction was.


    Of course, if he hadn¡¯t watched the camera, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have understood that he had undergone Spirit-Splitting by the Back-faced Woman, and why he had managed to survive.


    The pressure coming from ahead was very strong now. Although the Crawler Monster did not retreat, it had to lower its head. In this process, its forked tongue quietly licked its forehead, stealthily lapping at its hair twice before quickly retracting.


    As for Zhenzhen, she initially had the confidence to confront the visible strangeness, despite the fact that she was likely to lose in the end. But in the current situation, if she were to resist head-on, there would be no chance of escape.


    Ku Zai seemed oblivious to the intense oppressive dynamics already brewing among the strangenesses and responded to Yan Junze: ¡°The delivery, it¡¯s my dad and second uncle who are making them.¡±


    ¡°How did you send it?¡± Yan Junze spoke again, taking another step forward.


    He was now less than two meters away from Ku Zai.


    The strangenesses entwined around Ku Zai rose up, emitting various eerie and terrifying warning sounds.


    Meanwhile, Ku Zai¡¯s shriveled wife and the swollen man behind him moved forward, taking positions on either side of Ku Zai.


    The old woman¡¯s mouth split open, her blackish-grey tongue had become very long and thick, stretching out of her mouth for nearly half a meter, writhing like a living snake.


    The swollen man¡¯s belly began to bulge significantly, his throat undulating; although his mouth was tightly shut, it seemed ready to open at any moment to spray an unknown liquid.


    Ku Zai seemed oblivious to all this as he slowly replied, ¡°Although we opened a hot pot restaurant, my dad¡­ my dad used to study Western cuisine. To attract attention, I took¡­ a little of what¡¯s on me, he put it into the Western dishes, and served it to the people outside. Some strangenesses¡­ would leave me and follow them.¡±


    Yan Junze felt nauseous and asked, ¡°What exactly did you take from yourself?¡±


    ¡°Dandruff, hair, fingernails, etc.,¡± Ku Zai answered.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    Smelling the large amount of foul odor emanating from this guy, thinking of the things taken off him, then mixed into the food, and remembering the slice of pizza he had eaten, Yan Junze¡¯s stomach churned for a while before settling down.


    ¡°Come back with me.¡±


    Ku Zai was startled, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to be studied by you guys. I¡¯m fine by myself¡­ really fine, I¡¯m not going anywhere! I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    Yan Junze took a step forward.


    All the strangenesses took on a posture as if they were going to attack the next second.


    Yan Junze¡¯s expression hardened, his gaze turned inward, as he could also see everything through the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, he spoke, ¡°Where are you? I need Ke¡¯er.¡±


    In an abandoned hospital.


    The Back-faced Woman stood motionless, hands dangling at her sides, next to a row of damaged medicine cabinets, with their contents scattered and leaking onto the floor, filling the room with a pungent smell.


    The Back-faced Woman seemed to be searching for something, but now that she had opened a Semi-Spirit communication with Yan Junze, she had stopped all her actions.


    The Back-faced Woman could not only see Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, but she could also clearly hear his words.


    Right after Yan Junze had spoken, she slightly opened her lips, and her raspy throat emitted a sound, ¡°Ke¡¯er¡­ Ke¡¯er¡­¡±


    Next door was an examination room with a bed and a curtain that could be moved. Behind the curtain, the crimson-clad Ke¡¯er was crouching on the ground, fiddling with something, her head turning from side to side.


    Upon hearing the summon, she lifted her head, rapidly crawled out of the examination room with her hands and feet, and darted towards her mother.


    She skillfully climbed up her mother¡¯s legs and firmly embraced the Back-faced Woman.


    The next second, Ke¡¯er sensed something was off.


    This was a very familiar sensation.


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    Ke¡¯er tilted her head, her little face close to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s eyes, seemingly staring into her pupils.


    Through these pupils, Ke¡¯er could feel everything. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ke¡­ Ke¡­¡± the Back-faced Woman uttered her voice again.


    Ke¡¯er understood and with a ¡°ya¡± sound, flipped onto her mother¡¯s shoulders, her unwashed hair for ages intertwined instantly with the Back-faced Woman¡¯s own.


    After some time apart, the strength of this mother-daughter duo had clearly grown stronger once again.


    In the refrigerated room.


    Jenze, in his Semi-Spirit State, suddenly shook, the power of his Semi-Spirit Body growing wildly, each hair standing on end with such force that Zhenzhen behind him couldn¡¯t help but step back two paces.


    In an instant, all the strangenesses wrapped around Ku Zai paused abruptly as the overpowering aura emanating from Junze made them shiver uncontrollably, releasing their grip from Ku Zai.


    One by one, the creatures wore expressions of fear, their fierce demeanor gone, as they gradually retreated, their menace receding bit by bit.


    Not only that, even the swollen man and the shrunken grandma who had been coming forward also slowly began to retreat, their heads bowed, not daring to look in Junze¡¯s direction.


    The strength of the mother-daughter duo¡¯s Bond Evolution was apparent from this event.


    All strangenesses having retreated, Junze opened his mouth to speak, ¡°Now, you can follow me¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, he suddenly sensed an anomaly. Ku Zai¡¯s expression was exactly the same as before. Despite the departure of the strangenesses that had bound him, he showed no signs of excitement or relief.


    At that moment, Ku Zai¡¯s body began to convulse, starting with slight tremors that grew increasingly violent until even the chair beneath him shook wildly, as though it might fall apart at any moment.


    Ku Zai¡¯s limp body tensed sharply, becoming taut as if pulled up by a stick, he leaned stiffly against the chair, his head thrown back and mouth wide open as if acted upon by an external force.


    Moments later, a large mass of sticky black substance emerged from his mouth, like the clay from a marshland, continuously oozing out.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a strangeness inside this kid!¡±


    Jenze was startled and took a step back.


    However, he then realized he hadn¡¯t intended to step back; the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er had chosen to retreat.


    The next second, a more formidable strangeness exuded its pressure, and the mass of clay slowly inched out of Ku Zai¡¯s mouth. Ku Zai¡¯s body was tensely rigid, his hands desperately clutching the chair¡¯s arms, nails nearly embedding into the wood, his mouth gaping in utter agony.


    Splat!


    The entire mass of clay finally came out, falling onto the floor in front of Ku Zai.


    The clay shifted and grew larger, a humanoid figure seemingly standing up from within it.


    It was evident this was a man, burly in stature, covered entirely by the clay.


    At this point, Junze noticed that against his will, his Semi-Spirit Body took another step back.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er¡ªthey were clearly frightened!


    It seemed that even they could not face the creature before them.


    Junze had never imagined that inside Ku Zai¡¯s body there would be another attached strangeness, and evidently the most powerful among them.


    The clay man stretched out his hand with clay still dripping from his palm, opened his mouth towards Junze.


    Inside was pitch black, like a bottomless abyss.


    ¡°If we really can¡¯t manage this, we¡¯ll have to rewind,¡± thought Junze.


    The emergence of the clay man was completely unexpected, and seeing no other option, Junze prepared to rewind and reconsider entering the refrigerated room another time.


    Just as he was about to rewind, a crisp ¡®bang¡¯ sounded right beside him.


    This was the sound of someone landing heavily on the ground after flying through the air at high speed.


    A familiar sound, a familiar energy¡ªturning his head, what he saw was also a familiar profile.


    ¡°Xiang Er?!¡± Junze was astounded.


    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t set my mind at ease,¡± said Xiang Er with a stern expression, brows slightly furrowed, coldly staring at the clay man.


    As she appeared, the man¡¯s extended arm retracted immediately; the clay around his body no longer moved but stood still.


    Xiang Er¡¯s arms, which had been hanging down, slowly lifted as she stared at the clay man, but it was to Junze she said, ¡°I¡¯ve never fully released all my strength since merging with this female corpse. Now, I want to try.¡±


    As she spoke, her hair moved without any wind, floating up, her skin seeming to turn transparent, her veins and sinews visible.


    A powerful presence spread out from Xiang Er, yet it directed solely towards the strangenesses surrounding Ku Zai.


    Boom!


    The already retreating creatures now rapidly dissipated, racing away to escape.


    The clay man at the forefront had his feet quickly meld together into a rolling mass of clay that receded bit by bit.


    Xiang Er had now risen off the ground, floating forward, pressing the clay man into retreat.


    Gradually, she suspended next to the wooden chair where Ku Zai was seated before she stopped, the clay man silently watching everything unfold, making no move, retreating to a corner and directly merging into the wall.


    Thud, a piece of clay fell to the ground¡ªthe last visible part of the man disappeared through the wall, vanishing without a trace.

 Chapter 438 - 438 325 Back-faced Woman and Keer

    ?Chapter 438: Chapter 325: Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er Chapter 438: Chapter 325: Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er At this moment, all the restlessness in the room subsided.


    The strangenesses that had just been aggressive were now all gone without a trace.


    Zhenzhen now whispered into Yan Junze¡¯s ear, ¡°Xiang Er is too powerful. If I didn¡¯t know her, I¡¯d want to run away right now.¡±


    Yan Junze looked down at the two strange babies clinging tightly to his legs; these little guys had retreated backward with Zhenzhen, but had come forward after Xiang Er appeared.


    Now that Xiang Er was demonstrating her power, the two strange babies were hugging Yan Junze¡¯s thighs tightly, scared.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right now,¡± Yan Junze said to Zhenzhen. ¡°Do you want to go back into the Atlas first?¡±


    Zhenzhen nodded. With Xiang Er here, she wasn¡¯t worried about Yan Junze encountering any more danger.


    Now that the other strangenesses had fled, the attraction to Ku Zai¡¯s body increased for some reason, giving Zhenzhen the urge to get closer.


    The two strange babies also started to become restless.


    The Crawler Monster stood straight up, its gaze fixed on Ku Zai. It straightened its back as if it were a gentleman about to head to a dinner party, its parted hair now neatly combed.


    If she didn¡¯t retrieve them into the Atlas now, they might throw themselves at Ku Zai just like those who had fled.


    Yan Junze immediately collected Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the two strange babies back into the Atlas, then approached the wooden chair where Ku Zai was seated.


    Xiang Er was no longer floating; instead, she landed on the ground, frowning as she stared at the limp young man on the wooden chair, seemingly lifeless.


    ¡°Do you find him special?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°I can¡¯t quite describe it, but he¡¯s very likable.¡±


    ¡°Likable to people, or to strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°Strangenesses,¡± Xiang Er looked up at Yan Junze, ¡°I can feel that getting close to him would be very good for me.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean an increase in strength?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Xiang Er shook her head again: ¡°It¡¯s more like sustenance; he can help with the fusion between me and the female corpse, making it more stable.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised and returned his gaze to Ku Zai, who was still taking weak breaths and had yet to recover.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Ku Zai¡¯s physique to be so nourishing for strangenesses; although it wouldn¡¯t enhance their strength, his body was a treasure. Even Xiang Er could further stabilize herself by associating with him.


    ¡°This guy, if reported to the exorcists, might really end up being dissected for study,¡± Yan Junze mused. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a short while, Ku Zai¡¯s breathing finally began to steady, but he remained pale. He propped himself up by the chair arms, securing his body so he wouldn¡¯t slide to the floor.


    Looking up, he glanced at Xiang Er but finally fixed his gaze on Yan Junze.


    ¡°Feeling any better?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Much better, thank you.¡± Ku Zai now looked more relaxed. After what had just occurred, his body felt empty, but now it truly belonged to him.


    Yan Junze had partially withdrawn the Semi-Spirit Body but still retained the connection with the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er. He was surprised by their current location and planned to inquire about it later.


    To Ku Zai, he said, ¡°This is only temporary. The moment Xiang Er and I leave, those strangenesses, without a single exception, will come back for you, and perhaps more will ¡®come calling.''¡±


    Ku Zai¡¯s expression changed to one of alarm, and his body began to tremble again: ¡°Please, help me, do anything, as long as I¡¯m not dissected.¡±


    Yan Junze had no intention of handing him over to his team at the moment. The guy¡¯s talent was to attract strangenesses, a born freeloader, so why not make good use of it?


    ¡°Would you be willing to follow me?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Ku Zai didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly nodded: ¡°As long as I¡¯m with you, I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Yan Junze nodded. ¡°Following us is a temporary measure. Later on, I¡¯ll find another way to let you live peacefully for the time being, without strangenesses constantly on your back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡±


    Struggling, Ku Zai managed to stand up shakily in front of his chair and was about to kneel down when Yan Junze caught his arm.


    ¡°We¡¯re friends now, no need for that. By the way, is there any more contact with those food deliveries after they¡¯ve been sent out?¡±


    Ku Zai replied, ¡°There is, because if I sever that connection, those strangenesses will return to follow me.¡±


    Yan Junze knew he had a special way of staying in touch, sensing his own deliveries and attracting strangenesses through them.


    ¡°Sever it then. Now, even if you do, those strangenesses won¡¯t dare turn back to you,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Without hesitation, Ku Zai agreed.


    He never dreamt of encountering Yan Junze and Xiang Er, beings who could directly intimidate strangenesses into fleeing. This was an unexpected opportunity, and since they had also made it clear they wouldn¡¯t report him to the exorcists for study, it showed they were kind people who wouldn¡¯t let him fall into another desperate situation.


    With no more worries, Ku Zai was entirely ready to obey Yan Junze¡¯s commands.


    Yan Junze saw no particular motion from him, but within seconds, Ku Zai said, ¡°Mm, it¡¯s all been severed.¡±


    Turning to Xiang Er, he asked, ¡°You came straight here; is the strangeness that could disguise itself as a relative from the Cai Family dealt with?¡±


    Xiang Er replied, ¡°I was worried something might happen to you, so I eradicated that strangeness before coming here.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, then nodded.


    ¡°Are you able to leave now?¡± His focus shifted back to Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai asked, ¡°Where to?¡±


    ¡°Shuntian City.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ okay.¡±


    ¡°Take a bath first, and change your clothes. Get cleaned up,¡± Yan Junze frowned as he spoke, then turned to Xiang Er and said, ¡°Wait for me for a while.¡±


    He walked to one side, where his perspective was still connected with the Back-faced Woman; he could see that she was in a place that seemed to be a clinic.


    ¡°Where are you guys right now?¡± Yan Junze asked directly.


    ¡°Medi¡­ Medi¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman could hardly utter a complete sentence, stammering without finishing when Ke¡¯er¡¯s little head popped in front of her mother¡¯s eyes, ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Ke¡¯er!¡± Yan Junze broke into a smile, ¡°Did you miss me?¡±


    Ke¡¯er also began to smile, her eyes forming crescents; she nuzzled her cheek forward, rubbing against her mother¡¯s face as if it were Yan Junze she was snuggling with.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but grin from ear to ear and asked again, ¡°What are you doing at the hospital?¡±


    Ke¡¯er propped herself up with her arms, moving a little away from her mother, then got down to the ground and scurried off.


    Soon, she reappeared, dressed in a red skirt, but this time she held something in her hands.


    Yan Junze immediately concentrated, *snap*, this time Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t nuzzle into her mother¡¯s embrace, instead she hopped onto the medicine counter closest to the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze looked intently as she cradled an object in her hands, holding it up to his view, tilting her head, urging him to look quickly while making a curious ¡°Eh¡± sound.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman also turned her body to give Yan Junze a clearer view.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he saw Ke¡¯er holding a heart, which presumably belonged to an adult, and it was still faintly beating.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yan Junze was taken aback.


    Just then, through the Back-faced Woman¡¯s point of view, he saw several figures flashing past the door of the room behind Ke¡¯er. A flurry of footsteps approached, rapidly entering the room.


    Startled, Ke¡¯er sprang to her feet and plunged into her mother¡¯s arms¡ª the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective began to shake as though moving hastily.


    Noisy voices filled his ears.


    The connection with the Semi-spirit was rapidly cut off; Yan Junze¡¯s body trembled as he slowly returned to his original state. Standing still in astonishment, his mind was filled with the images he had just seen.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yan Junze had seen quite clearly a moment ago; several people seemed to rush into the room where the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were. They were figures, not strangenesses.


    Their attire seemed to be uniform coffee-colored¡ªuniforms? Or perhaps a kind of wide robe?


    The image flashed by too quickly for him to discern the style of the clothes, but he was certain that the color was consistent.


    With his heart pounding, Yan Junze paused to think, then activated his Semi-Spirit Body once more.


    ¡°`


    But this time, there was no response at all.


    Surprised, he dared not try again. Because judging by the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er¡¯s clear emergency state, if they were to actually succeed in activating the Semi-Spirit Body, it might affect the Back-faced Woman.


    At this moment, it would probably be better for the mother and daughter to focus on handling their opponents.


    With his mind in a whirl, Yan Junze turned and returned to the wooden chair where Ku Zai was sitting.


    Ku Zai now seemed much better; after all, once the strangeness was removed, he was no different from a normal person.


    If one had to comment on his frail body, it was because of the years of harassment by strangenesses, constantly entangling him.


    Having just seen Yan Junze talking to himself, Ku Zai was not surprised at all. His capacity for surprise had been exhausted by the countless strangenesses that had haunted him over the years; he would probably never be curious about anything else in his life.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to go out now, have a word with your family, and then once you¡¯ve cleaned yourself up, you¡¯ll leave with us,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Ku Zai nodded hurriedly. Though he stood up somewhat shakily, he could walk on his own. Mainly because his body had been so weak for so long, he needed time to recover slowly.


    Yan Junze turned and took the lead, with Ku Zai following unsteadily behind. They had only taken a few steps when they suddenly heard a snap from behind them.


    Turning around, they saw Xiang Er at the back, stretching out her right hand, holding a lump of pitch-black clay.


    This clay was less than half a meter away from Ku Zai¡¯s back, almost touching him.


    Xiang Er tightened her right hand, and with a pop, she crushed the clay into fine dust, which disappeared into the air.


    ¡°That Clay Monster seems to be still not giving up,¡± Xiang Er said. ¡°It was the only one among those strangenesses just now that had the ability to stand up to me, though I could feel its fear.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll need to be more cautious from now on. If it comes down to it, take the initiative. If you spot the Clay Monster, deal with it right away,¡± Yan Junze said, glancing back at where the Clay Monster had vanished, especially at the corner of the wall, his teeth clenched with anger.


    Right now, because of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, his heart was still racing fast, and he felt an inexplicable irritation. If any strangeness dared to provoke him at this moment, he would smash its head in with his mace.


    After leaving the cold storage, Ku Zai¡¯s tall and thin father had been anxiously waiting outside, along with many other relatives who had come over.


    When they saw Ku Zai walking out, everyone was startled and in disbelief, and Ku Zai¡¯s second aunt even fainted on the spot.


    Communicating with these people was easy, because Yan Junze and Xiang Er¡¯s arrival had driven away all the strangenesses, which was an irrefutable fact. Had it not been for their intervention, Ku Zai¡¯s father would have knelt down to thank them.


    Ku Zai¡¯s mother had passed away early, and it was his father who had raised him from infancy on his own. If not for some good skills, which kept the family¡¯s hotpot business thriving, they would have been ruined by the disturbances long ago.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt that Ku Zai¡¯s father was quite intent on entrusting Ku Zai to him from now on.


    In fact, after giving it some thought, it made sense. Ku Zai had suffered enough in the first half of his life, and now that he could finally escape, his father would be content knowing he was safe and sound, even if he wasn¡¯t by his side. That was the greatest wish of a family member.


    Additionally, Ku Zai¡¯s father expressed his intention to provide a monthly compensation to him and a living allowance for Ku Zai. In terms of living expenses, he assured that he would not make things difficult for Yan Junze.


    Moreover, he had the means to provide that money, thanks to many years of business and a solid customer base, which was not just for show.


    Yan Junze did not refuse; taking Ku Zai with him meant taking care of another person, and he wasn¡¯t running a charity. Necessary fees that needed to be collected would be collected.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 439 - 439 326 Three People Going Home (2nd Update

    ?Chapter 439: Chapter 326: Three People Going Home (2nd Update, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 439: Chapter 326: Three People Going Home (2nd Update, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!) Knowing that Yan Junze hadn¡¯t eaten yet, his father enthusiastically whipped up a few of his specialty dishes for Junze while Ku Zai went to take a shower and change clothes, hosting the benefactor in a private room.


    Xiang Er was not present, as she needed to stay near Ku Zai; otherwise, she couldn¡¯t guarantee that the escaped weirdnesses wouldn¡¯t take the chance to invade again.


    Of course, Junze said this following was only temporary, and he had already thought of other methods.


    Before long, Ku Zai, now clean and tidy, appeared in the private room, and Junze finally had a good look at him.


    Not to say, aside from being skin and bones, the guy was actually quite fair and clean-looking, with rather delicate features.


    It was just that his body was too frail; he couldn¡¯t walk far before he began to pant, and it would take a good while sitting down before he could recover.


    At the dining table, Ku Zai¡¯s father kept apologizing to Junze, looking deeply grateful. Soon, Ku Zai¡¯s aunt and uncle brought over his packed luggage and joined them at the table, inevitably leading to another round of thanks.


    However, if a mistake is made, there naturally has to be punishment. Exorcists don¡¯t have the right to punish, but security officers do.


    Junze made it clear that he would report the incident, and the Exorcist Team would communicate with the Safety Bureau to discipline Ku Zai¡¯s family for their actions.


    Of course, Junze would not reveal Ku Zai¡¯s true situation but would use other reasons to skate by.


    In the afternoon, Junze left with Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    Since it was still early, they went to the hotel, checked out of the room from last night, and then headed straight to the airport.


    School had been out for several days, and if it weren¡¯t for the ¡°takeout¡± issue delaying matters for so long, Junze would already be lying on the sofa watching TV in his family¡¯s home in the STFH Residential Area by now.


    On the way to the airport, Junze, feeling uneasy, made calls to other families that had encountered weirdnesses and which he hadn¡¯t had the chance to check on.


    Two families said that the weirdnesses would only appear at night, and they didn¡¯t know the current situation. The other two families said that just a moment ago, the weirdnesses had suddenly disappeared and since then, there hadn¡¯t been any other strange occurrences at home.


    It looked like Ku Zai had indeed cut off the weirdnesses he had sent out, causing these entities to no longer cling to the families ordering takeout, but instead to return and continue pestering Ku Zai.


    But because Xiang Er was intimidatingly close by, the overwhelming pressure forced these weirdnesses to instinctively avoid her, and Ku Zai had thus escaped this calamity.


    Afterward, Junze called He Yun to inform her that the ¡°takeout¡± mission was accomplished. While in the cold storage room, he had used the Exorcist badge to collect some residual weirdness aura, storing it inside the badge.


    He planned to register and exchange it at the Tianmeng Exorcist Team when he had time later. Since he was not an official Exorcist, he didn¡¯t have any Merit Points, but Junze also wasn¡¯t particularly interested in that stuff.


    What he cared about was the compensation, as well as the Exorcism items that could be exchanged.


    At the airport, while waiting in the departure hall, Ku Zai handed over a bank card to Junze, explaining it was from his dad to be transferred to him, and henceforth, money would be deposited regularly every month as compensation for Junze¡¯s care.


    Junze didn¡¯t refuse and pocketed the card. He then asked Ku Zai, ¡°From the time you started attracting these weirdnesses until now, have they ever harmed you directly?¡±


    Ku Zai was taken aback for a moment, then responded, ¡°Aren¡¯t I like this because they¡¯ve harmed me?¡±


    Junze shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m talking about direct harm, like biting you, beating you, or mutilating your body¡­¡±


    After thinking it over, Ku Zai said with some astonishment, ¡°No, they¡¯ve just wanted to get close to me, eventually clinging to me, preventing me from doing anything else or leading a normal life. I couldn¡¯t even sleep properly because it was too cold. And some weirdnesses were always wet and clung to me no matter what I did.¡±


    At this point, Ku Zai lowered his head and let out a bitter smile, ¡°Can you imagine what it felt like to shower with five or six weirdnesses clinging to your back? So¡­ until the moment you all saw me, I hadn¡¯t bathed in a very long time.¡±


    ¡°I know that feeling,¡± Junze¡¯s face revealed a faint smile as if a pleasant memory had suddenly surfaced in his mind.


    Ku Zai looked at him with some surprise but didn¡¯t speak.


    In fact, aside from the tangible weirdnesses, which have a real body, the ordinary weirdnesses are fundamentally ethereal entities that don¡¯t affect the person they lie upon when taking a shower.


    The only effect is the constant sense of carrying various eerie sensations due to the weirdnesses. This requires a person to have significant psychological strength, so clearly, Ku Zai was not one of those people.


    Junze speculated that if a Spirit Cultivator like Cheng Jingting or Yan Long had a constitution like Ku Zai¡¯s, they would probably wake up laughing in their sleep.


    Then they wouldn¡¯t have to go around looking for weirdnesses or even considering targeting humans, because vast numbers of weirdnesses would be rushing to offer themselves.


    If that were the case, a Spirit Cultivator with such a constitution would be far more dangerous and even more uncontrollable.


    Luckily, Ku Zai was a simple soul.


    Thinking this, he glanced sideways at Ku Zai.


    At this moment, although Ku Zai had escaped the clasp of the strangenesses, the prolonged mental oppression he endured made him still look like he was in poor shape, perpetually furrowing his brow, his forehead furrowed with gloom. This feeling of oppression was unlikely to diminish in the short term.


    In other words, he would need to slowly recover, and this was already a process of psychological trauma and healing.


    Yan Junze patted Ku Zai on the shoulder and said, ¡°I must admit, I too was once entangled by a strangeness, but later I came to live with it in peace. My experience is that you need to open up your mind a little. The strangeness that clings to you always has its reasons, and it¡¯s not necessarily after your life. Why not try to look at it in a different way, right?¡±


    Ku Zai asked curiously, ¡°Brother Yan, what was the strangeness that clung to you?¡±


    ¡°A little girl in a red dress,¡± responded Yan Junze.


    Ku Zai immediately looked conflicted: ¡°Brother, you saw what¡¯s been clinging to me. A man with his limbs permeated with holes, a fat man whose rotting flesh keeps falling off, a man without eyeballs spewing pus from the wounds on his skin, and that old lady who always sticks out her black tongue to lick my face. Do you think I can possibly have a broad heart in this situation?¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Not just them, but also that man who¡¯s like a clump of clay. I suspect he must have drowned in a swamp,¡± Ku Zai, growing excited, did not notice Yan Junze¡¯s awkwardness and continued, ¡°After he crawled into my mouth, he would roam around in my stomach, and during that time I could feel everything clearly, especially¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, time to board, time to board!¡± Yan Junze interrupted him, quickly picked up the luggage, and left with Xiang Er.


    Ku Zai: ©´(-??;)©°


    Inside the airplane cabin, the three of them sat in a row.


    Yan Junze remained silent, not talking to Ku Zai anymore, and Ku Zai, having the sense to know better, also kept his mouth shut without uttering another word.


    Xiang Er, sitting next to Yan Junze, asked quietly after a moment of silence, ¡°When you were in that cold storage room just now, you suddenly seemed a bit panicked. What happened?¡±


    Yan Junze, who had been feigning sleep with his eyes closed, opened them and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve always been in contact with a strangeness I met before, but just now, something seemed to have happened, and suddenly, the connection was lost.¡±


    Having said that, Yan Junze tried to activate his Semi-Spirit Body again but still got no response, unable to communicate with the Back-faced Woman.


    Since the connection had been lost, he had felt somewhat absent-minded and realized he was easily irritated, which clearly was due to excessive worry.


    Seeing his state, Xiang Er didn¡¯t know what to say and maintained her silence.


    The plane arrived at Shuntian Airport, and the three of them got off with their luggage and took a taxi straight to FH Community.


    He hadn¡¯t seen his parents for a whole semester, and at this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s attention shifted slightly from his worries about the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, looking at the buildings and streets that were the most familiar in his eyes since he had been reborn into this world, yet he remained silent.


    To Ku Zai, however, it seemed that: So Brother Yan is so petty, I¡¯ll have to be more careful with my words from now on. Can¡¯t afford to make him mad. What if he doesn¡¯t want me anymore?


    Since he had called his parents in advance, informing them that two friends would be coming home with him.


    On this day, Yan Daguo and Li Man had returned home early, Yan Daguo bustling about, cleaning up, while Li Man was cooking, preparing a sumptuous meal.


    The taxi stopped at the front entrance of FH Community.


    After getting out of the taxi, Yan Junze greeted Grandpa Zheng who was guarding the gate, and Grandpa Zheng responded with joy.


    Reaching the apartment, the front door was open, which was very different from the usual practice of keeping doors shut at all times before he left home. This surprised Yan Junze.


    He thought something might have happened and called out at the door, ¡°Dad? Mom?¡±


    Yan Daguo, with a broom in hand, and Li Man, clutching a bunch of green onions, came out from the bedroom and kitchen, both beaming with smiles.


    ¡°My son, you¡¯re back!¡±


    ¡°These must be your classmates, come in, please, don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    While taking off their shoes upon entering the house, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Dad, what¡¯s going on? Both of you were busy inside, yet the door was left open. Aren¡¯t you afraid that a strangeness might slip in?¡±


    ¡°Afraid of what?¡± Yan Daguo said cheerfully, ¡°Our FH Community is very safe now. In the several months since you left, there hasn¡¯t been a single disturbance by strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°I heard that the communities nearby sometimes get troubled by strangenesses every now and then, did you, perhaps, say something to the exorcists to ask them to take special care of our place?¡± Li Man also said, ¡°Now I feel like life is back to the way it was before, except that we need to be more careful once we leave our community.¡±


    The couple took turns speaking, almost like giving a report to their son.


    But in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, an image of an old lady with long limbs and a swollen body, who always wore a smile on her face, surfaced.


    All of this must be because of Aunt Mei.

 Chapter 440 - 440 327 Special Attraction

    ?Chapter 440: Chapter 327 Special Attraction Chapter 440: Chapter 327 Special Attraction Three people entered the house, and Yan Junze still habitually closed the living room door.


    Seeing him changing shoes, Xiang Er and Ku Zai followed suit.


    Yan Daguo set aside the broom and brought each of them a pair of thick slippers.


    The couple sized up the man and woman Yan Junze had brought back. The woman, needless to say, was incredibly attractive and had a perfectly proportioned figure, which made Li Man¡¯s eyes light up with admiration.


    And the guy, well, no need to say, was skinny as a rake, looking no different from a starving ghost.


    The contrast between the two was so great that the old couple couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances.


    Yan Junze put down his luggage and parcels, and said, ¡°Dad, Mom, didn¡¯t I tell you over the phone? They aren¡¯t my classmates, they¡¯re friends. This is Xiang Er, a very skilled exorcism master, and this is Ku Zai¡­¡±


    Yan Daguo¡¯s eyes lit up. Generally, those who looked unimpressive, even a bit sleazy, were often the hidden talents. He blurted out, ¡°He¡¯s an exorcism master too?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s the Spirit Summoning King.¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    While he meant it as a joke now that they were home and all family, Ku Zai viewed Yan Junze¡¯s pettiness in a whole new light, feeling like he was walking on thin ice.


    After sitting down, Yan Junze moved Xiang Er and Ku Zai¡¯s belongings to the bedroom. Ku Zai hurriedly stepped forward to do it himself, not wanting to trouble Yan Junze, but his movements were too abrupt, and he immediately started huffing and puffing, his face turning bright red.


    Yan Daguo and Li Man exchanged a worried glance and eyed Ku Zai¡¯s skinny frame, silently wondering if the young man had some illness, but it wasn¡¯t appropriate to say anything outright.


    Thanks to Huahua¡¯s dedicated mentoring over the past few months, Xiang Er had made rapid progress in cooking and soon volunteered to help Li Man in the kitchen after sitting down for a while.


    Li Man was delighted, and as she watched Xiang Er, her eyes took on the look of someone appraising a daughter-in-law.


    After finishing cleaning, Yan Daguo sat down and chatted with Ku Zai for a bit. He heard that Ku Zai¡¯s father ran an old hotpot restaurant in Tianmeng City, but then glanced at Ku Zai¡¯s physique and guessed that the hotpot business couldn¡¯t be doing well.


    Yan Junze went to his own bedroom to tidy up some old things. His mother had already changed the bedding on the bed to new ones, but it seemed that there wouldn¡¯t be enough bedding now.


    Soon Yan Daguo followed him into the bedroom, speaking with concern, ¡°Son, your friend probably needs to visit the hospital. I talked to him a bit, and if he speaks a little faster, he starts gasping for breath. I feel like he could pass out any moment. Just talking for that little while made the whole process anxiety-inducing. It¡¯s too thrilling, and your old man can¡¯t handle it at this age.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s just frail, nothing seriously wrong, and he¡¯s currently recovering.¡±


    ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t he recover at home? Why come all the way from Tianmeng City to our place?¡± Yan Daguo asked, his face full of question marks.


    ¡°He can¡¯t be far from Xiang Er.¡± Yan Junze answered briefly and then proceeded to take the trash he had sorted out to dispose of outside.


    Yan Daguo became even more puzzled and followed him outside, ¡°You mean, are they a couple?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t overthink it.¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Daguo scratched his head, ¡°Then what¡¯s up with this girl Xiang Er?¡±


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, remembering the Lantern Woman, and explained, ¡°Let¡¯s just say, I need her.¡±


    After speaking, he walked back into the house and sat down on the living room sofa, staying together with Ku Zai.


    Yan Daguo stood in the corridor outside, muttering to himself, ¡°This relationship is complicated indeed.¡±


    Yan Junze sat down and not long after, Ku Zai noticed he was continually staring. Recollecting Yan Junze¡¯s ¡°pettiness,¡± he started feeling uncomfortable, as if hundreds of ants were crawling all over him.


    ¡°What on earth is going on?¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    Ku Zai thought he was talking to him and asked, ¡°Brother Yan, what are you talking about?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head without saying anything.


    At that moment, in his mind, three messages of task completion had appeared, and all were pointing to the same task.


    [Special Attraction, Anxiety-Inducing (High), Completed, Reward: 500 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (Low), Completed, Reward: 700 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    These three messages had started popping up since Yan Junze entered the house, not all at once, but at intervals of a few minutes.


    After some thought, regarding the same task involving Ku Zai, there could be two possibilities for the different completion messages.


    One was that the strangenesses from the few houses where Ku Zai delivered meals had been resolved because the tasks were completed, leading to multiple completion prompts and repetitive energy reward calculations for the same task.


    The other possibility had to do with the strangenesses that clung to Ku Zai. Once these strangenesses could no longer approach him, they might give up on him.


    For each one that gave up, a task completion message would pop up; if that were the case, there were originally eight strangenesses with Ku Zai, meaning if all eight gave up, there would be eight task completion messages.


    With three already popped up, there might still be more to come.


    Of course, both scenarios might be possible, which means the upcoming messages could exceed the remaining five.

 Chapter 441 - 441 327 Special Attraction_2

    ?Chapter 441: Chapter 327 Special Attraction_2 Chapter 441: Chapter 327 Special Attraction_2 At first, the ¡°Special Attraction¡± mission did not specify a clear level or definite Mission Reward Points, but now it seems the reward is quite the opposite, incredibly astonishing.


    Yan Junze paid attention to the mission information changes until dinner time.


    Five people sat around the dining table, with Yan Daguo and his wife looking very happy, urging Xiang Er and Ku Zai to help themselves while repeatedly serving Junze more food.


    Xiang Er usually didn¡¯t eat much, just tasting the food. However, Ku Zai¡¯s performance was unexpectedly good. Despite his frail appearance, he was in the recovery stage and his appetite had started to increase.


    Soon, he finished three large bowls of rice and ate a lot of dishes, especially the pork, chicken, and fish, which were mostly devoured by him.


    When he was about to serve himself the fourth bowl of rice, Yan Junze stopped him, ¡°You¡¯ve just started to recover, don¡¯t eat too much too fast. Otherwise, your digestive system won¡¯t be able to cope with such intense operation, which won¡¯t be good for your recovery.¡±


    Ku Zai was taken aback, nodded, and put down his chopsticks and bowl.


    ¡°You child, how can you let a guest eat less?¡± Li Man chided.


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°Mom, from now on, both of them will live with us. They are part of the family, not guests.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Daguo and Li Man looked at each other in surprise.


    ¡°Because of some special reasons, even when we sleep, the three of us may need to stay in the same room,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°So, Mom, we¡¯ll need a few more blankets tonight. Ku Zai and I will sleep on the floor in the bedroom.¡±


    The couple was too surprised to answer for a moment.


    Xiang Er, however, quickly shook her head, ¡°No, no, no, Junze, you can¡¯t sleep on the floor.¡±


    Yan Junze realized that Xiang Er did not need to sleep, and getting an additional blanket was just to keep up appearances.


    Ku Zai misunderstood, thinking that if Yan Junze was to take the bed, then Xiang Er would have to sleep on the floor with him.


    He patted his bulging belly, showing a self-righteous smile, ¡°That¡­ probably wouldn¡¯t be appropriate, I mean, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°You will find out tonight,¡± Yan Junze replied with a mysterious smile.


    That smile froze Ku Zai¡¯s expression on his face; at that moment, he had a bad feeling.


    Li Man was staring at Yan Junze as he made faces, confused, ¡°Ze, your mother doesn¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re hinting at! What¡¯s the situation with you guys now?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s talk after dinner.¡±


    Just then, another task completion notification popped up.


    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, received 1100 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    Yan Junze¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he continued to eat his meal.


    After dinner, Xiang Er took the initiative to do the dishes.


    Unable to contain their curiosity, Yan Daguo and Li Man pulled Yan Junze into the bedroom, closed the door, and Li Man immediately asked, ¡°Ze, what exactly is the relationship between the three of you?¡±


    Yan Junze with a wry smile, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re overthinking it. The situation is this: I need Xiang Er¡¯s help to get rid of a strangeness, and both Xiang Er and I are protecting Ku Zai. It¡¯s just temporary, the problems will be resolved soon.¡±


    ¡°And¡­¡± Yan Junze added as he took out the bronze badge, ¡°I¡¯m an Exorcist now and deal with strangenesses frequently, so some of my actions may seem odd to you, but they are completely normal for an Exorcist.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Daguo turned the badge over in his hands, unable to discern what it actually was, and looked blankly at his wife.


    Li Man was equally puzzled and asked, ¡°Then do you still need to find a job after graduation?¡±


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Yan Daguo weighed the badge in his hand and interrupted, ¡°If he does well as an Exorcist, it¡¯s better than any stable job. Look at these times, strangenesses are appearing more and more, and my son is now a Heavenly Master. Isn¡¯t this a case of the times making the hero?¡±


    ¡°Heavenly Master?¡± Yan Junze broke out in a cold sweat.


    Li Man looked at her husband with a mix of awe and confusion.


    Yan Daguo continued, ¡°Nowadays, what professions are best? Doctors, lawyers? Bullshit! I say a magician¡¯s the best in the face of all these emerging strangenesses!¡±


    ¡°God damn it, now it¡¯s a magician!¡± Yan Junze broke out in even more sweat.


    Gaining steam, Yan Daguo said, ¡°From now on, not only is our family¡¯s safety secured, but our son¡¯s life too, in these turbulent times. I believe my son will become the greatest Onmyoji.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡±


    Yan Junze nearly choked, feeling utterly confounded by Yan Daguo¡¯s ramblings. He rubbed his forehead and said, ¡°Mom, let¡¯s talk about the other things in a couple of days, since I will stay here until school starts and then go back to Tianmeng. For now, just prepare a few more blankets for us.¡±


    Not only him, even Li Man felt dizzy from Yan Daguo¡¯s words at that moment and quickly nodded her head, leaving without looking back.


    It wasn¡¯t long before she returned with a few blankets. By that time, Yan Daguo, seeing that there was no one to chat with, handed the badge back to Yan Junze, and had run off to the living room, where he was deep in conversation with Ku Zai.


    Yan Junze stood in the hallway, glanced over, and saw Ku Zai¡¯s face turn pale, then red, and then he started coughing again, unable to get a word in as Yan Daguo dominated the conversation.


    ¡°Your dad is really happy today,¡± Li Man said with a smile as she arranged the bedding.


    ¡°I can see that,¡± Yan Junze leaned against the door frame and replied, ¡°But I always feel like he¡¯s going to talk Ku Zai to death if he continues like this.¡±


    Li Man laughed heartily, then added, ¡°The girl you brought back is nice.¡±

 Chapter 442 - 442 327 Special Attraction_3

    ?Chapter 442: Chapter 327 Special Attraction_3 Chapter 442: Chapter 327 Special Attraction_3 Yan Junze knew what his mother meant and replied, ¡°Mom, you wouldn¡¯t like her.¡±


    Li Man looked up at him in astonishment, ¡°Why?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, ¡°There are some things I¡¯d rather not say, but once I tell you her secret, you might be too frightened to even think of anything else.¡±


    Li Man¡¯s heart shuddered at his words, and she quickly bowed her head to continue tidying up the bedding, asking no further questions.


    Yan Junze had no choice; if he didn¡¯t make things clear now, his parents would probably cling to their fantasies, making it awkward for everyone.


    Soon, the bedding was arranged for three people, as intended.


    Having finished washing the dishes, Xiang Er sat with Li Man on the living room sofa; with his wife by his side, Yan Daguo spoke much less boisterously.


    Yan Junze also sat with them for a while, but as he saw the sky outside had completely darkened, he turned to his mother and asked, ¡°Mom, where are the incense and candles I asked you to buy on your way back?¡±


    ¡°In the drawer.¡± Li Man got up, opened the drawer, and took out two thick, large white candles. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze took them and said, ¡°Everyone, please stay inside for a while, and don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    At the door, he changed his shoes and stepped outside; he quickly returned, however, muttering to himself, ¡°How come there¡¯s a moon? Xiang Er, hand me that larger black umbrella inside there.¡±


    He gestured towards a cabinet beside the dining table.


    Xiang Er went over, opened the cabinet, and quickly brought out a black umbrella, the type specifically used by Huang Feihong in fights, and handed it to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took the umbrella, stepped back out, and opened it as he entered the corridor, departing slowly with the umbrella in hand.


    Ku Zai watched this scene in astonishment, peering through the window until Yan Junze¡¯s silhouette vanished.


    Yan Daguo waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Let him be, Ze is always so secretive about everything. Now, where were we? Ah, I was even younger than you are now when I started my first job¡­¡±


    Ku Zai shivered, forcing a smile more agonizing than crying and pretending to listen attentively, while inside only four words surfaced in his mind.


    ¡°This is so hard.¡±


    ¡­


    After descending the stairs and turning a corner on the ground floor, Yan Junze stood before a door leading to the underground garage.


    As he opened the door, he collapsed the umbrella and leaned it against the wall behind him, then walked down the slightly damp steps.


    Everything around him was still so familiar; the garage wasn¡¯t very full, and the dim lighting made it impossible for anyone to see him if he stayed close to the walls.


    He made his way to a utility room with ease.


    The small door to the room was ajar, revealing nothing but darkness inside.


    Yan Junze pushed the door open further, felt around for a switch and pressed it, but no light came on¡ªprobably a burnt-out bulb.


    Taking out a flashlight, he shone the beam inside and called out, ¡°Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I¡¯m back!¡±


    Soon, rustling sounds came from the back room, and about five to six seconds later, a familiar head floated in the doorway of the inner room, smiling¡ªit was Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze was no stranger to this disembodied head, nor to the blood thread that hung from the neck. This time, however, the other end of the blood thread was not attached to a body but was torn, the break not red but pitch black, as if tainted with venom.


    Yan Junze entered the room and approached the doorway. With the flashlight illuminating the ground, he immediately turned to look at Aunt Mei¡¯s headless body and gasped in shock.


    Her once obese body was ragged and riddled with holes. Black bugs he had never seen before were crawling out in droves from the neck¡¯s severed edge, nearly covering the entire body.


    It was clear that these bugs were devouring Aunt Mei¡¯s body.


    Not only was her body infested with black bugs, but they were also swarming the floor around her.


    A black bug crawled towards Yan Junze¡¯s foot. He promptly stomped on it, only to feel as if he had kicked something hard. He lifted his foot, and there the bug was, unharmed and still moving, while his foot throbbed with a dull pain.

 Chapter 443 - 443 328 Aunt Meis Injury

    ?Chapter 443: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury Chapter 443: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury ¡°Aunt Mei?¡±


    Yan Junze turned back in shock, looking at Aunt Mei¡¯s floating head in mid-air.


    Aunt Mei still wore a smile, seemingly unconcerned. She shook her head at Yan Junze as if to convey a message¡ªit¡¯s all right.


    ¡°Your body, what¡¯s happened to it?¡±


    More Black Bugs had crawled to Yan Junze¡¯s feet, and he had to step back two paces, watching Aunt Mei¡¯s head.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s eyelids drooped as though sighing but she didn¡¯t seem ready to answer Yan Junze.


    With a thought, Yan Junze released the two strange babies from the Lockdown.


    Due to their sensitivity to visuals, the two strange babies seemed quite comfortable in the dim environment as soon as they emerged, quickly integrating into it, and soon recognizing the familiar surroundings.


    Then, one of the strange babies looked up, saw Aunt Mei¡¯s headless body, and felt astonished. It turned its head towards Yan Junze, its gaze finally landing on Aunt Mei¡¯s floating head.


    Squeak, squeak, squeak¡­


    The two strange babies seemed very scared, scratching their ears and cheeks, and occasionally looking up at Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand what their behavior meant, but then saw the two strange babies turn their heads and quickly scurry towards Aunt Mei¡¯s headless body, grabbing a handful of Black Bugs from it and stuffing them into their mouths.


    The crunching was abnormally crisp, as if a person was cracking sunflower seeds.


    The two strange babies grabbed in handfuls, moving swiftly without pause, soon filling their cheeks which kept bulging.


    Watching this, Yan Junze seemed to understand something.


    To his surprise, although the Black Bugs were being eaten by the strange babies, they did not flee, but continued to crawl on Aunt Mei¡¯s body, desperately munching away.


    But Aunt Mei¡¯s body was not so easily consumed¡ªeven though the Black Bugs had strong bones and sharp teeth, they struggled to nibble away even a small bit of flesh.


    The two strange babies grew more excited as they ate, eventually climbing onto the headless body, continuously grabbing Black Bugs and stuffing them into their mouths. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, a large number of Black Bugs became the strange babies¡¯ meal. They no longer grabbed in handfuls, as with rapid consumption, the number of bugs began to dwindle.


    One of the strange babies crawled directly into the neck¡¯s severed spot of the headless body. After it went inside, more Black Bugs, as if startled, frantically crawled out through the severed neck.


    The other strange baby just sat on the headless body, waiting for these Black Bugs to surge out and then quickly grabbing them by the handful and chewing them up.


    The strange baby inside the body also seemed to be enjoying its meal, producing crisp crunching sounds.


    Soon, the number of Black Bugs crawling out began to decrease. The baby sitting outside could no longer grab them by the handful and had to pick them one by one, like picking peanuts, and putting them in its mouth.


    The Black Bugs became fewer and fewer, and the baby sitting on the outside started to belch, seemingly full.


    Upon closer examination, Yan Junze could see that the little guy¡¯s belly was swollen, obviously from overeating.


    Before long, as the Black Bugs on the outside nearly vanished, the strange baby on the body jumped down, rummaging through the clothes, searching everywhere. Whenever it found a bug, it immediately pinched it up and put it into its mouth.


    Yan Junze could see Aunt Mei¡¯s swollen body undulating, bulging out and then deflating.


    After a while, the strange baby inside the body poked its head out of the broken neck. Since Aunt Mei had been dead for many years with no blood left in her body, the baby looked the same as before.


    Only, its mouth was bulging, still chewing¡ªit seemed to have eaten all the Black Bugs inside the stomach.


    Luckily, the strange baby was small, otherwise it would have found it difficult to crawl out of the neck again after being full.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head still wore a smile, flew over, trailing fluttering Blood Threads below. It approached another Blood Thread protruding from the broken neck.


    However, the tips of these two Blood Threads were not blood-red but a poisoned black.


    The head¡¯s connecting Blood Thread moved as if on its own, reaching out to the broken part of the Blood Thread from the neck and sticking to it, looking somewhat unstable.


    But soon, the joined Blood Threads began to change color; the black faded away, turning into a translucent red.


    Now, the joining section of the Blood Threads became tighter, and Aunt Mei¡¯s head started to slowly near the severed neck.


    Before long, the two joined together.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s body moved slightly, her hands lifting to hold her head, twisting it a few times, and then she slowly stood up.


    It could be seen that her previously bloated body now appeared somewhat thinner.


    Moreover, if it weren¡¯t for the loose overcoat, Yan Junze believed the body was almost completely devastated.


    Seeing Aunt Mei stand up, the two strange babies ran to a corner, huddling together, occasionally glancing at her with a sense of both attachment and fear of getting too close, exactly as before.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, you¡­ Are you all right?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s body swayed as she walked slowly to a row of wooden boxes, looking at Yan Junze.


    After a moment, a sound roared in Yan Junze¡¯s head¡ªit was Aunt Mei speaking.


    This was his second time speaking with Aunt Mei, and she didn¡¯t seem to like speaking much. This strange way of speaking was a vibration directly in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, as if transmitting sound through it.

 Chapter 444 - 444 328 Aunt Meis Injury_2

    ?Chapter 444: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury_2 Chapter 444: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury_2 ¡°`


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just a body, no worries.¡±


    ¡°Why did this happen?¡± Yan Junze asked, curious.


    ¡°Not long after death, something happened. If it weren¡¯t for these two kids, I would have been scared witless by then,¡± Aunt Mei said, smiling at Yan Junze. Her lips did not move, yet her words rang clearly in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    She paused, then added, ¡°After you left, this place has been pretty safe, and everyone is doing well.¡±


    Yan Junze handed over the candle and said gratefully, ¡°Thank you for looking after the residents of the neighborhood. These two kids have been following me without causing any trouble, and they are very happy.¡±


    Aunt Mei did not take the candle but instead turned her head to look at the two strange babies, moving her head slightly to signal them to come and take it.


    However, the two strange babies just glanced at the candle in Yan Junze¡¯s hand and quickly lost interest, bowing their heads and showing great fear towards Aunt Mei.


    Aunt Mei looked somewhat astonished: ¡°Hm? Don¡¯t like to eat?¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s not that they don¡¯t like it. Firstly, they ate too much just now, and secondly, they now have a better source of food. Haven¡¯t you noticed their bodies are looking smoother?¡±


    With that, he placed the candle on the ground beside him, ¡°Let¡¯s leave it here for now, Aunt Mei. You can eat it whenever you want.¡±


    When he looked up, he found Aunt Mei staring at him. As he was about to ask, her voice had already echoed in his mind: ¡°Good, your Spirit Body is gone. The Spirit Body is dangerous, use it with caution!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled and asked, ¡°Aunt Mei, can you take another careful look to see if my Semi-Spirit Body is really gone?¡±


    Aunt Mei shook her head.


    This made Yan Junze feel even more uneasy. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If I could activate my Semi-Spirit Body, could I maybe track the precise location of the giver of the Spirit Body?¡± Yan Junze asked, unwilling to give up.


    Aunt Mei still shook her head.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m worried that the giver of the Spirit Body is in danger,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Aunt Mei just smiled at him and did not respond.


    After a moment, Yan Junze sighed, knowing that even with his concern, there was nothing he could do at present. He forced a smile on his face again: ¡°Aunt Mei, today I brought strangenesses into the neighborhood, you must already know.¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded, transmitting her voice into Yan Junze¡¯s mind: ¡°A girl and a boy. The boy has ill intent, the girl does not, so she doesn¡¯t feel me.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, wondering if Ku Zai could harbor any ill intent.


    But then he thought again; Ku Zai wasn¡¯t a stranger but a human. Aunt Mei¡¯s comment about the boy might not be about him.


    He asked, ¡°Where is this boy now?¡±


    ¡°Outside the neighborhood, restricted from entering,¡± Aunt Mei answered.


    Yan Junze nodded, confirming it was not Ku Zai she was talking about.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going to head upstairs. Can these two stay here the next few days to keep you company?¡±


    Aunt Mei smiled and nodded, extending her hand towards the two huddled strange babies.


    These two naturally feared Aunt Mei, but seeing her reach out to them, they reluctantly stood up and wobbled over, each taking one of her sides, obediently standing by her.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, I¡¯m off,¡± Yan Junze waved and left the house.


    A few steps away, when he looked back, Aunt Mei¡¯s head was peeking out the door, smiling at him until he had completely walked away.


    Arriving at the small door of the underground garage, he took the black umbrella with a handle from behind the door and walked out.


    As he was about to open the umbrella at the entrance, Yan Junze seemed to remember something, looking at the brilliant moonlight just beyond his reach, spilling like mercury on the ground.


    He put the umbrella away, hesitated for a moment, then stepped out into the moonlight and stood still.


    The moon immediately stretched his shadow out behind him. Yan Junze turned to look and saw a black shadow slightly protruding in his shadow, but it only protruded for an instant before it seemed to sense something and quickly retracted, not showing itself again.


    Indeed, Fang Ning inside the shadow could also feel the pressure that Aunt Mei had laid throughout the neighborhood.


    This meant that so long as he was in the neighborhood, Yan Junze had no need to use an umbrella under the moonlight. Because Aunt Mei was there, any harmful strangeness to the neighborhood dared not appear.


    Reassured, he tidied up the umbrella as if it was a walking stick and went up the stairs, entering his home where everyone was still sitting, watching TV.


    Ku Zai had been paying close attention to Yan Junze¡¯s every move, having seen him through the window before he even entered the house.


    What puzzled Ku Zai was that this time when Yan Junze returned, he did not use the umbrella, but instead walked with it like a walking stick. This odd behavior made him even more curious about Yan Junze, feeling completely unable to fathom him.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, everyone should rest early.¡±


    After placing the umbrella at its spot, Yan Junze said, heading towards the bathroom.


    The house was small with only one bathroom. After he finished, Xiang Er went in, and Ku Zai followed once Xiang Er was done.


    Yan Junze¡¯s parents had gotten used to staying up late these past few days, sitting in the living room and watching the three young people enter and exit the bathroom with concern. After a while, they looked at each other until the three of them had entered Yan Junze¡¯s bedroom and the bedroom door closed.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The couple let out a sigh in unison.


    Recalling what Yan Junze had said before, Li Man sighed, ¡°Do you think our son, being an Exorcist, is acting strange now?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty strange,¡± Yan Daguo nodded.


    Then they both sighed again.


    In the bedroom.


    Yan Junze looked again at the completion messages for the three tasks that reappeared in his Inner Vision.


    [Special Attraction with Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, Earned 900 Different Dimension Energy points]


    ¡°`

 Chapter 445 - 445 328 Aunt Meis Injury_3

    ?Chapter 445: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury_3 Chapter 445: Chapter 328 Aunt Mei¡¯s Injury_3 [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1100 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1200 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    During the day, four task completion messages appeared; now there are three, making a total of seven.


    In the task levels, for example, for ¡°hair-raising¡± level, the reward range for Different Dimension Energy is an interval value, which means the energy is not identical even if the levels are the same; there are still differences.


    Having completed seven tasks out of the blue, Yan Junze harvested 5500 points of Different Dimension Energy. His current total is 23600 points, with 110 nodes lit up. If used for Rewind, he could rewind a total of 2360 minutes. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After waiting for a while in the bedroom, the anticipated eighth completion message did not pop up.


    By this time, Ku Zai had already willingly gone to sleep on the floor, tidied up the bedding, and when he lay down, he intentionally squeezed towards the wall to leave space for another person to lie beside him. Then considerately prepared the other blanket on that side, flipping up a corner, so it would be convenient for the newcomer to slip in.


    Once everything was ready, Ku Zai closed his eyes contentedly to feign sleep, waiting for that person to come lie down next to him.


    But after a long wait, he realized Xiang Er hadn¡¯t even changed clothes and was still standing by the desk, looking out the window.


    Actually, the view outside the window here was of a corridor outside, across which other residents lived; only the tall buildings far away could be seen, and not much of the street.


    Nonetheless, Xiang Er still gazed out obsessively, immobile.


    Yan Junze sat on the bed, but the long-awaited mission information did not pop up.


    He gestured to Xiang Er, who approached.


    ¡°You might need to watch out for some things,¡± he said.


    ¡°Watch out for what?¡± Xiang Er asked.


    ¡°That Clay Monster man,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°I suspect he has been following us.¡±


    ¡°You mean, he¡¯s inside the house?¡± Xiang Er frowned and turned to look around.


    She just happened to catch Ku Zai peeking at her with half-closed eyes.


    Startled by the direct confrontation, the fellow quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°the Clay Monster can¡¯t get into our community. I¡¯m saying that if we go out, you need to be vigilant. That guy probably hasn¡¯t given up yet.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Xiang Er nodded.


    Relieved, Yan Junze took off his jacket and lay down on the bed, ready to sleep.


    He clearly remembered that seven strangenesses accompanied Ku Zai, and now seven tasks have been completed, indicating that those seven are not planning to bother Ku Zai anymore.


    But the message for the other task has not appeared.


    And that eighth strange being is most likely the persistently bothersome Clay Monster man.


    Although his strength is not as great as Xiang Er¡¯s, he could contend with her, so it was still wise to be cautious.


    However, for now, due to the presence of a stronger being in the community, he simply couldn¡¯t enter this place.


    So the home was safe.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± Yan Junze said.


    The Ku Zai lying on the other side brightened up at the words, thinking that with Yan Junze asleep, Xiang Er had no need to sit there with the light on, hampering him.


    That meant she would be lying down next to him soon.


    ¡°Mhm, I¡¯ll watch over you,¡± Xiang Er said, nodding at this moment, turning off the lights in the room, but then made no further move, instead once again casting her gaze out the window, motionless.


    Ku Zai: ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 446 - 446 329 Strengthened Club (5000 words)

    ?Chapter 446: Chapter 329: Strengthened Club (5000 words) Chapter 446: Chapter 329: Strengthened Club (5000 words) ¡°Ku Zai, why are there dark circles under your eyes, didn¡¯t you sleep well last night?¡±


    Yan Junze saw Ku Zai looking listless as soon as he got up early in the morning.


    ¡°Your body is very weak, you need to get some good rest!¡± Xiang Er also said.


    Ku Zai had a wronged expression on his face.


    ¡°Blame me?¡±


    He had been looking forward to when Xiang Er would come over to sleep all night, being in such a dazed state, but ironically, he couldn¡¯t get a good night¡¯s rest himself, waking up at every rustle and bustle.


    ¡°No can do, Brother Yan, after breakfast, I might need another sleep,¡± Ku Zai shook his head.


    ¡°Sleep then, eat well and go back to bed for some more sleep, try to put on a few more pounds,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Just stay in the neighborhood, don¡¯t go anywhere before we come back, Xiang Er and I have some things to take care of.¡±


    Ku Zai was startled and hastily shook his head, ¡°If you and Sister Xiang Er go out, what will I do? What if the strangenesses come looking again and Sister Xiang Er isn¡¯t here? And doesn¡¯t Sister Xiang Er need to sleep? It seemed like she was up all night¡­¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze patted his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Xiang Er is always sleeping standing up. As long as you don¡¯t leave the neighborhood, you¡¯re safe, trust me. Now, go have your breakfast.¡±


    After her son came back, Li Man prepared a very rich breakfast; she went out early to buy some steamed buns, pancakes, and soy milk, additionally making some millet porridge and a small pot of oily soup noodles at home. Everyone sat at the dining table and enjoyed their meal immensely.


    After breakfast, as expected, Ku Zai ran off to his bedroom to lie down, looking totally spent, but he still dared not sleep on the bed, instead sticking to the floor.


    There was no helping it; in his mind, being careful around Yan Junze had become deep-rooted, sleeping in his bed without the owner¡¯s permission was just asking for endless retaliation.


    Yan Junze left the house with Xiang Er, heading straight for the ¡°Zhou Erfu¡± jewelry store they had been to before. This store was still rented out by Zhou Dali¡¯s aunt¡¯s husband¡¯s sister to someone else, and by now, Yan Junze was considered a regular customer there.


    Last time, it was the store¡¯s craftsman Gu Bai who helped forge the alloy Black Spirit Mallet for him. Of course, Yan Junze had also done Gu Bai a big favor, saving him from the embarrassment of being cuckolded by a strangenesse fond of taking candid shots.


    Upon arriving at the store and inquiring, Gu Bai was still working there.


    Going to the back workshop, indeed they saw him wearing a loupe, holding tweezers, and meticulously repairing a damaged delicate necklace.


    When Gu Bai lifted his head and noticed Yan Junze had arrived, he immediately smiled, asking them to sit for a while, as he would be done with his current work shortly.


    After sitting down, another young apprentice brought two cups of tea for them.


    The young apprentice, full of youthful vigor, kept glancing at Xiang Er, seemingly drooling over her presence.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, was meticulously observing Gu Bai, noticing that after not having seen him for a few months, his health seemed to have improved considerably, no longer looking like someone who could faint at any moment from lack of sleep.


    The man had put on some weight and, true to his name, was fairer.


    About twenty minutes later, Gu Bai put down his work, removed his loupe, and apologized with a sheepish face to Yan Junze, ¡°Sorry, sorry, the customer is coming to pick up this piece soon, so I had to finish it quickly.¡±


    While saying this, he passed the repaired necklace to an apprentice who had been waiting nearby.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No problem, by the looks of it, you¡¯ve been living quite well these days.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s thanks to you.¡± Gu Bai walked over, took the heated electric kettle and added some hot water to Yan Junze and Xiang Er¡¯s cups.


    ¡°This is¡­ your girlfriend?¡± Gu Bai asked with a smile.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze answered, ¡°just a good friend.¡±


    Xiang Er looked up and glanced at Gu Bai, her expression calm.


    Yan Junze pulled out the Black Spirit Mallet from behind him as if by magic, ¡°Just got off for the holidays, thought I¡¯d drop by and have you do me another favor, help me inlay two more¡­¡±


    As he spoke, he took out two Black Spirit Pearls, ¡°these two pearls.¡±


    Gu Bai took the mallet and the Black Spirit Pearls, smiling, ¡°No problem.¡±


    This item was originally crafted by him, and now, he just needed to add two more secretive clasps for inlaying on the surface and set the Black Spirit Pearls into them to complete the job.


    Talking with Yan Junze, he turned and walked to the assembly station to begin his work.


    ¡°My wife is very thankful to you. After you left, she kept saying she wants to invite you to dinner when you get back,¡± Gu Bai said.


    ¡°No problem, why not do it today instead of picking a date?¡± Yan Junze replied.


    With such polite offers as ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to dinner another day,¡± Yan Junze always had a disdainful attitude¡ªeat now or never, no need to ¡°pick another day.¡±


    Gu Bai was taken aback but nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call her in a bit to close the photography studio earlier today and we¡¯ll go to a restaurant.¡±


    With that, Gu Bai laughed, ¡°Ever since that mysterious incident at the photo studio, my wife dares not to enter the darkroom anymore, nor does she dare play with those film rolls. I dismantled the darkroom afterwards, expanded the photo studio, and now Lin Meng no longer touches film cameras, she only uses digital cameras.¡±


    ¡°Digital cameras are good, at least they¡¯re convenient,¡± Yan Junze agreed, nodding without much knowledge.


    About forty minutes later, the reprocessed Black Spirit Mallet was finished.


    This time, to take into account the functionality and aesthetics of the mallet, Gu Bai specifically added six more secretive clasps around where the Black Spirit Pearls could be inlaid.


    With the original one, there could now be a total of seven Black Spirit Pearls inlaid on it.


    Currently, three Black Spirit Pearls occupied three of the clasps, while four were still vacant.


    Of course, the clasps were very secure, and the Black Spirit Pearls would not fall out even if the mallet was hit. To remove the inlaid Black Spirit Pearls, one would also have to see what tools were being used.

 Chapter 447 - 447 329 The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_2

    ?Chapter 447: Chapter 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_2 Chapter 447: Chapter 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_2 This style of large mallet, Yan Junze was very satisfied with.


    ¡°These inlaid spare dark buttons, if you come across more of these beads in the future, you can find a master to install them easily,¡±


    After cooling the mallet, Gu Bai explained and gestured for Yan Junze to come over and take it himself.


    Yan Junze stepped forward, grabbed the handle of the mallet, and then his whole arm shook. The mallet produced a humming sound in his mind.


    To the naked eye, the three Black Spirit Pearls embedded at the top end of the mallet emitted a beam of black light. The light connected to form a line, circling the mallet once before the black light slowly dissipated, vanishing tracelessly like smoke exhaled from the mouth.


    Yan Junze strongly felt the sense of power conveyed by the Black Spirit Mallet; it felt full and abundant in his hand. With the Black Spirit Pearls interlinking and echoing each other, the mallet was incomparable to when there had been only one pearl.


    Invisibly it seemed other energies were being absorbed by the mallet, not only Yin Energy but also a small amount of Different Dimension Energy, and even Fear Value.


    In fact, Yin Energy could roughly equal Different Dimension Energy, only the latter was a bit purer.


    But as for Fear Value, from what Yan Junze currently saw, it was Rock¡¯s specialty as the owner of Tricky Silk.


    Given that the Black Spirit Pearl originated here and could absorb Fear Value, it was not surprising.


    Now, Yan Junze thought, the previous Black Spirit Mallet¡¯s rate and efficiency of absorbing energy were virtually negligible. But now, it was different. The mallet was absorbing energy all the time. If it was allowed to become fully charged, or even overcharged, it might be possible to hammer a high-level Wandering Spirit or even a Semi-Sculpting Spirit to death with one blow.


    ¡°Rock this guy, if he wasn¡¯t fond of playing around, he would also be a hidden powerhouse,¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but silently sigh.


    The spectacle of the mallet emitting black light was witnessed by both Gu Bai and Xiang Er. Xiang Er, who was long accustomed to oddities in Yan Junze¡¯s vicinity, merely flickered her gaze and quickly returned to normal.


    Gu Bai, on the other hand, wore a face of astonishment.


    Yan Junze tucked the mallet into his trousers, saying with a grin, ¡°I can clear strangenesses, so carrying a mallet on me makes sense, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it makes sense,¡± Gu Bai nodded eagerly.


    ¡°And I¡¯m also an Exorcist, so it also makes sense for this mallet to glow, right?¡± Yan Junze continued to ask with a grin.


    ¡°So young and already an Exorcist!¡± Gu Bai nodded furiously, ¡°Makes sense, totally makes sense.¡±


    Suddenly, he shook, realizing the mallet that had just been tucked in Yan Junze¡¯s trousers had now disappeared.


    In surprise, his gaze swept around the area of Yan Junze¡¯s crotch. If possible, he could hardly resist the urge to reach out and feel for himself.


    Watching him, Yan Junze said, ¡°As I just mentioned, being an Exorcist, and a very powerful one at that, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to effortlessly hide a mallet, right?¡±


    ¡°No problem, no fault, it all makes sense,¡± Gu Bai withdrew his gaze, squeezing out a smile on his face.


    As the person who saved him from wearing a green hat, it was obvious that Gu Bai would not charge for this modification of the mallet.


    After sitting for a while in the ¡°Zhou Erfu¡± gold shop, since it was still early, Yan Junze and Xiang Er decided not to go home. Instead, they went shopping for the whole day, buying several sets of good-looking clothes for Xiang Er and himself.


    Towards five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Gu Bai called to say he had made dinner reservations at Blessing Building.


    Blessing Building was situated in the heart of Shuntian City, in a bustling area that remained somewhat lively after nine o¡¯clock at night.


    Of course, because there was more patrolling here and Exorcists often appeared, it was relatively safer.


    Approaching six o¡¯clock, Yan Junze and Xiang Er, carrying big and small bags of clothes from a day¡¯s shopping, stepped into the pedestrian street near Blessing Building. At this time, the pedestrian street was brilliantly lit and bustling with activity.


    Gu Bai had already arrived, standing at the entrance of the pedestrian street waiting for them.


    After the three of them met, Gu Bai led the way. They soon entered through a luxuriously decorated entrance and took the elevator to the third floor. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the elevator doors opened, a spacious hall greeted them. There were people dining inside the hall, seemingly in the middle of a banquet.


    Gu Bai had chosen the ¡°Stream Mountain Jade and Stone¡± private room to host Yan Junze. His wife Lin Meng had already arrived there.


    The three of them walked through the corridor into the private room. Upon entering, Lin Meng and another unfamiliar woman were seen sitting together, shoulder to shoulder, with their heads down, intently looking at the mobile phone in the woman¡¯s hand. Their faces showed a tense, bizarre, and flustered expression.


    ¡°Eh, Ruolan, you¡¯re here too!¡± Gu Bai was clearly surprised to see this woman.


    He had initially only invited his wife along to host Yan Junze and Xiang Er for dinner, and it seemed he was unaware that this woman called ¡°Ruolan¡± would also be there.


    And it was quite obvious that this woman had come with his wife Lin Meng.


    Since Lin Meng was very beautiful, even though Ruolan was also not bad-looking, she still fell short of Lin Meng¡¯s level.


    Of course, the moment Xiang Er appeared, there was no one left in the room who could rival her.


    As soon as Yan Junze and Xiang Er entered the private room, the two women¡¯s gazes were promptly drawn away from the mobile phone screen to Xiang Er, and even while Lin Meng greeted Yan Junze, her eyes continued to linger on Xiang Er.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Ze,¡± Lin Meng finally managed to shift her gaze to Yan Junze, her face blossoming into a sweet smile.


    Then, pointing to the girl next to her, she said, ¡°This is Xia Ruolan, my close friend. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t ask for your permission first before inviting her over.¡±

 Chapter 448 - 448 329 The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_3

    ?Chapter 448: Chapter 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_3 Chapter 448: Chapter 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_3 The woman named Xia Ruolan stood up, nodded at Yan Junze, and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your gathering. How about this, let me treat this meal¡­¡±


    ¡°No no no, why should you pay?¡± Gu Bai quickly said, ¡°We are hosting our guests, we can¡¯t let you pick up the tab. Ruolan, don¡¯t talk like an outsider!¡±


    Yan Junze had already figured it out and asked Xia Ruolan, ¡°Did you¡­ come here specifically for me?¡±


    Xia Ruolan was somewhat embarrassed, and Lin Meng took over, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ze, it was me who called her over. My friend Ruolan has encountered something very strange and terrifying these past few days, and it¡¯s related to photographing. I only found out when she consulted me. Since you were meeting with us today, I impulsively invited her over. Would you be willing to listen?¡±


    Lin Meng¡¯s words were very tactful. Although she had forcefully brought Xia Ruolan over without obtaining Yan Junze¡¯s consent beforehand, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t someone who would make a fuss about it, plus the decision to help or not was still in his hands.


    Taking advantage of the fact that the dishes had not yet been served, listening would not hurt.


    ¡°You may speak,¡± said Yan Junze to Xia Ruolan.


    Xiang Er was also curious, sitting on the side and staring unblinkingly at Xia Ruolan. In fact, she could very well not blink at all.


    Gu Bai felt a little embarrassed, giving Lin Meng a reproachful look, blaming her for not informing him in advance and not seeking his opinion before calling someone over.


    If Yan Junze became upset, that would be the same as offending the exorcist of Shuntian City.


    Lin Meng did not know his thoughts, thinking that Gu Bai was just reproaching her for not respecting him. She stuck out her tongue at Gu Bai and pleaded with a regretful expression.


    Seeing his wife¡¯s demeanor, Gu Bai, as a doting husband, immediately went from cloudy to sunny and nodded slightly to indicate acceptance.


    Xia Ruolan did not speak immediately but opened the mobile phone screen she had been looking at with Lin Meng and handed it to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Master Yan, could you please look at this photo? It¡¯s a photo I took with some old classmates at a class reunion last week,¡± said Xia Ruolan.


    Yan Junze took the phone, his gaze falling on the photo displayed on the screen.


    It was a group photo of five people. The background of the photo was the entrance to a farmhouse fun garden, with people seen moving inside, presumably the location of Xia Ruolan¡¯s reunion with her old classmates.


    The five people were standing in front of a delicate wooden building, all girls, each smiling and looking at the camera. However, only one girl¡¯s head was slightly turned, showing half a profile to the camera, her face partly covered by her hair.


    At a glance, the photo was obviously not posed well, as the girl¡¯s face seemed to have turned just as the shutter was pressed, not fully captured.


    ¡°This girl is¡­¡± Yan Junze pointed at the girl with her face turned away.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Xia Ruolan said, her voice revealing an inexplicable fear but also certainty, ¡°When this photo was taken, all five of us girls were looking at the camera, with no one turning or tilting their heads. We took three photos in total, and I specifically chose this one because it looked the most natural, and then I deleted the other two.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you were looking at the camera when the photo was taken, but now in this photo¡­ your head is in profile?¡± Yan Junze asked with a frown.


    At these words, Gu Bai, who was sitting beside them, shuddered involuntarily, leaned over, and looked closely at the photo on the phone, feeling a chill rise in his heart.


    Xia Ruolan seemed unwilling to admit it, but the fact was undeniable, and she nodded, ¡°Yes, I noticed something odd about this photo five days ago. I had intended to have it printed at the shop downstairs from my apartment, but when I opened my phone, I noticed my head was a bit twisted.¡±


    ¡°When I saw it, something felt wrong. I remember that when I was selecting the photo, I looked very closely and clearly, and my head was straight. But¡­ now¡­ it¡¯s turned.¡±


    As she spoke, Xia Ruolan herself shuddered, goosebumps forming on her arms, as if the person in the photo was no longer her.


    ¡°When you first discovered it, to what extent had the head turned?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It had only turned a little, but my hair had fallen down and covered part of my cheek, which is why I noticed it right away,¡± Xia Ruolan replied.


    Yan Junze frowned, ¡°You¡¯re saying the you in the photo, while turning your head, also had your hair fall down?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m certain,¡± Xia Ruolan nodded.


    She had short hair, with the ends originally framing the sides of her ears. Now she tilted her head and indeed two strands of hair slid down, covering part of her right cheek¡ªexactly like in the photo.


    But Xia Ruolan naturally tucked the strands of hair back behind her ears.


    ¡°Have there been any other discoveries when looking at the photo again?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    Xia Ruolan replied, ¡°There were discoveries, it kept turning, although only a bit each day. Look, now the me in the photo is showing a profile to the camera, it¡¯s turned halfway.¡±


    At this, Xia Ruolan shivered again, trembling slightly, as if too frightened to continue speaking.


    Yan Junze was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°So you¡¯re saying, the you in the photo took five days to turn your head into this position?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xia Ruolan¡¯s voice was tinged with a sob, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. Is this¡­ encountering strangeness?¡±


    Yan Junze looked up and exchanged glances with Xiang Er, then turned to Xia Ruolan, ¡°I can tell you responsibly, it is!¡±


    Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 449 - 449 330 The person in the photo (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 449: Chapter 330 The person in the photo (Part 1) (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 449: Chapter 330 The person in the photo (Part 1) (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) Yan Junze had inquired in detail and found that apart from the anomaly in the photograph, Xia Ruolan hadn¡¯t encountered anything strange in her daily life over the past few days.


    Everything else seemed quite normal.


    ¡°Besides your phone, does anyone else in the group picture have the photo?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Xia Ruolan was about to shake her head when she suddenly remembered something and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve sent the photo to He Mingjuan.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Who is He Mingjuan?¡±


    ¡°Here, in this photo, the second girl from the left,¡± Xia Ruolan pointed at the photograph, ¡°I think it was the third day after the gathering ended when she messaged me, asking me to send her the photo as a keepsake.¡±


    ¡°Can you contact He Mingjuan now?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xia Ruolan nodded.


    ¡°Good. Call her and ask her to check her phone for any unusual changes in the photo,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Xia Ruolan was startled, chiding herself for not having thought of that.


    She pulled up the dialer and quickly dialed a string of numbers, putting the speakerphone on so that Yan Junze and the others could hear.


    Soon the call connected, and a woman¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Ruolan, have you eaten? Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, I¡¯m about to eat,¡± Xia Ruolan said, ¡°Juanjuan, do you remember the group photo from our gathering that I sent you?¡±


    ¡°I remember. I¡¯ve saved it on my phone, thanks!¡± He Mingjuan answered without a second thought.


    Xia Ruolan said, ¡°Can you take a look at that photo right now? Don¡¯t hang up, just open it and look.¡±


    ¡°What am I looking for?¡± He Mingjuan asked curiously, ¡°I saved it and looked at it that day. The photo turned out pretty good, I look so much younger.¡±


    After saying that, He Mingjuan chuckled.


    Xia Ruolan shook her head, ¡°No, just open the photo now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s open.¡±


    ¡°Look carefully at the photo, is there anything different about our five poses?¡±


    There was silence on the other end, followed a short while later by, ¡°I¡¯ve looked, it¡¯s all the same.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I felt like I might not have posed well at the time,¡± Xia Ruolan replied with a forced smile.


    ¡°What about the photo on your phone?¡± He Mingjuan asked.


    ¡°I accidentally deleted it,¡± Xia Ruolan lied.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll send it to you,¡± He Mingjuan said without suspicion, ¡°This photo looks so natural. Look at you, smiling so happily.¡±


    ¡°My¡­ my head¡­ isn¡¯t tilted?¡± Xia Ruolan asked with trepidation.


    ¡°Nope, we¡¯re all the same,¡± He Mingjuan responded.


    Xia Ruolan looked shocked and turned to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze gestured for her to have He Mingjuan send it.


    ¡°Okay, send me the photo,¡± Xia Ruolan said, and after some idle chatter with He Mingjuan, she hung up.


    Before long, her phone pinged with a message notification. Xia Ruolan immediately opened it to find the photo sent by He Mingjuan.


    After tapping on the photo to take a closer look, she froze, motionless.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Gu Bai and his wife, Lin Meng, seeing her odd behavior, were very curious and leaned over to see.


    Gu Bai¡¯s face turned grave, while Lin Meng covered her mouth in shock.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t seen the photo yet, but judging by everyone¡¯s reactions, he could guess.


    He asked Xia Ruolan, ¡°Is it the same with you in this photo, with your head turned to the side?¡±


    Xia Ruolan nodded fearfully, in disbelief.


    ¡°Just now He Mingjuan said that all of you look good in the photo, even mentioning how happy you looked,¡± Lin Meng couldn¡¯t help saying.


    Xia Ruolan¡¯s face had turned pale, her fingers trembling as she dialed He Mingjuan¡¯s number again.


    ¡°Juanjuan, open the photo on your phone again.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He Mingjuan sounded baffled.


    ¡°Just open it quickly. I¡¯ll explain later,¡± Xia Ruolan said urgently.


    A few seconds later, He Mingjuan said, ¡°It¡¯s open.¡±


    ¡°Look at the photo. Do you see any changes?¡±


    After a few more seconds, He Mingjuan replied, ¡°No changes, it looks perfectly normal. What are you up to, being so secretive?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ look at my image in the photo, has it changed?¡± Xia Ruolan asked bluntly.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s normal,¡± said a confused He Mingjuan.


    ¡°Juanjuan, I have to hang up. I¡¯ll explain this to you in a few days,¡± Xia Ruolan, growing paler, hung up and looked helplessly at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spoke, ¡°It seems that the photo was normal before she sent it to you. But after you viewed it on your phone, it became weird. Hmm, could your phone be connected to the strangeness?¡±


    He paused and then said, ¡°Send the photo to my phone.¡±


    With some hesitation, as Yan Junze read out his number, Xia Ruolan performed the action, and Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang with a message chime.


    Picking up the phone, he opened the picture and saw that in this photo, Xia Ruolan¡¯s face was directly facing the camera, without any tilt, completely normal.


    Yan Junze was slightly bewildered. Xia Ruolan leaned in to look at his phone screen and asked, ¡°How is it?¡±


    The moment she looked over, Yan Junze immediately saw Xia Ruolan¡¯s face in that previously normal photo mechanically twist, visibly rotating in a very short time to the side-angle pose seen earlier, then stopping.


    By the time Xia Ruolan looked, the photo had returned to the eerie state.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your phone; the strangeness seems to have latched onto you,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Then he turned to Xiang Er, who understood and felt around before shaking her head.


    Usually, if the strangeness¡¯s level or power was higher than Xiang Er¡¯s, she would naturally feel a sense of oppression. Unless it was excessively higher and could conceal its presence.

 Chapter 450 - 450 330 The person in the photo (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 450: Chapter 330 The person in the photo (Part 1) (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 450: Chapter 330 The person in the photo (Part 1) (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_2 If the level and strength of the strangeness were lower than Xiang Er, then oppressed by Xiang Er, it wouldn¡¯t dare to appear in this place, let alone mess with the photo right under Yan Junze¡¯s nose.


    But the current situation was that the photo did indeed become eerie, and Xiang Er also couldn¡¯t sense any presence of the strangeness.


    ¡°Very strange,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    If Ke¡¯er were here, she might have discovered something, because her sensitivity to strangenesses was the strongest Yan Junze had encountered.


    At that moment, the private room door opened, and the waiter began to serve the dishes.


    Xia Ruolan returned to her chair, trembling, and sat down, staring at the phone screen with a distracted look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll check it out when I get back,¡± Yan Junze consoled.


    By now, his interest in this weird incident had piqued, and since Xia Ruolan took a glance at the photo on his phone, the image of Xia Ruolan within the photo had her head turned to the side and had since remained that way, not reverting to its original state, which only increased Yan Junze¡¯s desire to investigate.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat, everyone¡¯s hungry. With Junze here, Ruolan, you should stop worrying,¡± Gu Bai also hurriedly called out.


    It must be said that the dishes Lin Meng ordered were not cheap, and the taste was truly satisfying.


    Up to this point, Yan Junze essentially ate for the taste, because if it were about the feeling of fullness, nothing would compare to the satiety of consuming a bag of blood.


    Xiang Er ate only for the flavor as well, giving the impression that today¡¯s meal didn¡¯t quite suit their tastes.


    Of course, Xia Ruolan was also eating without tasting, scared by the photo.


    ¡°Is the food not to your liking?¡± Gu Bai asked apologetically.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No, the food is delicious; it¡¯s just that I normally don¡¯t eat much.¡±


    Gu Bai glanced at Lin Meng, the couple speculated that it might be because of Xia Ruolan that Yan Junze seemed somewhat distracted.


    Throughout the meal, they chatted, and an hour quickly passed. At the end, Xia Ruolan gave her contact information to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze promised to investigate and get back to her immediately after figuring it out.


    After bidding farewell to the Gu Bai couple, they exited the pedestrian street and Yan Junze and Xiang Er hailed a taxi toward FH Community.


    ¡°Do you have any clue about Xia Ruolan¡¯s issue?¡± Yan Junze asked Xiang Er from the back seat of the car.


    Xiang Er shook her head, obviously also pondering: ¡°I feel that the strangeness isn¡¯t near Xia Ruolan, nor is it in that restaurant¡­¡±


    Yan Junze took over the conversation, ¡°Is it possible¡­ that it¡¯s hiding in that photo?¡±


    He then began stroking his chin, ¡°Also, why would the person in the photo turn their head?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we need to find the reason for the turning of the head in order to understand what the strangeness wants to do through this method,¡± Xiang Er speculated.


    Yan Junze nodded and fell silent.


    He noticed that the taxi driver¡¯s face was covered in cold sweat at the temples, and his hands gripping the steering wheel were also slightly trembling.


    Back home, Ku Zai, who had stayed indoors, sighed in relief upon their return, looking as if a burden had been lifted.


    Ku Zai too found it odd; he stayed at home without Xiang Er, without Yan Junze, but as expected, no strangeness approached, and it was very safe.


    Yan Junze ignored him and went alone to his bedroom to make a phone call to Zhang Xiaomo.


    The two of them chatted briefly about recent events, and Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°You returned to Shuntian and didn¡¯t even let me know?¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a smile, ¡°I wanted to, but that day was very hurried, I left right after completing a task. By the way, I want to ask you, last time we were in Mo Family Village, didn¡¯t Jiang Yaofei wear a ¡®Magnetic Shielding Clothes¡¯? Do you know if I can apply for one?¡±


    Back then in Mo Family Village, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes had allowed Jiang Yaofei to escape from the clutches of the strangeness several times. Once activated, the garment could create a stable magnetic field dynamic ripple around the person wearing it, making the strangeness unable to sense and see them.


    However, this only worked on lesser Sculpting Spirit-level strangenesses, but if faced with a higher-ranking Sculpting Spirit, their own magnetic field was already formidable. Even if they couldn¡¯t see it at first, upon close contact, the ¡°Magnetic Shielding Clothes¡± would be magnetized by the high-level Spirit, revealing the wearer to the entity.


    And now, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, a Magnetic Shielding Cloth would be enough to free Ku Zai from the entanglement of the strangeness. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed, however, that the shielding garment needed to be charged, and once activated, it would not remain effective for an extended period, which was a bit of a hassle.


    Zhang Xiaomo replied, ¡°Magnetic Shielding Clothes have not been mass-produced and there aren¡¯t many of them, but you should definitely be qualified to apply for one. Let me discuss it with the superiors, and I¡¯ll get back to you in two days at the latest. Since you are now in Shuntian City, just let the Tianmeng Exorcism Team there submit an application, it¡¯ll go through the approval process quickly.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Does the charger come with the shielding garment?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo answered, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a set, but you can¡¯t wear it while it¡¯s charging.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it, thank you,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    Now, as long as Ku Zai could shield himself from the entangling strangenesses once he left the FH Community and when Yan Junze and Xiang Er were not with him, the purpose of the Magnetic Shielding Clothes would be achieved.


    As for charging, it could be done with Xiang Er around.


    ¡°Why so formal?¡± Zhang Xiaomo chided somewhat reproachfully.


    ¡°Alright, then no thanks needed,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Zhang Xiaomo laughed.


    After hanging up the phone, the issue with Ku Zai would be resolved for the time being; they would just need the Tianmeng Exorcism Team in Shuntian to put in an application later.


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze called Huang Chen, an Exorcist he hadn¡¯t contacted in a while.


    It took a moment for Huang Chen to react after answering the phone, but after Yan Junze spoke up, he finally realized who it was and cheerfully said, ¡°Yan Junze, haven¡¯t seen you in ages, is college life at Tianmeng fun?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fun,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°I got forcefully recruited by your Exorcist team over there. I¡¯m now sort of a colleague with you, an external member.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Huang Chen exclaimed in surprise, ¡°We need to celebrate that, then! Do you have time in the next few days to grab a couple of drinks?¡±


    ¡°Not in the mood,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I might need to put through a request with Tianmeng for a Magnetic Shielding Clothes through you guys in a couple of days. Once I¡¯ve prepared the application, could you help me with the process?¡±


    ¡°Whoa, little brother, you¡¯ve got some nerve applying for that thing!¡± Huang Chen was clearly astonished.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed it, once they give the green light, I¡¯ll put through the application,¡± Yan Junze said.


    There were many taboos in this line of work, so Huang Chen didn¡¯t press for reasons and nodded, ¡°First, come over here to register your badge with us, then I¡¯ll handle the process for you.¡±


    Yan Junze knew this was to verify his external personnel status and replied, ¡°No problem, I can come over tomorrow. By the way, you have a lot more experience with exorcism than I do, I want to ask, if there is a clear anomaly in a photograph, one can be certain that a Spirit is at play, in what form do you think this Spirit is most likely to exist?¡±


    Hearing this, Huang Chen made a ¡°sizzling¡± sound as if drawing a sharp breath, ¡°The photograph you¡¯re describing, is it one where the person in it has turned their head away, no longer facing the camera?¡±


    ¡°Eh, you know about this?¡± Yan Junze was also puzzled.


    Huang Chen let out a sigh of resignation, ¡°So far, there have been 37 instances of ¡®photograph head-turning¡¯ incidents in our city; 12 of those who turned their heads in the photos have died. Oh, we just got two more new reports of head-turning, making it 39 now.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was startled, ¡°These head-turning cases lead to death?!¡±

 Chapter 451 - 451 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000

    ?Chapter 451: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 451: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) At first, Yan Junze thought that the person turning their head in the photo was a typical strangeness, probably formed by an entity to fulfill some lingering obsession.


    But after hearing from Huang Chen, he hadn¡¯t expected that so many incidents of people turning their heads in photos had occurred in Shuntian City, even resulting in over ten deaths!


    This made the incident with Xia Ruolan no longer an isolated case.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide anything and said, ¡°I happened to meet a friend today who told me that she noticed herself turning her head in a photo on her phone, so I asked you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your friend¡¯s name?¡± Huang Chen asked, seemingly still looking through the records.


    ¡°Xia Ruolan, a girl,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Mhm, there¡¯s this person, called this morning, 4747,¡± Huang Chen quickly found the report record.


    ¡°What are you planning to do now?¡± Yan Junze asked. To tell the truth, he was also clueless about the situation.


    The main issue was that, so far, only the photos had shown strangeness, with just the individuals in the photos themselves turning their heads, without a third party involved, so it was impossible to know in what form the entity existed and what its purpose was.


    In that case, even Yan Junze had no solution.


    However, the Exorcist team obviously still had some information. Huang Chen said, ¡°Of the 12 people who died after reporting the case, half of them died in their sleep, and the other half died in accidents. Our investigation found that those who died in their sleep had all struggled violently before death, but no traces of anyone else present were found near the bodies.¡±


    ¡°So you mean, it¡¯s possible that no one appeared by their bed to kill them,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°They were killed in their sleep?¡±


    This deduction reminded him of the Lantern Woman, Ning Ji.


    If it weren¡¯t for Xiang Er¡¯s help last time, Yan Junze himself might have died in his sleep as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility,¡± Huang Chen continued. ¡°And those who died in accidents, each one died from the same fatal injury¡­¡±


    After speaking with Huang Chen for a while, he hung up the phone.


    Night fell.


    Yan Junze lay in bed with his eyes open, the lamp on the bedside table dimmed to the lowest setting, casting a soft yellow glow.


    Xiang Er still stood tirelessly at the window, gazing into the distance.


    Ku Zai, camping out on the floor, was utterly speechless. He watched the enchanting silhouette, reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, and looked towards the neatly arranged blankets beside him, one corner of which he had considerately folded.


    But now, that folded corner seemed like a gaping mouth, mocking him mercilessly: wishful thinking, she¡¯s not going to sleep with you even if she stays up all night!!!


    Ku Zai clearly remembered that Xiang Er hadn¡¯t slept all night yesterday, and she had been standing too. She had also been running around all day, it was unlikely she had caught up on her sleep outside. This was unscientific!


    His own constitution was weak, the excitement kept him awake the first night, but by the second night he seemed to have anticipated the same outcome, so he quickly dozed off.


    Yan Junze pondered his conversation with Huang Chen, planning his best course of action for dealing with this photo curse and picked up his phone to look at the photo that Xia Ruolan had sent him.


    In the photo, Xia Ruolan¡¯s head was still turned to the side, facing the camera.


    At one o¡¯clock in the morning, outside FH Community.


    The street opposite to the community¡¯s gate was dimly lit by lonely street lamps, their dull yellow light repelling the darkness, but still leaving the street somewhat gloomy.


    Several entities of different shapes, some squatting, some standing, some floating in mid-air, all stared intently at FH Community as if peering through the walls towards the Yan Family, with an uncontrollable yearning.


    However, starting from the security room at the entrance of FH Community, it seemed that an invisible barrier had been erected, and no entities dared to approach rashly, all just lingering nearby.


    At the street-side drain grate, a faint vibration and a rustling sound emerged at that moment.


    Soon, five rotting fingers squeezed through the grate¡¯s gaps, grasping the edge of the grate. The nails on the fingers had all fallen off, the skin was peeled back, oozing a thick fluid.


    As this hand appeared, the other entities immediately scattered, retreating in horror. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, a deep moan came from within, and the exposed fingers, along with the terrifying entity from the drain, turned into a wisp of black smoke and poured out of the drainpipe.


    The black smoke gathered on the street surface, swiftly condensing, transforming into a man whose whole body was rotting. He had arms and legs, but they appeared broken, limping towards the entrance of FH Community.


    Following the appearance of this horrific rotting entity, the other entities scattered as if fleeing from the plague, watching from a distance in terror, not daring to come closer.


    Black fumes oozed from the rotting entity¡¯s body, and a greedy, desirous expression showed on his equally rotting face.


    He stumbled to the gate of the community, and then the invisible oppression that had been felt from the entrance surged out, rushing towards him as if a torrent of water instantly engulfed his entire body.


    The entity paused slightly but still raised his leg to step forward, crossing over the parallel line to the community¡¯s security room, entering the oppressive zone.


    This was the first time an entity had come so close, or even entered FH Community.


    At this moment, the rotting entity¡¯s pace began to slow, yet he continued to shuffle forward.

 Chapter 452 - 452 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000

    ?Chapter 452: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 452: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Before long, he finally entered the residential complex, but as he walked further in, the rotting flesh on his body began to fall off incessantly, his steps labored yet determined. He raised his decaying head, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the direction of the Yan Family¡¯s floors.


    Just at that moment, the rotting strangeness suddenly shook violently, halting in his tracks.


    He looked down at his stomach, which was already rotting away, and about two seconds later, the wound in the stomach was suddenly torn open, growing vastly larger.


    An old woman¡¯s head emerged from the stomach, slowly crawling out and floating in front of the rotting strangeness.


    Below the neck of the old woman¡¯s head floated a blood-red silk thread, gently swaying, strikingly beautiful.


    As her head emerged, the rotting strangeness let out an extremely miserable scream, but the moment the scream was uttered, it was immediately suppressed by a powerful and invisible force, confining the sound to this tiny area, unheard by anyone.


    Right under the old woman¡¯s gaze, the rotting strangeness rotted away inch by inch, falling to the ground and dissolving into nothingness.


    The old woman¡¯s face was kind and smiling, quietly watching all this unfold.


    Meanwhile, outside the residential complex, no other strangeness dared to linger, each scrambling away as if fleeing for their lives.


    At the same time, within the underground parking garage¡¯s pipelines, black bugs once again appeared out of thin air on the headless body, crawling on the surface, ready to gnaw.


    However, two strange babies had long been waiting nearby, and the moment the black bugs appeared, they immediately pounced on them with crunching noises.


    ¡­


    That night,


    Xia Ruolan washed up early and used a specially crafted mugwort herbal pouch to fumigate her head, claiming it helped with sleep, then climbed into bed ready to call it a night.


    Her husband, Deng Bing, knowing that his wife had been restless and in poor spirits these past two days, also sat on the bed with her, picking up a book to read.


    Xia Ruolan, on the other hand, lay on her side, hugging her husband¡¯s arm, her eyes half closed, quickly falling asleep.


    She slept soundly that night; having called 4747 during the day and later told the exorcist Yan Junze in person, her constantly anxious heart finally found a sliver of peace at this moment.


    Xia Ruolan dared not, and did not want to look at the photo on her phone again, for fear that the person in the photo would continue to turn their head, causing her heart to flutter and preventing her from sleeping.


    Now with her husband by her side, she had a deep sleep.


    In a daze, she found herself standing on a vast plain of blue grass, boundless, with a light breeze stirring, lifting Ruolan¡¯s hair, caressing her exposed arms and calves.


    Ruolan glanced down to find, to her surprise, that she was barefoot, with no shoes on, but her tender white feet, caressed by the gentle touch of the sun, seemed crystal clear, with the blue veins faintly visible.


    As a kindergarten teacher, Ruolan knew very well that such a spacious and flat grassland was the most comfortable and safest playground for children.


    At that thought, laughter from children came from behind her.


    She turned her head and saw the children from her class, boys and girls, familiar little faces, each one running and chasing one another, with another teacher from their class running around taking care of them.


    Seeing Ruolan approach, the female teacher took off the camera hanging from her chest and said, ¡°Teacher Xia, come over here, hold Yingying, and I¡¯ll take a picture of you two.¡±


    Ruolan walked over with a smile, lifted a chubby little girl with two pigtails on her head, and said, ¡°Yingying, look over there, follow teacher¡¯s hand signs, say cheese!¡±


    Click!


    The female teacher took a photo but didn¡¯t put down her camera. Instead, she extended her right hand, gesturing them to come closer, ¡°Another one, ready now, hmm, turn your head, turn your head¡­¡±


    Ruolan paused, initially thinking she had misheard, not understanding why she was suddenly being told to turn her head, so she just stared at the camera lens, looking at the female teacher, motionless.


    ¡°Turn your head, I¡¯m telling you to turn your head!¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The female teacher¡¯s tone suddenly became stern, her camera facing their direction, her voice soft, sharp, and high-pitched.


    ¡°Turn your head around! Turn your head around!¡±


    Ruolan was completely startled at this point, and in her panic, the girl, Yingying, whom she was holding, suddenly went ¡®bang¡¯ and turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.


    Ruolan¡¯s arms were suddenly empty, leaving her at a loss and extremely frightened.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you¡­ turn! Your! Head! Around!¡±


    The female teacher still hadn¡¯t put down the camera she was taking pictures with, and her voice suddenly became eerily shrill.


    Ah!


    Ruolan let out a piercing scream, abruptly sitting up to find herself drenched in sweat, with large beads of it covering her face.


    ¡°It was just a dream!¡±


    Looking to the side, she saw that she was the only one lying in bed; her husband wasn¡¯t sitting beside her.


    But there was an indentation in the pillow nearby, indicating that her husband Deng Bing must have just left the bed.


    Sitting up in bed, she heard the sound of the TV from the living room, seeming to be the dialogue from some costume drama.


    The feeling of terror still lingered in Ruolan¡¯s heart, and she didn¡¯t dare to sleep alone again, thinking her husband must have seen her asleep and couldn¡¯t help but go watch TV in the living room.


    She threw off the covers, slipped into her slippers, got out of bed, and walked to the bedroom door.


    The bedroom door was ajar, not closed tightly, and from here, the sound of the TV in the living room was even clearer.


    ¡°Deng Bing, why did you go watch TV? I just had a nightmare,¡± Ruolan said as she pulled open the door and walked out, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

 Chapter 453 - 453 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000

    ?Chapter 453: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_3 Chapter 453: Chapter 331 The person in the photo (Part 2) (5000 words, Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)_3 She didn¡¯t blame her husband, it was just that the nightmare had been too terrifying, and now Xia Ruolan urgently needed to find someone to rely on to relieve the tension and fear in her heart.


    Deng Bing did not answer, clearly engrossed in the television show.


    Xia Ruolan quickly walked to the living room and stood beside the television, looking at her husband on the sofa.


    However, Xia Ruolan was immediately taken aback because she realized that her husband wasn¡¯t watching TV, but instead had turned his head to look behind the sofa, seemingly fixated on something there.


    ¡°Deng Bing?¡±


    Xia Ruolan said in surprise, walking over and calling her husband¡¯s name.


    But Deng Bing still did not turn his head, as if the scene behind the sofa was more thrilling than the TV show currently playing.


    Xia Ruolan came in front of Deng Bing and patted his shoulder with astonishment, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Deng Bing moved slightly, but still did not respond.


    Xia Ruolan was becoming frightened, but faced with her own husband, she wasn¡¯t so scared as to run away. She grabbed Deng Bing¡¯s shoulder forcefully and tried to turn it, but his body was as solid as a rock, and she couldn¡¯t turn him.


    ¡°Deng Bing, what are you doing?¡±


    Xia Ruolan quickly went around the sofa to the window behind it.


    There was a row of green plants placed here, and as she passed by, she accidentally pricked herself on the tip of the agave, a pain that made her feel dizzy and groggy.


    Behind Deng Bing now, Xia Ruolan bent down and leaned forward, and after seeing the scene before her, her delicate body violently shook.


    She saw that Deng Bing¡¯s neck seemed twisted by some force, his facial features all contorted together, nearly out of place, his lips stretched by this force, lifting the upper lip and revealing teeth, gums, and drool dripping down from the corner of his mouth.


    Amidst her horror, Xia Ruolan immediately stepped back.


    It looked like Deng Bing was struggling against his twisted neck, contending with the unseen force, his neck making a cracking noise, his lips moving, and a blurred voice emerged, ¡°Turn around, turn around¡­¡±


    Xia Ruolan screamed in terror and quickly retreated, her body pricked sharply by the tip of the agave once again.


    Boom!


    Her limbs twitched as if she had fallen into a bottomless abyss, a strong sense of weightlessness overwhelmed her.


    Suddenly startled, she opened her eyes to find she was still lying in bed.


    ¡°A dream? Still dreaming?¡±


    The light in the bedroom was soft, still on, Xia Ruolan lay curled up on the bed, and her husband Deng Bing still sat beside her, leaning against the headboard, only he wasn¡¯t reading a book, but was looking at his phone.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?¡± Deng Bing whispered.


    Xia Ruolan¡¯s body was still trembling, and she nodded, ¡°Yes, the nightmare just now felt so real.¡±


    She realized she was sweating, though not yet drenched, but her hands and feet were ice cold.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping? What time is it?¡± Xia Ruolan asked softly.


    Deng Bing stared at his phone and replied, ¡°It¡¯s twelve o¡¯clock now, I¡¯m going to sleep soon, just looking a little longer.¡±


    ¡°What are you watching?¡± Xia Ruolan lifted her head and glanced at it, then froze.


    She saw that the phone in her husband¡¯s hand was not his own, but hers, and at this moment the phone screen was on that chilling photograph.


    In the photograph, she was turned to the side, with only half her face showing towards the camera.


    ¡°Why are you looking at this?¡± Xia Ruolan immediately panicked, half-awake with fear.


    Deng Bing did not answer.


    Xia Ruolan sat up and grabbed the phone, trying to take it and turn it off.


    But Deng Bing did not let go, merely saying, ¡°Don¡¯t you think¡­ this photo, has a certain feel to it?¡±


    ¡°What¡­ what feel?¡± Xia Ruolan became somewhat angry, ¡°Give me the phone, don¡¯t open this picture now, I¡¯m scared!¡±


    Finally, Xia Ruolan snatched the phone and was about to turn off the photograph, but before her finger touched the phone screen, she saw that her own head in the photo began to slowly turn backward again.


    This time, only a small part of her profile was visible.


    ¡°Deng¡­ Deng Bing, do you see¡­ do you see that? Quick, look¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, Xia Ruolan looked up and saw Deng Bing smiling, his hands reaching out, slightly cupped, and hugging her head.


    Then a twisting force came into play, her head being forcibly turned to the left by Deng Bing.


    ¡°Turn around, turn around¡­, quickly turn around¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Xia Ruolan screamed, terrified, struggling furiously, lying down flat on the bed, kicking chaotically in Deng Bing¡¯s direction.


    Deng Bing had pounced on her the moment she lay down but was soon kicked away.


    As he attempted to come closer again, Xia Ruolan smashed the phone she was clutching into his face, hitting him square on the forehead. Taking advantage of this, she turned and crawled off the bed, running towards the bedroom door.


    In a panic, something tripped her, and Xia Ruolan fell violently to the floor.


    Her body went numb, she trembled violently, and rapidly opened her eyes to find that she was still lying in bed.


    Her senses muddled, she turned to look out the window to see that it was already light outside.


    The bewildered Xia Ruolan rubbed her eyes, turned her head, and saw her husband Deng Bing lying next to her, with the blanket covering half his head, sleeping soundly.


    At this moment she was thoroughly confused, unable to distinguish if the scene before her was reality or still a dream.


    But the snoring from her husband was something she could clearly hear. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She reached out of the blanket and grabbed her phone from the bedside table, turned on the screen, and checked the time, which showed it was 8:32 AM.


    But Xia Ruolan was still not at ease, feeling completely uncertain.


    She didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly or get out of bed, clutching her phone, she thought for a moment, and dialed a number.


    ¡°Hello.¡± After a while, someone answered the phone from the other end.


    With a voice tinged with crying, Xia Ruolan said, ¡°Save me, Master Yan! I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m dreaming now, or if I¡¯m awake¡­¡±

 Chapter 454 - 454 332 The Person in the Photo (Part Three)

    ?Chapter 454: Chapter 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three) Chapter 454: Chapter 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three) Yan Junze¡¯s heart sunk after receiving the call from Xia Ruolan.


    Xia Ruolan told him that she didn¡¯t know if she was dreaming or awake, which meant that this woman had encountered the situation Huang Chen had described to him the night before.


    According to Huang Chen, if the person in the photo had completely turned their head, then the person in reality was very likely to be killed in their dreams.


    When he got up this morning, he had been planning to contact Xia Ruolan, to remind her to be careful, and to meet up with her. But to his surprise, Xia Ruolan¡¯s dream had come earlier.


    Soon, a thought crossed Yan Junze¡¯s mind. He let out a wry smile, thinking to himself that he had overlooked another important fact.


    Huang Chen¡¯s words were unreliable!


    Based on past experiences, Huang Chen indeed had many behaviors, including his words, that were unreliable. What he said was one thing, but when it came down to acting on it, this guy¡¯s tips often missed some key factors.


    Now, thinking back, he realized that he had almost fallen for Huang Chen¡¯s words once again.


    After comforting Xia Ruolan on the phone for a bit and informing her that she was indeed in the real world and that it was indeed him answering her call,


    Xia Ruolan¡¯s voice on the other end of the phone became somewhat calmer. Yan Junze said, ¡°Have your husband stay with you at all times. We¡¯ll meet at Happy Ocean Park at twelve o¡¯clock noon, Gate 3.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Xiang Er was already prepared and ready to leave, while Ku Zai had just come out of the bathroom, staring at Yan Junze blankly because he realized that the two of them were about to head out again.


    ¡°How have you been recovering these past few days?¡± Yan Junze looked at Ku Zai. ¡°We¡¯re preparing to go out. If you think you can walk a bit more, you can come along with me for some fresh air.¡±


    ¡°Mm, good, I rested very well last night,¡± Ku Zai quickly nodded.


    Before meeting Yan Junze, this guy could have been dubbed ¡°the ultimate hermit,¡± as there was probably no one in his age group who was stuck at home all day with a bunch of strangenesses and couldn¡¯t leave like he was.


    However, now that he had gained freedom, not everyone really wanted to stay at home. Ku Zai genuinely wanted to go out and follow Yan Junze on his adventures.


    The main reason was to see Xiang Er a bit more.


    After breakfast, just as his father, Yan Daguo, had left, Yan Junze said goodbye to his mother and headed out with Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    While descending the stairs, Ku Zai couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Yan, I¡¯ve noticed that Sister Xiang Er seems to never sleep. Doesn¡¯t she need to rest?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t rest.¡± Before Yan Junze could answer, Xiang Er had already turned her head and said, ¡°My physique does not require rest.¡±


    ¡°Not tired?¡±


    ¡°Not tired.¡±


    ¡°Sister Xiang Er is amazing!¡±


    Seeing that Xiang Er did not want to explain further, Ku Zai did not feel it appropriate to press for details and could only offer a noncommittal compliment before shutting up.


    ¡°Xiang Er is very special,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, watching Ku Zai. ¡°You¡¯ll find out in time.¡±


    After that, Yan Junze took a few steps forward to walk alongside Xiang Er, and in a lowered voice, he asked, ¡°Ku Zai also has a special physique. Does his body not attract you at all now?¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± Xiang Er nodded, then added after a moment, ¡°But I can control myself.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and said no more.


    As the trio walked on the community¡¯s road, Xiang Er suddenly slowed down. After a few more steps, she stopped completely, turning her head around to inspect the vicinity.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Xiang Er did not immediately answer but walked a few steps forward, then quickly returned. After several seconds, she finally said, ¡°There¡¯s a strong strangeness magnetic field here, although now there¡¯s only a trace left.¡±


    After a pause, Xiang Er turned to look at Yan Junze, ¡°I suspect there is an extremely powerful strangeness nearby. I can hardly help feeling terrified now. This strangeness must be very, very strong.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. The strangeness you¡¯re talking about, I know it. I was planning to introduce you two, but I thought it might upset her, so I¡¯ve been putting it off. In a few days, once we¡¯ve dealt with the photo strangeness issue, we¡¯ll go meet them together.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xiang Er shivered a bit as if afraid, but still nodded.


    Yan Junze guessed that since Xiang Er had detected a strangeness magnetic field here, something might have happened last night.


    However, with Aunt Mei in the community, and considering that this inscrutable old lady must have shown up here, it caused Xiang Er to detect the disorder in this area¡¯s magnetic field.


    The three left the community, however, since it was still early, they did not head straight to Happy Ocean Park, but instead towards the west side of Shuntian City, where the Exorcist team¡¯s office was located.


    Upon arrival, the Exorcist team on this side of Shuntian also followed the Tianmeng model, using an old-style office building, but much smaller.


    Outside the building hung a sign reading: ¡°Shuntian City Archive Sub-division 2.¡±


    Xiang Er and Ku Zai definitely couldn¡¯t come, so Yan Junze left them in a coffee shop separated by a street, specially requesting a private room for them to stay inside without showing up.


    If they were indeed discovered by an Exorcist, Yan Junze was not worried about Xiang Er¡¯s safety, but rather afraid that she might kill the Exorcists who tried to capture her, complicating the situation.


    After all, the overall strength of Shuntian¡¯s Exorcists could not be as high as Tianmeng¡¯s. Below two-star Exorcists used to be the majority, with three-star Exorcists relying on Tianmeng for deployment.


    Now, it was said to be somewhat better, with two three-star Exorcists stationed here to handle strangenesses up to the middle-level Sculpting Spirit without much of a problem.

 Chapter 455 - 455 332 The person in the photo (Part 3)_2

    ?Chapter 455: Chapter 332 The person in the photo (Part 3)_2 Chapter 455: Chapter 332 The person in the photo (Part 3)_2 When Yan Junze arrived at the division of the small unit, Huang Chen was already waiting for him at the main entrance on the first floor, so they skipped the registration process and went straight to the third floor.


    In an office there, Yan Junze took out a copper badge and scanned it on a device in the office to complete his registration and record.


    Next time he came, he could use the equipment in the office building of the Shuntian Exorcist squad, including applying for ¡°Magnetic Shielding Clothes¡± from higher-ups.


    Arriving at Huang Chen¡¯s office, also on the third floor, this office was larger, and seven exorcists usually worked there, but at this moment, the others were all out.


    Huang Chen¡¯s desk was at the very back. He walked over and sat down with Yan Junze, poured him a cup of water, and then took an archive bag out of a drawer.


    ¡°This is the photograph involving the complainants from the Photographing Heads Turning case,¡± he said.


    Yan Junze took it, opened the archive bag, and asked, ¡°Are all these people¡¯s photographs paper prints? No digital ones?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± nodded Huang Chen, ¡°I have people tracking the situation. So far, it seems that only photographs in the possesion of the subjects themselves can turn heads. So as soon as a head turns, they send us the latest photograph.¡±


    ¡°What method are you currently using to tackle this strangeness?¡± inquired Yan Junze.


    Huang Chen shrugged, ¡°There¡¯s no solution for now. We can only take all necessary precautions to prevent the worst from happening. As soon as someone¡¯s head in the photograph almost completely turns, our three-star exorcists will start providing close protection. But¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡± Yan Junze pressed.


    ¡°Recently, in two photographs, the targets¡¯ heads had fully turned. Thus, our three-star exorcists began 24-hour protection. Yet one person died struggling in his sleep, unresponsive to any calls. The other person, in front of a three-star exorcist, twisted his own head around to his back with his own hands, dying from a broken neck.¡±


    ¡°Could that person have been Spirit-Split?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    ¡°No,¡± Huang Chen shook his head, ¡°At that time, our three-star exorcists had already deployed High-Energy Collapse. If he had been Spirit-Split, this would have been enough to blast the strangeness out of his body. Even if that strangeness was powerful, it would have been halted from further harming the Spirit-Split person. But when we deployed the High-Energy Collapse, there was no reaction.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stroked his chin, silent, and began to examine the photos extracted from the archive bag.


    The first photo was similar to Xia Ruolan¡¯s, also a group photo. However, the head of a man on the far right had turned backward, making him stand out starkly from the others.


    Huang Chen said, ¡°This photo you¡¯re looking at is from the first person to report the case; the person is already dead.¡±


    Yan Junze flipped the photo over, read about the man¡¯s details and cause of death on the back; he had died in his sleep. And now, this photo was the last one taken before the man¡¯s death with his head turned.


    Yan Junze turned the photo back around and looked closely, realizing that the man¡¯s head had almost completed a 180-degree turn.


    This was the result Huang Chen referred to as ¡°completely turned.¡±


    By that standard, Xia Ruolan¡¯s photo would soon be in the same state.


    Turning to the second person¡¯s information, the first item was also a photograph, but this one was of a single person.


    In the photo was a middle-aged woman, posing in front of a beautifully landscaped man-made scenery.


    Many other people appeared to be waiting in queue alongside the scenery, probably in line for photographing.


    However, in the photo at this moment, the middle-aged woman¡¯s head had also completely turned, showing only the back of her head to the camera.


    ¡°Did this woman¡­ also die?¡± Yan Junze asked while scanning the details on the back of the photo.


    Quickly, he found death certification materials similar to those of the previous man.


    ¡°This woman¡¯s death was more gruesome; in front of her husband, she twisted her own head off,¡± said Huang Chen.


    After a pause, Huang Chen added, ¡°You should mainly take a look at the subjects of the subsequent photos; these people are still alive.¡±


    Yan Junze browsed through the following photos, which include both individual and group photos, the worst being one in which the head was almost fully turned.


    It was a photo of a young man whose name, Yan Junze noted, was Yang Zhijun.


    ¡°Currently, three-star exorcists have been with Yang Zhijun continuously; he¡¯s the most dangerous one at this stage,¡± Huang Chen said, pointing his forefinger at the man¡¯s photo.


    Yan Junze spread out seven or eight files randomly on the desk and frowned, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed similarities among these photographs.¡±


    Huang Chen nodded, ¡°You¡¯ve spotted it.¡±


    Then, he moved his finger to the background of one of the photographs, which included some passersby.


    ¡°There¡¯s a woman with long hair,¡± he said gravely.


    Moving his finger to the middle-aged woman¡¯s photograph in front of the man-made scenery, he pointed at the waiting crowd in the queue.


    ¡°Here, too, there¡¯s the same woman.¡±


    Looking up at Yan Junze, he said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve thoroughly checked, wherever there are other people in the background, among these people, you¡¯ll find this long-haired woman present.¡±


    Yan Junze examined closely and saw that the long-haired woman was wearing an entirely black long-sleeve dress, her complexion rather pale, with her dress sleeves a bit short, covering only up to her forearms as her hands hung down.

 Chapter 456 - 456 332 The Person in the Photo (Part Three)_3

    ?Chapter 456: Chapter 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three)_3 Chapter 456: Chapter 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three)_3 She stood silently, her gaze fixed on the protagonist in the photograph.


    Upon closer inspection, the gaze of the woman in the black dress appeared somewhat gloomy.


    ¡°We compared her facial information with data from the security bureau, but found nothing,¡± Huang Chen said. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It could be a woman who has been dead for a long time,¡± Yan Junze said.


    In these photos, wherever there were passers-by in the background, the woman was there too, albeit sometimes very faintly, sometimes half obscured by someone else, revealing only half of her face.


    Sometimes, her body was almost completely covered up, leaving only a glimpse of her black dress¡¯s hem.


    Yan Junze took out his phone, opened Xia Ruolan¡¯s photo, and sure enough, in the background of the recreational villa in the photo, he also saw a woman in a black dress.


    It seemed like the woman was walking by, as if she just happened to pass by, but she turned her head slightly; although it was a bit blurry, one could still make out her cold expression, watching the photo¡¯s main subjects intently.


    Now, it seemed that finding and getting rid of this woman was the key to resolving the entire situation.


    ¡°According to your investigation, generally, how long does it take for the people in the photographs to turn their heads completely, from the time they notice until they die?¡± Yan Junze looked up at Huang Chen and added another question, ¡°That is, how long does it take for them to die?¡±


    Huang Chen said, ¡°It varies, some die within five days, others only start feeling the danger after half a month.¡±


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile, ¡°Can you be a bit more reliable? You told me yesterday that the people in the photos had to turn their heads completely before they were in mortal danger, but my friend almost didn¡¯t wake up last night. I¡¯m going to see her later to find out the specifics.¡±


    Huang Chen wore an embarrassed smile and rubbed his head, ¡°There are no rules to this strangeness, and the victims don¡¯t share any common patterns, so my estimation might inevitably be wrong. Besides, I feel¡­ she¡¯s just killing indiscriminately.¡±


    ¡°On that point, I agree,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    With so much understood, he now had a rough idea, which would probably be confirmed after meeting with Xia Ruolan at noon.


    What was most troubling now was that no one could find where this strangeness was hiding, which meant they couldn¡¯t act without a definite target.


    Even after encountering Xia Ruolan without detecting any strangeness, Yan Junze had activated his Mission Perception, but unfortunately, he still discovered nothing.


    Now he suspected two possibilities, the first was that the strangeness was hiding inside of photos, similar to the last incident with the Peephole Strange Creature, existing in a different space. Since he didn¡¯t know which photo it was, the Mission Perception couldn¡¯t pick it up.


    The second guess was that the woman in the black dress had hidden herself in dreams, projecting her image in some form to appear in the photos, executing her indiscriminate killings.


    In such a case, Mission Perception likewise couldn¡¯t detect her presence.


    After getting all the photos photocopied for himself from Huang Chen, Yan Junze put them in a new file bag and informed Chen that he would contact him later, perhaps by then he would have a way to find and eliminate this strangeness.


    Hearing this news, Huang Chen was quite pleased; he had interacted with Yan Junze more than once or twice and knew this young man had his own way of dealing with strangenesses.


    Like daring to attract the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny to fight against each other, thereby escaping a fatal catastrophe for himself.


    This current strangeness was obviously no trivial matter, and if Yan Junze was confident he could handle it, Huang Chen was quite willing to trust him and also considered it a credit to the Shuntian Exorcist team.


    After the matter was concluded, Yan Junze left the old building of the archive department and crossed the streets, arriving shortly at the coffee shop where Xiang Er and Ku Zai were.


    Upon entering the private room, he noticed something was off with both of them: Xiang Er had a tense face, while Ku Zai wore an awkward smile.

 Chapter 457 - 457 333 The Person in the Photo (Part Four)

    ?Chapter 457: Chapter 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four) Chapter 457: Chapter 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four) The three of them left the coffee shop quickly, with Yan Junze and Xiang Er walking in front, and Ku Zai still looking awkward, trailing two meters behind.


    ¡°Are you saying Ku Zai straight up told you he likes you?¡± Yan Junze asked, lowering his voice in surprise.


    Xiang Er nodded, ¡°We haven¡¯t been in contact for many days, hardly exchanged a few words, and suddenly he blurts out this sentence. Can you believe it?¡±


    Yan Junze struggled to hold back his laughter, glanced at Ku Zai, who was now showing a constipated expression, and turned back to Xiang Er, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart. You should think of it this way: Ku Zai has been dealing with strangeness his almost entire life, and since the onset of these strangenesses, he hasn¡¯t stepped out the door. His experience with women is virtually nil. It¡¯s understandable.¡±


    ¡°He also said that he didn¡¯t like me for my appearance,¡± Xiang Er still seemed a bit huffy, ¡°What do you think, should I believe him?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°In that case, if there¡¯s a chance one day for you to shed this female corpse¡¯s appearance and reveal your true face to Ku Zai, and he still says he likes you, then you don¡¯t need to think about it, it¡¯s true love.¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head and suddenly sighed, no longer speaking.


    Yan Junze turned his head again to glance at Ku Zai, noticing the guy¡¯s red face and gasping breaths, realizing they were walking too fast. He quickly pulled on Xiang Er¡¯s sleeve, signaling to slow down.


    He turned back to loudly ask Ku Zai, ¡°Tired?¡±


    ¡°No, not¡­ tired, I¡¯m still¡­ okay,¡± Ku Zai shook his head, though he obviously struggled to speak smoothly.


    The two slowed down, waiting for Ku Zai to catch up.


    Xiang Er spoke quietly, as if talking to herself, ¡°Just now I really wanted to retract my aura and let those strangenesses pounce, just to scare this kid to death.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, ¡°You know, I really had the same thought!¡±


    Xiang Er looked somewhat dazed at him. Yan Junze saw Ku Zai approaching and it wasn¡¯t convenient to continue the subject, so he only said, ¡°Let¡¯s handle the current matter first, and then we¡¯ll find a secluded place to make your earlier idea come true.¡±


    He then gave a mysterious smile.


    ¡°I¡­ I was just saying¡­¡± Xiang Er, thinking Yan Junze wanted revenge, became somewhat concerned.


    The three of them arrived at Happy Ocean Park located in the northern part of the city around noon.


    The park was usually crowded during the weekends, but now that students were on vacation, the number of visitors had surged during the first week of the holidays. However, foot traffic had started to stabilize.


    Although there were more people coming and going at the main entrance, it was still convenient to find acquaintances.


    Standing across the street, Yan Junze and his group could already see a couple standing outside gate number three of Happy Ocean Park.


    The woman was Xia Ruolan, and the man should be her husband.


    Seeing Yan Junze arrive as promised, Xia Ruolan was excited and quickly approached with her husband, grabbing Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Master Yan, you must help me. Last night¡­ last night I felt like I was about to die in my dream, never to wake up again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get excited, take it slowly,¡± he replied.


    Under the big trees outside the gate of Happy Ocean Park, there was a place selling beverages and tea, surrounded by seven or eight sun umbrellas, each with chairs and tables underneath.


    A few of them found a table, ordered some drinks at random, and then Xia Ruolan described everything that happened last night in detail.


    She remembered everything that happened in her dream vividly, as if she had really experienced it.


    Even the parts about dreaming within a dream were very detailed.


    Yan Junze listened intently, especially interested in the details of the dreams. He interrupted Xia Ruolan several times to ask her to repeat certain parts. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Xia Ruolan finished, Yan Junze was quiet for a moment, pondering something.


    The others, seeing him like this, didn¡¯t dare to speak and disturb him; Xia Ruolan and her husband Deng Bing just stared at him, while Xiang Er and Ku Zai remained silent.


    About five or six minutes later, Yan Junze looked up at Xia Ruolan and said, ¡°In the first dream, you were on the grassland, and during Photographing, you were frightened and then woke up by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Xia Ruolan nodded.


    ¡°During Photographing, someone just told you to turn around, there was actually no danger,¡± Yan Junze continued.


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Then the second dream,¡± Yan Junze glanced at Deng Bing, ¡°your husband¡¯s head was completely twisted around, and he¡­ wanted to harm you?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    At this moment, Deng Bing unconsciously touched his neck. Although he knew nothing had happened to him, he clearly felt a sense of discomfort.


    ¡°In this interval, were you pricked twice by the spikes of a plant, and then you ¡®awoke¡¯ again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was an agave. We have some in the living room of our house, and in the dream, it was placed in the same spot as in reality, right below the window,¡± she explained.


    Yan Junze nodded, then continued, ¡°And in the third dream, you felt that after waking up, it was still your husband who wanted to directly twist your head around?¡±


    As soon as he said this, Deng Bing felt even more uncomfortable, placing a hand on his forehead.


    Yan Junze pretended not to notice: ¡°Afterwards you got out of bed to run away, and tripping over something, you woke up again. And this time was when you truly awoke.¡±


    Xia Ruolan nodded in affirmation.


    ¡°What tripped you?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Xia Ruolan said, ¡°It was a dumbbell, my husband uses it to exercise in the bedroom. It¡¯s usually placed by the corner of the wall, but last night, I don¡¯t know how, it rolled out a distance.¡±


    Yan Junze expressed his confusion, ¡°Are you saying, not only in the dream, but also in reality, the dumbbell rolled away from the corner?¡±


    ¡°Yes, when I woke up it was already daylight and my husband was still sound asleep. After I called you and got up, I found the dumbbell in the very same place as in my dream, rolled out from the corner at some point.¡±

 Chapter 458 - 458 333 The Person in the Photo (Part Four)_2

    ?Chapter 458: Chapter 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four)_2 Chapter 458: Chapter 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four)_2 Deng Bing took over the conversation at this point, ¡°It might be because I practiced with the dumbbells last night before going to sleep and accidentally didn¡¯t place them securely, so they rolled out.¡±


    ¡°Can I say that your little accident might have saved your wife¡¯s life?¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°Looking at it now, Xia Ruolan, you are very lucky. The plants in your house saved you, and so did your husband.¡±


    If the dumbbells in reality were still leaning against the corner of the wall, Yan Junze might not have come up with this hypothesis. But now it confirmed a fact, Xia Ruolan indeed almost lost her life in the dream, and if it weren¡¯t for the plants and the dumbbells, she might really have been strangled by that ¡°Deng Bing¡± in the dream.


    Up until now, Yan Junze was still holding on to his two previous conjectures.


    One was that the strangeness was hidden in a certain photograph, and the other was that it always existed in the dreams, just projecting itself onto photographs in some way.


    Now that they had gathered enough information, it was time to show some real skills!


    Time was pressing, with each day they dallied, these people were more likely to never wake up again from their sleep.


    In front of Xia Ruolan and Deng Bing, Yan Junze took out his phone and made a call to Huang Chen, instructing him to immediately notify all individuals involved in the photo turning ¡¯round incidents to gather at the Fantasy Photo Studio on Lion Awakening Road at 3 o¡¯clock in the afternoon.


    Huang Chen asked what was going on, and Yan Junze only said that he would know when he got there, also reminding everyone to bring the original photo where their head turned.


    ¡°What about the person with the most dangerous head-turning photo who is now under the protection of three-star Exorcists? Should I go?¡± Huang Chen inquired.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yan Junze hung up the phone and asked Xia Ruolan, who, although she didn¡¯t know what he was planning, still said she could arrive at the Fantasy Photo Studio on Lion Awakening Road at any time.


    Since her original photo was on her phone, which she always carried with her, there was no need to go back and retrieve it.


    Yan Junze then called Gu Bai, telling him to inform his wife Lin Meng to get ready with her camera because a large group of customers was on the way.


    The customers also included Lin Meng¡¯s good friend, Xia Ruolan.


    Gu Bai didn¡¯t know what was happening and, out of fright, not only called Lin Meng but also immediately asked for leave from the gold shop owner and hurriedly headed back earlier than planned.


    He feared that Lin Meng might not be able to handle it alone, so he rushed back to help out.


    Yan Junze and company sat outside Happy Ocean Park for over an hour, and he carefully reviewed the plan, feeling it was feasible.


    If anything unexpected happened in the meantime, they could rely on Rewind to solve it.


    The group left the park and made their way towards Lion Awakening Road.


    Fantasy Photo Studio belonged to Gu Bai¡¯s wife, Lin Meng, and was also where Yan Junze dealt with the peeping tom strangeness last time.


    Some of the individuals involved in the head-turning photo incidents had already arrived, some alone and some accompanied by family members.


    Gu Bai had already rushed back to the studio and was helping Lin Meng welcome the customers.


    One by one, these people¡¯s expressions were gloomy, with furrowed brows, either clutching their phones, holding paper photographs, or even some with digital cameras hanging around their necks, clearly having taken the photos with digital cameras.


    Yan Junze settled Ku Zai and Xiang Er in a bookstore on the street.


    As he arrived with Xia Ruolan and Deng Bing, Huang Chen also arrived, bringing a few people involved in the incidents.


    Upon meeting, Huang Chen pulled him aside and whispered, ¡°What are we preparing to do now? I¡¯ll tell you, even the small team captain from Shuntian knows about this. If there¡¯s no explanation for gathering so many victims together, I¡¯ll be punished when I return.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and explained, ¡°If it¡¯s indiscriminate killing, I¡¯m now preparing to lure this strangeness over. Targeting me, I will be the one to resolve it.¡±


    ¡°How will you lure it?¡± Huang Chen asked distrustfully, turning his head towards the victims.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Each photo contains that woman in the black dress, so I¡¯m gathering all the victims here, each holding that bizarre photo, and standing together with me, we¡¯ll take a big group photo. That is to say, in this group photo, I am the only new member joining the ¡®Black Skirt Club.¡¯ It¡¯s hard for the woman not to notice me, and that¡¯s the first step of my plan.¡±


    ¡°Black Skirt Club?¡± Huang Chen was taken aback.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°I just made that up on the spot, don¡¯t sweat the details. I haven¡¯t finished yet. After the photos come out, just keep one for me. Then, I have a way to reveal the true form of this strangeness, whether it¡¯s in the photos or in the dreams.¡±


    ¡°You¡­when will your plan take effect?¡± Huang Chen was a bit puzzled.


    ¡°Time waits for no one,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°the effect could be as soon as tonight. If all goes well, you can expect good news from me tomorrow. Think about it, the power of a single photo in these people¡¯s hands is already so significant. My group photo, containing all the involved parties and their photos, is like after collecting all Seven Dragon Balls and calling forth the dragon! It¡¯s hard for the Black Dress Woman not to notice me.¡±


    ¡°Summon the damn dragon!?¡± Huang Chen stared at him with a ¡°what the hell did I just eat¡± expression.


    ¡°Is everyone here yet?¡± Yan Junze looked up and asked.


    Huang Chen turned to count and said, ¡°We¡¯re still missing the one protected by the three-star Exorcist, the most dangerous one at the moment, Yang Zhijun.¡±


    Right after he spoke, he pointed towards the distance, ¡°Here they come, that¡¯s them. The three-star Exorcist¡¯s name is Li Yue, wielding a magnetic knife with wide and tight maneuvers, creating an impenetrable defense within two meters¡ªspirits and ghosts dare not come close¡­¡±


    He hadn¡¯t finished describing before Yan Junze interrupted, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ve watched too many martial arts movies?¡±


    Huang Chen chuckled and then shut his mouth.


    Li Yue was a tall and burly man, indeed looking like a personal bodyguard at first glance, whereas Yang Zhijun was skinny and small, appearing listless with two prominent dark circles under his eyes.


    Clearly, this guy probably hadn¡¯t dared to sleep for days.


    Yan Junze took a longer look at Yang Zhijun and noticed he looked like he could pass out at any moment, his mental state seeming extremely poor.


    Meanwhile, Li Yue, who was walking behind him, kept reminding him, seeming to urge him not to sleep.


    Upon arriving at the entrance of the photo studio, Li Yue glanced at Yan Junze, having already heard of Yan Junze¡¯s reputation, especially the news from the Tianmeng side, which had reached his ears.


    Truth be told, Li Yue was out of options too. Unable to find the strangeness and while protecting Yang Zhijun, he could only allow him to sleep briefly¡ªabout ten minutes¡ªbefore waking him up, preventing him from entering deep sleep.


    He knew that if this continued, Yang Zhijun might go insane even if he didn¡¯t die.


    So, if Yan Junze really had a way to remove that strangeness, naturally it would be the best outcome.


    After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yue immediately asked, ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Photographing,¡± Yan Junze turned to call Lin Meng to prepare.


    At this moment, Gu Bai came out with an embarrassed expression and said, ¡°Although I¡¯ve converted the entire dark room into a shooting room, I didn¡¯t consider the space needed for so many people in a group photo. What should we do? Should we take it on the street?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s too much human energy on the street, which might affect the appearance of that strangeness.¡±


    As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Bai and Lin Meng, who had just come out, were stunned. Did that mean they had to choose a gloomy, terrifying place for the photo shoot? Were they trying to scare people to death?


    Thinking of this, both of them couldn¡¯t help but shudder.


    All of a sudden, Huang Chen slapped his forehead, ¡°Right, there¡¯s No. 7 Mansion on Lion Awakening Road. It used to be haunted for a while, rather violently at that. In the process of getting rid of it, we lost a two-star Exorcist. The whole No. 7 Mansion has been empty ever since, with nobody living there.¡±


    He gestured toward the left side of the street, ¡°It¡¯s just not far over there.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, perfect, that place is perfect for taking photos,¡± Yan Junze told Lin Meng, ¡°Get the camera ready, we¡¯re heading over.¡±


    Lin Meng was startled. She had been living there and naturally knew about the haunted No. 7 Mansion. It was said people died inside; normally, she would hurry past with her head down, daring not to look. And now, she was actually being asked to go inside for photographing. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This felt like tempting fate!

 Chapter 459 - 459 334 The Person in the Photo (Part Five)

    ?Chapter 459: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five) Chapter 459: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five) The architecture of No. 7 Mansion somewhat resembles the building style of Olay Great Capital, with an exterior that practically lacks edges and corners, favoring smooth transitions instead.


    The mansion is painted in an off-white color, with a flat roof, and circular stone columns scattered throughout its corners.


    It is said that in the past, nobles from Olay Great Capital lived here. After the outbreak of war, the property was nationalized, and following multiple auctions, it ended up in the hands of real estate developers who, for some unknown reason, didn¡¯t develop it and instead rented it out to become a themed restaurant.


    And it was exactly during the time this restaurant was in business that the strangeness occurred.


    More than one person died inside, including a two-star exorcist who also fell here.


    The key to seal the door was in the exorcist¡¯s hands, and Huang Chen had it sent over as quickly as possible.


    After opening the mansion¡¯s outer courtyard door, the moss on the ground nearly caused Huang Chen, the first to walk in, to take a nasty fall.


    Huang Chen¡¯s attempt to steady himself looked rather comical. His old face turned red, and he quickly looked back at the people following him, but no one was in the mood to laugh at him.


    Except for Yan Junze.


    ¡°With your agile moves, I feel like you¡¯re not far from becoming a two-star exorcist yourself,¡± Yan Junze said, putting on a serious air after dropping his smile.


    Huang Chen said, ¡°I¡¯ve already applied, and next week I¡¯m going to Tianmeng for the promotion test.¡±


    He paused before adding, ¡°Everyone else, watch your step. This place hasn¡¯t been entered in a long time. There¡¯s a lot of slippery moss on the path.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One by one, everyone entered the mansion cautiously, with Gu Bai supporting Lin Meng last. Lin Meng had a camera hanging around her neck, and their complexions were both not very good, with Lin Meng¡¯s pretty face turning particularly pale.


    Three-star exorcist Li Yue was always behind Yang Zhijun, even lending a hand to support him, making it seem as if Yang Zhijun was on the brink of death.


    Huang Chen opened the doors to the mansion¡¯s main hall at the front.


    As soon as the door opened, everyone outside immediately felt an unbearable chill emanating from the hall, which slid down collars and cuffs, bringing a bone-chilling coldness.


    This time, Yan Junze was the first to walk in.


    Standing in the dimly lit hall, he turned around and said to everyone, ¡°Please move a little faster. There are 27 people plus me, making 28 in total. Stand in three rows, from the front, ordered by height. People in the front and back rows should stand staggered so everyone can show their faces. And also, the photos in your hands.¡±


    Huang Chen then began directing, and soon everyone was in place as instructed, holding up their photos in a gap where they could also be captured by the camera.


    Gu Bai, standing at the entrance to the hall, asked, ¡°Should we turn on the lights?¡±


    He looked around and felt that the electric lights here should all be working, and there seemed to be no problem with the electricity supply.


    Yan Junze glanced at the dimly lit scene and asked Lin Meng, ¡°How is the flash on your camera?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good,¡± Lin Meng nodded.


    ¡°Then we won¡¯t turn on the lights. The darker the photo comes out, the better,¡± he said.


    With that, he ran to take a spot in the middle of the second row.


    At that moment, everyone in the hall stood in silence, with worried expressions and brows tightly furrowed.


    Moreover, each person was holding a photo of themselves looking back, whether it was a paper print, an illuminated phone screen, or a digital camera switched on with the image displayed¡ªall facing the direction of Lin Meng¡¯s lens.


    Now, Lin Meng raised her camera to her eye, her voice trembling as she called out, ¡°E-everyone, look this way, look at me¡­ here.¡±


    Through the lens, she noticed her friend Xia Ruolan¡¯s tense expression, holding up her lit phone, with the photo of herself looking back on display.


    Perhaps due to the heavy chill in the hall, Xia Ruolan¡¯s body was also trembling slightly.


    Fearing that some might not cooperate due to fear, Yan Junze kept saying, ¡°Look at the lens. Most importantly, make sure the photo in your hand is fully visible, including your head, to ensure everything gets captured.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start.¡±


    ¡°Everyone look at the lens, one, two, three¡­¡±


    ¡°Cheese!¡±


    With a click, the flash lit up, and the photographing was over.


    Lin Meng was sure that this was the most bizarre photo she had ever taken since she started photography.


    Because Yan Junze had instructed that this photo could only be taken once; there was no option to take several shots and select later, as this could introduce uncontrollable factors.


    After taking the picture, Lin Meng immediately looked down and brought up the photo she had just taken on the camera¡¯s screen to inspect it.


    But after just one glance, she could not help but shiver.


    Yan Junze left the formation and came over, with Gu Bai and Huang Chen also looking on.


    In the photo, everyone but Yan Junze had a uniformly grim expression, faces clouded with gloom, hands hanging down, and their postures seemed oddly disturbing.


    Under the flash¡¯s illumination, everyone¡¯s faces appeared freakishly white.


    Most importantly, the photo¡¯s background was a uniform dark tone, and farther back it was hard to discern any details, creating the impression that at any moment, indescribable strangeness could emerge from behind these people.


    Because Lin Meng had set the photo resolution to the maximum before taking the picture, even when enlarged tenfold, the photos in everyone¡¯s hands were clearly visible, including the vague outline of the Black Dress Woman in the photos.


    Yan Junze quickly scanned the image to confirm that the photos in everyone¡¯s hands were all clearly captured and that all faces were visible.

 Chapter 460 - 460 334 The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_2

    ?Chapter 460: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_2 Chapter 460: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_2 He immediately said, ¡°Quick, go back with Gu Bai and print out the photo in high resolution, in A4 size, then immediately delete the photo from your camera. Remember, delete it completely.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lin Meng glanced at Xia Ruolan, and without having time to greet her, hurriedly ran back to the photo studio with Gu Bai.


    After they had left, Yan Junze turned to Huang Chen and said, ¡°I forgot a critical issue. If we gather up everyone¡¯s photos right now, and burn them, or if we delete all the digital photos beyond recovery, would they still be in danger¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Huang Chen was already shaking his head, ¡°Among those who died earlier, some had tried that. A few days after the photo was destroyed, that person still died.¡±


    ¡°In other words, once the head-turning appears, burning the photo won¡¯t change the outcome,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Junze, what do we do now?¡± Li Yue came over to ask.


    In Li Yue¡¯s view, Yan Junze¡¯s current operations didn¡¯t seem like something an exorcist would do, but the existing strangeness was indeed very special, and perhaps only by using such an extraordinary method, a surprising maneuver, could they truly have a chance to take down this deeply hidden entity.


    ¡°Just wait a moment, the result will come out soon,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Before long, Gu Bai and Lin Meng came back at a trot, Gu Bai holding a printed A4-sized photo paper.


    Both of their complexions were off, not due to exhaustion from running, as this short distance wouldn¡¯t leave them pale from fatigue.


    Handing the photo paper to Yan Junze, Gu Bai said, ¡°It¡¯s very odd, when we first printed it, everything was normal, but it changed quickly after taking it from Lin Meng¡¯s hand!¡±


    Yan Junze looked down and saw that in the photo, everyone else still looked the same, each showing a deadpan expression with lifeless, fish-like eyes, except for himself, whose head was now oddly tilted to the left.


    Although the tilt was not very large, it was already quite noticeable.


    His gaze shifted back to the photos in these people¡¯s hands. Because of the size, the images were not as clear as when they were enlarged earlier.


    Yan Junze again shifted his gaze, carefully examining the background of the photo, but couldn¡¯t discern any other abnormalities, nor could he see the figure of the Black Dress Woman.


    He thought it might be because the background was too dark, so he searched it again, not missing any detail in the photo, especially the background, but still did not see any contours of a person¡¯s silhouette.


    However, the undeniable fact was that he was already starting to turn his head in the photo.


    Turning to Huang Chen and Li Yue, he said, ¡°I suggest that everyone here better stay together tonight. If nothing unexpected happens, everything should return to normal after tonight.¡±


    Then he looked up, surveying the mansion¡¯s lobby, ¡°Let¡¯s make do in the lobby for tonight. I¡¯ll stay here as well. If you can, try to stay awake tonight; don¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°What, we can¡¯t sleep either?!¡± the man called Yang Zhijun said with a cry in his voice, looking like he was on the verge of tears.


    He felt like he was at his limit and on the edge of breaking down at any moment.


    Li Yue walked over, stood beside him and patted his shoulder, then sat him down on a sofa covered with a white cloth, whispering, ¡°You can sleep for a bit, but just for a few minutes, and then I¡¯ll wake you.¡±


    ¡°If this goes on, let the strangeness kill me in my dreams, just kill me, I can¡¯t hold on anymore¡­¡± Yang Zhijun said weakly, shaking his head, no longer speaking.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s not just in dreams, your current state is very poor, if you even doze off for a bit, you could be controlled by the strangeness and forced to commit suicide. Do you know how? By snapping your own neck, crack!¡±


    Yang Zhijun flinched, seemingly realizing the seriousness of the situation for the first time and hesitantly said, ¡°Is there¡­ any sort of stimulant? Give me¡­ an injection.¡±


    Yan Junze pulled aside Huang Chen and Li Yue, whispering, ¡°If necessary tonight, maybe we should give an injection of stimulant to the overly exhausted ones, not too high of a dosage, just enough to keep them awake. As for the others, a few more cups of coffee should do the trick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make contact,¡± Huang Chen said, ¡°And then call a couple more guys over to help.¡±


    Looking up at the second floor, Yan Junze said, ¡°You all stay downstairs tonight, I¡¯ll stay upstairs. The way things are, it looks like I¡¯ve joined the ¡®Black Skirt Club¡¯. If everyone else stays awake and I¡¯m the only one sleeping, there¡¯s a good chance she will come for me. No matter what sounds you hear tonight, nobody come upstairs, I can handle her.¡±


    With that, he lowered his head and glanced again at the photo in his hand, only to see that his own head in the photo had moved again without notice, now completely in a sideways position.


    ¡°Heh, this photo, taken with everyone together, sure has a strong dose,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Suddenly, his expression froze, and he stared intently at the photo in his hand, motionless.


    Huang Chen was busy making a phone call to contact the team¡¯s branch and didn¡¯t notice this.


    Li Yue, standing beside Yang Zhijun, sensed something off with Yan Junze and walked over to look at the photo.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t look up, as if he knew it was Li Yue who had come over, and asked directly, ¡°Take a close look, do you see anything special about this photo?¡±


    Li Yue examined the photo carefully, including the dark background, then shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°How many people were there when we took the photo just now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°There were originally 27, and you made 28 after you joined,¡± Li Yue replied.

 Chapter 461 - 461 334 The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_3

    ?Chapter 461: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_3 Chapter 461: Chapter 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_3 ¡°But now¡­¡± Yan Junze suddenly looked up, his expression eerie as he turned to him, ¡°there are 29.¡±


    Li Yue was startled and looked again, immediately starting to count heads.


    After a while, he raised his head, ¡°Really¡­ there¡¯s an extra one.¡±


    Originally, there were 27 people, and neither Yan Junze nor Li Yue knew them, so there was no familiarity, only Huang Chen might have some impression of everyone.


    So just by counting the number of people in the photo, they couldn¡¯t tell who the extra person was.


    Using the most primitive method, Yan Junze and Li Yue started to compare each person in the photo with those in the hall one by one.


    About five minutes later, Yan Junze looked at the woman who stood a row behind him in the photo, three people apart, and fell into deep thought.


    Although he could only see above the woman¡¯s shoulders, her clothing on the shoulders was distinguishable as black, and with long hair draped over them, it was certain that this was the Black Dress Woman.


    This was also the first time the Black Dress Woman¡¯s facial features appeared in a photo in an extremely clear form.


    The woman was not beautiful, her features flat, her eyes a bit too far apart, her nose slightly sunken, and her lips were excessively thin. There was an irregular blue birthmark covering her right eye and the bridge of her nose on the right half of her face.


    At a glance, the woman¡¯s face seemed quite strange, leaving a deep impression.


    When she had appeared in the photo, no one noticed. The spot where she stood originally belonged to another man. But this man was now unconsciously standing to the side, showing no abnormal reaction, as if he felt this was all perfectly normal.


    Only now did Yan Junze realize that the direction he was looking in the photo seemed to be where the Black Dress Woman had appeared, as if out of fear, instinctively turning to look at the source of his fear.


    Actually, whether taking a group photo with all the protagonists wrapped up in the head-turning events would attract the Black Dress Woman¡¯s attention was something that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure of at the beginning. But at least there was a certain chance it could happen. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So to ensure the success rate, he had everyone reveal their own creepy photo when taking the photo.


    In this way, this group photo contained both himself and the so-called appearance of the Black Dress Woman.


    In other words, in this photo, it was Yan Junze who forced the Black Dress Woman to appear in the photo.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what the consequences of doing this would be, whether stragenesses would target him, he had at least increased the chance of success based on the original situation.


    Looking at it now, his speculation was correct.


    And in other words, the power of collecting all seven Dragon Balls is really great!


    Regardless, in this plan, he was deliberately calculating against the unsuspecting, plus he had the ability to Rewind and some special means he currently possessed. Compared to ordinary people, Yan Junze had many more ways to deal with the Black Dress Woman, even in dreams.


    After learning they would be resting here for the night, everyone started to get busy, some calling for meal delivery, some having bedding sent from home, Huang Chen was also in contact with the hospital to deliver drugs.


    Yan Junze went upstairs alone, where it was darker, but as soon as he pressed the switch, the lights came on immediately. The entire No. 7 Mansion¡¯s electrical system was normal.


    After making a round upstairs, he chose a spacious private dining room with a sofa and prepared to spend the night there.


    Avoiding everyone, Yan Junze made a phone call to Xiang Er, asking her to send Ku Zai back to FH Community first and then to No. 7 Mansion on Lion Awakening Road. She was not to enter through the main door, but to climb to the second floor from the back. He would open a window for her in advance.


    This plan couldn¡¯t be carried out without Xiang Er, at least Xiang Er could save his life at critical moments, so he had to wait for Xiang Er to arrive before proceeding.


    It¡¯s just that Xiang Er had a special constitution. If she were to meet the three-star Exorcist downstairs, it might bring many inconveniences, so that¡¯s why Yan Junze was preparing to have her sneak in to assist him.

 Chapter 462 - 462 335 The Person in the Photo (Part Six)

    ?Chapter 462: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six) Chapter 462: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six) By dinner time, Huang Chen called down Yan Junze to eat on the first floor.


    This guy seemed to follow Yan Junze¡¯s instructions very closely. Having told him not to let anyone else go upstairs, he went around notifying everyone, and sure enough, no one had come upstairs until now.


    In fact, this building was too gloomy and cold. It had previously experienced strangeness and even seen an exorcist perish; generally, no one would wander around without cause.


    In the current situation, staying in a place with more people was the most normal choice for ordinary people.


    Dinner was delivered by the exorcist team¡¯s staff¡ªa boxed meal for each person, a small dish of fruit, and a bottle of mineral water.


    However, each of the main subjects of the photos was given three bags of instant strong coffee.


    Yang Zhijun¡¯s physical condition was poor. After contacting medical personnel, the doctor didn¡¯t administer any stimulants but instead gave him an IV drip. It not only provided energy to his body but also contained a small dose of medicine to stimulate the central nervous system, used under the doctor¡¯s supervision.


    This way, it ensured that Yang Zhijun¡¯s condition wouldn¡¯t continue to worsen while keeping him alert.


    Then, Yan Junze went to a hardware store and bought a box of Burst Nails¡ªthose small pushpins with a nail on one side and a round surface on the other that can be pressed directly with a finger to drive the nail into an object.


    After putting the Burst Nails into his pocket, by the time the sky had darkened, Yan Junze leisurely returned to No. 7 Mansion.


    After chatting with Huang Chen and Li Yue for a bit and taking the bedding and pillow Huang Chen had prepared for him, Yan Junze went upstairs.


    Huang Chen kept watching him until he reached the second-floor corridor. He couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t overdo it. If you can¡¯t handle it alone, call out, and Li Yue and I will come up immediately.¡±


    Yan Junze turned his head and smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just pay attention to everyone else¡¯s reactions.¡±


    Huang Chen still looked somewhat anxious but simply nodded, without taking his eyes off him.


    Yan Junze entered the corridor and passed the corner, out of sight.


    He opened the door to the private room, pieced together some chairs, then spread the bedding across them before he went to the window and opened one of the panes.


    Sticking his head out to look left and right, after confirming that this was the only window open, he lay on the windowsill, enjoying the view outside.


    As if influenced by Xiang Er, Yan Junze¡¯s first thought was that this spot offered an excellent view of the night scene, which Xiang Er would definitely love.


    No. 7 Mansion had more than just a front courtyard and an independent building; behind the building, there was another courtyard with dense vegetation, half of which was occupied by a grape trellis, and beside the wall of the other half was a pond.


    The water in the pond hadn¡¯t dried up, but due to long neglect, the water quality was poor, covered with trash, and its banks overgrown with lush green moss.


    After an indefinite amount of time, Yan Junze suddenly shivered and felt a chill.


    He tightened his collar and decided to sit wrapped in the blanket in the private room for a while.


    Although Tianmeng was in the southern region with a comparatively warm climate, not everyone could endure sitting at a window in the cold winter breeze.


    Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, it suddenly sharpened, as below in the courtyard by the wall, a slender figure silently climbed over.


    Unfortunately, the figure landed right in the stinking pond.


    Yan Junze was startled but dared not speak out loud to warn her, fearing it would alert Huang Chen and the others downstairs.


    He saw the figure plummet, but midway through, she realized something was amiss and swiftly sidestepped, gliding over the surface of the pond like a swallow, creating a ripple on the water before gracefully landing beside it.


    Glancing up in Yan Junze¡¯s direction, as if her feet were unaffected by the slippery moss, she moved closer in a few steps, then leapt up to the second floor in a bound.


    Yan Junze saw everything clearly and knew it was Xiang Er, so he quickly stepped back.


    Xiang Er¡¯s leap was level with the second-floor window. She grabbed the sill, and like a nimble cat, quickly sprang into the private room and gently closed the open window behind her.


    ¡°Where is this?¡± Xiang Er¡¯s first question came.


    ¡°A quiet place that¡¯s convenient for carrying out my plan.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°All those who turned their heads in the photos are downstairs tonight, and there are exorcists present, so don¡¯t go down. Even your movement upstairs should be limited to areas out of sight from the first floor.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Xiang Er nodded, without asking why.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already initiated my plan, and that Black Dress Woman has set her sights on me. Later on, I¡¯ll be sleeping here, and there¡¯s a good chance she¡¯ll appear in my dreams. Keep watch by my side. If anything seems off with me, wake me with all your abilities, just like last time.¡±


    ¡°Mm, I¡¯ll keep a close eye on you¡­¡± Xiang Er said, then turned her head to glance at the night view outside the window.


    The section where No. 7 Mansion was located had a fantastic view of the night, truly beautiful.


    But Xiang Er knew the importance of tonight¡¯s matter, and no matter how beautiful the night view was, her gaze wouldn¡¯t stray from him for even half a second once Yan Junze fell asleep.


    Soon enough, Yan Junze spread out the group photo, and Xiang Er curiously came over to look as well.


    Yan Junze pointed to himself in the picture: ¡°This is me. I had just turned my head slightly earlier, and now it¡¯s turned halfway, and it¡¯s been less than two hours.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 463 - 463 335 The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_2

    ?Chapter 463: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_2 Chapter 463: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_2 ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the speed at which you turned your head in the photo is several times that of Xia Ruolan?¡± Xiang Er said.


    Yan Junze started to smile, ¡°The faster the better. I¡¯ve gathered all the photos of people turning their heads and took this group photo; I didn¡¯t expect it would be so powerful. Tonight, everyone downstairs is not sleeping, only I am, so at this rate, the chances of me encountering the Black Dress Woman in my dream will be very high.¡±


    After finishing his sentence, Yan Junze took out the Burst Nail he had bought from his pocket and said, ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk outside, don¡¯t come out, just wait for me in the private room.¡±


    About half an hour later, he came back, and Xiang Er was standing at the window, looking at the night view.


    After returning, Yan Junze threw the empty box that contained the Burst Nail into the trash can and asked with a smile, ¡°What did Ku Zai say to you after I left you two this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°He apologized to me,¡± Xiang Er answered, without turning her gaze away.


    ¡°After observing these past few days, I feel that his nature isn¡¯t bad, he just doesn¡¯t know how to interact with people,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that too, but I should have been a bit better than him at first, right?¡± Xiang Er said hesitantly.


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°You both are very innocent, but you¡¯re not in a hurry, and you¡¯re slowly learning to understand this world. He, on the other hand, has been holding back for too long and is eager to show himself, which results in him getting beaten down as soon as he pops his head out.¡±


    Xiang Er covered her mouth and laughed.


    ¡°By the way, are you still collecting hair?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked.


    Xiang Er was startled and did not reply immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯m just asking casually,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°After meeting Xia Ruolan today, from noon until the afternoon, I noticed that her hair seemed to have gotten shorter, and then I remembered your hobby. There¡¯s nothing wrong with having a special penchant, as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt anyone.¡±


    ¡°How could you tell?¡± Xiang Er asked curiously, aware that Yan Junze was not blaming her.


    ¡°The first time I met Xia Ruolan at the restaurant with the Gu Bai couple, I noticed that when she bowed her head, the hair on her forehead just managed to hang by her ears. It was the same when we met at noon today. But before the group photo earlier, I found that the strand of hair was now half a knuckle away from her ear, obviously much shorter,¡± Yan Junze explained while sitting down and rolling the bedding over his legs.


    After hearing his explanation, Xiang Er turned her head and looked at him earnestly, then said, ¡°I can¡¯t control it. When I see someone with good hair quality, I want to take some of their hair.¡±


    ¡°Your hair must have gotten very, very long now, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not hurting anyone, it¡¯s fine. This little habit is acceptable,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, lying back in his chair.


    A moment passed, and he took out the group photo again, glanced at his own image in the photo and saw his head was turned almost completely to the side; only the back of his ear was visible, even his profile had disappeared.


    He turned over, set the photo aside, and said in jest, ¡°Now that I think about it, having to rely on sleep to complete the task makes me not sleepy at all.¡±


    Xiang Er said softly, ¡°I remember when I couldn¡¯t sleep as a child, my mother would sing me the popular lullaby from Wang Family Bay¡ª¡¯Good baby, obey.''¡±


    Turning her head to look at Yan Junze, she smiled, ¡°But I can¡¯t quite remember it now, I only have a few familiar melodies in my head.¡±


    ¡°A melody can still be hummed,¡± said Yan Junze with his eyes closed.


    The room fell silent.


    About ten seconds later, a hum came from the front of the window, reverberating in the private room.


    Since she was afraid to be heard by people downstairs, Xiang Er kept her voice very low, which made it sound quite deep.


    But it was precisely because of its depth that the tune seemed prolonged and melodious, exuding an elegant charm¡ªcomposed, soft, and clear, with no ups and downs, only like a mother¡¯s whisper, chanting. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One must admit, although Xiang Er didn¡¯t quite remember the lyrics, the mere humming already captured the essence. It was like a gentle breeze constantly brushing against Yan Junze¡¯s ears¡ªethereal and soothing, calming his restless thoughts.


    It felt as if one were in the middle of a spacious square, with the evening drum and morning bell, deep and resonant, coming from afar, shaking the soul.


    Yan Junze¡¯s vision, which was blurry at first, gradually became clear. He noticed his feet stepping on unfamiliar green stone bricks, each crafted precisely and arranged neatly.


    Looking up, indeed, he found himself in the middle of a large square, surrounded by towering buildings similar to those in Olay Great Capital.


    The shapes of the buildings resembled those of No. 7 Mansion, with round rooftops and curved eaves. Some roofs even had spire-like symbols at the very top.


    All the houses were primarily gray, white, and black.


    Looking around the vast square, there was no one else, and not far in front of Yan Junze stood a tall, slender clock tower.


    At the top near the spire of the clock tower, there hung an ancient bell, without a second hand. The hour and minute hands seemed to be frozen, making it unclear if they were still operating.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Where is this?¡±


    Yan Junze looked all around, everything before him felt so real; he noticed nothing amiss.


    He took a few steps forward, but after only a short distance, the door of the clock tower opened, revealing utter darkness inside. Then, a withered hand extended from the dark, reaching out the door, with incredibly long and even somewhat curved fingernails.


    The hand grasped the edge of the door.


    Yan Junze stopped.

 Chapter 464 - 464 335 The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_3

    ?Chapter 464: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_3 Chapter 464: Chapter 335: The Person in the Photo (Part Six)_3 A walking stick soon extended from inside the door and planted itself firmly on the ground, the hand gripping the dragon head handle was equally withered, the nails curved.


    An emaciated elderly man with a hunched back appeared in the doorway, but he did not step out completely, revealing only half of his body, with sparse hair and layers of wrinkles on his face, the eyeballs almost entirely obscured by eyelids, as if looking in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    Utter silence.


    In the entire square, there was not even the sound of wind, a complete stillness.


    ¡°Elder? Are you there?¡± Yan Junze was not sure if the other party could understand him, he took a step forward, breaking the silence.


    The architecture here did not seem to be in Great Capital Huaying, and the elderly man¡¯s facial features were distinct yet indistinguishable due to extreme aging ¨C it was impossible to tell whether this person was male or female, or even which resident of Great Capital they resembled.


    The old man did not respond to him.


    Yan Junze took a few more steps forward and asked, ¡°Elder, may I ask where this place is?¡±


    He still could not understand why he had appeared here.


    But the old man remained silent, simply staring at him.


    At that moment, behind Yan Junze, blue-gray bricks shifted slightly, making a sound, and then one of them was slowly pushed up by something, during which dirt crumbled incessantly.


    Yan Junze also heard the sound from behind and immediately stopped walking.


    He did not turn around to check what it was right away, just then, the old man inside the bell tower stamped his walking stick hard on the ground and shouted with a hoarse voice, ¡°Turn around! Turn your head around!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, that phrase felt so familiar.


    By then, the brick behind him had been entirely lifted, something crawled out, and a sound of dragging across the ground followed, complemented by the scraping noise of some hard object on the bluestone bricks.


    Yet, Yan Junze did not turn around; his subconscious told him not to do so.


    The old man standing at the door of the bell tower seemed somewhat anxious, once again striking the ground with his stick, the metal-wrapped iron tip clashing against the ground with a loud crash.


    ¡°Turn around! Quick, turn your head around! See what that is!¡±


    The old man¡¯s urgency, the strange sounds from behind, and the repeated ¡°turn around¡± echoed insistently in Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    Boom!


    At that moment, he suddenly realized, feeling heavy-headed and light-footed, his entire body dizzy.


    ¡°I am dreaming, dammit, I am in a dream!¡±


    Yan Junze extended his right hand to his forehead, his head buzzing, and he strained his eyes to look at the bell tower in front of him and the emaciated old man standing at the doorway.


    The odd noise from behind drew closer, and the old man¡¯s lips continued to move, issuing the ¡°turn around¡± prompt.


    Yan Junze, struggling against a suffocating discomfort weighing on his heart, thrust his left hand into his pocket.


    ¡°Turn around!¡± The old man¡¯s voice resounded repeatedly in his mind like the tolling of a bell.


    The next second, the scraping sound from behind was right upon him.


    A black hand reached from behind and landed on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, its skin charred black, cracked all over, and pus oozed from the crevices. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, Yan Junze had no time to look.


    The moment the hand touched his shoulder, his left hand that had reached into his pocket had already found a Burst Nail.


    Without hesitation, he pressed down with his thumb on the sharp side of the pin.


    A sharp pain surged, as if his thumb was truly pricked by the Burst Nail.


    The pain caused Yan Junze to shiver, his eyes opened, and he found himself lying in the private room on the second floor of No. 7 Mansion, curled up on the makeshift chair from earlier, the blanket that had been covering his body now tightly wrapped around him, his hands tightly clutching the corners of the quilt edge.


    Lights were on in the private room, but it was empty, the window left open, and Xiang Er, who should have been standing by, was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 465 - 465 336 The Person in the Photo (Part Seven)

    ?Chapter 465: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words) Chapter 465: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words) Yan Junze threw off the covers and stood up; he hadn¡¯t taken off his shoes before sleeping, precisely for the purpose of reacting swiftly in emergencies.


    He approached the window and stuck his head out from the open pane to survey the surroundings.


    Outside it was very quiet, and with the help of the dim light, he couldn¡¯t see anything unusual.


    However, Yan Junze seemed to remember that when Xiang Er came in through the window, she had closed it behind her with the back of her hand; otherwise, it would have been very cold sleeping in the room.


    ¡°Could something have happened, and Xiang Er jumped out through the window?¡± Yan Junze speculated privately, ¡°Could it be that Huang Chen and that three-star exorcist Li Yue have come in?¡±


    With that thought, he felt it was a possibility.


    He didn¡¯t close the window, thinking that Xiang Er would definitely come back later, and turned to leave the private room, opening the door and walking out.


    He checked the time on his phone; it was already a quarter past two in the morning. Huang Chen and Li Yue should not break the rules ¨C they should not have come to the second floor without his consent, causing Xiang Er to escape by jumping through the window.


    It was also fortunate that nothing had gone wrong with him in the dream; otherwise, Xiang Er wouldn¡¯t have been able to rescue him at all.


    With that thought, Yan Junze reached into his coat pocket, feeling for the Burst Nail he had placed there in advance.


    But the pocket was empty, which surprised him a bit, and after searching all the other pockets, he couldn¡¯t find the two Burst Nails he had put in the left chest pocket earlier.


    The jacket pocket was quite loose, and Yan Junze had deliberately opened the pocket with the Burst Nail in it and draped it over the edge of a chair while sleeping to avoid accidentally pricking himself.


    Now both Burst Nails were gone.


    They could have fallen out during sleep, but Yan Junze didn¡¯t go back to search for them. Instead, he walked down the corridor towards the staircase leading to the lobby on the first floor.


    As he approached the staircase, he became alert. Standing on the second floor, he heard no sounds coming from the first floor, as if there were no one below. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without rushing down the staircase, Yan Junze leaned over the corridor¡¯s railing and glanced into the lobby on the first floor; he saw that all the people were still there, but within the sight range he could reach, everyone was either lying down or sprawled out, all asleep.


    ¡°Why are they all asleep?¡± Yan Junze was startled.


    His gaze shifted to the sofa where Huang Chen was supposed to be, but now only Yang Zhijun and the three-star exorcist Li Yue were sitting there, both with their heads tipped back, eyes closed, mouths slightly open, leaning against the sofa backrest, deeply asleep.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Huang Chen?¡±


    As the thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze felt a tap on his shoulder and heard Huang Chen¡¯s voice from behind him, ¡°You¡¯re awake? I just saw you still sleeping soundly in the private room. You woke up so soon?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s instinct was to turn around, but in that instant, his body froze, and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on with the people downstairs?¡±


    ¡°Oh, everyone is too tired. It should be fine if they rest for a while,¡± Huang Chen replied.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you take a break on the sofa?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°Someone has to stay awake,¡± Huang Chen¡¯s voice revealed helplessness and fatigue.


    ¡°I said not to come upstairs without my consent. Didn¡¯t you hear me just now?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s tone suddenly turned icy.


    Slap!


    Huang Chen¡¯s hands landed on his shoulders from behind: ¡°What do you mean? I was worried about your safety and came up to check. Is that not okay? Also, why don¡¯t you look at me when you speak? Turn around, turn around and look¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze suddenly accelerated forward, breaking free from Huang Chen¡¯s grasp.


    Still without turning his head, Yan Junze reached into his pockets again, but still didn¡¯t find any Burst Nail.


    ¡°Don¡¯t run, turn your head, look at me! Look at me!¡±


    Huang Chen¡¯s voice followed from behind, but Yan Junze ignored it, running further into the second-floor corridor.


    The thudding sound of footsteps began behind him, clearly Huang Chen¡¯s solid footsteps echoing on the floor as he gave chase.


    Yan Junze reached out and touched a row of empty flower racks he passed, finding the two Burst Nails he had placed there beforehand, and he immediately gripped them in his hands.


    The rapid footsteps behind him drew closer, but due to the curved design of the corridor, creating a certain angle, the figure pursuing him was still not visible.


    Yan Junze quickly pushed open the door of the farthest private room, one that had never been opened, immediately turned on the light, but whether it was the lightbulb or the wiring, none of the lights in that room worked.


    With no time to spare, he entered quickly, closed the door, then turned to lock it, only to find upon twisting it that the lock was broken and couldn¡¯t be secured.


    Without a second thought, Yan Junze rushed to the unopened window of the private room, turned around to face the door, one Burst Nail clutched in each hand, rubbing the pointed end of the Burst Nail against the pad of his finger to ensure he could press down at any moment.


    Thud, thud, thud¡­


    Huang Chen¡¯s heavy footsteps neared, his hand reached for the doorknob of this private room, twisted it, and pushed the door open.


    By then, Yan Junze was facing the door and could see the stout figure step into the room.


    ¡°You¡¯re not Huang Chen, I¡¯m still in a dream!¡± Yan Junze declared.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve turned around. That doesn¡¯t count, you know. You have to turn your head,¡± Huang Chen¡¯s tone became eerie.


    Now certain that he was still in a dream, Yan Junze had no expectation of a reply from him, and at the same moment he spoke, he activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    In this event of turning one¡¯s head, until now Yan Junze had not discovered any task information, nor had he concluded where the real identity of the Black Dress Woman might be, so he had to test one by one.

 Chapter 466 - 466 336 The Person in the Photo (Part Seven)

    ?Chapter 466: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words)_2 Chapter 466: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words)_2 According to Xia Ruolan¡¯s description of her dreams, in the first dream, she was directly ¡°frightened awake¡± and then proceeded to the next dream.


    In the second dream, however, she was continuously stung by the sharp thorns of a plant, which jolted her awake with a shock of pain, leading her into the third dream.


    In the third dream, she was tripped by dumbbells, which eventually brought Xia Ruolan to full consciousness.


    Therefore, Yan Junze deduced that the arrangement of certain items in the dream was directly projected from reality. The plants in Xia Ruolan¡¯s home were originally placed under the window sill, just like in the dream, and that¡¯s why she was pricked.


    The same logic applied to the dumbbell.


    That¡¯s why he had preemptively placed Burst Nails in certain spots around the house to find these sharp objects at critical moments in the dream, to prick himself and wake up quickly.


    Now, the main concern was which layer of the dream the woman in the black dress appeared in and whether the other people appearing in the dream were figments of the imagination or not.


    Yan Junze believed that as long as the Black Dress Woman existed in that layer of the dream, Mission Perception would definitely detect some mission information and wouldn¡¯t be empty.


    The Spacetime Atlas in his mind existed beyond the boundaries of space and time, and the current dreamscape could likewise be considered a unique product of a special space and time, belonging to some unknown dimension.


    This could be seen from the fact that if someone died in their dream, they would also die in reality.


    Moreover, in his previous life in a laboratory in Hua Country, Yan Junze, although only an assistant, had participated in the verification assistance for spacetime research. However, as an assistant, his understanding of the deeper principles was not thorough, but the probability that the Spacetime Atlas could still be used in the dreamscape was quite high.


    Just now, in the third layer of the dream, Yan Junze became aware that he was dreaming and initiated Mission Perception, which was quick but didn¡¯t provide any mission information.


    If the Black Dress Woman were there, even without initiating Mission Perception, the task information regarding strangeness would most likely pop up on its own. He chose to initiate perception just in case, to avoid the situation that had occurred with the Tricky Silk branch mission last time.


    In front of Huang Chen, the initiated Mission Perception yielded no feedback, indicating that this ¡°Huang Chen¡± was not the Black Dress Woman.


    There was another purpose for initiating Mission Perception in this room.


    Because for a mission to pop up on its own, the target strangeness had to be within a certain distance. If too far from the target, the mission information wouldn¡¯t jump out automatically.


    Initiating Mission Perception resolved this issue perfectly; even if one of those people sleeping in the hall were the projected incarnation of the Black Dress Woman, Mission Perception would still be able to detect and display the mission information at this distance.


    Unfortunately, there was still no information.


    This meant that the Black Dress Woman was also absent from this layer of the dreamscape.


    Without the Black Dress Woman, the most critical character was missing, making it impossible to fully solve the problem.


    At that moment, Huang Chen was approaching step by step, with a dark expression and a hint of a strange smile on his lips, reaching out towards Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Yan Junze once again pressed his finger against the sharp thorns of a Burst Nail. A burst of pain struck him, and his head immediately felt dizzy, but he did not ¡°wake up¡± immediately like before.


    He pressed another Burst Nail with the thumb of his other hand, this time with more force. The pain of the thorn piercing the skin and sinking into the flesh spread throughout his body and due to the severe pain, his heart seemed to clench.


    His head felt even heavier, as if he couldn¡¯t see the surroundings clearly, everything before his eyes blurred.


    Huang Chen closed in quickly, his outstretched hand almost touching Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    All the scenery vanished, leaving only a vast whiteness before his eyes.


    The next second, Yan Junze opened his eyes and found himself still lying on the pieced-together chairs, undisturbed under the blanket.


    He slightly raised his head to see Xiang Er standing beside him, facing him, not looking out the window at the night view.


    Seeing him awake, Xiang Er said in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re awake? It¡¯s only¡­ huh, not even three in the morning yet.¡±


    With the sensation of being pricked still lingering, Yan Junze looked at the skin of the finger that had been pierced. Finding it intact, the pain seemed like an illusion, a very real illusion.


    He sat up, turned to look towards the window, which was closed just as it had been when he had fallen asleep.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been asleep the whole time?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiang Er nodded.


    ¡°Did I not get up? Or talk in my sleep?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve been watching you. You were sleeping soundly.¡±


    Yan Junze raised his right hand to his forehead, his head still feeling heavy, as if he wanted to sleep but was unable to due to a shock.


    Now it seemed his dreams were not quite like Xia Ruolan¡¯s; they only manifested two layers and did not result in a dream within a dream within a dream.


    After a moment, he spoke, ¡°While I was asleep, did anyone come up from downstairs?¡±


    ¡°No, the people downstairs were moving around all the time,¡± Xiang Er was always attentive to the surrounding sounds, ¡°I could sometimes hear them talking, but no one came up.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to sleep right now. I¡¯ll go down and have a look. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze nodded, touched the Burst Nail in his pocket, and suddenly paused.


    ¡°Looking for this?¡± Xiang Er opened her hand, showing two Burst Nails lying quietly in the palm of her hand, ¡°They fell out of your pocket after you fell asleep.¡±

 Chapter 467 - 467 336 The Person in the Photo (Part Seven)

    ?Chapter 467: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words)_3 Chapter 467: Chapter 336: The Person in the Photo (Part Seven) (5000 words)_3 Yan Junze nodded, which explained why the Burst Nail had suddenly disappeared from his pocket in the dream¡ªit had slipped out during the process.


    Still, dreams were just dreams, and it was quite possible that some items that existed in reality did not appear in them.


    Yan Junze reached out to pick up the Burst Nail from Xiang Er¡¯s palm, put it back into his pocket, and stood up to walk to the private room door. He gently pulled it open and stepped out.


    Footsteps sounded from behind; Xiang Er followed him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going downstairs to have a look. You stay on the second floor, and don¡¯t come down under any circumstances,¡± Yan Junze instructed as he walked.


    As the door opened, the sounds from downstairs became clearer, and Yan Junze could even discern Huang Chen¡¯s voice talking to someone.


    He walked along the corridor towards the staircase, and when he was almost reaching it, Xiang Er suddenly said from behind, ¡°What¡¯s going on? It seems like someone has been up here!¡±


    Yan Junze stopped, staring ahead without turning back, and asked, ¡°What did you discover?¡±


    ¡°There are footprints on the floor, very clear ones,¡± Xiang Er said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t hear anything in the room just now. Huh? Something¡¯s not right. Someone was here just now!¡±


    ¡°Take a closer look around here; I¡¯ll go downstairs,¡± Yan Junze said, heading forward again without looking back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find these footprints strange?¡± Xiang Er asked.


    ¡°I feel like, do you want me to turn around?¡± Yan Junze stopped again, placing his hand on the corridor railing.


    ¡°Come here, the footprints are right next to the private room here. Someone must have sneaked into the room. What is this person trying to do?¡± Xiang Er seemed not to have heard Yan Junze¡¯s words.


    ¡°If I turn around now, will my neck immediately snap?¡± Yan Junze asked, talking to himself as if he hadn¡¯t heard Xiang Er¡¯s words, even curling his lips into a faint smile.


    The scene fell silent.


    On the corridor, Xiang Er was facing Yan Junze, who had his back turned to her, and neither moved.


    ¡°How did you find out?¡± Xiang Er suddenly spoke.


    ¡°When you gave me the Burst Nail, your palm was warm,¡± Yan Junze replied without any concealment.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t normal people¡¯s palms supposed to be warm?¡± Xiang Er¡¯s voice grew increasingly cold.


    ¡°Sorry, you picked the wrong target,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    He had not woken up, but was still in the third dream.


    In that moment, Yan Junze was eighty percent sure that the woman behind him was the Black Dress Woman. At the same time, his brain activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    A mission information prompt followed immediately.


    [Mission Name: Special Hobby;


    Mission Level: Hair-Raising (Medium);


    Mission Background: This was a murder case that permanently stopped her life seven years ago. On her way home after a night shift, as she was passing through an alley, someone called out to her from behind. The unsuspecting her had just turned her head when the murderer brutally slit her throat and stole all her belongings. Before leaving, the killer with a special hobby took a photo of her corpse. Her neck has been loose since then, and she is looking for a suitable head, though none seem to satisfy her;


    Mission Description: Give her a head to satisfy her obsession, or, strangle her along with her obsession; Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Reward: 1300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Punishment: Maybe you can try on your own head;


    Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked Down; 2. Her shadow was projected onto a photo at the moment of her death. If the true body cannot be found, the photo might be a breakthrough point;


    Note: Do you know what her job was? Uh, just an ordinary¡­ Hypnotist.]


    A hypnotist, no wonder!


    ¡°This should be the last layer of the dream, right?¡±


    Yan Junze, having understood all the mission information and knowing why the Black Dress Woman appeared, spoke while walking forward again.


    Reaching the top of the staircase, he did not descend, but looked down at the hall.


    In his view, the downstairs hall was empty, void of anyone, and as he looked, the various sounds that had reached his ear, including voices like Huang Chen¡¯s, suddenly vanished without a trace.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t turn around, I can help you,¡± said Xiang Er from behind, approaching with her hands extended.


    At the same time, Yan Junze took out the Burst Nail.


    Just then, the caps and spikes of the two Burst Nails in his hand shook unexpectedly, breaking apart without warning and turning into two clouds of dust that fell through his fingers.


    Laughter came from behind, no longer Xiang Er¡¯s, but an unfamiliar woman¡¯s voice.


    Yan Junze was well aware that this must be the true form of the Black Dress Woman.


    ¡°Do you think that by placing these damned nails ahead of time, you could escape the dream? That woman named Xia Ruolan was really lucky; she was the first to successfully escape the dream. So sorry, with the previous lesson learned, I¡¯ve already cleaned out all the nails and even sharp objects,¡± the Black Dress Woman¡¯s voice was not delicate but as thick as a man¡¯s, said slowly.


    Still without turning his head, Yan Junze smiled: ¡°Do you think I placed these Burst Nails to escape the dream upon encountering you and to leave? I¡¯m sorry, but you guessed wrong. The purpose of laying the Burst Nails was only to get out of the first two layers of dreams seamlessly, and in the last layer of the dream, which is now, to truly meet you.¡±


    With that, he took a sudden step forward, stood at the edge of the stairway leading down to the first floor, and loudly called into the hall below, ¡°Ning Ji, your husband Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body¡­ has been found!¡±

 Chapter 468 - 468 337 The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)

    ?Chapter 468: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion) Chapter 468: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion) The Lantern Woman, Ning Ji, held the lantern that was the head of her husband, Jia Sheng, at all times.


    At this moment, in the dream where the Black Dress Woman appeared, Yan Junze suddenly called out her name, something he had long planned.


    He was certain that the key to the Lantern Woman¡¯s appearance lay in the fact that every time he encountered her in a dream, the injuries she inflicted on him in the dream would be mirrored on his physical body upon waking up, without the slightest discrepancy.


    In other words, the Lantern Woman also possessed the ability to kill in dreams.


    For both women, this type of dream realm was constructed identically.


    The Black Dress Woman could twist off the heads of her targets in the dream, causing their real-world heads to be twisted off in the same way; didn¡¯t this exactly match the Lantern Woman¡¯s rules?


    Therefore, it was almost effortless for the Lantern Woman to appear in this dream realm.


    Moreover, the mission of ¡°the woman with the lantern¡± was rated ¡°hair-raising (high) ~ Terrified (low),¡± even the lowest level being higher than the ¡°hair-raising (medium)¡± level of the Black Dress Woman¡¯s ¡°special preference.¡±


    Even if based on Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, the Lantern Woman had been dealt with by Xiang Er earlier on, and her strength might have been partially compromised, she still had her husband¡¯s head to assist her.


    A slight downgrade in level, and upon encountering the Black Dress Woman, the two unwittingly achieved equal power¡ªan absolutely perfect match!


    Most importantly, the Black Dress Woman liked to twist off necks and then swap heads, while the Lantern Woman¡¯s husband, Jia Sheng, had nothing but a head, which was looking everywhere for a body.


    Since the Black Dress Woman twisted off the necks of innocent people in dreams, the headless bodies were surely tainted, and with the Lantern Woman¡¯s abilities, she would not fail to sense the anomalies on the Black Dress Woman upon encountering her.


    Even if the Lantern Woman had not fully recovered from being injured by Xiang Er, as long as there was news related to her husband, Yan Junze was very aware of, and had deeply experienced, the terrifying madness of this crazed woman.


    ¡°Who are you¡­ calling?¡± Hearing Yan Junze seeming to call someone, the Black Dress Woman was visibly flustered, but she soon scoffed, ¡°This dream belongs only to me; whoever I wish to enter¡­¡±


    The sentence was cut short as she suddenly paused.


    Yan Junze smiled nonchalantly, ¡°Are you so sure that only those you allow can enter?¡±


    In their field of view, the main hall door on the first floor creaked open, and a slender arm with a white sleeve pushed the door, a woman stepped in. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This woman¡¯s attire was the exact opposite of the Black Dress Woman¡¯s, clad in a white dress with dazzling beauty, she moved elegantly like a fairy on golden lilies, her black hair moving on its own as though a light veil floating behind her while she carried a white lantern, walking step by step into the hall of No. 7 Mansion.


    ¡°What?¡± The Black Dress Woman was clearly startled by this scene.


    The White Dress Woman holding the white lantern slightly raised her forehead, her gaze landing on Yan Junze at the staircase entrance, her red lips parting slightly, ¡°Where is my husband?¡±


    ¡°You mean your husband¡¯s headless corpse?¡± Yan Junze corrected, then pointed behind him without looking back, ¡°She has plenty of headless bodies, as for which particular one, you can ask her about that!¡±


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s gaze shifted onto the still-terrified Black Dress Woman.


    ¡°Where is my husband¡¯s body?¡±


    Without answering, the Black Dress Woman asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°She has hidden him,¡± Yan Junze answered on her behalf, ¡°She has more than one headless body, all hidden away.¡±


    ¡°I want to see.¡± A longing filled the Lantern Woman¡¯s eyes as they flickered.


    ¡°Get out!¡± The Black Dress Woman suddenly shouted furiously, her long hair standing on end, her dress billowed, and her fingernails started to grow wildly, becoming sharp and deadly as her skin rapidly turned a bruise color, every inch of her skin now showing bruising.


    At the same instant, a red glint flared up and danced in the white lantern carried by the Lantern Woman.


    She looked up coldly at the Black Dress Woman on the second floor, the red glint in the white lantern growing more intense, wildly consuming the white light.


    Pop!


    The last bit of white light was completely consumed by the red.


    With her lips parting, Ning Ji issued a piercing scream that caused the entire mansion to buzz, ceiling lamps to shake, and the atmosphere to swirl rapidly.


    Yan Junze¡¯s ears immediately rang with the sound.


    The moment she opened her mouth, one could see that the Lantern Woman¡¯s teeth had become sharply pointed and densely packed. Her white dress moved without wind, and she levitated in a single step, flying to the second floor, stepping over the balustrade to land in front of the Black Dress Woman.


    The Black Dress Woman took preemptive action, reaching out with her sharp, dark nails towards the Lantern Woman.


    The Lantern Woman didn¡¯t retreat but advanced, brushing away the incoming sharp nails, tilted her head, and grabbed the arm of the Black Dress Woman, biting at her neck.


    The Black Dress Woman immediately struggled while kicking at the Lantern Woman.


    The Lantern Woman, though hit by the kick, did not fall back. The two women entangled together, a turbulent and violent air current sweeping in all directions, white energy rising from beneath their feet and quickly threatening to envelop them.


    Yan Junze found the approaching air current blinding, hardly able to keep his eyes open; he hurriedly ran to the hall on the first floor and then turned to watch with keen interest.


    The Black Dress Woman had been completely entwined by the Lantern Woman, and at this moment, Yan Junze, unfettered by concern, turned his entire body to face them, not just his head.


    Like the previous battle between the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny, a Ghost Domain was swiftly formed. Except, these two women clearly possessed much stronger powers, and the Ghost Domain they created was more intense by more than double, although it was constrained within the dream realm and could not show even more astonishing visual changes.

 Chapter 469 - 469 337 The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_2

    ?Chapter 469: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_2 Chapter 469: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_2 Soon, a large mass of white vapor completely enveloped the two women. Sounds of struggling and hoarse, sharp screams intermittently escaped from within, making Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingle and goosebumps pop up all over his body.


    Thud! S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Black Dress Woman¡¯s figure suddenly flew out from the churning white fog, breaking through the second-floor corridor railing and falling straight to the first floor.


    The place where she landed was less than two meters away from Yan Junze, giving him quite a scare.


    Yan Junze quickly stepped back to dodge.


    At this moment, the Black Dress Woman was too preoccupied to concern herself with Yan Junze, struggling to stand up. Her already unremarkable face was now covered with streaks of black qi, and she reached out toward the spot where she stood.


    With a rustling sound, more than a dozen headless corpses suddenly appeared on the hall floor. These bodies, both male and female, were dressed in various attire, with intact limbs and torsos, only their necks were clotted with blackened blood.


    At the same moment, the Black Dress Woman¡¯s head wobbled.


    As her head shook, Yan Junze distinctly saw her face morphing through at least a dozen different people¡¯s expressions, both male and female, which was very eerie.


    Then, a nauseating and horrifying scene unfolded right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    The Black Dress Woman¡¯s mouth suddenly opened wide and, with a gesture, the nearest corpse levitated and was stuffed into her mouth.


    During the process, it seemed that the Black Dress Woman¡¯s mouth did not enlarge, nor did the corpse¡¯s size diminish. But this incongruous scene was happening nonetheless.


    One by one, the bodies were stuffed into the Black Dress Woman¡¯s mouth. Her cheeks bulged grotesquely, and her belly undulated irregularly. All the while, a large amount of saliva dripped from the corners of her mouth, plopping onto the ground.


    The Lantern Woman, shrouded in thick white fog, approached the broken part of the second-floor railing, her presence turbulent and aggressive, her gaze fixated on the headless corpses scattered haphazardly.


    Her eyes brightened as she leapt down toward the headless bodies.


    By this time, the Black Dress Woman had already swallowed the third body and was quickly consuming more. Seeing the Lantern Woman rushing in, she moved and seemed to grow significantly stronger than before, swiftly merging with the white vapor surrounding the Lantern Woman. The vapor then started to churn once more.


    Yan Junze quickly retreated to the corner under the stairs on the first floor.


    After the Black Dress Woman charged into the fog, even though nothing could be seen from the outside, the sounds of battle intensified compared to before.


    The mass of fog seemed to grow denser and kept spreading, covering more of the hall¡¯s space.


    At this point, in this dream realm, Yan Junze had the Spacetime Atlas which was unaffected by the dream, as well as abilities like Mission Perception and Rewind, but he couldn¡¯t summon Zhenzhen or the Crawler Monster, nor could he unleash the Black Spirit Mallet. In terms of resistance, he was akin to an ordinary person.


    Not to mention activating the Semi-Spirit Body; even in the real world, Yan Junze could no longer activate the Semi-Spirit Body, as his connection with the Back-faced Woman had been completely severed and he was unable to restore it.


    ¡°I must be sneaky; creeping development¡­ that¡¯s the real strategy.¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, cramming his body into the corner under the staircase.


    The vapor whirled violently, crushing everything around it, and quickly the outer side of the stair¡¯s railing shattered.


    Just then, the entire space shuddered, all the white vapor suddenly collapsed, the swirling qi instantly came to a halt, revealing the Lantern Woman and the Black Dress Woman who were previously shrouded in the fog.


    The Black Dress Woman was seen perched on the Lantern Woman¡¯s shoulder, with a man¡¯s face, biting down hard on the Lantern Woman¡¯s head.


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s smooth hair had been snatched away, reducing it by half, with no blood seeping out, only black qi rising. She, in turn, grabbed the Black Dress Woman backward, with all five fingers digging into the flesh, leaving half of her finger bones exposed.


    The scene seemed locked in a stalemate, but in the next second, the lantern in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand suddenly shook violently, swinging left and right while emitting a piercing screech.


    Boom!


    The lantern transformed into the head of a man with long hair, baring teeth and fangs, with hair clutched in the Lantern Woman¡¯s hand.


    As the head appeared, the Lantern Woman released her grip. Jia Sheng¡¯s head suspended in mid-air, his eyes fierce, and flew to the right side of the Black Dress Woman¡¯s neck, biting down.


    A large mass of white qi surged anew.


    The Black Dress Woman, having bitten the Lantern Woman¡¯s scalp, had no choice but to release her bite as the Lantern Woman spun around, placed both hands on her head, and forcefully squeezed inward.


    With a pop, the head burst open.


    An unfamiliar woman¡¯s head emerged from the neck area, but was immediately caught in Jia Sheng¡¯s teeth and viciously Ripping Bite.


    As the stranger¡¯s head shattered, another man¡¯s head appeared.


    The Lantern Woman grabbed it with both hands and, once again applying pressure, the man¡¯s head exploded, but a third head emerged.


    As Jia Sheng continued to rip and tear, the Lantern Woman snatched his long hair and lifted it, moving him a meter away.


    After stabilizing herself, the Lantern Woman aimed Jia Sheng¡¯s head in the Black Dress Woman¡¯s direction.


    At this moment, Jia Sheng truly resembled a red lantern, his entire head from the inside out turning a deep red, the color overflowing intensely as if engulfed in a fierce flame within.


    Jia Sheng¡¯s eyes, nostrils, slightly parted lips, and ears, all glowed red. Suddenly, his eyes and mouth flew wide open, and three streams of flame roared toward the Black Dress Woman.


    The newly changed Black Dress Woman had yet to react, her entire figure engulfed by the flames, instantly plunged into a sea of fire.

 Chapter 470 - 470 337 The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_3

    ?Chapter 470: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_3 Chapter 470: Chapter 337: The Person in the Photo (Conclusion)_3 This woman was utterly merciless. As her body and newly regrown head were burned with a sizzling noise, she couldn¡¯t help but let out a piercing scream, yet she still lunged at the Lantern Woman.


    The Lantern Woman hadn¡¯t expected that her opponent, looking like that, wouldn¡¯t dodge but instead pounce, and she was hit squarely.


    On the neck of the Black Dress Woman, three heads simultaneously grew and furiously started Ripping Bite at both the Lantern Woman and Jia Sheng.


    The flames spread like a sea, completely covering the area, and the figures of the three strangenesses were no longer visible.


    Yan Junze could feel the burning sensation from the flames. However, there was still some distance between him and the battlefield, so he moved his body further into a corner and stared unblinkingly at the sea of flames before him.


    About four to five minutes later, the whole mass of burning flames began to recede, visibly shrinking rapidly until, at last, not a trace of fire was to be seen¡ªit had all been absorbed by Jia Sheng¡¯s mouth.


    Jia Sheng looked disheveled, with a flame flickering in his mouth before he closed it and swallowed the fire.


    The battlefield revealed was no easier on the Lantern Woman; her neck was almost completely severed, hanging off her shoulder. Her scalp was lifted, and she sat weakly on the side, bracing herself with one hand on the ground.


    Jia Sheng¡¯s head was tilted beside the Lantern Woman, staring fiercely straight ahead.


    On the ground in front of the two strangenesses, one could only see a charred black dress spread out, with the shapes of limbs and a head discernible around it. Beyond that, the Black Dress Woman¡¯s figure had vanished. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, it seemed she had been annihilated.


    Yan Junze noticed that the Lantern Woman¡¯s Spirit seemed unable to retract and immobilized, whereas Jia Sheng¡¯s head was also unable to float up. His expression was angry, but powerlessly tilted to one side, looking like an easy target.


    Information about task completion quickly surfaced in his mind.


    [Special Preference, Hair-raising (Medium), completed, received 1300 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    ¡°It seems, it¡¯s my turn to enter the fray,¡± Yan Junze murmured as he crept out of the corner below the stairs and carefully approached.


    ¡°Ning Ji, have you found your husband¡¯s body?¡± Yan Junze spoke up as he drew near.


    The Lantern Woman came back to her senses, turned her body, and looked towards the headless corpses scattered around.


    The murderous-looking Jia Sheng snapped, ¡°No need to look, my body isn¡¯t here; that kid is deceiving us!¡±


    As he finished speaking, his gaze shifted towards Yan Junze, but to no avail, for his head had no power to float up ¡ª he could only stare in frustration.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, walked behind Jia Sheng¡¯s head, bent down to grab his scattered long hair, and lifted Jia Sheng¡¯s head.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the Lantern Woman immediately panicked.


    Walking up to the Lantern Woman and maintaining a certain distance, Yan Junze stopped in his tracks, put Jia Sheng¡¯s head down at his feet, and then stepped on it, saying, ¡°You wanted to find your husband, and I have found him. Yet not only do you not thank me, but you also moved in with your husband into my dream, coming to me every now and then for Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body. Tell me, should I thank you or should I kill you?¡±


    ¡°You cannot kill me,¡± the Lantern Woman coldly replied.


    Yan Junze looked around and had to admit that in this dream realm, he indeed could not kill these two strangenesses.


    Even though it might seem that he could kill them now, whether he could truly end their lives was still uncertain.


    If he could summon the Black Spirit Mallet, then perhaps it might be possible, but with his current capabilities within the dream realm, he simply couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Yan Junze suggested in a tone open to negotiation, ¡°Your husband has been dead for over eight hundred years. There¡¯s no way to find his body by any means. Look, there are plenty of headless corpses here, both male and female. How about you let your husband pick any one he likes?¡±


    The Lantern Woman was taken aback and didn¡¯t speak, instead directing her gaze towards Jia Sheng¡¯s head.


    Now in the midst of negotiation, Yan Junze felt that his posture with his foot on Jia Sheng¡¯s face was somewhat inappropriate, so he slowly took it off while managing to squeeze out an awkward yet polite smile.


    Feeling the pressure on his face lessen, Jia Sheng knew that the Lantern Woman was waiting for his decision. He hummed through his nostrils, bearing the footprint on his face, and said, ¡°I might take a look.¡±


    ¡°Please do,¡± Yan Junze gently rotated his head, ¡°Once you¡¯ve made your choice, you can leave my dream realm.¡±


    The Lantern Woman¡¯s expression softened slightly, but she slowly shook her head, ¡°We won¡¯t leave, but if my husband is satisfied, I can help you eliminate another strangeness in your dream realm.¡±

 Chapter 471 - 471 338 Another Stand-In

    ?Chapter 471: Chapter 338 Another Stand-In Chapter 471: Chapter 338 Another Stand-In Hearing the words of the Lantern Woman, Yan Junze suddenly froze, ¡°What?! There are other strangenesses in my dream besides you two and that Black Dress Woman?¡±


    The Lantern Woman nodded.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Yan Junze felt a deep sense of astonishment.


    The Lantern Woman said, ¡°You turned your back to me.¡±


    As she spoke, a black aura rose from her body, and her wounds began to slowly heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.


    Yan Junze, his face full of suspicion, hadn¡¯t turned around yet when he heard Jia Sheng¡¯s head shout, ¡°I want that one, the man in the grey clothes!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s attention was already completely drawn to another strangeness mentioned by the Lantern Woman; he had no time to listen to him and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re not leaving anyway, all the headless corpses here are yours, choose whoever you like. Whether it¡¯s a man today or a woman tomorrow, it¡¯s all fine.¡±


    With that, he followed the instructions of the Lantern Woman and turned around, his back facing her.


    ¡°What next?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Just wait a bit more,¡± the Lantern Woman replied.


    About five seconds later, the Lantern Woman spoke again, ¡°Now turn around, face me.¡±


    Yan Junze turned as told and looked at the Lantern Woman, wondering what she was planning.


    ¡°Walk a few steps forward,¡± the Lantern Woman instructed.


    Yan Junze felt like a fool at that moment, but had no choice and took three steps forward, drawing closer to the Lantern Woman.


    ¡°This woman¡­ she isn¡¯t trying to find an excuse to harm me, is she?¡± A trace of suspicion rose in his mind.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good. Now turn and look at the place you were standing just now,¡± said the Lantern Woman.


    Without hesitation, Yan Junze immediately turned around.


    The scene that appeared before him startled him suddenly, it felt hauntingly familiar.


    He saw that where he had just stood and turned around, there was now a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.


    It was because the figure looked so familiar that only after a few seconds did Yan Junze realize it was himself.


    His own ¡°figure¡± was still in the position as though it had just turned around, without moving or turning back, just maintaining the posture of turning its back to him and the Lantern Woman, motionless.


    ¡°This¡­ this is¡­¡± Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced with memories, and then he blurted out, ¡°Is this the strangeness from that ¡®Figure¡¯ mission?!¡±


    The Lantern Woman didn¡¯t know what he was talking about and had no idea about any ¡®Figure¡¯ mission, but simply said, ¡°He came in a few days ago and was going to be harmful to you on the day he entered your dreams. But he feared me, so he has been hiding and didn¡¯t make a move on you.¡±


    Yan Junze noticed that, while the Lantern Woman was speaking, this doppelg?nger that looked exactly like him was trembling slightly.


    When he had used the Black Spirit Mallet to eliminate this figure-like strangeness, Yan Junze had thought it was completely gone, but who would have guessed it still hid a special ability and continued ¡°surviving¡± by sneaking into dreams.


    If the Lantern Woman hadn¡¯t mentioned, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have noticed its existence until now.


    ¡°He is now suppressed by me, unable to break free, and can be eliminated.¡±


    After the Lantern Woman had spoken, she slowly stood up; her injuries had healed a bit, and she was able to stand up with difficulty. She walked towards Yan Junze¡¯s figure.


    At this time, Jia Sheng¡¯s head also wobbled and floated up, not entirely stable, but at least he could fly on his own again.


    All he did was laugh loudly, ¡°I want this one¡­¡±


    Then the head dove towards a headless corpse.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be bothered with him and stopped the Lantern Woman from moving further, ¡°Don¡¯t, this guy is somewhat interesting. I thought he was gone after I dealt with him last time. Hmm, now I want to take him out with me.¡±


    The Lantern Woman stopped; her severed head had now recovered. She tilted her head to look at Yan Junze, ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Yan Junze pointed in the direction of Jia Sheng.


    By this time, Jia Sheng¡¯s head was already attached to a male headless corpse; he wobbled to his feet with difficulty, and the head was maniacally laughing, looking almost deranged. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One glance at it, and it was obvious that the head and body, though next to each other, looked completely separated and discordant, but Jia Sheng didn¡¯t care at all anymore.


    ¡°Your husband seems very happy; finding so many headless corpses for you is the only thing I can do now.¡± Yan Junze said without a hint of embarrassment, ¡°Since you¡¯re unwilling to leave this place, I hope we can coexist peacefully from now on.¡±


    The Lantern Woman took her gaze from the frenzied Jia Sheng, said nothing, slightly bowed her head, and placed her hands at her waist, giving Yan Junze a small bow.


    Yan Junze walked towards his own ¡°figure¡± and as he was about to get close, he hesitated and stopped.


    An instinctive feeling made Yan Junze think the ¡°figure¡± strangeness would be of great use to him, but he didn¡¯t know how to make it serve him.


    After a pause, he prepared to cast ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± on this ¡°figure.¡±


    Because this was inside a dream, actions unrelated to the dream would lose their effect, such as releasing a strangeness like Lockdown, deploying the Black Spirit Mallet, but Yan Junze was unsure if ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± could be triggered.


    On second thought, since the ¡°figure¡± was able to enter dreams, that meant it had a natural ability to integrate into the dream realm. Whether ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock¡± could be effectively used in dreams was uncertain to Yan Junze. However, if the Lockdown could merge with the dream-integrating figure strangeness, perhaps it could be successful.


    The next second, he activated ¡°Evil Spirit Solid Lock,¡± and just to be safe, Yan Junze set the strength of the Lockdown to the highest level.


    At the moment of activation, he slapped the shoulder of the ¡°figure¡± strangeness.


    Upon contact with the shoulder, Yan Junze¡¯s entire body trembled as if resonating at the same frequency; the ¡°figure¡± strangeness in front of him suddenly displayed a double image.

 Chapter 472 - 472 338 Another Stand-In_2

    ?Chapter 472: Chapter 338 Another Stand-In_2 Chapter 472: Chapter 338 Another Stand-In_2 He also felt his body vibrating in the same way, and it might have produced a similar double image.


    The [Evil Spirit Solid Lock] this time was clearly different from the previous attempts.


    On one hand, it was because it was deployed in a dream, and on the other hand, it was related to the special nature of this ¡°shadow¡± strangeness.


    The moment his palm made contact with the other¡¯s shoulder and resonance occurred, Yan Junze saw the figure vibrate along with his own arm and then, as if by a sucking force, drag this ¡°shadow¡± strangeness towards himself bit by bit, until it finally merged completely into his body.


    In the last moment of the merger, Yan Junze opened his palms in astonishment, looked down, and noticed that including his palms, his entire body was still trembling rapidly, producing double images.


    He maintained this posture, looked up in surprise at the Lantern Woman, and realized she was also looking at him, her expression one of shock.


    At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s vision suddenly began to blur until it turned entirely grey and white, and he could see nothing at all.


    His eyes opened, and he found himself forever the same, lying on those chairs pieced together, half of the bedding opened, covering only below his belly, both arms stretched out, with his left arm being held by Xiang Er standing beside him.


    Xiang Er looked at him with concern, her hand gripping gently as if she had just noticed something wrong with Yan Junze in his sleep, ready to wake him up at any moment.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s alright now.¡±


    Xiang Er let go of his hand, stepped back and still looked at him with concern, ¡°You were talking in your dreams just now, and you seemed a bit agitated.¡±


    ¡°What did I say?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°The voice was very fuzzy, I couldn¡¯t hear clearly. Well, what¡¯s the situation now, has it been resolved?¡±


    Yan Junze sat up, glanced towards the window, and saw that it was already dawn outside.


    He threw off the blankets and said to Xiang Er, ¡°Not only was it resolved, but there were also unexpected gains.¡±


    ¡°What gains?¡± Xiang Er asked curiously.


    ¡°There are two gains,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°The first is that the Lantern Woman has probably come to terms with me, but it needs to be observed for a longer period. The second gain is the lockdown of another strangeness lurking in the dream.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more strangeness?¡± Xiang Er asked in surprise, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled mysteriously, his consciousness entering the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, but immediately he was taken aback.


    He found that in the 12th node of the Atlas, there was no trace of the ¡°shadow¡± strangeness he had just locked down.


    Thinking back carefully, after the lockdown of the ¡°shadow¡± strangeness, there seemed to be no prompt about the closeness level with the strangeness either, everything was so different.


    Was it because of the lockdown in the dream? Or was it something about this strangeness itself? sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a slight hesitation, a speculation surfaced, and Yan Junze stood up, saying, ¡°Step back a bit, if you see this strangeness later on, don¡¯t take action, because he is already following me.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded and stepped back as told.


    Yan Junze silently called for the ¡°shadow¡± strangeness in his mind. In fact, he had never seen its actual face; all he could think of was his own back.


    Facing Xiang Er, Yan Junze turned around and after approximately five seconds, he turned back and took a few steps toward Xiang Er.


    During this process, he kept mentally calling for the ¡°shadow¡± strangeness to appear.


    After a few steps, he stood still and looked at Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er¡¯s eyes were fixed behind him, her facial expression gradually changing from calm to surprise, her eyes widening more and more.


    It had appeared¡ªthe ¡°shadow¡± had already appeared.


    Yan Junze immediately turned around and sure enough, an individual identical to his own shadow was standing where he had just turned around, nonchalant and motionless. Whether it was the clothes or the posture, everything was an exact match.


    ¡°Well, let me introduce my new underling¡ª¡¯Shadow,''¡± Yan Junze said to Xiang Er with a smile.


    ¡°What¡¯s he for?¡± Xiang Er couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°The ¡®Shadow¡¯ was initially looking for a substitute, but then I gave it a good beating and it hid in the dreams. Now it seems, it probably won¡¯t ever turn around for the rest of its life. As of now, it is my exclusive substitute.¡±


    Xiang Er blinked, still showing extreme curiosity, ¡°What can he do?¡±


    ¡°I feel like the features are pretty versatile,¡± Yan Junze mused, ¡°like taking the blame in critical moments, acting as a scapegoat, diverting attention, and so on.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it be wiped out?¡± Xiang Er asked.


    Then she found that Yan Junze was once again turning his back to her while explaining, ¡°I need to experiment a few more times to discover the special aspects of this ¡®shadow¡¯.¡±


    Five seconds after turning his back on Xiang Er, he turned around and took a few steps.


    Xiang Er¡¯s expression became surprised once again.


    Yan Junze turned to look back and saw the second ¡®shadow¡¯ of himself came into being, with the exact same posture, indistinguishable from a ghost or a deity.


    Xiang Er¡¯s curiosity had now peaked. She walked briskly past the ¡®shadow,¡¯ standing where it had been, and looked at its front side, her expression puzzled.


    ¡°Junze, it has a back on both sides, no front.¡±


    Yan Junze also walked over quickly to take a look. Indeed, whether you looked at the figure from the front or the back, you would only see his own back, with no face visible.


    The most important part was that the ¡®shadow¡¯ strangeness never spoke from beginning to end, nor showed any sign of wanting to communicate.


    At that moment, both of them noticed that the first ¡®shadow¡¯ that appeared began to gradually fade until it completely vanished, while the second ¡®shadow¡¯ lingered.


    ¡°Can it move?¡±


    As soon as Xiang Er uttered her question, she saw the ¡®shadow¡¯ suddenly start moving, heading towards the private room door and vanishing straight through the closed door.


    Yan Junze smiled. He had just wondered if conjuring a ¡®shadow¡¯ would remain motionless and the counterpart immediately left the room according to his thought, even using a wall-penetration technique.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze focused, and another scene appeared in his field of vision.


    It was the scene outside the private room corridor, clearly displayed before his eyes. He could be sure that this was the viewpoint of the ¡®shadow.¡¯


    Just like the abilities unlocked with the Semi-Spirit Body, he now also had the ability to share the viewpoint with a strangeness.


    Only, the current shared viewpoint ability seemed even more practical.


    Yan Junze did not know how long the ¡®shadow¡±s existence would last, he simply watched everything outside through its viewpoint, as though he was seeing it with his own eyes.


    Then he saw Huang Chen treading carefully upstairs, seemingly very nervous, looking around as he climbed, and immediately noticed the ¡®shadow.¡¯


    ¡°Junze, are you up? How did it go?¡± Huang Chen¡¯s eyes lit up as he asked.


    The ¡®shadow¡¯ immediately turned and returned to the room where Yan Junze was, as if reversing into him, it merged with his body and disappeared.


    Huang Chen arrived at the door of the private room, staring at the door in bewilderment. He felt that when Yan Junze came in, he had not opened the door.


    However, standing at the corridor stairway entrance, his line of sight wasn¡¯t great, and perhaps he hadn¡¯t seen clearly.


    He pushed the door open and saw Yan Junze just as he was picking up the beddings. Seeing Huang Chen come in, he asked in surprise, ¡°How did you come up here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any noise from you all night, and I couldn¡¯t rest easy, so I had to come up and check,¡± Huang Chen forced a smile as he explained quickly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°the strangeness in those photos has been dealt with.¡±


    Huang Chen nodded, ¡°I knew it was resolved. When it was almost dawn, someone noticed that the person turning their head in the photos suddenly went back to normal. We checked, and all the photos had been restored. I thought you would come down right away, but after waiting so long, I got worried and came up to see you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I was a bit tired, so I slept a while longer,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just see you go out?¡± Huang Chen pointed towards the door, puzzled.


    ¡°I forgot my bedding and came back, but I didn¡¯t hear you calling me,¡± Yan Junze fabricated on the spot, then said to Huang Chen, ¡°Let¡¯s go, the strangeness has been eradicated, and this matter¡­ is finished.¡±

 Chapter 473 - 473 339 Where on Earth (First Update)

    ?Chapter 473: Chapter 339: Where on Earth? (First Update) Chapter 473: Chapter 339: Where on Earth? (First Update) After descending the stairs, he notified everyone, including the three-star exorcist Li Yue, that the woman in the black dress in the photo had been killed and would no longer appear.


    Because all the people turning their heads in the photo had returned to normal, no one raised any further questions and everyone expressed their gratitude.


    Li Yue and Huang Chen were particularly curious about how Yan Junze managed to kill the strangeness in his dream.


    Li Yue mentioned that during his training in Huaying Great Capital, he had witnessed several exorcists join forces to strangle a dream strangeness.


    This was because the scene where the strangeness appeared was very special¨Cit took place in a dream, or what is known as the mind¡¯s magnetic field of the subconscious.


    The Huaying Great Capital exorcist team had simulated a dream magnetic field beforehand. The person beset by the strangeness and several exorcists entered the magnetic field to rest and fall asleep together, then forcibly created a dream of that person.


    In this dream, the strangeness was trapped, unable to escape, and was killed by the exorcists working together.


    For exorcist teams that did not have the conditions to create a magnetic field and faced such peculiar dream strangenesses, it would be very troublesome, which is why Li Yue was so curious as to how Yan Junze, alone in a dream, managed to independently exterminate the strangeness.


    However, what answered him was Yan Junze¡¯s silent smile.


    Some time ago at Tianmeng, Li Yue had already heard about Yan Junze¡¯s deeds, and now it seemed indeed true. There were some very peculiar or special strangeness cases, where this guy¡¯s approach after getting involved was very different from other exorcists and couldn¡¯t be measured by normal standards.


    After confirming that everyone in the hall was safe, Huang Chen informed everyone that it was okay to disperse and go back to their respective homes.


    The man called Yang Zhijun, who was under Li Yue¡¯s personal protection, promptly fell asleep on the sofa, and when his family arrived, they threw him into the car and dragged him home.


    The others who left were all listless and weak.


    After talking with Yan Junze, Huang Chen, and Li Yue for a few words, Huang Chen finally closed the door of No. 7 Mansion before leaving.


    When Yan Junze passed by Fantasy Photo Studio, he greeted Gu Bai and Lin Meng. By this time, Xia Ruolan and her husband Deng Bing had already arrived there.


    Although Gu Bai and his wife were not at No. 7 Mansion the previous night, they were always concerned about their friends and the situation there and did not sleep well.


    Gu Bai was supposed to go to work in the morning but took the day off to wait for news. Having received good news from Yan Junze now, they were very happy and felt that their efforts hadn¡¯t been in vain.


    Xia Ruolan and her husband thanked Yan Junze again, mentioning they wanted to pay him a reward, but Yan Junze declined.


    According to Huang Chen, they occasionally received benefits from those involved when dealing with strangeness cases, to varying extents.


    This was unavoidable, although not known to their superiors, it was tacitly accepted by everyone.


    The only difference was that if an exorcist who was too greedy forcibly or excessively demanded a large sum of money or goods, and someone reported it, or if it was discovered by their superiors, they would still be severely punished.


    Having completed the task related to the people in the photo, Yan Junze had actually gained a lot, and these gains were not just in terms of money. Besides, he was not short on money now in terms of income, even the monthly remuneration given by Ku Zai¡¯s father was sufficient for the expenses of his family of three.


    Aside from buying some clothes and perfumes and the like, Xiang Er didn¡¯t spend much money.


    Upon leaving Fantasy Photo Studio, and with Huang Chen and Li Yue having already departed, Huang Chen made a call to Yan Junze, informing him that he could go to the squad office anytime to register with his badge and record the merit of eliminating the dream strangeness.


    When Yan Junze returned to the intersection of Lion Awakening Road, Xiang Er was waiting for him on the street corner. Passersby would occasionally cast glances at Xiang Er, and of course, the meanings behind the looks from women and men were utterly different.


    ¡°Did you take care of it?¡± Xiang Er asked. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, back home to rest,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    The two hailed a taxi, and upon arriving back at FH Community, they hadn¡¯t even gone upstairs when they found Ku Zai perched on the balcony railing upstairs, looking down anxiously.


    Clearly, he was very concerned about their safety; after all, they were the ones who could protect him from the invasion of strangenesses, and if anything happened to them, he might have to return to his old ways.


    Of course, Ku Zai found it strange that he felt safe in FH Community, but he was not sure how long this situation would last.


    After returning home and chatting with his parents for a moment, he informed them that he had helped the exorcist team eliminate a strangeness the night before.


    Yan Daguo and Li Man had grown accustomed to such occurrences and only reminded Yan Junze to be careful with his safety.


    After sitting down to a breakfast together, Li Man announced her decision to resign from the cleaning company.


    Now that their son was earning money at an astonishing rate and they were not lacking anything, she felt there was no point in working overtime day and night cleaning; sometimes she would go out before dawn, which could be dangerous.


    But Yan Daguo had no intention of resigning because he had just been promoted to deputy head of his factory¡¯s office.


    After a lifetime of work, he had finally made it to the position of a department deputy head, which delighted him. In the past few days at home, eating or watching TV, he would sometimes laugh for no apparent reason, like a simpleton.


    Now, there was no way he would retire and just enjoy his twilight years at home!


    However, the family had no plans to move to a more upscale community. Given the current situation, they saw that the likelihood of encountering strangenesses was the same whether it was an upscale or an old-style community.


    The difference was that some powerful and wealthy people lived in upscale communities, like those in the Spectacular Courtyard.

 Chapter 474 - 474 339 Where on Earth (Second Update)

    ?Chapter 474: Chapter 339: Where on Earth? (Second Update) Chapter 474: Chapter 339: Where on Earth? (Second Update) If a neighborhood like this experienced strangenesses, the people living there had ways to reach the heavens, allowing them to skip the queue and directly bring in an exorcist to clear away the strangeness.


    However, in older neighborhoods, they wouldn¡¯t be afforded such special care. The residents there were ordinary people, whose only option after experiencing strangeness was to queue up and carefully avoid the dangers.


    Of course, the FH Community where Yan Junze lived was an exception. Although it was an older neighborhood, if you compared it to the rest of Shuntian City, aside from the Exorcist Team¡¯s office building, there was probably no place safer than here.


    If the wealthy elites knew that almost all strangeness had been banned here, their heads would probably burst from eagerness, flocking here without caring about the living environment.


    The day after returning home, Zhang Xiaomo called to inform him that the higher-ups had already approved the issuance of a set of Magnetic Shielding Clothes for Yan Junze, and now he could submit his application.


    Tianmeng had stock of Magnetic Shielding Clothes, and it would take at most a few days to approve and deliver them to the Shuntian Exorcist Team. At that time, Yan Junze could go and pick them up.


    In the call, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Xiaomo, with the current degree of rampant strangenesses, do you know which cities in Huaying Great Capital have been completely sealed off? As in, cities that have become uninhabitable because of the strangeness.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo first fell silent for a moment, then said, ¡°I¡¯ve told you before that the largest Spirit Bridge appeared in Yannan District, right at Mata Town in Yannan District. Mata Town has been sealed off to this day, and no one in the town has survived.¡±


    After a pause, she continued, ¡°There¡¯s also Zhen City in Luoxia District. Zhen City is a city on the edge near the desert. Although no Spirit Bridge erupted there, after the strangeness outbreak, the number of strangeness was exceptionally high. All residents were forced to relocate to other cities. It took a lot of effort on our part at the time.¡±


    ¡°Are there any others?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s Gokri City in Aries District. The city is quite small, only about a third the size of your Shuntian, but also plagued with an abundance of strangeness. The entire city has fallen, and the surviving residents have all relocated.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Lastly, there is Grange in Shou Zheng District, but the strangeness in Grange is almost cleaned up. A relocation plan is currently being introduced, and the original residents will be moved back in batches.¡±


    ¡°Besides these, are there any other similar cities?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No, those are all I know of. Why do you ask?¡± Zhang Xiaomo wondered.


    ¡°A couple of friendly strangenesses I know have disappeared. I¡¯m a bit worried about them,¡± Yan Junze stated bluntly.


    There was nothing to hide between him and Zhang Xiaomo, and she had always been tight-lipped about his affairs, never mentioning them to anyone, including her own teachers at the Tianmeng Exorcist Team headquarters.


    Zhang Xiaomo rolled her eyes on the other end of the call. Since when had he become close with strangenesses? In her view, the relationship between exorcists and strangenesses was either ¡°hostile¡± or ¡°utilitarian and controlling.¡± Otherwise, staying with strangeness would almost inevitably shorten one¡¯s lifespan.


    Besides that, there were no other benefits.


    But if she knew the function of Yan Junze¡¯s Spacetime Atlas, she wouldn¡¯t think so.


    Within the [Evil Spirit Solid Lock] node, not only could it perfectly shield Jian Junze from the influence of strangeness, it could also nourish them and help them grow. This was a win-win situation.


    Yan Junze could control and utilize the strangeness effectively, and because they could grow, they willingly cooperated and worked for him.


    As far as Zhang Xiaomo knew, Xiang Er was also a very strong strangeness. However, Xiang Er had attached to a perfect female corpse, which was stitched together from countless pieces of other corpses. Yan Long, the Spirit Culturator, had treated it with some kind of solution, and by using other special methods, made the female corpse perfect and decay-free, even enhancing Xiang Er¡¯s strength.


    Besides that, due to the shielding from the female corpse, even though Xiang Er wasn¡¯t locked down in a node, its Yin Energy wouldn¡¯t affect Yan Junze even with prolonged contact.


    ¡°How about this.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you the details of these cities, and you can take a look for yourself.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Are you coming to Shuntian on a business trip these days?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo giggled, ¡°Why, do you miss me?¡± Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me, maybe it¡¯s nostalgia. After returning here, I¡¯ve unexpectedly found myself missing the time we spent together at Rock.¡± Yan Junze said with feigned emotion.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll take a leave of absence, and we can go back to Rock for a seven-day trip down memory lane,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied with a smile.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we pick a place with tourist value?¡± Yan Junze also laughed.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°There¡¯s a natural reserve called ¡®Peach Blossom Source¡¯ just outside Shuntian that¡¯s pretty nice. Last time, there was a strangeness that ate someone in there. I was the one who cleaned it up, chopped its head off.¡±


    Yan Junze looked embarrassed, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that kind of description is a bit of a mood killer?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo covered her mouth and laughed heavily, it took more than ten seconds before she said, ¡°I can¡¯t get any time off right now. We were already short-handed, and these past few days I¡¯ve been helping Uncle Guo out, keeping busy.¡±


    ¡°No worries, the people need you,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°It¡¯s perfect for me to rest at home for a while and check where those two strangenesses I¡¯m looking after have gone.¡±


    ¡°Call me if you need anything.¡±


    The call ended.


    Soon after, Zhang Xiaomo sent information on three cities ¨C Mata Town in Yannan District, Zhen City in Luoxia District, and Gokri City in Aries District.


    Since Shouzheng District¡¯s Grange had already begun to return to normal life, the chances of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er being there were not great. Yan Junze mainly focused his attention on the three cities of Mata Town, Zhen City, and Gokri City.


    Among them, the chances of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter being in Mata Town in Yannan District were relatively small because that was where the largest Spirit Bridge in Huaying District had appeared, still sealed off to this day. Exorcists surely had heavy guards posted.


    Under such circumstances, the possibility of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er entering Mata Town became very slim. Otherwise, they would have been discovered and exterminated by the exorcists before even entering the town.


    That left Zhen City in Luoxia District and Gokri City in Aries District as the cities with the highest likelihood of their appearance.


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed the data for these two cities. Zhen City was a city on the verge of desertification, located on the edge of the Great Capital¡¯s Huaying District in Luoxia District.


    To the west of Luoxia District was the center of the Great Capital Huaying, and to the north was a vast desert, an uninhabited region.


    Zhen City was situated right on the edge between the city and the desert.


    Yan Junze had a bit of an impression in his memory; once, when he activated his Semi-Spirit Body, he had shared a perspective with the Back-faced Woman and saw her standing on a street devoid of people, with paper and trash blowing in the wind everywhere, and even the shops on both sides of the street were in ruins.


    And he remembered that the names of the shops were written in the common script of the Great Capital Huaying.


    As for Gokri City in Aries District, it had always been a settlement for minority groups within the Great Capital Huaying. According to local culture, although the common script of Huaying was used, there was an additional line in the local minority script below it.


    That is, they used bilingual labeling.


    Whether it was textbooks, the names of shops on the streets, or local television dramas and films, all used this bilingual labeling method.


    Yet Yan Junze hadn¡¯t seen any bilingual labels on the storefronts on the street, which meant there was a good chance the Back-faced Woman and her daughter were not in Gokri City.


    Therefore, the city with the highest probability of their presence was Zhen City in Luoxia District.


    ¡°If they really are in Zhen City, what could they be doing there?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled.


    He clicked on Zhen City on the map of the Great Capital Huaying, looked at it seriously for a while, and learned in detail about the city¡¯s basic information.


    Before the strangeness erosion, Zhen City had been developing slightly better than Shuntian City. Although on the edge of the desert, it had received strong support from the Great Capital¡¯s officials, so the town¡¯s standardized construction had a certain scale, with all public facilities basically complete and per capita income significantly higher than that of Shuntian City.


    But now, it seemed to be a perfect portrayal of a modern Dead City, a stinging irony.

 Chapter 475 - 475 340 Yan Junzes Experiment (Second Update

    ?Chapter 475: Chapter 340 Yan Junze¡¯s Experiment (Second Update, Asking for Monthly Pass!) Chapter 475: Chapter 340 Yan Junze¡¯s Experiment (Second Update, Asking for Monthly Pass!) Zhen City is currently under a partial lockdown.


    In the direction leading to the Great Capital center of Huaying, the local security department has set up eye-catching isolation strips. Normally, there are patrol cars that come and go, but due to limited resources and the absence of Spirit Bridges, no dedicated Exorcists have been stationed here.


    Which is to say, if someone wanted to sneak into Zhen City, it would be quite easy.


    But in this day and age, no common person is so bored as to seek out this kind of hardship. Only certain daredevil teams with a death wish would crazily test the waters on the edge of the line of death.


    Such as the adventure teams of the wealthy, or various money-grabbing gimmicks on video platforms.


    Ever since that time he talked with Zhang Xiaomo in the coffee shop, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t been in touch with the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform for a long time, nor had he uploaded any videos.


    In the meantime, the platform¡¯s editor, Tang Zhengyi, had contacted him numerous times with various shooting suggestions and plans, like teaming up with other Spirit Exploration Teams, or letting Yan Junze explore a hot new location of strangeness provided by the platform.


    Regardless of the reason, Yan Junze refused them all.


    The first reason was that Yan Junze had too many secrets on him now and could not film and upload videos as before, as it would easily expose him and be very unsafe.


    The second reason was that he had developed a strong distrust of the video platform and, after finding out more, he believed that this industry might not last much longer.


    After looking through the Zhen City material, Yan Junze could now guess that for whatever reason, if the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were indeed in the Dead City, then the likelihood of them entering was very high.


    However, during the last shared viewpoint, those who appeared before him in uniform were not strangenesses, but rather all humans.


    What were these people doing there? Did they pose some harm to the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er?


    It was too far away, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t know if he could even find the mother and daughter now if he went. Besides, the city was so big, how would he even begin to search?


    Furthermore, what if he had guessed wrong and it wasn¡¯t this city, or that they were not in the Dead City at all?


    All eventualities were possible; none could be completely assured.


    Yan Junze put his phone aside and rubbed his somewhat swollen forehead, taking off his glasses and setting them on the nightstand.


    After a moment, he picked up his phone again and sent his application for the Magnetic Shielding Clothes to Huang Chen, asking him to expedite the process and report to the Exorcist squad of Tianmeng.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush; all the information about the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er is still just speculation for now. Let¡¯s wait and see, maybe the Semi-Spirit Body will activate again soon. As long as it activates, I¡¯ll have enough time to get accurate information on them¡­¡± Yan Junze kept reassuring himself.


    He attempted to activate his Semi-Spirit Body once, but there was still no response.


    ¡­


    One week later.


    Ku Zai¡¯s application for the Magnetic Shielding Clothes had been approved. The style of the garment wasn¡¯t a vest, but resembled a light, non-leather batwing jacket that could be washed directly.


    Because Ku Zai was so thin, the garment hung loosely on him, but it actually suited his physique quite well.


    The Charger was about the size of a dinner plate used for serving food. Being rather thick, it couldn¡¯t fit into a pocket.


    This Charger could automatically absorb and convert surrounding Magnetic Energy, operating continuously 24 hours a day, self-charging until full and then automatically switching off.


    Charging the Magnetic Shielding Clothes was also straightforward, simply bring the clothes close to the Charger and it would automatically start charging. A full charge took about two hours and provided six to seven hours of uninterrupted use.


    Of course, if worn as regular clothing, the embedded button on the inner side of the garment could be pressed to turn off the release of the magnetic disturbance signal, saving energy for when it was really needed.


    Once the Magnetic Shielding Clothes were in his hands and fully charged, Yan Junze had Ku Zai try them on.


    Upon hearing that the clothes could protect him from strangeness invasions even when not near Xiang Er, Ku Zai was ecstatic.


    However, he soon froze, feeling that something was amiss¡ªas if he would also be missing something from now on.


    Yan Junze instructed that Ku Zai could wear the garment whenever he wished, but he should only activate the magnetic disruption signal when Xiang Er wasn¡¯t by his side, in order to conserve energy as much as possible in normal times.


    In the days following the arrival of the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, Ku Zai slept hugging the garment every night. He gradually got used to Xiang Er standing by the window until dawn every night.


    Clutching the Magnetic Shielding Clothes in his arms, he slept soundly every night as if he had found a substitute to rely on.


    Although Yan Junze had reached a verbal agreement with the Lantern Woman and her husband in the dream, agreeing that Jia Sheng could use those headless corpses, and in return, the Lantern Woman would not trouble him anymore.


    But this was after all just a spoken agreement. What if the Lantern Woman went back on her word¡ªthings had just begun, and nothing was clear yet.


    Therefore, it was necessary to keep Xiang Er by his side while he slept, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t know how he might die in the dream.


    Moreover, Yan Junze felt that after the last battle, his relationship with the Lantern Woman and her husband had grown somewhat closer. It wasn¡¯t out of the question to start discussing cooperation between them. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything needed time.


    If possible, as long as the Lantern Woman didn¡¯t harm him and could guard in the dream, it would completely block other strangenesses from entering the dream.


    And Yan Junze knew that the Lantern Woman also had the skill of projecting dreams into reality, and she was even more adept at it than the Black Dress Woman.


    While the Black Dress Woman projected herself into photographs, the Lantern Woman projected directly into real space, simply appearing in different forms of women, crouching somewhere with their backs to him.


    This ability was clearly much stronger than that of the Black Dress Woman.


    If used well, not only would Yan Junze be protected in his dreams, but he could also receive this special protection from the Lantern Woman in reality.


    Every night, Yan Junze¡¯s habit was to dim the bedside lamp to its lowest brightness, lay on his back, and fall asleep gazing at the silhouette of Xiang Er standing by the window.


    It had to be said, the profile of Xiang Er was utterly captivating¡ªthe bridge of her nose was prominent, lips slightly parted, her contours delicate. As the last image accompanying him into slumber, Yan Junze found it well worth it.


    Sometimes, he was so mesmerized that he would begin to indulge in fanciful thoughts.


    However, at such times, he would immediately conjure up the image of the Ugly Girl in his mind, and then¡­ feeling utterly uninspired, he would cover his head and fall asleep.


    Another week passed.


    That day, the sunshine was splendid, and Yan Junze asked Xiang Er to carry his fully packed black backpack and, along with Ku Zai, took them for a walk.


    At noon, the warm sunshine felt immensely comfortable on the skin.


    The trio walked along the streets toward the suburbs, and after about forty minutes, buildings on both sides of the street became scarce.


    At that moment, a cloud gathered in the sky, obscuring the sunlight.


    Ku Zai suddenly felt uneasy. He looked around and realized that there were no residential buildings nearby. Looking ahead, an abandoned, rust-stained, and overgrown factory emerged, completely deserted.


    ¡°How did we end up¡­ in such a desolate place?¡±


    An ominous premonition enveloped Ku Zai.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the factory,¡± Yan Junze patted his shoulder, pointing to a corner of a spacious clearing inside the factory.


    This place must have once been a playground where workers exercised and ran, but now the cement cracks were filled with weeds, and it had been abandoned for a long time.


    Ku Zai, still dazed, followed Yan Junze and Xiang Er onto the playground.


    Since this clearing was not beside the road but required walking a hundred meters and turning a corner to enter, standing inside meant that even the passing cars on the street were out of sight, and only their sounds were audible.


    Yan Junze asked Xiang Er as he positioned Ku Zai towards the rear of the playground¡¯s center, ¡°Is this place okay?¡±


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t speak at first, bowing her head as if sensing something.


    After a moment, she lifted her head, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look at Ku Zai, who had been ready to put on the Magnetic Shielding Clothes when they left home, but Yan Junze had not agreed.


    Seeing Yan Junze looking at him, Ku Zai became even more panicked and stammered, ¡°This¡­ what is this¡­¡±


    ¡°An experiment,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, a poorly concealed insincerity within it.


    Xiang Er took off the backpack and handed it to Yan Junze, then went to pick up a two-meter-long rusted and broken iron rod from the side.


    Returning with the rod, she thrust it firmly into the ground behind Ku Zai, shook it to ensure its stability, and then stepped back.


    Yan Junze had already opened the backpack and took out a bundle of rope, handing it to Xiang Er.


    After receiving the rope, Xiang Er bound the utterly bewildered Ku Zai¡¯s hands behind him to the firmly planted iron rod, making him immobile.


    ¡°I¡­ I want to go home, back to FH Community,¡± Ku Zai pleaded, near tears at the sight before him.


    After completing these steps, Yan Junze nodded to Xiang Er, and the pair ignored Ku Zai. Xiang Er turned and walked away.


    Seeing Xiang Er leave the playground and continue walking outside, Ku Zai became immediately panicky, struggling to follow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°We¡¯re just conducting an experiment, you won¡¯t be harmed in the slightest, and it will be over soon.¡±


    By now, Xiang Er was out of sight, and it was unclear whether Ku Zai has heard Yan Junze. In his terror, he jerkily looked around, losing all composure.


    After losing sight of Xiang Er, Ku Zai began to shake like a leaf in the wind, and his clenched teeth clattered loudly.


    ¡°Yan, Yan, Yan, Yan¡­ Brother, I, I, I¡­ am, am, am, am¡­ wrong, please let¡­ let me go¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, a rustling sound of something being dragged suddenly came from the dense weeds behind him.


    Hearing this sound, Ku Zai instinctively shut his mouth.


    Yan Junze, however, felt a shameful delight in his heart and took a few steps back, giving Ku Zai even more space.


    Shortly after, a half-bodied strangeness appeared in his sight.


    This strangeness was a naked male, missing his lower half, with his innards dragging on the ground behind him. He crawled forward with his hands, slowly making his way towards Ku Zai. In the process, he stuck out his dark, bluish tongue, greedily licking his lips at Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai turned his head just in time to witness this scene, shaking violently and involuntarily crying out, ¡°Mama!¡±


    A sense of horror and disgust, long absent, flooded his body in an instant.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, rubbed his hands with excitement and took a few more steps back.


    Because at that moment, from another direction, through a hole in the broken ground, another spirit emerged¡ªthis one was a shabbily dressed woman.


    The woman was slightly corpulent with apparently deformed feet¡ªa bend at the knee joint of her left foot toward the left, and similarly, her right knee bent left, as if she had been struck by something heavy from the right side before death, fracturing both legs.


    With a thud, thud, as she walked, her leg bones clashing, the woman in tattered clothes slowly approached Ku Zai, her expression equally excited.

 Chapter 476 - 476 341 Nightmare

    ?Chapter 476: Chapter 341 Nightmare? Chapter 476: Chapter 341 Nightmare? Despite his fear, Ku Zai was no longer trembling.


    He was all too familiar with this scene. Having escaped the nightmares of the past few days, his heart had finally begun to calm down slowly. Yet, the arrival of this scene still triggered the fear within him at the beginning.


    But this fear was something he had grown accustomed to. Once it emerged, he was still able to adapt quickly.


    The obese woman with deformed feet was the first to approach Ku Zai, wrapping her arms around him in a slow embrace, her face revealing a look of enjoyment and yearning.


    The crawling man, although a bit slower than the woman, quickly reached the feet of Ku Zai. He struggled to prop up his upper body, hugged Ku Zai¡¯s legs, and began to lick his shoes and pant legs with his tongue.


    This was a true act of groveling!


    Ku Zai is mighty!


    Yan Junze took another step back. With Ku Zai present, he became the brightest kid on the block, and none of the strange beings paid any attention to him.


    Behind Ku Zai, an old man in a security guard uniform emerged from the pile of steel ruins.


    The old man held a flashlight in one hand, its front end already shattered, and a baton fastened at his waist. Most importantly, his lower jaw and upper jaw had come apart, and as he walked, his jaw bounced rhythmically with his steps, looking extremely creepy.


    Not only that, but a large number of maggot-like creatures crawled out of his mouth, occasionally falling onto his jaw and being tossed out by its shaking.


    After the appearance of the security guard, a clear oppressiveness filled the air. The obese woman and the half-bodied man hesitated slightly, but they still did not let go of Ku Zai, though they dared not cling to him too closely anymore.


    Then the security guard moved closer. He paid no attention to the other strangenesses, instead standing behind Ku Zai and leaning in to sniff the back of his head.


    During this, his dangling jaw repeatedly collided with Ku Zai¡¯s neck and shoulders. Some of the maggots fell off, crawling on Ku Zai¡¯s body, causing him to shake once more.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    At that moment, a strange noise emanated from the depths of the abandoned factory.


    Yan Junze had been keeping an eye on Ku Zai¡¯s condition, ready to stop immediately if he sensed the situation might spiral out of control.


    Upon hearing that strange noise, he looked up to see a thin, short man stumbling out of the doorway of a factory building that had collapsed halfway.


    The man was Baldy. At first glance, one might have thought he was drunk and had been sleeping in the abandoned factory.


    However, it quickly became apparent to Yan Junze that something was wrong. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Baldy suddenly opened his mouth, making a retching sound, as a large mass of yellow filth spurted from his mouth. He lifted his head, not bothering to wipe his mouth, leaving his body and chin smeared with the filth.


    Immediately after, instead of walking, Baldy ran madly in Ku Zai¡¯s direction. His speed was astonishing; after running for more than twenty meters, he tilted his head and spewed out a large amount of filth again, yet his running speed did not decrease.


    At the same time, the three strangenesses beside Ku Zai wore faces of terror and quickly retreated, including the old security guard, who moved away swiftly.


    However, due to their attachment to Ku Zai, the three strangenesses only backed away a few meters and, after stopping, looked reluctantly in Ku Zai¡¯s direction.


    Soon, the retching man stood behind Ku Zai, gazed at the back of his head, and a smile spread across his face.


    His smile was eerie; no other facial feature responded except for his mouth, which split at the corners at a terrifying rate, extending to the roots of his ears. The remaining yellow fluid in his mouth dribbled out.


    He raised a hand, the coiled index finger extended, edging closer to Ku Zai¡¯s back, and lightly tapped Ku Zai¡¯s lean, trembling body.


    Then Baldy¡¯s gaping mouth opened wide, his lips parted so much that at a glance, it looked like his head had split in two. He was about to bite down on Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Xiang Er.¡±


    Yan Junze shouted loudly. The man before him was clearly very powerful and, unlike other strangenesses, he posed a real danger to Ku Zai. Should he bite down, Ku Zai would either be killed or, at the very least, be gravely injured.


    Almost simultaneously with his shout, Xiang Er appeared, leaping directly from behind Yan Junze, her feet barely touching the ground as she charged to face the retching strangeness, her foot hitting squarely in its chest.


    The chest collapsed instantly, and before the creature could be flung away, its neck was seized tightly by Xiang Er in the very next second.


    ¡°This one must be killed. The other strangenesses are not dangerous,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Xiang Er nodded, slammed the retching creature to the ground, and pressed it down, rubbing it hard against the floor.


    Xiang Er was already known for her explosive strength, and this kind of friction was intense. After just a few moments, the creature¡¯s outer layer of skin had peeled away, followed by chunks of flesh, and then splintering bones.


    In about ten seconds, the short, thin creature was completely reduced to ash under Xiang Er¡¯s hands, vanishing amid shrill screams.


    Meanwhile, the other three strangenesses had already scattered like bees from a hive, running far away until they disappeared. Even the man-creature with only an upper body, who had been frightened out of his wits by Xiang Er, managed to use his hands as feet, fleeing upside down at a breathtaking speed, even faster than the obese woman, leading way out in front.

 Chapter 477 - 477 341 Nightmare_2

    ?Chapter 477: Chapter 341 Nightmare?_2 Chapter 477: Chapter 341 Nightmare?_2 Yan Junze untied the restrained hands of Ku Zai and asked, ¡°Are you okay? Don¡¯t worry, no one can hurt you.¡±


    Ku Zai shook his head, seemingly unwilling to talk, yet his face was pale. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze felt some pity and apologized, ¡°This first experiment, I merely wanted to confirm a thought I had in mind. It won¡¯t be like this in the future.¡±


    As soon as the words fell, a task prompt popped up in his mind.


    [Special Attraction, Anxiety-Inducing (High), Completed, Obtained 400 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (Low), Completed, Obtained 600 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, Obtained 900 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    These three tasks popped up in less than a minute, then the fourth task completion notification appeared.


    [Special Attraction, Hair-raising (Medium), Completed, Obtained 1200 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    In total, four strangenesses were attracted, matching the four completed task notifications.


    Now it seems, just as Yan Junze had previously speculated, the [Special Attraction] task with Ku Zai is an ongoing one, only likely to cease if one day his physique no longer attracts other strangenesses.


    At present, driving away the strangenesses that want to approach Ku Zai is indeed the quickest way to earn Different Dimension Energy, even though it seems almost like torture for Ku Zai on the brink of collapse.


    After this experiment, Yan Junze felt that although the method was good, he couldn¡¯t bear to continue using it.


    Moreover, not all strangenesses merely clung to Ku Zai without harming him, such as the vomiting strangeness that just tried to bite off a chunk of Ku Zai¡¯s flesh.


    Xiang Er¡¯s appearance indeed terrified those strangenesses, especially when they saw the vomiting strangeness, which seemed formidable moments ago, get pinned down and dragged across the ground upon encountering her.


    The other strangenesses completely abandoned the idea of seeking out Ku Zai again, so this time, Yan Junze received the task completion notifications faster than ever, harvesting a large amount of Different Dimension Energy right then and there.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that the occurrences of higher-level tasks seemed to be increasing, likely related to the evolving and transforming strangenesses of this world.


    If a year ago tasks of the ¡°Hair-raising¡± level were rare, their frequency had noticeably increased a year later.


    Nonetheless, the overall strength of the Exorcist team was also enhancing, with the proportion of three-star Exorcists within Shuntian on the rise. Thus, in the evolution of both Exorcists and strangenesses, there was still a subtle balance.


    After consoling Ku Zai for a while, they returned to the city and Yan Junze treated Ku Zai to a meal of meat and fish, which seemed to somewhat stabilize the boy¡¯s mood.


    Back at home, Yan Junze personally brewed the green tea that his father, Yan Daguo, had bought for Ku Zai, who was a little flustered by the attention, thanking him profusely with both hands.


    Xiang Er was beside them, covering her mouth to stifle her laughter.


    At night, turning on the TV, while Yan Daguo was engaging Ku Zai in a lively and boisterous conversation, Yan Junze retreated to his bedroom alone.


    Lying on the bed, he recounted the day¡¯s earnings; this trip out, using Ku Zai¡¯s ability, had netted him a total of 3100 points of Different Dimension Energy in one go.


    Honestly, if it could continue like this, Yan Junze felt the Atlas would soon be fully illuminated, and it seemed that nearly half of it was now showing.


    Of course, all this was predicated on the fact that Ku Zai would not be frightened when facing the strangenesses and that his body would not suffer any harm.


    In reality, when Yan Junze first encountered Ku Zai, the first impression he got was that the kid was just a step away from death.


    The strangenesses had tormented Ku Zai beyond recognition, and it was unknown what was keeping the guy going. For Ku Zai, being haunted by strangenesses was a nightmare he would never forget in his lifetime.


    Today¡¯s test was just that, a test, proving that Yan Junze could collect Different Dimension Energy using this method, but he questioned whether he could continue to do so.


    Moreover, it was manageable if it only summoned strangenesses weaker than Xiang Er, but if it attracted a major strangeness, they might seriously offend it.


    Having some free time, Yan Junze also took a closer look at the Spacetime Atlas.


    One side of the Atlas that had its nodes illuminated was fully lit up, showing a clear layout with distinct locations for the special nodes.


    The part of the Atlas that remained unlit was still darkened, unclear as to how much was left on that end, but Yan Junze estimated that nearly half of all the nodes might be illuminated.


    Now he had also discovered that as nodes were constantly being lit, Different Dimension Energy increased, but the frequency of special nodes began to gradually decrease.


    The last special node was ¡°Strange Event Lockdown,¡± and since then no other special nodes had appeared.


    Yan Junze had yet to use the ¡°Strange Event Lockdown,¡± but he knew that this node¡¯s function was incredibly powerful. If he wanted to keep a strangeness event in the same state as when it was discovered, preventing it from evolving or leveling up, he just needed to use this function.


    No matter what, that strangeness event would remain in the state in which he had found it for a certain period of time until he had the time or the ability to deal with it.


    In other words, if the event were to lead to other unexpected situations, Yan Junze could also contain all of these situations with this function.


    A moment later, after withdrawing his consciousness from the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, Yan Junze felt a bit fatigued and thus closed his eyes to rest.


    It wasn¡¯t long before he heard the bedroom door open, followed by Xiang Er¡¯s footsteps.


    After entering the room, Xiang Er, acting as if she couldn¡¯t see Yan Junze at all, locked the bedroom door and then opened the wardrobe to take out a set of leisure clothes and began to change.


    Yan Junze smiled wryly with his eyes closed. He couldn¡¯t remember how many times he had reminded Xiang Er. Although he had seen her body countless times, there should still be some taboo.


    The last thing he wanted was to have to explain to certain people if they got jealous. After all, even a rabbit doesn¡¯t eat the grass by its own burrow! He didn¡¯t want the trouble of explaining.


    His thoughts drifted for a moment, and as he heard the rustle of Xiang Er changing clothes, his consciousness began to blur.


    After an indeterminate amount of time, he was suddenly jolted awake and found himself sitting in an unfamiliar place.


    This appeared to be a specially made room, with a raging fire burning below, achieving an intensely high temperature, yet the room was undamaged. The temperature inside, however, would likely kill an ordinary person entering it in just a few seconds.


    Soon, Yan Junze noticed that his hands were bound behind him to a special chair, the high heat scorching his body. He looked at his limbs to see steam rising up, and he could hear a chorus of low chants whispering in his ears, resonating around him.


    Just then, the door directly in front of him creaked open, and a figure in a white protective suit holding a small cage that resembled a laser beam entered, aiming the cage into the room and pressing a button.


    With a bang, an even smaller figure was ejected from the cage, crashing onto the floor of the room.


    The figure didn¡¯t get up immediately. Yan Junze moved slightly, feeling angry and helpless, as the prostrate figure raised its head and struggled to rise, then roared at the now-closed door with a familiar rage.


    ¡°Yah yah yah yah yah¡­¡±


    Immediately, the figure jumped up, landed in front of Yan Junze, and clambered into his embrace. A small face came up close, looking at Yan Junze, its expression gradually changing as if it had seen something surprising.


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    ¡°Ke¡¯er!!!¡±


    A tremendous force instantaneously pushed Yan Junze out of that bizarre room. He startled awake and sat up in bed, looking astonished, with his mouth slightly open, gasping for air.


    The bedroom was bathed in moonlight, though curtains blocked the windows, so the light only fell on the desk in front of the window.


    Xiang Er was standing by the window, admiring the night scene, and was startled when Yan Junze suddenly woke. Turning around, she asked, ¡°What happened? A nightmare? Lantern Woman?¡±


    It was Yan Junze¡¯s shout of ¡°Ke¡¯er¡± that had slipped out loud, waking Ku Zai as well, who lifted his body to look towards the bed, not daring to speak.


    It took Yan Junze a good while to collect himself, and shaking his head, he picked up his phone to check the time, a quarter past three in the morning. He then lay back down and said, ¡°Maybe¡­ I had a nightmare.¡±


    But once he lay down, he found himself unable to sleep again, tossing and turning restlessly.


    Xiang Er heard the commotion and seemed to know he was troubled and couldn¡¯t sleep.


    She didn¡¯t ask more, gave up continuing to enjoy the night scene, and came over to sit on the bed.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, she reached out with her right hand and, like Yan Junze used to do for her, took hold of Yan Junze¡¯s left hand lying outside the blanket.


    A bone-chilling coldness spread through his hand.


    This woke Yan Junze up even more than before.

 Chapter 478 - 478 342 Forget Farewells

    ?Chapter 478: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells Chapter 478: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells After waking up, he couldn¡¯t fall asleep again.


    Because his state of mind had been fuzzy, Yan Junze also couldn¡¯t be certain whether he was dreaming or had suddenly shared a perspective with the Back-faced Woman at that moment.


    He lay in bed, attempting to activate his Semi-Spirit Body, but there was still no response.


    This only made Yan Junze even more uncertain whether what he had seen was real or not.


    After getting up in the morning, he entertained the idea of forming a team to investigate Zhen City in the Luoxia District to see for himself. Whether it was Zhen City or not, at least he could go and have a look. He then called Zhang Xiaomo to get a better understanding of the situation.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo, upon hearing this, said, ¡°Uncle Guo just had an old friend return from Zhen City. I¡¯ll ask him for you.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Yan Junze was surprised, ¡°Then let me do it, I¡¯ll directly call and ask him.¡±


    After hanging up, he immediately called Guo Youliang, only to find the phone ringing without any answer.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was racing as he sat down with his mother for breakfast. No sooner had he put down his chopsticks than Guo Youliang¡¯s call came through.


    Answering the phone, Guo Youliang¡¯s unfamiliar voice resonated from the Ancient Corpse Mo Da: ¡°Junze, sorry, I just entered the Ultimate Thought state and didn¡¯t hear the ring.¡±


    ¡°Ultimate Thought?¡±


    Yan Junze recalled Guo Youliang mentioning something about the Ultimate Law mastered by five-star Exorcists. This Ultimate Thought must be something along those lines, but he didn¡¯t understand, and so didn¡¯t inquire further.


    ¡°Old Guo, I heard your friend just made a trip to Zhen City in the Luoxia District.¡±


    Yan Junze always addressed Guo Youliang in this manner, and Guo didn¡¯t find anything improper, especially considering Yan Junze was his lifesaver, such trivialities were immaterial.


    ¡°Yes, my friend is a four-star Exorcist. He just completed a mission in Zhen City. What about it?¡± Guo Youliang asked. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I want to know, are there still many strangenesses there now?¡±


    ¡°Not too many, strangenesses capable of causing C+ and B- level events have been almost entirely cleared out, and those capable of B+ level events are scarce. So far, only one has been found in Zhen City and it¡¯s being pursued relentlessly by our five-star Exorcists. Right now, there¡¯s no telling where it has hidden.¡±


    ¡°Are there any other humans living within Zhen City?¡±


    ¡°There are, but not ordinary ones, they¡¯re some Spirit Cultivators,¡± Guo Youliang said: ¡°My friend was actually tasked with assassinating Spirit Cultivators, and this time it seems the harvest was quite good. Three of them were eliminated, one of which was a group cultivation.¡±


    Guo Youliang didn¡¯t treat Yan Junze as an outsider. These matters were supposed to be confidential among Exorcists, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to tell Yan Junze.


    ¡°In Zhen City, did they discover any place that¡¯s always ablaze, or are there any areas with active volcanoes?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Guo Youliang pondered for a moment and shook his head: ¡°As far as I know, there are no volcanic areas there. As for any large fires, I¡¯m not sure, but wait, I¡¯ll ask for you right now.¡±


    Yan Junze quickly said, ¡°Then could you also ask if your friend has noticed any peculiar strangenesses, such as mother-daughter corpses?¡±


    Guo Youliang was somewhat surprised, but without further inquiry, he nodded: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask immediately.¡±


    A short while later, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang again. Picking up, Guo Youliang¡¯s voice came through: ¡°My friend said, Zhen City is now eerily silent and desolate, not to mention a large fire; they can¡¯t even find a spark. I forgot to tell you, Zhen City is a border city of the Luoxia District, where the temperature is around minus 20 degrees all year round, and these few days it¡¯s even colder.¡±


    ¡°What about peculiar strangenesses?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°In that place, lower-level strangenesses are more common. If we¡¯re talking about special strangenesses, generally speaking, they tend to be of a higher level, like the mother-daughter corpses you mentioned,¡± Guo Youliang said: ¡°My friend¡¯s team spent eight days and swept through Zhen City, wiped out three Spirit-Cultivation hideouts, and also exterminated some strangenesses, but they didn¡¯t find the mother-daughter corpses you¡¯re talking about. You should know, their team includes five-star Exorcists.¡±


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    After talking to Guo Youliang for a few more words, he hung up the phone and sank into contemplation on the sofa.


    Now it seemed, if the team of Exorcists hadn¡¯t discovered any clues in Zhen City, he didn¡¯t believe going there himself would be any more rewarding.


    Besides, they had five-star Exorcists on their side.


    The mother and daughter might have been in Zhen City before but not now, or perhaps they had never been there at all. Or maybe last night he had just had a dream, or even if it wasn¡¯t a dream, the scene before his eyes could have been from some earlier time.


    So many possibilities!


    Yan Junze held his head in his hands, his elbows resting on the coffee table in front of the sofa, his gaze somewhat vacant.


    Before long, the phone rang. It was Zhou Dali calling to say that some old classmates were meeting for dinner that evening.


    Despite his mood, Yan Junze didn¡¯t refuse.


    When it was time to go out in the afternoon, he didn¡¯t take Xiang Er and Ku Zai with him but chose to go alone.


    The weather had been good these past few days, and to be on the safe side, afraid that the moon might be too bright at night, Yan Junze also took a large black umbrella with a handle.


    After greeting his mother Li Man, he left the house.


    As it was still early, Yan Junze didn¡¯t take a taxi but rode on a bus instead. He got off at the stop nearest to his destination and then spent fifteen minutes walking there.

 Chapter 479 - 479 342 Forget Farewells_2

    ?Chapter 479: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells_2 Chapter 479: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells_2 All the way there, Rock used the large black umbrella as a walking stick, prodding along and shifting his thoughts from the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er to the black umbrella in his hand.


    If possible, Yan Junze was considering whether he could modify his weapon into something that naturally needed to be carried around, like a large black, Huang Feihong-branded umbrella with a handle that could be used to shield oneself under the moonlight.


    Initially, embedding the Black Spirit Pearl into a mace was due to the mace being easy to grip and allowing one to exert maximum force when swung for greater impact.


    In truth, it was mainly because he lacked the know-how and couldn¡¯t find a master who could modify or create a better weapon.


    If it really were possible, combining three Black Spirit Pearls with an umbrella featuring a metal frame and a special fabric capable of shielding moonlight could serve as both shade and weapon, which might greatly enhance its power.


    Yan Junze had also thought about asking the professional team of Exorcists, the same team that crafted the magnetic knife, to make such a weapon for him. However, since it involved the Black Spirit Pearl, which in turn was tied to that guy Rock, he dismissed the idea as soon as it came to mind.


    No rush for now, there would surely be an opportunity in the future.


    The gathering was set in an elegant Chinese restaurant. Because of the small number of people, they didn¡¯t reserve a private room, so they sat at a small table for four tucked away in a corner of the main hall.


    Yan Junze walked to the restaurant, arriving just as Zhou Dali and Big-eyed Girl Jiang Ruixin did; they had only just sat down.


    Seeing the large umbrella in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, both of them couldn¡¯t help but laugh in unison. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After not seeing Jiang Ruixin for a semester, Yan Junze felt the girl had matured quite a bit. Her style had shed the immaturity of senior year and now exuded a certain charm.


    At the dining table, Yan Junze and Zhou Dali sat together, while Jiang Ruixin sat alone on the other side.


    After consulting Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin for their preferences, Zhou Dali took the initiative to order. The waiter poured each of them a glass of lemon water and left with the menu.


    Then Yan Junze saw Jiang Ruixin open a cartoon fabric bag she had brought, taking out a bunch of fresh flowers and then a light purple scarf.


    Nobody spoke, watching as Jiang Ruixin carefully folded the scarf, gently placed it on the empty seat beside her, and put the bouquet of flowers on the table in front of the vacant spot.


    After doing all this, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s eyes moistened, and she dared not look up, as if afraid her tears would fall. Her gaze fixed on the utensils before her, she slowly said, ¡°This scarf was a gift from Jiejie, so I brought it today. I hope that for the last time, she can gather with us again.¡±


    Yan Junze heaved a sigh.


    Zhou Dali rested his hand on his forehead, remaining silent.


    Their last dinner before graduation was vivid in their memories. Among the diners then, Bao Jie had died, and they had completely cut ties with Zhou Jiajie.


    Things change, people move on; nothing could be truer.


    After a long silence, Yan Junze spoke softly, ¡°When Bao Jie left us, she was content, without regret.¡±


    Jiang Ruixin picked up a dinner fork that lay beside her hand, held it, and with pursed lips, said, ¡°I really want¡­ to kill that bastard Zhou Jiajie!¡±


    Zhou Dali placed his hand over Jiang Ruixin¡¯s fork-holding hand, consoling her, ¡°You weren¡¯t at Tianmeng University when Junjun dealt with that son of a bitch. I was there, it was so satisfying. He was absolutely terrified, pissing himself, and he went through hell in the following months.¡±


    ¡°I heard Zhou Jiajie¡¯s parents came to beg you?¡± Jiang Ruixin asked Yan Junze.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°but the resolution of Zhou Jiajie¡¯s matter had nothing to do with his parents coming to see me, it was because he ultimately felt true remorse towards Bao Jie.¡±


    ¡°Zhou Jiajie has dropped out. He went back to his hometown in Shuntian long ago,¡± Zhou Dali said.


    ¡°That bastard, serves him right!¡± Jiang Ruixin put down her fork and glanced at the neatly folded scarf beside her, her eyes moistening again.


    ¡°Alright, come on, let¡¯s talk about something happy,¡± Yan Junze broke the somber mood, ¡°Big-eyed Girl, we haven¡¯t seen you for months. Got a boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t there someone you¡¯ve taken a shine to?¡± Zhou Dali also grinned.


    Jiang Ruixin used both hands to wipe away the tears at the brink of falling, smiling sulkily as she said, ¡°Not telling you guys.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed and said, ¡°I feel like our Big-eyed Girl has matured a lot in just a few short months!¡±


    Jiang Ruixin completely broke into laughter, punched Yan Junze¡¯s arm, took out a wet wipe to clean her face, and said, ¡°Next semester, after it ends, if I haven¡¯t broken up with him by then, I¡¯ll bring him back to show you guys.¡±


    ¡°Why so pessimistic?¡± Zhou Dali said, ¡°How long have you been dating that you¡¯re already thinking about breaking up?¡±


    Jiang Ruixin sighed softly, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve been unknowingly affected by Bao Jie¡¯s terrible love life. I keep feeling that love is a sham, that his love for me isn¡¯t real, and I can¡¯t find the confidence to face the future.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s dangerous,¡± Yan Junze pretended to pull out his phone, ¡°I need to have a serious talk with your unseen boyfriend, ask him to be more patient with you. At the very least, he needs to keep cheering you on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a balloon!¡± Jiang Ruixin giggled, covering her mouth.


    The dishes started arriving soon after, and their conversation shifted to the food.


    The atmosphere began to warm up; Zhou Dali seized the opportunity to order a bottle of clear liquor. After opening it, all three of them drank a bit, but most of it ended up being consumed by Comrade Dali.

 Chapter 480 - 480 342 Forget Farewells_3

    ?Chapter 480: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells_3 Chapter 480: Chapter 342: Forget Farewells_3 Jiang Ruixin also poured a little wine for the spot beside her reserved for Bao Jie, raised her glass, and gently clinked it with the one on the table, whispering in an almost inaudible voice, ¡°Jiejie, in your next life, let go of your obsessions, This glass of wine, I give to you¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you off as well, Jiejie.¡±


    Zhou Dali, already inebriated by this point, felt a rush of emotions, his eyes brimming with tears and his voice thunderously loud, extended his cup, and clinked it with Bao Jie¡¯s, then downed it in one gulp.


    His shout attracted the attention of diners at the neighboring tables.


    Yan Junze reminded him, ¡°Keep your voice down, you¡¯re talking across the table to thin air, don¡¯t scare the other customers.¡±


    By the time the meal finished, it had grown dark outside.


    The moonlight was bright and pouring down; Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the restaurant with a wry smile, slowly unfolding a black umbrella. Only when he was completely shielded did he step into the moonlight.


    Zhou Dali and Jiang Ruixin, supporting each other, staggered out from behind, both quite drunk. Zhou Dali said with a laugh to Yan Junze, ¡°Still that big umbrella, still that same look. Among us, Junjun, you are always the most mysterious one.¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a smile, ¡°Then do you want to sober up right now? If you do, I¡¯ll take away the umbrella.¡±


    Zhou Dali suddenly shivered and put out his hand to stop him, ¡°No need, no need for your intervention, I¡¯ll naturally wake up after sleeping it off.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not Zhou Dali, you¡¯re Zhou Coward,¡± Jiang Ruixin pointed at him and burst into giggles.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you both home.¡±


    Yan Junze flagged down a taxi on the street, the two crawled in by themselves, and then Yan Junze took the front passenger seat. All the while, he extended his black umbrella out of the window, opening it up to cover his side of the car roof, shielding from the moonlight¡¯s stray beams.


    His series of odd actions made the driver start to question his sanity.


    After forty minutes, he had safely dropped off Zhou Dali and Jiang Ruixin at their homes, Yan Junze then took the same taxi back to FH Community.


    This time he chose to sit in the back seat, where he could perfectly avoid the moonlight, there was no need to draw attention inside the car with an open umbrella, and it also gave our nervous driver some peace of mind.


    Sitting in the back seat, and perhaps because of the alcohol, Yan Junze felt his body becoming soft and relaxed. He adjusted his position, arranged himself into the iconic ¡°Ge You Slouch,¡± and closed his eyes, feigning sleep.


    The slight jolting of the car, rhythmic indeed, was quite conducive to sleep.


    However, before he could fall asleep, he suddenly felt as if he were being dragged, as if he had left the taxi seat he was sitting on.


    Yan Junze immediately opened his eyes, and the sight before him was utterly unfamiliar.


    At this moment, he was certain that the scene he was seeing was a vision shared from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective.


    And at that moment, the Back-faced Woman was being dragged.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s vision, he found himself still in that metal house from what seemed to be a dream.


    While being dragged, he twisted his head to look around and noticed the enormous size of the house, not just with rooms similar to the ones that had imprisoned the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, but there was also a metal corridor.


    The Back-faced Woman was being dragged down this corridor.


    This further convinced Yan Junze that this place did not belong to the Luoxia District of Zhen City. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn¡¯t see Ke¡¯er around; it seemed like only the Back-faced Woman was there.


    Yan Junze forced himself to calm down and tried to activate his Semi-Spirit Body. The next second, a familiar itchiness spread across his body as vast amounts of hair broke through his skin and began to grow.


    But at that moment, an intense weakness suddenly overtook him, and the hair that had just started to grow all retracted.


    The feeling of weakness that came felt like his body was instantly emptied, and Yan Junze nearly passed out.


    When he came to, the vision sharing had disappeared, and by then the taxi had arrived at its destination, with the driver looking at him, puzzled.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was in a contorted, struggling pose.


    ¡°Do you need to go to the hospital? City Fourth Hospital,¡± the driver asked concernedly.


    City Fourth Hospital, the only mental institution in the city, had made significant achievements in the research and treatment of psychological hallucinations.

 Chapter 481 - 481 343 Obliteration (Vote for monthly ticket)

    ?Chapter 481: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 481: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!) After returning home, there were no more instances of shared perspective with the Back-faced Woman in the following days.


    Yan Junze himself had tried several times to activate his Semi-Spirit Body, but to no avail.


    In the last perspective sharing, Yan Junze felt that if the metal house he saw was in the city, it would be very conspicuous and impossible to go unnoticed.


    Moreover, there was a mysterious blaze burning underneath the house which made it even more peculiar.


    Now it seemed he had reached a dead end.


    Having stayed at home for a week, during which he had a few phone calls with Zhang Xiaomo and Guo Youliang. Although it was inconvenient to explain everything to Guo Youliang, indirect inquiries also confirmed that he had no more useful information to provide.


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze went to the utility room in the underground garage.


    When he pushed open the small door of the utility room, Aunt Mei was standing motionless in a corner of the dark room.


    Since the light inside was broken, Yan Junze could only dimly make out Aunt Mei¡¯s silhouette. As he turned on his phone¡¯s flashlight and shone it toward her, he saw Aunt Mei¡¯s disproportionately shaped body facing him with a creepy smile on her face.


    Truth be told, even with mental preparation, this eerie scene still sent an inexplicable chill down his spine.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you. There¡¯s something I want to ask you,¡± Yan Junze forced a smile and, overcoming the goosebumps all over his body, walked in.


    Aunt Mei shook her head lightly.


    From another corner of the room, there was a scuttling sound of quick movement. Soon, two strange babies crawled out, one after the other, and came to Yan Junze¡¯s feet. Averse to human eyes, both babies kept their heads down but constantly rubbed against Yan Junze¡¯s pant leg, appearing very affectionate.


    Seeing this scene, Aunt Mei¡¯s smile grew even more bizarre.


    But Yan Junze understood all too well that these two wanted to enter the Spacetime Atlas, as Different Dimension Energy inside was abundant, offering a more pleasurable experience than gnawing on aromatic candles.


    Yan Junze ignored them for the moment and looked up at Aunt Mei, ¡°Aunt Mei, although the way you speak often makes me dizzy, that tremor seems to have some effect on my nervous system, but now I have no choice but to seek your wisdom.¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I want to know how to find the strangeness I¡¯m looking for, no matter how far away it is.¡±


    Aunt Mei¡¯s smile slowly faded, replaced by a look of bafflement.


    She did not speak, meaning no trembling voice formed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind. Instead, she bowed her head, seemingly deep in thought.


    A long time passed before Aunt Mei slowly raised her head with a slight furrow in her brow and shook her head.


    A trembling voice then resonated in Yan Junze¡¯s mind: ¡°Ignoring distance is impossible. Within Shuntian City, a search can be conducted, with results in ten days.¡±


    Yan Junze, with a worried face, sat down on a nearby cardboard box and shook his head, ¡°They aren¡¯t in Shuntian City, nor are they with Tianmeng. They could very likely be towards the edge of Great Capital, or even¡­¡±


    As he spoke, a sudden thought flashed through his mind and Yan Junze blurted out, ¡°Or even, whether they are within Great Capital¡¯s boundaries is uncertain.¡±


    ¡°Why seek them?¡± Aunt Mei inquired.


    Yan Junze sighed softly, ¡°To be honest, they may have encountered danger, otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, a sudden crack sounded in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, exploding like a bolt from the blue. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An unfamiliar image surged into his consciousness, appearing before his eyes like a flash of lightning and then vanishing.


    In the image, Ke¡¯er¡¯s little mouth was agape, emitting a ¡°yah yah yah¡± sound, struggling frantically, yet she was surrounded by a raging fire, along with her red dress, about to be completely engulfed by the mysterious flames in the next second.


    From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, Yan Junze found that he, too, was aflame with fierce fire, searing his body, and all imagery paused at that instant.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s screams rose, but her body couldn¡¯t move at all.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body jolted violently, his muscles tensed as if in that instant, an incomparably powerful force extracted something that had been inside his body, leaving an empty void.


    His mind roared, the shock of the fall made all vistas before Yan Junze vanish as though plummeting into a dream, where everything became unreal.


    Staggering, he leaned backwards and fell onto the cardboard box, then rolled onto the floor, immobile.


    The two strange babies were startled and immediately pounced over, squeaking and squealing, constantly turning their heads back to look at Aunt Mei.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s expression also changed. She walked over like a Weeble, looked down, and saw that although Yan Junze¡¯s face was pale as paper, his breathing was steady, not in mortal danger.


    After hesitating for a moment, she began speaking through the tremor directly into Yan Junze¡¯s mind. She only said two sentences when Yan Junze¡¯s body suddenly shivered, and he began to awaken.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Upon waking, Yan Junze felt his body was still very weak and immediately examined the Spacetime Atlas within. He found no irregularities in the Atlas, and [Automatic Rewind on Near-Death] had not been triggered, indicating that he had merely fainted and was not in any life-threatening danger.


    But why had he fainted?


    Aunt Mei¡¯s voice echoed again in his mind: ¡°I¡¯ve checked, your Semi-spirit has completely vanished.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s head buzzed, taking a moment to register her words. He tried to struggle to his feet, but he was too weak to even sit up.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, what¡­ what did you say? My Semi-spirit has vanished, what does that mean?¡±

 Chapter 482 - 482 343 Obliteration (Vote for monthly

    ?Chapter 482: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 482: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Aunt Mei replied, ¡°Your Semi-spirit, that strangeness, has been obliterated.¡±


    Hum!


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind shook wildly, his head instantly thundered with noise, feeling dizzy and disoriented, everything before his eyes became unreal.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The scene was as silent as death.


    The two strange babies sensed that something was wrong and were so frightened that they kept silent like cicadas in winter, lying on the ground, not daring to move at all.


    At this moment, Yan Junze seemed to have been withdrawn from reality. He reached out to grab Aunt Mei¡¯s arm, but his hand kept shaking, endlessly trembling, unable to grasp the target.


    Aunt Mei stretched out her slender arm toward Yan Junze, finally allowing him to grasp it.


    ¡°Aunt¡­ Aunt Mei, are you saying¡­ the Back-faced Woman, has been obliterated? And also¡­ Ke¡¯er¡­¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t continue.


    In the last shared view with the Back-faced Woman, he clearly saw Ke¡¯er being instantly swallowed by the raging fire, letting out a heart-wrenching, pitiful scream.


    Aunt Mei didn¡¯t respond; she had already made it very clear, and Yan Junze¡¯s reaction was obviously one of difficulty in accepting this reality.


    Inside the pipe chamber, it once again fell into a silence as still as death.


    Yan Junze was clutching Aunt Mei¡¯s arm, Aunt Mei stood motionless, and the two strange babies also lay on the ground, burying their little heads deeply between their arms, not even daring to lift their heads.


    Yan Junze¡¯s complexion went from excitedly flushed to snow-like pallor, then slowly turned to an iron blue.


    ¡°Obliterated, the Semi-spirit disappeared, that strangeness, has been obliterated.¡±


    A few minutes later, Aunt Mei¡¯s voice again trembled in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, and with that trembling, it also slowly steadied his chaotic mind, bringing his thoughts back into focus.


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be!¡±


    Yan Junze suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with bloodshot threads, he said word by word, ¡°No one is allowed to die! Neither the Back-faced Woman nor Ke¡¯er! Even if they are reduced to ashes, even if they no longer exist, I must stop it, I will definitely stop it!¡±


    Having spoken, he stood up and quickly rushed out of the pipe chamber, running towards the exit of the underground parking garage.


    Inside the pipe chamber, Aunt Mei stared blankly at the vanishing figure of Yan Junze, and after a long while, three words surfaced in her mind.


    ¡°Has he gone mad?¡±


    Back at home, Yan Junze¡¯s face was iron blue, but he couldn¡¯t help his eyes from brimming with tears as he quickly stepped into the bedroom, meanwhile shouting to Xiang Er, ¡°Xiang Er, call a taxi service, one that¡¯s available 24 hours a day, I¡¯m going to need it the whole time!¡±


    Yan Daguo, Li Man, and Ku Zai were sitting on the sofa, originally in conversation, but at that moment, they all stopped, watching Yan Junze¡¯s abnormal reaction, suddenly not knowing what to ask or how to begin.


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t say anything, immediately taking out her phone, she asked Yan Daguo, ¡°Uncle, do you know the number for taxi services?¡±


    Yan Daguo shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know the number for taxi services, but the factory often rents cars to pick up clients, I do have the number for a car rental service.¡±


    ¡°A car rental service will do, rent one with good performance,¡± Yan Junze said quickly as he walked out from the bedroom, holding a black backpack that he was still packing, and said to Yan Daguo, ¡°Dad, book one for me right away, tell the rental service to fill up the tank in advance, I need it right now.¡±


    After speaking, he wiped away the tears that were about to fall, the memory of Ke¡¯er struggling in distress before being obliterated flashed through his mind again.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I will save you, I definitely will save you!¡±


    ¡­


    In the beginning, Yan Junze just felt that the mother and daughter were in danger but believed that with their combined ability after Bond Evolution, they could handle most strangenesses and humans.


    However, as his Semi-Spirit Body remained out of contact and unresponsive, Yan Junze became doubtful.


    But because he didn¡¯t know what had happened, or where the mother and daughter were, this doubt was only at the level of worry.


    According to the usual train of thought, the situation back then wasn¡¯t severe enough for Yan Junze to consider initiating the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± as this couldn¡¯t just be initiated on a whim¡ªafter all, Space-Time Rifts are not found just anywhere.


    The last time he sought a Space-Time Rift, Yan Junze had run his legs off and had nearly exhausted all Different Dimension Energy, yet he still hadn¡¯t found one.


    Had he not later heard that the stone in the Jian Family courtyard was suspicious, he might have met his end without ever finding a Space-Time Rift.


    Moreover, up until now, the two times he initiated the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± the first was to deal with a guy called Cheng Jingting, as otherwise, Yan Junze was nearly foiled by him repeatedly. With his life in constant danger, it was imperative to eliminate Cheng Jingting.


    The second time was to save himself; without doing so, he would have had to wait to slowly disappear from this world, a situation that couldn¡¯t be ignored either.


    It could be said that every time the ¡°Great Rewind¡± was initiated, it was at a critical moment, and Yan Junze had no other choice.


    At home, he didn¡¯t inform anyone of the true situation, nor did he bring Xiang Er and Ku Zai along. Using the ¡°Great Rewind¡± wasn¡¯t something anyone could help with; it had to be done by himself alone.


    He told his parents that an important friend had an accident and that he had to rush to the rescue, then he put two bottles of mineral water into the backpack, wrapped up the two steamed buns his mother had bought in the morning, placed them in the bag, and left the house with a large black umbrella.


    When he arrived at the entrance of the residential complex, the car he had reserved had already arrived downstairs.


    It was an ordinary black SUV, chosen especially because of the possibility of driving on bad roads in the suburbs, so Yan Junze specifically asked for one with a higher chassis.


    The driver, a man in his forties with thin limbs but a small belly, probably from sitting all the time, seemed quite nervous. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 483 - 483 343 Obliteration (Vote for monthly

    ?Chapter 483: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!)_3 Chapter 483: Chapter 343: Obliteration! (Vote for monthly ticket!)_3 Before Yan Junze approached the SUV, the guy had locked all the doors and windows. It wasn¡¯t until Yan Junze approached that he pressed the window button and asked, ¡°Are you the one who booked the car?¡±


    ¡°Yes, surname Yan,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Needing a car so late, is there an emergency?¡± the driver opened the car door while letting Yan Junze get in and asked.


    Reluctantly, he hadn¡¯t wanted to take this job. Typically, no one books a car late at night to continue until dawn.


    Luckily, Yan Junze had mentioned beforehand that he won¡¯t go out of town, just roam around the city at night, at most go to the edge of the city to take a look, and only then did the driver agree to take the order.


    The driver¡¯s surname was Qian, named Qian San. After some introductions, he asked Yan Junze where he planned to go.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Tonight, I need to cover the entire Shuntian City. If possible, go less than two kilometers out of town, and then return.¡±


    Qian San was startled and looked at him, ¡°You¡­you¡­ are you looking at the night scenery, or searching for someone?¡±


    ¡°Looking for someone.¡± Yan Junze knew he had to have a plausible excuse, and searching for someone was the only one that could explain his rushing around the city late at night.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry.¡± Patting the car door, Yan Junze urged.


    Qian San didn¡¯t ask any more questions and immediately planned a driving route, starting from the east of the city to the west, covering all four directions, and the eight corners of the city.


    As an experienced driver, Yan Junze had no doubts about Qian San¡¯s choice of routes and the extent of their coverage.


    The black SUV quickly began running back and forth in Shuntian City.


    Along the journey, Yan Junze was measuring distances, opening the Space-Time Rift detector at each new coverage area, scanning the entire surroundings.


    Each detection consumed 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    Yan Junze currently had a total of 28,000 points of energy, which meant he could detect Space-Time Rifts a total of 28 times in succession.


    Looking at the range covered by each detection, these 28 detections could almost scan the entire city.


    Of course, if he still had energy left and had not found the Space-Time Rift, he would choose to rest for a while and then continue to search outside the city.


    About two hours later, around one in the morning, the driver Qian San became increasingly puzzled.


    Since they were driving in the city and he specifically chose to take the main roads as much as possible, encountering strangenesses wasn¡¯t highly likely, but Yan Junze¡¯s method of searching for someone made him increasingly confused.


    Because every time they reached a place, Yan Junze didn¡¯t get out of the car to search for someone; instead, he sat quietly in the car, not talking, not looking around, just squinting for a moment, then shaking his head, telling Qian San to continue to the next destination.


    This made Qian San shift his attention from being watchful of any strangeness outside the car to Yan Junze.


    In his view, Yan Junze seemed more like a strangeness, or at least had some neurological issues. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was a string of Buddhist beads hanging at the position of the gear stick in the car; after feeling a chill down his spine, Qian San quietly took down the beads, clutched them tightly in his hand, murmuring something to himself, not knowing what he was chanting.


    Yan Junze had no time to pay attention to him, focusing all his mind on finding the Space-Time Rift.


    Soon four hours passed. Because he needed to find the detection points precisely, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t afford to be careless. If he was to cover the whole city, he didn¡¯t want to waste any of the energy used on each detection for nothing.


    Sometimes when the car stopped, he would have Qian San drive forward another fifty meters, go down the right-hand fork for another eighty meters, and then activate the detection.


    In this way, the process naturally took a bit longer. But each detection was more accurate, ensuring that the 28 detections he could initiate were not a waste.


    However, as dawn began to break in the distance, even Yan Junze started feeling anxious.


    Focusing on the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, there was still no detection information reflected back to him.


    Silently, he counted in his mind, ¡°The 27th time.¡±

 Chapter 484 - 484 344 Solution to Insufficient Energy (5000

    ?Chapter 484: Chapter 344: Solution to Insufficient Energy (5000 words) Chapter 484: Chapter 344: Solution to Insufficient Energy (5000 words) Half an hour later, the day had fully brightened, with only a few pedestrians on the streets and a gradually increasing number of cars.


    The black SUV now reached the edge of Shuntian City, where Qian San turned to look at Yan Junze and asked, ¡°Are you sure you want to head to the outskirts?¡±


    Yan Junze appeared calm, but his mood had actually hit rock bottom. He nodded slightly, ¡°Take this road to the outskirts, about two kilometers further, then stop.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Qian San, fearing he might have to travel even farther into the outskirts, probed cautiously.


    After all, he had been driving all night without sleep, and now his eyelids were fighting a fierce battle, feeling like they could close at any moment.


    Actually, now that it was bright, going to the outskirts wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but as a qualified veteran driver, safety was his primary concern.


    He needed to rest. If Yan Junze could still hold up, they could call the company to replace him with another driver, but Qian San was ready to refuse if there was a need to go to other places in the outskirts.


    ¡°If we still can¡¯t find it, we¡¯ll go back home, rest, and then continue,¡± said Yan Junze.


    ¡°At least he knows to rest, this kid isn¡¯t dumb,¡± Qian San thought to himself, nodding quietly without speaking and driving the SUV towards the outskirts two kilometers away, as instructed by Yan Junze.


    Before long, the SUV stopped on a relatively high slope. Beyond this road lay an area known as Gaopeng Town, lying on the outskirts of Shuntian City.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimation, there was no need to go that far now as he could only release one more detection with his Different Dimension Energy.


    This place, although two kilometers from the city, was the most suitable for releasing the detection, covering an area that included both the last unexplored parts of the city and encompassing a swath of unfamiliar territory on the outskirts.


    Even now, stopping on the hillside road, Yan Junze did something different this time; he got out of the car, stood by the roadside, and Qian San, seated in the driver¡¯s cab, watched him, not feeling it was appropriate to ask any questions.


    ¡°Last detection!¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes surveyed the downhill area with a wide field of vision. Taking a deep breath and falling silent for a moment, he released the last of his 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    Time passed¡­


    Inside the car, Qian San watched the figure silently from the driver¡¯s seat and, after a short while, saw Yan Junze turn around, his face expressionless. He approached the SUV, pulled open the door, and sat down without a word.


    The inside of the car fell silent. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Qian San noticed Yan Junze¡¯s mood was a bit off, seeming very repressed. It looked like he wasn¡¯t speaking, but buried in that repression was an indescribable and unclear anger.


    Rage.


    ¡°Now¡­ where to?¡± After a few minutes, Qian San couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Back to FH Community,¡± answered Yan Junze, his voice calm.


    The SUV quickly entered the urban area and stopped outside the entrance to FH Community half an hour later.


    Yan Junze took out his cell phone, scanned the QR code Qian San had in the car, tapped a few keys on his phone, and then Qian San¡¯s phone pinged with a notification.


    He opened his phone, looked at it in surprise, then raised his head to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°This extra thousand yuan is for your hard work. Now go home and sleep. After you wake up, have a meal, and then come over at 5 pm sharp. We¡­ continue.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still searching?¡± Qian San exclaimed in amazement, ¡°Haven¡¯t we covered the whole city already?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start heading to the outskirts from now on,¡± Yan Junze said as he got out of the car, closed the door, and walked away.


    Qian San stared in puzzlement at Yan Junze¡¯s departing figure until it was no longer visible. Then he snapped back to reality and, gritting his teeth, thought, ¡°If he¡¯s a big spender, then to the outskirts we go. I¡¯m not getting out of the car anyway. If we encounter strangenesses, I¡¯ll just drive away. What¡¯s there to be scared of!¡±


    The main reason was that Yan Junze was very generous, and Qian San knew that if he followed him for another day or two, the tips he would receive would certainly be no less than what he got that day.


    Back home, when the others saw Yan Junze¡¯s state, expressions of concern appeared, but no one spoke.


    Yan Junze was also very tired and didn¡¯t initiate any conversation. He went back to his bedroom, dropped his backpack, closed the door, collapsed on the bed, and pulled the blanket over his head.


    ¡°Seems like things aren¡¯t going¡­ too smoothly,¡± Li Man mused, sitting on the couch.


    Xiang Er nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s wait until he wakes up, then I¡¯ll ask.¡±


    Ku Zai stayed silent.


    The three were gathered together, with a basket between them, full of washed green beans.


    Li Man took a green bean, snapped it gently, and said, ¡°This child, he seems to have matured a lot, completely different from before. Oh yes, Xiang Er, is it dangerous for you all to clear strangenesses day in and out?¡±


    Xiang Er was startled, tossed the snapped bean into the winnowing basket, and shook her head, ¡°Dangerous it is, but I feel like Yan Junze has never really encountered any true danger. No matter what he¡¯s dealing with, he always seems to have everything under perfect control, as if carefully calculated.¡±


    Li Man smiled, seeming proud, then remembered something and said to Xiang Er, ¡°You should take care to keep warm and eat more blood-nourishing food. With weak blood, hands and feet will become cold, and for a girl so young to be like this, you mustn¡¯t neglect it!¡±


    ¡°Got it, Auntie,¡± Xiang Er nodded.


    Because Xiang Er was always helping Li Man in the kitchen, the two had more interaction, and Li Man quickly noticed the abnormality of Xiang Er¡¯s cold hands and feet.


    Next, Li Man turned to Ku Zai, who was secretly eyeing Xiang Er.


    Li Man laughed and said, ¡°Hey, skinny boy, you should also take note. Eat more. You¡¯re getting skinnier by the day, looking like a monkey. I¡¯ve increased the portions in our meals every day.¡±

 Chapter 485 - 485 344 Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000

    ?Chapter 485: Chapter 344: Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000 words)_2 Chapter 485: Chapter 344: Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000 words)_2 Ku Zai gave a forced smile, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m called Ku Zai, not ¡®pants¡¯.¡±


    His mental state had obviously improved a lot in these past few days, and his body had regained strength too. His walk was no longer unsteady, but if he tried to run, he would quickly become breathless. However, his physical condition had already greatly improved.


    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m going to cook some soup for Yan Junze. He stayed up late last night, and just sleeping might not be enough to recover,¡± Xiang Er said, putting down the green beans she was holding and walking into the kitchen.


    Li Man nodded with a smile, her gaze on Xiang Er now taking on the scrutiny of a mother-in-law evaluating her daughter-in-law.


    Ku Zai, on the other hand, showed a look of envy, his gaze following Xiang Er until she entered the kitchen, after which he finally looked away.


    ¡­


    When Yan Junze woke up, he saw that it was only two in the afternoon.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t sleepy, but he was preoccupied with thoughts, waking up in a daze throughout the nap, utterly unable to get a good sleep.


    He estimated that he might have had only about an hour of effective sleep.


    He sighed deeply and sat up, realizing he hadn¡¯t even changed his clothes. With another sigh, he got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom into the bathroom.


    It would have been better not to have entered the bathroom¡ªthe familiar red and white tiles, the white toilet in the corner¡ªeverything was so familiar.


    His eyes landed on the wall next to the toilet, and the scenery evoked emotions. It was as if in a trance he could see a little girl in a red dress standing there, her hair dirty and disheveled, struggling to lift her broken neck to look at him, making a familiar sound from her mouth.


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    In the living room, Xiang Er and Ku Zai were just carrying out the food from the kitchen.


    Knowing that Yan Junze hadn¡¯t eaten much, and seeing that he had woken up, they brought the freshly cooked dishes, which were still warm, to the living room.


    Just as they had set the table, boom!


    The bathroom door was flung open, and Yan Junze strode out, heading straight toward Ku Zai and grabbing his arm with one hand.


    ¡°Ku Zai, this time, you have to help me!¡±


    It had been a long time since the Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas within Yan Junze¡¯s mind had been completely depleted. It had been a very long time since anything like this had happened.


    Ever since he had almost died on the Tricky Silk side mission, Yan Junze had been cautious, setting the Rewind to auto-cycle to avoid being unable to recover from an accident.


    But this time, to save Ke¡¯er and her daughter, to explore the Space-Time Rift, the Different Dimension Energy in that Atlas was completely drained, all of it gone. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not a single rift could be found in all of Shuntian City, which Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected. But the fact that space-time rifts were hard to find was true, and he had considered the possibility of energy depletion.


    To wait for the Atlas to automatically recover to the full 28,000 points of Dimensional Energy, it would take close to three months to complete. Though the Great Rewind to the past had no relation to how long had passed in the current time, Yan Junze¡¯s feelings were different. He dreaded changes and couldn¡¯t bear to wait long.


    To save the mother and daughter, he had to act quickly.


    And the quickest way to replenish his energy at present was right before him¡ªKu Zai.


    After wolfing down a bowl of rice along with the freshly served dishes, Yan Junze could hardly wait any longer. He made a phone call to Qian San, asking him to come over early, and then pulled Ku Zai and Xiang Er downstairs with him.


    Once outside the complex, Qian San¡¯s car hadn¡¯t arrived yet.


    Yan Junze stretched out his right hand, grasping Ku Zai¡¯s thin shoulder, looking him in the eye with a serious tone, ¡°Ku Zai, to be frank, I can collect a type of energy, similar to the Fear Value that you produce when you¡¯re afflicted by strangenesses. I need that energy now, the more, the better.¡±


    Initially baffled by the explanation, Ku Zai began to understand after a moment, his expression turning to one of terror, his eyes wide as he stared at Yan Junze, ¡°Brother Yan, are you saying¡­ I¡­I have to attract strangenesses like that day again?¡±


    Yan Junze watched him, and after a long pause, he nodded emphatically.


    ¡°Brother Yan¡­¡± Ku Zai shuddered suddenly, his voice trembling as he asked, ¡°Can I know what you¡¯re going to use this ¡®Fear Value¡¯ for?¡±


    ¡°To save people, two very important people to me,¡± Yan Junze said slowly, his tone firm.


    ¡°Now¡­right now¡­do we¡­ have to do it?¡± asked Ku Zai.


    ¡°The sooner, the better, or else¡­ it might be too late to save them,¡± Yan Junze affirmed.


    Ku Zai¡¯s expression froze. Originally, he thought that he could negotiate or think of other methods, but seeing Yan Junze¡¯s anxious look, it was clear that the situation was extremely urgent.


    ¡°Damn it, let¡¯s do this!¡± Ku Zai suddenly hardened his thin face, no longer asking questions, and spoke up, ¡°No problem, Brother Yan. Just tell me: how many strangenesses do you need to attract? I can handle it.¡±


    Xiang Er also added from the side, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you the whole time, and make sure not a single hair on your head is harmed.¡±


    Just then, a black SUV came from the end of the street and stopped right in front of the trio. As the window rolled down, Qian San exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Three people?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°We¡¯re bringing two more this time, as more people means more power.¡±


    After all, Yan Junze had booked the car, so any number of people could get in, as long as it didn¡¯t exceed the capacity.


    Moreover, Qian San felt more at ease seeing the increased number of people. It made him feel safer, especially since this time they were driving out to the suburbs again.


    This time they didn¡¯t go to the abandoned factory they had tried before. Yan Junze and Xiang Er looked for a new location, which was of course also in the suburbs.


    One hour passed.


    When the SUV came to a stop, Qian San, hands gripping the steering wheel, eyes wide and staring dumbfounded at the front gate.

 Chapter 486 - 486 344 Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000

    ?Chapter 486: Chapter 344: Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000 words)_3 Chapter 486: Chapter 344: Solutions to the Energy Shortage (5000 words)_3 ¡°Qishan Public Cemetery?!¡±


    At first, he had thought they were just passing through, but it turned out that Yan Junze¡¯s destination was right here.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going in, I¡¯m not going in, you can kill me but I still won¡¯t go in, no amount of money would make me do it,¡± Qian San¡¯s head shook like a rattle-drum.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go inside,¡± Yan Junze opened the car door, got out, followed by Xiang Er and Ku Zai, ¡°Master Qian, just wait here, we¡¯ll be back in about half an hour.¡±


    After the outbreak of strangenesses in this era, almost all cemeteries and their surrounding areas became deserted overnight, and the profession of the Tomb Guardian vanished without a trace.


    Now, after people die, their ashes are kept by the funeral home after cremation, with exorcists stationed inside the funeral homes.


    As for the previous public cemeteries, after the initially extensive prevalence of strangenesses for some time, exorcists initiated a joint extermination operation, spending great efforts to barely clean up these strangenesses.


    Later, all the buried corpses and bones were relocated for cremation and then kept collectively.


    That is to say, nowadays, there is actually not a single body or urn inside Qishan Public Cemetery.


    However, although the sources were gone, some strangenesses still existed and could not be completely eradicated.


    Yan Junze¡¯s goal in bringing Ku Zai here this time was precisely these strangenesses.


    Xiang Er silently sensed for a moment and then nodded to Yan Junze.


    The three of them walked to a flat ground backing onto a dozen empty graves, and Yan Junze asked Ku Zai, ¡°Do you need your hands and feet to be restrained?¡±


    Ku Zai shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯ll just sit here, we can start now.¡±


    As soon as he had spoken, Ku Zai sat cross-legged on the flat ground and closed his eyes.


    It was apparent that his eyelids were trembling slightly.


    Yan Junze gently patted his shoulder, moved aside, and gestured to Xiang Er that she could hide temporarily.


    Xiang Er retreated, took a turn, and soon was out of sight.


    Ku Zai¡¯s eyes remained closed, as he was making a great effort to keep them tightly shut. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The empty cemetery was windy and eerily silent, the air damp and heavy, creating an indescribable oppressive feeling that settled on one unconsciously.


    About two minutes later, a rustling sound arose from behind Ku Zai¡­


    Outside the gate of Qishan Public Cemetery, about thirty meters away, Qian San sat in the car, holding the steering wheel with both hands, a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth, sitting in the driving seat, shaking his legs rapidly, his gaze fixed on the cemetery gate.


    Just a moment ago, he had clearly heard several eerie and piercing cries that seemed to emanate from within the cemetery, but when he listened more closely, the sounds vanished, as if they had never occurred.


    But Qian San was clearly becoming anxious, his legs shaking uncontrollably, inhaling his cigarette fiercely, and soon only the cigarette butt remained between his fingers.


    He didn¡¯t dare roll down the car window completely, just a crack, and after tossing out the cigarette butt, he hurriedly closed it again.


    However, just as he closed the window, another scream rang out from the cemetery, startling Qian San. He immediately flattened the driver¡¯s seat and hastily lay down, no longer daring to sit up straight.


    He was very clear that the cry from earlier did not sound human.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ could it be¡­¡±


    A thought suddenly sprang to mind, ¡°Could it be that what they¡¯re looking for isn¡¯t human?¡±


    No sooner had the thought emerged than Qian San¡¯s trembling right hand reached for the car keys.


    But, just then, his phone rang. Picking it up, he saw that it was Yan Junze, who had just entered the cemetery.


    He cautiously picked up, ¡°Master Qian, please wait another ten minutes, we¡¯ll be coming out soon,¡± transmitted Yan Junze¡¯s voice after he held it to his ear.


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze looked up and continued to watch in the direction of Ku Zai.


    He had made this call for a reason because, in the process of Xiang Er dealing with the attracted strangenesses, sometimes she was overly harsh, causing the strangenesses to emit screams of agony.


    Although the sound was not loud, Qishan Public Cemetery was too quiet, and it was hard to assure that Qian San, who was waiting outside, wouldn¡¯t hear.


    If that guy couldn¡¯t handle the fear and ended up driving away in panic, it was necessary to make a call to reassure him.


    As the call ended, Xiang Er happened to land a punch on the head of a blood-red skull. This skull was not completely decayed; there was still a lot of flesh hanging on the bones, looking extremely gruesome.


    But with one punch from Xiang Er, the entire skull fell apart, unable to reassemble itself.


    Yan Junze was staring inward at the Inner Vision in his mind. Right after Ku Zai had attracted five strangenesses in the first round, the task completion prompt for the [Special Attraction] mission had begun popping up in his mind one after the other.


    However, to his surprise, up to that point, the task completion reward energy points had not increased the upper limit of the Different Dimension Energy but had only replenished the energy he had expended the night before.


    In other words, it only filled the blank energy bar for the original time period and did not push the maximum limit of the energy bar.


    While Yan Junze was surprised, Xiang Er had already killed off the last strangeness.


    The strangenesses that opted not to flee after Xiang Er appeared all had some strength, but of course, they were no match for her.


    After she destroyed this last strangeness and was just about to ask Yan Junze if they should continue, Ku Zai, who had been sitting on the ground without moving, suddenly spoke.


    ¡°Sister Xiang Er, there¡¯s one more on my back¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s burrowing into¡­ my spine.¡±


    Xiang Er was stunned and looked intently, only to find that she couldn¡¯t see anything at all.


    Even she couldn¡¯t see it, which meant there was a possibility that this strangeness was more powerful than Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er immediately sensed it and discovered that she didn¡¯t feel a greater level of oppression, but indeed she saw none of the strangeness Ku Zai mentioned.


    Yan Junze, having gathered his thoughts, looked towards Ku Zai but found nothing as well.


    He then immediately raised his phone, turned on the camera function, and aimed it at Ku Zai.

 Chapter 487 - 487 345 The Weakening Space-Time Rift

    ?Chapter 487: Chapter 345: The Weakening Space-Time Rift Chapter 487: Chapter 345: The Weakening Space-Time Rift Yan Junze had done this before; on a previous [Photographing] mission, that sleazy strangeness could only be seen through the camera¡¯s lens.


    Xiang Er had not sensed a greater threat, indicating that the strength of this invisible strange creature might not be that powerful, and perhaps it could only be seen through a special method, similar to the one used in the [Photographing] mission.


    On the phone screen, the captured image showed only Ku Zai sitting cross-legged on the ground, with seemingly nothing around him.


    Yan Junze brought the phone close to his eyes, looking carefully, focusing his attention on Ku Zai¡¯s back.


    He soon noticed something unusual.


    Although Ku Zai was sitting, his back was naturally arched and tense as if there was a strong force pressing from behind, and he was struggling mightily against this pressure.


    Yan Junze moved directly closer to Ku Zai, while Xiang Er had already walked up beside him, on guard. Seeing Yan Junze approach, she immediately reached out to stop him, fearing he might encounter danger.


    This strangeness was very peculiar, and even Xiang Er had not fully grasped its nature; it could be extremely dangerous.


    However, as Yan Junze got closer, the phone¡¯s screen showed a very blurry, transparent entity, which seemed to be in a human form and was slowly squirming, but its movements were not significant.


    ¡°This strangeness is transparent, like the air, and it¡¯s clinging to Ku Zai¡¯s back,¡± Yan Junze said aloud to alert Xiang Er.


    Ku Zai had the ability to attract strangenesses, and so far, he was the only human Yan Junze had seen who could see almost all types of strangenesses, no matter their form.


    It seemed that Ku Zai could see the other entity if he wished to.


    ¡°A clump of air?¡± Xiang Er walked behind Ku Zai and grabbed at the Void on his back.


    There was nothing, she didn¡¯t catch any substance in her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s right in front of you, but your arm went straight through its body,¡± Yan Junze, who had been staring at the phone screen, immediately spoke up to warn her.


    Xiang Er appeared somewhat astonished.


    At that moment, Ku Zai¡¯s back tensed again, and his body leaned forward with a cry of agony, as if he were suffering severe pain.


    On the phone screen, the gaseous strange creature had inserted its transparent arms into Ku Zai¡¯s back and seemed to be trying to force its entire body into him.


    ¡°Xiang Er, think of something quick!¡± Yan Junze became somewhat frantic.


    Xiang Er bit down on her silver teeth, and the next second Ugly Girl¡¯s real body stepped directly out of the perfect female corpse¡¯s shell, which immediately collapsed, curling up on the ground listlessly.


    In the time since then, Ugly Girl¡¯s hair had once again completely covered her body, making it difficult to see her true form.


    It was unknown how many women¡¯s beautiful long hair she had collected secretly during this process. However, fortunately, she only collected it and did not harm the owners of the hair, which Yan Junze silently permitted.


    Ugly Girl¡¯s real body was in a completely strange form, capable of becoming tangible or instantly turning into an illusion, so as she manifested herself, she immediately grabbed at Ku Zai¡¯s back.


    This time she could clearly feel she had grabbed something, something slimy and greasy.


    Xiang Er immediately exerted force, prepared to lift the invisible creature up, only to find her grip slipping in an instant, as the thing clung tightly to Ku Zai¡¯s back, impossible to separate.


    Her grabbing seemed to have also affected Ku Zai who was sitting on the ground; he whimpered in pain, his body stiffening immediately.


    Seeing that grabbing it was ineffective, Xiang Er promptly retreated, and once she moved back a certain distance, her hair started to move like little snakes, growing towards Ku Zai¡¯s back. The visibly growing hair crawled up Ku Zai¡¯s back, entwining around the body of the invisible strange creature.


    To prevent slippage, the hair kept wrapping around, countless times


    Meanwhile, the strangeness noticed that something was wrong and began to hurriedly withdraw its arm from inside Ku Zai¡¯s body, trying to flee. But the dense hair had completely entangled it already.


    Suddenly, all the hair tightened sharply, and the body of the transparent strange creature, like a cloud of gas, was suddenly constricted, deforming like a balloon and emitting a silent scream.


    The next second, the creature was cut into countless transparent fragments by the mass of hair, sliding down from Ku Zai¡¯s back, with the arm that had just stretched out being torn into shreds and dissipating with the wind.


    Ku Zai¡¯s tight body suddenly relaxed, and he took a deep breath. The first thing he did was to raise his head and look in the direction of Xiang Er, followed by a violent shudder as his pupils dilated, staring fixedly at the unfamiliar Xiang Er.


    At this point, Xiang Er¡¯s pitch-black hair was retracting, and during this process, her originally hidden ugly face was partially exposed to Ku Zai. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After killing the transparent strange creature, Xiang Er did not show any other reaction, nor did she glance at Ku Zai. Instead, she lay down beside the female corpse, dragging her hair silently, and re-entered the body.


    Immediately, the perfect female corpse moved its limbs, opened its eyes, and slowly stood up, walking to the side.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, what you just saw was Xiang Er¡¯s true form,¡± Yan Junze put away his phone, walked over, and patted Ku Zai on the shoulder, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Ku Zai was clearly still shocked by what had just happened. It took a couple of questions from Yan Junze before he regained his composure.


    He straightened his back, moved a bit to the left and right, then shook his head, ¡°No¡­ no serious harm, I¡¯ll be fine after a bit of rest.¡±


    As he spoke, he cast his gaze back on Xiang Er, seeming still somewhat in disbelief.

 Chapter 488 - 488 345 The Weakening Space-Time Rift_2

    ?Chapter 488: Chapter 345: The Weakening Space-Time Rift_2 Chapter 488: Chapter 345: The Weakening Space-Time Rift_2 Yan Junze knew that this guy¡¯s world view was being turned on its head, feigned unawareness, and continued to ask, ¡°Can you move now? Let¡¯s head back first.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not¡­ not continuing?¡± Ku Zai asked.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°You¡¯ve been through enough, we¡¯ll stop here for today. We won¡¯t continue.¡±


    ¡°What about the ¡®Fear Value¡¯? Is it enough? If it¡¯s not, I think I can endure a bit longer.¡± Ku Zai said.


    Touched by his words, Yan Junze helped him up, ¡°It¡¯s enough, we¡¯ve gotten enough for today.¡±


    Within Qishan Public Cemetery, the Different Dimension Energy gathered in just around forty minutes had already exceeded Yan Junze¡¯s plan.


    In those forty minutes, two waves of strangenesses appeared. The first wave wasn¡¯t very powerful. With no particularly special ones emerging, those frightened away by Xiang Er were chased off, and the ones that foolishly resisted were wiped out on the spot.


    In the second wave of strangenesses, the transparent air mass creature appeared, fortunately, none were powerful, but they were somewhat special.


    These two waves of strangenesses awarded Yan Junze a total of 9600 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    This energy was only enough for him to carry out nine Space-Time Rift explorations, but seeing Ku Zai in his current state, Yan Junze didn¡¯t have the heart to make him continue, and these nine opportunities for detection might just be put to good use today to find a Space-Time Rift.


    Having some energy now was better than having none at all.


    Xiang Er came over, took Ku Zai from Yan Junze¡¯s hands, and made sure he was steady.


    During this process, Ku Zai¡¯s eyes were fixed on Xiang Er who was holding him, his lips moved several times, but he said nothing.


    The three quickly returned to the entrance of Qishan Public Cemetery and could see their black SUV still parked there. Qian San rolled down the window glass and looked over.


    Seeing Xiang Er supporting the frail Ku Zai, he obviously felt quite surprised. He glanced behind the trio, ensuring no strangenesses were following, and then unlocked the car, waiting for them.


    At that moment, Xiang Er turned to look back at the interior of Qishan Public Cemetery, then whispered to Yan Junze, ¡°We¡¯ve been at the foot of the mountain just now, not going up, but there seems to be a pressure at the top of the mountain cemetery that is making me quite irritable.¡±


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, turned to look back in the direction they had come, and asked, ¡°Does this pressure make you feel fear?¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s not exactly fear, just some irritability and unease.¡±


    ¡°The strangenesses from the mountain top didn¡¯t come down,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Xiang Er adjusted Ku Zai¡¯s body, who, upon hearing their conversation, evidently started trembling in his legs.


    Xiang Er continued, ¡°Since the distance was too far, I deliberately stood halfway up the mountain and exerted pressure when I was hiding, preventing other strangenesses up there from getting closer.¡±


    The three walked to the car, opened the doors, and climbed in.


    Yan Junze said to Qian San, ¡°Master Qian, just drive around the outskirts like yesterday evening, circling around Shuntian City, don¡¯t go too far.¡±


    Qian San looked up at the sky and said deliberately, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, there are four of us, and from now on, there¡¯s no need to get out of the car,¡± Yan Junze assured him, knowing what he was thinking.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Qian San started the car, and the SUV left Qishan Public Cemetery, beginning to circle the city¡¯s outskirts, staying around five to six kilometers away from the city¡¯s edge.


    Ku Zai lay down on the back seat which had been put down, resting without a word, while Xiang Er took a small blanket they had brought from the house and covered him with it.


    Yan Junze estimated the car¡¯s traveling distance and the detection coverage area while contemplating the Spacetime Atlas in his mind.


    He looked closely, the energy replenished through Ku Zai¡¯s effort over these two rounds was indeed simply a replenishment, it had not broken through the upper limit of energy value like before or illuminated new nodes in the Atlas.


    Yan Junze wondered why this was. Could it be that the Atlas had developed a cognitive resistance to the recurring task ¡°Special Attraction,¡± or perhaps the same energy acceptance had surpassed some hidden threshold.


    All Yan Junze could do was guess.


    Upon reaching the first point where detection could be released, he immediately consumed 1000 points of energy to conduct the area detection.


    Moments later, he said, ¡°Continue driving.¡±


    Xiang Er and Ku Zai had no idea what he was doing, while for Qian San, it was no longer anything unusual.


    Possibly due to the accumulated exhaustion and the recent high-tension situation, Ku Zai fell asleep quickly in the car, while Xiang Er quietly turned to gaze out of the window, saying nothing.


    Every so often, two sentences on repeat would resound in the car.


    ¡°Stop here.¡±


    ¡°Keep going.¡±


    The sky had long since darkened completely, but fortunately, the streetlights lining the suburban roads of the city were mostly functional, and the occasional broken ones did not obstruct visibility and impede traffic.


    Circling around Shuntian City was soon to be a completed task, yet at this moment, in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, only a little over 1000 energy points were left¡ªjust enough for one final detection.


    A sense of foreboding similar to last night descended upon him; his entire scalp tingled with discomfort, making it hard to imagine enduring another fruitless day after expending so much effort.


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    When they reached a three-way intersection, Yan Junze spoke up once more.


    Qian San stopped the car, took the cup of strong tea that had been steeped earlier, unscrewed the lid, and guzzled down a big gulp before shaking his neck.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath. If this last attempt yielded no results, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to continue the search, but¡­


    He glanced back at Ku Zai slumped over in the back seat, sound asleep, evidently from being overly exhausted and stressed.


    If they failed to find the space-time rift with the energy depleted today, Yan Junze would tirelessly proceed with the search every day, which meant that Ku Zai and Xiang Er would continue to endure hardship.


    However, for Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman, he now had no choice.


    He spent 1000 energy points to initiate the last detection.


    The moment the detection began, a line of text suddenly flashed across his mind, vanishing in less than a second, so swiftly that Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    He immediately employed Inner Vision to focus on the text message in his mind.


    [A space-time rift detected, located on the right side close to the Shuntian City direction at the Zhulin Road intersection. This rift is currently in a weakened state, steadily diminishing, and is expected to reach a critical point of weakness at midnight, disappearing around 12:30 AM.]


    Yan Junze had experienced firsthand the difficulties in finding space-time rifts; some of them have very short durations, which is a major reason they are hard to detect.


    It was highly possible that by the time Yan Junze reached a certain spot, the rift there had already weakened and vanished.


    The duration of each rift¡¯s existence varied, some lasted long while others short, and the one Yan Junze had finally detected was about to weaken and disappear after midnight.


    He immediately checked the time; it was almost ten o¡¯clock at night.


    Entering the rift in its current state was certainly not feasible. He was left with only a little over 600 unused Different Dimension Energy points, and had no excess energy to use in the Great Rewind.


    It¡¯s important to note that initiating the Great Rewind required 200 points, while employing Butterfly Effect Stabilization demanded 500 points. The total already exceeded what he had, not to mention the additional energy needed to correct any ripple events. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unless he opted out of using the Butterfly Effect Stabilization and directly initiated the Great Rewind.


    No sooner had the thought arisen than Yan Junze dismissed it. Without the Butterfly Effect Stabilization, there was no telling whether he would save Ke¡¯er and her mother, and upon returning to the current timeline, he might find his entire life trajectory had dramatically changed.


    It was not an option; the instability was too great, beyond his control.


    But the weakening space-time rift would not wait for anyone. After 1:30 AM it would vanish, and then he would have to restart the aimless search, with no idea how much energy and Different Dimension Energy it could potentially consume.


    ¡°We can¡¯t give up on this space-time rift.¡±


    Yan Junze made up his mind, but if the energy wasn¡¯t sufficient, even if he managed to enter, he had no certainty of success and might even risk losing his life there.


    The energy had to be ample enough¡ªto not only activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization but also possess enough to repair any ripple events and ensure a substantial reserve for his personal Rewind Energy.


    He couldn¡¯t afford to miss any of these elements.


    Thinking thus, Yan Junze gritted his teeth and said, ¡°We¡¯ve found the target.¡±


    Qian San, who had been listless all along, was suddenly jolted awake, immediately sitting up straight to look at him.


    Xiang Er in the back showed surprise: ¡°Did you find it?¡±


    Ku Zai, hearing the sound, groggily opened his eyes and looked over, then propped himself up with his arms on the seat, slowly sitting up.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Yan Junze turned his head back, his expression tangled as his gaze settled on Ku Zai.

 Chapter 489 - 489 346 Perilous Situations

    ?Chapter 489: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations Chapter 489: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations The Qishan Public Cemetery under the night sky exuded an eerie silence, as if a monster lay dormant in the darkness, ready to extend its claws and bare its fangs at any moment.


    Choosing this place again was out of necessity, as nowhere else could be found in such short notice with a high quantity and quality of strangeness occurrences.


    Though some places seemed to have a higher number of strangenesses, for Yan Junze they were all of the ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± level. Even if these strangenesses were cleared out or driven away, the Different Dimension Energy obtained would not be significant, and it would take a long time to accumulate the amount he desired.


    The weakening space-time rift waits for no one, and to gain a large amount of Different Dimension Energy in a short time, this cemetery remained the best choice.


    However, persuading Qian San to return to the Qishan Public Cemetery cost Yan Junze quite a bit of talking, and of course, an increase in the fees.


    Although Qian San received a decent personal reward this time, he made it clear that after taking them to the cemetery, he would leave the place and wait in a nearby populated area.


    If Yan Junze and the others were about to come out soon, they would call him in advance so he would go over.


    As the three of them walked into the cemetery, Yan Junze noticed that Ku Zai was constantly shivering uncontrollably.


    He stopped and looked at Ku Zai without speaking.


    Seeing Yan Junze look over, Ku Zai was stunned for a moment, then his expression firmed up; he did not speak, merely nodding his head.


    Yan Junze reached out to embrace him, gave a pat on the shoulder, and said softly, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    As if greatly acknowledged and encouraged, Ku Zai gradually stabilized after a while, and his trembling body began to calm down.


    Yan Junze checked the time. From the moment they discovered the space-time rift, to returning to the cemetery, and the delay until now, it was almost eleven o¡¯clock. They could not drag their feet any longer.


    He said to the two, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Xiang Er, choose a different section of the graveyard, let¡¯s not go to the section from the daytime.¡±


    Mainly because Yan Junze remembered Xiang Er once mentioned that the section of the graveyard they chose during the day, especially the hilltop location, had a strangeness that even Xiang Er found bothersome.


    Now, with time pressing, although Xiang Er might not necessarily be afraid of the other party, it was best to reduce unnecessary trouble. They should avoid further delays in other places.


    Xiang Er quickly picked a direction and set off. Before long, she lit her mobile phone at a fork in a path, waving it in the direction of Yan Junze and Ku Zai as a signal for them to come closer.


    For Yan Junze, the weather was good tonight, with no moon in the sky. But since they had been exposed in the open air, he still held the big black umbrella in his hand, just to be safe.


    When the two reached her, Xiang Er said, ¡°This place will do, this section has more strangenesses, and we should be able to collect ¡®Fear Value¡¯ faster here.¡±


    ¡°Are there any strangenesses here that make you feel agitated or oppressive?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Xiang Er shook her head. ¡°But overall, the strangenesses here are not weak.¡±


    That implied they would not be short on energy collection this time, Yan Junze interpreted her subtext.


    The three chose a relatively flat and clean area, and Ku Zai clenched his fists, took a few deep breaths, then plopped down sitting cross-legged. Then Xiang Er went into hiding. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stepped back a distance and quietly watched Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai had always worn Magnetic Shielding Clothes, but because Yan Junze had commanded, and with Xiang Er constantly with him, the jacket was turned off and not activated.


    Even though there was no moonlight tonight, it wasn¡¯t completely dark. After turning off the phone screen, the silhouette of Ku Zai was still visible.


    Yan Junze had dimmed his phone screen to the lowest brightness to easily keep an eye on the time. The period of extreme debilitation of the space-time rift was just after midnight, so they needed to make it around that time. Otherwise, no one could guarantee that approaching the rift in the latter part of the extreme debilitation wouldn¡¯t result in some instability, possibly causing issues with the Great Rewind or even causing it to fail outright.


    Soon after Xiang Er left, there were rustling sounds coming from not far away.


    Yan Junze focused his attention and saw it was a strangeness hidden in the underbrush.


    However, this strangeness didn¡¯t seem very strong, as Ku Zai merely frowned without showing any severe frightened tension.


    Time passed by the second, and more strangenesses kept appearing.


    Soon, five strangenesses had reached Ku Zai, with one appearing just over two meters behind Yan Junze. However, they were all attracted by Ku Zai¡¯s aura and didn¡¯t care about Yan Junze, who was within an arm¡¯s reach. They dragged their heavy steps and shuffled toward Ku Zai.


    In the meantime, the first strangeness that appeared had been scared off by others joining in, disappearing into the unknown.


    Xiang Er did not show up, as more strangenesses were still approaching. This area indeed had enough strangenesses with generally higher quality, and they balanced each other out without any exceedingly powerful ones.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes were wide open, watching more and more strangenesses join, greed apparent in his eyes.


    Soon, Ku Zai was completely surrounded by at least eight strangenesses that were among the stronger ones to appear. The other unescaped strangenesses merely stood two steps away, not daring to come closer.


    After a while, three strangenesses lay on Ku Zai, and one used its damaged head to gently rub against Ku Zai¡¯s head, humming softly as if a mother had found her son.


    At this moment, Ku Zai was steady, with no tremble, but his eyes were tightly closed.

 Chapter 490 - 490 346 Perilous Situations_2

    ?Chapter 490: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations_2 Chapter 490: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations_2 Yan Junze hid himself behind a tree without any indication, focusing his attention mainly on Ku Zai. If he encountered any danger, Xiang Er would take action in advance.


    After waiting for several minutes, the situation stabilized, and Xiang Er appeared.


    As soon as she stepped out, she immediately scared away most of the strangenesses lurking nearby, but the eight strangenesses closest to Ku Zai turned around instead of fleeing immediately.


    After a standoff for a moment, some left, but three strangenesses boldly approached Xiang Er, issuing roars, low moans, and strange gurgling sounds as a warning to the other.


    Yan Junze lowered his head and closed his eyes, the sound of violent beating reaching his ears, something being hurled into the air, then crashing down heavily, followed by shrill screams, and the sound of bodies being torn apart.


    He did not want to witness the scene. According to Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts, some of these strangenesses had turned into such beings due to a mere wisp of obsession, which made them very suitable for his Buddhist-style Exorcism Method.


    However, there really wasn¡¯t enough time now, and even if he didn¡¯t want to see violence in exorcism, he had no choice because it was the most time-efficient method.


    The screams stopped quickly, and when he opened his eyes, Yan Junze found that the strangenesses that had been lying all around were now nowhere to be found.


    Ku Zai also opened his eyes and looked at Xiang Er, with the black air from the annihilated strangenesses still spreading around him.


    In less than a minute, Yan Junze received a notification in his mind that the task was completed. There were a total of ten updates, which included not only the eight strangenesses that had been on top of Ku Zai but also two from the strangenesses standing nearby.


    This round alone brought him 8100 points of Different Dimension Energy. Yan Junze, feeling invigorated, checked the time on his cell phone screen.


    It was half-past eleven in the evening.


    He hurried towards Ku Zai, ¡°Ku Zai, can you still hold on?¡±


    Ku Zai looked up. This time, because no strangeness had immediately harmed him, he felt that he could make it through.


    He nodded, ¡°No problem, Brother Yan, I¡­ I can manage!¡±


    ¡°We need to change locations,¡± Xiang Er pointed to a winding path leading up the mountainside, ¡°Two hundred meters up here, there¡¯s more to harvest.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ku Zai, this time without anyone¡¯s support, stood up by himself, but his body wobbled.


    Yan Junze immediately supported him, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡±


    ¡°Brother Yan, is the ¡®Fear Value¡¯ enough?¡± Ku Zai strained to smile.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Yan Junze calculated for a moment. To rescue Ke¡¯er and her mother with enough certainty during the Great Rewind, more than eight thousand points of energy might not be sufficient.


    The main issue was the number and difficulty of Lianyi events, which were currently impossible to estimate.


    Seeing him silent, Ku Zai joked, ¡°I¡¯m still okay, I can hold on a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Good brother! I will remember you,¡± Yan Junze was immensely moved.


    The three of them followed the stone steps on the path up about two hundred meters. When they stopped, Ku Zai sat down near the steps, panting heavily.


    Though Yan Junze had supported him on the way up, he was still exhausted.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here,¡± Xiang Er said, continuing her concealment.


    Yan Junze moved sideways into the bushes and crouched beside a larger gravestone. He took out his phone again to check the time, feeling incredibly anxious inside, but appearing overly calm in front of Ku Zai and Xiang Er.


    About fifteen minutes later, six or seven strangenesses had climbed beside Ku Zai again. This round of strangenesses was evidently stronger and showed a strong possessiveness.


    A bald strangeness, who had always been completely bare, climbed onto Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder, bared its fangs with a grin, and let out a series of low growls at the other strangenesses that approached.


    Yet, other strangenesses that were almost as powerful as it continued to move closer to Ku Zai, extending their hands to embrace him.


    The weight of the strangenesses was negligible, so Ku Zai¡¯s body wasn¡¯t burdened much; his real burden was actually the psychological pressure.


    Quickly, Xiang Er appeared, and this time, besides those that ran away, six strangenesses did not leave. The bald strangeness let out a roar and lunged at Xiang Er.


    But before his body even reached her, Xiang Er grabbed the head at the forefront, and with a pop sound like a bursting watermelon, juices splattered.


    The remaining five strangenesses charged at Xiang Er, emitting harrowing roars and eerie howls.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t look anymore, instead, he lit up his phone screen again to check the time as sounds of continuous impacts and explosions reached his ears.


    It was now eleven forty-eight in the evening.


    At midnight sharp, the Space-Time Rift, though not disappearing, would enter a state of extreme decline.


    No matter what, Yan Junze needed to arrive around twelve o¡¯clock, and absolutely no later than close to twelve thirty, or else it would be questionable if the Space-Time Rift could even be used.


    He looked up, and the fighting not far away had already ended, Xiang Er being impressively efficient.


    After killing those few strangenesses, she turned around and helped the trembling Ku Zai, who was now curled up on the ground, his face as pale as paper and his forehead covered in beads of sweat the size of beans.


    Yan Junze approached, and Xiang Er looked up at him, shaking her head worriedly, ¡°We can¡¯t let him continue anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this should be enough,¡± Yan Junze had no intention of making Ku Zai go through a third round. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, a notification of task completion popped up in his mind, but it was precisely only for the six strangenesses that had fought with Xiang Er just now. Apparently, the other strangenesses had not fully transferred their obsessions onto Ku Zai, failing to form a Dimensional Energy ripple.


    This time, he received a total of 7900 points of Different Dimension Energy, which, added to the previous 8700 points, amounted to 16000 points.

 Chapter 491 - 491 346 Perilous Situations_3

    ?Chapter 491: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations_3 Chapter 491: Chapter 346 Perilous Situations_3 He had already surpassed half of the total amount of energy Yan Junze could possess.


    Although Yan Junze had been very cautious, making sure to have as much energy as possible to be more than capable during the Great Rewind, not to fail due to a lack of energy, or even risk his life in the process.


    But now it seemed, he had enough energy to give it a try, after all, he had risked and managed to kill the video blogger Cheng Jingting when he had even less energy before.


    Only now, the task of rescuing Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman obviously wasn¡¯t easy, which was why he thought of saving up a little more energy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, to the Zhulin Road intersection we saw earlier.¡±


    Yan Junze pulled Ku Zai, steadying him with Xiang Er on his other side.


    They had just walked a few steps down the stone steps when Xiang Er suddenly paused and turned around to look up the stone staircase that extended up the mountain, blending into the hazy darkness.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Junze asked. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right,¡± Xiang Er¡¯s expression turned serious, ¡°that irritating feeling from during the day, it¡¯s suddenly come back.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Yan Junze was startled and immediately said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, quick.¡±


    A chill wind blew down from the serpentine stone stairs above, brushing across their faces.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡±


    Then a creepy laughter rang out in Yan Junze¡¯s ear, and he felt the Ku Zai he was steadying suddenly become much heavier. He turned to look, his heart skipping a beat.


    On Ku Zai¡¯s back, an old woman with white hair had appeared out of nowhere, her eye sockets void of eyes, just pitch-black holes, while her lips curled up in a sinister smile.


    Ku Zai let out a pained grunt.


    Strangenesses were usually almost weightless, but the arrival of the white-haired woman was not only bizarre but also made Ku Zai nearly collapse beneath her weight.


    It should be noted that at this moment, both Yan Junze and Xiang Er were exerting their strength to support Ku Zai, or else he probably would have been flat on the ground by now.


    The next second, Xiang Er grabbed the white-haired old woman, prying her off Ku Zai¡¯s back and throwing her heavily to the ground.


    The figure of the white-haired woman suddenly shook violently, turning into a wisp of light smoke. Drifting two meters away, she landed and reformed into the appearance of the white-haired old woman.


    ¡°You two go first! I¡¯ll kill her and catch up immediately!¡± Xiang Er shouted angrily.


    As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped in front of the old woman, intercepting her as she tried to pursue Ku Zai.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate. There wasn¡¯t much time left, and from the looks of the white-haired old woman, even if Xiang Er were to kill her, it would take a lot of time.


    He couldn¡¯t wait any longer!


    Grasping both of Ku Zai¡¯s arms, he swung the man onto his back, and Yan Junze said, ¡°Ku Zai, turn on the switch for the Magnetic Shielding Clothes. We have to go first!¡±


    Ku Zai was limp all over, but he still had the strength to switch on the shielding garment. After muttering an acknowledgment, he found the switch and turned it on.


    The jacket covering them emitted a slight humming noise, but soon fell silent, quietly beginning to operate.


    Fortunately, Ku Zai himself was quite light, so Yan Junze, with him on his back, ran down the steps without stopping or looking back, only hearing strange dragging sounds behind him.


    He knew the white-haired old woman was formidable, and the fight with Xiang Er must be fierce, with even the noises they made being bizarre. In his hurry, he looked up.


    Not far above his head, a Ghost Domain was beginning to form, like dark clouds looming overhead.


    After rushing down the steps with Ku Zai on his back, Yan Junze pulled out his phone to call Qian San, ¡°Hurry and tell Qian San to get to the entrance of the cemetery as fast as possible. Make sure he floors it!¡±


    While Ku Zai was calling Qian San, Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop, panting heavily and rushing towards the entrance of Qishan Public Cemetery.


    Just as he got to the entrance, he saw car lights flicker. About a hundred meters away, a black SUV was quickly approaching.


    Ku Zai weakly waved his hand.


    Yan Junze also ran quickly towards it.


    But just at that moment, he suddenly tripped, and together with Ku Zai, they plunged forward and fell heavily to the ground, their limbs instantly numbed by the fall.


    Something wasn¡¯t right!


    Yan Junze lay on the ground, clearly feeling that there had been nothing under his feet just a moment ago, but suddenly something had reached out and tripped him.


    He looked down to see a lump of dark, sticky substance wrapped around his right ankle, seemingly still moving.


    ¡°This is¡­ black, damp earth?!¡±


    Yan Junze was suddenly startled, a clear figure flashed in his mind.


    It was that Clay Monster, the one encounter they had in the cold storage, the only one that had a brief confrontation with Xiang Er and was then forced to flee.


    The thought had barely crossed his mind when a large chunk of black clay suddenly rose up in front of him, slowly writhing and taking on a humanoid form.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡­ that clay¡­¡±


    Ku Zai was also terrified, screaming in panic, ignoring the pain from the fall, and frantically crawling towards Yan Junze.

 Chapter 492 - 492 347 Racing Against Time

    ?Chapter 492: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time Chapter 492: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time From the moment Yan Junze first took Ku Zai away from Tianmeng, he had felt that the Clay Monster might not let things go. Xiang Er had mentioned it too during that period.


    Latter, when he compared the number of strangenesses that he had eliminated and driven away against the information from the completed missions, there was indeed one missing.


    Unexpectedly, this creature was so adept at enduring, hiding until now when Xiang Er was entangled by the white-haired old woman and couldn¡¯t get away, leaving only Yan Junze to escape with Ku Zai. That¡¯s when it suddenly appeared.


    If Ku Zai had to say what he was most afraid of in his life, it was probably this being in front of him that had once burrowed into his body, casting the most terrifying shadow over him.


    Still clutching Yan Junze¡¯s phone in his hand, he quickly crawled in front of Yan Junze, trembling all over, with tears and snot streaming down his face.


    Yan Junze grabbed Ku Zai by the shoulders, steadying him.


    Ku Zai said, ¡°Brother Yan, didn¡¯t I open the shielding garment? Why can it still follow me¡­ Didn¡¯t the shielding garment work?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± Yan Junze said, grabbing him as the two of them supported each other to stand up and rapidly retreated. ¡°Its target is me!¡±


    Admittedly, this Clay Monster was different from other strangenesses that were merely occupied by obsession; it was very smart and had been enduringly following Ku Zai. It might have already been lurking nearby in the cemetery, just not showing itself.


    However, after Yan Junze carried Ku Zai and started running, Ku Zai activated the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, concealing his aura at that moment.


    The Clay Monster, which had been secretly following, became very frantic, uneasy, and angry when it suddenly lost the scent it was infatuated with, not knowing what to do for a moment.


    But a moment later, the Clay Monster thought of a solution and immediately switched its target to Yan Junze, who was usually close to Ku Zai.


    As long as Yan Junze was there, Ku Zai wouldn¡¯t be too far from it. By following this person, it was sure to find Ku Zai; the effect would be the same.


    In the Clay Monster¡¯s eyes, Ku Zai, who had activated the shielding garment, now had an unfamiliar aura, like a complete stranger. It didn¡¯t want to pay attention to, nor did it care about him anymore.


    So, at this point, Yan Junze had inadvertently become its temporary target.


    As Yan Junze and Ku Zai got up and retreated, they had fallen heavily to the ground while running, so their limbs were a bit unresponsive. The Clay Monster, having taken on a human form, quickly rolled its clay feet and caught up with the two of them.


    ¡°This won¡¯t work!¡±


    The SUV, which had stopped, was still a few dozen meters away. Yan Junze knew that with Ku Zai, he simply couldn¡¯t run fast enough to get there, so with a single thought, he activated Rewind.


    Time reversed.


    After a brief moment of dizziness, his vision cleared. He was still madly running through the graveyard with Ku Zai on his back, and it was at this moment that Ku Zai was calling Qian San, telling him to get to the cemetery gate as fast as possible.


    ¡°Tell him to turn the car around the moment he gets there, open the door, and don¡¯t turn off the engine!¡± Yan Junze added while on the run.


    After ending the call, a few minutes later, the cemetery gate was in sight.


    The familiar car lights flashed outside the gate; Qian San had arrived in the SUV at the same time as before.


    Yan Junze knew that the Clay Monster was about to catch up with him. It would wrap its clay around his right ankle just as he was about to run out of the cemetery gate, tripping him into a huge somersault.


    He remembered exactly which spot it would happen.


    As they ran out the gate, Ku Zai, lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back, suddenly felt Yan Junze leap up.


    With someone on his back, he certainly couldn¡¯t jump high, but it allowed Yan Junze to bypass the concealed obstacle and, landing solidly, rush toward the SUV with the door turned around.


    Behind them, a rustling friction sound broke out, followed by the Clay Monster¡¯s low growl. It hadn¡¯t anticipated Yan Junze suddenly jumping up at the critical moment, dodging its attempt to entangle his ankle.


    Ku Zai heard the strange noises and, in alarm, turned his head to look back, causing his entire body to shake violently, tensing up, and he began hitting Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder unconsciously: ¡°Brother Yan, that¡­ ¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Clay Monster is chasing us, I know,¡± Yan Junze panted as he nearly reached the SUV.


    Just as Qian San got out and opened the rear door of the vehicle.


    ¡°Get in, get ready to go!¡± Yan Junze shouted.


    Qian San, standing by the open door, was startled and looked back, only to see something closely trailing behind Yan Junze and Ku Zai. The scare made him shudder, and without looking closer to identify it, he rushed back to the driver¡¯s seat in a panic.


    Yan Junze, with Ku Zai on his back, lunged forward, Ku Zai quickly clinging to his back, head down, as they both dove into the back seat of the SUV.


    Without even closing the back door, Qian San floored the accelerator and the SUV¡¯s engine roared, revving up to at least five thousand RPM, speeding away.


    The Clay Monster caught up, letting out a deep roar and stretching out its clay arms, which suddenly extended several times over, leaping over five or six meters, and slapped onto the glass of the SUV¡¯s trunk with a smack.


    Immediately, it pulled its entire body together, forming into a ball, and with the pull of that clay arm, it was shot out by the forward momentum of the SUV.


    The next second, the entire ball-shaped body thumped onto the SUV¡¯s rear door.


    The intense vibration shook all three people inside the car.


    Through the rearview mirror, Qian San spotted a non-human-shaped strangeness clinging to the back of his vehicle, writhing. Terrified, he screamed and depressed the gas pedal completely, surging forward with reckless abandon.

 Chapter 493 - 493 347 Racing Against Time_2

    ?Chapter 493: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time_2 Chapter 493: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time_2 ¡°Don¡¯t panic, keep the car steady!¡± Yan Junze yelled.


    Qian San had already been so frightened that he seemed to have lost his soul, and it was unclear whether he heard Yan Junze¡¯s words or not. At this moment, the car began to shake violently.


    After wriggling for a bit, the lump of clay had moved from the position of the trunk and climbed onto the roof of the SUV, silently moving about there.


    Qian San glanced behind again and discovered that the grotesque shape of the strangeness had disappeared. Thinking it must have been thrown off the car, he let out a sigh of relief. The car gradually stabilized and no longer swayed back and forth.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Yan Junze turned his head to look at Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai shook his head, ¡°That thing¡­ how could it¡­ how could it¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s targeting me now,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Just then, a lump of clay fell with a plop from the roof, suddenly smearing across half of the windshield in front of the car.


    Within this clay, one could even see a face that flickered in and out of visibility, giving Qian San in the driver seat a fierce glare.


    Qian San, startled by this sudden occurrence, trembled all over, panicking, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out.


    At this moment, the SUV was passing a narrow path with rapid river water on both sides, when suddenly the vehicle shook violently, forming an arc before plunging into the river on the right.


    With a splash, the front of the car plunged into the water and then the whole vehicle bobbed up, slowly being carried downstream by the river.


    Time rewound.


    ¡°Watch the road ahead, I need you to focus solely on the road ahead, ignore whatever appears,¡± Yan Junze stuck his head forward from the back seat and shouted loudly.


    Qian San was startled, not understanding what he meant by that.


    A moment later, with a plop, a large lump of black clay fell from the roof onto the windshield, covering half of the passenger side¡¯s glass and replaying the earlier scene.


    Yan Junze¡¯s voice boomed again, ¡°Concentrate on driving, don¡¯t look at anything else, rush to the intersection at Zhulin Road as fast as you can.¡±


    The lump of clay that suddenly smeared across the windshield had indeed startled Qian San, but fortunately, Yan Junze had reminded him just in time. Although his body was shaking, he managed to keep the car from swaying violently.


    From the corner of his eye, he could see the dark mass, but because he had to focus on the road, this time he did not notice the vicious face within the clay.


    The SUV kept speeding along the road!


    The black clay that had smeared across the windshield gradually shrank back to the roof where it started moving again.


    ¡°Quick, speed up, as long as we make it to the intersection on Zhulin Road, we¡¯ll all be safe,¡± Yan Junze cheerfully encouraged Qian San.


    Although Qian San was very afraid, his lips turning purple with fear, he was already in too deep, and he felt a sense of reckless determination, his teeth clenched tightly as he focused his eyes on the road ahead, maneuvering through sharp turns, tapping the brakes, and drifting.


    At this moment, he finally proved himself to be an experienced and skilled driver.


    Yan Junze occasionally checked the time, it was three minutes past twelve, and the intersection at Zhulin Road was already in sight.


    Because the streetlights converged there, it looked particularly conspicuous at that moment.


    Pop!


    Another lump of clay smeared itself on the window at the driver¡¯s left side, closer to Qian San.


    Qian San flinched from fright, but quickly steadied himself. The car only swayed slightly as it charged toward the intersection.


    This lump of clay immediately reshaped into a sphere, detached from the window as if returning to the roof, but soon the sphere plummeted down from the roof.


    With a thud, the window shattered and the sphere struck Qian San¡¯s head on the left side, causing him to momentarily feel dizzy, but with instinct, he slammed on the brakes and twisted the steering wheel hard. The SUV let out a loud screeching noise as the whole vehicle swung to the left with great force, almost making a complete turnaround, the wheels emitting white smoke from the intense friction.


    Seconds later, the car finally stopped.


    They were now about thirty meters from the intersection, and the occupants of the car were nearly thrown into a daze from the abrupt halt.


    Qian San had passed out but was not in any life-threatening danger; his right foot was still firmly pressing down on the brake pedal.


    ¡°Stay in the car, don¡¯t leave,¡± Yan Junze said.


    He pulled the handbrake inside the car, threw out those words, and immediately opened the door, rushing toward the intersection beneath the streetlights. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was a sudden noise from the roof, followed by the low growl of the Clay Monster. The roof shook, and the creature, a mass of pitch-black shadow, leaped down from the vehicle in pursuit of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze ran stumblingly, his head spinning, his speed not as fast as before.


    But he knew the exact location of the Space-Time Rift and ran wildly in that direction as soon as he exited the car.


    It was now past midnight, and the rift was in a state of extreme decline. He had to get in quickly because by half-past midnight, the entire rift would disappear completely.


    The sound of the Clay Monster wriggling closer from behind was making Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingle. He couldn¡¯t turn back to look, as doing so would delay him further, but the fact that the Clay Monster was swiftly closing in on him was undeniable.


    Thirty meters is not far if one sprints with all their might. Though Yan Junze ran in a stumbling manner, he still managed to reach the streetlights.


    On the side of the road leading toward Shuntian City, below the curb on the right side, was the Space-Time Rift in its final stages of decay, invisible from the road surface.


    At that moment, plop, a lump of black clay fell on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder.


    The Clay Monster had closed in completely, stretching out a black arm, and harshly pressed down on the crown of Yan Junze¡¯s head.

 Chapter 494 - 494 347 Racing Against Time_3

    ?Chapter 494: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time_3 Chapter 494: Chapter 347: Racing Against Time_3 A murky, fearful, and irresistible aura flooded into Yan Junze¡¯s body, and his whole body suddenly went limp, thumping as he fell forward to his knees.


    Although he was unsure how effective physical blows were against the soft, squishy Clay Monster, at this critical juncture, he had to try regardless.


    Just as he was about to unleash the Black Spirit Mallet, a loud shout came from behind him: ¡°Hey! You son of a bitch! Here, I¡¯m over here!¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The grip on Yan Junze¡¯s head immediately relaxed, and the sticky arm withdrew; he instantly turned around and saw Ku Zai, who had somehow gotten out of the car and was standing in front of it, waving his arms towards their direction.


    Clearly, the Magnetic Shielding Clothes Ku Zai was wearing had been turned off.


    The Clay Monster extended its black and sticky tongue, licking its lips with an uncontainable excitement emerging, emitting a cacophonous cackle as it slithered toward Ku Zai.


    ¡°Brother Yan, hurry!¡±


    Ku Zai, spotting the Clay Monster advancing towards him, immediately shouted a warning to Yan Junze and began to back away.


    But to the Clay Monster, his retreat was practically an invitation.


    Hearing Ku Zai¡¯s warning, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, scrambling to roll off the road and tumble down the embankment in the nick of time.


    At that moment, a mission completion message suddenly popped up in his mind.


    [Special Attraction, Terrified (Low), has been completed, 1600 points of Different Dimension Energy awarded]


    ¡°This mission completion message is¡­¡±


    Yan Junze paused, then realized it must mean that Xiang Er had killed the white-haired old lady at Qishan Public Cemetery.


    He hadn¡¯t expected the white-haired old lady¡¯s mission level to have reached ¡°Terrified (Low)¡±; no wonder Xiang Er felt so irritated upon encountering her.


    Now, Yan Junze just hoped that Xiang Er was unharmed.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t expect Xiang Er to be able to come to their aid so swiftly; with Ku Zai turning off his Magnetic Shielding Clothes and luring the Clay Monster away, they were in a moment of extreme peril.


    Although not as formidable as the white-haired old lady, the Clay Monster was still quite strong, as evidenced by its brief standstill with Xiang Er before.


    To get out of this situation, it was up to Yan Junze alone, he needed to enter the Space-Time Rift as quickly as possible.


    Seeing the Clay Monster closing in on him, Ku Zai immediately pressed the activation button on his shielding garment.


    The Clay Monster was taken aback, suddenly perceiving Ku Zai as a complete stranger and, with a low growl, it changed direction, rapidly rolling back towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°Shit, this won¡¯t do!¡±


    Ku Zai didn¡¯t know how long Yan Junze would be delayed, so he couldn¡¯t allow the Clay Monster to interfere or, worse, kill him.


    Having attracted the Clay Monster himself, he couldn¡¯t let his actions draw its wrath upon others.


    With this thought in mind, Ku Zai once again turned off his Magnetic Energy Clothing. The Clay Monster abruptly stopped, inhaling the familiar scent and immediately turned around, greedily charging at Ku Zai once again.


    This time, the creature stretched out its arms, gripping Ku Zai¡¯s shoulders tightly, causing a sudden numbness in his arms that sapped his strength.


    At once, the Clay Monster brought its body closer, turning the arms grasping Ku Zai¡¯s shoulders into a mass of flowing clay, which snaked towards Ku Zai¡¯s mouth, forcing it agape.


    The Clay Monster itself transformed into a stream of dark soil, hurtling towards Ku Zai¡¯s wide-open mouth, aiming to repeat its earlier feat and force its body inside Ku Zai once more.


    Then Yan Junze¡¯s voice reached him, ¡°Ku Zai, hold on! Even if it¡¯s just for one more second!¡±


    Below the embankment.


    He had spent 1000 points to initiate [Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion].


    A message immediately flashed into his mind.


    [Space-Time Rift detected, insertion possible, initiate Butterfly Effect Stabilization simultaneously?]


    ¡°Initiate,¡± he replied.


    In the void before him, a narrow crack appeared.


    This rift was much smaller than the Space-Time Rifts Yan Junze had previously seen, with inadequate width and slender length. A misty radiance twinkled around the seams, an indication of its unstable nature.


    It was a typical Space-Time Rift in its final stage of decay.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t give it another thought; he bent down, hunched his back, and plunged headlong into the rift.

 Chapter 495 - 495 348 Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 495: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!) Chapter 495: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!) While escaping just now, the energy consumed by two brief rewinds was negligible, activating [Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion] consumed 200 points, activating [Butterfly Effect Stabilization] consumed 500 points.


    The original 16,000 points of energy, after Xiang Er extinguished the white-haired old woman, increased by 1,600 points, totaling 17,600 points.


    Now, after entering the greatly weakened space-time rift, there are approximately 16,900 points of energy available for use.


    The scenery in front of his eyes changed, Yan Junze, who had just been hurrying beneath the earthen ridge, now stood suspended in that familiar yet eerily silent expanse of stars.


    Before long, a timeline appeared in front of him, prompting Yan Junze to manipulate the scale and return to the desired point in time.


    However, as with his first foray into the space-time rift, he needed to kill Cheng Jingting, but he did not know the exact location or the precise time schedule of the Corpse Refining.


    After a brief pause, an idea rose in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, ¡°I want to describe the event, and have the Atlas automatically locate the coordinates and time.¡±


    The next second, a row of text emerged in his mind.


    [Please provide a detailed description to better locate with the Atlas.]


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze said inwardly, ¡°I¡¯m looking for two strangenesses, a mother and daughter. The mother is called the Back-faced Woman, and the daughter¡¯s name is Ke¡¯er. The last time I saw the two women through perspective sharing was over a month ago, they seemed to be in a clinic, or perhaps a hospital, and afterwards many people rushed into the room. I want to locate that moment, that place.¡±


    Following a brief pause, the text that popped up in his mind left Yan Junze somewhat disappointed.


    [Insufficient information provided, unable to locate precisely.]


    He wanted to return to that point in time because Yan Junze felt that it was only then there was a chance to save Ke¡¯er and her mother.


    Although he later saw the mother and daughter several times through perspective sharing, by that time they were clearly under control. If he recklessly located himself in that period of time and space, there was a great likelihood he would also be subjected to the confines of the mysterious metal cage and the room brimming with terrestrial fire.


    In the end, not only would he fail to save the mother and daughter, but he himself would be in danger.


    To go back, he needed a safe time and place. Having made his choice, the only place he could clearly describe before that was this particular location.


    But now the Atlas indicated that the information he provided was insufficient to locate the position precisely.


    Yan Junze thought for a while before an idea surfaced in his mind again, ¡°I can provide a few reference locations for the Atlas to search and locate. The conditions, time, and situation I described just now remain unchanged. These locations are Mata Town in Yannan District, Zhen City in Luoxia District, Gokri City in Aries District and Grange in Shouzheng District, all in Huaying Great Capital.¡±


    [Relocating, please wait¡­] S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Analyzing¡­]


    As soon as the words ¡°Analyzing¡± appeared, Yan Junze immediately felt a surge of excitement. If the analysis had started, then there was hope.


    After a moment, another prompt appeared.


    [Analysis complete, locating¡­]


    [Location Successful. This Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 4,200 points of Different Dimension Energy. Would you like to enter now?]


    They had successfully located the position!


    Yan Junze immediately thought, ¡°Enter.¡±


    An intense feeling of dizziness overwhelmed him, his feet left the ground, and he began to fall rapidly, but the sensation did not last long. Soon, his feet hit the ground, his body steadied, and he opened his eyes.


    Looking around, he discovered he was in a hospital room with four beds.


    It was still daytime, but the sky outside the window was overcast, with poor weather.


    Yan Junze walked to the window and looked down. He could see the street below, but it was deserted, strewn with garbage, the doorway of the shop across the street piled with dust.


    A gust of wind sent the dust flying in all directions.


    Some of the shop doors had been damaged, but judging by their appearance, it must have happened a long time ago.


    Yan Junze turned back, looked at the beds in the hospital room.


    Of the four beds, three were empty. On one lay a person in a hospital gown, but it seemed they had long since died, with skin turned to a dry, waxy yellow, no longer emitting an odor.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t examine the body closely; since the Atlas had located him here, he knew that Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman must be nearby, not far away.


    He turned and left the hospital room, finding himself in a hallway. Certainly, this was an abandoned hospital, and he was on the third floor.


    Glancing down the floors, he immediately saw over a dozen men dressed in brown attire swiftly enter the first floor, searching room by room, with two guarding the staircase, likely soon to come upstairs.


    These people moved silently, their footsteps seemingly cushioned by sponge, clearly purposeful in their search.


    ¡°Not good, these guys are already here!¡±


    Yan Junze vividly remembered the figures he had glimpsed in the shared perspective before: these men were dressed in brown, a uniform attire with tightenable cuffs and ankles and multiple pockets on the sides, wearing dark brown tactical vests on the outside, each carrying a metal stick the size of a baton in their hands.


    The man at the back didn¡¯t carry anything, but had a pistol at his waist.


    This pistol had a unique design, with a circular muzzle similar to a trumpet, but the body was entirely golden yellow, clearly made from some special metal material.

 Chapter 496 - 496 348 Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 496: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!)_2 Chapter 496: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!)_2 All the people had their heads covered with hoods, only revealing their eyes, none exposing their faces.


    Yan Junze stood at the corner of the third floor, positioned above and behind these people, so they hadn¡¯t noticed his presence yet.


    The man with a gun holstered at his side approached the stairwell entrance and whispered with the two people guarding there. It was inaudible, but he seemed to be making arrangements.


    Before long, the gun-holstered man raised his head, turned around, and was about to look in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    Yan Junze immediately withdrew his body, left the railing of the hallway, and hugged the wall to check both sides. To the right outside the sickroom, one door was open, while the one on the left was closed tight.


    Listening carefully, faint sounds came from the room with the open door.


    Recalling the environment of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s room he had seen through shared vision last time, Yan Junze quickly moved along the wall towards the open door.


    He didn¡¯t go in right away but poked his head inside for a look.


    White short sleeves and shorts, a frail figure, bruised skin, the Back-faced Woman was standing in front of a row of medicine cabinets, facing the door.


    That is to say, at this moment, her head turned away was examining the medicine bottles inside the cabinet.


    ¡°Back-faced Woman?¡± Yan Junze walked in and called out softly.


    The Back-faced Woman silently turned around, her back facing him, with her face hidden beneath thick hair now facing Yan Junze, finally seeing the person at the door.


    Clearly surprised and abrupt, she reached out to Yan Junze, who walked over and took her cold hand.


    ¡°Ke¡­ Ke¡­¡± the Back-faced Woman began, her voice unsteady.


    In the room to the right, a rapid scurrying sound arose, and moments later, the familiar figure in a red dress with messy hair¨Cthe little one from next door, Ke¡¯er¨Ccrawled towards the doorway, looking up.


    The moment her gaze met Yan Junze¡¯s, Ke¡¯er¡¯s form visibly jolted, tilting her head and widening her eyes, trying to ascertain if the person before her was indeed him.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Ke¡¯er!¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a joyous laugh that welled up from the bottom of his heart, spontaneous, beyond his control at the moment¡ªhis heart brimming with indescribable happiness.


    The next second, Ke¡¯er finally reacted, her little face blooming like a flower, legs springing, ¡°bam!¡± she leaped from the doorway straight into Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    Yan Junze quickly caught her, euphorically holding Ke¡¯er close, her grubby hair rubbing against his face, full of affection.


    While hugging and rubbing against Yan Junze¡¯s cheek, Ke¡¯er let out a dreamy murmur: ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Yan Junze knew well that at this time, ¡°ya¡± was not a sound of anger or rage; Ke¡¯er also said ¡°ya¡± when happy, just in a tone and cadence wholly different from that of angry ¡°ya.¡±


    Holding Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze felt an overwhelming sense of bliss.


    However, after no more than a dozen seconds, he forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart, turned his head to the Back-faced Woman, and said, ¡°This is not a good place to linger. Some masked people have come downstairs, and they seem to mean you harm.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman was taken aback.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°They¡¯re well-prepared. We need to leave this place first.¡±


    Ke¡¯er, who had heard his words, suddenly leaped from his arms to the ground, scampered into the neighboring room, and quickly returned clutching something in her hands.


    Yan Junze looked down to see a heart, the same one he had seen Ke¡¯er holding in his shared vision.


    In the quiet room, the heart¡¯s thumping could be heard, rhythmically beating, quite peculiar.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time left, we need to get out of here!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to inquire about the origin of the heart or why Ke¡¯er insisted on holding it. He bent down again, picked up Ke¡¯er, and said to the Back-faced Woman, ¡°They will probably search the second floor soon. We can¡¯t go down directly.¡±


    He paused and then pointed upward, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the rooftop.¡±


    With the current situation, Yan Junze had many questions, but time was pressing. If the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were caught, they would face the annihilation he had foreseen.


    So, even though Yan Junze wanted to know the reasons, he had to take care of the immediate crisis first.


    The person and two strangenesses quickly left the room. Yan Junze instructed the Back-faced Woman to follow along the wall with him quietly to avoid making noise.


    The Back-faced Woman naturally made no sound when she walked. Ke¡¯er¡¯s crawling was noisy, but with Yan Junze holding her, the concern now was his own footsteps.


    As they moved, Yan Junze whispered to the Back-faced Woman, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later why I am here, but in a moment, another me will activate the Semi-Spirit Body. You will definitely sense it then. Just remember, when you share vision with him, don¡¯t let him see me, but do let him see the danger you are currently in.¡±


    Worried the Back-faced Woman might not understand, Yan Junze added, ¡°I have an ability that allows me to appear in two places at once. The current me is trying to save you, but the other me isn¡¯t aware. Just don¡¯t let him know I exist. However, you must let him see those people in brown uniforms.¡±


    Though the Back-faced Woman¡¯s throat was severely damaged, it wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t speak; it was hard to produce a complete voice.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, she visibly showed shock and indeed seemed puzzled, but there was no time for questions now.

 Chapter 497 - 497 348 Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 497: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!)_3 Chapter 497: Chapter 348: Rescuing Mother and Daughter (Part One) (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Passes!)_3 Yan Junze gave these instructions to the Back-faced Woman after deep consideration, first and foremost, he needed to inform his parallel self from the same timeline of the danger the mother and daughter were facing. This was vital to create the conditions for his return.


    Furthermore, not allowing his other self to see him was to prevent causing mental shock and confusion, which might lead to unplanned and unprepared actions.


    Since his return, the entire timeline had been altered, and once he returned for good, as long as the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± did its job, even with the changed timeline, everything would wrap up smoothly with minimal impact.


    Yan Junze had no doubt about this.


    A few moments after he finished speaking, as Yan Junze was about to climb the stairs, he felt the Back-faced Woman pause behind him. He turned around to see her slowing down, seemingly distracted.


    This was clearly the response of his self in the same space-time, specifically the Yan Junze who had encountered Ku Zai in the cold storage that day, just as he activated his Semi-Spirit Body.


    Although the Back-faced Woman sensed something, she still followed Yan Junze¡¯s instructions and did not immediately share her vision with the Yan Junze in the cold storage, keeping the latter oblivious to the current situation.


    ¡°You can take a look at those in the brown uniforms, so the scene is received by the other me,¡± Yan Junze whispered.


    The Back-faced Woman moved closer to the corridor, glanced down, and then retracted her gaze.


    One man and two strangenesses didn¡¯t go downstairs but climbed the stairs towards the rooftop.


    They quickly reached the rooftop; the building was only five stories high, and the rooftop door wasn¡¯t locked, so it opened with a push.


    Yan Junze, holding Ke¡¯er, followed closely by the Back-faced Woman.


    Next to the hospital building, the closest structure was more than thirty meters away, an impossible distance for ordinary people to cross from here.


    However, it was fortunate that neither the Back-faced Woman nor Ke¡¯er were human.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er, quickly go and hug your mother!¡± Yan Junze pointed to the opposing building, ¡°Directly fly across to the rooftop over there, then flee. Don¡¯t linger here anymore, the farther you escape, the better. Head to Tianmeng District in Shuntian City, that¡¯s near our FH Community, and we¡¯ll meet up there.¡±


    From this position, one could see the abandoned sign atop the shorter building on the other side which read ¡°Zhen City Seventh District Department Store.¡±


    This confirmed that the location of Ke¡¯er and her mother was indeed in Luoxia District, the outermost city of Great Capital in Huaying.


    But by the time they were captured and annihilated by fire, they probably wouldn¡¯t be in Zhen City anymore.


    Ke¡¯er clambered reluctantly onto her mother¡¯s back, looking at Yan Junze, while the Back-faced Woman also reached out her hand, her voice hoarse, ¡°Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°Go! Don¡¯t worry about me, they can¡¯t catch me,¡± Yan Junze urged. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As long as the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were saved, and the Great Rewind mission accomplished, he could leave immediately notwithstanding the strength of the mysterious people ¡ª they would have no chance of capturing him.


    The Back-faced Woman, carrying Ke¡¯er, leapt off, and while still in the air, their bodies became light and floated like a breeze towards the opposing rooftop.


    However, at that very moment, from some window of the hospital building below, a light, snapping sound emitted.


    A burst of invisible, transparent light shot out rapidly, intercepting the mother and daughter as they drifted towards the opposite rooftop, engulfing them completely mid-air.


    Visibly, the moment the transparent light trapped its targets, it immediately compressed inward, rendering the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er completely immobilized.


    Upon being ensnared, the Back-faced Woman instinctively raised her messy long hair on end, spreading it out as if to pierce through the gaseous sphere,


    but each hair strand was solidified by the compression within the gas, motionless, suspended in the air.


    ¡°Catch it!¡±


    A voice in American English emanated simultaneously from the lower floors.


    Yan Junze jolted, a thought arising.


    The people in brown uniforms inside the building weren¡¯t from Great Capital of Huaying, but rather from USA.


    No wonder they all wore masks, revealing only their eyes.


    Clearly his plan had failed; they couldn¡¯t escape across the rooftop because in mid-air, the mother and daughter were too conspicuous a target.


    Time rewind.


    One man and two strangenesses stood on the rooftop.


    Yan Junze looked at the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, frowning deeply.


    He believed that if those people could track them here, even if the mother and daughter used their abilities to hide, they would still be discovered by them.


    It was certain that the rooftop path was not an option anymore.


    Yan Junze quickly walked to the other side of the rooftop and peered down.


    ¡°This way, climb down directly along the wall, avoiding the windows,¡± he said.


    He added one more thing, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t float.¡±

 Chapter 498 - 498 349 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 498: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2) Chapter 498: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2) Yan Junze spoke rapidly, but the Back-faced Woman still heard him clearly.


    Without any other indication, Ke¡¯er held the slightly beating heart in one hand while her other hand wrapped around the Back-faced Woman¡¯s neck.


    Following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, the mother and daughter duo climbed down the outer wall close to the alleyway.


    This wall also had windows of the hospital building. Fearing a recurrence of what had happened before, with someone watching from the windows, Yan Junze specifically instructed the Back-faced Woman to avoid the windows while climbing down.


    After the duo had descended, he stuck out his head and watched the entire process attentively.


    The strength of the Back-faced Woman was already formidable; she could easily land lightly even if she jumped down, not to mention climbing like this.


    For her, it was no different from child¡¯s play, with swift movements she quickly reached the first floor using her hands and feet.


    Touching the ground with her feet, she immediately walked towards the outside of the alley. During this process, Yan Junze saw her figure starting to fade, ready to disappear and run away.


    In fact, the so-called disappearance was just one of the strangenesses¡¯s methods of hiding themselves, which is simply not being seen by anyone, as it¡¯s impossible to vanish without a trace. Of course, more powerful strangenesses virtually disappear through a method akin to Teleport.


    And some powerful Exorcists or individuals with special methods can still see them.


    Like Ku Zai with their special physique.


    In the eyes of Ku Zai, so far, there hasn¡¯t been a strangeness that they haven¡¯t been able to see.


    If the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er could vanish perfectly, then at least there was a fifty percent chance of escape.


    Just as the nearly translucent Back-faced Woman was about to turn the corner at the alley¡¯s entrance, suddenly, two men in brown uniforms appeared, blocking her path, one on the left and one on the right.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze tightened, staring intently at the two Brown-clothed People who didn¡¯t seem like Exorcists.


    If they were ordinary people, considering the Back-faced Woman¡¯s attack power and speed, these two being so close to her would be akin to courting death.


    But since they dared to show up this way, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe these two were simply looking to die; they likely had some kind of reliance.


    Indeed, the two people¡¯s sudden appearance so close to her had angered the Back-faced Woman. Holding Ke¡¯er in her arms, her speed was like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, she had reached them, her hands stretched out to grab their necks. But suddenly, her body shuddered.


    The Back-faced Woman, along with Ke¡¯er, was repelled by an overpowering force. The two men each held one of those baton-like weapons Yan Junze had seen before, with the tips emitting pale golden light. Converging into one, the light forcefully repelled the Back-faced Woman.


    ¡°Yaaaah¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er let out a roar, her hair intertwining instantly with her mother¡¯s, forming multiple powerful strands of black hair.


    The Back-faced Woman violently shook her head, and her hairs burst out, sharp as spikes, shooting towards the two men.


    The two men obviously panicked, exchanged a glance, and gripped their ¡°batons¡± without backing down. Using the golden light emitted from their tips they temporarily fended off the assault by the hairs.


    A stalemate ensued, with the hard and sharp hairs held in the air by the golden light, scarcely moving forward.


    Yet they still slowly progressed towards the two men.


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted as he fretted inwardly, ¡°What the hell are these two sticks?¡±


    Seconds later, behind the Back-faced Woman, inside the alley near the hospital building¡¯s windows, three figures in brown uniforms with hoods quickly jumped out of a window.


    The three men quickly approached, each drawing the same kind of ¡°baton¡± and directing golden light at the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    The mother and daughter trembled violently, their projected hair quickly retracting. The two men who were struggling suddenly saw their reinforcements and, seizing the opportunity, pressed their advantage against the mother and daughter.


    The golden light swiftly closed in, forming a circle of containment, and the Back-faced Woman inside began to falter, her body starting to curl.


    Ke¡¯er clung tightly to her mother, unable to even raise her head, equally subdued.


    Time rewound.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t choose to be back on the rooftop. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It looked like no matter which direction they¡¯d attempt to escape, they would eventually be caught.


    A net of heaven and earth!


    Those from the USA, the Brown-clothed People, had evidently made meticulous preparations before entering the hospital. They had already formed a net around it, making the mother and daughter¡¯s escape extremely difficult.


    Standing at the stairwell leading to the rooftop, he did not continue upward.


    Holding Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze quietly said to the Back-faced Woman, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the room we were in just now.¡±


    The one man and two strangenesses then stealthily returned to the room, closing the door behind them and locking it.


    Yan Junze put down Ke¡¯er, noting she still clutched the heart tightly, and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where did this heart come from? Whose is it?¡±


    The fact that the heart was still beating even after being removed from a body indicated that its owner must be powerful; perhaps it was a strangeness as well.


    At the very least, it wouldn¡¯t belong to an ordinary person.


    Ke¡¯er, holding the heart, shook her head, seemingly unsure of what to say, or perhaps unwilling to speak.


    After shaking her head, she glanced at her mother and then opened her mouth wide, her lips nearly tearing apart, and shoved the heart into her mouth. Her throat bulged as the eye could see the heart sliding down and then brutally swallowed into her stomach.

 Chapter 499 - 499 349 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 499: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2)_2 Chapter 499: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2)_2 Ke¡¯er patted her belly and let out a satisfied burp.


    This action, though terrifying, was also kind of cute, making Yan Junze smile wryly.


    Looking at the Back-faced Woman, ¡°Also, when I came in, what medicine were you looking for? You¡¯re a strangeness, even if you¡¯re wounded, do you need to use medicine?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman, like Ke¡¯er, didn¡¯t immediately reply, just shook her head and glanced at Ke¡¯er.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that for now, we¡¯ll talk about it later. I have a plan now to kill a few of these guys, then we¡¯ll take the opportunity to escape,¡± Yan Junze said, as he pushed the medicine cabinet behind the door but didn¡¯t block it completely.


    Turning back to the Back-faced Woman, ¡°They should be searching the third floor any minute now, so you and Ke¡¯er need to be extra careful. These people have a weapon that emits a golden glow to suppress the strangeness field. Later they will split up and search each room one by one, most likely in pairs. As soon as at least two people enter the room, we need to control them immediately¡­¡±


    Because in the previous rewind, Yan Junze had seen the Brown-clothed People dealing with the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, he knew that if two people entered the room at the same time, it would be very difficult for the Back-faced Woman to catch them by surprise and control both. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he explained, he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, they¡¯re friends, no need to be nervous,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°This is Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, this is the Back-faced Woman. Ke¡¯er, you know both of them. The Back-faced Woman is Ke¡¯er¡¯s mom, they¡¯re all family.¡±


    The first sentence was mainly addressed to Zhenzhen and the Crawler, as upon their release, although they were somewhat surprised and pleased to see Ke¡¯er, the sudden presence of the Back-faced Woman in the same room, and the pressure of her power made them alert and defensive.


    If Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak up to reassure them, it¡¯s possible they would have started a fight with the Back-faced Woman there and then.


    Normally, when Yan Junze released them, it was because they were needed for something, and more often than not, it was for a fight.


    This was something that both Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster had grown accustomed to.


    Whether they could win or not was another question, but Zhenzhen would definitely not back down, nor would the Crawler Monster, who might have been mentally handicapped in life but was unquestionably loyal in protecting his master. He would not retreat either.


    So, the Crawler Monster trembled but still positioned itself in front of Yan Junze.


    Zhenzhen wasn¡¯t trembling, but she too had a degree of fear for the Back-faced Woman, even though her current strength allowed her to confront the Back-faced Woman alone.


    Of course, the outcome was obvious.


    ¡°Since Ke¡¯er left last time, her mother hadn¡¯t met you guys, so get to know each other quickly,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°And our enemies will be the Brown-clothed People who will be coming to search the room later. Now, everyone follow my arrangements¡­¡±


    After a round of planning, the medicine room became quiet.


    The room¡¯s furnishings were simple, a row of medicine cabinets, a desk and chair, a temporary examination bed, and a rolling screen.


    The room was filled with a strong smell of medicines, but after staying for a while, you couldn¡¯t smell anything anymore.


    Yan Junze hid himself behind the medicine cabinet.


    The Crawler Monster climbed up to the ceiling and hung upside down right above the door, motionless.


    Ke¡¯er and Long-tongued Zhenzhen stood with their backs against the wall facing the door.


    The Back-faced Woman stood behind the screen, which was placed to the left as one entered the room, almost parallel to the doorway, and also subtly facing the direction of the door.


    The room quickly became quiet, no one spoke again, and there were no sounds of breathing, except for Yan Junze¡¯s own.


    The Back-faced Woman, hidden behind the screen, felt that Yan Junze, in the same space-time, was always in his Semi-Spirit Body, but she wasn¡¯t sharing her perspective with that Yan Junze.


    As per Yan Junze¡¯s previous instructions in this room, aside from intentionally glimpsing the Brown-clothed People downstairs through shared perspective in the hallway, she kept the perspective-sharing turned off.


    By now, the other Yan Junze had seen the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er in what appeared to be a hospital room.


    Several minutes later, light footsteps came from outside the corridor; the Brown-clothed People, in pairs, began their search on the third floor.


    Yan Junze remembered that when he was sharing a perspective with the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er had brought that heart right up to his face for him to see. During this process, there were unavoidably noises made in this room.


    Then a group of Brown-clothed People burst into the medicine room, suggesting that they had heard the noises coming from here and didn¡¯t bother searching other rooms but came straight to this place.


    Now, not a single sound came from this medicine room, and according to the deployment of the Brown-clothed People¡¯s leader, they still methodically searched every room.


    In reality, based on Yan Junze¡¯s speculation, these people, geared with advanced equipment, looked formidable and were likely able to deduce through some device that the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were still in this building.


    Why they couldn¡¯t accurately pinpoint the exact location of the mother and daughter might have something to do with the precision of their locating devices. Like the Spirit Detectors in the hands of Exorcists, they could only determine the presence of strangeness within a certain range.


    Perhaps the mother and daughter moving through multiple rooms in the building resulted in an unstable Spirit Exploration Flavor.


    Soon, the footsteps of two people approached and stopped outside the door.


    Yan Junze immediately held his breath and pricked up his ears to the activity outside.


    There were indeed two sets of footsteps outside the door, and neither person spoke, possibly listening for any sounds from inside.

 Chapter 500 - 500 349 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 500: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2)_3 Chapter 500: Chapter 349: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 2)_3 Inside and outside the door, in this moment, there was a silence as of death.


    Suddenly, the doorknob turned from the outside, the door opened, and two Brown-clothed People didn¡¯t enter one after the other but sidled in simultaneously.


    As soon as they stepped in, both of them froze. Directly opposite the now-open door stood Zhenzhen and Ke¡¯er, two strangenesses.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s legs sprang into action, pouncing towards one of the Brown-clothed People, while Zhenzhen¡¯s mouth opened wide, her strong and forceful tongue shooting out and aimed at the other one.


    Both Brown-clothed People were clutching those metal sticks in their hands, instantly activating the golden glow. The light covered them, rapidly solidifying Ke¡¯er in mid-air, followed by the tongue lashing out from Zhenzhen gradually being immobilized.


    The scene was very similar to the last time Yan Junze rewound, when the Back-faced Woman¡¯s long hair was caught in a standoff with the golden light after stabbing out.


    The difference was that the Back-faced Woman used her hair, while Zhenzhen used her own long tongue.


    Seeing that they had temporarily controlled the two strangenesses, the two Brown-clothed People were about to call out for their companions.


    At that moment, one of the Brown-clothed People suddenly exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Huh? That¡¯s not right! Why is this woman attacking me with her tongue, and not her hair?¡±


    As soon as his words fell, he finally realized something at that moment, his pupils dilating dramatically as his gaze fixed upon the controlled Zhenzhen, confirming his suspicion.


    At the same time that he confirmed his guess, the Brown-clothed Man felt a tightness around his neck, swiftly ensnared by the soft bifurcated tongue of the Crawler Monster that had been hanging from the ceiling. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The attack method of the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue was the exact opposite of Zhenzhen¡¯s¡ªextremely flexible and agile, instantly tightening around the Brown-clothed Man¡¯s neck so solidly that his eyes bulged out, his mouth opened, and his tongue nearly squeezed forth.


    The other Brown-clothed Person was terrified, his hand trembling, nearly losing control of the golden glow shooting from the metal stick, lips parting as he was about to shout for help.


    From behind the screen beside him, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s long hair shot straight through, swishing past and piercing through the necks of both men from the side unexpectedly, and from the punctured skin, countless stiff hairs sprouted, skewering the necks of the two Brown-clothed People like a candied haw.


    In the process, they were never able to notify their searching companions.


    In the instant she killed the two Brown-clothed People, the Back-faced Woman again cut off the shared vision with her Semi-Spirit Body, of course, this was done per Yan Junze¡¯s instructions.


    By now, it could be confirmed that Yan Junze, who was still in Ku Zai¡¯s cold storage, would finally feel uneasy about the fate of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    Of course, mere unease was not enough to provide sufficient motivation for Yan Junze at this time to initiate the Great Rewind in the future to save the mother and daughter.


    In fact, Yan Junze standing here now proved that his future self would definitely come to save Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman.


    He suspected the reasons behind it, but only when that moment truly came would Yan Junze dare to be certain.


    By now, the Crawler Monster had retracted its forked tongue and was climbing down the wall to the room¡¯s doorway, gently closing the door.


    Yan Junze wriggled out from under the medicine cabinet, muttering to himself, ¡°Three times, finally done.¡±


    Naturally, no one understood what he said.


    The Back-faced Woman gathered her hair, slowly lowering the two corpses to the ground.


    Yan Junze walked over, looking down at the metal sticks still clutched in their hands.


    He shook his head, mainly because he didn¡¯t belong to the current space-time, and had to go back anyway. However, during the process of returning through the Space-Time Rift, it seemed that some things not belonging to that time-space couldn¡¯t be taken along, whereas certain very special items were exceptions.


    Even if he wanted to take a metal stick back for research, he was now powerless to do so.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clean up here quickly,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°And Back-faced Woman, have you decided? It¡¯s safe for now, but with these two dead here, they¡¯ll soon be discovered.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman fell silent.


    Outside in the corridor on the third floor.


    Two Brown-clothed People, one tall and one short, walked out of the room next to the medicine room, chatting as they passed the closed door of the medicine room.


    ¡°Has this room been searched?¡± asked the taller one in USA English.


    The shorter Brown-clothed Person stopped, standing in front of the door, and shook his head, ¡°The boss ordered us to open all the searched areas, this door is closed, so it probably hasn¡¯t been searched.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡± The taller one turned back, holding a metal stick in one hand while grabbing the doorknob with the other, jerking it fiercely.


    The two peered in the moment the door swung open.


    Just then, a Brown-clothed Person happened to walk out from inside the medicine room, almost bumping into the two.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s someone in there.¡± The taller one jumped in surprise, asking, ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± replied the Brown-clothed Person, looking up and then turning back to urge the room, ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    The tall and short Brown-clothed People nodded without suspicion and continued down the hallway to the next room.


    The Brown-clothed Person at the medicine room¡¯s doorway waited for them to leave before stepping out, deliberately leaving the door open, then headed slowly towards the staircase.


    Inside the medicine room, hidden in the corner under the large medicine cabinet, two bodies were laid flat, one corpse intact, and the other stripped of its brown uniform, clad only in underwear.

 Chapter 501 - 501 350 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 501: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3) Chapter 501: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3) In his previous life, Yan Junze had been fluent in English, and in this life, the difference between American English and English wasn¡¯t significant; the pronunciation was almost the same.


    When he was studying at school, he almost always scored full marks in the American English course.


    Facing these people in conversation, there were no barriers, and since the things he said were brief, the other party couldn¡¯t pick up on anything unusual.


    In the entire pharmacy, only he walked out; two bodies were placed in the corner behind the wall of medicine cabinets, where the brown-clothed people would not discover them for the time being. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As for Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, they had been retracted by Yan Junze into the nodes of the Atlas; the twelfth node in the Atlas now contained a new miniature.


    The figure in this miniature was the Back-faced Woman holding Ke¡¯er.


    While in the room, Yan Junze had persuaded her, allowing him to subdue the mother and daughter pair, the Back-faced Woman, and Ke¡¯er.


    Actually, Ke¡¯er was not difficult to deal with, but the Back-faced Woman¡¯s independent will was strong; she was unwilling to be controlled, which was why she took Ke¡¯er and left initially.


    Today, if not for the dire circumstances, she would not have agreed to let Yan Junze enforce the Lockdown on her and Ke¡¯er.


    Of course, in this spacetime Yan Junze had locked them down, but if they left this spacetime, although the connection of the Lockdown still existed, he couldn¡¯t take the mother and daughter with him; they could only stay in this spacetime.


    Having two identical selves appear in the same spacetime could only happen during the period Yan Junze performed the ¡°Great Rewind¡±; exceeding this period, it also wouldn¡¯t happen and would be corrected by the Butterfly Effect Stabilization. Otherwise, the whole spacetime would have been thrown into chaos long ago.


    Now that the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were in the Spacetime Atlas, no amount of searching by the brown-clothed people would reveal them; as long as Yan Junze could successfully leave this place and release the mother and daughter, his mission would be accomplished.


    Yan Junze, now donning a brown uniform, approached the staircase on the third floor, walking steadily, without hesitation, shrinking, or betraying any trace of fear.


    Truth be told, the two men who were killed were robust and taller than him; Yan Junze had chosen the body of the slightly leaner one.


    However, the uniform was still a bit too big on him; he emulated the others, tucking the shirt hem entirely into the trousers and tightening the shirt sleeves and trouser legs, to ensure that at first glance, no one would notice the poor fit.


    The boots were too loose, causing him to lift his feet a bit higher while walking, then place them down carefully, to avoid making any loud dragging sounds.


    Until he reached the third-floor staircase, the other brown-clothed people searching there hadn¡¯t detected anything unusual.


    Yan Junze stood at the staircase for a moment, looking back, then went downstairs.


    On the second floor, a brown-clothed person, also with a hood, happened to be walking from the corridor of the second floor to the first, about three meters ahead of Yan Junze.


    The man glanced back and didn¡¯t greet him; Yan Junze too hoped he wouldn¡¯t engage in conversation with him, as it would increase the chances of blowing his cover.


    Soon turning the corner of the staircase, he arrived on the first floor.


    Yan Junze casually glanced to the right; turning right was the direction of the hospital¡¯s main entrance.


    The building was constructed along the street, and just outside the hospital¡¯s main entrance was the sidewalk.


    If he could exit, there was a fifty percent chance of escaping. Then he¡¯d find a secluded place to release Ke¡¯er and her mother, urging them to hurry away while he made it back to the Space-Time Rift. The task would be complete.


    After descending, still, no one paid him any mind. Although there were a few brown-clothed people moving on the first floor, clearly none of them were paying attention to him.


    Yan Junze turned right without drawing attention, swinging his arms naturally and walking stably towards the hospital¡¯s main entrance.


    As he was about to approach the entrance, a tall figure in brown clothing unexpectedly turned the corner from the street-facing side of the door. He was a strapping individual, broad and sturdy, with a nearly finished cigarette in hand, blowing smoke rings.


    He had his back against the doorframe, facing the street, and had just turned to the inside of the door, which allowed Yan Junze to notice someone was there.


    The muscular brown-clothed man caught sight of Yan Junze approaching, discarded his cigarette butt, crushed it underfoot, and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    Yan Junze pointed upstairs, ¡°When I was searching the third floor just now, something fell out of the window onto the street. I came down to check what it was.¡±


    The muscular brown-clothed man paused, seemingly pondering, and then suddenly asked, ¡°Your code?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, replying, ¡°I will just check it out and come back in.¡±


    ¡°Code?¡± The man, who had been holding a metal rod, now clearly harbored suspicions, and flipped the rod into his waistband, freeing his hands.


    Should he confront Yan Junze, the strength of his body was no joke; probably only Zhou Dali could match him.


    Yan Junze was well aware that since the other party had suspicions, not only could he not rush out, but if the man shouted, he would be exposed on the spot.


    Rewind!


    Time returned to the moment he had just reached the second floor.


    About three meters ahead, the brown-clothed person who was also descending looked back at him, said nothing, and was about to continue walking when Yan Junze suddenly asked, ¡°Your code?¡±


    The man was startled, not expecting Yan Junze to ask this out of the blue; he became irritated but still said, ¡°Enke 3023, what¡¯s your code?¡±

 Chapter 502 - 502 350 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 502: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3)_2 Chapter 502: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3)_2 He wasn¡¯t feeling great and naturally wanted to throw the question right back at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze paused thoughtfully before replying, ¡°Enke 3018.¡±


    The man turned around, looking at him with surprise, ¡°Weren¡¯t you on the first floor just now?¡±


    ¡°Came up to help,¡± Junze answered coolly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right,¡± the man said skeptically, shaking his head, ¡°The boss had you stationed on the first floor, you shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Rewind!


    Junze stood at the corner on the second floor, watching the guy called ¡°Enke 3023¡± head downstairs. He didn¡¯t immediately follow, nor did he deliberately ask any more questions.


    After descending the stairs and turning right, ready to leave, a familiar scene unfolded once again.


    The burly man in brown clothing came around the corner, puffing smoke rings, and Junze moved closer.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°When we were searching the third floor just now, something fell out of the window onto the street. I came down to check what it was,¡± he explained.


    ¡°Your code?¡±


    ¡°Enke 3023.¡±


    The sturdy man in brown considered for a moment; it seemed that those with codes higher than his were indeed responsible for searching upstairs when the boss had been assigning tasks.


    ¡°What fell down?¡± he asked, still not reassured.


    ¡°It should belong to one of those two strangenesses we are tracking,¡± Junze deliberately furrowed his brow and shook his head, ¡°but I can¡¯t be certain, so I need to go out and check to avoid missing any important clues.¡±


    The robust man in brown nodded, seemingly convinced, yet he still leaned against the doorframe, suddenly looking up and asking in the direction of the other side of the doorframe, ¡°Boss, should we let him go out?¡±


    Junze was startled and looked towards the robust man¡¯s opposite side.


    From that direction, another Brown-clothed Man with his back to the wall turned around. He wore an oddly-shaped metal pistol on his waist, none other than the leader Junze had seen on the third floor earlier.


    He never would have imagined this guy would be guarding the door.


    After turning around, the leader did not speak immediately but stared at Junze¡¯s eyes peeking out of the hood.


    Junze couldn¡¯t keep looking at him; he lowered his head slightly and greeted, ¡°Boss.¡±


    ¡°Where did the thing that fell down land? I¡¯ll go check it out with you,¡± the leader said, apparently still not quite trusting Junze, pulling the pistol from his waist and holding it in his hand.


    Junze was at a loss for words.


    This man was clearly on guard, and if he didn¡¯t see anything after going out with Junze, he would definitely make things difficult for him.


    The power of that pistol could be guessed, but even if Junze could subdue the other man quickly, he had to consider how much noise it would cause.


    It simply wasn¡¯t worth it.


    Dammit, he couldn¡¯t go through the main entrance; this area was under tight control.


    Rewind!


    Time reverted to when Junze had just descended to the first floor. He didn¡¯t head towards the direction of the hospital¡¯s main gate but instead turned left toward the corridor on the first floor.


    Along the corridor, he encountered two Brown-clothed People. As they brushed past each other, Junze initially planned to nod naturally as a greeting, but he suddenly noticed the other men¡¯s utter indifference, showing no interest in interacting, so he mimicked their cold demeanor, ignoring them completely.


    He passed two rooms with opened doors on the way. The windows in these rooms faced the sidewalk on the street, but Junze didn¡¯t dare to climb out there.


    By now he knew that outside the main entrance, in addition to the burly Brown-clothed Man leaning against the doorway, the Brown-clothed Leader was also propped against the wall along the street.


    Since they were parallel to the windows of these rooms, the moment he climbed out, he would be spotted immediately.


    Junze continued forward, crossing the corridor to the side near the alley where the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er had previously climbed down, prepared to climb out of the window here and jump into the alley. The chances of escaping would be higher.


    Who knew that inside these rooms on this side, there would be Brown-clothed People? Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some of them were even peering out the windows, observing the alley, clearly treating this area as a zone under strict surveillance.


    Junze was utterly speechless, feeling as if these guys were acting in some spy blockbuster, having set up such an extensive trap.


    Was it really necessary to go to such lengths just to catch the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er?


    As he passed the doors of these rooms, he didn¡¯t pause, but walked past nonchalantly, still drawing the attention of two Brown-clothed People.


    One of them opened his mouth, about to call out to him, but just as his lips parted¡­


    Time rewound.


    Junze stood at the top of the second-floor staircase, watching the Brown-clothed Man who was descending the stairs alone.


    Out of all the times he had rewound to impersonate a Brown-clothed Man descending the stairs, only now did he see such a solitary figure.


    The others, including the hefty man guarding the door, were always grouped with the Brown-clothed Leader and had never split up.


    As for the only one who was alone before him, that man became Junze¡¯s sole opportunity.


    ¡°Hey, wait a second,¡± Junze called out softly from behind.


    The Brown-clothed Man descending the stairs stopped and looked back, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    These Brown-clothed People seemed very indifferent toward one another, and Junze wondered why, even though they were all on the same side.


    Junze pointed to an open room door near the top of the stairs, which had already been searched.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside,¡± he suggested.


    The Brown-clothed Man stood on the stairs, unmoving, questioning, ¡°Why not talk here? Why go into a room?¡±


    Junze said mysteriously, ¡°Just come with me, Enke 3023.¡±


    With that, Junze immediately turned and walked into the room without looking back, knowing that this would pique the Brown-clothed Man¡¯s curiosity, compelling him to follow into the room.

 Chapter 503 - 503 350 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 503: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3)_3 Chapter 503: Chapter 350: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 3)_3 Actually, the brown-clothed person standing on the stairs was already quite curious; he couldn¡¯t understand how Yan Junze could possibly recognize him and accurately call out his code number.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ this guy knows my real identity?¡±


    Enke 3023 was extremely puzzled. He knew very well that here, each person should not know the real identities of their teammates unless one held a higher position within the organization, which might grant access to each person¡¯s identity information.


    Standing on the stairs, hesitating for a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but climb back up to the second floor and turned into the room that Yan Junze had entered.


    The moment he entered the room, his head took a solid hit. If not for the hood indirectly protecting his head, the blow might have cracked his skull.


    Yan Junze caught the staggering man, swung the door halfway closed behind them, and then dragged the fellow under a desk, crouching down as well.


    He secured the Black Spirit Mallet, feeling somewhat relieved. The hit just now was clearly not well-controlled; he had nearly cracked the guy¡¯s skull open.


    After sighing, he disarmed the other party and carried out the necessary bodily restraints. He then lifted the hood off the unconscious Enke 3023, revealing the face of an ordinary resident of Great Capital, USA, clearly not someone from Huaying Great Capital who spoke fluent English.


    From the pen holder on the desk, he picked up a pen, removed the cap, and revealed a very sharp pen tip.


    After that, Yan Junze alternated between pinching the man¡¯s philtrum and slapping his face.


    Finally, he turned on a tap in the office corner, caught some yellowish, dirty water that came out, and without caring whether it was clean or not, poured it over Enke 3023¡¯s face.


    After a bout of cold, the unconscious man finally woke up.


    It took him quite a while to see his surroundings clearly, then he realized his metal stick was gone, his hands were tied behind his back, his shoes and socks had been removed, with the socks stuffed in his mouth, while a sharp pen point was pressed against his tender neck. A hooded comrade was squatting in front of him, making a silence gesture.


    It took 5.3 seconds for Enke 3023 to realize that he had been knocked out and controlled by the guy who had stood at the stairway entrance, calling him into the room.


    At this moment, Yan Junze spoke in a low voice, raising the sharp tip of the pen in his hand, ¡°Now, you answer whatever I ask you. If you deliberately hide something or give random answers, I assure you that you¡¯ll soon feel the heat of your blood gushing out as your neck artery throbs.¡±


    Enke 3023 was so terrified that he shook all over and nodded immediately without hesitation.


    This response caused Yan Junze, who expected a struggle, to be rather perplexed.


    Under normal circumstances, one wouldn¡¯t expect someone from such a disciplined force to surrender so quickly; at the very least, they should have strong mental resistance.


    But the reality before him suggested otherwise.


    This man¡¯s military attire was completely at odds with his current reaction. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Yan Junze asked, pulling the sock out of his mouth.


    ¡°John Donne,¡± Enke 3023 responded quickly.


    ¡°What are you doing in Huaying Great Capital?¡±


    ¡°Catching strangenesses,¡± said John, feeling as if he hadn¡¯t made himself clear, he added, ¡°Catching some special strangenesses.¡±


    As if understanding, Yan Junze nodded, ¡°The strangeness you¡¯re catching today is¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother and daughter corpses,¡± answered John.


    ¡°Why catch them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t. At my level, I wouldn¡¯t have access to such information,¡± John quickly shook his head.


    At this moment, John Donne probably guessed that Yan Junze was not one of them, or not even a person from Great Capital, USA, although he too spoke English, but the accent gave him away.


    ¡°What¡­ what organization are you from?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    John was startled and said nothing.


    The sharp pen point pressed down, piercing into his skin, and a drop of blood seeped out, trickling down slowly.


    In a panic, John¡¯s face turned pale, and he quickly said, ¡°Half¡­ Half Moon Association.¡±

 Chapter 504 - 504 351 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4)

    ?Chapter 504: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4) Chapter 504: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4) After hearing the words ¡°Half Moon Association,¡± a flood of memories surged into Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    He remembered that just when he had checked in at Tianmeng Science University, he had heard Mark, the president of the Strangeness Association, and his next-door roommate, Yang Yang, mention it.


    The Half Moon Association¡¯s full name was ¡°Half-Moon Exorcism Association,¡± and it was currently the largest exorcist organization in the Great Capital of USA. Similar to the exorcist teams in the Great Capital of Huaying.


    The organization was in close contact with the US officials, and it was even possible that some official personnel were part of the association itself.


    Last time, when handling the ¡°Spirit¡± case, it came down to controlling Zhao Qi in the end. Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, among others, were ambushed by a foreigner with his subordinates. If it hadn¡¯t been for Xiang Er¡¯s timely arrival, who beat the foreigner so badly even his mother wouldn¡¯t recognize him, Zhao Qi would have been captured, and even Yan Junze and the others might have been in mortal danger.


    Afterward, the exorcist team took the foreigner, who was in a coma, into custody. According to Zhang Xiaomo, after checking that person, it was confirmed he was from the Great Capital of USA, but all the identity information that got him into Huaying Great Capital was forged.


    To this day, that guy was still being detained by the security bureau for illegal entry, carrying items endangering public safety, and violating regulations related to the illegal resolution of strangenesses.


    According to Zhang Xiaomo and other Tianmeng exorcists, this man likely came from the Half Moon Association.


    Considering all the exorcist organizations in the Great Capital of USA, only the Half Moon Association had the strongest capabilities and more novel equipment. Even if the captured individual did not admit to being part of the organization, he was at least acting under the cover instructions of the Half Moon Association or doing their bidding.


    Although he denied being part of this organization, he did reveal his intent to capture the Spirit, Zhao Qi, claiming he was collecting certain special strangenesses or ¡°similar-to-strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Similar-to-strangenesses¡± referred to humans who had a Strange Body constitution or who were intricately connected to strangenesses and had a high affinity with them, like the Spirit, Zhao Qi, and like Ku Zai.


    Of course, now it seemed that Zhao Qi held much more value than Ku Zai, being able to materialize the imagination. If this ability could really be controlled at will, it would be a very terrifying thing.


    When this guy named John Donne spoke of special strangenesses and mentioned that Ke¡¯er and her daughter were also considered special strangenesses, Yan Junze immediately thought of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s words to him. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because the man from the Great Capital of USA who was beaten up by Xiang Er was also in search of people with a ¡°similar-to-strangeness¡± constitution, even though he might not really be from the Half Moon Association, this showed that the Half Moon Association was either organizing or mobilizing other usable people to widely search for special strangenesses, or similar-to-strangenesses.


    The specific reasons for the search for these strangenesses were still unclear, and John Donne did not seem like a member who could access these core secrets. And the person who wanted to capture the Spirit, Zhao Qi last time, might have been a private hire, just a mercenary acting for money and unaware of any key information.


    However, there was still one thing that puzzled Yan Junze, and he continued to ask, ¡°Why don¡¯t you as members of the same association seem to recognize each other?¡±


    John glanced at him and swallowed hard, ¡°Sir, you must not be an exorcist from Huaying Science and Technology University.¡±


    The implication being, if he were an exorcist from Huaying Science and Technology University, he should have also heard or known about the Half Moon Association.


    Yan Junze played along and shook his head, ¡°No.¡±


    In truth, he had indeed never thoroughly researched these foreign organizations.


    ¡°Aside from the core members of the association, all of us live as ordinary people with normal lives and jobs, with families and children,¡± John explained. ¡°It¡¯s only when the organization has tasks to assign that we go ¡®on a business trip.¡¯


    ¡°So most of the members in this building now are not core members of the Half Moon Association?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°The boss on the lower floor is, the rest are not,¡± John was quite open and forthcoming.


    This satisfied Yan Junze quite a bit, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of goodwill towards him.


    His earlier confusion was also resolved. It explained why, though these guys appeared well-organized, uniform in dress, and unified in action, they immediately fell apart when captured and confessed everything. It was this reason that caused it.


    Even though they had confessed, since they did not know the organization¡¯s core secrets, the current mission being carried out by the Half Moon Association remained unaffected.


    All Yan Junze was left with now were guesses, making wild conjectures based on limited clues.


    Fortunately, they now understood the reason why the Half Moon Association was targeting the mother and daughter. As long as it was not a deep-seated vendetta or a matter of life and death, if they could escape, these people wouldn¡¯t continue to doggedly pursue the mother and daughter.


    They might immediately shift their attention to the next target.


    But now, how could they leave this place?


    It seemed to be a tricky matter.


    Escape was impossible through the windows, the main door was also impassable, climbing down the wall would lead to detection, and even transferring directly to another building would leave them intercepted mid-air.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt as if he was trapped in this building.


    Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he thought, ¡°Why do I have to be in this building? Why must I be trapped here?¡±


    At that moment, his thinking suddenly broadened.


    ¡°How did you guys find this place?¡± Yan Junze asked John again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that,¡± John shook his head, ¡°But I know that Zhen City has been abandoned, strangenesses are rampant here, and your exorcists from Huaying Science and Technology University only have a semi-jurisdiction over this place.¡±

 Chapter 505 - 505 351 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 505: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4)_2 Chapter 505: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4)_2 ¡°So, in this place, can we find the special strangeness you¡¯re looking for?¡± Yan Junze took over the conversation, ¡°Which means, when you found the mother and daughter¡¯s bodies, you just stumbled upon them by chance.¡±


    John nodded.


    ¡°Who found them?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    John said, ¡°The boss. Well, to be precise, it was Little Mickey raised by the boss.¡±


    ¡°Mickey? A mouse?¡± Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°No.¡± John corrected, ¡°It¡¯s a little strangeness with outstanding abilities in searching for other strangenesses, likes to wear a light blue kitchen apron, and wears a pink sun hat with lace edges. He says he¡¯s a minor, but I feel this guy is just a dwarf.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, visualizing a dwarfish strangeness in his mind.


    This dwarfish strangeness had short, stubby limbs, wore a light blue kitchen apron, and a pink sun hat on its head, most notably with lace trim on the brim.


    ¡°This strangeness, it¡¯s male?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but clarify.


    ¡°Male.¡±


    Alright, the image in his mind continued to enrich: beneath the light blue kitchen apron were a pair of thick, hairy short legs, and under the lace trim of the sun hat was a face that belonged to a man with a beard.


    Now Yan Junze finally felt nauseated.


    Whether it was the strangeness¡¯s name, attire, or appearance, nearly every factor was successful in provoking his antipathy.


    But Yan Junze knew that the main reason he detested him was that this creature had led the people of the Half Moon Association to find Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman, successfully captured them, and burned them to death with a ghastly fire.


    ¡°Do you know where Mick¡­ Mickey found them?¡± Yan Junze continued to inquire.


    ¡°About three blocks from here, at the time the mother and daughter¡¯s bodies were in a supermarket.¡± John carefully remembered.


    Seeing that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t harsh towards him, the fear he felt earlier was slowly dissipating, sensing that as long as he cooperated well, the other party would probably let him go.


    After gathering enough information, the idea Yan Junze had earlier took shape, and he casually picked up the metal rod, asking, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Magnetic field collapse emitter.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded as if he realized, ¡°It collapses the magnetic field to temporarily restrain the strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± John nodded, ¡°If it¡¯s a weaker strangeness, it¡¯ll be directly dispersed by the emitter.¡±


    ¡°How do you use it?¡± Yan Junze groped the metal stick from top to bottom but found no buttons.


    John showed an embarrassed smile, ¡°It¡¯s fingerprint recognition, and it can only record a fingerprint once. Mine was already recorded when the equipment was activated, so no other person can use it. It can only be used as¡­a baton. If forced to use, it would directly damage the emitter.¡±


    ¡°Lucky me!¡± Yan Junze casually threw it aside, glanced at John Donne, and smiled at him, ¡°I have a fairly good impression of you, and I believe we will meet again in the future.¡±


    John, taken aback, looked sideways at this Huaying who wore a head covering, whose face he had not seen from the beginning to the end.


    Subsequently, thoughts rose directly in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, issuing the instruction to return to the eerie starry sky within the Space-Time Rift.


    The next second, he appeared in the Void, suspended in place, with the familiar timeline reappearing before his eyes quickly.


    Back in the Void, Yan Junze curiously performed Inner Vision on the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas.


    He saw that in that Lockdown node, several miniature representations were still there, including Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the mallet¡¯s representation, while two other miniatures were empty, one for the two strange babies and another newly formed one from just now at the hospital during the Lockdown of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, the mother and daughter.


    The empty representation for the two strange babies was because they didn¡¯t follow Yan Junze through the ¡°Great Rewind¡± and had stayed beside Aunt Mei instead.


    As for the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, they had been in this most recent miniature representation just a while ago, but at the moment Yan Junze entered the Space-Time Rift, they were forcibly filtered out by the Atlas in his head and returned to their own spacetime.


    The Atlas, as the executor of Space-Time Fixed Point Insertion using the Space-Time Rift, strictly adhered to the rules, and the hope of taking something away through it was an impossible path.


    Yan Junze was prepared, and glancing now was just to confirm.


    Apart from himself, who could exist outside of the rules during the timeframe of ¡°Great Rewind,¡± anyone else, even Yan Junze himself, would be filtered out by those rules once exceeding the timeframe of the ¡°Great Rewind.¡±


    After standing in the Void for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, Yan Junze said in his mind, ¡°I will describe the event myself, let the Atlas determine the coordinates and time.¡±


    Soon a line of text appeared in his mind.


    [Please provide a specific description to help the Atlas pinpoint the location more accurately.]


    Yan Junze thought to himself, ¡°The spacetime I want to locate now is still in Luoxia District in Zhen City where I just was, but earlier on the same day, with the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, the mother and daughter, still inside the supermarket three blocks away from the hospital.¡±


    [Repositioning underway, please wait¡­]


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Detected that the current positioning information overlaps with the previous one partly, now merging.]


    [Analysis complete, localizing¡­]


    [Positioned, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 4,100 Different Dimension Energy points, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze took note that the previous visit to the hospital consumed 4,200 Different Dimension Energy points, while this time, because the spacetime being located was slightly earlier than the hospital instance, it required slightly less energy.


    Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 506 - 506 351 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part

    ?Chapter 506: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4)_3 Chapter 506: Chapter 351: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 4)_3 However, the first time, adding up the energy used for nine small-scale rewinds along with the space-time positioning, the energy consumption wasn¡¯t high, leaving a total of 12,400 points remaining.


    Now, with the second space-time positioning, another 4,100 points were consumed, leaving 8,300 points.


    The energy was still abundant, but he didn¡¯t want to return to the Void of the space-time rift for a third time-space positioning. Although there was still energy left, it would be best to eradicate the root of the problem directly this time.


    Muttering ¡°Enter¡± to himself, his vision flashed, dizziness and weightlessness hit him almost at once, but his feet quickly landed firmly on the ground.


    Yan Junze opened his eyes and found himself standing next to one of the shelves in a fairly large supermarket.


    The shelves on both sides were filled with snacks such as potato chips, dried fruit, chocolate, and biscuits.


    But the merchandise was not complete, few items remained on the shelves, and the floor was littered with torn food packaging and crushed powder.


    It looked as though, before Zhen City was abandoned, this place had experienced significant upheaval, the order of life had definitely turned into chaos, and the supermarket looked as if it had been through a battle, with trash left in disarray after looting.


    There was no electricity here, only that the supermarket doors were open, allowing the outside light to filter in, preventing the interior from being too dark.


    Yan Junze stood still and looked around, but he could see nothing.


    He walked deeper into the supermarket, calling out in a low voice, ¡°Ke¡¯er? Back-faced Woman?¡±


    The supermarket was eerily quiet; after calling out a few times, there was no response at all.


    Outside the supermarket, on the street, a strong wind picked up, swirling up dust clouds and tossing discarded newspapers and wrapping paper in the air.


    Yan Junze averted his gaze from the street and refocused his attention on the darker corners inside the supermarket.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er? I¡¯m here. Where are you? Come out!¡±


    As he walked, Yan Junze kept calling out softly.


    There was a reason for returning to the supermarket now; since the Half Moon Association had laid a trap in the hospital, he decided to cut the source off directly before they discovered Ke¡¯er and her mother.


    That way, these people wouldn¡¯t find the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er again, and the scene in the hospital wouldn¡¯t happen.


    Initially, Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts were confined to the hospital, pondering over how to escape, but now, returning to this point in time effectively prevented the incident at the hospital from happening, a more direct approach.


    He believed that no matter how much he struggled recently, the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± would eventually give him a satisfactory resolution.


    As for why he didn¡¯t choose to go back to the moment right after the Back-faced Woman first recognized Ke¡¯er, when they left FH Community, to lock them in place then to avoid the current situation¡­


    It wasn¡¯t that Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to, it was that he couldn¡¯t.


    Even if he chose to lock the mother and child in place at that time, when leaving that space-time, he would only take away an empty replica from the node; the Atlas would strictly filter the mother and daughter back into their own space-time according to the rules.


    And if he chose not to impose a Lockdown, but instead let his past self do it, that wouldn¡¯t work either.


    Because at that time, he had no ability to lock a Sculpting Spirit-level strangeness.


    Moreover, the Back-faced Woman had just made contact with him and wasn¡¯t familiar with him; embedding a Semi-Spirit in him was not only a gesture of gratitude but also to keep an eye on him.


    Persuading the Back-faced Woman to stay by his side was extremely difficult; angering her would mean it wasn¡¯t just a Semi-Spirit Body he had, but he would never be able to return to a normal person¡¯s True Spirit state.


    Temporarily setting aside these thoughts and continuing to walk and call out, the rustling sound of movement came from behind a row of shelves not far away.


    Yan Junze stopped in his tracks and said softly, ¡°Ke¡¯er?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had he spoken than footsteps sounded, and a short figure emerged from behind the shelf, wearing a skirt, tilting its head, and stretching its neck to look in his direction.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er?¡±


    Upon seeing the small figure, Yan Junze smiled, stepped forward, and stretched out his arms in a welcoming gesture, about to speak.


    Suddenly, he froze and stopped moving, shifting two steps to the right to allow the daylight, which was initially blocked by him, to shine on the small figure in the skirt.


    Soon Yan Junze saw clearly that it was a dwarf wearing a kitchen apron and a pink lace-edged sun hat.


    The dwarf slowly lifted its head, revealing a set of distorted features as if they had been pressed by something, gazing back at Yan Junze.


    Just then, a crawling sound came from not far behind the dwarf, followed by a voice in a pitch that was incredibly familiar to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Huh?¡±

 Chapter 507 - 507 352 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (5)

    ?Chapter 507: Chapter 352 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!) Chapter 507: Chapter 352 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!) At this moment inside the supermarket, Yan Junze stood opposite the guy in the chef¡¯s apron, presumably named Mickey, while Ke¡¯er, who had just uttered a ¡°Huh,¡± was still on one side of the shelf behind Mickey.


    That is to say, Yan Junze and Ke¡¯er were separated by Mickey.


    Now that he had a clear view of the guy in front of him, Yan Junze was certain that this dwarf was indeed a dwarfling, one of the strangenesses nurtured by the leader of the Half Moon Association, who tucked a peculiar pistol in his belt.


    He was also the one John Donne spoke of, the one who had a special sensitivity to tracking other strangenesses.


    The dwarf called Mickey had also heard Ke¡¯er¡¯s voice. He had been focusing on Yan Junze, but upon hearing the sound, his head covered by a lace-brimmed sun hat immediately turned around, just in time to see Ke¡¯er crawling out from the side of the shelf, stretching her head toward Yan Junze.


    ¡°Haha!¡±


    Dwarf Mickey suddenly raised his hands and shouted excitedly, no longer paying attention to Yan Junze, but rushing toward Ke¡¯er instead.


    ¡°Ke¡¯er, hide quickly!¡± Yan Junze immediately shouted out a warning.


    Ke¡¯er, upon seeing Yan Junze, had been excited and wanted to throw herself into Yan Junze¡¯s arms, but the sudden approach of the dwarf startled her, prompting vigilance.


    After hearing Yan Junze¡¯s warning, she immediately turned around and scurried toward the supermarket¡¯s employee passageway at the back, using both her hands and feet.


    Unexpectedly, Dwarf Mickey¡¯s running speed was extremely fast; his stout little legs possessed explosive power that was even more astonishing compared to Ke¡¯er¡¯s slender ones, and his footsteps thudded against the ground.


    Even with all four limbs moving, Ke¡¯er could not outrun him.


    Yan Junze followed in pursuit as well.


    Realizing Ke¡¯er could not outrun Dwarf Mickey, Yan Junze panicked, reached out, and randomly grabbed a can with a metallic outer packing that had long expired, hurling it toward Dwarf Mickey.


    The dwarf, as if having eyes on the back, swung his right hand behind him and deflected the can that was about to hit him. Subsequently, his entire head swiveled around 180 degrees while his body continued to run forward.


    The head that turned to face Yan Junze now had all its twisted features flung open, as if pulled apart by an invisible hand, its face distorted with ferocity, and the pupils of its eyes had turned completely blood red. His mouth opened in a roar at Yan Junze, the upper and lower rows of teeth clashing together like disjointed, sharp saws.


    Although the fierce appearance of the dwarf startled Yan Junze, he did not stop his chase, continuing to pursue doggedly.


    However, both Ke¡¯er and Dwarf Mickey were moving too fast. With just his running speed, Yan Junze could not catch up no matter how hard he tried.


    Just as Dwarf Mickey was about to catch Ke¡¯er, the dwarf suddenly produced a large hammer from nowhere, gripping it in his hand and waving it frantically.


    The hammer seemed to be made of copper, with a heavy body and a head roughly the same size as Mickey¡¯s. The handle was rather short, allowing him to grasp it with one hand.


    But in his grip, it always seemed somewhat incongruous.


    Whoosh!


    A hammer swung past Ke¡¯er¡¯s ankle, narrowly missing her.


    Startled, Ke¡¯er retracted her feet and shot forward, just making it to the entrance of the employee passageway.


    Dwarf Mickey raised the copper hammer, laughing with a string of ¡°haha,¡± and then hammered down on the ground, sending stone chips flying.


    Right then, the door of the employee passageway opened and a white silhouette stood at the entrance. Ke¡¯er immediately leapt into the arms of this figure.


    Yan Junze saw clearly that this white figure was none other than the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman embraced Ke¡¯er in one arm and reached out for the ¡°thudding¡± Dwarf Mickey with the other hand as soon as she appeared.


    In this process, her nails instantly grew out very long.


    The dwarf was equally quick to react, pupils dilated with fear, he swiftly sidestepped, making a 90-degree turn while running, barely sliding past the Back-faced Woman¡¯s nails, which flipped a corner of his chef¡¯s apron, exposing the hairy little legs underneath.


    ¡°Aaaaah¡­¡±


    Mickey raised both hands, still clutching the copper hammer as large as his head, and ran away in a panic.


    The Back-faced Woman tossed her hair, streaking a length of it towards the dwarf¡¯s back in a flash.


    Just as it was about to touch his spine, Mickey let out a loud cry, leaped with a burst of speed, surging three meters forward, as the ground behind him was pierced by the Back-faced Woman¡¯s hair, sending bits of stone soaring into the air.


    As Mickey yelled, he quickly dashed past several rows of shelves, jumped out of the supermarket door, and fled down the street.


    Ahhh ahhh¡­


    The sound grew fainter and fainter, without pausing, until it was completely inaudible.


    The dwarf¡¯s running speed was just too fast.


    Yan Junze stood stunned, watching it all unfold.


    Now that the dwarf had fled, he would surely notify his master, the leader of the Half Moon Association who wore the gun on his belt.


    Once those people arrived, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er would be like fish in a barrel, and going to the hospital would be futile.


    Right now, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t seem to notice anything amiss, merely looking at Yan Junze with a surprised joy, but there was also an emotion in their eyes that Yan Junze could not quite interpret.


    Yan Junze knew they wanted to talk to him, but there wasn¡¯t much time left.


    Another rewind was necessary. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Time to go back.


    He found himself back at the moment he had just appeared in the supermarket.


    This time after reappearing, Yan Junze did not hesitate. He immediately headed straight for the dark employee passageway at the back of the supermarket.

 Chapter 508 - 508 352 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5)

    ?Chapter 508: Chapter 352: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!)_2 Chapter 508: Chapter 352: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!)_2 Although he walked fast, his steps were very light. As he passed by a row of shelves, a hint of blue kitchen apron appeared on the other side of the shelf.


    Yan Junze immediately stopped, motionless.


    The corner of the blue apron quickly vanished, obviously Dwarf Mickey hadn¡¯t spotted him, and continued to search the other end of the supermarket.


    For some reason, or maybe this guy really had some special ability that allowed him to lock onto the peculiar strangenesses he was looking for in the supermarket.


    No matter how much he searched, he just wouldn¡¯t leave the supermarket.


    Yan Junze crouched down, using the shelves to hide his figure, and continued to move toward the entrance of the employees¡¯ passage, just in time to see Ke¡¯er crawling out of it.


    He squatted down and whispered, ¡°Ke¡¯er,¡± then immediately gestured for her to be silent.


    Ke¡¯er, with her hands on the ground and originally crawling, now cocked her head to look at him, her face lighting up with joy.


    But she quickly understood the meaning of Yan Junze¡¯s gesture. A sound of ¡°eh¡± didn¡¯t escape her mouth as she quickly crawled toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze walked over, picked her up, and said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going to see your mom.¡±


    Knowing that the Back-faced Woman was inside the door to the employee passage, he did not ask Ke¡¯er where her mother was. He bent over, gently pushed the door open, and slipped inside.


    On one side of the employees¡¯ passage wall, a very dim emergency light was on. Although not very bright, it was enough to chase away the darkness, allowing Yan Junze to faintly discern his surroundings.


    No sooner had he entered the employee passage than the Back-faced Woman was seen coming out of the door labeled ¡°Office.¡±


    The office door slowly closed behind her.


    ¡°Back-faced Woman,¡± Yan Junze approached with Ke¡¯er in his arms and whispered as low as he could, ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise, just listen to me first.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman was clearly surprised, but upon hearing his words, she really made no sound, just stood there staring at him.


    ¡°A Black Spirit is outside searching for you. Don¡¯t go out for now. Are there any other exits here?¡± Yan Junze whispered.


    The Back-faced Woman gave no response, just stared at him.


    Yan Junze felt something was off; he sensed the Back-faced Woman wasn¡¯t really looking at him but was fixating on something behind him, the direction of the door to the employees¡¯ passage he had just entered.


    At that moment, Ke¡¯er in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, let out a series of low, urgent warning sounds toward the back.


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Yan Junze immediately turned around, only to see Dwarf Mickey, wearing a pink hat, standing at the entrance of the employee passage, looking up with a gaze that slid beneath the brim of his hat and wandered back and forth between the two strangenesses¡ªKe¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman.


    His eyes shone with surprise and excitement, and he seemed unable to suppress the desire to laugh out loud.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    The next second, the little guy opened his mouth and laughed out loud. However, sensing the threat from the Back-faced Woman, he suddenly turned and ran out.


    ¡°Back-faced Woman, kill him quickly, don¡¯t let him get away!¡± Yan Junze shouted while holding Ke¡¯er.


    No sooner had his words fallen than a gust of wind rushed past his face; the Back-faced Woman¡¯s figure had already leaped past him and flashed to the entrance of the employees¡¯ passage.


    There was still a crack in the door that was not completely closed, and the Back-faced Woman¡¯s figure flickered and disappeared through the gap.


    Loud noises of shelves being knocked over and thumping footsteps sounded throughout the supermarket.


    Yan Junze knew that these were the sounds of Dwarf Mickey¡¯s footsteps as he ran, his steps rapid and dense, but the sound slowly receded.


    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s getting away?¡±


    Holding Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze quickly rushed out of the employees¡¯ passage toward the supermarket¡¯s main entrance.


    Before reaching the door, the Back-faced Woman had already returned.


    ¡°Where is he? Did you kill him?¡± Yan Junze asked. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman shook her head, her voice raspy, ¡°He¡­ got away.¡±


    This dwarf¡¯s speed was actually faster than the Back-faced Woman¡¯s. Although the sound he made when landing was loud, the speed of his crossing legs was ridiculously fast, looking like a spinning top at a glance.


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    As long as this little guy got away, the members of the Half Moon Association would quickly start hunting down the Back-faced Woman and her daughter.


    ¡°This way is no good, we have to deal with him inside the supermarket, or once we leave, it¡¯ll be the world of those short legs of his,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    Time Rewound once again.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had just entered the supermarket, and he had already roughly estimated Mickey¡¯s location at this time.


    He crept to the side of the fifth row of shelves to wait and released the Black Spirit Mallet, clutching it tightly in his hand.


    With the slightest sound, Yan Junze quickly hid his body behind the shelf, holding the mallet in an attacking stance.


    First, a pink sun hat appeared in his field of vision. Because of Mickey¡¯s short stature, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see his whole body.


    He held his breath, the mallet raised high, his heart rate accelerating as he waited for the moment the hat would reach in front of him.


    Getting closer and closer, the pink lace-edged sun hat fully entered Yan Junze¡¯s view, and without hesitation, he fiercely swung the mallet down on that disgusting hat.


    A ¡®thump¡¯ noise rang out, revealing a dull metallic collision.


    Yan Junze¡¯s arms instantly went numb, the shock rendering him briefly insensible.


    Looking down, he saw the pink hat was smashed but underneath it, to his surprise, was the copper hammer that Mickey had been wielding during the last Rewind.

 Chapter 509 - 509 352 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5)

    ?Chapter 509: Chapter 352: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!)_3 Chapter 509: Chapter 352: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Part 5) (5100 words, asking for monthly pass!)_3 This guy usually just balances a copper hammer on his head, covering it with a sun hat and just struts about like that everywhere.


    No wonder he looks so out of place.


    Most of the force of Yan Junze¡¯s strike was absorbed and deflected by the copper hammer. Although it made Mickey¡¯s body sink sharply, once he regained his senses, he just staggered backward, steadying himself, and then grasping the copper hammer in his hand, he gave Yan Junze an extremely ferocious look.


    Actually, if it were just about the force of the blow, even if Mickey were an ordinary person, the copper hammer on top of his head would still result in his head getting smashed by that mallet.


    But Junze knew that the damage his mallet inflicted on strangenesses was entirely due to the Black Spirit Pearl; it wasn¡¯t just the physical strike that was effective.


    If physical strikes could kill strangenesses, what use would there be for an exorcist?


    Therefore, relying solely on brute strength wouldn¡¯t kill Mickey; it required the mallet to hit him and for the Black Spirit Pearl to take effect, causing damage to the guy.


    Now that the effect of the Black Spirit Pearl was completely blocked by the copper hammer, the mere physical force transferred had no effect on Mickey.


    When he recovered, in addition to a fierce expression, he excitedly danced around, lifting the copper hammer and smashing it down at Yan Junze.


    Junze didn¡¯t have time to tussle with him and rewound time again.


    He repositioned himself beside the fifth row of shelves, his hands gripping the Black Spirit Mallet, and began to wait for the approach of the pink sun hat for the second time.


    Before long, the sun hat appeared. This time, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t smash the sun hat again.


    His hands gripping the mallet like a baseball bat, he adopted a batter¡¯s stance, holding his breath as he waited for the sun hat to enter striking range.


    Putting all his strength into it, he swung at Mickey¡¯s back with force. The mallet solidly hit Mickey¡¯s back, sending the guy flying into a row of shelves overhead, causing a clattering noise, before he fell back down.


    After being hit by the mallet, a plume of black smoke rose from the spot on Mickey¡¯s back where he was hit, and he cried out in pain, unable to get up for a long while.


    The sun hat fell off, and the copper hammer on top of his head also slid to the side.


    Yan Junze quickly approached, mallet raised, ready to strike again.


    Who knew that Mickey¡¯s stout short legs would kick fiercely, and despite the smoke coming from his back, he managed to dodge the strike with swift movement.


    Fearing that he would escape far again, Junze swung his right arm, and the mallet grazed Mickey¡¯s shoulder, drawing more black smoke, causing Mickey to grimace in pain. But he rolled on the spot, evading once more.


    The mallet, enhanced by three Black Spirit Pearls, was extraordinarily powerful. By Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, if it weren¡¯t for the copper hammer interception, a direct blow to Mickey¡¯s head just now could have possibly dispersed him on the spot.


    Mickey stood up, his legs kicking out, and in an instant, he leaped over a shelf, moving out of Yan Junze¡¯s attack range.


    However, at the same moment, Ke¡¯er¡¯s characteristic ¡°Eh?¡± conveniently came from behind that shelf.


    Junze¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted, ¡°Ke¡¯er, quickly tie up that short-legged freak, don¡¯t let him run away, wait for me to come over!¡±


    Through the empty shelves, Ke¡¯er quickly glanced at Yan Junze, then immediately turned her head towards Mickey, who had just steadied himself close by.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    She hurled herself at Mickey with force.


    At this time, Mickey had already lost his copper hammer and looked very disheveled. Although he was stronger than Ke¡¯er, he was quickly entangled by her for a short time.


    Yan Junze, carrying the mallet, took a few large strides over. Just as Mickey broke free from Ke¡¯er and hadn¡¯t fully turned around, ¡®thud¡¯, his backside was struck by the mallet once more, a thick cloud of black smoke billowing out.


    Meanwhile, the Back-faced Woman had heard the noise and was just stepping out of the employee passage door.


    Yan Junze swung the Black Spirit Mallet once more, striking Mickey¡¯s thigh as it crawled forward, causing even more black smoke to billow out.


    The dwarf emitted a pained roar, and with another forceful push of his thick legs, his small frame surprisingly accelerated again, escaping the range of Yan Junze¡¯s strike.


    Bang!


    The next swing missed its target, landing harshly on the ground, sending a numbing vibration through Yan Junze¡¯s palms.


    ¡°Back-faced Woman, kill him quickly!¡± Yan Junze looked up to see the Back-faced Woman approaching and immediately shouted.


    The oppressive presence of the Back-faced Woman took effect, prompting Mickey to realize something was amiss. He flipped over, barely managing to stand up and started to run towards the supermarket entrance with his short, stubby legs.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman was still some distance away and couldn¡¯t catch up in time.


    Whoosh!


    A mallet flew through the air, narrowly missing Mickey¡¯s right shoulder and landing in front of him, causing Mickey to shrink his head back in fright and hastily dash out of the supermarket.


    Rewind!


    Mickey once again struggled to stand, the pressure from the Back-faced Woman made him realize he had to escape quickly. Having already scouted the area, he knew this mother-daughter strangeness was very special, and he needed to report back immediately.


    Just then, a mallet grazed his cheek as it flew past and dropped in front of him.


    Startled, Mickey shuddered, his body shrunk dramatically, and he once again successfully dashed out of the supermarket.


    Rewind!


    Mickey stood up again, and as the pressure from the Back-faced Woman was about to drive him to flee, a mallet dropped at his feet with such force that it sparked upon the ground, barely missing him.


    Mickey jumped in shock, hopping out of the supermarket at great height, and once more vanished at the end of the street.


    Rewind! S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was fuming with anger; this time, he was determined to hit the already injured dwarf and not let him escape successfully.


    Trying not to be hasty, he aimed at the target and threw with all his might, the Black Spirit Mallet flung out of his hand, but this time it flew too high, barely leaping over Mickey¡¯s head without touching him.


    The thick, short legs hopped out of the supermarket, leaving a trail of dust behind.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, calmed himself, and controlled the strength in his hands, throwing the mallet at Mickey¡¯s back once more.


    The mallet again dramatically left his hand, this time aiming for the recently risen Mickey¡¯s spine.


    With a thud, the spine was untouched, but it was Mickey¡¯s occiput that was struck first by the spinning mallet.


    The dwarf let out a pitiful scream and fell to the ground.


    Before he could get up, the Back-faced Woman appeared before him as quick as lightning, her sharp nails striking down, piercing through Mickey¡¯s back and lifting him up entirely.


    This time, there was no chance of escape.

 Chapter 510 - 510 353 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final)

    ?Chapter 510: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final) Chapter 510: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final) Mickey let out a scream as the Back-faced Woman¡¯s nails pierced into his back and emerged from his chest, suspending him in midair.


    No matter how much Mickey struggled, it was futile.


    In fact, after being struck by Yan Junze¡¯s Black Spirit Mallet, he had no strength left to struggle.


    ¡°This guy will inform an exorcist organization about your whereabouts, and faced with that organization, you two have no power to fight back,¡± Yan Junze came over, picked up the mallet from the ground, and explained to the Back-faced Woman.


    Then he glanced at the dwarf and noticed that where the mallet had struck his head, a dense black aura was constantly evaporating, seemingly unable to last much longer.


    Ke¡¯er ran over, climbed onto Yan Junze¡¯s back, and lay there, extending her dark green index finger to touch his earlobe.


    For now, the mother and daughter were safe.


    Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief and gently grasped Ke¡¯er¡¯s little hand.


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave him behind, or you will be in danger.¡±


    As he spoke, Ke¡¯er had already climbed to his front, holding Yan Junze firmly, with her little face against his shoulder, motionless.


    The Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t hesitate, her fingers slowly tightened, and Dwarf Mickey¡¯s body began to shake violently, with more black aura appearing and swirling into the air.


    In less than a minute, the dwarf had completely vanished.


    The threat was eliminated, but that didn¡¯t mean the supermarket was currently safe.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°You must leave Zhen City; there is a group of exorcists currently searching for strangenesses here, and it¡¯s still very dangerous for you to stay.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman nodded and gestured to Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er looked back at her mother, then turned to Yan Junze, reluctantly sliding down from him, and scurried on hands and feet to the Back-faced Woman, quickly climbing up to lie on her mother¡¯s back.


    ¡°Stay away from crowded places because you can¡¯t withstand their weapons,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°After leaving Zhen City, go to FH Community in Tianmeng District, Shuntian City, where we first met, and find me.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman gave no response.


    Ke¡¯er, however, climbed onto her mother¡¯s shoulder, tilted her head to look at the Back-faced Woman, then turned her gaze back to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what they were communicating, but it was impossible to have a normal conversation as one of them had a ruined throat and the other couldn¡¯t speak directly.


    After a pause, he added, ¡°I need you in Tianmeng right now, so leave Zhen City immediately and find me at FH Community. Don¡¯t fail to show up.¡±


    Having said that, he waved to Ke¡¯er, adding, ¡°After arriving in Tianmeng, I¡¯ll wash your hair.¡±


    Ke¡¯er brushed the hair covering her cheeks aside, tilting her head to look at him.


    Yan Junze walked out of the supermarket, looked back and saw that the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er hadn¡¯t followed, instead heading toward the supermarket¡¯s rear, probably toward a back exit.


    Turning into an alley beside the supermarket, after walking a few steps, Yan Junze activated the command to return through the Space-Time Rift.


    His figure flashed, disappearing from sight. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the dust at the mouth of the alley, swirling in the air, and then settling again in front of the supermarket door.


    Inside the supermarket.


    The Back-faced Woman, holding Ke¡¯er, re-entered the employee passage, and once the door was closed behind them, the Back-faced Woman headed toward the direction of the office she had emerged from during the last Rewind, as Yan Junze had seen.


    Pushing open the door, the mother and daughter walked straight into the office.


    The office wasn¡¯t pitch dark; there was a dim emergency light in a corner, just like the outside employee passage.


    The Back-faced Woman, still holding Ke¡¯er, approached a desk at the very back of the office, and underneath this desk lay an injured man.


    The man barely opened his eyes, his right hand covering the left side of his chest, with blood oozing between his fingers, and his clothing soaked with blood.


    ¡°Is he¡­gone?¡± the man asked, his lips pale.


    The Back-faced Woman nodded, while Ke¡¯er quickly climbed down, squatting beside the man¡¯s head, her body starting to tremble slightly, as if she was very anxious about the injuries of the man before her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay, don¡¯t worry,¡± the man managed a weak smile, trying to reach out to touch Ke¡¯er¡¯s head, but his arms were too weak to lift, ¡°Your hair, haven¡¯t washed it yet?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman leaned down and picked the man up (presumably onto her back), with Ke¡¯er hurrying along behind.


    The man was startled, then realizing her intent, he said, ¡°No need to go to the hospital, my injuries can¡¯t be treated in Zhen City!¡±


    ¡°Medicine¡­¡± the Back-faced Woman uttered hoarsely from her ruined throat.


    ¡°No use with ordinary potions¡­¡± the man said with a bitter laugh, shaking his head.


    Blood continued to drip, but any blood that landed on the Back-faced Woman¡¯s clothes vanished in an instant, evaporated by the strange magnetic field energy, leaving no stain.


    The Back-faced Woman apparently paid no attention to the man¡¯s words and persisted in carrying him step by step out of the office.


    No matter what, she was determined to find the nearest hospital to treat the man.


    However, going to the hospital was no longer dangerous, since Dwarf Mickey had been killed, and the Half Moon Association wouldn¡¯t track them to the hospital.


    ¡°Go to Tianmeng quickly, he still needs you,¡± the man, knowing he couldn¡¯t dissuade the Back-faced Woman¡¯s determination, said softly and then fell silent.


    Ke¡¯er obediently followed behind, looking up at him unblinkingly.


    As the Back-faced Woman passed an area where the emergency light was slightly brighter with the man on her back, the light just happened to fall on his face, revealing a familiar countenance.

 Chapter 511 - 511 353 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final

    ?Chapter 511: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final Part)_2 Chapter 511: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final Part)_2 This man was none other than Yan Junze.


    ¡­


    Standing within the Space-Time Rift.


    A message about Butterfly Effect Stabilization popped up before his eyes.


    [This ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± has created a total of 3 Butterfly Effects. The energy consumption estimated for processing the first Butterfly Effect is 800 points, with 1471 ripples generated. For the second Butterfly Effect, the estimated energy consumption is 1100 points, with 2203 ripples generated. For the third Butterfly Effect, the estimated energy consumption is 1500 points, with 2860 ripples generated.]


    Yan Junze looked closely, noticing that this ¡°Great Rewind¡± didn¡¯t produce many Butterfly Effects, but each one contained numerous ripples, leading to a significant increase in the energy needed for repairs.


    [You may choose to handle the first and second Butterfly Effects yourself, or let ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± complete it automatically. During the automated process, the host may opt to observe from a third-person perspective. Would you like to start now?]


    Yan Junze was intensely curious about the events and timeline of this Great Rewind because, unlike before, he had not just undergone one Great Rewind within the Space-Time Rift, but two.


    During the second Great Rewind, he had disrupted the timeline from the first one, meaning that the event which had initially drawn him to perform the Great Rewind to rescue Ke¡¯er and her mother would no longer occur. Yan Junze needed to see what could have prompted him to make the decision to return.


    However, the first and second Butterfly Effects that followed weren¡¯t necessarily meant to correct that particular event; he would need to observe them to know for sure.


    ¡°Begin.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Initiating the stabilization of the first Butterfly Effect. Would you like to handle it personally, or shall the Atlas correct it automatically?]


    A prompt appeared in his mind.


    ¡°Let the Atlas correct it automatically. I will observe from a third-person perspective,¡± Yan Junze silently commanded in his heart.


    The stars in front of him were suddenly torn apart by a rift, revealing the scenery of Zhen City.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body hadn¡¯t moved, but he felt as if he had entered the scene before him, experiencing it firsthand as an observer.


    This was the place he had just left, the entrance of a supermarket in Zhen City, where Dwarf Mickey had been killed.


    Some time must have passed since Mickey¡¯s death, at this moment seven or eight members of the Half Moon Association clad in brown uniforms were standing where Mickey had been slain.


    The leader, a man with a gun at his waist, stood at the forefront, his hand stroking his chin covered by a head hood, his brow furrowed as he gazed at a dark area on the ground.


    Yan Junze took a few steps closer to get a clearer view.


    Only then did he notice that although the leader was also wearing a brown uniform, there was a red stripe on each arm, differentiating his uniform from the plain brown ones.


    The leader said, ¡°Mickey¡¯s magnetic field vanished right here. We used a detector, and besides his magnetic field, the magnetic fields of two strangenesses also appeared here.¡±


    ¡°Boss.¡± A slightly overweight man by his side spoke up, ¡°Could it have been those two strangenesses that killed him? But Mickey was very fast. I remember you saying that he could keep up with Teleport when running at full speed.¡±


    The leader shook his head, ¡°Could it be that those two strangenesses are very strong?¡±


    The man to his left glanced at the magnetic field collapse emitter in his hand and said, ¡°They can¡¯t be that powerful, or our emitter would definitely sound an alarm.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze dropped and he caught a glimpse of the metal rod in the man¡¯s hand, thinking to himself that it apparently also had a function to alert them to the level of the strangenesses.


    ¡°Can we find these two strangenesses?¡± the leader asked.


    A slender brown-clothed person stepped forward from the second row, carrying a box-like device resembling a communications kit on his back, square and with raised triangles, likely a signal transmitter.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± the slender brown-clothed person nodded, then pressed several buttons and began adjusting the signal with a transmitter in his hand.


    The communication box emitted a beeping sound.


    At the same moment, a text message popped up before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    [This is the site of the first Butterfly Effect occurrence and is due for correction. Would you like to view an uncorrected segment?]


    All the scenes before him, including the movements of the people and the sounds of speech, came to a standstill, waiting for Yan Junze to decide.


    Without hesitation, Yan Junze thought, ¡°Watch it once.¡±


    The next second, the paused scenes resumed movement.


    Beep¡ª


    Just then, a prolonged beep sounded from the communication box, and the slender brown-clothed person¡¯s eyes lit up as he pulled out a display screen and tapped it several times.


    A real-time map appeared on the screen. He zoomed in by spreading his fingers.


    Pointing at a lit red dot on the map, the slender brown-clothed person said, ¡°Boss, found them.¡±


    The leader looked at the screen, and the slender brown-clothed person explained, ¡°Based on the magnetic field left here and comparing with the places we just passed, we found matching magnetic traces in this location. Hmm, the two strangenesses seem to be clung to one another right now, the fields are overlapping, which likely indicates a special strangeness.¡±


    ¡°Clung to one another?¡± the leader speculated, ¡°Could they have burned to death together?¡±


    ¡°Or could it be a pregnant strangeness?¡± another man suggested.


    ¡°Whatever the case, this strangeness does seem special, no wonder it could kill my Mickey!¡± the leader nodded slightly, ¡°Where are they now?¡±

 Chapter 512 - 512 353 Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final

    ?Chapter 512: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final Part)_3 Chapter 512: Chapter 353: Rescue of Mother and Daughter (Final Part)_3 ¡°`


    ¡°Zhen City First Hospital,¡± the skinny brown-clothed person replied.


    Hearing this, Yan Junze frowned, ¡°Why is it the hospital again? What exactly are this mother and daughter up to?¡±


    At this moment, the screen paused once again, and everyone stood still.


    Text prompts popped up.


    [This is the first ripple event of the Butterfly Effect for this occasion. Do you want to play the remaining 1,470 ripple events?]


    ¡°No need to continue playing. Let¡¯s correct the ripple event here,¡± Yan Junze answered internally.


    The screen resumed playing, but starting from the moment the skinny brown-clothed person had just opened the signal detector of the communication box, beginning the search for Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman.


    Beep¡ª¡ª


    An alert from the detector sounded, and the skinny brown-clothed person quickly took out a tablet and turned on the display, fiddled with it for a while, then suddenly stared at the screen in astonishment.


    ¡°Boss, look quickly!¡±


    The leading man leaned in, looking at the tablet screen, pointed at a flashing yellow dot, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°While searching for those two strangenesses, I inadvertently detected an even stronger strangeness; this should be a Sand Corpse,¡± the skinny brown-clothed person said.


    Sand Corpses are a type of strangeness that appears in the desert. Since Zhen City is close to the desert and is a region affected by desertification, it is quite normal for people to die in the desert every year, but it is very rare for such deaths to become Sand Corpses.


    Normal people turn into Sand Corpses after getting lost and trapped in the desert until death, their bodies completely shriveled with no trace of moisture and filled entirely with sand, able to control sand to achieve their purposes.


    This, in some ways, is similar to the Sandman in the ¡°Spider-Man¡± movies. However, Sand Corpses are much more eerie than the Sandman, and their deaths are more terrifying.


    The moment he saw the Sand Corpse appeared, the leader was invigorated and immediately issued an order, ¡°Notify the third and fourth squad, send the location of the Sand Corpse to them, and encircle it immediately! Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re heading over too!¡±


    ¡°Should we continue looking for those two escaped strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°Send a drone to do that. For now, let¡¯s focus on capturing that Sand Corpse!¡±


    [The first ripple event of the first Butterfly Effect has been stabilized. Proceeding to autonomously correcting the second, third, fourth, fifth¡­ 1,471st ripple event.]


    The numbers were changing continuously, and it wasn¡¯t long before all the ripple events of this Butterfly Effect were completely corrected, and a second line of information popped up. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [The first Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    The scene shifted rapidly following the change in the surrounding environment of Yan Junze, like the flash of scenes in a movie.


    The setting produced by the second Butterfly Effect appeared.


    It was a scene completely unfamiliar to Yan Junze.


    Although he, as an observer, was only watching from a third-person perspective, once he entered the scene, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of heat all over his body, his skin breaking out into goosebumps.


    Before him was a massive platform, as if built atop a mountaintop. Below the platform blazed a roaring fire, illuminating the faces of the people standing around it, tinting every face a glowing red.


    These people were uniformly dressed in brown uniforms, some tightly fitted, others in loose robes, but the colors were very consistent.


    ¡°Half-Moon Exorcism Association?!¡± Seeing their attire, Yan Junze¡¯s first reaction jumped out.


    Immediately afterward, Yan Junze lowered his head, feeling that the place seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, just from a different viewpoint.


    At this moment on the platform, there were nine protrusions, each with a large rock where eight figures were bound, unable to move, either kneeling or standing.


    Upon closer inspection, these figures were not normal people but each one a strangeness with odd shapes. Among the nine corners, only one was empty without any strangeness bound to it.


    Then Yan Junze remembered the scene he had seen through the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, where Ke¡¯er was burned by the fierce fire, right at this place.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 513 - 513 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)

    ?Chapter 513: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words) Chapter 513: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words) Atop the high platform, Yan Junze was now suspended in midair, observing everything with a God¡¯s eye view.


    In one crowded corner of the platform, many were whispering secrets to each other. Here, no one wore a head cover, clearly indicating that this was the core location of the Half Moon Association, accessible only to its central members.


    Yan Junze was too far away to hear clearly, so he lightly stepped forward, floating over to join the people.


    All of these individuals appeared to be at least in their fifties, and each had the red stripes on the arms of their robes, similar to those worn by the lead man Yan Junze had seen in Zhen City.


    The only difference was that these people had at least three red stripes on their robes, and the stripes were much thicker.


    The elderly man standing in the center had gold stripes on his robe, rather than red ones.


    With a raise of an arm from this old man, everyone who was talking immediately fell silent. The buzzing scene fell quiet in an instant.


    ¡°Garcia, what about the ninth strangeness? Can¡¯t it be determined yet?¡± the old man inquired.


    The curly brown-haired, portly man beside him respectfully replied, ¡°Among the special strangenesses we¡¯ve captured, we still have over a dozen left, but aside from the eight on the platform, there are very few that meet the Tibam Co-evolution effect. So far, only a few of our remaining special strangenesses barely qualify, and I¡¯m worried that using them to initiate the ¡®Oath¡¯ might not achieve the intended effect.¡±


    The elder fell silent.


    ¡°Oath? Initiate what Oath?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself on the side.


    From the looks of it, capturing these special monsters must be what the man mentioned about preparing to initiate some sort of Oath.


    The scene around him, with its circular platform, burning flames, and special monsters, seemed somewhat like a ritual sacrifice, yet it seemed significantly different.


    After a while, the elder looked up, ¡°We must ensure the best possible effect, or else the ¡®Oath¡¯ might truly not be initiated.¡±


    This man named Garcia nodded subtly, ¡°Actually, in Huaying, the Great Capital, the ¡®Hardy¡¯ led search team, codenamed ¡®Enke,¡¯ did discover two special strangenesses in Zhen City. However, they later failed to capture them.¡±


    The elder was taken aback, ¡°Why not?¡±


    Garcia explained, ¡°According to Hardy, they were originally prepared to investigate a hospital, but they stumbled upon a much more powerful Sand Corpse and thus decided to capture it first. They only dispatched a drone to the hospital. But now another search team codenamed ¡®Lucifer,¡¯ managed to capture a special strangeness far more powerful than the Sand Corpse, which has become a better substitute. Meanwhile, those two strangenesses in Zhen City¡¯s hospital, suspected of exhibiting the Tibam Co-evolution effect, have slipped through the net.¡±


    While Garcia explained, he also expressed his exasperation.


    After listening to him, the elder mulled over the information, seemingly unwilling to give up so easily, ¡°The initiation ceremony can be postponed, but we must ensure the quality of each strangeness. Hmm, is there any drone video footage from that time?¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, everything froze, including the blazing flames which came to an absolute standstill.


    The scene was paused.


    Text prompts popped up before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    [This is the second Butterfly Effect trigger point, proceeding with correction. Do you want to watch the uncorrected clip?]


    ¡°Watch it.¡± As an observer deeply engrossed in the scene, Yan Junze naturally did not want to miss out.


    The paused scene resumed.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Garcia nodded.


    He beckoned with his hand, and soon an underling hurried over, holding a tablet.


    Garcia took it, tapped it a few times to open a video, and handed it to the elder.


    Yan Junze also quickly leaned in, peeking over the elder¡¯s right shoulder, intently watching the video playing on the tablet.


    From the drone¡¯s point of view, the camera looked down from high above, situated above the corridor of the hospital building at the moment.


    This building was the same one Yan Junze had entered during his first Great Rewind.


    Before long, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er came out of a room in succession. Ke¡¯er, in red clothing, immediately dashed into another room nearby, then hurried back out, continuously muttering ¡°Eh, eh, eh.¡±


    She went up to her mother, tugged at the Back-faced Woman¡¯s clothes, and pointed to the room she had just run out of.


    The Back-faced Woman turned and walked into the room, only to emerge quickly after. As soon as she came out, she stood on the corridor, looking around, and with great difficulty let out a hoarse voice.


    ¡°Yan¡­¡±


    At that point, Garcia pressed pause on the video, and pointed at the Back-faced Woman who was calling out. He explained to the elder, ¡°According to our analysis, the ¡®yan¡¯ she just said, in Huaying language, probably refers to a seasoning, the equivalent of ¡®salt¡¯ in our USA language.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The elder looked skeptical, ¡°Why would she say ¡®salt¡¯?¡±


    Garcia, also looking puzzled, shook his head and guessed, ¡°Perhaps the two strangenesses were eating someone in the room and felt the flavor was lacking, so they wanted to add some salt for taste.¡±


    ¡°The hell, add salt?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyes bulged upon hearing this.


    As soon as the Back-faced Woman uttered that word, he instinctively knew it was a call for him.


    Even so, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t understand why, after he told the mother and daughter to leave Zhen City quickly when he was at the supermarket, they went to the hospital again, not to mention yelling randomly on the corridor?!

 Chapter 514 - 514 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_2

    ?Chapter 514: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_2 Chapter 514: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_2 At this point, the hospital no longer posed any danger to the mother and daughter, so even though the Back-faced Woman made quite a racket, it was no issue at all.


    ¡°Are they eating people in that room?¡± the old man was still somewhat incredulous.


    His words were precisely what Yan Junze wanted to ask.


    Garcia nodded, ¡°When the Enke Search Team later rushed to the hospital, according to the footage from the drone, they carefully inspected that room and found traces of human blood and fingerprints, but no bodies were found. They were probably completely consumed by the two strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°There was¡­ blood in that room!?¡± Yan Junze was startled by his explanation.


    He remembered that during his first Great Rewind upon arriving in Zhen City, he had stayed in the room with the Back-faced Woman the whole time and indeed had not checked the next room.


    When the Back-faced Woman called for Ke¡¯er, Ke¡¯er had run in from outside, likely having been in the next room the entire time. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What on earth is in the next room? Why are there bloodstains?¡± He was puzzled.


    After hearing Garcia¡¯s explanation, the old man no longer had doubts and nodded slightly before asking, ¡°What¡¯s with that woman¡¯s body, though?¡±


    Garcia explained, ¡°It appears to be due to her cause of death. We examined the footage closely and analyzed that her neck was twisted, her head turned 180 degrees to the back, which is why she was always walking backwards.¡±


    The old man had nothing more to say.


    Garcia continued and pressed the play button on the video.


    In the footage, after the Back-faced Woman shouted the word ¡°Yan,¡± she looked around and suddenly noticed a drone circling in the air above.


    ¡°Ke¡­ Ke¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er quickly jumped onto her, clinging tightly. The mother and daughter¡¯s hair intertwined, forming powerful strands and, looking at the drone, their guard rose to the extreme.


    However, during this process, Yan Junze noticed in the video that Ke¡¯er¡¯s right palm was clutching tightly onto a heart, one he had seen beating more than once.


    He remembered that during the second Great Rewind at the supermarket, he hadn¡¯t seen anything unusual about the mother and daughter, nor had he seen Ke¡¯er holding any heart.


    It was possible then that Ke¡¯er had found the heart in the hospital.


    The old man raised his eyebrows slightly and pointed his index finger at the intertwined hair of the mother and daughter duo, sensing the heightened aura and blurted out, ¡°Tibam Co-evolution!¡±


    When he first viewed the video, Garcia was not quite sure if it really was Tibam Co-evolution, but now seeing the old man pointing definitively at the footage of the mother and daughter, he became certain of his guess.


    This was indeed the effect of Tibam Co-evolution.


    ¡°Damn Hardy! Damn Enke Search Team!¡± Garcia cursed vehemently.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for those guys switching targets to capture the so-called Sand Corpse instead of continuing to track the Back-faced Woman and her daughter, the special strangenesses on this high platform would have already been completely assembled, and they could have directly initiated the ¡°Oath.¡±


    ¡°First, put the ritual on hold and continue searching for this kind of strangeness with Tibam Co-evolution effect in USA. At the same time, send two of our strongest squads to Huaying once more, focusing on searching for these two strangenesses, one large and one small,¡± the old man commanded in a deep voice.


    ¡°And the Book of Oath?¡± Garcia pointed to the position in the middle of the high platform.


    Yan Junze followed the direction of his pointing and only then noticed that there was an ancient book, resembling a hefty tome, lying quietly in the middle of the high platform. The book was open, but its covers were facing upwards, with its pages spread on the ground.


    Since the cover was a similar dark yellow color to the high platform floor, one indeed might not notice the book¡¯s existence without paying close attention.


    The book¡¯s cover seemed very sturdy, appearing almost as thick as half a finger joint, and it did not seem to be made of hard paper but rather some kind of wood material.


    Due to the distance, Yan Junze gave it a glance and could only guess.


    The old man replied to Garcia, ¡°Close the book for now; we¡¯ll open it again next time.¡±


    Yan Junze did not plan to go over and carefully examine that ancient book any further because, after the old man had spoken, the text prompt in front of him popped up again.


    [This is the first ripple event of the current Butterfly Effect. Do you wish to play the remaining 2202 ripple events?]


    Having understood the rough cause of this Butterfly Effect, Yan Junze thought it unnecessary to continue watching; he certainly didn¡¯t have time to review each event one by one.


    ¡°No need to play it further; correct this ripple event and proceed to fix all remaining ripple events,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    The images in front of him quickly rewound back to the moment when the old man asked Garcia if the drone had captured any footage.


    Garcia nodded lightly, but his expression was a bit embarrassed: ¡°We did capture it, but the footage is very blurry. We could vaguely see shadows moving on the hospital roof, but it¡¯s unclear what they were.¡±


    Then Garcia had his subordinate bring over the tablet and opened the video to show the old man.


    Yan Junze leaned in and could see that the video was indeed incredibly blurry compared to the one he had just watched. It seemed as though it had been interfered with during filming, and hardly anything was clear, only faint shadows could be made out.


    In the end, even the shadows disappeared from the footage, leaving nothing but a large black screen.


    ¡°They are all useless,¡± the old man said in annoyance, his voice grave, ¡°Put the ritual on hold for now, deploy all the small squads to search in USA. We must find the strangeness with the Tibam Co-evolution effect in the shortest possible time.¡±

 Chapter 515 - 515 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_3

    ?Chapter 515: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_3 Chapter 515: Chapter 354 Perfect Restoration (5300 words)_3 ¡°`


    ¡°Yes!¡± Garcia accepted the command without hesitation.


    ¡°`


    [The first ripple event of the second butterfly effect has been stabilized. Proceed to repair the second ripple event, the third, the fourth¡­up to the 2203rd.]


    The numbers rapidly changed, and Yan Junze did not have to wait long before all the ripple events affected by the butterfly effect were corrected, triggering the next line of text to pop up.


    [The second butterfly effect has been stabilized.]


    Immediately following, a new message emerged.


    [The host cannot choose to handle the third butterfly effect personally. The Atlas will actively intervene according to the stable timeline to complete the correction. The host may observe from a third-person perspective.]


    There it was!


    Yan Junze guessed that the stabilization of this third butterfly effect was probably the correction interference for the severance of the hospital scene timeline that he experienced.


    This interference was different from the previous corrections. In the stabilization of the first two butterfly effects, the Atlas provided two options: stabilization by Yan Junze or automatic stabilization by the Atlas. However, in this butterfly effect, there was no longer an option for Yan Junze to stabilize it himself.


    The Atlas had to complete it on its own, and Yan Junze could only observe from a third-person perspective.


    The imagery changed, and the view in front of Yan Junze became blurry.


    However, this time, he did not appear in any scene he had experienced or had yet to visit.


    Instead, he found himself standing in a pitch-black Void, and suddenly, a multitude of individual frames flooded his vision, each one representing a segment, appearing like slices of bread, stacked and floating in front of Yan Junze. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze did nothing but watch these ¡°bread slices¡± slowly separate and float up.


    In front of him from left to right, a clear timeline appeared. This timeline was the one that he was currently on after the corrections had been made.


    At any point along this line, he could see what he was doing at that time, and also what others were doing at the same time.


    The timeline quickly brought into focus a segment from Zhen City Hospital. Yan Junze recognized it¡ªit must have been the space-time after the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er went to the hospital following his departure from the supermarket.


    The footage showed the Back-faced Woman in the pharmacy, searching for medicine in the medicine cabinet.


    Ke¡¯er was not in this room but next door, which was almost indistinguishable from what he saw during his first Great Rewind.


    Although Yan Junze did not understand why this mother and daughter still went to the hospital, he knew that at this moment, there was absolutely no danger in the hospital, and they could do anything with peace of mind.


    However, his past self in the cold storage who had just met Ku Zai, upon sharing the perspective of a Semi-Spirit Body with the Back-faced Woman, would no longer see them encountering any danger.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, one of the ¡°bread slice¡± frames beside him flew into this segment of the timeline.


    Yan Junze saw it clearly: this particular ¡°bread slice¡± frame was supposed to be discarded, belonging to a segment he had seen before the first Great Rewind, which no longer belonged to this timeline.


    But what happened next astonished him: as the segment flew into this timeline, it began to shed itself, discarding superfluous imagery, leaving only a few frames to merge into this timeline.


    Within this timeline, Yan Junze had activated his Semi-Spirit Body and achieved perspective sharing with the Back-faced Woman.


    And the Yan Junze in the cold storage, at that moment via the Back-faced Woman¡¯s perspective, saw the imagery that remained after shedding, selectively displayed before his eyes as they overlaid the current ongoing scenes of the timeline without a flaw.


    In the cold storage, Yan Junze saw Ke¡¯er appearing in the room, displaying affection before climbing onto a cabinet, holding a heart in her hands for him to see, followed by the arrival of Brown-clothed People¡¯s figures flashing at the door, surging in.


    The footage shook, vanished.


    The second ¡°slice of bread¡± rose again, and after shedding a large number of unnecessary images, it entered a slightly later position in this timeline.


    In the scenes, Yan Junze was back to the FH Community in Shuntian City during that period, and the shared perspective occasionally saw images that had been stripped and integrated.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er were locked in a cage. Ke¡¯er was thrown into the cage, the Back-faced Woman was dragged, and then Ke¡¯er screamed, enveloped by flames.


    All these various scenes were clearly the contents of the earliest normal timeline that hadn¡¯t initiated the Great Rewind, now all being repurposed by the Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    Filling complete.


    They seemed real, but these images, in the current timeline, were nothing more than ¡°hallucinations¡± that Yan Junze from that time was utterly convinced of.


    Standing in the Void, Yan Junze needed to pay no heed to anything, just watching all this quietly.


    His feelings went from initial shock to slowly returning to calm.


    Now he was a bit confused whether the scenes he saw first truly happened or were already modified images fixed by the Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    If you can¡¯t figure it out, don¡¯t think about it. Too many timelines can make Yan Junze feel dizzy and have a headache at the moment.


    Anyway, things had finally come to a conclusion, which was the most important thing.


    Soon, a textual prompt emerged before his eyes.


    [The 3rd Butterfly Effect is undergoing self-repair.]


    ¡­


    [The 3rd Butterfly Effect has stabilized.]


    His head started to spin, the timeline before him disappeared, and all the ¡°slice of bread¡± image fragments also vanished.


    Yan Junze looked down and realized he was once again standing in the eerie Void with time scales in front of him.


    Everything around him was in a permanent state of stillness. He turned his head slightly to look at the stars, then silently recited the instructions to return.


    A Space-Time Rift appeared out of nowhere before his eyes.


    The Space-Time Rift, being in a state of extreme decay just like when he entered, was as thin and short.


    Yan Junze bent down and stepped forward. Walking on the Void as if on flat ground, he reached the rift, bent over, pushed it aside with both hands like lifting a tattered curtain, and crawled in.


    The rift turned into a point and then disappeared.


    Tianmeng District, on the outskirts of Shuntian City, at the Zhulin Road three-way intersection.


    The Void trembled, and a very faint, partially open Space-Time Rift suddenly appeared.


    Yan Junze seemed to be squeezed out from the rift by a powerful force, tumbling out and landing on all fours next to the edge of the road, looking towards the direction of the SUV parked askew in the middle of the road.


    Inside the black SUV, Qian San was still unconscious.


    And in front of the vehicle, the Clay Monster had completely taken control over Ku Zai, causing Ku Zai¡¯s mouth to gape open. A large mass of clay was converging to surge into his body through Ku Zai¡¯s mouth.


    This scene was precisely the moment just before Yan Junze had initially entered the Space-Time Rift.

 Chapter 516 - 516 355 Its All an Illusion

    ?Chapter 516: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion Chapter 516: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion At this moment, Ku Zai had already fallen into despair, luring the Clay Monster away from Yan Junze¡¯s body was purely instinctual.


    Because originally, the Clay Monster had always followed him, always hidden within his body, having made it its home. And after failing to detect his presence, it targeted Yan Junze instead.


    Therefore, Ku Zai couldn¡¯t just watch Yan Junze get into an accident because of him, he had to draw the Clay Monster to himself.


    Besides, Yan Junze had already said to just hang in there a bit longer, even one more second would do. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Ku Zai didn¡¯t know what exactly Yan Junze was up to, he believed in him. Every time Brother Yan asked him to do something, it was never wrong, he just needed to obey.


    Even Xiang Er listened to Yan Junze without question, He had even less reason to doubt.


    When he turned off the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, his presence was exposed, and the cunning Clay Monster approached again, immediately sensing something odd about Ku Zai. Thus, it used clay to control his hands, causing numbness in his arms, robbing them of strength, rendering him unable to press the button on his shielding garment again.


    The black clay moved like water along Ku Zai¡¯s arms, reaching his cheeks and gaping his mouth wide open.


    Then, the Clay Monster transformed entirely into a writhing stream of mud, surging towards Ku Zai¡¯s mouth.


    Ku Zai heard Yan Junze¡¯s call to hold on a little longer, but at this very moment, indeed, he couldn¡¯t hold on any longer.


    His heart was filled with immense fear, his body shook uncontrollably, and his mouth was widely agape, making a series of indistinct sounds: ¡°Yan¡­ Brother Yan, can¡¯t hold on any longer, quick¡­ quick¡­ save me!¡±


    No response came from ahead.


    Yet the words Yan Junze had said just before that, to hold on for one more second, still echoed in his ears.


    Gag!


    The black clay forced its way into Ku Zai¡¯s mouth, making it impossible for him to utter another sound, his eyes wide open, as if bulging out, with the mud incessantly rushing in.


    Ku Zai was completely overtaken by despair, and only then did he realize, Sister Xiang Er and the white-haired old woman had been locked in combat the whole time and couldn¡¯t break away to come to his rescue. And Yan Junze was in no position to save him either.


    Regarding what Yan Junze had said about holding on for one more second, it now sounded entirely like a consolation.


    ¡°Who could save me? No one!¡±


    His heart plunged into boundless despair.


    His lips were again stretched wide by the vigorously entering mud, emitting the sound of gagging but unable to vomit anything out.


    At that moment, less than five seconds had passed since Yan Junze uttered those comforting words.


    Splosh!


    ¡°Yah yah yah yah yah..¡±


    A bizarre sound suddenly rang out, followed by a sequence of angry shouts from a child.


    The black clay that was flooding into Ku Zai¡¯s mouth abruptly came to a standstill. Suffering immensely, his fearful gaze shifted downward, looking at the body that the Clay Monster had merged into.


    There he saw the mass that was now perforated with countless black hairs stabbing through it from behind, riddled with holes and utterly damaged.


    The next second, these manifold hairs suddenly fanned out completely like an open umbrella, and with a swoosh, all the black clay penetrating the hairs were chopped up into countless fine mud specks, scattering all over the ground.


    The Back-faced Woman and her daughter, Ke¡¯er, appeared behind.


    At this moment, the mother and daughter¡¯s hair was entangled together, in the midst of Bond Evolution, which was the state of Tibam Co-evolution as referred to by core members of the Half Moon Association.


    With the restraint gone, Ku Zai knelt down with a thump, propped himself up with his hands, and began to vomit profusely. The clay that had entered his mouth, having lost its base after the outside clay was destroyed, was now completely expelled by him.


    The mother and daughter did not relax, but stood ready, closely watching the scattered mud specks all over the ground.


    After Ku Zai vomited the last of the clay, these specks began to squirm again, rolling about on the ground as if magnetically drawn to each other, and quickly formed into a large mass once more.


    Within this mass of black clay, an angry face of a man emerged, swinging side to side, bellowing at the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    Seeing this, the mother and daughter shook their heads again, and their hair swarmed towards the still shapeless clay.


    Splosh!


    It was pierced once more.


    But immediately after that, the part of the mass that had been punctured slowly formed into a likeness of two palms, grabbing onto the hair, locked in a stalemate.


    Meanwhile, Yan Junze, still by the roadside ditch, was drained of energy, but having emerged from the Space-Time Rift, he now knew Ku Zai was going to be saved.


    Glancing over at the scene in the middle of the crossroads, he summoned all the strength in his body to climb onto the road ridge and staggered towards the Clay Monster.


    The Back-faced Woman, holding Ke¡¯er, also moved step by step closer to the Clay Monster.


    Their long hair was still expanding outward bit by bit, and although the Clay Monster seemed to be holding on, in actuality it couldn¡¯t last much longer.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to get close, with a swoosh, all the clay was once again sliced apart by the hair, clay crumbs, large and small, scattered all over the road, none connected.


    Yan Junze had now walked straight up to it, his hand unleashing the Black Spirit Mallet, holding it firmly.


    At this time, among the clay sliced by the hair, there was a slightly larger piece, squirming, merging again with other smaller pieces around it.


    Yan Junze walked over, bent down for a closer look, and saw something resembling a human brain enveloped within this mass of black clay, equally pitch-black, virtually indistinguishable from the rest without a careful inspection.

 Chapter 517 - 517 355 Its All an Illusion_2

    ?Chapter 517: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion_2 Chapter 517: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion_2 Afterwards, Yan Junze gripped the mallet with both hands, raised it high, gathered strength for a moment, and then heavily swung it down.


    With a loud boom, the enormous black brain was directly smashed to pieces.


    All the other black, wriggling clay on the ground came to a still, stopping altogether.


    Yan Junze noticed that the Black Spirit Mallet in his hands was absorbing some very faint energy, which seemed to be emanating from the clay.


    Before long, the black mud on the ground began to dry out, slowly hardening, and finally turned into a lifeless matter on the ground.


    Yan Junze sat down on the ground with a plop, and put away the mallet.


    This night, he had gone through finding a Space-Time Rift, collecting Different Dimension Energy, being chased by a Clay Monster, two Great Rewinds, and then rushing back to blow up the Clay Monster with Ke¡¯er and her mother.


    Now he felt as if he was about to collapse, ready to fall asleep on the ground at any moment.


    After a bout of retching, Ku Zai also felt much better, panting heavily, sitting on the ground and gently rubbing his throat that seemed to have been stretched to its limits.


    As for the sudden assistance from the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, Ku Zai wasn¡¯t the least bit surprised, because the current spacetime had been altered, and his memories had been unconsciously updated. He still remembered that shortly after Yan Junze had taken him back to his home in Shuntian City, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er appeared.


    These two seemed very familiar with Yan Junze, stayed for a few days, then disappeared for a while, and now they reappeared, which was no surprise to Ku Zai.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s mind, however, unlike others, he retained two sets of memories, before and after entering the Space-Time Rift. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These two sets of memories, each in its own memory channel, did not cross, thereby avoiding confusion. He could simultaneously view both sets of memories and clearly knew which events in one memory had not actually happened and which ones were memories formed after being revised.


    Of course, in the case of a Great Rewind, if the intertwining of timelines became too frequent and confusing, Yan Junze could directly block some unnecessary memory chains, just like the ¡°slices of bread,¡± those discarded spacetime scenes he had seen in the Space-Time Rift.


    This way, there wouldn¡¯t be several different memories of the same event.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er climbed down from the Back-faced Woman and glanced in the direction of Ku Zai.


    It had to be said, Ku Zai was highly attractive to Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er, after her visit to Zhen City Hospital, pursuant to Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, left Zhen City with her mother and returned to Yan Junze¡¯s home in the FH Community in Tianmeng District, Shuntian City.


    Nothing unusual happened on the way; everything was calm.


    However, due to her lower strength, Ke¡¯er had almost no resistance to Ku Zai. Upon arriving at FH Community and entering Yan Junze¡¯s house, she was immediately attracted by Ku Zai¡¯s constitution and nearly pounced on him, luckily caught by the Back-faced Woman.


    During this time, there were a few instances when she could not resist, but Ke¡¯er had learned to cope; whenever this happened, she would immediately cling to her mother, and the desire to approach Ku Zai would gradually subside.


    Later she shifted her attention and found that when embracing Yan Junze, her heart was also filled with a strong sense of dependency, and her impulse to approach Ku Zai likewise diminished.


    Therefore, during her time at Yan Junze¡¯s house, Ke¡¯er bounced back and forth between the Back-faced Woman and Yan Junze, never daring to take a direct look at Ku Zai.


    Sometimes, Yan Junze would envelop her and her mother directly into a node of the Spacetime Atlas, letting them absorb Different Dimension Energy for nourishment.


    Because history was altered during the Great Rewind, the moment Yan Junze emerged from the Space-Time Rift, he immediately found the mother and daughter¡¯s presence in the node of the mental Atlas.


    After altering history, their presence in this spacetime within the Atlas seemed natural, while the miniature construct in that node was still established by Yan Junze during a Great Rewind at Zhen City Hospital.


    However, after Yan Junze had performed the Evil Spirit Solid Lock on the mother and daughter in the hospital, he came through the Space-Time Rift with the empty node miniature construct. In the current spacetime, the two of them had moved back in again.


    So after shuttling back and finding the existence of the mother and daughter, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately released them to attack the Clay Monster.


    In terms of strength, with their Bond Evolution state, the Clay Monster was no match for the mother and daughter. Although it could hold on for a while, it would still get destroyed.


    But after experiencing so much, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t wait any longer, thus he took out the mallet and directly smashed the creature¡¯s brain.


    Although seeing Ku Zai caused Ke¡¯er to experience an intense and uncontrollable desire to approach him once more, she immediately turned back, crawling on all fours towards Yan Junze and skillfully clambered onto his back, laying her little face on his shoulder, and began to stroke Yan Junze¡¯s earlobe with her index finger.


    With the addition of the new memories, even though Yan Junze knew he and the mother and daughter had already met at his home in FH Community, he couldn¡¯t help but feel joyful at the sight of them.


    He reached back, touching Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair that seemed unwashed for an eternity, ¡°It¡¯s okay now, with me here, no one can hurt you two.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Ke¡¯er clearly didn¡¯t understand the meaning of Yan Junze¡¯s words, tilting her head, she tried to stretch her neck to keep it at a level position with Yan Junze¡¯s cheek, looking at him curiously.

 Chapter 518 - 518 355 Its All an Illusion_3

    ?Chapter 518: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion_3 Chapter 518: Chapter 355: It¡¯s All an Illusion_3 Actually, the Back-faced Woman had a liking for Ku Zai as well, but her self-control was hardly any different from Xiang Er¡¯s, and she, too, could control herself very well. At this moment, she was walking backwards step by step until she stood next to Yan Junze, without any other indication.


    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (high), completed, obtained 1400 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    Information on the mission¡¯s completion quickly popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    This was sent after the task [Special Attraction] was acknowledged following the defeat of the Clay Monster.


    However, Yan Junze found that the task [Special Attraction] no longer increased the upper limit of his Different Dimension Energy gains; it could only replenish the energy depleted within the current range of values.


    Currently, after the Great Rewind, the energy he had expended was still significant. The 1400 points of energy he had just obtained were far from enough to fill the gap, and he could only wait to slowly absorb and recover.


    After this series of events, Yan Junze had no energy left to struggle further; he only wanted to rest well for some time.


    Before long, Xiang Er rushed over. This woman almost leapt all the way here, scarcely touching the ground, and was very fast.


    However, by the time she arrived, everything had already ended.


    Xiang Er¡¯s memories were similarly updated. After glancing at the mess at the scene, she showed no surprise seeing the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, walking over to Yan Junze¡¯s side.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°With the help of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, defeating this Clay Monster was not difficult,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    Xiang Er said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this guy to have been secretly lurking and following us. Just now, while I was entangled with that white-haired old woman, it suddenly attacked you guys.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get hurt in the fight with that white-haired old woman, did you?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Before entering the Space-Time Rift, he had received mission completion information, and it turned out that the task level of the white-haired old woman had reached ¡°Terrified (low).¡±


    No wonder Xiang Er said she felt very irritable when she sensed this pressure.


    Xiang Er lifted her upper garment to reveal her snow-white, smooth skin. On her abdomen near the navel, there was a wound curved like a centipede.


    This wound must have been very deep just moments ago, but thanks to her body being a very special perfect female corpse, it was already healing on its own.


    ¡°The wound is just an external injury, nothing serious,¡± Xiang Er said as she lowered her top. ¡°But now, my true body is being shaken by the opponent¡¯s Magnetic Field Tremor; I need a few days to stabilize.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you should rest well these next few days. After going home, try not to go out,¡± Yan Junze said, knowing that the true body she referred to was the Ugly Girl Strange Creature itself. He nodded.


    Yan Junze retracted the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er into the node. At this time, Xiang Er helped the weak Ku Zai to his feet and had him sit in the SUV, then moved Qian San, who was lying unconscious on the driver¡¯s cab, to the back seat to sit with Ku Zai.


    The two of them sat in the back with tacit understanding, slumped over.


    Yan Junze took the driver¡¯s seat, started the car, made a turn, and headed towards Shuntian City center.


    While still on the road, Qian San woke up.


    Clutching his still somewhat groggy head, he asked, ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°On the way back to the city,¡± Yan Junze answered. ¡°The car skidded while driving too fast just now and spun in place. Your head hit the side window here and you were knocked out.¡±


    As he said this, Yan Junze pointed to the driver¡¯s side door, which was now missing its window, clearly having been completely shattered.


    Qian San held his head, ¡°Why do I feel¡­ like it was strangenesses¡­ chasing us?¡±


    ¡°Hallucination,¡± the other three in the car responded in unison.


    ¡°The hallucination I just had was of being chased by a strange creature, running so hard I was gasping for breath,¡± said Ku Zai weakly.


    ¡°Same for me, I had a hallucination of fighting with a strange creature, leaving my whole body aching,¡± Xiang Er said, rubbing her shoulders.


    Qian San looked confusedly at the others in the car. After a moment, he said, ¡°I had¡­ hallucinations too, a big bunch of mud chasing us. I was driving and running, then I was hit, and after that, I knew nothing.¡±


    Listening to his account, Xiang Er and Ku Zai¡¯s faces showed nothing but belief.


    After he finished, Qian San looked at Yan Junze. ¡°Did you have hallucinations?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze responded, driving intently with a slight nod.


    ¡°What was the hallucination?¡±


    ¡°Felt like going back to the past, changing history,¡± Yan Junze said. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Silence fell inside the car. After a long while, Qian San gave him a thumbs-up involuntarily, ¡°Man, your hallucination is epic!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home. The suburbs are still too dangerous. I¡¯ve decided not to look for anything anymore!¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the car repair and also give you some nutrition fees and payment for this trip.¡±


    In the darkness of night, the black SUV entered the city center and quickly disappeared at the end of the road leading to FH Community.

 Chapter 519 - 519 356 Here Let Me Wash Your Hair for You

    ?Chapter 519: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!) Chapter 519: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!) The three who returned home late at night took turns taking showers, and aside from Xiang Er who, as always, stood by the window gazing at the night view, Yan Junze and Ku Zai began a snoring competition.


    The snoring rose and fell in waves; both men were just too exhausted, and Xiang Er noticed that they hadn¡¯t even turned over once throughout the night.


    In the following days, nobody left the residential complex again.


    Yan Junze brought both Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er back within the node reduction, and he either got up to eat or went back to sleep in his bedroom, resting for several days until he finally felt like he had fully recovered.


    Of course, Ku Zai was much less resilient, suffering from body aches and a decreased immunity, which led to him catching a cold soon after.


    Xiang Er took on the responsibility of looking after him.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mother, Li Man, even went to the trouble of making ginger soup, instructing everyone to drink it daily to dispel the chill from their bodies.


    This morning, Yan Junze finally woke up at a normal time.


    By then, Xiang Er had already gone out to buy groceries with Li Man. After getting up, he glanced at Ku Zai, who was just beginning to feel better from his cold, still sleeping soundly at the moment.


    Yan Junze drew the curtains slightly, darkening the bedroom to a sleep-friendly state, and tiptoed out.


    He took a chair with a backrest and entered the bathroom, shut the door, turned on all the lights, including the heating lamp.


    Yan Junze began filling the sink with water, continuously testing and adjusting the temperature.


    During this process, he released both Ke¡¯er and Back-faced Woman from the Lockdown.


    In fact, judging from previous experiences, after Yan Junze had locked down Ugly Girl, her substantial power allowed her to appear forcefully without his permission.


    That time on the streets of Tianyi District, Ugly Girl¡¯s sudden appearance had even startled Yan Junze.


    The power of Back-faced Woman now was not much less than that of Ugly Girl before her merger with the perfect female corpse, so if she wanted, she could also break free from the Lockdown and appear forcibly.


    Upon finding herself in the bathroom, the Back-faced Woman paused, then heard Ke¡¯er utter a curious ¡°Huh¡± and quickly scuttle over to the sink where Yan Junze was working, tilting her head and watching him with blinking eyes.


    Ke¡¯er knew that Yan Junze was about to wash his hair.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, he took out two clean towels, shampoo, soaked one towel in the water, and then folded the other neatly, putting it aside to dry his hair later.


    Then he grabbed the only plastic stool in the bathroom, tilted the chair with a backrest that he¡¯d brought in onto the stool, and prepared an empty plastic basin to catch the water beneath.


    Washing his hair had turned into a full ceremony.


    Seeing his serious preparations, Ke¡¯er became even more excited at the prospect.


    To be honest, it had been a long time since she had seen Yan Junze wash his hair. It felt like this time, Yan Junze was genuinely preparing to wash his hair properly, just for her to enjoy the spectacle.


    While thinking this, Ke¡¯er began climbing up Yan Junze¡¯s pant leg with her hands and feet, eager to get onto his back for the best viewing angle.


    But the next second, Yan Junze caught her dark little hand, laughing, ¡°What are you up to?¡±


    Ke¡¯er, taken aback, tilted her head to look at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting ready to wash my hair, but did I say I¡¯d let you watch?¡± Yan Junze smiled cheerfully.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Ke¡¯er was even more puzzled.


    Yan Junze picked her up with a laugh, ¡°Because¡­ today you¡¯re the star, I¡¯m washing your hair.¡±


    A brief silence fell in the bathroom.


    But the next second, Ke¡¯er¡¯s excited shrieking suddenly erupted.


    ¡°Yayayayayaya¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman stood still for a moment, then took a couple of steps forward, curiously watching the scene unfold.


    As a spirit, she couldn¡¯t wash Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair clean anyway; only a human who understood how to control and disrupt the spirit magnetic fields could possibly do so.


    ¡°Starting from now, don¡¯t move, just stay still and quiet,¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    Ke¡¯er, who was flailing excitedly in his arms, nodded her head and lay down quietly in his embrace, no longer making a fuss. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze laid her down on the tilted backrest chair. Since a spirit¡¯s weight was negligible, he wasn¡¯t worried that the chair would slip.


    As she lay down, Ke¡¯er¡¯s head was directly above the empty plastic basin, her dirty hair sprawling through the air, most of it clumped together in sticky masses.


    Yan Junze picked up a rinse cup, smiling as he advised, ¡°Close your eyes tight, be careful not to let water get in them.¡±


    That advice was actually superfluous, because even if Ke¡¯er kept her eyes open, the water wouldn¡¯t really enter her eyes while her hair was being washed.


    But Yan Junze believed that all the necessary motions and steps should be observed throughout the hair-washing process, rather than doing a halfhearted job.


    Upon hearing his words, Ke¡¯er quickly closed her eyes, a sweet smile curving on her lips.


    Warm water poured out of the cup, flowing into Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair, but the next second, it simply passed through her hair and dropped into the plastic basin on the floor, not a single drop clinging to her hair.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate, he activated his Semi-Spirit Body, only partially, just enough to be able to control the surrounding magnetic field.


    Back when he completed the task ¡°The Brother Sleeping on the Bunk Above,¡± he had already gained a preliminary understanding of how to manipulate the spirit magnetic fields, using the ability to change spirit magnetic fields to help solve the ¡°problems¡± during that mission.


    In deploying this technique, Yan Junze¡¯s transformation into a Semi-Spirit Body didn¡¯t have to be complete, as long as he could sense and control the nearby magnetic field, he could accomplish it.

 Chapter 520 - 520 356 Here Let Me Wash Your Hair for You

    ?Chapter 520: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_2 Chapter 520: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_2 His hands quickly immersed themselves in the invisible magnetic field atmosphere; he scooped another cup of warm water and poured it over Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair.


    This time, Ke¡¯er¡¯s closed eyes slightly squinted, as if she was enjoying the sensation.


    The poured water, visibly clean, flowed through the dirty strands of hair, dividing into several streams before dripping into the plastic basin on the ground.


    It was working, but the force of the water flow on Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair was not very strong, so Yan Junze intensified the magnetic field¡¯s effect.


    He scooped a second cup of warm water and slowly poured it from the roots of her hair down.


    Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t move, but Yan Junze noticed that her limbs, which had been tense the whole time, were now gradually relaxing.


    The Back-faced Woman came over, squatted down, and watched the scene without blinking.


    When the hair was finally wet throughout, Yan Junze squeezed out a generous amount of shampoo and carefully spread it through Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair, bit by bit.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair was very dirty, and when the shampoo was applied, it only formed a little lather; after rubbing it in a couple of times, the lather completely disappeared.


    After rubbing a couple more times, Yan Junze rinsed her hair with water, and in the process, the strands of hair that had clumped together all separated, these formerly stiff strands of hair had all become soft.


    After applying shampoo for the second time, more foam appeared.


    Yan Junze, acting like a Tony from a ¡°wash, cut, and blow-dry¡± barbershop, stepped in personally, massaging Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair patiently and meticulously, making sure every single hair tip was tended to.


    Seeing the Back-faced Woman looking very closely, he said, ¡°How about I wash yours too after we finish here?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman did not respond, stood up, and walked to a corner of the bathroom without coming any closer.


    But she still peered at Ke¡¯er.


    As Yan Junze massaged the hair, he asked, ¡°Does it feel good?¡±


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    ¡°After this wash, the change in your magnetic field will keep your hair clean forever.¡±


    ¡°Eh!¡±


    After massaging for a while, Yan Junze lifted Ke¡¯er¡¯s long hair into his palm to check it carefully and make sure it was all clean before starting to rinse.


    He rinsed with great care as if genuinely afraid that any foam or water might accidentally get into Ke¡¯er¡¯s eyes or ears.


    Ke¡¯er kept her eyes closed and didn¡¯t move, as if she had fallen asleep.


    Soon after being thoroughly rinsed, the warmth of the hot water still hadn¡¯t dissipated from Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair, and Yan Junze picked up the prepared dry towel and slowly wiped her hair.


    Ke¡¯er opened her eyes, smiled, and her eyebrows bent into crescents.


    After Yan Junze finished wiping her hair, she stood up and shook her head; the hair that seemed wet just moments ago was now completely dry and airy.


    Yan Junze looked down at the plastic basin on the ground used to catch the water, which still had a bit of foam but wasn¡¯t dirty at all, not a speck of filth remained.


    The dirt that had belonged to Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair had been ¡°washed¡± away.


    All present, one person and two strangenesses, were well aware that Yan Junze had the ability to clean Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair without the need for this washing process.


    But to fulfill Ke¡¯er¡¯s wish, the washing had to be done, and it had to be done with great care. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman came over and picked up Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er swung her hair playfully, looking proud and content, filled with a sense of pleasure.


    As Yan Junze poured the water, he asked the Back-faced Woman, ¡°Do you want me to wash your hair, too? To be honest, your hair isn¡¯t much cleaner than Ke¡¯er¡¯s before her wash.¡±


    After speaking, he looked at the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman shook her head.


    Yan Junze stopped talking, turned around to put the towel and the basin back in their places, turned back, and Ke¡¯er immediately extended her arms to him. Yan Junze took her from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s embrace.


    After her hair was washed, Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair didn¡¯t emit any fragrance; in fact, there was no smell at all, but Yan Junze still said with a smile, ¡°Mm, Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair smells so nice!¡±


    ¡°Eh?!¡±


    Ke¡¯er curiously sniffed her own hair, didn¡¯t smell anything, and then leaned her head against Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, rubbing her cheek against it a couple of times before slowly closing her eyes.


    ¡°You have a special privilege today; you can stay on my shoulder as long as you like,¡± Yan Junze said with a laugh.


    The Back-faced Woman slowly advanced and extended her hand toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment then reached out with his left hand, taking her unusually cold hand.


    ¡°Thank¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s hoarse throat managed to produce only a single syllable before it fell silent.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to speak, he suddenly felt something indescribable being abruptly pulled out from his body, passing through his hand that was holding the Back-faced Woman¡¯s hand, then it disappeared.


    A wave of weakness overcame him, but this feeling was quickly replaced by his body¡¯s own strength; his feet steadied after a brief stagger.


    The Back-faced Woman let go of Yan Junze¡¯s hand; she now looked as if she had just been drunk, unsteady on her feet, and she pointed at Yan Junze, ¡°Go back¡­¡±


    Seeing her condition was off, Yan Junze knew she meant she needed to return to the Spacetime Atlas node to rest; without a word, he immediately returned the Back-faced Woman to the shrunken state, leaving only Ke¡¯er quietly slumped on his shoulder as if asleep.


    Sensing down, Yan Junze confirmed his suspicion that his Semi-Spirit Body had vanished.


    Half-Spirit Body, also known as Fake Spirit.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s understanding, a Fake Spirit marked the standard for a person to become half a strangeness. This means that the former Yan Junze had always been half a strangeness.


    If not handled carefully, or if an accident occurred while activating the Semi-Spirit Body, it was easy for the Fake Spirit to become a True Spirit, resulting in an irreversible situation.

 Chapter 521 - 521 356 Here Let Me Wash Your Hair for You

    ?Chapter 521: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_3 Chapter 521: Chapter 356: Here, Let Me Wash Your Hair for You! (Please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_3 Transforming into a True Spirit would then become a real strangeness, and one could never return to being a human.


    Originally, the Back-faced Woman planted the Fake Spirit in me with the intention of both taking care of and monitoring me. At that time, she did not care about the harm it would cause my body after implanting the Fake Spirit.


    Of course, if utilized properly, having a Semi-Spirit Body can be life-saving in certain special circumstances.


    But no matter what, it is still a form of harm, unavoidable over the years.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s partner, Zhang Di, who also accidentally acquired a Semi-Spirit Body, his strength increased rapidly, but his lifespan would be shorter than that of an ordinary person.


    This doesn¡¯t even account for the possibility of accidents when activating the Semi-Spirit Body. When that moment comes, one would instantly become a True Spirit, which is even riskier.


    Therefore, for ordinary people, becoming a Fake Spirit is a mixed blessing: the joy is in the enhanced strength, but the sorrow lies in the precariousness of life. One cannot eat normally but must consume some bizarre foods.


    For instance, Yan Junze later discovered that drinking a bit of blood was still all right, but Zhang Di¡¯s staple was actually eating dirt. All sorts of soil¡ªdry, wet, sticky¡ªhe wasn¡¯t picky.


    Just thinking about that scene made Yan Junze feel like retching.


    No wonder the first time I asked Zhang Di what he ate, the guy just pretended not to hear.


    After withdrawing the Back-faced Woman back into the node, Yan Junze sensed several times and finally confirmed that his Semi-Spirit Body had indeed disappeared.


    For a moment, he actually felt somewhat unable to adapt.


    For so long, after acquiring the abilities of the Semi-Spirit Body, his attack methods had been used many times, each having a significant impact. In fact, there were one or two instances where Yan Junze survived solely through the Semi-Spirit Body; without it, he might have been long dead.


    However, on second thought, the recklessness and naivety I often exhibited must come at a cost.


    Previously, relying on the Rewind, I recklessly bashed ahead; a few times, indeed, I did too much. If it weren¡¯t for the Semi-Spirit Body standing in the way, I would have been done for.


    Now that the Back-faced Woman has taken it back, the first benefit is that I can live a bit longer. The second is not having to worry about accidentally turning into a True Spirit after activating it, and the third is being able to enjoy delicious food again, not just continue drinking various bloods. As for the fourth and most important one, it serves as a reminder to myself to always be cautious.


    However, losing such a powerful means of confronting strangenesses so suddenly indeed feels a bit awkward.


    Yan Junze revealed a bitter smile, lowered his head, and looked at his outstretched hands. Was his control over the magnetic field over after washing Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair?


    With a thought, he looked at Ke¡¯er, who was lying on his shoulder.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er was just like when she first met him, lying on him motionless all day.


    Of course, if she encountered other stronger strangenesses, she would still¡­


    Yan Junze reached out to touch her hair, sensing the strange magnetic field coming from Ke¡¯er just like he had when he sensed the Semi-Spirit Body within his own mind.


    As his left hand neared Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair, he gently lifted it, letting it fall naturally.


    His fingers touched Ke¡¯er¡¯s cheek next, pressing it lightly, with no reaction from her.


    Yan Junze extended two fingers and firmly pinched Ke¡¯er¡¯s cheek, wiggling it around.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s brows furrowed, and she suddenly woke up, her face unhappy as she looked up and saw it was Yan Junze pinching her. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She didn¡¯t know why but her frown immediately smoothed out, not upset anymore, and she lay her head back on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, making ¡°ya ya ya ya¡± sounds. She twirled her forefinger near Yan Junze¡¯s earlobe twice, then closed her eyes again.


    Yan Junze was already overjoyed in his heart.


    That¡¯s right, if Ke¡¯er could feel the pinch, that means¡­ I still possess the ability to control strangenesses magnetic field!


    What¡¯s going on here?

 Chapter 522 - 522 357 Thank You Too

    ?Chapter 522: Chapter 357 Thank You Too! Chapter 522: Chapter 357 Thank You Too! ¡°`


    Lying on the sofa, with an electric heater turned on beneath the side table, the area around the sofa was warm and cozy.


    Yan Junze lay with his eyes open, while Ke¡¯er was sprawled on top of him, motionless as if in deep sleep.


    He was still pondering why he could still interfere with the strangeness magnetic field.


    Zhang Xiaomo had once told him that some people in this world can draw close to strangenesses, and these individuals¡¯ physiques differed from ordinary people.


    Now, Yan Junze knew, for he had met quite a few, like Lv Xin whom he first encountered, followed by Cheng Jingting, and then Yan Long, Jingting¡¯s teacher.


    As for the most recent, that was his newly recruited underling¡ªKu Zai.


    Actually, sometimes Yan Junze thought, if Yan Long or Cheng Jingting had a body like Ku Zai¡¯s, which naturally attracted strangenesses, they would probably wake from their dreams laughing.


    On the other hand, if a Spirit Cultivator had a physique like Ku Zai¡¯s, it would be an undeniable disaster for all ordinary people, even for Exorcists.


    Ku Zai¡¯s special physique could attract strangenesses, but were there others with even more unique physiques?


    Or perhaps those with normal physiques who, after experiencing certain things, having contacted certain strangenesses, or encountering certain events, transformed into a kind of unique physique beyond imagination.


    For example, controlling the strangeness magnetic field, having the ability to interact deeply with strangenesses?


    Yan Junze lay on the sofa, raising his hands with fingers outstretched, staring incredulously at his ten digits.


    Having just pinched Ke¡¯er¡¯s cheek to test, reality had proven to him that he could, if he wished, engage in bare-handed combat with strangenesses. In other words, he could cause harm to strangenesses.


    Of course, the prerequisite was that it had to be a fight he could win.


    Against a Back-faced Woman who used her hair as a weapon, it was likely he would be sent to heaven to pedal a tricycle before he got close to her.


    Even now, with his physique changed and being able to fight strangenesses with bare hands, he could only handle the lesser ones; the real strangenesses could not be defeated with his bare hands.


    At this moment, another idea popped into Yan Junze¡¯s head, what if he paired this with his dedicated weapon¡ªthe Black Spirit Mallet?


    Hands that could inflict damage on strangenesses, together with a mallet that could cause even more harm, might be a good combination.


    ¡°If only the mallet could be refashioned into something, like a huge metal umbrella that could both fight strangenesses and block out the moonlight,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He sat up straight, found some paper and a pen, leaned on the side table, and began to sketch vigorously.


    In his previous life, he may not have been an artist, but he had learned from a young age and had a certain foundation in drawing. In this life, though he never had the chance to show it off, the basics were still there. With just a few simple strokes, a sketch of a large metal umbrella appeared on the white paper.


    Yan Junze pondered while chewing on his pen, occasionally adding a stroke here and there.


    When Li Man and Xiang Er came home with groceries, he was already immersed in his work and completely unaware of their return.


    If he could transform the Black Spirit Mallet into an umbrella, not only could it be used to block the moonlight, but it could also serve as a weapon to counter strangenesses, killing two birds with one stone.


    Most importantly, Yan Junze felt that standing in front of an enemy with a mallet versus with an umbrella gave a completely different impression. He actually preferred the latter.


    Under the moonlight, a man with an umbrella walked alone out of the night, the umbrella made of black special fabric with a metal handle, adorned with three Black Spirit Pearls, and with his cold, elusive face, the silent man pointed the tip of the umbrella at the strangeness.


    ¡°Sorry, actually I am an¡­ exorcist!¡±


    Utterly imposing and formidable!


    At this moment, overcome by his adolescent fantasies, Yan Junze¡¯s mind brimmed with visions.


    His pen moved across the paper, drawing and crumpling sheets into balls to be discarded, then seizing fresh sheets to sketch fervently, his face alternating between smiles, furrowed brows, and booming laughter, clapping in approval.


    Everyone at home had no idea what Yan Junze was up to, and if it weren¡¯t for Xiang Er¡¯s interference, Li Man almost called the psychiatric hospital.


    He kept modifying and pondering the design, spending the last twenty days of his vacation on this project.


    Even on New Year¡¯s Day, when everyone else was celebrating, he carried out a big bag of discarded papers to burn. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all his experiences, Yan Junze himself noticed he was becoming more cautious. With the return of his Semi-Spirit Body, the potential risk was gone, but so was a necessary form of protection.


    Therefore, Yan Junze became even more cautious.


    At present, the one who could pose a constant threat to him was the shadow under the moonlight¡ªFang Ning.


    The rest, like Ning Ji, the Lantern Woman from his dreams, and her husband Jia Sheng, had reached an understanding with him and would not only refrain from harming Yan Junze in dreams but could also defend against certain special strangenesses that could invade dreams.


    The hazards of his Semi-Spirit Body were gone, along with its unique skill as a trump card.


    However, he now had a new Special Skill¡ªsilhouette.


    Yan Junze believed his ¡°Silhouette¡± skill would be of great use in the future.


    Only after dealing with the current shadow killer, Fang Ning, could he truly rest easy.


    After the New Year, having had the reunion dinner, school was to start in the second week.


    Yan Junze had a restful time during this period, not caring about anything. There was, however, a call from a high school classmate asking for help to check out a strangeness event that a friend had asked to be dealt with.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 523 - 523 357 Thank You Too_2

    ?Chapter 523: Chapter 357 Thank You Too!_2 Chapter 523: Chapter 357 Thank You Too!_2 By the time it got to Yan Junze¡¯s turn, he knew too well the adage ¡®fame brings trouble just as fattening brings slaughter to pigs¡¯; people around him would instantly think of him whenever they encountered or heard about other people experiencing strange events.


    Once he knew that the strangeness wasn¡¯t particularly harmful to people, Yan Junze turned down his classmate but still called Huang Chen, asking them to prioritize this case, so it could be dealt with swiftly.


    During this period, Ku Zai¡¯s father made a special trip to Shuntian City to visit his son, bringing along many local specialties and gifts in such quantity that they were transported in a small van.


    While unloading, other residents of the building complex thought the Yan Family was preparing to open a convenience store, with Aunt Zhang from the ground floor¡¯s courier station cum convenience store looking displeased.


    However, it soon became known to everyone that these were gifts especially sent to the Yan Family.


    The house was filled to the brim with them, causing Yan Daguo and Li Man to beam with joy as they warmly entertained Ku Zai¡¯s father. Only now did they realize their son had done this family a great favor, for which they were profoundly grateful.


    Later, Ku Zai¡¯s father insisted on hosting a banquet for the Yan Family at the city¡¯s finest restaurant.


    After all the excitement, Ku Zai¡¯s father stayed in Shuntian City for a few days before heading back to Tianmeng in advance.


    Before Yan Junze and the others left, Li Man prepared many things for him to take until he said he could carry no more, and only then, with reluctance, did she stop.


    The items to be carried were quite varied. If Yan Junze had been alone, he would not have been able to carry them all, but fortunately, he had Xiang Er and Ku Zai to help.


    Four large travel bags held all kinds of items. Apart from clothes, Li Man stuffed in a lot of daily necessities and an abundance of long-lasting dry food, fearing her son might go hungry.


    Yan Junze even found in the bags some roast chicken that Li Man had made herself, carefully sealed in a vacuum bag.


    If Yan Junze hadn¡¯t insisted, Li Man would have even tried to fit fifty raw eggs into the travel bag.


    After bidding farewell to his parents, Yan Junze, Xiang Er, and Ku Zai left home as if fleeing, Xiang Er carrying the most, while Ku Zai symbolically carried a single bag containing some clothes.


    There was no helping it; with Ku Zai¡¯s frail constitution, it was enough that he could keep up with Yan Junze and the others, never expecting him to carry more.


    Upon reaching the entrance of the complex, since they had agreed to return with Zhou Dali, who had booked a business vehicle the night before to ensure there was enough room for four people and their considerable luggage.


    At this time, Zhou Dali was already the first to get on the vehicle but was still on his way.


    While he had not yet arrived, Yan Junze left the bags at the gatehouse and said to Xiang Er and Ku Zai, ¡°Wait here for me. If Dali arrives, just wait for a moment for me. I¡¯ll be back shortly after a quick trip.¡±


    He then turned back and re-entered the complex but didn¡¯t go upstairs to his home; instead, he headed for the basement garage.


    He quickly arrived at the dark pipe room¡¯s door.


    This time, the door was shut tight. Yan Junze switched on his phone¡¯s flashlight and gently pushed the door open.


    The next second, a flurry of footsteps approached, as if four or five people were running towards Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled but did not retreat. Instead, he lifted his phone, the flashlight illuminating deeper into the room.


    He saw two strange babies with grey-white skin crawling out from the inner room, rushing towards him quite excitedly and swiftly.


    Aunt Mei followed behind, swaying side to side, her face always wearing the same inscrutable smile.


    The strange babies quickly came close to Yan Junze, splitting to each side and latching onto his legs without letting go, raising their heads to look at him.


    Because they were extremely sensitive to human gaze, but at that moment, they desperately needed Yan Junze to understand their thoughts, so they strained to squint their eyes, looking mistily at the person whose legs they clung to.


    Yan Junze smiled and shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t enter the node anymore. I¡¯m about to leave and have decided not to take you with me. Yeah, you two stay here with Aunt Mei.¡±


    The two strange babies suddenly looked dumbfounded and turned their heads to look at Aunt Mei.


    Aunt Mei had already swayed over, extending her slender arm to rest on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder while slowly shaking her head.


    Yan Junze shook his head in response, ¡°No, Aunt Mei. I only realized after returning that without you, they¡¯d be in dangerous territories. I don¡¯t know why your body is riddled with holes, but with the strange babies here, they can help you at any time. I can¡¯t just watch something bad happen to you, and the community¡­ also needs you.¡±


    Aunt Mei withdrew her hand and silently watched him, her smiling face seeming to become very stiff and eerie.


    Yan Junze met Aunt Mei¡¯s eyes without flinching.


    After a few minutes of silence, Aunt Mei finally nodded slightly.


    Yan Junze reached out and took the initiative to grasp Aunt Mei¡¯s unbelievably slender hand, which felt cold and stiff, as if it belonged to a mannequin. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What if those worms inside you reappear when I take the strange baby away?¡± Yan Junze spoke gently, ¡°I don¡¯t want to come back and find your body completely devoured, leaving only a head.¡±


    Pausing, he continued, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t want anything to happen to this community, and the same goes for you.¡±


    Aunt Mei nodded again, her smile constant.


    Crouching down, Yan Junze hugged the two silent, head-down strange babies and whispered, ¡°I know you like being in the node, but I¡¯d prefer you stay with Aunt Mei; she needs you. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do¡ªevery week, I¡¯ll let my father place some incense candles at the garbage can to the right outside of the pipe room. You can go and get them at night, okay?¡±

 Chapter 524 - 524 357 Thank You Too_3

    ?Chapter 524: Chapter 357 Thank You Too!_3 Chapter 524: Chapter 357 Thank You Too!_3 The strange baby lifted its head, still squinting, not daring to meet Yan Junze¡¯s gaze.


    One of the strange babies nodded while the other shook its head.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was momentarily taken aback.


    The nodding strange baby looked at the one shaking its head, who, at the same time, looked back at the nodder, and then they reversed roles, the nodder shook its head and the shaker nodded instead.


    Both strange babies froze at the same time, their faces the epitome of awkwardness.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Alright, I know you don¡¯t want to lose Aunt Mei either, so it¡¯s settled. When my dad comes to offer incense, you better not come out, or if you scare him, I won¡¯t let you two off easy.¡±


    This time, the two strange babies finally acted in unison and nodded together.


    ¡°My friend should be arriving soon, so I¡¯m off,¡± Yan Junze stood up and looked towards Aunt Mei.


    The two strange babies hung their heads, walked to Aunt Mei¡¯s side, shrank back a little fearfully, and lay next to her feet without moving.


    Yan Junze walked to the entrance of the passageway, stopped, turned to face Aunt Mei, and bowed gently, ¡°Thank you!¡±


    With that, he turned and left.


    Once again, the passageway was submerged in endless darkness, without any movement or breathing sound, a complete silence.


    In the darkness, Aunt Mei still stared at the door of the passageway that had just closed by itself, watching the direction Yan Junze had left.


    After a long while, her lips moved as if she was saying something, but no sound came out.


    If you looked closely at her lips, it seemed she was saying, ¡°I thank you too!¡±


    ¡­


    On the plane heading to Tianmeng.


    Yan Junze gazed at the blue sky outside the window, sitting bored, ready to release Ke¡¯er to hold and play with.


    But through his Inner Vision Atlas, he noticed this little one was tightly hugging her mom, with her head buried in the Back-faced Woman¡¯s chest, seemingly resting.


    A large amount of Different Dimension Energy was slowly flowing into the node.


    The longer it stayed in the node, the more it could grow, so Yan Junze gave up the idea of holding her, allowing Ke¡¯er¡¯s strength to grow a little faster.


    Although Ke¡¯er intended to hide herself, she was never one of those special strangenesses adept at invisibility; Ku Zai and Xiang Er could both see her.


    Every day after Ke¡¯er came out, she would either lie on her mother¡¯s body or Yan Junze¡¯s, and everyone had gotten used to it.


    While Ke¡¯er was initially fearful of Xiang Er, she had since become familiar, and sometimes she would sit on Xiang Er¡¯s lap to play. However, Xiang Er¡¯s strangeness pressure was great, and even with intending to restrain it, after getting close, it still naturally elicited a feeling of fear deep inside Ke¡¯er.


    Sitting beside Yan Junze, Zhou Dali had no idea what Yan Junze was thinking. However, his gaze had just returned from taking a glance at Xiang Er in the next seat over.


    Rubbing his nearly falling eyeballs, Zhou Dali clicked his tongue and said, ¡°You lucky dog, surrounded by beauties. This girl Xiang Er is almost catching up to my Shang Cuicui.¡±


    ¡°Just almost catching up?¡± Yan Junze said with a smirk. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali laughed awkwardly, then after a moment, stretched out his thumb and forefinger, ¡°Alright, to the average person, she¡¯s a tiny bit prettier than Cuicui. But in my eyes, Cuicui is a tiny bit prettier than her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re becoming more cunning with age,¡± Yan Junze teased with a laugh.


    ¡°But why do you keep bringing that scrawny guy along?¡± Zhou Dali quietly pointed at Ku Zai, cautioning, ¡°You better be careful, I feel like this fellow might keel over any second. If he dies by your side one of these days, I¡¯m afraid his family will blame you.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head with a smile.


    Zhou Dali continued, ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you, he¡¯s been sneakily looking at girl Xiang Er all the time.¡±


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed? His gaze towards Xiang Er is very unusual.¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s unusual, otherwise why would I warn you?¡± Zhou Dali¡¯s voice suddenly rose, but realizing Ku Zai might hear, he quickly lowered it again.


    ¡°I mean, have you noticed his gaze includes affection, fear, hesitation, confusion, and a sense of being overwhelmed?¡± Yan Junze added.


    Zhou Dali looked puzzled, took another careful peek at Ku Zai, and mused, ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem to be the case, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°Perhaps only Ku Zai himself knows best.¡±

 Chapter 525 - 525 358 Magnetic Knife Magnetic Knife

    ?Chapter 525: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife! Chapter 525: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife! Ku Zai¡¯s current attitude towards Xiang Er was complicated since he saw Xiang Er¡¯s true face in Qishan Public Cemetery last time, but he didn¡¯t show complete fear and rejection.


    Yan Junze guessed that the guy wasn¡¯t entirely unable to accept the Ugly Girl¡¯s appearance, after all, no matter how ugly or terrifying the strangenesses he had deeply encountered.


    It was just that, in his mind, the image of Xiang Er suddenly revealed the appearance of the Ugly Girl, creating a strong contrast that caught Ku Zai off guard.


    One could say that, at that moment, his entire worldview had been overturned.


    However, Yan Junze believed that time was the best medicine, and eventually, Ku Zai would come to accept the truth. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After arriving at Tianmeng, they split up with Zhou Dali outside the airport, with Zhou Dali returning to his sports institute, while Yan Junze and the other two headed back to Tianmeng Science University.


    When they got to the outskirts of the campus, Yan Junze decided to place all the food and surplus living supplies at Xiang Er¡¯s rental house.


    Because if he took them back to the dorm, there was simply no place to store them.


    Sorting out everything in the rental house, Yan Junze was once again overwhelmed by his mother¡¯s love during the process, and it took him a full two hours to finally get everything organized.


    In order to arrange everything neatly, they even occupied a good half of the space in the rental house.


    He saved some local produce to give to his dormitory mates including Huahua later, and then Xiang Er asked him if she would be living in this rental house with Ku Zai in the future.


    Realizing this, Yan Junze went to ask the landlord and found that the girl renting the room next to Xiang Er wasn¡¯t renting it for the semester, and the room was vacant. Through a mere wall, Xiang Er could still exude her pressure to protect Ku Zai.


    Without much thought, Yan Junze rented the room and had Ku Zai move in.


    He left the rest to Xiang Er to handle.


    Yan Junze, carrying a bag of local products, entered the school and returned to the dorm. As he arrived quite late and the last day for registration was tomorrow, the other roommates had already arrived.


    Huahua was distributing the goods he brought to Zhao Zheng and He Bishou. Yan Junze glanced at it, and it was a kind of papaya facial cleanser that Huahua marketed on the Vibrato platform. The brand was unheard of, but Huahua kept insisting it was useful.


    Seeing that Yan Junze had arrived, Huahua got excited, held out his fingers, and took out a box of facial cleanser set from his big shoulder bag placed on the desk, ¡°Junze, I have missed you so much after a holiday! Here, this is a gift for you, theirs are just single items, but I got you a set.¡±


    ¡°Huahua shows favoritism!¡± Zhao Zheng stuffed the papaya facial cleanser under his pillow and grumbled.


    Huahua retorted, ¡°You, a big guy, are simply built like a burly basketball player, it¡¯s okay to use facial cleanser now and then, but let your face be rough, that way girls will like it.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± He Bishou also stashed the facial cleanser in the desk drawer near his bed and asked.


    Huahua frowned, scrutinized him up and down for a few seconds, and then blurted out three words: ¡°Lose weight first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡±


    He Bishou sat down heavily on the lower bunk, and Zhao Zheng, who had just climbed to the upper bunk, shook violently twice, turning pale with fright and quickly grabbed the headboard railing.


    ¡°No, I need to eat a bag of chips to calm down,¡± He Bishou said as he skillfully opened a pack of chips and stuffed a handful into his mouth.


    Yan Junze laughed heartily.


    Huahua then pulled out a box of unnamed milky white liquid from his big shoulder bag as if by magic.


    ¡°Apply a bit of this after the facial cleanser, it¡¯s 24-hour oil control and moisturizing, prevents the skin from drying out, and can also be applied on the lips to prevent chapping, it¡¯s my rare private collection.¡±


    After whispering this to Yan Junze, Huahua got busy packing up his things.


    Yan Junze knew he was expressing his gratitude for helping Huahua¡¯s best friend deal with a ¡°back-figure¡± strangeness last time. He took the unnamed milky white liquid and glanced at it but said nothing.


    But to have him apply the product to his own lips, even if Huahua were beaten to death, he wouldn¡¯t do so.


    Life after the start of the semester returned to tranquility.


    Every day was spent on time attending classes, in the dorm, the cafeteria, the library, the laboratory, and then the rental house off-campus.


    Apart from the tasks that must be done at this stage, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think about other things and didn¡¯t wander around.


    He was too tired from the recent past, plus he had experienced some things he currently didn¡¯t understand, and now he also had some new changes that he needed to adapt to and rest for.


    After a while, the Different Dimension Energy in his Spacetime Atlas was naturally fully recharged, reaching its peak state.


    Yan Junze was building up his energy, nourishing the strangenesses in the Atlas and hadn¡¯t used any of them.


    Ku Zai gradually became familiar with the environment around the school, going from being unused to it initially, to sometimes having Xiang Er accompany him to roam and walk around the school, to get a feel for what the atmosphere of an academy is like.


    At Ku Zai¡¯s age, he should have been attending university, but due to his special physique, he and studying were no longer destined.


    Although he didn¡¯t enjoy studying much, the absence of this vital experience in life inevitably left him feeling lost.


    Since Huahua often visited Xiang Er¡¯s rental house, he quickly became chummy with Ku Zai, and sometimes even Yan Junze didn¡¯t know where the three of them had gone.


    After leaving the lab that day, Yan Junze received a call from Zhang Xiaomo.


    Xiaomo had been on a business trip in Shouzheng District and didn¡¯t return until today. She quickly rushed to Tianmeng Science University after getting off the plane.

 Chapter 526 - 526 358 Magnetic Knife Magnetic Knife_2

    ?Chapter 526: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife!_2 Chapter 526: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife!_2 After spotting her at the school gate, Yan Junze deliberately spread his arms, making a motion as if to hug her.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face turned red, and she, who was originally approaching at a brisk pace, quickly slammed on the brakes, gave him a white look, then glanced at Xiang Er, who was standing by with a grin, and at Ku Zai, who was in a state of bewildered confusion.


    ¡°This is Ku Zai, my newly taken underling,¡± Yan Junze introduced.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded at Ku Zai and said to Yan Junze, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re more and more like a gang boss?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°You know I wouldn¡¯t pick someone bad, right? You¡¯ve already seen what Xiang Er is capable of when we encountered the Spirit Zhao Qi last time.¡±


    Hearing this, Zhang Xiaomo looked surprised and gave Ku Zai another look, but she really couldn¡¯t see what was so special about the boy; she felt like she could probably blow him over with a single breath.


    Could it be that he¡¯s the king of shamming injury?


    After a few words, Xiang Er tactfully took Ku Zai and left, heading back to the rental house.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, was dragging Zhang Xiaomo around the outskirts of the school; it was still early, not yet time for dinner.


    As they talked, Zhang Xiaomo realized that this guy kept leading her to places with fewer people, avoiding anywhere there were others.


    Whenever there was a house by the road, Yan Junze would take her along a small path, avoiding it completely, and soon they arrived at a patch of weeds, surrounded by several tall banyan trees, which immediately darkened the surroundings.


    Yan Junze, still holding Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, continued walking into the weeds and stopped after about four or five minutes.


    Once he was sure they wouldn¡¯t bump into anyone else in this place, Yan Junze turned around, rubbed his hands together, and smiled broadly.


    This look completely overturned the favorable impression Zhang Xiaomo had of him in her mind.


    ¡°Is it¡­ that urgent?¡± she thought to herself.


    ¡°Give me your magnetic knife,¡± Yan Junze extended his hand.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s first thought was: this guy probably wants to get cozy with me, but he¡¯s afraid I might not be able to accept it, and in a moment of impulsivity, I might draw my knife on him, so he wants to disarm me first. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Your magnetic knife, let me try it,¡± Yan Junze pointed to her small backpack.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s second thought was: this guy is quite smart, knowing I might not give him my magnetic knife, saying he just wants to try it himself¡ªwhat¡¯s there for a Semi-spirit to try, really?


    ¡°Magnetic knives don¡¯t have complicated features like fingerprint unlocking, right? They should be usable by anyone, come on, lend it to me so I can make a couple of moves,¡± Yan Junze continued.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s third thought came to her mind: Should I ¡°lend¡± it or ¡°not lend¡± it?


    Yan Junze extended his hand, unaware of what this woman thought, just looking at her somewhat surprisingly, thinking to himself, I¡¯m only borrowing your magnetic knife, why do you hesitate as if you¡¯re about to lose your virginity?


    After a moment, Zhang Xiaomo bit her lip and stomped her right foot lightly, ¡°The hell with it, here you go!¡±


    The decision to hand over the magnetic knife to Yan Junze was the result of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s intense internal struggle; it was no longer a simple matter of lending the knife.


    She opened her backpack, took out her magnetic knife with its sheath, and handed it to Yan Junze with a red face.


    After he took it, she felt her breathing become even more rapid, her heartbeat quickened, her eyes gently closed, and she leaned forward, slowly moving to meet what she anticipated next.


    A moment later, there were no warm lips approaching her, no strong arms holding her. Instead, she heard the sound of someone brandishing a magnetic knife foolishly nearby, occasionally shouting as if a street performer on the go.


    When she opened her eyes, she saw Yan the Big Fool waving her magnetic knife around without any technique, fiercely swinging it through the air. His posture was intimidating and his footwork was erratic, nearly chopping himself several times. His figure moved and his clothes fluttered in the wind.


    Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡­


    ¡°What, he can make such a ruckus with a magnetic knife?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was stunned.


    Rubbing her eyes, she took a closer look and realized that the noise was coming from him ¡°whooshing¡± breaths as he swung the knife, each swing accompanied by a breath, his movements and sounds perfectly in sync.


    Never had Zhang Xiaomo seen anyone wield a knife and provide their own sound effects; this was a first for her.


    ¡°What are you doing? Having a seizure?¡±


    After swinging for a while, Yan Junze, out of breath, stopped and looked at the magnetic knife, puzzled.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t the magnetic knife reacting?¡±


    ¡°You think just anyone can use a magnetic knife?¡± Zhang Xiaomo came over, none too pleased.


    Just now, her thoughts were running wild, but it turned out that Yan the Big Fool really just wanted to borrow her magnetic knife, without any other intentions.


    Here she was, a beautiful woman right in front of him, in the middle of nowhere, being so actively cooperative, yet this guy had all his thoughts on the magnetic knife.


    Zhang Xiaomo was speechless.


    Yan Junze, oblivious to what he had missed in that brief moment, looked at Zhang Xiaomo in surprise and replied, ¡°I feel that I can use the magnetic knife now.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked astonished, ¡°How do you feel that? You should know that my sensitivity to Magnetic Force is innate, and it took extensive training to be where I am now. Some Exorcists with one or two stars who naturally lack magnetic sensitivity need to activate it through their body¡¯s magnetic properties to resonate with the strangeness¡¯s magnetic field. And some novice Exorcists, no matter how much they activate it, still have a certain chance of never being able to use the magnetic knife.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded his head, lifted the magnetic knife and looked at it, then asked, ¡°Tell me, how can I activate this magnetic knife like you did?¡±

 Chapter 527 - 527 358 Magnetic Knife Magnetic Knife_3

    ?Chapter 527: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife!_3 Chapter 527: Chapter 358: Magnetic Knife, Magnetic Knife!_3 Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment and pointed to the Hidden Buckle on the handle of the magnetic knife, ¡°During the use of the magnetic knife, you press here with your thumb, utilizing your control over Magnetic Force, in coordination with the use of the Hidden Buckle, to first unleash the magnetic glow.¡±


    She paused and added, ¡°There¡¯s no need to unleash a lot of magnetic glow, but it must envelop the blade to harm the strangenesses. The magnetic glow covering the blade is sometimes invisible, while the magnetic glow that extends outward is visible. At that point, the magnetic knife¡¯s effect on the strangenesses becomes much more severe.¡±


    ¡°Will it hurt people?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°A magnetic knife wrapped in magnetic glow can only harm strangenesses, it can¡¯t hurt people. But if there is no magnetic glow enveloping the magnetic knife, it can form a physical strike and cause damage just like any ordinary knife would to a human body,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    Yan Junze nodded, looked down at the magnetic knife in his hand, stretched out the thumb that was holding the handle, and gently pressed it on the surface of the embedded Hidden Buckle.


    Imagining the same sense of control over the strangenesses¡¯ Magnetic Force he felt when he pinched Ke¡¯er¡¯s cheeks, a sense of harmony spontaneously emerged.


    The magnetic knife in his hand buzzed and gently trembled in Yan Junze¡¯s grip.


    Upon closer inspection, the blade¡¯s surface was already wrapped in an invisible force that rippled like air, the Magnetic Force. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze then lifted the knife and swung it lightly a couple of times, feeling much more at ease, as if he could slice the air itself.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°When fighting against strangenesses with a magnetic knife, it¡¯s not about flailing showily like you just did. You¡¯ve been watching too many martial arts films. Real combat involves just a few moves, chop, slash, flick, stab. Assisting from different angles can form various attacks like horizontal chop, vertical slash, diagonal flick, direct stab. Of course, you also need to strengthen your physical training. Otherwise, after a few chops, you¡¯ll be too exhausted to breathe, or if your footwork is not agile and you trip yourself, what good is fighting?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, got it,¡± Yan Junze nodded, seemingly enlightened.


    Keeping his thumb on the Hidden Buckle, he strengthened his control over Magnetic Force again, and the magnetic knife issued a soft hum. With a buzz, a faint light burst forth from the tip, extending out a meter before stopping abruptly.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    Zhang Xiaomo was also surprised, ¡°This is the magnetic glow you¡¯ve unleashed; you can actually extend it this far!¡±


    Yan Junze swung the knife a couple of times and asked, ¡°So if I were to slash at a strangeness now, could I cut it in two with one strike?¡±


    ¡°For the weaker strangenesses, yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded. Then she shook her head, barely believing, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you use a magnetic knife before, and I didn¡¯t expect your control over Magnetic Force to be this strong!¡±


    ¡°Not that strong,¡± Yan Junze laughed, ¡°It¡¯s only extended a meter.¡±


    ¡°This is a three-star Exorcist¡¯s magnetic knife; the magnetic glow can only be extended to a maximum of one meter,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°If it were a four-star Exorcist¡¯s magnetic knife, then the distance would be even greater.¡±


    Yan Junze, astonished, ¡°Are you saying my limit could be even more than this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±


    Yan Junze retracted the Magnetic Force and handed the magnetic knife back to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll write an application for a magnetic knife, one of those for four-star Exorcists.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo put the magnetic knife into her backpack and shook her head, ¡°It might not be approved, as the magnetic knife is exclusively allocated for three-star Exorcists and above, and the squad controls it very strictly, much more so than the Magnetic Shielding Clothes you applied for last time.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°You have to apply for the Exorcist test first. If you want to use a four-star Exorcist¡¯s magnetic knife, you have to take the four-star qualification test,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°Normally, you would also need Merit Points, but consider the significant contributions you¡¯ve made to Tianmeng early on, with a guarantee from the Tianmeng Squad, it should be possible to waive Huaying District¡¯s Merit Points requirement.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Seems¡­ somewhat complicated.¡±


    Mainly because the Exorcist testing equipment is quite peculiar and high-end, he was reluctant to let these people test his body, fearful that his secrets might be discovered.


    What if his body turned out to be more extraordinary than any Exorcist? These were concerns he couldn¡¯t ignore.


    ¡°Who manufactures these magnetic knives? I mean, which master craftsman?¡± Yan Junze asked with a grin.


    Zhang Xiaomo replied, ¡°They are uniformly made in Huaying District. The manufacturing site is top secret; I don¡¯t know who the master craftsman is, but my teacher definitely would.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Do you think I could get this master to make a custom weapon just for me?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head in disbelief, ¡°I¡¯ll have to consult with my teacher to find out the situation before I can answer you.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    As he spoke, Yan Junze suddenly pulled her into his arms with no warning.

 Chapter 528 - 528 359 Flight Attendant (5000 words please

    ?Chapter 528: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!) Chapter 528: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!) When they left the grass, Yan Junze was holding Zhang Xiaomo by the shoulders.


    Zhang Xiaomo quietly leaned her head on his shoulder, quiet as a quail. After a moment, she asked, ¡°Where did you buy this lipstick?¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°Now, my lips feel smooth and very comfortable. You should apply more in the winter to prevent chapped lips,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said softly.


    The image of Huahua twisting a finger around an orchid appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    When they returned to their rental, the sensible Xiang Er had already prepared a steaming hot pot, and Ku Zai was washing vegetables, his hands red and trembling from the cold as he carefully placed the cleaned vegetables into a basket.


    Zhang Xiaomo came over, rolled up her sleeves and said, ¡°Let me do it. You¡¯re too frail, rest more and don¡¯t catch a cold.¡±


    Ku Zai glanced at Yan Junze and, seeing that he made no objection, nodded his head.


    Sitting in front of a small heater inside, the four of them happily enjoyed the hot pot.


    Zhang Xiaomo said she would ask her teacher after returning home and get the contact information of the master craftsman, and then she would inform Yan Junze.


    In the following days, Yan Junze was pulled aside by Professor Di Zhiwen, an expert in the study of time, to assist him in his research on the theory of time line curvature.


    Professor Di Zhiwen, needing to complete a high-quality paper to be published in the most authoritative academic journal of the Great Capital, did not dare to be negligent and managed to capture Yan Junze, asking for leaves of absence on his behalf from other teachers, spending over two weeks with him.


    Spending all day and night with Professor Di Zhiwen, Yan Junze had no time for himself.


    Fortunately, the paper was successfully published and had received a commendable response within the academic community of the Great Capital.


    In the process, although Yan Junze did not have the professional depth of Di Zhiwen, as a practitioner with profound control and application of the time line, he offered many theoretical insights, which, to others, were mere speculations, but he knew were practically applicable.


    Yan Junze then locked himself in the lab and took his magnetic field knowledge seriously, carrying out experiments where possible, making sure not to overlook any detail.


    One month later.


    Having used instinct to perceive and control magnetic fields, he now began to grasp some tricks after understanding various theoretical aspects and conducting extensive practice.


    This provided more foundational knowledge for his goal of crafting a Black Spirit Umbrella. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In his spare time, he would sit in the dormitory, drawing and writing, further enriching and perfecting the concept of the Black Spirit Umbrella, paying attention to every detail from each rib and support point to the handle, including how it would be used as a weapon and its effects in combating strangenesses.


    Of course, he also considered necessary precautions against Fang Ning¡¯s appearance under the moonlight and so on.


    The more detailed the design became, the more the concept of the Black Spirit Umbrella matured.


    A few days after Zhang Xiaomo left, she called Yan Junze to inform him that her teacher in Huaying District had given her the contact information of the magnetic knife craftsman, who was currently committed to a new Exorcist team project.


    In the olden days¡¯ terms, he was in closed-door research, and the entire team was working intensively, which might take about two months to conclude.


    According to Xiaomo, they were most likely researching a helmet that controlled the thoughts of living beings, tentatively named the ¡°Prohibition Illusion Helmet,¡± likely based on the prototype they had confiscated from those Americans, further developed into the results now.


    The completed device was excellent news for controlling spirits like Zhao Qi.


    Yan Junze knew well that if he could control Zhao Qi effectively, this spirit¡¯s lethality was truly frightening.


    Naturally, that assumed he hadn¡¯t succumbed to madness himself.


    Having time to prepare thoroughly, Yan Junze detailed the umbrella¡¯s structure in the atlas, analyzing how the Black Spirit Pearl would function, as well as how the magnetic forces within the construction of the umbrella would interact to unleash its maximum potential, describing these on the drawings.


    Since he had previously resolved ¡°problems¡± for his bunkmate without a magnetic knife, and had cleaned Ke¡¯er¡¯s hair, he knew about controlling magnetic forces better than an ordinary three-star Exorcist.


    Having used Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife once, it proved his high level of control over magnetic forces, extending the knife¡¯s magnetic glow to its limits.


    So, in terms of analyzing the magnetic paths inside the Black Spirit Umbrella, Yan Junze was confident in his designs, with perhaps a few minor adjustments required. If achieved, the umbrella¡¯s power could be tremendous.


    In the following month, Yan Junze took on two cases from the Exorcist team¡¯s liaison He Yun. Neither of the cases was complex, and the strangenesses involved were not special.


    Both tasks were rated ¡°Trembling with Fear,¡± and posed no difficulty to resolve. In total, he received 1600 points of Different Dimension Energy from the two tasks, increasing the energy capacity in the atlas even further.


    Soon after, Professor Di Zhiwen came to find him, saying that he had been invited by the authoritative academic journal of Huaying District and was preparing to take a trip there soon.


    Since Yan Junze had helped tremendously with the paper as his assistant, the professor extended the invitation to join him if he was interested.

 Chapter 529 - 529 359 Flight Attendant (5000 words please

    ?Chapter 529: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_2 Chapter 529: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_2 Yan Junze calculated the time and decided it was about when Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned that the manufacturing master¡¯s new project was due to end, so he gave Xiaomo a call.


    Zhang Xiaomo immediately confirmed it, and soon called Yan Junze back, saying that the magnetic knife master¡¯s research and development was indeed drawing to a close, probably sometime this week.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze found Professor Di Zhiwen and told him that he was willing to join him on the trip to Huaying District, so he could take the opportunity to seek the master¡¯s assistance in completing the Black Spirit Umbrella concept.


    Zhang Xiaomo sent him the master¡¯s contact information, and to avoid being turned away, she also sweet-talked her teacher who raised her, asking the teacher in the Huaying District to give the master a heads-up and ask for a favor on her behalf.


    Once everything was settled, Yan Junze was ready to depart with Professor Di Zhiwen.


    He packed some clothes and prepared the final design blueprints of the Black Spirit Umbrella, which now made up a thick stack, detailing the structure of each component.


    To ensure perfection, Yan Junze had already dismantled seven umbrellas, studying their structure and adding his own modification ideas.


    This time, he decided not to bring Xiang Er and Ku Zai with him, and since he was going out with Professor Di Zhiwen, it wasn¡¯t convenient to take them along.


    On the day he left Tianmeng District for Huaying District, Yan Junze called Zhang Xiaomo and found out that Xiaomo was no longer in Tianmeng City but had gone on another business trip to a very remote and impoverished area of Tianmeng.


    There, two households had died suddenly overnight in horrific circumstances, an incident that had been classified as a Level C event.


    Yan Junze suspected that at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit was responsible for this strangeness, with Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di heading there and joining forces with three-star Exorcists already in that area. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze urged Zhang Xiaomo to stay safe, then headed to the airport with Professor Di and boarded the plane.


    Looking at the current trend, while the frequency of the strange occurrences did not seem to be rising, Yan Junze knew it was because the Exorcists were intensifying their suppression efforts.


    If the Exorcists were to relax their grip even slightly, certain areas might see the numbers of the strange escalate in geometric proportions, eventually becoming uncontrollable similar to what happened in Zhen City of the Luoxia District.


    Such a level of suppression meant that being an Exorcist was becoming increasingly difficult, with great work pressure and the risk to their lives growing ever greater.


    The fact that Zhang Xiaomo was often away on trips showed that incidents involving the strange were actually on the rise.


    Furthermore, Yan Junze noticed that the strength of these strange beings was gradually increasing. Previously, it had been rare for a Semi-Sculpting Spirit or higher-level strangeness to appear in one city, but now the number of Level C events identified by Exorcists was also growing, an inarguable fact.


    It was said that Huaying District had the least number of strange occurrences, as it was the district in Great Capital with the most Exorcists. They also had the strictest surveillance and control, to the point where some people had never even seen any strange occurrence firsthand.


    ¡°Have you ever been to the center of Great Capital before?¡± Sitting on the plane, Professor Di Zhiwen asked Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±


    Di Zhiwen smiled and said, ¡°Many people yearn for life in Great Capital, thinking it¡¯s safe there, without any disturbances from the strange, but I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    ¡°To be free of any strangeness, you have to pay an equal price,¡± Di Zhiwen said slowly. ¡°Take the residential compound where my teacher, Professor Wei of Huaying University, lives, for example. Everyone entering has to be scanned by a Spirit Detector, and every corner of the compound is fitted with Spirit Detectors, performing nonstop Spirit Exploration 24 hours a day. Just the radiation from that ensures that these people will not have a comfortable life.¡±


    Pausing, he continued, ¡°Not only that, even walking on the streets of Huaying District, you might encounter an Exorcist and a Safety Official together inspecting you. Do you think it¡¯s a regular check? It¡¯s not. The Safety Official is in charge of verifying your ancestry going back eighteen generations through your identity information, while the Exorcist performs a Spirit Exploration check on you.¡±


    Yan Junze frowned, ¡°What does the Exorcist check for?¡±


    Di Zhiwen explained, ¡°They check to see if you are possessed by a strange being, if there¡¯s anything abnormal with your body. They carry Spirit Detectors, brain signal detectors, and they¡¯ll even draw your blood on the spot or take a sample of your skin for testing.¡±


    Yan Junze was speechless; that was incredibly strict.


    But he understood why they would perform blood tests or skin sample testing. For example, Xiang Er, in her current condition, would be exposed immediately by those two types of tests and would not be able to hide.


    This was a test designed specifically for Corpse Spirits, like Cheng Jingting¡¯s White-haired Corpse or some Corpse Spirits that looked like ordinary people on the surface. If they brazenly walked the streets and were discovered upon testing, there would be an immediate alert to a large number of Exorcists and Safety Officials, who would swiftly have them controlled or eradicated on the spot.


    This meant that within the entire Huaying District, not only common strange beings but also Corpse Spirits would have nowhere to hide.


    Yan Junze could imagine that if a Spirit Bridge were to appear in Huaying District, the entire district would mobilize all its Exorcists, striving to remove the Spirit Bridge as quickly and efficiently as possible¡ªnot like in Tianmeng, where it took several months to deal with one.


    Moreover, the number of ordinary people harmed by the Spirit Bridge would probably be reduced to the minimum.


    It was no wonder that the heart of Great Capital was such a tightly controlled core area; Yan Junze inwardly marveled.

 Chapter 530 - 530 359 Flight Attendant (5000 words please

    ?Chapter 530: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_3 Chapter 530: Chapter 359: Flight Attendant (5000 words, please subscribe, seeking monthly votes!)_3 ¡°Take a rest, we¡¯ve still got plenty of time before we reach our destination,¡± Di Zhiwen said, yawning himself and closing his eyes to recharge.


    After listening to his introduction, Yan Junze kept mulling over the different strangenesses he had learned about combined with the current situation.


    It would take about three hours to fly from Tianmeng to Huaying.


    Before he knew it, he had quickly fallen asleep.


    The person sitting next to him, Di Zhiwen, opened his eyes, pressed the call button to summon a stewardess, and covered Yan Junze with another blanket, afraid he might catch a cold.


    As the flight continued, the cabin gradually quieted down from the initial sporadic conversations, with passengers either sleeping, reading books, or putting on headphones to listen to music or play on their computers.


    Di Zhiwen couldn¡¯t sleep, so he got up and walked to the restroom.


    While in the aisle, he encountered a tall stewardess walking towards him. The stewardess was wearing a light blue uniform skirt and a red silk scarf tied around her neck. Upon seeing Di Zhiwen approach, she politely stepped aside, smiling softly with a slight bow.


    Di Zhiwen also smiled and nodded, crossing the aisle to the restroom door. He looked down and saw the green light on, indicating the restroom was unoccupied, so he twisted the handle and walked in.


    After defecating, he washed his hands, dried them off, and when he turned around, he realized the toilet hadn¡¯t flushed automatically. He pressed the manual flush button a couple of times, but there was no response.


    Di Zhiwen opened the restroom door and didn¡¯t head back to his seat. Instead, he walked towards the stewardesses¡¯ work area.


    Upon reaching the work area, he glanced at the sign overhead that read: ¡°Crew Only.¡±


    Seeing no other option, Di Zhiwen poked his head in and saw a stewardess with her back to him, seemingly busy pouring orange juice from a large box into a glass container.


    He recognized the figure; it must have been the stewardess he had encountered in the aisle.


    He spoke up, ¡°Excuse me, the flush system in Restroom 1 is broken, could you please take a look? If it can¡¯t be fixed right away, it might be necessary to close that restroom for now.¡±


    After he finished speaking, Di Zhiwen hesitated for a moment as he realized the stewardess didn¡¯t react at all and continued with what she was doing.


    At this point, he noticed her clothing was disheveled, worn at odd angles, and her posture wasn¡¯t standard but lopsided, with one shoulder higher than the other. The red scarf tied around her neck had shifted towards the back.


    Looking down at her legs, he saw her stockings were dotted with black spots, as if stained with engine oil, and one of the heels of her high-heeled shoes was broken, making one of her feet completely tiptoe.


    ¡°Have you¡­ had an accident?¡± Di Zhiwen asked in astonishment.


    No longer minding the ¡°Crew Only¡± sign, he stepped into the work area while asking, ¡°Did you fall? Are you injured?¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The busy stewardess stopped what she was doing, lifted her head, her hair in disarray. She remained silent, just slowly, limpingly turning to face Di Zhiwen.


    Di Zhiwen¡¯s face turned pale in an instant as he saw her appearance.


    The stewardess standing before him wasn¡¯t the one he had met before; they just had similar figures.


    This stewardess had a terrifying face; her lower jaw was nowhere to be seen, her long tongue hanging out of her mouth, trailing over her neck.


    Splatters of blood mixed with saliva dripped from her mouth, forming strings that fell into the freshly poured juice glass in her hand.


    Looking at Di Zhiwen, she tilted her head slightly to the side, her eyes wide open and unblinking.


    Now, as her head tilted, something else oozed from her ears, falling to the ground, a viscous substance that seemed to come from within her head.


    This sight left Di Zhiwen completely stunned.


    ¡°Ah ah ah ah¡­¡±


    A garbled noise came from the stewardess¡¯ throat, her feet turned inward as she stepped forward, lifting the glass of juice as if she wanted Di Zhiwen to drink it.


    ¡°Quick, someone help¡­¡±


    Di Zhiwen was panic-stricken and quickly backed away. Before he could finish speaking, he felt a weight on his shoulder as someone grabbed him and pulled him sharply backwards.


    A man dressed in all black stepped forward, bypassing him with a magnetic knife in hand, emitting a half-meter-long magnetic glow, and slashed diagonally down from the stewardess¡¯s shoulder.


    With a swishing sound, she was split into two halves.


    A cloud of black smoke surged, and the stewardess screamed and disappeared in an instant. The glass she was holding fell from mid-air and shattered on the ground.


    After the man in black slashed the creature, his brows furrowed, he remained silent, carrying the magnetic knife as he inspected the area.


    As a seasoned professor, Di Zhiwen had never witnessed such a scene before, and he was so shaken that he trembled, standing there, at a loss for what to do.


    After inspecting with no new discoveries, the man in black frowned, lifted his head, and said to Di Zhiwen, ¡°Old man, please go back to your seat, and don¡¯t mention what happened here to anyone, to avoid causing a panic.¡±


    Di Zhiwen was already panicked, and he hastily nodded, shakily going back to his seat and sitting down with a thump.


    Because he sat down with such force, his seat shook slightly, causing the adjacent seat to also rock gently.


    Yan Junze woke up to find himself covered with a wool blanket, realizing it must have been Di Zhiwen who had asked the stewardess to cover him while he slept; he smiled and said, ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    But as soon as he spoke, he noticed Di Zhiwen had broken out in a sweat, his expression tense and his face deathly pale as if he hadn¡¯t heard him.


    Sitting up straight, he reached out from under the blanket and touched Di Zhiwen¡¯s forehead, ¡°Professor, are you feeling ill? Where does it hurt? I¡¯ll call a stewardess right away.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that, don¡¯t call,¡± Di Zhiwen grabbed his hand and shook his head vigorously.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Yan Junze could tell something was off with Di Zhiwen¡¯s reaction; it didn¡¯t seem like illness, more like fright.


    Knowing Yan Junze had another identity beyond being a professor, Di Zhiwen thought for a moment, then leaned in and whispered, ¡°There¡¯s strangeness in the work area.¡±

 Chapter 531 - 531 360 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 531: Chapter 360: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 1) Chapter 531: Chapter 360: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 1) Time rewound to the moment before.


    After encountering Di Zhiwen in the aisle, the air hostess dressed in a light blue uniform courteously stepped aside; her name tag bore three characters: Guan Hongna.


    As they brushed past each other, Di Zhiwen also responded with a smile.


    Once the passenger had passed, Guan Hongna continued through the aisle to the elevator leading to the cargo hold below, pressed the elevator button, and the doors opened immediately as it was already on that level.


    Guan Hongna stepped in and pressed the button marked ¡°B¡±, the elevator doors closed and began to descend.


    Seconds later, the elevator came to a halt with a ding, and as it sensed someone¡¯s presence, the cargo hold lit up automatically with incandescent motion lights that cascaded down, illuminating every corner as if it were broad daylight.


    Guan Hongna had come to the cargo hold to get a box of orange juice for the catering area. Upon entering, she casually pulled a small and refined trolley from the side and made her way to the beverage storage area. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She first wrote a line in the register, leaving a record of her retrieval.


    Then, pushing the trolley, she arrived in front of a tall shelving unit. Normally, the orange juice was placed on the first level, easily reachable by hand.


    However, after looking for a while, Guan Hongna noticed that only bread and biscuits were on the bottom shelf. Looking up, she saw several boxes of orange juice placed on the third level.


    She didn¡¯t know who had stacked it this way during loading, as it wasn¡¯t allowed by regulations since it made retrieval difficult, yet no one had noticed this during inspection.


    Guan Hongna furrowed her brows and turned to see a sliding A-frame ladder nearby. She glanced down at her skirt.


    The ladder¡¯s steps were quite far apart, and climbing it would be inconvenient in a skirt, but inconvenience didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t be done.


    Guan Hongna pulled the ladder over, looked around, and slightly lifted her skirt¡¯s hem so she could have a greater stride when climbing. Then she began to ascend.


    Although climbing in high heels wasn¡¯t easy, she had no choice at the moment. With great care, Guan Hongna climbed to the second-to-top rung of the ladder and stood in place.


    She gently rocked side to side; the ladder was stable, and even when applying some force, it wouldn¡¯t slip.


    Guan Hongna stood upright and reached up with both hands to retrieve a small box of orange juice.


    The orange juice was packed four bottles to a box, and the box wasn¡¯t very large or heavy, so Guan Hongna didn¡¯t think to ask for help.


    At that moment, she had already lifted the box above her head, carefully holding it and slowly lowering her arms.


    Just as it reached the height level with her head, her left hand suddenly slipped, and the box holding the orange juice tilted to the left.


    Guan Hongna cried out, instinctively lunging forward to try to catch the box, but both feet twisted in her high heels, and she tumbled over the other side of the ladder.


    Not only did she fail to catch the box of orange juice, but Guan Hongna¡¯s body completely flipped over, and her head plummeted downward, crashing with a smack onto the third step of the opposite side of the ladder, producing a crisp cracking sound.


    By then, her body had completely turned over, and after the initial contact point, she slid rapidly down the ladder, nearly falling until her head struck the second rung.


    Already unconscious, Guan Hongna¡¯s mouth hung open, blood pouring out, while her chin caught on a protruding piece of metal from the second rung.


    As her body continued to descend, the metal hook snagged her chin tightly, tearing a gash, leaving her chin stuck on the position of the second rung while her body lay on the ground, blood flowing like a fountain.


    Seconds later, her horrific body began to twitch as the blood seeped out, staining the entire area red.


    A pendant slipped from the blood-soaked collar of Guan Hongna¡¯s neck.


    It was a gold-plated turquoise pendant, with the turquoise gemstone in the middle shaped like a lozenge, soon submerged by the blood.


    At that moment, a faint green glow flew out from the turquoise, penetrating into Guan Hongna¡¯s convulsing corpse.


    ¡­


    ¡°Strangenesses?¡±


    Upon hearing Di Zhiwen¡¯s words, Yan Junze was astonished.


    He knew well that the cleansing of strangenesses on flights was thorough, with almost constant checks in progress.


    If there were strangenesses aboard the plane, it was highly probable that the entity was newly born, or that it was so powerful it had evaded detection by the Exorcist¡¯s Spirit Detector and multiple inspections.


    But if that were the case, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if he could handle it.


    And if it were a newly born strangeness, he was somewhat puzzled about what could have caused its emergence, and why it would appear so quickly.


    However, Yan Junze knew that usually, there was an Exorcist guarding a passenger jet.


    Exorcists on this level of aircraft were at least two-star, but since the plane was flying to the central city of Huaying District in the Great Capital, he guessed this plane¡¯s Exorcist must be at least three-star.


    ¡°There should be an Exorcist on the plane,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Di Zhiwen immediately nodded, ¡°Yes, yes, just now an Exorcist dressed in black saved me. He had that kind of knife, a knife specifically for killing strangenesses, and with one slice, he split that air hostess in half.¡±


    ¡°Was the strangeness an air hostess before?¡± Yan Junze asked, somewhat surprised.


    Di Zhiwen nodded, ¡°It should be, I thought at first it was the one I saw before going to the bathroom, but it didn¡¯t look quite the same afterward. The strangeness¡¯s chin had fallen off, it was horrifying.¡±

 Chapter 532 - 532 360 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 532: Chapter 360: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) Chapter 532: Chapter 360: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) At this moment, Di Zhiwen¡¯s words seemed quite childish; he was obviously displaying the behavior of someone who had suddenly become disoriented after encountering terror.


    Now, he urgently needed to find someone to rely on, and clearly, Yan Junze was that person.


    But if the strangeness was the flight attendant¡¯s doing, then it¡¯s very likely she sneaked onto this flight at the airport. After all, no one would guess that just below, in the cargo hold, a flight attendant had just died a horrific death in an accident.


    The probability of such an event occurring was indeed very low.


    Yan Junze was also guessing that, if even the jaw had fallen off, it might be a flight attendant who just got off work, had a car accident, and then, after becoming a strangeness, ran back to the place where she used to work.


    ¡°Hmm, a three-star Exorcist is holding the magnetic knife, it¡¯s alright, he¡¯s here.¡±> Yan Junze nodded, ¡°But Professor, don¡¯t wander around for the time being, just sit tight next to me, we will arrive at our destination in a little over an hour.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going, I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± said Di Zhiwen, scared out of his wits, and immediately shook his head like a tambourine.


    At this moment, inside the passenger cabin, there was not a single flight attendant in sight; they must have been notified to go to their work area.


    In the catering area.


    Duan Ning, dressed in black sportswear, had his magnetic knife lying horizontally on the dining table in front of him, staring intently at the airplane staff.


    Except for the copilot from the cockpit who hadn¡¯t come over, the rest of the crew, including the captain, flight attendants, and air marshals, was mostly present, and the captain was currently counting heads.


    Though Duan Ning was watching them, his thoughts lingered on the scene where he had just chopped off the strangeness of that flight attendant.


    As a three-star Exorcist, Duan Ning didn¡¯t know how many strangenesses he had cut down. Although the strike just now seemed no different from cutting other strangenesses, at the moment when he made his move, he found that his magnetic knife wasn¡¯t exerting much effort, feeling somewhat light.


    However, Duan Ning was quite sure that he had indeed killed the flight attendant strangeness, but the feeling was different, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was an illusion or if there really was some slight perceptual difference.


    But dealing with strangenesses for a long time always left Duan Ning with an indescribable sense of unease in his heart.


    Soon the captain finished the headcount, came over with a serious expression, and said to him, ¡°We¡¯re one person short, a flight attendant named Guan Hongna, the air marshals and other attendants have gone to look for her.¡±


    Duan Ning nodded. It was his first time on this flight, so he wasn¡¯t very familiar with the crew; otherwise, upon seeing the strangeness for the first time, he would have been able to confirm whether the strangeness was a crew member of this flight.


    Standing up, Duan Ning said to the captain, ¡°You guys keep looking; if you find her and she¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no need to tell me. If you discover anything, notify me immediately.¡±


    With that, he walked out toward the passageway of the catering area.


    The captain called after him from behind, ¡°Are you going back to your rest chamber?¡±


    Duan Ning shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m going to first class.¡±


    After speaking, he suddenly turned and fixed his gaze on the captain, ¡°This flight to Huaying District, there¡¯s a very important person in first class; nothing can go wrong.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, mhm,¡± the captain nodded like a pecking hen, ¡°I know, we arranged special attendants to serve them.¡±


    Duan Ning nodded slightly, slid the magnetic knife into a specially made vertical sheath beside his pocket, and turned toward first class.


    Economy class. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Knowing that there had been a strangeness on the plane and, although he heard from Di Zhiwen that the Exorcist had already eliminated it, Yan Junze could no longer sleep.


    He gazed out at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, lost in thought.


    Di Zhiwen couldn¡¯t possibly sleep either, his eyes wide as if they were copper bells, staring straight ahead, also lost in his thoughts.


    Behind their seats, separated by eight rows, near the window seat, sat two men, a father and son.


    The father had white hair, around sixty years old, while the son had a lean build and appeared to be in his early twenties.


    The two were occupied, one reading a newspaper, the other playing games on a tablet with headphones on.


    Before long, the hands of the father holding the newspaper started to tremble slightly as if he had come across some shocking news.


    The young son was too engrossed in his game to notice the abnormal reaction of the person beside him.


    However, he soon realized something was wrong because the entire newspaper next to him began to shake, making a rustling sound.


    The young man pressed the pause button on the screen and turned to look at his father, whose head was obscured by the newspaper.


    ¡°Dad, what are you doing? What news has scared you like that?¡± the young man grumbled.


    Just as he was about to resume the unfinished game, he noticed his father didn¡¯t respond or lower the newspaper; the hands holding the newspaper stopped shaking until, finally, they stilled completely.


    The young man looked suspiciously at the newspaper, but his father held it so high that he couldn¡¯t see the face behind it.


    He frowned but figured that since his father had stopped shaking and hadn¡¯t answered, it meant nothing was wrong.


    With this thought, he slightly turned his head and continued to focus on the tablet in his hands, pressing the ¡°continue game¡± button and resuming play.


    However, the earlier scene remained strange. Playing for less than two minutes, the young man suddenly glimpsed from the corner of his eye that his father seemed to have moved the newspaper slightly, revealing one eye watching him.


    He immediately pressed the pause button, lifted his head, and saw his father¡¯s hands with the newspaper moving subtly, as if nothing had changed.


    After a moment of suspicion, with earplugs in his ears, he lowered his head again and pressed to continue the game.


    Less than half a minute later, he felt the newspaper beside him slowly moving again.


    This time, due to his previous alertness, even though he was still playing the game, he managed to notice something was off because he divided his attention to monitor his surroundings.


    Soon, his full attention was drawn to the eye revealed behind the newspaper. Although he saw it only out of the corner of his eye, he was certain this time that his father was peeking at him.


    At this moment, a shiver ran down the young man¡¯s spine. He abruptly turned his head toward his father, not even managing to press the pause button on the game.


    Behind the newspaper, a bloodshot eyeball appeared before him. The eye was wide open, not blinking, filled with crimson blood vessels.


    As the young man looked into the eyeball, the newspaper in his elderly father¡¯s hands began to move slowly, covering the revealed eye once again.


    ¡°Dad?¡±


    At this moment, not only did the young man feel a chill, but goosebumps also sprang up all over his body, a strong sense of horror dominating his mind to the extent that his voice was completely shaky when he uttered the word ¡°Dad.¡±


    The father behind the newspaper made no response, as if the event that had just taken place never happened, still holding the newspaper open as if reading.


    By now, the young man had long lost any interest in playing games. Goosebumps rose and fell on his body, and he didn¡¯t dare to remain seated, yet feared showing any signs of unease to his newspaper-holding father.


    He glanced sideways at his motionless father, gently placed down his tablet, and slowly stood up, his body tensely coiled, not daring to relax even slightly.


    During this, the father reading the newspaper didn¡¯t move at all.


    Once fully standing, the young man moved his feet towards the aisle, took a couple of steps, and then immediately broke into a run towards an area marked for the air marshal, without alarming other passengers.


    Just past an aisle and by the restroom entrance, the restroom door opened, and a familiar figure emerged.


    Upon seeing this, the young man was momentarily stunned, his eyes nearly popping out as he stared at the person before him and muttered.


    ¡°Dad?¡±


    The person who had just walked out of the restroom was none other than his father, who had previously been reading the newspaper.


    This elderly father appeared to have just washed his hands, and as he dried his slightly wet backs of his hands, he said, ¡°Son, do you need to use the restroom, too? Did you secure all the valuables at our seat?¡±


    Without answering him, the young man turned to look in the direction of his seat, said with a trembling voice, ¡°Dad, if you¡¯re here, then who was sitting beside me just now?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± His father looked puzzled.


    The young man said nothing more, grabbed his father¡¯s hand, and pulled him back the way they¡¯d come.


    Moments later, father and son stood in an aisle more than ten steps away from their seat, with the young man pointing towards their seat, his face showing terror.


    The elderly father looked in the direction his son was pointing and saw a familiar figure on his seat, hands gripping the newspaper, obscuring their face, sitting there motionless and eerie.


    From the visible sleeves, it was clear that the figure was wearing his own clothes.

 Chapter 533 - 533 361 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 533: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) Chapter 533: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) The airplane¡¯s cargo hold.


    Following the captain¡¯s orders, everyone began to search separately for the flight attendant Guan Hongna. When they tried her internal line, no one answered, and it was the air marshal¡¯s responsibility to search the cargo area.


    He quickly reached the cargo hold via the elevator.


    The vast cargo hold should have been pitch black, but to his surprise, when the elevator doors opened, he found all the motion sensor lights within were on.


    Stepping out of the elevator, he looked around suspiciously but saw no one.


    But if the motion sensor lights were on, that meant someone was inside, otherwise the lights wouldn¡¯t stay on, unless the entire sensor system was malfunctioning.


    However, the likelihood of a malfunction was slim, and the air marshal surmised Guan Hongna had to be in there.


    The air marshal was one meter eighty-five tall with a robust build. A former soldier, after serving two years as a regular security guard, a contact referred him to interview with an airline for a security position. He later passed an exam to officially join the Security Bureau¡¯s airline office, becoming a formal air marshal.


    He had seen all sorts of situations and had a fair amount of experience dealing with emergencies. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Guan Hongna?¡±


    He called out, but there was no response.


    The air marshal continued deeper into the cargo hold, instinctively placing his hand on his belt where his baton and stun gun were located.


    Just as he walked further inside, he sensed something was off¡ªa faint smell of blood filled his nostrils, prompting him to pick up his pace and call out for Guan Hongna once more.


    No sooner had his voice faded when he suddenly froze, spotting ahead of him on the ground a large pool of fresh blood with a woman wearing a flight attendant uniform lying in it.


    It¡¯s not that the air marshal couldn¡¯t recognize which flight attendant she was, but the sight was so horrific that the lower half of her face was gone, her long tongue dragging on the ground, making it impossible to identify her at first glance.


    Even with his vast experience, the air marshal was frightened by this sudden and horrific scene. After regaining his composure, he instinctively stepped back and quickly reached for his walkie-talkie, ready to call the cockpit.


    Worried he had misidentified the body, the pale-faced marshal mustered his courage to step forward again, craning his neck to take a closer look, then looked up to see remnants of blood and a fallen jawbone on the ladder. He shivered deeply.


    Unable to bear looking any longer, he turned away, and at this moment, the walkie-talkie connected. He held it up to his mouth, ¡°Captain, I think¡­ I¡¯ve found Guan Hongna.¡±


    The captain¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Tell her to come to the working area¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, the air marshal interrupted, ¡°She can¡¯t come, what I found¡­ is her dead body.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the captain exclaimed, shocked, ¡°What happened? How did she die? Where are you?¡±


    With his back to the ladder and trying to keep his voice from trembling, the air marshal replied, ¡°I¡¯m in the cargo hold. It looks like Guan Hongna fell from the ladder, her head split in two. I¡¯ve done a preliminary check of the scene, and it seems she was trying to retrieve orange juice from the top shelf¡­¡±


    While speaking, the air marshal didn¡¯t notice that the body of Guan Hongna in the pool of blood behind him had slightly moved.


    ¡°The situation is bad, the scene here is gruesome, and her jaw was ripped off when she fell.¡± The air marshal said, ¡°Please come here quickly, I¡¯m about to report to the company¡¯s headquarters security office.¡±


    Before he could finish, Guan Hongna¡¯s body in the blood pool slowly stood up behind him, her neck broken, head tilted, one high heel snapped, legs uneven in length, with the unsupported tongue slightly twitching outside.


    ¡°You can report, I¡¯m heading down now.¡± The captain¡¯s voice came from the walkie-talkie, ¡°Before I get there, don¡¯t inform other staff and certainly not the passengers, to avoid unnecessary panic.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait here¡­¡±


    Snap!


    All the motion sensor lights in the cargo hold suddenly went out at that moment, plunging the surroundings into darkness.


    Enveloped by the endless darkness, the air marshal talking was startled, his words cut off mid-sentence as he involuntarily jerked his head around to scan the area.


    But because it was pitch black, he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Drip, drip, drip¡­


    From not far behind him, suddenly came extremely faint footsteps that didn¡¯t seem large, and due to the wet and slippery soles, the sound of the footsteps was softer.


    At this moment, the air marshal was terrified. In a panic, he grabbed the flashlight from his belt, turned around, and shone it toward the source of the sound.


    As he illuminated at his own eye level, it seemed as if there was nothing out of the ordinary at first glance.


    However, he immediately directed the flashlight beam toward the floor and his body violently shook upon discovering only a pool of blood before him, and Guan Hongna, who had been lying there, was nowhere to be seen.


    Blood-red high heel prints mixed with congealed blood led deeper into the cargo hold, extending step by step to the bend in the shelving unit where they were lost from sight beyond the turn.


    Frightened out of his wits, if this were a clich¨¦d melodrama, now would be the time he foolishly followed the bloody footprints to investigate, but almost without a thought, he turned and ran for the elevator.


    While lifting his walkie-talkie to the captain he shouted, ¡°Captain, quick, quick, call an Exorcist, something¡¯s not right here, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    At this moment, he was almost at the elevator doors, whose button was not on the cargo hold¡¯s power system, so it remained lit.

 Chapter 534 - 534 361 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 534: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) Chapter 534: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) But just at this moment, the figure of the air marshal running came to a sudden halt as if something had seized him from behind with brute force.


    He had only gotten halfway through his sentence when a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. The flashlight in his hand dropped to the ground, and the man was dragged back into the darkness, without a sound following thereafter.


    Soon after, the flashlight lying on the ground flickered off, never to light up again.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    In the darkness, a series of hoarse, strange noises emerged, as though something was obstructing the throat from which they came.


    Then the entire cargo hold fell into silence.


    About three minutes later, the indicator light at the elevator began to show an ascent.


    Shortly after the letter ¡°A¡± appeared, the indicator changed to show the elevator descending, quickly transitioning to ¡°B¡± level.


    The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing the captain in his deep blue uniform standing inside. He was holding a walkie-talkie, frowning deeply, obviously feeling that this incident would not end well.


    As he mulled over the situation, just as the elevator doors opened and he was about to step out, he realized the entire cargo hold was plunged into darkness.


    The captain hesitated, withdrawing the foot he had extended halfway out of the elevator. He placed his hand on the elevator door to keep it from closing immediately and stood at the threshold, looking out into the void.


    The air marshal had just finished speaking with him on the walkie-talkie, and he had come down immediately, so the air marshal couldn¡¯t have possibly left the cargo hold by himself so soon.


    If the air marshal had been waiting for him to come down, all the motion-sensing lights in the cargo hold should have been on, not pitch black as they were now.


    Something was wrong!


    The captain chose not to step out of the elevator but instead stood at the elevator entrance, holding down the door-open button with one hand to prevent it from closing on its own and pressing the walkie-talkie with the other hand. A static noise came from the device, no other sounds.


    ¡°Officer Xia, are you there?¡±


    After a moment, with no other choice, the captain stood at the lift entrance and called out into the darkness of the cargo hold.


    He waited, but no one responded.


    ¡°Did anything actually happen to Guan Hongna, or did that guy trick me?¡± the captain muttered to himself.


    Though he didn¡¯t know what motive the air marshal would have for deceiving him, the captain clearly preferred to be tricked. Being lied to by a delirious air marshal was far more comforting than facing a real incident.


    Just then, from the darkness not far away, a vague sound of footsteps arose, irregular in pace and heavy as if dragging.


    The captain didn¡¯t have a flashlight on him and couldn¡¯t see clearly beyond a certain distance, only able to make out shapes from the limited light emanating from within the elevator.


    He strained his eyes, focusing on the direction from which the sounds originated. A sense of horror slowly crept over him, and the hairs on his body stood on end in this moment.


    Simultaneously, the static from the walkie-talkie in his hand began to fade, making the surroundings even quieter, and the strange noises from afar became clearer.


    Suddenly, a voice could be heard through the walkie-talkie, recognizing it as the voice of Officer Xia from inside the cargo hold.


    ¡°Captain, quick, call the Exorcist, something¡¯s not right here, something¡¯s not right¡­¡±


    As the voice from the walkie-talkie ended, a flight attendant with a uniform and only half a face, Guan Hongna, staggered from the darkness in front of the elevator, illuminated by the light spilling from inside.


    At the instant she was caught in the light, Guan Hongna quickened her unsteady pace, emitting an eerie noise from her throat, and charged towards the elevator.


    The captain¡¯s face turned pale in an instant, his body trembling. The hand that was pressing the open button immediately shifted, hitting the button to ascend.


    His entire body was tense, his face stricken with terror, staring at the bizarre approach of the flight attendant, at the horrific half-faced figure. His right hand furiously pressed the close-button, as if by sheer force of will he could make the elevator ascend without needing the doors to close.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Ah¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    Guan Hongna made strange sounds as the elevator door closed a second before she reached it, a signal chimed, and it began to ascend.


    After the elevator started ascending, the captain¡¯s legs gave out, and he sat down with a thump, his expression still full of terror, panting heavily, too frightened to speak.


    Ding! Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The elevator reached level A, and the doors opened.


    The captain forcibly stood up, stepped out of the elevator, and pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. He took one and inserted it into a concealed hole outside the elevator, giving it a gentle twist, thus temporarily disabling the elevator from descending any further.


    He shakily lifted the walkie-talkie, switched to another channel, and said, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, Guan¡­ Guan Hongna has become strange, inside the cargo hold¡­ Just now, just now the air marshal also disappeared in the cargo hold, please come quickly!¡±


    At this moment, the Exorcist, Duan Ning, was in the first-class cabin, holding a glass of champagne and clinking it against that of a refined middle-aged man sitting in the front row. He sipped from the glass and whispered in conversation with the man.


    A flight attendant stood neatly by their side, holding a freshly replaced tray of fruit and snacks.


    Duan Ning was aware that even though this man appeared to be a regular person, his status and position were enough for him, an exorcist, to make an acquaintance.


    The scholarly middle-aged man felt the same way. He was aware of his own influence and, despite the exorcist¡¯s relatively low three-star status, did not see fit to treat him as an equal.

 Chapter 535 - 535 361 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 535: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) Chapter 535: Chapter 361: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) But just at that moment, Duan Ning¡¯s walkie-talkie came to life, the captain¡¯s voice clearly transmitting into their ears.


    The flight attendant holding the fruit plate, upon hearing that Guan Hongna had become a strangeness, immediately covered her mouth in terror, her complexion paling, but she made no sound.


    Duan Ning frowned but said nothing.


    The middle-aged man put down his wine glass and said, ¡°Mr. Duan, you should go take a look. These kinds of incidents rarely occur on flights now. I¡¯ve taken so many flights, and this is only the second time I¡¯ve encountered one. The first time, an exorcist from your organization was traveling with me, and he dealt with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, who was that¡­?¡± Duan Ning asked curiously.


    ¡°The five-star exorcist from Huaying District¡ªHuo Dongsen,¡± the middle-aged man pursed his lips and said, ¡°He is the elder brother of Tianmeng Exorcist Team Leader Huo Zhisen.¡±


    ¡°So it was Big Brother Huo!¡± Duan Ning was inwardly shocked, but he did not show it. He put down his wine glass and said apologetically, ¡°Mr. Zuo, rest assured, I will immediately take care of this strangeness. It won¡¯t affect first class, let alone disturb your rest.¡±


    The middle-aged man nodded slightly and said nothing more.


    Duan Ning immediately exited first class, followed by the trembling flight attendant.


    Duan Ning turned his head and instructed, ¡°Stay at this door, from now on, except for me, don¡¯t let anyone in, including the captain.¡±


    The flight attendant nodded, and after hearing about Guan Hongna becoming a strangeness, the clueless her looked like she was about to cry.


    Duan Ning had no time to deal with it and quickly left. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In economy class.


    The young man and his father stood diagonally across from their own seats, staring with horror at the person hiding their face behind a newspaper.


    The elderly father assured his son that he was certain the person reading the newspaper was dressed exactly like himself, as if imitating him.


    But the father and son never saw the other person¡¯s appearance from start to finish.


    The newspaper was covering too thoroughly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call the flight attendant. I heard there¡¯s an exorcist on board, and I suspect that one is a strangeness,¡± he said.


    The young man¡¯s thoughts had finally regained some clarity, and he immediately bent down and turned to the passenger next to where he was standing, saying, ¡°Excuse me, could I press your call button to summon the flight attendant over here?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Professor Di Zhiwen raised his head, putting away the thoughts still churning in his mind, and looked at the young man and his father.


    The young man said, ¡°My dad and I suspect that there¡¯s a strangeness on this plane!¡±


    With that, he gestured toward his original seat, ¡°Look over there, my dad is standing right next to me now, but there¡¯s someone sitting in our seats who looks exactly like him, well, at least the clothes and physique are the same.¡±


    Curious, Di Zhiwen raised his head, turned around, and following the young man¡¯s pointing, located their seat.


    Sure enough, there was a man sitting there, reading a newspaper, and by looking at the sleeves and trousers, he indeed matched the elderly father standing next to the young man.


    Just as Di Zhiwen¡¯s emotions had settled from the previous incident, his heart trembled upon seeing this, and he became frightened again. He was about to reach out to press the call button when his arm tightened, grabbed by another hand.


    That hand belonged to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, who had come closer now, smiled and looked at the young man standing next to him, saying, ¡°How do you know the person standing beside you is your real father?¡±


    He turned his head and pointed in the direction of the seat, ¡°Maybe, that person is your father.¡±


    The young man, upon hearing this, suddenly looked terrified, as if Yan Junze¡¯s words had upended his worldview in an instant.


    He glanced sideways at the father standing next to him.


    At that moment, the elderly father hung his head low, lacking the spirited demeanor from before, clinging tightly to him without uttering a word.

 Chapter 536 - 536 362 In-flight Inside the Green Stone

    ?Chapter 536: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle Part 2) -_-|| (5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes) Chapter 536: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle Part 2) -_-|| (5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes) ¡°`


    After Yan Junze spoke those words, the young man sensed something off about his father beside him.


    At this moment, the elderly father¡¯s head was tightly lowered, his body leaning towards his son¡¯s left side, making his son too scared to move.


    The young man looked at Yan Junze with a face full of terror, his eyes conveying a plea for help.


    He understood very clearly that Yan Junze could instantly recognize the signs of something amiss, which definitely was extraordinary, and furthermore, when mentioning the strange aspects of the situation, Yan Junze remained calm without a hint of nervousness.


    Truth be told, Yan Junze was also relying on his intuition, guessing that the father-like figure beside the young man was not his real father, but the person sitting in the seat reading the newspaper also behaved abnormally.


    However, the signs currently indicated the clear emergence of strangenesses, and thus, staying on guard was essential.


    Before the situation was fully understood, both individuals deserved suspicion.


    Yan Junze had thought of releasing Long-tongued Zhenzhen to scout and reveal which of the two was the strangeness.


    But with a three-star Exorcist on this plane, if Zhenzhen were to be discovered by this person, it would be difficult to explain. And if the Exorcist were quick to act, mistaking Zhenzhen for a common strangeness and exterminating her, that would be an even bigger problem.


    Nevertheless, since there was a strangeness, Obsession must exist. Although Yan Junze did not understand why a mission notification had not directly popped up, he immediately activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±.


    Soon a mission notification appeared.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Flight HY7421, Seat 11E.]


    [Mission Name: Find a Replacement;


    Mission Level: Trembling with Fear (Low);


    Mission Background: Trapped for too long, he seeks a suitable person to fulfill the Obsession of finding a replacement, not caring about the place, not caring who it is, as long as it¡¯s suitable.


    Mission Description: Although he does not understand why he is here, the situation seems to be developing for the worse, and you must stop him;


    Mission Reward: 600 points of Different Dimensional Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become his replacement;


    Mission Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, It seems like he is always in a locked-down state; 3, Be wary of everyone, even those you think are normal;


    Note: None.]


    Yan Junze reviewed the mission information internally, quickly reflecting on it.


    The mission was quite standard, with a level of only ¡°Trembling with Fear (Low)¡±, not overly difficult, but the description of the mission gave him an odd feeling.


    Having experienced many missions before which provided him with a wealth of experience, there were a few points in this current mission that puzzled Yan Junze.


    The first was that the strangeness didn¡¯t know why it appeared on the plane; that is, it wasn¡¯t there originally but emerged on the plane just now.


    The second was that the strangeness always seemed to be in a locked-down state. Of course, this lockdown wasn¡¯t the same as the Lockdown by the Spacetime Atlas used by Yan Junze, but a general term.


    Yan Junze wondered, since this individual was always locked down, how could he seek a replacement.


    While he was pondering, another mission notification suddenly popped up in his mind, causing Yan Junze to unconsciously freeze, thinking about how there could be two strangenesses on this plane.


    He then looked at the text of the second mission.


    When he saw the mission name, he was suddenly struck with bewilderment, his expression reflecting surprise and disbelief.


    Upon viewing the mission level, Yan Junze was thoroughly shocked.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Flight HY7421, Cargo compartment on Level B.]


    [Mission Name: I Am the King Under the Heavens;


    Mission Level: Terrified (High);


    Mission Background: As an existence close to becoming an Ethereal Spirit, he is angry but cannot find the source of his anger. He feels incredibly frustrated and does not know how long this has lasted. However, this time, he has been accidentally released and has not felt this comfortable in a long while. He wants every person here to welcome his rebirth with death. Currently, he faces two problems after rebirth. The first is to find a replacement to help him take control of the cabin crew in advance, so he performed Spirit-Splitting and forcibly created an Avatar of himself; the second is to seize three shells to move without anyone¡¯s constraints, with a current progress of 2/3 people;


    Mission Description: Find him, eliminate him, because you have no other choice;


    Mission Reward: 1900 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Death; S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mission Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, He is very powerful, if you face him head-on, you have almost no chance; 3, Utilize all your resources;


    Note: None.]


    After reviewing all the information of this mission, Yan Junze was still in a state of shock. He hadn¡¯t expected that just by taking a flight, though it wasn¡¯t his first time, he would encounter a strangeness of such formidable strength.


    Simply from the name ¡°I Am the King Under the Heavens¡±, one could understand the extent of the arrogance of this strangeness.


    If Xiang Er were here, the combination of a sculpting-spirit-level strangeness¡¯s true form and the perfectly merged body of the cadaver could perhaps match this individual, but whether such a match could take place on the plane was uncertain.


    Probably, if they went all out, the domain fields produced by two strangenesses would be enough to overturn this plane.


    Moreover, Xiang Er was not here at all.


    From the background of the second mission, it was also clear that it had a deep connection with the first one.


    The strangeness hidden in the cargo hold had to complete two steps to be fully released. The first step was to find a replacement to take control of all the cabin crew in advance, indicating its high intelligence, far from simply fulfilling an Obsession.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 537 - 537 362 In-flight Inside the Green Stone

    ?Chapter 537: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle-2) -_-||(5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes)_2 Chapter 537: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle-2) -_-||(5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes)_2 And the suitable replacement that had been found was very likely the father of this father-son duo.


    The second step of the strangeness in the cargo hold was to plunder three bodies, and the progress shown was already 2/3 complete, which meant two people had been plundered, and only one more was needed to complete this step.


    Of course, these two steps were not taken one after the other, but were happening simultaneously.


    He couldn¡¯t let this thing continue any longer, otherwise, everyone here, including himself, would end up buried with it.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for his Mission Perception that alerted him to the presence of that terrifying creature in the cargo hold, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t even know how he died this time.


    There was no time to waste. With a thought, he reached under the seat as if to search for something but in actuality, he summoned his Black Spirit Great Mallet from the Spacetime Atlas.


    Gripping the mallet, he stood up from his seat and faced the father, who was hanging his head pretending to be cool, and swung the mallet at him.


    With a thud, the elder father collapsed to the ground, dissipating into a cloud of black smoke.


    ¡°Fake!¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself and turned towards the ¡°father¡± who was still holding the newspaper.


    The other passengers, having noticed the commotion, were shocked and stared with their mouths agape, especially as they saw a living person disappear with a cloud of smoke after being hit with the mallet, as if they had realized something.


    A strangeness aboard the plane!


    However, seeing the young man holding the mallet, who acted fearlessly, with a relaxed stance and movements, and a stylish grip on his weapon, the passengers felt reassured.


    They all knew that planes were protected by Exorcists, and it seemed that the young man with the mallet was one.


    No worries, no worries. After all, the Exorcist had taken care of the strangeness before anyone else had discerned anything amiss.


    A false alarm for those who were slow on the uptake.


    Yan Junze approached the man reading the newspaper, said nothing, and swung down his mallet again.


    With the sound of tearing paper, the newspaper was smashed, and the man reading it received a solid blow on the head. The power exerted from the circulating black energy of the three Black Spirit Pearls was immensely formidable.


    Bang!


    After a puff of black smoke, the man reading the newspaper disappeared as well.


    ¡°Still fake!¡±


    Yan Junze pointed towards the restroom across the aisle and shouted to the shocked young man, ¡°Go check the restroom.¡±


    The young man snapped to attention, nodded quickly, and ran to the restroom the ¡°father¡± had just emerged from. Part of him hoped to find his father as he opened the door; indeed, his father was curled up inside, seemingly unconscious.


    ¡°He¡¯s here, my father is here!¡±


    The young man exclaimed with joy, poking his head out to shout.


    Some passengers crowded around, while Yan Junze told Di Zhiwen to stay seated and not to move. He himself kept hold of the mallet and headed towards the work area.


    On the way, he encountered a flight attendant hurrying over, obviously aware of the disturbance.


    Yan Junze stopped her, ¡°I need to speak with the pilot. Could you please call him for me?¡±


    As he spoke, he presented a gold-bordered black card, ¡°I¡¯m an Exorcist.¡±


    That was the A-grade Exorcist exclusive Travel Permit that Zhang Xiaomo had given him last time. Upon showing this card, not only could he ride on any transport for free, but it also served as a card proving identity information.


    Nowadays, all transportation departments had linked databases, and a simple scan would reveal all. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, because the school would reimburse for it this time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t use the card, and the school still covered his travel expenses.


    The flight attendant was startled, sensing that something was amiss, and she quickly nodded her head.


    At the same moment.


    At the elevator leading to the cargo hold, the pilot and the Exorcist Duan Ning encountered each other.


    The pilot, pale as death, pointed in the direction of the cargo hold and stammered, ¡°Down there, below in the cargo hold, there¡¯s strangeness, probably¡­ Guan Hongna¡­¡±


    Duan Ning was puzzled, speaking to himself, ¡°How many flight attendants have died?¡±


    He was certain that he had dispatched the flight attendant¡¯s strangeness not long before, and although it had given him some trouble, he had indeed put an end to it.


    Now why had another flight attendant strangeness surfaced?


    If Guan Hongna had turned into a strangeness, it meant she had died not long ago, and to have become such a powerful strangeness so quickly, strong enough to elude his killing blow and remain undetected by him, was perhaps a strangeness capable of causing a Class C incident.


    Impossible!


    Duan Ning knew it couldn¡¯t be possible.


    ¡°Just one Guan Hongna, and the air marshal just informed me that he found Guan Hongna¡¯s body below in the cargo hold, said she had a terrible fall, very gruesome,¡± the pilot explained, ¡°I immediately came down, but it was pitch black in the cargo hold. I didn¡¯t see the air marshal, nor did I find Guan Hongna¡¯s body.¡±


    With that, the pilot shook his head, ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong. I did see it. But Guan Hongna¡¯s body charged at me, it looked like her lower jaw was gone, her tongue sticking out so long, it scared me to death. Thankfully, I was prepared and didn¡¯t step out of the elevator.¡±


    Duan Ning nodded, although he didn¡¯t understand what was going on that caused the newly dead Guan Hongna¡¯s strangeness to be so formidable, but he had to find out.


    And now it seemed that the air marshal who had discovered her body was likely still inside the cargo hold, and his prospects didn¡¯t look good.


    ¡°Notify the airport headquarters immediately, I¡¯ll go down alone to take a look,¡± Duan Ning said.


    The pilot nodded like a pecking chicken, reinserted the key into the lock, and opened the temporarily closed elevator.


    As the elevator doors opened, Duan Ning stepped inside, fixing his gaze on the still-terrified pilot until the doors shut completely.


    The elevator began its descent.


    Duan Ning took out the magnetic knife from the custom pocket beside his pants and took a deep breath.

 Chapter 538 - 538 362 In-flight Inside the Green Stone

    ?Chapter 538: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle-2) -_-||(5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes)_3 Chapter 538: Chapter 362: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Middle-2) -_-||(5000 words, please subscribe, monthly votes)_3 Ding!


    The B level, where the cargo hold is located, was reached, and the elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black space before them.


    Duan Ning looked carefully but couldn¡¯t see anything. He pulled out his flashlight and switched it on, casting its beam into the darkness as he stepped out of the elevator.


    The light from the flashlight could only disperse a tiny portion of the darkness and, by contrast, seemed to make the surrounding area even darker.


    At the elevator entrance to the cargo hold, the captain, leaning against the opposite side of the corridor, fell silent after Duan Ning descended, lost in thought.


    Soon, his walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life with a voice from an unfamiliar man.


    ¡°Captain? Can you hear me?¡±


    The captain, startled, picked up the walkie-talkie and replied, ¡°I am here. Who¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°I am a passenger on this plane, and also an Exorcist,¡± came the voice of Yan Junze from the walkie-talkie.


    ¡°An Exorcist?¡± The captain exclaimed with unexpected joy.


    If there was an Exorcist among the passengers, that would be the best possible scenario under the circumstances, considering he could help Duan Ning deal with the strangeness in the cargo hold and ensure absolute safety.


    ¡°Hello, hello, Mr. Exorcist,¡± said the captain cheerfully.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°There has been some strangeness in the economy class, but I have managed to contain it for now.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The captain was taken aback and before he could speak, Junze continued, ¡°I need you to inform all the staff on board to stay at their posts, not to go anywhere, especially not to the cargo hold. The hold is temporarily sealed off, and no one should enter it, including the plane¡¯s Exorcist.¡±


    Junze was well aware that the strangeness he had detected was close to an Ethereal spirit. Not even a three-star Exorcist, let alone a four-star level like Guo Youliang¡¯s before his rebirth, would find dealing with such a creature anything but extremely troublesome.


    Even eliminating it would come at a high cost and might equally result in losing their lives, let alone on a plane that could easily pose a threat to everyone aboard.


    Eliminating such a creature here would be even more problematic.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing Junze¡¯s words, the captain was stunned and said, ¡°But¡­ he¡¯s already gone down there, to the cargo hold.¡±


    ¡°Where is the cargo hold?¡±


    Inside the cargo hold.


    As the elevator doors closed behind him, the entire cargo hold was enveloped in an even denser layer of darkness. The light from the flashlight in Duan Ning¡¯s hand was like a struggling, solitary boat in a dark ocean, growing weaker and seemingly on the verge of being engulfed at any moment.


    It was too quiet here, far too quiet.


    Duan Ning, who had remained calm up till now, found his heartbeat accelerating involuntarily.


    The flashlight¡¯s beam swept over rows of shelves, some of which were empty and some held items.


    Duan Ning also had to watch for anything unusual on the ground. He advanced cautiously, sensing the surroundings for any movement. At that moment, however, a faint popping sound came from not far away.


    He immediately turned the flashlight in that direction, illuminating the ground.


    If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it should have been something that fell to the floor.


    Just as the light reached the spot, he saw a bloodied foot dragging a high heel with a broken heel disappear behind a row of cardboard boxes.


    ¡°High heels? Blood? It must be that stewardess,¡± Duan Ning deduced and immediately adjusted his direction, heading toward that row of cardboard boxes.


    He quickly reached this side of the boxes, and his flashlight revealed not the figure of the stewardess but rather a man in a police officer¡¯s uniform standing there with his back to him.


    ¡°Officer Xia?¡±


    Duan Ning recognized him as the air marshal at a glance.


    Seemingly hearing the call, Officer Xia lifted his right hand and waved to him without turning around.


    In his right hand, Duan Ning gripped the magnetic knife, and in his left, the flashlight, as he slowly moved forward, his eyes fixed on Officer Xia and never straying.


    Upon reaching Officer Xia¡¯s side, Duan Ning tilted his head and saw no trace of strangeness from his profile, just that it was too dark to make out his complexion.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Duan Ning asked.


    Officer Xia didn¡¯t respond but slowly turned towards him, revealing the other half of his face.


    On this side of his face, the flesh was gone, leaving only half a bloody, fleshless skull visible, even the eye socket was empty.


    Such an appearance was not that of someone who could still be alive and standing here.


    The next second, a flash of the knife, Officer Xia¡¯s head fell from his shoulders, cleanly severed by the magnetic knife.


    His body twitched twice and then collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Already turned into a strangeness so quickly,¡± Duan Ning muttered to himself, but before he could finish his thought, a mechanical ¡°ah ah ah¡± sound suddenly came from behind him.


    He twisted around to see Guan Hongna, who had lost her jaw, standing behind him. She lunged, toppling Duan Ning to the ground.


    Duan Ning quickly flipped the knife around, its tip aimed at Guan Hongna¡¯s stomach. Grasping the hilt with both hands, as he fell backward, the entire magnetic knife instantly pierced through the body pressing down on him, a magnetic glow flashing as it blew a bloody hole through it.


    However, Guan Hongna didn¡¯t get thrown back as he expected. Instead, the place where her jaw had been suddenly began to wriggle, and a grotesque face of a man emerged right before Duan Ning¡¯s eyes, the voice now more chilling than ever. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Guan Hongna was hurt by the magnetic knife, it seemed not to have struck anything vital. The man¡¯s face squeezed out quickly, fell upon Duan Ning¡¯s chest, and continued to move.


    Thud!


    A baton descended, knocking Guan Hongna off Duan Ning¡¯s body with a blow. It was swung again, hitting and ejecting the wriggling face from Duan Ning¡¯s chest.


    Yan Junze approached, extended his hand, grabbed Duan Ning¡¯s arm, and yanked him up forcefully, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I am also an Exorcist. I just happened to be on this flight.¡±

 Chapter 539 - 539 363 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 539: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) Chapter 539: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2) On the other side, Guan Hongna, who had been sent flying, fused once again with that eerie face, issuing a sound similar to that of stuffing a sausage¡ªa sound that made one¡¯s scalp tingle. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze pulled Duan Ning up, and without time for conversation, they immediately shone the flashlight over.


    What they saw was the eerie face once again burrowing into the lower half of Guan Hongna¡¯s face. The scene was horrific, as if a person suddenly grew two faces on one head, the upper half only halfway complete, while the lower half, though whole, had twisted features and looked even more terrifying.


    Guan Hongna clawed and lunged at the two.


    ¡°The magnetic knife¡­ it¡¯s useless against her!¡±


    Duan Ning had only time to say this before he quickly leaped to the left, dodging Guan Hongna¡¯s lunge.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, leaped to the right.


    As he dodged, he released the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, pointing at Guan Hongna and commanded, ¡°Use your strongest abilities, attack her!¡±


    The Back-faced Woman, upon materializing, instinctively shivered and immediately focused on Guan Hongna, perceiving the pressure emanating from this strangeness, which was no less intimidating than Xiang Er.


    Ke¡¯er quickly jumped into her mother¡¯s arms, casting a nervous glance at the dreadful Guan Hongna and wanting to hide back inside Yan Junze¡¯s Spacetime Atlas.


    However, upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s orders, mother and daughter¡¯s long hair immediately entwined tightly, coalescing into strands as their aura abruptly changed.


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya ya¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s tiny mouth opened, issuing a string of warnings, and mother and daughter¡¯s long hair extended swiftly, stabbing straight at Guan Hongna.


    The entity possessing Guan Hongna had not yet seized a third victim, so Yan Junze surmised that its full strength had not been completely unleashed.


    Still, the entity was close to being an Ethereal spirit; even if it had not fully deployed its power, and even if only a large portion was unleashed, the mother and daughter would be no match. Yan Junze intended to test just how strong the Bond Evolution of Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman was against the attack of such formidable strangeness.


    While the mother and daughter struggled with Guan Hongna, he signaled to Duan Ning from the sidelines.


    Duan Ning was still shocked at the fact that Yan Junze was a Spirit Cultivator, well aware that as an Exorcist, he usually stood on the opposite side from cultivators.


    Seeing Yan Junze beckoning, he immediately became guarded, but his caution diminished once he saw Yan Junze produce an A-level Exorcist Travel Permit. Duan Ning walked over, carefully inspected the permit with the flashlight, confirming its authenticity.


    But he knew that the A-level Exorcist Travel Permit was usually only issued to three-star Exorcists and up, yet he hadn¡¯t seen Yan Junze use a magnetic knife; instead, he wielded a large mallet to deal with the strangeness.


    ¡°You¡­ cultivate spirits?¡± Before he could thank Yan Junze for saving him, Duan Ning was already pointing at Ke¡¯er and her mother, voicing his surprise.


    As he understood, few Exorcists cultivated spirits, and such Exorcists were usually extremely fierce, belonging to a maverick category that the headquarters took very seriously.


    Yan Junze nodded. Seeing that the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er managed to bind Guan Hongna with their hair but she still walked freely, grabbing the hair and forcefully dragging mother and daughter toward herself, he did not reply.


    Instead, Yan Junze released Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, blurting out a single command, ¡°Fight!¡±


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster immediately knew whom their master wanted to fight. Despite the pressure from the adversary, they moved forward to help Ke¡¯er and her mother attack Guan Hongna.


    However, even with this reinforcement, Yan Junze knew they were still no match for Guan Hongna. Taking advantage of the moment, he asked Duan Ning, ¡°Why is this flight attendant-turned-strangeness so strong?¡±


    Duan Ning was taken aback and shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this either. According to the pilot¡¯s description, Guan Hongna had just died accidentally in the cargo hold not long ago, only to turn into a strangeness, and a very powerful one at that. I suspect she could trigger a B-level event.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a suspicion; it¡¯s a certainty,¡± Yan Junze stated emphatically.


    Ke¡¯er and her mother had already undergone Bond Evolution, yet they still couldn¡¯t overcome this creature that hadn¡¯t fully manifested; if this strangeness were allowed to appear fully, none of the people on this plane would survive.


    Now that Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were involved, they were barely hanging on for a little while longer, but the battle was still tilting against them.


    But Yan Junze didn¡¯t include Duan Ning or himself, knowing that even if the two of them joined the fray, they might win, but at a terribly heavy cost.


    Even losing one or two entities from his side was possible; Yan Junze had grown deeply attached to these beings, and didn¡¯t want to lose any.


    Not to mention that for the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, he did not hesitate to activate the Great Rewind to rescue them; even for the Crawler Monster, Yan Junze would make the same choice.


    The creature might be lewd, ugly, and vain, but it had a redeeming quality: it was willing to protect Yan Junze with its life, without considering its own safety.


    So to sacrifice them only to deal with an entity that hadn¡¯t fully matured and was near Ethereal spirit-strength was absolutely not an option for Yan Junze, who could restart countless times.


    Even though the reward for this task offered a substantial increase in Different Dimension Energy limits.


    He stroked his chin, not worried at all, and mused to himself, ¡°The crux of this matter probably lies with the flight attendant Guan Hongna.¡±


    What had she come into contact with before her death? Or had she encountered a weakened but potent near-Ethereal-strangeness in the cargo hold?

 Chapter 540 - 540 363 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 540: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2)_2 Chapter 540: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 2)_2 What exactly happened during this period now made Yan Junze curious.


    At this moment, Duan Ning¡¯s gaze kept sweeping over him, Guan Hongna, and those few strangenesses, making him increasingly suspicious of Yan Junze¡¯s behavior.


    An exorcist who didn¡¯t seem very powerful, how could he have raised so many strangenesses? It seemed that Yan Junze had many secrets, and as a fellow exorcist, Duan Ning thought it necessary to understand everything clearly after handling the current crisis.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take care of Guan Hongna¡¯s strangenesses first,¡± Duan Ning suggested.


    Obviously, his idea was to use Yan Junze¡¯s strangenesses, even if it meant sacrificing a few, believing that together with the two of them acting, they could certainly eliminate Guan Hongna.


    Yan Junze, still stroking his chin, shook his head and said, ¡°No need for now. By the way, how did this flight attendant die?¡±


    ¡°She fell to her death, right here in this cargo hold, not long ago,¡± Duan Ning replied, and added, ¡°If we don¡¯t act now, it will be too late later.¡±


    Yan Junze gave him a look and thought to himself, ¡°You want to sacrifice my strangenesses to help you eliminate Guan Hongna? Not happening!¡±


    Rewind!


    The scene before him slowly sharpened from a blur, and he was back in his seat in the economy class of the plane.


    At that time, the old father, now with a stand-in, and his son were standing next to Professor Di Zhiwen, with the young son asking Di Zhiwen to press the call button to summon the flight attendant.


    Yan Junze interrupted their conversation and asked Di Zhiwen, ¡°Professor, what did that flight attendant strangeness you encountered in the work area look like?¡±


    Di Zhiwen hesitated, as he really didn¡¯t want to recall the scene he had just seen, but after thinking, he still said, ¡°Only half of her face was left, her jaw was gone, her whole tongue was sticking out, and¡­ it seems like one of her high heels was broken.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Had you seen this flight attendant before?¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Di Zhiwen said, ¡°It seems¡­ I haven¡¯t, initially I only saw the strangeness¡¯s back, and because it looked very similar, I mistook her for another flight attendant I had met in the aisle before.¡±


    ¡°It could actually be her,¡± Yan Junze said.


    He already knew that this flight attendant was fine one minute before and had turned into an extremely ferocious strangeness the minute after her death, so anyone could have seen her before that.


    Di Zhiwen frowned, pondering, ¡°I can¡¯t be certain of that because the strangeness¡¯s jaw was completely missing and her face was covered in blood, making it impossible to confirm if she was the one I met before.¡±


    ¡°Did you look at the flight attendant¡¯s name tag? Do you remember what it was?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Di Zhiwen¡¯s frown deepened, ¡°I did glance at it casually, couldn¡¯t make out the name, but it seemed like the surname was¡­ Wu, no, that¡¯s not right, it could have been Guan.¡±


    It must be her, Yan Junze guessed.


    So now it seemed that the flight attendant was fine before Professor Di Zhiwen met Guan Hongna, but turned into a ferocious strangeness after the professor used the restroom and then went to the work area.


    It was all just in the time it took for a big bathroom break that Guan Hongna faced a crisis and became a bloodthirsty strangeness.


    Rewind!


    The scene before him changed once more, blurring again, and Yan Junze rewound the time directly to just before Di Zhiwen had his big bathroom break, when the professor was still sitting beside him, and he himself was drowsy but not yet asleep.


    Regardless, encountering a creature close to an ethereal spirit on the plane, he thought it best to prevent the entire incident from happening. Fighting would result in losses with his current power.


    Those losses, he could not afford.


    So the event of Guan Hongna turning into a strangeness had to be completely severed.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was also very curious about how this woman turned into that form afterward.


    He had been initiating the rewind cycle continuously, not rewinding immediately before because he hadn¡¯t fully grasped the ins and outs of the entire situation. A hasty rewind without knowing anything would lead him to take many wrong turns.


    Now that it was clear, as long as he focused on this time period, found Guan Hongna and the cause, perhaps he could avoid the entire incident.


    If the strangeness was causing trouble, as long as it wasn¡¯t randomly killing people to seize bodies, it would be manageable.


    ¡°Professor, do you feel an urge to defecate right now?¡± Yan Junze suddenly turned his head, looking at Di Zhiwen seriously.


    Di Zhiwen was taken aback, then embarrassedly said, ¡°I¡­ did I just¡­ unknowingly¡­ pass gas?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, don¡¯t hold it in, it¡¯s bad for your health,¡± Yan Junze said kindly, as if he were Di Zhiwen¡¯s mother.


    Di Zhiwen numbly nodded his head. Although he did feel like going to the toilet, it was just a slight sensation, not an urgent need, but Yan Junze¡¯s words made him think of going ahead of time.


    After he left, Yan Junze quickly followed.


    Since Di Zhiwen left earlier, he didn¡¯t run into Guan Hongna in the aisle, and Yan Junze waited in the hallway outside the restroom.


    About three minutes later.


    Guan Hongna, dressed as a flight attendant and wearing a red scarf around her neck, walked gracefully past Yan Junze. As she passed him, she smiled politely and bowed slightly.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity to glance at her name tag, confirming it was indeed Guan Hongna.


    ¡°Miss, are you heading for the cargo hold?¡± Yan Junze suddenly spoke up and went straight to the point.


    Guan Hongna, who had walked past, was startled, then turned around to look at him with a puzzled face, ¡°Sir, how do you know¡­ ¡±

 Chapter 541 - 541 363 In-flight Inside the Green Stone (Part

    ?Chapter 541: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) Chapter 541: Chapter 363: In-flight, Inside the Green Stone (Part 3) Yan Junze took out an A-level Exorcist Travel Permit, flashing it before her eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve discovered there might be something unclean in the cargo hold. I plan to join forces with the exorcists guarding this plane after we land and have a few people check it thoroughly. Until then, the cargo hold should be temporarily closed. Please notify the captain; I need to see him.¡±


    As soon as she heard there might be strangeness in the cargo hold, Guan Hongna jumped, instinctively stepping back and clutching the red scarf around her neck.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked at her neck, asking, ¡°I thought I saw a necklace under your scarf just now?¡±


    Guan Hongna quickly adjusted her scarf and shook her head, ¡°No, we aren¡¯t allowed to wear any jewelry other than watches during work hours.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, ¡°Alright, stay with me now and call the captain over.¡±


    Soon, the captain, on hearing that there was another exorcist passenger on board who had detected something unusual beneath the cargo hold, hurried over with Duan Lin, the three-star exorcist who had been in the resting room.


    The group gathered in the flight attendants¡¯ work area, where Yan Junze first showed his Exorcist Travel Permit to Duan Ning, saying, ¡°I have a special sensitivity to strangeness and have detected something abnormal in the cargo hold, with a very strong strange magnetic field. Even combined, we might not be able to handle it, and it¡¯s dangerous to deal with during the flight, so I suggest we temporarily close off the cargo hold and not let anyone in until after we land and can investigate.¡±


    Duan Ning fell silent. The captain had no idea what to do in this situation and just looked at Duan Ning, waiting for his response.


    After a moment, Duan Ning nodded, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s seal off the cargo hold for now to be safe and deal with it carefully once we arrive at the destination.¡±


    The situation was temporarily stalled, and Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered something and pointed at Guan Hongna, telling the captain, ¡°She may have violated the management rules; she¡¯s wearing a necklace around her neck.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The captain was a bit angry upon hearing this and looked at Guan Hongna.


    Guan Hongna¡¯s face immediately turned sour as she clutched the scarf around her neck, looking down without saying a word.


    ¡°Guan Hongna, take off the scarf,¡± the captain commanded.


    Guan Hongna bit her lower lip, giving Yan Junze a resentful look, before slowly removing the scarf to reveal a necklace with a turquoise pendant around her neck.


    ¡°This has been given to me by my grandfather and father; they told me to always wear it for protection and to ward off strangeness, so I never dared to take it off,¡± she explained, her face flushed.


    Yan Junze and Duan Ning were both staring at the necklace pendant around Guan Hongna¡¯s neck, the turquoise stone.


    After a long stare, both spoke simultaneously, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with your pendant.¡±


    At that, they exchanged glances.


    ¡°Damn, now that you¡¯ve seen it, there¡¯s no point in hiding it. This must be mine.¡±


    Rewind! S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Time rewound to when Yan Junze first encountered Guan Hongna alone.


    Pointing at the red scarf around Guan Hongna¡¯s neck, Yan Junze said, ¡°I have already seen that the necklace pendant is a turquoise, please take off the scarf, or I will notify the captain right now.¡±


    Guan Hongna, who had intended to argue, hesitated upon hearing his confident and justified statement and reluctantly took off the scarf, revealing the necklace on her neck.


    ¡°This necklace was given to you by your grandfather and father, saying that it can keep you safe and that you should Always wear it?¡± Yan Junze now seemed possessed, feigning calculation with a pinch of his fingers.


    Surprised, Guan Hongna nodded.


    The moment before the rewind, when they had seen the turquoise, both Yan Junze and Duan Ning, being exorcists capable of controlling magnetic fields, had detected a faint magnetic pulse inside the stone, a pulse so subtle that it was easy to overlook if one wasn¡¯t intently watching the turquoise.


    After seeing it a second time, Yan Junze was almost certain that a strangeness was sealed within the turquoise.


    ¡°Ever since you put on this necklace, have you never encountered any strangeness again?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Guan Hongna nodded.


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Yan Junze realized suddenly, ¡°No wonder your grandfather and father said it could keep you safe. In fact, it has a more powerful strangeness sealed inside. Thus, other weaker strangenesses would get scared off, avoiding you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Guan Hongna looked at him in horror.


    ¡°But do you know?¡± Yan Junze leaned in close to Guan Hongna, staring into her eyes, ¡°This is like raising a tiger problem. While it may keep away other small wild beasts, the bigger tiger has always been lurking by your side, ready to take its chances and possess you in case of accidents!¡±

 Chapter 542 - 542 364 The Wan Familys Bad News

    ?Chapter 542: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News Chapter 542: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News ¡°`


    Startled by Yan Junze¡¯s words, Guan Hongna was completely petrified, her mouth agape with surprise as she stared at him.


    ¡°I am an exorcist, please believe me,¡± Yan Junze said, his face showing sympathy. He flashed his Exorcist¡¯s Travel Permit and then reached out a caring hand towards Guan Hongna, his palm open in a gesture that said, ¡°Let me handle any danger that comes our way.¡±


    ¡°Hand it over to me. Be careful when you take it off, don¡¯t let it break. If this strangeness gets released by accident, even with the joint efforts of me and the exorcist protecting this plane, we wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with it.¡±


    Yan Junze spoke softly, his voice gentle as if he was the affectionate ¡°big brother¡± from FM 109.6 MHz ¡°Whispers¡± at midnight ¨C Mr. Giant Sun.


    Finding Yan Junze¡¯s words to make a lot of sense, Guan Hongna, who had been hesitating, involuntarily took off her necklace and placed it on the palm of his open hand.


    Yan Junze clenched it and tucked it into his pocket, comforting her, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I won¡¯t tell the captain about your jewelry, this will be our little secret.¡±


    After a pause, he added, ¡°However, the cargo hold is still temporarily closed. No one can go down there before the plane lands. You can tell the captain or the exorcist guarding this airplane to come find me; I will explain it to them.¡±


    Although Yan Junze had guessed the origin of all the troubles might be the turquoise, he still decided it was best not to let the stewardess enter the cargo hold for precaution.


    What if, although the turquoise was no longer on Guan Hongna, she still had an accident and died?


    No one could say for sure.


    Or what if Guan Hongna didn¡¯t die, but the problem wasn¡¯t just with the turquoise and there were other strangenesses in the cargo hold?


    Therefore, temporarily closing the cargo hold was the wisest choice.


    ¡°After this flight, when you go back, tell your grandfather and father that the turquoise, being very dangerous, was taken away by an exorcist,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°If they have any questions, they can come to ask me.¡±


    He then left Guan Hongna with his contact information.


    Back in his seat, Yan Junze pulled a blanket over himself and shut his eyes, pretending to rest while he mused to himself, ¡°I saved your life; taking just a piece of turquoise isn¡¯t too much, right?¡±


    Soon after, Di Zhiwen returned, clutching his stomach, still looking a bit uncomfortable.


    Yan Junze squinted at him, timing his return in his mind. The professor had been squatting in the toilet for such a long time; he might be constipated ¨C definitely needed to lubricate his intestines.


    But with the exorcism of the airplane¡¯s supernatural event, everything had returned to normal, and nothing else happened.


    Yan Junze slipped his hand into his coat pocket, continually feeling the turquoise pendant in his grasp. Truth be told, the pendant was actually quite ordinary, and if it wasn¡¯t for the magnetic field fluctuations he noticed while observing it, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have given it a second glance.


    Just who had such ability to confine a powerful strangeness, nearing an Ethereal spirit in strength, inside this turquoise?


    If it was due to a fortunate coincidence that the spirit got trapped inside the stone, that would be one thing; but if someone deliberately sealed it in there, that person¡¯s strength made Yan Junze¡¯s skin crawl.


    Confining a Semi-Ethereal Spirit inside a turquoise was like child¡¯s play to this individual, whose prowess must at least be that of a five-star exorcist, and Yan Junze suspected that even among five-star exorcists, not everyone would be capable of this feat ¨C it would have to be one of the very top tier.


    Furthermore, upon closer consideration, it seemed that Guan Hongna¡¯s grandfather and father were also no simple characters. If the seal of the Semi-Ethereal Spirit was man-made, then either the family had close ties with that expert or the expert was someone related to Guan Hongna, like a relative or friend.


    Luckily, Yan Junze had been cautious when leaving his contact information with Guan Hongna.


    However, nobody expected that Guan Hongna would really accidentally die in the cargo hold, allowing the confined Semi-Ethereal Spirit to seize the opportunity and appear.


    Now with the turquoise in hand, if he could make use of the strangeness within, it would be great!


    Yan Junze believed that if used well, this could be very beneficial to him. Of course, this assumed that he first took good care of the turquoise and prevented any damage to it.


    All was safe on the journey.


    Upon arrival in Huaying District, Yan Junze met with the captain of the flight and the exorcist Duan Ning.


    After showing his A-grade Exorcist Travel Permit, the three discussed for a moment. Duan Ning used a Spirit Detector to thoroughly explore the cargo hold and the nearby area, finding no signs of any strangeness.


    Afterward, Yan Junze joined him, and the two went into the cargo hold to double-check the plane¡¯s safety.


    During this time, Di Zhiwen and the colleagues from the academic association waiting to meet him at the airport lounge stayed whereas Yan Junze wrapped up on his end; then the three left together. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The colleagues who came to greet him were surprised to hear that Yan Junze was also an external exorcist and couldn¡¯t help but scrutinize him the entire time.


    Di Zhiwen visited Huaying District for an academic forum hosted by the association. As an invited guest, he attended discussions about research on time.


    The two were accommodated at one of Huaying District¡¯s best hotels, the Happy Starlight Hotel, in a luxury standard room.


    After arriving, they learned that the forum was set to last a week, with the first official day starting tomorrow.


    The person who came to meet them at the airport was Di Zhiwen¡¯s local contact, responsible for notifying and scheduling his daily itinerary. Being his first day, they would settle into the hotel and get briefed on the upcoming schedule.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 543 - 543 364 The Wan Familys Bad News_2

    ?Chapter 543: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News_2 Chapter 543: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News_2 After Yan Junze and Di Zhiwen got settled, with nothing particular to do, Yan Junze opened the curtains of their room and admired the view outside. Being a luxury hotel, it was located in the center of the downtown area, offering a view of Huaying District¡¯s most beautiful urban buildings and the neatly planned streets.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but think that if Xiang Er were here, she would definitely like this room because the cityscape visible from here was arguably the most beautiful she would have ever seen.


    ¡°Do you like this city?¡± Di Zhiwen, having finished packing his things and washing his face in the bathroom, came out with a towel, chuckling as he asked.


    Yan Junze, looking out the window, shook his head, ¡°Can¡¯t say I like it too much; I always feel there¡¯s an indescribable repulsion when it comes to this city.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯ve never been here before, maybe it¡¯s a sense of unfamiliarity,¡± Di Zhiwen guessed.


    After returning the towel to the bathroom, he came out and suggested, ¡°How about we take a walk around the streets, to overcome your unfamiliarity and repulsion?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and nodded.


    They quickly left the hotel.


    Choosing a direction, they walked aimlessly.


    Although Tianmeng was known for its colder climate, Huaying District was comparatively warmer; the sunlight felt warm on their skin, which made Yan Junze squint involuntarily.


    At that moment, he really wanted to release Ke¡¯er and let her lay on his shoulder to enjoy the sunlight too.


    Strangenesses usually prefer dark places, but they don¡¯t necessarily avoid sunlight; it¡¯s just that they¡¯re more easily exposed under the sun, unable to hide as perfectly as in the dark.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just wander around for a bit, and after dinner, we won¡¯t go out. I still need to prepare my speech for tomorrow night,¡± Di Zhiwen said with a smile.


    Yan Junze looked up at Di Zhiwen¡¯s sparsely haired head; a few tenacious strands stood firm against the breeze. He smiled and said, ¡°Professor, don¡¯t overwork your brain. Make sure you get some rest these next few days.¡±


    They chatted as they walked along the street.


    Soon, Yan Junze took out his mobile phone and gave a call to Wan Shouguang, the master of magnetic knife production at the headquarters, but the phone was still turned off.


    This indicated that Master Wan was still immersed in a critical project and hadn¡¯t emerged.


    Pocketing his phone, Di Zhiwen pointed to the left side of the street and said, ¡°There is a bookstore over there, let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    For someone like him, seeing a bookstore excited him more than seeing a restaurant. He would rather eat less for a meal than miss a chance to browse a bookstore. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as they reached the entrance of the bookstore, two men walked towards them side by side. One of them wore a dark suit while the other was clad in a jacket with a trench coat over it.


    The two men walked straight up to Yan Junze and Di Zhiwen without any intention of stepping aside, with the man in the trench coat saying, ¡°Good day! I¡¯m a security officer from the Security Bureau, responsible for the daily security of this block. This is my partner, a two-star Exorcist.¡±


    The man in the suit spoke up, ¡°You folks from out of town?¡±


    Di Zhiwen, caught off guard, looked at Yan Junze and after exchanging glances, they both guessed the intention of the newcomers.


    ¡°Yes, we just arrived in Huaying District today from Tianmeng District,¡± Di Zhiwen nodded and took out his ID card from his wallet, handing it over.


    ¡°No need to give it to me, show it to him instead,¡± the suited man waved his hand, not taking the ID card but instead pointing to the trench-coated man.


    Clearly, this was a joint enforcement team from the Security Bureau and a team of Exorcists, tasked with the daily security management and precautionary duties of this street block.


    Di Zhiwen quickly handed his ID card to the man in the trench coat.


    The trench-coated man took a close look at it, then pulled out a simple networked scanner, scanned the ID card once, and then looked at the query display on the scanner screen.


    Meanwhile, the suited man was examining his hand-held Spirit Detector, which was palm-sized, without sharp angles, and had a rounded design with exquisite workmanship.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t take out his ID card, as doing so would lead to a series of standard checks, handling his card to them. Di Zhiwen had previously mentioned it might even result in being asked to remove his coat for a search.


    Therefore, what Yan Junze produced was his A-level Exorcist Travel Permit and handed it directly to the suited man, who was also an Exorcist.


    The suited man was busy checking the data on the Spirit Detector and did not look up, nor did he notice what the card was. He frowned and said, ¡°We just said, the ID card should be shown to him.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t an ID card,¡± Yan Junze said.


    It was then that the suited man turned his attention to what was in Yan Junze¡¯s hands. He looked slightly surprised, took the Travel Permit, checked both sides, and recognized that it was genuine as no one would forge such a thing, since ordinary people wouldn¡¯t even know it existed.


    Besides, an Exorcist Travel Permit possessed very subtle magnetic field fluctuations detectable by any Exorcist simply by holding it in their hands ¨C something impossible to fake by a regular person.


    Of course, the authenticity of the Travel Permit could also be verified by the Security Officer¡¯s scanner since all certified Exorcists were registered with the Security Bureau.


    If the suited man still doubted it, Yan Junze could have confirmed his identity with the copper badge he carried with him.


    After a careful examination, the suited man did not pass the Travel Permit to the security officer for validation. Instead, he returned it to Yan Junze, confident in his assessment of the card¡¯s magnetic field vibrations, without the need for further verification.


    ¡°Sorry about that, it turns out you¡¯re a colleague,¡± the suited man managed a smile.


    He then gestured to his trench-coated partner to return the ID card to Di Zhiwen.

 Chapter 544 - 544 364 The Wan Familys Bad News_3

    ?Chapter 544: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News_3 Chapter 544: Chapter 364: The Wan Family¡¯s Bad News_3 ¡°`


    ¡°Are you here on a business trip?¡± asked the man in the suit.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I came to accompany Professor Di to a forum; it doesn¡¯t start until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I won¡¯t keep you any longer.¡± The man in the suit extended his hand, shook Yan Junze¡¯s, and then he left with the man in the trench coat.


    Not long after they left, Di Zhiwen packed away his ID and chuckled, ¡°Junze, in this day and age, having your identity sure is useful!¡±


    ¡°But the level of danger we face is many times more than that of ordinary people,¡± Yan Junze smiled in response.


    Di Zhiwen shook his head and sighed, ¡°Alas, such difficult times we live in!¡±


    Only then did the two enter the bookstore.


    However, before entering the bookstore, Yan Junze tried calling the magnetic knife master Wan Shouguang again, only to find that the latter¡¯s phone was still switched off.


    ¡°It would be best not to have him ¡¯emerge from seclusion¡¯ only after the forum has ended,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself as he walked into the bookstore.


    ¡­


    At the same moment.


    In the Huaying District outskirts, stood a privately built villa.


    The villa had three stories, each with more than 200 square meters. The walls were a light brown, and the various arrangements in the courtyard were compact and chic.


    This area of residence should have been a quiet and elegant place, but at this time, the entire villa was surrounded by people coming and going, and the yard was filled with people dressed in black and white.


    Their faces were gloomy; no one was smiling. They spoke in low voices, occasionally lifting their heads to look at a man in his fifties, slightly overweight, sitting in a rocking chair at the door.


    The man was also dressed in a black suit, gray shirt, and had tied a light gray tie around his neck. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, resembling an interwoven chessboard.


    A similarly overweight middle-aged woman approached, holding a cell phone that was already on a call, handed the phone to the overweight man, and said softly, ¡°Shouguang, why is your phone always turned off? This is Captain Li calling because he couldn¡¯t reach your phone.¡±


    This overweight man was indeed Wan Shouguang.


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s eyelids hung low, and it was only upon hearing someone speaking that he seemed to be pulled back from wandering thoughts to reality. He lifted his head, saw the middle-aged overweight woman, and realized it was his wife. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Who is calling?¡± Obviously, he had not heard what his wife had just said.


    ¡°Captain Li Nian from headquarters,¡± the overweight woman replied.


    Wan Shouguang nodded, took the phone, and told his wife, ¡°Go entertain the guests. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    He slowly brought the phone to his ear, and a deep and thick voice came from the other end, ¡°Shouguang, my condolences.¡±


    Tears welled up in Wan Shouguang¡¯s eyes, but they did not fall. He choked, ¡°Brother Li, I can¡¯t accept this¡­ I really can¡¯t¡­ Just like that, he¡¯s gone¡­ How could he just be gone¡­¡±


    As he spoke, he slightly turned his head and looked through the doorway at the living room on the first floor.


    There, a white coffin with golden edges was placed; the lid was half-open, and inside lay a young man with a peaceful expression.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± There was also a sigh from the other end of the phone, clearly understanding the emotions Wan Shouguang was going through, ¡°You are the pillar of the Exorcists, the core strength of all Exorcists in the Great Capital relies on magnetic knives and confronting the strangenesses. The contributions you have made for the great capital are indescribable. I understand you had little time for your son.¡±


    ¡°Now¡­ there¡¯s no more time,¡± Wan Shouguang sobbed, lifting his head trying to prevent the tears from falling, and forced a smile, ¡°The Prohibition Illusion Helmet has just been successfully developed, and I am very gratified. But just as it came out, what I¡¯m greeted with¡­ is an unbearable tragedy!¡±


    Captain Li Nian on the phone was silent for a moment, waiting for Wan Shouguang¡¯s emotions to settle a bit before speaking, ¡°Don¡¯t be too sad, the driver who caused the accident has been caught. I¡¯ve had the Security Bureau keep a close eye on the guy. He¡¯ll be severely punished to give you closure.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Brother Li,¡± Wan Shouguang said, wiping away the tears from the corner of his eyes.


    ¡°The brothers without tasks are now all at your house helping you, don¡¯t carry too heavy a burden, I¡¯ll arrange everything.¡± After saying this, Captain Li hung up the phone.


    Liu Jialan, Wan Shouguang¡¯s wife, approached.


    At this point, Wan Shouguang¡¯s phone was already emitting a busy tone, but he was so dazed that he was unaware. Liu Jialan slowly took the phone from his hand, her expression full of sorrow.


    Just yesterday, Wan Shouguang had completed a major project to develop the Prohibition Illusion Helmet. On the same day, his eighteen-year-old son was struck by a truck while jogging in the outskirts of the Huaying District and died on the spot.


    By the time he came out, his son¡¯s body was already cold.


    That moment nearly broke Wan Shouguang.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 545 - 545 365 Ulterior Motives

    ?Chapter 545: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives Chapter 545: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives Huaying District differs from the customs of Tianmeng District; here, there are no funeral homes, only crematoriums.


    After a person dies, the body stays at the family home for two days for friends and visitors to express their condolences before being sent to the crematorium. After cremation, the ashes are then returned to the home for preservation.


    Of course, there are exceptions.


    Some dignitaries do not send the body to be cremated upon death, as Huaying District has no mandatory regulations. Some even directly bury the body within their estate.


    This is a way of expressing mourning for a loved one, signifying that even in death, the family still lives together with the person.


    However, that was before the strangenesses erupted, after which such acts were tantamount to a death wish. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the body hadn¡¯t turned into a strangeness, that would be for the best. But if it did transform into a vicious, mindless kind, it would be incredibly dangerous for the family and could possibly mean a collective demise.


    This was already the second day that Wan Cong¡¯s body lay in his family home. After today¡¯s visitation by guests, a small farewell ceremony would be held, and then Wan Cong¡¯s body would be sent to the crematorium.


    The transport vehicle from the crematorium had already parked at the corner of the street, and workers in black uniforms were making the necessary preparations for transport nearby.


    Standing beside the transport vehicle was an accompanying Exorcist.


    This Exorcist was only a two-star. He knew that this incident involved the son of Wan Shouguang, a renowned master of the Exorcist organization in the entire Huaying District, so he had prepared for the presence of numerous Exorcists coming to offer condolences.


    Despite being mentally prepared, the sight of the gathering still surprised the two-star Exorcist.


    He recognized many colleagues among them, but since he usually stayed at the crematorium on guard duty, it was rare for him to meet so many people at once.


    He had just been greeting these colleagues, but soon, he returned to stand by the transport vehicle, as not only four-star Exorcists started to appear in succession, but several famous five-star Exorcists he recognized also arrived.


    Moreover, these five-star Exorcists seemed to take a particular interest in a young, tall, and thin man, engaging in conversation with him, inadvertently or otherwise, attracting the attention of others to this man.


    But no one knew who he was, except for Wan Shouguang.


    Only when Wan Shouguang appeared did the young, tall, and thin man take the initiative to speak a few words. Wan Shouguang, low in spirits, replied a few words, then sat alone in mourning.


    Others did not find it appropriate to keep bothering him and simply stood nearby.


    One might say, at this moment, this place was probably the safest area in the whole Great Capital of Huaying.


    The number of Exorcists easily outnumbered the strangenesses.


    Soon, everyone arranged themselves into several rows outside the villa on the open ground. The white coffin containing Wan Cong¡¯s body was carried out to begin the farewell ceremony.


    The entire ceremony was short, taking roughly fifteen minutes, and then the formalities were completed.


    Wan Shouguang was already in tears, and although he wasn¡¯t wailing loudly, his physical strength clearly waned due to his profound grief, and he needed someone to help support him.


    His wife, Liu Jialan, was likewise stricken with grief, her crying reaching heart-wrenching levels.


    The scene was one of silence and sorrow.


    Soon after, the farewell ceremony concluded. The white coffin was then carried towards the crematorium vehicle that had been waiting by the road.


    It was at this point that Wan Shouguang, who was being supported by others, gradually stood upright, pushed people away from him, and beckoned to a five-star Exorcist with the surname Yang.


    The five-star Exorcist named Yang, without a word, promptly walked over and took hold of Wan Shouguang.


    Actually, the two were about the same age, but Wan Shouguang was genial, and even the five-star Exorcists respected him greatly.


    Once he was helping support him, Wan Shouguang leaned close to the Exorcist¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Old Yang, help me! I don¡¯t want to be forever separated from my son and Jialan after this; I don¡¯t want to cremate my son. This land is all mine. Find someone to send my son¡¯s body back here after everyone leaves, I want to bury him right here.¡±


    Exorcist Yang was startled and looked at him, saying, ¡°The headquarters has regulations, Exorcists and their relatives must be cremated after death. Are you sure this is okay?¡±


    ¡°I have already decided. The person I trust the most here is you; please, you must help me,¡± Wan Shouguang said almost pleadingly.


    Exorcist Yang hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn¡¯t resist nodding, ¡°I can help you, but if we don¡¯t cremate the body in this altered world, there¡¯s a chance he could turn into a strangeness. It could be dangerous for the two of you, and you¡¯re not an Exorcist.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t happen,¡± Wan Shouguang said. ¡°It¡¯s not that likely, and I don¡¯t want my son to become a strangeness. As long as he can stay with us completely, we¡¯ll be fully content.¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Exorcist Yang sighed, ¡°Alright, after I bring the body back for burial, I will set up a sealing magnetic field for you so that Wan Cong won¡¯t possibly turn into a strangeness.¡±


    Wan Shouguang clasped Exorcist Yang¡¯s hands, expressing his gratitude, ¡°Thank you, Old Yang!¡±


    ¡°You go back to the house and rest; I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± said Exorcist Yang with a nod, then followed the white coffin being carried towards the vehicle.


    ¡­


    After leaving the bookstore, Yan Junze was somewhat distracted because he couldn¡¯t get in touch with Wan Shouguang.


    On the way back to the hotel, he took out his phone and dialed the number again, only to be met with the same message that the phone was switched off.


    If he couldn¡¯t meet the master maker Wan Shouguang on this trip to the Huaying District, it would be pointless for Yan Junze to have come at all. Well, except for the Turquoise he serendipitously brought back from the plane.

 Chapter 546 - 546 365 Ulterior Motives_2

    ?Chapter 546: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives_2 Chapter 546: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives_2 ¡°What¡¯s the matter, are you looking for someone?¡± Di Zhiwen noticed that Yan Junze seemed distracted, still staring at his phone, and asked.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°I happened to come over this time, planning to meet up with an acquaintance, but their phone has been switched off.¡±


    Di Zhiwen said, ¡°No worries, we still have a week here, try calling a few more times. If that doesn¡¯t work, look for other ways to get in touch.¡±


    After returning to the hotel, Di Zhiwen went for a shower, while Yan Junze got through to Zhang Xiaomo on the phone, asking her to inquire with the teachers in Huaying District, to see if Wan Shouguang was still working on the tough project and how much longer it would take for him to be free.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly replied, bringing surprising news.


    ¡°What? Wan Shouguang¡¯s son was killed in a car accident?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°Yes, it happened the day before his project ended,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo. ¡°That¡¯s why Teacher Wan hasn¡¯t turned on his cell phone since coming out; he¡¯s probably in great grief and doesn¡¯t want to have any contact with the outside world.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Yan Junze nodded. ¡°Send me his address, and if I get a chance, I¡¯ll go visit to offer my condolences.¡±


    By this time, Yan Junze knew that the likelihood of getting Wan Shouguang to help make the Black Spirit Umbrella was virtually zero.


    The man didn¡¯t want to be in touch with the outside world, and if he himself went at this critical moment to ask for help, getting the door slammed in his face would be a certainty.


    On the other hand, changing his identity and visiting to offer comfort and bring some gifts, without making any requests during this period, might actually leave a good impression on Wan Shouguang.


    As for making the Black Spirit Umbrella, if it couldn¡¯t be achieved in the short term, he would have to make multiple trips to Huaying District in the future, persuading Wan Shouguang both softly and forcefully.


    This guy was an authority in this field; he had to win him over. Otherwise, the Black Spirit Umbrella Yan Junze envisioned, if made by someone else, would certainly be much less effective, and whether it could exert even half of its power was questionable.


    Thinking this, he called out to Di Zhiwen at the bathroom door and then went out to buy gifts.


    ¡­


    Dusk fell.


    The original plan was to send Wan Cong¡¯s body to the crematorium for cremation that evening and transport the ashes back the next day, followed by a search for a good spot for burial.


    The land nearby all belonged to Wan Shouguang, so he had intended to be buried on this land.


    There was a raised mound nearby, with a small stream on its side and backed by a dense grove. A feng shui master had once looked at it and said it was a precious site.


    Wan Shouguang had planned to be buried here after his own death, but now his son had gone first. It was a cruel twist of fate, and the site was given over to his son.


    Just now, the five-star Exorcist Yang Yimang had called Wan Shouguang to finalize the arrangements at the crematorium, and they had found another vehicle to transport Wan Cong¡¯s body, which was currently on its way back.


    The burial site had already been dug, and the headstone had been delivered. Wan Shouguang had hired eight temporary workers. The burial ceremony, originally planned for the next day since the body hadn¡¯t been cremated and was drawing attention, had been hastily rescheduled for that night.


    Those who came to attend the burial ceremony were the Wan Family¡¯s closest people, aside from a few direct relatives, there was only Yang Yimang, an outsider.


    As for the temporary workers, they were all from out of town, and they didn¡¯t interfere in such matters. They were unaware that doing this violated the rules of Exorcists. They didn¡¯t even know who Wan Shouguang was, only that it wasn¡¯t necessary to cremate before burial in Huaying District.


    Indeed, burying at dusk was somewhat strange, but Wan Shouguang¡¯s compensation was generous. With money on their minds, no one would quibble over it.


    The work in front of the grave was ready, and before long, a black, stretched van came from a distance, turned off its lights after entering, but still drove up to the burial site before stopping.


    Yang Yimang got out from the passenger seat, and Wan Shouguang immediately had the doors at the back of the van opened, a few men carefully lifting out the white coffin.


    Wan Shouguang and his wife, Liu Jialan, overwhelmed with grief, leaned on the coffin and wept. After a moment of crying, relatives helped them up. They then opened the coffin lid to have one last look at their son before the coffin was put into the earth.


    After sprinkling rice, pouring wine, and other rituals, Wan Shouguang, supported by others, staggered over, bent down, extended his hands, and sprinkled a handful of dirt over the coffin.


    Yang Yimang also walked over, holding four diamond-shaped black objects in his hand, casually dropping these four black objects near the four corners of the coffin.


    Then, standing next to Wan Shouguang, he said to the others, ¡°It¡¯s time. Cover it up.¡±


    A curved mound was quickly built up, and after a minor construction, everyone packed up their things and dispersed with their pay.


    In Huaying District, for a new grave, it wasn¡¯t appropriate to fully ornament it the first time but instead to make improvements over time, refining it bit by bit, gradually perfecting it.


    At this moment, the Wan Family¡¯s relatives were also supporting Liu Jialan as they walked back towards the villa, leaving only Wan Shouguang and Yang Yimang standing there.


    When everyone had gone, Yang Yimang spoke, ¡°While there¡¯s a certain chance Congcong could become a strangeness, it¡¯s not a certainty. I¡¯m going to seal the magnetic field of this grave now. With this, the chance of him turning into a strangeness is virtually zero. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Old Yang,¡± Wan Shouguang said, his eyes empty as he stared fixedly at the grave. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yang Yimang did not carry a magnetic knife on his person. As a five-star Exorcist, he no longer needed the aid of a magnetic knife. Like Guo Youliang, another five-star Exorcist, these individuals possessed the Ultimate Law.

 Chapter 547 - 547 365 Ulterior Motives_3

    ?Chapter 547: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives_3 Chapter 547: Chapter 365 Ulterior Motives_3 The Ultimate Law, also known as the Magnetic Pole Technique, entails the use of the body¡¯s special control over Magnetic Force to manipulate certain aspects of the Ultimate Law.


    The performance of such Ultimate Law is unfathomable to ordinary people, akin to the Mystical Method of the Immortals.


    Yang Yimang approached the grave and with a gentle swipe at his waist, he spread his hands in front of his chest, and an extremely fine pale white thread appeared out of nowhere, forming an irregular quadrilateral pattern that emitted a buzzing sound like electricity.


    With a push of his hands forward, the irregular quadrilateral drifted above the gravesite.


    Wan Shouguang turned his head to look around, noticing no one in the vicinity, the relatives and temp workers had all seemingly departed.


    The irregular quadrilateral suddenly expanded to encompass the entire grave and dropped down, disappearing into the soil without a trace.


    Although invisible to the naked eye, Yang Yimang could still distinctly feel his Magnetic Force penetrating the soil, merging with the Magnetic Rotational Fixators he had placed around the four corners of the coffin, forming a stable magnetic field with repulsive force all around.


    It could be said that, as long as the Magnetic Rotational Fixators remained untouched and undamaged, this area would be very stable and safe.


    Moreover, once the magnetic field¡¯s repulsive force established a fixed area, it would not be an easy task for ordinary people to remove the Magnetic Rotational Fixators. The strong Magnetic Force they exuded attracted each other, and the suction it produced was so immense that not even a heavy truck could suffice to pull them apart.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    After completing all this, Yang Yimang walked over to Wan Shouguang, helped him up, and said, ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go home. You must be tired.¡±


    Wan Shouguang said nothing, simply following Yang Yimang as they turned towards the villa.


    After walking some distance, he couldn¡¯t help but look back at his son¡¯s grave one more time, his eyes brimming with tears again. He wiped them away without saying a word.


    Behind him, the lonely grave sat in the area, a testament not just to the grave left there, but also to the endless mourning of Wan Shouguang and his wife, Liu Jialan. What they took with them was the deep-seated pain that had penetrated their marrow.


    Back at home, several relatives had already left, while the remaining few were comforting Liu Jialan upstairs, likely trying to console her further.


    Wan Shouguang sat blankly on the sofa, staring into space, while his nephew immediately poured some hot tea for Yang Yimang, who had returned with him.


    Yang Yimang furrowed his brows, took a sip of tea, and gazed at Wan Shouguang, who remained silent.


    After a moment, he broke the silence with a few words to the other man and then urged Wan Shouguang to rest, getting up to leave himself shortly afterward.


    Not long after, the relatives comforting Liu Jialan upstairs also began to depart.


    Wan Shouguang sat on the sofa from beginning to end, not once standing up, merely nodding his head as everyone left.


    As the villa slowly became quiet, no longer filled with the sounds of conversation or movement, Wan Shouguang¡¯s lost gaze began to focus.


    He stood up, looked around, and then made his way to the master bedroom upstairs.


    Upon entering the bedroom, Liu Jialan was already drifting into sleep, though tears still marked the corners of her eyes.


    Wan Shouguang stood at the bedroom door without closing it, as the outside courtyard lights cast his elongated shadow into the room, resembling a silent specter.


    About five minutes later, Wan Shouguang finally moved his feet and walked to his wife¡¯s side, crouching down to look at her closed eyes.


    Perhaps sensing something, Liu Jialan was not entirely asleep; her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened, only to be startled by the sight of Wan Shouguang crouching before her.


    ¡°Shouguang, why aren¡¯t you resting? What are you doing?¡±


    Wan Shouguang lay on the edge of the bed, drew close to her, and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t talk, just listen to me.¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Say¡­ what?¡± Liu Jialan asked with surprise, raising her head.


    ¡°I know a way to resurrect our son.¡±

 Chapter 548 - 548 366 A Stray Dog

    ?Chapter 548: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog Chapter 548: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog ¡°`


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Liu Jialan was startled, thinking she must have misunderstood in her drowsy state.


    She quickly sat up, staring at Wan Shouguang. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Wan Shouguang looked haggard, he couldn¡¯t hide the excitement in his heart. He whispered, ¡°Our son, he might be able to be resurrected.¡±


    ¡°Resurrected?¡± Liu Jialan exclaimed in shock, ¡°How¡­ how can he be resurrected? He¡¯s not an Exorcist, much less a four-star Exorcist. Without a strong Magnetic Physique, how can he possess a corpse to resurrect like they do?¡±


    ¡°Who said anything about Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect?¡± Wan Shouguang said, ¡°Do you remember earlier this year when a stray dog came near our house? I chased it away, and the darn thing bit me on the hand.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I remember,¡± Liu Jialan nodded, looking at him with confusion, wondering why he suddenly brought that up.


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s expression suddenly became secretive: ¡°After it bit me, in a fit of rage, I killed that stray dog with the iron shovel from our doorstep. Do you remember that?¡±


    ¡°I do. I went with you to the clinic afterward, and you got your rabies vaccinations for a month,¡± Liu Jialan recalled.


    ¡°Did you see the dog¡¯s body afterward?¡± Wan Shouguang asked.


    Liu Jialan shook her head, ¡°Didn¡¯t you drag it off to bury it after you killed it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I buried it. But three days after that, I saw it again,¡± Wan Shouguang said.


    ¡°What?¡± Liu Jialan looked at him in surprise, ¡°The stray dog wasn¡¯t killed by you?¡±


    ¡°It was, I am certain of it,¡± Wan Shouguang asserted, ¡°But later, I also became certain that it was alive again.¡±


    ¡°Alive again?¡± Liu Jialan¡¯s face was full of confusion.


    ¡°Yes, alive. When the dog bit me, I hit its head hard several times with the shovel, the brain matter was knocked out, there was no way it could still be alive,¡± Wan Shouguang explained, ¡°Afterward, didn¡¯t you see me dragging its dead body away? I buried it in the woods over there.¡±


    As he said that, Wan Shouguang pointed to a small grove outside the window, not so far from where their son Wan Cong¡¯s grave was located; the two places were less than three hundred meters apart in a straight line.


    ¡°That day, after the snow and the sun came out, I dragged that dead dog into the grove, found a large tree, and buried the dog beneath the tree roots. The body would decompose and turn into fertilizer for the tree eventually.¡±


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s expression became eerie at this moment: ¡°However, on the morning of the third day afterward, when I went outside, I saw a dog standing across the courtyard. I thought another stray dog came and was about to chase it away. Upon closer inspection, it was the same dog I had just buried in the grove that day.¡±


    Liu Jialan was dumbfounded and confusedly said, ¡°Could you have¡­ mistaken it for another dog?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Wan Shouguang shook his head like a rattle-drum, ¡°I am sure I was not mistaken. At that time, the stray dog was standing on the path opposite our house, with its skull cracked open, one ear drooping and sticking to its head with blood. Its upper and lower jaws were misaligned, its tongue dangling out, exactly like it was when I buried it.¡±


    He paused, then continued, ¡°Maybe because the ground where I buried it was damp, when I saw it, its whole body was wet, the fur stuck together. It clearly had just crawled out of the earth, its body still caked with dirt.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡± asked Liu Jialan.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t at home that day,¡± Wan Shouguang said, ¡°I was thinking just like you, could it be that I hadn¡¯t hit it hard enough, that it didn¡¯t die? But the dog looked rather terrifying, as if it truly died and was now standing before me, staring at me. Its gaze was so cold, and when I saw this scene, I felt my hair stand on end.¡±


    ¡°Then, unconsciously, I picked up the snow shovel that was leaning against the door, and I saw the stray dog approaching me, getting faster and faster, coming from the other side to in front of me, and then it began to run unsteadily. The misaligned jaws opened revealing pre-attack growling.¡±


    ¡°When I realized something was off¡ªmind you, the situation was too strange¡ªwhen it ran towards me, the clotted blood from the previous day¡¯s head wound had frozen solid and was falling onto the snow, making a stark red contrast. Just as it was about to bite me, I smacked its head several times with the shovel again, but it had no effect.¡±


    ¡°You have to understand, that shovel is incredibly sturdy, and I swung it with all my might. The day it bit me, it took just two hits to kill it, but now this creature had ¡®resurrected¡¯ and came back for revenge. When I couldn¡¯t subdue it this time, I flipped the shovel over to slash down at an angle, all the while backing away, I hacked viciously at the soft spot of its neck countless times until its head broke away, then it finally fell to the ground.¡±


    Liu Jialan listened intently, her expression becoming increasingly terrified.


    She never knew Wan Shouguang had experienced such an ordeal, this was the first time she heard about it.


    ¡°Why have you never told me before?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry you,¡± Wan Shouguang replied, pursing his lips, ¡°After that stray dog collapsed, it didn¡¯t move, so I went and found a sack from the basement, intending to pack both its head and body together and find somewhere else to bury it. Think about it, the creature was dead, yet on the third day, it ¡®resurrected¡¯ to seek revenge on me, so I planned on burying it further away. But when I took out the sack and was ready to pack the dead dog, I only found a tattered dog¡¯s head on the snow, and the headless body was nowhere to be seen! Turning around, I saw the headless body standing at the corner next to the gate, ready to pounce on me.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 549 - 549 366 A Stray Dog_2

    ?Chapter 549: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog_2 Chapter 549: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog_2 ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing this, Liu Jialan covered her mouth in horror.


    ¡°In my panic, I threw the sack over my shoulder, catching most of the creature¡¯s body inside, and then I quickly picked up the snow shovel I had tossed to the ground and began to beat it fiercely. Both of my hands went numb from the beating, but I didn¡¯t know how many times I struck it. Only when the sack stopped moving did I stop. I sat in the snow for a moment to catch my breath, then stood up and looked. I found that I had shattered the creature¡¯s body completely; even the snow shovel was bent.¡±


    ¡°Is it dead?¡± asked Liu Jialan.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t move this time,¡± Wan Shouguang nodded. ¡°I put the remains of the dead dog, including its head, into the sack, scooped up all the spilled blood clumps from the ground, then drove it five kilometers away to bury it in a desolate mountain.¡±


    Liu Jialan nodded blankly, and after a while, she asked, ¡°And after that, it never appeared again?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Even a stray dog can become one of the strangenesses?¡± Liu Jialan was still very astonished. ¡°And it turned into a kind like the Corpse Spirits, with a physical body and an Obsession.¡±


    Her husband was a master weapon maker for the Exorcist Brigade, so she naturally knew much more about strangenesses than the average person.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe it myself that a dog could turn into strangeness. You know, there is a certain probability for that to happen, with triggering conditions, and it also relates to the surrounding environment and its own Obsession,¡± explained Wan Shouguang. ¡°But to my knowledge, I have never heard of an animal turning into strangeness after death to seek revenge on the person who killed it. If this were the norm, we shouldn¡¯t be eating pork, chicken, or fish.¡±


    Liu Jialan looked at him, puzzled.


    Wan Shouguang went on, ¡°Later I thought, if the dog could dig its way out of the ground where it was buried and run back here to seek vengeance after being dead for three days, could it have something to do with where I buried it? So I went back to the big tree in the grove to take a closer look.¡±


    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± asked Liu Jialan.


    Wan Shouguang shook his head: ¡°It seemed very normal when I went there, but I still had doubts, so I went home and brought back a magnetic field detector from the brigade. After returning to the big tree, I did indeed find an anomaly.¡±


    ¡°What anomaly?¡±


    ¡°The magnetic field at that place wasn¡¯t fluctuating normally but was almost parallel, and then suddenly there would be a peak in the waveform. It was a typical magnetic field disruption caused by strangeness. At first, I thought there was strangeness nearby, but the Spirit Detector picked up nothing. Yet it still detected a very strong disruption in the magnetic field.¡±


    After pausing, Wan Shouguang continued, ¡°I could only suspect that the place was special, possessing the effect of causing the surrounding magnetic field to fluctuate in the same way. The thing is, it was a dead dog I buried there, but after magnetic field assimilation, the long-gone magnetic field of that dead dog was reactivated. So it resurrected, retaining its memories from life to seek vengeance on me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by saying this now?¡± Liu Jialan looked at him, confused.


    Wan Shouguang hesitated for a moment, his gaze suddenly twinkling with excitement, and he said word by word, ¡°I want to bury my son¡¯s body there.¡±


    Liu Jialan had already had a hunch, and her brow furrowed, looking somewhat unsettled: ¡°What if this is just your speculation, and it isn¡¯t like that at all?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s not speculation, the stray dog is the proof,¡± said Wan Shouguang with certainty. ¡°After I buried it the second time, this situation never occurred again. It proves that it¡¯s the burial site that¡¯s the issue. And considering I¡¯m not an Exorcist but managed to kill it a second time by physical means, if that dog were truly strangeness, my actions wouldn¡¯t have been enough to kill it; it would have come back.¡±


    Liu Jialan shook her head: ¡°But you said, after the stray dog resurrected, its head was cracked open, its blood clotted into chunks. Think about it, can any normal organism live like that?¡±


    ¡°Things are different now! There¡¯s strangeness everywhere; can we still apply common sense?¡± Wan Shouguang spread his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve examined the autopsy report carefully. My son¡¯s rib cage was broken in three places, one of the breaks pierced his heart ¨C that was the fatal wound. The broken rib has been removed and repaired at my request.¡±


    Saying this, Wan Shouguang reached out and took Liu Jialan¡¯s somewhat cold hand: ¡°Also, my son¡¯s left femur was broken, but not shattered. I had them fix that too, it wasn¡¯t a fatal injury. Apart from that, the rest of his body is intact. I want to try, I have to try. Congcong hasn¡¯t left us, I know it, and you do too; he¡­ has always been right here.¡±


    Tears welled up in Liu Jialan¡¯s eyes as she began to cry softly, her hands covering her face, unable to speak any further.


    ¡°Come.¡± Wan Shouguang grabbed Liu Jialan¡¯s arm. ¡°Help me with this, sooner rather than later. If too much time passes, I¡¯m afraid that even if we bury Congcong under that big tree, it won¡¯t work anymore.¡±


    The moonlight was pure.


    Under the night sky, two figures pushed a garden cart filled with soil out of the villa. Inside the cart were two iron shovels, a hoe, and two flashlights.


    Looking around cautiously, the two of them sneaked up to Wan Cong¡¯s grave.


    Wan Shouguang looked up at the sky: ¡°We can still see with the moonlight for now, no need for the flashlights. Let¡¯s begin.¡±


    The old couple took up their tools, one of them digging open the grave while the other piled the dug-up soil to the side. Both were of an age, their movements not quick and their efficiency low, but neither said anything, just silently digging.

 Chapter 550 - 550 366 A Stray Dog_3

    ?Chapter 550: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog_3 Chapter 550: Chapter 366: A Stray Dog_3 Not knowing how long they had been digging, the white coffin finally came into view. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wan Shouguang, panting heavily, discarded the shovel. Even though it was winter, his body was soaked with sweat.


    Wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead, he turned on the flashlight and shone it into the grave, seeing the Magnetic Rotational Fixators that Exorcist Yang Yimang had placed around the coffin earlier.


    There was no need to disturb those devices; they could lift the body directly out.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Wan Shouguang jumped into the grave.


    Nowadays, coffins were no longer nailed shut; they simply had a lid placed on top. However, the quality of the coffin was so good, with fine workmanship and tight seams, that Wan Shouguang could push it open by himself.


    After pushing aside the coffin lid, he stared blankly at his son¡¯s remains for a moment. Tears filled his eyes once more. Without further thought, Wan Shouguang climbed into the coffin, exerted a considerable amount of effort to lift Wan Cong¡¯s body, and staggered to the edge of the grave.


    Jialan had already been waiting above, extending her hands to grasp her son¡¯s arms.


    As soon as Wan Shouguang let go, he quickly climbed out of the grave and helped Jialan pull with all their might. The couple struggled mightily and finally dragged Wan Cong¡¯s body to the surface.


    At that moment, Wan Cong was dressed in a cotton suit, originally intended for cremation. The cotton material burns easily, aiding in complete cremation without leaving clumps behind.


    After a brief rest, the old couple together lifted their son onto a handcart. Wan Shouguang identified the direction of the large tree in the grove, and the two pushed the cart towards the woods a few hundred meters away.


    Once they entered the woods, since the ground was all dirt, it took a great deal of effort to move the handcart forward. After another half hour, they arrived under the large tree.


    After setting down the handcart, they rested for a while. Since the woods were rather dark, they both turned on their flashlights.


    Wan Shouguang urged, ¡°We can¡¯t wait, let¡¯s move quickly.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Jialan nodded.


    At this moment, her complexion was incredibly pale due to lack of rest and overexertion throughout the night.


    Wan Shouguang was not in much better shape, continuously sweating. He was well aware that his sweating was not solely due to exhaustion¡ªa portion of the sweat was the cold sweat that comes when the body is too weak.


    Still able to persist, neither of the couple gave up or spoke. They merely clenched their teeth and persevered.


    To ensure the accuracy of their guess, Wan Shouguang dug up the ground at the exact spot where he had buried the stray dog before. He didn¡¯t dig too deep, just deep enough to bury a person.


    Soon, a shallow pit was ready, approximately the same depth as when the stray dog had been buried.


    Pointing at the pit, Wan Shouguang said weakly, ¡°Just like this, it was the same when I buried that stray dog.¡±


    Without resting, Wan Shouguang at the head and Jialan at the feet, the couple lifted Wan Cong¡¯s body off the handcart. Using every ounce of their strength and being as gentle as possible, they placed him into the pit, afraid of hurting their son.


    ¡°You first¡­take a break. I¡¯ll¡­fill it in,¡± said Wan Shouguang, too exhausted to speak smoothly.


    Without waiting for his wife to respond, he began shoveling dirt onto their son.


    A few minutes later, having caught her breath, Jialan joined him with a shovel, and after they had buried Wan Cong, they both sat on the ground, leaning against the big tree, chests heaving.


    Time passed, and the sky above the woods began to lighten slightly.


    The couple¡¯s gaze remained fixed on the spot where they had buried their son. Wan Shouguang held Jialan¡¯s hand, gently stroking it, without uttering a word.


    After a long while, Jialan moved her lips and said, ¡°Do you think¡­he can live?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Congcong will definitely live,¡± Wan Shouguang said firmly, gritting his teeth.


    Looking up at the breaking dawn, Wan Shouguang shakily stood up, as if all his energy and passion had been drained in one night, his legs trembling as he stood.


    Helping Jialan to her feet, he whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll wait back home.¡±


    Jialan, trembling in her arms and legs, stood up and asked, ¡°Wait? How long?¡±


    ¡°The last time, that stray dog appeared on the third day after I buried it,¡± Wan Shouguang calculated, holding out three fingers, ¡°Three days, in three days¡­our son will be resurrected.¡±

 Chapter 551 - 551 367 Resurrection (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 551: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 1) Chapter 551: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 1) The forum had begun the day prior, and on this second day, Di Zhiwen had accepted an invitation along with several scholars from Huaying District to visit an elderly professor¡¯s home. Yan Junze had taken the day off and stayed in the hotel without going out. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After thinking it over, two days had already passed, and Wan Shouguang¡¯s grief over the loss of his son should have somewhat subsided. He hadn¡¯t tried calling the other¡¯s mobile phone again during these two days.


    After some consideration, right there in the hotel, Yan Junze dialed Wan Shouguang¡¯s mobile phone once more.


    This time, it was indeed turned on.


    The phone rang for a long time, and just as it was about to switch to the automatic message stating no one was available to answer, someone finally pressed the receive button on the other end; however, it was a woman¡¯s voice that was slightly deep.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, may I ask if this is the phone of Wan Shouguang, the master of magnetic knife crafting?¡± Yan Junze, noticing the voice was not right, had no choice but to inquire.


    ¡°Yes, it is¡ªI¡¯m his spouse. Shouguang is outside; please wait a moment.¡±


    After the woman¡¯s words fell, Yan Junze quickly heard the woman calling out loudly for Wan Shouguang, footsteps sounded, and a man took over the phone.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    This voice sounded still somewhat haggard.


    ¡°Master Wan, hello, I am Yan Junze. Perhaps Zhang Chengjing introduced me to you a few days ago; do you remember?¡± Yan Junze spoke with humility.


    Zhang Chengjing was indeed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher and the one who raised her from childhood; previously a university professor, he made astonishing breakthroughs in magnetic field research after the outbreak of strangenesses and quickly joined the Exorcist Brigade, becoming a core member, one of the earliest Exorcist members.


    Moreover, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s special magnetic field constitution was strong, not only dedicated to research on magnetic fields, but he was also an outstanding Exorcist, respected for his strength.


    Upon hearing Zhang Chengjing¡¯s introduction, Wan Shouguang frowned and recalled carefully, seeming to remember that indeed after the ¡°Prohibition Illusion Helmet¡± project was finished, when he came home to the devastating news of his son, Zhang Chengjing had come too, indeed having mentioned it once in his presence.


    But at the time, he was in great sorrow and distracted; perhaps Zhang Chengjing knew it was not quite appropriate to mention these things then, so after speaking briefly, he did not bring it up again.


    Now that Yan Junze mentioned it over the phone, Wan Shouguang had some impression, but he was not certain if the name Zhang Chengjing had told him back then was Yan Junze.


    After a pause, Wan Shouguang asked, ¡°What is your relationship with Zhang Chengjing?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I¡¯m also an Exorcist, on the side of Tianmeng. I have a very good relationship with Zhang Xiaomo, that is, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s foster daughter¡­¡±


    ¡°Xiaomo!¡± Wan Shouguang nodded as he remembered her well, having seen her a few times by Zhang Chengjing¡¯s side¡ªa very polite young girl.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Seeing that the other side¡¯s tone was more relaxed, Yan Junze suggested, ¡°I was actually planning to visit Master Wan a few days ago, but I suddenly learned that it was not convenient for you and thus I have been staying in Huaying District. May I come over to visit you now?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t mention that he was attending a forum, simply stated that he stayed in Huaying District just to find Wan Shouguang. His intention was very clear; he wanted to meet him.


    This way, Wan Shouguang would take him seriously in his heart and it would also prove how important this meeting was to Yan Junze.


    There was a brief silence on the phone before Wan Shouguang said, ¡°These days really aren¡¯t a good time, as you should know, there¡¯s been a problem in my family, and we¡ªmy spouse and I¡ªneed some time to ourselves. We¡­ aren¡¯t ready to see others just yet, I am sorry.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°How about we schedule a separate time, next month perhaps?¡± Wan Shouguang felt a bit apologetic, considering the person was introduced by Zhang Chengjing, so he offered a time.


    ¡°Alright¡­okay then, Master Wan, take care. Sorry for the disturbance!¡± Yan Junze felt somewhat helpless and furrowed his brows as he hung up the phone, looking out the window.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that even after making his intentions clear¡ªthat he had stayed in Huaying District specifically for Wan Shouguang, and without even mentioning the need for him to craft a weapon¡ªWan Shouguang still did not agree to meet.


    On reflecting, as a junior bringing gifts to visit him should not be considered too much, especially when introduced by Zhang Chengjing, who didn¡¯t even grant this courtesy.


    It was very strange! Truly quite peculiar!


    Amidst his thoughts, Yan Junze picked up his mobile phone, pulled up Zhang Chengjing¡¯s number, but did not dial out.


    Since arriving in Huaying District, he had already spoken with Zhang Chengjing on the phone several times, even meeting with him in person yesterday.


    Though Zhang Chengjing was getting on in years and appeared gentle and refined, more like a professor than an Exorcist, Yan Junze knew he might well be a five-star Exorcist, but it did not show at all, quite different from the likes of Guo Youliang, another five-star rated individual.


    Because of his relationship with Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze was unsure what she might have already told her foster father and teacher, but when they met, he noticed there was an odd, indescribable eeriness in the other¡¯s gaze, a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile.


    Seeing Zhang Chengjing served two purposes: to pay respects and for Yan Junze to get insights from such an expert level for his Black Spirit Umbrella crafting ideas.


    As it turned out, Zhang Chengjing was indeed very impressive.


    After Yan Junze showed him his draft design, Zhang Chengjing made many suggestions for improvement.


    Yan Junze took these suggestions and made further modifications accordingly.


    In dealing with Zhang Chengjing, Yan Junze did not hide the fact of Fang Ning¡¯s existence, straightforwardly telling him that a Sculpting Spirit level of strangeness was hiding in his shadow, mostly dormant, but would take his life at any chance when the moonlight appeared.

 Chapter 552 - 552 367 Resurrection (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 552: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 2) Chapter 552: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 2) And the creation of this large umbrella, similar to a magnetic knife, was to serve dual purposes: forging a weapon while also being able to block moonlight, thus preventing Fang Ning from appearing.


    Of course, if there were a way to flush out Fang Ning and eliminate her, that would be best.


    The traditional tactic of luring the snake out of its hole had proven completely ineffective, as Fang Ning was too cunning. Now, the slightest sign of an ambush and she would not show herself at all.


    On the contrary, it was often at the moments when Yan Junze was least prepared that she would suddenly appear, catching him completely off guard.


    After listening to Yan Junze¡¯s description, Zhang Chengjing asked some detailed questions and compared them to the blueprint of the Black Spirit Umbrella provided by Yan Junze. He then proposed a bold idea of his own.


    This idea was something that in the past Yan Junze could never have imagined, but Zhang Chengjing had a different perspective on magnetic force weapons. Once this idea was brought up, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Chengjing¡¯s idea was to not use a completely sealed and light-proof design for the top of the umbrella but to let in a portion of the moonlight, to stimulate Fang Ning¡¯s presence, creating a state where she was both there but could not fully materialize.


    However, during this process, another strangeness force was needed to neutralize it. This force had to be stronger than the usual Fang Ning, but once Fang Ning absorbed the moonlight, she would become stronger inside the umbrella, counterbalancing the other strangeness force, achieving a balance.


    To fulfill this idea, two conditions had to be met. First, they needed to find a strangeness stronger than Fang Ning and imprison it within the umbrella, which was important for balancing and restraining the forces of strangeness.


    The first strangeness found had to be stronger than Fang Ning, but after the influence of the moonlight, Fang Ning had to be able to hold her own against it. If she could not, external forces might have to intervene and boost Fang Ning.


    This was the second condition, and when it came to this point, the external force immediately made Yan Junze think of the three Black Spirit Pearls. After pondering it over, he felt it was feasible.


    In conclusion, Zhang Chengjing summed up that if this idea could be realized, that is if the umbrella was opened and a part of the moonlight filtered in, causing Fang Ning to appear, the stronger strangeness would immediately restrain her. And if Fang Ning, with the moonlight, could still barely hold her own against the strangeness, then an additional external force could intervene, ensuring both parties maintained a delicate balance instantly.


    Yan Junze admitted that Zhang Chengjing¡¯s idea was indeed awesome, and once the umbrella was unfolded under the moonlight, Fang Ning would no longer pose a threat to him. Furthermore, he could simply leave the umbrella in place and walk under the moonlight himself without any worries.


    But Zhang Chengjing wouldn¡¯t have proposed this idea just for this minor effect.


    Upon further questioning, the answer from Zhang Chengjing startled Yan Junze, but after thinking it over, it indeed was the case.


    If the strangeness force inside the umbrella could achieve an unprecedented balance, then the moment another strangeness intruded or Yan Junze intentionally enveloped it with the umbrella, that balance would be instantly disrupted, and the newcomer would be attacked by three powers simultaneously.


    That is, the powers from Fang Ning, from another strangeness stronger than her, as well as from the third force imbued in Fang Ning, a formidable attack. According to Zhang Chengjing, even if it were an Ethereal Spirit, it would likely struggle to escape once enveloped by the umbrella.


    All Ethereal Spirits below, including those slightly weaker ones, would be annihilated!


    However, Zhang Chengjing also knew that such a creation was nearly impossible, not because the Black Spirit Umbrella could not be made¡ª with Wan Shouguang¡¯s help, creating such an umbrella wasn¡¯t too difficult.


    The main issue was capturing a strangeness stronger than Fang Ning and having a third force boost Fang Ning to help her counteract, achieving a balance of the strangeness forces within the umbrella.


    He thought this was unlikely to be accomplished, merely a great idea, but Yan Junze burst into laughter after understanding it in detail, laughing heartily.


    How coincidental! Could it be any more perfect?


    Although he heard from Wan Shouguang that he wasn¡¯t planning to meet with outsiders recently, Yan Junze found it suspicious. He decided to wait a little longer since the forum hadn¡¯t ended, and a turnaround might be possible.


    Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Wan Shouguang turned off his phone again, and said to his wife Jialan, ¡°If people from headquarters need me, they¡¯ll call your phone. Let¡¯s not turn mine on for the time being.¡±


    Jialan nodded.


    As Wan Shouguang was about to leave, Jialan asked, ¡°Do you think our son will Resurrect tomorrow?¡±


    Wan Shouguang turned to look at her, nodding slightly with a firm tone, ¡°Yes, he definitely will. Tidy up his bedroom, I¡¯ll go out and buy more food. Let¡¯s welcome him properly, tomorrow we¡¯ll welcome him.¡±


    Jialan agreed, temporarily setting aside her anxiety to tidy up Wan Cong¡¯s bedroom.


    Wan Shouguang drove to the supermarket, bought a generous amount of food, and some disposable bathing supplies. On his way back, he stopped the car by the roadside and picked up a few withered willow branches.


    When he returned home, the house had been cleaned spotlessly by Jialan.


    Wan Shouguang handed the food to Jialan and went to the upstairs bathroom to unpack the disposable bath supplies, arranging them neatly beside the bathtub.


    After coming back downstairs, he called Jialan out of the kitchen and said, ¡°Starting tonight, I¡¯m going to turn off all the Spirit Exploration devices and alarms in the house. Our son¡¯s magnetic field is definitely going to be chaotic, and this will prevent the devices from mistaking him upon his return. If it¡¯s automatically reported to headquarters, our secret will be exposed. We must not let others find out.¡±

 Chapter 553 - 553 367 Resurrection (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 553: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 3) Chapter 553: Chapter 367: Resurrection (Part 3) He paused, then added, ¡°At least not for now.¡±


    As a master craftsman of magnetic knives for Exorcism, Wan Shouguang¡¯s house was highly secure; any form of strangeness would be quickly reported to headquarters as soon as it appeared.


    At that time, patrolling Exorcists nearby, as well as those stationed at various key units, would swarm to the scene.


    Moreover, the house was stocked with some anti-strangeness magnetic energy devices. For instance, there were four sets of Magnetic Shielding Clothes and over ten Strangeness Interferers. Just grabbing one could handle the situation for a while, enough time for other Exorcists to come to the rescue.


    Of course, such situations were only for emergencies, and the likelihood of such an event occurring here was very, very slim.


    The third day after burying their son was fast approaching, and it was impossible for the couple to say they weren¡¯t nervous.


    Wan Shouguang had been psyching himself up, although when talking to his wife, he sounded confident; deep down, he had no real confidence at all.


    After all, the stray dog¡¯s resurrection was just the first case he encountered. What if it didn¡¯t work afterwards?


    There were too many unknowns, too many uncertainties. They did everything they could; now, aside from praying for their son¡¯s resurrection, the old couple could do nothing more.


    During dinner that evening, both were preoccupied, the food they put into their mouths as tasteless as wax.


    After a while, Wan Shouguang muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll go check that place first thing tomorrow morning. What if our son wakes up and can¡¯t climb out because the soil is too thick?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Liu Jialan nodded.


    Due to their anxiety, the couple couldn¡¯t bring themselves to do anything and prepared to go to bed early.


    Both maintained silence, brushing their teeth and washing their faces, each doing their own thing. Although someone was moving around, the house was eerily quiet.


    Wan Shouguang lay in bed for a long time, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Liu Jialan also lay with eyes open, staring at the faint yellow light from the streetlamp reflecting through the window, lost in thought.


    Time passed, the night outside the window grew denser, the air becoming colder.


    Wan Shouguang picked up a book about mechanical structures and flipped through it, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. He put the book back on the nightstand and sighed softly.


    He felt cold sweat in his palms, a sense of inexplicable tension swirling in his heart. This feeling had lingered since noon today, persisting until now.


    He believed his wife must be feeling the same way.


    Glancing at the time, it was already past midnight. This wouldn¡¯t do; they had to check on their son under the big tree in the forest early tomorrow and needed to get enough sleep.


    Determined, Wan Shouguang decided to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. He told Liu Jialan, ¡°I¡¯m going to the bathroom. I¡¯ll turn off the bedroom light when I get back, so let¡¯s get some sleep early.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liu Jialan didn¡¯t answer; she just turned to glance at him.


    Just as he finished urinating and came out, there was a sudden, crisp sound from downstairs.


    Wan Shouguang was startled, looking up at Liu Jialan, who was lying in bed looking back at him.


    ¡°Could there be a burglar?¡± Liu Jialan sat up in bed, looking somewhat panicked and grabbed her phone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call just yet,¡± Wan Shouguang stopped her, ¡°I¡¯ll go down and take a look. Give me my electric baton and a Strangeness Interferer.¡±


    Liu Jialan got out of bed, opened the closest wardrobe, took out the two items, and handed them to him.


    ¡°You take a Strangeness Interferer too,¡± Wan Shouguang instructed, ¡°And only call the police when I tell you to.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Holding the items, Wan Shouguang stepped out of the master bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down.


    He turned on the light, instantly brightening the villa, but at the same time, another crisp sound came from below, like the sound of dishes and bowls clashing.


    ¡°Is something eating? An animal? Could it be that stray dog from the other day has come back?¡± Wan Shouguang thought of several possibilities in an instant.


    Carefully walking down the stairs, his hand gripping the electric baton, thumb on the switch ready to turn it on at a moment¡¯s notice.


    In his other hand, he held a Strangeness Interferer, ready to respond whether the noise was caused by a person or some strangeness.


    When he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned the corner, Wan Shouguang took a deep breath and then tensed up sharply.


    He saw a man in a cotton suit, pale-faced, sitting on the dining table with his side facing him, his limbs stiff, movements sluggish, grabbing the cold leftovers from their dinner, and stuffing them into his mouth, bite by bite.


    Wan Shouguang stared blankly at the man¡¯s face for a long time before he could squeeze out two words, ¡°Cong¡­ Cong?!¡±


    The man, who had been shoveling food into his mouth, suddenly halted. His neck, extremely stiff, lifted his head with a creaking noise, looking toward Wan Shouguang with murky eyes, silent.


    At a loss, Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t know what to do, whether to approach or retreat.


    After a standoff, the man¡¯s lips moved slightly, and a very dry voice emerged, ¡°Dad¡­¡±

 Chapter 554 - 554 368 Resurrection (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 554: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2) Chapter 554: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2) Wan Shouguang was taken aback when he suddenly heard his son calling for him. He quickly realized that his son was conscious and even recognized him.


    His initial speculation turned out to be feasible: Wan Cong had not only been resurrected but was also retaining his consciousness from before, and had not completely changed into a different person, as Wan Shouguang had feared.


    ¡°Cong¡­ Congcong, you¡¯ve¡­ come back?¡± Wan Shouguang¡¯s body trembled with excitement. He stammered as he turned his head and shouted upstairs, ¡°Jialan, Jialan, our son¡­ has come back!¡±


    Liu Jialan was cautiously on guard in the bedroom, ears perked for any noises from downstairs. When she heard Wan Shouguang¡¯s shout, her face lit up with surprise. She didn¡¯t even put down the Strangeness Interferer in her hand as she rushed out of the bedroom.


    In the dining room downstairs.


    After Wan Shouguang asked ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Wan Cong numbly nodded his head. He struggled to swallow the mouthful of food, and managed to squeeze out two words: ¡°I¡¯m¡­ hungry.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, mhm, you must be hungry after not eating for days, definitely hungry!¡±


    Wan Shouguang nodded as he ran to the living room side, poured a cup of hot water from the thermos, and carefully carried the glass to the dining table, placing it beside Wan Cong¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°Take your time eating, drink some water. If the food is not enough, your mom will immediately go to the kitchen and make you another tableful.¡±


    ¡°Son!¡± Liu Jialan¡¯s hoarse, ecstatic shout rang out.


    She ran down the stairs, thud, thud, thud, and in her haste, one of her cotton slippers fell off on the staircase. She rushed into the dining room and threw herself in front of Wan Cong, embracing him tightly without a second thought as he was eating.


    Tears spilled from Liu Jialan¡¯s eyes as she joyfully said, ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re back, great that you¡¯re back! Son, mom missed you so much, mom missed you to death.¡±


    At the moment, Wan Cong had his mouth full of food. He chewed while trying to hold onto his mother¡¯s shoulders with his greasy hands. After a great effort to swallow the food, he finally spoke: ¡°I missed you too.¡±


    As he finished speaking, his eyes shifted back to the half-eaten food on the table. He reached out with his right hand, grabbed a handful of stir-fried celery and beef from the plate, and stuffed it into his mouth.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using chopsticks?¡± Wan Shouguang had just picked up his wife¡¯s slipper and placed it back down before turning to fetch some chopsticks from the kitchen.


    Liu Jialan grabbed her son¡¯s arm, stopping him: ¡°The food on the table has gone cold. You want to eat? Mom will make you dumplings. There¡¯s also half a roast chicken in the frost-free fridge. I¡¯ll heat it up in the microwave right away. No eating this cold stuff!¡±


    Wan Cong paused for a moment, nodded, and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Son, your hands are so cold; you must have been too cold sleeping outside.¡± Liu Jialan said tenderly as she stood up and headed to the kitchen.


    Just as Wan Shouguang came out with the chopsticks, Liu Jialan told him, ¡°Go to the sofa and get the wool blanket to cover our son. After he eats, he should take a nice hot bath.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Wan Shouguang nodded hastily, set the chopsticks on the dining table, and went to get the blanket.


    Wan Cong sat at the dining table, staring unblinkingly as his parents bustled about.


    Seeing Liu Jialan enter the kitchen, he seemed to have forgotten what was just said and lifted the half-plate of stir-fried beef and celery in front of him. Due to the cold weather, the oil in it had congealed into a clump.


    Wan Cong didn¡¯t care about that and directly stuffed the clump into his mouth. After chewing a few times, the oil dribbled out of the corner of his mouth, but he quickly finished it.


    Wan Shouguang brought the wool blanket over and frowned at his son¡¯s messy eating. He draped the blanket over Wan Cong¡¯s back, saying, ¡°Your mom is making you some hot food, don¡¯t eat this anymore. Here, wipe your hands.¡±


    He tore a few paper towels and wiped Wan Cong¡¯s hands.


    Then he sat down next to his son on the dining chair and gazed at him with concern, asking, ¡°Son, are you still cold?¡±


    Wan Cong shook his head.


    ¡°Do you remember where you came back from?¡±


    Wan Cong looked at him, seemingly taken aback, but his expression remained dull, and he then shook his head.


    Wan Shouguang pressed, ¡°Then what do you remember now?¡±


    Wan Cong lowered his head as if straining to recall.


    Seizing this moment, Wan Shouguang closely observed his son¡¯s current appearance.


    He saw Wan Cong¡¯s shoes were covered with damp mud, presumably from walking, and while the soles should have been cleaned by now, the tops had plenty of mud left, turning that part of the carpet beneath a disgusting, wet mess.


    Looking again at his son¡¯s hands and cheeks, they were very pale, without a trace of color.


    After wiping off the grease on Wan Cong¡¯s hands with another paper towel, Wan Shouguang took the opportunity to feel his son¡¯s hands. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were ice-cold, without a trace of warmth.


    He went ahead and pinched Wan Cong¡¯s right wrist to check the pulse. During this, Wan Cong just looked at him emotionlessly, didn¡¯t pull his hand back, nor did he ask why.


    After a while, Wan Shouguang let go of the pulse-pinching hand, stared into his son¡¯s eyes, and a creeping feeling of uneasiness slowly began to swell inside him.


    Wan Cong was also looking at him, silent, and the atmosphere was still.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll turn up the heat inside.¡± Wan Shouguang stood up and went into the living room to get the remote.


    After he left, Wan Cong¡¯s focus returned to the leftover food on the table. He took the two remaining plates and continued to empty them of their contents.


    Holding the remote control, Wan Shouguang returned and halted in surprise at the sight. He didn¡¯t stop him this time, just stood to one side, silent.


    ¡°Why are you still eating cold food?¡± Liu Jialan came out of the kitchen carrying half a roast chicken, warm and steaming. Seeing this scene, she immediately blamed Wan Shouguang, ¡°And you, as a father, aren¡¯t even watching over him.¡±

 Chapter 555 - 555 368 Resurrection (Part 2)_2

    ?Chapter 555: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2)_2 Chapter 555: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2)_2 Wan Shouguang just smirked, not saying a word.


    Wan Cong looked at the roast chicken in front of him and quickly started with both hands, tearing the chicken meat off and stuffing it into his mouth voraciously.


    Soon, only the chicken carcass remained from half of the chicken.


    At this moment, Liu Jialan had run to the kitchen to fetch the dumplings.


    Wan Shouguang sat down again opposite Wan Cong and repeated the conversation from before: ¡°Son, what do you remember at the end?¡±


    Wan Cong shook his head: ¡°Pain, intense pain, and nothing else¡­ I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°When you woke up, you were lying in the soil, aren¡¯t you curious about that?¡± Wan Shouguang pondered for a moment before asking.


    Wan Cong looked at him, said nothing, and after a moment, continued shaking his head.


    By this time, Liu Jialan had brought out the dumplings.


    ¡°Hurry up and eat, have a bath and rest after you finish. You¡¯re very confused,¡± Wan Shouguang said, pointing at the dumplings.


    Liu Jialan was now full of energy, sitting on the other side of Wan Cong, smiling as she watched him gobble down dumplings, which he finished in no time.


    She reached out and touched the back of Wan Cong¡¯s hand, and then her expression turned to surprise: ¡°Shouguang, our child¡¯s body is still very cold; is he sick?¡±


    Wan Shouguang waved his hand lightly, signaling her not to speak for the time being.


    ¡°Go upstairs and take a bath in your room,¡± he said to his son.


    Wan Cong nodded, stood up with a numb expression, and walked toward the stairs.


    It was only then that the couple realized that their son¡¯s left leg was shorter, causing him to limp, which also explained the uneven muddy footprints on the floor.


    They knew very well that this was because of the leg bone fracture Wan Cong had suffered in the car accident; apart from that, his heart had also been punctured by broken ribs.


    He limped up the stairs, and into his own room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get him some clothes to change into,¡± said Liu Jialan, eagerly preparing to go upstairs.


    At that moment, Wan Shouguang gently grabbed her shoulder, glanced at the second floor, withdrew his gaze, and then looked at the somewhat baffled Liu Jialan before he carefully said, ¡°Our son¡­ has no heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Liu Jialan exclaimed in shock, staring at her husband, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he could be resurrected? He¡¯s already resurrected, standing right in front of us alive and well, how could he have no heartbeat?¡±


    Wan Shouguang shook his head, motioning Liu Jialan to come over to the sofa in the living room, and whispered: ¡°I was prepared for this. That is to say, our son, after being resurrected, is different from ordinary people. I deliberately asked him some questions earlier; he doesn¡¯t remember much about recent events, but he remembers this home, recognizes you and me, and knows where his bedroom is.¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sounds of water being drawn for a bath faintly came from upstairs.


    Wan Shouguang pointed upwards and continued: ¡°He also remembers how to run a hot bath.¡±


    ¡°But, our son has no heartbeat,¡± Liu Jialan said with a choking voice, ¡°So what is our son right now, is he a normal person?¡±


    Wan Shouguang shook his head again: ¡°Let¡¯s define it this way, a living dead person. I hope you, like me, are prepared for this. As long as our son can live well by our side, lead a normal life, and carry on, I will be satisfied.¡±


    Liu Jialan muttered to herself: ¡°Living¡­ dead¡­ person?!¡±


    For a moment, she couldn¡¯t say another word.


    The two stood there for a short while, Wan Shouguang supporting her shoulder, gradually helping her sit down on the sofa, consoling: ¡°You must acknowledge this, our son is different now, but everything else should be unchanged. Maybe his silence just then was also because he can¡¯t accept what has happened abruptly. We must recognize this before he does, and properly guide him, helping him to reacquaint himself with who he is.¡±


    ¡°If he, if he is a¡­ living dead person, then can he digest all the food he just ate?¡± Liu Jialan suddenly asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Wan Shouguang shook his head, and after a moment, squeezed out four words, ¡°Probably¡­ he can¡¯t.¡±


    Just as the two were in a daze, a voice came from the second floor.


    ¡°Mom, where are my pajamas?¡±


    The couple looked up at the second floor with a start, Liu Jialan immediately lowered her head, diverting her gaze, and responded: ¡°Son, mom has put away your pajamas, they¡¯re not in the wardrobe, but in the storage box outside, open it and you¡¯ll find them if you just search a bit.¡±


    After a pause, Liu Jialan, still with her head down, said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take your bath first, mom will come up in a bit to help you find it¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Wan Cong, who was standing on the second-floor corridor, calmly nodding his head before turning into his bedroom.


    At this moment, he was bare, wearing nothing at all.


    The absence of clothing revealed his fatal injuries, a grotesque and stitched scar across his chest, and the wound on his thigh where the muscle was turned inside out, yet there was no blood.


    Liu Jialan turned her head to look at Wan Shouguang, who was also shifting his gaze towards her; as their eyes met, they both felt indescribable weirdness inside.


    The day their son had the car accident, he was 18 years and 5 months old, already an adult.


    And yet he was now walking around the house completely unclothed¡­


    ¡°Maybe he can¡¯t accept what has happened, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s behaving abnormally,¡± guessed Wan Shouguang, then he instructed, ¡°You go tidy up the dining area and the kitchen, and I¡¯ll help him find his pajamas.¡±


    ¡­


    It was the fourth day of forum exchanges.


    During these four days, Yan Junze followed Professor Di Zhiwen around for two days, participated in three symposiums, and helped organize several speeches.


    During this period, Di Zhiwen, fearing that he would be too bored with these activities since Yan Junze was still a student, allowed him a day off every other day to wander and have fun in the city on his own.

 Chapter 556 - 556 368 Resurrection (Part 2)_3

    ?Chapter 556: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2)_3 Chapter 556: Chapter 368: Resurrection (Part 2)_3 During his break, Yan Junze once again visited Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s adoptive father, Zhang Chengjing. In addition to bringing some gifts for the visit, he also had dinner at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Zhang Chengjing¡¯s presence, he made a phone call to Zhang Xiaomo, and the conversation between the two was lively and harmonious.


    Afterward, Yan Junze learned from Zhang Chengjing about the recent situation at Wan Shouguang¡¯s home.


    Due to the misfortune his son encountered, and since Wan Shouguang had just led the team to overcome the research on the ¡°Prohibition Illusion Helmet,¡± the headquarters gave Wan Shouguang a long vacation, allowing him to rest well and adjust his mood.


    Everyone initially thought the couple would go back to their hometown to stay for a while and talk with relatives and friends, hoping to get past this sad time quickly, but during this period, Wan Shouguang seemed to have gone nowhere and just stayed at home all the time.


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze asked Zhang Chengjing to make another phone call to Wan Shouguang. Zhang Chengjing was indeed intending to inquire about the master craftsman¡¯s recent condition and did not refuse, quickly making the call.


    However, the phone was switched off.


    Zhang Chengjing pondered for a moment, found Liu Jialan¡¯s number in the phone book, and called her directly, letting Wan Shouguang come to the phone after the call connected.


    From their brief conversation over the phone, Yan Junze could tell that Wan Shouguang was very polite to Zhang Chengjing, not showing any hint of superiority as a master craftsman.


    After all, Zhang Chengjing was one of the founders of the Exorcist team, a veteran figure, so Wan Shouguang, even as a master magnetic knife craftsman, dared not take him lightly.


    In the middle of their conversation, Zhang Chengjing pretended ignorance and asked, ¡°The good friend I mentioned to you last time, has he contacted you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve already spoken over the phone¡­¡±


    Wan Shouguang was about to continue when he was interrupted by Zhang Chengjing, ¡°The young man might seek your help. I know it¡¯s been tough for you recently, but I¡¯m still hoping you can make some time to help him out. A preliminary look is fine, and you can offer more help later if needed. Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Uncle Zhang, you¡¯re being too polite,¡± Wan Shouguang said. ¡°That¡¯s no problem, as long as it¡¯s within my power, I¡¯ll certainly be able to help him. It¡¯s just that¡­¡±


    ¡°Then thank you in advance. Oh, I have a guest over right now, so let¡¯s talk another day. I¡¯ll come to visit you soon.¡± Zhang Chengjing spoke and immediately hung up the phone.


    Yan Junze held back his laughter. He suddenly realized that he seemed to see the shadow of someone in Zhang Chengjing, very similar indeed.


    With a smile on his face, Zhang Chengjing hung up the phone and then looked at Yan Junze with a smile, asking, ¡°Why do you look at me with such an odd expression?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed and quickly averted his gaze.


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then, based on my understanding of Wan Shouguang, you can find an opportunity to see him in the next couple of days. He will definitely receive you,¡± Zhang Chengjing said. ¡°If he thinks crafting the umbrella is not too complicated, he might be able to complete it within this month. But if it¡¯s overly complicated, it may still be as he told you before, not until next month.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you, Uncle Zhang!¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡­


    In the outskirts of Huaying District, the Wan Family villa.


    Their son ¡°resurrected¡± in the early hours of the morning and returned home, causing Wan Shouguang and his wife not to rest well. It wasn¡¯t until daybreak that they finally slipped into a fitful sleep.


    They didn¡¯t wake up until noon the next day. After the old couple got up, they found their son¡¯s bedroom door open but didn¡¯t see anyone inside.


    After searching nearby and not finding Wan Cong, they were anxious when Wan Cong returned from the direction of his grave, expressionless and still limping as he walked.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Liu Jialan asked anxiously.


    ¡°Over there,¡± Wan Cong said calmly, pointing behind him, then walked to a poolside in the courtyard, turned on the faucet, and slowly washed his hands under the icy cold water.


    That¡¯s when Wan Shouguang noticed that his son¡¯s fingernails were all filled with dark soil.

 Chapter 557 - 557 369 Resurrection (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 557: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3) Chapter 557: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3) After seeing his son¡¯s fingernails filled with black soil, Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t say anything and signaled Liu Jialan not to ask any more questions.


    When his son returned to the bedroom, Wan Shouguang instructed Liu Jialan to watch Wan Cong inside the house, while he headed for the original grave where Wan Cong was buried.


    The previous night, after digging up their son¡¯s body, Wan Shouguang and Liu Jialan simply filled the grave back in. The repairs were hastily done, and to any discerning eye, it was clear that the grave had been tampered with.


    Arriving at the grave, Wan Shouguang placed his shovel on the ground and circled the grave, examining it carefully.


    Aside from the traces he and his wife left the previous night, there were no signs of the surrounding soil having been dug up with bare hands.


    Moreover, the soil here was not black.


    ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Wan Shouguang turned his head in surprise toward the direction of the grove.


    He first used the shovel to compact the loose soil of the grave, then he stacked the fallen stones back into place, layering them one by one. He then pressed a layer of soil over them to ensure they wouldn¡¯t easily come loose.


    After finishing, he circled the grave, feeling that it should look about the same as before, and picked up his shovel to walk towards the grove.


    Entering the woods, he quickly arrived at the base of the big tree.


    Since his son Wan Cong had crawled out from the soil here, he hadn¡¯t come to check it out.


    In his heart, he guessed there must be a hole left from when they initially dug it, because his son didn¡¯t have the time to worry about whether this spot looked suspicious after crawling out from underground.


    Wan Shouguang was here now to restore this eerie place to normal, to make sure no one could tell there was anything unusual.


    However, when he approached the base of the big tree, he hurriedly walked to the spot that was originally a man-shaped hole.


    But at that moment, the area was completely flat, covered with some dry branches, looking quite natural.


    Wan Shouguang, puzzled, brushed aside the branches, found the spot where they buried the stray dog and his son. He shoveled some of the soil out and crouched down for a closer look¡ªthe soil was black.


    At night, the woods were dark and the couple couldn¡¯t see clearly. Moreover, anxious at heart, they had not paid attention to the color of the soil before.


    Recalling that his son¡¯s fingernails were filled with black soil, could it be that he came back and filled in the hole himself?


    This possibility was very likely.


    Wan Shouguang inspected the area carefully; there were no distinct footprints in the soil, no signs of digging by hand, it was well-concealed.


    But why would Wan Cong cover this place up?


    Considering this, Wan Shouguang suddenly felt an unease settle upon him. He quickly glanced at the covered hole, grabbed his shovel, and hurried back home.


    The Wan Family villa.


    Even though Liu Jialan got up only in the afternoon, she still felt extremely tired that day.


    Not long after Wan Shouguang took the shovel and went out, she saw her son enter the bedroom and close the door. She then lay on the couch in the living room, drifting off into a doze.


    Not knowing how much time passed, Liu Jialan seemed to hear some noise. Maintaining her lying position, she opened her eyes and looked towards the staircase only to see her son Wan Cong coming downstairs.


    Wan Cong¡¯s face bore a mysterious smile as he descended the stairs, staring at the lying Liu Jialan.


    ¡°Son, aren¡¯t you going to rest a bit more?¡± Liu Jialan¡¯s voice came out soft and weak.


    At that moment, she suddenly realized she could talk and see, but couldn¡¯t move. Her limbs felt numb as if they no longer belonged to her.


    Wan Cong continued smiling, giving no response. He walked down the stairs and approached Liu Jialan.


    ¡°Son, why can¡¯t I move? What¡¯s going on?¡± Liu Jialan was a bit frightened.


    Wan Cong reached the couch and stood in front of her.


    ¡°Quick, rub my feet, I can¡¯t feel them at all,¡± Liu Jialan urged. ¡°And my hands, I can¡¯t feel them at all either.¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    Wan Cong seemed not to have heard her, instead calling out again. Then he lifted his right hand and grabbed his hair.


    Liu Jialan watched him in surprise, not understanding what he was about to do.


    Soon, Wan Cong¡¯s right hand began to tighten, yanking forcefully at his hair, then pulling it upwards. The violent pulling disfigured his facial features, but the force of the pull grew stronger, with no sign of stopping.


    This scene left Liu Jialan completely astonished, feeling as if she were dreaming.


    The next moment, Wan Cong¡¯s facial features were completely distorted, pulled apart, revealing a skinless, hairless, dark, and bald head underneath, as though the outer layer of skin was like crumpled clothing being pulled off.


    This bare head opened its lips, revealing a bright red inside, creating a stark contrast with the head¡¯s color, and slowly began to speak to Liu Jialan.


    ¡°Mom.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then the dark head came closer, directly nearing Liu Jialan¡¯s face, with just two or three centimeters between them.


    Liu Jialan was terrified, her body jerked suddenly, and she awoke to find everything around her normal. There was no son, no dark head, and the living room was quiet.


    It was a dream, she had just had a dream.


    Liu Jialan realized she had fallen asleep on the couch and it was all a terrible nightmare.


    She looked up at Wan Cong¡¯s bedroom on the second floor. The bedroom door was still closed, it was clear Wan Cong hadn¡¯t come out from inside.

 Chapter 558 - 558 369 Resurrection (Part 3)_2

    ?Chapter 558: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3)_2 Chapter 558: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3)_2 Jialan had lost all desire to sleep, sat up, and prepared to pour herself a cup of hot water.


    But just at that moment, she faintly heard Wan Cong¡¯s voice calling out from the upstairs bedroom, which was closed.


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    At first, Jialan thought she might have heard wrong since the voice was so faint. Perhaps she was still groggy from just waking up and had experienced an auditory hallucination.


    She walked over to the water purifier and poured herself a cup of warm water which had been kept at a steady 50 degrees. Just as she was about to bring the cup to her lips, a blurry voice once again reached her ears.


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    This time, Jialan heard it clearly: someone was calling her.


    She looked up and turned to face the tightly shut bedroom door on the second floor, sensing that the sound was coming from her son¡¯s room.


    ¡°Can¡¯t find his clothes again?¡± she muttered to herself as she took a sip of water, put the glass back down, and headed upstairs.


    Standing in front of her son¡¯s bedroom door, Jialan hesitated for a moment before knocking and asking, ¡°Congcong, was that you calling me just now?¡±


    She waited a bit, but no one answered.


    Jialan knocked again and repeated her previous question.


    Still, there was no reply from inside.


    After a moment of thought, Jialan gently turned the doorknob; it wasn¡¯t locked from the inside, so she opened the bedroom door directly.


    She stood in the doorway, peering inside. The curtains were drawn open, and there was plenty of light in the room, but at first glance, she did not see Wan Cong.


    ¡°Not in the bedroom?¡±


    Jialan talked to herself, thinking she must have heard wrong after all.


    Just as she was about to close the door and leave, a familiar voice suddenly came from the bathroom of her son¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    Jialan was startled, turned back, and looked at the closed bathroom door in astonishment.


    ¡°Son, are you in there?¡±


    She asked the question, but no sound came from the bathroom as if there were no one inside.


    Jialan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, an inexplicable sense of horror rising from her feet and spreading through her body, causing her to suddenly tingle all over with cold hands and feet.


    She stood at the bedroom¡¯s entrance, gripping the doorknob, too scared to go any further.


    After a brief moment with no further reply, Jialan prepared to close the door and leave.


    Just then, the sound of someone talking came again from the bathroom, clearly reaching her ears.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m in here.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Confirmed, it was indeed her son in the bathroom, and his voice sounded perfectly normal.


    Jialan came to her senses as the initial sense of dread began to fade. She gently patted her chest, took a deep breath, and approached the bathroom door.


    ¡°Son, did you run out of toilet paper?¡± asked Jialan.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Are you taking a bath? Do you need a dry towel?¡± Jialan asked again.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you calling me for?¡± Jialan was perplexed.


    ¡°Mom, come in.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Is it convenient?¡± Jialan inquired.


    There was no response from the bathroom.


    Jialan knocked on the door and said, ¡°If you¡¯re taking a shower, it¡¯s not convenient for me to come in. Whatever you need, I¡¯ll leave it outside the door, and you can get it later.¡±


    ¡°Mom, come in.¡± The same words came through again, spoken with a calm tone that revealed no signs of abnormality.


    ¡°This child¡­¡±


    Jialan was somewhat speechless, paused for a moment, pressed down on the bathroom door handle, unlocked it, and was about to push the door open when Wan Shouguang¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind her.


    ¡°Jialan, what are you doing in Congcong¡¯s bedroom? Where¡¯s the boy?¡±


    Jialan stopped what she was doing, maintaining her position, and turned her head to reply, ¡°He was calling me from the bathroom. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Congcong, are you okay?¡± Wan Shouguang entered the bedroom and stood beside Jialan.


    ¡°Nothing, found the dry towel.¡± Wan Cong¡¯s voice came from the bathroom.


    ¡°Okay, good.¡±


    Jialan casually closed the door, and the old couple left Wan Cong¡¯s bedroom one after the other, gently closing the door behind them.


    In the bathroom, near the door.


    Wan Cong stood there fully clothed, his mouth agape to an extent that no normal person could manage; still, the corners of his mouth did not tear. His eyes bulged slightly, his pupils turning a deep gray. In this state, he had been facing the bathroom door all along.


    Even when his voice had sounded, he had maintained this bizarre pose with his mouth wide open.


    As soon as the couple outside left, Wan Cong¡¯s gaping mouth slowly closed, and his face returned to normal, giving away no hint of strangeness.


    Back in the master bedroom, Wan Shouguang said to Jialan, ¡°Don¡¯t be alone with our son for the next few days. I still need to observe him. His condition is very unstable.¡±


    Jialan looked surprised; in fact, she had sensed it too, but as soon as she saw her son¡¯s familiar form and heard his familiar voice, her heart was void of any barrier, leaving only affection, regret, and an endless desire to make amends¡­


    As they spoke, Wan Shouguang took out the Strangeness Interferer from the wardrobe, handed one to Jialan, and placed another in his pocket. He also pulled out a black object resembling a cigarette case and slipped it into his pocket as well.


    This black ¡°cigarette case,¡± named Magnetic Knife Shrapnel, was produced in very limited quantities due to the demanding craftsmanship required. It was intended for those unfamiliar with the art of wielding a magnetic knife.


    With the press of a button, the ejection port would instantly fire a blade formed by magnetic force; this blade could emulate the function of a magnetic knife, instantly slaying the targeted strangeness.


    Of course, this required precision in targeting the strangeness; otherwise, it could not harm them, and it also had to hit the target at the peak of its power burst.

 Chapter 559 - 559 369 Resurrection (Part 3)_3

    ?Chapter 559: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3)_3 Chapter 559: Chapter 369: Resurrection (Part 3)_3 Otherwise, it could only wound, frighten away, or even outright enrage the target.


    Magnetic Knife Shrapnel is classified into sets of three, five, seven, and nine pieces. Although the nine-piece set contains more, its overall power is diluted, whereas the three-piece set, with the fewest number of blades, also has the greatest magnetic knife strength per shard.


    What Wan Shouguang was holding was a five-piece set, with power close to the medium level. If the distance and aim were right, it could almost always kill a strangeness in one hit.


    However, he hoped never to use this thing, not ever.


    Before long, Wan Shouguang took out a Spirit Detector from the wardrobe, turned it on, and scanned towards his son¡¯s bedroom. He quickly looked at the display screen.


    Everything was still normal.


    Since his son¡¯s Resurrection, he had done this more than once, but every time the detector found no strangenesses.


    This meant that although his son seemed like a living dead, he wasn¡¯t truly a strangeness, and it would be for the best if he could continue living like this hereafter.


    After putting away the Spirit Detector, the couple went downstairs as usual, one to clean the yard, the other to prepare dinner.


    Wan Shouguang used to employ housekeepers, but he dismissed them after rushing back home following his son¡¯s accident. At that time, Liu Jialan did not know the reason for it, but now it was clear it was to avoid drawing attention.


    The couple didn¡¯t mind working hard. Even before their lives had come to this point, they had done all sorts of work. Besides, sometimes, even with housekeepers around, they couldn¡¯t sit still and would end up doing some household chores themselves.


    After coming out of the bedroom, Wan Cong just sat in the living room watching TV.


    Having finished cleaning the yard, Wan Shouguang sat on the other side of the sofa, took a sip of hot water and then spoke, ¡°Congcong, you can¡¯t go out alone anymore, you can¡¯t meet anyone other than mom and dad. You need to rest well, and if not, mom and dad will accompany you back to our hometown and we¡¯ll stay there for a while.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Wan Cong agreed without hesitation.


    Wan Shouguang was relieved.


    The night passed normally, with Wan Cong dining and watching TV with Wan Shouguang and Liu Jialan, behaving in a way that satisfied the couple. It was as if their familiar son had returned to them.


    Except that he didn¡¯t talk much.


    It wasn¡¯t until 2 PM the next day that Wan Shouguang, who generally liked living in solitude and rarely had visitors, surprisingly welcomed a guest.


    Truth be told, Wan Shouguang had never expected anyone to visit him specifically.


    When the doorbell outside the courtyard rang, Wan Shouguang thought it was the milk delivery, but then he remembered the milk had just been delivered that morning. Who could it be at this hour?


    Perhaps someone had the wrong address? S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon using the video intercom at the door, he saw a young man he had never met before.


    The stranger was smiling, looking sincerely at the screen lit on the left front side of the door.


    ¡°Who are you? Who are you looking for?¡± asked Wan Shouguang.


    ¡°My name is Yan Junze. I made a special trip to visit Master Wan,¡± the young man politely replied with a gentle and courteous tone, and then added, ¡°since I¡¯m leaving tomorrow and had already come to Huaying District, I would be regretful if I left without meeting Master Wan. I was so anxious that I couldn¡¯t just sit still, so I decided to come over and pay my respects no matter what.¡±


    Wan Shouguang realized and asked, ¡°You¡¯re Yan Junze, mentioned by Zhang Chengjing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± Yan Junze bowed to the screen, ¡°Hello, Master Wan!¡±


    It was clear that Wan Shouguang was hesitant, but knowing that Yan Junze would leave the next day and had come all this way just to see him, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to turn him away.


    Squeak¡ª


    The sound of the electromagnetic door opening was heard.


    ¡°Come in, I¡¯ll wait for you in the living room,¡± said Wan Shouguang.


    ¡°Thank you, Master Wan!¡± Yan Junze bowed again politely and stepped into the courtyard.

 Chapter 560 - 560 370 Resurrection (Part 4)

    ?Chapter 560: Chapter 370: Resurrection (Part 4) Chapter 560: Chapter 370: Resurrection (Part 4) The Wan Family¡¯s villa was not very large, but its decor and arrangements were extremely exquisite, and it was clean and tidy.


    As Yan Junze was crossing the courtyard, a middle-aged woman came out from the entrance of the living room, a smile appearing on her face as she said to him, ¡°Hello, I am Shouguang¡¯s wife, just call me Aunt Liu.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Liu, hello!¡± Yan Junze nodded with a smile, feeling that the family seemed very warm.


    Arriving at the entrance to the living room, Liu Jialan had already taken out a pair of slippers.


    Yan Junze changed his shoes and followed her into the house, looking up to see that to the left of the entrance was the dining room. However, there was a row of fish tanks in front of the dining room, with various small fish swimming inside. One had to step up two stairs to enter the dining room.


    Another exit from the dining room was directly facing the kitchen, with both connected by an arched corridor paved with cobblestones.


    On the right side of the main door was the living room, which was very spacious. The room¡¯s decor was in an ivory color, and the furniture, such as the sofa and coffee table, was also in light colors, giving off a comfortable and relaxing feeling upon entering.


    A slightly plump man sat calmly on the living room sofa, without a smile, and pointed to the sofa on his left, saying, ¡°Yan, come sit here.¡±


    Yan Junze went over and placed a beautifully wrapped gift box on the table, speaking with a respectful tone, ¡°Master Wan, I am sorry to disturb you at this time.¡±


    Wan Shouguang waved his hand but did not speak.


    Liu Jialan took the gift box from the table, smiling, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, there¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡±


    ¡°As I should,¡± Yan Junze said.


    After sitting down, Liu Jialan poured him a cup of tea and then sat next to Wan Shouguang.


    Both sides were sizing each other up, but Yan Junze¡¯s gaze did not carry the kind of scrutiny of an elder examining a junior like Wan Shouguang¡¯s; rather, it was polite and dignified.


    In the eyes of Wan Shouguang and Liu Jialan, although this young man seemed very youthful, he was not at all timid. Being able to become an Exorcist at such a young age, he must have some exceptional qualities. At the very least, he was quite mature in character.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been admiring Master Wan ever since Zhang Xiaomo mentioned you, especially your skill with the magnetic knife. Such a small magnetic knife can have two modes of damage, physical and against strangenesses, which is really impressive!¡±


    No sooner had Yan Junze finished speaking than Wan Shouguang immediately said, ¡°No need to call me master, every weapon made against strangenesses involves a team effort, without the team, I am nothing. It¡¯s just that, in a team, I might sweat the most.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Uncle Wan,¡± Yan Junze promptly corrected himself, and instantly became much friendlier.


    ¡°Old Zhang mentioned that you are an Exorcist from Tianmeng District. What brings you to Huaying District these days?¡± Wan Shouguang asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still studying at Tianmeng Science University, I just started university last year,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°This time, I came here to accompany a professor from my university to attend a forum.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re not a full-time Exorcist,¡± Wan Shouguang realized. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Right, when the Tianmeng Exorcist Team hired me as an external consultant, I was a Semi-Spirit, but now I am not,¡± Yan Junze explained.


    ¡°Why? Did the strangeness that implanted the Semi-Spirit Body in you die?¡± Wan Shouguang asked curiously.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, seeming to answer Wan Shouguang¡¯s question, but actually he was diverting the subject, ¡°My physical constitution might also be somewhat special. Previously, I often attracted some strangenesses close to me. Now I come seeking Uncle Wan¡¯s help for this reason.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, go on.¡±


    Yan Junze opened his backpack and took out a stack of hand-drawn drafts, handing them to Wan Shouguang: ¡°Honestly, there is a fairly strong strangeness hidden in my shadow, and as long as I am under the moonlight, this strangeness will crawl out along my shadow to claim my life.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Liu Jialan covered her mouth in surprise and asked, ¡°Why is that happening?¡±


    Yan Junze wore a wry smile, ¡°She¡­ wants me to accompany her, forever.¡±


    ¡°Is it because you let her down during her lifetime?¡± Wan Shouguang took the hand-drawn drafts, not yet having the chance to look at them, and asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°We didn¡¯t know each other when she was alive. I picked up her presence during a strangeness incident, and since then, she has been following me.¡±


    Now that he was seeking Wan Shouguang¡¯s help and also intending to have the Black Spirit Umbrella crafted, Yan Junze did not hide the existence of Fang Ning. Some special features and requirements needed to be clearly communicated to the other party, or else he wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve the purpose of his visit. He also believed that being upfront about his own secrets upon first meeting could at least show his trust in them, which might bring a positive impression to Wan Shouguang.


    Wan Shouguang slightly pursed his lips with a smile, clearly quite satisfied with Yan Junze¡¯s openness.


    He began to flip through the large amount of hand-drawn drafts Yan Junze had preserved, asking while browsing, ¡°You want to make an umbrella?¡±


    ¡°Yes, one that can shield against the moonlight and can also be used in actual combat,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Not bad, your hand-drawn diagrams are very detailed. You must have studied this field before.¡± After flipping through a few drafts, Wan Shouguang praised, ¡°You have drawn out every strut, every joint of the umbrella bones. Except for not specifying the load-bearing capacity, everything else seems ready to use.¡±


    After speaking, he closed the documents and asked Yan Junze, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already planned everything so clearly, why do you still come to me?¡±


    Yan Junze humbly replied, ¡°This is just an idea of mine. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s mature enough, if it can be realized, or if there are any problems that I haven¡¯t noticed. Moreover, I¡¯m utterly clueless about the materials that will be needed, not to mention having a place to make the umbrella, or the raw materials.¡±

 Chapter 561 - 561 370 Resurrection (Part 4)_2

    ?Chapter 561: Chapter 370: Resurrection (Part 4)_2 Chapter 561: Chapter 370: Resurrection (Part 4)_2 Wan Shouguang nodded and asked, ¡°Then do you know roughly how much it costs to make a magnetic knife?¡±


    At that question, Yan Junze felt a sudden jolt in his heart, thinking that since the other party was asking this way, the price of the magnetic knife must certainly not be cheap.


    As for his own Black Spirit Umbrella, whether it was the craftsmanship, the standard of technique required, or the materials used, it probably wouldn¡¯t be any cheaper than making a magnetic knife, and he feared the cost of one umbrella could well be equivalent to that of three magnetic knives.


    Sweating nervously, Yan Junze forced a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Knowing he might not be aware, Wan Shouguang said, ¡°The price of one high-end sedan is roughly equal to that of one magnetic knife.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, knowing he would continue, so he just lifted his teacup and took a gentle sip.


    Wan Shouguang paused, and seeing that Yan Junze did not ask further, continued, ¡°And according to my estimation, the price of the umbrella you want to make should be enough to buy half of my mansion.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡±


    Yan Junze almost sprayed the tea out of his mouth, quickly closed his lips, and swallowed with a gulp, managing only after some effort to speak, ¡°That expensive?¡±


    Wan Shouguang, though he had been expressionless, now managed a strained smile, ¡°Furthermore, your umbrella has very strict craft requirements. Looking at your hand-drawn sketches, some parts of the design and concept were only added in the last two days. If you want to realize your idea of trapping strangeness within the umbrella using moonlight, it requires a high-polymer material for the mesh membrane, which is extremely expensive!¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Yan Junze let out a breath, said nothing, but felt a chill going right through him.


    Wan Shouguang continued, ¡°I¡¯ve got important matters to attend to this month and can¡¯t make this item for you, so let¡¯s say next month. I can supply the raw materials, but you will need to prepare the production funds. In consideration of Old Zhang, I can help you, including providing the venue and production equipment, besides personally making it for you, I¡¯ll also solve the supply issues for the raw materials.¡±


    Hearing this, Yan Junze felt utterly cool inside.


    It wasn¡¯t that Wan Shouguang was being unkind. On the contrary, he was being decent to offer such help, and that too out of regard for Zhang Chengjing¡¯s face, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t lift a finger.


    Yan Junze felt cold-hearted but only because of the issue of money.


    To be honest, even though he was not worried about food and clothing, coming up with so much cash all at once was still impossible for him.


    This place was the Huaying District, where land was the most expensive in the entire Great Capital. Given that Wan Shouguang¡¯s mansion was here, his contributions to the Exorcist Brigade were clearly significant.


    This was the most generous offer, and Yan Junze currently was far from reaching that height. The money he carried wasn¡¯t enough to afford even half a mansion, let alone the land price in this area.


    And Wan Shouguang¡¯s previous remark also included the cost of the land and construction, not just the building of the mansion itself.


    Difficulty was written all over his face, and seeing this, Wan Shouguang glanced at his wife, who was also looking at him at that moment.


    The couple understood each other without saying a word and guessed the likely reason.


    Just as Jialan was about to speak, a faint sound of a door latch echoed from upstairs ¨C the click of a door being locked. The noise wasn¡¯t loud, but with no one speaking in the room, everyone heard it.


    Yan Junze was startled and turned his head to look at the second floor, where the doors of the rooms along the corridor were all closed. It seemed that one of those doors had just been locked, hence the noise.


    This meant that a moment ago, one of the doors on the second floor had been open or ajar, and someone had just closed it.


    ¡°Is there someone upstairs?¡± Yan Junze casually asked, ¡°Is it grandparents or someone?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jialan said with an internal alarm, hurriedly shaking her head, ¡°There¡¯s no one upstairs, it must have been the wind that closed the door.¡±


    ¡°How come I haven¡¯t seen a single housekeeper?¡± Yan Junze turned his head with a smile as he queried.


    It would be normal to have two housekeepers in a mansion like this, and since Wan Shouguang was often not home, it would be difficult for Jialan to clean such a large place by herself and her son.


    ¡°There are housekeepers,¡± Wan Shouguang answered, glancing at Jialan, and explained, ¡°They were cleaning upstairs just now and might have accidentally touched the door.¡±


    After speaking, he signaled to Jialan, ¡°Go see what they¡¯re doing, tell them to move slower when they clean, so they don¡¯t damage anything.¡±


    Jialan got the hint and immediately walked toward the staircase, thinking to herself that she and her husband had already reminded their son to hide in the bedroom, to absolutely not show himself, and to ensure no outsiders saw him. Yet, she had no idea what Wan Cong was doing to still make noise.


    Although the couple coordinated their responses well, inconsistencies in their answers and the subtle panic in their eyes still aroused a hint of suspicion in Yan Junze.


    He looked up again towards the direction from which the sound had come, thought for a moment, and directly initiated a Rewind.


    Time returned to the moment when Wan Shouguang was speaking.


    At this time, Wan Shouguang was forcing a smile on his face, ¡°And the craftsmanship requirements for your umbrella are very strict. I see that some parts of the design on your hand-drawn blueprints were added just in the past couple of days¡­¡±


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t listening to what he was saying. Instead, he pretended to take a sip of tea, shifted his sitting posture slightly, and subtly turned his body towards the direction of the staircase. With his head gently tilted, he adopted the appearance of someone who was listening and contemplating simultaneously.


    His peripheral vision locked onto the direction on the second floor from where he had heard the door closing before the Rewind.


    Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly as he noticed that one of the doors was indeed ajar, revealing just a sliver.


    Within the gap in the door, a pair of eyes could barely be seen, staring down at the floor below, staring at him. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that moment, Yan Junze felt uneasy, a sense of chilling dread and a palpable wrongness enveloped him.


    ¡°Is this¡­ strangeness?¡± he pondered internally, ¡°If it were a person, who would silently peer through a crack in the door and watch me?¡±


    Yan Junze had already sensed that the Wan couple seemed to know what was going on and were probably deliberately concealing something from him.


    Wan Shouguang, unaware of Yan Junze¡¯s peculiarity, continued speaking, ¡°I have important matters to attend to this month and can¡¯t produce this item for you. Let¡¯s aim for next month. I can provide the raw materials¡­¡±


    Yan Junze was still pondering at this moment. If there was someone upstairs, why would they hide and spy on him? And if it were a ghostly presence, why didn¡¯t any mission prompts pop up in his mind?


    Could it be that this entity, even if it was a supernatural being, was one devoid of any Obsession?


    No, that couldn¡¯t be right. Not everyone was like Aunt Mei, without desires or demands, especially not for a fully formed ghostly presence.


    Such a likelihood should be quite small, so who exactly could it be?


    With his curiosity piqued, Yan Junze chose to activate the ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    He knew well that some ghostly presences can only be accurately detected when the event perception is activated, as mission information may not always pop up even at close range.


    The next second, a mission prompt indeed emerged in his mind.


    [Coordinates determined: Wan Family Villa, second floor, Wan Cong¡¯s bedroom.]


    [Mission Name: Resurrection;


    Mission Level: Trembling with Fear (Medium) ~ Hair-raising (High);


    Mission Background: He didn¡¯t know when he died, only that he had always been unable to leave, trapped in a realm with no way to break free. The magnetic field there was very strange, and he was not the only strangeness trapped there. During that time, he made several good friends, but this time, he was the lucky one to escape.


    Mission Details: He seems to know how to free the other strangenesses and intends to release them alongside him;


    Mission Reward: 700 to 1500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Penalty: None, because his target is not you;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked down, in fact, they have never been free; 2. If you harm his body, Wan Shouguang will fight you to the death;


    Note: Please note, the mission level may continue to escalate as the event unfolds.]

 Chapter 562 - 562 371 Resurrection (Part 5)

    ?Chapter 562: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5) Chapter 562: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5) ¡°Is it really strangeness?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of surprise and doubt after he had clearly seen the mission information.


    Looking at the situation now, not only had a strangeness appeared in the Wan Family¡¯s villa, but it seemed that Wan Shouguang and his wife were also harboring and covering up for the strangeness. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have tried to conceal it from him before the Rewind.


    However, for Yan Junze at this moment, he was somewhat bewildered after seeing this mission information.


    Because if the Wan Family wanted to hide a strangeness and prevent it from being discovered, then the most likely scenario was that the strangeness was their own son, especially since their son had just recently died.


    Even though the probability of a recently deceased person turning into a strangeness was very small, if it really happened, their son would be the only reason Wan Shouguang and his wife would have to hide and protect.


    Otherwise, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t think of any other reason.


    The mission information mentioned that the strangeness had been trapped in a region with a special magnetic field and was unable to get out, but only this time had it managed to leave.


    If it was Wan Shouguang¡¯s son, Wan Cong, then this circumstance wouldn¡¯t exist. After all, if Wan Cong had turned into a strangeness, he would have just died recently and wouldn¡¯t have been trapped somewhere for a long time without being able to appear.


    Moreover, the mission also revealed that this strangeness made acquaintances with other strangenesses while trapped, which was even less likely for Wan Cong.


    So Yan Junze deduced that the strangeness was not Wan Cong, but he just couldn¡¯t understand why Wan Shouguang and his wife were hiding it.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze turned his attention to the name of the mission.


    ¡°Resurrection?¡±


    He muttered to himself, a vague idea beginning to emerge in his mind.


    However, this idea couldn¡¯t fully form because he was still unclear about some key factors.


    At this time, Wan Shouguang had already finished speaking, and there was already the click of a door lock from upstairs.


    The couple were startled by the noise and quickly looked at Yan Junze, only to see him with his head down, lost in thought, as if he hadn¡¯t heard the sound.


    Relieved, Wan Shouguang thought that Yan Junze had been frightened by his words and was about to speak to comfort him when he heard Yan Junze suddenly say, ¡°Uncle Wan, Uncle Zhang mentioned that your child was buried nearby. Since I¡¯m here, I¡¯d like to pay my respects.¡±


    Wan Shouguang was stunned and looked at Liu Jialan.


    Liu Jialan remained silent, waiting for her husband¡¯s response. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a moment of silence, Wan Shouguang reluctantly nodded, ¡°Alright.¡±


    This request was actually quite normal. To show respect to Wan Shouguang and his family, Yan Junze going to pay tribute to Wan Cong was something no one could refuse.


    ¡°I came in a hurry and didn¡¯t bring any offerings. I¡¯ll go out and prepare right away¡­¡± Yan Junze added.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Liu Jialan spoke up upon seeing her husband¡¯s agreement, ¡°We have prepared fruits at home. We haven¡¯t replaced them for our son these past few days, and there are a lot of leftover paper money and incense candles. We can go together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, alright,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Half an hour later.


    Yan Junze, Wan Shouguang, and Liu Jialan arrived at Wan Cong¡¯s grave.


    Liu Jialan replaced the fruits on the grave with fresh ones and placed a bouquet of flowers picked from their own courtyard.


    Yan Junze lit the candles with meticulous care, placing them properly in front of the grave before burning a stack of paper money.


    As he stood up, he bowed respectfully towards Wan Cong¡¯s gravestone and whispered softly, ¡°May you rest in peace.¡±


    Although he spoke softly, Wan Shouguang and Liu Jialan could still hear him, their noses tingling at the sight. Seeing that Yan Junze was only slightly older than their son made it even more heartbreaking.


    During this process, Yan Junze carefully sensed for anomalies but did not find any unusual magnetic field disturbances.


    If Wan Cong had turned into a strangeness, it would be impossible for there not to be any magnetic field disturbances, yet there was none here.


    ¡°The strangeness inside the house is not Wan Cong?¡± Yan Junze concluded.


    Moreover, this strangeness was a bit odd, as his Atlas couldn¡¯t automatically sense and produce the mission; he had to turn on the Spirit Detector to do so.


    This was also the reason why Wan Shouguang dared to let Yan Junze, an Exorcist, enter the house. It is known that Exorcists with three stars or more are more sensitive to strangeness, and sometimes they can sense anomalies even without a Spirit Detector.


    But Wan Shouguang had already tested it, even with a Spirit Detector turned on, no anomalies of his son could be detected, so he was not a strangeness but a resurrected being in a special form.


    After all, Wan Shouguang was no Exorcist; he hadn¡¯t encountered various strangenesses and considering his beloved son was involved, some judgmental errors were inevitable.


    However, even so, Wan Shouguang was not unprepared, such as carrying Magnetic Knife Shrapnel with him at all times.


    Yan Junze was not fully reassured. He walked around Wan Cong¡¯s grave once more, sensing again without discovering any anomalies, though outwardly he appeared to be just sighing and pacing around.


    As they were about to go back, Yan Junze walked side by side with Wan Shouguang and suddenly asked, ¡°Uncle Wan, have you noticed anything unusual at home during this period?¡±


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s heart jumped in surprise as he looked at him and shook his head, ¡°No, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just a sixth sense,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°I¡¯ve encountered many strangenesses before, and I¡¯ve slowly come to a conclusion that some strangenesses are not as simple as they seem on the surface.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Wan Shouguang was bewildered, ¡°What¡¯s complicated about them?¡±


    ¡°For instance¡­¡± Yan Junze pondered for a moment and slowly said, ¡°they excel at camouflage, are extremely covert, and sometimes even Exorcists can¡¯t distinguish them. Usually, the Obsession of these kinds of strangenesses is also good at hiding and doesn¡¯t easily reveal itself.¡±

 Chapter 563 - 563 371 Resurrection (Part 5)_2

    ?Chapter 563: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5)_2 Chapter 563: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5)_2 Wan Shouguang looked surprised but did not ask any more questions.


    When Yan Junze returned to the front gate of the villa, he did not go in but said goodbye to the couple, saying he would leave Huaying District tomorrow and come back next month with the money to seek Wan Shouguang¡¯s help.


    Neither Wan Shouguang nor Liu Jialan tried to persuade him to stay, as it was indeed not feasible to have an exorcist remain at their home indefinitely, which could easily give them away.


    Once they were inside and had secured the courtyard door, upon entering the living room, they found Wan Cong sitting on the sofa watching television, as if he was not concerned about being discovered.


    ¡°Why are you out?¡± Liu Jialan exclaimed in surprise.


    Wan Cong glanced at the two and did not reply.


    Wan Shouguang said nothing but gestured toward the upstairs master bedroom, signaling Liu Jialan to follow him up.


    The two of them quickly went upstairs to the bedroom and closed the door behind them. During this process, Wan Cong did not seem to notice what they were doing.


    In the bedroom, Wan Shouguang whispered to Liu Jialan, ¡°I suspect Yan Junze has noticed the anomalies in our house. That kid is somewhat shrewd.¡±


    ¡°Ah! What shall we do?¡± Liu Jialan exclaimed in alarm.


    ¡°It¡¯s late now. Book the earliest flight for tomorrow, and we¡¯ll go stay in our old home in Aries District for a while,¡± Wan Shouguang instructed.


    His ancestral home was in Aries District, and there was a family house in the countryside there. No one had lived in it since Wan Shouguang moved out; it had been empty, making it suitable for their current living situation, where they were unlikely to be discovered.


    Liu Jialan immediately started booking plane tickets on her cell phone.


    Wan Shouguang walked to the bedroom door, opened it a crack, and looked toward the downstairs living room.


    At that moment, Wan Cong was still sitting on the sofa watching television with no abnormalities.


    If someone unaware entered the house at that moment, they would never guess he was a resurrected person, as he acted exactly like a normal person.


    Wan Cong had been behaving well in the past few days, seemingly adjusting to his Resurrection and the early days¡¯ anomalous behavior. Wan Shouguang felt his son was slowly getting used to the fact of his own Resurrection.


    However, the words Yan Junze had spoken before leaving had filled Wan Shouguang with a sense of unease.


    He didn¡¯t know why Yan Junze had said that, but it was clear the other party must have seen or guessed something, leading to those vague words.


    Drawing his gaze back, Wan Shouguang gently closed the bedroom door.


    Just as he closed the door, Wan Cong, seated on the living room sofa and watching television, silently lifted his head and glanced in the direction of the upstairs master bedroom, his eyes cold and devoid of any emotion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve booked the tickets, an eight o¡¯clock flight tomorrow morning, using your top-level Exorcist Travel Permit, which waives the need for identity registration and allows direct boarding,¡± Liu Jialan said after hanging up the phone.


    Wan Shouguang nodded, ¡°Starting now, we won¡¯t leave the house. Go prepare dinner. After eating, let¡¯s all rest early and leave home two hours before dawn.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Liu Jialan said nothing more and went downstairs to start cooking.


    Everything was quite peaceful that night. Wan Cong watched television for a while and even went to the kitchen to help Liu Jialan wash vegetables and fetch dishes, surprising his parents with his behavior.


    At ten o¡¯clock in the evening, after packing their luggage, the family went to bed early.


    Before sleeping, Wan Shouguang cautioned his son, ¡°I know you¡¯re not sleepy, but stay in your room tonight and don¡¯t wander about. We are leaving early tomorrow to return to the old house in Aries.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Wan Cong nodded, saying nothing more.


    Wan Shouguang left his son¡¯s bedroom, thought for a moment, took out a key, and locked the bedroom door from the outside, pocketing the key before returning to the master bedroom.


    After closing the door and shutting off the lights in the bedroom, Wan Shouguang lay in bed and exchanged a few words with Liu Jialan before soft snoring could be heard.


    Since it was in the suburbs, after nightfall, the villa¡¯s exterior was also quiet, making it a very suitable place for those who enjoyed tranquility.


    No lights were turned on outside the villa, just the faint illumination of street lamps a little distance away. If someone pulled back the curtains, they could make use of that light to see.


    After a while, the sleeping Wan Shouguang abruptly woke up. He groggily opened his eyes, thinking it was dawn outside, but on closer inspection, it was still night.


    After muttering softly, he turned over, intending to fall back asleep.


    Just then, an extremely faint rustling sound reached his ears.


    Wan Shouguang slightly lifted his head and saw his wife sleeping soundly, not awakened by the noise, which seemed to be coming from outside the bedroom.


    Since he had locked his son¡¯s bedroom door, even if Wan Cong was awake, he could not be moving about the hallway.


    Wan Shouguang thought he had misheard, perhaps it was just the cold wind rustling the branches outside.


    He laid his head back down on the pillow, about to close his eyes, when the rustling sound happened again, this time clearly coming from the hallway outside the bedroom door. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wan Shouguang paused, then heard the lock on the master bedroom door click, and it opened.


    At that moment, Wan Shouguang¡¯s entire body broke out in goosebumps, and his scalp tingled as he propped himself up slightly on the bed, peering towards the doorway.


    The bedroom door had cracked open, but no one could be seen entering, and the hallway outside was pitch dark, unlit.


    Wan Shouguang lay there motionless, with eyes wide open, staring at the door, his breathing starting to quicken.

 Chapter 564 - 564 371 Resurrection (Part 5)_3

    ?Chapter 564: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5)_3 Chapter 564: Chapter 371: Resurrection (Part 5)_3 The bedroom door was still being opened, and the door, of excellent quality, didn¡¯t make a sound.


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s heart was pounding like a drum at this moment; he strained his eyes trying to see who was opening the door, but even though it was already open a third of the way, he couldn¡¯t make out any figure¡ªjust the pitch-black darkness of the hallway outside.


    The rustling sound arose at the doorway, drawing closer as if it had entered the bedroom.


    Wan Shouguang could hear his own heart racing; he tensed up, daring not to move, for fear of startling the person opening the door in the dark.


    His right hand moved slowly forward, touching Liu Jialan, who was still deep in sleep, and he gently pushed her but failed to wake her up.


    Lately, Jialan had indeed been very tired, both mentally and physically exhausted. Ever since Wan Cong¡¯s ¡°Resurrection,¡± she had been constantly worried and had been running herself ragged. For some reason, she slept unusually heavily tonight.


    Wan Shouguang decided not to bother his wife anymore; his hand withdrew at an extremely slow pace, reaching for the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel under the pillow.


    The bedroom door stopped moving, and no one seemed to have entered, but the rustling noise had now risen inside the room, gradually approaching the foot of the master bedroom bed.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ the intruder isn¡¯t human? Invisible?¡±


    Wan Shouguang felt a surge of alarm and uncertainty, continuously guessing in his mind. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just then, the foot of the bed shook slightly as if something had crawled atop it.


    Wan Shouguang immediately looked up and, using the dim light from the street lamp outside the window, could vaguely make out an indistinct shape emerging from the end of the bed.


    No longer feigning sleep, he sat up abruptly only to see a crawling creature on the floor at the end of the bed.


    This creature was a blur, as if it had no definite shape, and being in the dark, he couldn¡¯t see it clearly.


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s left hand found the flashlight by the pillow and immediately turned it on, shining it at the creature. Upon seeing it clearly, he was suddenly frightened to the bone.


    Under the flashlight beam, it was indeed a crawling creature, headless, with a body like a puddle of mud, awkwardly propped there. It wriggled incessantly against the bedsheet at the end of the bed, its broken neck bent upward.


    No blood was flowing from the broken neck¡ªjust a pitch-black stain.


    This was clearly the corpse of the stray dog he had killed last time!


    Though its bones were nearly crushed to dust and its flesh smashed beyond recognition, it had become this distorted and was still able to appear as if it could never die.


    When the flashlight beam hit it, the strangely shaped crawling mass quickly turned and headed for the bedroom door, moving across the floor like a lump of rotten flesh.


    Frightened beyond words, Wan Shouguang, in a panic, activated the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel.


    From the black box in his hand, a shadowy, reduced version of the magnetic knife shot out at high speed, cutting through the crawling creature that had made it to the doorway.


    The creature was directly sliced in half; the lower half of its rotten flesh was still wriggling on the floor while the upper half had flown out of the bedroom without a sound.


    Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t even bother to put on slippers, he just chased out barefoot, holding the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel.


    This time, with the damage from the magnetic knife, the misshapen stray dog was cut in two and no longer moved; the upper body had been thrown down the corridor, falling into the living room below.


    Wan Shouguang, barefoot, went out into the corridor and glanced sideways to find his son¡¯s bedroom door was open. He hurried to the doorway and looked inside¡ªthe light was on, but there was nobody there.


    He turned back and looked downstairs.


    Just then, the light that had been on snapped off.


    Wan Shouguang tried turning on the lights for the whole villa, to no avail, and couldn¡¯t help calling out, ¡°Congcong?¡±


    The room, including the pitch-black downstairs, was hard to see clearly even while holding the flashlight and standing there.


    He glanced back into the master bedroom; a sweep of the flashlight revealed that Jialan was still sleeping. His anger flared as he shouted, ¡°Jialan, get up, Wan Cong is missing.¡±


    Having said that, Wan Shouguang took the flashlight and thumped downstairs.


    Jialan finally came to, groggily awakening from deep sleep. After being roused by Shouguang, she felt as though she were still dreaming, and her consciousness didn¡¯t clear immediately.


    Upon waking and seeing that there was nobody beside her, she then remembered that it seemed like Shouguang had been calling her.


    ¡°Congcong¡­ missing?¡± Jialan ultimately began to sober up.


    Just then, a voice came from beneath her bed, not loud, but crystal clear to the person above.


    ¡°Mom.¡±

 Chapter 565 - 565 372 Resurrection (End) (5000 words)

    ?Chapter 565: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words) Chapter 565: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words) Jialan rubbed her eyes and looked around as she lay in bed. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her consciousness was already a bit unclear, and now she felt confused. Just moments ago, Shouguang had awakened her from outside the door, saying that Congcong was missing. Yet now, she clearly heard her son calling her.


    ¡°Congcong?¡±


    Jialan tried to get up, but suddenly found that she couldn¡¯t move. Her whole body seemed no longer her own. Her consciousness was present, but she couldn¡¯t direct her arms and legs; she could only move her head above her neck.


    Lying on the bed, she quickly broke into a cold sweat.


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    An ice-cold, emotionless voice sounded again.


    This time, Jialan heard clearly that the voice was coming from her left.


    And to her left was the edge of the bed; the voice seemed to be coming from underneath it.


    At this time, during the dead of night, hiding under the bed and calling her¡ªshe knew without thinking that something was wrong. Moreover, Shouguang, who should¡¯ve been by her side, was now nowhere to be seen. And with Jialan unable to move her entire body, she felt even more frightened.


    She didn¡¯t reply but desperately tried to widen her eyes, turning her head towards the side of the bed with an expression of terror.


    For a moment, she even doubted whether she was still dreaming and had not woken up.


    ¡°Mom.¡±


    Another haunting cry pulled Jialan back to reality.


    Then she heard rustling noises from under the bed, as if someone was crawling on the ground.


    Jialan was even more terrified; she desperately wanted to move her body, but her limbs wouldn¡¯t respond, only her head could move.


    She wanted to shout for Shouguang, who had run downstairs, but feared alarming or even enraging the person under the bed.


    At this moment, Jialan felt that the voice calling her ¡°mom¡± no longer sounded like her son, Wan Cong, but like a stranger.


    Soon, the rustling stopped.


    Jialan¡¯s eyes were bulging out, staring rigidly at one side of the bed.


    In the dim light, some hair appeared first from under the bed, revealing the top of a person¡¯s head.


    The head kept emerging, forehead, eyebrows, and then the eyes.


    Once these eyes appeared, the head stopped rising and remained still, silently gazing at Jialan.


    At this point, Jialan¡¯s face had twisted with fear, she wanted to scream but felt as if something was blocking her throat. She could only make a clicking sound. Her limbs were tensed up, still unable to move, not even inching back on the bed.


    She could see clearly that these eyes indeed belonged to her son, Wan Cong, but the pupils were blood red. In the dimly lit bedroom, the eyes looked as if they had gone entirely black, all pupil.


    ¡°Click, click, click, click¡­¡±


    Jialan¡¯s throat continued to emit frightful and urgent sounds.


    After a brief pause, the face next to the bed edge continued to rise, revealing the nose, then the upper lip.


    However, it soon became apparent that something was wrong because the face never showed a lower lip. Instead, the mouth was wide open, stretched wide, seemingly split to the base of the ears.


    Before long, the entire face fully appeared before Jialan, with Congcong¡¯s mouth stretched so wide, the teeth were not neatly arranged but were sharp like fangs, menacing and bizarre, just staring at her.


    At this point, ¡°Wan Cong¡± didn¡¯t stand up against the bed. Instead, after his head completely emerged, his body climbed onto the bed, sticking to the sheets and slowly approaching the immobile Jialan.


    This sight nearly caused Jialan to collapse. She was trembling wildly due to extreme fear as she saw ¡°Wan Cong¡± with that terrifying, gaping mouth getting closer.


    Suddenly, she saw his two arms climbing onto the bed, limp but with strength to support his entire body, not like a person, but more like an animal.


    Soon, his head was completely close to Jialan, the mouth exhaling a bone-chillingly cold breath, as if the temperature around had instantly dropped.


    The lips approached Jialan¡¯s arm, covered by her nightgown, and the sinister red gaze was locked onto Jialan¡¯s eyes. Then the gaping mouth slowly closed, and the sharp, fang-like teeth pierced through the sleeve, sinking into Jialan¡¯s arm.


    At that moment, intense pain coupled with extreme fear, Jialan¡¯s head tilted, and she fainted.


    The biting teeth suddenly halted, blood flowed from between them, then the lips parted, and Congcong stood up from the bed, his chin covered in crimson.


    Expressionless, he walked to the foot of the bed, reached out to grasp Jialan¡¯s ankle, and started dragging her out of the bedroom.


    As he pulled the unconscious Jialan off the bed, her body landed on the floor with a thud, her head also getting knocked. However, Congcong seemed not to notice, continuing to drag her out of the bedroom without looking back.


    The villa¡¯s first floor.


    After running downstairs, Shouguang searched the living room with a flashlight, not finding Congcong. He checked the door locks of the living room, which showed no signs of having been opened. He then rushed to the kitchen, the servant¡¯s quarters, and the storeroom but still did not see his son.


    With a puzzled face, he approached the door leading to the basement next to the staircase. He shone the flashlight and discovered that the basement door was ajar, not locked.


    This basement usually contained some old books, Shouguang¡¯s collection of wines, and an old phonograph, among other old items he used and could not bear to throw away.

 Chapter 566 - 566 372 Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_2

    ?Chapter 566: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_2 Chapter 566: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_2 Opening the slightly ajar basement door, Wan Shouguang realized his palms were drenched in cold sweat. He reached out to press the basement light switch near the door, but there was no response¡ªit seemed like the entire villa had lost power.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he took his flashlight and stepped down the stairs to the basement, calling out, ¡°Congcong, come out, it¡¯s okay! Dad has already killed that guy.¡±


    In his mind, he thought the evil dog he had killed last time had transformed into a strangeness and come back for revenge, certainly having frightened his son, or possibly even hurt him.


    Maybe right now, Congcong was hiding somewhere, trembling, and he had to tell him the danger was over.


    As he walked down the stairs, he continued to speak.


    Just as Wan Shouguang finished talking, a sound suddenly came from a corner beneath the stairs, like something being knocked over.


    ¡°Congcong?¡± Wan Shouguang called out again.


    No one answered.


    He quickened his pace toward the basement. As he was about to finish descending the stairs, he lifted his flashlight and swept it around the stairway. The next second, he stood frozen on the staircase, no longer descending.


    Directly in front of where the stairs ended, there stood a man in tattered clothes, with disheveled hair and a body shrouded in black. The man was looking down with his head lowered and his hair covering his face, making it impossible to see, but given his outfit, he seemed to be a beggar.


    A beer bottle lay empty at the beggar¡¯s feet, the sound likely having come from it falling to the ground.


    Neither party spoke. Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t move, and the beggar also stood still with his head down.


    Wan Shouguang shone the flashlight directly on the person, yet the beggar didn¡¯t even lift his head.


    Soon, Wan Shouguang sensed something was amiss. He noticed the beggar was standing completely still without any rise and fall in his chest, as if he wasn¡¯t breathing at all, like¡­ a dead man!


    Uncontrollably, Wan Shouguang stepped back and moved up one step on the staircase.


    At that moment, the old beggar, who had been keeping his head down, slightly stirred his messy hair and slowly raised his head in a very stiff motion, revealing a gray, deathly complexion.


    On that face, there was an eye socket bereft of an eyeball, a dark, empty cavity, and the flesh on the lower left side of the jaw was missing, exposing nothing but stark white bone.


    Wan Shouguang was terribly frightened and retreated up the stairs once more. The beggar lifted his foot and took a step forward, while the eye of the Cyclops rolled, as if maggots were crawling out of the eye socket and falling to the ground.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Wan Shouguang turned and scrambled up the stairs, and after a few steps, he looked back and saw that the beggar was actually following him.


    He immediately aimed the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel at the beggar and pressed the fire button.


    A magnetic knife phantom quickly flew out but missed, narrowly whizzing past the beggar¡¯s head.


    After firing, Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t take the time to look closely; he immediately used his hands and feet to frantically climb up the stairs.


    After climbing a few steps and looking back again, he saw the beggar starting to climb the stairs, so he turned around once more and fired another magnetic knife.


    The magnetic knife shot out, and although it still veered off course, it hit the beggar¡¯s left shoulder.


    The Magnetic Knife Shrapnel inflicted no physical harm, only injuring strangenesses; if the target was a strangeness, being hit by the shrapnel would assuredly result in injury or even dissolution.


    As the phantom of the magnetic knife blade passed over the beggar¡¯s left shoulder, it cleanly sliced off the top of the shoulder, and a puff of black mist spewed from the wound.


    The advancing old beggar paused for a moment, and while climbing the staircase, he began to veer off course, clearly injured.


    Since he was injured, it confirmed Wan Shouguang¡¯s guess: the other party was a strangeness, not a human being.


    Now at the top of the staircase, Wan Shouguang arrived at the door to the basement. He immediately turned around again. Although he was panting, he tried to steady his shaking hands; placing his left hand over his right, he aimed and fired the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel for the third time at the old beggar ascending the stairs.


    Puff!


    The magnetic knife phantom flew out, piercing straight through the old beggar¡¯s chest, leaving both the front and back sides instantly transparent.


    The old beggar¡¯s entire body jolted violently and stopped in place, finally making a gurgling sound like blood rushing upward from his throat, and then fell backward.


    Wan Shouguang¡¯s face was pale, and he was breathing heavily, illuminating this scene with his flashlight.


    Seeing the old beggar fall backward, he breathed a sigh of relief, quickly exited the basement door, and immediately closed it.


    However, just as the door was about to close, a rustling sound came from the basement staircase. Wan Shouguang immediately moved the flashlight¡¯s beam to the source of the noise. The old beggar who had fallen backward was still lying there, his feet facing him and his head turned toward the basement.


    But at this moment, those feet seemed to come to life on their own, dragging the beggar¡¯s upper body and starting to crawl up the stairs.


    The scene was extremely eerie.


    The beggar¡¯s body seemed to be flipped, with his feet acting as the head and his head as the legs, crawling up the stairs in a very strange manner, alternating feet as they climbed the steps and dragging the body upward.


    Shocked by the sight, Wan Shouguang hurriedly closed the door, but the basement door immediately popped open a crack again. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He looked down and noticed the door lock was broken and couldn¡¯t be closed; no wonder it had been ajar when he first saw it.


    With no other choice, he dragged a wooden box used to store empty beer bottles next to the door and propped it against the basement door, then quickly jogged towards the staircase leading to the second floor.

 Chapter 567 - 567 372 Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_3

    ?Chapter 567: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_3 Chapter 567: Chapter 372: Resurrection (End) (5000 words)_3 Wan Shouguang, who had been preparing to go upstairs, had just arrived at the back of the staircase without turning to the front when footsteps sounded from the second floor.


    The footsteps were heavy, as if accompanied by the sound of dragging.


    Startled, Wan Shouguang immediately bent down to squat, gripping the launcher of the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel tightly in his hand, lifting his head and watching from behind the staircase towards the direction of the stairwell on the second floor.


    Seconds later, Wan Cong¡¯s figure appeared, holding someone¡¯s ankle in his hand. The person was motionless, it was unclear whether they were dead or unconscious.


    Wan Cong did not linger, directly descending the stairs with steady, unhurried steps, one by one. The person being dragged followed, tumbling down each step, their head knocking on the stairs with a ¡°thud¡ªthud¡ªthud¡± sound, which was especially harsh and unnerving on this silent and eerie night.


    Wan Shouguang watched from behind the staircase without making a sound, until Wan Cong dragging the person reached the middle of the stairs. Only then did he see clearly that the person was his wife, Liu Jialan.


    A rush of blood surged through him, nearly causing Wan Shouguang to lash out, but then he looked at his ¡°son,¡± descending the stairs so calmly, and a wave of reluctance and sadness welled up inside him.


    Thud!


    The sound of the head knocking against the stairs seemed to stimulate Wan Shouguang¡¯s heart, like steel needles, pricking him with each thud.


    He bit his lower lip tightly, plotting in his mind, and forcibly held himself back.


    Squatting down, he moved quietly to the side of the staircase underneath, his eyes near splitting with rage, his lips almost biting through with blood, waiting for his ¡°son¡± to drag his wife down the stairs.


    During this process, at the basement door not far behind the corner, the wooden box that was propped against the door with empty beer bottles, was now making a creaking friction noise. Clearly, something inside was pushing hard against the basement door.


    The wooden box was not light, filled with empty bottles Wan Shouguang had left over from drinking, and even he could not lift it, only drag it.


    The friction sound of the wooden box against the ground indicated that despite its weight, it was moving outwards, which was also stimulating Wan Shouguang, reminding him that the beggar strangeness behind him was about to push open the basement door and crawl out.


    Wan Shouguang crouched on the ground, not daring to move. The plight before him and behind him tensed his nerves to the extreme, his body so taut it seemed as if even his blood could no longer flow, like a bowstring at full moon, about to snap at any moment.


    Thud!


    After the last step, the back of Liu Jialan¡¯s head hit the ground floor.


    At that moment, Wan Shouguang suddenly stood up, rushed to his wife lying on the ground, and with the Strangeness Interferer he had readied in his hand, he flicked the switch open and tossed it onto the stomach of Liu Jialan as she lay face up.


    The moment the Strangeness Interferer took effect, Wan Cong felt a sudden emptiness in his hand, although he was still holding the ankle, he could no longer see anything.


    In his eyes, Liu Jialan had vanished instantly.


    However, though Liu Jialan had disappeared, another person appeared in front of him¡ªWan Shouguang.


    His eyes blood red, Wan Shouguang seemed to have aged a decade in that moment, standing rigidly in front of Wan Cong without any attempt to evade.


    Actually, when he tossed the Strangeness Interferer to his wife, he was also unable to dodge any longer, holding the launcher for the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel tightly in his hand, his tears finally breaking free and rolling down his cheeks.


    ¡°Cong¡­Cong!¡± His lips trembled, emitting a voice so faint he could hardly hear it himself, ¡°Why? She¡¯s your¡­mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Wan Cong released the ankle he had been holding, tilted his head to stare at Wan Shouguang, his mouth gaping wide, revealing sharp canine teeth, and made a bizarre cry.


    Wan Shouguang involuntarily stepped back, his entire body shaking again out of extreme shock, fear, and sadness.


    He looked at his ¡°son¡± through tear-blurred eyes, then at his wife lying on the ground, uncertain if she was dead or alive, his inner turmoil reaching its peak.


    With a slight movement of his right hand, he raised the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel launcher, his arm shaking like a sieve. Although his left hand tried to stabilize it, the trembling was uncontrollable.


    As if in that moment, he summoned all the courage he had in his life, let go of all his persistence and obsession, abandoned all illusions, and finally aimed the Magnetic Knife Shrapnel painfully and arduously at Wan Cong.


    ¡°Congcong? I¡¯m¡­so¡­sorry!¡±


    Looking at his familiar son, who now appeared completely alien and terrifying, Wan Shouguang¡¯s tears poured down like rain, pushing him to the verge of collapse.


    Wan Cong, however, seemed to hear nothing and just opened his mouth, taking a step towards Wan Shouguang, wanting to get closer.


    The next second, Wan Shouguang closed his eyes and simultaneously pressed the shrapnel launcher at Wan Cong¡¯s neck.


    Thump!


    The magnetic knife flew out.


    But just before it flew, a cold hand suddenly grabbed Wan Shouguang¡¯s leg from behind, throwing off his aim. The Magnetic Knife Shrapnel, which would have been a near-certain kill at close range, now soared upwards, missing Wan Cong¡¯s head by at least a fist¡¯s width.


    Wan Shouguang fell to the ground and glanced sideways; through his tearful eyes, a surge of terror hit him once again. It was the beggar-strangeness from the basement who had reached behind him, causing him to fall and miss the opportunity to kill Wan Cong.


    At that moment, Wan Cong furiously pounced down.


    Yet, before Wan Cong¡¯s teeth could reach Wan Shouguang¡¯s neck, something suddenly startled him, as though he sensed some fearful thing. He tried to get up, but it was too late.


    With a thud, his head was struck by a black club right on the forehead, sending him flying against the wall on the other side of the stairs, where he hit it and then fell back down.


    On the other side, the beggar-strangeness that had tripped Wan Shouguang was being viciously beaten with the club, rolling on the ground without making a sound.


    Wan Shouguang looked up in utter astonishment and saw the silhouette swinging the club seemed somewhat familiar.


    He wiped away his tears with one hand while he picked up a flashlight with the other and shone it, exclaiming, ¡°Yan¡­Yan Junze!?¡±


    sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 568 - 568 373 Killing Several Birds with One Stone

    ?Chapter 568: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone Chapter 568: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone After leaving Wan Shouguang, Yan Junze didn¡¯t walk far, but wandered around the area before returning to the vicinity of the villa.


    He had been pondering, ¡°Resurrection¡± was the hint provided by the mission information, and the way Wan Shouguang and his wife were acting so secretively, it felt like they were hiding something.


    If their son had been resurrected, and the couple was hiding something, it could be that Wan Cong¡¯s resurrection involved some unconventional methods.


    However, the mission details were very clear, stating that this strangeness wasn¡¯t newly born, but had existed for some time and had made contact with other strangenesses.


    Looking at it another way, if the couple¡¯s son was resurrected, it was likely that he was being possessed by another strangeness rather than actually being brought back to life.


    With this question in mind, Yan Junze returned to the grave where Wan Cong was buried and carefully examined the soil that had been used to cover the grave.


    Sure enough, he found scattered clumps of soil around the grave, which did not look like they had been professionally arranged. Digging a bit further, he discovered neat stones inserted among the soil, clearly placed there in a hurry.


    Apparently, the grave had been tampered with.


    Since it was still early, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately go back to the area around the villa, but looked around instead. There was a small grove of trees nearby, and he sat down under a tree at the edge of the woods, planning to wait for darkness.


    He had checked the weather earlier, and it was going to be cloudy today, with no moon appearing at night.


    Still, just to be safe, it was better to stay near the woods where he could take shelter under the dense branches should moonlight appear.


    What Yan Junze least expected was that, as he waited, the events that unfolded started to become unimaginable.


    Just as night began to fall, from not far behind and to the right of where Yan Junze was in the small wood, there suddenly came a rustling noise, as if something was crawling.


    He thought it might be a small cat or dog, but when he turned his head, he jolted with shock. He saw a blurred mass resembling rotting flesh crawling out from the woods.


    This thing didn¡¯t resemble anything, and it was obvious it was no longer living, having been crushed by something before its demise.


    It had no head, and its body was completely twisted and deformed. It looked like it was crawling along the ground, but in reality, it was dragging and writhing.


    It hadn¡¯t detected Yan Junze¡¯s presence, and upon seeing it, Yan Junze immediately hid his body perfectly behind the large tree he was leaning on, watching cautiously.


    Gradually, the creature dragged its mutilated body out of the woods without stopping and continued to crawl forward.


    Yan Junze stood up and went to the place where it had crawled, and upon closer inspection, he found a long trail left by its dragging movement.


    He turned his head to look, the dark silhouette was still crawling forward in the distance. Extending his gaze to the faintly visible Wan Family villa, Yan Junze thoughtfully followed the strange crawler¡¯s path, heading into the woods.


    Even though it was getting dark, he could still see and moved carefully, observing the trail of dragging marks deeper into the forest.


    The darkness in the woods meant he sometimes had to crouch down to see clearly, but the trail never broke.


    Before long, he arrived at the base of a large tree that was possibly the biggest in the woods, with a rough and uneven surface and some bark that had peeled away, but its branches spread out, covering the tops of other trees.


    Approaching, Yan Junze found a patch of soil that had been disturbed, revealing a small pit. Judging by the size and depth, it was probably where that crawling creature had been hiding. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He crouched down and carefully examined it, touching it with his finger, and found shed fur, confirming it was where that creature had stayed.


    However, just then, the patch of soil moved slightly, barely perceptible, but as Yan Junze was crouched observing, he instantly noticed something was amiss.


    He immediately got up and moved back to find a dark corner under the tree canopy to hide, not showing himself, only allowing one eye to watch over the area.


    ¡°Could there be something else buried beneath this soil?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    After a short while, the soil moved again, some of it was pushed upward, crumbling to both sides.


    Soon more soil turned over, and a pale arm emerged, clutching the edge of the hole where the soil had fallen away.


    In that moment, Yan Junze was certain, not only had that weird crawler been buried in this patch of soil, but there was also a person buried deeper down.


    And now, this person, just like the crawling creature, was about to emerge from the ground.


    Likewise, this person could not possibly still be alive.


    After the arm appeared, another hand soon burrowed out of the soil, both hands clutching the edge of the hole. Shortly after, a dishevelled man with dirt-streaked hair stood up from the soil, crawling out silently and slowly, standing under the big tree, motionless.


    Yan Junze withdrew his gaze and hid his body behind the tree.


    Though he was at an angle from where the man was standing, watching the man intently might have risked being sensed by him.


    About five minutes later, Yan Junze glanced again and saw that the man was still standing there, with no intention of moving.


    The man¡¯s hair was filthy and tangled, and his clothes were in tatters, making him look like a beggar at first glance.


    Another five minutes passed, and the beggar moved slightly, turning to walk out of the woods in the same direction the weird crawler had gone.

 Chapter 569 - 569 373 Killing Several Birds with One Stone_2

    ?Chapter 569: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone_2 Chapter 569: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone_2 After he left, Yan Junze came out and approached the larger pit again, crouching down to examine it carefully.


    Like the Crawler Monster earlier, the spot where the beggar was buried was in the same place, right beneath the smaller pit of the Crawler Monster.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know why these dead things were buried here, but when he tuned in closely, he discovered there was a strange magnetic field in the area. This strangeness, however, was unusual, different from the rest.


    Yet, what was specifically strange about it, he couldn¡¯t quite say at the moment.


    After pondering, he lay down in the pit and, upon feeling around, tucked his arms in and started shoveling dirt over himself to bury his body.


    Of course, he merely scooped a few handfuls of earth so it covered his body, but not deeply, leaving his face exposed to breathe.


    There he lay, breathing deeply and quietly, expanding his senses, especially his sensing of the strange magnetic field.


    The magnetic field around him gave off an indescribable, wonderful feeling, as if it was both powerful and weak.


    Yan Junze had planned to release either the Crawler Monster or Long-tongued Zhenzhen, but an intuition was telling him that he shouldn¡¯t do so.


    The magnetic field was too strange here, it was not the time to release any strangenesses.


    As he lay there buried in the dirt, about seven or eight minutes later, Yan Junze¡¯s heartbeat suddenly began to quicken, an instinctive reaction to sensing something abnormal.


    He could clearly feel the surrounding magnetic field beginning to fluctuate more frequently and becoming increasingly abnormal.


    His ears twitched slightly, and from the big tree not too far away came an ancient-sounding ¡°Ah¡± as the bark started to crack, creating an irregular fissure that extended up and down the trunk.


    Fingers of a hand scraped at the edge of the fissure, and then a pitch-black head poked out from the crack, looking around.


    Before long, the gap in the tree bark widened, and a gaunt figure squeezed out, standing in front of the tree, looking down with hollow eye sockets that seemed to have pupils revolving, staring at the person buried in the dirt.


    ¡°Ah!¡± the shadow exclaimed with excitement, its voice hoarse, ¡°This time, my¡­¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before it finished speaking, another short shadow squeezed out of the crack in the tree trunk. It had only one arm and looked down, saying, ¡°He is mine!¡±


    The next second, the fissure in the trunk stirred again, and another long-haired shadow crawled out. Her lower half was missing, and as soon as her upper body emerged from the crack, she immediately shouted, ¡°He is my¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck off!¡±


    The second short shadow that had come out raised its sturdy little leg and gave the long-haired shadow a back kick, sending it right back into the fissure without allowing it to finish speaking.


    ¡°Line up!¡± the first shadows, the old one, turned around and said in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°Yes, line up!¡± the short shadow also turned back and roared angrily.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you!¡± the old shadow stared at the short one.


    The dwarf retorted, ¡°I sensed it first just now, but you rushed out before me.¡±


    ¡°Whoever comes out first gets the person.¡± the old shadow stated firmly, allowing no room for negotiation.


    ¡°If we are being reasonable, my hand came out first.¡± the short shadow lifted its little short arm.


    ¡°Bullshit, it was my head that came out first!¡± the old shadow retorted.


    ¡°My hand!¡± the short shadow insisted, ¡°My fingers touched the bark first, then it was your head.¡±


    ¡°Which finger?¡± the old shadow asked.


    ¡°This one!¡± the short shadow quickly held up his middle finger straight up to the sky, ¡°Look clearly, it¡¯s this one!¡±


    He waggled his middle finger vigorously at the old shadow.


    ¡°You little bastard, are you flipping me off!?¡± the old shadow exploded in anger.


    The short shadow started, then quickly realized what he¡¯d done and hurriedly lowered his middle finger.


    ¡°To be fair, I did see him stick his middle finger out first.¡± the woman with only half a body somehow reappeared outside the fissure, straining as she pushed herself out, and spoke.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± the old shadow kicked her back into the crack once more.


    ¡°You, come out, and be the judge.¡± the short shadow immediately bent down, grabbed the woman¡¯s hand, and tried to pull her out to support his argument.


    But as he bent over towards the crack in the tree, the old shadow, who had been still as a virgin, suddenly sprang into action like a fleeing rabbit, delivering a kick that sent the other tumbling back into the fissure while cursing, ¡°Fuck off!¡±


    The old shadow was the strongest among the residual strangenesses. Swearing, he turned to occupy the body of the man just buried in the dirt, but as soon as he turned around, he got hit squarely in the head with a heavy blow.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± Yan Junze¡¯s voice sounded.


    Three Black Spirit Pearls circled around each other, the black mist thickened, and with a powerful overhead strike, the old shadow was caught completely off guard, turned into a cloud of black smoke, severely wounded and no longer able to take shape.


    Whistling, the black smoke quickly dove into the crack in the bark.


    Yan Junze stood outside the tree, holding his club, and watched silently as the split bark slowly healed itself. In a short while, the crack in his view gradually vanished.


    ¡­


    Half an hour later, Yan Junze returned to the Wan Family villa.


    All the way back, he hadn¡¯t turned on his phone¡¯s flashlight but just headed towards the villa, discerning his way in the dark.


    He was relieved to find that the clouds were thick in the sky, not letting through a sliver of moonlight, yet the night was not too pitch black.


    Because he had to be wary of the sudden appearance of moonlight, Yan Junze occasionally looked up at the sky, moving with exaggerated steps, circled around the Wan Family villa, and finally saw the figure of the beggar at the backyard gate of the villa.

 Chapter 570 - 570 373 Killing Several Birds with One Stone_3

    ?Chapter 570: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone_3 Chapter 570: Chapter 373: Killing Several Birds with One Stone_3 At this moment, he could vaguely make out the blurred silhouette of that strange crawling creature, which also lay near the back door as if it were waiting.


    The strange crawler now lifted a piece of rotting flesh as if examining the beggar. Soon, the rotten meat twitched twice, snuggled up next to the beggar¡¯s calf, gently rubbing against it.


    The beggar and the crawling creature clearly knew each other. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze did not approach but lay in wait in hiding.


    This wait lasted until about two in the morning when a person appeared in the backyard. Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see the face clearly but was certain that this man was ¡°Wan Cong.¡±


    Wan Cong reached the back door, opened it, and immediately turned around to re-enter the mansion.


    The beggar and the mass of rotting flesh, the crawling creature, slowly followed him in.


    After they had disappeared, Yan Junze waited a while longer before following them through the now-open back door.


    After stealthily moving about and observing inside the mansion, he saw Wan Shouguang¡¯s reaction upon seeing Wan Cong, and all his suspicions were confirmed. Understanding the situation, he swiftly acted, first killing the Possession Spirit that had taken over Wan Cong and then destroying the other Possession Spirit inhabiting the corpse of the beggar.


    The beggar must have died of cold nearby; ¡°Wan Cong¡± found him and, with that mass of rotting flesh, the crawling creature, carried him to be buried under the big tree in the grove, causing him to be possessed, and brought back to the mansion to assist him.


    Thus, ¡°Wan Cong,¡± the beggar, and the stray dog were each occupied by different strangenesses.


    After stabilizing the situation in the mansion, Yan Junze helped Wan Shouguang carry Liu Jialan to the couch and administered first aid with the household¡¯s medical kit.


    Liu Jialan¡¯s injuries were not serious; other than the fright, there were bites on her arm and several large bumps where she had hit her head, and she soon drifted back to consciousness.


    Yan Junze shared his discoveries with them, and only then did the elderly couple learn that the strangeness that had returned was not Wan Cong¡¯s but another one that had taken over his body, plotting against them both in hope of allowing other malevolent spirits to repeat the deed.


    Besides breaking out in a cold sweat, the couple had nothing to say, their complexions extremely grim.


    The Possession Spirit that had taken over Wan Cong had been destroyed by the Black Spirit Mallet, and the one in the beggar¡¯s corpse was dealt with similarly; as for the stray dog, it had already been killed by Wan Shouguang¡¯s Magnetic Knife Shrapnel.


    And only now did Wan Shouguang realize that the return of the stray dog¡¯s corpse was not for revenge for its own death but because the Possession Spirit within it had been after his and his wife¡¯s lives all along so that it could drag the corpse back for burial to facilitate the escape of other malevolent spirits from that place.


    ¡°So, my son was never resurrected?¡± Liu Jialan gazed at the body of Wan Cong on the ground, muttering to herself.


    Yan Junze looked at Wan Cong, and suddenly a thought struck him. He said to Wan Shouguang, ¡°Uncle Wan, if you could craft that umbrella for me now, I think I might be able to keep the strangeness that will form from Wan Cong by your side at all times.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Wan Shouguang and Liu Jialan were stunned and immediately turned to look at him.


    Wan Shouguang, eagerly responding, said, ¡°I can craft this weapon for you at any time, even without charging you for expensive materials, but how exactly can you make my son truly come back to life?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not a resurrection. Your son can never be brought back to life. What I mean is, once his strangeness has formed, I can keep it by your side permanently.¡±


    As he spoke, he took out the Turquoise pendant he had gotten from the flight attendant Guan Hongna. He explained, ¡°In conceptualizing the construction of this umbrella, Fang Ning, as a Sculpting Spirit-level spirit, together with another force, forms a part of it, but there¡¯s still a need for a stronger spirit power to counterbalance her, one much stronger than Fang Ning. That¡¯s why, I thought of this force first.¡±


    He shook the Turquoise, continuing, ¡°Inside this, a Semi-Ethereal Spirit is sealed. I believe it would be sufficient to maintain the balance of power within the umbrella. After releasing the Semi-Ethereal Spirit and unsealing it, this Turquoise pendant, having been assimilated by the Semi-Ethereal spirit Magnetic Field, could easily harbor another spirit, for instance, your son. His strangeness could then exist within it without any worries.¡±


    Wan Shouguang listened, his eyes wide and fixed on the Turquoise in Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    ¡°This way, you can always have Wan Cong by your side, never to be separated again,¡± Yan Junze added.


    Liu Jialan seemed puzzled by these words, but Wan Shouguang understood precisely what Yan Junze meant.


    Putting a hold on his desire to see his son, Wan Shouguang pondered for a moment before asking, ¡°Even with the Semi-Ethereal Spirit, isn¡¯t Fang Ning still lacking another power to help her balance the opposition?¡±


    Thud, he placed the Black Spirit Mallet on the coffee table. Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°Are you referring to this?¡±

 Chapter 571 - 571 374 The Powerful Magnetic Field

    ?Chapter 571: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field Chapter 571: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field In order to have Wan Shouguang craft the Black Spirit Umbrella for him, Yan Junze could not hide the existence of the Black Spirit Pearl from him, let alone the Semi-Ethereal Spirit that was to balance the power with Fang Ning.


    Therefore, he had to lay all these matters before him so that the master craftsman could create exactly what he wanted with greater precision.


    On one hand, to express gratitude for Yan Junze saving his life and on the other, since Yan Junze had mentioned he had a way to preserve his deceased son¡¯s strangeness for a long time, Wan Shouguang would no longer have any reason to refuse his request.


    After obtaining consent, he picked up the Black Spirit Mallet and carefully examined it for a while.


    There was nothing particularly special about the mallet itself; the material used was an alloy. A bit more special, however, were the three black pearls embedded in it.


    Yan Junze made no secret of it and pointing to the Black Spirit Pearl, he said, ¡°The power emanating from these three pearls, combined with Fang Ning¡¯s strength, should be enough to contend with the Semi-Ethereal Spirit.¡±


    Wan Shouguang nodded slightly, ¡°That¡¯s about right. Now it seems that all the conditions necessary for forging your umbrella are in place. Once I return to the R&D base and utilize the raw materials I have on hand, I should be able to craft one.¡±


    He didn¡¯t ask Yan Junze what the Black Spirit Pearl was, as with many years of experience dealing with unusual weapons, Wan Shouguang was well aware of the secrets of the Exorcists.


    Yan Junze owed him a favor, and since he hadn¡¯t spoken of it, it was naturally because he didn¡¯t wish to bring it up, so Wan Shouguang wouldn¡¯t ask. His job was to properly harness the energy of the three Black Spirit Pearls, combined with Fang Ning¡¯s Sculpting Spirit-level power.


    ¡°Uncle Wan, you mentioned before that the materials used aren¡¯t all that expensive, right?¡± Yan Junze ventured.


    Wan Shouguang shook his head, ¡°No worries, I can still use my position to obtain them, and the headquarters won¡¯t say anything. Besides, only I know the exact inventory of the materials.¡±


    Yan Junze seemed to understand and nodded.


    Clapping his hands, he stood up and said, ¡°Uncle Wan, you and Auntie take a rest. I¡¯ll take care of the beggar¡¯s body and that stray dog. Also, no one will know what happened here today.¡±


    He wheeled over the trolley from the courtyard, shouldered the beggar¡¯s corpse into it, then picked up the remains of the stray dog, now cleaved in two, and tossed them into the trolley.


    Taking advantage of the darkness before dawn, Yan Junze laboriously pushed the trolley out through the villa¡¯s back gate.


    A few steps after leaving, he released the Crawler Monster and Long-tongued Zhenzhen, instructing, ¡°Bury the corpses in this cart somewhere. Don¡¯t go into the woods over there; choose a more secluded spot for the burial, and bury it deep.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Crawler Monster glanced at Zhenzhen, who was examining the corpses in the cart, and upon hearing the instructions, nodded, ¡°No problem.¡±


    With that, Zhenzhen took the lead, and the Crawler Monster¡¯s forked tongue lashed out, wrapping around the handle of the trolley and followed Zhenzhen, dragging the trolley away.


    ¡°Come back immediately after you bury them, the trolley will still be needed,¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    When he returned to the living room on the first floor of the villa, Wan Shouguang and his wife Liu Jialan had already placed Wan Cong¡¯s body on the sofa, continuously wiping away tears and looking at their son in silence.


    Seeing Yan Junze return, Wan Shouguang wiped away his tears, surprised, ¡°You¡¯ve buried them already?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, not elaborating further, and walked over to Wan Cong¡¯s body, ¡°Regardless, Wan Cong¡¯s body still needs to be laid to rest. Once the Semi-Ethereal Spirit enters the Black Spirit Umbrella, I will place the Turquoise on Wan Cong¡¯s grave. Once his strangeness takes form, it can stay with you forever.¡±


    Wan Shouguang asked, ¡°But that Semi-Ethereal Spirit is sealed inside, how will you release it?¡±


    ¡°Let Uncle Zhang help,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    With Zhang Chengjing¡¯s strength, transferring the Semi-Ethereal Spirit into the Black Spirit Umbrella would be no problem at all.


    After waiting in the house for about an hour, by which time the sky had begun to lighten, Yan Junze sensed that Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster had returned.


    Stepping outside, he saw the trolley already in the courtyard, with the Crawler Monster sitting on top of it, tidying its parted hair. Zhenzhen stood outside the cart, clearly having just pushed the Crawler Monster back.


    Finding the situation somewhat amusing, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but smile and asked, ¡°How did it go? Did you bury it well?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done; no one will find it,¡± Zhenzhen confirmed with a nod.


    At that moment, Wan Shouguang came out, but because Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster had deliberately hidden themselves, to him, it was as if they were invisible, and he saw nothing.


    At this time, all the anomalous alarm systems around the villa were off. Wan Shouguang hadn¡¯t turned them on, so they issued no warning either.


    Yan Junze simply collected the two strangenesses, took hold of the trolley, and said to Wan Shouguang, ¡°Let¡¯s go; it¡¯s nearly dawn. Before it gets light, we should lay Wan Cong¡¯s body to rest.¡±


    Wan Shouguang nodded, and they returned inside to carry Wan Cong¡¯s body out and into the trolley, with Liu Jialan handling the shovels. They quickly headed towards the burial site.


    It took nearly an hour, but before the sky fully brightened, they managed to rebury Wan Cong¡¯s body in the grave.


    Afterward, Yan Junze pointed toward the direction of the woods and said, ¡°You should all be very clear about that direction; the magnetic field is unusually fluctuating. Don¡¯t go over there for the time being. You can have the headquarters send someone to investigate and see if it can be put to use.¡±


    ¡°But what about the beggar¡¯s body and that stray dog?¡± Wan Shouguang asked unexpectedly, ¡°Are they buried in those woods too?¡±

 Chapter 572 - 572 374 The Powerful Magnetic Field_2

    ?Chapter 572: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field_2 Chapter 572: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field_2 ¡°No,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°the strangeness that had attached to them has been destroyed by me. They¡¯re just two ordinary corpses now, safely buried, and will not resurface, nor will they continue to trouble you.¡±


    Confirming that affairs here were settled, Yan Junze and the couple Wan Shouguang returned to their villa, where Wan Shouguang said he could start crafting the umbrella for Yan Junze after resting for a couple of days.


    Back at the hotel, Yan Junze requested a leave of absence from Professor Di Zhiwen, telling him he needed to stay in Huaying District for a few more days to handle some personal matters, and wrote a leave request for him to pass on to the school¡¯s homeroom teacher.


    Di Zhiwen, thinking that he might have encountered some trouble for not returning the entire night, asked with concern, but Yan Junze found an excuse to brush it off.


    The next day at noon, Di Zhiwen took a flight out of Huaying District.


    Yan Junze switched his hotel room for a single, and after work hours, he visited Zhang Chengjing once again.


    The two had met multiple times over the past few days and had become quite familiar with each other, skipping over formalities. After some chatting, Yan Junze took out the turquoise pendant and respectfully placed it on the coffee table in front of Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Chengjing didn¡¯t speak; his gaze shifted slightly as he fixated on the pendant.


    After a long moment, he opened his mouth and smiled, ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Uncle Zhang, did you notice anything?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing pointed at the turquoise and said, ¡°Magnetic field seal. How did you come across this item?¡±


    ¡°It was a chance occurrence,¡± Yan Junze said curiously. ¡°Do you know, among exorcists, who might possess the skill to seal strangenesses inside turquoise like this?¡±


    ¡°Five-star exorcists can generally accomplish it,¡± Zhang Chengjing did not withhold information, ¡°However, to seal a strangeness of such strength is rare.¡±


    ¡°You can discern the strength of the strangeness inside?¡± Yan Junze asked, surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°Based on the idea I previously proposed for crafting that weapon for you, this sealed strangeness, if released, might just meet your requirements.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°That is exactly what I have in mind. Once the weapon is completed, I¡¯d like to ask Uncle Zhang to do me the favor of releasing it.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing also smiled and asked, ¡°Has Wan Shouguang agreed to help you?¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°When does it begin?¡±


    ¡°He wants to rest for two days and says it will start the day after tomorrow.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°His weapon forging is fast, and the headquarters are well-equipped, with almost all small parts readily available.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I have given him all the hand-drawn diagrams of the umbrella, and am now waiting for his news.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing picked up the turquoise from the coffee table and handed it back to Yan Junze, ¡°Hold on to this for now. While you have it, don¡¯t get into any accidents yourself, like getting injured and bleeding, as it greatly increases the chances of backlash from the entity inside. When it¡¯s time to release the creature, hand it to me. Moreover, when the weapon is ready, you must have me present for its first use.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, feeling that Zhang Chengjing was very cautious, afraid that he might encounter danger.


    ¡°It¡¯s lucky that Wan Shouguang is on vacation these days, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have had the time to create this weapon for you,¡± Zhang Chengjing said out of the blue.


    ¡°Why?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat astonished.


    Zhang Chengjing sighed lightly, ¡°The headquarters have been in chaos these few days.¡±


    ¡°Has a Spirit Bridge erupted again, or has there been a proliferation of strangenesses somewhere?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    ¡°No Spirit Bridge eruptions, nor a proliferation of strangenesses,¡± said Zhang Chengjing. ¡°It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve detected extremely unstable magnetic fields in the Great Capital of USA, causing us concern it might affect Huaying Great Capital.¡±


    Yan Junze said nothing, just staring at him.


    Zhang Chengjing continued, ¡°The fluctuations of this unstable magnetic field area are so powerful that we can sense them in Huaying Great Capital using large-scale detectors. We suspect that either a massive magnetic field has been created there, or a huge magnetic entity has formed, and we don¡¯t know what exactly they¡¯re doing. There is a range of speculation, but no consensus, and international security officers have been covertly dispatched to investigate the Great Capital of USA.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted slightly, he pondered for a moment, then asked, ¡°Uncle Zhang, have you ever heard of a ritual that is initiated through offering sacrifices to strangenesses?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing was taken aback, not answering immediately, clearly still processing Yan Junze¡¯s out-of-the-blue query.


    Yan Junze repeated, ¡°It¡¯s a ritual where killing certain strangenesses is a prerequisite to the start of the ceremony.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing pondered and gave a slight shake of his head.


    In truth, he had once specifically researched such sacrificial rites, not only combining present-day strangeness phenomena but also delving into a large number of ancient practices related to this area.


    Although he didn¡¯t comprehend the exact ritual Yan Junze was speaking of, Zhang Chengjing still said, ¡°If a ritual¡¯s commencement relies on the killing of certain entities, then, in a general sense, it¡¯s equivalent to an exchange. Once the ritual is successfully initiated, the outcome gained in exchange is usually much greater in value than the worth of the entities killed.¡±


    ¡°Can I interpret it this way?¡± Yan Junze speculated, ¡°Is it that by killing certain special strangenesses, it leads to the emergence of larger, more formidable strangenesses?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded, but then shook his head again, ¡°This isn¡¯t very realistic. If just by killing a few strangenesses, it was possible to exchange for a larger one, then the world would have been in disarray long ago, instead of like now, where we can quell strangeness disturbances to the greatest extent.¡±

 Chapter 573 - 573 374 The Powerful Magnetic Field_3

    ?Chapter 573: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field_3 Chapter 573: Chapter 374: The Powerful Magnetic Field_3 Hearing his words, Yan Junze¡¯s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he thought of the book he had seen on the altar in Great Capital during the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± which resembled an ancient tome.


    ¡°What if a mediator object appeared during this ritual?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Chengjing furrowed his brow and replied, ¡°That depends on what kind of mediator object it is.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t know, it could be a sword, an antique, or¡­ a book.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°It¡¯s better that the mediator object is not a book.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because in most cases, books contain knowledge, whether that knowledge comes from good or evil. Once it serves as a mediator object, it means it possesses some sort of powerful ability. The mediating effect produced by knowledge is probably the most formidable among all mediator objects,¡± Zhang Chengjing explained.


    Yan Junze fell silent.


    He remembered that the object placed in the center of the altar was not just a book, but also looked like a substantial classic tome.


    It was just that at the time, the ritual couldn¡¯t proceed because they had lost the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, lacking the strangeness capable of forming a Tibam Co-evolution effect.


    The dignified elder from the Half Moon Association in charge of the ritual even ordered that every strangeness¡¯s quality must be ensured; therefore, he commanded a postponement of the current ceremony until a suitable replacement was found to continue.


    Now, after such a long time, Yan Junze guessed that the strangeness that fit the Tibam Co-evolution effect might have already been found.


    Just then, Zhang Chengjing suddenly patted his thigh, seemingly inspired by Yan Junze¡¯s words, ¡°Right, how did I not think of that? The strong magnetic field appearance and intense variations could possibly be from some kind of sacrificial ritual, especially one targeted at strangenesses! Otherwise, the fluctuations in the strangeness magnetic field should not have been so powerful.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we can focus our investigation on the largest exorcist organization in Great Capital ¨C the Half Moon Association,¡± Yan Junze suggested, coming close to the truth, ¡°Otherwise, I don¡¯t think a small organization could pull off such a big operation.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll have them focus on this direction immediately.¡±


    With that, he stepped outside to make a phone call.


    Upon returning, he told Yan Junze, ¡°Tomorrow, you can come with me to the Exorcist Brigade office. There are some materials there that I can authorize for you to access.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Sure.¡±


    After scrounging another meal at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s house that evening, Yan Junze returned to the hotel.


    Before bed, he called Zhang Xiaomo, and after some light teasing, Yan Junze said, ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯m going to the Exorcist Brigade. Your dad¡¯s letting me in, said I could get authorized to look up information.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo asked, ¡°Have you found your weapon yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Wan Shouguang promised he would make it for me in the next couple of days. With your dad supervising, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Zhang Xiaomo laughed, ¡°When you¡¯re back, I¡¯ll teach you how to maximize the effectiveness of your weapon against strangenesses. In this area, I¡¯m the veteran, so you¡¯ll have to call me teacher.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze also laughed, ¡°Teacher Zhang, I look forward to your guidance on my first use of the weapon.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo chided, ¡°Why does that sound so weird?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily.


    Early the next morning, before work hours, he arrived at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s front door, where a black car was already waiting outside.


    Shortly after, Zhang Chengjing came out, greeted Yan Junze and together they got into the car and drove to the Exorcist Brigade.


    Surprisingly, only half an hour later upon arriving at the destination, they just got out of the car when they saw Wan Shouguang, dressed casually, approaching them.


    ¡°Huh, Yan Junze, how did you know I came early to make your weapon?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wan Shouguang was also surprised when he saw Yan Junze. He was carrying a document bag filled with Yan Junze¡¯s copious hand-drawn drafts of the Black Spirit Umbrella. Of course, there were also his own overnight drawn manufacturing diagrams.


    As an expert in the field, just having Yan Junze¡¯s hand-drawn images as reference was not enough, so Wan Shouguang dissected the Black Spirit Umbrella himself, adapting it closer to his own work style, making sure it could be constructed better and faster.


    Now at the research base, the drawings needed to be entered into the computer. After personal constructions were done by Wan Shouguang, he would make adjustments, simulate, tweak, simulate again, then produce a model, test it, adjust again, test again, and only then could the final product be determined.

 Chapter 574 - 574 375 Again Dark Poison

    ?Chapter 574: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison! Chapter 574: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison! After greeting Zhang Chengjing, Wan Shouguang said to Yan Junze, ¡°If you¡¯re coming over, head to the research base on sublevel two later. I¡¯ll let the security there know, you can just report your name and go right in.¡±


    Having said that, Wan Shouguang hurried towards the elevator.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Chengjing also reached the elevator, one pressing the button to go down, the other to go up.


    Shortly after, the two took the elevator up to the 17th floor. Once out of the elevator, they faced a long and deep corridor. Rarely encountering anyone else, the bustling office scene they had imagined was nowhere to be found.


    When they arrived in front of double doors that seemed to lead to a meeting room, Zhang Chengjing pushed them open, ushering Yan Junze inside.


    Yan Junze stood at the door, taken aback, as he realized this was not a meeting room, but a vast office space with relatively few people. What caught his eye were the many virtual projections displayed throughout the large office.


    Each projection was active, with images flowing within, some showing a person interacting with this side, others surveying a certain location.


    After observing for a while, Zhang Chengjing introduced him, ¡°This is the central control room where we communicate with exorcist teams from different districts of the Great Capital. Of course, this includes exorcist teams from overseas.¡±


    ¡°We have exorcist teams overseas?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    Zhang Chengjing pointed to one of the virtual projections which showcased a building in Olay Great Capital, likely a church.


    The people in the projection were talking to someone beside them, and in groups of three, a total of three groups headed toward the church. Clearly, they were on a mission.


    ¡°Those exorcist teams abroad cannot operate openly,¡± explained Zhang Chengjing. ¡°They must carry out their work in secret and cannot reveal their true identities.¡±


    He paused before adding, ¡°That intense magnetic field fluctuation from the Great Capital in USA was intercepted by one of our overseas exorcist teams and sent back to us. Then we aimed a large detector in the specified direction and indeed captured more magnetic field values.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing pointed at a row of electronic screens displaying various arc-shaped fluctuation values. Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand them but felt quite curious.


    ¡°Your thoughts yesterday reminded me, so I had already sent an overseas exorcist team to investigate last night,¡± said Zhang Chengjing as he summoned an image from a virtual projection, ¡°This is the footage we just received from there.¡±


    The sky in the image was still dark, which had to do with the geographic distribution of the Great Capital in USA and Huaying Great Capital. As a result, one could see flames burning in the distance, while the exorcist team from this end could only watch from afar.


    Indistinctly, one could see a very wide platform surrounded by flickering flames and swarms of people.


    This was why the exorcist team from Huaying Great Capital dared not get too close.


    ¡°It¡¯s confirmed to be the people from Half Moon Association,¡± stated Zhang Chengjing. ¡°They seem to be conducting a ritual, causing the strong magnetic field fluctuations.¡±


    ¡°Do we know what kind of ritual they¡¯re performing?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Chengjing fell silent for a moment, then pointed at the flickering sites in the projection, at the center of the platform, ¡°If we knew what the medium for the ritual was, we might be able to guess something.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± he shook his head, ¡°we can¡¯t let our exorcist team over there get any closer to the target. If they were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.¡±


    He then spoke to a young worker sitting in front of the console, ¡°Could you zoom in the camera a bit more?¡±


    This worker was a rather handsome man who, upon hearing the request, shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s the closest we can get.¡±


    The Half Moon Association had significant influence in the Great Capital of USA; even official institutions were riddled with their people. In terms of eliminating and controlling the strangenesses, the exorcists from the Half Moon Association were also the major contributors.


    So getting too close to them, if the exorcists from Huaying Great Capital were discovered secretly infiltrating, not only would Huaying¡¯s exorcism devices be seized, but their fate would probably be very grim.


    Zhang Chengjing could only analyze based on what he had seen so far, ¡°Judging by the gradually diminishing flames on the platform, it should be nearing the end. The ritual has lasted at least five to six days. And the moment we detected the strongest magnetic fluctuation was probably the climax of the ritual. The purpose of their ritual this time may have already been achieved.¡±


    Yan Junze stared at the screen, bewildered, unable to discern anything unusual.


    However, just then, a large number of black shadows suddenly appeared in the direction of the platform. These shadows seemed to be a flock of birds that spread out from the platform as the center.


    The footage then began to shake, as if the exorcists from Huaying who were covertly filming now started to retreat. The screen was tumbling up, down, left, and right, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing.


    Since the audio and video were one-way, only being transmitted back, normal communication was impossible.


    Zhang Chengjing also could not ask what was happening over there. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The frequency of the shaking didn¡¯t lessen; it became faster, and the exorcists were all heaving, clearly panicked.


    Suddenly, the screen jolted and froze.


    After about ten seconds, a dark head appeared in front of the camera, seemingly looking around, shook twice in front of the camera, and then the image went black.


    Yan Junze, Zhang Chengjing, and the surrounding workers stared blankly at the scene.

 Chapter 575 - 575 375 Again Dark Poison_2

    ?Chapter 575: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison!_2 Chapter 575: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison!_2 Including Yan Junze, everyone had seen it clearly, the head that had flickered twice in front of the camera just now had, at first, been a face with no features at all, a dark expanse of nothingness.


    As it looked toward the camera, that face had shuddered, and when it reappeared on camera, it was a familiar visage.


    Although the screen was pitch black and the signal connection was lost at this moment, Yan Junze could still see that familiar face clearly because he had just seen it.


    Slowly lowering his head, Yan Junze and Zhang Chengjing looked simultaneously toward the handsome young man sitting at the control desk, who was also turning around to look at the others, his lips twitching, his skin pale as death, his eyes vacant, and his expression one of terror.


    Before the interruption, the last face that had appeared was identical to that of this young man.


    It wasn¡¯t two people; they seemed as if they were cast from the same mold.


    The young man at the control desk was at a loss, staring at the black screen, unaware of why his own image had appeared on a screen far away in Great Capital, USA.


    ¡°How can that person¡­ look exactly like me?¡± stammered the young man.


    No sooner had he spoken than his complexion began to turn black, just like in the video. This darkness spread like a living tide.


    Seeing this, other staff members were frightened and left their seats, hastily retreating backward.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Zhang Chengjing was startled but instead of retreating, he stepped forward, his right hand claw-like, pressing down on the top of the young man¡¯s head at the control desk.


    At that moment, Yan Junze instantly felt the strong magnetic field between Zhang Chengjing¡¯s fingers, a force so powerful that it almost created visible ripples, holding the young man who was turning black firmly in place, rendering him immobile.


    As the young man¡¯s facial color turned black, his body skin rapidly became pitch-black as well, and his body started to twitch slightly, as if he might erupt into violence at any moment.


    But the magnetic field emitted by Zhang Chengjing had him firmly anchored in his seat, unable to move.


    After writhing for more than ten seconds, the originally handsome young man had completely turned black, his body withered, and his head tilted back at a strange angle, as if his neck was broken, looking toward the other staff members behind him.


    Right as his gaze moved but before he had laid eyes on anyone, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s left hand came down, unleashing the Ultimate Law he mastered.


    The magnetic field beneath his palm completely warped, squeezing inwardly, causing the body of the young man who had turned black to suddenly tense up, preventing him from looking left or right.


    The power of the Ultimate Law only intensified!


    Visible to the naked eye, the body of the young man who had turned black was being pressed in disproportionally.


    After a standstill of about four or five seconds, there was a loud bang, the young man¡¯s blackened body exploded, not splattering blood and flesh but releasing a vast amount of dark mist.


    At the same moment, four or five high-ranking Exorcists appeared at the door, among them the deputy head of the Exorcist Brigade, Yu Changhai, had also arrived.


    Yu Changhai was about fifty, with a burly stature. In the organization of Exorcists, he belonged to the same generation as Zhang Chengjing, both founding members of the organization, and considered veterans.


    Behind Yu Changhai were three others, two of whom were four-star Exorcists, and one a five-star Exorcist, while Yu Changhai himself had strength comparable to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s.


    With a furrowed brow, he walked into the spacious office and approached Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Chengjing, although he had just killed the blackened young man, had not moved, and was still holding his right arm at the elbow, not daring to budge.


    ¡°Changhai, don¡¯t come any closer!¡± Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice was steady, but the situation had already taken a turn for the worse.


    Yu Changhai halted his steps, along with the other high-ranking Exorcists who slightly tilted their heads, looking at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s right arm.


    His entire hand, including his wrist, had turned black, but for now the blackness was not spreading; it was caught in a stalemate, resisted by Zhang Chengjing¡¯s efforts.


    At that same instant, Yan Junze stood there, shocked as he looked at the blackness on Zhang Chengjing¡¯s arm.


    In his mind, a scene that had nearly cost him his life naturally surfaced¡ªit was the first time he encountered Tricky Silk Rock in the Underground Space of Spectacular Courtyard Mountain Park, where he had also been infected with this thing.


    Muttering to himself, Yan Junze uttered two words only he could hear,


    ¡°Dark¡­ Poison!¡±


    This Dark Poison was an extremely mysterious infectious toxin. After being infected before, Yan Junze could not rid himself of it, no matter how he tried to ¡°Rewind¡±; it seemed to defy the bounds of time. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, after analyzing it carefully afterwards, he thought it was possible that he had encountered the source of the Dark Poison after entering Mountain Park, which was why the infection had lingered on him.


    But this time was clearly different, as the faceless shadow in the video had, upon seeing the face of the young man at the control desk, immediately mimicked him through the electronic signals as a medium, causing him to be infected with the Dark Poison.


    As long as they didn¡¯t see that shadow, they could sever this terrifying infection.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to Rewind, he heard Yu Changhai say, ¡°This is Dark Poison. How was it contracted?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing, with sweat beading on his forehead, looked up at the black screen and said, ¡°It must have been¡­ from Great Capital over in the USA, after that horrific strangeness killed our Exorcists, it was transmitted here through the electronic signals.¡±


    Yu Changhai nodded, his voice grave, ¡°No matter, control it for now. I¡¯ll arrange for you to enter the core laboratory on the 30th floor immediately. We should be able to remove all of the toxin by tonight.¡±

 Chapter 576 - 576 375 Again Dark Poison_3

    ?Chapter 576: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison!_3 Chapter 576: Chapter 375 Again, Dark Poison!_3 Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he couldn¡¯t underestimate the members of the Exorcism General Team, as they actually had a way to directly remove the poison. Moreover, considering Zhang Chengjing¡¯s abilities, he too could have controlled the spread of the Dark Poison in a short amount of time.


    ¡°So, do I still ¡®Rewind,¡¯ or not?¡± Yan Junze was hesitant.


    If he did ¡®Rewind,¡¯ the young man from before wouldn¡¯t die, but then the team wouldn¡¯t have experienced the horrific event firsthand, thus missing the opportunity to heighten their vigilance and take serious measures to prevent such invasions of the Dark Poison.


    Moreover, in the video just now, he had clearly seen the altar in chaos with numerous dark shadows flying out. If all those shadows were the same faceless dark shadows as before, it would be an absolute disaster for the Half Moon Association.


    After all, even the exorcists from Huaying Great Capital, who had been filming from a distance, had not escaped unscathed.


    The exorcists who had been filming from afar also died under Yan Junze¡¯s watch, and he was unable to rescue them or even warn them.


    After some thought, with life-saving rescue so close at hand, he couldn¡¯t just stand by.


    Rewind!


    The scene on the screen went back to the moment when a multitude of dark shadows burst forth from the sacrificial altar. A moment later, the screen began to shake, clearly indicating that the person filming had started to flee.


    ¡°Turn off the screen, cut off communications,¡± Yan Junze suddenly commanded in a decisive tone.


    Everyone, including the handsome young man at the console, was startled and turned to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze said to Zhang Chengjing, ¡°Uncle Zhang, I think I recognize the dark shadows that appeared there. For safety¡¯s sake, please order the signal connection to that area to be cut and shut down the video here.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing was still very puzzled, but he ordered it to be done.


    Before long, the signal was cut off, and the video screen plunged into darkness.


    Everyone turned around to face Yan Junze, listening for his explanation.


    Yan Junze was looking at Zhang Chengjing. ¡°I once encountered a strangeness named Rock who had a type of toxic infection called Black Poison,¡± he said.


    ¡°Black Poison!¡± Zhang Chengjing obviously knew the name and couldn¡¯t help but be startled.


    ¡°And just now¡­¡± Yan Junze pointed to the screen that had gone dark, ¡°those dark shadows that emerged from the altar reminded me of Rock. Think about it, even our exorcists were fleeing from the scene, which means that the situation has terrified even them. So, I suspect that those dark shadow strangenesses are likely carriers of the Black Poison.¡±


    ¡°But why cut off the signals?¡± the handsome young man asked.


    ¡°Have you ever been infected with Black Poison?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The young man shook his head, looking confused.


    ¡°Neither have I,¡± said Zhang Chengjing. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that being infected with Black Poison is tremendously horrifying, practically a matter of life and death, and the means of infection are quite bizarre.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Although it hasn¡¯t been confirmed, I worry that this toxin might be transmitted to the people here through electronic signals.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, everyone was shocked.


    After a moment of silence, Zhang Chengjing asked, ¡°This Rock you mentioned, who is he?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I suspect he may be an Ethereal spirit. My approach to resolving strangenesses involves fulfilling their Obsessions. However, when I played a game with him to resolve his Obsession, I only earned his respect, and he showed no intention of stopping.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a pause, he added, ¡°If he wants to play a big game, I believe that if he really puts it into action, it would be at least a B-level event.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s pupils slightly contracted as he looked towards the pitch-black screen.


    After mulling it over for a while, he instructed the young operator, ¡°Try to contact our people again after half an hour. If there¡¯s still no contact, send another team tomorrow to ask around the nearby area, but do not approach the disconnected region for the time being.¡±


    Upon hearing his order, Yan Junze felt relieved. Recalling the faceless figures in the screen before the ¡®Rewind¡¯ that had instantly morphed into the appearance of this young operator, he guessed that the transmission of the Black Poison by the dark shadow wasn¡¯t that terrifying. At least, one would see the other¡¯s appearance first, which would then undergo mimicry, and finally, the toxin would be transmitted through a catalyst.


    Clearly, just now it seemed that after mimicry, the infection progression to death from Black Poison in this young man was notably accelerated (although it was also partly due to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s magnetic field pressure), which should be the equivalent of a catalyst effect.


    As for Zhang Chengjing, whose arm was later infected with Black Poison but did not succumb to it as quickly, and could even be treated in the core laboratory, it was probably because the dark shadow had not mimicked Zhang Chengjing¡¯s appearance, thus the catalyst effect did not occur.

 Chapter 577 - 577 376 Exorcism Information

    ?Chapter 577: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information Chapter 577: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information This time, because the handsome young operator did not die of Dark Poison infection, there was no emergency, and Deputy Commander Yu Changhai did not bring anyone over.


    However, the ordeal of Olay Great Capital was enough to catch the attention of Zhang Chengjing and others, and he planned to immediately call for an emergency meeting with the significant personnel of the brigade.


    When parting ways with Yan Junze, he tossed a card to Junze, ¡°This is a pass for the data library downstairs, swipe the card and you can go in to browse the data; I think you might find some of it interesting. Take a look first, and I will call you after the meeting is over.¡±


    Yan Junze received the card and examined it carefully; it appeared to be an internal card that not all Exorcists could obtain.


    It was evident that the brigade¡¯s data library must contain a lot of secret information.


    Yan Junze went down to the sixteenth floor, while Zhang Chengjing continued to take the elevator up, though it was unknown to which floor he was heading.


    Exiting the elevator and entering the sixteenth floor required a card swipe at the entrance, where a security guard was seated.


    As Yan Junze appeared, the security guard looked up at him and said nothing.


    Yan Junze responded with a smile, took out the card Zhang Chengjing had given him, touched it to the magnetic sensor at the entrance, and the next second, the door in front of him opened to both sides.


    Yan Junze turned his head for a glance at the security guard and noticed that the man had stopped watching him and had lowered his head again.


    Walking through an arched corridor, the corridor was well-lit, seemingly built around the central data area; at regular intervals, there were exits along the corridor leading into various parts of the data area.


    Yan Junze first walked around the data area along this circular corridor, and by the time he returned to the starting point, he had a general understanding of the layout of the data area.


    It was divided into four sections. The first one contained data on Exorcism Organizations, not just those from Huaying Great Capital but also other Exorcism Organizations from various Great Capitals. In Olay Great Capital, they didn¡¯t call it exorcism but rather Demon Exorcism.


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed the introductions of Huaying Great Capital, Japan Great Capital, USA Great Capital, and Olay Great Capital. Among them, Olay Great Capital, with its expansive territories, had the most chaotic Demonic Exorcist organizations, filled with numerous mercenaries-like Demonic Exorcists.


    With its large jurisdiction, Olay Great Capital comprised more than thirty districts, and the Demonic Exorcism organizations varied greatly in size without forming a standard management system.


    The Exorcism Organization in Japan Great Capital was uniformly governed by an entity known as ¡°Nether Bakufu¡±; apart from it, no other organizations existed. Should small groups arise in the meantime, they would be forcibly incorporated by ¡°Nether Bakufu¡±.


    The largest Exorcism Organization in USA Great Capital was ¡°Half Moon Association¡±, followed by some smaller organizations. ¡°Half Moon Association¡± did not suppress these smaller entities but rather coexisted peacefully.


    Of course, the ¡°Half Moon Association¡± did not object to anyone wishing to join; however, due to its high membership and extensive hierarchy, its management was relatively lax.


    As Yan Junze knew from the last Great Rewind, some Exorcists normally worked day jobs and were only called together to perform tasks during critical moments.


    These Exorcists could not be said to be overly loyal, as they lacked a strong sense of belonging.


    As for the Exorcism Organizations of Huaying Great Capital, they were governed by the brigade headquarters in Huaying District, which oversaw several branch teams in other districts, which in turn managed teams within the cities.


    Yan Junze scrutinized the introduction to Huaying Great Capital¡¯s Exorcism Organization and noted that apart from Zhang Chengjing and Yu Changhai, there were five veterans in the organization.


    Of these five, however, two were not Exorcists but had made significant contributions to the research and suppression of strange magnetic fields and currently were part of the brigade¡¯s management.


    Yan Junze noted that the establishment of Huaying Great Capital¡¯s Exorcism Organization seemingly had no connection with the official Great Capital government, the reasons for which remained unknown.


    After surveying the general data of the first area, he moved on to the second area.


    This section provided information about various magnetic field instruments, equipment, and their application. The data library was rich, and most of the weapons were ones Yan Junze had never seen before.


    He checked the introduction of the magnetic knife; the current magnetic knife was already a fourth-generation product, despite it had been only one and a half years since the emergence of strangenesses.


    The updates seemed relatively frequent. The Exorcists of Huaying Great Capital typically used magnetic knives and Hidden Buckles, and only five-star Exorcists were not constrained by magnetic knives, focusing on controlling and using Ultimate Law.


    And Exorcists who were able to use Hidden Buckles, both one- and two-star, were also rare to train because the moment a Hidden Buckle was triggered, it would cause a disturbance in the surrounding magnetic fields. Once or twice was okay, but frequent exposure to such chaotic magnetic environments could lead to metabolic disorder and decline in normal people, with severe cases resulting in sudden death. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, both one- and two-star Exorcists also possessed unusual physiques that allowed them to resist these chaotic magnetic environments.


    Similarly, these low-level Exorcists had the opportunity to become higher-level ones once their bodies became more adaptable.


    Of course, compared to those born with naturally strong special physiques, they still fell short.


    When browsing through the information on Exorcism Organizations from other Great Capitals, Yan Junze noticed that almost every Great Capital had different Spirit extermination weapons; for example, USA Great Capital tended to combine Spirit extermination weapons with conventional firearms.


    However, relying too heavily on magnetic energy weapons resulted in their special physiques being generally not as robust as those of Huaying Great Capital.

 Chapter 578 - 578 376 Exorcism Information_2

    ?Chapter 578: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information_2 Chapter 578: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information_2 The Exorcists of the Nether Bakufu in Japan¡¯s Great Capital tend to favor a method of combining with strangenesses, which is the method used by the Spirit Cultivators in Huaying¡¯s Great Capital.


    As for the methods used by the Demonic Exorcists of Olay Great Capital, they seem much more chaotic, including Magnetic Energy Guns, knives, daggers, and even Magnetic Pulse Devices.


    However, weapons like Pulse Devices, which affect a wide range, also have a huge impact on ordinary people¡¯s lives, potentially paralyzing an area instantly.


    After looking through the second area¡¯s database and finding too much information, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t finish in a short time so he promptly moved on to the third data area.


    This data area focused on various strange creatures, including descriptions of all the creatures that Exorcist squads had eliminated or captured since their inception. Yan Junze browsed through this part quickly because he had basically come into contact with them all before.


    Some that he hadn¡¯t encountered were more or less the same. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, when he came across a section describing strangenesses, Yan Junze froze, his brow furrowing slightly. No longer skimming, he read each word carefully.


    In this passage, he encountered a description of an entity he had never seen before¡ªa so-called ¡°indescribable strangeness.¡±


    This ¡°indescribable strangeness¡± did not seem to be a result of human death but rather emerged due to some unknown causes, and it was extremely rare, seldom seen in Huaying¡¯s Great Capital.


    Currently, most of the collected data on them came from discoveries in other capitals, with USA¡¯s and Olay¡¯s Great Capitals being the most frequent.


    Strangenesses that materialized out of nowhere due to a strangeness outbreak? What type could they be?


    Yan Junze was curious, but among these documents, he couldn¡¯t find any specific examples, just a simple description of ¡°indescribable strangeness.¡±


    ¡°It was called the Vertical-Mouthed People, with four ears, a single eye, and nearly perfectly round heads. Its mouth was large and not on its head but in the middle of its stomach, vertical from its chest to its navel. When this mouth opened and closed, it was truly terrifying, as you could see a mass of wriggling things inside. This strange creature was first found in Yakliel Village in Olay¡¯s Great Capital. When the Exorcists approached it, it had already devoured the skin of the eleventh villager. Yes, it only devoured skin, peeling it off alive from the body¡­¡±


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and looked up.


    Such strange creatures indeed went beyond the category of strangenesses formed after death, and it was unclear how to describe them or whether it was possible to find out their origins.


    ¡°Could it have been a deformed human before?¡± Yan Junze pondered and then shook his head. ¡°No matter how deformed, one could not possibly become like this. And why only consume the skin of living people?¡±


    He flipped through more pages but found no further details on this Vertical-Mouthed Person. Presumably, this information was obtained through special means by the Exorcists of Huaying¡¯s Great Capital.


    Closing the information booklet, Yan Junze began to speculate that there might be a deeper nature to this world that he was now merely seeing the surface of, yet to be uncovered.


    ¡°Indescribable strangeness?¡± he muttered to himself, and after browsing through more shocking information, he finally left the third data area and headed to the fourth.


    The strangenesses introduced in this third area were not classified according to the levels like Wandering Spirit, Sculpting Spirit, and Ethereal Spirit as in Junze¡¯s Atlas, but by the level of the events they could cause.


    For example, the Vertical-Mouthed Person aforementioned, categorized as an ¡°indescribable strangeness,¡± was listed as a creator of Grade C events.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, they were at most in the range of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit.


    When Yan Junze arrived at the entrance to the fourth data area, he paused, noticing that the entrance was blocked by a transparent glass door.


    He hadn¡¯t realized it earlier since the glass door had been wiped almost transparent, but now he saw that the fourth data area was restricted.


    There was a card reader next to the glass door.


    Yan Junze brought the card Zhang Chengjing had given him to the sensor, and it beeped, but the glass door didn¡¯t open. A red font appeared on the small screen above the sensor: Insufficient authority.


    ¡°Damn, this is Zhang Chengjing¡¯s authority, and it¡¯s not enough to enter the fourth data area?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    He examined the card closely and saw that it was very new, seemingly not used for long, rather like a newly issued card.


    After a moment of thought, he guessed this card wasn¡¯t actually the one belonging to Zhang Chengjing but had been newly issued specifically for him to gain entry to this place.


    No wonder!


    Yan Junze stood in front of the glass door, looking at the data inside the fourth area with an itching heart. From this angle, he could only see the informational plaques hanging on the outside of the corridors of the data area.


    The plaque near the glass door read ¡°Special Humans,¡± and deeper inside was ¡°Special Items,¡± while the writing on the plaque at the very back was too unclear to read, but vaguely mentioned something about a ¡°method.¡±


    Literally, ¡°Special Humans¡± would likely refer to individuals with unique constitutions, such as those like Ku Zai who have a close affinity with strangenesses, and perhaps there were other special constitutions, like those naturally possessing significant control over magnetic fields.


    ¡°Special Items¡± was easier to understand, much like the Black Spirit Pearl that Yan Junze carried, which is a typical special item. Such things were, to Yan Junze, the more, the better.

 Chapter 579 - 579 376 Exorcism Information_3

    ?Chapter 579: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information_3 Chapter 579: Chapter 376 Exorcism Information_3 As for other special items, like the corpse salve made by Spirit Cultivators, it¡¯s uncertain whether they count, given the current inability to search through them.


    Regarding the innermost ¡°Method¡± data area, Yan Junze speculated it likely contained records of techniques akin to Ultimate Law or other methods to counter strangenesses.


    Such a pity!


    Seeing so much data before him yet unable to access it, Yan Junze pressed his forehead against the transparent glass door, helplessly gazing upon the precious wealth beyond his reach.


    Just then, the security guard in the data area stood up, turned around, and saw Yan Junze in this bizarre posture, ¡°air-browsing¡± the data.


    The guard switched on his flashlight, first tapped twice on the glass door on his side to signal to Yan Junze that he could come out, then shone the flashlight beam onto Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    At this point, Yan Junze was almost drooling, and realizing he was illuminated by the light, he finally reacted, retracting his forehead from the glass door, and turned to look at the frowning guard, displaying what he considered a friendly smile that the guard thought quite foolish.


    ¡°Come on out,¡± the guard called out.


    Since Yan Junze lacked access to the fourth data area, the guard began to verbally prompt him.


    Yan Junze nodded, took one last longing look at the ¡°Special Humans¡± data area, and then, with reluctance, departed.


    After leaving the data repository floor, he promptly pressed the button for the second basement level.


    Considering Zhang Chengjing was probably still in a meeting, given the earlier overwhelming incident in Great Capital, USA, the exorcist organizations in Huaying¡¯s Great Capital were bound to devise a response.


    At the very least, they needed to thoroughly investigate what had happened before they could respond effectively.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, if the pervasive Black Shadows possessed the strength of the one he had previously seen in the video footage, it would spell disaster for all Half Moon Association exorcists near the altar.


    Even if Half Moon Association could react and counteract, it would take time, and heavy losses were inevitable.


    Recalling the ancient-book-like item placed in the middle of the altar, Yan Junze surmised it might also be listed under ¡°Special Items¡± in the fourth data area, but now he could no longer verify it.


    Ding!


    The elevator reached the second basement level. As soon as the doors opened, Yan Junze saw two guards at the entrance turning to look at him.


    Security seemed much tighter here than above, with guards on alert the moment the elevator opened.


    One of the guards asked, ¡°May I ask you¡­?¡±


    ¡°My name is Yan Junze, Mr. Wan Shouguang invited me here,¡± Yan Junze quickly introduced himself, remembering Wan Shouguang¡¯s words.


    The guard nodded then said, ¡°Please show me your Exorcist Travel Permit for registration.¡±


    After Yan Junze presented his ID, the other guard led the way, passing through at least three substantial metal doors with his access card, before they finally entered the laboratory.


    ¡°Mr. Wan, Mr. Yan Junze has arrived,¡± the guard announced before exiting.


    Wan Shouguang was at that moment adjusting the Black Spirit Umbrella¡¯s data on his computer. Only one assistant was with him, and now the young assistant turned to look at Yan Junze.


    This laboratory appeared to be one of many on the second basement floor, not particularly large in size. On the outside were rows of computers and unidentified equipment, and inside a bulletproof glass enclosure formed a square isolation area of less than 20 square meters, where weapons could be tested. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze walked over.


    Without looking up, Wan Shouguang pointed to the computer screen, ¡°I had Yan¡¯an enter all the data about the Black Spirit Umbrella into the simulator on the computer. It has already run a check automatically, and now I¡¯m doing a manual inspection. Take a seat for now.¡±


    ¡°Yan¡¯an?¡± Yan Junze was slightly surprised, turning his head to find the assistant was indeed a woman, with short hair, angular features, and looking quite brisk. He had not noticed earlier and thought she was a young man.


    After sitting down, assistant Shi Yanan went to the water cooler and poured him a cup of warm water.


    Yan Junze took it, thanked her, while Wan Shouguang continued his inspection.


    Shi Yanan whispered, ¡°My surname is Shi, named Shi Yanan. Did you design this device?¡±


    Yan Junze sipped the hot water and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting, different from what the professor usually designs,¡± Shi Yanan smiled. ¡°But I don¡¯t understand how its power is supposed to be unleashed?¡±


    Yan Junze also smiled, ¡°In a few days, you¡¯ll know. It¡¯s not a mere striking weapon.¡±


    ¡°How does it launch attacks then?¡± Shi Yanan asked curiously, ¡°The requirements seem quite strict in here!¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know how to describe it.¡±

 Chapter 580 - 580 377 Balance of Three Energies

    ?Chapter 580: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies Chapter 580: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies After sitting for a moment longer, Shi Yanan rushed to fetch Yan Junze¡¯s hand-drawn blueprints and sat down to study them, frequently consulting the drawings and asking Yan Junze about the purpose of specific design elements.


    Their voices were low, but Yan Junze could tell that Shi Yanan truly loved manufacturing weapons, was very dedicated, and also offered some of her own insights. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After talking with her, Yan Junze felt he should have a rough idea of Wan Shouguang¡¯s thoughts on how to manufacture the Black Spirit Umbrella, since Shi Yanan was a disciple he personally trained and was very familiar with his work methods and viewpoints.


    After waiting for some time, Wan Shouguang manually tested the data on the computer, and once he confirmed that it could be constructed, he began to establish the construction module.


    Setting up the construction module took some time, so he poured himself a glass of water and walked over, while Shi Yanan quickly got up and stepped aside.


    After sitting down, Wan Shouguang said to Yan Junze, ¡°Based on my experience, although I¡¯ve never made a similar weapon before, the fundamental data should be correct, and at most, some minor adjustments might be needed after testing.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Wan,¡± said Yan Junze.


    Wan Shouguang waved his hand, saying, ¡°No, it is we who are troubling you.¡±


    Shi Yanan, listening on the side, was completely bewildered and did not dare to ask.


    Wan Shouguang continued, ¡°Based on the material parameters I¡¯ve provided, and after the data has been fully simulated by the computer, the actual production phase is very fast. It¡¯s mainly the data adjustment that needs to be meticulous.¡±


    ¡°A hundred percent simulation?¡± asked Yan Junze.


    Wan Shouguang nodded, ¡°Yes, completely identical. If the simulation is successful, the produced item will definitely be the same. But I need to ask Old Zhang about the specific energy data.¡±


    ¡°The balance of Strange Energy, indeed, Uncle Zhang has the final word on that, I don¡¯t quite understand it either,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask him tomorrow, no time today,¡± Wan Shouguang said as he put his cup down and added, ¡°Come with me.¡±


    The two approached the computer, where only a mass of parameters was displayed on the screen.


    Wan Shouguang, pointing at the screen, said, ¡°These data are for all the raw materials, including the Ultra-High-Strength Lightweight Alloy and EPU high-polymer material yarn membrane you know of. The lightweight alloy serves as the framework of the umbrella, while the yarn membrane is the central area of the umbrella surface, capable of projecting moonlight to its maximum extent and storing energy. The periphery of the umbrella surface uses another type of Anti-Bone Fascia, an ultra-tough film. The tensile strength of each film is sufficient to block most bullets over short distances.¡±


    He paused, then asked, ¡°Regarding the Black Spirit Umbrella, all these raw materials are included. For the tip of the umbrella, do you want it to be equipped with a spike, or an ejection device?¡±


    After thinking, Yan Junze replied, ¡°Could we equip it with a chain ejector, with a spiked tip and sturdy, elastic chains at the end? Even if it is shot out, it could be pulled back directly and reused.¡±


    Wan Shouguang thought briefly, ¡°That¡¯s possible. In that case, the umbrella handle will need to be designed as hollow and include launching and retrieval devices. I have an existing equipment design that, with slight adjustments, should fit into the umbrella handle.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s smoother dealing with an expert,¡± Yan Junze thought to himself. ¡°This way, the problems encountered mid-way can be easily resolved, saving a lot of trouble.¡±


    No sooner had he finished his thoughts than Wan Shouguang had gone back to the computer to reload the data for the chain ejection mechanism, while Shi Yanan recalculated the data on another computer.


    They finished in about half an hour.


    At that time, Zhang Chengjing had finished a meeting upstairs and arrived.


    Before he had a chance to speak with Yan Junze, Wan Shouguang said, ¡°Perfect timing, I was planning to ask you for the data tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°What data?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked.


    Wan Shouguang, clearly very familiar with him, took his arm and brought him to the computer, pointing at the 3D model of the Black Spirit Umbrella, he said, ¡°Yan told me that you mentioned a balance of energy achieved inside the umbrella after being reinforced by three types of power. Could you give me a general range of data values now, so the simulation can be more precise?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing had actually come to call Yan Junze upstairs and to check the progress of the weapon design. After hearing what Wan Shouguang said, he nodded, turned to Yan Junze, and said, ¡°Give me your Turquoise.¡±


    At the mention of ¡°Turquoise,¡± Wan Shouguang¡¯s pupils contracted, and his heartbeat quickened.


    This thing was very important. Seeing the Turquoise, he felt as if he could see the future picture of his son reuniting with him and his wife.


    So now that the Turquoise was in Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hands, he felt an inexplicable anxiety. After all, Zhang Chengjing was very strong, and if he damaged the Turquoise or discovered that he intended to use it to collect his son¡¯s strangeness afterwards, what then?


    Zhang Chengjing, however, did not notice Wan Shouguang¡¯s expression and said, ¡°Open the isolation room.¡±


    Shi Yanan did as instructed, opening the door of the bullet-proof glass grade isolation room, Zhang Chengjing, holding the Turquoise, stepped inside, and then Shi Yanan closed the door from behind.


    This kind of door automatically locked from the outside; it could only be opened with a key or a switch on one¡¯s body with the proper sensor.


    Since the bullet-proof glass was extremely transparent, as Zhang Chengjing stood in the middle of the isolation room, he raised the Turquoise spread in his palm aloft.


    Everyone outside the isolation room also focused on the piece of Turquoise at that moment.


    Soon, the Turquoise in the palm began to move slightly as if something from underneath nudged it, causing it to flip over.


    Immediately, a wisp of black vapor rose from the surface of the Turquoise, swiftly coalescing into a figure. As the figure took shape, it kept dispersing and then condensing again, barely maintaining the form of an upper body.

 Chapter 581 - 581 377 Balance of Three Energies_2

    ?Chapter 581: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies_2 Chapter 581: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies_2 Seconds later, the black shadow discovered its anomaly. It looked left and right and quickly locked onto Zhang Chengjing who was stretching out his hand.


    ¡°Roar!¡±


    A wave of extremely strong and invisible ripples spread out, violently hitting the walls of the quarantine room and making a buzzing sound.


    Zhang Chengjing, standing in the middle of the room, had his clothes billowing and his hair blown back, but his body remained motionless.


    The black shadow was still dissipating, but in the process, the drifting black mist no longer vanished. Instead, it started to congeal into a second, a third, and even a fourth black shadow.


    However, as soon as they formed, these black shadows would disperse, unable to maintain a humanoid shape for long.


    The black shadow in the center let out a hiss, shaking the glass walls on all sides. Strong sound waves formed an acoustic echo in the quarantine room, buzzing loudly.


    Outside the glass room, the onlookers could only hear a long buzzing sound. Their eyes were wide open, staring at the activity inside. They saw Zhang Chengjing stretch out his other hand, slowly pressing down from above the black shadow¡¯s head.


    Yan Junze knew that between Zhang Chengjing¡¯s palms, a powerful magnetic field must have formed.


    The black shadow, not fully materialized and unable to exert its full strength, now couldn¡¯t resist. It began to wail, its form shrinking slowly, gradually retracting into the Turquoise.


    After about less than a minute of stalemate, the black shadow completely disappeared. The Turquoise jumped again, showing no further abnormalities and seemingly returning to normal.


    Zhang Chengjing, holding the Turquoise, walked to the quarantine room door where Shi Yanan immediately opened it.


    After coming out, Zhang Chengjing first returned the Turquoise to Yan Junze, then said to Wan Shouguang, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll accompany you to input the energy maximum and minimum values of this ¡®strangeness.¡¯


    The two went over to the computer.


    Shi Yanan, pointing at the Turquoise in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, said, ¡°This thing is really powerful. It can at least create a Grade B incident, can¡¯t it? How did you seal it inside?¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°I found this Turquoise.¡±


    Shi Yanan: ¡°¡­¡±


    A moment later, Zhang Chengjing, who had entered the energy values, came over and asked Yan Junze, ¡°Where are those black stones of yours?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, realizing that Zhang Chengjing wanted to test the energy output of the Black Spirit Pearls as well.


    At that moment, Wan Shouguang approached and said, ¡°Old Zhang, you don¡¯t need to test that yourself. You can put it into the energy tester over there, and it will automatically give you the energy range value.¡±


    With that, he looked at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze gave an embarrassed smile and asked, ¡°Where is the restroom here?¡±


    Shi Yanan pointed upstairs, ¡°It¡¯s on the negative first floor.¡±


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t this floor have a restroom?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    Shi Yanan explained, ¡°The magnetic field in the restroom is the most chaotic. Most of the laboratories here eliminate the impact brought by such chaos. Though we have technological means to isolate this impact to the greatest extent, under Professor Wan¡¯s directive, in order to make the experiments as perfect as possible, we decided not to include them.¡±


    ¡°No wonder many strangenesses emerge from toilets!¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    ¡°The chaos of thoughts and will is the root of magnetic field disturbance,¡± Zhang Chengjing took over, ¡°The toilet is one place, and the hospital is another. Usually, in larger public spaces, some secluded corner almost always harbors strangenesses. The difference is just the strength of the strangeness.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded.


    Shi Yanan walked ahead, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so far away, I think I¡¯ll pass,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    Under the surprised gaze of everyone, he turned around, deliberately reached into his crotch, and slowly, very slowly, pulled out a jet-black stick about the length of half an arm.


    This action was intentionally done for the others to see. In fact, he had taken the stick from the miniature of the Spacetime Atlas in his mind.


    The only place on his body that seemed capable of hiding a stick half an arm in length was there, so Yan Junze had no choice but to pull the stick out in a ¡°drawing¡± motion from that spot.


    Turning around, he saw Zhang Chengjing and Wan Shouguang looking straight at him and the stick in his hand, eyes wide open, their eyeballs almost popping out. As for Shi Yanan, she had covered her eyes with both hands and stepped aside, not daring to lower them.


    Holding the black stick in his hand, Yan Junze smiled awkwardly, thinking that if he had known Zhang Chengjing would come down now, he would have taken the stick out in advance.


    Zhang Chengjing and Wan Shouguang looked at the stick, then glanced down at Yan Junze¡¯s right leg pant leg. Like Gu Bai who had seen Yan Junze do this in the photo studio, they appeared to be measuring the length of both items with their eyes.


    Not allowing them to speculate further, Yan Junze handed the stick to Wan Shouguang.


    Wan Shouguang hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to take it directly. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For some reason, Yan Junze blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s clean, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Wan Shouguang, with two fingers, pinched the handle of the stick and said to Shi Yanan, who was covering her eyes, ¡°Yan¡¯an, put it into the tester.¡±


    Only then did Shi Yanan lower her hands. She had not considered this aspect and, glancing at Yan Junze, her gaze swept across his pant leg before grabbing the stick and heading to the energy tester, shoving the item inside.


    The tester was activated, the lights came on, and the stick gently swayed inside. Soon after, the lights went off, the swaying stopped, and a line of text displaying the energy range values of the stick appeared on the screen at the top of the tester.

 Chapter 582 - 582 377 Balance of Three Energies_3

    ?Chapter 582: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies_3 Chapter 582: Chapter 377 Balance of Three Energies_3 Shi Yanan slowly pulled out the magical tool and walked up to Yan Junze, handing it back to him. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. This time, it seemed she didn¡¯t want to cover her eyes and miss the exciting scene she had missed earlier.


    However, Shi Yanan soon felt disappointed. Yan Junze kept holding the large tool in his hand, but he just wouldn¡¯t put it back.


    Wan Shouguang had already gone to record the energy measurements and had entered the second value into the computer as well.


    Zhang Chengjing stared at the magical tool and asked, ¡°Yan, how did you come by the three beads on this thing?¡±


    ¡°It was a coincidence, a chance I thought was just about resolving strangenesses, but I ended up getting a prize,¡± Yan Junze replied without going into detail, brushing it off.


    Zhang Chengjing sensed his reluctance to talk about it and didn¡¯t press further.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, if even Zhang Chengjing with his sharp eye couldn¡¯t discern what the Black Spirit Pearl was, then it might not have been included in the databases he had seen earlier, perhaps not even in the ¡°Special Items¡± section.


    ¡°Next time I run into Rock, I should figure out a way to get more of these,¡± Yan Junze planned to himself.


    ¡°We¡¯re just missing the last energy value,¡± Wan Shouguang said, walking over at this moment.


    Zhang Chengjing clapped his hands and said, ¡°The weather is nice today. We might be able to collect the last value tonight. Now that there¡¯s nothing else, Yan, we should head out.¡±


    He turned to Wan Shouguang and added, ¡°Old Wan, thanks for your help this time. After you finish the item, I¡¯ll give you something as a thank you note.¡±


    Wan Shouguang waved his hands hastily, ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t want anything. Making this umbrella for Yan is my pleasure; I don¡¯t need your gift.¡±


    After saying this, he glanced at Yan Junze, worried about causing any misunderstanding.


    Yan Junze just smiled and looked towards Shi Yanan, noticing that the woman was still staring at the magical tool in his hands.


    Shi Yanan timidly pointed at the magical tool and asked, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ going out just holding it like that?¡±


    She quickly added, ¡°The security guards outside¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll put it back once I¡¯m out this door,¡± Yan Junze nodded in response.


    Shi Yanan glanced again at Yan Junze¡¯s crotch, her look somewhat disappointed.


    Zhang Chengjing chuckled, slung an arm over Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, and headed for the exit. He seemed to casually ask, ¡°How are things going between you and Xiaomo?¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, feeling there was more to the question.


    Before he could answer, Zhang Chengjing seemed to realize his abruptness, quickly changing the subject, ¡°Come to my place for dinner tonight. When the moon comes out, I¡¯ll measure how much energy the mysterious woman in your shadow has.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a moon tonight?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡­


    ¡°Indeed, there is a moon!¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At 7 p.m., standing inside Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home and looking at the bright moon through the window.


    Not long after they had finished dinner, the bright moonlight sprinkled over the earth. Yan Junze murmured to himself, while Luo Wenli, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s wife, and Xiaomo¡¯s stepmother, was behind him cleaning up the plates.


    Yan Junze turned around, ready to help clean up, but Luo Wenli shook her head, smiling, ¡°Your uncle has something else for you outside, leave this to me. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing came out of the bedroom, putting on a jacket, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go for a walk.¡±


    The two of them walked out the door, the cool moonlight casting long shadows behind each of them.


    After a few steps under the moonlight, Yan Junze turned to look at his shadow.


    Zhang Chengjing looked back as well.


    There was no reaction.


    Yan Junze looked up at the moon¡ªit was still bright¡ªand then back at his shadow, which was just as it always was.


    ¡°Is she not guaranteed to appear?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked.


    Yan Junze shook his head, then suddenly his gaze fixed on Zhang Chengjing, puzzling him for a moment.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, she might indeed not appear tonight!¡± Yan Junze said.

 Chapter 583 - 583 378 Reaper

    ?Chapter 583: Chapter 378 Reaper Chapter 583: Chapter 378 Reaper In the previous encounters, Fang Ning, hiding in the shadows, would instantly attempt to kill Yan Junze after emerging, but after Yan Junze deliberately ambushed her several times, the woman learned her lesson.


    Because neither Aunt Mei nor Zhang Xiaomo was able to kill her later, Fang Ning had perhaps become increasingly sensitive to the factor of potential threats from the outside world.


    She wouldn¡¯t show herself when Aunt Mei was by Yan Junze¡¯s side because of the oppressive pressure exerted by this powerful strangeness. However, later on, Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t exert such pressure, which allowed for a successful sneak attack, but still, the kill was unsuccessful.


    This time, Fang Ning was evidently even more vigilant, refusing to show herself even though Zhang Chengjing was not a strangeness and didn¡¯t have any strange pressure. It was unclear whether she could sense something about him.


    ¡°Is this woman really so cunning?¡± Zhang Chengjing laughed after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s explanation, and became somewhat curious about Fang Ning, ¡°Last time, Xiaomo also failed to kill her?¡±


    ¡°Almost did. She was just severely injured. After that, she hid and never surfaced again, especially when Xiaomo was around,¡± Yan Junze nodded and then suggested, ¡°So, Uncle Zhang, how about you hide somewhere close by? Once I am alone, she will definitely not be able to resist showing up. She¡¯s not very familiar with your presence, so she probably won¡¯t have any reservations.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing smiled and shook his head, showing no intention of leaving.


    At this moment, the two had reached the northeastern corner of the residential complex courtyard, where there were no buildings to provide cover, nor were there any residents strolling around.


    Yan Junze, seeing that Zhang Chengjing had no plans to hide, was about to ask why, when he suddenly perceived something unusual. He immediately turned around to see his shadow elongating behind him.


    Both men had stopped moving, but the shadow kept stretching out¡ªit couldn¡¯t be the moon moving that fast. Yan Junze quickly turned back and stared at the shadow.


    A dark head emerged from the elongated tip of the shadow a moment later.


    ¡°She¡¯s out!¡± Yan Junze immediately said. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But then a sense of bewilderment rose, ¡°Huh? Why did she come out?¡±


    Turning his head toward Zhang Chengjing, the other man was standing there without any pretense of hiding, his hands behind his back, creating an air of profound mystery.


    ¡°Maybe, Uncle Zhang retracted his presence!¡± Yan Junze¡¯s pupils shrank slightly, ¡°Perhaps he has a suppressive field naturally formed around his body all the time, and he just pulled it back in that moment.¡±


    As the thought arose, the dark figure¡¯s head fully emerged, followed by skinny dark hands that climbed rapidly along Yan Junze¡¯s shadow, cast by the moonlight, as if scaling a branch, moving swiftly towards Yan Junze¡¯s body.


    In no time at all, Fang Ning¡¯s feet also emerged from Yan Junze¡¯s shadow, using all four limbs to increase her speed and aiming for Yan Junze¡¯s right foot.


    Because Zhang Chengjing was beside him, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move, allowing the dark arm to grab his ankle.


    ¡°Be with me¡­¡± Fang Ning¡¯s hoarse voice erupted, inducing a tremor like that of an electric shock.


    Just then, Zhang Chengjing, who had been standing by like a bystander, suddenly moved, stepping forward and reaching for Fang Ning¡¯s hand that was grabbing Yan Junze¡¯s ankle.


    His movement wasn¡¯t fast, and in Yan Junze¡¯s view, the agile Fang Ning would definitely detect the anomaly right away and quickly retract her body back into her shadow to hide again.


    Indeed, Fang Ning quickly noticed the sneak attack and attempted to withdraw her hand. Though Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hand was still a distance away, to him, the gap was no longer an issue.


    The Supreme Law of ¡°Compression¡± burst forth, anchoring Fang Ning¡¯s dark hand firmly to Yan Junze¡¯s ankle.


    Fang Ning¡¯s hand couldn¡¯t retract and was immediately suppressed by Zhang Chengjing, as if catching something tangible, he hoisted it up, holding a charred and scabbed arm in his hand.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen Fang Ning¡¯s physical form in such a long time.


    A strong electric shock sensation entered Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hand; he visibly flinched and his body trembled slightly as he murmured, ¡°It¡¯s death by electrocution, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    In his hand, the Supreme Law of ¡°Compression¡± increased the output of the magnetic field energy.


    Fang Ning screamed miserably, and the electric shocks continued uninterrupted, as if she couldn¡¯t help but resist.


    Zhang Chengjing did not fully extract her from Yan Junze¡¯s shadow but bent over, with a rounded back, simply gripping Fang Ning¡¯s arm, testing the strength of her retaliatory energy.


    Fang Ning kept screaming miserably but never gave up struggling, maintaining a powerful discharge of electric force.


    After a standoff for a moment, the screams began to diminish.


    At this point, Zhang Chengjing released his hold on her, and like being granted a reprieve, Fang Ning quickly retracted the shadow of her arm and dove back into Yan Junze¡¯s shadow to make her escape.


    Yan Junze felt a bit regretful inwardly, thinking that if they didn¡¯t need Fang Ning to forge the Black Spirit Umbrella, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s presence alone could have eliminated this hidden danger.


    Zhang Chengjing nodded and said to Yan Junze, ¡°I have a rough idea of how much strange energy this woman has. I¡¯ll go straight to Wan Shouguang at the headquarters tomorrow and tell him.¡±


    He paused and then added, ¡°Now it seems, the balance of three energies I proposed initially can indeed be perfectly achieved. The energy of this shadow strangeness combined with the energy of that black pearl can basically counterbalance the strangeness inside the Turquoise, reaching a state of equilibrium.¡±


    The two of them chatted about the topic as they made their way back to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home.

 Chapter 584 - 584 378 Reaper_2

    ?Chapter 584: Chapter 378 Reaper_2 Chapter 584: Chapter 378 Reaper_2 On the road, Zhang Chengjing suddenly said, ¡°Today you looked at those archives in the database, which aspects did you find interesting, or particularly puzzling?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I¡¯m interested in all of it, but the one that puzzles me the most is the fourth data area; I can¡¯t get in there.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°Giving you a travel permit to visit there was already an exception. It¡¯s impossible to let you into the fourth data area because the things inside are the core secrets of exorcism.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I saw the signs for ¡®Special Items¡¯ and ¡®Special Humans¡¯; I can roughly guess some things, but after seeing the signs, my curiosity only grew.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing knew what he wanted to ask and slightly smiled, ¡°Let me put it this way. Have you ever seen someone who has a natural, extremely strong control over magnetic fields?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head in surprise.


    Zhang Chengjing continued, ¡°For example, Guo Youliang, whom you know, accidentally merged with an ancient corpse, and now his body is extremely cold. Therefore, he mastered the Magnetic Ice Extreme Method and became a five-star exorcist. And some people naturally possess ultimate methods; we classify these people as ¡®Special Humans¡¯.¡±


    Yan Junze realized, ¡°Are the ultimate methods of these humans very powerful?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing¡¯s face showed a hint of regret, ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you about one person. Before the strange phenomena outbreak, he was an insurance salesman. After the outbreak, he discovered one day that he had become a Special Human, able to change the magnetic properties of any object and harmonize it with his own magnetic field.¡±


    ¡°The result of harmonization is¡­¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Is that it can make the object instantly lose its magnetic effect, which is death!¡± Zhang Chengjing explained.


    Yan Junze looked at him, puzzled, clearly not quite understanding.


    Zhang Chengjing continued, ¡°For example, if he made a restaurant table harmonize with his magnetic field, anyone who touched the table afterward, if he wished, could have their body¡¯s magnetic activities stopped the moment they made contact, thus erasing them from existence. Of course, doing this consumes a great deal of energy.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened in shock, ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­ more terrifying than the strangenesses?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing smiled, ¡°I heard Xiaomo talk about the case where you caught that spirit Zhao Qi. What do you think a ¡®spirit¡¯ is? If Zhao Qi could stabilize, he would also be a Reaper, who can create strange Reapers out of thin air with his imagination.¡±


    ¡°What is a Reaper?¡± Yan Junze asked, feeling that a door which had always remained tightly shut was finally opening, slowly.¡±


    ¡°Above a five-star exorcist, they are called ¡®Reaper¡¯!¡± Zhang Chengjing felt emotional, ¡°Since the outbreak of the strangenesses, they were naturally born with some special abilities. Unlike us, although we also have a higher perception of magnetic fields from birth, when compared to them, it¡¯s like being in middle school versus having already graduated from university.¡±


    Yan Junze was astonished, ¡°It seems that these people are scarier than the strangenesses.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing smiled again, ¡°So, the scariest things have never been the strangenesses. Humans are the most terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Are these people under the jurisdiction of our Exorcist organization, or are they governed by the authorities?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°They join us voluntarily,¡± Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°But there¡¯s a prerequisite: the main team has the Magnetic Impact Launcher, and if we really have to break, nobody would be better off.¡±


    Yan Junze mused, ¡°Now I actually feel that the emergence of strangenesses in this world might not be as simple as we thought.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing also shook his head, ¡°Unsolvable for now.¡±


    Yan Junze pondered to himself. Considering that Special Humans could be so powerful, it was possible that the highest level of strangenesses were equally terrifying, and someone like Zhang Chengjing, a five-star exorcist, should be able to deal with a real Ethereal spirit.


    But if it was something above an Ethereal spirit, perhaps he would still fall short, or that would be a close call at best.


    The two chatted all the way back to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home, where Yan Junze sat for a while and greeted Luo Wenli before leaving.


    He carried an umbrella with him, but on his way home, even when exposed to the moonlight, there was no reaction.


    It seems Fang Ning got quite a scare at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hands this time, nearly wiped out of existence, and probably won¡¯t dare to show up again anytime soon.


    The next day, Yan Junze didn¡¯t go to the Exorcist Brigade, since Zhang Chengjing would tell Wan Shouguang the energy data, and Wan Shouguang would still spend a lot of time on simulation tests. Going there would be just twiddling his thumbs, so better to rest in the hotel.


    During this time, Yan Junze checked the news from the day before, especially the sudden international incidents, and didn¡¯t find anything particularly special. There were some reports on strangenesses but nothing very serious, just some local impact.


    After sitting in the hotel for half the day and strolling around the streets, and having dinner at a restaurant in the evening, he returned to the hotel and checked the news again, still finding nothing.


    It looks like the only thing to do is to wait and ask Zhang Chengjing if there¡¯s any recent news about the strange altars in the Great Capital of the USA.


    On the third day of staying at the hotel, Wan Shouguang didn¡¯t call Yan Junze, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t initiate the contact either.


    On the fourth day, he found a live news report on his computer, reporting a major fire in a district of the Great Capital in the USA, with the fire raging for two days before it was finally put out.


    Many people died in the nearby residential area, mostly in the fire.


    Yan Junze pondered; perhaps they used fire as a weapon in the USA, using some special fire to encircle those strangenesses carrying Dark Poison?


    But within that altar, what exactly were they attempting to summon to cause such a big commotion?

 Chapter 585 - 585 378 Reaper_3

    ?Chapter 585: Chapter 378 Reaper_3 Chapter 585: Chapter 378 Reaper_3 On the fifth day of early morning, while still in the dreams, Yan Junze was woken up by the ringing of the telephone. It was Wan Shouguang calling, instructing him to immediately go to the headquarters¡¯ laboratory.


    Without a word, Yan Junze got up, freshened up, and immediately hailed a taxi to rush over.


    Upon reaching the negative second floor, he reported his name and the security quickly led him to the laboratory.


    At that time, Zhang Chengjing was also there, standing together with Wan Shouguang, while Shi Yanan was on the other side rolling a spherical object on some unknown device with her index finger.


    In front of this device was a large transparent glass box, within which sliding rods moved against each other under Shi Yanan¡¯s manipulation, assembling a black instrument.


    Yan Junze walked over to have a look and realized that it was the Black Spirit Umbrella being assembled.


    The basic framework had already been built, and the umbrella surface was lying aside, waiting for all the small components to be affixed before the umbrella surface would be fitted.


    Wan Shouguang waved Yan Junze over, and once he was close, said, ¡°All the data has been adjusted and passed. These exterior fittings were processed overnight during the past few days according to the adjusted data, ensuring one hundred percent precision.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing took over the conversation, ¡°Once the final umbrella is produced, you¡¯ll need to fuse the strangeness from the Turquoise, your shadow strangeness, and the black pearl on the mallet together according to the proportion of the three energies. Get ready!¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, glanced at Shi Yanan who was intently controlling the sliding rods, and without making any sound, he reached into his crotch and soon pulled out the Black Spirit Mallet.


    Holding it in both hands, he seemed somewhat reluctant to let go.


    About half an hour later, the entire umbrella surface was also affixed to the frame, emitting a sizzling electromagnetic noise, and soon it was all set.


    The giant glass box opened, and the pitch-black umbrella was taken out by Wan Shouguang.


    Wan Shouguang tested it, pressing a button on the handle of the umbrella, and with a swoosh, the umbrella surface opened up, revealing inside a white alloy frame with a gold sheen, perfectly propping up the high-polymer umbrella surface into an arch shape.


    With the umbrella surface opened, it was quite large; if squeezed a bit, it could cover three people without any problem.


    Yan Junze looked at the position of the umbrella handle, and from bottom to top, Wan Shouguang had pre-arranged several embedding points for the Black Spirit Pearl¡ªnot just three but ten, spiraling up the handle.


    Because it was designed in advance, the addition of the three types of energy was easiest for the Black Spirit Pearl.


    The mallet was placed into the glass box from before, Shi Yanan controlled a mechanical arm to remove the three implanted Black Spirit Pearls, and then handed them over.


    Wan Shouguang took them and asked Yan Junze to observe carefully. He picked up a Black Spirit Pearl and pressed it sharply into one of the embedding points on the umbrella handle with a click, and the pearl was directly inlaid.


    Grasping the second one, he followed the same procedure. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wan Shouguang said, ¡°I¡¯ve set a reverse lock inside. Once pressed in, without the special means of this laboratory, the pearl can¡¯t be taken out.¡±


    In a moment, all three pearls were inserted into the handle of the umbrella.


    Yan Junze took the Black Spirit Umbrella, feeling its weight but gradually getting accustomed to it after holding it for a while.


    He pressed the button on the umbrella handle indicated by Wan Shouguang, and the previously opened Black Spirit Umbrella snapped shut with a swoosh. Holding the button down, the tip of the umbrella shrank to half its size in the middle, and in a rattle, the entire umbrella shrunk to half its original size in an instant.


    Indeed, this made it much more portable.


    Wan Shouguang said, ¡°The umbrella surface can also be tightened. It uses a magnetic clasp that activates when you press the very end of the umbrella handle with your thumb.¡±


    Yan Junze did as instructed and pressed it, causing a magnetic strip to slide out from a small opening in the umbrella surface, automatically rolling up the entire surface and securely sticking it in place.


    Zhang Chengjing took the umbrella from Yan Junze and instructed, ¡°Give me the Turquoise. I¡¯ll neutralize these three forces within the umbrella here in this isolation chamber.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Isn¡¯t there no moonlight? Without Fang Ning appearing, Uncle Zhang, how can you neutralize it?¡±

 Chapter 586 - 586 379 The Ultimate Kill Under the Black

    ?Chapter 586: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words) Chapter 586: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words) Zhang Chengjing gave a faint smile, didn¡¯t immediately answer, holding the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand, and then took the Turquoise handed over by Yan Junze before saying, ¡°You follow me into the isolation room, and you do whatever I tell you to do.¡±


    In surprise, Yan Junze followed Zhang Chengjing into the isolation room.


    Once inside, the door behind them shut, and Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°First, stand in the corner, no need to come over here.¡±


    Yan Junze did as he was told and went to stand in the corner by the door of the isolation room, only to see Zhang Chengjing had already opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, set it up on the ground, and then placed the Turquoise beneath the umbrella.


    Stepping back twice, everyone¡¯s gaze was fixed on the Turquoise beneath the umbrella.


    Yan Junze stared unblinkingly at the area covered by the umbrella. At this moment, he could clearly feel that Zhang Chengjing had set up a magnetic field nearby. Although it was hard to detect, now that he was closer, he could still feel it.


    About four or five minutes later, the Turquoise twitched, flipping over in the exact same way it had the last time.


    After a while, a stream of black gas began to emerge and quickly solidified into the upper half of a human figure, almost entirely occupying the space beneath the umbrella.


    At that moment, the black shadow seemed to realize something was wrong, as its own shadow could only stay under the umbrella and couldn¡¯t move outside.


    It began to roar and thrash around, and before long, not only had its upper body fully emerged, but its legs also freed themselves from the Turquoise. However, due to the limited space, it couldn¡¯t fully stretch out and was forced to hunch within the umbrella, enraged.


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhang Chengjing, who said, ¡°I¡¯ve just released his seal.¡±


    ¡°Can he escape?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Not for now,¡± Zhang Chengjing shook his head.


    It was apparent that the magnetic field seal around the Black Spirit Umbrella was only temporarily established by him and wasn¡¯t very stable. It could only momentarily restrain the impact of this Semi-Ethereal Spirit.


    If it kept on ramming, there was a high chance it would break through the confinement of the umbrella.


    Now, this Semi-Ethereal Spirit seemed very frustrated, its body the size of an adult¡¯s, and having discovered it was released, was about to leave. When it was unable to do so, it tried to extend its power beyond the perimeter of the umbrella to perform its most adept manipulation.


    For example, finding two substitutes to help it do some tasks; with three people gathered, it could directly switch bodies and leave.


    But now it seemed that its power still could not extend beyond the magnetic field surrounding the umbrella.


    However, after bumping into it two or three times, the Semi-Ethereal Spirit found that the magnetic field started to loosen, so it began to muster its strength, preparing to break through this layer of confinement at once.


    The vibrations from the collisions reverberated endlessly within the isolation room.


    As soon as the Semi-Ethereal Spirit fully emerged, Zhang Chengjing signaled Shi Yanan to turn off all the lights in the lab.


    Shi Yanan did not ask why and immediately ran to cut off the main switch.


    The next moment, the space plunged into total darkness.


    Yan Junze still stood in the corner by the door, motionless, his gaze fixed on the Semi-Ethereal Spirit that was trying to break through the magnetic field seal. The moment the lights went out, his hand suddenly tightened, seized by someone.


    Instinctively about to shake free, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice immediately rose in front of him, ¡°Don¡¯t move, I¡¯m pulling that woman out of your shadow.¡±


    Yan Junze immediately stayed still, then he understood that Zhang Chengjing could perform such an operation. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Definitely last night, when testing Fang Ning¡¯s energy strength, Zhang Chengjing must have done something to her, so he could now, in the darkness, pull Fang Ning from Yan Junze like this.


    Zhang Chengjing kept holding Yan Junze¡¯s hand, and not far away, one could still hear the Semi-Ethereal Spirit trying to break through the magnetic field.


    After a short while, Yan Junze felt a shock, as if something was being peeled away from him.


    This feeling was as if he had always had an extra layer of skin attached to him, unnoticeable before, but now it suddenly manifested and was being torn apart.


    During this process, Yan Junze felt no pain or discomfort, just a strange sensation overwhelming his mind.


    The next second, a piercing scream erupted beside him; the voice was undoubtedly Fang Ning¡¯s.


    The screaming continued, evidently Fang Ning was being progressively stripped away.


    Meanwhile, the collisions beneath the umbrella also persisted.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt Zhang Chengjing¡¯s grip on his hand suddenly release, Fang Ning¡¯s screams ceased, and a gust of wind blew towards the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The collisions from the Semi-Ethereal Spirit also stopped instantly.


    ¡°Turn on the lights!¡± Zhang Chengjing shouted.


    Shi Yanan, stationed by the power switch, immediately turned on the lights. In the isolation room, the Black Spirit Umbrella, which had been propped open on the ground, now stood upright, not falling over.


    Zhang Chengjing¡¯s right hand formed a claw, hovering over the top of the Black Spirit Umbrella. Though the umbrella was upright, it still swayed from side to side, the umbrella surface bulging and then deflating.


    The powers of the Semi-Ethereal Spirit, Fang Ning, and the Black Spirit Pearl had all come into contact within the umbrella.


    Without moving his right hand away, Zhang Chengjing said to Wan Shouguang, ¡°Old Wan, you can now activate the full control of the isolation room¡¯s magnetic field.¡±


    Upon these words, Wan Shouguang immediately pressed a button.


    Yan Junze felt within this isolation room a humming sound akin to a surge of static electricity, causing goosebumps all over his body and even his hair stood on end.

 Chapter 587 - 587 379 The Ultimate Kill Under the Black

    ?Chapter 587: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words)_2 Chapter 587: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words)_2 Zhang Chengjing released his hand and backed away to the side of the door.


    At this moment, Shi Yanan opened the door from outside. Yan Junze and Zhang Chengjing walked out one after another, and Shi Yanan immediately closed the door again.


    The Black Spirit Umbrella still stood erect in the isolation room, swaying slightly but not as violently as before. At this moment, the magnetic field in the entire room had reached its peak, and even standing outside the isolation room, one could hear the buzzing sound.


    The surface of the umbrella occasionally bulged and then collapsed, repeating this action. After about ten minutes, it finally began to slowly subside.


    Five minutes later, Zhang Chengjing looked back at Wan Shouguang and signaled him to turn off the magnetic field stabilizer.


    The buzzing sound disappeared instantly, and the Black Spirit Umbrella that had been standing in the isolation room fell over uncontrollably and ceased all movement.


    Zhang Chengjing reentered the isolation room alone, not allowing others to follow. He carefully picked up the Black Spirit Umbrella, glanced at the people outside, and then slowly opened the entire umbrella.


    During the process of opening, one could see that he was being very careful.


    Everyone held their breath and saw him open it and then immediately close it again, carrying the Black Spirit Umbrella out of the isolation room.


    ¡°Yan, it¡¯s done,¡± Zhang Chengjing handed the Black Spirit Umbrella to Yan Junze upon exiting the isolation room and said, ¡°The magnetic energy field inside the umbrella has reached a balanced state, with the energies restraining each other, preventing any from breaking free. Because the balance remains constant, if any strangeness attempts to break through, it will be instantly retaliated against, enduring the force of an attack from two high-level strangenesses plus three Black Spirit Pearls.¡±


    He paused then asked, ¡°What do you call these black pearls?¡±


    Without hiding anything, Yan Junze replied, ¡°Black Spirit Pearls, so this umbrella is called the Black Spirit Umbrella.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing patted his shoulder and said, ¡°You must use this weapon cautiously; it is very powerful when utilized properly.¡±


    Yan Junze opened the Black Spirit Umbrella to inspect it closely, realizing now it looked no different from an ordinary umbrella, except for being a bit heavier.


    He folded and unfolded the umbrella several times until it felt comfortable in hand. Then, tucking it under his arm, he asked Zhang Chengjing, ¡°Uncle Zhang, do you have any ready-to-use strangeness? I want to try it out.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing pondered briefly before responding, ¡°Even if there are strangenesses in this building, they are either subdued by an exorcist or being cultivated. They can¡¯t be handled at will. I¡¯ll have someone from the information department check. What kind of strangeness do you want for testing?¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Uncle Zhang, you must have heard from Xiaomo; I start exorcism by resolving the strangenesses¡¯ Obsession, but there are exceptions where I directly destroy them. Generally, in such cases, I believe they belong to an unforgivable category.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Zhang Chengjing nodded, dialed the information department, and gave a few instructions.


    Minutes later, he received a call back and, after answering, sent an address to Yan Junze: ¡°This is the location of Yan Family Gully, 37 kilometers outside of Huaying District. Over two hundred households live there; we always have a dedicated exorcist stationed there. But last Wednesday, the stationed exorcist was found dead, his body completely drained of blood. We immediately dispatched a team who discovered a strangeness capable of creating a C+ level event. That team has attempted to surround and capture the strangeness in Yan Family Gully several times but failed, each time allowing it to escape. I¡¯ve informed them that you are joining the hunt now.¡±


    ¡°This strangeness¡­¡± Yan Junze hesitated.


    Perhaps if the strangeness was only acting out of unresolved grievances from its past life and was attacked by an exorcist, it might retaliate, causing the exorcist¡¯s death by draining their blood, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean it was irredeemable.


    Zhang Chengjing dispelled Yan Junze¡¯s doubts, ¡°According to what we¡¯ve verified, this strangeness was a serial killer in life. After being fatally shot by security while hiding in Yan Family Gully, it turned into a strangeness in merely three days¡ªit may also be due to the accumulation of tremendous resentment before death.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Then I¡¯ll head over now.¡±


    With that, he signaled to Wan Shouguang with his eyes, instructing him to go back into the isolation room and carefully pick up the Turquoise from the ground.


    Wan Shouguang subtly nodded without a sound.


    Zhang Chengjing didn¡¯t notice any private deals between the two and continued, ¡°This Black Spirit Umbrella won¡¯t emit even a hint of magnetic fluctuation prior to contact with other strangenesses, thanks to the balanced magnetic energy, and it will appear utterly ordinary. But if activated by another strangeness, it will completely reverse its effects. You should be careful while using it in such instances.¡±


    ¡­


    That night at eight o¡¯clock. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    37 kilometers north of Huaying District, Yan Family Gully.


    The exorcism team, designated C11, consisted of four people: one four-star exorcist, two three-star exorcists, and one two-star exorcist.


    The team leader, Kuang Haibo, was a newly advanced four-star, having just passed his test and attained the qualification of a four-star exorcist. And C11 was originally his team; now that he¡¯d been promoted, as the previous leader had been transferred, it fell to him to temporarily take over as the new leader.


    However, since the official order for the captaincy hadn¡¯t been given yet, Kuang Haibo could only be considered as acting captain for now.


    This mission was Kuang Haibo¡¯s first as a four-star exorcist, and it was expected that despite the power of the targeted strangeness, this team wouldn¡¯t need to expend too much effort to handle it.


    But the reality was, after three consecutive days, C11 had searched through multiple places in Yan Family Gully and set several traps in the most suspicious locations. They had nearly exterminated the strangeness twice, but it still managed to escape.

 Chapter 588 - 588 379 The Ultimate Kill Under the Black

    ?Chapter 588: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words)_3 Chapter 588: Chapter 379: The Ultimate Kill Under the Black Spirit Umbrella (5600 words)_3 At this moment, night had fallen, and in accordance with Squad C11¡¯s regulations, all residents of Yan Family Gully had locked their doors and shut their windows, with no one daring to appear on the streets.


    Yan Family Gully had been under curfew for a week straight.


    Kuang Haibo lay prone behind a deserted mud wall, peering through a hole in the wall to observe the deserted courtyard.


    Considering the recent movements of the creature known as ¡°Blood Sha,¡± there was a high chance that it would show up here.


    Blood Sha was a temporary name the exorcism team had given this strangeness because it was extremely fond of blood. Rumor said, when it was alive as a serial killer, it would cut the victims¡¯ arteries and drink their blood in gulps, a frightful conduct.


    Now turned into a strangeness, it was still obsessed with blood; however, it could no longer consume it directly, so it would cause the victims¡¯ whole body of blood to dry up and become viscous or even powdery.


    By Kuang Haibo¡¯s side lay a team member known as Fire Wolf, and hidden above another mud wall about twenty meters to their side were a Baldy and a female team member.


    Fire Wolf was just a code name. This guy was a young man, merely a two-star Exorcist, always following Kuang Haibo, making it convenient for Kuang Haibo to look after the lad.


    The other Baldy and the female team member were both three-star Exorcists.


    This abandoned mud courtyard was where the Blood Sha had been killed by a security officer in its past life, and now, every three days, the creature was bound to appear here.


    But the figure of Blood Sha was very secretive, almost intangible in the dark night, which was why it was vital to pay close attention to every detail and movement.


    Kuang Haibo had also received notice from the main team that someone would be sent temporarily to assist them. He didn¡¯t know who the person was, only that they were introduced by a veteran from the team named Zhang Chengjing.


    Just this fact made Kuang Haibo feel somewhat disgruntled, as such help suggested that his team¡¯s abilities were limited and required reinforcements from the main team.


    If not for the upper hierarchy¡¯s strong orders, he would probably have refused, since this was his first mission as a team leader.


    Soon, it was 9:30 PM, and all around was so quiet that not a single sound could be heard. During summer, one could hear various chirpings at this time, but it was still a while before spring, and the surrounding quietness was terrifying.


    The Baldy and the female team member lying on the mud wall felt half of their bodies go numb due to the confined space.


    The female team member said to her Baldy companion, ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch here; you go down and move around a bit.¡±


    The Baldy shook his head slightly, ¡°I can bear it a bit longer, you go first.¡±


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the female team member slowly slid down to the foot of the mud wall. Halfway down, her gaze suddenly locked onto the wall on this side¡ªa mass, as though soaked in blood, was creeping up the wall and was now about to touch Baldy¡¯s feet.


    If she hadn¡¯t slid down from the mud wall, she would not have noticed this sight at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±


    The female team member shouted sharply, her magnetic knife springing forth into her hand, and with a firm grip on the handle, she plunged it directly into the mud wall, piercing the blood-soaked patch on the wall.


    Bang!


    A mass of liquid erupted from the pierced hole in the wall and splashed onto the other side of the mud wall.


    The female team member got some of it on her hand, too. The liquid was unmistakably blood, and it immediately began to spread along her arm¡¯s skin, forming a mark as big as a birthmark in just a second or two.


    Baldy jumped down from the wall, brandishing his magnetic knife, and struck a flowing chunk of blood. However, he knew they had to clear all of this stuff; otherwise, even the slightest contamination on another living being would allow the Blood Sha to escape.


    Moreover, a Blood Sha that had infested a living being would clearly see a temporary increase in strength, allowing it to hide again in the form of bloodstains after killing its host.


    Kuang Haibo had already rushed over, and with a leap, he stood by Baldy¡¯s side, swinging his magnetic knife to wipe away the remaining crimson bloodstains with swift and clean movements.


    He then turned to look at the female team member, ¡°Use the magnetic field to bring it out.¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The female team member had already been attempting to remove the bloodstain, but it was extremely stubborn, clinging to her skin as if it had seeped into it.


    Kuang Haibo¡¯s magnetic knife glowed brightly as he slapped it on the back of the female team member¡¯s hand, causing the bloodstain to tremble and immediately fall off.


    It suddenly slid into the corner of the wall, into the bushes, and at that moment, a pitch-black little animal rolled out of the brush, its limbs flailing as if it was desperately trying to shake something off.


    However, within just a second or two, the creature righted itself, its fur puffing up, with even its tail standing straight, letting out a series of squeaks as it quickly dashed away.


    ¡°There¡¯s a mouse in the bushes! This guy is trying to escape again!¡± Kuang Haibo shouted.


    The mouse was fleeing in the direction of the two-star Exorcist Fire Wolf. Seeing this, Kuang Haibo exclaimed in shock, ¡°Fire Wolf, move away, don¡¯t get close to it!¡±


    Fire Wolf had already started to back away, but he found that the direction he was backing into was exactly where the mouse was charging. Whether intentionally or not, the distance between them rapidly closed.


    Fire Wolf had no time to retreat further, his Hidden Buckle shooting out thrice in a row with loud bangs.


    The shockwave created an air current in front of him, rolling up dust around the earthen wall to a height of more than one person, and also swept up the mouse that was charging towards him.


    The next second, just when everyone thought that the mouse had been carried away by the shockwave, whoosh, the rolled-up dust suddenly burst open, and a limb-torn, blood-stained mouse flew out, smacking right onto the unguarded face of Fire Wolf.


    Blood and fragments of flesh smeared all over Fire Wolf¡¯s face.


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    The three people, including Kuang Haibo, were suddenly jolted to see Fire Wolf¡¯s entire body shudder. Blood immediately soaked his face, dripping down his cheeks, seeping into his collar, and spreading downwards.


    Fire Wolf turned and ran, his limbs stiff and movements odd.


    For all these days, team C11 hadn¡¯t been able to kill the Blood Sha because of this reason¡ªwhenever there were people around, it would immediately use blood to attach itself and flee.


    Because the person could still be saved, they had been hesitant to strike decisively, and Kuang Haibo couldn¡¯t bring himself to deliver a fatal blow.


    In the darkness outside the courtyard, a man, his head covered in blood, was seen fleeing rapidly and crazily, with three Exorcists chasing after him.


    And at that moment, directly in front of the fleeing Fire Wolf, a figure suddenly appeared, slowly walking under the cover of night, holding something in his hand.


    Kuang Haibo was startled, turning to look at the female team member beside him. She shifted her gaze from the Spirit Detector in her hands back to Kuang Haibo, ¡°It¡¯s a person.¡±


    ¡°Curfew, go home quickly!¡± Baldy shouted immediately.


    Upon seeing someone appear, the Blood Sha possessing Fire Wolf also got excited. The more people there were, the faster it could escape. Plus, attaching to this person¡¯s body for just a while wouldn¡¯t allow it to fully thicken the victim¡¯s blood.


    Fire Wolf charged towards the person.


    The person approaching did so at an unhurried pace, suddenly propping up an item in his hand¡ªturning out to be an umbrella held overhead. When Fire Wolf got close, he simply stopped.


    The Blood Sha was even more excited now, controlling Fire Wolf¡¯s body to leap forward.


    But as soon as Fire Wolf¡¯s body just touched the range covered by the black umbrella, the Blood Sha felt an immense pressure descending. Fire Wolf¡¯s body was rebounded outwards, while the patch of blood that was the Blood Sha was whisked into the umbrella with a swoosh.


    The entire underside of the Black Spirit Umbrella was suddenly filled with a deep crimson, a woman¡¯s silhouette, a roar of anger, and a flash of black light seemed to appear all at once within the umbrella.


    Within a second of the Blood Sha being pulled into the umbrella, the previously blazing angry presence vanished in an instant.


    The Black Spirit Umbrella was then folded up, revealing a young man, who smiled at the approaching Kuang Haibo and the other two, ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Yan Junze, Zhang Chengjing sent me here.¡±

 Chapter 589 - 589 380 Big Trouble

    ?Chapter 589: Chapter 380 Big Trouble Chapter 589: Chapter 380 Big Trouble When the strangeness approached, it was impossible to sense anything unusual about this Black Spirit Umbrella. Only at the moment of proximity did it trigger a response, but by then it was already too late.


    In other words, under normal circumstances, this umbrella could completely escape notice, modest to the extreme. Any person, strangeness, or instrument sensitive to magnetic fields would be oblivious to its specialness.


    Kuang Haibo looked at the Black Spirit Umbrella in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, astonished, while his mind fervently pondered.


    However, the power of this umbrella was just too strong. The Blood Sha that had just been absorbed had already killed multiple people and was capable of causing a C+ level event.


    What was most critical was that Yan Junze¡¯s weapon could directly peel away the hidden form of Blood Sha from the body of Fire Wolf, eliminating the Blood Sha at its root, and expelling the non-strangeness Fire Wolf.


    That is to say, this object differentiated and eradicated only strangeness, with no possibility of accidental harm.


    You should know that sometimes the magnetic knife might not be perfectly controlled and could also harm ordinary people because it has two forms. In dire situations, Exorcists might forget to turn off the physical attack and fail to bring out the magnetic glow.


    At this moment, Baldy and the female team member were supporting Fire Wolf. The young man seemed to be mostly unharmed, only pale-faced and limp.


    After a brief chat with this C11 Exorcism team, Kuang Haibo and the others repeatedly thanked Yan Junze. Had he not appeared unexpectedly, though Kuang Haibo, being a four-star Exorcist, was present and the Fire Wolf¡¯s life wouldn¡¯t have been in serious danger, some suffering would have been inevitable.


    The team members then busied themselves with cleaning up the remaining situation, informing the residents of Yan Family Gully that the curfew was lifted, and reporting back to the headquarters to reassign an Exorcist.


    Yan Junze returned to the urban district of Huaying late at night and settled back into his hotel.


    After returning to the hotel, he opened the Black Spirit Umbrella to examine it closely. It appeared completely ordinary, showing no signs of any unusual marks even after having killed a strangeness, let alone revealing the Semi-Ethereal Spirit, Fang Ning, or the Black Spirit Pearl within.


    After the Strange Energy was perfectly balanced, it had unexpectedly reached such a wondrous state.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also could not sense Fang Ning, nor the terrifying presence of the Semi-Ethereal Spirit, and it seemed that the emergence of moonlight was no longer a triggering condition for Fang Ning¡¯s appearance within the umbrella.


    That is to say, as long as he opened the umbrella, any unsuspecting strangeness that approached him would be devoured by the three combined energies within the umbrella, regardless of the moonlight.


    ¡°What would happen if¡­ I open the umbrella under the moonlight? What would Fang Ning become then?¡± Yan Junze mused privately, his gaze fixed on the center of the umbrella.


    That spot used a high-polymer film, Wan Shouguang¡¯s intention was to absorb some moonlight, yet not to let Fang Ning be fully and thoroughly bathed in it, imposing certain limits on her.


    Yan Junze speculated that if Fang Ning were to bathe in the moonlight within the umbrella, her strength might be enhanced, but it was unlikely to disrupt the balance of the three energies.


    Perhaps, at that time, Fang Ning would assume a certain dominant position, either revealing her true form within the umbrella or releasing some of her special attack methods, such as an electric shock.


    This was just speculation; only after a trial would he know for sure. However, since Zhang Chengjing and Wan Shouguang had both been comfortable with this design, it must mean that it posed no danger to Yan Junze and would not damage the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Early the next morning, Yan Junze went to await outside Zhang Chengjing¡¯s residence to bid farewell. His flight to Tianmeng was at noon, but before that, he wanted to visit Wan Shouguang¡¯s home to express his gratitude and say goodbye. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Chengjing looked at Yan Junze with an appreciative eye and asked casually, ¡°How about your Black Spirit Umbrella? How effective was it?¡±


    Yan Junze naturally did not reveal that he had stowed the Black Spirit Umbrella inside a node for safekeeping, simply replying, ¡°I tested it out last night, the attack was quite satisfying. I think you¡¯ll find out when you go to work later, the four-star Exorcist Kuang Haibo is bound to come asking all sorts of questions.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing chuckled, ¡°After you return, take care of yourself and tell Xiaomo to stick with Guo Youliang when she¡¯s on assignment.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Yan Junze asked, curious about his sudden vigilance.


    Zhang Chengjing didn¡¯t immediately head to the car that had come to pick him up; instead, he pulled Yan Junze aside, speaking in a low voice, ¡°The situation in Olay Great Capital is completely chaotic.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening there now?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed. ¡°The entire Great Capital is in chaos?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing shook his head, ¡°The social order is temporarily well-managed by the Great Capital¡¯s officials, and on the surface, it seems calm, but the Half-Moon Exorcism Association¡­¡±


    Yan Junze stared at him, silent.


    ¡°The Half Moon Association¡­ has gotten into big trouble. According to our investigation, almost all members of the Half Moon Association seen at that sacrificial ceremony you witnessed are dead. Furthermore, we¡¯ve verified that they were summoning a powerful strangeness on that altar,¡± said Zhang Chengjing.


    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°The world is already full of strangeness, do they think there aren¡¯t enough and want to summon more? If they find them lacking, we can ship them two hundred truckloads from Huaying Great Capital.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing shook his head with a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s a case of fighting poison with poison. They used ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ stolen from the ancient Yakelans Museum in Olay Great Capital as a medium to release a strangeness that had devoured hundreds of Possession Spirits.¡±

 Chapter 590 - 590 380 Big Trouble_2

    ?Chapter 590: Chapter 380 Big Trouble_2 Chapter 590: Chapter 380 Big Trouble_2 ¡°`


    ¡°A strangeness that devoured hundreds of Possession Spirits!¡± Yan Junze exclaimed, ¡°If this guy could devour so many Possession Spirits, could it be that it itself is a formidably powerful Possession Spirit?¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, extremely powerful,¡± Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°The moment the Book of Oath was opened, just the Possession Spirits that were released from its side almost decimated everyone around the altar. And after it came out, its whereabouts were unknown.¡±


    ¡°What about those evil and bizarre Possession Spirits?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The addition of the prefix ¡°evil and bizarre¡± in front of Possession Spirits was because Yan Junze had seen them himself in the video that had been transmitted at the time. These Possession Spirits were infected with Dark Poison, which could spread through electronic signals, utterly unlike common Possession Spirits.


    Zhang Chengjing replied, ¡°After the last appearance of this entity, a small number of powerful Possession Spirits left with the original entity, while the vast majority of Possession Spirits simply perished on the spot.¡±


    ¡°With so many evil and bizarre Possession Spirits, plus its own original entity, that guy is like a walking time bomb!¡± Yan Junze shook his head and sighed.


    ¡°The Great Capital in the USA has already dispatched its strongest batch of Exorcists to join forces in a manhunt, and other Exorcism Organizations in the various Great Capitals are on high alert to prevent this entity from appearing within their own territories,¡± Zhang Chengjing said.


    He paused, then lowered his voice, ¡°Why did I remind you just now? It¡¯s uncertain where the escaping small Possession Spirits will end up. If a dozen of them sneak into Huaying¡¯s Great Capital, given what we know, it will be very difficult to manage.¡±


    ¡°Why would it be difficult to manage?¡± Yan Junze feigned ignorance, aware that the scene of the small Possession Spirits transmitting the Dark Poison through electronic signals had simply not happened in Zhang Chengjing¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°Their method of possession is extremely potent,¡± Zhang Chengjing blurted out, indicating that he was already acutely aware, ¡°The messages retrieved from the Great Capital in the USA show that the small Possession Spirits can spread through virtually any medium, and if that entity¡¯s original form possesses someone, that person will one hundred percent turn into a Corpse Spirit, of the most horrifying kind, completely irreversible.¡±


    The two quietly conversed for a moment, then Zhang Chengjing got into his car and left.


    Yan Junze walked along the street alone, head down, deep in thought.


    Listening to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s tone, they were terrified of the entry of those evil and bizarre Possession Spirits into Huaying¡¯s Great Capital. It could be said that this entity was like a virus, infecting rapidly and unpredictably.


    One could imagine that by now, the Great Capital in the USA must be in complete disarray.


    While mulling over the situation, he hailed a taxi to go to Wan Shouguang¡¯s villa.


    Ever since Wan Shouguang had successfully developed Yan Junze¡¯s Black Spirit Umbrella, he hadn¡¯t been back to the company. He was on a long vacation, so he was still staying at his villa.


    When Yan Junze arrived, Wan Shouguang was holding a piece of turquoise, half lying on the couch, engrossed.


    ¡°Has the turquoise not been placed in Wan Cong¡¯s grave yet?¡± Yan Junze asked upon seeing him.


    Wan Shouguang shook his head, looking worried, ¡°I forgot a very important detail. There¡¯s a Magnetic Rotational Fixator placed by my friend Yang Yimang in the grave, which means no strangeness can form within that area.¡±


    ¡°You should have said so earlier!¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Take out the Magnetic Rotational Fixator then!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t take it out,¡± Wan Shouguang shook his head, ¡°The magnetic force stabilizes the magnetic field and creates a strong attraction, beyond our ability to remove.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, and then said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to change our approach. We¡¯ll move Wan Cong¡¯s body out again and find another place to bury it nearby, but not in that grove of trees. Before the burial, put the turquoise on his body to ensure that Wan Cong¡¯s strangeness can be collected inside it.¡±


    Wan Shouguang nodded, troubled, ¡°I might need your help again, my wife has been very ill these last few days, and it¡¯s troublesome for me to manage alone.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Yan Junze patted his hands and immediately changed his flight.


    That evening, after dining with the Wan family, he and Wan Shouguang headed towards Wan Cong¡¯s gravesite under the moonlight.


    This was the first time in quite a while that Yan Junze basked directly under the moonlight. He smiled softly, his head raised to the moonlight.


    The smile, casual in nature, appeared quite eerie in this context, especially alongside Wan Shouguang doing such a task, making it look to Wan Shouguang as if the smile couldn¡¯t be more bizarre.


    In Wan Shouguang¡¯s mind, it felt like the guy was about to turn into a werewolf.


    They arrived at the gravesite and began to dig it open again. Yan Junze jumped down to open the coffin, while Wan Shouguang was responsible for carrying his son¡¯s body out. Yan Junze helped from above to pull.


    After some time, Wan Cong¡¯s body had begun to stink, although the odor wasn¡¯t too strong and was bearable.


    After placing the body on the ground, the two looked around, and Yan Junze asked, ¡°What¡¯s the effective range of your Magnetic Rotational Fixator? As long as we leave that range, it should be fine.¡±


    Wan Shouguang gestured broadly, frowning, pointing to an area about twenty meters away, ¡°That spot should be outside the range of the Magnetic Rotational Fixator.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll dig from this side,¡± Yan Junze pointed to an area fifty meters AWAY, ¡°Bury him there, to be safer.¡±


    Without further ado, the two resumed their effort.


    Soon, a shallow pit had been dug. Yan Junze was sweating profusely because Wan Shouguang really was getting on in years, so the pit was mostly dug by himself.


    The two of them placed Wan Cong¡¯s body in the hole, and after laying it flat, Wan Shouguang stuffed the turquoise into Wan Cong¡¯s shirt pocket, fastening the pocket button to prevent it from falling out.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 591 - 591 380 Big Trouble_3

    ?Chapter 591: Chapter 380 Big Trouble_3 Chapter 591: Chapter 380 Big Trouble_3 Afterward, he began to bury his son himself, while Yan Junze sat at rest nearby.


    Once that was done, he smoothed over the soil around the grave to leave no visible signs of disturbance. Yan Junze then further neatened up Wan Cong¡¯s burial spot. He worked with great care, becoming so tired that he could hardly stand up straight, but from the outside, it no longer looked as full of flaws as before.


    That evening, Yan Junze did not leave and spent the night sleeping on the Wan family¡¯s couch, bidding farewell to Wan Shouguang early the next morning.


    Yan Junze instructed Wan Shouguang to check the burial site every three days. If there were any irregularities in the area, it would likely mean that the strangeness was absorbed by the turquoise, and at that time, remember to pass this message on to him.


    The couple thanked Yan Junze profusely, and in return, Yan Junze thanked Wan Shouguang, creating an oddly delicate scene.


    He slept during the flight and woke to find himself back in Tianmeng District.


    The journey was quiet, and once back at school, he first visited the rental where Xiang Er and Ku Zai lived, bringing them some specialties from Huaying District, with more food for Ku Zai, while Xiang Er received perfumes and cosmetics.


    Then Yan Junze took out the Black Spirit Umbrella, looked at Xiang Er with a smile, and said, ¡°You keep a close watch on this umbrella. Don¡¯t touch it with your hands. Tell me, what do you feel now?¡±


    Xiang Er did not ponder the peculiarly sales-pitch-like tone of his words, only stared intently at the Black Spirit Umbrella without even blinking.


    Ku Zai also watched quietly, puzzled and silent.


    After a while, Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything. This umbrella seems very ordinary.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded and continued, ¡°Now I will open the umbrella. Don¡¯t come over here, stand in the corner, yes, over there.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once Xiang Er had moved to the corner of the room, he opened the Black Spirit Umbrella and asked, ¡°How about now, any feelings?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Xiang Er with a shrug.


    ¡°Move two steps closer,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Xiang Er stepped closer as told.


    ¡°And now?¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head with confusion.


    ¡°Two more steps.¡±


    She took two large steps forward.


    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t come any closer!¡± Yan Junze immediately said, stopping her, then asked, ¡°How about now? What do you feel about this umbrella?¡±


    Xiang Er paid close attention for a moment but still shook her head.


    ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s your reaction, there¡¯s no need to test it on anyone else.¡± Yan Junze collapsed the Black Spirit Umbrella, holding it in his hand, and released the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and the Crawler Monster all at once.


    Including Xiang Er, five strangenesses stood in line in the room.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze, Ke¡¯er¡¯s little face instantly lit up with a smile, and she was about to get close, to climb up his leg.


    ¡°Wait a moment, Ke¡¯er, I have something to tell everyone,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°This is important for all of you.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Ke¡¯er tilted her head, looking at him but stopped moving closer.


    Raising the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand, Yan Junze spoke word by word, ¡°Now everyone pay attention, memorize this umbrella well. I call it the Black Spirit Umbrella, and from now on, once you see me take out this umbrella, do not come near it. Everyone got it? I¡¯m not joking!¡±


    All the strangenesses remained silent.


    After a pause, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze swept across them, then continued, ¡°On this umbrella, you do not feel any pressure, that¡¯s normal, but you still cannot approach it. Remember this!¡±


    Xiang Er asked, ¡°Is this umbrella¡­ a strangeness?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and no,¡± replied Yan Junze, looking at her, ¡°but you must not approach it out of curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Even with my strength?¡± Xiang Er was still a bit surprised, but since Yan Junze had said so, she wouldn¡¯t approach the umbrella anymore.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way¡­¡± Yan Junze stroked his chin, ¡°With your current strength, it could instantly extract your essence from this perfect female corpse and then destroy you.¡±


    He then looked at the other strangenesses, ¡°As for you, the extraction step would be skipped, and you¡¯d be directly annihilated.¡±


    ¡°Hsss¡­¡±


    A hissing sound of drawing a breath through clenched teeth filled the room, coming from Ku Zai.


    ¡°What about me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You, keep as far away as possible,¡± Yan Junze put away the umbrella.

 Chapter 592 - 592 381 No Action No Death

    ?Chapter 592: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death Chapter 592: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death Because the Black Spirit Umbrella doesn¡¯t differentiate between friend or foe, Yan Junze had to summon all of his strangenesses and explain the situation to them clearly; otherwise, once they got enveloped by the Black Spirit Umbrella, it would be extremely troublesome.


    Hmm, although he could Rewind.


    Back at school, he gathered with his roommates, and his studies and life returned to normal.


    The next day, Zhang Xiaomo specifically came to the school to find Yan Junze and talked to him about her impression of her foster parents.


    Yan Junze suspected that Zhang Xiaomo must have received a call from Zhang Chengjing or Luo Wenli, and they might have shared their opinions of him with her. Judging by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s current attitude towards him, they seemed very pleased.


    Otherwise, Zhang Chengjing wouldn¡¯t have gone to such lengths to create the Black Spirit Umbrella for him.


    Yan Junze relayed Zhang Chengjing¡¯s words to Zhang Xiaomo, advising her to stick with Guo Youliang in whatever tasks she undertook during this time.


    And evidently, Guo Youliang had already been instructed by Zhang Chengjing.


    In the following days, the locations where Zhang Xiaomo carried out her tasks were not far from Tianmeng, and she didn¡¯t travel far. This made it convenient for Guo Youliang to protect her.


    Every now and then she would meet up with Yan Junze to inquire about the movements of the strangenesses in the various Great Capitals.


    In his mind, the Spacetime Atlas felt like it was more than half lit up, although the unlit portions had not fully revealed themselves, making it hard to estimate accurately. But up to this point, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t acquired any new abilities.


    This didn¡¯t mean there were no more abilities to gain from the Atlas; Yan Junze speculated that a major ability might appear later, and he held out some hope for this.


    As for the summoning of the terrifying Possession Spirit from the Book of Oath, Yan Junze was actually very concerned, but he couldn¡¯t possibly keep calling Zhang Chengjing about it, so he had to be patient.


    That day, upon returning to his dormitory, he saw the chubby He Bishou sprawled on his bed, with his fat little pig trotters curled behind him, wiggling back and forth.


    Yan Junze thought he was reading a comic book, but when he looked closer, he realized the guy was watching a smartphone video.


    The video was shot from a first-person perspective, and because it was being filmed handheld, it was constantly shaking, making viewers dizzy, but He Bishou was watching intently, even clenching his chubby fist tightly.


    ¡°What are you watching?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    He Bishou, knowing it was Yan Junze asking, didn¡¯t look up and replied, ¡°A strangeness video. It¡¯s had a lot of views these past few days. I heard about it from others, so I downloaded it to see.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    At that moment on the screen, someone was breathing heavily, and others were running behind, with a girl occasionally emitting suppressed screams of fright.


    He Bishou extended a finger, as plump as a caterpillar, pointing at the screen and said, ¡°This is a group that specializes in filming strangenesses videos called ¡®No Action, No Death.¡¯ Their video quality is pretty high, often trending. Although I don¡¯t really follow the platforms for strangenesses videos, I¡¯ve also heard about these guys. It¡¯s said they¡¯re genuinely skilled, likely able to perform exorcism themselves, but they pretend to be average people in the videos to set the ambiance and attract viewers. In reality, they have estimated the strangenesses in advance and have plans and schemes in place before they start their so-called ¡®adventures.''¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of that?¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    He Bishou said, ¡°It might seem pointless at first, but every encounter ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ has with the strangenesses is incredibly thrilling, and they don¡¯t confront the strangenesses head-on. Each time, they ingeniously kill or capture the strangenesses, with the whole process being nerve-racking, making your heart race.¡±


    ¡°That just shows their planning is excellent!¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°But this time they hit a snag.¡± He Bishou finally looked up, smiled at Yan Junze slightly, clearly relishing the drama.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze crouched down, leaning on the edge of the bed and looked at the phone video that was playing, ¡°Is it this video?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± He Bishou nodded and quickly rewound the video, saying, ¡°This time, ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ planned to enter a mass grave, rumored to be home to a Big-headed Strange Baby that was somewhat famous around there. Everyone was speculating that they must have arranged everything beforehand, and although the entire adventure was pre-planned, it was still akin to watching a movie, enjoyable in its own right. But the trouble happened right here¡­¡±


    ¡°At first there was indeed a Big-headed Strange Baby in the Mass grave, but after a few harrowing encounters, the ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ crew ¡®coincidentally¡¯ took out the Big-headed Strange Baby. They were about to wrap up when they suddenly encountered a Possession Spirit.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze was startled and turned to look at the screen.


    He Bishou pointed at a blurry shadow on the screen: ¡°Look, right here. At the time, this Possession Spirit was standing to the right of that tomb, hunched over like a humpbacked old man.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Yan Junze asked, indeed seeing the vague dark figure.


    He Bishou pressed play.


    In the video, everyone cried out in surprise, and someone yelled, ¡°There¡¯s another one?¡± clearly indicating that what was happening was not part of their plan.


    Immediately after, the camera jolted, and the black shadow disappeared. During the jostling, a square-faced man appearing utterly terrified was caught on camera, looking in the direction where the shadow vanished. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man holding the camera urged, ¡°It¡¯s gone; let¡¯s leave this place and upload the Big-headed Strange Baby¡¯s video first.¡±

 Chapter 593 - 593 381 No Action No Death_2

    ?Chapter 593: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death_2 Chapter 593: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death_2 As he spoke, the camera swiveled around, beginning to move quickly in the opposite direction, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.


    After covering some distance, the man holding the camera seemed to realize something was off. He stopped, panting, and looked behind him. As he turned, the camera lens simultaneously swiveled to follow his gaze.


    In the frame, the square-faced man who had been full of terror was still standing in the same spot, frozen in the position of looking towards where the dark shadow had disappeared, not realizing that his teammates had already left.


    ¡°Haojun, what are you doing? Hurry up and move!¡± The man filming called out again.


    The man named Haojun trembled slightly, lowering his head without looking back, yet remaining silent.


    The man with the camera began to suspect something was wrong. After all, he was not an ordinary man; he had considerable experience and insight when it came to exorcisms.


    He did not approach, but kept the camera rolling and immediately began providing a voice-over.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Yan Junze called out.


    He Bishou immediately pressed the pause button.


    ¡°Since this guy still has time to do a voice-over, could it be that this scene happening right now was also part of their planned act? A fake?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    With a slight smile, He Bishou said, ¡°At first, I thought the same as you. Keep watching, and you¡¯ll understand. Sometimes, he does the voice-over out of professional instinct without considering whether it¡¯s appropriate in such a situation.¡±


    With that, he pressed the play button again.


    The voice-over of the man holding the camera continued: ¡°Haojun seems to be acting strangely, which is why I dare not approach him right now. Usually, in these circumstances, going to him would be utterly irresponsible to myself. No, the way Haojun is standing now, it¡¯s almost like the shadow from before¡­¡±


    As he spoke, the figure of the square-faced man named Haojun began to bend, growing more stooped and his outline blurring as if his form was becoming vague.


    ¡°This, this must be an encounter with a Possession Spirit!¡± The man with the camera suddenly spoke in a strange tone, saying nothing further as the lens of the camera hastily twisted, accompanied by the sound of his running footsteps.


    In the moment the camera swiveled, Haojun¡¯s neck could be seen gradually lifting, revealing a face that had been bowed down, turning to look this way.


    Since it was in the Mass Grave, the screen was very dark, only illuminated by the camera light, allowing a glimpse of Haojun¡¯s face, which was contorted, the features spiraling into a vortex, his lips pulled up to reveal much of his gums. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, only the footsteps of the man filming could be heard running; Haojun didn¡¯t seem to be following.


    After running for a while, the camera¡¯s view showed the edge of a street up ahead, with the faint glow of street lights in the distance.


    Just then, a woman¡¯s voice arose from one side: ¡°You¡¯re finally back, where¡¯s Haojun?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him, let¡¯s leave this place first,¡± the man with the camera said.


    The camera in his hand shook, and the screen showed a young woman¡¯s petite face. The woman was wearing a black tracksuit, her complexion slightly pale, whether from fear or due to the camera light¡¯s glare.


    ¡°Ding Jun, what happened to him? You¡¯re acting odd,¡± the woman approached.


    Despite her approach, Ding Jun continued to walk briskly, the camera moving from the woman¡¯s face to the uneven mountain road and clumps of wild grass ahead, saying without looking back: ¡°I¡¯ve just encountered another strangeness, and I have no other plans for the moment. Let¡¯s leave first, and I¡¯ll make plans for action later.¡±


    As he talked, he kept moving quickly, and the camera suddenly swung back to the woman following behind.


    The woman, who had been exclaiming in a low voice, was now bowing her head, motionless.


    The camera held still, no longer moving.


    In the frame, the woman¡¯s figure began to bend, growing stooped and her outline starting to blur.


    Seconds later, a voice that seemed to come from deep in the throat could be heard from Ding Jun¡¯s direction; it was a cackling laughter that emerged naturally from the shock that had seized him.


    Ding Jun stepped backward, the camera shaking; he was evidently stupefied with fear by the woman¡¯s sudden and identical change to Haojun¡¯s earlier transformation and was instinctively trying to flee.


    Soon the woman in the camera began to lift her head, revealing a face twisted just like Haojun¡¯s, with her gums showing as she pulled at her mouth, and even the corners of her eyes deforming as her eyeballs seemed nearly about to fall out.


    The camera shook more violently, Ding Jun running faster.


    He quickly reached a street with street lamps, running towards an unlit van, painted with yellow graffiti on its side bearing the words ¡°No Action, No Death.¡±


    As Ding Jun approached, the van¡¯s headlights turned on, clearly someone was inside, and the driver¡¯s side door opened as a slightly overweight man alighted from the vehicle, yelling to Ding Jun: ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    As the camera shook, Yan Junze managed to get a clear view of the slightly overweight man¡¯s face, which no longer bore the pallor of the others in the light of the street lamp, but looked somewhat sallow.


    It probably was due to the camera light affecting his complexion.


    While running, Ding Jun gestured frantically: ¡°Get in the car, get in, let¡¯s drive away from here first.¡±


    The slightly overweight man was taken aback for a moment and then quickly nodded. As the camera shook, Ding Jun, who was striving to run, suddenly stopped, causing the video to jolt and come to a standstill.

 Chapter 594 - 594 381 No Action No Death_3

    ?Chapter 594: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death_3 Chapter 594: Chapter 381 No Action, No Death_3 He pointed the camera in the direction of the van, probably still about twenty meters away from the vehicle.


    The slightly overweight man, who had just been nodding and ready to board, now stood motionless next to the driver¡¯s side door, neither getting into the car nor speaking.


    Bowing his head slightly, his body began to slowly arc, and his silhouette grew blurred.


    This time, Ding Jun ran even faster.


    The camera did not capture the moment the slightly overweight man¡¯s face contorted, but Yan Junze was certain that the man¡¯s face would have twisted and stretched just the same.


    He ran for a long time, about five or six minutes, and the whole frame shook.


    He Bishou had clearly seen this video before, as he directly dragged the playback progress bar to the six-minute mark.


    In the frame, the panting continued uninterrupted, but the camera was no longer shaking, instead lying askew next to the underbrush with half the frame obscured by wild grass.


    A foot extended over, followed by the silhouette of someone sitting in the grass, puffing for breath.


    By the looks of it, this person was indeed the man called Ding Jun.


    However, at this moment, because the lens was very close, his full body wasn¡¯t captured; only from the neck down was visible, with part of the frame left blank.


    ¡°All possessed by the Possession Spirit?!¡± Ding Jun gasped, speaking to the camera, ¡°There must be more than one Possession Spirit; that Mass grave must be hiding many Possession Spirits.¡±


    He paused, then added, ¡°With the terrifying methods of the Possession Spirit just now, I may not be able to take this video out today. But I¡¯ve set up an automatic upload feature; after midnight, it will upload to my space automatically for everyone to download.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I hope to upload it myself.¡± Ding Jun¡¯s voice began to steady, no longer gasping as harshly, ¡°Hmm, I have no means of transportation to get back now, and that guy is still standing by the van. It¡¯s 7 kilometers from here to Yuande City. Damn, 7 kilometers of night road; if I start walking now, who knows what I¡¯ll encounter on the way.¡±


    Just then, the frame moved slightly, possibly because Ding Jun had just realized his face wasn¡¯t captured, so he adjusted the camera¡¯s position.


    In the frame, a lean face with sharp features appeared, glanced at the screen, then turned to look around himself, seemingly giving a shudder, tightening his collar before speaking again, ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m getting ready to walk back, if I hurry, maybe I¡¯ll see some houses along the way. If I wait here, I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    His words cut off abruptly, his mouth still open, frozen still.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Yan Junze leaned closer to the phone screen, then glanced at He Bishou lying beside him, who had a smirk on his face.


    In less than a minute, the Ding Jun in the video lifted his head, his facial features twisted grotesquely, saliva dribbling from the corners of his mouth.


    He slowly reached out his hand, grabbing towards the camera¡¯s lens.


    The next second, the frame dissolved into static.


    ¡°What do you think, how did he also get possessed?¡± He Bishou switched off the phone screen, clearly already having come to some conclusion, hence his question.


    Without much thought, Yan Junze replied, ¡°There are three possibilities: first, everyone here is acting, none of it is real, facial distortions can be synthetically added later with computer effects. The second possibility, the Possession Spirits truly found all of them, possessing each one successfully.¡±


    ¡°And the third possibility?¡± He Bishou¡¯s fat hand propping up his chin.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°There¡¯s only one Possession Spirit, and through some means, it possessed everyone.¡±


    ¡°What means?¡±


    ¡°Like¡­ the lens of the camera.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 595 - 595 382 Possession

    ?Chapter 595: Chapter 382 Possession Chapter 595: Chapter 382 Possession ¡°`


    From the sequence of events where the ¡°No Action, No Death¡± video team encountered the Possession Spirit, Yan Junze noticed a very subtle commonality.


    It seemed that each member of the team was possessed by the Possession Spirit shortly after their faces appeared on camera.


    From the square-faced man at the beginning, to the only female team member, to the slightly overweight driver of the van, and finally Ding Jun himself.


    Especially Ding Jun, since he was the cameraman and hadn¡¯t appeared in the footage until the end. The faces of other team members were all captured by him, but his own face had not appeared until the very last moment.


    Shortly after Ding Jun himself appeared on camera, right in front of the lens, under everyone¡¯s watch, he was completely possessed.


    If not for this final scene, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t dare to be sure about his speculation, not until Ding Jun¡¯s face was completely distorted, did he have about eighty percent confidence in his guess.


    Fat He sat up from the bed, looking spirited, and kept sighing, ¡°Exorcists really are different, just watched it once and found the clue. When I first saw this video, I watched it three times and still didn¡¯t understand what was happening until later when I read the comments and realized this point.¡±


    ¡°Which website is this video from?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Open Your Eyes,¡± Fat He said, ¡°But it wasn¡¯t uploaded by the ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ team, but another netizen, said to be a friend of Ding Jun.¡±


    ¡°Is there any news on Ding Jun¡¯s team now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Fat He shook his head, ¡°No, the video was uploaded automatically to the cloud. Ding Jun¡¯s friend posted it after seeing it, but they have never found Ding Jun and his team members.¡±


    ¡°Disappeared?¡±


    ¡°They might be dead.¡±


    ¡°What is the username of the netizen who uploaded the video?¡± Yan Junze asked. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Shiyou201907221395,¡± He Bishou said.


    With the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform, if a user does not change their username, it is by default displayed as ¡°Shiyou¡± followed by a string of numerical code.


    Clearly, this netizen was just like that.


    Now, looking back, the method of possession by the Possession Spirit is indeed very strange. As soon as someone¡¯s face is captured by the camera lens, they are immediately possessed, a method that is simply inconceivable.


    It¡¯s as if the Possession Spirit attaches itself to the camera lens in some way, not on the surface, but rather like an electronic signal.


    At this moment, an ominous premonition rose from the depths of Yan Junze¡¯s heart. He stood up and patted He Bishou¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Watch less of these kinds of videos, there¡¯s plenty of youth outside for you to enjoy. When you have time, go out more, soak up some sunshine.¡±


    He Bishou, however, was still full of enthusiasm and said, ¡°Now my youth is all about comics and watching videos. The videos on this platform have been simply amazing lately! It has taken up half the time I normally spend reading comics, all kinds of fascinating stuff!¡±


    Looks like filming strangenesses is still very popular and hadn¡¯t quieted down as Zhang Xiaomo had said it would.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Seems¡­ it¡¯s gotten more exciting than before.¡±


    He Bishou did not get out of bed but laid back down and opened another video, muttering, ¡°I wonder if there are any videos by the ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ people that I haven¡¯t seen?¡±


    Yan Junze paid him no more attention, packed up his books, and left the dormitory alone.


    When he arrived at the rental, Ku Zai was teaching Xiang Er how to make hot pot.


    As the weather had just started to warm up, it was still quite cold, and hot pot had almost become a must-have dinner for Yan Junze whenever he came to the rental.


    Every time Yan Junze visited, Xiang Er had prepared the hot pot ingredients, but her repertoire was limited to the two types she knew, one clear broth and one spicy broth, with the latter being readymade hot pot base purchased from the outside.


    Ku Zai had been making do with it for a while, but eventually could not stand it. By any account, his family¡¯s place was considered a fresh stream in the hot pot world, which is why their old shop had been booming for so many years.


    When it came to the variety of hot pots, even if Ku Zai didn¡¯t work directly in his family¡¯s shop, he had been exposed to various bases just by being around it.


    Using the memories his father often talked about, he created a sour soup base himself, with Xiang Er assisting. The two worked together well, and with all the ingredients ready, the tangy and fragrant hot pot broth bubbled over the gas stove.


    When Yan Junze arrived, a spicy and sour aroma filled the rental, whetting the appetite and kicking the hunger into gear.


    ¡°Spicy and sour hot pot?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s nose twitched as he smiled happily.


    ¡°I can¡¯t quite remember the specifics of the operation and the base ingredients, but it should be about right,¡± Ku Zai said with a simple and honest smile.


    ¡°Not bad, it smells just like the ones in restaurants,¡± Yan Junze nodded and patted his shoulder.


    Ku Zai¡¯s face lit up with excitement, feeling as if he had received the highest leader¡¯s approval.


    Once all the preparations were completed, Xiang Er ran off to wash the vegetables.


    In such weather, the task of washing vegetables was basically done by Xiang Er, because even if the water was ice-cold, it would not be as cold as her body temperature.


    Moreover, she felt nothing; to Xiang Er, winter and summer were the same, and the only difference in clothing was to avoid arousing suspicion from others.


    Taking advantage of the moment, Ku Zai sat in the room, pulled out his phone, and began to scroll through it.


    Yan Junze thought he was messaging his family, glanced at the screen, and realized that the guy was actually scrolling through videos. The video showed a face completely distorted.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 596 - 596 382 Possession_2

    ?Chapter 596: Chapter 382 Possession_2 Chapter 596: Chapter 382 Possession_2 The screen was very familiar.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Yan Junze looked over in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re also watching this video?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Ku Zai nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve watched it several times, and my opinion aligns with other netizens, it¡¯s highly likely that this Possession Spirit is attaching itself through the camera lens.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then why keep watching? Aren¡¯t you afraid it will spread through the video and you¡¯ll get possessed?¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    Ku Zai lifted his head in panic, looking at him: ¡°I really hadn¡¯t considered that, is it true? Brother Yan, it¡¯s not really like that, is it?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head and smiled: ¡°Just kidding.¡±


    At that moment, Xiang Er finished washing the vegetables and brought them inside, and Ku Zai put down his phone to help out.


    Yan Junze watched his retreating figure, and after a moment, suddenly spoke softly: ¡°Others might not, but with you watching that video, it¡¯s hard to say.¡±


    The hot and sour hotpot was very appetizing, and Yan Junze had four bowls of rice, adding several portions of meatballs, Spam, and beef tripe on top of the prepared vegetables.


    With a full belly, the dinner table was cleaned up, Ku Zai rushed to do the dishes since there was hot water, and Xiang Er did not have to do it.


    Yan Junze called Xiang Er over to him and asked, ¡°Although Ku Zai has been sleeping in the rental next door, have you noticed anything unusual lately?¡±


    Xiang Er nodded: ¡°The week before last, a strangeness was attracted here by Ku Zai, around four in the morning. I sensed it immediately and went out, saw it trying to slip through the crack under Ku Zai¡¯s door. Just before it succeeded, I pulled it out and destroyed it.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded: ¡°Keep a close eye on him, the guy has been getting better nutrition lately, not as skinny as he used to be.¡±


    Xiang Er gave an affirmative response.


    Yan Junze continued: ¡°Also, especially in these past few days, pay attention to whether there¡¯s anything unusual about Ku Zai, specifically reinforce your detection and deterrence of other strangenesses; you can¡¯t be careless.¡±


    Xiang Er looked a bit surprised but she didn¡¯t ask why, just nodded her head.


    At that moment, Ku Zai brought in the washed dishes and casually said, ¡°That video looked so thrilling, no one expected the ending to be like that. It¡¯d be great if we could find the whereabouts of Ding Jun and his friends.¡±


    This kid had finished doing the dishes and was still pondering the video he had just watched.


    After leaving the rental, Yan Junze, a little worried, made a call to Zhang Xiaomo to ask if there had been any news in Great Capital Huaying about the missing Possession Spirit from the USA.


    Zhang Xiaomo said she hadn¡¯t heard any news; perhaps the Possession Spirit that emerged from the altar had completely hidden itself, or perhaps it had been captured or killed by a high-level Exorcist in the USA.


    Then Yan Junze asked her if she knew about a weird video that was recently going viral, produced by the ¡°No Action, No Death¡± team.


    Zhang Xiaomo immediately realized which one he was talking about but then informed him that the video was shot in Shouzheng District, not Tianmeng, so it was under the jurisdiction of other Exorcists, and she wasn¡¯t very clear on the follow-up situation.


    However, it was very likely that Ding Jun and his friends were in grave danger. Zhang Xiaomo promised to try to find out more and see if she could learn the whereabouts of the people who filmed that video.


    Were they really all dead, or was it all just a prank? If it was a prank, would the team reappear after the hype died down to spark another sensation and give their popularity another boost?


    Tianyi District.


    ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± Video Distribution Technology Limited Company headquarters, a roughly thirty-story building with floors one, two, and three housing a shopping mall and the upper floors occupied by larger companies, each of which usually takes up three to five floors.


    The ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform was on the sixteenth to the twentieth floor.


    Although it was already evening, most of these five floors still had rooms with lights on, as working on videos often involves staying up late.


    Some of the videos uploaded by netizens were actually quite well-shot, but they lacked technical handling, such as editing, too frequent camera shaking, and inadequate lighting enhancement, which greatly diminished the watching experience.


    It was either too shaky or too dimly lit to see clearly.


    Therefore, at this time, the company platform would send out a group of people to work overnight on these videos with good stories but unable to meet the broadcasting standards due to technical reasons.


    There are actually quite a lot of such videos, so processing them is somewhat time-consuming and labor-intensive. In one night, it¡¯s quite impressive to fine-tune three to four videos.


    Ge Lei is the head of the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± headquarters¡¯ Technical Repair Department. Although the night was getting late, working overtime had become normal for him, so he planned to rest in the office that evening instead of going home.


    In front of Ge Lei, the computer screen displayed a video clip from a video database.


    Most of these files had already been restored and were named after their respective folders for differentiation.


    At this time, Ge Lei opened a folder named ¡°No Action, No Death.¡±


    There were more than twenty video files in the folder, but Ge Lei¡¯s gaze was on the last two videos.


    The first of these two videos was the one currently going viral online about the strangeness possessing through a camera lens.


    Ge Lei¡¯s cursor hovered over the first video without stopping and then slowly moved to the second video.


    This video hadn¡¯t been uploaded to the internet but had been kept in Ge Lei¡¯s database all this time.

 Chapter 597 - 597 382 Possession_3

    ?Chapter 597: Chapter 382 Possession_3 Chapter 597: Chapter 382 Possession_3 Over a minute passed, and the mouse still hovered over the video without clicking.


    Ge Lei seemed to hesitate, he chose to log into the web version of ¡°Open Your Eyes¡±, entered a string of passwords into the pop-up column with the user name, and pressed the login button.


    A message dialog box quickly popped up, displaying the user name ¡°Viewer201907221395¡± in the information display column.


    Ge Lei logged into the video upload backend with the identity of Viewer201907221395, and then the mouse approached the second video once again.


    He dragged the video toward the upload path, but just when he was about to let go, Ge Lei hesitated.


    He still held the mouse, slowly dragged the video back, not feeling reassured, he double-clicked the video, which opened to fill half of the computer screen, and stared at the video that began to play, falling into silence.


    The video resumed playing from the point where the first video had been cut off, and the once snowy screen began to clear up again.


    At this time, the camera had zoomed out, revealing Ding Jun¡¯s figure standing not far away, framed in the shot from head to toe.


    Ding Jun returned to a head-down position, his face unclear, the surroundings eerily quiet, occasionally picking up the chirping of unidentified insects, which quickly subsided.


    Soon, a rustling noise approached from the perimeter of the camera, Ge Lei turned up the volume of the video, and it seemed as though the rustling came from more than one direction.


    In the frame, a woman approached with her head down, her feet as if weighed down with lead, moving very slowly toward Ding Jun, then stood still.


    Under the night sky, within the somewhat overexposed light of the camera, a middle-aged man with a slightly overweight build approached from the dark depths of the bushes, the same man who drove the van.


    After the driver approached the two motionless figures, he silently bowed his head, standing right beside Ding Jun, also remaining still.


    The entire scene seemed frozen, but the feeling it conveyed was exceptionally oppressive.


    No one knew whether these three people were dead or alive at this point. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Occasionally a breeze would brush by, moving the tips of the grass ever so slightly, letting viewers know that the video was still playing and hadn¡¯t frozen.


    This went on for about seven minutes, when the rustling sound once again arrived.


    Another male figure appeared in the video, the square-faced man who was the first to be possessed in the previous video. He also dragged his heavy feet, kept his head stooped low, and walked over to stand beside the woman.


    This time, the others didn¡¯t keep standing, but after the square-faced man arrived, all four of them extended their hands, seemingly feeble, and touched each other, linked hands.


    Perhaps because their bodies were somewhat uncontrollable, the four were unable to effectively form a circle and stood somewhat lopsided.


    After the four held hands, without any abnormal event, three of them collapsed instantaneously to the ground and vanished from the screen, with only one person still standing.


    That person was Ding Jun.


    The remaining Ding Jun no longer bowed his head, his head had somehow been raised, and his facial features returned to normal, no longer distorted, but his lips, having been twisted before, failed to recover, his lower lip was pulled apart, revealing two teeth.


    His body was no longer hunchbacked but straightened up, he approached the camera, bent over, brought his pale face close to the lens, and stared unblinkingly into the camera.


    This close observation startled Ge Lei as well.


    When he watched this point yesterday, because he was alone in the office, he was so frightened that he immediately closed the video, but today, having prepared himself, he did not turn it off.


    As the face occupied almost the entire screen, it might have been the peak of screen reflection, making the screen seem like a mirror, Ge Lei saw his own cheeks reflected on it.


    The next second, his body involuntarily started to arch slightly, his head drooping down.


    The video on the computer had finished playing, the image frozen on that large face pressing close to the lens, and after a few seconds, the playback software automatically closed.


    Ge Lei sat motionless, as if he had fallen asleep, but his right hand began to move, slowly reaching for the mouse that was within easy reach.


    This second video segment was clicked and dragged to the upload path bar on the web version of ¡°Open Your Eyes¡±, and he released the mouse button.


    Ge Lei, with his head bowed, slowly lifted his head, showing a seemingly normal face, only the position of his lower lip was pulled up at the corner, revealing two teeth, emitting a sinister smile at the computer screen.


    The mouse on the screen had moved over the upload button, and then, lightly clicked.

 Chapter 598 - 598 383 Video Dissemination

    ?Chapter 598: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination Chapter 598: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination The video review department was located on the eighteenth floor of the same building.


    Even though it was quite late, according to company regulations, there were still three employees working overtime.


    With a particularly high volume of video uploads leading to varied video quality, and some rubbish internet users uploading certain inappropriate videos, moderation was essential, and the workload was immense.


    In just one short hour, Li Yaqin from the review department and her two colleagues had reviewed over a hundred short videos and filtered out nearly half.


    She rubbed her somewhat swollen temples, opened her thermos, which was filled with goji berries and red dates, the aroma spreading out.


    Li Yaqin took small sips of the hot water, then put the lid back on.


    Glancing at the computer screen, she couldn¡¯t help but give a wry smile; in the time it took to drink some hot water, she had received six more videos.


    Having relatively high administrative privileges on the backend, she first skimmed through them and then, a slightly familiar name caught her eye.


    ¡°Hmm? Video Buddy 201907221395?¡± In her memory, Li Yaqin felt she was somewhat familiar with this code.


    Normally, as a reviewer who viewed so many videos each day, she wouldn¡¯t commit routine memories to mind; she knew her brain¡¯s ¡°memory¡± wasn¡¯t ample, so she wouldn¡¯t bother to remember mundane matters unless something specific made a strong impression.


    Clearly, there was a reason that ¡°1395¡± had made such an impression on her.


    ¡°1395? 1395?¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After silently repeating it twice, Li Yaqin¡¯s eyes brightened as she recalled a rather popular video from recent times, which seemed to have been uploaded by Video Buddy 201907221395.


    She opened the search box in the backend and entered the full username; sure enough, a video appeared in the search results, marked in the top right corner with a burning flame symbol.


    This was the mark of a trending video.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s that weird video rumored to possess people through the camera lens,¡± Li Yaqin nodded.


    Unexpectedly, the person from the team named ¡°No Action, No Death,¡± which was Video Buddy 201907221395, had uploaded a new exploration video.


    This one must be given priority treatment.


    Moreover, Li Yaqin had been constantly speculating about what had happened to Ding Jun¡¯s team afterward, and now, certain that the video was uploaded by the same person, she grew somewhat impatient.


    The female colleague sitting next to her had just returned from the restroom and sat down, while another male colleague across from them was intently watching the video he was reviewing.


    Li Yaqin opened the video and hit the pause button, saying to the female colleague who had just sat down, ¡°Come and look, the user who uploaded that popular video about possession through the camera lens has sent a new video.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The female colleague was startled and immediately stood up to come over.


    The male colleague across from them also raised his head and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°The uploader of that recent popular Possession Spirit video has sent a new one; it appears to be a follow-up by the ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯ team,¡± Li Yaqin explained.


    The male colleague stood up, puzzled: ¡°I heard from a colleague in Shouzheng District that this team has gone missing, and safety officers received a distress call and dispatched someone to investigate. Apparently, even the Exorcist from Shouzheng District has been alerted.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying this video wasn¡¯t made by ¡®No Action, No Death¡¯?¡± the female colleague asked.


    The male colleague was still standing at his spot, shaking his head: ¡°It might have been filmed by them, but the uploader definitely isn¡¯t Ding Jun or one of his team members.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s been filmed first,¡± Li Yaqin pressed the play button, and the video resumed.


    The male colleague, who was about to sit back down and finish reviewing his video before joining, hesitated and then paused his own video, moving behind Li Yaqin.


    The two women huddled in front of the computer, with the male colleague standing behind them watching.


    In the video, as time passed, all four ¡°No Action, No Death¡± members who were under Possession gathered together, holding hands, forming an irregular circle.


    Then, except for Ding Jun, the other three collapsed to the ground, facedown in the bushes and out of the camera¡¯s range.


    Ding Jun straightened up, walking towards the camera on the ground, his pale face coming closer to the lens, filling the entire space of the frame.


    The screen turned almost to its reflective peak, and the two women sitting in front of it, including Li Yaqin, instantly saw their own faces reflected on the screen.


    Because the male colleague was taller and standing at the back, his face wasn¡¯t reflected on the screen.


    In the eyes of the male colleague, the two women in front of him suddenly bowed their heads, their bodies curling into a ball, but only a few seconds later, they raised their heads.


    The male colleague involuntarily stepped back, his eyes wide as he stared at them, speechless, seemingly at a loss for words.


    By then, the video had stopped playing.


    The two women raised their heads, turned around, and faced the male colleague standing behind them.


    Both of their faces were suspiciously identical, their lips skewed to one side, revealing the lower teeth of their jawbones.


    ¡°Sister Li? You¡­¡±


    The male colleague began to speak in shock, but before he could finish, Li Yaqin reached out and grabbed his hand.


    The next second, the other female colleague extended her hand to grab the male colleague¡¯s other hand.


    The three of them drew together.


    At first, the male colleague was extremely frantic, desperately trying to break free, but after a moment, his expression suddenly calmed, and he stood silently together with the two women.

 Chapter 599 - 599 383 Video Dissemination_2

    ?Chapter 599: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination_2 Chapter 599: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination_2 Several seconds later, the male and female colleagues both collapsed to the ground, curling up, their skin turning ashen gray, while Li Yaqin stood erect with a sinister smile curling at the corners of her mouth.


    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡±


    She suddenly turned around, sat back in her chair, and approved the video she had just opened, allowing it to enter the public eye. Before the official release, she checked the box in front of ¡°downloadable.¡±


    Afterward, Li Yaqin ¡°@-ed¡± all her colleagues from the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± Video Technology Limited Company on the platform¡¯s backend, reminding them to watch the video.


    Having done these things, her face, which had maintained a sinister smile and had become stiff, slowly turned to the side, and she leaned forward, resting on the office desk.


    Visibly, Li Yaqin¡¯s cheeks also began to turn ashen gray slowly, but her eyes remained wide open, yet without blinking.


    Moments later, the pupils of her open eyes were gradually covered by a gray-white film, and she no longer showed any sign of movement.


    The following morning.


    Tianmeng District, Huadu Building.


    Tang Zhengyi, who had recently been promoted to the editor-in-chief of Tianmeng District¡¯s ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± branch, woke up early and arrived at the company well before time.


    Although he arrived at work early, there were colleagues who had arrived even earlier. When he reached the elevator at the entrance of Huadu Building, he saw two elevators stopped at the floor where the company was located.


    He pressed the elevator button to go up, waited for a moment, and as soon as the elevator arrived, he stepped in, carrying a briefcase in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.


    Turning around, as the elevator doors were closing, he saw a security guard nearby looking down at his phone, holding it horizontally in his hand.


    The elevator doors closed and it began to ascend quickly.


    After reaching the floor where his company was located, Tang Zhengyi stepped out of the elevator, casually throwing his empty coffee cup into the bin next to it.


    As expected, most of his colleagues hadn¡¯t arrived yet, but there were some who usually came early. At the moment, a young woman eager to prove herself at work was boiling water in the break room, ensuring there would be hot water for others when they arrived.


    Carrying his briefcase, Tang Zhengyi walked through the main office hallway and glanced casually, noticing two male colleagues lying motionless on their desks, seemingly asleep.


    He was slightly taken aback, then nearly laughed upon realizing what was happening.


    There was no denying that the pressures of work were indeed great in present-day society. Young people worked day and night, striving to perform well in front of their bosses. Coming in early to tidy up their desks was also a chance to prove their dedication and hard work.


    But right now, it was obvious that these two guys hadn¡¯t slept well the previous night. They had woken up early and could even sleep on their desks.


    With a shake of his head and a smile, Tang Zhengyi had no intention to wake them. Since it was still about an hour away from the official work time, he thought it was best to let these youngsters rest a bit longer.


    He entered his office, and as the editor-in-chief of the branch, Tang Zhengyi had his own private office.


    Pulling open the blinds and looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city that was just waking up, Tang Zhengyi felt the last bit of drowsiness leave his body.


    He stretched his neck and limbs in front of the window, turned around, walked to his desk, switched on his computer, then went to place his briefcase in the cabinet, and hung his coat, which he had taken off upon entering the office, onto the coat rack.


    By this time, the computer had booted up, and a message popped up from the bottom right corner of the screen. Tang Zhengyi, who was about to clean his cup, paused and leaned down to read the content of the message. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You have received a work prompt from Li Yaqin: Please watch the following video, the link is below¡­¡±


    Tang Zhengyi was momentarily stunned. Usually, such work-related messages were used for internal communication within the company, and no one would send messages to other colleagues without a good reason.


    He clicked on the link and a loading screen appeared, followed shortly by a video window.


    Sitting in his chair, Tang Zhengyi watched closely and found the imagery somewhat familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.


    After pondering for a moment, he realized it was the recent viral video of the Possession Spirit, but the footage being played was something he had never seen before; it must be a new upload.


    With his interest piqued, Tang Zhengyi set down the cup he was holding, planning to clean it after watching the video.


    In the video, figures with hunched backs and heads bowed closely approached Ding Jun. When the four people were all present, they extended their hands, joined them, and stood together.


    Just then, Tang Zhengyi¡¯s phone, which was lying next to the computer, suddenly rang. He looked at it and saw it was another editor colleague.


    But instead of pausing the video, he picked up the phone with one hand and pressed the answer button, bringing the phone to his ear.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Zhengyi, where are you?¡± came a rather anxious male voice from the other end.


    Tang Zhengyi casually replied, ¡°In the office, I came in early.¡±


    The other party suddenly gasped and almost screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t turn on the computer! Don¡¯t watch the video! Don¡¯t open any video links!¡±


    Tang Zhengyi was stunned for a moment, looking at the video which now showed three of the four hand-in-hand people collapsed, with only Ding Jun still standing.


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m watching a video, it¡¯s the follow-up to that viral Possession Spirit video¡­¡±


    ¡°No, close it, close it, shut the video off¡­¡±

 Chapter 600 - 600 383 Video Dissemination_3

    ?Chapter 600: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination_3 Chapter 600: Chapter 383: Video Dissemination_3 Tang Zhengyi¡¯s words were cut off before he could finish.


    At this moment, Ding Jun in the video had straightened his back and was walking towards the camera lying on the ground.


    On the other end of the phone, after repeatedly telling Tang Zhengyi to turn off the video, the breathing was rapid but then went silent, listening carefully for any noise from this end.


    After a while, with no response, the person on the phone felt their heart rise to their throat and still didn¡¯t speak, just listening for any unusual sounds.


    A moment later, Tang Zhengyi¡¯s voice resounded, ¡°It¡¯s off.¡±


    ¡°Phew!¡± The man on the other end let out a long sigh of relief and began, ¡°Thank goodness you turned it off in time. The other colleagues just told me that Ding Jun in the video, that is, the Possession Spirit, can transfer possession through the video to viewers. I heard some colleagues have already been affected¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tang Zhengyi was so frightened his face turned pale, his forehead breaking out in a cold sweat, ¡°Directly through the video, isn¡¯t that¡­ directly hitting the ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel?¡±


    The call was abruptly hung up, obviously done in haste, probably due to some emergency.


    Tang Zhengyi was still holding his phone, tilting his head to look at the computer screen. He hadn¡¯t closed the video, he had just paused it.


    At this moment, in the frame, Ding Jun had almost fully approached the camera, bending down to peer into the lens, but his ghastly pale face had not completely obscured the screen.


    Tang Zhengyi didn¡¯t dare to look any longer. He immediately unplugged the computer¡¯s power source, and the screen went black.


    Tang Zhengyi stood up, took his coat from the rack and put it on, took his briefcase from the cabinet, and walked out of the office.


    Because it was still early, no other colleagues had arrived at the company since his arrival. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Walking down the hallway of the office lobby at this moment, Tang Zhengyi suddenly felt a mysterious chill.


    He abruptly stopped, looking around. Aside from two early arrivals dozing off at a nearby desk, there was nothing unusual.


    ¡°Dozing off?¡±


    Tang Zhengyi seemed to realize something, panic coloring his face as he gazed at the two people lying motionless on their desks.


    ¡°Are they¡­ actually asleep? Or¡­ have they already watched the video?¡±


    With that thought, he shivered and quickened his pace toward the company¡¯s exit.


    During this time, he kept an eye on the two lying figures, believing he could sprint to the company¡¯s entrance at the slightest movement on their part.


    Just then, a voice suddenly came from the other side. It was the young girl who had just joined the company and was eager to prove herself.


    Tang Zhengyi paused, then remembered there were other people in the office, besides the two lying figures, including this girl on her probation period.


    ¡°Teacher Tang¡­¡±


    The voice was soft and gentle as if the person speaking was too, but in the current environment, it sounded eerily floating and haunting.


    Tang Zhengyi¡¯s heart felt a bit numb. Following the voice, he slowly turned his head towards the direction of the break room.


    There, beside a coffee machine, stood the young girl in business attire, back towards him, head slightly lowered.


    ¡°Xiaoxiao?¡± Tang Zhengyi exclaimed in surprise, warily watching the girl¡¯s silhouette.


    The girl named Xiaoxiao moved, beginning to turn slowly to face Tang Zhengyi.


    ¡°Teacher Tang¡­¡±


    From Tang Zhengyi¡¯s perspective, he could faintly make out the girl¡¯s mouth seemingly stretched into a grin, revealing her teeth.


    She reached out her hand, beckoning Tang Zhengyi, ¡°Come, take my hand.¡±

 Chapter 601 - 601 384 The Struggle for Ku Zai

    ?Chapter 601: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai Chapter 601: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai Tianmeng Science University.


    After his morning class, Yan Junze had just picked up his books and left the classroom when his phone began to vibrate in his pocket, the moment he was out of the range of the mobile signal blocker.


    He glanced at his phone, it was a call from Zhang Xiaomo. As soon as he answered the call, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s urgent voice came through, ¡°Junze, something terrible has happened.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yan Junze asked with a start, standing in the corridor at the classroom entrance, his brow furrowing.


    ¡°If someone sends you a video, don¡¯t open it. Don¡¯t watch any videos,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice was grave, ¡°A Possession Spirit can spread and possess the viewers through videos.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­ it replicates itself through this method?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s killing people, killing indiscriminately. Anyone who watches the video and becomes possessed dies, without exception.¡±


    ¡°What is its purpose? Do you know?¡± Yan Junze guessed it had something to do with the viral video linked to the phrase ¡°No Action, No Death¡±.


    ¡°Not clear yet, but my dad said the headquarters is currently analyzing the situation to see if it has anything to do with a powerful Possession Spirit that the Great Capital branch in the USA has been looking for recently,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    ¡°Where are you now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Heading to ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ video¡¯s Tianmeng Branch, the area has been cordoned off,¡± Zhang Xiaomo seemed to be hurrying, her breath slightly labored as she spoke.


    Taken aback, Yan Junze said, ¡°If they¡¯re worried about the video spreading, why not just shut down the video company¡¯s servers?¡±


    ¡°The video has already been downloaded and spread,¡± replied Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Although we blocked the server and banned the official ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ website as quickly as possible, netizens have already downloaded the video, and it¡¯s circulating wildly online. Web monitors and security agents are all on the move, catching and suppressing each instance, but people are still dying nonstop.¡±


    After a pause, Zhang Xiaomo added, ¡°We suspect some are using the video for revenge, but it has a high chance of causing collateral damage. Right now, all public place video advertisements have been stopped, and we¡¯re tracking down the source of the video to see how to contain it.¡±


    ¡°Got it, I understand,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    He hung up the phone and looked up to see rows of electronic screens in the middle of the school¡¯s teaching building, with lines of red text on black background popping up.


    ¡°Emergency notice, emergency notice, this announcement is jointly issued by the Tianmeng Security Bureau and the Exorcist team. All teachers and students are advised to refrain from playing any videos of unknown origin from now on. Do not click on video links out of curiosity, as your life could depend on it. Everyone must take this seriously and try to inform family, friends, classmates, and those around you.¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed that the phone signal had vanished again. It seemed that a comprehensive signal blocker had been activated throughout the school, for fear that some students couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to click on the video.


    When Yan Junze returned to his dormitory, he found Fat He Bishou appearing totally unsettled, constantly patting his chest, with his phone cast aside on the desk, screen down.


    ¡°Did you watch that video?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Fat He nodded, ¡°Just now¡­ I was watching it when I heard the broadcast and quickly turned it off. I¡¯m not sure if it was off. Anyway, at the moment I closed the video, I flipped my phone screen down onto the desk.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at the phone lying face down on the desk and leaned in to listen for any sound from the video.


    ¡°There¡¯s no sound. The video volume is very low. I had turned it up to maximum, but I could barely hear a bit,¡± said Fat He.


    Yan Junze glanced at him and asked, ¡°What was shown in the video?¡±


    ¡°It picked up right where the last video ended, with Ding Jun possessed and meeting up with his three teammates. The four of them stood together, holding hands, and then the other three fell, leaving only Ding Jun standing. That¡¯s when I heard the broadcast and panicked, dropping my phone,¡± Fat He recounted, still shaken.


    Yan Junze reached out and touched the phone on the desk. Fat He hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t pick it up. I¡¯m not sure if the video was actually turned off. What if it¡¯s still playing?¡±


    Yan Junze pressed the power button on the side of the phone, holding it for a few seconds, and then forcibly restarted the device.


    He handed the phone back to Fat He, ¡°It¡¯s okay now. After restarting, delete the video you downloaded right away, so you don¡¯t accidentally open it again.¡±


    After stuffing his textbooks into a drawer, Yan Junze added, ¡°I¡¯m going to step out for a while. Notify Huahua and Zhao Zheng not to randomly open unknown videos.¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure.¡± Fat He pinched the phone between two fingers, as if it contained a demon possibly ready to leap out and claim his life any moment.


    Yan Junze left the dormitory and hurriedly made his way to an off-campus rental house.


    At the same time.


    Ku Zai sat in his rental house browsing through news on his phone, his interests predominantly revolving around strangenesses, likely due to a long-standing habit.


    That was also why he followed several popular paranormal exploration videos and had discovered the one where the Possession Spirit could possess viewers through the camera.


    Just then, he received an email. He opened it and found it to be from an anonymous sender, mass-mailing a video link.


    He casually opened the link and an emergency notice popped up on his screen just as he did so. Because the notice and the clicked link appeared almost simultaneously, the video that opened was overlaid by the notice the moment it appeared. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 602 - 602 384 The Struggle for Ku Zai_2

    ?Chapter 602: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai_2 Chapter 602: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai_2 Ku Zai didn¡¯t notice and continued watching the video.


    Next door, in the rented room, Xiang Er sat on the edge of her bed with a book, engrossed in reading it.


    The book was titled ¡°Scent of a Woman,¡± and she read it methodically, carefully parsing each word.


    About four to five minutes later, a strange sensation drew Xiang Er¡¯s attention away from the book. She lifted her gaze towards the wall, which separated her room from Ku Zai¡¯s.


    Xiang Er set the book down and slowly stood up, a hint of puzzlement in her eyes.


    After a couple of seconds, her expression suddenly changed, and she exclaimed, ¡°Not good!¡±


    She dashed to the door, flung it open, and bolted out like lightning. She pushed open the door to Ku Zai¡¯s room and saw him hunched over on a chair, head hanging down, not looking up even as she suddenly barged in.


    Her eyes moved down and saw that Ku Zai¡¯s hand was still holding the phone with its screen lit, but the video had ended, leaving the screen in a black state.


    Through Xiang Er¡¯s eyes, Ku Zai was shrouded in streams of black energy that excitedly flitted across his skin and surged within his body as if they had discovered a treasure.


    Xiang Er stepped forward and placed her palm on Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder. The surrounding black energy shuddered violently and began to churn in disorder.


    But it was only a momentary disturbance before the black energy wrapped around Xiang Er¡¯s arm, attempting to invade her as well.


    In the previous video, the people who became possessed after watching it would hold hands with another person, seeking the best body to possess. Subsequently, the discarded bodies would be abandoned by the black energy and turned into corpses.


    This physical contact was another method for the Possession Spirits to select their ideal host after spreading through the video.


    Now that Xiang Er had touched Ku Zai, it was only natural for the black energy to seize the opportunity to invade her. Her body was special and to the Possession Spirits, an excellent vessel for possession.


    However, her perfect corpse seemed less tempting compared to Ku Zai¡¯s body at that moment.


    At this instant, as the black energy was invading Xiang Er¡¯s arms, it was because it felt a powerful force attempting to eradicate it.


    This black energy was extremely potent, far beyond what Xiang Er had anticipated.


    Xiang Er, who initially intended to force the black energy out of Ku Zai, now found that not only was it not retreating, but it was also counterattacking.


    Xiang Er realized that her own strangenesses were powerless to repel this black energy. She pressed her right hand firmly on Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder and then infused her perfect corpse¡¯s Corpse Spirit power into it.


    Inside her, the power of Ugly Girl¡¯s strangenesses surged to its peak, seeming to inflate her perfect corpse¡¯s body.


    And with the perfect corpse¡¯s additional power, that formidable force managed to stave off the black energy that was spreading up her arm.


    But that was all it could do.


    Xiang Er was taken aback, realizing she had underestimated the power of the Possession Spirit. She gritted her teeth and desperately summoned all her strength, squeezing every bit of her body and inner strangenesses to their limits.


    Visibly, the long hair that belonged to Ugly Girl and blanketed her body now pierced through her skin due to the extreme exertion of power, densely covering her and looking quite terrifying.


    Her entire body trembled slightly, indicating she was pushing her limits to keep up the fight.


    She was utterly confused. She expected not to encounter any strangenesses more powerful than herself, and if they were indeed that powerful, she should have had a premonition.


    She had no idea where this Possession Spirit had come from, how it had found Ku Zai, and why she only sensed the anomaly after it had successfully possessed him. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this point, Xiang Er didn¡¯t know if she could still save Ku Zai or if he had been completely corrupted by the Possession Spirit.


    She recalled what Zhang Xiaomo had once mentioned: some very powerful Possession Spirits, once they achieve possession, leave the person unsalvageable even if they no longer need the host.


    In other words, at the moment of successful possession, that person was already dead, beyond salvation.


    And now, Xiang Er was competing with the Reaper, attempting to snatch Ku Zai¡¯s life from death¡¯s grasp.


    Her body shook violently, and circles of invisible ripples spread from her as the center, pushing tables, chairs, cups, and dishes outward, shattering them all over the floor.


    Despite her efforts, Xiang Er could only barely hold off the black energy from creeping up her arm.


    Ku Zai remained head-down, oblivious to the fact that Xiang Er was on the brink of collapse.


    However, this stalemate also meant that the black energy hadn¡¯t fully permeated Ku Zai¡¯s body.


    Over ten seconds later, Yan Junze arrived at the bottom of the apartment building, glanced at the second floor, and felt an ominous sensation. He sprinted toward the staircase, thundering up to Ku Zai¡¯s room.


    He grabbed the doorknob and pushed hard, but the door of the rented room wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Putting more strength into it, he pushed again, and this time the door nudged slightly. However, it was as if a massive force inside was resisting, making it impossible to open.

 Chapter 603 - 603 384 The Struggle for Ku Zai_3

    ?Chapter 603: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai_3 Chapter 603: Chapter 384: The Struggle for Ku Zai_3 At this moment, Yan Junze had already sensed a strong magnetic field of strangeness spreading and churning within the house. He knew Xiang Er and Ku Zai were inside; although he was unaware of the specifics, he was certain the current situation was extremely dangerous.


    After finding the door to the tenant house immovable, he immediately took a step back, released the Black Spirit Umbrella from the node of the Spacetime Atlas by gripping the handle with both hands, and pointed the tip towards the house¡¯s door while pressing the switch.


    With a swoosh, the tip of the umbrella shot out, followed by a black chain that thrust into the door of the tenant house with a thunk, firmly embedding itself in the door panel and hooking onto it.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, pressed the button to retract the chain again, and then fiercely spread his arms. Because the chain was hooked onto the door panel, the entire umbrella crashed towards the door.


    With a loud bang, the framework of the Black Spirit Umbrella, made of a super-strength alloy, was exceptionally hard. With this violent thrust, the flimsy door panel shattered into wood dust and chunks, falling to the ground.


    Yan Junze stepped forward, picked up the Black Spirit Umbrella, and looked inside the house.


    He saw Xiang Er, who was no longer recognizable as human. Her skin was pierced all over by her own hair, penetrating her clothes, transforming her into a hairy figure trembling uncontrollably while engaged in some kind of confrontation with an object suspected to be ¡°Ku Zai¡±.


    The air inside was extremely murky, like a lump of paste, violently surging outward from the center where Xiang Er was. No wonder the door to the tenant house wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Holding the Black Spirit Umbrella in front of him, Yan Junze stepped into the room. The wave of air surged towards him to push him back, but the umbrella, with its ventilated middle section, diverted the airflow, lessening the pushing force.


    Yan Junze quickly made his way to the middle of the room. At that moment, Xiang Er noticed his arrival. Her lips trembling, she uttered a phrase unclearly, ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ hold on much longer, you¡­ get out of here!¡±


    It was then that Yan Junze noticed Xiang Er¡¯s arm draped over Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder, locked in a standoff with a mass of black energy, neither yielding to the other.


    ¡°Can you shake off this mass of black energy?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    As he spoke, he felt his own voice become muffled within the thick air of the room.


    But Xiang Er could still hear and answered, ¡°I can, but it¡¯s very dangerous.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Shake it off and leave it to me, hurry!¡±


    Xiang Er hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the umbrella he was holding and refrained from further comment.


    Mustering all her strength and capitalizing on the momentum of the black energy, Xiang Er abruptly retracted her force and created a fierce magnetic field in front of her to block the black energy that sought to follow through on its attack.


    Bang!


    A sound like a muffled thunderclap filled the air, and Xiang Er¡¯s body was flung backward, flying out of the doorway that was now only a frame, and crashing onto the corridor outside the house.


    Yan Junze could not afford to take care of her. He opened the Black Spirit Umbrella and took a step forward, enveloping both himself and Ku Zai underneath.


    The timing from when Xiang Er withdrew her strength and was thrown backward to when he stepped forward was perfectly coordinated, not a second wasted.


    The Black Spirit Umbrella had now enveloped Ku Zai.


    Inside the umbrella, a wild scream, a seductive female silhouette, and a flash of energy from the Black Spirit Pearl appeared. At that moment, it seemed as though the space within the umbrella had become another world, with tumultuous waves and no light from sun or moon.


    The black energy inside Ku Zai trembled wildly, suddenly lowered by several inches, then was yanked up by an enormous suction force, causing Ku Zai¡¯s whole body to tense up as if wound tight by a spring.


    At that moment, the black energy began struggling, resisting, roaring¡­


    The next second, another large mass of black energy was ripped from within Ku Zai¡¯s body, right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes under the Black Spirit Umbrella, where it was kneaded by the three forces inside the umbrella into a black sphere.


    With a boom, it burst!


    The Black Spirit Umbrella shook violently, a buzzing sounded in Yan Junze¡¯s ears. His whole body wobbled, engulfed by the blast before being released.


    The black energy dissipated, leaving no trace. The Black Spirit Umbrella remained undamaged, but the umbrella holder¡¯s face was now pitch black and disheveled.


    Looking bemused, Yan Junze lowered his head and saw that Ku Zai lay slumped on the ground, unlike himself; perhaps Ku Zai¡¯s fall had spared him from the brunt of the force¡¯s impact.


    He felt a soreness on his face but was not injured.


    Looking around, he confirmed that the black energy had been completely stripped from Ku Zai¡¯s body and had dissipated after the violent collision with the three forces inside the umbrella.


    Next time, though, he should be smarter. For a clash of forces of this level, he should not stand there foolishly watching with the umbrella open; he should stay as far away as possible!


    Still shaken, he forgot to close the umbrella, his gaze fixated on Ku Zai lying on the ground. He thought to himself, what level of strangeness did you provoke, young man?


    Ku Zai¡¯s body was still faintly moving, seemingly unharmed.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart jolted, his eyes pausing on Ku Zai¡¯s phone that had fallen under the bed.


    The phone was off, but it wasn¡¯t a normal shutdown. Instead, it was the deceptive black screen that appears after a video finishes playing, even though the screen was still lit.


    Seeing the turned-on phone, Yan Junze surmised what had happened.


    Yet the thought that followed still terrified him.


    This Possession Spirit transmitted through video was ridiculously strong!

 Chapter 604 - 604 385 Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)

    ?Chapter 604: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words) Chapter 604: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words) The loud noise just now startled the other residents, and the landlady living on the first floor was also scared out of her wits, frantically running upwards.


    Xiang Er, due to her strong constitution, was likely unharmed by just an impact.


    Yan Junze quickly lifted Ku Zai from the ground and placed him on the bed. Just as he was about to turn around and check on Xiang Er outside, the landlady¡¯s scream came from outside the room.


    The middle-aged woman cried out in terror, ¡°It¡¯s terrible, someone¡¯s dead!¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, and in a few steps, he walked out of the shabby door only to see Xiang Er curled up on the ground, having reverted to her original appearance, with her hair already receded back.


    But at this moment, our landlady was already scared pale, one hand pressing on the position of Xiang Er¡¯s carotid artery, her whole being hysterical, frantically shouting.


    There was no helping it, this was her house after all, and now that someone was apparently dead, it directly threw the landlady into complete chaos.


    Xiang Er was curled up on the ground, with no pulse in her carotid artery and skin ice-cold; from any aspect, it proved that she was as dead as one could be.


    So it was certain that the landlady was frightened at the moment.


    Only when Yan Junze stepped forward and sensed for a moment, did he find that Xiang Er¡¯s familiar magnetic field was still there and very stable.


    He calmed down.


    Xiang Er was originally very strong, and even if the impact of the black gas struck her after she withdrew her hands, it might not even have caused her any injury.


    The landlady, seeing Yan Junze come out, bellowed, ¡°Look at what you¡¯ve done¡­ What the hell are you guys up to? How did you blow up the house? And killed someone to boot! My God, what am I going to do¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you get up by yourself?¡± Yan Junze spoke, but not to the landlady. Instead, he was addressing the curled-up Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er opened her eyes, propped herself up with her hands, and slowly sat up, nodding slightly, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± The landlady was taken aback, almost jumping up, and looked at Xiang Er in terror.


    ¡°She has a condition, she gets ice cold all over when she¡¯s stressed.¡± Yan Junze explained and then pointed inside the room, ¡°They were using the gas stove just now and there was an accident, but nobody is hurt, I¡¯ve checked. I¡¯ll compensate you for the damages here, not a penny less.¡±


    Compared to someone being blown to death and the house damaged, causing her heavy losses, the landlady was more inclined to believe Yan Junze¡¯s ¡°reasonable¡± explanation.


    As long as the house was still intact, no one dead, and she had no losses, everything could be handled.


    The landlady¡¯s expression became puzzled, and she took a serious look at Xiang Er again. She wanted to reach out and touch Xiang Er but, after some thought, withdrew her hand.


    The other tenants also gathered around, peering into the doorway. They saw a person lying on the bed, and kitchen utensils scattered all over the floor, the wooden chairs and table toppling, but the room itself was not damaged.


    It indeed looked as if something inside had exploded.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s all fine, everyone disperse.¡± The landlady, fearing bad influence from her rental would make it hard to lease out again, hurriedly waved her hands.


    At this time, Xiang Er had already walked into the room as if nothing had happened and sat on the edge of the bed, looking towards Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai¡¯s complexion was as pale as paper, his brows deeply furrowed, looking to be in pain, barely stopping himself from moaning.


    ¡°His magnetic field is very chaotic.¡± Turning her head, Xiang Er whispered to Yan Junze.


    ¡°You sort out his magnetic field.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°His body is not injured.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded, and by now, the fierce landlady had chased off the onlookers downstairs. Soon she poked her head through the doorway, not entering, and asked, ¡°That friend on the bed, he isn¡¯t in any trouble, right?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No trouble, he just fainted from the scare.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good, drink more hot water.¡± The landlady squeezed out a smile, ¡°Be more careful with electricity and gas in daily life.¡±


    After a pause, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to come clean up around here.¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a smile, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll cover the cleaning costs, thank you for your trouble, sorry about this!¡±


    The landlady left.


    Yan Junze returned to the bedside, picked up Ku Zai¡¯s mobile phone, and checked it; sure enough, the phone was on and still in video playback mode.


    But the video had already finished playing, and Yan Junze turned off the phone directly.


    Addressing Xiang Er, he asked, ¡°The Possession Spirit, why was it so powerful? You could only just hold your own against it.¡±


    At that moment, Xiang Er was reaching out to hold Ku Zai¡¯s forehead and replied, ¡°That wasn¡¯t the Possession Spirit¡¯s true body, just an¡­ Avatar. It must have used some sort of medium to transfer this Avatar onto Ku Zai.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback.


    Xiang Er continued, ¡°This Avatar is connected to the main body, and when I confronted it just now, I could feel the strength of the main body, it was terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Just an Avatar, and it was already so formidable!¡± Yan Junze exclaimed, shaking his head.


    At that moment, he was reminded of the altar in the Great Capital of the USA, where a powerful Possession Spirit had been summoned, and also recalled the other Dark Poison Possession Spirits affiliated with it.


    Those Possession Spirits were also capable of using electronic signals, causing people at the Exorcist Brigade in Huaying Great Capital to succumb to the Dark Poison and die.


    Now he wasn¡¯t sure whether the true body of the black gas from just now was an underling Possession Spirit or the even more powerful Possession Spirit summoned from the altar.


    If an underling Possession Spirit was already so formidable, how terrifying must that summoned Possession Spirit be?


    Before long, the landlady had someone come to clean the debris and found someone on the street corner to make a cheap replacement door and install it.

 Chapter 605 - 605 385 Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_2

    ?Chapter 605: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_2 Chapter 605: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_2 Ku Zai had also come to his senses, but he looked somewhat listless.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s words, he needed several hotpot meals before he could fully come back to life.


    In the landlady¡¯s words, he needed to drink more hot water.


    Yan Junze left Xiang Er to take care of Ku Zai for the time being while he stepped outside the hallway to call Zhang Xiaomo.


    No sooner had he taken out his phone than its ringtone sounded off, signaling an incoming call. Checking the screen, he discovered it was He Yun, his contact from the Exorcist task force.


    Once the call was connected, He Yun¡¯s voice came through, her speech rapid, giving the impression she had a lot more calls to make.


    ¡°Yan Junze, you have been assigned an emergency mission. Please immediately proceed to Huadu Building in Tianmeng City. The building is currently under lockdown, and two Exorcist squads are en route. Your task is to assist them by shutting down the computer server on the 20th floor,¡± she said.


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised, but quickly grasped why the server needed to be shut down and asked, ¡°Why not just cut off the main server for the ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform altogether?¡±


    ¡°Their company¡¯s Tianmeng Branch server is separate and not controlled by the main server,¡± He Yun explained.


    ¡°Then why not cut the power to the entire building?¡± Yan Junze asked again.


    ¡°We did, but the building¡¯s backup power has automatically activated. If it hadn¡¯t, we wouldn¡¯t have sent two Exorcist teams: one to shut down the backup power, and another to go upstairs and shut down the server,¡± He Yun patiently clarified.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze seemed to realize something and quickly asked, ¡°Wait, is Zhang Xiaomo also there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve already rushed over,¡± came He Yun¡¯s response. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is she with Guo Youliang?¡± Yan Junze asked, concerned.


    ¡°Five-star Exorcist Guo Youliang is currently at Tianmeng Lide Middle School. A large video teaching session was happening, but the operator accidentally opened a video of strangenesses that has been banned from spread,¡± He Yun said. ¡°Guo Youliang must guard there, as Lide Middle School has become the most severely spirit-possessed area in all of Tianmeng City.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way to Huadu Building immediately!¡± Yan Junze declared.


    From his response, He Yun seemed to glean his concern for Zhang Xiaomo and added, ¡°Zhang Xiaomo is teamed up with the four-star Exorcist Yao Zhongyong. Huadu Building is also seriously invaded by Possession Spirits. Although we have evacuated a part of the people, there is still an unknown number of people possessed. Therefore, both teams we dispatched are led by four-star Exorcists, the only two in Tianmeng.¡±


    After hanging up the call, Yan Junze gave Xiang Er a shout to look after Ku Zai and transferred some money to Xiang Er¡¯s phone with his mobile, instructing her to compensate the landlady.


    Stepping outside, he quickly opened the Shunfeng Papapa app and booked a car. About five minutes later, a silver hatchback arrived, and Yan Junze got in.


    Rather than driving off immediately, the driver checked his phone, extended the screen towards Yan Junze, and said, ¡°I just saw the news. The area you¡¯re heading to has been blocked off, and many streets in Tianmeng City are locked down today.¡±


    ¡°Just drop me off at the nearest block, and I¡¯ll walk from there. Please hurry, driver!¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    The sedan drove off.


    Before long, they entered the Tianmeng City zone, and unexpectedly, the city wasn¡¯t congested today¡ªthe streets bore few cars, and pedestrians were even more scare.


    Conversely, there was an increase in Safety Officer patrol cars, and occasionally, one could see teams of Exorcists patrolling, with Safety Officers interspersed within their ranks.


    As they neared the block where Huadu Building was located, roadblock signs appeared on the road, with temporary yellow caution tape pulled out ahead.


    Two Safety Officers in yellow vests, holding stop signs, waved them in the middle of the road.


    ¡°This is as far as we can go,¡± shrugged the driver.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll get out here at the curb.¡±


    After paying the fare, Yan Junze stepped out of the car and headed in the direction of Huadu Building.


    He had only taken a few steps when a Safety Officer approached and held out his hand to stop him: ¡°Sir, this area is temporarily off-limits. You can detour from another location.¡±


    Yan Junze took out his Exorcist Travel Permit, and the Safety Officer paused, then smiled and said, ¡°One moment, please.¡±


    The officer pulled out a device and scanned the permit with it, then checked the screen on the device.


    Soon the officer nodded politely: ¡°Alright, Exorcist sir, you may pass.¡±


    The Shunfeng Papapa driver was now turning the car around. Seeing Yan Junze pull out something, which made the previously obstructing Safety Officer immediately greet him with a smile and let him through, the driver couldn¡¯t help but look on curiously.


    After Yan Junze had walked a few steps further, the Safety Officer couldn¡¯t help but say to another officer, ¡°It seems quite serious, huh? Not just two groups of Exorcists have gone in, but there¡¯s also been no fewer than four individual Exorcists heading there alone.¡±


    ¡°They might be part of another group,¡± his partner replied.


    Yan Junze faintly heard their conversation as he quickened his pace into the block.


    About two minutes later, Huadu Building came into view. Another five minutes of walking brought him to the building¡¯s main entrance.


    There was normally a security booth at the entrance, but it was empty now. Instead, two Exorcists stood one to each side of the door, both looking to be at least two-star.


    In front of the entrance, five people stood, with four of them lined up in a row. Hearing footsteps, they all turned around to look at Yan Junze.

 Chapter 606 - 606 385 Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_3

    ?Chapter 606: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_3 Chapter 606: Chapter 385: Open Your Eyes (Part 1) (5000 words)_3 The crew-cut man standing at the front facing the four seemed to be the leader. Upon seeing Yan Junze, he bellowed, ¡°Are you the Semi-Spirit Exorcist?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, remembering he was no longer a Semi-Spirit, something he apparently hadn¡¯t reported to the team.


    But he was too lazy to explain now, so he nodded.


    ¡°Quickly join the team, we¡¯re only waiting for you,¡± the crew-cut man still barked.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace and saw that each person had a small backpack on the ground, which contained a flashlight, lighter, multifunctional army knife, and other items.


    There was one backpack left unclaimed, which must have been his spot. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He walked up to the backpack and stood still, looking at the crew-cut man.


    The man was looking at a phone in his hand, which seemed to hold information on these people, and he said, ¡°My name is Gao Meng, and I¡¯m leading our team of Semi-Spirit Exorcists this time. According to the instructions from above, we will enter the sub-level two to assist another team in shutting down the backup power supply. Time is of the essence. I can¡¯t be bothered to remember your names. I will give each team member a number, starting with number 1 here, ending with number 5. Remember your own number, as I will issue commands directly by calling your number.¡±


    With this, he glanced back at the emergency light in the corner of the building¡¯s lobby, which was on.


    ¡°The emergency light is on, indicating the backup power supply hasn¡¯t been shut down. The team on sub-level two might have run into some trouble, and we need to go in quickly to lend assistance,¡± Gao Meng turned back, his voice resonant, ¡°I suggest that starting from the moment we enter the building on sub-level one, everyone should transform into the Semi-Spirit State to avoid any sudden contingencies.¡±


    He then turned and walked toward the entrance of the building, saying, ¡°Follow me, and without my command, no one should act rashly.¡±


    Yan Junze was the last to arrive, numbered 5.


    He glanced sideways and saw the four people standing next to him, each looking calm, apparently all experienced Semi-Spirits who had encountered various dangers.


    No one spoke, and the group followed Gao Meng in single file.


    The lobby on the first floor was relatively bright, but the deeper inside they went, the dimmer the light became, with only the emergency lights at the corners providing illumination. Even without using flashlights, they could still see.


    To be safe, Gao Meng had everyone take out flashlights to light the way.


    Suddenly, number 4 spoke up, ¡°My vision is extraordinary; I don¡¯t need a flashlight.¡±


    Number 4 was a woman, about one meter sixty, but with a petite and very proportionate figure.


    Gao Meng turned to look at her briefly. He did not speak and did not insist further.


    When they reached the entrance to sub-level one, Gao Meng turned around and said, ¡°Everyone initiate your Semi-Spirit Body transformation, and follow me down.¡±


    As he finished speaking, his own demeanour abruptly changed, his eyes turning red, and the aura around his body became wildly violent. His voice, initially normal, gradually transformed into a thick and muffled growl.


    Number 1 was a somewhat overweight man. He staggered forward as if he were drunk. When he turned around, his face had completely decayed, his body starting to swell.


    Number 2 was a middle-aged man who sat down on the ground. Opposite to number 1, his body rapidly withered away, making his clothes seem exceedingly loose. He tightened the waist and trouser legs of his special suit and with a leap, he was gone from sight.


    Yan Junze looked up to find the man now hanging upside down from the ceiling, his head tilted back watching the people below. Then, using all fours, he scurried to a corner of the wall and curled up motionless.


    Number 3, who seemed only slightly older than Yan Junze, maybe not yet twenty, turned around, his back to everyone. Suddenly, his body flipped upside down and he began walking on his hands, his waist making cracking sounds as it twisted. Simultaneously, a sandpaper-like grating voice eked out from his throat as he took on this strange posture and crawled forward following Gao Meng.


    Number 4, the woman by Yan Junze, glanced at him. She seemed to have no physical changes and simply walked towards sub-level one.


    Yan Junze smiled and followed down the staircase.


    At the same time.


    Ku Zai was sitting on the bed in the rental room. Although his face was still pale, he was able to move on his own and was recovering quickly.


    Xiang Er was outside in the corridor, settling the costs of the damages with the landlady. Ku Zai just sat on the bed, watching them without doing anything.


    Suddenly, the screen of Xiang Er¡¯s phone on the chair by the bed lit up, catching Ku Zai¡¯s attention.


    Turning his head, his eyes landed on the lit phone, which at the moment was prompting for a password.


    Quickly, to his surprise, Ku Zai found that the screen for entering the password disappeared, revealing the phone¡¯s main screen.


    Then, as if someone were operating it, the browser popped up.


    In the browser¡¯s address bar, letters rapidly formed, piecing together into a string of URL.


    This URL was entirely unfamiliar to Ku Zai.


    After the URL appeared, a new page opened, unexpectedly leading to a video site¡¯s specific page.


    It showed that the video was buffering.


    Ku Zai felt something was wrong. He tried to brace himself against the bed¡¯s edge, struggling to reach the phone to turn it off, but his body was too weak, and he couldn¡¯t reach it right away.


    ¡°Xiang¡­ Xiang Er¡­ Sister¡­¡±


    Ku Zai was even more panicked, and with a forceful effort, he fell off the bed, his arm hitting the chair and knocking off the phone, which fell to the floor right before his eyes.


    The video had finished buffering. Instead of starting from the beginning, the playback jumped ahead in time.


    In the video, four people were holding hands; three of them lay in the bushes, and the remaining one walked silently towards the camera, getting closer and closer, with that pale face enlarging on the screen.


    ¡°Xiang¡­¡±


    Ku Zai was scared witless, clamping his eyes shut and his throat emitted hoarse shrieks nonstop.


    Crack!


    In the next second, Xiang Er¡¯s foot came down, crushing the phone playing the video and emitting sparks, with the screen instantly going black.

 Chapter 607 - 607 386 Open Your Eyes (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 607: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2) Chapter 607: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2) ¡°`


    Xiang Er, who was outside the house, was speaking with the landlady. Ku Zai¡¯s cry for help was soft, and the landlady had a loud voice, so he wasn¡¯t heard the first time.


    When she sensed something was wrong, she turned her head to look and dashed into the room, not even having time to close the door. She lifted her foot and crushed her own phone under it, then helped Ku Zai back onto the bed and sat him down again.


    Ku Zai was still in shock, sitting on the bed with his soul not yet settled.


    The landlady stood at the door with a confused face, and after a while, she couldn¡¯t help but mutter under her breath, ¡°Just playing with a phone, was there a need to smash it like that? This woman¡­ tsk tsk¡­¡±


    The landlady had just fixed on a compensation amount, which Xiang Er felt was too high and had not compromised. It seemed she had to reduce it a bit, lest she upset this young woman capable of crushing a phone with a single stomp.


    After settling Ku Zai, Xiang Er went back outside. The landlady wore a smiling face, like a blossoming flower: ¡°Miss Xiang Er, we can still discuss the compensation fee. It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, don¡¯t be angry!¡±


    Xiang Er was taken aback for a moment, then she turned her head to look at the shattered phone on the floor inside and exclaimed, ¡°I just forgot, how can I transfer the money to you now that my phone is broken?¡±


    ¡°No worries, you can transfer it tomorrow,¡± the landlady waved her hand.


    A short while later, after the landlady left, Xiang Er turned back into the room, sat down on the edge of the bed, and asked Ku Zai, ¡°How did the phone turn on?¡±


    Ku Zai shook his head, and with a bitter tone, he answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just turned on by itself. I didn¡¯t touch anything; I couldn¡¯t even reach the phone.¡±


    A look of surprise appeared on Xiang Er¡¯s face as she walked over to the table where they usually ate, picked up Ku Zai¡¯s own phone, and examined it carefully for any abnormalities.


    While holding the phone beside Ku Zai, about to ask him further, Xiang Er felt the phone in her hand vibrate slightly. Looking down, she saw that the phone, which was powered off before, now had its screen lighting up, starting up¡­


    Ku Zai obviously saw this scene too, and his expression once again turned to one of panic.


    The phone quickly booted up, and then proceeded to open the browser and start typing a webpage URL on its own¡­


    Xiang Er held down the power button but to no avail. The video webpage opened, showing a video buffering¡­


    Xiang Er looked up at Ku Zai, and he quickly looked back at her.


    With no other choice, Xiang Er pressed harder on the phone. A crack sounded, the phone bent inward, and the screen buffering the video went dark and cracked.


    ¡°It seems that for now, we can¡¯t allow any electronic products with screens that connect to the internet to be near you,¡± Xiang Er said.


    Ku Zai tightened his clothes around his body, his neck shrinking slightly. He said nothing.


    Given his constitution, the possibility of being targeted by such strangenesses was very high, so there was nothing surprising about it. During this special period, he had to be on guard at all times.


    But the power of the Possession Spirit was truly terrifying, as it managed to interfere with electronic signals and directly forcibly switch on a smartphone.


    Ku Zai was very frightened now, fearing that any moment of carelessness could lead to him being possessed by that entity again.


    Before long, Xiang Er brought Ku Zai his Magnetic Shielding Clothes, but he only put them on without turning the switch on; it was a just-in-case measure.


    Even if he were to activate it, it would likely only be when going outside.


    ¡°Just wait inside the room, don¡¯t touch anything; I¡¯ll go out and borrow a phone,¡± Xiang Er quickly said as she left and shut the newly installed door behind her.


    Upon reaching the ground floor, she borrowed a neighbor¡¯s phone and dialed Yan Junze, but soon the call feedback indicated that the other party¡¯s mobile phone was unreachable.


    It could be that there was no signal on that end.


    Huadu Building, Level B1.


    Indeed, at this moment, all the mobile phones carried by everyone were without signal.


    Yan Junze followed behind woman number 4, while in front was man number 3 crawling in a bizarre posture with his body inverted, and man number 2 scaling the ceiling silently, their whereabouts unknown. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fat man number 1 was closely following the team leader Gao Meng.


    Together with Yan Junze, there were six people in total, with only Yan Junze taking out a flashlight.


    It¡¯s not that the others, having become Semi-Spirits, all had night vision.


    Yan Junze guessed that probably only woman number 4 and Gao Meng had night vision, because the woman had earlier stated she didn¡¯t need a flashlight, and Gao Meng¡¯s eyes, after his transformation into a Semi-Spirit Body, had become blood red, presumably also granting him night vision.


    As for the other three Semi-Spirit Bodies, they might have had certain bodily functions amplified after their transformation, replacing eyesight with enhanced senses like smell and touch.


    And the one turned into a mass of rotten flesh, Yan Junze felt this guy might be of a tank-type; even if other senses weren¡¯t enhanced, he could rely on his hefty body to withstand certain attacks.


    The eerily quiet group of half-human, half-strangenesses individuals passed through the corridor of Level B1. To get to Level B2, they first had to cross Level B1; the stairwell entrance was supposed to be straight ahead.


    Entering a spacious cargo hold filled with some unopened equipment, it was unclear what exactly was inside.


    At this moment, they had no time to care about that. Yan Junze swept his flashlight casually over them, and then aimed the light at the stairwell leading down to Level B2.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go this way,¡± Gao Meng, leading the way, turned his head to look back.


    Yan Junze saw his blood-red eyes seemed to glow as he spoke, his lips writhing to reveal that his teeth had become sharp and white.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 608 - 608 386 Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_2

    ?Chapter 608: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_2 Chapter 608: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_2 As they approached the staircase to the sub-second floor, the man labeled No.2 who was crawling on the ceiling suddenly let out a hiccuping noise, as if two rows of teeth were frantically grinding against each other.


    Everyone looked up, and Yan Junze shone the flashlight at him to find the guy obviously on guard, looking toward something at an angle in the near distance.


    Following his gaze, the flashlight beam moved forward, sweeping over the ceiling and down the wall, and to the right of a stack of wooden boxes, there lay a person face down on the ground, motionless.


    This person was dressed in orange work clothes and seemed to be a repairman, but it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.


    After a slight hesitation, Gao Meng ordered, ¡°First go down to the sub-second floor.¡±


    Their purpose in coming here was to turn off the backup power supply. On the premise of not affecting the completion of the mission, there was also the responsibility to rescue any survivors.


    But now, the sub-second floor was clearly the most important. No matter what, they needed to execute the main task first. Only after ensuring the main task could be completed would they consider rescuing any survivors who had not died.


    All of them no longer paid attention to the repairman. Under Gao Meng¡¯s lead, they quickly reached the staircase and were just about to go in when Yan Junze, walking in the rear, suddenly had a premonition. He halted, immediately turned around, and shone the flashlight back to where they had discovered the repairman.


    Under the flashlight beam, they saw that the repairman, who had just been lying down, had now slowly risen, his movements somewhat stiff as if his limbs had lost their agility.


    The others noticed Yan Junze stop and also halted their steps, turning their heads to look at everything revealed in the flashlight¡¯s glow.


    The repairman had now stood up, but his appearance was odd. His head was completely drooping to the right on his shoulder, unable to leave it. If it slid down, it might well drop directly onto his chest.


    When the repairman got up, he was completely facing away from everyone. He slowly turned his body in that strange posture to face the group.


    ¡°He might have died from a broken neck,¡± declared the woman labeled No.4.


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, ¡°This is probably not a Possession Spirit, but a repairman who accidentally died in this building.¡±


    Gao Meng agreed with this speculation and instructed, ¡°No.2, keep an eye on him. If he approaches us, take him out immediately.¡±


    The man on the ceiling, No.2, turned his body around and lay there, motionless.


    The rest continued their descent down the staircase toward the sub-second floor.


    Emergency lights were placed at intervals along the sides of the staircase. Yan Junze glanced back to see that No.2 had not followed them. Instead, heavy footsteps resonated from the first sub-level.


    Suddenly, there were sounds of a scuffle followed by a muffled roar and No.2¡¯s distinctive giggling noise.


    Gao Meng didn¡¯t pay attention to the sounds behind them and said, ¡°From here everyone must be careful. A team of Exorcists has already gone down ahead of us, led by the four-star Exorcist Lin Guo. They should have completed the task the fastest, at least faster than the team shutting down the server above, but the backup power supply has not been turned off until now.¡±


    After a pause, he continued, ¡°Something must have happened down here, causing even the four-star Exorcist Lin Guo to encounter difficulties. But I don¡¯t believe they would fail here. Everyone, from now on, be vigilant and careful.¡±


    Everyone remained silent.


    Gao Meng turned his gaze to Yan Junze and the No.4 woman by his side, ¡°Don¡¯t be overconfident. It¡¯s time to activate your Semi-Spirit Bodies.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the No.4 woman seemed to vanish with a whoosh. Yan Junze glanced to the side and saw that the woman, who had just been solid, had now turned into a human-shaped black shadow, with her long hair fluttering without any wind.


    The next second, as the woman took a step forward, her shadow turned into a black spectral entity again, but with the next step, the entity dissolved into a shadow once more.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback, feeling that this Semi-Spirit Body was quite impressive with its mix of the tangible and intangible, striking unexpectedly!


    He noticed Gao Meng¡¯s blood-red eyes shift toward him. Without haste, he held the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand and gave Gao Meng a slight nod.


    ¡°Transforming the umbrella?!¡± Gao Meng¡¯s pupils contracted slightly, his mind filled with doubts as he murmured to himself.


    They quickly descended the stairs, with Gao Meng still in the lead. The group of people passed through a slightly damp corridor and walked into a spacious hall.


    Though called a hall, the area was littered with electrical boxes and thick, winding pipes that crisscrossed overhead, emitting steam.


    To reach certain places, they had to climb up temporary steel staircases, sometimes ascending or descending a few steps, making the space on the sub-second floor complex and interwoven.


    After carefully climbing a few steel stairs, Gao Meng halted. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because the passageway with steel railings was narrow and about three meters above the ground, Yan Junze¡¯s flashlight couldn¡¯t illuminate what lay ahead, and it was unknown what had happened.


    Suddenly, the No.4 woman cocked her head and said, ¡°There seems to be something below the staircase in front.¡±


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Some black shadows,¡± the No.4 woman replied, shaking her head. ¡°I can¡¯t see very clearly.¡±


    As she finished speaking, her body turned into a shadow, passing through the Semi-Spirit in front and positioning herself beside Gao Meng.


    Immediately, the No.4 woman¡¯s body trembled slightly as she stared toward the area beneath the steel staircase ahead of them.


    There stood about five people, with their shoulders touching, forming a circle. Their faces couldn¡¯t be seen, nor could their figures be distinguished.


    It wasn¡¯t because of the darkness that they weren¡¯t visible. For Gao Meng and the No.4 woman, seeing in the dark was as if it were daylight.

 Chapter 609 - 609 386 Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_3

    ?Chapter 609: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_3 Chapter 609: Chapter 386: Open Your Eyes (Part 2)_3 The faces of these five people could not be seen because they were wrapped in one, or even several, layers of shadow. These shadows undulated like smoke, enveloping the individuals while emitting a constant stream of black mist.


    Woman No. 4 had exceptional eyesight, even better than that of Gao Meng; upon closer inspection, she noticed these five people weren¡¯t still but were shivering slightly, suggesting they might still be conscious or struggling, yet they were unable to break free.


    Gao Meng said, ¡°This must be the previous Exorcist team, let¡¯s go, but don¡¯t touch anything for now.¡±


    As he spoke, he and Woman No. 4 took the lead in descending the metal staircase. In reality, Woman No. 4 was the most elusive and quickest among them, being the first to stand beside the circle of shadows formed by the five figures.


    As soon as Yan Junze saw these shadows, he pretty much understood the situation.


    The aura emitted by these shadows was almost identical to the black mist that had possessed Ku Zai in the rental house earlier¡ªonly now, it appeared that the energy from this mist possessing five humans was much stronger.


    It seemed that it wasn¡¯t a single Possession Spirit but several that had combined together.


    From the circle formed by these five people, the others quickly noticed something amiss: the circle wasn¡¯t complete but had formed hastily amid an emergency situation.


    One end of the circle protruded where the person in the first position had raised their right arm. They had merely placed their left hand on another person¡¯s shoulder while raising their right arm high as if preparing to do something. But in this situation, they were completely held at a standstill by the black mist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything; the Possession Spirit is formed from this kind of black mist,¡± Gao Meng said, raising his hand to stop them.


    In fact, no one would dare to touch it; those with Semi-Spirit Bodies must have all witnessed similar scenarios.


    Man No. 1, who was obese, stumbled over to the figure with the raised right arm, looked up, and then pointed in its direction.


    The others looked up and saw there was an electrical switch with a green light on beside it, indicating it was currently operational.


    ¡°The electrical switch!¡±


    Gao Meng¡¯s eyes brightened, knowing that must be the emergency power switch. Otherwise, the trapped Exorcist team wouldn¡¯t have been standing in that spot, especially the person in the first position, who was likely trying to operate the switch.


    ¡°You have to press the red button beside the switch before you can pull it down,¡± Woman No. 4 said.


    However, the switch was placed high up, and even with arms stretched high, it was still slightly out of reach. It was unclear how it had been designed that way.


    Gao Meng turned to Man No. 3, who walked with his body twisted backward. Without a word, Man No. 3 quickly scaled the wall.


    As Man No. 2, who was climbing the ceiling, had not returned, Man No. 3 was left with the strongest climbing ability, despite his awkward posture.


    Once close to the wall, with limbs and dislocated joints, he rapidly ascended the wall in a backward posture.


    Reaching the electrical switch, he followed Woman No. 4¡¯s instructions, first pressing the red button and then gripping the switch, preparing to pull it down when suddenly his body shook violently.


    Under the light of Yan Junze¡¯s flashlight, a mass of black mist surged out from the switch and quickly spread toward Man No. 3¡¯s arm.


    Man No. 3¡¯s body immediately showed a stress response of a Semi-Spirit Body, as bone spurs burst through his skin at the joints, covering his entire body in a horrific form.


    But even in this form, he could not escape the spread of the black mist.


    Woman No. 4 instantly shifted into a shadowy state and leaped, reaching a height beyond that of an ordinary jump. Her shadowy arm solidified, grabbing Man No. 3¡¯s inverted ankle and yanking him down fiercely.


    Man No. 3 fell immediately, but his arm trailed even longer and thicker black mist, which swiftly enveloped him.


    At that moment, as a Semi-Spirit, Man No. 3 was not simply wrapped by the black mist but was directly devoured and began to rapidly dissolve. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing something was wrong, Woman No. 4 let go upon reaching the ground, but the black mist formed its arm and violently grasped at her arm, seizing her firmly. The black mist then spread to her body.

 Chapter 610 - 610 387 Open Your Eyes (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 610: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3) Chapter 610: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3) Nobody knew that the place where the electrical switch was located actually concealed a Possession Spirit shrouded in dark energy, and there was more than one of them. By the looks of it, it was impossible to touch that switch.


    The man designated as number 3, completely engulfed by the dark energy, let out violent screams and struggled incessantly, but the more he struggled, the tighter the dark energy wound around him, already having dissolved half of his body.


    At this moment, the woman designated as number 4 had also been wrapped by the dark energy around most of her body; she immediately turned her body into a shadowy figure and quickly retreated two meters away.


    But it was visible to the naked eye that even her shadow was stained with some of the dark energy. This dark energy formed a hand that firmly gripped her.


    Upon restoring her physical form, the dark energy surged over her again, and number 4 turned into a shadow once more, retreating again.


    The other Semi-Spirit Bodies also retreated one after another, seeing that number 4 could not shake off the Possession Spirit but also not daring to make contact.


    After all, not everyone had a body capable of shifting between corporeal and incorporeal like number 4, and if they were touched by the dark energy, they feared the outcome would be the same as those five shadowy figures standing to the side.


    The situation had become very unfavorable for their own side.


    Rewind!


    Time went back to the moment when everyone had just approached the five people enveloped by the dark energy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, the Possession Spirit is formed from this kind of dark energy,¡± Gao Meng raised his hand to warn everyone.


    At this time, the rotund man designated as number 1 staggered over, stretching out his thick fingers towards the switch above,


    Before the others could speak, Yan Junze said, ¡°Don¡¯t touch that switch yet, it seems a bit strange.¡±


    Then he pointed at the five people entangled by the dark energy, ¡°They must have been trying to touch the switch, but in the process, they were attacked by a large amount of dark energy, which is the Possession Spirits. I reckon there are at least ten Possession Spirits attacking them, but for now it¡¯s just a stalemate; these team members seem to have not been completely eroded.¡±


    ¡°I believe we should first turn off the switch, complete the mission and then think of a way to rescue them.¡±


    Gao Meng was not a rash person, belonging to those who are bold yet careful. Seeing that Yan Junze made some sense, he didn¡¯t immediately order actions based on his own thoughts, but instead spoke in a tone of discussion.


    ¡°See his hand?¡± Yan Junze pointed to the man closest to the switch below, who had his right hand raised, ¡°This person might have touched the switch, the people behind are trying to rescue him, and then¡­ everyone got trapped.¡±


    As he finished speaking, Yan Junze moved closer, the dark mist rose faintly, nearly reaching his body.


    Seeing this, the others silently squeezed their palms, sweating nervously.


    Then Yan Junze looked up and continued, ¡°Each one of them has placed a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them, which is not likely to be an impulsive act in a moment of urgency, but rather deliberate.¡±


    Following that, his gaze swept over each of the five people wrapped in the dark energy, finally resting on the second person behind the one with a raised arm.


    He walked over, bent down to take a closer look, and then Yan Junze looked up and said, ¡°This person¡­ should be the four-star Exorcist, Master Lin Guo.¡±


    Gao Meng¡¯s eyes flashed with a hint of bloodthirst, and he walked over.


    ¡°Master Lin Guo should be able to hear me speaking now,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°He wanted to stop us from touching that switch too, but the situation here has reached a deadlock, and he can¡¯t warn us.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that Master Lin Guo had these team members touch shoulders one by one to jointly stop the invasion of the Possession Spirit?¡± Gao Meng caught on.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Because of the sudden incident, some team members were suddenly eroded, and there¡¯s definitely more than one. That¡¯s why Master Lin Guo came up with this last resort, to temporarily save these people¡¯s lives while waiting for rescue.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Gao Meng blurted out, feeling like the mantle of team leader had already shifted at this moment.


    The others also looked towards Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was stroking his chin, not speaking for a moment.


    He also couldn¡¯t find a better solution at the moment. After pondering, he looked up at the Exorcist standing near the switch below, with one hand raised.


    While everyone else was touching the shoulder of the person in front of them, because he was dealing with the switch, only one hand was touching the shoulder of the person in front, while the other was raised, possibly unable to lower it by then.


    Yan Junze walked over with the Black Spirit Umbrella in his left hand, thumb resting on the button to open the umbrella, and stretched his right hand toward the upraised palm.


    The other Semi-Spirit Bodies were startled by this action, not understanding Yan Junze¡¯s intentions, but there was no doubt that doing so would be extremely dangerous.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, although these five people had formed a closed loop, this place was the entry point as well as the exit, and perhaps only through here could the Possession Spirits be guided out.


    Either that or it required overwhelming strangeness with a powerful magnetic field, such as letting Guo Youliang deal with it.


    But obviously, they couldn¡¯t wait for Guo Youliang to come now.


    Taking a deep breath, he prepared to open the Black Spirit Umbrella with his left hand at any moment, while his right hand slowly, very slowly, approached the raised palm of the other person.


    Just before touching it, the dark energy of the Possession Spirit had already detected Yan Junze¡¯s hand; the dark energy rose and enveloped his fingers, and immediately spread towards him.


    Because he hadn¡¯t made contact, although he felt a pulling force, Yan Junze¡¯s objective was achieved, and he immediately withdrew his hand.


    The pulling force of the dark energy began to intensify, not letting him get away easily, and more dark energy surged along his arm.


    ¡°This is¡­ a Possession Spirit,¡± Yan Junze felt the number of Possession Spirits rushing towards him and guessed, but then he denied himself, ¡°Two of them, two Possession Spirits. No, there are three.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The opposing side¡¯s Possession Spirits quickly amounted to three, but in between, the connection did not break, and instead, the tail of the dark energy was tightly wound around the source of the dark energy encircling the five people, not breaking off even as Yan Junze retreated.

 Chapter 611 - 611 387 Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_2

    ?Chapter 611: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_2 Chapter 611: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_2 At this moment, Yan Junze dared not open the Black Spirit Umbrella, because these guys were connected head to tail. Who knew if their powers were united, and if he rashly opened the umbrella, it was unknown whether it could eliminate so many Possession Spirits at once.


    However, after a test just now, he could confirm that as long as he got involved, at least two or three Possession Spirits would latch onto him.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound to before Yan Junze touched the person with the raised arm. He turned back and asked Gao Meng, ¡°Brother Gao, when the time comes, can you strike directly and interrupt the black qi spreading towards me?¡±


    Gao Meng did not understand for a moment and looked at him in surprise.


    Yan Junze explained, ¡°I plan to draw out a small part of the Possession Spirits, and I¡¯m confident I can break them one by one. Just help me block the subsequent Possession Spirits without touching them, preventing these guys from swarming out. Just don¡¯t direct all their attention towards me.¡±


    Understanding, Gao Meng asked, ¡°Are you confident you can kill them?¡±


    Yan Junze raised the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand but said nothing.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Gao Meng nodded. His body slightly swelled, his blood-red eyes shone even brighter as he fixed his gaze on Yan Junze¡¯s movements, ready to spring into action.


    After signaling to Gao Meng that he was about to start, Yan Junze stretched out his right hand and slowly reached towards the raised arm.


    Just like before the Rewind, the black qi had already begun to spread before his fingers could fully touch the other person.


    With experience from before, Yan Junze sensed quickly, and soon his arm was entwined with black qi.


    He immediately retreated, as did the other Semi-Spirit Bodies, while Gao Meng watched his movements unblinkingly.


    ¡°Now!¡± Yan Junze suddenly said.


    Gao Meng¡¯s blood-red pupils flared brightly, and the things in front of him seemed to twist under the Blood Gleam.


    Heeding Yan Junze¡¯s words, he didn¡¯t touch the black qi with his hands. Clearly, this method consumed a great deal of his energy, but the power was just as astonishing.


    The Blood Gleam seemed to possess a cutting function, forcibly splitting the affected magnetic field.


    Yan Junze sensed that there were exactly two Possession Spirits on his side. He signaled Gao Meng to stop, and immediately opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, enveloping his body within.


    Under the umbrella, three forces converged to create a powerful repelling and crushing force, squeezing the two struggling and frantically colliding Possession Spirits into two black spheres that burst with a bang.


    This time, Yan Junze was prepared. Though he was holding the handle of the umbrella, he immediately stepped aside. The blast of air buffeted him so fiercely that he could hardly open his eyes, and he ended up disheveled, though it was much better than if he had been unprepared.


    With two less Possession Spirits on the other side, the situation seemed a bit more relaxed. Of the five people originally standing still, the second one, the four-star Exorcist Lin Guo, moved slightly. It was evident that his arm was slowly lowering.


    However, despite moving, it was still very slow and labored.


    ¡°One more time!¡± Yan Junze said.


    Gao Meng nodded without hesitation.


    Because he had to block the Possession Spirits from a distance, he had exerted all his might, consuming a lot of energy and momentarily unable to speak.


    But Gao Meng was clear that he could only trigger the ¡°Blood Gleam¡± one more time, and this Semi-Spirit Body would likely fade away.


    However, there was no time to worry about that now. Judging from the reactions of the five people, they were close to breaking free, and Yan Junze¡¯s strategy clearly worked well.


    Just as he was about to touch the raised hand again, a wave of black qi spread toward him.


    Yan Junze lingered for a moment before retracting his hand, and as the suction occurred, more black qi began to envelop him.


    This time it felt intense. Yan Junze sensed that there was a bit too much black qi. Without time to think further, he immediately said, ¡°Cut it off now!¡±


    Gao Meng¡¯s Blood Gleam erupted immediately, the blood-light-enshrouded magnetic field trembled, blocking the Possession Spirits that continued to surge towards Yan Junze.


    This time, however, it was clearly not as easy as before. Gao Meng trembled all over, having used up all his strength, his mouth wide open, he emitted a deep roar.


    A hand formed of black qi, which was originally preparing to follow the previous black qi toward Yan Junze, seemed to be in pain under the Blood Gleam and quickly withdrew, and the black qi was finally interrupted. A large mass of black qi enveloping a Possession Spirit surged into Yan Junze¡¯s body.


    Yan Junze had already covered his whole body with the Black Spirit Umbrella once again.


    This time, he felt there were more than three Possession Spirits in this mass of black qi.


    Indeed, the original three forces inside the umbrella pressed down hard, and the mass of black qi was forcibly divided into four streams, forming four black spheres. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The four black spheres kept colliding, trying to break free, but the structure within the Black Spirit Umbrella, like an invisible net, made it impossible for them to escape.


    This time it took a little longer, about twenty seconds, before the four spheres burst one by one.


    Since the black qi had already detached from his body, Yan Junze let go of the handle of the umbrella altogether. The Black Spirit Umbrella eerily stood suspended in mid-air, not falling.


    Yan Junze stepped back a few paces, watching the four spheres burst one after another. The wave of energy released inside the umbrella did not reach him.


    However, after the four spheres exploded, it seemed that a smaller sphere was suddenly sucked into the umbrella and disappeared without a trace.


    Yan Junze was startled, walked over to grab the handle of the umbrella, and looked carefully, but found nothing amiss.

 Chapter 612 - 612 387 Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_3

    ?Chapter 612: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_3 Chapter 612: Chapter 387: Open Your Eyes (Part 3)_3 He collapsed the umbrella, and at this moment, Gao Meng, exhausted from the energy use, saw his Semi-Spirit Body slowly fade away. He sat on the ground, resting his back against the wall, gasping for air.


    Woman No. 4 stood by Gao Meng¡¯s side to protect him, cautiously guarding against any unexpected incidents.


    Looking back at the five people who were rigidly standing in the middle, it was apparent that at least half of the blackness had dissipated from their bodies, and each of them began to slowly move.


    The man in the second position still had remnants of dark air on his face, but his left hand was now completely free to move. He reached for his magnetic knife at his waist, drew it, and stabbed it into his own abdomen.


    The magnetic glow burst forth, piercing through his abdomen, and immediately, a painful roar exploded from within him, as a black shadow darted out. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man quickly pulled out the magnetic knife, twisted the handle with his left hand, and wiped the blade swiftly towards the escaping shadow, shattering it into nothingness with the magnetic glow.


    The dark air finally cleared from the man¡¯s face, revealing his features, it was Lin Guo, the four-star Exorcist.


    There was no wound on his stomach; what seemed like a suicidal move actually caused no physical harm.


    Holding the magnetic knife, Lin Guo¡¯s body regained movement. He activated the blade¡¯s glow to its maximum, and while his teammates were still dumbfounded, he went on to stab each of them, driving out the Possession Spirits that were still entrenched within their bodies.


    With the dark air completely gone, these teammates didn¡¯t actually have any wounds on their stomachs. As the Possession Spirits were driven out, they collapsed on the ground, sitting or lying down, panting heavily, temporarily unable to even walk.


    The glow of the magnetic knife was actually the most effective method for killing such Possession Spirits, but it required high intensity of magnetic force activation, at least by a four-star Exorcist. For a three-star Exorcist, the control over energy was much weaker. Even with the magnetic knife, they couldn¡¯t kill Possession Spirits as crisply as Lin Guo did, one by one.


    After resolving the immediate crisis, Lin Guo¡¯s face was a bit pale. The standoff had lasted too long, and if it weren¡¯t for his exquisite control over magnetic force, the other members of his team might have already been successfully invaded by the Possession Spirits.


    Despite this, it had been a close call.


    Clearly, Lin Guo had heard Yan Junze¡¯s words during the standoff, knowing that their escape was all thanks to the young man before him.


    So he immediately directed his gaze towards Yan Junze, and then towards the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand.


    Yan Junze made no attempt to hide anything, saying, ¡°This is a weapon made with reference to one provided by Uncle Zhang Chengjing of the Huaying District Headquarters.¡±


    While he explained, his gaze began to move away from the collapsed teammates on the floor.


    Not seeing Zhang Xiaomo among them, the worry in his heart intensified. It seemed Xiaomo might have gone upstairs to shut down the server; he wondered if there was even greater danger up there.


    Lin Guo didn¡¯t know what he was thinking but smiled upon hearing the name ¡°Zhang Chengjing¡±: ¡°You are Teacher Zhang¡¯s student, no wonder!¡±


    Yan Junze gestured dismissively, not offering too much of an explanation.


    Lin Guo pointed to the electrical switch: ¡°Don¡¯t touch that thing for now, it¡¯s been tampered with by strangeness.¡±


    Then, he swiftly looked around, ¡°When you guys came down, did you not encounter a very powerful Possession Spirit? Its distraction was what caused the brother here trying to switch on the power to be eroded by other Possession Spirits. By the time I acted to rescue them, I was already a beat too late.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t see it,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, and the others also shook their heads in turn.


    At that moment, something seemed to be crawling through the curved pipes overhead, rustling noises traveling along.


    All eyes immediately looked up and saw a gaunt man, crawling like an animal, stop just above their heads, tilting his head to look down at the people below.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of us,¡± Woman No. 4 quickly reminded.


    This newcomer was Number 2, who had been responsible for covering the rear in the encounter with the weird maintenance workers on the sub-first floor.


    Moving his focus away, Yan Junze suggested, ¡°If we can¡¯t touch the switch, let¡¯s destroy it outright.¡±


    If the switch were destroyed, the power supply would be disconnected, no different from cutting it off.


    ¡°Give me a Collapsing Hidden Buckle,¡± Lin Guo said to a young man sitting not far away.


    The young man couldn¡¯t stand up yet, but he immediately pulled out a Collapsing Hidden Buckle from his pocket and handed it over. Lin Guo caught it and threw it towards the switch.


    As the Hidden Buckle was about to make contact with the switch, a swirl of Black Spirit emerged from the middle, enveloping the Buckle and ¡°swallowing¡± it without a ripple.


    Even the Hidden Buckle hadn¡¯t reached the conditions to trigger, and it didn¡¯t scour outward.


    Everyone was stunned.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s being intentionally protected,¡± Lin Guo mused, looking at the magnetic knife in his hand. He couldn¡¯t guarantee that throwing it directly at the switch would not be similarly protected by the Black Spirit.


    But if he were to physically attack the switch with the magnetic knife in hand, the risk of electrocution was another matter. After all, destroying the switch relied on a physical attack, not the effect of the magnetic glow.

 Chapter 613 - 613 388 Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)

    ?Chapter 613: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words) Chapter 613: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words) Actually, the attacking effect of the Hidden Buckle is greater on strangenesses than on physical objects. At most, the resulting shock wave might cause damage to the items. In fact, its main targets are the strangenesses themselves.


    Using the Collapsing Hidden Buckle to damage the circuit breaker was a last resort, and its effect might not even be better than throwing a rock at it.


    Currently, the prerequisite is that the aim must be good, and the strength sufficient.


    Lin Guo stopped talking and lowered his head in contemplation, muttering to himself, ¡°Why is this guy¡¯s intelligence so high?¡±


    ¡°It must be trying to use the ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform to spread its Possession video further,¡± said the number 4 woman beside him. ¡°That¡¯s why it locked down the platform servers and the backup power in each district.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lin Guo shook his head, ¡°Right now, in the whole of Huaying Great Capital, only the Tianmeng and Aries districts¡¯ video platform branches have set up independent servers, the rest have been shut down along with the main server.¡±


    After a pause, Lin Guo continued, ¡°I wonder how many of these black Possession Spirits hidden within the circuit breakers there are. We might need to find that one from earlier¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, the walkie-talkie at his waist suddenly transmitted a voice: ¡°Exorcism Team 1 at Huadu Building, Exorcism Team 1 at Huadu Building, Exorcism Team 2 has successfully destroyed the server, mission complete. Exorcism Team 2 has successfully destroyed the server, mission complete.¡±


    Everyone was stunned for a moment, then their expressions became one of relief.


    Since the server upstairs had been destroyed and couldn¡¯t be rebooted, whether or not the backup power here was still on had become irrelevant.


    Lin Guo lifted his head, his expression relaxed, and after glancing at the team members lying on the ground, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh lightly and said, ¡°Since Team 2 has taken care of the server, and the mission is over, let¡¯s return immediately.¡±


    He had mistaken Yan Junze for the captain of the Semi-Spirit Exorcism Squad, and turned to Yan Junze, saying, ¡°Please have your people help our team members up.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to Gao Meng and inquired, ¡°Captain?¡±


    By this time, Gao Meng¡¯s Semi-Spirit Body had completely receded, and he himself could barely stand up, managing to walk with difficulty. Upon hearing the words, he nodded and said, ¡°Everyone go help, with Master Lin Guo here, we can dispel the Semi-Spirit Body and make it easier to tend to the other team members.¡±


    The number 4 woman was the first to return to solid form, went to the front, and helped up a frail male Exorcist Team member, wrapping her left arm around her own shoulder to support him as they moved forward.


    The number 1 overweight man patted his belly, indicating that his size meant greater strength.


    Gao Meng didn¡¯t say anything.


    Then, the number 1 man went over, picked up an Exorcist Team member with one hand and carried him at his waist. Although the position looked awkward, it was indeed efficient.


    The number 3 man who had been crawling in a flipped-over manner had also returned to normal and held another person, following behind the overweight number 1.


    It indeed wasn¡¯t easy to take care of Exorcist Team members while inverted.


    Lin Guo, carrying the magnetic knife, walked at the front of the group, behind him the number 4 woman supporting a team member, followed by the number 1 overweight man carrying two team members, and then the number 3 man supporting the last team member.


    Because of the excessive energy consumption just now, Gao Meng¡¯s body was still trembling slightly, he could only barely stand up and walk.


    After standing up, he looked up and said, ¡°Number 2, you can dispel your Semi-Spirit Body now, come and follow me.¡±


    His intention was to have someone help him up the stairs, as the steel staircase here was somewhat steep, but he didn¡¯t want to say it outright.


    However, the number 2 man seemed not to catch the hint and didn¡¯t come down.


    Yan Junze smiled faintly, walked over, supported Gao Meng¡¯s right arm, and still held the Black Spirit Umbrella in his left hand.


    ¡°Is it cooler up there?¡± Gao Meng grumbled.


    ¡°Thanks to you for blocking the black aura just now,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile. ¡°Are you still feeling okay now?¡±


    Gao Meng shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine after a half-day rest, no problem.¡±


    A rustling sound came from above, clearly number 2 was still crawling on the ceiling, following the group.


    Yan Junze kept the smile on his face, but spoke in a hushed tone to Gao Meng, ¡°Do you remember the powerful Possession Spirit that Lin Guo mentioned he saw here?¡±


    Gao Meng was startled, ¡°I remember.¡±


    ¡°That Possession Spirit might be inside number 2 right now,¡± Yan Junze spoke evenly, but his words greatly surprised Gao Meng.


    The words previously spoken by Lin Guo had inspired Yan Junze. Behind the whole affair, if it were a powerful and terrifying Possession Spirit causing mischief, able to spread Possession through electronic signals or videos, and the resulting Possession Spirits were also very strong¡­


    These Possession Spirits could further propagate Possession through electronic signals or by touching hands. By the time they reached the negative second floor of Huadu Building, it was hard to tell what generation of Possession Spirit they were.


    However, since Lin Guo had mentioned that he had seen another Possession Spirit even stronger than those black Possession Spirits earlier, it indicated that this one might very well be the mastermind behind everything happening on the negative second floor.


    Now, with this Possession Spirit nowhere to be seen, it couldn¡¯t simply vanish without a trace. Although Lin Guo was confident that even if the Possession Spirit appeared again, he could eliminate the adversary, this didn¡¯t prove that the Possession Spirit had to reappear in its previous form.


    After all, being able to lock down circuit breakers with black Possession Spirits demonstrated that the adversary¡¯s intelligence was decidedly non-trivial. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The maintenance worker strangeness that Yan Junze and the others encountered on the negative first floor seemed extremely ordinary at a glance, but the time number 2 took to kill it was unavoidably a little too long.

 Chapter 614 - 614 388 Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_2

    ?Chapter 614: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_2 Chapter 614: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_2 This was the beginning of Yan Junze¡¯s suspicion.


    ¡°It¡¯s biding its time,¡± Yan Junze continued in a low voice, ¡°We¡¯ll walk slower now, creating distance from the people ahead. I¡¯ll find an opportunity to strike and kill it. Once I make my move, you immediately get down on the ground and don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°But now Number 2 has a Semi-Spirit Body¡­¡±


    Gao Meng exclaimed, but before he could finish, was interrupted by Yan Junze, ¡°You¡¯ve never seen a strangeness possess another strangeness?¡±


    Gao Meng shook his head.


    The rustling noise above their heads continued, as if it was right above Yan Junze and his companion.


    ¡°A strangeness with much greater strength can possess another, but it will suffer magnetic field interference, and may experience after-effects,¡± Yan Junze said, pausing momentarily before continuing, ¡°However, this strangeness won¡¯t because it is a Possession Spirit, capable of attaching itself to humans. After becoming strong, it can do the same to other strangenesses and possibly to Semi-spirits as well.¡±


    By now, the noise above had disappeared.


    They had just reached the top of the last metal staircase onto a platform, and the stairs to the basement level lay ahead.


    Lin Guo, who was in the lead, was about to step onto the staircase.


    Yan Junze, feigning assistance to Gao Meng, intentionally fell behind a bit. In his left hand, he held the Black Spirit Umbrella with the tip pointed, albeit casually, towards the space directly above him and Gao Meng.


    An evil sensation rapidly approached; if not for Yan Junze¡¯s attention to the space above, he would not have sensed its arrival.


    He quickly lifted the umbrella, pressing the button on the handle. The umbrella fabric sprang open with a whoosh. The Number 2 man, who happened to jump down, was blocked by the suddenly deployed umbrella and landed on it.


    Before he had time to react, Yan Junze had already triggered the launcher in the umbrella handle.


    The dark, reflective metal tip of the umbrella shot out swiftly, its sharp point piercing into Number 2¡¯s body with a thwack, going right through¡ªI couldn¡¯t tell which part exactly.


    That sharp tip, taking Number 2¡¯s body with it, shot upwards, and the chain also penetrated his body, embedding itself into the surface of a huge pipe near the ceiling.


    And at that moment, Number 2 was hanging in the air like a skewered lamb.


    A mass of black energy churned out, seeping from his body¡¯s surface, forming a black figure approximately two people tall, which roared and dived at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was about to turn the umbrella fabric around so that the handle pointed upwards, aiming to let the creature plunge directly into the umbrella.


    The next second, the magnetic glow appeared, and a magnetic knife suddenly shot out, slashing three times in an instant, dividing the mid-air black figure¡¯s essence into three segments.


    The magnetic glow whirled, preventing it from reforming, and the Possession Spirit¡¯s magnetic field became chaotically unstable.


    The magnetic glow surged again, followed by several successive slashes.


    Then the magnetic knife withdrew, revealing Lin Guo¡¯s figure. Initially at the very front near the stairway to the basement floor, he had come back at some point unnoticed.


    ¡°Turns out it possessed a Semi-Spirit Body!¡± Lin Guo muttered to himself.


    He appeared to have forgotten the existence of this Possession Spirit, but had actually been on alert the whole time. Although unaware that Number 2 had been possessed, Lin Guo had been ready to act all along. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the situation at Yan Junze¡¯s side erupted, he didn¡¯t think twice and immediately returned to attack.


    At this time, Yan Junze still held the umbrella up and covered over it.


    The almost-shattered black shadow was trapped in the Black Spirit Umbrella, offering no resistance, its energy completely shredded.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he saw a small dot form within the Black Spirit Umbrella, but in a flash it was gone, reminiscent of the previous scene.


    If his guess was correct, killing a powerful strangeness seemed to allow the Black Spirit Umbrella to collect energy.


    He retracted the chain and the sharp tip of the umbrella fabric, and Number 2 fell from the air. His Semi-Spirit Body began to fade away, and the wound on his stomach had healed due to the Semi-Spirit¡¯s influence, leaving only a scar.


    However, because the Semi-Spirit Magnetic Field had been disrupted, it was possible that Number 2 wouldn¡¯t be able to use his Semi-Spirit Body again for some time.


    Yan Junze stowed the Black Spirit Umbrella and then turned to help him, while Gao Meng leaned on the railing, walking on his own.


    The group ascended to the basement floor and returned to the first floor.


    By now, Exorcists and a large number of security personnel were waiting outside the Huadu Building.


    After coming out, the injured were helped onto ambulances. Yan Junze looked around and did not see Zhang Xiaomo.


    Then he saw Lin Guo in serious conversation with another unfamiliar man.


    A bad feeling rose in Yan Junze¡¯s heart; he walked over quickly. The unfamiliar man looked up at him and asked in confusion, ¡°Are you Yan Junze?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Has Group 2 not come down? Haven¡¯t they completed the task of destroying the server?¡±


    The man spoke gravely, ¡°They have completed it; we detected the server has been destroyed and stopped running. But, we couldn¡¯t make contact with the people from Group 2.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed, ¡°So, you detected the server shutdown, but it wasn¡¯t Group 2 who informed you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the man replied with a worried tone, ¡°I¡¯m discussing with Lin Guo whether to go upstairs for support.¡±


    ¡°We must go, definitely go check,¡± Lin Guo declared decisively.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too, I have to,¡± Yan Junze also agreed, looking at the man, ¡°We¡¯re going up now.¡±


    He remembered that his contact He Yun had said the server was on the 20th floor of the Huadu Building.


    Lin Guo also said, ¡°Just Yan Junze and I are enough. Most of the team members are injured to varying degrees. Soldiers value quality, not quantity; more people might not be better.¡±

 Chapter 615 - 615 388 Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_3

    ?Chapter 615: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_3 Chapter 615: Chapter 388: Open Your Eyes (Part 4) (5000 words)_3 ¡°Okay,¡± said the man, who seemed to be temporarily in charge of the task at Huadu Building, but Yan Junze did not recognize him.


    In fact, he visited the Tianmeng Exorcist branch less often and was not very familiar with many people there, except for a few he regularly interacted with; he had at most a nodding acquaintance with the rest.


    And this individual before him, he had no recollection of at all.


    The man stopped them from using the stairwell and pointed to another side of the building, saying, ¡°The backup power can¡¯t support the normal operation of the elevators. Taking the stairs consumes too much time and isn¡¯t safe, so we had the Safety Bureau construct two fire ladders on the side to directly reach the 20th floor of the building.¡±


    This method was indeed effective, saving time and reducing the risks associated with traveling by stairs.


    Without a second word, Yan Junze and Lin Guo followed the man to the other side of the building, where indeed, two towering ladders had been erected. Below the ladders stood over a dozen security officers and a few lower-ranking Exorcists.


    Yan Junze and Lin Guo stood together as one of the ladders lifted them straight to a level parallel to the 20th floor of Huadu Building. Standing on the ladder, they looked forward and saw that a large, oval-shaped hole had been cut into one of the external glass walls with a special tool; it was large enough to step through without needing to stoop.


    The ladder slowly approached the cut-out gap, and when it was about a step away, Lin Guo went ahead, stepping into the building with Yan Junze following closely behind.


    The ladder then began to retract.


    At this moment, a voice came from the walkie-talkies at their waists: ¡°If you want to get down, you can call me ahead of time through the walkie-talkie, or you can simply press the green button on the side of the walkie-talkie.¡±


    This was the voice of the man responsible for the task at Huadu Building.


    Yan Junze had not previously owned a walkie-talkie; the man had given him one just earlier for better communication.


    The two were now inside a conference room.


    Because the glass wall had been opened to the outside and due to the cutting work that had taken place, the conference table was covered in dust. Chairs were overturned and scattered along the side of the wall.


    Lin Guo walked to the door of the conference room, took hold of the doorknob, and looked back at Yan Junze.


    Once Yan Junze stepped closer, Lin Guo pulled the door open and they walked out one after the other into the corridor outside.


    The corridor was somewhat dim, but because the backup power hadn¡¯t been cut, some lights were still on.


    However, some lights were flickering unsteadily, blinking on and off, and making popping sounds.


    Lin Guo glanced both ways down the corridor, then turned and said, ¡°This area belongs to the ¡®Open Your Eyes¡¯ office space. I just looked at the layout, and the room where the servers are located is down the hall to the left, at the very end after turning the corner. Let¡¯s head straight there.¡±


    Just as they were about to move, a sudden clatter came from the far right of the corridor, as if items within a pen holder had fallen to the ground, scattering all over. Then, faint gasping, thrashing, and struggling noises followed.


    The sound was faint, and if it hadn¡¯t been for the noise of objects dropping, drawing their attention this way, Yan Junze and Lin Guo might not have heard it. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two paused.


    Lin Guo looked in the opposite direction of the corridor leading to the server room and hesitated, ¡°Should we go together, or split up?¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°Actually¡­ it¡¯s all the same.¡±


    Lin Guo, not knowing that Yan Junze was referring to his Rewind ability that made either choice equivalent, stared at him somewhat dumbfounded, not understanding what he meant by that.


    Yan Junze offered no explanation and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I¡¯ll see what¡¯s happened. You go check out the server room. We¡¯ll contact each other through the walkie-talkie later.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Lin Guo asked, concerned.


    The sounds of the scuffle were now diminishing, slowly fading until they were no longer audible, likely coming to an end.


    Yan Junze waved his hand dismissively to signal that he was fine and quickly walked toward that direction.


    After some thought, Lin Guo gripped his magnetic knife and hurried off toward the server room.


    Following the sounds, Yan Junze felt they must be from an office diagonally across. After quickly covering some twenty meters, he pushed open the door opposite the corridor. This room seemed to be a reference room, but it was empty.


    He stepped back into the corridor and advanced a few steps to the next office door.


    Based on the prior distance, the source of the noise should be nearby here.


    This office was larger and had a transparent glass door with the company logo and office name stickered on it. Due to the dim light, he couldn¡¯t see inside very clearly.


    Upon opening the door, Yan Junze took out a flashlight, turned it on and walked a few steps inside. He then saw a brown pen holder lying there, its contents spilling across the floor in a variety of colors.


    To the right of the pen holder, a pool of blood was slowly seeping out from under a black desk, saturating the nearby pens and spreading outward.


    Yan Junze paused, then took another step forward, shining his flashlight towards it and seeing a familiar face¡ªit was Zhang Xiaomo.


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo was pallid, her eyes tightly shut, her body twitching unconsciously.


    A bullet hole was visible in her temple, oozing fresh blood intermittently.


    This scene caused Yan Junze to feel a chill spread through his body, as if falling into a dream; his entire body no longer felt his own.


    Without much thought, he was about to Rewind when he looked up and saw a woman slowly standing up behind the black desk next to Zhang Xiaomo, holding a still-dripping pen.


    The woman¡¯s hair was somewhat disheveled, her complexion as white as Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s. Her appearance shocked Yan Junze, prompting him to exclaim involuntarily.


    ¡°Ah, Xiaomo?!¡±

 Chapter 616 - 616 389 Open Your Eyes (Part 5)

    ?Chapter 616: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5) Chapter 616: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5) The scene before Yan Junze was something he had never expected.


    Lying on the ground, looking as if life was quickly fading beyond salvage, was Zhang Xiaomo.


    And the woman who had just stood up, holding a blood-dripping pen in her hand, was also Zhang Xiaomo.


    The two Zhang Xiaomos not only bore the same appearance, but their clothing was identical as well.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t discern any difference between them, especially when one of the Zhang Xiaomos was close to death.


    Clearly, the Zhang Xiaomo lying on the ground had sustained a fatal injury; she was convulsing from excessive blood loss and could no longer awaken.


    The standing Zhang Xiaomo, clutching the pen that was evidently the murder weapon, also looked petrified, as the pen in her hand trembled incessantly.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Junze? You¡­you¡¯re here! How did you get here?¡±


    Yan Junze did not approach but instead pointed at the Zhang Xiaomo on the ground, who was close to death, and asked, ¡°What is¡­what happened here?¡±


    The standing Zhang Xiaomo showed a frightened expression again, and, looking at the person on the ground, she said in terror, ¡°This Possession Spirit, it can copy humans!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was astounded, ¡°Copy humans!?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°It took my form, and had contact with other team members. By the time I discovered it, the three team members who were with me had already died. I don¡¯t know if it was this creature that killed them or some other Possession Spirits. Just now, having found it, we got into a struggle, and in a moment of desperation, I used this pen¡­ and pierced its temple.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s your magnetic knife?¡± Yan Junze asked, skeptical.


    ¡°I lost it,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Earlier, in the server room area, I encountered three powerful Possession Spirits. The four-star Exorcist Yao Zhongyong asked me to get out first. During that process, one of the spirits knocked the magnetic knife out of my hand.¡±


    ¡°Lost it?¡± Yan Junze stepped to the side so that he could get a clear view of the entire figure of Zhang Xiaomo lying on the ground.


    He noticed that this Zhang Xiaomo also didn¡¯t have a magnetic knife.


    ¡°You suspect me? Yan Junze, are you doubting me?¡± Zhang Xiaomo challenged.


    ¡°Sorry, in this situation, I have no choice but to doubt,¡± Yan Junze said candidly, ¡°Now, I ask and you answer. If you can answer my questions, maybe then I can believe you.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, ¡°Ask.¡±


    ¡°Where did we first meet?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°At your place, your home in FH Community in Shuntian City,¡± Zhang Xiaomo replied.


    ¡°What¡¯s in my shadow?¡± Yan Junze continued.


    ¡°Fang Ning. She¡¯s hiding in your shadow, waiting for an opportunity to take your life, to make you accompany her down there¡­ But,¡± Zhang Xiaomo paused, ¡°didn¡¯t my father design a weapon for you, transferring Fang Ning into your umbrella?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded; it seemed this girl was the real one.


    Actually, as soon as Zhang Xiaomo saw him and immediately called out his name, he could almost be certain that she was the real Zhang Xiaomo and not some doppelg?nger.


    ¡°Are you okay from just now?¡± Yan Junze asked with concern.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, stepping over the body of Zhang Xiaomo on the ground, ready to walk toward Yan Junze.


    At this moment, the body lying on the ground had ceased convulsions, evidently dead for good.


    Just then, Yan Junze suddenly commanded, ¡°Don¡¯t move! Stay right where you are!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zhang Xiaomo appeared puzzled.


    Her hair was disheveled from the fierce struggle with the person on the ground, her complexion was slightly pale, parts of her clothes were torn, and her chest was still heaving heavily.


    However, since Yan Junze told her not to move, she immediately retracted her stepping foot and didn¡¯t come over, instead looking perplexedly at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t looking at her, but was fixated on the body on the ground. After about a minute, he spoke up, ¡°If the person on the ground turned into a Possession Spirit, why hasn¡¯t it turned into black mist or dissipated in some special way characteristic of strangenesses by now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Zhang Xiaomo confessed, equally perplexed.


    Yan Junze looked up and pointed to her palm, ¡°Why are you still holding onto the pen? Why don¡¯t you throw it away?¡±


    With a clatter, the pen was tossed to the ground.


    At that moment, some of the long hair spread out on the ground from the body of Zhang Xiaomo, with portions pressed beneath her body while others were soaked in blood, suddenly stirred.


    After that movement, all of her hair seemed to writhe like earthworms, with the portion pressed by her body also emerging, covering the entire floor.


    This scene caught the attention of the two people inside the room, neither speaking, their eyes glued to the eerie unfolding event.


    The standing Zhang Xiaomo moved her lips and after a moment spoke, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was no transformation? Now there is one.¡±


    Yan Junze did not respond, but watched as the hair continued to wriggle for a moment until suddenly, all the hair gathered together as if an invisible hand was collecting it all into one place.


    From the midst of the bundled hair, a single thin strand emerged.


    This sight would have been impossible to see clearly if Yan Junze hadn¡¯t been shining the powerful flashlight directly on the dead Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s head.


    The strand of hair, upon emerging, suddenly soared into the air like a nimble serpent, darting toward the Zhang Xiaomo who stood closest, with her own hair as the apparent target. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 617 - 617 389 Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_2

    ?Chapter 617: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_2 Chapter 617: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_2 Zhang Xiaomo was startled and dodged back, extending her right hand and actually grabbing a hold of the long hair that seemed to be moving at a great speed.


    A black mist surged, and the hair twisted and struggled, but to no avail, quickly dissipating into nothingness.


    ¡°Rewind!¡±


    ¡°Damn! Dare to kill my Xiaomo!¡±


    The scene before his eyes shifted, and Yan Junze reappeared at the moment he had just entered the conference room through the gap in the exterior wall¡¯s glass with Lin Guo.


    He barely hesitated, immediately rushing in front of Lin Guo to pull open the door of the meeting room.


    The scene before the rewind he had seen all too clearly.


    Yan Junze could be sure that the standing Zhang Xiaomo was definitely not Xiaomo herself, although he didn¡¯t know why the other party had Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s memories and could engage in such fluent conversation with him.


    Even the posture and the way of speaking were exactly the same, making it extremely hard to find any flaws; he almost believed her.


    But he still firmly believed that the Zhang Xiaomo lying on the ground was the real one and the person who had killed her with a pen was undoubtedly a duplication by the Possession Spirit.


    First, the dead Zhang Xiaomo never transformed into black mist, which was completely different from the usual performance after killing a Possession Spirit¡ªthis point alone was enough to make Yan Junze suspicious.


    Secondly, although he didn¡¯t know why a hair that seemed to have come to life would emerge from the head of the dead Zhang Xiaomo, this hair was obviously attacking the standing Zhang Xiaomo.


    The counterattack of the standing Zhang Xiaomo seemed nonsensical to Yan Junze, and was nearly enough for him to confirm her true identity.


    That spirited hair just vanished into black mist between the fingers of this Zhang Xiaomo, right under Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    The real Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t have this ability; such method of attack was obviously the standard trick of a Possession Spirit.


    Perhaps, a Possession Spirit could replicate the body, thoughts, and memories of the person being copied, making it impossible for acquaintances to spot any flaws.


    Yan Junze could only guess this.


    Lin Guo, seeing him becoming so hurried after entering the building, couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled and quickly followed behind.


    Once Yan Junze entered the corridor, he immediately strode towards the office with the glass door.


    At this moment, the sound of a pen holder falling was heard.


    Lin Guo, who was behind, paused and prompted, ¡°There¡¯s someone over there!¡±


    Yan Junze had already rushed toward this office and pushed the door open; his flashlight shone on the side of the black desk.


    There, a Zhang Xiaomo was pinning another Zhang Xiaomo to the ground, holding a pen and stabbing towards her head.


    The Zhang Xiaomo lying on the ground was desperately resisting, kicking wildly, but it seemed she couldn¡¯t shake off the person on top in the short term.


    Just then, the eyes of the two struggling figures glanced over.


    ¡°Yan Junze!¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Almost in unison, the two shouted, ¡°Junze, come help quickly, it¡¯s a Possession Spirit!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Lin Guo¡¯s voice came from behind, clearly, the four-star Exorcist was also surprised, not expecting to witness such a bizarre scene.


    Yan Junze walked over with the Black Spirit Umbrella in hand.


    He glanced at both Zhang Xiaomos and then without hesitation, plunged the sharp tip of the Black Spirit Umbrella into the chest of the Zhang Xiaomo lying under and struggling.


    The tip of the umbrella pierced in an instant; the Zhang Xiaomo on the ground looked startled.


    The Zhang Xiaomo on top of her took the opportunity to drive the pen deep into her temple.


    This pen was a ballpoint pen.


    And at this moment, the Zhang Xiaomo lying on the ground was also holding a pen in her right hand, but this pen was the magnetic knife that Yan Junze had seen before the rewind.


    The situation had become very clear; this time he had entered a bit earlier, and it was during this time that the Possession Spirit, initially lying on the ground, had overpowered, reversing the positions and pinning down the previously dominant Zhang Xiaomo, then finishing her off with a magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze¡¯s guess was confirmed in just a few seconds.


    After helping Zhang Xiaomo up, the remaining one who had been stabbed by the umbrella began to tremble, turning into billows of black mist.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, immediately opened the Black Spirit Umbrella and absorbed all the rising black mist, then a small dot appeared and disappeared.


    The series of encounters and transformations had happened in the blink of an eye, too quickly; Lin Guo, following behind, hadn¡¯t fully grasped what had happened before the fight was over.


    The real Zhang Xiaomo was rescued.


    Holding Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, feeling the warmth from her fingertips further proved that the person Yan Junze had rescued was real.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I dropped my magnetic knife in the server room, Yao Zhongyong was alone holding off three strong Possession Spirits there, and I ran out with the other team members. Then we encountered Possession Spirits that could replicate humans, and we all got separated,¡± Zhang Xiaomo explained.


    But soon, her expression turned grim, ¡°I heard the other team members screaming, but I don¡¯t know if it was them or the Possession Spirits.¡±


    ¡°We have to find them one by one, dead or alive,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re sure the server has been destroyed, that means Yao Zhongyong is probably gaining the upper hand against the three Possession Spirits,¡± Lin Guo spoke at this moment. ¡°But I¡¯m still worried about his safety.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Then let¡¯s split up. Xiaomo and I will look for the rest of the team members, and you go to the server room.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Lin Guo agreed promptly, adding with concern, ¡°These Possession Spirits are very strange, just search this floor. If it goes beyond this area, give up and don¡¯t bother with it anymore.¡±

 Chapter 618 - 618 389 Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_3

    ?Chapter 618: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_3 Chapter 618: Chapter 389: Open Your Eyes (Part 5)_3 Both nodded.


    Lin Guo turned and left the office, heading swiftly towards the server room. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo was about to follow him into the corridor to start looking for team members when Yan Junze abruptly pulled her aside and asked in a hushed voice, ¡°In recent times, have you felt anything amiss? Like, is any part of your body feeling uncomfortable?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a second, then her cheeks flushed red, and she seemed to be pondering something. Biting her bottom lip gently, she shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m in very good shape; what do you want to ask?¡±


    Yan Junze watched her for a moment and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    He reached out, opened his hand, and slowly passed it through Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hair to the back of her head, then his fingers slid down along the ends of her hair.


    At first, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s body tensed up, and she involuntarily closed her eyes. But the next second, she snapped them open, looking awkward and extremely unnatural, and blurted out, ¡°Don¡¯t do this; the situation is urgent, we should go¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk,¡± Yan Junze interrupted her. His tone was not stern, even quite gentle, but Zhang Xiaomo immediately shut her mouth and stared at the man who was slightly taller than herself.


    Soon, Zhang Xiaomo noticed that as Yan Junze was caressing her hair, it wasn¡¯t with an expression of enjoyment, but rather a slight frown, sensing something as his fingers moved.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°Have you noticed anything unusual about your hair?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°No, not at all, it¡¯s been great. I always use Supple Shampoo.¡±


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°Stand still, don¡¯t move no matter what happens.¡±


    As he spoke, he took out the Black Spirit Umbrella in front of him, and then slowly began to open it inside the room, ensconcing Zhang Xiaomo under it as he did.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, whatever you feel, don¡¯t react. You¡¯re safe as long as you¡¯re under the umbrella,¡± Yan Junze reminded again.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t move an inch, her curious eyes arching as she glanced at the Black Spirit Umbrella and asked, ¡°So this is the big umbrella that my dad advised you to get from Wan Shouguang?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Just then, as he was paying attention to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hair, he abruptly noticed one of the hairs on her back began to move, and a strand was directly extracted by the three streams of energy within the umbrella.


    Zhang Xiaomo let out a cry of ¡®ah,¡¯ feeling a pain on her scalp. She was about to turn her head, but remembering Yan Junze¡¯s instruction not to move, she halted her hand midway.


    The hair was visibly struggling, trying to burrow back into Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hair, but the energy inside the umbrella was strong, like a large hand, firmly gripping the strand.


    The hair that had been writhing a moment ago was suddenly straightened out, as stiff as an upright chopstick. Only then did Yan Junze gesture for Zhang Xiaomo to turn back around.


    Upon seeing the hair, Zhang Xiaomo blinked in surprise and immediately touched the back of her head, ¡°Is this¡­ pulled from my head?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°You felt pain just now, so it must have been growing from your scalp. But from my perspective, this thing doesn¡¯t seem to belong to you.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t finish her question before the hair turned into black smoke in front of her eyes, annihilated by the energy within the umbrella.


    Perhaps because the energy was too little, no black dots appeared inside the umbrella this time.


    ¡°Alright, whatever that thing was, it¡¯s now cleared,¡± Yan Junze said, and then he closed the umbrella, ¡°Let¡¯s go find your friends.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shivered suddenly, reaching involuntarily to touch her hair, the fear she had felt as a child resurfacing at that moment.


    Her arms were covered with goosebumps when she suddenly said, ¡°I think I know where this hair came from.¡±

 Chapter 619 - 619 390 Open Your Eyes (Part 6)

    ?Chapter 619: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6) Chapter 619: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6) ¡°The Red Coffin?!¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t react immediately, stunned for a few seconds before he remembered the coffin encountered in Mo Family Village.


    Inside that coffin, a world could materialize the most terrifying things of the people nearby. At that time, Zhang Xiaomo mentioned that as a child, she had seen corpses floating on the water surface.


    It was a female corpse, her long hair drifting on the water. That scene made her afraid of hair since her childhood.


    Although her fear had faded as she grew up, the Red Coffin reignited her childhood terror, causing a large amount of water to flood the room, submerging it entirely.


    Zhang Xiaomo was attacked by a mass of hair in the water and almost lost her life.


    Unexpectedly, one hair had survived the destruction of the Red Coffin and had followed Zhang Xiaomo until now.


    However, it could be said that if that hair hadn¡¯t quietly survived and followed Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have been able to accurately determine which one was real after the real Zhang Xiaomo was killed by the Possession Spirit just now.


    One might say it was a blessing in disguise.


    After figuring out what had happened, the two of them didn¡¯t know quite how to feel.


    Coming to the corridor, Yan Junze asked in a low voice, ¡°Those three team members, when you got separated, in which direction were they approximately?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo pointed to the other end of the hallway opposite the server room, ¡°I originally went into a print room over there, while Lu Xing, Yang Man, and Xiong Suyuan were waiting outside. But when I came out, all three were gone. Then I ran into the Possession Spirit you just saw.¡±


    ¡°Why did you go into the print room?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Because I heard someone talking.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°No one.¡± Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°After I went in, I didn¡¯t see anyone. The voice was very soft, but I¡¯m sure someone was talking about something, and it wasn¡¯t coming from another room, it was in the print room.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s start looking from the print room.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Where is the print room?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo led the way in front, the two of them moving one after the other along the dimly lit corridor. Meanwhile, Yan Junze glanced back at the other end of the hallway. He could vaguely make out a dark figure rushing that way but couldn¡¯t see clearly enough to be sure if it was Lin Guo who had just left.


    All along the corridor were offices, some with closed or open doors, but none showed any sign of activity.


    The two arrived in front of a door labeled ¡®Print Room¡¯. Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°This is the place, where we got separated.¡±


    ¡°Did you look carefully when you came out?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I called the names of the two people, then checked the room across, which was a small meeting room, but there was no one inside,¡± Zhang Xiaomo responded.


    Yan Junze pushed open the door to the print room, which was engulfed in darkness, and tried the light switch to no avail.


    He turned on his flashlight and stepped inside, with Zhang Xiaomo following behind him.


    They walked around inside, but found nothing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check the room across.¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned to leave the print room first, with Yan Junze following behind. After leaving the print room, he reached out to pull the door closed.


    But the moment the door shut, Yan Junze suddenly froze, and Zhang Xiaomo looked back to see something was off, asking, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Yan Junze whispered, ¡°Is someone talking inside?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo stepped forward and pressed her ear against the door of the print room, then after a moment, nodded slightly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the same as what I heard before.¡± Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We just checked, there was no one inside. Where is this speaking coming from?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    After speaking, he slowly twisted the doorknob and cracked the door open a bit. The voices became louder, but it was still unclear what was being said.


    Yan Junze listened carefully; the voice was speaking quickly, but it seemed like each syllable wasn¡¯t quite complete, as if each word was cut off in the middle and immediately followed by the next word.


    With the fast pace added, in the darkness of the space, it all seemed particularly eerie.


    ¡°It sounds like¡­ a spell,¡± Zhang Xiaomo muttered softly.


    ¡°We can¡¯t listen anymore.¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly felt a deep resistance in his heart, a distinct discomfort towards these strange voices, a kind of innate repulsion.


    He pushed Zhang Xiaomo, moving her away from the door, and then forcefully pushed the door to the print room wide open.


    The peculiar voice vanished instantly.


    There was nothing in the room, terrifyingly silent, as if the voice had not come from there at all.


    He took a stack of unopened A4 paper from beside the door, placed it at the door corner to prevent the door from closing on its own.


    Yan Junze turned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s look elsewhere.¡±


    They came to an office diagonally opposite, which had ¡®Secretarial Section¡¯ written on it. Inside, the lights were flickering, not entirely stable, alternating between bright and dim.


    The office was cluttered with files and documents everywhere.


    Upon entering, they noticed that an area by the sofa, near the curtain corner, seemed even darker.


    Zhang Xiaomo was behind while Yan Junze, holding the Black Spirit Umbrella, stepped forward cautiously.


    Underneath the curtains, they found a tall man¡¯s figure, lying sideways and motionless.


    After Zhang Xiaomo approached and crouched down to look, she spoke with a somber expression, ¡°This is Xiong Suyuan, he appears¡­ to be dead.¡±


    Yan Junze noticed blood at the corner of Xiong Suyuan¡¯s mouth, which seemed to indicate internal injuries. However, next to the body, where he lay, was a narrow, long black mark.

 Chapter 620 - 620 390 Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_2

    ?Chapter 620: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_2 Chapter 620: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_2 He dragged the sofa back a bit and took a closer look before speaking, ¡°This black mark should be the remnant of the Possession Spirit after it was killed.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo looked up and asked, ¡°Are you saying Xiong Suyuan killed the Possession Spirit that replicated him?¡±


    ¡°Quite likely,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°both perished together.¡±


    After a pause, he looked around and said, ¡°Did your teammate Xiong Suyuan¡¯s magnetic knife fall in the server room?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo recalled as she shook her head, ¡°It seems¡­ no, at that time, two people¡¯s magnetic knives were knocked away by that powerful Possession Spirit, one was mine, and the other was Yang Man¡¯s, just us two girls.¡±


    ¡°He had a magnetic knife, so he had the chance to kill the Possession Spirit impersonating him,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Where¡¯s the magnetic knife? Look around here.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo had already started looking underneath the sofa.


    Yan Junze touched Xiong Suyuan¡¯s forehead; this guy must have just died not too long ago, his body wasn¡¯t completely cold, but he definitely died before the moment of his last Rewind when he saw Zhang Xiaomo killed.


    That is, it could be when their Exorcist team and Group 1 were still in the sub-second floor.


    So many developments and changes occurred during this period that he hadn¡¯t considered Rewinding.


    And even if he did Rewind, it would not guarantee to save these teammates, since they had already dispersed by then. If they died at the same time or in quick succession, he would be powerless to do anything.


    A moment later, Zhang Xiaomo called out from the other side of the sofa, ¡°Found it, the magnetic knife is here.¡±


    ¡°You hold onto it and use it for now,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Zhang Xiaomo, standing up with a wide-bladed magnetic knife in hand, weighed it and said, ¡°Xiong Suyuan was strong; this magnetic knife is quite heavy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to use it temporarily than to have no weapon at all,¡± Yan Junze stood up.


    The two walked to the end of the corridor. Now that Zhang Xiaomo had a magnetic knife in her hand, she didn¡¯t feel as panicked as before.


    Until they reached the end of the hallway, there was a larger double glass door. It was clear that it led to a spacious office area, which was partitioned into individual workspaces with small dividers.


    They pushed the door open and entered to find that the exit leading to the elevator and staircase was at the end of this office.


    On the other side of the large office was the chief editor¡¯s office, and to the side near the exit was a spacious pantry.


    The lighting inside this large office was a bit brighter. Yan Junze turned his head and glanced in the direction of the chief editor¡¯s office. The blinds were open, and through the glass walls, the interior was clearly visible.


    There was no one in the chief editor¡¯s office.


    At that moment, Zhang Xiaomo, holding the magnetic knife, stepped in front of a row of desks and saw two men lying face down on them.


    At first glance, the men seemed worn out from working overtime and had fallen asleep on their desks.


    Zhang Xiaomo raised the magnetic knife horizontally and poked the closest man, who was lying face down with his back to her. The man¡¯s hands dropped from the table, and his body slowly slid to one side before curling up under the desk.


    Upon closer inspection, the man¡¯s complexion was already a dark shade of blue; he had been dead for some time.


    However, for some reason, he had not been possessed by the Possession Spirit.


    Zhang Xiaomo guessed it was probably due to inadequate constitution. They had come to understand that Possession Spirits, when choosing a body, also had their standards for Attachment. Those who often stayed up late and had irregular diets were mostly excluded.


    Anyhow, those who had been possessed, even if not controlled by a Possession Spirit, ended up with the same fate: death.


    The magnetic knife touched the man lying opposite; his body also slid down and lay still on the floor.


    The cause of death should be the same as the first.


    Yan Junze looked at the two men but didn¡¯t stop; he continued walking toward the exit leading to the elevators on this floor.


    Zhang Xiaomo followed and said, ¡°Uncle Lin just said, don¡¯t leave this floor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going out,¡± Yan Junze replied without turning back.


    Ever since he entered the large office, he¡¯d had an odd feeling.


    This feeling intensified as he approached the pantry.


    Yan Junze walked straight to the pantry and paused at the door to peer inside.


    The room inside was dark, and, just like on the printing room side, nothing could be seen. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He pressed the light switch with no response, then turned on his flashlight and shone it inside.


    No sooner had he raised the flashlight than he saw a long-haired woman in a professional skirt suit, back to him, drinking water with loud gulps, clearly audible.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, just kept shining the flashlight on her back, while the woman continued drinking, seemingly oblivious to the light on her.


    It had to be said, the woman must have been young, her silhouette gracefully curved, a sight that was captivating.


    But before she turned around, Yan Junze chose to retain the initial impression of beauty of the moment.


    No matter what she looked like upon turning around, with his level of acceptance, he could unconditionally accept her appearance.


    Glug, glug, glug, glug¡­


    The rhythm of the drinking was steady, incessantly continuing.


    Yan Junze tilted his head and saw that the container from which the woman was drinking was an electric kettle, and she was drinking directly from the spout with her mouth.


    Thud, thud, thud, Yan Junze knocked on the pantry door. The woman didn¡¯t react, still relentlessly drinking.


    Yan Junze simply called out, ¡°Hey, that¡¯s about enough.¡±

 Chapter 621 - 621 390 Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_3

    ?Chapter 621: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_3 Chapter 621: Chapter 390: Open Your Eyes (Part 6)_3 The woman finally stopped, holding a water bottle in her hand, slowly turning around.


    The moment Yan Junze saw the woman¡¯s appearance, he swore that he regretted letting her turn around, but even a rewind was useless now, for he had already seen it, and even after rewinding countless times, the memory would still remain in his mind.


    The woman in front of him had her eyes closed, but even though she wasn¡¯t drinking water anymore, who knew how long she had been drinking before.


    Water continuously gushed from the woman¡¯s facial features as if there was a water press inside her body, out of her tightly closed eyelids, nose, mouth, and ears, a large amount of clear water kept flowing out.


    This scene made one feel uncomfortable all over, as if one¡¯s own face was experiencing a strange sensation.


    Although the woman¡¯s eyes were closed, she seem to still see Yan Junze¡¯s position; she slowly stretched out her hand, her clothes completely soaked by the water, and after spewing a large mouthful of water, she spoke inarticulately.


    ¡°Come, take my hand,¡± she said slowly.


    Step by step, she walked forward, raising her hand to Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    Yan Junze started to back away, and the woman kept reaching out, following forward.


    The two of them one after another left the pantry and came to the corridor of the large office space.


    Just then, Zhang Xiaomo was approaching the pantry and upon seeing the situation here, she immediately stopped and raised the magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze gestured for her to stop, whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t chop, let me see if I can save this woman with my method.¡±


    He stood still until the woman with her hand stretched out approached him.


    He then opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, enveloping both himself and the woman completely.


    ¡°Come on in, don¡¯t mind that my umbrella can¡¯t block all the water spraying from your body, and that you¡¯re spraying it inside my umbrella,¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    The scene was bizarre, with water splashing under the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    However, the next second, the woman suddenly opened her mouth and vomited violently as a stream of water gushed out, and a shadow was pulled out from the top of her head by the Black Spirit Umbrella, fiercely struggling in the process, before being compressed into nothingness.


    This time, no dots were produced inside the umbrella. It was probably due to the insufficient Strange Energy.


    Meanwhile, the woman curled up, vomiting incessantly, with all kinds of vomitus being squeezed out, as if her body had shrunk.


    More than ten seconds later, Yan Junze realized it was not just an illusion; her body really was withering away, visibly drying up, with her bodily fluids gradually depleting until she turned into a mummified corpse right before his eyes. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Still¡­ couldn¡¯t save her,¡± he sighed softly upon seeing this.


    He had originally thought that after the Black Spirit Umbrella forcibly extracted the Possession Spirit, he might be able to save the woman¡¯s life, but it turned out to be impossible.


    Yan Junze put away his umbrella and walked toward Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°This woman was probably an employee of this company. Did you discover anything else just now?¡± he asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo pointed to the bottom of a row of desks: ¡°Over there, I just saw Lu Xing¡¯s body. He might have died even earlier than Xiong Suyuan¡ªhis body is already cold.¡±


    Yan Junze walked over to take a look and found that this Exorcist named Lu Xing had his eyes wide open, giving off a feeling of not resting in peace, his lips slightly parted, freezing his expression of fear at the moment before his death.


    ¡°He was a two-star Exorcist, a bit lacking in strength,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said in a low voice.


    ¡°Which means, the Possession Spirit that killed him is now wandering somewhere in this building, having copied his appearance,¡± Yan Junze said, stroking his chin.


    He added, ¡°This is going to be tricky.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, I¡¯m so familiar with you now, and it was a bit lucky to identify which one was the real you just now,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°Because they not only copy your appearance but also can replicate thoughts, memories and such, using some special method I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, as soon as I see another Lu Xing, I¡¯ll draw my knife and strike immediately,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, brandishing her magnetic knife.


    Inside the pitch-dark server room.


    Lin Guo, a four-star Exorcist, was holding a magnetic knife in one hand and a flashlight in the other. The light from the flashlight seemed to be gradually devoured by the darkness of the room, the range it illuminated slowly shrinking.


    Lin Guo quickly noticed this; the server room was now without power, and only after entering did he realize that it wasn¡¯t that the servers had been ¡°destroyed,¡± but that another four-star Exorcist, Yao Zhongyong, had used some method to cut off all power supply to the room, including the backup power.


    This resulted in him being able to see nothing at all now.


    The darkness in the room seemed to be imbued with thick ink.


    Just then, the light from his flashlight paused, reflecting off the head of a person starting to rise from a crouching position on the floor.


    ¡°Hmm, Lu Xing?¡±

 Chapter 622 - 622 391 Open Your Eyes (Part 7)

    ?Chapter 622: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7) Chapter 622: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7) Lu Xing¡¯s complexion was ghastly, his eyebrows furrowed tightly as he hid beneath a server cabinet, his back pressed firmly against the right side of it.


    When the flashlight beam landed on him, he hurriedly raised his hand to shield his eyes, unable to see clearly who was holding the flashlight, until Lin Guo¡¯s voice came through.


    Lu Xing, looking surprised, asked, ¡°Uncle Lin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Why are you hiding here?¡± Lin Guo reached out, pulling Lu Xing up, and examined him with the flashlight up and down. He found no injuries on him.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Yao Zhongyong?¡±


    Lu Xing shook his head, ¡°Earlier, Big Brother Yao told all four of us to evacuate this room. The other three ran off, but something tripped me, and I hit my head on the corner of the cabinet, knocking me out cold. When I woke up, it was pitch black, all my stuff was gone, and I couldn¡¯t find the exit. Moreover, it seems like¡­ there are others here.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Lin Guo asked, while simultaneously switching off his flashlight. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The room plunged into complete darkness once again.


    Considering Lu Xing mentioned that there were others in the room, Lin Guo didn¡¯t think it was only Yao Zhongyong. After all, if it had been him, he would have seen Lin Guo as soon as he entered with the flashlight.


    If it was someone, it had to be other strangenesses.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who it is, I just heard movements, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone.¡± As the surroundings fell into darkness, Lu Xing¡¯s voice also dropped deliberately.


    After waiting for a moment, hearing no other sounds, Lin Guo whispered, ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t move. I¡¯m going to look for Yao Zhongyong.¡±


    He got up and began groping his way forward.


    After a while, Lin Guo realized this method of searching was utterly unfeasible because he couldn¡¯t see anything after turning off the flashlight, fearing detection by something moving in the darkness.


    In other words, Yao Zhongyong could be lying right in front of him, and he still wouldn¡¯t be able to see him.


    Just then, an unusual sensation came from behind him, as if someone was right there, not far away, emanating a chilling breath.


    He instantly turned around, the magnetic knife held across his chest.


    The queer sense of wrongness vanished as if there had never been anyone behind him.


    After waiting a bit longer, that disturbing feeling did not return.


    Lin Guo turned back around and proceeded, his vigilance reaching its peak, with the magnetic knife ready to strike at any moment.


    Passing through a row of cabinets, he felt he had reached the end of the room. He felt around and found another door there.


    Lin Guo reached out for the doorknob and just as he was about to turn it, that familiar, chilling sensation descended upon him again, right behind him.


    This time Lin Guo spun around without hesitation, the magnetic knife¡¯s rotation outpacing his own movement, the magnetic glow activated and swept behind him first.


    The emergence of the magnetic glow brought a trace of light in the otherwise pitch-black space, dim though it was, but still vaguely illuminating the immediate area.


    Under the light of the magnetic glow, Lin Guo saw a blurred face, then the tip of the glow sliced through that face.


    He immediately turned on his flashlight, and with the bright light, he saw Lu Xing covering his face, rapidly retreating with an odd gait, his feet moving forward in a reversed manner, and his right arm, which was on the ground, moved backwards with a hyperextended joint.


    Most importantly, as this man covered the wound on his cheek with his left hand, a wisp of black mist was seeping out between his fingers.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Upon seeing this, Lin Guo instantly understood.


    The magnetic knife¡¯s glow surged, and he lunged forward. With a swift motion, aided only by the extended glow of the knife, he sliced swiftly down from the top of the retreating Lu Xing¡¯s forehead, nearly reaching the rib area of his chest.


    A large amount of black mist poured out, and Lu Xing fell backward onto the ground, vanishing without a trace in no time.


    Lin Guo breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly chiding himself for not realizing at close quarters that the man was one of the strangenesses¡ªa feat not possible for ordinary strangenesses.


    The Possession Spirits that had recently appeared could no longer be judged by common sense, be it in terms of spreading, mimicking, or duplicating.


    After the black mist that Lu Xing had turned into disappeared, Lin Guo used his flashlight to survey the surroundings again, seeing no other anomalies.


    He moved to the cabinets, opened all of them, and used the magnetic knife to sever all the wiring inside without exception, ensuring true destruction.


    As he cut the wires, he remained vigilant to his surroundings, yet he heard none of the strange footsteps that the transformed Lu Xing had spoken of.


    Perhaps, those were just distractions intended to throw him off.


    After he finished, instead of footsteps, he heard a ¡°clack clack clack¡± sound not far behind him, as if ropes were being tightened further, producing the sound of something being squeezed to its limit.


    Lin Guo immediately turned his head, shining his flashlight in that direction, but saw no one and no shadows. However, when he lifted the beam upward, he noticed a large cluster of black shadows on the wall near the ceiling.


    One could surmise that the powerful strangenesses forming this black shadow numbered at least three.


    In the middle of these black shadows, a black humanoid figure protruded, seemingly wrapped within the shadows, which were still tightening incessantly around it.

 Chapter 623 - 623 391 Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_2

    ?Chapter 623: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_2 Chapter 623: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_2 On the right side of this mass of shadows, there was an electric switch with a protective cover.


    But now the protective cover of the electric switch had already shattered.


    Seeing all this, Lin Guo seemed to understand everything. Clutching the magnetic knife, he stepped onto a stool, leaped onto the cabinet, and with another jump, his magnetic knife struck toward the shadow on the wall.


    ¡°Zhongyong, hold on, I¡¯m coming to save you!¡±


    ¡­


    After walking through the large office, they did not find the third team member, the woman named Yang Man.


    Yan Junze stood by the glass door, looking in the direction of the elevator and staircase, ¡°Could it be¡­ that this Yang Man ran down the stairs?¡±


    The glass door wasn¡¯t closed tightly; it opened with a push. Whether anyone had run out, nobody was certain.


    Zhang Xiaomo came up behind him, looked outside the glass door, and reminded him, ¡°Don¡¯t go out. There¡¯s no telling how many people possessed by Possession Spirits are wandering outside. If Yang Man ran out, we can only leave it to fate.¡±


    She paused, then said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s go to the server room now and call them to leave this place.¡±


    Yan Junze turned his head and asked, ¡°Under the current circumstances, with a large and unknown number of Possession Spirits present in this area, how is the Exorcist organization planning to handle this?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°I heard that Great Capital Huaying has already prepared the Magnetic Energy Cluster. This weapon can clear a large area of strangeness magnetic fields, but it also has a particularly large impact on people¡¯s lives. Areas where the Magnetic Energy Cluster has been used are said to be uninhabitable for five to ten years.¡±


    As she spoke, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression darkened, ¡°I anticipated that this situation would come one day, just didn¡¯t expect it to come so quickly. Now, almost the entire Great Capital Huaying has been spread by this Possession Spirit through video platforms. If we have to use the Magnetic Energy Cluster, I¡¯m afraid at least one-third of Great Capital will be temporarily uninhabitable. Considering the global scale, the impact could be even greater.¡±


    Shaking his head in amazement, Yan Junze, however, was harboring a thought in his mind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s talk more after we get out.¡±


    The two turned and headed back the way they had come, and soon the large office was once again silent.


    Before long, in a dark corner of the break room, under the table, a woman silently crawled out. This woman of average build, expressionless, first squatted on the floor looking around, then tiptoed out of the break room.


    Standing in the corridor of the large office, she glanced in the direction Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo had left and uncontrollably shivered.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, the woman turned and walked toward the glass door, pushing it open, she headed towards the stairwell.


    ¡­ sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Actually, Yan Junze had not failed to use ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡±; as soon as Ku Zai was possessed by the Possession Spirit through the phone, he had used it once.


    However, there was no response; he could not detect anything concerning the Possession Spirits.


    At first, he thought it might be due to the fact the signal spread through the phone was too far from the Possession Spirit.


    But since entering this building, he had used ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± several times, but there was still no response.


    It was as if those Possession Spirits did not belong to this world at all.


    Or perhaps, the entity responsible for forming countless Possession Spirits, due to being too powerful or too far from Yan Junze, caused this detection ability to fail completely.


    So until now, Yan Junze did not know why the other side wanted to spread through video platforms, or why they wanted to extend their influence across the whole world.


    The only thing he knew was that, judging by the current developments, the entity behind the Possession Spirits had succeeded at least halfway.


    Having searched every room on this side of the corridor without finding another female team member named Yang Man,


    After discussing with Zhang Xiaomo, they did not search the rooms on the other end of the corridor thoroughly, but simply opened each door to check, and then headed towards the server room.


    According to their guess, it was possible that Yang Man had already left this floor directly through the glass doors on the other side of the large office. Since she left this floor, she was beyond their control, leading to an increase in unknown dangers, and they were not going to search any further.


    Just as they were about to reach the last room before the server room, Zhang Xiaomo was ready to call out Yang Man¡¯s name a few times. If no one responded, they would immediately enter the server room.


    Just at that moment, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s lips parted slightly, but she made no sound, her eyes directed towards the back of the curtain in the room.


    There, the silhouette of a person was revealed, along with one eye, peering at the activity by the door.


    ¡°Yang Man?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked, somewhat surprised.


    The curtain opened, revealing an average-sized woman who stepped out quickly, limping slightly on her right foot, her expression both excited and fearful.


    ¡°Why were you hiding here?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone who looks exactly like me,¡± Yang Man said as she approached, ¡°She suddenly attacked me, biting my foot¡­¡±


    At that, both Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo looked down to see Yang Man¡¯s right thigh wrapped in a piece of curtain fabric that had been torn off.


    Yan Junze looked somewhat guarded, as did Zhang Xiaomo, but still, with her left hand holding the magnetic knife, she reached out with her right hand to support Yang Man¡¯s arm.


    Neither of them said anything else because they knew very well that if Yang Man was a copy by the Possession Spirit, the copy would also have the memories of the real Yang Man, making it nearly impossible to find a flaw just through conversation.


    Holding the Black Spirit Umbrella in both hands, Yan Junze said to Yang Man, ¡°How about this, you just stand there and don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll poke your arm with the tip of the umbrella. It will hurt a bit and might bleed, but this is the most direct and effective way to verify that you¡¯re human.¡±

 Chapter 624 - 624 391 Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_3

    ?Chapter 624: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_3 Chapter 624: Chapter 391: Open Your Eyes (Part 7)_3 ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Yang Man said in astonishment.


    Yan Junze pointed at Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Just now, that replica of hers said the same thing as you.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo rolled her eyes at him and looked at Yang Man, ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t believe you, but better safe than sorry.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yang Man said, ¡°Xiaomo, do you still remember when we¡­¡±


    ¡°She short-circuits often, doesn¡¯t remember anything.¡± Yan Junze cut off Yang Man, his umbrella tip swiftly stabbing towards her arm.


    Just at that moment, the door of the server room erupted with a loud bang, the entire door bulging outward, the wood split by the powerful impact, revealing a crack.


    Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, and Yang Man shuddered, the tip of the umbrella stopping midway, and all three immediately advanced a few steps to stand at one end of the hallway corner to look.


    The door then vibrated a second time and finally shattered completely, sending a dark shadow flying out and crashing into the wall opposite the door¡ªa massive, enormous dark shadow.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s guess, no telling how many Possession Spirits were mixed within.


    Right after, Lin Guo was seen dashing out with someone on his back, heading in their direction, with a dark shadow in pursuit.


    Upon seeing the three of them, Lin Guo¡¯s eyes lit up as he shouted, ¡°Back the way we came, quickly!¡±


    By then, Zhang Xiaomo could clearly see that the person on Lin Guo¡¯s back was none other than Yao Zhongyong.


    However, it seemed that Yao Zhongyong was already unconscious, lying motionless.


    ¡°Go, back to the conference room we came in through,¡± Yan Junze said immediately, then pressed a green button on the radio at his waist, its green light immediately coming on and flashing rapidly.


    The one outside operating the aerial ladder had received the signal.


    They rushed towards the conference room situated in the middle of the hallway, where Yan Junze let Lin Guo, carrying Yao Zhongyong, run in front of him; he opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, ready to cover the rear.


    Seeing this, Zhang Xiaomo immediately leaped up, kicked off the wall with her right leg, flipping in the air to land beside Yan Junze, both hands gripping the heavy magnetic knife, ready to attack at any moment.


    At this time, the limping Yang Man actually ran ahead of all, seemingly unfazed by her leg injury when it came to fleeing for her life.


    They arrived at the conference room door, pushed it open, and dashed across, making a beeline for the oval-shaped hole cut out of the glass exterior wall.


    Lin Guo, with Yao Zhongyong on his back, followed closely behind, just reaching the oval hole when the aerial ladder rose up perfectly outside the opening.


    Yang Man didn¡¯t look at the others, stepped onto the aerial ladder, and then turned around, extending her hands and shouting to Lin Guo, ¡°Uncle Lin, pass Big Brother Yao to me first, or you won¡¯t make it through with him on your back.¡±


    By the time Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo reached the conference room, Yan Junze immediately shut the door, but the black mist behind them began to seep through the crack almost at once.


    Lin Guo grabbed Yao Zhongyong¡¯s arm, flipped his body around to cradle him, then pushed him out through the opening with all his might.


    Yang Man caught Yao Zhongyong with both hands and pulled with all her strength, desperately dragging him.


    Not until Yao Zhongyong¡¯s body was mostly on the aerial ladder did Lin Guo feel relieved and said to her, ¡°Hold onto your Big Brother Yao tightly, I¡¯ll cover the rear, and let Yan Junze and Xiaomo go first.¡±


    ¡°You say¡­ what?¡± Yang Man¡¯s voice suddenly changed, turning strange. Barely lifting her head, one could see she was smiling, her eyes sinister, her mouth curling up in laughter.


    Seeing this, Lin Guo¡¯s expression changed, ¡°Not good!¡±


    He had already backed away a few steps, intending to cover the rear for Yan Junze and the others, but realizing something was wrong, he quickly stepped forward, yet it was too late.


    Yang Man not only released Yao Zhongyong¡¯s hands but also used her right foot to press on his shoulder and gave a light push forward.


    The unconscious Yao Zhongyong fell from the aerial ladder and instantly vanished from sight.


    ¡°No!¡±


    Lin Guo let out a heart-wrenching scream, his eyes instantly reddening as he gripped the magnetic knife and dove through the hole to step onto the aerial ladder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ kill you!¡±

 Chapter 625 - 625 392 Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly

    ?Chapter 625: Chapter 392: Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 625: Chapter 392: Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly ticket!) At this moment, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo did not actually turn back to look in the direction of the hole in the glass wall, because the dark energy was spreading rapidly, having already penetrated the meeting room door and appearing right before their eyes.


    There were at least five Possession Spirits within this dark energy, and each one was very powerful, not like those they encountered on the negative second floor.


    Zhang Xiaomo, with her magnetic knife in hand, was not confident she could handle them.


    Yan Junze could not estimate whether his Black Spirit Umbrella, if he were to cover this large mass of dark energy with it, could actually suffocate it.


    But at this crucial moment, it obviously was not the time to test the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Not until they heard Lin Guo¡¯s roar enter their ears did they turn around, faces showing surprise.


    ¡°Damn it¡­ I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The pair turned around simultaneously, their expressions one of shock. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    The two rapidly retreated to the front of the hole, allowing the dark energy to spread following them.


    Looking down from the hole, they saw Lin Guo standing alone on the aerial ladder, angrily gripping a magnetic knife.


    ¡°Where are Yang Man and Big Brother Yao?¡± Zhang Xiaomo quickly asked.


    ¡°Yang Man is a Possession Spirit!¡± Lin Guo¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, tears were about to flow, ¡°after she pushed Yao Zhongyong off the ladder, she turned into black smoke and ran away!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zhang Xiaomo was stunned.


    Yan Junze glanced at her.


    Rewind!


    The scene before his eyes changed in an instant, and Yan Junze muttered to himself, he had originally intended to test whether Yang Man was strange, but just at that crucial moment, Lin Guo, carrying Zhongyong, broke through the door and escaped, derailing all plans.


    It seems, perhaps, that luck wasn¡¯t on their side.


    At this time, Zhang Xiaomo had just opened the last door near the server room, ready to call out ¡°Yang Man,¡± but without speaking, she fixed her gaze on the human figure showing through the curtains.


    ¡°Yang Man?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo had just uttered two words when Yan Junze, standing behind her, spoke in a calm tone, ¡°Xiaomo, kill her!¡±


    The curtains were pulled open, and Yang Man, limping, hurried out, her expression excited, seemingly not expecting to see Zhang Xiaomo again.


    But upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s command, Zhang Xiaomo first froze, she didn¡¯t turn around, nor did she ask why, but instead she approached Yang Man, holding the magnetic knife tightly in her right hand. As she neared Yang Man, she lifted the knife, its blade enveloped in magnetic glow, in a slanting chop.


    Yang Man didn¡¯t expect Zhang Xiaomo to strike suddenly; she was just about to approach her. With the blow, her body only paused, making a popping sound as it turned into a puff of black smoke and quickly circled around Zhang Xiaomo.


    Suddenly, a large umbrella loomed overhead. The puff of black smoke struggled in place, and in less than two seconds, was crushed and dissipated by the powerful energy within the umbrella.


    Yan Junze neatly closed his umbrella, and just as the strangeness impersonating Yang Man dissipated, he saw a black dot.


    This phenomenon was a sign that energy was being collected.


    After extinguishing the strangeness impersonating Yang Man, Yan Junze grabbed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the meeting room we used to enter the building earlier. Yang Man must be dead already; there¡¯s no need to search further.¡±


    ¡°What about Uncle Lin and Big Brother Yao?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°In just a moment¡­¡±


    The words were not yet finished when a loud bang of a door being slammed was heard.


    Yan Junze, pulling Zhang Xiaomo, dashed out of the corridor, immediately sprinting toward the meeting room.


    Another loud bang followed from behind them.


    Now that Lin Guo was carrying Zhongyong and had appeared, they couldn¡¯t stand in front, running ahead instead saved more time.


    Halfway through their run, they glanced back and sure enough, saw Lin Guo carrying Zhongyong around the corner of the corridor into view.


    ¡°Uncle Lin, hurry up!¡± Zhang Xiaomo, after recovering from her surprise, immediately shouted.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you in the meeting room,¡± Yan Junze also called out as a reminder.


    By this time, he had already pressed the button to call the aerial ladder.


    As they were about to rush toward the hole in the glass wall, upon opening the meeting room door, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo abruptly stopped, standing there.


    In front of the hole, there was a man standing, who was leaning out of the opening as if wanting to go outside.


    Yan Junze found the man somewhat familiar, but he couldn¡¯t immediately remember where he had seen him before.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, before he could speak, the man in a suit and leather shoes turned around, saw them, and immediately showed delight, saying, ¡°Junze, is it really you? Did you¡­ come to save us?¡±


    Yan Junze tilted his head, puzzled, ¡°You are¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Tang Zhengyi,¡± replied the man.


    Yan Junze suddenly realized; he had video-called with Tang Zhengyi twice. Although they had met, he had not really established a strong impression of Tang¡¯s appearance.


    ¡°Everyone turned into strangenesses! I¡¯ve been hiding in my office, afraid to come out. Later, when I saw what seemed like an aerial ladder outside the building, I came looking for it,¡± explained Tang Zhengyi.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we see you just now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Behind them, Lin Guo approached, carrying Zhongyong into the meeting room, shouting, ¡°Go, let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going as well!¡± Tang Zhengyi immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave with you.¡±


    At that moment, the aerial ladder had risen to the appropriate level and was stationary.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Yan Junze, leading the way and moving towards the hole in the glass wall, kicked Tang Zhengyi out of the opening without any hesitation.


    Tang Zhengyi, in a panic, fell through the hole and immediately stretched out his hand to grab the aerial ladder nearby. However, he was still half an arm¡¯s distance away, and his body quickly plummeted downward.


    Yan Junze stepped onto the aerial ladder without even a glance at Tang Zhengyi falling below.


    Zhang Xiaomo followed closely behind, looking down to see Tang Zhengyi, already in midair, make a popping sound as he transformed into a puff of black smoke, which then slipped into a gap of a window on a middle floor.

 Chapter 626 - 626 392 Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly

    ?Chapter 626: Chapter 392: Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 Chapter 626: Chapter 392: Open Your Eyes (End) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2 The two didn¡¯t talk for the moment, working together to take Yao Zhongyong from Lin Guo¡¯s hands and securely lift him onto the cloud ladder.


    By this time, the space on the cloud ladder was already full, and before a large amount of black air arrived, Lin Guo jumped up and climbed outside the cloud ladder, his left hand grabbing the railing.


    The cloud ladder started retracting downward.


    Some of the pursuing black air split off, preparing to attack Lin Guo, who was outside the railing.


    Yan Junze had already opened the Black Spirit Umbrella one step ahead, his tone calm, ¡°Everyone on this cloud ladder is safe, Uncle Lin, as long as you chop down the strangeness that comes close to the edge of the umbrella with the magnetic knife.¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lin Guo was already swinging the magnetic knife; his arm strength was solid, and the magnetic glow of the knife had reached its limit, not fearing the sporadic black air that had separated.


    With some close calls but no injuries, the four people slowly descended towards the ground on the cloud ladder.


    After ensuring that no more black air was chasing them down, Zhang Xiaomo quietly asked Yan Junze, ¡°How could you be sure that the guy who called himself ¡®Tang Zhengyi¡¯ was just a copy of the Possession Spirit? Did you know that Tang Zhengyi is already dead?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if he is a strangeness. Mostly likely, slightly possibly not.¡±


    ¡°And you still dared kick him away?¡± Zhang Xiaomo exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Why not? That guy owed me money and didn¡¯t pay up,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°How much money did he owe you?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was even more surprised.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but¡­ a lot,¡± Yan Junze said, waving his hand.


    As soon as the cloud ladder landed on the ground, medical staff rushed up to tend to Yao Zhongyong. Lin Guo greeted the two and followed them to check on his close friend.


    The two of them were both four-star exorcists at Tianmeng, and such highly ranked exorcists were scarce; they couldn¡¯t afford any mishaps.


    Moreover, with the invasion of Possession Spirits, the number of which was incalculable, if they took advantage of Yao Zhongyong¡¯s vulnerability, it would be a loss for the entire Tianmeng.


    Back at the car where Zhang Xiaomo and the others had come from, Xiaomo took out two bottles of mineral water, handing one to Yan Junze and unscrewing the cap of the other to take a large gulp.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t drunk yet, just watching Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s actions, which were very smooth, with no hindrance.


    Feeling the odd look in his eyes, Xiaomo swallowed the water in her mouth and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to need anyone to help you unscrew the cap,¡± Yan Junze said as if talking to himself.


    ¡°Did I¡­ miss something?¡± Zhang Xiaomo deliberately asked.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Yan Junze countered, a smile appearing on his face.


    ¡°Jerk!¡± Zhang Xiaomo stuffed her bottle of mineral water into Yan Junze¡¯s arms without much good grace, ¡°Here, you can drink both bottles.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then, use your phone to give a call to our dad, eh?¡± Yan Junze said, holding the two bottles of water.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback again, feeling that her thoughts couldn¡¯t keep up with the rhythm of the ¡°jerk¡± in front of her, and unwittingly asked, ¡°Which dad?¡±


    ¡°Your dad,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo punched him in the arm, of course not too hard, just enough to let the guy know it hurt.


    ¡°Mind your words in the future, he¡¯s your Uncle Zhang.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll just call him Zhang Chengjing,¡± Yan Junze conceded.


    ¡°You dare! Hmm, why call Dad¡­ no, why call Uncle Zhang?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something very important.¡±


    The call was quickly made, and Yan Junze took the phone from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, while shoving the two bottles of water back to her, whispering, ¡°Help me open my bottle of mineral water, since you¡¯re so strong.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo pinched his arm hard.


    Yan Junze was sure that spot was definitely going to bruise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave here first, back to the team.¡± Zhang Xiaomo walked towards the driver¡¯s seat, reminding Yan Junze to get in the car before continuing the call.


    The two quickly got into the car, and Yan Junze glanced at the phone display, muttering to himself, ¡°No answer.¡±


    However, he didn¡¯t hang up, instead letting the phone continue to ring.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression darkened as she looked up at the Huadu Building not far away and the nearby area.


    In the past few days, members of the Exorcist teams had been continuously lost, with one or two not returning from each mission. This time, some had perished inside this building, and she had been psychologically prepared when they arrived.


    But now that it had happened, the frustration in her heart was hard to dispel.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± With a sigh, Zhang Xiaomo steered the car towards the exit of the cordoned-off district.


    At that moment, the call to Zhang Chengjing finally connected.


    Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Daughter.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Zhang, this is Yan Junze,¡± Yan Junze said respectfully.


    As she steered the wheel, Zhang Xiaomo glanced at him, her lips moving, appearing to say: How about that, you should be calling him ¡°Dad.¡± Go on, call him, call him.


    Yan Junze gave an awkward smile and gestured to her to be quiet.


    ¡°Is that you, Junze?¡± The voice on the other end changed slightly, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s tone noticeably trembling, ¡°Xiao¡­ Xiaomo, has something happened to her¡­¡±


    F*ck, he hadn¡¯t considered how an elder might react to their first instinct upon hearing a call from their daughter¡¯s phone with no sign of her voice on the other end.


    Yan Junze paused for a second, rapidly interrupting Zhang Chengjing¡¯s questioning, ¡°Xiaomo¡¯s fine, Xiaomo¡¯s all right, she¡¯s right here by my side, driving the car.¡±


    The other end went silent, clearly Zhang Chengjing was catching his breath; after a while, his voice had regained its calmness, ¡°Good, as long as she¡¯s fine.¡±


    On this end, Zhang Xiaomo shot Yan Junze a look.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders at her, and continued on the phone, ¡°Uncle Zhang, here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯ve just shut down the Tianmeng video platform over here. As for these Possession Spirits we¡¯re encountering, my guess is probably the same as yours.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing sighed, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s the calamity caused by the Half-Moon Exorcism Association in the USA Great Capital. The summoned Possession Spirit still hasn¡¯t been captured, and I heard that the second strongest exorcist of the Half Moon Association is dead.¡±


    ¡°The Reaper?¡± Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Chengjing continued, ¡°actually¡­ that person was even slightly more powerful than the Reaper.¡±


    Yan Junze was dumbfounded.


    An exorcist who was even a notch stronger than the Reaper had still been killed by that summoned Possession Spirit! Those idiots at the Half Moon Exorcism Association, why the hell summon something so uncontrollable?


    Well, now everyone globally was suffering the consequences.


    ¡°We and the top exorcists from Japan Great Capital and Olay Great Capital are preparing to join forces and go to USA Great Capital to eliminate that thing,¡± Zhang Chengjing continued, ¡°As long as we kill that powerful Possession Spirit, eradicating its clones in other regions globally is just a matter of time.¡±


    ¡°Is there any better way for now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Not at the moment,¡± Zhang Chengjing replied.


    In retrospect, it wasn¡¯t that the people of the Half Moon Association had been unprepared for what to do after summoning the Possession Spirit; it was very possible that the Spirit¡¯s strength exceeded their expectations or that some unforeseen events allowed the Possession Spirit to escape the altar.


    Regardless, the situation had occurred already, and the circumstances were getting out of control.


    For others, this might have been unavoidable, but Yan Junze did not see it that way.


    The thought that had risen within him inside the Huadu Building was to find another Space-Time Rift, then use ¡°Great Rewind¡± to go back in time and prevent the Half Moon Exorcism Association in USA Great Capital from successfully activating the altar.


    Whether it was stealing ¡°Book of Oath,¡± the medium required to activate the altar, destroying the entire altar, or simply disrupting the exorcists from the association so they couldn¡¯t find the special strangenesses needed to open the altar ¡ª


    anyhow, as long as he could prevent the activation of the altar and the release of the Possession Spirit, which was currently causing catastrophic consequences globally, his goal would be achieved.


    Although Yan Junze was well aware that this Great Rewind would likely be the most challenging and complex problem he had ever faced.


    Who knows¡­ is there enough Different Dimension Energy?

 Chapter 627 - 627 393 Implement Immediately (5200 words

    ?Chapter 627: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) Chapter 627: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!) After talking with Zhang Chengjing for a while, Yan Junze learned that the power of the current possession spirit was beyond the imagination of exorcists around the globe.


    It¡¯s highly likely that the Half-Moon Exorcism Association of Great Capital USA had been using this summoning to plan something significant, but their clever plan backfired, leading to the dire situation at hand.


    Compared to other major cities, the crisis of possession spirits in Great Capital USA was even more severe.


    No one had anticipated that a possession spirit could spread in various ways, even using electronic signals as a medium. By the time people realized what was happening, the situation was irreversible, and all they could do was try to mitigate the damage.


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze, still uneasy, made a call to his home in FH Community, Shuntian City.


    Even though he knew the entire community was under Aunt Mei¡¯s protection, he had warned his parents before heading to Huadu Building to stay at home and avoid going out on the streets or to public places.


    Because what if they didn¡¯t watch the video, but someone else did in their vicinity? Or what if it was played on a large screen in a public place?


    In short, every extra minute spent outside meant an increased risk.


    When the call connected, his mother Li Man¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Hello, son.¡±


    ¡°Mom, is everything okay over there? I told you not to go out. Did Dad go out?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No worries,¡± Li Man replied calmly, ¡°I lectured your father, and now he¡¯s sulking with me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°He said he wanted to go out for a cigarette, get some fresh air. I just locked the living room door from the inside, and I have the key.¡± Li Man said, sounding annoyed.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    Li Man seemed to laugh on the other end, and after a moment, she said, ¡°Your dad wants me to tell you that since the situation is so dangerous, as a junior exorcist, you mustn¡¯t try to act tough. If it comes down to it, just run.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°For now, don¡¯t watch any videos, don¡¯t even turn on the TV.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed Li Man had switched to speakerphone, as Yan Daguo¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Son, we haven¡¯t turned on the TV. Now the internet has been cut off by force, we can only make calls on our phones, no internet access.¡±


    ¡°Did you guys open that video before?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°We did; your dad opened it,¡± Li Man spoke, ¡°After he played it on his phone, it got to the point where the head was about to lean towards the camera, but then the video froze, and nothing worked. It was only after restarting the phone that it could be used, but the video wouldn¡¯t load anymore.¡±


    After a pause, Yan Daguo took over, clearly relieved, ¡°Lucky it wouldn¡¯t open anymore.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe the video freezing was due to his dad¡¯s lucky touch; it was very likely Aunt Mei¡¯s interference.


    Her field of strangeness completely covered the entire community. If any other strangeness appeared, she could detect it immediately and apply pressure.


    So, the video freezing could have been due to this.


    ¡°Has anyone else in the community been invaded by possession spirits?¡± Yan Junze asked, still concerned.


    ¡°It seems¡­ nobody has,¡± Li Man answered, ¡°Our community is completely safe. I heard from the people downstairs that people from the neighboring community have been affected, but not ours.¡±


    Relieved, Yan Junze glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, switched his phone call to speakerphone, and leaned closer to her, saying, ¡°Dad, Mom, Xiaomo wants to say a couple of words to you.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was driving, was taken aback for a moment, then gave Yan Junze a glance, her mouth puckering up.


    Yan Junze held up his phone, smiling and signaling her to speak quickly.


    Already Li Man¡¯s voice had come through on the other end, ¡°Xiaomo, it¡¯s been a long time since we saw you.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shot Yan Junze another sideways glance, suddenly blooming into a smile and speaking with a sweet voice as if she were a completely different person, ¡°Auntie, Uncle, are you both keeping well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, all good,¡± Li Man chirped happily.


    Yan Daguo chimed in, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fine. Xiaomo, Ze is with you, so please take good care of him for us.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Li Man joined in, ¡°You have more experience, so if there is any danger, let him know in advance. Ze is a bit rash in his actions.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, he can be quite a handful,¡± Zhang Xiaomo chuckled.


    ¡°Mom, Xiaomo is driving, I¡¯ll hang up now,¡± Yan Junze took the phone back and pressed the end call button.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Although she was driving and focused on the road, Zhang Xiaomo knew Yan Junze was staring at her.


    ¡°Do I make things that difficult for you?¡± Yan Junze asked with a smile.


    ¡°How could it not be difficult? I worry about you every day, you know,¡± Zhang Xiaomo retorted, having stopped at a red light, she turned to look at him seriously. After a moment, she said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that take its toll?¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s face lit up with a smile, ¡°Your talent for sweet talking even surpasses mine.¡±


    Then he murmured under his breath, ¡°The Atlas was wrong, and it¡¯s my fault, huh?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Zhang Xiaomo started driving again as the light turned green.


    ¡°I may seem reckless, but there¡¯s reasoning to it,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Did you say that many words just now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Yan Junze sat up straight, ¡°After we get back to the team, I¡¯ll apply with team leader Huo Zhisen to have you accompany me on some real business for the next few days. I have a way to shield Tianmeng from the invasion crisis of possession spirits.¡±


    ¡°You have a way?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you accompany me to find a place. As long as we find it, I have a way,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s words were ambiguous, ¡°It¡¯s my secret, you¡¯ll know once you come with me.¡±

 Chapter 628 - 628 393 Implement Immediately (5200 words

    ?Chapter 628: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_2 Chapter 628: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_2 He certainly wouldn¡¯t tell Zhang Xiaomo that he needed to do a Great Rewind; such things could only rot in his heart. If others knew, it would be hard to say whether it would turn out to be a blessing or a curse.


    Zhang Xiaomo remained silent. After a moment, she turned to look at him and responded with two words, ¡°Okay then.¡±


    Yan Junze liked this about her very much: no nonsense, just trust in him, and once a decision was made, she got right to work.


    The two arrived at the Exorcists¡¯ team office building located in Benefit Alley. Captain Huo Zhisen had been sitting in his office, not leaving anywhere these past few days.


    He was dressed in a gray suit without a tie. On the left breast of the suit was a badge of the Exorcists, exquisitely designed.


    Sitting behind his office desk, Huo Zhisen had just finished a phone call. His face was somewhat pale due to lack of rest, but his voice still carried firmness.


    Seeing Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo enter, Huo Zhisen¡¯s expression softened, and he said, ¡°Junze, Xiaomo, what brings you here?¡±


    Although he was just sitting there, he was constantly updated with the latest on the Possession Spirit crisis affecting Tianmeng. Someone had reported to him immediately after their mission at the Huadu Building.


    So Huo Zhisen didn¡¯t ask about their mission performance.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Captain, I have something to report. I¡¯d like to borrow Zhang Xiaomo for a few days.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Huo Zhisen was taken aback and then shook his head, ¡°Junze, you know how stretched the team is these days; we simply don¡¯t have enough people. Although I understand your concern for Xiaomo¡¯s safety, as an Exorcist, exorcism is her duty¡­¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand,¡± Yan Junze cut him off. ¡°I have a way to resolve the current Possession Spirit crisis in Tianmeng. I need an assistant, and Xiaomo has cooperated with me several times; she is very suitable.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say he could solve the global Possession Spirit crisis, only Tianmeng¡¯s, holding something back. Otherwise, Huo Zhisen surely wouldn¡¯t believe him.


    Even so, Huo Zhisen was still puzzled and asked, ¡°How will you resolve it?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, ¡°My methods are usually quite bizarre, like when I swapped Guo Youliang¡¯s body, turning him into a five-star Exorcist. I¡¯m sorry, but since I don¡¯t know if it will succeed, I¡¯d like to keep it a secret for now. Please understand, Captain.¡±


    Huo Zhisen frowned at him, saying nothing.


    After a moment, he asked, ¡°What are your odds of success?¡±


    ¡°Fifty percent,¡± Yan Junze replied.


    He then added, ¡°When I swapped bodies for Guo Youliang, I also only had a fifty percent chance.¡±


    He kept bringing up this matter to remind Huo Zhisen that he had the ability to upgrade Guo Youliang from a four-star to a more formidable five-star Exorcist, using such odd capabilities.


    Hopefully, the other party would trust him based on his past merits.


    Huo Zhisen then turned to look at Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I have no objections,¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s response was very formal.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Huo Zhisen sighed, extending two fingers. ¡°I¡¯ll give you two days. After two days, Xiaomo and you are still to comply with the team¡¯s arrangements and immediately start on the mission.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Captain,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°What weapons will you need?¡± Huo Zhisen asked.


    With that said, he glanced at Yan Junze¡¯s waist, which bore no magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t carrying a backpack either.


    He shook his head, ¡°I won¡¯t need any, give Xiaomo a heavier magnetic knife though.¡±


    Huo Zhisen nodded and motioned for them to go downstairs to the warehouse to collect it.


    The Tianmeng Squad¡¯s armory was very small, only as large as an ordinary office. After registering at the door, Yan Junze didn¡¯t go in.


    Zhang Xiaomo entered and came out shortly after, holding a weapon.


    Yan Junze saw that not only had she switched to a new magnetic knife for herself, but she had also taken a suitable one for him.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t refuse this time and took the magnetic knife into his hands.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°Even though you have the Black Spirit Umbrella, having an extra knife on you can never be wrong.¡±


    With that, she mysteriously produced a black metal sphere in her palm, weighed it, and smiled, ¡°This just arrived today; it¡¯s the latest product from Huaying District. Do you remember?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback and blurted out, ¡°Is this¡­ the Turner Sphere?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°You have a good memory.¡±


    The Turner Sphere had appeared in the mission ¡®Living Beings,¡¯ when that foreigner suspected of being from the Half Moon Association burst into the decaying building where Zhao Qi, a living being, was detained, using the Sphere to block the area¡¯s strange magnetic field.


    This prevented Zhao Qi¡¯s imaginations from materializing. Coupled with the foreigner¡¯s terrifying combat abilities, if Xiang Er hadn¡¯t arrived at a crucial moment, they would have ended up losing their lives there. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After capturing the foreigner, the Turner Sphere he dropped had been collected by the Exorcists¡¯ team and later handed over to the Huaying District, where Wan Shouguang¡¯s research and development team spent months overcoming it.


    It was unexpected that it was now in mass production, although still in limited quantity and part of the first batch of trial products.


    Zhang Xiaomo only had the authorization to take one of these, and that was after Huo Zhisen had spoken on her behalf.


    Yan Junze remembered that upon activation, the Turner Sphere would emit a thin layer of blue light, covering the affected area and completely neutralizing the strange magnetic field there, though the device probably had a time limit and wouldn¡¯t provide indefinite interference.


    Back then, to seize the Sphere, Yan Junze had Rewound once, only to get shocked by a strong electric current running through his body the moment he touched it, nearly activating an ¡®Automatic Rewind on Near-Death.¡¯

 Chapter 629 - 629 393 Implement Immediately (5200 words

    ?Chapter 629: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 Chapter 629: Chapter 393: Implement Immediately! (5200 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 ¡°Does our Turner Sphere have a feature that shocks people to prevent it from being snatched away?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes, perfectly replicated,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, then added, ¡°The Turner Sphere from Great Capital in USA activates for ten minutes. Our R&D department has improved it, not only increasing the coverage range but also extending the duration to around fifteen minutes.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s the style of our knockoff empire,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°What is¡­ a knockoff?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Yan Junze laughed, ¡°Let¡¯s go, time waits for no one. We should set off right away.¡±


    They went downstairs, to the garage, and following Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion, Zhang Xiaomo chose a seven-seater four-wheel-drive SUV.


    That way, if the seats in the back row were completely folded down, they could also rest temporarily.


    After buying some water and food from the supermarket on the street and returning to the car, Yan Junze tried calling Xiang Er and Ku Zai, but couldn¡¯t get through.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t get in touch with Xiang Er and Ku Zai,¡± Yan Junze put down the phone and suggested, ¡°For this plan, we need Ku Zai. Let¡¯s search while driving towards the Science and Technology University. You drive slowly, and when I shout stop, you must pull over immediately.¡±


    Although Zhang Xiaomo still didn¡¯t know what he intended to do, she nodded and immediately drove the SUV in the direction of Tianmeng Science University.


    Yan Junze took out a map of Tianmeng City that he bought from the supermarket, divided the map into thirteen sections, and estimated that each section would require at least four to five detections of space-time rifts to cover the area completely.


    If it took four detections to search an area completely, then thirteen areas would require 52 detections. One detection consumes 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy, for a total of 52,000 points needed.


    His total energy storage at the moment was 31,200 points. To detect the entire Tianmeng City area, excluding the suburbs, in one go was simply beyond his capacity.


    So, indeed, he considered bringing Ku Zai along to supplement his energy needs.


    On the way back to Tianmeng Science University, once they were out of the city area, Yan Junze began the detection for space-time rifts.


    It was an extra effort, not included in the thirteen city sections marked on the map. If he got lucky and found a space-time rift on this journey, Yan Junze thought his jaw would drop from smiling too much.


    Because he knew very well how difficult it would be to find a space-time rift.


    As expected, his jaw was never going to fall off from smiling.


    They used seven detections on the way, consuming 7,000 points of Different Dimension Energy. Forget space-time rifts, he didn¡¯t even see a crack in the ground.


    When they arrived at the rental house outside the university, parked the car, and Yan Junze went upstairs to the rental, he didn¡¯t find Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    He was a bit puzzled. As he was coming downstairs, he happened to meet the landlady leaving the house. Seeing him, she said, ¡°You¡¯re back. Your friends went inside the school, they told me to inform you. If you want to find them, you can go into the school.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thanked her, but judging by the landlady¡¯s good mood, Xiang Er must not have skimped on compensating her. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why go into the school?¡± Yan Junze was a bit puzzled.


    However, he immediately thought of the signal jamming activated across the entire school. Was it because of this?


    After talking with Zhang Xiaomo outside the car for a few sentences, Zhang Xiaomo stayed behind to wait, while Yan Junze walked into the school through the side gate.


    Soon, in the small garden in front of the library, he found Xiang Er and Ku Zai sitting on stone benches.


    Ku Zai was wearing his magnetic shielding garment but hadn¡¯t activated it. He sat there, hugging his knees, his eyes fixated on the goldfish swimming to and fro in the pool in front of him, somewhat distracted.


    Xiang Er paced back and forth nearby.


    ¡°Where are your cell phones?¡± Yan Junze approached and asked when neither of them had noticed him.


    Xiang Er immediately looked up, her face lighting up with joy.


    Ku Zai also seemed to relax after seeing him return as if a weight had been lifted off his heart.


    ¡°My cell phone was smashed by me.¡± Xiang Er said, ¡°After you left, the phone would turn on its network video by itself whenever it got close to Ku Zai, and it couldn¡¯t be turned off, so I smashed them all.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat stunned, looking at Ku Zai, ¡°So you two simply chose to hide in the school, because it shields all network signals.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there was no other way. This place is the safest.¡± Xiang Er nodded.


    ¡°But now we need to go out for a while.¡± Yan Junze stroked his chin.


    He had not expected that the powerful possession spirit so far away would set its sights on Ku Zai.


    Although it seemed that, even if that being had its eyes on Ku Zai, it didn¡¯t seem to take him too seriously and was merely paying a bit of attention. Otherwise, Ku Zai definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape from its grasp.


    That being was capable of completely eradicating the Reaper.


    Of course, it was also possible that the top exorcists in the Great Capital of USA were watching too closely, making it difficult for that powerful possession spirit to spare any effort to possess Ku Zai.


    In any case, letting Ku Zai go out now was indeed not a good idea.


    It¡¯s not possible to keep the magnetic shielding clothes activated indefinitely; the garment would eventually run out of energy.


    After some thought, Yan Junze said to Ku Zai, ¡°We need to go out now, and from the moment we leave the school, you keep your eyes closed. Don¡¯t open them without my command.¡±


    With that, Yan Junze told them to wait there and ran to the security office to find the head of security, Wang Tao.


    In fact, Wang Tao and Xiang Er could be considered fellow villagers.


    He asked Wang Tao for a network signal jammer that came with its own power source and could also be plugged in for use.


    Then he dashed back to the dormitory to borrow a cartoon panda eye mask that Huahua normally wore to sleep, complete with slightly puffed-up panda eyes and a pink flower positioned just above the center of the mask.


    Returning to the small garden in front of the library, Yan Junze handed the eye mask to Ku Zai: ¡°As soon as we leave the school, just put this on. Then I¡¯ll turn on the signal jammer, and now¡­ we can leave.¡±


    A tearful Ku Zai stared at the panda eyes, his gaze lingering on the vibrant pink flowers, then glanced at Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er lightly covered her mouth with her hand, silent.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so picky. In the entire boys¡¯ dormitory, the only one who wears an eye mask to sleep is Huahua.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything more normal?¡± Ku Zai couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°There¡¯s also a HelloKitty one, want it?¡± Yan Junze retorted.

 Chapter 630 - 630 394 Palpitations (5000 words please vote

    ?Chapter 630: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, please vote for monthly tickets!) Chapter 630: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, please vote for monthly tickets!) ¡°What¡¯s the situation here?¡± Zhang Xiaomo sat in the driver¡¯s seat and rolled down the window to look at Ku Zai¡¯s funny appearance.


    ¡°Hey, Xiaomo sis!¡± Ku Zai, wearing a panda eye mask, tried to locate the source of the voice, but he clearly wasn¡¯t good at it, as he was currently greeting the back seat of the SUV.


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Zhang Xiaomo waved her hand in front of Ku Zai to confirm he couldn¡¯t see her, then gestured with her eyes for Yan Junze to explain.


    ¡°Considering Ku Zai¡¯s constitution, that powerful Possession Spirit has taken a liking to him and wants to cross over and make him a captive groom, so his phone automatically opens and searches for that video spreading Possession online, then plays it in front of him, and you can¡¯t even turn it off,¡± Yan Junze explained.


    Zhang Xiaomo took out her mobile phone to check: ¡°Nope, nothing¡¯s wrong with the phone, huh? But it seems there¡¯s no signal.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, raising the signal blocker in his hand, ¡°The blocker is on, otherwise Ku Zai wouldn¡¯t be able to come out.¡±


    ¡°Great, can¡¯t make calls when he¡¯s around,¡± Zhang Xiaomo shrugged.


    ¡°You can, just move away from him a bit,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience,¡± Ku Zai fumbled his way to the back seat of the SUV, his face apologetic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, we might need your help for the next couple of days,¡± Yan Junze went back to the passenger seat and sat down.


    At this point, Xiang Er went to the rental house to get some thicker clothes for Ku Zai, and brought back some daily necessities before returning to the car.


    ¡°Where should we head first?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spread out the map of Tianmeng City and said, ¡°Searching in the suburbs would cover too much ground, and some roads aren¡¯t easy to navigate. We¡¯ll search within the city.¡±


    He then pointed at one of the thirteen areas he¡¯d marked on the map, near Science and Technology University, ¡°Once we enter the city, we¡¯ll start here. This place is large, so after you drive in, we¡¯ll move in a cross pattern, meaning the movement of the car will trace a target in the middle of a circle.¡±


    Because the area was large, Yan Junze estimated that it might take five Space-Time Rift detections to completely cover this region.


    They quickly returned to the urban area and entered the first region, where Zhang Xiaomo drove the SUV in the cross pattern within the circular area as instructed by Yan Junze.


    Indeed, as predicted, it took five detections for Yan Junze to completely cover the area, but no Space-Time Rift was found.


    Then they drove to the second region.


    Along the way, no one in the car chatted. Ku Zai, with his panda eye mask, was half-lying in the back seat and seemed to have fallen asleep.


    After all, whenever both Xiang Er and Yan Junze were by his side, it was the most peaceful time for Ku Zai¡¯s heart.


    With Zhang Xiaomo, a three-star or even potential four-star Exorcist, with them today, Ku Zai felt he was the safest, so he relaxed completely and soon fell asleep.


    In the second region, Yan Junze used four detections but still found nothing.


    For Xiang Er and Ku Zai, this was their second time accompanying Yan Junze like this, but both understood the situation well, with Ku Zai asleep oblivious to everything else, and although Xiang Er also had her doubts, she likewise kept quiet without asking questions.


    Arriving at the third region, which was still near the city¡¯s edge, Yan Junze planned to complete the outer areas first before moving inward, so no place would be missed.


    Here too, he used four detections with no results.


    Only 11200 points of Different Dimension Energy remained. Now, ordinary rewinds didn¡¯t consume much energy for Yan Junze, unless it was a rewind over a longer time span.


    What drained energy the most was searching for Space-Time Rifts. These things were like a bottomless pit, any amount of energy could be consumed by them.


    Out of the thirteen regions Yan Junze had divided in Tianmeng City, seven occupied the outer edges, and the remaining six were inside the city.


    Because of the crisis with the Possession Spirits, the outer regions weren¡¯t completely sealed off, only some blocks within the city were temporarily closed, inaccessible to ordinary people.


    Nonetheless, the car driven by Zhang Xiaomo could still pass without any trouble.


    The fourth region took 5000 points for five detections, with no result.


    The fifth region consumed 4000 points for four detections, likewise without result.


    With only 2200 points of energy left and looking at the map of the sixth region, Yan Junze told Zhang Xiaomo to head toward the outskirts.


    Upon reaching the outskirts, he woke up Ku Zai, who was sleeping.


    The sky was nearing dusk, but it was overcast, with no sunset visible.


    After waking up, Ku Zai didn¡¯t dare remove his panda eye mask and, looking around in confusion, asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Get out of the car, draw a few strangenesses over here,¡± Yan Junze instructed. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Choosing to do this out in the suburbs was for a reason. With many Possession Spirits appearing and concentrated in the urban area, if Ku Zai released his special constitution, it was feared that not many other strangenesses would be attracted, and it would be pointless if only Possession Spirits turned up.¡±


    As they were all avatars of that powerful Possession Spirit from the Great Capital of USA, these Possession Spirits varied in power. If they encountered one or two formidable ones, like the type Xiang Er faced last time to save Ku Zai, or even stronger ones,


    then this plan using Ku Zai to attract strangenesses would backfire.


    Ku Zai already had experience with attracting strangenesses.


    Moreover, in the desolate wilderness, no network or videos were to be seen. He took off his mask and, alone, went to the bottom of a small hill, simply standing there quietly.

 Chapter 631 - 631 394 Palpitations (5000 words seeking

    ?Chapter 631: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, seeking monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 631: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, seeking monthly passes!)_2 Zhang Xiaomo and Xiang Er followed Yan Junze¡¯s arrangements and didn¡¯t get out of the car. Instead, they leaned against the car window, watching Yan Junze and Ku Zai.


    Yan Junze was about twenty meters away from Ku Zai.


    About half an hour after Ku Zai¡¯s special physique had radiated its influence, four strangenesses had arrived.


    After waiting for a moment without any strangeness appearing, Yan Junze approached Ku Zai. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The creatures near Ku Zai immediately sensed something, turned their heads with fierce expressions on their faces, bared their teeth, and issued warnings to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze ignored them and continued to draw closer.


    Upon reaching Ku Zai¡¯s side, one of the strangenesses reached out its hand towards his neck.


    However, at the same time, a black umbrella opened, shrouding both Yan Junze and Ku Zai along with the limited space around them.


    The strangenesses perching on Ku Zai were startled, and they all let out mournful howls. Some tried to flee, but in just an instant, all four turned into black smoke and dissipated.


    A flash inside the umbrella drew in part of the energy.


    At this moment, Xiang Er, leaning against the car window, muttered to herself, ¡°I wonder what it would be like if I were standing under that black umbrella.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best not to try,¡± Zhang Xiaomo warned.


    Subsequently, they changed locations twice more and collected the energy of two more groups of strangenesses.


    Not until Yan Junze had filled the Spacetime Atlas with Different Dimension Energy, reaching 31,200 points, did they finally return to the urban area.


    They finished surveying the sixth zone, detected five times, and then came the seventh zone, where they detected four times.


    After expending 9,000 points of energy, they still discovered nothing.


    On Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s suggestion, they drove to and surveyed the two zones not under lockdown among the remaining six, amounting to exploring eight times in total, but still, no results were found.


    The 31,200 points of energy were reduced once again to 14,200 points.


    In the remaining four zones within the city, each had a region locked down due to the crisis caused by the Possession Spirits, all of which were unsafe.


    It was already past midnight, no pedestrians were visible on the streets, only patrol teams with the security bureau and exorcists on duty together.


    The group found a hotel, parked the car, and prepared to rest for one night before continuing the next morning.


    With the remaining 14,200 points of energy, Yan Junze guessed it should be sufficient for the search of three zones. He didn¡¯t believe his luck would be so bad that he would have to search all the way to the last fourth zone to find the Space-Time Rift.


    Or perhaps, such a vast Tianmeng City district wouldn¡¯t have even a single Space-Time Rift.


    Having booked two double rooms, Yan Junze and Ku Zai shared one room, while Xiang Er and Zhang Xiaomo shared another.


    Xiang Er in the next room dispersed her strangeness suppression over Yan Junze¡¯s room, protecting Ku Zai from other strangenesses.


    The hotel had no internet connection. Following the safety bureau¡¯s regulations, everything here was disconnected, even the television, which only displayed snow static when turned on.


    Since it was already very late, all four people, except for Xiang Er, fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed.


    Ku Zai actually didn¡¯t sleep; he had already slept for a long time in the car, and now lying in bed, he couldn¡¯t seem to find sleep for a while, but his heart kept thumping, filled with a sense of foreboding.


    He didn¡¯t know the reason, but he couldn¡¯t calm down.


    Perhaps, that powerful Possession Spirit had targeted him again through some means. Or perhaps, disaster would strike on this excursion.


    Ku Zai¡¯s mind was in turmoil, and he tended to lean towards the latter possibility.


    Several times he wanted to speak up and tell Yan Junze, but he didn¡¯t know what exactly to say.


    Somehow, he made it until just before dawn and finally fell asleep.


    The next morning, Xiang Er, who never slept, played the role of alarm clock and woke everyone up.


    After Ku Zai headed into the bathroom to wash up, Xiang Er approached Yan Junze and whispered, ¡°I can feel that Ku Zai didn¡¯t seem to sleep last night, constantly turning over.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat taken aback.


    After Xiang Er returned to her room, he asked Ku Zai, ¡°Do you have something on your mind?¡±


    Ku Zai paused for a moment and then shook his head.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Ku Zai, over this period, I¡¯ve come to regard you as my own family. No matter what¡¯s on your mind or what difficulties you encounter, you must tell us. If I can¡¯t solve it, Xiang Er is here, and if she can¡¯t, Xiaomo is here too. Behind us is the whole team of exorcists. Speak your mind; you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Ku Zai had just washed his hair and, using a towel to dry it, sat disheveled on the bed without uttering a word.


    Yan Junze poured him a cup of hot water, which Ku Zai took and guzzled down as if he were parched.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo and Xiang Er came in, ready to hurry them to start the search.


    Seeing that the atmosphere in the room seemed a bit off, both remained silent, merely standing aside after setting down their belongings.


    Ku Zai kept his head down and spoke softly, ¡°Brother Yan, I know you¡¯ve been very good to me. Meeting you has changed my entire life. These changes, you brought them to me, and for that, I¡¯m genuinely grateful.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and nodded, saying nothing.


    ¡°You all know I have a special physique, sensitive to strangenesses and even to special circumstances. Since last night, around eleven, I suddenly began feeling uneasy¡­¡± Ku Zai continued.


    ¡°Is it because that powerful Possession Spirit is targeting you?¡± Yan Junze asked with a frown.


    ¡°No,¡± Ku Zai shook his head, ¡°It being fixated on me wouldn¡¯t cause me to feel constant palpitations; it¡¯s more like a premonition of impending doom.¡±

 Chapter 632 - 632 394 Palpitations (5000 words please vote

    ?Chapter 632: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 Chapter 632: Chapter 394: Palpitations (5000 words, please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 He paused for a moment, and Ku Zai shook his head again: ¡°I also don¡¯t know how to explain.¡±


    As his words fell, he looked up, gazing at Yan Junze: ¡°Brother Yan, this time, no matter what you want to do, I won¡¯t intervene. But I want to tell you, you must be careful, you must ensure your safety.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel that I am in danger, or is it everyone?¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Everyone.¡± Ku Zai answered.


    ¡°Then all of you must be careful, not just me.¡± Yan Junze said.


    Ku Zai nodded, then turned to look at Zhang Xiaomo and Xiang Er.


    The two women¡¯s complexions were somewhat pale, but their expressions were calm.


    Xiaomo¡¯s face was pale because she had heard the conversation between the two men, while Xiang Er¡¯s pallor was natural, as she was originally a female corpse.


    ¡°I still have¡­¡± Ku Zai raised his hand to his chest, ¡°a very fast heartbeat, that palpitation has not stopped since last night.¡±


    ¡°Since Ku Zai feels something is wrong¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo spoke up, saying to Yan Junze, ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t carry out your current plan for now.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, silent for a moment before he walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window in the room and gestured for Xiang Er and Zhang Xiaomo to come over.


    The two women stood beside him, one after the other.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze turned to the distance outside the window, he asked Xiang Er, ¡°Xiang Er, were you watching the night view outside the window last night?¡±


    ¡°I was.¡± Xiang Er replied.


    ¡°Was the night view that you saw beautiful?¡± Yan Junze continued to inquire, expressionless.


    Xiang Er hesitated briefly and did not speak.


    ¡°Beautiful?¡± Yan Junze repeated.


    Xiang Er shook her head and squeezed two words from her mouth: ¡°Not¡­beautiful.¡±


    Yan Junze extended his index finger, pointing to a very prominent building outside the window, where thick smoke was billowing and many of the exterior glass windows could be seen shattered and damaged.


    Not far from the building, at a crossroads, there were scarcely any people. The traffic lights were also broken. Several cars had collided together and no one had come to deal with it. Even patrolling cars that stopped to inspect moved on quickly to attend to more urgent matters.


    ¡°If I do not continue with this plan, this city¡­ will continue to look like what you¡¯re seeing now. And it¡¯s not just here, but the entire Great Capital, and maybe even cities around the world.¡± Yan Junze said slowly.


    Zhang Xiaomo was a bit surprised; she remembered that Yan Junze initially said he could change the status quo of Tianmeng. She had not expected that his ambition was to change the current state of the whole world.


    ¡°So, I must change it!¡± Yan Junze added.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression gradually recovered as she looked at everything outside the building. She didn¡¯t speak but suddenly reached out and hugged Yan Junze¡¯s shoulders.


    When Yan Junze felt it, he turned to look at her, pressing his hand on the back of hers on his shoulder and gently caressing it.


    Seeing this, Xiang Er involuntarily took a step back, then once again looked outside the window.


    ¡°I am confident I can change everything that¡¯s happening now,¡± Yan Junze spoke again, ¡°and what I rely on is very powerful, something you will not understand for the time being.¡±


    ¡°No need to understand,¡± Zhang Xiaomo took over the conversation, softly saying, ¡°I only need to understand you.¡±


    ¡°Are we still going on now?¡± Ku Zai, still sitting on the bed, asked.


    ¡°Continue, we must continue,¡± Yan Junze turned around.


    After a pause, he seemed to have made a decision and said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Now I want to release all the Spirits I have been keeping. I do not plan to take them with me for this operation because if something unexpected happens, I might not be able to ensure their safety.¡±


    Yan Junze knew very well that if he really died, these strangenesses, locked in the Spacetime Atlas, might be locked in there forever, which would be even more tragic than truly dissipating.


    As he finished speaking, he released the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and Crawler Monster.


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled; she hadn¡¯t expected Yan Junze to have raised so many Spirits.


    The others had seen them before, and after Yan Junze introduced them, he clarified why he was releasing all of them this time.


    Once they knew it was because he feared endangering everyone that he was doing this, Ke¡¯er ¡°yah yah yah yah¡± crawled out of her mother¡¯s arms, scrambling on all fours to Yan Junze¡¯s feet.


    Yan Junze scooped her up, allowing the little girl¡¯s face to rub against his own.


    ¡°Later on, you can either follow us or move freely; I¡¯m not imposing any restrictions. But be careful out there; the Possession Spirits might choose to possess strangenesses after seeing you,¡± Yan Junze cautioned.


    ¡°I will help them,¡± Xiang Er said.


    Seeing that Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t leave him for a while, Yan Junze held her as the group left the hotel.


    After exiting the hotel, all the strangenesses followed them onto the SUV. Although they were weightless and wouldn¡¯t cause crowding, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected none of them to leave immediately.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go for a while. Shortly you can get off and wander around nearby. I still have urgent matters to attend to,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Suddenly, the grip on his neck tightened as Ke¡¯er hugged him fiercely, clearly unwilling to let go.


    Sitting in the passenger seat, Yan Junze could only affectionately hold her, kissing her forehead repeatedly.


    From the driver¡¯s seat, Zhang Xiaomo glanced at them, bit her lower lip, and for no reason, a smile appeared as she started the SUV and slowly drove away.


    At that moment, Xiang Er, sitting in the second row, suddenly spoke softly: ¡°I think that although this world has a lot of ugliness, the true ¡®beauty¡¯ is unique and cannot be ignored.¡±


    ¡°For example?¡± Yan Junze asked. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°For example, right now in this car,¡± Xiang Er replied.


    Yan Junze smiled knowingly, slightly turning his head, and through the right rear-view mirror, he could just see someone in the third row seat: ¡°Hey, the guy with the side parting, licking your hair is okay, but don¡¯t lick the window, it gets slime all over the car.¡±

 Chapter 633 - 633 395 Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000

    ?Chapter 633: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!) Chapter 633: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!) ¡°`


    ¡°Where to next?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    Since the remaining four areas all involved Possession Spirits, Zhang Xiaomo was much more familiar with the current situation in these areas than himself.


    Thus, it was better to let her choose than to command at random.


    While waiting for a traffic light, Zhang Xiaomo stretched out her hand and pointed to one of the areas: ¡°Uncle Guo is right here. The Lide Middle School in this area faced the most severe Possession Spirit crisis of the entire Tianmeng. Uncle Guo has been guarding this area without leaving.¡±


    ¡°Shall we go here?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Zhang Xiaomo pointed to the area next to it, ¡°We¡¯ll go to this area. Because it¡¯s very dangerous to go to Lide Middle School right now, and it would also interfere with the Exorcist team¡¯s protection work.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s put this area last on our schedule.¡± Yan Junze agreed with Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s suggestion.


    The SUV¡¯s route made a slight detour to avoid Lide Middle School, which was guarded by Guo Youliang, and headed toward the next area.


    After arriving at the area, with yesterday¡¯s experience, Zhang Xiaomo was now very familiar with the search route and began to drive in a cross pattern around the circular-shaped area.


    This area could be covered with just four explorations, and Yan Junze was cautiously sensing.


    Zhang Xiaomo skillfully drove a not very straight line, then went a quarter of the way around, and drew the last line through the target center of this route.


    When they were about three-quarters of the way to the last line, Yan Junze initiated the fourth Space-Time Rift exploration.


    After this fourth time and the previous three explorations, another 4,000 Different Dimension Energy points were consumed.


    At that moment, Yan Junze tensed up, holding Ke¡¯er, he said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Xiaomo, keep driving ahead, turn right at the second intersection, then left.¡±


    ¡°What, did you find something?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was also excited.


    After all, they had been searching all night, and although she didn¡¯t know what Yan Junze was aiming for, everyone was invested in the search, so it was impossible not to be excited.


    Yan Junze nodded. ¡°I found it.¡±


    The car reached the second intersection, then turned right into a slightly narrower street, then entered a roundabout and took the third exit on the left.


    After passing the roundabout, Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo to pull the car over to the side.


    He first kissed Ke¡¯er¡¯s forehead passionately, then fondly stroked her now silky smooth hair.


    Turning his head, he said to all the strangenesses, ¡°Now, Ke¡¯er, Back-faced Woman, Zhenzhen, Crawler Monster, you can get out of the car. Remember, make yourselves invisible to ordinary people, don¡¯t scare anyone, and don¡¯t have any contact with the Possession Spirits. After I finish the business here, I¡¯ll come to pick you up.¡±


    ¡°Yayayaya¡­¡±


    Ke¡¯er affectionately rubbed her forehead against Yan Junze¡¯s cheek, crawled from the seat to her mother¡¯s arms at the back, obediently laid on her mother, revealing only her eyes, staring tightly at Yan Junze.


    ¡°All right, leave now. Don¡¯t waste time.¡± Yan Junze forced a smile, but even he felt it was stiff and fake, so he stopped smiling.


    The car door didn¡¯t open; the four strangenesses floated directly out of the car and stood by the roadside, eagerly watching the SUV slowly drive away.


    There were also pedestrians on the road, but none could see them.


    Yan Junze leaned forward slightly, watching the four strangenesses through the right rearview mirror.


    The four strangenesses didn¡¯t leave for a while, just standing by the roadside, silently watching in that direction.


    ¡°Stop looking.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°The more you look, the more uncomfortable you¡¯ll feel in your heart.¡±


    Yan Junze withdrew his gaze without saying a word.


    Changing the topic, Zhang Xiaomo asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the destination?¡±


    ¡°Do you see that mall across the street? That¡¯s where we¡¯re headed. Make a U-turn and come back to the other side.¡± Yan Junze pointed at a mall across the street with its doors wide open.


    This mall was aimed at the mid to low-end market, usually bustling with business, but in the past two days, due to the Possession Spirits, the customer flow had drastically decreased. Although the doors were open at this moment, the upstairs merchants were basically closed, and only the shops on the first floor were open, with very few customers inside.


    Soon, the SUV made a U-turn and slowly approached the entrance of the mall. There was a parking lot right behind the mall, but Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t park there because it would take too much time.


    The car stopped right by the curb, and she took out an Exorcist-exclusive plastic badge, slapped it onto the rear end of the car, and the party got out of the car and headed toward the mall entrance.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s senses, the Space-Time Rift was on the second floor of the mall. They quickly reached the operating escalator, stepped on it, and quickly reached the second floor.


    Immediately, Yan Junze stated, ¡°Here it is, right in this place.¡±


    The feedback from the detection showed that this rift was not in its Peak period, but in a state of decline, and it was not in its weakest state but on its way there.


    In about three hours, the declining period would turn to its weakest, and then the Space-Time Rift would disappear.


    The rift was located on the second floor, to the left of the escalator, where, perhaps due to an event in the mall a couple of days ago, some leftover large promotional boards were placed.


    Since the event was followed by the Possession Spirit crisis, no one had come to tidy these things up. Over a dozen advertising boards were piled up there, some laid horizontally and some vertically. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Space-Time Rift that Yan Junze had sensed was right behind these advertising boards, near the corner of the wall.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 634 - 634 395 Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000

    ?Chapter 634: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_2 Chapter 634: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_2 Sure, the spacetime rift here is headed towards weakening, and it will take about three more hours to reach the period of extreme decay.


    Yan Junze pulled Ku Zai over and said to the others, ¡°You guys wait here for me, Ku Zai and I will lure in another wave of strangenesses.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Xiang Er did not object.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had only 11,200 points of Different Dimension Energy left. For safety¡¯s sake, even if there wasn¡¯t enough time to fully replenish it, he needed to refill at least the majority. That way, the success rate of this ¡°Great Rewind¡± could be increased.


    Once they left the shopping mall, Yan Junze had Ku Zai activate his Magnetic Shielding Clothes, drove off in the car, kicking up dust, heading from the nearest place towards the outskirts of the city.


    There was no helping it; he still couldn¡¯t let Ku Zai attract strangenesses within the city. It was only in the suburbs, where Possession Spirits wouldn¡¯t appear, that he could extract energy values.


    Not long after the two of them left, Zhang Xiaomo took out her phone, looked at the map, and said to Xiang Er, ¡°The direct distance from this mall to Uncle Guo¡¯s Lide Middle School is just over a kilometer.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xiang Er looked at her phone, not understanding why she was bringing this up. She nodded but said nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo continued, ¡°I¡¯ll give Uncle Guo a call to see if things are stable on his end. If possible, I¡¯d like him to come over here. After all, he is a high-ranking five-star Exorcist.¡±


    Xiang Er finally understood her meaning. Ku Zai had been feeling uneasy and experiencing heart palpitations, suggesting that Yan Junze¡¯s plan was highly dangerous.


    With Guo Youliang present, as a distinguished figure among five-star Exorcists, he could provide help. This could possibly lower the operation¡¯s risks to the minimum.


    This was an excellent idea, and Xiang Er very much agreed in her heart. But she had her own concerns and hesitated, ¡°But, I¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Zhang Xiaomo knew what she wanted to say, ¡°I¡¯ll speak to Uncle Guo in advance; no matter what your identity is, as long as you¡¯re a friend of Yan Junze, Uncle Guo won¡¯t make things difficult for you. After all, he owes Junze a great debt of gratitude.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded slightly, saying nothing further.


    Zhang Xiaomo dialed Guo Youliang¡¯s mobile number. Before the connection went through, she placed the phone to her ear and murmured to herself, ¡°Besides, we don¡¯t know what the situation at Lide Middle School is like. Whether Uncle Guo can come over is still uncertain, but I¡¯ll ask him anyway.¡±


    ¡­


    After leaving the outskirts of the city, luring the strangenesses went incredibly smoothly.


    With the shielding garment turned off, Ku Zai quickly attracted a group of strangenesses of varying levels.


    Yan Junze reaped them with ease.


    Then, driving the SUV, he continued to search for remote places, and was fortunate to come across a mass grave with warning signs erected by an Exorcist squad, prohibiting entry.


    Upon seeing that the warning sign indicated an unknown number of strangenesses lurking within the mass grave, Yan Junze cheered up.


    He quickly sent Ku Zai inside while he followed behind. Once Ku Zai¡¯s shielding garment was off, it took less than ten minutes for seven strangenesses to swarm them, two of which were equally matched in strength and started ripping and biting at each other in front of Ku Zai.


    Yan Junze approached with the Black Spirit Umbrella in hand and reaped another wave.


    After checking the Different Dimension Energy value in the Spacetime Atlas, he considered that if feasible, perhaps after reaping two more waves, he could fill up to the maximum limit.


    Having been forewarned by Ku Zai, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to take this Great Rewind lightly. He had to ensure there was plentiful energy ¨C the more, the better.


    He continued deeper into the mass grave with Ku Zai, attracting eight more strangenesses and, using the same method, dealt with them.


    They moved further in and attracted five more strangenesses, the fifth of which arrived alone.


    Upon its arrival, the preceding four strangenesses immediately wanted to flee, lacking even the courage to watch from the sidelines.


    Yan Junze hurried forward, reaping the four strangenesses. By then, the fifth strangeness had already approached Ku Zai. Yan Junze, with no time to dodge, stood less than five meters away from Ku Zai, remaining still.


    This fifth strangeness was a middle-aged man who, except for his blue complexion, appeared no different from a normal person.


    He glanced sideways at Yan Junze not far away, his eyes shining with a ferocious light as a warning. Yet he felt no sense of danger emanating from Yan Junze.


    The middle-aged man then walked up beside Ku Zai, looking up as if he were peering at the sky.


    Seconds later, his head lowered, his eyes had turned amber, resembling a cat¡¯s, and his mouth ripped open, stretching to the roots of his ears. Suddenly, he bit down, taking away half of Ku Zai¡¯s shoulder in one bite.


    This fellow, after being drawn by Ku Zai, intended to swallow Ku Zai whole.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected a strangeness that feasted on living flesh; the other strangenesses simply clung onto Ku Zai, lying on top of him. At most, like the Clay Monster, it would burrow into Ku Zai¡¯s body to dwell. Who could have foreseen a strangeness that wanted to directly consume Ku Zai?


    A sharp pain in his shoulder caused Ku Zai to immediately let out a scream.


    Rewind!


    Time returned to the moment when the middle-aged strangeness had just approached Ku Zai, Yan Junze didn¡¯t choose to stand five meters away this time. Instead, he moved closer and opened the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The middle-aged man realized that he had the audacity to approach and became furiously enraged, his gaze menacing as he stood in front of Ku Zai, acting protectively over his meal.


    Yan Junze continued to advance with the Black Spirit Umbrella, and just like before, the middle-aged man looked up to the sky, an action that seemed to be a standard power-gathering motion for him. But then, the sky became covered by a black umbrella, obscuring his vision.

 Chapter 635 - 635 395 Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000

    ?Chapter 635: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 Chapter 635: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_3 Three forces tugged and twisted, creating a maelstrom of magnetic energy in the midst of the umbrella.


    The middle-aged man¡¯s upper body was instantly twisted into a cluster of black mist, while his lower body still attempted to escape. However, after a brief movement, it too turned into black mist and dissipated. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze closed his umbrella and took a moment to check the Different Dimension Energy within the Spacetime Atlas.


    The current maximum capacity was 31,200 points, and he had now collected 30,700 points.


    Although it wasn¡¯t quite full, it was close enough. Time waits for no one. He had been out for nearly two hours now, and after three hours, it would be the period of extreme decay for the Space-Time Rift. It was time to head back.


    Ku Zai opened up the Magnetic Shielding Clothes, and the two returned to the car and drove towards the urban district.


    Because there were fewer vehicles in the urban area these two days, Yan Junze drove quickly. Upon arriving at the mall, they immediately went upstairs.


    While on the escalator, Yan Junze looked up and paused, for he saw that the towering figure of Guo Youliang, which originated from the Ancient Corpse Mo Da, was also present, talking with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Xiang Er huddled fearfully in the background.


    ¡°I told Uncle Guo, and he said he¡¯d almost dealt with his side of things, so he came over to see if he could help,¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately explained to Yan Junze after reaching the second floor.


    Yan Junze knew that Zhang Xiaomo was unaware that the Great Rewind was something he had accomplished alone. Even if Guo Youliang was powerful, at best he could only stand guard here. The truly dangerous tasks still had to be handled by Yan Junze himself.


    Although he had never attempted a Great Rewind with someone else, Yan Junze dared not try it. There were far too many variables, and it was completely uncontrollable.


    Furthermore, he did not know if the presence of two people in the Space-Time Rift at the same time would cause turmoil, result in failure, or if they could never exit once they entered.


    The most important thing was, this was his core secret and could not be disclosed to others.


    However, Zhang Xiaomo meant well. Moreover, to any ordinary person, having a five-star Exorcist like Guo Youliang around would indeed be helpful.


    ¡°Thank you, Old Guo!¡± Yan Junze said politely.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Guo Youliang replied with a smile, patting Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder.


    He hadn¡¯t rested much these two days, and a deep fatigue could still be seen on his face.


    Then Guo Youliang¡¯s gaze shifted to Ku Zai, and after a moment, he remarked, ¡°This young man seems rather special.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed and glanced at Ku Zai, who was clearly awed by Guo Youliang, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Ku Zai. Old Guo is one of us. He¡¯s just curious and won¡¯t dissect you.¡±


    Without waiting for Guo Youliang to inquire further, Yan Junze said, ¡°I¡¯ll trouble everyone then, I¡¯m going to head behind those billboards, very quickly, and will come right back.¡±


    In reality, he didn¡¯t need to explain, for entering the Space-Time Rift and completing the mission, and then emerging out of the rift again, would all happen in a mere instant for those around.


    To them, it would seem like Yan Junze simply took a quick round behind the billboards without any cause for wonder or speculation.


    Yan Junze walked up to Zhang Xiaomo, kissed her forehead, and she did not evade nor show embarrassment. Instead, she softly asked, ¡°What is it you¡¯re searching for¡­ in the end?¡±


    ¡°Hope,¡± Yan Junze answered with a smile.


    With that, he turned and walked towards the back of the billboards. Once his body was fully obscured, he immediately expended 200 points of energy to activate Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.


    A text prompt popped up in his mind.


    [Space-Time Rift detected. Insertion can proceed. Do you wish to activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization?]


    ¡°Activate!¡±


    Yan Junze mentally commanded.


    A Space-Time Rift was born from the void, slowly opening like an ancient eye. This rift was smaller compared to the stable rift from before but was in better condition than the last one which was in its period of extreme decay.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate. As soon as the rift opened, he stepped inside.


    The Space-Time Rift closed quickly behind him, disappearing into a single point, leaving no trace¡­


    From the perspective of Yan Junze entering the Space-Time Rift, at this very moment, the mall, the Tianmeng District, the Great Capital, and the entire world, up to the entire current spacetime, came to an instant standstill!


    At this moment, the memories of everyone in the mall waiting for Yan Junze, including Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, Ku Zai, and Guo Youliang, were being replaced by a rewritten history.


    Time, at this moment, remained still.


    The mall gradually began filling with shoppers, as if scenes were being rapidly placed in the current setting, with the images quickly flashing by.


    Not just the first floor but also the shops on the second, then the third, and the fourth floors, all opened up.


    With the influx of numerous visitors on each floor, the entire mall returned to its pre-Possession Spirit crisis bustle as if the crisis had never occurred.


    Next to the escalator on the second floor, the previously piled-up billboards were removed, and the swift movement of people flickered. In the spot where the billboards had been removed, three large plants appeared, neatly arranged, once again shielding the place where the Space-Time Rift had emerged.


    Outside the mall, the city streets were bustling as the traffic order was restored. One by one, broken traffic lights lit up, and accidents ceased to occur.


    In the distance, the exterior walls of a building that were once cloaked in thick smoke and dark mist now shone cleanly and were as magnificent as ever.


    Inside Huadu Building, the ¡°Open Your Eyes¡± video platform, which had previously been sealed by officials, was caught up in its usual bustling workday, with figures hustling and a constant ring of phone calls.

 Chapter 636 - 636 395 Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000

    ?Chapter 636: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_4 Chapter 636: Chapter 395: Towards an Unclear Timeline (6000 words, please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)_4 ¡°`


    Time restored to normal¡­


    However, behind the space blocked by three large plants, there was no Space-Time Rift, nor did Yan Junze appear.


    Conscious returned, memories reshaped.


    Standing in their original places, Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, Ku Zai, and Guo Youliang, all four shuddered slightly as though awakening from an ancient dream, yet it seemed just an illusion they had experienced.


    Zhang Xiaomo was stunned, recalling that she was here waiting for Yan Junze.


    The others had similar feelings and memories.


    Yan Junze had gone to handle something very important, urging the others to wait for him here, and Guo Youliang¡¯s arrival was also for waiting and protection.


    In their memories, the global crisis involving Possession Spirits no longer existed.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly shivered deeply, her body covered in goosebumps, as her thoughts at that moment were triggered by newer memories and seemed to come to a standstill.


    ¡°It¡¯s not right, Yan Junze said he would come right out, immediately, I remember very clearly. But now he¡¯s not here¡­¡±


    Although the others also faintly felt that something was amiss, none experienced it as strongly as Zhang Xiaomo.


    At this moment, Xiaomo¡¯s entire body started shaking, an uncontrollable fear, anxiety, worry, and helplessness overtaking her¡­


    On the first floor below the escalator, a man in a black overcoat appeared. This man had blond hair, wore sunglasses, and stood tall, clearly not a native of Huaying¡¯s Great Capital.


    It was unclear whether he came from USA¡¯s Great Capital or Olay¡¯s Great Capital.


    The blond man¡¯s eyes behind the sunglasses seemed to also be focused on the group of four above.


    In this instant, Zhang Xiaomo and the others felt deeply that the blond man was watching them.


    Because the strange look behind those sunglasses felt as if it pierced through their hearts, seeing everyone as transparent as glass figures.


    ¡°You three, get behind me.¡±


    Guo Youliang suddenly commanded, his tone brooking no argument.


    His entire body tensed, hair on his arms bristling, like a lion ready to fight his enemy at any moment, fixated on the blond man coming up the escalator.


    The blond man, halfway up the escalator by now, never took his eyes off the four, his lips parting slightly as he spoke in a calm yet thrillingly penetrating voice.


    ¡°Hand over Yan Junze, or else, death!¡±


    His words were in imperfect Huayingese.


    As he spoke, he placed his hand on the side railing of the escalator, and a silent yet eerie energy pulsed out, spreading like a virus.


    Above and below the escalator, tourists holding onto the railing collapsed en masse, faces turning a purplish hue, breathless, clearly dead.


    ¡°The Reaper?!¡±


    Witnessing this scene, Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes were nearly bursting, and he turned to yell at Zhang Xiaomo and the others, ¡°Go, run now!¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ move!¡± Zhang Xiaomo struggled to say three words.


    At that moment, she, Xiang Er, and Ku Zai were already overwhelmed with terror, but a subtle and intense trembling of the ground made their legs numb, rendering them unable to move.


    Thump!


    Guo Youliang stomped on the ground; magnetic glow spread out like a wave, temporarily nullifying the trembling and numbing sensation in the area.


    Zhang Xiaomo and the others felt lighter and able to move; they immediately helped each other and ran towards the back.


    ¡°Hm?¡± The blond man on the escalator tilted his head slightly, looking at Guo Youliang, ¡°A top Exorcist from Huaying¡¯s Great Capital?¡±


    ¡°Not the top.¡± Guo Youliang pushed forward with his hands, forming a mass of invisible magnetic glow mixed with a chilling coldness, and hurled it fiercely at the blond man, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ five-star!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 637 - 637 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for

    ?Chapter 637: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!) Chapter 637: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!) Before him still lay the familiar void.


    Yan Junze had spent 700 points to activate ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± along with ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡±.


    The accumulated 30,700 points of Different Dimension Energy were just enough to leave 30,000 points remaining. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing in the void, the scale of time quickly emerged in front of him.


    He remembered clearly the time he had seen the Half-Moon Exorcism Association¡¯s altar in the Great Capital of USA, but he didn¡¯t intend to return to that point; he had to go back even further.


    Before preparing to find the space-time rift and initiate a Great Rewind, Yan Junze had already made up his mind.


    This time, he knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly prevent that group of people on his own during the altar¡¯s activation.


    Thus, the plan was either to take the medium object, the Book of Oath, or to stop the Half Moon Association¡¯s squads from searching for strangenesses, ensuring the sacrificial offerings could not be collected and the altar could not be activated.


    Both methods were worth a try.


    Now, it seemed that using the Great Rewind function to go back to where the Book of Oath was stored and stealthily stealing the book appeared to be the simplest and quickest method.


    If he planned to stop the Half Moon Association¡¯s search teams from finding suitable strangenesses, the time would have to be positioned before they began their search, so he could eliminate these strangenesses first.


    Otherwise, if the other party was searching while he was also trying to prevent them, encountering each other would lead to more problems and difficulties.


    After thinking, Yan Junze mulled over while saying, ¡°I would like to describe the events so that the Atlas can position the time and coordinates on its own.¡±


    A line of text quickly popped up in his mind.


    [Please provide a detailed description to facilitate better positioning by the Atlas.]


    Yan Junze thought to himself, ¡°The Half Moon Exorcism Association in the Great Capital of USA used the Book of Oath as a medium to activate an altar and summon a powerful Possession Spirit. I want to go back to the time before the altar was activated, when they were still in the preparatory phase, with the spatial positioning inside the room where the Book of Oath is stored.¡±


    [Positioning in progress, please wait¡­]


    [Analysis in progress¡­]


    As soon as those two lines appeared, Yan Junze knew that the space-time positioning had been successful; there was no problem with his description as far as the Atlas was concerned.


    But the next second, a line of text popped up that surprised him.


    [Analysis result indicates that host will immediately die upon appearance in the room where the Book of Oath is stored. Continue?]


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yan Junze was extremely astonished. Was the place where the Book of Oath was stored that formidable? He would die as soon as he appeared there, without even a chance to escape?


    It seemed that this idea was unfeasible.


    After some thought, Yan Junze said to himself, ¡°Then position me in a relatively safe location within that time-space. A place that would facilitate my next move.¡±


    He added the last sentence because Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure how intelligent the Spacetime Atlas was and whether it might place him between two walls.


    While that location would be quite safe and he wouldn¡¯t be discovered, it would be a rather embarrassing predicament.


    [Repositioning in progress, please wait¡­]


    [Analysis in progress¡­]


    [Analysis complete, positioning in progress¡­]


    [Positioning successful. This Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 5,100 points of Different Dimension Energy. Enter now?]


    Yan Junze looked at the energy points required and was alarmed.


    This had to be the most energy-consuming among the recent Great Rewinds because the time of space-time positioning might be set much earlier, related to when the Half Moon Association first began preparing for the altar.


    Moreover, the fact that the location was in the USA and not in Huaying might also increase the consumption of Different Dimension Energy due to the distance spanned.


    ¡°Enter,¡± Yan Junze motioned silently in his mind.


    He suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath his feet, and he plummeted downward. After seven or eight seconds, his feet touched the ground, and the dim scenery before him gradually came into focus.


    Yan Junze found himself crouching at the side of a large bookshelf, with two fabric sofas in front of him. Due to the proximity, he could see the intricate and neat patterns on the sofas very clearly.


    However, the room was dimly lit, making it difficult to see further away.


    Yan Junze was crouching there for a reason¡ªthe room was occupied by others.


    Based on the voices, there seemed to be two or three people conversing. These people weren¡¯t sitting on the fabric sofas but were at the other end of the room, where a fireplace burned, much warmer than their location.


    To hear what the others were saying more clearly, Yan Junze snuck out from the side of the bookshelf, bending low and quietly moved behind the fabric sofas, where he lay still.


    The voices reached his ears; these were three individuals from the Great Capital of USA, discussing. Yan Junze guessed they must be members of the Half Moon Association, and the place where he currently was, if he guessed correctly, should be the headquarters of the Half Moon Association.


    After all, high-level items like the Book of Oath wouldn¡¯t be stored just anywhere; at the very least, they should be kept safe within their own stronghold.


    A somewhat gentle male voice came through: ¡°Don¡¯t you know? The chairman has called us together this time for a reason.¡±


    ¡°What reason?¡± another man with a deep voice asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the altar,¡± the man with the gentle voice replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know the specifics, but George does; he¡¯s quite close to Chu Linna.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense; my relationship with Chu Linna is completely professional,¡± another male voice chimed in, presumably George.

 Chapter 638 - 638 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for

    ?Chapter 638: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 638: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!)_2 The voice with a delicate male tone laughed, ¡°I didn¡¯t say you guys were abnormal, just that you have a very good relationship.¡±


    ¡°Rodney, the last person who spoke ill of Chu Linna, now his tongue is still soaking in red Kron wine in Chu Linna¡¯s private museum,¡± the man with the low voice reminded.


    The delicate-voiced Rodney chuckled and quickly changed the subject, ¡°George, tell us, what do you know about the altar.¡±


    George hummed softly, clearly dissatisfied with Rodney¡¯s wild guessing, but still said, ¡°It is said that the arrangement of the altar is the will of the Elder Council, the Chairman actually doesn¡¯t support it. However, with a vote of nineteen to twenty, the Elder council passed the resolution, and the Chairman was powerless to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, the Chairman was the one out of twenty who voted against it?¡± Rodney said with a smile.


    ¡°It should be so.¡± The man with the low voice took over, ¡°Did Chu Linna mention why the altar needed to be arranged?¡±


    ¡°She mentioned it briefly.¡± George nodded, ¡°She said that if the altar is activated, it would bring greater survival opportunities for the Association. I later inquired a little more about the interpretation of ¡®opportunity¡¯. Chu Linna said that the activation of the altar is related to the strangenesses, it¡¯s the key for us to control the vast majority of strangenesses in this world.¡±


    ¡°I think the Elder Council has gone mad,¡± Rodney said with some excitement, ¡°It¡¯s clearly lacking consideration.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they¡¯ve considered it very clearly?¡± The man with the low voice said, ¡°We are just speculating now, we will only know the details once the meeting starts.¡±


    Yan Junze speculated that these three people must be core members of the Half Moon Association, and might even hold certain positions, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be attending such a high-level meeting.


    ¡°Have we really received the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯? Is that true?¡± This time it was George¡¯s turn to ask.


    Rodney nodded, ¡°I also heard the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ was in the Great Capital Museum in Olay Great Capital, how did it get to us?¡±


    The man with the low voice remained silent, not knowing whether he was unclear about the matter or had nothing to say.


    George said, ¡°Legend has it that the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ represents the beginning of the mysterious, no one can understand the text within. I¡¯ve actually suspected from the beginning, how likely is it that the global strangenesses are related to such ancient books?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just your speculation, George,¡± said the low voice at this point, ¡°There¡¯s more than just this ancient book, if they¡¯re all related, there are at least dozens of books with greater suspicion than the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I think too,¡± Rodney interjected, ¡°Like there¡¯s another ancient book called ¡®Book of Change¡¯. I¡¯ve only heard of it, don¡¯t know if it really exists. It would be more suspicious, because as soon as it¡¯s opened¡­¡±


    Just at that moment, the door near the fireplace on one side of the room suddenly opened, and a handsome middle-aged man with brown hair, pale skin, and a well-proportioned figure elegantly stepped into the room.


    He smiled slightly and said, ¡°Rodney, George, Assam, there you are. The meeting is about to start, aren¡¯t you planning on entering the conference room?¡±


    ¡°David Charles? Oh, Vice Chairman, why are you here?¡± Rodney said with a surprised laugh.


    The three men who were conversing stood up one by one, and respectfully nodded to the Vice Chairman who walked into the room.


    Charles replied with a smile, ¡°This meeting is organized by the Chairman for you, I don¡¯t have to attend.¡±


    Rodney checked his wristwatch and nodded, ¡°It¡¯s about time, then we¡¯ll go over first.¡±


    Charles, holding an exquisite cane in his hand, walked to a high table in the room with various red wines and champagne on it, and nodded, ¡°Go ahead. Assam, you stay for a bit, I have some questions regarding the strangeness incident at Kleria Manor I¡¯d like to understand.¡±


    The low-voiced Assam nodded, and the other two, Rodney and George, left the spacious room one after the other.


    As the door of the room closed, Charles picked up a glass of red wine that had just been poured, gently swirling it in his hand as if the red nectar inside were about to coagulate into blood clots, radiating an ominous strangeness. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A moment later, Charles turned around, casting his gaze towards Assam.


    Assam was slightly burly, with short hair standing up like steel needles, prickly to the touch.


    ¡°What do they know?¡± Charles suddenly asked.


    ¡°Nothing, all speculations without any source,¡± Assam said.


    ¡°So, the Chairman, that old guy, his idea of rallying them to overthrow the Elder Council¡¯s decision might still fall through, huh?¡± Charles took a sip of his wine, smiling.


    Assam suddenly made a gesture to keep quiet, Charles was taken aback, following Assam¡¯s gaze towards the direction of the closet sofa.


    ¡°Dear friend, why don¡¯t you come out and let me see who you are? After having listened to my conversation with Rodney and George, are you planning to continue your sinister tricks?¡± Assam suddenly spoke in the direction of the closet sofa.


    Yan Junze, hidden behind the sofa, did not know that these two individuals had already been looking in this direction, but he was clearly taken aback. He couldn¡¯t be sure whether Assam was addressing him.


    However, the next moment, a bizarre feeling emanated from the direction of Assam, like entering an electrical equipment room in operation, feeling like static electricity, with every hair on his skin standing on end.

 Chapter 639 - 639 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for

    ?Chapter 639: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!)_3 Chapter 639: Chapter 396 Encountering Difficulties (Vote for monthly passes!)_3 ¡°`


    ¡°I¡¯m being targeted.¡±


    The feeling was intense, as if the attacker could strike at any moment.


    In the next second, Yan Junze made the decision to Rewind.


    Time went back to the moment he had just appeared in the room, crouching beside this large bookshelf.


    This time, he wasn¡¯t planning to move again.


    He was sure that his previous actions weren¡¯t conspicuous enough to alarm Assam; the reason this man had discovered him must be his movement from the bookshelf to the area behind the fabric sofa. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That guy might possess extremely acute senses towards changes in his environment, so this time, Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t move; after all, he had already heard Rodney, George, and Assam¡¯s conversation clearly.


    Being slightly further away this time, it wouldn¡¯t matter much if he couldn¡¯t hear the conversation clearly.


    Moreover, Yan Junze understood that he was just an ordinary human, not like the strangenesses that could emit a magnetic field around them at any time.


    It followed that Exorcists sensitive to strangenesses, such as Assam, would certainly notice any changes in the magnetic field in this direction.


    Now, he just quietly leaned against one side of the bookshelf, completely still, the sound of his breathing negligible in the spacious room.


    The three of them chatted back and forth, and before long, David Charles, the Deputy Head of the Half Moon Association, entered through the door.


    Now Yan Junze knew that David Charles seemed to be in cahoots with Assam, apparently supporting the camp that wanted to use the Book of Oath to open the altar, and the two shared more secrets unknown to outsiders.


    The distance from the bookshelf to the fabric sofa was roughly four meters. Due to the distance, after Rodney and George left, as Charles and Assam started talking, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t hear them very clearly.


    He still didn¡¯t move but just pricked up his ears, trying hard to listen.


    This time, Assam indeed hadn¡¯t noticed his presence, but as their speech was intermittent, Yan Junze, despite his careful attempts to discern, couldn¡¯t get the full picture. However, he managed to compile five key points.


    The first was that Deputy Head David Charles was certainly conspiring with Assam, a fact that might be unknown to the Head of the Association, and their group included more than just the two of them, there were others.


    Perhaps, the Elder Council of the Association was mostly swayed by Charles, which led to the decision to open the altar being approved, regardless of how much the Head opposed it.


    The second point was that the two frequently mentioned someone named Morrison with reverence in their tone, leading Yan Junze to suspect that Morrison was very powerful.


    Given that within the Association, David Charles was already the Deputy Head, he had no one above him except for the Head, not counting the Elder Council.


    A person who still commands awe from Charles is likely someone very powerful, such as this Morrison.


    The third key point was that although the decision to open the altar had only been made recently, in fact, Charles and Assam¡¯s team had secretly planned to search for special strangenesses some time ago.


    This planning was at least a few months in advance.


    That is to say, by now, they had already found some special strangenesses as sacrificial offerings, but since the Head had not agreed, it was inconvenient to send people to capture these strangenesses directly.


    Yan Junze guessed that even if they hadn¡¯t captured them, it was very possible that they were keeping an eye on these strangenesses, and people with the power to secretly watch over strangenesses were naturally strong, which made him unconsciously think of Morrison, whom Charles mentioned a few times.


    However, judging from Charles¡¯s tone, he held great awe for this person, and having him keeping watch over the strangenesses seemed somewhat inappropriate.


    This point, because some parts of the conversation weren¡¯t clear, Yan Junze himself couldn¡¯t fully understand.


    The fourth key point was that Assam obtained information that Chu Linna had leaked news about the altar and the Book of Oath through extracting conversation from Rodney and George, which was detrimental to their plans.


    The two discussed whether they should seize an opportunity to quietly dispose of Chu Linna.


    The last key point was that the Book of Oath was indeed here, right next door in the ¡°Sealed Room.¡±


    From Assam¡¯s tone, he seemed very confident about storing the Book of Oath in this ¡°Sealed Room,¡± not worried about any mishaps at all.


    This news posed a difficult problem for Yan Junze.


    It seemed that Assam¡¯s abilities were at least equivalent to a four-star Exorcist from Olay Great Capital, or even five stars, and now even he was satisfied with the storage location of the Book of Oath, which meant it would be very difficult to steal.


    Considering again that the Book of Oath apparently had been in the Great Capital Museum of Olay Great Capital before, the difficulty of successfully stealing it from there would be no less than the current situation.


    Junze had chosen to appear in the location where the Book of Oath was stored, and the Atlas had already warned that he would be killed immediately upon appearing there, and now it also seemed impossible to proceed.


    What to do?


    It seemed impossible now to take away the Book of Oath.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 640 - 640 397 Special Strangenesses

    ?Chapter 640: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses Chapter 640: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses While the two were conversing, Yan Junze thought of another possibility ¨C since the President opposed initiating the ritual altar, could he find the President and have him come forward to cancel all preparations for it.


    However, the moment he considered this idea, he knew it was naively optimistic, and in reality, it was practically a dream.


    The reason being that the President of the Half Moon Association held such an esteemed position that he didn¡¯t even know Junze; for what reason could he possibly gain the President¡¯s trust?


    It wasn¡¯t a problem that could be solved by just one or two Rewinds, and besides, that would mean traveling through time again, needing even more Different Dimension Energy.


    With time being of the essence, he couldn¡¯t possibly choose to go back, gather more energy, and then return to figure out a solution.


    And even if Junze had incredible abilities to earn the President¡¯s trust, whether the President could overturn the Elder Council¡¯s decision was still a question mark.


    In Junze¡¯s view, today¡¯s meeting seemed like the Half Moon Association¡¯s President was making a final struggle by calling others to the meeting. But as someone who had been through this before, he knew that the struggle would still be in vain; the altar would still be activated and the world would still fall into crisis from the Possession Spirit.


    Abandoning the thought of convincing the President, since he had already come, Yan Junze decided to focus on stealing the Book of Oath ¨C whether he could succeed would be a question for later.


    Vice President Charles and Assam talked for perhaps half an hour, and it seemed that Assam had no intention of attending the meeting hosted by the President, as he was sipping red wine during their conversation.


    Then the two of them stepped out, closing the door behind them, both silent as if nothing had happened.


    Yan Junze still didn¡¯t move, leaning on the side of the bookshelf and waiting a few minutes until he was sure everything had returned to normal before crouching behind the upholstered sofa, then pausing again.


    With no other sound, he slowly stood up and looked around the room.


    He wasn¡¯t concerned about the presence of cameras; if there were any, Charles and Assam wouldn¡¯t have discussed secrets so freely and confidently before.


    Everything here was clearer to those men than to himself.


    There were two doors leading out of the room: one near the burning fireplace and the other nearer to him. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not knowing the situation outside, but if the room storing the Book of Oath was next door, Junze didn¡¯t believe it was next to the fireplace side.


    Since they had gone out from this side, it was very likely the next room on this side.


    Approaching the door on his side, he gently pressed down on the doorknob, pulling at the door, which opened.


    He cracked open the door slightly and peeked through the gap, looking out into a hallway with rooms across from it.


    Because he had directly arrived in the room, he didn¡¯t know what place this was or what the structure of the house was like.


    Maintaining the cracked door, he saw no one moving in the hallway.


    Yan Junze tried to open the door wider, slowly sticking his head out, and then looked at both ends of the hallway.


    No one was there.


    Taking a deep breath, he walked out the door.


    He quickly approached the next room¡¯s doorway, looking left and right, noticing a camera in the middle of the hallway pointed in this direction, but with no choice, regardless of whether the surveillance staff had seen him or not, he had to try.


    Standing in front of this next door, he twisted the doorknob, and to his surprise, the door opened easily.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly entered the door.


    Whether or not he was exposed to the outdoor camera was a problem that could be resolved with just a Rewind, so even if someone were rushing over from the outside now, he wouldn¡¯t be too flustered.


    His time was limited, Yan Junze needed to understand the environment of this place and figure out why Assam felt so secure here.


    Otherwise, he saw no better option to manage this situation.


    Strictly speaking, this room was only half a room, as the other half was blocked by a metallic door and wall.


    This metal door featured a bank vault-like security design, sturdy with protections against theft, fire, destruction, and explosion, requiring a complicated opening procedure that needed at least two people to complete.


    Seeing this setup, Yan Junze¡¯s heart chilled; using conventional methods, it was simply impossible to get in.


    Already, footsteps were echoing in the hallway outside, likely because he was spotted by the camera, and people might be on their way.


    However, Junze¡¯s attention shifted to a notice board placed beside the metal door, absorbing his focus. He took no precautions against the people drawing closer, but quickly walked to the sign, reading the English at the fastest pace he had ever managed.


    [Special Reminder:


    1. All personnel holding Travel Permits, please note, this warehouse is temporarily closed to outsiders. The previously stored valuables have been transferred to Warehouse 7; please retrieve them from Warehouse 7 with your Travel Permit. We apologize for any inconvenience.


    2. The warehouse has initiated the highest-level entry authentication.


    3.¡­]


    Yan Junze saw an iris scanning system next to the metal door. At this moment, the door behind him was being opened from the outside; he had no time to read the remaining text.

 Chapter 641 - 641 397 Special Strangenesses_2

    ?Chapter 641: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses_2 Chapter 641: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses_2 ¡°Who are you?¡± a sharp voice rang out from behind, followed by the sound of machinery¡ªlikely some type of firearm.


    Rewind!


    Time reverted to a few dozen seconds earlier. This time, Yan Junze stood in front of the sign without looking at the first and second items but directly at the third.


    [3. Magnetic Energy Biometric Laser Defense activated in the warehouse. Due to radiation effects, personnel previously stationed outside the warehouse are to immediately evacuate as of today. Warning patrols are limited to the outer corridors, and one should not approach the warehouse unless absolutely necessary.]


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The same sharp voice and the same question arose behind Yan Junze, then the sound of firearms began.


    Rewind!


    In an instant, Yan Junze was back in the room where he had arrived, leaning against the bookshelf, in a half-crouch.


    By this time, Vice President Charles and Assam had already departed, and Yan Junze remained crouched there, carefully recalling the content of the notice outside the warehouse.


    It seemed that this warehouse wasn¡¯t always like this and had only been recently upgraded.


    Now, to Yan Junze, the most important was the third item.


    What¡¯s this crap about Magnetic Energy paired with laser defense? What kind of bizarre weapon was that?


    The fact that the original guards outside were evacuated suggested that the radiation impact was indeed significant. If the laser defense was fully activated inside the warehouse, it meant that the hints provided by the Atlas were correct.


    Because Yan Junze was unaware, he had stated his desired space-time positioning to be in the room where the Book of Oath was stored, and that room was the warehouse next door, a dangerously extreme location with the laser defense turned on.


    No wonder the Atlas warned him that he would lose his life immediately upon entering! It seemed to care about not losing its host after all.


    But now, Yan Junze found himself in a predicament. From what it looked like, successfully taking the Book of Oath was simply impossible; these guys were guarding it too tightly.


    If all else failed, he might try disarming some of the special strangenesses required for the ritual altar first, especially those extremely unique ones for which no substitute could be readily found.


    Yan Junze believed that if Vice President Charles had used his influence to secretly search for special strangenesses long ago, some of them were likely incredibly rare.


    Even if there were substitutes, they surely wouldn¡¯t be as suitable for the altar¡¯s needs as the original special strangeness.


    Thinking this through, Yan Junze temporarily abandoned the idea of stealing the Book of Oath. No help for it; that warehouse was impregnable.


    Not to mention, he wasn¡¯t Tom Cruise, capable of stealing retinas, hanging upside down like Spider-Man, or employing various flawless disguise techniques and tricks¡ªhe knew none of them.


    Besides, Tom Cruise had an impressive team for support, whereas he was all alone.


    He stood up and walked around the room, noticing a coat rack by the fireplace with a men¡¯s black trench coat hanging on it along with a hat, belonging to someone unknown.


    Yan Junze chose to Rewind again.


    This time, time rewound to the moment right after Charles and Assam had just left the room, one after the other.


    He immediately stood up, went to the coat rack, took down the black trench coat, and put it on. It felt a bit large but was wearable.


    Then, he took the hat with a brim and put it on his head; it fit perfectly. Buttoning up the two front buttons of the coat, he moved to the door by the fireplace, gently pulled it open, and walked out.


    In his line of sight, Charles and Assam had reached the elevator, one pressing the button to go up, the other down.


    Charles smiled, ¡°You really not planning to attend the meeting?¡±


    Assam replied, ¡°Not going, that old man won¡¯t convince me.¡±


    Charles laughed, and at that time, the descending elevator arrived, the doors opened, and Assam stepped in.


    ¡°See you in two days, and when you inform me, I hope you bring good news,¡± Assam said while walking in, bidding farewell to Charles.


    Charles nodded, and shortly after, the ascending elevator arrived. He stepped in, and the doors slowly closed.


    Yan Junze¡¯s steps were slow, and it wasn¡¯t until the elevator began moving upward that he slowly approached the elevator doors and glanced up at the display showing the floors reached.


    Seventh floor!


    And the building they were in seemed to have not too many floors, the highest being the seventh.


    Perhaps Vice President Charles¡¯s office was on the top floor.


    But now that he had gone into his own office, it wasn¡¯t convenient for Yan Junze to follow; he planned to re-enter the room he had come from to hide a while longer, and when it was later, he would go up to the seventh floor to investigate.


    Turning to walk back, he glanced up inadvertently and was startled to see that the fourth room away from the elevator, merely three rooms down, had ¡°Vice President¡¯s Office¡± written on the door.


    Behind the words for the office was a parenthetical, inside which was written ¡°David Charles.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t expected the guy¡¯s office to be on this level. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wondering why Charles would go up to the top floor, Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to ponder any longer. He immediately approached, pressed down the door handle, and gave a gentle push; the office wasn¡¯t locked.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt like he was cheating in a game¡ªfinding Charles¡¯s office immediately when he wanted to, and upon wanting to enter, he was able to do so without issue, a feeling even better than winning the jackpot.


    After entering, he closed the door softly behind him. The office was spacious and luxuriously decorated, comprising two rooms. The front was the reception area, and only beyond it was the actual office.

 Chapter 642 - 642 397 Special Strangenesses_3

    ?Chapter 642: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses_3 Chapter 642: Chapter 397: Special Strangenesses_3 ¡°`


    Unexpectedly, the lock on the room¡¯s door was fastened, barring entry.


    ¡°It seems I¡¯m just an Unlucky Person pretending to be a Lucky Man,¡± mumbled Yan Junze to himself.


    He glanced back, took out the Black Spirit Umbrella, aimed the tip at the lock, and pressed the launch button.


    With a soft pop, the tip shot straight out, hitting the round lock at close range, knocking the core out and into the office, breaking the lock; Yan Junze pushed the door open and entered.


    Once inside the office, Yan Junze immediately went to Charles¡¯s desk to search for documents.


    Since Charles advocated for opening the altar, he surely had extensive research materials concerning the special strangenesses required; finding these would enable Yan Junze to target his efforts.


    He opened the desk drawers one by one, searching, but found no information about the altar.


    When he was about to open the middle drawer on the far left, he realized it was locked.


    Yan Junze pulled out the Black Spirit Umbrella again, wedged the tip into the crack of the drawer, and gave it a forceful lever, prying the drawer open.


    Extracting the drawer, he found a stack of documents clipped together, which he removed and quickly flipped through; all were related to the summoning of the altar.


    The information was detailed, confirming that even if Charles wasn¡¯t the mastermind behind the altar, he was at least a major participant.


    The documents were divided into three parts; the first part concerned the investigation of the Book of Oath, matching Charles¡¯s earlier discussion with Assam. The Book of Oath was an ancient tome, obscure in content but believed to be the most direct means for humans to communicate with strangenesses. However, the specific reasons for this were unclear.


    As Yan Junze had anticipated, the Book of Oath had been stored in the Great Capital Museum in Olay Great Capital, similarly heavily guarded. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time, the Half Moon Association had made contact with Claudia IX of the Royal Family of Olay Great Capital, exchanging something costly to borrow this ancient book.


    The second part of the documents was about the preparations for the altar and the essential conditions required to activate it. This section also included information on the timing, location, and necessary taboos.


    The contents of this part were extensive and varied, and although Yan Junze wanted to know more, he didn¡¯t have time to read in detail.


    He quickly turned to the third part, which indeed contained the information on the special strangenesses needed for the altar.


    First, he skimmed through; the special strangenesses included those capable of Bond Evolution, strangenesses with a leak-shaped magnetic field, and those who were born strangenesses without ever experiencing a day of human life.


    In total, thirteen special strangenesses were required.


    Among this information, Yan Junze noticed three strangenesses were marked with a red circle at the beginning of their description. Reading closely, his mind was jolted; these three were his targets.


    [Special Strangeness: The Bride.


    Description 1: The Bride, real name Quintina Scott, was 23 when she met a handsome, jobless man disguised as a distinguished foreign trader. He courted her, swindling all her savings and making grand promises until one day he vanished. Quintina, trying on a wedding dress at the time, became outrageously angry, spiraling into a state of delusion, violence, and hysteria. Three months later, Quintina found her fianc¨¦.


    Description 2: The Bride died before the strangeness outbreak, her body preserved, uncorrupted by special spices. She was then possessed by a Possession Spirit and subsequently fought over by higher-level strangenesses. After several battles, the Bride¡¯s own strangeness awakened, devouring all that tried to take her body. Currently, the Bride is kept in Klargon Castle in Pickley County of Olay Great Capital, guarded by the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group of Olay Great Capital.


    Description 3: The Bride¡¯s body is known as a Super Container, able to house seven or more high-level strangenesses and capable of self-evolving within. The extent to which the Bride herself has merged and evolved remains unclear.


    Characteristics: The Bride has multiple ¡°Strangeness Frameworks;¡± her coffin is made using an altered magnetic field that traps the ¡°Strangeness Frameworks¡± in a singular line. Thus, never let her attempt to leave her coffin.


    Danger Level: Beyond A-grade, capable of causing A-grade strangeness incidents.


    Note: This strangeness, possessing multiple strangeness frameworks, has yet to find a replacement with similar attributes, marking it as irreplaceable.]


    Yan Junze blinked his somewhat dry eyes, now knowing these marked strangenesses were irreplaceable among the ones sought for this occasion.


    Like this Bride, who had multiple ¡°Strangeness Frameworks,¡± Yan Junze guessed these to be not so different from having multiple personalities.


    And these ¡°Strangeness Frameworks¡± all belonged to the Bride herself.


    His gaze then shifted back to the second red-marked special strangeness.


    [Special Strangeness: The Deformed Alabell]


    ¡­


    ¡°`

 Chapter 643 - 643 398 Space-Time Positioning

    ?Chapter 643: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning Chapter 643: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning [Special Strangeness: The Deformed Alabell.]


    Description 1: Alabell¡¯s family was very wealthy. Her grandfather, when he was young, engaged in the perfume business in Great Capital, Otriel State, USA. Later, for some unknown reason, he offended the governor, and his business was restricted everywhere. Alabell¡¯s grandfather sold all his property, took a large sum of money, and relocated with his family to Ruisen Island, which was uninhabited at the time, and started a new life there.]


    Description 2: Alabell was born on Ruisen Island and is now 75 years old. She has never left the island in her life. Ruisen Island is approximately 1.5 square kilometers and can be nearly considered the private property of the Alabell family.]


    Description 3: Alabell was born deformed, with her limbs and facial features misplaced. The midwife said that if this hadn¡¯t been the case, Alabell would have been a very beautiful girl. That midwife was never able to leave Ruisen Island and is eternally resting there.]


    Description 4: The family has always needed someone to take care of Alabell, but it seems no one can endure more than three months. Everyone who has taken care of her and had close contact with her ultimately can¡¯t escape misfortune. From their testimony, a relatively unified statement can be obtained: Alabell is a devil.]


    Description 5: According to the investigation by the Half Moon Association and the personal involvement of Mister Reaper, it can be confirmed that Alabell emits a strange magnetic field. This is an extremely twisted magnetic field that can be completely overlooked if not careful. Mister Reaper then gave his final conclusion.]


    Description 6: Alabell is not human.]


    Characteristic: Alabell belongs to a non-human body with strange magnetic field attributes. She was born this way, what we call ¡°innately strange¡±. Before the strangeness erupted, her constitution was always in a Yin state, until the strangeness completely broke out and turned Yang.]


    Danger Level: Super A, this strangeness can create A-level strangeness events.]


    Note: This strangeness, because of its innate non-human body, temporarily cannot find similar strange bodies and is irreplaceable.]


    Upon reading this, Yan Junze took a deep breath, feeling a massive amount of turbidity accumulated in his chest that he needed to exhale completely.]


    An innate strangeness, born with a strange constitution, what kind of life form is this?


    He was puzzled and couldn¡¯t even imagine it.]


    Moreover, the danger level of the deformed Alabell and the Corpse Bride were the same. The definitions of strangeness events¡¯ levels by both Great Capital USA and Great Capital Huaying were quite similar, both capable of crafting A-level events, which are of extremely high level.]


    In Yan Junze¡¯s estimation, these two entities were at least of the Semi-Ethereal Spirit level, if not that of the true Ethereal spirit.]


    If it¡¯s a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, his Black Spirit Umbrella could handle it, as one of the three powers within the umbrella dealt with Semi-Ethereal Spirits. Coupled with the powers of Fang Ning and the Black Spirit Pearl, these forces would be enough to suppress or even annihilate the adversary.]


    However, if it were a true Ethereal Spirit level, the Black Spirit Umbrella could still take a shot. But the final outcome, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be certain.]


    Of course, with his Buddhist style of exorcism, he wouldn¡¯t resort to such direct annihilation methods unless absolutely necessary.]


    After all, every strangeness, no matter its strength, persists because of Obsession. If you remove the Obsession, the strangeness ceases to exist. With this method, he could earn energy and not have to expend any manpower.] sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, just because a strangeness is strong, doesn¡¯t mean its Obsession is hard to resolve. It¡¯s a matter of probability. Of course, there are also strangenesses that are very strong, and their Obsessions could be surprisingly simple to fulfill¡ªit¡¯s just that these cases are harder to come by.]


    Currently, these two strangenesses, which are at least of Semi-Ethereal Spirit level, have certain directional Obsessions and therefore can be dealt with using Buddhist exorcism.]


    And they are not those strangenesses whose Obsession is kill, kill, kill, to slay upon sight and seek the destruction of everything.]


    To Yan Junze, this was a good sign.]


    After pondering for a moment, his gaze continued to the next set of strangeness information highlighted with a red line.]


    [Special Strangeness: A Being Close to God.]


    Description 1: Jacob Johnson died when he was only eight years old. He suffered from Morgellons disease. When he had an episode, he felt like tens of thousands of insects were crawling under his skin, causing an unbearable itching and excruciating pain. He saw a psychiatrist who confirmed it was all in his head, but the doctor couldn¡¯t explain the abundant white fibrous tissue that occasionally appeared under Jacob¡¯s skin during his episodes. Oh, and sometimes these fibrous tissues would wriggle slightly like earthworms.]


    Description 2: After one episode, Jacob chose to end his life forever. Since then, the apartment building where he lived and grew up became a place no one dared to stay, until it was entirely quarantined.]


    Description 3: Half a year ago, the Half Moon Association received a report on the Ghost Apartment. The Association sent an intermediate exorcist, Jessica Dale, and two junior exorcists, Marcy Damon and Byron Smith, to the Ghost Apartment. To this day, none of the three had ever come out. They seem to have vanished from this world.]


    Description 4: Three months ago, the Association requested Mister Reaper Morrison to investigate the situation at the Ghost Apartment. Mister Reaper left the apartment after 72 hours, appearing very exhausted. His exact words were that he temporarily had no way to deal with Jacob¡¯s strangeness, but he could contain it, preventing it from leaving the apartment building.]

 Chapter 644 - 644 398 Space-Time Positioning_2

    ?Chapter 644: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning_2 Chapter 644: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning_2 Feature: Jacob is immune to all known forms of physical damage and even attacks from strangenesses, meaning, as an exorcist, you are utterly unable to harm him.


    Danger Level: S-rank; the anomaly can create S-rank anomalous events.


    Note 1: As the anomaly is immune to all attacks and no similar anomalies can be found, it is irreplaceable.


    Note 2: Jacob, a being close to that of a god, is absolutely unique.]


    In fact, while Yan Junze was still reading ¡°Note 2,¡± a cold male voice had already come from in front of the desk where he was sitting.


    ¡°Have you had your fill? If so, put down my stuff, get your ass off my chair, and stand up slowly with your hands raised.¡±


    Yan Junze did not look up; he had already heard the voice very clearly; it was Vice President David Charles speaking.


    Without any other motion, Yan Junze followed his instructions, raising his hands and slowly standing up.


    ¡°Vice President Charles, who came up with the lousy idea to activate the altar?¡±


    In his hand, Charles held a somewhat oddly-shaped handgun, aimed directly at Yan Junze.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, he was slightly taken aback but then chuckled, ¡°Someone from Huaying Great Capital? Who do you work for? The president? Or the exorcist organization of Huaying?¡±


    He then shook his head, ¡°A Huaying face is too easily recognized; the president wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to hire you to work for him.¡±


    Yan Junze ignored his speculation and spoke again, ¡°This idea to open the altar wasn¡¯t yours. Who was it then? Reaper Morrison? Or the entire Elder Council? Or someone outside the association?¡±


    He kept talking, his gaze fixed on Charles¡¯s face, trying to discern any subtle expressions.


    ¡°Seems like¡­ none of the above!¡± Yan Junze shook his head while speaking.


    Charles¡¯s face was always adorned with a faint, cold smile, his expression unchanging, and he tilted his weird handgun upward, ¡°Lie down on the ground, hands behind your back.¡±


    Yan Junze made no movement; he remembered the news he had heard from Zhang Chengjing before the Great Rewind¡ªhow a Reaper from USA Great Capital had been killed by a powerful Possession Spirit while pursuing it.


    And there were other exorcists with the Reaper, and since the Reaper had been killed, it indicated that the other exorcist¡¯s power was probably even stronger.


    He suddenly asked, ¡°If it¡¯s not the Reaper, and not the direction of some outsider, could it be that individual who¡¯s more formidable than the Reaper?¡±


    At this, Charles¡¯s expression faltered for a fraction of a second before instantly returning to normal.


    Yan Junze knew he was onto something, although he could not yet imagine who could possibly be more formidable than the Reaper. His knowledge was limited to the scant information he had previously gathered from Zhang Chengjing. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Previously, he had lacked the clearance to enter the last door of the Exorcist Brigade¡¯s data vault, and it so happened that those data concerned the Reaper and what lay beyond the Reaper, as well as the information regarding Ethereal spirits that transcended strangenesses.


    Since there was an almost imperceptible change in Charles¡¯s expression, it meant that his conjecture was somewhat credible.


    The one wishing to initiate the altar must be someone more formidable than the Reaper, an existence that he currently had no way to reach.


    Having learned enough information, Yan Junze did not continue to follow Charles¡¯s instruction to lie down but instead chose to Rewind.


    Time rolled back to when he hid in that room with the fireplace, leaning against a bookshelf, and then Yan Junze activated the return command and instantly disappeared.


    In this timeline, it was as if he had never arrived.


    Standing in the Void,


    Yan Junze slowly exhaled and briefly sorted through the information he had just obtained in his mind.


    Now it seemed that attempting to tamper with the Book of Oath was the most impossible task as the object was under strict guard, whether at the Olay Great Capital Museum or the Half-Moon Exorcism Association¡¯s warehouse.


    He had no way in.


    However, on second thought, what he was best at was exorcism, especially Buddhist-style exorcism. If he could eliminate those three irreplaceable strangenesses in advance, the Half Moon Association wouldn¡¯t have a leg to stand on!


    The Corpse Bride and deformed Alabell were irreplaceable and even if replacements could be found, they might not be as perfectly suitable as these two.


    If he could eliminate both of them in advance, it was certain that the altar could not be initiated for a short period.


    Later, he could report the situation with the altar to the Huaying Great Capital Exorcist Brigade; with Zhang Chengjing¡¯s help, they could covertly intervene, and the altar might never be initiated again.


    At present, this seemed to be the only viable strategy.


    At least, the Corpse Bride and deformed Alabell, though terrifying, clearly nursed Obsessions. As long as there were Obsessions, it would be easier to handle them. And even if he truly couldn¡¯t exorcise them peacefully, he still had the powerful Black Spirit Umbrella as a fallback.


    Now the only concern was whether he would have enough energy left after returning to those two points in time.


    Yan Junze planned to first return to Klargon Castle in Pickley County, Olay Great Capital, which was under the surveillance of Olay Great Capital¡¯s Night Moon Demon Hunting Group.


    There might be more than one monster in the castle, but the Corpse Bride was certainly a unique being there and should be easy to find.


    Even if he just eliminated the irreplaceable Corpse Bride and lacked the energy to also get rid of the deformed Alabell, the trip would still be worthwhile.

 Chapter 645 - 645 398 Space-Time Positioning_3

    ?Chapter 645: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning_3 Chapter 645: Chapter 398 Space-Time Positioning_3 The consequence, even if it couldn¡¯t completely prevent the altar from being activated, would definitely delay the activation time.


    By the time these guys find a similar substitute, capable of replacing the Corpse Bride, I might have already taken care of the deformed Alabell.


    Alternatively, intervention by the exorcists from Huaying Great Capital could prevent the altar from meeting its activation requirements.


    However, before proceeding with this plan, Yan Junze prepared to first try out another idea that had just sprouted in his mind.


    If this idea could be implemented, it would surely be better than the current plan.


    Making up his mind, he stood in the Void, thinking to himself, ¡°I want to describe the event for the Atlas to locate the time and coordinates.¡±


    A line of text popped up in his mind.


    [Please provide a detailed description to aid in better positioning by the Atlas.]


    Yan Junze thought to himself, ¡°In Pickley County of Olay Great Capital, Klargon Castle holds a strangeness known as the ¡®Corpse Bride¡¯. The Corpse Bride¡¯s real name is ¡®Quintina Scott¡¯, and she died by suicide. I want to position it to a time before Quintina met her fianc¨¦, that is, before the unemployed man pretending to be a businessman tricked her out of all her property, and the location is near Quintina¡¯s home.¡±


    In fact, Yan Junze¡¯s idea was simple: use the Great Rewind to position directly before Quintina committed suicide, altering her life¡¯s trajectory so she couldn¡¯t become the Corpse Bride.


    That way, I wouldn¡¯t have to perform an exorcism myself, and the Half Moon Association¡¯s altar would be directly short of one special strangeness.


    Although he didn¡¯t know whether in this timeline, due to the absence of the Corpse Bride, another special strangeness might appear in her place.


    But if he didn¡¯t try, it would all be speculation.


    Yet Yan Junze had another concern, which was energy.


    Sure enough, several lines of text leaped out before his eyes.


    [Locating, please wait¡­]


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Analysis complete, locating¡­]


    [Located, this Space-Time Fixed Point Insertion will consume 31,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, would you like to enter now?]


    Looking at the Different Dimension Energy points required, Yan Junze shook his head helplessly.


    He had guessed that leaping through time over a long span would definitely consume a lot of energy points, but if he didn¡¯t try, he wouldn¡¯t know exactly how much.


    Now it seemed, this idea was impracticable.


    Currently, he only had a total of 24,900 energy points, which was nowhere near enough to go back to a time before Quintina recognized her fianc¨¦, the swindler.


    After some thought, Yan Junze decided to try going back to the moment just before her suicide, to prevent it.


    He immediately dismissed the current Space-Time Fixed Point Insertion and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to change the Space-Time Insertion conditions. The aforementioned elements remain the same, positioning to the moment after Quintina had met her swindler fianc¨¦ and had killed the guy, but before she committed suicide, and the location would be right beside her.¡±


    Yan Junze locked in the conditions to mitigate as much energy consumption as possible by minimizing the length of the temporal leap. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Locating, please wait¡­]


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Analysis complete, locating¡­]


    [Located, this Space-Time Fixed Point Insertion will consume 29,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, would you like to enter now?]


    Seeing the energy points needed, Yan Junze was taken aback, not expecting that moving the time forward would still require such a substantial amount of energy. His current energy was still insufficient for this Great Rewind.


    ¡°These foreigners, meeting for such a short time and they¡¯re already discussing marriage, must be just a few months¡¯ time,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    If the energy consumption hadn¡¯t reduced much from before, it indicated that the time interval was very short, meaning that for Yan Junze, a Great Rewind would still consume a large amount of energy.


    It seemed that taking the easy way out was not an option. After a pause, Yan Junze spoke again, ¡°Cancel this Space-Time Insertion. I want to reposition to Klargon Castle in Pickley County of Olay Great Capital, which holds a strangeness known as the ¡®Corpse Bride¡¯. The Corpse Bride¡¯s real name is ¡®Quintina Scott¡¯, and she died by suicide. I want to position to a time before the Half Moon Association in USA Great Capital discovered the Corpse Bride, arriving at a place that could conceal my identity and not be detected by the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group.¡±


    ¡­


    [Located, this Space-Time Fixed Point Insertion will consume 8,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, would you like to enter now?]


    The energy expenditure was finally manageable, and this result was within Yan Junze¡¯s expectations. He made up his mind on the spot.


    ¡°Enter now.¡±

 Chapter 646 - 646 399 Bride (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 646: Chapter 399 Bride (Part 1) Chapter 646: Chapter 399 Bride (Part 1) After consuming 8,000 points of Different Dimension Energy, there was still 16,900 points left.


    Yan Junze¡¯s feet dangled in the air, and he quickly landed, everything in front of him gradually becoming clear. He looked down and found himself standing on a ground paved with bluestone bricks.


    Raising his head, it seemed to be a storage room or equipment room.


    All four walls of the room were made of stone bricks, the surfaces smooth, but the stone bricks under his feet were somewhat rough, apparently constructed this way to prevent slipping.


    Looking around, the layout of the room differed from any he had seen before.


    Large wall cabinets were arranged in a circle around the room, these cabinets were quite exquisite and elegant, blending almost seamlessly with the wall color of the room and appearing very unified.


    Besides, every certain distance in the room, there was a wall lamp. A single lamp was not very bright, but the way they were set up meant there were no dark spots in the room; light reached everywhere.


    At the same time that Yan Junze appeared here, he heard the sound of the room door closing. Someone had just gone out, leaving him alone in this place that could be either an equipment room or a storage room.


    It¡¯s considered an equipment room because Yan Junze saw a lot of cloaks hanging on racks on both sides of the wall cabinet, and in front of the wall cabinets on the wooden shelves, there were numerous swords and shields arranged.


    This place should be inside Klargon Castle which is guarded by the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group from Olay Great Capital. It looked like this was one of the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group¡¯s equipment room or changing rooms.


    Because he had previously read about the Exorcists from Olay Great Capital, here, ¡°Exorcism¡± is not referred to as ¡°Exorcism,¡± but as ¡°Demon Exorcism,¡± although the nature was the same. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the Demon Exorcists from Olay Great Capital were mostly decentralized, in a state of disarray without the centralized management found in the Great Capital of Huaying or the dominance of the Half Moon Association like in the Great Capital of USA.


    Regarding this Night Moon Demon Hunting Group, Yan Junze speculated that it must be one of the more formidable Demon Exorcism Groups in Pickley County of Olay Great Capital, or a Demon Exorcist organization with a certain guarding nature responsible for the protection of Klargon Castle.


    After surveying the surroundings, Yan Junze quickly walked to the racks, took a long brown cloak from them, and draped it over himself. The cloak had a hood at the back, which he immediately flipped forward, fastened on his head, and covered most of his face.


    The Spacetime Atlas had sent him to this relatively safe environment for a reason.


    Here, Yan Junze could adopt a new identity, avoiding detection by the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group in the upcoming actions and also get a chance to inquire about other key information.


    After thinking for a moment, he approached the weapon rack. Looking at these swords, spears, and shields, he couldn¡¯t help feeling puzzled.


    Were the weapons of Olay Great Capital¡¯s Demon Exorcists so outdated that they still used cold weapons?


    Although Exorcists from the Great Capital of Huaying used magnetic knives which could emit a magnetic glow to slay strangenesses and were equipped with things like Hidden Buckles, they were no longer considered cold weapons.


    Could it be that these apparent cold weapons could also emit a magnetic glow?


    Yan Junze speculated.


    He picked up a Knight¡¯s Sword. It was quite thick and felt very heavy in his hand, totally different from a magnetic knife.


    At present, Yan Junze¡¯s control over the Magnetic Force had far surpassed that of an ordinary three-star Exorcist, so he tried to stimulate the Magnetic Force, changing the direction of the magnetic field inherent in the Knight¡¯s Sword.


    Hum!


    Unexpectedly, the blade of the sword suddenly vibrated, and a red glow enveloped the entire Knight¡¯s Sword.


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised, ¡°Why is it a red glow?¡±


    The red glow was very thin, perfectly covering the blade with no superfluous parts and unable to extend outwards.


    It seemed that the red glow was not much different from the magnetic glow of a magnetic knife, the difference being in the color and the inability to extend the red glow.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze shifted toward the other weapons on the weapon rack, such as a metal spear that was about as long as two Knight¡¯s Swords.


    If this one were completely enveloped by the red glow, it would be a rather good weapon when brandished, with the principle that a longer weapon confers a greater advantage.


    However, no one was better at crafting weapons capable of killing strangenesses than the folks at the Half Moon Association; their stranged weaponry could generally integrate with firearms.


    Although these also had significant drawbacks, such as the inability to form individual bullets that can influence the magnetic field, relying instead on electric current carrying the magnetic field or even using liquid bullets to affect changes in the magnetic field.


    But this at least allowed for eliminating most strangenesses from a distance.


    Yan Junze withdrew his control of the magnetic field, and the red glow on the Knight¡¯s Sword in his hands immediately dissipated, turning it into an apparently ordinary sword.


    Just then, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open, and two men walked in while conversing with one another.


    Yan Junze immediately bowed his head, letting the hood cover his face, only revealing his mouth.


    If the judgment was solely based on the mouth, he believed no one could discern his Huaying face.


    Without drawing attention, he placed the Knight¡¯s Sword back into the weapon rack and did not move, pretending to inspect the other weapons on the weapon rack.


    After these two men entered the room and saw Yan Junze, they paused briefly.


    Then they resumed their conversation as normal, as if seeing someone else here was not out of place at all.


    Yan Junze noticed that the two men were wearing the same brown cloaks as him, only without their hoods up, their faces exposed.


    Yan Junze subtly turned his body to naturally have his back to the two men, showing no signs of suspicion.

 Chapter 647 - 647 399 Bride (Part 1)_2

    ?Chapter 647: Chapter 399 Bride (Part 1)_2 Chapter 647: Chapter 399 Bride (Part 1)_2 He could hear the two people talking, using Olay language. Olay language had evolved from a very ancient tongue and had developed several branches.


    USA language was derived from Olay language, as one of its branches. However, the USA language branch had become the most widespread.


    ¡°Did Berkley go to the restricted area last time? He¡¯s got quite the nerve,¡± the middle-aged man walking in front said, ¡°He seems to be just a low-level Demonic Exorcist.¡±


    The younger man behind him nodded, ¡°But he didn¡¯t go in alone, he was following the Vice Captain.¡±


    ¡°No wonder. I knew he didn¡¯t have the credentials,¡± the middle-aged man said.


    ¡°Berkley came out quite full of himself,¡± the young man said with a sour tone, ¡°He claims he had a deep encounter with that lady, he touched that lady¡¯s coffin.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s full of it,¡± the middle-aged man said with a smirk, ¡°He couldn¡¯t possibly have touched the coffin. That lady¡¯s coffin is off-limits to anyone, impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± the young man asked curiously.


    ¡°That lady is not to be trifled with, the last person who touched her coffin, it¡¯s said, instantly attracted at least four crazed strangenesses. The Captain arrived, killed those strangenesses and chased them off, but that person was left with only half a body,¡± the middle-aged man shrugged.


    After a pause, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Berkley¡¯s nonsense. The place where that lady¡¯s coffin is placed is an area of extreme magnetic chaos and extremely cold air. If he, a low-level Demonic Exorcist, really wanted to get close to the coffin, the most ideal way is to crawl devoutly and pray that the strangenesses do not come near you, and that is still under the close protection and attention of the Vice Captain.¡±


    At this point, the young man looked puzzled and asked, ¡°Rune, if that lady is so terrifying, can this ancient castle really hold her?¡±


    ¡°Of course it can¡¯t,¡± the middle-aged man named Rune said, ¡°Our Night Moon Demon Hunting Group, pursuant to Claudia IX¡¯s request, bound her along with other middle and high-level strangenesses here, in comfort zones rebuilt according to these stranger¡¯s magnetic flow. You could say that even if they wanted to leave this place, they couldn¡¯t find a more comfortable spot than here anywhere else.¡±


    Hearing this, Yan Junze began to understand. Binding the Corpse Bride here cannot be called imprisonment, but rather, it should be said they are nurturing strangenesses in another way.


    No matter the method used, as long as they keep the Corpse Bride from leaving and causing harm to the common folks outside, it is the most advantageous approach.


    ¡°Leopold, haven¡¯t you chosen your weapon yet? The practice field will close around eight o¡¯clock tonight. Even if you go now, you¡¯ll be too late,¡± the middle-aged man named Rune suddenly said.


    Yan Junze did not immediately respond until he heard no reply from the young man, then he realized Rune was speaking to him.


    ¡°Leopold?¡± Rune called out again.


    ¡°How does he know my name is Leopold?¡± Yan Junze kept his head down, glancing at the brown, oversized robe he was wearing.


    Soon he saw a line of Olay Great Capital script on the left side of the robe, appearing as a continuously stitched name, the strokes exquisitely beautiful, that of the name Leopold.


    No wonder Rune could call out the name at once; he had seen the name on the robe.


    Yan Junze guessed that there might be the same name somewhere on the back of the robe as well.


    He did not answer. Answering would surely give him away, so he directly chose to Rewind, time rewinding to the moment he had just arrived in this room.


    The sound of a door shutting rang out; someone had just left the room.


    Yan Junze stood up, walked over to the clothes rack, took Leopold¡¯s robe again, and put it on, repeating the same trick. He covered his head with the hood, leaving only a small part of his cheeks showing.


    After doing all this, he no longer went to look at the weapons rack for weapons, but instead grabbed a dagger, tested it with Magnetic Force, and red light surrounded the dagger.


    He then placed the dagger in the large pocket of the robe and took a Knight¡¯s Sword, strapping it to his waist as he walked out of the room.


    Outside the room was a dark corridor, which seemed to be inside Klargon Castle.


    Every so often, there were wall lamps lit along the corridor, but the brightness was still low, just enough to illuminate the nearby area.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t see Rune and that young man in the corridor anymore, and to be precise, he now didn¡¯t know where the Corpse Bride was stored.


    However, he quickly activated ¡°Strange Event Detection.¡±


    Initially, there was no response, but after seven or eight seconds, lines of mission information started popping into his mind, at least fifteen or sixteen of them.


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised, and after looking at the introductions of these missions, he noticed that even the lowest level ones were ¡°hair-raising.¡±


    He swiftly scanned through the mass of mission information, hardly pausing, quickly finding the mission he was seeking.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Southeast Corner Restricted Area of Klargon Castle, at the end of the third floor.]


    [Mission Name: I Want Revenge;]


    Mission Level: Terrified (High);]


    Mission Background: Quintina Scott had all her savings swindled by her fianc¨¦, and moreover, this man also deceived her physically. Enraged, Quintina, using her best cooking skills, did the same to the man and devoured him completely. Afterwards, life held no more meaning for Quintina, and she chose to commit suicide. What she didn¡¯t expect was that her corpse would be fought over by several strangenesses, causing Quintina¡¯s own strangeness to erupt, merging all these strangenesses within her body, becoming one with them. Yes, Quintina had become a fusion of multiple strangenesses;


    Mission Description: Quintina suspects that there¡¯s a reason her corpse has been repeatedly seized by other strangenesses¡ªthe work of her fianc¨¦, Joseph Peterson, who had turned into a strangeness earlier. She is furious, and perhaps, Joseph should die once more;


    Mission Reward: 1900 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Punishment: Your magnetic field will be merged by Quintina;


    Mission Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Quintina sometimes becomes hysterical, but that is not her true intention; 3. Avoid direct confrontation with Quintina;


    Note: When lifting the coffin lid, please hold your breath.]


    This mission information coincided exactly with the data about the ¡°Corpse Bride¡± that Yan Junze had seen in Vice President Charles¡¯s office, even containing some details that were more specific than the Half Moon Association¡¯s files.


    Having read the mission introduction, Yan Junze finally understood where the Corpse Bride, Quintina¡¯s obsession lay. It turns out, she suspected that her corpse¡¯s repeated usage by other strangenesses was the mischief of her fianc¨¦, Joseph, who had died earlier.


    As long as this obsession was resolved or if he could help her kill Joseph, who had already caused significant harm, even to ghosts, once more, the hatred in Quintina¡¯s heart could be lifted. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, from what he had overheard in the conversation between Rune and that young man before the Rewind, and from the mission description, it was clear that this Corpse Bride might not be so easy to communicate with; even the place where her corpse was stored was an area laden with a very heavy chill.


    The magnetic fields there were extremely chaotic, which was likely related to the Corpse Bride having merged several strangenesses within her body¡ªthe Half Moon Association even referred to this fused state as a Super Container.


    Throughout the process of activating Mission Perception and viewing the mission, Yan Junze continued to move. He hadn¡¯t stayed in the corridor after leaving the room, which helped avoid being recognized again by Rune and the other man.


    The corridor was narrow and long, and he had encountered other members of the Demon Hunter Group along the way, but Yan Junze simply walked with his head down, his hood covering most of his face and only his lips showing, so the people opposite couldn¡¯t see clearly.


    Not just him, Yan Junze noticed that some of the other members also had their hoods pulled up, passing by without a word.


    That way, he wouldn¡¯t stand out among the members of the Demon Hunter Group.


    He guessed this probably had to do with the development mode of the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group, with some members not necessarily wishing to be fully understood by others, keeping secrets of their own.


    After walking through the narrow corridor, he unexpectedly exited the building.


    In front of him were two sturdy wooden doors, which Yan Junze pushed open to find himself outside the building, looking up to find a clear, star-studded sky.


    This place was the inside of the castle.

 Chapter 648 - 648 400 Bride (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 648: Chapter 400 Bride (Part 2) Chapter 648: Chapter 400 Bride (Part 2) ¡°Southeast Corner Restricted Area?¡±


    Yan Junze muttered under his breath, eyeing the position of the moon to carefully identify where the southeast corner lay.


    He then glanced at a densely forested area that usually faced south. After a series of confirmations, Yan Junze saw a slightly shorter building in the southeast direction.


    However, that building was connected to the main structure of the castle, with a solid wall in between. The wall¡¯s upper end was broad enough to allow two people to walk side by side.


    Had it been wartime, there would surely have been pairs of soldiers patrolling atop the wall by now.


    But there was no war currently, and even if there were a need to defend against enemies, the defenders wouldn¡¯t be ordinary people.


    Because the place ¡°detained¡± strangenesses, it would only be guarded against them; under normal circumstances, no one would think that humans would covet the strangenesses contained within.


    Of course, that did not mean the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group hadn¡¯t considered the prospect of invasion. In fact, the defenses outside the castle were strict, with three layers of identity scanning and registration checks alone.


    The periphery of the castle was covered one hundred percent by magnetic field scanning, including both humans and strangenesses. Any presence within the range of the magnetic scan would cause fluctuations in the magnetic field. Any abnormal fluctuation would be immediately detected and monitored by the magnetic field surveillance center.


    The Night Moon Demon Hunting Group would have never dreamed that someone like Yan Junze could appear directly inside the castle.


    Moreover, once his mission was completed, Yan Junze would vanish from within the castle just as directly.


    The true meaning of being completely undetectable.


    Approaching the building in the southeast corner, Yan Junze¡¯s pupils constricted. He noticed a member of the Demon Hunter Group standing there, pacing back and forth around the entrance.


    That person was also dressed in a brown robe, without a hood, and carried a Knight¡¯s Sword at the waist.


    Because the Knight¡¯s Sword was long, its tip almost scraped the ground as the guard moved about.


    Yan Junze was about the same height as the guard, and the Knight¡¯s Sword he carried at his waist was likewise. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed that this fellow wasn¡¯t just passing by, but was specifically stationed in front of this door.


    What to do?


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t approach but lurked in the shadow of the trees to conceal most of his body as he quietly observed if there were any other routes into the building before him.


    After a long look, he confirmed that this was the only normal entrance to the building. Unless he grew wings to fly from another direction onto the wall connected to the main building and enter from there, his only option was to go through the door before him.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped. Having had ample experience with infiltrating behind enemy lines before, Yan Junze adjusted the brown robe he wore, pulling the hood¡¯s brim further down to ensure that the guard could not see his true face at first glance.


    Then, mimicking the guard at the door, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the Knight¡¯s Sword at his waist and leisurely stepped out, heading towards the entrance.


    The guard pacing near the door heard the footsteps and lifted his head slightly, staying silent for a moment, merely eyeing Yan Junze until he drew close. Then he spoke up, ¡°What do you need?¡±


    ¡°The deputy commander has ordered me to retrieve some items from the first floor,¡± Yan Junze deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound muffled and hoarse, to mask his slight accent in the Olay language.


    He purposefully mentioned retrieving something only from the first floor to convey that he would not be going up to the third floor, because that was where the Corpse Bride¡¯s coffin was kept¡ªa strictly forbidden area.


    It wasn¡¯t about access being prohibited, but rather it was for the Demon Hunters¡¯ own good, with a forced mandate not to go up, lest they end up dead there.


    The guard didn¡¯t immediately notice anything off about Yan Junze¡¯s accent and tilted his head slightly, signaling confusion: ¡°Retrieve something? What item?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°A personal belonging of the deputy commander. He had entered this structure previously and accidentally left it on the first floor. He only remembered it tonight.¡±


    He had overheard from Rune and the others about that Berkley fellow boasting that he recently had accompanied the deputy commander into this building, so claiming that it was the deputy commander¡¯s misplaced item at least lent some credibility to his story.


    Actually, the ones guarding outside aren¡¯t authorized to enter the Restricted Area. Despite this guard standing here, he had never actually been inside.


    Even if Yan Junze said that the deputy commander left himself in there, the guard had no way to verify that. When it came to guarding the Restricted Area, whatever guard that came to watch felt a bit of trepidation.


    Even if they were to be allowed inside, they wouldn¡¯t go in.


    Of course, just letting someone in like that was impossible. After a brief hesitation, the guard said, ¡°Since the deputy commander has ordered it, recite tonight¡¯s passcode, and I will let you in. Otherwise, I¡¯ll report directly to Plit.¡±


    Yan Junze sighed inwardly knowing that he wasn¡¯t planning to get past this point without difficulty, so he had been ready to use Rewind. But before doing that, he wanted to gather as much information as possible to make the next attempt more successful.


    His gaze shifted to the left side of the man¡¯s clothing, but it was too dark to make out the name embroidered on the robe.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze stepped out from beneath the tree¡¯s shadow again and approached the guard.


    Just as the guard was about to speak, Yan Junze repeated his earlier tactic, speaking in a hoarse, indistinct tone of shock, ¡°Isn¡¯t Rune supposed to be on duty tonight? Why is it you?¡±

 Chapter 649 - 649 400 Bride (Part 2)_2

    ?Chapter 649: Chapter 400 Bride (Part 2)_2 Chapter 649: Chapter 400 Bride (Part 2)_2 The gatekeeper was slightly startled and said somewhat perplexedly, ¡°I was supposed to be on duty tonight.¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Yan Junze waved his hand, ¡°Deputy Commander told me it was Rune on duty tonight. If you¡¯re on duty, then what¡¯s the passphrase for tonight?¡±


    The gatekeeper frowned tightly, his face filled with shock and suspicion: ¡°Why should I tell you? Who are you? What are you doing here?¡±


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze emerged from the shade of the trees, striding forward quickly, giving off an impatient and rash aura.


    He didn¡¯t head directly towards the gatekeeper; instead, as he neared, he purposely took another path to the side.


    Casually glancing in the direction of the gatekeeper, he laid his hand on the hilt of his Knight¡¯s Sword as if suddenly startled, and challenged the gatekeeper, ¡°Isn¡¯t Rune supposed to be guarding this place tonight? Something¡¯s not right; who are you?¡±


    The gatekeeper initially thought Yan Junze was just passing by but was startled when the latter suddenly stopped and made a gesture as if to draw his sword, ready to attack at any moment. He quickly responded, ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t, I¡¯m Marion. Look carefully! I am supposed to be on duty tonight!¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡±


    Yan Junze spat on the ground, drew his Knight¡¯s Sword, and whispered sharply, ¡°Deputy Commander just told me it was supposed to be Rune.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really me. I just swapped with Clyde,¡± Marion said anxiously.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the passphrase for tonight?¡± Junze inquired.


    ¡°A nightingale¡­¡± Marion began to say but suddenly stopped as realization hit him, clamping his mouth shut and looking at Yan Junze with confusion, asking, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Leopold,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not Leopold.¡± Marion clearly recognized Leopold and could tell from the accent that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t him; he immediately prepared to shout.


    Rewind!


    This time, the rewind didn¡¯t go back very far, just about ten seconds earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s really me. I just swapped with Clyde,¡± Marion was clearly very anxious to defend himself.


    Junze didn¡¯t pursue the line of questioning about the passphrase but instead said, ¡°A nightingale¡ªfinish the second half of tonight¡¯s passphrase, or else I won¡¯t believe that the Deputy Commander would lie to me!¡±


    With those words, he raised his Knight¡¯s Sword, which burst forth with a red glow, readying himself as though he would strike at any moment.


    The red glow also indirectly confirmed that he was a member of the Demon Hunter Group.


    Marion jumped in fright, noticing that the red glow from the sword was stronger than his own, which meant that Yan Junze was more powerful than he was.


    Moreover, the fact that Junze had fluently cited the first half of the evening¡¯s passphrase convinced him that the Deputy Commander must have made a mistake; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for him to receive orders to guard this post and yet have a case of mistaken duty.


    Usually, all the members of the Demon Hunter Group would be temporarily assigned to guard a position, and this particular guard post was the last one anyone wanted to take.


    But there was no help for it; everyone would rotate duty here.


    And each day, the passphrase for the restricted area would be different, requiring the person leaving the post to verbally pass it on to the successor.


    When the next day arrived, a new passphrase would be disseminated, replacing the previous one.


    Now, Marion felt pressure from two fronts: first, from the irascible Yan Junze about to slash down with his sword, and secondly because Junze seemed to have a very good reason to suspect that he was at the wrong post, as the latter had blurted out the first part of the passphrase, putting him to the test to confirm whether he was the officially assigned guard, indicating that he was well aware of all the details for the night¡¯s duty.


    No more doubts, and largely out of self-preservation, Marion quickly said, ¡°I know the passphrase; I know it. A nightingale stands on the wall under the red moon.¡±


    The ferocity emanating from Yan Junze subsided gradually, as he slowly retracted the Knight¡¯s Sword aglow with red light, which quickly faded away.


    Rewind!


    He stepped out from under the shadow of the trees again, this time with a smile on his face, which created a perfect arc at the corner of his mouth that was visible below his eyeline.


    He said cheerfully, ¡°Marion, how come it¡¯s your turn to guard here? Didn¡¯t I just see Clyde here when I passed by a moment ago?¡±


    Marion was taken aback, not immediately recognizing who the speaker was, but since the other person not only knew his name but also mentioned his predecessor¡¯s name, he didn¡¯t entertain any doubts.


    He nodded, politely responding, ¡°It¡¯s my turn on duty now, just took over from Clyde.¡±


    ¡°What bad timing,¡± Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders, ¡°Didn¡¯t the deputy commander go into the forbidden area last time accompanied by Berkley? He left some of his personal belongings inside, so he asked me to come retrieve them from the first floor.¡±


    ¡°Now? This late?¡± Marion said with suspicion.


    ¡°Just on the first floor, I¡¯ll only search there¡­ I wouldn¡¯t dare go upstairs,¡± Yan Junze deliberately let out a hoarse, self-mocking laugh.


    Marion was silent for a moment and then nodded, ¡°Since the deputy commander ordered it, you give tonight¡¯s passphrase, and I¡¯ll let you through. But be careful, even standing here, I can feel the chill from behind this door. If it really won¡¯t work out, go back and tell the deputy commander, and say it¡¯s better to come and pick it up during the day.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just forget it then, I happen to have something to request of the commander.¡± With that, Yan Junze, without any hesitation, said the passphrase, ¡°The passphrase is: ¡®A nightingale stands on the fence under the red moon.¡¯


    Marion grunted and stepped aside from the door, he pulled out a long, slender key from his pocket, inserted it into the door lock, and turned it halfway with a click.


    He then pushed the door open and quickly stepped aside.


    A strange chill rolled out from the inside, Yan Junze just happened to walk by and felt this breeze blowing from inside the building outward, which was extremely abnormal.


    He tightened the collar of the cloak he wore on the outside.


    Marion beside him said, ¡°If you¡¯re just getting something from the first floor, I won¡¯t close the door right now, just leave it ajar. Make it quick, after you get the deputy commander¡¯s items, come straight back, don¡¯t bother with anything, don¡¯t look at anything, and definitely don¡¯t go upstairs, the upper floors are truly off-limits.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Yan Junze, head lowered, climbed a couple of steps and walked through the open door.


    Marion hastily let the door ajar, his heart beating with unease as he stared at the crack in the doorway.


    The sound of Yan Junze¡¯s footsteps entering could be heard in his ears, gradually fading until there was silence.


    After a pause, Marion muttered to himself, ¡°Who is this guy, Walk? Hm, Walk¡¯s voice is hoarse, but he seems a bit heavier. Has this guy actually succeeded in losing weight?¡±


    As he spoke, his gaze fell on the slightly cracked door, his body involuntarily shivered and Marion quickly averted his eyes.


    ¡°Definitely him, he¡¯s succeeded in losing weight, and now he¡¯s become more audacious, even daring to retrieve items from the forbidden area¡¯s first floor at night.¡±


    Like other buildings, the first floor of the forbidden area¡¯s building was lit with dim wall lamps.


    Yan Junze walked along the spacious corridor on the first floor towards the front, after a distance, he looked back towards the doorway he entered.


    It appeared that the door was indeed left ajar, Marion hadn¡¯t completely closed it.


    Yan Junze then focused his attention on his immediate surroundings, thoroughly investigating the area around him.


    On the right side of the corridor where he walked, the left was piled with damaged, abandoned carriages, with wheels and bodies separated, and moist straw piled on top of the bodies.


    Next to the abandoned carriages was a pile of broken wall lamps which apparently had been replaced in bulk, differing from the style of the wall lamps currently shining.


    Yan Junze continued walking forward, then halted his pace, his gaze directed towards the row of wooden fences on the left side in front of him.


    These fences extended all the way to the end of the corridor, and the end seemed to lead to the staircase for the second floor.


    However, at this moment, these fences suddenly gave Yan Junze a chilling feeling. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fence was not continuous, but rather isolated, separating more than ten individual stalls.


    The chilling feeling Yan Junze had was exactly from these seemingly empty stalls.


    The ground inside each stall was covered with thick weeds, but with the light from the wall lamps, he could see nothing penned inside. Regardless, the very existence of these air-like stalls kept causing Yan Junze¡¯s heart to palpitate.


    Although he was moving forward and his gaze was fixed ahead, his attention was entirely on each stall he passed by, not daring to relax for a moment.


    At this time, at the end of the corridor, a little girl in a white princess dress suddenly appeared.


    The girl had her back to Yan Junze, her hands held in front of her as if holding something, standing still at the end of the corridor.

 Chapter 650 - 650 401 Bride (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 650: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3) Chapter 650: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3) The little girl in the white princess dress was taller than Ke¡¯er, with a bigger skeletal frame, and her hair was golden, seemingly well-kept at first but now somewhat disheveled.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, halting his steps and silently staring at the motionless little girl.


    There wasn¡¯t a sound around, and after Yan Junze stopped, the footsteps also vanished, creating a silence so profound it was terrifying.


    Thankfully, there were wall lamps that allowed visibility in the space, rather than total darkness, which would have induced greater panic.


    So they stood at an impasse.


    Gradually, Yan Junze began to hear breathing from the small compartment isolated by the wooden railing to his left.


    The sound was neither loud nor soft, but it would definitely be masked by other noises if there were any.


    But in the silence of the moment, he could hear it clearly.


    He turned his head slightly to look inside the wooden railing on the left, but saw nothing, it held nothing inside, empty and void.


    Yet the breathing was even, as if someone was standing inside, taking deep breaths.


    Yan Junze glanced at the princess-dressed girl standing at the end of the corridor, then moved towards the left wooden railing to listen closely, realizing the breathing was coming from the compartment right behind him.


    He took a step back, standing in front of the wooden railing, listening attentively as the breathing began to escalate.


    Yan Junze immediately stepped away, distancing himself from the railing, and the breathing steadied once again.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ is there really something confined here? An invisible strangeness?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    However, he didn¡¯t wish to waste his time on this now. Although the strangeness was invisible, it was at least confined within the wooden railing¡ªthere was no need to meddle further.


    Moreover, he had just activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡± There might be task information about this strangeness within it, but there was too much information for him to look at each one individually.


    This place was already full of strangenesses, and if he were to satisfy his curiosity about every single one, he might forget why he came here in the first place.


    Disregarding the breathing from behind the railing, Yan Junze once again walked towards the little girl in the white princess dress.


    As he drew closer, when there were only about fifteen meters left between them, the little girl who had her back to Yan Junze suddenly moved, and with a click, something dropped from her hand to the floor.


    But the little girl didn¡¯t bend down to pick it up; she turned sideways without caring, facing Yan Junze, and slowly walked up the stairs at the end of the hallway.


    Her side face wasn¡¯t revealed, as the disheveled hair covered it all, preventing Yan Junze from getting a good look.


    Yan Junze walked over and glanced at the object she had dropped¡ªit was an linen-made fabric doll.


    Normally, the doll looked quite ordinary, but at that moment, it exuded an indescribable eeriness.


    The wooden staircase creaked as someone ascended, signifying the little girl had made it to the second floor.


    Standing above the fabric doll, Yan Junze looked down at it. The doll lay flat on the ground with its arms open, a smile curving on its mouth. However, that smile seemed rather unnerving.


    Having the impression the doll wanted him to pick it up, Yan Junze hesitated briefly before giving it a boot print, stepping on it and proceeding towards the staircase to the second floor.


    Upon reaching the corner of the staircase, surprisingly, there was no wall lamp, but an oil lamp had been placed on a protruding part of the wall, half-filled with oil, yet unlit.


    Yan Junze had a lighter in his backpack, which he carried inside his long robe. After a moment¡¯s thought, he took the oil lamp off the wall and held it in his hand, also taking the lighter out and putting it in his trouser pocket for easy access to light when it got dark.


    While it seemed odd for the oil lamp to be there, he decided to carry a source of light beside him just in case. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The stair planks squeaked below his feet, the sound identical to the one made by the little girl earlier. Yan Junze quickly reached the second floor.


    The second floor also had a corridor, with the staircase in the middle and hallways stretching to either end. The dim lights from the wall lamps illuminated enough for him to roughly make out the arrangements at both ends of the hallway.


    Rooms lined both sides of the hallway, the doors either shut tight or half-open, quiet and spacious, completely silent.


    After standing there awhile, Yan Junze felt a chill that seeped through his clothes and slowly spread throughout his body, causing him to break out in goosebumps involuntarily.


    This chill was not from the second floor, but from the third, with the second floor so close, the sensation of cold was quite pronounced.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, his gaze drifting to a spot on the right side of the hallway.


    There, a little girl in a princess dress was facing sideways, standing in front of an open door, slowly advancing into the room until she disappeared.


    Yan Junze had no intention of going over there. Holding the lamp, he stood at the staircase and looked up towards the third floor, noticing it was enveloped in utter darkness, without even a wall lamp. He ignored the little girl and took a step towards the staircase to the third floor.


    ¡°Sir¡­¡±


    At that moment, a childish voice suddenly rang out from behind, causing Yan Junze to stop in his tracks on the staircase without turning around.


    Behind him was the very same princess-dressed girl who had just entered one of the rooms.

 Chapter 651 - 651 401 Bride (Part 3)_2

    ?Chapter 651: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3)_2 Chapter 651: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3)_2 The little girl hung her head low, her disheveled hair falling and cloaking her face, as she stood right behind Yan Junze.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Yan Junze asked without turning around.


    ¡°Have you seen my doll?¡± The girl¡¯s voice was fraught with fear, apprehension, and dread.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and shook his head, ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t seen it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you haven¡¯t seen it?¡± The girl lifted her head.


    As the hair covering her cheeks slid aside, it revealed a pale and twisted face, her cheeks hollowed deeply inwards as if the entire bone structure of her face had shattered, her eyeballs sunken in, nearly invisible.


    Yan Junze still did not turn around; he would not see that the girl had already opened her sunken mouth, waiting for him to turn his head.


    ¡°Sir¡­¡±


    The girl hadn¡¯t finished speaking before Yan Junze interrupted, ¡°Sorry, go look for the doll yourself. I¡¯m busy right now, the Corpse Bride Quintina Scott is waiting for me upstairs.¡±


    The moment the words fell, it became deathly quiet behind him.


    Yan Junze really wanted to turn around and check, but he refrained. After no motion ensued from behind, he took steps again toward the third floor.


    At this point, there was no one behind him; the little girl who had just been trying to lure him into the room had already vanished without a trace, as if she¡¯d never been there.


    Upon reaching the stairway corner from the second to third floor, where there were also no wall lamps, Yan Junze saw another unlit kerosene lamp on a protruding section of the wall, with nearly the same amount of kerosene left inside.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he swapped his lamp for this one, lifting the second kerosene lamp with his left hand as he ascended to the third floor, and meanwhile released the Black Spirit Umbrella, holding it in his right hand.


    Restricted area, first floor.


    Marion turned to glance at the slightly ajar door, feeling uneasy ever since Yan Junze had entered. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He found himself looking at the entrance every few seconds, but there was nothing.


    Logically, if Yan Junze was on the first floor to get something, he would have obtained it by now and had enough time to come out.


    With that thought, Marion turned to look at the slightly open door once more.


    Suddenly, he startled; unperceived before, a doll now lay on the ground by the door, its head facing outward, a smile on its face.


    ¡°Walk?¡± Marion tried calling out.


    He was now convinced that Yan Junze was none other than the successfully slimmed-down Walk, and upon seeing the doll, Marion¡¯s first thought was that Walk had found the Deputy Leader¡¯s lost item.


    But he quickly dismissed the idea, whatever the Deputy Leader had lost, it surely couldn¡¯t be this doll.


    Could the Deputy Leader have such unexpected tastes known by no one else?


    No one answered him.


    Marion¡¯s heart churned with anxiety. After considering, he drew the Knight¡¯s Sword with his right hand and called towards the door again, ¡°Walk, did you find the item? If you found it, hurry up and come out. You can¡¯t stay in there forever; it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    Still, there was no response.


    Marion hesitated slightly and once more set his gaze on the doll lying across the door¡¯s gap. He moved forward two steps, bent down, and extended his left hand slowly toward it.


    Just then, it seemed as though the gap in the door widened with the wind, revealing the other half of the doll.


    As Marion¡¯s left hand was about to reach through the gap and touch the doll, he suddenly felt a surge of tension, his fingers faltering, and he involuntarily swallowed.


    At that moment, he saw a pale, slender hand appear from inside the gap. The skin on the back of the hand was peeling and torn, even exposing the ghastly white bones of the joints.


    This hand also reached out and grabbed the doll¡¯s head, inch by inch pulling the doll back out of sight behind the door gap.


    Withdrawing his hand, Marion grabbed the doorknob and slammed the heavy door shut; his chest heaving rapidly, he was clearly terrified by this sudden ghostly hand.


    ¡°Not good, Walk might be in danger.¡±


    Anxiety drummed in Marion¡¯s heart. After a thought, he walked to one side of the patrol corridor and pressed a red button on the wall, alerting the Night Moon Demon Hunting Group¡¯s control center.


    There was no choice; Walk had been sent by the Deputy Leader personally. If something indeed happened to him inside, as the guard on duty, Marion would be held accountable and needed to report it as quickly as possible.


    Meanwhile.


    On the first floor of the restricted area, within the first wooden railing enclosure, a figure materialized, faint as if a mere wisp of the wind, elusive and uncertain.


    The shadowy figure slowly exited the railing and headed towards the staircase leading to the second floor.


    As he passed by the enclosure from which Yan Junze heard breathing, the same breathing sound immediately resonated from within, as though the Invisible Strange Creature inside became excited and greedy upon seeing this figure, desire stirring anew.


    The shadow stopped at once, lingering briefly before advancing to the enclosure from where the breathing emanated.


    However, when he neared this particular railing enclosure, the breathing inside instantly ceased, as if fearful of even letting out a breath, a stark contrast to the accelerating breathing when Yan Junze approached.


    In the eyes of this black shadow, within the wooden railing that appeared empty, a translucent man now lay prone.


    The man was hunched over, his legs as thin as his arms. He had two heads, with unkempt, disheveled hair, each face nearly identical to the other.

 Chapter 652 - 652 401 Bride (Part 3)_3

    ?Chapter 652: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3)_3 Chapter 652: Chapter 401 Bride (Part 3)_3 At this moment, the double-headed man was crouched on the floor, his body quivering slightly. Faced with the scrutiny of the dark shadow, his gaze dared not wander in its direction.


    The shadow only glanced for a moment, then turned away and continued toward the direction of the staircase.


    That eerie breathing sound started up again. The double-headed man was no longer trembling, but he still did not dare to look at the shadow.


    As the shadow neared the staircase, it was no longer as ethereal as before, gradually becoming almost corporeal, but it still gave off an indistinct feeling.


    It was the silhouette of a man, dressed in a black cinched coat, with hair that seemed to be golden, but because of the shadow¡¯s haziness, it was hard to discern clearly.


    The man proceeded unhurriedly up the stairs.


    Restricted third floor.


    Yan Junze suddenly felt a pang of palpitations, a sensation that had already appeared under Ku Zai¡¯s influence just before he was about to perform the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.


    This feeling, arriving anew, evoked an indescribable unease.


    Could it be because he was nearing the Corpse Bride?


    Standing at the staircase entrance on the third floor, there was no way forward¡ªthis indicated the highest level was indeed the third floor.


    Feeling increasingly uneasy, Yan Junze pondered briefly. He stood with his back to the direction of the staircase entrance for about five seconds, then stepped forward, silently invoking ¡°shadow.¡±


    After walking a few steps, he turned around. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His own ¡°shadow¡± had now manifested at the spot where he had just been standing, right by the staircase entrance on the third floor.


    Upon examining this shadow, a sense of stability began to take hold in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    He looked left and right; the corridor of the third floor was blocked on one side, piled high with broken desks, chairs, and planks, leaving only the corridor on the right unobstructed.


    He remembered Rune saying that Berkley and the deputy team leader had been here not long ago. If the Corpse Bride was stored behind this heap of broken furniture, then this spot would not still be blocked as it was now.


    In other words, the Corpse Bride could only be on the other side of the corridor, on the right.


    Without much thought, Yan Junze had already lit the oil lamp, its glow spreading approximately one meter around him, but anything farther remained obscured.


    What lay at the dark corridor¡¯s end, from this distance, was completely invisible.


    Lifting the oil lamp a bit higher, Yan Junze aligned his line of sight with the lamp on the same horizontal plane and began to step forward along the right side of the corridor.


    On both sides of the corridor were rooms, but their doors were shut and unopened.


    Glancing at one of the room¡¯s doors, Yan Junze noticed the door was nailed shut, impossible to enter any room on the third floor without breaking it down, even with a key.


    However, the mission brief had clearly stated that the coffin containing the Corpse Bride was at the end of the corridor, not inside any of the rooms.


    Regardless, he would head to the far end first.


    In this place, Yan Junze could not see what the end looked like.


    The light illuminated only the surrounding meter; he widened his eyes, trying his best to discern the environment around him.


    However, a face soon emerged from the darkness, rapidly closing in and materializing just within the lamp¡¯s reach of one meter.


    Under the glow of the oil lamp, only a gruesome face appeared, with nothing else visible.


    The face was that of an old man, wrinkles covering his cheeks, the eyes obscured by the creases to the point of being indistinct, and blood slowly seeping out of every wrinkle.


    Without hesitation, Yan Junze jabbed the Black Spirit Umbrella straight at the face.


    The bleeding wrinkled face of the old man instantly receded back into the darkness, leaving no trace.


    Immediately after, another face of a woman pressed forward, one eye bulging as if about to fall out of its socket, and the other eye missing its eyeball.


    As Yan Junze was about to strike again, the face of an unfamiliar man appeared alongside a vague moaning sound; the man¡¯s mouth was open, with something writhing inside it.


    With a swoosh, Yan Junze decisively opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, enveloping himself and the oil lamp within.


    All of the eerie faces vanished in that instant.

 Chapter 653 - 653 402 Bride (Part 4)

    ?Chapter 653: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4) Chapter 653: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4) ¡°Heh heh heh¡­¡±


    An ancient laugh echoed from the endless darkness.


    Yan Junze had already opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, and now at least the area under the umbrella was safe. He disregarded any strange sounds and continued forward, holding his oil lamp.


    He had been psychologically prepared for this. The third floor¡¯s magnetic field was extremely chaotic, surely hiding many unknown strangenesses.


    These strangenesses may not have complete obsessions but are affected by the magnetic field¡¯s chaos. Perhaps they themselves were unclear why they were there. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Junze walked slowly, not because he did not want to move quickly, but because the air here gave him an intense sense of murkiness, as if walking through mud, preventing him from speeding up.


    Occasionally, a face would flit by within the light of the coal oil lamp but didn¡¯t dare come near.


    Junze noticed at the edge of the range covered by the Black Spirit Umbrella to his left, a pair of bare feet appeared¡ªunshod, with the heel of the right foot detached, trailing tendons behind, and three toes on the left foot turned up, with bones exposed.


    These feet were thin, indistinguishable as belonging to a woman or a man.


    After these eerie feet appeared, they kept pace with the edge of the Black Spirit Umbrella, matching Junze whether he stood still or moved forward, not merely flitting by like those strange faces.


    Indeed, Junze was somewhat puzzled as to why these strangenesses didn¡¯t directly encroach under his umbrella.


    It should be noted that the Black Spirit Umbrella itself did not emit any pressure, and the strangenesses could not sense anything unusual inside it. Thus, they should have attacked Junze directly according to their normal pattern of assaulting humans.


    But clearly, the strangenesses on the third floor didn¡¯t act that way, only circling around the outside of the Black Spirit Umbrella without venturing in.


    Junze pondered briefly and guessed a possibility.


    The magnetic field here was highly disordered, and the strangenesses that had been here for years had grown accustomed to this chaos. However, once he opened the Black Spirit Umbrella, the magnetic field beneath it tended toward stability.


    This stable state, in the present environment, became the anomaly, making the strangenesses, accustomed to disorder, wary and suspicious of the calm space under the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    However, this was a good thing, as they dared not touch him carelessly. Moreover, while he stayed under the Black Spirit Umbrella, with a stable magnetic field, his thoughts wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by the chaotic magnetic field outside, preventing him from becoming restless, panicked, wandering, or hallucinating.


    But this had a downside, such as the ragged feet outside the umbrella that kept following closely.


    Beyond that, something was also following Junze behind him, just at the rear of the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The footsteps of the strangeness behind him were fragmented and dense, as if it had four feet. With each step Junze took, the footsteps would cluster tightly behind him, staying at the edge of the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Junze felt as if the creature could reach out and touch his back at any moment, giving him a constant sense of a pricking in his back.


    Because the surrounding area was very quiet, all kinds of sounds entering his ears seemed to amplify countless times.


    The dragging sound of the ragged feet beside him, the intermittent dense footsteps from behind, and the occasional bizarre laughter all continually stimulated Junze¡¯s eardrums.


    He didn¡¯t know how long he walked; the corridor seemed very long, so long that there was no end in sight, as if he would never reach the destination.


    Suddenly, Junze stopped abruptly, fixing his gaze on the ground ahead.


    In the light of the coal oil lamp, he saw a pair of feet wearing black women¡¯s flat shoes in front of him, belonging to what seemed like a woman over forty with slightly thick calves.


    Unlike the other appearing strangenesses, this woman stood faced to face directly in Junze¡¯s path, completely blocking his way.


    Junze paused for a moment, not moving.


    The woman didn¡¯t move either, just stood there blocking the way.


    Soon, the surface of her calves started to show bulging veins, popping out like earthworms, both legs began to swell slowly.


    Junze cautiously took a small step forward, and the woman didn¡¯t retreat or evade, still standing in front, allowing him to see other parts of the woman merging into the darkness.


    She wore a black cloth skirt, her hands hanging vertically at the sides of her thighs, her figure somewhat plump. But her arms, too, bubbled with veins, now protruding under the skin, as if about to burst.


    Since the opponent chose not to retreat, Junze had no choice.


    He took a large step forward, pushing the Black Spirit Umbrella ahead to fully envelop the non-retreating plump woman, bringing her into the brightness of the lamp.


    Upon entering under the Black Spirit Umbrella and the illumination, the woman¡¯s body remained still, but her head twisted continuously, veins on her neck bulging, and her entire face covered in blue, worm-like tendrils wriggling beneath her skin.


    Even veins stretched into her eye sockets, surfacing on top of her gray pupils. They darted across the pupils before burrowing into the skin of her forehead.


    But in just a few seconds, the bizarre, plump woman¡¯s body trembled, and she was instantly destroyed by the three forces within the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    She let out a piercing scream, but the scream was cut off halfway through; the plump woman dissolved into a wisp of black smoke, absorbed by the Black Spirit Umbrella.

 Chapter 654 - 654 402 Bride (Part 4)_2

    ?Chapter 654: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4)_2 Chapter 654: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4)_2 A black dot appeared and then vanished inside the umbrella.


    Forbidden zone, second floor.


    A man in a black corseted overcoat, casting a semi-translucent figure, stood at the stairway leading to the third floor, looking up.


    He could hear a scream that had just erupted but was swiftly cut off.


    The sound didn¡¯t seem to belong to a normal person; it was likely produced by strangenesses.


    This made the shadowy figure wonder. He hadn¡¯t expected the Demonic Exorcist near the Corpse Bride to enter the third floor so smoothly.


    It seemed that even the strangenesses within the chaotic magnetic fields of the third floor had no way to deal with the other party.


    The sense of crisis that had initially arisen in his heart now grew even stronger.


    He turned his head to glance in the direction of the second-floor corridor rooms. At this moment, all the doors were firmly shut, not a single one ajar, as if they were all hiding.


    The little girl in the white princess dress had not appeared, almost as if she was not on the second floor at all.


    The shadowy figure remained calm and began to ascend to the third floor.


    Once at the turning of the stairs, he glanced at the oil lamp situated on the protruding part of the corner wall, somewhat surprised.


    The spot on the wall¡¯s protruding part on the way to the second floor was empty, and here there was an oil lamp, which meant one was missing.


    He lifted his gaze toward the doorway to the third floor stairs and abruptly froze, halting in his tracks.


    He saw a man¡¯s back at the top of the third-floor stairway, standing still, facing away from him.


    The shadowy figure was powerful and unique; he didn¡¯t need light to see in the darkness. At this moment, upon noticing the motionless figure, he became puzzled.


    Because to the shadowy figure, this silhouette seemed human but not like a normal human. As for being a strangeness, he couldn¡¯t sense any strangeness magnetic field from it.


    For a moment, the shadowy figure did not move, uncertain of what to do.


    Forbidden zone, third floor.


    Yan Junze saw the strangeness of the obese woman appearing in the umbrella and then immediately being strangled, and he lowered his head in thought.


    Something felt off.


    Even though he was already aware of how special the Black Spirit Umbrella was, why were there so many strangenesses daring to linger near it? Even the obese woman strangeness threw caution to the wind, blocking his path forward.


    Though in the end, they all couldn¡¯t escape their doomed fate.


    Including now, Yan Junze glanced to the side to see a pair of tattered, bare feet still trailing beside the edge of the Black Spirit Umbrella, refusing to leave.


    And behind him, the dense footsteps that had just ceased and the strangenesses were still closely following him, an insatiable greed emanating continuously.


    They were so persistent even with the protection of the Black Spirit Umbrella. Were all the strangenesses in this forbidden zone insane, or had the magnetic field of the Corpse Bride thrown everything into disarray, preventing them from thinking like ordinary strangenesses?


    Something wasn¡¯t right. There must be an issue that he had not perceived.


    Yan Junze did not continue forward, the eerie sounds ringing in his ears. He raised his left hand to look at the oil lamp he was holding.


    ¡°Could it be, because of this lamp?¡±


    A guess arose in his mind, but he dared not be certain. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze hesitated briefly, then placed the oil lamp he was holding on the ground, close to the wall in the corridor, and proceeded slowly with the Black Spirit Umbrella in front.


    After walking seven or eight steps in the dark, he turned back to look, and then his body slightly shook.


    He saw that at least three figures were now crouched next to the lit oil lamp.


    One of the figures had a broken heel and three toes flipped upward on the other foot. It was the strangeness that had been following him outside of the umbrella earlier.


    But now, these strangenesses were not following him anymore but were huddled next to the oil lamp, greedily sucking at it. In the dim light, Yan Junze could see their faces filled with satisfaction and excitement.


    ¡°Indeed, their target is not me, but this oil lamp,¡± Yan Junze realized, ¡°For the sake of getting close to this oil lamp, certain strangenesses, like that obese woman, even risked danger by directly confronting the Black Spirit Umbrella.¡±


    Yan Junze stood in the darkness, watching as more and more strangenesses approached the oil lamp, and even saw two or three tentacles stretching out from under the doors of the adjacent closed rooms, making rustling sounds, moving slowly toward the burning oil lamp.


    These strangenesses, whether phantoms or corporeal, quickly obscured the light emitted by the oil lamp, rendering Yan Junze unable to see clearly.


    However, Yan Junze knew that the strangenesses on this third floor were now too preoccupied to pay attention to him. If he had known the oil lamp had this effect, he should have brought the other oil lamp up as well.


    But then again, he thought, that oil lamp was placed at the corner leading to the second floor. Perhaps if lit, it would only affect the second floor.


    Having changed the oil lamp on the stairway to the third floor might just have been a lucky accident.


    He tried to take out the electric torch from his backpack; there were two, but as he had anticipated, neither of them would turn on.


    None of the wall lamps on the third floor were lit. It was probably related to the exceedingly intense chaos of the strangeness magnetic fields, with the electromagnetic environment also being affected.


    He took out his lighter. Maybe only this lighter remained as his sole source of light now.


    The light from the oil lamp was growing dimmer, and the number of strangenesses gathered around it was clearly increasing.

 Chapter 655 - 655 402 Bride (Part 4)_3

    ?Chapter 655: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4)_3 Chapter 655: Chapter 402 Bride (Part 4)_3 Yan Junze pressed down the lighter, using its faint glow to quickly walk towards the end of the corridor.


    This wasn¡¯t a windproof lighter, and soon the flame, exposed to the air, began to burn his hand. He had to briefly shut it off.


    He moved forward, relying on the rough layout he had seen before the light went out.


    After about ten seconds, Yan Junze felt he had reached the end, but there were no rooms; instead, there seemed to be a large wardrobe standing at the end of the hallway.


    Yan Junze waited for a moment without moving, until the lighter in his hand cooled down a bit. Then, he pressed it again to light up his surroundings.


    He took a few steps forward and took a closer look, which immediately gave him a hair-raising feeling.


    Indeed, there was something towering at the end¡ªit wasn¡¯t a wardrobe but a coffin.


    The coffin was wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, with indistinct relief patterns on its surface that appeared quite delicate, though they were covered with a thick layer of dust.


    It wasn¡¯t laid out flat on the ground but stood upright against the wall at the end of the corridor, leaning slightly backwards.


    ¡°A standing coffin?!¡± Yan Junze was startled, ¡°Do foreigners also have this trend?¡±


    Yan Junze remembered clearly, in his previous life, he had seen Lin Zhengyin¡¯s movies, one of which featured burial in standing coffins. That place was also called Dragonfly Touches the Water Burial Site. Buried there, one¡¯s descendants were bound to find wealth and have smooth careers.


    However, the process of burying people in standing coffins was also particular, with stringent conditions. If not followed, it would bring great disasters.


    It couldn¡¯t be that this place was also called ¡°Dragonfly Touches the Water Burial Site¡± by the foreigners?


    Yan Junze circled around the standing coffin with the lighter in his hand, carefully examining both the coffin and the ground.


    He concluded that foreigners knew nothing of Feng Shui; probably this place was simply damp and a layer of dry straw had been spread underneath the standing coffin for moisture-proofing.


    Just then, the lighter burned his hand, and he hurriedly shut it off.


    The lighter became too hot to hold, so Yan Junze quickly squatted down, placing the lighter by his feet to cool down.


    Anyway, he had already taken a careful look at the coffin¡¯s placement; with or without light, he could barely move around.


    Yan Junze stretched out his hands, touching the coffin lid, finding the side that opened.


    This type of coffin lid wasn¡¯t the kind that came off completely but opened like a cabinet door from one side.


    Finding a spot he could grip with his fingers, Yan Junze did not immediately open the lid. Instead, he squatted down, picked up the slightly cooled lighter, held it in his left hand and pressed it, while gripping the coffin lid with his right hand, and with all his strength, he laboriously opened it. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The moment the lid opened, an indescribable strangeness wafted out.


    This odor wasn¡¯t rotting or foul; it was mixed with a moldy smell, making Yan Junze¡¯s nose itch, and he couldn¡¯t help but sneeze three times in a row.


    The flame in his hand trembled wildly, nearly going out.


    Only when the flame stabilized did he look inside the coffin.


    There stood a woman in a white wedding dress with a scarf on her head inside the coffin.


    The woman¡¯s eyes were tightly shut, her hands crossed in front of her chest, and her body had not decayed. However, due to long-term dehydration, she had shrunk considerably, her face was withered, her eye sockets deeply sunken, like a zombie draped in a sheet of human skin.


    Yan Junze recalled the task information and knew he mustn¡¯t have any conflict with the Corpse Bride.


    In fact, having respectful interactions with these strangenesses was also a major principle in his laid-back approach to exorcism.


    Unless the other party was unwilling.


    ¡°Ms. Scott, hello!¡±


    Yan Junze endeavored to keep his voice soft and friendly. Speaking, he even made a slight bow towards the coffin, imitating a Western gentleman.


    If he was wearing a hat, he might have even taken it off as a gesture of respect.


    However, as he finished speaking, forgetting to time it, his lighter grew unbearably hot, the flame went out, and the lighter fell to the ground.


    Darkness instantly enveloped the surroundings.


    Almost at the same time, there was movement coming from inside the coffin.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    A sinister sound echoed from very close by.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t bother with it and squatted down, reaching towards the ground.


    The sound from the coffin continued, not loud, like a rat scurrying.


    Yan Junze felt the lighter near his fingers because it gave off heat. He didn¡¯t give up; he reached out further, touching an ice-cold foot.


    He remembered that he hadn¡¯t seen the Corpse Bride wearing shoes just a moment ago.


    Yan Junze moved his fingers beside the icy foot and touched the still-hot lighter, then picked it up between two fingers and stood up, ¡°Um, Ms. Scott, why did you come out without shoes? Your body is so delicate, be careful not to catch a cold.¡±

 Chapter 656 - 656 403 Bride (Part 5)

    ?Chapter 656: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5) Chapter 656: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5) Since first coming into contact with the Corpse Bride, Yan Junze had been very attentive to his tone and the content of his speech¡ªhe couldn¡¯t let Quintina Scott dislike him the moment they met, that was the primary goal.


    After all, the task at hand was rated ¡°terrified (high)¡±, and Quintina herself was very likely to be a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, or even close to becoming an Ethereal spirit.


    Though he had his Black Spirit Umbrella for protection, taking it easy was still his top priority.


    After standing up with two fingers pinching the lighter, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately press down to ignite it, as it was still too hot, and wouldn¡¯t last long even if he had sparked a flame. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he could sense, about half an arm¡¯s distance in front of him, there seemed to be a person standing.


    Even though this person didn¡¯t seem to breathe, their scent still made Yan Junze¡¯s nose itch, prompting the urge to sneeze.


    It was quite normal for a mummy that had been dead for who knows how many years to smell this way.


    Tap, a hand landed on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Madman! You madman!¡± the voice of a young woman suddenly called out in front of him.


    Yan Junze was startled and was about to speak when the voice in front of him suddenly changed, becoming aged and indistinct, ¡°Bob made me do it; he¡¯s the devil!¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡± a man¡¯s robust voice interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m not the devil, but you all are. All of you deserve to die! You should all go to hell!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re full of it!¡± another raspy voice of a middle-aged woman replied, ¡°Joseph is the devil, Joseph lied to us, said that this person tasted good.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± a voice that sounded very slow but exceptionally clear asked suddenly.


    Yan Junze thought she was asking him and was about to answer.


    ¡°I am Susan,¡± the raspy-voiced middle-aged woman interjected before he could respond.


    Yan Junze was starting to lose his patience.


    From his perspective, he stood in the pitch darkness, with the Corpse Bride, this strangeness, before him, and yet he heard four or five people continually conversing in various voices and tones.


    Their tones were filled with sophistry, anger, resentment, complaints¡­


    Such an atmosphere would give anyone goosebumps.


    ¡°Susan, where is Joseph?¡± the slowly speaking woman continued to inquire.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Yan Junze raised his hand and pressed down on the lighter, a flickering flame emerged, scattering the darkness before him.


    In his field of vision, less than half an arm¡¯s distance in front, the Corpse Bride had indeed stepped out of the coffin and stood face to face with him.


    Her eyes were gray, completely devoid of the original color of the pupils, her lips parted, speaking¡ªhowever, in the voice of the raspy middle-aged woman, seemingly answering the earlier young woman¡¯s question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Joseph is, he hasn¡¯t shown up in a long time,¡± she said.


    Joseph, full name Joseph Peterson, was indeed the deceiving fianc¨¦ of the Corpse Bride.


    The slow-speaking woman seemed to grow angry, threatening, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell the truth, I swear I¡¯ll kill you again!¡±


    Yan Junze watched in amazement.


    Because no matter whose voice it was, it came from the mouth of the Corpse Bride before him, and just as described in the task information, her body had fused with countless strangenesses.


    And after the real Quintina slowly uttered this threatening sentence, Yan Junze looked down to find that she was holding a sharp but rusty boning knife in her hand.


    ¡°Madmen, all madmen!¡± the girl who had spoken first piped up again, it was again Quintina herself speaking.


    At the end of her words, she opened her mouth, lifted her hand, the tip of the boning knife pointing downward, and slowly inserted it into her mouth.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± the raspy voice of the middle-aged woman continued to plead from her throat.


    Yan Junze was left agape.


    ¡°Turns out, this woman is really crazy?!¡±


    He knew very well, whether it was the data from the Half Moon Association regarding the Corpse Bride or the description in his task brief, both showed that this woman¡¯s Strange Body was very powerful, having fused all the other strangenesses that had once haunted him.


    This meant that these strangenesses no longer existed on their own; the Corpse Bride¡¯s body wouldn¡¯t be housing so many individual Strange Bodies at the same time.


    She had assimilated them all, and now this woman, playing multiple roles, was all on her own volition.


    Her body was a Super Container, and even if more strangenesses were to come, they too would be assimilated by Quintina.


    Moreover, during the process of fusion, all the surrounding magnetic fields would become chaotic due to her influence.


    The tip of the knife had completely entered her throat, and at that moment Yan Junze distinctly felt that Quintina¡¯s body began to grow increasingly agitated, as if out of control, with the surrounding magnetic fields raging like a storm, causing him to feel dizzy and disoriented.


    He quickly stepped back, releasing the Black Spirit Umbrella, first unfolding it to provide a relatively stable magnetic field beneath it, then turned off the overheating lighter in his hand.


    ¡°Ms. Scott, please calm down; perhaps, I can help you find Joseph,¡± he said.


    Even though darkness engulfed him once more, Yan Junze knew full well that the madwoman was still stuffing the half-arm-length boning knife down her throat, trying to kill once more the middle-aged woman who couldn¡¯t disclose Joseph¡¯s whereabouts.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Uncertain of the situation on the other side, but a puzzled sound came through.


    ¡°Do you know where Joseph is?¡± Quintina¡¯s slow voice emerged, evidently having removed the boning knife from her mouth and now holding it in her hand again.

 Chapter 657 - 657 403 Bride (Part 5)_2

    ?Chapter 657: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5)_2 Chapter 657: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5)_2 Yes, that long boning knife was in her hand, gripped tightly and pointed right at Yan Junze.


    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t know right now,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°I mean, I can help you find Joseph.¡±


    He paused and then said, ¡°Ask those strangenesses you¡¯ve killed who was the last one to see Joseph.¡±


    There was silence for a moment, and then Quintina said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    While it was said that Quintina should ask, in reality, she had already merged with the memories of those strangenesses and just needed to search through those memories.


    Nevertheless, her method of searching was still a conversation with herself, continuously giving off an eerie vibe.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to listen patiently, attempting to find any trace or clue. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The forbidden area on the second floor, around the corner of the stairs.


    The shadowy man couldn¡¯t hold back any longer, and step by step, he approached the mysterious figure that had its back to him.


    He was very suspicious, as with his own abilities, he couldn¡¯t sense the other¡¯s strange magnetic field at all. And if that figure was a human, at the very least he should be able to hear its heartbeat or feel its breathing.


    All these important pieces of information that could identify the figure were nowhere to be caught by him.


    The shadowy man got closer, step by step, until he stood right behind the figure.


    He reached out his hand, his fingers appearing both solid and ethereal, and lightly placed them on the shoulder of the figure.


    It felt like touching a bundle of cotton, but the figure in front of him didn¡¯t turn around, didn¡¯t speak, and gave no sign whatsoever.


    The shadowy man hesitated slightly, and a bunch of magnetic light flashed in his hand, just then, the figure facing away from him vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Is it fake?!¡± the shadowy man exclaimed in surprise.


    He found it strange, as up to this point he hadn¡¯t understood whether the figure was real or an illusion.


    However, the shadowy man was certain that even if that figure was a strangeness, it must be inside some special space, which was why he couldn¡¯t kill it right then and there or fully grasp its traces.


    Simultaneously, Yan Junze, who was listening to Quintina talking to herself and asking about Joseph¡¯s whereabouts, felt the ¡°shadow¡± suddenly return to him.


    The sense of missing palpitations came back once more.


    The palpitations came from behind him, on the same floor, on the opposite side of the corridor.


    At this moment, the shadowy man was getting closer to the direction where a coffin stood upright. He could sense the chaotic magnetic field around him, but such chaotic fields didn¡¯t affect him much.


    Moreover, he had been to this place more than once and had a clear grasp of the number of strangenesses on this third floor, including the one lying in the coffin.


    Currently, without exception, all these strangenesses clung together near the edge of the wall by the corridor.


    There, a faint kerosene lamp was dimly lit.


    The shadowy man slowly moved in that direction, and those strangenesses that had been greedily feeding by the lamp now suddenly sensed something and showed signs of unease, one by one turning their heads to look in the direction of the shadowy man.


    After several seconds, the strangenesses hurriedly squeezed themselves by the edge of the wall, motionless with their heads hung low, not daring to look that way again.


    Yan Junze¡¯s feeling of palpitation grew stronger, he focused his attention behind him, still hearing the sound of Quintina conversing with herself.


    ¡°Joseph ran away because he knew you discovered him,¡± that old male voice rang out.


    ¡°Were you the last one to see him?¡± Quintina asked.


    ¡°I saw him,¡± another young male voice came, ¡°he told me he has a daughter, that he¡¯s been keeping it from you; he was once married.¡±


    ¡°That bastard!¡± Quintina said angrily, ¡°He actually has a wife and child!¡±


    ¡°His wife and daughter are dead, I don¡¯t know how they died; he didn¡¯t mention it,¡± the voice continued, ¡°He told me your corpse tasted delicious, just like that Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp.¡±


    ¡°Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp?¡± Yan Junze recalled the kerosene lamp he¡¯d been carrying which could attract strangenesses.


    ¡°Where was the last place you saw Joseph?¡± he interjected.


    The young man said, ¡°Right here, he¡¯s been staying with those crazed fellows outside.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been hiding right under my nose?!¡± Quintina was even more furious.


    ¡°Did he tell you anything else?¡± Yan Junze continued to ask.


    ¡°He said he was going to see his child and then he never showed up again,¡± the young voice replied.


    ¡°Can you find that bastard?¡± Quintina¡¯s words were directed at Yan Junze.


    ¡°I can try,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    He could feel something getting closer behind him; it didn¡¯t seem like a strangeness.


    Because at that moment, the strangenesses outside were all attracted by the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp and simply had no time to reckon with him.


    ¡°The one with the umbrella, who are you?¡± a deep voice came from not far behind him.


    Even though it was completely dark around him, the person speaking seemed to be able to see Yan Junze holding an umbrella.


    Yan Junze held an umbrella for two reasons: one to protect himself against potential attacks from other strangenesses lurking around, and the second was to guard against the Corpse Bride suddenly going mad and attacking him.


    Hearing the voice, he turned around to face the darkness. Although he couldn¡¯t see anyone, he knew that the strong sense of palpitation came from this speaking person.


    At this point, a thought suddenly leapt into Yan Junze¡¯s mind; he seemed to guess who this speaking person was.


    ¡°Madmen, you all are madmen!¡± a young female voice suddenly came from Quintina¡¯s mouth, clearly lapsing into hysteria again.

 Chapter 658 - 658 403 Bride (Part 5)_3

    ?Chapter 658: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5)_3 Chapter 658: Chapter 403 Bride (Part 5)_3 After he spoke, the sound of a coffin lid closing came from behind. Yan Junze clicked his lighter and shone it backward, only to find that the coffin was now closed, and Quintina had clambered back into her own coffin.


    Could it be that she too was afraid of the man in the darkness?


    Yan Junze turned back, extending the lighter as far as he could in front of him, trying to discern where the voice of the man in the darkness was coming from. But all his efforts were in vain; he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    ¡°A Huaying person?¡± the man in the darkness spoke again, yet he was able to clearly see Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    At the same moment, a strong sense of crisis descended, and Yan Junze¡¯s body began trembling uncontrollably. He didn¡¯t think twice and immediately performed a Rewind!


    This time the reversal of time didn¡¯t cover a short distance, but instead took him right back to the moment he had just entered the forbidden zone on the first floor.


    As the dizziness from the temporal shift faded, Yan Junze stood in the corridor on the first floor, observing the piles of broken wooden carts and wheels to his left, and besides them, stacks of wall lamps that had been replaced.


    He stood still for a while, not moving from the spot, but instead lifting his head to carefully examine the space of the first floor, watching each wall lamp, each different space, each wooden railing that sectioned off areas.


    The man in the darkness he had encountered before the Rewind, gave Yan Junze a feeling more horrifying than any strangeness he had ever faced.


    He believed that, faced with that person, he had absolutely no chance of resistance, and the identity of this person was very likely to be the Reaper Morrison, as mentioned in the Half Moon Association¡¯s data concerning the Corpse Bride!


    The data had noted that Morrison was closely monitoring every special strangeness, and Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected that this guy would choose such a method to do his surveilling.


    The man within the darkness didn¡¯t seem to be Morrison himself but rather something like a projection, an avatar or an illusion.


    But regardless of what it was, the power exhibited by this individual was far too great, forcing even the Corpse Bride to steer clear.


    It could be said that if the timing were right, with the Reaper¡¯s power, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to capture the Corpse Bride.


    The only strangeness that might be troublesome for the Reaper was probably that being close to a god, Jacob Johnson¡ªthe boy who committed suicide at age eight due to a strange illness.


    Yan Junze now was somewhat confused, not knowing at which point he had disturbed Reaper Morrison, causing him to rush over to stop him.


    He took a few steps forward, examining his surroundings for any changes, while constantly being aware of the Invisible Strange Creature making breathing sounds from behind the wooden railings.


    Could disturbing Morrison be related to this strangeness?


    This time, Yan Junze quickened his pace, swiftly passing by the wooden railings without stopping. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was the little girl in the white princess dress, standing with her back toward him at the staircase leading up to the second floor, undoubtedly holding the rag doll she had dropped before the Rewind.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t give her the chance to throw away the rag doll and ascend to the second floor; he ran over in a few strides and spoke, ¡°Little girl, where is your father?¡±


    The little girl, caught in her act, turned around with a start, revealing a terrifyingly sunken face.


    ¡°Where is your father?¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°I mean, Joseph Peterson.¡±


    The little girl seemed taken aback by Yan Junze¡¯s question. She immediately dropped the rag doll and dashed up to the second floor, her disheveled hair flying about, and the sunken cheeks never turned back as she quickly disappeared out of sight.


    ¡°Is Joseph really your father or not?¡± Yan Junze looked up toward the second floor and said aloud.


    In truth, he was just speculating. If Joseph always held a grudge against Quintina for killing him and incited so many strangenesses to trouble Quintina, then this place must at least be under his control.


    Having just heard that this fellow also had a daughter, Yan Junze naturally thought of the little girl in the princess dress.


    Given that Joseph could stir up this place to such a state, doing everything for Revenge against Quintina, it was highly probable that he had also brought his deceased child here, lurking nearby.


    This way, he could not only reunite with family but also continue his Revenge against Quintina.


    And the reason Yan Junze saw the girl as soon as he entered the forbidden zone might be that Joseph attracted common people who entered, turning them into strangenesses for his own Revenge, continuously disturbing the magnetic field of the place.


    Perhaps, he should follow the girl to the second floor to see for himself.


    Having made up his mind, he lowered his head to glance at the rag doll on the ground, a strange feeling suddenly arising in his heart.

 Chapter 659 - 659 404 Bride (Finale)

    ?Chapter 659: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale) Chapter 659: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale) From one of the wooden enclosures behind him, a heavy breathing faintly made its way out. Yan Junze turned his head to look, but just like before the Rewind, he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    He then looked down again at the cloth doll that seemed to be hinting at him to carry it away. This time, however, he bent down and picked up the doll, holding it with one hand as he walked towards the second floor.


    Arriving at the corner of the second-floor staircase, Yan Junze silently took the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp that was placed on a protruding part of the wall.


    After reaching the second floor, just like the last time, the little girl in the white princess dress stood at the doorway of a room that was ajar, not far down the hallway.


    Only after Yan Junze saw her did she step into the room.


    ¡°You think I¡¯ll go over there this time? Still not possible.¡±


    Yan Junze took a few steps into the corridor, then knelt to place the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp on the floor and took a lighter from his backpack to ignite the lamp.


    Before long, nearly all the rooms in the corridor began to produce noises¡ªslight footsteps, hoarse voices, and eerie chanting started one after another at this moment.


    Some of the doors, which had been tightly closed, also began to slowly open.


    At least seventeen or eighteen strangenesses walked out from their rooms in succession. To Yan Junze, these strangenesses felt just like residents living there.


    When Yan Junze used ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± initially, he also didn¡¯t sense their Obsessions.


    Perhaps, some strangenesses simply don¡¯t have any Obsession at all and just reside within the restricted area.


    The scent from the burning lamp quickly spread, and the strangenesses that walked out didn¡¯t pay any attention to Yan Junze. They just crouched beside the oil lamp, greedily sucking away the fumes.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze was fixed on the doorway of the room the little girl had entered. However, at that moment, he had not seen any strangeness come out of that room, not even the little girl herself.


    After waiting about half a minute more, the little girl appeared. She stood in the doorway, her sunken nose twitched, and then she walked towards the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp.


    Then a beautiful woman also emerged from the room, with delicate features that must belong to the little girl¡¯s mother. However, as she approached, Yan Junze noticed the back of her head was caved in as if she had suffered a heavy blow to the head before she died.


    After she came out, she also glanced at Yan Junze. Her lips parted, but she made no other sign, and her attention quickly shifted to the oil lamp, never returning to where Yan Junze stood.


    Soon, the mother and daughter duo jostled into the crowd of strangenesses.


    Yan Junze immediately walked to the room they had come from, arriving at the doorway only to find the room engulfed in darkness, which was even less lit than the corridor outside.


    Using the light from the wall lamps in the hallway, Yan Junze took a careful look inside. There was no furniture in the room, just a hammer.


    The hammer lay at the center of the room, the top of it stained with dirt. Yan Junze took out a flashlight, switched it on, and shone the beam onto the hammer.


    Although the magnetic field on the second floor was a bit chaotic, it was much lighter compared to the third floor.


    Therefore, the interference with the electromagnetic fields could be almost neglected; the flashlight still worked properly.


    Under the light of the flashlight, Yan Junze saw that the hammer looked dirty because its surface was smeared with a lot of coagulated blood.


    Considering the woman who seemed to be the little girl¡¯s mother, the fatal wound on her head was probably caused by this hammer.


    ¡°Did that little girl just lead me into this room because her mom is inside waiting with a hammer?¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself, ¡°Could it be that they really want to kill me, making me the next soldier to further chaos the magnetic field on the third floor?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the cloth doll in his hand.


    At that moment, it appeared as though something wriggled inside the body of the doll, and Yan Junze distinctly felt a chilling sensation in the palm of his hand.


    Instinctively, he released his grip, and the doll fell to the ground, landing face-up. Under the light of the flashlight, it seemed to be still smiling.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Silently, the shadow of a man appeared in the doorway, coldly staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze looked up and could only see the outline of a man¡¯s shadow.


    The voice was familiar, identical to the one he had heard in the darkness before the last Rewind; it must be the Reaper, Morrison.


    Rewind!


    The location went back to the first floor, and the time to the moment Yan Junze picked up the cloth doll.


    At this moment, he was certain that the little girl was leading him into the second-floor room to kill him. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And if he didn¡¯t follow, just like the first time before the Rewind, the little girl would chase out, stand behind him, ask questions, and guide again.


    Holding the cloth doll, Yan Junze quickly walked to the corner of the second-floor staircase, took down the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp, went to the top of the second-floor stairs, and set down the lamp there before lighting it with the lighter.


    In the meantime, he didn¡¯t even glance at the little girl as she deliberately walked into the room in front of him.


    Then he proceeded up the stairs leading to the third floor.


    The reason he chose to light the lamp at the narrow space of the stairwell was to attract all the strangenesses to crowd over, which could block Reaper Morrison for a moment.


    Now, Yan Junze speculated that Morrison¡¯s appearance might have been triggered the moment he entered the restricted area on the first floor.


    Though he didn¡¯t know what had triggered it, a condition set by a Reaper might be something he could never detect, invisible even if it was right before his eyes, and thus unavoidable.

 Chapter 660 - 660 404 Bride (Finale)_2

    ?Chapter 660: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale)_2 Chapter 660: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale)_2 Upon reaching the turning corner to the third floor staircase, Yan Junze first released his own ¡°Shadow,¡± letting it stand right at the inevitable path at the corner, in this way, it could also block the Reaper for a moment, and, incidentally, warn him in advance.


    Then, he took the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamp from this spot and headed to the third floor.


    After arriving at the third floor, Yan Junze immediately lit the oil lamp, still placing it at the top of the staircase, to attract other strangenesses to swarm to this place.


    The magnetic field here was already extremely chaotic; the flashlight couldn¡¯t be turned on. Relying on his previous memories, he didn¡¯t use his lighter either, simply holding the Black Spirit Umbrella as he walked to the end of the corridor.


    The purpose of holding the Black Spirit Umbrella was to guard against strangenesses in the chaotic magnetic field that might suddenly attack him in a frenzy, so it was still best to be cautious.


    After all, the strangenesses on the third floor were clearly much stronger.


    Now it seemed that the three barriers he¡¯d laid out on his way up, although they weren¡¯t much of a problem for Reaper Morrison, at least could win some time for Yan Junze.


    He hadn¡¯t delayed on the way and upon reaching the end of the corridor, stopped only when his toes touched the upright coffin.


    Temporarily storing the Black Spirit Umbrella in the Atlas, with the doll placed at his feet, Yan Junze stood up, quickly felt the edge of the coffin lid, and gently lifted it.


    Having had the experience before, he held his breath the moment he lifted the lid, and thus, didn¡¯t let the odd smell tickle his nose.


    His left hand took out the lighter from his pocket, turned it on, and the small flame that sprang out lit the surrounding area, dim but clear enough to see.


    Inside the coffin, Corpse Bride Quintina Scott lay with her eyes closed, her hands crossed over her chest, her muscles dry and shrunken due to the loss of moisture.


    Only then did Yan Junze notice that in her crossed hands, the one placed inside, her right palm, was clutching the rusted boning knife.


    ¡°Respected Ms. Scott,¡± Yan Junze spoke softly, his tone both respectful and natural, much better than the first time.


    ¡°My name is Yan Junze, from Great Capital Huaying. I think, I can help you find the swindler, Joseph Peterson, who cheated you of your feelings and money.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Quintina in the coffin slowly opened her eyes. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her eyelids hadn¡¯t moved for a long time, and even as they opened, there was a film of residue on the surface, which only began to dry after a short while.


    ¡°Madmen, you are all madmen!¡± Quintina¡¯s lips parted slightly, but the voice that came out wasn¡¯t her own.


    Yan Junze knew that this voice, strictly speaking, wasn¡¯t Quintina herself, but belonged to the memory of one of the strangenesses fused with her.


    ¡°Excuse me, Ms. Scott, are you there?¡± Yan Junze interrupted the chance for those messy memories to emerge, ¡°I wish to speak with Ms. Scott. I can find Joseph Peterson.¡±


    Quintina no longer made a sound; her hands, which had been crossed in front of her chest, slowly lowered, revealing the boning knife she had been tightly holding.


    By now, the hand holding the lighter was so hot that it couldn¡¯t be held any longer, so he had to turn off the lighter and blow on it a couple of times to let it cool down slowly.


    The surroundings plunged into darkness and suddenly, a cold breath came fiercely close to him, so near that Yan Junze felt his nose almost touch the other person.


    A woman¡¯s voice slowly began to speak, entering from beside Yan Junze¡¯s left ear as if she was whispering secrets to him, ¡°Joseph, where is he?¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s body trembled slightly, feeling the ¡°Shadow¡± stationed at the third-floor corner rapidly returning, merging back with him.


    He shook violently, knowing Morrison had arrived and he must hasten the progress here.


    The lighter in his hand was still hot, but there was no choice now; it had to be turned on.


    He turned on the lighter again, looked down, and saw nothing by his feet, causing a moment of confusion.


    Turning to look, he found that the doll had moved two meters away from where he stood.


    Yan Junze walked over in two steps, grabbed the doll, and held it up before Quintina, ¡°Here you go, Joseph Peterson was hiding in this doll the whole time, and never left.¡±


    After speaking, the doll in his hand suddenly began to twist, as if a small snake was wriggling inside its body, moving back and forth within the doll.


    Quintina¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at the doll, reaching out abruptly to grab it.


    Initially, Yan Junze had only suspected the doll, but he couldn¡¯t be sure until, in the last Rewind, the doll moved slightly because the plan hadn¡¯t been executed.


    Linked to the memory of the little girl losing her doll, the mother waiting in ambush in the room with a hammer, and if there were also a father, it would be perfect.


    But it seemed the father hadn¡¯t shown up.


    And with the doll¡¯s sudden movement, Yan Junze became certain of his guess.


    Now, looking at the way the doll wriggled, he knew his suspicion was confirmed.


    At this moment, Quintina held the doll in her left hand while her right hand rose, boning knife aiming at it.


    The doll¡¯s face had become ferocious, as if another face was overlaid on top of it, struggling, contorting, raging, and roaring in silence.


    Thunk!


    A knife was plunged into the doll¡¯s head, piercing from the nose through to the back of the skull.


    Then Quintina, excited, pulled out the boning knife and stabbed the doll¡¯s stomach again.


    A piercing scream rose, emanating from the body of the doll.

 Chapter 661 - 661 404 Bride (Finale)_3

    ?Chapter 661: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale)_3 Chapter 661: Chapter 404 Bride (Finale)_3 ¡°Bastard, Joseph, you bastard! I want you¡­to die again!¡±


    The rag doll was lying on the ground at that moment, and Quintina¡¯s third strike passed through its chest, the tip of the knife violently colliding with the ground, instantly snapping the rusty boning knife.


    A stream of black smoke billowed from the body of the doll, and Quintina immediately dropped the knife, leaned over and took a fierce breath, sucking all the black smoke into her body.


    Her eyes suddenly rolled back, turning completely white, as if digesting the black air.


    Yan Junze had just witnessed the entire process of Quintina merging with other strangenesses.


    About ten seconds later, the sound of footsteps approached from not far behind him.


    Morrison was getting close.


    Yan Junze spoke, ¡°Quintina, now that you¡¯ve personally killed Joseph a second time, your hatred has been resolved, you should be satisfied.¡±


    Quintina, with eyes rolled back, slowly lifted her head and looked up at the ceiling without any response.


    However soon, a large amount of black smoke came out from the five orifices of her face, rushing towards the ceiling.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Your obsession has been resolved, there¡¯s no need to leave behind so many memories of strangenesses, let alone force yourself to merge with them. You can, be yourself again.¡±


    More black smoke poured out of Quintina¡¯s body, disappearing without a trace after hitting the ceiling.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Morrison¡¯s voice arose from behind, clearly astonished, ¡°What have you done to the Corpse Bride?¡±


    The lighter in Yan Junze¡¯s hand went out again, and facing the darkness, he revealed a smile, saying word by word, ¡°She is freed.¡±


    A wild breath surged from Morrison¡¯s direction, but Yan Junze had vanished the moment he spoke those words.


    The turbulent breath roared past where he had been standing as if a tidal wave, and the Corpse Bride, Quintina Scott, along with the coffin behind her, took Yan Junze¡¯s place, instantly pulverized by that breath.


    After triggering the Rewind command, Yan Junze saw a blur before his eyes, and the next second, he found himself standing in the familiar Void.


    The mission completion notification was still popping up in his mind.


    [I want revenge, Terrified (High), Completed, 1900 Different Dimension Energy points acquired]


    In the Corpse Bride mission, Yan Junze initiated only small-scale Rewinds, which did not consume a particularly large amount of energy.


    Having 16900 Different Dimension Energy points after initially arriving at Klargon Castle, the small-scale Rewinds consumed less than 200 points, and with the additional 1900 points from completing the mission, he had over 18500 points in total.


    In other words, Yan Junze had somewhat replenished his energy with this mission. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although it wasn¡¯t enough to offset the energy consumed by the Great Rewind, it could at least compensate for some of the loss.


    At that moment, a notification for the Butterfly Effect Stabilization appeared before his eyes.


    There were 3 Butterfly Effects that needed to be stabilized, and without any hesitation, Yan Junze chose to watch and stabilize them.


    This Butterfly Effect Stabilization from the Great Rewind was very special for him because the purpose of this Great Rewind was to change the past.


    Therefore, if during the Butterfly Effect Stabilization he stabilizes the exact past he intended to change, it would mean that all his efforts were in vain.


    On the other hand, he still had to stabilize some of the Butterfly Effects that had no impact on his goals, as not doing so could result in other unexpected chain reactions.


    As Yan Junze watched the Butterfly Effect Stabilization footage, a dark spot under the sleeve of his right elbow flickered slightly and then disappeared.

 Chapter 662 - 662 405 The Unnoticeable Change

    ?Chapter 662: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change Chapter 662: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change ¡°`


    Olay Great Capital, Klargon Castle, Forbidden Area, third floor.


    After destroying the Corpse Bride Quintina, who was no longer considered a special strangeness, along with her coffin, the Reaper Morrison was extremely astonished.


    He carefully sensed around but found no trace of the young man from before.


    It was as if the man had disappeared into thin air!


    However, what Morrison was even more concerned about was his ¡°Reaper Blind Spot,¡± which he could no longer sense at this moment.


    That was very strange, for the ¡°Reaper Blind Spot¡± was an ability unique to exorcists of Morrison¡¯s level, allowing one to temporarily implant their own ability into the target.


    As long as the Blind Spot field was present, he could resonate with it on the same frequency, no matter in which corner of the world that person was.


    If the distance was indeed too vast, although Morrison couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact location, he would still faintly sense it.


    But this time was entirely different; for the ¡°Reaper Blind Spot¡± he had just planted, he felt absolutely nothing.


    It was as if the target person didn¡¯t exist in this world at all.


    Yet at this moment, anger was still simmering in Morrison¡¯s heart, because there was no doubt that, before he made his move, the special strangeness of the Corpse Bride had been completely destroyed by that person, leaving no trace of its uniqueness.


    Bang!


    Morrison¡¯s shadow simply dissipated, whether it was an avatar, illusion, or projection, at that moment, he completely left Klargon Castle.


    ¡­


    [The following is the first occurrence of Butterfly Effect Stabilization, choose whether to handle it personally or let the Atlas correct it automatically?] S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let the Atlas correct it automatically, I will observe from a third perspective,¡± Yan Junze said.


    The Void beneath his feet tore open in an instant, his body began descending and soon landed on the ground.


    The scene before him was that of the exterior buildings of the Forbidden Area of Klargon Castle he had just left.


    Marion, who was in charge of guarding outside, was pacing back and forth anxiously, his expression worried. He kept glancing towards the entrance but didn¡¯t dare to approach it.


    Soon after, a thin and tall man with a silver helmet came striding over, followed by four subordinates, their brows furrowed, evidently having received some unfavorable news.


    Yan Junze stood outside in the garden, watching the scene unfold.


    ¡°Deputy Commander, sir,¡± Marion immediately greeted the tall man upon his arrival, respectfully addressing him.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying Walk insisted on going in to retrieve something I left behind?¡± The tall Deputy Commander asked upon approaching.


    Marion nodded, ¡°Yes, he said that last time you were here, Deputy Commander, you left some private items inside, on the first floor.¡±


    ¡°That man isn¡¯t Walk,¡± the Deputy Commander shook his head vigorously, ¡°I sent Walk out of the castle two days ago.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Marion was taken aback.


    ¡°Seal off the perimeter of the Forbidden Area, I¡¯ll go in personally to investigate,¡± the Deputy Commander said with a heavy voice, ¡°Temporarily close the castle¡¯s entrances and exits, without orders from me or the Commander, no one is allowed to pass.¡±


    Two subordinates took their orders and left while the other two stayed with Marion at the entrance of the Forbidden Area.


    The tall Deputy Commander entered the first floor of the Forbidden Area alone, and the door closed behind him.


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned; his perspective did not follow the Deputy Commander into the Forbidden Area but remained quietly waiting beside.


    At this moment, a text message popped up before his eyes.


    [This is the first point of Butterfly Effect genesis, about to commence correction, would you like to view the uncorrected sequence once?]


    The scene before him had come to a standstill, waiting for Yan Junze to make a decision.


    ¡°View,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    The scene continued.


    After waiting for approximately ten minutes, the door was abruptly pushed open by the Deputy Commander, who emerged sweating profusely and slightly pale, declaring, ¡°Inform the Commander, the Corpse Bride and her coffin have been destroyed!¡±


    In the Deputy Commander¡¯s hand were Walk¡¯s robe and a Knight¡¯s Sword, which Yan Junze had stolen and left behind in the corridor of the third floor when he returned through the Space-Time Rift.


    The Deputy Commander continued, ¡°I also found unfamiliar footprints on the stairway and corridor; there must also be fingerprints left behind, have someone come and collect them immediately.¡±


    Yan Junze watched with a look of surprise, thinking to himself, ¡°What kind of eyesight does this guy have? It¡¯s so dim in there, and he could still see my footprints.¡±


    At this time, the scene that was in progress halted again, everyone froze.


    A text prompt appeared.


    [This is the first ripple event of Butterfly Effect in this instance, would you like to play the remaining 366 ripple events?]


    Yan Junze had an epiphany; it was here that his information would be exposed.


    He shook his head, ¡°No need to continue playing, begin correcting the ripple event now.¡±


    The scene before him rewound like a film until reaching the moment just before the Deputy Commander walked out of the Forbidden Area room, paused, and then resumed normal playback.


    Soon, the tall Deputy Commander pulled open the door to the Forbidden Area room; he was a bit pale and had beads of sweat on his forehead, ¡°Inform the Commander, the Corpse Bride and her coffin have been destroyed!¡±


    However, this time the Deputy Commander had nothing in his hands, as if he had not discovered Walk¡¯s robe or the Knight¡¯s Sword.


    After two subordinates took their orders to leave, the Deputy Commander paused and went on, ¡°The magnetic field in the Forbidden Area is very chaotic, especially on the third floor, almost everything near the Corpse Bride¡¯s coffin has been destroyed. Someone also lit the Gute Gorgeous Oil Lamps, causing all the imprisoned strangenesses to become agitated. Immediately organize three teams of ten, beginning from the first floor of the Forbidden Area, to stabilize all strangenesses. If necessary, kill them on sight.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 663 - 663 405 The Unnoticeable Change_2

    ?Chapter 663: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change_2 Chapter 663: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change_2 The screen froze.


    [The first Butterfly Effect¡¯s first Ripple event has stabilized, proceeding to autonomously repair the second Ripple event, the third, the fourth, the fifth¡­ the three hundred and sixty-seventh.]


    The events being repaired were flashing by rapidly, quickly coming to an end.


    [The first Butterfly Effect has stabilized.]


    The scene in front of Yan Junze started to change again, with the location where he stood also transitioning.


    Soon the scene stabilized, though the light was much dimmer than before.


    Just as Yan Junze was squinting his eyes to take a closer look, the dim light suddenly fluctuated wildly, as if night vision goggles had been put on, turning all the scenes into a light green color but with much clarity.


    Yan Junze looked around and found himself once again on the third floor of the restricted area, floating mid-air.


    This time, the stabilization of the Butterfly Effect was different because he saw another version of himself in the scene.


    The other him was standing in front of the Corpse Bride, Quintina¡¯s, coffin. Quintina¡¯s head was slightly tilted upward, her eyes rolled back as she stared at the ceiling, with copious amounts of dark aura rising from her body.


    Yan Junze knew this was the moment when Quintina had fulfilled her Obsession, eliminating all the strangenesses she had merged with.


    At this moment, Quintina became her true self again.


    Not far away, a misty black silhouette was approaching.


    At this point in time, the Yan Junze standing in front of Quintina spoke, ¡°Obsession lifted, there¡¯s no need for you to keep so many strange memories, let alone forcibly merge with them. You can, be yourself again.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Yan Junze floating mid-air listened to his own voice and felt it was somehow unfamiliar and bizarre, as if it wasn¡¯t him speaking.


    The next second, Morrison¡¯s voice emanated from the misty shadow, ¡°Who are you? What have you done to the Corpse Bride?¡±


    The Yan Junze on the ground extinguished the lighter in his hand, turned around, faced the darkness, and with a smile said slowly, ¡°She¡¯s been liberated.¡±


    A violent aura burst from the shadow, like a giant wave converging, charging towards the direction of Yan Junze on the ground.


    At this moment, the Yan Junze floating in mid-air knew very clearly that at that time he had initiated the command to return to the Space-Time Rift, and so he had vanished on the spot.


    Walk¡¯s robes and the Knight¡¯s Sword fell to the ground; he himself had disappeared without a trace.


    The violent aura swept through, tearing Walk¡¯s robes into shreds, crushing the Knight¡¯s Sword into dust, strangling Quintina, who had just recovered and had no time to react, and tearing her coffin into countless pieces.


    This manner of killing was obviously calculated by Reaper Morrison. After tearing through the coffin, the violent aura only affected the corridor¡¯s wall behind it, causing a mild warp but no rupture.


    The scene instantly froze.


    Truth be told, the image at this moment was extremely impactful; everything was in the midst of destruction, and with a green filter before his eyes, Yan Junze saw it all in clear detail.


    A text prompt popped up in his mind.


    [This is the second Butterfly Effect origin point, about to commence correction, do you wish to view the uncorrected footage once?]


    ¡°View,¡± Yan Junze immediately thought silently.


    He was also somewhat eager to see what would happen next after he left.


    The frozen frame began playing again.


    The shadow that represented Morrison casually strolled forward, tilting its head, seemingly inspecting the scene and giving off the impression that Morrison himself was also surprised at the moment.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what he was looking at; he floated forward, moving slightly downward in position.


    This distance allowed him to closely observe why Morrison was just a black silhouette.


    From this silhouette, one could discern the rough contours of Morrison¡¯s face, and his limbs were clear as well, except these were all made of a mass of dark aura, not a physical body.


    Yan Junze guessed that Morrison at this moment could perhaps be more accurately described as a special form of holographic projection.


    Yet such mode of projection was terrifying; even the power of attack was so strong, there wasn¡¯t much difference from Morrison¡¯s actual self being here.


    Before long, the scene froze again.


    [This is the first Ripple event of the current Butterfly Effect. Do you wish to play the remaining 17 Ripple events?]


    Yan Junze looked puzzled at the text prompt; he didn¡¯t understand why there was a Butterfly Effect here. It seemed there was nothing unusual, was there?


    He remembered escaping just like this a moment ago; at most, he was unaware of what Morrison did after his escape. But now, it seemed the guy just walked a bit closer, tilted his head to take a look, and didn¡¯t do anything else.


    He took a closer look at the surrounding environment; there were no abnormal changes.


    Yan Junze touched his chin in confusion and silently thought, ¡°Continue playing the second Ripple event.¡±


    There was no helping it; he completely failed to understand what was going on at the site of the first Ripple event, so he could only look at the second event to see if he could discern any clues.


    The scene in front of him began to spin instantly, as if entering a temporal vortex.


    This time, Yan Junze felt dizzy and disoriented, as the scene seemed to undergo major changes, as if the timeline had leaped forward significantly.


    The next second, the scene froze, and he was still floating in mid-air, beneath him was still a corridor, but here the lighting was bright, as if it was daylight.


    A thick cashmere carpet was laid on the wooden floor of the corridor, the carpet extending all the way to the corner of the corridor without any end in sight.

 Chapter 664 - 664 405 The Unnoticeable Change_3

    ?Chapter 664: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change_3 Chapter 664: Chapter 405 The Unnoticeable Change_3 ¡°`


    Here, Yan Junze was very surprised because he still saw himself.


    At this moment, he was standing on the cashmere carpet of the hallway, looking into a room from its doorway.


    Yan Junze was certain he had never been to this place before; it must be some time in the future.


    If he had not changed this second Butterfly Effect, he would appear here during this time period and then trigger the next ripple event.


    Hopeful to discern what exactly this Butterfly Effect was, Yan Junze mused silently.


    The environment seemed to be inside a very large building, at least a villa. Along the corridor walls, there were either mounted stag heads or oil paintings, each spaced out by white intervals.


    This clearly was not a room design from the Great Capital Huaying.


    At this time, his own figure below stood at the doorway of the room, seemingly hesitant, but after a moment, he stepped in.


    However, just then, a large net descended from above the doorway, perfectly ensnaring him, leaving no chance of escape as a man in a black, tightly-fitting coat emerged from the room.


    Deep-blue pupils, a pronounced nose, prominent cheekbones, his facial features instantly made Yan Junze think of Reaper Morrison.


    But at this moment, the man¡¯s body was not a shadowy wraith, but solid.


    This must be Morrison himself.


    Rewind!


    Unable to escape the net, Yan Junze initiated the Rewind at this moment.


    The scene stopped here.


    [This is the second ripple event of the current Butterfly Effect. Would you like to play the remaining 16 ripple events?]


    ¡°Caught in a trap, I was actually ambushed?!¡± Yan Junze watched all of this in bewilderment.


    In other words, if he did not correct the previous ripple event, he would end up ambushed by Morrison here.


    ¡°Why did this happen?¡± Yan Junze still did not understand.


    ¡°Continue playing the third ripple event,¡± he silently commanded in his heart.


    The scene before him once again transformed, yet this time it quickly shifted several times before stopping, displaying a green grassland.


    Not far from the grassland on one side was a clump of bushes, with a row of terraced buildings ahead, around three stories tall.


    The buildings appeared white, simple and elegant, without any garishness, but clearly not from the Great Capital Huaying.


    This time, Yan Junze found himself standing on the prairie, not floating in mid-air.


    Not far away, another version of himself was sneaking out of the bushes, squatting on the ground, looking at the three-story building, unsure of what to do next.


    Just as he prepared to dive back into the thicket to stealthily approach the building from another side, suddenly a loud ¡®snap¡¯ echoed as an electromagnetic field was triggered, colliding fiercely in the area.


    The Yan Junze in the bushes collapsed to the ground, convulsing a couple of times before disappearing with another Rewind.


    And at the same moment, on the other side of the grassland, near a third-floor window of the building, a man in black leaped down¡ªit was Reaper Morrison.


    The scene froze there.


    After watching this scene, Yan Junze was even more perplexed: ¡°I was ambushed by him again!¡±


    Still, up to this point, he had no idea why.


    [This is the third ripple event of the current Butterfly Effect. Would you like to play the remaining 15 ripple events?]


    ¡°No need to play anymore, just repair, I don¡¯t need to watch further,¡± Yan Junze thought it over and replied in his mind.


    He was well aware that even if he watched the repaired footage, he would still have no clue as to why he kept walking into Morrison¡¯s ambushes.


    Could it be¡­ he¡¯s tracking me?


    Yan Junze froze for a moment, lifting his arm and looking over his clothing, but he saw nothing.


    [The first ripple event of the second Butterfly Effect has been stabilized; proceed with the self-repair of the second ripple event, the third, the fourth, the fifth¡­ the eighteenth.]


    [The second Butterfly Effect has been stabilized.]


    At this point, Yan Junze was still standing on the green grassland, the scene remained frozen, but the Butterfly Effect here had been completely repaired. Once he exited from this place, these images would cease to exist. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, at the same moment, a hidden black dot on his sleeve disappeared and never reappeared.


    However, Yan Junze himself was unaware of this.


    The place he was standing began to change quickly again, and this time, he had a feeling that this last Butterfly Effect would be very special.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 665 - 665 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts

    ?Chapter 665: Chapter 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts Chapter 665: Chapter 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts The last Butterfly Effect caused the images to change even faster, as if flipping through pages of a book at high speed.


    Yan Junze, who had been feeling dizzy and lightheaded, simply closed his eyes.


    Before he opened his eyes, he could feel a scorching breath rushing toward him.


    When he opened his eyes, he was taken aback to find himself back in a familiar place he had once visited¡ªthe large altar in the strange mountains of the Great Capital, USA.


    At this moment, standing at the edge of the altar, the roaring flames were a distance away, but they seemed so special that Yan Junze felt as if he was about to be roasted.


    He now had the chance to take a good look at the interior of the altar.


    It was clear that the altar¡¯s platform was man-made, a circular dias carved out at the top of the mountain. The platform was flat on top, hollow beneath, supported by a single reinforced pillar that sprang from within the mountain, diverging outwards to hold the circular platform steadystate/stat.


    At the edge of this circular platform, stones were built up to house the offerings for activating the altar¡ªspecial strangenesses.


    However, the time seemed different from when Yan Junze had last traveled here; there were no offerings to be seen, nor the ancient Book of Oath in the middle of the platform.


    Standing near the right side of the altar were several people. Junze stepped over the gap in the platform and walked over to them.


    It didn¡¯t matter anyway; these people couldn¡¯t see him. He walked quickly, approaching a speaking elder directly.


    He vaguely remembered this person, having seen him during the Great Rewind where he saved Ke¡¯er and her mother. This guy seemed to be the one responsible for presiding over the activation of the altar.


    Yet, within the Half Moon Association, his rank seemed to not be as high as Vice President Charles¡¯s.


    At this moment, the few people around him were all led by this elder, listening to him speak.


    ¡°The seventeen teams sent out have all reported back: they haven¡¯t found any special strangenesses that can serve as replacements. Not only that, but four Mister Reapers have also been searching around the world, yet so far, they haven¡¯t found any suitable substitutes.¡±


    The elder¡¯s voice was slow, but it was obvious that he was quite disheartened.


    A man with brown hair sighed and said, ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to find one. The Corpse Bride only became a Super Container after a series of coincidences. It was related to her character while she was alive, and she also had to encounter a swindler who could move her. These are all unique conditions, and indeed, such special strangenesses are difficult to find.¡±


    The leading elder looked down at the flames burning in the gap of the platform, ¡°To ensure the altar functions smoothly, we¡¯re now required to pour almost a ton of Parlin Gold Powder into this fire every day. The daily expenditure is astonishing, and this can¡¯t continue like this¡­¡±


    ¡°How about we just shut down the altar for now,¡± another middle-aged man suggested.


    The elder lifted his head, ¡°I¡¯ll make a call to the vice president. If it really can¡¯t be helped, we might have to shut it down for the time being, and then restart it when we find a suitable special strangeness.¡±


    The scene froze there.


    [This is the third generation point of the Butterfly Effect. A correction is about to take place. Do you wish to view an uncorrected clip?]


    ¡°View the uncorrected clip,¡± Yan Junze silently commanded.


    The scene began to play again as the elder walked off to the side, pulled out a mobile phone, and made a call to Charles. The phone rang only briefly before being promptly answered.


    The elder seemed somewhat surprised, ¡°Hello, vice president.¡±


    Junze couldn¡¯t make out what was being said on the other end of the call, so he simply leaned in, positioning his ear near the phone¡¯s receiver, almost cheek to cheek with the elder, listening intently.


    ¡°I was just about to call you,¡± came Charles¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Is that so, vice president, is there something you need?¡± the elder asked.


    Charles sounded weary, as if he were about to faint at any moment, and said, ¡°So far, we¡¯ve found no strangeness similar to the Corpse Bride. The higher-ups say let¡¯s temporarily shut down the altar.¡±


    The elder was taken aback, ¡°Are you sure we should shut it down?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re sure to turn it off.¡± Charles seemed reluctant to say more and hung up the phone as soon as he finished talking.


    Putting down the phone, the elder looked at the others, and after a pause, turned to look at the flames burning around him and said solemnly, ¡°Starting now, stop supplying the Parlin Gold Powder.¡±


    Everyone was silent.


    The scene froze, and text prompts appeared.


    [This is the first ripple event of the current Butterfly Effect. Do you wish to play the remaining 238 ripple events?]


    ¡°No need to play further. Correct this Butterfly Effec¡ª¡­¡± Junze began. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But as the words left his mouth, he abruptly halted, quickly adding, ¡°Wait.¡±


    Considering the normal course of events, the altar was to be shut down, which meant his mission was accomplished. Why then would he need to fix it?


    Speaking of fixing the Butterfly Effect had almost become an automatic response, but now it seemed clear that this Butterfly Effect was already the objective of Junze¡¯s Great Rewind. Since it had already caused the altar to be shut down, there was absolutely no need to repair it.


    He¡¯d nearly been led astray by force of habit.


    Junze corrected his earlier words, ¡°Don¡¯t fix the third Butterfly Effect. But may I view what the first ripple event would look like if it were corrected?¡±


    Text quickly appeared.


    [You may view it. Do you wish to do so now?]


    ¡°View it.¡±


    The frozen scene began to rewind, moving swiftly like water, then froze again and started to play.


    The elder in charge of the altar picked up the phone and dialed Charles, who, just like before, answered promptly.

 Chapter 666 - 666 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts_2

    ?Chapter 666: Chapter 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts_2 Chapter 666: Chapter 406 Nearly Ruined All Previous Efforts_2 Yan Junze employed the same trick once more, quickly dropping down to listen closely to the voice emanating from the phone pressed against the old man¡¯s face.


    ¡°I was just about to call you,¡± Charles¡¯s voice came through.


    The old man was startled, ¡°Really, Vice President, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    This time, Charles¡¯s tone was completely different from the last, radiating a sense of relief as he said, ¡°Thanks to the efforts of four Mister Reapers, we have found a special strangeness, Kitano Nako in Great Capital, Japan, who can replace the Corpse Bride. Kitano Nako unknowingly consumed a local special strangeness called Bone Tomb Mushroom. This mushroom belongs to an indescribable kind of strangeness, which, after entering Kitano Nako¡¯s stomach, spawned 21 Strange Bodies. Nako died, becoming the host of the Strange Bodies. Perfect!¡±


    The old man expressed his surprise, ¡°Are these Strange Bodies of Nako similar to the Corpse Bride?¡±


    ¡°Almost identical,¡± Charles¡¯s tone still indicated satisfaction, ¡°There are only minor differences, which can be completely ignored. Even Reaper Morrison said that, in some aspects, Kitano Nako is even more suited to activate the ritual altar than the Corpse Bride. That is to say, she aligns to a certain extent more closely with the requirements of the Book of Oath.¡±


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s good,¡± the old man nodded relievedly, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.


    The scene froze there once again, with a text prompt popping up.


    [Would you like to play the remaining Lianyi incidents?]


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°No need to play anymore.¡±


    At the same time, he marveled inwardly, grateful for his quick reaction, not immediately allowing the Butterfly Effect to attempt correction out of inertia, otherwise, this effort would have been in vain.


    The whole point was to change history, yet he might have inadvertently restored the very history he intended to alter, leaving him nowhere to cry if that were to happen.


    In the Void, he certainly didn¡¯t trust himself to have another chance to Rewind.


    Now on guard, as soon as the playback ended, Yan Junze promptly repeated, ¡°Do not correct this third Lianyi incident.¡±


    The imagery before his eyes began to slow, and he once again felt dizzy, quickly steadying himself back in the Space-Time Rift within the Void.


    After catching his breath, he carefully went over the completion of the Corpse Bride mission, considering that although he had encountered a Reaper, he had luckily passed this mission.


    And in the Butterfly Effect Stabilization, he had successfully repaired factors that were against him, and, at last, ensured the ritual altar could not be successfully activated with the destruction of the Corpse Bride.


    Luckily, he had watched the third Butterfly Effect Stabilization; had he not, acting rashly to immediately correct it would have been a gross miscalculation.


    Standing in the Void, he pondered for a moment and briefly checked his remaining over 18,500 Different Dimension Energy points.


    Yan Junze quickly decided to go for another Great Rewind, traveling to the mission named ¡°The Deformed Alabell,¡± to complete it as well, ensuring that the Half Moon Association¡¯s altar would lack two irreplaceable special strangenesses for the time being.


    Only then would he be more confident in achieving the purpose of this Great Rewind.


    After all, with one Corpse Bride missing, as shown in the Butterfly Effect Stabilization, a Kitano Nako might appear in Great Capital, Japan, and with one Deformed Alabell missing as well, the chances of another replacement appearing would be even lower.


    And Yan Junze would certainly take care, not to let the Butterfly Effect Stabilization restore another strangeness capable of replacing Alabell.


    Having made up his mind, and after another glance at the remaining Different Dimension Energy, he determined that this energy should be enough for the traversal to Alabell¡¯s location. The remaining energy could also be used for small-scale Rewinds in case of emergency, all of which appeared to be in order.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and announced, ¡°I¡¯d like to use a description to have the Atlas pinpoint the next spacetime location.¡±


    A prompt appeared before his eyes.


    [Please provide a detailed description for better Atlas positioning.]


    Recalling the information he had seen about ¡°The Deformed Alabell,¡± Yan Junze thought, ¡°Her name is Alabell, her grandfather once did perfume business in Otriel State, Great Capital of the USA, before moving to Ruisen Island. Alabell has always stayed on Ruisen Island without leaving; she was born a Strange Body. I want to position myself before the Half Moon Association found her, landing in a safe place near Alabell on Ruisen Island.¡±


    Not long after he finished speaking, a series of text prompts quickly appeared.


    [Positioning, please wait¡­]


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Analysis complete, positioning¡­]


    [Positioning successful, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 13,900 Different Dimension Energy points, proceed now?] Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yan Junze was bewildered when he saw the energy points needed for the process.


    How could it be so high?!


    He felt that the energy points necessary to travel to the time and space where Alabell was should not be this outrageously consumed; he didn¡¯t know why it would be like this.


    He did have enough energy points at the moment, but if he chose to expend 13,900 points, he would only have over 4,600 left. What if he encountered an emergency and lacked enough energy?


    This was a factor that he had to consider; he couldn¡¯t allow himself to be in a bind before the mission was even completed.


    Upon closer thought, he realized he had requested during the space-time positioning to arrive before the Half Moon Association discovered Alabell, perhaps it was this that caused the timeline to be stretched.


    After a pause, Yan Junze spoke up, ¡°Abort the entry. I want to make some changes to the description I just gave. Keep the other descriptions unchanged, but adjust the space-time positioning to the time when Ruisen Island Manor¡¯s defenses are weakest and I can get closest to Alabell.¡±


    [Positioning in progress, please wait¡­]


    [Analysis underway¡­]


    [Analysis completed, positioning in progress¡­]


    [Positioning successful, this space-time fixed-point insertion will consume 5,900 Different Dimensional Energy points, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze looked closely and found that the energy points required had been reduced by more than half. Now, it seemed that he could save a large amount of energy, there was no need to panic.


    ¡°Enter now,¡± Yan Junze decided firmly.


    No sooner had the thought emerged than his feet started to hover, his whole body began to float, and he started to descend.


    The scene before his eyes suddenly turned pitch black, as though he had plunged into a dream.


    But soon he realized that this was not a dream, but the night, which made everything invisible to him.


    His feet touched the ground, which was soft soil, and the light pattering of rain began to fall on his face as if the rain had just started.


    After steadying himself, Yan Junze looked around and saw that the place was desolate, with no signs of human habitation in sight.


    Though the sky was overcast with clouds, there was still a faint moonlight filtering through. With the rain just beginning, he must quickly find shelter from the rain.


    He walked forward a few steps, stood on a large rock, and saw a building looming indistinctly in the distance, standing alone in the night. He had not noticed it earlier because the building currently only had two or three dimly lit lights, making it hard to spot without looking carefully.


    Yan Junze hastened his pace, his surprise deepening in his heart.


    He soon realized that he had seen this place before, had seen this building and even been inside it.


    This building was the same place where he had been ambushed by Reaper Morrison after completing the Corpse Bride task during the process of Butterfly Effect Stabilization.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had an epiphany ¨C Morrison had set an ambush for him right here.


    Somehow, the man discovered his whereabouts here and knew he would find the second special strangeness, so Morrison had prepared an ambush, with the intent to capture or even directly kill him.


    But Yan Junze remembered that when he had seen the place, his arrival was during the day, but now it was nighttime, which was due to his repair of the Ripple event.


    The scene he had witnessed would not occur again.


    However, Yan Junze did not let down his guard; he was well aware that the energy consumption for this second Great Rewind to Alabell¡¯s home was significantly less than the trip to the Corpse Bride.


    This suggested that it was very likely after the Corpse Bride event, which meant the Half Moon Association had already set their sights on Alabell. Even Morrison¡¯s projection avatar might be lurking nearby, guarding this special strangeness just as he had watched over the Corpse Bride.


    He would still need to be wary of Morrison while carrying out this task.


    However, now Yan Junze knew that for Morrison¡¯s projection avatar to appear, something specific had to be triggered, which he previously had not noticed.


    But with the experience he now had, he could not afford to make the same mistake twice.


    In the process of approaching Alabell, he had to be unconventional and play his moves unpredictably, ensuring that Morrison¡¯s projection avatar could not be triggered.


    Furthermore, since he had chosen the time when it was easiest to approach Alabell, it was clearly to his advantage. After all, any slight disturbance would prompt an immediate Rewind; it was unlikely he could not evade Morrison.

 Chapter 667 - 667 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)

    ?Chapter 667: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One) Chapter 667: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One) Now it seemed that after the last Great Rewind and during the Butterfly Effect Stabilization, he had seen that Yan Junze would rewind again to the manor where Alabell was and complete this task.


    Therefore, after the completion of the Corpse Bride task, Yan Junze¡¯s choice to take on the task involving the malformed Alabell had become a predestined decision.


    As he got closer, the row-like manor house that lay before him was fully revealed in his sight.


    Although in the darkness, the grassland around the first floor of the building lit up with dim ground lights, outlining the entire structure.


    This building and the surrounding grounds were exactly the same as what he had seen during his last rewind.


    Yan Junze could even recall some of the scenes within the building.


    Before entering the building, he started to become extremely cautious.


    Although now was the optimal time to approach Alabell, his previous experience meant he had to be on guard against the possible appearance of the Reaper, Morrison, at this location.


    He concealed himself under a short-necked tree about a hundred meters away from the manor building, where the darkness completely hid his figure.


    He took a deep breath; not far away, he could hear the sound of waves hitting the rocks on the shore, and the sea breeze kept blowing, penetrating his open collar.


    Yan Junze tightened his collar, feeling the cold of this isolated island.


    In order to accurately locate Alabell¡¯s room, he activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    Soon after, a task notification popped up in his mind.


    [Coordinates determined: Northwestern corner of Chateau Chambre on Ruisen Island, room C10 on the third floor.]


    [Task name: Born Innocent; S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Task level: Terrified (High);


    Task background: Alabell turns exactly 100 years old this year. She does not know if she will die a natural death because she has never considered it. In her family¡¯s eyes, she has been an outcast since childhood, someone whom nobody wished to communicate or make contact with. In her 99th year, Alabell understood the reason why she had always been different¡ªshe could be called a ¡°strangeness.¡± Subsequently, she became increasingly peculiar, unapproachable, and more¡­ terrifying to people;


    Task instructions: Take care of Alabell for one night without using any Exorcism methods and remain safe until dawn. Perhaps, this will be the greatest comfort to her spirit;


    Task reward: 1900 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task penalty: Follow the path of the last servant who took care of her;


    Task tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Lockdown; 2. Alabell¡¯s behavior can sometimes be very bizarre; 3. The way you choose to face her will be key to solving the problem;


    Note: Hold your breath and imagine yourself as an ordinary person unable to perform Exorcism; feel the shudder from the deepest part of your heart.]


    Chateau Chambre was the name of this manor, and according to the Half Moon Association¡¯s records, Alabell¡¯s grandfather made his fortune with a perfume, which seemed to be called ¡°Chambre.¡±


    This must be the origin of the manor¡¯s name.


    After reading this task information, Yan Junze felt that perhaps Alabell just wanted to be an ordinary person instead of being treated as the malformation she always had been, hence that obsession.


    If he treated her properly during this task, letting her feel some warmth, perhaps he could dispel her Obsession, or even directly change her inborn strangeness.


    After all, although her family wouldn¡¯t abandon her outright, the feeling of natural estrangement that she had experienced from birth until now, due to her malformed body, could only be understood by her.


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze was suddenly startled as a new piece of task information emerged in his mind.


    He had not expected there to be more strangenesses within the manor, and that this strangeness also harbored an Obsession.


    Seeing the name and level of this task, Yan Junze¡¯s mind went blank for a moment.


    [Coordinates determined: Northwestern corner of Chateau Chambre on Ruisen Island, the ¡°hidden servant¡¯s room¡± in the basement.]


    [Task name: She¡¯s called Aunt Mei;


    Task level: Scared Witless (Low);


    Task background: Aunt Melissa was smuggled into the Great Capital of USA at a very young age. Her parents died early, and her uncle tricked her into being sold to Stanley George, the founder of Chambre Perfume (Alabell¡¯s grandfather), as a lifetime servant. At the age of fifty-three, Melissa accidentally fell into a rare pit on Ruisen Island filled with Red-tailed Tiger Striped Leeches, her body crawling with thousands, and she died from a highly rare leech infestation disease. Fearing infection, George¡¯s family dared not touch the corpse. Stanley¡¯s son, Jonathan, ordered the room where Melissa died to be sealed with concrete and surrounded it with a thick wall embedded with disinfectant powder. From then on, Melissa¡¯s room became a concealed servant¡¯s quarters;


    Task instructions: Aunt Melissa has always been a kind person, and she is still in pain and torment. Please find a way to help her escape from it;


    Task reward: 2100 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task penalty: Be careful of the Strange Body of leech infestation disease;


    Task tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Lockdown; 2. Melissa is strong, but seems to have no way to deal with the viruses that have formed strangenesses and brought death to her; 3. Do not touch her body unless you are absolutely confident;


    Note: None.]


    Looking at this task that he had stumbled upon inadvertently, Yan Junze just felt it was quite coincidental to encounter someone else known as Aunt Mei here.

 Chapter 668 - 668 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_2

    ?Chapter 668: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_2 Chapter 668: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_2 Then he turned his attention to the mission level: scared witless.


    This was clearly a new mission rank he had never seen before; Yan Junze had never encountered a ¡°scared witless¡± level mission.


    Of course, this level also indicated an extremely high risk factor, whether it was Melissa or those leeches that had turned into strangenesses, none could be ignored.


    The serendipitous mission had successfully piqued Yan Junze¡¯s strong interest, but at the moment, he only had the Black Spirit Umbrella, and the energy used to Rewind needed to be conserved.


    In addition, there was the more pressing mission involving Alabell waiting for him, besides he needed to be doubly cautious of Reaper Morrison¡¯s arrival; there were simply too many factors to consider and take into account.


    Attempting to complete this highest-level mission so far, Yan Junze felt that he couldn¡¯t even reach a fifty percent chance of success.


    He stared intensely at the mission in his mind named [She is called Aunt Mei], slowly shifting his focus to ¡°Aunt Mei.¡± Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He always felt an odd sensation in his heart, a kind of inexplicable eeriness stuffing his chest.


    ¡°Aunt Mei? Melissa?¡± Yan Junze slowly repeated these two names.


    Soon, his attention moved to the building shrouded in darkness before him. For now, he decided not to think about this scared witless mission. Under so many adverse factors, he simply could not complete it at the present.


    First, he would take care of Alabell¡¯s mission [Born Innocent].


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze looked over the mission once more; he could not use exorcism methods, which meant he couldn¡¯t directly confront Alabell, the naturally occurring Strange Body. He felt he¡¯d either have to act cute or feign submission.


    ¡°Wonder just how terrifying this deformed woman is at the moment?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Stepping out from the shadow beneath the stubby tree, he crouched and moved to the side of the building. He certainly would not choose to enter through the front door; it was most likely rigged by Reaper Morrison.


    Or perhaps after he approached, it could very likely trigger Morrison¡¯s Avatar to appear.


    Of course, entering from other places would carry the same risk of triggering Morrison; it was inevitable. But if Yan Junze discovered the trigger, he could fully rely on Rewind to resolve it.


    In any case, he would not give Morrison the opportunity to appear.


    On the first floor of the building, there was a window that was open, yet Yan Junze still did not climb through. Instead, he continued to walk around the house, and soon he saw another open window on the ground floor.


    Besides, several windows on the second floor were also open.


    Before long, having circled the building, he returned to the front.


    During this time, he observed two side doors and one back door, but Yan Junze suddenly realized that entering through these open windows, side doors, or back door might increase the chance of triggering Morrison¡¯s Avatar to appear.


    Perhaps, because of the frequent traffic, the front door might actually be the area Morrison avoided.


    Thinking this, he crouched and approached the tall solid wood door, gently pushing; the door was indeed unlocked.


    In fact, this was easy to understand, as this was Ruisen Island, a private island owned only by the George family, with no other residents.


    Burglars wouldn¡¯t travel thousands of miles across the ocean just to rob one family.


    And Yan Junze guessed, the entry and exit points of this lonely island might be guarded around the clock.


    Indeed, three sides of Ruisen Island¡¯s coastal area are steep cliffs, unsuitable for mooring boats. Only one side allows close access to the island, and even there, the mooring space is relatively narrow. Near this accessible side is a lighthouse, beside which the George family has built a stone house inhabited by guards on permanent watch.


    The other parts of this side seem capable of receiving ships, but the sea bed near the shore is full of rocky reefs, very close to the shore. Boats would be ruptured by the reefs long before they could dock.


    Therefore, the buildings within the estate did not need to worry about guarding against burglars, such was the privilege of living on this isolated island.


    After pushing open the front door, Yan Junze quickly slipped inside and closed the door again.


    The entry hall he entered was spacious, with a row of five-tier shoe cabinets on the right, covering the shoes from sight, adorned and colored to blend seamlessly with the surrounding walls, extremely aesthetic.


    About twenty steps ahead, there was a grand staircase leading to the second floor, which split to ascend to the left and right at the corner, exhibiting both grandeur and opulence.


    At the top of the staircase¡¯s handrail, two dim yellow lights shone.


    At this moment, in the entry hall, only these two lights illuminated the space. The wide corridors on either side of the first floor extended out, with a string of wall lamps lit intermittently; their luminescence was just enough to keep the darkness at bay.


    The mission prompt stated that Alabell¡¯s room was on the third floor, and Yan Junze had to ascend the staircase.


    However, he felt that this time he must play some unconventional tactics, otherwise he would easily trigger Reaper Morrison¡¯s Avatar.


    For example, it would be best not to walk directly to the staircase and climb upstairs.


    After some thought, he moved to the shoe cabinet, which almost blended into the wall, climbed on top of it, crossed over the entry hall, and reached the corner near the right corridor.


    At this moment, everyone in the house should be asleep; Yan Junze did not know what time it was, as he looked around the entry hall and did not find a clock or anything similar.

 Chapter 669 - 669 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_3

    ?Chapter 669: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_3 Chapter 669: Chapter 407 Abnormal Alabell (Part One)_3 There could be something upstairs.


    After climbing off the shoe cabinet, Junze had finally made his way through the entry hall and now stepped onto the soft cashmere carpet, slowly approaching the wide staircase leading upstairs. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately go up. Instead, he huddled behind the staircase, completely concealing his body and leaving only one eye out to watch for any movement around him.


    Maintaining this position for about twenty minutes, he heard no sounds, nor did he see any odd shadows emerge.


    It seemed he hadn¡¯t triggered Morrison¡¯s avatar.


    Looking up, Junze noticed the staircase was made of wood and wondered how many years it had withstood. If he climbed it, it might creak and groan.


    He emerged from behind the stairs and climbed directly onto the banister, scaling it like climbing a tree, avoiding the steps for fear of making noise and still worried that Morrison might have set a trap on the stairs.


    However, climbing stairs in this manner required great strength and demanded extreme focus on maintaining balance.


    Gasping for breath by the time he reached the corner of the stairs, Yan Junze carefully stood up. The stairs weren¡¯t steep, and the handrail was broad enough to cover the width of a foot.


    So, just like walking a tightrope, he cautiously proceeded up to the second floor.


    Reaching the second floor, he felt that his tightrope-walking skills would qualify him for a circus performance after completing this task.


    Glancing left and right on the second floor, he saw a wall clock directly opposite the staircase, displaying the time: 2:07 a.m.


    At this hour, the other people in the mansion should be asleep, though he couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of servants on night patrol.


    Junze repeated his earlier technique and started climbing towards the third floor. It took him nearly twenty minutes, but upon arriving, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and prayed silently that there wasn¡¯t nothing on the stairs, all for nothing.


    Sticking close to the wall along the third floor corridor, he quickly found the door labeled C10.


    However, Junze didn¡¯t go straight in. Instead, he approached door C11, tried to push it gently, and the door creaked open.


    Standing at the door, he looked inside. The room wasn¡¯t completely dark as light seeped in from outside through the windows. A piano stood in the center of the room, long since covered with a white cloth, likely untouched for ages.


    Two sofas were placed on either side of the room, one row near the window.


    Junze stepped onto the sofa and pushed the window open, peering into the neighboring C10 room before stepping out directly through it.


    The window of room C10 was ajar, odd considering the chilly weather outside. With the window open, it would have been near impossible for anyone inside to sleep.


    Then again, he remembered, Alabell was a strangeness¡ªwhether she slept was another matter entirely.


    Yan Junze carefully climbed to the front of the C10 window, stood outside, lifted part of the curtain with his hand, and peered inside.


    Due to the darkness in the room and the brightness outside, he couldn¡¯t see anything.


    Straining his eyes for a better look, he was tempted to use a flashlight but feared provoking Alabell.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he swung one leg over, sat on the windowsill, then flipped the other leg inside.


    Once he was fully in the room, he immediately crouched down, and the darkness inside began to dissipate, allowing him to make out objects before him.


    But then, Junze was startled; just an arm¡¯s length away, a distorted, sallow cheek was silently observing him.


    The face was a horrifying shade of yellow, like it was wax-daubed, with asymmetrical eye sockets¡ªone covered with a gray film and the other bulging grotesquely due to twisted facial muscles. The bottom jaw was cracked and exposed, and the left side of the lip was drawn up almost to the eye corner.


    This sudden sight, especially from such proximity, almost took his breath away.


    In his gaze, the twisted face receded back into the darkness, followed by the sound of bones clashing and scraping, the drag of something across the floor, rustling and clattering, then the creature climbed onto a nearby bed.

 Chapter 670 - 670 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two)

    ?Chapter 670: Chapter 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two) Chapter 670: Chapter 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two) Until the creature-like figure climbed onto the bed and lay still, Yan Junze was still standing there, stunned.


    The sudden scene that had unfolded indeed gave him quite a scare, the unexpected appearance of a twisted face before his eyes, and the fact that he did not scream out loud was already doing the audience a favor.


    If it had happened before, he might have screamed loud enough to bring the Reaper Morrison¡¯s avatar running.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look at the deformed creature lying back on the bed, swallowing saliva.


    When he had been outside the window observing the room, it was clear that Alabell was standing there observing him too; however, after he climbed through the window into the room, Alabell did not attack him.


    This meant that Alabell wasn¡¯t the kind of strangeness that would lash out at any moment; it was possible she even had a reasonable temperament.


    Of course, she might also have a capricious character that made her thoughts inscrutable. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He paused, considering whether to turn on his flashlight; after all, although there was some light in the room, it was clearly disadvantageous for his mobility.


    But turning on a flashlight would not be as good as simply turning on a bedside lamp or a table lamp; that way, the lighting would remain soft and steady, and he wouldn¡¯t have to bother holding a flashlight all the time.


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze moved towards the room¡¯s only bed. He did not try to hide the sound of his footsteps, since Alabell had already seen him, there was no need to continue sneaking around.


    The mission instructions had been very clear, to take care of her until dawn. This meant he had to face Alabell directly and not resort to the deceitful and sneaky behavior of the past.


    Since the mission stated this, it was very likely that Alabell didn¡¯t care who was taking care of her, as long as someone was.


    Approaching the bedside, he could vaguely see Alabell lying on the bed, her back to him; her bent back made the blanket rise quite a bit, motionless.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat slightly and began, ¡°Hello, ma¡¯am, I am¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you Aunt Mei¡¯s child?¡± Alabell suddenly spoke up, interrupting Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze heard her speak, he was taken aback, suddenly feeling a chilling sensation.


    The words were indeed spoken by Alabell, but they sounded like the voice of a young girl, very sharp and clear, even giving an illusion of sweetness.


    Yan Junze instantly imagined a scene in his mind: beneath the blanket on the bed, a deformed person with twisted limbs curled up, a hundred-year-old human-like creature, yet the voice speaking was that of a little girl.


    The stark contrast caused goosebumps all over Yan Junze¡¯s body, taking a long time to subside.


    During this time, Alabell fell silent again, not speaking further.


    ¡°Why would she ask if I¡¯m Aunt Mei¡¯s child?¡± Yan Junze wondered, and then he pondered whether his face resembled that person, which might be why Alabell had glanced at him and mistaken his identity.


    Or maybe this woman naturally had poor eyesight, with one eye covered by a grey film and the other bulging out; indeed, her vision probably wasn¡¯t that great.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded, answering her question. No matter what, this was the best excuse for him to stay by Alabell¡¯s side all night.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Chris?¡± Alabell continued to inquire with a sharp voice.


    Yan Junze guessed Chris must have been a servant who took care of Alabell before and didn¡¯t know where she had gone. After thinking, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m just filling in temporarily, she will be back soon.¡±


    Alabell didn¡¯t speak again.


    Yan Junze paused and then added, ¡°Sorry about just now. I didn¡¯t want to wake you by opening the door, so I climbed through the window from next door, planning to just sit on the sofa over there all night. If you have any instructions, you can tell me directly.¡±


    Alabell still didn¡¯t say a word, as if she had fallen asleep.


    Yan Junze waited a moment and, hearing no movement, he prepared to sit on the sofa near the window.


    But then he thought it might be better to sit closer to Alabell; it could increase her favorability and make it through the night smoothly.


    He moved a wooden chair from next to a wardrobe over to the bedside and sat down there.


    Yan Junze said nothing, staring blankly at the curled figure on the bed; Alabell beneath the blanket seemed to be wearing a nightgown, still as a statue.


    The room quickly fell silent.


    The only sounds were the wind blowing past the building outside and a hanging clock in the corridor ticking faintly.


    The room was exceptionally quiet, without any noise. Yan Junze could hear his own breathing but could not hear Alabell¡¯s.


    He just sat there silently, his palms beginning to sweat without him realizing it.


    At that moment, Yan Junze had a strong desire to turn on a lamp, so as not to be blind to his surroundings and to ease the tension in his heart.


    Not knowing how long he had been sitting, his legs began to feel numb, and he wanted to stand up and move around without disturbing Alabell.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to take your medicine,¡± Alabell¡¯s sharp, girlish voice suddenly pierced the silence.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Yan Junze got startled again, shivering all over as he turned to look at Alabell, who was facing away from him.


    ¡°Mm, alright,¡± he replied quickly, his voice sounding very attentive, truly like that of a faithful servant, ¡°Where is the medicine?¡±

 Chapter 671 - 671 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two)_2

    ?Chapter 671: Chapter 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two)_2 Chapter 671: Chapter 408 Abnormal Alabell (Part Two)_2 ¡°Under the bedside table, on my side,¡± Alabell answered slowly.


    Yan Junze stood up, walked over to her side, which was very dark, and he could see nothing.


    After groping for a moment, he found the switch for the bedside lamp.


    ¡°Can I turn on the light?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alabell replied.


    Yan Junze immediately turned on the light, which was very soft and lit a limited area.


    The moment the light came on, his gaze naturally fell on the person lying on the bed and saw Alabell¡¯s waxen, distorted face turned in this direction, with her bulging eye also staring at him.


    Alabell only exposed her head, hiding her body under a blanket.


    Her gaze sent shivers down one¡¯s spine, Yan Junze glanced at her then quickly turned his head away, not looking at her again.


    He opened the drawer of the bedside table and, surprisingly, saw no medicine boxes inside, just a small metal bowl with a golden spoon resting inside it, and what appeared to be a sticky yellow substance inside the bowl.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, lifted the small bowl out and asked, ¡°Is this¡­ medicine?¡±


    Alabell did not answer but slowly opened her mouth that was peeping out of the blanket. As she opened her mouth, a clump of clear liquid, possibly saliva or something else, flowed out from what was already an exposed lower jaw.


    On one side of the bedside table were neatly placed several clean white towels. Yan Junze immediately took one, leaned over, and gently wiped Alabell¡¯s chin and the corners of her mouth.


    During the wiping process, he did not let his eyes wander but kept his gaze fixed on her chin and mouth, actually trying not to see Alabell¡¯s entire face.


    While wiping her mouth, he could hear meaningless sounds coming from Alabell¡¯s throat, as if there was phlegm stuck there that she couldn¡¯t cough up.


    Yan Junze tried not to think of other images.


    After putting down the towel he had used to wipe, he lifted the clearly cold, sticky yellow paste in the bowl and looked at Alabell, ¡°The medicine¡­ has gone cold.¡±


    Alabell¡¯s mouth remained open, as if she was waiting for him to feed her.


    Yan Junze had no choice, scooped a spoonful of the ¡°paste,¡± a strange and unpleasant odor wafted to him, and then he brought it towards her open mouth.


    With one bite, Alabell enveloped the spoon, and after swallowing the ¡°paste,¡± she opened her mouth again.


    When Yan Junze removed the spoon, it was covered in mucus, which pulled out from Alabell¡¯s mouth. He stepped back, and the mucus stretched half a meter long before it snapped, dropping onto the edge of the bed and the floor.


    Yan Junze quickly picked up another clean towel to wipe the sheet.


    Then he scooped another spoonful and brought it to Alabell¡¯s lips.


    Alabell opened her mouth again and took another bite. When he took out the spoon, once more a trail of mucus followed, and Yan Junze wiped the sheet again.


    Preparing to feed her a third mouthful, Alabell didn¡¯t open her mouth.


    ¡°Only two mouthfuls?¡± Yan Junze was puzzled.


    But since she wasn¡¯t opening her mouth, he placed the metal bowl back on the bedside table.


    There was a wooden chair by the wall where he had turned on the bedside lamp. Yan Junze turned it around and sat down, adopting an appropriately dutiful expression.


    However, he soon felt uncomfortable because Alabell was facing him. The eye veiled by the filmy membrane was bearable, but the other protruding eyeball was staring intently at him.


    That eye did not blink at all, as if never feeling dry or sore.


    After being stared at for a while, Yan Junze knew he could not maintain his willing demeanor under such a gaze. He simply reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.


    The surroundings plunged into darkness¡ªnot absolute darkness, but at least he could no longer see the dead-fish eye, and he felt a lot more at ease.


    Sitting in the dark for a moment, the feeling of being watched disappeared. However, rustling sounds then came from the bed, as if Alabell was turning over.


    He could see the bedclothes slightly arch and the writhing shadow of the blanket.


    But at that moment, Yan Junze was suddenly overtaken by a startling sensation and, without thinking, reached for the switch of the bedside lamp again.


    The bed had stopped moving, and the rustling sound had ceased, seemingly returning to calm.


    But the unease in Yan Junze¡¯s heart intensified at that moment, and without hesitation, he switched on the bedside lamp with a click.


    He saw Alabell with twisted limbs propping up the bed, the whole person crouched on the bed, the blanket rising over her back, her head facing his direction, and a withered, curved arm like a willow branch reaching out, just a palm¡¯s distance from his cheek.


    In the moment the light turned on, Alabell¡¯s reaching hand halted motionless.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body went rigid as he stared at the scene.


    About ten seconds later, Alabell slowly retracted her dry, curved arm back under the blanket covering her body. During this process, the grating noise of bone-on-bone made one¡¯s skin crawl.


    ¡°What in the world was that woman trying to do?¡±


    Yan Junze felt that the light must not be turned off at any cost.


    Just as the task prompt suggested, Alabell¡¯s behavior exuded an inexplicable eeriness; if he were to act in the dark, he would have to be vigilant of even more possibilities.


    After Alabell lay back on the bed, she turned over so her back was once again facing Yan Junze and remained still.


    It was then, from beneath the pillow on the bed, something was squeezed out. It rolled down the edge and fell to the floor, rolling under the bed.


    It seemed to be a bottle.


    Yan Junze, with the help of the dim bedside lamp, caught a glimpse of a fuzzy shadow.


    The bottle appeared to have always been under the pillow Alabell was sleeping on and had rolled out due to the pressure when she turned over.


    It could also possibly be a medicine bottle, Yan Junze speculated.


    He immediately went to the edge of the bed and squatted down, reaching his hand in the direction from which the bottle had fallen.


    After groping around for a bit, the bottle seemed to have rolled too deeply under; squatting, he simply could not reach it.


    Yan Junze simply knelt on the floor, first ensuring that Alabell, who was facing away and motionless, wouldn¡¯t make any bizarre movements while he picked up her things. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only then did he bend over further, stretching his hand as far as he could to hook the bottle.


    Actually, he needn¡¯t have bothered to pick up anything, but it was now imperative to curry favor with Alabell, regardless of the odd behavior she had just exhibited.


    Clearly, retrieving the item for her would surely increase her Favorability.


    As his hand searched under the bed for a moment, he still hadn¡¯t touched the fallen bottle, but Yan Junze froze momentarily because he noticed the floor under the bed seemed to be damp.


    The area touched by his palm was not only moist but also had a sticky sensation.


    After pausing briefly, he reached down again to confirm whether it was an illusion. Just then, his left hand, stretched under the bed, suddenly trembled, and Yan Junze¡¯s complexion turned ashen.


    Because he had touched a finger.


    The finger belonged to a complete hand, which was enveloped in a viscous liquid.


    Startled, Yan Junze immediately looked up at the bed where Alabell still kept her previous posture, unmoved.


    Almost at that same instant, the sticky hand under the bed suddenly grabbed Yan Junze¡¯s hand and violently pulled him inward.


    The force was so strong Yan Junze couldn¡¯t break free; at least more than half of his body was dragged under the bed.


    Then his wrist loosened, and the hand that had just been holding his own abruptly vanished.


    The ground here was all moist and sticky; lying here, Yan Junze felt extremely uncomfortable.


    The discomfort was partially due to the wet and sticky sensation, but more so because the hand that had pulled him under was unmistakably ice-cold.


    Turning his head to the side, he could see nothing under the pitch-black bed. His small black backpack was still on his back, and in it was the flashlight that he had placed on the side before; he immediately reached for it.


    After taking hold of the flashlight, he shone it beside him, and in the flashlight¡¯s beam, a person lay next to Yan Junze.


    As expected, it was a corpse, a female body.


    The body looked young, dressed in a maid¡¯s outfit, with hollow eyes and slightly parted lips. There was a slight decay on the body, but the entire body, including the clothes, was enveloped in a thick suspension, emitting no smell.


    Yan Junze almost instinctively shifted his gaze downward, looking at the woman¡¯s hand.


    The corpse¡¯s right hand fingers were slightly curled as if it were the very hand that had pulled him in.


    However, at that moment, she didn¡¯t seem to be reanimated.


    ¡°A maid, a dead maid, a dead maid who could briefly move again. What kind of trick is this?¡± Junze murmured to himself.

 Chapter 672 - 672 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)

    ?Chapter 672: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three) Chapter 672: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three) It could now be confirmed that the maid¡¯s corpse under the bed was indeed the one who had once taken care of Alabell.


    Moreover, the maid¡¯s death was definitely greatly related to the strangeness of Alabell.


    This scene indirectly reminded Yan Junze that although Alabell seemed merely a bit odd and not very dangerous at the moment, one must not forget that this mission was ¡°Terrified (High)¡±.


    If Alabell were to suddenly become murderous, he had to be prepared.


    Even though he had a Black Spirit Umbrella for self-defense, if it really came down to killing Alabell, the Black Spirit Umbrella might get damaged. Completing the mission was secondary; he was willing to forsake the energy points if necessary to eliminate the key special strangeness of this dark ritual.


    Of course, it would be best if he could perform the exorcism serenely.


    Feeling the chill emanating from the maid¡¯s corpse beside him, Yan Junze did not want to get any closer to her since her body was sticky, which reminded him of the viscous medicine he had just fed to Alabell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the corpse was a catalyst for the medicine,¡± Yan Junze murmured softly.


    At this moment, he had pulled his legs under the bed as well, not by choice, but because he had crawled in almost halfway; it felt unsettling to leave his feet sticking out.


    Using the flashlight, he carefully inspected the maid, whose figure was rather full, but she had begun to decay. Her lifeless eyes seemed to be staring in the direction of something outside the bed.


    Yan Junze looked up in that direction and saw a large cabinet with intricate patterns on its surface, but right now the doors of the cabinet seemed to be slightly ajar.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure if the cabinet doors were closed tight. Although the area was illuminated by the light from the bedside lamp, the light there was too dim to see clearly. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He looked again at the maid¡¯s hollow gaze, then at the direction of the large cabinet, lowered his head to look at the maid once more, and then raised his head to look at the cabinet again.


    Yan Junze mumbled to himself, ¡°Are you telling me to go over to the cabinet, or are you warning me that there¡¯s something inside it?¡±


    Not all people who die in this world become strangenesses, but bizarre phenomena can occur¡ªsuch as corpses that have been dead for a long time still reaching out to grab someone or giving off some kind of silent guidance.


    Yan Junze felt that he was currently facing such a situation.


    Without hesitating, and also not wanting to stay any longer in this damp space under the bed, he crawled out from under the bed the way he had come in.


    First, he crouched, and then he stood up.


    Turning his gaze towards the bed, Yan Junze suddenly froze, discovering that the bed was empty; not only was Alabell gone, but even the blanket that had been covering her was missing.


    Only the white bedsheet remained.


    ¡°Where is she? No, where is the strangeness?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    His flashlight was still on, and he immediately swept it around the room, deliberately avoiding the window so as not to be seen from outside or to accidentally provoke the appearance of the Reaper Morrison.


    The beam of the flashlight lingered for a moment under the table, on either side of the sofa, and in the room corners, but Alabell was nowhere to be seen.


    She was only wearing a white nightgown, perhaps with a blanket draped over her, and it was unclear what she was planning to do. But if she was still in the room, she should be easy to find.


    Considering this, Yan Junze quickly looked towards the door leading to the hallway; the door was shut, and no one had gone out.


    ¡°She¡¯s still inside the room.¡±


    Yan Junze focused his gaze on the large cabinet door where the maid¡¯s corpse had been looking all this time and walked over with the flashlight in hand.


    Upon reaching the cabinet, he confirmed the doors were slightly ajar and could be opened with a pull.


    Yan Junze held his breath, didn¡¯t take out the Black Spirit Umbrella, and instead, with flashlight in his left hand and right hand reaching out, he grabbed the edge of the wardrobe door and gently pulled it open.


    Before fully opening the cabinet door, he caught sight of a blanket hanging at the doorway, obscuring the interior, and the blanket was familiar¡ªit was the same one that had been on the bed over Alabell just moments ago.


    This indicated that Alabell was very likely inside the large cabinet.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help his heart begin to race. He slowly grasped a corner of the blanket and lifted it.


    Actually, even before completely pulling it aside, he had already seen the scene inside the cabinet, and his stomach churned immediately.


    The moment he lifted the blanket, he saw a scene of mutilated limbs and body parts, impossible to tell how many corpses there were, as they were all piled up indistinguishably.


    Whether it was the main body or limbs like arms and legs, each part was wrapped in a thick layer of mucus.


    There was no blood spilling from the corpses, nor was there any odor¡ªjust like the maid¡¯s corpse under the bed, only these bodies, despite wearing servants¡¯ clothes, seemed to have met a far more gruesome fate.


    Yan Junze only glanced briefly and saw approximately four decapitated heads, all hollow inside.


    Alabell was sitting among the carnage, with piled up limbs covering everything below her chest. Oozing fluid still trickled from her split-open mouth, and it was unclear what she had just been doing.


    In fact, with Alabell¡¯s appearance, if she were sitting still among these bodies, Yan Junze might not even suspect she was alive.


    In other words, Alabell looked more like a dead person than some of the corpses.


    From outside, the cabinet already looked quite large, but now that Yan Junze was seeing the entire scene inside, he realized that the space inside the cabinet was even more absurdly large.

 Chapter 673 - 673 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_2

    ?Chapter 673: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_2 Chapter 673: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_2 There must have been no fewer than eight corpses piled up, and there were those soaking suspensions, which completely enveloped the bodies without spilling out of the cabinet.


    Alabell lifted her head and looked towards Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze did not shine the flashlight directly into her eyes, as that might have angered her, but rather, the flashlight beam was cast upon the crowded corpses beside Alabell.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the many horrific scenes he had previously experienced, Yan Junze would have believed that upon seeing Alabell sitting amidst so many severed limbs and body parts, he might have fainted with fright or taken to his heels at that moment.


    Although his heart pounded like a drum, he still forced himself to remain calm, calm, and even calmer, breathing as steadily as possible and watching Alabell with less panicked eyes.


    Alabell extended her right hand from the pile of corpses, her five slender and eerily curved fingers spread out towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°My medicine?¡±


    Not one of her fingers looked normal, they were all deformed and grown, like bent tree branches.


    Yan Junze was startled, before he realized that the bowl of medicine was on the nightstand, and at this moment Alabell evidently wanted her medicine.


    He nodded slightly, ¡°Please¡­ please wait a moment, I will fetch it now.¡±


    Letting out a soft breath, Yan Junze turned to walk towards the nightstand.


    Alabell just spread her hands and watched him, no longer speaking, as if her entire being had lost all signs of life.


    In fact, in Alabell¡¯s view, she was quite satisfied with Yan Junze; at least this young man wasn¡¯t like previous servants who, upon seeing the scene here, immediately began to panic and scream, or faint from fright, or even jump out of windows to escape.


    Of course, these servants were now peacefully staying inside this large cabinet, quietly accompanying Alabell.


    Actually, there were some other dead servants who, having lost the effect of the medicine, had already been cleared away by Alabell.


    As for where they were buried, that remained unknown.


    Yan Junze¡¯s reaction was only slightly panicked, and he quickly stabilized, which Alabell appreciated. Now, she saw Yan Junze in a new light.


    After fetching the bowl of medicine from the nightstand, Yan Junze calmly handed it to Alabell, who was waiting with her hand outstretched.


    Alabell took it, grasping the metal spoon inside the bowl with her twisted fingers, and then brought the bowl to a cracked open skull, inserting the spoon, scooping up some of the thick, yellow liquid and pouring it back into the bowl, slowly repeating the process.


    The sight of that viscous substance oozing out from there made Yan Junze feel uncomfortable again, mainly because it reminded him of when Alabell had just asked him to take a sip.


    Damn, he was lucky not to have listened to this strange woman; had he taken that sip to ingratiate himself, Yan would have been retching his guts out by now.


    Now, looking at the situation, one could almost conclude that Alabell was no benevolent strangeness, and even though she was born deformed and deserving of sympathy, her subsequent actions had completely deviated from the norm.


    Under such circumstances, to gain her acknowledgment and make her feel consoled in her heart, Yan felt overwhelmed.


    Even so, from the bottom of his heart, Yan Junze had developed a natural aversion and disgust towards Alabell.


    Having killed so many servants and using their bodies to create some medicine which she took every day, such actions were enough to label Alabell as ¡°savage¡± right on her forehead.


    Alabell¡¯s family must know what she was doing, and if so, her family members were likely acquiescing, perhaps even facilitating or covering for her.


    Hadn¡¯t Alabell realized this was the most direct evidence of her family¡¯s concern for her? Even so, her heart still didn¡¯t find solace?


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that only by doing some cruel acts against my conscience can alleviate her pain and grant her spiritual release, right? That, I cannot do.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze mused to himself, looking at the scene illuminated by his flashlight, the metal bowl was quickly filling up.


    Alabell then stopped her movements, placed the spoon back in the bowl, and stretched out the metal bowl anew.


    Yan Junze reached out to take it, his hands inevitably getting smeared with the yellowish liquid.


    Struggling to suppress the churning within him, he returned to the nightstand, took a clean towel to wipe the outside of the bowl, opened the nightstand drawer, and placed the metal bowl inside before closing the drawer.


    Using the white towel, he also wiped his hands.


    During this process, Alabell crawled out from under the pile of corpses, with a sound of suspension compression and friction, and then removed the blanket hanging over the cabinet door, wrapping it around herself once more.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look, and in the vague darkness, he saw Alabell, who appeared to be only as tall as a six-year-old child, mostly hidden under the blanket, crawling to the window, and climbing up using her hands and feet.


    The white sheets were soiled beyond recognition, but it was clear that they would be replaced by fresh ones at most by tomorrow.


    The door to the large cabinet was not shut; lying in bed, Alabell extended a gaunt arm, pointing towards the space under the bed and then glancing at the open cabinet.


    Yan Junze understood; she wanted him to put the maid¡¯s corpse from under the bed into the cabinet, to join her little friends.


    His gaze swept across Alabell¡¯s face. The woman¡¯s lips moved, and she had probably eaten again inside the cabinet just before. Under the blanket, her belly area seemed slightly bulged out.

 Chapter 674 - 674 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_3

    ?Chapter 674: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_3 Chapter 674: Chapter 409 Abnormal Alabell (Part Three)_3 At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s disgust for her rose a few notches, but when he thought of the mission completion notification, he forcibly suppressed it. He secretly thought that after the mission was confirmed as complete, he would see if this woman would improve, and if she remained so cruel, he would simply use the Black Spirit Umbrella to eliminate her.


    Even if it would damage the Black Spirit Umbrella, it would be worth it, as it would equate to doing a good deed.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he bowed under the bed and dragged out the maid¡¯s corpse. The floor quickly became covered with a thick exudate, leaving a trail that extended all the way to the front of the large cabinet.


    With herculean effort, he stuffed the corpse into the cabinet, raising the pile of bodies by a bit, after which the disgust and irritation in Yan Junze¡¯s heart made him not want to look at the scene any longer; he turned his head and shut the cabinet door.


    Returning to the bedside table, he picked up a clean towel again and vigorously wiped his hands, preparing to wait for the mission to complete before finding an opportunity to thoroughly wash his hands.


    He didn¡¯t know how long it had been, but it should be around three or four in the morning. He would endure a bit longer and try his best to satisfy Alabell first.


    Seeing that Yan Junze was doing well in following her instructions, Alabell seemed a bit more relieved. She stretched out her hand to the edge of the bed and then looked at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze knew what she wanted, sighed softly in his heart, extended his right hand, and grasped Alabell¡¯s bony, gnarled palm.


    Alabell retracted her gaze and made no further indications, simply letting Yan Junze hold her, seeming quite at peace.


    In her view, it seemed that Aunt Mei¡¯s descendants were indeed more reliable. They were servants recognized by the family, the most loyal, able to carry out any task accurately without any questions.


    From Yan Junze¡¯s hand came a cold sensation, although it was not very cold and had a slight warmth. But Alabell¡¯s finger joints were extremely hard, like steel.


    A human being born with a strangeness in their physique?!


    Holding Alabell¡¯s hand, the thought involuntarily popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    If she were a pure Strange Body, Alabell¡¯s hand would not have any temperature at this moment, but the temperature indicated that Alabell, at least a part of her, was possibly still human.


    An ¡°abnormal¡± human being.


    As time ticked by, the repulsive scene he had just witnessed still lingered in his mind, but after this brief rest, Yan Junze felt somewhat better.


    However, Alabell kept holding his hand and didn¡¯t seem likely to let go any time soon.


    But then he thought, perhaps this was the consolation for her spirit that she wanted? However, it seemed too simple. If holding hands until dawn could release her Obsession, then this wouldn¡¯t be rated ¡°Terrified (High)¡± level.


    At the moment, Alabell did not move, as if she had fallen asleep.


    Yan Junze thought about letting go of her hand, but as soon as the thought arose, he dismissed it.


    He must not anger this woman.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but Yan Junze began to feel sleepy, his eyes were struggling to stay open. However, the thought of the pile of bodies in the cabinet across from him instantly banished any drowsiness.


    It must have been almost two hours by now.


    He lifted his head and looked out the window. In another hour, the sky would likely show the first light of dawn.


    At that moment, the hand holding his moved slightly, and Yan Junze shifted his gaze to the bed, seeing that Alabell had turned over, probably just to switch to a different sleeping position.


    But then Yan Junze¡¯s gaze froze, stopping on Alabell¡¯s belly. She had turned from lying on her side to laying on her back, and beneath the blanket, her belly was prominently raised, as if¡­ she was a woman ten months pregnant! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stared in astonishment at this scene and couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°Is this¡­ from eating too much? Or is she pregnant?¡±


    Then his face showed horror: ¡°Damn the ruthlessness, a hundred-year-old Strange Old Woman, if she¡¯s really pregnant, whose child is this?!¡±

 Chapter 675 - 675 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)

    ?Chapter 675: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four) Chapter 675: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four) Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe that just by holding hands with her, Alabell¡¯s belly would become so big. Such a thing wasn¡¯t scientific, and one shouldn¡¯t believe the stories meant to coax children.


    Thinking carefully, he couldn¡¯t be sure when Alabell¡¯s belly had gotten so large, or if it had always been that size.


    From the very beginning, when he first climbed in through the window, he seemed to have never seen Alabell¡¯s full body.


    It was too dark back then, and at first glance, all he could see was Alabell¡¯s hideous face. When he was scared out of his wits, the woman quickly crawled into bed and covered herself with a blanket.


    At that time, there was no bedside light on, and he did not use a flashlight either, so he couldn¡¯t see any abnormalities with Alabell¡¯s belly.


    Lying in bed later, Alabell kept herself covered with a blanket and was lying on her side, which made it impossible for him to see her belly.


    Even later, when she climbed into that large wardrobe, she still wrapped herself with a blanket and buried everything below her chest in that pile of bodies, making it impossible to see anything.


    Thinking about it, Yan Junze guessed that maybe Alabell¡¯s belly was already this big before he entered the room.


    Looking at that round and swollen belly, Yan Junze was even more puzzled. Was it because she had overeaten that disgusting liquid, or had a tumor grown in her belly, or was she really pregnant?


    How strange!


    Alabell did not make any movement, just lying there stiffly. Of course, her legs were naturally twisted, unable to straighten.


    Yan Junze wanted to ask a question but didn¡¯t know how, and he wasn¡¯t sure whether she was asleep. If he woke her up, he might anger her.


    So he just stared at that prominently protruding belly, watching it rise and fall rhythmically.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at the round belly. It seemed like something inside was gently moving, pushing up the blanket a bit, then it settled down again.


    ¡°What is that? Could it be an illusion?¡± Yan Junze did not react immediately but just stared dumbfounded at the scene.


    About a minute later, that protruding belly moved again, as if a small fist was passing from left to right inside, and then it flattened once more.


    This time Yan Junze saw clearly that there was indeed something inside Alabell¡¯s belly. This¡­ seemed like fetal movement!


    He turned his head in astonishment to look at the sleeping Alabell.


    Just then, he felt Alabell grip his fingers suddenly tighten, making his knuckles crack.


    The pain that came from his fingers almost made Yan Junze cry out. He immediately gritted his teeth and looked again at Alabell¡¯s belly that was starting to move.


    This time, the movement of the belly was even more exaggerated, and he could clearly see a small foot moving.


    The hand that Alabell gripped felt less pain as she no longer squeezed hard, but she turned her head and let out a groan of pain, seeming very uncomfortable.


    The next second, Alabell¡¯s bulging eye began to move. She had woken up, woken by the pain from the movement in her belly.


    She reached out and flipped off the blanket covering her. Under the white nightgown, the swollen belly was moving like waves; the little one inside, be it a foot or a hand, couldn¡¯t stop moving, as if it was eager to come out.


    Yan Junze was shocked by this scene, thinking to himself, ¡°This¡­ can¡¯t be childbirth, can it?¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Considering the extent of the belly¡¯s swelling, it seemed that she wasn¡¯t far from giving birth. How could this happen? What should he do now?


    At that moment, he suddenly realized that he might have to take care of Alabell until dawn, and during this time, he might have to help her with the delivery, making sure she had a smooth childbirth, and then his task of consoling her spirit would be complete.


    At second glance, the difficulty seemed to match the level of the task.


    ¡°But, she¡¯s about to give birth? Whose child is it? How long has she been pregnant? Considering her human age, she¡¯s already 100 years old. Can she still give birth?¡±


    ¡°With Alabell¡¯s Strange Body, even if she could give birth, would her child be normal? Would it too be Strange?¡±


    ¡°Is this little one deformed, or normal? It wouldn¡¯t start biting people right after birth, would it?¡±


    Countless questions bubbled up in his mind in an instant.


    By now, Alabell had let go of Yan Junze¡¯s hand, her hands gripping the edge of the bed, and she let out a vague cry: ¡°Pain!¡±


    The scene before him seemed to overlap with one from long ago in the FH Community at Resentful Granny¡¯s house. It was the same word ¡°pain,¡± except Resentful Granny said it in Huaying, and Alabell was saying it in USA language.


    Yan Junze saw that Alabell spread her deformed legs as if ready for childbirth, already prepared to give birth.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Yan Junze immediately looked around, searching for items that might be needed.


    He now needed clean towels, hot water, a basin; he didn¡¯t know anything and didn¡¯t know what to do with these things. If the baby¡¯s head came out, should he pull it, or just cheer from the side? He was clueless!


    What if the feet came out first? Should he push them back in and adjust for the head?


    And how about disinfection? Right, he also needed scissors, a sharp knife would do too.

 Chapter 676 - 676 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_2

    ?Chapter 676: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_2 Yan Junze searched the whole house, but apart from finding a plastic basin and a towel, there was nothing else.


    There was no other choice but to go out and have a look.


    At this moment, Alabell¡¯s pain obviously became much more severe; she grasped the sheets with both hands, turning her head to look at Yan Junze. Her mouth, already split, seemed to be stretched even further by her pain. The bulge in her belly moved in waves, clearly indicating that no unborn child would be kicking with such intensity.


    It was certain that the child in her belly wasn¡¯t normal, definitely not a regular infant.


    ¡°Hold on for a bit, I¡¯m going to check the next room for some hot water and will be right back,¡± Yan Junze said to Alabell on the bed.


    Alabell didn¡¯t respond; not a bead of sweat could be seen on her forehead, as if she was incapable of sweating at all.


    Yan Junze also noticed that even though she seemed to be in severe pain, her water hadn¡¯t broken yet. She might need to endure the pain a bit longer, which should give him enough time to prepare.


    But then he thought, no, Alabell couldn¡¯t be measured by normal standards. It was unclear whether she even had amniotic fluid, and it was possible she could just give birth to a little brat without needing anything at all.


    However, preparations still had to be made. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to have done nothing while she was in pain for so long, offering nothing but some damn emotional comfort.


    Even if he didn¡¯t understand anything, as long as he got everything ready and symbolically provided some help, shouting ¡°Keep going¡± by her side was better than doing nothing at all.


    With that, Yan Junze hurriedly walked to the door, took hold of the handle, gently twisted it, and then pulled the door open. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn¡¯t want to make too much noise, and currently, even though Alabell was in pain, she had not made much of a sound which was only audible within the room.


    If possible, it was best to keep everything contained within this room without letting it spread outside.


    That Alabell would go into labor during the mission was wholly unexpected; Yan Junze could never have imagined it.


    When the door opened, Yan Junze looked up and was stunned at the entrance.


    There outside the door stood a blonde man in a black trench coat, his eyes narrowed into slits, hands tucked into his pockets, standing at the doorway with a slight smile looking at him.


    ¡°You¡­ are here,¡± the blonde man spoke, his Huaying less than perfect.


    Reaper Morrison!


    With just one glance, although he had never really seen the other up close before and had only witnessed Morrison¡¯s shadow in the Corpse Bride mission, Yan Junze instantly recognized him.


    And from the looks of it, this wasn¡¯t an avatar projection of Morrison, but his actual, physical body ¨C the Reaper himself!


    The next second, Yan Junze felt the magnetic field around him freeze; he couldn¡¯t even move a finger and could only stand frozen at the doorway, staring blankly at Morrison, at the mercy of his manipulation.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound, returning to the moment Yan Junze sat silently beside the bed, holding Alabell¡¯s hand.


    What to do? Morrison¡¯s appearance had been triggered, but when? Could it have been Alabell¡¯s groaning that reached outside?


    He shook his head.


    No, that couldn¡¯t be right. If such a small volume could trigger it, his own voice conversing with her inside the house would have alerted Morrison long ago, not when Alabell was about to give birth.


    Wait, give birth?


    Could it be that Alabell¡¯s labor triggered Morrison¡¯s appearance?


    This thought merely flickered through Yan Junze¡¯s mind, but what he needed to consider now was how not to trigger Morrison.


    If it was indeed Alabell¡¯s labor that did it, there was no solution, since Alabell was bound to have that scene eventually, it was unavoidable unless he chose not to complete the mission.


    So, not wait for her labor and just kill her straight away? Give up the idea of a Buddhist-style exorcism.


    After all, compared to removing Alabell, the notion of earning energy points from the mission could take a back seat. Preventing the altar from opening was the key, and incidentally getting rid of this cruel woman would kill two birds with one stone.


    ¡°Then abandon the mission issued by the Spacetime Atlas!¡±


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze released the Black Spirit Umbrella from the mental atlas, gripped the handle with his left hand, and placed his thumb on the switch that would open the umbrella, while his right hand still held onto Alabell¡¯s without letting go. He slowly stood up, ensuring that as the Black Spirit Umbrella opened, it would cover Alabell.


    As he stood up, he was very careful, trying his best to keep his grip on Alabell¡¯s hand still, and his body stiffly straightened up finally.


    Alabell remained still; her belly hadn¡¯t started hurting yet, so she must have been asleep.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, slowly raised his left hand holding the umbrella above Alabell¡¯s body, and pressed the switch with his thumb fiercely. The Black Spirit Umbrella opened with a swish.


    As the umbrella opened, Yan Junze worried that, given Alabell¡¯s special Strange Body constitution, he wondered if the Black Spirit Umbrella could recognize her and launch an immediate attack just like it did with other strangenesses.


    But the next second, he knew he had worried for nothing, as three strands of energy appeared instantly inside the Black Spirit Umbrella, intertwined and hurtled rapidly towards Alabell¡¯s body!


    Alabell¡¯s bent body tightened in an instant as if struck by lightning, then arched rapidly, a piercing scream that barely started to form immediately sealed by the umbrella¡¯s energy.

 Chapter 677 - 677 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_3

    ?Chapter 677: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_3 Chapter 677: Chapter 410 Abnormal Alabell (Part Four)_3 Breaths seeped out from the surface of her body, strangled and dissolved by the Black Spirit Umbrella¡­


    Alabell struggled to raise her arm, reaching for the handle of the Black Spirit Umbrella. Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t allow her to grab it, he lifted his foot, stepped directly onto the bed, and held the umbrella high. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alabell¡¯s body shrank, her hands splayed open, and the tips of her ten fingers visibly pierced through the skin, rapidly growing, trying desperately to break through the layer of constraints under the umbrella and crawl out of the bed.


    And once she crawled out of the Black Spirit Umbrella¡¯s coverage, she would instantly deliver a fatal blow to Yan Junze.


    Just then, the door to the room burst open, and Reaper Morrison appeared, his face an ashen hue as he stretched out his hand toward the Void, grabbing it; the magnetic field under the Black Spirit Umbrella instantly solidified, and he intercepted three streams of energy in mid-air.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ready to retract the Black Spirit Umbrella, but found it fixed in mid-air, unable to be retrieved.


    Alabell took the chance to crawl out of the coverage, let out a roar of anger, and her five sharp nails quickly penetrated Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze once again sat on the chair beside the bed, holding the twisted hand of the sleeping Alabell.


    He felt a residual ache in his neck; with his other hand, he touched it and found the skin intact, with no wounds whatsoever. This was merely an illusion caused by the memory of the attack he had just experienced.


    Thus, attacking directly with the Black Spirit Umbrella was not feasible. It now seemed that Reaper Morrison had discovered him long ago but remained unseen, only appearing when Yan Junze was about to leave the room or when he tried to harm Alabell.


    This¡­ was a plot!


    Yan Junze sat on the edge of the bed, beginning to feel uneasy.


    Although it seemed quiet outside at the moment, Morrison was closely monitoring every movement here using a method that was completely unknown to Yan Junze.


    Perhaps, from the moment he entered this room, he had been under Morrison¡¯s watchful eye.


    Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t compromise so easily.


    He chose to Rewind again, going back to the moment before he had entered Alabell¡¯s room.


    Standing by the window in the next room, he didn¡¯t peek out to check but, after a moment of thought, turned back towards the door of this house, ready to abandon the idea of climbing through the window and to think of other feasible plans.


    Maybe, entering through the main door of Alabell¡¯s room would actually circumvent certain triggering conditions.


    Opening the door of this room, Yan Junze walked out along the wall, closed the door behind him, and turned around to see a black figure standing at the stairway of the corridor, seemingly staring silently at him.


    Yan Junze also stood still, leaning quietly against the wall.


    About half a minute later, the shadow suddenly spoke. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it clearly reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go in?¡±


    It was Morrison again! He had followed.


    Rewind!


    The scene changed, and this time Yan Junze was back to squatting behind the stairway on the first floor, quietly observing the surroundings.


    He remembered clearly that at first, he hid behind these stairs for twenty minutes, watching for Morrison¡¯s appearance, but nothing happened.


    That meant it was possible that the triggering of Morrison¡¯s appearance was caused during his ascent of the stairs.


    And at this time, he hadn¡¯t met the triggering conditions.


    After squatting behind the stairs for another moment, and with nothing amiss, Yan Junze¡¯s feeling of unease grew stronger; he sensed that he was overlooking something.


    He walked out from behind the stairs, not rushing to go upstairs again, but instead stood in a corner of the entry hall, watching the surrounding environment quietly.


    Everything was very quiet, yet it inexplicably made him feel uneasy.


    After a pause, Yan Junze walked straight through the entry hall without climbing back over the shoe cabinet as he had when entering.


    Reaching the main entrance of the entry hall, he reached for the doorknob, intending to open the door and walk out.


    However, the moment his fingers touched the metal doorknob, his whole body shook as if struck by an electric shock, he trembled, and his consciousness vanished instantly.


    [Host detected on the verge of death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered, 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy consumed]

 Chapter 678 - 678 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)

    ?Chapter 678: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five) Chapter 678: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five) ¡°`


    Great Capital of US, headquarters of the Half Moon Association.


    Level minus five in the basement, Reaper Forbidden Zone.


    The moment had arrived just after the Corpse Bride was completely destroyed by Morrison¡¯s indiscriminate attack.


    The Reaper Forbidden Zone is an area exclusively for Reapers to perform exorcisms; entry by anyone below the rank of Reaper is prohibited.


    In fact, there is no need for prohibition, as no other exorcists or ordinary humans can adapt to the disturbances of the magnetic field in the Reaper Forbidden Zone, let alone the occasional Magnetic Field Storms.


    Lying in a room labelled ¡°III¡±, on a custom metal bed, Morrison was slowly opening his eyes.


    His gaze was fixed on the dim incandescent light on the ceiling, and for a time there was no expression.


    Disappeared. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The ¡°Reaper Blind Spot¡± he had planted on that mysterious Huaying man had vanished, leaving no trace to be found.


    Morrison quietly sensed and searched for any suspicious signs, but even after half an hour, his efforts were fruitless.


    Could that Huaying man also be a Reaper-level exorcist from the Huaying Great Capital¡¯s exorcism organization?


    Impossible, Morrison shook his head gently, he didn¡¯t sense intense magnetic field fluctuations coming from Yan Junze.


    As one should know, Reapers already possess their own magnetic field domain, and if any different magnetic fields approach, the reaction would be quite strong.


    Moreover, Morrison noted that when he had implanted the ¡°Reaper Blind Spot¡± on the other person, he was entirely oblivious until he suddenly vanished.


    ¡°Vanished? Why did he just disappear?¡± Morrison sat up from the cold metal bed, his brow furrowed.


    This was genuine disappearance.


    Because to a Reaper, who is extremely sensitive to magnetic field domains, a person¡¯s disappearance could not possibly be completely silent; there would always be traces left behind.


    However, from the scene where the Huaying man suddenly vanished, his avatar projection immediately sensed the surroundings but didn¡¯t detect any abnormalities.


    After analyzing for a moment, Morrison got up and walked to a wall, where a green light was rhythmically flashing.


    He pressed the light, and a voice indicating a connection came through; this was an encrypted-level communication device.


    Since this was a basement, there was no ordinary mobile phone signal, so one could only communicate externally through this special method.


    Shortly after, the other side picked up the call, it was a female operator¡¯s voice, pleasant to hear, but also very mechanical: ¡°Respected Mister Reaper, whom may I connect you with?¡±


    ¡°Charles,¡± Morrison spoke.


    ¡°Okay, please wait,¡± the female operator pressed the transfer button.


    About ten seconds later, the voice of Vice President Charles sounded: ¡°My dear Morrison sir, have you ¡®awakened¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The special strangeness Corpse Bride located in Olay Great Capital has been destroyed,¡± Morrison¡¯s voice was calm.


    ¡°What!¡± Charles was far from calm upon hearing this news and nearly dropped the phone, ¡°This¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Morrison recounted what he had seen and asked, ¡°Do you have any recollection of the exorcists from the Great Capital of Huaying on your side?¡±


    Charles shook his head, ¡°No, but I can check.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, we won¡¯t have enough time to investigate thoroughly,¡± Morrison stroked his chin, speaking unhurriedly, ¡°that man¡¯s final action seemed to be aimed at relieving the Corpse Bride, to set the woman free, so she no longer belongs to the category of special strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ How could this be?¡± At this moment, Charles could not think calmly at all.


    The Corpse Bride was one of the demands in the top three prerequisites for opening altars among many special strangenesses; without her, who knows how long it would take to find a suitable replacement, or if one could be found at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know who it is? But I have a premonition that person might act again,¡± Morrison said.


    Charles began to calm down gradually, and after a moment of silence, he asked, ¡°Mister Morrison, tell me, what do you need me to do now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to Ruisen Island in Otriel State personally, to set traps in Annabelle¡¯s home,¡± Morrison said, ¡°If that person appears again, I will make sure he can never leave.¡±


    ¡°How are you so sure that man will go for Annabelle next? What if he chooses Jacob Johnson, that ¡®Being close to God¡¯?¡± Charles asked worriedly.


    ¡°He might choose Jacob, but believe me, with Jacob, there¡¯s no need for any preparation on my part,¡± Morrison said with a slight smile, ¡°In fact, there¡¯s no need for me to show up at all.¡±


    Hearing this from Morrison, Charles suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of panic in his heart, and the black and white photograph of Jacob from the file instantly appeared before his eyes.


    The fear of Jacob hung over Charles like a shadow, enveloping him completely.


    ¡°Still¡­ the same question, Mister Morrison, what do you need me to do?¡± Charles asked with a hesitant voice.


    ¡°I need three Turner Shockwave Emitters,¡± Morrison said.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Charles was startled, stammering, ¡°Is this¡­ for sweeping a city invaded by strangenesses? That thing can cause impacts on human life that cannot be recovered from in the short term.¡±


    ¡°No, I will use it with a very small impact range, trust me,¡± Morrison didn¡¯t want to explain further, ¡°go get ready, I¡¯ll be leaving for Ruisen Island personally in two days, to prepare all this. If that person really dares to come, Ruisen Island will be his permanent residence.¡±


    ¡­


    The Automatic Rewind on Near-Death was triggered, and time automatically went back to ten seconds earlier.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 679 - 679 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_2

    ?Chapter 679: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_2 After walking before the Death Edge, Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness gradually returned, and his head was a mess, the whole person bewildered.


    At this moment, time had returned to the moment he stood at the corner of the staircase, about to walk through the entrance hall towards the main door.


    ¡°Trap, upon entering this building, I had already fallen deep into a trap!¡±


    The only thought in his mind was that this place was a trap meticulously designed by the Reaper Morrison, probably lying in wait for him to step inside.


    That is to say, once inside, it was destined that he could no longer leave.


    Of course, that was just Morrison¡¯s wishful thinking, as Yan Junze could directly Rewind to before he had entered the building, fundamentally eliminating the problem.


    However, he hadn¡¯t expected that just trying to walk out of the building to check his surroundings would result in being instantly killed. What kind of measure had been set?


    Meaning, he simply could not leave anymore; otherwise, death awaited.


    The energy consumption of the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± was astonishing; just being triggered and returning to ten seconds earlier, drained 1000 points of Yan Junze¡¯s energy.


    Standing at the corner of the stairs, Yan Junze now knew that, even shortly after his entry, Morrison was watching him closely from somewhere, like a fierce beast ready to pounce.


    It seemed that before this, the guy had already carried out meticulous deployments and planning here, and it wasn¡¯t as simple as just setting up an Avatar projection as Junze had initially thought.


    Upon careful consideration, there was a big problem; it was very likely that Morrison had become suspicious of him during the last mission with the Corpse Bride, guessing that he might also be harmful to the second key special strangeness, causing him to expend a great deal of effort to design Chateau Chambre as a trap in advance.


    Thus, completing the ¡°Born Innocent¡± task involving the abnormal Alabell might be impossible.


    If the time span of the Great Rewind was too long, his Different Dimension Energy would be consumed too much and simply wouldn¡¯t suffice, although that could allow him to arrive before this trap was set, but the significance of doing so was already not great.


    But if he conserved the space-time span, arriving with a Great Rewind right into Morrison¡¯s trap, he couldn¡¯t complete it either way.


    Or even if he could complete it, the cost would be too high, and not worth the effort.


    After weighing the options in his heart, Yan Junze sighed slightly; if he simply tried to complete the ¡°She is Aunt Mei¡± task rated as ¡°scared witless (low)¡± now, Morrison might not agree.


    It was very likely that just harboring this intention would cause Morrison to intervene and prevent him.


    It now seemed that the task rating of ¡°scared witless (low)¡± corresponded to an Ethereal spirit, and not the ¡°Terrified (high)¡± level Semi-Ethereal Spirit.


    That is to say, Aunt Melissa could very well be a genuine Ethereal spirit.


    However, for an Exorcist of the Reaper¡¯s caliber like Morrison, even if the opponent was an Ethereal spirit, he was confident in exorcising it. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some powerful five-star Exorcists were already enough to threaten and even exorcise an Ethereal spirit, let alone the more formidable Reaper.


    So, if Yan Junze now had the intention to complete the ¡°She is Aunt Mei¡± task, it might not even be his turn; as soon as Morrison noticed, he would not just stop Yan Junze, he could even directly kill Aunt Melissa along with it.


    No matter how one looked at it, there seemed to be no more reason to stay.


    Due to the Reaper¡¯s trap, resolving the abnormal Alabell was no longer possible, and Yan Junze prepared to retreat into the Void of the Space-Time Rift, willing to pay a price to see if he could try the task involving Jacob, the boy who died of a mysterious disease.


    Because in the Half Moon Association¡¯s files, he had seen that the boy¡¯s particularity, meaning his rarity, was rated higher, implying there was no replacement for the strangeness.


    He had decided that if he resolved the first two special strangenesses, he wouldn¡¯t bother with this task anymore, but if Alabell wasn¡¯t resolved, he might still give it a try, otherwise, by just solving the Corpse Bride, the Half Moon Association would spend a bit more time, but still have a great chance of finding a substitute.


    With the thought of the return command, Yan Junze¡¯s body began to blur.


    But just at that moment, inside the entire building space, suddenly a large amount of glowing thread-like webs appeared.


    These threads emerged out of nowhere, without any warning, as if they were invisible before appearing, instantly covering every space, now emitting a faint blue light.


    Yan Junze, who was fading, solidified for a moment, caught off guard to find he could not exit the space.


    It seemed that the entire space was locked by some strange Supernatural Power, preventing his body from disintegrating and reassembling.


    The threads in front of him seemed to become more numerous, densely filling the surrounding space, now not only locking the space but also with their faint blue light rushing toward Yan Junze like currents of electricity.


    With no chance of dodging, his body was touched by no fewer than a hundred threads and with the massive shock force that arrived, Yan Junze¡¯s body involuntarily shuddered, and his consciousness slipped away once again.


    [Detection of host¡¯s impending death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered, 1000 points of Supernatural Power consumed]

 Chapter 680 - 680 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_3

    ?Chapter 680: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_3 Chapter 680: Chapter 411 Abnormal Alabell (Part Five)_3 Time rewound to ten seconds earlier.


    Yan Junze stood still, taking light breaths.


    The memory of what had just happened was fresh in his mind; he was surprised to realize that it wasn¡¯t just the room¡¯s door that had been rigged, but the space within the entire building by Morrison.


    This technique was somewhat similar to the Turner Sphere, which emitted a magnetic field that isolated the area, causing ordinary strangenesses¡¯ magnetic fields to vanish and rendering them ineffective.


    When luminescent threads appeared, it was clear that the entire space had become stagnant, a method far more advanced than the Turner Sphere.


    Of course, setting up such a technique must have come at a considerable cost. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Yan Junze was well aware that the Half Moon Association was not lacking in funds, and if they needed to protect a specific strangeness, spending money to set up traps here to stop him from interfering was not too difficult an undertaking.


    Right now, he was only speculating; he still didn¡¯t know exactly what the setup was, so finding a way to break through it was impossible.


    Using Rewind to return to a previous moment in time was different from the command to return through a space-time rift; when returning through a space-time rift, Yan Junze¡¯s body would directly disappear from the current timespace.


    This had an essential difference from timespace directly moving backward during a Rewind.


    And it was this difference that, when he tried to return through the space-time rift, caused his body to face restrictions due to the lockdown of this space, likely a type of molecular solidification.


    This time, Yan Junze decided not to move nor activate the command to return through the space-time rift; instead, he initiated another Rewind!


    Time rolled back to the moment he had first arrived on the island.


    Standing outside the open field, he could vaguely make out the outline of that manor and hadn¡¯t expected it to harbor such great danger.


    At this moment, Yan Junze saw the row of buildings as gaping maws waiting for him to enter.


    Without much thought, he gave up on the Great Rewind and triggered the return command.


    His body began to dematerialize, but at the same moment, an abnormality appeared around him, and his body shook violently.


    [Host detected to be on the brink of death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered, 1000 Different Dimension Energy points consumed]


    ¡­


    Consciousness returned, and everything before his eyes became clear once again.


    Yan Junze breathed heavily and turned his head in shock to observe his surroundings; he could not understand why, after having Rewound to the moment he arrived on Ruisen Island, he still triggered the instant-kill trap.


    Could it be¡­


    Suddenly, a thought dawned on him, and he couldn¡¯t help but shudder, stepping quickly onto a pile of rocks on the right and took a deep breath.


    No, he had to try again.


    The return command rose once more, and his body began to dematerialize again.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he watched the quiet and eerie night sky.


    At that moment, an immense and endless web made of fine threads appeared before his eyes.


    It turned out that the situation he had just faced was exactly the same as inside that building, with the difference being that this time the threads were on a much larger scale and covered a greater area.


    Even in Yan Junze¡¯s rapidly surfacing thoughts, he feared that the small island had already been completely enveloped by these bizarre threads.


    His body shook violently once again, and he blacked out.


    [Host detected to be on the brink of death, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered, 1000 Different Dimension Energy points consumed]


    Time rewound to ten seconds earlier again.


    ¡°Huff¡ª¡±


    Yan Junze stood at the initial landing spot on Ruisen Island, his palms sweating coldly.


    He had never imagined that from the moment he arrived here, he would be trapped and unable to leave.


    He did not know how long he stood there, but he clearly couldn¡¯t let Morrison grow suspicious.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze moved toward the direction of the row of buildings, and he began to walk over.


    If he couldn¡¯t leave, then he would go through the experience with Alabell once more.


    Now unable to leave, at least he had learned many details about the manor and Alabell, and with the Rewind to save his life, he wouldn¡¯t be completely passive.


    No matter what, he still had over 7300 energy points in hand; as long as he was careful not to trigger the large energy consumption of ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± again, he believed he could cope with Morrison¡¯s upcoming traps.


    Of course, facing the Reaper, the chances of a counter-kill were very, very slim.


    But as long as there was a gap in the traps, initiating the command to return through the space-time rift would take only a second.

 Chapter 681 - 681 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)

    ?Chapter 681: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale) Chapter 681: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale) Since Yan Junze arrived on the island, Morrison, who was sitting on a soft leather sofa in a certain room on the first floor of the manor, slowly opened his eyes.


    His domain field had already spread out, and although it couldn¡¯t cover the entire island, Morrison had now employed the Turner Shockwave Emitters placed in three different directions on the island. He overlaid his domain field on the Turner Net¡¯s dense invisible net, controlling the magnetic field fluctuations of the entire island through it.


    Therefore, when Yan Junze arrived, he sensed it immediately.


    A moment later, Morrison locked his domain field onto Yan Junze, who had infiltrated the building.


    After entering, Yan Junze crept up the stairs, not stopping on the first or second floor, but heading straight to the third floor.


    This scene puzzled Morrison; he didn¡¯t know how Yan Junze had so accurately pinpointed Annabelle¡¯s location.


    But since this man could appear on the island out of nowhere, it wasn¡¯t hard for Morrison to guess that he had some special method, yet undiscovered by himself, similar to casting his own avatar.


    Only, Yan Junze had sent over his real body.


    Luckily, after the previous Corpse Bride incident, Morrison had taken precautions, preparing the Turner Shockwave Emitter and this plan, otherwise, he would have no way to impede this man¡¯s free movement.


    With these guesses, it was no wonder the other party knew exactly where Annabelle¡¯s room was.


    After sensing Yan Junze climbing upstairs, Morrison quietly snapped his fingers, and the hidden threads in this space of the building trembled slightly.


    All the members of the George family, who were sleeping in the rooms, tilted their heads and fell into unconsciousness.


    Only around Yan Junze and Annabelle, the hidden threads remained still, and Yan Junze noticed nothing unusual.


    He then arrived outside Annabelle¡¯s room, opened the door directly, and tiptoed in, seeing Annabelle crawling on the floor. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having had the experience before, he vaguely saw her swollen belly, and then Annabelle climbed up onto the bed.


    Aside from not entering through a window, the development of events was almost identical to the last time.


    Before long, Annabelle asked Yan Junze to feed her the medication, and then Yan Junze noticed a body under the bed, but he did not choose to crawl underneath, nor was he grabbed by the hand of this maid¡¯s corpse.


    He watched, wide-eyed, as Annabelle climbed down from the bed and into the large wardrobe.


    The events that followed were relived once again. After seeing the accumulation of battered corpses inside the wardrobe, Yan Junze felt the surge from his stomach again.


    When all was calm, and Annabelle had taken her medicine and returned to lie on the bed, grabbing his hand and falling into a serene sleep, Yan Junze sat beside her, staring carefully at her protruding belly.


    This time, he had made up his mind, just waiting for the moment of Annabelle¡¯s childbirth.


    Soon, movement started in her swollen belly, and Annabelle became restless.


    Then she fully awoke and began to scream in pain.


    However, Yan Junze did not prepare any birthing supplies; instead, he stood by and said, ¡°You might be giving birth now. At this moment, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡±


    Now he was certain the way this woman gave birth was absolutely different from ordinary humans, with such intense fetal movement. So the skeleton grew completely, he feared the child might be able to run around once born.


    Moreover, after waiting half an hour, there were no signs of water breaking.


    At this moment, Annabelle¡¯s shouts grew more intense. She desperately grabbed the sheets, her head twisting back and forth. Due to her deformity, there were only a few sparse black hairs on her scalp, sticking to the back of her head, and the sounds she made were unclear.


    It sounded, even to the point of invoking fear.


    Her elongated, twisted legs spread open, and it seemed, truly, she was about to give birth!


    Yan Junze had turned on all the lights in the room, but still did not prepare hot water, a basin, or towels, since he was aware that if he tried to leave, as soon as he opened the door to the room, the Reaper Morrison would be waiting for him on the other side.


    That is to say, he could not leave; otherwise, Morrison would surely appear.


    ¡°Everything, is up to you now!¡± he murmured to himself.


    Watching Annabelle in childbirth, his mind filled with even stranger thoughts, wondering how this 100-year-old deformed woman could become pregnant and give birth at this age?


    If it weren¡¯t for strangeness, this indeed wouldn¡¯t be possible.


    Yan Junze took two steps back. Now that the room was well-lit, he could see Annabelle¡¯s condition from a slightly farther distance.


    However, he did not notice that the door behind him had silently opened, and Morrison appeared, ghost-like, entering the room, standing two meters behind Yan Junze, coldly watching everything.


    At this point, Annabelle was no longer screaming in pain. Instead, her dried-up body like tree bark suddenly tensed, and her swollen belly ceased its strange and violent movements.


    Something began to wriggle out!


    Thudding, a small hand, like a stick, extended out, its slim fingers spread, the surface covered with amniotic fluid, drip, drip, dripping onto the sheets.


    Then another hand followed, equally dripping with fluid, both hands grabbing the mattress, a small head and a slender body wriggling out, with amniotic fluid sticking, their eyes not open, just opening their tiny mouths emitting ah ah sounds.

 Chapter 682 - 682 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_2

    ?Chapter 682: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_2 Chapter 682: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_2 At that moment, Yan Junze stepped forward two paces, ready to wrap up the odd little fellow in a blanket. The child might seem peculiar, but its limbs were intact, not deformed like Alabell¡¯s.


    However, he wasn¡¯t sure whether the little one would attack him or not because it seemed to clearly harbor hostility towards this strange world.


    But if he didn¡¯t do this, he probably wouldn¡¯t gain more favor with Alabell.


    Just as he was about to approach, Yan Junze abruptly froze, rooted to the spot, as Alabell¡¯s screams intensified once again, with her hands still clutching the bedsheets tightly, her body writhing in pain.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ there¡¯s another one! Twins!?¡±


    No wonder Alabell¡¯s belly had appeared so large!


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes bulged as he saw a second head and pair of similarly emaciated arms emerge. Not only that, he noticed that both children were born without umbilical cords.


    The first child had already managed to support itself on its limbs, its eyes, glued shut by the amniotic fluid, began to slowly open. It kept shaking its tiny head, trying to get a clear look at this world.


    Before long, the second child had fully emerged and, like its brother, was crying out with its mouth open, its eyelids stuck together. However, it quickly propped itself up on its limbs.


    Indeed, a child born from such strangeness was bound to be extraordinary.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but marvel, and upon another glance confirmed there was no third, it was a pair of twins.


    At this point, Alabell had stopped screaming and lay quietly on the bed.


    Yan Junze immediately stepped forward, intending to wrap the two bizarre children in blankets.


    But just as he took one step forward, a shadow swept past from his right side¡ªMorrison, wearing a black coat and golden hair, was lurking behind all along.


    Morrison moved as quickly as lightning, but he didn¡¯t attack Yan Junze right away. Instead, he scooped up the two children beside Alabell¡¯s feet and tucked them under his arm.


    He then wiped his hand over the children, flicked his fingers, and Yan Junze took a step back but didn¡¯t feel anything.


    By then, Morrison had already reached the door, leaving silently like a ghost.


    He didn¡¯t kill Yan Junze!


    Alabell, who had been recuperating on the bed, finally realized something was amiss. She looked up to find her children missing, and her gaze instantly fell on Yan Junze, her nostrils flaring.


    The next second, Alabell was engulfed in madness, she sprang up violently, perched on the bed with a ferocious look, and fixed her gaze on Yan Junze. She coiled her twisted legs and lunged at him.


    Yan Junze felt a fierce gust of wind hit his face; instead of releasing the Black Spirit Umbrella to fight, he chose to rewind.


    Time rewound to the moment Alabell was about to give birth.


    Yan Junze stood by her side, exhaling softly, his attention partially shifting behind him.


    By the looks of it, he seemed to have been outsmarted by Morrison, who had also used him as a pawn in their plot.


    In the previous rewind, Morrison had appeared and immediately whisked away the two children, clearly framing Yan Junze.


    The strangest part was that Morrison didn¡¯t kill him nor did he target Alabell, but instead, he focused on the two newborns.


    Considering this, it seemed Yan Junze had been mistaken from the start, or perhaps the information about Alabell from the Half Moon Association was erroneous, or there had been a change in the data.


    Upon reflection, Alabell was born a strangeness, and the likelihood of her children being just as strange was high. The scene following their birth had made it clear to Yan Junze; the children were definitely Strange Bodies.


    Special Strange Bodies, and there were two of them! And they were born from a mother who was herself a special Strange Body!


    Thinking this way, it seemed the two children had exceeded Alabell, becoming even more suitable for initiating the altar ritual.


    Yes, that must be it.


    Morrison had calculated everything perfectly. As soon as Alabell gave birth to the two children, he appeared and abducted them, framing Yan Junze in the process.


    With her children gone, Alabell was sure to be blinded by rage. Plus, Morrison had done something to him which would make Alabell vehemently oppose him.


    At that point, whether it was him killing Alabell or her killing him, it wouldn¡¯t matter much to Morrison anymore because they had already obtained the more suitable strangeness.


    So that was it! So that was it!


    Prevented from leaving, if he left, they would simply kill him. Then forced to stay in this room until the two children were born, and then set up for a betrayal.


    Yan Junze connected all the dots in that moment and also sensed something odd behind him.


    His focus wasn¡¯t on Alabell this time but rather on the movements behind him as he speculated.


    Even though he couldn¡¯t hear a thing, he was certain Morrison was standing right behind him.


    Should he take advantage of the distraction caused by the twins¡¯ birth to turn around and attack Morrison with the Black Spirit Umbrella?


    No, with the Reaper¡¯s strength, the chances of successfully killing Morrison were virtually nil.


    Morrison was also watching him closely, ready to strike first should there be any rash action on his part.


    sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 683 - 683 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_3

    ?Chapter 683: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_3 Chapter 683: Chapter 412 Abnormal Alabell (Finale)_3 Yan Junze quickly discarded the thought.


    He believed that although the adversary had the ability to attack with invisible threads, they couldn¡¯t simply kill him instantly within the covered space; otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been the scene where he touched the door of the hall, ready to leave, and was killed by something akin to an electric shock.


    It seemed that the hidden threads would only activate when he disappeared directly, automatically stagnating the space to stop and kill him.


    He couldn¡¯t go head-to-head with Morrison, but he also couldn¡¯t wait until both children were taken away.


    By now, the first child had already been born and was making an effort to push up with its limbs, while the second child¡¯s head and hands were also emerging.


    Yan Junze took two steps forward, looking extremely anxious, his hands clenched into fists and wrapped around his chest as if he were the father of the children.


    Shortly after, the second child was finally born, lying on the bed, unable to push itself up for the moment.


    Yan Junze grew even more anxious, took two more steps forward, and started to speak with concern.


    However, just as he was about to speak, a magnetic knife behind him shot out unexpectedly, aimed directly at Morrison, who stood not too far away. At the same time, Yan took a step forward, grabbed one child with one hand, turned around, took two steps to the window, and leaped out with force.


    His choice to jump out of the window was not without reason, as it was farther from the room door, making it the nearest exit after grabbing the children.


    Previously, during a mission, Zhang Xiaomo had requested a magnetic knife for him and also gave him a Turner Sphere to use.


    He had stored both items in the nodes of the Spacetime Atlas, and now releasing the magnetic knife, he aimed to catch Morrison off guard and buy himself time.


    He never thought he could severely injure his opponent.


    At the moment of jumping out of the window, Yan Junze yelled, ¡°Block Alabell, I¡¯m going first!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t care less whether his move was flashy or not. Since you¡¯re going to snatch the children, then I¡¯ll make the first move and grab them, and also use you as a shield.


    A brief power gap appeared behind him; Morrison was startled by the sudden attack of the magnetic knife.


    Yan Junze could feel the magnetic field solidifying behind him, but it was only within the range of the third floor, and it was half a second too late; he had already jumped out of the window, plummeting to the ground below.


    After landing, he immediately rolled forward to cushion the impact of the fall. However, the height from the third floor was significant, and he twisted his right ankle severely, the pain as if drilling into his bones.


    Yan Junze gritted his teeth in pain, while Alabell¡¯s angry roars from upstairs and sounds of collision and beating followed.


    As a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, Alabell certainly wasn¡¯t a match for Morrison, but she could detain him for a moment. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, having just become a mother, Alabell¡¯s rage inadvertently intensified her attacking force.


    Yan Junze had no time to listen to the commotion upstairs; with one hand holding a child, not daring to let go, he hobbled back into the building through the slightly ajar back door on the ground floor.


    He wouldn¡¯t be able to escape far with two infants, so instead, he did the opposite and reentered the manor building. Enduring the pain in his right foot, he checked the information in his mind about the mission ¡°She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei¡± as he hurriedly moved towards the staircase leading to the basement.


    There was a reason for doing this as well.


    Yan Junze speculated that given the high level of the ¡°She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei¡± mission, Morrison, as the Reaper, surely couldn¡¯t have overlooked it.


    Therefore, if he had noticed, he wouldn¡¯t let a strangeness of this level remain within his plans, as, after all, Aunt Mei was at least an Ethereal spirit, potentially disrupting the flawless execution of his schemes.


    And now, given that the ¡°She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei¡± mission was still active, it suggested that Morrison might indeed have missed that place.


    Perhaps the ¡°invisible servant¡¯s room¡± in the basement was truly invisible to Morrison and his peculiar detection methods.


    At least there was a chance it could conceal Yan Junze.

 Chapter 684 - 684 413 Huh Aunt Mei

    ?Chapter 684: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei? Chapter 684: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei? About two minutes after Yan Junze entered the basement level, Morrison also leapt down from the window on the third floor.


    His face was livid, infuriated with humiliation; he hadn¡¯t expected his well-laid plans to be turned on their head by Yan Junze.


    Because he had to avoid a sneak attack from the magnetic knife, he lost the initiative, unable to immediately capture Yan Junze who jumped out the window. Instead, Yan Junze used Alabell to attack, cutting off his pursuit.


    So at that time, although he could kill Alabell, he dared not do it outright.


    Because Yan Junze had taken two recently formed Strange Bodies, what if those two youngsters were harmed in Yan Junze¡¯s hands? In the end, it was very likely that the altar would reactivate Alabell.


    This caused Morrison¡¯s subduing of the frenzied Alabell to take longer than expected, and finally, under the premise of not harming her, he managed to subdue this deranged aberration and temporarily seal her on the bed.


    Morrison immediately jumped down to give chase.


    He was fast. After landing, he quickly chose a direction and radiated his domain field.


    Actually, even as a Reaper, the range of his Perception through the domain field was still limited. His current Perception was enhanced by a network of threads boosted with the Turner Shockwave Emitter.


    For instance, only after Yan Junze had entered this building did Morrison truly sense him. Other than that, even when Yan Junze just arrived on the island, Morrison could only detect an anomaly through the vibrations in the magnetic field.


    Actually, if one were to look at the entire island, such anomalies would appear from time to time, quite frequently, and it was only when Yan Junze came inside the building that his guess was confirmed.


    However, if Yan Junze were to vanish into thin air, it would trigger the Turner Shockwave Emitter¡¯s automatic activation rule. Morrison wouldn¡¯t need to constantly monitor and issue commands; instead, the device would automatically perform spatial stasis and then execute a kill.


    Morrison didn¡¯t immediately pursue him. In fact, he didn¡¯t even know which direction Yan Junze had fled to.


    Morrison stood still and sensed each direction¡¯s magnetic field fluctuations with the Turner Shockwave Emitter, so he could accurately determine from where Yan Junze had escaped.


    However, he soon realized that some directions, even with disturbances, didn¡¯t seem to warrant his suspicion.


    With that in mind, Morrison turned his head to look back at the manor building.


    ¡­


    In fact, this wasn¡¯t the first time Yan Junze had entered the basement level of the manor.


    Before going up to the third floor, he had Rewound twice to survey the area.


    Knowing that he couldn¡¯t leave the island for the time being, he had to think of all possible ways to handle Morrison¡¯s plans, so naturally, he set his sights on the task called ¡°She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei.¡±


    After all, using strangenesses to counter strangenesses was something he had been doing for a while, only now it wasn¡¯t strangenesses against strangenesses, but Reaper Morrison against a high-level entity.


    In those two Rewinds, Yan Junze used the information from the task ¡°She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei¡± to determine the exact location of the ¡°invisible servant¡¯s room.¡±


    The basement level wasn¡¯t entirely made up of servant¡¯s quarters; there were also four or five storage rooms and two interconnected boiler rooms. The ¡°invisible servant¡¯s room¡± was located next to the boiler room, sealed off under orders after Melissa died from contracting leech disease.


    From the outside, there was no sign of the original door¡¯s existence, including the door panel and door gap, which had been sealed with a mixture of cement and disinfectant powder. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During the two Rewinds in which Yan Junze searched for the ¡°invisible servant¡¯s room¡± in the basement level, he didn¡¯t find an entrance from the outside. Instead, inside the neighboring servant¡¯s room, he uncovered a clue.


    The servant¡¯s room next door was also uninhabited and seemed to have been vacant for a long time, as evidenced by the heavy layer of dust inside.


    The wall that was only one wall away from the invisible room appeared to have been neglected for a long time, with some paint already peeling off.


    Because it was close to the boiler room, the servants had secretly connected a heating pipe from the next-door boiler room for easier access to warmth in winter. The pipe passed through the invisible room and then through a hole in the outer wall, allowing the heating pipe to warm the room.


    Fearful of being discovered, they had hidden the opening of the heating pipe behind an old, tattered armchair.


    Although Yan Junze was limping, he had prepared well in advance, so without lingering, he sweated profusely as he crawled behind the armchair, broke through the thin layer of cement around the heating pipe¡¯s opening, and then pushed the pipe back in place, revealing an opening just large enough for a slender person to squeeze through.


    The pipe was designed using a flexible hose, with good airtightness, excellent ventilation, and easy mobility.


    In fact, its function was only to convey some of the warm air from inside the boiler room, not to act as a true directional heating system. Otherwise, channeling so much warm air non-stop through such a large pipe would make the room fatally hot.


    So when connecting it, the servants looked for this type of large ventilated pipe to maximize the amount of warm air that could be directed into the room.


    This was the only passage into the ¡°invisible servant¡¯s room¡± that Yan Junze discovered during his second Rewind into the basement level.

 Chapter 685 - 685 413 Huh Aunt Mei_2

    ?Chapter 685: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei?_2 Chapter 685: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei?_2 ¡°`


    I can guess that even before Melissa was infected, this place had already been set up secretly. It¡¯s just that after Melissa died and was isolated, the George family merely sealed the doors and windows and blocked it with an external wall.


    They didn¡¯t discover this ventilation duct, likely because the boiler room had also taken covert measures to prevent this potential problem from being exposed.


    Before crawling into the vent, Yan Junze stuffed the two newly-born brats inside first, then followed himself.


    As he crawled in, he turned his head to look at the cloth sofa that blocked the entrance.


    The house was quite dark, and the space behind the cloth sofa was impossible to see without getting close.


    Once inside, Yan Junze reinserted the large heating pipe back into the vent.


    Because there was no time to spare, he was too hurried to look around Melissa¡¯s room after entering and quickly sealed the entrance.


    Before this, the two brats had crawled into the room through the duct; Yan Junze didn¡¯t have the time to attend to them just yet and immediately lay down by the entrance, listening carefully to any sounds from the other side.


    There were dripping noises behind him, but Yan Junze didn¡¯t look back. Although he didn¡¯t look, he still heard the sound of the two children crawling on the floor in this room, drip-drip, sometimes hurried, sometimes slow, as if the two little ones were getting familiar with the environment of the room.


    Outside the room, Morrison quickly arrived at the basement level.


    He had just unsuccessfully tracked Yan Junze with the Turner Shockwave Emitter network outdoors. In his urgency, it was only after he activated his domain field that he sensed something unusual in the lower level of the building.


    However, the domain field¡¯s coverage wasn¡¯t that extensive, so he needed to come down and take a closer look to be certain.


    Indeed, Morrison had checked the basement level once before when arranging the whole plan.


    He had to ensure his plan was foolproof, and now the subtle fluctuations he had noticed before had disappeared.


    Morrison spread his domain field over the entire basement, scanning quietly. Everything seemed normal.


    Without finding anything, he had no choice but to slow down his breathing and listen carefully to see if he could detect anything.


    In the other servant rooms, with everyone having fallen into a coma, it was very quiet except for the sound of breathing.


    Morrison walked slowly, opening and inspecting each room in turn until he came to the abandoned servant room where the heating pipe was secretly installed. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The season on the island had not reached the point where heating and hot water were needed 24 hours a day; the boiler room was not running, so the temperature in this room was very normal, and nothing was felt.


    Morrison walked into the room, looked around, and then searched with his domain field again, looking for anomalies in the magnetic field.


    But in this room, he found no such fluctuations.


    His footsteps were neither heavy nor light, very ordinary. Yan Junze, lying on the other end of the vent, heard the slight footsteps coming from the room.


    He held his breath and stayed motionless.


    Just then, one of the two children crawling around the room came up behind Yan Junze. The child was still in a crawling position, stretching its arms firmly, lifting its little head, sniffing with its nose, and eyes barely open.


    A moment later, the little one split its mouth open, revealing a set of uneven, milky white teeth.


    These teeth, like unpolished saw blades, smacked together and then bit down hard on Yan Junze¡¯s calf.


    The teeth penetrated the flesh, and blood flowed profusely.


    A piercing pain struck him, and Yan Junze almost cried out. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand and turned his head to see a little head lying on his calf in the darkness.


    He was immediately furious and wanted to kick the little thing away with one foot.


    Rewind!


    Time returned to half a minute ago.


    This time, while listening to the noises from the room next door, Yan Junze chose to turn his head and watch the movements inside his own room.


    Soon enough, one of the children indeed crawled over, but it seemed sensitive to Yan Junze¡¯s gaze. It sensed that it was being watched, quickly lowered its head, licked the corner of its mouth, and slowly crawled away.


    Yan Junze¡¯s lips moved slightly, and he thought to himself, ¡°Little brat, come closer and I¡¯ll poke you to death with an umbrella!¡±


    In the room next door, Morrison walked towards the door.


    His domain field continued to envelope the basement level, but still, no magnetic field fluctuations were detected.


    Theoretically, if there were any strangenesses here, his domain field should be the first to detect something off, but clearly, there were no strangenesses in the basement level for Morrison.


    For special strangenesses like Alabell, unless they release their strangeness nature, there would be no magnetic field fluctuations.


    So, initially, when they found Alabell, it took the Half Moon Association quite some time.


    And Alabell¡¯s children have strangeness traits the same as their mother, even purer, and when they do not exhibit their strangeness features, they are indistinguishable from ordinary people.


    A moment later, Morrison left the room.


    Footsteps moved in the corridor outside, Yan Junze still lay there, but his gaze had returned, only staring into the dimly lit room.


    Soon, faint sounds came from the direction of the boiler room; Morrison was very thorough in his checks, walking through the boiler room once more before finally coming out, heading towards the stairs.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 686 - 686 413 Huh Aunt Mei_3

    ?Chapter 686: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei?_3 Chapter 686: Chapter 413: Huh, Aunt Mei?_3 Yan Junze waited for about five minutes, and when there were no more sounds coming from the basement level, he slowly exhaled, took a small flashlight out of his backpack, turned it on, and illuminated the unfamiliar room that belonged to Melissa. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The air in the room was terrible, with the smell of mold everywhere, and the walls and surrounding furniture were covered with fungi.


    And unexpectedly, there was a large puddle of water in the corner of the room near the boiler room.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, a shadow could be seen lying in the puddle, and next to the shadow was another one of Alabell¡¯s children, who was lying next to it and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.


    The child closer to Yan Junze, seeing his sibling appearing to gain some advantage, was startled and scrambled over, joining the other by the shadow.


    To Yan Junze, the shadow on the waterlogged floor seemed to be a corpse, but its body was swollen as if it had been filled with water, suggesting that the whole body was swollen.


    ¡°Melissa? The Melissa who got leech disease?¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    In his mind, he recalled the mission information: Melissa had always been a kind person, she was just afflicted by the Red-tailed Tiger Striped Leech and needed rescuing.


    Now it seemed that Melissa might not be a malevolent strangeness after all, rather, her death seemed extremely unfortunate.


    The scene of Alabell¡¯s two little brats lying next to the corpse, for some unknown reason, triggered an empathetic response in Yan Junze.


    The scene looked so damn familiar; it was as if he had seen it somewhere before.


    The two children gradually began to get excited, their arms waving lightly, picking up speed.


    Yan Junze noticed that these two were apparently prying something off the body and swiftly popping it into their mouths, savoring it.


    The things they were picking off seemed to be bugs?!


    ¡°Melissa? The two kids? Eating bugs¡­ off her body?¡±


    The current spectacle superimposed another image from Yan Junze¡¯s memory, and he murmured to himself, ¡°Melissa? Aunt Mei? Aunt Mei? Melissa?¡±


    He quickly advanced and the children were frightened, immediately trying to dodge aside, but unable to resist the temptation of the bugs on the corpse, they snatched a couple more from some distance away and stealthily stuffed them into their mouths.


    Yan Junze could now see clearly that these bugs looked nothing like leeches, which would have been long dead; thus, these creatures were most likely the leeches after death, the leech-stricken forms.


    So many strangeness-beating leeches were crawling all over Melissa¡¯s corpse, preventing it from decaying and instead making it increasingly swollen.


    Her entire body was grotesquely inflated, yet her limbs were pathetically small. This incongruity further revealed to Yan Junze the true identity of Melissa.


    Now, with so many bugs on her, Yan Junze knew the dangers of these creatures, their shells were extremely hard. Last time, in the underground parking garage of the FH Community, he accidentally stepped on one, which hurt his foot badly.


    He dared not get too close, just leaned over Melissa¡¯s face and shone the flashlight down. Despite being prepared, his heart still began to pound violently.


    This Melissa was not only sporting a Huaying face, but she was actually Aunt Mei herself! Yes, the Aunt Mei from the FH Community¡¯s underground garage.


    For a moment, Yan Junze felt a sense of disorientation in his memories and the fabric of space-time.


    Recalling the mission information, Melissa had smuggled herself to Great Capital of the USA when she was very young. That is to say, she might have been Huaying originally but ended up working as a maid for Alabell¡¯s grandfather due to her smuggling status, which gave her an identity in the Great Capital.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Yan Junze¡¯s thought process began to clear up.


    The Aunt Mei here hadn¡¯t met the later version of himself, and he deduced that Ruisen Island, where he had traveled back to, must be at least half a year, if not more, prior to his original timeline.


    Back then, he might not have even taken over this body yet, that is, he hadn¡¯t arrived in this world.


    As for why there was another story of an Aunt Mei picking up garbage and taking care of two babies in the FH Community, there might indeed have been a garbage-picking Aunt Mei there, but after her death, she was replaced by the Aunt Mei from this place.


    ¡°But why would Aunt Mei from here go to FH Community?¡±


    Yan Junze quickly came to an answer, but considering his dire situation, he decided it would be better to figure out how to escape his current predicament first.


    Now everything made sense.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze returned to Melissa, who lay motionless with bugs crawling all over her face.


    His gaze returned once more to Melissa, lying still with bugs traversing her visage.


    Now the two children who would later follow her had already appeared, and they were helping to eat the bugs off her, so why was Aunt Mei completely unresponsive? She was truly playing the role of a dead body flawlessly.


    Yan Junze stared puzzled at Aunt Mei, whose eyes were tightly shut.


    Not only was Aunt Mei not showing any signs of life, but the two little brats who had just eaten some of the black bugs now seemed listless, curled up to the side, unable even to lift their heads.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

 Chapter 687 - 687 414 Everything is so familiar

    ?Chapter 687: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar! Chapter 687: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar! Aunt Mei¡¯s body was no longer covered with ordinary leeches, but with a bizarre transformation into Leech Strange Creatures after she was infected and died; these leeches also gradually withered away.


    They had become black-shelled bugs, entirely different from their original form.


    It was clear that the two children quite enjoyed eating these bugs, yet it appeared they couldn¡¯t digest them well.


    This was completely unlike the joy, the pleasure, and the ravenousness Junze had first witnessed when he saw them feeding on bugs in the FH Community.


    Moreover, the children were no longer in the form of a strange baby; they were half human, half strange, born Strangers, only purer than Alabell.


    Realizing this, Yan Junze understood that to the Half Moon Association, both Alabell and these children could become the special Strangers needed to initiate their altar, explaining why Morrison took the children away immediately after Alabell gave birth to them, leaving Alabell behind.


    Watching the two half-human, half-strange boys wilt on the side, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but fall deep in thought.


    Now, with Morrison lurking outside and Alabell¡¯s issue unresolved, encountering Aunt Mei here was the last thing he needed, especially since Aunt Mei was truly just a corpse, and this was not looking like an easy issue to solve.


    There had to be a way; it just couldn¡¯t be unsolvable.


    Yan Junze pondered carefully.


    The black bugs continued to crawl out of Aunt Mei¡¯s corpse, covering her body while the two boys sitting beside it appeared eager to continue eating but seemed increasingly powerless to do so.


    A horde of Black Bugs began to spread around, leaving Aunt Mei¡¯s body behind and crawling toward Yan Junze and the boys.


    Yan Junze hastily retreated, fully aware that these strangely transformed leeches were far from ordinary, hard to kill, and appeared in great numbers, continuously emerging from the bloated corpse.


    After retreating more than a dozen steps, Yan Junze hit the wall behind him; the room was too small to allow any further retreat.


    But the black bugs still pressed towards him.


    Glancing at the two children sitting lamely, they were now almost completely covered by the Black Bugs.


    They really wanted to keep eating, but once ingested, the bugs were indeed hard to digest, and some undigested bugs were still wriggling inside the children¡¯s bellies, causing them immense discomfort.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze took out the Black Spirit Umbrella and opened it.


    The Black Bugs near his feet were instantly shredded by the power within the umbrella when it opened, dissipating as small wisps of black vapor.


    However, despite this, a constant stream of Black Bugs continued to approach Yan Junze with no end in sight.


    Any Black Bug that entered the reach of the Black Spirit Umbrella was immediately destroyed, without a moment¡¯s delay.


    Yan Junze looked up at the two children now completely covered in Black Bugs, took two steps forward, preparing to approach them and extend the protection of the Black Spirit Umbrella over them as well.


    But at that moment, an idea flashed through his mind.


    It was just speculation, but if he was right, perhaps this crisis could be resolved, and Aunt Mei could become the true Aunt Mei, and the two children¡ªthe true strange babies. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For the Half Moon Association, this would mean that their only option would be Alabell.


    With this thought, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move any closer, letting the Black Bugs continue to layer over the two children, gnawing at them incessantly.


    These children were currently half-human, half-strange, leaning more towards strange, which Yan Junze could tell from how one of them had easily bitten his calf.


    If left to roam, they would be a disaster. And since their birth led them here, it seemed this was their predestined ordeal.


    The rest of the Black Bugs carried on, closing in on Yan Junze as if completely unaware of the danger of entering the Black Spirit Umbrella¡¯s domain.


    The Black Bugs continuously turned into vapor, rising in strands within the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    About a minute later, the flashlight in Yan Junze¡¯s hand suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness.


    Startled, he swiftly patted the flashlight, to no avail.


    He had a spare flashlight, so he immediately pulled it out from his bag and flicked it on, but once again, there was no response.


    With the flashlight failing, Yan Junze simply took out his lighter and flicked it, producing a flame.


    However, it lasted less than two seconds; as if a sudden, stronger air flow surrounded it, the flame trembled violently and went out with a puff.


    When he ignited it again, Yan Junze saw clearly that the air around the flame seemed to be compressed, flickering a few times before extinguishing again.


    ¡°Magnetic fields, strong magnetic fields are arising!¡±


    Surprised, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened as he tried to discern the blurred contours in the dark room.


    It wasn¡¯t pitch black; after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the general positions of the furniture.


    And what Yan Junze saw at that moment was a silent, motionless shadow standing exactly where Aunt Mei¡¯s body used to lie.


    The ground around him was alive with the incessant crawling of the dense Black Bugs, a chilling reminder of the relentless tide of creatures encroaching.


    Yan Junze stood still, his eyes fixed on the vague human silhouette, certain that the standing figure was Aunt Mei, though he didn¡¯t know when she had gotten up.

 Chapter 688 - 688 414 Everything is so familiar_2

    ?Chapter 688: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar!_2 Chapter 688: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar!_2 Large numbers of Black Bugs were still falling off her body, and after they fell, they either crawled onto the two children, who were already covered in layer upon layer, or surged toward herself.


    However, the Black Bugs that swarmed toward her were all without exception killed by the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    If there were magnetic field vibrations in this room at the moment, Morrison would undoubtedly have sensed it, unless he had left the mansion to search for himself elsewhere.


    Of course, if that guy was unable to notice this room, it might be due to some special characteristic of the room, and perhaps he might not even detect the vibrations of the magnetic field here.


    What Yan Junze didn¡¯t know was that, at this moment, Morrison had indeed left the mansion and gone to other areas of the island to search for him.


    The blurry shadow in front of him stood still for a while before it began to move, staggering as it walked, its bloated body slowly swaying.


    Yan Junze tried calling out, ¡°Aunt Mei?¡±


    But there was no response.


    Yan Junze looked around again and then sidled over towards the direction of the vent, walking silently and trying to minimize the extent of his movements.


    At this time, the Black Bugs on the ground began to return, all crawling back to the bloated body, while the Black Bugs covering the children also receded like a tide.


    The moving Aunt Mei subsequently changed direction, slowly walking towards Yan Junze.


    With every sway and wobble, her walking posture was like a weeble, probably because there were too many Black Bugs on her body at this time.


    Yan Junze¡¯s back was now completely against the wall above the vent, with no room to retreat.


    Aunt Mei, still zigzagging, was getting closer and closer.


    Yan Junze looked up at the Black Spirit Umbrella he was holding and after some thought, hurriedly folded the umbrella.


    He could now be sure that Aunt Mei was a true Ethereal Spirit-level strangeness, and if he were to forcefully resist an Ethereal Spirit head-on with this Black Spirit Umbrella, he might suffer serious damage, which would cost a lot to repair.


    Besides, it might also anger Aunt Mei.


    At present, this was the first time Aunt Mei had seen him, and he didn¡¯t want to make a poor first impression on her, which could direly change the future.


    Therefore, in facing the mission involving Aunt Mei, he absolutely had to eliminate the threat in a Zen manner.


    After putting away the umbrella, the bloated figure fully approached Yan Junze, surrounded by Black Bugs crawling all over, rustling into his ears, making one¡¯s scalp tingle.


    After coming to a stop in front of Yan Junze, a slightly swollen face emerged from the darkness, slowly drawing closer to him.


    At the same time, a foul, damp smell flooded Yan Junze¡¯s nose. He didn¡¯t close his eyes; instead, he stared at the horrifying face before him.


    Even though the space was very dark, at such a close distance, he could still see the contours of Aunt Mei¡¯s facial features. Black Bugs were crawling out of her nostrils and into those hollow eye sockets.


    They were also going in and out of her ears and mouth, constantly entering and exiting.


    As if observing Yan Junze, Aunt Mei maintained a posture of close proximity, unmoving.


    Her face was about to touch Yan Junze¡¯s nose, which made him dare not even breathe more heavily. He kept a smile on his face, enduring the foul smell around his nose, and said, ¡°Aunt¡­ Aunt Mei, I know you¡¯re in pain, not only in life but even after death you are still accompanied by suffering.¡±


    He paused for a moment, taking a breath, ¡°Aunt Mei, I can help you, you can trust me, I can reduce your pain to the minimum.¡±


    During the course of the conversation, Yan Junze felt an itching on the back of his right hand, as if Black Bugs had already crawled onto it.


    The Aunt Mei close at hand still hadn¡¯t moved, just staring straight at him. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At such a close distance, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t even lower his head.


    Soon, the itching had spread to his elbow, and then to his shoulder.


    He was certain that Black Bugs had gotten onto his body, and moreover, it wasn¡¯t just one.


    Leech Parasite Disease!


    The warning about the mission¡¯s penalty sprang to mind, causing Yan Junze to shudder inwardly.


    [Mission Penalty: Beware of the leech parasite disease in its strange form;


    Mission Tips: 1, The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Melissa is very strong, but for the virus that has already formed into strangeness which brings death to her, she seems to be helpless; 3, Do not touch her body until you are confident enough;]


    Possibly, in just a moment, he had still indirectly come into contact with Aunt Mei¡¯s body.


    And considering that Aunt Mei had made no sign of belief, she probably didn¡¯t trust him at all.


    ¡°They¡­¡± Yan Junze immediately reached out, going around Aunt Mei¡¯s body to point behind her, ¡°Those two children, I can let them help you.¡±


    Finally, Aunt Mei reacted, turning her head. Her entire head, including her neck, rotated completely as if it had detached from her body.


    Actually, that was quite normal; being gnawed on by Black Bugs drilling in and out of her body for a long time, her body and head might have already separated.


    Now, Yan Junze started feeling itchy, with a sensation of being nibbled on his right arm, and a tingling pain in his stomach.


    Those Black Bugs were starting to act on him.


    While Aunt Mei turned her head to look, he tried the flashlight again. He flicked the switch, and the light flickered a few times, but instead of going out, it finally stabilized.


    He immediately shone it on the two emaciated children lying on the ground.


    At this moment, there were still a few Black Bugs crawling on the surface of the two children, with one or two wriggling out of their mouths, but the brothers were slumped in a corner, motionless.


    ¡°They are naturally Strange Bodies and can help you kill these Black Bugs,¡± Yan Junze explained.

 Chapter 689 - 689 414 Everything is so familiar_3

    ?Chapter 689: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar!_3 Chapter 689: Chapter 414: Everything is so familiar!_3 Aunt Mei, whose head had twisted away, never turned it back, possibly scrutinizing the two children closely.


    One child¡¯s lips still held half of a squirming Black Bug, the other half of the creature presumably already eaten by him. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seizing the opportunity, Yan Junze, despite the itching pain on his body, circled around, avoiding getting too close to Aunt Mei, and approached the children, murmuring, ¡°They like to eat this kind of strange leech.¡±


    Aunt Mei turned around, her bloated body starting to sway once more, following behind Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took the chance to reach into his clothing, grabbed two Black Bugs, and violently threw them onto the ground, not daring to step on them because he knew full well they were too tough to be crushed.


    But there were still Black Bugs crawling and biting on his back, and the pain on his arm had become extremely intense. Rolling up his sleeve to take a look, he saw that a Black Bug had bitten through his skin and part of the muscle, burying its head inside and voraciously burrowing further.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Enraged, Yan Junze glanced at Aunt Mei, who was some distance away, and then opened the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Under the umbrella, the several Black Bugs on his body instantly turned into black smoke and vanished, along with a few that had just crawled up the top of Junze¡¯s foot, all falling victim to the umbrella¡¯s effect.


    As he was about to approach the two children, Junze folded the umbrella, crouched down, and placed his hand on the neck artery of one of the kids.


    There was no sign of life.


    He then checked the other motionless child, who was equally deceased.


    Although they were born as Strange Bodies, just like Alabell, they still needed to eat, to breathe, and maintain certain human vital signs, rather than being fully formed strangenesses.


    They had been heavily infested with Black Bugs a moment ago, with many infiltrating their stomachs; surely their internal organs had been bitten to shreds, thus completely extinguishing the life force that belonged to their human aspect.


    And this was Yan Junze¡¯s speculation, as after all, both children were descendants of Alabell, and their Strange Bodies couldn¡¯t be anything but formidable.


    What Yan Junze now waited for was the chance, or rather the certainty, that the children¡¯s form would fully transform into a pure Strange Body after being killed by the Black Bugs.


    Their speculation was not unfounded, for in the future, the two children he would encounter would be nothing like they are now. To put it bluntly, they were much uglier than they currently appeared, and their strangeness was far more pronounced.


    Aunt Mei staggered closer, with Black Bugs dropping from her body and crawling towards Yan Junze once more.


    Now, all over his body, the bites were causing an unbearable itch, and he feared infection with something like Corpse Poison. Seeing those bugs approaching again, he immediately stepped back twice, ready to take out the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    He dared not open his umbrella over the two children at this moment since if they were already transforming into complete Strange Bodies, opening it could easily harm these little fellows, outright killing them.


    However, as he was about to draw the umbrella, Aunt Mei slowly stretched forth her hand. As if attracted by something more compelling, the bugs that surged towards Yan Junze paused briefly, turned their heads back to Aunt Mei, and crawled up her feet.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    Two weird cries sounded one after the other at this moment.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look and saw that the two children, who seemed to be dead moments before, were now slowly lifting their little heads, one on the left and one on the right, their necks twisting unconsciously, emitting meaningless, weird noises from their mouths.


    Their skin was quickly turning pale, older-looking, shriveled, and wrinkled. Their eyelids became thicker, covering most of their pupils, enabling them to perfectly shield from the majority of sensitive gazes.


    Their limbs grew longer, their bellies began to bulge, and a dirty layer of slime seeped out from the surface of their bodies, looking greasy.


    This was a kind of yellowish slime, just like the special medication Alabell had been consuming just moments before.


    This scene, witnessed by Yan Junze, prompted him to murmur to himself, ¡°The two strange babies are truly back!¡±

 Chapter 690 - 690 415 New Atlas Function

    ?Chapter 690: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function Chapter 690: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function The two children at this moment finally overlapped with the image of the two strange babies Yan Junze had in his memory.


    According to his previous conjecture, these two really had to die once to unlock their strangeness form.


    But after this transformative phase, their specialty would also disappear, and they would no longer be the special strangenesses the Half Moon Association needed.


    That is to say, if Alabell upstairs was killed now, her strangeness specialty would similarly vanish, turning into a true complete Strange Body.


    This too would no longer meet the requirements of the Half Moon Association.


    The two strange babies, having fully transformed into their strangeness form, tilted their heads and got up on all fours. The Black Bugs that were originally undigested in their stomachs had been completely dissolved in the moment they became strange babies.


    Even now their stomachs were beginning to growl, especially after seeing the Black Bugs crawling all over Aunt Mei.


    Their eyes were best suited for seeing in the dark, and they flickered away from Yan Junze¡¯s flashlight beam, clearly unaccustomed to the light.


    Yan Junze immediately turned to Aunt Mei and said, ¡°Aunt Mei, lie down quickly, they can eat these leech-like strangenesses. In fact, they have been very hungry since they were born.¡±


    Aunt Mei, her face absent of that signature kind yet slightly horrifying smile, calmly glanced at the two strange babies, then took her eyes off them and looked at Yan Junze, seemingly pondering whether to believe his words.


    After getting up, the two strange babies wanted to feed, but what they feared even more was Aunt Mei herself.


    From Aunt Mei, they felt an enormous oppressive strangeness presence. Although they really wanted to eat those Black Bugs, this pressure was always there.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, please trust me! The existence of these two strange babies complements you,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°One of their food sources are the Black Bugs themselves. There are some things in this world that are insurmountable for you, but to other strangenesses, they might be just what they need, you can complement each other.¡±


    Aunt Mei mechanically turned her head and looked at the two cowering strange babies again.


    After about a minute of silence, she slowly lay down on the ground. She didn¡¯t speak, didn¡¯t communicate through the unique vibrations of her mind, and simply lay there stiffly.


    Yan Junze pointed at the two strange babies and said, ¡°You two, quickly clean off the Black Bugs on Aunt Mei, don¡¯t leave a single one. Maybe in the future, Aunt Mei, remembering your kindness, will take care of you.¡±


    That last sentence was completely improvised by him. If he hadn¡¯t said it, perhaps Aunt Mei wouldn¡¯t want them following her around all the time.


    After all, this was only the first cooperation between the two sides¡¯ strangenesses; he had a duty to ensure their cooperation was long-lasting, close, and even intimate.


    The two strange babies showed surprise, then excitement. But they were still somewhat fearful as they cautiously approached the motionless Aunt Mei.


    The Black Bugs on Aunt Mei¡¯s body continued to roam recklessly, occasionally burrowing out from her tattered clothes and into holes bitten open in her skin.


    One of the strange babies got a little closer, stretched out its slender fingers, and with a swift and precise motion, grabbed a Black Bug that had fallen next to Aunt Mei and stuffed it into its mouth.


    With a crunch, the Black Bug was instantly crushed and swallowed after a few bites, as if snacking on fried beans.


    Now it seemed that their digestive ability completely had no problem devouring the Black Bugs.


    Seeing this, the other strange baby also crawled forward, grabbed at least three Black Bugs directly from the sleeve of Aunt Mei¡¯s arm, stuffed them into its mouth, chewed quickly, and showed a face full of satisfaction.


    Aunt Mei lay as if she had died again, her head not even turning as she lay there.


    Seeing that she had no intention of harming them, the two strange babies grew bolder, began grabbing Black Bugs to eat along Aunt Mei¡¯s arms and legs.


    Fearing that the light from his flashlight would affect their appetite, Yan Junze turned off the flashlight and stood by waiting.


    The sounds of crunching resonated in his ears nonstop, very dense, showing the pair¡¯s eating speed was astonishing and only getting faster.


    In the darkness, Yan Junze could faintly see one of the strange babies had climbed onto Aunt Mei, picking up more Black Bugs from her swollen body and stuffing them into its mouth.


    Some of the Black Bugs initially tried to crawl onto the strange baby, but they soon realized it was futile; those that got onto the strange baby couldn¡¯t penetrate its skin, and instead were grabbed and stuffed into his mouth.


    The Black Bugs began to hide all over, but due to the attraction of Aunt Mei¡¯s body, even as they tried to escape, they remained within and around her body, never leaving.


    Both strange babies climbed onto Aunt Mei¡¯s stomach, eating swiftly.


    But soon, the number of Black Bugs on the surface of the body grew fewer and fewer, and one of the strange babies had already reached Aunt Mei¡¯s neck.


    Just then, Aunt Mei¡¯s head gently twisted, surprising the strange baby, which instinctively wanted to leap away. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Aunt Mei¡¯s head detached from her body, bringing up a Blood Thread, tugging between her neck and body, and stood suspended in mid-air, looking at everything.


    As her head detached from her body, a swarm of Black Bugs poured out of the severed neck.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    Seeing this scene, the two strange babies were like winners of a major jackpot, excited beyond control, pouncing on Aunt Mei¡¯s upper body, grabbing handfuls of Black Bugs and feverishly stuffing them into their mouths.

 Chapter 691 - 691 415 New Atlas Function_2

    ?Chapter 691: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function_2 Chapter 691: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function_2 When they ate happily, the two of them even danced excitedly, hopping on the corpse a few times.


    Yan Junze merely listened to the sounds, imagining everything happening in the dark, as he was not convenient to turn on his flashlight to watch right now.


    After all, he had seen this scene in FH Community before, so it was no longer strange to him.


    Soon the two strange babies split up, one quickly feeding on Aunt Mei¡¯s severed neck from the outside, while the other tried to crawl inside through the neck opening to extract more Black Bugs, driving even more hidden in the body to come out.


    As the strange baby completely crawled into Aunt Mei¡¯s body, a large number of Black Bugs crazily surged out.


    The one on the outside ate in a frenzy, making noise ah ah, appearing extremely excited.


    The one inside could not make even the slightest sound, obviously its mouth stuffed full.


    Only at this moment did Aunt Mei dare to confirm that what Yan Junze had said was true, these two creatures were indeed the natural enemies of the Black Bugs.


    Her face, suspended in mid-air, watched this scene intently, and slowly, the corners of her mouth curved upwards, revealing the smile Yan Junze was most familiar with in his entire life.


    About half an hour later, the two strange babies began to slow down their eating pace. Scattered Black Bugs were still crawling, but it took a long time to spot one, and as soon as they were discovered, they were still swiftly picked up by the strange babies and chewed in their mouths.


    The strange baby that had entered the stomach finally crawled out through the neck opening with difficulty, patted its slightly protruding belly, looking not as shriveled, and sat beside burping contently.


    The one that had been eating on top of Aunt Mei definitely hadn¡¯t eaten as much as its sibling that had gone inside, and was mainly catching the scattered Black Bugs to eat now.


    The one burping looked quite full and just sat there, dazed, watching its brother perform alone.


    Yan Junze, hearing the chewing sounds weaken, turned on his flashlight, but the light didn¡¯t aim at the corpse and was directed to the side, watching this scene with the indirect light.


    A moment later, not a single Black Bug could be seen on the body, and the one outside had also nearly finished eating, starting to burp as well.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head floated down hazily, and under the pull of the Blood Thread, it reattached to her neck, turned slightly, and she sat up.


    From that moment, Yan Junze noticed the kind smile on her face, a smile that seemed frozen in time, watching the two strange babies, then turning her head to look at Yan Junze.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, if you don¡¯t mind, let them follow you from now on,¡± Yan Junze seized the opportunity to say.


    The two strange babies looked up at Yan Junze, then hurriedly turned to Aunt Mei, appearing nervous as if a child who had never been wanted now suddenly had the hope of adoption appear.


    In their minds, the memory of Alabell from when they were born had already faded, unless they saw her again now to see if they could remember their true mother.


    But who cares now?


    Following Aunt Mei meant good food, and for the simple-minded strange babies, this was the biggest attraction.


    Aunt Mei slowly lifted her slender arm, opened her fingers, and reached out to touch one of the strange babies.


    The strange baby quickly bowed its head, motionless, trembling slightly with fear, until Aunt Mei¡¯s fingers touched its head, then it shivered lightly, stabilizing itself, letting Aunt Mei stroke its head.


    The other strange baby, seeing this, stepped forward and stood beside its brother.


    Aunt Mei also extended her other hand to touch his cheek.


    This one immediately closed its eyes and rubbed its small head against Aunt Mei¡¯s hand, seemingly trying to ingratiate itself with her.


    Alright, no need to worry on my own, both sides had already reached a very tacit understanding.


    Yan Junze felt relieved.


    Aunt Mei looked at him, her face smiling.


    A familiar mental vibration arose, and Aunt Mei¡¯s voice appeared directly in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    A message popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [She¡¯s called Aunt Mei, scared witless (low), completed, gained 2100 Different Dimension Energy points]


    Yan Junze exhaled softly.


    Frankly, although this mission was the highest level he had encountered so far, belonging to the ¡°scared witless¡± level he encountered for the first time, it was not too difficult for Yan Junze.


    Because he had experienced all this before and knew everyone involved in the mission.


    He and Aunt Mei were old acquaintances, and he knew the use of the two strange babies, as well as how to eliminate the Black Bugs, relieving Aunt Mei of her pain.


    All of this seemed tailor-made for himself, which was why Yan Junze could complete it easily, and it even felt more straightforward than some lower-level missions.


    Of course, even though the task was easy to complete, the Black Bugs were still quite formidable and had bitten him.


    Now he was injured, most severely in the right ankle. Since jumping down from the third floor to now, the sprained area had swollen, nearly unable to walk. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But then, the second Spacetime Atlas hint popped up.


    This message was good news for Yan Junze.


    [Successfully activated ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡±]


    Subsequently, Yan Junze saw the 148th spacetime node that had been opened in the Spacetime Atlas light up, and on that node appeared four characters¡ªSpace-Time Lockdown.

 Chapter 692 - 692 415 New Atlas Function_3

    ?Chapter 692: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function_3 Chapter 692: Chapter 415: New Atlas Function_3 Another line of text quickly appeared.


    [Space-Time Lockdown: The host can lock a segment of space-time they¡¯re experiencing, with the duration of the lockdown depending on the Different Dimension Energy consumed¡ªthe greater the consumption, the longer the lockdown. Once space-time is locked, all people and strangeness within that time segment temporarily cannot leave. The host itself is not restricted by the Space-Time Lockdown.]


    [Friendly Reminder: Space-Time Lockdown can be used in conjunction with the next function for optimal effect.]


    Upon seeing the last line of text, Yan Junze was momentarily startled, thankful that it was a ¡°friendly reminder¡± rather than a ¡°serious warning¡±.


    Otherwise, like the previous appearance of [Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion], a serious warning about needing to use it in conjunction with the next function, which is [Butterfly Effect Stabilization], or face dire consequences, had prevented Yan Junze from using the Great Rewind at all.


    The current [Space-Time Lockdown] seemed to be usable on its own, but the effect would be better when used in combination with the next function.


    Now, 148 node points had been illuminated, and Yan Junze carefully studied the Atlas, noticing at the location of the 155th node the appearance of very small, blurred text, which must be the next function that could be paired with [Space-Time Lockdown].


    It was at that moment that another prompt appeared.


    [Because the current host is undergoing ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡±, after the next fixed point insertion is made, the ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± function can be fully unlocked and used.]


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, which meant that although [Space-Time Lockdown] was now activated, it could not be used in the current space-time. He would need to retreat to the Space-Time Rift for a respite, and only after the next fixed point insertion could it be utilized.


    Regardless, having more functions available was always a good thing, ensuring that he wouldn¡¯t be constantly on the defensive.


    He was eagerly anticipating the combination of [Space-Time Lockdown] with the next function. And this pairing should come soon, as there were only 7 nodes apart, and sometimes even completing one high-level task would fill those 7 nodes.


    The task [She¡¯s Called Aunt Mei] had already been resolved, drawing a perfect circle around his acquaintance with Aunt Mei.


    The two strange babies had left the category of special strangeness and would no longer be the targets of the Half Moon Association¡¯s pursuit, but Alabell was about to be chosen again by the Half Moon Association as the sacrificial offering for the altar¡¯s activation.


    ¡°Resolve the situation with Alabell now?¡± The thought flashed through Yan Junze¡¯s mind, ¡°Even if I can¡¯t conduct an exorcism in a peaceful manner, I can still join forces with Aunt Mei to kill her.¡±


    Having now greatly assisted Aunt Mei, she might help him, and together they could eliminate Alabell.


    Of course, that was provided the two strange babies didn¡¯t witness it, lest their memories be swiftly reawakened.


    Upon further consideration, this idea seemed difficult to execute.


    Firstly, his own mobility was already limited, and with the Reaper Morrison outside, if Aunt Mei were to go upstairs alone to kill Alabell, an encounter with Morrison would mean certain death!


    If Aunt Mei were to be eliminated, the subsequent history would be altered, a loss that would outweigh the gains¡ªtoo great a price to pay.


    To take matters into his own hands and kill Alabell also seemed unrealistic; with his foot being an issue, he¡¯d likely be discovered by Morrison before even reaching the third floor.


    After some thought, Yan Junze decided to abandon the idea of dealing with Alabell.


    To have come this far and formed a good relationship with Aunt Mei was already the greatest gain.


    Moreover, this room seemed to shield against Morrison¡¯s domain field probes and might equally block those blue, eerie threads from freezing space.


    Yan Junze prepared to initiate a return to the Space-Time Rift command from here to see if it could be completed.


    He made up his mind, deliberating for a while, and then decided to be completely honest with Aunt Mei, regardless of whether she would understand.


    However, Yan Junze knew very well that in the end, Aunt Mei chose to believe him; otherwise, she would not have appeared in the FH Community of Tianmeng District in the Great Capital of Shuntian City.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, whether you believe it or not, I must tell you the truth. What you¡¯re seeing is just another me; the real me is currently in the FH Community of Tianmeng District in Shuntian City. I need you desperately now. Please, in light of the help I have given you, eliminating the greatest pain of your life, take the two children to FH Community. We will meet there,¡± Yan Junze said.


    After speaking, seeing Aunt Mei simply looking at him with a kindly smile, Yan Junze continued, ¡°There¡¯s an extremely powerful Exorcist outside now; you¡¯re no match for him. Soon, I might disappear, and if I leave, you must wait a while longer, perhaps a month, or even a year. Only venture out once you no longer feel strong magnetic field fluctuations outside.¡±


    Aunt Mei still did not speak. After waiting for a while, she suddenly nodded her head.


    Yan Junze looked at the two strange babies and said, ¡°You two little guys, you must listen to Aunt Mei and not run around everywhere.¡±


    However, he was well aware that these two strange infants, having died shortly after birth, would not retain deep memories. Even though they recognized him now, they were bound to forget over time.


    ¡°Aunt Mei, please remember what I just told you,¡± he urged. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze smiled at the three strange beings.


    Aunt Mei nodded again, watching Yan Junze with a smile, holding a strange baby in each hand.


    ¡°Return to the Space-Time Rift.¡±


    Yan Junze attempted to initiate the Rewind command once more.


    This time, indeed, no blue threads appeared, and as his vision blurred and then cleared, he found himself standing in a familiar expanse of the Void.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±

 Chapter 693 - 693 416 Approaching the Presence of God

    ?Chapter 693: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God Chapter 693: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God Standing in the void of the space-time rift, Yan Junze took a heavy breath.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to have encountered Aunt Mei in front of his own FH Community, and even more surprisingly, it was in the Great Capital of USA!


    Not only that, Aunt Mei¡¯s acquaintance with the two strange babies had also been influenced by himself, no wonder the Aunt Mei in the community was always so nice to him, always smiling amicably, a picture of harmlessness.


    Now, he wasn¡¯t worried about Aunt Mei and the two strange babies being unable to leave the island. As long as Morrison couldn¡¯t find him, he could only take away Alabell, the special strangeness.


    Without Morrison threatening outside, Aunt Mei could easily take the strange babies to Great Capital Huaying.


    He look a look at the Spacetime Atlas, where the amount of Different Dimension Energy was not significant at the moment.


    After completing Aunt Mei¡¯s task, he now had a total of 9,300 energy points left, but Aunt Mei¡¯s task was a new one. Completing it would add to the maximum energy of the Atlas and then replenish the current energy level, not fill it up directly.


    Just then, the message ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± popped up before his eyes.


    [The current ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± has generated 7 butterfly effects. The first butterfly effect requires an estimated 400 energy points to handle, with 382 ripple events arising from it. The second butterfly effect requires an estimated 700 energy points to handle, with 509 ripple events arising from it. The third butterfly effect requires an estimated 1,100 energy points to handle, with 867 ripple events arising from it¡­]


    Yan Junze scrutinized the information carefully; to repair all 7 butterfly effects, it would consume more than 5,000 energy points.


    However, this time¡¯s ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± was like the previous Corpse Bride task in that he couldn¡¯t carelessly correct events that he actually wanted to change.


    But checking and correcting each event one by one was clearly cumbersome. And some events that he intended to change didn¡¯t need to be corrected at all.


    The messages continued to pop up.


    [You may choose to handle these 7 butterfly effects personally or let ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± complete them automatically. During the automatic process, the host can choose to observe from a third-person perspective. Shall we start now?]


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Can I specify the events that do not need stabilization for the Atlas to automatically handle the ones that need to be stabilized?¡±


    [Please provide specific descriptions.]


    Yan Junze had asked just to test the waters, as fixing them all himself every time would be very troublesome. He hadn¡¯t expected it was actually possible to do so.


    He organized his thoughts and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to correct the event where Morrison from the Half Moon Association was emotionally injured due to plan alterations, nor do I need to correct the events related to Aunt Mei and the two strange babies coming into contact with me.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a bit; during his task involving Alabell, it seemed that these two were the main ones. Other butterfly effects and ripple events likely had only a small-scale impact and would not affect the foundation.


    He paused, then added, ¡°For other butterfly effect events, if they have a significant impact on the future, they can be fixed, but if they only have a minor local impact, they need not be corrected.¡±


    His reason for doing this was simple: these 7 ripple events, if all had to be fixed individually, would undoubtedly consume a lot of energy.


    But on the whole, this Great Rewind he initiated hadn¡¯t fully achieved its purpose. It had eliminated the Corpse Bride, but Alabell got away.


    Even if the Half Moon Association¡¯s altar couldn¡¯t be activated temporarily due to the lack of the Corpse Bride, it might not be long before a new replacement was found.


    In such a case, the effects of the Great Rewind would actually be minimal. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, Yan Junze¡¯s plan was to save as much energy as possible, correct only the necessary ripple events, and not expend too much, saving it for a third Great Rewind.


    That is, to enter the apartment with the ¡°strangeness nearing godly existence¡± and deal with young Jacob in a more laissez-faire manner.


    Of course, as it seemed that even Morrison had no way to deal with Jacob at the moment, Yan Junze was not assuming he must complete this task.


    If it came to it, he could simply return.


    This time, he intended to time his arrival before he had completed the Corpse Bride task, preemptively embarking on the mission with the ¡°strangeness nearing godly existence,¡± thereby perfectly evading Morrison¡¯s ambush.


    At that time, Morrison wouldn¡¯t recognize Yan Junze, let alone detect his presence, so there would be no ambush plan as there was on Ruisen Island.


    This way, Yan Junze could focus on dealing with Jacob.


    Still, this couldn¡¯t guarantee the completion of the task. So before this, Yan Junze would not choose to appear inside the apartment. He needed to accumulate more energy first, consider eliminating some higher-level strangenesses in the vicinity of Jacob¡¯s city to collect energy, and then carry out the plan.


    And before that, he had to think about finding a clinic nearby to treat his twisted ankle.


    He lifted his clothes and looked at the seven or eight wounds bitten by the Black Bugs, some areas soaked with blood. These wounds too needed urgent treatment.


    Therefore, Yan Junze¡¯s plan was to first arrive on the street near Jacob¡¯s apartment, heal his injuries, then collect energy from a few high-level strangenesses, and, before the destruction of the Corpse Bride, use the newly acquired Atlas feature ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± to stand a better chance of calmly dealing with Jacob.

 Chapter 694 - 694 416 Approaching the Presence of God_2

    ?Chapter 694: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God_2 Chapter 694: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God_2 The premise was the absence of Morrison¡¯s interference and assassination.


    The Half Moon Association¡¯s records mentioned that Jacob, this strangeness, was immune to all exorcism and physical attacks, which meant that he couldn¡¯t be eliminated by conventional methods.


    This was exactly what Yan Junze excelled at, for he never considered killing the strangeness, but rather sought to find its weakness and resolve it with the correct method. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had thought everything through: no interference from Morrison, no shortage of energy, no spatial stasis preventing his escape, no oversight whatsoever.


    But if Jacob were to be eliminated, the records of the Half Moon Association indicated that this particular strangeness was currently irreplaceable, so its elimination would definitely deliver a fatal blow to the Half Moon Association.


    Initially, after planning to remove the Corpse Bride and Alabell, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t wanted to touch Jacob, but now that Alabell hadn¡¯t been eliminated and was under Morrison¡¯s tight protection, there was no opportunity to make a move.


    Therefore, Yan Junze had to attempt dealing with Jacob.


    If he chose not to complete Jacob¡¯s task now and returned directly to his original spacetime, that would also be possible, but the Possession Spirit summoned after the altar¡¯s activation was simply too powerful.


    Whatever dangers befell the Great Capital in the USA were none of his business and he didn¡¯t care to get involved, but the Great Capital in Huaying, the entire Tianmeng District, and Shuntian City couldn¡¯t withstand such extensive disasters.


    The last time Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s adoptive father, Zhang Chengjing, mentioned that when the strongest exorcist team from the Great Capital in the USA set out to eliminate that Possession Spirit, even the Reapers accompanying them had lost one of their own.


    Yan Junze now had reason to suspect that this Reaper might very well have been Morrison.


    Because it now seemed that the Reaper who was most closely involved with the altar during its activation was this guy.


    Yan Junze had no concept of Reapers before, but after several encounters with Morrison, he truly understood how powerful Reapers were and the terror that the summoned Possession Spirit represented.


    That Possession Spirit might not have been an Ethereal Spirit at all, but an even more fearsome strangeness.


    Whoever unleased such a thing, it was a disaster for the entire world, one that must be stopped.


    This time around, the Great Rewind was intricately connected, and Yan Junze was already very familiar with it. There was no need for him to exit this Space-Time Rift and bring himself more trouble, only to do it all over again.


    The first reason for not doing so was that Space-Time Rifts are hard to find, the second was that if he returned now, there might be peace for a while, but in this timeline, maybe some other mess might crop up on the Half Moon Association¡¯s end.


    If another Great Rewind happens then, it might take much more effort to fix incidents that need not have occurred at all.


    By any calculation, the loss outweighed the gain. Therefore, it was best to deal with the special strangeness once and for all this time, on the basis of thorough estimation and preparation.


    Including Jacob, this ¡°being close to God.¡±


    After Yan Junze finished speaking, the Atlas began to perform the Butterfly Effect Stabilization on its own according to his request.


    In front of him, numerous scattered images appeared, constantly sweeping past, being replaced and deleted, or superimposed upon each other¡­


    Yan Junze watched for a moment, and then text popped up before his eyes.


    Only two ripple events caused by the Butterfly Effect had to be repaired, consuming exactly 1000 energy points, leaving him with 8300.


    As per Yan Junze¡¯s request, the ripple events that needed fixing had all been addressed.


    He then checked his wounds, and in that Void, time was in a state of stillness.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s injuries were also static, where the places bitten by the Black Bugs were still oozing blood halfway.


    Once he left, he would need immediate medical attention.


    At that moment, he said, ¡°I want to describe the next positioning location myself, and have the Atlas perform the Space-Time Positioning based on my description.¡±


    [Please provide a detailed description.]


    A line of text popped up before his eyes.


    ¡°I want to position myself at least two blocks away from a building known as ¡®Ghost Apartment¡¯ in the Great Capital of the USA, at a location near a clinic. The timing should be three weeks before the previous time I completed the Corpse Bride task.¡±


    Not long after his words fell, the Atlas, having received the information, began to display prompts.


    [Positioning in progress, please wait¡­]


    [Analysis underway¡­]


    [Analysis complete, positioning in progress¡­]


    [Positioning successful, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 8100 Different Dimension Energy points, proceed now?]


    Originally, when positioning the Corpse Bride, the energy points consumed had already been 8000. This time, positioning before the timeframe of the Corpse Bride task, although not much earlier, Yan Junze estimated that the additional energy required wouldn¡¯t be too excessive.


    Now it seemed it was just an extra 100 points, which was tolerable, but upon arriving at the Great Capital in the USA, he¡¯d be left with only 200 energy points.


    This was the least amount of energy he¡¯d had on him in some time.


    But precisely for this reason, Yan Junze considered undertaking some high-level tasks nearby first, accumulating more energy before addressing Jacob¡¯s task.


    This was pretty much what he had expected. He nodded and said, ¡°Enter now.¡±


    His feet left the ground, his vision blurred, and his entire being once again disappeared from the Void.


    When his feet touched the ground again, Yan Junze¡¯s vision gradually cleared from fuzzy to sharp. He looked around and realized he was standing on a street in the Great Capital in the USA.

 Chapter 695 - 695 416 Approaching the Presence of God_3

    ?Chapter 695: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God_3 Chapter 695: Chapter 416 Approaching the Presence of God_3 The sky drizzled with light rain at this moment, leaving the entire street slick and wet, with few pedestrians walking hurriedly, their heads lowered and umbrellas in hand.


    Pain radiated from his abdomen and arms, injuries caused by the Black Bugs were still persisting.


    Yan Junze remembered he had requested to manifest near a clinic, something the Atlas should have pinpointed for him.


    He lifted his head, his eyes nearly forced shut by the falling rain, and looked towards the billboards along the street.


    Soon, a sign with white background and red letters caught his attention¡ª it was the kind that glowed with neon at night, positioned above a shop not far from him.


    ¡°Charlie¡¯s Clinic,¡± Yan Junze glanced at the words on the doorplate.


    It reminded him of a whimsical movie called ¡°Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.¡±


    The pain on his arm grew more intense, causing Yan Junze to suspect that he might be exhibiting symptoms of some infection from the Black Bugs¡¯ bite.


    Limping towards the clinic, his right ankle was severely swollen, making it almost necessary to walk on his left foot, unable to apply pressure on the right.


    The rain seemed to be getting heavier.


    Yan Junze limped to the entrance of Charlie¡¯s Clinic, shook the rainwater from his wet hair, patted off the droplets on his clothes, and then hopped inside.


    Possibly due to the weather, there were no other patients in the clinic at the time, and a plump receptionist at the front desk lifted her head, glanced at Yan Junze, and asked, ¡°Sir, do you have an appointment?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°I need to see a doctor immediately for some injuries.¡±


    The receptionist stood up, glanced at his foot, ¡°Doctor Charlie happens to be on duty today. It¡¯s his lunch break now and there are no patients, please register first.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She then handed him a registration form.


    Yan Junze took a pen, leaned on the reception desk, and quickly completed the form.


    The identity he used was prepared by Zhang Xiaomo for him, because before the Great Rewind, he had requested an identity that could permit him to live in the Great Capital of USA¡ªsuch information was reportedly regularly distributed from Huaying District by the Tianmeng Squad.


    Identity information for travel to Olay, USA, and Japan was updated every three days. Applications could be made directly, and once confirmed by Huaying District, it could be used.


    Even the identity card he carried couldn¡¯t be distinguished by the official system of the Great Capital of USA, complete with a social security number, although the account had zero balance.


    Seeing that he left the amount blank in the social security number section and only filled in the number, the receptionist asked, ¡°Sir, don¡¯t you need to use your social security fund for this visit?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s out of money,¡± Yan Junze shrugged.


    The social security system in the Great Capital of USA was also not very robust, requiring funds to be in the account before it could be used, and citizens with zero balance were not uncommon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay cash,¡± Yan Junze said, taking out a few prepared Dollars from his backpack to preclude the plump woman¡¯s suspicion that he might be trying to freeload.


    The receptionist nodded, picked up the phone and said a few words, then hung up and directed him, ¡°Doctor Charlie is now in the treatment room waiting for you, turn right from here, go straight and then turn left at the end of the corridor into the first room.¡±


    After speaking, she handed a copy of the registration form to Yan Junze.


    With the copy in hand, Yan Junze made his way into the treatment room.


    Doctor Charlie looked to be in his sixties, with a head full of silver hair and a somewhat refined demeanor, wearing a white lab coat as he stood in the treatment room, seemingly having just arrived from his office after receiving a call.


    Taking the copy from Yan Junze¡¯s hand, he looked it over and greeted, ¡°Hello¡­ Mr. Steven.¡±


    Gill Steven, Yan Junze¡¯s full name in the Great Capital of USA, was one of three backup names Zhang Xiaomo casually picked for him initially.


    Receiving this identity card, Yan Junze could feel the mischievous woman¡¯s malice.


    He was now relieved that the elderly doctor didn¡¯t call his full name.


    ¡°Do you feel any discomfort?¡± Doctor Charlie asked him to sit on a treatment bed covered with a blue sheet and inquired.


    Yan Junze pointed to his ankle.


    ¡°Twisted foot,¡± Doctor Charlie nodded.


    Yan Junze then took off his jacket and lifted his shirt to reveal his stomach and arms, which bore wounds from the Black Bugs, still oozing blood.


    Doctor Charlie startled, his expression shocked, he blurted out, ¡°Is this¡­ have you encountered Mr. Swaphead Corante?¡±

 Chapter 696 - 696 417 Perception of Nearby Strangenesses

    ?Chapter 696: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses Chapter 696: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses The exorcist organizations in the Great Capital of the USA, other than the largest Half Moon Association, also include some smaller groups, which are not much to speak of.


    Moreover, if a small exorcist organization grew to a certain size, it would immediately catch the attention of the Half Moon Association, and then be forcibly incorporated.


    Therefore, some small exorcist organizations that did not wish to join the Half Moon Association simply controlled their growth, restricting their number of exorcists to 10 or fewer, and their exorcism activities to a certain urban area.


    In this way, they could minimize the attention from the Half Moon Association as much as possible.


    Because the Half Moon Association controlled many exorcists and its members were scattered, these exorcists of varying ranks would be busy with their own lives and would only come together when there was action to be taken.


    If they encountered or heard of strange events, they would immediately report to the organization and carry out exorcisms in their respective areas.


    Of course, high-ranking exorcists received many privileges within the association.


    The city where the Ghost Apartment was located was called Saint Gala City, situated in Mengen Fort State, which was the largest in the Great Capital of the USA.


    This state also had many members of the Half Moon Association, especially here in Saint Gala City with a Ghost Apartment in existence, which was closely monitored by the Half Moon Association.


    Of course, there were also some other very small exorcist organizations here.


    Mr. Swaphead Corante was a horrifying presence that had been the talk of the Northern District of Saint Gala City recently.


    Doctor Charlie had heard about it too, and even as a doctor, he was aware of certain specific details, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have associated the injuries on Yan Junze¡¯s body with Mr. Swaphead Corante.


    When Yan Junze heard him suddenly blurt out ¡°Mr. Swaphead Corante,¡± he was taken aback, then shook his head,¡±No, I got bitten by some unknown Black Bugs in the woods outside the city, it has nothing to do with any Mr. Swaphead.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    Doctor Charlie nodded, asking Yan Junze to roll up the clothing covering his wound and first used a hemostatic cloth to stop the bleeding.


    In truth, the little wound had already stopped bleeding.


    Then Doctor Charlie prepared some 75% alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and carefully cleaned the surface of the wound from the Black Bug bite with the alcohol. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During this time, he scrutinized the wound seriously to see if any severed insect heads were left inside and finally rinsed the inside of the wound with hydrogen peroxide.


    Because the sizes of the wounds varied, only the wounds on the stomach and the arm were bandaged with iodine-covered gauze, while the smaller wounds were merely disinfected.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity to ask Doctor Charlie what this Mr. Swaphead Corante he mentioned earlier was all about.


    Doctor Charlie did not conceal the truth.


    It was said that every night after midnight, a man in a tailcoat, leaning on a cane, wearing a tall top hat would appear somewhere in the Northern District of Saint Gala City.


    You should know that even in the Great Capital of the USA, it was rare for anyone to wear that comical kind of top hat these days, unless they were clowns in a circus.


    But according to those who had seen Mr. Swaphead Corante from a distance, Mr. Corante¡¯s attire appeared very comfortable to the eye, without the slightest hint of ridiculousness.


    And if you were alone when you encountered him, then you were in for trouble; the next day, in some corner of a street in the city, there would certainly be a body found without a head.


    Up until now, neither the security bureau nor the exorcist organizations had found the heads of the victims.


    Previously, someone had escaped a catastrophe when an exorcist ambushed Corante during an encounter, and this man, who narrowly survived, claimed Corante¡¯s face was one he had seen before, the same as the man who had last encountered Corante and died as reported in the news.


    Therefore, everyone began calling him Mr. Swaphead, because after he killed someone, he would take that person¡¯s head and put it on his own neck.


    ¡°So, the ambushing exorcist didn¡¯t kill Mr. Corante?¡± Yan Junze carefully lowered the rolled-up clothing over his wounds and then asked.


    At this moment, Doctor Charlie was already spraying anti-inflammatory medicine on his swollen ankle.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s query, he shook his head, wrapped the ankle twice with medicine-soaked cotton and gauze, then used a simple disposable stabilizer to secure the ankle, ensuring it wouldn¡¯t sustain further injury.


    It was then that Doctor Charlie looked up and replied, ¡°These three exorcists lying in ambush were discovered the next day as headless corpses in the news, their heads also missing. Furthermore, those who encountered Mr. Swaphead all had what seemed like insect-bite-like small wounds on their bodies, so I misunderstood your situation earlier.¡±


    Yan Junze exclaimed with surprise, ¡°Does that mean Mr. Swaphead Corante has not been eradicated yet?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Doctor Charlie shook his head, ¡°if you¡¯ve just arrived in Saint Gala City, I would suggest staying in the South District, and if you must stay in the North District, then do not go out after midnight.¡±


    With that, Doctor Charlie waved his hand, ¡°No, even staying indoors might not be safe, as Corante will knock on the doors of those who live alone. It¡¯s not necessarily only encountering him on the street that¡¯s dangerous, this is the safety knowledge the exorcist organizations have been instilling in us residents of the Northern District these past few days.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat excited, rubbing his hands together, a look of moderate fear crossed his face, ¡°I see, I¡¯ll be careful. Thank you, Doctor Charlie, how much do I owe you?¡±

 Chapter 697 - 697 417 Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_2

    ?Chapter 697: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_2 Chapter 697: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_2 Charlie shrugged and said, ¡°There normally would be a nursing fee, but today Nurse Elsa took a day off. Look at me, personally administering your medication and dressing your wound.¡±


    He made a helpless expression, washing his hands while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go check out with you.¡±


    Yan Junze knew just from the way the guy shrugged that the nursing fee wouldn¡¯t be cheaper than when Nurse Elsa took care of him.


    After spending 237 dollars, Yan Junze walked out of Charlie¡¯s clinic, carrying a paper bag with shoes inside while his right ankle was fitted with a plastic medical disinfection boot¡ªan additional purchase.


    Doctor Charlie even tried to sell him a pair of crutches that had just arrived, priced at only 188, but Yan Junze felt those crutches were probably left behind by a previous patient who had recovered, so he refused.


    However, the effect of this one-time, convenient immobilizer was quite good. Not only did it provide support, but it also allowed Yan Junze to walk with some weight on that foot without pain, avoiding a severe limp.


    When he left, the drizzle had stopped. He hailed a taxi, and upon getting in, he asked the driver, ¡°Please recommend a comfortable hotel in the north of the city, thank you.¡±


    The driver nodded, took less than three minutes, during which he even waited for a red light, then pointed to a pale red building on the right after turning the corner and said, ¡°Right here, the Porfi Hotel.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Last time my uncle¡¯s neighbor¡¯s aunt¡¯s daughter¡¯s boyfriend came to Saint Gala City, I recommended this place to him,¡± the driver continued.


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    He began to seriously doubt whether this guy and Zhou Dali were half-brothers, separated for many years.


    After paying the full fare, he slowly got out of the car and into the hotel, booked a single room, and once inside, he just lay down and didn¡¯t feel like getting up again.


    It had been non-stop Rewinds, one Great Rewind after another, leaving him utterly exhausted. He had long wanted to get a good sleep.


    Soon after lying in bed, he fell asleep and slept for five hours, waking to find that it had gotten completely dark outside.


    He called the front desk and ordered a dinner to be delivered to his room.


    Yan Junze planned to stay here for the next couple of days, going nowhere for the time being until his foot healed sufficiently and his energy points recovered a bit, then he would begin to complete his tasks.


    In the meantime, he got online to familiarize himself with the geography of Saint Gala City, as well as any rumors of ¡°strangenesses¡± taking place.


    Later, he would go out directly to harvest these, complete the energy collection as quickly as possible, and then meet with Jacob, who was impervious to knives and guns, impervious to water and fire.


    Before long, a male attendant rang the doorbell, and Yan Junze opened the door.


    The attendant pushed in a small food cart, set up his meal, utensils, and napkins, then prepared to leave.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Could you buy me a few items of clothing, please?¡±


    The male attendant was taken aback but then nodded: ¡°Please wait a moment, sir, I¡¯ll be right back with a tape measure.¡±


    With that, he left with the food cart.


    Yan Junze sat down and took a bite of the steak he had ordered, finding it quite tasty.


    Before he was halfway through, the attendant knocked on the door, which was ajar. After Yan Junze¡¯s response, he entered with a tape measure.


    Yan Junze stood up, and the attendant took his measurements, shoulder width, arm length, waist, and asked, ¡°Would you like a suit, or¡­?¡±


    ¡°No need for suits. Just comfortable clothes in gray and black shades. And,¡± Yan Junze added, ¡°I need to buy underwear and socks, too.¡±


    He took out 1500 dollars from his backpack and handed it to the attendant, ¡°Keep it under 1500.¡±


    The attendant accepted the money, pulled out a stack of receipts from his pocket, wrote one on the spot for Yan Junze, and promised to deliver by the next afternoon at the latest before leaving the room with polite efficiency.


    Yan Junze quickly finished his steak, pressed the service bell, and another attendant came to clear the dish.


    With his foot bandaged and unable to bathe, Yan Junze could only use the computer in the room to look up information about the strangenesses in Saint Gala City.


    After a while, he found that in terms of weird incidents, apart from the Half Moon Association¡¯s jurisdiction, there was also a group of Exorcists called the Ressa Organization.


    The Ressa Organization seemed to be small, mentioned only once in the news, not enough to catch Half Moon Association¡¯s attention.


    Which means the organization hadn¡¯t even reached the point of being absorbed by the Half Moon Association.


    Of course, this could also be intentional to avoid expansion, as not everyone agrees with the ethos of the Half Moon Association.


    Yan Junze was clearly aware that even within the Half Moon Association itself, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman harbored dissenting opinions, the group rife with internal contradictions.


    For an organization with such complex internal structures and loosely managed territories, full unity was an impossibility.


    After browsing the internet for half the day, as it approached midnight, Yan Junze stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the scenery.


    At moments like this, his thoughts would inexplicably drift to Xiang Er standing in front of a window, her gaze flickering rapidly in the night scene outside, as if searching for a view that could offer her soul some peace.


    Yan Junze knew that Xiang Er always lacked a sense of security.


    Not only her, but Ku Zai lacked it too.


    Their lack of security, tied to their past experiences, was not unrelated.

 Chapter 698 - 698 417 Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_3

    ?Chapter 698: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_3 Chapter 698: Chapter 417: Perception of Nearby Strangenesses_3 ¡°`


    After some thought, it seemed, perhaps, I myself also had not¡­


    Yan Junze sighed softly and forced his wandering thoughts back on track.


    Glancing at the time, it was past midnight, and the streets were eerily quiet, with even the occasional passing car a rare sight.


    It appeared that, in this era, whether in the Great Capital of Huaying or the Great Capital of the USA, despite different systems and lifestyles, the behaviors and thoughts of people under such circumstances were uniform.


    Because the building wasn¡¯t very tall, the night view from this angle was far from spectacular.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    After a few seconds, a deluge of information began to feedback, ceaselessly drilling into his mind.


    When it came to task sorting, he had ample experience; he swiftly categorized the collected task information in his mind based on keywords.


    He quickly organized several important strangeness tasks, with the first naturally involving ¡°a being close to God,¡± Jacob.


    [Location confirmed: 101 Hobsonk Street, Ghost Apartment, Saint Gala City.]


    [Task Name: I¡¯m Not Sick;]


    Task Level: Scared Witless (Low);


    Task Background: A lonely strangeness roams the Ghost Apartment, his name, Jacob Johnson, dead at the age of 8. Born into misfortune, he suffered from Morgellons disease, experiencing excruciatingly itchy skin beneath the surface during flare-ups, unbearable pain. This led him to increasingly hate himself, loathe his own being, and he smashed every mirror in his home because he detested seeing how he looked when he was sick, detested the fear of seeing his skin under siege by ¡°white worms¡±;]


    Task Description: Tell Jacob he is not sick, and prove it to him on the spot;]


    Task Reward: 1900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    Task Punishment: Infection with Morgellons disease;]


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Due to prolonged torment from the illness, Jacob has a volatile temper, very aggressive¡ªdon¡¯t provoke him; 3. Inside the Ghost Apartment, Jacob is an Invincible being unless he leaves the apartment;]


    Note: None.]


    Reading this task tip, especially the last point, Yan Junze compared it with the information he had seen in the Half Moon Association and suddenly had an epiphany. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No wonder the records showed Jacob repelled all forms of strangeness attacks; turns out he¡¯s Invincible in the apartment, with even the Reaper Morrison at a loss.


    Now it seems these guys had not found the right method. Instead, Morrison essentially trapped him inside the apartment, inadvertently making Jacob¡¯s invincibility even more certain.


    Wait a minute!


    If Morrison had sealed Jacob inside the apartment, then that meant the method of luring Jacob out and performing a laid-back exorcism was no longer viable, for Jacob couldn¡¯t leave at all.


    Realizing this, Yan Junze gave a wry smile and shifted his focus to the second noticeable task information.


    [Location confirmed: 45 Golden Boulevard, Porfi Hotel 4th floor corridor, Saint Gala City.]


    [Task Name: Mr. Swaphead;]


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);]


    Task Background: Corante was murdered on a rainy day, and to this day, he doesn¡¯t know who the killer was or the motive behind the murder. All he knows is that his head was chopped off and its whereabouts unknown, so Corante has been searching for a suitable head to fit his favorite tall top hat. Perfection is a must; it has to be perfect;]


    Task Description: Can you find his head? If not, maybe he¡¯ll try on yours;]


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    Task Punishment: Beheading;]


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Corante is sometimes a chatterbox; 3. Never underestimate his lethality;]


    Note: When interacting with him, perhaps you too will need a cane or something similar.]


    Yan Junze quickly finished reading the task information and then his gaze moved upward, soon locking on to the task location information bar with a look of shock on his face.


    Almost at the same moment, there was a knock on the door, and a refined and courteous voice arose: ¡°Hello, is anyone there in the room?¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 699 - 699 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words

    ?Chapter 699: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!) Chapter 699: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!) As the founder of the Exorcist Organization of Ressa, Sandi¡¯s initial intention was to contribute his strength to the exorcism cause of Saint Gala City.


    But he despised the philosophy of the Half Moon Association, believing that although they were exorcizing Great Capital USA, their selfish and greedy true intentions could not be hidden.


    Therefore, Sandi kept tight control of the Ressa Organization, which currently only consisted of five like-minded exorcists including himself and thus did not allow others to join, which kept it from reaching the level of concern for the Half Moon Association.


    As for Mr. Swaphead Corante, who recently appeared in the northern district of Saint Gala City and caused a great commotion, Sandi¡¯s organization had already locked onto him.


    Because, for the time being, Corante¡¯s ¡°crime rate¡± as a strangeness was extremely high, appearing almost every night with very few slip-ups.


    The Ressa Organization originally focused on solving other strangenesses, but due to the emergence of Mr. Swaphead Corante, they had had to make adjustments to their priorities, with Sandi currently leading his team to focus on dealing with this gentleman fond of decapitating others.


    As early as yesterday, the Ressa Organization had already pinpointed two locations where Corante was likely to appear.


    The first was the green playground near Ocean Park, where Corante had appeared twice, but each time without finding suitable prey.


    Based on his pattern, Sandi suspected that the fellow was very likely to reappear there.


    The second place prone to Corante¡¯s appearances was Golden Boulevard, for Sandi, being a local with a wide range of information sources, had collected data indicating that Corante had appeared there three times, successfully harvesting two heads, with the third attempt being thwarted by the presence of exorcists from the Half Moon Association.


    However, the three exorcists who were ambushed the next day were found in a garbage alley off Red Wine Street next to Golden Boulevard, having turned into three headless corpses.


    Sandi and Ressa¡¯s men split into two groups, ensuring that both suspicious routes were covered. He and Felton stayed on Golden Boulevard, while three other members of the organization went to the green playground at Ocean Park.


    If one side spotted Mr. Swaphead Corante first, they were to immediately notify the other group to provide support.


    In the evening, Sandi was stationed at the end of Golden Boulevard, patrolling toward the middle of the street, while Felton did the same from the street corner.


    Porfi Hotel was located near the street corner on Golden Boulevard.


    Soon after midnight, Felton, hidden in the shadows of the street, spotted a man in a black tailcoat wearing a conspicuous tall top hat, neatly tailored straight trousers, a pair of shiny pointy leather shoes, and carrying a cane, walking at a normal pace towards the center of the deserted street.


    Felton secreted himself under the eaves of a house across the street, slowly following the man, who was highly suspect of being Mr. Swaphead.


    When he reached the entrance to Porfi Hotel, the top-hatted man walked straight in.


    At that late hour, there was no doorman to greet him, and after the man entered, no one seemed to notice him, or perhaps others simply couldn¡¯t see him. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Felton watched from across the street as the man made a beeline for the elevator, seemingly very familiar with the place.


    He immediately called Sandi to report that a man highly suspect of being Mr. Swaphead Corante had entered Porfi Hotel.


    After hanging up the phone, he crossed the deserted street, stepped up the stairs, and walked into the hotel.


    When he reached the elevator, it was already ascending and soon stopped on the fourth floor.


    Felton quickly pressed a button to call another elevator, stepped inside, and likewise pressed the button for the fourth floor.


    Shortly after, the elevator came to a halt on the fourth floor, opening its doors to reveal the corridor.


    Felton stood still inside the elevator, observing carefully without moving.


    From his position, he couldn¡¯t yet see the tall-hatted man who had come up earlier.


    Just before the elevator doors were about to close, Felton stepped forward, and the sensor detected his movement, causing the doors to open again.


    Felton exited the elevator.


    He stood at the entrance, looking around, but there was no sign of Corante. Then he heard a slow, rhythmic tapping sound, ¡°tap, tap, tap,¡± coming from inside the stairwell not far from the elevator.


    Felton pulled out his metal stick (the magnetic field disruptor) from his pocket. Although it wasn¡¯t as powerful as the metal sticks developed by the Half Moon Association, it was the weapon their exorcists felt most comfortable using.


    Of course, they were also equipped with Strangeness Shielders.


    The door to the stairwell was half-open, but the lights inside were off, making it impossible to see anything at a glance.


    Felton hesitated at the door for a moment, debating whether to enter the stairwell and turn on the sound-activated light.


    At present, the rhythmic tapping was too soft to activate the sound control light. Or perhaps, the light was simply broken.


    Pushing the door slightly open, Felton strained his eyes, trying to locate the source of the sound.


    However, at that moment, a low and soft voice spoke from the darkness near the stairwell door, ¡°Hello, my name is Corante. Are you looking for me?¡±


    As he spoke, a man in a tall top hat leaned forward, revealing half of his upper body from the darkness into the corridor light, with his hat brimmed eyes staring unblinkingly at a pale-faced Felton.

 Chapter 700 - 700 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words

    ?Chapter 700: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 700: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!)_2 Felton started, taking an immediate step back, about to activate the metal staff in his hand, but Corante¡¯s leaning figure had already retracted into the darkness, vanishing at the stairwell entrance.


    Instantly, Felton stepped forward, metal staff aimed at the dark space.


    But at this moment, there was complete silence as if no one had ever been there.


    Felton stomped his foot hard, and finally, the sound-activated light came on, revealing no one in sight.


    He looked around. The entire stairwell was empty. There was no sign of anyone either up or down the stairs.


    However, it was at this moment that a sense of inexplicable panic rose in Felton¡¯s heart. He suddenly looked up at the ceiling to see a high-top hat suspended motionless above his head.


    It seemed that inside the hat was¡­


    Seeing this scene, Felton let out a loud scream, quickly raising his metal staff toward the space above, but sadly, the high-top hat had already descended upon him one step ahead.


    The lights in the stairwell went out instantly, followed by the sound of rotten flesh being squeezed and squirming.


    About twenty seconds later, the familiar tapping sounds resumed, as if a cane were hitting the ground, then came the rhythmic contact of leather shoes on the floor.


    An elegant gentleman walked out of the stairwell, his cane lightly tapping the ground, proceeding unhurriedly down the fourth-floor corridor.


    Under the conspicuous high-top hat, which covered most of his head, his shoulders were already soaked with blood, with streams of blood flowing down from his head along his neck.


    This gentlemanly man soon arrived at the door marked room 409. He stopped, straightened his collar, tugged at his coat tails, picked up his cane, and politely tapped on the door three times with the head of his cane before calling out, ¡°Hello, is anyone in the room?¡±


    Ding!


    The elevator doors opened, and the boss of the Ressa Organization, Sandi, had arrived. After receiving a call from Felton, he had rushed over without stopping from the end of the street, but now, as he arrived on the fourth floor, he was filled with an ominous premonition.


    The moment the elevator doors opened, he didn¡¯t see Felton; instead, he was met with the sight of a man wearing a high-top hat and a tailcoat standing not far down the corridor.


    This man was standing sideways to the elevator door, seemingly just having finished knocking. Hearing the sound from the elevator, he slightly lifted his high-top hat, turned his head, and gave a glance in this direction.


    But that single glance sent a chill down Sandi¡¯s spine.


    He was all too familiar with those eyes, and even more so with that side profile ¡ª it was Felton¡¯s face.


    And now, this familiar face was on the body of Mr. Swaphead, Corante!


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Inside the room, Yan Junze looked toward the door with surprise and asked.


    He was extremely astonished because the task information had just signalled Mr. Swaphead Corante¡¯s coordinates to be on the fourth-floor corridor of the Porfi Hotel.


    And there he was, staying in the very same hotel, specifically in room 409 on the fourth floor.


    Now that there was a knock on the door and the voice of a stranger coming through, especially at this time after midnight, Yan Junze had every reason to suspect that the person knocking was Corante himself.


    The chances were smaller than winning the lottery!


    There he was, staying alone in a hotel on his very first night, and the notorious Mr. Swaphead who had caused panic in the northern district of Saint Gala City had come knocking on his door.


    If Yan Junze wasn¡¯t the concerned party, he might have thought Mr. Swaphead had come specifically to trouble him.


    But since the man had come, he had no reason to refuse and thus he asked the question.


    ¡°My name is Corante, may I come in?¡± the gentleman said softly, speaking in a low but incredibly smooth voice that was hard to resist.


    Yan Junze shrugged, walked towards the door while summoning the Black Spirit Umbrella in hand, holding it as though it were a cane, even tapping it twice on the ground as if using a walking stick. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The task was clear; he might need a cane or something similar.


    Where could he find a cane at such short notice? Thus, he temporarily used the Black Spirit Umbrella as a substitute. After all, with the umbrella in hand, its deadly potential was undiminished.


    Soon Yan Junze opened the door, standing inside, looking at the unfamiliar face beneath the high-top hat.


    The neck of the head that belonged to the face was still bleeding profusely, soaking the upper half of the gentleman¡¯s clothes, but it seemed as if the other party was completely unaware of it.


    Indeed, as per usual, once Corante knocked on a door, even if the person inside didn¡¯t open it, he would politely repeat his request and then enter directly.


    But there were also those who opened the door, just like Yan Junze did.


    Of course, upon opening the door, anyone would be startled unless they truly didn¡¯t know about Corante¡¯s real identity.


    But opening the door to such a horrifying sight was another matter entirely. At the very least, most people would faint on the spot and then lie still as Corante obediently decapitated them.


    Yan Junze too was startled by his appearance, but he quickly regained his composure, stepped back two paces, and said, ¡°Please come in, Mr. Swaphead.¡±


    This time, it was Corante who was taken aback. He was originally glancing towards the elevator when the door opened. While stepping into the room, he commented, ¡°I have a very good first impression of you.¡±


    ¡°So do I,¡± Yan Junze replied politely.


    Outside the room.


    Sandi stood at the elevator, stunned to see the door to the guest room open for Corante, then watched as Corante¡¯s figure disappeared into the room.

 Chapter 701 - 701 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words

    ?Chapter 701: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!)_3 Chapter 701: Chapter 418 Mr. Swaphead Corante (5400 words, asking for monthly passes!)_3 Seeing this, Sandi immediately approached, clutching a metal rod, and leaned on the door that had just closed.


    If need be, he would break through the door to save the people inside, even if it alerted the others nearby or drew the attention of the Half Moon Association.


    The sight of his good friend Felton¡¯s head on Mr. Swaphead¡¯s neck had filled Sandi with both horror and anger, and he had been suppressing a raging fury within him ever since.


    Inside the room.


    Yan Junze walked up to a small bar, propped the umbrella against it, and pointing at the red wine and champagne, asked Corante, ¡°Would you like a drink? By the way, in your current state, can you still drink?¡±


    As he finished speaking, he glanced at Corante¡¯s broken neck.


    Corante was even more pleased with this target, and somewhat surprised. He shook his head, ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t drink at the moment.¡±


    Then Corante raised his cane, pointing at Yan Junze and said, ¡°You are quite unique, but I can¡¯t sense any equipment on you befitting an exorcist, unlike those fools outside.¡±


    ¡°You just¡­ killed an exorcist?¡± Yan Junze put down his glass and seriously looked at Corante¡¯s head.


    ¡°He tried to kill me first.¡± Corante shrugged, displaying an expression of resignation on Felton¡¯s face.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you find your own head?¡± Yan Junze picked up the Black Spirit Umbrella again and approached Corante.


    Corante paused for a moment, shook his head, and said, ¡°No, I simply enjoy collecting your heads. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like it now.¡±


    As he spoke, his gaze briefly lingered on Yan Junze¡¯s head, ¡°Your head might be the most satisfying one among my current targets. It seems intelligent, and is filled with fearlessness and calm.¡±


    Yan Junze stopped about three meters away from Corante in front of a sofa, not intending to engage Corante in a bayonet fight with the Black Spirit Umbrella just yet.


    Leaning in front of the sofa, without sitting down, he smiled and said, ¡°Fearless, because I have the strength to kill you, allowing me to be fearless. Calm, because I know what you truly desire, rather than being blindly terrified upon seeing you, which is why I am calm.¡±


    Hearing these words, Corante was once again taken aback and shook his head, clearly unsure how to proceed.


    Yan Junze patted the umbrella in his hand and continued, ¡°As long as I open this umbrella, you are certain to die, so I have no need to hide this from you. But I am not ready to open it now, because I would like to talk to you about¡­ the matter of your own head.¡±


    Corante seemed to have hit a blind spot in his Obsession, looking confused and shaking his head, his cane pointed at Yan Junze, ¡°Perhaps, I should take your head now instead of engaging in pointless chatter.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you sometimes quite the chatterbox?¡± Yan Junze laughed, ¡°Taking my head is just as useless to you. Come on, I¡¯ll find your own head for you, and then I¡¯ll tell you the cause of your death, which might improve your mood.¡±


    Corante grew more confused.


    Yan Junze spread his hands and said, ¡°Take off your top hat, let me have a look.¡±


    Corante immediately reached to protect the hat atop his head, clearly not willing to just hand it over to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°You were a wealthy businessman from Mengen Fort State in life, but you were not good to your wife, having at least three mistresses on the side. This directly caused your wife¡¯s emotional distress, and behind your back, she found a new love. The two of them conspired to hire a hitman to kill you while you were on a business trip to Saint Gala City, and out of vengeance, they beheaded you.¡±


    Unable to help himself, Corante took off his hat and asked, ¡°What you¡¯re saying¡­ how long ago did it happen?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it was about eighty years ago now,¡± Yan Junze shrugged as he spoke, ¡°Afterward, your body was quietly buried, and then your wife conspired with her lover to seize your assets. However, their misdeeds were exposed, and both were subsequently arrested by the State Security Bureau.¡±


    These were just old news, which could easily be understood with a little effort searching on the internet.


    Of course, Corante wasn¡¯t the name of this wealthy businessman, Yan Junze had simply reverse-searched and speculated based on clues to determine that Corante was involved with this case before his death.


    ¡°Your real name is Kroft Connor, only because when you woke up after the outbreak of strangenesses, your memory was disturbed and fuzzy, and you remembered your name as Corante.¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze spoke calmly and reached out his hand again, ¡°Now, may I take a look at your hat?¡±


    Corante hesitated for a moment, loosening the grip on the brim of his hat slightly, and passed the top hat to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze immediately flipped the hat to look inside, shook his head sympathetically, placed the Black Spirit Umbrella aside, and while reaching into the hat¡¯s cylinder, he said, ¡°To help you, I¡¯m really putting aside any sense of disgust.¡±


    Soon, he pulled out a rotten head from inside and placed it on the ground, then a second, a third, a fourth¡­ until the eleventh.


    Surprisingly, although the top hat had a large interior, it seemed impossible that it could hold so many heads.


    But the fact was that it indeed did contain that many.


    In the end, Yan Junze took out the twelfth head, placed it on the ground, then looked at the top hat to make sure nothing was left, and handed it back to Corante: ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    Corante took it back without expression, not bothering to put it on.


    Pointing to the twelfth head, which was the last one taken out of the top hat, Yan Junze said, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, after you were killed, the murderer chopped off your head and tossed it into your favorite top hat. In fact, your own head, which your subconscious had been searching for so long, was right beside you all along, it was just that you had overlooked it.¡±


    Click!


    Corante stretched out his right hand to lift off Felton¡¯s head and then walked over to his own slightly aged head, cradling it, and slowly placed it on his neck.


    Boom!


    The room door was bust open by Sandi, who could no longer restrain himself from outside, because there had been a slight fluctuation of the strangenesses¡¯ magnetic field when Corante removed Felton¡¯s head, making him think that Corante had made his move.


    But upon seeing the scene inside the room, Sandi was instantly dumbfounded.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Corante lifted his own head, looking warmly at Yan Junze with sincere gratitude, not even glancing at Sandi, who had rushed in and was standing beside with a bewildered face.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I think¡­ your Obsession can now come to an end!¡± Yan Junze nodded slightly.


    A black mist emanated from around Corante¡¯s body, quickly enveloping him until the black mist began to fade, and with it, Corante¡¯s body disappeared without a trace.


    Sandi stared at this scene, dumbfounded, not understanding what was going on. Mr. Swaphead disappeared without cutting off someone else¡¯s head, and it seemed he never had any intention to harm anyone from Huaying in the room.


    Yan Junze was still leaning on the couch, his gaze turned to Sandi, and he spoke, ¡°You must belong to a small Exorcism Organization in Saint Gala City, huh? Got any tricky strangeness cases? Introduce me to one. The credit for the exorcism counts towards you.¡±

 Chapter 702 - 702 419 The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words

    ?Chapter 702: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!) Chapter 702: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!) Actually, completing the task of [Mr. Swaphead] was not much different from what Yan Junze expected.


    First of all, the level of the task was ¡°Terrified (Medium),¡± which meant Corante¡¯s strangeness level would not exceed that of an Ethereal spirit, at most it would be a Semi-Ethereal Spirit.


    But as it seemed from just now, Corante didn¡¯t even reach the level of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, he was probably just a high-level Sculpting Spirit.


    It was just that this guy must have had some special means, such as the use of items like his cane and top hat, which could rapidly increase his attacking power or cause a burst of power in short periods, which is why he was able to kill so many exorcists in succession.


    The method to break this kind of strangeness was actually quite simple. Through the mission information, Yan Junze had already roughly understood Corante¡¯s background, and then by combining it with a search online, he could probably figure out Corante¡¯s true cause of death.


    After such a long time understanding how to resolve the obsessions of strangenesses, Yan Junze was clear that while some spirits¡¯ obsessions seemed very hard to resolve, in fact, oftentimes the answers were right beside them.


    No matter how difficult it seemed, by carefully thinking or searching, one could always find the answers that satisfied the obsessions.


    After understanding the ins and outs of the Headless murder case from years ago online, Yan Junze found a photo of Kroft Connor when he was alive, and sure enough, the man¡¯s dress was very similar to that of the legendary Headless Gentleman Corante.


    With this comparison, things became quite clear.


    Then, Yan Junze pondered where Kroft¡¯s head could possibly be. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He actually had two guesses, one was that after the killer had beheaded Kroft, they took the head back to Kroft¡¯s wife and her lover, but on second thought, there was no need for that.


    If a killer had been hired, there was no reason for Kroft¡¯s wife not to trust that the person would take the money and do the job without having to take such a terrifying ¡°evidence¡± back to prove it to her.


    And the news reports also said that Kroft¡¯s wife confessed she had not seen her husband again since his death, having only seen the photos taken by the killer.


    Therefore, the second guess was that since the killer had beheaded Kroft and taken a photo, they definitely could not just discard the head carelessly, but rather must have found something on the spot to hide the head in.


    With this thought, Yan Junze had a sudden inspiration¡ªcould the killer have stuffed the head directly into that somewhat comical-looking top hat? And indeed, upon closer inspection, that was exactly the case.


    With this, things became a lot easier. The cause of death was clarified, and the head was found on the spot, fulfilling Kroft¡¯s obsession. It seemed very efficient.


    In the eyes of Sandi, a minor boss in the Ressa Organization, it indeed was very efficient.


    So much so that after Yan Junze spoke to him, Sandi still gaped at the young man with a Huaying face, wordlessly staring with wide eyes.


    Yan Junze, feeling his gaze, unconsciously touched his cheek, trying to find out if there was something dirty on his face.


    ¡°Just¡­ Just now, the¡­ Headless¡­ Headless Gentleman¡­¡± Sandi pointed towards the spot where Corante had disappeared, struggling to form a complete sentence, clearly unable to accept what had just taken place.


    Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°My method of exorcism is different from yours. I help the spirits resolve their obsessions, and Mr. Corante¡¯s obsession was to find his own head.¡±


    As he spoke, he looked down, his gaze sweeping across the remaining 12 heads on the ground, ¡°Clearly, just now I found it for him, so he¡¯s satisfied and has departed, never to appear again.¡±


    It took quite a while for Sandi to recover, and then he nodded, finally managing to get his words straightened out, ¡°The Headless Gentleman, he won¡¯t kill again, right?¡±


    ¡°No, he won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then these heads¡­¡± Sandi hesitated.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Please take care of them. After all, I¡¯m an outsider and can¡¯t find a good way to deal with these things.¡±


    At this moment, Sandi¡¯s phone in his pocket rang, and he answered, his voice somewhat low, ¡°You all come up. Felton¡­ he¡¯s dead, his head is in room 409, and his body should be somewhere else in the corridor, search it.¡±


    Yan Junze knew that this exorcist named Felton, who was with Sandi, must have just died not long ago, but there was nothing he could do. He urgently needed energy points at the moment. He didn¡¯t have enough to Rewind yet and couldn¡¯t afford to spend more energy on someone he didn¡¯t know, otherwise, the plan would be indefinitely extended.


    Even if Felton hadn¡¯t run into him, as an exorcist, he should have been well aware that this day would come.


    After hanging up the call, Sandi finally asked Yan Junze, ¡°Sir, when you saw me just now, were you asking where there might be more troublesome strangenesses?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°There are,¡± Sandi also nodded.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°At the Star Theater.¡±


    Star Theater.


    This magnificent building was located in the eastern district of Saint Gala City, adjacent to Saint Gala Cathedral, and occasionally the cathedral¡¯s choir would use the theater¡¯s facilities for rehearsals and performances.


    Ophelia was the lead vocalist in the theater¡¯s choir, which was named the Star Women¡¯s Choir, affiliated with the theater.


    The theater¡¯s choir had recently been honored with an invitation to perform at a state banquet in the Great Capital of the USA, a matter which Bernard, the person in charge of the theater, took very seriously. He arranged for the choir to rehearse all day long, intending to leave a profound impression on the visitors from the Great Capital Presidential Palace during the banquet performance.


    Including Bernard himself, who was present at almost every rehearsal to supervise and give direction, or if he was really unable to come, he would call to inquire about the rehearsal situation from Olivia, the choir¡¯s leader.

 Chapter 703 - 703 419 The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words

    ?Chapter 703: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 703: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!)_2 However, the rehearsals over the past month have been a form of spiritual torment for the choir members.


    This included the lead singer, Ophelia, as all members discovered that sometimes during rehearsals, a highly discordant voice would emerge within the choir.


    Even occasionally, a member would find a strange woman next to them, who seemed to be singing as well, but the song she produced raised goosebumps.


    If during this process, the member who noticed the extra person turned to check, everything would return to normal, with the familiar other members beside them and no anomalies.


    Of course, this situation didn¡¯t occur all the time; perhaps it happened once during the four rehearsals in a week.


    Bernard, the person in charge of the Star Theater, had reported to the Half Moon Association and even informed other small-scale exorcism organizations in Saint Gala City.


    Just like the Exorcist Organization in Great Capital Huaying, the Half Moon Association had to wait in line too. Bernard reportedly spent some money to advance one hundred spots in the queue, but a wait was still required. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the Ressa Organization did go to the Star Theater immediately. They waited there three times and noticed something strange once, but caught nothing.


    Another small-scale Exorcism Organization claimed they couldn¡¯t handle it and simply didn¡¯t show up at the theater at all.


    This was the last rehearsal of the week, and there were only two weeks left before the official performance at the state banquet. All members were under immense pressure, especially with the thought of that eerie presence that might appear in the team at any moment, making it impossible to settle down.


    Ophelia stood in the front row because she was the lead singer. In the middle of the last song, according to the arrangement, she would step out of the team and go to the microphone in front, sing a solo, then merge her voice with the choir behind her, and after reaching the climax, they would bow and exit together.


    This week had been fine so far, with nothing unusual happening, especially since Olivia, the choir leader sitting in the audience, was very satisfied.


    If things continued this way, she believed that the Star Women¡¯s Choir would definitely make a deep impression on the people from the Presidential Palace.


    The program consisted of three songs, named ¡°The Little Girl Under Poca Mountain,¡± ¡°Santa Lucia,¡± and ¡°The Swan in the Spring.¡±


    The first and second songs were purely choral, with just the arrangement separated into high, middle, and low parts, while the last song, ¡°The Swan in the Spring,¡± required spotlighting the lead singer to seamlessly match the choir.


    ¡°Santa Lucia¡± was an a cappella choir piece, relying entirely on the choir¡¯s uniformity and the rise and fall of pitches to move the audience.


    And at that moment, on the stage of the theater, the choir was rehearsing ¡°Santa Lucia.¡±


    The choir leader Olivia sat in the audience, arms crossed over her chest, smiling slightly, her gaze unwaveringly fixed on every performer on stage.


    Just then, Betty, standing in the second row on the right third from the aisle, suddenly heard an extremely discordant voice appear next to her.


    Since the song was sung a cappella, the discordant voice sounded grating, so much so that even Betty¡¯s own voice trembled violently, almost choking in her throat.


    The woman next to Betty paused and turned to look at her.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    Sitting in the audience, choir leader Olivia naturally heard the abnormality loud and clear, but she didn¡¯t seem to have heard the strange voice that Betty had. She just stood up and said, ¡°Betty, what distracted you? Just now, your voice was like a pebble dropped into a clear-flowing stream, disrupting the choir¡¯s beautiful melody.¡±


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t me,¡± Betty hurriedly explained, turning to look beside her, where her usual partner Viral was, with no one else present.


    Olivia was taken aback for a moment, as if recalling something, and asked, ¡°Betty, did a discordant voice appear next to you again just now?¡±


    Betty immediately nodded and turned again to glance in the direction of her partner Viral. This glance, however, frightened the young girl, Viral, turning her pale with panic.


    ¡°Dear Betty, why are you looking at me like that? Don¡¯t scare me!¡± Viral said, trembling with fear.


    Olivia cast an odd look in the direction where Viral stood. She hadn¡¯t noticed anything before, but her instinct told her that it had always been Viral next to Betty, with no one else appearing.


    If a strange figure had suddenly appeared among the choir, Olivia would have noticed it immediately, but she had seen nothing. She couldn¡¯t be sure whether someone had been next to Betty.


    Lead singer Ophelia then spoke up, ¡°Ms. Olivia, perhaps we should end today¡¯s rehearsal here.¡±


    Ophelia paused, then added, ¡°Just now, I heard it too.¡±


    Her position was right in front of Viral, meaning if another person had been standing next to Betty, that person would have been behind Ophelia.


    The goosebumps on Ophelia hadn¡¯t subsided yet; the horrifying voice, which was more of a miserable howl than singing, clenched her heart entirely.


    Olivia¡¯s expression showed conflict. Bernard was insisting too much, placing great importance on the performance. But clearly, it was no longer conducive to continue rehearsing.

 Chapter 704 - 704 419 The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words

    ?Chapter 704: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!)_3 Chapter 704: Chapter 419: The Spirit in the Choir (5600 words, asking for monthly passes!)_3 After a pause, just as Olivia was about to announce the rehearsal to be stopped, a young man¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from not far behind her, ¡°No need to stop. You can continue; leave it to me.¡±


    Olivia turned around to look and saw it was Sandi from the Ressa Exorcism Organization, whom she recognized, standing beside a young man with an unfamiliar Huaying face¡ªthe one who had just spoken was obviously this young man.


    ¡°This is Gill Steve, a very outstanding exorcist,¡± Sandi introduced with a smile to Olivia.


    Neither he nor Olivia noticed that at the mention of this name, Yan Junze rolled his eyes, silently despising Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s bad taste once more.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Steve,¡± Olivia quickly responded, smiling at Yan Junze.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Yan Junze nodded at her, then turned his gaze to the choir on stage.


    ¡°Gill, I¡¯ve already told you the specifics on the way here. We still can¡¯t catch the strangeness hidden among the choir. Please take a look and see how to handle it.¡±


    Having experienced the Headless Gentleman incident, Sandi clearly had great respect for Yan Junze, speaking in a respectful tone tinged with an attempt to curry favor.


    ¡°Please call me Steve, thank you,¡± Yan Junze said expressionlessly.


    ¡°Sure, sure, Mr. Steve¡­¡± Sandi quickly corrected himself.


    Yan Junze turned his head to Olivia with a smile, ¡°May I say a few words to the ladies of the choir?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Olivia nodded and made a welcoming gesture.


    Yan Junze walked up to the platform, Sandi didn¡¯t follow but instead stood with Olivia among the audience.


    ¡°This person¡­ is he from your Ressa Organization?¡± Olivia asked.


    Sandi shook his head with a smile: ¡°No, he¡¯s a high-level exorcist I¡¯ve managed to invite after much effort. For your theatre, Ressa has spent quite a sum. However, the price may go up a bit, but it won¡¯t be too outrageous, that¡¯s the difference between us and the Half Moon Association.¡±


    Olivia nodded: ¡°No problem, I can make the decision, as long as we can get rid of the trouble quickly.¡±


    ¡°Ladies,¡± standing on the stage about two meters behind the lead singer Ophelia, Yan Junze spoke, ¡°The song you are singing right now should be ¡®Santa Lucia¡¯, I¡¯ve heard it before. Now please continue and sing it from beginning to end. Remember, you must finish the song this time, no matter what you hear or see in the middle, do not stop, do not hesitate, just complete this song, alright?¡±


    Everyone stayed silent, just staring at Yan Junze in surprise.


    Yan Junze¡¯s tone became stern, ¡°If anyone is disturbed and interrupts midway, we must start over, until we finish the song completely. Otherwise, that strangeness among you will always follow you. Forever!¡±


    All the ladies of the choir trembled, unable to help but nod hurriedly.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze clapped his hands, ¡°Calm your hearts, focus on how to finish this song, and don¡¯t mind other strange sounds. Just sing it through.¡±


    After speaking, he turned his head and signaled to Olivia with his eyes.


    Olivia nodded, had everyone take their positions, and took on the role of the conductor as if it were an actual performance.


    About five minutes later, ¡®Santa Lucia¡¯ officially began.


    Yan Junze had already returned to the audience to stand with Sandi.


    Sandi, anxious, asked, ¡°Mr. Steve, are you certain we should do nothing when the strangeness appears?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just do as I said,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    He then made a shushing gesture and pointed towards the stage.


    At this moment, one girl¡¯s voice became noticeably off, as if she had been frightened out of tune by something.


    ¡°Start over!¡± Yan Junze called out loudly.


    Everyone paused slightly, then began again.


    After the fifth attempt, the choir members seemed to have finally found their groove.


    Just now, Betty felt behind her back a sharp, hoarse, bizarre, and even a mysteriously mournful howl rise.


    The sound did not seem to disrupt everyone, but rather it was truly singing, giving its all in its performance.


    Betty¡¯s scalp tingled, and goosebumps covered her body, but she did not hesitate and continued to sing.


    Soon, from the front of Viral, which was the left side of the first row, came a shrill scream, as if a woman with a torn throat was screaming for her life, the sound rising from low to high, becoming gradually clearer.


    At this moment, the other choir members, including Olivia, heard it as well.


    Yan Junze and Sandi heard it simultaneously.


    Following the sound, both of them looked towards where it was coming from.


    They saw a woman in a white dress standing there, gaunt, with brown hair completely covering her face, her body trembling in rhythm with the eerie, piercing sounds.


    Olivia saw it too, her nerves nowhere as strong as those of an exorcist, she shuddered violently and quickly closed her eyes.


    The woman was standing next to the lead singer Ophelia, who was shaking all over yet, astonishingly, managed to keep her voice steady, smoothly following along with the choir.


    To Yan Junze, that bizarre and strange sound was very similar to a song, or more accurately a voice, he had heard in his past life.


    That song, to be honest, was hard for anyone to listen to until the end, as describing it as a ghostly wail was not an exaggeration; it was called ¡°Lost Rivers.¡±


    Art critics commented that the song ¡°was a cacophony of shattered human howls from beginning to end,¡± ¡°a raw abstract squeal where the vocal cords were treated as instruments,¡± ¡°an experiment using every possible vocalization method.¡±


    Yan Junze from his previous life had never finished listening to it and had gotten goosebumps all over, unable to sleep well for an entire night.


    Now this shrill howling conjured his past life¡¯s horrifying memories, making Yan Junze feel just as bad as the girls on stage.


    ¡°Too unpleasant, the horror of the voice is indescribable,¡± Yan Junze turned to glance at Sandi next to him.


    The corners of Sandi¡¯s mouth were twitching.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but admire the girls in the choir; even with such a sound mixed in, they had stubbornly sung ¡°Santa Lucia¡± a cappella.


    The frightening woman didn¡¯t stay in one place; she then moved behind Ophelia, to the left side of Betty, continuing her grim howl.


    ¡°This bizarre throat must have been burnt,¡± Sandi whispered to Yan Junze.


    By the time the song drew near its close, all the singers were drenched in sweat, as though they had been through a war without the smoke, panting heavily until Ophelia finally ended the song perfectly.


    ¡°Good!¡±


    Yan Junze led the applause and walked towards the stage.


    At this time, the other girls had not fully come to their senses; Olivia turned her head to look at Yan Junze, not daring to look at the white-dressed, brown-haired woman who still stood in place and had not disappeared.


    Yan Junze waved his hand and pointed at Ophelia, ¡°Except for our lead singer here, the rest of the members may leave now.¡±


    In reality, that strange obsession had already been fulfilled; now, Yan Junze was simply granting her a wish beyond that.


    After all the other choir members had left with puzzled looks, Olivia, at Yan Junze¡¯s signal, also left the stage and returned to Sandi¡¯s side, watching the remaining two people on the stage with some astonishment.


    Ophelia still seemed very tense, and most importantly, she didn¡¯t know why the exorcist had asked her to stay by herself.


    At this moment, Yan Junze approached the lead singer and, lowering his voice, said unhurriedly, ¡°Please turn around and say goodbye to this strange lady, and then after the state banquet performance, go turn yourself in.¡±


    S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 705 - 705 420 The American Version of Tomie (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 705: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!) Chapter 705: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!) Upon hearing Yan Junze suddenly make such a statement, Ophelia was briefly stunned, then her expression became rigid.


    Yan Junze did not back away but continued whispering, ¡°Three months ago, in order to get the position of lead singer, you put a drug in her drink that caused nerve paralysis in her vocal cords, completely silencing her voice. And then, you replaced her, have you forgotten?¡±


    Ophelia did not answer, just staring blankly ahead.


    Yan Junze went on, ¡°Your actions caused great harm not only to her throat but also to her spirit. She took her own life. Before she died, she wished to sing one more song, and just now, that wish has been fulfilled.¡±


    Ophelia began to tremble, her teeth chattering.


    After a pause, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Now turn around and apologize to her. I promise that I won¡¯t leak this matter until after your state banquet performance is over, and then you can turn yourself in.¡±


    Ophelia closed her eyes; as they closed, tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t dare open her eyes again and turned around, her body shaking as she bent over.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sandra!¡±


    ¡°What is she doing?¡± Olivia, who was standing in the audience, asked in surprise.


    However, in Sandi¡¯s view at this moment, a brown-haired woman in white stood motionless with her head down in front of Ophelia, her face not visible.


    Clearly, Olivia saw nothing.


    ¡°She¡¯s talking to the strangeness,¡± Sandi said.


    ¡°What is she saying?¡± Olivia asked curiously.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear clearly,¡± Sandi shook her head.


    At this point, Ophelia was bent over at a ninety-degree angle, large tears falling to the ground, her convulsions from crying not as intense as the tremors from fear.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sandra, I¡¯m so sorry for what I¡¯ve done to you!¡± Ophelia kept her eyes shut tight. She didn¡¯t dare to open them, afraid of seeing the face that had become the stuff of her nightmares.


    At this moment, Yan Junze did not speak, and she dared not stop apologizing.


    All she wanted now was to quickly get through this dreadful moment; the fear in her heart had brought Ophelia to the brink of collapse.


    She had never imagined that the strangeness in the choir would turn out to be her own doing.


    Initially, to win the position of lead singer, Ophelia intended to temporarily silence Sandra with poison, but she hadn¡¯t imagined that the stubborn and vulnerable woman would choose to end her own life!


    Still not hearing Yan Junze¡¯s orders, Ophelia tensed up, maintaining her bent posture, not daring to move an inch. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She couldn¡¯t help but squint her eyes, and through the blurry tear-glimmered view, she saw a pair of pale, unshod feet. She could make out the lower part of a woman in a white nightgown, about half a meter from where she gazed.


    Ophelia shuddered violently, frightened, and quickly closed her eyes again.


    ¡°Ahh, uh, ahh, uh¡­¡±


    A hoarse and torn voice sounded right by her ear. Ophelia felt entirely numb, her body as stiff as a statue.


    It lasted for about a minute, then the eerie sound vanished.


    Yan Junze¡¯s voice then said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, remember what I told you.¡±


    Snap!


    Ophelia¡¯s entire body collapsed, she lay on the ground, opening her eyes, no longer seeing the woman in the white nightgown.


    Upon leaving the Star Theater, Sandi sincerely sighed, ¡°Mr. Steve, I have to admire your insight. Why a strangeness appears, what it wants, and how to deal with it¡­ it seems none of these things can be hidden from you.¡±


    After a moment, Sandi mused, ¡°Right, you call this¡­ what was it¡­ Buddhism¡­?¡±


    ¡°Buddhist-style exorcism.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, Buddhist-style exorcism,¡± Sandi nodded. ¡°It seems I have to promote this within the organization.¡±


    Yan Junze hurriedly waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s best not to; so far, this method is only suitable for me. You¡¯d better not try it recklessly; it can be lethal if not handled properly.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sandi expressed surprise.


    ¡°These few days, please help me secretly contact other organizations similar to yours, Ressa, and provide me with more strange cases you can¡¯t handle for the time being,¡± Yan Junze said with a mysterious smile.


    ¡°No problem, as long as you promise to let me learn with you,¡± Sandi nodded.


    The two got into Sandi¡¯s SUV parked at the curb.


    Yan Junze sat in the passenger seat and said, ¡°You can follow me, but whatever you see and hear, you can only keep to yourself.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Steven. I know what to do,¡± Sandi replied with a smile.


    ¡°Where are we headed next?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°136 Glendon Street, Lida Restaurant.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is the situation?¡±


    ¡°According to George, the owner of Lida Restaurant, some canned pork he bought from the supermarket is weird. Upon opening, the meat that was supposed to be cooked started growing. When we checked last time, a piece of meat the size of a fist had grown to the size of a pumpkin.¡±


    Yan Junze was intrigued, nodded, and asked no further.


    About half an hour later.


    The two stood in the kitchen of Lida Restaurant. The owner George pointed to a large freezer for meat storage against the wall, ¡°It¡¯s inside here. Since Sandi last visited and instructed me to keep it well sealed, I¡¯ve had it locked in this freezer, never opened again.¡±


    Yan Junze noticed that the freezer¡¯s handle was secured with a temporarily added chain, and a U-lock on the chain completely locked the double doors of the freezer.

 Chapter 706 - 706 420 The American Version of Tomie (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 706: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!)_2 Chapter 706: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!)_2 Sandi didn¡¯t speak, just glanced at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze had already activated Mission Perception, but at this moment, he was still frowning tightly, with no expression of relaxation.


    After a moment of silence, he nodded.


    With Sandi having received the instruction, he said to George, ¡°Open the freezer.¡±


    Yan Junze added, ¡°Except for you, everyone else, leave the kitchen.¡±


    George¡¯s heart immediately began to swing wildly. He was naturally timid and, after hesitating, he suggested with a forced smile, ¡°How about I just step aside and let Andy open the freezer? He¡¯s a guy I really like¡­¡±


    Yan Junze interrupted him, ¡°Mr. George, please trust me, you wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to see what¡¯s in the freezer right now. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee they will want to work in this restaurant any longer. If any rumors spread from here, I¡¯m afraid your restaurant will have to close down tomorrow.¡±


    George was stunned, not expecting the situation to be so serious.


    After hesitating for a long time, he finally nodded forcefully, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll open it.¡±


    He then notified everyone else in the kitchen to leave, closed the kitchen door, and fetched the key to the U-lock.


    ¡°Is there any danger?¡± George, his hand holding the key trembling, asked uneasily.


    ¡°Open the door and step back, no danger,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you, no worries,¡± Sandi stepped forward a couple of steps.


    George shakily inserted the key into the U-lock cylinder, twisting it gently to make as little noise as possible.


    With a click, the U-lock opened, and the chain slid.


    George quickly caught the chain that was about to fall, pulling it off while stepping back and nearly stepping on Sandi¡¯s feet behind him.


    Saudi stepped forward, opening both doors of the freezer, and a burst of cold air rolled out, revealing a lump of meat that was growing in a basin originally inside.


    At this moment, there was no other meat stored in the freezer; the basin that had originally held the meat was nowhere to be found, probably covered up. What came into everyone¡¯s sight was an even larger lump of meat.


    This lump of meat, unidentifiable as to what it really was, was moving at an extremely slow pace.


    What was terrifying was that a complete arm had grown on the left side of the meat lump, gripping the edge of the open door as if trying to crawl out.


    At the bottom right side of the meat lump, the semblance of half a leg was growing into shape, the rough outline already apparent.


    This leg was slender, just like the fully formed arm, appearing to be part of a child¡¯s or woman¡¯s body.


    Just then, in the middle of the wriggling meat, a black and irregular round lump of flesh, looking like a head, lifted up, with no features, and the flesh on its face still falling off.


    ¡°Kill it!¡± Yan Junze ordered.


    This was the first time Sandi had seen Yan Junze directly want to kill a Strange Body. He was taken aback and didn¡¯t react immediately, wondering if this wasn¡¯t a Buddhist-style exorcism.


    ¡°Kill it!¡± Yan Junze ordered again.


    Sandi had no time to ask questions and quickly took out a metal rod, activating the excitation button, and a glow enveloped the lump of meat in the freezer.


    The glow, like a tangible net, enveloped the wriggling lump of meat, tightening around it, and then the protruding arm and a foot started to struggle to break free.


    In less than half a minute, with a bang, the lump of meat exploded directly, turning into countless splashes of mincemeat.


    Yan Junze had already moved to a safer distance, and Sandi, at the moment the meat lump burst, had dodged behind the portly figure of George.


    George: ¡°¡­¡±


    Finally coming to his senses, he turned around, his face and clothes dripping with the falls of mincemeat.


    Standing at a distance, Yan Junze propped his chin with one hand, assuming a Holmes-like pose, and said, ¡°Now it seems that the lump of meat was an independent Strange Body, and these splattered pieces of mincemeat could also grow into separate strangenesses. Hmm, each one probably could.¡±


    George¡¯s eyes suddenly widened more than brass bells, opening his arms, looking at the mincemeat hanging all over him, and with a thud, he fainted straight away on the spot.


    ¡°However, Sandi, you¡¯ve already eliminated the strange magnetic field with your magnetic field collider, so these pieces of mincemeat won¡¯t have the potential to mutate further,¡± Yan Junze continued.


    At this moment, these splatters of meat stuck on George visibly began to turn black and dry up, then flaked off.


    Sandi¡¯s face was a mixture of laughter and tears: ¡°Mr. Steve, sometimes only saying half the story can scare someone to death.¡±


    Upon saying this, he glanced at the restaurant owner George, lying fainted on the floor, and thought that perhaps he should reduce the fees a little later.


    ¡°He¡¯s just too impatient,¡± Yan Junze shrugged, ¡°call your brother over to clean this place up, and now we¡¯re going to check the supermarket where they sell these canned foods. If it¡¯s too late, some circumstances beyond our control might have already occurred.¡±


    It took George approximately two minutes to wake up, and after learning he was unharmed, he took a long breath of relief and provided the address of the supermarket where he had bought the cans. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a small supermarket just one block away from the restaurant.


    Yan Junze and Sandi walked directly to it, and upon entering the supermarket, they found it quite small, probably less than one hundred square meters in size.


    The goods on sale were also very concentrated, consisting mostly of household food items.


    In an inconspicuous corner of the shelf selling canned goods, the two found the canned food named ¡°Pigheaded Knight.¡±

 Chapter 707 - 707 420 The American Version of Tomie (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 707: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!)_3 Chapter 707: Chapter 420: The American Version of Tomie (Part 1) (5200 words, asking for monthly pass!)_3 There were three cans left inside, but Yan Junze and Sandi did not sense any strangeness in the magnetic field there. After buying them all, they opened one to check and did not find anything unusual, just normal canned pork.


    Looking at this, the incident at George¡¯s Restaurant seemed to be an isolated case.


    The two quickly learned that ¡°Pigheaded Knight¡± canned meat was sourced from a local cannery in Saint Gala City, newly stocked last week, and only two cans had been sold that week.


    One went to Lida Restaurant, and another was purchased by a young man.


    Yan Junze immediately decided to visit the cannery himself, while Sandi was tasked with tracking the whereabouts of the other sold can.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, if Sandi also found strangeness in that can, she was to immediately act and kill without hesitation.


    After Yan Junze left for the cannery, Sandi stayed to examine the surveillance above the cashier counter, hoping to find the man who had purchased the can.


    ¡­


    At the same moment.


    In an apartment three buildings away from the supermarket.


    In one of its dimly lit rooms, a man sat on the edge of the bed in the bedroom, looking somewhat panicked. He wore casual shorts and a T-shirt, despite the centralized heating in the apartment being set to 28 degrees, he still felt cold as if he was in an icy cavern.


    His gaze was fixated on the bathroom door near the bedroom. The door was ajar, the light inside was on, and there were shadows moving about, accompanied by rustling noises.


    The man¡¯s name was York, his blond hair a disheveled mess that he had no time to tidy, stricken with high tension. Although he looked pale and his heartbeat quickened, York actually felt more excited than fearful.


    Because, just last week, he had discovered that the meat from the canned pork he had bought could grow.


    Over the course of the week, the piece of meat had not only grown larger but had also sprouted arms, legs, and then a blurry head.


    At first, York nearly called the Exorcism Organization, but he then realized that the meat was only growing on its own, seemingly without malice towards others. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What was most important was that the emerging limbs were delicate, and the skin smooth and fair; it was evident that what was growing was a woman.


    And the original piece of meat, which seemed somewhat disgusting at first, had after a week¡¯s growth formed into the shape of a human body, equally slender with features slowly becoming distinct, appearing to be¡­ extremely beautiful!


    York was an ordinary-looking man living alone in an apartment.


    He was 36 years old and had been single for 36 years, with his right hand noticeably thicker than his left, using three packs of tissues (250 sheets each) a week¡ªa regular customer for tissues at the nearby supermarket.


    It was during a tissue-buying trip last week that he had impulsively bought a can of pork, planning to make do with it for dinner, when this bizarre event occurred.


    For someone who had been single for 36 years, having had all sorts of whimsical ideas wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary. Now that he had stumbled upon this, he was devilishly curious to see what the woman would look like once fully grown.


    Just moments ago, York had discovered that the woman was completely grown, although dirty and leaving a large pool of blood on the carpet. Her figure was lovely, her face beautiful, almost exciting him to the point of fainting.


    However, this woman didn¡¯t seem to be able to speak, had a fixed gaze, long hair wet and clumped together over her shoulders. York asked her to go to the bathroom to clean up, and she simply went in quietly, just as silently as when she entered, without an answer.


    By now, she should have finished washing, drying her hair, and wrapping a towel around herself.


    From the moment the woman entered the bathroom until now, York had been sitting motionless at the edge of the bed, his mind a tangled mess, not knowing what whimsical ideas he was entertaining.


    He was excited, but also terrified, and felt an inexplicable thrill and his heart pounding, yet he was utterly confounded.


    Now that the woman was about to come out, he didn¡¯t know what to do next¡ªshould he ask about her identity, chat with her to lower her guard, or inquire if she was hungry and offer to cook something for her?


    The question was, did she know what hunger was?


    Just then, strange sounds came from the bathroom, like a person with phlegm stuck in their throat struggling to make a hoarse ¡°err err¡± noise.


    York paused, snapped out of his thoughts, stood up, and spoke softly, ¡°Are you, are you okay?¡±


    No one answered from inside.


    York hesitated for a moment, then walked towards the bathroom.


    When he got to the door, he clenched his teeth and gently pushed it open.


    Inside was the woman¡¯s shapely silhouette, her long hair wet and draped over her back, standing naked in front of the mirror, sideways to the bathroom door.


    The odd ¡°err err err¡± sound was coming directly from her throat.


    York pushed the door further open, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The woman ignored him; instead, she lowered her head, the bizarre noise from her throat becoming more frantic, one after another.


    The next second, with a splat, a lump of flesh and blood gushed from her mouth, falling into the wash basin.


    Her limbs seemed stiff, and after spitting out the clump stuck in her throat, she slowly twisted her neck, turning towards the bathroom door.


    For some reason, a profound fear suddenly climbed all over York¡¯s heart, and before her head could fully turn around, he slammed the bathroom door shut.


    At that moment, York realized he might have made a very serious mistake.


    He first looked down at the doorknob he was holding; the bathroom door could only be locked from the inside, not the outside.


    Then he turned his head toward the bedside table.


    To lock it from the outside, he needed the key, which was in the bedside table.


    At this moment, there seemed to be no noise coming from inside the bathroom. He immediately let go of the doorknob, rushed to the bedside table, pulled open the drawer, and searched for the key.


    Turning his head back, the doorknob of the bathroom remained still.


    York quickly resumed his search in the drawer. Soon, he found the seldom-used bathroom key, grabbed it, stood up, and ran towards the bathroom door.


    However, after running a couple of steps, York abruptly stopped, the key tightly in hand, his eyes wide open, staring straight at the bathroom.


    The bathroom door was now open a crack wide enough for a person, but the woman¡¯s figure was nowhere to be seen.


    Looking down, wet footprints were visible on the carpet, one after another, leading into the living room.

 Chapter 708 - 708 421 The American Version of Tomie (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 708: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!) Chapter 708: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!) Looking at the wet footprints on the ground, York felt his heart was about to leap out of his throat.


    Following the footprints step by step, he reached the bedroom door and looked into the living room. The footprints continued to extend, but the figure of the woman was nowhere to be seen.


    The footprints that were a bit farther away were already difficult to discern. York hesitated for a moment, took a step into the living room, and then followed the tracks to notice that the woman must have gone into the kitchen area.


    The apartment didn¡¯t have a separate kitchen; the kitchen area was set up in the living room, so one could see everything in the kitchen at a glance from the living room.


    But at this moment, York saw nothing.


    Soon, there was a noise from under the kitchen area. York tip-toed to the front of the kitchen counter, looked down, and saw the naked woman squatting in front of the refrigerator, with the cabinet door below it open, pulling out a piece of raw meat and gnawing on it.


    York felt as if he couldn¡¯t catch his breath. He tiptoed, quickly turned around, and headed back to the bedroom.


    In the meantime, he noticed that the noise coming from behind the kitchen stopped suddenly. Turning his head, he found that the woman had already stood up at some point, holding the raw meat he had prepared for making bacon, and she had already gnawed away half of it.


    The woman wasn¡¯t gnawing anymore but stood there, casting a cold gaze towards him, staring at York as if looking at a dead person.


    Startled, York quickly continued toward the bedroom.


    At that moment, the woman¡¯s mouth slowly cracked into a strange smile, releasing a giggling laugh, as she placed the raw meat on the kitchen counter.


    Laughing, she circled around the counter and ran towards York with a jog.


    The movement of the run was extremely bizarre; her entire body was half-bent, tense all over, and her legs were bent, yet she tiptoed so that her speed was quite fast.


    ¡°My God!¡±


    Seeing this scene, York felt his whole body stiffen, deprived of breath, as though his heart had stopped beating.


    He dashed forward desperately. Behind him, he could hear the rustling sound of the woman¡¯s soles making contact with the carpet. It felt like she could catch up to him at any moment.


    After running back to the bedroom, York¡¯s reactions were surprisingly quick. He dashed into the half-open bathroom, slammed the bathroom door shut, and immediately turned the lock.


    Thud!


    Something hit the door, then the lock on the bathroom door jiggled but wouldn¡¯t open.


    York took two steps back, staring non-blinkingly at the door lock.


    ¡°She can¡¯t get in, this woman can¡¯t enter the bathroom,¡± he reassured himself with a sigh of relief; however, he quickly realized something and pinched his right hand.


    It was empty.


    He immediately looked down at his hands ¨C nothing was there. He felt his pockets but still found nothing.


    He had clearly been holding the bathroom key, but now it was gone.


    Remembering carefully, it seemed that due to running in such a rush, he didn¡¯t even know when he had dropped the key.


    It must have fallen in the living room.


    At this realization, York felt the entire world darken around him. He stood there, his limbs ice cold, glancing back instinctively.


    He saw the shower area floor piled with something. Approaching closer and bending down, he saw that the floor was covered with rotting chunks of meat, clogging the drain and causing water to cover his ankles.


    York covered his nose and mouth, feeling a surge of nausea. His phone was still on the bed, out of reach to call for help.


    Meanwhile, the bathroom door handle was wrenched a couple more times, followed by a sound that filled him with despair. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was the sound of a key slowly inserting into the lock, and then, turning.


    Click! The deadbolt twisted back open.


    Almost at the same time, York threw himself at the door, desperately holding down the doorknob.


    The force twisting the doorknob and pushing the door from the outside was just as strong, and both sides were instantly locked in a struggle.


    York pressed his entire body against the door, his face distorted with terror, shaking all over, using all his might to resist.


    Yet the bathroom door was still slowly being pushed open from the outside, gradually revealing a crack. Five slender fingers snaked through the crack.


    This sight nearly caused York to pass out; he could no longer feel whether he was pressing hard, maintaining his stance to keep the door shut as his body was progressively shoved aside by the opening door.


    As the gap widened a bit more, a face suddenly pressed against the crack, desperately trying to squeeze through, the eyes bulging slightly as they looked sideways at York, who was blocking the door.


    York¡¯s body went numb with terror as he watched a tongue extend from the mouth of the face, soft and agile like a little snake, damp with mucus, trying to lick towards his fingers holding the door.


    York screamed in a panic, about to let go when suddenly, a loud bang came from the outside, and then, the face and the five fingers at the bathroom door quickly retreated, falling silent.


    With the opposing force gone, the bathroom door shut with a bang under York¡¯s weight.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now, you can come out,¡± a stranger¡¯s male voice suddenly came from outside the door.


    York felt as if he were still in a dream. After a moment¡¯s pause, the man outside said again, ¡°I¡¯m from the Ressa Exorcism Organization, you¡¯re safe now.¡±


    York finally responded, gasping for air. He reopened the door and saw a man in his thirties standing in the bedroom, holding a metal stick pointed at the naked woman who had shrunk into a ball on the floor.

 Chapter 709 - 709 421 The American Version of Tomie (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 709: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!)_2 Chapter 709: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!)_2 A light enveloped her, constantly compressing; the woman kept resisting ferociously, but her body was clearly shrinking tighter and tighter.


    Boom!


    The next second, the woman exploded, her flesh scattering across the carpet, splashing onto York, who was completely unable to react in time.


    ¡°I¡¯m Sandi, uh, I¡¯ll give you a discount this time, just charging you twenty thousand dollars.¡± The man put away the metal rod, then added, ¡°Our people will take care of the cleanup here, that¡¯s provided for free.¡±


    Plop!


    A piece of sticky flesh fell from York¡¯s body to the ground.


    ¡­


    ¡°Merridge Meat Processing Plant.¡±


    On the outskirts of Saint Gala City, Yan Junze stood outside the closed gates of a small factory building, muttering to himself as he read the sign above.


    The factory looked very shabby. If meat processed from this place were sold in supermarkets, Yan Junze believed he would dare not eat it.


    He guessed that this place wouldn¡¯t pass even the basic sanitation and epidemic prevention checks.


    Outside lay several crates of rotten meat, presumably leftovers intended for disposal, but no one had taken them away, resulting in an infestation of maggots crawling in the meat and emitting a nauseating stench.


    Next to the small factory was a residential house, which was single-story, seemingly spacious, and even had a front yard.


    Yan Junze pushed open the unlocked gate and walked in, reaching the house¡¯s front door where he found the doorbell and gently pressed it.


    About ten seconds later, footsteps sounded, and soon after, the door opened, revealing a chubby uncle whose eyes were somewhat hazy, seemingly drunk.


    He belched, asking rudely, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t beat around the bush and replied, ¡°Exorcist.¡±


    The chubby uncle was taken aback, then had an epiphany, and his attitude changed immediately, ¡°You¡¯ve come. Is it just you¡­ burp¡­ alone?¡±


    Hearing this, Yan Junze got a bad feeling and nodded, ¡°I alone am enough.¡±


    The chubby uncle moved aside, allowing Yan Junze into the house, then pointed at a closed room, ¡°It¡¯s in my mother¡¯s old room.¡±


    ¡°Your mother?¡± Yan Junze looked at the sturdy room door.


    ¡°She¡¯s long dead. That room has always been empty. This time, I happened to lock all those weird things in there.¡± The chubby uncle wobbled over as he spoke.


    Yan Junze nodded, then turned to him, ¡°Tell me, did any of these things bite you?¡±


    The chubby uncle made an exaggerated face, ¡°More than a bite, one of the bitches almost ate me.¡±


    At that, he lifted his shirt to reveal his chubby waist wrapped several times with medical bandages, obscuring the severity of his injuries.


    Yan Junze smiled, opened his Black Spirit Umbrella, and told the chubby uncle, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, come under my umbrella.¡±


    The chubby uncle belched again, glanced at the umbrella, his brain working sluggishly, the initial suspicion quickly numbed by alcohol, shook his head, and staggered over without a word.


    Yan Junze took hold of his shoulder, ¡°You just mentioned that you¡¯ve reported to an exorcism organization. Which one is it?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Which else?¡± The alcohol on the chubby uncle¡¯s breath made Yan Junze hold his own for a moment, ¡°The Half Moon Association, they said they would come today.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s unease was confirmed.


    At this moment, especially before completing Jacob¡¯s task, he did not want to come into contact with anyone from the Half Moon Association.


    Just then, a black vapor was pulled from the chubby uncle¡¯s waist, quickly absorbed into the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The uncle¡¯s flabby body violently shuddered, flesh rippling tightly around his neck, feeling as though his body was being drained, he lost consciousness in an instant.


    Near a couch, it took all of Yan Junze¡¯s strength to move him onto it.


    After catching his breath, Yan Junze walked over to his mother¡¯s bedroom door, took the keys hanging on the wall beside it, inserted them into the lock, and gently turned the key.


    He didn¡¯t want to waste any more time now that the chubby uncle had made it clear, the people from the Half Moon Association could arrive at any moment.


    Upon opening the door, to his surprise, the bedroom was exceptionally well-lit, with all the window curtains drawn back, revealing nearly every corner of the room.


    At that moment, inside the bedroom, six young women were moving about. As the door opened, all six turned around, their expressions cold as they looked toward Yan Junze.


    These six looked identical, even their heights were the same, as if they were sextuplets, the only difference being some were clothed, some not.


    Seeing the scene in the bedroom, Yan Junze¡¯s first thought was that he never would have guessed the chubby uncle lived such an indulgently carefree life.


    He fully opened the bedroom door, standing in the doorway.


    The six women kept their heads turned, their bodies twisting to face Yan Junze, then three of them immediately tensed up, bending at the waist, up on their toes, charging towards him with rapid steps.


    The other three didn¡¯t hesitate and assumed the same posture, charging towards Yan Junze.


    The first three approaching Yan Junze opened their mouths, tongues flicking outside their lips, saliva nearly dripping out.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t back away but instead stepped forward into the bedroom, placing the Black Spirit Umbrella over his head.


    The first woman rushed into the umbrella, with a squelch, turned into black vapor and was exterminated.

 Chapter 710 - 710 421 The American Version of Tomie (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 710: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!)_3 Chapter 710: Chapter 421: The American Version of Tomie (Part 2) (Asking for monthly pass!)_3 Then came the second one, the third one.


    After that, three more women surged in, one after another, as if they hadn¡¯t seen what had happened to the previous three.


    Soon, all six turned into black mist.


    Yan Junze walked into the house with his umbrella, propping it open with one hand while opening the wardrobe with the other, but found no other women.


    He rummaged through the clothes in the wardrobe, still finding nothing else.


    Frowning, he returned to the center of the bedroom. Gradually, his gaze shifted towards the direction of the large double bed.


    Taking a flashlight out of his backpack, he knelt on the floor, supporting the umbrella with one hand as he shone the flashlight underneath the bed, nearly lying flat on the ground.


    As soon as the flashlight beam penetrated under the bed, Yan Junze immediately saw a pair of eyes reflecting the light, staring back at him.


    It was a body that had just formed but was still incomplete, also a woman, who looked no different from the others, except she was missing an arm, and her legs were not fully formed yet¡ªher muscles were incomplete, making her look like a skeleton wrapped in skin.


    However, this woman was extremely ferocious. As she opened her mouth to reveal her broken teeth and let out a scream, she crawled out from under the bed swiftly with just one hand and two feet and charged at him. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t move; he simply extended the Black Spirit Umbrella slightly forward as she drew near. Black mist immediately started to billow from her body as she began to struggle.


    In an instant, she disappeared without a trace.


    Yan Junze shone the flashlight under the bed again, only to see a large clump of decaying flesh squirming slowly on the floor, with the rudimentary shape of a head forming in its center.


    This head was half-closed, with the other eye probably not fully grown yet. Its gaze was moving, seemingly watching Yan Junze.


    ¡°Found it.¡±


    Yan Junze stood up; that clump of decaying flesh under the bed must be the main culprit.


    The bed wasn¡¯t very heavy. He grabbed the edge and dragged it behind him, quickly moving it away from its previous position.


    Yan Junze approached with his umbrella and saw that the decaying flesh had corroded the floor, creating a depression, but not yet forming a hole.


    Above the decaying flesh, a complete human form was indistinguishable as it was continuously gestating.


    Combining the clues to the strange occurrence Yan Junze had previously detected, this form of strangeness was also seeking a replacement, but its method differed from the traditional methods; it relied on this eerie breeding capability.


    As long as a bit of flesh existed, it could not die and could grow over a certain period. Once the growth was complete, it became a mobile copy that could reproduce.


    That would be the beautiful young women.


    If these young women consumed other living beings, after reaching a certain stage, they could turn themselves into decaying flesh again and begin replicating new young women, furthering their propagation.


    Now, it appeared that the formation of this decaying flesh was not unrelated to the fat uncle¡¯s deceased mother. Moreover, it must be due to some reason that the alcohol-loving fat uncle accidentally mixed the tainted flesh into the meat cans he processed.


    But that was no longer important.


    Now that the source had not matured, by destroying it, all the young women who hadn¡¯t fully grown would die on their own.


    Yan Junze approached with the umbrella. The three forces within it immediately emerged as they neared the decaying flesh.


    After a rustling struggle, the flesh quickly turned into black mist and ascended.


    This time there was more black mist than usual, and Yan Junze was very pleased since several more black dots appeared before disappearing, indicating that the absorption of black mist was much more than before.


    Furthermore, dealing with such replicable strangeness also yielded more Different Dimension Energy.


    About two minutes later, all the black mist was absorbed without a trace.


    Bang!


    Just then, the sound of a car door closing came from outside.


    Yan Junze paused, swiftly put away the Black Spirit Umbrella, and walked to the bedroom door to peek outside.


    The fat uncle was still slumped on the sofa, not yet awake, but there was movement near the outside window, indicating that at least two people were approaching.


    The next second, a knock sounded at the door.


    The fat uncle stirred slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed.


    Yan Junze immediately shut the bedroom door.


    The knocks persisted, growing louder.


    Soon, the fat uncle awoke. He rubbed his eyes, feeling unusually comfortable, and the alcohol he had consumed seemed to have sobered up significantly.


    ¡°Who¡¯s out there?¡± the fat uncle sat up from the sofa.


    ¡°Exorcists from the Half Moon Association,¡± a middle-aged voice came through.


    The fat uncle¡¯s head was still foggy. He mumbled a question and stood up, heading towards the door, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys already come? Why are you still outside? Could it be¡­ I was¡­ dreaming just now?¡±


    ¡°Who came?¡±


    The door opened, and two middle-aged men stood in the doorway, one behind the other, both wearing black jackets and jeans.


    The fat uncle touched his forehead and then pointed in the direction of his mother¡¯s bedroom, ¡°There, a young man. He seemed to be¡­ just there a moment ago.¡±


    The two from the Half Moon Association exchanged glances and immediately hurried towards the firmly shut bedroom.


    Turning the doorknob, they easily opened the bedroom door. The fat uncle watched them in surprise, amazed that the Exorcists could open the door without a key.


    The two Exorcists stood at the door and looked around; the room was empty.


    Nobody noticed that one of the windows in the bedroom was now open, the breeze coming in, causing the curtains to gently sway.

 Chapter 711 - 711 422 Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to request

    ?Chapter 711: Chapter 422: Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to request monthly tickets!) Chapter 711: Chapter 422: Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to request monthly tickets!) After jumping out of the window, Yan Junze quickly met up with Sandi, and upon hearing Sandi¡¯s account, the scene where the chunks of meat grew into a young woman was strikingly similar to Yan Junze¡¯s encounter in that fat man¡¯s home.


    Now that the source had been severed, even if other cans still contained this strange flesh, there would be no further growth.


    Yan Junze rested for two days and then went to Charlie¡¯s clinic for a change of dressing.


    Seeing him in such a state, all while helping himself to remove strangenesses, Sandi felt somewhat embarrassed and gave Yan Junze some compensation.


    Although Sandi could tell that Yan Junze was so eager to remove strangenesses everywhere, there must be some reason, but since the other party was clearly much stronger than himself, it wouldn¡¯t be good to pry into these secrets.


    Moreover, Sandi now realized that Yan Junze selectively performed exorcisms. For instance, he would not take on strains below a certain level.


    Only those capable of creating at least a C-class event, and for Yan Junze, strangenesses above Sculpting Spirit level, would he actively take on.


    Clearly, the Ressa Organization no longer had that much information on strangenesses, forcing Sandi to start cooperating with other smaller organizations.


    As long as the strangeness was of a higher level, after handing it over to Yan Junze to deal with, not only would he get a cut, but he would also give Yan Junze a portion, creating a win-win situation.


    The only difference was that he didn¡¯t make as much money on single events as before. Moreover, most importantly, any strangenesses in Saint Gala City that posed a greater threat to ordinary human life were slowly disappearing.


    Yan Junze, eagerly collecting Different Dimension Energy, was not picky. As long as the basic conditions were met, namely that the strangeness could bring a substantial amount of energy, he would immediately get to work solving it.


    He even once went directly to the countryside of Saint Gala City, to a small town called Pernod, to resolve the ¡°Midnight Wailing in the Cattle Field.¡±


    During these two weeks.


    ¡°A Hundred Layers of Rotten Skin,¡± solved.


    ¡°Dora¡¯s Eerie Aunt,¡± solved.


    ¡°The Human Head under the Microscope,¡± solved.


    ¡°The Mystery of Blood Desiccation,¡± solved.


    ¡°The Terrifying World Beyond the Wardrobe,¡± solved.


    ¡°The Oil Painting Man,¡± solved.


    ¡­


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but admire himself; after a long period of practice, his speed at resolving the Obsessions of the strangenesses had grown increasingly faster. If the resolution was not thorough, he would immediately Rewind and solve it again. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As long as the rate at which he collected Different Dimension Energy was greater than the consumption rate of Rewind, it was a profit for him.


    At first, Sandi could still be of help, but as time went on, unless it was a mission that required multiple clues to work on simultaneously, he found it increasingly hard to keep up with Yan Junze¡¯s pace, with nothing to do but stare in awe and astonishment.


    Yan Junze quickly amassed over 14,000 points of Different Dimension Energy. Now, with an overall energy limit of 46,000 points, the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s 188 spacetime nodes had been illuminated.


    The 148th node was ¡°Space-Time Lockdown,¡± and the next recommended spacetime node to pair with that function, node number 155, had also been achieved.


    The function unlocked by this node was ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1.¡±


    ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1: After this function is initiated, the host can freely choose to overlap a spacetime scene they have previously experienced with the current spacetime scene. Under the premise of Space-Time Lockdown, after releasing the Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1, the target will be trapped in the overlapped spacetime scene, intensifying the effect of the Space-Time Lockdown. The duration of the scene overlap depends on the energy consumption.¡±


    Yan Junze had studied the definitions of ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± and ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1¡± in detail.


    Once ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± was activated, it could briefly lock down the spacetime of a certain area, preventing the target from escaping that segment of spacetime.


    On the other hand, activating ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1¡± allows one to superimpose a scene they had previously encountered over a certain scene, making the target fall into the overlapped scene, unable to discern the reality of the current scene from the displaced one.


    When used together, they produce the effect of not only locking the current spacetime of the target, but also replacing that spacetime scene with another overlaid one, causing the opponent to be not only unable to escape, but also to fall into an ¡°illusion,¡± unable to tell which scene is real.


    This seemed very practical, and this was only ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1,¡± meaning that there was a Form 2, even possibly a Form 3 to come.


    With over 14,000 points of Different Dimension Energy now ready to use, plus the unlocking of ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± and ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1,¡± Yan Junze felt that dealing with the task ¡°Approaching Divine Existence¡± should now be relatively easier.


    ¡°Not taking it on?¡±


    In the room at the Porfi Hotel, Sandi looked at Yan Junze in surprise.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Got other things to do, not taking it on.¡±


    Although Sandi had guessed that Yan Junze had been taking on tasks non-stop for a while, perhaps to find something or collect something within the strangenesses, to be honest, he actually hoped Yan Junze would keep going.


    After all, it meant a powerful external support for the organization.


    After a pause, Sandi said a bit reluctantly, ¡°I just got a task that¡¯s both thorny and eerie. Businessman Herald¡¯s wife has disappeared, and these past few nights he¡¯s been dreaming of his wife standing by the bed, incessantly digging at her mouth with her hand, trying to speak but unable to utter anything¡­¡±

 Chapter 712 - 712 422 Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to ask for

    ?Chapter 712: Chapter 422: Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to ask for monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 712: Chapter 422: Reaper Blind Spot (Last day to ask for monthly passes!)_2 Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°Herald is a well-known entrepreneur in Saint Gala City, and the reward he¡¯s offering is very high this time. If we¡¯re late in handling it, someone from the Half-Moon Exorcism Association will probably take care of it for him in the next day or two,¡±


    Sandi didn¡¯t give up, especially when mentioning ¡°reward.¡± He even emphasized the term to ensure Yan Junze didn¡¯t miss the important information.


    Yan Junze still shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left. I can¡¯t stay in Saint Gala City forever. I might leave the day after tomorrow.¡±


    With a look of regret on his face, Sandi spread his hands out and looked at Yan Junze¡¯s feet, ¡°But your foot injury hasn¡¯t fully healed yet? You should at least rest for another week. During this time¡­¡±


    Yan Junze cut him off with a smile, ¡°I know you value the reward that this entrepreneur is offering, but sometimes this kind of money is not easy to earn.¡±


    He paused and then continued, ¡°Based on your description, this strangeness seems to be related to dreams. In my experience, dream-related strangenesses are extremely dangerous and very difficult to deal with. So my advice to you is, it¡¯s best not to get involved.¡±


    Sandi looked at him with difficulty, clearly struggling internally.


    To be honest, he had already accepted the job, thinking Yan Junze would be there with him.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and said, ¡°If you really want to go, you can, but it¡¯s best to take all your brothers with you. My suggestion for dealing with it is to have Mr. Herald let you use his master bed. Sleep on that bed, communicate with your brothers in advance, and if you show any abnormal reactions while asleep in reality, have the others wake you up immediately, even using a needle if necessary.¡±


    ¡°Will that work?¡± Sandi asked in surprise.


    He himself actually had no experience in dealing with dream-related strangenesses, as the ones in dreams are a rather special category and basically hard to come across.


    ¡°It¡¯s a last resort,¡± Yan Junze said with a shrug. ¡°But I still suggest you¡¯d better not take it because sometimes, I know, even if your friends prick you with a needle in those special dreams, you won¡¯t wake up immediately. And if you do get targeted by a strangeness in the dream, believe me, you¡¯ll regret your decision now.¡±


    Sandi seemed to catch something in Yan Junze¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mr. Steve, have you ever dealt with this type of strangeness before?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded with a wry smile, ¡°Let me tell you this, I was terrified whenever I was sleeping at that time, because it could appear in my dreams at any moment and possibly kill you.¡±


    Sandi shuddered violently. If it was such a special form of strangeness, then what¡¯s the point? He didn¡¯t have the Half Moon Association¡¯s advanced equipment to interfere with dreams.


    He stuck out his tongue and shook his head, ¡°Then I¡¯ve decided not to go. It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    As he said this, he looked up at Yan Junze, ¡°What a pity.¡±


    Yan Junze knew that the pity Sandi referred to was the loss of the generous reward. He smiled and said, ¡°As for the strangenesses in Saint Gala City, I¡¯ve also heard about the Ghost Apartment recently. I¡¯m curious, why haven¡¯t you ever mentioned wanting to take care of it?¡±


    Sandi replied with a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to, I just know that neither I nor you have the capability to do so.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°There are three reasons why I don¡¯t want to go to the Ghost Apartment,¡± Sandi said, holding up three fingers. ¡°The first is that the place has already been taken over by the Half Moon Association. Even though it¡¯s not guarded 24/7, the prohibition issued by the association is terrifying, and we don¡¯t dare to violate it. The second reason is even if I was able to deal with the Ghost Apartment, the task offers no reward, and even if I wanted to do it, my brothers wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the third reason?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°The third reason is that I¡¯m aware of my own ability. In fact, the higher-ranked exorcists of the Half Moon Association have met with failure there, and I don¡¯t think my strength would be any greater than theirs,¡± Sandi answered with self-awareness.


    Yan Junze, however, thought to himself that if Sandi knew even the Reaper couldn¡¯t directly eliminate Jacob, he¡¯d probably categorize the Ghost Apartment as a place to never touch for the rest of his life.


    ¡°Mr. Steve, are you planning to leave Saint Gala City tomorrow or the day after?¡± Sandi said, ¡°There¡¯s a restaurant on the second floor of the hotel, and I¡¯d like to offer you a banquet here to thank you for your help these past days.¡±


    ¡°I might leave tomorrow,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, nodding his head without refusal.


    After conversing for a while in the room, they headed for the restaurant on the second floor.


    Yan Junze was the first to leave the room, and Sandi gently closed the door behind him, his gaze flickering as he watched Yan Junze¡¯s departing figure.


    ¡­


    Mengen Fort State, Mengen City.


    Half-Moon Exorcism Association building.


    The Reaper Morrison, clad in a black overcoat, entered the building. Whenever someone from the Half Moon Association approached him, they would immediately move to the side upon seeing Morrison, waiting for him to pass before resuming their way.


    Morrison paid no attention to these people. As for the respect others showed him, he had grown accustomed to it.


    Within the association building, there were few people he truly esteemed, and they definitely did not include the president and vice president of the association.


    Just as he thought about the vice president, Vice President Charles emerged from the elevator.


    Upon seeing Morrison, Charles immediately showed a look of delight and gestured for Morrison to go to the stairwell to talk.


    Morrison felt a bit impatient but still nodded and followed.


    As soon as they were in the stairwell, Charles¡¯ followers immediately stood guard at the door, preventing anyone else from approaching.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Charles didn¡¯t waste any words, simply asking in a concerned, hushed voice.


    Morrison gave a slight nod, ¡°I just returned from Klargon Castle and Ruisen Island. As you commanded, Vice President, preparations for my avatar projection at both locations have been completed. If anyone triggers the mechanism, I will sense it immediately and release the projection there.¡±


    While speaking, he intentionally emphasized the words ¡°Vice President¡± and ¡°commanded,¡± clearly expressing his dissatisfaction with Charles.


    Charles, not being a fool, caught on immediately.


    He responded with an unfazed smile, ¡°You¡¯ve been working hard, Morrison! I just had a video call with Mr. Landon Walker, and told him how you¡¯ve been traveling around the world these past few days dealing with special strangenesses. He was very satisfied with your performance.¡±


    Upon hearing the name ¡°Landon,¡± Morrison suddenly revealed a sincere smile, ¡°Please tell Mr. Walker that I will do my best to serve at the altar, and he can tell me directly if there are any issues.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Charles nodded, ¡°You must be tired, go get some rest.¡±


    Morrison didn¡¯t say anything, simply gave a smile as a gesture, and left the stairwell. At that moment, the elevator door was being held open for him by Charles¡¯ attendant, who had already pressed the button and blocked the door with his hand, waiting for Morrison to enter.


    Morrison stepped into the elevator silently and pressed the button for the fifth basement floor.


    After the elevator doors closed, his expression slowly turned cold and indifferent, muttering to himself, ¡°To use Mr. Landon as a warning, that shameless bastard Charles!¡±


    Soon after the elevator reached its destination, he stepped out and entered the area reserved for Reapers, heading toward the metal room marked with the number ¡°3.¡±


    On his way, Morrison glanced at the tightly shut room number 2, detecting no one inside, which meant that the other Reaper hadn¡¯t returned yet.


    As for room number 1, he didn¡¯t even look in that direction. Because room number 1 belonged to Landon Walker, a man Morrison himself held in the highest regard.


    Just as he stepped into his own room, Morrison suddenly paused.


    He turned around in surprise and quietly sensed his surroundings, his brow furrowing tightly.


    For about four or five minutes, he remained still.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Morrison suddenly spoke up, murmuring to himself, ¡°Why would I sense my¡­ Reaper Blind Spot?¡±


    In his consciousness at that moment was a vast mirror image of a magnetic field. It was not real but rather a virtual image naturally formed in the mind after gaining a certain level of control over the magnetic field.


    And at that moment, within this magnetic field¡¯s mirror image, a vast virtual grid contained a tiny red dot that was flashing on and off at an intersection of the grid, blinking in and out and seeming to move slightly.


    Morrison was well aware that the location indicated by this red dot was in Saint Gala City, located in the same Mengen Fort State.


    Moreover, judging by various signs fed back from this Reaper Blind Spot, it was indeed one that he had planted. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But no matter how hard he thought, Morrison just couldn¡¯t recall when he had planted this Reaper Blind Spot.

 Chapter 713 - 713 423 Ghost Apartment (Part One)

    ?Chapter 713: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One) Chapter 713: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One) Saint Gala City, 101 Hobsonk Street.


    Ghost Apartment.


    This apartment at number 101 wasn¡¯t situated along the main street but at a corner in the middle stretch of Hobsonk Street.


    It was noticeable that there were fewer pedestrians around this place, almost as if everyone knew of the terror of the Ghost Apartment and would naturally detour to avoid it as they passed by.


    The apartment had five floors; each had originally seven households, but since Jacob¡¯s death, everyone had moved out.


    The apartment was said to be owned by a property company that wasn¡¯t short on funds and had abandoned the apartment, no longer managing it.


    Now, no one dared manage it because even the high-ranking exorcists from the Half Moon Association had fallen victim to it.


    Yan Junze had come over the night of his dinner with Sandi.


    He had packed all the necessary items in a backpack and had waited at the hotel until after ten in the evening before leaving.


    The streets were hardly populated, and whenever a patrol car passed by, Yan Junze would hide in a shady corner to avoid interrogation by security officers, thus dodging unnecessary trouble.


    Upon reaching the entrance of Ghost Apartment, he stood under the dark eaves across the street for about half an hour. Seeing nothing suspicious, Yan Junze then crossed over.


    The door to the apartment was already broken and nobody dared repair it.


    Looking inside from the outside, it was pitch dark, revealing an eerie and sinister presence. At first glance, it seemed like a gateway to the Netherworld.


    However, the street lamps outside the apartment were all lit; Yan Junze knew that even though the power inside the apartment must have been cut, it wouldn¡¯t be completely dark. Plus, he had prepared three flashlights, two of which were high-powered.


    Anyway, based on past experiences, facing strangenesses with strong magnetic fields, no amount of light would be useful¡ªthey could plunge you into darkness in minutes.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t linger at the entrance of the apartment to avoid being seen, and went straight in through the broken main door.


    The moment he stepped through the door and blended into the darkness, Yan Junze shivered out of nowhere.


    He felt a chill envelop him instantly, quickly seeping through his clothes, crawling on his skin, and penetrating his pores.


    For a moment, he had the illusion that even his blood had turned ice cold.


    Holding his clothes tighter, he was dressed in apparel provided by hotel staff: a black jacket and jeans, a brown turtleneck sweater, and a pair of light grey Martin boots.


    The swollen ankle had subsided, no longer in need of a splint, but Yan Junze still walked with a slight limp. It was already possible for him to walk briskly and jog lightly, as long as it wasn¡¯t twisted again at the same spot, full recovery was only a matter of time.


    He turned on the high-powered flashlight and adjusted its brightness to avoid attracting the attention of any passersby outside the apartment.


    The dust on the floor was thick, and upon looking up, he saw the elevator lobby, but obviously, there was no need to go there now.


    He surveyed his surroundings; the staircase was behind the elevator area, accessible through a pair of push-open double doors.


    The corridor on the first floor was very spacious, at a glance, no longer resembling a corridor. The floor, covered with dust, concealed the original color and pattern of the carpet. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Along the corridor, the side facing the street had windows for lighting, and on the other side were the apartment rooms.


    All the rooms were tightly shut at the moment.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t linger on the first floor and quickly made his way to the staircase, pushing open its door and entering.


    During the process of pushing the door, it made a creaky noise, clearly showing that it hadn¡¯t been used in a long time. The piercing sound echoed unusually loudly within the building.


    Yan Junze advanced rapidly up the stairs, turning to shine the flashlight behind him momentarily; the door of the staircase he had pushed open was closing back by itself.


    That obviously broken door kept swinging back and forth, creaking as it moved, sounding like some creepy cry that made one¡¯s skin crawl.


    Yan Junze remembered the information he had seen in the Half Moon Association¡¯s files: Jacob Johnson¡¯s home was on the fourth floor of the apartment, room 407.


    That would be to the right at the end of a corridor once he entered each floor.


    Shortly after he entered the apartment, a shadow silently appeared under the eaves across the street.


    This shadow hid there, observing for a while and during that time, glimpsed the flashlight¡¯s beam flickering within the Ghost Apartment twice. He muttered to himself,


    ¡°Indeed, Mr. Steve, your target really is the Ghost Apartment, eh! But why didn¡¯t you call me along?¡±


    This lurker was none other than Sandi from the Ressa Organization.


    He was now hesitating whether to go inside or not.


    If Mr. Steve hadn¡¯t informed him about coming to explore the Ghost Apartment, there must be a reason, perhaps a secret of his own, or it could be too dangerous and for his safety, he didn¡¯t want him involved.


    But if it were the latter reason, then Mr. Steve was really treating him too much like an outsider.


    Sandi¡¯s mind was flooded with thoughts, struggling over whether to follow him inside or not.


    This time, having sensed something amiss, he followed; before coming, he had brought all the strongest equipment from the organization with him, including gear too cherished to use regularly, Sandi was very clear in his mind that, in fact, he had some desire to explore the Ghost Apartment.

 Chapter 714 - 714 423 Ghost Apartment (Part One)_2

    ?Chapter 714: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One)_2 Chapter 714: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One)_2 But he was equally aware that if Mr. Steve had other plans, his sudden appearance could very likely throw the other party into disarray.


    ¡­


    There was nothing unusual on the second floor of the apartment, Yan Junze did not check each unit, but merely swept the corridors with his flashlight and immediately climbed to the third floor.


    In the quiet of the silent night, within the serene apartment building, only the echo of his footsteps reverberated.


    The building was too quiet, devoid even of the sound of dripping water, all of which hinted that this place was akin to a dead zone, utterly lifeless.


    He similarly scanned the third-floor hallway with his flashlight, and nothing was amiss.


    However, from here he could see that several rooms on this floor were not closed; some were ajar, others wide open, and they too were pitch black, revealing nothing inside.


    Yan Junze continued to climb up the stairwell towards the fourth floor.


    Just as he reached the stairwell corner, he suddenly froze.


    Looking over, he saw the figure of a boy squatting in the corner, back turned outward, his head buried deeply, his face hidden.


    Ghost Apartment, on the way to Jacob¡¯s residence on the fourth floor, a boy-like strangeness squatting here.


    Yan Junze had reason to believe this boy was indeed Jacob Johnson himself.


    He was somewhat surprised to encounter Jacob, the person himself, so soon.


    He didn¡¯t continue upstairs but slowly approached the oddly crouching figure, his back still turned to him.


    The boy was wearing light blue jeans and a khaki sweater; the legs of the jeans were a bit long, covering his shoes, and both the clothes and the pants seemed somewhat worn and tattered. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he drew closer, Yan Junze saw the boy¡¯s deeply buried head, with messy hair, seemingly coated with grease.


    Clearing his throat, Yan Junze asked softly, ¡°Excuse me¡­ are you Jacob?¡±


    On hearing the spoken words, the boy lifted his head. He did not answer, but slowly stood up, facing the corner.


    ¡°If you are Jacob, I think I might be able to help you,¡± Yan Junze continued.


    The boy began to move again, slowly turning to face Yan Junze, his gaze upon him.


    The moment Yan Junze saw the boy¡¯s face, his heart lurched unexpectedly. He wanted to turn away immediately, but he resisted the urge.


    He saw the boy¡¯s pupils were all white, his body slightly swollen, with lines under his skin constantly rising and sinking, as if many earthworms were wriggling beneath.


    Even within the boy¡¯s eye sockets, a white, slender worm could occasionally be seen rapidly squirming past, crossing the socket and burrowing into his forehead.


    Even though he had received no answer, Yan Junze was certain at that moment that this boy was Jacob Johnson.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jacob¡¯s lips parted slightly, emitting a sound.


    Seeing him speak looked strenuous, as if he hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time.


    ¡°Can you help me?¡± he finally managed to articulate a complete sentence.


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee it, but I will give it my all,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Jacob smiled, and his smile turned eerie. He raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread, towards Yan Junze.


    The next second, Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness quivered, and a prompt popped up in his mind.


    [Host imminent death detected, ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± triggered, consuming 2000 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    While his consciousness trembled, Yan Junze could still feel that, unlike his past near-death rewind experiences that vanished and then reappeared, his consciousness did not disappear immediately.


    After a moment of trembling, when his vision refocused, he found himself standing in the stairwell on the second floor.


    Up until then, Yan Junze was perplexed; he couldn¡¯t understand how he came close to death, especially since he was just having a seemingly pleasant conversation with Jacob, who was still asking questions. How could it suddenly turn into an attempt on his life?


    What¡¯s more, this incident marked the largest consumption of energy in the history of ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± for him¡ªa whopping 2000 points of energy!


    Now it seems that the rewind didn¡¯t take him far back in time, just to the moment when he had just begun climbing to the second floor, but the energy consumption was surprisingly high.


    Upon reflection, he realized that the energy consumption related to ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡± depended both on the time span of the rewind and on the ¡°imminent death¡± state itself.


    Jacob¡¯s sudden strike must have brought his level of imminent death to a peak, the greatest ever, which was why the energy consumed was much higher than before.


    This indicated that Jacob¡¯s attack power was incomparable to other strangenesses.


    Truly frightening!


    However, Yan Junze noticed that the mission¡¯s level was ¡°scared witless (low),¡± the same as Aunt Mei¡¯s mission level, indicating that Jacob¡¯s real power level might be equivalent to that of an Ethereal spirit.


    But due to being in the Ghost Apartment, his invincibility here made his murderous intent much more powerful than outside the apartment.


    Regardless, Yan Junze now could not afford to provoke him again.


    But Yan Junze couldn¡¯t figure out what he could have said previously that might have enraged him.


    If communication resulted in instant death threats, then it was better not to interact with him at all.


    The original mission prompt stated that Jacob was irritable and highly aggressive. Yan Junze had been cautious since entering the apartment, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Jacob¡¯s actual behavior would be closer to that of a madman.

 Chapter 715 - 715 423 Ghost Apartment (Part One)_3

    ?Chapter 715: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One)_3 Chapter 715: Chapter 423: Ghost Apartment (Part One)_3 After taking a glance at the Spacetime Atlas and noticing an inexplicable depletion of 2,000 points of energy, Yan Junze shook his head with a wry smile and continued climbing the stairs.


    Upon reaching the corner between the third and fourth floors, the familiar crouched silhouette of Jacob appeared before him.


    He was still squatting motionlessly in the corner.


    This time, Junze didn¡¯t plan on making contact with him, but instead kept an eye on the kid¡¯s silhouette as he quickened his pace, tiptoeing silently towards the fourth floor.


    Junze soon arrived at the staircase landing on the fourth floor, grabbed the stairwell door handle and pulled, but it wouldn¡¯t budge, making a clicking noise in the process.


    ¡°Could the door be locked?¡±


    Junze furrowed his brow, glanced back at Jacob squatting in the corner, and noticed the boy¡¯s head was slowly lifting, evidently disturbed by the sound.


    He quickly grabbed the handle of another door and pulled, but with the same clicking sound. Indeed, the locks on both doors were engaged, leaving them unopenable.


    By now, Jacob had gotten up, standing in the corner and slowly turning his head, looking in the direction of the fourth-floor stairwell door.


    Within the range of his gaze, there was nothing.


    Yet outside his line of sight, near the stairway leading to the fifth floor, Junze¡¯s back was pressed firmly against the wall, perfectly concealed by the angle of the stairs, motionless.


    Without making a sound, Jacob slowly turned and began to ascend the stairs, heading toward the door of the fourth-floor landing.


    His steps seemed to lack strength, each one dragged along, producing a rustling sound due to the heaviness of the dragging.


    Junze held his breath and hurried up the stairs to the fifth floor, sidestepping like a crab.


    His back stayed close to the wall the entire time, creating the largest possible blind spot in Jacob¡¯s line of sight so that he wouldn¡¯t be seen.


    Jacob soon arrived at the door to the fourth-floor landing; he lowered his head, peering at the unopened stairwell door.


    Suddenly, Jacob whipped his head toward the direction of the staircase leading to the fifth floor.


    At this moment, Junze had just passed the turn in the staircase between the fourth and fifth floors, his body still hugging the wall, once again creating a blind spot in Jacob¡¯s line of sight.


    Dead silence hung in the air, the scene frozen.


    About ten seconds later, Jacob withdrew his gaze; his white eyes slowly closed as he walked to the corner near the stairwell door and crouched down facing the wall, motionless once again.


    Junze let out a sigh of relief, treaded lightly to the top level of the apartment ¡ª the fifth floor, turned the doorknob without any strange noise, and the stairwell door opened easily.


    He immediately entered and gently closed the door behind him.


    Now it seemed that every other floor of the apartment building could be accessed except for the fourth, so the lock on the stairwell door on that floor wasn¡¯t a coincidence.


    After entering the fifth-floor corridor, Junze turned on the flashlight he had just turned off again and looked back at the stairwell to make sure Jacob hadn¡¯t followed.


    Perhaps he could consider dangling down to the area beneath the fourth floor directly from a fifth-floor window.


    He inspected the rooms on the fifth floor; three of the doors were open, but inside, there were only a few pieces of furniture, with bed linens left on the beds, although the linens were tattered and looked unsteady.


    Junze couldn¡¯t assure that the bed linens wouldn¡¯t snap if he tried to suspend himself down to the fourth floor using them.


    Fortunately, he had prepared rope in his backpack. After circling the room and not finding anything of note, Junze returned to the corridor of the fifth floor and went to the end of the hallway.


    Descending from this window would bring him closest to the room where Jacob had lived and also farther away from the locked stairwell door on the fourth floor, thus maximally avoiding the current odd attention of Jacob squatting outside.


    And at the exact moment when Junze was securing the rope to the window, a blond man wearing a black trench coat appeared at 101 Hobsonk Street.


    He stood at the entrance of the apartment, seemingly lost in thought, so much so that he didn¡¯t notice the person lurking in the darkness under the eaves across the street, observing him intently.


    Pausing for a moment, the man in the trench coat stepped into the apartment. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 716 - 716 424 Ghost Apartment (Part Two)

    ?Chapter 716: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two) Chapter 716: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two) Not long after the man in the black trench coat entered the apartment, Sandi retracted the five-second video he had covertly recorded.


    His phone¡¯s camera wasn¡¯t bad, and the quality of the low-light footage was quite high.


    Sandi had actually decided not to enter the Ghost Apartment. After all, since Mr. Steve didn¡¯t ask him to come along, he must have had his reasons. Sandi didn¡¯t want to disrupt someone else¡¯s plan.


    Moreover, Steve was a very nice guy. In the past few days with him, Sandi had learnt a lot about dealing with strangenesses and had benefited greatly.


    Sandi¡¯s intention was to continue to wait outside and see if he could offer any help. If Steve didn¡¯t leave the Ghost Apartment, perhaps then he might consider making a call or bring his companions over in daylight to search. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the best outcome would be if Mr. Steve could safely leave this fearsome apartment building.


    Sandi didn¡¯t recognize the man in the black trench coat who had just gone in, which is why he had taken those few seconds of video.


    However, his guess was that perhaps the man had also chanced upon wanting to explore the Ghost Apartment, as it was known among the exorcists as a rather bizarre and mysterious place.


    But if this person just went in like that, could he possibly bring trouble to Mr. Steve, who was exploring the place, and disturb his plan?


    Sandi started to worry. After thinking for a moment, he immediately sent the recorded video to his colleague from the same organization, Victor.


    Victor¡¯s exorcism skills were not great, but he excelled at gathering information about strangenesses, especially adept at collecting network information.


    After sending the video, Sandi composed a message to Victor, asking him to identify the man in the video and, if possible, to look up his exact identity.


    Sandi knew very well that Victor usually had a wealth of information, and he was the most informed person in the organization. If Victor couldn¡¯t find out, then the man in the trench coat might not be any well-known exorcist.


    He was probably just some brash exorcist hoping to gain fame by exploring the Ghost Apartment.


    Unexpectedly, Victor replied much faster than anticipated, with a message arriving in about a minute.


    ¡°Boss Sandi, I can¡¯t find any information about this person, but his clothing and appearance are extremely similar to someone from the Half Moon Association, who appears to be a high-ranking member. I found a picture online that seems to have been taken from a far-off surveillance camera, and people from the association who saw someone resembling the man in this video all looked very respectful.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Upon seeing this message, a bad premonition welled up inside Sandi¡¯s heart.


    With a slight hesitation, he quickly pulled up his phone¡¯s call interface, his thumb hovering over ¡°Mr. Steve¡± for about two seconds before he pressed down.


    At that moment, Yan Junze had just managed to climb out of the fifth floor, hands gripping the rope as he slid downwards.


    He hadn¡¯t worn gloves initially, but due to the need to climb, he had temporarily put on the prepared gloves to prevent his palms from getting injured.


    Halfway down, the vibration from his phone suddenly came from his waist.


    This phone was a temporary arrangement after the Great Rewind to Great Capital, USA, intended for convenient contact with Sandi and others, to obtain information about the strangenesses.


    At this time, Yan Junze could not free his hands. The window ledge on the fifth floor, where the rope was tied, was now making a creaking friction noise, as if the window was about to give way.


    He had to transfer his body¡¯s weight onto the fourth floor as quickly as possible, or else the structure above might truly collapse.


    Hastily lowering more rope, his feet finally touched the open window of the fourth floor. After landing steadily, he steadied his swaying body on the outside of the building.


    One hand held the rope, and with the other, he hooked onto the window of the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and let go of the rope. He quickly untied one end from around his body, hooked his hands, bent over, and lightly jumped down, landing on the dust-covered carpet of the corridor.


    The sensation of the phone¡¯s vibration at his waist had long since disappeared.


    Yan Junze took off his gloves and stuffed them into the side pocket of his backpack before taking out his phone to see that it was Sandi who had called.


    He hesitated for a moment, unsure why this guy was calling him so late, but given his current location needed to be quiet, with Jacob¡¯s spirit crouching behind the stairwell door in the middle of the corridor, it was clearly inappropriate to return the call at this time.


    Yan Junze put away his phone, walked to the door of room 407 where Jacob had lived, and looked down to see the door¡¯s lock missing. At the moment, it was just ajar.


    He gently pushed the door open and walked in.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t answer the call. Could Mr. Steve have left his phone behind?¡±


    Sandi, pacing back and forth under the eaves of the building opposite the apartment, was feeling anxious and restless.


    Reluctant, but after knowing that the trench coat man who had just entered was very likely a high-ranking member of the Half Moon Association, he dared not enter the apartment directly anymore.


    Although he was very grateful to Mr. Steve, his own life was more important.


    ¡°Call again.¡±


    Sandi dialed Yan Junze¡¯s number once more.


    At that moment, Yan Junze had entered the smaller bedroom that belonged to Jacob.


    He was inspecting the items on Jacob¡¯s bedside table.


    The phone vibrated at his waist again. He frowned slightly, took out the phone to look, and it was still Sandi calling.


    Calling him persistently this late, there must be something important.

 Chapter 717 - 717 424 Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_2

    ?Chapter 717: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_2 Chapter 717: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_2 ¡°`


    Yan Junze held the phone and peered out of the bedroom into the living room before turning around to gently close the bedroom door. He walked to the furthest corner of the bedroom and then answered the call, bringing the phone to his ear and asking in the softest voice, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Lord, Mr. Steve, you finally answered your phone.¡± Sandi on the other end seemed to heave a sigh of relief and spoke very fast, ¡°Mr., listen to me. First of all, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve been following you, but just now a person in a black trench coat¡­ already¡­ hello, hello, Mr. Steve¡­¡±


    Yan Junze softly said ¡°Hello?¡± a few times as the call suddenly started breaking up and then turned into a busy signal.


    Looking up in surprise, with the busy signal still coming from the phone, Yan Junze furrowed his brows, realizing his hands and feet had turned ice cold at this moment.


    Recalling carefully what Sandi had said, Yan Junze muttered to himself, ¡°It seems like this guy was saying he¡¯s been following me, and just now, something about a person in a black trench coat¡­¡±


    Suddenly, his face changed. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Sandi was following him and called to inform him that someone in a black trench coat had entered the apartment¡­


    Then there was a high probability that this person was Reaper Morrison.


    That¡¯s why Sandi had tried to call him twice in a row to notify him.


    And if the call suddenly got cut off during the conversation, it was very likely that Morrison had sensed the communication signal and forcefully severed the call!


    ¡°It¡¯s very likely Morrison already knows I¡¯m at Jacob¡¯s place!¡± Yan Junze realized.


    However, he didn¡¯t rush to leave. Instead, he turned the intensity of his flashlight to the maximum and began searching the room thoroughly.


    To dispel Jacob¡¯s obsession, understanding the necessary information was very important.


    The basic information was all seen in the Vice President Charles¡¯s office of the Half Moon Association. Now searching in Jacob¡¯s home was to confirm whether some key information had been missed.


    Certain information might not be important to others, but for Yan Junze, it could be the key to dispelling Jacob¡¯s obsession.


    ¡­


    The entrance to the Ghost Apartment.


    Even upon arriving at the Ghost Apartment, Morrison was still puzzled.


    Because even after following that Reaper Blind Spot here, he still experienced it as more of an intermittent and elusive sensing.


    He first sensed this seemingly foreign blind spot in Mengen City and it had disrupted several times in between.


    Morrison was perplexed, especially since the sensed location was near the special strangeness ¡°Ghost Apartment¡± of Jacob, who was ¡°nearing a godlike presence¡±. He thought it best to just come and have a look.


    Being in the same state and not too far away, after an hour on the plane, Morrison arrived in Saint Gala City that same day.


    But even now that he was at the location of the Ghost Apartment, the feeling towards this seemingly own Reaper Blind Spot was still vague.


    Walking into the Ghost Apartment, his previous visit was to test if Jacob was as formidable as the legends claimed. After all, killing three exorcists of the association, including senior ones, was an indisputable fact.


    Last time he was here, Morrison had locked the stairwell door leading to the fourth floor and made a magnetic seal.


    He also took away the bodies of the three dead exorcists, and indeed, Jacob was very aggressive. It¡¯s just that Morrison was equally strong.


    After several attacks, Morrison couldn¡¯t suppress or seal Jacob as he did with other strangenesses. So, he simply made a magnetic seal on the apartment¡¯s exit.


    It prevented the little guy from leaving the apartment.


    Once the altar¡¯s conditions were ripe for opening, a bit more effort would get Jacob to the altar. If necessary, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to demolish the apartment.


    Of course, if Morrison had known that just letting Jacob step out of the apartment would reduce or even remove his ¡°Invincible¡± status, he might have slapped himself a few times.


    Sensing the intermittent blind spot, he temporarily set aside the question of when he had planted this blind spot and checked every floor of the apartment after entering.


    Because the sensing of the blind spot was only a broad range, he couldn¡¯t be sure of its exact location once inside the apartment.


    He quickly finished checking the first floor without finding anything and then Morrison moved up to the second floor.


    After checking the second floor, he proceeded towards the third floor.


    Before entering the third floor, Morrison sensed that Jacob was squatting inside the stairwell to the fourth floor.


    He approached the fourth floor with caution, remembering that encounters with strangenesses of Jacob¡¯s caliber were rare. This was a terror capable of causing an S-level event.


    Even facing Jacob, Morrison had to be fully alert.


    Of course, Morrison could leave the apartment anytime he wished, and Jacob could not stop him.


    In his sight, a boy squatted in the corner of the stairwell on the fourth floor, his back to the stairwell door.


    As Morrison got closer to the stairwell on the fourth floor, the squatting boy¡¯s body began to tremble slightly.


    This wasn¡¯t trembling from fear, but from anger. A sudden eruption of rage ignited the squatting Jacob in an instant.


    In Jacob¡¯s perception, he could also identify the unique aura of the Reaper Morrison.


    So as the other person approached him, the lad immediately sensed that it was the same person who had entered the apartment to provoke him last time.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 718 - 718 424 Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_3

    ?Chapter 718: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_3 Chapter 718: Chapter 424: Ghost Apartment (Part Two)_3 Thud!


    The crouching Jacob leaped straight into the air, spinning, his bloated and pale face turning towards Morrison, and the ¡°worms¡± sliding around in his eyes were compressed into liquid, running down his cheeks.


    Morrison raised his hands, the tips of his fingers flickering with blue magnetic glow. The magnetic energy from his left and right hands intertwined, creating a network resembling an electric grid that enveloped the approaching Jacob.


    Jacob was flung away instantly, yet he stopped midair and lunged again.


    The magnetic network crafted by Morrison was exceptionally sturdy, by far more stable and powerful than the magnetic glow produced by Huaying Great Capital¡¯s five-star exorcists.


    Jacob was repelled three times, and on the fourth, the ¡°white worms¡± inside him split open the swollen skin of his body, with each worm emerging about half a meter long, resembling white, coarse hair, covering his entire body.


    This version of Jacob, suspended in the air with half-meter-long white tendrils floating around him, appeared extremely sinister and horrifying.


    Just then, Morrison suddenly sensed a stable transmission of a communication network¡¯s magnetic field emanating from within the apartment.


    Without hesitation, he forcefully severed the communication field within his range.


    Taking a step forward, he aimed to walk toward the stairway door on the fourth floor, but the airborne Jacob, surrounded by white tendrils and seething with rage, blocked Morrison¡¯s path.


    Jacob¡¯s aggressiveness was indeed formidable; he seemed to rage impulsively, colliding with Morrison.


    With each of his strikes, Morrison had to be careful to counter, causing him to even doubt whether Jacob was still an ethereal spirit.


    If Jacob had indeed surpassed an ethereal spirit, it would have been more appropriate and prudent to have Mr. Landon handle his capture for the altar.


    Although Jacob madly assaulted the web that Morrison had formed, even using teleportation, white tendril stabs, and energy sphere assaults among other tactics, Morrison defended rigidly, giving him no opening.


    Morrison¡¯s counterattacks, though able to repel Jacob, clearly could not cause him harm.


    Gradually, Morrison stood at the entrance to the fourth-floor stairwell, reaching his hand toward the doorknob.


    And as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, the lock let out a crisp sound. The magnetic seal had been lifted.


    The stairwell door flew open, a wild surge of magnetic energy bursting out, forcefully blowing the unsealed doors apart, creating a thunderous noise. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This caused dust in the hallways near the stairwell to whirl into the air.


    Yan Junze, who was rummaging through his parent¡¯s bedroom in Jacob¡¯s home, paused, suddenly feeling as if he¡¯d been locked onto by something, a wave of extreme discomfort welling up inside him.


    He was holding a photo album, currently flipping to the next page.


    At that moment, he thought he saw a faint glint of light vanish from the back of his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been tracked!?¡±


    The thought flashed through his mind.


    He had been wondering why the Reaper Morrison had followed him to Ghost Apartment, and now, witnessing this scene, it seemed the answer was right before his eyes.


    However, this realization left Yan Junze feeling as if he¡¯d stumbled into chaos. He couldn¡¯t understand when he had been tracked.


    Hadn¡¯t he activated ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization,¡± repairing all the ripples caused by the last necessary butterfly effect correction?


    ¡°Butterfly Effect? No!¡±


    Yan Junze froze for a moment, recalling that he hadn¡¯t fully overseen the butterfly effect repairs last time; instead, he left it to the Spacetime Atlas to repair autonomously.


    Before the repair, he only laid out conditions for the fix, and perhaps, he¡¯d neglected some critical information during the process, leading to the Atlas not addressing the tracking.


    Or, more precisely, it failed to remove the ¡°tracker¡± that Morrison had stealthily planted on the back of his hand during the ¡°Anomalous Alabell¡± mission!

 Chapter 719 - 719 425 Ghost Apartment (Part Three)

    ?Chapter 719: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three) Chapter 719: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three) With that thought, it made sense that Morrison had pursued him.


    He glanced at the watch on his wrist, there were still five minutes left until midnight.


    This watch was also bought by Yan Junze in Great Capital, USA, and it was very cheap. It was just for telling time, but the quality seemed quite good.


    Although the crisis was imminent, Yan Junze still had ample time to review the materials.


    He momentarily ignored the sensation of being targeted and quickly flipped through the photo album in his hands.


    After putting down the first album, he picked up the second one and browsed through it at a very fast pace. Afterward, Yan Junze¡¯s eyebrows were tightly furrowed.


    He looked at the other photo albums on the desk. He had gone through all of them, but bizarrely, none contained Jacob¡¯s photos.


    Not a single one.


    Whether it was in the photo albums, on the desk, bedside tables, or in the frames inside the display cabinets, there was no photo of Jacob to be seen.


    It wasn¡¯t that Jacob¡¯s family didn¡¯t have photos. In fact, there were many photos in his house, but any photo that included Jacob had the portion with him cut out or torn off, leaving a person-shaped blank space.


    So much so that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t find a trace of Jacob in any of these photos after searching through them all.


    Even some photos that seemed to have included Jacob were burned.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, these photos probably couldn¡¯t have had Jacob¡¯s image cut out, so they were simply burned instead.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why the house didn¡¯t keep a photo of Jacob, why destroy all the existing ones completely.


    Thinking it over, he seemed to recall not seeing Jacob¡¯s photos in the files in Vice President Charles¡¯s office either.


    Were they not curious about the absence of any photos of Jacob?


    Perhaps they had once been curious but similarly failed to find a reason.


    Boom!


    Just then, the living room door was blasted open by a powerful force. Morrison stepped in, followed by Jacob who was suspended in the air and rammed into him once again, even letting out a piercing scream.


    Yan Junze glanced at his watch, there were still two minutes left until midnight. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Morrison had already entered the living room and couldn¡¯t be allowed to get too close.


    Under normal circumstances, Yan Junze would choose to Rewind, but it seemed unnecessary at this moment.


    With a thought, he activated the ¡°Space-Time Lockdown,¡± targeting the living room of Jacob¡¯s house, right when Morrison was hit by Jacob from behind and entered the living room.


    By now, Morrison had entered the living room, but Jacob had not.


    Whirring¡ª


    A sound that only Yan Junze could hear emanated as the area of the living room buzzed, instantly locked!


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Morrison was taken aback when he realized that Jacob, who had just been raging in the hallway behind him, was suddenly nowhere to be seen.


    He strained his eyes, looking towards the hallway.


    Outside it was eerily silent, and nothing was there.


    The ferocious Jacob seemed to have vanished in an instant.


    Surprised, Morrison looked around. He stood in Jacob¡¯s living room, where everything was unnaturally quiet, as though everything that had just happened was an illusion.


    There was no sign of Jacob at all, no sign of the fight that had just taken place.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Morrison was completely stunned.


    He wondered if Jacob was preparing some Ultimate Move and had deliberately concealed himself, just waiting for Morrison to step out before launching a surprise attack.


    Even for a Reaper like himself, he couldn¡¯t underestimate Jacob¡¯s surprise attacks.


    He paused, then turned to look around the living room again. It was all very ordinary, covered with dust.


    The Reaper Blind Spot he¡¯d faintly sensed was now gone as well, as though at this very moment, he was the only one in this world.


    With a moment¡¯s hesitation, Morrison decided to go back outside the hallway. Being in the confined space of the living room suddenly made him feel uncomfortable.


    Just to be safe, Morrison twisted the magnetic field around his body. If Jacob was waiting outside the door to ambush him, this would make his attack go completely off course.


    It was strange. After Morrison twisted the magnetic field around him, he immediately noticed that everything in his vicinity, including the living room door, had become distorted.


    Normally, the distortion of a magnetic field is invisible to the naked eye, only sensed by the person causing it, and even slightly weaker ordinary people would not feel the magnetic field being twisted.


    ¡°Why did it become visual?¡± Morrison was puzzled.


    Everything here was too weird, unsettling him more and more. Without further delay, Morrison quickly stepped out of the living room door.


    The next step did not need much thought; he would be standing in the hallway, fully guarded against Jacob¡¯s ambush.


    But the next second, as Morrison took a clear look at the scene after stepping out, his body violently trembled, almost exclaiming aloud.


    In his field of vision, it was still the living room. He was still standing inside the living room. This time, however, he was inside the room, not near the living room door.


    Turning his head to look, he realized that he had just walked out from the bedroom!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Morrison stared at the eerie living room, then turned back to look at the equally silent bedroom behind him.


    He had clearly intended to go to the hallway; how had he come out from the bedroom?


    His mind was a mess at this moment, as if his consciousness had been infused with some sort of illusion?

 Chapter 720 - 720 425 Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_2

    ?Chapter 720: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_2 Chapter 720: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_2 At this time, I must remain calm and cannot afford to make any mistakes. I can¡¯t allow myself to panic.


    Morrison forced himself to regain his composure, feeling a sense of amazement inside. He couldn¡¯t believe that Jacob¡¯s strength had become so formidable that even he, the Reaper, could be caught in an illusion akin to ¡°going in circles.¡±


    It seems that it would take Mr. Landon himself to deal with this guy!


    With that thought, he immediately turned around and stepped back into the bedroom, ready to check the situation there first.


    The next second, the scene before his eyes shifted, and he was still standing in the living room, but at the doorway leading to the corridor, with his back to the corridor and facing the living room.


    Realizing he was still in the same space, Morrison¡¯s face turned pale instantly.


    Damn, that¡¯s a seriously powerful ¡°going in circles¡±!


    Refusing to believe it, he turned and stepped towards the corridor again.


    The scenery changed, and he found himself inside the living room, with the bedroom behind him.


    This time, Morrison walked straight ahead, reached the doorway from the living room to the corridor, stepped out, and once again returned to the living room outside the bedroom.


    I can¡¯t get out!


    A surge of rage rose inside Morrison. He refused to believe that he could be trapped by a strangeness.


    The magnetic fields around his body twisted and transformed into a Magnetic Field Storm, heading straight for the window at the back of the apartment building.


    Judging by past attacks, not just this window, but even the Corpse Bride and the coffin behind her would be torn into shreds in an instant by the Magnetic Field Storm.


    But this time, the Magnetic Field Storm slammed into the window like the sound of muffled thunder, sending a humming vibration throughout the living room space, shaking Morrison¡¯s spirit, while the window remained untouched.


    The Magnetic Field Storm dissipated.


    Morrison looked at the unharmed window in astonishment, feeling as if the window were fake.


    He reached out and touched it, indeed it was real.


    At that moment, he saw his wrist, and the watch he was wearing had stopped.


    This mechanical watch was expensive and of excellent quality; Morrison had never seen it stop before, but now it had stopped.


    After mulling it over for a bit, Morrison picked up a teacup from the table and violently threw it to the ground.


    There was no shattering noise; the teacup was completely intact, not even a crack.


    ¡°This is wrong, this doesn¡¯t feel like going in circles!¡±


    Seeing this scene, his suspicion and astonishment grew.


    ¡­


    After starting the Space-Time Lockdown, Yan Junze was surprised to see the amount of energy that the Spacetime Atlas had consumed.


    The Atlas showed a consumption of 500 points.


    ¡°Activating it once uses up 500 points, that¡¯s a bit intense!¡± Yan Junze talked to himself. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To think, even initiating a Great Rewind only costs 500 points. It seems the functions unlocked later in the Spacetime Atlas consume more energy.


    Now, after initiating the Space-Time Lockdown, a progress bar appeared above Yan Junze¡¯s field of vision, which seemed to be a countdown, steadily decreasing, indicating the remaining time for the Space-Time Lockdown.


    Yan Junze found that the progress bar was reducing quickly, which might be related to the fact that it was the Reaper that was trapped.


    Moreover, logically speaking, a strangeness like Jacob¡¯s magnetic field influence should be equally powerful, especially since the entire Ghost Apartment was his domain. If he could become an invincible entity here, then other even more bizarre occurrences happening in this apartment wouldn¡¯t be surprising.


    Luckily, he hadn¡¯t locked Jacob in space-time as well, otherwise with the Reaper¡¯s and Jacob¡¯s intense magnetic fields combined, the countdown on the Space-Time Lockdown progress bar might deplete even faster.


    Yan Junze¡¯s speculation was somewhat reasonable, because at this moment, Morrison was continuously activating his magnetic field distortion, which indeed had an impact on the consumption of the Space-Time Lockdown.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to waste; after trapping Morrison, he first wiped his back hand where he had just seen the glowing point and found nothing there.


    Perhaps the tracking light was already very weak, or perhaps it had fulfilled its mission upon Morrison¡¯s approach to the target, so it disappeared.


    Yan Junze then stopped worrying about it, quickly stepped out of the living room, and returned to Jacob¡¯s small bedroom.


    At this moment, the spacetime of the living room was separated from the living room spacetime where Morrison was trapped. Morrison was just caught in the spacetime locked down by Yan Junze, which was in the past, not the present.


    So, the current living room spacetime was separated from the one Morrison was in, unless the Space-Time Lockdown stopped or became ineffective.


    In that case, Morrison would be squeezed out from the locked spacetime back into the current one.


    After searching Jacob¡¯s bedroom again for a while, he still didn¡¯t find any of Jacob¡¯s photos, but he did see many case studies about Morgellons syndrome.


    Morgellons syndrome, when mentioned, is a rather mysterious disease, with cases reported from all over the world.


    When afflicted, patients would feel countless tiny bugs crawling under their skin, itching all over, and they couldn¡¯t help but scratch their skin until it was torn and bleeding, without relieving the agony.


    These patients underwent thorough medical examinations at hospitals and no abnormalities were found, which led some to suspect it was merely a psychological disorder. But no one could clarify a fact: after being ill, indeed, a large number of white filamentous fibers were found under some patients¡¯ skin tissues.


    Until now, Morgellons syndrome remains a mystery.


    And it was evident that Jacob suffered from this condition. Saying he wasn¡¯t ill was impossible. The question was finding out why he had contracted the disease before his death.

 Chapter 721 - 721 425 Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_3

    ?Chapter 721: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_3 Chapter 721: Chapter 425: Ghost Apartment (Part Three)_3 Yan Junze was looking through the newspaper clippings he had found, speculating as he did.


    Just then, a chilling feeling suddenly arose from the depths of his heart. He placed the documents on the bed, closed the drawer of the bedside table, and looked up toward the door to see Jacob standing there.


    At this moment, the guy looked normal again, devoid of the terrifying appearance he had before. He just stood at the door, rolling his white eyes, staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze watched him, and he, too, remained silent, simply returning the gaze.


    The progress bar before him continued to decrease; there were probably only a few minutes left before the time-space lock trapping Morrison would unlock, and Yan Junze couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    But he knew that Jacob¡¯s aggressiveness was extreme. Earlier, in the stairwell, he had done nothing to offend him, yet he was ¡®killed¡¯ by the little guy in an instant. So this time, he didn¡¯t intend to say the same words he had before. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a pause, Yan Junze said, ¡°You¡¯re not sick at all, never have been.¡±


    Jacob¡¯s body visibly shook, and he slowly tilted his head, looking seriously at Yan Junze.


    ¡°I suspect you¡¯ve come into contact with some kind of indescribable strangeness,¡± Yan Junze analyzed. ¡°As far as I can tell, something beneath your skin has always existed in the form of this strangeness. This is something your doctors naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to detect.¡±


    Jacob remained silent, just tilting his head and staring at him with a calm expression.


    Yan Junze glanced at the progress bar only he could see; it was now decreasing even faster.


    He spread his hands out and said somewhat helplessly, ¡°I was actually planning to find an old photo of you for comparison, but I haven¡¯t seen one anywhere in the whole house. If I could see it, and then compare it to your current appearance, perhaps I could discover something else.¡±


    Not a single photo of the boy was in the house, which was unusual in itself. Yan Junze guessed that these photos might be related to the treatment of Jacob¡¯s illness, so seeing them might provide a breakthrough.


    This time, Jacob stopped looking at him and slowly lowered his head to glance at his hands. Then, he tilted his head to the right, as if looking at the right pocket of his pants.


    Yan Junze¡¯s spirits lifted, and he gestured invitingly, ¡°Come here, let me have a look.¡±


    As he spoke, he moved toward Jacob, taking care to keep his movements gentle to avoid provoking him.


    Just as they were about to come close, a thud suddenly came from outside the living room¡ªthe sound of someone falling to their knees¡ªfollowed by Morrison¡¯s voice, filled with uncontrollable rage, ¡°If he gets close to you, you¡¯ll die miserably!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s out already!¡±


    The progress bar above Yan Junze¡¯s head had disappeared, and he immediately said to Jacob, ¡°Come quickly, or the person behind you will hurt you!¡±


    Jacob sped up, his swollen face breaking into a smile as he reached out and grabbed Yan Junze¡¯s hand, drawing near.


    Up close, Yan Junze felt a chill in the pit of his stomach at the sight of his smile.


    But there was no time for further thought, as Morrison had already left the living room and entered Jacob¡¯s bedroom.


    He immediately reached into the right pocket of Jacob¡¯s pants and felt a crumpled piece of card, which he pulled out to see a somewhat damaged five-inch photo!


    It was a standalone photo of a person standing in front of a moss-covered wall, and the person in the photo was indeed Jacob.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let him see his own photo!!!¡±


    Morrison¡¯s bellow resonated at the bedroom door, and a violent aura swept through the space.


    Instantly, Jacob, who was holding Yan Junze¡¯s right hand, let out a crazed roar towards the direction of the bedroom door. With this, his smiling face turned terrifyingly ferocious.


    A powerful magnetic tremor spread through Yan Junze¡¯s entire body. This stubborn and highly aggressive little guy was attacking him again.


    Yet at the same moment, Yan Junze had already flipped the photo over, aligning the front with Jacob¡¯s white-eyed gaze.

 Chapter 722 - 722 426 Ghost Apartment (Part Four)

    ?Chapter 722: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four) Chapter 722: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four) The moment Jacob saw his own photograph, he trembled violently, his bloated body beginning to disintegrate bit by bit.


    From the cracked skin, countless ¡°white long worms¡± writhing inside were exposed.


    Seeing this, Morrison became frantically enraged, hurling a Magnetic Field Storm toward Yan Junze.


    However, the next second, the spot where the Magnetic Field Storm struck was empty, the bedroom was silent, with no trace of Yan Junze and Jacob.


    This silent, mysterious space was all too familiar to Morrison at that moment.


    After a brief moment of shock, the rage inside him peaked, and he let out a hysterical roar!


    Morrison immediately turned around and walked to the living room outside the bedroom.


    The next second, the scene before him shifted, and he found himself still standing at the bedroom door as if he had just walked in from the living room.


    Turning around to leave again, the view changed, and he was still entering from that doorway, standing in the bedroom.


    Morrison was beside himself with anger, the magnetic field surrounding his body almost completely contorted in an instant, warping the bedroom door and door frame, as well as the nearby walls and wall paintings beyond recognition.


    The extent of the twist continued to increase, slowly spreading around the entire bedroom.


    ¡­


    Once Morrison was locked in the space-time of Jacob¡¯s bedroom again, Yan Junze immediately headed for the living room, then rushed toward the corridor outside the living room door.


    During this process, he realized that showing Jacob his own photograph had a very strange effect.


    Jacob¡¯s immense power had already begun to crumble, and for the Half Moon Association, or Morrison and his people, this meant that Jacob¡¯s special bizarre form was beginning to disappear.


    As long as Jacob was no longer special, his value to the Half Moon Association would instantly drop to zero.


    So far, Jacob had been the only unique among all strangenesses, irreplaceable, and now if his special status was gone, the entire plan to initiate the ritual would be thoroughly ruined.


    Morrison, despite all his calculations, had not anticipated that there would be a photograph on Jacob himself. Although Jacob hated his own appearance due to his Obsession and couldn¡¯t look at the photograph himself, he hadn¡¯t expected Yan Junze to appear and help him.


    In fact, the Half Moon Association initially did not know that Jacob shouldn¡¯t see his own photograph.


    This was discovered only after Morrison¡¯s last visit. In other words, at that time Morrison had inadvertently found the method to dissolve Jacob¡¯s Obsession. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But what Morrison considered was that, in doing so, Jacob¡¯s special bizarre form would disappear. He immediately destroyed all the photographs, otherwise, Jacob¡¯s body wouldn¡¯t suffer from perpetual swelling.


    It was just that Morrison had forgotten to check on Jacob himself.


    Rushing into the corridor, Yan Junze said, ¡°Now you know, you¡¯re not sick at all, these white long worms are an unspeakable strangeness. You were killed by them, and they were just trying to find a ¡®human dwelling.''¡±


    Soon, Yan Junze felt an excruciating pain in his palm, and from Jacob¡¯s torn skin, the white long worms inside hurriedly burrowed into the skin of Yan Junze¡¯s arm.


    In a short time, one had already drilled in, two or three others had buried half their bodies, with the other half of the tails wriggling outside the skin.


    And the Jacob who was still holding him let out a weird, he-he-he laughter.


    Jacob didn¡¯t care about Yan Junze¡¯s plight, as the mission hint said, this kid had nothing but the thought to attack, with barely any other thoughts.


    Even though his Obsession had been dispelled, his temper, born from an unwillingness to die, was still influencing him.


    Yan Junze now understood all the factors to solve the problem and he wouldn¡¯t let his end be so awful.


    His thought now was that since he knew the photo in Jacob¡¯s pocket was the key item to resolve the Obsession, as soon as he saw the kid in the staircase for the first time, he just needed to find a way to take the photo out of his pocket for him to glance at himself, then all the problems he was facing would cease to exist.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze immediately initiated a Rewind.


    The moment the thought to initiate Rewind emerged, his body involuntarily shook violently.


    A line of text popped up in his mind.


    [Detection of a strong Control Field within the host¡¯s body, Rewind cannot be initiated. Forcing a start may result in severe consequences with only part of the body Rewound.]


    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Junze stared in disbelief.


    This was the first time he faced a situation where he couldn¡¯t Rewind.


    ¡°What Control Field? How could such a Control Field emerge within me?¡± He was completely baffled.


    But soon, his gaze turned to the white long worms ferociously burrowing into his arm.


    ¡°This, could it be¡­ these unspeakable strangenesses!¡±


    After being infected by these strangenesses, Jacob had become the most powerful entity in the Ghost Apartment. It seemed this was also the effect of these unspeakable strangenesses¡¯ Control Field.


    All at once, he understood the answers he couldn¡¯t comprehend moments before.


    ¡°He-he-he¡­¡±


    The Jacob who was pulling Yan Junze¡¯s right hand, leading him in a mad dash, was still emitting a weird laugh.

 Chapter 723 - 723 426 Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_2

    ?Chapter 723: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_2 Chapter 723: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_2 It was clear that the child had gone almost completely mad after death.


    Yan Junze no longer hesitated, having already resolved his form as a special strangeness and completed the mission, so he kicked out in that moment, sending Jacob flying.


    Immediately afterward, he abruptly sat down with bent legs in the hallway, where four white long worms were now squirming up his arm, with the second worm almost fully burrowed into his skin.


    Yan Junze did not dare to touch these creatures directly because their form was truly bizarre.


    He instantly released the Black Spirit Umbrella, opened it, and covered himself fully from above.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The three white long worms outside burst instantly, releasing a puff of dark smoke, but the one that was about to completely burrow under the skin exploded along with the skin.


    The pain caused Yan Junze to grimace, and his arm, which now resembled the ferocious form of a centipede, began to bleed profusely.


    However, he immediately noticed that the first white long worm that had burrowed into his body was no longer under the skin of his arm, but had instead entered his insides.


    At this moment, it was wildly darting around his viscera.


    Under the cover of the Black Spirit Umbrella, the white long worm seemed to sense danger. It frantically scurried through Yan Junze¡¯s body, looking for a place to hide.


    And Yan Junze could feel the body of the worm starting to emit black smoke.


    His insides ached indescribably, as if his heart was being pierced by thousands of arrows, but he dared not let go, gripping the handle of the Black Spirit Umbrella tightly.


    Suddenly, the white long worm seemed to find its target and darted like an arrow into Yan Junze¡¯s heart, disappearing without trace.


    The three powers converged by the Black Spirit Umbrella struck down, targeting his heart.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Chilled to the bone by the sight, Yan Junze squeezed the umbrella handle instinctively, frantically closing the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The lethal force of the three powers halted abruptly.


    Yan Junze gasped heavily, quickly checking his heart for any abnormalities.


    Upon checking, a piercing pain overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the ground.


    At the location of his atrium, his heart¡¯s beating began to slow, and a mass of white fluffy substance spread out from within, enveloping all the blood vessels connected to the heart in a white fluff.


    Boom!


    As Yan Junze pondered his next move, a loud bang came from Jacob¡¯s room, and Reaper Morrison broke free again.


    Clearly enraged beyond measure, he let out a furious roar.


    Stepping out from Jacob¡¯s bedroom, Morrison, having successfully returned to the living room, unleashed the full control of his magnetic field, striding towards the hallway. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he moved rapidly, the formidable Magnetic Field Storm gradually subsided. This, however, did not signal a cessation of his anger.


    A sound akin to electromagnetic collisions hissed around, emanating densely from underneath Morrison¡¯s feet, spreading outward.


    This seemed more like the eerie calm before a tempest, foretelling the arrival of a far more ferocious storm.


    Reaper Forbidden Zone!


    With his arms outspread, Morrison stood at the end of the hallway looking down at Yan Junze, who had made it to the stairway entrance but was sprawled on the ground.


    Just then, as Yan Junze turned around, he immediately felt a dense magnetic response throughout his body, every muscle, meridian, and blood vessel tingling with electric currents, crawling over every inch of his skin.


    The white fluff-shaped figure near him, already struggling under the Black Spirit Umbrella, was instantaneously annihilated by the denoument of the Reaper Forbidden Zone, with even the Black Spirit Umbrella above quivering slightly.

 Chapter 724 - 724 426 Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_3

    ?Chapter 724: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_3 Chapter 724: Chapter 426: Ghost Apartment (Part Four)_3 The moment this massive Reaper Forbidden Zone was activated, although the energy consumption was astonishing, Morrison¡¯s power enveloped the entire fourth floor!


    Yan Junze¡¯s face deeply imprinted itself in Morrison¡¯s mind.


    He now found Yan Junze¡¯s face unfamiliar, yet the accumulated hatred for causing him repeated frustration was intensifying.


    Clenching his teeth with rage, Morrison gathered a substantial Magnetic Flow, trembling like a vibrator over Junze¡¯s heart, and then brutally struck it with a heavy blow.


    This was a Reaper¡¯s most standard murder technique when dealing with an ordinary human.


    Because unlike when confronting strangenesses, to truly kill a human, instantaneously choking the heart would finish the job in one swift move without dragging things out.


    Moreover, Morrison was beginning to feel fearful. He didn¡¯t understand why he had encountered spatial stagnation twice in a row, and he didn¡¯t want to give his opponent more time, leaving himself open to experiencing that situation again.


    Just as Junze retracted the Black Spirit Umbrella, he felt his heart suddenly contract, and a severe pain tore through him as if his heart were being ripped apart in an instant. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The so-called white fuzzy substance of the domain field actually shared some functional similarities with the Reaper Forbidden Zone, both akin to a kind of domain field control.


    This intense pain nearly pushed Junze to the brink of unconsciousness.


    But he could still feel that although his heart was damaged, it wasn¡¯t actually torn apart, but bound by the fuzz released by the white long worms that had already occupied it.


    This indirectly protected his heart.


    Junze couldn¡¯t allow Morrison to attack him a second time. His thoughts mirrored Morrison¡¯s almost exactly. Without hesitation, he immediately unleashed ¡°Space-Time Lockdown.¡±


    The part of the corridor where Morrison stood instantly froze within the moment ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± was released.


    In the eyes of Junze and Morrison, their opponent vanished without a trace at that moment.


    Within the silent, eerie stasis, the familiar quiet environment filled Morrison with a sense of desperation.


    He couldn¡¯t understand how his opponent had done it, finding himself unguarded once more within that enclosed space.


    Trying to reach the end of the corridor, Morrison broke into a jog, only to find the hallway seemed to have grown longer, with no end in sight.


    The entrance to the stairwell in the middle of the corridor was right in front of him, but no matter how he walked, he couldn¡¯t reach it.


    Suddenly pausing, Morrison quickly realized that his Reaper Forbidden Zone was still active.


    Even though he was in this enclosed space, he should be able to sense the Forbidden Zone outside, because it had already been activated before he entered this confinement.


    At that moment, Morrison stopped moving randomly and immediately stood still, closing his eyes.


    On the corridor.


    Junze lay half on the ground, clutching his heart with one hand and propping himself up with the Black Spirit Umbrella in the other, supporting his body¡¯s weight.


    He could no longer Rewind, and Morrison was on this corridor, ready to kill him.


    Facing this man, without the option to Rewind, it seemed like certain death!


    All he could do now was use ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± to temporarily hold off his opponent and escape from the apartment first.


    With that thought, Junze used the Black Spirit Umbrella to help him stand. He could feel his heart as if it had stopped beating, or was beating so faintly that it was barely perceptible.


    With his complexion deathly pale, but still alive and able to move in this state, he couldn¡¯t help but suspect that he might be evolving towards becoming a strangeness once again.


    That is, after being invaded by the white long worms, he was transforming into a new Semi-spirit.


    Just then, the space in the corridor inexplicably vibrated, and visibly, ripples pulsed within the area that had trapped Morrison, resonating with the Magnetic Flow flowing underfoot.


    Junze suddenly found that the progress bar of his ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± was rapidly depleting, at an astounding rate.


    He immediately turned around, about to push open the door and step into the stairwell of the fourth floor, when a thud sounded from behind; Morrison had been expelled from the locked space-time.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    As Morrison¡¯s shout rang out, Junze¡¯s heart clenched sharply again. His whole body shuddered, and he was propelled forward as if hit by a truck, landing at the turn of the staircase between the fourth and third floors.

 Chapter 725 - 725 427 Ghost Apartment (Finale)

    ?Chapter 725: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale) Chapter 725: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale) When he hit the ground, Yan Junze could feel his heart congested, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.


    Although the white long worms were indirectly protecting his heart at this moment, it still couldn¡¯t withstand two fatal attacks from the Reaper.


    Yan Junze even had the illusion that the two fatal attacks made the white long worms think they were the target of Morrison¡¯s attack, so at this moment they were desperately releasing their Control Field.


    Not only the heart, but also the other organs around the heart, at this moment, were almost completely covered by the white fluff-like substance.


    Clearly, the long worm inside the heart was also fighting for its life with reckless abandon.


    This lead to the current situation where Yan Junze was indeed starting to transform into a Semi-spirit.


    His fall between the third and fourth floors, for the time being, had avoided the coverage of Morrison¡¯s Reaper Forbidden Zone on the fourth floor, so he didn¡¯t have to suffer from a third fatal attack from Morrison right away.


    But the current situation was extremely critical.


    First, he couldn¡¯t Rewind to escape the current crisis; then, having been infected by the white long worms, he was transforming into a Semi-spirit.


    Looking at it this way, indeed, a mission of the ¡°scared witless¡± level was extremely dangerous. Although the previous mission concerning Aunt Mei was also ¡°scared witless¡± level, had he not already known Aunt Mei and possessed the secret of her and the two strange babies, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to complete it so easily.


    Most importantly, there was still a Reaper chasing after him.


    After spitting out a large mouthful of blood, Yan Junze struggled to get up, propped himself up with the Black Spirit Umbrella, and staggered down toward the third floor.


    In haste, he tore open his shirt covering his chest and glanced at it, finding that blood had soaked through at the heart area.


    At the same time, a small amount of the white fluff-like substance was seeping through the skin.


    Whether it was the blood or the white fluff-like substance, neither were good news for him.


    The reason he still hadn¡¯t fallen was simple: because he was transforming into a Semi-spirit. The special physical transformation allowed him to stay conscious, whereas if he were an ordinary person, by this time the heart, taken over by the white long worms, and the gushing blood would have caused him to pass out.


    ¡°Huaying¡­ person!¡±


    The voice of Morrison came from the staircase on the fourth floor.


    He had just seen Yan Junze¡¯s face, and knew that it belonged to someone from the Great Capital.


    The heavy footsteps arrived quickly, and at this time, Yan Junze was still just shy of reaching the third floor, still on the stairs.


    But just as Morrison appeared at the staircase to the fourth floor, Yan Junze again released ¡°Space-Time Lockdown,¡± and the next second, he released ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap First Form.¡±


    Both functions were initiated in succession, with the second one being reinforced on the basis of the first.


    Each time the two functions were used, they consumed 500 points, using up another 1000 points in total.


    Morrison had just been standing in the stairwell of the fourth floor, hearing the footsteps of Yan Junze heading down to the third floor.


    Suddenly, the space became eerily silent; not a single sound could be heard as if even the air had become stagnant.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    Morrison roared inwardly as he slapped the metal handrail of the stair with his palm.


    A familiar and subdued sound spread throughout the space, but it was as if no sound had been made at all, and what he had just heard seemed to be an illusion.


    That¡¯s right, he was trapped in that bizarre space again.


    However, this time, a second after he struck the handrail, his vision blurred, and Morrison was startled, his eyes widening in shock and fear at the sight before him.


    Truthfully, as a Reaper, he didn¡¯t remember if he had ever had the behavior of widening his eyes in fear¡ªthis was probably the first time. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything before him was also very familiar, because it was¡­ Alabell¡¯s bedroom!


    There was Alabell¡¯s large bed, the gigantic wardrobe, a sofa at the other end, and the window was open, with the breeze blowing in, lifting the white curtain.


    There was no one in the bedroom.


    Morrison looked around in disbelief, wondering why he had returned here, but everything seemed so real that it was beyond doubt.


    He touched a tall cabinet near the bedroom door, and it was real, not an illusion.


    The blanket on the bed was slightly raised, as if Alabell was lying underneath, but the bulge seemed too small for a person to hide.


    Morrison walked over, grabbed the corner of the blanket, and flung it back, revealing that the bed was indeed empty.


    Then Morrison¡¯s gaze turned towards the large wardrobe.


    Having guarded Alabell for so long, and having placed his Avatar in the manor, he knew very well what Alabell had hidden in that wardrobe.


    And perhaps Alabell was in the wardrobe right now.


    He walked up to the wardrobe, extended both hands, and opened the two doors simultaneously.


    Before his eyes was a large number of ragged bodies in servant¡¯s attire, some bodies only half-intact, some with just limbs left, heads nowhere to be seen.


    Looking at these bodies, Morrison remained calm.


    He knew that sometimes Alabell would crawl out from underneath these corpses.


    But after waiting for a moment without any movement, Morrison couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Alabell, come out now.¡±


    The pile of corpses remained motionless.


    Morrison, puzzled, turned his head to look elsewhere in the room.


    The feeling of unease within grew stronger, and he walked over to the open window; the curtain swayed gently with the breeze, letting the wind flow in.


    This wasn¡¯t the quiet, motionless space of before, but with Alabell not in the room, and although the room appeared normal, Morrison felt an inexplicable sense of eeriness.

 Chapter 726 - 726 427 Ghost Apartment (Finale)_2

    ?Chapter 726: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale)_2 Chapter 726: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale)_2 He reached out his hand, feeling the breeze gently brush against his palm, and the sensation was unmistakably real.


    Yet, after hesitating for a moment, Morrison still stretched his hand out the window.


    The next moment, he was startled to discover that his right hand, the one he¡¯d extended outside, had vanished without a trace, leaving only his wrist visible inside the window frame; his right palm had disappeared before his eyes.


    ¡°This place is still fake! It¡¯s not real!¡±


    Realizing this, Morrison quickly withdrew his hand, and after moving it away from the window, his palm reappeared.


    He hurried back to the doorway of the bedroom, but no matter how hard he tugged, the door wouldn¡¯t budge.


    This was still a sealed space.


    Morrison had a sudden epiphany.


    He calmed himself and immediately began to sense his Reaper Forbidden Zone once more.


    Half a minute later, all the scenery of Alabell¡¯s room vanished before him, and he found himself silently in the fourth-floor stairwell.


    But he knew this was still an illusion, so he continued to intensify his connection with his Reaper Forbidden Zone.


    ¡­


    Ever since releasing ¡°Space-Time Lockdown¡± while simultaneously deploying ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1,¡± Yan Junze noticed that the time it took for Morrison to escape had indeed been significantly prolonged.


    Now, it seemed that the effects of ¡°Space-Time Scene Overlap Form 1¡± were much better when coupled with ¡°Space-Time Lockdown,¡± with the overlapping scenes merging so naturally that the target couldn¡¯t sense anything amiss in the short term.


    This was only the first form of scene overlap; he had no idea what the second or even the third forms might entail.


    Taking advantage of this time, Yan Junze, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, managed to make it to the second floor and began heading down to the first floor.


    His body was severely injured; if he hadn¡¯t been in the process of Semi-Spiritualization, he might have collapsed by now, possibly even killed by Morrison.


    However, this also meant that Yan Junze¡¯s movements were excruciatingly slow. At this rate, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get far.


    Footsteps soon echoed from above. Yan Junze tensed as Morrison broke free from the locked space-time once again, in pursuit.


    Morrison had never experienced such frustration as he did today. Whether dealing with humans or strangenesses, he had always been untouchably superior.


    But today¡¯s experiences had seen him repeatedly forced onto the back foot.


    Now, fuelled by rage, Morrison charged down the stairs, quickly reaching the first floor.


    He stopped abruptly, sensing something unusual.


    All the way down, he had not seen Yan Junze. Having struck him down twice in succession, it was impossible for the guy to have fled so quickly.


    Moreover, after spotting Yan Junze in the hallway, Morrison had stealthily planted a Reaper Blind Spot on him using his Reaper Forbidden Zone. Now, he couldn¡¯t even sense the Blind Spot.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way he could have disappeared so quickly! Absolutely impossible!¡±


    Morrison was confident in his conclusion.


    He crouched down and scrutinized the carpet for footprints. There were strange footprints going upstairs, but none coming down.


    At this moment, a bizarre thought struck him: if he could be trapped in that stilled space, perhaps that kid could do the same to himself.


    He looked up towards the stairwell, stepping back inside, while thinking to himself, ¡°This stilled space might be the latest tech from Great Capital Huaying, capable of blocking even my Reaper Blind Spot.¡±


    At that moment, on the stairs, Yan Junze watched Morrison return to the stairwell, cursing under his breath.


    The man was too astute.


    Indeed, Yan Junze had initiated another ¡°Space-Time Lockdown,¡± but this time with the opposite purpose: to lock himself within space-time.


    Of course, as the controller, Yan Junze could leave the locked space-time at will, unlike Morrison, who was uncontrollably trapped.


    Moreover, in his vision, the locked space around him appeared semi-transparent, allowing him to clearly watch Morrison pass through the overlapping area where he was, descend to the first floor, and then observe every move Morrison made as he examined the footprints on the ground.


    Regardless, he seemed to be safe for now, but Morrison didn¡¯t leave the area and instead became suspicious, lingering around.


    Yan Junze was bleeding heavily, his skin around the heart had burst open, with blood seeping through accompanied by some white, cottony clots.


    Even if he managed to escape by luck, such injuries would take a long time to heal, and given his increasingly evident Semi-Spiritualization, it wasn¡¯t something that ordinary medical treatment could fix.


    Leaning against the wall at the corner from the first to the second floor, he watched helplessly as Morrison went up to the second floor, then quickly returned to the first.


    Back and forth, Morrison looked around in confusion, but he wouldn¡¯t leave the area.


    Yan Junze showed a bitter smile as blood seeped through his teeth and out the corner of his mouth.


    Staying here was definitely not an option, but he couldn¡¯t perform a ¡°Rewind,¡± so why not initiate the command to return through the Space-Time Rift, leaving this ¡°Great Rewind¡± behind?


    Upon closer consideration, according to the Atlas, a Rewind would leave his heart behind in the current space-time, but what about returning through the Space-Time Rift?


    This kind of return wasn¡¯t like a rewind that jumps from one moment on a timeline to another earlier moment; it meant disappearing from that point in time and entering the Space-Time Rift¡ªa void without the constraints of space-time.


    The Void, where the Space-Time Rift resided, wasn¡¯t limited by the concept of ¡°space-time.¡± There, time stood still, and space was engulfed in nothingness. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 727 - 727 427 Ghost Apartment (Finale)_3

    ?Chapter 727: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale)_3 Chapter 727: Chapter 427: Ghost Apartment (Finale)_3 ¡°`


    This means that returning to the Space-Time Rift and directly initiating a Rewind are two separate concepts.


    One could think of it as standing still in the same spot, and after activating the command to return to the Space-Time Rift, the body hasn¡¯t moved but is already located within the Void of the rift.


    The similarity with Rewind is that, to the current space-time, your body would disappear from here.


    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s possible for the body to disappear? That is, to disappear along with the heart that has been entered by the white long worms, rather than directly rewinding?¡± Yan Junze felt curiosity arise within him.


    During the Rewind he had initiated just now, the Atlas had immediately warned him of the danger due to the white long worms possessing a special Control Field, similar to the Magnetic Flow emitted by the Reaper, which had already fused with his own body.


    Now that he was about to return to the Space-Time Rift, if he was wrong in his speculation and there was a danger once again, the Atlas would definitely issue a warning. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After careful thought, Yan Junze felt that it was worth a try.


    At this moment, Morrison had already stopped on the stairs, leaning against the railing, his gaze still thick with confusion.


    If the two people on the stairs were indeed in the same space, their actual distance was less than two meters.


    Once the progress bar for the Space-Time Lockdown disappeared, Yan Junze would suddenly appear before Morrison¡¯s eyes, first startling the man, and then pay a heavy price for having startled him.


    The return to the Space-Time Rift could be tried right now, as it was not affected by the lockdown of space-time.


    To the Space-Time Rift, the current Yan Junze was always in the midst of the Great Rewind. Aside from large-scale weapons like the Turner Shockwave Emitter that detect and stabilize magnetic field space anomalies, theoretically, he could return to the rift at any moment.


    ¡°Return to the Space-Time Rift!¡±


    Yan Junze silently chanted in his heart.


    Even though the Atlas¡¯s prompt would appear in the next second, at this moment, Yan Junze truly felt as if time was dragging on like an eternity.


    He paid close attention to his mind, but no text popped up.


    Immediately after, his vision blurred, and he found himself standing in the familiar Void.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    Excitement surged within Yan Junze, and he quickly checked his heartbeat.


    It was still there! But it was growing weaker and weaker, beating very slowly.


    One could tell that his complexion must also be pale to the extreme at this moment.


    However, Yan Junze was very clear that the white long worm had come along with him, including its Control Field.


    It was quite evident that this type of Control Field did not conflict with the command to return to the Space-Time Rift, hence the domain field within remained unaffected.


    But if it were just a Rewind, for some unknown reason there would be a conflict with the Control Field, preventing it from rewinding successfully and only allowing it to stay in the current space-time.


    It seemed to be an inclusive relationship: the command of the Space-Time Rift included both Rewind and the Control Field. However, the Rewind and the Control Field were not compatible with one another.


    Now, in this Void, it appeared as if Yan Junze still had a pulse, still had a heartbeat. But in reality, everything in this space was at a standstill, utterly devoid of the concept of space-time.


    Hence, the white long worm in his heart was also motionless, and his body had also ceased the state of Semi-Spiritualization.


    Standing in the Void, Yan Junze watched as the text prompt for stabilizing the Butterfly Effect ripples appeared before his eyes.


    ¡°There is no need to repair the event of Jacob Johnson¡¯s elimination. But if there are traces left on me that Morrison could track, all related events must be repaired.¡±


    Though his injuries had ceased, Yan Junze still felt short of breath. After pausing, he added, ¡°Please play¡­ the rest of the ripple events.¡±


    He knew that he had already exposed himself to Reaper Morrison. Based on the tracking of his appearance, that man would sooner or later trace it back to him.


    At this moment, it would be good to delay the revelation of his true identity for as long as possible, but complete concealment was impossible.


    With the previous experience, Yan Junze watched the ripple events very carefully this time, not missing a single detail, to ensure that Jacob¡¯s elimination would cause the maximum impact for the Half Moon Association, while his own traces would be erased as much as possible.


    Some that couldn¡¯t be erased were transformed into inconsequential, low-probability events.


    The repair of all the ripple events cost him 4200 points of Different Dimension Energy.


    Looking at the remaining 4800 points of Different Dimension Energy, Yan Junze fell silent.


    ¡°If I had known I could return directly to the Space-Time Rift, after eliminating Jacob, I wouldn¡¯t have needed to expend energy to lockdown the space-time where Morrison was.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 728 - 728 428 Return to Zhen City Supermarket

    ?Chapter 728: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket Chapter 728: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket Ghost Apartment, at the staircase from the second floor to the first floor.


    Morrison stood silently here for about half an hour before he finally moved.


    He raised his head, pondering that perhaps he had guessed wrong. The Huaying person probably hadn¡¯t hidden nearby, but had truly fled.


    Then Morrison looked up in surprise, striving to recall something.


    A minute later, he slapped his thigh and blurted out, ¡°How could I have forgotten to plant a Reaper Blind Spot on that guy?!¡±


    According to his usual habit, when dealing with valuable people or things that may be of use temporarily, he would customarily plant his Reaper Blind Spot to facilitate finding the target later.


    But what was wrong with him today? He had even forgotten this habit.


    And without a Reaper Blind Spot planted on that guy, tracking him down later would be extremely troublesome.


    Morrison recalled Yan Junze¡¯s appearance. The apartment was too dark, and the series of events that had just occurred was too abrupt; he couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could remember Yan Junze¡¯s face with 100% accuracy.


    But if he could depict 70 to 80 percent of it, that would still be good.


    He went down to the first floor uneasily and wandered back and forth in the corridor, but he saw no other suspicious situations.


    He then sealed the front door with a magnetic field.


    Afterward, he climbed the floors slowly, checking each level carefully before returning to the first floor, convinced that Yan Junze was no longer there.


    Morrison walked out of the apartment and looked around.


    The day¡¯s events were too strange; not only had Jacob, a very special strangeness, been wiped out, but the way that Huaying person trapped him was also extraordinarily bizarre.


    Feeling somewhat uneasy, he spread his domain field, encompassing the streets on both sides and the nearby buildings.


    He discovered nothing abnormal.


    As he left, Morrison took out his phone and dialed Vice President Charles¡¯s number. Once connected, he said, ¡°Mr. Vice President, please connect me with a portrait artist from the security bureau¡¯s investigative office. I need to find someone. Yes, have them meet me at the headquarters tomorrow.¡±


    After hanging up, Morrison thought for a moment, slowly exhaled, and then picked up his phone again to dial a serious sequence of numbers. The phone screen displayed: Mr. Landon Walker.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Walker, sorry for bothering you so late. I have some bad news that I must report to you now¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Space-Time Rift. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After sighing at the energy points he had spent in trapping Morrison, which now seemed somewhat unworthy, the text in front of Yan Junze also slowly disappeared, as the Butterfly Effect¡¯s Lianyi incidents were completely repaired.


    These Lianyi incidents had to be fixed, but Yan Junze did not interfere with Jacob¡¯s incident, allowing it to occur naturally.


    Unexpectedly during the correction of the Lianyi incidents, Sandi, the founder of the Ressa Organization, was still on the opposite street outside the apartment, waiting.


    Apparently worried about his own safety, this man stayed put even after notifying Yan Junze by phone.


    It¡¯s also possible that because he wasn¡¯t detailed enough during the phone call, he was afraid Yan Junze might be in danger and hence waited outside.


    But the result was that after Morrison¡¯s failed attempt to kill Yan Junze and his exit from the apartment to deploy the domain field, he happened to spot Sandi and took him back, which led to a series of subsequent Butterfly Effects.


    Just clearing the Lianyi incidents caused by that Butterfly Effect cost 1600 Different Dimension Energy points.


    Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and the Butterfly Effect was cleared, so after Morrison came out, Sandi had already left.


    The corrected Lianyi incident involved Sandi receiving an emergency phone call from his wife about a burglary at home, prompting him to rush back immediately.


    Having stabilized the Great Rewind¡¯s Butterfly Effect,


    Yan Junze was caught in a dilemma.


    Now, his heart was occupied by those white long worms, which were obviously trying to carry out Semi-Spiritualization on him.


    And if he was right, he couldn¡¯t look into mirrors now¡ª he couldn¡¯t see his own photos, otherwise, he might encounter something similar to what had happened to Jacob.


    The long worms that had emerged from Jacob¡¯s body had clearly evolved and were no longer the pure white fluff-like substance that the boy had encountered before his death, but were instead wriggling things resembling earthworms.


    Even though Jacob was able to look into mirrors and see his own photos before his death, Yan Junze now faced these evolved long worms with no confidence to do the same.


    For him, life was only this one time; if he suddenly died, there would be no Automatic Rewind on Near-Death to save him.


    Even if he activated Automatic Rewind on Near-Death, with his heart left behind before the rewind, he would still be dead.


    Yan Junze remembered clearly that before he passed through the Space-Time Rift on the second floor of the mall, there was a large stack of billboards there that hadn¡¯t been cleaned up.


    Behind those billboards was a make-up mirror placed at the escalator corner.


    Now that he had changed history, the urban chaos caused by summoning the powerful Possession Spirit no longer existed. This meant the mall must be in normal operation, and there was a high chance that the piled up billboards had already been cleared, so once he went back, he would definitely end up facing that make-up mirror.


    Perhaps, the moment he appeared and looked into the mirror, his heart would burst open with those white long worms, even if Guo Youliang was beside him, it would be in vain.

 Chapter 729 - 729 428 Return to Zhen City Supermarket_2

    ?Chapter 729: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket_2 Chapter 729: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket_2 You should know that even the Reaper Morrison was in the apartment just now, and he couldn¡¯t save Jacob, whose body had burst open due to the white long worms.


    Going back now doesn¡¯t require consuming energy points, but it¡¯s very dangerous, so Yan Junze was considering whether there could be a better way that could both allow him to avoid life-threatening dangers and eliminate or stabilize the Semi-Spiritualization condition his body was continuously undergoing due to the heart parasite.


    Moreover, there was another matter he couldn¡¯t ignore: the pursuit by Morrison.


    Even though he had stabilized these factors in the Butterfly Effect just now, he couldn¡¯t simply erase Morrison¡¯s memory of him, because that was an inevitable fact in the Great Rewind.


    There was no doubt that Morrison had seen him.


    If he returned rashly, could he be walking into an ambush the moment he appeared? On this point, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure.


    He didn¡¯t need to doubt the capability of the Half Moon Association; the organization definitely had the ability to search for a person anywhere in the world, whether it was in the Great Capital of USA or the Great Capital of Huaying.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about going back for now. I have to consider all these factors clearly before making plans,¡±


    Yan Junze murmured to himself while feeling the weakness in his body.


    The best way to get rid of the white long worms inside his body was, of course, to get help from a powerful strangeness, like Aunt Mei.


    But the reality now was, Yan Junze could rewind back to any preceding spacetime in the Space-Time Rift, provided that there was sufficient Different Dimension Energy.


    While positioning the Corpse Bride mission, it consumed 8000 of his energy points, positioning Alabell took 5900 points, and positioning Jacob¡¯s Ghost Apartment also took 8100 points.


    If he wanted to go back to the manor where Alabell was and find Aunt Mei to solve his own troubles, he would need 5900 points to initiate it.


    Now he only had 4800 points left.


    No matter which positioning he returned to, it was obviously not enough.


    The large energy consumption was mainly due to the long duration of the spacetime jump, and Yan Junze still had to consider that after the Great Rewind, he must be familiar with the specific spacetime he located, and it must include a strangeness that could help resolve his body¡¯s Semi-Spiritualization.


    With that thought, he paused for a moment, with an idea rising in his heart, and this idea quickly took shape. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He quietly asked in his mind, ¡°May I ask if it¡¯s possible to find a new Space-Time Rift here in the Void to return through, instead of the one I entered before?¡±


    Text floated up before his eyes.


    [You can choose to return through a Space-Time Rift at the same time point but at different spatial coordinates. Location changes could be significant. Would you now like to enter a rift at a different location but the same time?]


    Yan Junze hesitated slightly, then shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t enter for now but please mark the coordinates of the rifts at different locations for me.¡±


    Another line of text appeared, carrying information about another Space-Time Rift that appeared at the same time as the one on the second floor of the mall but at a different location.


    The Void he was currently in was like a transfer station, where any act of entering a Space-Time Rift would be transferred here.


    So, in other words, one could also exit through any Space-Time Rift from the transfer station, but he must return to the same spacetime point from which he came.


    That is, the time point upon return had to be the same as before leaving, although the location may vary due to the different appearances of the rifts.


    As long as he could get back, this was not important.


    However, it was clearly improper to return through another Space-Time Rift right now, due to his serious injuries and ongoing Semi-Spiritualization.


    If, upon return, the place he landed wasn¡¯t the mall without the threat of the large mirror, but if it was the suburbs, his serious injuries could prove very dangerous if he couldn¡¯t receive treatment.


    Therefore, before doing that, Yan Junze would consider resolving this most troublesome issue first.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he continued, ¡°Let me describe, and have the Atlas pinpoint the location based on the description. I need to go to Zhen City in the Luoxia District of the Great Capital of Huaying. There, there is an abandoned supermarket, and the time is just after the Back-faced Woman and her daughter Ke¡¯er have entered that supermarket. I want to appear in a staff corridor near the back of the supermarket.¡±


    [Positioning in progress, please wait¡­]


    [Analyzing¡­]


    [Analysis complete, positioning in progress¡­]


    [Positioning complete. This Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 4300 points of Different Dimension Energy. Do you wish to enter now?]


    Yan Junze looked at the required consumption of 4300 energy points. If he performed the Great Rewind this time, he would only have 500 points left.


    But at present, it seemed like the most prudent plan.


    First, the energy consumption for this Great Rewind was bearable.


    Secondly, if anyone was most familiar with his body¡¯s Semi-Spiritualization condition, it had to be the Back-faced Woman.


    She had secretly implanted the Semi-spirit in him, later combined with Ke¡¯er¡¯s Bond Evolution, and merged with his Semi-Spirit State. The mother and daughter had also helped him from a distance multiple times.


    If she couldn¡¯t resolve it, he would probably have to seek a higher level strangeness and take drastic measures to break the worm.


    The premise was that the white long worm wouldn¡¯t burst and harm his heart when forced out.


    The white long worm inside his body was not very powerful; it only possessed a peculiar domain field control. Yan Junze believed that once he saw the Back-faced Woman, she would have a way to deal with this problem.


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    After he issued the command, his vision blurred, and a feeling of overwhelming weakness descended upon his whole body, along with a sense of weightlessness.

 Chapter 730 - 730 428 Return to Zhen City Supermarket_3

    ?Chapter 730: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket_3 Chapter 730: Chapter 428: Return to Zhen City Supermarket_3 Yan Junze felt dizzy and disoriented.


    Never before had the aftermath of a Great Rewind felt so terrible; due to the grievous injuries he had sustained, it felt as if he could perish at any moment.


    Blood once again began to spill from his body, from his mouth, his nose, around his heart. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although there was no visible wound at the heart, blood kept seeping out continuously after the trauma.


    As his feet hit the ground, Yan Junze immediately sat down, his vision darkening, temporarily unable to see his surroundings clearly.


    But all around was eerily quiet.


    Seconds later, his throat sweetened again as fresh blood surged forth, staining the front of his clothes.


    His heart felt hard, as though it had stopped beating, and yet bizarrely, he still had the strength to stand.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled that another version of himself in this current timespace should arrive at the supermarket soon; it was essential to find Ke¡¯er and her mother beforehand.


    Based on his own request during the Great Rewind, he was to arrive after the mother and daughter entered the supermarket, which meant that Ke¡¯er and the Back-faced Woman must be here somewhere.


    He looked around. He was in the supermarket¡¯s staff corridor, with emergency lights glowing at intervals along the corner of the wall, providing faint light. His eyes had now adjusted, so he could see more clearly.


    The door to the main hall of the supermarket was only four or five meters ahead. Yan Junze leaned against the wall for support, slowly stood up, and then step by step, made his way toward the door.


    Reaching the corridor door, he gently pushed it open, without making a sound.


    He poked his head out, looking into the supermarket hall.


    In the direction of the shelves, he could vaguely see a figure moving, roughly the height of Ke¡¯er.


    ¡°Ke¡­¡±


    Just as he was about to call out ¡°Ke¡¯er,¡± Yan Junze suddenly remembered something and abruptly closed his mouth, swallowing the word ¡°Ke¡± without a sound.


    He remembered that at this time, the figure in the supermarket of this height wasn¡¯t just Ke¡¯er¡¯s.


    There was also that nauseating, apron-wearing dwarf dressed in a pink laced sunhat¡ªDwarf Mickey.


    Having thought this, he quickly withdrew his head, but the staff corridor door was not entirely shut; he left a thin gap to peek through.


    Soon, the short figure emerged from behind a row of shelves.


    Yan Junze inwardly rejoiced, for sure enough, it was Dwarf Mickey.


    The back of Mickey¡¯s pants bulged out significantly, which Yan Junze knew was likely the hiding place for his weapon, a large hammer.


    After swaying left and right at this end of the shelves, the dwarf paid no attention to the staff corridor and instead mumbled something as he walked towards another set of shelves, quickly disappearing from view.


    ¡°The Half Moon Association fools, they¡¯ve lost the most important special strangeness Jacob, and yet they¡¯re still seeking others!¡±


    Yan Junze thought carefully that perhaps Charles hadn¡¯t announced the end of the altar, but instead was still hoping to find other special strangenesses.


    After all, the preparations for the altar had already gone so far. It wouldn¡¯t make sense to shut it down immediately after Jacob¡¯s demise instead of continuing the search.


    But everyone was clear that the chances of finding an alternative to Jacob were virtually nil.


    At this thought, Yan Junze suddenly paused as if he had realized something.


    Looking down at his chest, he muttered to himself, ¡°Really¡­ virtually nil?¡±


    Now he too was infected by the white long worms, right in the critical region of the heart¡ªa condition that was obviously much more severe. If he were to become a strangeness, wouldn¡¯t he just be another version of Jacob?


    Shaking his head, Yan Junze determined that he would never let the Half Moon Association know about this, nor would he allow himself to evolve like Jacob did.


    He opened the door a bit more to look towards the entrance of the supermarket.


    About ten seconds later, another small silhouette appeared behind the nearly empty shelves.


    Yan Junze did not believe this small figure was Dwarf Mickey coming back, given the dwarf had not walked quickly before.


    But with his own movements restricted, Yan Junze did not dare to step out. He merely opened the door and watched the direction in which the small figure was moving, remaining silent to avoid alerting Dwarf Mickey.


    Seconds later, Ke¡¯er appeared before Yan Junze, her hair in a wild tangle.


    She alternated between walking a few steps and then crawling on all fours for a bit.


    As soon as she moved away from the shelves, Yan Junze deliberately left the staff corridor door wide open.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s attention was immediately captured, and she looked over sideways.

 Chapter 731 - 731 429 The Back-faced Womans Method

    ?Chapter 731: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method Chapter 731: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method When Ke¡¯er saw the face of the person standing at the entrance of the staff corridor, she was instantly frightened, jolting up and landing on the ground, just about to let out an excited scream.


    Yan Junze had already put his index finger to his lips, making a silencing gesture, and motioned for her to come over quietly at once.


    During this process, Yan Junze deliberately looked around, signaling to Ke¡¯er with his actions that there were other people nearby.


    Ke¡¯er was naturally very alert. Although she couldn¡¯t contain her excitement at seeing Yan Junze at this moment, she quickly restrained herself.


    She looked around cautiously, dropped to all fours, and quickly crawled silently towards Yan Junze.


    Upon reaching him, she pounced into his arms.


    Yan Junze hurriedly closed the door.


    For Ke¡¯er, this moment was the first time she had seen him since she recognized her mother and left Yan Junze.


    Therefore, the excitement and happiness in Ke¡¯er¡¯s heart were indescribable and far different from Yan Junze¡¯s.


    She lay on Yan Junze, rubbing her little head non-stop against his chest, causing Yan Junze to grimace in pain, but he managed not to make a sound.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Ke¡¯er noticed something was wrong with him.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    After she slightly distanced herself from Yan Junze, she then saw that his body was covered in blood.


    Her smiling little face suddenly changed, turning fierce: ¡°Yah yah yah yah¡­¡±


    Looking at her reaction, if the person who had hurt Yan Junze had been nearby, this little girl would have surely sought immediate revenge.


    Hearing her ¡°yah,¡± Yan Junze hurriedly reached out and covered Ke¡¯er¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. I¡¯ve been seriously injured. Go out now and bring your mother over quietly. You must not let the other strangeness that¡¯s in the supermarket see you,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Ke¡¯er stared at him in stunned silence.


    ¡°Hurry, I¡¯m running out of time,¡± Yan Junze said, covering the area near his heart.


    Ke¡¯er was instantly terrified, nodded briskly, turned around, and dashed out with a push from her feet, quickly disappearing behind the shelves.


    Yan Junze paid attention to the surroundings, not noticing any sign of Dwarf Mickey.


    He licked the corner of his mouth, feeling his lips beginning to dry and his throat as uncomfortable as if seared by a scorching hot iron. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In less than half a minute, the Back-faced Woman appeared, rapidly retreating towards the staff corridor, moving faster than before, clearly aware of Yan Junze¡¯s situation from Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er lay on the Back-faced Woman¡¯s back, lifting her head and looking anxiously in their direction, obviously restless.


    The mother and daughter pushed open the door of the staff corridor and saw Yan Junze sitting on the ground, his chin soaked in blood, looking at them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside the room, it¡¯s not safe here,¡± his voice was hoarse.


    The Back-faced Woman was taken aback for a moment, then reached out to help him up.


    Ke¡¯er obediently jumped off her mother¡¯s back to the ground, glanced back at the door, appearing watchful.


    Soon, the Back-faced Woman helped Yan Junze into an office. There was no electric lighting in the room, just an emergency light glowing in a corner.


    The light was dim, but this presented no issue for the two strangenesses.


    After propping Yan Junze against a dusty office chair, the Back-faced Woman stepped back and just looked at him.


    Ke¡¯er lay beside Yan Junze¡¯s feet, resting her chin on his thigh, blinking her big eyes, watching him.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s voice was even more hoarse, almost unable to utter a complete sentence. Although she wanted to ask Yan Junze why he was in this state, it was clearly futile.


    But Yan Junze didn¡¯t wait for her question. After catching his breath, he said intermittently, ¡°A nameless strangeness has burrowed into my heart. It has already started to spread its Control Field inside. I don¡¯t know if you understand what a Control Field is, but it¡¯s clear that I¡¯ve begun to undergo Semi-Spiritualization.¡±


    After pausing, he continued, ¡°Back-faced Woman, please check to see if there¡¯s a way to remove this parasite.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Ke¡¯er straightened up, startled, and stared at the area near Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    The Back-faced Woman stepped forward. Without any unnecessary words or actions, she simply extended her hand, fingers slightly spread, and reached for Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    The five black fingers visibly penetrated the flesh at the heart in his chest, prompting Yan Junze to groan in pain, but he did not avoid her touch, allowing the Back-faced Woman¡¯s hand to pass through.


    One could feel her fingers grasping the slowly beating heart wrapped in a white fluff-like substance, along with the surrounding organs.


    The difference was that the heart was wrapped the most, while the other organs were less affected by the white fluff.


    After gripping Yan Junze¡¯s heart, the Back-faced Woman began to carefully sense around, causing no further harm to his body.


    Before long, Yan Junze could feel a dark mist emanating from the palm of the Back-faced Woman, and a pressure slowly building up, wrapping around his heart and spreading to the other organs covered by white fluff.


    The pain began to rise, intensifying with every second.


    This heart, now under the Back-faced Woman¡¯s counterattack, suddenly contracted sharply as if sensing the external force and clamped tightly onto itself in response.


    At that contraction, Yan Junze suddenly inhaled sharply, almost screaming from the pain, feeling his consciousness blur in that moment, almost passing out.


    The Back-faced Woman quickly withdrew her hand, stood up, and looked at Yan Junze.

 Chapter 732 - 732 429 The Back-faced Womans Method_2

    ?Chapter 732: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method_2 Chapter 732: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method_2 ¡°Can you¡­¡± Yan Junze gasped for air and asked, ¡°replant your power into me and fight against it?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman shook her head.


    She pointed to Yan Junze¡¯s chest and struggled to open her mouth, uttering two indistinct words from her throat: ¡°Semi¡­ spirit.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment and repeated, ¡°Semi-spirit? Are you saying I¡¯ve already become a Semi-spirit.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman nodded and then gestured with her hands, mimicking the action of removing Yan Junze¡¯s heart, and spoke with difficulty again, ¡°There¡­ method.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, ¡°If you take my heart, won¡¯t I be dead¡­¡±


    Before he finished speaking, something occurred to him: ¡°Now that I¡¯ve become a Semi-spirit, I can¡¯t think of this body in the same way as an ordinary person might. Maybe I can still survive temporarily without my heart.¡±


    But what¡¯s the use of taking out the heart? Do I no longer need this heart and just survive separately with this body?


    This might be even worse than simply being a Semi-spirit!


    However, on second thought, if the heart could really be temporarily removed from the body, being in a Semi-Spirit State, he might be able to do it. Moreover, a more perfect plan sprung to his mind.


    He sat up slightly and asked, ¡°After you take my heart, what will you do?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman stepped back, reached into the Void as if she was grabbing Yan Junze¡¯s heart, then gently tilted her head back, opened her mouth, brought the hand holding the heart to her lips, released her grip, and made a swallowing motion.


    After gesturing, her throat moved a bit, and she squeezed out two hoarse words: ¡°Assim¡­ ilate.¡±


    Yan Junze began to understand that the Back-faced Woman meant to extract his heart, which had been taken over, and use her body to assimilate the Semi-Spiritualized heart.


    This meant that even if possessed by the Semi-spirit, she would, like before, lead Yan Junze to transform into a Semi-spirit in a good way, not controlled by the white long worms.


    She could assimilate it, ensuring that Yan Junze¡¯s future Semi-Spirit State wouldn¡¯t harm his physical body anymore.


    If this was truly feasible, Yan Junze didn¡¯t mind giving it a try.


    After all, he had no other options now, and the Back-faced Woman was the most familiar with his body¡¯s Semi-Spiritualization; he had no reason to doubt her.


    ¡°I trust you, but how long¡­ does the assimilation need?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Ya ya ya ya¡­¡± Ke¡¯er suddenly came over, rubbed her little face against Yan Junze¡¯s arm twice, smiled, and made a sound.


    Knowing her mother might save Yan Junze, she looked clearly happy.


    Yan Junze also smiled and stroked Ke¡¯er¡¯s face.


    ¡°The longer¡­ the better¡­¡±


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s throat was in bad shape. After uttering those three words, she couldn¡¯t make another sound.


    But Yan Junze knew what she meant; the longer the assimilation time, the better. That wasn¡¯t a problem, and it corresponded well with the plan he just thought of.


    After a pause, he remembered something and said solemnly, ¡°Now listen to me because in a moment, you¡¯ll see something incredible. But please do not be alarmed, I will only tell you this secret, and in this world, I only trust you two, so please keep it for me.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman glanced at Ke¡¯er, and Ke¡¯er also looked up at her mother; they both nodded in agreement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t belong to this timeline,¡± Yan Junze stated plainly. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unexpectedly, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t react strongly, though it might be that they hadn¡¯t fully grasped what he said.


    ¡°Later, another Yan Junze will enter the supermarket. When you see him, don¡¯t act differently and don¡¯t reveal any information about my presence here. Just do as he says. Once he leaves, you come back here,¡± he continued.


    After saying this, Yan Junze gave them a moment to digest the information, then added, ¡°Please believe what I¡¯m telling you now. The me now, and the me who will soon appear outside the supermarket, are both the real Yan Junze. After you go out and help him kill a creature called Dwarf Mickey, that Yan Junze will leave.¡±


    Ke¡¯er widened her eyes, inched toward Yan Junze¡¯s nose, nearly pressing her face against him, clearly scrutinizing him to see if he indeed was Yan Junze.


    At this Yan Junze was somewhat at a loss for what to do next, he hugged Ke¡¯er and said with a smile, ¡°Is there any fakeness to my holding you like this every time? After going out later, make sure your acting is on point, don¡¯t give anything away, or the future me might die a very miserable death.¡±


    After a short while, checking the time, Yan Junze said, ¡°It¡¯s about time now. Ke¡¯er, you go out first and act natural. I¡¯ll see you in a bit.¡±


    According to how things unfolded, Yan Junze still vividly recalled that Ke¡¯er would be chased by Dwarf Mickey, then the Yan Junze outside would Rewind until the Back-faced Woman appeared from the staff passage, inciting another chase.


    But this time, they would be chasing Dwarf Mickey.


    And then, due to Mickey¡¯s surprisingly quick short legs, he would escape several times, during which the Yan Junze outside would activate Rewind multiple times.


    ¡°Rewind?¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze was jolted with a cold sweat; he realized a grave issue.


    His body slowly slid from the office chair to the floor, while the Back-faced Woman had already opened the office door to wait outside the staff corridor.


    His current situation was such that he couldn¡¯t go through a Rewind; if the Yan Junze outside started Rewind, being in this timeline, he would be taken back by it.

 Chapter 733 - 733 429 The Back-faced Womans Method_3

    ?Chapter 733: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method_3 Chapter 733: Chapter 429: The Back-faced Woman¡¯s Method_3 And that result was that the heart, influenced by the Control Field¡¯s white long worms, stayed in the current space-time while the rest of the body went back.


    Although he had already undergone Semi-Spiritualization and might not die immediately, the consequence was that his body and heart were in two different space-times, which was ridiculously futile!


    Thinking of this, Yan Junze shook his head and sighed, looking at the last 500 points of energy remaining in the Spacetime Atlas.


    The only method now was to lock himself in the current space-time, wait for the outside Yan Junze to initiate several Rewinds to kill Dwarf Mickey, and then he could release the Space-Time Lockdown and reappear.


    This was the only way to avoid being Rewound as well.


    The next second, Yan Junze activated the [Space-Time Lockdown]. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Outside the supermarket, Ke¡¯er soon encountered Yan Junze, who had just returned from a Great Rewind, and Dwarf Mickey, who was tracking her and her mother, the Back-faced Woman.


    Mickey chased after Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze followed in pursuit, and then Rewound.


    After a chase, the Back-faced Woman rushed out from the staff passage, ready to strike back at Mickey, who, terrified, burst into an extremely fast escape.


    During this process, there were multiple Rewinds until Dwarf Mickey was finally eliminated.


    Yan Junze, outside the supermarket, spoke to the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, insisting that they must hurry back to FH Community in Shuntian City to meet with him.


    Because at this time, Yan Junze, who came back from a Great Rewind, was at a space-time rift where Ku Zai was being chased by a Clay Monster, and Xiang Er was entangled with another strangeness in Qishan Public Cemetery and unable to come to help.


    The only hope was for the mother-daughter pair rushing back to Shuntian City to come to the rescue.


    Soon after Yan Junze outside the supermarket left, the mother and daughter returned to the staff office.


    By then, Yan Junze had already lifted the [Space-Time Lockdown].


    Just now, after activating [Space-Time Lockdown], watching himself Rewind from outside the supermarket was quite an amazing experience. It was the first time Yan Junze had watched his own Rewind process from a third-person perspective.


    He had sat within the locked space-time, feeling this timeline reversing with each Rewind and then proceeding again, like a movie rewinding and playing normally.


    After the mother and daughter reentered the room, Yan Junze spoke up, ¡°He¡­ has he gone?¡±


    The Back-faced Woman nodded.


    Ke¡¯er jumped off her mother¡¯s back and squatted beside him.


    Yan Junze noticed that Ke¡¯er¡¯s body was still shaking slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± He tried to smile, wanting to stroke Ke¡¯er¡¯s head, but his arms were too weak to lift.


    Now it seemed that the injury to his body was worsening under the influence of the white long worms. If it wasn¡¯t stopped, he could gradually transform into something like Jacob.


    ¡°Your hair is still unwashed, right?¡±


    Looking at Ke¡¯er¡¯s dirty and messy hair, Yan Junze recalled that he had already washed it for Ke¡¯er at that time.


    The Back-faced Woman moved closer, bent down, and picked him up, with Ke¡¯er hurriedly following behind.


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment, puzzled why the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t just take his heart there and start the assimilation process, then he remembered and said, ¡°No need to go to the hospital, my injuries can¡¯t be treated here in Zhen City!¡±


    ¡°Medicine¡­¡± the Back-faced Woman uttered hoarsely from her damaged throat.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use,¡± Yan Junze said with a wry smile, shaking his head.


    However, he knew his resistance was futile because after this Great Rewind to rescue the mother and daughter and when he activated the Butterfly Effect Stabilization, he found that the mother and daughter had still returned to the hospital.


    It turned out they were there to tend to the current him.


    And now he also knew that the heart Ke¡¯er had been holding in her hands, which he saw before, was actually his own heart.


    The mother and daughter not listening to him at that time; that¡¯s what was really going on.


    Regardless, his injuries were indeed very serious, and if he could at least stop some of the bleeding, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad.


    Yan Junze let the Back-faced Woman carry him and walked out of the room.

 Chapter 734 - 734 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words ask for

    ?Chapter 734: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!) Chapter 734: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!) On the way to Zhen City Hospital, the Back-faced Woman walked slowly, seemingly very cautious.


    Yan Junze outside the supermarket had just reminded her that a team of Exorcists was scouring the area in search of the mother and daughter.


    Of course, Yan Junze was also very clear about the situation here, even more so than his former self.


    He slowly began to speak, his voice already completely hoarse, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can go to the hospital with peace of mind. You won¡¯t encounter anyone else. That team will be drawn away by another ¡®Sand Corpse¡¯ strangeness, but they will send a drone to the hospital.¡±


    The mother and daughter picked up the pace and soon arrived at the hospital.


    Searching all the way, they found a treatment room upstairs.


    This treatment room wasn¡¯t like the others downstairs; there were still some painkillers, disinfectant alcohol, and a few hemostatic bandages left.


    The Back-faced Woman placed Yan Junze on a small bed and then laid out all the medicines and bandages she could find in front of him, before continuing to search in the next room.


    Ke¡¯er, holding a bandage, kept comparing it left and right above Yan Junze¡¯s chest, making ¡°eh, eh¡± sounds.


    With mixed feelings of amusement and distress, Yan Junze said, ¡°The painkiller, give it to me to eat. Then, the disinfectant alcohol, pour it here, yes, on the wound.¡±


    However, the alcohol poured on the wound didn¡¯t hurt at all, raising questions whether it was because it had expired, or if the wound had undergone Semi-Spiritualization and thus lost sensation.


    Ke¡¯er poured some disinfectant alcohol on the bandage, crumpled it up, and wiped the bloodstains off Yan Junze¡¯s skin.


    Just then, Yan Junze clearly felt a violent spasm in his heart, as the white fluff quickly spread out and again protruded from under his skin. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ke¡¯er was startled and jumped back hastily.


    The Back-faced Woman returned quickly and upon seeing that Yan Junze¡¯s condition was still deteriorating, she immediately stooped down, her dark fingers stretched out and plunged fiercely into Yan Junze¡¯s chest, grasping his heart that was emanating the fluff.


    It was clearly felt that inside the heart, a worm the size of an earthworm was writhing.


    Having grasped the heart, the Back-faced Woman turned her head to look at Yan Junze, aware that they could not delay any longer.


    About ten seconds later, the Back-faced Woman squeezed out a word from her mouth, ¡°Pain.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded. He understood the Back-faced Woman¡¯s meaning; she was about to extract his heart, and the process would be painful.


    Crack!


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s fingertips sprouted sharp, pitch-black nails, which neatly severed the blood vessels connected to the heart with a light slash.


    What was peculiar was that these blood vessels seemed to be clogged by the white fluff, not a drop of blood came out, and any blood that should have flowed had already seeped out of the body.


    After cleaning up around the heart, it continued to beat faintly, with the long worm inside slowly moving.


    Yan Junze felt a sudden emptiness in his chest, as the Back-faced Woman gently withdrew her hand from his chest, clutching a heart covered in an abundance of white fluff that was still beating.


    Thump, thump, thump, thump¡­


    As the heart was removed, Yan Junze felt his focus faltering, his thoughts becoming nebulous, with a sense of having nowhere to belong.


    His whole being felt light, but his consciousness was still there, albeit as if in a dream.


    Even though the Semi-Spiritualization allowed him to survive a moment with his heart extracted, he didn¡¯t know how long he could hold on.


    Unless the Back-faced Woman and her daughter stayed with him continuously and could stuff his heart back into his chest when he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and after stabilizing the injury, take it out again to continue the assimilation.


    But this was obviously impossible and unrealistic.


    Seconds later, Yan Junze¡¯s vision began to blur, as if sinking into water, with torrents enveloping him, drenching not only his eyes but also his nose and mouth, cutting off his breathing one by one.


    The blurred shadow of the heart in front of him continued to beat faintly.


    ¡°This is, my own heart¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Yan Junze started, his consciousness clearing substantially as he almost sat up in a resurgence of energy and rapidly addressed the mother and daughter.


    ¡°From now on, take good care of the heart, complete the assimilation. During this process, do not let anyone else see it, including me! Remember, you must remember, on the day when the future me, Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, and Ku Zai go to the mall, you will get off mid-way. No matter what, don¡¯t follow, and immediately head for a farm called ¡®Four Seasons Garden¡¯ in the suburbs. Head southwest once inside the farm. Reach there as fast as you can! You must remember!¡±


    As his words fell, Yan Junze felt his body getting weaker. He knew he couldn¡¯t wait any longer and instantly initiated the return command.


    In his blurry vision, he seemed to see the Back-faced Woman nodding, and Ke¡¯er throwing herself at him.


    The next second, Ke¡¯er lunged at thin air.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Ke¡¯er tilted her head, looking at the now empty space in front of her.


    Turning around, Ke¡¯er looked at her mother.


    The Back-faced Woman held the heart in both hands, as dense black mist enshrouded and cloaked it.


    About four or five minutes later, the black mist wrapping the heart began to dissipate.


    Ke¡¯er jumped onto the small bed, cocking her little head, amazed at the still-beating heart.


    When the black mist finally cleared, it revealed a clean heart, devoid of any white fluff, its beating visibly becoming stronger.

 Chapter 735 - 735 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words ask for

    ?Chapter 735: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_2 Chapter 735: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_2 Of course, this was just a preliminary confrontation; the road ahead for this mother and daughter to fight against and assimilate with the white long worm was still long.


    If they didn¡¯t continue with assimilation, the heart would slowly be covered completely by white fluff again, further developing towards uncontrollable semi-spiritualization.


    After clearing the white fluff from the heart, the Back-faced Woman handed it over to Ke¡¯er with a look in her eyes that encouraged her to do as she was told.


    Ke¡¯er held the vigorously beating heart in her hands, nodded slightly, and, lifting the heart high, tilted her head back. Her lips suddenly split apart, and she slowly placed the heart into her mouth.


    It was visibly passing through her throat and stuffing into her stomach.


    With assimilation, since the mother and daughter were always together, Ke¡¯er had to periodically give the heart back to the Back-faced Woman to clear the white fluff and suppress the long worm.


    After the clearing and suppression, the heart would return to Ke¡¯er¡¯s body to continue nourishing and assimilating until the long worm developed completely in the direction and became semi-spiritualized as the Back-faced Woman desired.


    Thump thump thump thump¡­


    At this moment, a faint sound of a spiral screw turning could be heard outside the hospital corridor.


    The sound was very soft, inaudible to ordinary people, but the mother and daughter could hear it clearly, and they immediately went out of the room.


    ¡­


    As he returned to the Space-Time Rift, all injuries in his body became stable again.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face was devoid of color, and he felt completely drained of strength, slumping in the Void.


    He lifted his head listlessly and read the text that appeared in front of him silently in his mind.


    ¡°This time¡­ no butterfly¡­ effect¡­ stable.¡±


    At this moment, the dryness in his throat had reached its zenith, and he could hardly speak. After a pause, he managed to say, ¡°I need now¡­ to return to the Space-Time Rift, to go back.¡±


    A line of text popped up before his eyes.


    [You can choose to return through a different Space-Time Rift at the same time point, but the location coordinates will vary greatly. Do you wish to enter a rift at a different location in the same Space-Time?]


    Yan Junze nodded weakly, ¡°Yes, enter, the rift I¡­ chose¡­ before.¡±


    Everything went dark before his eyes, and he felt a void in his body, as he was squeezed out of this expanse of Void in an instant. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The moment he was ejected from the Void, his body¡¯s increasingly heavy injuries descended rapidly once more¡ªespecially the gut-wrenching emptiness in his chest after losing his heart¡ªcausing Yan Junze to pass out the second he left the Void.


    ¡­


    Tianmeng City.


    Glancing at the roundabout they were about to pass, Yan Junze, who was sitting in the car, turned his head to look at the others and strangenesses inside the SUV, saying, ¡°Turn left after the roundabout; there should be a high-level creature inside the nearby mall.¡±


    The seven-seat SUV at this moment carried Yan Junze, Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, Ku Zai, and in the back, the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er and her daughter, the Crawler Monster, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Zhang Xiaomo was sitting at the driver¡¯s seat. Yan Junze looked at the others and strangenesses with a look of deep concern: ¡°This time, in pursuing that high-level creature, I¡¯ve been feeling a sense of palpitation, and it¡¯s possible this mission might encounter some uncontrollable factors. So, I¡¯m not planning to take all of you with me.¡±


    As he spoke, the SUV reached the roundabout and took the third exit.


    Yan Junze glanced out the window and signaled for Zhang Xiaomo to pull over to the side of the road.


    Turning back to face everyone, his gaze swept across each creature, then said emphatically, ¡°Now, Ke¡¯er, the Back-faced Woman, Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, you all can get out. Remember, make yourselves invisible to the eyes of ordinary people, don¡¯t startle others, and don¡¯t follow, because you are no match for that advanced creature. Once I¡¯m done, I will come here to pick you up.¡±


    As he spoke, he failed to notice the Back-faced Woman glancing at Ke¡¯er and Ke¡¯er looking back at her mother.


    This scene, this moment in time, near the mall, Yan Junze asking all the creatures to get out of the car.


    This was identical to the words of Yan Junze that the mother and daughter had encountered at the Zhen City supermarket a long time ago.


    The mother and daughter didn¡¯t show any other unusual reactions; only when Yan Junze hugged Ke¡¯er affectionately for the last time, Ke¡¯er kissed his forehead.


    The SUV¡¯s doors were not opened, as the creatures didn¡¯t actually need to use doors to disembark.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned around with a smile looking at them.


    ¡°Alright, leave here quickly, don¡¯t waste time,¡± Yan Junze said with a forced smile on his face, though it appeared rather strained.


    The persistent sense of palpitation made him aware that the mission to the mall to chase and kill the high-level creature might bring some unexpected complications, and he needed to be fully alert.


    The four creatures passed directly through the car doors, appearing beside the vehicle on the pedestrian path, all of them employing an invisibility state, invisible to passersby.


    They didn¡¯t leave immediately but stood by the roadside, silently watching the direction the car was heading.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said. ¡°The more you watch, the more uncomfortable you¡¯ll feel in your heart.¡±


    Yan Junze withdrew his gaze, not saying a word.


    Zhang Xiaomo, trying to divert his attention, asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the destination?¡±


    ¡°See that mall across the street? It¡¯s there. Make a U-turn from the front to get over there,¡± Yan Junze directed, pointing to a mall across the street with its doors wide open.


    The SUV drove away.


    At that moment, Ke¡¯er suddenly leapt onto the Back-faced Woman, grabbing her mother in an embrace and frantically patting the Back-faced Woman¡¯s shoulder with her little hand.


    Her expression became anxious at this very moment.

 Chapter 736 - 736 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words ask for

    ?Chapter 736: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_3 Chapter 736: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_3 The Back-faced Woman got the hint and didn¡¯t pay any attention to Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster. A gust of wind whipped up around her as she levitated and flew away rapidly.


    At that moment, the Crawler Monster was grooming its own parted hair with its tongue. It looked up, confused at the sight, and turned to glance at Long-tongued Zhenzhen, who was also wearing a face of astonishment, not understanding what the mother and daughter duo were up to.


    The Crawler Monster then tugged on Zhenzhen¡¯s trouser leg, gently pulling her to attention and signaling with its eyes, asking what they should do now.


    Zhenzhen watched the direction in which the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er had left, paused for a moment, and then said, ¡°I have no idea what they¡¯re up to, but let¡¯s follow them for now.¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Crawler Monster immediately extended its arms, which grew excessively long, and hooked onto Zhenzhen¡¯s arm.


    A whirlwind swirled around Zhenzhen; as a creature that was already at the level of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, her speed was not much less than that of the Back-faced Woman.


    However, they had already fallen behind at the start and could only follow from a distance, though it was unlikely they would lose them.


    A few minutes later.


    The SUV stopped in front of the shopping mall, and the occupants got out of the vehicle.


    Inside the mid-range shopping mall, the crowd was thick at this time, with the first-floor hall appearing quite congested.


    But according to the initial assessment and investigation, that terrifying high-level strangeness should be lurking somewhere quietly inside the mall.


    Upon entering, Yan Junze¡¯s group saw so many visitors on the first floor.


    The party exchanged glances, looked up to the second floor, and indicated to head up there first.


    Approaching the escalator, Zhang Xiaomo whispered to Yan Junze, ¡°This strangeness might be tough to deal with. I¡¯ve already sent a message to Uncle Guo. He was dealing with a strangeness incident at a nearby school and said he¡¯s finished and on his way here.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, feeling relieved.


    If Guo Youliang was here, the palpitations he had been feeling all day might subside with Guo Youliang¡¯s arrival.


    Even though this strangeness was indeed fierce and high-level, the strongest one Yan Junze had ever detected¡­


    But Old Guo was a five-star Exorcist with an inherent cold ice attribute in his body courtesy of General Moda, much more powerful than an ordinary five-star.


    With him here, they would surely be able to expel this strangeness.


    Soon the group reached the second floor.


    Before long, at the bottom of the escalator, the tall figure of Guo Youliang, belonging to General Moda, appeared. After nodding to the group below, he took the escalator up.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt something was off.


    After carefully sensing for a while, he spoke to Zhang Xiaomo and Xiang Er, ¡°The information I detected about that terrifying strangeness has changed, and now the strangeness magnetic field in this place seems to have¡­ disappeared!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled, took a moment to sense it, and then shook her head, ¡°It seems¡­ it really is gone.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xiang Er also spoke with surprise.


    At that moment, Guo Youliang reached the second floor and said cheerfully, ¡°What¡¯s the rush in calling me here? Did you encounter some vicious strangeness?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo asked, ¡°Uncle Guo, you¡¯re the most powerful. Can you sense whether there¡¯s still that strong strangeness magnetic field here?¡±


    Guo Youliang gave Xiang Er a surprised look.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly added, ¡°No, not her, but the magnetic field of other high-level strangenesses. We just suddenly stopped sensing it here on the second floor of the mall.¡±


    Guo Youliang shook his head, ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel any high-level strangeness magnetic field here, except for hers.¡±


    Immediately pointing at Xiang Er.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right!¡± Yan Junze insisted, shaking his head. The unease in his heart was growing stronger.


    Even with Guo Youliang beside him, he still felt a sense of trembling with fear.


    In a moment of urgency, Yan Junze activated the [Strange Task Perception].


    After waiting a while, there was no feedback on the high-level strangeness he had detected before.


    But soon he noticed something unusual behind the large makeup mirror next to the escalator on the second floor.


    With that thought in mind, he told Zhang Xiaomo and the others to wait there while he quickly moved behind the makeup mirror, where three large planters were also placed.


    Just as he approached, close-range feedback about the Space-Time Rift entered his mind.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, and from not far away at the front of the makeup mirror, he heard Guo Youliang¡¯s voice speaking with surprise, ¡°I¡¯ve sensed it, but this¡­ it¡¯s not the strangeness magnetic field you mentioned, but¡­ it comes from an Exorcist¡¯s field! Huh? This isn¡¯t right¡­¡±


    ¡°The strangeness magnetic field in this mall is¡­ fake!? Why is that?¡±


    A thought suddenly burst into Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    His thoughts raced as he remembered the various details of the task he had detected earlier and the descriptions of the high-level strangeness involved. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he found the strangeness magnetic field in the mall to be.


    Without further delay, he stepped into the Space-Time Rift he had just detected, and vanished. (Note 2)


    Over ten seconds later, when they realized that Yan Junze, who had gone behind the makeup mirror, had not returned,


    Zhang Xiaomo began to look surprised, and then everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn to a man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a black trench coat, standing at the bottom of the escalator on the first floor.


    As the man stepped onto the escalator and looked up at everybody,


    ¡°You three, get behind me.¡± Guo Youliang suddenly ordered with a stern voice, his gaze also locked firmly on the blond man in the trench coat.


    The blond man then spoke out abruptly, his voice calm yet penetrating,


    ¡°Hand over Yan Junze, or else, death!¡±


    ¡­


    Four Seasons Garden, located in the West Suburb of Tianmeng City, nearly forty kilometers from the city center.

 Chapter 737 - 737 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words ask for

    ?Chapter 737: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_4 Chapter 737: Chapter 430 Perfect Transition (6000 words, ask for monthly passes!)_4 Before the outbreak of strangenesses, this place was a scenic, airy leisure farm that was always favored by a large number of city dwellers.


    During the weekends, it was almost overflowing with people.


    However, after the outbreak of strangenesses, there were many fewer visitors.


    Nevertheless, the crops that the farm owner had planted still yielded a bountiful harvest, unaffected by the reduced flow of customers.


    Now, the farm had been reconstructed, reducing the facilities for welcoming guests, and consequently, more land was allocated for planting and reaping a greater abundance of crops.


    To the southwest within Four Seasons Garden was a vineyard.


    And at this moment, five kilometers away from Four Seasons Garden, on a rural road, Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were staring in bewilderment at their surroundings, having lost the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, they were looking all around.


    The Crawler Monster tugged at the hem of Zhenzhen¡¯s pants. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhenzhen shook her head, ¡°Gone, I can¡¯t sense their direction either.¡±


    At the same moment.


    In the vineyard within Four Seasons Garden, a gentle breeze blew by, revealing the figures of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, who was cradling her.


    Upon appearing here, the two strangenesses immediately started looking around, attempting to discover something, but they saw nothing.


    At that time, footsteps could be heard from outside the vineyard, with two people talking as they walked past, yet they did not enter the vineyard.


    The Back-faced Woman ignored them, simply walking around inside the area to inspect.


    All of a sudden, her gaze turned towards the upper right corner of this vineyard.


    At that moment, a rift split open in mid-air, and a silhouette was forcefully squeezed out, landing on the ground with a ¡®plop¡¯.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Ke¡¯er quickly jumped down from the Back-faced Woman onto the ground, tilting her head to look over, then swiftly approaching the fallen figure on all fours.


    The Back-faced Woman followed closely behind.


    Upon closer inspection, the person who had fallen out of thin air was none other than Yan Junze.


    To be precise, it was the Yan Junze that the mother and daughter had encountered in the supermarket in Zhen City last time.


    At this point, Yan Junze was unconscious, not reacting at all despite the hard fall.


    Ke¡¯er looked up, her eyes pleading with her mother.


    The Back-faced Woman bent down and turned the prone Yan Junze over, noticing his chest area was stained with blood, his clothing completely soaked through. The area over his chest was slightly concave.


    Inside his thoracic cavity, there was no heart.


    The Back-faced Woman immediately looked at Ke¡¯er, then quickly pointed to the area where Yan Junze¡¯s heart should be.


    Ke¡¯er understood, tilted her head back, and opened her mouth wide.


    Something inside her stomach began to move; it was visible to the naked eye as a bulge pushed its way up, and then her throat started to convulse.


    Soon, a heart was spat out from her mouth, cradled in her hands, throbbing robustly with blood vessels pulsing vigorously, showing no signs of abnormality.


    After such a long time of symbiosis between mother and daughter, the white long worms inside the heart had been completely tamed, as docile as Ke¡¯er.


    Although, the partial Semi-Spiritualization of the heart couldn¡¯t be reversed.


    The Back-faced Woman took the beating heart and stuffed it into the slightly hollowed part of Yan Junze¡¯s chest cavity.


    Inside the chest cavity, this beating heart seemed to instantly find its place, sprouting many thin, white fluff-like tendrils that connected all the surrounding blood vessels together.


    These white fluff-like structures no longer possessed their former aggressiveness but instead appeared very gentle.


    The moment the heart connected with the body, Yan Junze, who had been lying motionless, suddenly shuddered and exhaled a long breath through his nostrils.


    His eyelids began to twitch, his mouth slightly opened, his fingers twitched, and his eyes slowly opened.


    What came into view were the familiar figures of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, leaning in to observe him.


    Feeling the powerful throbbing of the heart in his chest, with no rejection and no discomfort, Yan Junze could still sense the worm, but he developed a symbiotic dependence on it.


    His mind began to clear, his memories awakening.


    ¡°Huh, finally¡­ back!¡±


    Note 1: The timeline of the current entrance to the mall has been altered, so at this stage, the purpose of Yan Junze¡¯s group is no longer to find the Space-Time Rift to prevent the Possession Spirit, but instead is replaced by another new event, though the reasons for going to the mall and other factors remain the same, such as the feeling of palpitations.


    Note 2: After Yan Junze enters the Space-Time Rift, some of the things he does will overlap and connect with what the previous Yan Junze did, of course, with many differences. In time, I might write several extras to narrate the story here in the extras.

 Chapter 738 - 738 431 Reaper to the Rescue

    ?Chapter 738: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue! Chapter 738: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue! Actually, from the moment his heart was removed from his chest, Yan Junze could no longer feel his breath, and his mind was hazy.


    He even felt as if he were in a dream, unable to clearly discern whether it was reality or a dream.


    It wasn¡¯t until he was squeezed out from another space-time rift that the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, who had been waiting here, returned his assimilated heart to him.


    His consciousness returned and gradually became clearer; he now remembered everything.


    His originally pale complexion began to slowly turn rosy, and his organs, which had gradually stiffened due to the loss of his heart, began to function again under the drive of Semi-Spiritualization.


    After the heart was reconnected, the white fluff that had contaminated the other organs all receded back into the now-docile heart, controlled by the white long worms.


    His strength was slowly increasing, and at this moment, Yan Junze realized that with the strong beating of his heart, his body had completely undergone Semi-Spiritualization. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This Semi-Spiritualization was even more special than the Semi-Spirit Body the Back-faced Woman had given him before.


    However, from the surface, there were no abnormalities to be seen.


    Unless he invoked his Semi-Spirit State.


    With a slight sensing, the white long worm in his heart slightly lifted its head, as if it knew its host was sensing it, and nodded gently as if to show goodwill.


    This creature, aside from its white body, had no other facial features; at a glance, it was completely smooth.


    But Yan Junze knew that this white long worm actually did not have strong strangeness power in itself. What made it formidable and unique was its Control Field!


    After fusing into his body, should he have used the Black Spirit Umbrella to kill it, his body would also have been destroyed; and when he wanted to activate Rewind, it would be interfered with by its Control Field.


    Although he could still activate Rewind, the cost was something he couldn¡¯t afford.


    ¡°Control Field? After this critical moment passes, I¡¯ll see how to make use of it,¡± Yan Junze resolved to himself.


    His gaze focused as he looked at the approaching figures of the Back-faced Woman and the familiar face of Ke¡¯er, a smile appeared on Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    ¡°Awake¡­ now.¡±


    The Back-faced Woman rasped through her damaged throat, taking a long time to force out two words.


    But to Yan Junze, the voice was very comfortable, without any sense of awkwardness.


    He nodded, slowly sat up, and reached out to hold the hand of the Back-faced Woman, hugging Ke¡¯er with his other arm.


    The Back-faced Woman stood by, allowing him to pull her hand, without any other response.


    Ke¡¯er lay in Yan Junze¡¯s arms, her little head pressing hard against his chest, listening to the throbbing of his heart.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled again and hugged her tightly, ¡°Thank you, Ke¡¯er!¡±


    Ke¡¯er sat up straight, gave Yan Junze a serious look, and then pointed towards the distance, and back at Yan Junze, her tone expressing surprise again: ¡°Eh?¡±


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yan Junze realized she probably wanted to ask why there was a Yan Junze there just now and another here, and why it was so.


    Or perhaps she wanted to know which one was real.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Both are real, but now there¡¯s only me. In this current time-space, there¡¯s only one Yan Junze.¡±


    After so many instances of the Great Rewind, with various aspects of the Butterfly Effect Stabilization and ripple events restored, Yan Junze was very clear.


    If he could come back successfully, another Yan Junze at the same time point would inevitably leave the current space-time due to other ripple events.


    However, there was now a serious issue to consider.


    If, after he had changed history and no powerful Possession Spirit had appeared, the previous Yan Junze and his group were still going to the shopping mall, then some other event had occurred there.


    And judging by the magnitude, an event that drove away all the strangenesses, like the Back-faced Woman, would certainly be very dangerous.


    So if the Yan Junze at the mall left at that time, but Zhang Xiaomo and the others were still there, they would still be in danger.


    Because after returning through the space-time rift, Yan Junze¡¯s mind was not only filled with the memories of the Half Moon Association being unable to open the altar and no powerful Possession Spirit appearing, but also with additional new memories.


    He was very certain that Zhang Xiaomo and the others in the mall had encountered danger.


    ¡°How long did it take for you to get here after you got off the bus?¡± Yan Junze let go of the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, supporting himself on the wooden railing of the grape arbor as he stood up slowly.


    The Back-faced Woman pondered for a moment and held up two fingers.


    ¡°Two minutes?¡± Yan Junze nodded. ¡°There¡¯s still time.¡±


    He took out his phone, which he had always kept in his backpack, only to find that the screen no longer displayed anything and did not respond to any presses.


    Thinking for a moment, the phone must have been completely broken after experiencing the massive magnetic field suppression from the Reaper Morrison.


    ¡°I need to go out to make a very important call,¡± Yan Junze said as he stood up straight, still feeling some soreness in his back.


    The Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t say anything, just followed behind him, while Ke¡¯er climbed onto Yan Junze¡¯s back without a care, once again reaching out to touch his earlobe.


    Yan Junze walked out of the vineyard, looked along the path leading forward, and saw a house with a front yard not far away¡ªa sign that it was a farmhouse resort.


    He immediately headed in that direction, and after walking a few steps, he found that his strength was quickly returning, he could feel his heart beating strongly and his blood flowing rapidly.

 Chapter 739 - 739 431 Reaper to the Rescue_2

    ?Chapter 739: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue!_2 Chapter 739: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue!_2 ¡°I wonder how far this Semi-Spirit Body has evolved by now,¡± Yan Junze mused to himself.


    He quickly arrived at the front yard of a rural household, where an old woman was sweeping the yard with a broom and hadn¡¯t noticed Yan Junze¡¯s arrival.


    Yan Junze walked in and said, ¡°Granny, may I use your telephone?¡±


    As the old woman looked up and saw Yan Junze, blood-stained, standing in front of her, she jumped in shock, dropped her broom, and turned to run.


    Of course, she couldn¡¯t see the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t just run away but would probably knock herself out cold.


    ¡°Granny, don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m not a strangeness,¡± Yan Junze hurriedly explained, ¡°The vehicle I was in had an accident; the blood is from someone else. I need to make a phone call. May I?¡±


    The old woman paused, took a good look at him, and saw that Yan Junze spoke energetically and looked spirited. He didn¡¯t seem injured.


    She nodded, ¡°My son and his dad just left the house. Here¡¯s the phone, see if you can use it.¡±


    As she spoke, she habitually wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, then pulled out a cell phone designed for seniors from her pocket.


    ¡°Young man, you¡¯re not injured, are you?¡± she asked with concern as she passed the phone to Yan Junze.


    ¡°I¡¯m not, thank you!¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, took the phone, and directly dialed the number of Zhang Chengjing, the foster father of Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Chengjing was a senior member of the Exorcist Brigade, practically a founding figure. His phone number, among those of other key personnel, was something Yan Junze had committed to memory.


    After all, this man was Xiaomo¡¯s father.


    The call connected quickly.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    A loud voice suddenly burst from the receiver, louder than if the speakerphone was on, startling Yan Junze.


    The old woman laughed apologetically, ¡°I sometimes can¡¯t hear well, so I keep the volume up.¡±


    ¡°No problem, no problem,¡± Yan Junze nodded, his ears still ringing.


    He turned the call volume down to the lowest setting before bringing it close to his ear again. By then, Zhang Chengjing was almost ready to hang up.


    ¡°Hello, Uncle Zhang, this is Yan Junze.¡± Yan Junze moved to the side, lowering his voice.


    Zhang Chengjing paused on the other end, ¡°What¡¯s up? Did you change your number?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m using someone else¡¯s phone,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°Something might have happened to Zhang Xiaomo and the others, but I can¡¯t get there¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Where are they?¡± Zhang Chengjing immediately sounded worried.


    ¡°In Tianmeng City, at the Prosperous Age Mall on Minjian Road,¡± Yan Junze remembered the place very clearly.


    ¡°What did she encounter? A strangeness or¡­¡±


    Zhang Chengjing hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Yan Junze interrupted him, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not a strangeness, it¡¯s a very powerful exorcist. Uncle, you must figure it out. Even though Guo Youliang is also in that place¡­¡±


    ¡°What, Old Guo is there and that¡¯s not enough?¡± Zhang Chengjing was clearly shocked, ¡°Who exactly is the other party?¡±


    ¡°It could very well be the Reaper from the USA¡¯s Great Capital?¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Uncle Zhang, you must use your authority or relationships, somehow, to stop them, if only for a moment! Just stalling them for a moment would be enough!¡±


    The reason Yan Junze made this phone call was he had encountered the Reaper Morrison several times, teaching him that as a Reaper-level exorcist, Morrison had the ability to create avatar clones.


    Morrison himself could plant two avatars in Olay Great Capital¡¯s Klargon Castle and on Ruisen Island in the USA¡¯s Great Capital.


    If he could do it, then surely the Reaper from Huaying Great Capital could as well. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only thing required now was for someone to persuade a Reaper-level exorcist to help, and there was no one more suitable than Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Chengjing was a founding elder of the Huaying Exorcist organization and a senior member of the Exorcist Brigade. Although he wasn¡¯t a Deputy Brigade Commander, he was on par with one.


    Furthermore, being a veteran five-star exorcist, it likely wouldn¡¯t be difficult for him to request the aid of a Reaper.


    The only real issue now was that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be certain whether the Huaying Great Capital¡¯s Reaper had placed an avatar clone in Tianmeng or not.


    If his guess was correct, as part of the exorcist organization, they would definitely have their avatar clones in strategically important areas throughout the eight districts of Huaying Great Capital.


    Currently, it seemed unlikely that a Reaper would reside long-term in Huaying District. The previous Possession Spirit attack on Tianmeng had gone without a sighting of the Reaper, indicating that, possibly, there was a Reaper living in Tianmeng who had no need to reveal himself, or there was no Reaper in Tianmeng at all.


    If there was no Reaper here, then there was a high probability that a Reaper¡¯s avatar had been placed here.


    And the task was to merely stall the adversary for a moment, which was related to Yan Junze¡¯s newly formed memories. He thought he knew what the outcome would be.


    No sooner had Yan Junze finished speaking than he heard Zhang Chengjing talking sternly and urgently to someone else on the line, ¡°Immediately connect me to Han through the internal line, I need to speak with him, hurry!¡±


    The call was then disconnected.


    After deleting the call log, Yan Junze handed the phone back to the old woman, thanked her, and quickly left.


    The old woman looked at the phone in bewilderment, feeling as though the young man had not called the police or an ambulance.


    At this point, Yan Junze was still somewhat uneasy. After departing the rural compound, the Back-faced Woman led the way to the outskirts of the highway.


    Before long, they came upon the Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, still looking around cluelessly.

 Chapter 740 - 740 431 Reaper to the Rescue_3

    ?Chapter 740: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue!_3 Chapter 740: Chapter 431: Reaper to the Rescue!_3 Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were dumbstruck upon seeing him, not expecting that Yan Junze had just left the city by car and, in such a short time, they would encounter him in the suburbs, his body covered in fresh blood.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this in a bit.¡±


    Yan Junze spoke briefly, offering no further explanation, and immediately collected them back into the nodes of the Spacetime Atlas, then, while walking, he rummaged through his backpack for a clean jacket.


    He stripped off his blood-stained jacket and threw it into a deep gully by the roadside, then he put on the clean jacket, zipped it up to prevent the bloodstains on his inner clothes from being seen by others.


    Afterward, Yan Junze had the Back-faced Woman swiftly take him towards Tianmeng City district.


    ¡­


    At the same time.


    Tianmeng City, Ao River Wharf.


    Outside an abandoned warehouse.


    Suddenly, small ripples began to disturb the space.


    Quickly, the ripples grew larger, but eerily made no sound. About five seconds later, a black shadow forced its way through the ripples.


    The shadow appeared out of thin air, solidified rapidly, and as it did, the undulating waves of air around it disappeared as swiftly as they had appeared, as if they had never been there at all.


    This figure was a man, tall and thin, with hollow cheeks and high cheekbones, standing at about two meters tall, wearing all black.


    As his body solidified, you could still see the lingering air ripples within him.


    From this scene, it was clear that the tall, thin man¡¯s figure was not real. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He turned, glanced at the warehouse behind him, and his shadow disappeared in an instant.


    When he reappeared, he was already at the outer transport access ways for goods at Ao River Wharf, and immediately his figure vanished without a trace.


    ¡­


    Prosperous Age Mall, second floor.


    With a loud shout from the blond-haired, blue-eyed man, an electric charge seemed to emanate from his hand. At the same time, other customers holding the escalator railings all fell down and breathed their last.


    It was evident that this American was so enraged that he had resolved to kill with his actions.


    ¡°Reaper?!¡±


    Guo Youliang saw several bystanders perish in the blink of an eye, and he shouted angrily and urgently to Zhang Xiaomo and the others: ¡°Go, you guys hurry and go!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ move!¡± Zhang Xiaomo struggled to articulate three words.


    All three felt numbed at their feet, affected by the magnetic field and completely unable to move.


    Guo Youliang stomped fiercely, and magnetic glow spread out, shattering the binding force.


    Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, and Ku Zai felt a sudden release under their feet, escaped the predicament, and immediately ran towards the interior of the second-floor mall.


    During this time, Zhang Xiaomo turned her head to glance behind the big mirror, where there was no anomaly to be seen.


    Guo Youliang faced the blond man, raising both hands and forming an invisible and intangible magnetic glow.


    ¡°You are¡­ from Huaying Great Capital, a top Exorcist?¡± the blond-haired man in black tilted his head towards Guo Youliang.


    ¡°Not top tier.¡± Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes flashed with a chilly light, and he hurled the condensed magnetic glow in his hand at the man with clenched teeth, ¡°I¡¯m five-star!¡±


    The enormous magnetic glow plummeted quickly, yet just as it reached the blond man¡¯s head, it froze in place.


    The man looked up slightly and stretched out a finger to touch it.


    With a bang, the magnetic glow disintegrated into nothingness.


    At the same time, from the body of the blond man, a vast amount of violent magnetic fields quickly converged, and after about four or five seconds, this chaotic and fierce Magnetic Field Storm was unleashed at Guo Youliang with great fury.


    Guo Youliang dared not retreat, knowing that if he did, Zhang Xiaomo and the others who were escaping would be in danger, possibly being severely injured or even killed with just a touch of the storm.


    Instead, he stepped forward, and from Mo Da¡¯s physique, solid muscles rapidly formed as he wielded his strongest five-star Exorcist Ultimate Law.


    A cold draft surged through his pores, visibly emitting white breath from his entire body. This cold air formed a layer of thin ice blades, which, under the protection of Guo Youliang¡¯s magnetic field, acted as a shield and also charged towards the blond Reaper.


    The best defense is attack!


    Guo Youliang firmly believed in this.


    The ice blades of cold air were rapidly destroyed upon contact with the opposing magnetic storm, and then the storm overwhelmed the area, sweeping over Guo Youliang who stood his ground.


    Pop pop pop¡­


    The sound of flesh bursting echoed.


    As the storm subsided, the figure of Guo Youliang, still standing there, was revealed. His body was covered in burst blood vessels, ruptured skin, and muscles blooming like flowers, a gruesome sight to behold.


    His clothes were torn and ragged, revealing the ancient sword that previously belonged to Mo Da and had always been bound to his back.


    With trembling arms, he unsheathed the ancient sword, tore away the cotton cloth wrapped around it, held the sword with both hands, with eyes nearly splitting in rage.


    The blond Reaper had now realized that the man in front of him was indeed not at a Reaper level, but still capable of withstanding his attack, which both impressed and angered him.


    The next second, he unleashed his Reaper Forbidden Zone, and ferociously dispersed it!

 Chapter 741 - 741 432 The Death of Morrison

    ?Chapter 741: Chapter 432 The Death of Morrison Chapter 741: Chapter 432 The Death of Morrison In the second floor of the mall, close to half of the area was instantaneously covered by the Reaper Forbidden Zone, including Zhang Xiaomo and two others, as well as Guo Youliang, all firmly controlled within it.


    The powerful Magnetic Flow extended up from everyone¡¯s ankles, aiming to grab at their most vital parts before striking down heavily.


    Guo Youliang swung the ancient sword backward with his hand and stabbed it fiercely into the ground. The ancient sword, seemingly not sharp at all, plunged directly into the ceramictiles.


    A stronger chill spread from the ancient sword as it penetrated the ground, repelling the Magnetic Flow near Guo Youliang¡¯s feet, combined with Guo Youliang¡¯s Ultimate Law, he struggled to withstand the surging Magnetic Flow all around.


    Here, he fell into a standoff, no longer able to care for anything else.


    At the same moment, three streams of Magnetic Flow rapidly climbed up Zhang Xiaomo, Xiang Er, and Ku Zai¡¯s legs, wrapping around their waists, penetrating their backs, and quickly heading for the location of their hearts.


    From the expansion of the Reaper Forbidden Zone to all of this happening, there were only a brief three to four seconds.


    Xiang Er sensed an unprecedented danger and instinctively separated her true body from the perfectly preserved female corpse, transforming into the Ugly Girl form as she was about to dash forward.


    But as soon as her true body appeared, she immediately found herself in a situation where she was surrounded by Magnetic Flow and her entire Strange Body was unable to move.


    Not only that, the sound of electric currents hissing could be heard around her body.


    A fear of impending doom descended!


    After the appearance of Xiang Er¡¯s Ugly Girl form, cries of alarm came from across the mall, and those who were faint-hearted immediately turned tail and ran.


    At the very start of this series of crises, these people hadn¡¯t associated this conflict with strangenesses but thought that a feud had broken out among capable Exorcists who were killing each other.


    Tourists who were at a distance gathered a large crowd on the opposite side of the mall¡¯s floor, pointing and commenting.


    And upon seeing the Ugly Girl, who was obviously a strangeness covered in a mass of long hair, many became frightened.


    At that moment, the entire first and second floors of the mall suddenly fell silent.


    They could see the horrified faces of the spectators opposite, shouting loudly, but not a sound was made.


    The intense Magnetic Flow and the chill emanating from the ancient sword stuck in the ground were stuck together, originally making crackling sounds, but now there was not a sound.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s shocked expression was still on her face, Ku Zai¡¯s cry of terror before death was similarly made with his mouth open, but no sound came out.


    Guo Youliang, who was struggling to hold on, slightly lifted his head, obviously shocked by the sudden silence, and reflexively, he immediately looked towards the slowly ascending electric escalator.


    The golden-haired Reaper, at this moment, also subconsciously turned to look, as he suddenly realized that his Reaper Forbidden Zone had been disturbed by a curious tumult, the outer field of Magnetic Flow disrupted by something.


    Cocking his ear, he couldn¡¯t hear a sound all around, even the various images he saw in front of him seemed to slow down a lot at this moment.


    The next second.


    Whirr!


    A massive influx of sounds suddenly emerged, rushing in like a tide, crazily filling everyone¡¯s ears, and everyone on the first and second floors of the mall was violently shaken.


    The Reaper Forbidden Zone that had covered more than half of the second floor collapsed in a roar at that moment, streams of Magnetic Flow colliding and dissipating, visible electric sparks flying up, crackling and bursting around Zhang Xiaomo and the others.


    The Magnetic Flow that was about to reach their hearts inside their bodies also crumbled at that moment.


    The golden-haired Reaper¡¯s face instantly showed horror and, turning away from Guo Youliang, he faced the electric escalator that was rising.


    ¡°Silent Magnetic Field!¡± he muttered to himself, ¡°Reaper? Huaying Great Capital Reaper!?¡±


    The Reaper Forbidden Zone in this region was no more, but as he looked toward the escalator, which kept moving, no one appeared.


    The golden-haired Reaper paused, sensing something was wrong, and immediately raised both hands, conjuring a strong magnetic glow between them in an instant.


    Boom!


    A loud collision noise erupted overhead, the magnetic glow shattered into fragments, scattering in all directions.


    The golden-haired Reaper stumbled several steps back, fixed his gaze, and at the spot where he had just stood, a slender man dressed in black, nearly two meters tall, appeared.


    This man¡¯s figure was ethereal, giving off a dreamlike feeling, and his body was surrounded by swirling black mist.


    ¡°Avatar projection!¡± The golden-haired Reaper had an epiphany, and upon seeing the tall and thin man¡¯s face, he said, ¡°You, are you perhaps called Han Yu?¡±


    In his memory, in Huaying Great Capital, there was a Reaper who was tall and thin, possessing the rather special Silent Magnetic Field, named Han Yu. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tall and thin man moved slowly, walking around in a half circle to stand beside Guo Youliang, nodding slightly: ¡°USA Great Capital, Reaper Morrison.¡±


    The sound of his voice didn¡¯t come from the projected avatar, but instead, visible sound bubbles of electromagnetic energy appeared around his shadow; as these bubbles popped, one or a few words emerged, piecing together intermittently to form sentences.


    By now, there was nobody left around the mall, all had fled to the entrance of the mall.


    Outside on the street, the Security Bureau¡¯s patrol cars arrived, sealing off the entrance, but at the same time, they had already received a notification from the headquarters of Huaying District, aware that the incident here involved Exorcists, so for the moment, no one entered.


    ¡°Just an avatar? Isn¡¯t your true body at Tianmeng?¡±


    Morrison chuckled and released his Reaper Forbidden Zone once again.

 Chapter 742 - 432 The Death of Morrison_2

    And Reaper Han Yu¡¯s silent forbidden zone also dispersed at the same time.


    The soundless collision of the forbidden zones between the two Reapers erupted simultaneously, emitting not a single sound, even the electromagnetic sounds belonging to Morrison¡¯s forbidden area were completely silenced.


    However, not far behind Han Yu, Zhang Xiaomo and Ku Zai were, at the moment before the collision of the forbidden zones, forcefully pushed away by an overwhelming force and fell into the elevator shaft nearby.


    Ugly Girl let out a scream but wasn¡¯t pushed away.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill that strangeness!¡± Zhang Xiaomo shouted turning back immediately after hitting the ground.


    Han Yu hesitated, not turning his head, he saw the screaming Ugly Girl enveloped by a fluctuating breath and, together with the perfect female corpse on the ground, they were both pushed into the stairwell.


    ¡°You go downstairs first!¡±


    The sound of Han Yu¡¯s bubble bursting carried through.


    At this moment, the three remaining people on the second floor of the mall stood rigid, frozen in place.


    The collision between Morrison and Han Yu¡¯s forbidden zones was incredibly intense, with neither of them taking any action, just standing there, but the repeated force of their silent auras felt like it could cause Guo Youliang to cough up blood.


    Morrison didn¡¯t expect Han Yu¡¯s forbidden zone to be so powerful that even his avatar could compete with him.


    And at this moment, Han Yu was also quite anxious; his true body was far away in his old home in the Yannan District. If it hadn¡¯t been for Zhang Chengjing¡¯s plea for help, he wouldn¡¯t have used this avatar.


    Previously placing the avatar here was per the demands of the Huaying Exorcism General Team, and strictly speaking, Han Yu didn¡¯t fall under the jurisdiction of the Exorcists.


    This guy had an early spiritual awakening. At the outset of the strangeness outbreak, he nearly woke in tandem, and his body underwent extreme mutations. Because his strength was too powerful, no organization could control him.


    But the upper echelons of the Exorcism General Team all knew that though Han Yu was cold in temper, he was kind-hearted and was the only Reaper who voluntarily accepted complete management by the team.


    He set up the avatar in Tianmeng to protect an important weapon there, and this time, he used the avatar entirely out of a sense of personal loyalty.


    But Han Yu was clear that he couldn¡¯t afford to waste much time; if he continued to clash in these Reaper-level forbidden zone collisions, then this avatar would dissipate after holding on a little longer.


    At that moment, he gestured gently to Guo Youliang with his left hand behind his back.


    Guo Youliang was already prepared, despite feeling extremely uncomfortable being trapped here.


    Seeing Han Yu¡¯s signal, Guo Youliang immediately gathered all his energy, enveloping himself in the magnetic glow that emitted an inexplicable chill.


    Grasping the hilt of the ancient sword thrust into the ground, he yanked it free, stepped forward, and with his right hand¡¯s muscles bulging, he hurled the sword at Morrison, some seven or eight meters away.


    The tip of the ancient sword, trailing a chill, cleared a path of silent aura in its passage, instantly breaking through the Magnetic Flow controlled by Morrison.


    Morrison¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly took two steps back, crossing his arms in front of him.


    Humm¡ª


    A large gray magnetic clump formed, catching the ancient sword that was only a meter away and suspending it midair.


    Both sides fell into a deadlock once again.


    Suddenly, Morrison¡¯s expression changed, his face twisted instantaneously, and a black mass rose from his neck, quickly covering his entire face.


    Bang!


    The magnetic field between them exploded with a roar, lifting a wave of air, and the ancient sword fell to the ground.


    Morrison still had some strength to spare, but at that moment, he found himself unable to exert it any longer.


    His white skin was entirely smeared with a toxin that appeared inexplicably and quickly pervaded his whole body.


    Morrison looked at his hands, only to see they were visibly withering.


    He wanted to scream, but his throat had already been infected by the toxin, and he was unable to make a sound as it rapidly shrank and caved in.


    Morrison knelt on the ground, and right before Han Yu and Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes, his face contorted, slowly shriveling into a mass.


    The stylish black overcoat that clung to his figure seemed also to be contaminated by the toxin, stiffening into a slab.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead!?¡±


    Guo Youliang watched the scene, dumbfounded and confused as to what had just happened.


    Morrison, who had been at an advantage just a moment ago, suddenly seemed to succumb to poison and died on the spot.


    The phantom of Han Yu shook violently twice; he also didn¡¯t understand what had happened to Morrison, but now this avatar, after a fierce war of attrition, was clearly unable to hold on any longer.


    He took a deep look at Morrison¡¯s now completely shriveled corpse, the image of the sudden appearance of the black toxin seared deeply into his memory.


    Then, the avatar¡¯s phantom, like a light breeze dispersing it, vanished without a trace.


    At this moment, nearly all the glass on the second floor of the mall had been damaged, and the scene was a mess.


    Soon, security personnel and arriving Exorcists entered, and Yan Junze also arrived at this moment.


    Zhang Xiaomo, Ku Zai, and Xiang Er, who had just reentered the female corpse, were sitting on the first floor with pale faces, their thoughts drifting, clearly soul-disturbed and frightened.


    To tell the truth, Zhang Xiaomo had never seen an Exorcist battle of this level, she could not even dare to imagine it, and needed some time to digest it.


    Xiang Er, having just entered the perfect female corpse from the form of Ugly Girl, was injured in her strangeness form and experiencing severe magnetic interference, was now incredibly weak. It was fortunate that she was supported by the strong outer body of the female corpse.


    She sat curled up, hugging her knees in the corner, silently enduring the pain without speaking a word.


    S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 743 - 432 The Death of Morrison_3

    As for Ku Zai, he was completely terrified, almost to the point of losing his mind, full of questions like ¡°Who am I? Where am I? Didn¡¯t we come here for an exorcism? How did the exorcist come after us?¡±


    From this moment on, Ku Zai suddenly found the sensation of encountering strangenesses to be very familiar!


    Before entering the mall, Yan Junze had already taken the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er into a node, and as he approached these few people, Zhang Xiaomo raised her head, first in a daze, then her face lit up with joy, reaching out both hands towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± Yan Junze walked over, crouched down, and took her hands in his.


    He felt that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hands were ice-cold and still slightly trembling.


    Xiaomo looked at him earnestly and shook her head lightly, ¡°I had a feeling of palpitations when you weren¡¯t here, but now it¡¯s gone. How did¡­ you disappear behind that mirror?¡±


    ¡°Some things happened, very mysterious, it was actually me who notified your dad to have that Reaper come to save you,¡± Seeing they were all right, Yan Junze smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated and cannot be explained in a moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Are¡­ are you hurt?¡± Zhang Xiaomo got closer to Yan Junze and suddenly her expression changed because she noticed a strong smell of blood on him.


    Yan Junze said softly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, forgot to tell you, I am a Semi-spirit again. Well, a very special Semi-spirit.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was astonished.


    Just then, Guo Youliang was being transported down on a stretcher.


    Because his injuries were serious, the ambulance arrived and moved him down from the second floor with an enhanced stretcher.


    Guo Youliang had not lost consciousness, and after reaching the first floor, he turned his head to look towards them.


    Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s figure, Guo Youliang showed a look of shock, then glanced at the second floor.


    Yan Junze waved at him, ¡°Old Guo, I¡¯ll come see you at the hospital later.¡±


    Guo Youliang also tried to wave his hand, but as soon as he moved, his upper body went numb, and he could only nod his head.


    After he left, Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo and the others, ¡°How did that Reaper die?¡±


    ¡°How do you know he¡¯s dead?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was surprised.


    Xiang Er was in a state of great turmoil inside and didn¡¯t want to speak, while Ku Zai was completely stunned, not knowing whether he heard what Yan Junze said or not.


    Only Zhang Xiaomo reacted relatively quickly.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, then smiled and said, ¡°Poisoned?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Seems like it, just now his whole body including his clothes was pitch black.¡±


    She then pointed to the second floor, ¡°The body is still up there.¡±


    No sooner had she finished speaking than they overheard one security officer who had returned from the second floor to the first floor saying to another, ¡°The body has completely turned into a black liquid, including that person¡¯s clothes. That area is temporarily sealed off, and nobody should touch it until the biohazard experts arrive.¡±


    Hearing this, Zhang Xiaomo clicked her tongue and shook her head.


    ¡°Can you guys still walk?¡± Yan Junze looked at the other two.


    Xiang Er nodded slightly, but she looked very pale.


    Ku Zai: (O_o)??


    ¡°This kid, might need a week to come around,¡± Yan Junze stood up and grabbed his arm in one move.


    Zhang Xiaomo was supporting Xiang Er, and the four of them slowly walked out of the mall and onto the SUV parked on the roadside.


    Yan Junze drove, while the others all reclined their seats and lay down quietly without a word.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes rolled, and Yan Junze knew she had many things she wanted to understand, but now was not the time to ask.


    ¡°Do you want me to take you home, or shall we go back to Science and Technology University?¡±


    ¡°Back to Science and Technology University.¡±


    Xiaomo answered without hesitation, blurting it out.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, then smiled, while Zhang Xiaomo turned her head away with a bit of embarrassment, pretending to sleep.


    The SUV started up and moved off slowly.


    Through the rearview mirror of the car, Yan Junze glanced once more at the entrance of Prosperous Age Mall.


    Even though he had not seen it with his own eyes, the moment Morrison was engulfed by the surging Dark Poison flashed through his mind.


    He pursed his lips and smiled, then pressed the accelerator and the SUV sped away. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 744 - 433: Reality or Nightmare?

    After returning to the Science and Technology University, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head back to campus right away; instead, the group all went to the rental house.


    First, they helped Xiang Er to bed, telling her to rest well.


    Ku Zai returned to his own rental house, gulped down half a kettle of boiled water in one breath to ease up a bit, and then threw himself into bed and fell asleep with the blanket over his head.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo sat beside Xiang Er¡¯s bed, rested for a moment, then Xiaomo got up to heat some water for him, washed his face, and took the opportunity to help Yan Junze wipe off the blood on his body.


    After that, Yan Junze took off his clothes that were soaked with blood.


    Zhang Xiaomo noticed and curiously said, ¡°The clothes you wore today don¡¯t seem to be this set.¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled and confidently said, ¡°Never mind changing clothes, I can take off my clothes even faster.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo snorted with laughter, quickly suppresed her giggles, and said, ¡°We almost lost our lives just now, who¡¯s in the mood for jokes?¡±


    She paused, then continued, ¡°Tell me, today¡¯s events were really strange, what exactly happened?¡±


    By this time, Yan Junze had taken off his shirt and said curiously, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to look away?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a glance, turned her back to him, but still said, ¡°You keep wiping while talking, and remember to tell me when you need to change the water.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze said, shrugging helplessly.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to tell the whole truth, just mentioned that today¡¯s strangeness at the mall was a trap set by the exorcists from the Great Capital USA, because sometime ago, through the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er and her mother, he discovered that the Half Moon Association was setting up a sinister ritual altar.


    If that altar were activated, the threat to every major city could be significant, and the Half Moon Association at the time was secretly capturing special strangenesses, even Ke¡¯er and her mother almost got killed.


    It was during that time that he got involved with the Half Moon Association in order to save Ke¡¯er and her mother, so they designed this revenge because of that feud.


    But upon entering the mall earlier, he realized something was wrong, so he intentionally turned the tables, faked his death, changed his clothes, and avoided the Reaper¡¯s minions¡¯ pursuit, then called Zhang Chengjing for rescue.


    Although there were twists and turns during the process, they managed to signal for help successfully.


    In the end, the Reaper named Han Yu arrived, saved everyone, and even killed Morrison in return.


    Since Zhang Xiaomo was quite distant, she didn¡¯t see clearly how Morrison got hit by the Dark Poison, and this point didn¡¯t raise her suspicion.


    Yan Junze wiped the bloodstains from his body while explaining.


    Zhang Xiaomo listened attentively, interrupting immediately with questions wherever she didn¡¯t understand or had doubts, and Yan Junze continued to spin tales, the explanations half-truths and half-lies.


    There was no way around it, he couldn¡¯t reveal the truth about the Great Rewind, this Golden Finger was too against human nature. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo brought him a basin of hot water, and after wiping himself clean again, Yan Junze put on his clothes.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s attention shifted to Xiang Er curled up on the bed.


    She frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Xiang Er¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t look very optimistic.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look and noticed that Xiang Er¡¯s body was trembling slightly all along.


    He wasn¡¯t worried about anything going wrong with Xiang Er¡¯s perfect body, as he¡¯d heard from Zhang Xiaomo on the way back that her original form had suffered a collision of magnetic fields from two Reapers.


    The current state was definitely due to the disturbance from the magnetic field she experienced then, and the magnetic field interference from the Reaper must¡¯ve been immensely strong, something Xiang Er simply could not bear.


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze suddenly had the idea to try.


    At this moment, a worm lay quietly in his heart, his heartbeat was strong, causing all the surrounding organs to work hard as well.


    He could feel that as soon as he focused his mind, his heart including all the organs inside his belly would be covered with a solid membrane by the white fluff-like substance, offering the best protection.


    Yan Junze knew that the worm¡¯s ability was to control the domain field, and within this control field, it would be impossible for anyone to interfere with it.


    This special domain field would prevent his ability to Rewind, and Jacob would become exceedingly powerful, almost an invincible presence.


    Perhaps, he could try using the control field after Semi-Spiritualization.


    With the thought in mind, he moved closer to the bed and initiated the Semi-Spiritualization.


    In an instant, Zhang Xiaomo standing beside him immediately sensed something unusual¡ªshe found that the space she was in suddenly became alien, her strength vanished, her limbs went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground.


    Her lips moved, Zhang Xiaomo wanted to speak but felt disinclined to do so, simply feeling very tired right now, not wanting to do anything.


    At the same time, Yan Junze realized that everything around his body was vividly detailed, clearly displayed in his mind as if he had grown eyes all over, providing clear views in any direction.


    Even without turning his head, he could see the movements in all directions, and he was acutely aware of any anomaly in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s body at this moment.


    ¡°Is this¡­ the effect of the control field?!¡±


    Yan Junze was a bit surprised.


    He could also sense that the body of Xiang Er lying on the bed was separated from her spirit form; it was clear that Xiang Er was a Possession Spirit.


    Even the inside of the perfect female corpse, and the Ugly Girl¡¯s shadow curled up into a ball at this moment, were clearly visible.


    A feeling of control filled his heart; the overlay of the control field made Yan Junze know that he was nearly omnipotent within this domain field.


    In other words, this control field had already taken the shape of the Reaper Forbidden Zone, and even from certain perspectives, they were almost identical.

 Chapter 745 - 433: Reality or Nightmare?_2

    Although the encounters were similar, when Morrison first encountered Jacob, he was just as helpless in the Ghost Apartment.


    However, Morrison knew that Jacob couldn¡¯t look at photographs or mirrors, but now this was no longer a problem for Yan Junze. After taming the long worm, regaining his heart, and arriving at the mall, he had looked in the mirrors there, and there were no issues.


    It was only that the worm inside his heart became somewhat restless at the moment he looked in the mirror, as if there was something extremely tempting for it.


    Of course, now Yan Junze seriously suspected that his special constitution was somewhat close to Jacob¡¯s; the only difference being that he was not a strangeness, but a Semi-spirit, while Jacob was a true strangeness.


    If the Half Moon Association of the Great Capital in the USA was still preparing the altar, perhaps they would have detected the problem with his body, but now it seemed that the altar had been abandoned.


    Otherwise, Morrison in the mall wouldn¡¯t have such a bone-deep hatred for Yan Junze.


    Feeling the control over this space, Yan Junze experienced an unprecedented sense of excitement. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed at the Void.


    There was nothing in his hand, but he could feel the air he was holding as substantial, moving his hand up and down a couple of times. Yes, what he was grasping was like an invisible air rod.


    Yan Junze believed that he might be able to directly swing this air rod and inflict damage on the enemy.


    ¡°Is this the ability I have after becoming a Semi-spirit, while in my own domain field?!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but move the air rod a few more times, feeling an irresistible urge not to let go.


    This scene, observed by Zhang Xiaomo, gave her the urge to gouge out her own eyes.


    Unfortunately, she was powerless within the domain field, unable to even speak, let alone physically strike this fellow.


    Within the domain field, Yan Junze quickly came to his senses, retracted his thoughts, and dispersed the air rod with a wave of his hand.


    He found that with mere thought, he could make the Ugly Girl inside the perfect corpse¡¯s body turn over to face him.


    If he compressed the domain field, he believed the Ugly Girl in the midst of it would feel very uncomfortable, and might even dissipate. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After testing, he now knew that the skills he had after Semi-Spiritualization were very powerful!


    After turning the Ugly Girl¡¯s silhouette to face him, Yan Junze quickly noticed that the magnetic field around her fluctuated wildly, like ripples that couldn¡¯t calm down.


    In his imagination, a virtual hand appeared in the domain field, soothing the Ugly Girl¡¯s magnetic field.


    At that moment, the rippling magnetic field indeed settled down somewhat.


    Seeing that this method was effective, Yan Junze immediately intensified the calming force. He could feel that there really was a virtual hand within the domain field that he could control, wiping away those fluctuations around the Ugly Girl.


    The Ugly Girl¡¯s strangeness-infected magnetic field, which had been disrupted by the Reaper Forbidden Zone, gradually calmed down, as if all the flowing signals were slowly returning to their own paths, continuing to run orderly.


    Soon, Zhang Xiaomo discovered that Xiang Er¡¯s body was no longer trembling, and her previously curled-up body also slowly stretched out. It was obvious that her unease and pain were relieved at that moment.


    Yan Junze once again began to feel the changes in himself at this time. He discovered that his internal organs were once again covered with a gentle layer of White fluff, lacking the barbaric growth and invasive feeling of the first time.


    And in this moment, after retracting the domain field, the White fluff immediately receded, returning to the area of the heart and disappearing within.


    This time of Semi-Spiritualization didn¡¯t produce any abnormal appearance in his body, and he didn¡¯t turn into any kind of strange Strange Body.


    In fact, what Yan Junze was most worried about was the possibility of transforming into whatever he was infected by.


    Truth be told, he thought he was going to turn into a human-shaped long worm; just picturing that scene made him feel nauseous.


    ¡°Just now, that¡­ was that your Semi-spirit?¡± Zhang Xiaomo finally managed to speak, feeling the invisible pressure around her dissipate.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°There are some areas I¡¯m still not quite familiar with, but with more practice, I should get better and better.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°You just put a lot of pressure on me.¡±


    Turning her head to look at Xiang Er, who no longer showed any signs of anomaly, ¡°But it seems that it worked well.¡±


    ¡°You should call your dad first, though I¡¯m sure he already knows the outcome,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    He was well aware that he would have to deal with inquiries from the Exorcism General Team of Huaying, questions from Zhang Chengjing, and suspicions from Guo Youliang.


    But for now, he just wanted to rest and replenish all the depleted energy points.


    ¡­


    Huaying Great Capital, Aries District.


    The southern side of Aries District faced the sea, enjoying pleasant weather all year round.


    Of the eight districts of Huaying, the residents of Aries District essentially exhibited a typical laid-back lifestyle, doing everything at a leisurely pace.


    During the strangeness outbreak, Aries District was among the slowest to react in the Great Capital of Huaying and was the last district to accept the strangenesses.


    There was a joke ridiculing the people of Aries District, about an old lady who rented out the other two rooms of her house, resulting in a middle-aged tenant who worked himself to death, waking up dead in the rental house.


    Although the strangeness incidents back then were not as numerous as they are now, they were already causing a stir, and there was hardly anyone who hadn¡¯t heard of them.

 Chapter 746 - 433: Reality or Nightmare?_3

    But our dear landlady somehow managed to get along peacefully with the tenant for another month, until next month when it was time to collect the rent. She was preparing to use the rent money to pay for the next day¡¯s gas, water, and electricity bills when she discovered that the entire stack of cash was green with red stripes, which is the kind of paper money used for the dead.


    The landlady still did not think of other possibilities, believing that the tenant was deliberately trying to scare her to skip out on the rent.


    After barging into the rental room to confront him and getting no outcome, she then enlisted several of her relatives to prepare to kick the fellow out.


    When relatives and friends arrived, they found that the tenant had been dead inside the room for nearly a month, not only was his body stiff, but it was said that a bizarre layer of white hair had grown on the surface of his skin, and all this while the landlady had failed to notice anything unusual.


    Regardless of the truth of this story, Zhou Wenfei, who was also in the Aries District at the moment, did not want to speculate about other people¡¯s misfortunes; he was only concerned with his own situation.


    Zhou Wenfei was a local from Aries City District, and the courtyard he lived in was similar to that of the landlady¡¯s from the story, resembling a quadrangle of sorts.


    However, the building with rooms had only two sides; on the other sides, one was the gate, and the other had been dug up by Zhou Wenfei into fertile soil for planting vegetables.


    He had always lived alone, and the wealth left to him by his deceased parents meant he did not lack food or clothing, essentially entering retirement early.


    It¡¯s just that at forty years old, he had yet to marry or have children.


    And the events that had been happening to him these past days had left Zhou Wenfei unable to sleep or eat in peace, especially dreading the arrival of night.


    Whether he had encountered any strangeness, he wasn¡¯t sure, but every night when he went to sleep, he would invariably dream.


    In his dreams, a strange woman would play games with him.


    Actually, Zhou Wenfei was no longer clear whether these were just dreams he had after falling asleep, or if a real woman indeed entered his room every night, playing games with him in his half-asleep, half-awake state.


    Lately, he¡¯d been so distracted and muddled during the day that he could not even distinguish between his dreams and reality, let alone differentiate the morning sky from the twilight at times.


    Looking out the window at the sky, Zhou Wenfei took quite a while to figure out that it was not morning, but apparently dusk.


    ¡°Dusk? Night? It seems¡­ the sky is about to darken!¡±


    The thought of nightfall made him stiffen all over and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver from the chill.


    He walked in from outside the courtyard to his desk, picked up his mobile phone, and opened the call log.


    The display showed all calls marked ¡°4747.¡±


    Starting from yesterday, nearly every ten minutes, he couldn¡¯t help but dial the number again.


    However, when he called again at five in the afternoon today, Zhou Wenfei received a stern warning, asserting that his situation had been recorded and was in queue for processing, and that if he called again, security personnel would come to arrest him.


    Then¡­ the guy immediately, decisively, without hesitation dialed it another ten times.


    Being alone at home already felt fraught with danger, so why not simply let them arrest him, get lodged in jail with free meals, and have other prisoners around to bolster his courage? Why not do it?


    Yet, contrary to his wishes, his number was quickly blacklisted by 4747, and after he heard a sweet-voiced operator from the other end of the phone let out an exasperated, hysterical scream in the final call, he couldn¡¯t connect any further calls. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What puzzled Zhou Wenfei was why the security officers hadn¡¯t come yet? Was arresting someone also something that required queuing?


    The sky began to darken, and he suddenly shrank his neck, feeling a chill down his spine as if something was staring at him from behind, and quickly turned to look.


    Behind him were the familiar pieces of furniture, but as cold and lifeless as ever, casting an inexplicable chill in Zhou Wenfei¡¯s heart.


    He hurriedly walked to the front of the house, closed the door, locked it, peeked out the window next to the door to the courtyard, then drew the curtains.

 Chapter 747 - 434 Hide and Seek

    Early in the morning, Zhou Wenfei picked some vegetables he had grown in the yard and came into the kitchen to wash a few fresh leaves.


    Opening the fridge, he saw the leftovers were all gone, so he took out two packets of instant noodles from the cupboard and boiled half a pot of water in the noodle pot.


    He tore open the packaging of the instant noodles, only taking out two noodle cakes and throwing all the seasoning packets into the trash bin.


    Zhou Wenfei always ate his instant noodles like this; he didn¡¯t like the taste of the seasoning packets, so he would add his own condiments and chili sauce, then mix them with the cooked noodles to eat.


    The water in the pot soon came to a boil, and he tossed in the noodle cakes, letting them cook a bit longer. Just before they were ready, he added the freshly washed vegetable leaves.


    After stirring in the pot a couple of times, the leaves were essentially ready to eat and were scooped out with the noodles.


    A bit of lard was placed in the bowl; the mixed noodles still smelled somewhat appealing, but Zhou Wenfei seemed to have little appetite.


    He ate as if merely completing a task, returning to the living room and sitting down in a chair to wolf it down.


    After tossing the bowl into the sink without any intention of washing it, he walked over to the table, picked up the teapot to weigh it in his hand, and then poured himself half a cup of cold tea, gulping it down before plopping back into the chair without getting up again.


    Moments later, he lit a cigarette, took a couple of drags, then reached back to lift a corner of the curtain behind him and peeked outside.


    The streetlights outside the courtyard were already on; since they were bright, he hadn¡¯t bothered replacing the burnt-out lightbulb in the yard after his parents passed away.


    In his subconscious, the less attention he drew, the better. In this era of frequent strangenesses, if a light was shining in the yard every night, what if it caught the attention of something sinister?


    Now that he had never changed the bulb himself, it was unfortunate that he was still tormented by those nightmarish dreams.


    Keeping a low profile, always keeping a low profile.


    If it wasn¡¯t for his fear of the dark after turning off the lights in the house, he would have done it before dusk. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare replace them with dimmer ones.


    Dim light could also breed fear in people¡¯s hearts.


    Zhou Wenfei was different from most people in Aries District; he wasn¡¯t the careless type, nor was he slow in his actions. He was actually very cautious in his daily routine.


    For instance, the reason he didn¡¯t wash the dishes just now was that he discovered some blocked vegetable leaves in the sink, and beneath those leaves, when he glanced earlier, he thought he saw black threads.


    Not daring to look too closely, he suspected those black threads might be hair.


    How could there be hair in the sink? And why hadn¡¯t he seen it when he was washing dishes before? These were factors that could easily bring trouble, so Zhou Wenfei decided not to touch it recklessly.


    If it were someone else, they might have pulled out whatever was clogging the sink.


    But what if pulling it made things worse?


    That was what Zhou Wenfei was considering. Or what if pulling it out brought up some bizarre thing attached to the hair? Then he would be in real trouble. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The more he thought about it, the more his heart fluttered. He got up and closed the kitchen door, intending to lock it, but the sliding door¡¯s lock had long been broken, so he had no choice but to give up.


    Dealing with the strange stuff in the sink was a task best left for tomorrow in broad daylight, or he could intentionally call the neighbor over so they could clean it up when more people were around.


    As a typical recluse, he hadn¡¯t paid the TV fee, had disconnected his bank card and phone, and hadn¡¯t gone to the counter to reactivate them. So, he just sat there alone at home, heavy with thoughts, continuously smoking.


    The room was filled with smoke.


    Zhou Wenfei glanced at the time on his phone; it was almost ten o¡¯clock.


    His thumb involuntarily went to the call interface, looking at the ¡°4747¡± phone numbers in a row, and he couldn¡¯t help but want to press it, but at last, he managed to restrain himself.


    He didn¡¯t want to really upset the Exorcists; if they not only refused to help him but also decided not to take him in and instead locked up his house, making him fend for himself, that would be quite a situation.


    Playing that game with that woman every night.


    Just thinking about the terror he felt when that woman appeared made Zhou Wenfei shudder, and he finished off his 11th cigarette, crushing the butt into the already overflowing ashtray.


    He didn¡¯t wash his face or rinse his mouth before heading straight into the bedroom next door.


    His parents¡¯ bedroom was in the room diagonally across, but it was accessible only by going through the yard, so he never planned on moving there to sleep.


    Moreover, after his parents died, he always felt an eerie presence in that room. Although he knew they wouldn¡¯t harm him even if they turned into Spirits, he couldn¡¯t shake the creepy feeling, which was impossible to dispel.


    In fact, Zhou Wenfei now intentionally avoided looking in the direction of his parents¡¯ bedroom. He was contemplating whether to demolish that side of the building and turn it into a small orchard.


    After entering the bedroom, he turned on the light and then went back to the living room to turn it off. Clutching his phone, he swiftly returned to the bedroom as soon as the living room light went out, as if something was following him.


    Upon entering the bedroom, Zhou Wenfei didn¡¯t look back but immediately closed the bedroom door behind him.


    Click!


    The door was locked.


    Now he finally felt a bit more secure.


    A quick glance enclosed the space of the bedroom, the most secure place at this moment.


    ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll sleep till dawn without any dreams!¡± Zhou Wenfei stretched his arms, muttering words of self-encouragement.


    He went to the bathroom to pee, then came out and closed the bathroom door. After getting into bed, he watched some videos on his phone and then went straight to sleep with his head covered.

 Chapter 748 - 434 Hide and Seek_2

    Chapter 748: Chapter 434 Hide and Seek_2


    The bedroom light hadn¡¯t been turned off, which didn¡¯t affect Zhou Wenfei¡¯s sleep; in fact, it was only with the light on that he felt a sense of security. Lying in bed, he could see everything the moment he opened his eyes, and that was when he felt safe.


    The phone was charging right beside the pillow, and he didn¡¯t care at all about any radiation. As long as he could reach out for the phone, he¡¯d even place the charging phone on his forehead if it wouldn¡¯t fall off.


    Around ten-thirty, the guy finally fell into an anxious sleep.


    Just before he drifted off, Zhou Wenfei had a hazy thought: if things got too bad, he might just go out to the street in the morning and snatch a lollipop, just so he could be locked up for a few days.


    Why didn¡¯t he have any relatives in Aries District?


    With that thought, he fell asleep.


    When he awoke, darkness surrounded him.


    Zhou Wenfei was deep in sleep. His head turned to the side, ready to continue sleeping when suddenly something inside him jolted. Most of his drowsiness vanished.


    He remembered that he hadn¡¯t turned off the bedroom light before he went to sleep.


    But now the room was plunged into darkness.


    What went wrong? Was he dreaming?


    Zhou Wenfei, terrified, felt his heart pounding fiercely. He wanted to force himself back to sleep but then realized that he wasn¡¯t lying on the bed at all.


    He was sitting up!


    Before waking up, his head was drooping to the side, saliva drooling onto the clothes on his chin. The unusualness wasn¡¯t noticed until just now since he woke up groggy. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not only was he sitting up, but now he was no longer in the bedroom, but sitting in the living room.


    Outside the drawn curtains, light from the bright street lamps spilled into the yard, but the curtains were thick, and the room¡¯s illumination was still quite dim¡ªonly the outlines of the nearby surroundings could be discerned.


    Anything further away was invisible.


    Now only the nearby furniture was visible, but Zhou Wenfei was clear¡ªhe was sitting in the living room, and specifically, on the chair where he had eaten instant noodles earlier.


    Only now, the orientation of the chair had changed; it was no longer back-facing the window but facing it directly.


    That meant his back was turned toward the bedroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s happening again, it¡¯s here again!¡±


    Zhou Wenfei was immensely frightened, trembling all over, yet his consciousness was becoming sharper by the moment.


    Sitting in the chair, he could move, but he felt incredibly stiff.


    It was a bit like the sensation of sleep paralysis.


    Sitting in that chair, engulfed by the living room¡¯s darkness, Zhou Wenfei could distinctly hear every faint sound around him.


    Suddenly, a slight sound of footsteps arose from behind, some distance away, as if coming from the bedroom.


    It sounded like the person wasn¡¯t wearing shoes, walking very slowly, taking almost two seconds to make a step, and when the foot landed, there was a light ¡°pat¡± sound, as if the force of the footstep was heavy.


    Zhou Wenfei tried his best to control his thoughts, not to wonder who the owner of the feet was, what they looked like, or what expression they bore behind him.


    His whole body was shaking, yet it remained stiff, and any movement might cause him to tumble to the ground.


    Of course, he could turn his head to look, but even if now a knife were held to Zhou Wenfei¡¯s throat, he wouldn¡¯t turn his head.


    Reason was telling him that not looking might be better. If he really did turn and saw something, the outcome could be very, very bad. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be facing this thing in his dream in such a posture.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Wenfei suddenly realized, ¡°Am I dreaming? Is this¡­ really a nightmare?¡±


    Wake up, wake up!


    He peered slightly upward, looking at the dim light from the streetlamp outside the window, daring not move at all.


    The footsteps were still approaching, each step spaced evenly apart, walking out of the bedroom and arriving at the bedroom door.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s heart rose to his throat; it almost leapt out.


    He held his breath, continuously praying in his mind, hoping this was just a dream, hoping that whatever was behind him wouldn¡¯t see him, hoping it would just leave quickly.


    The footsteps made a brief pause at the bedroom door before moving again, taking two steps forward and then stopping.


    Zhou Wenfei desperately wanted to turn and see what the thing was. He was trying hard to control himself but couldn¡¯t help starting to breathe rapidly.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhh¡­¡±


    Suddenly, not far behind him, a series of extremely strange, chilling, and bone-chilling sounds echoed, like a saw grinding against hard wood.


    The noise seemed to come directly from a clogged throat, intermittent, like someone in agony screaming or mournfully wailing.


    Spreading through the dark, quiet living room, Zhou Wenfei, hearing this sound, nearly fainted from fright.


    He swore he had never heard this sound before. What he used to hear in his dreams was a woman¡¯s voice speaking.


    Even though the woman¡¯s laughter was just as eerie.


    As for her speaking voice, Zhou Wenfei felt goosebumps all over and did not want to recall it anymore.


    The heavy and slow footsteps gradually approached from behind. Zhou Wenfei couldn¡¯t bear to look back and he didn¡¯t even dare to imagine the scene behind him. Instead, he just closed his eyes.


    When the footsteps were still a little more than a meter away, they stopped. The sound of rustling clothes came through as if the person was twisting their body, groping around.


    ¡°Zhou¡­ Wen¡­ Fei.¡±


    A woman¡¯s hoarse voice sounded, and even though it was somewhat muffled, it called out Zhou Wenfei¡¯s name, word by word.

 Chapter 749 - 434 Hide and Seek_3

    Chapter 749: Chapter 434 Hide and Seek_3


    Zhou Wenfei jolted awake, his eyes opening slightly.


    He had no idea why the stranger knew his name; the woman¡¯s voice had always sounded foreign to him, and why would she come to his house looking for him?


    In the instant his eyes opened, a dark shadow suddenly leaned over from behind, stopping at the same level as Zhou Wenfei¡¯s head, motionless, also facing forward.


    Zhou Wenfei startled, his gaze shifted sideways, not daring to turn his head, and he saw some long hair hovering just above his right shoulder.


    The hair was not only long but also thick, obscuring the view of the person¡¯s profile.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s whole body trembled like a sieve.


    The long hair hovering above his shoulder suddenly moved, as if the head was turning to face him.


    The long hair that had been hanging over his face began to slide off, revealing the woman¡¯s visage. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as she was about to turn towards him, Zhou Wenfei quickly diverted his gaze and closed his eyes again.


    A cold breath approached him, he could sense that the person¡¯s face was not far away, as though an entrance to a frigid cave had appeared by his side.


    ¡°Zhou¡­ Wen¡­ Fei.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice reached his ears once more, still hoarse, hollow, devoid of any emotion.


    As long as he didn¡¯t move, it was as if she couldn¡¯t see him, just incessantly calling out.


    The cold breath receded, and Zhou Wenfei, not responding, felt the woman¡¯s head pulling away from him, slowly retreating behind him, not to appear again.


    Zhou Wenfei was playing dead, eyes tightly shut, head unturned due to the tension, he could no longer feel his own breathing and was all ears, listening for any movement from behind.


    Now, the coldness and the suffocating feeling were gone, as if the woman had moved away from him.


    After a moment, Zhou Wenfei felt less frightened and wanted to open his eyes.


    But just then, his shoulder suddenly dropped, a pallid hand reached over and patted it.


    ¡°Find me.¡± The woman¡¯s raspy voice abruptly rose up from behind him.


    She had been standing behind Zhou Wenfei all along.


    The pat frightened Zhou Wenfei so much he almost cried out, his body shuddering violently, almost sliding off the chair onto the floor.


    After that pat, heavy, slow footsteps sounded from behind him, but they stopped after just four steps and no further sounds were heard.


    Clearly, the woman may have hidden herself away.


    At that moment, Zhou Wenfei felt as if he had nearly lost half his life.


    In past experiences of nightmares, either he would be sleeping in bed and suddenly hear a woman talking, telling him to get out of bed and find her, or just like now, sitting in a chair, hearing a woman in the room calling him to come in, her voice mechanical, detached.


    Or perhaps in the dream, the woman who appeared wouldn¡¯t speak at all, merely emitting a ¡°hee-hee-hee¡± laugh from somewhere in the room, a dry, hoarse, chilling laugh, enticing him to come to her.


    But today, after the woman appeared behind him, it was the first time she had directly touched him.


    And never in any of the nightmares did Zhou Wenfei truly heed the woman¡¯s call to find her.


    With his courage, he dared not seek her out but chose to stay put until the woman¡¯s laughter faded away.


    Or let the woman hide as long as he didn¡¯t go looking for her.


    After a few minutes, he would regain consciousness and leave the fearful nightmare behind.


    This time, of course, he would not go looking for the woman in hiding.


    He waited for a few minutes with no response. It still felt cool behind his back, but it always felt like a pair of eyes were watching him, except this time he didn¡¯t wake up as he had before.


    After some thought, Zhou Wenfei steeled himself and pinched his thigh forcefully to awaken himself.


    Pain spread through his leg, but Zhou Wenfei found it eerie that he didn¡¯t return to his bed; instead, his consciousness became even sharper!


    ¡°Could it be, I¡¯m not dreaming?!¡± he suddenly realized with shock.

 Chapter 750 - 435: Strangeness Piggy Bank

    Chapter 750: Chapter 435: Strangeness Piggy Bank


    ¡°This is not a dream,¡± the thought emerged, and Zhou Wenfei¡¯s forehead broke out in a cold sweat.


    Upon closer consideration, if he had been in the real world all along, then the woman behind him was also real, not just a figure in a dream.


    And at this moment, he was truly awake, not within a dream.


    Once this thought took hold, Zhou Wenfei could no longer contain it, he reached out to touch the back of his hand, feeling very real, then pinched himself, which also hurt.


    He bit down on the tip of his tongue unwillingly, and it hurt so much that tears came out of his eyes.


    It was real! There was nothing more real than this.


    He wasn¡¯t dreaming, but why had he left the bedroom after waking up, to find himself sitting in the living room?


    He had no mood left for doubts.


    Now, not a sound came from his surroundings, as if the woman had vanished.


    But Zhou Wenfei was clear, she had just hidden away, if he didn¡¯t go looking for her, and this wasn¡¯t just a nightmare, then she would be waiting somewhere for him.


    After much hesitation, the inner turmoil even led Zhou Wenfei to consider ending his own life at this moment, rather than searching for the woman who was hiding.


    But more than ten minutes later, he stood up with a rigid body, his movements slow.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to slow down deliberately, but at the moment his body seemed unresponsive, completely numb.


    Zhou Wenfei turned around with difficulty, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, and then looked around the room, aided by the dim light from outside the window.


    Not far behind the chair where he sat was a coffee table, and right next to it, snug against the sofa, that area looked very normal, nothing amiss.


    On the other side was the old-fashioned TV wall, and below the TV was a decorative cabinet half a meter tall ¨C too small to hide a person.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s gaze wandered farther and then settled near the corner stand-alone air conditioning unit.


    This air conditioning was usually turned on only during the summer, and to prevent dust, was covered with a diamond-patterned light blue dust cloth.


    Yet now, by the wall near the air conditioner, there was a somewhat abnormal dark shadow.


    The distance being somewhat great, Zhou Wenfei couldn¡¯t see clearly, he strained his eyes, but still could not be sure if that was a person, only feeling that the more he looked, the more it resembled one, and unconsciously, in his mind, he had sketched out the image of a woman with disheveled hair.


    At this thought, a deeper chill enveloped his heart, he didn¡¯t approach but instead took two steps back, turned around, and quickly reached the living room door, unlocked the latch on top, twisted the doorknob with force, intending to run straight out.


    But with this twist, the lock did not respond at all.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t get out!?¡±


    Zhou Wenfei, shivering, turned back around, looking in the direction of the air conditioner, the shadow was still there.


    It was then that he decided to dash towards the bedroom, but passing by the bedroom meant getting very close to the corner where the air conditioner was.


    But at this moment, he disregarded everything, always keeping an eye on the direction of the shadow, he crossed the area nearest to the shadow in a few strides, rushed into the bedroom door, immediately shut it, and then locked it, leaning against it to listen.


    All done in one breath, as if he had gone through extensive training, this was a level of performance that a person could exhibit when pushed to the edge.


    After listening for a moment, it was silent outside the door, no sound came in.


    The bedroom was also pitch-dark. Zhou Wenfei breathed a little easier, and carefully reached out to press the light switch, but there was no response.


    Fortunately, his eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, and although the bedroom was darker than outside, if he looked closely at his surroundings, he wouldn¡¯t bump his legs into furniture while moving.


    Certain that the woman was still standing by the air conditioner and had not bothered with his escape, Zhou Wenfei felt slightly more at ease; he pressed the light switch again, still no response.


    He turned and groped his way to the bed, each step taken lightly, making sure not to make any noise.


    Arriving at the bedside, he quickly found his phone charging, feeling more settled, he hurriedly lit up the phone¡¯s screen.


    The pale yellow glow of the screen lit up his face, he checked the time, it was just past three in the morning.


    Zhou Wenfei carefully pulled out the charger, remaining silent throughout.


    His attention stayed focused on the bedroom door, slowly bending his knees to kneel on the bed, lifting a corner of the blanket, about to crawl in, when the upper half of a woman appeared before him, her lower half still covered by the blanket.


    Long hair covered her cheeks, emitting a chilling laugh, her head turned slightly, looking at Zhou Wenfei.


    ¡°You¡­ found me.¡±


    In the corner of the living room by the air conditioner, where the shadow resembling a woman might have hidden, Zhou Wenfei, due to extreme tension and fear, had forgotten that what was actually placed there was an almost life-sized porcelain vase.


    ¡­


    In front of an old residential building in the Aries City District, Gu Dekang hung up the phone and looked up at the sky.


    Although it was just past six-fifteen, the sky was already darkening.


    He chuckled lightly, harassing the operators with daily calls was a first for him. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The higher-ups had already made it clear, they sent him to check things out. If the strangeness was just scary but did not harm people, they should detain the prank caller and keep him with it for a couple of days.


    If the strangeness tended to hurt people, they were to eliminate it straightaway and then bring Zhou Wenfei to the safety bureau, detain him for five days before dealing with arranging an apology to the miss on the switchboard.

 Chapter 751 - 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_2

    Chapter 751: Chapter 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_2


    Gu Dekang was thirty-five this year, slightly overweight for a three-star Exorcist¡ªsuch physique was quite rare among his peers.


    But it wasn¡¯t exactly Gu Dekang¡¯s own doing, as his entire family shared this tendency to be plump. From his childhood, he had an excellent digestive system, the kind that would gain weight even from drinking water.


    He had taken on this emergency task because he had just cleared the strangenesses in the old-style residential building behind him, which was less than one kilometer away from Zhou Wenfei¡¯s courtyard house located in Qingtian Alley.


    After reporting the clearance of the strangenesses to his squad, his boss had suddenly slotted this task into his schedule.


    Originally, Gu Dekang was to head to the Third Hospital to join several other Exorcists in dealing with an odd incident in the morgue.


    The morgue¡¯s incident had been preliminarily classified as a C-level case, which would have been good training for Gu Dekang, but now his hopes were dashed as another Exorcist closer in proximity had been dispatched by superiors.


    Although Gu Dekang was somewhat disgruntled, he couldn¡¯t defy orders.


    Naturally, he directed his resentment toward Zhou Wenfei, the person who had persistently pestered the operator with phone calls.


    After dealing with the strangenesses, he would definitely make sure to lock this guy up for a few days.


    He walked directly to Qingtian Alley, which was neither secluded nor cramped but rather spacious, with relatively bright street lamps that didn¡¯t create an ominous or claustrophobic atmosphere.


    ¡°Qingtian Alley number 17.¡±


    Gu Dekang glanced at the informant¡¯s details on his phone, entered the alley, and quickly found number 17 by reading the house numbers.


    He looked around; this solitary courtyard house likely didn¡¯t lack money, but it was possible that it was rented by the residence.


    However, being able to rent a courtyard house to live in meant that one¡¯s financial conditions were pretty good too.


    It was just before seven in the evening, but the sky had already darkened completely.


    There was an exceptionally bright street lamp right in front of number 17. Although there were no passersby anymore, it didn¡¯t induce much fear.


    He knocked on the gate of the courtyard and waited for a while, but there was no response.


    Gu Dekang pulled up Zhou Wenfei¡¯s number¡ªthe informant¡ªon his phone and called it.


    Half a minute went by after the phone connected, but nobody picked up.


    ¡°Could something have happened already?¡± Gu Dekang muttered to himself.


    He drew his magnetic knife from its sleeve; the knife resembled a hunting knife, with a thin blade and just half an arm¡¯s length, usually concealed in his sleeve.


    Examining the courtyard¡¯s gate, which was double-doored that would typically only have half open while the other half was bolted shut, he noted it had a large gap.


    Gu Dekang slid the blade of the knife into the gap and flicked it downward, hearing a click. Keeping the blade in place, he nudged it with his toe and the gate opened. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pushing the gate slightly, Gu Dekang stepped inside the courtyard. From there, he could see the interior was pitch-dark without any lights on.


    Perhaps Zhou Wenfei just went out for a bit.


    As Gu Dekang speculated, he approached a window outside the room, peered through the glass, and tried to get a good look inside.


    The room was too dark to see anything, so he took out a flashlight and shone it through the window.


    Most of the interior was obscured by window curtains, making it hard to see clearly.


    However, the curtain closest to Gu Dekang was slightly fluttering as if there was a breeze somewhere inside causing it to sway.


    Gu Dekang took a closer look but didn¡¯t spot anything like an electric fan or an air vent.


    He glanced down at the window lock and noticed it wasn¡¯t properly sealed. He inserted his magnetic knife between the window panes and slowly lifted the latch handle, thereby opening the window.


    The window wasn¡¯t fitted with security bars, but he was too heavy to climb through it without risking getting stuck embarrassingly halfway.


    He found a broom outside, reached in through the window, and nudged the living room door lock a couple of times until it opened.


    It puzzled him that the door hadn¡¯t been deadbolted.


    With the magnetic knife in hand, Gu Dekang entered. First, he tried the light switch, which did not work.


    Then, he swept the living room with his flashlight beam but did not find anything out of the ordinary. As a three-star Exorcist, his Perception was not as powerful as those of senior Exorcists so, in silence, he sensed the room and detected an abnormal magnetic field, though it wasn¡¯t particularly strong.


    While inspecting, Gu Dekang moved towards the bedroom.


    Standing at the bedroom door, he paused slightly, only to see a figure lying rigidly on the bed.


    He pressed the light switch again, without effect.


    The flashlight beam revealed the person on the bed whose chest seemed to be heaving still, yet the complexion was pale and horrific, with entirely darkened palms showing on both hands.


    ¡°Zhou Wenfei?¡± Gu Dekang called out tentatively.


    The person on the bed remained motionless.


    The next second, just as he was about to step forward, Gu Dekang suddenly felt dizzy as if the world was spinning.


    He grasped his magnetic knife and activated the magnetic glow, but his consciousness was rapidly fading. He reached for the doorframe to steady himself and hastily retreated.


    After retreating to the living room and turning towards the door, his hefty figure still thudded to the ground, unconscious.


    As he lay there in a daze, Gu Dekang¡¯s senses gradually became clearer¡­


    He felt his limbs were incredibly heavy, unable to lift them as if his entire body was stiff.

 Chapter 752 - 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_3

    Chapter 752: Chapter 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_3


    He quickly realized that he was sitting on a chair, facing a window two meters away, with the bedroom he had just entered behind him, and on the bed in that bedroom should still lie the man suspected to be Zhou Wenfei.


    The strangeness here was strong or rather, quite eerie.


    Gu Dekang did not panic too much, recalling carefully since he had been unable to leave this house just now, it was possible that the strangeness had the power to create a Grade C, or even Grade B, event.


    If his guess was wrong, then maybe the strength of the strangeness was actually mediocre, but because of some special ability, it could cause anyone, including the Exorcist, to fall into a state of instant unconsciousness.


    However, Gu Dekang was more inclined to the former guess, though the strength of the strangeness was considerable, it wasn¡¯t the kind focused on taking lives but seemed to have some other special purpose.


    Now his limbs were very stiff, but he could freely move his neck; he looked down and found his magnetic knife not far from his feet, presumably dropped there when he fell and it hadn¡¯t been touched since.


    It was then Gu Dekang noticed, there was a large cardboard box in front of him, similar to the ones used for desktop computers in the past, but slightly larger.


    The lid of the box was closed, but he didn¡¯t know what was inside.


    In front of the lid, there was a circle drawn with a chalk pen, and next to it a few words: ¡°Place it here.¡±


    ¡°What is it that needs to be placed here?¡±


    Gu Dekang was surprised and then realized his pocket seemed bulging, but his fingers were so stiff. With effort, he finally was able to bend his arm and reach into his right pocket.


    He touched an unfamiliar object, and since his fingers could not bend normally, he took it out mechanically and slowly.


    It was a walnut.


    After a slight hesitation, Gu Dekang stretched his arm with all his might, and finally managed to place the walnut in the circle.


    Thereafter, he watched the scene, panting for breath.


    He guessed that the strangeness must have a purpose for making him do this; under the circumstances, it was best to satisfy the other party for now and find a way to deal with it once his mobility improved a bit.


    The magnetic knife was by his side, and if he was determined to escape, a sudden struggle might still offer a chance.


    As he was planning, Gu Dekang noticed the chair he was sitting on started to turn on its own, the legs scraping noisily against the floor, as if an unknown force was pushing it.


    In no time at all, the chair had completed its turn, making him now face away from the large cardboard box.


    Gu Dekang tried to move, but found he still couldn¡¯t muster much strength; he could only sit there almost limply.


    A moment later, he heard noise from behind.


    Without turning his head, he immediately listened; the sound was coming from the cardboard box.


    Rustling noises, as if some thing was wriggling inside.


    Soon after, a crisp sound emitted suddenly, followed by more rustling, then silence.


    The chair under Gu Dekang began to turn again, scraping against the floor, and quickly turned back towards the direction of the cardboard box.


    Only then did he see that the walnut placed in the circle was completely cracked.


    And the cracked walnut was no longer in the circle but had been moved to the outside.


    Thud, thud!


    Two faint knocks came from inside the box.


    Gu Dekang started, then looked toward his pocket, came to his senses, and reached in again to find another object.


    However, his brow soon furrowed as he pulled the object out of his pocket awkwardly since his fingers couldn¡¯t grip tight, nearly dropping it. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In his hand was a mouse, to be precise, a soft, dead newborn mouse without fur yet.


    On seeing this, Gu Dekang felt a wave of nausea, nearly throwing away the dead rodent.


    But after glancing at the circle on the box, he ended up placing the dead mouse on it.


    Just as he drew back his hand, the chair started turning again, the grating sound being heard once more, and Gu Dekang was again facing away from the box.


    ¡°Is this strangeness playing a game with me?¡± At this moment, a peculiar thought suddenly arose in his mind.


    The rustling sound came from behind again.


    But this time, Gu Dekang didn¡¯t react as before; instead, he slowly turned his head to look, just in time to see the soft, limp dead mouse being swiftly pulled into the half-open lid of the cardboard box.


    This time, the mouse did not burst on impact.


    ¡°Could this be¡­ a ghostly piggy bank?¡± Upon seeing this, Gu Dekang was taken aback.

 Chapter 753 - 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng

    Chapter 753: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng


    Just now, in a moment of distraction, he seemed to see a hand dragging the dead mouse into the paper box.


    But the movement was too quick, and with only the light from the streetlamp outside seeping in, he couldn¡¯t see very clearly.


    However, moments later, a chewing sound emanated from inside the paper box, and a nauseating scene immediately came to Gu Dekang¡¯s mind.


    The chair he was sitting on started to rotate on its own again, facing the large paper box once more.


    Thump thump!


    Two familiar noises came from within the box.


    Gu Dekang knew it was a reminder that it was time to place something inside the circle.


    He instinctively reached into his pocket, feeling his arm seemed a bit more flexible than before, but his legs were still weak, unable to stand up.


    There was nothing left in the right pocket, but the left pocket seemed a bit bulgy; he didn¡¯t know what else was inside.


    Gu Dekang slowly inserted his left hand into his pocket and immediately touched a slimy round object. He paused, pinching the object slowly, pulling it out of his pocket to take a closer look.


    An eyeball!


    Trailing from behind the eyeball were some severed optic nerves, as though it had just been removed from someone¡¯s eye socket.


    On seeing this, Gu Dekang, despite being a three-star Exorcist, got such a fright that his hand trembled, and the eyeball fell out, landing perfectly within the circle on top of the paper box.


    Since it was still wet, the eyeball didn¡¯t roll away but stuck directly onto the surface of the box.


    Without hesitation, Gu Dekang secretly moved his arm, feeling some strength return to his right arm, though not as quickly as his left.


    He glanced at the magnetic knife by his right foot, within reach if he used his right hand to hook it.


    But at that moment, he suddenly realized that the chair he was sitting on hadn¡¯t turned this time; it stayed completely still in its original position.


    The next second, he saw the lid of the paper box slightly rise, as if something inside was pushing it up.


    Then a bluish-black arm slowly extended from the opened gap.


    The hand was slender, but the nails were both long and sharp, black, as if they had been deliberately manicured.


    At the instant the lid of the box opened, a chill rushed over him.


    Gu Dekang stared as the reaching-out black hand moved slowly towards the eyeball in the circle, and after a moment hovered above it, grasped it, and slowly retracted into the box.


    About four or five seconds later, a squelch!


    Gu Dekang remembered the sound he made last time he bit into a grape he had thrown into his mouth.


    His stomach churned, but he immediately suppressed it and focused on the magnetic knife by his foot.


    The mobility of his body was gradually increasing; the numbness he felt upon waking had disappeared. Gu Dekang slightly bent his body; due to being overweight, reaching the magnetic knife required more effort than it would for an average person.


    Soon his fingertips touched the handle of the knife.


    However, at this time, two more sounds came from inside the box¡ªthump, thump.


    It was time to put in the next item.


    But this time Gu Dekang didn¡¯t plan to pay it any attention; he was about to grab the magnetic knife. His body was bent as far down as it could go, but the excess flesh on his stomach, being squeezed together, made it difficult for him to breathe, as his just-recovered body felt the pressure.


    He quickly glanced at the still silent paper box, then, with a determined breath, pushed his body down again, grabbed the handle with a hook of his right hand, and his legs gathered some strength, ready to stand up.


    But what Gu Dekang didn¡¯t expect was that he underestimated his weight; he exerted too much force and his body tipped forward. As he grabbed the magnetic knife, he almost fell over.


    In a moment of urgency, his right hand grasped the knife while his left pressed against the paper box to stabilize his figure.


    But he did not notice that when he pressed down, his index and middle fingers landed straight into the circle on the box.


    And at that moment, the lid of the box jerked open a crack, and the previously seen black arm quickly reached out, grabbing Gu Dekang¡¯s index and middle fingers and yanking them forcefully into the box.


    Just as Gu Dekang¡¯s right hand managed to grab the magnetic knife, his pupils shrank. Taking advantage of his forward momentum, he swung the magnetic knife; its magnetic glow enveloping the blade as he spared no mercy slashing at the black arm.


    The next second, the knife landed solidly on the grotesque slender arm, but with a flash, the magnetic glow completely vanished.


    Looking again at the arm, there was only a faint mark that quickly disappeared. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same moment, Gu Dekang screamed in agony, feeling an unbearable sharp pain in his arm.


    Rip!


    Half of his arm was brutally torn off by the black hand, flesh and blood splattering, leaving bones stark-white, quickly drenched in blood.


    The torn half-arm had already been dragged into the box by the black hand.


    At that moment, Gu Dekang was drenched in cold sweat, his forehead streaming with heavy perspiration, and his facial features twisted in severe pain.


    He slumped in the chair, completely devoid of strength, his right hand tightly clutching the wound where his arm had been ripped off, trying to stem the flow of blood, but to no avail.


    The lid of the box slowly closed again; but when there was only a gap left, it stopped.


    Shortly after, a pair of white pupils appeared in the dark slit, staring silently at Gu Dekang, exuding strangeness¡­ and mockery¡­

 Chapter 754 - 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_2

    Chapter 754: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_2


    ¡­


    Cao Heng stood at the doorway of No. 17 Qingtian Alley, looking up to survey the front gate and walls of the courtyard.


    He could sense the strangeness of the magnetic field fluctuations emanating from within and was certain that something strange was present.


    But the reason he did not immediately enter was that this unfamiliar environment, this newly acquired task, made him, standing here at this moment, feel an inner unease.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Cao Heng looked away, frowning in thought, ¡°Is this place evil, or is the strangeness inside tough to deal with?¡±


    The Aries District Exorcist team had informed him that seven hours ago, three-star Exorcist Gu Dekang had entered this address, but three hours prior, the team¡¯s liaison had been unable to contact Gu Dekang.


    It was now one o¡¯clock in the morning.


    Regardless of whether the strangeness here could be dealt with or not, Gu Dekang was supposed to report back to the team, but he had not done so.


    So, there was a possibility that he had met with some accident.


    For Cao Heng, he had quite an impression of Gu Dekang, who had been progressing steadily and swiftly among the exorcists, with a good control over magnetic force. The only obstacle was that he was a bit overweight.


    But no one had decreed that being overweight precluded one from becoming an exorcist; the world was not lacking in agile heavyweights, although this might cause some inconvenience during certain missions.


    In the entire Aries City District, Cao Heng was well aware that the highest-level events he had dealt with were two Grade B strangenesses, and they had not even been close to Grade A, let alone a real Grade A event.


    And in this courtyard, the chances of a strangeness that could create a Grade A event were virtually zero.


    However, virtually zero did not mean there was no chance, so he had to be vigilant and cautious.


    The possibility that Gu Dekang had not made a sound, had neither left nor been able to send a message to the team liaison, might have already indicated the level of danger involved.


    The courtyard gate was ajar, showing that Gu Dekang had indeed gone inside.


    Cao Heng pushed the gate and entered. His gaze swept quickly around the courtyard, taking in the surrounding environment before heading in the direction of Zhou Wenfei¡¯s residence.


    The sense of the strange magnetic field was coming from this side, and no abnormalities were detected from the side where Zhou Wenfei¡¯s parents¡¯ bedroom was, so Cao Heng decided not to waste time.


    The magnetic knife in his hand was short, with double edges, which strictly speaking, made it closer to a dagger.


    However, once the magnetic glow was activated, the length of the Magnetic Blade could instantly triple in length, a special creation by Wan Shouguang of the Huaying Exorcist Brigade for him.


    Arriving at the door of the house, Cao Heng did not turn on his flashlight but pushed open the living room door and didn¡¯t immediately enter. Instead, he stood at the doorway, observing the movements within.


    Cao Heng had excellent vision, especially in darkness. Typically, a person¡¯s eyes need some time to adjust when moving from a well-lit place to a dark area, but Cao Heng did not have this problem; he could almost immediately adjust to the darkness and see more clearly than others.


    The room¡¯s furnishings appeared quite normal, but in the middle of the living room, there were four chairs positioned in front of the coffee table.


    Three chairs were aligned side by side, with one chair behind them. These three chairs were facing away from the one behind.


    On the floor in front of the rear chair, there could be seen some dark liquid.


    ¡°Is that¡­ blood?¡± Cao Heng¡¯s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing carefully and guessing there was a seventy percent chance that the dark liquid on the floor was blood. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He still did not enter, taking another look around instead. The bedroom door further away was open, but the scene inside was unknown.


    Cao Heng spread his magnetic force sensation wide, finding every part of the room permeated with a strange magnetic field, but he could not pinpoint where the field was strongest.


    He hesitated slightly, then threw the Magnetic Blade in his hand. Held aloft by magnetic force, the blade trembled slightly in mid-air, emitting a buzzing sound as it hovered into the living room.


    When it arrived near the four chairs, the Magnetic Blade suddenly vibrated and lost control, falling to the ground.


    Cao Heng¡¯s expression turned to surprise. After ensuring there was no danger, he walked into the living room, his left hand poised over two Hidden Buckles, one High-Energy Chilling and one Super-Energy Burst.


    The High-Energy Chilling was a newly developed high-power level Hidden Buckle, which increased the particle freeze effect on Strange Bodies based on the original Chilling Hidden Buckle and shortened the freezing time.


    The Super-Energy Burst was a precaution in case the opposition proved too fierce; Cao Heng would only throw it out in a dire emergency.


    Approaching the chairs, he crouched to pick up the Magnetic Blade, glanced in the direction of the bedroom, and was about to move over when he suddenly felt the world spin.


    Cao Heng was taken aback and immediately clasped the handle of the Magnetic Blade with his right hand, flicking his finger. The Magnetic Blade left his grasp to hover again but did not move far from his palm, making it easy to catch upon falling.


    The dizzy feeling grew stronger, and Cao Heng dared not make any sudden moves.


    After hovering, the tip of the Magnetic Blade swung slightly, stabilizing after a few seconds beside the living room sofa.


    Cao Heng immediately threw the High-Energy Chilling Hidden Buckle in that direction.


    With a loud thud, what had been an empty space by the side of the sofa suddenly revealed the figure of a woman. The moment she appeared, she was engulfed by the bursting Chilling Hidden Buckle, her dark figure turning white.


    The chill emitted by the High-Energy Chilling Hidden Buckle turned the living room momentarily into a cave of ice, piercing cold penetrating Cao Heng¡¯s clothes and causing him to break out in goosebumps.

 Chapter 755 - 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_3

    Chapter 755: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_3


    ¡°This guy, really too powerful!¡± Cao Heng sighed inwardly.


    The woman was quickly turned into an ice stick, with all the strange particles in her body ceasing to move, and her magnetic field unable to disperse any longer.


    Cao Heng immediately controlled the Magnetic Blade to stab at her as she hovered in the air.


    However, at this moment, just as the dizziness that had receded came surging back, more intense than before. With a buzz in his head, Cao Heng staggered forward, nearly falling. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His consciousness at this moment was like paste, no longer capable of effective thought, let alone ensuring the Magnetic Blade would hit its target.


    The Magnetic Blade clanged as it fell to the ground, and Cao Heng struggled to clear his mind, but found it difficult to do so.


    The dizziness now was at least three to five times worse than before.


    He valiantly fought to keep from falling, but escape was already impossible. He could only stand his ground, desperately watching the woman who had turned into an ice stick.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that, even though he had trapped the woman, she still had such a strong counterattack.


    As the thought crossed his mind, in a daze, Cao Heng felt his body turn uncontrollably, walking over to a chair with a pool of blood on the ground and slowly sitting down.


    At this time, he had not completely lost consciousness but maintained the last shred of awareness, struggling internally, yet his body was unable to resist.


    His limbs dangled weakly but bizarrely managed to sit upright in the chair, facing the three chairs placed opposite him.


    The sound of ice cracking, ¡°crack crack¡±, with chunks falling off, the trapped woman walked out.


    As the woman walked, she stumbled, as if her whole body was twisting. Step by step, she passed by where Cao Heng was sitting, without giving him a glance, then walked to the left side of the three chairs, tilting her head, her long hair sliding off her shoulder, and sat down.


    At this moment, Cao Heng was desperately struggling. He tried hard to stretch his hand towards the buckle of his belt.


    However, soon, his gaze shifted to the kitchen doorway to his right, where another long-haired figure appeared, her shape similar to the woman who had just sat down.


    This woman¡¯s face was also covered by her hair, her arms spread parallel, drooping down as if she could no longer lower them from the shoulder, and her legs were also stiff. She moved like a puppet to the chair on the right side of the three chairs.


    Her waist bent, making a ¡°crack¡± sound as it broke in the middle. Because her clothes were torn, the break was clearly visible. Afterward, the woman sat down in this terrifying manner.


    Cao Heng watched this scene, seemingly indifferent, but subconsciously, his right hand was still putting all its strength into moving towards the buckle, inch by inch.


    Meanwhile, the Super-Energy Burst that his left hand was holding onto had fallen somewhere when his limbs suddenly went limp.


    The next second, rustling sounds came from behind him, from the bedroom not far away.


    About a minute or so later, the sound approached Cao Heng, passing by the side of his chair.


    This was also a long-haired woman, on all fours, with disheveled hair obscuring her face, crawling forward on her knees.


    Her body was not stiff but twisted to the left, with a bizarre crawling posture. She slowly passed by Cao Heng, crawling to the middle one of the three chairs.


    She seemed to have wilted, listlessly climbing up and sprawling on the chair.


    Cao Heng had not expected that three women, three chairs, would turn the room into the scene with three strangenesses!


    The three women sat in front of him, backs turned, each with their own terrifying posture of collapse, twisting, or breaking, all silent.


    At this time, Cao Heng was still trying to inch his thumb closer to the belt buckle, touching a hidden signal button he had installed.


    But as he made this movement, the woman sitting on the right, with arms held up like a hanger, slowly turned her head.


    Before even seeing her face, Cao Heng felt a swelling in his chest, bulging into a lump the size of a ping pong ball.


    He immediately stopped moving, and the lump stopped growing.


    After a pause, he moved his hand again, reaching for the belt buckle. The lump began to grow again, accompanied by waves of pain as if it were about to burst open at any moment.


    Now, Cao Heng realized he should not move, or it would trigger something, causing mutations to occur in his body.


    But he could not afford to care about that now. If he were to die here, the Aries District would no longer be aware of the terror of the strangenesses here, and perhaps even more Exorcists would fall victim to this place.


    The lump in his chest grew larger, but he still reached the belt buckle and pressed the hidden signal button.


    Pop!


    The lump on his chest burst open at that moment, flesh and blood splattering, turning into a spray of gore.

 Chapter 756 - 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist

    Chapter 756: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist


    After attending classes at Tianmeng Science University for several days, Yan Junze had been very busy throughout that time, relying on Zhang Xiaomo to take care of Xiang Er as she slowly recovered, so he could run around.


    First, he was summoned by the Tianmeng Squad, where the team captain, Huo Zhisen, talked with him to thoroughly understand the situation in the mall that day and the whole story behind it.


    What Yan Junze said was very much the same as what he told Zhang Xiaomo, only that some parts were more elaborately fabricated.


    Two Reapers battling each other, this had never happened before in the history of Tianmeng.


    Most importantly, the Reaper from Great Capital died in the mall, and the Half Moon Association would definitely not let the matter rest, compelling Huaying District to respond with full effort.


    Huo Zhisen warned Yan Junze not to consider leaving the Great Capital during this time. The Security Bureau was now conducting a comprehensive review of anyone from the USA entering Huaying District, to prevent infiltration by the Half Moon Association.


    But if Yan Junze left Huaying, there would be too many uncontrollable factors, which could bring danger to himself.


    Yan Junze expressed his thanks, and not many days later, the Exorcist Brigade from Huaying District summoned him again.


    After saying a word to Zhang Xiaomo and others, Yan Junze flew to Huaying District for the second time.


    About suddenly calling Zhang Chengjing to ask the Reaper to rescue Zhang Xiaomo and the others, Yan Junze needed to explain himself properly.


    He had prepared in advance and had already ¡°revealed¡± some of his findings to Zhang Chengjing over the phone about the Half Moon Association¡¯s secret activation of a hidden altar.


    In fact, the headquarters of the Huaying Exorcists had already discovered some traces of the Half Moon Association, and now that Yan Junze spoke out the ¡°real situation,¡± Zhang Chengjing secretly compared it, and indeed the information was highly credible.


    However, according to Yan Junze, the altar could no longer be activated at this point.


    But if it were successfully activated, the danger could be immense.


    Over the next few days, Great Capital conducted a secret investigation and even obtained photos of the first few pages of the ¡°Book of Oath,¡± the medium for summoning the altar.


    Experts were already studying and deciphering these photos, and Zhang Chengjing informed Yan Junze to notify him immediately once there were results.


    Yan Junze¡¯s visit to Great Capital was not only to report to the Brigade about Morrison¡¯s death.


    In the Brigade building, in Zhang Chengjing¡¯s office, the deputy commander Yu Changhai was also present and then personally handed Yan Junze a pure gold Exorcist badge.


    This was the insignia of a specially appointed Exorcist under direct management of the Brigade, with a fixed substantial monthly salary, and responsible directly to the Exorcist Brigade, the highest level among the specially appointed Exorcists.


    Of course, before entering the Brigade building, Yan Junze underwent a Semi-Spiritualization test, proving that he was a powerful Semi-Spirit with special domain field abilities.


    After understanding the management principles for top-tier special appointees like himself, Yan Junze went to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home for dinner.


    He felt something special; under normal circumstances, it was supposed to be Xiaomo who would bring him to ¡°meet the parents¡± for the first time after being together. Yet, every time it turned out to be the opposite, with Xiaomo not there, while he conversed happily with Zhang Chengjing.


    After dinner, the two chatted casually, and Zhang Chengjing informed him that the next day, he could use his identity as a special appointee of the Brigade to view previous classified information.


    This matter had actually always been on Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The very next day, he immediately made a trip to the Brigade¡¯s information area where he stayed for most of the day before leaving.


    After saying farewell to Zhang Chengjing, he took the evening flight back to Tianmeng.


    All the way, Yan Junze¡¯s brows were slightly furrowed, and what filled his mind were the documents he had seen that day. The secrets within these documents opened a door for him to a whole new world he had never seen before.


    The experts¡¯ speculations were astonishing, and some theories and ideas led Yan Junze to increasingly feel that he was starting to guess the reason for the appearance of strangenesses in this world.


    During the journey back, he gradually digested the information he had seen.


    The second day after returning to Tianmeng, Yan Junze went to the Exorcism Squad to re-register his information.


    Soon after, Huo Zhisen called him to his office.


    ¡°Go to Aries District?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, looking at Huo Zhisen.


    Huo Zhisen nodded, ¡°Aries District is now facing a tough strangeness incident and needs assistance from other districts. At present, their strongest four-star Exorcist is missing, presumed dead, and at least a five-star or equivalent Semi-spirit is needed to take action.¡±


    Then Huo Zhisen picked up a stack of documents, ¡°The Brigade sent me your test results yesterday, and the Semi-spirit strength you¡¯ve demonstrated has reached the equivalent level of a five-star. Now, Old Guo is still lying in a hospital; it¡¯s impossible to send him, so you¡¯ll have to take on the task.¡±


    Yan Junze knew that Aries District didn¡¯t have a five-star Exorcist, having seen the distribution in the Brigade¡¯s information area; the highest there was a top-tier four-star, whose name seemed to be Cao Heng. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Actually, in all eight districts of Huaying, there were very few with a five-star Exorcist.


    In all of Great Capital, there were less than twenty five-star Exorcists in total; besides the few districts that had one, other five-star Exorcists were either at the Brigade or assigned near the border of the abandoned cities infested with fierce strangenesses or on secret tasks in other capitals.


    And like Yan Junze, those whose Semi-Spiritualization reached five-star level were even rarer, with only a few possessing it; and since such coincidental luck was incredibly rare, some Semi-spirits, although their powers could be considered five-star, basically lived on the brink of death, tortured by the strangeness inside them to the point of barely being human.

 Chapter 757 - 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist_2

    Chapter 757: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist_2


    Not only that, a Semi-spirit like Yan Junze who could control the domain field simply did not exist.


    Yan Junze did not delay, and after accepting the mission, he called Xiaomo to inform her and immediately left the team¡¯s office building for the airport.


    Tianmeng District was considered to be at the center of the Great Capital, with Yannan to the south, Tianyi to the north, Shou Zheng to the east, and Aries to the west.


    Departing from Tianmeng, it was relatively convenient to reach any of the nearby districts. This was also one of the reasons that Tianmeng immediately dispatched Yan Junze to assist Aries District; if they waited for a five-star Exorcist from Huaying District to head over, it would be too late.


    It took less than an hour by plane to arrive at the urban airport of Aries District.


    Outside the airport, a car dispatched by the Exorcist team of the area was waiting, and the person responsible for receiving Yan Junze was a female Exorcist named Ma Jing.


    Ma Jing was tall with a large frame. After confirming Yan Junze¡¯s identity in the car, she showed considerable respect, but her face bore no smile, only a serious expression as she began to explain.


    ¡°The strangeness occurred at No. 17 Qingtian Alley, within an old quadrangle dwelling. The homeowner, Zhou Wenfei, is missing. He was repeatedly dialing 4747 at first, so we blacklisted him and dispatched a three-star Exorcist named Gu Dekang to investigate and deal with it, then Gu Dekang also went missing. In the early hours of that day, a four-star Exorcist named Cao Heng was out on a mission and after concluding it, learned of the situation and reported it to the team for him to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Cao Heng is missing too?¡± Yan Junze said. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ma Jing shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t say missing, it¡¯s very strange. We received his emergency signal that morning, pinpointed at No. 17 Qingtian Alley. Three-star Exorcists and above in Aries District are equipped with these signal transmitters, so they can send signals to notify the team in critical situations, to raise alertness and avoid greater dangers.¡±


    She paused before continuing, ¡°After receiving the signal, I organized two other three-star Exorcists to drop their current tasks and rush over immediately. We arrived there around three in the morning. As soon as we entered the courtyard, we heard Brother Cao¡¯s screams, which made us dare not move. We observed carefully, afraid of being ambushed by the strangeness.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your rank?¡± Yan Junze interrupted to ask.


    ¡°Four stars, but our strongest four-star Exorcist is Cao Heng.¡± Ma Jing frowned slightly, ¡°Even he¡¯s trapped there, you can imagine how dangerous that strangeness is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, go on.¡±


    ¡°I then discovered that as soon as anyone who entered the courtyard moved, Brother Cao would immediately scream. If we didn¡¯t move or approach, nothing happened.¡± Ma Jing¡¯s face showed deep confusion, ¡°With no other choice, I had everyone temporarily leave the courtyard, not daring to enter again. But this proved that Brother Cao was still alive, at least temporarily.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you just say he was both missing and not missing?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    Ma Jing said, ¡°Because later, when it was light, another four-star Exorcist and I entered again.¡±


    ¡°And this time he didn¡¯t scream?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Ma Jing shook her head in bewilderment, ¡°Not only that, but my colleague and I easily entered that room and found nothing inside. No person, no strangeness, everything looked ordinary. I sensed the surroundings and didn¡¯t even find any strangeness magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that it only appears at night?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    Ma Jing looked at him with some astonishment, ¡°Mr. Yan, you are correct. Once night falls, Brother Cao and the strangeness reappear in the room, and we can¡¯t get close. If we approach, Brother Cao will start screaming. We¡¯d contemplated staying inside during the day and waiting for nightfall, but we didn¡¯t have the confidence to handle the strangeness, and we also worried about losing more Exorcists in there. Consequently, the team captain ordered all Exorcists not to approach the courtyard and to wait for backup.¡±


    ¡°How much time has passed since you discovered Cao Heng in that room?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°Today is the third day,¡± Ma Jing replied.


    Yan Junze frowned, ¡°He¡¯s been trapped there for three days and is still alive? If he has already started screaming, his condition must be very grim. Having held on this long, Cao Heng is indeed tough.¡±


    ¡°Brother Cao has always been very capable,¡± Ma Jing said with a worried tone.


    As they talked, the car soon entered the urban area, passing through more than a dozen streets and finally driving directly into a spacious alley.


    Yan Junze looked out the window and noticed a sign erect outside that read ¡°Qingtian Alley,¡± with several security bureau staff standing at the entrance to the alley.


    Ma Jing explained, ¡°This alley has been sealed off by us, and the security bureau has temporarily requisitioned another courtyard next door for their office. Our vehicle can park there.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded.


    Shortly thereafter, the vehicle entered a courtyard. Yan Junze alighted from the vehicle and met with the security bureau official responsible for assisting Exorcists.


    About half an hour later, the captain of the Aries District Exorcist team arrived, an elderly man with white hair but who appeared quite robust. Upon seeing Yan Junze, his face was filled with gratitude.


    During that half-hour, Yan Junze had already surveyed the exterior of Zhou Wenfei¡¯s courtyard and observed the surroundings.


    He also sensed his surroundings. It was daytime, and indeed, he detected no fluctuations of any strangeness magnetic fields.


    After meeting with the others, Yan Junze outlined his plan. Time could not be wasted; if they waited any longer, even a tough person like Cao Heng might be on his last legs.

 Chapter 758 - 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist_3

    Chapter 758: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist_3


    So he planned to enter the room during the day, and then wait until nightfall to eliminate the strangeness and rescue Cao Heng.


    In response to the dispatch of Yan Junze, the silver-haired old captain chose to trust and support him unconditionally. He immediately arranged for someone to prepare a meal to satisfy Yan Junze¡¯s hunger first.


    Considering that Yan Junze was a Semi-spirit, the captain also inquired what his main food was.


    This was something Yan Junze found quite strange himself. After merging with the white long worms, he was not like the last time he became a Semi-spirit. This time, it seemed his main food had not changed at all; he still ate whatever he used to eat. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, to the silver-haired captain, this point was even more astonishing. He thought, ¡°A Semi-spirit that can go toe-to-toe with a five-star Exorcist is indeed impressive; even its diet can be the same as ordinary humans.¡±


    Instead of eating candles, gnawing on clay chunks, drinking blood, sucking on hair, or biting skin¡­


    Impressive!


    After eating a bit, Yan Junze looked at the photos of Cao Heng, Gu Dekang, and Zhou Wenfei provided by Ma Jing, memorized their faces, and then left the courtyard for the one next door.


    Since it was not yet dark, he pushed open the gate of the 17th courtyard by himself and walked in.


    When he first arrived, he had already activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± to scan the area. While other minor strangenesses had appeared nearby, they were not from here.


    This indicated that during the daytime, they could not be detected, and would only appear at night.


    He hoped that the guy named Cao Heng could hold on until now and that he wouldn¡¯t find him already dead when the night came and the strangeness emerged alongside.


    The yard looked ordinary, and Yan Junze glanced around casually before heading towards the room where Zhou Wenfei lived.


    The living room door appeared to be shut, but it actually opened with a push, as the lock was not engaged.


    After Yan Junze entered, he focused his attention on the living room since Ma Jing had mentioned that Cao Heng¡¯s screams had come from here.


    The living room was simply furnished and even somewhat disordered.


    Ma Jing had said that the other Exorcists and security personnel had not touched anything here, so everything remained as it was found.


    He looked around as he walked towards the bedroom inside the house.


    Although the curtains were drawn, he could still see the surroundings clearly.


    Yan Junze tried to flip the light switch, and the light immediately came on, then he turned it off again.


    Standing at the bedroom door and looking towards the bed, although the beddings were a bit messy, there was nothing unusual on top, and a smartphone lay askew next to the pillow.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone to unlock it and found it required a password. The phone¡¯s battery was still half-full, so he tossed it onto the bedside table.


    He opened the wardrobe to inspect it, looked under the bed, and into the en-suite bathroom, followed by the kitchen outside the living room.


    After doing a walk-through, he sat down on the living room sofa. In front of the sofa was a short coffee table with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on it, and the ashtray beside it was crammed with cigarette butts.


    The room was eerily silent, so quiet it was almost excessive.


    Yan Junze pulled out his phone to check the time, and according to the weather in Aries District, there was roughly an hour left before it would be dark. He then started browsing the news.


    Unconsciously, he didn¡¯t realize when he had fallen asleep, or perhaps some force had subtly coerced him into slumber.


    In a daze, the rustling sound of clothes brushing reached his ears, and Yan Junze, sprawled on the sofa and sound asleep, slowly opened his eyes.


    By then, it was entirely dark outside.


    He noticed something wriggling behind the coffee table in front of the sofa, rising and falling, but the light inside the room was too dim for him to see clearly what it was.


    Before long, a head appeared at the level of the coffee table, slowly rising at one end, gradually revealing hair, a dark green forehead, then faint brows, followed by a pair of terrifying eyes.


    These eyes were all white, and as soon as they emerged from the edge of the coffee table, they silently watched him.

 Chapter 759 - 438: Triple Spirits (1)

    Chapter 759: Chapter 438: Triple Spirits (1)


    In such a situation, Yan Junze knew that it was impossible for him to fall asleep.


    If he could sit on the sofa and fall asleep, especially in the current environment, it would definitely be because of some mischief.


    The streetlamp outside the yard shone through the curtains into the room, casting a hazy light. Although his vision was blurred, he could still make out the two white eyes at the other end of the coffee table.


    At the same time he saw this scene, the temperature around him began to noticeably drop.


    Yan Junze did not move for the moment, letting the terrifying eyes watch him as he gently sniffed, detecting a faint smell of blood.


    He glanced down at the floor and quickly noticed a dark, tar-like pattern near the coffee table, which seemed to be the result of a liquid soaking the area.


    Perhaps it was a bloodstain.


    When he had entered the room earlier, Yan Junze had not noticed the bloodstain. He was certain of that; he had observed carefully and had not seen any signs of blood on the floor, but now, as night fell, it was there.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t be sure whether those eyes that only showed the whites could actually see him.


    Although his own eyes were open, he was squinting slightly and had not moved, as though he was still in the posture of sleeping.


    His heart beat strongly within his chest, steady and unrushed, providing him with a continuous source of stability.


    He suddenly thought of a problem. Perhaps the woman at the other end of the coffee table didn¡¯t know that he had awakened, and assumed that the magnetic field she emitted, which induced sleep, was still effective.


    After seeing the woman, the mission information almost simultaneously flashed through Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    However, after seeing the text of the mission information, he instead became somewhat puzzled.


    The woman¡¯s peculiar behavior wasn¡¯t especially unusual; the game of hide-and-seek during her life had brought about a great change in her, so she continued to do so after death.


    All he had to do was play a round of hide-and-seek with her and not get caught.


    For Yan Junze, this was a relatively simple mission, the only difference being that the woman¡¯s strangeness level was a bit high, likely a Sculpting Spirit, which made the mission classified as ¡°hair-raising (medium)¡±


    ¡°Is this really just a hair-raising level mission?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    In his view, a hair-raising level mission, like those Xiaomo, a three-star exorcist, could handle. If indeed they couldn¡¯t subdue the opponent, escaping would not be a problem. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Therefore, it was impossible that the three-star exorcist named Gu Dekang would stumble here without even being able to send out a distress signal.


    And now, not only that, but even Aries District¡¯s strongest four-star exorcist was trapped here. Was this just because of a ¡°hair-raising (medium)¡± mission?


    Too many doubts surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, and he also noticed that the mission suggested that the woman could be subject to a Lockdown.


    Currently, the woman seemed somewhat special, with an ability that was difficult to guard against, probably the peculiar magnetic field that had put him to sleep earlier.


    But that was all.


    The mission information listed her name in life as Zhuang Wenhui, but did not mention the cause of her death.


    After staring intently at Yan Junze for a few minutes from the other end of the coffee table, Zhuang Wenhui began to move again. She slowly extended her head out fully, and her long hair on either side of her cheeks fell down, almost completely covering her face.


    Then, two slender hands stretched out, resting on the coffee table, and she climbed onto the coffee table.


    Her clothing was somewhat tattered and torn, revealing the rotted flesh beneath. In some places, the rotted flesh had formed holes, almost allowing one to see through to the other side.


    With twisted limbs, Zhuang Wenhui climbed onto the coffee table, leaned forward with her arms, and her upper body tilted toward Yan Junze who was still ¡°sleeping¡±.


    Her round head drew near, and under the curtain of her hair, her eyes ¡°observed¡± Yan Junze from a close distance: his eyes, nose, mouth¡­


    To say she was observing, it seemed like she couldn¡¯t actually see; she sniffed around, from Yan Junze¡¯s face to his neck, then over his body.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes narrowed the entire time, using the opportunity to examine her as well.


    Because her face was obscured by her long hair, it was only as Zhuang Wenhui moved that he could get a clearer look at the woman¡¯s features.


    Zhuang Wenhui must have been very beautiful in life, but now her face was perhaps disfigured. Her eyes lacked eyelids, the tip of her nose neatly truncated revealing the nostril holes on her nasal bones, and her upper lip curled up, not a congenital deformity but likely also due to some violent act, as one could see punctures through the lip.


    Yan Junze¡¯s psychological endurance by now was extremely strong, and even with such a face in close contact with him, constantly sniffing over his body, he still showed no reaction.


    However, the coldness around him grew more intense.


    Now Yan Junze knew that a Spirit with strong obsession or resentment emanated a much colder aura than ordinary strangenesses. Clearly, Zhuang Wenhui was one such case.


    This was irrespective of the ghost¡¯s power level; it was purely related to the experiences of their life and the resentment formed after death.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for you to hide?¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly spoke.


    As he spoke, he remained seated without moving.


    Zhuang Wenhui got startled, immediately distancing herself from him, her white eyeballs rolling around in shock.


    But she quickly recovered, emitting a hoarse voice from her throat. Without a word, she turned around and hopped onto the coffee table, then jumped down to the floor and tiptoed into the bedroom.

 Chapter 760 - 438: Triple Spirits (1)_2

    Chapter 760: Chapter 438: Triple Spirits (1)_2


    Looking at her, Yan Junze muttered to himself, ¡°She must not have been older than fifteen when she died.¡±


    Yan Junze saw Zhuang Wenhui run into the bedroom, clearly hiding inside, but he knew that playing hide and seek with her wouldn¡¯t be so simple; otherwise, two exorcists wouldn¡¯t have fallen here.


    He stood up, straightened his clothes, and released the Black Spirit Umbrella, holding it as a walking stick.


    In fact, with Yan Junze¡¯s current Semi-Spirit strength, dealing with a Sculpting Spirit was quite easy.


    But that might not save Cao Heng, nor could it dispel Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s obsession.


    So far, there were many doubts about the whole affair; he had to clear her obsession to see what the real cause was.


    A Sculpting Spirit level strangeness trapping a three-star and a four-star exorcist here and cutting off rescue from other exorcists was indeed mind-boggling!


    Yan Junze used the Black Spirit Umbrella to support himself on the ground and slowly walked to the bedroom door, then he pressed the light switch.


    As he had expected, there was no response.


    He took out a flashlight, turned it on, and carefully inspected the bedroom.


    The wardrobe door was closed; the bathroom door was open, but the quilt on the bed was now completely covering the bedsheets and pillows.


    He remembered that when he first entered, the quilt had been partially lifted, which was not the case now.


    Yan Junze walked into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe door on purpose to take a look, and murmured, ¡°Not in the wardrobe.¡±


    After closing the wardrobe door, his flashlight beam shot into the bathroom. After looking for a while, he added, ¡°Nor hidden in the bathroom. Weird, where could she have gone?¡±


    At that moment, the quilt on the bed moved visibly.


    Something hidden inside tugged the quilt down a bit, making the end of the quilt near the pillows partially uncovered.


    With this, the ¡°object¡± under the quilt was partially revealed; Yan Junze shone his flashlight at it and was momentarily stunned.


    The uncovered head of a man was not Zhuang Wenhui, who had just run into the room.


    The man resembled someone Yan Junze had seen in a photo; if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it should be Zhou Wenfei himself.


    At that moment, Zhou Wenfei¡¯s face was pale and bloodless, and the blood that had flowed from his left eye socket was now congealed, suggesting that the eyeball might be missing.


    Seeing him like this, the situation looked dire.


    However, Yan Junze was also aware that under the quilt, Zhuang Wenhui was covered too, but he wasn¡¯t ready to lift that layer of quilt yet.


    Now, only Zhou Wenfei was visible, with no sign of Gu Dekang and Cao Heng. He couldn¡¯t just act rashly before the situation was fully understood.


    Obviously, Zhuang Wenhui was waiting for him to lift the quilt.


    By that, he was inclined not to do so.


    Sometimes, the obsession of a strangeness in playing hide and seek seems very simple, but if it could be resolved so easily, the task wouldn¡¯t be at the ¡°hair-raising¡± level.


    Winning just by finding the strangeness would be easier than the [Hairwashing] mission he had encountered with Ke¡¯er; why isn¡¯t it categorized at the ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± level?


    Therefore, finding Zhuang Wenhui at this time might mean a loss instead.


    Yan Junze returned to the bedroom door, hid himself behind it, and then whispered through the crack to the living room, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, I¡¯ve found you, you¡¯re under the quilt on the bed. You¡¯ve lost, now it¡¯s your turn to find me!¡±


    The quilt on the bed began to wriggle, and about four or five seconds later, a dark head with long, scattered hair emerged from underneath.


    Zhuang Wenhui crawled out from under the quilt, looked left and right, not seeing Yan Junze, but appeared very excited. She immediately crouched and tiptoed quickly towards the living room.


    Yan Junze watched from the crack as she entered the living room and started looking for him, sometimes leaning over the long decorative cabinet to peek behind the wall, sometimes crawling behind the air conditioning unit in the corner, then to the corner near the coffee table by the sofa.


    Moments later, Zhuang Wenhui tiptoed into the kitchen.


    Yan Junze immediately stepped out from behind the bedroom door, not leaving the bedroom, but instead went to the wardrobe, opened it, crawled in and squatted down, then carefully closed the wardrobe door.


    Just before closing it, he said again, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, can¡¯t you find me?¡±


    In the kitchen doorway, the excited figure of Zhuang Wenhui appeared again, looking around.


    In the subconscious, disjointed images flashed by.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenhui, Wenhui¡­¡±


    In the dimly lit, narrow hallway, a middle-aged man about six feet tall with a slightly overweight build held a pair of iron pliers stained with blood and walked slowly.


    This man had a full beard, now partly drenched with bloodstains, and he wore a white short-sleeved shirt and loose brown breeches, with rubber boots on his feet.


    At this moment, his clothes and trousers were spotted with crimson blood. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he walked, he said, ¡°You¡¯d better hide well, oh, don¡¯t let me find you so quickly!¡±


    Inside a room around the corner from where the man was, there was a rather spacious bedroom, although it now reeked and was disgustingly filthy.


    A girl squatted inside the wardrobe, shaking all over, as the man¡¯s voice, heart-twinging footsteps, and heavy breathing reached her ears.


    She knew the man had arrived outside the room.


    Zhuang Wenhui was so frightened that she turned pale and put her hands over her mouth, but immediately she winced hard, as intense pain shot through her mouth, nearly causing her to cry out.


    Releasing her hands, she saw that her lips had already been pierced by some hard object, exposing the gums. As the wound opened, fresh blood surged out, and the missing teeth on her upper gums were nowhere to be seen.


    The bedroom door was pushed open, and the footsteps that alarmed Zhuang Wenhui sounded again.


    ¡°Wenhui, are you hiding here?¡± the man¡¯s voice was very calm, ¡°I knew you¡¯d like it here, you can¡¯t forget your mother, subconsciously, you still hide in your mother¡¯s bedroom. But have you forgotten? Your mother¡­ is already dead!¡±


    As he spoke, the man¡¯s footsteps approached the bed that no one had slept in anymore.


    From the wardrobe¡¯s vent slats, Zhuang Wenhui clutched her mouth tightly, letting the wound tear open and the blood flow between her fingers, without making a sound.


    Her gaze was fixed on the man outside holding the iron pliers, her body trembling, eyes filled with tears from terror, clear and crystal, dropping slowly along her cheeks.


    The man walked around the bedroom with a smile on his face, continuing to speak.


    ¡°These last few games of hide-and-seek, you¡¯ve disappointed me. Disappointed yesterday, disappointed today, and perhaps disappointed tomorrow too, you little fool! All my efforts in raising you have been in vain!¡±


    A tall shadow blocked the little light filtering into the wardrobe.


    Zhuang Wenhui, still covering her mouth, shakily looked up just to see the wardrobe door slowly opening.


    A face she deeply loathed, feared intensely, and which made her extremely uneasy, was revealed outside the closet.


    The man reached out with a large hand, grabbed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s hair, and dragged her out violently.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    A scream escaped her lips.


    The sound seemed to come from the deepest part of her heart, starting clear and gradually becoming more and more obscure as fragments of her memory faded away.


    ¡­


    On tiptoes, with her body crouched, Zhuang Wenhui hurried into the bedroom.


    She looked around, then lightly jumped onto the bed and flipped open the covers.


    From inside the closet, Yan Junze could see only Zhou Wenfei¡¯s figure on the bed; the other two exorcists were nowhere to be seen.


    Zhuang Wenhui quickly jumped off the bed, landing right in front of the wardrobe.


    Whoosh!


    The wardrobe door where Yan Junze was hiding was flung open, and Zhuang Wenhui, leaning forward, poked her head into the wardrobe. Her long hair framed a face that was mutilated, shaking for a moment before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Zhuang Wenhui was puzzled because she saw nothing; aside from clothes, there was no one hiding in the wardrobe.


    Yan Junze, having activated the Semi-Spirit Domain Field and blocked out other paranormal magnetic fields, quietly sat inside the wardrobe, silently watching her, making no noise.


    He could see that when Zhuang Wenhui tilted her head, her scalp seemed to be split open, likely caused by a strong pulling force.


    Contemplating everything, Yan Junze recalled the mission information, trying hard to guess the cause of Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s death.


    Seeing nothing in the wardrobe, Zhuang Wenhui became even more curious and excited. It had been a long time since she¡¯d played such an addicting game of hide-and-seek. In her memory, it was as if she had always been dreaming, a dream from which she could not awaken, forever ensnaring her in a nightmare.

 Chapter 761 - 439: Triple Spirits (2)

    Chapter 761: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)


    Seeing no one in the wardrobe, she shook her head and turned around, continuing her search elsewhere and quickly entering the bathroom of the bedroom.


    Yan Junze frowned as he watched her retreating figure, his suspicions slowly taking shape.


    A moment later, he spoke again.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenhui!¡±


    The overweight middle-aged man had just set down the pliers he was brandishing; they were still dripping with blood.


    ¡°You like to hide, don¡¯t you? Starting now, I¡¯ll let you hide all you want!¡±


    The man cracked a cruel smile, ¡°But don¡¯t let me find you because if I do, you¡¯re going to die a very ugly death. Hmm, this is the first time today, the first time I¡¯ve found you, so I¡¯ll give you a little reward first.¡±


    The pliers fell onto Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s head, who was kneeling on the ground, striking her brow bone with force.


    The brow bone split open, blood splattered, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s head buzzed, and she collapsed to the ground, her consciousness beginning to blur.


    She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn¡¯t come; it seemed she had run out of them.


    She wanted to call for help, but she couldn¡¯t make a sound because her throat was dry, parched from not having drunk any water for two days.


    Soon after, the man walked to the side where rustling sounds were heard as he appeared to be unzipping his pants.


    The sound of urination followed.


    Moments later, after zipping up his pants, the man¡¯s mocking voice rang out, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for not giving you water to drink; it¡¯s you who chose not to. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to die or stay alive.¡±


    With that, the man left with the pliers.


    In a daze, Zhuang Wenhui looked up at her washbasin filled with a yellowing, bubbling liquid that was emitting an unbearable smell throughout the room.


    Hide, I must hide!


    I can¡¯t let him find me!


    I have to hide!


    ¡­


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui.¡±


    Yan Junze called out twice, but the woman who entered the bathroom never reappeared.


    He paused for a moment, then realizing what was happening, he pushed open the wardrobe door and stepped out.


    His gaze shifted to the door of the bedroom bathroom and then to Zhou Wenfei, who was lying on the bed.


    Approaching the bed, he inspected Zhou Wenfei¡¯s body and found that one of his eyeballs was indeed missing, and there was no breath; his body was ice-cold, confirming he was dead.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Yan Junze looked up, exhaling softly, ¡°Zhou Wenfei also played the game of hide-and-seek with Zhuang Wenhui.¡±


    He didn¡¯t move the body on the bed for the time being, as Cao Heng and Gu Dekang were still unaccounted for; perhaps he should complete Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s task first.


    He turned and walked towards the bathroom door, shining his flashlight inside to survey the area.


    Zhuang Wenhui hadn¡¯t found him just now, but her obsession might have led her to choose to hide once more, so the roles in the game of hide-and-seek could have changed again.


    Yan Junze immediately saw a mass of pitch-black hair floating on the surface of the toilet; he didn¡¯t know when Zhuang Wenhui had managed to cram her own grotesque body into the toilet to hide.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment but didn¡¯t enter. Instead, he stood at the bathroom doorway and called out, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, I¡¯ve found you again. You¡¯re hiding in the toilet. Come out.¡±


    The clump of hair moved, but Zhuang Wenhui didn¡¯t appear.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Although I¡¯ve found you, just like before, I won¡¯t hurt you. You can come out with confidence.¡±


    The hair in the toilet moved again, and then a face emerged, staring in Yan Junze¡¯s direction after revealing most of its features.


    Yan Junze even stepped back, opening his arms wide, showing he would not harm her as he watched the inside of the bathroom.


    After a while, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s body twisted, emerging from the toilet in a bizarre posture, her skeleton making cracking sounds as the bent parts slowly returned to normal.


    But she didn¡¯t move, remaining defensively on the ground, her head slightly tilted upwards, her hoarse voice bursting from her throat, ¡°You¡­ found me.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, still standing outside the door, with no intention of entering. Because if he did, it might cause Zhuang Wenhui to panic or become defensive again.


    ¡°Still want to play?¡± He asked softly, not showing an air of superiority but instead showing respect and asking for her consent.


    Zhuang Wenhui was taken aback, suddenly bowing her head and curling into a ball, motionless.


    A prompt appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind at that moment.


    [Hide-and-seek, hair-raising (Intermediate), completed, 1200 Different Dimension Energy points received] S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, almost simultaneously as the task completion prompt disappeared, another new task prompt popped up in his mind.


    Yan Junze stood still, somewhat surprised, after seeing the new task.


    After examining the task information carefully, he began to mutter to himself, ¡°The strangeness lies right here, this house is not haunted by just one entity.¡±


    He felt his hands go cold, as the temperature in the room seemed to drop even further.


    Turning his gaze back to the bathroom, Zhuang Wenhui was still lying there as if she had fallen asleep.


    But clearly, the atmosphere in the room had changed from before, with the temperature dropping rapidly; Yan Junze could see his own breath now.


    Ignoring the motionless Zhuang Wenhui, he turned and left the door of the bathroom, and as he passed the bed, his eyes fell upon it, and he paused.


    Now, there was an additional person lying on the bed.


    Yan Junze approached for a closer look and immediately recognized the person lying on the bed as Gu Dekang; he recognized him from a photo, and the body shape was easily identifiable.


    Gu Dekang¡¯s eyes were open at this time.

 Chapter 762 - 439: Triple Spirits (2)_2

    Chapter 762: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)_2


    Yan Junze stretched out his hand to press on the carotid artery of the man, and after a moment, he withdrew his hand.


    Actually, the moment he touched the other¡¯s skin, he already knew Gu Dekang was dead, because the skin was ice-cold.


    Zhou Wenfei and Gu Dekang lay side by side on the large bed, occupying two-thirds of it. Yan Junze glanced at the remaining one third of empty space.


    There, presumably, was where Cao Heng would appear later.


    ¡°Could there be three strangenesses?¡± He lifted his head, thinking it over carefully, and it was not impossible.


    The task level of the second strangeness now had increased to ¡°Terrified (Low)¡±, which was two ranks higher than the previous ¡°hair-raising (Medium)¡± hide-and-seek.


    But even so, this task level still could not keep a top-tier four-star exorcist trapped here.


    This indicated that there might be a third strangeness.


    Having completed the first task just now, Yan Junze deduced that the woman named Zhuang Wenhui had most likely been tortured and abused during her life, hence the multiple scars and an abnormal obsession with hide-and-seek.


    If Zhou Wenfei died at the hands of Zhuang Wenhui, it could have been during the game of hide-and-seek, either because he was found by Zhuang Wenhui or he found her, and that led to his demise.


    That is to say, whether found or being found, the outcome was the same; only by acting as he had just done, one could reduce personal danger and resolve Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s obsession.


    Overall, Zhuang Wenhui felt no safety at all; being found by her led to death, and finding her also meant death. This could be related to how she was abused during her life.


    So why did Gu Dekang die now?


    Yan Junze stopped examining the bodies on the bed for the moment and turned to walk towards the living room.


    Stepping out of the bedroom, under the illumination of the flashlight, he suddenly froze and looked into the living room.


    Somehow, a large cardboard box had appeared there.


    Not far in front of the cardboard box, there was a simple wooden chair placed.


    And just as Yan Junze saw these suddenly appeared arrangements, his head began to feel dizzy.


    This was clearly a kind of interference with the consciousness field, silent and unnoticed, yet with great influence and strong penetrability.


    At this moment, Yan Junze could have activated the control field to isolate all these fields, but on second thought, he felt it was unnecessary.


    Firstly, this dizziness and near unconscious state were almost identical to the symptoms before Zhuang Wenhui appeared.


    It meant it was the same method used to make him lose consciousness so that the strangeness could carry out its next action.


    Secondly, there were some hints in the previous task; since the strangeness only wanted to knock him out and not kill him immediately, it was highly possible that, just like Zhuang Wenhui, it wanted to play some sort of game.


    The third point was that he had the Rewind on him, and in the worst case, he could activate the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡±. After the previous energy exhaustion, it had recovered for a while, and having completed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s task, he had more energy as a guarantee.


    So he didn¡¯t need to worry about this aspect.


    Without activating the control domain field, Yan Junze quickly lost control of his body, but he did not fully pass out; instead, he could feel himself walking and then sitting down. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His head was heavy, his eyelids wouldn¡¯t lift, and some inexplicable thoughts began to emerge hazily in his consciousness.


    For example, he needed to put something on top of the cardboard box in front of him; for example, there seemed to be something strange in his pocket¡­


    Before long, he felt movement in his pocket, as if there indeed was something foreign in it.


    But because his head was dizzy, he was unable to look down. However, in this state Yan Junze knew he could rewind with just a thought.


    Things were not as bad as he had anticipated.


    After an indeterminate amount of time in this dazed state, his consciousness gradually began to return, and the clarity of his senses slowly sharpened.


    Yan Junze lifted his head, finding that he could slowly twist it above his neck, but his limbs still did not quite respond, though they could be moved slowly.


    With great difficulty, he lifted his hand, feeling that his fingers couldn¡¯t exert much force, then discovered that his torso was stiff, making it impossible to get up from the chair.


    Thud! Thud!


    From the cardboard box in front of him suddenly came two sounds, as if signaling or warning him.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fell on the box¡¯s surface, where he saw a black circle.


    Next to the circle, there were four words written: Place it here.


    After pondering for a moment, he looked at the cardboard box lid nearby, which seemed ready to open at any time.


    This scene reminded him of a morbidly amusing piggy bank he had seen before, where the coin couldn¡¯t be directly inserted but had to be placed at a specific location on top of the piggy bank; then the lid would automatically open, and either a skeleton¡¯s ghost hand or an animal¡¯s limb would reach out and slowly drag the coin inside the bank.


    Hesitating for a moment, the strange thought that rose in his mind told him there was something in his pocket, so he reached into it.


    His fingers still felt very stiff, but touch sensation was not gone.


    Very soon Yan Junze grasped an object and pulled it out to see it was a box of cigarettes.


    He immediately turned his head laboriously toward the coffee table, and sure enough, the pack of cigarettes he had seen before, not yet finished, was gone; only a lighter and an ashtray remained; and that pack of cigarettes must be the one in his hand.

 Chapter 763 - 439: Triple Spirits (2)_3

    Chapter 763: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)_3


    He paused, slowly extended the cigarette, placed it inside the black circle, and let go.


    But this time, the chair Yan Junze was sitting on didn¡¯t rotate like Zhou Wenfei¡¯s had; it remained still.


    His eyes widened as he saw the cardboard lid slowly being pushed up, a cyanotic arm extended from within the box, its five fingers also tinted blue, but the nails were black, as though poisoned.


    The hand quickly reached into the circle, grasped the pack of cigarettes but instead of pulling it into the box, the fingers tensed sharply, crushing the pack into a lump.


    The pack tore open, and the remaining cigarettes fell apart, scattering a substantial amount of tobacco shreds.


    Only after completely crushing the pack and the cigarettes did the black fingers loosen, silently withdrawing back into the box.


    About four or five seconds later, thump! thump!


    Hearing these two sounds, Yan Junze now knew they were a cue for him to send something else over.


    The right pocket he had felt before was empty, so he immediately reached into his left pocket.


    His limbs were still very stiff, and though it was a struggle, he managed to slowly take out the item.


    During this process, Yan Junze¡¯s expression became rather unsightly, for he had already guessed what this item was, just by touch.


    After placing the item inside the circle on top of the cardboard box, he finally looked at it.


    Indeed, it was a finger, a severed finger.


    It seemed to be a thumb.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t remember, after seeing Gu Dekang¡¯s body by the bed, if he had noticed any missing fingers.


    Since most of Gu Dekang¡¯s body was covered and his arms were under the bedding, he hadn¡¯t paid attention.


    In any case, this thumb had to belong to either Gu Dekang or Zhou Wenfei.


    Within his gaze, the lid of the cardboard box was once again slowly pushed up, and the cyanotic arm reached out, the five fingers with sharp nails opened and snatched the severed digit.


    But this time, it didn¡¯t crush the finger; instead, it retracted back into the box.


    Soon after, the crisp sound of chewing reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    Yan Junze¡¯s throat moved, feeling somewhat choked; he realized he could speak and then said, ¡°Can you eat this, Zhuang Wenjing?¡±


    Upon hearing someone calling her name, the strangeness inside the box stiffened abruptly, memories flashing swiftly through Obsession¡¯s mind.


    ¡­


    Darkness was everywhere, a never-ending darkness that made her afraid, but Zhuang Wenjing felt even hungrier, unbearably so, yet she was completely unable to leave. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The middle-aged man¡¯s voice arose from outside, unhurried, seemingly gentle but like the calm before a storm.


    ¡°Are you hungry, Wenjing? If you¡¯re hungry, stretch out your hand through this hole; the food is already placed outside, fresh from the pot, oh, it won¡¯t taste good once it¡¯s cold.¡±


    ¡°Wenjing? Wenjing? Are you asleep? Can you hear me speaking?¡±


    Zhuang Wenjing, trapped in the sealed wooden box, was shivering with fear at that moment.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to answer, but she was too frightened to speak.


    The moment she thought of the man outside, fear surged from the depths of her heart and her entire body turned cold.


    But she was just too hungry, she couldn¡¯t even remember the last time she had eaten to fullness, let alone the last time this man had given her food.


    Her memory was a complete blur.


    At that moment, Zhuang Wenjing had only one sensation: hunger.


    About a minute later, just as the man outside was getting impatient and about to become angry, Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hand involuntarily reached out.


    She knew exactly where the food was placed, and as she drew near, she could indeed feel a warm breath.


    ¡°It¡¯s food! Food fresh off the pot!¡±


    Remembering the man¡¯s words, Zhuang Wenjing felt excited, carelessly grabbing for it.


    The next second, a scream came from inside the sealed wooden box.


    Immediately after was the man¡¯s unrestrained laughter. He clutched his stomach, squatted on the ground, laughing so hard he was nearly out of breath.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s tears rolled non-stop as her hand shakily retracted. The palm of her left hand had been burned red, even seeping blood, with bits of scalding charcoal still stuck to her skin, unable to fall off.


    ¡°Stupid, so goddamn stupid!¡± The middle-aged man outside continued to laugh. He stood up, cursing and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you try first? You just reach in and grab; I cooked you potatoes on the charcoal, but instead of grabbing the potatoes, you go for the glowing coals?¡±


    Zhuang Wenjing said nothing but continued to sob quietly.


    After a pause, the middle-aged man went on, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try again? There really are potatoes. You don¡¯t believe me, do you?¡±

 Chapter 764 - 440: Triple Spirits (3)

    Chapter 764: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)


    ¡°Zhuang Wenjing?¡±


    As Yan Junze¡¯s voice rang out again, the fragments of memory fueled by obsession quickly disappeared without a trace. Zhuang Wenjing, sitting in a cardboard box, was startled; she hastily stuffed the remaining severed finger into her mouth, ignoring Yan Junze¡¯s call.


    Crouching, she chewed on the finger in her mouth while shrinking further into the box. At that moment, her mind was consumed by a single sensation¡ªhunger.


    Thump! Thump!


    Two more sounds came from within.


    Yan Junze paused, staring at the cardboard box.


    His thoughts were clear now, no longer muddled. Recalling the arm that Zhuang Wenjing had extended from the box, he noted that its skin was cracked in many places, almost none of it intact.


    The black nails on those five fingers didn¡¯t seem to be what they looked like in life, but had grown out after death due to the strong obsession, transforming into something grotesque.


    Yan Junze concluded that Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui must not only be sisters, but also that they must have been abused to death by somebody.


    Thump! Thump!


    Two more urgent sounds emitted from the box, signaling Yan Junze to quicken his pace.


    He reached into his jacket pocket again and found nothing, then checked his trousers pockets to the same result.


    His phone was there, but he didn¡¯t believe Zhuang Wenjing would eat a phone. If it were placed inside that circle, it would likely be crushed by this woman, as the way she crushed the cigarette box had made it abundantly clear.


    After a swift consideration, Yan Junze decided on a bold course of action to undertake, thinking he could always ¡°Rewind¡± if it didn¡¯t work.


    He activated the Semi-spirit and released the Control Field, cloaking both himself and that cardboard box entirely.


    Then, he placed his left hand onto the black circle.


    A moment later, the lid of the box lifted slightly, and then the dark green arm swiftly reached out, making a grab for Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    Yan Junze had been attentive to the movements inside the box and, as soon as Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arm reached out, he immediately moved forward and grabbed that gaunt, icy, stiff, and somewhat abrasive palm.


    Caught by surprise, Zhuang Wenjing flinched. Her fingers curved instantly, her black nails becoming even sharper, like venomous spikes, stabbing towards the back of Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    But at that moment, a hum resonated within the domain field, stalling Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s movements and preventing her from continuing her attack. Her hand remained in Yan Junze¡¯s grasp.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t attack her either, but gently stroked those pitch-black nails with his other hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you. In fact, you don¡¯t have to stay in this dark box. Whether you crave freedom or your obsession is hunger, you don¡¯t have to confine yourself in this cramped space anymore.¡±


    With the domain field active, Yan Junze¡¯s strength was rapidly regenerating. He could move freely now and was ready to stand up at any moment.


    He lifted Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hand slightly and sensed that the person inside did not want to come out.


    After thinking for a moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak further, only continued to hold the icy dark green hand firmly, showing no intention of letting go.


    About two minutes later, he extended his other hand as well, both hands now holding Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s. He hesitated, then continued, ¡°Out here, there¡¯s warmth as well, and there are people you want to see, and the familial bonds you long for most.¡±


    With one strange entity locked in a box and another playing hide and seek, Yan Junze guessed that the sisters must be yearning to see each other and to be together.


    Upon hearing his words, Zhuang Wenjing inside the box shuddered, and memory fragments covered her current sense of touch, flashing before her once more.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenjing, do you know where your little sister is hiding?¡± A middle-aged man¡¯s voice filtered into the enclosed wooden box, followed by a heh-heh laughter: ¡°That silly girl, she hides near your mother¡¯s bedroom every time. I could find her with my eyes closed.¡±


    ¡°Every time¡­¡± A face with distinct and somewhat handsome features, though covered with a beard, peered through the small feeding hole at the box¡¯s occupant, ¡°Every time I catch her easily, and then do you know what I do to her?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hoarse voice called out.


    Her voice was so faint as if even she couldn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, beating her, beating her hard!¡± The man smacked his lips, ¡°I¡¯m quite satisfied with you, at least you¡¯ve called me ¡®Daddy¡¯ before, and among the three sisters, you¡¯re the one I¡¯ve interacted with the most.¡±


    With that, he smirked, pulled away from the box, and stood up. From Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s perspective, all she could see were his feet.


    The click of a lighter came next, and it seemed that the man had lit a cigarette for himself.


    Not long after, the smell of tobacco entered the wooden box.


    At this moment, Zhuang Wenjing was huddled in the corner of the box, clutching her legs, her face stained with tear marks, not a single clean spot on her entire body, emanating a foul stench and wearing an utterly numb expression.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I actually quite liked your mom.¡± The man spoke again, ¡°A three-story office building, two storefronts, an investment in a fund with a 3.7% annualized rate of return amounting to 3.26 million, equity worth 4.4 million, and 2.8 million in bank deposits. A single mother raising three girls with so much money, who wouldn¡¯t like that?¡±


    ¡°My mother¡­ is it¡­ is it you who¡­¡± Zhuang Wenjing struggled to squeeze out a few words. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, your mom truly died of sickness.¡± The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, and stamped it out with his foot.

 Chapter 765 - 440: Triple Spirits (3)_2

    Chapter 765: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)_2


    A moment later, he placed a plate in front of the wooden crate¡¯s opening and chuckled, ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot. This time it¡¯s not red-hot charcoal, it¡¯s actually edible.¡±


    Then he turned and left the room.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s stomach had been growling non-stop, and upon hearing the man leave, she immediately threw herself down at the opening of the crate, extending her arm out.


    But she soon hesitated. Although she touched the plate, she didn¡¯t dare to get close to the center of the plate.


    The location where the food was placed was a blind spot from her view, but her palm could feel the warmth emanating from the plate.


    Zhuang Wenjing gently prodded it with her index finger, creating an indentation. It wasn¡¯t hot, nor was it hard; it seemed to be edible.


    She hastily grabbed it, the sticky substance adhering to her hand, and immediately a strange, foul smell wafted into her nostrils.


    Withdrawing her hand, she looked at the filth smeared all over it, and suddenly her stomach churned, wanting to vomit but nothing came out.


    The warmth coming from her hand once again scattered the fragments of her memory.


    ¡­


    This time, Zhuang Wenjing could clearly feel a pair of hands holding her tightly. There was nothing sticky, no burning heat, no chilly sensation¡ªthese were hands of unparalleled warmth.


    After Yan Junze had spoken, it didn¡¯t take long before he saw the lid of the cardboard box being slightly pushed up.


    A pair of eyes appeared beneath the lid of the box; though only visible by the whiteness of the eyes, the look was filled with wariness, fear, unease, terror, and fierceness.


    The variety of emotions indicated Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s state at that moment; she wanted to attack Yan Junze but realized that he seemed to have no ill-intentions, making it impossible for her to strike. She wanted to withdraw and hide back inside the box, but she could feel the warmth from his palms, making her reluctant to let go.


    ¡°Leave this cage; there¡¯s no need to cling to it anymore,¡± Yan Junze tried his best to lower his voice, making it softer, ¡°If you want something to eat, I can accommodate you. You can have all kinds of tasty food, not those raw, disgusting ones.¡±


    The lid of the box opened further, and Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s head slowly emerged from inside, followed by her standing up inside the box.


    Yan Junze also stood up with her.


    It was then that he realized that Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arms couldn¡¯t lower; they were rigid at the shoulders, kept in a forward-bent position.


    Looking at her like this, she must have kept her arms through the hole for food, longing for another bite, until death took her.


    That is to say, Zhuang Wenjing starved to death.


    Soon after she stood up, the cardboard box beneath her feet vanished right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Originally wearing a pale yellow dress, Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s garment was now covered in so much filth that its original color and pattern could not be discerned.


    Yan Junze took her hands and slowly stepped back, stopping in front of the sofa before letting her sit down.


    ¡°You¡¯re safe now; all the pain has passed. Once we get out of here, you can eat whatever you want.¡±


    At this moment, Zhuang Wenjing curled up habitually, gripping her legs tightly, her entire body shrinking onto the sofa, giving no response.


    A mission prompt simultaneously flashed through Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [The Fear Inside the Box, Terrified (Low), has been completed, and you¡¯ve received 1600 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Mission accomplished.


    Having already completed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s mission, only a cursory analysis combining the clues from both sisters¡¯ missions was needed to infer that this Terrified-level mission wasn¡¯t difficult to accomplish.


    However, for an exorcist who doesn¡¯t use a Buddhist Exorcism Method, it would undoubtedly be very difficult to confront Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s Obsession head-on.


    Just then, the atmosphere around him changed again, a bone-chilling cold penetrating his body, making Yan Junze shiver uncontrollably.


    He looked around, seeing no changes in the environment but feeling the temperature drop once more.


    While it wasn¡¯t cold enough to form ice on his eyebrows, standing there for a while might make his body tremble from the cold.


    And, as expected, right after the mission completion prompt, another new mission appeared.


    Yan Junze looked inward and whispered to himself, ¡°Scared witless (Low)?!¡±


    He sighed deeply and muttered, ¡°Here comes the real deal.¡±


    According to previous deductions, a top-tier four-star exorcist should not have been so easily trapped here.


    So far, with the appearance of these two strangenesses, Cao Heng could have broken through them with direct action given his abilities.


    Hence, his entrapment must have something to do with this third strangeness that was about to emerge. Whether there were even more formidable strangenesses to follow, Yan Junze could only guess.


    ¡°If there are even stronger strangenesses lurking after this third one, as per the Exorcism Squad¡¯s usual practice, it would probably require at least two five-star exorcists to deal with the situation here to ensure safety,¡± Yan Junze speculated internally.


    Triple Spirits; the least amongst them is a Sculpting Spirit, like Zhuang Wenhui, and Zhuang Wenjing in the box is already a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, so the strangeness that is about to make an appearance would undoubtedly be an Ethereal Spirit.


    With Triple Spirits united, no wonder Cao Heng was put at a disadvantage!


    After a quick glance at the mission information, Yan Junze was slightly surprised, but he didn¡¯t show it and walked towards the bedroom instead.


    Upon entering the bedroom, he saw another person lying on the bed, finally filling it completely. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 766 - 440: Triple Spirits (3)_3

    Chapter 766: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)_3


    The person was indeed the four-star exorcist Cao Heng.


    At this moment, Cao Heng appeared to be having difficulty breathing, but his chest still rose and fell slightly. His eyes were originally tightly closed, but upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s footsteps, it was as if a nerve had been touched, and he immediately opened his eyes, full of wariness.


    As Yan Junze approached, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, I am an exorcist from the Aries District team called by Tianmeng to help you.¡±


    Cao Heng was stunned, his gaze focused, and after settling on Yan Junze¡¯s face for a moment, he lowered his guard.


    His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes signaled Yan Junze to lift the blanket covering him.


    Yan Junze did as instructed.


    When the blanket was lifted, what came into view were numerous gashes, blood had already coagulated, and it was impossible to see clearly how many wounds there were at a glance.


    Clenching his teeth, Cao Heng managed to say, ¡°There¡¯s an Ethereal Spirit, pulling strings, be careful, can¡¯t move!¡±


    No sooner had he spoken, than a few seconds later, Yan Junze saw Zhuang Wenhui walk out of the bedroom bathroom, hunched over.


    She stared straight ahead, not paying attention to her surroundings, walking eerily as if being drawn by something, passing through the bedroom and into the living room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move for now, I¡¯ll get you out of here quickly,¡± Yan Junze patted Cao Heng¡¯s shoulder.


    He turned and walked to the bedroom doorway, looked towards the living room, and noticed that where there had been cardboard boxes, now stood three chairs facing away from this direction.


    And Zhuang Wenhui, who had just walked out, now went to the leftmost chair and silently, slowly sat down.


    The Zhuang Wenjing who had been curled up on the couch now let her feet down. Her arms remained bent and extended in front of her, unable to relax, as she rigidly stood up and silently walked to the farthest right of the three chairs, and likewise sat down.


    Yan Junze noticed that behind the three chairs, there was one more chair that had not disappeared, the very chair he had been sitting on earlier.


    At this moment, a stronger wave of dizziness hit him, the world spun, and he felt he might collapse right onto the ground, so he immediately supported himself against the bedroom door frame.


    Because of his prior experiences, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t panicked this time; after steadying himself, he slowly approached the back row of chairs and hurriedly sat down just as he felt he was about to fall.


    This must be the third game now, playing with three strangenesses at once, wondering what they were up to this time. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although he had already resolved the Obsessions of Zhuang Wenhui and Zhuang Wenjing, at this moment, the two spirits were still involuntarily participating in the third game, indicating that this third strangeness, in terms of strength or status, must be much stronger than the others.


    Such joining was unconscious, rooted in a deeply ingrained attitude of obedience.


    Even now, seated in the chair, Yan Junze still felt a severe dizziness, and his consciousness quickly became blurred, nearly drifting off to sleep.


    And from somewhere behind him, there came a creepy, crawling sound.


    Soon, a woman who seemed even smaller in stature slowly crawled past him from beside the chair where he was sitting.


    This woman was not actually small in stature, but her body was grotesquely bent horizontally, as if her waist had been broken, her clothing ragged and tattered, barely covering her body.


    She too had long hair, but some spots on her head were bald, the hair from the bald spots having been roughly torn off, her skin ulcerated, appearing a blurry mess.


    Not only was her waist grotesquely twisted, but her limbs were also bent at odd angles. She crawled past Yan Junze without pausing or glancing in his direction.


    When she reached the middle of the three chairs, her body slumped onto it, sitting down limply, just like the other two, with her back to him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 767 - 441: Triple Spirits (4)

    Chapter 767: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)


    From the moment that middle woman appeared, Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness had been very hazy.


    Although his gaze had been following the figures of the three women, his brain was processing everything very slowly.


    However, there was one thing he had continuously noticed: after the third woman appeared, she made no threatening gestures towards him. Instead, she climbed past him as if ignoring him completely.


    The haze in his mind started to clear up bit by bit after the three women took their seats in front of him¡ª not just his vision, but his sense of smell and hearing, and even his skin¡¯s sensitivity to the temperature around him, were all slowly recovering.


    The cold chill appeared once more, seeping into his clothes, slowly eroding away at Yan Junze.


    This time, however, Yan Junze discovered that he was completely unable to move his limbs, as if they no longer belonged to him.


    He remembered that Ma Jing, an exorcist from Aries District with three stars, once said that Cao Heng had sent them a warning signal after encountering danger.


    If it were like it was now, Cao Heng would have been able to make a desperate movement of his finger to press the signal button. One could say his willpower was already very strong.


    Anyway, if Yan Junze was to try moving his body with sheer stubbornness right now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, unless he activated a control field.


    But from the looks of it, there was no need to confront neither this woman who had just appeared nor the three sisters.


    As his consciousness became clearer, the scene before his eyes also became sharper.


    Soon, Yan Junze noticed his throat loosening up, and he could speak again. Perhaps, this third game also required him to speak up.


    The control of this magnetic field was clearly under the power of the last woman who appeared. Her strength was much greater than the other two women.


    Of course, if he were to activate his domain field and confront her head-on, the outcome could be different.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui,¡± Yan Junze cleared his throat and began, looking towards the figure of the woman who enjoyed playing hide and seek, that is, the one sitting at the far left of the three chairs, ¡°you are the youngest sister, the third one.¡±


    Then Yan Junze turned his gaze to the woman who came out of a box, sitting on the far right: ¡°Zhuang Wenjing, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s older sister, the second in the family.¡±


    Finally, he turned his attention towards the eerie woman slumped in the chair in the middle, who had just crawled out from behind him, and continued: ¡°Zhuang Wenxian, the eldest of the three sisters. I didn¡¯t expect that not only would three strangenesses appear in succession here, but each one of them is extremely powerful, and most importantly, you are¡­ uh, triplets!¡±


    However, just thinking about the past tragedies of the three sisters that he had deduced after completing the previous two tasks, Yan Junze¡¯s heart clenched tightly.


    These three sisters, seemingly powerful as strange bodies, were in fact greatly related to their woeful past lives.


    These were true evil spirits, controlled by the powerful hatred and resentment formed from their past lives. This resentment was so intense and profound that it could no longer be merely described as an obsession.


    After these words, the three sisters remained unresponsive, sitting motionless.


    Because at this point, Yan Junze was also unable to move. He hadn¡¯t desperately moved his arms like Cao Heng to trigger the warning message, so for the moment, he was unaware of the force of traction.


    But he was clear about one thing: don¡¯t move carelessly. The horrifying injuries on Cao Heng were not a joke.


    The atmosphere became somewhat stagnant, none of the three sisters made a move, and Yan Junze, seated, completely unable to move, just stared at their unsettling backs.


    About five minutes later.


    A voice suddenly emerged from the seated sisters: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, and after digesting these three words, he was bewildered and couldn¡¯t help but repeat, ¡°What ¡®who moved¡¯?¡±


    The voice didn¡¯t answer him but repeated once more: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time Yan Junze finally realized the other party might be asking him who among the three sisters had just moved.


    With this understanding, he felt speechless.


    First of all, as all three were facing away from him, if they moved their fingers or touched their bellies or feet in front of them, as long as the action was very subtle and slow, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see it at all.


    This meant he had to rely entirely on guesswork.


    ¡°What kind of bizarre game is this?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    Since the three sisters¡¯ voices were all hoarse, he wasn¡¯t clear about the identity of the woman who had just spoken.


    With their backs turned towards him, he had no idea who was speaking now.


    That left him with no choice but to guess boldly.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, his gaze starting from the left, slowly sweeping towards the right.


    It was impossible to discern; the three women sat there as steady as rocks, showing no sign of movement.


    ¡°Who moved?¡± That raspy voice sounded out again.


    ¡°You, Zhuang Wenxian, you moved,¡± Yan Junze took a shot in the dark.


    He suspected that the person asking was Zhuang Wenxian in the middle, so he directly guessed it was her fiddling around. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    The moment a voice spoke, Yan Junze felt a sharp pain in his right arm. A lump rose on the back of his hand, visible to the naked eye, resembling a cyst. With a popping sound, it burst open, spewing a mass of flesh and blood. The arteries and bones within were laid bare for all to see, gruesomely detailed.


    Damn, a wrong guess was met with punishment!


    Yan Junze watched, eyes wide, as the flesh on the back of his right hand suddenly exploded, bearing the severe pain. After a brief consideration, he didn¡¯t immediately choose to activate ¡°Rewind.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 768 - 441: Triple Spirits (4)_2

    Chapter 768: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)_2


    ¡°Is this the punishment for guessing wrong?¡± he managed to squeeze out a smile from his face, ¡°How would I know if my guess is right¡­ or wrong?¡±


    Memory fragments of obsession flashed crazily, skimming through Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s mind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Whoever moves, this is the punishment!¡±


    The middle-aged man seemed to be smiling, but his expression had already taken on a sick, crazed look.


    The pliers in his hand slowly retracted, and on the arm of Zhuang Wenhui, who was sitting on the far left, a clear trail of blood began to emerge.


    ¡°Continue now.¡±


    The man returned to his own seat, crossed his legs, holding the pliers in his hand, and stared unblinkingly at the three sisters seated with their backs to him.


    His eyes were filled with mockery, a numb pleasure rising in his heart, his gaze incessantly sweeping over the three, the iron pliers in his hand seeming ready to fly out at any moment ¨C he didn¡¯t care which part of their body it would strike.


    ¡°Whoever moves, no food for today, while the other two can each get a can of eight-treasure congee,¡± the man said lazily.


    Throughout his speech, his gaze continually swept over the three girls.


    At this moment, the triplet sisters didn¡¯t dare to move, each of them terrified into silence, struggling desperately to stop their shivering bodies.


    ¡°Sister, I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± Zhuang Wenhui clutched the arm that had just been struck by the pliers, she had been holding back, otherwise, the arm would have trembled violently from the pain.


    Since morning, the youngest of the triplets, Zhuang Wenhui, had only had a sip of water, not a bite to eat, and now she had to sit motionless, plus her arm had been ruthlessly hit, she was seeing stars, feeling the whole world spinning.


    Zhuang Wenxian, sitting in the middle, dared not turn her neck and could only glance sideways at her sister. She felt a heart-wrenching pain and whispered softly, ¡°Don¡¯t move Wenhui, hold on, just a little longer¡­¡±


    Before she could finish speaking, she glanced at the emerging blood on Wenhui¡¯s arm. The place hit by the pliers was already swollen up, the blood beneath the skin on the verge of seeping out.


    Seeing this scene, Zhuang Wenxian quickly averted her gaze, her heart aching unbearably, her large eyes whirling in their sockets, she could only bear it with all her might.


    ¡°Sister, I¡¯m hungry!¡± Zhuang Wenjing, sitting on the right, couldn¡¯t help whispering at that moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, just hold on,¡± Zhuang Wenxian hurriedly said. She feared that Wenjing wouldn¡¯t be able to resist begging the man behind them and continued, ¡°Hold on for a little longer, he¡¯ll let us go soon¡­¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± the man behind suddenly laughed out loud, glanced at the time, and said, ¡°This round of ¡®Statue¡¯, at least half an hour, unless someone can¡¯t bear it anymore.¡±


    As soon as his words finished, Zhuang Wenjing seated on the right suddenly twitched, bending down and clutching her stomach, ¡°Sis, my stomach¡­ it hurts so much!¡±


    At this moment, due to extreme hunger, her stomach was cramping and she began to moan softly.


    The next second, the pliers flew from behind, one end slamming heavily onto the back of Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s head.


    A scream ruptured the air, her scalp split open with blood splattering, she cried and screamed, Zhuang Wenxian immediately wrapped her arms around her, pressing her right hand tightly against her sister¡¯s head wound, preventing it from further splitting and bleeding out.


    The middle-aged man walked over cursing, picked up the pliers, and began to beat Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s head mercilessly, cursing as he hit, ¡°Keep protecting them, let¡¯s see how long you can protect! I¡¯ll beat you to death! Now don¡¯t move, just stay like this, if you move again, I¡¯ll beat Wenhui too!¡±


    In the man¡¯s memory, he had an intense dislike and hatred for the eldest sister among the triplets, Zhuang Wenxian, because since he married into the family, Zhuang Wenxian never looked him in the eye, never once calling him ¡°Uncle¡± or any such title.


    Now that the triplet sisters had fallen into his hands, the one who got the worst treatment was naturally Zhuang Wenxian.


    Indeed, Zhuang Wenxian could bear a lot; in reality, she was already covered in wounds, not an inch of good flesh under her clothes.


    Weak, powerless, on the brink of mental collapse, just being able to sit in the chair and not fall over was already a great fortune.


    He forced the three of them to sit and pretend to be statues for at least half an hour, striking anyone who moved; this was clearly another form of torment, both physical and mental.


    After beating her for a moment, the middle-aged man grabbed Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s hair, ¡°Since you want to be the hero, I¡¯ll deal with you myself!¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s frail body was violently dragged to the floor and pulled away.


    ¡°You can beat me, but they each get a can of congee, you just said it¡­¡± Zhuang Wenxian reached out, grabbing the man¡¯s right hand that was pulling her hair, her mouth bleeding, shrieking frantically. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man smirked, saying nothing.


    At this point, the fragments of memory were interrupted by an external voice.


    ¡­


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, Zhuang Wenxian, then it might have been Zhuang Wenjing who moved,¡± Yan Junze guessed again.


    But just as the words left his mouth, his left hand¡¯s back burst into a mess of blood and flesh once more, the wound a blurry mess.


    After a bout of intense pain, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.


    He had clearly had three chances to get the right answer, but he had not expected his luck to be so poor, missing the mark with two guesses.


    ¡°Rewind.¡±


    Obviously, under the circumstance where the third answer seemed apparent, Zhuang Wenxian was not prepared to let him continue guessing, but rather, to start the game over.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze, with the Golden Finger, was not about to let himself be put into a passive position in this segment.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 769 - 441: Triple Spirits (4)_3

    Chapter 769: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)_3


    It was a good thing he was using a Buddhist exorcism; if he had forcefully broken the supernatural ties of the three sisters, there would not have been so many issues.


    Simply activating the Control Field and adding the Black Spirit Umbrella would have securely locked them down without any problem.


    But at this moment, a part of Yan Junze¡¯s heart had already been touched by these three sisters; he wanted to learn about their lives before death, so he had to proceed with this step.


    He Rewound back to the moment right after Zhuang Wenxian had just begun to ask him, ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time, Yan Junze did not hesitate and said, ¡°It was Zhuang Wenhui who moved.¡±


    As soon as he spoke, he immediately looked at Zhuang Wenxian, who was sitting in the middle, feeling that this time his answer would not pose any problem.


    However, unexpectedly, a sudden severe pain erupted just above his thigh; looking down, he saw his pants had been ripped open by a tumorous growth.


    That tumour was incredibly large and growing rapidly, soon ready to burst.


    ¡°Wrong? The answer is still wrong?¡± Yan Junze was immediately shocked.


    Rewind!


    Without waiting for the tumour on his leg to burst, he immediately chose to go back to before he had answered Zhuang Wenxian.


    Gazing at the strange backs of the three sisters, Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    If none of the sisters moved, then who did? Was it me?


    He remembered Cao Heng had reminded him earlier to be careful of something called ¡°attraction.¡±


    The Exorcist from the Aries District had not been able to enter this place, simply because as soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Cao Heng would immediately start to howl in pain.


    This gave the impression that the entrance of people from the outside was somehow triggering the onset of Cao Heng¡¯s injuries.


    Yan Junze speculated that the ¡°attraction¡± Cao Heng mentioned must be related to some action or movement and the cause of his injuries, which was why he remained seated here all this time without moving.


    It wasn¡¯t possible for him to have moved, and neither had any of the three women.


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s voice rang out again: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time Yan Junze¡¯s gaze slowly swept over the backs of the three sisters: one sat hunched over as a result of frequently playing hide and seek and being cautious, one had arms that had petrified and could not be lowered due to begging for food, and the one in the middle was broken in body, her limbs fractured, slumped helplessly in the chair.


    He swallowed hard, piecing together the mission information about the three sisters and guessing much about what they had endured.


    To tell the truth, Yan Junze felt somewhat choked up at this moment; this was the first time he had encountered such a feeling since facing the strangenesses.


    ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s hoarse voice tirelessly inquired.


    The scene fell silent once more.


    Another ten or so seconds passed, and just as Zhuang Wenxian was about to ask a third time, Yan Junze responded.


    ¡°Nobody moved, none of you did,¡± he said softly and deeply, his gaze fixed on the backs of the three sisters, ¡°You have all been sitting nicely, and nobody moved.¡±


    With these words, the three silhouettes in front of him trembled slightly, and slowly, Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui turned their heads toward Yan Junze.


    Three pairs of eyes, white without pupils, looked at him silently, each face bearing injuries that could not be restored. These three sets of eyes were clearly blinded by someone before they had even died.


    Yan Junze calmly looked back at them, and to show friendliness, his lips were always slightly curved in a sincere and gentle smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it all; you¡¯ve all been sitting upright, sitting nicely, with no one moving,¡± he reassured them.


    One could feel that after he spoke these words, the temperature in the room no longer felt so cold but began to gradually warm. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three sisters thus turned away, silently watching him, those three vacant gazes shifting from cold, to surprised, and eventually softening.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s expression suddenly turned harsh, the smile replaced by a sneer, and he whispered, ¡°Now I want to know, the person who killed you, is he dead or not?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 770 - 442: Triple Spirits (Final)

    Chapter 770: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)


    As Yan Junze uttered these words, his mind almost simultaneously received a task completion prompt. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Wooden Man, scared witless (low), completed, you have gained 2100 Different Dimension Energy points]


    The task regarding Zhuang Wenxian was thus completed.


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s obsession was fully mirrored in the Wooden Man game; before she died, in order to protect her two sisters, she would intentionally move a little in almost every Wooden Man round.


    This would draw the attention of that guy to her, making sure that if there was a beating, it would only be inflicted on herself, thus sparing her two sisters.


    Not only that, but Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui could also obtain life-sustaining food because of it.


    For the ¡°Wooden Man¡± game, had Yan Junze not read the task information or completed the other two sisters¡¯ tasks, he wouldn¡¯t have found any clue at all.


    But after completing the previous tasks, he had roughly guessed the cause of the three sisters¡¯ deaths, and connecting everything together, he quickly came to a definitive answer.


    For Zhuang Wenxian, in the game, as long as she sat still, she wouldn¡¯t be beaten, and if she wasn¡¯t beaten, she wouldn¡¯t die.


    So the accurate answer was that none of them moved.


    Of course, just saying this wouldn¡¯t allow them to escape Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s eerie magnetic field; in reality, if Zhuang Wenxian so desired, the triplets¡¯ magnetic fields could merge in an instant, unleashing even greater power.


    Not to mention a top-tier four-star exorcist, even if a five-star exorcist came, in the face of the combined might of the three sisters, the likely outcome would be an inability to dispel their presence and a retreat.


    Yan Junze¡¯s laissez-faire approach to exorcism played a huge role at this point; it was to find the greatest commonality between the three.


    Because be it hide-and-seek, the ghost hand in the box, or the three sisters¡¯ Wooden Man game, their commonality, without exception, pointed to that middle-aged man.


    He, one could say, was their biggest obsession.


    Therefore, Yan Junze¡¯s last words were able to suddenly lower Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s guard, and at this moment, the three sisters¡¯ hostility towards him was gradually dissolving away.


    ¡°If you let me know the whole story, I will definitely help you, instead of letting the three of you endlessly cycle through this obsession. Yes, I will take good care of you.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I will definitely take good care of you!¡±


    The middle-aged man kindly patted the head of the youngest sister Zhuang Wenhui, gently stroking the hair that rested on her shoulder.


    Zhuang Wenhui, frightened, kept her head down and dared not look at him. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was kneeling on the ground.


    The other two sisters were also kneeling beside her in the same posture.


    The man raised his head, looking around the empty, spacious house, and muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you right here¡­ take care until death!¡±


    He paused, let out a sinister chuckle, then snapped back to reality and continued, ¡°There¡¯s a jammer in the house, so the message you tried to send secretly just now, Wenxian, did not really go through.¡±


    He lifted a cell phone, its screen was lit, showing ¡°Message Failed to Send.¡±


    Three cell phones were lined up on the ground. The man took up a hammer, smashing each phone with a blow, and then threw them into the charcoal furnace burning beside him.


    ¡°Now¡­ no one knows where you are.¡±


    The man shrugged his shoulders, put away the little hammer behind him, and walked over to a table nearby, opening a red box which contained two syringes and several vials of unnamed liquid.


    He casually took out the syringes and picked up one of the vials, shook it a bit, then inserted the needle, drawing a syringe full of liquid.


    Upon seeing this, Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s gaze slightly sharpened as she blurted out, ¡°I¡¯ve seen this box before, you used this box at my house.¡±


    ¡°Remembering only now?¡± The man grinned, ¡°I¡¯ve used it for a long time at your place, or rather, our place.¡±


    Holding up the syringe to his eye, he gently squeezed it to expel the air at the top, ¡°Your mother¡¯s diabetes was getting worse, in those months before she passed away, wasn¡¯t I serving her day in and day out, including giving her insulin injections before meals, hehe!¡±


    ¡°This¡­ this isn¡¯t insulin!¡± Zhuang Wenxian shouted furiously, her cheeks flushing with anger.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not.¡± The man smiled, ¡°I just added a bit of this substance to it. You have no idea, it¡¯s quite troublesome to add something to an insulin syringe, I had to be so careful every time, fearing that your mother might see it. Oh, by the way, Zhong Qing¡¯s death was really due to illness, it has nothing to do with this medicine.¡±


    The man walked over to Zhuang Wenhui holding the syringe, at which she immediately tried to back away in fear.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhuang Wenxian and Zhuang Wenjing cried out in alarm at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your turns will come soon.¡± The man said smilingly, ¡°First let¡¯s put you to sleep, cherish this moment. After this, you might never again be as lucid as today.¡±


    He expertly inserted the needle into Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s arm; within two or three seconds he had emptied all the liquid, after which he stood up and returned to the red box.


    Because he squeezed the plunger so quickly, some liquid flowed back out through the needle hole in Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s skin, mixing with a trace of blood.


    But it was clear that the dose of liquid was large, which was why he pushed the plunger so quickly, not caring in the slightest if the bit that oozed out would reduce the drug¡¯s effectiveness.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 771 - 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_2

    Chapter 771: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_2


    While drawing the second bottle of liquid into the syringe, the man muttered to himself, ¡°This could have been easily resolved, but your mother had to complicate things. Why did she have to do that?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By this time, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s consciousness had begun to blur, and she slowly collapsed to the ground, her eyes opening and closing repeatedly as she struggled hard.


    Turning around, the man held the second syringe and looked at Zhuang Wenxian and Zhuang Wenjing, no longer paying attention to Zhuang Wenhui, and continued, ¡°I really loved Zhong Qing. I told her giving me a mere million or so would suffice. We were on our second marriage, and I knew I wasn¡¯t entitled to any of her wealth, but if she just gave me a bit, not all of it, I would have been satisfied.¡±


    He paused, a cold smile appearing on his face: ¡°Haha, guess what your mom said? She said this wealth was left to you girls by your deceased father, and that I wouldn¡¯t get a penny, not now, not ever! It¡¯s all your dowry! Hahaha, dowry!¡±


    With that, he walked briskly to Zhuang Wenjing, knelt down, and aimed the needle at her.


    ¡°No, Uncle, please don¡¯t, I beg you!¡± Zhuang Wenjing screamed in terror, unable to back away.


    The man looked at the syringe, seemingly deaf to Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s pleas, ¡°I was legally married to her, and now that Zhong Qing is dead, and so will you be¡­ hehe, can I get it now? Tell me, can I?¡±


    He jabbed the syringe fiercely into the area above Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arm, turning his head to glance at a terrified Zhuang Wenxian, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t leave any trace. Next, let¡¯s take our time¡­ and play.¡±


    ¡­


    Yan Junze fell into a silent, endless silence.


    Not a sound came from the entire yard, the entire living room.


    Truth be told, he could imagine how brutal and terrifying the world¡¯s most dangerous strangenesses could be, but he couldn¡¯t fathom how deep and horrifying the greatest evil in this world could be, hidden in the heart of an ordinary person.


    Some things that happened, were happening, or were about to happen were so disturbing that sometimes just hearing about them made Yan Junze shudder uncontrollably, feeling chilled to the bone.


    What is the greatest evil in this world?


    The three sisters¡¯ strangenesses caused hoarseness in their voices, so Yan Junze activated the Control Field, absorbing the magnetic fields they were emitting in a manner similar to how Aunt Mei spoke, and only then did he come to understand their tragic experiences.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt cold in his limbs, not because the temperature in the room had decreased¡ªin fact, the room was no longer cold¡ªbut because the chill was emanating from within him.


    He eventually managed to suppress the evil chill in his heart. Yan Junze turned his gaze toward the three terrifying strange bodies; although they looked frightening, he no longer felt a trace of terror emanating from them.


    ¡°We must leave here first. Now, hide yourselves and don¡¯t show up again. After I leave, just follow me.¡±


    Yan Junze had originally planned to Lockdown the three sisters, but truth be told, he had no confidence in locking down a real Ethereal spirit.


    The only Ethereal spirit he knew and was close to was Aunt Mei, and he had never attempted to Lockdown her, even with her consent, and it remained uncertain whether he could succeed.


    He had pondered it before and figured it was mostly impossible.


    To truly subdue a spirit like Zhuang Wenxian, fulfilling their greatest Obsession seemed to be a necessary condition.


    Once this condition was met, he would try to Lockdown the three sisters.


    Truth be told, based on Yan Junze¡¯s experience, the three sisters were triplets, also known as Triple Spirits. Normally, at most Twin Spirits would appear, and they were usually still in an infant state.


    The three sisters were not infant Strange Bodies, and they died for the same Obsession; the combined strength of such Triple Spirits, if united, would be terrifyingly powerful.


    Add to that his own domain field catalyst, and he was temporarily unable to estimate how powerful they could become.


    If he could truly Lockdown the Triple Spirits, the benefits were unimaginable.


    The three sisters chose to comply with Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, their three distorted figures slowly disappearing before his eyes.


    Immediately afterwards, Yan Junze took out his phone and called Ma Jing.


    At this moment, Ma Jing, along with other Exorcists and security personnel, waited anxiously in the adjoining courtyard, occasionally sending people to listen for any sounds from this side.


    But every time the observers returned, they reported hearing nothing, and that it was very quiet next door.


    Because Yan Junze had entered during the daytime, which was different from the other exorcists who had forcefully entered the courtyard at night, causing Cao Heng¡¯s injuries to be aggravated.


    Therefore, Ma Jing and the others could only guess, hoping that Yan Junze had already killed or subdued the unknown, powerful strangeness.


    Seeing that it was a call from Yan Junze, Ma Jing¡¯s heart leapt with joy¡ª as long as he could make the call himself and not send an alert signal like Cao Heng, it meant the exorcism likely went smoothly.


    Answering the call, she heard Yan Junze¡¯s voice: ¡°You can send people over now, Cao Heng is still alive and can be rescued, but the others are already dead.¡±


    Exorcists from the next courtyard rushed over first, using the Spirit Detector to search around and clear any remaining strange magnetic fields.


    Then, the security personnel outside called for an ambulance to enter and secured the scene of the courtyard.


    Yan Junze stood at the foot of the bedroom¡¯s bed, with Ma Jing standing beside him; the two watched as the medical staff, with Cao Heng gritting his teeth in silence, lifted him onto the stretcher and then carried him out to the ambulance waiting at the door.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 772 - 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_3

    Chapter 772: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_3


    The ambulance, with its lights flashing but without sounding its siren, quickly made its way to the hospital.


    Two one-star Exorcists entered the bedroom and examined the bodies of Zhou Wenfei and Gu Dekang. After confirming there was no Possession, they notified the mortuary to come in.


    Soon, safety officers began cleaning up the scene.


    Yan Junze and Ma Jing walked out of the room and stood in the yard, looking up at a starless night sky.


    ¡°I think this case can already be classified as an A-level event, right?¡± Ma Jing suddenly spoke.


    After she spoke, her gaze turned to Yan Junze, obviously seeking his opinion.


    Because only Yan Junze, who had personally experienced it, had the biggest say.


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s close to an A-level event.¡±


    ¡°Was the strangeness directly eliminated by you, or¡­¡± Ma Jing couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Directly eliminated, but there wasn¡¯t just one strangeness,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Ma Jing looked thoughtful as she gazed at him, ¡°If Mr. Yan is available tomorrow, you can come to the squad¡¯s office building and write the report there.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look at her, a smile appearing on his face: ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons I don¡¯t want to be an official Exorcist, having to write a report after dealing with a case.¡±


    He paused and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll come to the office tomorrow morning and dictate it to you, and you can do the writing.¡±


    Ma Jing was at a loss whether to laugh or cry but nodded in agreement. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh, and I need your help to find someone,¡± said Yan Junze as if he¡¯d just remembered something, ¡°He¡¯s an old friend of my dad¡¯s who used to live in Aries District. His name is Zheng Bo. He lived in Aries City District twenty years ago, then moved away, probably in his early sixties now.¡±


    Ma Jing was stunned for a moment, ¡°Is that all the information? It¡¯s a bit hard to find with so little information.¡±


    Yan Junze paused, feigning recollection, ¡°Hmm, he married a petite bourgeoisie in Aries District, and later inherited a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Twenty years ago? That narrows it down quite a bit; I¡¯ll ask a friend from the Security Bureau to check it out tomorrow morning,¡± Ma Jing nodded.


    After leaving Qingtian Alley, the business car of the Aries Exorcist squad brought him to a designated hotel. Ma Jing said goodbye to him in the car and didn¡¯t get out. It seemed she wasn¡¯t going home but instead was rushing off to work overtime through the night.


    After agreeing on a time to meet the next day, the car departed.


    Yan Junze entered the hotel, announced his name, and the front desk immediately gave him a room card that had been reserved in advance.


    After taking a bath in the room and returning to the bed, Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui, with their stooped figures, were standing in a row waiting for him.


    The three sisters had deliberately reined in their strange magnetic fields, but their entire bodies still exuded an intense Yin Energy, commonly referred to by the populace.


    Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, drying his hair with a towel, he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve asked someone to look for Zheng Bo¡¯s whereabouts to see if there¡¯s a response by tomorrow. Don¡¯t be anxious; you¡¯ve waited so many years, believe that what¡¯s coming will come, whether it¡¯s money or retribution.¡±


    The three sisters silently watched him, without any reaction.


    Leaning against the headboard, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately go to sleep, but picked up his phone to search online, seeking any news reports about the three sisters from before.


    After all, it was an incident from twenty years ago; if the three sisters were dealt with as a missing persons case, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be possible to find relevant information online.


    After searching for a while, as expected, there were no results.


    At this moment, Yan Junze turned his head and saw that the three sisters were no longer standing in their original positions. Zhuang Wenxian was sitting in a chair, with her back to him.


    Zhuang Wenjing had squeezed her body into the small cabinet below the TV, completely unfit for a person. The cabinet door was left open just enough to stretch an arm out, as if to facilitate reaching for food.


    Zhuang Wenhui, meanwhile, had hidden herself in the wardrobe not far from the bed, curled up without making a sound.


    Upon seeing this scene, Yan Junze sighed and found himself unable to sleep.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 773 - 443: The Wishful Abacus

    Chapter 773: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus


    The next morning, as soon as it was light, Yan Junze woke up.


    He looked around the room, the three sisters each maintained the position they had the night before, without having moved.


    After washing up, he went downstairs for breakfast and then gave Ma Jing a call.


    As expected, this woman had pulled an all-nighter working overtime and had finished the follow-up work on the case that had been troubling the Exorcism Squad in Aries District, just waiting for Yan Junze¡¯s report.


    He agreed to come right over and told her not to bother sending a car to pick him up.


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze said to the three sisters, ¡°After we get to the Exorcism Squad¡¯s office building, don¡¯t follow me. There might be large-scale detectors and magnetic field weapons targeting strangenesses, so stay away and wait for me.¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhuang Wenxian nodded in agreement, the other two sisters gave no response.


    After Yan Junze left the room, the three vanished without a trace.


    Yan Junze left the hotel, hailed a taxi on the street, and followed the address Ma Jing had sent him to the Exorcists¡¯ office building.


    According to the regulations of the Exorcists¡¯ headquarters in Great Capital Huaying, the offices of Exorcists in each area were tucked away in the nooks and crannies of a city, not as prominent as the headquarters.


    Even the headquarters, from the outside, did not look particularly distinctive, resembling an ordinary business building, making a low-profile appearance.


    The office location for the Aries District Exorcists was similar to that in Tianmeng District, looking like an old-fashioned three-story residential house, situated on the East City Border in Aries City District.


    After getting out of the taxi, Ma Jing, who had been waiting outside the building, greeted him and paid the cab fare for him.


    Ma Jing¡¯s complexion was somewhat pale, but staying up all night hadn¡¯t immediately turned her into a panda-eyed woman; she might have grown accustomed to regular all-nighters and still looked very energetic.


    ¡°Is Cao Heng alright?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Ma Jing shook her head, ¡°He has stabilized, Brother Cao has good physical strength, and it¡¯s just a matter of time before he fully recovers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°About the person you asked me to help you find yesterday, my friend at the Security Bureau said that we should have a result by noon today at the latest,¡± Ma Jing said.


    The two chatted as they went up to the second-floor office.


    The computer was turned on, and a new document had already been created; Ma Jing was just waiting for Yan Junze to dictate so she could transcribe and refine his sentences.


    After making Yan Junze a cup of tea, the two began to input the report.


    About an hour later, the captain of the Aries District Exorcism Squad came over and called Yan Junze to the upstairs office for a chat. After expressing his gratitude, he even offered Yan Junze some local Aries District specialties.


    Unable to decline again, Yan Junze returned to Ma Jing¡¯s second-floor office carrying a large bag of assorted local products, feeling somewhat embarrassed.


    Ma Jing pretended not to see, her face beaming with a smile. She had already revised the report and suggested Yan Junze check it once more, as due to the high level of the strangeness event, the report would be handed over to the Huaying District headquarters.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t particularly interested and glanced over it perfunctorily.


    In the report, it mentioned three strangenesses, each more powerful than the one before. However, he had concealed the fact that they were triplets and the supposition that the three strangenesses had been killed brutally.


    The subsequent details were easy for Yan Junze to describe, as the headquarters of Huaying District were quite aware that he, the special-hire Exorcist of the headquarters, was best known for his Buddhist-style exorcism methods; not using this approach would be uncharacteristic of him, Yan Junze.


    While Yan Junze was checking the report, Ma Jing went out to take a call. She came back with joy written all over her face and said, ¡°We¡¯ve found that old man Zheng Bo.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡± Yan Junze looked up calmly at her.


    ¡°Zheng Bo never came back after he left Aries twenty years ago. By checking flight records, we found that he had been to Tianyi, Shou Zheng, Yannan, and Luoxia District. One year ago, he bought a house in Luguang District, and we found the procedures he had gone through for residential registration at that time. Afterward, there were no other discoveries,¡± she explained.


    ¡°So he might be in Luguang?¡± Yan Junze mused to himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but he might have moved out long ago, too,¡± Ma Jing shrugged, ¡°After all, the registration procedures back then were not perfect, but if his house has been sold, there would definitely be a record.¡±


    ¡°Could you give me the specific address of the house in Luguang District?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Ma Jing had already grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and she quickly jotted down the address before passing the note to Yan Junze with a smile, ¡°This address is kind of special, huh!¡±


    ¡°The report is ready,¡± Yan Junze pocketed the note casually and pointed to the computer screen, ¡°It¡¯s well-written.¡±


    After leaving the Exorcist¡¯s office building, Ma Jing insisted on having a specialized car take him to the airport, which Yan Junze did not refuse.


    About forty minutes later, they arrived at the airport.


    Instead of buying a ticket back to Tianmeng, Yan Junze purchased one to Luguang.


    After sitting in the departure lounge for about two hours, he finally boarded the plane.


    Sitting on the plane, he took out the note with the address and looked at it, recalling what Ma Jing had said before he left, a strong premonition rose in his heart.


    Zheng Bo was probably still living in Luguang, most likely he had never left.


    ¡­


    Luguang District, XFZ Fortress Community.


    XFZ used to be the closest village fortress to Luguang City District, but following the expansion of the city, it was incorporated into the urban area.


    Put simply, it¡¯s somewhat like an urban-rural junction, having the potential for urban development but due to years of excessive self-constructed houses, large development costs, a significant part of the area has not yet been developed.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 774 - 443: The Wishful Abacus_2

    Chapter 774: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus_2


    The Spring Wind Road and the main street of XFZ run parallel to each other, both lined with densely packed self-built houses, mostly two to three stories high.


    Some residents here are no longer original inhabitants; following urban expansion, people from various places have moved in, either renting or outright buying the self-constructed homes of former residents.


    Last year, Zheng Bo himself purchased one of these houses.


    His two-story residence has the first floor rented out, which provides some rental income; he lives on the second floor.


    Although the property doesn¡¯t cover a large area, about 130 square meters, it¡¯s spacious enough for one person.


    The ground floor is divided into two units, rented to two tenants.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t the environment here that Zheng Bo cared about; on the contrary, he actually disliked the living conditions in this area.


    For him, the urban-rural fringe was synonymous with low-quality residents, poor living standards, and a diverse mix of people.


    But none of these mattered to the current Zheng Bo; living here, he only sought peace of mind.


    Every morning, as long as he could glance at the bustling activity in the busy four-story self-built house across the street, he felt an indescribable sense of stability.


    Ririshun Trading Co., Ltd., that¡¯s the sign, with white background and red letters, hanging outside the building across from his.


    At first glance, it looks like a private enterprise doing seemingly decent business.


    But Zheng Bo knew that the entire building opposite was actually full of exorcists.


    Yes, it was the office building of the Luguang District exorcist team. After spending some money and making a lot of inquiries to confirm its authenticity, he then spent more money and bought the dilapidated building across from the exorcist team.


    The house was definitely not worth what he paid for it, but what Zheng Bo valued was the fact that he lived opposite the exorcists.


    Ever since the onslaught of sinister events began, he¡¯d been experiencing a chilling sense of horror. There were three occasions where he encountered strangenesses. Although none posed a threat to his life, Zheng Bo once thought that Zhong Qing and her three children had come looking for him.


    Initially, he purchased a whole array of evil-warding items, including talismans, peach wood swords, donkey hooves, and jade Buddha statues. Later, he discovered that these objects were useless, but it was not feasible to hire an exorcist to protect him at all times.


    Hence, the current arrangement was the safest approach.


    Living directly opposite the exorcist team, he could just shout from his upstairs window and be heard in the event of any trouble.


    Of course, this was just a precautionary measure by Zheng Bo; not to mention the Zhong Qing family might not even turn into any form of sinister beings!


    After all, it was just a certain possibility. Moreover, years had passed, and if it weren¡¯t for the sudden global outbreak of eerie incidents, Zheng Bo would have forgotten about it as he grew older.


    Or perhaps, he had subconsciously considered the event just a dream.


    Sitting on the old-style balcony on the second floor, he was comfortably seated in an armchair, with a soft cushion supporting his neck and a small square table on his right with a pot of Dahongpao tea.


    Zheng Bo always drank directly from the pot, without much formality.


    His temples were grizzled, and he was slightly overweight, but no longer unkempt with a beard. Now, his chin was clean-shaven. His clothes, although seemingly ordinary, were always neat and tidy.


    Despite living in an area with a diverse mix of tenants, Zheng Bo fit in quickly, judging from his daily habits and dress, one couldn¡¯t guess his previous life experiences.


    Today, at a little past five in the afternoon, the sun came out, and Zheng Bo enjoyed it on the balcony for a while. After finishing the pot of tea and as the sun set and the weather cooled slightly, he went back inside.


    In the past, he slowly poisoned Zhong Qing with chronic poison and then killed the triplets eligible for inheritance by making it look like they disappeared. Because of his carefully laid out and meticulous plan, Zheng Bo inherited a significant amount of money in the end.


    He didn¡¯t hesitate, converted all his investments to deposits, not leaving a cent behind, and left Aries District.


    Afterward, he made several investments but had no business acumen and lost everything. Eventually, he dared not spend recklessly anymore.


    Now, Zheng Bo didn¡¯t have much in savings. Coupled with the monthly rent he collected, it was just enough to sustain until the day he would be laid to rest.


    During the day, a cleaning lady regularly came to clean the house, so it looked very tidy at the moment. After dinner, Zheng Bo took a stroll outside.


    He had a fixed route for his walks, never straying far from this street, and primarily circling the exorcist team¡¯s office building.


    After walking back and forth around the exorcist¡¯s office for about half an hour, he watched television for a while then went to bed after performing his nightly routine.


    To the neighbors, he was a widower without children who had lost his wife early, thankfully appearing to have no money worries, which meant that he largely got on well with the surrounding residents.


    After lying in bed, Zheng Bo put on his reading glasses, picked up his phone, and read an officialdom novel for over an hour, falling asleep without knowing when.


    When he awoke, it was late into the night; his phone screen had gone off, but the device was still snugly on his stomach, and the lamp on the nightstand was on.


    He put the phone on the nightstand, plugged in the charger, then went to the bathroom. Coming back to bed, he turned off the nightstand light. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But for some reason, after relieving himself, he felt wide awake and restless.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 775 - 443: The Wishful Abacus_3

    Chapter 775: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus_3


    Zheng Bo tried hard to close his eyes.


    He had high blood pressure at the moment, but he had taken his medicine before going to sleep.


    About half an hour later, as he was about to drift off again in a daze, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes half-closed, he was on the verge of falling asleep.


    But the next second, he thought he felt someone standing near the foot of the bed, which startled him and made him open his eyes immediately.


    There was nothing there.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s heartbeat started to accelerate. He lifted his head to look carefully and indeed there was no one there. He turned his head to look behind himself, towards the other side of the bed, and saw no one.


    After thinking it over, it was possible that he had been confused as he was falling asleep, or maybe he had mistaken the shadows of trees cast into the room.


    He lay down again and closed his eyes.


    Sleepiness came over him quickly.


    However, suddenly a faint rubbing sound arose, as if it were the friction between fabrics.


    Zheng Bo was somewhat groggy. He heard the sound but his brain didn¡¯t react. He turned over softly, ready to continue sleeping.


    Right at that moment, the rubbing sound suddenly grew louder and more urgent.


    The next second, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes snapped open.


    The sound stopped abruptly.


    Zheng Bo gaped in surprise, staring ahead. He had heard the sound, which had woken him up directly; he wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    He stretched out his hand to press the switch of the bedside lamp; there was no response.


    Right then, a hoarse laugh sounded, ¡°Hehe, come find me!¡±


    It was as if the voice came from nearby. Startled by the sound, Zheng Bo flipped over and sat up quickly, his gaze panic-stricken, looking around.


    He saw nothing, saw no one.


    He swallowed hard, his gaze still fixed around the room, shakily reaching under the pillow. Before long, he found a flashlight and quickly turned it on.


    Fortunately, the flashlight lit up.


    The darkness was dispelled a bit, but he still didn¡¯t see the person who had spoken just before.


    Zheng Bo felt somewhat dizzy at that moment, a sign of his rising blood pressure. He now barely dared to be sure if he had actually heard someone talking.


    Something was not right!


    Always very cautious, Zheng Bo couldn¡¯t sleep anymore. He threw back the covers, put on his slippers, got out of bed, and looked around the bedroom with the flashlight but found nothing.


    Out of a certain concern, when buying the bed for his bedroom, he had specifically chosen a model with no space underneath; a solid wooden cabinet was there instead. He usually packed away off-season shoes and placed them inside. The cabinet had small compartments and was independent; no person could possibly hide there.


    Zheng Bo was not foolish enough to open these compartments one by one to check.


    He looked up at the bedroom door, which he had locked from the inside; no one from the outside could enter.


    Then he turned his head toward the bathroom of the bedroom. At that moment, the bathroom door was ajar.


    Zheng Bo wasn¡¯t sure; he thought he had closed the door when he had gone to urinate earlier, otherwise a smell would have wafted into the room.


    He walked to the bathroom with the flashlight, shone it inside, and was about to reach for the doorknob to close the door when he stopped abruptly.


    The flashlight beam hit the area around the washbasin, revealing a clump of black substance wriggling in the sink.


    Upon closer inspection, it looked strikingly like a mass of long hair, and what¡¯s most unsettling, this hair seemed to have a life of its own, slowly squirming outward as if a face would soon appear.


    Zheng Bo was so scared that he shuddered and dared not look anymore. He immediately reached out, slammed the bathroom door closed. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then he turned around, ran to the foot of the bed, picked up a high-backed chair, rushed back to the bathroom door, and wedged the chair against it from the outside, tilting the backrest so it jammed the doorknob securely.


    There came a clattering from the bathroom, as if something had fallen from the washbasin to the floor.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t pause to think, immediately turned, ran to the bedroom door, unlatched the bolt, twisted the knob, and prepared to run out.


    But to his shock, when he turned it, the bedroom door wouldn¡¯t budge.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 776 - 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 1)

    Chapter 776: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 1)


    Zheng Bo clearly remembered that before he went to sleep, he had only locked the bedroom door from the inside, but now it felt like the lock wasn¡¯t just engaged, it was as if someone had double-locked it with a key.


    ¡°How could it have been¡­ double-locked with a key!?¡±


    At this moment, panic surged within him. His body shivering, he turned his head to look at the bathroom door.


    Right then, someone on the inside was pressing down the handle of the door repeatedly, but the outside handle was jammed against the chair back on the outside, temporarily preventing the door from opening.


    Turning back, Zheng Bo tried to twist his bedroom door again, but it still wouldn¡¯t budge. He lowered his head to shine a flashlight under the door and through the gap, he saw that it definitely was locked with a key.


    ¡°The key, where¡¯s the key?¡±


    Zheng Bo turned around, searching frantically throughout the room, trying hard to remember.


    The next second, a voice suddenly emanated from the bathroom¡ªit was hoarse beyond measure, sounding just like the noise he had heard while lying in bed.


    ¡°You found me, now it¡¯s your turn to hide, I¡¯m going to find you,¡± the voice said. Despite its raspiness, the tone was eerily childlike.


    ¡°A child?¡±


    Zheng Bo shuddered, a long-buried memory from twenty years ago seemed to stir, but he quickly suppressed the thought.


    ¡°Find the key, find the key first, get out of here.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His bedroom was at the back of his residence, while the living room and balcony were facing the street on Spring Wind Road, meaning he had to get out of the bedroom and go to the living room, or better yet, to the balcony to see the Exorcism Squad¡¯s office building across the street.


    Over time, Zheng Bo had become very familiar with the daily routines of that building.


    He knew there were always people inside, no matter the time of day or night, and even in the wee hours, he could see at least two or three rooms lit up with silhouettes moving about.


    So, if only he could burst out of the bedroom into the living room, or even better, the balcony, and shout loudly on his side, in this quiet night, the Exorcists in the opposite building would surely hear him, and might even get startled.


    That was the main reason he lived here.


    Because Zheng Bo was well aware if he followed the normal procedure and called 4747, he would have to wait for a while, even if he offered money for expedited service.


    It would have been understandable if it were a common manifestation of strangeness, but he was acutely aware, if he truly encountered the supernatural, it would likely have a great deal to do with Zhong Qing and her three children. If these strangenesses appeared, they would be purposeful, and he couldn¡¯t just wait in line for an Exorcist to handle the situation.


    ¡°The key! The key!¡±


    Suddenly, Zheng Bo remembered the key might be in the pocket of a coat he seldom wore, which was hanging in the wardrobe near the bed.


    On the bathroom side, the handle of the door continued to be pushed down, indicating the strangeness inside hadn¡¯t given up on getting out.


    Due to his rising blood pressure, Zheng Bo¡¯s face was beet red, his heart hammered as if it were about to leap out of his throat.


    He tried the bedroom¡¯s light switch again, but it was still unresponsive. Then, trembling, he walked over to the wardrobe, thankful that the flashlight was still on.


    He reached the wardrobe door, pulled it, and then Zheng Bo froze, realizing something was jamming the door shut, allowing for only a small crack to be opened. Any further force only produced a cracking noise, but the door wouldn¡¯t budge.


    The small opening wasn¡¯t very wide but just enough to fit an arm through.


    Without thinking much, he held the flashlight in his left hand while his right immediately reached inside, groping around in an attempt to find the hanging coat.


    He had some memory that the pocket of the rarely-worn coat was large; it was hung a bit more inside the wardrobe. He would typically place less frequently used items like house keys inside the large pockets of the coat.


    The flashlight couldn¡¯t penetrate the wardrobe through the narrow slit, so he had to rely on touch alone.


    He recalled the approximate location, and after a brief search, felt the sleeve of the coat. Extending his arm further into the wardrobe towards the direction of the pocket, he reached in.


    At that moment, Zheng Bo¡¯s whole arm was almost inside the wardrobe as he fumbled cautiously within.


    But the next second, his expression abruptly changed, his arm inside the wardrobe stiffened, a chill ran up his spine to the back of his head, and he jerked his arm out of the wardrobe in an instant.


    He directed the flashlight beam into the crack of the opened wardrobe.


    He saw nothing!


    Zheng Bo lifted his right hand and looked at it; the cold sensation lingered.


    Just when he thought he was about to reach the coat pocket, his hand had felt an icy touch. Upon closer inspection, it was someone else¡¯s hand, remarkably slender and chillingly cold.


    This feeling immediately terrified Zheng Bo enough to retract his hand abruptly.


    Thump! Thump!


    Behind him, the bathroom door handle continued to be pressed downward, and the flashlight¡¯s beam suggested the handle was getting looser; it might be completely open after a short while.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s panic intensified, his heart pounded like a heavy hammer, and it felt as though he was about to pass out from lack of breath at any moment.


    He looked back at the wardrobe slit, just wide enough for an arm.


    He needed the key to survive; if he couldn¡¯t get it, once whatever was in the bathroom came out, he¡¯d be dead either way.


    The fierceness he had in his youth surged, and he gritted his teeth and stretched his arm into the wardrobe again.


    Because he had already located the coat pocket before, he went straight for it this time, and his hand quickly found the coat¡¯s pocket.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 777 - 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)

    Chapter 777: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)


    This time, he didn¡¯t encounter any other bizarre things.


    He immediately reached into his pocket, quickly touched the ice-cold keys, grabbed them, and yanked them out.


    Looking down, Zheng Bo¡¯s whole body shook violently with shock and fear as he realized that what he was holding in his hand were two dark blue severed fingers.


    Right at that moment, a hoarse voice softly emerged from the slightly ajar wardrobe beside him, ¡°Try it, it¡¯s edible!¡±


    No sooner had the voice faded than the cracked-open wardrobe door slammed shut with a heavy thud.


    Startled, Zheng Bo screamed loudly and, as if holding a hot potato, quickly threw the severed fingers onto the floor.


    Desperately, he took a few steps forward, moving away from the wardrobe.


    At this moment, Zheng Bo was dripping with sweat, his clothes already soaked through, gasping heavily, feeling as if he could barely catch his breath, and his limbs were trembling so violently that he had no strength left to run.


    After escaping the proximity of the wardrobe, he instinctively looked towards the bathroom and was suddenly shocked to realize he couldn¡¯t feel his heartbeat anymore.


    He saw the wooden chair that had been propping the bathroom door closed was now knocked over on the floor, and the bathroom door was wide open; it had been opened from the inside.


    There was no movement, and in the entire bedroom, besides his own ragged breathing, he couldn¡¯t hear any other sound.


    ¡°The strangeness has already come out!¡±


    Zheng Bo immediately stood still with his back against the wall and turned off the flashlight.


    His hair stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine. He wanted to control his breathing to avoid being detected by the other, but he couldn¡¯t do it because the more nervous he was, the heavier his panting became.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s gaze swept continuously over the spaces on either side of the bed, towards the wardrobe, and past the clothes rack in front of the bedroom door.


    If the strangeness had come out of the bathroom, he fixed his attention on the places where it was most likely to hide.


    Staying close to the wall, he moved to the bathroom door. Even without turning on the flashlight, he could see clearly now that indeed, the door lock had been violently twisted open. The back of the chair that had been propping the doorknob was broken at one corner, which was why the bathroom door had been able to be opened so smoothly.


    All around him was eerily silent, the stillness so chilling it was as if the strangeness that had just walked out of the bathroom was silently staring at him from some dark corner.


    At this moment, Zheng Bo did the opposite of what was expected; without much thought, he stepped into the open bathroom, quickly shut the door behind him, and immediately locked it.


    He stood panting heavily at the bathroom door.


    The thumping of his heart felt like a loud bass drum echoing in his ears.


    ¡°That was close!¡± he whispered to himself, patting his chest.


    This action had been a sudden inspiration, and even Zheng Bo had to admire his own wit. Staying out in the bedroom would have been even more dangerous.


    Since the outside had become dangerous, the bathroom that he had so desperately avoided before had now become a safe haven.


    This was reverse thinking.


    However, Zheng Bo hadn¡¯t noticed that when he closed the bathroom door, the figure of a woman who had been crouching behind it was revealed.


    At this moment, with his side facing obliquely away from the door, Zheng Bo felt his trick had temporarily isolated him from the outside strangeness, and the fear in his heart was slowly subsiding.


    The key was to hold the door and prevent the strangeness outside from breaking through.


    He stepped backward unconsciously and then felt he stepped on something. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, a hair-raising sensation crawled all over his body, a bone-chilling cold emanating from behind him, as though his body had been plunged into an icy spring.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes widened, frozen, as the disheveled woman behind him slowly rose to her feet, her hair veiling her face mere inches from Zheng Bo¡¯s neck.


    Due to fear, Zheng Bo was completely stiffened; his eyes tried to look behind him, but his body at this moment simply wouldn¡¯t obey.


    The woman behind him slowly raised her emaciated hands, pushing away the black hair hanging over her face, revealing a pair of eyes with only whites showing. Her nose lacked a tip, leaving only two blood-clogged nostrils, and her lips were torn, revealing part of her upper gum.


    Zheng Bo felt like he was already a dead man, now devoid of breathing, with his heartbeat gone too, as the cold behind him intensified; already imagining the horrifying scene behind him.


    A warm stream suddenly flowed between his legs, soaking through his long underwear and dampening his cotton slippers.


    An icy touch came from his shoulder, a numbing cold sensation.


    The woman extended her hand, resting it on his shoulder, and leaned in close to Zheng Bo¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Uncle, I found you.¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    An unstoppable scream burst forth as Zheng Bo¡¯s blood pressure skyrocketed, his brain buzzed, and in an instant, it all went blank, and he collapsed, unconscious.


    Time passed.


    The morning sun shone through the closed curtains, warming up the room gradually.


    When Zheng Bo woke up, he found himself lying face-down on the bed with the blanket crushed underneath him.


    His head felt unbearably heavy, and his whole body was weak and cold.


    With great difficulty, he got up from the bed, looked down, and saw his pants were still wet, and the blanket was soaked through as well. Sleeping like this, his body surely had caught a cold.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 778 - 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)

    Chapter 778: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)


    Zheng Bo¡¯s face was exceptionally pale. Although his blood pressure had already come down, he still needed to take his medication as soon as possible.


    He got out of bed to look for his slippers but couldn¡¯t find them. He put on his socks first, changed into a clean set of underwear, and then finally found the same pair of wet slippers in the bathroom.


    When he opened the door of his bedroom, he found that the lock was still latched from the inside. Now his mind was in a fog, unsure whether the encounter from the night before had been a hallucination or a dream.


    But if it had been a dream, how could his slippers still be in the bathroom?


    However, Zheng Bo noticed that there were no signs of the two severed fingers he¡¯d seen on the bedroom floor the night before.


    He forced his aching body to stand, poured himself a glass of warm water, took a dose of antihypertensive medicine, and then sat down on the living room sofa to call the housekeeper he usually employed.


    About half an hour later, the housekeeper auntie rushed over. Since Zheng Bo had always paid her promptly and was a pleasant person to work for, the auntie was very attentive.


    When she arrived, she even brought him a bowl of hot porridge and a steamer of soup-filled buns. Zheng Bo sipped some hot porridge and nibbled on a couple of buns before he couldn¡¯t eat anymore, and he handed the housekeeper some money.


    ¡°Zou, could you please go out and buy me some cold medicine? I¡¯m aching all over, I don¡¯t have the energy, and I feel a bit dizzy. I¡¯m sorry to trouble you.¡±


    The housekeeper, called Zou, who was in the middle of changing the bed linens, took the money with concern, ¡°Mr. Zheng, you don¡¯t look well, perhaps you should go to the hospital to get checked out.¡±


    She had discovered during the bed linen change that Zheng Bo had wet the bed last night and was kindly reminding him.


    Zheng Bo shook his head but didn¡¯t respond.


    People of that age can be quite stubborn, so Zou didn¡¯t say anything further, promptly went downstairs to buy the medicine, and brought it back for Zheng Bo to take.


    After taking the medicine, Zheng Bo half-reclined on the couch, watching Zou bustling about, cleaning the bedroom, washing clothes and the bed sheets, and then hanging them out to dry.


    By noon, Zheng Bo handed Zou some more money for her to go down and get something to eat.


    After lunch, Zou brought him back a bowl of beef noodles, but Zheng Bo still had no appetite and only ate a few bites before putting it down.


    Watching the clock for the next round of medication, Zou prepared the afternoon antihypertensive and cold medicines for him before finally leaving.


    Zheng Bo had been lying on the sofa for half a day. After taking the medicine, a layer of sweat had broken out on his body, and he felt a slight relief. Slowly sitting up, his eyes turned towards the direction of the balcony and the office building across from it, marked with ¡°Ririshun Trading Company.¡±


    A moment later, glancing at the time, it was already half past two in the afternoon.


    Flipping off the thick blanket Zou had placed over him, he returned to the bedroom to dress, then went to the bathroom for another look, where everything was normal.


    He then went to his wardrobe and opened the door.


    The wardrobe door, which was completely intact, opened smoothly without any hesitation. He took out a jacket he seldom wore and found the keys in the pocket.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he took the keys out of the pocket and put them into the pocket of the clothes he was currently wearing, just to be safe. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he did these things, the images of what he had experienced the previous night occasionally flashed through his mind. The terror felt so real that Zheng Bo couldn¡¯t believe it was just a dream or a hallucination.


    He knew that something had definitely gone wrong, and the very thing he feared most had indeed started to happen since last night.


    Back in the living room, after putting on his shoes at the door, Zheng Bo felt for the keys and his cell phone in his pocket before locking the door and leaving.


    He didn¡¯t go far, just crossed the street to reach the Ririshun Trading Company on the other side.


    At the entrance, a security guard stopped him.


    ¡°Who are you looking for?¡±


    Zheng Bo said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for an Exorcist.¡±


    The security guard, taken aback, held out a hand to stop him, ¡°To find an Exorcist, dial 4747. This is a trading company; there is no Exorcist here.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 779 - 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)

    Chapter 779: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)


    Seeing the security guard keeping a tight watch on the entrance and staying tight-lipped, Zheng Bo squeezed a smile onto his face, ¡°I¡¯ve already found out, this is the office location for the Luguang Exorcist team. There¡¯s no mistake. Please make an exception¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Zheng Bo took a roll of money he had prepared in his pocket and handed it over inconspicuously.


    The guard did not accept it, instead asking with confusion, ¡°Who do you know here?¡±


    Zheng Bo shook his head, ¡°I asked someone to find out for me.¡±


    The guard waved his hand dismissively, ¡°If you don¡¯t know anyone here, please leave. I¡¯m not in charge here, and if I let you in, they¡¯d replace me at this security booth immediately.¡±


    Zheng Bo froze on the spot, his gaze shifting between the nearby office building and the guard standing before him.


    This guard was robust, at a height of one meter eighty, clearly not a regular residential security guard, and it was quite possible he was an ex-special forces soldier.


    Forcing his way in was certainly not an option, even if it could draw the attention of people in the office building. Doing so would not only fail to help him but leave a bad impression.


    Heaving a sigh, and after giving the young guard another look, Zheng Bo turned around and left.


    When he arrived at the first floor of his house, he didn¡¯t rush upstairs. Instead, seeing a tenant¡¯s door on the first floor open, he walked over.


    It was a young couple renting there. The man had gone out, leaving only his wife at home.


    As soon as she saw Zheng Bo coming, the woman greeted him with a smile, ¡°Uncle Zheng, are you going out for a stroll in the nice weather?¡±


    Zheng Bo smiled back and asked, ¡°Ya, did you hear any noises last night?¡±


    ¡°Last night?¡± The young woman thought for a moment, ¡°No! Uncle Zheng, did you hear something?¡±


    Zheng Bo shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m not certain. It just felt like I heard something while I was dreaming.¡±


    ¡°Then you must have been dreaming,¡± the young woman called Ya laughed. ¡°I¡¯m a light sleeper. The slightest noise wakes me up, but I didn¡¯t hear anything last night.¡±


    Zheng Bo nodded, then added after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°Alright, could you please keep an eye on my upstairs for the next few nights? I haven¡¯t been feeling well. If something¡¯s wrong, I might call for you.¡±


    Ya looked surprised, ¡°Uncle Zheng, if you¡¯re not feeling well, it¡¯s best to go to the hospital. That¡¯s safer. But we¡¯ll keep an eye out, and you can call me directly for anything. We¡¯ll come up as soon as we get the call.¡±


    Zheng Bo mused that he would like to make a call too, but if he really encountered strangeness, there would be no time for that. It¡¯d be quicker to shout out. Once the commotion was heard, the couple could run up.


    Of course, if he could shout from the balcony so that the Exorcists could hear him, that would be perfect.


    After all, witnesses catching spirit phenomena right across from the Exorcist team ¡ª they couldn¡¯t possibly ignore that.


    ¡°Uncle Zheng, you don¡¯t look well. Sit on the sofa and rest for a bit,¡± Ya said as she poured a cup of water for Zheng Bo and placed it in front of him. She then went behind him to place a soft cushion for more comfort.


    Then, Ya said somewhat apologetically, ¡°I want to go out to send a package, or I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t get sent out today. It¡¯s not far, just next door. Could you help me keep an eye on my house for a moment? The kettle is about to boil. If it does, could you please turn off the stove for me? I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°No problem, no problem. You go ahead,¡± Zheng Bo waved his hand, not wanting to return to the second floor just yet. Staying where people were around made him feel more settled.


    Ya stepped out swiftly with her parcel, and Zheng Bo sat for a while, sipping the hot water. Soon, the kettle on the stove began to whistle, its water boiling.


    Zheng Bo set down the cup, stood up to turn off the stove, and moved the kettle to the side.


    Glancing up, he saw clothes hanging in the room. Due to lack of space, the tenants normally dried their freshly washed laundry near the window for quick drying.


    His gaze lingered on Ya¡¯s undergarments. Looking at the open living room door and the still-empty house, with passersby outside unlikely to notice the goings-on inside.


    Zheng Bo walked over with his hands behind his back, reached out, and touched the underpants, gently rubbing them for a moment while a somewhat intoxicated expression came over his face.


    However, he still kept half his attention on the living room door, in case Ya suddenly came back.


    At that moment, Zheng Bo noticed a delicate bird-cage hanging next to the drying clothes.


    He remembered that Ya¡¯s husband seemed to like keeping birds, usually a thrush. Now the cage was covered with a cloth to allow the bird to rest undisturbed by the outside environment.


    Zheng Bo, driven by curiosity, pulled the cover aside slightly. The thrush within fluttered twice, shrank back, and hid in the darkness untampered by the cover. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing bird food on the windowsill, Zheng Bo picked up some, pinched between his forefinger and thumb, and began to feed it into the cage.


    ¡°Come on, little one, have some food.¡±


    The thrush, clearly frightened, kept hiding in the darkness, refusing to come out, with only occasional movements of its head visible.


    Zheng Bo reached further in, coaxing, ¡°Come on, eat up.¡±


    From beneath the darkness of the cover, the thrush still didn¡¯t approach, but suddenly, a dark, bluish hand reached out and grabbed two of Zheng Bo¡¯s fingers.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Startled, Zheng Bo shuddered violently, instinctively trying to pull his fingers free.


    But the bluish hand gripped him unyieldingly tight, preventing his retreat, and slowly its sharp nails began to pierce Zheng Bo¡¯s skin, drawing blood.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 780 - 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 780: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_2


    Just at this moment, Ya, who had just returned from sending a parcel at the door, was startled by the scene before her eyes as she entered the room.


    The dark bruises on the hand instantly released its grip and retracted into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.


    It was only then that Zheng Bo finally managed to pull his bleeding finger out of the birdcage.


    ¡°Uncle Zheng, your finger¡­ it¡¯s been pecked¡­¡± Ya hurriedly ran over.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was just careless,¡± Zheng Bo said, shaking his head while his face was pale and still showing signs of fear, as he quickly stepped out of the door, not letting Ya examine his injury, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll just put on a Band-Aid when I get back, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Ya to ask further, he hurried upstairs.


    He had been feeling a bit of a cold, and now with the shocks and scares, the feeling of weakness in his body returned. Once home, he washed the wound under the tap, then applied a couple of Band-Aids.


    About a minute later, the Band-Aid was soaked through with fresh blood, and Zheng Bo had to change it again.


    After changing it four or five times, the bleeding finally stopped. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but at this moment Zheng Bo was still shaking uncontrollably. He was not concerned about the injury, but was terribly frightened by the hand inside the birdcage.


    The incident moments ago had successfully triggered his memories from the previous night, proving that he was definitely not dreaming or hallucinating.


    After taking a few pills, lying on the couch, Zheng Bo¡¯s body was still trembling. He had locked the door to the bedroom and the front door of the living room, leaving only the door to the balcony open.


    Although it was still afternoon, the lights in the living room were all turned on, ensuring the room was brightly lit, with no dark corners.


    He covered himself with a thick blanket on the couch, but still felt cold inside. He had not rested well the night before, and now, despite his efforts to sleep, he found it impossible to do so.


    His heart kept pounding rapidly; even though he had taken medication, his blood pressure was certainly still high.


    Creak¡ª


    At that moment, Zheng Bo noticed the cabinet door of the TV stand, where the TV was placed, suddenly opened. He quickly covered his head with the blanket, leaving only a small gap that allowed him to peek out.


    The cabinet door of the TV stand didn¡¯t open completely, it was just halfway open, so that the gap created was level with Zheng Bo¡¯s position as he lay. Then, the door stopped moving.


    The thick blanket covering Zheng Bo was trembling along with his body, and from within the dark cabinet door, two white eyeballs suddenly appeared, rolling around and staring out.


    To be precise, they were staring in the direction of Zheng Bo, hidden under the blanket.


    Besides those two white eyeballs, one could vaguely see a few toes sticking out from under the opened door, motionless, without crawling out.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s heartbeat picked up again, and although he was under the thick blanket, he didn¡¯t dare make any movements, peering through the slight gap he left, at the unsettling pair of white eyes.


    Soon, he started feeling a growing chill on his back, as if the blanket was not tightly covering him, or perhaps it had been opened.


    All sorts of guesses flooded his mind, even speculating that he might have fallen asleep and that everything he was seeing was a dream.


    However, the pair of eyes inside the cabinet soon snapped him back to reality. He had not fallen asleep, everything was real, and inside the cabinet, there was truly a strangeness watching him.


    Sweating profusely with a rising sense of chill at his back, he felt increasingly that the blanket was not covering him properly. He wanted to reach out and feel it but could not muster the courage to move.


    His gaze fixated on the eyes inside the cabinet door, Zheng Bo was certain that since he was hidden under the blanket, in the darkness, the white eyes outside couldn¡¯t know that he was also watching it.


    As he was conjecturing in the dark, all of a sudden, a face appeared from above, leaning down towards the gap of the blanket, staring unwaveringly into Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes.


    The features on this face were upside down, clearly indicating it had been standing by the sofa all along, and now it had suddenly bent over to look into the blanket at Zheng Bo.


    Zheng Bo was so frightened by this sudden appearance, so close at hand, that he shuddered violently and nearly wet himself again.


    He had no chance to scream, everything went black before his eyes, his mind went blank, and he passed out.


    ¡­


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    After an indeterminate amount of time, a series of knocks on the door woke Zheng Bo up, who was in a daze. He opened his eyes to find darkness around him, and it was only then that he realized he was still under the covers.


    The thick blanket had caused him to sweat profusely, soaking his clothes through.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    The knocking continued, but Zheng Bo did not immediately throw off the blanket; instead, he made a small opening to continue looking out.


    The lights in the living room outside the blanket were still on, the TV cabinet door was closed, and there seemed to be nothing amiss.


    Zheng Bo slowly lifted a corner of the blanket; his sweat had even dampened the fabric sofa. He was parched, feeling as though he could guzzle down a pitcher of water.


    Thump! Thump!


    ¡°Is anybody there?¡± a voice came from outside the door at that moment.


    Zheng Bo then remembered someone had been knocking. He glanced around, no longer seeing anything out of the ordinary.


    He quickly threw off the blanket and sat up, put on his slippers, and called out, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The Exorcist.¡± came the reply from outside.


    Zheng Bo was taken aback, followed by a wave of relief in his heart. He glanced in the direction of the office building across from the balcony.


    Without giving it much thought, he hurriedly got up, went to the door, and opened it.


    Standing outside was a young man with a smile, who pointed to the other side as Zheng Bo opened the door, ¡°I came from across there. I saw you speaking with the security guard today, and it didn¡¯t seem to go well. I asked him, and he said that you were planning to go to our place to file a complaint.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 781 - 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 781: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_3


    ¡°Mm, yes, right, I¡¯m here to report an incident, there¡¯s strangeness in this place, not just one spirit¡­ I had no choice but to seek you out¡­¡± Zheng Bo immediately stepped back to let the young man into the house, all the while continuing to explain.


    The young man walked into the living room, looking around: ¡°Why are you sweating so much? Your clothes are soaked.¡±


    Zheng Bo looked down at himself and forced a smile: ¡°I¡¯ll go change in the bedroom, please wait a moment, I¡¯ll be right out.¡±


    Although he felt weak and powerless, at this moment, Zheng Bo was as energized as if he were injected with adrenaline, quickly returning to the bedroom to change clothes before hurrying back to the living room, pouring water for the young man while asking.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Exorcist, I appreciate you coming to take a look. I don¡¯t know if you¡­¡±


    The young man took the glass of water, took out his Exorcist Badge, and wagged it in front of Zheng Bo before sitting down.


    Now certain the other was genuinely an exorcist, Zheng Bo rushed to say: ¡°Please help me, I don¡¯t know what to do! Money is not an issue, as long as you can get rid of the strangeness here for me, I¡¯m also willing to pay you extra.¡±


    The young man set down his cup and nodded: ¡°I¡¯ve had a quick look, and indeed, there¡¯s a presence of strangeness in this house. However, spirits are typically quite cunning, and they might not appear now that I¡¯m here,¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Zheng Bo looked at him anxiously.


    ¡°Here¡¯s what, I¡¯ll give you something to keep on you at all times, and if a spirit appears and threatens you, you can crush this item to kill it.¡±


    As the young man spoke, he took out a button-like object and placed it on the table.


    Upon seeing the item, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes lit up. He had heard that exorcists sometimes used objects similar to buttons, with considerable power, when dealing with spirits. So it was true.


    It appeared that the Exorcist truly intended to help him because the button was obviously a talisman.


    He quickly grabbed it in his hand, repeatedly thanking the young man.


    Seeing this, the young man hurriedly cautioned: ¡°Be careful not to squeeze it too hard and set it off prematurely. Wait until the critical moment to use it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Zheng Bo carefully placed the button in his pocket. ¡°But what if it doesn¡¯t kill the entity?¡±


    The young exorcist replied: ¡°This object is very powerful; it cannot fail to kill. If it really can¡¯t kill the spirit, it will at least grievously wound it. After the wounding, come find me first thing tomorrow morning across the street, and I will take care of the spirit for you. But trust me, it¡¯s highly unlikely that will happen.¡±


    Zheng Bo felt relieved. He seemed to remember something and immediately went to the bedroom, returning shortly with a stack of cash in hand, which he stuffed into the young man¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°How can I accept this?¡± The young exorcist said as he declined, but he had already taken the money and put it in his pocket.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Zheng Bo said with a forced smile: ¡°If I need to find you tomorrow, how should I address you?¡±


    ¡°Just ask for¡­ Yan Junze.¡± The young man didn¡¯t linger any longer and got up to leave.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t dare to speak to detain him, although he wished the exorcist would just stay in the house and not leave. He knew better than to make his helper unhappy, or his problems would remain unaddressed.


    After the exorcist left, Zheng Bo¡¯s heart settled, and he pulled out the Hidden Buckle from his pocket, bringing it close to his face to examine it carefully. It was certainly not an ordinary button, finely crafted with seamless joints, and it seemed to be wrapped with a powerful energy. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He felt that as long as he was willing, with a single pinch, the object would break open, releasing the exorcising energy to mark the end for those spirits!


    At that moment, Zheng Bo clenched his teeth bitterly and thought to himself, if that bitch and her child dared to appear again, he would definitely kill them.


    As long as he had the strength, even spirits wouldn¡¯t be spared his wrath.


    ¡°Dead and still daring to come for me! I¡¯ll make sure you know, even as spirits, you¡¯ll never escape my grasp in this lifetime.¡±


    Remembering he hadn¡¯t eaten much that day, although he didn¡¯t feel hungry, Zheng Bo still searched the house for something to eat. But he quickly froze.


    He clearly remembered the porridge and soup buns that cleaner Zou had bought him this morning, which he had not finished, and the bowl of beef noodles he purchased at noon were now nowhere to be seen!


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 782 - 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)

    Chapter 782: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)


    Zheng Bo stood in the middle of the living room, his face filled with confusion.


    He remembered that after Cleaner Zou brought over the porridge and stuffed buns, he had taken a few bites, but since he had no appetite, he asked her to put them on the table. Now, there was nothing on it.


    He had also only taken a few bites of the beef noodle soup, and for the same reason of lacking appetite, he had set it aside.


    However, the beef noodle soup wouldn¡¯t be good if left too long, so it was possible that Zou had thrown it away, but the porridge and stuffed buns could have easily been reheated in the microwave, and the usually frugal Zou wouldn¡¯t have discarded them.


    Zheng Bo thought perhaps he had overlooked them, so he searched the kitchen again, looking through the fridge and the cabinets, but saw nothing.


    Maybe Zou really had thrown them away. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This woman, when did she start being so wasteful!¡± Zheng Bo cursed under his breath.


    It was the thought of food that crossed his mind because he realized he hadn¡¯t eaten much the entire day. Although he wasn¡¯t hungry due to his weakness, it didn¡¯t mean his body didn¡¯t need replenishing with energy.


    After pondering for a moment, he opened a pack of oatmeal, brewed it with boiling water, and drank it down in a few gulps.


    Now that he had the Hidden Buckle in his pocket, he felt a sense of assurance even when he was alone at home¡ªa boost of confidence.


    Looking up and seeing the light emanating from the Exorcist¡¯s office building across the street, Zheng Bo felt an increased sense of security.


    He checked the time. Although he had been scared unconscious by that woman¡¯s face, it seemed he had slept for about two hours.


    Now as he recalled that face, it seemed somewhat similar to Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s, the second of the triplets. Although when he had killed her, her face had been almost unrecognizable, and Zheng Bo was sure that even their mother in the underworld wouldn¡¯t be able to identify her, there was still a vaguely familiar feeling when he saw it just now.


    And according to his guess, the woman curled up inside the TV cabinet must have been Zhuang Wenhui, whom he had forced to hide during those last days.


    This woman, even after death, retained her nature, turning into a ghost that liked to hide away.


    Zheng Bo smirked, recalling his previous encounters. Although there was still some fear in his heart, the Hidden Buckle in his pocket felt like a Soul-Setting Bead. Knowing he had a way to deal with the spirit, he was no longer as panicked as before.


    However, it was necessary to prepare for the worst. Tonight, Zheng Bo decided not to return to his bedroom to sleep, as the bedroom was too far from the balcony and not as convenient as the living room.


    If something happened that even the Hidden Buckle couldn¡¯t handle, he figured it would be better to yell toward the building across from the balcony door, which was much better than being trapped and frightened in the bedroom, urinating in his pants the previous night.


    He went to the bedroom to fetch his phone charger, pillow, and other items, then made sure he had the house keys on him, closed the bedroom door, and locked it from the outside with the key.


    If a ghost appeared in the bedroom in the evening, at least it wouldn¡¯t be able to get out for the time being.


    To feel even more secure, Zheng Bo also closed the kitchen door. Since it was a sliding door, he had to prop it shut with two overlapped stools.


    Finally, he came to the door leading to the balcony and gave it a gentle tug. He didn¡¯t plan on closing it tightly, making sure it could be opened with one pull, and he didn¡¯t draw the curtain on the window either.


    This way, he could see the building across the street as soon as he opened his eyes, adding to his sense of safety.


    After making all the preparations, he checked the time on his phone, and it was already past eleven o¡¯clock at night.


    Despite having dozed off for two hours, he wasn¡¯t particularly sleepy now. However, he felt weak, his head constantly groggy, his limbs aching and powerless, and in everything he did, he felt a hollowness within.


    After sitting on the sofa for a while, he decided it was best to rest early to recuperate fully.


    Before going to sleep, he took a few pills for blood pressure, then when he was about to take some cold medicine, he couldn¡¯t find it, though he searched high and low.


    After rummaging through the basket where he usually stored medicines and not finding it there, nor on the table or the TV cabinet, he still couldn¡¯t find it.


    Zheng Bo stood still and tried to recall, but he simply couldn¡¯t remember where he had put the cold medicine he had bought that morning.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been thrown away by that silly woman, Zou, could it?¡± he muttered to himself.


    With no other option, since the pharmacy was already closed, he made himself a cup of warm water and drank it slowly, trying to sweat it out, even though he had already perspired enough for the day.


    Returning to the sofa, he lay down and covered himself with a thick blanket.


    Turning off the lights was out of the question. Zheng Bo even felt the living room light wasn¡¯t bright enough, so he let it stay on all night.


    He wasn¡¯t in the mood to check his phone before bed anymore. Curled up on the sofa, he seemed lost in thought, lightly clutching the Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    Silence enveloped both inside and outside the house.


    After nightfall, Spring Wind Street was the same as any other street, with hardly a person in sight except for patrol vehicles. The house was quiet, and the outside was just as silent.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep, but as his consciousness gradually returned, he realized the surroundings had turned dark.


    The living room lights had gone out at some point, and only the streetlights outside cast their glow into the room.


    Seeing this scene, Zheng Bo¡¯s heart jolted, and any sleepiness vanished. Although he had just woken up, his mind instantly became alert, his heart brimming with caution.


    It was the same the previous night¡ªthe bedroom lights had turned off directly¡ªand now the living room lights had gone out. It was too much of a coincidence.


    He curled up and slowly covered his head with the blanket, leaving only a small slit to observe the situation, while the grip on the Hidden Buckle in his hand tightened.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 783 - 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_2

    Chapter 783: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_2


    Because there was light on the street, it was still possible to see the surrounding environment through the haze, and after an indeterminate wait, no sounds were heard.


    Just as Zheng Bo thought that maybe only the living room light was broken, there was a click, a strange noise coming from the direction of the bedroom door.


    He immediately widened his eyes, adjusted his gaze to look through the gap in the blanket, and peered carefully.


    In the dimness, he saw the door handle of the bedroom being pressed down by some force, but because he had already locked the bedroom door with a key, the door handle was pushed down without the bedroom door opening.


    There were two more clicks, and then the door handle made no more noise.


    However, as the bedroom doorknob was pressed down to no avail, a scraping noise suddenly came from the direction of the kitchen.


    Someone was inside the kitchen, pushing the sliding door.


    Because Zheng Bo had obstructed the sliding door with two chairs in advance, the process of opening the door would inevitably push the chairs backward, making a friction noise against the floor.


    This scraping noise was actually not loud, but in the darkness of the night, it was excruciatingly piercing to Zheng Bo¡¯s ears.


    He hurriedly adjusted the angle of the blanket¡¯s gap to look in the direction of the kitchen.


    Since that direction was close to the living room¡¯s door to the balcony, the light from the street was a bit more sufficient.


    In his line of sight, he saw that the sliding door had been opened a bit, and five long and black fingers had extended through the crack in the door, the nails sharp and pointed, gripping the door panel.


    The nails had embedded into the door panel, making a cracking sound, and a force was pushing the sliding door to one side.


    Click, click, click¡­


    The two overlapping chairs were being pushed outward as the gap in the sliding door opened wider and wider.


    Zheng Bo then saw an arm stretch out from inside the kitchen, and as the door continued to be pushed, a stooped female figure squeezed out completely.


    After the woman came out, she walked to the two overlapping chairs and silently picked them up.


    At the same moment, Zheng Bo suddenly felt the blanket that was covering him pulled at once.


    The pull came from below, as if something was lying next to his feet.


    Zheng Bo stayed motionless, and then felt someone crawling up the blanket; the person was light in weight, but he could still sense the movement and speed of the crawling.


    Getting closer and closer to the top, moving nearer to his head. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could imagine a creepy woman crawling on the outside of the blanket, slowly approaching him.


    Gripping the Hidden Buckle tightly in his palm, Zheng Bo covered his entire head with the blanket.


    He was waiting for an opportunity; it now appeared that at least three strangenesses were in his room, which should be the triplet sisters.


    To release the power of the Hidden Buckle, he had to wait until the three strangenesses gathered or came close to him so that he could ensure that he took them all out at once, rather than killing just one or two and leaving one behind to bring endless revenge.


    Currently, only the strangeness on the blanket was close to him, so it was not the best time to activate the Hidden Buckle.


    Hiding under the blanket, he waited again, and the strangeness lying on top of the blanket seemed to stop moving.


    Just as Zheng Bo was continuing his observation, the blanket on him was suddenly yanked down, revealing his upper body.


    Zheng Bo shivered unexpectedly, his eyes wide open, looking above him.


    Right above where he lay, a woman was staring at him closely, silent, with a slightly tilted head and somewhat distorted facial features. It was obviously her who had pulled away the blanket just now.


    At this moment, because his face was too close to that horrifying face, Zheng Bo almost burst the Hidden Buckle.


    At such a close distance, he recognized the woman who had pulled off his blanket; it should be Zhuang Wenhui.


    Meanwhile, the woman who had emerged from the kitchen had placed the two chairs in front of the sofa. She turned around, tiptoed to get another chair, and lined it up in front of the sofa.


    Zhuang Wenhui, who was above Zheng Bo¡¯s body, slowly retreated and stood up from the other end of the sofa.


    He twisted his head to look at the woman placing the third chair and recognized her as Zhuang Wenjing.


    And just then, the door of the TV cabinet opened, and a distorted figure with long hair slowly crawled out from that obviously too-small space.


    Zheng Bo could never have imagined that the strangeness hiding in the TV cabinet would turn out to be Zhuang Wenxian, the eldest of the triplets.


    All three sisters appeared at once, but there was no sign of their mother, Zhong Qing.


    It seemed that Zhong Qing had not turned into a strangeness, or if she had, she had not found him.


    The three sisters silently walked to the front of the three chairs and then sat down slowly, with their backs to Zheng Bo on the sofa.


    Zheng Bo found himself sitting up uncontrollably, his head getting heavier and heavier. As he straightened his body without control, he faced the backs of the three sisters.


    Although he was terrified at this moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of excitement upon seeing this scene, because the three sisters were now close together. If he acted now, he would definitely annihilate them all.


    Opportunity knocks but once. Just as Zheng Bo was about to burst the Hidden Buckle, Zhuang Wenxian, who was sitting in the middle, suddenly spoke, ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Zheng Bo was taken aback. Like Yan Junze when he first heard this phrase, he was bewildered.


    However, Zheng Bo did not intend to answer these eerie questions. The opportunity was right before his eyes and he couldn¡¯t let it slip away.


    Without responding, his right hand began to tighten, ready to burst the Hidden Buckle.


    But the moment his right hand exerted force, Zheng Bo suddenly felt something wrong; a sharp pain erupted in his stomach, and looking down, he saw a lump swelling up on the surface of his abdomen.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 784 - 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_3

    Chapter 784: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_3


    He was terrified, hurriedly increasing the strength in his right hand to quickly activate Hidden Buckle and destroy the three sisters gathered before him.


    But the harder he tried, the faster the tumor grew, rapidly reaching its limit.


    With a loud bang, the tumor burst open, Zheng Bo cried out in agony, his right hand slackened, and he almost dropped the Hidden Buckle to the floor.


    It was only then that he realized his whole body was not just stiff; if he forced himself to move, his body would mutate like it had just done.


    If he didn¡¯t move, he couldn¡¯t crush the Hidden Buckle, and if the sisters remained unvanquished, an even greater disaster awaited him, so he had to force himself to move.


    Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth against the wound in his stomach and once more clenched his right hand tightly.


    This time, a tumor rapidly formed on his thigh, and under his force, it exploded with a popping sound, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.


    Zheng Bo screamed in pain, stopping in his tracks with determination, and then continued to exert force.


    He could feel his right hand¡¯s fingers had already tightened around Hidden Buckle in his palm; just a bit more force and it would immediately burst.


    On the other thigh, a third tumor started to swell, and this one was much larger.


    ¡°It¡¯s about to burst!¡± Zheng Bo watched the tumor swell, disregarding everything else as he sweated profusely and forcefully clenched his fingers.


    Bang!


    The tumor on his thigh burst at the same time the Hidden Buckle in his hand was finally crushed and activated.


    Boom!


    An even louder noise erupted as the Hidden Buckle exploded, releasing a thick white mist that enveloped Zheng Bo¡¯s body in ice-cold chill in less than a second.


    Crackling sounds of ice forming could be heard; the air around Zheng Bo almost froze solid as his limbs became immobile, and his body instantaneously turned into a frozen stick figure.


    High-Energy Chilling was triggered!


    Zheng Bo never imagined that after crushing the Hidden Buckle, it would encase him in ice.


    And what was eerie, after being frozen by the Chilling, he did not pass out but instead started to float in mid-air above the couch, like a weightless speck of dust.


    The three sisters in front of him were no longer sitting but slowly getting up, turning around to stare blankly at Zheng Bo, suspended in the air.


    Suddenly, all the doors in the house opened soundlessly.


    Zheng Bo watched in horror as his body floated toward the dark bedroom and then to the bathroom door.


    On the bathroom floor lay a man in pajamas and thermal pants, motionless, apparently long dead.


    Beneath the man was a patch of dried stain, clearly urine.


    Upon seeing this scene in the bathroom, Zheng Bo was startled, all the memories of the day surged to his mind, and then those images started to crumble before his eyes like photographs disintegrating.


    ¡­


    Thump, thump, thump.


    ¡°Mr. Zheng, it¡¯s me, Zou, here to clean your house,¡± came a knocking from outside the door in the morning.


    Zheng Bo stood stiffly in front of the couch, his face ashen, his pupils white, and his eyes lifelessly staring at the rattling door of the living room.


    He had no intention of going to open the door.


    ¡°Mr. Zheng, are you out?¡±


    The knocking continued for a while, and the cleaning lady Zou seemed quite confused, muttering to herself outside the door.


    After failing to get a response, footsteps receded, and Zou left downstairs.


    Zheng Bo remained standing in front of the couch, expressionless, and without any breath, he opened his mouth to say, indistinctly, ¡°Zou, please go get me some cold medicine, my whole body aches, I don¡¯t have the strength, and I¡¯m feeling a bit dizzy¡­¡±


    The voice was vague and echoed eerily around the room.


    The scene faded, and another emerged before his eyes.


    ¡­


    Zheng Bo, pale-faced, stood outside the entrance of Ririshun Trading Company, while the tall security guard at the door seemed to look right through him as if he was invisible.


    Zheng Bo stood at the doorway for a moment, then walked inside; the guard didn¡¯t react at all, even his gaze didn¡¯t linger as it slid over Zheng Bo.


    However, when he was about to enter the door, a strong magnetic field flashed, repelling Zheng Bo several meters away.


    Zheng Bo got up from the ground, his complexion turning to a deathly pallor.


    Still expressionless, he stood in place, arms hanging by his sides, staring at the entrance of Ririshun Trading Company.


    Sometime later, he turned and slowly walked towards his home, his steps stiff and arms motionless.


    At the door of the downstairs tenant, Zheng Bo peered inside.


    Ya was just coming out with a package in hand.


    ¡°Ya, are you going out?¡± Zheng Bo asked in a stilted tone. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ya, as if she didn¡¯t see him, brushed past and walked away.


    Zheng Bo watched her leave, then looked inside the open door, paused, and without a word, proceeded upstairs.


    The scene collapsed again, disintegrated.


    ¡­


    Wrapped in Chilling, Zheng Bo floated in the air, looking at the corpse in the bathroom, his shock was indescribable.


    It took a long time before a thought surfaced from deep within: ¡°So it turns out, I¡¯ve been dead all along!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 785 - 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 785: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)


    Only when he saw his own corpse did the memories belonging to Zheng Bo after his death finally return.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out why he couldn¡¯t remember anything, but now the only thing he was sure of was that he had already died on the night when the three sisters appeared in his bedroom.


    The body lay in the bathroom, having been there for a full day.


    What had awakened the next day was just the current Strange Body, and all the memories, including the janitor Zou coming to clean, taking care of him, buying breakfast and medicine for him, were all imagined out of the instinct of an ordinary person who hadn¡¯t realized he was already dead.


    Moreover, he hadn¡¯t been able to communicate with the security guard at the entrance of the Exorcists¡¯ office building because the latter couldn¡¯t see him. He hadn¡¯t spoken with Ya, the tenant downstairs, for the same reason.


    He had died, he had been dead long ago!


    Not only had he died, his memory was unclear, and he continued to suffer from the shocks of the three sisters, who were also strange beings.


    Feeling the pain in his thigh, in his stomach, the sensation of pain was still there, but at this moment, Zheng Bo knew he wasn¡¯t injured, that he was already incapable of being hurt.


    Wrong!


    He could be hurt, even though he was a Strange Body, but now, after the Hidden Buckle burst open¡­


    ¡°Why? Why have I been sealed? I¡¯m already a strangeness, so why can I still activate the Hidden Buckle?¡±


    The questions in his heart suddenly surged, turning into intense magnetic field fluctuations, transmitting directly into the mind of the young man standing at the entrance of the bedroom.


    ¡°Because I deliberately made you do it,¡± the young man suddenly said.


    Zheng Bo heard the voice, which sounded familiar. He wanted to turn his head to see who it was, but his body was out of control, still floating in mid-air.


    However, the young man caused the frozen stick figure to slowly rotate, allowing Zheng Bo to see himself, and slowly said.


    ¡°I intentionally scared you to death with the three sisters, forced out your Strange Body, even though you might not have turned into a strangeness at all. It was also me who deliberately disturbed your initially formed and still unstable magnetic field, preventing you from forming a complete memory after death. And indeed, you can¡¯t touch the Hidden Buckle, but I¡¯ve wrapped it with a domain field, deliberately triggering it for you. This way, this High-Energy Chilling can perfectly seal your Strange Body.¡±


    As the young man spoke, Zheng Bo finally saw clearly that this person was the Exorcist who had given him the Hidden Buckle.


    ¡°You are¡­ Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°Yan Junze.¡± The young man approached as he spoke, ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you about this, I truly am an Exorcist. However, this time, I¡¯ve chosen to stand on the side of the strangenesses, to help Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui.¡±


    As he spoke, Zheng Bo saw the three sisters standing behind Yan Junze, bowing their heads slightly, their white pupils looking at him.


    Yan Junze casually raised his hand and gently grasped the floating Zheng Bo, bringing him closer.


    ¡°Do you know why I used High-Energy Chilling to freeze you? High-Energy Chilling can not only freeze strangenesses, but if it isn¡¯t undone in three days, your Strange Body will start to melt gradually. This melting is slow, hmm, maybe a month, maybe a year, depending on how long you can hold out. Starting from the melting of the Strange Body, you will feel pain, slowly, increasingly severe, until eventually you completely dissolve.¡±


    Speaking, Yan Junze pushed the floating Zheng Bo forward, leaving the bedroom and entering the living room.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s slight magnetic fluctuations were all that remained now, as his entire body was incapacitated, unable to make any other movements, his expression frozen.


    They passed through the living room, heading towards the balcony.


    Arriving on the balcony, Yan Junze stopped the drifting Zheng Bo, employed a Control Field to lock the Strange Body and the scant magnetic field he was emitting firmly on the balcony, and faced it towards the Exorcists¡¯ office building.


    ¡°You intentionally hid here, hoping they would protect you, right?¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°From now on, sit here day and night, watching them, while you experience the suffering of your body slowly melting away.¡±


    He patted the frozen human stick, ¡°Try hard, they might still find you! Oh right, I forgot you are a strangeness now. If they really find you, you¡¯d better pray for yourself.¡±


    Zheng Bo¡¯s Strange magnetic field was completely locked, he was unable to convey any thoughts to Yan Junze, merely staring blankly at the office building across the street, like a dead tree.


    The three sisters quickly dealt with Zheng Bo¡¯s corpse.


    Having left Spring Wind Street, Yan Junze walked alone on the deserted street.


    He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave, but ambled along as if taking a stroll.


    The street, lying on the outskirts of the city, was deserted at this hour¡ªnot a soul in sight, nor a car in motion, making hailing a taxi impossible.


    Yan Junze thus walked alone. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The empty street, the cooling breeze, he tightened his collar, looking back, the second floor of Zheng Bo¡¯s house was no longer visible.


    For the foreseeable future, let this wretch¡¯s Strange Body enjoy melting and separation, experiencing the torment piece by piece, to see how long he can endure until finally reaching the moment of becoming scared witless.


    The three sisters were now nowhere to be seen, perhaps in need of some release. Yan Junze didn¡¯t concern himself with them.


    At this moment, probably only someone like Yan Junze would dare to wander the streets alone.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 786 - 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 786: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_2


    After leaving Spring Wind Street, he arrived at the main road leading to the city center, and it wasn¡¯t long before a taxi approached.


    He flagged it down.


    The taxi began to slow down, but instead of pulling over right away, the driver rolled down the window to cautiously check out Yan Junze.


    Until he could confirm whether the person standing by the road was a strangeness or a regular person, the driver didn¡¯t seem inclined to open the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± the driver asked.


    In his experience, strangenesses that could speak fluent human language were rare, mostly the silent types. It was easy to tell if someone was a regular person by conversing with them.


    Of course, there were also strangenesses that didn¡¯t talk but directly got into the vehicle. This driver brother had encountered one before; the car hadn¡¯t even stopped when the entity boarded, and he didn¡¯t see how it got in. Then he found someone sitting upright in the back seat.


    The driver broke into a cold sweat on the spot and dared not ask more questions, merely driving forward. The person in the backseat also remained silent, and after at least seven blocks, they vanished, saying ¡°thank you¡± before departing.


    It¡¯s clear, not all strangenesses are out to harm people all the time; their obsessions are often tied to a particular area or a certain type of person.


    Taking a taxi could simply be to reduce the expenditure of energy from their unnatural magnetic field.


    However, there are indeed strangenesses that specialize in indiscriminate killings of taxi passengers, but these are typically the prime targets for exorcists, who deal with them immediately without need for a queue, as soon as they are reported.


    Such strangenesses are akin to serial killers among humans, exceedingly rare.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯m going to the West Ring Asia Hotel,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    The taxi driver nodded, unlocked the door, and Yan Junze climbed into the back seat.


    Looking in the rear-view mirror, the driver started the car and asked, ¡°Why are you out so late on the streets? We taxi drivers rarely come to this district normally; it¡¯s a bit out of the way. And the people here are so mixed, it¡¯s easy for strangeness to stir up¡­¡±


    ¡°Dealing with some matters,¡± Yan Junze rubbed his temple, seeking to put the driver at ease, ¡°I¡¯m an exorcist.¡±


    As soon as the words fell, the taxi noticeably jolted. The taxi driver¡¯s heart eased, and he cheerfully exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. Mr. Exorcist, you¡¯re out exorcising so late at night, must be tough on you!¡±


    Yan Junze just smiled and didn¡¯t speak.


    The driver continued, ¡°You must have come from the XFZ Fortress Community, right? I hardly ever go there; it¡¯s too remote, and the mix of people makes it an easy breeding ground for strangeness¡­¡±


    All along the way, Yan Junze didn¡¯t engage in the conversation and certainly didn¡¯t tell him that, in fact, XFZ was the safest area within the Aries City District.


    Soon they entered the city center, but since the West Ring Asia Hotel was near the airport, Yan Junze had booked it there for the convenience of catching a plane the next day; thus, the taxi had to pass through half the city.


    ¡°Mr. Exorcist, how many strangenesses have you exorcised? Was there one in XFZ just now?¡±


    Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°Would it be possible to add you as a friend?¡± The driver grew increasingly excited as he spoke, one hand holding a phone, almost turning his head around. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Stop following me,¡± Yan Junze suddenly spoke, his voice deep, his eyes looking out the window.


    The driver hesitated, asking, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, are you talking to me?¡±


    ¡°No, just mind your business,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, not looking at him.


    The driver immediately felt guilty, looking around through the rear-view mirror with a nervous expression but didn¡¯t dare to speak again.


    ¡°Just focus on your driving, it¡¯s fine,¡± Yan Junze advised seemingly kindly.


    The driver, even more anxious, mechanically nodded, not daring to make a sound in response.


    Finally, calmness settled in the car, and it quickly made its way through the city district toward the airport.


    Upon arriving at the destination and getting out of the car, the driver took the money without counting and continued to look around nervously, finally asking Yan Junze, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, is there¡­ nothing unclean in my car?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the back seat.


    As he did so, fear gripped the driver¡¯s heart; he quickly looked back as well.


    Yan Junze nodded: ¡°The cover on the back seat is somewhat dirty, time for a wash.¡±


    The driver: ¡°¡­¡±


    After returning to the hotel and taking a shower, he laid in bed, and by this time, the three sisters were already standing crookedly at the edge of the bed.


    Yan Junze looked at the atlas in his mind. Although he couldn¡¯t see the entire picture, with the current situation, at least half of it was revealed and illuminated.


    Looking at the 12th node, where the Back-Faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and the Crawler Monster were bound; Xiang Er was also in lockdown but she mostly stayed within the perfect female corpse.


    He turned his gaze to the three sisters standing by the bed and said, ¡°Your greatest obsessions have now been resolved. If you don¡¯t mind, you can follow me from now on.¡±


    The three sisters showed no response, just standing there without leaving.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I am going to lock you down now. During this process, do not resist. Especially Zhuang Wenxian, if you¡¯re unwilling, I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wenxian nodded her head.


    These three sisters were triplets who died together, surely bound to each other. To lockdown them, any opposition from any of them would make it impossible for Yan Junze to succeed.


    The most critical part was that Zhuang Wenxian was a true Ethereal Spirit. If she resisted, Yan Junze would be absolutely unable to lock them down successfully.


    The next second, Yan Junze activated the [Evil Spirit Solid Lock].


    The space around him shook violently, Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui disappeared first, while Zhuang Wenxian, closest to Yan Junze, trembled as her formidable power uncontrollably produced a natural resistance at that moment.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 787 - 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 787: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3


    Zhuang Wenxian realized this in an instant. She forcibly reined in the strong aura around her, and her figure slowly shrank and disappeared.


    In the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, a slightly larger miniature emerged, containing the shadows of three young women, the three sisters.


    Of course, just like when Yan Junze first established a Lockdown over the Sculpting Spirits, they could have forced their way out of Lockdown then, such as the Ugly Girl, Xiang Er. But now that his own strength had improved, the Sculpting Spirits could no longer appear forcibly.


    But now what was under Lockdown was the Ethereal Spirit. With the likes of Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s strength, as long as she wanted to come out, she could do so on her own.


    After some thought, Yan Junze released all the strangenesses under Lockdown, allowing them to get to know each other and meet new friends. Especially when introducing Ke¡¯er to the three sisters, he emphasized it strongly.


    This mother and daughter had a special relationship with him, which both Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster could see. Sometimes, when Yan Junze was not present, the Crawler Monster would even curry favor with the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    As expected, including the Back-faced Woman, the strangenesses previously under Lockdown showed a sense of fear when facing the three sisters.


    In this set of triplets, the youngest sister Zhuang Wenhui was already a Sculpting Spirit, Zhuang Wenjing was a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, and the eldest Zhuang Wenxian was a true Ethereal Spirit.


    The three sisters, standing together, exerted an overwhelming presence. This was evident from the Crawler Monster¡¯s behavior, as it stayed prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise its head to glance at them since the moment it was released.


    Having been nurtured in Yan Junze¡¯s Atlas for so long, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s strength had broken through the Sculpting Spirit level, approaching the status of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, originally a high-level Wandering Spirit, had been growing within the Atlas and was now a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, nearly reaching full Sculpting Spirit status.


    As for Ke¡¯er, she was still a Wandering Spirit but had evolved into a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    The Crawler Monster, which was weak enough to be locked down by Yan Junze and even weaker than Ke¡¯er at that time, was now also a high-level Wandering Spirit, just slightly inferior to Ke¡¯er.


    Yan Junze felt that this fellow had used its powers to bulk up; its once scrawny body was now sleek and well-fed, its head sporting a more luxuriant parting.


    However, the Crawler Monster had an excellent grasp of the situation, especially adept at sycophancy and opportunism, with no bottom line, exerting all its flattery skills without feeling nauseous.


    The strangenesses naturally divided into two factions, standing opposed to each other. This wasn¡¯t a sign of hostility, but more of an instinctual fear from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s group towards the three sisters.


    Yet, contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, after he introduced them, Zhuang Wenhui immediately crawled over to Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er hid behind her mother, fearful, and the Back-faced Woman was on guard, though she trusted Yan Junze more and therefore did not hurry to take Ke¡¯er away.


    Soon, the other two sisters also came forward. They leaned in with their heads, sniffing around each Spirit, though it was unclear what they were doing.


    Before long, all three sisters gathered by the Crawler Monster, looking and sniffing at it intermittently.


    Yan Junze watched thoughtfully.


    He knew very well that these Triple Spirits were not ordinary and that their strengths were probably beyond what was currently visible, and they must possess other Strange Abilities.


    Now that the sisters stayed by the Crawler Monster¡¯s side without leaving, could they have discovered something?


    Still, he thought it was necessary to remind them, and he said aloud, ¡°Remember, we¡¯re all family now; there can be no infighting. We must be united when facing outwards.¡±


    The Crawler Monster gave a sycophantic squirm, glancing left and right at the sisters and not daring to make big movements for fear of angering them. Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, it immediately nodded its head vigorously, agreeing with his point enthusiastically.


    But Zhuang Wenxian lifted her head, to face Yan Junze and whispered hoarsely, ¡°Attachment¡­ body.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com


    S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 788 - 448: Cleanup Plan

    Chapter 788: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan


    Upon hearing the words ¡°possession¡± from Zhuang Wenxian, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    He looked at Zhuang Wenxian with bewilderment, just to see Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui also standing next to the Crawler Monster, looking up at him and hoarsely saying in unison, ¡°Possess¡­ body.¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated briefly, then used his Control Field to sense around, and shook his head afterward, ¡°No, there¡¯s been no possession by other strangenesses at all!¡±


    The three sisters knew they hadn¡¯t made themselves clear, so Zhuang Wenxian moved closer to the already confused Crawler Monster, pointed first at herself, then at the creature, before saying once again, ¡°Possess¡­ body.¡±


    Yan Junze had a sudden realization, ¡°Are you saying that you want to possess Pianfen?¡±


    At those words, the Crawler Monster was so frightened that it shuddered violently and quickly scurried in the direction of the Back-faced Woman. After moving a few steps and feeling it was unreliable, it turned direction and scurried towards Yan Junze.


    Once it reached Yan Junze¡¯s feet, it immediately hugged his thigh.


    ¡°Why do you want to possess Pianfen?¡± Yan Junze, letting it cling to him, asked curiously.


    Zhuang Wenxian thought for a moment, pointed at herself and her two sisters, then one by one at the Crawler Monster, Zhenzhen, the Back-faced Woman, and finally at Ke¡¯er.


    Yan Junze was even more astonished, ¡°Are you saying that you three sisters can freely possess these strangenesses?¡±


    The three sisters nodded immediately.


    ¡°Will the strangenesses that are possessed be affected?¡±


    As Yan Junze asked this, he looked towards Zhenzhen, who was approaching the direction of the Back-faced Woman.


    He vividly remembered that Zhenzhen, in order to help him, had possessed the body of a corpse in a cave during the Tricky Silk sub-quest, and because it was a forced possession, Zhenzhen remained in a state of magnetic field chaos for a long time.


    This state of magnetic field chaos lasted a very long time, and it was already quite impressive that Zhenzhen was able to recover on her own.


    By the same logic, if they were possessed by other higher-level strangenesses, they would also be affected by magnetic field chaos.


    So, when the three sisters said they could possess any strangeness here, Yan Junze¡¯s instinctive reaction was that they definitely couldn¡¯t do such a thing, or the strangenesses¡¯ magnetic fields would become chaotic and uncontrollable.


    But on second thought, as his gaze swept over the three sisters, he wondered if the triplets¡¯ special strange abilities were precisely the ability to possess other strangenesses?


    If that were the case, as a special strange ability, it might not affect the magnetic field of the strangenesses being possessed.


    It might even possibly amplify the abilities of the possessed strangenesses.


    Of course, this was just speculation, and the three sisters couldn¡¯t clarify things, plus this wasn¡¯t the place to attempt possession.


    After speculating, Yan Junze planned to find some free time and a quiet place once he got back, in case he decided to let the three sisters try once.


    And although these strangenesses could all potentially be the targets of possession, the very first strangeness Zhuang Wenxian chose was the Crawler Monster, and it was clear the three sisters had made a careful selection, indicating that Pianfen was the most suitable candidate for their possession.


    Patting the hand of the Crawler Monster still clinging to his thigh, Yan Junze consoled, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll talk about it when we get back to Tianmeng.¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked up at Yan Junze, feeling slightly aggrieved. Then it had an epiphany, seemingly deriving other meanings from his words.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s all head back.¡±


    Yan Junze pretended not to notice the inquisitive look in the Crawler Monster¡¯s eyes and said to the three sisters, ¡°After you return to my Atlas node, you will receive energy nourishment, which can slowly enhance your strength. So, when there¡¯s nothing pressing, or if you¡¯re incredibly bored, it¡¯s best not to come out on your own initiative.¡±


    This last comment was particularly meant for Zhuang Wenxian, since she was the only one who could move freely within the Lockdown space.


    Sometimes he was engaged in very important matters, such as with Zhang Xiaomo @#£¤&*, and if Zhuang Wenxian showed up unannounced at an inopportune time and saw something that caused him to throw out his back, that would not be good.


    Therefore, it was better to clarify certain things in advance, as the three sisters were no longer children and would understand.


    After taking back all the strangenesses, Yan Junze finally lay down to rest properly.


    He slept until 10 a.m. the following morning, and fortunately, since the hotel was next to the airport, he narrowly avoided missing his flight at 11 a.m.


    Upon returning to Tianmeng, he first went to the squad¡¯s office building to inform Captain Huo Zhisen that he had completed the assigned task.


    Then he went downstairs to collect his reward, which was quite substantial and more than any previous ones.


    Yan Junze surmised that this might be because of his status as a specially-appointed Exorcist for the main team and also because the level of the strange incident was quite high.


    Ma Jing had forwarded a copy of the report she wrote here as well, and since Huo Zhisen had already read the report and was informed about the situation, he casually inquired about where Yan Junze had gone afterward.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide his whereabouts but simply mentioned that he had visited a friend living in Aries District.


    Huo Zhisen didn¡¯t suspect anything further.


    After leaving the squad¡¯s office, he looked for Zhang Xiaomo but couldn¡¯t find her. On asking, he learned that she and her partner Zhang Di had gone out on a mission.


    Knowing that she was on a mission, Yan Junze felt it inappropriate to call her immediately, so after sending a message, he returned to Tianmeng Science and Technology University.


    Back at his rented apartment off-campus, in Xiang Er¡¯s room, he released the three sisters again for them to get to know Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    As expected, being special beings known as Triple Spirits, the sisters showed incredible self-control when they laid eyes on Ku Zai. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only the youngest, Zhuang Wenhui, was a bit unsettled and nearly approached Ku Zai, but the other two sisters stayed put without moving, just flipping their white irises a couple of times to express their surprise at Ku Zai¡¯s constitution.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 789 - 448: Cleanup Plan_2

    Chapter 789: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan_2


    Ku Zai was startled because, due to his unique physique, he was very sensitive to the power of strangenesses.


    At this moment, the three sisters in front of him didn¡¯t just give off an impression of strength, but emitted a special, sinister magnetic field from their bodies.


    To Ku Zai, this magnetic field was like three thick plumes of smoke drifting into the sky, winding and meandering rather than forming a single mass surrounding the Strange Body like usual.


    He had never seen anything like it before.


    Fortunately, the three sisters didn¡¯t seem very interested in him, so he could relax.


    After dinner in his rental, Yan Junze finally returned to his dorm room.


    Checking his phone, he saw a message from Xiaomo saying she was performing an exorcism in Gaosheng City of Tianmeng District and it was somewhat tricky; she wouldn¡¯t be back for a few days.


    Yan Junze asked if there was any danger.


    Xiaomo replied that there was none for now, but there might be a need to call in a four-star Exorcist to solve the problem together.


    After replying that she could call on him if needed and because he hadn¡¯t rested well the previous night, Yan Junze went to sleep early.


    In the following days, his school life could finally return to normal.


    Moreover, he now felt the need to accelerate the lighting up of all nodes in the Spacetime Atlas, so after school hours, from six in the evening to midnight, he began to implement his self-devised ¡°city-wide clean-up plan.¡±


    Starting from near the school, he swept through all the detected strangenesses towards the direction of Tianmeng City.


    For Tianmeng, a place bustling with human activity, the number of strangenesses was always in the minority. Near Tianmeng Science University, for example, Yan Junze only encountered two strange events, and they were quickly resolved using the peaceable Exorcism Method as suggested by the quest prompt.


    With each strange event, he would employ the peaceable Exorcism Method to fulfill the Obsessions of the strangenesses, aiming to collect more Different Dimension Energy and hit the node capacity limits of the Spacetime Atlas.


    In comparison to the population density of the city, the school¡¯s area was considered suburban. The suburban population was scattered, and consequently, there were fewer strangenesses to be cleared.


    Moreover, some strangenesses that had gone unnoticed by humans and wandered only in the suburbs also fell within Yan Junze¡¯s range of clearance.


    Because he could instantly discern the Obsessions of the strangenesses, his speed of clearance was astonishingly fast. He avoided delving into the life stories of the strangenesses, opting instead to deal with them swiftly upon discovery.


    In just one week¡¯s time, the area from the school to the city had been almost completely cleared of strangenesses by Yan Junze.


    Regardless of whether individual tasks offered 300 or 1000 energy points, Yan Junze welcomed all without discrimination and accepted everything.


    However, he also noticed that the levels of strangenesses were generally low. Encounters with strangenesses yielding more than 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy remained a minority.


    Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t come across a higher-level target for two whole days; most of them were under 500 points.


    However, it was conceivable that the Exorcists of Tianmeng were not to be underestimated. Those strangenesses that were more harmful typically had higher levels and were thus prioritized and dealt with promptly.


    As for those lower-level strangenesses that posed less of a threat to human life, they were left behind to wait in line. Unless a large strangeness suddenly appeared, usually even the newly emerged minor ones were added to the back of the queue.


    A week later, Yan Junze started sweeping through Tianmeng City District.


    Of course, he had informed Captain Huo Zhisen beforehand.


    Due to the more concentrated population, the number of strangenesses in the city district was slightly higher than in the suburbs, but it hadn¡¯t increased exponentially, just that the density was higher.


    Yan Junze, after obtaining the list of cases handled by Exorcism Squad 4747, began to resolve them one by one, following the list.


    To the residents who had long been anxious and fearful due to the wait, this was undoubtedly like a blessing. Unaware of the actual reason, they thought that the Exorcists had changed the method of sorting exorcism tasks, abandoning the queue and prioritizing those who couldn¡¯t find connections to jump the queue.


    Another week passed, and Yan Junze received a call from Huo Zhisen.


    Huo Zhisen¡¯s first words were, ¡°Junze, are you planning to put our one-star and two-star Exorcists out of a job?¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, his words were tinged with jest, and as he spoke, he laughed.


    Yan Junze also chuckled, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just to relieve some pressure for my colleagues since the queue is too long?¡±


    Huo Zhisen paused for a moment, then spoke in a more serious tone, ¡°Actually, we arrange for one-star and two-star Exorcists to handle low-level strangenesses with the purpose of training their abilities. Seeing the trend, the number of strangenesses is increasing, and if these young Exorcists don¡¯t grow quickly, we will have worries for the future!¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll only handle those strangenesses with a higher potential danger, like those that are already very harmful, or seem low-level but are hiding their true power.¡±


    After a moment of silence on the line, Huo Zhisen spoke, ¡°You¡¯ve taken on a lot. Junze, all that you¡¯ve done for Tianmeng is remembered by me, by all the Exorcists of Tianmeng.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if I¡¯ve died young.¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh and complain inwardly.


    In Huo Zhisen¡¯s view, Yan Junze¡¯s actions were purely for the good of the people of Tianmeng, to alleviate the workload of Tianmeng¡¯s Exorcists to the greatest extent, and that¡¯s why he had spoken so earnestly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 790 - 448: Cleanup Plan_3

    Chapter 790: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan_3


    Regardless of his intentions, Yan Junze¡¯s actions indeed alleviated the tremendous pressure brought by the strangenesses on the citizens and Exorcists of Tianmeng.


    Moreover, this was just the result of a week¡¯s worth of Exorcism.


    Such training also boosted Yan Junze¡¯s own pace in performing laid-back Exorcisms.


    After getting involved in a case, he quickly identified the direction of the strangeness¡¯s Obsession through the task information that popped up, then he would understand the cause of the strangeness¡¯s death, and what the most critical thing it last contacted was, or he would directly employ various methods to summon the strangeness itself, allowing it to express its concerns to him directly.


    Essentially, by following these steps, he could determine the method to resolve the Obsession in a short time, then break through them one by one, quickly resolving the strangeness¡¯s Obsession.


    This period was a time for Yan Junze to not only hasten the lighting of Atlas nodes but also enhance his ability to perform laid-back Exorcisms.


    ¡°By the way, has Zhang Xiaomo still not returned?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Huo Zhisen replied, ¡°We have already dispatched two four-star Exorcists to Gaosheng City, so we should receive news very soon.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°If the situation is complicated, let me know.¡±


    The call ended.


    Yan Junze remembered that Tianmeng originally had three four-star Exorcists, one of whom was Guo Youliang. After Guo Youliang was promoted to a five-star, there were two left.


    Now it seemed that the bizarre incident in Gaosheng City had drawn out these last two four-star Exorcists, in addition to Zhang Xiaomo, who was an almost-four-star, and Zhang Di that Baldy Semi-spirit who was at least an old three-star, so perhaps the strangeness incident wasn¡¯t so easy to handle.


    However, Yan Junze had not received a call or message for help from Zhang Xiaomo, indicating she didn¡¯t think the situation warranted his involvement yet.


    Pushing down his fluctuating thoughts, he continued with his planned Exorcism harvest, aiming to hit the energy cap of the Spacetime Atlas.


    ¡­


    Olay Great Capital, Litecar City.


    As the central city of Olay Great Capital, Litecar City was about three times the size of Huaying District.


    However, the disparity between the rich and poor was also very pronounced: The affluent areas were dripping with wealth, while one-fifth of people in poor areas often struggled for three meals a day.


    The Demon Hunter Group (Exorcist organization) of this Great Capital was disorganized with no unified leadership, and they generally fought strangenesses on their own.


    Unless the strangeness that needed to be exterminated was powerful enough to pose a threat to several Demon Hunter Groups in a certain area, these groups would not consider uniting against the common enemy.


    In the center of Litecar City lay the largest Royal Museum in all of Olay.


    The museum was opulent and built in a typical Gothic style, with thirty-seven exhibition halls and an immense interior space. The upper parts featured an innovative elliptical design with open spaces, combining natural lighting, ventilation, and a unique architectural beauty.


    At this moment, inside the grand hall at the very back of the museum, dozens of people¡ªaround fifty or sixty¡ªwere sitting densely packed.


    These individuals varied in attire, young and old, but all bore solemn faces, likely hailing from different regions of the Great Capital.


    In front of these rows of seated people stood a slightly elevated platform, accessible by a few steps. At the center of this platform, a middle-aged man with brown hair sat cross-legged.


    The man was dressed in a black robe, with the front and back embroidered with an eagle and an ¡®I¡¯-shaped pattern, respectively.


    He sat there calmly, as if oblivious to the dozens of pairs of eyes watching him, his eyes half-closed, his hands resting on his thighs.


    In front of this black-robed man, on the ground, lay a thick tome.


    At first glance, this book greatly resembled the ¡°Book of Oath¡± from the USA¡¯s Half Moon Association, even the cover bore some similarities.


    However, upon closer inspection, one could discern that the text on the cover was not the same.


    The text on this book was written in ancient Olay script, named the ¡°Book of Change.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com


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 Chapter 791 - 449: Ineffable Strangenesses

    Chapter 791: Chapter 449: Ineffable Strangenesses


    The vast hall was filled with silence, as dozens of people sat without making a sound.


    About half an hour later, the middle-aged man sitting cross-legged stirred slightly and slowly opened his eyes.


    His gaze was cold and piercing. At the very moment he opened his eyes, at least half of the many pairs of eyes staring at him immediately averted their gaze, choosing to look down or elsewhere.


    Only seven or eight people continued to look at him without turning away.


    Those who were still looking at him were seated in the first row, each with a composed expression, draped in black or white robes, their eyes occasionally moving to the ¡°Book of Change¡± on the podium.


    The middle-aged man in the black robe unfolded his legs and slowly stood up.


    He did not move the book in front of him, but instead stepped over it and walked down from the platform.


    At this moment, two elderly men from the first row stood up, one bald and the other with silver hair, and walked towards him.


    ¡°Jeffrey, how do you feel? Can you communicate?¡± asked the silver-haired elder in a dark red robe first.


    The middle-aged man Jeffrey nodded slightly, still seeming immersed in the feeling he just experienced, ¡°There¡¯s no issue with communication. My touch not only passed through the first layer and made contact with the Possession Demon, Ivan, it also breezed through, lightly touching the second layer¡­¡±


    Continuing, Jeffrey nodded emphatically, ¡°I am certain that my touch just now definitely reached the True Word Demon, Sylvanus, on the second layer.¡±


    ¡°Are you confident you can summon it out?¡± asked the bald elder in a white robe with evident concern.


    Jeffrey lifted his gaze toward the ceiling of the museum hall, as if his eyes pierced through the spine of the roof, leaped over numerous buildings, and finally settled on an even more majestic and magnificent superstructure.


    ¡°If¡­ Claudia the Ninth would relent and provide a bit of the Hellhound¡¯s blood, combined with the Demon Summoning Materials I¡¯ve already collected, I believe we could definitely persuade the True Word Demon, Sylvanus.¡±


    The silver-haired elder said, ¡°Convincing Claudia IX is something we can handle, but you must ensure that once the True Word Demon appears, it won¡¯t act against us and must remain within our control.¡±


    Jeffrey chuckled lightly, ¡°Just within the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group alone, we have three Reapers. With them in command, as long as it¡¯s manageable in the early stage, the odds of the True Word Demon going out of control are very slim. If it really becomes uncontrollable, isn¡¯t there still Claudia the Ninth¡¯s grandson, that terrifying existence even I can¡¯t look directly at?¡±


    ¡°Besides¡­¡± Jeffrey turned to glance at the ancient book lying on the platform floor, ¡°the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ is our biggest reliance, completely different from the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ which can only serve to summon. With the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ at hand, the True Word Demon Sylvanus will almost definitely obey us.¡±


    ¡°Better to be cautious,¡± said the bald elder, ¡°After all, Sylvanus is a demon from the second layer, more powerful than the first layer¡¯s Possession Demon, Ivan. I suggest we refrain from using the Hellhound¡¯s blood until we are absolutely sure.¡±


    Jeffrey nodded slightly, ¡°Of course, that¡¯s why when the Half Moon Association came to borrow the book from Claudia IX, they paid a handsome fee, and the Ninth only agreed to lend them a contemporary copied version of the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯. You can imagine the heavy price they¡¯ll have to pay if they truly intend to activate the altar.¡±


    ¡°It seems quite from the Great Capital of USA recently,¡± mentioned the silver-haired elder, apparently privy to the latest news.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about them. Once the True Word Demon, Sylvanus, appears, it will absolutely be under my control,¡± Jeffrey said with a smile. ¡°Then the Claudia IX Demon Hunting Group, Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group, and my own Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group can slowly engulf all global strangeness, gradually taking control of all factions.¡±


    ¡°Still limited to this place?¡± The bald elder exchanged a glance with the silver-haired elder, and they both burst into laughter.


    ¡°Breaking through to the second layer not only releases the True Word Demon, but also indirectly opens a rift in the dimensional space, an irreversible process. The opportunities waiting for us in the future are simply unimaginable!¡±


    Jeffrey turned and walked back to where he had been sitting, carefully picked up the ¡°Book of Change¡± that had been laying on the ground, cradled it in his arms, and returned.


    ¡°Then I shall safely keep the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ for the time being, and await the good news you bring back from Claudia IX,¡± he stated.


    With that, Jeffrey left through the red corridor door beside the platform, taking almost half of the people below with him.


    Their footsteps were hurried, and soon the sound faded away.


    A magnetic field appeared silently around the bald elder and the silver-haired elder, enveloping their figures. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only then did the bald elder speak in a subdued voice, ¡°My Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group stands completely alongside the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group, with unswerving loyalty.¡±


    The silver-haired elder nodded gently as though he trusted the bald elder immensely, ¡°Claudia IX has mentioned you to me many times. He trusts only you, but he still holds some caution towards this Jeffrey.¡±


    After a pause, the silver-haired elder added, ¡°But for now, among all the Demonic Exorcists in Olay Great Capital, only Jeffrey of the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group has the most sensitive and formidable magnetic field sensing. We must rely on him for the time being.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take meticulous precautions and act opportunistically; I understand the Ninth¡¯s thinking,¡± the bald elder nodded.


    ¡°In fact, Claudia IX is well aware that the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ can only summon demons up to the second layer, absolutely unable to reach the third and final layer,¡± the silver-haired elder continued. ¡°And it just so happens that the True Word Demon of the second layer resonates with the divine gift of the ¡®Book of Change¡¯, so we can only summon it and be confident in our control.¡±

 Chapter 792 - 449: Ineffable Strangenesses_2

    Chapter 792: Chapter 449: Ineffable Strangenesses_2


    The bald old man said, ¡°I suggest you talk to the Ninth and, if possible, ask his grandson to come during the official summoning. If certain unpredictable accidents occur during the summoning process, we can use him to get out of those crises.¡± Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I was just about to do that,¡± the silver-haired old man obviously had this consideration in mind.


    The two men conversed while heading toward another passage door on the central platform.


    After the magnetic field enveloping them dissipated, other members of the Demon Hunter Group waiting below stood up and followed the two old men out in succession.


    ¡­


    The Buddhist-style exorcism went very smoothly, and another week later, Yan Junze had almost cleared his way to the center of Tianmeng City.


    During this process, he was able to gain 300 to 400 energy points from basically every strangeness.


    Although he was obtaining less energy at each upper limit, Yan Junze¡¯s current goal was to illuminate the Atlas as soon as possible. Even if he had to accumulate slowly, he needed to light up more nodes of the Atlas.


    The further the Atlas was opened, the longer the segments between the nodes became, and more energy points were needed to fill them.


    In other words, it seemed like the Atlas was more than half lit up with less than 60,000 energy points, but in reality, the energy demand for the later part had grown multiple times.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, to completely charge the entire Atlas and fully light all the nodes, it might take about 150,000 Different Dimension Energy.


    He was now not too worried about the quality, as long as he could resolve the Obsession, he would complete even the lowest level strangeness tasks and accumulate the energy limit bit by bit.


    During the weekend of that week, Yan Junze received a message from Zhang Xiaomo, which was brief: I¡¯m in trouble, come quickly!


    The second message was a location address.


    Yan Junze had intended to continue clearing from the city center, but upon receiving the message, he immediately contacted a rental company¡¯s car and headed straight for Gaosheng City.


    It took two and a half hours to reach Gaosheng City, and following the location, he arrived at the entrance of a school.


    Looking up: Gaosheng City No. 3 Experimental Middle School.


    He originally thought the strangeness was near the school, but it turned out to be directly inside this Experiment No. 3 Middle School.


    It¡¯s known that for schools and such places, exorcists respond very quickly. The pair Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di had arrived three weeks ago, but after so much time, they hadn¡¯t finished dealing with it, and later Yan Junze heard Huo Zhisen say that four-star exorcists had been dispatched for support.


    Not just one, but two four-star exorcists were sent, the only two in the entire Tianmeng.


    Who would have thought that another week would pass and they still hadn¡¯t settled it, and judging by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s message, it seemed to be sent hurriedly or in secret.


    Therefore, Yan Junze guessed that Xiaomo might have wanted to call him sooner, and initially thought that the arrival of the four-star exorcists would settle the matter, only to find that for some reason the issue was still unresolved.


    However, the situation might not be as bad as presumed, and it was very likely that after the arrival of the four-star exorcists, both sides fell into a stalemate, with neither able to suppress the other.


    But the four-star exorcists did not want to give up, making Xiaomo feel troubled, thus she secretly informed Yan Junze.


    Arriving at the school entrance, he saw the gates were firmly closed, and there were no security guards at the door.


    A police cordon was simply stretched outside the gate.


    At this time of day, students should be in class, yet not a single student could be seen.


    At a glance, the school seemed to be entirely locked down, suggesting the strangeness issue was quite severe.


    Standing at the school gate, Yan Junze sent a message to Zhang Xiaomo to let her know he had arrived and was waiting outside the school gate.


    But after waiting for a moment, Xiaomo did not reply to the message.


    Yan Junze suspected she might not be able to check her messages. He was not worried about Xiaomo being in danger, as it was likely that the situation inside was a stalemate.


    After some thought, he released his ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    Shortly after, three messages popped up in his mind.


    Two of them came from the nearby area of the school, but only one came directly from Experiment No.3 Middle School.


    He took a closer look at the message from inside the school and then paused, muttering to himself, ¡°This¡­ must be the first time I¡¯ve encountered this.¡±


    [Coordinates have been determined: Gaosheng City No. 3 Experimental Middle School district.]


    [Task Name: The Joy of a Single-Celled Organism;


    Task Level: ¡ª¡ª;


    Task Background: Wandering and pausing, staying in a warm place, sleeping in comfortable soil, it longed for the most leisurely environment, the most peaceful life, a place suitable for resting, a place conducive to hunting, a place where it could play. At last, it found such a place, where the soil was fertile, the food was plentiful, the territory was expansive¡ªa perfect place for movement.


    Task Description: Its appearance is very bad news for the students, and it is constantly getting bigger, harder, stronger, but it¡¯s not getting bald;


    Task Reward: ¡ª¡ª;


    Task Penalty: Becoming part of its rich menu;


    Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Don¡¯t try to persuade it in the way you understood before, after all, it has only one-track mind; 3. Shovels, steel drills, chainsaws might be suitable weapons, but don¡¯t use guns, because this guy really enjoys high-energy food.


    Remarks: None.]


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen such a peculiar task introduction.


    However, the task information was simple and clear. At a glance, he knew that the strangeness in the school was not a common human strangeness, but rather belonged to the category of ¡°indescribable creatures¡± that he had seen in the Huaying District headquarters¡¯ documents.


    He had already encountered indescribable creatures before, but this was the first time Yan Junze was dealing with one on his own.


    The first time he had encountered such a creature was in the Ghost Apartment with Jacob; after all, Jacob was originally a human strangeness, only he had become a strangeness because his body had been taken over by white long worms.


    And now, the white long worm that resided in Yan Junze¡¯s heart, which had already become symbiotic with him, must also be one of these ¡°indescribable creatures¡±.


    He also noticed that this task had no level assigned to it, indicating that this creature might not belong to the usual strangeness classification, which also resulted in no task reward being displayed.


    Yan Junze guessed, however, that there must be a reward, just not a specific numeric value. This was probably related to the manner in which he completed the task or the attitude he took towards dealing with the indescribable creature.


    Having no previous experience to draw on, he could only play it by ear.


    Now he also understood why Zhang Xiaomo and the other exorcists had been indecisive here for so long, it turned out they were dealing with a creature that wasn¡¯t a human strangeness.


    No wonder it had taken so long.


    But even if they had never seen this single-celled organism before, couldn¡¯t they just kill it by force? After all, there were two four-star exorcists present.


    With that thought, it seemed very possible that this creature was so bizarre that even four-star exorcists couldn¡¯t kill it.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze grew more and more curious. Just then, his phone chimed with a text message alert. He checked it and found a response from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Keep going forward, there is a side door around the corner ahead, I should be there in about five minutes.¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a ¡°Okay¡± and then continued walking forward, with the school¡¯s surrounding wall on his right. After a while, he came to the corner where the wall ended.


    At the corner, a small iron door came into view. This gate was not often used, as evidenced by the rust at the hinges.


    He waited there for a moment and soon heard footsteps from behind the gate. Peering through the gap in the iron door, he saw Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s shoes.


    The lock clicked, the door swung open, and Zhang Xiaomo appeared.


    Yan Junze was taken aback by her appearance; he almost didn¡¯t recognize her.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked disheveled, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair unmanaged, her skin pale and unhealthy¡ªas if she hadn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s sleep for days.


    She stepped aside to let Yan Junze in, then carefully locked the door behind him.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    They walked towards a teaching building, one leading, the other following.


    Xiaomo, leading the way, said, ¡°I contacted you secretly. When you get here, just say you were in Gaosheng City dealing with other matters and happened to know I was here, and came because you were worried.¡±


    ¡°Is that necessary?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Zhang Xiaomo stopped, turned, and looked at him, saying emphatically, ¡°Yes! You don¡¯t understand, those two four-star exorcists are almost out of their minds.¡±

 Chapter 793 - 450: The Stronger the Change

    Chapter 793: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change


    They whispered as they followed Zhang Xiaomo to the ground floor of the first teaching building.


    ¡°They¡¯re all on the fifth floor, let¡¯s climb the stairs,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo softly.


    Through their conversation, Yan Junze had begun to sense Xiaomo¡¯s despair.


    It wasn¡¯t just her, in fact, but also Zhang Di and those two four-star Exorcists; each of them had felt deep despair over these past few days.


    The reason for their despair wasn¡¯t that they were unable to deal with the strangeness; in fact, they had contained it within the school, preventing it from escaping. However, no matter how they killed it, the strangeness would resurrect on the spot, seemingly indestructible!


    The four Exorcists, including the two four-star ones, had never encountered such a situation before.


    Zhang Xiaomo told Yan Junze that even the two four-star Exorcists were starting to suspect that the strangeness wasn¡¯t a creature formed from the death of a human, but rather an unknown creature¡¯s strangeness.


    As for their guess, Yan Junze only wanted to say, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±


    But now was not the right moment to lay it out plainly.


    And as for whether they had really trapped the strangeness in the school, or if it simply didn¡¯t want to leave, that was also something he couldn¡¯t openly discuss.


    Following Xiaomo, they reached the fifth floor of the teaching building, where they found the other three Exorcists in one of the offices.


    These three were all crouched by the window, craning their necks and peering toward the second office building across the way.


    Turning around, they saw Zhang Xiaomo walk in with a man.


    For Zhang Di, seeing Yan Junze wasn¡¯t too surprising; he was just a bit astonished and turned to Zhang Xiaomo, saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to the bathroom? How¡­ how did he get here?¡±


    The other two Exorcists were members of the Tianmeng Squad but had never met Yan Junze before. Although they had seen his photo, it hadn¡¯t left a deep impression on them.


    Moreover, in the current environment, when the two of them saw Zhang Xiaomo bringing him in, they were momentarily bewildered.


    Yan Junze noticed that these three were also in poor spirits, worn out and listless, having clearly gone through countless sleepless nights.


    Fearing that the strangeness would escape the school, they took turns keeping watch over it, even at night, and had to remain highly vigilant while doing so; being worn out was to be expected after so many days.


    Neither of the two four-stars knew Yan Junze, but he was familiar with them, having been introduced to them by Guo Youliang and having seen their photos. Among them, the one who was robust and tall was named Mei Lianhua, and the other with darker skin was Huang Wenjian.


    ¡°Brother Huang, Brother Mei, let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Yan Junze,¡± Yan Junze was the first to speak up.


    The two exchanged glances, and after Zhang Di whispered a few words to them, they suddenly realized who he was.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°My boyfriend just happened to be handling some affairs in Gaosheng City. He contacted me just now, and when he learned that I had been trapped here for more than ten days, he insisted on coming to check on me.¡±


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were often out on missions, only rarely returning to the squad¡¯s office, so they weren¡¯t too aware of Yan Junze¡¯s current situation. They had only heard of him as someone who used a laid-back Exorcism Method to solve strangenesses.


    Now, the two were already at their wit¡¯s end. Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s arrival, they couldn¡¯t help thinking that perhaps his laid-back Exorcism Method could solve this indestructible strangeness.


    After all, it was Yan Junze who had wanted to come himself, mainly out of concern for his girlfriend Xiaomo; it wasn¡¯t that they had specifically asked him to come.


    Thinking this way, it seemed that even if it got out that the two four-stars couldn¡¯t handle the strangeness across the way, they wouldn¡¯t lose face.


    Immediately, the two made room for Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo to crouch by the window and look out.


    Mei Lianhua said, ¡°Based on what we deduced, this strangeness is likely not one formed from human death, but rather an unknown creature¡¯s strangeness. Look, on the third floor of the building across, there¡¯s a large amount of black non-Newtonian substance similar to paste on the corridor, which we¡¯ve observed to be spilling out of room 307.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the strangeness now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It has entered room 307 for the time being and hasn¡¯t come out yet,¡± replied Huang Wenjian, standing aside.


    ¡°How did you kill it?¡± Yan Junze curiously asked.


    Mei Lianhua glanced at Huang Wenjian before the latter replied, ¡°Directly with the magnetic knife. I killed it seven times, and Mei killed it eleven times. Each time we used full force, exploding its body on the spot and messing up the magnetic field to ensure it couldn¡¯t reassemble. But after each time we killed it, it would resurrect right there, regenerating completely at the damaged spots, as good as new.¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Have you checked the room where the black non-Newtonian substance is spilling out?¡± Yan Junze pointed toward the third floor across.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been there,¡± nodded Mei Lianhua. ¡°One time, after discussing with Wenjian, he went to kill that thing, and I went to the room to check. To my surprise, I entered 307 quite easily, and inside, the floor and ceiling had two opposing giant tumorous growths. They weren¡¯t moving, but that black non-Newtonian substance was leaking out, covering the walls.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that the growths are constantly producing this strangeness?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    Mei Lianhua shook his head, ¡°No, this strangeness resurrects on the spot; it¡¯s not emerging anew from those growths. I wonder if those growths are the strangeness¡¯s home, and those black non-Newtonian substances indicate that it is not a strangeness formed from a human.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Huang Wenjian agreed. ¡°There were two times when the way it died, while I was killing it, was completely different from when we kill other strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious whether it is a strangeness formed from a human or not?¡± Yan Junze asked in surprise.

 Chapter 794 - 450: The Stronger the Change_2

    Chapter 794: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change_2


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°On the outside¡­ it¡¯s not obvious.¡±


    Just at this moment, Zhang Di, who had been observing the movements across the street, exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s out, that guy is out again.¡±


    Yan Junze hurried to crouch down with the others, lying on the window and peering carefully across the street.


    At the moment he saw the apparition emerge, he was startled and blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s a person!¡±


    ¡°Right, its appearance is completely human,¡± Zhang Xiaomo whispered. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The figure that appeared on the third floor corridor across the street was a fatty man with sparse hair, an oily face, dressed in a jacket and slacks. Plump and white, he walked with an uneven gait.


    He seemed very cautious, also harboring a sense of anger, glancing around every few steps.


    ¡°I hit it twice, and when its flesh peeled back, I saw that all the meat inside was white, a snowy color, and from this white flesh oozed black non-Newtonian fluid,¡± Huang Wenjian said.


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Mei Lianhua added, ¡°When I didn¡¯t use physical attacks, that is, when I simply used magnetic glow to kill this thing, its magnetic field was completely dispersed by me, but it would almost re-aggregate in about half a minute.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Yan Junze stared at the chubby silhouette.


    Huang Wenjian continued, ¡°According to its usual path, the creature will come under the No. 2 Academic Building and then burrow into that patch of greenery. If we go too late, it¡¯ll disappear and won¡¯t reappear until night.¡±


    ¡°Since it started appearing in the school, has it launched any unprovoked attacks on humans?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The four Exorcists were startled, and Zhang Di took out a photo: ¡°This is the photo I took from the school administration¡¯s notice board. The man in the picture is the head of academic affairs.¡±


    Yan Junze looked down and saw that the person in the photo was indeed the fat man in the academic building on the opposite side.


    ¡°He is¡­ the head of academic affairs?!¡±


    ¡°Me and Lianhua speculate that this Strangeness must have killed the head of academic affairs and taken over his skin,¡± Huang Wenjian said, ¡°As for why kill the head of academic affairs, it probably has to do with his body type. We looked it up, and he was the fattest in Experiment No. 3 Middle School.¡±


    ¡°So, this creature might be so swollen that it found the skin of a fatty to stuff itself into?¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Very likely,¡± Mei Lianhua had already stood up by this time and was striding towards the door, ¡°I¡¯ll go stop it; otherwise, the guy will be gone again soon. Junze, think about how we could get rid of it.¡±


    His words implied that conventional attacks had been proven ineffective, and perhaps Yan Junze could try his Buddha-style Exorcism.


    Yan Junze remained noncommittal, watching Mei Lianhua leave the room, his footsteps vanishing quickly.


    Looking out the window, the fat man had already reached the first floor. He was stumbling as he walked, clearly struggling to control the skin he was in.


    Soon the fatty arrived in front of the flower bed on the ground floor. His nose twitched as he sniffed around. He kept his back hunched, the fat on his stomach straining against his white shirt, tearing it open.


    The buttons had popped off, exposing white blubbery flesh; he swayed with every step, approaching the flower bed and leaning over the fence surrounding it.


    Clearly, after being killed multiple times by Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian, this creature had become more cautious and filled with anger.


    Seeing this, Huang Wenjian sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s becoming harder and harder to kill. From the first time I killed it until now, I¡¯ve noticed its fat has grown significantly thicker, and each time it¡¯s harder than before. Moreover, the head of academic affairs wasn¡¯t this fat before. It¡­ seems to be getting fatter!¡±


    Zhang Di nodded incessantly, ¡°Indeed, it has gotten fatter; the skin of the head of academic affairs looks like it¡¯s about to burst, like a balloon.¡±


    Outside the flower bed, the fatty rolled over and burrowed into it, his feet sinking into the somewhat moist earth, almost burying his ankles due to his weight.


    It seemed to be breathing heavily, bending down laboriously. Just as he was about to bury his head in the earth, a shadow dashed toward him from outside the flower bed.


    Those above could see clearly that the person charging at the fatty was Mei Lianhua.


    Mei Lianhua moved with a lightness of a swallow, barely touching the ground with his toes, his hands gripping the magnetic knife as he flew into the flower bed, slashing at the back of the fatty who was bending over.


    At the same moment, the fatty, who had been alert to his surroundings, not only did not dodge but instead arched his back high. The clothes on his back tore apart with a whoosh, revealing the white flesh, which swelled up massively at that moment. The muscles and fat tightened, becoming extraordinarily hard.


    Thud!


    The magnetic knife, wrapped in magnetic glow, struck the creature¡¯s back, neither slicing through nor emitting a crisp sound.


    The noise of the collision was muffled; it seemed as though the fatty¡¯s body had absorbed all the force of the blow.


    ¡°The first time I attacked it, it was killed with just one slice,¡± Huang Wenjian murmured to himself, ¡°I reckon, it¡¯s going to take some extra effort this time.¡±


    The fatty, whose head had been buried, suddenly lifted it up. His entire body swelled, quickly ripping open all the clothes on his body, and layers of white flesh piled up. Large amounts of black non-Newtonian fluid seeped out of the broken skin.


    The fatty was burning with rage, unleashing a tremendous outburst of anger that had been building up and howled furiously at Mei Lianhua.


    Without a word, Mei Lianhua amplified the magnetic glow of the magnetic knife to its maximum and slashed down with another cut.

 Chapter 795 - 450: The Stronger the Change_3

    Chapter 795: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change_3


    The blade¡¯s glow struggled to move within the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Meanwhile, the fatty let out a puff and a large glob of mucus splashed out, as Mei Lianhua quickly backed away.


    However, he was gripping the handle of the knife, and as he pulled back, he realized that he couldn¡¯t retract the magnetic knife but couldn¡¯t afford to let go of it either, otherwise, the entire blade might become engulfed in the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Mei Lianhua had no choice but to grasp the knife handle with one hand and sharply dodge to the side, as the mucus brushed past him, still managing to stain his clothes.


    Sizzle¡ª


    The stained clothing immediately emitted white smoke, visibly forming holes that continued to burn inward.


    Startled, Mei Lianhua quickly stripped off his outer garment and threw it away.


    At the same time, he activated the magnetic glow and made a fierce cut, splitting the non-Newtonian fluid in half and the blade¡¯s glow touched the fatty¡¯s plump body, slicing in from the shoulder.


    However, this time, Mei Lianhua felt that it was much more difficult than before.


    The opponent¡¯s muscles seemed to have become tougher, and the magnetic knife struggled to penetrate effectively into vital areas.


    Thump!


    Suddenly, a writhing mass of flesh split out from the fatty¡¯s stomach and harshly collided with Mei Lianhua¡¯s abdomen.


    Caught off-guard, Mei Lianhua let go of the knife; he staggered back four or five steps before stabilizing himself, the magnetic knife by now almost entirely submerged in the non-Newtonian fluid, with only the handle sticking out.


    ¡°Not good! This guy has gotten stronger!¡± Huang Wenjian quickly got up, turned, and ran towards the door, ¡°I¡¯m going to help Lianhua.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di looked at each other, both seeing terror in the other¡¯s eyes.


    No one had expected that after killing this strangeness several times, causing it to resurrect again and again, it would become so formidable that a four-star Exorcist could no longer handle it.


    If this creature were to die a few more times, it was feared that even a five-star Exorcist wouldn¡¯t have any way to deal with it.


    Upon seeing this scene, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up slightly.


    He recalled the mission information hint that this unicellular organism almost lacked complex thought; its Obsession was simple, to find a nice place to live.


    Of course, he definitely couldn¡¯t allow this creature to stay in the school, posing a threat to the nation¡¯s children.


    And besides, leaving it would be extremely dangerous. From the way it had taken over the body of the head teacher for its own convenience, it was clear that this creature was utterly indifferent to human life.


    If it couldn¡¯t be driven away, it might just have to be dealt with in this manner.


    At that moment, Huang Wenjian arrived on the scene; he directly went for the knife and launched himself at the fatty, chopping at its head.


    Since the non-Newtonian fluid was now spread out from the fatty¡¯s body, this attack by Huang Wenjian was basically a sneak attack. If it failed, he would end up sinking into the black non-Newtonian fluid upon landing.


    But Huang Wenjian was confident that his blow would have an effect.


    The magnetic glow surged, and the knife sliced into the fatty¡¯s plump head, sinking into the neck, with the head cleaved in two. Yet eerily, it still turned to look back at Huang Wenjian.


    Clap!


    The head instantly rejoined, trapping the magnetic knife in the middle.


    Huang Wenjian tried to pull the knife out but failed, his legs planted on the fatty¡¯s shoulders. He strained to pull but it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    He immediately did the opposite, stimulating the magnetic glow to continue chopping downwards, only to see a temporary flesh tendril extend from the fatty¡¯s body, stabbing towards his chest.


    ¡°Crap!¡±


    Huang Wenjian exclaimed in alarm, then reached into his pocket and drew a handgun, firing at the fatty¡¯s plump body.


    This was a Magnetic Burst Gun, the latest auxiliary weapon developed and equipped by the headquarters, combining magnetic field dispersion, powerful data stream corrosion, and high-energy explosive impact as a multifaceted assault method.


    In an emergency, if the magnetic knife was unusable, a single shot could completely reverse the situation.


    The Magnetic Burst Gun, being a recent issue along with the High-Energy Chilling, was only received by Huang Wenjian. Even the other four-star Exorcist, Mei Lianhua, hadn¡¯t had the chance to get one.


    However, when Yan Junze saw Huang Wenjian pull out this weapon and start firing at the fatty, his face suddenly changed.


    ¡°Crap, he actually has a gun! Don¡¯t shoot, don¡¯t shoot it¡­¡±


    S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 796 - 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 796: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)


    When Yan Junze first detected the mission, he had paid attention to the mission prompts.


    And the first tip was not to persuade it in the way he had understood before; the creature was single-minded.


    This meant that the laid-back exorcism methods might be useless against this single-celled creature. It didn¡¯t have the complex brain functions of humans, so finding a suitable living space and then driving away all the humans that irritated it was its goal.


    The second tip was that you could use a handy weapon against it, but never a gun, because this creature really enjoyed high-energy things as food.


    So, when Yan Junze first listened to Huang Wenjian and Mei Lianhua¡¯s descriptions about how the fatso would grow stronger with each kill and had become much more formidable after so many kills than before, it now seemed possible that it was absorbing energy. Every time it died, the energy from whatever killed it was absorbed, gradually growing stronger. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, perhaps only physical damage could slowly weaken it, while the energy emitted by the magnetic knife might have been absorbed by it instead.


    Despite that each attack from the two four-star exorcists with their magnetic knives seemed to inflict damage on the fat creature, the strong violent impact causing it to disintegrate instantly, they were inadvertently strengthening the creature¡¯s power.


    Therefore, if they attacked with a gun, the energy released would be so high that it would probably increase the single-celled creature¡¯s absorption even more, making it grow even more terrifying.


    However, in that instant, just as Yan Junze was about to exclaim, Huang Wenjian had already pulled the trigger. A burst of magnetic light flared in the barrel, a high-energy blast shot out and penetrated the single-celled creature¡¯s corpulent body.


    Boom!


    The creature¡¯s obese body was blown to pieces instantaneously.


    Whether it was the black non-Newtonian fluid oozing from its body or the white, flabby flesh that was growing all over, everything splattered everywhere.


    The garden was nearly covered with debris scattered in all directions.


    Splat¡ª


    A piece of greasy flesh fell from Mei Lianhua¡¯s cheek, and its slimy residue continued to trickle down his face.


    And Huang Wenjian, who was closer, had a thick chunk of fat perched on his head, looking at his Magnetic Burst Gun with surprise and delight, not having expected it to be so effective.


    The magnetic field¡¯s shock wave produced by the gunshot was also very strong; had he and Mei Lianhua not been four-star exorcists with strong control over magnetic fields, their skills would have likely been disrupted by the chaotic magnetic fields, causing them to fall right there.


    They hadn¡¯t expected such a surprising outcome from using the Magnetic Burst Gun; had they known, they would have used it earlier.


    Huang Wenjian grinned, revealing his teeth, the chunk of fat on his head quivering with his laughter.


    ¡°This time the fatso should be done for. Our magnetic knives never shattered it into pieces like this; it¡¯s almost turned into mince now,¡± Huang Wenjian said to Mei Lianhua.


    Mei Lianhua sensed carefully, ¡°Yes, the magnetic field has been completely dispersed by that blow, I can¡¯t feel it anymore.¡±


    Inside the opposite window of the fifth floor.


    ¡°Xiaomo, you have the loudest voice here, help me call those two,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment and looked at Zhang Di.


    And Zhang Di immediately turned to look back at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spread his hands, not understanding what the two were trying to express.


    Xiaomo then pointed at Zhang Di, ¡°His voice is louder than mine, and it¡¯s very shrill.¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhang Di in surprise, not giving it much thought, ¡°Quick, call them, they¡¯re in danger right now, tell them to get away from there and come back right away!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Both of them gasped.


    The next second, a piercingly sharp, vivid and chilling scream that resembled a thunderclap falling from the heavens resounded from the fifth-floor window, reaching far and wide.


    ¡°Bosses, come back, it¡¯s dangerous, run¡ª!¡±


    Yan Junze felt a buzzing in his ears, unable to hear anything else, and turned his head to look at Zhang Xiaomo, who was clearly prepared for this, having plugged her ears in advance and even purposefully moved away from Zhang Di.


    Looking at Zhang Di, who was still shouting with his mouth wide open, and imagining the awe-inspiring sight of him invoking his Semi-Spirit Body with his bald head, compared to his current high-pitched scream that exceeded that of a girl, Yan Junze felt as if he was dreaming.


    ¡°This is really, to know a person by their face but not¡­ their nature!¡± he muttered to himself, as his ears continued to ring.


    He followed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s example and plugged his ears, but it was obviously too late, making little difference now.


    Over at the flowerbed below the opposite building, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were startled, turning their heads towards their direction. Following that, the chunk of fat on Huang Wenjian¡¯s head suddenly twitched.


    Splat, it fell down, hitting the ground and still wriggling.


    ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet!?¡±


    Shocked at the sight, Huang Wenjian looked at Mei Lianhua and noticed he was looking back at him.


    An ominous premonition instantly enveloped them, coupled with the fact that Yan Junze was on the fifth floor and Zhang Di would never normally act this way, indicating that it must be Yan Junze who had asked him to raise the alarm.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    They both called out in unison.


    And they ran toward the direction of Building No. 1 as they did.


    Behind them, the massive spray of flesh began to undulate, and even the non-Newtonian fluid that had just burst out like a fountain began to flow on its own, all converging towards the middle of the flowerbed.


    At a glance, all the splattered matter was flowing back, densely packed, sending shivers down one¡¯s spine.

 Chapter 797 - 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 797: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian turned their heads to look and realized the situation was not optimistic, they ran even faster, it was a full-on frantic dash.


    Even the magnetic knife of Mei Lianhua fell into the mud of the flowerbed, there was absolutely no time to go back and pick it up.


    The speed of accumulation in the flower bed was increasing more and more swiftly, as if there was an invisible large magnet in the middle, rapidly absorbing these fragments that belonged to its body.


    The fatso¡¯s embryonic form quickly materialized, roaring in the direction Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were fleeing. Even though its legs hadn¡¯t fully formed yet, still fused together, it couldn¡¯t wait to start moving, chasing after them closely.


    Mei Lianhua heard the roar, hurriedly turned his head to glance, and immediately exclaimed in terror, ¡°It¡¯s recovering so quickly, this time it only took about two minutes to regenerate!¡±


    You should know, usually after they killed this guy, the fastest time it ever took was about half an hour, and after regenerating, the fatso would immediately flee to its lair on the third floor of Building No. 2, it wouldn¡¯t stay in the original spot, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t come after them.


    Now, it seemed most likely related to Huang Wenjian shooting the guy with the Magnetic Burst Gun.


    Of course, the two four-star Exorcists only had a vague guess, they weren¡¯t sure it was the case, but the current situation was already very unfavorable for them. Maybe their only option was to first leave the campus, guard the perimeter, and notify Captain Huo Zhisen to call for Guo Youliang.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have blasted him with the Magnetic Burst Gun just now!¡± said Mei Lianhua as he ran, to Huang Wenjian.


    Huang Wenjian reflected with extreme fear and replied with a shocked expression, ¡°Maybe¡­ even using the magnetic knife wouldn¡¯t work!¡±


    By this time, the two had reached the back of Building No. 1. If they could just get around to the front, and hide themselves while the fatso wasn¡¯t paying attention, then they might be able to sneak up to the fifth floor later.


    But looking at it now, the fatso chasing behind them was incredibly fast, roaring continuously while chasing, showing complete confidence in its ability to crush Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian.


    If it caught up at this rate, the two of them wouldn¡¯t stand a chance of getting upstairs, otherwise, they might expose the whereabouts of the three people above.


    ¡°They won¡¯t make it upstairs,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°You guys stay here, don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll go down and hold off that fatso.¡±


    Then, he glanced at Xiaomo, ¡°Wait for me to come back.¡±


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with deep concern.


    Yan Junze hurried down the stairs, and when he was still on the second floor, he heard footsteps coming from downstairs, but those footsteps quickly darted to another side.


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian had already made it downstairs, but with the fatso too close behind them, if they ran upstairs the other would definitely see them, so they didn¡¯t dare to return the same way and continued running forward.


    If it came down to it, they would just run a few more laps around the campus and then return when the fatso was not paying attention, or they might slip out of the school first.


    Yan Junze quickly reached the first floor, only to see the fleeting backs of the two men.


    There was nothing to be done, as four-star Exorcists, they were still very nimble runners, at least more enduring than ordinary people, running around the school ten or so laps was no problem.


    And no sooner had Yan Junze come down the stairs, he found himself face-to-face with the single-celled organism that was chasing after them. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, this was intentional, to intercept the creature.


    After the appearance of the fatso, its target had originally been Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian. It suddenly discovered another damned human beside the staircase of Building No. 1, it immediately gave up the chase and lunged at Yan Junze.


    The roaring behind them suddenly became intense and violent, but within less than a second, it stopped abruptly, silent and without a trace.


    All noise had vanished.


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian, who were running, paused, looked back, then slammed their feet to a halt, turning around with looks of horror.


    Nothing was there!!!


    The fatso that had been chasing them just a moment ago had disappeared!


    The furious roars, the volumes of dust stirred up by its movement, the suffocating breaths that approached ¡ª all of it had suddenly vanished into thin air!


    Originally, the fatso should have come to the vicinity of Building No. 1 and continued the chase, but now there was nothing there, not even the huge aggressive fatso, as if that entire area was clean, as if nothing had ever come.


    Both shocked and perplexed, they looked at each other, Mei Lianhua couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Huang Wenjian also said, ¡°Where¡¯s the fatso?¡±


    ¡°Could it have gone upstairs?¡± Mei Lianhua speculated.


    ¡°But going upstairs would still make a lot of noise! It can¡¯t be this quiet,¡± Huang Wenjian looked up at the building.


    Gone, how could it just vanish like that?


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the two stopped running and returned to the teaching building, cautiously looking left and right.


    After staring for a long time, they were sure that the fatso had suddenly disappeared after chasing up to this point.


    Could it have returned to its lair?


    By now, going upstairs shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The two immediately ran up to meet with Zhang Xiaomo and the others.


    Actually, in terms of confrontation, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were already unsure whether they could face the fatso again. This type of strangeness was something they had never encountered before, and they had no idea how to annihilate it.


    After they got upstairs, they only found Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di; Huang Wenjian, surprised, asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Yan Junze?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he go down to meet you guys?¡± said Zhang Di.


    ¡°He went down?¡± Mei Lianhua turned to Huang Wenjian, who was completely baffled.


    At the same spot.


    After activating the Space-Time Lockdown, Yan Junze had included himself in it, but this locked section of space-time had no effect on him.

 Chapter 798 - 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 798: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_3


    The fatty charged over with a roar, his body surrounded by flowing non-Newtonian fluid, along with a massive amount of rolling fat, presenting a formidable appearance.


    Then, Yan Junze turned around and walked back, turning into the stairwell on the first floor, but he didn¡¯t go upstairs.


    The fatty reached the stairwell, leaned against the corner of the wall, and took a look inside, but there was no one there.


    It didn¡¯t realize that the space it was in had become different.


    Since the lighting here was a bit darker, it tried hard to open its eyes wide to spot where Yan Junze might be hiding.


    Soon, the fatty sensed something was off, catching sight of a bloated thing gently twisting in the dark, which must be the person it had just seen.


    But this person thought he was well hidden and didn¡¯t notice that he had been discovered yet.


    The non-Newtonian fluid under the fatty¡¯s feet began to slide forward slowly, trying to approach the hidden person.


    However, shortly after moving forward, it immediately noticed the figure disappeared, it stepped back two steps, and the figure appeared again.


    As it moved forward once more, the bloated body vanished again.


    The fatty was confused, so it moved back again and, upon checking, the bulky fellow reappeared.


    This time, the fatty did not move entirely over like before. After it restored itself, it also bizarrely restored the body of the head teacher, and at this moment, with a swoosh, it tore the skin of this body open, revealing a body like a gigantic Flesh Worm, with its lower half staying in place while the upper half gradually extended, silently twining towards the bloated sound.


    This time, indeed, the guy failed to detect itself.


    The Flesh Worm was exceedingly proud of its brilliant tactical move, thinking that no matter how well you hide, ¡°I can swallow you up without anyone being the wiser!¡±


    As it got closer to the other party, it saw the constantly twisting bloated body was actually a huge, plump buttocks, with only the lower half visible and the upper half seemingly hidden further ahead, unclear to the eye.


    ¡°Was that guy this fat just now?¡± The Flesh Worm pondered, but its single-track mind quickly discarded the doubt.


    Seeing the wobbling, plump butt before it, it became irritated, daring to challenge it.


    When only one meter remained, the Flesh Worm stopped sneaking around and lunged with a critical strike, opening its wide mouth to reveal a row of staggered sharp teeth, biting fiercely into the nauseating, fat mass before it.


    Immediately, there was a ¡°squeal¡± that it couldn¡¯t suppress from its own mouth.


    At that moment, the Flesh Worm felt an unbearable intense pain from its buttocks, a pain that could be described as heart-wrenching.


    It remembered that there were more than one of these people, there must be a helper appearing behind it.


    But now that it had caught one, it was determined to beat it to death. After killing this guy, it would turn back to deal with that helper. After all, it had tough skin and could temporarily resist the rescue attack from the opponent.


    With this thought, the Flesh Worm didn¡¯t relax its bite and bit down fiercely again.


    ¡°Squeal¡± ¡ª and the intense pain on its butt struck violently once more.


    ¡°F*ck, the guy behind me, I have an Irreconcilable vendetta with you!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Flesh Worm was fuming with rage, shaking the flesh of the one in front of it, but somehow it seemed that the other party also had tough skin and couldn¡¯t be bitten off immediately.


    However, at the same time, its own butt was being shaken violently from behind, with greater pain surging like waves, each wave greater than the last.


    The big Flesh Worm was trembling all over in pain.


    It didn¡¯t care about anything else and bit down, pain striking, ¡°squeal.¡±


    Again it bit down, with even more severe pain striking, ¡°squeal.¡±


    Then it became frantic, roaring angrily, Ripping Bite, twisting, struggling, howling, repeating Ripping Bite, and continuing to twist¡­


    Yan Junze stood outside the school building, within the same region immobilized by the Space-Time Lockdown, arms folded across his chest, watching this scene with mixed feelings of laughter and tears.


    He never expected that this single-minded creature could actually play itself to death.


    The joy of a simple organism, he simply couldn¡¯t understand!

 Chapter 799 - 452: The Pinnacle of the Crawler Monsters Life

    Chapter 799: Chapter 452: The Pinnacle of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life


    At this moment, the fat worm was entrapped in a cycle of Space-Time Lockdown, already biting its own tail, but it hadn¡¯t realized it.


    Therefore, thinking that its plump butt belonged to someone else, it remained so persistent in its actions.


    Furiously Ripping Bite after bite, wailing¡­


    Yan Junze stood outside the teaching building and watched for a moment, realizing this method could only trap the creature but not completely solve the problem. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Firstly, the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t possibly bite itself to death by just biting its butt, which is anything but a vital spot ¨C at most, it¡¯s just a fleshy part that feels satisfying to chew on.


    Secondly, his Space-Time Lockdown had a time limit; it couldn¡¯t keep this creature trapped here indefinitely.


    Once the time limit expired and the Space-Time Lockdown was lifted, the Crawler Monster would no longer be biting its own tail.


    Trying to reason with this creature was definitely out of the question; it¡¯s impossible to prevent it from living here, and if driven away, who knows what criteria it would choose for its new habitat.


    If it picked another densely populated place, killed a few more people, put on their skins, and scared everyone else away, then this problem would turn into an endless cycle.


    Of course, Yan Junze could now use the Black Spirit Umbrella combined with his domain field to control and resolve the adversary, but after a bit of thought, he found it completely unnecessary to do so.


    Since that is the case, it was the perfect opportunity to test the might of his newly acquired underling.


    With that thought, he immediately dissolved the current Space-Time Lockdown and reloaded a new Space-Time Lockdown in the area, investing more energy to further expand its coverage.


    At the same moment, Yan Junze released the Zhuang Sisters and the Crawler Monster.


    So, during the switch of the lockdown space-time, the Crawler Monster that was busy biting itself was abruptly interrupted, lifting its head in confusion and bewilderment, looking around as it lay on the ground by the staircase entrance to the first floor of the teaching building.


    It had become numb to the pain on its butt, and the sudden disturbance outside had momentarily made it forget this numbing sensation.


    Soon, it noticed several figures standing outside the teaching building.


    Fueled by rage, the Crawler Monster immediately remembered someone biting it from behind just a moment ago. It angrily lifted its head; its massive mouth occupied nearly half of its plump head, it had only one vertical pupil, and it seemed to have developed intelligence from absorbing powerful energy just now, with mucus still dripping from it.


    Its gaze quickly swept over these individuals, and in the Crawler Monster¡¯s mind, they all seemed to be humans, who usually wouldn¡¯t be interested in it, let alone bite it from behind like what had just happened.


    However, its gaze soon settled on the Crawler Monster lying on the ground.


    Upon closer inspection, of everyone present, this creature seemed the most peculiar and suspicious.


    Besides, that creature lying on the ground was sticking out its tongue, licking around, giving the impression that it had just had a satisfying meal!


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s anger was about to burst forth from its forehead, and it immediately directed a roar towards the Crawler Monster on the ground.


    The Crawler Monster, which was busy grooming its parted hair with its tongue, had felt entirely safe until then.


    Typically, standing beside its master was the safest, even the triple sisters next to it wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with it, so the Crawler Monster was quite at ease until it suddenly sensed a massive threat looming.


    A single vertical pupil stared directly at it, roaring, with saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.


    The Crawler Monster immediately panicked, not caring about its hair part anymore and quickly hugging Yan Junze¡¯s legs, gazing eagerly at his protector.


    The Crawler Monster seemed very aware that if the colossal fat worm pounced on it, its chances of survival were virtually zero.


    Yan Junze, whose leg was being hugged, seemed somewhat indifferent, extending his hand to affectionately pat the Crawler Monster¡¯s head, taking the opportunity to mess up the newly groomed part, then smiling with the pride of a father, he said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as a strangeness, you have to grow. Now is your chance! Come on, show me your full strength!¡±


    After speaking, he turned to the Zhuang Sisters and said, ¡°You said that you could possess strangenesses, and you chose this creature with the parted hair as your first choice. If that¡¯s the case, you might as well try it now. Possess it and take down that big fat worm over there.¡±


    Yan Junze had never seen anyone volunteering to possess a strangeness before, but since they dared to offer this as higher-level strangenesses, it indicates that they are aware of the consequences.


    Knowing the potential consequences and still being willing to take the risk meant they must be quite special.


    Yan Junze was also prepared; if possessing the Crawler Monster resulted in its magnetic field being in disarray and unable to recover in the short term, he could immediately dismiss the Space-Time Lockdown and initiate a Rewind.


    At that moment, the Crawler Monster, after roaring for a while, charged at the Crawler Monster that was the most likely to have bitten its backend, twisting its body frantically with the non-Newtonian fluid underneath it accelerating, nearly pushing itself forward.


    The sight of its pale, fleshy body was almost blinding to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Yan Junze stepped back a few paces.


    And at the same time he stepped back, the youngest of the sisters, Zhuang Wenhui, suddenly bowed and plunged towards the Crawler Monster clinging to his leg.


    The next second, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s figure became ethereal, flowing into the body of the Crawler Monster.

 Chapter 800 - 452 Peak of the Crawler Monsters Life_2

    Chapter 800: Chapter 452 Peak of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life_2


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s body shook, releasing Yan Junze¡¯s thigh. Its bewildered and fearful eyes flashed as a hint of red light permeated its pupils. Supporting itself on its hands, it thudded down, lying prone on the ground.


    At this moment, its limbs visibly began to thicken, fully supporting its body. The fierce aura of the entire creature surged out in an instant.


    The Crawler Monster still had its head bowed, its body slightly trembling and swelling, its muscles knotting, making a creaking sound like tightened ropes.


    Previously, when it was lying down, its height only reached Yan Junze¡¯s thighs, but now, although still crouching, it had reached the height of Yan Junze¡¯s shoulders.


    Its body significantly grew larger at that moment, muscles bulging on its bent legs and on the surface of its arms, muscles crazily sprouting from both arms, first the right arm then the left, as if gas was being forcefully pumped in.


    Initially full of fear, at this moment, the Crawler Monster found itself transformed. A massive magnetic field filled and reverberated within and around its body, its entire being brimming with power, handling the magnetic field with remarkable clarity.


    This series of transformations, while described as slow, actually completed within a few seconds.


    Just then, a big fat worm lunged at it. Where the Crawler Monster gained the courage from was unknown, but it completely changed from its previous timid demeanor, roaring fiercely at the fat worm, stretching out its hands and grabbing the upper and lower lips of the worm¡¯s biting mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use the magnetic field, only physical attacks, otherwise this fat worm will become stronger!¡± Yan Junze reminded from behind.


    The body of the Crawler Monster faltered slightly, whether it heard him or Zhuang Wenhui inside understood, but it forcefully pressed together the fat worm¡¯s unhinged mouth, holding down the still gaping mouth with its right hand, and with its left fist, delivered an uppercut to the fat worm¡¯s jaw.


    With a thud, the fat worm was sent flying.


    The Crawler Monster immediately rushed forward, grabbing its belly, hugging it, and mercilessly smashing the head of the worm against the ground.


    Yan Junze watched this scene somewhat surprised.


    Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s possession of the Crawler Monster had this effect, which was equivalent to an enhancement of the Crawler Monster¡¯s abilities, a sort of possession effect similar to evolution.


    However, after being possessed, the Crawler Monster did not use its best Tongue Skill, so Yan Junze guessed it might have heard his reminder, and that using its split tongue might involve a magnetic field attack.


    Looking at it now, the fat worm¡¯s power was nowhere near that of the possessed Crawler Monster, and the black non-Newtonian fluid around it could not envelop the Crawler Monster completely. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Leveraging its high movement speed and physical strength, even when the Crawler Monster¡¯s hands were enveloped in the non-Newtonian fluid, they could be swiftly withdrawn as if in water, allowing it to continuously punch the fat worm¡¯s head, instead of being utterly stuck.


    The fat worm¡¯s strongest energy absorption was ineffective under physical attacks, and its non-Newtonian fluid couldn¡¯t trap the Crawler Monster, thus the situation was immediately one-sided.


    However, the creature was tough-skinned and unyielding; merely being on the receiving end of a beating, the Crawler Monster still could not pose any real threat to it.


    Regarding the Crawler Monster¡¯s strength, Yan Junze speculated it was originally just an advanced Wandering Spirit, while the possessing Zhuang Wenhui was a Sculpting Spirit.


    After their combination, the now mutated Crawler Monster broadly reached the level of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, although such a combination couldn¡¯t be fully measured by typical strangeness levels.


    For example, Yan Junze had never seen any Semi-Ethereal Spirit whose physical attacks surpassed the current abilities of the Crawler Monster.


    Yet after a brutal thrashing, even the Crawler Monster itself soon realized it could only defeat the fat worm, not truly kill it.


    Zhuang Wenjing turned her head to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, feeling a surge inside, nodded his head.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s body instantly became ethereal, took a few steps closer to the Crawler Monster, who was beating the fat worm, and merged into its body.


    The Crawler Monster, facing away from Yan Junze, suddenly shuddered, its knotted muscles swelling even more, bulging like buns all over¡ªchest, abdomen, back, arms¡­


    In an instant, the creature¡¯s size expanded once more, and even while still lying on the ground, it now stood a head taller than Yan Junze.


    Its spine, aligning vertically like bone spurs, surged outward, pushing the skin up high, almost piercing through it, and the girth of just one of its arms had already surpassed Yan Junze¡¯s thighs.


    With a palm as large as a fan, it pressed down on the fat worm¡¯s head, now unable to open its mouth, firmly held shut.


    The Crawler Monster delivered a severe punch to its jaw.


    This punch directly penetrated the body of the fat worm, emerging from above its head.


    A large amount of non-Newtonian fluid spilled out, but the Crawler Monster paid it no heed, rubbing the creature¡¯s head against the ground until the skin was worn smooth, followed by several more punches, bursting the fat worm¡¯s body.


    Now, with the addition of Zhuang Wenjing, a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, the overall strength of the Crawler Monster has likely exceeded that of a typical Ethereal Spirit.


    This creature, approximately three meters long and one and a half meters in cross-section, with blood made of black non-Newtonian fluid, lay collapsed on the ground, emitting a faint roar but unable to move any further.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Look for any key parts on its body.¡±


    At this moment, the Crawler Monster didn¡¯t feel tired; on the contrary, it was excessively excited. It had never known itself to be so formidable, so terrifying, absolutely terrifying!

 Chapter 801 - 452 Peak of the Crawler Monsters Life_3

    Chapter 801: Chapter 452 Peak of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life_3


    He immediately began rummaging through the fat worm¡¯s body, even sticking his hand into the blobby white flesh to search around.


    After a moment, he lifted his head and looked toward Yan Junze, clearly coming up empty-handed.


    Yan Junze glanced at the fat worm, barely clinging to life, and was certain that the creature wouldn¡¯t die, though he didn¡¯t know why.


    Thinking briefly, he turned his gaze toward the non-Newtonian fluid beneath it and said, ¡°Drag this worm out from here.¡±


    The Crawler Monster immediately grabbed the creature¡¯s torso and pulled hard, unable to move it, unexpectedly finding it stuck so firmly.


    He grasped the fat worm¡¯s torso again, the muscles in his arms creaked and swelled as he gave a fierce tug, and with a snap, the worm¡¯s tail finally detached from the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Looking over, the tip of its tail was sharp and even glowing slightly, like the faint light of fireflies.


    Now Yan Junze understood; this creature could absorb energy to resurrect itself, part of the reason was that after getting killed, its tail was always hidden in some non-Newtonian fluid, thus it remained undiscovered.


    If he had found directly and destroyed this glowing tail, perhaps this creature would have already been dealt with.


    ¡°Destroy this tail,¡± Yan Junze ordered.


    The Crawler Monster immediately tore off the tail and pinched the faintly glowing tip in its palm, ready to crush it, but Yan Junze suddenly spoke again, ¡°Wait, give me the tip first!¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked surprised, but still handed it over to Yan Junze, who walked up.


    After examining the tip, an idea popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind, and he clenched the tail tip in his palm, hands behind his back.


    At that moment, the fat worm lying on the ground, now tailless, saw its blob of fat gradually stiffen, and its body stopped moving altogether.


    Looking at the Crawler Monster, the creature no longer possessed the panic it had before the possession, replaced instead by a burst of power-charged confidence.


    Glancing once more at Zhuang Wenxian, who hadn¡¯t moved, Yan Junze wondered what would happen if Zhuang Wenxian joined in on the possession, curious what the Crawler Monster might evolve into.


    It now seemed that the Crawler Monster¡¯s body was quite suitable for the three sisters¡¯ Bond Evolution; if it were the more powerful Back-faced Woman, the fusion might not reach such a high degree, nor the amplification effect.


    Of course, with the Back-faced Woman now having the power of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit and after the Bond Evolution with Ke¡¯er, her strength was also very formidable, likely enough to handle a single Ethereal spirit without much problem.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenjing, Zhuang Wenhui, step away from the Crawler Monster,¡± he said.


    Yan Junze wanted to see if, after their departure from a possession-induced ferocious evolution, the creature would immediately appear in a state of being hollowed out.


    Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s ethereal figures walked out, front and back, and indeed the Crawler Monster¡¯s body trembled and collapsed.


    But quickly it raised its head again, showing a sycophantic smile, this time not directed at Yan Junze, but towards the three sisters.


    The next second, despite its tired body, it scurried after the two sisters, looking at them with a face full of flattery.


    Reaching the sisters¡¯ feet, it gently rubbed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s foot with its messily parted head, then reached up and tugged on Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s pant leg, pointing to its own chest, spreading its arms wide in a gesture of divine love, signaling the sisters they could come to it anytime. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Damn, heartless!¡±


    Yan Junze kicked the creature away, then withdrew it back into the Atlas.


    Looking at the three sisters, ¡°Does this kind of Possession leave any side effects on parted parts?¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian shook her head, her voice hoarse, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Experiment over, this place is also cleared up, let¡¯s head back to the Atlas now.¡±


    Dismantling the Space-Time Lockdown, he shouted towards the fifth floor, ¡°Police, come out and clean up!¡±


    Then Yan Junze, hands behind his back, walked towards the suspected lair of the fat worm on the third floor of Building No. 2.

 Chapter 802 - 453: Strangenesses Surge

    Chapter 802: Chapter 453: Strangenesses Surge


    ¡°Police, time to clean up!¡±


    Upon hearing this voice, the four people in the room on the fifth floor looked at each other in dismay.


    ¡°That¡¯s Junze¡¯s voice,¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately said.


    Without saying anything, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian immediately left the room and stepped out into the corridor, craning their necks to look down.


    They saw that there was no one downstairs, but a three-meter-long fat worm lay rigidly curled up on the ground, already breathless. The black non-Newtonian fluid was spread all over the floor, still slowly moving.


    However, it could be seen that the non-Newtonian fluid had likewise changed, slowly forming into a solid.


    ¡°Dead! The fatty has been killed! It really was a giant worm!¡± Huang Wenjian said.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Mei Lianhua couldn¡¯t help but curse in astonishment, ¡°Did Yan Junze kill it? How did he take this guy down? Indeed, not even the way of dying is usual, now it looks utterly dead!¡±


    At this, the three of them simultaneously looked at Zhang Xiaomo.


    In their minds, Zhang Xiaomo was the most knowledgeable about Yan Junze and certainly knew how he had taken down the increasingly stronger fat worm.


    However, the expression on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face immediately squashed their theories, making them feel even more confused.


    ¡°You better give Yan Junze a call and ask where he went; we¡¯ll head down to handle the scene,¡± Mei Lianhua said. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    When Yan Junze reached the stairwell on the first floor of Building No. 2, Zhang Xiaomo called: ¡°Where did you go?¡±


    ¡°I came to check out the lair of that fat worm. You guys don¡¯t come over for now, there might be danger here,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Then¡­ just now Big Brother Mei was asking¡­ how did you kill it¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo reminded: ¡°You better prepare a story in advance, they will definitely ask you.¡±


    ¡°No need, just tell them I smashed it to death with my fist.¡±


    ¡°Fist?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was stunned, clearly not believing it herself.


    ¡°Uh, plus the Black Spirit Umbrella personally crafted for me by Master Wan Shouguang.¡± Yan Junze thought this flag was waved big enough.


    ¡°Alright, be careful,¡± Zhang Xiaomo hung up the phone.


    Yan Junze had already reached the third floor and glanced towards Room 307. He noticed that the non-Newtonian fluid was still oozing out from that room.


    This substance hadn¡¯t solidified with the death of the worm, which was strange!


    Could it be that the so-called ¡°lair¡± inside the room didn¡¯t have much to do with the death of the worm?


    Yan Junze quickened his pace, walking over. Although there was non-Newtonian fluid spilling everywhere, the corridor still had places to step on. He crossed in a few strides and came in front of the room¡¯s door.


    The door was slightly ajar and opened with a push.


    He pushed the door open and stood outside to look, indeed as Mei Lianhua had described; the room that should have been an office now had chairs and desks completely destroyed, piled up messily in the furthest corner.


    And in the center of the room, a bit to the front, on the floor and the ceiling, there were two enormous fleshy growths standing opposite each other, one above and one below.


    Each of these growths was about the size of two office desks put together. The one on the floor was swollen around the outside, resembling a doughnut, with a deep recess in the middle, while the one on the ceiling was round and plump, without any recess.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t approach immediately, standing at the doorway for a moment, and noticed that these growths indeed didn¡¯t move, appearing like lifeless masses.


    However, at the time Mei Lianhua had just observed from the doorway like Yan Junze was doing now, without entering the room.


    Actually, Yan Junze had a worry in his heart; hadn¡¯t that fat worm been resurrecting on the spot every time before?


    He speculated whether, if he really killed the creature this time, another one identical would crawl out from these growths?


    After thinking, it seemed likely to happen; after all, considering the appearance of the worm, it may have come out from here.


    Of course, there was another possibility ¡ª the growth was something it had produced, and right now, it might be full of worm eggs, incubating inside.


    After a pause, Yan Junze stepped into the room, avoiding the black non-Newtonian fluid on the floor, drawing closer to the growth on the ground.


    Throughout this process, he kept an eye on the growth on the ceiling, fearing that it would suddenly burst open, expelling something that would unexpectedly smear all over him.


    Fortunately, there was no such disturbance.


    Yan Junze bent down to look at the middle of the ground growth, the recess like a thin layer of flesh membrane, which didn¡¯t show any movement on the outside but this membrane was slightly trembling.


    It was as if a gust of wind was blowing through the membrane.


    The flesh on the growth was similar to that of the fat worm, just a bit whiter, but touching it posed no danger.


    Yan Junze extended his finger, poking the trembling membrane, feeling it was not very robust, and he could indeed sense a force acting upon it.


    The flesh membrane was roughly the size of a basin.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then forcefully poked the membrane with his index finger.


    As expected, it didn¡¯t take much effort to pierce the membrane, but then he was immediately startled, looking at the scene that unfolded before his eyes.


    A cool breeze rushed in through the punctured hole into the office, brushing against Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    He had never expected that there would be another place behind the flesh membrane, an unfamiliar space that was dark and expansive, with no knowledge of its width or breadth.


    Upon closer inspection, not only was the space not enclosed, but it appeared that something was moving in the far distance of the area.

 Chapter 803 - 453 Strangenesses Surge_2

    Chapter 803: Chapter 453 Strangenesses Surge_2


    It was not very clear, Yan Junze leaned forward to see, the space inside the cave was indeed very large, it was too distant, and only the dim outlines of objects flying and swimming within this space could be perceived, but it was unclear what they were.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also noticed that the space formed by this membrane was gradually shrinking, getting smaller and smaller.


    Simultaneously, a strange sound came from that direction, similar to the friction sound of a giant wheel docking, low, piercing, and lingering¡­


    Immediately, Yan Junze jerked his body up, keeping himself at a certain distance from the entrance of the cave, his eyes catching sight of huge black scales appearing about ten meters away from the entrance, passing by within his field of vision.


    That sound was indeed emitted by this creature.


    Yan Junze widened his eyes, trying hard to identify what this creature was, but he realized it was very different from any animal he knew.


    Shortly after, the entrance of the cave had shrunk to the size of a fist, and suddenly, an olive-brown eye of the animal with the black scales appeared, peering through the tunnel towards this side.


    Unexpectedly, this creature was swimming in reverse, only showing its head now.


    But Yan Junze could no longer see clearly as the entrance had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, and ultimately slowly closed up entirely, not allowing any sight of it anymore.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s shocked state of mind slowly returned, and he felt himself taking deep breaths, his heart pounding violently, and his hands and feet tingling slightly.


    Now he could be sure that the space behind that membranous entrance belonged to another world, a world not part of the current space-time.


    And the Flesh Worm found in the school likely originated from that world, somehow making its way here.


    Also, the white long worm in his own heart, he wondered if it too had arrived in this world for the same reason.


    The creature he had just seen, equipped with black scales, capable of swimming through the air, had brought Yan Junze intense mental shock; that world was not only another world but also appeared to be a world inhabited by various indescribable beings.


    Looking at the completely closed entrance, Yan Junze once again stretched his hand out, touching the prior location, only to find it had become very hard, feeling as if it was the floor of the office.


    The passage similar to a spatial rift had disappeared!


    He spread his hands to clear the area covered by tumors, confirming this thought.


    Shortly after, including the tumors, they began to stiffen gradually, turning as hard as stone.


    The surrounding black non-Newtonian fluid also solidified into a solid state at this moment. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Straight afterwards, Yan Junze left the office, gave Zhang Xiaomo a call, informing Mei Lianhua and the others that they could come over now.


    The exorcist team had already been notified, with local security officers and stationed exorcists nearby, arriving at the school soon.


    Zhang Xiaomo delegated the subsequent matters to Zhang Di, and the two left first.


    Before leaving, Yan Junze learned from Mei Lianhua that they too had heard of these indescribable strangenesses being like this after death, but they hadn¡¯t discovered its lair.


    Thereupon, Yan Junze directly called Xiaomo¡¯s dad, Zhang Chengjing, and learned from him that the headquarters had collected over a dozen cases of these indescribable strangenesses, with two cases where a lair was found.


    One of the lairs had completely petrified when discovered and was cleared and brought back to the laboratory for study, showing no other abnormalities.


    However, the second lair was discovered by exorcists witnessing a bizarre scene, seemingly another space world, but at that time, the exorcist did not see any other strange beings.


    Just like what Yan Junze discovered, the passage to that space world quickly closed on its own, showing no further anomalies.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo were sitting in the car, so he used the speaker mode, allowing Xiaomo to also talk with her dad.


    Then, Yan Junze learned that the exorcist who, like him, had seen another space, was Xiaomo¡¯s teacher, Huaying Headquarters¡¯ five-star exorcist.


    This man was named Feng Huaigong, also a great friend of Wan Shouguang, the weapon master of Huaying Headquarters.


    It was him who initially, to assist Wan Shouguang, placed a magnetic field stabilizer in the grave of Wan Shouguang¡¯s deceased son to prevent it from turning into a strangeness.


    According to Feng Huaigong, he suspected that the dark space belonged to a world filled with strangenesses and unknown things, and he further suspected that not only these indescribable strangenesses but even the strangenesses appearing in this current world, although not directly related, might somehow be connected.


    ¡°What? Have these indescribable strangenesses appeared over there too?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked over the phone.


    ¡°Yes, dad, a big flesh worm. To deal with it, I was trapped at school for twenty days, luckily Yan Junze came.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°Did you kill it?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked.


    ¡°Yes, killed it, and I saw that other dark space with my own eyes.¡± Yan Junze saw no need to hide, as the information he currently had was minimal, and Zhang Chengjing might know more than him.


    There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and after a moment, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice came through: ¡°It seems you guys will have to work hard for a few days.¡±

 Chapter 804 - 453 Strangenesses Surge_3

    Chapter 804: Chapter 453 Strangenesses Surge_3


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaomo took over the conversation in surprise.


    ¡°Last time, after your teacher Feng Huaigong resolved that indescribable strangeness and discovered the open dark space, the number of strangenesses in the city inexplicably surged for seven consecutive days. Almost all the exorcists in the whole district were involved, and it took more than a month to finally resolve those strangenesses,¡± said Zhang Chengjing.


    ¡°Ah, I was planning to return to Tianmeng City today!¡± Zhang Xiaomo exclaimed in shock, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, doesn¡¯t it mean that Tianmeng will have to send some more exorcists over here?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded: ¡°I will immediately call Huo Zhisen and see if we need reinforcements from nearby areas. Do not take this lightly! Remember, when I say a surge, the number will be enormous. Last time during that period, Xiaomo¡¯s teacher collapsed several times, exorcising day and night without any time to sleep or rest.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be to the extent that encountering strangenesses while casually walking in the streets during the daytime, can it?¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost like that. Although the levels of the strangenesses vary, there are many of them, so be cautious,¡± Zhang Chengjing said before hanging up the phone, busy coordinating and deploying resources.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Yan Junze looked towards Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a hotel then,¡± Xiaomo said while rubbing her eyes tiredly, ¡°Before the number of strangenesses increases further, I¡¯d better get some good sleep now.¡±


    Yan Junze started the car, and asked further: ¡°One room or two?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo startled, a faint blush suddenly appearing on her face, muttered: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°Okay, one room,¡± Yan Junze said seriously.


    ¡°Did I say one room?¡± Xiaomo asked, her head down.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    ¡°I¡¯m already asleep now, can¡¯t hear anything,¡± Xiaomo closed her eyes, a slight smile curling the corners of her mouth,


    ¡°Go to sleep, I¡¯ll carry you into the hotel once we arrive,¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    Xiaomo playfully punched his thigh, still with her eyes closed, she mumbled to herself: ¡°Scoundrel!¡±


    That night.


    Gaosheng City, Prosperous Garden Community.


    At 12:20 a.m. in the community, not a single person was visible, except for the occasional security patrols, which were also carried out in groups of three or four.


    Lin Fei stood downstairs of building 13, gazing at the pitch-dark floors, where the occupants had largely gone to sleep, with no signs of movement.


    Due to the drop in temperature at night, Lin Fei was shivering slightly. She had stayed over in the office for overtime, as for everyone¡¯s safety they were being sent back to the community in business vehicles, and Lin Fei was no exception.


    However, after returning to the community, she felt more apprehensive.


    Her home was on the 20th floor and she needed to use the elevator to return, but with the building completely dark and no one outside, although there were voice-activated lights inside, she suddenly didn¡¯t dare to enter the building.


    Thinking of a strangeness incident that occurred in the building two months ago, although it had been cleared by an exorcist, the chill in Lin Fei¡¯s heart intensified. She tightened her coat and reluctantly called the person who was still at home on her phone.


    She hadn¡¯t a boyfriend and usually lived with her parents.


    She didn¡¯t want to disturb her parents, but she was too frightened to help it.


    When the phone rang, it was immediately picked up on the other end, and Lin Fei¡¯s mother¡¯s voice came through: ¡°Feifei, aren¡¯t you coming?¡±


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m downstairs and scared to come up. Can Dad come down¡­ to pick me up?¡± Lin Fei whispered.


    The silence around her felt too oppressive, and she feared that speaking too loudly might attract the attention of some unknown creature in the darkness.


    ¡°Your dad¡¯s already asleep, no worries, I¡¯ll come down and fetch you, I¡¯ll be right down, wait for me,¡± Lin Fei¡¯s mother hung up the phone.


    A moment later, she could see a voice-activated light turn on inside the building, and Lin Fei knew her mother should be coming down; her anxious heart slightly calmed.


    She stood under a streetlight next to the road in the community, where the sufficient light made her feel a bit safer.


    Soon, her mother arrived at the entrance of building 13, opened the access system, and waved at her.


    Lin Fei hurriedly jogged over, a smile emerging: ¡°Mom, you haven¡¯t slept yet?¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her mother shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Next time I¡¯ll tell President Chen not to let us work so late. Otherwise, I get scared, and it worries you too,¡± Lin Fei felt somewhat remorseful.


    The two entered the elevator one after another, and Lin Fei pressed the button for the 20th floor.


    The elevator began to ascend.


    But a few seconds later, Lin Fei¡¯s phone suddenly rang. She brought the phone closer to see, and the caller ID showed ¡°Mom!¡±


    Lin Fei paused, puzzled about what was happening, and glanced at her mother standing right beside her.


    She thought maybe the phone system displayed wrong, but still pressed the answer button, bringing it to her ear: ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Feifei, I came downstairs, why don¡¯t I see you?¡± her mother¡¯s familiar voice sounded.


    Lin Fei went rigid.


    A chill crept up her spine, and she felt a numbing sensation at the back of her head.


    At this moment, her body was so overwhelmed by sheer terror that she couldn¡¯t move at all, finding it impossible to turn around to look at the ¡°mother¡± behind her.


    Giggle giggle¡ª


    Just then, a grinding noise came from behind her.

 Chapter 805 - 454 Nuclear Power Plant

    Chapter 805: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant


    At the same moment.


    Gaosheng City, Seven Star Lake District.


    In a 270 square meter duplex residence, there are only two people at home at this large house¡ªa child and an adult.


    The child is about five years old, and he seems very energetic, showing no signs of sleepiness even though it¡¯s late.


    Sitting in the living room, his mother, Gao Ruolan, is beginning to feel sleepy, and the drama on the TV becomes a blur in front of her eyes.


    She yawns and says to the child: ¡°Xinxin, shall we go to sleep now?¡±


    The child, called Xinxin, is holding a plush teddy bear and talking to it, dressing it up. Upon hearing his mom¡¯s suggestion to sleep, Xinxin immediately looks unhappy.


    ¡°I want to wait for Daddy to come back. I¡¯ll sleep when Daddy is home!¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, Daddy is on a business trip, he¡¯ll be back tomorrow afternoon,¡± Gao Ruolan says with a smile, coaxing softly: ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep, and when we wake up, Daddy will be back.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xinxin shakes his little head, still busy dressing the plush bear.


    Gao Ruolan pretends to be angry, stands up, and begins walking upstairs: ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to sleep first, you stay here and play until your daddy comes back.¡±


    She walks slowly, constantly paying attention to Xinxin¡¯s reaction.


    Sure enough, seeing that his mother no longer paid attention to him, Xinxin hugged his plush bear tightly, looked around the room, and then with a sobbing tone said: ¡°Mommy, I want Mommy, I don¡¯t want to play alone¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now, so are you going to sleep as well?¡± Gao Ruolan deliberately asks with her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Yes, Xinxin wants to sleep with Mommy.¡±


    A smile appears on Gao Ruolan¡¯s face, she goes over to pick him up in one swoop, turns off the TV, and heads upstairs along the spiral staircase.


    After reaching the second floor, she turns off the light switch at the stairway landing, plunging the downstairs into darkness.


    Just then, while still holding Xinxin, Gao Ruolan suddenly hears a soft thud, thud coming from downstairs, as if right under the spiral staircase.


    She immediately looks down, but since it is pitch black below, she can¡¯t see anything.


    With one arm holding Xinxin and another reaching for the light switch downstairs, she intends to turn the light back on.


    ¡°It was the ball,¡± Xinxin suddenly says.


    Gao Ruolan pauses, and asks: ¡°Are you sure it was the sound of the ball just now?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Xinxin nods vigorously.


    Gao Ruolan withdraws her hand, thinking it must have been the ball they often play with, which must have rolled off the sofa earlier unnoticed.


    Holding Xinxin, she turns and heads to the master bedroom. After entering, she turns on the light, locks the bedroom door out of habit, and padlocks it.


    She takes Xinxin to the bathroom to wash up clean, soaks his little feet in warm water until they turn rosy, then dries them off and lifts Xinxin onto the bed in the bedroom.


    She helps him out of his clothes, lets Xinxin lie on the bed, tucks him in, turns on the soft light on the bedside, and softly says: ¡°Xinxin, be good, fall asleep now, Mommy will come after washing her face. Maybe you¡¯ll be asleep when Mommy arrives!¡±


    Xinxin obediently nods his head, burrows under the blanket leaving only his head out, staring intently at Gao Ruolan.


    Gao Ruolan bends down, kisses him on his forehead, tucks him in snugly, then turns to head to the bathroom,


    She takes several minutes to hastily remove her makeup before beginning to wash up. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While brushing her teeth, she seems to hear someone talking and a muffled ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± sound.


    Due to the loud noise coming from her mouth at this moment, the sound is barely audible, Gao Ruolan pauses slightly, stops brushing her teeth, and freezes in place.


    A moment later, no other sounds come.


    She assumes she must have misheard and continues brushing her teeth, and after rinsing her mouth, thud, thud, thud, three soft knocks are heard again.


    This time, she hears it loud and clear, the sound comes from outside the bedroom.


    Gao Ruolan raises her eyebrow, takes a face towel, and wipes her mouth while stepping out of the bathroom.


    Just as she reaches the door of the master bedroom, close to the bathroom, the door she had locked from the inside begins to knock again with three sounds, thud, thud, thud!


    Who is knocking outside?


    Gao Ruolan shivers in fear, goosebumps all over her body, she doesn¡¯t make a sound but immediately clamps her mouth shut, not daring to make any noise, and hastily walks toward the big bed.


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    Suddenly, the voice of her son, Xinxin, comes from outside the door.


    Gao Ruolan shudders, turns her head to look at the locked bedroom door, she not only keeps her lips tightly shut without responding, but even her breath is held.


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    Outside, Xinxin¡¯s knocking and shouting are heard again, his voice trembling, seemingly frightened, conveying a sense of helplessness.


    Gao Ruolan comes to her senses, immediately takes a few steps forward, then looks towards the big bed and sees that it is indeed empty¡ªher son is gone.


    She turns back around, looking at the door again.


    At this moment, the knocking outside the door resumes, and Xinxin¡¯s voice comes through: ¡°Mommy, open the door, I¡¯m scared!¡±


    ¡°Xinxin, how¡­ how did you get outside?¡± Gao Ruolan wants to open the door, but something in her mind is stopping her.


    She must figure it out first!


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    At the same moment, from under the big bed behind her, another familiar voice suddenly emerges.


    Judging from the voice, it also sounds like Xinxin.


    Gao Ruolan turns around again, her expression filled with terror, her gaze directed under the bed, but it is pitch black under there, she can see nothing.

 Chapter 806 - 454 Nuclear Power Plant_2

    Chapter 806: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant_2


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m scared!¡± came the voice of Xinxin from under the bed.


    ¡°Mom,¡± said the Xinxin outside the room at the same time, ¡°I got scared alone in bed, and ran out here!¡±


    She turned back to look towards the bedroom door, then twisted her head to look at the dark space under the bed.


    Just then, Gao Ruolan¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted as she saw an unnaturally colored little hand stretch out from under the bed, followed by the hand trembling uncontrollably.


    Gao Ruolan was so frightened that she gasped for air, hesitated for a moment, then ran to the bedroom door, twisted the doorknob, and found the latch was still locked.


    ¡°No, the door is locked! Xinxin couldn¡¯t have gone out!¡±


    At this scene, she gave up on the idea of opening the door and instead took two steps back, moving away from the bedroom door.


    Since the door was still latched, Xinxin must still be in the room, Gao Ruolan once again turned back to look in the direction of the bed.


    At this moment, from under the bed came a trembling voice: ¡°Mom, just now outside¡­ someone kept calling for you¡­¡±


    While speaking, a boy crawled out from under the bed, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his voice laced with crying.


    Gao Ruolan saw clearly, this child was indeed Xinxin, she quickly trotted over, scooped him up, but found Xinxin¡¯s entire body ice-cold, not knowing how long he had been hiding under the bed after crawling out from under the covers.


    Meanwhile, outside the bedroom door, at this moment, the little boy also came through with sobs, while weeping, he said, ¡°Mom, there¡¯s someone under the bed, I kept calling you, but you didn¡¯t answer, so I unlocked the door and ran out, and then¡­ the door locked itself again¡­¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing the intermittent cries of the child outside, Gao Ruolan was stunned.


    She turned to look at the child she was holding, only to see the face of Xinxin in her arms slowly turning blue¡­


    ¡­


    Zhang Xiaomo woke up to find Yan Junze sitting by the bed watching her.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was already dressed, had washed up, and his hair was exuding the fresh scent of shampoo.


    A smile appeared on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face, she stretched out her arms, and gave a big yawn, feeling very well-rested.


    Seeing that Yan Junze was still watching her, she asked, ¡°Silly, what are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Seeing how long you could sleep until you woke up naturally.¡± Yan Junze revealed a smile, looked up at the wall clock in the room, ¡°It¡¯s ten o¡¯clock in the morning.¡±


    ¡°When did I fall asleep yesterday?¡± Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°After dinner, you probably slept around seven.¡± Yan Junze recalled.


    Xiaomo responded with surprise, ¡°I slept for fifteen hours!?¡±


    Yan Junze grinned cheekily, ¡°No, it¡¯s twelve hours. You forgot, you woke up in the middle? Hmm, about three hours later before you slept again!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo blushed slightly, turned her body to the side, and muttered under her breath, ¡°Boasting without draft, was it three hours?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily, ¡°Approximately, it seems, maybe, about three hours.¡±


    As he spoke, he took Xiaomo¡¯s clothes over, ¡°Hurry up and get dressed, I¡¯ve already ordered breakfast, from now on we¡¯ll be busy.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo came to her senses, ¡°Is it because the supernatural events in Gaosheng City are increasing?¡±


    ¡°Not just increasing, it would be more appropriate to describe it as an outbreak!¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Just now I contacted Captain Huo Zhisen, most of the exorcists from Tianmeng have been dispatched to Gaosheng City, left at dawn, and have already arrived at eight this morning. Currently, all the exorcists are divided into small teams and assigned areas, and have begun the cleansing of the strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Are there that many?¡± Xiaomo exclaimed in surprise.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°It seems pretty severe, your dad was not wrong, it¡¯s probably related to that opened space channel. And¡­¡±


    At this point, Yan Junze leaned in closer to Zhang Xiaomo, and whispered mysteriously, ¡°It¡¯s said that out of ten strangenesses, at least seven are looking for a replacement. Well, you better get up quick, we¡¯re in for a busy time!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Xiaomo, having rested the whole night, was now full of energy, as she climbed out of bed, ¡°I¡¯ll speak with Captain Huo, the two of us will team up, this way you won¡¯t have to worry, and the exorcism will be even faster.¡±


    At this moment, the news of the sudden increase of strangenesses has not only spread among all the residents in Gaosheng City but had also permeated the other cities of Tianmeng District.


    With the reports from Tianmeng Television Station, the news about the outbreak of supernatural events in Gaosheng City quickly reached the other seven districts in the Great Capital of Huaying.


    This time it seemed that no organization interfered, fully demonstrating the freedom of news reporting, the exorcism situation in Gaosheng City was made known to people everywhere in great detail.


    Perhaps the world was no longer peaceful, and the trend of the strangenesses was getting more serious. Blindly concealing and covering up would only lead to the public¡¯s underestimation, increasing the danger for everyone.


    In such a case, it might be better to change the approach, increase the intensity of the reports so that the public, having a large amount of information at their disposal, can always remain on high alert and cautious.


    Thus, they can save themselves in the greatest extent when encountering strangenesses.


    In Luoxia District, White Star Nuclear Power Station.


    The nuclear power plant is located near the edge of the desert, also nearly 30 kilometers away from the nearest densely populated residential area.


    The nuclear power plant occupies a wide area, close to a desolate mountain range, and extends into the underground.


    Aside from the formal employees of the nuclear power plant, the externally hired staff were mostly locally recruited, such as cleaners, security guards, cafeteria chefs, and miscellaneous workers.


    At this moment, inside the duty room of the main building of the nuclear power station, five security guards were gathered together, looking up at the television on the wall.


    The news playing on the television was the coverage of the surge of supernatural events in Gaosheng City, the correspondent was standing in front of a mall on the street, occasionally looking back, then reporting to the camera at a very fast pace.

 Chapter 807 - 454 Nuclear Power Plant_3

    Chapter 807: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant_3


    At the mall¡¯s main entrance behind her, there was not a single person, and a yellow warning tape was stretched across the outside.


    ¡°This mall is said to be the largest in the Tianmeng District of Gaosheng City, with at least eleven supernatural events reported from yesterday till now. Moreover, three sales clerks from one of the stores inside have disappeared, and they haven¡¯t been found yet.¡±


    One of the security guards, who had apparently been following the news, was now explaining this to everyone.


    The other security guards shook their heads in astonishment.


    A slightly overweight security guard exclaimed, ¡°The world is getting more chaotic! If things continue like this, there won¡¯t be a safe place left in the world.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it safe here?¡± asked another security guard beside him, ¡°I¡¯m quite satisfied; at least our nuclear power station has never experienced any strangeness. I¡¯ve patrolled alone countless times at night, it¡¯s very safe!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because Exorcists often stationed here?¡± asked the first guard who spoke, surprised.


    The chubby guard shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t know that, I¡¯ve heard from the Exorcist himself, he mentioned that strangenesses have their own magnetic field, and the magnetic interference from our nuclear power station might be too strong, which prevents them from appearing.¡±


    ¡°If they can¡¯t appear, then why do we need an Exorcist here?¡± the man next to the overweight guard asked.


    The chubby guard smacked that guy¡¯s head, ¡°You know nothing! This shows how important our place is, and the higher-ups have to take it seriously.¡±


    ¡°The captain is here, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± said a security guard standing by the window.


    The others immediately dispersed, fixing their belts, grabbing their batons, walkie-talkies, flashlights, and other equipment, and gearing up.


    This captain is named Ding Yi, a tall and sturdy man, who used to be a retired special forces officer, though that was twenty years ago.


    Now he has developed a beer belly, but still has some of his old abilities, enough to secure the position of a security team captain here.


    Managing these security guards recruited from nearby areas is quite difficult, but they still listen to Ding Yi, mainly because the company offers good benefits, and although Ding Yi appears strict on the surface, he actually cares about his people, so everyone is willing to give him face.


    Every evening, he assigns the night shift patrol teams, two persons per team, responsible for designated patrol areas and works shifts splitting the night into two halves.


    According to the assignments, Yao Long and Gao Yunyang are on tonight¡¯s shift. But before officially starting the night shift, all team members will patrol together once, and then the others go back to the dormitory, leaving Yao Long and Gao Yunyang on duty until 7 am the next morning.


    Yao Long is about the same height and build as Ding Yi, also very fit, and at just thirty years old, much younger than Ding Yi. Gao Yunyang is the slightly overweight guard, who even gets out of breath from walking fast.


    The pairing of these two was deliberately arranged by Ding Yi for complementarity.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, Gao Yunyang was reportedly introduced by the deputy manager. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, they finished patrolling the perimeters of the nuclear island and the conventional island, and walked through the designated patrol area of the supporting facilities, after which the others returned to the dormitory.


    Yao Long and Gao Yunyang returned to the duty room.


    Gao Yunyang started to boil water to soak his feet, while Yao Long meticulously checked the surveillance monitors.


    In fact, there are other technical staff on duty within the nuclear power station, in total more than a dozen people, spread out over their respective work areas, and it¡¯s not only the security guards.


    However, those people only need to ensure that the equipment is operating normally, while the security guards¡¯ attention is on everything.


    After soaking his feet, Gao Yunyang soon lay down on the small bed in the duty room and began snoring, unlike Yao Long, who, given his own connections, clearly didn¡¯t take work matters to heart.


    Yao Long glanced at the time, ignoring the guy sleeping like a dead pig, geared up, and went out to patrol.

 Chapter 808 - 455: Radiation

    Chapter 808: Chapter 455: Radiation


    No matter with whom he had shifts, whether it was day or night, Yao Long always did his job with diligence and thoroughness.


    The company had regulations that patrol points must be fixed, and under normal circumstances security guards are not allowed to deviate from the patrol route unless there is a special situation.


    And Yao Long has always performed well in this respect.


    On a starry night with a bright moon, halfway through his patrol, he looked up at the profound sky and suddenly sighed deeply.


    His parents had passed away early, and since he and his ex-wife had no children, he had been alone for the past two years.


    Later, when nuclear power plant staff came to town for a local certification, he accidentally heard that they were hiring security guards, so he applied for the job.


    His physical condition and reaction time were still good, so he was hired immediately and, after joining the security team, was highly appreciated by the team leader, Ding Yi.


    As expected, if he continued working like this, he might even be promoted to deputy team leader.


    Of course, this was just Yao Long¡¯s wishful thinking. He knew that being alone here, no one would value or take care of him except for Ding Yi.


    Fortunately, the salary at the nuclear power plant was quite good, and since he had almost no expenses for living and eating there, most of his salary was saved.


    Over these two years, his savings had become quite substantial.


    However, people say that this place is still a nuclear power plant and there could be pollution and leaks; although these are unlikely, nuclear radiation will inevitably disperse, unavoidably affecting the human body.


    True or not, Yao Long planned to work for another two or three years. If he couldn¡¯t be promoted to deputy team leader by then, he would resign and then live off his savings, perhaps starting a small business, which would be better than staying here.


    They say, ¡°A monk strikes the bell day by day¡±; he consistently performed his duty rigorously without ever slacking.


    The rooms inside the nuclear power plant are generally not accessible during patrols; they are only toured from the outside, and only professional staff may enter.


    Of course, that excludes cases of emergencies.


    Although the route was well-lit, there were areas where the lighting was dim, at which times Yao Long would use his flashlight to carefully inspect his surroundings.


    He tried the walkie-talkie clipped to his waist, which transmitted a normal signal. He did not try to call Gao Yunyang, who was likely asleep, allowing the young man to sleep longer, and quickly passed through a darker area, reaching the outside of device room 6.


    Here, unless there was an emergency situation or he had proper authorization, he too could not enter arbitrarily.


    However, at that moment, two faint explosive sounds came, low in volume, but in the surrounding silence, Yao Long quickly identified them, sensing something unusual.


    This was the exterior of reactor number six, and those sounds seemed to emerge from inside the device room.


    Yao Long took out his walkie-talkie and tried to call Gao Yunyang, but there was no response; the guy might still be deep in sleep.


    During the shift, mobile phones were collected and not carried on person.


    Yao Long hesitated for a moment, and just then, a loud bang emanated from inside the device room.


    His body shivered slightly, and he immediately rushed over while pulling out his walkie-talkie, calling Gao Yunyang several more times, but still no response.


    He quickly arrived at the door of the device room; Yao Long had a special access card on him, but it was meant for emergency use only, and he had never used it before.


    He hesitated briefly, grasped the doorknob, swiped the card, and there was a click from inside, opening outward.


    He immediately pushed open the door and stepped in briskly.


    This outer area was just the transition room leading into the device room of unit six; his type of access card absolutely didn¡¯t allow entry inside the device room, but standing outside the transitional room, he could still see clearly inside.


    Just as he approached the transparent tempered glass, another bang resounded, a burst of steam surged toward him, and Yao Long saw a flash of fire just as alarm bells rang loudly.


    He was momentarily stunned, pressed the walkie-talkie button again, and before he could speak, a huge blast shook beneath his feet.


    A flash of white light appeared, and the sound of the alarm abruptly ceased, cut off by the intense noise.


    Yao Long¡¯s body trembled violently; he didn¡¯t have time to see what had happened inside, and immediately turned to run. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A strong gust surged out of the reactor inside the room, as the metal door leading to the device room bulged out into an irregular hemisphere, but the clearly custom-made metal door resisted it.


    However, cracks immediately formed, and wisps of white vapor spurted out.


    The transitional room filled with white vapor, and before Yao Long could run to the outer door, he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his body, especially on his back.


    This sensation grew increasingly intense, making his breath short, as if unable to breathe, and he fell to the ground with a thud.


    The walkie-talkie was smashed, and the flashlight rolled to the side of his feet.


    Around that device room, rows of warning lights frantically flashed, but no sound emanated anymore.


    Immediately afterward, the device room began to automatically sink underground, probably triggering some kind of emergency protection measure.


    Bright white metal plates converged from all directions, completely sealing the device room, leaving whatever violent reactions were occurring inside to unfold.


    Bit by bit, the entire device room quickly sank into a space deep underground, its depth unknown.

 Chapter 809 - 455: Radiation_2

    Chapter 809: Chapter 455: Radiation_2


    A larger bright white metal plate descended, completely covering it.


    Yao Long, lying on the ground, desperately stretched out his hand, clutching the floor tightly, his right index and middle finger nails quickly flipped backward, blood gushing out.


    But he seemed to be oblivious, and he could no longer speak.


    Consciousness was fading rapidly, and in less than a minute, his eyes slowly closed.


    In the dark of night, cars and SUVs sped towards White Star Nuclear Power Plant from a distance.


    The people who got out of the cars were all dressed properly, but with terror on their faces, pale and with heads down, they quickly walked into the office building of the nuclear power plant.


    A small conference room on the fourth floor was brightly lit.


    General Manager Hu Changfei¡¯s face was still a bit swollen; he had been woken from a deep sleep by a call from Chief Engineer Li Jiazhong.


    Without even washing his face or combing his hair, he had put on clothes and rushed back to the nuclear power plant.


    ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Hu Changfei, although he had a general idea of the situation, was still unable to control the anger spreading within him.


    Li Jiazhong, with his head slightly bowed, organized his thoughts before beginning, ¡°President Hu, rest assured, the situation is under control. The Anderson emergency response system was automatically activated, completely sealing off Reactor No. 6 which had just burst, and immediately sinking it into a sealed cavity underground. During this process, there was no violent explosion, nor any leakage.¡±


    ¡°Why did it burst?¡± Hu Changfei was both shocked and scared.


    He knew that if an explosion really happened, everyone here, including the nearby residents, would be done for.


    ¡°It should be¡­ a problem with the steam valve!¡± Li Jiazhong said, bowing his head, his face looking terrible.


    ¡°Check! Inspect all valves, and if they are from unit six, replace them all!¡± Hu Changfei slapped the table fiercely, ¡°Li Jiazhong, I¡¯m telling you, there must be accountability for this! Start with the person in charge of unit six, the technical staff, all the way to you!¡±


    Li Jiazhong understood what he meant and hurriedly said, ¡°I think, since the situation has been suppressed, there is no need to poke a bigger hole for our company.¡±


    ¡°What does everyone think?¡± Hu Changfei looked to the others.


    ¡°No objections.¡±


    ¡°I have no objections either.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best not to spread the word, it will be very troublesome later.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I also support doing this.¡±


    Everyone expressed their opinions, unified in the decision to suppress the situation for the company¡¯s benefit. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hu Changfei knocked on the conference table: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, clean up the aftermath, and don¡¯t make the same mistakes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Li Jiazhong suddenly showed a look of difficulty.


    ¡°Just what?¡± Hu Changfei was surprised.


    ¡°There was a security officer named Yao Long on patrol at the time, he heard the noise and ran in, and the result¡­ the result¡­¡±


    ¡°He died?¡± Hu Changfei was horrified, something he had not anticipated at all.


    ¡°Not dead yet, but it¡¯s serious, now arranged by security captain Ding Yi in the isolation room of the dormitory area.¡± Li Jiazhong shook his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s his condition?¡± Hu Changfei became tense.


    ¡°Before being taken to the isolation room, he became nauseous and vomited. Half an hour after being admitted, spontaneous bleeding from all five orifices occurred, and just now when I was coming here, I heard from Ding Yi that diarrhea had started, all blood.¡± Li Jiazhong spoke gravely.


    Hu Changfei shook his head: ¡°I mean, what¡¯s the situation with his family?¡±


    ¡°No relatives. He divorced early, has no children, and his parents died a long time ago.¡± Li Jiazhong clearly understood Hu Changfei¡¯s thoughts even more now.


    Hu Changfei was startled; according to their previous plan, they would surely have given Yao Long¡¯s family a hefty sum to keep quiet once they had managed to suppress this incident.


    But now it seems, even the compensation can be spared. The only concern is, they must give hush money to the other security staff, or this incident might also get leaked by them.


    ¡°Temporarily seal the isolation room and have some people watch over it,¡± Hu Changfei instructed after a moment of silence: ¡°Have all security team members come to the conference room, I will hold a meeting with them personally.¡±


    ¡°President Hu, I heard that security captain Ding Yi and Yao Long were quite close,¡± one of the core team members reminded.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m aware of that,¡± Hu Changfei nodded.


    Now was the time to seal the mouths of these few at any cost, spending more money if necessary.


    ¡­


    Gaosheng City, Prosperous Garden Community.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo walked into the elevator of building 13, one after the other, with Zhang Xiaomo pressing the button for the 20th floor after entering.


    The elevator ascended.


    Yan Junze looked around in the elevator as if talking to himself, ¡°Did it first appear in this elevator?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo behind him nodded, ¡°Yes, according to her mother¡¯s phone call, that thing disguised itself as her and tricked her daughter into the elevator. When her mother took another elevator to catch up, she found her daughter Lin Fei lying unconscious at the elevator door.¡±


    After a while, the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened.


    Yan Junze glanced at the doorway of the elevator.


    Then the two walked out of the elevator and stopped in front of one of the apartments, knocking on the door, which was soon opened by an elder woman with a worried frown.


    The woman looked confused when she saw Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo the moment she opened the door: ¡°Who¡­ are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°We are Exorcists,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°Ah, oh, I am Lin Fei¡¯s mother, please¡­ come in¡­¡± Lin¡¯s mother quickly stood aside, letting them in.


    In the living room, a man sitting on the couch smoking sullenly was Lin Fei¡¯s father.


    Upon seeing the Exorcists arrive, he too was taken aback and immediately got up to make tea.

 Chapter 810 - 455: Radiation_3

    Chapter 810: Chapter 455: Radiation_3 S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Where is Lin Fei?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Lin¡¯s mother pointed to a bedroom: ¡°We¡­ we locked the bedroom door from outside, she can¡¯t get out. But an hour ago, she seemed to be slamming the door, and it sounded like she was using her head to do it, now there¡¯s no noise. We are all worried, but we dare not open the bedroom door.¡±


    ¡°You did the right thing.¡± Yan Junze said.


    He then took the keys from Lin¡¯s mother, told Zhang Xiaomo to stay in the living room with the elders, and informed them not to enter their daughter¡¯s bedroom without his permission.


    Zhang Xiaomo stood outside Lin Fei¡¯s bedroom, holding the magnetic knife and said: ¡°Why not just go in and chop it off, it would save time. And if Lin Fei is possessed, the magnetic knife won¡¯t hurt her, it will only kill the Possession Spirit. As long as the possession hasn¡¯t been for too long, there¡¯s still a chance to save her.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°Something is odd, I will check first, there might still be hope.¡±


    The key was inserted into the lock, and the door was opened.


    Zhang Xiaomo then went back to the living room, staying with Lin Fei¡¯s anxious parents.


    Yan Junze walked into the bedroom.


    What appeared in front of him was the back of a young woman, standing in front of a dressing mirror of the wardrobe, still wearing her work suit, not changed into pajamas.


    Her gaze was dim, staring at her own reflection in the mirror without blinking, completely unresponsive to Yan Junze entering the room.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, walked to Lin Fei¡¯s side, looking at her motionless side profile.


    Then he turned to look at the woman in the mirror.


    After a careful perception, just like when he entered the room, he couldn¡¯t feel any strange magnetic field.


    Just watching this woman staring at herself in the mirror.


    A moment later, Yan Junze took out a small mirror with a handle, which had a Mirror Spirit inside.


    He didn¡¯t point the small mirror towards the motionless Lin Fei herself, but toward the direction of the dressing mirror, pressing one side of the small mirror against it, its back blocking Lin Fei¡¯s face.


    At this moment, Lin Fei¡¯s front in the mirror, still strangely persisted, and upon glimpsing herself in the small mirror, her face in the mirror suddenly twisted hideously.


    Yan Junze suddenly spoke out loud, addressing Zhang Xiaomo outside in the living room: ¡°Xiaomo, kill Lin Fei¡¯s parents beside you immediately!¡±


    Xiaomo, who was standing with Lin Fei¡¯s parents in the living room, was momentarily stunned, thinking she had misheard, and turned her head to look at the elderly couple.


    The two older adults also heard it, their faces immediately filled with fear and shock, clearly unaware of what was happening.


    But Zhang Xiaomo, just mildly shocked, chose to trust Yan Junze unconditionally, flipped the magnetic knife and made a horizontal chop at Lin Fei¡¯s parents¡¯ necks.


    At the same time, magnetic glow enveloped the magnetic knife, ensuring the magnetic knife would only damage the strangeness itself.


    With a slash, two heads flew off, black vapor rising from inside the necks, with no blood splattering.


    These two outside the room, they were indeed strangenesses! Strangenesses that emitted no strange magnetic fields!


    Meanwhile, in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, within that pitch-black Mirror World in the small mirror, a roar sounded, a large black hand reached out, fiercely grabbing into the dressing mirror, and clasped onto that hideously faced Lin Fei.


    It directly pulled this Lin Fei out of the dressing mirror and dragged her into the Mirror World where the Mirror Spirit resided.


    All illusions in the dressing mirror vanished instantly.


    Lin Fei standing in front of the mirror gasped sharply, her body trembling, seemingly revived at that moment, free from the strangeness¡¯s control in the mirror.


    Yan Junze safely tucked away the small mirror, helping the life-reclaimed Lin Fei to sit on the bed.


    About fifteen minutes later, personnel from the Safety Bureau arrived, handling the bodies of Lin Fei¡¯s parents curled up behind the sofa.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo left the room together, heading towards the next location.


    ¡°Tell me, what exactly happened just now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo walked side by side with Yan Junze, asking perplexedly.


    ¡°Actually, that 4747 call wasn¡¯t made by Lin Fei¡¯s parents, it was Lin Fei herself who called.¡± Yan Junze said: ¡°In the elevator she almost fell victim to a body replacement, but in the end, it was her parents who actually got replaced. When Lin Fei woke up, after interacting with her parents for some time, she noticed they were acting weirdly, thus she locked herself in the room and made the 4747 emergency call. However¡­¡±


    Here, Yan Junze shrugged: ¡°After making the call, she was most likely captured by the third body-seeking strangeness, using the mirror to capture spirits, swapping Lin Fei¡¯s body with the one in the mirror, this third body-seeking strangeness delusionally intended to create a new family with the other two strangenesses outside.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo sighed: ¡°Now that the number of strangenesses in Gaosheng City has increased, these body-seeking strangenesses are peculiar, some of them don¡¯t emit any strange magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°Right, so we need to pay more attention to some small details.¡± Yan Junze nodded.

 Chapter 811 - 456:

    Chapter 811: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile


    Three days had passed.


    The White Star Nuclear Power Plant seemed to be in perfect order, everything appeared normal.


    The Exorcist stationed here rarely stayed nearby, always taking any chance to run off to the nearest small town some 30 kilometers away.


    After all, consensus among Exorcists was that not a single strangeness had been found around the nuclear power plant so far.


    Since the outbreak of strangenesses, none had ever emerged near this factory area.


    Having no other choice, being an Exorcist meant one needed to practice, otherwise they¡¯d encounter fewer strangenesses than an ordinary person, which would be laughable if spoken aloud.


    Plus, with Exorcist Wang Tong¡¯s naturally restless disposition, after initially being stationed at the power plant for three months and with the management of the squad here being quite loose, he¡¯d developed a habit of visiting the nuclear power plant once a week, spending the rest of his time in nearby towns. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Downtime could be spent helping the town deal with strangenesses, which resulted in greater gains than staying at the power plant, and the residents of Luoxia District were mostly warm-hearted, with opportunities to earn some extra money.


    Wang Tong returned from the nearby town, did a round at the station and found nothing unusual.


    However, as per usual, he would rest here for the night and head to another small town about fifty kilometers away the next day to see if there were strangenesses to be cleared.


    Naturally, his room was situated on a small hill, separate from the dormitory area, with its own air conditioning, heating, and solar-powered hot water service.


    After cleaning the room, Wang Tong brewed himself a packet of instant noodles and ate them along with a sausage.


    At this time, the canteen was already closed, and Wang Tong didn¡¯t like the food in the nuclear power plant canteen, feeling that it had an odd taste.


    He closed the door, took out a strangely shaped small jar from his backpack. The jar was only the size of a palm, with a small lid but a disproportionately large belly.


    The lid featured a sealable inner plug. Once pressed down, it was tight enough that not even liquid could spill out.


    Wang Tong opened the lid, then lay down on the bed and started browsing his phone.


    After a short while, the jar trembled slightly, a man¡¯s head squeezed out of it, followed by his arms, torso, and legs.


    After landing on the floor, the man stood beside Wang Tong¡¯s bed expressionlessly, his complexion a purplish hue, with slightly swollen limbs and slick with slime from the jar.


    Wang Tong paid no attention to him, and after another moment, the jar moved again and an old crone crawled out of it in the same manner.


    This old crone was as skinny as the man was the opposite, standing no taller than one meter forty, but similarly covered in slime.


    Some time later, the jar moved once more, and this time two children emerged from it, one after the other.


    One was slightly older and the other younger, only able to crawl on the ground.


    These strangenesses were all collected by Wang Tong during his regular Exorcism endeavors. He enjoyed researching Spirit Cultivation and had extensive experience and practice in this field.


    They were specially reported to the squad organization and were powerful strangenesses that had committed grave injustices before; it seemed wasteful to kill them, so Wang Tong made use of them.


    With the direct support of his squad, Wang Tong had access to far more resources than those underhand Spirit Cultivators.


    These four strangenesses had been chosen and trained by him over a long period and were each more fierce than before they were subdued, serving as powerful aids during his regular Exorcisms.


    One could say that much of Wang Tong¡¯s Exorcism skill was related to his proficiency in Spirit Cultivation.


    After releasing the four strangenesses, he said without looking up, ¡°You can move around the room, but don¡¯t get close to the nuclear power plant. The magnetic field is too strong. Even Qiu shouldn¡¯t go near it. Be wary of the ashes of oblivion.¡±


    Qiu was the first strangeness that had crawled out of the jar, and the most powerful among the four.


    Wang Tong¡¯s warning was also a reminder, as the creature knew on its own to avoid the direction of the nuclear power station.


    This was why Wang Tong had requested his room to be built on a slightly distant hill, to avoid others witnessing his Spirit Cultivation and to protect the strangenesses from intense magnetic interference.


    Meanwhile, in a cramped corner room of the dormitory area of the nuclear power plant.


    The light was dim, and the outside door was secured with a sturdy metal lock, inaccessible from either side without a key.


    The room contained only a bed, nothing else.


    At this moment, the bedsheet and floor were soaked with blood, some already coagulated.


    Lying on the bed was Yao Long.


    Yao Long¡¯s consciousness was blurry, but one thing he was clear about; he seemed to be locked in this small room, no longer able to leave.


    So much time had passed since he was rescued and placed here, with no one coming to visit him.


    He was very thirsty, yet didn¡¯t feel hungry.


    He tried to open his eyes but found he couldn¡¯t control his body.


    Yao Long¡¯s skin was ulcerated all over, few hairs remained on his head, and the pillow on the bed was full of hair that had fallen out.


    His mouth had developed a large number of ulcers that seemed to have fused together, and a light yellow fluid was leaking from his entire body.


    At this moment, Yao Long was, in fact, breathing his last.

 Chapter 812 - 456:

    Chapter 812: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile_2


    He was furious, unable to consciously accept what was happening to him. What exactly had happened? Why had nobody come to inquire about his condition?


    Others didn¡¯t come, but what about Ding Yi, the security captain who usually cared the most about him?


    Why wasn¡¯t he sent to the hospital? It seemed now that his condition had worsened significantly.


    He was extremely angry, his body shaking from time to time, but it was an unconscious tremor.


    Outside the door, there were shadows moving and voices could be heard, but he didn¡¯t know what they were saying.


    They must know he was inside, but they remained indifferent.


    Rage and resentment, confusion and pain kept Yao Long struggling and subconsciously resisting.


    This was the third day. He didn¡¯t know he could hold on for so long, nor did he know how much longer he could last.


    Gradually, the sounds from outside grew silent.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­ thump, thump¡­ thump, thump¡­


    The feeble heartbeat within his chest suddenly ceased at this moment, no longer able to bear the strain¡­


    The security room was suffocating.


    For the past two days, Ding Yi had been unusually silent, his heart gripped as if clenched by a hand, unable to release, unable to beat normally.


    He looked at the several bank cards laid on the bed and remembered the comforting yet threatening words President Hu said when he handed over the cards to his men, he could tell the difference.


    Somehow, he had taken them, maybe for the sake of the other brothers in the team, or maybe for his wife and child at home.


    Maybe¡­ he didn¡¯t even know why.


    Now Ding Yi felt even more mournful, but this sorrow was quickly supplanted by a sense of powerlessness. He tried not to think about that quarantine room, not to think about the person locked inside, alive or dead.


    In the entire security room, only Gao Yunyang seemed to be unaffected, still whistling and doing whatever he was doing as usual.


    In fact, Gao Yunyang was secretly relieved, thankful that he had been sleeping so soundly that night. Otherwise, if he had heard Yao Long calling out to him through the intercom, he would have certainly run over.


    Had he gone, it wouldn¡¯t be just Yao Long lying in the quarantine room now; he might have been lying there too.


    Thinking of the scene of a body ridden with sores, Gao Yunyang could not help but shudder, then secretly pat his chest in reassurance.


    In any case, he was very fortunate.


    Late in the evening, after eating dinner in the cafeteria, everyone prepared to start their patrol shifts. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sky was turning a pale yellow, and it would soon become dark.


    The security¡¯s routine patrol went on as normal, while the two people responsible for guarding the quarantine room outside were from the equipment maintenance team of group six, one tall and one short.


    These two were pulled in as emergency manpower; although a mishap would lead to punishment, under the current circumstances, they were actually going to receive a good sum of money on the side.


    On the first day, both heard Yao Long¡¯s faint groaning from inside the quarantine room, but starting from yesterday, there were no more sounds.


    Both of them had serious expressions, and although they didn¡¯t know the security guard, the thought of his ordeal made them feel cold inside.


    Even the taller one was already thinking that, once this situation was over, he would take the money and leave this place to seek better opportunities.


    Just then, a hoarse and indistinct voice came from the quarantine room not far behind them.


    The tall one turned his head to glance at the door locked with a large metal padlock and asked the short one, ¡°Did you hear the sound just now?¡±


    The short one was engrossed in watching comical videos on his cellphone through the Tremolo APP, seemingly trying to lighten his mood.


    On hearing this, he looked up with a surprised expression towards the tall one, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    The tall one leaned in to listen, it seemed like there was no sound, and he shook his head, ¡°Nothing?¡±


    He paused, then stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the toilet for a smoke.¡±


    The short one nodded, still fixated on his phone, without speaking.


    Shortly after the tall one left, the short one instinctively felt a chill around him, shivering slightly, yet his attention remained on the video playing on his phone.


    The video reached a particularly funny clip, the volume increasing, and at that very moment, something seemed to splat against the wall behind him.


    Startled, the short one looked behind him but saw nothing.


    He suspected he had heard wrong, maybe it was a sound from the video, and so he returned his attention to the screen.


    Behind him, from the the cracks in the door of the quarantine room, secured by the large metal padlock, dark liquid slowly began to seep through, more and more of it, mingled with particles that looked like chips. Additionally, chunks of flesh were continuously surfacing and sinking into this black liquid, silently approaching the sitting short man.


    And now, the door to this quarantine room, was nearly drowned and soaked through by the dark liquid.


    The tall man finished urinating in the toilet and smoked a cigarette before washing his hands and returning to where he and the short man were sitting.


    Glancing over at the still engrossed short man with the help of the corridor lights outside, it seemed he had not looked up the entire time.


    After sitting down, the tall man glanced again at the door of the quarantine room behind him and said softly, ¡°Do you think that security guard is dead by now?¡±


    The short one did not respond.


    The tall one didn¡¯t notice and muttered to himself, ¡°I feel it should be almost time, it¡¯s been two days without any noise. Shall we report to the boss and have them come take a look? Hmm, do we need to wear protective suits to go in now?¡±

 Chapter 813 - 456:

    Chapter 813: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile_3


    As the conversation ended, he realized the short man was still bowing his head, but his phone was no longer in his hands.


    ¡°Fell asleep?¡± The tall one bent down, leaning in to take a closer look at the shorter man.


    However, just from that glance, he was suddenly jolted, his face turned the color of death, he was so frightened that his body swayed and he sat down hard on the ground, hands propping himself up as he frantically scrambled backward, shouting, ¡°Someone¡­ come¡­ trouble¡­¡±


    At this moment, the short man¡¯s face was completely split open, a large amount of black liquid seeping out from every orifice and split seams of the skin, along with fragments of flesh and black crystalline particles.


    The tall man had only backed away two or three meters when he saw the short man¡¯s head lift uncontrollably, mouth gaping open towards him as a burst of black liquid sprayed out, smearing the tall man¡¯s face and body.


    This black liquid seemed inexhaustible, bursting right through the short man¡¯s gaping mouth, cracking it to the back of his skull, the entire head split open as the black fluid gushed towards the tall man and in all directions.


    Ten minutes later.


    On a small hill a distance away from the nuclear power plant, Exorcist Wang Tong, who was lying on his bed looking at his phone news, suddenly froze.


    He tuned in closely and realized that from the direction of the nuclear power plant, there was a rather strong magnetic field fluctuation. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fluctuation was intense, something a regular strangeness couldn¡¯t emit; it was probably related to operational disturbances of the nuclear plant.


    Nevertheless, Wang Tong, being attentive, still got out of bed, put on his shoes, and stepped outside.


    Just now he had brought his Spirit back into its vessel, and now the outside was plunged into the depths of night, deathly still.


    Wang Tong looked towards the nuclear power plant where lights were visible, and even though nothing seemed amiss within the range of his sight, the magnetic disturbance was growing stronger and stronger.


    Suddenly, a faint scream, almost unnoticeable due to the distance, was heard. The sound was very soft, but Wang Tong heard it loud and clear.


    He was startled and hung his backpack on the Racing motorcycle parked outside. He liked motorcycles, especially Racing ones, and he usually traveled by this means.


    With the throttle revving, he sped towards the nuclear plant.


    Upon arrival at the guardroom, he found it completely empty, not a single security guard in sight.


    Feeling increasingly uneasy, Wang Tong ran to the guardroom, opened the electric gate himself, and ran towards the place with the most intense magnetic disturbance¡ªthe dormitory area.


    Before he could reach the dormitories, just at the perimeter, he saw at least four security guards in uniform lying on the ground¡ªamong them, Chief Security Officer Ding Yi¡ªall exuding black liquid from their bodies, swelling up visibly like inflated balloons.


    Inside the dormitory area, screams continued to pierce the night.


    By this time of night, employees who were staying at the nuclear plant had mostly returned to the dormitory buildings, making it the most populated area.


    But now, it had become a living hell.


    Bang!


    One of the swollen corpses, belonging to Gao Yunyang, exploded, black liquid splattered everywhere.


    At that moment, a shadow ran down from the building, screaming with a look of terror, his back already stained with black liquid.


    Wang Tong saw the black liquid directly penetrate this person¡¯s back and then burst through his forehead, mouth, and chest, spraying black fluid everywhere.


    The ejected black liquid instantly formed a grotesque humanoid figure: fat and bloated. As it took human shape, the swollen corpses around it began to explode, with their black liquid converging toward it.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    An angry roar erupted from the black humanoid figure¡¯s mouth, striding towards Wang Tong.


    Wang Tong had never seen such a strangeness before. He instinctively retreated quickly, then took out a vessel from his backpack, opened the lid, and poured it onto the ground.


    A man, an old woman, and two children tumbled out one after another, growing rapidly, screaming at the black humanoid figure as bizarre magnetic fields spread out around them.


    The black humanoid figure immediately stopped, tilting its head, making gurgling noises as the liquid moved inside its throat. It had detected the strangenesses like itself and intensely felt the peculiar magnetic fields around them.


    Its sensitivity to magnetic fields was a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than any other strangeness!


    In an instant, Wang Tong realized that the creature¡¯s body was no longer liquid, but had transformed into a solid mass of black crystalline particles.


    Boom!


    A massive magnetic field wave spread out with the creature at its center, sweeping the area.


    Among Wang Tong¡¯s four strangenesses, Qiu, who was the strongest, screamed in agony first. It sensed something was wrong and wanted to escape immediately but was still one step late.


    Before Wang Tong¡¯s eyes, the magnetic fields of his four strangenesses were pulled apart into particles by the magnetic wave in an instant, reduced to nothingness.


    Wang Tong watched dumbstruck as the unbelievable unfolded, his whole being as if plunged into an ice cave.


    Taking advantage of the brief moment when other strangenesses distracted the creature, Wang Tong was now close to the main gate. He no longer hesitated and began to run like mad, with no intention of engaging in a fight.


    He knew very well the strength of the Spirits he had raised.


    All were annihilated in one encounter; he stood no chance, absolutely no chance!


    While running, he took out his phone, only to find that the recent magnetic field wave had rendered it useless, the screen no longer lighting up.


    Behind him, the angry roaring sounded again. Wang Tong pulled out his magnetic knife, yet he did not stop. He reached the gate, jumped onto the Racing motorcycle that was still in gear outside.


    With the throttle maxed out, the exhaust pipe spewed a puff of black smoke as he pulled off a perfect turn and sped onto the road.

 Chapter 814 - 457: Finding a Stand-In

    Chapter 814: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In


    Gaosheng City, Seven Star Lake District.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo stood in front of the highest floor of this residential building.


    Looking around, Yan Junze said, ¡°This family must be quite wealthy; this is a duplex. Adding the upper and lower floors together, it¡¯s probably close to 300 square meters.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°At the time of the incident, only the child and her mother were at home. The next morning, when the nanny entered the house, she discovered something was off, and then the male owner came back home at noon and reported the case 4747.¡±


    ¡°How many doppelg?nger strangenesses is this today?¡± Yan Junze shook his head and gave a wry smile.


    Zhang Xiaomo expressed surprise: ¡°Are you saying that this is another doppelg?nger strangeness here?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°So far, I haven¡¯t sensed any trace of a strange magnetic field, almost like the previous case with Lin Fei.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo naturally believed Yan Junze¡¯s words because by now Yan Junze¡¯s ability to sense strangenesses had reached a terrifying level.


    Of course, Xiaomo didn¡¯t know that this was because he could control the domain field, instead she thought that guy finally triggered the special physique of the Super Awesome Pen, and secretly felt somewhat relieved: her choice in men really had a vicious eye.


    ¡°Be cautious later on, the absence of weird magnetic field fluctuations doesn¡¯t mean that the strangeness doesn¡¯t have a magnetic field; it¡¯s just very good at hiding.¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    ¡°So any one of the people here could potentially be a strangeness.¡± Zhang Xiaomo continued the thought.


    With the experience of unexpectedly killing the strangeness impersonating Lin Fei¡¯s parents in their home, she now believed that not everything she saw was real.


    Just as Yan Junze said, one must pay attention to the details; the old ways of dealing with the strangenesses simply won¡¯t work anymore, as these creatures are constantly evolving in a bizarre manner.


    Before coming here, they had already called the male owner of this house. The man was upstairs, and they waited for a moment before the door opened.


    ¡°Exorcist sir, you¡¯ve finally arrived! Please come in!¡±


    A middle-aged man who looked quite mature and composed stood at the door. Despite the evident tiredness on his face, he still managed a smile and let the two inside.


    This time Zhang Xiaomo entered first, with Yan Junze following as they both looked around.


    ¡°Your name is Xiao Yuanrui? What¡¯s the situation at home right now?¡± Xiaomo asked. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man nodded and said, ¡°My wife Gao Ruolan and my child Xinxin are both sleeping in the secondary bedroom. They were both scared that night and dared not sleep in the master bedroom anymore. Xinxin was frightened into partial muteness and hardly spoke until the nanny arrived in the morning.¡±


    ¡°And your wife? Is she all right?¡± Xiaomo asked again.


    Xiao Yuanrui shook his head then nodded again, ¡°I have to say, the power of a mother¡¯s love is great. I know my wife is usually very timid, but that night, she managed to break free from the strangeness¡¯s entanglement, rushed out of the bedroom, and hid in the secondary bedroom with Xinxin. However, there were footsteps outside the bedroom all night, she didn¡¯t take out her phone, and they just wrapped themselves in a quilt and waited until the nanny arrived at daybreak.¡±


    ¡°After the nanny came, did the strangeness no longer show up?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Xiao Yuanrui nodded, ¡°I arrived at noon, and when I heard that the number of strangenesses had suddenly increased nearby, I was also scared, so I temporarily found a Taoist priest who had previously conducted exorcisms to take a look. That person said the strangeness had left, but we¡¯re not at all reassured.¡±


    ¡°Did the nanny go back?¡± Yan Junze inquired further.


    ¡°Hmm, I had her go back on the same day and wait for my notice before coming back,¡± Xiao Yuanrui said.


    While speaking, he went to the kitchen and made two cups of instant coffee, handing one to each of them. Then Xiao Yuanrui went to the kitchen again, and on returning, he said to Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Please have a seat, I will go and wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    After speaking, he headed upstairs.


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at Yan Junze, and then shifted her gaze to the steaming cup of coffee in front of her.


    Frankly speaking, she was already tired and was looking forward to drinking a cup of coffee to fend off sleepiness.


    Yan Junze, however, shook his head, indicating that she shouldn¡¯t touch anything.


    The two of them sat there for a while, not moving around. After a moment, Xiaomo asked, ¡°Do you think this male owner, Xiao Yuanrui, has any issues?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell so far,¡± Yan Junze responded honestly, ¡°his behavior seems no different from that of a normal person.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell either,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    As soon as her words ended, a man walked out from the kitchen with a smile on his face and said to them, ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    That said, he went up the spiral staircase and quickly disappeared from sight.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes widened in shock, adopting a somewhat cute expression of surprise, she blurted out, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t Xiao Yuanrui already go upstairs? How come he came out of the kitchen again?¡±


    Yan Junze did not answer. He too looked surprised, but just frowned, leaned forward to glance at the steaming coffee, and slowly stood up.


    The footsteps from upstairs had disappeared.


    And just as Yan Junze had stood up, another man came out of the kitchen, also smiling, saying as he went upstairs: ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately called out.


    But Xiao Yuanrui seemed to hear nothing, continuing upstairs on his own, footsteps fading away.


    ¡°If another Xiao Yuanrui comes out from the kitchen next, I¡¯m going upstairs to take a look,¡± Xiaomo said to Yan Junze. After speaking, she pulled out her magnetic knife.


    The situation was indeed odd.


    While Xiaomo was waiting there, Yan Junze walked directly towards the kitchen entrance.

 Chapter 815 - 457: Finding a Stand-In_2

    Chapter 815: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In_2


    Upon arriving at the kitchen entrance, he saw Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s back facing him, standing in front of the counter, seemingly busy with something.


    ¡°Mr. Xiao?¡± Yan Junze called out before stepping into the kitchen.


    He moved cautiously, tilting his head, trying to catch a glimpse of Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s profile to see whether it was really him, or some other entity, a strangeness in replacement.


    Even when he reached Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s side, the man was still bowing his head, remaining silent as if completely unaware of Yan Junze¡¯s presence.


    Upon closer inspection, he saw him pouring water into a coffee cup, with the liquid already overflowing and frothing heavily. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, what was peculiar was that the overflowing water did not spill from the cup¡¯s edge, but just kept churning within.


    ¡°Mr. Xiao?¡± Yan Junze looked at his face and called out again.


    Right at that moment, he suddenly heard a voice coming from outside the kitchen: ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, as no one had left the kitchen just now, but the voice resounded in the living room nonetheless.


    Now Yan Junze was certain, the person before him, completely unresponsive, was most likely Xiao Yuanrui.


    He immediately turned and quickly walked to the kitchen, only to find that Zhang Xiaomo had disappeared without a trace, seemingly having followed that ¡°Xiao Yuanrui¡± upstairs.


    Yan Junze no longer paid attention to Xiao Yuanrui, who kept on pouring coffee, instead hurriedly followed up the spiral staircase, soon finding himself on the somewhat dimly lit second floor.


    The layout of the second floor was as spacious as the first, but designed with simple luxury and spotless.


    At a glance, in the direction of the corridor, there were at least four bedrooms, along with a study room, children¡¯s room, and so on, but not a single person was in sight.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment.


    ¡°Master bedroom? Secondary bedroom?¡±


    He turned his neck, quickly fixating his gaze in the direction of one particular door.


    The decorations on this door were far more luxurious, suggesting that it should be the master bedroom. Meanwhile, the door across from the master bedroom seemed a bit more modest, possibly the secondary bedroom.


    Xiao Yuanrui mentioned earlier that the mother and daughter were afraid to sleep in the master bedroom, so they were likely lying in this secondary bedroom, although Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be certain how many secondary bedrooms were in this house.


    Arriving in front of the door of the suspected secondary bedroom, Yan Junze knocked but received no response.


    He immediately turned the doorknob, opened the door and peered inside. The curtains were drawn, making the room dark, but not impenetrably so.


    Straining his eyes and after adapting to the darkness, he discovered that this was indeed the secondary bedroom. The bed wasn¡¯t large but was fairly spacious and the blanket was slightly bulging, even slightly undulating, as if someone was beneath it.


    Yan Junze fully opened the door, and after approaching the edge of the bed, a series of whimpers came out from under the trembling blanket. The sound was not shrill, but rather deep, resembling an elderly person mimic a child¡¯s cry.


    Looking down, a strand of white hair was visible near the edge of the blanket by the pillow, and the whimpering stopped abruptly.


    An emaciated, aged hand slowly extended from the side of the blanket near the edge of the bed, stealthily reaching out towards Yan Junze¡¯s thigh.


    The next second, the hand grabbed his thigh, just as Yan Junze unveiled the blanket.


    Under the cover was a thin old man with sparse white hair, naked, and with skin folded upon itself, curled up on the bed. As Yan Junze lifted the blanket, the old man raised his head, split his mouth open, revealing gumless jaws coated with thick yellow saliva.


    The Black Spirit Umbrella that Yan Junze had prepared in his hand snapped open with a swish, enveloping the old man inside.


    Yet to everyone¡¯s surprise, instead of being slain by the Black Spirit Umbrella, the old man sprang at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze quickly retreated, feeling a sharp pain in his thigh as sharp nails penetrated his flesh. He abruptly closed the Black Spirit Umbrella, jabbing its tip fiercely at the lunging old man.


    With a ¡®puff¡¯, the tip of the umbrella pierced straight through the bedding and struck the wooden board below.


    However, oddly enough, the thin old man who had just lunged forward had disappeared without a trace!


    ¡°Hee hee hee¡­¡±


    Just then, at the doorway of the open secondary bedroom, a peculiar laughter echoed.


    Yan Junze turned his head to see the thin old man outside in the corridor, hunched over, tiptoeing past the doorway, heading toward the other end of the corridor.


    A few steps out into the corridor, looking back from outside the bedroom, he saw the old man disappearing into the darkness at the far end of the corridor.


    In that direction, there seemed to be something else writhing, crawling on the dark floor, its eyes emitting a faint green light, closely watching Yan Junze¡¯s every move.


    Yan Junze glanced into the darkness with a cold laugh, without turning back he walked towards the spiral staircase, not taking any interest in venturing into the dark end of the corridor.


    As he was about to reach the staircase, he called out loudly: ¡°Ning Ji, come clean up these things!¡±


    As soon as he spoke, the creatures crawling in the darkness instantly froze, as if sensing something.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    A rhythmic, slow set of footsteps ascended from below the spiral staircase. Moments later, a beautiful woman in white, with flowing long hair, appearing otherworldly, appeared gracefully holding a white lantern.


    The Lantern Woman, unseen for some time, still bore that ethereal fairy-like look Yan Junze first saw.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze, the Lantern Woman slightly bowed, smiling, and asked, ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡±


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh, saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t he the one you¡¯re holding in your hand? You forgot again.¡±

 Chapter 816 - 457: Finding a Stand-In_3

    Chapter 816: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In_3


    ¡°This silly woman! I am right here!¡±


    The next moment, the white lantern that Lantern Woman was originally holding instantly turned into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, with a ferocious expression, swaying left and right.


    Lantern Woman looked down, suddenly covered her mouth with a light laugh, bowed again, and said to Yan Junze: ¡°I made you laugh.¡±


    Yan Junze also smiled and said: ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, got ambushed by these creatures and fell into this eerie dream, thanks for your help.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Lantern Woman smiled gently, carrying Jia Sheng¡¯s head and drifting towards the dark corridor.


    In the darkness, rapid footsteps and restless growls were immediately heard.


    Yan Junze looked down at the wound on his thigh, pressed hard with his hand, feeling no pain.


    Just then, a scream came from the dark corridor behind him.


    Opening his eyes, he was still on the sofa on the first floor.


    On the table in front of him, there were two cups of steaming instant coffee.


    In fact, from the moment he saw Xiao Yuanrui continuously pouring coffee in the kitchen without it getting full, Yan Junze started to doubt the reality of it all.


    Upon going upstairs and seeing the strangeness of the old man, and finding that the Black Spirit Umbrella was ineffective, Yan Junze became even more convinced of the falseness of this world.


    In the end, when the old man could simply disappear under the attack of the Black Spirit Umbrella and appear outside the door, Yan Junze decided to immediately summon Lantern Woman instead of continuing to waste time inside.


    At this moment, he had an idea, called ¡°Xiaomo¡± twice, and then got up¡­


    ¡­


    Zhang Xiaomo followed Xiao Yuanrui upstairs and saw him quickly entering a secondary bedroom.


    She immediately called out, but he still didn¡¯t respond. She followed and opened the door, but there was no one inside.


    Thud thud thud thud¡­


    Rapid footsteps came from behind, as if someone ran past her.


    Xiaomo abruptly turned around, magnetic knife in hand, and saw a boy¡¯s figure running towards the darkness at the end of the corridor.


    She hesitated for a moment and then called out: ¡°Xinxin?¡±


    The boy didn¡¯t stop and continued to run into the darkness.


    A sharp scream rose, coming from the darkness; Zhang Xiaomo was shocked and quickly rushed towards the darkness.


    But after just a few seconds, she came to a halt, staring intently into the darkness without moving forward, maintaining a defensive posture.


    She could hear extremely faint breath noises in her ears, seemingly a child¡¯s breath, or perhaps something else.


    ¡°Xinxin?¡±


    After a moment of silence, Zhang Xiaomo spoke.


    There was no response from the darkness, but the barely discernible breathing continued.


    Zhang Xiaomo still did not move.


    ¡°Xiaomo!¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s voice came from behind, his figure quickly ascending the stairs with hurried steps.


    Zhang Xiaomo gestured for silence with her finger to her lips, pointing towards the darkness in the corridor.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong inside, be careful,¡± Yan Junze said quietly as he approached.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°That kid named Xinxin just ran in there screaming, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening now.¡±


    Yan Junze pressed the light switch in the corridor, but it didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°You go ahead, I¡¯ll back you up, let¡¯s go in and check it out,¡± he whispered.


    With a swish, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly turned around, swinging the magnetic knife across Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Yan Junze, completely unprepared, had his head tilt and fall from his shoulders, yet there was no trace of blood from the severed neck. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Just as I thought, it¡¯s fake.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself, then immediately heard another piercing scream from behind in the darkness, instinctively stepping back, watchfully staring into the dark.


    Moments later, it seemed that a white figure was swaying, stepping out from the darkness with a floating gait.


    It was a woman, with long flowing hair and beauty like a fairy, carrying a white lantern.


    ¡°Is it you?¡± Upon seeing Zhang Xiaomo, she politely asked.


    Her lips moved, but she ultimately refrained, not voicing the question ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡±

 Chapter 817 - 458: The Power of Yao Long

    Chapter 817: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long


    ¡°You are¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at Ning Ji in astonishment, ¡°Lantern Woman?¡±


    In this place, under these circumstances, she almost didn¡¯t recognize this familiar old face from Mo Family Village at first glance.


    ¡°Yan Junze sent me.¡± The Lantern Woman nodded gently, smiling.


    Zhang Xiaomo stared at her in shock, not understanding when this woman had become so close with Yan Junze.


    But a bigger question arose swiftly, ¡°What exactly is going on here? Why is the Lantern Woman here?¡±


    The sound of footsteps came from the direction of the spiral staircase, and soon a man ascended to the floor, standing at the top of the stairs.


    ¡°Xiaomo, let¡¯s go.¡± The man spoke up.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned around and saw Yan Junze standing by the spiral staircase, smiling and reaching out his hand to her.


    ¡°He is real.¡± The Lantern Woman said with a smile.


    ¡°What is¡­ going on?¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at Yan Junze, then back at the Lantern Woman, and once more towards Yan Junze.


    She had a feeling, an instinctive trust in Yan Junze that she saw now; her intuition wouldn¡¯t lie, this Yan Junze was the real one.


    But still¡­


    ¡°You are now in your own dream.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Come over here, let¡¯s talk after we wake up.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo fell into a dazed, cute state, walking over blankly and taking Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    A faint warmth from the palm of his hand brought a growing sense of calm to her heart.


    She looked at the man beside her, mmhmm, this had to be real, the one who made her lose three hours of sleep in the dead of night.


    Yan Junze, holding Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, smiled at the Lantern Woman: ¡°Ning Ji, we¡¯re going to take off first.¡±


    The Lantern Woman bowed slightly from where she stood.


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at the white lantern that the woman was holding.


    The two turned and walked down the stairs, Zhang Xiaomo quietly asked Yan Junze, ¡°Does she still hold her husband¡¯s head in her hand?¡±


    ¡°Always has been.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Is there still any grudge between them now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s curiosity was through the roof at this moment.


    Yan Junze suddenly stopped, looked into her eyes, and said, ¡°The grudge was indeed enormous at the beginning, but now I feel that Jia Sheng only seems fierce on the surface. In reality, he has already forgiven Ning Ji for what she did, considering he himself was not without fault.¡±


    ¡°This is what they call ¡®fated adversaries.¡¯ It¡¯s not that adversaries are fated to meet.¡± Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, then asked again, ¡°Is she hiding in my dreams?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s my dream.¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°I allowed her into your dreams, otherwise you might have been in danger.¡±


    By this time, the two of them had already descended the stairs, standing on the first floor.


    Xiaomo asked with surprise, ¡°Then why haven¡¯t we woken up yet?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± Yan Junze looked up at the floor above, smiling, ¡°Ning Ji is listening to our conversation.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Xiaomo immediately covered her mouth, her face turning embarrassed.


    On the second floor corridor.


    Ning Ji¡¯s expression was calm, her pale cheeks lowered slightly, her gaze fixed on the lantern she was holding.


    The white lantern had once again transformed into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, and at this moment he was looking up, no longer with his usual ferocious expression, instead he was gazing back at Ning Ji.


    The next second, Zhang Xiaomo woke up.


    She found herself half-reclined on the sofa in the living room on the first floor, feeling a bit groggy, and slowly sat up straight, seeing Yan Junze right beside her.


    Yan Junze also had just sat up, without a word, he immediately knocked over the two steaming cups of coffee on the table, spilling coffee all over it, then grabbed a few newspapers nearby to cover up the spill and the steam.


    ¡°It might have been these two cups of coffee that made us fall asleep unwittingly.¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°The strangeness looking for replacements found that the Exorcist has come and knowing they cannot confront us in reality, they designed to trap us in their treacherous dreams, planning to kill both of us in the dream.¡±


    For an Exorcist, without carrying specialized equipment, the kind of strangeness that can enter dreams is what they fear the most.


    Because such strangeness cannot be handled in conventional ways, if it hadn¡¯t been for Yan Junze, they might have fallen victim to the treacherous plot of the strangeness looking for replacements to be killed off entirely in their dreams.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to understand, ¡°So you mean, Xiao Yuanrui who served us coffee just now¡­¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is probably more bad luck than good.¡± Yan Junze took over.


    ¡°But how were you able to enter my treacherous dream?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was puzzled.


    Yan Junze pointed to the toppled coffee cups on the table, ¡°Because after I woke up, I smelled your cup of coffee.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly realized.


    Based on speculation, those several strangenesses looking for replacements had all appeared in the dream just now, and if everything had gone as expected, the Lantern Woman would have taken care of them all. So the probability of their existence in reality now was very low.


    The two immediately split up to search the house, and quickly obtained results.


    The body of the homeowner Xiao Yuanrui was found in the walk-in closet on the second floor, dressed just as when the two had first entered the house.


    The body of the lady of the house, Gao Ruolan, was still in the master bedroom on the second floor, clutching a stuffed bear toy, but there was a jagged mess of flesh and blood on her chest, she must have died from the night they first embraced the wrong child.


    The nanny was not spared either, her body discovered in the kitchen, she might have entered the house the next day, not noticing the anomaly upstairs, but entered the kitchen as usual to make breakfast, only to be killed by the strangeness.


    Thankfully, Xinxin was found in a wardrobe of the third bedroom, the little one curled up completely covered by clothes in a corner, merely unconscious and not in life-threatening danger.

 Chapter 818 - 458: The Power of Yao Long_2

    Chapter 818: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long_2


    The call to 4747 was indeed made by the male protagonist, Xiao Yuanrui¡ªhe had been trying to reach his wife and home via landline and her mobile phone since he started his journey home from a business trip, but no one answered.


    He then tried calling the nanny¡¯s mobile phone, to no avail. Considering that the news had already reported a sudden outbreak of strange events in Gaosheng City, he immediately called 4747 after entering the house.


    Little did he expect that he still couldn¡¯t escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo carefully carried Xinxin out, placed her on the bed, and wrapped her tightly in a blanket.


    Yan Junze called for an ambulance and the security bureau, but the entire city was in such chaos that no ambulances were available for dispatch, and they had no choice but to take Xinxin to the hospital themselves.


    Driving on the road, Yan Junze behind the wheel, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s gaze shifted from Xinxin and looked out the window.


    There were very few pedestrians on the street, and occasionally one could see a team of exorcists emerge from an alley, with safety lines from the security forces nearly on every street.


    Seeing this scene, Xiaomo sighed softly and said, ¡°Will the world keep getting worse like this?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t respond. In fact, he knew Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t looking for an answer; he could feel the weariness, helplessness, and sense of powerlessness in her tone.


    He sighed quietly, but at that moment, a thought suddenly emerged.


    ¡°Perhaps, after illuminating the entire Spacetime Atlas, we might find the answer!¡±


    Now, it seemed the appearance of the Atlas was closely related to the strangeness of this world, being able to locate and fixate on the Obsessions of the strangeness, gather Different Dimension Energy, and Lockdown the strangeness in nodes¡­


    No matter how one looked at it, there seemed to be an inextricable connection between the two.


    Of course, situations like the current state of Gaosheng City are always outliers, resulting from the appearance of an unspeakable grotesque worm-like strangeness and the opening of another dimensional pathway.


    Making this connection, Yan Junze suddenly had a bizarre thought.


    Could his rebirth here, with the Quantum spectrum from the lab explosion in the previous life, be somehow linked to the frequent occurrences of strangeness in this world?


    ¡­


    In Luoxia District, 50 kilometers away from the White Star Nuclear Power Station lies Pro Town.


    Although the town is far from the city center of Luoxia District and at the edge of the region, it is relatively prosperous, with several sizable residential areas.


    Hu Changfei, the general manager of the nuclear power station, bought an apartment in Bright Residential Area. It wasn¡¯t big¡ª120 square meters¡ªand mostly just he lived there, with his wife and children staying back in his hometown and seldom visiting.


    The apartment was purchased when the nuclear power station officially started operating, for convenience at work, and because the living environment in Pro Town was much better than the dormitories at the plant.


    Moreover, core team members of the company also bought houses in other residential areas of the town, with the company providing part of the housing subsidy at that time.


    As each person had a company car, they would go home after work and return to the company the next morning.


    The night was deep and quiet.


    Bright Residential Area was silent.


    The security guards here didn¡¯t have the same work ethic as those in the city¡¯s complexes; no one patrolled at night.


    However, the benefit was that there were not many strange events nearby, perhaps due to the proximity of the nuclear power station.


    Certain instinctual senses cause the strangeness to avoid areas that would disrupt their own magnetic fields.


    However, fewer incidents did not mean none at all. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The recent events had left Hu Changfei frazzled, but fortunately, most were now under control, and these incidents hadn¡¯t caused any severe repercussions.


    They were mostly internal issues that could be smoothed over with some money.


    At last, he could afford an early rest; he went to bed at ten and slept until two in the morning when he suddenly woke up.


    Opening his eyes, Hu Changfei¡¯s sensations and memories slowly stirred, with the sinking sensation of the bed seemingly prompt his awakening.


    It felt as though someone had suddenly sat on the bed.


    In a daze, he lifted his head and glanced aimlessly around the bed.


    There was nothing.


    He thought to himself that maybe he was just dreaming, the fuzziness making him believe that the contents of his dream were real.


    Hu Changfei turned over, closed his eyes again, and tried to get back to sleep.


    Just as he was about to fall asleep again in his heavy drowsiness.


    The bed suddenly sank down once more, as if someone else had sat on it; he was jolted and Hu Changfei¡¯s eyes shot open. He sat up abruptly in bed.


    He looked around; there was no one else on the bed, and nothing unusual nearby.


    But the feeling was clear; the mattress had definitely sunk down, and as he wasn¡¯t completely asleep, this sensation was unmistakable.


    He reached out and turned on the bedside lamp; its dim light lit up, driving away the nearby darkness, allowing Hu Changfei to see his bedroom more clearly.


    He widened his eyes and looked around once more, still feeling there was nothing amiss.


    Just as he was about to retract his gaze, his eyes fixed on the dark spot behind the closed bedroom door near the corner of the wall.


    That area was shrouded in darkness, and even with the bedside lamp on, it remained untouched by light, and in that darkness, there was neither sound nor movement.


    Yet, staring in that direction, Hu Changfei felt an increasingly intense fear growing inside him.


    The darkness was impenetrable; after the bedside lamp was turned on, other than the unopened wardrobe, it was the only place that retained an eerie darkness.


    Hu Changfei realized he couldn¡¯t pull his gaze away from that patch of darkness, as if there was something hidden within.

 Chapter 819 - 458: The Power of Yao Long_3

    Chapter 819: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long_3


    He was somewhat stunned, unsure of what to do, simply staring intently at that place, feeling his heartbeat accelerating more and more.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    There he lay on his bed, unblinking, staring at that corner untouched by light.


    All around was deathly quiet, and who knows how much time passed before another wave of sleepiness struck.


    Hu Changfei leaned on the bed, his head tilting slightly to one side, his eyes nearly completely closed.


    Just at that moment, within his blurry vision, it seemed he saw a foot emerging from the darkness, with the tips of the toes just surpassing the boundary of the shadow.


    Hu Changfei¡¯s entire mind sharply tensed, sleepiness wiped out, his eyes widened, staring at the protruding foot.


    Indeed, it was a foot, appearing out of the darkness!


    Suddenly, his pupils started to contract as he saw something moving in the darkness, shuffling bit by bit, first a pair of swollen feet with black liquid oozing out, then a bloated figure slowly squeezing out of the darkness.


    What appeared in front of him could no longer be considered a normal human form, not even a fat person.


    This blackened body was incredibly swollen, its whole body engorged, with black liquid flowing from various parts, approaching the edge of the bed while granular crystals and shredded flesh oozed out.


    His lips parted slightly, and immediately black liquid started to flow down, emitting an indistinct sound towards Hu Changfei: ¡°¡±Why¡­ Why¡­?¡±


    Hu Changfei was completely dumbstruck, his consciousness a void, let alone respond to this eerie question, he didn¡¯t even hear it.


    His lips parted even wider, and the black form emitted a ¡®puff¡¯ sound, a large glob of black liquid surged over, covering Hu Changfei¡¯s entire body on the bed.


    Hu Chengfei was startled and immediately began to roll and struggle, emitting a piercing, miserable scream.


    But as soon as his mouth opened, the black liquid surged in, the scream abruptly ceased, giving way to a gurgling noise; his muscles swiftly began to dissolve, and his body slowly caved inward.


    Seconds later, Hu Changfei ceased to struggle.


    Roar¡ª


    The blackened figure roared at the bed, an immense magnetic field distortion rippling out from its center.


    At the same time, within a household bedroom in JY Residential Area, adjacent to Bright Residential Area.


    A woman, naked and with tousled hair, just happened to be leaning her face above two people sleeping soundly on a bed, drool leaking out from the corner of her mouth, her face showing a greedy expression as she extended her tongue, which was covered in barbs, about to lick one of their closed eyelids.


    This woman suddenly paused, hit by a wave of magnetic distortion, her body visibly disintegrating, screaming agonizingly.


    The soundly sleeping people on the bed woke up in shock and confusion, witnessing the scene until the woman completely disappeared.


    Still, at the same moment, inside a self-built house diagonally opposite Bright Residential Area.


    An elderly person who happened to be going to the bathroom late at night, stood shivering in a corner, staring at a hanging corpse that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room¡¯s beams.


    As the corpse hung midair, swinging gently, the tongue dangling down to the chin, its hands lightly moving, fingernails sharp, but its eyes were wide open, staring straight at the quivering old person in the corner.


    ¡°Heh heh heh¡­¡±


    A bout of laughter emanated from the hanging corpse¡¯s mouth.


    Just as the terrified old person was on the verge of fainting, a wave of magnetic field distortion, like a surging sea wave, swept over; the hanging corpse disintegrated instantaneously, and the ominous laughter turned into agonized screams.


    The cowering old person in the corner jolted, eyes widening in astonishment, as he watched the aberration hanging from the beam crumbling like clumps of mud and quickly vanishing from sight. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That same night, all the strangenesses that were hidden and yet to appear in Pro Town met their demise, none spared.

 Chapter 820 - 459: Magnetic Pile Monster

    Chapter 820: Chapter 459: Magnetic Pile Monster


    During these past few days in Gaosheng City, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo indeed felt very exhausted. The number of paranormal incidents surged drastically within seven days, causing the 4747 hotline to be constantly overwhelmed with calls.


    Fortunately, thanks to the support from the Tianmeng District exorcist team, as well as additional exorcists dispatched from other cities, a formidable suppression was deployed. Even though the number of incidents increased sharply, the pace of exorcism was extremely fast.


    The entire Gaosheng City was thrown into panic, yet people also witnessed the strenuous efforts of the exorcist organizations, and all residents cooperated fully.


    Yan Junze and Xiaomo barely got three hours of sleep each day, and even that was snatched in fits and starts inside their car.


    However, the two of them were tackling the hard nuts to crack ¨C those events that were more peculiar and of higher difficulty level, which were mainly left to them and the two four-star exorcists, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian.


    Other exorcists were in charge of sweeping through the slightly less menacing occurrences. Nonetheless, during this process, three exorcists faced their demise.


    Furthermore, seven exorcists were tricked by strangenesses which sought out their substitutes using various eerie methods. They were later saved by Yan Junze who rushed to their aid, breaking the spells and rescuing them from the grasp of the strangenesses.


    This time around, the name of Yan Junze had truly resonated throughout Tianmeng¡¯s exorcist circles; during the exorcism process, these people realised that even Mei and Huang, the four-star exorcists, treated Yan Junze with great respect after meeting him.


    This implied that Yan Junze¡¯s capabilities might surpass even those of Mei and Huang.


    Two days later, Guo Youliang, who was not yet fit for discharge, arrived, which injected a robust stimulus into the exorcism operations of Gaosheng City.


    Old Guo was fiercely dedicated; he had barely escaped with his life after fighting the Reaper Morrison last time, and now, he hastily made his way over, significantly easing the pressure on Yan Junze.


    Soon, widespread incidents started to diminish, with a few scattered strangenesses still lurking around.


    However, after this battle, one could imagine that there might be a short-term void of paranormal activity in Gaosheng City.


    By then, this place might become the safest city in Great Capital Huaying.


    Of course, the price paid this time was enormous and freighted with tragedy.


    After the tough cases had been mostly resolved, Yan Junze and Xiaomo finally had time to rest, while the remaining less powerful and less dangerous strangenesses were left to other teams of exorcists to eliminate one by one.


    And it was at this time that Yan Junze received a call from Xiaomo¡¯s father, Zhang Chengjing.


    Due to the relationship with his daughter, Zhang Chengjing evidently made a point of looking out for Yan Junze, thinking of him first whenever there was an issue within the team.


    Yan Junze activated speakerphone, and the three of them ¨C himself, Xiaomo, and Zhang Chengjing ¨C chatted idly for a while, discussing the current situation in Gaosheng City.


    Subsequently, Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°These past two days, a strangeness emerged in the Luoxia District. Are you interested in taking a look?¡±


    ¡°What kind of strangeness?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the situation: in Luoxia District, there¡¯s a White Star Nuclear Power Station that had a leakage accident a few days ago, but they managed to suppress it quietly. During the incident, someone got close to the leaking reactor, and due to the inaction of the power station¡¯s higher-ups, that person died an agonizing death. The very day he died, he turned into a strangeness with a powerful obsession,¡± Zhang Chengjing explained.


    ¡°Is this strangeness particularly special?¡± Yan Junze showed interest.


    ¡°Very special,¡± Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°Currently, the nuclear power station is shut down. After turning into a strangeness, this guy killed all the company¡¯s top executives overnight, and even made one of our stationed exorcists at the power station flee in defeat. Most importantly, there are no other strangenesses existing in its vicinity now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Because it possesses a powerful magnetic field interference ability, capable of instantly pulverizing the magnetic fields of other strangenesses,¡± Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°As of now, within at least a five-mile radius around it, not a single other strangeness remains.¡±


    ¡°Damn, this guy is like a real Sweeper!¡± Yan Junze exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s why the higher-ups said we must try everything possible to reclaim it. We¡¯ve named it the Magnetic Pile Monster. I know you¡¯re adept at the Buddhist style of exorcism; you could give it a try, see if you¡¯re able to convert this guy, instead of straight-up exterminating it,¡± Zhang Chengjing said. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Reclaim, absolutely!¡± Yan Junze agreed without hesitation.


    ¡°Xiaomo, you follow Guo Youliang for these next few days, don¡¯t go anywhere else, and get some good rest,¡± Zhang Chengjing was clearly also very concerned about his daughter¡¯s health, knowing she had been overworked during this time.


    ¡°I got it, dad,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    ¡°Once Junze has dealt with the Magnetic Pile Monster, you two come back for a visit. Let¡¯s have a family gathering,¡± Zhang Chengjing said before hanging up the phone.


    ¡°Is your dad planning to arrange a wedding for us or something?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it after you graduate.¡±


    Yan Junze spread his hands, ¡°With things the way they are, do you think I can still focus on my studies?¡±


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to study anymore?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m considering taking a leave of absence,¡± Yan Junze, toying with the special exorcist badge issued by the Exorcist Brigade, said, ¡°Not everyone can get this thing, after all; I should apply all my abilities where they count.¡±


    ¡°Guess what I smell?¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    ¡°A strong whiff of showing off,¡± Zhang Xiaomo covered her mouth, laughing even more happily. Then she suddenly paused and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Yan Junze put down his phone, a mischievous smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m checking if there¡¯s enough time before we head to Luoxia District.¡±

 Chapter 821 - 459 Magnetic Pile Monster_2

    Chapter 821: Chapter 459 Magnetic Pile Monster_2


    He paused, then stood up to draw the hotel curtains and continued, ¡°The earliest flight is at six o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. There are still seven hours left, hmm, I only need five hours, leaving two hours to get to the airport.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s cheeks were flushed as she leaned on the table and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m tired, fell asleep.¡±


    Yan Junze leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear, ¡°I¡¯m beginning to wonder, every time you say you fell asleep. Do you mean the same thing by it as I do?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo raised her head, her expression a mixture of shyness and mischief, and said, ¡°Do you know, in my dream a few days ago, I killed you again?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and leaned in even closer, ¡°That means, including the time we dealt with Zhao Qi¡¯s spirit, you have now killed me twice!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiaomo replied somewhat proudly, half-jokingly warning him, ¡°If you have any more inappropriate thoughts, be careful I might kill you a third time.¡±


    ¡°And how many times have I saved you? Have you counted that?¡± Yan Junze whispered, ¡°How should you repay me?¡±


    Xiaomo was stunned, suddenly at a loss for words.


    #£¤%@&* S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    On the plane to Luoxia District, Yan Junze carefully recalled.


    The only time he had witnessed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s death was before the Great Rewind to return to the Half Moon Association to activate the altar, inside the Tianmeng Branch office of ¡°Open Your Eyes.¡±


    The Possession Spirit had transformed into the appearance of Zhang Xiaomo, and upon his arrival, he witnessed the two struggling.


    He first misjudged, and the real Zhang Xiaomo was killed. It was only after the Rewind that he managed to eliminate that impersonating Possession Spirit.


    With thoughts fluctuating, he now felt a strong sensation that he might experience the Great Rewind again sometime.


    The current priority was to fully illuminate the entire Spacetime Atlas, and thanks to the efforts from the recent period, the Atlas¡¯s Different Dimension Energy had already reached over eighty thousand points. However, Yan Junze estimated that around one hundred fifty thousand points might be necessary to fully illuminate the Atlas.


    After performing an Exorcism on the Magnetic Pile Monster in a detached manner, he would focus solely on energy collection.


    Before boarding the plane, Yan Junze had contacted Wang Tong, the Exorcist still stationed there.


    The strangenesses Wang Tong had been keeping were all destroyed by a wide-range attack from the Magnetic Pile Monster during their time at the nuclear power plant, leaving nothing behind.


    Feeling guilty, he thought about his neglect in assuming that no strangeness could occur around the nuclear power plant, which often led him to run around, thus planting such a large hidden danger and creating such a powerful unique monster.


    According to what he reported to Yan Junze, a veteran five-star Exorcist from Huaying District had been sent a few days ago, this person was indeed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher, Teacher Feng Huaigong.


    After arriving in Pro Town, Teacher Feng encountered the Magnetic Pile Monster, and they had contact, but this indirectly led to the complete power outage of the entire town, which is still paralyzed to this day.


    After thinking for a moment, because of the excessive physical exertion last night, he was very tired and took a nap on the plane.


    After arriving at Luoxia District, the local Exorcism Squad had already sent a dedicated vehicle to wait at the airport, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop, heading directly to Pro Town.


    The town was approximately 320 kilometers away from Luoxia City area, but the journey was mainly on the highway. Racing along, it took about three hours to reach the highway next to the town.


    The vehicles of other members of the Exorcism Squad had already stopped there, so after dropping off Yan Junze, the car turned around and headed back to Luoxia City.


    Yan Junze had fallen asleep on the highway again, so he felt refreshed and re-energized after getting off the car.


    The climate of Pro Town was similar to that of Zhen City when he had last rescued the Back-faced Woman and her daughter.


    The weather was relatively dry, with occasional scenes of yellow sand sweeping the sky outside the town.


    Upon his arrival, Wang Tong was already waiting by the road but Teacher Feng was nowhere to be seen.


    According to Wang Tong, after one encounter with the Magnetic Pile Monster, Teacher Feng had been staying in the town¡¯s inn and had not been seen outside.


    After introductions, they walked into the town together.


    Yan Junze noticed that although the town had no power, the residents seemed not to panic at all, going about their lives as usual, with quite a number of pedestrians on the streets.


    Upon asking the reason, Wang Tong explained, ¡°This is because we temporarily accommodated the nuclear power plant¡¯s employees in various inns in town, and the news of the Magnetic Pile Monster has already spread. However, the people here know that the Magnetic Pile Monster is only seeking revenge, and so far, it has not only not harmed anyone else but has also managed to eliminate all the strangenesses in town.¡±


    At this point, Wang Tong smiled, ¡°I even suspect, some residents might have taken a liking to the Magnetic Pile Monster.¡±


    Yan Junze saw much dissatisfaction in his smile, recalling that Wang Tong himself mentioned all his kept strangenesses had been killed by the Magnetic Pile Monster, his dissatisfaction was understandable.


    This town, without any strangeness other than the Magnetic Pile Monster, is hailed as the safest period since the rise of strangeness, no wonder the residents felt no anxiety at all.


    Arriving at a residence inn called ¡°KS,¡± Teacher Feng¡¯s room was at the very end of the first floor, complete with a backyard, clusters of flowers, a rock garden, and a fish pond with blue bricks¡ªit was a very nice environment.


    This was the first time Yan Junze met Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher.


    Remembering how, when he left the hotel in Gaosheng City, Xiaomo had peeked her head out from the bedding hiding her reluctant expression, he suddenly felt unusually warm. He also felt an affinity looking at the short old man in front of him, who sported a goat beard.


    ¡°Teacher Feng, hello.¡± Yan Junze introduced himself, ¡°I am Yan Junze, from Tianmeng.¡±

 Chapter 1 - 1 Strangenesses Permeate This World

    Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Strangenesses Permeate This WorldThis was the third day since Yan Junze was reborn on this planet after the laboratory explosion, and he was reborn in a country called the Great Capital of Huaying.


    In Tianmeng District, Shuntian City, the city was roughly equivalent to a second or third-tier city in Hua Country on Earth before Yan Junze was reborn.


    Unlike other reincarnators, Yan Junze, after his rebirth, still had both parents alive, hadn''t "kicked the bucket," and was so healthy that even the sellers of health supplements advertising "bring home everything with just ninety-eight" couldn''t find an angle to peddle their goods.


    Moreover, Yan Junze was an only child, had no sisters, so those fixated on bone-related plots could directly exit by clicking the top right corner.


    The only difference was that this reborn world was filled with a great deal of nameless strangeness.


    For example, at two o''clock in the morning, the door outside the living room would be knocked on punctually, sending out a pure, mechanical sound that raised goosebumps on one''s skin in the still and dark night.


    Another example was the strict household rule that prohibited using the bathroom after midnight. Usually around 11:50 p.m., someone would lock the bathroom door with a key.


    Of course, living people can''t be allowed to die from holding in their excretion, so each bedroom was equipped with a simple chamber pot.


    After being reborn, the original owner''s memory did not recover, and Yan Junze slowly built his understanding of this family, this world, and the unexplained strangeness that permeated everything.


    It was on the second day after his rebirth, which was a Saturday, that he began to roughly understand some aspects of this world by browsing information online.


    The so-called strangeness was referred to here as strangeness events.


    About half a year ago, such strangeness events began emerging continuously in this world. Initially considered as isolated incidents, the strangeness events quickly spread across the globe.


    Multiple websites dedicated to strangeness sprouted up like mushrooms after rain, with internet users uploading a multitude of strange photos and personal encounter videos in such volumes it was unimaginable. There were also specialized chat groups, B-station live streams, and more.


    Fortunately, if a strangeness event occurred, it usually only affected a specific area. If one didn''t approach that area, there generally wouldn''t be any anomalies. This was akin to Yan Junze''s parents forbidding him from entering the bathroom after midnight.


    His father, Yan Daguo, mandated that the bathroom door be locked at 11:50 p.m. every night and only unlocked the next morning at 6:30 a.m. As for the reasons behind this, Yan Daguo kept his lips sealed.


    But there were always exceptions to rules, and seeing that Yan Junze had just been reborn and hadn''t fully formed an understanding of this aspect, coupled with not being quite accustomed to his new body, he only realized after washing up and returning to his bedroom on this Saturday night that his glasses were left on the bathroom vanity.


    This body belonged to a high school senior, straining day and night over revisions and exercises, resulting in over three hundred degrees of myopia, but other bodily functions were still fairly decent.


    Just endure this one year, and after lying dead through the college entrance exam, one would once again be a robust man. The original owner''s ideas were somewhat na?ve and laughable.


    Yan Junze deliberately checked the time; the clock had already pointed to 11:54 p.m. Now, retrieving his glasses wouldn''t take a minute, and he wouldn''t be breaking his father Yan Daguo''s rule.


    Besides, he hadn''t developed a profound realization of the severity of entering the bathroom.


    Strangeness events? Would a mouthwash cup jumping up to catch water by itself, a faucet oozing blood, a terrifying face appearing in the mirror, or a washcloth performing Mars Brother''s "Uptown Funk" on its hook count?


    Before personally experiencing it, everyone thinks that real horror is far away from them. Yan Junze subconsciously held the same belief.


    Stepping out of the bedroom, squatting in the hallway to retrieve the key hiding under the bathroom door''s water-absorbing carpet, Yan Junze quickly inserted the key into the lock and turned it to open the door.


    The bathroom space was rather cramped, with a vanity and a toilet taking up half the area, leaving the remaining space for a shower. However, when showering, water was bound to splash onto the vanity and even the mirror in front of it.


    The entire bathroom was lined with alternating red and white square tiles, except for the vanity and toilet, which were pure white.


    Turning on the bathroom light, the confined space radiated a warm yellow glow, yet the overall lighting in the bathroom remained dim.


    Yan Junze felt an unexplained emptiness in his heart. His blurred vision swept over various items in the bathroom; everything seemed normal. He stepped forward, grabbed his glasses from the vanity, put them on, and returned to the bathroom entrance, then reached out to turn off the light.


    After putting on his glasses, Yan Junze''s vision became significantly clearer. The moment he turned off the light, his eyes inadvertently scanned over something, and immediately, he shuddered violently, staring intently at the corner between the vanity and the toilet.


    There, stood a disheveled little girl who had appeared out of nowhere.


    The girl was about the height of a five or six-year-old, facing the corner with her back towards the bathroom door. She wore a red lace-trimmed dress, with her arms and calves exposed; however, they were covered in clusters of bruises, and her neck was skewed at a 180-degree angle to the right, although the skin had not broken.


    Her little bare feet weren''t wearing shoes, and her right foot seemed to be turned upwards, possibly from a severe impact.


    This felt a bit like Captain Barbossa from "Pirates of the Caribbean"¨Cat least he could stash rum in his prosthetic leg, which was downright cool. But in the case of this girl in red, it was downright horrific.


    What was particularly eerie was that the girl''s entire spine curved like an old tree trunk, forming an S-shape, standing there motionless, with thick, dirty, and disheveled hair draping behind her.


    Right now, Yan Junze had no time to consider Captain Barbossa and his rum-storing prosthetic leg as an overwhelming sense of terror quickly rose, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. A chilly sensation spread from the bathroom toward the hallway outside.


    Yan Junze felt as if his breathing had stopped.


    Strangeness events, one of which was happening right before his eyes¡ªthe kind that were breaking out everywhere in this world!


    Seeing news about it on TV and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different. Only now did he realize the vast chasm between them.


    Cold sweat broke out on the palm of Yan Junze''s hands and on his back. He wanted to close his eyes and not look at the girl in red anymore, but his gaze simply couldn''t move away, still fixated on the eerie figure without blinking.


    At that moment, the red-dressed girl, who had remained motionless, her twisted neck began to move, slowly turning towards the bathroom door. This was accompanied by the kaka sound of broken bones grinding against each other, like a century-old tree branch being snapped, exceedingly piercing in the quiet of the night.


    In that instant, Yan Junze felt an icy chill through his limbs. Summoning courage from who knows where, his hand shot out, grabbing the bathroom doorknob and slamming the door shut with a bang, then swiftly turned the key twice in the lock before removing it, his hands trembling as he clutched it.


    The bedroom of Junze''s parents immediately opened, as his bleary-eyed father, Yan Daguo, and mother, Li Man, emerged.


    "Ze, how long have you been reviewing? Why haven''t you slept yet?" asked Li Man surprised, then glanced over at the now-closed bathroom door.


    "Were you just now in the bathroom?" Daguo''s sleepiness had completely vanished as he immediately returned to the bedroom to check the time on his cellphone.


    Four minutes to midnight.


    Yan Daguo stepped out of the bedroom again, approached the bathroom door, and tried the handle, only to find it locked. Then he looked at Junze, standing there with the key still slightly shaking in his hands.


    Taking the key from Junze''s hand, Daguo turned to Li Man with a stern tone, "I told you to keep good care of the keys, to not leave them lying around for convenience''s sake."


    Li Man, having read the unspoken message in Junze''s unsteady expression, simply nodded. At this moment, Daguo was fired up, and she did not engage.


    Daguo turned back to look at Junze''s eyes, his gaze firm but not without concern, and he asked, "Did you see her?"


    Junze did not answer.


    "It''s okay, as long as you don''t go into the bathroom during the time she appears, nothing will happen," Daguo said, trying to reassure him.


    "Dad, that thing doesn''t just appear at midnight," Junze spoke up.


    "That''s why I insist on locking the bathroom door ten minutes ahead of time," Daguo replied, then turned to Li Man, "Next time, don''t leave the key in front of the door. I will keep it myself, locking the door every night and opening it again the next day at the same time."


    "It won''t happen again," Li Man said apologetically, as she approached Junze and placed her hands on his shoulders.


    "Dad, haven''t we reported the strangeness in our house?" Junze couldn''t help but ask.


    The role of the security officer, akin to a keeper of public order similar to an ancient constable, was not really equipped to handle strangeness events.


    However, with the rapid increase in the number of strangeness events, even after reporting to exorcists, it might not be possible to get immediate assistance.


    In the early days of the strangeness outbreaks, Buddhist and Taoist practices were popular for a while, but people gradually realized that the various talismans, magical tools, and items meant to subdue demons and ghosts had little effect on the present-day strangeness.


    Because of this, a number of overly traditional people met untimely deaths, and everyone came to realize that only exorcists could effectively deal with such matters.


    The exorcists paid a hefty price to study how to eradicate strangeness. Their secretive methods, beyond the reach and understanding of the common folk, are not something ordinary people have a chance of, nor the ability to, master.


    Daguo sighed, "We reported it a month ago, they said we had to wait in line, but we haven''t even been queued up yet."


    Junze was somewhat speechless. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even though the world was riddled with strangeness, the usual social connections and favors likely hadn''t diminished¡ªsaying they were in line might mean someone was jumping the queue through special relationships.


    Waiting for an exorcist to deal with it might take an endless time. During this period, the only option was to temporarily seal off the affected area.


    Fortunately, the red-dressed girl in the bathroom didn''t seem to be the type looking for trouble; though her appearance might be a bit unpleasant to the viewers, she seemed as quiet as a quail. As long as one avoided the bathroom during her appearances, there shouldn''t be any issues.


    His father, Yan Daguo, worked as an office worker in a paper factory¡ªa regular employee earning less than ten thousand a month.


    Indeed, just over three thousand.


    His mother was a cleaning lady at a cleaning company, and together with Daguo, they made a modest living, on par with each other.


    For such a working-class family living in an old-style residential area with just two bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, and a kitchen, moving out of this haunted place wasn''t really an option.


    Furthermore, trying to cut in line after reporting a strangeness event based on the social connections of Daguo and Li Man was completely unrealistic.


    So, the situation remained at a stalemate.


    It would take a rampant strangeness event impacting a wide area to put pressure on Huaying''s Great Capital, compelling the exorcists to come quickly; otherwise, dealing with a seemingly docile red-dressed ghost like the one in their bathroom might mean waiting three to five months in line, an almost apologetic span for the young girl''s deceitfully gentle frightfulness.


    Junze returned to his bedroom, and Li Man followed to comfort him with gentle words. Daguo checked the lock on the bathroom door once more, ensured that the living room door was also securely locked, and then the couple turned off the lights and went back to their own bedroom.


    However, Junze was unable to sleep. The scene he had just witnessed was the first time in his life that he had seen a strangeness with his own eyes, and that genuine sense of experiencing it firsthand continued to give him goosebumps.


    Another reason he couldn''t sleep was that, after seeing the little girl in red, a mysterious mental image of an atlas had inexplicably surfaced in his mind.

 Chapter 2: I Can Rewind!

    Chapter 2: Chapter 2: I Can Rewind!```


    This atlas appeared in Yan Junze''s mind almost simultaneously with the sight of the little girl in red,


    but at that moment, Yan Junze was completely immersed in his visual senses and the terrifying atmosphere, so he didn''t have time to pay attention to it.


    Now lying in bed, he finally had the chance to see what was going on.


    The atlas wasn''t a tangible figure but an entirely illusory object, existing only in his mind. Yan Junze waved his hand in front of his eyes, and indeed, there was nothing.


    In the atlas, many thread-like veins appeared, each linked to another by nodes; currently, only one node at the very bottom lit up, while the rest were a dim hue.


    "This is..." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze felt the object was incredibly familiar, as if he remembered something, and was suddenly startled.


    Before the last life''s laboratory explosion, the space-time collapse experiment was dependent on a kind of quantum spectrum, also known as the Spacetime Atlas. And these nodes were the quantum convergence points that needed to be conquered in the experiment, also called energy accumulation zones, formed by the convergence of some kind of energy that couldn''t be fully mastered. Eventually, node-to-node transfers connected the entire atlas, allowing time to undergo an orderly transformation. (Er, this part can be skipped!)


    That''s what is commonly known as "Space-Time Travel."


    However, Yan Junze thought that the experiment had not succeeded, but now this atlas existed in his own mind, and it was very complete. Did that mean the experiment had actually succeeded but only manifested in this way, using him as a carrier?


    In the previous life''s experiment, Yan Junze was just an ordinary assistant in the laboratory and not a developer. However, after the laboratory explosion, which was of great magnitude, both the developers and assistants were affected, and he was likely wiped out in one fell swoop.


    While puzzled, Yan Junze was again shaken; after he paid attention to this atlas, it obviously changed, with lines of text flashing into existence.


    [Spacetime Atlas construction complete, detecting Different Dimension Energy as well as a complete Dimensional Space Transverse Wave Band, analyzing the wave band...]


    [Analysis successful, translating...]


    [Translation successful, the wave band is known in this world as "Obsession," a "Task" has been established based on the complete wave band values, display task?]


    Though only an assistant, Yan Junze still had a certain understanding of the Spacetime Atlas. The atlas was highly intelligent, and from the beginning, it was endowed with the ability to analyze intelligently and construct illusory space-time.


    Now it seemed the Spacetime Atlas had detected Different Dimension Energy emitted from the strangeness, and based on "Obsession," it analyzed the wave band values to form the so-called "Task."


    Yan Junze guessed that if he wanted to acquire this part of Different Dimension Energy for the Spacetime Atlas''s use, he would have to complete the "Task" formed based on "Obsession."


    But what this task was...


    "Display it," Yan Junze hesitated slightly, the thought forming in his mind.


    The next moment, another text passage appeared in his mind.


    [Task Name: Hair Washing;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: March 7th is Ke''er''s birthday. The beautiful and clean-loving Ke''er''s favorite color is red. On that day, her mother dressed her in a newly bought red dress and promised to take her to the amusement park. However, a ruthless truck forever separated them. After the accident, Ke''er''s hair became very dirty, so dirty. The cleanliness-loving Ke''er hated her filthy long hair, so she always longed to wash it, even if just seeing someone else wash their hair would satisfy her;


    Task Explanation: Wash your hair in the bathroom at home after midnight for at least three minutes, without engaging in any unrelated activities;


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Hint: 1, The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2, Completing the task may form a stable Rewind line;


    Note: You wash your hair, she watches.]


    Gazing at the task before him, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    The Spacetime Atlas released the task based on the captured wave band of Obsession, which was clearly from the little girl in red Yan Junze had just seen.


    He hadn''t expected the Spacetime Atlas to capture this so-called Different Dimension Energy in the form of task completion.


    Given the atlas''s intelligence, capturing energy and shaping Obsession into tasks to gain energy, the cause and effect seemed to be interlinked.


    Before triggering the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze wouldn''t dare to think about engaging with strange events, but now it was different.


    If the Spacetime Atlas could absorb enough Different Dimension Energy to light up the entire atlas, perhaps he could freely switch through space-time and return to before the laboratory''s explosion in Hua Country on Earth.


    To acquire more energy, the only way was to complete tasks.


    It must be said, the mode of completing tasks was somewhat eerie and unsettling.


    In this world, not to mention everyone, but at least a good number of people are wary of washing their hair alone in the bathroom.


    Because after applying shampoo to the hair, to avoid getting it in the eyes, eyes are usually closed, and at that moment, some faint-hearted individuals always get a hair-raising feeling, wondering if someone is standing behind them.


    This chilling sensation persists until the end of the hair washing.


    Yan Junze usually didn''t harbor these thoughts, but he too had experienced them, especially just after watching a horror movie alone in the bathroom. His body would involuntarily tighten up, his head filled with images from the horror movie, plus a bit of his own imagination, causing him to involuntarily look behind him during the hair washing process.


    ```

 Chapter 3 - 2: I Can Rewind!_2

    Chapter 3: Chapter 2: I Can Rewind!_2If it were just about washing hair in the washroom, that would be manageable, but now Yan Junze is worried that there might be dangers involved in the process.


    At least after midnight, that little girl in red would appear in the washroom. Washing hair under such circumstances would be even more thrilling than being taken to the execution ground to be beheaded.


    Now it seems that this Golden Finger appears to be quite useless! sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After issuing the task, it just lets him go off to complete it without caring for anything else, what if he encounters danger during the process?


    With continuous whimsical ideas, Yan Junze''s thoughts were tangled between the Spacetime Atlas and the assigned task of washing hair, keeping him awake. Unbeknownst to him, time passed by slowly, and the hands of the clock in the living room moved to point towards two o''clock.


    Just then, Yan Junze''s eyebrows furrowed slightly, feeling as if a shadow had passed by the window of his bedroom.


    The shadow moved so slowly that when Yan Junze noticed something off, and immediately put on his glasses to look out, he could still see the passing shadow.


    His bedroom was adjacent to the public corridor outside the house; normally, by opening the window, he could see neighbors passing by his window, and with a sound-activated light outside the corridor, the light would project the silhouette of the passing person onto the window, making it very clear to see.


    The passing figure was a bit hunched over, with uneven footsteps.


    Soon, the uneven footsteps faded, and the shadow vanished as well.


    It looked like some neighbor returning late at night. Yan Junze guessed that activities like playing cards and late-night snacking, no matter in what spacetime, essentially hold the same place in people''s hearts and have not changed.


    It''s quite normal, as there are many people with such preferences.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, knock, knock, knock, a series of crisp knocking sounds emerged, and judging by the source of the sound, it should be on his own door.


    The previous two nights when the knocking had sounded, Yan Junze had only heard it in a drowsy state. He had been deep in sleep and did not attend to it, only to recall the occurrence the next day.


    But at this moment, Yan Junze''s heart inexplicably clenched, because his mind inadvertently connected the figure that had just passed outside the corridor with the person knocking on the door.


    Given the person''s walking pace, the time it took for them to pass by the window and reach his own doorstep seemed to match exactly.


    Whether it was the same person or not, Yan Junze felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest, his back breaking out in a cold sweat again.


    So late at night, someone walking in the corridor with such uneven steps, and silently knocking on someone else''s door...


    This person couldn''t possibly be Batman.


    He did not get out of bed to respond but instead instinctively pricked up his ears to listen for any movement in his parents'' room next door.


    The bedroom door of his parents opened, and it seemed that his father, Yan Daguo, had stepped out, with very light footsteps.


    After a while, Yan Daguo stood in the hallway outside the bedroom, motionless, with the intermittent knocking still coming from the entrance of the living room.


    Yan Junze just lay there, slightly raising his head, staring at the doorway of his bedroom, his breathing nearly coming to a halt.


    Yan Daguo remained still, standing quietly outside the bedroom door, the eerie atmosphere so oppressive that Yan Junze found it hard to breathe.


    At that very moment, the knocking suddenly stopped.


    The uneven footsteps were heard again, passing by the living room door, moving along the public corridor, the hunched-over silhouette reappeared outside the window of Yan Junze''s bedroom, slowly passing by.


    Yan Junze could swear, at that moment, his nearsighted eyes behind his glasses were wide as bull''s eyes, intently staring at the shadow passing by outside the window.


    The uneven footsteps, like stepping on his heart, matched the rhythm of his heartbeat in a strangely harmonious way.


    Although the shadow was no longer visible, the sound of footsteps could still be heard, as if the person was leisurely climbing the stairs, and only then did the footsteps fade away completely.


    A door closing sound came from his parents'' bedroom, and Yan Daguo returned to the bedroom at that moment. From start to finish, no one in the house said a word.


    So freaking weird!


    Yan Junze''s thought had just settled when he was startled again. The Spacetime Atlas in his mind surfaced once again.


    [Detection of new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wavebands in progress...]


    [Analysis successful, translating...]


    [Translation successful, task established, display now?]


    Yan Junze had never expected that in just such a short while, a new task had been captured.


    Without much thought, he immediately brought up the thought of "display," and then the second task appeared.


    [Task Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Intermediate);


    Task Background: The neighbor, Granny Ren, has been distressed lately, for her children haven''t visited her for a long time, and she misses them very much, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. However, Granny Ren is no longer able to tell them. Can you help her?


    Task Instructions: At two in the morning, open the door for the knocking Granny Ren;


    Task Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. There are branch tasks awaiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed another node light up in the Spacetime Atlas in his mind; the line connecting the two lit-up nodes also brightened slightly, showing that this segment of the spacetime line had been fully connected.


    Initially, Yan Junze could clearly see only one node light up on the Atlas, and the second node must have been activated after the reception of [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task, due to some reason.


    Although he didn''t know the reason, Yan Junze was clear about what the line connecting the two lit-up nodes meant, the Rewind timeline.


    Between the two time nodes, represented a timeline that could be revisted.


    For example, if Yan Junze were to place the first time node as the current moment, and the second node five minutes later, as time progressed, he would be able to initiate a rewind at any point before reaching the second time node, instantly reverting back to the moment when the first time node was placed.


    Rewind must be performed consciously, meaning only when one has deliberately placed two time points to form a timeframe, can the timeframe be used to rewind.


    If the timeframe is exceeded, it won''t work, and without deliberate placement, rewinding is also impossible.


    Receiving two tasks consecutively enabled Yan Junze to have the ability to rewind. This time, the Golden Finger finally became complete.


    He might try the [Hair Washing] task, but now Yan Junze didn''t dare to attempt a rewind, because the energy between the two time nodes looked extremely weak.


    If he were to really proceed, he feared that he could only rewind once, and then the entire Spacetime Atlas would dim and stop running. The two hard-earned lit-up nodes couldn''t be wasted like that.

 Chapter 4 - 3 Zhou Dali

    Chapter 4: Chapter 3 Zhou DaliThe situation now was that after receiving two tasks consecutively, Yan Junze faintly illuminated two spacetime nodes on the Spacetime Atlas, enabling the first time rewind line to become usable.


    Through this rewind line, he could create a time rewind of no more than 5 minutes.


    Of course, this time rewind line did not look stable and might completely extinguish after just one use.


    Unless he completed tasks and gained the corresponding Different Dimension Energy, as suggested by the tasks, only then could he illuminate stable spacetime nodes and secure a stable time rewind line.


    If all the nodes on the entire Spacetime Atlas were illuminated, would it be possible to travel through spacetime once more and return to the world he came from before? At the very least, if he could use the Atlas to resolve the Supernatural crisis right before him, would there be even more surprising things waiting for him after lighting up the whole Atlas?


    If things were really as Yan Junze speculated, then he must carefully consider which task to complete first using this single opportunity to rewind time.


    The first task triggered was "Hair Washing," with a task level of "Anxiety-Inducing (Minor)." The second task was "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night," with a task level of "Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)."


    Actually, from the description of the tasks, "Hair Washing" felt more terrifying and seemed to carry a higher degree of danger than "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night." However, contrarily, the level of "Hair Washing" was only (Minor), evidently not as dangerous as the latter.


    This puzzled Yan Junze quite a bit.


    However, the task hints indicated that "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" had sub-tasks that had yet to be triggered, and he wasn''t very clear whether the slightly higher level was due to this.


    It seemed that choosing the "Hair Washing" task first was more reliable.


    After weighing his options for a while, sleepiness finally overcame him, and Yan Junze had made up his mind. He quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    The next morning.


    Yan Daguo woke up early and opened the bathroom door to confirm that the red-clothed little girl had vanished before he washed up and rushed to the factory.


    Li Man also got up early, as the cleaning company had her schedule packed in the morning, and she needed to finish cleaning two families'' homes that had already been booked.


    After cooking a bowl of noodles for Yan Junze, Li Man followed Yan Daguo out.


    Yan Junze gobbled down the noodles in no time and took out his phone to scroll through his usual call logs. Noticing that a name called Zhou Heng appeared with high frequency, he called Zhou Heng''s number.


    A young man''s voice soon came through the phone, somewhat uninhibited, "Hello, little Junze, missing your grandpa already that early?"


    Best friend, that must be the best friend of this body''s original owner.


    Yan Junze knew he had guessed correctly and spoke, "Zhou Heng, come to the entrance of my community. We''ll go to school together."


    "What did you call me?" Zhou Heng sounded somewhat surprised on the other end.


    "I don''t have time for your nonsense," Yan Junze deliberately made his tone heavy, "Remember to hurry. Call me when you get here, then I''ll come down."


    "Alright, you little rascal must have done something bad!" Zhou Heng laughed heartily, "Don''t worry, I, Zhou Dali, am always your strong brother, ready to stand by you no matter what happens."


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze pondered a bit and muttered to himself, "Is this guy''s nickname Zhou Dali, or strong brother?"


    He had asked Zhou Heng to come pick him up for a reason, without the original body owner''s memories, Yan Junze had no idea where the school was, so he used this method.


    But interacting with classmates would definitely not be the same as before, so Yan Junze prepared to use having experienced strangeness as an excuse to create an image of a boy who just lived through horror, a bit bewildered, and whose behavior contrasted with the past.


    "It''s impossible that he''s usually called strong brother because that way of addressing him... is effeminate." Yan Junze stood up and headed for his parents'' bedroom.


    As expected, Yan Daguo did not take the bathroom key with him but left it in the bedside table.


    There are three identical keys, all on the same keyring.


    Yan Junze took one of them out, then removed one of his own bedroom keys and swapped it on.


    The locks were the same, and the shape of the keys barely differed; unless you looked closely at the teeth of the keys, you wouldn''t notice the switch.


    After changing the keys, Yan Junze kept the removed bathroom key close to him, preparing to perform the "Hair-Washing" task that very night.


    After waiting for a while, his phone rang. Zhou Heng''s voice seemed to come from a speakerphone, saying he had arrived at the community entrance.


    Yan Junze picked up his sling bag and left the house, locking the door behind him and heading downstairs.


    His residential area was named FH Community, definitely old, at least forty years old. The tallest building only had seven floors, and Yan Junze lived in Building No. 7, which had five floors; his home was on the fourth floor.


    Granny Ren, the old woman who knocked on doors at midnight, lived on the fifth floor.


    Just before leaving the community, Yan Junze looked back at the fifth floor. There were four families living there, and he did not know which one was Granny Ren''s. However, the entire fifth floor seemed eerily quiet, with no one coming in or out, exuding an air of gloom.


    Standing at the community entrance was a boy, also with a sling bag. At the very moment he saw him, Yan Junze understood why the guy was nicknamed "Zhou Dali."


    If you calculated by cross-section, Zhou Heng was at least equivalent to three slender Yan Junzes, not to mention his limbs, thick as hammers.


    Could this guy be born into a family of martial artists? Yan Junze wondered.


    However, he knew from a few days'' acquaintance that although this world was not the same as Earth, it didn''t involve urban powers or cultivation of immortality. There weren''t as many bizarre settings.


    For now, only an exorcist could deal with supernatural events, so even if Zhou Dali was built strong like a passionate bull, he would be of no use in the face of supernatural happenings.


    "You''re here, what did you want to tell me?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Heng''s voice was in direct proportion to his body, basically shouting when he spoke, startling the nearby pedestrians with a sudden outburst, drawing astonished glances.


    Yan Junze could barely hold back a laugh, waved his hand, and, hooking arms with him, seemingly led by Zhou Heng, headed towards Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    Zhou Heng made no suggestion to take the bus, and Yan Junze held back from speaking, simply describing the strange encounter in the bathroom the previous night, which left Zhou Heng baffled.


    Zhou Heng then said, "Speaking of supernatural occurrences, your community is really old, so the chances of those happening must be quite high. My community just handed over the houses last year, all new residents, with laughter and prosperity everywhere, a peaceful and prosperous era, without so much strangeness. It''s a lot safer in comparison."


    "But..." Zhou Heng''s tone shifted, "Nowadays, you really can''t tell. Isn''t there a public restroom in the New Century Residential Area''s square? I''ll tell you, for two straight weeks, no one dares to go in there to use the toilet anymore."


    "Aren''t you just contradicting yourself?" Yan Junze found it amusing, and casually asked, "Why?"


    As he spoke, he looked up and saw the gates of Shuntian No. 3 Middle School.


    FH Community, where he lived, was only about ten minutes away from the school. If he had known it was this close, he could have found it just by walking around, without needing Zhou Heng to come pick him up.


    Zhou Heng, not noticing Yan Junze''s expression, continued, "They say there''s a woman in red high heels in that public restroom; whenever someone uses a stall to poop, the sound of those red heels starts clicking, and soon appears outside the stall. You know Wang Shicong from class six, the fat guy?"


    Yan Junze didn''t know the guy at all, but he nodded anyway.


    "Wang Shicong and I live in the same community. That guy played basketball in the square this weekend, ran into the toilet halfway because his stomach hurt," Zhou Heng vividly recounted, "Later, I heard that right when Fat Wang was halfway through taking a dump, the red shoes showed up. You could see them through the gap under the toilet stall''s door, just standing there motionless outside where Wang was pooping."


    "They say..." Zhou Heng paused, looking up at a 45-degree angle towards the sky, his face full of admiration, "Fat Wang was so scared that he forcefully used his Shit-Cutting Skill, making three equal lateral cuts of that turd, didn''t even wipe his ass, and finally managed to pull his pants up, climbed over two stalls cursing, and rushed out of the restroom. The guy couldn''t get out of bed when he got home, and his dad has already asked for sick leave from the class headteacher."

 Chapter 5 - 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)

    Chapter 5: Chapter 4 Hair Washing (Part 1)Yan Junze really couldn''t help but admire Zhou Dali.


    A serious and terrifying incident involving red high-heeled shoes had been transformed by this guy into a comedy sketch that had Yan Junze trying not to laugh, suddenly very curious to see what Fat Wang from Class Six looked like right now.


    Chatting and laughing, the two walked into the campus of Shuntian No.3 Middle School. It was here that Yan Junze finally felt the comfort of being reborn.


    As a top research assistant in his past life in Hua Country, securing a master''s degree in this era was no problem at all, so high school knowledge posed no difficulty for Yan Junze now.


    Instead, he quite enjoyed the tranquil life on campus.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students of Class 5 of Senior Year Three, with only a wall separating them from Fat Wang''s Class 6. Yan Junze had made a point of asking around; indeed, Fat Wang had taken a week off, confirming Zhou Dali''s words.


    It took Yan Junze a day to roughly understand the situation at school.


    Firstly, the original owner of the body was above average academically, so his sudden improvement in grades now was reasonable and not likely to arouse suspicion.


    What Yan Junze feared was the possibility that the former student was a poor performer because an academic achiever taking over would make it difficult to give it his all.


    Then there was the college entrance exam in less than two months, putting the senior year under immense pressure. Even with supernatural events causing disruptions, Shuntian City''s exorcists would prioritize dealing with any strangeness for the senior year, ensuring students a clean, healthy, green, and pure learning environment, free of any negative energy.


    The homeroom teacher of Class 5 of Senior Year Three was a middle-aged man with a greasy belly, named Xiang Decai. Yan Junze had discovered that Teacher Xiang''s knowledge was indeed as expansive as his prominent beer belly, living up to the description of being profoundly learned.


    Yan Junze didn''t have much of an impression of the other teachers, except that the sight of Teacher Zhang Tiantian, who taught American English, made the Yan Junze who had no girlfriend in his previous life momentarily bright-eyed, only to extinguish that spark right after.


    Zhang Tiantian was of the petite and cute type, which most boys found irresistible, but not Yan Junze. He did like beautiful women, but not those who needed his constant protection.


    Independent, thoughtful, not timid, relying on him only when necessary, yet calmly dealing with issues on her own ¡ª for such girls, Yan Junze had absolutely no resistance. (Note this down, it''s important.)


    After a day''s classes, Yan Junze found that Shuntian No.3 Middle School seemed quite normal; there was no talk of abandoned ancient wells, no strange staircases with 13 steps, no off-limits fifth toilet cubicle.


    This made Yan Junze wonder if the exorcists had set up a barrier in the school, completely shutting out all supernatural events.


    At the same time, Yan Junze kept reminding himself that there were no superpowers or cultivation here, just pure urban strangeness.


    Zhou Dali was very active at school, and Yan Junze also learned that this guy''s hefty build was closely tied to his family''s genes. Reportedly, he weighed a hefty eleven pounds at birth.


    Zhou Dali also liked to chant a rather lame motto which was, "Shuntian No.3 has Dali, and Dali can work miracles."


    It was undeniable, he was like a bear.


    Lunch was had at school, so it didn''t cost much. Only after school did some students go out to buy snacks nearby.


    Yan Junze didn''t have this habit. After school, he went straight home, and by the time he arrived, his mother Li Man was already cooking.


    Li Man''s work schedule wasn''t fixed, depending on the cleaning company''s roster, sometimes so busy that she couldn''t return home on weekends.


    Yan Junze couldn''t cook. After swiftly completing his homework, he helped Li Man serve dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.


    Later, his father Yan Daguo arrived home, and the family gathered around the dining table.


    Concerning their son''s academic performance, the couple wasn''t too worried. If Yan Junze continued to maintain his previous grades, getting into one of the top five universities in the Tianmeng District of Great Capital under Huaying University was very hopeful.


    So what Yan Daguo was more concerned about was his son''s emotions and physical condition. After eating a few bites of food, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"


    Yan Junze knew it was the dark circles under his eyes that betrayed him; he had only slept three to four hours the previous night, so it was normal for him to look this way. He didn''t plan to hide the truth.


    "Well, I couldn''t fall asleep for a long time after seeing that thing and then I don''t know when I fell asleep."


    "Did you hear any knocking?" Yan Daguo asked further.


    This question was meant to confirm whether Yan Junze had been asleep before two in the morning. Undeniably, the midnight knocking of the old woman was more punctual than an alarm clock.


    "No," Yan Junze concealed the truth.


    Yan Daguo nodded, having a rough idea of when Yan Junze had rested.


    Li Man spoke up, "Have you finished your homework?"


    "It''s done, and I''ve finished reviewing as well," Yan Junze put down his chopsticks and took a few sips of soup, "I plan to go to bed early today to make up for last night''s sleep."


    "Mhm, get some rest early," Yan Daguo said, reaching out to ruffle Yan Junze''s hair.


    After dinner, Yan Junze chatted with his parents in the living room for a while, and around eight-thirty, he went to wash up and then headed to his bedroom.


    To avoid disturbing their son, Li Man turned down the volume of the TV in the living room. Even though she and Yan Daguo spoke in deliberately lowered voices, their words still reached Yan Junze''s ears.


    Yan Daguo said, "You should buy some sedative oral liquid tomorrow to help our son with his health."


    Li Man must have nodded as her voice came through, "Mhm, I will go down to the pharmacy first thing in the morning. Ze has indeed been studying hard recently. Today was the first time I''ve ever seen him finish reviewing so early."


    "Sigh," Yan Daguo let out a sigh, "What''s with the world these days? Ordinary life pressure is already suffocating enough, and now there''s suddenly an increase in strangenesses. With the double pressure on the body and mind, how are people supposed to live?"


    "Especially since Ze is facing the college entrance exams, and with the house in its current state, Daguo, can you think of any solutions?" Li Man asked.


    Yan Daguo fell silent.


    After a while, he spoke again, "Today I went to see our factory director, who has connections in the city. As long as we''re willing to pay, the director said he can go and ask for us, to cut in line so we can get the bathroom issue sorted as soon as possible."


    "How much will it cost?" Li Man inquired.


    Yan Daguo must have gestured a number because their conversation fell silent once again.


    After some time, Li Man sighed, "If there''s really no other way, I''ll go to the company and get an advance on my salary. Together with our savings, that should be enough."


    "We must deal with it as soon as possible," Yan Daguo didn''t stop Li Man, "I will go withdraw money tomorrow. Once we have enough, I''ll give it to the factory director and ask him to negotiate for us, to resolve this issue quickly so our son can focus on his exams." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze leaned by the bedroom door and roughly overheard these things; he suddenly felt a complex surge of emotions for the parents of this life and then quietly walked back to his bed to lie down.


    It seems that deciding to carry out the "hair washing" task tonight isn''t too late.


    Provided that it can be successfully completed.

 Chapter 6 - 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)

    Chapter 6: Chapter 5 Hair Washing (Part 2)After eavesdropping on his parents'' conversation in this life, Yan Junze felt an inexplicable warmth rise in his heart. Even though he didn''t have inherent feelings for them, he could still feel the affection.


    However, he really hadn''t rested well last night, and before he could adjust to the emotional touch, he had already fallen asleep.


    When he woke up, it was already late at night.


    Yan Junze started up, opened his eyes, and found the world before him a blur; only then did he remember that this body needed glasses. He reached for his glasses and hastily put them on.


    Checking his phone, it was 1:03 AM.


    He perked up his ears to listen to any noise outside the bedroom. Hearing nothing, he presumed that Yan Daguo and Li Man were already asleep.


    Fortunately, the mission brief was clear. All he needed to do was to wash his hair once in the bathroom after midnight to pass. It hadn''t specified that it must be washed at exactly midnight, so even though it was past 12 o''clock, as long as the red-dressed little girl Ke''er was still there, completing the hair-washing would count as completing the task.


    Stealthily getting out of bed, Yan Junze fished out the spare bathroom key from his clothes, walked to the bedroom door, gently opened it, then tiptoed onto the corridor. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He dared not turn on the light, using only the faint glow of his phone to retrieve the key and insert it into the lock of the bathroom door very slowly.


    Taking about five or six seconds, without making too much noise, he got the key fully inserted. Then Yan Junze began to slowly turn the key, ready to unlock the latch.


    Silence enveloped the surroundings, save for the ticking of the wall clock in the living room. The darkness, like an incoming tide, threatened to submerge Yan Junze''s line of sight entirely.


    The dim light from the cell phone struggled against the encroaching darkness.


    Two rotations of the key in, an eerie chill traveled through the doorknob into Yan Junze''s hand. He didn''t know if it was an illusion or a genuine coldness.


    But Yan Junze had no intention of stopping.


    Just one more turn, and at the moment the latch would unlock, a clicking sound would occur ¡ª the moment Yan Junze feared would wake his parents.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth, his tongue involuntarily pressing against the roof of his mouth as he exerted force to twist.


    Click!


    The lock opened.


    Yan Junze stood at the door, letting out the stale breath. He listened intently, and there was no movement from his parents'' bedroom.


    Taking another deep breath, he pushed open the bathroom door.


    The door made no noise as it opened.


    Almost simultaneously with its opening, Yan Junze reached in to find the light switch and immediately turned it on.


    Turning on the bathroom light wouldn''t affect his sleeping parents in the bedroom because their door was closed. The escaping light only touched a small area of the corridor outside the bathroom.


    Just opening a bathroom door made the whole process feel like filming "Mission Impossible." At the moment, Yan Junze genuinely felt a delusion of turning into Tom Cruise. Except he wasn''t there to steal a chip, but to face a red-dressed girl with a twisted neck and broken feet.


    The moment the light switched on, Yan Junze''s gaze swept through the bathroom. He didn''t see the figure of the red-dressed girl Ke''er.


    Of course, he couldn''t see behind the door from where he stood. He would need to enter the bathroom fully to catch a glimpse of all possible locations and ensure that a red-dressed girl wasn''t standing in some corner with her back to him.


    Yan Junze was all in. Standing at the entrance, he glanced once more at his parents'' bedroom. With no sound forthcoming, evidently Yan Daguo and Li Man were sound asleep.


    He pulled up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, the dimly glowing two nodes, and the Rewind line connecting them materialized before his eyes.


    It might be just one chance, so he had to seize this Rewind well.


    Yan Junze knew that the Rewind couldn''t exceed five minutes, and the task of [Washing Hair] must be completed within three minutes.


    This meant he could set the starting point of the Rewind at the moment he entered the bathroom and the endpoint five minutes later.


    As long as he moved quickly and didn''t dawdle upon entering the bathroom, starting the hair-washing immediately and keeping it under three minutes, he wouldn''t exceed the five-minute total of the Rewind line.


    If something happened during that time, Yan Junze could use his sole opportunity to Rewind.


    Having run through the plan in his mind, Yan Junze stood in front of the door, taking several deep breaths. He set his phone screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it to remind him after three minutes. However, he didn''t start the countdown immediately, instead mentally marking the current moment as the starting point of the Rewind line.


    At the same moment, the first node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed instantly.


    Starting point set successfully!


    Yan Junze then thought about setting the end point of the Rewind line five minutes later, and the second node in the Spacetime Atlas dimmed as soon as he did.


    End point set successfully!


    "Here we go!"


    Yan Junze stepped into the bathroom and gently closed the door behind him.


    The moment the door closed, he quickly turned around, scanning every corner of the bathroom, including behind the door, but he didn''t find Ke''er''s red figure.


    Although he didn''t see the little girl, it didn''t affect the mission proceeding right now.


    Yan Junze moved in front of the sink, facing the mirror.


    In the mirror, a gaunt face with somewhat messy hair and a pair of glasses with over three hundred degrees prescription was seen; his expression was slightly nervous, and his eyes occasionally glanced behind him in the reflection.


    To say he wasn''t nervous would certainly be impossible. Firstly, Yan Junze placed his adjusted phone below the mirror, leaning it towards himself at an angle for easy viewing of the time.


    He pressed the drain stopper in the sink to close it, then began to run the water. After it became hot, he tested the temperature with his hand. Once the sink was more than half full, he turned off the tap.


    After checking the phone screen, he rolled up his sleeves, placed the towel and shampoo within easy reach, and then Yan Junze pressed the three-minute countdown timer on the phone with his index finger.


    It took him less than a minute to enter the bathroom and complete these actions.


    The hair washing officially began.


    Yan Junze bent over, dipping his head into the water to thoroughly wet his hair.


    Because he was in a rush, unfortunately, water got into his eyes.


    Instinctively, he closed his eyes.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill, not sure if it was an illusion or something else, as if the bathroom had turned into a refrigeration unit and the temperature had been drastically lowered.


    "Huh!"


    A very faint sound suddenly came from behind him.


    As his nerves were taut at all times, Yan Junze was in a state of high alert, making his senses extraordinarily sharp, and he heard the sound very clearly.


    With a shiver, Yan Junze reached for his towel, quickly drying his eyes. However, he remembered that during the process of washing his hair, he shouldn''t perform any actions unrelated to hair washing.


    Wiping his eyes was permissible, but he dared not turn his head to look behind. Turning your head to look back while washing your hair obviously exceeded the scope of the task.


    Being bent over, he could only sneak a quick glance behind him at the floor not far from beneath his legs.


    Nothing was there.


    From this angle, he did not see Ke''er''s conspicuous red figure.


    But the chill in the room was intensifying.


    He couldn''t waste time, Yan Junze reminded himself, and quickly opened the shampoo to pour some into his hand, applying it to his hair.


    Soon, a great deal of foam emerged.


    However, he quickly realized that this shampoo seemed to cost money.


    Damn, he squeezed too much!

 Chapter 7 - 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)

    Chapter 7: Chapter 6 Hair Washing (Part 3)```


    The shampoo was squeezed out too much, which meant there were a lot of bubbles, and more bubbles meant they could easily flow into the eyes.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was most afraid of closing his eyes, even during a normal hair-wash, shampoo might get into the eyes, let alone now when he''d squeezed out too much.


    As expected, soon three streams of foam flowed swiftly toward both eyes, and the left eye received special attention, with two streams coming at it simultaneously.


    Yan Junze had no choice but to close his eyes as they were stung by the shampoo.


    The moment his eyes closed, his brain was flooded with all sorts of strange and bizarre associations.


    He had a strong feeling that someone was standing behind him, staring at him with a pair of chilling eyes at this very moment.


    Could it be that little girl in red, Ke''er, was standing behind him?


    Yan Junze remembered that the task "Washing Hair" included a note: "You''re washing your hair; she is watching." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That meant, Ke''er was definitely staring at him while he washed his hair.


    Forget it, let her watch if she wants, Yan Junze bit down on his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on just washing his hair, rubbing it quickly.


    Although he forced himself not to think about anything else, at this moment his senses had been amplified countless times in this special environment, and he could immediately detect any slight movement.


    Such as the indoor temperature falling, or the extremely faint noise coming from the corner near the toilet, or the sensation of an insect crawling up his ankle, making it itch.


    He couldn''t be sure which sensations were real.


    "That should do it," Yan Junze stopped rubbing his hair, suppressing the urge to respond to any abnormalities.


    Next up was rinsing with clean water, then drying his hair with a towel, and he would be finished.


    He was just about to immerse his foamy hair in the sink and turn on the tap to wash it when his body jerked, suddenly feeling his pajama pants tighten, grabbed by something.


    This feeling was definitely not an illusion; it was indeed something grabbing onto him.


    Since he was bent over, it was impossible for Yan Junze to straighten up right away, so even after his pant leg was grabbed, he still dipped his head into the sink''s water.


    The instant his pant leg was seized, Yan Junze''s whole body went numb, and even his head, submerged in water, seemed to no longer belong to him.


    Another tug on his leg followed by the grip, and then something wound around his thigh, crawling up.


    A wave of cold sensation started at his calf, moved up through his thigh, up to his right hip, and finally settled on the right side of his back, with even his shoulder caught by something cold.


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    It must be Ke''er... slowly climbing up his leg onto his back.


    "Huh!"


    The same familiar sound of surprise came from behind him again, but this time, the sound came from less than an arm''s length away from Yan Junze''s ear.


    One could imagine such a scene: A red-dressed girl with a crooked neck, out-turned feet, and a curved spine, perched on Yan Junze''s right side, uttering a sound of surprise. Beneath that messy head of hair, a pair of gray eyes focused intently on the man before her, burying his head in the water of the sink like an ostrich.


    At this moment, Yan Junze''s right side was ice cold, and goosebumps kept emerging on his skin.


    In that instant, his whole body bristled.


    No longer able to tolerate the sensation of Ke''er lying on him, in fact, Yan Junze hadn''t thought that given Ke''er''s height, to watch him wash his hair for the entire duration, standing below the sink would definitely not offer the best viewing angle.


    Furthermore, the bathroom was small, with no other better spot to watch from, so lying on his back became almost inevitable.


    What mattered most was, it was okay to watch, but she suddenly let out a "huh" so close to his ear.


    During his first task, already extremely nervous, Yan Junze exploded like a C4 bomb with the switch pressed upon hearing this sound.


    "Huh your fucking¡ª!"


    Involuntarily, Yan Junze''s body jerked, and he subconsciously grabbed Ke''er''s ice-cold thin arm and flung it away.


    Picking up a towel to roughly wipe his eyes clean, Yan Junze hurriedly opened them.


    Without enough time to put on his glasses, he could only see, in a blur, the figure of Ke''er in red, with loose, wild hair, crouched near the ceiling at the corner of the wall, her overwhelming chilling presence enveloping the entire bathroom.


    "Ah..."


    Ke''er suddenly opened her dark purple lips, revealing black teeth, and let out a shrill scream.


    It obviously woke his parents, as there was a commotion from the bedroom, and at the same time, the red-clad Ke''er kicked off and pounced towards Yan Junze.


    Her disheveled head enlarged continuously in Yan Junze''s pupils.


    "Rewind!"


    ```


    ```


    Yan Junze had just enough time to have that thought.


    A sudden wave of dizziness washed over his brain, and the scene around him quickly changed as time rewound.


    When the dizziness faded, his vision was crystal clear because he had put on his glasses and was standing at the bathroom door.


    "Rewind... did it rewind?!"


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but lower his head, noticing that the sleeves he had rolled up were now down, and his hands were dry. He was standing at the bathroom door just like a few minutes ago.


    Lack of experience, the newbie village is deadly!


    After confirming he had Rewound, Yan Junze felt a wave of fear.


    He was certain that he shouldn''t have thrown Ke''er off his back in a fit of panic. If he had just endured and finished washing his hair, all those uncontrollable events that followed wouldn''t have happened.


    Glancing once again at the Atlas in his mind, it was now completely dark; the two nodes that had been lit, along with the faint line of Rewind time, were now exhausted of energy.


    It was the only chance left.


    Stepping into the bathroom, he closed the door behind him.


    This time, Yan Junze refrained from looking around because he knew that Ke''er was not there at the moment.


    Ke''er would appear after he had officially started washing his hair.


    He placed his mobile phone beneath the mirror, screen facing him. Then, he started filling the sink with water, preparing shampoo and a dry towel.


    Then, Yan Junze lifted his head and looked again at the young and slightly immature face reflected in the mirror. His panic from moments ago had lessened significantly.


    Now he was clear that he had to stay calm throughout the entire hair-washing process.


    Taking off his glasses and rolling up his sleeves, he set a three-minute countdown on his phone and began washing his hair for the second time.


    After wetting his hair, this time, without the initial nerves, the amount of water was just right, and it didn''t get into his eyes.


    The temperature in the room began to drop, a sign that Ke''er was about to appear.


    Yan Junze resisted the chill rising in him, tilted his head slightly, locked onto the location of the shampoo, and reached out to squeeze some onto his hand.


    Almost at the same instant.


    "Eh!"


    A familiar voice came from behind.


    His right hand that had just taken the shampoo shook slightly. After a brief half-second pause, he still applied it to his hair.


    This time he hadn''t used too much shampoo either; the amount was just right to create enough foam.


    The cold in the room was intensifying. Yan Junze continued to scrub his hair while his thighs and back grew increasingly cold.


    Even though this was the second attempt. he found his body was still trembling slightly, but the quivering was manageable.


    The second attempt was going well, so no shampoo got into his eyes, and he could keep them open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes open and head down, his line of sight passing between his legs to the ground not far behind him.


    About four or five seconds after Ke''er made her signature "Eh" sound, he saw a pair of bruised little feet.


    One of the feet was broken with the sole turned out, standing just behind him.


    The visual impact was too strong; Yan Junze found himself shaking even more, so he decided to close his eyes.


    His pants tightened, and the next second, he was grabbed by a cold little hand.


    "Again?"


    Yan Junze felt a rush of tears but no relief. Obviously, with Ke''er''s short stature, she had to climb onto Yan Junze''s back to get the best viewing angle.


    No matter how many times the Rewind was, this method was still Ke''er''s unvarying choice.


    Yan Junze''s thigh was entwined, quickly followed by a tightening around his waist and back, as Ke''er climbed onto his right side once more.


    His body felt ice cold, and the chill in his heart intensified.


    He could imagine the red-dressed girl hooking her hands over his shoulders, tilting her head to watch how he washed his hair.


    "Eh!"


    Ke''er made the same sound for the second time, clearly having gotten a clear view this time.


    ```

 Chapter 8 - 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)

    Chapter 8: Chapter 7 Hair Washing (Part 4)Hearing the ghost''s incessant "huh" right by his ear, Yan Junze honestly struggled several times with the urge to throw the little brat out again.


    The chilly sensation had almost saturated his entire body, and even though the water was hot, Yan Junze could no longer feel it at that moment.


    After continuing to rub his hair, he first rinsed his head in the basin full of water to wash away the shampoo, then drained the foamy water.


    He reached out to turn on the faucet and tested the water temperature; even though it wasn''t just right, the impatient Yan Junze already leaned forward to rinse off.


    Three minutes were almost up, and Yan Junze also wanted to finish washing his hair quickly and not be stared at by Ke''er lying on top of him the whole time.


    During this time, Ke''er hadn''t moved at all, just hooking his left shoulder with her hand, lying on his back, with her head tilted and motionless.


    If Yan Junze could have turned his head to look, he would have seen that the pupils in Ke''er''s gray eyes were covered by a thin gray film, and it was unclear where the little one''s gaze was focused.


    His hair was quickly washed clean, but, inevitably, water got into his eyes during the process.


    Yan Junze closed his eyes, maintaining steady breathing, and reached out for a dry towel; as long as he wiped his hair dry, the "Hair Washing" task would be completed.


    However, just as he grabbed the dry towel, a cold little hand was placed on the back of his hand.


    This sensation was like when a group of people gathered around eating a steaming hot and spicy hot pot, and suddenly someone poured a bucket of cold water over them from head to toe, chilling them to the core, heart soaring.


    Yan Junze''s right hand trembled, not daring to make another move, pressing the towel with one hand, his heart thudding as if it would jump out of his chest, unable to open his eyes, just freezing in place.


    The small hand resting on the back of his hand didn''t move either, showing no intention of letting go.


    The scene was eerie.


    Being a strangeness, Ke''er weighed next to nothing, so even though she lay on Yan Junze''s back, it didn''t put any pressure on him.


    What mattered most now was that Yan Junze didn''t dare to ask the little one what she wanted to do because once he asked, that would count as doing something unrelated to washing his hair.


    The cost of task failure was something that the current Yan Junze couldn''t afford.


    Time might almost be up for the three minutes, Yan Junze bit his teeth and didn''t dare to delay any longer, gradually pulling his hand back while still holding onto the towel.


    The cold little hand still didn''t back off, pressing on the back of Yan Junze''s hand without moving, following the movement of his hand.


    Yan Junze no longer minded her and quickened his pace to retrieve the towel.


    As long as he didn''t do anything unrelated to hair washing, he would rather believe Ke''er wouldn''t make things difficult for him.


    The ten or so seconds he gripped the towel felt like an eternity until his hands finally held the towel, ready to wipe his head, when Ke''er''s small hand finally slowly moved away.


    Yan Junze quickly raised his head and wiped his hair dry, then wiped off the water around his eyes. As he did this, the Spacetime Atlas emerged in his mind.


    "Hair Washing, Anxiety-Inducing (Low), Completed, gained 100 Different Dimension Energy points."


    At the same moment, the initial Rewind line that had disappeared in the Atlas and the two spacetime nodes lit up simultaneously.


    Moreover, after gaining 100 Different Dimension Energy points, the lit Rewind line continued to extend forward, quickly reaching the third spacetime node, which gradually started to glow.


    At that moment, two Rewind lines were illuminated.


    At the same time, after wiping the water from the corners of his eyes, Yan Junze hurriedly opened his eyes.


    The instant he put on his glasses, he didn''t do anything else but immediately looked behind him.


    Because the "Hair Washing" task had been successfully completed, and he had also received 100 Different Dimension Energy points as a reward. This meant Ke''er''s Obsession should have been resolved, whether the little one reincarnated or went to her Ultimate Bliss World, she no longer had any reason to stay in his bathroom.


    However, the moment he looked behind him, the relieved Yan Junze jerked sharply, as the sight of a red dress, untidy, fluffy long hair, and bruised limbs caught his eye.


    These noticeable features unmistakably indicated that Ke''er was still lying on his back.


    This scene made Yan Junze feel like he had become Master Roshi from "Dragon Ball", with Ke''er''s bruised hands wrapped around his neck, tightly clasped together, and her feet fiercely wrapped around his waist. Looking at this, he indeed resembled someone carrying a huge turtle shell.


    What... what''s going on?


    Didn''t I complete the task?


    Could this be a sticky ghost that''s just refusing to leave?


    Just at that moment, a new line of text suddenly appeared in Yan Junze''s mind.


    [Acquired Ke''er (Wandering Spirit), current favorability: Neutral]


    Yan Junze was stunned. He had never imagined that Ke''er really wouldn''t leave. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the beginning of the "Hair Washing" task, there was no mention of obtaining Ke''er after completing the task. There was only a task tip that said "the Evil Spirit cannot be locked down".


    Now that he thought about it, this so-called lockdown probably meant actively locking down the Evil Spirit, or in other words, capturing it.


    But now the task tip said "acquired", which could mean that Ke''er was following Yan Junze willingly. For Yan Junze, it was a passive acquisition of the Wandering Spirit.


    Although it could not be denied, setting aside those glasses, the contours of this high school student''s face were distinct and had a sense of linearity. However, Yan Junze didn''t believe it was his looks that had conquered Ke''er.


    It was very likely that... Ke''er had fallen in love with watching him wash his hair.


    If it were before, Yan Junze would never believe that washing his hair could so easily capture a girl obsessed with him in a red dress.


    But now the facts were as such, whether he believed it or not, the girl obsessed with him in a red dress was here, clinging to his back faithfully.


    "Could it be that from now on, she''s just going to follow me around?" Yan Junze suddenly felt his scalp tingle, and goosebumps spread all over his body.


    Though Ke''er''s weight was negligible, carrying such a thing around all the time, what would he do about going to the toilet? What about taking a shower? And in case, just in case he got a beautiful girlfriend in the future, and when things got hot and heavy, what would they do about @%#£¤&*?


    With something like that always splayed on his back, he wouldn''t be able to do anything!


    Just now, Yan Junze had clearly seen that Ke''er''s attitude towards him was neutral.


    What if this young lady got the wrong idea in the future, and her attitude towards him turned into opposition or hostility?


    Yan Junze shook his head with a wry smile, feeling like he wasn''t carrying a Wandering Spirit, but rather a time bomb that occasionally let out a "Yi" sound.


    Facing the mirror, Yan Junze twisted his body and discovered that although Ke''er''s back was S-shaped, the posture in which she lay on him was quite natural. She kept her head buried on his back, motionless, as if she had fallen asleep.


    The cold feeling was still there, but not as intense as in the beginning.


    Well, at least I come with built-in air conditioning in the summer.


    As long as it doesn''t harm this young and vigorous body.


    After tidying up the bathroom, Yan Junze tiptoed to turn off the lights and lock the door, then played another thrilling game of "Mission Impossible" by locking the bathroom door from the outside. Finally, he silently slipped into his own bedroom.


    Lying in bed, he felt no discomfort whatsoever behind him.


    The Wandering Spirit, Ke''er, might only be visible in mirrors; such Supernatural beings couldn''t be dealt with as though they were physical objects.


    After completing the first nail-biting task, Yan Junze finally took a deep breath.


    "From now on, when I wash my hair, you keep watch. You can watch the process however you like, as long as you don''t absorb my Pure Yang Qi," Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    "Yi." Ke''er seemed to answer.


    "Yi your sister, can you speak?"


    "Yi."

 Chapter 9 - 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!

    Chapter 9: Chapter 8 Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!Although he went to bed very late, Yan Junze, having just completed his first task, was evidently still excited, and spent the night in a daze, hardly getting any real sleep.


    He was awakened by the cold as it was getting light outside.


    In May, even though the morning air is cool, a thin blanket should be enough to keep warm, but Yan Junze was certain that it was the cold that had woken him up.


    Sitting up in bed, he twisted his head to glance behind him and saw nothing, yet a chill that seemed to have soaked into his being made him almost shiver uncontrollably.


    He then got dressed and, standing in front of the wardrobe mirror, Yan Junze glanced at his own reflection, and sure enough, there was Ke''er, clad in red, lying on his back as if she were sound asleep.


    No good, this dead child wasn''t coming down, and he had no way to deal with her for the moment.


    He needed to find a way to warm himself up first; otherwise, he might freeze to death before strangenesses had a chance to scare him to death.


    Yan Junze rummaged through his closet and quickly found a khaki-colored thick sweater to put on.


    As he was getting dressed, Ke''er behind him seemed to have no effect whatsoever, as if she had become transparent at that moment.


    The incident in the bathroom had been resolved, and Yan Junze must find a chance to convince his parents that there was no longer any need to go to great lengths to call for an exorcist.


    He checked the time, it was already 6:10 AM, and there were 20 minutes left before his father, Yan Daguo, would get up and open the bathroom door.


    After pondering for a moment, and feeling the warmth starting to build up in his body, Yan Junze noted that despite the lack of sleep over the past few days, he was in pretty good shape.


    It seemed that youth was indeed an asset.


    The Ke''er lying on his back seemed to only bring coldness for the time being, and he had not yet discovered any other side effects that might harm his body.


    Yan Junze quickly thought of a plan. He took out the switched bathroom key and, before his parents were up, opened the door and the light switch of the bathroom as if he had done this many times before.


    He then watched the time on his phone.


    At 6:20 AM, adjusting his emotions, he ran to his parents'' bedroom in a panic, first knocking loudly on the closed door, then shouting, "Dad, Mom, get up quick! The bathroom door is open, and that thing seems to have disappeared."


    Three minutes later.


    Yan Daguo, Li Man, and Yan Junze stood in front of the open bathroom door, staring inside with bewildered expressions. They had been standing there for over two minutes, motionless.


    After some hesitation, Yan Daguo finally spoke, asking Yan Junze, "Was the door like this when you got up?"


    "Yeah, the light inside was on too, and it must have been on for quite a while," Yan Junze confirmed with certainty, nodding.


    During the conversation, he deliberately twisted his body, shaking his back in front of Yan Daguo and Li Man, wanting to know if his parents could see Ke''er on his back.


    As it turned out, his concerns were unnecessary, as under the current circumstances, it seemed that no one other than himself could see Ke''er.


    And even Yan Junze himself could only spot Ke''er through a mirror.


    Yan Daguo checked the time; it wasn''t yet 6:30 AM. Based on his experience, at this time of day under normal circumstances, it would not be safe to enter the bathroom, as there was a high chance of encountering the ghost of the red-clad girl.


    A moment later, gritting his teeth and with a look of resignation on his face, Yan Daguo said to Li Man, "Wife, I''ll go in and take a look. You and our son stay outside the door."


    With that, not waiting for Li Man to object, he stepped into the bathroom, and from the slightly trembling of his legs, Yan Junze felt that his father''s step was no different from stepping into hell.


    Time seemed to freeze as Yan Daguo stood in the bathroom for a long time, and the mother and son also stood outside for a long time, staring at each other in silence.


    The hour hand on the living room clock pointed to 6:41 AM when Yan Daguo walked out of the bathroom.


    ```


    "It seems... it''s really gone."


    As he muttered to himself, Yan Daguo checked every room in the house, fearful that the red-clad girl would emerge. If she appeared in other rooms in broad daylight, the situation would be far more serious than it is now.


    Li Man also went up and down, inspecting everywhere.


    Half an hour later, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.


    It appeared to be truly gone.


    Still uneasy, Yan Daguo said to Li Man and Yan Junze, "Let''s keep locking the bathroom door on time for the next two days. After midnight, I''ll go into the bathroom. If I''m certain that thing doesn''t appear again, it may really be gone."


    "Thank heaven!" Li Man clasped her hands together and looked up to give thanks, her face showing gratitude for the divine favor.


    Then, lowering her hands, Li Man''s expression turned to one of surprise as she stared at Yan Junze. "Ze, why are you dressed like a zongzi? Is it that cold? You are wearing a thick sweater meant for the dead of winter."


    "Cold," Yan Junze affirmed with a nod.


    "You must take care of yourself these days," Yan Daguo said with concern, then to Li Man, "Now I think we can hold off on asking a friend to call the exorcist. Let''s wait to see if that thing is really still here, and then it won''t be too late to spend money."


    Li Man had no objections to the suggestion.


    The family was already short on money, and it would be best not to have to dip into her meager salary in advance.


    Li Man even felt the surprise of winning a jackpot. When others encountered strangeness, they either endured in terror until the exorcist came or simply moved away. Yet, the strangeness in her own house had just vanished.


    If she knew the real reason why her son was dressed like a zongzi, she wouldn''t feel like she''d won the jackpot, but as if she''d been cursed.


    ...


    An hour later.


    At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, Senior Year Class 5.


    The morning reading was underway, with the teacher not yet in the classroom. The mix of reading noises was like the machinery in Yan Daguo''s factory, rumbling and incessant.


    In this world, just like on Earth, there was an international language spoken around the globe, called USA language, similar to the popularity of English on Earth.


    Therefore, there were many students reciting USA language at this time. Yan Junze had looked over the textbooks and felt that the pronunciation and usage were not much different from English, just with some very subtle differences that were negligible for him.


    While he was studying USA language, Zhou Dali was staring at him with a look of astonishment.


    Soon Yan Junze lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Zhou Dali. "What?"


    "Why are you dressed like a zongzi?" Zhou Dali''s exaggerated expression focussed on Yan Junze''s winter-like attire.


    "Do you have a special fondness for zongzi?" Yan Junze internally complained, tightening his coat, which he''d layered over a thick sweater, "I have a bit of a cold, feels chilly."


    "Cold in this weather?"


    Zhou Dali didn''t waste the opportunity to flex his thick forearms, which were almost as wide as Yan Junze''s waist. He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his muscles, and swiftly waved them about under the watchful eyes of Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin at the next desk. While showing off his muscles, he also demonstrated his unmatched hand speed and the evident high frequency of shaking from his extensive training.


    The two ladies gave him a look as if he were an idiot, not uttering a word.


    Just then, Yan Junze suddenly felt Ke''er, whom he''d almost forgotten about lying on his back, lightly shift.


    The bell for class rang, and the teacher arrived.


    ```


    Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 10 - 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil

    Chapter 10: Chapter 9 Black Pupil, White Pupil```


    In his past life, Yan Junze did not like staring at people, considering it rather impolite, even when looking at the teacher during class.


    But now, he found himself really enjoying the USA language courses. Teacher Zhang Tiantian was under 1.6 meters tall, petite, with a head full of wavy curls, and looked as sweet as her name suggested.


    Most importantly, she had a very pleasant voice. Yan Junze became somewhat obsessed with that sweet voice.


    That morning, there were two consecutive USA language classes taught by Zhang Tiantian. Almost all the students in the class were focused, which goes to show that a teacher''s appearance does indeed play a role in stimulating the desire to learn.


    Zhou Dali had already pulled back his Popeye arms and hadn''t absorbed much of the lesson, his gaze frequently sweeping back and forth between Zhang Tiantian and his classmate Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze understood his dilemma; from the first day of this reborn world''s classes, he knew the guy had a crush on Bao Jie. But now, because it was Zhang Tiantian''s class, Zhou Dali also wanted to steal a few extra glances at her, a typical teenage boy syndrome.


    However, it seemed Bao Jie didn''t like the muscular dumbbell type, nor did she like the weak and skinny type like Yan Junze. Instead, she preferred sun-kissed, athletic guys, like Zhou Jiajie, sitting in the third row.


    Since the class had started, Ke''er was no longer as well-behaved as she had been the night before, moving every few minutes. Although she was nearly weightless, Yan Junze could distinctly feel her constant fidgeting.


    After the first class, Yan Junze went to the men''s restroom downstairs.


    Zhou Dali followed him excitedly, muttering under his breath as they walked, "What''s so great about that Zhou Jiajie? Just a pretty boy. If it wasn''t for the fear of his dad, who is the deputy director of the Shuntian City Municipal Office, I would have found an opportunity to punch him a long time ago."


    "You''re quite the honest person," Yan Junze laughed.


    Zhou Dali also chuckled along but became frozen when he glanced at the wide mirror on the bathroom wall and stared at it silently.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly looked behind himself through the mirror.


    Ke''er was lying obediently on his back. Although she wasn''t moving, he could clearly see the red-clothed little girl.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Zhou Dali again; the guy was still staring into the mirror, not only unblinking but even stepped forward to take a closer look.


    "You..." Yan Junze''s heart pounded, unsure whether Zhou Dali could see Ke''er through the mirror just like he could.


    "I..." Zhou Dali stared at the mirror, leaning in close after a long while and said, "There''s... another pimple popped up?"


    "Go to your grandma!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but curse, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.


    Zhou Dali seemed oblivious, trying to squeeze the newly discovered pimple and occasionally rubbing the few strands of beard that had just appeared on his chin.


    Yan Junze was a bit concerned but took the opportunity, as other classmates entered the restroom, to stand in front of the mirror and observe the comings and goings.


    Nobody noticed anything unusual about his back.


    It seemed he had been overthinking it.


    Back in the classroom, for the second USA language class, Yan Junze was still very focused.


    But shortly after sitting down, Ke''er started squirming again, which gave Yan Junze the impression that she did not like to listen to the lesson, as she hadn''t moved once during the ten minutes break.


    It appeared he had to figure out a way to deal with it, as this was beginning to affect his life.


    While Yan Junze pondered, his gaze was fixed on Zhang Tiantian, who was teaching at the podium in her black striped teacher''s outfit.


    Zhang Tiantian was explaining the structure of a USA language sentence pattern very seriously, her sweet voice and those clear eyes capturing most of the students'' attention.


    "This sentence pattern is important and will definitely appear in the college entrance exam, so please take careful notes on what I just said," she prompted, and most of the students, including Zhou Dali, began to jot down notes.


    Yan Junze, engrossed in thoughts concerning Ke''er, did not take notes and was staring at Zhang Tiantian, his mind racing.


    However, Zhang Tiantian suddenly grew still, her action of pointing at the blackboard froze, and she looked beneath the podium with a fixed gaze.


    ```


    At that moment, Yan Junze clearly saw that the clear black pupils in Zhang Tiantian''s eyes had disappeared, replaced by entirely white pupils that filled her eye sockets.


    These white pupils made Zhang Tiantian''s whole person undergo a drastic change in demeanor, the sweet and cute feeling vanished, replaced by a chilling eeriness that surged suddenly.


    This process lasted only about three seconds; the white pupils quickly flipped over, revealing the black pupils once more.


    At this time, Zhang Tiantian, who had previously been pointing at the blackboard, started moving again, lowered her hand, and asked nonchalantly, "Did everyone get that? Does anyone need me to go over it again?"


    "Teacher..." Sitting in the third row, Zhou Jiajie suddenly raised his hand, "You just now... What was... What was..."


    Clearly, it wasn''t only Yan Junze who had noticed something odd about Zhang Tiantian; Zhou Jiajie, who was sitting closer, seemed to have seen it even more clearly.


    "What''s up?" Zhang Tiantian asked, looking surprised. She seemed to have no awareness of her abnormal behavior just moments before.


    "It''s... It''s nothing." Zhou Jiajie''s face showed terror as he shook his head.


    The class continued.


    Yan Junze didn''t say anything, but he was certain that something had happened to Zhang Tiantian. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During the moment her white pupils appeared, Ke''er on Yan Junze''s back squirmed even more frequently; now he was starting to understand the reason for Ke''er''s restlessness.


    Looking at Zhou Jiajie, it was apparent that he was completely distracted, unable to conceal his terror.


    The other students didn''t notice anything, and Zhang Tiantian herself continued teaching very normally, with no other strange behaviors.


    About five or six minutes later, Zhou Jiajie raised his hand again.


    Zhang Tiantian stopped lecturing and turned her head to look at him.


    "Teacher, I suddenly have a horrible stomach ache, please... may I be excused?" Zhou Jiajie seemed to be in so much pain that his face was contorted, and he got to his feet as he spoke.


    "Hmm," Zhang Tiantian nodded, "Did you eat something wrong? Tian Hao, go with him to the infirmary and have a look."


    Tian Hao, who shared a desk with Zhou Jiajie, also stood up, ready to help him.


    Zhou Jiajie waved him off: "No need, I can go by myself."


    With those words, he quickened his pace and nearly ran out of the classroom while clutching his stomach.


    "This guy." Yan Junze smiled bitterly.


    Zhou Jiajie clearly realized that something abnormal had happened to Teacher Zhang Tiantian and feared that it might involve him; he found an excuse and slipped away.


    In terms of cleverness, this guy had plenty of wits, but when it came to courage, he was quite disappointing to Yan Junze.


    It seemed like if Bao Jie really ended up with this kind of man, her hard days were still ahead.


    Zhou Jiajie''s departure didn''t raise any suspicions among the other students, except Zhou Dali who cursed his relative under his breath, "Stomach ache? I curse you to go 30 times a day, until you get a prolapse!"


    Yan Junze rolled his eyes at him.


    "Please watch the shape of my mouth, and listen carefully," Zhang Tiantian instructed. "In this sentence from the text, the pronunciation features a connected speech. If you can''t produce it, you won''t be able to understand it clearly."


    As Zhang Tiantian spoke, she opened her mouth, about to make the sound, when suddenly she froze completely.


    Her mouth slightly open, her right hand just beginning to lift, and on her pale cheeks, the black pupils within her eyes suddenly flipped, turning into white pupils once more, and she remained motionless.


    This eerie scene, this time, was clearly seen by everyone in the classroom.

 Chapter 11 - 10: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)

    Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 1)At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, in the classroom of Grade 12 Class 5, a scene like this was unfolding.


    All the students were staring, dumbfounded, at a petite female teacher on the podium, who stood with her mouth slightly agape, revealing no white teeth, and her clear, bright black pupils completely overtaken by white ones, standing there like a statue.


    This time, it was longer than the last.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but mentally count the seconds, feeling like seven or eight seconds had passed, but Zhang Tiantian still looked weird and terrifying.


    "Teacher... Teacher Zhang!"


    After a brief silence, a male student sitting in the front row couldn''t help but call out.


    As soon as he spoke, Zhang Tiantian''s neck gently twisted with a crackling sound as she turned toward the male student. However, her pupils remained white.


    Her previously slightly open mouth gradually continued to widen, as if an invisible hand was stretching it, still revealing no teeth. At that moment, that once charming and alluring mouth seemed to turn into an unfathomably deep black hole.


    Utter silence. Throughout the widening of her mouth, Zhang Tiantian didn''t make a sound.


    But the next second, at least seven female students screamed simultaneously, their high-pitched squeals rivaling the climax of Vitas'' Opera #2.


    Yan Junze just felt a buzzing in his ears and almost went deaf. All the students stood up and rushed towards the classroom door in a frenzy.


    "Damn, let''s go! Something''s wrong with Teacher Zhang!" Zhou Dali grabbed Yan Junze''s collar.


    Yan Junze had no time to think and, in a flash, he and Zhou Dali squeezed out of the classroom. From start to finish, he never had the chance to touch the ground and was dragged to safety by Zhou Dali, like a kite in the wind.


    Hearing the screams, nearby classrooms erupted into chaos as teachers and students alike ran out of their rooms, surging forward to find out what was happening.


    However, after hearing the scattered accounts from the students of Grade 12 Class 5, most people''s faces immediately changed color.


    Just then, someone shouted, "Teacher Zhang fainted!"


    Looking into the classroom, they saw Zhang Tiantian lying on her back on the podium, as if she truly had fainted. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "First... first, let''s carry her to the office!" the bald teacher from the neighboring class hurriedly ordered, "Zhao Mengjun, go inform the head of student affairs; there might have been a supernatural event."


    A clever-looking male student responded and hurriedly ran downstairs.


    A few young male students, mustering their courage, re-entered the classroom and found that Zhang Tiantian indeed had fainted. In a fluster, they lifted her and, under the command of the bald teacher, carried her downstairs, panting heavily to the office of the Spacetime Atlas language teacher in the building opposite, on the second floor.


    This office was quite spacious, capable of accommodating eight to ten teachers working at the same time, but as soon as Zhang Tiantian was carried in, the five teachers already present immediately ran out.


    They had already heard about Zhang Tiantian''s ordeal.


    Not long after lying on the office sofa, Zhang Tiantian slowly regained consciousness, looking around in astonishment; she remembered she was teaching a class and didn''t know how she ended up back in the office.


    "Teacher Zhang, you just fainted. You might be feeling unwell. We''ve contacted the hospital, and a doctor will be here soon," said the bald teacher, who seemed to have plenty of experience dealing with supernatural events, blathering away, "For now, just lie down on the sofa, and don''t go anywhere! Don''t trip and fall again."


    With that, the bald teacher signaled to the other students with his eyes, and everyone promptly left the office.


    During class, Zhang Tiantian''s black pupils had turned to white, and her mouth kept unstoppably widening. The students'' descriptions had already left the bald teacher trembling with fear, and he didn''t want to stay there any longer.


    Moreover, the school is a protected area, and even though strange incidents are frequent nowadays, as long as it involves the school, the exorcist organization will immediately activate the emergency mechanism. There''s no need to wait in line, and an exorcist will be quickly dispatched to handle the situation. This is not something they need to worry about.


    What needs to be done now is to prevent any accidents from happening before the exorcist arrives.


    Everyone has gained experience by now, as long as they stay away from the site of the strangeness, the chances of danger are not high.


    And now, it seems that Zhang Tiantian herself is the main entity of this strangeness.


    Outside the office, not only Principal Jiang and Deputy Principal Shen He from Shuntian No.3 Middle School came upon hearing the news, but other teachers and a large number of students as well.


    However, these people stopped orderly on the first floor, and none even went upstairs.


    The level of danger in supernatural events does not need to be explained by anyone, as everyone understands.


    Deputy Principal Shen He took out a folded yellow talisman from his chest and went upstairs alone. He carefully placed it outside Zhang Tiantian''s office door, and then quickly came back down.


    Shen He was one of those very traditional people, who had been carrying various jade objects and talismans on him since the outbreak of the strangeness.


    Although he was aware that these items'' actual effectiveness was almost negligible in the face of strangeness, people always need psychological comfort, and having them was better than not having them at all.


    "Classes are suspended from now. Students can go home, and those who live far away should immediately return to their dormitories," announced Principal Jiang, his white hair gleaming, as he cleared his throat and addressed everyone, "The exorcists will arrive soon to deal with the situation. After you go back, wait for further notice. It''s possible that normal classes will resume tomorrow, and there won''t be any impact."


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali also stood in the crowd, exchanging glances.


    "Hey, let''s go to the internet cafe later," Zhou Dali sent Yan Junze a "you know what I mean" look.


    "I''m going home to review," Yan Junze turned and left.


    "Hey, what''s with you? Why have you changed so much all of a sudden? I''m not used to you studying so hard," Zhou Dali muttered, looking down, but then he suddenly bumped into Yan Junze, who had stopped abruptly, "What''s up? Why have you stiffened up as well? Hey, let me see if your eyes have changed color! White or green?"


    "Change your sister!"


    Yan Junze turned around and looked towards the second-floor office not far away, as a task from the Spacetime Atlas suddenly surfaced in his mind.


    [Detecting new Different Dimensional Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wave Band, analysing...]


    [Task Name: Spend Ten Minutes Alone with Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Low);]


    [Task Background: As a Possession Spirit, it''s very lonely. It has never been cared for or held dear by anyone, and it cannot release. Therefore, it loves to attach itself and slowly draw out the essence qi from its host, savoring every gulp;]


    [Task Description: As stated, lasting ten minutes;]


    [Task Reward: 500 points of Different Dimensional Energy;]


    [Task Penalty: Become the second Zhang Tiantian;]


    [Task Hint: The Evil Spirit can be locked down;]


    [Note: Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe.]

 Chapter 12 - 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)

    Chapter 12: Chapter 11 Living with Zhang Tiantian (Part 2)```


    Yan Junze was completely puzzled about how the task had been triggered.


    He felt he was still far from Zhang Tiantian''s office and had no idea that the Spacetime Atlas could detect Different Dimension Energy from such a distance.


    However, at the same moment he saw the task, a bizarre idea inexplicably popped into his mind.


    If one could infinitely increase this detection range, would it be possible to instantly know the exact locations and related tasks of all the strangenesses in the city?


    Crazy, he must be crazy!


    Yan Junze shook his head. So far, no one would voluntarily approach and investigate unexplainable, mysterious events, apart from himself.


    Looking at the task prompt''s "Task Level" column: Trembling with Fear (Low).


    Yan Junze remembered that both the [Hair Washing] and [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] tasks were labeled "Anxiety-Inducing," with one being low and the other medium.


    But now, the level in front of him had changed to "Trembling with Fear." This meant that the difficulty or horror level was definitely higher than the previous tasks.


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to solve the [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task within the next few days, or even tonight, since having someone knock on his door every night was not a small psychological burden for his family.


    But now, he was having some difficulty deciding.


    The task [Alone with Zhang Tiantian in an Office] had appeared suddenly, and the window of opportunity was brief, right now. Otherwise, once the Exorcist arrived, there would be nothing left for Yan Junze to do.


    So, if he wanted to complete it, he had to start now or forever miss the chance.


    Yan Junze''s heart was filled with unease, as his attention remained primarily on the words "Trembling with Fear (Low)."


    The task''s difficulty level escalating from "Anxiety-Inducing" to "Trembling with Fear" was a strong, attention-demanding signal. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.


    "Spend 10 minutes with Zhang Tiantian in one office, do I go or not?" Yan Junze hesitated internally. He needed to decide quickly and take action before the Exorcist arrived.


    "I''ve noticed that you''ve changed since you encountered that strange event," Zhou Dali said without knowing what was on his mind, standing behind him, patting Yan Junze with his fan-sized hand in a comforting tone.


    This was exactly the reaction Yan Junze aimed to show as he turned to Zhou Dali and said, "Yeah, go ahead to the internet caf¨¦ and start up a computer for me. I''ll be there soon, it will only take about fifteen minutes at most."


    "Alright, just be careful," Zhou Dali left.


    "Damn, are you setting a flag for me?" Yan Junze cursed to himself.


    He felt like a veteran bounty hunter, one day short of retirement, who kept reminding himself he could soon enjoy life at home, just to encounter his last case and then get killed.


    He looked up at the office building in front of him. The building had two stairwells, one on the left, one on the right, and an elevator in the middle. Since the office of the USA language teacher was on the second floor to the left, everyone was gathered at the left stairwell, which was definitely not an option to go up.


    The central elevator had teachers coming down after hearing the news, and if he took the elevator directly to the second floor, he would easily be seen and suspected, so that was out of the question as well.


    That left only the right stairwell.


    Yan Junze decided to try the task, as the Different Dimension Energy rewarded was extremely high, reaching 500 points. If he could complete it, he could light at least five more nodes in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Currently, two timelines in the Spacetime Atlas were illuminated. Assuming a timeline allowed for about five minutes of Rewind, the total time for both could possibly exceed ten minutes.


    Yan Junze''s plan was to set the Rewind starting point, enter the office, and endure ten minutes if possible. If he couldn''t last or if his life was threatened, he would Rewind immediately and exit without a second attempt.


    ```


    ```


    The consideration that had ceased was, after all, the mission''s level was "Trembling with Fear", and if danger was encountered a second time without the ability to Rewind the timeline, the situation would be irretrievable.


    By this time, most of the students had dispersed, with only a small group that enjoyed spectating and more than twenty teachers still at the staircase entrance on the first floor left side.


    Yan Junze made his way to the right-hand staircase without drawing any attention, about fifty meters from the left staircase. Teachers were discussing in low voices, and for the moment, no one noticed him.


    Yan Junze didn''t linger, seizing the opportunity to quickly ascend the stairs. However, upon reaching the second floor, he immediately bent over and hunched his back to walk.


    Due to the limited height of the second-floor corridor, walking upright would soon make him visible to those below, and he would be exposed before he reached the office at the very left.


    Fortunately, the teachers from the second-floor offices had already evacuated upon hearing the news.


    Yan Junze made his way to the English teacher''s office of the USA, crouched down, first peeked towards the left-hand staircase entrance to make sure no one was coming up, then reached for the doorknob and turned it, finding it unlocked.


    This was understandable; if Vice-Principal Shen He had locked the door, it would certainly have alerted Zhang Tiantian and scared her off.


    A folded yellow talisman lay on the ground by the door. It was also Shen He''s doing. Whether it was effective or not, if it could have even a slight effect, that would be good.


    Out of habit, Yan Junze took a deep breath, then took out his phone, set the screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it for a 10-minute countdown.


    At that moment, he felt a twisting on his back. Ke''er, who had been lying on his back for a long time without moving, now silently slid down, bent her body, the protruding leg bones touching the ground, and stood still against the wall by the office door, dressed in red, facing the wall and not moving an inch.


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned as the chill on his back rapidly faded away.


    He then understood that Ke''er, as a Wandering Spirit, must have sensed the strangeness inside the office, so when she realized that Yan Junze wanted to enter, she chose to leave. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But she only left Yan Junze''s back and didn''t go far, probably just not wanting to clash with the strangeness in that office.


    Yan Junze remembered that the Atlas had hinted before that Ke''er''s attitude towards him was "neutral", meaning she had no obligation to offend another strangeness on his behalf.


    Never mind the little creature, Yan Junze took another deep breath, set the starting point for the time Rewind in his mind, and then set the end point of the Rewind for 10 minutes and 15 seconds later.


    Setup successful!


    In the Atlas in his mind, the two segments of the illuminated timelines disappeared in an instant, but the four connected nodes still remained firmly in place.


    This indicated that it might just be a matter of time, or a need for a brief recovery. As long as the nodes existed, the vanished timelines would slowly reappear.


    Yan Junze turned the doorknob, opening a gap just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and then quickly slipped inside and immediately closed the door.


    The noisy commotion outside vanished the moment the door closed.


    The silence inside formed a stark contrast to the outside, causing Yan Junze''s skin to immediately break out in goosebumps, and his scalp began to tingle slightly.


    From the moment he closed the door, he started the 10-minute countdown on his phone.


    Standing at the doorway, Yan Junze didn''t move just yet.


    The lights in the room were on, allowing his vision to quickly sweep across most of the office.


    But the sofa was now empty; Zhang Tiantian was not lying there.


    ```

 Chapter 13 - 12: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)

    Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 3)At this moment, Yan Junze didn''t want to move hastily either.


    After all, according to the task prompt, as long as he stayed in the same room with Teacher Zhang Tiantian, the task would begin.


    It would be best just to stand there, keep it up for 10 minutes, no matter where Zhang Tiantian ran off to. If she could hide under the desk and not appear before him, even better.


    Of course, reality was harsh.


    Just as he was making his wishful calculations, from the far end of the office, near the window-side desk, came the rustling sound of flipping papers.


    There was Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


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    Zhang Tiantian''s voice came through.


    The sound of Yan Junze closing the door had still been heard by her.


    However, judging by her voice, it seemed that Zhang Tiantian had already returned to normal.


    "Teacher Zhang, hello."


    Yan Junze braced himself and answered, taking reluctant steps, slowly walking into the office, soon spotting Zhang Tiantian''s petite figure sitting at the innermost row of desks by the window.


    Zhang Tiantian looked normal, as if the effects from before had completely vanished.


    "Are you... a student from Class 3 (5)?" Zhang Tiantian looked up at Yan Junze, her hands sifting through a stack of mock exam papers.


    Fortunately, at least she remembered his class, not reducing him to a mere passerby.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved. As a man, whether he liked this woman or not, it was undeniably an honor to have a beautiful woman remember him.


    Although, well, not entirely.


    "Is there something you need?" Zhang Tiantian asked, lowering her head again, her right hand holding a red ballpoint pen while the left resumed flipping through the papers.


    "The Dean of Students sent me to see how you''re feeling now, Teacher Zhang," Yan Junze spoke up.


    As he asked, doubts had already arisen in his mind.


    For someone who had just been carried back to the office and laid on the couch, now she was sitting here marking papers as if nothing had happened¡ªif it wasn''t for her abnormality, then maybe she had amnesia!


    Zhang Tiantian didn''t reply.


    In fact, after asking "Is there something you need?" her motion of flipping the papers had gradually stiffened and she once again fell into a frozen state.


    Yan Junze''s heart skipped a beat as he looked down at the mobile phone in his hand, which displayed a countdown of 8 minutes and 57 seconds left. Barely over a minute had passed since he entered.


    In this situation, it was best not to draw her attention again.


    Yan Junze didn''t dare to expect Zhang Tiantian to answer him. In fact, at this moment, he hoped she wouldn''t speak again.


    It would be best if he became invisible before her, for this woman to completely overlook him and forget him entirely.


    Yan Junze moved slightly, stepping backward with his right foot, stealthily retreating a step to increase the distance from the desk.


    An unnerving atmosphere spread around this desk, giving him a momentary feeling as if he were dreaming, with everything becoming less real.


    Especially the unmoving Zhang Tiantian, like a statue.


    Just as he steadied himself after taking that step, Zhang Tiantian suddenly put down the papers. She didn''t look up but instead, while seated, slowly turned backward in her chair to face the file cabinet behind her, her movements stiff and slow.


    During this process, as the papers were brushed by the reversed backrest of the chair, they slid aside, knocking against a pen holder, which then tipped over on the desk and quickly rolled towards the edge.


    Instinctively, Yan Junze felt the urge to step forward and steady the pen holder, but he restrained himself.


    Crash!


    The pen holder fell from the desk to the ground, breaking in two. Various pen refills, pencils, ballpoint pens, and disposable ink pens scattered across the floor, spreading beneath the desk and chairs.


    Zhang Tiantian''s back seemed to pause for a moment; still seated, she suddenly bent forward, apparently picking up the scattered pens.


    Great opportunity!


    Yan Junze once again backed away quietly, seven or eight steps, getting farther and farther from the desk.


    The unsettling feeling inside him had somewhat eased, and the goosebumps on his skin had considerably reduced.


    Phew!


    Just then, Zhang Tiantian''s body straightened up again, but she still faced the filing cabinet, her back to Yan Junze.


    Because her body leaned forward and then straightened back up, her curly wavy hair was already in disarray. But Zhang Tiantian did not reach out to smooth it, instead just sat there with her hair tousled, sitting motionless.


    The moment she sat up, Yan Junze trembled slightly out of fear, his stepping backward paused momentarily. When he realized there was no other movement, he resumed backing away.


    At that moment, Zhang Tiantian suddenly spoke, "Student, have you seen my pen?"


    She''s lucid again?


    Yan Junze, looking surprised, replied, "No... I haven''t?"


    "Please help me look for it, thank you," Zhang Tiantian said, her tone still seeming very stiff.


    Yan Junze felt troubled. It was hard enough to quietly move back that far, and now he was expected to go there again?


    He looked down at his phone again and at that moment fully understood the meaning of time crawling by.


    So far, only a little more than two minutes had passed.


    "Okay."


    He verbally agreed, reluctantly returning to Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    As he approached the desk, that creepy feeling once again spread throughout his body, making his scalp tingle and his limbs stiffen.


    He certainly did not want to go to the side of the desk where Zhang Tiantian was sitting to look for the pen, so he crouched down on the opposite side of the desk and realizing the view wasn''t great, he kneeled down and lay flat on the ground, peeking under the desk.


    Several pens were scattered under the desk, along with half of a broken penholder.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment, then asked, "Teacher Zhang, which pen are you looking for? I can only pick up a few here for you, some have fallen under your chair."


    "I don''t want the others, I''m looking for the red one," Zhang Tiantian''s voice was chillingly indifferent.


    "The red one? But weren''t you holding the red pen in your hand the entire time?" Yan Junze wondered.


    Despite his doubts, he searched carefully and noticed that among the pens that had fallen under the desk, there were no red ones. So, he lay on the ground and peered intently under the chair where Zhang Tiantian was sitting.


    Although Zhang Tiantian was sitting with her back to him, from his angle, he could just make out the lower part of her legs below her calves.


    She was wearing a pair of shiny black high heels, and she seemed to have flesh-colored socks on because her calf muscles were exposed when she sat down due to wearing capri pants, which indeed looked somewhat attractive. Her skin on her feet was delicate, without an ounce of superfluous flesh.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze felt that the skin on Zhang Tiantian''s ankles looked unnaturally white, frighteningly white.


    Soon, he saw a red pen, but it had rolled under her chair.


    "Teacher Zhang, that red pen might be what you''re looking for. But it''s under your chair; I can''t reach it from here," Yan Junze said.


    Before his words had finished, bang!


    With her hair wild and tousled, Zhang Tiantian''s head suddenly dangled down from the other side of the chair, her face upside down, her expression grim as she stared at Yan Junze.


    Her head was upside down, leading to a blood-rushed face. Zhang Tiantian''s eyes seemed almost bulging out, with a faint presence of blood vessels.


    "Damn it!"


    Yan Junze was startled into a sharp shiver by this sudden scare.


    An iconic "reverse hanging kill" seen in ghost movies from the early ''90s. Yan Junze never thought he would have the opportunity to experience it firsthand.


    "Where is it?" Zhang Tiantian asked calmly, maintaining that position.


    Yan Junze extended his index finger, suppressing the fear in his heart, and pointed to the right side of her upside-down head, "There... it''s on your right side."

 Chapter 14 - 13: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)

    Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 4)Following the direction of Yan Junze''s pointing finger, Zhang Tiantian''s upside-down head slowly turned, a mechanical motion, as she looked at the red pen.


    Then a wide-open right hand appeared from top to bottom, its finger joints bent, its skin deathly pale, slowly approaching the red pen and gently grasping it.


    Yan Junze had already stood up, rubbing his somewhat numb knees and cursing internally, "Zhang Tiantian must still be possessed! Otherwise, which normal person would pick up a pen in slow motion? Just grab it, why make it so creepy!"


    Seizing the moment she bent to pick up the pen, Yan Junze backed away again, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and that office desk.


    It was only when he had backed up to the front of the sofa that he realized if he moved back any further, he would no longer be able to see Zhang Tiantian.


    Yan Junze glanced at his phone that he had been clutching all along¡ªit showed 5 minutes and 28 seconds remaining.


    This timeline left him speechless, leading him to suspect an issue with the timer on his phone.


    It was at this moment, Zhang Tiantian''s body straightened up again. Her once lovely wavy hair was now even more disheveled, as if she were a lunatic who had escaped from an insane asylum.


    However, she was still facing away from Yan Junze, towards the filing cabinet, unmoving.


    Now that she had found the pen, Yan Junze merely hoped she would sit quietly, just like Ke''er used to watch him wash his hair in silence, without causing any more trouble.


    But almost at the same time, a "huh" sound came over.


    At first, Yan Junze thought Ke''er had entered the office and quickly looked behind him, only to realize the sound had come from Zhang Tiantian''s direction.


    "Where is the pen?" Zhang Tiantian continued, "Have you seen my pen?"


    "Damn it!" Yan Junze was completely at a loss for words.


    Hadn''t you just picked it up? Why are you asking again?


    But this time, he had no intention of going over there again, because Zhang Tiantian''s way of asking was clearly a trick to lure him back.


    That red pen must have been in her hand; of this Yan Junze was certain. She had just managed to pick it up and now she was starting to ask him again, wanting him to come over and help search for it.


    No way!


    This time, absolutely not!


    "Never mind, let it be if you can''t find it," Zhang Tiantian''s voice rose again.


    But what she said next made Yan Junze jump, "Just make a cut, suck out her Essence Qi, no need to exert so much."


    At the same time as those words fell, Zhang Tiantian no longer faced the direction of the filing cabinet but turned slowly in her seat.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment. He had planned to retreat to the office door where he could completely lose sight of Zhang Tiantian, but the moment she turned back, he found himself unable to take another step. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His feet might as well have taken root, glued to the spot, his gaze fixed on the rotating chair.


    Not until Zhang Tiantian had completed her turn to face him again did Yan Junze feel a chill through his body, his scalp tightened sharply, and he felt icy all over.


    The red ballpoint pen, which Zhang Tiantian herself had just picked up, was now inserted in her right eye socket, not very deep and looking as though it could fall out at any moment.


    And Zhang Tiantian herself, although bleeding, seemed completely unaware of it.


    "The Possession Spirit has started to harm its possessed victim!" Yan Junze immediately concluded.


    He must not let it hurt Zhang Tiantian.


    And just now, this guy even mentioned something about making an incision and sucking dry her Essence Qi.


    "Troublesome?" Yan Junze, not knowing where he got the courage from, didn''t retreat but instead stepped forward, saying, "Teacher, weren''t you looking for that red pen?"


    As he spoke, he moved closer to Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    He remembered the task note had warned: Do not try to provoke it, or else the consequences would be severe.


    If it was about buying time, then he should save her if he could, before this thing did irreversible harm to Zhang Tiantian. To simply watch Zhang Tiantian being toyed with to death right before his eyes was something Yan Junze simply couldn''t do.


    Moreover, if something happened to Zhang Tiantian, it was very likely that he would be next.


    In just a few minutes, with the Possession Spirit''s strangeness and power, it could torture Yan Junze ten times over.


    The level of Trembling with Fear was indeed not for nothing.


    Seeing Yan Junze walk back, Zhang Tiantian forced a gentle smile on her face, the corners of her mouth curving in a tempting arc, but coupled with the red pen twisted awkwardly in her eye socket, it looked unnerving.


    Blood dripped down, already staining part of her blouse and pants red.


    "Yes, where is the pen? I clearly had it just now, you must find it for me! Quickly!"


    Yan Junze had already reached the other side of the desk, forcibly keeping calm and trying to make his tone as even as possible, "Okay, teacher. I will give you the pen now, please don''t move."


    Zhang Tiantian showed a hint of surprise and nodded.


    In Yan Junze''s view, the task background was very clear, "As a Possession Spirit, it is very lonely. Nobody has ever cared for or cherished it, so it can''t let go. Therefore, it fell in love with attachment, preferring to bask in the embrace of pure auras, slowly draining the Essence Qi of its host, and then swallowing it bit by bit."


    This meant that the entity might actually be reasonable to talk to, albeit with a quirky personality. If he could just meet its demands and stall for a little while, the mission could still be accomplished.


    The main thing was, if it couldn''t find the red pen now, it might start to extract Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi.


    Try to satisfy it, do not go against it. Yan Junze made up his mind.


    Suppressing his disgust, nausea, inner resistance, trembling fingers, and the urge to run away, Yan Junze''s left hand supported the desk as he raised his right hand and slowly reached for the red pen embedded in Zhang Tiantian''s eye.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    It felt like a very long time before his fingers finally clasped the red ballpoint pen, while Zhang Tiantian, perfectly cooperative, didn''t move at all, her other eye gazing steadily at the sweat-drenched Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt he had badly miscalculated. Because back when he was outside the office, Ke''er had already scampered off his back, and the constant chill that had accompanied him was gone; he should have immediately taken off the thick sweater he was wearing.


    Now, already on edge, combined with the insulation of the thick sweater, he was truly burning up like joss paper in a coffin¡ªoverheated to the point of death.


    The cap of the pen had long since fallen off, leaving just the pen barrel clinging on.


    As Yan Junze gripped the red pen, large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, but without hesitation, he bore the fear and disgust, slowly pulling the red pen from Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket.


    Throughout the process, Zhang Tiantian didn''t show any reaction; she didn''t display the slightest pain nor did her lips even twitch.


    Unexpectedly, not much blood flowed out, and the moment the pen tip was completely extracted, a lump of sticky substance also came out with it, with a plop, landing on Zhang Tiantian''s thigh.


    Yan Junze dared not look too closely, his whole right hand trembling severely now.


    The red ballpoint pen was held up in front of Zhang Tiantian''s other eye.


    "Wow, you found it! How did you find it?" Zhang Tiantian exclaimed with a joyful smile.

 Chapter 15 - 14: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)

    Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 5)Yan Junze knew he must be smiling awkwardly, but there was nothing he could do, he just had to try not to make Zhang Tiantian angry, satisfy her demands, and get through these last few minutes.


    "Where did you find this pen?" Zhang Tiantian didn''t take the red pen, continuing to inquire.


    "Just... just on you... your body." Yan Junze stuttered.


    "Where?" Zhang Tiantian seemed curious, stretching her hand to her face.


    Suddenly, her slender fingers touched the wound by her right eye socket, but didn''t linger. As Yan Junze watched in astonishment, her fingers reached her own eye socket and carefully, gently probed.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt like he was going to throw up.


    Glancing at the time, eight minutes had already passed. He was about to choose to back away to the office door when Zhang Tiantian''s voice rang out.


    "So it''s already been cut open, I won''t be polite then."


    "What?"


    Yan Junze suddenly paused, recalling a phrase the Possession Spirit had spoken through Zhang Tiantian''s mouth: "Just make an incision, drain her Essence Qi, no need to put in so much effort."


    It was... planning to use this wound to suck away Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi!


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    Although Yan Junze was completely bewildered, this didn''t prevent him from realizing at that very moment, Zhang Tiantian was in extreme danger.


    He absolutely couldn''t let this creature suck away Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi!


    "Wait, the spot you''re touching isn''t the wound," Yan Junze blurted out.


    He didn''t understand why this Possession Spirit was so poorly adapted to the body it inhabited, nor why it had to create a wound on the host body to drain the other''s Essence Qi.


    But now was clearly not the time to let it continue, so a very bold idea, one that would make Yan Junze unwilling to recall for the following three months, popped into his mind.


    After he spoke, the Possession Spirit visibly hesitated.


    As they say, a good opportunity is like an accidental fart, grasp it or it''s gone in an instant.


    Yan Junze seized it.


    Seizing the chance, he reached out, and the red ballpoint pen returned to its original place, yes, he inserted it back into Zhang Tiantian''s eye socket.


    In this critical moment, realizing that the "incision" the Possession Spirit was referring to was the wound made by the ballpoint pen, Yan Junze definitely wasn''t going to let this creature continue sucking Zhang Tiantian''s Essence Qi from her wound, so he had to block this "incision."


    And with only the pen in his hand, it wasn''t an option to use his own finger.


    The index finger is very important, Yan Junze would need it for many purposes later, he couldn''t waste it here, or else he''d be left with psychological scars, so he used the ballpoint pen instead.


    In the nick of time, he couldn''t feel whether he had inserted it too deep or too shallow, but it was blocked anyway.


    And the Possession Spirit immediately became furious, roaring through Zhang Tiantian, "Where''s the incision? It''s gone!"


    Strangely, after the wound in the right eye socket was blocked, the creature couldn''t relocate its precise position.


    Zhang Tiantian suddenly stood up, her face twisted, her body tensed, the veins in her neck protruding, her hands frantically scratching and searching her body, as if she had lost her most important target.


    During the search, Zhang Tiantian''s screams and roars were incessant. One could easily guess that the teachers guarding the stairwell on the first floor were now silent as cicadas, staring in terror at the second floor.


    The outcome was clear, Yan Junze had still managed to enrage the Possession Spirit.


    The mission notes had been very clear, "Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe."


    But Yan Junze asked himself, he couldn''t do that, he couldn''t stand by and watch Zhang Tiantian''s head being gouged open by the Possession Spirit, to have her Essence Qi completely drained while still alive.


    So, things had almost inevitably come to this point.


    Taking advantage of Zhang Tiantian''s frantic search for the wound, Yan Junze suddenly ducked down, using hands and feet together, instantly drawing out his body''s potential, with the speed of thunder and without hesitating, he dived under the office desk.


    This desk was right next to Zhang Tiantian''s desk, still very close to the frenzied Zhang Tiantian. Yan Junze had no time to think carefully because this desk was also near the window, so he immediately used the curtains as a cover and crawled under the desk in the second row next to the window, and then the third and fourth rows.


    The fourth row of desks was empty, piled with a large number of test papers and graded test booklets, and the floor in front of the desks was also stacked with many test papers from past years, some of which had grown moldy.


    This place was perfect for hiding a person''s figure, and Yan Junze promptly shrunk himself into the pile of papers, ready to use the weapon of knowledge to eliminate all kinds of demons and ghosts.


    Sometime during his hiding, Zhang Tiantian''s roars had stopped, and only heavy breathing could be heard. A few seconds later, even the breathing sounds gradually disappeared.


    The sound of high heels suddenly rang out, step by step coming from the direction of Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    Because teachers had dress codes, the heels of these high heels were not very high. Even though the Possession Spirit inhabited Zhang Tiantian''s body, it still walked steadily in them.


    The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, no longer hysterical as before; each step seemed to press down on Yan Junze''s nerves.


    Soon, Yan Junze saw Zhang Tiantian''s feet pass by the third row of desks, pass the sofa where she had once lain, and step by step walk towards the fourth row of desks.


    This thing walked very slowly; it hadn''t found him but was searching.


    Yan Junze glanced at the time again; 9 minutes and 21 seconds had already passed.


    Even if there was an error in his phone''s timer, it would not exceed 5 seconds, so the 10-minute mark was almost reached.


    Zhang Tiantian was nearing him; he could already see fresh blood dripping nonstop beside Zhang Tiantian''s feet, his heart beating uncontrollably in his chest, as if it had been injected with a stimulant.


    If only the office could be a little quieter, Yan Junze believed that his heartbeat might betray his hiding place.


    Those pale and delicate feet passed by the desk where Yan Junze was hiding, stopped by the window, and from this angle, Yan Junze could still see the heels of the high heels.


    At this moment, his heart was tight with nerves. If something felt wrong, he believed he would immediately activate the "Rewind" command.


    About ten seconds passed, and Zhang Tiantian turned and walked away from the window, up to the desk where Yan Junze was hiding.


    Watching those feet stand right before his eyes, he could imagine such a scene where a head with disheveled hair might very likely look down at any moment, and most importantly, that head had a ballpoint pen stuck in it.


    Yan Junze couldn''t bear the torment any longer; it''s better to act than to be acted upon. With slight hesitation, he lifted a foot and kicked at Zhang Tiantian, who seemed already bent on looking down.


    His kick landed squarely on her ankle, and Zhang Tiantian collapsed to her knees. Yan Junze immediately pushed away the pile of test papers behind him and crawled out from the other side of the desk.


    The familiar roar sounded once again, thump, Zhang Tiantian sprang onto the desk, stepping on the thick pile of test papers, and lunged toward the fleeing Yan Junze.


    Reaching the office door, Yan Junze felt his pant leg tighten; the pouncing Zhang Tiantian had grabbed onto his pant leg, dragging him as if in a walk.


    Yan Junze was about to "Rewind". Turning his head for a glance, he kicked out his left leg right at the disheveled head.


    In a life-and-death moment, he couldn''t care for much. If he really killed Zhang Tiantian, he might just "Rewind" and not enter this office again or continue this mission. That should be acceptable, right?


    However, it was clear that the current Zhang Tiantian was lively and hopping, not likely to die anytime soon.


    Reaching for the door handle in haste, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of the timer on his phone, which had stopped, indicating the time was up.


    But to be safe, he decided to wait at least another 5 seconds before daring to open the office door and run out.


    As long as he was out of the office, with more people around, he would have more targets and could take the opportunity to escape in the chaos.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yan Junze felt a coldness on his calf. His pant leg had been torn, and Zhang Tiantian''s hand clung tightly to his leg.


    Almost at the same time, a cold, strange, and ferocious breath rushed up his leg into his body. His strength quickly drained away, not even enough to turn the doorknob.


    "It''s over, it''s going to Possess me!" Yan Junze nearly had his soul scared out of his body.


    The mission time was up, and yet he had never imagined that he would not be able to escape the office!


    Rewind, he must Rewind!


    Setting the Rewind time to 10 minutes and 15 seconds at the beginning made sense, as even though the 10-minute mission time was complete, there were still a few seconds of buffer time.


    Just as Yan Junze was about to activate Rewind, the office door suddenly burst open with a bang from the outside.

 Chapter 16 - 15: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)

    Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Alone in a Room with Zhang Tiantian (Part 6)The Possession Spirit was attempting to force itself into Yan Junze''s body from Zhang Tiantian''s when, during the process of possession, the host would temporarily become rigid.


    As a result, even though Yan Junze was holding the doorknob, he felt as if his entire body was immobilized and couldn''t turn the knob.


    Meanwhile, the person outside trying to come in also found the doorknob as if it had been frozen; it simply wouldn''t turn.


    Therefore, the person outside kicked the door directly.


    This person was very strong, needing only one kick to send the office door lock flying off, and Yan Junze was thrown to one side by the suddenly kicked-open door, causing the Possession Spirit''s attempt to enter his body to fail.


    A cold breath once again returned inside Zhang Tiantian.


    Zhang Tiantian, who had been laying down like a mummy, stood up rigidly and lunged toward the man in white who had kicked open the door.


    Bang!


    Visible ripples spread out, and the button disappeared.


    The energy from these ripples had already surged into Zhang Tiantian''s body; following that, a white breath was forced out of her body by the translucent ripples, pushed back in front of the fourth row of desks.


    In front of the desk, a pile of test papers burst apart with a puff, revealing the true form of the white entity, a lean creature covered with white fur.


    If this thing stood still it would resemble a white, moldy stick.


    However, at this moment, the "stick" was trembling continuously, emitting a wheezing sound like a wounded animal, as if it could dissipate at any moment.


    Whoosh!


    The limbs of the Possession Spirit suddenly folded quickly, moving through the desk to reach the window. Right under Yan Junze''s eyes, it forcefully squeezed itself into the gap in the window, escaping to the outside.


    "It''s running away!" Yan Junze couldn''t help but shout.


    "I can''t kill it," shrugged the man in white, showing no intention of chasing after it, but instead crouched down to look at Yan Junze lying on the ground, "Are you a student? What are you doing in the office?"


    Yan Junze was certain that this guy was probably the Exorcist.


    When supernatural events occurred at the school, they needed no queue to handle; these Exorcists really ran fast, arriving at the scene within ten minutes.


    "It was Teacher Zhang... Teacher Zhang asked me to bring... the test papers over," Yan Junze got up, noticed he''d only torn his pants and hadn''t been injured, and pointed towards Zhang Tiantian''s desk.


    On the desk, there was a stack of test papers that Zhang Tiantian had just been marking.


    The man in white said nothing, stood up, walked over to the unconscious Zhang Tiantian, checked for her breathing with his hand, and then walked out of the office.


    After a short while, he returned, and the sound of numerous footsteps could be heard at the staircase. Clearly, Principal Jiang, Director Shen, and other teachers had received the news and were swarming up.


    "You''re lucky," the man in white told Yan Junze to rest on the couch, "If I had arrived a bit later, it would have entered your body."


    No sooner had he spoken than people from the school flooded into the office.


    Principal Jiang''s face was etched with panic, as he looked at Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground, horror struck by the ballpoint pen lodged in her eye socket, then his gaze shifted to the man in white and his very own student, Yan Junze, and his anxious expression turned to one of confusion.


    "Teacher Zhang asked me to bring the test papers over," Yan Junze took the initiative to speak, "Just now... just now she suddenly went crazy and almost... killed me."


    "Ah, Yan Junze?!" A plump middle-aged, greasy-looking male teacher stepped forward, staring at Yan Junze with a shock that could not hide his concern.


    This was Teacher Xiang Decai of Senior Three (5) class; he had been focusing on Zhang Tiantian lying on the ground and had not noticed Yan Junze was also in the office.


    "He''s fine now, just scared," the man in white answered for Yan Junze and patted Junze''s shoulder, pointing to Zhang Tiantian on the floor and saying, "Don''t move her, being possessed by a Possession Spirit for more than fifteen minutes, she will be completely delirious even if she wakes up, and whether she can recover is still uncertain."


    "Ah! What should we do?" Principal Jiang became agitated, momentarily forgetting about Yan Junze''s presence.


    "We will have someone come to take her away in a while, and notify her family," the man in white said calmly, walking towards Zhang Tiantian''s desk while explaining, "In the past month, over thirty people in Shuntian City have been mentally affected due to Possession Spirit invasions, averaging about one person a day. We have a specialized recovery facility to offer them a chance of recovery, so don''t worry too much."


    As he spoke, the man in white casually flipped through the test papers, now scattered across the desk, and picked up Zhang Tiantian''s cellphone.


    He then lifted the receiver from the desk phone, pressed a button, listened for a moment, and hung up.


    The following events were no longer Yan Junze''s concern. Around five minutes later, he walked out of the office with Teacher Xiang''s support, sat for a while in the security office, and drank a cup of hot water.


    Teacher Xiang was indeed very concerned about his student, bombarding Yan Junze with questions, fearing any issue with his health, but his habit of smoking and drinking all year round made it rather unbearable for Yan Junze.


    After sitting in the security office for about five minutes, Yan Junze felt like he was about to throw up.


    At that moment, an Ikewei car drove out from the direction of the school office building and passed by the security office; Yan Junze saw quite clearly that the exorcist in the white suit was sitting in the co-driver''s seat.


    Zhang Tiantian, who had fallen into a coma, was surely in the back of the car. Poor Zhang Tiantian, having suffered such a fate, it was unknown how long her mental disarray would last.


    Yan Junze was still hoping that the moment he had blocked the injury to her eye had not caused too much damage.


    "Teacher Xiang, I''m fine now; I can go home by myself," Yan Junze stood up, ready to leave.


    Teacher Xiang said, "I''ll arrange something for you tomorrow. When you come to school, Teacher Sun will provide you with psychological counseling. The incident is over, and the college entrance exam is imminent; make sure not to feel any pressure."


    "Mm, thank you, teacher," Yan Junze bowed, feeling that even the overpowering halitosis couldn''t conceal Teacher Xiang''s care and affection for his students.


    Once out of the school, Yan Junze wiped the sweat from his forehead vigorously and realized he had forgotten to take off his sweater. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt a tight sensation around his legs, and immediately someone climbed onto his back with practiced ease, then remained still.


    A chill spread out, penetratingly cold, uplifting the spirit.


    Ke''er, who had been unaccounted for until now, finally returned.

 Chapter 17 - 16 Recording Video

    Chapter 17: Chapter 16 Recording VideoThe thick sweater didn''t need to be removed, but the intense 10 minutes just now had already soaked his underwear with sweat. Now that Ke''er was attached to him, it made Yan Junze feel even chillier.


    He didn''t think about anything else and hurried home. If he didn''t take a bath and change his underwear immediately, he was sure to catch a cold.


    Although his body was quite young, it was still somewhat skinny, not like Zhou Dali''s build.


    On the way, he checked the tasks released by the Spacetime Atlas through Inner Vision.


    The task "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian]" had been completed smoothly, and he hadn''t initiated a Rewind. The Rewind line that lasted for about 10 minutes had lit up again.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment. If the Rewind was just set but not initiated, then there would be no consumption issue. Therefore, that timeline was essentially "reclaimed" and could be used again.


    He also looked at the 500 points of Different Dimension Energy he had just received. Together with the 100 points from the "[Washing Hair]" task, Yan Junze now had 600 points of energy.


    According to the conversion that 100 points of energy could Rewind about 10 minutes of time, the Rewind lines in the Spacetime Atlas could currently Rewind approximately 60 minutes in total, and 7 nodes had lit up.


    The length of the timeline between nodes was not constant. Moreover, the seventh node was larger and brighter than the others.


    A line of small text floated above that node. Yan Junze looked at it and saw it read: "Perception of Strange Events" successfully initiated.


    Which means that the node had unlocked a feature of the Atlas, and now he might be able to directly perceive the existence of certain strange events.


    Yan Junze didn''t want to try it out for now. In fact, he was puzzled. Earning 100 points from the "[Washing Hair]" task was understandable as he helped Ke''er eliminate her Obsession, but in the task of "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian], not only did he not help the Possession Spirit, he had actually foiled its plans.


    Yet under such circumstances, why did he still receive 500 points of energy?


    With this question, Yan Junze entered the FH Community, went up to the fourth floor, and came to his front door. He took out his keys and opened the door.


    As soon as he entered the house, he thought of something. Ke''er''s Obsession was washing hair; it was evident from the name of the task. This Obsession might be clear to Ke''er, or she might not be aware of it herself.


    And the name of the Possession Spirit''s task was "[Coexisting in One Room with Zhang Tiantian]." Could it be that the Possession Spirit''s Obsession was actually to have someone spend more time with it, no matter the method, no matter what they were doing?


    Perhaps the Possession Spirit wasn''t even aware of this Obsession.


    As long as the Obsession was resolved, whether actively or passively, consciously or unconsciously, it counted as completing the task.


    Now understanding this point, Yan Junze had found a new set of underwear and was making his way into the bathroom. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Feeling refreshed after the bath, but just as he suspected, Ke''er had been clinging onto him the whole time. Whether he was washing his hair, or scrubbing on body wash.


    During the hair-washing, the little one got suddenly excited, squirming her body onto his shoulder, and then constantly making "eh" sounds, shaking her little head from side to side, clearly treating Yan Junze''s head as a piece of artwork.


    As dusk approached, his parents came home from work.


    Yan Junze didn''t hide anything and told Yan Daguo and Li Man about the incident at school that day, but he didn''t mention anything about entering Zhang Tiantian''s office.


    The couple were very concerned and asked him a series of questions. Yan Junze just said that he came home quickly, hearing that the Exorcist had rushed to the school to deal with the issues, and he should be able to continue classes the following day.


    It was apparent that Yan Daguo and Li Man were much relieved, as the strangeness in the bathroom seemed to have truly disappeared. This meant a large sum of money could be saved, and the problem that affected Yan Junze''s studies and daily mental stress was removed.


    In the end, for families like the Yan Family, the biggest concerns were financial. As for strange events, they would avoid them if possible, and only think of other extreme measures when they were unavoidable.


    Since it was an irregular school dismissal, there were no homework assignments, so Yan Junze casually reviewed some material before lying down on his bed early, preparing to rest sooner than usual today.


    He''d barely lain down when his eyes suddenly shot open, and he blurted out, "Damn it."


    His phone on the bedside table, which was charging, chimed with the sound of a text message. He picked it up to see it was from Zhou Dali, containing only a resentful sentence: I freaking waited for you at the internet cafe for four hours, couldn''t reach you by phone, now I won''t say anything else, I hate you!


    "This tone, why does it feel like you''re blowing me off on a date?" Yan Junze shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    After completing the task, he''d clearly been scared and in a rush to get home for a shower and a change of clothes¡ªhe had indeed forgotten about Zhou Dali at the internet cafe.


    He replied with a message: Sorry, bro. Tomorrow, I''ll present you with an exciting story of "My indescribable ten minutes with Teacher Zhang Tiantian" as compensation, absolutely thrilling!


    He had barely sent the message when his phone rang within seconds.


    After picking up the call, Zhou Dali''s voice, barely containing his excitement, came from the other end, "Holy shit, dude, what did you guys do in the office? Spill it, I can''t wait till tomorrow!"


    "Nothing much." Yan Junze''s voice was calm, "Just running everywhere in the office while she chased me and by the way, she was invaded by a Possession Spirit. She''s currently at the exorcist organization''s sanatorium."


    "She won''t be able to teach classes?" Zhou Dali asked, surprised.


    "They say she''s mentally disturbed, so she probably won''t be able to for a short period," Yan Junze answered.


    "What a shame," Zhou Dali''s concern was obviously not in line with Yan Junze''s; he was thinking about when he''d be able to see Zhang Tiantian again.


    After expressing his regret for a while, Zhou Dali added, "I thought you recorded a video of you and Zhang Tiantian in the office and planned to show it to me tomorrow."


    "No, it was dangerous; who had the mood to..."


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze suddenly paused, a thought that had never occurred to him popping into his mind.


    "Oh, by the way, why did you go into her office?" It was only now that Zhou Dali realized this question.


    But Yan Junze had already hung up the phone.


    Sitting up, he opened the "Just Search It" app on his phone and began searching with a purpose.


    The most popular platform for strangenesses in the entire Great Capital of Huaying is named "Open Your Eyes," where "eye" doesn''t mean the organ, but represents the "camera lens."


    This means encouraging netizens to use their cameras to capture their encounters with the strange and then upload them to the platform to gain a large following and attention. Of course, there are various rewards too.


    One can even live stream strange events on the "Open Your Eyes" platform, bringing intense visual and psychological thrills to the audience through live broadcasting.


    Yan Junze was thinking about recording the videos of his tasks and uploading them, but he did not plan to do it live because the direction and level of danger of the tasks were unpredictable, and without certainty, he was not willing to take the risk.


    If he could gain a certain fan base through his uploaded videos, that wouldn''t be too bad. At least, as it seemed right now, some high-quality strange videos had over ten million views. As long as the view count reached over 500,000, it was considered trending.


    After browsing the "Open Your Eyes" video platform for a while, Yan Junze immediately registered an account, planning to record the entirety of his next task, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night," and then upload it to the platform.


    Of course, he had no such plans for tonight; he was simply too tired. After registering the account, he immediately went to bed. Even at two in the morning, when the old lady from upstairs came down to knock on his door, he somehow didn''t hear it.

 Chapter 18 - 17 Activate Mission Perception

    Chapter 18: Chapter 17 Activate Mission Perception```


    After waking up in the morning, Yan Junze thought about it and felt that his nerves had indeed been getting thicker and less sensitive. He was well aware that the terrifying old woman upstairs would come knocking at two in the morning, yet he managed to sleep soundly through it.


    However, becoming braver was a good thing, after all. In the future, when he completed tasks, he at least wouldn''t feel so timid, which could affect his performance.


    Yan Daguo got up early in the morning and seriously inspected the bathroom door, searching but still not finding any trace of the red-dressed girl. The couple''s worries diminished even more.


    Li Man wasn''t working that morning, and as usual, she cooked a bowl of scallion noodles for Yan Junze before taking her basket and rushing to the vegetable market to buy some fresh vegetables.


    After finishing his noodles, Yan Junze checked the time and saw it was still early. At the moment, Ke''er was also lying quietly on him, not moving an inch.


    He accessed the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and looked at the seven lit-up nodes.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of satisfaction.


    If every task could be completed smoothly, he felt that lighting up the entire Spacetime Atlas wouldn''t be such a difficult task.


    As for the strangenesses Yan Junze had encountered so far, it seemed they differed in levels. For instance, a Wandering Spirit like Ke''er should be considered on the lower end of the spectrum.


    And like the Possession Spirit from yesterday, it definitely ranked higher than Ke''er, otherwise Ke''er wouldn''t have proactively left him outside the office.


    Of course, the insufficient friendship level between Ke''er and Yan Junze was also one of the reasons for her departure.


    Yan Junze speculated that the old woman in the "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task was probably not high-level either, or else the task level wouldn''t just be Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), which was not as high as the level of the task "Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian."


    Sitting in the living room and pondering for a while, and since it wasn''t time to go to school yet, Yan Junze decided to try out the "Perception of Strange Events" feature of the seventh node.


    The words "Perception of Strange Events" only appeared above the seventh node, meaning that Different Dimension Energy had to reach this point to be able to activate the feature.


    But Yan Junze wasn''t sure how much energy would be consumed by activating it once, as long as it didn''t deplete the energy from all seven nodes.


    The moment he thought this, the seventh node that was originally lit went out abruptly.


    Yan Junze couldn''t perceive how much energy radiated out with him as the center at that moment, but his head suddenly jolted as if ripples had spread on a calm sea surface.


    In less than a minute, a stream of information converged towards him, soon presenting itself in his mind.


    [Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional spatial frequency band, decoding in progress...]


    [Coordinates determined: FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.]


    [Mission Name: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);


    Mission Background: Neighbor Granny Ren has been troubled lately because her children haven''t visited her in a long time. She deeply misses them, especially her little grandson Yu Xiaochang. But Granny Ren can no longer tell them that. Can you help her?


    Mission Description: Open the door for Granny Ren when she knocks at two in the morning;


    Mission Reward: 200 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Unknown;


    Mission Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be kept out by locks; 2. There is a branch mission waiting to be triggered;


    Note: Granny Ren is not mute.]


    This was the first mission Yan Junze had detected and one he was preparing to embark on next.


    But other words were still converging, quickly forming a second detected mission.


    [Coordinates determined: In the garden of Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area, near the electric fountain.]


    [Mission Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    ```


    Mission Level: Trembling With Fear (Medium);


    Mission Background: On a night of the full moon, Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years. From the night of the promise up until the next morning, her body was not found until it was fished out of a short-circuited fountain. Yet that person never appeared. Fang Ning was beautiful, but the electrocution burned her for so long that her body underwent metalization; clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues melted together. Still, she continues to wait for that promised moment. As long as someone is willing to stand back to back with her and join hands, to promise eternity under the moonlight.


    Mission Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Mission Reward: 800 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit can be put under Lockdown; 2. The mission must be carried out on a clear and moonlit night;


    Remarks: No matter what she says, just try saying "no."]


    Looking at the mission level marked Trembling With Fear (Medium), Yan Junze couldn''t help but click his tongue. This was damn difficult. Even [Staying in the Same Room as Zhang Tiantian] was only rated as Trembling With Fear (Low), and had it not been for the Rewind activation, or if the exorcist hadn''t arrived at the last moment, he would have surely been dead by now.


    FH Community is right next to the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area where he lived. Although it was also an older residential community, the facilities were still quite complete.


    It was just that Yan Junze never expected that such a terrifying accident had occurred in the Flowery Paradise Garden''s electrical fountain.


    Moreover, this Spacetime Atlas was too intelligent; you had to admit, the final remark about the mission was very specific, very vivid, and also very speechless.


    He then looked at the third mission.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Jianye Building Basement Floor 004 Storage Room.]


    [Mission Name: Peeking from the Crack in the Wall;


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Mission Background: His fate was tragic, with a wife lost and children scattered. His name was synonymous with loneliness, destined to never catch anyone''s attention in his life. Most unfortunate of all, after an accidental incident, people forgot him in the corner. Yes, he is still there, hidden in the deepest part of the building.


    Mission Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Mission Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Punishment: Become a substitute, trading for his freedom;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be put under Lockdown; he is already pitiable, please let him go; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Remarks: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    The mission level was Anxiety-Inducing (High), not yet reaching the severity of Trembling With Fear. Yan Junze felt slightly relieved.


    But as it appeared, completing these missions wasn''t as easy as imagined. Compared to his first [Hair Washing] mission, it almost seemed like a beginner''s boon.


    At that moment, he felt the Ke''er lying on his back seemed somehow more pleasing to the eye.


    After being reborn, Yan Junze had scouted the vicinity thoroughly; he knew the location of Jianye Building very well, right across the street from his FH Community residence. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, it seemed that there was security in the building, and getting in and reaching the basement floor was not so easy.


    Looking at this, after having activated "Perception of Strange Events," the detection distance covered was mostly near his residential area, so the consumption of Different Dimension Energy wasn''t too significant.


    Although one node had gone out, the timeline segment was still lit. Considering its slow recovery rate, even if Yan Junze stopped absorbing energy into the Spacetime Atlas, the 7th node could also recover on its own.


    As he was contemplating, Yan Junze''s eyes suddenly lit up because the detection information that had not yet completely disappeared from his mind once again transmitted a text prompt.


    [Detected new Different Dimension Energy and Dimensional Spatial Waveband, analyzing...]


    The moment the mission appeared, Yan Junze''s brain went ''boom,'' and he plunged into a momentary blank.

 Chapter 19 - 18: The Highest Level Task at Present

    Chapter 19: Chapter 18: The Highest Level Task at PresentThe latest detected mission was clearly one that had just appeared, and it was very close to Yan Junze''s home.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Building No. 5, FH Community.]


    [Mission name: Look at Her Face;


    Mission level: Hair-raising (low);


    Mission background: None.


    Mission description: Look at her face and ask her what she needs;


    Mission reward: 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy; S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mission punishment: Unknown;


    Mission hints: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot in one''s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot comprehend how terrifying a crazy woman can be.]


    "Hair-raising!!!"


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen a mission level identified as "hair-raising."


    As of now, it seemed that horror levels ranked from Anxiety-Inducing to Trembling with Fear, and then to Hair-raising, with higher levels beyond that being unknown.


    [Look at Her Face], this mission was definitely the one with the highest difficulty coefficient among all the missions Yan Junze had encountered so far.


    If completed, just the reward of Different Dimension Energy alone reached an astounding 1000 points.


    However, this mission had no background description. Moreover, why was it called "Look at Her Face"? Could her face be difficult to look at, or impossible to see?


    Additionally, the mission was located within FH Community itself. His home was in Building No. 7, while Building No. 5 was right next door. To leave the community without taking the road opposite, one had to pass by Building No. 5.


    At this moment, the words "Perception of Strange Events completed" emerged again in Yan Junze''s mind. Please note that known events have been designated current levels, which may have a certain probability of rising or falling over time.


    Up to this point, the "Perception of Strange Events" function had finally been fully released, and besides [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night], it provided feedback to Yan Junze on three other strange events.


    The last reminder in the text was very important¡ªmeaning that if Yan Junze did not choose to complete these missions at the moment, the levels of certain tasks could increase or decrease as time went by.


    If the level increased, the difficulty of completing the task would grow even greater for Yan Junze.


    "It seems to be urging me to finish quickly," Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    No sooner had he spoken than the living room door opened, and his mother, Li Man, hurried in with an empty basket. She closed the door behind her, put down the basket, changed into slippers, and sat down on the sofa, her face pale.


    Her series of actions were clearly abnormal, and she had actually returned home carrying an empty basket.


    Yan Junze observed that his mother''s complexion was indeed off. He calculated the time and realized that Li Man had been gone for less than ten minutes, a duration insufficient for reaching the market. So why had she run back home alone?


    "Mom, what happened?"


    "Son." Li Man came back to her senses, apparently organizing her words. After pausing for a few seconds, she said, "Don''t... don''t go near Building No. 5 for the time being. There''s... strangeness happening there again."


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself that [Look at Her Face] had been discovered so quickly, and during the daytime no less.


    Under normal circumstances, strange events tend to occur most frequently at night. Cases like broad daylight or early morning are indeed rare.


    That''s why Spacetime Atlas classified the "Look at Her Face" task as "hair-raising (low)" in terms of horror level.


    Before Yan Junze could ask further, Li Man continued, "Auntie Zhao who lives in Building No. 5 has just been taken to the hospital. I personally... personally saw her bleeding from all seven apertures; she was unconscious when they lifted her into the ambulance."


    "Did you call the police?" asked Yan Junze.


    "We did, but they said they had to put us in line, couldn''t prioritize it as a special case," replied Li Man with visible concern.


    Seeing her still anxious, Yan Junze asked uneasily, "Mom, did you also see that thing? What was it?"


    "A woman wearing a white short-sleeve top and white shorts..." Li Man couldn''t help shivering as she spoke, "There were many onlookers who saw her, but that woman disappeared quickly at the stairwell corner, and now all the residents of Building No. 5 are in a state of panic. When I came up just now, I saw some people already packing up to leave."


    "Did you see this woman''s... face?" Yan Junze asked cautiously.


    "No." Li Man looked up at him with a hint of surprise and shook her head, "According to the neighbors from Building No. 5, the woman initially appeared at the first-floor stairwell of Building No. 5, but she was facing away from everyone, facing the wall at the foot of the stairs."


    The Back-faced Woman, this woman must be the Back-faced Woman mentioned in the task.


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine, his skin crawling with unease.


    The horror level was classified as "hair-raising (low)", and although the Back-faced Woman''s task was very close to him, he currently had no desire to engage with this woman.


    He would consider it only after completing a few other tasks, collecting more Different Dimension Energy, and ensuring he had enough to Rewind safely.


    Of course, that was assuming the task level of the Back-faced Woman did not escalate over time and that an Exorcist had not eliminated her.


    "By the way, aren''t you going to school? You''re going to be late," Li Man suddenly realized, urging repeatedly.


    Yan Junze immediately grabbed his backpack, and Li Man exited the house with him, descending the stairs.


    They did not take the nearest way out of the community because that would have taken them past Building No. 5; instead, they chose to pass by the adjacent Building No. 4.


    Along the way, Yan Junze glanced in the direction of Building No. 5 and noticed people still leaving in a panic, but there was no sign of the Back-faced Woman.


    After leaving the community and telling his mom to be careful, mother and son parted ways at the street corner, with Li Man heading to the market and Yan Junze to school.


    The incident in Zhang Tiantian''s office the day before had apparently been kept under wraps, known only to the teachers who were present at the school at that time and Zhou Dali; the other students were unaware of it.


    Zhou Dali was tight-lipped and hadn''t spread the word. Seeing Yan Junze panting as he rushed into the classroom, he gave him a knowing wink.


    Yan Junze sat down next to him, and Dali immediately asked, "Are you sure you''re okay? Were you scratched by Teacher Zhang who got possessed?"


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and said, "Come, let me give you a detailed description of Teacher Zhang''s face, poked blind with a ballpoint pen, and see if you can dream of her tonight."


    "Oh, too bad, class is starting," Dali laughed awkwardly, pointing to Xiang Decai who was entering the classroom.


    But this class wasn''t taught by the form teacher.


    Xiang Decai stood at the classroom door, quickly locked his gaze on Yan Junze, and gestured, "Yan Junze, come with me for a moment, someone is looking for you."


    Yan Junze stood up and looked disdainfully at Zhou Dali, "I''ve noticed you aren''t afraid of anything, except for strangeness."


    "Bah!" Zhou Dali retorted with a roll of his eyes.

 Chapter 20 - 19: A One-Star Exorcist

    Chapter 20: Chapter 19: A One-Star ExorcistThe Language Arts office had a total of four teachers, but after Xiang Decai called Yan Junze into the office, the others who had classes went to teach, and those who did not also had the good sense to leave.


    Xiang Decai didn''t enter the office either, and after Yan Junze went in, he closed the door from the outside.


    Yet the moment Yan Junze entered the office, his expression faltered, feeling Ke''er, who had been lying on his back, twist quickly and slide down.


    Glancing back, he saw Ke''er, dressed in red, had already passed through the recently closed door and left him.


    Turning his head back, inside the office, a short man in a familiar-looking white suit sat in a chair, his gaze fixed on the window, as if lost in thought.


    The breeze outside gently brushed the green-leaved branches, causing them to sway with the wind, as the morning sunlight spread across the windowsill.


    At this moment, it felt as if the world outside, buzzing with strangenesses, was far removed from him.


    "So it''s you," Yan Junze recognized the man in white; it was the exorcist who had suddenly appeared yesterday and subdued the Possession Spirit.


    The man in white swiveled around in his chair, smiling at him, "Hello, let me introduce myself, I''m Huang Chen. ''Chen'' as in ''Wu''an libu bu si, ru gui yu wei chen'' from Du Fu."


    This poem was from Du Fu.


    Yan Junze had already figured out that some things in this world were exactly the same as on Earth, some were completely different, and others simply had different names. Hence, Du Fu could exist here, as could Michelangelo, but everything had changed quite a bit after the modern era.


    Just like if a river crab emerged from the water and stared you down, daring you to be impertinent, a single clamp from it could silence the whole world.


    "Hello, Mr. Exorcist," Yan Junze was very reserved.


    The exorcist''s decision to meet him after the incident with Zhang Tiantian gave Yan Junze an uneasy premonition.


    "Just call me Huang Chen," Huang Chen stood up and extended his hand towards Yan Junze, appearing very friendly.


    Yan Junze reached out to shake his hand and noticed that Huang Chen''s suit buttons were all in place. He remembered that yesterday this man had torn a button off his suit and thrown it at the possessed Zhang Tiantian, causing an explosion of energy that forced the Possession Spirit out of Zhang Tiantian''s body.


    Huang Chen, noticing Yan Junze''s gaze, laughed it off, "This is a Hidden Buckle, a product of the Exorcist organization, specially used for eliminating strangenesses. However, it is forbidden to circulate it to the public, and there would be severe consequences if discovered."


    "Is it very expensive?" Yan Junze clicked his tongue and withdrew his gaze.


    "Not expensive, but rare," Huang Chen pointed at a chair nearby, inviting Yan Junze to sit down.


    Before Yan Junze even touched the chair, Huang Chen added, "Tell me, why did you enter Teacher Zhang''s office?"


    Yan Junze paused and shook his head, "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Huang Chen revealed a smile, pulling a cellphone out of his pocket, which Yan Junze recognized as Zhang Tiantian''s phone.


    "This is your Teacher Zhang''s phone; I''ve checked the call logs, and there were no calls made to you, nor any texts sent to you," Huang Chen said confidently, as if he controlled everything, "I also checked the office''s landline, and no numbers were dialed during that time period."


    Pausing for a moment, Huang Chen stated the purpose of calling Yan Junze over, "What method did Teacher Zhang Tiantian use to ask you to bring the test papers to her office? What were you doing in her office? You already knew she was possessed, so why did you go in there alone?"


    After making these remarks, Huang Chen''s eyes pierced into Yan Junze''s, trying to see whether he would lie.


    Confident in his deductions, Huang Chen had always placed a great deal of trust in his own reasoning¡ªa mysteriously unfounded confidence.


    Even sometimes, Huang Chen thought that being an outstanding detective was countless times better than being an exorcist, if only the times had been different.


    However, Yan Junze was just stunned for two seconds. He didn''t seem to overthink it and shattered Detective Huang''s mysterious confidence into pieces with a single sentence.


    "Teacher Zhang told me before class, if you don''t believe me, you can go ask her."


    Huang Chen''s expression instantly stiffened, followed by a twitching at the corners of his mouth.


    Yes, damn it, I was just thinking about checking the phone, but couldn''t she have just spoken face to face before the possession spirit erupted?


    Miscalculation!


    And how could he ask Zhang Tiantian? That woman was still going crazy in the sanatorium.


    Huang Chen''s facial expressions changed four or five times within a few seconds, then he tried to squeeze out a smile: "I was just... casually asking. You know, some kids just love to flock to strangenesses and even take it upon themselves to record things everywhere, then upload it online, without realizing how dangerous that is. For some strangenesses, even if we get there, we can''t deal with it."


    "Hmm, I understand, I won''t do that. I''m still a student, and I love studying so much, I never go out to play after school," Yan Junze nodded "obediently." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Huang Chen smiled awkwardly and Junze didn''t seem to be lying to him, Huang Chen still had a feeling that something was off.


    "Mr. Huang Chen, I''ve always been very curious about something. Can exorcists directly see those strangenesses that deliberately hide themselves?" Yan Junze took the opportunity to ask.


    "I can''t yet, but three-star exorcists can," Huang Chen shook his head.


    "Then how many stars are you?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "One star," Huang Chen stood up, realizing that since his speculation was wrong, there was no point in continuing the investigation. "Go to class! Your studies are important, but so is your health. Eat more nourishing food and don''t dress like a zongzi."


    Yan Junze felt these people had a deep obsession with zongzi, and he mentally sneered. If he had known, Ke''er wouldn''t have needed to scurry outside to hide.


    However, in another way of looking at it, Ke''er''s alertness was quite strong. At least she knew that the person sitting in the room was a threat to her and would react immediately.


    After leaving the office, the class teacher Xiang Decai was waiting outside the door, but they were sensible and didn''t ask anything. Normally, exorcists would choose to inquire about the people who had experienced spiritual encounters, which was also a standard procedure.


    After Huang Chen left, as soon as Yan Junze stepped out into the corridor, Ke''er emerged from nowhere, very adeptly climbed onto his back.


    Then, Yan Junze said something that, if Huang Chen had heard it, he definitely would have been able to spew out an old blood.


    "Actually, you didn''t need to hide; as long as you wanted, that person wouldn''t have noticed you. He''s just a one-star exorcist, pretty lousy."


    Back in the classroom, he told Zhou Dali about registering an account on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    Zhou Dali was very supportive, but his words were evasive, obviously afraid of Yan Junze dragging him into some so-called adventure with strangenesses.


    "You don''t have to worry," Yan Junze patted his shoulder to comfort him, "I''ll try recording a broadcast myself first. If there are fans and some income, next time I''ll definitely include you."


    "Hehehe, I''ll be an audience member first and help pep up your show," Zhou Dali quickly changed the subject, "What''s your account name?"


    "Night Traveling Puppy."

 Chapter 21 - 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)

    Chapter 21: Chapter 20 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (1)Just as Xiang Decai had said, at noon, he arranged an hour of private psychological counseling for Yan Junze.


    The psychologist, Teacher Sun, was over fifty, with graying hair and a deep voice, speaking in an orderly manner.


    It was impossible to tell if the counseling was effective or not, but Yan Junze, listening to that deep voice, felt drowsy and eventually fell asleep, failing to hear clearly what Teacher Sun actually talked about.


    When he woke up, an hour and a half had passed. After coming to his senses, Yan Junze first panicked, then calmed down, as he noticed that Teacher Sun, sitting opposite him, was sleeping even more soundly than him, the rhythm of his snoring quite catchy.


    Being able to put oneself to sleep during a counseling session was no small feat indeed.


    In order not to disturb the teacher''s sweet dreams, Yan Junze yawned and tiptoed out of the counseling room.


    Once the day''s classes were over, Zhou Dali surprisingly ran off and disappeared just as they ended.


    Yan Junze knew this guy was afraid of being dragged along by him to tackle those frightening events.


    However, online there were indeed some groups specializing in filming these supernatural videos and gaining a large following by uploading them to platforms.


    When he got home, his parents weren''t back yet.


    Yan Junze had paid special attention to Building 5 on his way home and noticed a temporary sign had been erected stating: "This building is haunted, please do not stay alone inside. Residents on the 5th floor must lock their doors and windows as soon as they get home. If you see a thin woman with disheveled hair standing facing the wall, keep silent and leave immediately."


    After quickly finishing his homework, Yan Junze leaned against the window, observing the comings and goings of Building 5.


    Occasionally, he could see two or three people exiting the building, with hurried expressions, glancing back at Building 5, looking very shaken. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze decided that he would resolve "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" tonight and, once he had enough energy points, he would definitely consider the Back-faced Woman of Building 5.


    He had been charging his phone continuously, planning to use it to film the night''s task, and after completing the task, he''d edit the footage and upload the final video to the "Open Your Eyes" platform.


    If he could really earn money, he would consider buying a portable camera that could be mounted on the shoulder or chest.


    Late in the evening, his parents came home one after another.


    After hearing Li Man''s report, Yan Daguo''s face also looked gloomy; it seemed that supernatural incidents in this older neighborhood were all too common.


    Even though the red-dressed little girl had disappeared, the issue of someone knocking at the door all night had still not been resolved.


    Not only were the knocking incidents continuing, but now Building 5 nearby was the source of even more terrifying strangeness. Life was becoming unbearable.


    During dinner, the couple couldn''t help but give Yan Junze a stern warning. Activities like going out for a walk in the evening were strictly forbidden.


    In fact, since the outbreak of the supernatural events, the streets of Shuntian City had become very quiet at night. Without important reasons, no one had the mood or the courage to go out.


    To conserve his energy, Yan Junze climbed into bed at half-past eight. However, after having a face-to-face sleep with Teacher Sun, who was actually an outstanding hypnotist under the guise of a psychologist at noon, he couldn''t fall asleep easily. He finally managed to doze off just after eleven o''clock.


    At half-past one in the morning, his phone alarm went off. The alarm volume was so low Yan Junze had set it that he almost failed to wake up.


    After getting dressed, he checked his phone to ensure the battery was fully charged.


    This phone was a Great Capital model made entirely in Huaying, with excellent video quality. There was a slight blurriness in low light conditions, but it was still quite good. The battery was also durable. Yan Junze secured it with a blue strap taken from his student ID, hanging it around his neck with one end of the phone tucked into the pocket on his chest, leaving the camera exposed for filming.


    Even before heading home in the afternoon, he had recorded his first video with his cellphone, which looked something like this.


    Sitting at his desk, Yan Junze faced the camera, displaying the grief-stricken expression as if he had lost his parents, his child had gone missing, and his wife had been abducted, and he solemnly stated, "There''s someone who knocks on my door at two o''clock every night, without fail, so tonight, I''ve decided to open the door when ''this person'' knocks, to see what it really wants. I''ll be alone throughout the process, and I''ll record the whole thing. If I don''t upload this video, whoever finds this phone must upload it for me. Uh, I am Night Traveling Puppy; please go to ''Open Your Eyes'' video platform and search for YXDog to follow me, and witness the bubbling moments of strangeness together."


    The last sentence seemed to be borrowing from the catchphrase "This is the moment to witness the miracle," and Yan Junze believed that even without the final advertisement, the content alone could still attract a bunch of netizens'' attention.


    At least a part of them would be curious.


    He got up half an hour early just to prepare and after shaking off the drowsiness, Yan Junze opened the bedroom door. The plan was to wait by the living room door as soon as he saw the Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night pass by his bedroom window.


    Because if the door got knocked on repeatedly, his father, Yan Daguo, would definitely wake up again, and there was a very high chance he''d do as he did that day, stepping out of the bedroom and standing in the corridor to listen.


    His own plans must not be discovered by Yan Daguo, at least, not before they were carried out.


    With everything ready and after checking the time, Yan Junze stood between his open bedroom door and corridor outside the bedroom, tilting his head and staring at the window on the side closest to the public hallway.


    As minutes and seconds passed by, Ke''er stayed perched on his back, showing no intention of leaving.


    Suddenly, the voice-activated light outside lit up, and Yan Junze glanced at the time¡ªright at two in the morning.


    He felt for the old lady¡ªit wasn''t easy to be punctual, needing to come out a minute early.


    Then a series of soft footsteps followed, and shortly after, a hunched figure appeared outside the window, moving very slowly; the footsteps were fragmented yet natural. If it weren''t for the unusual silence around, these faint footsteps would not be clearly heard.


    Yan Junze immediately set the Rewind starting point to the current moment, then set the endpoint to a half-hour later.


    Since earning 500 energy points in the mission [Trapped in a Room with Zhang Tiantian], he could Rewind for at least 60 minutes now. Using 30 minutes should be enough.


    Mainly because the task didn''t mention any time constraints, so Yan Junze had to estimate the time himself.


    Of course, if an irremediable emergency occurred within 30 minutes, he would not hesitate to initiate the Rewind to return to this point in time, and then decide whether to attempt a second time based on the difficulty of the unexpected situation.


    After activating the phone''s video recording and casually closing his bedroom door, Yan Junze hurried to the living room''s entrance before the slow, shuffling steps reached the front door and stood watch there first.


    He couldn''t let the thing outside make too much noise knocking, as it would definitely wake his parents.


    The plan was to open the door immediately upon the sound of the knock.


    The scattered footsteps were getting closer, clearer and clearer. Yan Junze reached for the doorknob and unlocked the anti-theft catch.


    Despite the chill from Ke''er''s presence on his back, his palms were still sweaty. He unconsciously wiped them on his pants and then quickly grabbed the doorknob again, uncertain whether his hands might slip at the moment of opening the door.


    The footsteps stopped outside the door for about two seconds. During this time, both inside and outside, there was a deadly silence.


    Yan Junze dared not breathe. He could clearly hear his own heartbeat.


    The next moment, the knocking sounded.


    Thud...


    As soon as the sound emerged, Yan Junze pressed the doorknob down, unlocking and opening the living room door.

 Chapter 22 - 21: The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (Part 2)

    Very inconveniently, the voice-activated light in the corridor outside went out just as Yan Junze opened the door.


    After opening the door, a cold draft seeped in, coupled with Ke¡¯er, the "mobile air conditioner," lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    Even though he was wearing a thick sweater, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Peering closely, a petite figure was standing at the door, probably only about 1.5 meters tall. In the moonlight, it was apparent that the person knocking was indeed an old woman, with neatly cut shoulder-length hair, wearing a dark blue thin cotton coat, black trousers, and a pair of brown cotton shoes.


    However, it was pitch black outside the corridor, and no sound was emitted. The voice-activated light did not turn on either.


    Yan Junze dared not make a sound, and the old woman in front of him was silent too, her facial contours blurry, seemingly staring straight at him.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and was about to speak in a low voice when the old woman suddenly turned around, facing the corridor. Her body grew slightly taller in that instant as she walked toward the other end of the corridor.


    With his words stuck in his throat, Yan Junze forcefully swallowed them down. It seemed that after opening the door, the old woman intended for him to follow her.


    Without a word, Yan Junze stepped out of the door and gently closed it behind him.


    As the old woman moved and the faint sound of the door closing was heard, the voice-activated light came on again. This time, Yan Junze finally got a clear view of the old woman¡¯s back. However, upon seeing it clearly, the hairs on his back stood on end instantaneously.


    The old woman walking in front was tiptoeing, which explained why her body seemed taller when walking and also why her footsteps were so fragmented.


    After a clear view, Yan Junze involuntarily paused for a moment.


    But the old woman did not stop. She went straight to the staircase and began ascending.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, remembering he was still recording, and whispered softly, "This old woman¡¯s surname is Ren, seems to live right above my place. I don¡¯t know what she wants, but I¡¯m prepared to follow and see."


    He had underestimated Granny Ren¡¯s speed in going upstairs. It turned out that the old woman on tiptoes climbed the stairs faster. In just the time it took to utter that sentence, she had disappeared around the corner of the staircase.


    Yan Junze hurried to follow and quickly climbed the stairs. As he turned the corner, he couldn¡¯t help but glance over at the neighboring Building 5.


    Wondering if the Back-faced Woman was standing somewhere quietly inside Building 5 right now.


    There was no time for further thought; Yan Junze ascended to the fifth floor.


    His own home was on the fourth floor, while Granny Ren lived on the fifth. According to the latest mission hint from the Spacetime Atlas, Granny Ren resided in Room 503.


    When Yan Junze entered the corridor, he caught just a glimpse of Granny Ren, on tiptoes, disappearing into a doorway.


    He jogged a few steps and while passing Rooms 501 and 502, he took special note of these two households¡¯ conditions. Noticing that dust had accumulated in front of their doors, and that his own footsteps left clear prints, it was obvious that nobody had lived there for some time.


    One could imagine, being so close to Room 503, if Granny Ren came knocking every night at two o¡¯clock without fail, it¡¯s understandable why no one would want to stay here.


    As a result, after those two families moved away, Granny Ren shifted her nightly door-knocking to the floor below, that is, to Yan Junze¡¯s home.


    Quickening his pace once more, he arrived at the door Granny Ren had walked through.


    The door was open, with the number 503 on the adjacent doorplate. He hadn¡¯t gone to the wrong place, but there was no light inside the apartment. It was only possible to make out the vague outline of the furniture through the moonlight streaming in from outside.


    Yan Junze stood in front of the door, straining his eyes but still unable to see where Granny Ren had gone.


    Meanwhile, Ke¡¯er had been lying on his back up to this point, and even after seeing Granny Ren, she showed no intention of leaving Yan Junze¡ªthe complete opposite behavior to when they encountered the Possession Spirit the last time.


    At this moment, she was motionless as if asleep.


    "You know, every time I wash my hair, you get to watch," Yan Junze said as if talking to himself, "If anything unexpected happens later, you better help me out. The worst-case scenario, next time I wash my hair I¡¯ll do it for ten extra minutes, so you can get your fill all at once."


    As he finished speaking, he reached out to the wall near the entrance inside the room, searching for the light switch. He quickly found it but there was no response when he pressed it.


    After several attempts, it seemed the house had been disconnected from the power supply.


    Yan Junze had an unwelcome suspicion. Based on the mission prompt, Granny Ren was supposed to live here alone, and she might have long since died in the room.


    For some reason, her family had never contacted her, perhaps they didn¡¯t even know the old woman had been dead for a long time.


    After bracing himself at the door, Yan Junze turned on the flashlight of his cell phone. Not only could he see, but it would also facilitate the filming. Although the image quality would definitely be poor, there was no other choice.


    With the flashlight on, he stepped into Room 503, just in time to see Granny Ren¡¯s figure walking from the living room into the bedroom inside, her hunched body still on tiptoes.


    In this unfamiliar environment, the scene exuded a chilling sense that crept into one¡¯s marrow.


    "I¡¯ve been in here for so long, and you¡¯re still standing there, as if I don¡¯t know to check the bedroom," he muttered to himself.


    Yan Junze froze in the living room, not following her immediately.


    With the help of the flashlight, he first looked around to familiarize himself with the living room.


    The home of a solitary elderly person, previously neat and clean, was now covered with a layer of fine dust everywhere¡ªon the TV stand, the coffee table, the sofa, and the floor.


    Though dusty, everything remained neatly arranged. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After getting a clear view of the living room, Yan Junze located the bathroom, kitchen, and another smaller bedroom, and then walked to the doorway of the master bedroom.


    He observed the layout of the master bedroom using the light.


    A bed, a desk, a chair, two wardrobes, that was all.


    Not seeing Granny Ren who had just entered, Yan Junze looked around the doorway and even peeked carefully through the slightly open door to ensure that Granny Ren wouldn¡¯t act so considerately as to close the door behind him when he entered later.


    He then saw a pair of brown cotton shoes by the bed, a familiar sight to him. They were placed neatly, so that the person in bed could slip into them with ease when getting up.


    His gaze then swept to the bed in the room, and as he focused, he saw what seemed to be a person lying under the covers.


    It was understandable. Granny Ren wasn¡¯t tall, so if the bedding was a bit thick, one might indeed have trouble noticing her lying there without looking closely.


    At that moment, Yan Junze dared to be certain that the body on the bed was definitely Granny Ren¡¯s corpse.


    It appeared Granny Ren had not died from a fall at home, nor from any other accident, but most likely had passed away in her sleep.


    Stepping into the master bedroom and approaching the bed with caution, Yan Junze realized that Granny Ren was not lying flat, but was in a side position, facing inward, her back turned to him.


    Strangely, he couldn¡¯t smell a hint of decay.


    Theoretically, Granny Ren had been dead for so long there was no way her body wouldn¡¯t decompose, nor that it wouldn¡¯t emit a foul odor.


    Unable to make sense of this, Yan Junze decided not to ponder it further and tried to speak, "Granny Ren, I think I know what your unfulfilled wish is. You want to see your family. I¡¯ll try to notify them."


    After a pause, recalling the mission background, he added, "Especially your grandson, Yu Xiaochang, I will definitely bring your family here to see you one last time."


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night has triggered a new branch mission.]


    As soon as he finished speaking, a prompt suddenly appeared from the Spacetime Atlas in his mind.

 Chapter 23 - 22 The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight (3)

    Long before Yan Junze received the task "The Old Woman Knocking at Midnight," he had learned that the task had a branch task waiting to be triggered.


    Thus, when the Atlas indicated that the branch task was triggered, he was not surprised and immediately looked at the text that appeared.


    [Task Name: Combing Hair;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Task Background: According to the customs of Lotus Town in the Tianmeng District of the Great Capital city of Shuntian, one must comb the hair of the deceased three times for the dead to depart peacefully without any lingering desires. Granny Ren might have passed, but her obsession is deep. Combing her hair three times may allow her to pass away peacefully.


    Task Description: Find a comb, comb Granny Ren¡¯s hair while chanting "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, remove the worries of this life," "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, erase the pain of this life," "Words for the Afterlife: extreme bliss, eliminate the karmic obstacles of this life";


    Task Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not recite the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly;


    Note: Granny Ren is not a mute.]


    Yan Junze seriously considered it and felt that this branch task was not difficult and could easily be completed on the side. The only thing was, he had no experience in combing the hair of the dead.


    Moreover, he didn¡¯t know how long Granny Ren had been dead, and whether her scalp might come off during the combing process if she had already begun to decompose.


    The mere thought of that scenario sent chills down his spine.


    "Just comb gently, combing hair isn¡¯t the goal, just don¡¯t chant the Words for the Afterlife incorrectly," Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    He turned his head and looked around, the light was dim, and he didn¡¯t see where the comb was placed.


    He left the bedroom to return to the living room and started searching everywhere, not seeing it in the living room, he ran to the bathroom to search, rummaging through drawers and the washbasin.


    A few minutes later, he still hadn¡¯t seen even a shadow of a comb.


    "Could it be that Granny Ren never combed her hair? Impossible, she¡¯s not me."


    Yan Junze talked to himself and returned to the bedroom, standing by the bed, looking at Granny Ren¡¯s body lying on the bed, with only a little hair showing outside the quilt.


    He clearly remembered seeing Granny Ren¡¯s back earlier. Her hair was neatly arranged, and she did not seem like someone who rarely combed her hair.


    "Search again."


    This time, Yan Junze searched inside the bedroom. Since Granny Ren slept here, there was naturally a high chance of finding a comb.


    If he really couldn¡¯t find it, then he would have to go back to his own house to find a comb and bring it back.


    However, Yan Junze was not willing to do so, as making any noise on his return home might wake his parents, and if that happened, it would be too clever by half. The tasks would not be completed, and he dared not contemplate the consequences.


    The bedside table, desk, wardrobe, and even under the bed, Yan Junze searched all the likely places but still did not see the comb.


    This is just bizarre!


    He glanced at the body on the bed and a strange idea suddenly popped into his mind. Yan Junze swallowed and muttered to himself, "It wouldn¡¯t be like what happened with Zhang Tiantian, would it?"


    Last time, during the task "In a Room with Zhang Tiantian," a ballpoint pen was searched for high and low, only to end up stuck in Zhang Tiantian¡¯s eye socket.


    "This comb, could it be stuck in Granny Ren¡¯s corpse?" Yan Junze looked suspicious, "She¡¯s already dead; could she have gotten up, found the comb, and stuck it in herself? What kind of move is that?"


    Doubtful as he was, he still had to verify whether his guess was right or wrong.


    Yan Junze approached Granny Ren¡¯s bed and reached out to grab the quilt. Throughout, he sniffed hard but still didn¡¯t smell any odor of decay.


    Could it be that Granny Ren turned into an immortal, with a body that does not decay?


    No matter what, he had to find the comb first.


    He slowly peeled back the quilt, revealing Granny Ren in her thin cotton clothes, curled up with her back to him. There was no comb stuck in her back, nor at the back of her head.


    "Something¡¯s not right," Yan Junze stared at Granny Ren¡¯s body with a suspicious look on his face.


    If Granny Ren had died in her sleep, why were all her clothes properly worn? Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t sleep in so many clothes.


    With doubts, he walked around the bed and positioned himself in front of Granny Ren, who was lying on her side.


    From this position, he could finally see Granny Ren¡¯s face clearly.


    It was a face full of wrinkles and sickly yellow in color. Her eyes were not open, otherwise, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t pee himself. Those tightly closed eyes and the skin between them were squeezed together, seemingly conveying some indescribable pain.


    Granny Ren¡¯s entire body was bent, and her hands were tightly clasped in front of her chest. The posture felt very odd, if a normal person was sleeping, they wouldn¡¯t assume such an awkward position.


    The comb was nowhere to be seen.


    Yan Junze gave the scene a thorough look-over. Just the way it was now, indeed, there was no comb on Granny Ren.


    At that moment, he remembered the note in the task: Granny Ren was not mute.


    She wasn¡¯t a mute, but now she was a dead person. Could a dead person still speak?


    Yan Junze shook his head, fell silent for a moment, and finally couldn¡¯t help but speak up, "Granny Ren, I¡¯m about to comb your hair now so that you can leave this place peacefully. Could you tell me where the family comb has gone?"


    The room fell silent again, with no unusual reactions.


    Yan Junze waited then cleared his throat and spoke again, "I want to help you, no other intentions. If you get your hair combed sooner, I can notify your family earlier, and you can see your grandson Yu Xiaochang sooner."


    No sooner had he finished speaking.


    Granny Ren, lying on the bed with limbs that had long since stiffened, suddenly had a slight twitch of her face, and her mouth slowly opened, emitting a creaking sound, like a long-neglected door being opened, coming from her throat.


    "Ah ah ah..."


    It was as if a mute had suddenly opened her mouth, wanting to make a sound, wanting to speak.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart raced, but he still braved the fear and leaned in slightly.


    He had to hear clearly what Granny Ren was saying.


    "Here..."


    Although the voice was very unclear, Granny Ren¡¯s words were so slow that Yan Junze could barely make them out.


    "Here? Where is ¡¯here¡¯?" Yan Junze tilted his head, his gaze landing on Granny Ren¡¯s clasped hands on her chest.


    After speaking those two words, Granny Ren no longer moved; her body became rigid again.


    Yan Junze hesitated, then extended his hands, one to each of Granny Ren¡¯s ice-cold clasped hands, and with some exploratory force, which wasn¡¯t too strenuous, he pried her arms apart.


    Immediately, his face changed, and he retreated sharply with a cry of "Ah," almost falling to the ground.


    Lodged in Granny Ren¡¯s chest was an old red comb, inserted into the region of the heart. The end of the comb¡¯s handle was completely out of sight, only the teeth were visible sticking out, blood clung to the comb, and it was already dried. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It couldn¡¯t have been inserted by Granny Ren after her death.


    She had not died a natural death but from an accident, or murder!


    Yan Junze¡¯s heartbeat intensified even more, and he said aloud, "Luckily, I¡¯ve been recording the whole time, else there¡¯s no way to prove my innocence. Now that Granny Ren has died unnaturally at home, I should be able to help her."


    As for why there was a comb inserted at the location of Granny Ren¡¯s heart, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t a detective, and he didn¡¯t have the time to care about it now.


    What he was concerned about was to complete the Combing Hair task immediately, then call the police and inform Granny Ren¡¯s family to come over.

 Chapter 24 - 23 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (4)

    The comb had been found, and as far as could be seen at the moment, it was the only one in the entire house.


    If Yan Junze¡¯s guess was correct, the end of the comb that was inserted into Granny Ren¡¯s heart should be the sharp part, which is the case with some comb designs; they were originally made for easy hair management, but now it had become a murder weapon.


    Heading to the living room, he grabbed a few tissues from the coffee table, Yan Junze returned to the bedside, wrapped the exposed part of the comb with tissues, and with an inner trembling and nervousness, he slowly pulled the comb out bit by bit.


    As he had imagined, the body had been dead for a long time, and no blood came out.


    The other end of the comb was indeed sharp, Yan Junze glanced at it, deliberately avoiding the bloody specks on the handle of the comb, turning the tissue around, wrapping the handle, and moved to the back of Granny Ren¡¯s body.


    He had no intention of flipping Granny Ren¡¯s body over but instead went to the back of the body and brought the comb close to Granny Ren¡¯s hair.


    After chanting the Words for the Afterlife to himself and ensuring there were no mistakes, he began combing hair, praying silently that the process would go smoothly, without further complications.


    "Granny Ren, you are already dead, and dead people should look the part. Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t make a sound, at your age, you should know that ¡¯silence is golden¡¯."


    The teeth of the comb slid into Granny Ren¡¯s hair and were gently combed downwards, Yan Junze continued, "Head to the blissful afterlife, be rid of the troubles from this life."


    Granny Ren¡¯s hair was neither too dry nor very smooth but could barely be combed down, and the first stroke was completed with ease.


    With newfound confidence, Yan Junze lifted the comb once again, and on the second stroke said, "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life..."


    The word "pain" hadn¡¯t been fully expressed when the comb suddenly stopped and couldn¡¯t be pulled through anymore, as if something had suddenly appeared in the hair, wedging the comb firmly in place.


    Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingled as he tried with a bit more force, but the comb seemed to be stuck fast and didn¡¯t move an inch.


    He dared not use more force, fearing that he might accidentally tear Granny Ren¡¯s hair and scalp off together.


    Suddenly, he felt Granny Ren¡¯s head move, just as it had earlier when it unexpectedly made a sound, indicating the comb¡¯s location to him.


    "I... pain!"


    This time the head turned and uttered the same two words.


    Yan Junze was greatly startled; the second sentence should have been "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life," but now the comb was stuck halfway, and Granny Ren had uttered her pain.


    It indicated that Granny Ren couldn¡¯t erase the pain from this life.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yan Junze spoke, "Granny Ren, although I don¡¯t know why you are in pain, if I can¡¯t finish combing your hair, I won¡¯t be able to inform your grandson to come."


    By now he knew Granny Ren had a strong longing for her grandson, Yu Xiaochang, and thought by offering to notify him as a condition, she might allow him to finish combing her hair.


    "Pain..."


    Granny Ren still uttered one word.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt Ke¡¯er on his back stir, no longer in a "sleeping" state, but using her hands and feet to climb onto his shoulder, looking towards Granny Ren.


    "Huh!"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t attend to her, continued holding the comb and combing, and once again chanted, "Head to the blissful afterlife, erase the pain from this life... pain."


    He finally finished the second sentence, and the comb smoothly combed through without any further obstruction.


    "Head to the blissful afterlife, rid yourself of the sins from this life."


    The third combing was just as smooth, during which Granny Ren became very quiet and didn¡¯t make those chilling sounds.


    [Combing Hair, Anxiety-Inducing (low), Completed, Acquired 100 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    "It¡¯s done."


    Yan Junze let out a huge sigh of relief, stood up, placed the old red comb on the nightstand, and then picked up the cellphone hanging around his neck to dial the emergency number.


    Afterward, he found Granny Ren¡¯s cell phone in the drawer of the nightstand; it was turned off, but when turned on, it still had one bar of battery left.


    Yan Junze flipped through the contacts and found numbers saved under names like son and daughter, and dialed each one. Then he spoke into the phone¡¯s camera: "Turns out, it was Granny Ren, who died accidentally, who has been knocking on my door every night. The reason she was knocking might have been to ask me to notify her relatives for her.


    As for the hair combing ritual, you can search for it online if you¡¯re interested; I won¡¯t go into detail here. Well, that¡¯s the end of today¡¯s adventure into the strangeness,"


    Turning off the camera, the video recording came to an end; it still needed editing before uploading.


    If the police required it, Yan Junze would also need to provide a copy of the video to the authorities, proving that his involvement in the case was merely out of curiosity and goodwill, and wasn¡¯t related to the event itself.


    While waiting for the rescue team, Yan Junze sat on the couch in the living room. At that moment, he suddenly felt like smoking a cigarette.


    In his past life, although he smoked, he wasn¡¯t heavily addicted. In this new life, due to changes in his environment, he had never felt the urge to smoke again. But at this moment, after the scare, he had an intense need to relax and naturally wanted to smoke one.


    But he definitely wouldn¡¯t find any in Granny Ren¡¯s house, so he had to bear with it.


    About fifteen minutes later, a safety officer¡¯s car arrived at the scene with its hazard lights flashing.


    To avoid disturbing the residents, the safety officer¡¯s car didn¡¯t sound the alarm.


    Yan Junze came out of room 503, leaned over the railing to look down, and could see, with the help of the street lamps and the safety officer car¡¯s lights, that only two safety officers had gotten out of the car, and they were moving slowly, not in much of a hurry.


    A community security guard also came up, spoke a few words with the two safety officers, looked bewildered, then raised his head, and pointed upstairs. Following his gesture, the two officers also looked up.


    Yan Junze quickly waved his hand.


    A few minutes later, one fat and one skinny safety officer appeared on the fifth floor, with Grandpa Zheng, the security guard, trailing behind them, breathing slightly heavily and with a look of fright on his face.


    "Did you report this incident?" The fat safety officer shone his flashlight on Yan Junze¡¯s cheeks and asked, panting.


    The skinny safety officer stood at the entrance of room 503, shining the flashlight inside the room but with no intention of entering.


    This was an era of strangeness, and these safety officers had learned to be smart. If they arrived at the scene of an incident, they would first get a full understanding of the situation and make sure there were no strangeness involved, or that the strangeness wasn¡¯t severe, before deciding whether to get involved or to directly call an exorcist.


    Of course, if an exorcist was called, unless the case was serious, they would still have to wait in line, and during that time, the entire scene would be cordoned off by safety officers.


    Safety officers could also, depending on the situation, do the necessary survey and handling at the scene, or take away the body for an autopsy first.


    "Yes, I reported it," Yan Junze pointed towards the bedroom inside the flat. "I live downstairs. It seems Granny Ren died unnaturally; every night at two o¡¯clock, her soul would knock on my door. Today I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, so I came up to check, and found Granny Ren has been dead for who knows how long on the bedroom bed."


    "Bedroom?" The skinny safety officer glanced at Yan Junze but still did not enter.


    "Is the soul still there?" the fat safety officer asked.


    "It hasn¡¯t appeared now. It seems like her wish was to see her relatives, and I have just notified her relatives," Yan Junze answered.


    "That¡¯s good," finally spoke the skinny safety officer. "It should be a wandering spirit, not a very powerful one."


    It seemed they knew a lot more about supernatural information than the average person. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 25 - 24 The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night (5)

    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectation, the security officers, one fat and one thin, walked into room 503¡¯s bedroom for a quick look and came out one after the other shortly after.


    Furthermore, both of them lit a cigarette and stood at the door, blowing smoke rings with a gloomy expression on their faces.


    Yan Junze felt his urge to smoke grow even stronger and said to the fat security officer with a smile, "Could I, perhaps, have a puff?"


    The fat security officer gave him a sideways glance, "You¡¯re still a student, aren¡¯t you? Call me Uncle Wei, and this is Uncle Bai."


    The security officer named Bai said to Grandpa Zheng, "Nothing more for you here, head back."


    "Eh." Grandpa Zheng had been wanting to leave and nodded, glancing at Yan Junze before departing.


    "Old Wei, what has the world come to?" Security Officer Bai turned around and sighed, "Did you ever imagine this would be the end when you first became a security guard? To be a security guard filled with fear is also unexpected."


    Security Officer Wei held the cigarette in his mouth and spread his hands, "What can we do? Who knew that strangenesses would be everywhere nowadays? Did you see when we came in? There¡¯s a warning sign erected at the bottom of building five in this complex, also having issues with strangeness."


    "That falls under the jurisdiction of the Exorcist, not a regular case, so it¡¯s none of our business," Security Officer Bai shook his head.


    "Hmm," Security Officer Wei glanced into room 503, "This case should be a homicide. The killer has cleaned up the scene and moved the dead old lady onto the bed."


    Security Officer Bai agreed, "Right, but if that comb is the only murder weapon, the incident might have happened by chance, a spontaneous decision, otherwise, it¡¯s impossible not to prepare a sharper knife for the crime."


    "But the comb was left behind, not taken, just placed on the bedside table. Could the killer be so foolish as to leave the murder weapon behind after cleaning the scene?" Security Officer Wei said, puzzled.


    "Umm," Yan Junze raised his hand, "I know it¡¯s inappropriate to interrupt both security officers while analyzing the case, but I still want to interject. The comb... I pulled it out of Granny Ren¡¯s chest."


    "Ah!" Both security officers turned to look at him in shock.


    "Granny Ren¡¯s soul told me she wanted to comb her hair, saying it¡¯s a custom in Lotus Town. I couldn¡¯t find a comb anywhere and then I saw this one, so..." Yan Junze¡¯s words were a mix of truth and lies, but when it comes to tales of strangeness, such claims wouldn¡¯t arouse suspicion.


    The two security officers exchanged glances, and after a long while, Security Officer Wei managed a forced smile, "Are you really a student?"


    "Genuine Shuntian No.3 Middle School product," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Has the school started teaching ¡¯Bravery Training Classes¡¯ now? Or a course on ¡¯How to Effectively Communicate with the Strange¡¯? Where did you get that kind of courage?" Security Officer Bai was taken aback.


    Being locals, they had heard of customs like combing the hair of the dead, so even though they were slightly skeptical of Yan Junze¡¯s words, they didn¡¯t focus their attention on that.


    What they were more concerned with was how audacious this guy was!


    "Born with it," Yan Junze smiled and asked, "Since you two officers have determined it¡¯s a homicide, why not seal off the scene, gather evidence, or call for backup?"


    Security Officer Wei chuckled, "We don¡¯t need you telling us what to do."


    Security Officer Bai, however, explained, "Didn¡¯t you just say that the old lady¡¯s spirit guided you to inform her relatives? So, we too have to wait until her wish is fulfilled to formally seal off the scene and start the investigation, or else many unexpected troubles will arise."


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a van drove into the complex. Following the van, at the entrance to the complex, two taxis stopped, and several people of varying ages alighted and headed straight in this direction.


    "It must be her family that came," the chubby Security Officer Wei said.


    Not long after, accompanied once again by Grandpa Zheng, around five or six people arrived on the fifth floor one after the other. There were men and women, old and young, most of them with sullen faces, but there was no sign of deep sorrow.


    Grandpa Zheng had an aggrieved expression, looking at Security Officer Bai with a look that said "If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have run down," leaning against a wall and continuously catching his breath.


    "Mr. Security Officer, where is my mother?" a short woman with long hair, leading a boy of about seven or eight years old, walked up to them first.


    Listening to her tone, Yan Junze felt that she didn¡¯t display any emotion of sorrow, her voice was eerily calm.


    "In the bedroom? She must have passed away a long time ago," Security Officer Bai said. "The elderly lady had last wishes, you should go and see her first, we will seal the scene for investigation afterward."


    "You can only look inside the bedroom, do not touch anything in the house, and do not enter any other rooms," Security Officer Wei added from the side.


    "Hmm, how come big brother hasn¡¯t come?" the woman looked back at the man and woman who had followed her, and then asked another middle-aged woman who arrived last, leading a little girl.


    "He¡¯s drunk and can¡¯t get up," the middle-aged woman said.


    Yan Junze bent down towards the short woman¡¯s little boy and asked, "You are... Yu Xiaochang?"


    "Yes, hello uncle," the little boy, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, nodded obediently.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face stiffened, and a twitch began at the corner of his mouth. After a long while, he managed a forced smile and said softly, "Aside from your poor vision, I feel like you are the kindest here, call me brother."


    "Brother," Yu Xiaochang quickly corrected himself.


    Yan Junze said this for a reason. Among the relatives of Granny Ren who had arrived, so far, he had only seen Yu Xiaochang shed tears; the rest had expressionless faces, including the middle-aged woman¡¯s little girl. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Mom, I want to see grandma!" Yu Xiaochang lifted his head, looking pitifully at his mother.


    The short-haired woman, impatient, nodded, "It¡¯s only you who remembers her, let¡¯s go, take a look and then we return home. Your eldest uncle and second uncle are here, it¡¯s time for sons to be filial, it¡¯s not our turn as mother and son."


    "Hey, what kind of talk is that?" the middle-aged woman leading her daughter retorted, "Aren¡¯t you her biological daughter? And like I¡¯ve said, your elder brother is still drunk at home, he might not even wake up by tomorrow morning, so it¡¯s still just the two of us. Besides, I¡¯m just an outsider who married into the family, what do I care!"


    The man and woman standing nearby, among whom appeared to be the elderly woman¡¯s second son said right away, "Let¡¯s be clear, I¡¯m only here to see mother one last time, then I¡¯m heading home. I have to haul cargo early tomorrow, what if I don¡¯t sleep well and get into an accident?"


    "Ah, this fiery temper of mine!" Security Officer Wei¡¯s voice suddenly rose by several octaves, "How could you all act like this as her children? What kind of people are you?"


    Security Officer Bai, too, was fuming and waved his hand irritably, "Do you want to go in to see her or not? If not, all of you get lost!"


    Grandpa Zheng shook his head vigorously from behind.


    "Hey, Xiaochang!" Yu Xiaochang¡¯s mother suddenly gasped in surprise as her son had already let go of her hand and run into Room 503 alone.


    At the same moment, a mission completion notification popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Received 200 Different Dimension Energy points]

 Chapter 26 - 25 Video Editing

    Yan Junze had not expected that Granny Ren¡¯s obsession would dissipate simply because Yu Xiaochang visited her alone in Room 503.


    Apparently, other than Yu Xiaochang, Granny Ren didn¡¯t actually want to see any other family members.


    The conversation between the children just now was enough to make an outsider feel chilled by their cold indifference toward Granny Ren.


    Although he didn¡¯t know why, it couldn¡¯t be that the old lady was only fond of her grandchild Yu Xiaochang before her death. Without knowing the full story, it was indeed difficult for outsiders to comment.


    The others quickly followed Yu Xiaochang into Room 503, but less than two minutes later, almost all of them had come back out, leaving only Yu Xiaochang and his mother inside.


    The reason Granny Ren¡¯s daughter remained inside was simple, Yu Xiaochang was crying his eyes out, unwilling to leave, so she had to stay with him in the bedroom.


    After another three minutes, Security Officer Wei threw away his second cigarette and said, "Alright, we need to seal off the scene. The body will be transferred to the coroner for processing. The subsequent expenses should be borne by you children, and none of you will escape them. Now leave this place."


    "Yeah, it¡¯s starting to stink, really reek," Security Officer Bai emerged from the bedroom, covering his nose and pointing inside, "The body has suddenly started to smell, it¡¯s rotting terribly."


    Ugh!


    Yu Xiaochang¡¯s mother vomited on the spot inside the bedroom, then frantically dragged Yu Xiaochang out of Room 503 and left without looking back.


    "Ha, lucky we came out early," gloated Granny Ren¡¯s second son.


    "Get out! Wait for our notice!" Security Officer Wei cursed loudly, not wanting to even glance at these people again.


    "Pah!" Grandpa Zheng glared contemptuously and spat behind these people.


    "Come on, you brave high school student, let¡¯s go inform your parents. You might need to come with us to the station to give a statement," Security Officer Bai told Yan Junze.


    Downstairs, after waking up Yan Daguo and Li Man, the couple nearly had their eyes pop out when they heard about their son¡¯s incident. Thank goodness Yan Junze was fine, and it seemed that Granny Ren, the one knocking at midnight, didn¡¯t have any ill intentions.


    Then Yan Daguo accompanied his son to the Public Security and Stability Bureau, where Yan Junze explained the cause and effect and also provided the video he had taken.


    Watching the video, not only the security officers but even Yan Daguo himself broke out in a cold sweat.


    Upon leaving, Security Officer Bai patted Yan Daguo on the shoulder, sighing, "Your son is born in a good era that suits his development. What guts he has, it would be a pity if he didn¡¯t become an Exorcist. I won¡¯t lie; just watching the video has my legs trembling."


    Yan Daguo forced a smile, uglier than crying.


    On the street, before Yan Daguo could ask any questions, Yan Junze looked him in the eyes and said earnestly, "Dad, honestly, the only reason I did this was so that you wouldn¡¯t be woken up every night, so that you didn¡¯t have to get up from bed and catch a cold. You¡¯ve already had it tough enough."


    Yan Daguo was taken aback.


    "You understand my good intentions, right?" Yan Junze added.


    "You little rascal." Yan Daguo finally reacted, half-crying and half-laughing, and ruffled Yan Junze¡¯s hair, "It was dangerous; it can¡¯t happen again."


    By the time they got back home, it was already broad daylight. Yan Junze only asked for the morning off school and used the time at home to catch up on sleep. He still went to school on time in the afternoon.


    His mother, Li Man, was very worried. She had been scheduled for a cleaning job in the morning but had arranged for a good sister to cover for her at the last minute, staying at home to keep an eye on Yan Junze, fearing he might have another accident.


    It looked like the matter with Granny Ren should have come to an end, and whether her children were filial was no longer Yan Junze¡¯s concern.


    Still, he was very fortunate this time, because he didn¡¯t use the Rewind, so he didn¡¯t consume any Different Dimension Energy.


    In the afternoon, upon arriving at school, Zhou Dali immediately came over to Yan Junze, examining him curiously before finally asking, "Did you do it?"


    "Yeah," Yan Junze nodded, "The first time recording a supernatural mystery video; quite thrilling actually, I¡¯ll show you the video later. Oh right, do you know anyone in our class who can do video editing?"


    "Jiang Ruixin," Zhou Dali answered without thinking.


    "Is it good or not?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Bao Jie did a good job," Zhou Dali blurted out again.


    "Can you not answer all at once?"


    "You ask, I answer, what¡¯s the problem?"


    Facing Dali¡¯s peculiar way of thinking, Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, who shared a desk and sat next to the two boys, became alert when they vaguely heard their own names from Zhou Dali¡¯s mouth, and turned to look suspiciously at Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    "Here¡¯s the thing," Yan Junze politely inquired of the two female classmates, "I have a video that needs some post-production editing, and I might need to add my own commentary. Who among you knows how to do that?"


    "What video?" Jiang Ruixin¡¯s alertness rose noticeably as she looked at Zhou Dali, "Is it a selfie of Zhou Dali?"


    In their eyes, what kind of good video could Zhou Dali possibly make himself? Mostly it would be him flexing his muscles in front of the camera, something like showing off his biceps and triceps, looking like a hammer with those deltoids, and those disgustingly large glute muscles...


    Just thinking about that scene made Jiang Ruixin feel nauseous.


    Many times, boys think girls like musclemen, so they hit the gym and work out until they¡¯re as ripped as can be.


    In reality, it¡¯s quite the opposite; girls only like guys with a little muscle, or even none at all, as long as their figure is proportionate, and not someone overly muscular like the oblivious and self-satisfied comrade Dali here.


    "It¡¯s a video I shot myself where I encountered weird stuff," Yan Junze promptly put a stop to the fantastical images in the girls¡¯ minds.


    "Ah, really!" Bao Jie immediately beamed with excitement.


    Jiang Ruixin, after a moment of surprise, also showed keen interest.


    "Aren¡¯t you afraid?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "Afraid, why wouldn¡¯t we be?" Bao Jie nodded, "But when it¡¯s just watching a video, my curiosity will overcome my fear."


    "Me too." Jiang Ruixin nodded in agreement, "I¡¯ve watched hundreds of strange videos on that ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform and they all seemed okay."


    "Take it out, I¡¯ll edit it for you," Bao Jie said.


    Without further ado, the girl opened her backpack, took out an ultra-thin laptop from the Whimsical Ideas company, skillfully booted up the system, logged into her account, and with a series of proficient moves, opened a video editor called "One Cutters."


    Before class started, they exported the video from Yan Junze¡¯s phone and quickly copied the "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" video onto the computer.


    All four of them huddled together and intently watched the video.


    The video played quickly, and Yan Junze fast-forwarded through parts like the search for the comb.


    After it ended, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin exchanged glances, both sighing in relief, feeling as if they had just experienced the horror in the video themselves.


    "I just realized..." Bao Jie turned to look at Yan Junze, "You¡¯re skinny but brave! In the dead of night, daring to open the door by yourself! And you even followed her in!"


    "Can you edit it or not? After entering Room 503, brighten up the image for me, and I also want to add some off-screen commentary," Yan Junze said, ignoring her comments and stating his request directly. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No problem, after school, let¡¯s finish making it in the classroom before we leave," Bao Jie didn¡¯t refuse.

 Chapter 27 - 26 Favorability Increase

    After school, the two girls didn¡¯t leave. Instead, they stayed in the classroom and edited the video according to Yan Junze¡¯s instructions.


    Then, they plugged in earphones and let Yan Junze record voice-over for several clips, aiming to clarify the situation and background for viewers watching online.


    In the end, Bao Jie thoughtfully added subtitles to the segment where Yan Junze promoted himself, so others who saw the video on the "Open Your Eyes" platform could quickly search for Yan Junze¡¯s username¡ªNight Traveling Puppy¡ªbased on the text.


    Once the video was finished, the four of them gathered to watch it once through and found that the quality was quite decent. The content successfully piqued curiosity, especially since Yan Junze left the cause of Granny Ren¡¯s death a mystery at the end, undoubtedly attracting viewers to comment below.


    Originally, Yan Junze¡¯s completion of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task had taken more than 20 minutes. However, after video editing, it was just over 13 minutes, making the plot tighter.


    "Bao Jie, you might as well apply to a film academy to study directing or editing," Zhou Dali exclaimed from the side.


    "Our Bao Jie could not only study directing but could also be an actress. With that face and figure, she¡¯s definitely got an edge!" Jiang Ruixin said with a smile.


    "Yeah, absolutely," Zhou Dali nodded vigorously. "Future top horror film director of Great Capital¡¯s Huaying¡ªBao Jie. Why top? Because her movies will feature real ghosts. Hehehe..."


    "You¡¯re dead!" The two girls exclaimed in unison, cursing him.


    "Oh, right." Jiang Ruixin suddenly gasped and reminded Bao Jie, "Didn¡¯t you have plans with Zhou Jiajie?"


    "Ah..." Stunned, Bao Jie quickly checked the time, closed her laptop, handed the phone with the copied video back to Yan Junze, packed up her stuff, and ran out with her backpack.


    "Damn it." Zhou Dali¡¯s face turned green. Once Bao Jie left the classroom, he grumbled resentfully, "If it weren¡¯t for Zhou Jiajie¡¯s dad being in the city hall, I¡¯d take that kid out sooner or later!"


    Jiang Ruixin pressed her lips together and snickered.


    Yan Junze just patted Zhou Dali on the shoulder, "To make cowardice and incompetence sound so righteous, you won¡¯t find a second one in the whole school."


    Yan Junze had never been optimistic about Bao Jie liking Zhou Jiajie, but it wasn¡¯t his place to get involved in other people¡¯s business.


    Of course, another reason was that his relationship with Bao Jie was only mediocre, not close enough to warrant his interference.


    When Yan Junze got home, he took advantage of his parents not being back yet to upload the video to the "Open Your Eyes" platform. He checked and saw the current view count was "1". Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That "1" was his own click, but Yan Junze wasn¡¯t in a hurry. After leaving the platform, he ran into the bathroom to wash his hair, deliberately spending an extra two minutes to give Ke¡¯er on his back something to enjoy.


    Indeed, hearing the continuous "eh... eh... eh" from behind his neck while washing his hair turned out to be quite an interesting experience. At least, it wasn¡¯t as boring and dull as before.


    Yan Junze spent the extra minutes catering to Ke¡¯er because he had a feeling that something unexpected might have happened while combing Granny Ren¡¯s hair during "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task. At that moment, Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, seemed to "wake up."


    Although he didn¡¯t know if Ke¡¯er¡¯s "awakening" was linked to that incident, Yan Junze had a hunch that Ke¡¯er¡¯s actions weren¡¯t without reason.


    Otherwise, he might have had to use the Rewind.


    After washing his hair, the Spacetime Atlas suddenly displayed a line of text.


    [Ke¡¯er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Friendly]


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, then he realized that since Ke¡¯er began clinging to his back, up until today, he had probably washed his hair about ten times.


    Without fail, Ke¡¯er had watched him wash his hair (including bathing), and now she had finally made progress, their relationship between human and strangeness had begun to turn friendly.


    If he were to guess, this favorability started at "Neutral," then below that might be "Hostile," and above is "Friendly." He just didn¡¯t know if there were any more extreme attitudes, like "Hatred" or something.


    If there was, he definitely didn¡¯t want to encounter a strangeness that "Hated" him in the future; otherwise, it would be a disaster no matter where he went.


    Late in the day, his parents came back one after the other.


    After closing the door, his mother Li Man didn¡¯t immediately go to the kitchen to get busy but sat down with Yan Daguo on the living room sofa, pulling Yan Junze to join them, their expressions grave.


    "Son, you must not pass by building number five when you go out from now on!" Li Man said with a tense expression.


    "What¡¯s the matter, Mom?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "That woman in white was just discovered standing outside building number five, her back to the road, facing the building," said Yan Daguo.


    "What?" Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise, "The Back-faced Woman has come out? She¡¯s left her active area!"


    "Back-faced Woman??" Yan Daguo repeated the term his son blurted out, nodding, "That¡¯s quite an apt name. Yes, this Back-faced Woman seems to have a broader range of activity than just building number five."


    Li Man took over, "At noon, just as Uncle Wang from the third floor of our building was going out, he happened to encounter the Ba... Back-faced Woman right outside building number five. At that time, Uncle Wang turned completely purple for some reason. By the time he was found, hair had grown out of his mouth, ears, and nostrils..."


    "Old Wang from next door!?" Yan Junze exclaimed in shock, "How is he now?"


    Li Man gave her son a displeased look and continued, "He was taken away by an ambulance."


    "That¡¯s for the best," Yan Daguo said, patting his thigh, "If this Back-faced Woman has too large an area of activity, it means she¡¯s very dangerous. Exorcists will pay more attention and send someone to deal with her much faster."


    "Could she not be dangerous?" Yan Junze pondered to himself.


    The task named "Look at Her Face" involving the Back-faced Woman was already rated "Hair-raising (Low)", which was the highest and most dangerous one among the tasks he had detected so far.


    This meant that Yan Junze did not currently want to complete this mission. If possible, he would first check out the Jianye Building across the street to resolve "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    After that, he would tackle the mission "Reflection Under the Moonlight" in the neighboring complex, and only then might he attempt to deal with the Back-faced Woman.


    The task "Look at Her Face" should be avoided as much as possible right now, just like his mother Li Man said; upon leaving the building, head straight through the opposite building number six and then exit the complex through buildings number four and two, temporarily avoiding the side near building number five.


    After their conversation, the couple went about their separate tasks; Li Man returned to the bedroom, opened the video she had uploaded to check it out, saw only seven views, not a single comment, and, bored to death, closed the platform again.

 Chapter 28 - 27 She’s at the Second Floor Corner

    The current Spacetime Atlas stores 900 points of Different Dimension Energy and has illuminated 10 nodes.


    When the seventh node was illuminated, it activated the "Perception of Strange Events" feature. According to Yan Junze¡¯s observation, there is also a line of small text at the twelfth node, but it¡¯s in a grey state and the font is too small to recognize.


    Yan Junze lay on the bed, using Inner Vision to examine the Atlas in his mind.


    In the past two days, the temperature had started to rise a bit. His mother, Li Man, originally wanted to change to a lighter blanket for Yan Junze, but he refused.


    What a joke, with Ke¡¯er lying behind him, the temperature had just begun to rise, making this blanket perfect. Yan Junze mulled over the Spacetime Atlas in his mind while chatting with Ke¡¯er.


    She would occasionally respond with a "huh," so Yan Junze, bored, started the most mundane conversation ever.


    "What do you call your mother¡¯s sister?"


    "Huh."


    "What do you call your mother¡¯s older sister?"


    "Huh."


    "What do you call your mother¡¯s siblings?"


    "Huh."


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how many times he repeated himself, nor when he fell asleep.


    When he got up in the morning, his parents had already left early. His father¡¯s factory had leaders coming to inspect work today, and Li Man had a big job assigned by the cleaning company. A dozen cleaning ladies had to sweep the floors of a large building, needing to finish before the end of the workday.


    Therefore, Li Man couldn¡¯t come back to make dinner either.


    He opened the steamer, where his mom had previously heated some steamed buns, which were still steaming hot. Next to the gas stove, there was a plate of fragrant cold dishes and a bowl of warm porridge at the right temperature.


    In his previous life, Yan Junze also liked to eat flour-based food. He quickly grabbed two buns, poked a hole in the middle with chopsticks, stuffed in some cold dishes, took a big bite, and found the taste quite right.


    He lifted the warm porridge and gulped it down. It was very fragrant.


    After finishing breakfast, Yan Junze packed up his books, slung his backpack over his shoulder with a flip of his wrist, and whistled as he stepped out the door.


    As he descended the stairs, he pulled out his phone to check the weather for the upcoming days, feeling that the temperature would continue to rise.


    This was also good; he finally wouldn¡¯t have to wear thick sweaters anymore. When the dog days of summer came around, he would let his classmates see what it meant to have a real portable air conditioner, envy skr!


    At that moment, a news alert popped up at the top of his phone screen. This was a "Real-Time Headlines" news push Yan Junze had subscribed to that sent some of the latest news at a fixed time every day, covering local events, Tianmeng District, and even the Great Capital of Huaying.


    However, this particular piece of news caused Yan Junze¡¯s brows to furrow slightly.


    "Breaking: Mysterious Tragic Death of a Couple, Bodies Found at Home Last Night."


    "According to the latest news from the Shuntian City Public Safety and Security Bureau, a murder occurred last night at LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4, where a couple was killed. It was revealed that the case was discovered by cleaning staff who inadvertently saw a large amount of blood seeping out from under the door. Security personnel have already sealed off the scene immediately.


    Homicide has not been ruled out, and follow-up reports will be made available. Reporter Yang Genshuo."


    Putting aside the peculiar name of the reporter for a moment, upon viewing this news, Yan Junze felt an odd sensation welling up inside him.


    This feeling was unclear and nebulous, like a gloomy shadow had been draped over his head, leaving him quite uncomfortable.


    As he was engrossed in his phone, he had unknowingly descended to the second-floor corner when something white seemed to flicker before his eyes. By the time he realized it, Yan Junze discovered there seemed to be someone standing at the corner on the second floor.


    He turned his head and looked: just as he had already moved towards the first floor, his body shuddered violently, his eyes filled with terror, still clutching his phone.


    In his line of sight, at the corner of the second floor, a woman with disheveled hair, skeletal-thin, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, stood at the corner of the wall, facing it with her back toward him.


    "This is¡­ the Back-faced Woman!"


    Yan Junze was completely dumbfounded.


    No matter how much he had calculated, he did not expect to encounter the Back-faced Woman at this moment.


    Looking at her appearance, the Back-faced Woman had already left Building 5 and directly entered Building 7, where his home was located.


    It was as if her activity area was not limited to just next door, but also included the area including Building 7.


    The memory of the mission "Look at Her Face" surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s mind. He remembered that this mission had no background at all, just a very brief instruction: look at her face, ask her what she needs.


    But the level of that mission made Yan Junze hesitate.


    Hair-raising! This was not a joke, one false move and not to mention Rewind, he had not prepared in advance, and it was too late to set a Rewind now.


    After just a brief pause for a second, Yan Junze immediately took steps to quickly descend the stairs, deciding not to complete this mission right now.


    However, for safety¡¯s sake, he still set the starting point for Rewind at that moment and set the endpoint ten minutes later, just in case the Back-faced Woman took any action that could get him into trouble.


    If the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t trouble him, as long as he didn¡¯t initiate Rewind, it would automatically erase after the time elapsed and would not deplete Different Dimension Energy.


    There were roughly eleven steps in the half-flight of stairs on the first floor, and with every step Yan Junze took down, it felt as though he was exerting all his strength, his muscles taut, limbs stiff, with all his attention focused behind, terrified that the motionless Back-faced Woman would suddenly move towards him at any moment.


    "No matter what, I can¡¯t look at her face, I absolutely can¡¯t see her face now."


    Yan Junze silently reminded himself, feeling like a century had passed before he finally finished descending the eleven steps and ran out of Building 7.


    He took a breath, turned his head for a glance, and saw that the Back-faced Woman had not followed him. The hair-raising feeling from earlier gradually faded, and memories emerged.


    He had just noticed that the Back-faced Woman was dressed in a summertime outfit, wearing a set of white short-sleeved shirt and shorts. If it was before her death, this woman would have likely had a nice figure, but now become a ghost, she exuded a ghastly, emaciated strangeness. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the skin exposed outside the clothes was patchy with blues and purples, hardly any part of it unblemished.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace towards the community gate, but then he paused slightly, realizing that Ke¡¯er, who had been clinging to his back all this while, was nowhere to be seen.


    He looked around but couldn¡¯t see the red figure. Class was about to start, and Yan Junze couldn¡¯t bother with her now, so he left the community and quickly walked towards Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Just as he reached the school entrance, something tightened around his foot, then gripped his waist. Soon after, Ke¡¯er¡¯s familiar crawling gesture returned, and the little guy was back again.


    "Where did you go?" Yan Junze wondered.


    "Eh."


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s responses were always a mystery.


    Entering the school with confusion, Yan Junze quickly understood something. Ke¡¯er must have thought he was going to deal with the Back-faced Woman. Considering the hair-raising level of this mission, Ke¡¯er definitely wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against the Back-faced Woman, so... she chose to flee.


    Your sister! What happened to the promised increase in favorability? What happened to pure friendship?


    Faced with a formidable strangeness, she runs faster than a rabbit!

 Chapter 29 - 28 Temporary Group Formation

    A day at school.


    The senior year curriculum had fully entered the review stage, and even in class, it was non-stop paper solving, paper solving, paper solving.


    Yeah, important things must be said three times.


    "Enough already," Zhou Dali covered his ears, the big and burly man looking pitifully at Yan Junze, "You¡¯ve already said it three times. My answer is: I... am... not... going!"


    "Are you sure you won¡¯t go?" Yan Junze asked seriously.


    "Where are you guys heading?" Bao Jie, from the next desk, leaned over, full of curiosity.


    "To a place where no one else is," Yan Junze said, pretending to be mysterious.


    "But it has its strangenesses," Zhou Dali added.


    Bao Jie got even more excited: "Are you guys going to shoot a video?"


    "Right, I plan to upload my second video to the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ platform," Yan Junze nodded. "But this cowardly Dali doesn¡¯t dare to go."


    "Who says I¡¯m scared."


    In front of the girl he liked, Zhou Dali¡¯s feisty spirit surged up in an instant, but it quickly deflated, and his voice became barely audible, "I just happen to be busy this weekend and can¡¯t make it."


    Yan Junze then turned to Bao Jie: "Do you want to go?"


    Bao Jie startled, then her face showed fear, shaking her head: "I only dare watch through a screen, delve into the site of strangeness? I dare not."


    Yan Junze assured them, "You guys can rest easy, no matter what happens, I guarantee there¡¯s no danger for you."


    As he spoke, he took out a black button and weighed it in his palm for a moment.


    "This is..." Zhou Dali leaned closer, took a careful look for a while, and his expression turned to surprise, "Is this that..."


    "Correct, the Hidden Buckle, an exorcism technique from the Exorcist," Yan Junze immediately put away the black button.


    "How do you have that item?" Bao Jie exclaimed in surprise. "I¡¯ve seen it on TV, I heard that normal people aren¡¯t supposed to possess Exorcist¡¯s items, otherwise the consequences can be severe."


    Yan Junze smiled, "You don¡¯t need to worry about that, my aunt¡¯s neighbor¡¯s dog Erleng, who befriended the Exorcist¡¯s watchdog Er Ya from Shuntian, accidentally brought it back while they were playing."


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali looked at each other, bewildered.


    At that moment Jiang Ruixin returned from the restroom, shaking off her wet hands, and accidentally splashed the water on Zhou Dali¡¯s face.


    Zhou Dali was jolted back to his senses and quickly asked Yan Junze, "What were you just saying?"


    "Just that the origin of the Hidden Buckle is quite clear, you don¡¯t have to worry," Yan Junze waved his hand.


    "If that¡¯s the case¡­" Bao Jie pondered, "Then count me in. My family has a portable DV, it shoots really well. When the time comes, I¡¯ll be your videographer."


    "Are you sure you¡¯re not going now?" Yan Junze tilted his head to ask Zhou Dali.


    The guy had a constipated expression, struggled for half a day, and finally said, "Fine! But I¡¯m going only to protect Bao Jie, not to give you face."


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze nodded.


    "What are you guys talking about? Where are you going?" Jiang Ruixin dried her hands and looked up at the three of them, looking somewhat dazed.


    Five seconds later, this supernatural adventure quartet had been temporarily formed.


    Yan Junze said, "We¡¯ve tentatively set the operation for Saturday. I¡¯ll start a group chat, and I¡¯ll notify everyone of the specific location and time in the group. Also, Dali, you need to prepare some tools for Saturday morning, for prying walls and digging. That task is yours."


    "I knew it wouldn¡¯t be simple when you asked me to come!" Zhou Dali grumbled.


    "I¡¯ll prepare several powerful flashlights," Jiang Ruixin offered, raising her hand.


    Her family owned a small supermarket, so getting those things was no problem at all.


    With each person assigned a task, everyone but Yan Junze seemed very nervous, yet the excitement clearly outweighed their nervousness.


    The school day on Friday ended quickly.


    Before leaving school, the four of them started a group chat named "We Are Not Afraid of Strangenesses," which, using one¡¯s little toe, could have been guessed to be the brainchild of Zhou Dali, whose brain was smaller than his own arm in circumference.


    On his way home, Yan Junze casually threw the black button he¡¯d picked up into a trash bin.


    He, of course, didn¡¯t have any Exorcist¡¯s Hidden Buckle; he¡¯d only used that trick to put the others at ease. His secret was not the Hidden Buckle, but the ability to Rewind time, which he obviously couldn¡¯t share with anyone.


    As for choosing them to help him with the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" mission, there was a reason for that as well. First, the mission notes required tools, which likely meant having to break through walls, a task that seemed tailor-made for Zhou Dali.


    Then there was being in an unfamiliar environment; it was good to have friends along for mutual support. Otherwise, just the thought of Yan Junze sneaking alone into the B1 floor of Jianye Building would seem quite difficult.


    Now, with ample Different Dimension Energy and having not completed many missions, he needed to explore a path suitable for future development. Moreover, some missions probably weren¡¯t as efficient to complete alone as they were with a team.


    Whether alone or in a group, he had to try both to find out.


    Moreover, the level of the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" mission was classified as "Anxiety-Inducing (High)," but it did not exceed that level to reach "Trembling with Fear."


    Therefore, completing it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, which was why Yan Junze dared to have these three classmates follow him.


    Of course, before starting, he would preemptively set a Rewind point. Should anything unexpected happen to anyone, he would choose whether to continue or to quit the mission after weighing the pros and cons.


    After returning to FH Community and entering Building 7, Yan Junze instantly saw the white figure of the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman had moved to the side of the wall near the stairs on the first floor; to use the stairs, one had to pass behind her.


    At the moment, a man in his thirties wearing a black jacket was descending the stairs, looking utterly terrified. With one hand over his chest and the other on the stair railing, he seemed too scared to even breathe deeply, his attention fixed on the Back-faced Woman, not even noticing Yan Junze standing at the stair entrance. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless.


    The man, tiptoeing and cautiously descending the steps, finally caught his breath, glanced at Yan Junze, moved his lips, and quickly walked out of Building 7.


    Yan Junze roughly understood that the man was warning him to be careful when he went upstairs.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was terrifying, as long as she wasn¡¯t provoked, she didn¡¯t seem to be very dangerous¡ªespecially when she was standing quietly facing the wall.


    Following the middle-aged man¡¯s lead, Yan Junze stayed close to the railing, quietly ascending the stairs, and when he passed behind the Back-faced Woman, a chill ran down his spine and pierced his heart.


    Thankfully, he made it upstairs without any trouble and immediately sent a text message to his parents, reminding them to be careful when they come back.


    And unsurprisingly, Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back, had long since vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 30 - 29 Granny Ren

    Returning home, Yan Junze felt that continuing like this was no solution.


    Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman had settled in Building 7 and wouldn¡¯t leave. Being able to see her coming and going every day was highly dangerous.


    If things didn¡¯t improve, he might as well complete the task rated "Hair-raising (Low)"!


    No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    So far, out of the three tasks he had completed, only "Staying in a Room with Zhang Tiantian" had a higher danger level, rated "Trembling with Fear (Low)", and the Possession Spirit in that task was clearly much more dangerous than Ke¡¯er and Granny Ren.


    Now, asking him to complete the task "Look at Her Face," rated "Hair-raising (Low)", Yan Junze really had no confidence.


    After some thought, he decided to stick to the original plan and deal with "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" first.


    After he finished reviewing his homework, his parents came home one after another. Both appeared normal as they entered the house, clearly not having seen the Back-faced Woman, indicating that she didn¡¯t always linger near the stairwell.


    It wasn¡¯t until Li Man had prepared dinner and the three family members were gathered around the dining table that Yan Junze noticed Ke¡¯er seemed to have been gone the whole time.


    Since the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman downstairs, the little creature had disappeared, and still hadn¡¯t returned.


    Regarding the increase in his Favorability from "Neutral" to "Friendly" with souls, he started to have his doubts. Ke¡¯er was so scared of the Back-faced Woman that she dared not come back; he really didn¡¯t know who was the strangeness. Was it humans who feared the strangeness, or was it strangeness that feared the strangeness?


    While they were eating, there was a knock at the door.


    The three of them were slightly astonished; usually, people didn¡¯t come to visit at mealtime.


    Li Man, who sat closer to the living room door, stood up to open it and asked, "Who are you looking for?"


    There was a stranger outside.


    "I¡¯m from an Exorcist team." A voice that sounded very familiar to Yan Junze spoke up.


    Then Huang Chen, wearing a white suit, his short figure entered the living room. Upon seeing Yan Junze, who was eating, he pursed his lips in a smile.


    "An Exorcist?" Yan Daguo put down his utensils and stood up in surprise to greet him.


    In his mind, the incident in the bathroom involving strangeness was still queued up for resolution; it couldn¡¯t possibly be his turn so soon unless someone pulled strings to queue-jump.


    But he hadn¡¯t found someone to pull strings, so how did the Exorcist show up at his door? Besides, the little girl in the bathroom had disappeared, and it had been a while since she last showed up. Now with the Exorcist¡¯s visit, it seemed there wouldn¡¯t be much use.


    "Let me take a look at your bathroom."


    Sure enough, Huang Chen¡¯s face bore a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile, and without greeting Yan Junze, he went straight to the bathroom after being directed.


    The Yan family looked at each other in bewilderment, saying nothing.


    A moment later, Huang Chen emerged with his hands behind his back, tucking away a palm-sized black disk and shaking his head, "No strangeness here, not a trace of magnetic field fluctuations."


    Yan Daguo and his wife had anticipated this result, but having the Exorcist personally confirm it allowed them to finally feel relieved.


    Both said in unison, "Thank you, Exorcist Master!"


    Their tone was very respectful; in this age of strangeness, meeting an Exorcist was often warmer than seeing one¡¯s own parents.


    Making his way to the living room door on his own, Huang Chen glanced at Yan Junze and said to Yan Daguo, "This is your son, right?"


    "Yes." Yan Daguo quickly nodded.


    "This kid is pretty good." Huang Chen cast an appreciative glance at Yan Junze without any hesitation, "I saw the video he filmed of the case in apartment 503 upstairs. Well, there are some things I¡¯d like to discuss with him alone."


    The couple were slightly taken aback, but they still nodded and gestured for Yan Junze to sit on the sofa to talk with Huang Chen. Li Man even ran to prepare tea with enthusiasm.


    Who would have known that Huang Chen would naturally put his arm around Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, and the two of them left the living room to stand in the hallway outside before starting their conversation.


    "I guessed that your parents didn¡¯t know about the possession spirit incident last time." Once alone with Yan Junze, Huang Chen stopped beating around the bush, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and looked up at the sky through the atrium.


    Although Yan Junze had encountered a possession spirit, he hadn¡¯t come to harm, and beside that, they had sought psychological counseling and showed all sorts of concern and care for him. This wasn¡¯t without reason¡ªthey certainly didn¡¯t want unnecessary complications.


    Yan Junze nodded: "I didn¡¯t want to worry my parents either."


    "And yet you dared to go alone to explore the upstairs for strangenesses?" Huang Chen turned to look at him.


    "I¡¯m brave." Yan Junze revealed a smile, "And if the video exploring the strangenesses is complete and gimmicky enough, it can easily go viral. I want to earn my own salt."


    Having said this, it was obvious that the corners of Huang Chen¡¯s mouth twitched. The exorcist was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what was going on in the young people¡¯s minds these days, not knowing what they were thinking all day long.


    "Do you know why I came to you?" Huang Chen suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze was startled: "You came... specifically for me? Not to deal with the strangeness in my family¡¯s bathroom?"


    Huang Chen took another drag on his cigarette, shaking his head: "I came to deal with the bathroom incident incidentally. Moreover, there seems to be no strangenesses, or the strangenesses have already left. This situation can happen with a certain probability. My main purpose for coming here was to tell you about the incident in room 503 upstairs."


    "Oh." Yan Junze furrowed his brow.


    In his view, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" task had already been completed. Could it be that there were new developments?


    "The security officer has confirmed that Granny Ren was murdered, and the suspects are limited to those she knew well and was close to." Huang Chen continued: "Of course, that¡¯s the security officer¡¯s business. We are powerless when it comes to solving cases. Did you see the news today?"


    "What news?" Yan Junze was perplexed.


    "Last night, a couple was tragically found dead in their home in the LHTD Community." Huang Chen said.


    Yan Junze remembered now. The news had appeared on his phone that morning, so he nodded in acknowledgment.


    "That couple... were Granny Ren¡¯s second son and daughter-in-law, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun."


    "What?!" Yan Junze was shocked.


    "I won¡¯t hide it from you, the case has been classified as a Level D strangeness event, and exorcists have already gotten involved," Huang Chen said, looking into the distance. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You mean... Granny Ren¡¯s son... they weren¡¯t killed by someone?" Yan Junze caught on.


    Huang Chen nodded: "We exorcists rate the danger level of strangeness events with letters. F is the lowest level, like the bathroom incident in your house. The highest is S level."


    Yan Junze said: "What you mean is, Level D strangeness events don¡¯t need to wait in line."


    Huang Chen nodded again: "If a Level D event isn¡¯t dealt with quickly, it might escalate to Level C. Neighboring Huayun City had a Level C strangeness event two months ago. I remember... many people died that time."


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened, a guess forming in his mind but he was reluctant to believe it: "You came to my house just to tell me that Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun were killed by strangenesses?"


    "No." Huang Chen dropped the cigarette butt at his feet and stamped it out, looking up at Yan Junze, he said word by word: "They were likely killed by Granny Ren."

 Chapter 31 - 30 Friendship

    "Now, describe in detail what happened that day," Huang Chen said.


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment before he began to recount the events.


    In fact, Huang Chen had already watched the video Yan Junze shot of the incident once; now, by listening to Yan Junze¡¯s personal account, he mainly wanted to understand his perspective and feelings.


    Furrowing his brows, Huang Chen listened intently and then said, "Now we have some evidence. If you hear any noises from the floor above in the next few days, don¡¯t take matters into your own hands and go up there."


    "Are you afraid that... Granny Ren¡¯s spirit might have come back?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It¡¯s possible," Huang Chen nodded. "But we can¡¯t be sure. Granny Ren¡¯s spirit might have become stronger now, and we cannot touch her as easily as we did last time, or it would be extremely dangerous."


    "Got it, I know," Yan Junze replied.


    Yan Junze felt a chill running down his spine as he quietly speculated that if Granny Ren could truly cause a Level D strangeness incident, what level of existence it would be considered in his task display.


    Trembling with fear? Probably not just that. It¡¯s very likely to be at least as hair-raising as the Back-faced Woman task.


    However, regarding Huang Chen¡¯s self-perceived reasoning abilities, Yan Junze had already discounted them in his heart, feeling that this exorcist, apart from looking somewhat cool when throwing the Hidden Buckle at the Possession Spirit, didn¡¯t seem to have done anything particularly impressive.


    "Oh right," Yan Junze reminded, "When you just came up the stairs, did you see any other strangenesses?"


    Huang Chen looked at him with a slight astonishment and shook his head: "No."


    "Well, since you are here, take a look," Yan Junze said with a smile. "It¡¯s a female ghost wearing a white tee and shorts, with disheveled hair, a slender figure, facing the wall, and she keeps her back turned to everyone who sees her."


    "Did you report it to the strangeness incident team?" Huang Chen asked.


    "I did, a long time ago, but it¡¯s probably still in queue," Yan Junze nodded.


    "I¡¯ll check it out later," Huang Chen promised promptly. "But if she doesn¡¯t show up, and I can¡¯t find her, I won¡¯t stay here forever. Here, take down my number first."


    After their conversation, Huang Chen did not greet Yan Daguo and his wife and instead turned and walked directly to the stairwell.


    "Son, how come I feel like you¡¯ve known him for a long time?" Yan Daguo sat at the dining table, his food cold, as both he and his wife had lost their appetite.


    Yan Junze came back to the room, sat down with a grin, and replied, "Just met, it¡¯s just that we wished we¡¯d met sooner. Oh right, mom and dad, if you see Granny Ren¡¯s spirit again in the next few days, don¡¯t engage with her. That unreliable exorcist guy just told me this, be sure to remember."


    The couple looked at each other with expressions of alarm and fear.


    Right after dinner, Huang Chen called. He had made a round in building number seven and hadn¡¯t seen the Back-faced Woman Yan Junze mentioned. However, not seeing her didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t there; Huang Chen said he would move the strangeness incident¡¯s priority up when he got back, so that the authorities could deal with it as soon as possible.


    Not long after Huang Chen left, Ke¡¯er returned.


    That made Yan Junze suspect that the little rascal Ke¡¯er was actually going out to avoid Huang Chen.


    Before going to bed, Yan Daguo and his wife again grilled Yan Junze about Granny Ren. Yan Junze didn¡¯t tell them that Granny Ren¡¯s son and his wife had been killed; otherwise, his parents would be even more uneasy.


    As for the exorcist becoming acquainted with their son, the couple considered it a pleasant surprise. If they were to encounter a strangeness incident in the future, they might be able to call on this connection.


    Of course, they generally wouldn¡¯t exploit it, as owing someone a favor meant having to repay it.


    Back in his bedroom, Yan Junze logged onto the "Open Your Eyes" video platform on his account "Night Traveling Puppy." His main page featured only one video he had uploaded.


    The name of the video is identical to the task name displayed in the Spacetime Atlas, titled "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night." At the moment, it has over 3,000 views and more than 500 likes, a rough ratio of 6:1. The number of comments has also exceeded 100, and the overall response looks pretty good.


    The reason for only having this many views is that the video hasn¡¯t been promoted at all. It just quietly sits among countless other short videos, relying entirely on passersby who happen to click in for a look.


    Yan Junze glanced at the comments below the video.


    User "Birdshot vs. Plane": This video is pretty good, with a high level of completion!


    User "Satan Descends": It exudes an inexplicable sense of tension, but it always feels somewhat staged.


    User "2038779412": I stumbled upon this by accident, what a pleasant surprise! Puppy, your video is good, keep it up...


    User "My Girlfriend is called Yamedie": It can¡¯t be staged, that¡¯s a real corpse. Even though the face is pixelated, there¡¯s no denying that the comb was pulled out from the position of the heart.


    After a while, Yan Junze felt that the comments were mainly of two types: praise or skepticism, largely revolving around whether the video was a staged fabrication by a professional team.


    The main reason is that the story of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" is complete, with cause and effect, background information, and under Bao Jie¡¯s perfect control of the "One Cut Gone" app, the atmosphere is tense, the plot is tight, and there¡¯s even a free grand finale for the audience¡¯s emotion¡ªcouldn¡¯t be more on-point.


    Although the video isn¡¯t trending, Yan Junze suddenly felt confident that as long as the quality of the videos wasn¡¯t bad, uploading a few more in the future would eventually draw attention.


    Yan Junze opened the "We Aren¡¯t Afraid of Strangeness" group chat and shouted, "Tomorrow, all members of the Spirit Exploration Team prepare the tools you need to bring. Take your positions, we¡¯ll meet at the entrance of FH Community¡ªmy neighborhood¡ªat 9 p.m." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jiang Ruixin: "Ah, at 9 p.m.! I don¡¯t know if my mom will let me go out, it¡¯s so late and there are hardly any people on the streets, I¡¯m scared..."


    Bao Jie: "I¡¯ll call a taxi to pick you up then, and we¡¯ll go together."


    Dali: "Jiejie, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pick you two up tomorrow night. You¡¯ll be fine with big brother Dali here."


    Bao Jie: "I¡¯m about to throw up, don¡¯t call me Jiejie, use my full name."


    Dali: "Okay, Jiejie."


    Bao Jie: "Thanks!"


    Dali: "You¡¯re welcome, Jiejie. By the way, Jiejie, what are you doing?"


    Bao Jie: "Ugh!!!"


    After closing the group chat, Yan Junze went to the bathroom to take a shower and changed into darker clothes to facilitate moving in the darkness the next night.


    Bath time was when Ke¡¯er was most active, constantly crawling on Yan Junze, making "Eh eh eh" noises.


    Regarding the operation the next night, he wondered if this little guy would follow him.


    The next day, Yan Junze took out a canvas backpack and prepared items like a lighter, a multifunctional army knife, clean cloths, and made sure his phone was fully charged.


    Even though Bao Jie was responsible for filming, he still kept his own phone camera on. This would be a double insurance to ensure there were no blind spots in the filming.


    His father, Yan Daguo, would not be home because of the night shift at the factory, and his mother had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for the early shift, so she went to bed early.


    After Yan Junze packed his stuff, he put on his canvas backpack at 8:45 p.m., gently closed the living room door, and left the community.

 Chapter 32 - 31 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 1)

    [Task Coordinates: Jianye Building Basement Level One, Room 004 Storage.]


    [Task Name: Peeking From the Crack in the Wall;


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: His fate was tragic, wife gone, children lost. His name became synonymous with loneliness, destined to go unnoticed by all throughout his life. Most unfortunate of all, he was forgotten in a corner following an accidental incident. Yes, he¡¯s still there, hidden in the deepest recesses of the building.


    Task Description: Let him rest in peace forever;


    Task Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Become a substitute, to exchange for his freedom;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down, he¡¯s already pitiable, please spare him; 2. The secret lies in his eyes;


    Note: Perhaps you should bring some tools.]


    After leaving the community gates and while waiting for the others, Yan Junze pulled up the task list from the Spacetime Atlas and gave it a careful read.


    This time, the task was to give the Evil Spirit eternal rest, meaning, the poor guy must be in quite an uncomfortable state. He needed a resolution to his predicament, perhaps that would allow him to finally relax and rest in peace.


    The newly formed Spirit Exploration Team members were all very punctual. Before 9 o¡¯clock, a taxi stopped at the entrance to the community. The rear door opened, and Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin jumped out one after the other.


    Both were dressed in dark sportswear for ease of movement and carried small backpacks behind them, bulging with stuff like cameras and flashlights.


    Then, the passenger door opened and Zhou Heng first stretched out an "elephant leg" onto the ground. Under the watchful eyes of the three, he gradually shifted his broad cross-section of a body out of the car.


    The moment he got out of the car, it visibly lifted, a true embodiment of the phrase "a load off."


    After paying the taxi fare, Zhou Dali patted his behind and said to Yan Junze, "Are we on time? It¡¯s so late, how about we grab some late-night snacks before we start?"


    "Diet." The two girls denied in unison.


    Zhou Dali touched his belly and muttered quietly, "You girls are either on a diet or on the way to start one. Luckily, I came prepared."


    With that, he took out a few packs of biscuits from his backpack, tore them open and started chowing down vigorously.


    Ever since the strangeness descended, the streets at night had very few pedestrians, but there were more patrolling security cars. One would occasionally see patrol cars with flashing lights driving by, silent on the streets.


    Each of the four people carried a backpack, making them especially conspicuous on the sparsely populated streets at night, so they didn¡¯t linger and immediately crossed the road. They walked a hundred meters more and arrived at the entrance of Jianye Building.


    The vehicle access was blocked by an electric gate, beside which was a small iron door. It was slightly ajar and opened with a push.


    However, right next to the small iron door was the guard room, where a middle-aged man in a security uniform was immersed in a TV drama. The plot involved the messy entanglements of "I love you, but you don¡¯t love me, you instead love him, he falls for my sister, I have my sister pretend to love him, he dumps you, and you come back crying, begging for my love."


    For the security uncle, the storyline was captivating. As he was glued to the TV, the small iron door behind him was slowly pushed open.


    Yan Junze and his team tiptoed with hunched backs and slipped into the courtyard of Jianye Building.


    Looking back, they realized someone was missing, and Yan Junze instantly broke out in a cold sweat.


    "Ruixin, come here quickly!" Bao Jie also noticed the discrepancy and called out quietly, looking back.


    At that moment, Jiang Ruixin was peeking out from behind the window of the guard room, engrossedly watching the drama alongside the middle-aged man.


    After realizing it, Jiang Ruixin hurried over, complaining, "Just to join you guys in Spirit Exploration, I missed today¡¯s Episode 21 of ¡¯I Love You So Much Yet You Hold Hands with Another in the Park and I Damn Well Want to Punch You to Death.¡¯" (Salute to Brother Erguo¡¯s head! (¤Å£þ3£þ)¤Å¨q?¡«)}


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze looked at each other, completely baffled.


    "You¡¯re saying this drama is called..."


    "I love you so much, yet you¡¯re walking in the park holding someone else¡¯s hand, I seriously want to punch you to death," Bao Jie repeated fluently, then added, "I was following this show last month, but I stopped. Mainly because the plot was a bit far-fetched."


    "Just hearing the name is far-fetched enough," Yan Junze shook his head.


    Zhou Dali forcefully held back his laughter, finally managing not to laugh out loud. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The four of them entered Jianye Building.


    The building was 35 stories high, with around 50 companies having offices inside. However, Yan Junze and his group didn¡¯t plan to go upstairs. Instead, they bypassed the elevator and took the stairs down to the basement level.


    The stairwell had sound-activated lights, so to avoid drawing attention, everyone moved silently.


    At the stairway entrance, Jiang Ruixin distributed a small flashlight to each person, which she¡¯d procured from their family¡¯s supermarket.


    Yan Junze led the way as all four descended the stairs to the basement level.


    The stairs were quite clean, it seemed like housekeeping was up to snuff here, not even a scrap of broken cardboard or paper could be seen.


    When they reached the stairway entrance to the basement level, they shone the flashlight and discovered the door was locked with a U-shaped lock.


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhou Dali, who crouched down, opened his backpack, and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters, saying, "I turned my dad¡¯s toolbox upside down, these are the strongest equipment I could bring."


    "We owe you big time for this one," Yan Junze took the opportunity to pat his shoulder, letting the guy feel pumped up for a while.


    Otherwise, given Zhou Dali¡¯s faint-heartedness, if he got scared later and wanted to back out, he¡¯d certainly run faster than a rabbit, which wouldn¡¯t be good for the team¡¯s overall movement.


    Zhou Dali let out a he-he and, holding the bolt cutters, squatted in front of the basement level door and started fiddling with it.


    While he was busy, Yan Junze called up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind and, after Zhou Dali snapped the U-lock, set up the starting point for a Rewind. He then set the endpoint for 40 minutes later.


    Of course, if they had to Rewind a certain segment of time due to an emergency in this period, it wouldn¡¯t mean the entire Rewind timeline would vanish, but rather its length would be appropriately shortened.


    If they had to Rewind several times, due to the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, the final length of time they were able to Rewind could potentially be only a few minutes.


    After the door opened, a gust of cold air blew out from the dark corridor, making everyone standing at the top of the stairs shiver involuntarily.


    Only Zhou Dali, brushing the dust off his hands, was completely unaffected by the chill thanks to his robust constitution.


    "It feels like there¡¯s a freezer inside!" Bao Jie guessed.


    "Dali, aren¡¯t you cold?" with her hands crossed in front of her chest, Jiang Ruixin shivered as she curiously asked.


    "Heh, I can¡¯t feel the cold at all," Zhou Dali said, his confidence soaring at that moment.


    "Then you go in front, block the wind for us," Yan Junze said.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face stiffened, "You know... actually... it¡¯s a little cold. Also, my eyesight isn¡¯t very good."


    "I¡¯ll go then," Yan Junze said with a smirk.


    Bao Jie turned on the portable video camera she had brought. A beam of light from the top of the camera illuminated the darkness of the basement level a bit more.

 Chapter 33 - 32 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 2)

    "Jianye Building has always been plagued by strangenesses, it¡¯s said to be the soul of a man. This man stays on the negative first floor and never leaves, seeming to have some connection with this place. Our Spirit Exploration Team has come to find out why he stays here, and if... we can eliminate the strangeness here, then all the better."


    Yan Junze led the way ahead while seemingly talking to himself.


    It gave off the feeling of a live commentary, and amidst the surrounding darkness, mystery, and silence, the commentary was even more likely to give one goosebumps.


    After entering the negative first floor corridor, they found the reason why the stairwell they had descended was clean and tidy¡ªunwanted items were all piled up inside.


    The corridor was filled on both sides with a large amount of cardboard boxes, and mountains of scrap paper that had been copied or printed out.


    Fortunately, the corridor was spacious, and even with half of it occupied, Yan Junze and the others were able to pass through smoothly.


    The light switches on both sides of the corridor were all broken; otherwise, they would have turned the lights on directly.


    And judging by the looks of it, the surveillance on this floor was also broken. If there were any strangenesses here, the security guards and janitors of this building would have the most say. To avoid the strangenesses, they would keep the negative first floor abandoned and basically unmanaged.


    Once inside, unless someone came down, they wouldn¡¯t be discovered, and after entering the corridor, Zhou Dali had locked the broken U-lock onto the closed corridor door handle to prevent anyone from outside opening it.


    The space, never seeing sunlight, had become very damp, and the cardboard boxes and discarded documents that were against the ground were all soaked through. The damp, moldy scent permeated the air.


    The air was cold, and after a while, Yan Junze noticed that both Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin¡¯s lips had started to turn purple.


    "Dali, take off your jacket and let them wear it."


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, glanced at Bao Jie, and immediately showed a look of distress. He took off his coat¡ªwhich for Bao Jie could serve as a long robe¡ªand carefully draped it over her.


    He was only wearing two pieces of clothing, a jacket and a long-sleeved T-shirt. With no alternative, he also took off the T-shirt and reluctantly slipped it onto Jiang Ruixin.


    Their mission¡¯s coordinates were located in the storage room 004 on the negative first floor of the Jianye Building. Walking along, Yan Junze found that the room numbers near the main entrance were counted backwards, starting at 020.


    That meant room 004 would be the fourth one from the end.


    The doors of the rooms in the corridor were basically all closed, with the occasional door ajar. Yan Junze warned the others not to touch them.


    When they encountered an open door, they only shone their flashlights inside to see some scattered and abandoned desks and chairs, without going in.


    Yan Junze¡¯s goal was clear; aside from entering storage room 004, he wouldn¡¯t go anywhere else.


    After a while, Bao Jie suddenly stopped.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Jiang Ruixin, who was walking alongside, also halted and asked Bao Jie.


    Zhou Dali behind them stopped as well.


    Yan Junze turned to look at them.


    "Did you guys... notice that there are... footsteps behind us?" Bao Jie stammered, her face turning pale.


    "Of course, there are footsteps," Zhou Dali said nonchalantly from behind, "Aren¡¯t I following you all?"


    "Not yours," Bao Jie turned around, "There¡¯s someone walking behind you."


    "Ah!"


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face turned white, and he reflexively jumped, quickly turning around.


    At least three flashlight beams were cast behind them.


    There was nothing there.


    "That... that Jiejie... Jiejie, don¡¯t... don¡¯t scare me!" Zhou Dali¡¯s teeth clattered uncontrollably, making a rhythmic sound.


    "Ugh..." Bao Jie gagged, "Don¡¯t call me Jiejie."


    "Did you hear that clearly? Could it be the sound of footsteps coming from behind Dali?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It seems... yes." At this moment, Bao Jie was also uncertain.


    "Well, how about this, I¡¯ll walk backward, and you guys continue forward, but walk slowly and wait for me," Zhou Dali, feeling guilty, turned around, and pointed his two flashlights toward the back, his eyes wide open without blinking.


    Although they moved slowly, everyone was on guard for any strangeness that might suddenly rush out of a room, it didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the halfway point of the corridor. Just around the corner and down a stretch of hallway, they would arrive at room 004, near the end.


    Just as Yan Junze was the first to turn the corner, Zhou Dali at the very back shuddered, his eyes bulging.


    He saw a pale hand appear outside the corridor door they had just entered through, reaching through the gap between the doors.


    This hand groped around for a while, grabbed the broken U-shaped lock hanging on the doorknob, and pulled hard at it. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ow, my goodness, a strangeness!!!" Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but yell out loud.


    Everyone stopped, Yan Junze returned to the corner, and together with Bao Jie and the others, they looked in the direction of Zhou Dali¡¯s gaze, towards the entrance of the corridor they had come through.


    Under the flashlight beam, they indeed saw a hand pulling at the broken U-shaped lock as if something was trying to enter the corridor from the staircase.


    "Let¡¯s hurry inside!" Jiang Ruixin urged quickly, stomping her feet in fright.


    "Wait," Yan Junze stopped everyone who wanted to run down the hallway. He stared intently at the pale hand, "That¡¯s not right, there¡¯s light coming from outside the door too, it looks like a flashlight! That means... it¡¯s not a strangeness."


    No sooner had he spoken than the U-shaped lock was snatched away by the hand and the door opened, revealing the figures of two men, one of whom was wearing a security uniform.


    "It¡¯s people." Zhou Dali breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the situation clearly.


    "Who are you? How did you get in here?" The security guard, who had been watching dramas in the security room just now, wore an angry expression and scolded them.


    The other man, recognized by everyone, was Zhou Jiajie, whom they didn¡¯t expect to see at all.


    At the moment, Zhou Jiajie looked embarrassed, having been caught by the security guard during his sneaking in, and he stood quietly to one side, occasionally glancing over at Bao Jie.


    Yan Junze immediately understood everything, suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked Bao Jie in a deep voice, "Did you tell him?"


    "I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry." Bao Jie lowered her head, not daring to look at the others.


    "Damn it! Women are trouble! Sentimental women are even more trouble! Women who don¡¯t like me, only like pretty boys, are the worst kind of trouble!" Zhou Dali roared uncontrollably.


    "Zhou... Zhou Heng! Enough!" Bao Jie¡¯s anger surged, glaring hard at Zhou Dali, "Having one more person is an extra pair of hands. I was thinking of everyone¡¯s well-being. How was I supposed to know Jiajie would alert the security guard?"


    "Jiajie?" Zhou Dali suddenly felt a surge of jealousy, "That sounds so affectionate!"


    Thud!


    Just then, from behind everyone at the corner, a hollow noise came from the direction of room 004, like a hammer striking a steel pipe in a sewer.


    "You... you all get out quickly!" The middle-aged security guard¡¯s face changed, and he couldn¡¯t help but urge them, "There are strangenesses here, we can¡¯t stay long."


    "It was my miscalculation."


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, he glanced at the others who were looking towards room 004, then shifted his gaze to the terrified security guard, and without hesitation, he silently thought: "Rewind."


    Time rewound.


    The scene before them blurred, and suddenly everyone was standing outside the hallway on the basement floor. Zhou Dali had just broken the U-shaped lock and was standing up.


    "Right now, immediately call Zhou Jiajie, whom you have a crush on, and tell him that today¡¯s operation is canceled, everyone has gone their separate ways. Tell him to turn back too," Yan Junze said to a dumbfounded Bao Jie.

 Chapter 34 - 33 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 3)

    Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.


    It took Zhou Dali quite some time to come back to his senses, "Jiejie, did you quietly tell Zhou Jiajie about today¡¯s affairs?"


    Jiang Ruixin also said, "Did you really tell Zhou Jiajie about our operation tonight?"


    Bao Jie remained silent.


    Yan Junze reminded again, "If you don¡¯t make this call, I¡¯m canceling today¡¯s Spirit Exploration right now."


    "I¡¯ll call right away." Bao Jie looked up at Yan Junze, feeling a bit incredulous, nodded her head, took out her phone, and dialed Zhou Jiajie¡¯s number; it was quickly connected.


    Following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, she didn¡¯t say anything else, and from Zhou Jiajie¡¯s voice, it seemed like he didn¡¯t have too much suspicion.


    After hanging up, Bao Jie scanned the three people and said in a low voice, "Sorry."


    Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t say anything, but Zhou Dali huffed, "Hmph, I won¡¯t forgive you."


    "It¡¯s fine if they forgive me, I don¡¯t need your forgiveness," Bao Jie replied with a cold tone.


    Zhou Dali instantly felt awkward, glancing at Yan Junze and Jiang Ruixin, who were struggling to hold back laughter, and with a strained smile said, "Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go in."


    Yan Junze warned aloud, "Be careful, it¡¯s quite cold inside. If Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin really can¡¯t stand the cold, Dali, you should later take off your clothes and give them to wear."


    "Sure, no problem," Zhou Dali nodded.


    Jiang Ruixin looked at Bao Jie, and neither of them objected.


    Yan Junze led the way into the corridor.


    Even though they had just been through it once, as they entered the corridor, Yan Junze was meticulous in his explanation, Bao Jie recorded the video on the side, while Jiang Ruixin and Zhou Dali were shining their flashlights around, appearing as if any small movement would scare them.


    Soon, Zhou Dali conscientiously took off his jacket and gave one to each, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin.


    Bao Jie was initially reluctant, but feeling so cold she was shivering, she reluctantly accepted the jacket and put it on.


    As for the doors of the rooms along the corridor, which were closed, they weren¡¯t so bad, but those that were open, especially the ones ajar, the eerie silence coming from the dark spaces was frightening.


    As they approached the spot where Bao Jie last heard footsteps, Yan Junze recalled something and suddenly stopped, turned around, and shone his flashlight behind Zhou Dali.


    The other people were startled and also stopped, taking a surprised look at Yan Junze before quickly turning to look behind them.


    There was nothing there.


    "Did you just notice something?" Bao Jie asked.


    "Junze, is there something behind me?" Zhou Dali¡¯s voice trembled.


    "Nothing, there¡¯s nothing," Yan Junze smiled, "Dali, why don¡¯t you walk backwards, shine the flashlight, and keep an eye out for anything unusual behind us."


    "Okay, okay, that¡¯s a great suggestion!" Zhou Dali nodded rapidly, admiring Yan Junze greatly at that moment.


    Actually, he didn¡¯t notice that he had been feeling a chill down his spine all along, but he had been so focused on what was in front of him that he hadn¡¯t realized it.


    Yan Junze turned and continued to lead the way, but the image of a man¡¯s shadow lingered in his mind.


    Just as he turned, he clearly saw a man about the same height as Zhou Dali walking behind him, with movements, the subtle bend of the body, and the pacing almost identical to that of Zhou Dali.


    It was like a substitute!


    However, Yan Junze knew well that the shadow was much thinner than Zhou Dali, and as soon as he turned, it merged into the darkness.


    Should he "Rewind" here and turn early to get a clear look at this guy¡¯s true face?


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind flickered with this thought, but after careful consideration, he felt it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Just now, Zhou Jiajie had quietly followed the group, only to be caught by the security, exposing everyone and causing him to use up one of his rewinds.


    The timeline, which could have been rewound by 40 minutes, had now been shortened to 36 minutes.


    He must hurry to complete this mission.


    Soon, the group turned the corner of the corridor and saw the direction to room 004.


    They had not walked far when the familiar, empty collision sound suddenly rang out, startling everyone except Yan Junze, who immediately stopped.


    "This... sound..."


    "Could it be... coming from that 004 storage room?"


    "It seems like it."


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin looked nervously in the direction of the storage room 004.


    The few carefully moved forward, noticing that the door to room 004 was ajar, not tightly closed.


    "I¡¯ll go in first, everyone follow me. Dali, watch your back," Yan Junze instructed.


    Upon reaching the entrance of storage room 004, the air became even more humid, and an icy breath permeated the area, long enough for a mist to form at the nostrils, much like mucus.


    Wiping his nose carelessly, Yan Junze cautiously pushed open the door of room 004 without rushing in, and instead shone his flashlight inside once.


    There were several gray and white storage cabinets in the room, marked with labels that were unclear.


    In another corner of the room, there was an assortment of miscellaneous items, including many old newspapers and a pile of white plastic tubes, the purpose of which was unknown.


    Yan Junze walked in, followed by Bao Jie who was holding a camera, then Jiang Ruixin, and finally, Zhou Dali, who was walking backwards, constantly watching his back.


    Once everyone was in the room, Yan Junze instructed Zhou Dali to close the door.


    The sinister shadow that had been following the group clearly had ill intentions, making him unable to relax; closing the door would prevent any worries about the shadow sneaking in.


    And if the shadow did try to break in, the noise would be enough to alert everyone in advance.


    Jiang Ruixin took out two more flashlights from her bag, shining them in different directions to provide the greatest illumination in the storage room.


    "Now, we need to find this man¡¯s soul, to help him," Yan Junze spoke up.


    The others didn¡¯t say a word, and besides Bao Jie¡¯s camera following Yan Junze, the other two searched around with their flashlights.


    The storage room wasn¡¯t very large; if it weren¡¯t for some obstructions, it would have been possible to sweep the entire room with one glance, so within a few minutes, they had searched everywhere with no oddities to be found.


    Zhou Dali moved swiftly, even shifting the plastic tubes that were piled in the corner, yet still found nothing.


    Yan Junze looked at the storage cabinets against the wall and said to Zhou Dali, "Dali, we might need to move the cabinets."


    The storage cabinets were not filled, and one was even empty. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali, without a second thought, went forward bare-chested, wrapping his arms around a half-full storage cabinet, lifted it, took two steps, and set it aside.


    Just as he was about to move the second cabinet, Yan Junze¡¯s voice came, "Wait."


    He stepped forward, the flashlight shining behind the cabinets onto the wall, where a crack as wide as a finger appeared after moving the cabinet, about half a meter long.


    Just as the crack was revealed, under the illumination of the flashlight, a faint reflection gleamed from within the crack.

 Chapter 35 - 34 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 4)

    "There¡¯s something sinister about the crack in this wall," Yan Junze appeared to be mumbling to himself, but in reality, he was providing a live commentary to the camera.


    "This crack is too small, even if there were any strangeness, it couldn¡¯t squeeze through! I¡¯ll look around for other cracks in the wall," Zhou Dali turned his head to inspect the area.


    He was preparing to move all the other storage cabinets against the wall. Before coming, Yan Junze had not provided detailed instructions, but now it seemed that the strangeness must be hiding inside the wall.


    Yan Junze stopped him, "No need to move them, Dali, take out all the demolition tools you brought, and just drill into the wall¡ªright at this crack."


    "Ah! We¡¯re really drilling?" Everyone stared at him.


    "Of course," Yan Junze nodded, "The humidity here is high; the inside of the wall must be soaked with moisture. Be careful not to make too much noise, a hole just big enough for one person to freely enter and exit is fine."


    "You mean for you to enter and exit, or me," Zhou Dali looked confusedly at his own robust frame and then at Yan Junze¡¯s frail figure.


    He had made up his mind that if, after drilling through the wall, Yan Junze still wanted him to enter, he would refuse to do so even if it meant fighting everyone here to death.


    He would resist to the death!


    "It¡¯s enough if I can get in and out," Yan Junze reassured him with a peace-offering.


    "That¡¯s better," Zhou Dali nodded, set down his large backpack, and took out various tools like a sledgehammer, electric drill, and hammers, tools both useful and useless.


    The electric drill was charged and ready to use, which was convenient.


    Zhou Dali, holding the electric drill, walked towards the crack, intending to enlarge the hole first. Then, after seeing the structure inside, he would use the hammer to break through.


    But just as he approached within five or six steps of the crack, he suddenly froze, as if he¡¯d instantaneously turned into a clay statue, his index finger already pressing the switch of the drill, its head spinning rapidly in the air.


    The guy didn¡¯t even realize it and just stood there motionless.


    "Dali? What¡¯s going on?" Yan Junze approached, puzzled.


    Upon closer inspection, Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes blinked twice, but his body remained still.


    Just then, Yan Junze felt a void in his body as if he had fallen into an abyss, continuously plummeting downward. A sense of panic spread throughout his body, and he felt unable to breathe all of a sudden.


    Piercing screams from Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin echoed in his ears, as if they too had encountered a mishap at the same moment.


    "Not good, we must Rewind!"


    No sooner had the thought emerged in Yan Junze¡¯s mind than he heard Zhou Dali speak beside him, "The... the crack in the wall... seems like... it has an eye!"


    It appeared only this guy was unaffected.


    As soon as Zhou Dali¡¯s words were spoken, the sensation of free-falling that plagued Yan Junze vanished. His body felt heavy again, and he found himself still standing in the same spot, having not moved an inch.


    However, he was now sweating all over his body.


    It was a hallucination!


    He came to his senses.


    Turning his head, he saw Bao Jie sitting on the ground, a terrified expression still etched on her face, while Jiang Ruixin leaned against the moved storage cabinet, her hands flailing in front of her. It took another second for her to suddenly come to her senses and stop.


    Zhou Dali, meanwhile, blinked and said with trepidation, "Ze, take a look inside the crack... is there... an eye?"


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze felt a pitch darkness all of a sudden, all the flashlight beams had vanished.


    A sense of fear involuntarily washed over him. He reached out into the darkness, finding nothing.


    The endless darkness surged toward him like a tide.


    All at once, an icy hand reached out for his throat, its grip as strong as that of a yak, seizing his neck with precision.


    In a panic, he grabbed the chilling hand with both hands, but despite his effort to pry it away, he could not move it; it felt not like a human hand but more like a cold, unfeeling machine. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a brief struggle, the icy hand disappeared, and the darkness around was dispelled by the flashlight¡¯s light. Yan Junze found himself back at the spot where he was standing just moments ago.


    The illusion was gone again.


    This time, Zhou Dali was staring intently at the eye peeking from the crack in the wall.


    As if something had triggered him, Yan Junze had a stroke of insight and said, "Dali, focus on that eye you see and don¡¯t blink. Keep staring at it and don¡¯t move."


    The two consecutive immersions into an illusion started after Zhou Dali noticed the eye in the crack of the wall, and Yan Junze realized that as long as Zhou Dali stared at that eye, everyone was fine. But the moment he blinked or looked away, Yan Junze would fall into the illusion.


    Clearly, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were also falling into different illusions at the same time.


    It was a problem with the eye in the crack of the wall.


    "Stare... stare at it... What for?" Zhou Dali asked, trembling, "That might be... a Ghost Eye!"


    "It¡¯s not might be, it¡¯s definitely a Ghost Eye."


    Yan Junze decisively pushed Zhou Dali aside and took his place, his gaze preemptively taking over from Dali¡¯s and locked onto the eye in the crack that reflected a faint glow under the flashlight.


    The eye in the crack only showed one eye, as the narrow gap did not allow the other to be seen. This eye likely belonged to a corpse with eyes wide open, unblinking, just peering through the crack at the people outside.


    A thin layer of grayish-white film covered the surface of the pupil, but one could still see the lifeless eyeball through the film.


    From this distance, the corpse inside the wall was not far from the surface. If the action was quick, it could be excavated shortly after breaking through the wall.


    Although Yan Junze didn¡¯t know why looking away from that eye caused others to fall into an illusion, he didn¡¯t have time to think it through at the moment.


    While keeping his gaze on the eye in the crack, he quickly ordered Zhou Dali, "Use all your tools and break through this wall fast. We need to dig out this body!"


    Zhou Dali was startled, then reacted. Without using a drill, he picked up the sledgehammer and swung at the wall.


    Thud!


    A dull sound echoed.


    Since it was in the basement, and storage room 004¡¯s door was closed, along with the twisted corridors and the closed door at the stair entrance, the sound was very faint by the time it reached outside.


    Mainly because inside the building, except for during patrol times, there were no security guards around at this hour, and inside the security booth, the uncle was engrossed in his drama series, not hearing anything at all.


    After a few swings of the hammer, the wall caved in, and a large piece of the exterior wall fell off, revealing the stones and a few bent steel bars inside.


    By this time, Yan Junze was struggling to keep up. His eyes had been open the whole time, fixed on that grayish-white dead eye. Not blinking at all was simply impossible.


    The sour sensation quickly surged, and after his eyelids uncontrollably trembled a couple of times, they forcefully closed.


    Simultaneously, darkness fell before Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes. He stopped hammering, dropped the sledgehammer, and grabbed his own throat, struggling and calling for help loudly.


    Bao Jie¡¯s camera also fell to the ground, and she seemed to be drowning, kicking her legs and grasping at the Void, trying to pull something.


    Jiang Ruixin was screaming nonstop, retreating as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Apart from Yan Junze, all three had fallen into an illusion.


    Yan Junze was frantic, forcibly keeping his eyes wide open and staring fiercely again at the pupil in the crack in the wall, even manually propping his eyelids open to prevent them from blinking again.


    The illusions of the three people soon vanished, and each, still shaken, stood motionless for a few seconds before slowly regaining their senses.


    This time, everyone understood what was going on. Jiang Ruixin ran to help Zhou Dali while Bao Jie picked up her camera to check it and, finding it undamaged, patted her chest in relief and continued filming.


    "This no-blinking challenge is really tough!"


    Yan Junze propped his eyelids with his fingers, and with his glasses in the way, it was already quite inconvenient. Soon, he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and wanted to close his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, his face showing signs of agony.


    "How about I give it a try?" Bao Jie suggested, batting her watery, large eyes from the side.

 Chapter 36 - 35 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 5)

    "Alright, you take over," Yan Junze agreed without hesitation.


    Bao Jie was momentarily stunned, not expecting him to agree so readily.


    But to be honest, Yan Junze had already had enough, constantly weeping and not daring to close his eyes, urging Bao Jie to quickly stand in his place.


    "Where¡¯s the eye?" Bao Jie temporarily handed the camera to Jiang Ruixin.


    Yan Junze pointed to a certain spot in the crack of the wall, "Stare at it, keep it dead in sight, and whatever you do, don¡¯t blink."


    As soon as Bao Jie saw the eye, Yan Junze immediately closed his, rubbing them fiercely, and joined Zhou Dali in smashing the wall.


    Before the four of them were killed by hallucinations, they had to dig out the corpse inside as quickly as possible. Otherwise, to be played by an eye to the point of death, and even worse, have it recorded on video, would be an embarrassment beyond measure.


    Just as Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were frantically chiseling the wall, the next second, the whole scene turned awkward.


    "Hurry up, I can¡¯t take it anymore," Bao Jie¡¯s anxious voice rang out.


    From the moment she took over from Yan Junze, it had been less than ten seconds before these words were spoken, and as soon as her words ended, Yan Junze¡¯s vision was filled with a hallucination. He saw a withered, shriveled arm stretch out from the crack in the wall, grabbing his collar.


    The stench of decay wafted forth, and from that gripping arm, a mass of maggots crawled out, burrowing into his clothes.


    And the strength of this arm was immense, forcefully trying to drag him into the wall.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s roars echoed in his ears, as if he were wrestling with something, and he was shouting, "As long as it¡¯s not a strangeness, you¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t beat you to death!"


    Jiang Ruixin, who was filming, let out a scream, and once again the sound of the camera hitting the ground was heard.


    On Yan Junze¡¯s side, all the rotting flesh on the arm extruding from the wall had completely decayed, part of it falling into his clothes along with the maggots, squirming against his skin.


    Goosebumps erupted all over Yan Junze¡¯s body.


    The next second, everyone snapped back from the illusion, standing stock-still in place.


    There was Bao Jie with her hair in disarray, imitating Yan Junze¡¯s earlier action, using her fingers to forcefully keep her eyelids open, staring unblinkingly at the eye in the wall crack.


    The image of a lady was completely ruined.


    Not only that, although she kept an ungainly posture, Bao Jie still rapidly said, "Who¡­ Who¡¯ll take over for me, this really isn¡¯t my strong suit!"


    Yan Junze sighed, about to reply, heard Jiang Ruixin say, "I¡¯ll do it! Where¡¯s the eye?"


    At this moment, Jiang Ruixin had rolled up her sleeves, ready to face death.


    It was mainly because the successive hallucinations earlier had nearly scared her out of her wits. Even though she knew they were illusions, she couldn¡¯t endure this kind of scare, so now she was all in, in a desperate state of it¡¯s either you or me.


    After spotting the eye in the wall crack, Jiang Ruixin pushed Bao Jie aside, hands on hips, and roared, "Hurry up and get to work! Leave staring down the eye to me! Shameless thing, think you can outstare me? My mom stared me down while growing up; I¡¯m not afraid of you!"


    No sooner had she spoken than Jiang Ruixin bulged her eyes out, flipping her eyelids so widely that it seemed even bigger than Bull¡¯s Eye.


    The other three were taken aback, staring at Jiang Ruixin as if they were seeing her for the first time.


    "Get moving, why are you looking at me?" Jiang Ruixin kept her eyes wide open, still furious.


    Zhou Dali clicked his tongue in amazement, "Impressive! Look at those eyeballs, stretched so wide, and she can still see us with the corner of her eyes."


    "That¡¯s peripheral vision," Yan Junze said speechlessly.


    "Zhou Dali, are you talking about someone¡¯s bladder!!!" Jiang Ruixin roared, eyes wide with anger.


    Thump, thump, thump...


    Zhou Dali, feeling a chill, quickly swung the sledgehammer to continue smashing the wall.


    Bao Jie picked up the camera to inspect it, and it turned out that the thing was quite durable; having been dropped twice, it still hadn¡¯t broken, so she again pointed the lens at the three of them.


    Although the basement floor was constantly damp, it was exceptionally well-constructed. The body seemed close to the wall surface, but it was challenging to make an opening large enough for a person to pass through.


    Soon, Zhou Dali¡¯s whole body was drenched in sweat, and the hole they were creating was only halfway done.


    Yan Junze looked and reminded, "No, we still need to smash it." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He then turned his head to look at Jiang Ruixin.


    This girl still had her almond-shaped eyes wide open, staring intently at the dead body¡¯s eyes that were now mostly exposed.


    At this moment, the corpse¡¯s two grey pupils were revealed, but as Jiang Ruixin stared without blinking, no illusions appeared.


    By this time, not only Yan Junze and Zhou Dali, but even Bao Jie, who was holding the camera, could not help but express admiration, "Ruixin, you¡¯re amazing. It¡¯s been over three minutes and you haven¡¯t blinked once."


    Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t speak, obviously holding her breath, her body tense, not daring to relax in the slightest.


    The gaze that shot out of the "Bull¡¯s Eyes" seemed to ignite like stars, illuminating the entire storage room and bringing endless light and warmth to everyone.


    Zhou Dali, while swinging the hammer, said admiringly, "Ruixin, I¡¯m truly impressed! With that killing power in your gaze, in the future, anyone foolish enough to anger you could be stared to death!"


    "I feel like you could apply for a Guinness World Record," Bao Jie interjected.


    "The hole is ready; let¡¯s pull out the body," Yan Junze suddenly said.


    Zhou Dali turned to look at him, surprised, "Am I to carry it?"


    "Let¡¯s carry it together."


    Yan Junze had already half entered the hole, crouching at the entrance, his hands grasping the corpse¡¯s feet, and said cautiously, "It¡¯s been a long time; the body no longer has a stench. Dali, be gentle, don¡¯t break his limbs."


    Zhou Dali, horrified, helped carry the upper part of the body, found that the corpse had nearly become a mummy, very light in weight. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he and Yan Junze together moved the body out of the hole and gently placed it on the ground.


    At this point, Jiang Ruixin was still moving her feet, fixated on the mummy¡¯s grey eyes.


    Yan Junze looked at her, full of admiration, "Ruixin, try to slowly move your gaze away. If you hear any of us suddenly start shouting, quickly stare back at the corpse¡¯s eyes."


    Under his guess, since the body had been moved from the sealed wall and exposed to daylight again, the illusions that might appear upon shifting the gaze should no longer occur.


    Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he reminded Jiang Ruixin how to react just in case.


    Jiang Ruixin nodded, slowly shifted her gaze, and stopped looking at the grey pupils.


    Nothing unusual happened.


    "You can close your eyes and rest for a while," Yan Junze sighed with relief.


    Jiang Ruixin closed her eyes and walked to the side, gasping for breath.


    Zhou Dali and Bao Jie were focused on Jiang Ruixin, not paying attention to the mummy or Yan Junze for the moment.


    Yan Junze looked at the mummy, which was indistinguishable in features but was confirmed to be a man.


    The clothes on the body had barely remained, the body was gaunt, and it was slightly curled up.


    However, traces of hardened cement slurry were still visible around his mouth and throat.


    Yan Junze remembered, the mission background stated that this man had a tragic fate, estranged from his wife and children. His name was synonymous with loneliness, doomed never to draw anyone¡¯s attention in life.


    Moreover, he had died in an accident.


    Now, it seemed extremely likely that this man was a construction worker who met with an accident while building this skyscraper, got buried alive here, and was never discovered.


    The mission stated that the man must be allowed to rest in peace eternally.


    Now that the body had been dug up, the question remained on how to let the man rest in peace, something Yan Junze could not yet discern.


    But there was at least one piece of good news¡ªthe mummy¡¯s eyes would no longer bring horrific visions to others.


    While pondering, suddenly a series of footsteps came from the corridor outside.


    The footsteps approached from a distance, coming slowly from the end of the corridor. In the silent and dark space, they sounded particularly piercing.

 Chapter 37 - 36 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 6)

    Yan Junze checked the time, noting that 15 minutes had already passed of the remaining 36 minutes he had set for the "Rewind" deadline, leaving 21 minutes.


    Listening intently, the footsteps approaching from outside seemed steady, the sound of leather shoes suggesting it was a man.


    Everyone gathered behind the door of storeroom 004, Yan Junze turned to glance at the mummified corpse on the floor, ears perked, listening closely; no one spoke.


    The footsteps quickly neared the door of room 004.


    All four of them held their breath, hearts in their throats.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was guessing whether the person outside was the security guard from the duty room.


    The others unanimously believed that the individual outside was definitely one of the "strangenesses."


    The footsteps stopped directly outside room 004 after passing by, followed by a knock about two seconds later.


    A strange male voice came through, "Is there... anyone inside?"


    "Huff..."


    Hearing the voice, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, able to speak and with a quivering tone that betrayed fright; it seemed to be a human after all.


    It seemed the noise from earlier, the pounding on the walls, had been too loud, drawing someone down from above.


    "Who¡¯s out there?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "I¡¯m the building security guard. Who are you and what are you hiding in there for?" the man¡¯s voice was still shaking violently, "There¡¯s nothing valuable in this place, and moreover, it¡¯s haunted by strangenesses! Come out quickly!"


    "We are not thieves." Since they were already discovered, Jiang Ruixin, who was closest to the door, directly opened it.


    Outside stood a tall, thin man in a security guard uniform, wielding a flashlight, but he wasn¡¯t the middle-aged man watching TV series in the duty room¡ªthis guard was much younger, with distinct facial features, and indeed looked like a living person aside from being rather thin.


    The young security guard clearly hadn¡¯t expected to find four people hiding in the storeroom. Upon seeing Yan Junze and the others, he was startled.


    Especially upon seeing Zhou Dali¡¯s elephant-like build, he thought to himself that even three of him combined wouldn¡¯t be a match for the guy opposite him.


    Before he could continue speaking, his flashlight beam swept over the twisted corpse on the floor.


    The young security guard screamed in fright, "There... there¡¯s a body! This place is haunted by strangenesses, you... you guys, hurry... get... get out!


    Quick!"


    "We dug out the body," Yan Junze said.


    "From the crack in the wall." Zhou Dali casually pointed at the hole in the wall behind him, a sense of pride welling up as if he had forgotten the scene where his own calf muscles had been trembling.


    "No wonder it¡¯s been haunted by strangenesses! So there has been a... a body here!" The young security guard was trembling with fear, shining his flashlight on the mummified corpse below its stomach without pointing it at the face.


    "There shouldn¡¯t be any strangenesses anymore," Yan Junze explained, "As long as we move the body out, notify the security staff to come over, or just find a place to bury it and let it rest in peace, there won¡¯t be any more strangenesses happening here."


    "Okay... okay," the young security guard lowered the beam of his flashlight and swallowed hard, "Close the eyes of the corpse, otherwise it will keep staring as if it can¡¯t rest in peace, which is quite frightening."


    "The body is already dried up, it might not be possible to close the eyes," Bao Jie said tremblingly. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after the hallucinations they had just experienced, her courage had increased considerably.


    "We can wrap cloth over the eyes," Zhou Dali slapped his thigh, "We should have done that earlier, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have kept staring into its eyes."


    "Where do we find cloth?"


    Before Jiang Ruixin could finish speaking, Zhou Dali grabbed her sleeve and tore off a piece with a ripping sound, saying, "The clothes are mine, and it¡¯s reasonable for me to tear my own clothes, isn¡¯t it?"


    Jiang Ruixin didn¡¯t say anything, her eyes widened in shock, scaring Zhou Dali to take four or five steps back.


    It seems that he had already begun to be wary of Jiang Ruixin¡¯s "Bull¡¯s Eye."


    However, he didn¡¯t wrap the cloth strip around the corpse¡¯s eyes himself, but instead handed it to Yan Junze, "Here, you do it."


    "Whoever comes up with the idea should do it himself," Yan Junze did not take the cloth.


    Zhou Dali hesitated. He looked at the security guard, then at Bao Jie, who was filming, and gritted his teeth: "If it has to be done, I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯s time to brave up."


    He walked over to the mummified corpse, bent down, held his breath, and quickly wrapped a cloth strip around the corpse¡¯s eyes, then tied a knot at the back of the skull.


    "That should do it."


    The young security guard seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this point and pointed with his flashlight in the direction of the corridor¡¯s bend: "Let¡¯s get out of here first. As soon as we¡¯re outside, I¡¯ll call the other colleagues over right away to clean up this place."


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "We must take the body with us. To be honest, we are a Spirit Exploration Team, and we came specifically for this."


    The young security guard was taken aback. He lowered his head as if pondering something, his cap slightly oversized, now askew on his head, ready to fall off at any moment.


    Suddenly, he whirled around, his cap falling to the ground, demanding as he faced an open door across the hall: "Who¡¯s there? Who is inside?"


    This door was directly opposite Storage Room 004 and had been open the whole time, but because there was no light, the interior setup couldn¡¯t be seen clearly.


    As he shouted, the guard¡¯s flashlight lit up the space, but the beam seemed to get sucked into a thick morass of darkness; it was impossible to see what was inside the room.


    This young guard was quite bold, not petrified by fear, and in a few steps, he charged into the room across the way.


    The four people standing at the doorway of Storage Room 004 exchanged glances. Among them, Yan Junze was the bravest, but without a clear understanding of the situation, he wasn¡¯t about to recklessly rush inside!


    As expected, after the guard ran into the room, there was no more sound from him.


    Only the breathing of the few people outside could be heard, and the surroundings were dead silent.


    This kind of waiting was torturous. Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but grunt, about to speak, when suddenly the room across burst into sounds of struggling and banging, getting more and more violent.


    The anxious voice of the young security guard followed promptly: "Someone come help quick!"


    Yan Junze and the others were stunned.


    Zhou Dali exclaimed in surprise, "It¡¯s not a strangeness? Wait for grandpa to come and help you clean up!"


    As a rising sun, exemplified by the school, and with his own natural strength, Zhou Dali¡¯s blood surged at this moment.


    No sooner had he spoken than he dashed out of Storage Room 004 and plunged into the room across the hall.


    The next second, everything went pitch black. The light from the flashlight in his hand instantly died, leaving no trace of any other light before his eyes.


    Zhou Dali froze, reaching his hands out to grope around, finding nothing in front of him, which scared him so much that he quickly turned back, only to find that the door he had just entered through had also disappeared.


    Logically, Yan Junze and the others were just across the hall, shining their flashlights, and standing inside this room looking at the doorway, flashlight beams should have been visible. But now, there was only darkness before him.


    "Security brother, where are you?" Zhou Dali panicked, a bizarre and inexplicable fear creeping into his heart.


    At this moment, his only hope was the young security guard who had just been calling for help.


    He groped around while shouting.


    No sooner had the words left his lips than Zhou Dali¡¯s hand touched an arm.


    This arm had a sleeve, and on the sleeve there seemed to be a few buttons; it must be the security uniform.


    "Security brother, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?" Zhou Dali felt he might pee himself with fright, his voice trembling as if he was screaming through a voice distorter.


    The arm he was holding suddenly moved, grabbing Zhou Dali¡¯s muscular arm in return.


    Zhou Dali¡¯s body stiffened, completely unable to break free. His pupils darkened rapidly, as if covered by a black cloth; his mouth slowly opened, and from his throat came a series of meaningless chuckles. These sounds, in the darkness, were especially eerie.


    His cheeks quickly shriveled up and veins bulged. Then, with a thud, he collapsed, lifeless.


    "Where are you guys? Why not come help out some more?"


    The young security guard¡¯s voice suddenly echoed in the room once more, filled with an indescribable urgency.

 Chapter 38 - 37 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 7)

    The door to Storage Room No. 004 had always been open, and Yan Junze stood at the doorway with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, flashlights in hand.


    Upon seeing Zhou Dali rush into the room across, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin aimed their flashlight beams at the entrance of that room.


    Only Yan Junze turned his flashlight around, keeping an eye on the direction where the dry corpse lay.


    No sound emerged; Zhou Dali, who had entered the opposite room, disappeared as if a drop of water had fallen into the ocean without causing a single ripple.


    "Dali!" Yan Junze turned his head and called out tentatively. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no movement in the pitch-dark room.


    "What do we do?" Jiang Ruixin turned her head and looked at Yan Junze anxiously. "Could it be that Dali is so mighty that as soon as he entered, he took down the opponent?"


    "Impossible." Yan Junze shook his head. "That guy exaggerates his movements, acting frivolously. Even if he could easily subdue the opponent, he would deliberately roar twice to prove to us how badass he is."


    "Then what¡¯s going on? Who¡¯s going to go check it out now?" Bao Jie, standing to the side with the camera, was obviously trembling.


    Just then, the young security guard¡¯s voice rang out again: "Where is everyone? Why won¡¯t more people come and help?"


    It seemed that after meeting up with Zhou Dali, he must have had some effect, at least managing to suppress the other party.


    "Bao Jie, come with me," Yan Junze glanced at the dry corpse lying not far behind on the ground, then instructed Jiang Ruixin: "Ruixin, you stay here. If the dry corpse makes any movement, use your eyes to glare at it."


    Jiang Ruixin shuddered with fear: "But his eyes are wrapped up with cloth, I can¡¯t glare at him!"


    "How about you tear off the cloth? In case he moves, it¡¯s easier for you to glare at him," Yan Junze suggested, with no hint of jest.


    "Tear your sister! I¡¯m not tearing it, it¡¯s good this way," Jiang Ruixin shook her head like a rattle-drum.


    "When Bao Jie stands at the door of the opposite room, I¡¯ll be the one to go inside. You¡¯ll be able to see her, so both of you will have someone looking out for the other."


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders and gave Jiang Ruixin one more instruction before he and Bao Jie approached the opposite side one after the other.


    The flashlight shone inside the room, revealing only about two or three meters ahead; beyond that, it was swallowed by thick darkness, obscuring the inside completely.


    The situation was somewhat eerie.


    Yan Junze hesitated at the doorway, then checked the rewind line in his mind through Inner Vision, 17 minutes left.


    If he encountered danger, he could rewind freely within this time frame back to any moment he wished.


    That should be enough to handle the risk.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze, flashlight in hand, allowed Bao Jie to illuminate him from behind using the camera¡¯s light as he stepped inside the room.


    From Bao Jie¡¯s perspective, the moment Yan Junze entered the room, a dense darkness enveloped him instantly, as if swallowing him whole, along with the flashlight beam, which vanished rapidly.


    "Yan Junze!" Bao Jie was startled and quickly called out loudly.


    The reply to her call was utter silence.


    Bao Jie¡¯s heart nearly stopped beating from fear, and she stomped her foot anxiously, "Yan Junze, respond to me! Where are you?"


    The light from the camera and flashlight only reached just beyond the door; they could penetrate no deeper into that ink-like blackness.


    "What¡¯s happening?" Jiang Ruixin stood at the entrance of Storage Room No. 004, her face filled with astonishment, "Did he just disappear after walking in?"


    "No... he¡¯s gone, and he didn¡¯t answer me," Bao Jie¡¯s voice was on the verge of tears.


    "Should I come over and take a look?" Jiang Ruixin proposed.


    Ever since tasting the fruit of victory, she had come to consider her "Glaring Eyes Mastery" as the first triumphant measure against strangeness.


    "You should still watch out for the one behind you..."


    Before Bao Jie could finish speaking, the camera she was holding seemed to be grabbed by something. Standing at the door, she was suddenly dragged into the room by a strong force. The second half of her sentence, her even a cry for help, never had the chance to be vocalized.


    A piercing scream erupted from Jiang Ruixin, resonating throughout the corridor. Accompanied by the scream, her back tensed, and her clothes contracted backwards as if a huge hand had seized the back of her shirt.


    The next second, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s flashlight dropped, she was yanked into Storage Room No. 004, and the door slammed shut with a bang.


    The basement returned to silence.


    The damp odor seemed to have thickened compared to when they had first arrived.


    Inside the room.


    The thick darkness enveloped Yan Junze.


    No matter which direction he walked, everything before his eyes was pitch-black, and the flashlight in his hand had eerily gone out, completely refusing to turn on.


    Could it be that this house was also haunted? Hadn¡¯t the body already been dug up? Why was it still like this?


    A multitude of questions rose in his heart. Standing still, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly for the time being.


    First, that young security guard had appeared, and then the abnormalities in this house were discovered¡ªsuddenly things had become bizarre.


    If a noise suddenly came from within this house, the guard¡¯s reaction shouldn¡¯t have been to pounce in directly but to instinctively jump in fright and then retreat immediately.


    This wasn¡¯t the reaction of a normal person.


    In a place haunted by strangenesses, being able to hear a noise in the dark and lunge at it with such eagerness, such a matter-of-course attitude, such heedlessness was probably something only an idiot exorcist like Huang Chen would do.


    So, the actions of this security guard were indeed abnormal.


    It was proven that a person¡¯s thinking could only emit powerful operational capabilities in an exceptionally quiet place. And at this moment, that was exactly the case for Yan Junze.


    He hated himself for not thinking of this sooner. Now, he had walked straight into the tiger¡¯s den. The hope of escaping this room easily and getting out seemed bleak.


    Zhou Dali was very likely practicing the mighty punches of his ancestor, Zhou Shentong, by now.


    Yes, Zhou Heng had an ancestor in the local area who was quite famous¡ªa man named Zhou Shentong, not to be confused with Zhou Botong. The man knew nothing of the Ambidextrous Combat Technique, but Zhou Shentong was indeed built like a tiger, with a bear¡¯s back¡ªtallying with his formidable reputation for his punching skill.


    Yan Junze suspected that Zhou Heng¡¯s nickname, Dali, probably had much to do with inheriting this ancestor¡¯s genes.


    Pity about the lost inheritance of intelligence, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have foolishly followed that suspicious security guard into the house.


    Just then, Ke¡¯er, who lay on Yan Junze¡¯s back, stirred, and an inexplicable sense of crisis descended.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but step back twice.


    In the darkness, his foot suddenly stepped on the instep of another foot. It seemed like someone had been standing not far behind him all along, and they had finally bumped into each other by accident.


    Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, issued a dull roar that Yan Junze had never heard before, like an agitated wolf-dog warning the other with a low growl.


    The next second, Ke¡¯er sprung up and lunged out.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see anything, so he quickly turned around to face the direction Ke¡¯er had pounced toward.


    Thud!


    A loud sound of something hitting the wall echoed from not too far away.


    The outcome was unknown.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was in turmoil, but no other sounds came through afterward.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s favorability towards him had already become "friendly", otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to lunge at that shadow in the dark.


    After waiting a moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but call out, "Ke¡¯er."


    Clap, a hand was placed on his shoulder from behind.


    This hand was large, not that of a child.


    After sensing the size of the hand, Yan Junze knew the outcome of Ke¡¯er¡¯s charge.


    His heart immediately sank to the bottom.


    Without any hesitation, a resolutely strong thought appeared in his mind.


    Rewind!


    Everything became a blur before his eyes once again saw light.


    It was the light from the flashlight.


    He, along with Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin, were all standing behind the door of storage room 004, listening intently to the footsteps coming from the corridor outside.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face darkened as he lowered his voice and said to everyone, "None of you answer to anyone outside later, and if anyone dares to respond, I¡¯ll fucking strangle him!"


    The other three all looked bewildered.


    "Just give a caution, what are you staring at me for?" Zhou Dali felt inexplicably wronged as he stared at Yan Junze, feeling he¡¯d been gravely insulted.

 Chapter 39 - 38 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 8)

    In the deathly quiet of the basement level, the approaching footsteps sounded extremely hollow, yet each step was enough to send chills down one¡¯s spine.


    The footsteps stopped in front of storage room 004, pausing for two seconds before a voice suddenly asked, "Is there... anyone inside?"


    Throughout this process, Yan Junze had been fixedly staring at Zhou Dali.


    Our comrade Dali opened his mouth, then quickly realized something and hastily closed it again.


    The three of them were somewhat puzzled. Listening to the voice, the person outside didn¡¯t sound like a ghost, but rather a young man; yet, why wouldn¡¯t Yan Junze let them respond?


    Although no answer was given, the person outside didn¡¯t leave but instead reached out and grabbed the doorknob, giving it a twist.


    The door didn¡¯t open.


    Because inside, Yan Junze was gripping the handle with both hands, preventing it from turning.


    "I know there¡¯s someone inside. What were you smashing down here just now? Open the door quickly, it¡¯s dangerous here with all the strangeness, you shouldn¡¯t linger!" The person¡¯s voice rose suddenly, as if warning them.


    "Why aren¡¯t you opening the door?" Bao Jie asked in a hushed, anxious voice.


    "Right, the person should be the building¡¯s duty guard," Jiang Ruixin added.


    Only Zhou Dali kept his mouth shut, obedient under Yan Junze¡¯s dominance.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also felt puzzled. The voice clearly belonged to the young security guard, and it made sense for him to have discovered them. There were no apparent flaws in his reasoning.


    Was it really a mistake when he rushed into the opposite room alone earlier? Did he not only trap himself but lead everyone into this predicament?


    Unable to come up with an answer, the knocking became more urgent.


    Yan Junze decided to open the door.


    Standing at the door was the same young security guard.


    The guard shined his flashlight around, and upon seeing so many people in the room, he unsurprisingly jumped in shock. Then he noticed the mummified corpse inside.


    "Holy shit, there¡¯s... a body! This place... it¡¯s haunted, what are you doing here? There¡¯s nothing of value, everyone out, follow me upstairs now!" He was clearly terrified.


    "No, we must take the body with us," Yan Junze flatly refused.


    "Is it... its eyes are open, so scary. Can we close the body¡¯s eyes?" The young guard retracted the beam of his flashlight, shivering as he spoke.


    "The body is mummified, the eyes can¡¯t be closed anymore." This time, Yan Junze answered for Bao Jie.


    "No, you can wrap something around the eyes! Should have thought of this earlier, otherwise what¡¯s the point of letting them stare into space?" Zhou Dali, just like before, slapped his thigh and turned to look for a piece of cloth.


    "But we don¡¯t have any cloth..."


    Jiang Ruixin had barely started speaking when the sound of tearing fabric came; Zhou Dali himself had ripped a piece from the clothes he had given her.


    "This shirt is mine," Zhou Dali said, seeing Jiang Ruixin¡¯s displeased look and hurriedly explaining.


    "Try tearing it again and see what happens!" Jiang Ruixin¡¯s eyes began to bulge, frightening Zhou Dali into hastily retreating, unable to meet her gaze.


    This time, perhaps cowed by Jiang Ruixin¡¯s intimidation, Zhou Dali didn¡¯t ask Yan Junze to act but instead went over to the corpse and wrapped its eyes himself, tying a knot at the back of its head.


    "That should do it."


    The young security guard at the door breathed a sigh of relief and pointed with his flashlight down the hallway towards the corner, "Leave this place with me first, after we get out I¡¯ll immediately notify my colleagues to come here, and then we¡¯ll call the police to handle the body."


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately speak. Instead, he began listening intently, his focus directed towards the opposite room with the open door.


    "What do we do now?" Seeing Yan Junze not answering, Bao Jie and the others didn¡¯t dare make a decision for him and all looked at him.


    The young guard was also watching him, clearly aware that he was the leader among the four.


    "No, we must carry the body out ourselves," Yan Junze said after a moment, shaking his head.


    The guard seemed a bit helpless, shrugged his shoulders, and was about to say something when he suddenly startled, turned around, and called out, "Who¡¯s in there?"


    As his words fell, he shone his flashlight towards the opposite side and immediately charged into the pitch-black room.


    A moment later, sounds of scuffling and collisions came from the room.


    "Nobody is allowed to follow!"


    Yan Junze suddenly spread out his hands, blocking Zhou Dali, who was eager to try, as if he had already anticipated this scene.


    He had been listening intently for any abnormal sounds coming from the room across, but until the security guard had called out, he hadn¡¯t heard anything.


    It was impossible for only the security guard to hear it; at this moment, he was certain the suspiciousness lay not in the room across but rather on this young security guard.


    Just then, the security guard¡¯s voice came from the pitch-black room, "Come quickly, I need help!"


    Zhou Dali was startled, but his arm was abruptly seized by Yan Junze, "Do you trust me or not?"


    Zhou Dali was stunned for a moment, nodded his head, but he was still ready to go into the room to help.


    It seemed like the young security guard in the room couldn¡¯t subdue the other person. With his own brute strength, there was no reason not to go and help. Moreover, since that person was grappling with the security guard, it meant the situation wasn¡¯t due to any strangeness.


    If it was a person, Zhou Dali had nothing to fear.


    "Trust me, we can¡¯t go in," Yan Junze asserted decisively, "Now help me lift this corpse, we must leave at once."


    "But isn¡¯t the security guard in danger?" Zhou Dali and Bao Jie exclaimed in unison.


    "We¡¯ll talk about it once we get upstairs!" Yan Junze raised his voice, "Once we¡¯re up, we¡¯ll notify the security at the entrance to come and assist in a team, this place is very dangerous right now."


    Zhou Dali hesitated.


    Bao Jie just held the camera and said no more.


    Jiang Ruixin had been silent the entire time, contemplating.


    At that moment, the room across returned to silence, with no sound coming out.


    Zhou Dali couldn¡¯t help but shout, "Security brother, what¡¯s the situation now?"


    No one answered.


    It was as if there was never anyone in that room.


    "It seems... a bit eerie," Zhou Dali muttered to himself, feeling somewhat afraid.


    Without further hesitation, Zhou Dali took the body¡¯s shoulders, Yan Junze took the feet, and the two led the way out of the room into the corridor, with Bao Jie continuing to film behind, while Jiang Ruixin, at Yan Junze¡¯s request, walked backward, facing away, cautiously illuminating behind them with the flashlight.


    Actually, the body wasn¡¯t very heavy. If Zhou Dali alone shouldered it, they could move faster, but Zhou Dali flat-out refused to carry a dead body.


    Yan Junze had a rather slight build and didn¡¯t know how far he could carry the corpse on his own, but time was of the essence, and it was faster for two people to carry it together.


    They soon reached the corner of the corridor, and turning the corner would bring them to the main door at the end of the hallway. Once through the main door and up the stairs, they would have left the basement level.


    However, just after they passed the corner of the corridor, Yan Junze suddenly halted, stopping in his tracks.


    "What¡¯s going on?" Zhou Dali asked from behind, puzzled. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin also looked over with faces full of confusion.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer; he just tilted his head slightly so that the people behind could clearly see the "thing" he was looking at.


    They could see a vague figure lying on the ground near the big door of the corridor, limbs bent at strange angles.


    The light from the flashlight, shining towards the shadow, seemed to be swallowed, unable to reveal any details of its appearance.


    Then, the shadow began to move at an exceedingly slow pace, crawling into a room closer to the main door of the corridor.


    That room number was supposed to be 017.


    After the shadow entered the room, all the doors along both sides of the corridor suddenly slammed open, revealing the pitch-black spaces within.

 Chapter 40 - 39 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 9)

    The corridor¡¯s corner housed two rooms, 010 and 011, which were both open at this moment, revealing pitch darkness; nothing was visible.


    However, right after the room doors opened, there seemed to be a sound of something being dragged across the floor, causing one¡¯s scalp to tingle.


    In room 011, two bare arms appeared from the ground at the doorway, as if someone was crawling on the floor, slowly making their way out.


    Jiang Ruixin let out a scream because, at the doorway of room 010 which was closest to her, there were also two arms crawling out.


    One could even faintly make out a bald head continuously squirming towards the outside.


    The very next second, all flashlight beams went out.


    "Ah!"


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin screamed again in unison.


    The piercing screams made Yan Junze¡¯s ears buzz, and he was temporarily deafened.


    Yan Junze felt that the most common sound he heard that night was women¡¯s screams, which made him doubt his decision to bring these two female classmates with him for Spirit Exploration. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Let¡¯s not even mention the strangenesses; just Jiang Ruixin¡¯s scream alone had made him shudder twice. Frankly, it was much more startling than if a strangeness had suddenly appeared before him.


    Unexpectedly, although the flashlight beams were all extinguished, the light from the camera Bao Jie was holding was still on.


    This light was the only source of illumination present, although very weak, very weak indeed.


    Jiang Ruixin immediately clung tightly to Bao Jie, her voice trembling, "Jiejie, quick, shine it behind me, check if that thing has crawled out the door!"


    Bao Jie quickly swiveled the camera towards room 010, then shook her head, "It¡¯s gone."


    Zhou Dali also shouted, "Quick... shine it over here."


    Bao Jie moved the camera again and shook her head, "Nothing."


    "I mean... shine it on my feet," Zhou Dali¡¯s voice went back into the auto-tune mode.


    The two girls, frightened, hastily backed away, and Bao Jie immediately directed the camera light onto Zhou Dali¡¯s feet.


    They saw a gaunt man with yellowing skin, naked, lying on the ground, his twig-like hands firmly gripping Zhou Dali¡¯s ankles. His eyelids were open, revealing empty black sockets without pupils, and his mouth was also open, toothless, but with lots of white mucus sticking between the upper and lower lips, making no sound at all.


    Thump!


    Zhou Dali fell to the ground stiffly, motionless.


    In the next second, everyone stopped moving, and an abnormal icy sensation spread simultaneously to their feet.


    Bao Jie shakily turned the camera light toward her own and the others¡¯ feet, only to see that each person¡¯s ankles were being held by a skinny, naked man.


    Although these bald men had different features, they all had wrinkled skin, no hair, and were emaciated.


    "Looking for replacements?" The idea popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind again.


    At this moment, the two girls were so terrified that they were unable to make a sound, just trembling like sieves, potentially fainting at any moment.


    With a ¡¯puff,¡¯ the camera light finally went out, and the surroundings plunged into endless darkness.


    The psychological horror brought on by the sudden blackout spread like an army of ants, enveloping and gnawing at the last bit of courage everyone had left. This pressure was insanely overwhelming.


    Without a second thought, Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced with an impulse.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, the flashlight¡¯s glow appeared beside them once again.


    Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Junze were standing together, having returned to Storage Room No. 004, all positioned behind the door.


    Yan Junze looked at the time. Just now, when there were 21 minutes left, he had spent 5 minutes with that young guard. So, this was the second rewind, and after the consumption of Different Dimension Energy, 16 minutes remained.


    This third rewind consumed 4 minutes, which meant that now, after the rewind, there were only 12 minutes of rewind line energy left¡ªthey couldn¡¯t afford to waste it any further.


    Of course, in his Spacetime Atlas, he still had 50 minutes of Different Dimension Energy stored. If possible, it was best not to use this energy at all.


    What Yan Junze feared was that if they set the starting point from here and were still unable to escape the outside strangeness, they would fall into a desperate situation after exhausting all the energy.


    In fact, 12 minutes was completely enough to get out of the basement floor. The most important thing now was to shake off that young guard outside, who might be an anomaly.


    Footsteps sounded from the corridor, coming step by step towards Storage Room No. 004.


    Zhou Dali and the other two were all listening intently to the footsteps; nobody spoke.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity to recall the details of "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    He remembered that the penalty for the mission was to become a substitute, to trade for the freedom of the body inside the wall. Could it be that those identical, withered strangenesses they saw before the rewind were the ones left behind as substitutes?


    But this thought didn¡¯t quite make sense¡ªif there was already a substitute, why didn¡¯t the anomaly inside the wall leave this place, but instead still linger in the basement of Jianye Building?


    Where exactly was the problem?


    There were two hints for this mission: one was that the Evil Spirit was already pitiable, therefore it couldn¡¯t Lockdown; the second hint was that the secret was in its eyes.


    "The secret is in its eyes?" Yan Junze muttered softly, his brain whirring at high speed.


    Initially, all four of them had been lured by a multitude of illusions by that eye peering from the wall crack. If not for Jiang Ruixin¡¯s exceptional talent, using her Glaring Eyes Mastery to rescue everyone, without the Golden Finger, they might have been completely wiped out already.


    "Eyes? Secret?" Yan Junze¡¯s eyebrows furrowed deeply.


    By now, the footsteps outside had stopped at the door.


    Yan Junze made a silent gesture, and then mouthed two words to the other three: "Strangeness!"


    He then had Zhou Dali block the door, while he quickly moved towards the lying corpse.


    Outside the door, the guard had started to enquire, "Is there... anyone inside?"


    This time, though the other three looked puzzled, none of them answered.


    Yan Junze swiftly picked up the corpse and dragged it towards the doorway.


    Ever since the dry corpse had been dug out from the wall, those gray pupils appeared to have lost their ability to induce illusions. However, owing to their previous experience, everyone, including Yan Junze, deliberately avoided those eerie eyes.


    After Yan Junze dragged the corpse to the door, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, frightened, hastily hid to one side, not understanding why he was doing this.


    Zhou Dali, though scared, did not move away since his hands were holding the door.


    "Stop playing dumb, I heard noises, open the door!" the young guard said once again, and after failing to turn the doorknob, he knocked on the door.


    Crouched behind the body, Yan Junze propped the corpse up, aligning its eyes with the doorway, and then said to Zhou Dali, "We¡¯re ready, open the door."

 Chapter 41 - 40 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Part 10)

    Positioning the corpse¡¯s face towards the door, Yan Junze had his substantial conjectures.


    Firstly, the mission hinted that the secret lay within the corpse¡¯s eyes, which proved there was something wrong with those eyes, and at the beginning, all four of them were thrown into an illusion by these eyes.


    The most important point was that he noticed a detail.


    This was that in the previous Rewind, as well as the one before that, it seemed that as soon as the security guard appeared, he intentionally or otherwise reminded everyone that the dried corpse¡¯s eyes were open, which was terrifying, and they should find a way to cover them first.


    Thus, the so-called Zhou Dali, whose muscles and intelligence were inversely proportional, fell for it every time, taking the initiative to find a strip of cloth to cover the corpse¡¯s eyes.


    This proved that perhaps, that guy outside was equally afraid of the dried corpse¡¯s eyes, afraid to look at them directly.


    Before opening the door, Yan Junze gestured to Zhou Dali to dodge to one side as soon as the door opened, so that his mountain-like figure wouldn¡¯t block the entrance tightly and prevent the guard outside from immediately enjoying the deliberately prepared hovering stare.


    Luckily, Zhou Dali understood the gesture, nodded his head, and as soon as the door opened, he jumped aside like an agile fat rabbit.


    Yan Junze firmly steadied the corpse to prevent it from falling, while looking towards the door, only to be immediately taken aback.


    Because at that moment, there was no one at the doorway¡ªthe guard who had been talking just now had vanished without a trace.


    "Pack up the things, and follow behind me," Yan Junze said as he picked up the corpse, only to realize that it was still quite heavy for him, and said to Zhou Dali, "Dali, give me a hand."


    Zhou Dali hesitated for a moment, ran over to help lift the corpse, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin following behind them.


    After stepping out into the corridor, they looked around with their flashlights, but no trace of the security guard could be found.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali carried the corpse in front, with Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin behind, the four hastened to the exit at the end of the corridor at Yan Junze¡¯s urging.


    "How do you know that person outside is a Strange Body?" Zhou Dali asked as they walked, puzzled.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were in charge of watching for any movements behind them, tense and without the chance to ask Yan Junze; however, they perked up their ears when they heard Zhou Dali¡¯s question.


    "Just guessing," Yan Junze glanced at him, "Speed up, we¡¯re only safe once out of the corridor."


    His urging caused an inexplicable tension and panic among the others, who stopped asking questions and quickened their pace toward the hallway¡¯s exit.


    Suddenly, Jiang Ruixin, who was paying attention to the movements in the rear with the flashlight, trembled, seeing a young security guard step out of a room they had already passed, his face pale and his pupils black, not wielding a flashlight, just following behind the group with a stiff and swift motion.


    "Is... is..." Her heart pounding, Jiang Ruixin found she couldn¡¯t get out a whole sentence, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.


    Bao Jie noticed something was amiss and immediately turned around.


    It was at this moment that Jiang Ruixin let out another shriek, startling everyone.


    Yan Junze swore to the heavens that, once this mission was over, he would immediately disband the Spirit Exploration Team, never again recruiting a female member with a loud voice, especially those with bell-like eyes and unusually loud voices.


    Turning his head and seeing the walking style of this security guard, Yan Junze was reminded of the shadow that followed behind Zhou Dali when they first entered the basement, finding at least seventy to eighty percent similarity in the way this guard walked at the moment.


    The four sped up again.


    "Stop..."


    Just then, an empty, angry voice sounded.


    The four, who were jogging, unanimously agreed that stopping at that moment would be idiotic, so none of them paid it any mind.


    Quickly reaching the corridor¡¯s exit, Zhou Dali yanked off the U-shaped lock hanging on the door handle and violently pushed the door, only to find that it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    At that moment, the entire space seemed to have become sealed.


    "This corpse... has no right to leave!" that voice continued to echo from behind. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why?" Yan Junze turned around, propping the corpse in front of him, intentionally or unintentionally facing the corridor.


    The figure of the security guard disappeared again, seemingly blending into the darkness further down the corridor.


    The other three had not expected that, besides the corpse causing strangeness inside the wall, there were other strange presences here.


    One by one they turned around, their faces filled with terror as they faced the depths of the corridor.


    "He¡¯s a coward! A coward has no right to leave," the voice continued.


    It sounded like the young security guard from earlier was speaking.


    "He just died accidentally, and his body has been trapped in the wall for so many years. Our goal in coming here was to let him find peace," Yan Junze said, moving his flashlight beam around, watching warily.


    "No, he didn¡¯t die accidentally," the voice countered. "He committed suicide! He killed himself because of his overwhelming debts, because his wife left him, and his son even took someone else¡¯s surname; because coming out, he couldn¡¯t face his previous life anymore."


    "Who are you?" Yan Junze was puzzled. A security guard¡¯s specter should not be so familiar with a body that had been sealed in a wall for many years.


    The voice fell silent and after about ten seconds, finally spoke: "I am... him."


    Everyone jolted to a stop.


    Yan Junze asked, "What do you mean?"


    "He¡¯s just a coward, undeserving of being human; dead, he should only be buried in concrete forever!" The voice did not answer Yan Junze¡¯s question but instead muttered to itself, "And I... I am the perfection. The fact tells me that, whether it¡¯s being human or a specter, one must be ruthless. Ruthless towards others, and even more towards oneself, otherwise there is no way to ever come out on top!"


    "What in the world is going on?" Zhou Dali was completely baffled.


    He found that he could understand every word spoken by the specter, but when pieced together, they made no sense at all.


    Not just Zhou Dali, but Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin were equally confused.


    However, at this moment, Bao Jie seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes began to light up.


    Yan Junze seemed to have a realization and spoke up, "I think I understand. You indeed are him. After he killed himself, you began to take shape gradually and hated this suicidal guy, so you transformed into what you are now, a completely opposing... self in behavior, personality, and even motive, an extreme Strange Body!"


    After a brief silence, laughter came from deep down the corridor.


    The laughter wasn¡¯t loud, yet it sent an indescribable shiver down one¡¯s spine.


    Yan Junze could clearly feel the goosebumps rising on his arms, but he disregarded them and spoke again, "But I think you¡¯ve achieved it."


    The laughter gradually ceased, and that voice resounded again: "Achieved what?"


    "What you mentioned... being ruthless," Yan Junze said. "Nearly all these rooms have corpses, right? They must be your victims for finding replacements."


    The voice did not deny it but instead expressed surprise, "Actually, I was puzzled as to why you directly found Room 004 earlier, instead of entering other rooms?"


    "Enter the other rooms and we¡¯d be doomed," Yan Junze scoffed, "How many replacements do you need exactly, to break free from your original body and get out of here?"


    "Including you... that would be enough," the voice said darkly.


    "That¡¯s what I thought," Bao Jie¡¯s eyes shone even brighter as she explained in a low voice to Zhou Dali and Jiang Ruixin, "This specter is actually the same person as the corpse in the wall. But he hates his past self so much, so the specter he became after death is brutal, cruel, and heartless.


    He¡¯s been finding replacements here, and for some reason, when he has enough, he¡¯ll be able to break free from the body in the wall and leave this place."


    "O my goodness, we can¡¯t let him get out," Zhou Dali exclaimed in shock. "This guy is too evil; if he gets out, who knows how many people he might harm!"


    "Let¡¯s first figure out how we¡¯re going to get out of here!" Jiang Ruixin reminded.

 Chapter 42 - 41 Peeking From the Crack in the Wall (Finale)

    At this moment, Yan Junze could see that although the man¡¯s strangeness had become extremely evil, he was still a dual entity, like a person suffering from split personality disorder, possessing two distinct personalities.


    The consciousness of the mummified corpse still bore the semblance of its past ill-fated and resigned self, but this strangeness, detached from the body, was unspeakably evil and scheming to escape the building by any means necessary.


    "Let¡¯s do this," Yan Junze spoke to the pitch-black corridor, "If you let us go, we won¡¯t take the corpse with us, nor will we harm it in the slightest, otherwise..."


    As he said this, he turned his head to look at Zhou Dali. "The hammer in my brother¡¯s hand is enough to turn your actual body into a pile of minced meat within ten seconds."


    "You dare threaten me." The voice suppressed anger.


    "I have no choice, I need to protect myself." Yan Junze shrugged.


    In fact, he was very clear about why that guy had chosen not to appear at this time, because the corpse in his hands was facing the deep end of the corridor, and the guy was still afraid of the eyes of the corpse.


    The entire basement floor fell into silence.


    After a long while, the voice said, "Fine, as long as you leave the corpse, you may go. However..."


    "However what?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I don¡¯t want to see the corpse¡¯s ugly, pitiful, and lonely demeaning appearance again. Cover his face, leave the corpse, and get lost!"


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and nodded, "No problem."


    "That won¡¯t do," Zhou Dali panicked, "If we leave the corpse behind, he might kill us before we even reach upstairs!"


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door of the corridor behind them burst open, and the voice said, "I keep my word. Cover the face of the corpse, leave it behind, and you can leave now."


    Yan Junze stopped Zhou Dali from continuing to speak, took off his own jacket, covered the corpse¡¯s face with it, wrapped the sleeves behind the body, and tied them together very carefully into a knot.


    He then gestured for Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali to exit first.


    However, when he looked at Bao Jie, Yan Junze made a gesture for her to set down the camera she was filming with on the ground.


    Bao Jie put down the camera in her hand, making sure the lens was aimed at the direction of the corpse, and then began to step backward.


    The three quickly exited the corridor door and stood at the stairwell entrance.


    After checking the knot he had tied, Yan Junze started to back away too, but just as he was about to exit the corridor, the corridor door slammed shut with a loud bang.


    The three outside at the stairwell were startled and rushed toward the door, with Zhou Dali swinging his hammer to smash at it, but the corridor door was as solid as a rock and completely immovable.


    Yan Junze inside the corridor paused, and Ke¡¯er on his back began to twist and turn, clearly becoming restless and anxious.


    A figure emerged from room 016, and it was the young security guard.


    However, the guard¡¯s expression was dark and dismal, his eye sockets were devoid of pupils, a pitch black void, his face pale as paper, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile.


    "Didn¡¯t you just ask me... how many replacements I still needed?" The guard smiled. "Now I¡¯ll tell you, just one more."


    Yan Junze spread his hands wide, "Perhaps I should have anticipated your deceit earlier."


    "Too late." The guard walked past the corpse that was propped against the wall, sneering as he advanced towards Yan Junze.


    "No, not too late," Yan Junze squeezed out a smile.


    At the same moment, the shroud that seemed to be tightly knotted and covering the corpse¡¯s face suddenly slid backward, revealing the mouth, nose, and... eyes of the corpse.


    The security guard subconsciously turned his head to glance, and then his body trembled and he let out a painful howl, as his entire body rapidly withered away.


    Strands of a visible gas began to emerge from the guard¡¯s hair and clothes under the illumination of the camera light, growing more and more abundant.


    Yan Junze began to back away once again.


    At this time, the corridor¡¯s door suddenly loosened, and Zhou Dali happened to bump into it with his shoulder from the outside, instantly opening the door.


    The three people who were anxiously waiting outside were stunned for a moment, staring wide-eyed as the guard¡¯s tall and thin body rapidly shrunk amid the piteous howls, quickly becoming the size of a child and still swiftly getting smaller.


    Before long, the arrogant figure completely transformed into white gas, which was absorbed by the dry corpse¡¯s eyes.


    The coldness in the entire corridor began to recede rapidly, and the temperature started to rise.


    Click, click, after the lights in the corridor flickered a few times, some of them suddenly switched on, bringing a rare brightness to the gloomy, pitch-black basement floor.


    "So that guy... is he dead?" Zhou Dali looked around.


    "He was already dead," Yan Junze said.


    "I should say¡­" Bao Jie explained, "that extremely mutated Strange Body was absorbed by its original body."


    "Why was it absorbed?" Zhou Dali asked, puzzled.


    "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul," Jiang Ruixin analyzed on her own, "I think, even though this man¡¯s strangeness went to the extreme after his death, his original body wasn¡¯t bad. Especially his eyes, which showed the kindness in his heart, so the mutated strangeness was afraid to see its own eyes."


    "Then why do we also experience hallucinations when we see those eyes?" Zhou Dali was even more confused, "Are we all bad guys too?"


    "You are, we aren¡¯t," the two girls corrected him.


    "It could also be partly because his grievances could not be vented," Yan Junze chimed in.


    At that moment, the dry corpse leaning against the wall began to disintegrate bit by bit after absorbing its Strange Body, turning into powder, including the tattered clothes that also turned to dust within seconds.


    In front of everyone¡¯s eyes, the corpse disappeared cleanly.


    "It seems this is his true rest," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    A task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas surfaced in his mind.


    [Peeking From the Crack in the Wall, Anxiety-Inducing (High), complete, received 300 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    At the same moment, after the new Different Dimension Energy filled up, the Spacetime Atlas lit up another 4 nodes, totaling 14 lit nodes so far.


    The lengths of time between these nodes are not completely equal, but they generally follow a multiple pattern. For example, the smallest segment of the timeline uses 50 points of Different Dimension Energy (5 minutes), and the slightly longer timelines are around multiples of 50 points, such as 102 points or 149 points.


    With 14 nodes lit, it means that the 12th node seen a few days ago was also lit, and on this node, a segment of text was now clearly displayed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The text was: "Evil Spirit Solid Lock has been successfully activated."


    Yan Junze focused on the four characters "Evil Spirit Solid Lock," and soon another line of text appeared.


    [Activating the Evil Spirit Solid Lock, certain Evil Spirits can be locked as slaves or chosen to be converted at an opportune moment, preventing them from harming others. The lockdown mode has three levels of locking strength: large, medium, and small. Please choose the appropriate strength according to the level of the Evil Spirit.]


    sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 43 - 42 Lockdown

    ```


    The Evil Spirit Solid Lock is finally unlocked!


    Yan Junze heaved a sigh of relief internally. Right from the beginning, during the first task, "Hair Washing," he had seen prompts indicating whether "the evil spirit can be locked down" or "the evil spirit cannot be locked down."


    At first, he didn¡¯t understand, but later he guessed from the literal meaning that it probably referred to locking down evil spirits in some way.


    Now that the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" feature was activated, this skill, which seemed quite practical, could finally be put to use in the future.


    At this moment, after the corpse had crumbled away bit by bit, the weird magnetic field in this space had completely dissipated, and the ordinary strangenesses that were trapped here due to the search for substitutes scattered one after another.


    Some strangenesses dissipated into puffs of smoke, some escaped through the cracks of the windows, and a few, like crawling reptiles, were slowly making their way out of the corridor¡¯s doorway.


    As they crawled, their bodies became increasingly transparent, ready to vanish at any moment.


    "Gotcha!"


    Yan Junze walked up to one of the "Crawler Monsters," blocking its path: "I recognize you. You¡¯re the one who grabbed my ankle earlier, right?"


    The Crawler Monster was all skin and bones, slick and clean, without a single hair, its skin sagging. As it crawled, it squeezed out a lot of wrinkles, which at first glance seemed quite disgusting.


    Anyway, when Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, the two girls, saw the Crawler Monster, they both felt like vomiting.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, the Crawler Monster, with a bald head and a bewildered face, looked up. In its memory, it didn¡¯t seem to have provoked this young man before, they had never met, had they?


    Yan Junze waved his hand dismissively, "Explaining to you is useless. It¡¯s just your bad luck."


    He summoned the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s "Evil Spirit Solid Lock," and before Yan Junze could operate it himself, the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" mode had automatically activated.


    A line of small text appeared below: A common Wandering Spirit detected, would you like to lock it down? This lockdown will consume 50 small energy points.


    The "small" indicated the strength of the lockdown ¨C for locking down a common Wandering Spirit, the smallest level of strength was enough.


    After initiating the lockdown, the bewildered bald Crawler Monster instantly turned into a puff of white vapor and appeared inside the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas, displaying a pattern that matched the true form of the Crawler Monster. However, the pattern was so small that it was almost indistinguishable unless looked at closely.


    Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali stared dumbfounded at Yan Junze as he completed all these actions.


    After dealing with the Crawler Monster that dared to grab his ankle before the last Rewind, Yan Junze slung his backpack over his shoulders again and casually said to the others, "I said I might have the potential of an Exorcist. That makes sense, right?"


    "Yeah, it makes sense," the three of them said in unison.


    "That¡¯s what Security Officer Bai said last time," Yan Junze added with a smile.


    Zhou Dali swallowed and gave a thumbs-up: "I¡¯ve always said Junze is the best! Look at you, you didn¡¯t even need to use the Hidden Buckle!"


    Yan Junze scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.


    By this time, the other strangenesses looking for substitutes had all fled the building. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The four of them left quietly along the way they came and when they exited the courtyard of the Jianye Building, the security booth was deserted, although the television was still on.


    The TV screen showed a commercial, with an advertisement countdown timer on the upper right corner.


    It looked like there was an ad break during a TV drama, and the guard probably took the opportunity to go for a break and would be back soon.


    Yan Junze and the others quickly left through the small iron door beside the sliding gates.


    Although it wasn¡¯t very late, it was rare to see anyone on the streets.


    Taxis were scarce as well.


    The four of them didn¡¯t hail a cab outside the Jianye Building but walked a few steps in the direction of Yan Junze¡¯s FH Community before they managed to flag down a taxi.


    ```


    Yan Junze was not quite at ease and followed them into a taxi. After dropping each of them off at their homes, he then returned to the FH Community with the taxi.


    After all this, by the time he got home, it was already past eleven o¡¯clock.


    After washing up, his mother Li Man was still sound asleep. Yan Junze checked the doors and windows before quietly returning to his own bedroom, charged his phone, and soon fell asleep.


    At exactly half-past four in the morning, the alarm on his phone rang out. Yan Junze, bleary-eyed, sat up, glanced at the time, suppressed his fatigue from not having enough sleep, got out of bed, dressed, and opened the bedroom door.


    At this moment, the bathroom light was on. Li Man, who was preparing for the early shift, had already gotten up and was washing up.


    Hearing the noise, Li Man poked her head out in surprise and looked down the hallway. With her mouth full of toothpaste foam, she mumbled unclearly, "Son, why are you up so early? Go back to sleep, it¡¯s only half-past four, it¡¯s still early."


    "It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m getting up to see you off. I¡¯ll go back to sleep after you get on the car. It¡¯s been quite restless in the community these past few days," Yan Junze said while rubbing his eyes.


    Li Man was stunned for a moment, her eyes quickly filling with affection and emotion. After rinsing her mouth and wiping it with a towel, she said, "The company¡¯s car picks me up right at the community gate. It¡¯s very safe."


    "Mom, don¡¯t say anything more. I have to walk you out of the community to be at ease," Yan Junze said in an indisputable tone.


    Li Man, feeling helpless, ruffled her son¡¯s hair and quickly finished getting ready, not wanting to delay him from sleeping.


    Putting on their coats, they left the apartment one after the other.


    However, just as they stepped out the door, Yan Junze, who was walking in front, suddenly paused, feeling Ke¡¯er, which had been clinging to his back, silently slide down and turn to look.


    Ke¡¯er had already crossed through the living room door that had just been shut, and returned inside the house, clearly not willing to venture out with him.


    A sense of unease instantly surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    Although Ke¡¯er¡¯s favorability towards him was already "friendly," that didn¡¯t mean it was willing to risk itself for him at any given moment.


    Now he understood that usually, Ke¡¯er would follow him, but if it had a strong premonition of danger, the little creature would run faster than a rabbit.


    It had been the case before encountering the Exorcist, and also before encountering the Back-faced Woman.


    And this time, within Building 7, only the Back-faced Woman could presumably make Ke¡¯er avoid being out.


    "Could it be Granny Ren is back?" Yan Junze began to entertain whimsical ideas.


    According to the unreliable Exorcist, Huang Chen, if Granny Ren had suspicions for killing her own second son and his wife, then she was no longer an ordinary Wandering Spirit and might have evolved into a medium, or perhaps a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    For Ke¡¯er, a regular Wandering Spirit, encountering such a being would certainly mean avoidance.


    "What are you doing?" Sensing that something was off with her son, Li Man asked from behind.


    "Mom, be careful when we go out, stick with me," Yan Junze whispered.


    Li Man was surprised but said nothing, just nodded her head.


    The mother and son made their way to the staircase and began descending.


    At each floor, Yan Junze would gently stomp his foot, causing the voice-activated lights to come on, swiftly scanning the surroundings before hurrying on with his mother.


    The pre-dawn darkness was silent, save for the sound of footsteps, and the air carried a coolness.


    In the eerily quiet stairwell, the two of them unconsciously lightened their steps, making their way down to the third floor.


    As they turned to go down to the second floor, Yan Junze stomped his foot, and the voice-activated light at the corner of the second floor lit up, dispelling the darkness.


    However, at the same time, Yan Junze, who was leading, abruptly stopped in his tracks without proceeding further. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to stop his mother behind him.


    Under the corner¡¯s voice-activated light, the Back-faced Woman in a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, hair disheveled, stood facing the wall, motionless.

 Chapter 44 - 43 Back-faced Woman

    At the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman.


    Li Man was so scared that her body shuddered, and she hurriedly grabbed the back of Yan Junze¡¯s shirt, whispering in a lowered voice, "Son!"


    "Mom, don¡¯t talk," Yan Junze made a silence gesture.


    He glanced at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner leading to the second floor.


    Although the woman was at the corner of the stairs, she stood in the middle, which was a much narrower space than the two corners.


    This meant that if they were to pass behind her, there would come a moment when they would be very, very close to her.


    In the exceptionally quiet surroundings, it was impossible for either of them to avoid making any sound when walking, so there would definitely be some noise as they approached.


    Yan Junze pulled Li Man and they took a few steps back, whispering lowly, "Mom, you must follow me closely."


    Li Man paused, then shook her head, "Or... let¡¯s not go."


    Yan Junze said, "Not go? Hmm, that¡¯s fine too. But will that affect your work?"


    Li Man hesitated, "I¡¯m taking over Sister Tian¡¯s shift. Didn¡¯t I take temporary leave last time to take care of you at home? It was Sister Tian who covered me then. Sister Tian couldn¡¯t make it this time, so I agreed to help her; otherwise, the absence would be recorded under her name."


    "Then let¡¯s go, it will be alright," Yan Junze thought to set the Rewind in a moment, simply pretending to be passersby, which was likely not to provoke the Back-faced Woman.


    And even if she was provoked, he still had the Rewind to use.


    Though Li Man was indeed worried, she said no more and followed closely behind Yan Junze.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had stealthily set the time Rewind, just in case.


    He stomped lightly to make just enough noise to activate the voice-controlled light, signaled his mother to follow, and then they slowly descended the stairs, hugging the side of the stair railing one in front of the other.


    During the descent, they were mostly walking on tiptoes, hardly making any significant noise.


    Arriving at the corner of the second floor, Yan Junze took out his phone and turned on the screen.


    As they moved past the midpoint of the corner, they were extremely close to the motionless Back-faced Woman, and could distinctly feel a chilling breath spreading from that direction.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop. He quickly turned the corner and proceeded down from the second floor, with Li Man following closely behind, keeping her head down and not daring to glance at the hair-raising woman in white.


    Just when they were about to reach the second floor, the voice-controlled light suddenly went out.


    Normally, the duration the voice-controlled light stayed on was sufficient enough for one to walk a floor¡¯s worth of stairs, but this time, since they were both tiptoeing and deliberately slowing their movements, it took them longer to descend.


    Not yet at the second floor, the surroundings suddenly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze was ready; the phone in his hand instantly turned on the flashlight function, illuminating their feet, and he continued downstairs, holding his mother¡¯s trembling hand.


    At that moment, a rustling noise came from behind.


    Upon hearing this sound, Yan Junze¡¯s scalp went numb, and he quickened his pace, pulling his mother to the front.


    After reaching the second floor, he dared not make a sound to turn on the voice-controlled light. While pushing his mother towards the first floor, he hastily glanced behind at the stairway.


    He saw the Back-faced Woman was no longer standing motionless; her neck was twisting, and she was turning her head back.


    She wanted to "Look at Her Face."


    "Fuck!"


    Yan Junze felt hair-raising chills running down his spine, so he hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look anymore.


    The task associated with the Back-faced Woman was titled "Look at Her Face," and right now, he had no desire to accept the task. If he accidentally saw her face, it would mean he had initiated the task.


    One could say that from then on, life or death would be unpredictable.


    Moreover, his mother was present. Encountering a hair-raising task of this level and having to ensure his mother¡¯s safety would likely mean certain death! S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, unless there was no Rewind.


    Regardless of the noises behind them, the mother and son quickly descended to the first floor and rushed out of the staircase.


    Outside the building, the weak streetlights, though not very bright, provided a warm and comforting feeling.


    Yan Junze turned off the flashlight on his phone, still firmly grasping his mother¡¯s hand, and the two quickly reached the entrance of the housing complex.


    The cleaning company¡¯s car had not yet arrived. Li Man, concerned, looked at Yan Junze and said, "Son, I made a bad decision just now. What will you do when you go back?"


    "It¡¯s simple," Yan Junze pursed his lips and smiled. "Maybe by the time I go upstairs, the Back-faced Woman will have disappeared¡ªshe doesn¡¯t always appear. And if she is there, I¡¯ll just sit with Grandpa Zheng in the duty room until it¡¯s almost dawn. It would be even better to sleep in once it gets light."


    At that moment, a white van drove up and stopped in front of them.


    The door slid open, and Li Man greeted the older person inside, "Uncle Da, good morning."


    He was somewhat overweight but appeared shrewd and experienced, and glanced at Yan Junze with a smile, "Is this your son?"


    "Yes," Li Man nodded.


    "Very thoughtful of him, coming to drop you off? He knows it¡¯s not safe for you to be out alone this late," Uncle Da chuckled, his attention fixed on appraising Yan Junze, but he didn¡¯t notice that Li Man¡¯s face was clouding over with varied emotions.


    "It¡¯s okay, Mom, just get on the bus," Yan Junze urged. "I¡¯m not going upstairs. I¡¯ll just sit in the duty room until dawn. I can catch a nap there too."


    Li Man nodded, "Yeah, look at me, I didn¡¯t think of that at all. You wait in the duty room then. With Grandpa Zheng here, I¡¯ll be more at ease."


    "Alright," Yan Junze smiled as he watched her.


    After watching Li Man get on the car and gradually drive away, he waved his hand and turned to enter the complex.


    Passing by the entrance security room, he saw the light on inside, but the security guard, Grandpa Zheng, was lying on a large recliner, sleeping soundly.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to keep Grandpa Zheng company; he quickly returned to the bottom of building number seven, looking up into the pitch-dark space within the staircase.


    Although he felt exhausted, Yan Junze¡¯s desire to sleep had vanished by then.


    Since he hadn¡¯t used the Rewind line he set earlier, it had reset. Standing outside the building, he set another ten-minute Rewind, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.


    He stamped his foot onto the ground, and the first-floor¡¯s voice-activated light turned on; he rapidly ascended the stairs.


    Upon reaching the second floor, he stamped again, turning on the second-floor voice-activated light, and glanced toward the staircase corner from the second to third floor, finding that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s silhouette was gone.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart felt slightly steadier, and he proceeded toward the third floor.


    After arriving at the third floor, he turned on the third floor¡¯s voice-activated light. Just as he took a step upward, he abruptly froze.


    Yan Junze raised his head, staring at the Back-faced Woman standing at the corner between the third and fourth floor, and revealed a bitter smile.


    At that moment, he even harbored a reckless thought of just completing the "Look at Her Face" task once and for all, wondering when otherwise this daily torment of ascending and descending the stairs would end.

 Chapter 45 - 44 She Followed!

    ```


    From the time Yan Junze had sent his mother out of the residential complex to his return, the Back-faced Woman had already climbed one more floor. Yet, she still stood at the midpoint of the corner landing, facing the wall and turning her back on the stairway corner.


    "Are you deliberately toying with me?" Yan Junze lowered his head, considering whether he should complete the task of "Look at Her Face."


    After a moment, he lifted his head. Given that he did not have full confidence in the situation at hand, he decided not to tackle the task graded "hair-raising (low)" just yet.


    He had already set up the Rewind; he¡¯d go up first and say it. If anything unexpected happened, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to activate the Rewind.


    Resolute, Yan Junze happened to find the voice-activated lights extinguishing right at that moment. He gently stamped his foot to turn the voice-activated lights back on, then proceeded to climb the stairs again.


    This time, without his mother being there, he ascended rapidly, reaching the corner of the staircase in no time, always mindful of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s movements.


    Thankfully, the woman remained completely still as he passed by her.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace, tiptoeing and springing up to the fourth floor in just a few strides, and hurried towards his home. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, as he reached the corridor, footsteps echoed from behind.


    A bizarre sense of palpitation followed right after.


    He stopped in his tracks, and involuntarily glanced back, only to feel his legs and entire body go numb, his mind filled with a roar.


    In front of Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, the Back-faced Woman, still with her back towards him, was stepping backward up the stairs with smooth movements, as if eyes were grown on her back, following him to the fourth floor.


    "Could she be targeting me?"


    A peculiar thought surfaced, but Yan Junze ignored the woman and rushed to the doorstep of his home, fumbling for his keys.


    Because the action was somewhat dramatic, the noise was quite loud, turning on all the voice-activated lights in the corridor.


    However, Yan Junze had no time to worry about that. As he took out his keys, he hurriedly glanced back to see the Back-faced Woman positioned at one end of the corridor, with her back still facing him.


    She had not followed him upstairs.


    Feeling slightly relieved, Yan Junze accurately inserted the key into the lock without the melodramatic events of dropping the keys on the floor in panic, or failing to find the keyhole, or trying several keys without success.


    But the unexpected still met him inadvertently.


    The moment he opened the door, inevitably, the door lock emitted a crisp "click" sound, which was especially piercing in the silent night.


    Yan Junze flinched and immediately looked towards the Back-faced Woman at the end of the corridor.


    She still stood there as if nothing had happened.


    Just as Yan Junze¡¯s heart was beginning to ease, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s head suddenly twisted around one hundred and eighty degrees and looked his way.


    Whoosh, Yan Junze pushed open his home¡¯s door, stepped inside in one stride, and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    "Didn¡¯t see her, damn, if I¡¯d been half a second slower, I would have definitely seen her face." Yan Junze¡¯s heart pounded like a drum as he stood behind the closed door, gasping for air.


    His mother had obviously been worried about him earlier, which was why she seemed so conflicted and had spoken those words about coming back together.


    To keep her from worrying, Yan Junze immediately made a phone call, whispering, "Mom, I¡¯m home now, I didn¡¯t see the Back-faced Woman, yeah, I¡¯m going to bed right away."


    After reassuring Li Man, he hung up the phone. Yan Junze did not turn on the lights in his house but instead approached the living room window, peering out into the corridor lit by the lights outside.


    He did not see the shadow of the Back-faced Woman walking backward.


    After a while, all the voice-activated lights in the corridor went out, but if the Back-faced Woman were to follow, there should still be footsteps to be heard.


    ```


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to turn on the lights, and as his heart rate gradually calmed down, he kept his breathing slow, laying by the window and listening intently. He strained his eyes in the dark until he was finally certain the Back-faced Woman hadn¡¯t followed him.


    There were still less than ten minutes left until the Rewind time he had set for himself. If the Back-faced Woman really followed him to his doorstep, he would immediately choose to Rewind and do it all over again, making absolutely sure this woman couldn¡¯t fixate on his home door.


    He sighed with relief. Only now did Yan Junze realize he was bursting with the urge to pee, but he still didn¡¯t turn on the lights. He walked into the bathroom and only then did he switch on the bathroom light.


    The next second, he jumped with fright.


    Ke¡¯er, in a red dress, was squatting by the toilet, facing away from the bathroom door, trembling intensely.


    "Look at the state of you!" Yan Junze shook his head in disbelief, "That woman didn¡¯t follow."


    "Hurry up and go out, I need to pee... "


    As Yan Junze had just made it to the toilet and hadn¡¯t finished speaking yet, Ke¡¯er stood up. But instead of leaving, she skillfully somersaulted onto his back, clinging firmly and motionless.


    This kind of attachment was enough to bring viewers to tears and listeners to emotion.


    In any case, at that moment, Yan Junze felt like he wanted to cry but had no tears.


    ...


    The next day was Sunday.


    He slept soundly, deep and undisturbed, until two o¡¯clock in the afternoon when he woke up.


    After waking up, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to go out. Instead, he searched the news and found no reports about anything going on around Jianye Building. He copied all the videos he took the previous night onto his phone and sent them to Bao Jie for an initial edit.


    When it came to video editing and production, Bao Jie was clearly very dedicated. She spent the whole day holed up at home, not stepping out. She sorted through last night¡¯s footage taken with the portable camera and Yan Junze¡¯s phone, according to the timeline, edited it, and prepared to take it to school the next day.


    Li Man, his mother, came home in the afternoon, bringing with her some roasted chicken wings for her son.


    On the couch, Yan Junze was watching TV and devouring the chicken wings when he received a rather strange phone call.


    The phone displayed an overseas number, and a strange man¡¯s voice came through.


    "Hello, who are you looking for?"


    Having no relatives or friends overseas, Yan Junze was sure the caller had dialed the wrong number.


    "I¡¯m looking for... you," said the voice on the other end of the line, though seemingly uncertain.


    "Looking for me?" Yan Junze puzzled, "Who are you?"


    "There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you," the man¡¯s voice was urgent but he did not answer him.


    "Sorry, I don¡¯t know you," said Yan Junze and hung up.


    Li Man, who was busy in the kitchen with a spatula in hand, poked her head out and asked, "Who was that on the phone?"


    Yan Junze replied, "Probably about an 8800 overseas card transaction, asking if it was my own charge."


    "Fraudster, pure and simple!" Li Man affirmed with conviction, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Your journey continues at empire


    "Who¡¯s a fraudster?" Yan Daguo had just walked in, not even changing his shoes, he looked up and asked.


    "Just got a call, saying I have an 8800 overseas..."


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Yan Daguo interrupted him, his tone matching Li Man¡¯s exactly, "Fraudster, no doubt about it!"

 Chapter 46 - 45: The Finishing Touch

    At the dinner table, upon hearing Li Man¡¯s account, Yan Daguo felt that his son had matured a lot.


    Moreover, it seemed that when it came to strangeness, Yan Junze, whether in terms of courage, actions, or thought, truly had the makings of an exorcist.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were not at all wealthy and had no spare money, Yan Daguo might have to consider how to send Yan Junze for professional exorcist training.


    The premise was that he didn¡¯t know how many exorcists died each year while dealing with strange incidents.


    Of course, this was a secret within the exorcist organizations, unknown to outsiders.


    After dinner and watching TV for a while, Yan Junze claimed to be going back to his room to review and, upon entering, closed and locked the door. Then he summoned the Lockdown Evil Spirit¡ªthe unfortunate Crawler Monster.


    This entirely wrinkled, hairless creature lay confused on the ground, glanced up at Yan Junze, and then looked around at the room¡¯s environment.


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    As a lockdown evil spirit, its master Yan Junze had absolute control over it, and with just a thought, he could seal it in the 12th node if it disobeyed.


    However, once this guy was let out, his innate desires would still drive him to flee from this dangerous place and pursue the freedom he longed for.


    Yan Junze also had the idea of comparing him with Ke¡¯er when letting this creature out.


    Because even among wandering spirits, there were distinctions of high, medium, and low.


    Not long after the Crawler Monster was let out, he knew where it stood in comparison to Ke¡¯er.


    The Crawler Monster began to crawl around the room; all this time Ke¡¯er paid no attention, remaining on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    It wasn¡¯t until the Crawler Monster suddenly went under Yan Junze¡¯s bed and tried to climb up that Ke¡¯er stirred and raised her head.


    Please note that since her head was tilted, it¡¯s basically as if, when she raised her head, Ke¡¯er¡¯s head would be pressed tightly against Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    To an onlooker, this scene of intimate closeness could send a chill down to their very bones.


    The Crawler Monster froze abruptly, like a little mutt encountering a wolfhound, hanging its head low, crawling on the ground and remaining motionless.


    "Ke¡¯er, it looks like you¡¯re the more formidable one," Yan Junze said.


    "Eh."


    "Maybe I should just lock you down too, save me the trouble of you always clinging to my back."


    "Eh."


    "Forget I said anything."


    ...


    The next day in class.


    After the morning classes ended, using the lunch break, Yan Junze, Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin gathered together.


    Bao Jie opened up the video on her laptop that had been preliminarily edited the day before.


    Following Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion, the video was titled "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," and its duration had been shortened to about fifteen minutes.


    It retained the terrifying atmosphere encountered upon entering the Jianye Building, the scenes where everyone took turns staring down the eyes in the wall crack, and the clever finale where they failed to escape with the body but managed to kill the strange body of the corpse.


    The completeness was even higher than "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night."


    This time, because they were well-prepared, the video included footage shot by Bao Jie with a portable camera and by Yan Junze with his phone mounted on his chest, the combination of which created a perfectly crafted atmosphere of terror.


    After some suggestions from everyone, Bao Jie adjusted several details.


    After watching it twice, Yan Junze frowned and said, "I still feel like something¡¯s missing." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Is it still not clear enough?" Bao Jie asked.


    "Could it be that the picture is too dark, giving a very oppressive feeling?" Zhou Dali said.


    "It¡¯s not that." Yan Junze shook his head.


    "Maybe it¡¯s because of me. You should just mosaic my glaring eyes," Jiang Ruixin suggested, "I feel that the ghost in this video isn¡¯t scary, but I¡¯ve become the scariest one."


    "You can¡¯t mosaic your face." Yan Junze shook his head again.


    "Why not?" the three asked in unison.


    "Netizens these days are very malicious. It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t add a mosaic. Once you do, the style and feeling of the video immediately changes, and then who knows what they will say. Even if Jiang Ruixin doesn¡¯t drown in spit, she would probably die of shame," Yan Junze stated confidently.


    Bao Jie and Zhou Dali suddenly understood.


    Only Jiang Ruixin looked blankly bemused, "Why would I die of shame?"


    Bao Jie leaned in and whispered a few words to her, causing Jiang Ruixin¡¯s face to change immediately.


    Pating her ample chest with palpitations, she said, "Then definitely don¡¯t add a mosaic!"


    Zhou Dali chuckled, then looked up at Yan Junze, "So what¡¯s still missing?"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak for a moment, pondering for a while before saying, "I feel... what¡¯s missing is an introductory quote for the whole video. Something that exudes philosophy, a masterstroke that encapsulates the entire video."


    "I¡¯m not smart, what kind of masterstroke could there be?" Zhou Dali scratched his head.


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin seemed to realize something and began to think, resting their chins on their hands.


    Soon after, Yan Junze spoke, "How about this? Before the video starts, before the title comes out, we introduce the following phrase: ¡¯All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different aspects of ourselves. Therefore, there¡¯s a murder that¡¯s never been punished, and that¡¯s the killing of a part of oneself.¡¯"


    "Hmm, good, this is a good line!" Bao Jie¡¯s eyes lit up and she immediately agreed.


    "What does that mean?" Zhou Dali scratched his head. At this moment, his life¡¯s shortcomings were laid bare.


    However, no one paid him any attention.


    "Then, after the security guard declares himself the Strange Body from within the wall, and after my analysis comes out, we throw in the second line of text," Yan Junze said, tapping his forehead with his index finger as though searching for the right words.


    "What does the second line say?" Bao Jie asked.


    Yan Junze thought for five long minutes before finally lifting his head and saying, "There¡¯s a type of Revenge that leaves no trace, that part of oneself that was killed... has come back."


    "Good!"


    "Well said!"


    Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin applauded in unison.


    "With words like that, this video titled ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡¯ is definitely worth watching!" Bao Jie nodded excitedly, "If I ever become a director, I will definitely hire you as a scriptwriter."


    Zhou Dali said, "Although I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Junze, I always feel like it¡¯s very impressive."


    "Alright, adding this will definitely score points," Jiang Ruixin said with conviction. "Even Dali, who¡¯s slow to react, feels it¡¯s impressive, so other netizens watching it will definitely have a much stronger reaction."


    "I didn¡¯t offend you, did I, Ruixin?" Zhou Dali said grievously.


    Jiang Ruixin shrugged, "I don¡¯t know, but I always feel like you did something annoying to me in the past."


    "Hold on a second, the video will soon be edited," Bao Jie acted swiftly.


    Before long, the complete "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" video was finished. After everyone checked it, they logged into Yan Junze¡¯s account "Night Traveling Puppy" on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform and clicked to upload the video.

 Chapter 47 - 46 The Pain That Can’t Be Erased

    As an editor for the "Open Your Eyes" video platform, Tang Zhengyi was in charge of the specific video promotion work.


    He had experienced more than ten encounters with strangeness, twice deeply coming into contact with the bizarre and emerging unscathed. He had also witnessed exorcists eliminate strangeness on four occasions.


    He could be described as experienced and well-versed.


    Usually, after finishing his tasks for the day, Tang Zhengyi would set aside a fixed time each day to scan videos on the platform.


    If he found something good or comments below the video seemed quite real, he would take note of the video and then choose an opportune time to do a small-scale trial promotion.


    Video recommendations, unlike others, must first and foremost have a strong sense of authenticity, and only then would he consider the atmosphere, storyline completeness, information delivery, filming techniques, and post-production issues.


    During Tang Zhengyi¡¯s video scanning process, a video named "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" caught his eye.


    This was because the video¡¯s thumbnail displayed the first frame of the video.


    It was a sentence in white font against a black background, and Tang Zhengyi¡¯s attention was drawn mainly to the text in the image.


    The quote was:


    "All along, our greatest enemy has been ourselves, different layers of our own self. Hence, there¡¯s one kind of murder that has never been convicted, and that is killing a part of oneself."


    There was also a name in the bottom right corner of this passage: Night Traveling Puppy


    "Looks like it has some appeal, but could it be staged?" Tang Zhengyi mumbled to himself, clicking on "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall".


    ...


    A few tranquil days passed.


    Inside Building 7 of FH Community, the frequency of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s appearances seemed to be dwindling.


    Anyway, after his last sighting of her, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t seen her at all these past few days.


    According to feedback from other neighbors in the same building, indeed, sightings of the Back-faced Woman had diminished compared to before. Discover stories at empire


    All of them harbored a wish they couldn¡¯t openly express, that now having frequented Building 7, they hoped the woman in white would quickly move on to explore Building 9, and let their next-door neighbors experience what ¡¯hair-raising¡¯ truly felt like.


    That day, Li Man was idle at home; dinner was prepared early, and after eating with the family, they could still see the sunset.


    Yan Junze discovered he had run out of pen refills, so after giving his father Yan Daguo a heads-up, he left the community and headed to the nearby supermarket to buy a box.


    Since the inexplicable emerged, neighborhood shops typically operated only until around 8 PM, with only the braver store owners daring to close after 9 PM.


    And as for those 24-hour convenience stores, they had almost vanished.


    Because according to unofficial reports, almost every store that dared to stay open all night, if not 100%, at least 80% of them had encountered strangenesses.


    Situations like this could be big or small, so within a short period of time, the 24-hour stores had ceased operations, closing their doors on time around 8 PM with due propriety.


    After purchasing a box of pen refills from the supermarket, Yan Junze turned to leave, planning to head back to the community.


    At that moment, a young man stood outside the supermarket, dressed in off-white casual clothes, staring intently at him.


    Yan Junze glanced at the man and realized he didn¡¯t recognize him. As he was about to pass by, the young man suddenly said, "Excuse me, are you Yan Junze?"


    Yan Junze stopped, looking surprised. "You are...?"


    The young man¡¯s face was pale, his expression somewhat bleak as if he had encountered some very bad luck. At this moment, he managed to squeeze out a smile and said, "I called you a couple of days ago, my name is Lv Xin, the son of Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun."


    Yan Junze was initially startled, then he remembered something. "You mean... that overseas call?"


    "Yes," Lv Xin nodded. "I was studying in Great Capital, USA, and last week, I suddenly received the shocking news of my parents¡¯ death. So I immediately asked for leave from the academy and rushed back here. May I... talk to you?"


    Yan Junze pointed at himself and then at Lv Xin, "Do we... have anything to discuss?"


    "Some doubts I want to ask you about, please!" Lv Xin¡¯s tone was very humble and sincere.


    Yan Junze found it difficult to refuse.


    Lv Xin looked around and pointed to a milk tea shop named "Migu" next to FH Community, "Let¡¯s sit in there."


    "Alright."


    It was mealtime, so not many customers came in for milk tea, and three small tables were empty.


    The two entered the shop, sat down, and ordered two cups of milk tea.


    Before the milk tea was served, Lv Xin couldn¡¯t wait to ask, "I heard that you recorded a video that night, may I see it?"


    Yan Junze said, "It¡¯s no secret, I¡¯ve already uploaded the video to the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video platform. You can watch it there."


    Lv Xin was startled for a moment, "Is that the platform that specializes in sharing bizarre videos?"


    "Yes, search for Night Traveling Puppy, and you¡¯ll be able to see it," Yan Junze nodded.


    Without another word, Lv Xin immediately downloaded the "Open Your Eyes" app on his phone, and quickly found the video. He gave Yan Junze an apologetic smile and then started to watch it intently.


    As the milk tea arrived, Yan Junze just drank his milk tea without speaking, waiting for Lv Xin to finish watching the video.


    After watching, Lv Xin let out a soft sigh, looked up, and asked, "Is this video complete? Are there any extra clips that were not included in the video?"


    Originally, Yan Junze had planned to explain to Lv Xin, because, after all, Granny Ren appeared in the video as a supernatural being, albeit with her face deliberately blurred. However, this could potentially violate the privacy of her family.


    But now it seemed that Lv Xin¡¯s attitude toward his own grandmother was not much different from that of his father, Lv Jun, and mother, Wei Tingchun. So he really didn¡¯t care.


    At this point, Yan Junze¡¯s favorable impression of Lv Xin began to decrease, and he shook his head, "The video is the entire recording. I cut out the irrelevant scenes like looking for the comb, and there¡¯s no other important information."


    Lv Xin took a sip of milk tea through the straw and seemed to notice Yan Junze¡¯s indifferent expression. He spoke softly, "My relationship with my grandmother was very weak. When I was little, my parents seldom, very seldom, took me to visit her. We almost have... no affection."


    "Your family¡¯s matters, there¡¯s no need to tell me," Yan Junze said. "Is there anything else?" S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Did my grandmother say anything else to you?" Lv Xin asked.


    Yan Junze shrugged, "Just those two sentences in the video, nothing more."


    "When you faced my grandmother, did you feel anything from her?"


    "Yes."


    "What kind of feeling? Anger? Resentment?" Lv Xin frowned.


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "It was heaviness, agony. You heard it just now, she said she was in pain. I believe this pain refers to the suffering she experienced in life."


    At this point, Yan Junze suddenly realized something.


    When he was combing Granny Ren¡¯s hair, at the moment he chanted "pass on to utmost bliss, erase the pain of this life," Granny Ren¡¯s response to him was ¡ª "pain."


    That meant, at that time, Granny Ren couldn¡¯t erase the pain of her life. If it weren¡¯t for Ke¡¯er, who moved on his back later and posed a threat to Granny Ren, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to complete the combing hair task.


    Thinking about it, at that time, as a Wandering Spirit, Granny Ren¡¯s rank might not have been high. Otherwise, Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t have been able to intimidate her.


    But now, according to Huang Chen, Granny Ren had evolved into a being that could create a D-level Supernatural event. Compared to Ke¡¯er, her rank was definitely higher, and not lower.

 Chapter 48 - 47: Popular Video

    Lv Xin placed both hands on the table in front of him, holding a milk tea cup, his expression revealing unease.


    "To tell the truth, I still find it hard to believe what the exorcists say, that my parents were killed by my grandmother¡¯s strangeness."


    Yan Junze did not answer.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    The day-to-day life of a family escalating to the current, almost irreversible situation wasn¡¯t something that could be clarified in just a few sentences.


    "Now my uncle¡¯s family and my aunt¡¯s family, they¡¯re all being protected by the exorcists," Lv Xin said, his hands holding the teacup trembling slightly.


    "Oh?" Yan Junze sat up straight, "If that¡¯s the case, you¡¯d better stay with them as well, otherwise, you might encounter danger."


    "There¡¯s only me left in our family, what else is there to fear?" Lv Xin raised his head, revealing a bleak smile filled with self-mockery, "Perhaps we¡¯ve wronged grandma too much. Since she¡¯s now claiming lives, then let it be my life; I won¡¯t resist at all."


    "It¡¯s getting dark, you should head back quickly," Yan Junze stood up.


    Lv Xin also stood up: "I¡¯m planning to go take a look at room 503 in building number seven, I¡¯ve brought the keys."


    "What?" Yan Junze looked at him in surprise, "You¡¯re going to your grandmother¡¯s house now? You must be joking! That place has been sealed off by the police." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I want to see my grandmother¡¯s belongings, start to understand her from now, to get to know her all over again," Lv Xin said with determination, as if he had made up his mind before coming.


    Yet, to Yan Junze, his words carried an indescribable feeling, something he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    "In any case, let me advise you, Granny Ren might not be in room 503 anymore, but if you encounter her now, it¡¯ll be quite dangerous!" Yan Junze left the milk tea shop after dropping that warning.


    Lv Xin followed him out.


    As he had expected, the guy didn¡¯t seem to have any intention to leave, following right behind him into FH Community.


    Lv Xin quickened his steps, caught up to Yan Junze, and said, "The videos you shoot are pretty good, I just watched one called ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall¡¯, it¡¯s getting a lot of heat."


    "Ah!"


    Yan Junze stopped, took out his phone to check, and saw that his recently uploaded video "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" had surged in popularity, breaking past 500,000 views.


    Influenced by that video, even "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night" had surpassed 100,000 clicks.


    Looking at the small flame icon in the upper-right corner of the video, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of excitement.


    Since it had gone viral, rewards like throwing flowers, tossing sedans, and sending rockets definitely wouldn¡¯t be scarce; he¡¯d have to count them carefully when he logged into the backend at home later.


    Yan Junze was somewhat excited, mainly because since coming to this world, he always had the pressing feeling of an ever-empty pocket.


    After putting away his phone, buoyed by his good mood, Yan Junze pointed at the supernatural warning sign placed below building number seven and said to Lv Xin, who was waiting beside him, "Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you, our community is quite old, and there¡¯s an especially large number of strangenesses. You should be careful of other supernatural beings in building number seven as well."


    "Yeah, thanks," Lv Xin nodded and entered the building with Yan Junze.


    However, after Yan Junze reached his own floor, the fourth, he didn¡¯t continue going up.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t stop either and went directly up to the fifth floor.


    Yan Junze stood in the hallway of the fourth floor, slightly sticking out his head and pricking up his ears to listen to the noises from the floor above.


    The footsteps were so light that they were inaudible. After listening for a while, he only heard the sound of a key turning in a lock, followed by silence.


    Retracting back, he didn¡¯t plan to interfere any more than he already had. However, he couldn¡¯t help but remain concerned about Lv Xin staying in Granny Ren¡¯s place alone.


    At that moment, the sky gradually darkened.


    Yan Daguo opened the door and saw his son holding a box of pen refills, leaning on the railing outside the hallway, and asked, "Son, it¡¯s getting dark. Why are you leaning out here?"


    "Just catching some fresh air," Yan Junze replied.


    "The college entrance exam is coming up, how is your revision going?" Yan Daguo also leaned on the railing, looking towards the building across from them.


    At this moment, many lights were on in the building, but there were few like them, who didn¡¯t close their doors even when it got dark, leisurely leaning on the corridor and shooting the breeze.


    "I¡¯m fine with the review, I could even take the test right now."


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t joking. When it came to studying, he now only dared not to exert himself too much, because a little bit of effort would not just mean swapping a bike for a car, or a car for a plane, but instantly taking off in a rocket.


    In that case, he had to consider whether his parents could handle such a surprise.


    What if the scores came in, and the breakthrough results put his parents in the hospital beds, that wouldn¡¯t be good for anyone.


    "Still planning to apply for Tianmeng Science University?" Yan Daguo asked.


    Huaying Great Capital had five major districts, with Shuntian City located within Tianmeng District, and Tianmeng District itself boasted several universities with excellent educational resources.


    Under normal circumstances, residents of Shuntian City wouldn¡¯t consider schools in other districts, preferring those nearby.


    "Any of the top five universities in Tianmeng District will do." Yan Junze nodded, "But no matter which one I attend, I only want to study Physics."


    Yan Daguo was shocked, "Is that... easy to find a job in the future?"


    "Dad, you forgot, I also have the potential to become an Exorcist." Yan Junze revealed a smile, "In studies, interest is what matters most."


    "Hmm, no matter what you study, as long as you¡¯re interested, that¡¯s good," Yan Daguo seemed very open-minded.


    He tightened his collar and reminded, "Although the weather is warming up, it still gets cold quickly at night. Be careful not to catch a cold, better go inside quickly."


    With that, he himself ran inside to make some tea.


    Bang!


    The sound of a door closing came from upstairs at the same time.


    Yan Junze stretched his neck but still could not hear any footsteps. However, soon at the end of the corridor by the staircase, a figure descended from the fifth floor.


    The sound-activated light turned on, allowing Yan Junze to easily see the person¡¯s appearance¡ªit was Lv Xin, who had just gone up.


    Yan Junze watched him, and although the two were far apart, neither spoke.


    Lv Xin lifted his head, glanced over at Yan Junze, and unexpectedly did not greet him with a wave but turned and continued downstairs.


    It seemed like there was no issue.


    Yan Junze still leaned in the corridor, watching the guy leave Building No. 7 and head toward the community¡¯s gate until he was out of sight.


    A sense of inexplicability surged in his heart, and Yan Junze looked up at the fifth floor, then turned to enter his house and shut the door.


    Not long after he returned to his bedroom, Zhou Dali¡¯s call came through, filled with irrepressible excitement, "Haha, Junze, guess how our uploaded video is doing?"


    "It went viral," Yan Junze answered.


    Zhou Dali: "..."


    However, this guy had typical resilience, and soon he was back to his usual self, saying, "How about it, any donations? What¡¯s the income like?"


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    "I just did the math, and it looks like each of us could get around five to six thousand," Yan Junze also started laughing.


    "That won¡¯t do," Zhou Dali shook his head on the other end of the phone, "You should get more, I¡¯ll just take a thousand, enough for pocket money. I didn¡¯t expect making videos to be so profitable. That video of ¡¯The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night¡¯ must have earned something as well, right? Too bad your fame wasn¡¯t that big back then."


    Suddenly remembering something, Yan Junze asked, "By the way, the strangeness in the restroom of New Century Home Plaza, has an Exorcist dealt with it yet?"


    Zhou Dali replied, "Not yet, but it¡¯s been reported and queued. I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s already a response, and an Exorcist is expected to handle it in the next couple of days."


    "Strike while the iron is hot," Yan Junze grinned, "I¡¯ll take care of it tomorrow night and film another video in the process."


    "You mean¡­ we do it together?" Zhou Dali exclaimed.


    "No, this time I¡¯m going alone."

 Chapter 49 - 48 Big-eyed Girl

    As the college entrance exam neared, the entire senior year exuded an inexplicable sense of tension.


    All subjects in Shuntian No.3 Middle School¡¯s senior classes had entered an intensive review phase, where each day was filled with ceaseless explanations of key points and difficulties, and a myriad of different types of problems for practice.


    Yan Junze was okay, but Zhou Dali, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin all seemed to struggle.


    As for Zhou Jiajie, whom Bao Jie had a crush on, it was said that he had already obtained a guaranteed spot at Tianmeng University through his family¡¯s connections. The criteria he met to get this spot were unknown.


    But Bao Jie also aspired to attend Tianmeng University. Unlike Zhou Jiajie, she didn¡¯t have such a family background, so she was even more determined to study hard.


    Zhou Dali was also putting in the effort, except his goal was Tianmeng Sports Institute, an institution where one could forge their way with physical strength, without needing much of a brain.


    Academic scores? Nonexistent.


    When Zhou Dali stood out at the Tianmeng District high school sports meet in March, at least three sports colleges extended offers to him. However, Comrade Dali also had his obsessions.


    He would only consider Tianmeng Sports Institute, which made him a solemn promise: as long as his academic score exceeded 30 points (passing is 50), they would admit him exceptionally.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view today, Zhou Dali must have been deceived by the institute.


    For anything worth doing, a certain level of difficulty is necessary to spark desire and persistence. If something is too easily obtained, it won¡¯t be truly cherished.


    Zhou Dali was exactly like this, dismissing offers from other colleges outright.


    Yan Junze speculated that regardless of Zhou Dali¡¯s academic scores, with his outstanding athletic performance and potential for growth, Tianmeng Sports Institute would still admit him exceptionally.


    Putting pressure on him now and making him work harder couldn¡¯t do any harm.


    During a break after class, Bao Jie took out a portable camera and taught Yan Junze how to clip it to his shirt front for filming.


    This camera had substantial storage and could continuously record videos for about two hours. It automatically switched to night mode and produced extremely high-quality footage compatible with various editing software for post-production.


    Bao Jie had sponsored the portable camera temporarily, which Yan Junze planned to borrow for a while. After testing it and finding the results quite good, he had Bao Jie help him order one online.


    "Are you sure you don¡¯t need our help?" asked Bao Jie.


    "No need, it¡¯s easier to act alone," Yan Junze nodded.


    However, it was evident that these three were having mixed feelings, their hearts not in sync with their words, clearly conflicted about taking risks with Yan Junze again.


    With the college entrance exam approaching and the heavy academic workload, their reluctance was understandable.


    Truth be told, after they completed the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" task, Bao Jie, Jiang Ruixin, and Zhou Dali were scared post-event, but they still felt a sense of achievement.


    Of course, if Yan Junze had told them that they had died N times before the Rewind, who knows whether the trio would have torn the protagonist apart on the spot.


    After preparing the gear for the evening operation, the conversation quickly turned to the trending video.


    With "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" going viral, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s popularity rose the fastest among them, and she even acquired a resounding nickname¡ªBig-eyed Girl.


    This nickname originated from the scene where she stared down a corpse.


    Far from scaring people as Jiang Ruixin had imagined, that moment made many netizens grow fond of the candidness of the Big-eyed Girl.


    Under peer pressure, Jiang Ruixin reluctantly registered her own account on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She initially wanted to use the nickname "Big-eyed Girl," but after finding out the name was already taken, she added a "1" to make it "Big-eyed Girl1."


    After clicking next, the system indicated that name was taken as well, so she had no choice but to register as "Big-eyed Girl2."


    To distinguish herself from the previously registered Big-eyed Girl users, Jiang Ruixin uploaded her real photo, choosing the one with the best selfie angle and closest to her appearance in the videos.


    As expected, not long after registering, the followers of "Big-eyed Girl2" shot up to 100+, with many netizens commenting below, asking if "Big-eyed Girl2" was the real person from the "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall" video.


    By the time school ended, Jiang Ruixin¡¯s followers had already soared to 3000+.


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    Since she had filled in her real identity information, and her information verification page had been officially stamped with an authentication badge by the video platform, with a small print introduction: the Big-eyed Girl from the popular video "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall."


    In the eyes of Yan Junze, Bao Jie, and Zhou Dali, Jiang Ruixin seemed to be getting increasingly full of herself as the day progressed.


    Once school was over, Yan Junze called home to inform his family that he was going to study at Zhou Dali¡¯s place in the New Century Residential Area and expected to return home before 9 pm.


    Li Man cautioned him with a few words and didn¡¯t think much of it.


    After leaving school, Yan Junze planned to treat everyone to a meal with the money he had earned, and Bao Jie invited Zhou Jiajie along, but Zhou Jiajie declined.


    According to Jiang Ruixin, Zhou Jiajie was angry with Bao Jie because after the video went viral, Zhou Jiajie found out that they had actually gone to the Jianye Building that night, but Bao Jie deliberately deceived him by saying they hadn¡¯t.


    There was nothing to explain about the lie.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t care about that, and just outside the school, he ordered a few dishes at a little restaurant, got a small hotpot going, and with a bottle of chilled drink for each person, they thoroughly enjoyed their meal.


    "Be careful later on."


    After they finished, Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin reminded Yan Junze to be cautious, then left together.


    Zhou Dali and Yan Junze took the bus, arriving at Zhou Dali¡¯s place in the New Century Residential Area after three stops.


    The area had seven gardens, and between the first and second gardens was that public square with table tennis tables, badminton courts, basketball courts, and on top of that, a flat little plaza.


    Every evening, the aunties danced energetically on this little plaza.


    The eerily haunted restroom was located in the upper left corner of the public square.


    It was quite spacious, meant to provide convenience for those playing and relaxing in the area¡ªbut now it was anything but convenient.


    Ever since the woman in red high heels started appearing frequently in the restroom, the number of people playing in the square had dwindled, save for a few tenacious auntie dance troops that continued their dance routines unabated.


    "It¡¯s still light out now; do you think the woman in red high heels will appear at this hour?" Yan Junze asked, standing in the square with Zhou Dali and eyeing the public restroom not far away, backpacks on their shoulders.


    "Her appearances don¡¯t differentiate between day and night," Zhou Dali said definitively, "But if you were to go in now, too many people would see you, which might not be convenient for your investigation."


    "Let¡¯s go around 8 pm then," Yan Junze nodded.


    He went to Zhou Dali¡¯s home, where Dali¡¯s parents¡ªwho were both quite tall¡ªdemonstrated the significance of genetics.


    Yan Junze hung around for a while, and around eight o¡¯clock, he made an excuse to leave. He left his backpack at Zhou Dali¡¯s house, took the portable camera with him, and headed straight for the public square restroom.

 Chapter 50 - 49: Wine Red High Heels (Part 1)

    According to Zhou Dali¡¯s claim, the strangenesses with the red high heels in the public restroom will be dealt with by an exorcist within these two days.


    So, after deciding on his next move, Junze knew he had to arrive one step ahead, otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t even be a single slipper to see, let alone high heels. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nightfall came.


    The crowd in the square had dispersed, only an elderly janitor was still cleaning up the trash, a solitary figure under the streetlights of the night.


    Witnessing this, Junze was suddenly reminded of his mother in this life, Li Man. As a cleaning lady, her job of sweeping never cares for night or day, always laborious and modestly paid.


    Thinking of giving his earnings to his parents for safekeeping once he returned, Junze quickly made his way to the public restroom in the square.


    There used to be a duty room outside the restroom that sold newspapers and tissues, but it had been closed since the outbreak of strangenesses and never reopened.


    To conserve Different Dimension Energy, Junze had not activated "Perception of Strange Events" before coming here. After all, the task prompt would also pop up as he neared the site of strangeness, so there was no need to waste energy.


    Indeed, not long after standing at the entrance of the restroom, the atlas in his mind immediately popped up with the task information.


    [Task Name: Wine red high heels;]


    Task Level: Anxiety-Inducing (High);


    Task Background: Jian Tong is searching for someone, someone she loved passionately. But this man was a betrayer who swindled all of Jian Tong¡¯s savings and disappeared after making the excuse of going to the restroom. Now, Jian Tong only wants one answer, an answer tied to an obsession until death.


    Task Instructions: Have a conversation with Jian Tong, and the choice of your answer is crucial, please choose wisely;


    Task Reward: 300 points of Dimensional Energy;


    Task Penalty: Depending on your answer, get killed by Jian Tong or spend eternity together with her as the betrayer;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit is subject to Lockdown; 2. You still have a chance to escape before Jian Tong speaks;


    Remarks: No matter what you see, do not show even a hint of surprise, or else...]


    Junze read through the task carefully and found that its level was the same as "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," both being Anxiety-Inducing (High), and the reward of Dimensional Energy points was also the same.


    Initially, when completing "Peeking From the Crack in the Wall," the strangeness of the mummy wasn¡¯t that powerful, but that guy was very good at disguising himself, extremely evil, and adept at luring, causing the inexperienced Junze to frequently misjudge until the very last moment, when he finally turned the tables.


    Thus, Anxiety-Inducing (High) simply indicates the danger level of the task and does not fully explain how dangerous the strangeness in the task might be. With a good grasp of the situation, one could complete it with ease, but if handled poorly, it could lead to a dreadful death.


    Junze took a deep breath and entered the public restroom.


    The lights inside the restroom were on continuously, not very bright, but not too dark either.


    This fact gave Junze a bit of relief, at least the lights weren¡¯t motion sensor-activated.


    Otherwise, the prospect of clapping for oneself while defecating to keep the lights on was an embarrassing thought indeed.


    To enter the men¡¯s restroom from the outside of the public restroom, you have to pass a corner first, and only after turning it will you see a row of urinals.


    Opposite to the urinals were the toilet stalls. Junze quickly glanced over and saw there were a total of six stalls, five squatting stalls and one equipped with a Western-style toilet.


    Opening the stall door of the Western-style toilet, he saw an enormous mass of filth darkly clinging to the seat, the whole stall reeked.


    Junze, covering his nose, closed the door of that stall.


    He pushed open the doors of each squatting stall from right to left, checking each one carefully to confirm there were no anomalies and then chose the one closest to the wall on the far end, next to the window.


    This stall had relatively better air circulation and was also a bit cleaner.


    There was no other way, after the supernatural events, the restroom had long been abandoned, and not even the cleaners dared to come in to clean. Fortunately, few people dared to use it anymore, so it didn¡¯t get outrageously dirty.


    After Yan Junze entered a stall, he closed the door and bolted the inside latch, ensuring it couldn¡¯t be opened from the outside.


    It was nearing summer, and as night fell, various sounds of insect chirping came from outside the restroom, avoiding complete silence inside that would add an unnecessary sense of fear.


    However, staying here alone was enough to make anyone¡¯s skin crawl.


    Outside the men¡¯s restroom and around the corner were a row of sinks, but one of the faucets was broken; it seemed like it couldn¡¯t be tightened and the sound of water dripping was continuous.


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    Insect noises and water drips echoed in this eerily quiet public restroom.


    Apart from that, there was only the barely audible sound of Yan Junze¡¯s own breathing. No other sounds could be heard.


    He had already turned on his chest-mounted camera, and before entering the stall, he had set the Rewind time to half an hour.


    Now, as the Different Dimension Energy increased and accumulated, the timespan available for Rewinding was getting longer. If he wished, he could add even more timelines on top of the current one.


    About two minutes later, Yan Junze simply squatted down.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t time to defecate now; there was no way he was taking off his pants.


    Soon after, a clear sound of high heels resonated.


    Listening to the sound, the person walking seemed to be not far outside the public restroom, appearing out of nowhere.


    Without almost any pause, the sound of high heels entered the men¡¯s restroom, steady and unhurried.


    The tapping of the heels on the ground sounded very hollow, just like Yan Junze¡¯s heart was racing at the moment.


    Even though he squatted in the stall, since he was in the innermost one against the wall, his view couldn¡¯t penetrate the gap under the stall divider to see outside.


    After wearing the high heels into the men¡¯s restroom, it seemed like the person stood in front of the urinals, about two or three meters directly in front of his stall, motionless.


    Squatting down, Yan Junze lowered his body even more, craning his neck as much as possible so that his line of sight could reach further through the gap under the door.


    After some effort, he managed to do so.


    Looking now, he could finally see the tips of the high heels.


    In the dimly lit restroom, the high heels were indeed wine red; when standing, they were not angled outwards but pointed straight ahead.


    Too far to see the feet, Yan Junze still had the eerie illusion that fear was creeping up his spine.


    At this time, Ke¡¯er seemed to be sleeping soundly, paying no attention to anything.


    Moreover, considering that the mission was rated "Anxiety-Inducing (High)", if a confrontation did happen later, Ke¡¯er might not be a match for the woman outside.


    As he was carefully peering out, the red high heels began to move again, the tips turning slightly, aiming towards the direction of Yan Junze¡¯s stall, taking steps towards it.


    "She actually knew right away that I was in this stall!" Yan Junze was startled and shrunk back a bit.


    Still keeping his head low, his eyes swept through the maximum range visible through the gap below the door.


    The red high heels drew closer, and the woman¡¯s ankles appeared within his line of sight.


    This scene, however, caused Yan Junze to suddenly display a strange expression.

 Chapter 51 - 50: Wine Red High Heels (Part 2)

    Under normal circumstances, when a man hears the sound of high heels, an image of a young, beautiful woman with elegant mannerisms automatically constructs itself in his mind.


    At the very least, the woman in his imagination would fit the man¡¯s basic definition of a woman.


    So, when Yan Junze saw the calves above the high heels poking out from under the door, he was genuinely taken aback.


    The woman wore a black mesh skirt, and those heels were exquisite, revealing calves that weren¡¯t very chubby but had a robust feel to them.


    It was clear that the woman had a large build, not conceding much to men.


    The wine red high heels stopped outside the stall where Yan Junze was, with the tips of the shoes pointing straight ahead, showing no sign of being pigeon-toed or splay-footed. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Silence once again enveloped the surroundings; no one made a sound.


    Yan Junze forced himself to breathe slowly, eyeing the high heels outside the stall unwaveringly.


    He still remembered the task prompt: he had the chance to slip away before Jian Tong spoke.


    In other words, the woman outside named Jian Tong hadn¡¯t spoken yet, so he still had the opportunity to escape, just as Wang Shicong, the chubby guy from the next class, had successfully fled after seeing those high heels using his "Shit-Cutting Skill."


    Of course, Yan Junze had no intention to flee. He was waiting as well.


    No one spoke, pushing the eerie scene to the peak of tension, with oppression growing every second.


    The faucet in the nearby sink dripped water continuously, and at this moment, the sound of the droplets seemed like heavy hammers pounding on Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    Time crawled by, and three minutes later, the feet in the high heels still hadn¡¯t moved.


    "Are you just going to stand there?" Yan Junze nearly couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and grumbled inwardly.


    Staying in the same position, his shoulders began to ache, so he moved them gently and slightly lifted his head.


    Just then, knock, knock, knock¡ªthree knocks on the door sounded.


    The door to Yan Junze¡¯s stall was knocked.


    From his position, he could see those red high heels hadn¡¯t moved, but he was unable to see the woman¡¯s upper body movements.


    He didn¡¯t respond.


    "How long exactly are you planning to hide?"


    A hoarse voice, unidentifiable as male or female, called from outside the stall, speaking slowly as though each word must be enunciated clearly, giving an illusion of a mannequin talking.


    This woman named Jian Tong had spoken.


    According to the task prompt, if Yan Junze wanted to escape now, it would be absolutely impossible.


    After a moment¡¯s consideration, he replied, "I¡¯m defecating. I¡¯m not hiding."


    The task explained that this woman¡¯s man had betrayed her and even swindled a lot of money from her. She was also obsessively waiting for an answer, and to accomplish this task, stepping into the role of the betraying man might be the best choice.


    As a mere observer, he could not complete the task at all.


    Otherwise, not only would Jian Tong ignore you, but she might also directly take action to kill this observer.


    "I have a question for you," Jian Tong¡¯s voice continued.


    Here it came.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart tightened; this must be what the task description referred to as her "Obsession." Additionally, the task reminded him that the choice of answer was crucial and must be made with great care.


    "Hmm, ask," he replied without hesitation.


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong murmured.


    Yan Junze was momentarily startled, then slowly stood up, rubbing his numb legs.


    He really didn¡¯t know how to answer this question. If he considered it from the perspective of that scumbag, the guy definitely didn¡¯t love Jian Tong, or he wouldn¡¯t have cheated her out of so much money.


    But now, was it appropriate to say "doesn¡¯t love"?


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze still decided to speak.


    "Doesn¡¯t love."


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dull thud came from the cubicle door, as if a fist had smashed hard against the panel.


    Then came the screeching sound of nails scratching on wood, sending a shiver down one¡¯s spine.


    During this process, the entire cubicle door was trembling. It was clear how forcefully the fingers scraping the door were.


    Yan Junze involuntarily stepped backward, nearly stepping into the filth-filled squat toilet, and as he slightly bent down, he saw the wine red high heels approaching from under the door gap.


    One high heel was missing in action, indicating that foot had been raised.


    Then the other foot, also clad in a high heel, lifted, and both feet vanished from view, apparently leaving the ground entirely.


    This scene seemed to spark a realization in Yan Junze, who abruptly looked up.


    Above the cubicle door, two large-boned hands were hooked over the edge, the fingers gripping the panel were not pale but a dark, purplish color, with the nails on each finger measuring at least three centimeters long.


    At this moment, some of the nails still had wood shavings inside them¡ªthe result of scratching the door from the outside.


    As the two hands latched onto the top edge of the panel, a woman¡¯s head slowly emerged from the top, first revealing curved black hair, then a similarly purplish forehead.


    Her hair was abundant, black and thick, almost completely covering her face, with only her eyes faintly visible beneath.


    Soon, the woman¡¯s nose and lips became visible, but they were partly obscured by hair, her head appeared detached from her body, hanging over the top edge of the door.


    She opened her mouth, which was pitch black inside, even her teeth were black.


    "You... lie... to me!"


    The three words were spat out.


    With each word, Yan Junze felt his whole body tense, his heart seemed to spasm, and his limbs involuntarily curled up together.


    Ke¡¯er, lying on his back, lifted her head and let out the familiar warning cry.


    Suddenly, Ke¡¯er sprang off Yan Junze¡¯s back, stepped on the wall behind him, and with another rebound, lunged toward Jian Tong, whose head was now sticking over the cubicle door.


    Thump!


    The next second, Ke¡¯er¡¯s body was suspended in mid-air.


    Jian Tong remained perched on the door, but she had stretched out her right hand, grabbing Ke¡¯er by the neck, leaving Ke¡¯er hanging in mid-air, unable to move forward.


    Ke¡¯er yelped frantically, her hands flailing and legs kicking, but to no avail.


    Amidst the struggle, the eye-catching red dress stood out starkly.


    "Ke¡¯er is no match for this woman!" Yan Junze realized, feeling as though his body had also been harmed by Jian Tong¡¯s words "You lie to me."


    No further thought needed, he immediately activated Rewind.


    But he didn¡¯t choose to Rewind to the moment just after he entered the toilet; instead, he returned to the time before Jian Tong had asked the question.


    The wine red high heels reappeared outside the door, motionless.


    "Do you still love me?" came Jian Tong¡¯s voice, indistinguishable as either male or female.


    This time, having experienced the result of the previous Rewind, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate and said, "Love."

 Chapter 52 - 51: Wine Red High Heels (Part 3)

    Jian Tong was silent on the other side of the partition, and there were no sounds of banging or clawing at the door panel.


    Good, looking at it this way, this answer can still work.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart was slightly more stable.


    "Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?" Jian Tong spoke again.


    Yan Junze knew that he had just answered the first question, and that the following answers which extended from it were equally important. A slight misstep could still provoke the end before the Rewind.


    So, he didn¡¯t respond directly, but said, "You¡¯ve worked hard."


    At this point, he needed to go along with Jian Tong¡¯s tone as much as possible, and it was best not to touch her sore spots; otherwise, the outcome would be the same.


    Jian Tong¡¯s tone was still very slow, and it seemed that she was starting to relax somewhat, "They say you¡¯re a scammer, that you not only cheated me out of my money but also deceived my feelings. Is it true?"


    "How could that be?" Yan Junze said, "Actually, I urgently needed money, and I was going to pay you back as soon as the funds came through. After that... we¡¯ll get married!"


    After finishing these words, Yan Junze was deeply ashamed.


    It had to be said, aside from his role as a backup Exorcist, he had discovered he actually had the potential to be a "scumbag."


    At this thought, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Jian Tong¡¯s tone remained slow, even... it had a touch of indifference, "But why is your name fake? Your age is fake? Even your home address is fake?"


    "I..." Yan Junze was flabbergasted. "Damn, I¡¯m speechless."


    He hadn¡¯t expected that Jian Tong had already gathered so much information about this man. She must have conducted an investigation after realizing she had been scammed.


    "You... lied... to me!"


    Jian Tong¡¯s dull and angry voice arose from outside the partition.


    At the same moment, sounds of banging and nails scratching at the door panel came through piercingly.


    Rewind!


    The noisy sounds again subsided into silence, with only the echo of water dripping from a broken faucet audible.


    The wine-red high heels stood quietly outside the partition.


    "Do you still love me?" The calm and slow voice of Jian Tong rose again.


    Ah, is it love, or is it not?


    Yan Junze squatted in the restroom, his face full of hesitation.


    Why not just activate the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" and forcefully enslave this woman? But in doing so, he wouldn¡¯t be able to complete the task, would lose the Different Dimensional Energy reward, and fail to continue illuminating the timeline. Just locking down such a recalcitrant spirit seemed a bit not worth it.


    Yan Junze did not answer immediately.


    After Jian Tong asked, the entire scene fell silent.


    "Why won¡¯t you answer me?" Jian Tong¡¯s voice started to sound irritated, "Are you playing dead?"


    No choice, it seemed there was a time limit, and he had to answer.


    Answering "don¡¯t love" wouldn¡¯t work. This woman would immediately go mad.


    Answering "love" seemed like it could continue the conversation and find a breakthrough opportunity.


    "Love." Yan Junze once again chose this response.


    "Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?" asked Jian Tong.


    The question was exactly the same as the one before the last Rewind, not a word different.


    But this time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t say "You¡¯ve worked hard," instead he said, "I have my reasons."


    "What reasons?"


    "I have a lot of debts that I can¡¯t pay off. So I changed my identity, and it was only after I got here that I met you."


    "Is that... why you cheated me out of all my savings?"


    "No." Yan Junze shook his head, his immersion in the character¡¯s role quite convincing, "As soon as I pay off all my debts, I can truly be with you. We¡¯ll work hard together, and I¡¯ll take good care of you for the rest of your life."


    "Really?" Jian Tong on the other side seemed to be touched, "You don¡¯t mind me?"


    "Mind? Mind what?" Yan Junze was a bit puzzled, scratching his head and said, "I don¡¯t mind." Read the latest on empire


    He dared not ask what specifically she meant by ¡¯mind¡¯; if Jian Tong detected a flaw and became enraged again, he would have to go through it all over.


    "Okay, I believe you, no matter what anyone else says, we can definitely walk together," Jian Tong said, puzzling Yan Junze even more with her words.


    Yan Junze was completely bewildered but could only smile and say, "Yeah, sure."


    "Open the door," Jian Tong demanded.


    "I... I¡¯m taking a dump, it¡¯s not finished yet," Yan Junze stammered, "Why don¡¯t you wait for me outside? This is the men¡¯s restroom."


    As he spoke, he began to feel doubtful. Now it seemed that his responses were somewhat acceptable. Why didn¡¯t she seem to want to wrap up the conversation? It felt like she was more keen on flying away with him, side by side.


    "Open the door." Jian Tong didn¡¯t leave, and her tone became stern again, "Are you still holding a grudge?"


    "I... grudge my ass! What exactly is there to hold a grudge about?" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    "We¡¯ve done everything; there isn¡¯t a place on your body I haven¡¯t seen. Open the door!" sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was a bang as Jian Tong started pounding on the door again.


    The shrill sound of nails scraping against the door panel once again reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    "Again!?" Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    Although their voices might sound somewhat similar, he was not that heartless man. If he went out now, one look from Jian Tong would give him away.


    It seemed that this answer was still not working.


    Rewind!


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong returned to the beginning, slowly asking.


    Do I freaking love... or not love her! Yan Junze grabbed his hair.


    "Love."


    "Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you?"


    "I¡¯ve been waiting for you, too."


    "You haven¡¯t been waiting for me, you¡¯ve been deliberately hiding from me, always in the restroom!"


    "I really have been waiting for you, taking a shit and waiting for you."


    "You... liar..."


    The sound of clawing at the door rose again.


    Rewind!


    "Do you still love me?"


    "Love. Uh, I knew you¡¯d come looking for me, so I kept waiting in the same restroom for you."


    "But they say you¡¯re a con artist, deceiving both for money and love, is that true?"


    "Don¡¯t mind what others say, my love for you is real, even more so than steamed sponge cake. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m really short on cash right now; I¡¯m in a lot of debt."


    "Did you take my money... to pay off your debts?"


    "Yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been hiding my identity, afraid that debt collectors would find us and cause you trouble."


    "I understand! Open the door."


    "Damn, how did we get back here?" Yan Junze said with a bitter smile, "Can I not open it?"


    "Why not? Are you embarrassed about me?" Jian Tong¡¯s tone grew angry again, "Open the door."


    The sound of nails scratching at the door started up.


    Yan Junze believed that if the door panel could fight back, the woman outside would have been squeezed flat in the door frame by now.


    Rewind!


    Squatting inside the stall, Yan Junze¡¯s face looked as if he had just swallowed an entire bitter melon, full of sorrow, yet his mind was rapidly pondering.


    From what he could tell, he couldn¡¯t bring up a few key terms: "don¡¯t love," "open the door," and "mind."


    Whenever these words were mentioned, it was basically impossible to recover, and he could only rewind or play hardball.


    "Don¡¯t love" was easy to avoid by not saying it from the start. But "open the door" was Jian Tong¡¯s own demand. It seemed that as long as his answers softened her heart, she would want him to open the door and meet with her.


    As for the key term "mind," Yan Junze was still completely in the dark about what there was to "mind."


    "Do you still love me?" Jian Tong¡¯s damning voice echoed once again.

 Chapter 53 - 52: Wine Red High Heels (Part 4)

    Yan Junze took a deep breath and said to the woman outside, "I love you, but there are debt collectors looking for me right now, so I can¡¯t come out, and I also don¡¯t mind anything about you."


    This time, he managed to touch upon all the potentially explosive topics in their conversation and skillfully avoided them one by one.


    Suddenly, there was silence from the other side of the partition.


    Yan Junze waited for a moment and noticed that Jian Tong didn¡¯t speak anymore.


    Unassured, he peered through the gap under the partition and saw those wine red high heels still standing outside, facing the partition, motionless; yet Jian Tong remained silent.


    Without her speaking, Yan Junze also stayed silent, and the standoff continued. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who... are you?" Jian Tong¡¯s voice suddenly came through, filled with barely suppressed anger.


    Boom!


    The door of the bathroom stall exploded violently, breaking into seven or eight pieces, revealing Jian Tong standing outside.


    Dressed in red high heels and a long black dress, she appeared exceptionally tall, more than a match for any man. Her black hair danced wildly in the air, but the strands that fell over her face did not move.


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    Her eyes were completely dark, shining black, without white sclera, and her slightly open mouth was also pitch-black.


    Almost in sync with the explosion of the door, Ke¡¯er, who was on Yan Junze¡¯s back, shot out, pouncing towards Jian Tong.


    Yan Junze of course knew that Ke¡¯er was no match for this woman, and with a fierce determination, he simply summoned the Crawler Monster from the Spacetime Atlas as well.


    Since the battle had already begun, he might as well have both his subordinates join the fray to see what the ultimate outcome would be.


    When the Crawler Monster appeared, it was completely bewildered, looking up at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze shouted, "Join Ke¡¯er and take down that woman!"


    The Crawler Monster still looked confused, staying put without moving.


    This made Yan Junze suspect that the creature might have been an idiot in its past life.


    "If you take down this woman, I¡¯ll grant you your freedom!"


    This time, the Crawler Monster understood at once and, with a grimace, it turned around on the ground and scuttled towards Jian Tong.


    The next second, Jian Tong¡¯s high heel came down, piercing through the creature¡¯s head and pinning it mercilessly to the ground, immobilized.


    Jian Tong¡¯s right hand was tightly wrapped around Ke¡¯er¡¯s neck, causing Ke¡¯er to struggle midair. Her tiny hands scratched wildly forward, but they always fell short, as she cried out incessantly.


    By this time, Yan Junze had realized that Ke¡¯er could only make two sounds, "Eh" when she was usual, and "Ya" when she was angry.


    But now, it seemed that the combat strength of these Evil Spirits he possessed was still too weak.


    He remembered the mission hint from "Wine red high heels," which stated that the Evil Spirit could be Locked down.


    If he managed to complete the mission, Yan Junze already had plans to Lockdown Jian Tong.


    In that case, Jian Tong would become the most powerful among the Evil Spirits he possessed.


    Seeing how things were going, the Crawler Monster and Ke¡¯er were doomed to be slaughtered. Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders.


    Rewind!


    He was squatting in the stall again, gaze fixated on those disturbing high heels beneath the door, lost in thought.


    Fighting was definitely not going to solve the problem, let alone complete the mission. Just now, he let Ke¡¯er and the Crawling Corpse engage with Jian Tong purely to test the combat strength of the two Evil Spirits on hand.


    And the result had proven that they were indeed pathetic.


    Surely the conversation with Jian Tong wasn¡¯t limited to just what had occurred. Yan Junze wondered if he had overlooked some vital information or if his thinking was constrained.


    Is the answer to the first question only "love" or "not love"?


    Just at this moment, Jian Tong¡¯s voice came through, "Do you still love me?"


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, then almost retched from the stench in the bathroom, taking a good while to recover.


    Remaining in a squat, he tilted his head up slightly to look straight at those wine red high heels. After pausing for a few seconds, he replied, "Loved."


    Outside the stall, there was a moment of silence, followed shortly by a faint sound of sobbing.


    It seemed that this answer was much more sophisticated than the previous ones.


    Yan Junze sighed and continued, "Truth be told, I owe a lot of money and have been changing my identity to dodge creditors. After meeting you, I intended only to cheat you out of your money and then disappear. But, to my utter surprise, I actually fell in love with you."


    The sobbing outside the stall began to grow louder, but Jian Tong still did not speak.


    "Deciding to steal your money was a tough choice. On nights when I carried the deception behind your back, I would smash a perfect mirror, and my pillow would be soaked with tears," Yan Junze¡¯s voice was low, carrying a mix of sorrow, regret, and grief.


    It was undeniable that it was lucky to have usurped someone¡¯s body; otherwise, a regular high school student would never be able to portray such a dramatic mix of love and hate, joy and sorrow.


    "Why didn¡¯t you just tell me? Why deceive me!" Jian Tong sobbed.


    "Because I love you, I was afraid of hurting you, of making you sad. I didn¡¯t want you to know my true identity," Yan Junze said slowly, "And because I love you, I don¡¯t want to hurt you anymore, nor do I deserve to be with you, so... I want you to forget about me!"


    By then, Jian Tong was sobbing inconsolably.


    "I... I truly love you. They said... you deceived me, and I never believed them; I couldn¡¯t bring myself to believe... that you would do such a thing. Because I know...


    I can feel your love!"


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt that Jian Tong on the outside was softening.


    If she softened just the slightest, there was a great chance she would let him open the door of the bathroom stall, and then...


    No!


    He couldn¡¯t let her soften any further.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, "It¡¯s all my fault! Now I have lost the face to see you, and I dare not harbor any more feelings of love for you. Despite all my calculations, I never expected to bring such tremendous pain to the person I deeply love! I really... can¡¯t face you any longer, nor do I have the courage... to face you again!"


    "Jiang Mingjun." Jian Tong¡¯s sobbing slowed down as she uttered the name of the man.


    After a brief pause, she continued, "I¡¯ve forgiven you."


    Perfect!


    Hearing these words, Yan Junze could hardly contain his excitement.


    The conversation with Jian Tong seemed to require a less conventional approach for a successful resolution; orthodox responses just couldn¡¯t elicit her conviction.


    Now that he had received forgiveness, the task was nearly completed. Yan Junze¡¯s heart settled, just waiting for Jian Tong to leave after finishing her speech.


    "Do you remember the place where we first met?" Jian Tong suddenly asked.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart, only just put to rest, abruptly leaped to his throat. He subconsciously nodded before realizing that Jian Tong couldn¡¯t see it, and then said aloud, "Of course I remember."


    "The hug you gave me then is etched in my bones and unforgettable even now. I think... I want you to hug me one last time," Jian Tong¡¯s voice resonated faintly.


    Yan Junze lamented, only to find that, after all the twists and turns, he was back to the critical point of opening the stall door.


    While he felt anxious, he suddenly noticed that the wine-red high heels outside the door gap had turned around¡ªthe heels were now facing the stall door, toes pointing outside.


    "Is... is it a hug from behind!?" Yan Junze instantly realized.


    With this, maybe he could open the door and embrace her from behind, fulfilling this woman¡¯s final wish.

 Chapter 54 - 53: Wine Red High Heels (Part 5)

    Jian Tong now had her back to the cubicle, which meant that the embrace came from the once-named man, Jiang Mingjun, from behind.


    Since it was a hug from behind, and the woman had already voluntarily turned around, it indicated she was no longer willing to see Jiang Mingjun in person.


    She just wanted one last time to feel that warmth and the memories from the beginning.


    With that in mind, Yan Junze prepared to complete this embrace from behind in place of Jiang Mingjun.


    He took a deep breath and almost retched from the stench in the stall. It seemed that his habit of taking deep breaths at critical moments needed to change, especially in places like bathrooms.


    He unlatched the door and gently pulled it open, making a creaking noise.


    He quickly looked up at Jian Tong, who had turned her back, and saw that she was motionless, no different from a dead person.


    A standing dead person.


    He took off the portable camera from his chest, turned it around, and hung it on the partition door so that the camera still faced the front.


    If he didn¡¯t do this, when he hugged Jian Tong later, the camera would be completely pressed against, failing to achieve the best shooting angle and effect.


    "Just a hug, a hug will do." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze walked forward, encouraging himself in his heart.


    After all, he had embraced a strange entity before, or more accurately, had been embraced by one. Wasn¡¯t Ke¡¯er always clinging onto his back?


    He took two steps out and came behind Jian Tong.


    Up close, he could tell that this woman indeed had a large frame, and Yan Junze wondered if he could fully embrace her or not.


    Unlike Ke¡¯er, Jian Tong emitted a very chilling presence, no less intimidating than the Strange Body in the basement of Jianye Building.


    The moment he drew closer, Yan Junze felt a cold sensation enveloping his body.


    He gritted his teeth and bore it, walked up, extended his arms, and tried his best to control his mind from imagining Jian Tong¡¯s purple-black cheeks, black pupils, pitch-black mouth, and the sharp nails on all ten fingers.


    "She¡¯s a beauty, the most beautiful kind."


    Murmuring to himself, Yan Junze embraced Jian Tong from behind.


    The next second, an exceptionally cold feeling instantly spread into his body, seeping into his skin, infiltrating his bones and blood, and he nearly shivered uncontrollably.


    "So cold."


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first sensation after hugging Jian Tong.


    If Ke¡¯er on his back had this kind of icy sensation, he probably would have frozen stiff by now and wouldn¡¯t have been able to move at all.


    Compared to that, Ke¡¯er seemed like a little furnace.


    Jian Tong slowly lowered her head, showing signs of yearning, reminiscence, and a soft emotion reminiscent of enjoyment.


    Yan Junze discovered that Jian Tong¡¯s body was indeed much stronger than other girls¡¯; his arms barely met as he wrapped them around her, just enough to clasp his fingers together.


    Suddenly, he felt Jian Tong¡¯s long nails scraping against the back of his hand¡ªan unconscious motion, yet her sharp nails could easily pierce his skin.


    Fortunately, it was just an unconscious action on Jian Tong¡¯s part, and she didn¡¯t truly mean to harm him.


    Time passed.


    One minute, two minutes¡­


    Gradually, Yan Junze seemed to feel the emotions coming from Jian Tong; he simply closed his eyes.


    Feelings are transferrable.


    Jian Tong stopped scraping her nails.


    This time, Yan Junze was confident that he had taken care of his feelings for Jian Tong very well.


    Two minutes later, Jian Tong spoke softly, "Alright, I¡¯m leaving."


    Yan Junze slowly released his arms, but it felt as though his hands no longer belonged to him, stiff and numb, and it took a great effort to withdraw them.


    In order to prevent Jian Tong from turning around, he immediately said after letting go, "Go ahead, I¡¯m a sinner and no longer worth your affection."


    Jian Tong didn¡¯t turn around or look back, just as Yan Junze had expected, moving forward.


    However, in the process, she kicked off her high heels and, in her socked feet, stepped on the restroom floor, making her way towards the corner by the door.


    Seeing her remove her high heels, Yan Junze was puzzled, but what Jian Tong did next was truly shocking.


    As she walked, Jian Tong ripped off her black, long hair, revealing a fluffy head of men¡¯s short hair, and she took off the black dress, underneath which was men¡¯s underwear.


    Having removed her high heels and black dress, Jian Tong now revealed a strapping physique, her walk no longer mincing but brisk and firm, as if she no longer held any attachment to anyone, anything, or any place here.


    She turned the corner outside the men¡¯s restroom and disappeared from sight.


    "This is a... a cross-dressing... boss!"


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s worldview completely collapsed, and he was so struck by the scene that he felt like he was dreaming.


    Indeed, Jian Tong was not a woman, but a genuine, real-deal man!


    "Spacetime Atlas, why the hell didn¡¯t you tell me this was a story about a gay man deceived by another man, who dressed up as a cross-dressing boss in the restroom to search for memories!? Damn!!!"


    Yan Junze stood still, immobile for at least five minutes, his mind in turmoil, not even noticing the completion message for the mission prompt.


    What was most troubling was that the feeling of embracing Jian Tong was still there; for a moment, even Yan Junze doubted if he had been seduced into that warmth and yearning.


    But at this moment, ugh...


    He couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and contributed a little more to the already filthy floor of the men¡¯s restroom.


    After throwing up, he quickly turned around to turn off the camera hanging on the partition door.


    That feeling still echoed in his mind, causing Yan Junze¡¯s goosebumps to linger.


    By now, the clothes and shoes Jian Tong dropped had vanished without a trace, transparent and gone.


    "This mission... is just unbelievable..."


    Complaining, he checked his Spacetime Atlas.


    After completing the mission and gaining 300 points of Different Dimension Energy, three more nodes on the Spacetime Atlas lit up, bringing his total Different Dimension Energy up to 1500 points.


    So far, the timelines he could choose to Rewind were continually increasing.


    This provided him with great convenience for accomplishing missions through multiple Rewinds.


    For example, in this "Wine red high heels" mission, it was essential to perfectly avoid all the conversational traps set by Jian Tong. If he responded incorrectly, the significance of Rewind couldn¡¯t be overstated.


    Now that the strangeness in the public place was resolved, and after Jian Tong revealed that she was actually a cross-dressing boss, Yan Junze no longer had to Lockdown his thoughts. On the contrary, he still felt a bit nauseous, mainly because he had indeed been too involved just moments ago.


    Imprisoning such a burly Spirit, who preened and posed, within the Spacetime Atlas¡ªthe mere thought of that image was enough to send chills down one¡¯s spine.


    But, fortunately, although the recollection of two big men holding each other was somewhat disgusting, the mission was successfully completed. Because the intervals between Rewinds were short, despite the frequent use, this mission did not consume too much Different Dimension Energy.

 Chapter 55 - 54: Plot Twist

    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to his senses in the restroom. After installing his portable camera, he stepped out of the men¡¯s restroom around the corner and turned on a faucet at the sink.


    Cupping his hands, he splashed water onto his face to shake off the grogginess.


    Feeling that it wasn¡¯t enough, he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands into the cold water to soothe his brain.


    "Cross-dressing, cross-dressing! If two men fall in love, let them be, why the need for cross-dressing!?" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He shook the water off his hands, unable to find any paper towels, so he just wiped his hands on his clothes and turned around to leave.


    He froze, his gaze drawn to the corner leading to the women¡¯s restroom, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.


    Although there were lights inside the restroom, the corner outside was still faintly illuminated, along with some light spilling over from the plaza, giving him a clear view of the figure standing at the corner coming out of the women¡¯s restroom!


    A disheveled woman, facing the corner wall, stood in white shorts and a white T-shirt, her exposed skin faintly showing many bruises.


    The Back-faced Woman!


    Yes, it was her!


    The moment Yan Junze saw this woman, his mind buzzed as if he were dreaming.


    But in the next second, he realized something was wrong.


    Logically, the Back-faced Woman should still be in FH Community. Although residents of building seven hadn¡¯t seen her for many days, it was speculated that she might have moved to other buildings.


    But who would have thought she¡¯d appear here? Away from FH Community?


    This was definitely not a coincidence!


    Yan Junze was certain that the source was himself. Perhaps this woman was still after him. Otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence that he was in the restroom at New Century Home Plaza, and she also appeared at the same place at the same time.


    Now, he was about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman, not very close. If she hadn¡¯t been wearing conspicuously white clothes, standing in the corner, she wouldn¡¯t have caught Yan Junze¡¯s attention at all.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t make a sound and had no intention of lingering.


    He slowly turned and cast a glance at the motionless white-dressed woman, quickly walking towards the plaza.


    After walking more than twenty meters, he looked back and saw the Back-faced Woman still standing there quietly, not moving.


    Yan Junze quickened his pace.


    Although he was walking fast, his body trembled even more. It wasn¡¯t him shaking, but Ke¡¯er on his back.


    Perhaps it was the vast gulf between the strengths of two evil spirits that made Ke¡¯er inherently fearful of the Back-faced Woman, an uncontrollable trembling.


    Having left the plaza, Yan Junze decided not to go back to Zhou Dali¡¯s house but called Dali instead, asking him to bring his backpack down.


    Before being certain he wasn¡¯t being followed by the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to draw this extremely strange woman to Zhou Dali¡¯s house.


    Restlessly sitting at home, Dali picked up Yan Junze¡¯s call, relieved to hear that everything was okay, and quickly delivered the backpack downstairs.


    "Was it dangerous just now?" Zhou Dali handed the backpack to Yan Junze, asking with concern.


    "It¡¯s been taken care of, no worries," Yan Junze shook his head, his brows furrowing as he suddenly remembered the cross-dressing incident.


    Zhou Dali caught the change in his expression and said with concern, "Let me know if something is wrong, brother. I¡¯ll share the burden with you."


    Yan Junze pursed his lips and said, "I can tell you, but after I do, I¡¯ll have to kill you."


    Zhou Dali¡¯s face showed fear as he pointed towards the gate, "There¡¯s a bus if you turn left when you exit, you can also hail a cab. No need to walk you out."


    Yan Junze was quite satisfied with the man¡¯s quick wit, so he smiled broadly, packed up his portable camera into his backpack, waved his hand, and turned to leave.


    He made it home safely without spotting the Back-faced Woman again.


    Once at home, his parents only asked a few questions. Yan Junze, using the excuse of continuing to review his lessons, retreated to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.


    He fiddled with the portable camera for a while and found that although he could export the video he took that day, he indeed didn¡¯t know how to operate video editing software. Fearful of damaging the entire video and having it all be for naught, he dared not tamper with it recklessly.


    After some thought, Yan Junze had no choice but to send the full video to Bao Jie, along with a message, "The original footage is for your eyes only. Once edited, please completely delete the part where the high heels strangeness takes off the clothes... Remember, completely delete it!"


    At first, Bao Jie didn¡¯t accept the video file. Probably half an hour later, she must have seen it and then accepted the file.


    About twenty minutes after that, Bao Jie sent an emoji of someone laughing their head off.


    "Am I seeing this right? Don¡¯t tell me that the woman in red high heels is actually a man."


    Yan Junze responded with a bitter smiley and replied, "The last scene is the nightmare of my life. Please make sure you keep it a secret for me."


    Bao Jie replied with a cute avatar nodding vigorously, "But I think the twist in the plot is quite something." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Quite something?" Yan Junze was puzzled.


    Bao Jie explained, "From the moment you entered the restroom, the atmosphere was oppressive, the visuals dark, constantly delivering a spine-chilling thriller vibe. Then, after you talk to the strangeness, you actually come out of the stall and hug her! That scene was absolutely hair-raising, but later on, it also radiated a sense of warmth.


    If it had ended there, it would have been a quintessential ominous love story unresolved between the living and the dead."


    "And then?"


    "Then, the ending completely shifts, revealing the fact that the strangeness is actually a cross-dresser, utterly demolishing what had been built up to that point. Don¡¯t you think such a mind-blowing twist will attract more eyeballs online?"


    Yan Junze fell silent.


    "You were resolving the Obsession of an Evil Spirit; although the ending is somewhat comical, the intention was good, and you managed to solve it successfully," Bao Jie became like a soul coach in that moment. "So, I suggest we keep the last part. What do you think?"


    "Um, I¡¯ll think about it," Yan Junze replied with another bitter smile.


    "I¡¯ll start editing the video. If it gets too late, I¡¯ll send you the final product tomorrow. Before you agree, I won¡¯t bring this video to school, in case Dali and Ruixin see it," Bao Jie said.


    "Thank you for your hard work."


    After logging off, Yan Junze idly read for a while before heading to the bathroom for a shower.


    The next day.


    A man in a gray suit of medium build emerged from Building No. 7 in FH Community. After asking directions from some of the community residents, he entered neighboring Building No. 5.


    Twenty minutes later, the man came out again, a look of surprise on his face.


    Using the black disc in his hand, he could detect a residual magnetic field of strangenesses, but after having searched both Building No. 5 and No. 7 thoroughly, he couldn¡¯t find any trace of the reported strangeness.


    After waiting for about an hour, the man went through both buildings again to make sure the Back-faced Woman was nowhere to be found, then he left FH Community.


    That same day.


    Another man holding a black disc stood at the entrance to the public restroom in New Century Home Plaza, looked up in astonishment, and muttered to himself, "It seems... she¡¯s left."

 Chapter 56 - 55 The Most Dangerous Place is the Safest

    LHTD Community Building F, Unit 12-4.


    For the other residents of Building F, just the elevator stopping on the 12th floor, after Unit 4 became the scene of a bizarre tragedy, was enough to send shivers down their spines.


    And within three days of the couple, Huang Jun and Wei Tingchun, being murdered, the rest of the residents on the 12th floor had all moved away.


    This was because of rumors originating from unknown sources that the couple might have died from strangeness. Especially after the police left the scene, individuals dressed as if they were from the Commission Against Corruption began to frequently enter and leave the scene.


    Thereby, the neighbors on the 12th floor collectively relocated. Those who temporarily had nowhere to move also took their belongings and stayed at relatives¡¯ houses, not daring to remain on the 12th floor of LHTD Community¡¯s Building F.


    However, at this moment, people were unexpectedly living in room 4 of the 12th floor.


    Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, and his wife, Wang Qin were there, along with their eleven-year-old daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan. But Granny Ren¡¯s daughter, L¨¹ Yaoyao, her husband, and their child Yu Xiaochang were not here.


    It seemed they were being protected separately by the exorcist.


    There were three exorcists in the apartment: one was a middle-aged woman, another a bald man of a greater age, and the last was Huang Chen.


    Wang Qin sat in the living room with her daughter, L¨¹ Jiayan, her face clouded with worry, weighed down by her thoughts.


    And her husband, Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, was lying alone in the bedroom, already drunk to the point of stupor.


    Wang Qin looked up at the three exorcists in front of her. After several days of interaction, she was fairly familiar with them and knew they had come specifically to protect her family.


    L¨¹ Yaoyao¡¯s family was similarly under the protection of exorcists at this moment.


    "Ms. Lan Bing," Wang Qin suddenly spoke, addressing the only female exorcist in the room, "Are we really safe here? This place is a murder scene! I can¡¯t help feeling terrified."


    The female exorcist was a middle-aged woman who was slightly overweight, dressed in a tasteful manner. Currently she wasn¡¯t wearing the suit that marked her as an exorcist but rather jeans, a gray short-sleeved shirt, with a light blue knitted garment draped over her shoulders.


    Lan Bing appeared quite composed, clearly of a higher rank than Huang Chen, as the latter always stood beside her, his expression one of reverence.


    She smiled at Wang Qin and said, "Don¡¯t be nervous. If the strangeness kills, it creates a huge field of strangeness at the scene. This field quickly forms intense dimensional cross-waves. The cross-waves, being created by the strangeness that committed the murder, repel their own kind. It would be excluded by its own cross-wave field and have a hard time or be unable to enter the scene for a while."


    "This place is the safest for you right now," said another exorcist, an older man sitting at the other end, taking over the conversation.


    This man, named Zhang Lai, was of average height and a bit on the thin side. Like Lan Bing, he was also a two-star exorcist.


    Wang Qin nodded her head and hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, "If the strangeness truly cannot enter the scene of carnage it created, then I can rest easy."


    Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai and realized that he too was looking at her. She had something to say, on the tip of her tongue, but ultimately chose to swallow her words.


    However, Huang Chen couldn¡¯t hold back and said, "Of course, this isn¡¯t an absolute. Some extremely powerful strangeness can force their way into the same frequency cross-wave field they generated. But the likelihood of this happening is very low..."


    Before he could finish, Huang Chen noticed Lan Bing frowning, clearly displeased with his impromptu remark, and he hurriedly shut his mouth.


    Knock, knock, knock¡ªthe sound of knocking echoed.


    The people inside exchanged glances.


    "It might be Xin coming back," said Wang Qin. "Ever since his parents passed away, he¡¯s been very emotionally unstable."


    Huang Chen said, "I told him today not to go out, but he wouldn¡¯t listen."


    While talking, Huang Chen approached the door. He peered through the peephole and then unlocked the door.


    Lv Xin stood drenched outside the door, his hair plastered to his forehead, a picture of distress.


    "It suddenly started raining outside." As he walked into the house, Lv Xin wiped the water off his body.


    "Go to the bathroom and dry yourself with a towel, take a hot shower, or you might catch a cold."


    As an aunt, Wang Qin felt a lot of sympathy for Lv Xin, who had just lost his parents. She married Old Man Lv¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang, early on but had been unable to conceive. Thus, L¨¹ Jun and Wei Tingchun¡¯s child ended up being older than her own daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    Ever since the birth of Lv Jiayan, the couple had treasured her like a precious pearl.


    However, their cold attitude towards Granny Ren was also learned by Lv Jiayan. As Granny Ren¡¯s granddaughter, after Old Man Lv passed away and Granny Ren was left to live alone, Lv Jiayan had only visited her once.


    She had no memory of that visit whatsoever.


    Lv Xin nodded his head, without saying a word, and even his expression was indifferent as he hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.


    Shortly after, the sound of hot water from the shower could be heard.


    Zhang Lai glanced at the light emanating from the bathroom, turned to Wang Qin, and asked, "Does your husband always like to drink heavily?"


    Wang Qin nodded, "Whenever he¡¯s worried about something, he drinks. But luckily, when he¡¯s drunk, he doesn¡¯t get violent; he just sleeps."


    "You two have been hauling goods... have you been short on cash recently?" Zhang Lai continued to inquire. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wang Qin answered, "We were tight on money for a while. L¨¹ Qiang even borrowed some money recently. During that period, he was almost always drunk."


    "That¡¯s not good for his health," remarked Zhang Lai.


    Then, turning to Huang Chen with a meaningful look, Huang Chen understood and said, "I¡¯ll go check the bedroom."


    After passing through the narrow hallway to the main bedroom door, Huang Chen pushed the door open and went inside.


    The incandescent light flooded the bedroom, making it very bright, with the snoring from the bed sounding thunderous.


    However, as Huang Chen stepped into the bedroom, it seemed that the noise of the door had caused the snoring to stop abruptly, but the person on the bed was still sound asleep.


    The blanket was haphazardly pulled over the body, with L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s feet sticking out, one foot still clad in a shoe.


    Huang Chen walked over and saw that the man was sleeping with his head covered.


    Fearing that L¨¹ Qiang might suffocate himself in his drunken state, he quickly pulled the blanket off his face.


    L¨¹ Qiang was fast asleep; his mouth slightly open, likely heavy breathing due to alcohol intoxication, necessitating breathing through his mouth.


    The breathing was barely audible, a stark contrast to the overwhelming snoring Huang Chen had heard upon entering the room.


    Huang Chen was surprised and bent down to take a look at the open mouth of L¨¹ Qiang.


    Frowning, he slowly reached out his hand, inserting his thumb and forefinger into L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s open mouth. His fingers could feel a warm breath flow towards them, yet the breathing sound remained faint.


    Soon, Huang Chen¡¯s expression turned to shock as his thumb and forefinger pinched something and pulled it out of the mouth.


    This was... a clump of hair!


    A clump of white hair!

 Chapter 57 - 56 Two People?

    Huang Chen¡¯s expression froze.


    After listening intently for a while, even when he brought his head close to the other person¡¯s mouth and nose, he still found that L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s breathing had become barely audible.


    Startled, Huang Chen quickly reached out again, pried open L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth with his thumb and forefinger, and another large clump of silvery-white hair was pulled out.


    This time, the hair was noticeably longer, some of it having reached at least as far as L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s throat, visibly saliva-coated at the ends.


    At that moment, a crackling sound came from L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s throat, like a drowning person desperately struggling, trying to cry for help but unable to make a sound.


    Huang Chen leaped onto the bed and forcefully pried L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth open wider, this time inserting three fingers to grab and pull out even more hair.


    The silvery-white hair seemed endless, pulled out in clump after clump by Huang Chen.


    At this moment, Huang Chen¡¯s complexion drastically changed.


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Inside the bathroom.


    While showering, Lv Xin¡¯s voice reached the living room, "Forgot to bring a towel, can someone pass me a bath towel? Thanks!"


    Sitting in the living room, Lan Bing glanced at Zhang Lai; now he was the only male in the room and the only one suited to deliver a bath towel to Lv Xin.


    Zhang Lai said nothing, stood up and asked Wang Qin, "Where¡¯s the towel?"


    Wang Qin pointed towards the small bedroom across the hallway, "I saw a dry one hanging on the edge of the bed in there."


    Zhang Lai went into the small bedroom, quickly found a dry white bath towel, and headed for the bathroom.


    Just then, the sound of knocking on the door arose.


    Lan Bing and Wang Qin were startled, exchanging glances.


    At this time, in this place, other than Lv Xin who had just returned, there would be no one else seeking them out.


    If it were the other neighbors, they¡¯d probably avoid them at all costs, with no one taking the initiative to come knocking.


    It could only be other Exorcists from the Exorcism team.


    With Lv Jiayan in her arms, Wang Qin was not in a position to get up. So Lan Jing stood up, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, and immediately tensed up, frozen in place.


    "Who is it outside?" asked Wang Qin.


    Lan Jing turned to look at her, suppressing the shock in her heart, she uttered a sentence that almost made Wang Qin faint.


    "It¡¯s... Lv Xin."


    "Lv... Lv Xin is at the door?" Wang Qin paled, unconsciously clutching her daughter, who was also terrified, and casting her gaze towards the direction of the bathroom. "Then... who is... in the... bathroom?"


    Lan Jing did not open the door but immediately turned around and dashed towards the bathroom.


    Right as she reached the bathroom door, she braked sharply with one foot and did not proceed further.


    The bathroom door was open, but the interior was pitch-dark, as if she couldn¡¯t see her hand in front of her face.


    The light that had been on just moments ago was now extinguished, and Zhang Lai, who had just entered with a bath towel, had also vanished without a trace.


    As if the bathroom had never been visited at all,


    "Get inside, into the master bedroom! Quick!" Lan Jing shouted to Wang Qin.


    No sooner had she spoken than she raised her hand and threw a Hidden Buckle into the bathroom.


    A loud bang sounded out.


    A flash of white light finally revealed the situation inside the bathroom.


    There was no Lv Xin washing up, only Zhang Lai standing there, still holding the white towel, one end of which had drooped to the floor.


    On Zhang Lai¡¯s shoulder, this two-star Exorcist, sat a short, elderly woman with short hair, wearing a light cotton dress.


    The old woman was perched on his shoulder, leaning over and extending her tongue, licking Zhang Lai¡¯s forehead bit by bit, her saliva trickling down his forehead onto his cheeks.


    At this moment, Zhang Lai¡¯s eyes were lifeless, as if he had lost consciousness.


    From outside the living room door, Lv Xin¡¯s voice was heard,"Why isn¡¯t the door open? Where is everyone?"


    "Don¡¯t come in, leave here immediately!" Lan Jing yelled.


    The Hidden Buckle she had thrown out earlier was known as "Sweeper," a basic Exorcism Hidden Buckle commonly equipped by Exorcists, effective in rapidly clearing supernatural magnetic fields in a short time.


    Normally, a single "Sweeper" would be enough to clear a typical Wandering Spirit, and two of them should suffice for a higher-ranked Wandering Spirit.


    But the current situation was such that after throwing one "Sweeper," it only made the supernatural entity reveal itself, rather than eliminating the adversary.


    Without giving it a second thought, Lan Jing threw out another "Sweeper."


    Following a bang and a white light, the supernatural being, suspected to be Granny Ren, did not disappear nor show any signs of being affected; it raised its head, no longer licking Zhang Lai¡¯s forehead, and its gaze turned cold and ominous as it looked at Lan Jing standing at the bathroom door.


    "Ah!" Lan Jing took a step back in a panic, her eyes wide open as if she had just seen something unbelievable, and she blurted out, "Sculpting... Sculpting Spirit level!"


    Inside the bedroom.


    Wang Qin, holding her daughter Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand, burst into the room and quickly closed the door behind her.


    Then the mother and daughter froze, shocked to see Huang Chen standing on the bed, with Lv Qiang still sound asleep and a pile of long and short grey-white hairs next to the pillow.


    Hair of some unknown thing.


    Huang Chen looked up and saw the two entering, and noticing that something was off with Wang Qin¡¯s facial expression, he asked, "What happened?"


    "Zhang... Mr. Zhang Lai is in trouble, that person who entered the house... Lv Xin, there¡¯s something... something wrong with him!" Wang Qin stammered out.


    But before she could finish, Huang Chen jumped down from the bed and said, "Your husband should be fine now. I¡¯m going out to help. Don¡¯t come out unless you hear our instructions."


    He opened the door and then looked back, "Lock the door!"


    After closing the door, Wang Qin hurriedly locked it.


    Mother and daughter stood in the bedroom, hearts thumping loudly, holding hands and listening intently to the noises outside.


    Lv Jiayan, however, turned her head and glanced at her father lying on the bed.


    She saw that Lv Qiang seemed to be sleeping soundly, but his mouth was wide open, which was a bit frightening.


    Especially those piles of grey-white hairs by the pillow, whose origins were unknown, some of which even appeared to be wet.


    Could they be coming from his mouth?


    The young girl¡¯s mind raced, and upon this realization, her panic surged and she involuntarily shrank into her mother¡¯s embrace.


    But Wang Qin¡¯s attention was all on the noises outside, because the scene in the living room had been truly terrifying, especially after hearing Lan Jing say that the person knocking outside was Lv Xin, who had just entered the bathroom to take a shower, which almost made her faint.


    Glancing at her husband, she noticed that Lv Qiang, in his drunken state, was like a pile of mud except for his unusually wide-open mouth, which was strange. But Wang Qin didn¡¯t think too deeply about it, nor did she have the time to ponder.


    It sounded like there were voices outside, but they were very faint, prompting Wang Qin to focus all her attention on her hearing, attempting to discern if Lan Jing and the others had subdued Granny Ren¡¯s strangeness.


    Just then, Lv Jiayan tugged on Wang Qin¡¯s sleeve and whispered in a voice barely audible, "Mom, there¡¯s something moving inside Dad¡¯s mouth."


    At that moment, the lights in the bedroom suddenly went out.


    Because the curtains were drawn completely shut, when the lights went out, the entire bedroom was plunged into darkness.


    Wang Qin had just managed to understand what her daughter was saying when suddenly, she could see nothing but darkness.


    Instinctively, she hugged Lv Jiayan and they moved to the light switch by the bedroom door, fumbling for a moment before hitting the switch, but despite several attempts, it didn¡¯t work.


    "Did... did you see it clearly? Your dad is... is sleeping, how can there be something in... in his mouth?"


    "Yeah, I saw it clearly, it looked like... it looked like hair coming out of his mouth," said Lv Jiayan definitively.


    Slowly, their eyes began to adjust to the darkness.


    Through the dimness, they thought they saw someone get out of bed and stand rigidly beside it.

 Chapter 58 - 57 Sculpting Spirit Level

    Upon discovering a black figure get out of bed and stand up, Lv Jiayan¡¯s body began to tremble like a sieve, her voice unclear as she said, "Mom, is it Dad... did Dad get up? I¡¯m... scared!"


    It wasn¡¯t only Lv Jiayan; Wang Qin was now shaking more violently than her daughter, feeling a buzzing in her head that might cause her to faint at any moment.


    Although all the curtains were drawn in the bedroom, there was still light seeping in through the window, weak though it was. After adjusting to the darkness, everything could still be seen in a vague blur.


    Wang Qin was certain that it was L¨¹ Qiang standing by the bed at that moment.


    But even after getting up, L¨¹ Qiang didn¡¯t speak. He just stood there, without moving at all.


    Wang Qin felt a surge of panic and almost blurted out L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s name.


    But the intense fear compelled her to keep her mouth shut, so Wang Qin clenched her mouth tightly, resisting calling out to her husband.


    She leaned close to her daughter¡¯s ear, lowering her voice as much as possible, and whispered, "Don¡¯t... speak..." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, if she could scream right now, she believed her scream could pierce the sky at this moment, easily blow the roof off, and rupture eardrums.


    Yes, eardrums.


    At this moment, not only Wang Qin herself but even Lv Jiayan could feel that the L¨¹ Qiang in front of them was no longer the familiar dad they knew.


    He felt unfamiliar; his body emitted an unfamiliar aura, as if... all of a sudden, there was no life in him.


    The mother and daughter held their breath, standing motionless at the bedroom door, clutching each other¡¯s hands, their bodies continually trembling.


    The bedroom was eerily silent.


    Their gaze fixed steadily on the figure standing by the bed, not daring to blink.


    Suddenly, the figure bent over, a cracking sound coming from his throat, and then he began to vomit.


    From the sounds of vomiting, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t vomiting due to drunkenness. Instead, he was dry heaving, and something very dry was coming out, going on and on as if there was no end.


    The faint light from outside allowed Wang Qin to see that those were some soft items, similar to hair, a large amount of very long hair tangled together to the size of a fist, stretching L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth wide, pouring out continuously.


    For a moment, Wang Qin had the impulse to turn the doorknob, open the door, and run away.


    But she didn¡¯t know what the situation was outside, and the noise from turning the doorknob would undoubtedly attract L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s attention.


    She didn¡¯t want to draw his attention.


    She even imagined herself as invisible, as long as she didn¡¯t attract L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s attention, just standing silently behind the door.


    However, contrary to her wishes, after a bout of vomiting, L¨¹ Qiang, still bent over and maintaining the posture of a person vomiting, with a large amount of hair hanging from his mouth, staggered toward the door.


    At this moment, Wang Qin felt as if her scalp was exploding. She disregarded everything, twisted the doorknob with a click.


    This sound indeed startled L¨¹ Qiang, who, seeing his bent figure shake, quickened his pace like a hunched old crone, charging at the mother and daughter.


    The hair hanging from his mouth was now dragging on the floor, causing the mother and daughter to feel a surge of panic and nausea upon seeing this scene.


    Twisting open the door, Wang Qin¡¯s legs trembling, she almost dragged her daughter, whose body had gone limp, out of the bedroom.


    They crashed into a soft, fleshy mass, which turned out to be the slightly plump, two-star Exorcist Lan Jing.


    Lan Jing also looked terrified, a sight rarely seen in an exorcist, especially one who was a two-star Exorcist.


    "Let¡¯s go, leave this place!"


    Wang Qin was grabbed by the arm, pulled along as they rushed toward the living room door, which was already open at that moment.


    Seconds later, the three of them dashed out of apartment 12-4.


    There stood Huang Chen, pale and trembling slightly, frantically pressing the elevator buttons in the corridor.


    "Lan... Ms. Lan, didn¡¯t you say... my mom couldn¡¯t... come here?" Wang Qin blurted out in panic.


    "Your mom has evolved into a Sculpting Spirit class, at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit class, capable of Spirit-Splitting, blocking the transdimensional wave bands, and can resist any attack on Wandering Spirits. Not to mention this place; even if it was our Exorcist Squad branch, she could get in."


    As Lan Jing explained, she looked back, her words leaving Wang Qin completely bewildered.


    The elevator was descending from the twentieth floor and had not yet reached the twelfth floor.


    During this time, Huang Chen glanced again at the stairwell of the safety passage.


    Lan Jing reminded, "You can¡¯t take the stairs; few people go there, the Yin Energy is strong, the path is long, and there are too many variables."


    No sooner had she spoken than a tiptoeing sound of footsteps arose from the dark room of apartment 12-4, as if it were about to emerge any second.


    Lan Jing took out a square-shaped Hidden Buckle and threw it towards the door. It was a ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle that, upon hitting a Strangeness, could spread an extremely high amplitude of energy, shattering the Strange Body instantly.


    The tip of a cotton shoe had just stepped out of the door of apartment 12-4 when the ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle exploded, releasing energy waves that pushed Granny Ren¡¯s Strange Body back into the room.


    The tip of the foot vanished.


    Just then, the elevator arrived.


    "Quick, get in the elevator, the ¡¯Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle can¡¯t stop her!" Lan Jing pushed Wang Qin and Lv Jiayan into the elevator, which had just opened halfway.


    Huang Chen followed without a word and leaped in.


    Lan Jing brought up the rear, the last to step into the elevator.


    Then she glanced back; the tiptoeing footsteps resumed from inside the apartment, moving rapidly and urgently to the front of apartment 12-4.


    The moment the familiar cotton shoe tip appeared outside the door, the elevator closed and began to descend.


    Wang Qin held Lv Jiayan tightly, both mother and daughter white as sheets.


    They never imagined that Granny Ren¡¯s Strangeness had become so formidable, far beyond the common strangenesses usually mentioned by people.


    It was a great malignancy filled with deep resentment.


    The elevator was descending, but Lan Jing was not idle; she took out another square-shaped Hidden Buckle, this one gray, and said to Huang Chen, "This is a ¡¯High-Energy Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle. It¡¯s the only one I have. Once activated, it can create a short-term energy field blockade inside the elevator, preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    However, all three of you will experience temporary dizziness. Remember not to move around, I¡¯ll adjust the wave state, and soon you¡¯ll be able to adapt."


    After hastily finishing her words, without waiting for the three to react, Lan Jing threw the ¡¯High-Energy Collapse¡¯ Hidden Buckle at her feet.


    With a buzz, a ring of energy ripples spread, instantly filling the entire elevator.


    Huang Chen, Wang Qin, and Lv Jiayan all went blank at the same moment, their vision blurry, unable to see anything, but obediently none of them moved.


    Lan Jing quickly dialed the black disc in her hand with practiced movements.


    About several seconds later, the trio¡¯s vision gradually returned to clarity.


    By then, the elevator had reached the second floor.


    Suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop with a loud bang, and the lights inside flickered a few times before going out completely.


    "She can only trap the elevator, but don¡¯t worry, Granny Ren can¡¯t get in for now," Lan Jing said. "Everyone stay still for safety, form a circle and hold hands. I¡¯ll figure something out!"


    "Zhang... Mr. Zhang Lai?" Wang Qin, noticing someone was missing, could not help but ask in terror.


    "He¡¯s dead," Huang Chen answered.


    Wang Qin was so frightened, she couldn¡¯t speak.


    "I had also warned Lv Xin, who was outside the door just now. He should have run far away by now," Lan Jing spoke while taking Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand with one hand and grabbing Huang Chen with the other.


    Huang Chen held Wang Qin, and Wang Qin held her daughter Lv Jiayan, the four people forming a circle in the pitch-dark elevator.

 Chapter 59 - 58 Waiting for Rescue

    At the scene where the strangenesses claimed lives, everyone formed a circle, holding hands, which is obligatory training for an exorcist.


    Huang Chen also understood this.


    Where the strangeness ensued, the entity would try to "insert itself" during contact with people¡ªthat is to say, it would find ways to enter the human environment by various means and methods.


    Especially at scenes like these, the phenomenon of "inserting itself" was fiercer and more bizarre.


    For instance, Granny Ren could split her spirit and become Lv Xin to enter the house, and unless one was a three-star exorcist, it was impossible to sense the true from the false of Lv Xin.


    This was a typical "insertion."


    By entering Lv Qiang¡¯s body and making him vomit a large amount of his own previously fallen grizzled hair, this too was a form of "insertion."


    But because Lan Jing was well versed in this area and knew that Granny Ren, being at least a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, could easily catch up with them and insert herself, she did the opposite and immediately threw a "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle to her companions, sealing off the entire elevator, thereby temporarily preventing Granny Ren from entering.


    Although Ren couldn¡¯t enter, she still could control the exterior of the elevator.


    Now, with everyone holding hands, they formed a circle, giving Granny Ren no opportunity to insert herself.


    "What do we do now?" Huang Chen asked Lan Jing.


    "Give me all your Hidden Buckles," said Lan Jing. "Don¡¯t let go of each other¡¯s hands, use your fingertips to pry them out and place them all in the palm of my hand."


    Rustling sounds emanated from the elevator as Huang Chen, still holding onto the other¡¯s hand, prised off the buttons from his clothing and the Hidden Buckles in his pockets, slowly placing them on Lan Jing¡¯s palm.


    The elevator was devoid of light; not even the emergency lighting was on, leaving everyone unable to see anything, relying only on touch.


    "Mom¡­ Mommy?" Lv Jiayan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out.


    Wang Qin squeezed the hand of her daughter, offering encouragement: "Don¡¯t worry, mommy¡¯s here, don¡¯t be scared!"


    "Mommy¡­" Lv Jiayan¡¯s voice was far from calm, rather it sounded like she was about to cry, "Where are you, Mommy?"


    Everyone stiffened abruptly.


    At this moment, it was Wang Qin and Lan Jing who were holding Lv Jiayan¡¯s hands, with Huang Chen on the other side.


    "I¡¯m holding your hand, child; mommy¡¯s here," said Wang Qin, agitated.


    "Mommy, no one¡¯s holding me, I¡¯m over here!"


    No sooner had the words been spoken than a small hand suddenly touched Wang Qin¡¯s waist, then tugged on her clothes, "Mommy, I¡¯ve been standing in the corner of the elevator the whole time, nobody¡¯s holding me."


    "Not good!"


    Lan Jing let out a cry of alarm, immediately feeling the "Lv Jiayan" she was holding. The hand, which had been tender just a moment ago, was now full of wrinkles, the skin lax and parched.


    "Ah!"


    At the same time, Wang Qin noticed the anomaly and shrieked, as though she was holding a snake, and in her terror, she almost threw it away.


    "Wang Qin, don¡¯t let go, hold onto Granny Ren!" Lan Jing shouted, "If you let go, nobody will escape! Huang Chen, hold onto Lv Jiayan!"


    Until that moment, even Lan Jing hadn¡¯t anticipated that Granny Ren had still managed to insert herself unnoticed.


    From the second-floor corridor, one could see the elevator stuck there as it emitted a thunderous bang, the whole structure shaking violently.


    About four or five seconds later, the elevator door opened just a crack, enough for a person to slip through sideways.


    Lv Jiayan was violently shoved out, tumbling onto the second-floor corridor.


    The next second, Huang Chen darted out of the elevator, awkwardly bending over to grab Lv Jiayan, hoisting her up, then dashing into the stairwell and running swiftly towards the first floor.


    "Notify the squad headquarters immediately, take Lv Jiayan to Yu Xiaochang¡¯s home. Her life and death depend on her staying with him until the headquarters¡¯ exorcists arrive!"


    Lan Jing¡¯s words still echoed in Huang Chen¡¯s ears, lingering for a long time.


    Meanwhile, at the elevator that had opened, now only wisps of white smoke drifted out, and beyond that, there was no other movement.


    ¡­


    Shuntian No.3 Middle School.


    Yan Junze felt somewhat gloomy; Ke¡¯er had been disappearing and reappearing periodically these past few days, and he had no idea what she was up to.


    Moreover, he spent the day under the weight of several half-mocking, half-smiling gazes, which left him with complex emotions.


    During the break, after Zhou Dali made suggestive gestures towards him for the 17th time, he said, "How did it feel? Come on, tell your good brother, did it feel fleshy when you held her?"


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words and punched him hard on his chunky arm, "I should have collected Jian Tong¡¯s soul like capturing a Crawler Monster, and then released it every day to let you taste what flesh feels like."


    Zhou Dali chuckled, "Your puny punches don¡¯t work on me. But what I wanted to say is that this new video is freaking awesome. It feels even better than the previous ones, you know!" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following Bao Jie¡¯s suggestion, Yan Junze had decided not to delete the last part where he was "dressed as a big shot lady," and simply be his true self, even keeping the section where he vomited and felt sick.


    After all, there was a precedent for this.


    The new internet sensation, Big-eyed Girl, was sitting at the neighboring desk, and she currently had the highest fan count among them, showing nothing but her true self.


    The one with the fewest fans was undoubtedly Zhou Dali. He was even criticized as a "simp," "dramatic," and "how has he not been glared to death in the negative first floor by a dead person¡¯s eyes," plunging him into self-doubt and questions these past few days.


    He had asked Yan Junze the question "Should I continue to love Bao Jie" 128 times in three days.


    Before the afternoon classes, Ke¡¯er had disappeared once again.


    Yan Junze, who was already bothered by a headache, took Zhou Dali to the rooftop of the teaching building, speaking with the tone of an elder in a heartfelt manner: "I understand and empathize with your foolish young man¡¯s infatuation. But did you notice? Bao Jie doesn¡¯t like you. Forget about liking; she even harbors a slight disgust towards you. So, I suggest you let go of Bao Jie.


    Turn back while you can. Focus on doing your best, remember, ¡¯where flowers bloom, there butterflies flock.¡¯"


    Zhou Dali stared blankly at him, taking a while to snap back to reality, "Why do I suddenly feel like you sound like you¡¯re in your thirties?"


    "I am mature beyond my years," said Yan Junze with a serious tone, "In these few days, don¡¯t think about anything else. Just focus on revising and do well on your exams. Enhance your personal charm and strength. Once you¡¯re more capable, you won¡¯t have to worry about a lack of women¡¯s affection."


    Zhou Dali fell silent.


    After a short while, he pursed his lips, his eyes glistening with tears, then suddenly hugged Yan Junze. Seemingly crying and laughing at the same time, he loudly declared, "From this moment on, your big brother Dali¡¯s first love officially ends. I¡¯ll listen to you, focus on my exams, and cast aside everything else!"


    "Your sister¡¯s first love, have you even been in love?" retorted Yan Junze.


    "Hahaha¡­" Zhou Dali laughed through his tears.


    "Which student is that on the roof? Class has started, and yet you¡¯re up there making a racket? Hurry up and come down for class!" The voice of their class teacher, Xiang Decai, startled the two of them into running down as if smoke were at their heels.


    The rooftop returned to its tranquil state.


    After the rooftop door closed, around the corner next to the door, a thin woman with disheveled hair, wearing a white short-sleeve top and shorts, stood quietly facing the wall.

 Chapter 60 - 59 Professional Level Cooperation

    As expected, the "Wine red high heels" video erupted the day it was uploaded to Yan Junze¡¯s homepage on the "Open Your Eyes" platform.


    Since his previous video was already a hit, the new work naturally gained even more attention.


    The video platform¡¯s promotion editor, Tang Zhengyi, was also following Yan Junze¡¯s page and watched the "Wine red high heels" video as soon as it was released.


    He felt that this supernatural video felt more real, with terror seeping through the mundane atmosphere, especially when the "female strangeness" turned out to be a "transvestite twist," which added an amazing turn to the video, bringing a wave of light-hearted humor after the eerie reveal, earning the video high marks.


    Of course, after post-production, neither Jian Tong nor Jiang Mingjun had their real names disclosed.


    "Heh heh, this little guy, his video is quite interesting."


    Tang Zhengyi chuckled and quickly arranged a featured spot for "Wine red high heels".


    Then, Yan Junze¡¯s homepage exploded. Comments from netizens flew in like snowflakes.


    "Puppy, quickly tell us, do you also have that inclination?"


    "I just want to ask you, how does it feel?"


    "Damn, I was scared to death at the beginning, then I burst out laughing!!!"


    "Why did I guess the ending right from the beginning? Do I have that kind of inclination?"


    "Great video, keep them coming!"


    "Next time I want to see the untold story of Night Traveling Puppy and high heels transvestite..."


    "Don¡¯t laugh, guys, Spirit Exploration is a serious matter. Pfft... hahahaha..."


    "Seriously though, it¡¯s pretty good."


    Yan Junze had already adjusted his mindset, treating all comments like fleeting clouds in the sky.


    After all, the number of luxury cars and rockets kept increasing, which was the irrefutable evidence of the video¡¯s popularity.


    The next day, he received a message from the video platform, and when he opened it, the sender was an editor named "Tang Zhengyi".


    Using the work phone number provided in the message, Yan Junze called Tang Zhengyi during the ten minutes break between classes.


    The voice on the other end sounded like it belonged to a man in his forties, warm and slightly magnetic, "May I ask if the videos you upload are all shot by yourself?"


    "Two are by me, and another was a collaborative effort with classmates." Yan Junze replied.


    There was a moment of silence on the other end before he said, "If you all are amateurs and not a professional team, I suggest you refrain from spontaneously forming groups to engage in Spirit Exploration; it¡¯s very dangerous."


    "Yeah, that was the first time, just a trial. Even if we decide to form a group in the future, I will make a considered decision."


    "Actually, there is a lot of potential in the videos you uploaded. If our platform were to take over the production, I believe the outcome would be even better," Tang Zhengyi seemed to get to the point.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, "Are you saying that you would shoot my Spirit Explorations?"


    "No," Tang Zhengyi smiled, "We never send anyone to participate in the actual Spirit Exploration process, our role is limited to initial planning, mid-stage setup, and post-production."


    Yan Junze was silent.


    Tang Zhengyi further said, "Do you know what the most important element of a good horror video is defined as?"


    "What?" Yan Junze really didn¡¯t know the ins and outs of this.


    "Reality," Tang Zhengyi said. "Reality comes first; as long as it¡¯s real, the video¡¯s broadcast effect won¡¯t be bad. Therefore, even if we plan for you, we won¡¯t dispatch anyone to follow and shoot, which not only eliminates dangers but also increases the credibility of the video."


    "Then how should we shoot?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    "Install cameras in the Spirit Exploration site in advance, ensuring that the entire place is almost free of blind spots for comprehensive filming. Of course, the protagonist of the Spirit Exploration must have cameras on them as well."


    "That won¡¯t work," Yan Junze shook his head. "Some strange places, how can you let you go in advance to install cameras, aren¡¯t the staff courting death?" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "We have remote-controlled robots that can be operated remotely for installation," Tang Zhengyi explained unhurriedly. "If the terrain is complex, we can even control the robot to a corner for live on-site shooting."


    "Alright, having money is capricious," Yan Junze shrugged.


    We¡¯re not actually wealthy, our resources are limited," Tang Zhengyi laughed. "But if you¡¯re considering another Spirit Exploration, I think we can collaborate. Let us know in advance. We¡¯ll get the cameras sorted in the haunted place before your exploration and conduct the most realistic and comprehensive shooting."


    Yan Junze thought about it and nodded, "I might as well give it a try."


    By the way," Tang Zhengyi said, "I just checked your ¡¯Wine red high heels¡¯ video, it¡¯s trending again."


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze opened the platform and took a glance, his heart blooming with joy.


    If possible, he planned to contact Tang Zhengyi soon to finish the mission "Look at Her Face" involving the Back-faced Woman.


    The reason to finish this mission in advance was directly related to the Back-faced Woman herself.


    For some reason, it seemed like this woman was now fixated on him; within a mere week, Yan Junze had seen her four times on different occasions.


    Although each time they were at a distance and no unfortunate events were triggered, that hair-raising sensation followed him like a shadow, and almost as soon as he saw this woman, Yan Junze would immediately activate the Rewind setting to ensure he could get through safely.


    This also explained why Ke¡¯er would run off every now and then, it was due to the innate oppression from the wide gap in the level of strangeness between them.


    In fact, what Yan Junze feared the most was the Back-faced Woman showing up at his home one day.


    If such a high-level horror figure appeared at home, it would be a tremendous threat to his parents.


    Therefore, if the situation allowed, he must resolve it as quickly as possible.


    However, there was another problem, which was the matter of Yan Junze¡¯s parents.


    It¡¯s true that the videos he shot were making money, but he couldn¡¯t hide the source of this income after handing it over to his parents. So, Yan Junze was preparing to come clean to them about still engaging in Spirit Exploration and even making profitable videos.


    That day, after coming home and eating, Yan Junze spilled the beans to Yan Daguo and Li Man about all the unrighteous things he had been doing.


    Initially, the couple was shocked, but Yan Junze admitted he had a special natural gift and, on the spot, "using the Exorcist¡¯s methods," summoned the Crawler Monster, which started rolling around on the floor in a display.


    Upon seeing this spectacle, Li Man gasped and passed out; it was only after Yan Daguo pinched her philtrum for quite a while that she finally came to with a faint breath.


    The first thing she said after waking up was, "Ze, please quickly get rid of this disgusting mangy dog!"


    After a night of ideational exchange and thorough conversation, the couple finally accepted Yan Junze¡¯s confession about his Exorcist talent, and in return, they insisted that he must keep it a secret and never stir up trouble outside.


    Yan Junze simply wanted to say that causing trouble was out of the question, trouble found him.

 Chapter 61 - 60 Your Grandmother is No Longer Your Grandmother

    As Granny Ren¡¯s only daughter, Lv Yaoyao had been doted on by her parents since birth, getting almost anything she wanted.


    However, the consequence of such excessive indulgence was that when her parents could no longer satisfy Lv Yaoyao¡¯s growing desires and vanity, she exploded.


    People couldn¡¯t imagine that the hatred accumulated from not being satisfied any longer could make Lv Yaoyao detest her parents to the bone.


    It was as if they were not family, but born enemies.


    Her eldest brother, L¨¹ Qiang, and her second brother, L¨¹ Jun, always resented the favoritism shown to Lv Yaoyao by the old couple, often taking the blame and beatings for her mistakes.


    In L¨¹ Jun¡¯s memory, it seemed Lv Yaoyao had never been hit by their parents, not even scolded.


    "Since you adore Yaoyao so much, let her take care of you, provide for your old age." After the brothers set up their own families and businesses, plus the eruption of some trifles, they almost cut off all contact with their parents.


    Of course, Lv Yaoyao also harbored profound hatred for her elders.


    It¡¯s often said that those who are pitied also have qualities that are detestable. Deprived of family happiness, the miserable twilight years of Old Man Lv and Granny Ren thus took shape.


    "She is no longer your mother, nor is she their grandmother or maternal grandmother anymore." Huang Chen¡¯s expression was solemn, even somewhat sorrowful, as he spoke word by word, "We¡¯ve already requested assistance from headquarters, and soon three or even four-star exorcists will come down. For now, everyone can only stay here like this; no one can go out alone."


    In Lv Yaoyao¡¯s living room, Huang Chen, Lv Jiayan, Lv Yaoyao, and her husband Yu Tao, were all gathered around Yu Xiaochang, Lv Yaoyao¡¯s son, as if he were the center of attention, like stars around the moon.


    Yu Xiaochang was a bit bewildered, not knowing since when everyone here, no matter what they were doing, always pulled him along to be by their side.


    It was as if he had become a big celebrity overnight; without Yu Xiaochang, it seemed as though these people could not even relieve themselves comfortably.


    Of course, when it came to going to the bathroom, as long as he stood outside the restroom door, the person inside would still be very safe.


    "How soon can your headquarters¡¯ exorcists get here?" Yu Tao asked with a deeply furrowed brow, continuously smoking.


    The ashtray on the table was already filled with cigarette butts, and the entire living room was shrouded in smoke, seemingly unconcerned that there was a child present.


    "Very soon. Considering the whole of Great Capital Huaying, the number of three-star and above exorcists isn¡¯t that great, but they will hurry over as soon as possible." Huang Chen wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    He never imagined that, as an exorcist, there would come a day where he would be relegated to being protected by an ordinary little kid.


    It now appeared that Granny Ren¡¯s most spoiled grandchild was Yu Xiaochang; as long as he was present, safety could be assured.


    Another reason, which even Huang Chen didn¡¯t foresee, was that no one would know why Granny Ren transformed so quickly and ferociously.


    Sculpting Spirit level, capable of creating D-level strangenesses, let alone C-level events.


    Of course, from what could be seen, Granny Ren¡¯s supernatural phenomena were not truly of the Sculpting Spirit level, just like the late Lan Jing had said¡ªshe was very likely a Semi-Sculpting Spirit level strange body.


    But even so, the current team of exorcists here would still be very, very troubled facing her.


    "I hope they move quickly!" Lv Yaoyao clasped her hands together, then hugged Yu Xiaochang tightly, "You¡¯ll sleep on the bed with mom and dad tonight."


    She then looked at the others and said, "You¡¯ll just have to make do and sleep on the bedroom floor."


    Huang Chen glanced at Lv Jiayan.


    Lv Jiayan had been frowning all along, occasionally wiping away tears in secret.


    She nodded her head and spoke softly, "I¡¯m fine with that."


    Before long, two men came out of the restroom, both colleagues of Huang Chen, one named Yang Depei, a two-star exorcist, and the other named Zhao Shuai, also a one-star exorcist like Huang Chen.


    They were initially guarding this place, but an incident had already occurred in the LHTD Community, so now everyone had gathered together.


    Going to the bathroom was something the exorcists didn¡¯t ask Yu Xiaochang to accompany them for. Instead, they went in pairs.


    However, when it came to sleeping at night, everyone squeezed into one room. Fortunately, the bedroom in Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home was large enough to accommodate everyone spaciously on the floor.


    The relationship between the protectors and the protected had become quite delicate. Generally speaking, the exorcists were there to protect Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home. But on the other hand, should a supernatural event occur, everyone would depend on Yu Xiaochang.


    "Right, why haven¡¯t we seen Lv Xin?" Yu Tao suddenly remembered him.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lv Yaoyao¡¯s phone rang.


    Looking at it, Lv Yaoyao turned the phone screen towards Yu Tao and said, "It¡¯s Lv Xin calling."


    "Answer it quickly."


    Lv Yaoyao pressed the answer button and then enabled the speakerphone.


    "Auntie," Lv Xin¡¯s voice came through, sounding as if everything was normal with him, his tone quite calm.


    "Where are you now? It¡¯s very dangerous outside," Lv Yaoyao said.


    Although she seemed concerned, Lv Yaoyao did not actually invite him over to her house.


    "I¡¯m alright." The environment on Lv Xin¡¯s end sounded very quiet with no noise in the background. "I found some things in Grandma¡¯s room that could be a great help in dealing with the situation. It would be best if you all could come over."


    "You mean... you¡¯re at the FH Community now?" Lv Yaoyao asked.


    "Yeah, I¡¯ve been at Grandma¡¯s house the whole time. It¡¯s very safe; Grandma never came back." Lv Xin said, "And I think I know... who killed Grandma. You all should come over quickly."


    After hanging up the phone, Lv Yaoyao looked up at everyone.


    "Really...do we need to go?"


    "No," the exorcist named Yang Depei shook his head, "If you know who the murderer is, you should notify the security officer directly. Going there is useless for us."


    "But what if it helps alleviate Granny Ren¡¯s resentment?" Zhao Shuai joined in the conversation: "I think it¡¯s worth taking a look, but not everyone should go."


    Huang Chen nodded, "I¡¯ll go over tomorrow. Everyone else stays home and waits for my news. Also, Zhao Shuai, give me a few Hidden Buckles. I¡¯ve used up all the ones from last time."


    Yang Depei took out a "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle and handed it to Huang Chen, "Here¡¯s one for you, but don¡¯t use it unless absolutely necessary. As a one-star exorcist, your resistance is still quite weak. If you have to use it, try to stay away from the affected area. Don¡¯t get yourself caught up in it."


    ...


    The truth was, the efficiency of the "Open Your Eyes" supernatural video platform was indeed very high.


    Before Yan Junze decided to take on the "Look at Her Face" task, he had only informed Tang Zhengyi of his intentions. Yet, by the third day, staff from the platform were already on-site with various types of cameras.


    Considering that the video platform¡¯s headquarters were neither in Shuntian City nor in Tianmeng District, but in Tianyi District, their prompt cross-district mobilization with equipment to support Yan Junze spoke volumes of their prioritization. Moreover, the platform company had managed, through unknown means, to communicate in advance with FH Community¡¯s property management.


    They received permission to install concealed cameras on Building 7, nearby footpaths, and the outer walls of the opposite buildings.


    However, these had to be removed after a week.


    Indeed, Yan Junze planned to complete the Back-faced Woman¡¯s task right inside the FH Community. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 62 - 61 Resentful Granny

    Because this place was an apartment complex, and not a location so haunted that staff couldn¡¯t even enter, the efficiency of the installation crew was quite high.


    After surveying the complex, a middle-aged man who seemed like the leader drew a distribution map, instructing the workers to install cameras at the specified spots.


    Then, this obviously experienced middle-aged man patted his bottom and left.


    Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi while at school, and upon returning to FH Community, he found that the workers had already left, but his own Building 7 had noticeably more cameras.


    There were also cameras on the opposing walls and along the pathways.


    During the camera installation, residents saw the process but assumed it was the community¡¯s initiative to strengthen security monitoring, and no one suspected anything unusual.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t tell his parents, either.


    His plan was to start executing the "Look at Her Face" task this Saturday night, likely after 1 a.m.


    What Yan Junze didn¡¯t expect was to bump into the Exorcist Huang Chen right at the entrance of the complex upon coming home from school.


    Huang Chen, with his head down, hurried up the stairs, nearly colliding with a young man descending.


    Yan Junze called out to him from behind, "Mr. Huang Chen."


    Huang Chen stopped and turned his head downward; seeing that it was Yan Junze, he slapped his forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot, you live here too."


    "Aren¡¯t you here to see me?" Yan Junze wondered.


    "No," Huang Chen stood there waiting for Yan Junze to catch up, saying, "I¡¯m going to Room 503, the Lv kid who studies abroad is waiting for me upstairs."


    "Lv Xin? He¡¯s here again?" Yan Junze asked in surprise.


    "You know each other?" Huang Chen also showed a puzzled look.


    "He came to see me before, asking about the discovery of his grandmother¡¯s death at home," Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide the fact.


    Huang Chen nodded, "I figured he was investigating Granny Ren¡¯s cause of death."


    "Really? Did he find anything?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "That¡¯s what Lv Xin says, so I came to have a look," Huang Chen replied.


    At this point in the conversation, the two had reached the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze said, "Do you want to stop by my place first? My parents won¡¯t be home from work until later, how about a cup of tea first?"


    "No need," Huang Chen waved his hand, "business is business, let¡¯s chat another day."


    "Sure."


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything more and watched as Huang Chen proceeded up the stairs to the fifth floor.


    After making sure Huang Chen had gone upstairs, he then turned his head to look at Ke¡¯er lying on his back, "You¡¯re getting bolder! You used to avoid Huang Chen at all costs, but now you treat him like he¡¯s thin air."


    Ke¡¯er ignored him and continued lying motionless.


    After a pause, Yan Junze added, "But then again, Huang Chen once told me only exorcists above three stars can sense the presence of strangenesses. Should you encounter an exorcist of that level, you need to be extra careful and avoid them in advance."


    Ke¡¯er stretched out a purplish-black finger and flicked Yan Junze¡¯s hair at the back of his head as a response.


    At the same time, in Lv Yaoyao¡¯s home.


    Yu Tao was furious but helpless as he stared at Lv Yaoyao and said, "How could you let Lv Jiayan go out alone? Her leaving now, as soon as she¡¯s away from us, away from Xiaochang, it¡¯s almost no different from sending her to die!"


    Lv Yaoyao was peeling an orange for Xiaochang, without any expression, she said, "Yu Tao, are you blaming me? I told you, she insisted on going to meet Lv Xin, saying that she wanted to help find the cause of Grandma¡¯s death. Tch, she never visited when mom was alive, and now that she¡¯s gone, only when her own life is threatened does she start to care about others. Just like her dad!"


    "You should watch your words," Yu Tao helplessly sat down and lit a cigarette. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting opposite him, Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai looked at each other.


    Unable to contain his anger, Zhao Shuai muttered to himself, "That young girl really doesn¡¯t understand, talking about how capable Lv Xin, our second brother¡¯s son, is, investigating his parents¡¯ death on his own outside. It provoked Lv Jiayan, and she quietly ran out to help. Hey, who said those things to her?"


    Lv Yaoyao¡¯s face subtly changed, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.


    But considering the speaker was no less than an Exorcist master, she dared not offend him. She broke off a piece of the peeled orange, carefully fed it to Xiaochang, her face an iron shade, and said no more.


    Yang Depei elbowed Zhao Shuai, "Call Huang Chen, tell him Lv Jiayan might have gone to FH Community. I¡¯m heading over now!"


    ...


    "What?"


    Sitting on the couch in Room 503, talking to Lv Xin, Huang Chen¡¯s face changed slightly. Without hanging up the phone, he stood up and quickly walked out of Room 503, leaned over the corridor railing, and looked down.


    About two minutes later, a little girl in light yellow casual pants and a pale purple sweater appeared below, looking up at the building numbers on the exterior wall before stepping into the staircase of building seven.


    "Lv Jiayan, that girl really came!" Huang Chen, with a resigned look, turned to Lv Xin, who was still sitting on the sofa inside, "Your sister Lv Jiayan is here, I¡¯ll go down to meet her."


    "Mhmm, it¡¯s good that she came," Lv Xin nodded.


    At the same moment.


    Yan Junze finished his homework and logged onto the "Open Your Eyes" video platform to casually browse through a few videos.


    The quality of these videos appearing on the homepage was quite high, obviously shot by professional teams.


    He even saw those supernatural videos shot entirely with fixed cameras, indeed they felt much more realistic.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze decided to go out for a walk, stretch his limbs, and check the newly installed cameras in various corners of the building.


    Having just watched her wash his hair, Ke¡¯er was now nowhere to be found, but since following him, she had never appeared in front of his parents¡ªvery obedient. Leaving her alone at home, Yan Junze was not worried.


    After closing the door, he strolled down the hallway.


    As he was about to approach the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, staring blankly ahead as if witnessing some extremely bizarre scene.


    At the same time, Huang Chen met up with Lv Jiayan, who was coming up the stairs. The two had just reached the fourth floor and appeared before Yan Junze.


    What made Yan Junze freeze at that moment was a task notification that suddenly popped into his mind.


    [Task Name: Evil Spirit-eating;]


    [Task Level: Trembling with Fear (High);]


    [Task Background: A terrifying evil spirit has set its sights on Lv Jiayan, intending to kill her. The parents, who had her late in life, cherish Lv Jiayan as the apple of their eye, and her deceased parents will never allow this frightful evil spirit to target her. However, the disparity in strength makes them utterly powerless. Perhaps there¡¯s a slim chance for Lv Jiayan.


    Her father, L¨¹ Qiang, and mother, Wang Qin have prepared for the worst; if they (the Newborn Evil Spirits) are consumed by the malevolent entity, its strength will be sealed for three weeks;]


    [Task Explanation: Find a way to make the ferocious evil spirit consume these two Newborn Evil Spirits, ensuring Lv Jiayan¡¯s survival;]


    [Task Reward: 900 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Task Penalty: You will draw the wrath of the terrifying evil spirit (this penalty is inevitable), unless you kill it;]


    [Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Do not delude yourself into confronting it head-on; 3. Do not release any friendly evil spirits, or beware of a group wipe-out;]


    [Note: This evil spirit is the ultimate evolution of Granny Ren, you can now call her¡ªResentful Granny!]]

 Chapter 63 - 62 Evil Spirit-eating (1)

    Yan Junze had never dreamed that he would encounter a task released by the Spacetime Atlas just by sitting tired and taking a short walk.


    There were many keywords mentioned in the task, and he couldn¡¯t digest them all at once.


    However, after completing the last task, "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night", he had talked with his parents about Granny Ren, and learned that Granny Ren had two sons and one daughter, and the Lv Xin he had seen last time was from the family of the second son Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun.


    As for the little girl named Lv Jiayan in front of him, she must be the daughter of the eldest son, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin.


    Yet what struck Yan Junze most was not these people, but Yu Xiaochang, the only grandson Granny Ren deeply cared for and adored.


    From the task background, it could be inferred that besides the couple, Lv Jun and Wei Tingchun, the second son of Granny Ren¡¯s, the eldest son¡¯s couple, Lv Qiang, and Wang Qin, had also died, and it was Granny Ren¡ªno, the Resentful Granny¡ªwho was now scheming against their daughter, Lv Jiayan.


    And by the looks of it, the evil spirits of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, following Granny Ren¡¯s ultimate evolution, were not her match.


    The only thing they could do now was to allow the Resentful Granny to devour them, thereby sealing her strength for three days and allowing their daughter, Lv Jiayan, to escape this calamity.


    The task hints also made it very clear about the Resentful Granny¡¯s power, which made Yan Junze wonder if not even Ke¡¯er and the Crawling Corpse, or Jian Tong here, would stand a chance against the Resentful Granny.


    What terrified Yan Junze the most, however, was that, damn it, the task¡¯s punishment was inevitable?!


    Could there be anything more direct than that?


    That is to say, by choosing to complete this task, attracting hatred from the Resentful Granny would become inevitable. Unless he could destroy her.


    Fortunately, the main character of this task wasn¡¯t himself; the Resentful Granny was eyeing Lv Jiayan. Moreover, isn¡¯t the Exorcist Huang Chen also here? Maybe he could figure out a way to complete it.


    Although, Huang Chen always seemed unreliable.


    "To do or not to do?"


    Yan Junze stood in the corridor not far from the fourth-floor stairwell, looking preoccupied, completely indifferent even when Huang Chen nodded at him in greeting.


    After Lv Jiayan quietly arrived, Huang Chen, who was a bundle of nerves, saw that Yan Junze seemed to be in a world of his own and did not plan to speak to him; he took Lv Jiayan straight to the fifth floor.


    It was a good thing that Yang Depei had called just now, saying he was on his way. Having this two-star Exorcist come to help was a relief, but Huang Chen was still uneasy.


    It wasn¡¯t until his and Lv Jiayan¡¯s footsteps disappeared into the stairwell that Yan Junze came back to his senses.


    Still, Yan Junze was very conflicted at this moment. According to the rules, the difficulty of the task was "Trembling with Fear (High)", which was a bit harder than the yet uncompleted task "Reflection Under the Moonlight".


    "Reflection Under the Moonlight" was classified as "Trembling with Fear (Medium)", but "Evil Spirit-eating" was not as difficult as "Look at Her Face". S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Look at Her Face" had reached "hair-raising (Low)" difficulty, and he was already preparing to undertake it, which meant that the task¡¯s difficulty level wasn¡¯t the main factor affecting completion.


    So far, what Yan Junze worried about was the punisment of the "Evil Spirit-eating" task was just too harsh. Even if he completed the task, if he couldn¡¯t destroy the Resentful Granny and shake her off, his future life could probably be described as a dire nightmare.


    Unconsciously arriving at the stairwell, Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the stairs, torn between going up or going down, as if this moment were a multiple-choice question that would determine his fate for life.


    Forget the "Evil Spirit-eating", just continue preparing for the "Look at Her Face" task. After all, the Exorcist Huang Chen was there.


    But Granny Ren had evolved, and now Huang Chen, a one-star Exorcist, could he really handle her? After all, this guy was the Exorcist who couldn¡¯t even catch a Possession Spirit the first time.


    While Yan Junze hesitated, a faint sound of footsteps came from the third-floor staircase below.


    The sound was so familiar it almost instantly pulled him back to a certain night, to the familiar footsteps that would arrive punctually at his doorstep every morning at two o¡¯clock.


    Lowering his head, he saw a pair of familiar old cotton shoes in his line of sight.


    Certainly, the person climbing the stairs was walking on tiptoes.


    Inside Room 503, Huang Chen urged Lv Xin, "Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll leave immediately and talk at your aunt Lv Yaoyao¡¯s house."


    "Why?" Lv Xin pulled away, "I found something in grandma¡¯s bedroom, wait for me..."


    "Then hurry up and get it, after that we¡¯ll leave this place and go check it out at Yu Xiaochang¡¯s house," Huang Chen said, growing anxious as he grabbed Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand.


    Thump, thump, thump, the sound of knocking at the door echoed.


    Huang Chen¡¯s expression changed, he quickly pulled Lv Jiayan behind him, told Lv Xin to come over, and took out the "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle that Yang Depei had given him.


    "Mr. Huang Chen, it¡¯s me, Yan Junze." A familiar voice came from outside the door.


    Huang Chen was startled, then his expression relaxed, but he still asked cautiously, "Where did we first meet?"


    "In Teacher Zhang Tiantian¡¯s office, duh," Yan Junze was a bit confused.


    The door opened, and Huang Chen, standing at the doorway, showed no intention of inviting him inside, "We¡¯re in a bit of a rush, if you could come back another day for what you need. Please leave for now!"


    "It¡¯s already too late for that," Yan Junze barged into the room and immediately closed the door behind him.


    Huang Chen stood rooted to the spot, "What... what¡¯s too late?"


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste any more time talking, he went straight to the point, "Granny Ren is already here, you can¡¯t escape. Now, think about how to deal with her."


    "How... how do you know!?" Huang Chen exclaimed in surprise.


    "This story goes back to the time when humans first appeared on this planet, do you want to hear it?"


    "Let¡¯s save that for later."


    Huang Chen was frantic with worry and had no time for Yan Junze¡¯s digressions, he turned back and ordered, "Close all the doors and windows in the room, we¡¯ll just stay in the living room."


    As soon as Huang Chen finished speaking, Lv Xin immediately ran to the bedroom door, closed it, and then shut all other doors including another small bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen.


    In the meantime, Huang Chen made a phone call to Yang Depei, and then asked Yan Junze to help him move the coffee table in the living room, bringing two chairs over to place directly opposite the couch.


    Four people, Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan on the couch, Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the chairs opposite, formed a circle.


    "When it¡¯s time, hold hands, and no one lets go," Huang Chen spoke seriously.


    While talking, he took out all the Hidden Buckles given to him by Zhao Shuai and Yang Depei, a "High-Energy Collapse" from Yang Depei, and two "Sweepers" and one "Collapse" from Zhao Shuai.


    "Yan Junze, actually you didn¡¯t have to come here to notify us, you could have called me, but now I¡¯m afraid it might be dangerous to go outside," Huang Chen signaled everyone to hold hands and said to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer but instead asked, "What is this for?"


    "To prevent strangenesses from ¡¯interfering¡¯," Lv Jiayan quickly answered before anyone else.


    ¡­


    "No way!" Lv Yaoyao shook her head like a rattle drum, "We¡¯re not going anywhere, home is the safest place."


    Yang Depei, who had already left, upon receiving the call that Huang Chen was unable to leave, he immediately returned to Lv Yaoyao¡¯s house.


    Standing in front of Lv Yaoyao and her husband Yu Tao, he said, "Now, we must take Yu Xiaochang to FH Community, there¡¯s no choice; otherwise, the three people there might all die."


    "No, I¡¯m not feeling well, I don¡¯t want to go out..."


    Before Lv Yaoyao could finish her sentence, Yang Depei interrupted her with gritted teeth, "I¡¯m not asking for your opinion. If you don¡¯t agree, from now until your death, I can guarantee that not a single Exorcist will ever help the Yu family again. You should know that Granny Ren is not the only Evil Spirit in this world."

 Chapter 64 - 63 Evil Spirit-eating (2)

    FH Community, Building 7, Room 503.


    Huang Chen, speaking as fast as he could, briefed Yan Junze and Lv Xin on the specific details of the "strangeness" intrusion and said, "We just need to hold on for a little while longer. Before my colleague arrives here with Yu Xiaochang, we can¡¯t let Granny Ren ¡¯intrude¡¯."


    After a pause, Huang Chen added, "If, unfortunately, she does ¡¯intrude¡¯, no one should panic. I can hold her off temporarily, and you all should immediately run for the door. Rush out of the community and wait for Xiaochang to arrive."


    Upon hearing this, Yan Junze had a new idea in mind, silently considering, "If we manage to complete this mission and pull the Resentful Granny¡¯s animosity onto ourselves, having Yu Xiaochang by our side as a sort of ¡¯get-out-of-death-free¡¯ card is at least a decent backup plan."


    The key question was how to keep such a brat by his side when the time came. Should he sacrifice Ke¡¯er a bit and let him play with Ke¡¯er, cultivating a bond from a young age, like childhood sweethearts?


    As Yan Junze was lost in whimsical ideas, the familiar sound of tiptoeing footsteps returned from the corridor outside.


    The sound was very light. Although it was still daytime, there were no longer any residents on the fifth floor, and aside from the faint footsteps, there was only the heavy, rapid breathing of the four people sitting in the room.


    It was clear that everyone else had heard it too.


    All their eyes unconsciously followed the footsteps outside the room, then all gathered at the living room door.


    They waited for a moment, but no knocking came.


    The four exchanged glances, withdrawing their gazes.


    A little while later, a hoarse voice suddenly came from the master bedroom with the door closed.


    "It hurts..."


    All four people in the living room jolted in shock.


    Yan Junze heard it very clearly, the voice was identical to the one Granny Ren had made that night, it must be her in the bedroom.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that in just this short time, the Resentful Granny had already returned to her own bedroom.


    "If she tries to intrude, ignore her."


    Huang Chen warned, holding Yan Junze¡¯s right hand forward, gripping two "Sweeper" Hidden Buckle, and with his left hand holding Lv Jiayan, he gripped the "High-Energy Collapse" Hidden Buckle.


    The pitiful cries of pain did not cease, one after another, as if a steel brush relentlessly scraped against everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Before long, goosebumps covered Yan Junze¡¯s entire body, and Lv Jiayan began to tremble, unable to help but close her eyes.


    Just as she wanted to reach out and cover her ears, at the instant she almost let go, Huang Chen firmly grabbed hold.


    "Don¡¯t move! Ignore the sound, try to shift your focus."


    At that moment, the wailing stopped.


    Lv Xin took a long breath and was about to speak when the sound of scratching came from behind the door of the master bedroom.


    Yan Junze was all too familiar with this sound ¨C it was the sound of fingernails scratching the door. Just like Jian Tong had done while scratching the bathroom stall door.


    However, whereas the stall door had been thin, hollow, and brittle, this bedroom door was heavy and thick, and the scratching sound it produced was not piercing, but eerily subdued.


    A nauseating feeling welled up in his heart, lingering for a long time without dissipating.


    The sound of scratching the door continued for about two minutes, then eventually stopped.


    Then, the bedroom door opened...


    As the door swung open, the Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came once more, "Who... has seen my comb?"


    A short old lady dressed in a brown thin cotton jacket stood in the doorway of the bedroom. Her pupils were covered by a layer of grey film, making her look like a blind person at a glance, but her hair was neatly combed, and her clothes were very clean.


    The moment Resentful Granny made her appearance, everyone was so frightened that they didn¡¯t even dare to breathe heavily. Huang Chen felt the trembling of Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand he was holding on his left; she was trembling violently, on the verge of crying.


    He pressed his voice down to an extreme whisper, as if scraping a few words from his throat, "Don¡¯t look at her! Don¡¯t talk to her!"


    From where Yan Junze was seated, a glance up would land on the figure of Resentful Granny, but upon hearing Huang Chen¡¯s warning, he turned his gaze to the painting on the wall, refusing to stare at Resentful Granny any longer.


    Lv Xin did the same, but he simply bowed his head, eyes fixed on the ground.


    After Resentful Granny finished speaking, no one answered her.


    Suddenly, she seemed to grow a few inches taller, stood on tiptoes, and slowly walked out of the bedroom, into the living room.


    At this moment, the temperature in the entire bedroom dropped to freezing point, as if even the air had solidified.


    Yan Junze could even hear the wooden chair he was sitting on making a creaking noise as the temperature plummeted.


    Normally, an evil spirit wouldn¡¯t easily emit such a powerful magnetic field unless it was deliberate, or the spirit itself was too powerful, which would cause such a strong reaction.


    The four of them were holding hands, both Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan were looking down at the ground, Huang Chen was focusing on the bathroom door, while Yan Junze¡¯s attention was on the Eight Fine Horses Painting on the wall behind the sofa.


    Of course, through their peripheral vision, they could all still roughly make out the position of Resentful Granny, but no one was directly looking at her.


    "Who has seen my comb?"


    The old woman didn¡¯t go far but murmured softly as she moved, with the rustling sound of her clothes.


    A few seconds later, she stopped behind Yan Junze.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt as if his heart had stopped beating, and he held his breath, not daring to breathe at all.


    Resentful Granny bent over, sniffed a few times close to Yan Junze¡¯s back, and stretched out her nearly skin-and-bones fingers to lightly slide across his back.


    Yan Junze felt as though his scalp was about to burst, he clenched his teeth tightly, feeling a cold mass slowly skid down from his neck, like a worm crawling, not stopping until it reached his waist.


    After that cold sensation disappeared, Resentful Granny withdrew her hand and walked to the other side.


    Only then did Yan Junze take several deep breaths, releasing the breath he had been holding.


    During all this, the Hidden Buckle that Huang Chen was holding in both hands was subtly pointed in that direction, ready to launch should anything unusual occur.


    In Lv Jiayan¡¯s eyes, her grandmother¡¯s figure was lingering around, showing no intention of leaving the living room to search other rooms for the comb. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her face pale with fright, her teeth began to chatter. Bowing her head, her eyes affixed firmly to the ground beneath, she dared not move.


    Suddenly, a waxen, withered cheek appeared abruptly below Lv Jiayan, meeting her downcast gaze.


    "Have you seen my comb?"


    Resentful Granny, bending over, filled Lv Jiayan¡¯s entire field of vision with her wrinkled face. Caught off guard, she quivered, her mouth opening as if about to scream.


    But at the same moment, the startled girl remembered Huang Chen¡¯s instruction not to speak; making a noise was surely out of the question.


    She quickly stuffed the hand, which she was holding with Huang Chen¡¯s, into her mouth and bit down hard.


    In her hurriedness, she put her mouth on the wrong hand and ended up biting Huang Chen¡¯s fleshy hand instead.


    Huang Chen almost let out a yelp, holding his breath sharply, his face instantly turning the color of a monkey¡¯s bottom, his eyes nearly bulging out, but he managed to make no sound.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but give a thumbs up, thoroughly impressed.


    Exorcists are indeed formidable, he thought¡ªtheir endurance, their breath control¡ªthey were leagues ahead of him!

 Chapter 65 - 64 Evil Spirit-eating (3)

    Although the young girl was clever, Lv Jiayan managed to bite Huang Chen¡¯s hand just as she was about to scream, but Resentful Granny¡¯s face did not move away.


    She stood beside Lv Jiayan, her already hunched back now bent to an unbelievable angle.


    This waxen, shriveled face, still aimed straight at Lv Jiayan, with pupils covered in a gray film, unblinking as they stared right into Lv Jiayan¡¯s eyes.


    Lv Jiayan quickly lifted her head, looking directly at Lv Xin seated opposite her, and noticed that at some point, Lv Xin had also looked up, meeting her gaze.


    Lv Xin¡¯s expression was calm, his eyes particularly deep at that moment, staring steadily at Lv Jiayan without any intention of looking away.


    Suddenly, Lv Jiayan felt uncomfortable all over. Staring into Lv Xin¡¯s eyes, she felt an inexplicable strangeness, making it impossible to continue looking directly at him.


    She shifted her gaze to Yan Junze.


    He too was looking at her.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze was very aware that Resentful Granny seemed to have set her sights on Lv Jiayan.


    Evil Spirit-eating? Evil Spirit-eating?


    With Resentful Granny¡¯s ability, it would only take her minutes to kill Lv Jiayan. But until now, he hadn¡¯t spotted the dead Lv Qiang and Wang Qin anywhere.


    If these two didn¡¯t appear soon, he had serious doubts that Huang Chen¡¯s Hidden Buckles would be anywhere near enough to even fill Resentful Granny¡¯s gaps between her teeth.


    Just then, Resentful Granny straightened her bent back and took small, shuffling steps away from Lv Jiayan, heading in Lv Xin¡¯s direction, standing behind him.


    Lv Jiayan let out a sigh of relief, her body swaying. Having been taut with nerves until that moment, she relaxed a little, and her breath became lighter, vision darkening¡ªshe nearly fainted.


    Huang Chen quickly steadied her.


    Knowing that Resentful Granny was standing behind him, Lv Xin remained motionless, his gaze fixed on what was in front of him, the hairs on his back standing on end and a cold chill running down his spine.


    Thud, two dry arms reached from behind and rested on Lv Xin¡¯s shoulders.


    Lv Xin shivered slightly, feeling his forehead suddenly become damp, as if some liquid was there.


    From Huang Chen¡¯s and Lv Jiayan¡¯s perspective, they saw Resentful Granny¡¯s sharp tongue licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, one lick after another.


    Time seemed to freeze.


    After a brief silence, Lv Xin shivered violently and couldn¡¯t help but jump up, releasing his grip on Yan Junze and Lv Jiayan¡¯s hands.


    "Not good!"


    Almost at the same moment, Huang Chen¡¯s two "Sweepers" shot out, hitting Resentful Granny¡¯s body.


    When the Hidden Buckles exploded, a white light flashed, momentarily illuminating the dim living room with a blinding whiteness.


    If it were a common Wandering Spirit, two "Sweepers" would have been enough to obliterate it, but Resentful Granny was a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, and the two "Sweepers" only made her take a few steps back.


    "Break out, get out of here!"


    Huang Chen shouted loudly as he threw another "Collapse" Hidden Buckle.


    The energy ripple from this throw pushed Resentful Granny back two or three meters, up against the living room¡¯s corner.


    Yan Junze was the first to rush to the living room door and opened it, revealing the sky outside that was nearing dusk and a bit yellowish.


    Lv Jiayan and Lv Xin followed closely behind.


    However, as the two scrambled to escape, Lv Xin unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Lv Jiayan¡¯s hoodie, dashing in front himself¡ªwith a backward tug, the small frame of Lv Jiayan was spun around and she tumbled to the ground.


    Time waits for no one. Unable to stand, Lv Jiayan rolled and crawled into the nearest master bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang.


    Originally in the lead, Yan Junze suddenly stopped, allowing Lv Xin to rush past him, out of the house.


    "This silly girl!"


    Huang Chen cursed as he ran to the master bedroom, pushed the door open, and charged in.


    The next second, Resentful Granny, who had been pushed away not far, followed to the door of the master bedroom.


    But she didn¡¯t immediately enter, instead, she turned her head to glance at Yan Junze, who had come back.


    The sharp tongue licked the lip, tiptoing to push open the bedroom door and walked in.


    Yan Junze was very clear that once she entered the bedroom, the person inside was more likely doomed than not.


    Just now, the situation was extremely sudden, a series of mistakes led to Lv Jiayan having no chance to escape the room.


    However, if he encountered this again, as long as he avoided it beforehand, this kind of situation definitely wouldn¡¯t happen.


    Rewind!


    After a bout of dizziness, Yan Junze found himself sitting back in the chair.


    Turning his head, he saw the Resentful Granny stretching out her sharp, long tongue, licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead.


    He knew that in the next second, this guy would leap up and then rush outside without care, dragging Lv Jiayan along in the process, who would then run into the master bedroom, trapping herself within.


    Therefore, Yan Junze let go of Lv Xin¡¯s hand a step ahead, and at the moment when Lv Xin couldn¡¯t bear it and jumped up, he grabbed Lv Jiayan¡¯s arm first.


    Huang Chen¡¯s face changed dramatically as he threw out the Hidden Buckle.


    A loud bang went off, and white light flared.


    As Yan Junze was about to rush toward the direction of the living room door, with Lv Jiayan in tow, a strong force suddenly yanked him from behind, pulling both him and Lv Jiayan back two or three steps.


    For a moment, Yan Junze even had the illusion that it was Zhou Dali exerting force behind him ¨C only to see clearly who was pulling him after he had staggered back.


    The next second, Lv Xin¡¯s figure overtook the two of them and rushed forward, reaching the door, turned the living room door handle, and was the first to dash out into the corridor.


    He had not expected that this cowardly fellow would snatch the opportunity first!


    "Fuck, rewind!"


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t look sideways at the scene of Lv Xin being licked but immediately shook off the hand holding him, and before Lv Xin had jumped or Huang Chen had thrown the Hidden Buckle, he grabbed Lv Jiayan ahead of time.


    "Let¡¯s go!" sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as he was about to take a step, Yan Junze¡¯s body suddenly came to a violent halt, solidly frozen in place.


    The clothes behind him were clutched, grabbed by Lv Xin who was still sitting on the chair, with a force so great that his own momentum couldn¡¯t dislodge it!


    Rewind!


    "There¡¯s a problem." Yan Junze sat back down on the chair again, turning his head to stare at Lv Xin who was being licked into despair, "This guy definitely has a problem."


    After two consecutive rewinds, the final outcome was that no matter how early he acted, Lv Xin would pull him back, and then he himself would always be the first to escape.


    Moreover, this guy¡¯s strength was frighteningly great. Yan Junze believed that even if Zhou Dali were here, he would be held back by Lv Xin just the same and unable to leave.


    So this time, he didn¡¯t plan to flee with Lv Jiayan anymore. Instead, when the Resentful Granny was licking Lv Xin and he was about to burst the next second, Yan Junze released Huang Chen¡¯s left hand, swinging a punch straight to Lv Xin¡¯s left cheek.


    He gave it his all in that punch.


    Lv Xin¡¯s attention was entirely on his forehead and couldn¡¯t dodge. After the punch, his cheek swelled up sharply.


    Right at that moment, something bizarre occurred.


    The Resentful Granny, who had been standing behind licking Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, straddled her legs, and directly mounted Lv Xin¡¯s shoulders, wrapping her arms around his head.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t jump up anymore but just stood there dumbly, emitting a deep roar from his throat, his eyes becoming dull and lifeless as if his consciousness was no longer under control.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two "Sweepers" shot out from Huang Chen¡¯s hands, striking both Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny.


    Huang Chen shouted at the same time, "Run, he has been spirit-split!"


    Spirit-splitting?


    At that moment, Yan Junze finally understood.


    Rewind!

 Chapter 66 - 65 Evil Spirit-eating (4)

    This time, Junze didn¡¯t choose to rewind to the moment when Resentful Granny licked Lv Xin¡¯s forehead, but to shortly after the four of them had just sat down, holding hands.


    Now, to Yan Junze, the incident of Lv Xin getting his forehead licked by Resentful Granny seemed a bit like a show and a diversion of everyone¡¯s attention.


    The "Spirit-Splitting" Huang Chen talked about earlier must be similar to being possessed by strangenesses, just that the targets of Spirit-Splitting don¡¯t seem to realize their own changes.


    Or perhaps the symptoms they show are just sudden occurrences, and at other times they still consider themselves to be normal people.


    As for when Lv Xin became victim to Spirit-Splitting, that remains unknown.


    Yan Junze had a bold conjecture that the first time he met Lv Xin, when the guy insisted on going to room 503, might have been the very moment he got Spirit-Split by Resentful Granny.


    If Junze went back to the moment when Lv Xin got his forehead licked, that point in time was already too pressing to reverse, which is why he chose to set the rewind time a bit earlier.


    When he decided to take on the "Evil Spirit-eating" task, he had set the rewind time to 90 minutes.


    There was no choice; knowing that Resentful Granny was dangerous, having more time to rewind allowed for ease of operation even if there were a few more rewinds, offering more choices.


    Earlier, Huang Chen had said that they must prevent Resentful Granny from "interfering," but now it seemed that after realizing Lv Xin was Spirit-Split, those present had already been interfered with.


    Yan Junze let go of Huang Chen and Lv Xin¡¯s hands, and stood up under the puzzled gazes of the others.


    "What are you doing?" Huang Chen said, "Come over here, we need to form a circle."


    Just then, faint footsteps arose outside in the corridor, one could imagine Resentful Granny tiptoeing closer to room 503.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders, stood in the living room, looked around and said, "There¡¯s no need to hold hands anymore, we¡¯ve already been interfered with."


    "What?" Huang Chen stood up.


    Everyone¡¯s faces were etched with surprise.


    Yan Junze offered no explanation, instead he glanced at the other doors that Lv Xin had closed, his mind rapidly calculating.


    So far, for some unknown reason, the spirits of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t shown up, and therefore the "Evil Spirit-eating" task couldn¡¯t possibly be carried out.


    It was essential to find the critical point of the task, and not rely on Huang Chen and his Hidden Buckles.


    The footsteps in the corridor ceased.


    Yan Junze knew that before long, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice would ring out inside the master bedroom.


    "The bedroom?"


    He seemed to have thought of something, walked to the doorway of another smaller bedroom, reached for the doorknob and gently turned it.


    Opening the door, he surveyed the room by the dim light streaming in through the window.


    A bed, a wardrobe, that¡¯s all.


    This smaller bedroom was much smaller in size compared to the master bedroom.


    Not feeling reassured, Yan Junze walked in, lay down on the floor, and looked under the bed.


    Nothing there.


    He then walked out and closed the door to the small bedroom. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as he was about to enter the master bedroom, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came from inside: "It hurts..."


    Huang Chen and the others jerked in shock, Lv Jiayan grabbed Huang Chen¡¯s arm tightly, her body couldn¡¯t help but tremble, Lv Xin also unconsciously hid behind Huang Chen, feeling a chill in his heart, his gaze warily fixed on the door of the master bedroom.


    "Already interfered with? And she¡¯s already come in."


    At that moment, Huang Chen felt he had no reason not to believe Yan Junze¡¯s words. Where had he been negligent?


    He glanced sideways at Yan Junze, who had reached the doorway of the master bedroom, and cautioned, "Don¡¯t go in there, let¡¯s leave this place."


    "We can¡¯t leave," Junze said.


    Yan Junze turned his head, not looking at Huang Chen, but instead, glanced at Lv Xin, whose face showed fear.


    "He..." Yan Junze raised his hand and pointed at Lv Xin, "has already been spirit-split by Granny Ren."


    "What?!" Huang Chen was stunned for a moment and looked at Lv Xin, his eyes instantly filling with wariness.


    Because he had personally experienced Granny Ren¡¯s stealthy interference, Huang Chen was being extremely cautious with everything after facing her again.


    And since he hadn¡¯t said anything, Yan Junze, as an ordinary person, shouldn¡¯t have known about the so-called "spirit-splitting."


    If he could say it out loud in this circumstance, the credibility was at least seventy percent.


    "Use your hidden buckle, throw one at him and you¡¯ll know," Yan Junze reminded.


    After speaking, he decided not to enter the master bedroom anymore.


    Because the Resentful Granny had already sneaked in, Lv Qiang and Wang Qin couldn¡¯t possibly be hiding there.


    Standing at the door, he held the handle of the master bedroom without turning it but backed away instead.


    At this moment, the Resentful Granny¡¯s hoarse, nauseating voice continued to scream in pain.


    Before long, she would come to the back of the master bedroom door and scratch at the door panel with her nails. But as soon as she eventually opened the door, she certainly wouldn¡¯t disturb the hand-holding people like she did just now. Instead, upon realizing something was wrong, she would do something even more terrifying.


    Time was running out.


    "Where are the souls of Lv Qiang and Wang Qin? Why haven¡¯t they appeared yet?"


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze swept around the entire room, then he moved towards the closed bathroom.


    Opening the door, the bathroom was terribly dim, and it was hard to see inside at a glance.


    He switched on the light casually, and his pupils contracted immediately. He saw a man and a woman crouching in the corner of the bathroom, covered in grey, trembling.


    By this moment, Yan Junze had a rough idea of why Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t appeared.


    Perhaps the Resentful Granny was too powerful, and for souls like theirs, newly created, they simply couldn¡¯t compete with her and were instinctively terrified.


    It was like how Ke¡¯er reacted when encountering the Back-faced Woman, running faster than rabbits.


    And now, though Lv Qiang and Wang Qin hadn¡¯t run away, they just crouched in the bathroom frightened, which was quite brave of them.


    After all, Yan Junze understood their thoughts very well; only by sacrificing themselves could they protect their daughter, Lv Jiayan¡¯s life at this moment.


    They must... let the Resentful Granny devour the two of them, so even though they were terrified, the couple¡¯s souls didn¡¯t flee like Ke¡¯er did.


    "Lv Qiang? Wang Qin?" Yan Junze called out.


    At this time, dull scratching noises could be heard from the direction of the master bedroom as the Resentful Granny clawed at the door.


    The two turned their heads, their faces also covered by a layer of grey gloom.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, this should be a sign of newly created souls, who hadn¡¯t fully transformed and entered the realm of a true evil spirit.


    However, he didn¡¯t understand why an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny would want to devour such new souls.


    Was it like a starving beggar suddenly seeing two delicious roast chickens?


    The two souls stood up, looking toward Yan Junze timidly and hesitantly.


    Yan Junze had never met Lv Qiang and Wang Qin, and upon hearing the scratching of the door panel, they were even more frightened, trembling as if they were about to run away at any moment.


    "Your daughter, Lv Jiayan, is in great danger now. No one can stop Granny Ren, including that exorcist outside," Yan Junze spoke very quickly.


    Bang!


    Just then, the sound of the hidden buckle exploding could be heard.

 Chapter 67 - 66 Evil Spirit-eating (5)

    Standing at the bathroom doorway, Yan Junze turned his head for a look.


    By this moment, Huang Chen had already thrown a "Sweeper" at Lv Xin.


    The cause was that, after listening to Yan Junze¡¯s advice, he deliberately slowed down while leading Lv Jiayan toward the living room entrance, but Lv Xin¡¯s face turned an iron blue instantly, and strange gurgling noises emerged from his mouth.


    However, before Lv Xin had the chance to stop them, he was already hit by Huang Chen¡¯s Hidden Buckle.


    Following a burst of white light, Lv Xin was knocked to the ground by the energy emitted from the "Sweeper," and a white humanoid gas emerged from directly above his head, seemingly being forcefully expelled by the energy of the "Sweeper."


    But this humanoid gas also appeared to be very powerful, stubborn and unwilling, firmly grasping onto Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    The scene fell into a stalemate.


    Creak...


    The door to the master bedroom flung open at this moment. Resentful Granny didn¡¯t walk out slowly; instead, she tip-toed and dashed extremely fast, not even glancing at Lv Xin, she charged straight at Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    As she sprinted, Resentful Granny¡¯s withered cheeks stretched open with her mouth, emitting a noise like the grinding of two hard metals.


    Huang Chen threw out a "High-Energy Collapse" directly.


    Beneath Resentful Granny¡¯s feet, the Hidden Buckle exploded, a ring of energy ripples spread out, pushing her back.


    Huang Chen immediately opened the living room door and, grabbing Lv Jiayan¡¯s hand, ran out.


    But to those present, this escape seemed almost futile.


    Resentful Granny sustained no damage, just temporarily halted for a moment, and soon turned around to return, emitting a nauseating noise from her mouth. She leaped over Lv Xin, who was still struggling on the ground, and was about to follow them out.


    "Hey!"


    Yan Junze yelled abruptly, one hand clutching L¨¹ Qiang, and the other holding Wang Qin, and with these two souls quivering like husks in a sieve, he forcefully dragged them out of the bathroom.


    Resentful Granny paused, stopped in her tracks, glanced back at Yan Junze, and then looked at the two freshly-emerged souls in his hand.


    In the meantime, Yan Junze even lifted the hand holding L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as if to say your roast chicken has arrived, if there¡¯s nothing else, then go ahead and eat it.


    But to his surprise, Resentful Granny outright chose to ignore it, with an expressionless face, she turned around and rushed out of room 503, straight after Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan.


    "Not eating?!" Yan Junze looked down at the two shivering souls, "What¡¯s going on? Is there something I haven¡¯t considered?"


    Rewind!


    Sitting back in the chair, the four of them joined hands, with the sound of hurried footsteps gradually approaching from outside the hallway.


    Apart from Yan Junze and Huang Chen, the other two showed faces full of terror.


    Yan Junze pondered for a while, then stood up from his seat and leaned over to whisper to Huang Chen, "Mr. Huang Chen, do you know about strangenesses consuming strangenesses?"


    Huang Chen glanced sideways at him, his expression somewhat surprised, yet he still nodded, "Yes. Newly formed souls are like an unstable magnetic field energy, easily absorbed by other strangenesses, thereby strengthening their own magnetic field energy."


    Yan Junze looked astonished, "You mean? If a strangeness consumes another newly-born strangeness, the strength of that strangeness can increase?"


    "It¡¯s possible." Huang Chen said, "It depends on the absorption level of the first strangeness and the integration of the magnetic fields. Some magnetic fields have repulsion and might take some time to merge. Moreover, after merging, it is not certain to strengthen; sometimes it may actually reduce its strength."


    "I hope after Resentful Granny eats L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, it reduces your strength, the kind that plummets!" Yan Junze muttered under his breath.


    "What did you say?" Huang Chen asked.


    "Nothing." Yan Junze shook his head, "Then how can we make this strangeness consume other strangenesses?"


    After pondering for a moment, Huang Chen began, "Although I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re asking this, and I¡¯ve never tried it... My advisor used to say, if you feed the newly-born strangeness a candle, there¡¯s a chance it can attract other older strangenesses that can¡¯t help but eat it."


    "That works?" Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I haven¡¯t tried it, but what my advisor says wouldn¡¯t be false." Huang Chen nodded firmly.


    Yan Junze was still somewhat uneasy, "Forgive my presumption, but what rank is your mentor?"


    "Two stars," Huang Chen answered.


    "One star higher than you, that should be reliable," Yan Junze nodded to himself, "Then why didn¡¯t your mentor come today?"


    "He did, but two days ago, Granny Ren killed him," Huang Chen replied earnestly.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face turned green in an instant.


    At this moment, the two of them were no longer deliberately lowering their voices, so Lv Xin and Lv Jiayan heard their conversation.


    It took a good while for Yan Junze to come to terms with this cruel reality, his hand sweating as he muttered to himself, "There... there should be candles in this house, right?"


    No matter how unreliable Huang Chen was, and no matter how unreliable his mentor was, as Huang Chen said, they were at this point and had to try to find out.


    "Yes," Lv Xin said, "When I was looking through grandmother¡¯s belongings, I saw several unlit red candles in the bedroom desk¡¯s cabinet."


    "Bedroom? Do you mean the master bedroom?" Yan Junze looked at him.


    "Mhm," Lv Xin nodded.


    He listened attentively for a moment to the footsteps outside in the hall; they had already faded away.


    So in a short while, Resentful Granny would appear in the master bedroom and then hoarsely cry out the chilling "pain."


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste time with a Rewind, so he took this opportunity to go in and get the candles first.


    Deciding this, he shook off the hands of Huang Chen and Lv Xin, stood up amidst everyone¡¯s astonished gazes, and quickly walked towards the master bedroom.


    "What are you doing?" Huang Chen panicked, "Come back and hold onto us, why go to the master bedroom for candles now? What if there are strangenesses eating you there?!"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t pay him any heed; he pushed the master bedroom door open and slipped inside.


    The door closed behind him, and he had no time to care, quickly scanning the room¡¯s furniture layout. The desk was under the window, not far from the large bed, roughly only two steps away.


    The blood-soaked bedding had long been replaced.


    Just to be cautious, Yan Junze looked around everywhere under the bed, in the corner of the wardrobe, under the desk, making sure that at this moment Resentful Granny had not yet appeared in the master bedroom.


    He immediately walked to the desk and opened the middle drawer, which contained some envelopes, notebooks, a few empty red packets for gifting, and several pens with dried ink.


    No candles.


    Crouching down, he opened the three smaller drawers on the right side of the desk one by one. The contents were messy, but it was nothing but waste paper and old newspapers.


    After removing all the things that blocked his view, Yan Junze carefully searched, but still no sign of red candles in the three drawers.


    At this moment, he began to wonder if Lv Xin was deceiving him.


    But he had no intention of running away, so he couldn¡¯t be triggering the fellow¡¯s Spirit-Splitting.


    If the right-hand drawers contained nothing, and there were three more drawers on the left, Yan Junze did not stand up. Still squatting, he moved to the left side, about to pull open the drawer.


    Suddenly, a click sounded in the master bedroom.


    He immediately turned his head to look around; the wardrobe was not open, and there was no one standing behind the door. A few clothes still hung on the wooden rack, with nobody hiding behind them.


    Resentful Granny¡¯s figure was nowhere to be seen.


    Although he saw nothing, Yan Junze¡¯s feeling of unease grew stronger, and goosebumps rapidly appeared on his arms.


    Just then, on the clean, neatly spread big bed, the quilt began to bulge slightly as if someone¡¯s body was forming underneath it, soon shaping into a human figure.


    "Pain..." a hoarse voice followed.

 Chapter 68 - 67 Evil Spirit-eating (6)

    ```


    "Damn, it came straight out from under the bed!"


    Yan Junze dared not even breathe heavily as he stared blankly at the quilt bulging into a curved human shape.


    From within the quilt, Resentful Granny¡¯s voice came out intermittently, just like when that comb had pierced her heart, constantly venting the pain of her body and the bitterness of her heart.


    Fortunately, her entire form was still covered by the quilt, and she hadn¡¯t flipped it open.


    Yan Junze slowly turned and pulled open the first drawer on the left side of his desk, being extremely cautious as he did so.


    He slowed his breathing, one hand pulling the drawer while the other applied strength, trying to lift the drawer slightly to avoid making noise as it came out. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It went smoothly, and the drawer was pulled out without making any sound.


    Inside were several yellowed wall calendars, probably from four or five years ago, some of the pages already worn out.


    Yan Junze very carefully closed the drawer because otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to open the second one.


    Turning his head to look, Resentful Granny was still curled up under the quilt, her hoarse voice continuing to emit intermittently.


    She hadn¡¯t been disturbed.


    Yan Junze let out a slight sigh of relief, turned his head back, and repeated the maneuver to open the second drawer.


    Luck was with him, as the moment the drawer opened, he saw a pack of red candles.


    These candles were not slender, but the ordinary thickness used for illumination when the power went out at home.


    Upon a cursory glance, there were about seven or eight left. Would that be enough for L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin to consume?


    Yan Junze gently grasped them, but the transparent plastic bag wrapping the candles inadvertently made a sound, and he instantly felt his heart rise to his throat.


    He stood still, holding the bag, not daring to move.


    After waiting a moment and being sure there was no sound, he slowly withdrew the hand holding the candle bag.


    Wait a second, no sound?!


    The voice of Resentful Granny crying out in pain seemed to have stopped long ago.


    Only then did Yan Junze suddenly realize, and he quickly turned his head.


    He saw that a corner of the quilt on the bed had been flipped open, and Resentful Granny¡¯s dry, waxen head was sticking out, staring unblinkingly at his back, silently watching with no expression.


    Yan Junze¡¯s head buzzed, and he felt instantly numb in his hands and feet.


    He clenched the plastic bag of candles tightly and, despite his legs going numb, used his arm to prop himself up against the edge of the desk and stood up.


    Throughout this process, Resentful Granny¡¯s gaze shifted slightly upwards to follow him, still watching him silently and intently.


    The terrifying gaze was like a sharp knife piercing through Yan Junze¡¯s body, the cool blade clinging to his skin, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.


    Under Resentful Granny¡¯s gaze, Yan Junze turned with difficulty and was about to take a step to leave the place.


    "My¡­ comb?" Resentful Granny suddenly said.


    Yan Junze dared not move anymore and looked up at her, then squeezed out the most awkward smile of his life, "Granny Ren, don¡¯t you remember me? I was the one who pulled the comb out of your chest for you! And remember, I combed your hair, too!"


    Resentful Granny sat up from the bed, her expression blank, still staring at Yan Junze, "Where is my comb?"


    "That comb should be with the safety officer. I was the one who called him for you, and I notified Yu Xiaochang, your favorite grandson, to come to see you. Don¡¯t you remember?"


    As Yan Junze spoke, he moved, gradually getting closer to the bedroom door.


    ```


    ```


    There was no other way; speaking kindly was the best choice now, considering he had never offended Granny Ren before¡ªin fact, he had even helped her.


    Although the old woman had become more terrifying now, there was no reason for her not to remember past kindness!


    As expected, Resentful Granny didn¡¯t ask about the comb anymore. She just sat on the bed, her gaze following Yan Junze as he moved.


    When he reached the bedroom door, Yan Junze grabbed the doorknob, turned his head, squeezed out the second ugliest smile of his life for Resentful Granny, then twisted the door open and slipped out.


    This suggested that even if the Evil Spirit had become more terrifying, it still held onto old attachments.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think that what he was about to do next would make Resentful Granny spare him because of any sentimental old ties.


    It was even possible that at any second, the old woman would regret why she hadn¡¯t just attacked him directly in the bedroom moments before.


    In the living room, Huang Chen and the other two were holding hands, seated properly on one side of the sofa, still in their defensive stance against intrusion.


    After Yan Junze left the bedroom, Huang Chen didn¡¯t speak but watched him vigilantly.


    The voice of Resentful Granny had come from the bedroom just before, and everyone had heard it. Since Yan Junze was inside at that moment, Huang Chen had every reason to believe that Yan Junze might have been possessed by Resentful Granny¡¯s Spirit-Splitting.


    At this moment, nobody dared to believe that the person before them was still Yan Junze himself.


    But Yan Junze ignored them and briskly crossed the living room, heading toward the closed bathroom door. He twisted the knob, walked in holding the plastic bag containing the candles.


    Behind him, the master bedroom door wasn¡¯t closed, and soon after, the sound of tiptoeing footsteps followed.


    Huang Chen and the others shifted their gaze and saw Resentful Granny appear at the bedroom doorway.


    He immediately lowered his voice, saying to L¨¹ Xin and L¨¹ Jiayan, "Don¡¯t look at her! Don¡¯t talk to her!"


    In the bathroom.


    Yan Junze immediately spotted L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, crouching in the corner, shivering with fear.


    This time he didn¡¯t shout but instead went straight up to them, gripped their eerily cold shoulders, and handed over the bag of candles, "If you want to save your daughter, eat them now."


    L¨¹ Qiang was startled for a moment, but upon seeing the candles, his tongue seemed to stretch out instinctively. As a newly born strangeness, he seemed to have no aversion to the idea of eating candles.


    "Eat quickly."


    Yan Junze dropped the candles, returned to the bathroom doorway, and peered out into the living room.


    He noticed that Resentful Granny had already moved next to the sofa, exactly as before the Rewind, bending her waist at an implausible angle, tilting her head as she made eye contact with the bowed-head L¨¹ Jiayan.


    The latter, trembling with fear, had her eyes tightly shut.


    "It might be too late."


    Yan Junze immediately went back, pulled up L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin who were eating the candles.


    As strangenesses, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin were almost weightless, which made it easy for him to drag the couple out of the bathroom and into the living room.


    At that moment, L¨¹ Qiang¡¯s mouth was stuffed full with blood-red candles, as if starved, chewing carelessly. Wang Qin, though eating more gracefully, had also consumed one and a half candles already.


    Hearing the commotion, Huang Chen looked over in surprise, and L¨¹ Xin turned his head as well.


    L¨¹ Jiayan, who had kept her eyes shut, opened them in this moment, her gaze following suit. She was shaken, almost letting go of Huang Chen and L¨¹ Xin¡¯s hands.


    "Dad! Mom!"


    A cry escaped her lips, and L¨¹ Jiayan felt as if she had fallen into a dream. She saw her parents come back to life, squatting in front of her, eating something.


    Then she noticed what her parents were eating¡­ it was candles. They were swallowing mouthfuls, lips smeared with red wax, a desperate picture of voracious hunger.


    ```

 Chapter 69 - 68 Evil Spirit-eating (7)

    Lv Jiayan¡¯s scream at this moment enraged the Resentful Granny.


    Her bent back suddenly straightened, and the Resentful Granny also looked over. Upon seeing L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin eating the candle, she hesitated for a moment.


    But she immediately turned her head back, looking at the agitated Lv Jiayan, who was about to cry.


    This was simply the best opportunity to intervene.


    The Resentful Granny stretched out her withered arm, reaching for Lv Jiayan¡¯s face.


    "Resentful Granny, they¡¯re eating the candle, look, hey, it smells so good!"


    Yan Junze¡¯s voice came through.


    Huang Chen was about to throw the Hidden Buckle and flee with Lv Jiayan at that moment.


    But the Resentful Granny¡¯s movements suddenly stiffened, her arm remaining outstretched as she twisted her head back again to look in Yan Junze¡¯s direction.


    The gaze emanating from her gray pupils paused silently on L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, who were eagerly engulfing the candle.


    Seeing this, Huang Chen finally understood. No wonder Yan Junze was looking for candles; he knew about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin in the restroom and deliberately found candles for them to eat, hence attracting Granny Ren¡¯s attention.


    However... how did this kid know about the strangenesses of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin here? Despite being a qualified one-star exorcist, he himself was unaware of it.


    At that moment, the Resentful Granny shook her head, turning back again, issuing a dull clucking sound from her mouth, accompanied by a strange, metal-like friction noise, as she once again redirected her focus to Lv Jiayan.


    "I can¡¯t tempt her!"


    Yan Junze, his heart hardening, carried L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin directly behind the Resentful Granny and threw them at her feet.


    At this time, the two strangenesses¡¯ candle-eating movements clearly began to slow, their bodies trembling incessantly, the immense pressure from the Resentful Granny making it impossible for them to continue feeding normally.


    "Hmm, newly born evils feeding on candles, come take a look, what a beautiful scene!"


    Yan Junze took two steps backward, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if admiring a beautiful painting.


    Once again, the Resentful Granny stopped her motion toward Lv Jiayan, turned her head back, and slightly lowered it to look at the couple at her feet, slowly chewing on the candles.


    The friction noise from her throat was no longer muffled but became increasingly sharp and piercing.


    Her mouth opened slightly, and a voice as if coming directly from her throat uttered: "Scram..."


    Just after uttering this word, as the Resentful Granny was about to turn her head back, L¨¹ Qiang, who was feeding on the candle, suddenly reached out and clutched her left foot.


    "Mom!" L¨¹ Qiang, his mouth stuffed with red candlewax that was dribbling down the corners of his mouth, mumbled unclearly, "I... was wrong, don¡¯t, she is still... a child..."


    "Mom!" Wang Qin also, with one hand clutching the remaining half of the candle and the other hand holding the Resentful Granny¡¯s right foot, said, "Spare her..."


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s sallow face first froze in shock and then a hint of anger flashed across her always expressionless face as she stared down at L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Afterward, she slowly extended her index finger, pointing at her son lying at her feet, seeming to carry all the grievances and unwillingness within her, and from her throat, she again spat out two words, gritting her teeth.


    "Beast..."


    "Mom..."


    Wang Qin was about to speak again when L¨¹ Qiang cried out hoarsely, his voice strained, "I was wrong, Mom! I didn¡¯t mean to..."


    "Huh? What¡¯s happening?" S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze detected an undertone in their words and couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment.


    Huang Chen was also taken aback, shifting his attention from the Resentful Granny and looking down at L¨¹ Qiang, who was sprawled on the ground.


    "You just need to... give me some money, and I¡¯ll leave, but you refuse! Why... won¡¯t you give it to me? I, your son, am... in a tight spot!" L¨¹ Qiang cried out, "I was drinking, and that comb...


    I didn¡¯t mean it, sorry... Mom, I¡¯m sorry!"


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s face was almost contorted at this moment; her gray, flower-like hair stood on end, and the strangeness around her intensified invisibly several times over, blowing the clothes of those present, making them flutter noisily.


    "Such a strong weird magnetic field!"


    At this moment, not just Huang Chen, but even Yan Junze, who had become involved in this halfway, could tell that something was amiss. The Resentful Granny before them, at this moment, seemed to be filled with even more resentment, and her terrifying strength was continuously increasing.


    Under this intense pressure, L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin couldn¡¯t speak anymore and even their hands, which had been clutching the Resentful Granny, involuntarily let go, curling up to the side.


    The Resentful Granny turned her head again, facing Lu Jiayan, who was shivering violently.


    "Continue... eating the candles," Yan Junze¡¯s voice rose.


    L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin came to their senses, exchanged a glance of strangeness, and once again clutched the Resentful Granny¡¯s legs, stuffing the candles into their mouths frantically, chewing non-stop.


    The Resentful Granny twisted her head again, but this time it was to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze stepped back involuntarily.


    Under a kind of instinctive allure, the Resentful Granny lowered her head again, her gaze falling on the couple as they consumed the candles.


    Just then, she seemed to swallow a mouthful of saliva.


    Yan Junze stepped further back, his voice instructing, "Look up at her, watch her eat."


    The couple, despite the terror in their hearts, lifted their heads, facing the Resentful Granny, letting her clearly see the entire process of their eating the candles.


    Seeing this scene, an innate craving grew uncontrollably in the heart of the Resentful Granny, the frictional sounds from her throat becoming increasingly intense.


    Suddenly, unable to contain herself any longer, the Resentful Granny bent over and grabbed L¨¹ Qiang by the shoulder.


    L¨¹ Qiang trembled in fright, and without control, he started to levitate; the Resentful Granny¡¯s expression clearly struggling and resisting something.


    But the next second, the old woman opened her mouth anyway.


    Her mouth was like a dried-up old well, pitch-black and profoundly deep.


    "Lu Jiayan, close your eyes!" Huang Chen said.


    Lu Jiayan, who had already been terrified out of her wits, immediately closed her eyes, but as she did, tears she had been holding back finally fell from her eyes.


    A spine-chilling crackling sound ensued, causing goosebumps to rise all over one¡¯s body.


    Lu Jiayan felt she was on the verge of collapse, everything around her seemed so unreal, more illusory than a dream, all falsehoods.


    The crackling sound briefly paused.


    About two seconds later, the agonized screams of Wang Qin could be heard. Lu Jiayan couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and fainted on the couch.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, the entire process wasn¡¯t bloody since L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin had already become strangenesses. They were like products of a weird magnetic field, devoid of real bodies. In the mouth of the Resentful Granny, they seemed to disintegrate, their body parts becoming mosaic-like, pieces of them being devoured.


    At first, the Resentful Granny clearly struggled and resisted, but now she was quickening the pace of the spirit-eating, an uncontrollable sense of satisfaction showing in her expression.


    Of course, the influence of the candles played a certain role in this consumption.

 Chapter 70 - 69 Evil Spirit-eating (8)

    As Resentful Granny devoured faster and faster, it took her only half the time to consume Wang Qin¡¯s strangeness compared to L¨¹ Qiang.


    And not only did she eat the two strangenesses, but she also swallowed the candles they were eating.


    The red residue at the corner of her mouth came from the candles, not the blood of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, as the two of them had no blood to shed.


    All those present, except for Lv Jiayan, who had already passed out, watched with wide eyes as Resentful Granny ate Lv Qiang and Wang Qin.


    Having consumed the strangenesses, Resentful Granny had an expression of comfort on her face, smacking her lips; however, her brows soon furrowed.


    After her instinctual desires were satisfied, the old woman finally came to her senses.


    She had eaten a spirit!


    Quickly she sensed the magnetic field of the strangeness absorbing and repelling, beginning to violently evolve. Resentful Granny opened her mouth wide, her gaze turning toward Yan Junze not far away.


    The latter stood there honestly, his eyes glancing at Resentful Granny from time to time, then focusing on the ground beneath his feet, seemingly shy, embarrassed, and at a loss.


    "Oh no, almost forgot¡ªthe water¡¯s still boiling on the gas stove at home! If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll first..."


    Before Yan Junze could finish speaking, he saw Resentful Granny let out an "ah" and charge towards him.


    Bang!


    Huang Chen, despite his unreliability, knew at this moment that Resentful Granny¡¯s period of weakness had come, knowing that once she ate a strangeness, no matter how powerful she was, she had to go through a process of absorption and repulsion.


    So, without hesitation, he immediately threw out his only "High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle."


    As it turned out, although he acted in time, his behavior was still unreliable.


    Though the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle hit Resentful Granny directly, the energy blast it produced was so immense that it still sent everyone else in the room flying.


    Even the coffee table was blown away to the bathroom door, while Yan Junze was thrown against the window, privately relieved that he hadn¡¯t opened it.


    Huang Chen and Lv Jiayan were flipped behind the sofa.


    As for Lv Xin, after being knocked to the ground, he slid several meters away, and the spirit-split within him was blasted out; a white humanoid gas screamed in terror as it flew out through the gap in the window.


    As for Resentful Granny, during her moment of weakness, after being hit by the High-Energy Collapsing Hidden Buckle, she could no longer resist the energy blast from the Collapsing as easily as before, and her figure rapidly faded and disappeared from sight.


    "Okay, okay," Huang Chen got up from behind the sofa, looked around cautiously, and patted his chest in relief, "Granny Ren ran away, after eating the strangeness, she won¡¯t be able to appear for at least two or three days."


    Smack!


    Yan Junze slid down from the window, straightened himself up, and started to tidy his disheveled clothes and hair.


    Lu Xin lay on the ground moaning, temporarily unable to get up.


    After Huang Chen helped Lv Jiayan back to the sofa and helped Lv Xin to sit up, he then asked Yan Junze, "How did you know Lu Qiang and Wang Qin were in the bathroom? How did you come up with the idea to let Granny Ren eat a spirit? You seem to know everything!"


    Yan Junze just chuckled, "Mr. Huang Chen, have you ever heard of people with extraordinary talents? I think... I might be one of them."


    Huang Chen said, "I¡¯ve never seen a talent like yours before, if that¡¯s really the case, maybe we can do an exorcist test one day."


    Yan Junze was instantly embarrassed.


    Just then, a flurry of footsteps came from the corridor, and several people rushed through the hallway into Room 503.


    Upon seeing the mess in Room 503, everyone was stunned.


    These were Yu Xiaochang and his family of three, who had hurried over with Yang Depei and Zhao Shuai.


    "Eh, Xiaochang, long time no see!" Yan Junze waved at a burly-looking youngster.


    "Hello, Uncle!" Yu Xiaochang responded obediently.


    Yan Junze¡¯s smile stiffened, and his face immediately turned from sunny to overcast.


    "Is everything alright?" Yang Depei, a two-star Exorcist, was the first to approach Huang Chen and ask.


    Huang Chen shook his head and glanced at Yan Junze, replying, "Lv Jiayan just fainted, I¡¯ll explain later. Let¡¯s clean up here and head back first."


    "This person is..." Zhao Shuai pointed at Yan Junze and asked.


    "I¡¯m Mr. Huang Chen¡¯s friend, we met because of Teacher Zhang Tiantian¡¯s case," Yan Junze answered with a smile, then turned to Huang Chen and asked, "There¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure if I can ask."


    "Go ahead," Huang Chen nodded.


    Yan Junze touched the back of his head: "Could I... apply for Exorcist personal protection?"


    At that moment, three messages from the Spacetime Atlas popped up in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Evil Spirit-eating, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, received 900 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Friendly reminder: You have successfully attracted the hatred of Resentful Granny. The revenge will officially begin after 72 hours.] S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Resentful Granny (Semi-Sculpting Spirit), Current Favorability: Hatred]


    Knowing his own limitations, Yan Junze was very clear that facing the fully evolved Resentful Granny, aside from Rewind, he couldn¡¯t think of any other effective method to confront this terrifying old woman.


    Therefore, his best choice right now would be to apply for an Exorcist to protect him if it were truly possible.


    Of course, this Exorcist couldn¡¯t be of Huang Chen¡¯s level, and definitely not the unreliable Huang Chen himself. The person protecting him had to be at least three-star or above.


    Because he had heard from Huang Chen before that one of his two-star Exorcist mentors had died at the hands of Resentful Granny. That meant that only an Exorcist of at least three-star level had a chance to contend with Resentful Granny, or else it was all just talk.


    However, Yan Junze was well aware that given his current status in the jianghu, why would a three-star Exorcist offer him 24-hour personal protection? It didn¡¯t really make sense.


    Under these circumstances, all he could do was ask and see. Whether the Exorcist team would send someone to protect him was another matter altogether.


    He didn¡¯t want to miss any chance, no matter how slim.


    As soon as he spoke, Huang Chen understood and looked at Yang Depei beside him, who obviously didn¡¯t know what was going on.


    Huang Chen nodded, "I¡¯ll apply to the higher-ups as soon as I get back and give you an answer as quickly as possible."


    The group quickly tidied up a bit inside the house, and Yan Junze left the building first.


    Lv Xin was in low spirits, the commotion caused by the High-Energy Collapse too great; aside from Yan Junze, no one knew what had happened to him.


    Lv Xin was assisted by Huang Chen and Zhao Shuai, and then Yu Tao carried the unconscious Lv Jiayan on his back. The group quickly left the scene.


    Huang Chen also visited the Bureau of Safety and Stability later on to report about Lv Qiang getting drunk and accidentally killing his mother, Granny Ren.


    This case could finally be closed.


    However, for Yan Junze, it was just the beginning.


    Not long after he returned home, his parents came back from work one after another.


    Yan Junze locked himself in his bedroom, pondering over how to face the most troublesome of the evil spirits he had encountered so far.


    Of course, having decided to complete this mission, he had already thought of two plans for the aftermath.

 Chapter 71 - 70 Countdown

    He went over everything that had just happened in his mind.


    Honestly, Yan Junze had not expected the murderer to be Granny Ren¡¯s eldest son, L¨¹ Qiang.


    It seemed the guy¡¯s death wasn¡¯t unjustified; a pity for the other members of the Lv family, though.


    Although they were all not very kind to Granny Ren, their actions did not warrant death, yet now Resentful Granny had gone mad. As a so-called "Semi-Sculpting Spirit" level Evil Spirit, she could no longer be judged by normal standards.


    This time, if the Exorcist team didn¡¯t send someone to protect him, one of Yan Junze¡¯s plans was to bring Yu Xiaochang to his side.


    But Resentful Granny might still go after Yu Xiaochang¡¯s family. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to move into the Yu family¡¯s house and stop attending classes, thus completely abandoning his previous life.


    Yan Junze laid his head on the desk, elbows propped on the edge, hands buried in his hair, rubbing unconsciously.


    His second plan was...


    Just as he reached this thought, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.


    "Huh!"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t need to look back; he knew Ke¡¯er was back.


    When Ke¡¯er saw Yan Junze lying on the desk rubbing his head, she thought he was washing his hair again, which was why she exclaimed in surprise.


    However, after seeing that he was just dry rubbing, her excitement dimmed, and she scurried across the floor to climb onto Yan Junze¡¯s back, clinging tightly to him.


    A chill seeped into his body from his back, calming the frustrated Yan Junze down gradually.


    The second plan was to use Ke¡¯er.


    This girl Ke¡¯er had a habit of disappearing now and then, and every time she ran faster than a rabbit before he could catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman¡ªwith no doubt, even more reliable than an Early Warning Bell.


    At the moment, Yan Junze could set a Rewind timeline of approximately 240 minutes, which is about 4 hours.


    If there was no Rewind during this period, no energy would be consumed, and he could set another Rewind after 4 hours.


    In other words, he could keep setting Rewinds without a break. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As long as he was within the coverage range of the Rewind timeline, and Ke¡¯er on his back started to flee after sensing danger, he could Rewind to a moment before Ke¡¯er fled, avoiding emergencies in advance.


    Of course, Resentful Granny wouldn¡¯t be seeking revenge all the time, so Rewinds wouldn¡¯t be ongoing indefinitely, which meant there would definitely be room and time for Different Dimension Energy recovery.


    Right now, this seemed to be the most viable method.


    Actually, upon further contemplation, it wasn¡¯t impossible for the Exorcists to send someone to protect him. Although he was just a high school senior with no special status, he had helped the Exorcists resolve their recent trouble.


    If Huang Chen proved reliable and applied to his superiors a few times, clarifying his conspicuous role and effective contributions in resolving the Resentful Granny issue, maybe they would send a high-level Exorcist to protect him, right?


    Sure, if Huang Chen turned out to be dependable.


    Smacking his head, a large amount of dust arose from the "High-Energy Collapse" earlier, which not only covered his clothes but also added a layer of gray to his freshly washed hair, now spreading all over his desk.


    "Let¡¯s go, time for a shower and to wash your hair. That ought to give you a good show!" Yan Junze temporarily set aside his concerns, ready to satisfy Ke¡¯er as much as he possibly could.


    "Huh!" Ke¡¯er tilted her head, lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back, her dark fingers continuously playing with the nape of his neck.


    Then, ten minutes later, Yan Junze in the bathroom taking a shower, his naked self covered in soapy foam, suddenly received a message from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Ke¡¯er (Wandering Spirit) favorability has increased, current favorability: Intimate]


    Yan Junze remembered that Ke¡¯er had initially held a "Neutral" attitude towards him, but as they spent more time together, it seemed his habitual head-washing flair had charmed this little red-dressed fan.


    So, the favorability increased to "friendly".


    But now, it¡¯s obvious the favorability has risen again, and it has reached "intimate".


    Thinking about it, this might already be the limit of the evil spirit¡¯s favorability towards me, because after intimacy, it¡¯s not like we could physically commit to each other.


    During dinner, Yan Junze didn¡¯t mention anything about what happened today to avoid worrying his parents.


    As for the possibility of the Resentful Granny really coming in three days, and if there were no exorcist to protect him, he already had plans to move into the school dormitory.


    Currently, there aren¡¯t many students living on campus, and many dorm rooms are vacant, so applying for a dorm would be quick, and he could have a room all to himself, not disturbing anyone else.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything about it now, he intended to wait.


    Ke¡¯er, now in an intimate state with Yan Junze, was almost completely obedient to him. Normally, she would lay on top of him, but as soon as he spoke up, Ke¡¯er would slide off obediently and stand aside.


    Then she would quietly follow Yan Junze around.


    Yan Junze had tried this a few times, and it was very effective.


    The next day after class, Yan Junze made a call to Tang Zhengyi, the editor from the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    Tang Zhengyi was somewhat surprised upon hearing that the filming for Spirit Exploration might need to be put on hold, "Why delay?"


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t possibly tell him that he was being hunted by another extremely ferocious and malevolent strangeness, as the editor might come up with some even more exciting suggestions.


    For example, having Yan Junze wear a camera at all times for a live broadcast of a perfect chase by strangeness.


    "Seems like I caught a cold, not feeling well, need a few days to rest and recuperate," Yan Junze said.


    After a brief silence on the other end, Tang Zhengyi said, "Then take some medicine and rest for a few days, let me know immediately once you recover from the cold. The equipment we invested in can¡¯t be left unused for too long."


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Suddenly, he remembered that he had forgotten to film the task of consuming spirits, but then he thought that even if he had filmed it, it probably couldn¡¯t be uploaded online.


    After all, for many people, evil spirit-eating wouldn¡¯t be immediately acceptable, and broadcasting it might seem like a crazy pursuit of fame.


    At that time, it wouldn¡¯t just draw attention from the general public, but likely even the exorcist higher-ups in Great Capital Huaying would take notice, making it tremendously difficult to undertake other tasks in the future.


    ...


    The countdown to the college entrance examination was getting closer.


    In these days, students rarely talked about other things; the main topics were about studies and the universities they planned to apply to.


    Since his last conversation with Yan Junze on the rooftop, Zhou Dali put away his young heart, completely transforming himself, not only focusing on his cultural studies but also exercising in various ways on the school grounds every day.


    Of course, slogans like "Great Capital has Dali, Dali creates miracles" never left his lips.


    After a day at school, Yan Junze suddenly found he had developed a bad habit of frequently checking the time.


    Almost every hour, he would check the time and then calculate in his mind how much was left of the 72 hours.


    That feeling was like setting a countdown to the end of his own world.


    The next day was also spent in this edgy and uneasy mood.


    By the evening of the second day, he planned to "confess" to his parents, using the excuse of wanting to study more thoroughly with his classmates as a pretext to temporarily move into the school dormitory.

 Chapter 72 - 71 Zhang Xiaomo

    After dinner, the family sat on the sofa, watching TV.


    Yan Daguo specifically switched to the Tianmeng District education channel for his son.


    The time had come for the preliminary warming-up stage of college entrance examination applications, and education channels like this one featured introductions to various colleges, as well as experience and policy explanations for application submissions.


    Although the couple themselves couldn¡¯t make much sense of it, they thought their son might find it useful to refer to.


    Yan Daguo didn¡¯t say much, just stared blankly at the introductions to various colleges that seemed very foreign to him, occasionally offering his son completely clueless suggestions.


    Yan Junze was watching absentmindedly when, about half an hour later, he spoke up, "Dad, Mom, I need to discuss something with you."


    "Hmm, what is it?" Yan Daguo picked up the remote and turned down the volume a bit.


    Li Man closed the browser on her phone, placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and focused on her son.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat, about to speak, when suddenly there was a polite knock at the door.


    This knock sounded very courteous, three times in succession, with each knock well-timed and rhythmically spaced, giving the impression that opening the door was a skilled task that required special training.


    All three people in the room were astonished.


    The distant relatives lived in the countryside and rarely came to visit, especially at night. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Li Man got ready to answer the door, but Yan Junze beat her to it.


    However, just as he was about to get up, Ke¡¯er, who had been lying on his back, suddenly slipped off and scurried into the bathroom, almost crawling on hands and knees.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his first instinct was, could it be the Resentful Granny?


    But the Resentful Granny wasn¡¯t that polite, right? He had never heard of anyone knocking so courteously when coming for revenge.


    Moreover, it had been only two days since the Resentful Granny devoured a ghost. According to the Spacetime Atlas, she shouldn¡¯t manifest until after 72 hours.


    Still, as he opened the door, Yan Junze felt on guard.


    Unexpectedly, a woman stood outside, about one meter seventy tall, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt with a pink Peppa Pig printed on the front, and casual jeans with a rip at the knee, along with a pair of plain white sneakers. In her hand, she carried a portable travel bag.


    This woman looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, but Yan Junze¡¯s first impression was¡­ she must have the wrong door.


    Although Yan Junze had no memory of his predecessor, his subconscious was certain that this woman was not one of his relatives.


    "Are you¡­ Yan Junze?" the woman asked first.


    Yan Junze, taken aback, nodded, "Yes, that¡¯s me. May I ask who you are¡­"


    "I¡¯m a three-star Exorcist from the Tianmeng Exorcist squad, Zhang Xiaomo." The woman revealed a shallow smile, "After Huang Chen reported to us, I was dispatched from above to temporarily protect you... um, for a week."


    "You¡¯re an Exorcist?" Yan Junze opened the door wider, stepped back, and looked at the young girl in front of him with some surprise.


    "Nobody said you had to dress like an Exorcist to be called one," Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    By this time, Yan Daguo and Li Man, hearing the commotion, had already come to the living room door, moments from staring at Zhang Xiaomo, with even Li Man¡¯s eyes flashing a few times.


    "Young lady, who are you looking for?" Li Man asked.


    "Mom, this is the tutor I hired," Yan Junze spoke up first.


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback for a moment but then nodded with composure.


    "Home tutoring?" The couple was surprised.


    "Yeah." Yan Junze said, "I feel like there¡¯s still a lot lacking in my math, physics, and chemistry, and I¡¯m worried about losing points on the college entrance exam. Didn¡¯t I make some money from shooting that video last time? So, I¡¯ve temporarily hired Teacher Zhang to give me a crash course for a few days."


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled without saying a word.


    "Okay, if our son can find his own inadequacies, we can¡¯t be of much help either." Yan Daguo said with a smile, "How do you plan to review? Tutoring for two hours every night?"


    "Not exactly." Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "It¡¯s like this, because I am... an online tutor, just arrived from out of town, and I temporarily have nowhere to stay in Shuntian City. So, I¡¯m planning to find a quiet place to tutor Yan Junze exclusively for a week, during which he won¡¯t go to school or come home."


    "What?" The couple was stunned.


    Yan Junze hurriedly said, "Dad, Mom, you can rest assured, I have no problem with other subjects, I¡¯m now focused on my weak points. I searched online for a long time, and Teacher Zhang has a very good reputation. As long as I review thoroughly this time, it¡¯s possible to score high. I feel... Tianmeng Science University is already waving at me!"


    "Teacher Zhang, please... please come in! Sorry for making you stand outside for so long." Yan Daguo finally reacted and invited Zhang Xiaomo into the house.


    Li Man pulled Yan Junze aside and asked softly, "This... home tutoring seems quite expensive!"


    "Not expensive, not expensive at all, I have money, Mom, you don¡¯t have to worry." Yan Junze gestured dismissively.


    Li Man didn¡¯t say anything else, turned around, and brought Zhang Xiaomo a pair of clean female slippers, while Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s travel bag.


    Zhang Xiaomo changed out of her pure white sneakers, squatted down, and meticulously placed her shoes neatly before she got up and walked into the living room.


    Yan Daguo said, "I¡¯ll put your travel bag in the bedroom. So, you and Ze¡¯s mom can sleep in the master bedroom, and Ze and I..."


    "No need." Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, interrupting him, "I¡¯ll just make do on the sofa in the living room for tonight."


    "You sleep in my room tonight, I¡¯ll sleep in the living room," Yan Junze offered.


    The couple didn¡¯t say anything more. Yan Daguo took Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s travel bag to Yan Junze¡¯s bedroom, and when he came back, Li Man had already poured a cup of hot tea for Zhang Xiaomo.


    After sitting in the living room for a while, Yan Junze used the excuse that Zhang Xiaomo needed to understand his academic foundation, and the two went into the small bedroom.


    After they left, Li Man said to Yan Daguo, "Don¡¯t let our son get deceived by someone. There are many scam home tutors online now."


    Yan Daguo shook his head, "Our son has grown up, and his studies aren¡¯t bad. Whether this tutor is competent or not, he knows better than us, don¡¯t worry!"


    Inside the bedroom.


    "Home tutoring? You really came up with a good one." Zhang Xiaomo laughed.


    Yan Junze shrugged, "Had to. I can¡¯t let Mom and Dad worry. By the way, you said we shouldn¡¯t go to school or come home for these seven days, so where should we go?"


    "I only provide protection, you need to arrange the rest," Zhang Xiaomo said as she opened her travel bag and began to unpack her belongings.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then made a phone call to Zhou Dali.


    A moment later, Zhou Dali returned the call.


    After a brief conversation and hanging up, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, "A classmate of mine has a relative who runs a real estate agency, he¡¯s agreed to provide us with a temporary rental for the next few days, but it¡¯s in the suburbs."


    "The suburbs are just fine," Zhang Xiaomo said, "Although Granny Ren is only targeting you, we should try not to involve people close to you. Family and classmates are both off-limits."

 Chapter 73 - 72 The Seal

    "Where is the bathroom?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Yan Junze pointed to the room opposite the bedroom door outside.


    Zhang Xiaomo set down her travel bag, walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, turned on the light, and closed the door.


    Yan Junze suddenly startled, he then remembered that just a moment before, the "Early Warning Bell" Ke¡¯er had sneaked in there, and his heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    Although this woman seemed harmless to both humans and animals, damn it, she was a three-star Exorcist! If she encountered Ke¡¯er inside, Ke¡¯er would definitely be in great danger!


    With this thought, he immediately followed her out and arrived at the bathroom door.


    He could only hate that he hadn¡¯t set a "Rewind" properly before; otherwise, he could have gone straight back to tell Ke¡¯er to run away.


    After listening for a while, there didn¡¯t seem to be any strange noises, and then the bathroom door suddenly opened.


    At the bathroom entrance, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s gaze met Yan Junze¡¯s.


    Neither of them spoke.


    In this moment, Yan Junze knew from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm eyes that Ke¡¯er was not in the bathroom.


    It seemed that this little girl¡¯s ability to "smell trouble and flee" had improved, which was good news for him.


    In the future, even if Zhang Xiaomo were to leave, if the Resentful Granny wanted to catch him off guard for revenge, she would have to consult with Ke¡¯er¡¯s little short legs for approval.


    Before going to sleep, Yan Junze was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when he heard Zhang Xiaomo and her mother Li Man whispering in the corridor outside.


    "Auntie, how does Yan Junze usually behave?" This was the question from Zhang Xiaomo.


    "My son is very obedient, studies well, has good daily habits, goes to classes on time, completes his homework and review on time, and his recent test scores have improved a lot, without the need for us to push him..." Li Man immediately sang high praise for her son.


    Had Zhang Xiaomo not interrupted, she probably could have talked for half an hour.


    "Does he have a girlfriend? Or maybe has a secret crush on a female classmate or something?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    Li Man clearly paused for a moment, then shook her head.


    "Does he have the habit of lurking in bathrooms, particularly... the girls¡¯ bathroom?"


    Yan Junze, who was washing his face, froze.


    He suspected that after all the beating around the bush, this question from Zhang Xiaomo was the real point.


    Was it just because he had been afraid Ke¡¯er was in danger earlier and had listened at the bathroom door for a while that she had to be so suspicious? S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After listening for quite some time, there was no sound from Li Man¡¯s side, and he guessed she didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    Pretending he heard nothing, he finished washing up, used the toilet, and went back to his bedroom to grab his bedding. By then, Zhang Xiaomo had changed into a cute bear-patterned pink pajama set and was sitting on the bed organizing her things.


    In that moment, it felt like she was completely disconnected from her identity as an Exorcist.


    Yan Junze grabbed the bedding his mother had prepared for him and was about to leave when Zhang Xiaomo said, "Tonight is just an exception. After we move to the rental tomorrow, for the next seven days, we must sleep in the same room."


    As she spoke, she opened her travel bag, took out some clothes to organize, and then... pulled out a short knife about one-third of a meter long with a blade that gleamed brightly.


    Yan Junze was startled for a moment and said, "What¡¯s this? If I don¡¯t sleep in the same room as you, are you going to use that knife on me?"


    Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, "This is a Three-Star Exorcist¡¯s weapon and as for us sharing a room, it¡¯s so I can protect you around the clock."


    Yan Junze then noticed that the hilt of the short sword was inlaid with something very familiar. Upon closer inspection, he pointed at the short sword in surprise, "That¡¯s... a Hidden Buckle."


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Exorcists below Two-Star can¡¯t fully unleash the Hidden Buckle¡¯s power and can only use it in the most primitive way¡ªby throwing it. Actually, the Hidden Buckle¡¯s full power is only realized when it¡¯s embedded in a magnetic knife, but if one¡¯s physique isn¡¯t up to par, they can¡¯t control the magnetic knife, especially one embedded with a Hidden Buckle."


    "I see," Yan Junze said as if he had an epiphany, "Do all Exorcists have physiques close to strangenesses?"


    "Yes, they must have such a physique," Zhang Xiaomo said as she placed the short sword under her pillow and covered it with the pillow. "But only Exorcists of Three-Star or above can perform Spirit Communication, which is commonly known as Seeing Ghosts."


    Yan Junze said, "So you¡¯re saying that ¡¯Spirit Communication,¡¯ this live skill, someone like Huang Chen, a One-Star Exorcist, can¡¯t do it at all."


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Right, for instance, the little strangeness I ran into in the bathroom just now¡ªif it wanted to, it could stand right in front of Huang Chen and he wouldn¡¯t see it."


    "What?!" Yan Junze¡¯s body jolted. He had never expected that Zhang Xiaomo would have seen Ke¡¯er.


    Trying not to show his shock too obviously, he deliberately coughed a few times and feigned composure, "There was... strangeness in the bathroom? Then you... what did you do with that... strangeness?"


    Zhang Xiaomo smiled mysteriously, "This little one has very little resentment and probably means no harm to your family, so I... took... her..."


    At this point, she deliberately slowed down her speech and then suddenly asked, "Why are your pupils dilating?"


    "Not at all," Yan Junze forced a smile, but he knew he couldn¡¯t help but worry about Ke¡¯er¡¯s safety.


    Moreover, it was clear that Zhang Xiaomo was very perceptive and he had definitely left some clues in front of her.


    "I sealed her in the bathroom," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    "She wasn¡¯t killed then," Yan Junze breathed a slight sigh of relief.


    "But in no more than half an hour, she will completely dissipate," added Zhang Xiaomo.


    From the moment Zhang Xiaomo left the bathroom to when Yan Junze went in to wash up and use the toilet, then returned to the bedroom for their conversation, Yan Junze hadn¡¯t thought to check the exact time. But it seemed possible that half an hour might have already passed.


    In that moment, he couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore. Putting down the bedding in his hand, he asked, "Where is she sealed?


    "Inside the cabinet under the washbasin," came the reply.


    "How do you unseal it?"


    "I only sealed the space inside the cabinet; just carry the little one out to break the seal," she answered.


    Yan Junze rushed out of the bedroom to the bathroom, turned on the light, and immediately dashed to the washbasin.


    Underneath the washbasin was a narrow double-door cabinet, which normally housed laundry detergent, bath products, spare towels, and other items.


    Crouching down, as soon as he opened it, he saw Ke¡¯er with her limbs completely twisted, crammed inside like a stuffed doll, her whole face buried under her limbs and not visible.


    Faint purple ripples emanated from the space inside the cabinet.


    Yan Junze immediately reached in, grabbed Ke¡¯er, and pulled her out forcefully without a second thought.


    Ke¡¯er let out an unintelligible yah-yah sound as if very angry, but without any strength to resist, her body slumped weakly into Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    Yan Junze knew that in front of this Three-Star Exorcist, some things simply couldn¡¯t be concealed. He simply carried her and went back to the bedroom.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression was calm; she seemed to have confirmed something and was still sitting on the bed when she said, "Tell me, what is your relationship with her?"

 Chapter 74 - 73 Knowledge Handbook

    "How did you find out?" Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer Zhang Xiaomo but asked her instead.


    "I noticed it the moment I entered your house," Zhang Xiaomo shrugged. "There is a faint Yin Energy on you. It¡¯s not very strong, but it¡¯s clearly the result of spending a long time with an Evil Spirit."


    "She doesn¡¯t harm me, we have a good relationship," Yan Junze placed Ke¡¯er on the bedding he had just thrown on the floor.


    Ke¡¯er remained curled up in a ball, babbling unconsciously.


    "Being with a Wandering Spirit like this for an extended period can harm your body," Zhang Xiaomo warned.


    "I haven¡¯t felt it."


    "What I¡¯m talking about is... it will definitely shorten your life."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment.


    "Don¡¯t think I¡¯m just scaring you with extreme statements," Zhang Xiaomo said. "We Exorcists of three stars and above, if we really want to subdue an Evil Spirit, we use objects to contain them, not keep them by our side like you do every day."


    "Let me correct you," Yan Junze lifted his head. "I didn¡¯t bring her along with me. She just clings directly onto my back."


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s expression stiffened.


    "But your advice seems quite sensible, so I¡¯ll consider it," Yan Junze added, "What about Ke¡¯er now?"


    "Ke¡¯er?" Zhang Xiaomo looked at the incoherent Ke¡¯er and said, "No worries, as long as she is out of my seal space, she¡¯ll be fine after some rest. But this Wandering Spirit is very weak. During these days I¡¯m with you, it¡¯s best not to let her get close to us, or even the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic knife alone will weaken her."


    "That¡¯s not a problem," Yan Junze nodded. "Then I¡¯ll take her to the living room now, and as long as you don¡¯t bring the magnetic knife there, it should be fine."


    At that moment, he was considering whether to directly place Ke¡¯er into his Spacetime Atlas, just like the Crawling Corpse. That way, Ke¡¯er wouldn¡¯t be exposed in front of a high-level Exorcist, and he wouldn¡¯t bear the risk of reduced lifespan anymore.


    Now, every second Ke¡¯er spends with Zhang Xiaomo is another moment of danger.


    With that, Yan Junze immediately picked up the bedding and carried Ke¡¯er to the living room.


    By now, his parents had already gone to their bedroom, and the living room was empty.


    After settling Ke¡¯er on the sofa and making sure she started to stabilize, Yan Junze lay down on another sofa, ready to turn off the lights and sleep.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly entered the living room, clapping her hands to indicate she didn¡¯t bring the magnetic knife.


    "The video you uploaded was quite impressive," she poured herself a cup of cool boiled water and took a sip. "I must say, you¡¯re quite bold for a regular person,"


    Yan Junze nodded but said nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo, unconcerned, spoke in a lower voice, "Before coming here, I listened to Huang Chen¡¯s introduction about you and reviewed some video material related to you. Hmm, for now, we can confirm that you have a certain Supernatural constitution, but a detailed inspection is needed for an accurate conclusion."


    "I¡¯m not considering any inspections in the short term," Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t answer, but the sound of flipping paper could be heard.


    Yan Junze lay on the sofa without turning his head to look, but after a moment, he felt someone shake his shoulder. He slightly lifted the blanket to see Zhang Xiaomo standing beside him, holding a cup of water in one hand and an A4 paper in the other, which she passed to him.


    "Don¡¯t go to sleep just yet, memorize the contents of this paper as quickly as you can, read it over multiple times."


    Yan Junze took the A4 paper, glanced at the text, and mumbled, "Couldn¡¯t you just text me this information on my phone?"


    "This is a secret, don¡¯t put it on the internet." Zhang Xiaomo finished her glass of water in one gulp and turned to go back to the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat up, stretched out the paper, and found that it was printed with some strange knowledge, aimed at giving those being protected a rough understanding, so that they wouldn¡¯t panic when encountering the supernatural and act blindly.


    Although it was just a sheet of paper, it could tentatively be considered a manual of sorts.


    After a careful look, he understood that the strange knowledge he needed to form in his mind could be categorized from low to high into two types: the Wandering Spirits and the Sculpting Spirits.


    Wandering Spirits were also divided into three levels: high, medium, and low, but even within the same level system, the strength of Wandering Spirits could vary greatly.


    Usually, a high-level Wandering Spirit could create E and D level supernatural incidents, while a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Resentful Granny could create C level supernatural incidents, and even B level ones.


    As for the actual Sculpting Spirits, they seemed to be rare at present.


    However, after analyzing the information on the paper, Yan Junze found that it wasn¡¯t very abundant. If a three-star exorcist like Zhang Xiaomo could deal with a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, then a four-star exorcist should be able to handle Sculpting Spirit level strangenesses.


    In that case, what¡¯s the need for a five-star exorcist?


    From what Huang Chen had told him, Yan Junze knew that exorcists could only reach up to a five-star level, which meant, according to the information provided on the paper, that a four-star exorcist should be able to deal with anything below a Sculpting Spirit level.


    So, Yan Junze deduced that there might be even more dangerous strangenesses above the Sculpting Spirits. Otherwise, five-star exorcists would spend their days with nothing to do, perhaps even pondering participation in the Most Beautiful Exorcist Beauty Pageant.


    He also considered it fortunate that he was targeted by a Resentful Granny, a Semi-Sculpting Spirit. Otherwise, he was certain that he would never have accessed any information about the level of Sculpting Spirits.


    The text also warned that an exorcist¡¯s Hidden Buckle should not be used in crowded places unless absolutely necessary, as the energy backlash could cause minor harm to people.


    At this point, Huang Chen¡¯s ears might be red from the scolding they would have received from Yan Junze.


    To this day, Yan Junze still remembered the scene of himself stuck against the window after the "High-Energy Collapse" exploded.


    Of course, Huang Chen did do some reliable things, like arranging for a three-star exorcist to protect him.


    The last few lines of the text were three warnings:


    1. If you realize that the scenario you¡¯re currently experiencing contains any unnatural elements, or situations you can¡¯t control, don¡¯t hesitate, please flee immediately.


    2. The strangeness caused by Wandering Spirits is obvious, and even someone who hasn¡¯t graduated from elementary school could easily differentiate it. But the strangeness caused by Sculpting Spirits usually looks very ordinary; it¡¯s only upon closer inspection that one falls under their deadly influence.


    3. Once targeted by a Sculpting Spirit, run if you can. Don¡¯t delude yourself into resisting, unless you are an exorcist.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo said, Yan Junze read and reread the paper many times, and now he had a clear grasp of some previously vague concepts.


    And those life-saving methods, he committed to memory very seriously.


    He didn¡¯t know how many times he had read it before he realized it was nearly two o¡¯clock.


    He folded the paper and put it away, quickly stood up to turn off the light, then lay back down on the couch.


    Ke¡¯er seemed to have recovered and soon crawled up using all fours, laying on Yan Junze¡¯s back and hugging him proficiently. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, and although he was somewhat reluctant to release Ke¡¯er from his embrace, he still decided to activate the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock."


    Ke¡¯er showed no resistance and shrank visibly. She was quickly absorbed into the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, joining the Crawling Corpse together.

 Chapter 75 - 74: Reckless and Varied Tactics

    With the presence of a three-star Exorcist, Yan Junze¡¯s previously uneasy heart finally settled down, and sleepiness crept up on him without notice, swiftly falling into a deep slumber.


    The next morning, the alarm on his cellphone rang out.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t gotten enough sleep and knew that for the next week, he wouldn¡¯t be able to attend school, but he had forgotten to turn off the alarm.


    Groggily getting up, he saw that his mother and Zhang Xiaomo had already gotten out of bed and were sitting at the dining table.


    Everything was as usual.


    Yan Daguo had left home early, Li Man had prepared breakfast, and Zhang Xiaomo was already seated at the dining table eating her share.


    "Auntie, did you make this pickled vegetable yourself? It smells so good!"


    "Brought it from my hometown."


    "Hmm, paired with the noodle soup you made, it¡¯s simply a delight of this world."


    "Then eat more, have Ze¡¯s portion as well, I¡¯ll go cook another bowl."


    "There¡¯s no need for that."


    The two of them chatted while eating. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since he was awake, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan on going back to sleep.


    After washing up in the bathroom and coming out, Zhang Xiaomo had finished eating and was wiping her mouth.


    Yan Junze noticed that the short knife she had placed under her pillow at night was now neatly placed on the dining table, sheathed in leather, making it look more like a delicate toy than a knife at first glance.


    Sitting down and taking a sip of the noodle soup his mother had just served him, Yan Junze spoke indistinctly to Zhang Xiaomo, "I¡¯ll go with you after I eat."


    "Okay."


    Zhang Xiaomo stood up, and with a touch of her finger, the knife, barely peeking over the edge of the table, sprung up, spun in the air, and was casually caught in her hand as she turned and went into the bedroom to change clothes.


    Li Man, who was drinking soup, almost spat it out, not until Zhang Xiaomo closed the bedroom door did she say, "I somehow feel she isn¡¯t like a teacher who tutors in math and science, but more like one who teaches martial arts."


    Yan Junze also nodded in agreement, "That knife is really sharp, uh no, Teacher Zhang is really flexible!"


    He didn¡¯t notice anything wrong with what he said, nor did he notice the meaningful look Li Man was giving him.


    "Son, the college entrance exam is coming up, there are some things..." Li Man felt that at this critical time, it was necessary to awaken her son with her own experiences from that time.


    "Yeah, I know," Yan Junze slurped up the noodles quickly and wiped his mouth.


    Zhang Xiaomo emerged from the bedroom, still dressed as she was the day before, the short knife sheathed in its leather scabbard and hung on the side of a cross-body bag, which if not looked at closely, might be mistaken for a mere accessory.


    Yan Junze estimated with his eyes that the short knife could just fit in the bag.


    He went back to the bedroom to pack up his textbooks and put on his backpack, picked up some change of clothes Li Man had prepared for him, said goodbye to Li Man, and the two of them left.


    As they were leaving, Li Man kept instructing them from behind.


    No matter what, in Li Man¡¯s eyes, her son always seemed like he was about to fall into an inescapable internet scam.


    "If you can¡¯t go to school, how will you attend classes these next few days?" Zhang Xiaomo asked casually as they walked.


    "When it¡¯s time for class, I¡¯ll have Dali open a video feed for me, and I¡¯ll listen to the teacher on my phone, it¡¯s the same thing," Yan Junze said.


    It¡¯s best not to go to school looking like this.


    Because if a strange incident is confirmed to be about to happen, schools usually seal off an area for the safety of other students, or like last time when Zhang Tiantian got possessed, they let out early.


    Right now, I am essentially a walking potential strange incident, so it¡¯s better not to go to crowded places for the time being.


    The two left the FH Community and arrived at the bus stop on the street, soon catching the 803 bus heading to the outskirts.


    Since it was headed toward the suburban area, there weren¡¯t many people boarding at this time, and there were plenty of seats available.


    Sitting toward the back of the bus, Yan Junze said, "My classmate has already contacted me, the rental is in a place called Rock, and the landlord lives there too."


    "Mhm," Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "Besides the rental place, don¡¯t go anywhere unfamiliar alone these days, especially crowded places. That way, if something unexpected happens, you¡¯ll have the best chance of escaping in a familiar environment."


    Yan Junze nodded in agreement to this point and remained silent.


    It was 21 stops from FH Community to Rock, and some of the roads beyond the city turned rough, making the bus start to jolt.


    "What are you reciting?" Zhang Xiaomo noticed Yan Junze¡¯s lips moving continuously, muttering some unclear words.


    "Memorizing formulas, and some weird USA grammatical structures," Yan Junze said with a wry smile, "It¡¯s a bit easier to remember these things in the early morning."


    Although his knowledge was not bad in the past life, he now realized that he had forgotten a lot of high school material. The information he needed to memorize now mostly belonged to the category that was rarely used and very niche after learning.


    This indicates that in this world, content that leans toward test-oriented education still exists, and in the actual application process, a lot of it is unused.


    "Did you watch the videos I shot?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yeah, you really have some nerve," Zhang Xiaomo said, "During ¡¯Peeking From the Crack in the Wall,¡¯ it was all amateur Spirit Investigators, and you delved too deep unlike other videos that just barely scratched the surface and only aimed to catch the eye. And you even fancied getting rid of the strangeness there, you just got lucky."


    "I felt the same," Yan Junze nodded.


    Ever since that time, he decided he would strictly control the depth and the storytelling exploration in future videos. Of course, the ability to ¡¯Rewind¡¯ time would not allow any clues to be revealed during the shooting process.


    After hesitating for a moment, he voiced the doubt in his mind, "How much do you know about people like me, who are always with spirits?"


    "Not a lot, but there are some," Zhang Xiaomo said, "There are also those who are slowly tormented to death by evil spirits, which is to say, having their lifespan reduced to a negative number. Some people have very strong Strange Bodies; much stronger than yours, but they can¡¯t become Exorcists."


    "Why not?"


    "One type of people is naturally timid, to the point where they can scare themselves to death, and the other type has an extraordinary constitution, yet refuse to become Exorcists."


    "So, it¡¯s not that they are afraid of strangenesses, but of death?"


    "Not really."


    "Then what are they afraid of?"


    "On the contrary, they¡¯re not afraid of anything," Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes flashed with a barely perceptible fear, "These people¡¯s Strange Bodies are incredibly strong, and their affinity with evil spirits goes far beyond ordinary people¡¯s imagination. After frequent contact with evil spirits, not only will their lifespan not decrease, but they will also become extremely terrifying."


    "How terrifying?" Yan Junze asked curiously.


    "The creators of S-Class supernatural incidents," Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    "Damn, aren¡¯t S-Class incidents caused by strangenesses?" Yan Junze blurted out, surprised.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "The world is very complex, much more complex than you can imagine. Our Exorcist team can only temporarily hold back the strangenesses in the Great Capital. What you don¡¯t know is that in places like USA and elsewhere, there are far more terrifying and bizarre supernatural phenomena."

 Chapter 76 - 75 Day One

    The bus on Route 803 had been running for about an hour and twenty minutes before it finally arrived at a suburb called "Rock."


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, it wasn¡¯t particularly remote, sort of like the area where the city blends with the countryside.


    There were many newly built houses, but there were just as many old streets and short bungalows, and the rental house that Zhou Dali arranged for Yan Junze was a shabby two-story self-built house.


    The landlord was named Lin Dong, a man in his fifties with already graying hair. Lin Dong¡¯s wife had passed away, and his children worked in other cities, typically only returning once a year.


    Most of the time, this uncle just looked after his self-built house, renting out the extra rooms to gather some company, while spending his days playing chess and chatting with the neighbors outside.


    After getting off the bus, Yan Junze looked up to check if the address matched the street numbers.


    Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile behind him, "If you flunk your college entrance exams and are looking to scrape by, I can give you a letter of recommendation. You could go for an interview and a check-up at our Exorcists¡¯. Given how close you and Ke¡¯er seem, you might just be a promising seedling."


    Yan Junze laughed, "No way, after the college entrance exam, if you want to find me, you can go to Tianmeng Science University. Hmm, the address seems to be right ahead."


    The first morning revision class had already started, but Yan Junze couldn¡¯t make it in time to follow live. He could only ask Zhou Dali to record it and send it to him later to study.


    The two of them walked up the winding little street that stretched from the main road all the way to the top of the hill, with houses everywhere, though few people were seen.


    The majority of young people had left to find work, and it appeared that some houses were simply uninhabited.


    When they reached what seemed like halfway up the hill, they saw Lin Dong waiting at the door.


    Lin Dong was dressed carelessly, his hair greasy, currently looking bored as he stood at the door picking his nose and flicking it onto the ground.


    Usually, young people who work in the city prefer these suburban houses because they are cheap, plus the transportation is convenient, and they aren¡¯t very far from the city center.


    With a bit of effort throughout the year, they could save a lot of money.


    "Here are the keys, you¡¯ll be living on the first floor, the second floor is already rented out," Lin Dong handed Yan Junze two keys, talking as if they were old acquaintances.


    Yan Junze took the keys cautiously, afraid that the landlord¡¯s boogers might have stuck on them.


    "Where do you live, landlord?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Next door." Lin Dong pointed to the adjoining house that looked relatively well-kept. "Go in and take a look. If you¡¯re missing any household items, you can buy them at the Boom Supermarket at the end of the street; they basically have everything."


    "When you decide to stay, I¡¯ll come over to collect the rent in half an hour. If not, return the keys to me next door." Lin Dong didn¡¯t say much else and turned to go back to his own place next door.


    "Thank you," Yan Junze said while he took apart the keys and handed one to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo, mimicking his previous action, carefully checked the key and didn¡¯t immediately reach out to take it.


    Yan Junze said, "It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no..."


    Before he could finish, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly took the key with relief.


    "What, not afraid it has boogers on it anymore?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It does, but not on this key," Zhang Xiaomo pocketed her key.


    "Fuck!" Yan Junze only then noticed a lump of booger that had somehow stuck on the back of his own hand and quickly flung his hand.


    Zhang Xiaomo, startled, dodged to one side, desperately hoping to avoid being hit by accident. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They stood stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.


    "There are quite a few people here," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Her implication was that the place was not very isolated.


    ```


    At least someone was living on the second floor, and if anything went awry, it might affect other people.


    Yan Junze nodded, took out his phone to check the time, and, seeing it was break time between classes, he called Zhou Dali, "Dali, this place isn¡¯t very remote, is it?"


    "I asked my uncle, and this is already the best match for your requirements," Zhou Dali said on the other end of the phone. "Besides, the rent is cheap, and there aren¡¯t many people nearby."


    "I see the buildings across the street are empty; it¡¯s actually this place that has neighbors and such," Yan Junze remarked.


    "But they¡¯re not renting out, I can¡¯t help it," Zhou Dali replied, sounding helpless.


    Yan Junze had put the call on speaker, so Zhang Xiaomo could hear as well.


    After hanging up, the two exchanged glances.


    "Let¡¯s settle in first," Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Opening the door, they walked around inside for a bit.


    The exterior of the house was simple, but the old-style furniture inside was still usable¡ªthey were only staying for seven days so they weren¡¯t concerned about the quality.


    The house was small, with a living room that doubled as a kitchen and a bedroom¡ªtogether, probably only about thirty-five or thirty-six square meters.


    However, there was no bathroom inside; there was a toilet outside shared with the second-floor tenants, which was a bit more convenient for them since those residents had to come downstairs to use it.


    Still lacking essentials like towels and toiletries, once they decided to rent the place, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went next door to give Lin Dong the agreed-upon seven days¡¯ rent.


    Then, they headed to Boom Supermarket to buy the necessary living supplies.


    Of course, it was Yan Junze who paid.


    Having an exorcist team send a three-star exorcist to protect him without asking him to pay for the protection fee was pretty good already; he couldn¡¯t possibly use Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s money.


    Back at the rented house, Zhang Xiaomo began to tidy up and clean, while Yan Junze watched the class videos that Zhou Dali had sent over again and made some notes.


    During the process, Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t ask Yan Junze for help, quietly doing the cleaning and organizing herself, but she didn¡¯t step out of the house either, always buzzing around Yan Junze, which could be said to be very diligent.


    Of course, Yan Junze was well aware of the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s hint that Resentful Granny would begin her revenge after 72 hours, starting at 17:54 in the afternoon.


    That meant if Resentful Granny was to start her revenge, it would also be after 17:54 today.


    For the moment, he was safe.


    For lunch, the two cooked up two packs of instant noodles, accompanied by their instant noodles consort¡ªShuanggang brand ham sausages.


    In the afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo prepared to cook a sour soup hotpot, having bought all the hotpot ingredients.


    Soon it was five o¡¯clock, and Yan Junze¡¯s heart started to feel restless. Even though he was helping with washing the vegetables, his eyes were constantly vigilant of his surroundings.


    However, to his relief, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s short knife never left her side, even when her hands were full¡ªshe kept it tucked at her waist, ready to use at any moment.


    The two had dinner while it was still light outside, but it was already past six. At that point, any slight rustle outside would instantly put Yan Junze on high alert, ready for action.


    He couldn¡¯t hide his feelings from Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes.


    After dinner, Zhang Xiaomo washed the dishes while Yan Junze sat on the nearly peeling fabric sofa in the living room and called his mother.


    After hanging up, he heard Zhang Xiaomo say, "I feel like you¡¯re much more nervous now than this morning. Don¡¯t be too tense, the Semi-Sculpting Spirit isn¡¯t monitoring you every second, we just need to be careful and on guard."


    Actually, by that time, Yan Junze had already activated the Rewind timeline, with a cycle of 4 hours for continuous rewinding.


    ```

 Chapter 77 - 76 Day Two

    After the couple finished eating and cleaning up, the tenants upstairs came back.


    They were a young couple who both worked in Shuntian City and only returned to their suburban rental after getting off work.


    Both of them appeared very frugal, dressed simply and ordinarily, just looking a bit tired and awkward, likely young people who had just entered the workforce after graduating from college.


    Seeing that new neighbors had moved in downstairs, the two smiled at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, who sat in the outer room, but neither side spoke.


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo closed the door.


    Although the air in the suburbs was very good, for the moment, taking a walk after dinner was strictly off-limits.


    In the bedroom inside, Yan Junze pretended to review his lessons, but his mind was already elsewhere.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo laid out new sheets on the only bed, switching out the bedding.


    She removed the old bedding cover and replaced it with a new one, then placed the bedding in the center of the bed, piled firmly, to serve as a divider between the two for sleeping.


    Yan Junze was also aware that Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned the night before that starting tonight, they must sleep together.


    She needed to provide the utmost protection for Yan Junze.


    Actually, Yan Junze could have slept on the floor, but the ground on the first floor was very damp and unsuitable for laying out bedding.


    So, the two reached a mutual understanding on this matter without much discussion.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who loved cleanliness, sprayed some fresh perfume on the bedding and in the room, causing Yan Junze to sneeze several times.


    Because he had gone to bed late the night before, Yan Junze went to bed early.


    He slept on the right side of the bed, while Zhang Xiaomo sat on the left side, leaning against the headboard, flipping through her phone.


    Under other circumstances, Yan Junze might have been influenced by this ambiguous atmosphere, sharing a bed with a beautiful girl he had met just one day ago¡ªa situation that would keep any teenager brimming with youth and hormones awake with excitement.


    But his mind wasn¡¯t on such thoughts at the time.


    He simply felt very safe, and the two maintained a good understanding without a word.


    During that time, they could hear the busy footsteps of the couple upstairs, but after a while, Yan Junze drifted off into a deep sleep without realizing it.


    When he woke up, it was broad daylight.


    Nothing had happened on the first day. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The couple upstairs had hurried off to work in the city early and were silent.


    Zhang Xiaomo was cooking noodles in the outer room, and the aroma of the water-boiled noodles entered Yan Junze¡¯s nostrils. He sat up, adjusted his mindset, and prepared to face the next few days with a positive attitude amidst his uneasy emotions.


    However, the day passed uneventfully as usual.


    There was nothing unusual in the rental house.


    Yan Junze¡¯s main task was to review and watch the lecture videos sent by Zhou Dali, while Zhang Xiaomo was busy finding things to do, rarely disturbing him.


    Yan Junze found it hard to believe that Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t much older, but she was very adept at household chores, showing no sign of unfamiliarity.


    In the words of a typical male chauvinist, the dishes she cooked were full of a mother¡¯s flavor.


    Of course, if Zhang Xiaomo knew what Yan Junze was thinking, she would have given him a beautiful backhand chop and killed him on the spot.


    Around noon, the landlord Lin Dong dropped by to see if the couple had any difficulties needing assistance since they had just arrived, aiming to exhibit the warmth expected of a local.


    After a few causal inquiries, Lin Dong left to play chess at Old Li¡¯s place on the street corner.


    Just like the previous day, the couple upstairs came back soon after dinner.


    This time they seemed to feel a bit more familiar with Yan Junze and his company. The square-faced man spoke first, "You guys have eaten so early, we¡¯ve only just got home."


    Zhang Xiaomo did not respond.


    Yan Junze said, "It¡¯s you who have it tough, commuting back and forth every day."


    "No choice," the man laughed, "to save money."


    His petite girlfriend also smiled and said, "We¡¯re going upstairs to cook."


    Footsteps ascended the stairs, the opening and closing of doors, followed by the sound of changing shoes; the soundproofing was very poor.


    Yan Junze suspected that if those two were doing some unspeakable things upstairs, a slight lack of attention might allow everything to be heard loud and clear downstairs.


    With that thought, things became somewhat awkward.


    He didn¡¯t know if they had done anything last night, as he had gone to sleep early and hadn¡¯t heard anything.


    He glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was glued to her phone. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would pull out her phone and keep scrolling endlessly.


    She was nothing like the literary young women who would sit quietly reading a book when there was nothing else to do; instead, she was a completely different kind of person.


    Now, Yan Junze was wondering if having this three-star Exorcist by his side was scaring the Resentful Granny into not appearing at all.


    But this wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. Zhang Xiaomo had made it very clear that she would only protect him for seven days. If the Resentful Granny dared to show up only after those seven days, then he wouldn¡¯t achieve his goal.


    The best outcome would be to leverage Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s power to eliminate the Resentful Granny during this time. That was the result Yan Junze most wanted to see.


    Lying in bed, because of the quilt in the middle of the bed, unless Zhang Xiaomo on the other side sat up, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see her.


    Of course, he could see her now because Zhang Xiaomo was leaning against the headboard, scrolling on her phone.


    "How many Evil Spirits have you killed?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo, who was looking down at her phone, had her shoulder-length short hair hanging down, covering half of her face and revealing her pale cheek skin. From the side, her profile looked very delicate.


    She continued to stare at her phone, replying, "Probably around eighteen or nineteen, I can¡¯t quite remember."


    "Have you ever encountered any danger?" Yan Junze asked again.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly turned off her phone¡¯s screen, turned her face towards the lying Yan Junze, and said seriously, "Actually... I really don¡¯t know what safety is."


    "Understood," Yan Junze nodded, closing his eyes.


    Just the fact that Huang Chen had mentioned his mentor, a two-star Exorcist, died at the hands of the Resentful Granny, indicated that being an Exorcist was extremely dangerous, almost always skating on the edge of death.


    The night had deepened.


    There were only a few streets at Rock, and during the late hours, only the main road had dim streetlights. The rest of the streets were pitch black.


    After returning from Old Li¡¯s house, Lin Dong walked on the empty street, humming a tune, staggering along with an uneven gait.


    After the chess game, he had a few drinks with Old Li over some dishes. The alcohol was still coursing through him, keeping his spirits high.


    However, he was so familiar with the area that even though he was a bit tipsy, he soon reached his own doorstep and took out his keys to unlock the door.


    Groping for the light switch, he pressed it only to find the light didn¡¯t come on.


    Lin Dong cursed under his breath and pressed the switch a few more times to no avail.


    He then pulled out his phone from his pocket. Not knowing how to turn on the flashlight feature, he simply lit the screen of the phone and, with the dim light it provided, walked into the house.


    The door closed slowly behind him.


    Groping his way through the living room, he reached the TV cabinet, let out a burp from the booze, squatted down, and opened the drawer to search for candles.


    Lin Dong remembered that because places like Rock frequently had power outages, it was essential for every household to have candles for emergencies.


    He was sure his memory wasn¡¯t wrong and that the candles were in this drawer, but after searching, he found it empty.


    Standing up, and with the light from his phone screen, Lin Dong suddenly saw a short, dark figure standing at the corner of the TV cabinet, facing away from him, shoulders trembling slightly.


    Lin Dong was immediately stupefied, his drunkenness sobering up considerably.


    Because the figure¡¯s back looked very much like his spouse who had died years earlier.


    He raised his phone up so that the screen light could shine farther and more clearly, and asked with a trembling voice, "Ping... Ping?"


    Drip, drip, drip...


    What was that sound falling onto the floor, ceaselessly dropping?


    Lin Dong looked down and saw that beneath the feet of the person in front of him, candle wax, white candle wax, was constantly dripping.


    At that moment, he thought he knew where the candles had gone.


    After hearing Lin Dong¡¯s voice, the figure slowly turned its head around.


    What Lin Dong saw was the face of an unfamiliar old woman, her mouth stuffed full of white candles. As she chewed, bits of candle and dripping wax continuously flowed from the corners of her mouth.

 Chapter 78 - 77 Two Tasks

    He slept soundly until daylight.


    When Yan Junze woke up, Zhang Xiaomo was taking out the trash.


    After coming back, she said to Yan Junze, "The girl on the second floor isn¡¯t going to work today, so keep your voice down, the sound insulation here is not good."


    "How do you know the sound insulation is bad?" Yan Junze got out of bed, not noticing that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face was slightly flushed.


    Anyway, he felt that he had been sleeping well these past two days, probably because he had an exorcist by his side, so he didn¡¯t need to be constantly on edge. Plus, this was already the third day, and it seemed like Resentful Granny truly didn¡¯t dare to show up.


    "I¡¯m making potato noodles, do you want some?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "A bowl for me, thanks!" Yan Junze often had the illusion that Zhang Xiaomo could have been a high-level nanny if it weren¡¯t for her exorcism career.


    After getting up and going to the other room to wash up, Zhang Xiaomo was beside him, cooking the noodles and adding seasonings.


    After putting the noodles into the boiling soup, Zhang Xiaomo said, "I¡¯ve been observing for the past two days, and there¡¯s a strangeness in the unoccupied building at the end of the street, fourth from the last. It¡¯s best not to walk by there if it¡¯s not necessary."


    While washing his face, Yan Junze paused for a second, having forgotten that this was a remote suburban area at the edge of the city, where strange events were no rarity.


    However, it seemed that these strange events shouldn¡¯t have a big impact on the area, otherwise they would also be lining up for processing by the exorcists.


    Still curious, Yan Junze dried his face towel while opening the "Perception of Strange Events."


    Currently, he felt his progress in unlocking the Spacetime Atlas was still insufficient, the atlas only revealing the tip of the iceberg. It was evident that many nodes and timelines remained unopened.


    As for skills, for the time being, he had only mastered "Perception of Strange Events" and "Evil Spirit Solid Lock." He could guess that there must be many more skills yet to be unlocked in the unlit parts of the atlas.


    Therefore, if time and conditions permitted, Yan Junze was interested in completing more temporary tasks to accumulate more Different Dimension Energy and light up the nodes of the atlas.


    Just as "Perception of Strange Events" was activated, a text message immediately flashed in his mind.


    "[Detecting Different Dimension Energy and dimensional cross-wave bands, analyzing...]"


    "[Coordinates confirmed: Rock Old Street No. 39.]"


    "[Mission name: The Hanged Woman;"


    "Mission level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);"


    "Mission background: After Ye Zhennan¡¯s six-year-old son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, the couple fell into endless grief. Her husband later developed the bad habit of alcohol abuse, beating Ye Zhennan every time he drank. Ye Zhennan clearly remembered that on the day she hung herself, it had been the 79th time her husband had beaten her. She could bear it no longer and decided to join her son."


    "Mission instructions: She still sways under the beam in the house, feeling a sore and painful neck, please loosen it for her;"


    "Mission rewards: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy;"


    "Mission penalties: Unknown;"


    "Mission tips: 1. The spirit can be locked down; 2. There are branch missions waiting to be triggered;"


    "Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is terrifying."]


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed the mission information in his mind and found that the level of this mission, "Anxiety-Inducing (Medium)," matched the level of "The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night."


    And coincidentally, it also had branch missions waiting to be triggered.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t go out to complete missions in his current state; as soon as he entered No. 39 on Old Street, he probably wouldn¡¯t even see Ye Zhennan before Resentful Granny, appearing out of nowhere, finished him off.


    He pondered that if Zhang Xiaomo could take care of Resentful Granny within these seven days, maybe afterwards he could boldly and confidently go complete "The Hanged Woman" mission.


    After making up his mind, a string of text suddenly jumped into his consciousness.


    It was the second task that had been detected.


    [Coordinates confirmed: No. 114 Rock Back Street, Lin Family Courtyard.]


    [Task name: Drop the Handkerchief;


    Task level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task background: Seven children, hale and hearty, sat in the courtyard, playing merrily. Drop the handkerchief, drop the handkerchief, quietly drop it behind the child, don¡¯t tell him, hurry and catch him, hurry and catch him...


    Task description: The Lin Family Courtyard suffered a fire seven years ago, and not one of the seven children playing in the yard managed to escape. No, wait, one did run away. The remaining six children are puzzled, did he really escape or not? They want an answer. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Task reward: 600 Dimensional Energy points;


    Task penalty: In Dire Straits;


    Task tip: 1. The evil spirit thrives in a group and cannot be locked down; 2. There are other "treasures" to be explored inside the Lin Family Courtyard;


    Note: Do you still remember this game? If not, better brush up on it quickly.]


    Having only opened [Perception of Strange Events] for a moment, Yan Junze had received two tasks, with the rewards in Dimensional Energy points being quite substantial. Now, it depended on whether he had the time and opportunity to complete them.


    "Why are you standing there zoning out after washing your face?" Zhang Xiaomo had already cooked the sweet potato noodles and was serving herself a bowl.


    They did smell pretty good, though.


    Yan Junze put down the towel, smiled, and also served himself a bowl.


    "By the way," Zhang Xiaomo said, "there seems to be something wrong with the street behind us, and the strange phenomena are even more severe than what I just told you. However, it should have been reported to the Exorcist Squad by now. Someone specialized should come to deal with it."


    Yan Junze nodded, gaining a new appreciation for Zhang Xiaomo.


    This three-star exorcist could describe the two tasks he had detected almost perfectly just by relying on her naked eye and instinctive perception. She was really not on the same level as someone like Huang Chen, who was a mere dabbler.


    Why won¡¯t Resentful Granny show up! Hurry up and let Zhang Xiaomo take care of her, so that he could shake off his worries and go complete the tasks!


    Just then, light footsteps were heard, and the female tenant from the lovey-dovey couple upstairs quickly descended from the second floor, turning towards the building next door after reaching the base of the stairs.


    However, she came back after a short while. Wearing cartoon pajamas and a pair of white canvas shoes, she stood at the front door of the outer room where Yan Junze was and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen the landlord today?"


    Yan Junze shook his head: "Isn¡¯t he next door?"


    "I knocked, but there was no answer," the woman said with a shrug. "By the way, my name is Su Muyao. How do I address you?"


    Just hearing that name, it sounded like that of a typical female protagonist. Yan Junze looked up to take a closer look at Su Muyao; she was rather pretty with an appearance slightly above average, and seemed to be quite petite. This was in stark contrast to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s height of 1.7 meters.


    "Yan Junze." He pointed at himself, then glanced at the woman next to him, who was slurping her sweet potato noodles, "This is Zhang Xiaomo. Um, want to have breakfast? We made sweet potato noodles."


    "Thanks, I¡¯ve already eaten," Su Muyao looked at Zhang Xiaomo and sensed a certain aloofness from her, silent and distant as if rejecting people thousands of miles away.


    With a smile towards Yan Junze, Su Muyao turned to go back upstairs.


    "Wait," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly spoke up, sitting at the doorway and looking up at her, "Isn¡¯t the landlord usually at home around this time?"


    "I haven¡¯t paid attention," Su Muyao said, thinking carefully while standing on the stairs. "But it seems like I see him every day. If he isn¡¯t at home, he¡¯s usually at Old Li¡¯s place on the street corner, playing chess and chatting."

 Chapter 79 - 78 Day Three

    Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo stopped talking, Su Muyao gave her a peculiar look and, without speaking further, turned and clattered up the stairs.


    Yan Junze stared at Zhang Xiaomo, and she put down her bowl and chopsticks and walked out of the door.


    Yan Junze also set down his unfinished glass noodles and came outside.


    The two walked in front of the next-door room, exchanged glances, then looked at the room where Lin Dong lived.


    It was a large self-built bungalow. At the moment, the door was tightly shut, and the curtains in the windows were drawn, so it was impossible to see inside clearly.


    "Do you think there¡¯s something strange?" Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but say, "The landlord could have gone out early." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Not necessarily." Zhang Xiaomo walked to the door. The magnetic knife strapped to her waist bounced with her steps, ready to be grabbed at any moment.


    When she reached the door, she hesitated briefly, then reached out her right hand and touched the tightly closed door.


    Suddenly, the door loosened and slowly swung open, revealing the dim interior where the furnishings were not immediately discernible.


    "The door was open?" Yan Junze said in surprise, taking two steps forward.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t move; standing at the door, she scanned the room with her eyes, grabbed the doorknob but didn¡¯t go in. Instead, she loudly shut the door.


    "Why not go in and take a look?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Strangenesses come in two types, active and passive," Zhang Xiaomo began. "If Granny Ren has already arrived, me entering this room now would result in her passively interfering, which would be to my disadvantage."


    Turning her head back, Zhang Xiaomo turned and walked away: "Whether Lin Dong is in trouble or not, we cannot enter the room at this moment."


    The two returned to their rental property.


    Yan Junze asked worriedly, "So, did Granny Ren come or not? Is Lin Dong in trouble or not?"


    "I can¡¯t be sure," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head. "I need to protect you; I can¡¯t let you stay outside alone, and I can¡¯t let you come in and take risks with me. Let¡¯s wait a bit longer."


    Yan Junze went back inside and sat on his bed, feeling somewhat uneasy.


    Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomo started washing the dishes, pouring some hot water and dishwashing liquid into the bowl she¡¯d finished eating from.


    Soon after, the light footsteps upstairs sounded again, and Su Muyao ran down and stood at the door, peering into the first-floor room.


    "Is something the matter?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "I need Yan¡¯s help with something," Su Muyao said. "I¡¯m doing a big clean, but the mop head has come off, and I can¡¯t twist it tight enough."


    "He¡¯s got a cramp in his foot. You can bring it down; I¡¯ll help you twist it on," Zhang Xiaomo quickly replied without thinking.


    Su Muyao looked helplessly at the room, not seeing Yan Junze¡¯s figure.


    Of course, twisting the mop head was just one thing; she actually wanted to find an excuse to have Yan Junze upstairs to also help move the couch for her because there had been a foul smell emanating from under it last night.


    There might be a dead rat decaying underneath, which made Su Muyao feel disgusted.


    But there was no choice; this place was crawling with mice, cockroaches, and other vermin.


    Planning to tell the truth, Su Muyao said, "I also want him to help me lift the couch. There seems to be something underneath giving off a bad smell. I want to move the couch and then clean that area."


    "Yan¡¯s hand joints are disabled at level three; he can¡¯t lift heavy things, sorry." Zhang Xiaomo said again.


    Su Muyao was completely speechless and turned to go back upstairs, visibly annoyed.


    Yan Junze came out of the inner room with a look of grievance and said to Zhang Xiaomo, "I was only in there for a moment, and you¡¯ve made me out to be severely disabled. Lifting something is just a piece of cake, right?"


    "You can¡¯t leave my protection range."


    "You could also come up and help with me."


    "I don¡¯t want to create unnecessary complications."


    "But your reasoning is also..."


    "I can¡¯t lie; sorry for making it seem like you got hurt," Zhang Xiaomo said, managing a smile.


    After a whole day, Yan Junze felt that Zhang Xiaomo was watching him even more closely than the past two days.


    She hadn¡¯t let him leave the house all day, and her gaze was constantly vigilant; she even ignored the greeting from Lin Ling, the male tenant upstairs, when he returned from work.


    It wasn¡¯t even dark yet, and the two of them had already closed the door to the outer room quite early.


    Zhang Xiaomo returned to the inner room, sat on the bed, and prepared to start her daily phone browsing session.


    Yan Junze felt thirsty and went to the outer room to pour himself a glass of water. Holding the cup, he was about to drink.


    Suddenly, he noticed a person standing outside the window, a man¡¯s silhouette.


    He was motionless between the window and the doorway.


    Yan Junze walked up to the window, took a sip of water, and glanced outside towards the door to confirm that the person standing there was their landlord, Lin Dong, whom they hadn¡¯t seen all day.


    It was now dusk, the sky was getting darker, but Yan Junze could still recognize Lin Dong¡¯s figure.


    This guy just stood at the door, motionless for a while, like a paper-mache dummy.


    As Yan Junze began to feel uneasy, there was a knock at the door.


    Lin Dong was knocking.


    Yan Junze, still holding his glass of water, turned and walked into the inner room, saying to Zhang Xiaomo, "Given the situation right now, should I not open the door, not open the door, or not open the door?"


    Zhang Xiaomo had also heard the knocking and let out a laugh, but she quickly suppressed it and stood up to go to the outer room, with Yan Junze following behind her.


    Approaching the window, they could still see Lin Dong¡¯s figure outside the door.


    After a few knocks, the man had no more movements; he just stood there straight and stiff. Was he contemplating life?


    "He¡¯s been Spirit-Splitted."


    Zhang Xiaomo turned away from the door, and Yan Junze followed, asking, "How do you know?"


    "Experience," Zhang Xiaomo answered.


    "What do we do now?" Yan Junze went into the inner room, placed the glass of water on the nightstand and suggested, "Why don¡¯t you grab the magnetic knife and fight your way out now? If Granny Ren is hiding next door, just cut her down. Then I¡¯ll head to Boom Supermarket to buy some drinks, and we can celebrate with champagne tonight!"


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look and shook her head, "If possible, we should try not to harm innocent people. It¡¯s bustling with activity out there, and Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Splitted no more than 48 hours ago. Later tonight, I¡¯ll go next door, save him, and see if Granny Ren is there."


    "Should I go too?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo took out a black, small circular box, which looked like those simple makeup boxes with a mirror that girls often use, and handed it to Yan Junze, saying, "There¡¯s an Energy Radiation Field inside this. Carry it open on your body, and within ten minutes, no supernatural beings will dare to approach you. Don¡¯t go over there, just wait for me here."


    "Energy... Radiation?" Yan Junze hesitated as he took it, then asked with concern, "Does it cause any harm to the body?"


    "It does, but it won¡¯t affect you much right now," Zhang Xiaomo replied definitively.


    "Why not?"


    "It just kills sperm."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Inside the rented apartment on the second floor.


    Su Muyao led her boyfriend Lin Ling to the side of the sofa.


    In fact, Su Muyao had already prepared dinner, and the couple planned to clean up after filling their stomachs, but they couldn¡¯t stand the strange odor coming from under the sofa, so they decided to clean it up before eating.


    "Are you sure it¡¯s under here?" Lin Ling pointed to the sofa.


    "You smell it yourself, I can¡¯t stand it, it feels like it¡¯s getting smellier!" Su Muyao said in a muffled voice, covering her nose.


    "Come on, give me a hand," Lin Ling crouched down, grabbing one end of the sofa, "Pull the other end a little, no need to lift it, I¡¯ll do the lifting."


    Su Muyao ran to the other end of the sofa, pulled it towards the door, and Lin Ling lifted half of the fabric sofa to the middle of the outer room, revealing what was underneath it.


    However, to their surprise, it wasn¡¯t the dead mouse Su Muyao had talked about, but a clump... of hair, a clump of whitish hair mixed with black mucus.

 Chapter 80 - 79 The Fourth Day

    Having arranged the time for action with Zhang Xiaomo, they set it for after midnight, and then Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo each sat on their respective sides of the bed.


    Zhang Xiaomo, as always, scrolled through her smartphone, while Yan Junze flipped through the textbook to review key knowledge points for the college entrance exam.


    A little past eleven, sleepiness overcame him, and Yan Junze discarded the book without a second thought and immediately fell asleep.


    An hour later.


    Zhang Xiaomo, sitting on the left side of the bed, switched off her phone¡¯s screen and picked up the magnetic knife resting beside her hand, slowly drawing it from its leather sheath.


    After glancing at the sleeping Yan Junze, she reached out to push his shoulder and said, "I¡¯m heading next door now, should be back in less than ten minutes. While I¡¯m gone, turn on the Strangeness Interferer, don¡¯t go anywhere, and definitely don¡¯t leave this room."


    Yan Junze opened his eyes, placed the black box on his chest, covered it with both hands, and nodded.


    The light was on, he had the Strangeness Interferer in hand, and with the Rewind unique skill on top of that, he wasn¡¯t too worried.


    With the magnetic knife in hand, Zhang Xiaomo got up and left.


    He listened as she opened and then closed the door to the outer room, followed by silence.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t get out of bed; he just lay there, waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to return.


    Rock was far away from the main traffic roads, no sounds of vehicles reached them, and the surroundings were very quiet, save for the occasional bark of a dog¡ªno other noises were heard.


    Having just woken up, Yan Junze was still groggy, but at this point, he didn¡¯t dare to sleep again.


    He struggled to keep his eyes open, his glasses on the nightstand untouched, just staring at the dirty ceiling, remembering there was half a glass of water on the nightstand, which he now wanted to drink to stay awake.


    But he was too lazy to move, just thinking about wanting water as time ticked away.


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t realize his eyes had begun to droop when he suddenly felt a figure walk in from the outer room, their footsteps light, as if afraid to wake him.


    The figure walked to the left side of the bed, climbed up, and lay still, no longer making any movements.


    "Back so soon?" Yan Junze mumbled, "What¡¯s going on?"


    He too was lying down, and because of the thick quilts separating the middle, he couldn¡¯t see Zhang Xiaomo, also lying down, unless he sat up and looked over.


    The other person didn¡¯t reply.


    Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness quickly sharpened, his eyes widened, and an uneasy feeling crept into his heart.


    Damn, was that person just now Zhang Xiaomo?


    Zhang Xiaomo was about 170 centimeters tall. Although he was lying down without his glasses, the glimpse of the figure that walked in didn¡¯t seem very tall!


    With that thought, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze.


    Without thinking further, he immediately turned on the Strangeness Interferer he had been clinging onto.


    If it¡¯s a fight they want, better that than losing his life!


    There was still no movement from the bed beside him, but Yan Junze was certain that someone had come in and was lying on the left side of the bed.


    "Should I take a look, confirm it?"


    Yan Junze hesitated internally, figuring that instead of whimsically worrying, it was better to have a look and alleviate his concerns.


    With that thought, he reached his hand towards the nightstand. As the light was on, although his myopic vision was a bit blurry, he quickly grabbed his glasses and put them on right away.


    His vision instantly became much clearer. Yan Junze, holding onto the Interferer, slightly lifted his head, looked over the quilt in the middle of the big bed, and peeked at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s side.


    In his field of vision, there was a figure lying across the bed, but it was not Zhang Xiaomo.


    He saw a waxy yellow face with deep wrinkles, the familiar short salt-and-pepper hair, the familiar light cotton jacket, and the familiar brown cotton shoes filling Yan Junze¡¯s sight.


    The elderly woman was lying on her side. At the same time, someone peeked over from the other side of the bed, she also had her eyes open, staring straight at Yan Junze, who was only halfway exposed.


    Being locked in her gaze caused Yan Junze to jolt, feeling an immediate chill all over his body.


    He didn¡¯t dare to breathe heavily, first squeezing out an awkward yet polite smile and slowly lying back down, the thick quilt in the middle of the bed blocking the line of sight between the living and the ghost.


    Yan Junze felt his heart pounding like a drum, clutching the Supernatural Interferer in his arms, he slowly shifted his body towards the edge of the bed, one foot touching the ground below, ready to get up and leave the bed without alerting the spirit.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the side of the bed, and the quilt separating them fluttered. A head with graying hair slowly emerged¡ªResentful Granny¡¯s eyes appeared and were still fixed on Yan Junze as he was getting down from the bed.


    Yan Junze¡¯s scalp tingled, and he hastened his departure from the bed, leaping both feet to the floor, away from the edge.


    Turning to look behind him, Resentful Granny, with her petite frame resembling a marionette, eerily stood up on tiptoes to step over the quilt to his side.


    Her body still floated erratically, as if being carried. She got off the bed and, expressionless, followed Yan Junze who was holding the Strangeness Interferer.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was clear, if he hadn¡¯t been holding the Strangeness Interferer, Resentful Granny would have pounced on him the moment she was on the bed.


    She... hesitated to approach him for now.


    But not daring to approach didn¡¯t mean leaving.


    Resentful Granny just followed closely behind him, maintaining a distance of about half a meter.


    One human, one strangeness, one retreating, the other advancing, they moved from the inner room to the outer room.


    Both rooms were lit. Yan Junze felt his palm gripping the Interferer was full of cold sweat, and soon he moved back to the doorway of the outer room, standing near the window.


    Resentful Granny, expressionless, silently followed.


    "I... I¡¯m about to yell out loud now, you don¡¯t mind, do you?" Yan Junze thought for a bit, forced a smile, and said.


    There was still no response from the other side, just a silent gaze fixed on him.


    Can I make it out? If Zhang Xiaomo doesn¡¯t come back soon, I¡¯m afraid the Interferer won¡¯t last much longer.


    Yan Junze pondered in his heart.


    Now that he knew Resentful Granny had come to his side, it was paradoxically less dangerous at the neighbor¡¯s place. Instead of lingering here, it might be better to run next door to find Zhang Xiaomo.


    With that thought, Yan Junze reached for the door handle behind him.


    Resentful Granny¡¯s mouth corners suddenly twitched, and her mouth split open.


    At that same moment, Yan Junze felt the door handle being swiftly twisted, and then the door was pushed open by an external force.


    If it weren¡¯t for his quick reflexes, he would have almost stumbled into Resentful Granny¡¯s embrace.


    A short blade stabbed in from outside the door, aiming straight for Resentful Granny.


    Zhang Xiaomo had arrived.


    As the magnetic knife was about to strike Resentful Granny, the old woman¡¯s body suddenly became like a puff of wind, retreating abruptly.


    The magnetic field from the magnetic knife quickly filled the outer room, locking down all space.


    Resentful Granny, who had seemed to be floating, now appeared stuck in the mire, struggling to move. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The knife plunged into her chest.


    The old woman opened her mouth to let out a piercing scream. Bang, bang, the lights in both the outer and inner rooms went out, even the electrical wires sparked, and the room instantly plunged into darkness.


    Yan Junze, still holding the Strangeness Interferer, stood still, not moving, his ears pricked up to listen to the movements around him.


    Seconds later, there was a click, and a cold hand suddenly rested on the back of his hand.


    Yan Junze startled, swung the Interferer in his hand, and almost struck out.


    "It¡¯s me." Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice sounded.


    Yan Junze quickly put on the brakes.


    "Holy crap! Speak slower next time, or my primeval force would have all been unleashed on you."

 Chapter 81 - 80 Day Five

    Both of their cell phone flashlights were turned on, temporarily illuminating the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hands were indeed very cold, something Yan Junze hadn¡¯t noticed before, mainly because he hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to touch her hands.


    "Where¡¯s Granny Ren?" asked Yan Junze.


    "She ran away, I was just about to finish her off," replied Zhang Xiaomo.


    "Is Lin Dong alright?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "He¡¯s fine," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "I¡¯ve already severed his spirit-splitting and cleared all the magnetic fields of interference from next door. Granny Ren¡¯s yin energy is greatly diminished, and she can¡¯t reset up the interference; Lin Dong is safe for now."


    Just then, footsteps could be heard from upstairs, and soon the lights on the second floor were turned on.


    The male tenant, Lin Ling, wearing slippers, clattered down the stairs ¨C obviously, the shrill screams of Resentful Granny had awakened this young couple from their sleep.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what had happened, out of concern for his downstairs neighbors, Lin Ling still came down to check.


    Zhang Xiaomo had hurried over and immediately took action against Resentful Granny, so the outer door hadn¡¯t been closed at the moment.


    Yan Junze walked to the door, and just as Lin Ling was coming down the stairs, he looked up at the extinguished lights, puzzled, "Did the wiring burn out? I just heard someone yelling."


    Yan Junze nodded and smiled, "It just burned out all of a sudden, sparks flew out and scared my girlfriend into screaming. Sorry for disturbing you."


    "It¡¯s no trouble, no trouble at all," Lin Ling glanced at part of the ceiling wiring that was scorched black, "It¡¯s too late now for nighttime work, I¡¯ll come over and replace it for you tomorrow during the day. I learned electrical work before going to university, and I have ready-to-use wires at home."


    "Then we¡¯ll be troubling you," said Yan Junze.


    "You all should get some rest early too," Lin Ling said with a smile, glancing at the Strangeness Interferer in Yan Junze¡¯s arms, feeling a bit weird inside, and turned to go upstairs.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo said nothing more.


    Although Resentful Granny hadn¡¯t been finished off, she had been badly damaged, and they were at least safe for the next couple of days.


    They both slept in their clothes when they went back to bed.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep, but as soon as it was light out, he woke up.


    He checked next door, and Lin Dong seemed lethargic, lying in bed.


    However, according to Zhang Xiaomo, Lin Dong¡¯s body would recover after a few days of rest and there was no major issue.


    The young couple upstairs were indeed nice people. After seeing Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo get up, Lin Ling immediately came down with his tools, and in just about half an hour, he had replaced the burned-out wiring in the room and installed new fuses.


    Soon electricity was restored to the room.


    At this point, Yan Junze always felt as if he had forgotten something, but after sitting in the room for a long time, he couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    "I have three more days to protect you; I hope we can kill her in that time," Zhang Xiaomo suddenly said as the day was coming to an end.


    With Resentful Granny injured and it not being the usual nerve-wracking situation, the fourth day passed quickly.


    On the evening of the fifth day, the young couple upstairs cordially invited Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze to have dinner with them, and they even brought back a bunch of fresh ingredients, but Zhang Xiaomo still declined.


    Eating the clear soup noodles in his bowl, Yan Junze looked up, frustrated, and asked Zhang Xiaomo, "Can we take the initiative instead of being passive, and go directly to Granny Ren¡¯s grandmother¡¯s house?"


    "Not very realistic," Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, "Searching for strangenesses requires a lot of equipment and the cost is too high."


    Yan Junze nodded, "Hmm, if I were the President of Great Capital, this problem would be easily solved."


    Zhang Xiaomo looked at him and suddenly revealed a smile, "If you were the President of Great Capital, it wouldn¡¯t be my job as a three-star exorcist to protect you."


    As soon as it got dark, Zhang Xiaomo would routinely close the door.


    The light bulbs had been replaced with two new ones by Lin Ling, and they were much brighter than the previous ones.


    When it was time to sleep, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo slept. They were each flipping through their phones and books, having a desultory conversation.


    Who knew that shortly after eleven o¡¯clock, an inexplicable noise began to emanate from upstairs.


    The sound had rhythm, as if a wooden board was being compressed, followed by a disjointed noise that quickly escalated to indescribable levels.


    Shit! S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze immediately sensed something was wrong and glanced at Zhang Xiaomo, who was still browsing on her phone.


    "Let¡¯s sleep."


    Zhang Xiaomo decisively turned off her phone screen, placed the phone on the bedside table, turned over and covered herself with the quilt, but her right hand habitually rested on the magnetic knife under her pillow.


    "Yeah, let¡¯s sleep."


    Yan Junze also put down his book, took off his glasses, and lay down to cover himself with the quilt.


    They said sleep, but the sounds from upstairs were soul-stirring and intermittent, relentlessly piercing their ears.


    Yan Junze soon realized that his heartbeat was accelerating and he couldn¡¯t suppress it.


    On the other side of the partitioned bedding, it seemed that Zhang Xiaomo was also not sleeping very well, tossing and turning frequently.


    Yan Junze was sure she hadn¡¯t fallen asleep either.


    After what felt like an eternity, the sounds from upstairs finally ceased.


    By then, Yan Junze had already envisioned Zhang Xiaomo, who lay on the other side, as the Resentful Granny he had seen the night before. With that image, the urge subsided, as did the expectations and illusions, and he felt a lot better.


    Yep, only a straight man suffering from toxic masculinity would do something like this.


    In the rental unit on the second floor.


    Su Muyao, who had already put on her pajamas, lay on the bed with a flushed face and still panting, while her boyfriend Lin Dong had gone to get a drink of water.


    Su Muyao knew Lin Dong¡¯s habit; every time after they did the deed, he always had to put something in his mouth, whether it was eating fruit or drinking water, he wouldn¡¯t just idle around.


    "This guy, it feels like he¡¯s holding back some energy," Su Muyao said with a smile, her eyes closed as she rested, looking content.


    Lin Dong, wearing shorts and bare-chested, went to the kitchen, opened the fridge door, rummaged for something to eat, and soon took out a bottle of yogurt and took a big gulp after twisting open the lid.


    Feeling much more comfortable, Lin Dong closed the fridge door and was about to go back to the bedroom when he suddenly noticed something under the sofa.


    He didn¡¯t turn on the light but instead used the moonlight shining in from the window to look under the sofa.


    "Could it be hair again?"


    Lin Dong remembered that just two days ago he had cleaned out a clump of grayish-white hair from under the sofa.


    When that clump of hair was found, it also contained an indescribable black viscous liquid, stuck to the hair and emitting a fishy stench. Afterwards, Lin Dong and Su Muyao scraped up all that liquid and hair into a plastic bag and threw it out.


    Thus, Su Muyao had also checked other places, not finding any more hair, and she had mopped under the sofa several times as well.


    In the dim moonlight, it seemed like there was something under the sofa.


    Lin Dong crouched down, reached out to touch it, and then pulled it out.


    In his hand was a clump of grayish-white hair, quite a large clump, almost the size of wigs sold on the street.


    Lin Dong was stunned for a moment, just standing there in front of the sofa, staring at the hair in his hand.


    The hair also had traces of black viscous liquid, clumping it all together, with a faint fishy smell wafting through.


    After a moment, Lin Dong suddenly, without a word, stretched out the hair and then... rigidly placed it on his own head.


    "Darling, what are you doing? Be careful not to catch a cold, come back to bed and sleep," called Su Muyao¡¯s voice from the bedroom.

 Chapter 82 - 81 Day Six

    It was already midnight.


    Su Muyao¡¯s voice came through to the outer room, just as Lin Ling had placed the white-haired wig onto his own head.


    He didn¡¯t speak, and after putting it on, he continuously stroked and groomed the white hair with his hands.


    Wrinkles slowly appeared on his originally smooth, youthful cheeks, and crow¡¯s feet formed at the corners of his eyes...


    "Darling?" Su Muyao felt very tired and didn¡¯t want to get up. Lying in bed, she called out again.


    Before long, the bare-chested silhouette of Lin Ling entered the inner room. As he moved, his hands remained still, and his steps were unnaturally stiff.


    Sensing Lin Ling¡¯s presence, Su Muyao said, "Hurry up and get into bed. We need to get up early tomorrow. Don¡¯t catch a cold."


    With that, she closed her eyes.


    At this moment, Su Muyao was overcome with sleepiness, barely able to keep awake.


    Yet after she spoke, there was no response.


    Just as she was about to drift off, Su Muyao suddenly sensed something amiss, and her drowsiness was cut in half. She opened her eyes and saw that Lin Ling was still standing by the bed, silent and motionless.


    "Lin... Ling?"


    In that moment, Su Muyao, who had realized that something was wrong, began to shake, her voice trembling with a sobbing tone, her complexion turning deathly pale.


    Giggling...


    From Lin Ling¡¯s mouth came a series of strange grating sounds, and then he, wearing the white hair, leaned over. His face, now full of wrinkles, loomed directly over the utterly terrified Su Muyao.


    The next second, a scream shattered the midnight silence.


    Downstairs in the rented apartment.


    Zhang Xiaomo bolted upright.


    Yan Junze also sat up from the bed, and the two exchanged glances.


    "Could it be Granny Ren?" Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, "There¡¯s a good chance. That old lady must be performing spirit-splitting again."


    "This time, I¡¯m not staying in the room alone. Let¡¯s go up together," Yan Junze suggested.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t say anything else, pulled out the magnetic knife from under her pillow and led the way out, while Yan Junze grabbed the unused Strangeness Interferer and followed with it in his arms.


    The two went upstairs, one after the other.


    The second-floor door was closed, and no more sounds came from the room. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Step aside, I¡¯ll break the door down!"


    Yan Junze hurried forward from behind and, without waiting for Zhang Xiaomo to speak, kicked at the door.


    Then his foot went numb.


    The door didn¡¯t budge.


    Zhang Xiaomo, oblivious to Yan Junze¡¯s embarrassment, looked through the window into the room. She saw Lin Ling, dressed only in shorts, standing bare-chested at the bedroom door, silently watching in this direction.


    His face was full of wrinkles.


    "He¡¯s been taken over by Granny Ren," Yan Junze said from the side.


    No sooner had he spoken than Lin Ling turned and went back into the inner room.


    Soon after, sounds of struggling, accompanied by Su Muyao¡¯s screams, erupted.


    A petite figure suddenly dashed to the bedroom door, her face stricken with terror. She recklessly headed for the main door of the outer room and violently twisted the lock open.


    The door swung open.


    "Quick, get behind me!" Yan Junze prepared to rush in first and rescue the trembling Su Muyao.


    But he was pulled back by Zhang Xiaomo, who yanked him behind her.


    Zhang Xiaomo stepped into the room first, and with the magnetic knife in her hand, she plunged it mercilessly into the chest of the defenseless and weakened Su Muyao.


    Yan Junze was immediately stunned.


    The previously terrified Su Muyao froze as well. She lifted her head in horror, looking at Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm face, and then looked down at the magnetic knife that had almost completely sunk into her chest.


    The scene was sudden and unexpected.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak. He knew that Zhang Xiaomo wouldn¡¯t do this for no reason. Since she dared to, she must have had her reasons.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a grating laugh coming from Su Muyao¡¯s throat, and she began to tremble, the frequency of her shaking increasing rapidly.


    Bang!


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s illusory figure burst out from Su Muyao¡¯s back, crashing into the cabinet in front of the television.


    Zhang Xiaomo had already pulled out the magnetic knife and chased after her, striking the Resentful Granny who had just been severely wounded again.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s body visibly faded and let out a wail.


    Her body was dissipating quickly, about to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo pressed the Hidden Buckle embedded in the magnetic knife with her left hand. It was as if she caught a faint glimmer of light in her hand, and she forcefully pressed it down on the fading Resentful Granny.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s originally fading illusory figure immediately solidified.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t pause; she plunged the magnetic knife straight into the Resentful Granny¡¯s head.


    A white light burst from within the Resentful Granny, shattering her body into countless fragments that scattered all around.


    The fragments drifted in the air and soon turned into tiny specks that vanished without a trace.


    Yan Junze looked down at Su Muyao who had just been stabbed by the magnetic knife and fell to the ground, to find that the woman¡¯s chest was completely unharmed, without a single wound.


    "The magnetic knife only harms the supernatural, not the human body," said Zhang Xiaomo from the side.


    "Has Granny Ren been eliminated?" Yan Junze turned on all the lights in the room at this moment.


    "We don¡¯t know for the time being."


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t put away the magnetic knife but walked into the bedroom. There, Lin Ling was lying on the bed bare-chested and unconscious.


    She hesitated slightly before chopping down with the knife at Lin Ling¡¯s chest.


    The next second, a white Spirit-Splitting emerged from above Lin Ling¡¯s head, struggling to escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo swung her knife and shattered the Spirit-Splitting into fragments that dissipated into the air.


    "Is this the Spirit-Splitting?" Yan Junze asked in surprise from behind.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded. "Just now, Granny Ren¡¯s main body entered Su Muyao, intentionally showing that the Spirit-Splitting moved to this man, to divert our attention to him."


    "Didn¡¯t you shatter her main body just now?" Yan Junze said.


    "If the Spirit-Splitting isn¡¯t destroyed, the main body can regenerate from it after dissipating," Zhang Xiaomo explained. "Therefore, we should check again to see if there is any remaining Spirit-Splitting at the scene."


    Lin Ling did not wake up, but Su Muyao was gradually coming to.


    Yan Junze had laid her on the sofa, and when she woke up, he asked, "Have there been any unusual occurrences in the house lately?"


    Still dazed, Su Muyao didn¡¯t respond until Yan Junze had asked for the third time, and then she seemed to snap back to reality.


    "Yes, right under this sofa," said Su Muyao with some fear. "That day we found a lot of hair, the kind that¡¯s grayish-white, and some really stinky slime."


    "Move the sofa away," said Zhang Xiaomo.


    Yan Junze assisted Su Muyao to another chair to sit down, then he and Zhang Xiaomo moved the sofa away, revealing a dark clump of slime on the floor.


    They saw that the slime was sprouting many grayish-white hairs that seemed to be slowly growing.


    "This must be the place."


    Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself and plunged the magnetic knife right into the center of the slime.


    "Ouch..."


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s voice suddenly erupted, filling the entire room.


    "Ouch your sister!" Yan Junze muttered under his breath. "This is your last time feeling pain!"


    Waves of energy from the magnetic knife rippled outwards, and after a while, the clump of slime began to contract and the grayish-white hair wilted away.

 Chapter 83 - 82 Day Seven

    After searching the house once more and questioning both Lin Ling and Su Muyao, who had awakened, I was certain there were no more Spirit-Splitting remnants of the Resentful Granny present.


    Zhang Xiaomo used the magnetic knife to emit an energy field to search again, then she and Yan Junze went back down to the first floor.


    They entered the house and closed the door.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Granny Ren has been dealt with, but to be on the safe side, I¡¯ll still stay with you until tomorrow afternoon."


    "And then do we leave together, or¡­"


    Before Yan Junze could finish, Zhang Xiaomo added, "I need to leave first to catch a flight to Sealed City. I booked the ticket seven days ago."


    "Alright, you¡¯ve been through a lot these past few days," Yan Junze nodded.


    To be honest, he had been keeping the Rewind timeline open, cycling every four hours, and until now, he dared not close it.


    Anyway, let¡¯s wait until tomorrow.


    The pressure that had been building up in his heart over the last few days gradually dispersed. Lying in bed, Yan Junze soon fell asleep.


    When they woke up in the morning, even Zhang Xiaomo overslept a bit and practically got up at the same time as him.


    For the first time in history, the two of them went down to eat out at a street corner restaurant. However, Yan Junze heeded Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s advice and didn¡¯t open champagne to celebrate.


    Then they brought some food for Su Muyao and Lin Ling, who hadn¡¯t gone to work. These two, just like Lin Dong, were somewhat spiritless after being affected by the Spirit-Splitting, but they would quickly recover after a couple days of rest.


    In the afternoon, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo went to see Lin Dong again.


    Lin Dong was already fine, just terribly frightened by the Resentful Granny, looking somewhat out of sorts. Old Li from the street corner even came over to look after him specially.


    This kind of mental trauma could only be healed with time.


    After dinner, Yan Junze suggested they go for a walk.


    Zhang Xiaomo did not refuse.


    The two strolled slowly along the streets of Rock.


    After walking for a while, Yan Junze said, "After this incident, I feel that intruding and Spirit-Splitting are like the two ultimate skills of the supernatural."


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head: "For Wandering Spirits, intruding and Spirit-Splitting are child¡¯s play, easy to figure out. But Granny Ren was almost at the level of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, which is why her Spirit-Splitting was so relentless, and her intrusions were unexpected and sometimes looked very weird."


    Yan Junze laughed, "No matter how weird, they are all seen through in front of you. That was the case yesterday with Su Muyao. If you hadn¡¯t held me back, I might have already¡­"


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "This requires training and the accumulation of disposal experience. The more times you encounter it, the more responsive you will become."


    Yan Junze nodded.


    By this time, the two had almost reached the end of the old street, which was precisely where Yan Junze had last detected "The Hanged Woman" mission at 39 Old Street.


    Yan Junze glanced up at an empty, abandoned building not far away.


    There were many self-built houses here, and this building also appeared to be self-constructed, only it had three floors, and the external door panels were already broken. One could see the dark interior of the house through the damaged door panels.


    "Let¡¯s go, this way," Zhang Xiaomo pointed to another street.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask, "This should be the place you mentioned before that was haunted by strangenesses. Now that we¡¯ve come across it, why not deal with it directly?"


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "Any strangeness that prevents people from living normally has been reported to the Exorcists and is in line. Unless there is an emergency, I can¡¯t interfere according to the rules. If no one has reported it, it means the strangeness is not dangerous, and I don¡¯t need to act."


    "Just watching it happen right under your nose?" Yan Junze still didn¡¯t understand.


    "The strangenesses in this world erupted suddenly more than half a year ago, and our team was only established then. That¡¯s why we still face many difficulties that we can¡¯t solve," Zhang Xiaomo looked up at the distant house. "We have our own rules of operation, including that strangenesses can form magnetic fields affecting the area, which is one of the rules that cannot be changed at will."


    "I don¡¯t understand," Yan Junze shook his head.


    "It means that if a strangeness isn¡¯t at the point of requiring immediate resolution, and you take care of it, the magnetic field of other strangenesses within the same range¡­ they could become stronger or undergo some kind of unknown mutation."


    Yan Junze was momentarily stunned. Wasn¡¯t this what "Perception of Strange Events" had mentioned before, that the level of an event could probabilistically increase over time?


    It seemed that Exorcists were no pushovers; this much they had clearly grasped as well.


    As the two of them talked, they neared 114 on Rock Back Street.


    This was precisely where Yan Junze had detected the second mission¡¯s Lin Family courtyard.


    He tilted his head slightly to observe Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reaction, only to find that she merely glanced at the seemingly abandoned courtyard and said nothing after withdrawing her gaze.


    Of course, Yan Junze himself wouldn¡¯t bring it up, or his secrets might be exposed.


    He briefly scrutinized the dilapidated courtyard. Its surrounding walls were intact but overgrown with ivy and weeds. The nearby houses all sported the character "Demolish," yet for some reason they remained untouched.


    As a result, no one lived in the vicinity.


    "This place feels quite remote," said Yan Junze, making a deliberate comment.


    "Mhm, let¡¯s go, back to our place," Zhang Xiaomo replied without much elaboration.


    Returning to their rental, they greeted Lin Dong, and decided to move out the following day.


    Lin Dong readily agreed, though he still lay on his bed, looking dejected.


    Seeing him like this made Yan Junze feel somewhat guilty. If it weren¡¯t for his arrival, Lin Dong wouldn¡¯t be in such a state.


    But fortunately, these innocent people hadn¡¯t lost their lives.


    "I¡¯ll sleep on the sofa outside tonight. It¡¯s our last day, so you should get a good night¡¯s sleep in the bed," Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t say anything, and soon Yan Junze moved his bedding out, tossing it on the sofa.


    When bedtime came, they turned off the lights in their respective rooms. Moonlight streamed in through the windows and for a while, neither of them fell asleep.


    Eventually, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s voice carried over: "You have a good constitution. You could come to our place for testing sometime. You might make an excellent Exorcist, so don¡¯t waste it."


    "Let¡¯s talk about it some other time." This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t outright refuse. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He felt that even if he couldn¡¯t become an Exorcist, he would still have many chances to deal with them in the future. This was unavoidable.


    After chatting for a while, Yan Junze didn¡¯t know when he had fallen asleep.


    It was just a dim awareness that he was lying on the sofa when a dark figure slowly approached from the inner room. It looked somewhat like Zhang Xiaomo, yet it didn¡¯t.


    He was unable to open his eyes, nor move at all, as if suddenly hit by sleep paralysis¡ªhis consciousness was clear, but his body was rigid.


    The figure drew near, standing silently by his side.


    Yan Junze felt cold sweat breaking out; he struggled with all his might to open his eyes. His body shook slightly from the desperate attempts.


    The figure moved, bent down, and brought its face close to his.


    In that moment, Yan Junze suddenly opened his eyes wide to see a wrinkled, waxen yellow cheek.


    He knew this face all too well.


    Resentful Granny!


    Huh...


    Yan Junze abruptly sat up from the sofa, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, looking around, but there was nothing.


    A dream! Was it just a dream?!


    "After narrowly escaping from being killed by a strong magnetic field strangeness, it is normal to experience delusions and hallucinations for a period. Just ignore it and it will go away," Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s calm voice suddenly came from the bedroom, as if it was something she was accustomed to.

 Chapter 84 - 83 The Woman in the Old House (Part 1)

    Yan Junze had lost all desire to sleep, so he simply got up, poured himself a glass of water and sat down on the couch.


    He didn¡¯t respond to Zhang Xiaomo.


    It turned out that Zhang Xiaomo was quite remarkable, and she remained unusually calm no matter what situation she encountered, arguably bringing the composure of a three-star exorcist to its peak.


    Moreover, she was experienced.


    The recent dream had felt so real, as if the Resentful Granny truly stood right before him.


    And Zhang Xiaomo, without even coming out, knew what had happened to Yan Junze, forcing him to regard this woman with newfound respect once again.


    However, at this moment, the feeling that there was something very important he had been unable to recall from the past couple of days filled Yan Junze¡¯s chest again.


    He sipped his water, straining his memory, unable to grasp what important thing he had forgotten.


    But after a long attempt at recollection, he was still utterly confused, merely feeling a sense of unease in his heart, an inexplicable panic ensuing.


    After finishing his water, he just sat there on the sofa and, unaware, fell asleep.


    The next afternoon, Zhang Xiaomo got her travel bag ready, left Yan Junze her phone number, and then departed ahead of him.


    Yan Junze, using the excuse of having one last meal with Lin Ling and Su Muyao who lived upstairs, told Zhang Xiaomo he would be leaving the following day.


    There were still two missions waiting for him, opportunities to light up the Spacetime Atlas - he could not afford to waste them.


    So, after Zhang Xiaomo had gone, he first went to see Lin Dong to extend his room rental for two days.


    He then went to Boom Supermarket to buy two rechargeable flashlights and a gray face mask and, back at the room, plugged in the flashlights to charge continuously.


    According to the supermarket owner¡¯s introduction, once fully charged, the flashlights could provide light for approximately an hour and a half. Exploring the mission "The Hanged Woman" shouldn¡¯t take an hour and a half, especially since he had a second flashlight as backup.


    Of course, Yan Junze did not intend to complete both missions at once; he planned to tackle "The Hanged Woman" tonight, and the following night, visit the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard to complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" mission.


    The reason for acting at night was simple: only under the cover of darkness could he avoid detection. If he were to try during the day, being spotted by just one person could ruin the mission.


    After enjoying a hot pot he had cooked himself with Lin Ling and Su Muyao, neither Yan Junze nor Zhang Xiaomo revealed what had truly happened that night, leaving the couple to continue thanking them, believing that they might have been ruined had it not been for their timely arrival.


    Yan Junze, not wanting to say much, had a great time dining with the couple, but he didn¡¯t dare to drink alcohol, and Lin Ling, seeing his youthful and tender appearance, didn¡¯t urge him to drink either.


    The gathering dispersed around nine o¡¯clock, and after expressing his gratitude, Yan Junze returned downstairs.


    He checked the flashlights, both fully charged.


    Now he just waited for the dead of night to begin his action.


    Around half-past eleven, it was already difficult to see a single person on Rock¡¯s streets.


    Yan Junze put on a black coat, equipped the gray mask, and stepped out with his mobile phone and the two flashlights in hand.


    He had silenced his phone in advance.


    Walking down the street, he could only see lights on in one or two houses, even Lin Ling and Su Muyao upstairs had gone to sleep.


    He quickly arrived at number 39 on the old street.


    Looking up, the place was just as it had been during the day: the door was in tatters, but the exterior walls were still solid. There were large cobwebs at the entrance, clearly untouched by humans for a long while.


    Yan Junze stood at the corner of the wall, glanced around to make sure no one was there, then turned and went up the steps of number 39.


    The steps, made of stone, were very stable underfoot.


    In a few strides, he reached the door. He didn¡¯t need to unlock anything and simply stepped over the broken door panel to enter.


    Once inside, Yan Junze turned his head and peered through the door panel towards the street, checking for passersby. Not a soul went by; it was quiet.


    He turned around, switched on the flashlight, dimmed its light, and walked into the house.


    The old-fashioned houses built in the countryside used to have a front room designed to serve as a shopfront, which was usually vacant and only contained a few stools, devoid of other furniture.


    Yan Junze quickly crossed this empty room, a musty smell permeating the air.


    But luckily, he was wearing a mask and had anticipated that the air quality would be poor since the place hardly saw any sunlight.


    He had sized up the building from the outside during the daytime; it was a three-story self-built house fallen into disrepair, with multiple areas of the exterior wall peeling away.


    The staircase leading up was also quite narrow. Yan Junze reached the foot of the stairs and shone the flashlight upwards, only to discover that they were covered in moss.


    Clearly, the interior was very damp.


    However, upon closer inspection, the stairs at the corner also continued downwards.


    That meant there was a basement in the building.


    Standing there for a while, Yan Junze pondered whether to go up or down.


    The mission briefing hinted that Ye Zhennan, who had hanged herself, was still swaying beneath the house¡¯s beams, but it didn¡¯t specify which floor, which posed a dilemma for Yan Junze.


    He shone his flashlight toward the basement; it seemed even darker inside, less bright than upstairs. At least the second floor and above allowed some moonlight to penetrate, which was far better than the basement.


    "Where would a person usually choose to hang themselves if they wanted to do it alone?"


    Yan Junze stood at the staircase entrance, contemplating in the dead silence, with no sound coming from around him.


    He tried to put himself in the mindset of the woman seeking death¡ªif one wanted to die without being discovered and saved, they would certainly choose a place where people rarely went.


    So it seemed the basement might be more fitting.


    After shining the flashlight around the second floor for a while, Yan Junze abandoned the idea of going upstairs and decided to head straight to the basement.


    As expected, the stair steps leading down to the basement were even more slippery and wet, with a thick covering of green moss underfoot. And these self-built houses, to save money, didn¡¯t even have railings on the staircases to the basement.


    Yan Junze had to support himself against the wall with one hand, moving down with extreme caution, step by step.


    As long as he didn¡¯t slide down directly on his rear in a "falling goose" style, taking his time to descend safely was certainly the better approach.


    Therefore, he made almost no noise while descending the stairs.


    When he was about halfway down to the basement, a strange noise suddenly came from upstairs.


    The sound resembled that of a rope being tightened to its limit¡ªan eerily distinctive twang that stood out in the quiet of the night.


    Yan Junze froze, "Could it be I guessed wrong? Is the woman not hanging in the basement but upstairs instead?" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, from where he stood, he could only vaguely determine that the noise was coming from upstairs; whether it was the second or third floor remained unknown.


    Should he go straight up to check?


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then decided against it.


    Since he had already come halfway down the stairs to the basement, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to check there first before going up.


    Just as he was about to continue down the staircase, Yan Junze suddenly stopped.


    Because he had heard a noise from upstairs, he had instinctively shone the flashlight upward.


    And at that moment, his flashlight had just moved away from the area above.


    But in the brief instant as the light withdrew, he caught sight of a pair of feet at the corner on the first floor¡ªa pair of feet in white women¡¯s shoes. Next to the feet hung a rope, about as thick as a finger.

 Chapter 85 - 84 The Woman in the Old House (Part 2)

    ```


    Because the basement staircase had not been fitted with handrails, Yan Junze, standing on the staircase, only had to look up to see the ground level of the first floor parallel to his gaze.


    At that moment, a pair of white ladies¡¯ shoes stood on the ground near the stairs, toes pointing in the direction of the stairs he was on, one end of a dirtied rope dragging on the ground, the other end extending upwards.


    From this angle, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see where the other end of the rope was.


    However, he could imagine that if the woman were facing the staircase where he stood, the other end of the rope might be wrapped around her neck this very moment.


    Yan Junze remembered that the task had mentioned the woman felt a soreness and pain in her neck, requesting help to loosen it.


    Now that Ye Zhennan¡¯s ghost stood before him, the likelihood of her having hung herself in the basement seemed very small.


    As Yan Junze was hesitating, the pair of white ladies¡¯ shoes turned around and slowly walked towards the staircase that led to the second floor, the rope on the ground being slowly dragged behind the white shoes.


    To Yan Junze, that rope was definitely tied around her neck.


    Then, there came the faint sound of footsteps ascending the stairs.


    It seemed the woman wanted to tell him that she had hung herself upstairs, not in the basement.


    Turning back to the first floor, he shone his flashlight onto the staircase leading to the second floor, and no longer saw the slender, white-shoed feet.


    Yan Junze climbed the stairs to the second floor.


    The stairs had moss on them, too, but not as severely as the basement stairs; with a bit of caution, he quickly reached the second floor.


    This appeared to be a regular living room, with a kitchen, a balcony, and a storage room crammed with sundries.


    The living room was spacious; standing in the doorway, Yan Junze illuminated every corner methodically with his flashlight, not missing any spot, and looked up at the ceiling as well. He could not see the rope.


    He did not even find a place that seemed suitable for hanging.


    At that moment, Yan Junze felt a sudden tingle at the back of his neck, and his hairs stood on end.


    Turning his head to look behind, he saw the white ladies¡¯ shoes reappear on the staircase leading to the third floor, still dragging the dirty rope beneath them.


    Standing on the stairs, the feet were still facing in Yan Junze¡¯s direction, as if... waiting for him.


    "It seems it¡¯s not on the second floor either."


    Yan Junze realized, and turned towards the stairwell of the second floor.


    As he moved toward the stairwell, the white shoes had already proceeded towards the third floor, the trailing rope also disappearing behind them.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and followed up the stairs to the third floor. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Ye Zhennan¡¯s suicide by hanging, her husband had left Rock and has been missing ever since.


    This self-built house had seen a death and couldn¡¯t be sold, which is why it had been left vacant.


    However, what puzzled Yan Junze was, knowing that someone had died here, how could it be possible for Ye Zhennan¡¯s body to remain hanging from the beam instead of being cremated or buried.


    What were the people here thinking?


    Carrying this question to the third floor, he saw no further sign of the owner of the feet.


    The third floor was well lit, making the moonlight even more abundant. With the aid of his flashlight, the surrounding objects were clearly visible.


    The furnishing of the rooms was similar to the second floor, but the living room had no furniture at all.


    Only a... coffin was placed.


    This coffin was positioned in the center of the room, its lid moved to one side, revealing the empty inside.


    An empty third floor, and right in the middle of the room, a coffin!


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt goosebumps all over his head.


    No wonder Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul had lured him upstairs; as it turned out, her body was indeed placed in the coffin on the third floor.


    Yan Junze took another deep breath, the mask preventing him from being overwhelmed by the damp air. Then, he slowly approached the coffin.


    With each step closer, the tension in his heart steadily grew.


    Until he stood beside the coffin, Yan Junze suppressed the fear that filled his heart, peered into the coffin, while the beam of his flashlight followed inside.


    ```


    Then he froze.


    There was no one.


    The coffin was actually empty.


    Not exactly empty, though.


    Yan Junze quickly saw a piece of light yellow rice paper inside, which seemed to have a full page of characters written with a brush.


    He looked around the room and noticed nothing unusual. Then he reached into the coffin and took out the rice paper.


    The first line read: A letter from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    These characters appeared to be written by a "Lin Yishan," a Yin Yang Master.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had encountered a traditional Yin Yang Master in a strangeness event.


    Because, according to the ways this world dealt with supernatural events, the traditionally passed-down tools, such as coin swords, talismans, jade Buddhas, and black dog blood, were almost ineffective against supernatural forces.


    Which meant these Yin Yang Masters were either unemployed or on the verge of unemployment.


    Now, it was rare to see someone claiming to be a Yin Yang Master.


    Yan Junze read the contents of the paper at a glance, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter, until they were completely knitted together.


    The contents of the rice paper contained a warning from the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan.


    From the text, Yan Junze quickly gathered the following crucial information:


    1. The soul of Ye Zhennan had been wandering in this building for half a year, and traditional methods had failed to eliminate her, but the locals at Rock did not inform the paranormal event team and instead had the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan conduct an exorcism.


    2. It was impossible to bury Ye Zhennan¡¯s body because every time after the burial, her body would return to the site of her hanging, the reason remained a mystery. Therefore, the locals simply placed the coffin in her home, letting her cause trouble only within her own house.


    3. The hanging didn¡¯t take place on the third floor but in... the basement.


    4. If you encounter the soul of Ye Zhennan in the building, remember, never follow her, don¡¯t look straight at her face, and especially don¡¯t stare at her protruding tongue.


    When he got to the last piece of information, Yan Junze was utterly baffled.


    He couldn¡¯t help but curse the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan eighteen times in his mind, for fuck¡¯s sake, if I hadn¡¯t come up to read what you wrote, how would I know not to follow Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul?


    Now that he¡¯d followed her here, what could he do?


    However, it seemed that Lin Yishan had written these words, perhaps intending them for the exorcist, but the locals had not reported to the exorcist team.


    Knowing now not to follow, Yan Junze prepared to immediately retreat downstairs. Just as he turned to leave, a piece of information flashed through his mind.


    [The Hanged Woman has triggered a new branch mission.]


    [Mission Name: Tongue;]


    [Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Medium);]


    [Mission Background: Ye Zhennan loved beauty in life, so when she chose to hang herself, she regretted it. She didn¡¯t expect the hanging to cause her jaw to be strangled, making her tongue muscles slack due to relaxation, plus the loss of central control, after death, Ye Zhennan¡¯s tongue protruded out of her mouth by about ten centimeters.]


    [Mission Instructions: Find Ye Zhennan¡¯s body and stuff her tongue back into her mouth;]


    [Mission Reward: 300 Different Dimension Energy points;]


    [Mission Penalty: Unknown;]


    [Mission Tip: 1. This evil spirit is Lockdown-capable; 2. Affected by the supernatural territory, Ye Zhennan¡¯s evil spirit will naturally protect her body from any disturbance by outsiders, please proceed with caution;]


    [Note: You know, the appearance after hanging is very terrifying.]


    Having seen the new branch mission, Yan Junze knew he couldn¡¯t linger on the third floor any longer and immediately moved to leave.


    But after taking only one step, he stopped and stared straight ahead.


    At the doorway of the room stood a woman with disheveled hair, a rope tied around her neck, dressed in a white dress and white shoes.


    As she stood, her shoulders slanted to the left, one side higher than the other, as if unable to maintain balance.

 Chapter 86 - 85 The Woman in the Old House (Part 3)

    The moment Yan Junze caught a glimpse of Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, he immediately diverted his gaze and stopped staring at her.


    He vividly remembered the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan¡¯s advice, not to stare at this woman¡¯s face, especially her tongue.


    It seemed that after death, Ye Zhennan was very dissatisfied with her own appearance, which is why staring at her had become taboo.


    Although it was just a fleeting glance and he quickly shifted his gaze, Yan Junze still vaguely saw the woman¡¯s face, particularly the area around her lips, which was quite conspicuous.


    A soft, limpy thing was dangling down from her lips to her chin, clearly her elongated tongue. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "How am I going to get down?" Yan Junze quickly pondered in his mind.


    Now Ye Zhennan was blocking the doorway without moving, her stance was exceedingly abnormal, her shoulders uneven, emanating an inexplicable creepiness. Gradually, the room housing the coffin filled with an increasingly chilling atmosphere.


    A man and a strangeness stood facing each other.


    After a moment, Yan Junze finally spoke, "Can you... speak?"


    Ye Zhennan lifted her head, tilting it, and let out a garbled sound from her mouth.


    Yan Junze was startled, then he realized, it seemed to be a curse, something like "Fuck you."


    He had politely asked her a question, so why would she start cursing right away?


    But the next second, he figured it out, "Damn it, with a huge tongue stuffed in her mouth, she definitely couldn¡¯t speak properly."


    His question had succeeded in angering Ye Zhennan; after she cursed, her tongue suddenly stretched out rapidly, coiling straight towards Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze once again found himself at the stair entrance on the first floor.


    He had been maintaining the four-hour continuous rewind, and at this moment, he was back to the time right after he entered house number 39 and stood at the entrance to the staircase on the first floor.


    So far, Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul had not appeared yet, but the task related to the "tongue" had not been triggered either.


    Having foreknowledge of the contents on the piece of Xuan paper in the coffin, Yan Junze already had a plan.


    He immediately climbed the stairs, heading for the third floor.


    Along the way, being very cautious, he didn¡¯t see Ye Zhennan¡¯s figure.


    According to the timeline of his previous attempt, he was still halfway down the stairs to the basement, soon to spot Ye Zhennan¡¯s white shoes standing not far away.


    Therefore, at this moment, that woman should not be on the third floor. As long as he moved quickly and triggered the "tongue" task, he could immediately head to the basement to find the body.


    He swiftly entered the room that housed only a single coffin; the lid was still pushed to one side. Yan Junze approached, about to reach inside to take out the Xuan paper.


    But the next second, he froze in shock - he had never imagined that Ye Zhennan would be lying inside the coffin!


    The woman had a pale face, messy hair, eyes slightly closed, and that tongue still stretched out of her mouth, resting on the corner of her lips. The Xuan paper was concealed beneath her body, only a corner visible.


    Yan Junze could not determine whether the Ye Zhennan in the coffin was her soul or her body, but a person who had been dead for so long would have decayed by now, and certainly not appear as she did.


    This was also the question lingering in Yan Junze¡¯s mind; since the "tongue" task required him to stuff Ye Zhennan¡¯s tongue back into her mouth, at the very least, that thing had to be flexible. If it had decayed, how could he still stuff it?


    Moreover, the air in the room was damp, significantly increasing the likelihood of the body decomposing.


    This question would persist until he actually saw Ye Zhennan¡¯s body.


    Now it seemed that only Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul lay in the coffin.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath and glanced at the Xuan paper that was partially covered by her body, revealing just a corner. It looked as if the paper was not fully pressed down, merely covered by the body.


    With this in mind, he slowed his breathing and carefully reached his hand into the coffin, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on what appeared to be the sleeping Ye Zhennan.


    In fact, the features of Ye Zhennan weren¡¯t ugly, at least she was above average, but that long tongue sticking out greatly detracted from her overall attractiveness.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan wrote on the paper, "Do not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, and do not look at her tongue." This was under the assumption that Ye Zhennan had her eyes open, but now the woman¡¯s eyes were tightly closed, as if she weren¡¯t "awake" yet.


    Looking at her at this time seemed to have no adverse effect.


    Grabbing the corner of the Xuan paper, Yan Junze gently tugged it, and the paper moved, indeed it was loose!


    He immediately applied more force, his fingers brushing against Ye Zhennan¡¯s white dress several times, but fortunately, he succeeded in slowly pulling out the Xuan paper bit by bit.


    He sighed with relief and finally grasped the Xuan paper completely in his hand.


    A task notification popped up, "Side Quest [Tongue] has been activated."


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, he immediately dropped the Xuan paper and turned to walk towards the door.


    Just then, a click sounded from behind him, coming from the direction of the coffin.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw a pale hand resting on the edge of the coffin lid, and the next second, it seemed the person inside was about to sit up.


    He sped up and rushed out of the room, heading for the staircase and swiftly descending. Several times he stepped on the wet moss and nearly fell.


    It was a close call, but he finally reached the first floor.


    Listening carefully, he could hear faint footsteps on the third-floor stairs; Ye Zhennan was also coming down.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare delay, using the light from his flashlight, he quickly went down to the basement.


    Before Rewind, he had already figured out that Ye Zhennan¡¯s body was in the basement, where she had hung herself, which matched his previous speculations.


    Only this time, he had been misled by Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul, leading him to go upstairs. However, it was also a stroke of luck, as otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have triggered the side quest.


    According to the [Tongue] quest, Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit was instinctively protecting her own Ghost Domain territory and would inherently block any outsiders from disturbing her body.


    So he could be sure that the entity upstairs would soon come down to the basement.


    He had to move faster.


    Bracing himself against the wall, Yan Junze hurried down, slipping twice on the wet stairs, but he finally made it to the basement.


    Without the help of moonlight, it was very dark here, and Yan Junze had no choice but to switch on a second flashlight.


    He first placed one flashlight on the ground, directing its light toward the direction of the basement stairs so that if Ye Zhennan came down, he would be able to spot her right away.


    Then he quickly scanned the basement with the flashlight; the basement was cluttered, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.


    However, at the furthest end of the basement, under one of the beams, hung an elongated object that was perfectly still in the absence of wind.


    According to the Yin Yang Master, Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse would move on its own. Anyone moving her down would soon find the body climbing back up to the beam, maintaining the posture of being hanged.


    That must be what he was seeing now.


    After locating the target, Yan Junze quickly walked over.

 Chapter 87 - 86 The Woman in the Old House (Part 4)

    After walking a distance, he looked back at the basement staircase but saw no sign of the woman in the white dress.


    Approaching the hanging object, Yan Junze climbed onto a wooden box on the floor and reached out to touch it, confirming it was a corpse.


    The body was in an advanced state of decay, with only a skeleton remaining, although the white dress was barely tattered. However, a thick layer of dust covered the surface of the dress, making it indistinguishable from ordinary clothing.


    Yan Junze wondered how, despite such decay, the protruding tongue could still be intact?


    It should have rotted away to nothing by now.


    The wooden box was not high enough. Carrying a sense of wonder, he carefully stepped on the box, moving in front of the hanging woman.


    The box creaked alarmingly, as if it might break under his weight at any moment.


    Yan Junze steadied himself cautiously and then looked up, only to be taken aback.


    The disheveled skeletal face held a soft, limp tongue hanging down; surprisingly, only this tongue and the hair remained intact.


    Yan Junze glanced toward the basement staircase; under the flashlight¡¯s beam, he didn¡¯t see Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    There was still time.


    He thought for a moment, suppressing his disgust, and tiptoed to reach out.


    Since the tongue hung down nearly ten centimeters, even standing on the box was enough to touch it.


    The touch was not as Yan Junze had imagined; it didn¡¯t crumble or turn to powder. In fact, the tongue was soft and seemed as fresh as that of a pig just slaughtered, with little difference.


    A wave of queasiness swept over him. Yan Junze shivered and looked down to see if there was anything else to stand on to get higher.


    Because at this height, he could only touch the tongue and could not put it back in the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    Under the light of the flashlight, he quickly spotted a stepladder lying on the ground, almost buried in dust. If not for careful observation, he would have missed its existence.


    Yan Junze prepared to jump down from the box to set the ladder up and then climb it. Once he was level with the height of the hanging body, he planned to find a way to stuff the tongue back into Ye Zhennan¡¯s mouth.


    However, before jumping off the box, he felt a prick of caution and looked back at the basement staircase again.


    He saw a pair of feet in a white dress already appearing at the stairs, standing on the last step before descending into the basement, only three steps away from reaching the basement floor.


    Those feet, illuminated under the focused beam of his flashlight, were strikingly conspicuous.


    "She¡¯s here already."


    Yan Junze dared not delay any longer, jumping down from the box and quickly lifting the ladder, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. The dust filled the air, causing him to choke several times.


    Once the ladder was steady, he immediately began climbing without missing a beat.


    The ladder creaked worryingly, showing signs of neglect and threatening to break under a slightly more forceful step.


    He slowed down, making sure his last step was secure before daring to take the next.


    Having climbed to the second-to-top rung of the stepladder and straddled it, his body was now stable enough. He was at a height where he could stuff the tongue into Ye Zhennan¡¯s skeletal mouth.


    Before grabbing the tongue, Yan Junze glanced once more toward the basement stairway, where the pair of white shoes remained.


    Yan Junze felt a surge of relief inside, hoping that Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul would continue to stand there until he completed his task.


    After all, he was struggling for her beauty!


    He extended his right hand and gently grasped the drooping tongue, which felt soft and lifeless, devoid of the slippery sensation due to lack of saliva. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Goosebumps rose and fell repeatedly on Yan Junze¡¯s arms...


    He couldn¡¯t stuff the tongue back with one hand, so with no other option, Yan Junze put the flashlight in his mouth and used both hands to vigorously stuff the limp tongue back into the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    But he soon realized that the upper and lower jaws of the skeleton were loose and couldn¡¯t close, so after half of the tongue was stuffed in, it quickly slipped out again.


    "This won¡¯t work."


    Yan Junze shook his head, holding the tongue in both hands, and subconsciously glanced at the basement staircase.


    Suddenly, he shuddered, only to see that the pair of feet that had been standing on the steps just a moment ago had now vanished without a trace.


    Under the beam of his flashlight at the staircase entrance, there was nothing but empty space.


    "Did she go upstairs? Or did she come into the basement?" Yan Junze¡¯s heart pounded like a drum.


    He quickly turned his head, the light from the flashlight in his mouth rapidly scanning the surroundings, but it seemed he saw no sign of Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    It couldn¡¯t have gone up; that woman¡¯s soul must have already entered the basement.


    Yan Junze knew he had to speed up. He forced himself to focus on the long tongue, grabbed it again, and stuffed it violently into the skeleton¡¯s mouth.


    At the same time, this time he finally saw clearly what the structure inside the mouth of Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse really was.


    He saw at the end of the tongue, inside the mouth, there was a clump that looked like spider silk, a sticky substance that firmly held the tongue in place, preventing it from slipping out completely.


    If he could stuff the sharp end of the tongue in and stick it to that sticky substance, then the whole tongue, even if fully inserted, would not slip out again.


    Yan Junze had an idea.


    Just as he was about to use both hands to stuff in the tongue, a muffled and unclear voice suddenly rang out from behind him, as if talking with something in the mouth, the words garbled and indistinct.


    Just like before the Rewind, this time, the clever Yan Junze understood again that the meaning of the sentence was roughly: "What are you doing?"


    The voice emanated right behind his head, making him dare not turn around, for to do so would have been to come face-to-face with her.


    The Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan once said that one must not make eye contact with Ye Zhennan, so when the voice sounded, Yan Junze just gave an involuntary shudder, then continued to work hard at stuffing the tongue.


    One could imagine, at this moment, Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul was hovering in mid-air, parallel to him who was standing on the stepladder.


    "Let go!"


    The instinct to protect her own body was triggered, and the woman behind him barked a muffled and hoarse command.


    "I¡¯m helping you!"


    However, far from letting go, Yan Junze gripped the greasy tongue even more vigorously, working hard to stick the sharp end onto that innermost sticky substance.


    Whew!


    Yan Junze suddenly felt a chill on his neck as the soul¡¯s hands wrapped around it. The flashlight in his mouth dropped, landing perfectly on the wooden plank at the very top of the stepladder.


    Almost instinctively, Yan Junze was about to Rewind.


    However, he knew that at this moment, he was racing against time. If he could stick the tongue before the soul acted, then his great task would be accomplished.


    The critical issue was that he needed to pay constant attention to his breathing. If he began to struggle for breath, nearing the point of suffocation, then he would have no choice but to Rewind.


    Fortunately, the woman¡¯s strength did not reach its peak the moment she grasped his neck; otherwise, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes would have bulged out of their sockets.


    Her hands¡¯ force was gradually increasing, which provided Yan Junze with the opportunity to stuff the tongue in one fierce attempt.


    Even so, at that moment he still felt his head swell and breathing grow difficult, as if a steel hoop were tightening around his neck.


    With his left hand, he grabbed the tip of the long tongue and forcefully stuffed it to the spot with the sticky substance, pressing down hard on the spot before Yan Junze finally let go.


    This time, the tongue stayed put, no longer sliding out of the mouth.


    [Tongue, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Awarded 300 Different Dimension Energy points.]

 Chapter 88 - 87 The Woman in the Old House (Part 5)

    And at the same moment, the tightening force around his neck loosened, and the woman¡¯s hands released in the next second.


    "It¡¯s okay now, it¡¯s okay," Yan Junze patted his chest, without turning his head back he said, "I helped you put your tongue back in. This should make you look a bit prettier, I meant no harm."


    "Thank...thank you."


    The voice of the woman behind him became extraordinarily clear, obviously her tongue that had been hanging out of her mouth had also retracted.


    "Now, may I look at you?" Yan Junze asked cautiously, still not turning around. Continue your saga on empire


    "Sorry for scaring you just now," Ye Zhennan said. "Yes, you can look at me."


    Yan Junze was encountering such a polite strangeness for the first time, so for a moment, he, who had been tormented by the Resentful Granny and the earlier Ke¡¯er, found it somewhat disconcerting.


    At this moment, he realized the true meaning of the so-called "cheapness" unintentionally revealed in human nature itself.


    First, he bent down to pick up the flashlight that had fallen on the stepladder, and then Yan Junze turned his head back.


    Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul was indeed floating behind him; now in a flowing white dress with her hair drifting, her face had returned to normal, albeit a bit pale, making her look not like a ghost, but more like a celestial maiden from the mortal world.


    "Hmm, you¡¯re restored, fully restored," Yan Junze nodded in approval.


    He then remembered the next task and spoke up, "I¡¯m going to loosen the rope around your neck now. If you don¡¯t mind, I can carry your body back and place it properly in that coffin."


    Ye Zhennan gently shook her head.


    To Yan Junze, this woman was the most human-like evil spirit he had encountered to date; as long as her tongue was put back into her mouth, she acted like a normal person.


    Whatever he said, he could immediately get feedback from her, rather than just "eh," "ah," or "ouch."


    "Why can¡¯t it be loosened?" Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    The task called [The Hanged Woman] suggested that Ye Zhennan¡¯s neck was very sore and painful and asked him to help her loosen it.


    Now it seemed that Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit bore him no malice, so wasn¡¯t doing this task just a matter of lifting a hand? And he was even offering an additional free service¡ªcarrying the corpse.


    Ye Zhennan was still shaking her head faintly, "I am guilty, my son¡­ died wrongfully. It¡¯s my fault!"


    Yan Junze began to understand: Ye Zhennan¡¯s son drowned in the Rock Reservoir, and she felt she hadn¡¯t looked after the child properly, hence her continuous self-blame.


    Her suicide had two causes: one was her husband¡¯s frequent beatings, and the second might be her own wish to die, to atone for the sin of not taking good care of her child.


    A man and a ghost looked at each other in silence.


    After a while, Yan Junze said, "So you mean that even if I take your body down now and carry it back to the coffin, in a few days you will still come out on your own and hang yourself here again?"


    Ye Zhennan nodded.


    "How about this," Yan Junze said helplessly, "if you want to atone to your son, I will figure out a way. But I still need to take down your body and put it back into the coffin for now. What do you think?"


    This time, Ye Zhennan gave no response.


    Yan Junze no longer bothered with her, turned back around, reached up, and grabbed onto the rope that was looped around the skeleton¡¯s neck.


    The rope was actually worn very badly, with some areas already frayed and showing signs of near breakage. But mysteriously, it seemed like it would never actually snap.


    After grabbing onto the rope, Yan Junze gently embraced the corpse, then lifted it slightly upwards, its neck coming free from the rope.


    Fortunately, the skeleton wasn¡¯t very heavy. Yan Junze slowly descended the stepladder, then turned around to carry the skeleton on his back.


    He shone the flashlight around but did not see Ye Zhennan¡¯s ghost again.


    Forget it for now, just get her corpse onto my back and place it in the coffin, before the body comes down on its own and hangs itself up again. If I can find Ye Zhennan¡¯s son, I, Yan Junze, will immediately help her fulfill her wish.


    Fortunately, the skeleton was light, so it took less than five minutes for him to carry the body up to the third floor and carefully place it into the opened coffin.


    Originally, Yan Junze prepared to cover the coffin with its lid, but after thinking it over, even if he did cover it, Ye Zhennan¡¯s body would still come out when it needed to, and the lid certainly wouldn¡¯t hold it down.


    So he decided not to cover it at all.


    After finishing these tasks, he still hadn¡¯t seen Ye Zhennan¡¯s soul.


    Yan Junze dusted off his hands. Now, this task of The Hanged Woman could only be considered half completed. To truly "untie" the rope around Ye Zhennan¡¯s neck, he would have to find her deceased son first.


    He looked at the white-dressed skeleton lying in the coffin and said, "Hold on for two days and don¡¯t come out. As soon as I have news, I¡¯ll immediately help you find your son."


    With that, Yan Junze turned and left.


    He hadn¡¯t expected things to be so complicated. Although he had completed the "Tongue" task, he was now stuck on the second half of The Hanged Woman, and he had to go out and find another way.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, Ye Zhennan¡¯s body likely wouldn¡¯t hang itself again within a day or two.


    While pondering, he descended the stairs and quickly reached the first floor.


    He entered the empty room without any furniture that led to the outside of the building. At this moment, moonlight shone through the large hole in the door, providing fairly good lighting in the room. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even without a flashlight, he could still move around.


    But Yan Junze had only walked a few steps when he stopped in his tracks, no longer moving forward.


    In his line of sight, outside the broken door and under the moonlight, the figure of a lonely, emaciated person in white shorts and a short-sleeve shirt appeared before him.


    At this moment, that person had their back to him.


    "Back-faced Woman?!"


    A shock went through Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    He thought he had seen wrong, but after a closer look, he confirmed it was indeed the Back-faced Woman.


    In the seven days Zhang Xiaomo had spent with him, the Back-faced Woman had never appeared before Yan Junze.


    But now she had.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, the Back-faced Woman probably had reservations about Zhang Xiaomo, a three-star exorcist, which is why she chose to hide.


    And now that Zhang Xiaomo had left, her movements immediately returned to normal.


    But this was not a good time for her to show up. The Back-faced Woman stood right where he needed to pass to get out the door, and if he went through there, he would have to get very close to her ¨C so close that as soon as Yan Junze stepped out, he would be in an intimate embrace with the Back-faced Woman, as if they were lovers hugging from behind.


    "No, I can¡¯t go this way."


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Yan Junze immediately turned around.


    He hadn¡¯t even completed The Hanged Woman¡¯s task yet; he certainly didn¡¯t want to trigger the "Look at Her Face" task so readily.


    After all, even until now, he hadn¡¯t encountered a "hair-raising (low)" level task. During the very dangerous Evil Spirit-eating task, even with an evil spirit like the Resentful Granny, that task¡¯s level was only "trembling with fear (high)" ¨C one level below "Look at Her Face".


    Of course, in the Evil Spirit-eating task, the Resentful Granny¡¯s target wasn¡¯t himself but Lv Jiayan.


    So, relatively speaking, the Evil Spirit-eating task was somewhat less difficult for Yan Junze.

 Chapter 89 - 88 It’s just such a coincidence!

    Yan Junze returned to the staircase entrance.


    "Go up to the second floor and jump straight down from a suitable spot?"


    He thought about it, then dismissed the idea.


    Jumping down would also be on the street side, and the noise would be quite loud¡ªit would definitely attract the attention of the Back-faced Woman standing at the door.


    "This woman, when exactly did she start taking an interest in me? Following me all day long, appearing from time to time to give me a fright." Yan Junze was puzzled, not understanding what had attracted this woman¡¯s attention to him.


    Could it be simply because he was handsome?


    Since he couldn¡¯t leave from upstairs, he thought about checking out the basement.


    According to his understanding from his previous life, given that Tianmeng District was roughly in the south of Hua Country before his rebirth, these suburban self-built houses usually would not have basements.


    And if a basement was to be built, it was likely that the original plot of land was a depression. To save construction costs, local people wouldn¡¯t fill in the depression before building; instead, they would use the land as it was, constructing a basement below and putting up beams around, building the house above it.


    So if Yan Junze¡¯s guess was correct, due to the natural geographical features from before, the basement could connect to the outside.


    He quickly returned to the basement. Yan Junze turned on both of his flashlights, then started at the basement stairs, following the wall and carefully looking for the vents piece by piece.


    His focus was on the locations with cross-shaped ventilation outlets. Since the basement must be ventilated, these outlets had to face outside.


    Soon, Yan Junze found three vents, facing three different directions, and each had faint moonlight peeking through, but he wasn¡¯t sure which one would allow him to crawl out.


    First, he placed the stepladder at the first vent and looked for a long time. Then he moved the ladder to the second vent, and as he approached this vent to carefully peek outside,


    "What are you... looking at?" A woman¡¯s voice sounded out of nowhere from behind him.


    "Damn!"


    Yan Junze was startled and nearly fell off the ladder.


    After steadying himself, his heart pounded madly. He thought for a moment, then without turning around, he asked, "Are you Ye Zhennan or..."


    He had just spoken a few words with Ye Zhennan, and some of them even sounded slurred. He still did not have a deep impression of the woman¡¯s voice.


    "I¡¯m Zhenzhen." The voice came again.


    "Zhenzhen? It must be Ye Zhennan then, but... the Back-faced Woman might also be called Zhenzhen."


    Yan Junze still did not turn around, asking, "Which vent here can I use to get outside smoothly?"


    "Why not take the main entrance?" the woman¡¯s voice asked curiously.


    This time, Yan Junze was sure that the woman behind him was Ye Zhennan. He turned around and saw the woman in a white dress floating behind him. He said, "There¡¯s an Evil Spirit outside, more powerful than you, waiting for me. Can you deal with her?"


    Ye Zhennan shook her head: "I can¡¯t get out."


    "So I have to find another way." Yan Junze pointed at the vent, "Which one can I break open to climb out?"


    "Here." The next second, Ye Zhennan¡¯s voice suddenly came from the third vent.


    This woman¡¯s Spirit was flitting in and out so unpredictably, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded.


    With no choice, he climbed down the ladder, carried the stepladder to the third vent, and after climbing up, he looked out and felt the space outside seemed to be much wider.


    But how could he make a hole big enough to crawl through? At this moment, Yan Junze missed the days when Zhou Dali was around.


    If that guy were here, considering the kind of vent it was, he could probably just tear it open with his bare hands and make a big hole.


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    "Is there a sledgehammer in the house?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Come down first," Ye Zhennan said.


    Yan Junze was puzzled but climbed down from the ladder and stood aside.


    Meanwhile, Ye Zhennan continued to float in mid-air, her white dress billowing.


    She moved closer to the vent, suddenly opened her mouth, and a long tongue shot out with a bang, hitting the vent. After the dust settled, the vent had been turned into an opening large enough for one person to climb through.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widened: "That impressive?"


    Ye Zhennan retracted her tongue, looking somewhat bashful as she reached up to wipe the corner of her mouth: "Sorry for the embarrassment."


    I have to say, this is the most cooperative evil spirit Yan Junze has ever encountered.


    "Since your tongue is so powerful, why didn¡¯t you just use it to strangle me when I was moving your body just now, instead of using your hands?" Yan Junze voiced his question.


    "I just wanted to kill you, not disgust you to death," Ye Zhennan answered.


    Well, as a ghost who loved beauty and cleanliness when she was alive, that was quite frank.


    Yan Junze was at a loss for words.


    He climbed up the stepladder again and crawled out through the hole he had just opened.


    Once outside, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hurry to get up. Instead, he shone his flashlight into the basement behind him and saw that Ye Zhennan had disappeared.


    He immediately turned off the flashlight, and using the moonlight, looked around the area, noting the terrain was slightly sunken here. He was right at the back of the house with the number 39 on its doorplate. There was a small path coming from one end, passing through here and winding towards the other end.


    After surveying the area for a moment and making sure he didn¡¯t see the Back-faced Woman, Yan Junze quickly got up and left at a brisk pace.


    He followed the path to the main road and then made his way back to his rental, where he went straight to bed without washing or brushing up, utterly exhausted from the night¡¯s ordeal.


    The task of "The Hanged Woman" was still incomplete, and he would have to come up with a plan quickly the next day, so he needed to rest as much as possible to regain his energy for the task ahead.


    After contemplating for a moment, he released Ke¡¯er. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ke¡¯er appeared and immediately uttered a sound of surprise before quickly embracing Yan Junze, her face full of longing, as if she were seeing a long-lost relative.


    This scenario unexpectedly gave Yan Junze a very strange feeling, as if, for a moment, he too had missed Ke¡¯er.


    He allowed Ke¡¯er to embrace him, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his body.


    Yan Junze spoke, "I¡¯m going to sleep for a while. You keep watch and listen for any movement around us. If the Back-faced Woman gets close, make sure to wake me up first before you run! Do you hear me?"


    "Hmm."


    Yan Junze covered himself with the blanket and peacefully fell asleep.


    The next day he slept until past ten in the morning, when he was woken by a call from Zhou Dali.


    Zhou Dali strongly suspected that Yan Junze was feigning illness merely as an excuse to go out and relieve stress. Their homeroom teacher, Xiang Decai, had already expressed concern about this, so Yan Junze had no choice but to call his father and have him speak to the teacher directly, requesting an additional two days of leave.


    Regardless of the approval, Yan Junze got up and headed to the bathroom outside to take a shower and wash his hair, fulfilling Ke¡¯er¡¯s long-unmet desires.


    After that, he went next door to Lin Dong¡¯s place.


    This time, Lin Dong was not lying on his bed, but on a rocking chair at home, with a cup of strong ginger tea placed beside him. His good friend, Old Li, had come over early in the morning to bring him breakfast.


    The two of them were chatting.


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t even begun to speak when he entered and saw that there were cut pieces of youtiao (fried dough sticks) on the table.


    Lin Dong smiled and said, "Those youtiao haven¡¯t been touched, and the bowl of soy milk hasn¡¯t been drunk either. If you haven¡¯t had breakfast, then eat it, otherwise it will be wasted."


    "Okay," Yan Junze replied with no pretense, sitting down and dunking the youtiao into the soy milk before eating it with big bites.


    "Uncle Lin, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve heard from others, and I wanted to ask you about it." While eating, Yan Junze spoke.


    "Go ahead," Lin Dong said, lighting a cigarette and taking a puff.


    "About house number 39 on our street, I heard that their son drowned. Is that true?"


    "Yes, that¡¯s right, he died in a reservoir."


    "What about the body?"


    "After it was retrieved, they buried it."


    Old Li chimed in, "It was quite tragic. That boy used to hang out with a few kids from the western back street. They often played games in the abandoned Lin Family courtyard. Who would¡¯ve known that one day, a fire broke out in the courtyard, and all those kids were burnt to death inside. Not one came out alive."


    Yan Junze, who was mid-bite with a youtiao, paused and said, "Huh, what a coincidence!"

 Chapter 90 - 89 Who Says You Have to Go Bald to Get Strong?

    Lin Dong shook his head, "Old Li, you don¡¯t know, the fire at the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard wasn¡¯t sudden. It was the kids, having nothing better to do, playing with open flames in the abandoned kitchen. And there were still leftover unspent liquefied gas cylinders in there."


    Old Li was stunned for a moment, "This I can¡¯t quite remember."


    Yan Junze said, "Does that mean during the fire, that kid from house number 39 wasn¡¯t in the Lin Family¡¯s courtyard? Or had the child drowned before that?"


    "That I don¡¯t know." Lin Dong shook his head, "In any case, it was only after the fire that the boy¡¯s body was found in the reservoir, said to have been in the water for days. The exact time, I¡¯m not too sure."


    "What was the name of the drowned child?" Yan Junze asked. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Zhu Zhanglong, we all called him... Long," Lin Dong replied.


    "Long was usually well-behaved; I don¡¯t know how he ended up going to the reservoir to play in the water alone. He was too bold." Old Li sighed, "His mother, Zhenzhen, was frequently beaten by his alcoholic father, Zhu Yansheng, because of this, and later on she committed suicide by hanging herself."


    "Right," Lin Dong suddenly remembered something and reminded Yan Junze, "You should avoid going near number 39, there¡¯s something unclean over there. But as long as you don¡¯t go in, you¡¯ll be fine."


    "Zhu Yansheng left Rock because of guilt later on, and the building he left behind has been nearly forgotten by the locals," Old Li sighed again.


    Having gathered enough information, Yan Junze had also finished the soy milk and dough sticks on the table and said to Lin Dong, "Thank you, Uncle Lin. I came to let you know that I will stop renting after tomorrow. You can have the agency put up the rental information."


    Old Li laughed, "He has already put it up."


    Lin Dong also smiled, "No problem, when you leave, just pack up and go. Remember to bring me the keys. If I¡¯m not home, just leave them under the pot with the Chinese rose at the doorway."


    "Aren¡¯t you going to inspect the room?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Young people nowadays are very honest and polite; there¡¯s nothing to see. I trust you," Lin Dong said.


    After chatting with the two for a while and thanking them again for the free breakfast, Yan Junze left Lin Dong¡¯s home and returned to the rental house.


    Ke¡¯er had been lying on top of him all the way until they returned to the rental house, where she then got off, hanging her head and standing barefoot on one side (one of which was still broken).


    In the absence of Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s protection, it was only with Ke¡¯er by his side that Yan Junze could feel at ease.


    Thinking it over, he could only complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" task under the cover of night to avoid prying eyes, and for now, he could only wait.


    The "Hanged Woman" task was still half unfinished, but now it seemed that this child named Long might have been on good terms with the few kids who died in the Lin Family courtyard fire.


    If he could further determine Long¡¯s whereabouts in the process of completing the "Drop the Handkerchief" task, that would be ideal.


    But one thing Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand was that since Long¡¯s body had been recovered, his parents would definitely have gone to identify it. Couldn¡¯t they recognize their own son?


    Why did Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit still need to find her own child before she could truly rest in peace?


    After pondering for a long while, Yan Junze could only assume that perhaps it was just the unconscious perception of Ye Zhennan after death.


    There are some things that the person involved might subconsciously feel are wrong, even though they themselves might not understand why.


    This was like the doubts that had been lingering in Yan Junze¡¯s mind these past few days, as if a key point always eluded him, but he could never pin down where he had forgotten it.


    After a while, seeing that Ke¡¯er was also quite bored standing there, Yan Junze let the Crawler Monster out as well.


    However, after letting it out, its appearance gave him a shock.


    Previously, Yan Junze¡¯s impression of the Crawler Monster was that it was hideous, emaciated, its entire body covered in wrinkles, with sunken eye sockets and a bald head.


    But now, it not only looked rounder, having moved beyond the "emaciated" category, but its skin also seemed shiny, with much fewer wrinkles, less sunken eye sockets, and its originally bald head had grown a fair amount of hair, even revealing a trending side part.


    ```


    "Damn it, what¡¯s going on?" Yan Junze was confused and turned his head to look at Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er had also been locked in the twelfth node of the Spacetime Atlas these past few days; if the Crawler Monster had undergone these changes, she should be the clearest about it.


    Of course, during the period they were locked, spirits could not communicate with each other as they existed independently.


    Ke¡¯er cocked her head, her gaze falling on Yan Junze: "Eh."


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    "Fine, forget I asked," Yan Junze sighed helplessly.


    At that moment, he really wished he had a spirit like Ye Zhennan, one who could relay all sorts of information to him, at least allowing unobstructed communication between the two.


    Looking down at the Crawler Monster again, the creature seemed somewhat restrained, as if it had gained some advantage or reaped some benefits without telling Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was even more puzzled, bent down, and looked at the creature: "Can you speak?"


    The Crawler Monster shook its head.


    "Alright, you¡¯re literally mute," Yan Junze said helplessly. "You¡¯ve been locked by me all this time; how did you get so fat?"


    Hmm, wait, eat?!


    Suddenly, Yan Junze thought of something and immediately performed Inner Vision on his Spacetime Atlas.


    At first glance, the Atlas didn¡¯t seem to have any abnormal changes, but he soon noticed that the twelfth node, the one imprisoning the spirit, was absorbing Different Dimension Energy from nearby branches at an extremely slow pace.


    This absorption was slow and consumed little energy, barely noticeable unless one observed very carefully.


    "Could it be... after Locking the spirits, I can feed them with Different Dimension Energy?" Yan Junze seemed to have found the answer.


    He looked down again at the Crawler Monster, shining with oily sheen. It had just extended its forked tongue, licking at its sparsely grown fur, but when it saw Yan Junze looking at it again, it immediately put on a coy and reserved demeanor, as if guilty about indulging in a bounty it feared might be punished for.


    "From the looks of it, you don¡¯t want to get rid of my Lockdown anymore because this way you can grow, huh!" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    He lifted his head to look at Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er had been locked by him for a week, and although it wasn¡¯t as long as the Crawler Monster had been locked, she might have undergone some changes too.


    "Ke¡¯er."


    "Eh."


    "Use all your strength, jump up, come over here to me."


    Whoosh! Thud! Crack!


    The next second, Ke¡¯er was lying on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    Yan Junze was stunned for two seconds before he looked back at the spot where Ke¡¯er had been standing; it had sunk in about four to five centimeters. He then looked at the ceiling.


    Ke¡¯er seemed to have exerted too much force when she jumped up, hitting the ceiling directly, causing a large flake of paint to fall off and the ceiling to bulge upwards, before Ke¡¯er ended up on his back.


    Both spirits had grown stronger!


    Yan Junze guessed that Ke¡¯er¡¯s jumping speed could now be termed as "human cannonball."


    But now there was trouble, just now Lin Dong had said that young people nowadays were very honest and there was no need to check the rented house again when Yan Junze left, but fuck, what now?


    ```

 Chapter 91 - 90 Drop the Handkerchief (Part One)

    Since he had to go out to complete the "Drop the Handkerchief" mission that night, Yan Junze planned to sleep again during the day to store up energy.


    After confirming that both Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster had become stronger, this surprise was beyond his expectations. Though the consumption of Different Dimension Energy had increased in the process, the consumption was negligible to these two Evil Spirits¡¯ appetites at the moment.


    Yan Junze was eager to let Ke¡¯er enter the node and absorb more Different Dimension Energy to enhance her own strength.


    But under the current circumstances, with the Back-faced Woman lurking nearby, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel comfortable letting Ke¡¯er go in and leaving only the Crawler Monster as a sentinel.


    Mainly because the Crawler Monster¡¯s performance in the "Wine Red High Heels" task had been worrisome, acting like it might have had some intellectual disability in its past life, it took Yan Junze two goes to direct it to charge at Jian Tong.


    And that¡¯s not to mention that it got KO¡¯d with one move by the other party.


    Of course, if it were the current strength of the Crawler Monster, it might hold out a bit longer. But Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe that just absorbing energy for such a short time would allow an Evil Spirit¡¯s strength to leap qualitatively.


    The one thing he could be more relieved about now was that, during the execution of the mission, these two Evil Spirits could at least offer an additional assurance for his safety, rather than relying solely on Rewind.


    Of course, the precondition for releasing the Evil Spirits was that it wouldn¡¯t hinder the completion of the mission. If he let Ke¡¯er out and the little guy started killing weaker Evil Spirits than herself, then what¡¯s the bloody point of the mission!


    Yan Junze took back the Crawler Monster, leaving only Ke¡¯er outside, and he went to sleep.


    During that time, he felt a chill on his back as he dozed off; Ke¡¯er had already climbed onto the bed and embraced him, and then he drifted back to sleep.


    This sleep lasted for two hours, and when he awoke, he was incredibly recharged.


    The two flashlights were still fully charged; since the mission was in the Lin Family¡¯s yard and the air should be good, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to wear a mask.


    Besides, the weather had been nice these past few days, and there was plenty of moonlight at night. If the place was outdoors, the visibility would still be quite extensive.


    That evening, the young couple upstairs returned home, and initially, Su Muyao let out a surprised scream, then ran downstairs thump thump thump.


    Yan Junze was preparing instant noodles without Zhang Xiaomo around, as he wouldn¡¯t make anything else to eat.


    The door was open, Su Muyao knocked on the door and came in, first surprised to see a dent in the floor, then looked up to see the bulging ceiling overhead.


    "There¡¯s a bump on the second-floor surface, we dare not step on it. What happened here?"


    Yan Junze laughed awkwardly, as he opened a packet of Shuanggang brand instant noodle companion, saying, "I was killing a cockroach, just now there was one on the floor, then it ran to the ceiling..."


    Su Muyao was dumbfounded.


    Lin Dong¡¯s voice rose at the doorway, apparently he had also heard Yan Junze¡¯s explanation.


    "I just want to ask, just for killing a cockroach, have you trained in Iron Legs or Iron Head Kung Fu?"


    Yan Junze¡¯s face was a picture of distress, feeling he couldn¡¯t spin the tale any further, and asked, "Uncle Lin, just name your price, I¡¯ll pay for the damages."


    Lin Dong came in, looked carefully at the extent of the damage, and held up three fingers: "Three thousand yuan. Both upstairs and downstairs need fixing. I know you¡¯re a student, so this is already a friendly price."


    "Damn it, Ke¡¯er, your one move just cost me three thousand," Yan Junze mourned inwardly, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to transfer the money as he said he would.


    Having quelled the trouble, he silently finished his instant noodles and sat at home waiting.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, Yan Junze prepared to take action.


    He took Ke¡¯er into the Spacetime Atlas, closed the door, and headed towards the back street.


    When he wasn¡¯t asleep, he didn¡¯t worry about the Back-faced Woman approaching, because every time she appeared, she was standing in some place, waiting for him.


    This was quite advantageous, giving Yan Junze ample reaction time.


    What he feared most was falling asleep only to have the Back-faced Woman appear in the room. If she waited until he was completely still, she might just walk backward to face him, and then, once he opened his eyes, it would be GAME OVER!


    By the time he reached the back street, there wasn¡¯t a soul in sight.


    Moreover, a section of the back street was awaiting demolition. Although he didn¡¯t know why it hadn¡¯t been demolished, this stretch of road was deserted.


    The Lin Family¡¯s yard was right in that section. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He quickly arrived at the courtyard¡¯s enclosing wall, which, though intact, had some bricks jutting out, making it easy to climb.


    The moonlight tonight was just as abundant, and even without turning on his flashlight, Yan Junze could clearly see at least twenty meters ahead.


    After looking around, Yan Junze found an easy place to climb and swiftly scaled the wall using both hands and feet.


    Sitting on the wall, he looked inside. The yard was about four hundred square meters, with about five connected living quarters on one side, while a large courtyard was situated along the wall.


    The trees and plants in the yard had all withered. Stone benches and tables that were originally there had toppled over, and nearly every one showed signs of breakage.


    The ground was littered with dead leaves and weeds; it looked like it had indeed been abandoned for a long time.


    After making sure there were no hard objects where he would land below the wall, Yan Junze turned off his flashlight and jumped down.


    According to the mission instructions, originally seven children played a game here, but it seemed one had run off, leaving six behind.


    The mission¡¯s goal was to resolve the six children¡¯s confusion about whether the other child had run off or something else had happened. Yan Junze needed to solve their doubts.


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    The way to complete the mission was most likely to play the "Drop the Handkerchief" game with them, a game Yan Junze had played in his previous life as a child.


    Drop the Handkerchief could be said to be everlastingly popular.


    However, he also remembered from the task hint that there was a "treasure" to be discovered within the Lin Family¡¯s yard.


    As for what type of treasure it was, that remained unknown, and he would need to find time to explore it later on.


    Walking into the yard, he looked around, and it was silent, with no sensation of the wind moving through the grass.


    The souls of those six children had not appeared.


    If they still didn¡¯t show up, Yan Junze was prepared to go inside to look for the "treasure."


    With this in mind, he immediately walked towards the row of rooms. All rooms had been hit by a fire, two of them almost reduced to their frames, and the other three slightly better off, but still pitch-black and crumbling in places.


    Yan Junze chose the first room that seemed relatively intact. As he approached the door, he switched his flashlight on in advance.


    He tried the door. It made a grating noise as it opened, and he had to exert some effort to push it open.


    First, he shone his flashlight inside. The room bore the scorched traces of a large fire.


    He walked in a few steps and looked around. Other than the burned furniture, nothing out of the ordinary was found.


    He moved into two further back rooms, also filled with charred furniture. But he opened every piece of furniture that could still be opened and searched carefully, yet he did not find the so-called "treasure."


    "Hehe..."


    Suddenly, a child¡¯s laughter rang out.


    It wasn¡¯t coming from any of these three rooms, nor was it from the courtyard outside, but from the room next door.

 Chapter 92 - 91 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Two)

    Yan Junze immediately went to the next room, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.


    The destruction in this room was more severe; the door could only be opened halfway, so Yan Junze had to squeeze his way through.


    He swept the room with his flashlight first; all the furniture inside had been burned to ash, none in decent shape or able to be opened. If that was the case, then the so-called treasure definitely wouldn¡¯t be here¡ªit would have been incinerated long ago.


    Yan Junze walked into the inner room.


    There was a large bed, but it too was burned beyond recognition, only a few blackened rods that seemed to belong to the bed frame were toppled to one side; above was the night sky, the roof had been burned away long ago.


    At one end of the bed, a large clump of black objects was piled on the ground, indistinct and unclear.


    Yan Junze simply switched on two flashlights and scrutinized the pile of black objects more closely. It looked like garbage after burning, but the sheer volume of it, now comparable to the size of the charred bed next to it, was startling.


    What on earth was it?


    The laughter from before had definitely come from this room; of this, Yan Junze was certain.


    Was the issue with this pile of black objects, or was there something buried underneath?


    With this thought, he to find an iron shovel or something to dig through this pile to see.


    Just as he was about to go out looking for something, he suddenly noticed that the pile of black matter in front of him seemed to move slightly.


    Yan Junze stepped back, staring intently at the pile of strange matter.


    Indeed, it moved again, and then, like something waking from a sleep, it slowly "stood" up, limbs stretching out in all directions.


    "Hehehehe..."


    That familiar laugh sounded once more.


    At that moment, under the illumination of two flashlight beams, Yan Junze finally saw clearly the true nature of the black pile in front of him.


    It was a pile... of bodies!


    As the fire approached, six children clung together, and their final fate was that they could no longer separate even in death.


    The black mass had now completely stood up, and from Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, he could see four children¡¯s heads, each looking in different directions, but only seven feet and six arms were visible.


    The limbs were distributed in various positions, making it impossible to distinguish whose arms and legs belonged to whom in this big charred pile.


    Of course, Yan Junze knew that what he was seeing now were just the Evil Spirits of the six children who had died in the fire; the real bodies had long been cleaned up from the scene.


    At least, it wasn¡¯t at the time when the strangeness erupted.


    "Hehe..."


    "Someone¡¯s here!"


    "Just one person?"


    "Brother..."


    The heads all opened their eyes, mouths beginning to move, and started conversing.


    Yan Junze felt his stomach churn at this sight and was about to vomit, retreating several more steps involuntarily.


    But thankfully, none of them, unseeingly, called him "Uncle."


    "Let me see."


    A child¡¯s voice came from behind the mass of bodies.


    Then, the pile of corpses turned in a direction, revealing the heads of another boy and girl¡ªtwo more children. Of course, this side also had limbs that were mutilated and fused together.


    Normally a charred body could not be identified as male or female, but Yan Junze noticed that one of the heads wore a burned butterfly clip that had melted into the skin and could not be removed.


    This must have been a little girl. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He slowly retreated to the edge of the door.


    "Brother, are you here to play a game?"


    The pile of corpses moved slowly following him, the moving feet indistinct, as if it were a pitch-black mass rolling forward.


    At this moment, Yan Junze noticed that after the pile of corpses rolled over, a hand from within the pile seemed to have picked up a pitch-black, long, stick-like object¡ªit appeared to be a wood carving blackened by fire.


    However, the arm quickly put it down again, and the wooden sculpture tumbled into the depression where the pile of corpses had been lying just moments earlier.


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted briefly.


    "Yes, I came to play a game," he replied, "It¡¯s too narrow in here, let¡¯s go outside to play."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he slipped out through the door, which couldn¡¯t be fully opened.


    He backed away into the courtyard and stood there, waiting to see how these little ones would come out.


    Before long, the half-open door panel shook, then caved inward, and the entire door panel disappeared without a trace.


    A massive cluster of pitch-black corpses appeared at the doorway. First, they blocked the doorframe, and then with great effort, they squeezed out en masse, the pile staying intact as it rolled out.


    "Shall we play Drop the Handkerchief?"


    A child¡¯s voice suggested.


    Yan Junze was perplexed. Of course, he knew the game Drop the Handkerchief, but under the current circumstances¡ªsix children were indeed all here, but damn it, they were all stuck together. Such a big clump; how to play Drop the Handkerchief? Left hand dropping to the right hand? Which one is the left hand?


    "Sure!"


    "Sure!"


    "Sure!"


    The other children expressed their consent one after another.


    Feeling confused, Yan Junze then heard a chilling child¡¯s voice come from within the pile of corpses, "Big brother, you sit down with your back to us first, we¡¯ll be right over."


    Suddenly, Yan Junze somewhat understood, nodded his head, turned off his flashlight, and sat down on the ground.


    Soon after, sounds of pulling and tearing came from behind him, like chunks of frozen meat being pried apart by a great force, producing a grating, sickening noise.


    This sound repeated over and over, and in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, he pictured the scene he had just witnessed, where the pile of corpses split into a multitude of disjointed limbs and body parts, becoming a collection of incomplete corpses.


    "This one¡¯s mine..."


    "Where¡¯s my leg?"


    "The hand is mine!"


    Voices kept coming from behind Yan Junze, with content that sent chills down one¡¯s spine.


    After a short while, footsteps sounded, and a boy walked up next to him, peeking down with only half a head remaining, giving Yan Junze a giggling smile as he sat beside him.


    Yan Junze saw that the boy was incomplete, with some pitch-black areas melded into a mass.


    Once seated, the child fell silent and motionless, fitting his status as one of the dead.


    Not long after, a second child approached Yan Junze¡¯s other side with heavy steps, sat down without looking at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw that the youngster¡¯s feet were completely misshapen, and it was a mystery how he had managed to walk over given he only had one hand.


    Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth.


    The fifth child was the only girl among the six.


    A butterfly clip used to pin back her hair was completely embedded in the skin on the left side of her forehead, a token of her femininity, with her face blackened and indistinct.


    Finally, the sixth one arrived, sitting directly opposite Yan Junze.


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    This one exuded a fierce air, and even though the features on his face were blurred, one could still sense a sinister presence.


    As soon as he spoke up, Yan Junze knew he was the one who had told him to sit down earlier.


    "One of us has run away, a coward and a scaredy-cat, and we need to find him out!"


    "Lucky for us, big brother came to join us," the first child who had arrived next to Yan Junze tilted his half-head, grinning at him, "Otherwise, we would be one player short for the game!"


    "If you¡¯re going to talk, please don¡¯t face me with your face, thank you," Yan Junze said, without looking sideways.

 Chapter 93 - 92 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Three)

    The boy who seemed to be the leader of this little group spoke up again, "Drop the Handkerchief, we¡¯ll play 5 times, and the loser of each round must answer three questions from the others. Whoever finds the one who runs away first wins."


    "Okay," the other children agreed in unison.


    Only Yan Junze raised his hand, "Who goes first?"


    "Of course, it¡¯s the leader!" the boy beside him, half a head taller, said excitedly.


    The gloomy leading boy did not speak, but cracked a smile.


    A ragged grey handkerchief was clenched in his hand. He then stood up and began to jog around the outside of the circle where everyone was seated, following a clockwise direction.


    The other children immediately began singing a rhyme.


    "Drop the Handkerchief, quietly drop it behind a friend, don¡¯t tell him, catch him quickly, catch him quickly..."


    As the song began, Junze also murmured along softly. He knew that the one who dropped the handkerchief had to secretly place it behind one of the children before the song ended.


    It could not be dropped between two people, nor too far away; it had to be right behind someone.


    Those sitting in the circle could not alert others; they could not constantly look back or continuously feel for the handkerchief with their hands.


    So, they had to keep an eye on the hands of the child with the handkerchief; as long as it was still in his hands, there was no need to look back.


    If they noticed the handkerchief was suddenly gone, then they had to be aware that it might have been thrown behind them. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The boy with the handkerchief ran very fast; before the song was even finished, he had already made two laps around the group.


    By the time the song reached "don¡¯t tell him," he had already run past Junze¡¯s back for the third time.


    Then, Junze glanced at his hands; the handkerchief was gone.


    The few who had just been passed by instinctively turned back to check behind them.


    Junze also turned to look behind him, and there was nothing there.


    However, the boy sitting to his left with only one arm had snatched the grey handkerchief that had been thrown behind him and stood up to chase the boy with the handkerchief who had already run half a lap.


    The other boy was already a fast runner; this one-armed boy, gripping the handkerchief, had deformed legs that nearly dragged on the ground as he walked, completely unable to give chase.


    Soon, the leader had completed a full lap and claimed the one-armed boy¡¯s spot, plopping down in his place.


    Turning his head, he gave Junze, who sat beside him, a chilling smile.


    The one-armed boy, holding the handkerchief, returned to the middle of the circle and stood still, silently staring at the leader, as if accepting his loss without any arguments.


    "Are you Ning or Dogie?" the leader asked.


    "Dogie," the boy with the disabled legs answered.


    Hearing their exchange, Junze suddenly realized that these kids couldn¡¯t fully recognize each other at the moment.


    No wonder, or else they would know who had run off.


    Looking more closely, among those present, the girl¡¯s strangeness was obvious, followed by the leader; the most talkative one was the boy with half a head, sitting to his own right. The rest of the people had no obvious characteristics from before and did not speak.


    "What¡¯s your name?" Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask the boy with half a head, quietly.


    The boy turned his head and looked at him seriously, "You can¡¯t ask my name; I didn¡¯t lose."


    "Oh," Junze feigned understanding, nodded, and stopped talking.


    At this moment, the leader continued questioning the boy named Dogie with the misshapen legs.


    "Did you see Ning and Long take my stuff?"


    "Long?" Junze¡¯s eyes brightened slightly, musing to himself, "Is he talking about Ye Zhennan¡¯s son Zhu Zhanglong?"


    From Lin Dong¡¯s words earlier in the morning, he knew that Long got along well with these kids, and now he was hearing about Long from them.


    Based on the timeline, the period around the fire¡¯s occurrence was exactly the time when Long had drowned in the Rock Reservoir.


    Could it be that these events happened simultaneously? And among them, the one who fled was Long, who for some unknown reason, fell into the reservoir and drowned after he escaped.


    Yan Junze suddenly remembered that the punishment from the mission seemed to be a hint, the punishment for this task was: In Dire Straits.


    If he didn¡¯t complete this task, would he be punished with either fire or water, either burned to death or drowned?


    "I saw it," the boy called Dogie answered the Kid King¡¯s question at this moment.


    "Where have you hidden the stuff?" the Kid King asked.


    "I don¡¯t know," Dogie shook his head.


    "Is Ning among us?" the Kid King asked again.


    "I have answered all three of my questions," Dogie reminded, and then he said no more.


    The Kid King did not ask any further questions.


    The game continued.


    This time, it was Dogie¡¯s turn to Drop the Handkerchief, but he moved slowly. He hadn¡¯t walked half the circle from the beginning to the end of the chant.


    As expected, the handkerchief was dropped behind the last person, the only girl present.


    The girl reached behind and grabbed the handkerchief in one go, immediately standing up.


    She knew it would be all too easy to catch up to Dogie, she could grab him in just a few steps.


    As she was about to take off, Dogie suddenly sprawled on the ground, using his hands and feet to dash forward with incredible speed. His burnt and deformed legs acted like power boosters at that moment, crawling half the circle in a blink of an eye.


    Even as the little girl ran swiftly, she still couldn¡¯t catch up to the crawling speed of Dogie, and soon Dogie had taken her place.


    "Does that count as foul play?" Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help asking the half-head beside him.


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    "If the boss didn¡¯t say so, then it¡¯s not," the half-head replied.


    "You ask."


    At this time, the little girl walked to the center of the circle and stood there. If it wasn¡¯t for a butterfly clip embedded in her hair, one couldn¡¯t tell from her voice whether she was a boy or a girl.


    Truth be told, with this pile of bodies lying there, without any prominent and effective features, it would be impossible to distinguish who was who with the naked eye.


    "Rou, do you like Long or me more?" Dogie asked.


    "Long."


    "You still like Long even though he steals?" Dogie pressed on.


    Girl Rou shook her head: "Long didn¡¯t steal."


    "Is he¡­ still among us?" Dogie asked.


    "I don¡¯t know."


    All three questions had been asked.


    Yan Junze suddenly felt that this was a lot of information.


    Firstly, it was possible that Long and Ning took something belonging to the Kid King together, but the girl Rou firmly believed Long didn¡¯t take anything; thus, it might have been Ning who took it by himself.


    Now, both the Kid King and Dogie had posed questions, but the content of their questions revolved around Ning and Long, specifically whether they were among the dead bodies or not.


    That is to say, whether these two were present was what the children most wanted to know.


    And Yan Junze¡¯s purpose for coming here was also simple, to find out who had escaped from among them.


    So far, it seems more likely that it was Long who had escaped, and moreover, it was very possible that it was during that time that Long fell into the reservoir and drowned.


    "No, that can¡¯t be right!"


    Yan Junze was startled and shook his head; he suddenly thought of a key issue.

 Chapter 94 - 93 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Four)

    The key issue lay with Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan¡¯s corpse wouldn¡¯t consent to be buried¡ªeach time she was placed in a coffin, she would extend a long tongue and run out on her own, to hang herself under the house beam once again.


    This was a behavior of her subconscious.


    Yet, Ye Zhennan had already seen her son¡¯s bloated corpse after it was drowned. So, why wasn¡¯t she at peace?


    This suggested that maybe the child who drowned... wasn¡¯t Ye Zhennan¡¯s son, Long, at all!


    This problem might have come to light only after Ye Zhennan had become a strangeness.


    When she first saw the swollen corpse of the child, she couldn¡¯t possibly recognize the face, and could only rely on the clothing to identify him.


    If the drowned child wasn¡¯t Long, could it be the Ning mentioned by these children, who had stolen something from the King of the Children? But why would Ning be wearing Long¡¯s clothes?


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    Moreover, since Long hadn¡¯t appeared since then, it definitely meant he had also died.


    Could it be that Long never left, and like the other children, was burned to death right here in this courtyard?


    Thinking this, Yan Junze looked up at the other children.


    Among the children sitting in a circle now, the King of the Children himself could be ruled out, as it was his belongings that were stolen.


    Then there was Rou, with a butterfly clip embedded in her head¡ªshe could be ruled out too.


    The one-armed boy who claimed to be Dogie, and also answered the King of the Children¡¯s questions, could be ruled out as well.


    That left the children with half a head, the one with an empty chest, and the one with only one leg.


    Actually, to Yan Junze, the child with half a head seemed quite close to the King of the Children; if it had been Long who stole from the King of the Children, he wouldn¡¯t have displayed such closeness.


    This meant there was a high chance the child with half a head was not Long.


    Therefore the target was narrowed down to the boy with an empty chest and the one-legged boy.


    So far, neither of these two had spoken a word, of course, they hadn¡¯t had the chance to.


    This time, it was Rou¡¯s turn to "Drop the Handkerchief."


    As the other children started singing rhymes, Rou began to trot along, running around the circle cheerily.


    Yan Junze paid close attention to when the handkerchief in her hand would vanish, but Rou held it tightly, and soon she had run two laps.


    The rhyme was almost finished when Rou seemed to trip while running, stumbled forward without falling, and then continued her run.


    It was at this moment, that Yan Junze noticed the handkerchief was no longer in her hand.


    Immediately turning his head, he discovered the handkerchief had dropped behind him.


    Yan Junze grabbed the handkerchief, stood up, and chased after her.


    Though it was easy for him to catch up with Rou with his stride, he intentionally slowed down his pace, waiting until Rou had quickly completed a lap and sat down in her spot.


    Then, Yan Junze stopped, shook the gray handkerchief in his hand, and showed a resigned smile.


    He walked into the center of the circle formed by the children and stood still.


    The King of the Children looked at Rou, and Rou began to question Yan Junze, "Do you know Ning or Long?"


    Yan Junze shook his head, "I don¡¯t know either."


    "Then what are you doing here?" Rou continued.


    "Looking for something," Yan Junze answered.


    It wasn¡¯t incorrect to say¡ªhe could also be searching for the so-called "treasure" of the courtyard.


    Of course, Yan Junze now dared not tell outright lies; he was unsure if these little ones had the ability to discern which of his words were true and which were false.


    However, at least for now, he hadn¡¯t told any lies.


    After two questions had passed, Rou quickly asked the third question, "Then have you seen the thing that was stolen from Hu Gang?"


    "Who is Hu Gang?" Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment.


    "Me." The child king suddenly spoke up.


    The item Rou was referring to was naturally the one they had designated for Ning or Long to steal.


    Of course, Rou didn¡¯t believe it was Long who had stolen it.


    However, this question posed a bit of a problem for Yan Junze.


    Just now, when he witnessed the pile of corpses surging up from the ground, he clearly saw a hand behind the pile throw something resembling a wooden carving into the pit at the foot of the bed.


    Could it be that the item they were talking about was that wooden carving?


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Since he wasn¡¯t certain, Yan Junze thought for a moment and then replied, "I don¡¯t know."


    Not knowing whether the wooden carving was the item Hu Gang had stolen, he could naturally say he didn¡¯t know. There was no deceit in his answer.


    Just as Yan Junze finished speaking, the child king Hu Gang suddenly asked, "Were you hesitating just now?"


    "No, I was considering," Yan Junze replied. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hu Gang slowly stood up: "Either you know or you don¡¯t, why did you have to consider?"


    "Boss, was that your fifth question?" The boy with half a head suddenly piped up.


    "Right, I¡¯m not going to answer," Yan Junze nodded, silently applauding the rebelliousness of the boy with half a head.


    "Sit down!"


    Hu Gang glared at the boy with half a head and barked angrily but indeed did not pursue any further questions.


    Regardless, it seemed these children still abided by the rules of the game.


    "So now... it¡¯s my turn to Drop the Handkerchief," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Holding the gray handkerchief in his hand, he went outside the circle of ghosts and began to walk around it.


    His steps were large, so he didn¡¯t need to run, while at the same time, the other children began singing the Drop the Handkerchief rhyme.


    However, after one lap, Yan Junze dropped the handkerchief behind the one-legged boy.


    Before dropping the handkerchief, he had already considered carefully; the boy with the hollow chest and this one-legged boy looked no different from the other silent children.


    Things like hair, height, build, and features, all had shriveled, twisted, and deformed after a big fire.


    One could say that at this moment, they looked more like charred wood than their former selves.


    Thus, it was impossible to guess their identities based merely on sight.


    However, their sitting postures were different; the boy with the hollow chest held his head up, always observing the entire game, while the one-legged boy occasionally lifted his head, but most of the time he kept it lowered, looking up a bit more frequently when Rou spoke.


    These details were only picked up by Yan Junze; the other souls, no matter how they might have been as children, could not possibly have reached this level of thoughtfulness or observation.


    Besides, after becoming strangenesses, they were controlled by an Obsession, losing even the instinctual thought that humans possess.


    Unless, the strangeness in question had evolved to a high level! Like the Resentful Granny.


    The one-legged boy noticed the handkerchief behind him, picked it up, and immediately stood on one foot, hopping after Yan Junze with a ¡¯thump, thump, thump¡¯.


    At first, Yan Junze thought the kid might have Dogie¡¯s kind of crawling skill, so he was all ready to run, but who knew the boy would hop on one foot like a golden rooster, making it completely impossible to catch up with him.


    So Yan Junze simply quickened his pace, quickly completing a lap and stealing the one-legged boy¡¯s spot, sitting down with a plop.


    The one-legged boy, holding the handkerchief, hopped to the middle of the circle, facing Yan Junze, without saying a word.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak either, for the moment.


    The other little ghosts all stared at Yan Junze as well, also silent.


    After staring at the one-legged boy for a while, Yan Junze finally asked, "Why did you switch clothes with Ning?"

 Chapter 95 - 94 Drop the Handkerchief (Part Five)

    Upon hearing that, all the children clearly appeared surprised.


    "Ah," Hu Gang, the children¡¯s leader, stood up and stared at the boy with one leg in the center, asking, "You are... Long? You didn¡¯t run away?"


    "Hey, I haven¡¯t finished my question yet," Yan Junze reminded aloud.


    Hu Gang was taken aback, touched his head, and said nothing more, sitting back down again.


    Yan Junze once again looked at the boy with one leg: "Answer my first question, why did you switch clothes with Ning?"


    "He forced me," the boy with one leg finally spoke up.


    At this point, if it were anyone else, they would certainly go with the flow and ask "why," but Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t. He only had three opportunities to ask questions, and he must make good use of each one. Each question must have value, otherwise, it would all be for naught.


    "What did Ning say to you after he stole Hu Gang¡¯s belongings?" Yan Junze asked.


    The boy with one leg clearly didn¡¯t expect him to ask this. He was slightly startled, looked straight at Yan Junze for a moment, and then replied, "He made me switch clothes with him, and if I didn¡¯t, he would tell Hu Gang that I was the one who stole the things, and he would also tell my mom that I like Rou."


    "These little brats! It¡¯s such a trivial matter!" Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel speechless.


    But sometimes it¡¯s just like that; what adults don¡¯t think matters much is more important than the sky in a child¡¯s eyes.


    Regardless, Long absolutely couldn¡¯t let his mom know he liked Rou. Nor could he allow Hu Gang to say he was the one who stole his things.


    Yan Junze stood up and addressed all the little ghosts, especially the so-called children¡¯s king Hu Gang, "I think... there¡¯s no need to continue with ¡¯Drop the Handkerchief,¡¯ the answer is quite clear."


    He turned to the boy with one leg and asked, "Last question, who are you?"


    "Zhu Zhanglong," the boy with one leg answered.


    Long, where are my things?" Hu Gang suddenly stood up.


    Before Long could answer, Yan Junze had already walked over and grabbed his hand, feeling as though he¡¯d grabbed a piece of charred wood or charcoal.


    Looking up at Hu Gang, he said, "The things were taken by Ning, it has nothing to do with Long."


    "Then where¡¯s Ning?" Hu Gang asked, frustrated.


    "What were you all doing when the fire broke out?" Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer, instead countered with his own question.


    "We were in that room, looking for my stuff," Hu Gang pointed to the room that had just been jostled out of the pile of corpses.


    "That¡¯s right," Yan Junze shrugged, "Ning stole your stuff, then blackmailed Long into switching clothes with him to frame him, but at that moment, you gathered everyone together to search for your lost belongings. It must¡¯ve been late, and Ning, who had yet to escape, was afraid of being exposed. While you were summoning others, he simply set fire to the next room."


    "He originally wanted to use the fire to distract you, so he could escape with the treasures he¡¯d hidden, but Ning didn¡¯t anticipate the presence of liquid gas in the house. The ensuing explosion terrified him, completely beyond his control, so he panicked and fled, leaving you all to burn to death here."


    Yan Junze looked up at a place not far from the Lin Family courtyard, where the light of the moon faintly shimmered, reflecting light upwards. Rock Reservoir must be nearby.


    It was very likely that Ning, frightened out of his wits, had plunged into the reservoir in his panic.


    The course of events was probably just like this, although, of course, some details are now impossible to ascertain.


    And yet, Yan Junze still kept some things to himself. For instance, whether the wooden statue was indeed what Hu Gang had lost, and now he knew whose hand it was that he had seen sticking out of the pile of corpses in the room.


    It was Long¡¯s hand; even though he hadn¡¯t taken the wooden statue, nor had Ning taken it away. The item had always been hidden in that room, well protected by Long¡¯s soul.


    Yes, this item must be the "treasure" mentioned in the mission!


    "Now everything is clear; it was Ning who took Hu Gang¡¯s item, and it has nothing to do with Long." Yan Junze looked at the piece of "charcoal" he was holding and told everyone, "I¡¯m taking him to see his relatives now, and I¡¯ll be back soon."


    "Long is with us; we cannot separate," Rou¡¯s voice rang out.


    Indeed, the mission hint made it very clear this was a group-living strangeness, condemned to be inseparable.


    But since Ye Zhennan couldn¡¯t leave number 39 on the main street, taking her son to meet her was the only option.


    Actually, the problem wasn¡¯t that difficult. It was just a temporary separation, much like when they played Drop the Handkerchief, not a permanent one. However, at this moment, the children¡¯s leader, Hu Gang, was furious, and it might be very difficult to convince him to let Long leave alone.


    Of course, Yan Junze had ways to calm Hu Gang down, such as telling him that the wooden statue was in a pit under the bed in the room, but by doing so, his own mission to find the treasure would naturally go cold.


    He certainly didn¡¯t want to just hand over the "treasure" he was about to obtain.


    If it came down to a confrontation, then so be it. He could endure until he got to Ye Zhennan¡¯s place. By then, with the hanged ghost intervening, this bunch of little brats wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much trouble.


    If all else failed, he could always Rewind.


    Yan Junze had made up his mind.


    "Are you sure Long can¡¯t leave for a while?" he asked again.


    "No," Hu Gang¡¯s answer was adamant.


    The next second, a Crawler Monster appeared beside Yan Junze¡¯s foot, and soon after, Ke¡¯er appeared, lying on his back.


    Yan Junze turned his head and whispered something to Ke¡¯er. The little creature sprang into action, darting toward the back and scampering into the room that had just held a pile of bodies.


    Before long, Ke¡¯er came running out on all fours, leaping back onto Yan Junze¡¯s back as if nothing had happened. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let¡¯s go."


    Yan Junze grabbed the silent Long and walked towards the courtyard¡¯s main gate.


    "Don¡¯t leave!" Experience tales at empire


    Hu Gang¡¯s voice became chillingly cold at that moment.


    "Ahh..."


    Ke¡¯er on Yan Junze¡¯s back turned her head, baring her teeth at the children about her size, her hands bracing on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulders as she stood upright on all fours, her body tensed, both defensive and warning, staring down all the strangenesses.


    The Crawler Monster symbolically split its mouth open and howled once, then extended its forked tongue and began grooming the hair on its head.


    Yan Junze was speechless: "Could you act a little more professionally?"


    No sooner had he spoken, than the half-headed child closest to him suddenly charged.


    The Crawler Monster, which had been grooming itself, lashed its tongue out sharply, striking the boy on his waist and sending him flying.


    "Everyone come back, together," Hu Gang¡¯s juvenile voice turned vicious.


    With a loud shout, all the children, except Long, gathered around him.


    Their limbs began to twist and distort, merging into the darkness. In just a moment, the pile of bodies appeared again, rolling and crowding forward.


    This time, however, the pile of bodies was missing one.


    Long had already been snatched by Yan Junze, who was at the courtyard gate, kicked open the decayed gate, and charged onto the street.

 Chapter 96 - 95: Long-tongued Zhenzhen

    Ke¡¯er braced herself on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, gazing at the pursuers behind them.


    The Crawler Monster was also breaking the rear under Yan Junze¡¯s feet. Although it appeared to be very concerned about its image, it fought without hesitation.


    This was a Crawler Monster that had evolved within the Spacetime Atlas, and at this moment, it brought a pleasant surprise to Yan Junze.


    The rolling mound of corpses quickly followed them onto the street, still madly pursuing Yan Junze.


    These children had been burned to death, and even though they remained in the Lin Family courtyard, they were not confined there. Their Obsession was to find out who had left and to ensure that everyone stayed together now.


    So even though they now knew that the one who left was Ning, the fact that Long had left again was absolutely not acceptable.


    It was also fortunate that they had been causing chaos in the courtyard for so long; it was now nearing one in the morning, and the people of Rock were asleep. Otherwise, such a large pile of corpses appearing on the street would likely have meant that the supernatural event team¡¯s 4747 hotline would be bombarded with calls from the local people of Rock all at the same time.


    Yan Junze was of average stamina. Even though the weight of Ke¡¯er on his body could be ignored, running with something tucked away was definitely not as effortless as sprinting alone, and it took some extra effort.


    Before he could even get out of the back street, he was already gasping for air.


    The mound of corpses behind him rolled quickly, with black viscous liquid dripping continuously during the roll.


    Apparently, the mound of corpses was naturally sticky, so every time it rolled, something sticky would get stuck to it, and then be flung off due to the rolling, making a sound like repeatedly kneading rubber clay.


    To Yan Junze¡¯s ears, this sound seemed like a death knell, compelling him to keep desperately running, without any slack.


    If this were a world of martial arts or cultivation, the individual strangenesses from before could be considered one of The Seven True Masters, but now these brats were essentially united as one, forming a True Sword Formation or having mastered the Unrivaled Sovereignty Technique.


    Their strength, undoubtedly, was not even in the same league as before.


    Yan Junze was not in the mood to let the Crawler Monster and Ke¡¯er engage in a fight with the enemy. Of course, the notion of being outnumbered and pulling off a miracle wasn¡¯t likely. If a fight did take place, the outcome would probably be his own side coming to an unfortunate end.


    Now, it was a race against speed; reaching Building 39 on Main Street would mean they had achieved victory.


    At that moment, a stone struck Yan Junze on the back of his head.


    Yan Junze winced with pain and turned his head to see that the little tykes had stretched their arms out of the corpse pile and were grabbing stones from the road to furiously throw at him.


    ¡¯¡¯Hey, you little brats, playing dirty, huh!¡¯¡¯


    As his head throbbed with pain, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but curse out loud.


    Ke¡¯er on his shoulder shot out with a swoosh, heading straight for the mound of corpses.


    In the process of leaping over, Ke¡¯er¡¯s limbs grew rapidly, much like the time when she was flung out by Yan Junze while washing hair, becoming akin to a humanoid spider as she pounced onto the mound of corpses.


    "Yah yah yah..."


    With a flurry of frenzied scratching and biting, Ke¡¯er¡¯s attacks were unexpectedly swift and fierce, large chunks of black viscous fluid fell off, along with half a finger, chunks of charred flesh, and so on.


    Then Ke¡¯er sprung back, landing on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder once more.


    They had now entered Main Street, with Building 39 not far ahead.


    The panting Yan Junze, carrying Long, hurried his steps. His legs, which felt as if they were filled with lead, now seemed reinvigorated as if injected with new vitality, propelling him over fifty meters forward to the entrance of the target building.


    As if responding to their arrival, Ye Zhennan¡¯s spirit appeared simultaneously at the entrance of Building 39. She was in a white dress, fluttering in the breeze, and her gaze fell instantly on the "charred" son in Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    ¡¯¡¯That... uh... hey... hey...¡¯¡¯ No longer able to support himself, Yan Junze threw Long down in front of Ye Zhennan, gasping, ¡¯¡¯Your... son... hey...


    was... burned... burned to death... hey... hey, it¡¯s... him.¡¯¡¯


    The next second, the mound of corpses rolled up from behind.


    Yan Junze immediately retrieved Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster into a node, turned around to face the mound of corpses, and stood beside Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan seemed to have grasped the situation; her gaze suddenly turned sharp as she stared at the approaching mound of corpses.


    As it neared, she opened her mouth, and her Long-tongued Zhenzhen lashed out, striking the fused mass of corpses and shattering it to pieces.


    Massive dismembered remains split apart, as though a light rain had suddenly started to fall, spreading over the ground in front of building number 39.


    No longer could one discern a complete child.


    "That intense?"


    Yan Junze was taken aback, watching as the shattered remnants on the ground remained still for about ten seconds before they started to slowly move, gather, and reassemble themselves.


    This time, however, these little fellows suddenly became very quiet, neatly gathering together without making a sound, without showing any hint of daring to come forward again.


    It seems that some things are naturally subdued by others.


    Yan Junze summed up his insights from this "strangeness chasing people" encounter.


    At this time, Ye Zhennan had already taken her son, Little Long, into her arms, and looking at the child whose appearance was completely unrecognizable, she was still certain from the bottom of her heart that this was her true child.


    "Mom," Little Long spoke.


    And gently embraced Ye Zhennan.


    Ye Zhennan also silently hugged Little Long back.


    Yan Junze was pleasantly surprised, as the anticipated scene of weeping and wailing and crying in each other¡¯s arms did not occur.


    It seems television dramas are all deceitful.


    Strangeness, they only seek to fulfill the obsessions of their former lives.


    "Child, mom was wrong," Ye Zhennan said softly, "I didn¡¯t take good care of you."


    Yan Junze walked to the side, giving mother and son some time to talk, while his gaze stayed fixed on the pile of corpses on the street side that dared not move anymore.


    At this moment, the pile of corpses seemed to be glaring at Yan Junze too, exuding resentment and unwillingness.


    "Alright, now I want to challenge Jiang Ruixin¡¯s record," Yan Junze got excited, staring unblinkingly at the pile of corpses.


    However, not long after the staring contest had begun, the Spacetime Atlas sent a notification of task completion.


    [The Hanged Woman, Anxiety-Inducing (Medium), Completed, Reward: 300 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    [Drop the Handkerchief, Trembling with Fear (Medium), Completed, Reward: 600 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    Yan Junze looked up to see Ye Zhennan leading Little Long towards the waiting pile of corpses, and as Little Long glanced back at his mother, his body slowly merged into the pile.


    After Little Long had successfully rejoined the pile, it did not depart but simply vanished transparently right under Yan Junze¡¯s watch.


    Ye Zhennan turned around, walking towards Yan Junze.


    "Your obsession is fulfilled, you can leave this home now," said Yan Junze, with a smile.


    "Thank you," Ye Zhennan nodded, her expression calm.


    Yan Junze remained seated on the steps, asking, "How do ¡¯strangenesses¡¯ understand the word ¡¯freedom¡¯?"


    Ye Zhennan was slightly taken aback but did not respond.


    Perhaps she deemed it unimportant, or maybe for strangenesses, the concept of "freedom" no longer existed.


    "Alright then." Yan Junze decided not to worry about it any further and stood up.


    A moment later, the likeness of a woman in a white dress was added to the 12th node. Read new chapters at empire


    [Acquired Long-tongued Zhenzhen (High-Level Wandering Spirit), Current Favorability: Friendly]


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 Chapter 97 - 96: Statue

    ```


    He tiptoed back into the rental house.


    It was already half past one in the morning. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if the noise on the streets had awakened any of the neighbors, or if anyone had spotted him from their windows.


    But even if someone did see him, there was nothing he could do. In this era teeming with strangeness, who hasn¡¯t seen a supernatural event? To be shocked by such things was unlikely; at most, people would be scared to death.


    So Yan Junze planned to sneak away as soon as dawn broke. After all, he had already compensated for the repairs of the house, and he had informed the landlord. He could leave anytime without anyone complaining.


    After taking off his coat covered in black ash, Yan Junze whimsically thought that it would be nice if the lockdown spirit could help him clean up, manage household chores, and wash his clothes. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he immediately discarded this otaku fantasy; after all, this wasn¡¯t "Ghost Slave Tales." The creatures that were showing up were no easy deal. It was lucky that he handled them well¡ªif not, it would be more likely that he would end up being enslaved by them.


    His body was covered in black ash, and he couldn¡¯t possibly sleep in that state.


    The weather was gradually getting hot, and at this hour, Yan Junze felt it would be inappropriate to take a bath in the outside bathroom for fear of disturbing the neighbors upstairs and next door.


    He drew a basin of cold water and carried it back to the inner room.


    Then, he let out Long-tongued Zhenzhen, Ke¡¯er, and the Crawler Monster in the outer room to mingle with each other while he went to the inner room to wipe down his body.


    After cleaning himself and changing into pajamas, Yan Junze went back to the outer room to pour out the water, only to find that the three creatures were just the same as when he had first entered.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen stood by the sofa, Ke¡¯er was upside down against the opposite wall, and the Crawler Monster was still diligently grooming its parted hair with its forked tongue.


    "What¡¯s going on?" Yan Junze put down the empty basin and asked Zhenzhen.


    She was the one he communicated with most smoothly, so he naturally started by asking her.


    "Ke¡¯er is very hostile towards strangers she doesn¡¯t recognize, and she seems... reluctant to speak," Zhenzhen said after observing for a while.


    "Right," Yan Junze nodded. He had recently felt that Ke¡¯er wasn¡¯t unable to speak, but rather unwilling to.


    "I asked her a few questions just now, but then I didn¡¯t dare to ask anymore," Zhenzhen said.


    "Why?" Yan Junze was puzzled.


    "I felt that if I kept asking, this little thing might go crazy and pounce on me," Zhenzhen said with a wry smile.


    As they were speaking, Ke¡¯er had already pounced, but her aim was not Long-tongued Zhenzhen; it was Yan Junze.


    Soon she clung to Yan Junze¡¯s back, showing a sense of attachment.


    "What about the Crawler Monster?" Yan Junze asked further.


    Zhenzhen looked surprised, glanced at Ke¡¯er, and then seemed to be choosing her words, lowering her voice, "I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m right, but this person... seemed to be mentally challenged before death."


    "I have the same feeling," Yan Junze chuckled, "But probably a beauty-loving mentally challenged person."


    "Right," Yan Junze turned to Zhenzhen, "What did it feel like for you while in the node just now?"


    Yan Junze was very interested in the phenomenon of evil spirits becoming gradually stronger after being locked down, but since Ke¡¯er and the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t inform him, he had been thinking of asking Zhenzhen after locking her down.


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    "That environment was very comfortable, it felt like taking a bath, that kind of full-body relief after soaking," she replied.


    This was the only sentence Zhenzhen could use to describe the experience of being locked down in the node and imbued with energy from a different dimension.


    Yan Junze had no comment for that analogy.


    ```


    However, when it came to sensing higher-level strangenesses, Ke¡¯er was still the strongest among the three creatures, so when it was time to sleep, Ke¡¯er stayed outside, while Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster were retracted back into the node.


    The main reason was that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t understand why the Back-faced Woman kept following him; he was very puzzled and, therefore, eager to resolve this hidden danger after finishing the matters in Rock.


    Now that he had dealt with Resentful Granny, it was time to go back and notify the "Open Your Eyes" video platform to prepare to film the task "Look at Her Face."


    The surveillance equipment had already been placed in the FH Community and had been idle for more than a week. According to Tang Zhengyi, the platform editor, every day that the equipment was left there, money was going down the drain.


    So it was also time to set Tang Zhengyi¡¯s mind at ease.


    Lying in bed, Ke¡¯er lay beside him, hugging Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Yan Junze said softly, "Ke¡¯er, spit that thing out."


    Ke¡¯er changed positions as told, opened her mouth, and her abdomen began to churn. Soon, a black object appeared from her mouth, showing a tip.


    "How can this be so disgusting?" Yan Junze sat up and grabbed the tip of the object, carefully pulling it out.


    Ke¡¯er didn¡¯t even look at the black object; after spitting it out, she still hugged Yan Junze just like she usually did.


    The object in his hand was very heavy; it was the so-called "treasure" from the Lin Family courtyard.


    After letting Ke¡¯er out, Yan Junze had immediately instructed her to enter the house and steal this thing. Now, it seemed it was indeed a statue, but not a wooden one, rather...


    Yan Junze took a couple of tissues and vigorously wiped the surface of the statue, revealing a hint of gold.


    He immediately turned on his flashlight and took a careful look at it, it didn¡¯t seem to be made of bronze, could it be gold?


    Thinking it over, he decided to wait until he got home to clean it properly and reveal the true nature of this thing. If he cleaned this object and carried it with him now, he might attract the attention of people with ulterior motives and invite unnecessary trouble.


    Yan Junze wrapped the statue with two newspapers, but as he was wrapping it, he unintentionally wiped off another dark spot, revealing two characters on the surface of the statue.


    The two characters were "Yishan."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the notes of the Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan he had seen in the task "The Hanged Woman."


    The Lin Family courtyard? Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?


    Yan Junze quickly rubbed the newspaper on the front of "Yishan," and sure enough, a "Lin" character also appeared.


    The statue seemed to be a human form, and near the base part, there were these three characters¡ªLin Yishan.


    A statue that looked like a human form and was possibly made of gold, representing Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan?!


    After much thought, Yan Junze speculated that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, might have lived in the Lin Family courtyard to begin with.


    Later, as that area was set for demolition, the Lin Family members moved out one after another, leaving a large space that became a playground for little ghosts, until a fire broke out later on.


    However, six months ago, when strangenesses erupted, the "resurrected" body of Long-tongued Zhenzhen kept hanging itself, and it seemed that Lin Yishan, as a Yin Yang Master, had also appeared and specifically left instructions for the Exorcist on that piece of rice paper, but now his whereabouts were unknown.


    Since the task also hinted that this thing was a treasure for Yan Junze, maybe Lin Yishan was a person with real talent and learning, and this statue of himself could be of great use to him.


    As for Hu Gang saying this thing was his, it now seemed to be a joke. This little guy might have been the first to find the statue in the Lin Family courtyard and so claimed it for himself.


    The other kids, seeing that it was gold, like Ning, were not content, so they secretly stole it, causing such a big incident later on.

 Chapter 98 - 97 Uninvited Guest

    ```


    After hypothesizing the origins and development of the incident, Yan Junze wrapped the statue in multiple layers and secured it with a plastic bag before placing it in his backpack. He set the backpack by the bedside and then returned to bed to sleep.


    Perhaps due to exhaustion, he still had a good night¡¯s sleep during his last night at Rock.


    Although he had gone to bed late, Yan Junze didn¡¯t wake up until the first light of dawn, when his cell phone alarm annoyed him awake.


    The first early morning bus, number 803, headed to the center of Shuntian City departs around 6:40 AM. This is an exceptionally early bus; even the couple living upstairs who rush to work in the morning don¡¯t take it¡ªthey opt for the 7:30 AM bus.


    Yan Junze¡¯s aim was to interact with as few people as possible, which is why he chose the first bus.


    He had packed his things in advance. After quickly getting up and washing up, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.


    He left the rental keys in a flowerpot at the landlord¡¯s doorway without disturbing anyone, then turned and departed.


    Arriving at the bus stop for the 803, the early bus had not yet arrived.


    It was now 6:44 AM, but the sky was already bright.


    Yan Junze reckoned that the 803 bus would take less than ten minutes to arrive at Rock after starting from the first station, as it was only the third stop from there.


    The bus started at 6:40 AM, and he was confident he could catch it.


    True enough, right at 6:50 AM, he saw bus 803 slowly driving from the end of the road.


    He stopped in front of it, paid the fare, and boarded; aside from a middle-aged driver, there were no other passengers.


    This was perfect¡ªcatching the bus early turned it into his private ride.


    Yan Junze found a seat towards the back, put his backpack on the adjacent chair, propped his hand as a pillow, and made himself comfortable.


    He took out his phone to browse the news. The bus started moving rhythmically, swaying gently, and Yan Junze quickly felt drowsy. Stay tuned for updates on empire


    Today¡¯s lack of sleep didn¡¯t help, and Yan Junze turned off his phone and simply held it in his hand as he closed his eyes.


    Images of the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and Resentful Granny intermittently flashed through his mind.


    Apart from Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the other ghosts had left too deep an impression on him; now, whenever he had a moment of rest, their images uncontrollably appeared in his thoughts.


    He was tired, but sleep didn¡¯t come easily.


    The 803 bus proceeded with its stops, and at one of them, a young man got on.


    This young man, hands in his pockets, immediately took the seat closest to the driver upon entering.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t pay much attention. His posture was upright, reminiscent of a primary school student listening attentively in class.


    Half-awake, Yan Junze opened his eyes and stared at the back of the young man¡¯s head, his thoughts drifting to that crucial detail that had been bothering him these past few days, something he just couldn¡¯t remember.


    It seemed vitally important, a detail triggered in a moment of conversation with Zhang Xiaomo; however, it was interrupted by another matter and buried beneath other thoughts, never resurfacing.


    Sometimes, the harder one tries to recall something¡ªlike urgently searching for an item at home¡ªthe more elusive it becomes at the moment it¡¯s needed.


    Then unexpectedly, on some unremarkable day, the once elusive item will suddenly appear before your eyes, effortlessly found.


    At this moment, as Yan Junze watched the young man seated not far from the driver, he finally grasped the idea that last time had been buried deep in his thoughts.


    He remembered, when he found out that Landlord Lin Dong had been affected by Spirit-Splitting from Resentful Granny, Zhang Xiaomo had said something like this: "Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split just under 48 hours ago; later tonight I¡¯ll go next door, rescue him, and see if Granny Ren is there."


    At that moment, Yan Junze had a thought, but it was swept away by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s introduction of the Strangeness Interferer¡ªno, not that¡ªthe Spirit Destroying Device, which diverted his attention and prevented the thought from developing into a coherent idea.


    Now at last, Yan Junze had the realization.


    If Zhang Xiaomo said that Lin Dong must have been Spirit-Split less than 48 hours ago and that they could rescue him later, does that mean if it had been over 48 hours, there would be no hope for rescue?


    If that were true?


    Yan Junze abruptly shivered and grabbed his phone. No matter how early it was or whether the other party had woken up, he immediately dialed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s number.


    ...


    ```


    Tianmeng District, Sealed City.


    Within the courtyard of a temple.


    Normally, this place called Thunder King Temple would have already attracted an endless stream of pilgrims, and the daily income from incense offerings alone was no less than a seven-figure sum.


    However, at this moment, there was not a single pilgrim in the entire temple courtyard, only one person standing.


    With shoulder-length short hair, wearing a pure white cartoon short-sleeved T-shirt, casual jeans, and white mesh sneakers, Zhang Xiaomo stood alone with a knife in hand, in the middle of the courtyard, next to the gigantic incense burner.


    Inside the incense burner, which was previously unceasing with burning incense, there was now a pile of cold ashes, without the slightest scent of incense or candles.


    This time, the cartoon pattern on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s chest was switched to HelloKitty, but her expression seemed as usual, and she had just pulled the dagger out from the chest of an old monk who had fallen to the ground.


    The body of the old monk was gradually disappearing, and after a moment, only a transparent shadow could be seen.


    Not far from the old monk, on the steps below, lay the body of a young monk, which was also becoming more and more faint, now barely visible.


    And in the main hall, another body had long since vanished without a trace.


    "Three high-level Wandering Spirits, dealt with!"


    Having put away her magnetic knife, Zhang Xiaomo earnestly made a note in her notebook. However, her brows furrowed slightly as she wrote.


    Seconds later, she capped her pen and tucked it into her notebook, muttering to herself, "Why is it like this?"


    After her words fell, Zhang Xiaomo took out her phone and called her mentor, who was with the exorcist team in Huaying District of the Great Capital of Huaying.


    She was well aware that her mentor was an early riser and would already be awake at this time, so she wouldn¡¯t be disturbing him.


    "Xiaomo." A voice with a hint of vicissitude rang out.


    "Mentor, I have a question."


    Zhang Xiaomo always cut to the chase when speaking with her mentor. Her straightforwardness was well known among the people in the Supernatural Incidents unit, so it seemed the mentor didn¡¯t mind.


    "Speak."


    "I¡¯ve just slain three malevolent Wandering Spirits, high-level ones," said Zhang Xiaomo. "It took quite an effort, so I recorded it. But considering the Evil Spirits I¡¯ve slain these past few days, I suddenly have a doubt. I want to know, precisely speaking, how many high-level Wandering Spirits would equal one Sculpting Spirit?"


    "That... There¡¯s no comparability," the voice from the phone responded, "In terms of the strength of Evil Spirits, one Sculpting Spirit would be roughly equivalent to around ten high-level Wandering Spirits. However, this is without considering the intervention and Spirit-Splitting tendencies of the Sculpting Spirit."


    Zhang Xiaomo said, "So, if we take everything into account, does the strength of a Sculpting Spirit exceed that of ten high-level Wandering Spirits?"


    "Definitely more than that." The mentor paused for a moment, then said, "Are you... hmm, let me check your task records."


    After a few seconds, his voice came through again: "A Semi-Sculpting Spirit? You killed one two days ago? Hmm, you are capable of handling that, how did it feel?"


    "The feeling..." Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s foreboding feeling grew stronger at this moment, "I haven¡¯t dealt with Semi-Sculpting Spirits before, but it felt... barely different from the three high-level Wandering Spirits I¡¯ve just killed!"


    There was silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the mentor¡¯s voice: "With your ability, fully killing a Semi-Sculpting Spirit must have been difficult. Now... come back immediately!"


    "Mentor..."


    Zhang Xiaomo hadn¡¯t finished speaking when suddenly her phone signaled another call waiting to be answered.


    Glancing at the phone screen, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s pupils narrowed, and without further conversation with her mentor, she immediately switched calls.


    "Zhang Xiaomo, don¡¯t ask anything, just listen to me first!" It was the voice of Yan Junze, "Answer me immediately, what happens to a person who has been inflicted by Spirit-Splitting for more than 48 hours?"


    Zhang Xiaomo was taken aback and replied, "They can never be saved. Why are you asking this, where are you? Right now you must..."


    Her words were interrupted by Yan Junze.


    "There¡¯s no time, guess who I saw." S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who?"


    "Lv Xin."

 Chapter 99 - 98 Spirit-Splitting

    The back of the head of the person sitting in the front row did indeed give Yan Junze a flicker of familiarity.


    Then, his memory was fully activated, and the doubts that he had failed to connect in the past few days suddenly made sense.


    Zhang Xiaomo had mentioned that not more than 48 hours had passed since Lin Dong was subjected to Spirit-Splitting, and deep in his subconscious, Yan Junze had already thought of Lv Xin. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because after the "Evil Spirit-eating" task ended, Lv Xin¡¯s divided spirit had been ejected by a High-Energy Collapse and escaped through the window.


    However, according to Yan Junze¡¯s analysis, from the day he first encountered Lv Xin, Lv Xin had entered room 503 of FH Community where Granny Ren resided. If he had undergone Spirit-Splitting, although the exact time was unknown, if it were calculated from that point, it would definitely not be just 48 hours but far more.


    Now, having obtained confirmation over the phone from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze was certain that there was no saving Lv Xin after the Spirit-Splitting, even though it seemed that the Spirit-Splitting had already ejected it from his body that day.


    That is to say, Resentful Granny had always been hiding inside him.


    If the entity they killed at Lin Ling and Su Muyao¡¯s home was Resentful Granny¡¯s main body, then after the main body was destroyed, the divided spirit that had been hiding inside Lv Xin could also evolve into a new main body.


    With all the information pieced together, only at this moment did Yan Junze realize that Resentful Granny might have known she was no match for Zhang Xiaomo, so she purposefully let her main body be destroyed, leading to Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s departure and then sending Lv Xin to come.


    This was not a technique used by Wandering Spirits; even high-level Wandering Spirits couldn¡¯t pull off such a trick.


    She had not only deceived him but even Zhang Xiaomo, the three-star Exorcist, had been deceived.


    Sitting on the shaky bus.


    Almost the second he noticed something was off, Yan Junze activated the starting point of the Rewind timeline, then without setting an endpoint, directly entered a loop.


    He now regretted not having kept a loop of about four hours of Rewind going as he had done the day before; otherwise, he could have simply rewound to before boarding the bus and could rethink his plan.


    Although, based on the current situation, Resentful Granny must have premeditated for a long time, and the idea of not boarding the bus to escape the predicament was nearly impossible.


    Calling Zhang Xiaomo was just Yan Junze¡¯s way of confirming his suspicion, and now this guess he was reluctant to believe had become reality.


    Zhang Xiaomo was far away in the Sealed City, and distant waters could not quench a nearby fire; she simply couldn¡¯t rush over immediately from there.


    She did say over the phone that she would immediately alert the Exorcist squad of Shuntian City, but having Huang Chen and those few Exorcists come over would be no different from sending them to their deaths.


    Relying on outsiders for rescue was virtually an optionless path; at this moment, he was isolated, isolated on this bus.


    Observing the back of Lv Xin, who sat up straight without looking around or ever turning his head to look his way.


    Yan Junze¡¯s drowsiness had long been swept away; he put his phone back in his backpack and stared silently at Lv Xin¡¯s back, with no intention of approaching.


    He was waiting for the next stop to arrive.


    As soon as the bus reached a stop, he would immediately grab his backpack and get off, alighting first, not wanting to stay in the same space as Lv Xin. Read latest chapters at empire


    At that moment, the bus was passing through a rough road section, with one side abutting the mountain and the other a steep slope of about thirty meters.


    Among the routes from Rock to the city, only this section was tougher to navigate and carried a degree of risk.


    However, the bus drivers were accustomed to it, with the driver even whistling.


    After this section, there would be a bus stop, but given the secluded terrain and the early hour, there might not be any passengers waiting at the stop.


    Yan Junze gripped the strap of his backpack, ready to leap off as soon as the bus pulled over and the doors opened.


    However, in his mind, he knew that after taking such an action, Lv Xin, who had remained silent till now, would definitely react, and he would certainly not allow Yan Junze to escape just like that.


    Just at that moment, Lv Xin suddenly stood up.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, his gaze fixed intently on him.


    He saw that Lv Xin didn¡¯t turn around, not even glancing back at himself, but instead got up and walked straight towards the bus driver who was whistling.


    "What are you doing? The road here is steep and dangerous, be careful not to fall, sit down quickly." The driver, noticing Lv Xin coming towards him, promptly voiced a warning.


    Lv Xin¡¯s movements suddenly quickened, and in a few steps he was beside the driver¡¯s cabin.


    Next to the driver¡¯s cabin was a metal railing, installed to prevent passengers from getting too close to the driver and interfering with the operation of the vehicle.


    But after Lv Xin neared the driver, he tensed his footsteps, stooped slightly, and with a fierce shoulder bump, he sent the sturdy metal railing flying. The powerful impact did not stop there but continued to hit the driver and the steering wheel.


    The driver never expected a person could exert such a great impact force. In just an instant, his hands were off the steering wheel, and he was knocked down by Lv Xin against the cabin door, falling unconscious instantly.


    The steering wheel flew off as well, and the whole bus tilted to the left.


    It was only then that Yan Junze reacted, realizing that Lv Xin wasn¡¯t going to trouble him directly but instead, his target was the whole bus.


    It seemed slow, but in just a few seconds, the bus had completely veered off the road and was charging down a steep slope with a drop of over thirty meters.


    Having done this, Lv Xin turned his head back with a chilly gaze, staring fixedly at Yan Junze who was gripping the seatback in front of him tightly.


    The bus plunged down the steep slope, and the vehicle¡¯s entire body was penetrated by the strong and violent impact force, then Lv Xin himself was flung out first.


    Rewind!


    The bus was about to turn over; Yan Junze could only "rewind".


    He sat back down, and Lv Xin had just boarded the bus and settled down not long ago, precisely when Yan Junze saw him and began to suspect.


    He didn¡¯t call Zhang Xiaomo to confirm because confirmation was no longer needed, but he knew that Zhang Xiaomo might call soon, so he set his phone to vibrate.


    "Master, stop the bus, I need to get off." Yan Junze suddenly shouted.


    The driver, without turning his head, said, "We don¡¯t stop midway; we stop at the bus station ahead."


    Lv Xin obviously heard their conversation, but he showed no reaction.


    Yan Junze stood up, shouldered his backpack, and walked over directly, pretending not to notice Lv Xin. He came to the metal railing outside the driver¡¯s seat, leaned on the railing, and said, "Master, please stop the bus, I¡¯ve forgotten something at the bus station where I boarded."


    "We can¡¯t stop now, there are rules," the driver still refused.


    Yan Junze leaned his upper body closer to him and lowered his voice, whispering, "The person sitting not far from you is a ¡¯strangeness¡¯. Look at him, he has been emotionless and staring at you for quite some time."


    "You want to get off, right." The driver suddenly shivered, touched something on his chest somewhat guiltily.


    In this era, one might not believe other things, but when it comes to ¡¯strangenesses¡¯, as soon as they appear, almost no one doubts. Besides, if there were doubts, it would be after the fact ¡ª nobody would joke with their own lives on the spot.


    As for the thing the driver couldn¡¯t help touching, Yan Junze believed it must be something like a Jade Buddha he was wearing.


    Suddenly, the bus pulled to the side and came to a stop with inertia. The driver also stood up, casting a glance at Lv Xin, intentionally or not.


    The latter was indeed emotionless, just sitting there vacantly, staring blankly.


    The driver felt even more uneasy: "I also need to take a leak."


    The door of the bus opened.

 Chapter 100 - 99 Three Spirits Assistance

    Without strangeness, everything is easy to handle, but once strangeness arrives, some seemingly ordinary people exhibit surprisingly quick reactions.


    Take our bus driver, for instance. After opening the door, he managed to surpass Yan Junze and was the first to rush out of the bus.


    However, upon exiting, he instantly turned back to glance inside the bus, only to find that the young passenger who had been sitting in the front row had now vanished without a trace.


    The young man who had warned him about the strangeness, carrying a backpack, was still standing there, staring at him in shock, neither getting off the bus nor making any other movements.


    "What¡¯s going on?" The driver felt a chill running down his spine.


    Today, there was no sunshine; it was cloudy turning overcast, casting an inherently cold feeling, despite it being morning.


    "Master, just keep walking, don¡¯t look back," Yan Junze¡¯s voice came from the back of the bus. Explore hidden tales at empire


    But he had stood still the entire time, staring fixedly at the bus driver.


    No, he was staring at something behind the bus driver.


    At that moment, the bus driver¡¯s heart raced even faster, his legs going numb as he kept guessing why Yan Junze was looking behind him, and wondering where was the person who had been sitting in the first row.


    "Shouldn¡¯t turn back, he told me not to turn back, could it be¡­"


    The driver realized his body was starting to tremble, a pressing urge to urinate nearly uncontrollable, and although he was moving forward unconsciously, he was doing so more slowly than a snail.


    "What¡­ What¡¯s behind me? Is that young man following me?"


    The driver¡¯s imagination was vivid, conjuring up thoughts that perhaps the young man was currently perched on his shoulders or clinging to his back.


    The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became until he could no longer move, his legs giving way, and he fell to his knees. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right then, a cold sensation crept up from behind him.


    Unable to withstand such torture, the driver shakily turned his head.


    Then he felt two palms pressing tightly against his face, his head jerking backward violently, with a crisp snap, and his consciousness faded away.


    Lv Xin stood up expressionlessly, a faint breath escaping the driver¡¯s nostrils and wafting into his own.


    Lv Xin¡¯s body trembled involuntarily twice as if he found it quite comfortable, then he turned his head towards the bus.


    Gone.


    The bus that had been stationary just moments ago had now disappeared without a trace.


    In the distance at the end of the road, a faint wisp of smoke could still be seen coming from the bus¡¯s exhaust, barely recognizable as it curled around the mountain road, then went out of sight.


    If not now, when?


    Yan Junze hadn¡¯t expected that after the driver alighted, Lv Xin would follow so closely behind him; when he told the driver not to look back, he had simply feared the driver would be frightened, not intentionally luring the driver to lead Lv Xin away.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t know what Lv Xin was up to following the man.


    But it was a good opportunity: they went down, leaving him alone with the bus, the keys still in the ignition!


    Yan Junze, sweating profusely, gripped the steering wheel of the bus, his expression focused, staring intently at the road ahead, not daring to relax for a second.


    True, he knew how to drive from his previous life, but after getting his license, he had mostly driven automatic cars; he had only occasionally touched manual ones, just not as adeptly.


    As for a bus like this, he had never even touched one before.


    However, Yan Junze knew about starting in second gear and was aware that a bus has complex gear shifts, which he had once studied out of curiosity.


    This moment had finally come after much difficulty in driving the bus away, and his mood became very complex.


    First, the road was steep and winding, and second, he couldn¡¯t control the clutch properly, so he had to pay close attention the entire time, not even daring to blink.


    He wanted to go faster, but just couldn¡¯t speed up!


    It wasn¡¯t long before the bus charged onto the mountain road that curved back and forth, with a 30-meter steep slope on the left. Due to the uneven road surface, he couldn¡¯t get the hang of the clutch, and shortly after ascending, the bus stalled outright.


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart raced with urgency as he turned his head to look back, then suddenly froze, his hands leaving the steering wheel.


    He saw Lv Xin sitting in the first row of the bus, calmly looking at him.


    "Oh, we¡¯ve arrived?" Yan Junze stood up, putting down his backpack, "Look at you, not even saying hello when you arrive!"


    He knew that driving the bus away was a momentary burst of effort and that any slip up along the way would mean losing their last chance to escape.


    Lv Xin leaned forward slightly, like a marionette being pulled up, approaching Yan Junze swiftly on tiptoes, just as he had followed the bus driver before.


    The next second, the Crawler Monster, Ke¡¯er, and Long-tongued Zhenzhen appeared before Yan Junze in succession.


    Yan Junze shouted fiercely, "Attack him!"


    Although he knew what the final outcome would be, he was now in the most unfavorable position, so whatever happened, he would seize any opportunity that arose.


    If he found a flaw, Yan Junze would immediately Rewind and look for a chance to break through.


    The three strangenesses charged at Lv Xin simultaneously.


    This time the Crawler Monster wasn¡¯t as dim-witted and helpless as when it faced the cross-dressing gang leader Jian Tong. Instead, it was ferociously charging forward, although still less rapid than Ke¡¯er.


    Upon seeing Lv Xin, Long-tongued Zhenzhen immediately said to Yan Junze, "You should run, he¡¯s very strong, we won¡¯t be able to hold him off for long!"


    Thud!


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s head had been squashed flat under Lv Xin¡¯s foot.


    Ke¡¯er had pounced onto Lv Xin¡¯s shoulder at that moment, limbs elongated, mouth open wide, biting at Lv Xin¡¯s forehead.


    "Aah!"


    A strange scream came from Lv Xin¡¯s mouth as his body violently shook, and Ke¡¯er was instantly flung away, hitting the bus roof then tumbling back down onto the seats.


    Zhenzhen stepped forward, her crimson tongue lashing out rapidly at Lv Xin¡¯s face.


    Lv Xin didn¡¯t dodge but instead reached out to grab it with his hand, biting off a piece of the tongue and chewing it before swallowing.


    Zhenzhen didn¡¯t back down either. Instead, she stepped closer, her tongue rapidly coiling around in the middle section, forming two circles, one end still held by the opponent, the rest wrapping around Lv Xin¡¯s neck.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er climbed up from the seat, baring her teeth and issuing a "yah yah yah" warning sound, and sprang toward Lv Xin again with a push of her legs.


    But while she was still in the air, Lv Xin reached out with his other hand, gripping Ke¡¯er¡¯s throat before she could reach him, intercepting her in mid-flight and pinning her down, rendering her scratching and kicking futile.


    Lv Xin plunged his fingers into the captured tongue of Zhenzhen, causing her body to shudder violently, as if she would fall apart at any moment.


    The Crawler Monster, with its shattered skull, lay at Lv Xin¡¯s feet. It licked its disheveled parting with what remained of its tongue, weakly extended its tiny fists, and staggered to Lv Xin¡¯s ankle to deliver a punch before lying on the ground, motionless.


    Regardless, it had done its best!


    The three strangenesses gave their selfless help from the bottom of their hearts, leaving Yan Junze dumbfounded, and then, the next second...


    Rewind!

 Chapter 101 - 100 Escape is Futile

    Experience more tales on empire


    Wang Jianguo¡¯s home was located at the base of Rock, with two daughters, both of school-going age.


    His wife didn¡¯t have a job, so the burden essentially fell entirely on Wang Jianguo¡¯s shoulders. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His ancestors had left him a self-built house at the base of Rock, so housing wasn¡¯t an issue for the family; the main problem was the daily living expenses and the tuition fees for his two daughters, which were quite a headache.


    Through a loan, Wang Jianguo bought a second-hand niche-brand car from the used car market. He would rise early and return home late, shuttling back and forth between the suburbs and the city center to pick up passengers¡ªwhat¡¯s commonly known as "driving a black cab."


    Without a business license, and without company management, the money he earned, after deducting fuel and maintenance costs, was still the main source of income for his family.


    Moreover, Wang Jianguo was incredibly hardworking... when others were still soundly asleep, he might have already made several trips into the city.


    Every day at around 6:30 a.m., Wang Jianguo would wake up on time and habitually turn on the "Taxi" app he had registered, setting it to ready-for-hire mode.


    When he didn¡¯t have acquaintances or regulars to support his black cab business, he was, in essence, a part-time ride-hailing driver.


    Around 6:50 a.m., just after finishing at the toilet and freshening up, the sound of an order notification suddenly came from Wang Jianguo¡¯s phone.


    He quickly took out his phone and saw that the map showed a passenger at a bus stop around two stops away from Rock had requested the service.


    Wang Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then noticed that the passenger¡¯s location shown on display was slowly moving. After some thought, he decided to simply make a phone call.


    "Hello, is it you who ordered the car?" Wang Jianguo asked as soon as the phone was connected.


    "Yes, I did. How far are you from me?" came the voice of Yan Junze.


    "I live on Rock Street; if I leave now, I¡¯ll be there in a couple of minutes. But I see you¡¯re moving. What¡¯s going on?" said Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze replied, "I¡¯m in a hurry to get to the city center. I¡¯m currently on a bus. Drive over here to pick me up, the quicker, the better! If you¡¯re fast enough, I¡¯ll give you an extra 200 yuan."


    "Okay!" Wang Jianguo was immediately excited.


    He hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys, and went out the door. He settled into the driver¡¯s seat, secured his phone, plugged in the charging cable, started his beloved niche-brand sedan, and zoomed out of the main street of Rock.


    ...


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s second Rewind after encountering Lv Xin.


    After the bus plunged down the steep slope, he had performed his first Rewind. The second time he was supposed to take the bus and run away, but he was discovered and pursued, so he had no choice but to release his three Spirits and eventually Rewind after being overpowered.


    This time, he decided not to startle the snake in the grass but to change his approach and not take the bus.


    Upon noticing that Lv Xin had boarded, he immediately opened the "Taxi" app and soon got a response from Wang Jianguo.


    With an extra 200 yuan to motivate him, Wang Jianguo almost floored the gas pedal, and in just four minutes, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang.


    "Hello, are you on bus route 803? I¡¯m right behind you guys," said the voice of Wang Jianguo.


    Yan Junze nodded, "Wait for me at the next stop."


    As soon as the call ended, a silver-gray niche-brand sedan whizzed by, rushing ahead of the bus route 803 and stopping at the visible bus stop ahead.


    There, apart from this sedan, there was only one person waiting for the bus.


    It was a woman, dressed in white shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with disheveled hair, her back to the street, seemingly looking at the ad board on the platform.


    Before long, the bus approached the stop.


    The moment the rear door opened, Yan Junze, who was all set with his backpack, leaped off the bus and immediately dove into the waiting sedan.


    After closing the door, Yan Junze immediately looked over to the bus and saw Lv Xin sitting motionless, seemingly unaware that he had gotten off.


    Then, Yan Junze realized something was off about the platform.


    He turned his head, his gaze landing on the bus platform, and his pupils instantly narrowed.


    The bus driver had waited barely two seconds before seeing that the woman in white, who had her back turned to the bus, showed no signs of boarding. Therefore, he closed the doors and started driving forward.


    "Let¡¯s go, pick up the pace," Yan Junze instructed Wang Jianguo, retracting his gaze. "Head downtown."


    Wang Jianguo had already started the sedan. At the words, he nodded, pressed the accelerator, and the car shot forward, quickly catching up to the departing Route 803 and surging past it into the distance.


    Yan Junze turned his head again to observe the movement of the bus behind them and took another glance at the platform. Finding no abnormalities, he turned back and let out a soft sigh of relief.


    Indeed, a private car was quite convenient. It had quickly passed through the most rugged part of the mountain road and had probably left the bus far behind.


    As they drew closer to the urban area, more houses appeared on both sides of the road, and Yan Junze¡¯s heart gradually settled down.


    Soon, the sedan entered the only inbound road to the city center, where, for some unknown reason, a massive traffic jam had formed with a long line of cars stalled.


    "What¡¯s going on?" Yan Junze leaned forward from the back seat to the driver¡¯s cabin, eyeing the impenetrable road ahead.


    All the cars in front had stopped, with no one trying to cut in line.


    In fact, there were so many cars that it was impossible to cut through; each vehicle was orderly following the one ahead.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to get stuck here, at this time of day.


    "It must be the rush hour, and there might have been a minor collision," Wang Jianguo murmured, guessing to himself.


    Unable to see the exact location of the collision, there was nothing to do but wait.


    Yan Junze checked the time and made a call to his parents.


    His father, Yan Daguo, had worked the night shift at the factory and had not come home, while his mother had left early for the morning shift.


    So, there was no one at home right now.


    Given the current situation, Yan Junze seemed to have rid himself of the Resentful Granny¡¯s pursuit, but he was all too aware that the real trouble lay ahead.


    Zhang Xiaomo wouldn¡¯t be able to rush back momentarily, and the other members of the Exorcist team here might not have anyone above a three-star Exorcist. If it were two-star Exorcists or lower who arrived, they would be of no use.


    If push came to shove, he planned to implement the previous plan, going to Yu Xiaochang and waiting for Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s arrival.


    In the meantime, he would use Ke¡¯er¡¯s Rewind early warning to temporarily evade.


    As he was contemplating, a bizarre thought suddenly emerged.


    This idea even surprised Yan Junze himself; he couldn¡¯t understand why it had suddenly popped into his head. But upon further thought, it seemed not entirely impossible.


    After all, he currently had three Evil Spirits at his disposal. Though they were no match for the Resentful Granny, this crazy idea might just work.


    Just then, a familiar silhouette of a car appeared to the right of the silver-gray sedan Yan Junze was riding in. He instinctively turned his head for a glance and was immediately stunned.


    He saw Route 803 bus actually overtaking them, having come up alongside the stalled stream of vehicles.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure about other cities, but typically in second or third-tier cities like Shuntian City, buses would frequently overtake, hog lanes, cross lines, and push through with reckless abandon, earning them the nickname "Sweeper of the City Streets."


    Therefore, it was no surprise that their car was overtaken by the Route 803 bus amidst the congested traffic.


    Inside the bus, that familiar young person was still seated, and there were several other passengers aboard now.


    As Yan Junze was observing, Lv Xin, who had been sitting primly, suddenly moved his head. Slowly he turned it around and, through the bus window, fixed his gaze directly on Yan Junze seated in the small car.


    "Fuck it, no more hiding! Let¡¯s do this!"


    Looking into Lv Xin¡¯s eyes felt like staring into the eyes of the Resentful Granny. At that moment, Yan Junze made a decision and immediately set out to execute the plan that had spontaneously come to mind.

 Chapter 102 - 101 Burning the Boats

    "At that moment, Wang Jianguo also saw the 803 bus, which had managed to get ahead despite setting off later. He offered an apologetic smile and explained to Yan Junze, "Sorry, young man. We would have already reached the city center if it hadn¡¯t been for the traffic jam."


    "It¡¯s fine, master," Yan Junze said with a smile. "Just head to FH Community now, I¡¯ll give you the extra two hundred as agreed."


    Wang Jianguo was momentarily taken aback, his eyes lighting up with joy as he nodded, "Alright. It seems like the point of collision is not far from here. Once we get past this stretch, the road conditions will improve and we¡¯ll quickly reach FH Community."


    "Mm."


    Yan Junze fell silent and turned his head, only to find that the 803 bus, which had been in the lane next to them, had now squeezed ahead and managed to wedge itself into the lane closest to the sidewalk.


    Whenever that driver needed to change lanes, he would just swing the front of the bus into the lane, cutting off the cars behind, who then wouldn¡¯t dare to move forward.


    It wasn¡¯t really that they didn¡¯t dare, but more that any collision would involve calling the police, insurance companies, and assessors, taking a lot of time.


    Without coming across someone who was particularly insistent, private cars usually yielded and let buses cut in.


    While Wang Jianguo¡¯s lesser-known brand car was still stuck in traffic, Yan Junze saw the 803 bus already stopping up ahead, with passengers getting off.


    Soon after, the 803 resumed its journey and quickly disappeared into the sea of cars.


    After inching forward for another seven or eight minutes, they finally reached the location of the earlier fender-bender. Indeed, three cars had scraped against each other, and the drivers were still arguing on the roadside, with no sign of the traffic police.


    Once they got past this traffic jam, the road ahead opened up and the cars started to accelerate.


    Wang Jianguo couldn¡¯t wait. He¡¯d collected an extra two hundred from Yan Junze and hadn¡¯t yet shown the value of that extra money. He now pressed down hard on the accelerator and surged forward.


    After driving for about two minutes, when they were about to turn right, there was someone standing by the roadside.


    As a qualified and even quite outstanding illegal taxi driver, Wang Jianguo had developed a conditioned reflex. Whenever he saw someone standing by the road, he would instinctively pull over and lightly tap the brakes, then roll down the window and call out, "Where to?"


    These street-side pickups were quite common; they¡¯d even become an unwritten rule, whereby drivers didn¡¯t have to ask their passengers for permission anymore.


    Wang Jianguo gently braked, his habit to stop and ask taking over, when Yan Junze also leaned forward to look and immediately recognized the person standing by the roadside.


    Lv Xin, wearing casual clothes and expressionless, was standing at the curb, raising his hand and waving to the approaching car.


    "Master," Yan Junze spoke up, "I¡¯ve added two hundred to your fare, and now you¡¯re still picking up riders on the street. Do you think that¡¯s appropriate?"


    Wang Jianguo suddenly realized his mistake, looked quickly at Yan Junze with an apologetic face, "Sorry, occupational habit. Moving on now, not picking up anyone on the road, no more passengers!"


    At this point, the car was almost coming to a stop, and Lv Xin bent down, peering in through the window as though he was about to get in. Wang Jianguo waved him off, "Not taking passengers."


    Saying that, he floored the accelerator and darted away.


    Yan Junze looked back and saw that the man had straightened up without any show of emotion and started following in the direction in which the car had driven off, at a leisurely pace.


    "He¡¯s still following." Seeing this, Yan Junze became even more convinced of the plan in his mind. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The road became incredibly smooth, and in less than twenty minutes, they arrived at FH Community.


    Having not been home for many days, Yan Junze was greeted with the familiar surroundings, and in that moment, he felt a sense of great relief.


    Of course, he knew that things were just beginning and it wouldn¡¯t be easy.


    At this time, people who were working or studying had already left, leaving behind only some elderly people and children at home.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to disturb anyone else. He returned home, placed his backpack down, then left the house without closing the door behind him. But instead of going downstairs, he went straight up to the fifth floor.


    Because of the Resentful Granny, the entire fifth floor had long been unoccupied, the entire floor deserted and covered in dust. Ever since the last "Ghost-eating" task, even the community¡¯s cleaners had stopped coming up to clean.


    Yan Junze arrived at the fifth floor and stood at the stairwell, taking a brief look downstairs before moving into the corridor of the fifth floor.


    After the "Evil Spirit-eating" task had been completed, the exorcist resealed room 503, and till now, no one had gone back inside.


    Moreover, Yan Junze did not intend to enter it now either. Stay connected with empire


    The reason he had come to the fifth floor was simple: there was nobody here, which was convenient for carrying out the plans he had next.


    He walked from one end of the corridor to the stairwell and back again three times. The entire fifth floor was very quiet, with not a single anomaly.


    Yan Junze could hardly wait any longer, pulling out his phone to check the time and estimating how long it would take for Lv Xin to reach this place on foot.


    Of course, that guy could no longer be considered human, so you couldn¡¯t estimate his walking speed using normal human standards. Maybe he moved very slowly, or maybe he was faster than an airplane.


    After another round trip on the fifth floor, the surroundings remained quiet with no signs of strangeness. Yan Junze stopped, leaned on the corridor railing, and rested his cheek on his hand, lost in thought.


    Why wouldn¡¯t she appear? In the past, he would encounter her just by casually passing by a place, and just now, he had inadvertently met her at the deserted bus station. So why, at this critical moment, had she decided to play a game of hide and seek?


    Yan Junze was getting impatient. Standing at the entrance of the fifth-floor stairwell, with a thought, he released Ke¡¯er from the Spacetime Atlas.


    "Ke¡¯er, you¡¯re the most sensitive to higher-level strangenesses. Quickly help me check where the Back-faced Woman is," Yan Junze instructed.


    No sooner had he finished speaking than he noticed Ke¡¯er¡¯s reaction was somewhat off.


    Usually, this little girl would immediately cling to Yan Junze¡¯s back upon appearing, but now, she not only refrained from embracing him but also took a step back in the opposite direction, her gaze fixed intently on the end of the corridor.


    Yan Junze turned to look and saw, at the very end of the fifth-floor corridor, in the corner where rubbish had accumulated, a white figure silently standing there, motionless.


    With one look, he confirmed it was the Back-faced Woman, without a doubt.


    How long had she been there? He hadn¡¯t even noticed her appearance!


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened as Ke¡¯er beside him let out "yah yah" warning sounds and turned to run.


    But she was recaptured into the Spacetime Atlas by Yan Junze a step ahead, thwarting her attempt to escape.


    Yan Junze rubbed his hands together and approached the Back-faced Woman.


    He was about to initiate the task "Look at Her Face" at this moment, even though it seemed to be started hastily and he wasn¡¯t fully prepared, but given the pressing situation, he had no time for careful planning.


    As he walked towards her, he pulled up the task information to refresh his memory.


    [Task Name: Look at Her Face;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: None.


    Task Description: Look at her face, ask her what she needs;


    Task Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Penalty: Unknown;


    Task Tips: 1. This evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. She is like a maggot at one¡¯s bones; 3. You may call her¡ªBack-faced Woman;


    Remarks: You cannot fathom how terrifying a madwoman can be.]

 Chapter 103 - 102 Look at Her Face (Part One)

    The Back-faced Woman was always dressed in the same summer outfit: a white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which were not form-fitting, but rather the kind that was loose and comfortable for wearing at home.


    However, upon closer inspection, this white clothing was actually covered with dirt and a few bloodstains.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t very long and wasn¡¯t tied up; instead, it hung down disheveled over her shoulders, with some strands twisted together.


    This detail reminded Yan Junze of Ke¡¯er¡¯s dirty hair.


    But there was nothing he could do¡ªwashing a strangeness¡¯s hair wasn¡¯t something the Yan Junze of today could manage; maybe he could in the future, but that would probably require a close encounter with an Exorcist first.


    As he gradually approached the Back-faced Woman, a chilling sensation began to permeate his body, growing colder and colder.


    By the time he reached the second half of the fifth-floor corridor, Yan Junze felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave; in this early summer season, he was almost trembling from the cold.


    He was certain that it was lucky he had carried Ke¡¯er on his back before; had he carried the Back-faced Woman, she might have frozen him to death within minutes.


    The Rewind timeline was always on with a four-hour loop; at this critical moment, Yan Junze dared not stop it.


    Therefore, there was no need to consider setting the endpoint for the Rewind.


    Slowly, he came to stand behind the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze stopped in place, exhaled softly, and he spoke.


    "Hello...," he said.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had politely greeted an Evil Spirit while on a task. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Back-faced Woman still did not move, nor did she make any turning motion; she just stood silently in the corner.


    After a moment of thought, Yan Junze reached out his hand, drew close to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s shoulder, and gently touched it.


    "Hello."


    Suddenly, in a flash, the silhouette of the Back-faced Woman almost turned into a phantom and lunged madly at Yan Junze.


    The movement was incredibly fast and abrupt; the next second, Yan Junze only felt a chill at his neck, and his entire body went numb with a jolt.


    The attack of the Back-faced Woman was so quick it surpassed the reaction speed of a normal person. His brain only realized he had been bitten in that instant, and before the thought of Rewinding could even surface, the blood vessels in his neck burst open and he fell down.


    His vision spun, and everything became a blur of white. For a moment, Yan Junze thought his Rewind had failed and that he had fallen into a Different Dimension space.


    However, quickly, the view before his eyes came back into focus. Yan Junze blinked hard, standing in place, still somewhat dazed.


    Just then, a message popped up in his mind from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Detecting the host is approaching death, "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" triggered for the first time. 500 units of Different Dimension Energy consumed this time.]


    As the message appeared, Yan Junze noticed that the 25th node on the Spacetime Atlas lit up briefly before dimming, though not going completely dark.


    This 25th node had been lit by the Different Dimension Energy he gained after completing "The Hanged Woman" and "Drop the Handkerchief" tasks.


    Currently, Yan Junze had a total of 2700 energy units, with 25 nodes lit, allowing for approximately 4.5 hours of Rewind time. Explore new worlds at empire


    The Spacetime Atlas did not provide any prompt as it had when the 12th node was lit and the "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" feature was enabled.


    If he hadn¡¯t almost died this time, he would have been completely unaware that he possessed the ability of "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death."


    After being stunned for a moment, Yan Junze realized that he was standing about ten meters away from the Back-faced Woman; the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" had taken him back by less than ten seconds.


    Although the rewind was brief, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy was astonishing, draining about 500 points in roughly ten seconds.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know whether the duration of the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" was always around ten seconds, or if it varied depending on the severity of the life-threatening situation at the time.


    For instance, if the Spacetime Atlas determined that rewinding ten seconds was not enough to avoid the threat to his life, would it automatically add more time to the rewind?


    If that were the case, the consumption of Different Dimension Energy might be even more astonishing.


    Anyway, this was a life-saving feature, and Yan Junze¡¯s life could be considered worry-free only when he had an ample supply of Different Dimension Energy, just like the incident that had just occurred with the sudden violent attack from the Back-faced Woman.


    Watching the Back-faced Woman not far in front of him, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but curse in his mind, thinking how this woman, usually silent and seemingly easy to get along with, could attack without a word?


    Not only did she bite, but it was a lethal strike that left him with no chance to resist or strategize.


    What an oversight! If it weren¡¯t for the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," he might now be singing his swan song in another dimension.


    For the moment, the supply of Different Dimension Energy was sufficient, but Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to rely on activating "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" carelessly. He was now fully focused on heightening his guard, preferring to rewind time himself if possible; otherwise, the energy costs were indeed unbearable.


    He approached the Back-faced Woman again.


    This time, he didn¡¯t intend to touch her shoulder; perhaps the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t like being touched by others.


    Yan Junze remembered the task mentioned needing to look at this woman¡¯s face and then ask what she needed.


    But how could he get her to turn around?


    He recalled the last time at the stairwell corner, when the slight noise of his footsteps while descending almost caused her to turn.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze took a couple of steps back, coughed, and deliberately stamped his feet on the ground a few times.


    He had been cautious and made no noise while approaching her, but this time he did it on purpose, making louder sounds to draw her attention.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly moved, a movement Yan Junze captured with precision.


    Then Yan Junze coughed twice more, and the Back-faced Woman¡¯s neck shook slightly, the dirty tangled hair quivering with the movement. Then she began to turn her body around.


    This time, instead of turning her head abruptly like the time she followed Yan Junze home, she moved her feet lightly, spinning in place at a rapid rate.


    Her entire body, like a wooden figurine, made a series of tapping noises as she quickly rotated.


    The thick, dirty hair also covered her entire face. Yan Junze tried to look intently but couldn¡¯t see through it at all.


    Remembering the task prompt, he had to look at her face and ask what she needed.


    So seeing her face was a must, but his experiences reminded him not to touch the Back-faced Woman, putting him in a difficult position.


    "No matter what difficulties you¡¯ve encountered, I... can help you!" Yan Junze tried to speak.


    He remembered the note from the task, "You cannot comprehend how terrifying a deranged woman can be."


    However, he already understood that after just one touch, his life was nearly taken. Isn¡¯t that madness?


    So now, he preferred not to act but to speak.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Back-faced Woman lifted her gaunt, bruised arm and began to slowly push aside the hair that covered her face, revealing something Yan Junze absolutely did not expect to see.


    What appeared before Yan Junze was not a face but an entire piece of scalp, a complete, intact scalp.


    "This seems... to be the back of her head!?" Yan Junze looked closely and was instantly startled.

 Chapter 104 - 103 Look at Her Face (Part Two)

    Now the Back-faced Woman had turned around, but how could she present a view with the back of her head facing me?


    Yan Junze was stupefied for a long time.


    However, he still reached a conclusion: it was impossible for both sides of a person to be the back of the head; there must be a front side. But at present, the front side of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s body was facing him, yet it was the back of her head that was revealed.


    At this moment, Yan Junze had a chilling thought; it was possible that the true face of the Back-faced Woman was on the back of her body.


    Her head might have been twisted 180 degrees, always looking backward.


    If that was truly the case, Yan Junze suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body. It would mean that although the Back-faced Woman stood with her back to everyone, her face was always turned around, obscured by dirty and thick hair, staring through the strands at everyone passing behind her without blinking.


    "Holy shit!"


    With this realization, Yan Junze felt a shudder run through him.


    He remembered the few times he had cautiously passed behind her, the woman had actually been watching him all along.


    "This... this is not your face," Yan Junze tried to stay calm, looking at the chilling back of the head, reminding her, "Please look at me, I want... to help you."


    The Back-faced Woman remained silent and slowly lowered her withered hands that were messing with her hair. Then, she began to turn around again.


    Yan Junze just watched her, motionless.


    Not until the Back-faced Woman turned her back to him once more did her hands stretch out from behind her body, clearly in the opposite direction of the joints, followed by a series of crackling sounds as bones rubbed against each other violently. Her hands, at an inconceivable angle, parted the hair at her back.


    As she parted her hair, a mangled and shattered face was revealed.


    The face appeared to have been subjected to a severe impact, the right side caved inwards, the nose skewed, and the chin dislocated.


    Because her head was rotated 180 degrees, the skin on the Back-faced Woman¡¯s neck was wrinkled, folded over itself like a tightly wrung cloth.


    Just one glance at the Back-faced Woman¡¯s face was enough to make Yan Junze¡¯s stomach churn.


    "It¡¯s possible she died from a fall, her head knocked and twisted around!" Yan Junze speculated internally.


    "How can I help you?"


    By this time, Yan Junze also finally understood why the Back-faced Woman always faced away from everyone, because with her head twisted, only in this way was her face looking straight at everyone.


    One of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s eyes was askew, as if not looking at Yan Junze but somewhere else.


    Her jaw was dislocated, unable to open or close, and at this moment, she could only make a sound from her throat, somewhat muffled.


    "Chi... ld!"


    Yan Junze heard it clearly; the woman was saying "child."


    "Are you saying... you¡¯re looking for a child?" Yan Junze asked, "Whose child? Yours?"


    The Back-faced Woman made no indication.


    At this moment, Yan Junze began to feel bolder, taking a small step closer, ready to Rewind at any time.


    There was no choice; the actions of the Back-faced Woman were too fast. Only now did he realize that when she had killed him in an instant before, she hadn¡¯t turned around at all; she¡¯d simply pounced on him and bitten him.


    Pitifully, he hadn¡¯t seen how she bit, from where she bit, or how deep the bite was until he was dead.


    "Chi... ld."


    ```


    The Back-faced Woman still uttered the same two words, without any superfluous language.


    Just at that moment, Yan Junze suddenly froze, as the Spacetime Atlas detected a task information prompt.


    [New dimensional waveband detected...]


    [The following is a request from the Back-faced Woman...]


    [She is looking for her child. Two strange baby evil spirits have appeared in the underground parking of FH Community. She is not certain if they are her children. Please reach the underground parking to help the Back-faced Woman confirm.]


    [Hint: Strange babies are extremely sensitive evil spirits. Any slight disturbance can scare them off; they are also malignant, with a strong crisis response to human gaze. Perhaps, you could approach them by walking in the same manner as the Back-faced Woman.]


    Staring at the task information in his mind, Yan Junze became perplexed.


    The task information reminder this time was evidently aberrant, not the usual type of task release pattern. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, it was a message intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas after temporarily cutting into a dimensional waveband.


    And the target of the interception, of course, had only one source, coming from the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze had not expected that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s obsession could be directly intercepted by the Spacetime Atlas and formulated into text.


    At this moment, the Atlas had essentially become a translator of information between humans and strangenesses.


    It¡¯s possible the Back-faced Woman had a lot to say, but for her to communicate it all in this state, Yan Junze might as well lie on the couch, brew a cup of tea, and let her sit down and speak slowly.


    Therefore, the textual prompting of the task became much more significant.


    In just a few minutes, he understood the purpose of the Back-faced Woman¡¯s presence in the FH Community¡ªit turned out that there were two strange babies in the community¡¯s underground parking, and the Back-faced Woman wanted to know if they were her children.


    The parking area of the FH Community was old and could only accommodate a small number of residents¡¯ cars. Furthermore, due to years of disrepair, some pipes often leaked, leaving the ground very damp.


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    Yan Junze had heard people say that the community originally did not have a parking area. The current parking area was formed after the original basement storeroom was converted to meet the increased demand for parking.


    Thus, the parking space was very narrow and poorly ventilated, with many rats and bugs. Just a bit of unattended garbage would quickly become unbearably stinky.


    Some female residents didn¡¯t dare go down alone to drive their cars.


    Anyway, Yan Junze had never been down there himself, because he didn¡¯t own a car.


    "I understand," Yan Junze nodded to the Back-faced Woman. "I¡¯ll head down to the underground parking right now. Are you coming?"


    The Back-faced Woman made no response.


    Yan Junze glanced at her, then turned and walked towards the stairwell.


    Catching a glimpse behind him, the Back-faced Woman was still facing away, motionless, as if she had no intention to follow.


    As he descended the stairs, Yan Junze didn¡¯t encounter a single resident. In fact, the number of residents on this floor was originally small, and most had gone out in the morning, so it was normal not to see anyone.


    He moved quickly, concerned that Lv Xin, split by the Resentful Granny¡¯s spirit, might show up at any moment, so he kept his gaze on the staircase below, worried Lv Xin might spring an ambush while coming up the stairs.


    Luckily, he reached the first floor without incident.


    Since the underground parking was a conversion, one couldn¡¯t get there directly via the staircase but had to push through another door on the first floor, usually kept closed.


    Pushing the door open, he faced a damp flight of steps that clearly seemed like an afterthought compared to the building¡¯s other staircases.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and walked down. However, once inside, he looked back one more time, and the Back-faced Woman had still not followed.


    ```

 Chapter 105 - 104 Look at Her Face (Part Three)

    The renovated underground parking lot had poor ventilation and a musty smell, with not much space overhead.


    As Yan Junze descended the stairs, his feet hit the flat ground, but the mass of pipes above gave him a claustrophobic feeling.


    The lighting in the garage was dim and not very bright.


    Just as he came down, a hatchback started up, slowly moved out of its parking space, and headed towards the exit. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze stood to one side, waiting for the car to pass before continuing forward.


    But after that car, he did not see any other vehicles moving in the garage, nor did he spot a single person.


    In the quiet underground garage, intermittent sounds of dripping water could be heard, followed by cracking noises from inside the pipes, which made it all seem very spacious.


    "Strange baby? Where could such a thing hide?"


    Yan Junze murmured to himself as he walked.


    He occasionally looked back and noticed the Back-faced Woman had still not followed; in fact, Yan Junze was apprehensive that upon turning around, he would see Lv Xin standing behind him.


    After walking around, he didn¡¯t notice anything unusual.


    Yan Junze stood still and thought, if there really were two strange babies lurking in the underground garage, it was impossible for them to remain unseen by people.


    If no one had seen them, that would imply they did not appear in passages or lanes frequently traversed by people.


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    With this thought, he turned his head to look around, and a small door caught his attention.


    This small door was tucked away in the southeast corner of the garage, easy to overlook if one was not paying attention.


    At that moment, the small door was ajar, likely leading to a storage area or a maintenance room for the pipes. In any case, people rarely entered that place; if they did, it was for maintenance or to clean up the clutter.


    "Hmm, I didn¡¯t bring a flashlight."


    Yan Junze approached the door, had no choice but to take out his phone, turn on the flashlight feature, and gently pushed open the small door.


    The room behind the door was also lit, but the lighting was a dim yellow. With the help of the flashlight from his phone, he could see more clearly.


    Yan Junze took another look behind him before stepping through the small door.


    The lock on the small door was broken and couldn¡¯t be closed, but he did not plan to close it.


    The room just inside the door was piled with miscellaneous items and some unopened ceramic tiles, bundled up in the corner.


    There were more rooms inside this room, and at this moment, no light shone through from them.


    First, Yan Junze carefully inspected the room with the flashlight on his phone, confirming there were no abnormalities. Afterwards, he walked towards the inner rooms.


    Just as he approached the door, a scuttling noise came from within the room.


    The sound was soft, as if something was dragging itself across the floor.


    Though the lights were off, Yan Junze instinctively pointed his flashlight in that direction, thinking it might be a rat. However, under the beam of light, a small human leg appeared in view and quickly hid behind a large cardboard box.


    Yan Junze saw it clearly: it was the leg of a child, pale and even a bit bruised, with no shoes on, and its little feet seemed to be completely rotted away.


    He suddenly remembered the mission had warned him that if they were indeed strange babies, these creatures were highly sensitive to light, especially to the human gaze.


    To get close to them, he could try using the walking method suggested by Look at Her Face.


    "Damn, doesn¡¯t that mean walking backwards? And I can¡¯t use the lights or shine the flashlight on them," Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart.


    ```


    It felt as if walking across would be no different from tightrope walking alone in the sky.


    But if he were to turn on the lights in this room, or use a flashlight to illuminate the way, he might attract unnecessary trouble and fail to complete the task, "Look at Her Face."


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t even try to switch the lights on; he didn¡¯t attempt to see if the room¡¯s lights were working. Then, he turned off the flashlight on his cell phone.


    Instantly, the surrounding area plunged into darkness.


    A smattering of light from the outside room faintly illuminated the entrance, but it was not strong, only reaching the doorway.


    Yan Junze turned around, his back to the room¡¯s interior, and began to cautiously make his way inside.


    During this process, he constantly reminded himself to Rewind.


    Although there was the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" feature, the damn thing used up too much energy. It would be best if he could Rewind on his own the moment he perceived danger.


    Due to moisture, the floor beneath his feet was a bit slippery. Yan Junze walked slowly, his gaze fixed only on the doorway where light seeped through. He was highly tense, his attention fully on what was behind him.


    He was not the Back-faced Woman; his head couldn¡¯t constantly watch what was behind him. Walking backward like this meant exposing his entire back to the other party, filling him with a sense of being out of control.


    This feeling made Yan Junze very uncomfortable, a primal survival instinct constantly reminding him he needed to turn around quickly. Behind him was the presence of the strange baby!


    But he held back, slowly retreating until he reached the middle of the room.


    His heel bumped into a stack of cardboard boxes on the floor, and Yan Junze stopped.


    Close behind him, a rustling sound arose, as if something was crawling on the ground.


    Yan Junze fought the urge not to turn his head to look. He remembered the task information that warned the strange baby was extremely sensitive to human gazes. At this critical juncture, he must not ruin everything at the last moment.


    Reaching back with the opposite hand, he felt around behind him.


    The boxes that his heel had touched were stacked two high, reaching about to the level of his chest. Yan Junze tried to push them but couldn¡¯t budge them.


    If he was to continue moving backward, he could only try to get around these boxes.


    Behind him, the rustling sounds persisted, but whatever was making the noise didn¡¯t come closer to him, which made him feel suddenly anxious.


    He imagined that at this moment, two unclothed, pale-skinned strange babies might be crawling on the slippery ground behind the stack of boxes.


    Goosebumps broke out on Yan Junze.


    Just as he was fumbling on the side to get past the two boxes, the boxes behind him suddenly moved.


    The sensation of movement was strong, and not caused by Yan Junze. It was as if something from behind¡­ had climbed up.


    Yan Junze, who had been about to get around the boxes, immediately stopped and stayed still, feeling the sensation transmitted from the boxes.


    The boxes were indeed shaking; something had crawled up from the other side. Its movements must have been slow, causing the shaking to be not very intense.


    At this moment, Yan Junze even more wanted to turn his head to look, but he clenched his teeth and refrained from doing so, until the shaking of the boxes diminished and a tap-tap sound ensued. Something had completely climbed onto the box and was now close behind him.


    If it had been the former Yan Junze, he would have freaked out by now, likely dashing out of the room.


    But the current Yan Junze had a much stronger resolve. His heart rate sped up a bit, and he was very curious to turn his head to look, but he had no intention of leaving the place.


    The tap-tap sounds drew nearer, shortly arriving right behind him.


    Because the creature was likely propped on the boxes, it was at the same height as Yan Junze.


    The next second, an arm as thin as a tree branch was laid upon Yan Junze¡¯s left shoulder.


    ```

 Chapter 106 - 105 Look at Her Face (Part Four)

    After feeling something resting on his shoulder, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, thinking that just looking at what was on his shoulder without making eye contact shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    With that thought, he turned his head slightly to look at his left shoulder, but because the room was so dark, he could see absolutely nothing, just pitch black.


    He could only sense something resting on his left shoulder that was slowly moving towards his neck.


    Each time it slid over an inch of skin, that patch of skin would break out in goosebumps, making Yan Junze¡¯s heart feel queasy.


    Since he couldn¡¯t look directly at them, maybe he could still talk.


    "There¡¯s a person¡ªno, there¡¯s a strangeness that wants to meet you. I don¡¯t know why she won¡¯t come in here, but if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll take you out now, so you can meet and see if there¡¯s been a misunderstanding," Yan Junze spoke out. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The thing moving on his shoulder paused for a moment, then continued to slide towards the skin of his neck.


    Yan Junze felt something wet and viscous, like a slug crawling onto his neck and sliding up his cheek.


    "Is this a hand?"


    A doubt rose in his mind, as it didn¡¯t feel like a hand.


    If it really were a hand, then its skin must be caked in a large amount of sticky liquid.


    Yan Junze did not move rashly, nor did he turn to look. Instead, he slowly raised his own hand towards the thing that was nearing his cheek.


    Then, he grasped it.


    It indeed was a hand, but this hand was extremely gaunt, not much thicker than the twigs of a tree branch, and its surface was abnormally sticky. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if after grabbing it, he could rid his own hand of the viscous coating well enough to let go of it.


    When he grabbed the arm of this thing, the little hand clearly jittered slightly before tensing up.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t let go, but continued, "Come on, follow me, we¡¯ll go out and see her."


    The little hand didn¡¯t retract, and its owner made no sound.


    But Yan Junze dared not look back, and added, "Where¡¯s your other little buddy? Come out, let¡¯s all go together."


    After saying this, he reached out his other hand, groping in a different direction.


    There was no movement from behind, and after groping for a while, Yan Junze touched nothing. Even if he tried to look behind him now, he wouldn¡¯t see anything due to the darkness, so he could only rely on touch.


    Slightly turning his body and reaching towards the far end of the cardboard box, Yan Junze¡¯s hand continued to explore further back.


    Yet the hand holding onto the skeletal arm did not release its grip, having finally caught one, he couldn¡¯t just let it slip away.


    Besides, it seemed that the little creature wasn¡¯t resisting.


    Perhaps it just looked frightening. In actuality, the strange baby should be easy to communicate with.


    Before long, Yan Junze, who had been searching behind him, finally caught another arm.


    But then he was momentarily taken aback.


    This arm was much larger than the one he had caught on the left side, though overall it remained skinny and emaciated.


    If both were from strange babies, this one must be the kind of giant-headed strange baby that weighed over ten pounds at birth!


    The more Yan Junze thought about it, the weirder he felt in his heart, but now, even if he turned back to look, he didn¡¯t want to see.


    Holding one strange baby in each hand, both feeling sticky, Yan Junze held back his disgust, didn¡¯t look at them, and started walking towards the doorway where a sliver of light was infiltrating.


    Both arms were obedient, without any resistance. Yan Junze could hear rustling noises following behind him, indicating that the mission was going rather smoothly.


    Though he had been bitten by the Back-faced Woman and nearly met his end, as long as he could take these two ghostly children out for the Back-faced Woman to identify¡ªwhether they were her children or not¡ªat least the mission would be complete. With a thousand points of Different Dimension Energy in hand, what mattered most was he could continue with his plan.


    As he walked out of the room, dragging an arm in each hand, in the furthest corner of the house¡ª


    A strange baby was crawling here, its bald head slightly raised, a look of indescribable fear in its eyes, staring intently at the two things being dragged by Yan Junze.


    One was another strange baby, which now half-lay on the ground, somewhat reluctantly being dragged out the door by the man.


    And in the man¡¯s other hand was the arm of an apparently corpulent old woman, with slender limbs and long, curly white hair cascading over her shoulders.


    In the eyes of this strange baby, the eerie old woman remained silent, following the man toward the door with a compliant gait.


    Just one glance at the back of the old woman was enough to make the strange baby hidden in the corner shiver all over, burying its bald head deeply.


    Yan Junze quickly led the two "strange babies" out of the dark room and into a brighter outer one.


    However, according to the task instructions, strange babies are highly sensitive to human gazes, and in fear of scaring the two little ones back into that room, he still didn¡¯t turn his head back but looked around, noticing the Back-faced Woman did not follow into this room.


    Grasping both arms, he quickly left the place and headed for the underground car garage.


    Although this was a corner of the car garage, there were still two cars parked, but the entire garage was quiet and empty, without a single person around.


    No sooner had he stepped out of the room than Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fixed on someone.


    At first, he thought Lv Xin had followed, but he quickly realized that the figure was slender, silently and forlornly standing at the rear of an SUV, immobile, undoubtedly the Back-faced Woman.


    "I¡¯ve brought them here, come and take a look," Yan Junze said.


    However, because he was worried about people coming down into the garage, he didn¡¯t speak loudly, and his words only reached where the Back-faced Woman stood.


    The Back-faced Woman did not respond or come forward, just stood there, her back facing this way.


    But now Yan Junze understood her neck structure and knew she was watching this place.


    "Look, are they your children?" Yan Junze spoke again.


    He then pulled the two things behind him closer to the Back-faced Woman.


    Suddenly, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s body shook violently, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying and swiftly retreated.


    Well, of course, her retreat was actually moving forward, putting more distance between herself and Yan Junze.


    "What¡¯s going on?"


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, noticing that the departure of the Back-faced Woman was clearly out of fear of the things behind him.


    He was puzzled and had no choice but to turn his head and look. The thing he was holding in his left hand was a bald, pale-skinned infant, lying listlessly on the ground.


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    After Yan Junze glanced at him, he became visibly scared and struggled to get away.


    But Yan Junze gripped tighter. With such a critical moment at hand, he wouldn¡¯t let him escape!


    Turning to look at the thing in his right hand, the arm of the strange baby that was noticeably thicker, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes bulged, and he was stumped.


    What the heck, was this supposed to be a strange baby? This was more like a Strange Granny!


    Only then did he realize that an old lady was standing behind him.


    This was not Resentful Granny; the old lady had curly white hair down to her shoulders, a corpulent figure, and was dressed in a thick cotton-padded coat that showed tears everywhere, revealing the blackened cotton inside.


    What surprised Yan Junze the most was that the old lady¡¯s limbs were slender, completely out of proportion with her body; she looked like a character straight out of an anime.


    But what shocked Yan Junze the most was that the Back-faced Woman was clearly terrified of this old lady!?


    Who was the Back-faced Woman? The protagonist of a hair-raising task!


    And yet, she feared an old lady who had followed her up from the basement!


    What was going on?

 Chapter 107 - 106 Look at Her Face (Part Five)

    He may have seen her, but Yan Junze was first shocked, then surprised, to discover that he was gripping the hand of an unfamiliar old lady.


    The shock was due to the fear that this old lady might harm him, but when he saw that she was looking at him with a face exuding kindness and a gentle smile, his surprise took over his shock.


    Could it be that it wasn¡¯t a strange baby, and that he had grabbed the wrong hand in the dark?


    Yan Junze realized his mistake.


    But what puzzled him the most at the moment was that the Back-faced Woman seemed frightened of this old lady. Though she didn¡¯t turn to run immediately, she kept retreating step by step, distancing herself from Yan Junze¡¯s side.


    He had to figure out what was going on first.


    Yan Junze already had a guess in his heart, but if he didn¡¯t clarify things, this mission would never be completed.


    Firstly, the Back-faced Woman had discovered that the underground garage of the building she lived in harbored strange babies and, so far it seemed, they hadn¡¯t endangered anyone. Otherwise, an Exorcist would have been alerted and called in already.


    Then the Back-faced Woman suspected the strange babies were her own children. Yan Junze temporarily assumed she had lost her child because if she wasn¡¯t the mother, she wouldn¡¯t be so determined to find her offspring.


    Yan Junze then went to the underground garage to help her search, and in the darkness, he mistook the hand he grabbed. The hand wasn¡¯t another strange baby¡¯s, but belonged to the old lady with the smiling face.


    This old lady had kind features and didn¡¯t look terrifying, but there she stood, scaring even the Back-faced Woman into continuously backing away.


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood why the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t come herself to claim the Corpse Baby. It was likely because this old lady was always in the underground garage.


    So the question arose, no one in the FH Community had noticed the peculiarity to date, which meant that the old lady, like the two strange babies, hadn¡¯t posed any danger here.


    This could be seen from the expression on the old lady¡¯s face, which was kindly and smiling as she gazed at Yan Junze.


    Such a loving, dead old lady!


    This was the first time Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be sure whether this old lady was truly benevolent or might suddenly lash out the next second, becoming a horrifying, vicious, utterly despicable Evil Spirit.


    Regardless, it seemed the old lady was the real boss if she could scare the Back-faced Woman away!


    This kind of Evil Spirit could only be outsmarted, not overpowered by force.


    Because he was so close to the old lady, the strange baby that Yan Junze was holding in his other hand had been terrified to the point of collapse, lying motionless on the ground, not just lackluster.


    Yan Junze realized he was still holding the old lady¡¯s hand, quickly let go, and raised his hand, revealing his white teeth and a sincerely warm smile.


    "Hello, granny," even Yan Junze himself didn¡¯t expect his voice to be so soft at that moment, possibly enough to melt the sun, "It was too dark in that room just now, so I didn¡¯t notice and grabbed your hand by mistake, my apologies!"


    The old lady maintained her smile, looking at him with twinkling eyes.


    But after Yan Junze finished speaking, the old lady gently shook her head.


    A reaction!


    Yan Junze was momentarily excited. Since she shook her head, it indicated she didn¡¯t mind. The best option was not to worry about it; whatever the nature of the strange babies, they must belong to this old lady. Even if the Back-faced Woman wanted them, it would be impossible with the old lady present.


    Of course, if the old lady was indeed easy to talk to, then after Yan Junze caught his breath, he could go upstairs, bring down a cup of tea, sit with her, and try to persuade her to hand over the two strange babies to the Back-faced Woman for identification. It wasn¡¯t impossible.


    But now, the Back-faced Woman had disappeared without a trace, not even having the chance to identify the strange baby.


    "The woman just now, she was looking for her child. Since you have two strange babies here, I brought her over to let her have a look. If they¡¯re not her children, I¡¯ll return them to you," Yan Junze explained patiently.


    The old crone still didn¡¯t speak, seemingly mute. After Yan Junze finished speaking, she nodded again.


    "Means she agrees," Yan Junze guessed to himself, and then said, "Well now, I¡¯ll go call the Back-faced Woman back to identify the strange baby. For now, let me take you back to that room to wait; don¡¯t catch a cold here."


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Yan Junze, commendably gentle for a change, took hold of the old crone¡¯s hand as if he had turned into a nursing home attendant, carefully escorting her toward the direction of the small door.


    During the walk, the old crone merely glanced at the strange baby lying on the ground as if half-dead, which promptly stood up and staggered after them.


    Yan Junze noticed that the strange baby walked as if it were drunk, its stature and build not much different from Gollum in ¡¯The Lord of the Rings,¡¯ only a size smaller. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shortly after returning to the room, Yan Junze walked out alone.


    At this moment, he unexpectedly discovered that he too had a hidden talent for caring and protecting the elderly. Of course, this was provided that the elderly person was easy to get along with and not the aloof type with a temper so strange that a single wrong look could be deadly.


    According to plan, now it was time to call the Back-faced Woman back and then just bring out the two strange babies for her to recognize, complete the task, and go home to sleep!


    Of course, reality was not as he imagined. Yan Junze searched the entire underground garage and didn¡¯t catch a glimpse of the Back-faced Woman.


    This woman was a hair-raising kind of evil spirit. Although he didn¡¯t know what level specifically, being scared silly by an old woman in an underground garage was quite something.


    With no choice left, Yan Junze left the underground garage, planning to go upstairs to see if the Back-faced Woman had run off to some floor.


    Climbing the stairs from the garage, Yan Junze looked at the stairwell entrance¡ªno one was there.


    He climbed from the first to the second floor, checking each corner and the stairwell landing, especially the blind spots of the corridors, to see if the Back-faced Woman was standing there.


    He encountered people coming down the stairs, but nothing was out of the ordinary.


    Soon he reached the fifth floor, looked everywhere, but still did not find the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze even laid down outside the window of Room 503 where Resentful Granny used to live, craning his neck to peer inside for a long time, without seeing the woman in the white short-sleeved shirt and shorts.


    Back in the fifth-floor corridor, he thought for a moment, then leaned on the railing of the corridor and softly called out "Back-faced Woman" several times before turning his head to look around.


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    When his gaze accidentally fell to the floor below, Yan Junze froze.


    At the entrance to the community, he saw Lv Xin¡¯s figure at the path leading to Building 7, walking steadily toward the direction of the first-floor staircase of Building 7.


    "He¡¯s here!"


    Yan Junze grew somewhat anxious. After a quick look around confirming he hadn¡¯t seen the Back-faced Woman, he immediately rushed down from the fifth floor and returned to his own home on the fourth floor.


    Closing the living room door, he checked the Rewind, which was still maintaining a cycle with only a small amount of energy being consumed for now.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s tongue began to itch terribly, as if the whole tongue in his mouth had become unbearably ticklish at this moment.


    Unable to bear it, he reached out and touched his tongue; there was nothing, but it was very itchy.


    Rushing into the bathroom, he turned on the light and approached the mirror, where Yan Junze stuck out his tongue.


    In the mirror, he saw that his tongue had grown a significant number of black hair tips, thick and densely covering his entire tongue.

 Chapter 108 - 107 Look at Her Face (Part Six)

    His entire tongue was covered in hair, making it appear black at a glance.


    It wasn¡¯t just that; he quickly felt an intense itching all over his body, unbearably so, even inside his mouth, where black hairs sprouted from every part, including his gums.


    "Fuck!"


    The severe itchiness almost brought Yan Junze to his knees. Explore more at empire


    He quickly remembered that his mother, Li Man, had told him about Old Wang from next door who, after provoking the Back-faced Woman while going downstairs, sprouted a lot of black hair all over his body.


    Eventually, Old Wang was hospitalized and saved, but it was said that the hairs had to be surgically plucked out one by one by the doctors.


    Just thinking about it was chilling.


    And now, the same situation was happening to him, and it seemed that the curse from the Back-faced Woman was much worse than Old Wang¡¯s.


    What big deal had Old Wang done? He just lived next door, but Yan Junze had clearly upset the Back-faced Woman even more.


    If he continued like this, he would be finished even before Lv Xin found him.


    "This crazy woman!" Fighting against the extreme itchiness, Yan Junze rushed out of the bathroom and into the living room, yelling, "Back-faced Woman! I¡¯m helping you, not harming you!"


    Right at the entrance to the living room, he finally saw the Back-faced Woman standing motionless behind the door.


    Of course, her head was turned around, and her eyes, hidden beneath her hair, were staring at Yan Junze.


    From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s point of view, she thought Yan Junze was going to help her, so she had gone to the underground parking garage, only to find that not only had he failed to bring out the two strange babies, but he had also brought out the Resentful Granny, whom she feared the most.


    Wasn¡¯t this harming her rather than helping?


    So, the punishment for Yan Junze became inevitable.


    The intense itchiness gradually turned into pain all over his body, as more hair kept emerging through his skin.


    Yan Junze sat down on the floor, ready to Rewind.


    But deciding to what point to Rewind to was the problem; ever since he came out of the underground parking garage, he couldn¡¯t find the Back-faced Woman, and he had been cursed even before she appeared.


    To what point in time should he rewind to efficiently avoid being cursed by the Back-faced Woman first?


    For now, it seemed that there was no immediate threat to his life; he would die only when completely covered with black hair.


    Therefore, he still had moments to ponder the timing.


    However, just then, the figure of Lv Xin appeared outside the window, step by step he crossed the hallway and reached the entrance of the living room.


    The Resentful Granny already had a profound impression of Yan Junze¡¯s door, but at this moment the door was not locked.


    Lv Xin stood outside, turned the handle, and the door opened, revealing the calm-faced young man.


    The moment the door opened, he caught sight of Yan Junze sitting on the floor.


    Lv Xin stepped into the living room and walked toward Yan Junze.


    "Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle..."


    The strange sound came from behind the living room door, causing Lv Xin, who had been focusing solely on Yan Junze, to pause briefly and stop in his tracks, turning his head to look.


    Upon seeing the Back-faced Woman, Lv Xin looked somewhat surprised, and he glanced back and forth between the sitting Yan Junze, now an easy catch, and the woman, seemingly hesitating.


    The next second, unwilling to give up, he opened his mouth slightly and uttered a single word to the Back-faced Woman.


    "Get out!"


    Listening to that voice, it certainly didn¡¯t come from a young person, but from an incredibly aged old crone¡ªthe Resentful Granny.


    The Back-faced Woman continued to emit a "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle" sound, unmistakably a warning. Ever since Lv Xin had entered the room, this bizarre warning sound hadn¡¯t ceased.


    Yan Junze sat on the ground, propping himself up with his arms, slowly moving backward.


    Seeing this scene, he breathed a sigh of relief. The plan formed in his mind that morning seemed to be unfolding as expected at this moment.


    The seed of this idea sprouted in Yan Junze¡¯s heart the moment he saw the Back-faced Woman at the bus stop.


    According to the task¡¯s level, the mission involving the Back-faced Woman was classified as "hair-raising (low)," the most challenging one he¡¯d encountered so far.


    Therefore, Yan Junze had a strange thought that morning: in the absence of Zhang Xiaomo, he might be able to use the encounter between the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny to his advantage. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, the prerequisite was that there had to be a conflict of interest between them, like both targeting him, to ensure the two parties would clash and a fight would ensue.


    But after several unforeseen mishaps, things had deviated from Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, yet, fortuitously, it had come full circle to this scene.


    Wasn¡¯t this moment precisely the outcome he wanted?


    What Yan Junze hadn¡¯t anticipated was that he would be cursed by the Back-faced Woman first, leaving his entire body covered in hair. Although the hair was very short and hadn¡¯t fully grown out yet, he was uncertain if it could be restored.


    Luckily, the two extremely ferocious evil spirits were finally butting heads at this moment!


    If they wanted to kill him, now was the perfect opportunity. The Resentful Granny wouldn¡¯t miss it, and the Back-faced Woman, still angry over the incident in the underground garage, similarly would not let him go.


    Fine then, you fight, and whoever wins can have me!


    The Back-faced Woman no longer gave any warnings, but Yan Junze felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.


    Always emitting a warning sound as if he had a strangeness himself, also exhibiting the same behavior.


    The warning ceased, and the Back-faced Woman moved step by step closer to the Resentful Granny, who had split her spirit into Lv Xin.


    At this time, Lv Xin¡¯s body was bent in a shape reminiscent of the Resentful Granny, tensed all over, arms slightly apart, legs ready to leap at any moment, eyes warily fixed on the "retreating" Back-faced Woman.


    The distance between the two rapidly closed in.


    It was then that Yan Junze suddenly had an ominous premonition; he felt he must retreat, the farther the better.


    The thought had just arisen, but it was already too late.


    When the Back-faced Woman was about a meter away from the Resentful Granny, she suddenly accelerated. At that moment, the Resentful Granny¡¯s ghastly form fully emerged from Lv Xin¡¯s face, hideous and contorted, mouth wide open, letting out a piercing scream.


    The two strangenesses collided with a bang. A mass of cloud-like energy exploded with a boom, unleashing a wave of air that shoved Yan Junze directly under the dining table.


    Nearby shoe racks, sofas, coffee tables, and other items were overturned by the blast, either thrown high into the air before crashing down or smashed directly against the walls. The living room windows shattered in unison at that moment.


    The powerful and eerie blast made it impossible for Yan Junze to keep his eyes open, but he strained to do so, eager to witness what seemed to be an extraordinarily thrilling battle.


    Back-faced Woman VS Resentful Granny!


    The violent sounds of impact and tearing ripped through the rolling mist, as the attacks from the two strangenesses were ferociously intense. Occasionally, the Back-faced Woman could be seen mounting one shoulder of Lv Xin, her fingers digging into his head.


    Other times, Lv Xin could be seen pinning the Back-faced Woman to the ground with one knee, his hands fiercely yanking at her neck.


    The harrowing screams followed one after the other, indistinguishable as to whom they belonged.


    At this point, Yan Junze¡¯s living room was in complete disarray, unrecognizable from before.

 Chapter 109 - 108 Look at Her Face (Part Seven)

    Yan Junze, who had been watching with great interest, felt a momentary relief from the itchy and painful sensation as the growth of black hair on his body had stopped; his attention had been diverted, and he had temporarily forgotten about the changes happening to his own body.


    However, he soon shifted his focus to the living room and made a bitter face.


    "It¡¯s over, the TV and the furniture are all done for!"


    Yan Junze realized that while the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, he had to crawl quickly from under the dining table.


    As he crawled, the itchy and painful sensation returned, but he bore it and quickly slipped toward the door.


    The rolling mist had reached the middle of the living room. Within a five-meter radius centered on this mass of fog, there was no furniture left intact.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t care less by then; reaching the door, he gently twisted the handle, opened it, and darted out.


    At that moment, within the tumbling mist, a change occurred; Lv Xin¡¯s head, which had completely transformed into Resentful Granny¡¯s, was pushed out of the fog, with a pair of hands around her neck¡ªthose were the bruised arms of Back-faced Woman.


    Though it seemed Resentful Granny was at a disadvantage, she still resisted fiercely, with the fog under her feet constantly churning.


    She seemed to be struggling!


    The next second, Resentful Granny freed one hand and, with a slap, hit Back-faced Woman¡¯s head hard.


    Back-faced Woman vanished into the fog, and immediately Resentful Granny let out a piercing scream as her head submerged back into the mist.


    But just two or three seconds later, the fog violently contracted before expanding rapidly. With a bang, Resentful Granny was flung out, crashing through the window and falling outside the corridor.


    Just then, Yan Junze happened to be tiptoeing outside the corridor. He was crouching down as he walked, wary of being seen by the two ferociously evil spirits.


    However, the next second the window above his head shattered, and he saw Lv Xin¡¯s figure falling out, landing right in front of Yan Junze.


    A man and a strangeness, less than half a meter apart.


    Lv Xin abruptly lifted his head, and what showed was the wrinkled face of Resentful Granny, her grey pupils staring at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was taken aback, then squeezed out what he thought was his most sincere smile, "Granny, why aren¡¯t you taking the usual path?"


    "Ah!"


    Resentful Granny stretched out her right hand and grabbed toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, who was already prepared, shrank his body back and narrowly dodged the grab.


    A white shadow flew out of the window, with Back-faced Woman following closely behind, landing between Yan Junze and Resentful Granny, her head facing Yan Junze.


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    In the next second, Resentful Granny exploded with fury, pouncing onto Back-faced Woman like a starving beast, pinning her down and biting fiercely into her twisted neck.


    Back-faced Woman¡¯s arms immediately contorted in reverse, making a series of cracking sounds as if they were breaking, and she wrapped them around Resentful Granny.


    Under the force of their immense strength, the two strangenesses thrashed on the ground, rolling several times before Resentful Granny was thrown away, tumbling along the corridor and crashing near the staircase entrance. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back-faced Woman stood up, seemingly giving Yan Junze a glance. She did not approach him but walked toward Resentful Granny, her steps as calm as ever, not at all hurried.


    By this time, the growth of black hair on Yan Junze¡¯s body had completely stopped, and the itchy and painful sensation had lessened significantly.


    But the situation was still dire because Back-faced Woman and Resentful Granny were nearing the staircase, and if they blocked it, he would not be able to escape this floor.


    The fight between the strange creatures resumed at the entrance to the staircase. Initially, Yan Junze could see them continuously Ripping Bite at each other, but soon another layer of grey mist rose up, enveloping them within.


    It wasn¡¯t until Yan Junze stepped outside the house that he really got a good look at this kind of mist. The mist was a light gray color, and after the two strange creatures fought each other, the gray mist began to spread and corrode about a five-meter radius around their bodies.


    Within this area, even during the day, the lighting was dim, the magnetic field twisted, and the ground and walls it covered gradually started to yellow and blacken, then, bit by bit, crumbled away. Even mold began to grow from the cracks in the walls.


    At this moment, this section of the stairwell was utterly inaccessible.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, that patch of ground and air was all gradually darkening, as if the gray mist was a domain, a realm belonging to the strangenesses.


    After staring for a while, he felt as if the air itself was distorting.


    This scene made Yan Junze think of his home¡¯s condition. Just now, these two strange creatures had also fought in his living room, turning it into this state. If a weird domain really formed, would it affect his life in the future?


    While thinking this, the mass of mist suddenly started to tremble, and in the next second, Resentful Granny, with seeming disregard for her own life, sprinted out, bursting through the mist and heading straight for Yan Junze at the other end of the corridor.


    Her toes touched the ground, and her speed was bizarrely fast.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that some parts of her body had already come off, like plastered paper, and her waist had become tattered.


    But this did not slow down Resentful Granny¡¯s charge. At this moment, the old woman seemed to be throwing caution to the wind, resolved to reach Yan Junze no matter what.


    Yan Junze swiftly retreated, quickly making it back to his own doorstep.


    But Resentful Granny was faster, now less than five meters from him.


    The mass of gray mist in the stairwell quickly dissipated, and the figure of Back-faced Woman became visible, but it was clear that she couldn¡¯t reach Yan Junze before Resentful Granny, not a chance.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was about to "Rewind."


    Then he saw Back-faced Woman¡¯s body suddenly bend backward in a reverse arch, making a series of grating cracking sounds. Her dirty, clumped hair instantly stretched out at this moment.


    Her hair drew a straight line, with countless strands aiming at Resentful Granny¡¯s back, piercing through her body in the next second. Resentful Granny, who had been running, was frozen in place.


    Back-faced Woman¡¯s body sprung back like a coil, instantly reverting to its original form. Her hair retracted, dragging Resentful Granny, who had been pierced through, back toward the direction of the stairwell.


    Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    And at the same time, as Back-faced Woman used her hair as a weapon, Yan Junze noticed that the black hairs that had just sprouted on his body receded back, leaving not a single one visible.


    Resentful Granny, with her body pierced by the hair, was rapidly pulled back into the roiling gray mist, which then closed up, emitting two sharp screams in succession.


    The mist immediately dissipated, revealing the standing Back-faced Woman, and Lv Xin, lying on the ground motionless.


    The face of Lv Xin was now back to his own, the appearance of Resentful Granny having vanished.


    But regardless of who it was, the figure on the ground now showed no sign of life, lying stiffly, probably truly dead.


    Whoosh!


    The hair that had pierced the body retracted, and Back-faced Woman slowly turned, her back towards Yan Junze, step by step approaching.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t retreat, nor did he dive into his house to hide; instead, he stood there waiting for her.


    At this moment, Yan Junze once again felt an itchy sensation on his body.


    Without waiting for Back-faced Woman to get closer, he spoke up, "I¡¯ve persuaded the old lady in the basement. She¡¯s agreed to let you see the strange babies."


    Back-faced Woman paused, no longer moving forward.

 Chapter 110 - 109 Look at Her Face (Part Eight)

    The old lady in the underground garage was an unknown entity, but from appearances, she seemed to be caring for those two strange babies.


    Moreover, both of the strange babies were very fearful of her.


    This fear could have been due to the old lady¡¯s inherently fierce nature, or perhaps it was caused by the innate oppression of a higher-level evil spirit.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, the old lady was mild in disposition, and the fact that the strange babies were afraid of her was likely due to the oppression inherent in their evil spirit instincts.


    It was like how Ke¡¯er would run faster than a rabbit when encountering an evil spirit of a higher rank.


    Earlier in the underground garage, it was due to Yan Junze¡¯s mistake, not clarifying and mainly not daring to look back, that he grabbed the wrong hand and led the old lady feared by the Back-faced Woman out instead.


    As a higher-ranking evil spirit, the Back-faced Woman shared the natural fear of other evil spirits towards those more formidable than herself.


    To Yan Junze, however, the old lady seemed very gentle and was easy to talk to, unlike those ferocious evil spirits.


    Upon hearing what Yan Junze said, the Back-faced Woman stopped, no longer showing any intent to attack him, and seemed to be pondering.


    "The two strange babies are waiting for us in the underground garage right now; we can go and meet them immediately!" Seeing the Back-faced Woman hesitating, Yan Junze quickly added another line.


    The Back-faced Woman suddenly turned around and began walking backward toward the stairwell.


    Yan Junze knew she had agreed and immediately followed her.


    As they passed by the next two households, regardless of whether or not anyone was inside or whether these people were watching in horror from behind the windows at that moment, he warned each one.


    "There¡¯s a fight between strange entities outside; you mustn¡¯t come out. The exorcist will arrive very soon!"


    Of course, he hadn¡¯t made the 4747 call yet.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman was already descending the stairs, but Lv Xin¡¯s corpse still lay on the inevitable path they had to take. As Yan Junze passed through the stairwell, he had to step over or go around his body.


    Upon reaching the stairwell, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but glance down at the deceased Lv Xin and saw that parts of the body had rotted away during the fight with the Back-faced Woman, and his face had turned a purplish hue, as if he had been dead for quite some time.


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    However, Lv Xin¡¯s expression was serene, not at all hideous, as if he was merely sound asleep.


    "Resentment is but an obsession; may you let it go and reincarnate soon!"


    Yan Junze murmured softly, carefully stepping over Lv Xin¡¯s body and following the Back-faced Woman downstairs.


    Throughout the descent, the Back-faced Woman led the way, while Yan Junze also took the opportunity to take out his phone, but instead of dialing 4747, he directly called Huang Chen.


    After quickly explaining the situation in a few words, he hung up, and by then, the human and the strange entity had already reached the first floor.


    They did not encounter anyone along the way.


    The Back-faced Woman stood motionless in front of the small door leading to the underground garage, seemingly waiting for Yan Junze to help her open it.


    Yan Junze took a few steps forward, and upon opening the small door, the Back-faced Woman still did not move.


    "Oh my God!"


    Just then, a middle-aged man entered the stairwell behind them and, upon looking up, cried out in fright.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly turned to wave at the man, "Don¡¯t come over, leave this place!"


    After the initial shock, the middle-aged man showed a look of surprise. Even though he kept retreating, he noticed that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t a strange being. Why would he be together with the white-clothed woman who had been lingering in the building for many days?


    In this age of strangeness, anyone with common sense would not ask too many questions in such a situation.


    Despite being full of questions, the middle-aged man heeded Yan Junze¡¯s words, immediately left Building 7, and stood outside, staring into the building with a mix of fear and shock.


    The Back-faced Woman made no moves.


    If Old Wang from next door had encountered the Back-faced Woman before, his inattention might have caused too much noise, entangling him in a situation where hair sprouted all over his body, which was worse than death itself.


    It seemed that the Back-faced Woman was so eager to recognize her children that she no longer cared about the passersby.


    After opening the door and seeing the Back-faced Woman not going down, Yan Junze hesitated for a moment and said, "If you don¡¯t trust me, I¡¯ll go first, and you can follow behind me from a distance."


    As he finished speaking, he knew the Back-faced Woman wouldn¡¯t reply; he quickly stepped into the staircase leading to the underground parking.


    After swiftly descending the stairs, Yan Junze immediately headed to the small storage room door in the southeast corner. After walking about two hundred meters and turning his head back, he could vaguely see the Back-faced Woman standing on the steps where he¡¯d just come down.


    He didn¡¯t linger any longer, quickly approaching the small door in the southeast corner, which was ajar due to a broken lock.


    Gently pushing the door open, Yan Junze said, "Hello Granny, I¡¯ve brought the Back-faced Woman to recognize the two little ones."


    The room was dimly lit, and as far as the eye could see, there was no one to be found.


    He then turned his attention to the completely dark room inside.


    About ten seconds later, a bloated shadow appeared at the doorway, walking with an odd gait, its shoulders swaying from side to side. It stopped at the doorway of the second room.


    It was indeed Granny.


    At this moment, her slender hands were holding onto two strange babies, who appeared somewhat timid and shrinky under her management.


    The Granny still wore a smile, her face round and plump; although wrinkled, it looked much more normal compared to the Resentful Granny.


    "You¡¯ve arrived."


    Yan Junze smiled back, but he was only staring at Granny and deliberately avoided looking directly at the strange babies.


    That was because these little creatures were particularly averse to the direct gaze of humans, which could easily make them irritable and enraged.


    Yan Junze glanced back, standing by the door to check the garage behind him. He saw the Back-faced Woman had followed, standing by the side of a car but still at a considerable distance from this spot.


    "Granny, perhaps the pressure you emit is too strong, and the Back-faced Woman doesn¡¯t dare to come over. You see, why don¡¯t you give me the strange babies? I¡¯ll take them to meet the Back-faced Woman," Yan Junze suggested.


    Almost without hesitation, Granny kept her smile and, leading the two strange babies with a swaying motion, came forward and handed over their hands to him.


    Looking at the Granny¡¯s sincere yet rigid smile, Yan Junze felt that his smile was not much different from hers. He reached out and took the small hands of the two strange babies.


    "Granny, you¡¯re actually quite nice, it¡¯s just that your smile is a bit..."


    At this moment, looking closely at Granny, Yan Junze felt her smile become increasingly unsettling, giving him the sensation of countless tiny bugs crawling up his back.


    The Granny seemed to understand his words, but she just nodded her head, continuing to maintain that mysterious and eerie smile.


    Awkwardly leading the two strange babies, Yan Junze walked out of the small door and headed towards where the Back-faced Woman was standing. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Granny did not come out; she just stood there in the room, watching the two strange babies with a benevolent smile on her face.


    Initially, the strange babies struggled in Yan Junze¡¯s hands, but perhaps because Granny was watching, the two little ones quickly followed him obediently towards the Back-faced Woman.


    At the same time,


    In the staircase of Building No. 7 on the fifth floor, the body of Lv Xin, which was lying on the ground waiting for an Exorcist to come and deal with it, suddenly twitched slightly.


    Something beneath Lv Xin¡¯s clothes at his chest puffed up a bit, then settled back down.


    The familiar voice of the Resentful Granny suddenly came from his chest: "It hurts..."


    The next second, Lv Xin¡¯s eyes slowly opened, but he didn¡¯t get up. Instead, he started to speak as if talking to himself, "Old woman, you¡¯ve become a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, but it seems you¡¯re still not up to par."

 Chapter 111 - 110 Look at Her Face (Part Nine)

    Yan Junze quickly walked with the two strange babies and soon arrived in front of the Back-faced Woman.


    By this time, the two strange babies had clearly become agitated and anxious, and the strong oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman was also intense, overwhelming them momentarily.


    However, agitated as they were, it seemed that the old woman had given a warning before, so the two little ones did not break free and run away.


    Yan Junze let go, allowing the two strange babies to stand in front of him, facing the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman remained motionless, just staring silently at the anxious creatures before her.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were half-crouching on the ground, struggling to stand up due to underdeveloped lower limbs, wobbling as if they might fall over at any moment.


    So under normal circumstances, they preferred to crawl on the ground, which significantly increased their speed of movement.


    In that respect, they were somewhat similar to the Crawler Monster.


    After a moment, the Back-faced Woman bent down to kneel, naturally, she knelt forward.


    Then, with her hands reaching back, she parted her hair to reveal her fragmented and twisted face to the two strange babies.


    At this moment, the two strange babies were no longer restless but instead tried to open their disproportionately large eyes wide, curiously staring at the face of the Back-faced Woman.


    As they watched, the Back-faced Woman let her hair fall back in place and slowly stood up.


    "What¡¯s going on?" Yan Junze was somewhat taken aback.


    At that moment, the two Corpse Babies seemed to sense something was amiss and immediately made squeaking noises, like rats, rapidly retreating backward until they were behind Yan Junze.


    While Yan Junze himself felt nothing particular, he knew the two strange babies must have felt the anger and oppressiveness emanating from the Back-faced Woman, hence their instinctive retreat for cover.


    "Child... Child!" came the indistinct voice of the Back-faced Woman.


    It was quite clear now that the two strange babies were not the child she was looking for.


    Suddenly, the strange babies turned their heads and scurried back toward the small door in the southeast corner of the garage, no longer paying attention to this place.


    Yan Junze¡¯s body jolted, and once again, he felt that unbearable itchy sensation return.


    "Damn it, does this woman have any sense of reason?"


    He crossed his arms only to feel a large number of hairs trying to penetrate through his skin¡¯s pores, wanting to grow out.


    If he couldn¡¯t find her child, would she simply kill him?


    Looking back toward the direction of the southeast corner, the strange babies had already run into the small door and were out of sight.


    However, the Resentful Granny with her peculiar and formidable strength had not appeared.


    In fact, the Resentful Granny had no connection to Yan Junze and the others; she had already done him a favor by bringing out the strange babies for him to present to the Back-faced Woman; now, not even Yan Junze himself believed she would come forward to help again.


    The difficulty level of the mission was defined as "Hair-raising (Low)," not only because of the high strength of the Evil Spirit involved, but also due to the high risk it posed.


    And now, in Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, the Back-faced Woman only cared about her child, paying no heed to anyone else.


    If the child was found, all would be well. If not, she would take his life without any reason.


    Looking down at his unbearably itchy hand, he noticed a large amount of black hair had begun to regrow.


    Yan Junze lifted his head and said to the Back-faced Woman, "Let¡¯s think of another way, we will definitely find the child. Besides, if you kill me now, can you find the child?"


    The intense itching caused his body to tremble, and as he spoke, his voice also shook uncontrollably.


    The itchy sensation paused, then stopped completely.


    But the densely packed black hairs that had grown on the skin did not recede.


    "Let¡¯s go upstairs first," Yan Junze said.


    As he finished speaking, he glanced back at the small door in the southeast corner. Although he was eager to enlist the help of the old woman to resolve this nuisance, it was clearly unwise.


    First of all, she had agreed to help him once, but that didn¡¯t mean she would agree a second time, and it could very well anger her. Then there was also the risk of angering the Back-faced Woman.


    Although the Back-faced Woman was afraid of the old woman, there was no need to offend the Back-faced Woman especially when the task was not yet complete.


    He had just used her to get rid of Resentful Granny; being constantly targeted by higher-level strangenesses was trouble enough, wasn¡¯t it?


    So there must be a solution to this problem, and he couldn¡¯t let things escalate to a completely unmanageable situation unless absolutely necessary.


    Yan Junze walked ahead, glancing back once again. This time, the Back-faced Woman followed closely behind.


    The itchiness on his skin had disappeared, but the hairs remained. They weren¡¯t very long, but a careful look revealed them to be very noticeable.


    How tragic, he might maintain his hairy state until he resolved this task! However, it was a relief that only his skin had grown hair, and not all organs.


    Pushing open the small door leading to the basement garage, Yan Junze walked out first with the Back-faced Woman following closely behind.


    It seemed the Back-faced Woman would stick with him until they found the child.


    When he had called Huang Chen earlier, he asked him to come later because he feared Huang might arrive too soon while his task was still unfinished.


    If Huang encountered the Back-faced Woman, with her strength surpassing that of Resentful Granny, she might very well wipe out the entire exorcist squadron here.


    Luckily, the Back-faced Woman was deeply obsessed with finding the child. Nothing could delay her search, so she didn¡¯t cause a large-scale disturbance in the area.


    "Obsession?" Yan Junze quietly uttered the word, frowning slightly as he pondered, "If this woman is looking for a child, why did she come to me instead of asking others for help? Could she see something different in me that could help a strangeness rid itself of its obsession?"


    "Impossible," he shook his head at the thought. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps there was some other reason.


    For strangenesses, the formation of some obsessions is unconscious and natural, and sometimes they themselves can neither understand nor become aware of them.


    For example, Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s unconscious knew that the son who identified her body in life was not her own; hence, after becoming a strangeness, she was obsessed with this memory, forming an obsession without precise awareness of it herself.


    Could the Back-faced Woman be the same?


    All the while climbing the stairs, Yan Junze kept thinking.


    Discovering the strange baby and wanting to recognize it was the reason for the Back-faced Woman¡¯s appearance in the FH Community. But why did she come to him afterward?


    At that moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe it was merely his looks that captivated the Back-faced Woman¡¯s heart, making her willingly come to him for help.


    There had to be another reason!


    "What could the reason be?"


    Thinking this, Yan Junze turned to glance at the Back-faced Woman who was following him up the stairs. However, he was convinced that even if he asked her, she might not understand any more than Long-tongued Zhenzhen did.


    Soon, the man and the strangeness arrived on the fourth floor. As Yan Junze was climbing the last few steps, he looked up sharply and halted.


    There, in the stairwell, the body of Lv Xin was gone.


    "Could it be that Huang Chen and the others have already arrived?"


    Yan Junze lifted his head, looking around, but he did not see the warning tapes that exorcists typically strewn about.


    However, at the same time, the Back-faced Woman following him made a "gurgling" sound, her distinctive warning noise.

 Chapter 112 - 111 Look at Her Face (Part Ten)

    "It¡¯s not Huang Chen and the others coming." Yan Junze looked around, and as soon as he heard the Back-faced Woman¡¯s warning from behind, his heart immediately went on high alert.


    "Could it be that the Resentful Granny is not dead?!"


    If she were indeed not dead, the old woman could be awarded the "Best Dying Supporting Character."


    No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a strange noise came from above, as if someone were laughing, yet it also sounded like a wail.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw Lv Xin clinging to the ceiling of the stairwell like a spider, not climbing with his body facing inwards but rather sticking to the ceiling with his back to the wall, facing downwards.


    His face was directly above Yan Junze and the Back-faced Woman.


    What horrified Yan Junze the most was that Lv Xin¡¯s chest area had completely burst open, and from the middle of the skin in his chest, a pale yellow head with graying hair was emerging.


    Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Resentful Granny herself, her expression distorted, and that wailing was coming from her mouth.


    At the same time, Lv Xin was no longer like before, as if he had been possessed by the Resentful Granny. His consciousness seemed very clear, and his face twisted fiercely as he fixated his gaze on Yan Junze.


    In that moment, Yan Junze was totally baffled. It was true that the Resentful Granny hadn¡¯t been eliminated, but why was Lv Xin¡¯s consciousness still present? And it seemed as though he was the one in control, with the Resentful Granny struggling.


    The next second, before Yan Junze had time to react, Lv Xin, who had become a monstrous shape, lunged violently at him.


    Whoosh!


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s hair flew out wildly, wrapping around Lv Xin¡¯s body and forcefully pulling him off course, causing him to land on the staircase steps between Yan Junze and herself.


    Yan Junze immediately rushed forward, bounding up to the fourth floor in a few steps and charging into the corridor.


    Behind him, the fierce fighting noise between the Back-faced Woman and the one who was uncertain whether it was Lv Xin or the Resentful Granny could already be heard.


    A large cloud of grey mist rose again, entirely shrouding the stairwell of the fourth floor.


    Yan Junze retreated to the door of the closest household to the stairwell. The Li family lived there; the man of the house was about the same age as Yan Junze¡¯s father, Yan Daguo. However, it was heard that he had taken long-term sick leave two months ago and had been idling at home since.


    At this moment, Yan Junze guessed that if Old Li hadn¡¯t gone out, he definitely knew about the noise outside. Turning his head, indeed, he saw a flicker of the curtains in the house, and Old Li¡¯s face, full of horror, appeared.


    Yan Junze waved his hand to signal that he was alright.


    Old Li opened the window a crack and said, "Ze, how did you provoke such murderous strangenesses? I¡¯ve already called 4747."


    "Uncle Li, it¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t come out just now," Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer directly but veered off subject.


    "That young man, the strange one, didn¡¯t he die just now..." Old Li stammered in fright, "But soon after you all left, he suddenly sat up again, and from his chest... chest... right here, a... head grew out!"


    While speaking, Old Li gestured within the window, his body still trembling non-stop.


    Yan Junze, unable to comprehend the scene, said, "Uncle Li, please close the window quickly, don¡¯t come out, and wait for the Exorcist to arrive."


    "Alright!" Old Li immediately closed the window and drew the curtains shut.


    At this time, the fog in the stairwell grew thicker, with large patches of wall paint peeling off the walls, revealing mottled marks that seemed aged, and a lot of mold began to proliferate.


    At this moment, a foul stench wafted out.


    Regardless, Yan Junze guessed that even if the Back-faced Woman wasn¡¯t a Sculpting Spirit, she was at least a stronger Semi-Sculpting Spirit than the Resentful Granny.


    Although her malice towards him persisted due to not finding her child, in the current situation, the Back-faced Woman became Yan Junze¡¯s protector in order to stop other strangenesses from killing him.


    Yan Junze felt secretly relieved, thankful that those two strange babies weren¡¯t her children. Had they been, by now the Back-faced Woman might have disappeared with her children.


    Waiting alone and defenseless to go upstairs now would leave me undoubtedly dead at the hands of Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    Currently, the situation is unclear. But overall, the odds seem to be in my favor, at least from what I could tell, Resentful Granny couldn¡¯t stand up to the Back-faced Woman.


    No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a figure from within the gray mist suddenly shook violently and was flung out, flying up to the fourth-floor corridor and crashing hard against the corridor¡¯s stone balustrade.


    Yan Junze, with a face full of horror, stared at the figure that had been thrown up and exclaimed in shock, "Back-faced Woman!"


    Bang!


    The fog at the stairwell quickly dispersed to reveal Lv Xin climbing the stairs, and on his chest, Resentful Granny¡¯s head was still swaying from side to side, continuously wailing in pain.


    For a moment, it seemed to Yan Junze as if Resentful Granny was trapped within Lv Xin¡¯s body, suffering from pain that couldn¡¯t be released.


    Such a bizarre scene!


    Unexpectedly to Yan Junze, the Back-faced Woman appeared to be at a disadvantage. Previously in their fight, the Back-faced Woman had always been dominating Resentful Granny.


    Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Yan Junze retreated once more, backing up to his front door, but he didn¡¯t enter his home, instead continuing to the end of the corridor.


    The Back-faced Woman quietly stood up, her body once again contorting strangely, and her long hair, like a waterfall, extended out toward the approaching Lv Xin.


    This time, Lv Xin didn¡¯t dodge or avoid. He allowed the long hair to pierce through his body and also through Resentful Granny¡¯s head. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the next second, the hair that had passed through her body began to wither and melt, creating a strong pulling force that dragged the Back-faced Woman step by step towards himself.


    Yan Junze¡¯s pupils contracted as it seemed that the Back-faced Woman was no longer a match.


    What¡¯s happening? Has Resentful Granny evolved again, merging with Lv Xin? Wasn¡¯t Lv Xin just a normal person before?


    But if she can¡¯t win, staying here means certain death.


    Although Yan Junze could Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage with the Back-faced Woman, avoiding the now monstrous Lv Xin was just a temporary plan. In the long run, this threat had grown too large to estimate.


    Just pondering for a moment, the Back-faced Woman had already been completely dragged in front of Lv Xin.


    Lv Xin grabbed her arm, yanked harshly, and her left arm fell off. With a kick, the Back-faced Woman was not sent flying but instead had her stomach pierced through, with Lv Xin¡¯s foot extending directly out the other side.


    "It¡¯s no good, she¡¯s really no match for this guy!"


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, was nearly convinced of the impending outcome.


    If the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t defeat the opposition, then the consequence would be their total annihilation. As soon as Resentful Granny was taken out, Lv Xin would definitely turn his sights on me immediately.


    By this time, the gray mist that had been swirling around the feet of the two strangenesses was no longer enveloping them.


    Yan Junze crouched at the end of the hallway, pondering whether to Rewind? And to which moment should he return?


    Regardless, he needed the assistance of a strangeness like the Back-faced Woman to help him through the current crisis.


    Of course, it would be best if this woman could find her child. Without locating the child, her target for venting her resentment would also be directly aimed at him.


    If the Back-faced Woman had succeeded in recognizing her child just now, perhaps I could take the opportunity to approach the old lady in the underground garage and have her resolve this current predicament.


    Considering that the Back-faced Woman didn¡¯t dare to get close to this old lady, it should be easy for her to take out this creature, whether it¡¯s Lv Xin or Resentful Granny.


    But the problem is that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s child isn¡¯t here; damn it, if it¡¯s not here, why has she been following me?


    Suddenly, Yan Junze had a moment of realization, he seemed to have guessed a possibility!

 Chapter 113 - 112 Look at Her Face (Part Eleven)

    Asking a granny who I had just met to help solve the current dilemma seemed easy enough in theory, but it was incredibly difficult to put into practice.


    However, if I could help the Back-faced Woman find her child before ending up in the underground parking garage again, or before Lv Xin transformed again, then Yan Junze wouldn¡¯t have to be threatened by her anymore and wouldn¡¯t have to grow hair all over his body.


    In that case, there would be a chance to cozy up to the granny. Although she might not eventually step in to help, just intimidating the Back-faced Woman a bit could possibly aid in resolving the current crisis.


    So at this moment, Yan Junze had a guess, a guess regarding why the Back-faced Woman kept following him.


    Wasn¡¯t she looking for her child?


    At this moment, Yan Junze prepared to confirm his speculation. If he guessed correctly, he would immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the Back-faced Woman had just recognized the two strange babies.


    "Ke¡¯er."


    With a thought, Yan Junze summoned Ke¡¯er from the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, where she was Locked down.


    The moment Ke¡¯er in her red dress appeared, she instinctively tried to climb up to Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    But the next second, as if she realized something, she turned her head and saw the grey mist that had stirred up not far away. She immediately let out terrified cries and turned to dart up to the railing of the corridor, ready to leap down to the next floor.


    Yan Junze was prepared and quickly grabbed Ke¡¯er, preventing her from running away in fear.


    At this time, the Back-faced Woman in the distance had been devastated by Lv Xin and was in terrible shape. One of her legs was broken, dangling from the thigh, leaving her unable to stand. A hole gaped from her chest to her back, while most of her hair had been melted by Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    The Resentful Granny on Lv Xin¡¯s chest continued to howl, while Lv Xin himself had a grim expression, his lips curling into a cruel smile as he grabbed the Back-faced Woman by her hair, lifting her from the ground.


    The Back-faced Woman, who had already lost most of her hair, had her disheveled face exposed even more by Lv Xin yanking her up by the hair.


    It was at this moment that Ke¡¯er, who had been struggling to break free and flee, suddenly lay still in Yan Junze¡¯s arms.


    "Eh?!"


    Ke¡¯er let out her trademark sound.


    Her gaze shifted to the Back-faced Woman who was lifted nearby, looking at her ragged face.


    "Eh!!!" S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was Ke¡¯er¡¯s second cry of surprise.


    But soon, she wriggled out of Yan Junze¡¯s arms, stood up on her own, and faced the direction of the Back-faced Woman. Her mouth opened slightly, and she uttered the first sentence Yan Junze had ever heard her say.


    "Mom... mom..."


    As this cry was heard, not only was Yan Junze left dumbfounded on the spot, but even Lv Xin and the Back-faced Woman nearby momentarily paused their actions.


    "Holy shit, it¡¯s really so!" Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    After uttering a word, Ke¡¯er immediately dropped to the ground and rushed toward the Back-faced Woman on all fours.


    "Ke... ke..." From the Back-faced Woman¡¯s torn-open throat, a fuzzy sound emerged, vaguely sounding as though she was calling Ke¡¯er¡¯s name.


    By this time, Ke¡¯er had already dashed in front of the Back-faced Woman.


    "Ke¡¯er is truly the Back-faced Woman¡¯s child!" Yan Junze thought excitedly. "Your mom is in such a state and still can recognize you, absolutely your own flesh and blood."


    Now that it was confirmed that the Back-faced Woman could find her own child, it was time to immediately Rewind to the moment in the underground parking garage when the black hair hadn¡¯t yet grown on his body.


    And before that, Yan Junze could take the initiative to release Ke¡¯er a step earlier, letting her and the Back-faced Woman have their mother-daughter reunion. Once the Back-faced Woman¡¯s issue was resolved, he could then return to the little door in the southeast corner of the parking garage.


    See Granny to find a way to break through the current predicament.


    At that moment, Lv Xin released the hair of the Back-faced Woman he was holding, and Ke¡¯er quickly leaped onto her mother¡¯s back, hugging the Back-faced Woman tightly.


    Sounds kept emanating from her mouth.


    "Mommy... Mommy... Mommy..."


    The Back-faced Woman, now left with only one hand, turned around to hug Ke¡¯er, her head nodding continuously, obviously, at this moment, her obsession was greatly satisfied.


    Ke¡¯er¡¯s inherent sensitivity had always caused her to flee at the first sign of danger, which is why she and the Back-faced Woman had never truly met.


    But after finding the two strange babies in the underground parking lot, the Back-faced Woman wandered around upstairs, afraid of Granny Ren, and inadvertently noticed something odd about Yan Junze, which was also unconscious.


    Even she couldn¡¯t understand why she had started following Yan Junze from that time on.


    The mystery was unraveling: it was a subtle connection between mother and daughter. Even with the oppression of strangenesses at play, at this moment, mother and daughter finally met.


    The obsession of an Evil Spirit is delicate, like the Back-faced Woman¡¯s need to find her child, leading her to leave no stone unturned, regardless of whether the child spirit was one, two, four, or five years younger than Ke¡¯er prior to death - as long as it was a child, the Back-faced Woman subconsciously had to acknowledge it.


    Now that they have met and confirmed the mother-daughter relationship between the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, Yan Junze was about to Rewind immediately.


    However, the next second, he stopped the thought of Rewinding and looked ahead.


    He saw that shortly after meeting Ke¡¯er, the Back-faced Woman suddenly stood up.


    At this moment, she was left with only one leg, as the other leg had been broken below the knee by Lv Xin, hanging by skin and flesh alone.


    She grabbed the severed leg, reattached it to where it was broken, and then the Back-faced Woman truly steadied herself.


    Witnessing this scene, Yan Junze abandoned the plan to Rewind immediately, as he seemed to have discovered an opportunity.


    "Seems like she got stronger?!"


    With the Back-faced Woman now steady on her feet, her hair, which had partially melted away, was visibly growing back rapidly, soon reaching its original length.


    It was at this moment that Yan Junze realized he had been mistaken, for the hair of the two mother and daughter was so similar, both with long hair, and both full of dirty adhesions clumped together into bundles of thick knots.


    Once the Back-faced Woman stood upright, Ke¡¯er still clung firmly to her back, effectively embracing the Back-faced Woman from the front.


    The Back-faced Woman tossed her hair, extending a portion of it to wrap around the left hand and arm that had been thrown away, and violently pulled it back.


    Just like before, she directly stuffed the severed limb back into its original place.


    At this time, mist was rising under her feet and quickly formed a dense fog surrounding her, more intense than before.


    "Having Ke¡¯er, this is... a Super Saiyan transformation!" Yan Junze watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    It seems that there¡¯s no need to Rewind for now, judging from the aura displayed by the Back-faced Woman after acquiring Ke¡¯er, it seems like she might stand a chance against the grotesque Lv Xin.


    Although he didn¡¯t quite understand these phenomena, it was clear that this might just be the opportunity for a strangeness to undergo an evolution.


    And for the Back-faced Woman, Ke¡¯er¡¯s appearance was that opportunity. Just like how Granny Ren, after her death and the intense hatred caused by her son killing her, encountered the opportunity leading to her own evolution, transforming into the Resentful Granny.


    Of course, the current state of the Resentful Granny after entering Lv Xin¡¯s body puzzled Yan Junze.


    It seemed that it was no longer as simple as the initial Semi-Sculpting Spirit state of the Resentful Granny, or else she wouldn¡¯t have been able to overpower the Back-faced Woman.

 Chapter 114 - 113 Look at Her Face (Final)

    The fog beside them formed a semi-circular vortex, continuously surrounding the mother and daughter.


    Unlike the fast-spinning vortices seen on TV, these breaths were not intense, but rather emitted an inexplicable eeriness.


    At this moment, Ke¡¯er was no longer calling out "Mama" constantly, but slowly raised her head, looking at Lv Xin, her dead and lifeless eyes faintly revealing a hidden hatred.


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    Lv Xin¡¯s expression became guarded, the Resentful Granny¡¯s head on his chest, which had been wailing, now screamed even more shrilly.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s guess, it wasn¡¯t just the fourth floor, but possibly any residents on the first floor of Building 7, if there were any there, would have clearly heard those mournful cries.


    Lv Xin kicked out with his legs, lunging at the Back-faced Woman.


    The Back-faced Woman stood still and didn¡¯t move, instead, her newly regrown long hair whipped forward violently.


    At the same moment, Ke¡¯er, lying on her, let out a "ya," tossing her head as well and throwing out her own never-washed long hair.


    The mother and daughter¡¯s hair instantly entangled with each other, forming even more hair strands, moving with incomparable speed, directly targeting the approaching Lv Xin.


    Bang!


    Lv Xin¡¯s entire body was penetrated by countless strands of hair, but this time, unlike before, the force was so strong, exceeding any previous attack.


    The Resentful Granny¡¯s head on Lv Xin¡¯s chest didn¡¯t last even a second before it dissipated, revealing a huge hole in his chest, with not a drop of blood splashing out.


    Meanwhile, Lv Xin¡¯s body and limbs were penetrated by numerous strands of hair, he was lifted into the air, and his head was equally damaged.


    After about two or three seconds of this stalemate, the hair retracted, and Lv Xin¡¯s body fell.


    Yan Junze just glanced at him and felt that there was indeed a term that very much suited Lv Xin¡¯s current state.


    Riddled with holes!


    After falling, there was no movement from Lv Xin, and soon enough, his blood slowly began to ooze out, more and more, soaking the ground beneath him.


    Judging by this, it now seemed to be truly the end for him.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er who had killed Lv Xin were silent, while Ke¡¯er lying on the Back-faced Woman kept nuzzling in her mother¡¯s embrace, with her little head deeply buried and extremely dependent.


    Yan Junze blinked for quite a while before accepting this fact.


    The Back-faced Woman¡¯s level of strangeness should not have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit, possibly between Semi-Sculpting Spirit and Sculpting Spirit, a bit higher than the Resentful Granny.


    But the final form of Lv Xin and the Resentful Granny, integrated as one, was superior to the Back-faced Woman, which is to say, they may have reached the level of Sculpting Spirit.


    However, the final recognition between Ke¡¯er and her mother, the unity of the mother and daughter brought about a qualitative leap.


    At this moment, even if Yan Junze didn¡¯t understand too well, he was sure that the Back-faced Woman in her mother-daughter form with Ke¡¯er was definitely at the level of Sculpting Spirit, and not even a lower one at that.


    The black hairs on his skin had completely receded, and the itch was gone, Yan Junze stroked his arm a few times to make sure there were no anomalies.


    Under the influence of Ke¡¯er and her mother¡¯s recognition, he had been paying attention to that side, only now did he look up at the sky and notice that the sky over Building 7 was covered in a cloud-like gray.


    But this condition was quickly dissipating and did not persist.


    It seemed that a high-level struggle between weird entities could cause significant changes and impacts on the nearby environment.


    Just at this moment, the task prompt from the Spacetime Atlas popped up.


    [Look at Her Face, hair-raising (low), completed, obtained 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy.]


    The energy that was consumed due to triggering the Automatic Rewind on Near-Death, as well as the self-initiated rewind, had been replenished, and the timeline¡¯s nodes extended further, lighting up three more.


    One end of the entire Spacetime Atlas, about the tip of one corner, was completely revealed, but through this corner of the Atlas, one could roughly glimpse the whole area of the Atlas, which was much, much larger.


    To light up the entire Atlas, and potentially allow oneself to truly travel through time and space, rather than merely performing a rewind of time, was something Yan Junze looked forward to with great anticipation.


    Regardless, there were too many uncertainties in this world, and if it were possible to return to the spacetime universe he had come from and live a normal life, it would probably not only be his own wish but also the desire of most people in this world.


    Whether he could go back or not, once the entire Atlas was lit, Yan Junze believed it would bring him a surprise.


    After killing Lv Xin, the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er stood in place for a while, then the Back-faced Woman walked towards Yan Junze.


    Ke¡¯er clung tightly to the Back-faced Woman until they were very close to Yan Junze. Then she slipped down nimbly, turning her little feet around, which looked terrifying as she stood in front of Yan Junze.


    She reached out a hand and quickly touched the back of Yan Junze¡¯s neck, her favorite spot to caress, and gently rubbed it for a moment.


    Ke¡¯er tilted her head and drew close to Yan Junze¡¯s nose, staring at him without blinking, and soon uttered a word.


    "Eh." Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, I understand," Yan Junze nodded and smiled, "I¡¯m glad that you and your mother have recognized each other, and thank you for solving the big problem for me. You can go with your mom, anywhere is fine."


    "Ya ya ya ya..."


    Ke¡¯er let out a series of sounds similar to those she made before attacking, but she just moved forward, wrapping her arms around Yan Junze¡¯s head and held him tightly for a while.


    Yan Junze also reached out and gently embraced her, though Ke¡¯er in his arms felt very cold, there seemed to be a warm current slowly flowing through his heart, very warm.


    "Being with your mom is good, that way you are the safest," Yan Junze said with a bit of disappointment in his heart, yet still managed a smile, "At least, from now on, you don¡¯t have to run away like a rabbit anymore."


    "Ya ya ya ya..."


    Ke¡¯er continued to make sounds, let go of Yan Junze, and returned to her mother¡¯s side.


    "Come back when you have time, I¡¯ll figure out... how to wash your hair," Yan Junze said.


    So far, he could only touch Ke¡¯er but treating Ke¡¯er as a real person was something he couldn¡¯t do, like actually cleaning her up through washing her hair or taking a bath.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, this should be a matter of professional technique, and he probably needed to ask a high-ranking Exorcist about what methods to master in order to achieve this.


    Right now, he couldn¡¯t do it.


    The Back-faced Woman said nothing and showed not much reaction, just stood there, quietly staying for a moment, then turned around and retreated backward.


    Ke¡¯er skillfully climbed onto her body, lying on top, motionless, just as she had done earlier with Yan Junze. The mother and daughter soon disappeared from Yan Junze¡¯s sight.


    Yan Junze remembered clearly that the task notification said the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t be locked down, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t mind locking her down.


    If he could, it would be possible to keep Ke¡¯er and also bring the powerful Back-faced Woman by his side.


    Moreover, once together, the mother and daughter¡¯s combat power would increase again, which was simply too perfect.


    Of course, now that he had locked down Ke¡¯er, he could also insist on not letting her go, and the other side couldn¡¯t do anything about it. However, this would depend on whether the Back-faced Woman was willing.


    After all, letting the mother and daughter reunite was perhaps the best outcome.

 Chapter 115 - 114: Turned Against Instead?

    After Ke¡¯er left, Yan Junze checked the Spacetime Atlas and found that on the 12th node, where Ke¡¯er¡¯s image used to be, now displayed the word "empty".


    However, it was not erased.


    In Ke¡¯er¡¯s "Hair Washing" mission, Yan Junze remembered the mission background once said that Ke¡¯er died in a car accident.


    But her mother did not die in this car accident, which was the "eternal separation" mentioned in the mission. Now it seemed that the Back-faced Woman must have died after Ke¡¯er¡¯s accident.


    As for the reason, it was unknown.


    Yan Junze speculated that the Back-faced Woman, due to her overwhelming grief and guilt over her daughter¡¯s death, might have chosen to commit suicide by jumping off a building.


    Because the current appearance of the Back-faced Woman was not much different from someone who had died from jumping off a building.


    In the early morning when she sent her mother to work, the Back-faced Woman might have felt Ke¡¯er¡¯s presence at Yan Junze¡¯s place, so she started following him all the way to Yan Junze¡¯s home¡¯s corridor.


    Yan Junze remembered that just before he was about to enter his home, it felt as if she was about to turn her head to look at him. But only after completing the mission did he realize the Back-faced Woman couldn¡¯t turn her head at all.


    Back then, he was nervous inside, always afraid that seeing her face would trigger the mission ahead of time, so he might have subconsciously thought that the Back-faced Woman was going to turn around.


    But that was not the case.


    Having understood the causes and effects, the grey clouds in the sky had now almost completely dissipated, becoming clear again.


    Yan Junze was wondering why Huang Chen and his team had not arrived when his phone rang; it was Huang Chen calling.


    After picking up, Huang Chen¡¯s voice came through, "Yan Junze?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s me. Why haven¡¯t you guys arrived?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Oh, you didn¡¯t die?" Huang Chen obviously breathed a sigh of relief on the other end, "We arrived a while ago, but an area of the Spiritual Realm manifested halfway up the FH Community, and with our current manpower, we couldn¡¯t get close, so we had to wait outside for a bit."


    Yan Junze was speechless.


    Putting aside the fact that his first question was whether he was dead or not, being incapable of handling the situation was the truth, but claiming they couldn¡¯t get close at all seemed rather hypocritical.


    Such phenomena, involving the appearance of a Spiritual Realm, were probably triggered by a Sculpting Spirit¡¯s struggle, so Huang Chen and others could only stay put. Recklessly charging in would likely lead to more death and injury.


    In fact, this struggle didn¡¯t harm any bystanders at all, not even Old Li, who was the closest and stayed at home, lost a single hair.


    Well, at most he was so scared he wet himself and took a few extra months of sick leave.


    Not long after hanging up, a group of people in suits and leather shoes entered the FH Community, but the exterior blockade remained in place.


    This was a kind of invisible blockade, not like the one the police would put in place with big banners and no entry allowed for anyone. Explore new worlds at empire


    Outside the community, there were special staff members from the Exorcist office, and from the surface, it didn¡¯t look like there was anything unusual here.


    Of course, apart from the Spiritual Realm that appeared in mid-air just now.


    Yan Junze stood on the fourth floor waiting for Huang Chen and his team to come up, and soon six or seven people arrived at the fourth floor, among whom Yan Junze recognized a few.


    Apart from Huang Chen, there was the one-star Exorcist Zhao Shuai and two-star Exorcist Yang Depei; the rest were unfamiliar faces.


    ```


    However, once everyone arrived, they began to get busy: securing the scene, collecting evidence, and examining Lv Xin¡¯s body.


    Huang Chen was understanding the situation alongside Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze informed him of everything that had happened over the past few days, except for his own secrets and the completion of "The Hanged Woman" and "Drop the Handkerchief" tasks; he told everything else honestly, including the seven days he spent with Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo taking over the Resentful Granny case was, of course, known to Huang Chen, but he hadn¡¯t anticipated that the subsequent events would be so complex and bizarre.


    It seemed that Yan Junze was quite fortunate; in the process of being chased by the Resentful Granny, he happened to be hunted by the white-dressed woman who had already been causing strangeness in this building. As a result of the two strangenesses clashing, the woman in white emerged victorious, leading to the current outcome.


    "You¡¯re definitely special, kid. Really, why don¡¯t you come over here and do a test?" Huang Chen proposed again.


    Yan Junze shook his head, "If I were to go, I wouldn¡¯t go to the exorcists in the city. Zhang Xiaomo said I could use her recommendation letter to go to Tianmeng District for the test."


    Huang Chen shrugged his shoulders, not insisting any further.


    Soon, Zhao Shuai came over and said to Huang Chen, "Brother Chen, we¡¯ve checked; Lv Xin didn¡¯t turn into a walking corpse due to Spirit-Splitting. He died very recently."


    "Ah, how could that be?" Huang Chen said in surprise.


    A two-star exorcist, Yang Depei, also came over; he seemed to have more experience and was just now using a magnifying glass to examine the mold growing on the walls in the stairwell.


    "I suspect that it¡¯s not as simple as Lv Xin being afflicted by Spirit-Splitting," Yang Depei pointed at the body lying on the ground, "He... might have been a Spirit Cultivator. Or at least, he had the constitution of one."


    "The actual situation is that he was split by the Resentful Granny when she devoured the souls of her own son," Huang Chen said thoughtfully.


    "Yes," Yang Depei nodded, "but this guy used a Spirit Cultivator¡¯s methods to turn the Resentful Granny inside him to his advantage. A trick even the Resentful Granny had no clue about, until it suddenly erupted just now."


    Yan Junze found this inconceivable and said, "I heard from Zhang Xiaomo that the true body of Resentful Granny was killed by her at the Rock, but if a Spirit-Splitting remained, it would gradually evolve into the original body. Has the Spirit-Splitting of Resentful Granny that remained in Lv Xin already transformed into the original body?"


    "It might have transformed," Huang Chen nodded, "But there is a stabilization period, during which its strength won¡¯t be as strong as the original entity. Of course, if it¡¯s inside the body of a Spirit Cultivator, that¡¯s a different story."


    "You mean... a Spirit Cultivator has ways to enhance the strength of the strangeness inside their body," Yan Junze said, curious.


    "There are so many ways," Yang Depei shook his head, "Lv Xin might well have been using the Resentful Granny instead, and she had no idea."


    "Your exorcist world is very complex," Yan Junze scratched his head and turned to look at the chaos in the home, "What I want to know now is, if strangenesses cause widespread damage, do you exorcists provide compensation during the restoration process?"


    "No chance," Huang Chen said with a smile, "Our funds are limited, and such troubles are something you need to resolve on your own."


    Yan Junze just asked casually and did not expect them to actually do anything. Just being able to protect as much as possible to prevent the strangenesses from harming people was enough for him.


    Soon after, people came up to carry Lv Xin¡¯s body away, saying it would be taken to Tianmeng District for research followed by various cleanup operations at the scene.


    When the cleanup was nearly finished, Yan Junze suddenly thought of something.


    He smiled bitterly, looked up at the cameras covering the floor and feeling a sense of apology, quickly took out his phone and called Editor Tang from the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    As soon as the call connected, Yan Junze immediately started with an apologetic tone, "I¡¯m sorry, Editor Tang. The incident happened suddenly. I wanted to tell you that I¡¯ve completed the Spirit Exploration of the Back-faced Woman in a rush." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by Tang Zhengyi¡¯s voice, which, instead of expressing any disappointment, calmly said, "I forgot to inform you, we recorded the incident that just happened."


    ```

 Chapter 116 - 115: Statue or Weapon

    "Ah!"


    Yan Junze was startled when he heard Tang Zhengyi continue over the phone, "It¡¯s really a coincidence, you haven¡¯t contacted us for many days, and just this morning I had the studio check the surveillance equipment in FH Community to make sure it was still functional. Who would have thought that not long after turning it on, I saw you..."


    "Did you record everything?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Almost everything." Tang Zhengyi said, "We haven¡¯t installed cameras in the underground garage, so there¡¯s no footage from there, but aside from inside your home, we¡¯ve captured almost every single frame in the corridors."


    "What a coincidence indeed," Yan Junze marveled. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, it seemed as if Tang Zhengyi became somewhat hesitant, stammering for a while before asking, "Mr. Yan, may I ask about your relationship with the exorcists?"


    Yan Junze guessed what he was thinking and replied, "There¡¯s no special relationship, we just interact quite frequently."


    "Mhm." Tang Zhengyi didn¡¯t probe further, "This video content is somewhat shocking, so we also need to study it. We may have to get consent from the exorcism team at Tianmeng before it can be released, and there may be several parts that need editing."


    "No problem, you do what you see fit."


    As for the video platform "Open Your Eyes," Yan Junze believed they had a better sense of judgment than he did. After all, he was not a professional in this field.


    Now that his house was destroyed, repurchasing furniture and repairing doors and windows would cost a considerable amount of money.


    If the video sold well, that would be great. At least he could use the money to cover these expenses, and there might even be some left over.


    After ending the call with Tang Zhengyi, whether the video could be sent out or not would be something to wait for in the coming days.


    After the hallway scene was cleaned up, the staff of the exorcist team conducted a final check inside Yan¡¯s house, collecting some debris before withdrawing completely.


    From start to finish, no police were involved.


    Zhang Xiaomo called not long after Huang Chen and the others left.


    Yan Junze briefly explained what had happened, and Zhang Xiaomo was full of marvel over the phone at his idea of using one strangeness to counteract another.


    However, since the incident was resolved, she no longer needed to rush to Shuntian City. She said she would look for Yan Junze later to catch up.


    Yan Daguo, his father, returned home around noon because he had worked a night shift the previous evening. He had slept on the sofa at the factory when it was nearly dawn, which was why he got home late.


    When he arrived home, Yan Junze was tidying up the living room.


    He couldn¡¯t move the large pieces of damaged furniture, so he had cleaned up the broken wood, debris, glass shards, etc., and placed any movable items to one side.


    The broken items were ready to be thrown away, while those that could still be used would be utilized for the time being.


    Yan Daguo was completely baffled by the scene, and besides the secret of his ability to rewind and the mission he had to complete, Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide anything else.


    After learning about the cause of the mess, Yan Daguo said nothing at first. He inquired whether Yan Junze had been injured or if there was anything off about his health.


    While helping to clean up, he also kept an eye out for any unusual reactions from Yan Junze. He was, in fact, unconcerned about the loss to their home.


    What¡¯s broken is broken, as long as everyone is safe.


    "The exorcists just checked the house again to make sure there¡¯s nothing abnormal left behind," Yan Junze added in order to soothe his father¡¯s worries.


    Yan Daguo nodded, "When your mother comes back later, I¡¯ll explain things to her. As you know, if it¡¯s not explained properly she¡¯ll keep bringing it up."


    Yan Junze smiled.


    He moved the large pieces left from the damaged furniture out of the room, piling them in the corridor first. Yan Daguo was still not reassured by his son¡¯s explanation and made another trip to Uncle Li¡¯s place next door to get some information.


    Of course, Uncle Li was terrified, and his view of the details wasn¡¯t very clear. Moreover, during the time when the two strangenesses were fighting fiercely, Uncle Li was so scared that he ran into his bedroom to hide and didn¡¯t dare to watch at all.


    Later in the evening, when his mother, Li Man, got home, she was inevitably shocked. It wasn¡¯t until late at night that the father and son managed to calm her down.


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    After a rough estimate, they concluded that the household had lost a sofa set, a coffee table, a television, three wooden chairs, and some odds and ends. Since none of the items were high-end goods, the total damage was estimated to be around ten thousand yuan.


    Yan Daguo figured they could slowly replace the other pieces of furniture, but they had someone come to install a new window on that very day.


    Li Man was very worried that this incident would affect Yan Junze¡¯s studies, so once the house was in order, she immediately sent him back to his bedroom to focus on studying and not to think about anything else.


    As for the frequent occurrence of their son attracting strangenesses, the couple had formed a common view that their son¡¯s physique was definitely special and that he might indeed follow the path of an exorcist one day.


    This prospect left them somewhat at a loss. In this era, the profession of exorcist was undoubtedly very respectable, but it also seemed fraught with danger, as evident from the events of today.


    The physical destruction caused by the strangenesses was significant enough to make the couple reassess the exorcist profession they used to respect immensely, and they began to worry.


    Yan Junze returned to his bedroom, first placing his books on the desk¡ªjust for show¡ªthen took out the statue of the Yin Yang Master, Lin Yishan, from his backpack.


    The statue was quite heavy in his hand; even if it wasn¡¯t made entirely of gold, it surely contained a significant amount of gold.


    After opening the statue, Yan Junze vigorously wiped it down with old newspapers, quickly removing the black dirt that covered it, revealing the gleaming golden statue underneath.


    However, to completely clean it and restore it to its original state, he would probably need to go to a jewelry store.


    Though he had received a replenishment of Different Dimension Energy after completing tasks that day, the Spacetime Atlas¡¯ Different Dimension Energy was not filled up but was absorbing slowly.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimates, without completing other tasks, it would take about a week of this slow absorption to completely fill the current Spacetime Atlas with nodes and timelines.


    So, when he was holding the statue that he had just quickly cleaned, he suddenly paused because he felt the rate at which the Missing Different Dimension Energy in the Spacetime Atlas was being restored was speeding up.


    What was the reason?


    Yan Junze placed the statue on the desk and felt it again, and the rate was normal.


    When he picked up the statue again, the rate of energy restoration sped up once more¡ªit appeared he had stumbled upon a treasure!


    At this moment, Yan Junze understood what the "Drop the Handkerchief" task meant by the treasure.


    The statue could also absorb Different Dimension Energy, or maybe what the Yin Yang Master called "Yin Energy"¡ªeither way, the statue was currently filled with a significant amount of Different Dimension Energy.


    With it, the Spacetime Atlas could speed up its energy restoration, which could mean directly extracting energy from within the statue.


    Thus, as the Spacetime Atlas was restoring energy, the statue was also absorbing and storing it, and could even accelerate the transfer of energy to the Atlas,


    Examining the statue closely for a moment, Yan Junze noticed that Lin Yishan looked to be about sixty, exuding a sense of a hermit, if not quite a celestial air.


    "It¡¯s a waste to use this merely as a statue," Yan Junze mumbled to himself, "why not turn it into some kind of weapon? One that can store Different Dimension Energy and also inflict damage on strangenesses!"


    Of course, if the statue were to be turned into a weapon, he couldn¡¯t alter its essence, otherwise, Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe a hammer, once transformed from the statue, would still serve as a hammer.

 Chapter 117 - 116

    If Lin Yishan were still alive, hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words would probably infuriate him to death.


    Transform his own Golden Body Statue into a weapon, a weapon that can pose a threat to the strangenesses?


    One must admit, Lin Yishan did have some skills, having used some methods to create such a statue that could actually collect Different Dimension Energy.


    Different Dimension Energy is likely to be similar to what the world calls Yin Energy, but it is not exactly the same.


    So if used correctly, it could serve to cultivate strangenesses, but under circumstances of excessive energy, it could also cause severe damage to them.


    Just like gasoline that can power a car for driving can also be used to incinerate the whole vehicle.


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze moved the nightstand, hid the statue behind it, and planned to inquire about it before possibly transforming it into a weapon.


    Before going to bed, he took a shower.


    While showering, the absence of the little girl who always went "Eh" nearby was suddenly disconcerting.


    He had classes the next day.


    Early in the morning, after arriving at school, he first went to his homeroom teacher Xiang Decai to report back from his leave, and after filling out a situation report, he was all set.


    The college entrance exam was just two weeks away.


    At this point, the curriculum was at the tail end of comprehensive review, which is to say it was time to consolidate any key points or difficulties that hadn¡¯t been mastered yet.


    If one¡¯s basic knowledge couldn¡¯t be made up, cramming for just two weeks would hardly be effective.


    What every subject¡¯s teacher emphasized most in class was, relax, relax...


    Yan Junze believed that he was probably the most relaxed candidate in the whole school.


    ...


    "Open Your Eyes" Video Broadcasting Technology Corporation Limited had its headquarters in Tianyi District, but it also opened a branch in Tianmeng District.


    The Tianmeng District branch was located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of Huadu Building, and at this moment in the video conference room on the 53rd floor, several senior executives from the branch were seated, with the headquarters¡¯ executives appearing via video.


    The "Open Your Eyes" video platform is currently the hottest product for supernatural exploration across the network.


    Unlike the smaller city of Shuntian, the safety level for residents of Tianmeng District was relatively higher, especially in the places where important people resided, where Exorcists were almost always present.


    So there were even those influential and powerful individuals who have never encountered any strangenesses since the outbreak began.


    However, most ordinary people living in the district had seen them, and though they were fearful, curiosity and the desire to explore were greater, hence the emergence of video platforms like "Open Your Eyes."


    The Spirit Explorers were all experienced people, some highly professional, and there were even Spirit Exploration Teams that had been expensively crafted by certain groups of people.


    Of course, most of the videos on the platform were taken by ordinary people during unexpected encounters with strangenesses, incomplete though they might be, the sense of reality they conveyed was extremely strong, evoking an intense sense of tension that in turn stimulated a greater desire to watch.


    On the other side of the conference room, a projection was playing a scene from FH Community where two strangenesses were fighting fiercely. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A moment passed, and the video ended.


    Editor Tang Zhengyi was seated at the end of the conference table, which showed that his status among these people was not high.


    Had it not been for his involvement with the video, he might not have been able to attend such a high-level meeting.


    "They should all be Sculpting Spirit-level strangenesses," a bald man in a crisp suit turned and said to everyone.


    He was the chief officer for the Tianmeng District, directly appointed by the Tianyi platform headquarters.


    A chubby man beside the bald one grinned, "Such a video is simply not allowed to be spread."


    Another man sitting opposite, tall and in his fifties, spoke up, "Zhengyi, have you found out? Is that student really just an ordinary person without any connections to Exorcists?"


    Tang Zhengyi replied, "Some connection, they seem to have had several contacts, so they appear quite familiar with each other, but there is no financial relationship or special employment arrangement."


    "Employment?" The bald man laughed, "Such a young lad, even if he has special abilities, Exorcists wouldn¡¯t hire him specially."


    Special employment was somewhat akin to a special appointment, which even held a more exceptional status than the Exorcists¡¯ own team members, hence the bald one¡¯s disbelief.


    "So...what do we do with this video?" Tang Zhengyi asked.


    The chubby man took a sip of the strong tea placed before him and said, "We can¡¯t report it to Exorcists, or else in addition to confiscating the video, they might also give us a warning."


    "That¡¯s simple," the bald man suggested to the tall man opposite him, "Lao Liu, go find a buyer and sell it."


    "President Er, are you saying to sell it to those interested?" Tang Zhengyi asked in surprise.


    "Of course, those people love this stuff. It would be a shame to not make a profit from such an exciting video," President Er said, turning to the headquarters on the video, and inquired, "Does anyone have a better idea?"


    "No objections," the man seated at the center on the video side nodded.


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    "Then get moving on that contact, Lao Liu," President Er commanded.


    "If the video isn¡¯t uploaded to the platform, what about Yan Junze..." Tang Zhengyi hurriedly interjected.


    "Offer him a sum of money, just say our company bought it, but considering the impact, we¡¯ve decided not to include it in the platform¡¯s video library for the time being," President Er responded.


    "How much money?" Tang Zhengyi asked again.


    President Er tapped his forehead with his index finger and said, "You decide."


    ...


    "Twenty-eight thousand?!"


    Just after school, Yan Junze received a call from Tang Zhengyi, who stated that the Back-faced Woman¡¯s video wouldn¡¯t be broadcast for now, but the company would pay to acquire it, offering "twenty-eight thousand."


    Yan Junze had not expected that even if the video was not broadcasted, he could still make money off it.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t aware of the market value, the amount of money offered was far from his expectation.


    But there was no helping it; Yan Junze was well aware that he had no channels to sell this type of video. If he tried to sell it online, it would certainly be seized by Exorcists first, and drawing further attention would be even worse.


    Given that his family¡¯s savings were already modest, this sum of money was better than nothing for Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze simply responded with an ambivalent, standard-issue reply: "Heh heh."


    "That settles it then. The money will be transferred to your account registered on the platform within a week; be sure to check for it," Tang Zhengyi said, "Also, someone will come to collect the filming equipment tomorrow. Thanks for your cooperation recently."


    Yan Junze: "Heh heh."


    "I¡¯ve got more good news. After deliberation, our company decided to promote your ¡¯Night Traveling Puppy¡¯ account to Honorary Master of Spirit Exploration. In the future, if you have more videos to upload, they will be given priority display on the platform¡¯s homepage. Donations and other user payments will be split fifty-fifty with the platform, not at forty-sixty," Tang Zhengyi added.


    "Heh heh." Yan Junze hung up the call, his feelings mixed and hard to articulate.

 Chapter 118 - 117 Yan Junze’s Weapon

    Now that he had some money, Yan Junze was planning to have the Golden Body Statue altered at a goldsmith shop this weekend.


    Into a handy weapon that could pose a threat to the strangenesses.


    He had already asked Zhou Dali at school, and Dali, though occasionally annoying due to his personality, was nonetheless wide-connected and never muddled when it came to helping friends.


    Well, as long as it wasn¡¯t Spirit Exploration.


    Dali¡¯s aunt¡¯s cousin¡¯s younger sister rented out a shop space to a goldsmith shop called "Zhou Erfu," which was fairly sizable and reputed to have skilled craftsmen.


    But the Golden Body Statue was a bit too large, making the alteration a bit troublesome and time-consuming.


    Trusting in Zhou Dali and "Zhou Erfu," the very next day after school, Yan Junze put the Golden Body Statue in his backpack and, together with Zhou Dali, dashed to the "Zhou Erfu" goldsmith shop.


    Upon arriving, they entered a shop that indeed seemed fairly large, where two female clerks in professional attire immediately approached them with a warm welcome.


    After Zhou Dali explained their purpose, one of the clerks escorted them to a back door within the shop.


    A sign reading "Workshop" hung on the door.


    Upon entering, they were greeted with a slightly pungent smell, and although three craftsmen were present, two were busy while the apparent master craftsman was idling nearby, smoking.


    Zhou Dali nudged Yan Junze with his elbow and then approached the smoking man, greeting him, "Brother Gu, hello, we were referred here by Auntie Feng."


    The smoking man named Gu lifted his head, appearing somewhat listless.


    Yan Junze noticed the man¡¯s deep-set eyes and dark circles, suggesting he was in a very poor state of mind.


    At this sight, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help doubting whether entrusting the Golden Body Statue to this man for remelting was a good idea.


    "Hmm, I¡¯m Gu Bai," said the man as he extinguished his cigarette and stood up, "Sister Feng told me about you. Let me have a look at your item first."


    Yan Junze, who had been on the verge of backing out, figured that since he was already there, it couldn¡¯t hurt to let him take a look.


    He pulled out the Golden Body Statue wrapped in newspaper from his backpack and handed it to Gu Bai.


    After Gu Bai unwrapped the newspaper, Lin Yishan¡¯s statue appeared, prompting a slight pause from him.


    "Such a large piece, this must be about 80% gold content."


    Yan Junze replied, "Regardless of its gold content, I just want to remelt this statue."


    "Into what?" asked Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze had already made up his mind and without hesitation said, "If it doesn¡¯t damage the essence, I¡¯d like a club, about the length of half an arm, the kind one would use by the river to wash clothes."


    He had considered making a knife, but that would be too conspicuous to carry around and problematic if classified as a controlled weapon. Plus, the statue already somewhat resembled a club, so transforming it into one would likely be the most time- and effort-efficient option.


    "A club?" Gu Bai looked skeptical for a moment.


    He inspected the statue closely, commenting, "This was made with very ordinary craftsmanship; no special techniques are enclosed, nor does it seem to have any special structure. Hmm, but I¡¯ll handle it with care."


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes widened, and he reached out to touch Yan Junze¡¯s forehead, "You¡¯re not feverish! Are you planning on opening a wet wash place by the river with this club?"


    Yan Junze slapped his hand away and looked at Gu Bai, "So, is this... going to be troublesome?"


    Gu Bai chuckled, "We don¡¯t have a mold for a club; we¡¯ll need to make one from scratch, which will take a bit of time."


    "No problem, just let me know if there¡¯s any cost involved; I can¡¯t expect you to foot the bill for helping me," Yan Junze nodded.


    Gu Bai handed back the Golden Body Statue, "Come back the day after tomorrow, it¡¯s the weekend. Once I¡¯ve prepared the mold for the club... the club, I¡¯ll craft it for you right here on the spot. It¡¯ll be quick."


    "Thank you," Yan Junze wrapped the statue up again.


    Zhou Dali went to the store, poured a few cups of tea, and handed one to Gu Bai. After all, asking for someone¡¯s help and then leaving immediately after striking a deal seemed a bit rude.


    Once they sat down, they began to chat casually with Gu Bai.


    "Brother Gu, I notice you don¡¯t seem very fit. You should really take care of yourself and exercise more." As soon as Zhou Dali spoke, he steered the conversation towards something he was particularly proud of.


    While he spoke, he flexed his biceps, intending to show off. Indeed, they looked sturdy and strong.


    But it seemed as if Gu Bai didn¡¯t see, simply lighting a cigarette for himself.


    Knowing that Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students, he didn¡¯t hesitate to smoke in front of them and took a deep drag before saying, "It¡¯s chronic sleep deprivation, nothing I can do about it."


    "Oh, you have insomnia?" Yan Junze asked.


    "No," Gu Bai shook his head, "I do want to sleep. I can even fall asleep at work during the day, but when night comes, ah... let¡¯s not talk about it." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Dali was slightly surprised and asked, "Is it because you¡¯ve encountered... strangenesses?"


    Gu Bai looked at him, still shaking his head, "I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s that. I¡¯ve already called 4747, but there¡¯s a long waiting list. The main thing is, even I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s that."


    After finishing, he stood up: "It¡¯s getting dark, you better head home. Just remember to come and find me over the weekend."


    "Thank you."


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali got up to leave. Since Gu Bai didn¡¯t want to elaborate, they naturally didn¡¯t press the matter.


    Zhou Dali didn¡¯t mind, since he was timid. After hearing it might be a strangeness, he lost the desire to inquire further.


    However, Yan Junze was more attentive. Looking at Gu Bai¡¯s demeanor, he feared that Gu Bai had been dealing with a strangeness for a while. Usually, these kinds of strangeness tasks are of a higher level, at least medium.


    At the moment, Yan Junze¡¯s standards were also rising. He could complete lower-level tasks, but the Different Dimension Energy points he¡¯d get were not substantial.


    Moreover, these strangeness incidents were mostly dealt with by Exorcists directly. It was only in emergency situations involving his own relatives, or if not handled, that more people would be affected, that Yan Junze might take on a lower-level task. Read latest stories on empire


    He would see over the weekend. If Gu Bai helped him with his favor, he had to repay it, even if it meant taking on a lower-level task.


    After leaving the gold shop with Zhou Dali, they went their separate ways home.


    As he got off the bus, his mom¡¯s call came, asking how soon he would be home.


    "Just reached the entrance of the community."


    Yan Junze said, hung up the phone, and as he was about to enter the community gate, noticed that Grandpa Zheng was eating dinner alone in the guardhouse.


    Two dishes and a soup, one meat and one vegetable, the pairing was not bad at all.


    Grandpa Zheng poured himself a small glass of wine and was enjoying his meal heartily, not noticing Yan Junze outside the duty room staring at him.


    A moment later, Yan Junze opened the door to the duty room: "Grandpa Zheng, having dinner?"


    "Eh, Ze, just getting back from school? Want to join your grandpa for a bit of dinner?" Grandpa Zheng offered with a smile.


    "No thanks, about to have dinner at home," Yan Junze said as he found a stool to sit on.


    Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s stance showed no intention to leave, Grandpa Zheng asked, "Is there something you want?"


    "I wanted to ask you, when was our community¡¯s underground garage renovated?" Yan Junze said.


    A reminiscent look came over Grandpa Zheng, "Oh, I can¡¯t quite remember. It¡¯s been over a decade! Why do you ask?"


    Yan Junze leaned forward and asked, "Were there ever any scavengers or workers who lived in there before?"


    Grandpa Zheng took a bite of his dish and pondered, "When it was still an underground warehouse, there was a scavenger, but I heard he died a long time ago, that was when I first came here."

 Chapter 119: The 118th Chapter: She’s Called Aunt Mei

    ```


    "That scavenger, was it a man or a woman?" Yan Junze asked.


    "A woman." Grandpa Zheng answered while recalling.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, "Who else in the community might remember this incident?"


    Grandpa Zheng wiped his mouth and pointed inside the community, saying, "Elder Pu living on the first floor of Building No. 4, I mean, I call him Elder Pu, but you should call him Old Master. He has lived here for a long time and might know something."


    "Then Grandpa Zheng, you take your time eating."


    Yan Junze left the duty room and didn¡¯t immediately go home, but went straight to the building opposite his own, Building No. 5.


    Elder Pu must be over 90 years old, hard of hearing, and after Yan Junze knocked, Elder Pu¡¯s daughter came to open the door.


    Yes, his daughter is 64 years old, and Yan Junze calls her grandma.


    Elder Pu was lying in bed because his legs and feet were not agile ¨C he rarely got out of bed, and even if he did, he usually sat in a wheelchair.


    Since the outbreak of "strangenesses," he hardly ever went out.


    Yan Junze had seen this old master before ¨C Elder Pu¡¯s hair had already fallen out, his frame was skinny, his cheeks hollow. It was said he loved to chat.


    Yan Junze said he was there to ask Elder Pu about something from the past in the community, and the daughter let him into the bedroom.


    As soon as he entered the bedroom, he cheerfully said, "Old Pu, how are you? I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you? I¡¯ve come to understand some matters."


    Elder Pu raised his head, showing a kind smile as he looked at Yan Junze.


    Worried that he might not hear him, Yan Junze raised his voice, "Old Grandpa, hello!"


    "Hmm, nice weather, the weather is good today," Elder Pu nodded.


    Yan Junze¡¯s face turned embarrassed, and he said again, "Grandpa, I just want to ask you two questions."


    "How did you know I can paint?" Elder Pu looked surprised.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Elder Pu¡¯s daughter standing behind him, and she shook her head with a resigned smile, "He¡¯s always like this now, answering out of context, maybe¡­ just go with the flow."


    "Go with the flow?" Yan Junze found that the old people nowadays were quite humorous. He turned back to Elder Pu and raised his volume even more, emphasizing each word, "Grandpa, do you still remember anything about the FH Community¡¯s underground storeroom before it was remodeled?"


    "I remember," Elder Pu finally gave a correct response.


    "Then tell me about it, I would like to understand some things," Yan Junze nodded and sat down by the bed.


    "I remember that year, my father said, the underground resistance in Shuntian was pursued and intercepted by the enemy forces, and eventually had no choice but to change their appearance¡­"


    "Alright, alright, Grandpa, my mistake." Yan Junze stood up and gave Elder Pu¡¯s daughter a wry smile, then said to Elder Pu, "I won¡¯t bother you any longer, you rest well."


    Just as he was about to leave, Elder Pu¡¯s daughter curiously asked, "What did you want to inquire about? Maybe I know something as well."


    Yan Junze casually said, "Just wanted to ask about a woman who used to scavenge in the underground garage."


    "Oh, you mean Aunt Mei."


    "Hmm? You really know her," Yan Junze said, surprised.


    Elder Pu¡¯s daughter nodded, "I¡¯ve heard the old master talk about her. Aunt Mei had been scavenging for a lifetime, quite pitiful. Later, when her economic condition got a bit better, she always lived in the underground storeroom of FH Community."


    "Wasn¡¯t the storeroom later remodeled into a parking lot?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes, but there was a maintenance tunnel inside, and Aunt Mei lived in there afterward. Her rheumatism was severe, and it seems it led to other diseases, which caused her death."


    "Was she married? Did she have any children?"


    "No," Elder Pu¡¯s daughter lowered her head and thought for a moment, "Apparently, later she found a pair of abandoned infants with disabilities. It is said that Aunt Mei was raising them, but they were rarely seen, and it was only half a month after Aunt Mei died that her body was discovered."


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    "What about the infants?"


    "They died before Aunt Mei, couldn¡¯t be raised, and Aunt Mei was heartbroken for a long time."


    "Hmm, I think I¡¯ve got a rough idea, thank you, Grandma Pu." Yan Junze revealed a smile, nodded to Old Pu¡¯s daughter, then took his leave.


    Now it seemed certain that the old lady in the underground garage was indeed Aunt Mei, and the two strange babies were the disabled abandoned infants she had picked up.


    However, what made Yan Junze curious was that when he activated "Perception of Strange Events", he didn¡¯t detect any mission information regarding Aunt Mei and the two strange babies.


    This meant that Aunt Mei and the babies might not have any obsessions, or that the strange babies did have obsessions but were being heavily suppressed by Aunt Mei.


    This could be determined from the way the strange babies shrank back in fear whenever they looked at Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze was filled with absolute curiosity towards this strangeness that was Aunt Mei.


    First of all, the old lady was incredibly powerful; the Back-faced Woman, upon seeing her, didn¡¯t say a word and ran away, just like Ke¡¯er did upon encountering other high-level strangenesses, without even the thought of challenging her.


    This showed that Aunt Mei¡¯s strangeness level was very high, though its exact level was unknown.


    Most importantly, Yan Junze now saw that Aunt Mei was very kind to people, had no obsessions or resentment. At least for now, he couldn¡¯t see any threat to others, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be quietly living in the underground garage for who knows how long.


    If possible, it would be more beneficial than detrimental to foster a good relationship with Aunt Mei.


    Only, Yan Junze knew that his "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" skill seemed unable to lock down strangenesses above the semi-Sculpting Spirit level. It wouldn¡¯t work on the Resentful Granny, the Back-faced Woman, and certainly not on Aunt Mei.


    "Might as well do this: in a couple of days, I¡¯ll buy some candles to visit her, activate Rewind beforehand, and probe whether it¡¯s possible to establish some rapport with Aunt Mei."


    Yan Junze made up his mind.


    He returned home without another word the whole way.


    On the weekend, the school announced ahead of time that all seniors would have a large classroom session, with university teachers coming over to give lectures and former top students sharing their examination experience.


    This was completely unexpected by Yan Junze and Zhou Dali.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t last long and ended around 3 pm.


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali immediately went to the "Zhou Erfu" jewelry store and, upon arriving at the workshop, found only the two apprentices there without Master Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze saw that the mold for the mallet had been finished and was placed neatly on the table, but there was no sign of Gu Bai.


    "Master Gu said he will be here later, you guys just wait for a bit," one apprentice called out and then hurried off to busily tend to other tasks.


    About half an hour later, Gu Bai finally arrived, looking very late.


    The guy had very noticeable dark circles under his eyes, drooping eyelids, and shuffling steps, clearly having not rested well.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze was actually worried about him starting work now.


    However, Gu Bai seemed to be aware of his condition and didn¡¯t immediately start working, but instead sat down to rest for a while, smoked a cigarette, drank several sips of the strong tea the apprentice had brewed, and started work when he felt less tired.


    Yan Junze was puzzled about what this guy had been up to at night to be so tired. Was it just poor sleep?


    Curiosity aside, it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to ask questions at the moment. Standing with Zhou Dali, he just watched from a distance.


    "Brother Gu, if you find any special structures inside, please stop and let me consider whether to continue," Yan Junze spoke up as a reminder.


    Gu Bai nodded, then shook his head, "From my experience, the craftsmanship of this statue isn¡¯t very fine, so the chance of finding any special structures inside is very small."


    Though he said this, he was still very careful and, before long, the Lin Yishan statue in front of him melted into a large mass. Gu Bai carefully poured it into the mold.


    At that moment, a black bead rolled out from the molten golden liquid.


    Continue reading on empire


    "Wait a minute," Yan Junze immediately spoke up.

 Chapter 120 - 119: The Photo Studio Mystery

    Everyone saw the bead, it was just that Yan Junze was quick to speak and immediately yelled for a halt.


    By the time he called for a stop, Gu Bai had already ceased his actions.


    He seemed quite curious about the object and then extended a special pair of tongs into the mold to clasp the black bead.


    The bead wasn¡¯t very large, only about the size of a checker, but it was pitch-black and lacked any shine.


    However, the mold¡¯s temperature was already around a thousand degrees, and the fact that the bead could roam around inside without any damage was indeed unusual.


    They definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to touch it now, but Yan Junze knew this black bead was the key reason the sculpture could absorb Different Dimension Energy. So if he discarded the bead during the crafting of the mace, then the mace would be nothing more than a plain mace to him.


    "Wait for me to take a photo before putting it back."


    Yan Junze took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the black bead. Stay tuned with empire


    "Are you going to put it back?" Gu Bai asked, surprised.


    He thought that since the object looked so strange and they had already found it, they ought to study it thoroughly.


    Why put it back and melt it into the mace?


    "Yes, put it back, melt it into the core of the mace." Yan Junze pointed at the mold and said.


    "Alright." Without saying anything further, Gu Bai promptly returned the bead and proceeded to the next step.


    As the process continued and seemed to take a while, Yan Junze and Zhou Dali sat near the entrance to the workshop, watching the entire procedure and chatting intermittently with Gu Bai.


    The reason the process was quick was due to Yan Junze¡¯s low-maintenance and straightforward request: to simply make the mace, without the need for additional artistic embellishments such as chasing, wire brushing, or sandblasting, only a simple stamping was used.


    Before long, the golden mace took shape and was subjected to cooling treatment.


    After completing the work, Gu Bai lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then came over to sit down and poured two large sips of strong tea for himself. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Thanks for your hard work, Brother Gu," Yan Junze said.


    "Brother Gu, if you get too little sleep at night, it¡¯s really not good for your health in the long run," Zhou Dali said from the side.


    "Ah, I basically take naps in the store now, that¡¯s the only place I can fall asleep," Gu Bai said with a bitter smile and a shake of his head.


    "If you¡¯re willing to talk about it, feel free to tell me," Yan Junze said. "Perhaps I could help you out."


    "You?" Gu Bai looked at him.


    "Yes, my buddy often goes on Spirit Explorations and even uploads the videos online, very popular," Zhou Dali immediately boasted as if it wasn¡¯t Yan Junze¡¯s work, but his own.


    "No, no, no," Gu Bai immediately shook his head. "We can¡¯t put up videos online; we can¡¯t let other people know about it."


    "Not all explorations are for videos," Yan Junze explained with a smile. "It depends on the situation. Some Spirit Exploration videos are not suitable for the internet; I get that."


    Zhou Dali said, "My brother has dealt with a lot of strangeness, and I even got involved once myself, though I didn¡¯t dare to go afterward. But if you share your experience with us, maybe he can help."


    "I¡¯ve already called Exorcism," Gu Bai said.


    "It¡¯s alright, if you think you can hold on, then wait for the exorcist to come investigate," Yan Junze said, taking a sip of tea, standing up, and preparing to check on the cooling hammer.


    Gu Bai looked up at him deeply, then suddenly turned to his two apprentices and said, "Put aside the work for now and go outside to use the restroom."


    The two disciples were startled, exchanged glances, then agreed and tactfully left the workshop.


    Yan Junze sat back down.


    Gu Bai seemed to be organizing his thoughts, and after more than ten seconds, he finally began, "My wife loves photography, so we opened a photo studio which does pretty well most of the time. Since we spent all our savings on the store, we also live there."


    Yan Junze and Zhou Dali did not speak, waiting for Gu Bai to continue.


    Gu Bai continued, "My wife is quite retro; she loves film photography, so she specially remodeled one of the rooms into a darkroom to develop film. Of course, she also uses digital cameras, but she has a greater affinity for film photography."


    "Starting last month, the photo studio began experiencing some abnormalities. There¡¯s nothing unusual during the day, but at night, there are always strange noises, especially frequent in the darkroom."


    "A few times when there were strange noises, I went to check, but I couldn¡¯t see anything. However, after the noises, I¡¯d find some of the freshly washed photos had fallen down, and a lot of the developing chemicals my wife prepares would be significantly less."


    "Just last week, another disturbance arose in the middle of the night. Startled awake, I ran to see and found photos either fallen or halved as if something had eaten them. And I always felt like someone was present in the darkroom, but I couldn¡¯t see anyone. Later, my wife started screaming in bed. I rushed over to ask her what happened, and she said, in a daze, she felt someone pulling at her feet."


    "You need to understand, our bedroom is separated from the darkroom by just one room, set up this way for the convenience of my wife¡¯s work. And then..."


    At this point, Gu Bai paused and his body suddenly shivered.


    "Then last night, there were strange noises from the darkroom again, but I was too tired. My wife was sleepy too, and, being timid, she didn¡¯t dare to check. I actually wanted to get up, but due to lack of rest, I fell asleep again in a haze. At that moment, I felt something grab my foot and jerk it hard, as if in a dream, abruptly waking me up."


    "Did you see anything when you got up?" Yan Junze asked.


    "No, I didn¡¯t see anything," said Gu Bai, still shaken, "If it really becomes unbearable, I¡¯m prepared to move out. But we¡¯ve invested so much into that place, it would all go to waste if we left, and we¡¯re very reluctant to do so!"


    Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Gu Bai looked up at Yan Junze and Zhou Dali, "Honestly, if it¡¯s strangeneses, my wife and I haven¡¯t seen anything. We don¡¯t feel our lives are threatened, but the constant disturbances every day, if it goes on like this, I feel like I¡¯m on the verge of going mad."


    "How about this," Yan Junze started, "tonight you don¡¯t sleep on the bed. I¡¯ll sleep there, ah, I mean, you and your wife should sleep somewhere else, not on the bed."


    "I¡¯ll go too," Zhou Dali chimed in.


    "What are you going to do there?" Yan Junze asked with surprise.


    "I¡¯m going to sleep too."


    "Hmm, okay, there¡¯s probably some strangeneses there, let Zhou Dali go to draw its attention. The guy¡¯s got a large frame, easy to attract hate," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Just kidding," Zhou Dali laughed heartily, "My studies aren¡¯t as good as yours, and I have exams coming up, so I need to review at home."


    "Won¡¯t it disrupt your exams?" Gu Bai asked Yan Junze.


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "It¡¯s just the weekend. If I don¡¯t sleep at night, I can still catch up on sleep during the day."


    "Then... thank you for your trouble."


    At this moment, Gu Bai felt a bit like he was grasping at straws, mainly because he wasn¡¯t sure if it was really strangeneses, and even if it was, they were still in line waiting for the exorcist, with no idea when it would be their turn.


    If they didn¡¯t handle it soon, Gu Bai felt he might go crazy himself.

 Chapter 121 - 120 Black Spirit

    Stay tuned with empire


    Gu Bai sent the address of the photography studio to Yan Junze¡¯s phone, and then they agreed on a time.


    The time was tonight at 10 p.m.


    To sneak out easily in the evening, Yan Junze also needed to get his story straight with Zhou Dali, telling his parents that he was going to Dali¡¯s house to study and would stay over, not coming back until the next day.


    Before long, a brand new mace was finally forged.


    Gu Bai checked it once more, then handed it over to Yan Junze.


    The golden mace was about the length of a forearm, and at first glance, it looked quite like the previous statue, but was more convenient to carry and use for attack.


    When Yan Junze took it, he felt its weight in his hand, as the mace was somewhat heavy.


    However, to threaten strangenesses with it, he would need to carry it in his backpack at all times, which would be very inconvenient.


    If only he could place it directly into the Spacetime Atlas like "Lock Evil Spirits," that would be perfect.


    Yan Junze had an idea.


    No sooner had the idea emerged than a line of text popped up in his mind from the Spacetime Atlas.


    "[Black Spirit detected, initiate Lockdown?]"


    "What the hell is a ¡¯Black Spirit¡¯?" Yan Junze, holding the mace, looked around but didn¡¯t notice any other strangenesses in the area.


    Shortly after, he lowered his head to gaze at the mace in his hand.


    With a thought, he tentatively commanded in his mind, "Lockdown."


    The mace in his hand vanished instantly, and the next second, it appeared within the 12th node, perfectly occupying the empty echo left by Ke¡¯er.


    "Oh sh*t!"


    Despite being prepared, the sudden disappearance of the mace startled Yan Junze. With suddenly empty hands, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble.


    Gu Bai was just pouring hot water into a teacup. Looking up, he asked in surprise, "Eh, where did the mace go?"


    Yan Junze immediately adopted a nonchalant pose, resting his chin on his hand and shrugging, "I just... put it into my bag."


    Zhou Dali also widened his eyes, "Woah, your sleight of hand is so fast, I didn¡¯t even see it. You must practice a lot with action movies at night, huh?"


    "Get lost," laughed Yan Junze.


    After saying goodbye to Gu Bai, the two left the gold shop.


    As for the trouble that Yan Junze was supposed to help Gu Bai with that night, Dali had no interest in joining. He was busy "studying," after all!


    But he had no problem helping Yan Junze fabricate an excuse.


    On his way home, Yan Junze passed by a funeral supplies shop and conveniently went in to buy a big bag of ceremonial candles.


    In his opinion, since Resentful Granny and her son and daughter-in-law even ate those kind of household candles, these special ceremonial candles for the deceased should definitely suit Aunt Mei¡¯s taste.


    When he returned home, his parents were still at work, and no one was at home.


    Yan Junze took out the ceremonial candles and scurried downstairs, first opening the Rewind before pushing open the small door that led to the underground parking garage.


    Just as he entered the garage, he happened to meet a neighbor coming up. The neighbor saw Yan Junze carrying the candles and entering the garage with a mysterious smile, which caused the neighbor to look back in suspicion for a while before leaving.


    The southeastern corner of the garage was very secluded; one could not see it at all from the entrance. So after familiarly making his way over, Yan Junze directly opened the door and walked in.


    Standing outside the room, with ceremonial candles in hand as if holding a bunch of roses, he stood respectfully and softly called out, "Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I¡¯ve come to see you!"


    Soft rustling sounds quickly came from inside the unlit room. The noise continued for quite some time, then finally, Aunt Mei¡¯s corpulent body slowly appeared, standing at the inner room¡¯s door.


    But he did not see the strange baby¡¯s figure.


    "Aunt Mei, you must be hungry by now, these are incense and candles, they¡¯re really tasty. I bought them especially for you," Yan Junze said while approaching Aunt Mei, preparing to hand over the incense and candles.


    Aunt Mei still wore a smile on her face, staring steadily at Yan Junze, and did not reach out.


    Being watched with a smile like that, Yan Junze started feeling uneasy, extending his hand with the incense and candles a bit more.


    But Aunt Mei still showed no intention of taking them.


    Just then, from the darkness behind the door, by Aunt Mei¡¯s side, a slender and pale little hand slowly reached out and suddenly grabbed the incense and candles from Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    Yan Junze immediately let go, and a large handful of incense and candles were swiftly snatched into the darkness.


    Before long, the sound of unwrapping the incense and candles and then chewing noises filled the room.


    Clearly, the strange baby was gnawing on the incense and candles.


    Actually, at this moment, Yan Junze was somewhat surprised; he did not understand why these evil spirits, if they all enjoyed eating wax and incense, did not go directly to the funeral supply store where there was an abundance of such items.


    However, after thinking it over carefully and considering the initial reluctance of L¨¹ Qiang and Wang Qin, Resentful Granny¡¯s son and daughter-in-law, to eat candles, it seemed that eating candles might just be a passive instinct of the evil spirits, one that they didn¡¯t actively pursue in normal times.


    Of course, it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that some starved evil spirits might seek out places selling candles and such for food. But on second thought, they were probably in the minority.


    The sound of gnawing candles in the room was intense, indicating that both strange babies were eating. Yet, Aunt Mei still stood at the entrance, watching Yan Junze with a smile, motionless.


    Yan Junze¡¯s uneasiness grew, and the sight of Aunt Mei smiling at him made him wonder if this old lady had died from laughing.


    Otherwise, why would she smile so much? Always with a beaming expression.


    "Take it slow, don¡¯t rush, relationships are built step by step," he murmured to himself, and stepping back, he said, "Aunt Mei, then you take your time eating, I won¡¯t disturb you if there¡¯s nothing else. Um, I¡¯ll come to see you again next time."


    Aunt Mei said nothing, standing at the doorway, smilingly watching Yan Junze back away until the door slowly closed with her peculiar smiling face still on.


    This visit had been quite sudden, and without any specific purpose besides bringing over some items, but Corpse Granny hadn¡¯t made things difficult for him. This perhaps was a good sign.


    Yan Junze made his way home, mentally justifying this "rich" outcome for himself.


    Once home, his parents soon returned. During dinner, he told them that he would go to Zhou Dali¡¯s place for a study session and would not return until Sunday.


    Yan Daguo and his wife didn¡¯t overthink it, and knowing Yan Junze seemed quite out of the ordinary, they even started to believe that ordinary strangenesses wouldn¡¯t affect their son anymore.


    Nevertheless, the couple still warned him to spend the night at Zhou Dali¡¯s home and not to go out.


    After dinner, Yan Junze researched the release and retraction of the mallet in his room. Only now did he realize that the black bead should be called "Black Spirit," so this mallet could also be referred to as the "Black Spirit Mallet."


    After reading for a while, as it was getting dark, Yan Junze left the house.


    If he left home too late, his parents would still be suspicious.


    Thus, when he arrived at Gu Bai and his wife¡¯s photo studio on Lion Awakening Road, it was only eight-thirty, still an hour and a half before the arranged meeting time of ten o¡¯clock.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze called Gu Bai.


    "Sorry for coming early," Yan Junze explained as soon as Gu Bai picked up the phone. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No problem, no problem, we¡¯re both at home. You can come in and familiarize yourself with the surroundings," Gu Bai hung up and in a short while, he came running out from the shop to stand by the street.


    Yan Junze spotted him at once.

 Chapter 122 - 121 Photographing (1)

    This Lion Awakening Road is an old street, not very bustling, but also not lacking in people, so maintaining a small business here shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    If the business gains a bit of fame, there¡¯s no shortage of repeat customers, and one might even make a small fortune.


    As Yan Junze got closer to Gu Bai, Gu Bai put his arm around his shoulder, very enthusiastically.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw that the storefront, named "Fantasy Photo Studio," wasn¡¯t very big. The exterior of the shop was only about twenty square meters, but the decoration was exquisite, giving off a feeling that although it was small, it had all the essentials.


    Inside the storefront, apart from the closed doors, there was also a thick black cloth hanging at the entrance. According to Gu Bai¡¯s introduction, this room was the darkroom, usually used for developing films, so it had to be kept dark.


    There was another room on the side of the shop, which was the living quarters for Gu Bai and his wife Lin Meng, and within this living space, they had sectioned off two small compartments.


    One compartment was used for cooking to prevent the smell of smoke from drifting into the bedroom and soiling the bedding.


    The other compartment was the photography room, which maximized the use of space in the room.


    The moment he saw Gu Bai¡¯s wife, Yan Junze had an epiphany about why Zhou Dali, that guy, upon hearing that he would be sleeping here at night, immediately volunteered to come over to sleep, not even afraid of the strangeness anymore.


    That kid must have heard something beforehand.


    This woman had light yellow wavy curls, of average height, with a slender figure, fair skin, curvy in all the right places, and even her voice was incredibly sweet when she spoke.


    "Gu Bai, this guy, is really lucky with women!"


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first impression upon seeing his wife.


    However, she seemed somewhat spiritually weary, but she had applied light makeup to cover it, and if he hadn¡¯t looked carefully, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed it. Your journey continues with empire


    "This is my wife, Lin Meng," Gu Bai introduced, "Normally, she sleeps very deeply, so I hear the most sounds from the darkroom. Last time, if someone hadn¡¯t tugged at her ankle in her sleep, she probably wouldn¡¯t have woken up."


    "But ever since that incident, I¡¯ve been too scared to sleep at night," Lin Meng said timidly.


    As she spoke, her beautiful eyes moved and looked toward the direction of the darkroom, "Now, I don¡¯t dare to go near the darkroom alone."


    "Fortunately, everything is normal during the day," Gu Bai said, "It¡¯s only at night that things become strange."


    "Is it certain that strange things happen every night?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes," Gu Bai nodded, "Almost every night, although sometimes the sounds that come out are very soft, but I am very sensitive and still hear them."


    The obviously nerve-weakened man rubbed his forehead and pointed to the cup of tea in front of Yan Junze, saying, "The water¡¯s not hot, you can drink now."


    "Mm," Yan Junze picked up the teacup and took a sip.


    Gu Bai then added some freshly boiled water to it.


    "Tonight, you should sleep in the bed," Yan Junze said, "With this storefront in between the bedroom and the darkroom, I¡¯ll just sleep on the sofa here. It¡¯s a good way to keep you and the darkroom separated."


    The couple exchanged glances.


    Gu Bai nodded, "All right, we really appreciate your help this time."


    "I¡¯ll get you some clean bedding," Lin Meng stood up and walked into the bedroom.


    Her movements were brisk, and in no time, she had spread a sky-blue sheet and a quilt on the sofa.


    The bedding was indeed very clean, still carrying the fresh scent of laundry detergent, and it was very comfortable to lie on. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since his arrival, Yan Junze had been observing the Spacetime Atlas, but the Atlas had not transmitted any task-related information.


    It was very likely that the strangeness that appeared at night had not shown up yet.


    "Is there any detail that you haven¡¯t mentioned?" Yan Junze asked after sitting down.


    The couple thought for a bit.


    Lin Meng suddenly became a bit bashful and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just a dream, but these past few days, when I¡¯m asleep, I always feel like someone is touching me."


    "Hm?"


    Gu Bai and Yan Junze both widened their eyes at the same time.


    "It wasn¡¯t me?" Gu Bai immediately asked.


    It was as if Yan Junze saw little sprouts growing out of Gu Bai¡¯s head, the lush green kind.


    "No, no, it¡¯s not," Lin Meng glanced at Yan Junze, seeming a bit embarrassed, "You¡¯ve misunderstood, it wasn¡¯t that kind of touching. It felt like I was dreaming, feeling someone touching my foot, or maybe it wasn¡¯t touching, just a sensation like the hand was covered in oil, greasy and slimy."


    Yan Junze felt that as Lin Meng continued to describe, it got darker and darker, no, for Gu Bai, it was getting greener and greener.


    "Why didn¡¯t you tell me?" Gu Bai¡¯s tone was beginning to sound a bit off.


    "At first I thought it was you, but then it felt like I was dreaming, and there was nothing out of the ordinary when I woke up in the morning," Lin Meng said.


    The atmosphere between the couple became somewhat rigid.


    "Well, I think I understand the situation now," Yan Junze nodded, "As for this matter, I think you should go back to your room to talk it out, and I¡¯ll sort through it myself. Don¡¯t come out if you hear any noise tonight, just wait in the bedroom unless I notify you."


    The couple nodded.


    The photo studio had closed after eight o¡¯clock, and now it was half past nine. Yan Junze had made a point of going to the bathroom in the bedroom beforehand, then lay down on the sofa in the outside storefront.


    Then Gu Bai and Lin Meng went back to the bedroom and closed the door behind them.


    There still wasn¡¯t any task information popping up, and Yan Junze, half lying on the bed, took out his phone and started browsing through Moments.


    Not long after, he received a message from Xiaomo.


    "I¡¯m returning to Tianmeng District tomorrow, but I¡¯m staying in Shuntian overnight; it¡¯s the weekend, do you want to come out for a midnight snack?"


    Yan Junze: "Sis, where can you find midnight snacks at this time of night, unless it¡¯s opened by you exorcists."


    Xiaomo: "The hotel here has some. If you¡¯re free, come over and I¡¯ll ask you in detail about the other day¡¯s situation, and I¡¯ll send you back afterward."


    Yan Junze: "I can¡¯t; I still have to review for my classes, let¡¯s talk when we meet up another time."


    After chatting for a bit and putting down the phone, Yan Junze wondered if this was the first time he had turned down a girl¡¯s invitation to go out.


    It just seemed a bit mixed up, though¡ªif it were a real date, in this situation, it should be the gentleman sending the lady home, not the other way around.


    This damn era of strangeness!


    There wasn¡¯t a single noise in the house; Yan Junze closed his eyes, pondering whether it was all just Gu Bai and Lin Meng¡¯s imagination¡ªwas there really no strangeness here at all, or else why wouldn¡¯t the task notification pop up?


    He drifted off, not knowing when he fell asleep.


    When he woke up, it was deep into the night, the lights in the room were out, only a faint gleam from the streetlamps outside filtered in.


    Just at that moment, the Spacetime Atlas in Yan Junze¡¯s mind suddenly popped up with a task notification.


    [Task name: Photographing;


    Task level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task background: In life, he was a veteran street photographer who roamed alleys and streets stalking beautiful women, constantly skirting the edge of the law. After provoking a local mobster¡¯s girlfriend, he was caught by these enraged thugs, forced into various poses for eighteen sets of nude pictures, and had them all spread out. Then, he killed himself¡ªbut without a hint of remorse...


    Task description: He was a deeply treacherous, morally depraved, shameless scoundrel, and in death, he remains the same. So, complete eradication is the only fitting end for him;


    Task reward: 700 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task punishment: He will make you consume all the photos in the darkroom;


    Task tips: 1. The Evil Spirit may be locked down, but would you want to lock down such scum? 2. His abhorrence of photography has turned his ghostly form very bizarre; 3. Perhaps you need the help of a tool;


    Note: Do not let him get close to you.]

 Chapter 123 - 122 Photographing (2)

    Looking at this task information prompt, Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    "This guy developed a deep hatred for cameras, hence his strangeness takes a weird form." What does that mean? Could it be that his strangeness is different from other strangenesses?


    Task prompt¡ªperhaps I need a tool.


    What tool? Yan Junze was completely baffled.


    Just then, he heard rustling sounds coming from somewhere not far away, seemingly... from that darkroom.


    Yan Junze still lay on the sofa without getting up, listening intently with perked ears.


    By this time, any trace of sleepiness had vanished, his concentration was at its peak, and after listening for a while, he confirmed that the noises were coming from the darkroom.


    The sounds weren¡¯t loud and resembled a mouse rummaging, producing extremely sporadic noises.


    At this moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but admire Gu Bai; the kid was still asleep in his bedroom, yet he could hear these sounds¡ªhe must be exceedingly sensitive.


    Yan Junze believed that if it were not for the task prompt popping up and his own persistent vigilance, even in sleep, maintaining alertness, he would never have noticed this peculiarity under normal circumstances.


    After setting up Rewind, Yan Junze slowly sat up from the sofa.


    The sofa was quite old and made creaking sounds as he got up. During this time, the noises from the darkroom suddenly ceased; there was no further movement.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to move any further, just sitting quietly without turning on any lights or the flashlight on his phone, sitting in the dark, listening attentively.


    About two or three minutes later, the sound started once again.


    This time Yan Junze heard it clearly; the noise seemed like something being nibbled on, just like a rat stealing food.


    "It couldn¡¯t really be just a rat," Yan Junze thought with a sense of oddness.


    But the task prompt had already appeared, it couldn¡¯t be that simple.


    He stretched his feet to the ground, slowly put on his shoes, and then Yan Junze slowly stood up, leaving the sofa behind.


    His movements were very slow, as he feared making any loud noises, even deliberately reducing the number of times he breathed.


    Still, the moment he left the sofa, the damned sofa made a noise again.


    Once more, the activity in the darkroom stopped.


    Yan Junze just stood there, motionless. This time, it took at least five minutes before the sounds resumed from the darkroom.


    At this point, Yan Junze began to move, quietly approaching the darkroom. Knowing he was moving at night, he had switched to a pair of soft-soled sneakers before coming, and at this moment, his movements were cautious, without making a sound.


    Standing at the entrance of the darkroom, Yan Junze noticed that the door of the darkroom wasn¡¯t shut tight. After lifting the heavy black curtain, he could push the door open and enter directly.


    Taking a deep breath and touching the door gently, he exerted a bit of force and tried to push the door of the darkroom open at the slowest possible speed.


    It was nighttime, and the outside area of the shop was also very dark, so opening the door to the darkroom wouldn¡¯t cause any sudden exposure that could ruin the photos inside.


    Fortunately, it seemed, the darkroom wasn¡¯t completely dark but bathed in a hazy dark red light that allowed anyone entering to still see.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t rush in, but instead lifted the black curtain and stood beneath it, pushing the darkroom¡¯s door open just enough for someone to slip in sideways, then stood still at the doorway to observe.


    With the aid of the dark red light, his current position was actually darker, which made it easier to observe the inside.


    On closer examination, the row of tables inside the darkroom was neatly lined with large quantities of film rolls and stacks of developed photos. The row closer to him had a rectangular sink for developing film, which still contained soaking chemicals.


    Above the sink were multiple lines strung across, with photos clipped onto them, hanging to dry.


    However, Yan Junze noticed that many of the photos drying weren¡¯t complete¡ªeither a corner was missing, or half of the photo was gone.


    The door to the darkroom was thick and didn¡¯t make a sound when pushed open; Yan Junze then pushed it a bit wider.


    He widened his eyes, looking carefully. He even crouched down to inspect closer to the ground.


    He saw nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary where his gaze fell.


    But the rustling sound persisted.


    He looked up again at the darkroom¡¯s ceiling, half-expecting to see a strangeness lying there, staring down at him without blinking.


    But there was nothing.


    "How come there¡¯s nothing?" Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    With a thought, he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    Normally, when completing tasks, depending on the task, it was not appropriate to release other strangenesses for help. But the situation of this task was different.


    The mission briefing was simple, exterminate this scum. That was the goal. No matter the method, as long as the strangeness was exterminated, it would suffice.


    But the problem was that he couldn¡¯t find it at all now? That suggested that this creature might be incredibly adept at hiding itself.


    Therefore, releasing Long-tongued Zhenzhen to help find and kill it should be the right move.


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    Long-tongued Zhenzhen was a high-level Wandering Spirit. Yan Junze didn¡¯t believe the strangeness in this photographing studio was above a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, otherwise, the mission level wouldn¡¯t be as it was.


    Even if Long-tongued Zhenzhen couldn¡¯t handle it, didn¡¯t he still have the club in his hand? If all else failed, he would just smash it dead!


    After Long-tongued Zhenzhen came out, Yan Junze directly pushed open the door of the darkroom and entered.


    "What¡¯s the situation?" Long-tongued Zhenzhen followed behind and asked.


    "There¡¯s a strangeness here, help me find it," Yan Junze said. "If it resists, kill it immediately."


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen nodded and immediately began to look around.


    As soon as Yan Junze entered the darkroom, he closed the door and stood by the entrance, not moving.


    Then he released the club into his hand, holding it while his gaze wandered among all the suspicious spots in the darkroom.


    "There¡¯s nothing! I don¡¯t see anything," Long-tongued Zhenzhen turned back and told Yan Junze.


    "Nothing? Even you can¡¯t see it?" Yan Junze felt even more bewildered. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, the rustling sound started up again from inside the room, and soon Yan Junze felt something tug at his trouser leg, as if it was caught by something.


    He immediately looked down, only to find nothing there.


    The next second, a stabbing pain shot through his leg, and a terrifying wound appeared on his thigh. His trousers tore, a large chunk of flesh was missing, and blood gushed out.


    Bam!


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s tongue swept in, striking hard just next to Yan Junze¡¯s wounded leg against the darkroom door, denting it with the impact.


    But it struck nothing; there was nothing in front of Yan Junze¡¯s leg.


    Yet the flesh from his thigh was gone, and that was the bloody truth.


    "It¡¯s invisible!" came Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s voice.


    Rewind!


    Having been injured, he definitely couldn¡¯t complete the task normally anymore, and the high-level Wandering Spirit, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, couldn¡¯t even see the opponent. This was getting interesting.


    Enduring the sudden pain, Yan Junze chose to Rewind.

 Chapter 124 - 123 Photographing (3)

    This time, he rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.


    According to Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s guess, this creature could possibly be invisible, otherwise, not only he couldn¡¯t see it, even Long-tongued Zhenzhen who is also a strangeness couldn¡¯t see it.


    Actually, in Yan Junze¡¯s opinion, shouldn¡¯t strangenesses detect each other through sensing? Otherwise, where would the notion of a pecking order come from?


    But looking at the current situation, the strangeness lurking in the darkroom was indeed not of ordinary form, even the perception was inaccurate. Even Long-tongued Zhenzhen could not sense it at all.


    "Do I need to make use of a tool?"


    At this moment, Yan Junze suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the glass showcase in the shop, which displayed four or five cameras of different specifications.


    The task hint might mean he needed some kind of tool, and thinking about it, Yan Junze understood.


    The task stated that this strangeness had a very special form, and Zhenzhen had already mentioned that it could possibly be invisible.


    If that was the case, then things were getting interesting.


    Yan Junze walked up to the glass showcase, took out his cell phone, turned on the flashlight function, and shone the light onto the cameras inside the showcase.


    He could see five cameras neatly arranged there, but it was unclear whether they were broken and merely for display, or if they were actually functioning.


    He should have asked Lin Meng earlier.


    Out of the five cameras, three were traditional film cameras, while the other two were digital. One of the digital ones was a point-and-shoot, and the other was a DSLR.


    Holding onto the glass door of the showcase, Yan Junze gently pushed it aside.


    The glass door wasn¡¯t smooth, hesitating a few times as he slid it, creating an unavoidable noise, so Yan Junze simply extended his other hand inside, clamping the glass with both hands, and lifted it up, finally opening it silently.


    However, the noise he had made caused the sound that had been continuously coming from the darkroom to stop.


    Yan Junze did not pay attention to that for the time being and reached in to take out the two digital cameras, while he gave no consideration to the other three that required film.


    If it really was as he suspected, that photographing was necessary to see the strangeness, then using film cameras was essentially useless.


    Only with digital cameras, which provided instant results, could one immediately see the captured image, thus achieving the goal.


    After taking the two digital cameras in hand, Yan Junze weighed them in his palms and then hesitated for a moment.


    Something felt off.


    He immediately put down the point-and-shoot, turned the DSLR around, opened the battery compartment, and found it empty.


    Not only was the battery missing, but there was also no memory card. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While Yan Junze was intently inspecting the camera, the door to the darkroom, which wasn¡¯t fully closed to begin with, slowly opened a crack from the inside.


    Nothing could be seen, but the heavy black curtain outside the door moved slightly.


    Without a sound, not a whisper came through.


    After discovering the DSLR had no battery and no memory card, Yan Junze quickly put it down and picked up the point-and-shoot digital camera again.


    Searching around, unlike the DSLR, he found the battery compartment on the side of the camera, opened it, and found no battery, though a memory card was inserted inside.


    It appeared these cameras were just for show, and whether they worked or not was unknown.


    Yan Junze put the point-and-shoot camera back and stood there, looking around. Read exclusive chapters at empire


    In the showcase near the street side, there seemed to be more cameras and a large amount of albums, artistic photographs, etc., but it looked like the showcase was locked, and the key was probably with Lin Meng or Gu Bai.


    "If that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll go to the bedroom and have them give me the key,"


    Yan Junze had this thought and was about to move when he suddenly realized he hadn¡¯t heard a sound from the darkroom for quite some time.


    Whether it was the storefront, the bedroom, or the darkroom, it was all silent at this moment.


    An ominous premonition enveloped his heart.


    Just then, he felt something grab him again. It seemed as if the hem of his shirt was tugged on; he quickly looked down.


    In the store, although the light from the street lamps outside was minimal, his eyes, having adjusted to the darkness, could still make out the layout of the room and the objects nearby in this faint light.


    However, when Yan Junze looked down, he saw nothing, but he did feel something clutching the waist of his clothing, and then he felt a touch on his shoulder.


    At that moment, he didn¡¯t dare to turn around. He just stood there, afraid to move carelessly.


    Holding his clothing, it was as if an invisible hand rested on his shoulder. Could it be that the entity was standing right beside him, staring intently at him?


    Yan Junze¡¯s palms were sweaty, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, sending a chill from his neck down his spine.


    "What on earth is this thing¡¯s form? It seems... it¡¯s not just as simple as being invisible!"


    Without moving, he pricked up his ears and listened for sounds from the right side, yet no noise came.


    Strangenesses are incapable of making breathing sounds.


    But Yan Junze definitely felt something odd beside him, as if a transparent entity certainly stood by his side.


    "What is this thing doing next to me? Admiring my charming profile?"


    The next second, Yan Junze released Long-tongued Zhenzhen again.


    "Strike the air on my right. There¡¯s an invisible strangeness here."


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, initially somewhat befuddled upon appearing, didn¡¯t think too much after hearing Yan Junze¡¯s order. Her tongue shot out, striking the air to Yan Junze¡¯s right.


    Her tongue passed through the area and directly smashed the glass case holding the cameras, creating a loud crashing sound.


    At this moment, there was nothing to Yan Junze¡¯s right.


    "Gone! Or... was there never anything at all?"


    Yan Junze had a strange thought.


    Then he suddenly felt a coldness on the left side of his neck and, knowing it was bad, he immediately activated the Rewind without waiting to instruct Long-tongued Zhenzhen to attack.


    Although the Spacetime Atlas contained the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," the feature consumed an astonishing amount of energy. As long as it wasn¡¯t a situation where he couldn¡¯t react in time, it was better to perform a manual Rewind in critical situations.


    He Rewound to the moment he had just stood up from the sofa.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t move immediately.


    He stood there, continually pondering in his head. He faced attacks from that entity after two Rewinds. What was the reason?


    Gu Bai had entered the darkroom to investigate after discovering anomalies as well, but he wasn¡¯t attacked.


    Thinking about it, the issue might have arisen when he released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    The entity must have felt threatened; each time, it began attacking him shortly after Long-tongued Zhenzhen appeared.


    The problem was that Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t turned the tide for Yan Junze. So this time, he decided not to release her again for help; it might only make things worse.

 Chapter 125 - 124 Photographing (4)

    Now Yan Junze was more certain that the strangeness hidden in the darkroom was sensitive to photographing, or it could only be seen through the act of taking photos.


    Having a digital camera at hand seemed very important.


    This time, he did not touch the cameras in the glass display because he knew they were all useless, and the row of cabinets in the store were locked, with no way to get the cameras inside.


    So Yan Junze walked directly to the bedroom, with footsteps barely audible. The sounds from the darkroom began to stir shortly before he reached the bedroom door.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, controlling the strength in his hand as he gently turned the doorknob.


    Considering he was outside, Gu Bai had not locked the bedroom door, so after turning it, Yan Junze gently pushed the door open and entered.


    He wanted to ask Lin Meng which digital camera was usable, then retrieve the keys, open the cabinet, and take one for use.


    At the moment, a dimmer bedside lamp was on in Gu Bai and Lin Meng¡¯s bedroom, and the soft light allowed Yan Junze to approximately make out the room¡¯s interior.


    However, the moment he stepped into the bedroom, he shivered with fear.


    He saw Gu Bai lying on the bed not far away, eyes wide open, staring straight at him without blinking.


    It was so late, yet this person was not only wide awake, but he seemed to have no trace of sleepiness at all.


    You¡¯re not sleepy is one thing, but to lie on the bed with your body exposed, glaring with a pair of dead fish eyes, fixated on the bedroom door. If this had been the old Yan Junze, he would have definitely freaked out, jumping up and banging his head on the door frame.


    Yan Junze closed the bedroom door behind him and approached the bedside.


    "Haven¡¯t you slept?"


    "I heard that sound again," said Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze was speechless, "With your hearing, you must¡¯ve practiced pinpointing the position of a fly by its sound in the past!"


    Gu Bai sat up.


    Lin Meng, who had been sleeping beside him, also groggily opened her eyes. Upon seeing Yan Junze at the bedside, she instinctively pulled the covers, even though she was wearing home-style pajamas.


    "Has that thing... come?" Lin Meng asked in astonishment.


    "It has," Yan Junze nodded, then spread his hands toward her, "The cabinets outside are locked, where are the keys? I need to take a usable digital camera."


    Lin Meng then sat up and asked, "A camera?"


    "Yes, to photograph... the strangeness," Yan Junze did not hide it.


    Although this bedroom was separated from the darkroom by a store space and the bedroom door was closed, all three of them spoke very softly.


    After all, not everyone was Gu Bai, whose hearing could apply for a Guinness World Record.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, Lin Meng did not give him the keys, but instead, after the initial shock, she got out of bed, opened the bedside table, and took out a digital point-and-shoot camera from underneath.


    "This one is usable," Lin Meng handed the camera over to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took the camera, learned how to use it after asking Lin Meng, and told the couple, "Don¡¯t come out. If you find the bedroom door opening by itself without any wind, you must notify me immediately."


    Upon hearing the latter part of his sentence, Gu Bai broke into a cold sweat, and Lin Meng clutched his clothes tightly.


    Yan Junze, holding the camera, returned to the front of the bedroom door, turned down the handle, and gently pulled the door open, slipping out.


    Gu Bai quickly followed, arriving at the door to ensure that the bedroom door was securely closed.


    He then lay down by the door to listen for a while before returning to the bed, shakily, to hold his beautiful wife.


    When Yan Junze returned to the room in the store, because he had just entered the darkness from a lit area, his eyes were temporarily unable to see. He stood still, blinking rapidly to adjust.


    After a moment, the outline of the room became clear.


    He then looked towards the direction of the darkroom. There was no sound coming from it, and there were no signs that the black cloth curtain had been moved. However, only by walking over could he see whether the door to the darkroom was open.


    Because he had left the room for a while to get the camera, Yan Junze now couldn¡¯t be certain whether that thing was still inside the darkroom or had already come into the shop.


    To be on the safe side, he turned on the digital camera in his hand.


    The camera had been manually set to night mode by Lin Meng, with automatic compensation for low light, eliminating the need for a flash. Otherwise, the flash triggering during the act of photographing could have unintended consequences.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath. If his guess was right, he could now try to see if that thing had made its way into this room of the shop.


    First, he took a photo towards the entrance of the darkroom.


    The photographing was also set to silent mode, so there was no sound mimicking that of a traditional camera shutter.


    Yan Junze immediately glanced at the screen of the camera to see the image he had just captured. Although the picture quality was much darker, he could still make out the layout in the direction of the darkroom.


    From the look of it, there seemed to be no anomaly.


    He stepped back a bit and took another picture towards the direction of the sofa. After checking it, everything appeared normal.


    Perhaps, that thing was still in the darkroom and had not come out at all.


    With that thought, Yan Junze went to the entrance of the darkroom and lifted the black curtain, only to find the door ajar, seemingly just as he had last seen it before "Rewind".


    It was possible that the strangeness had not come out.


    Yan Junze gently pushed open the door with one hand while holding the camera in the other, taking photos of both the table and the film developing sink.


    He didn¡¯t go inside, and then checked the photos carefully. Again, he found nothing.


    In fact, he also hadn¡¯t heard any unusual sounds at that moment.


    He went directly into the darkroom, stood in its center, and photographed every corner, including behind the door. Then he stood still and carefully examined the pictures he had taken.


    He looked at each photo, but still, no anomalies were found. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Could it be that the task hint required a camera, but not in this way? Could it be about using the camera¡¯s video recording feature instead?


    That couldn¡¯t be right either. If recording video was as useful as taking photos, the hint would just say he needed a video camera.


    So it must still be related to the traditional function of a camera¡ªphotographing.


    Or perhaps, the strangeness was no longer in the darkroom.


    Thinking of this, Yan Junze tiptoed out of the darkroom and into the shop¡¯s room. However, he stood only at the front of the black curtain and didn¡¯t go far.


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    Then he raised the camera and took a photo of most of the room inside the shop. He lowered his head, brought up the photo he had just taken, and took a look.


    Before long, he slightly furrowed his brows, pressed a few buttons, and zoomed in on the photo, his expression turning somewhat eerie.


    From the perspective of the darkroom¡¯s entrance, this photo encompassed the sofa, the side of the glass cabinet, the side of the counter, and two corners of the room.


    And now, in the photo, near the back of the counter, there was a black silhouette of a man. The man was crouched low with his head down, his face blurry, seemingly staring at the ground with his hands wrapped around his legs.


    "Saw it for real!"


    Yan Junze was startled and immediately lifted the camera to take another photo towards the back of the counter.


    After taking the shot, he quickly pulled up the photo.


    In this photo, the black silhouette was no longer crouching but had stood up, still with his head down.

 Chapter 126 - 125 Photographing (5) (Please recommend!)

    Seeing the figure of the man in the photo standing up, Yan Junze was startled.


    The man in black in the photo was wearing clothes that didn¡¯t seem fit for a normal person, but rather like funeral attire for a burial, and he appeared to be at least 1.75 meters tall, with a slender build.


    His head, however, was always lowered, adding an eerie touch.


    At that moment, Yan Junze hardly hesitated before he immediately aimed at the counter and pressed the shutter button again.


    He quickly raised the camera to check, and in the photo, the man seemed to be moving, and the direction of movement was toward him. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unconsciously, Yan Junze took a step back, his back pressed firmly against the darkroom door and the black curtain.


    "This guy seems to be invisible," he thought, "but I can only see him by taking photos."


    Yan Junze had a plan in his mind, but at the same time, a hair-raising feeling surged through him.


    How was he supposed to kill it? Keep photographing with the camera?


    Of course, there wasn¡¯t much time to think about it now.


    He raised the camera again, pressed the shutter, and immediately looked down at the photo.


    In the center of that photo, the figure of a man in black was fully displayed with his head lowered, almost filling half of the picture.


    The reason it filled half of the picture was that he had gotten much closer to Yan Junze; by estimate, there was less than two meters between them.


    Of course, that was the distance when the photo was taken, but he must have gotten even closer by now.


    "Damn it!" Yan Junze almost jumped out of his skin.


    At the same time, he subconsciously felt that something was drawing near him.


    He immediately dodged to the left, retreating to the wall corner near the sofa along the wall.


    At the same time, an idea struck him, and the Black Spirit Mallet was now in his hand. He aimed the camera in the direction he had dodged and took another photo.


    In a hurry, he looked down and saw just a drooped head nearly filling the entire photo, even closer than before.


    Yan Junze swung his mallet.


    A crisp thud sounded.


    If it had been a normal mallet, this strike would have hit nothing but air, let alone hitting such a peculiar Spirit.


    But not with the Black Spirit Mallet; although Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see the target, he could still estimate the rough direction.


    So, with one swing of the mallet, whether it hit the head or the body, it made contact.


    The next second, Yan Junze immediately took a photo in front of him, and after looking down, he saw nothing.


    Just then, from the direction of the bedroom, the tightly shut bedroom door moved slightly, opening a crack, and then closed.


    "Not good."


    Yan Junze rushed over in a few steps, grasped the doorknob, and pushed hard, only to find it wouldn¡¯t budge.


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    At that moment, the bedroom door had been locked from the inside.


    Yan Junze kicked the bedroom door, but it was exceptionally sturdy, numbing his right leg from the impact.


    Inside the bedroom.


    Gu Bai and Lin Meng, the couple, were originally sitting closely together on the bed. They heard Yan Junze¡¯s movements outside, then the rapid, light running of his evasion, followed by a dull thud.


    The thud sounded like a blow from a cudgel, although it was unclear whether it hit someone or Yan Junze had been struck.


    Just a few seconds later, the bedroom door was opened, they didn¡¯t see anything, and then it closed again.


    At first, Gu Bai and Lin Meng thought it was Yan Junze entering the room. The two exchanged a glance, immediately sensing something was amiss.


    "Yan Junze, something¡¯s come in!" Gu Bai shouted in a hurry.


    Lin Meng reacted swiftly. She remembered Yan Junze had mentioned the camera was for photographing the strange, and judging by current appearances, the strangeness was clearly invisible; otherwise, that bedroom door wouldn¡¯t be opening and closing on its own.


    She quickly tapped Gu Bai¡¯s arm, "Quick, get the camera, it¡¯s in your wardrobe over there."


    In the wardrobe near Gu Bai, there lay a new digital SLR camera that had seldom been used.


    Of course, it had a battery and memory card, though stored separately, they would require some time to assemble properly.


    Normally, the battery included with a new camera has some charge left, even though not much, but under the current circumstances, there was more than enough to take a few pictures.


    Gu Bai opened the wardrobe and took out the new camera that had been unboxed once before.


    Lin Meng took it over, turned it on immediately, and expertly removed the SLR, taking only a few seconds to install the battery and memory card, and switched on the camera.


    She used the setting that allowed immediate display on the screen after photographing, which made her appear far more professional than Yan Junze¡¯s half-baked efforts.


    The sound of something hitting the door came from the bedroom earlier, which was obviously Yan Junze trying to get in.


    Gu Bai wanted to run over to open the door, but the distance from the bed to the bedroom door was much farther than to the nearby wardrobe. The entity had already entered the bedroom, and if it were to appear, it was most likely to be on the path from the big bed to the door.


    After hesitating for a moment, Gu Bai did not move forward.


    By now, Lin Meng was ready and immediately aimed the camera in the direction of the bedroom door and the partitioned small kitchen, swiftly taking two shots.


    After the photos were taken, the two immediately looked down at the pictures.


    The kitchen area looked normal in the photos, and they quickly flipped to the first picture, with both of their pupils constricting as they stared intently at the photo.


    In the photo, in the corner behind the bedroom door, a tall, thin man in black clothes stood with his head lowered, his face not visible, standing silently there.


    Gu Bai and Lin Meng reflexively looked up, their gaze turning toward the back of the door where nothing could be seen, completely empty.


    It would be better if they could see something because what¡¯s truly frightening is when your eyes can¡¯t see anything at all.


    This scene sent Lin Meng into shivers, her body trembling. She raised the SLR camera in her hand, aiming it at the doorway, while the camera screen still displayed the photo she had just taken.


    In the photo, the thin man in black clothes stood huddled in the corner behind the door, with his head down, while in the field of vision, there was no one in the corner behind the door.


    "Take, another... another... another shot!" Gu Bai stammered, hardly able to speak clearly.


    Lin Meng¡¯s hands trembled as she pressed the shutter button again.


    Both of them simultaneously looked at the newly taken photograph.


    In the picture, the back of the man in black clothes was bent forward, like a person who had drunk too much, his limbs seemingly dragged along as he walked, still with his head down.


    He had already left the corner behind the door and was walking towards the direction of the big bed.


    Lin Meng instantly screamed in fright, while Gu Bai jumped out of bed, grabbed Lin Meng, and the two of them retreated to the front of the wardrobe.


    Gu Bai held a mobile phone in his hand, also snapping several quick pictures towards the front, but looking down at his phone, there was nothing there.


    He couldn¡¯t understand why, but there was no time to think about it anymore.


    Lin Meng¡¯s slender fingers were shaking so vigorously that she felt she could hardly hold onto the camera.


    She hurriedly raised the camera again, aiming it toward the direction of the bedroom door, and pressed the shutter.


    Then the couple quickly looked at the photo displayed on the little screen, which showed the thin man in black, his body bent forward, standing at the end of the bed, already completely close to the bedside.


    And at that moment, Gu Bai and Lin Meng were standing in front of the wardrobe on this side of the bed.


    "Take, take, keep taking pictures, we¡¯ll move... towards the door," Gu Bai urged Lin Meng, who couldn¡¯t move her legs, as they circled half around the big bed, aiming to get closer to the bedroom door to seize the chance to open it.

 Chapter 127 - 126 Photographing (6) (Please recommend!)

    Under Gu Bai¡¯s urging, Lin Meng, who was scared to the point of nearly collapsing, desperately shuffled her feet along with Gu Bai, while still pressing the shutter in the direction of the big bed.


    With a click, the two hurriedly looked at the camera¡¯s small screen again during the run, but then they were stunned.


    "What¡¯s going on?"


    In the photo, it was empty, the black-clad man who had just been bending over at the edge of the bed had now disappeared without a trace.


    "Quick... photograph somewhere else!" Gu Bai exclaimed in alarm.


    Lin Meng was also frightened out of her wits. Initially, the strangeness was invisible to the naked eye, relying solely on the camera in her hand, this unpredictable and uncontrollable feeling had already brought her fear to the extreme.


    Now, even the camera hadn¡¯t captured it.


    Of course, the strangeness must have moved, otherwise the camera would have definitely captured it.


    Click, click, click, click...


    This time, Lin Meng activated burst mode and began to frantically snap photos all around them.


    No matter the direction, at least one photo should capture whatever was there.


    Just now, to dodge the strangeness by the bed, the couple had made a half-circle around the bedroom, and now they were retreating toward the bedroom door while Lin Meng continued to shoot.


    Looking down.


    The first two photos were normal, showing no sign of the black-clad man, but in the third photo, the corner of the man¡¯s black clothes was captured, seemingly not far from the two.


    In the fourth photo, half of the black-clad man¡¯s body appeared, his speed of movement seemed to be accelerating, but he was still dragging his limbs as he walked.


    In the fifth photo, parts of the black clothes had disappeared, but it revealed the man¡¯s head that he had been hanging down, with black hair occupying about a third of the photo.


    This photo left the couple dumbfounded.


    By this time, they had reached the bedroom door; Gu Bai stretched out his hand to unlock and open the door.


    Just then, Lin Meng¡¯s body shivered, she suddenly felt something wrong behind her, a sensation on her shoulder as though someone had touched her.


    She shakily turned the camera around and pressed the shutter towards the space behind her shoulder.


    In the photo, the black-clad man was now completely standing behind her, revealing a blurred face.


    The next second, before the bedroom door could be opened, Yan Junze standing outside only heard Lin Meng let out a piercing scream, followed by a thud on the floor and then the sound of something being dragged.


    At this moment, Yan Junze stood outside the door, swinging his mace, not knowing how many times he had struck the bedroom door, and by now he had developed a deep grudge against it.


    Damn it¡¯s too sturdy!


    If he were to die at this moment, Yan Junze believed, he¡¯d definitely possess this door and become a Wandering Spirit haunting it.


    Only then would it quell his Obsession.


    Unable to open the bedroom door, and with something unexpected clearly happening inside, Yan Junze found it difficult to rescue them; he didn¡¯t hesitate any further and Rewinded time again.


    ...


    This time, Yan Junze chose a very soul-stirring moment to Rewind to.


    It was the moment after he had gotten the digital camera and entered the darkroom, where he hadn¡¯t discovered anything amiss whilst Photographing.


    Because he knew, when he was in the darkroom taking photos to confirm the existence of this Evil Spirit, the entity had actually left the darkroom and was squatting behind the store counter directly opposite the darkroom door.


    After Rewinding, Yan Junze didn¡¯t even look at the camera in his hand; with a thought, he hefted the mace in his hand, walked out of the darkroom, lifted the black curtain, and went straight towards the direction behind the counter.


    The impression of the black-clothed man, who was first discovered in the photograph earlier, still lingered; Yan Junze clearly remembered that this guy was squatting in a position somewhat closer to the corner.


    So, when he walked in front of this position, Yan Junze swung his stick and brought it down with a thud.


    The blow landed solidly on something.


    But Yan Junze had no intention of stopping, because he knew if this guy really started moving, he would be very fast; just a moment of carelessness on his part, and the man had darted into Gu Bai¡¯s bedroom.


    Blow after blow followed, each hitting something, until after the last strike, when it seemed the target began to deviate.


    The stick slightly slid to the side.


    "Brother Gu, hold the bedroom door, don¡¯t let him in!" Yan Junze called out a reminder.


    Gu Bai in the bedroom had his ears perked up to the outside noise the whole time, and upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s instruction, he immediately jumped off the bed, rushed to the bedroom door, locked it from the inside, and then pressed his body hard against it.


    Yan Junze lifted his camera and immediately began photographing around the room, moving constantly during the process instead of standing still.


    The mission had advised not to let this guy get close, and since Yan Junze had already been approached by him twice at the start, both times ending badly, he wouldn¡¯t let him easily close in again, even now when he could not see him.


    In his vigilance, he quickly glanced down at the photos he had taken; there were about eight or nine shots, and not a single one captured this eerie individual.


    Not in this room, could he have run back into the darkroom?


    The photographs in the darkroom had been gnawed beyond recognition by this man, and it seemed he had even drunk quite a bit of the developing solution used for washing the film from the pool. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And after that bout of fierce beating, Yan Junze felt that the stick¡¯s power was not as great as he had imagined; since this man was wary of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, he wasn¡¯t a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    If he was only an intermediate or upper intermediate level Wandering Spirit, to have withstood so many hits from the stick and not be scared witless suggested that the stick was more useful for beating ghosts than for killing them.


    If that were the case, he couldn¡¯t pin all his hopes on the stick in the future; aggressive attacks, while straightforward, brutal, and simple, would not solve the ultimate problem against an Evil Spirit.


    But because the "Photographing" task was very direct, killing this Evil Spirit would suffice, so in this task, the stick played out its role completely.


    If it were any other mission, the same might not hold true.


    Unable to see the guy here, Yan Junze was about to head for the darkroom when he suddenly paused, as if he realized something, and looked up to take a photograph of the ceiling.


    In the photograph, the black-clothed man was hanging upside down from the ceiling, head down, his obscure face facing the camera.


    It seemed he was right above Yan Junze.


    The next second, a chill crept from Yan Junze¡¯s forehead.


    With exertion, Yan Junze swung his right hand and sent the stick crashing into an uncertain position above his head, resulting in violent noises above him.


    The man seemed to fall down; guessing his approximate location by the sound, Yan Junze did not pause to take a photo but swung the stick several more times, each blow striking the man.


    This time, there was no reason to let him escape again.


    Yan Junze tossed the camera aside, grabbed the stick with both hands, and kept swinging, drenched in sweat, hands trembling, the dull noise of impact unceasing in the room, spreading throughout the house.


    In the bedroom.


    Gu Bai turned to look at Lin Meng, who was still sitting on the bed; they both had heard the strange loud noise.


    Enjoy new adventures from empire


    "What is he doing?" Gu Bai couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    "Pounding... stakes?" Lin Meng was uncertain.


    "I saw him come empty-handed though, what¡¯s he using to make that noise, could it be your camera?" Gu Bai said again.


    "No, a camera wouldn¡¯t make that kind of sound," Lin Meng shook his head.

 Chapter 128 - 127 Photographing (7) (Please recommend with votes!)

    Yan Junze didn¡¯t even know how many times he had smashed down, but at some point, he couldn¡¯t even lift the mallet anymore.


    Fortunately, with every strike, it felt like he hit the target, and that thing couldn¡¯t flee like it did before.


    Panting heavily, Yan Junze turned on the light in the outer room and plopped down on the couch, placing the mallet beside him.


    However, he suddenly felt something was off. Looking down, he saw the mallet had actually deformed! The side that got hit the worst during the smashing was the most distorted, and not only that, the surface of the mallet even started to show signs of cracking.


    "Damn it, this won¡¯t do!"


    Just when he thought he had found a comfortable weapon against the strangenesses, Yan Junze found himself speechless at this moment.


    Gold¡¯s hardness isn¡¯t enough. It looks like he¡¯ll need to refine it into an alloy with other metals to enhance its hardness if he gets the chance in the future, probably for a better effect.


    Of course, this had the most direct connection with the Black Spirit Bead melted inside it. If the bead were melded into a dagger, the dagger could also be powerful.


    But if you¡¯re talking about the thrill of bashing strangenesses, using this kind of mallet feels more satisfying.


    We¡¯ll talk about that later. After all, this was his first time taking on a strangeness with a mallet, so noticing the shortcomings early and making targeted improvements was best.


    And now, the creature on the floor had been so thoroughly battered that even its own mother wouldn¡¯t recognize it. After such relentless pounding, if it still wasn¡¯t dead, Yan Junze was ready to let this strangeness pose for a photo shoot, being as bold as possible.


    Yan Junze picked up the camera he had thrown onto the couch earlier, snapped a picture of the ground, then glanced at it and shivered, shaking his head. The scene was so gruesome he couldn¡¯t bear to look directly at it.


    "Come out, it¡¯s okay now!" Yan Junze called to the person inside the bedroom as he set down the camera.


    The door to the bedroom opened a crack. Gu Bai didn¡¯t come out right away. Instead, he peeked out for a moment before opening the door. As he stepped out, he looked around timidly and cautiously before standing in front of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spoke up first, "Let¡¯s not talk about other things first. Which company installed your bedroom door? Give me their contact number when you have time."


    Gu Bai was stunned, not understanding why Yan Junze suddenly brought up the door, then asked in astonishment, "Where¡¯s the strangeness? Did it get away?"


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head.


    "Where is it?" Gu Bai hurriedly looked towards the dark room.


    "You might be stepping on its hand," Yan Junze pointed underneath Gu Bai¡¯s feet.


    "Ah shit!"


    Gu Bai jumped in fright, leaping aside and looking at the empty floor.


    "Use this," Yan Junze handed him the camera.


    Experience more tales on empire


    At that moment, Lin Meng also walked out from the house, trembling with fear in the same manner as Gu Bai when he came out.


    Approaching Gu Bai, he aimed the camera at the spot where he had just been standing and took a picture.


    From this angle, it seemed even closer and clearer.


    Then he lifted the camera, looking at the small screen in the middle.


    Contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectation, just one glance made Gu Bai¡¯s eyes roll back as he collapsed, going limp.


    What surprised Yan Junze even more was that Lin Meng, who was standing beside him, not only had an incredible resilience, with nothing happening to her but also grabbed the camera from Gu Bai¡¯s hands the moment he started to fall.


    Right, she didn¡¯t protect her husband; her first instinct was to safeguard her beloved camera.


    Only after Gu Bai hit the floor did Lin Meng remember about him. She quickly knelt down to help him, and with Yan Junze¡¯s assistance, they laid Gu Bai on the couch, where he finally came around.


    Yan Junze pointed to the ground, "This guy should be out of commission. I¡¯ll keep an eye on it, and if there¡¯s no reaction by tomorrow morning, it should be over."


    As he finished speaking, a task alert popped up in his mind.


    [Photographing, Trembling with Fear (Medium), completed. You have received 700 points of Different Dimensional Energy.]


    Two more nodes in the Atlas were illuminated, reaching a total of 30, and the accumulated Different Dimensional Energy was now 4,400 points, allowing for a Rewind time span of 440 minutes.


    ```


    "Give me the camera." After seeing the mission completion prompt, Yan Junze asked Lin Meng for the camera and took another picture of the ground.


    Looking at the photo, he saw that the voyeuristic maniac who had resembled a puddle of mud a moment ago was now gradually evaporating and vanishing, piece by piece. The image even captured his body slowly dissolving.


    He handed the camera to Gu Bai, who had regained consciousness.


    "It¡¯s over, this guy is completely finished," Yan Junze said, "I¡¯ll be leaving at dawn."


    Gu Bai dared not look at the photos and passed the camera to his wife. He sat up from the sofa, his face full of gratitude, "I really can¡¯t thank you enough for this time."


    "Yeah, no problem," Yan Junze shook his head and then picked up the deformed mallet.


    Gu Bai glanced at it, shocked, "Did you use this thing to hit that guy?! Where... where... did you bring it from?"


    "I¡¯ve always had it hidden in my crotch," Yan Junze laughed, "but it¡¯s just not hard enough."


    Gu Bai¡¯s eyes widened as he took a look at Yan Junze¡¯s pants, as if measuring the length of the trouser leg with his eyes, then said, "I can solve this problem. I can combine some metals and non-metals in the mixture to melt them together, increasing its hardness. That way, it won¡¯t be less effective than high-strength alloys."


    "That would be perfect," Yan Junze mulled to himself, "With the Black Spirit Pearl not being very powerful, I¡¯ll have to rely on the mallet¡¯s hardness to seek the strength and satisfaction of beating strangenesses."


    As the saying goes, when capability falls short, hardness comes to compensate.


    However, Yan Junze estimated that even if the mallet¡¯s hardness were further increased, at best it would only pose a threat to Wandering Spirits, and that would still require him to be fully energized.


    If faced with a strangeness like Resentful Granny or anything above a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, even wielding the mallet wouldn¡¯t stop him from being thoroughly done for.


    The three of them talked for a while, and after confirming that the voyeuristic maniac had been eliminated, Lin Meng went to the darkroom to completely clear out all the half-eaten photos. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, she finally dared to enter the darkroom alone.


    But after only a short while, Lin Meng came out with a dark expression, biting her lower lip tightly, and handed a stack of photos to Gu Bai.


    Yan Junze curiously leaned in to take a look, immediately felt his face heat up, and averted his gaze.


    "I don¡¯t know when these were taken, but they seem to be all of me," Lin Meng said softly.


    These photos appeared to be taken inside the bedding, from various difficult angles, and even included close-ups.


    "Damn it, even in death as a strangeness, he really got what he deserved!" Yan Junze thought to himself.


    The couple felt embarrassed and quickly returned to their bedroom. Whether they could sleep was uncertain, but not long after they entered, Yan Junze fell asleep on the sofa.


    He slept until morning and after arranging a time to remake the mallet with Gu Bai, Yan Junze left Lion Awakening Road and returned to the FH Community.


    After eating something, he took another rest and then got up to read for a while, reviewing the important knowledge points.


    For the next period, Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to take on any more missions; he would wait until after the college entrance examination.


    Of course, he would still regularly visit Aunt Mei in the underground garage and bring some "local specialties" or the like. Yan Junze had a hunch that maintaining a good relationship with this strangeness could bring benefits to himself.


    ...


    In Great Capital, Tianyi District.


    Beside an ordinary street, within an old stone arch, this place was once the courtyard of a landlord, later converted into residential buildings. Now the residents here are mostly older, with few young people to be seen.


    On the top floor of the innermost residential building, on the fifth floor, there sat a young man in the middle of a room. He wore a headset with a microphone and in front of him were a computer and a simple wooden desk.


    At this moment, he was busily clicking the mouse, switching the computer screen, and the 16:9 monitor displayed at least four different backgrounds from simultaneous streams.


    In one of the scenes, the Back-faced Woman and Lv Xin, whose chest was protruding the head of Resentful Granny and who was in the midst of battle, were playing out.


    The room was extremely dark, not due to poor lighting, but because the curtains were all drawn, only allowing slivers of light to filter through, leaving half of the young man¡¯s face shrouded in darkness.


    "I went through some connections on the platform to get this video," the young man spoke smoothly, his expression calm, showing no hint of surprise or fear, "That young man¡¯s name is Lv Xin, previously he followed my lessons online from the USA. Like you, he possesses a special constitution that is outstanding and has reached the Spirit-Nurturing stage, but he was exposed too soon."


    ```

 Chapter 129 - 128: The True Video Platform (Vote for Recommendations!)

    In the headset the young man was wearing, the voices of some people came through.


    He nodded slightly and then said, "Lv Xin resorted to the ¡¯Heart Cultivate Spirit¡¯ method, which has the advantage of quickly controlling strangenesses, but the downside is instability. When the body can¡¯t bear it, it can have extremely severe repercussions."


    After listening to the voices in the headset for a while longer, he said, "I suggest using ¡¯Cultivate Spirit in Womb,¡¯ especially for female spirit cultivators. The strangenesses nurtured in this way are not only under control but also won¡¯t have too strong a backlash and the abilities are much more powerful than those cultivated through ¡¯Heart Cultivate Spirit.¡¯"


    The voices in the headset were still talking. The young man showed a smile, with a teasing tone in his voice, "Right, I¡¯ve tried everything, otherwise why would I be the one sitting here talking to you? Hmm, who said men can¡¯t ¡¯Cultivate Spirit in Womb¡¯? There are even more bizarre methods you¡¯ve never heard of, like ¡¯Cultivate Body,¡¯ you know, which means nurturing a dead person¡¯s body.


    But have you ever heard of nurturing within the body? I¡¯ll tell you more about it tomorrow."


    He paused and said, "That¡¯s it for today; I¡¯m very busy."


    With that, he reached out to click the mouse, shutting off the video.


    A line of text appeared in the corner of the computer screen: Encrypted video channel 1 has been closed.


    The lighting in the room remained very dark. The young man had no intention of opening the curtains or turning on the lights inside. He clicked the mouse and lit up the call button for the second video.


    Now the person on the other end could see him.


    "Boss Ao, hello," the young man said.


    A fifty-something-year-old man¡¯s image appeared on the screen. The lighting was very good on his end, and Boss Ao¡¯s square face was clearly visible to the young man.


    "The video of the two strangenesses fighting came out all right, didn¡¯t it?" Boss Ao said with a smile.


    "Boss Ao is willing to pay a high price to acquire it and provide it for my enjoyment for free, of course it¡¯s alright," the young man said with a smile.


    "That¡¯s good to hear," Boss Ao replied. "How are the two Spirit Exploration Teams doing, the ones I funded together with Boss Tian and Boss Zuo recently?"


    "Not bad; following my plan, we¡¯ve taken care of several strange incidents, like Guhui Village Corpse House, Tun Street Black-clothed Girl, and Shal Yi International Hospital. The videos captured are extremely entertaining to watch." The young man said with a smile, "As soon as I¡¯ve processed the videos, I can send them to you.


    Then whether you post them online for everyone to enjoy or keep them for a private viewing is up to you, Boss Ao."


    "No problem," Boss Ao nodded, but then his expression turned puzzled, and he asked, "I heard that the team mainly funded by Boss Tian encountered some danger?"


    The young man laughed, "It¡¯s more than danger; they nearly got wiped out. But no worries, I¡¯ve taken care of it. The last, fiercest strangeness there has shifted its focus to me. The two survivors in the team are no longer in any serious trouble."


    "What?" Boss Ao, who had just relaxed, now widened his eyes in shock, "You mean the last strangeness has set its sights on you?"


    "Mhm." The young man moved his chair slightly away from the computer to reveal the curtained window behind him.


    At this moment, behind the drawn curtains, close to the corner of the wall, one could vaguely see a woman dressed in a white nightgown, with disheveled hair, standing there. Her eyes were wide open, the pupils filled with blood threads, as if she had no eyelids, just staring right at the back of the young man sitting in front of the computer.


    "Damn, you¡¯re not afraid!" Boss Ao shuddered just from one glance.


    "She has been watching me for a week now, but she can¡¯t move against me at the moment," the young man said as he righted his chair and sat back down. "These past few days, I¡¯ve been researching new methods of nurturing spirits. When the time is right, I¡¯ll use her to test the results."


    Boss Ao glanced inadvertently over the young man¡¯s shoulder again and waved his hand, "You¡¯re not scared but I am. I¡¯m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I¡¯ll log off now; we can chat another day."


    Your next chapter is on empire Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young man nodded, grasped the mouse, and clicked to end the call.


    Once more, a line of text appeared in the bottom right corner of the computer screen: Encrypted video channel 2 has been closed.


    He moved the mouse and clicked the button labeled "Public Video Channel 7."


    Before doing so, the young man had already turned on the desk lamp beside him, and the bright light fully illuminated him in front of the computer, revealing a sunny and handsome face.


    The moment the light came on, the figure of the woman who had been standing in the corner behind him suddenly vanished.


    Of course, the young man was well aware that as soon as the light went off, the woman would reappear.


    The video channel at this moment was showing a room that had just finished playing a spooky video, which attracted quite a few viewers, all of whom were leaving comments en masse.


    Messages were popping up continuously at the bottom.


    The young man opened the audio call, smiled, and said, "This video was recorded by a night school teacher on their cell phone. It¡¯s terrifying, isn¡¯t it? However, the ¡¯strangeness¡¯ has already been dealt with by an exorcist. The video is currently trending on the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ platform, but you have to pay to watch it.


    You are different, though; since you¡¯ve paid the membership fee to enter this room, watching paid videos here is free."


    He paused, then added, "I need everyone to help me promote this more, after all, this is how I make a living on the platform, and I have a family to support. Please search for my real name, I¡¯m looking forward to your attention. My name is... Cheng Jingting."


    ¡­


    Two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.


    The college entrance exams arrived.


    In that time, Yan Junze had visited Aunt Mei twice, each time bringing incense and candles, though he still had not seen Aunt Mei eat with his own eyes.


    Normally, he would hear the sounds of the strange babies gorging themselves inside the house soon after he delivered the offerings.


    The second time he went, Yan Junze bought even more, unsure if the strange babies would leave any for Aunt Mei.


    Each time, Aunt Mei just watched him with a smile, never speaking or showing any other sign.


    Because he couldn¡¯t quite gauge Aunt Mei¡¯s temperament, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to say much, delivering the incense and candles just to scrape together some favorability.


    However, it seemed to have some effect. On the eve of the college exams, he made another trip to the underground parking garage.


    This time, Aunt Mei came out of the inner room in advance, and it was no longer the strange babies that came to take the incense and candles, but she took them herself.


    Of course, when in her hands, the strange babies did not dare to snatch them away and stayed a distance away.


    Yan Junze spoke a few words to her, but, getting no response, he quickly retreated.


    Honestly, Aunt Mei¡¯s smile became creepier the more he looked at it. In the past few days, Yan Junze had dreamt about it several times. That seemingly kindly smile had an eerie magic to it that made it unforgettable once seen.


    "Just what level is she? It can¡¯t be higher than a Sculpting Spirit, can it? So terrifying! This is definitely a monk from Shaolin Temple!"


    Although Yan Junze was curious, he dared not tell the exorcist, Zhang Xiaomo. No matter how curious he was, he had to keep it to himself.


    Despite a series of bizarre encounters before the college entrance exams, Yan Junze¡¯s foundation remained, and with no psychological pressure, he breezed through the days of testing lightly.


    But not Zhou Dali. After the unified college entrance examination, he had to brace himself for the physical exam happening half a month later, his nerves had not relaxed at all.

 Chapter 130: Listing Remarks

    The book will be listed this Friday at 12 PM, and it feels like after a two-month trial run, the shop is finally ready to open its doors for real.


    This is my first foray into supernatural fiction; I¡¯ve read a lot of city-themed stories but rarely ever wrote one.


    So I don¡¯t know why, but on a whim, I thought about writing a supernatural story. That¡¯s how "Rewind" came to be and how it¡¯s been uploaded until now.


    There have been many shortcomings in the process of writing the book, and some toxic and cringe-worthy elements which I couldn¡¯t control or handle well led to some readers cursing me out thoroughly, but I¡¯m still very grateful to those who have supported me and tolerated the book all the way to this announcement of going live¡ªyou guys are the real deal! I love you! Mua!(*¨s3¨t)


    The plot will continue to improve, because I am too!


    Thanks to the chief editor Yisuo, the responsible editor Ziliang, and all the friends who supported this book. Thanks to the alliance leader Xiao Haozi for the generous red packet, which sent the book¡¯s collection count soaring. Thanks to the helmsman Zhu Youqi and Close Contact, and to Magritte Nightingale and Blooming Virtue in the book group for their constant help with the management.


    I¡¯m grateful to every friend who has rewarded the book, voted, and stuck by it without fail! I truly appreciate you all!


    On the first day of the listing, there will be a burst release of ten chapters. On the second day, there will be an added chapter for the alliance leader. On the third day, I will release as much as I write. Please forgive my clumsy hands; I don¡¯t want the quality of the book to drop, so I won¡¯t be able to have burst releases every day.


    Continue your adventure with empire


    As of the writing of this announcement, the book has nearly 25,000 collections, so as things stand, I probably won¡¯t be doing the cross-dressing thing any time soon (phew).


    Good performance is the key! At the very least, let "Rewind" climb to the top three of the supernatural bestsellers and stay there for a stable week (evil grin).


    After listing, the update schedule will be adjusted. After midnight, I will update the first chapter of the day, followed by the second chapter at 12:10 PM. If there¡¯s an extra update for the day, it will be at 8:10 PM, or I might notify you about the time of the temporary extra update.


    Lastly, I implore everyone to subscribe and support the book, so that "Rewind" can go even further, and I, the old dog, can concentrate on delivering an even better story to you.


    Asking for subscriptions! Vote tickets! Recommendations! I earnestly request your support!


    Also, welcome to join the book group, the only way to see the author in women¡¯s clothing (if possible)¡ªGroup one: 641434073, Group two: 599154574, active in both. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 131 - 129: The Last Supper (Subscribe Request 1/10)

    Three days before Zhou Dali¡¯s physical exam, Yan Junze invited him, Bao Jie, and Jiang Ruixin out for a big meal by the sea.


    Except for Dali, the other three had already been on vacation and weren¡¯t staying at school.


    He was the only one coming from school.


    The location was set at "Heaven," a restaurant located in the center of Shuntian City, moderately priced but with an excellent environment.


    After receiving the 28,000 yuan payment for the video sale, Junze¡¯s family spent 10,000 yuan on upgrading furniture and appliances, leaving 15,000 yuan for university tuition and miscellaneous fees.


    Of course, this amount was definitely not enough for tuition; his mother, Li Man, had already saved up the tuition, and whatever else was needed would be added in. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As for the remaining 3,000 yuan, it was for Yan Junze¡¯s own use; his parents didn¡¯t take a cent.


    Their son was earning money, and not a small amount either, which delighted his parents. However, if they knew the true price of that video sale, the couple would probably hop on a flight straight to Tianmeng District¡¯s "Open Your Eyes" video platform branch and perform an all-out protest¡ªcrying, causing a ruckus, even threatening self-harm, in utter turmoil.


    This time, Bao Jie had informed everyone in advance that Zhou Jiajie would also come and that he, the rich playboy, would treat them all.


    Everyone was about to graduate anyway, they were all classmates, and no one intended to stir up unpleasantness with others at this time; however, the treat turned into Dutch pay in the end.


    Five people were seated in a private room, with seven dishes and one soup on the table, a balanced selection of meat and vegetables, plus a plate of brown sugar glutinous rice cakes, a fruit platter, and two bottles of beer for each person.


    After three rounds of drinks and five flavors of dishes,


    the atmosphere in the private room was surprisingly good. The minor grudges and rivalries from school seemed to have dissipated like smoke from the past, leaving only a sense of regret and wistfulness, along with aspirations and confusion about the future.


    Of course, none of these feelings were in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    "While at school, I had many a friction with you, sorry about that, Jiajie!"


    Having had some beer, Zhou Dali¡¯s cheeks were flushed, and at this moment, he grabbed Zhou Jiajie¡¯s hand, stroked the back of his hand, and couldn¡¯t help but express his feelings, creating an ambiguous scene.


    Zhou Jiajie felt somewhat awkward; despite his usual lofty demeanor, not paying much mind to other students, he was very aware of his own limitations.


    If it weren¡¯t for his family pulling strings and seeking help, he wouldn¡¯t even have been able to get through Tianmeng University¡¯s thresholds, let alone be recommended for admission.


    However, it seemed Bao Jie¡¯s efforts had paid off; according to her, she felt quite good about the exams, which were closely aligned with the pre-examination tests, and it was highly likely she would get into Tianmeng University.


    Zhou Jiajie and Bao Jie, these two seemed to have quite a destiny together now.


    "No big deal, it¡¯s normal to have some friction among classmates; I¡¯ve long forgotten it," Zhou Jiajie managed to force a smile, trying to pull away from Dali¡¯s hand, but he couldn¡¯t find the right moment.


    Zhou Dali, still oblivious, kept rubbing Zhou Jiajie¡¯s hand, nodding, "Right, just a little friction, and afterwards it¡¯s all okay."


    Yan Junze laughed, "You kid, had enough of rubbing? Haven¡¯t you noticed Bao Jie¡¯s eyes are about to pop out?"


    Zhou Dali came to his senses, hurriedly let go, raising his hands, "I swear, there¡¯s nothing but pure friendship between Jiajie and me, Bao Jie, listen to my explanation."


    Before Bao Jie could speak, Jiang Ruixin, pretending to be Bao Jie, shook her head exaggeratedly and imitated Bao Jie¡¯s voice, "I won¡¯t listen, I won¡¯t listen, whatever you say I won¡¯t hear¡­"


    "Hahahahaha¡­"


    The private room erupted with laughter.


    "Are you still going to apply for Tianmeng Science University?" Bao Jie asked Yan Junze.


    "Yeah, I¡¯m preparing to study in the physics department," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Why do you want to study physics?" Zhou Jiajie asked curiously, "It¡¯s not that easy to find a job in this field after graduation."


    Yan Junze shook his head, "I¡¯m just interested in mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, and electromagnetism, and I want to delve deeper and explore them."


    "I heard that the appearance of strangenesses is related to electromagnetism," Zhou Dali said mysteriously from the side. "And also atomic physics and quantum theory. Anyway, whenever there¡¯s something weird you don¡¯t understand, just link it to quantum theory, and no one dares to bullshit you about it."


    "Who told you that?" Jiang Ruixin asked.


    "My great-uncle¡¯s second aunt¡¯s cousin¡¯s daughter¡¯s husband is a physics teacher, I heard it from him."


    "Only your family could be that large," everyone said in unison.


    Yan Junze smiled and then said, "Actually, I did have that in mind when applying for the physics department, to really study these things. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯d like to develop in this direction."


    Zhou Dali¡¯s eyes lit up, "That¡¯s great, you should become an exorcist. If I ever get into trouble, you have to help me!"


    "Right, we would all depend on you," the others chimed in.


    In this era of strangeness, the biggest misfortune in life was encountering supernatural events, so the value of having a friend who was an exorcist became apparent.


    Even Zhou Jiajie, who was usually rather arrogant, now looked at Yan Junze with different eyes, no longer aloof, but much more approachable.


    "No problem," Yan Junze nodded.


    Speaking of joining the exorcist organization, all Yan Junze had to do right now was nod, and Zhang Xiaomo would instantly give him a recommendation letter to go test with the exorcist team in Tianmeng District.


    But if he really did that, he felt he had no confidence at all.


    The reason was clear to him, his ability to encounter strangenesses and complete every mission was tied to the power granted by the Spacetime Atlas, not because he had some special physique.


    So if he was found to have a special physique during the test, that would be fine, but if they discovered he didn¡¯t, that would be a big problem. Otherwise, how would he explain the achievements he had made in spirit exploration before? Continue your adventure at empire


    This would just lead to suspicion among the exorcists. So, just to be on the safe side, he definitely would not go for any physique testing at the current stage.


    Interacting with exorcists was one thing, but because of his secret, it was not suitable for him to work with them for an extended period.


    At least, not now. This was very clear to Yan Junze.


    Looking up, he turned to Jiang Ruixin and asked, "Big-eyed girl, which university did you apply for? Still that..."


    "Right, the Normal University. Tianyi Normal University is quite a good one," Jiang Ruixin said with a smile. "Although it¡¯s not in Tianmeng District, it¡¯s in Tianyi District, but I hope I can get in, my relatives are there."


    "Why not apply for Great Capital Normal University in Huaying District?" Zhou Jiajie asked.


    Jiang Ruixin stuck out her tongue, "Are you kidding? That score is scary. Well, although Huaying District is currently the safest area in Great Capital. I heard that some people there have never encountered any strangenesses."


    The others secretly clicked their tongues. In today¡¯s age, there are still people who have never seen any supernatural events.


    Even if someone was really extremely lucky and never encountered them, at least they must have seen them from afar, right?


    Instantly, the classmates at the table felt that life in Huaying District was blissful.


    However, the truth of the matter... was it really so blissful?

 Chapter 132 - 130: Task Level Upgrade (Seeking Subscriptions 2/10)

    Right at eight o¡¯clock, Big-eyed Girl Jiang Ruixin¡¯s parents came to pick her up by car, and Zhou Jiajie also drove his family¡¯s car; he was responsible for taking Bao Jie home.


    Only Yan Junze and Zhou Dali shared a taxi together.


    After getting into a taxi, Zhou Dali, slightly tipsy, half-jokingly said to the taxi driver, "Driver, aren¡¯t you afraid of encountering strangenesses while driving at night?"


    "Afraid? Of course, I am," the middle-aged taxi driver replied, immediately prompted by Zhou Dali¡¯s question, "But luckily, ever since the outbreak of strange events, I¡¯ve only encountered one strangeness during my night shifts."


    "Hmm, if you don¡¯t mind, tell us about it," Yan Junze became interested, scooting forward in the back seat.


    "You know, strangenesses typically happen in certain areas, and they usually don¡¯t leave those areas, so for us night shift drivers, as long as we don¡¯t drive recklessly everywhere, it¡¯s actually not as dangerous as you think."


    The taxi driver smacked his lips, "The strangeness I encountered seemed to have another purpose, using my taxi to travel a distance. I remember it was a little past one in the morning, and I was driving empty. Suddenly, I realized there was someone sitting in the back seat and almost wet myself with fright.


    But luckily, I¡¯ve seen a lot and kept silent, not staring at them through the rearview mirror continuously, only glancing over with the corner of my eye a couple of times. Then I just kept driving, going wherever I needed to go."


    "And then what happened?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "Well, there was a stretch of road where the street lights were broken, and I focused more on the road conditions for a bit. When I came back to my senses, I found the person in the back seat was gone," the taxi driver explained.


    "Did they leave you any fare?" Zhou Dali asked with a grin.


    "Pah, pah, pah, who wants a dead person¡¯s money? I might earn it but have no life to spend it," the taxi driver waved his hand dismissively.


    The taxi first arrived at Zhou Dali¡¯s community, driving him right into his neighborhood and stopping the car downstairs.


    Yan Junze asked, "Do you need me to walk you up?"


    Zhou Dali glanced at the taxi driver, seeming a bit embarrassed, "With all my brute strength, ghosts and spirits shall fear me, would I need you to walk me?"


    With those words, he strode upstairs and stumbled on the stairway.


    Yan Junze and the taxi driver burst out laughing.


    The taxi drove off and swiftly reached the main road, arriving at FH Community in less than ten minutes.


    Since they had been talking about strange encounters, the taxi driver was still immersed in the topic.


    After stopping the car and collecting the fare, he looked up at FH Community and said to Yan Junze, "This is an old community, better hurry back inside, don¡¯t run into anything unclean."


    Yan Junze smiled and walked into the community.


    Now that the college entrance exam was over and all tasks had been completed, especially after dealing with the Resentful Granny and eliminating the hidden dangers, he felt much more at ease.


    Of course, the scene where the Resentful Granny¡¯s head emerged from Lv Xin¡¯s chest still puzzled Yan Junze.


    It was just that, according to two-star exorcist Yang Depei, Lv Xin was very likely a Spirit Cultivator.


    This made Yan Junze think of what Zhang Xiaomo had once said; some people have extremely powerful special constitutions, their closeness to evil spirits far beyond normal people¡¯s imagination. After frequent contact with evil spirits, rather than losing life span, they become terrifyingly strong.


    It now seemed that Lv Xin was probably one of those people, though the terror he displayed didn¡¯t seem very strong. Unfortunately for him, he encountered the Bond Evolution of the Back-faced Woman and her daughter.


    Mulling over the details of his experiences, he climbed the stairs and returned home.


    His parents were at home. By now, they had grown accustomed to their son going out alone at night.


    To imagine that strangenesses had wreaked such havoc in their home, yet their son remained unscathed was beyond any skill the couple had ever seen.


    When astonishing events keep recurring, they eventually become ordinary.


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    Yan Junze sat in his bedroom, gathered all the review books from before the college entrance exam, and planned to wait for a clear, moonlit night to take everything out and burn it, celebrating the first major hurdle in life after his rebirth.


    Just then, he was momentarily startled.


    On a clear night with a full moon, he was reminded of a task he had never gotten around to completing, "Reflection Under the Moonlight".


    With that thought, Yan Junze immediately pulled up the information for that task from the Spacetime Atlas.


    [Task Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task Background: It was a promise made on a night with a full moon. Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years. From the night of the promise until the next morning, her body was only discovered after it had been electrocuted in a fountain. However, the person she was waiting for never showed up.


    Fang Ning was beautiful, but she had been electrocuted for so long that her body underwent a metallic transformation¡ªher clothes, watch, shoes, and muscle tissues fused together. Yet, she still awaits that promise. As long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    Task Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Task Reward: 800 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Become her eternal lover; Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit can be lockdown; 2. You must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    Note: No matter what she says, just try responding with a "No".]


    This was the task Yan Junze detected the first time he activated the Perception of Strange Events feature and remains, to this point, the only task he has yet to complete.


    Although he hadn¡¯t precisely calculated it, the time span was roughly two months.


    Looking at the task information, the task level was the same as the "Photographing" task, both rated as "Trembling with Fear (Medium)". The main difficulty of the Photographing task was that the strangeness was invisible, adding an additional layer of challenge.


    And by the looks of it, dealing with the strangeness of Fang Ning in the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" task seemed like it might be more troublesome than the Peeping Tom.


    While he was pondering, suddenly the task-related tips in his mind started flickering, the font becoming blurry. Roughly three seconds later, the task information became clear again.


    A line of new tips popped up first.


    [Detected changes in task information, as time has passed, the task level has shown a probabilistic increase, the following is the new task information.]


    Seeing this tip, Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment and then looked at the updated task information again.


    [Task Name: Reflection Under the Moonlight;


    Task Level: Hair-raising (Low);


    Task Background: It was a promise made on a night with a full moon. Fang Ning had been waiting for someone for two years... As long as someone is willing to stand back-to-back with her, hand in hand, and make a vow under the moonlight to be everlasting.


    Task Description: Make the original promise with Fang Ning;


    Task Reward: 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: Become her eternal lover;


    Task Tip: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be lockdown; 2. You must choose a clear night with a full moon to perform the task;


    Note: No matter what she says, just try responding with a "No".]


    It had changed, Yan Junze stared at the task information.


    Now not only had the task level increased from "Trembling with Fear (Medium)" to "Hair-raising (Low)", but the tip also indicated that the Evil Spirit could no longer be lockdown.

 Chapter 133 - 131 Investigation Clues (Subscription request 3/10)

    ```


    Looking back now, if a strangeness is left unhandled, its resentment builds up, significantly increasing the chance of it rising in rank.


    And that¡¯s precisely the case with the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" quest.


    The coordinates of the quest were located in an electric fountain within the garden of the first zone of Flowery Paradise Garden.


    Flowery Paradise Garden is right next to the FH Community where Yan Junze lives, also an old residential area, but not as dilapidated as FH Community.


    Due to the property management¡¯s negligence, the property fees for Flowery Paradise Garden were essentially in arrears, with no homeowners paying, so the environment of the residential area was even worse than that of FH Community.


    The electric fountain, which once electrocuted a person, was broken long ago, filled with rainwater and covered with fallen leaves and garbage, with no one ever clearing it up.


    In fact, almost all residents of Flowery Paradise Garden knew that there was a strangeness at the electric fountain, but the fountain was off the beaten path and somewhat secluded, so normally nobody went there.


    Since it has never been cleaned up, that place has been subconsciously marked as a no-go zone, no one goes there to play anymore, and it hasn¡¯t posed a threat to the residents.


    Whether anyone has reported this strangeness to an exorcist or not is unknown, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t have the time to investigate this. Now that he had decided to complete the quest, and since the quest had reached a level comparable to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s "Look at Her Face," he had to take it very seriously.


    First of all, based on his experience, a strangeness that featured in the "Hair-raising (Low)" level of quests could definitely kill him in an instant.


    Whether it was a club or the manual "Rewind," none would be possible in the face of an attack from such a strangeness.


    Moreover, the quest information was different from that of "Photographing." All he needed to do was to meet with Fang Ning and make the initial promise together.


    In such quests, brute force cannot solve any issues, and could instead bring unexpectedly severe consequences.


    The next day, Yan Junze made a trip to Grandpa Zheng at the security room. He knew that Grandpa Zheng had the habit of reading newspapers and that he kept the old newspapers instead of throwing them away.


    "Newspapers from two years ago?" Grandpa Zheng looked puzzled.


    However, he didn¡¯t ask many questions and led Yan Junze to a room of his own near the entrance, opened the door, and pointed to an old wardrobe.


    "The newspapers are all in there, some are three or four years old, you can take your time to search through them."


    Your next journey awaits at empire


    "Mm, thank you, Grandpa Zheng."


    Yan Junze walked over to open the wardrobe and began taking out the old newspapers stack by stack. Grandpa Zheng meanwhile turned around and went back to the security room.


    It was clear that Grandpa Zheng was meticulous; the read newspapers were all stacked in chronological order, which made Yan Junze¡¯s search much quicker. In no time at all, he had found all the newspapers from two years ago.


    After spending nearly half an hour, he saw a piece of news in an evening newspaper from June.


    "Breaking News: Frequent Hazards at Electric Fountain, Young Woman Electrocuted to Death."


    "Latest news from the Shuntian City Police Department, this morning the body of a woman was found inside the electric fountain in zone one of the garden in Flowery Paradise Garden. The police have confirmed the identity of the woman and established that the girl had fallen into the fountain the previous night and died from electric shock, with the time of death being more than 12 hours ago.


    In the meantime, the fountain remained electrified because the incident went unnoticed. Our reporter has learned and verified that the young woman did not live in the residential area but is suspected to have accidentally fallen into the fountain while waiting for someone. This report is by the reporter Yang Genshuo."


    "Yang Genshuo, again?!" Yan Junze paused for a moment when he saw this name.


    He remembered the news of Granny Ren¡¯s son and his wife¡¯s tragic death, which was also reported by this reporter named Yang Genshuo. It was quite a coincidence to come across his name here again.


    He flipped to the bottom of the newspaper where the news hotline was listed, and Yan Junze took out his phone and called. A staff member answered.


    After stating that he wanted to talk to reporter Yang Genshuo for an exclusive scoop on some news, the staff member transferred his call to Yang Gensuo.


    "Hello." A deep, middle-aged voice came through, which didn¡¯t match the flashy nature of his name at all.


    "Is this reporter Genshuo?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Uh... please go ahead."


    "Do you remember the incident from two years ago involving a woman who was electrocuted to death in an electric fountain in a certain residential area?" Yan Junze asked bluntly.


    "You... aren¡¯t you here to report news?" Yang Genshuo¡¯s tone suddenly became skeptical.


    ```


    "I¡¯m currently haunted by that strangeness, so I¡¯m turning to you to understand the situation back then." Yan Junze¡¯s reason was very straightforward.


    In this era, only such a straightforward reason as being haunted by strangeness could possibly gain someone¡¯s trust and thereby uncover some of the insider information they desired to know.


    "Ah!" Yang Genshuo¡¯s tone indeed changed immediately, asking, "Is it serious?"


    "Hmm, I¡¯ve already reported to an exorcist," Yan Junze didn¡¯t go into details, simply stating, "I just want to know who this woman was waiting for back then. Do you have that person¡¯s contact information?" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That person used to live in the residential area by the fountain, but it seems that he moved away later," Yang Genshuo recalled. "You should ask some of the long-term residents there, they might have a clue."


    "Thanks," Yan Junze didn¡¯t say anything else and hung up the phone.


    After putting away the newspaper he had found, and returning it to the wardrobe, he closed the door and went to Grandpa Zheng in the security room.


    "Grandpa Zheng, do you know the security guard from the neighboring Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area?"


    The answer was indeed as he had guessed.


    Grandpa Zheng nodded: "Of course, I know him. I see him all the time. What¡¯s up?"


    "Just curious." Yan Junze roughly recounted the incident of someone being electrocuted by the fountain but naturally omitted a great deal.


    Then, he left the security room, bought half a pound of marinated pig¡¯s ears for Grandpa Zheng to enjoy as an evening snack with his drink. Grandpa Zheng hee-hawed his way to the security room of the next residential area and came back about ten minutes later.


    He handed Yan Junze a note: "Just so happens, the security guard from Flowery Paradise Garden has the contact information for that guy who moved away. He said if anyone wants to rent a place, they should contact him with this number."


    "Thanks, Grandpa, take your time eating. I¡¯m heading back," Yan Junze said as he took the note and left the security office.


    When he got home, he spread out the note and saw not only a phone number but also the man¡¯s name. Yan Junze dialed the number on the note.


    Soon, a man who sounded to be in his thirties picked up.


    "Jiang Hao?" Yan Junze was already prepared with what to say, so as soon as the call connected, his voice immediately took on a somber tone as he directly called out the other party¡¯s name.


    The person on the other end was clearly taken aback before responding, "This is me, may I ask who this is..."


    "An exorcist currently dealing with Fang Ning¡¯s haunting," Yan Junze spoke at an even pace, "If I can¡¯t resolve her completely, she will likely find you soon."


    "Ah!" The man named Jiang Hao was evidently startled.


    "However, to resolve her, I need a general understanding of the situation between you two. Were you lovers before?" Yan Junze asked.


    Silence fell on the other end of the line; it was unclear whether Jiang Hao was hesitating or had concerns.


    "Well then, I suppose we¡¯ll meet soon. When she finds you, you can contact me," Yan Junze threatened to hang up the phone on purpose.


    "Wait, please wait, I¡¯ll tell you," Jiang Hao quickly said. "Yes, we were lovers; we met at work. Where is she now...?"


    "Answer my question first," Yan Junze was not one to mince words, "When you two were dating, did you make any promises to each other?"


    This was, after all, Yan Junze¡¯s ultimate goal after beating around the bush.


    Otherwise, during the mission, he would have to speak of the original promises made to Fang Ning¡ªsomething he knew nothing about¡ªand it would be weird not to be caught off guard on the spot.


    "Promises?" Jiang Hao pondered for a moment before saying, "She would often say: I hope the world can be so small, so small that I¡¯d see you the moment I turn around. Then I¡¯d reply: I hope the world can be so vast, so vast that I could hold your hand and we¡¯d never reach its end."


    Are they shooting a romance drama or what?


    Yan Junze held the phone, stunned for quite a while.


    "And the last part," Jiang Hao continued, "Then she would make me say: I don¡¯t want any sea-drying, rock-crumbling promises, not the next life, not forever. I just want that every second, you are still by my side."


    At that moment, Yan Junze broke into a cold sweat.

 Chapter 134 - 132 Lethal Sweet Nothings (Subscribe 4/10)

    "Is there anything else?"


    After waiting a moment, since there was no further response from Jiang Hao, Yan Junze asked again.


    "No, that¡¯s all," Jiang Hao said.


    "Think again, are you sure you haven¡¯t remembered it wrong?" Yan Junze asked for confirmation.


    There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then Jiang Hao spoke up, "No, when we were together, she liked to speak sweet nothings, yes, I wouldn¡¯t remember it wrong."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, revealing a smile, "Forgive my boldness, but why did you two break up? Or more precisely, why didn¡¯t you go to the appointment that time?"


    Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao didn¡¯t speak for a long time, and then his voice began to choke, "I let her down, I had no idea that not going that night would lead to such serious consequences, I¡¯m full of regret."


    Yan Junze remained silent, waiting for Jiang Hao to vent his emotions.


    "She was very clingy, not only wanting to be with me every day, to exchange sweet nothings, but also calling me at least twenty or thirty times a day even when we weren¡¯t together. I couldn¡¯t take it, I felt as if I were being tied down by something, unable to breathe, unable to think clearly, and even... even later on... I started to be afraid of the love I had for her."


    Yan Junze shook his head, indeed, loving someone to this extent could be daunting to anyone.


    "So I started looking for excuses, avoiding her. She was sensitive and after being dodged by me several times, she broke down. I had her best friend keep her company, talk with her, and try to guide her. About a month passed, and she hadn¡¯t come looking for me. That day, the day she died, I received a call from her.


    She said she was at the fountain in our community, she wanted to meet me one last time, then she would leave completely."


    "So... you didn¡¯t go," said Yan Junze.


    "I didn¡¯t dare to go," Jiang Hao said with a bitter laugh, "To avoid seeing her again, I even quit my job. But this... might have been the biggest mistake of my life. I should have gone, even if she clung to me again, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen into the electrified fountain. I... I¡¯m sorry to her!


    I¡¯m sorry to Fang Ning!"


    At that moment, both ends of the phone fell into silence once more; no one spoke, and no one hung up.


    After a long while, Jiang Hao spoke again, "You are an exorcist, even if she now hates me to the bone, please, you must help her."


    "You don¡¯t need to tell me that," Yan Junze said, "Let me confirm once more. The words you liked to say were, she would say: ¡¯I wish the world could be very small, so small that I could see you the moment I turn around.¡¯ Then you would say: ¡¯I wish the world could be very big, so big that I could hold your hand and we could never reach the end.¡¯"


    "Yeah, that¡¯s right."


    "And then Fang Ning would ask you to say: ¡¯I don¡¯t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. I just want you by my side every second,¡¯" Yan Junze added.


    "Yes, that¡¯s how it was," Jiang Hao¡¯s voice was very low, as if he were in a terrible emotional state at the moment.


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    "Alright, Mr. Jiang Hao, thank you for your cooperation," Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Jiang Hao, however, continued to hold the phone emitting a busy tone, not pressing the disconnect button until it cut off by itself. He sat motionless in the chair, his mind filled with past memories.


    Past scenes and the sweet nothings they had exchanged kept resurfacing in his mind. He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed when he suddenly came to a stop, gradually coming out of his recollections.


    Talking to himself, he said, "I don¡¯t want any talk about seas drying up and rocks crumbling, about the next life, about forever. I just want... every second for you to still be by my side."


    "Hmm, that doesn¡¯t seem right," Jiang Hao showed confusion, repeating it again to himself, "I just need... each next second... for you to still be by my side, I just need... every second... for you to still be by my side? Hiss, which one is it actually?"


    It had been two years since he tried hard to forget those memories, and this moment brought a sense of uncertainty to Jiang Hao.


    ...


    "What did you say our son did?" Li Man placed freshly washed fruit on the coffee table in front of Yan Daguo, looking puzzled, "Is he... in love?"


    Yan Daguo picked up an apple and took a bite, "Why do you say that?"


    Li Man sat down and glanced toward the bedroom, "Didn¡¯t you hear? He¡¯s been saying all day that he wishes the world was small so that he could see you with just a turn of his head, and then wishes it was big enough to travel to the ends of the earth hand in hand with someone."


    "Is it travel to the ends of the earth?" Yan Daguo was surprised, "I thought it was ¡¯walk to the edge of the world.¡¯"


    "And you said you didn¡¯t hear it?" Li Man was both annoyed and amused.


    "No, I thought he was on the phone," Yan Daguo explained.


    "That¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s suspicious. Do you know who the girl on the other side of the phone is?" Li Man asked.


    "You go ask him. The child has grown up and is about to go to college. I have no right to interfere," Yan Daguo looked quite enlightened.


    Li Man didn¡¯t get up, clearly not planning to ask Yan Junze, but simply sat there, talking to herself, "He even mentioned ¡¯till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble, wanting to be by my side every second.¡¯ It gave me goosebumps." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Mom, where¡¯s the apple you washed for me?" Yan Junze suddenly came out from the bedroom.


    "Here." Li Man pointed to the coffee table in front of her.


    Yan Junze walked over, took an apple and took a bite, still mumbling, "All that ¡¯till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble,¡¯ ¡¯next lifetime,¡¯ ¡¯forever,¡¯ I don¡¯t want any of that... Mm, it¡¯s a sunny day, huh? Mom, what¡¯s the lunar date today?"


    "May fifteenth," Li Man replied without thinking, but she watched Yan Junze with a scrutinizing look.


    As if he sensed the "judgmental gaze," Yan Junze shuddered suddenly and turned to look back.


    All he saw was his parents sitting together peacefully, eating apples and calling out, "Sweet," with nothing amiss. Their recovery speed had already broken through the skies.


    The moon was quite full tonight, and the weather was nice, so carrying out the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" task was possible.


    Yan Junze went through the "sweet nothings" Jiang Hao had told him over and over again, ensuring he wouldn¡¯t mess up during the mission, and at this moment, he was certain that even under pressure, he wouldn¡¯t make a mistake.


    He went back to his bedroom and closed the door.


    As usual, he prepared two flashlights, a lighter, a dry towel, a portable camera and camera head, and everything else he packed into a black backpack¡ªwhether it was needed or not, he stuffed it in first.


    Then Yan Junze made a call to Tang Zhengyi, informing him that he would be recording a Spirit Exploration video and uploading it soon.


    The response from Tang Zhengyi was simple; as the honorary "Open Your Eyes" platform¡¯s Master of Spirit Exploration, the best promotional spot was waiting. The moment the video was uploaded, it would be thrust into the spotlight.


    After dinner, Yan Junze said he was going to stop by Zhou Dali¡¯s place. After all, he had used that boy as a shield countless times; one more wouldn¡¯t make a difference.


    Around eight thirty, he left the house with his black backpack. His parents were watching TV and reminded him that he had to be home by ten o¡¯clock at the latest.


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, Yan Daguo and Li Man seemed to be growing more and more confident in him. After thinking it over, ever since he had taken possession of the body, it seemed like he¡¯d resolved all the strange occurrences in the house and the neighborhood.


    Although his parents hadn¡¯t truly realized it, subconsciously, they felt very secure with him around. In fact, when Yan Junze was home, they¡¯d become unconsciously more at ease.


    Even the person in question hadn¡¯t noticed this.


    But regardless, ensuring that his family in this life could live safely and without worries was currently Yan Junze¡¯s greatest wish.


    Of course, lighting up the Atlas to maximize his strengths was the guarantee of all this and equally important.


    He soon arrived in the neighboring community. Yan Junze took a deep breath as he looked into the depths of Flowery Paradise Garden and stepped inside.

 Chapter 135 - 133 Reflection Under the Moonlight (1) (Please subscribe 5/10)

    The FH Community had long since fallen out with the homeowners, resulting in the formation of a homeowner committee. Therefore, both security and sanitation in the community were employed by the homeowner committee.


    However, due to frequent inadequacy of funds, the number of personnel hired was extremely limited, leading to poor sanitation in the community which could not match the environmental quality of the FH Community.


    When Yan Junze entered the Flowery Paradise Garden, there wasn¡¯t even a security guard in the gatehouse. He wondered if the security brother familiar to Grandpa Zheng had run off again for a chat.


    The address of the fountain pool was within the garden of Zone One in the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area. Experience more on empire


    The numbering of the community zones started from the inside out. When Yan Junze entered through the main gate, he saw the zone number near the gate marked as eight. Hence, Zone One would be at the very inside.


    Junze hadn¡¯t turned on his flashlight since there were streetlights all along the way. Watching the zone numbers on the exterior of the buildings, he made his way deeper in and soon reached the staircase marked with Zone One.


    "Garden?"


    Yan Junze muttered to himself as he looked around.


    He had never been in here before, so he had to search on the spot.


    The moon overhead was round and big, its light spilling down so that even without the streetlights, the surrounding scenery was clearly visible.


    This was very conducive for Yan Junze to carry out his mission.


    He continued along the winding road until he reached a corner, where he saw a sign that read "Zone One Garden".


    Standing in front of the sign, and following the direction indicated by the arrow, Junze noticed the so-called garden was behind several residential buildings in Zone One. At first glance, the path led through a secluded garden surrounded by an abundance of dense vegetation.


    Because few people came this way, some plants had almost completely obscured the path, making it nearly imperceptible unless one paid close attention.


    Glancing deeper into the garden, the area became very dark, obscuring visibility.


    To Yan Junze, it felt as though there was a huge beast lurking in the darkness ahead, gaping maw and fangs exposed, waiting for him.


    Standing at the sign, preparing to head to the Zone One Garden, Yan Junze activated Rewind.


    He had no choice; the current task level was [Hair-raising (low)], identical to the Back-faced Woman¡¯s mission. He had to be fully alert and focused.


    Moreover, he absolutely had to follow the task prompts. Any attempt to complete the mission through force rather than adhering to the rules was doomed to have severe consequences.


    Because Rewind was on, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think much further. He tightened his collar and hurried down the path toward the garden behind.


    Passing through the dense vegetation, the path was overgrown with weeds and concealed for years, making the ground somewhat slippery.


    With no other option, Junze turned on a flashlight to illuminate his footsteps, taking just over a minute to reach a spacious area.


    This was the Zone One garden, constructed from stone, with even the ground paved with neatly cut stone bricks. There was a stone fountain in the center, with stone benches installed in all eight directions.


    They formed a perfect circle around the fountain.


    However, due to years of neglect, the place was filthy, with a faint odor wafting through the air.


    The trees surrounding the garden grew quickly and had overshadowed the area, nearly covering the space above the surrounding benches.


    Fortunately, the direction of the fountain in the center was still exposed under the moonlight, providing clear visibility. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze first surveyed the environment, lingering his gaze on the fountain for a few seconds. He then took off his backpack, pulled out the portable camera, found the best filming angle, and placed it on one of the stone benches.


    The lens was directed towards the fountain, and then he put on the portable camera on his chest, switching it on to test.


    Until now, Yan Junze had not approached the fountain pool because he feared that getting closer might trigger the task.


    After all the preparation was ready, Yan Junze looked toward the fountain pool, took a deep breath, turned on the camera on the stone bench, crouched down, and said to the camera, "This electric fountain once electrocuted a young and beautiful woman who, it¡¯s said, was waiting for someone to keep an appointment. And our Spirit Exploration today is right here, I¡¯m the Night Traveling Puppy."


    With those words, Yan Junze stood up and walked toward the fountain pool.


    The moonlight was like silver, spilling over him, and likewise onto the water in the fountain pool in front of him.


    Standing at the edge of the pool, Yan Junze lowered his head slightly and looked into the water.


    Although the pool water had been drained after someone died there, time had passed, and through continual rainfall, the pool had once again accumulated a large amount of water, reaching about waist-high for an adult standing in it.


    Of course, there were also fallen leaves, trash bags, snack wrappers, and such, all floating on the surface of the water.


    "Damn snack wrappers!" muttered Yan Junze.


    In his mind, wherever there was garbage, the shadows of various snack wrappers were bound to exist.


    Standing at the edge of the pool, looking into it, he couldn¡¯t see anything because of the large amount of garbage and fallen leaves shielding the view.


    Yan Junze thought about the task prompt, Fang Ning was still waiting for that appointment, and as long as someone was willing to stand back-to-back, hand-in-hand with her, and promise eternity under the moonlight.


    So, should he wait now or run straight into the fountain pool?


    How is he supposed to stand back-to-back or hand-in-hand if he runs into the water?


    It seems unlikely.


    Yan Junze just stood by the pool, looking up at the moon.


    After a while, he mused aloud, "Such a big moon, such ample moonlight, it¡¯s a clear night with a full moon alright, it won¡¯t shy away from appearing, right!"


    After speaking, he stood to the side of the fountain pool, facing it sideways and sighed as he gazed at the moon.


    Time slipped by without notice and, about seven or eight minutes later, the water in the fountain pool rippled slightly, making a faint sound.


    Yan Junze had been watching his surroundings closely, and upon hearing the noise, he immediately focused his attention to the side, but he did not turn his head to look.


    The task hadn¡¯t indicated whether the woman still recognized her former boyfriend. It was best if she didn¡¯t, but if she was too obsessed with the man¡¯s appearance, he feared that turning his head would give him away.


    So, to be on the safe side, he decided it was best not to look at her, not to face her, and to keep their backs to each other if possible.


    But since the task didn¡¯t specify, Yan Junze guessed that there was a good chance that Fang Ning¡¯s obsession was merely to fulfill the date, and with whom might not matter as much.


    Another ripple of water rang out, this time much clearer than before. Yan Junze didn¡¯t look over, instead, he kept an eye on the movements in the fountain pool from the corner of his eye.


    He could vaguely see that shortly after the water rippled, on the surface blanketed with numerous leaves, a figure arched upwards slightly, and the leaves arched as well, as the water flowed down both sides.


    With the figure rising slowly from the water, a cacophony of the spilling sound intensely burst forth at that moment, reaching Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    At the same time, a foul stench wafted into his nose.


    "You... have... come," a strange voice suddenly emitted.


    This voice was extremely grating, as if the vocal cords of the speaker had been torn apart, no longer distinguishing male from female.

 Chapter 136 - 134 Reflection Under the Moonlight (2) (Please subscribe 6/10)

    Yan Junze did not turn his head to take a good look; he simply replied, "Yeah, I¡¯m here." Stay updated through empire


    Through his peripheral vision, he could see the silhouette of a person standing in the water, seemingly very slender and motionless.


    After his own response to her, the figure began to move, wading through the water, slowly walking towards him.


    The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the sound of water rushing from the fountain. The stench-emitting silhouette gradually drew closer to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze stood there like a statue, waiting for Fang Ning to approach.


    To complete the task, it was impossible to evade; although the approaching Fang Ning reeked, and after being electrocuted for a long time, her corpse had become terrifying. Even Yan Junze at this moment had no desire to turn around for a glance.


    However, according to the background explanation provided by the task, he could already imagine what Fang Ning looked like at this moment.


    A person¡¯s body, after being electrocuted for a prolonged period, will exhibit characteristics of metalization. At this time, accessories, watches, and other items on the body will dissolve and fuse firmly with the skin and muscles, unable to be removed.


    And since Fang Ning had been electrocuted by the leaking fountain all night, the long duration of electrocution coupled with the moisture from the water, her skin and muscles had decayed, melding with the accessories on her body.


    One could imagine that Fang Ning¡¯s appearance had long since lost her beauty from when she was alive; in its place was a face charred and dissolved in the water, with no part left intact.


    When the police initially performed the autopsy, if they did not consider her personal belongings, they could not possibly identify her.


    Splash!


    From the fountain to the right of Yan Junze, ripples spread as the figure drew closer, one foot emerging from the water, stepping over the edge of the pool onto the stone-cold ground.


    Then the other foot also stepped out of the water.


    During this time, Yan Junze stood motionless in his original spot.


    The stench surrounding him grew thicker and thicker.


    Pat pat, the sound of footsteps arose, step by step, like clumps of sludge falling onto the ground, drawing closer to Yan Junze.


    Before long, Yan Junze felt something cold touching his hanging right hand, realizing only then that it was being held by another hand.


    This hand was extremely rough, its texture no longer discernible, the skin¡¯s surface akin to scabs formed after an injury.


    There was no sound from behind, but this hand groped for a moment before slowly taking hold of his right hand.


    Yan Junze did not resist, naturally opening his fingers, suppressing his disgust, holding it in the palm of his hand.


    Immediately afterward, his left hand also felt cold as another hand took hold of it. This hand, too, had scab-like skin, making Yan Junze feel as if he were holding onto an old tree branch.


    The next second, his back felt a chill as if a large block of ice had approached, pressing tightly against his back.


    "Huuuh..."


    That eerie and hoarse voice resounded the instant it pressed up against Yan Junze¡¯s back, as if it had found something to cling to, a long-lost sensation.


    Those past memories and moments, as the two stood back to back, drawing close, found their destination.


    The icy feeling intensified as the human and strangeness pressed completely together. Within less than a minute, Yan Junze felt his entire spine numb from the cold.


    Fang Ning did not speak, and he too decided to remain silent.


    Hand holding hand, back against back, an inexplicable atmosphere spread.


    This was not romance; in Yan Junze¡¯s view, this was freakishly bizarre!


    A task graded as "hair-raising (low)" strangeness, clinging tightly to his back, hand holding hand, without uttering a word.


    Is it going to be like this forever?


    The eerie atmosphere slowly solidified, and after maintaining the same posture for over ten minutes, Yan Junze felt his legs starting to tremble slightly.


    At that moment, Fang Ning¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, "Look at tonight¡¯s moon, how round and beautiful it is!"


    Yan Junze could imagine that she had been looking up at the sky all along, admiring the moon above.


    This is also why the task prompt suggested completing the task on a clear, full moon night.


    It seemed that Fang Ning might have been very fond of this type of romantic setting when she was alive.


    Of course, Yan Junze felt no romance at the moment, replaced instead by a thick sense of horror and oppression.


    His lips moved slightly, and he thought he should still respond to the woman; otherwise, something unpredictable might happen, so he tried to speak up, "Yes, such a round and beautiful moon that it outshines all the other stars in the sky. It¡¯s as if the whole night sky is left with only its unique splendor."


    "Hahaha...."


    Fang Ning let out a laugh, which surely would have been like a melodious silver bell if it had been during her lifetime.


    However, due to her throat being deformed by electrocution, the laugh that now came out gave Yan Junze goosebumps all over, and it sounded even more penetrating than the noise of scrubbing the bottom of a pan with a steel wool pad.


    After several seconds, the laughter stopped, and Fang Ning became very quiet, still leaning on Yan Junze¡¯s back, standing motionless.


    "Not talking again?" Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    After waiting awhile and seeing that Fang Ning was indeed as still as if she were dead, with no more signs of movement,


    "Is it that I¡¯m supposed to say something?" Yan Junze pondered for a while, deciding to speak up and test the waters, but just as he was about to speak, Fang Ning suddenly spoke again, uttering words that startled Yan Junze.


    "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    Listening to these familiar words, they seemed exactly the same as the previous sentence.


    For a moment, Yan Junze wondered if he had "Rewound," returning to an earlier point in time, which was why Fang Ning was repeating the question.


    But on second thought, something felt off. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Didn¡¯t you... just say that?"


    Fang Ning gave no answer, still standing there.


    Yan Junze held her cold, icy hand, feeling as if his own hands were about to freeze stiff, with the goosebumps on his body never subsiding.


    After a long wait, there was still no reply from her.


    Before long, Fang Ning spoke up again, "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    "Fuck, is this some kind of loop?!" Yan Junze started to realize what was happening. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He now understood that, as a "hair-raising" level task, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to just pass through it.


    In the previous task of this level, he was killed in an instant by the Back-faced Woman, then cursed to grow black hair all over his body, tormented in life and death.


    This had never happened in other tasks before.


    Now, it seemed that these words must have been what Fang Ning wished to say when she saw Jiang Hao but tragically never got the chance before dying, so they had turned into a strong "Obsession."


    He had to break it, or he couldn¡¯t move on to the next step.


    After these words, Fang Ning fell silent again.


    Yan Junze carefully considered for a moment, Fang Ning¡¯s wish was very likely to have a date with Jiang Hao, to say goodbye, and to see the full moon one last time.


    "Hmm, I remember feeling very sweet inside when I was with you," Yan Junze ventured.


    Before he could finish speaking, his hands were suddenly grasped tightly, held in a death grip by Fang Ning¡¯s scab-like rough palms, and his bones made cracking noises.


    At the same time, the cold feeling on his back vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of merging.


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel as if he were back to back with Fang Ning anymore but rather as if their backs had become fused together like conjoined beings.


    He was startled and immediately took a step forward, feeling a sensation of ripping and piercing pain on his back.


    At this point, Fang Ning remained silent, as if what Yan Junze was carrying on his back was a dead person, a woman electrocuted to death.


    Yan Junze was even more terrified, furiously shaking his hands only to find they were stuck to the other¡¯s palms, with a copious amount of thick exudate making it impossible for him to separate his hands from Fang Ning¡¯s.

 Chapter 137 - 135 Reflection Under the Moonlight (3) (Please subscribe 7/10)

    Yan Junze knew his answer was definitely problematic. Without further hesitation, he immediately chose Rewind.


    The timeline for the Rewind wasn¡¯t long; man and strangeness were once again back to back, hand in hand, looking at the full moon above.


    "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!" Fang Ning spoke up.


    Yan Junze remained silent, thought it over carefully, and said softly, "Yeah, it¡¯s beautiful. Not only is tonight¡¯s moon beautiful, but the moons in the future will be even more so."


    No sooner had he spoken than a familiar sense of merging came over him again.


    His body and Fang Ning¡¯s body once again felt as though they were fusing together.


    He dared not take another step forward, or else that heart-wrenching sensation of being torn apart would spread throughout his body.


    "Still not right."


    He had no choice but to initiate Rewind once again.


    Man and strangeness, back to back, hand in hand, stood under the moonlight, both without a word.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mind raced as he recalled his conversation with Fang Ning.


    The first time when Fang Ning said, "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is," he had complimented her offhandedly.


    As a result, Fang Ning let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh, but she did not merge with him. Instead, after a brief silence, she continued to repeat the same sentence.


    After the second time, Yan Junze¡¯s answer was tinged with reminiscence, but it immediately led to the fusion with Fang Ning. Experience more content on empire


    It seemed that reminiscing was not an option; to this woman, comparing the good memories of the past with her current ordeal was an indescribable pain.


    And the third time Fang Ning said, "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is," Yan Junze¡¯s response was about the future. It contained a hint of advising her to look ahead, but this too wasn¡¯t an answer that satisfied Fang Ning.


    All three lines of response had to be avoided.


    Yan Junze pondered carefully. He couldn¡¯t speak of the past, nor of the future; perhaps the present was what Fang Ning desired to possess, the moment she considered the most beautiful might just be this very one.


    "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!" Fang Ning¡¯s voice rang out again.


    Yan Junze cleared his throat and began slowly, "Yes, it¡¯s beautiful. Not just the moon, but the time is also beautiful. I¡¯ll remember this moment tonight forever."


    "Do you still remember the words we said together?" Fang Ning asked again.


    "Yes, passed!" Yan Junze rejoiced inwardly.


    It really was this very moment that mattered most to Fang Ning; the past, the future¡ªneither mattered at all.


    "I remember, of course, I remember."


    Making a joke, he had recited it countless times throughout the day; he was even reciting it while eating and using the bathroom. How could he forget?


    No sooner had his answer finished than Fang Ning¡¯s head, already devoid of hair and wet, gently pressed against the back of Yan Junze¡¯s head.


    The cold, stiff touch made Yan Junze¡¯s heart churn, and the hairs on his back stood on end.


    Then he heard Fang Ning whispering softly as if to herself, "I wish this world could be very small, so small that I could see you with a turn around."


    Yan Junze¡¯s heart stirred, he perked up, and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible as he replied, "I wish this world could be very big, so big that I could hold your hand and never reach the end."


    Under the soft moonlight, next to the foul-smelling pond, in a garden full of trash and filth, man and strangeness, back against back, hand in hand, were exchanging terms of endearment.


    Yan Junze believed that if this scene were edited and uploaded onto platforms, it would definitely cause a sensation; at the very least, it would not lack in tips. Then Tang Zhengyi might just make it free to watch only the first fifteen seconds, and that would be a big moneymaker.


    After saying these loving words, Yan Junze felt both hands tighten; the hand holding his own cold, rigid palm suddenly increased its firm grip.


    As if... Fang Ning finally felt something at this moment.


    The icy coldness from behind once again got closer to him by a fraction, instilling within Yan Junze the illusion that he and Fang Ning had become inseparable.


    However, fortunately, Fang Ning had merely gotten closer to him and did not create the sensation of a complete fusion with Yan Junze.


    "What else?" Fang Ning spoke, her voice hoarse and eerie as if laced with an indescribable tenderness.


    "Well, there¡¯s also..." Yan Junze tried to keep his voice calm and even wore a slight smile as he said, "I don¡¯t want promises of mountains crumbling and seas drying up, of next lifetimes, of forever. I just want every second... you¡¯re still by my side."


    It was over.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Junze breathed a sigh of relief.


    According to the task hint, all he had to do was make the original promise to Fang Ning to complete this task; and it was thanks to his thorough preparation at the early stage, having mastered sufficient clues in advance, otherwise he would have been utterly clueless now, with no way out.


    As he was feeling relieved, unexpectedly, a terrifying sensation came thundering from his back where it was pressed against Fang Ning¡¯s, leaving Yan Junze completely unable to react. His body instantly went numb, consciousness vanished, and his vital signs began to rapidly fade away.


    [Host detected on the verge of death, "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" has been triggered, consuming 500 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    A familiar feeling surged into his heart, and at first, a white light flashed before his eyes, soon after which he was able to see again.


    Yan Junze found himself still back-to-back, hand in hand with Fang Ning, standing together.


    But the memory he had just before he made his last promise seemed to involve being pierced by an incredibly strong electric current that knocked him out instantly.


    At this moment, the only person who could control such a strange electric shock to attack him was the woman whose back was pressed against his.


    "Did I say something wrong?!"


    Having nearly died once, Yan Junze stayed befuddled in his current posture, not daring to make any other move. His mind raced to recall the sweet nothings he had heard from Jiang Hao, comparing them carefully with his own memories.


    There shouldn¡¯t be a mistake.


    "I hope the world can be very small, so small that I can see you just by turning around," said Fang Ning once again.


    Yan Junze realized that the automatic rewind had taken him back to this point in time.


    Clearing his throat, he thought it over, then slowly replied, "I hope the world can be very big, so big that holding your hand, we could never reach its end."


    There was nothing wrong with this phrase. Now it seemed that the issue lay with the very last sentence he had said before.


    "What else?" After a brief pause as before, Fang Ning asked again. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Here it comes." Yan Junze took a deep breath, a typical gesture when he felt nervous, and his mind desperately recalled every word, then spoke in segments: "Wishes of mountains crumbling and seas drying up..."


    After finishing this segment, he paused and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.


    It wasn¡¯t this sentence.


    Then he continued, "Wishes of another lifetime..."


    Still no abnormalities.


    It wasn¡¯t this sentence, either.


    "Wishes of forever, none of that I want..."


    Yan Junze paused again, wary.


    In fact, he knew that the powerful attack he had just experienced was not much different from the time the Back-faced Woman had suddenly bit him. At such a short distance, the speed and strength of the attack meant he couldn¡¯t possibly react in time; his only recourse was to rely on the "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death."


    Fang Ning behind him remained motionless.


    "It seems it¡¯s not that either." Yan Junze hesitated and, after a moment¡¯s thought, decided to repeat that last sentence, in case he had gotten a word wrong the last time, "I just want every second you¡¯re still at my side."


    No sooner had he finished speaking than his body shuddered violently. And just as he was about to collapse, in an instant, his body was sucked onto Fang Ning¡¯s back, as copious amounts of adherent secretion oozed out, tightly pressing their two bodies together.

 Chapter 138 - 136 Reflection Under the Moonlight (4) (Please subscribe 8/10)

    [Host near death detected, triggering "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," consuming 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy this time]


    When Yan Junze regained consciousness, he looked miserably at the information in his mind.


    He didn¡¯t expect that the consumption of energy would double with the second "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" immediately following the first.


    The first rewind consumed 500 points, while the second one took up 1000 points. If there was to be another one... Discover hidden content at empire


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to imagine. At present, he had only 4400 points of Different Dimension Energy left. If it kept consuming at this rate, he guessed that after another two times, he would be completely done for.


    However, he now roughly understood where the problem lay.


    It wasn¡¯t that the entire declaration of love had issues, but rather, the problem was with the last sentence of this declaration.


    As soon as he uttered, "I only want you by my side every second," disaster immediately struck, and the "Death Attack" from Fang Ning, who was pressed against his back, was just too perfect.


    Even with preparation, Yan Junze still had no time to react, and he was instantly killed by this strangeness.


    But now that he thought about it carefully, it was probably because he was fully back to back with Fang Ning that made it easy for her to instantly kill him, just like when he had inadvertently gotten too close to the Back-faced Woman before.


    "I got it wrong. The last promise was wrong, that damn Jiang Hao!" Yan Junze realized in his heart at this moment.


    But on the other hand, this guy almost went crazy because of Fang Ning and kept running away. It¡¯s likely that he might subconsciously deliberately want to forget these sickening declarations of love.


    Regardless, the same mistake couldn¡¯t continue.


    At this moment, Fang Ning had already begun to ask, "Do you still remember what we used to say together?"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer her but simply triggered the rewind.


    The rewind brought him back to the moment he had just arrived at the garden with the fountain, before he had approached the fountain.


    After setting down his backpack, Yan Junze glanced in the direction of the fountain pool. Since he hadn¡¯t gone there yet, Fang Ning¡¯s evil spirit wouldn¡¯t climb out from the filthy water in the pool.


    Looking at the time, it was already night, but still early.


    Yan Junze took out his phone and dialed Jiang Hao¡¯s number.


    The call was quickly answered, and Jiang Hao¡¯s voice came through without any surprise, clearly remembering or having saved Yan Junze¡¯s number.


    "Exorcist, sir," Jiang Hao said as soon as he answered.


    Yan Junze skipped the pleasantries and asked, "Think carefully about those phrases you told me you would often say. Is there any mistake? Especially the last one!"


    Jiang Hao chuckled bitterly on the other end of the line, his tone apologetic, "After you hung up last time, I thought about it carefully, but I really can¡¯t remember clearly. It seemed that the last sentence was: No matter the oceans dry up and the rocks decay, no matter the next life, no matter forever, I want none of it, I just want you by my side every second."


    "That¡¯s not right," Yan Junze shook his head, "It¡¯s exactly the same as what¡¯s in my memory, and you said it without a mistake. But the facts proved it was wrong."


    "Huh? How did you prove that?" Jiang Hao¡¯s tone now held surprise.


    "Do I need to explain myself to you?" Yan Junze retorted.


    "No, no, not at all! Mr. Exorcist, sir, you misunderstand, I was just curious," Jiang Hao quickly replied.


    "Think carefully, then tell me," Yan Junze dismissed his explanation.


    In fact, Yan Junze held some resentment towards this guy, or he wouldn¡¯t have lost 1500 points of Different Dimension Energy for nothing.


    To know that without completing the task, although the already activated segments of Different Dimension Energy would slowly recover, the pace of recovery was akin to that of a tortoise. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the blunder in this mission, it was uncertain how long it would take to fully recover at such a slow rate.


    "Hmm, let me think," Jiang Hao said, nodding incessantly on the other end, mainly because he feared that if Yan Junze couldn¡¯t handle Fang Ning, then Fang Ning would personally come to have a face-to-face talk with him.


    "It¡¯s just... that last sentence, I can¡¯t quite remember it," Jiang Hao said after a moment.


    "You go ahead and say it," Yan Junze didn¡¯t rush him, as haste might instead worsen his memory recall.


    "Hmm," Jiang Hao articulated slowly: "I only want every second you¡¯re by my side? No, that¡¯s not right, I only want every second... um, every next second... you¡¯re still by my side. I only want... the next second...


    you at my side, that¡¯s not right either."


    "It might be the middle sentence," Yan Junze likewise pondered and voiced a reminder.


    Jiang Hao paused for a bit, then repeated, "What seas may wither and rocks may rot, what next life, what forever, I don¡¯t want them, I only want... every next second... you¡¯re still by my side. Are you saying this sentence is correct?"


    "If you haven¡¯t thought of anything else, then it must be this one," Yan Junze nodded, "Think about it, since you want to be by her side every second, then what¡¯s the point of saying no to forever, no to withering seas and crumbling rocks? If you¡¯re by her side every second, isn¡¯t that forever? So, it feels redundant to me."


    "Yeah, it seems so," Jiang Hao agreed.


    "Therefore, in terms of the meaningful connection between sentences, ¡¯every next second¡¯ would be more appropriate," Yan Junze continued: "She doesn¡¯t want withering seas with you, doesn¡¯t want a next life with you, nor does she want forever. She just wants you to be by her side every next second. It¡¯s a very clever and playful way to put it.


    If you¡¯re with her every next second, then you don¡¯t need to mention all that eternal stuff before."


    "Yes, that¡¯s right," Jiang Hao seemed to have an epiphany, his tone firming up, "I only want every next second you¡¯re still by my side. Yes, that¡¯s the sentence, it can¡¯t be wrong."


    "Sure?"


    "I¡¯m sure, it can¡¯t be wrong," he affirmed.


    Yan Junze smiled, "Mr. Jiang Hao, you should know I can¡¯t afford more losses. If it turns out to be wrong again, even if Fang Ning doesn¡¯t come looking for you, with an exorcist¡¯s means... If a Wandering Spirit follows you everywhere, I believe your life from here on out will be anything but normal."


    Jiang Hao on the phone suddenly shivered, his complexion turning pale, falling silent for a while before speaking up again: "Mr. Exorcist, I swear, it must be this sentence; your previous words reminded me of it."


    "Good, I¡¯ll trust you this one more time, and it¡¯s the last time," Yan Junze hung up the call.


    He looked at the fountain, and like before, he set up the camera on the stone bench and put on the portable camera.


    This time, however, he placed the camera over his shoulder, a bit closer to his back.


    Since it was going to be back to back with Fang Ning, from the perspective of allowing the netizens to watch, a camera pointing backwards would clearly capture the scene of Fang Ning emerging from the fountain, giving a fright to those thrill-seekers on the platform.

 Chapter 139 - 137 Reflection Under the Moonlight (5) (Please subscribe 9/10)

    Of course, having been tricked by Jiang Hao once before, Yan Junze didn¡¯t place all his hopes entirely on the young man this time.


    Now he had about 2,700 points of Different Dimension Energy left. If there was still a problem at the same stage as last time, it wouldn¡¯t entirely be Jiang Hao¡¯s fault, it was possible that the guy genuinely couldn¡¯t remember his promise from before.


    In that case, Yan Junze could still initiate one more "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," and then he would immediately do another manual rewind, going back to the moment before he saw the garden road sign in the first district, exiting this mission without further execution.


    This was the worst plan he had made so far.


    Coming to the fountain pool, this time Yan Junze simply turned his back to the center of the pool, standing under the moonlight, motionless.


    With the experience from the last time, he knew he had to wait a little longer for Fang Ning to appear.


    About eight minutes later, the sound of moving water came from the middle of the pool.


    "You... have... come," a hoarse and eerie voice sounded.


    "Yes, I have," Yan Junze answered.


    Caught on camera from over his shoulder, a slim figure, pitch-black all over, arched out of the water, followed by a splash of water, leaves, and garbage bags flowing in all directions, revealing the metallic torso of Fang Ning post-electrocution.


    Standing in the pool for a while, Fang Ning began to move her feet, walking stiffly towards the direction of the camera.


    Step by step, stirring the water, she reached the edge of the pool.


    In the camera¡¯s view, a hairless, pitch-black head clearly appeared within, deformed features all squeezed together, the upper and lower lips seemed sealed, oozing out copious amounts of thick mucus when they parted. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Afterward, Fang Ning stepped over the pool and walked towards Yan Junze.


    Before long, her entire face drew near to Yan Junze¡¯s back and also close to the camera on his shoulder.


    She reached out, seemingly wanting to touch Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder. From the angle of the camera, it was clear to see that her wristwatch, pitch-black, had fused into her skin and muscle, becoming one with her wrist.


    But soon, Fang Ning lowered her hand, turned around, and with two palms, cracked like stones, pulled from behind at Yan Junze¡¯s hands, holding them.


    "Let¡¯s try again," Yan Junze thought to himself.


    Suddenly feeling a chill in his back, Fang Ning¡¯s back had pressed against his own.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    This moment would take a long time; Yan Junze knew it was as if Fang Ning needed to feel the emotional comfort she had finally found after such a long time at this very moment.


    They waited like this for over ten more minutes.


    Compared with the first time, Yan Junze had adapted much more to the situation. After all, Ke¡¯er had often lain on his body, and even though the current creature was more terrifying and ferocious, ready to take his life at any moment, they were fundamentally both ice-cold.


    Only, this one was a bit larger.


    Fang Ning finally spoke, "Look at the moon tonight, how round and beautiful it is!"


    This was simple, after all, it had been exchanged for two manual rewinds.


    Yan Junze immediately responded, "Yes, it¡¯s beautiful, not just the moon but also time itself is beautiful, I will always remember this moment tonight."


    "Do you remember the words we once said together?" Fang Ning asked.


    "Yes, I remember," Yan Junze¡¯s voice was very gentle.


    Whether influenced by the ambiguous atmosphere under the moonlight, or by the hair-raising female creature behind him, he felt that at this moment he truly became Jiang Hao¡¯s character.


    He lowered his head, looking at the "Reflection Under the Moonlight."


    Because he was very close to Fang Ning behind him, their reflected images under the moonlight looked bloated, just like a couple holding each other tightly in an embrace, unwilling to part.


    "I hope the world can be very small, so small that I can see you the moment I turn around."


    Fang Ning uttered the first line of her love confession.


    That hoarse and eerie voice, coupled with gentle words, conveyed an indescribable sense of terror. Your next read awaits at empire


    When she finished, after a brief pause, Yan Junze replied, "I wish the world could be huge, so vast that I could hold your hand and never reach the end."


    The next second, Fang Ning took a small step back, causing her pitch-black, stiff, and damp back to press even closer against Yan Junze.


    "And?"


    "Sigh." Yan Junze breathed out, rehearsed the response in his head once more, and slowed down his speech as he said, "I don¡¯t want the seas to dry up, the stones to rot away, not even the next lifetime, or forever. I just want... every next second... for you to still be by my side."


    As soon as he had spoken, he immediately prepared to Rewind.


    Since in the previous "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death," he was instantly killed by Fang Ning despite being prepared, he considered using Rewind a step earlier this time, in case he answered incorrectly.


    Of course, if he couldn¡¯t outpace Fang Ning¡¯s instant kill, then he¡¯d have to resign himself to fate.


    And all this was predicated on the assumption that his answer this time... was still wrong.


    As feelings of high alertness, suspicion, and hesitation were flooding in, Yan Junze suddenly paused, sensing Fang Ning¡¯s grip on his hand suddenly loosening.


    At the same time, the pressure on his back vanished as the body that had been pressed against him retreated.


    Fang Ning¡¯s voice rang out, carrying an otherworldly gentleness, "Turn around."


    Yan Junze was startled.


    It seemed he had passed the test. Jiang Hao was right, the last promise was indeed correct, otherwise Fang Ning wouldn¡¯t have let go of him and asked him to turn around.


    Just turn around like this? Face to face, what if she recognized him, knew he wasn¡¯t Jiang Hao?


    Clearly, this was a new challenge.


    Although the obsession of the strangeness was strong and sometimes no longer retained the thinking and behavior patterns from before death, there was still no guarantee that Fang Ning wasn¡¯t still fixated on Jiang Hao, especially if his appearance was her final obsession, what then?


    "To turn or not to turn?" Yan Junze hesitated, "This might be her last request. I could turn around for a look, and if she notices something odd, I¡¯ll Rewind and think of another solution."


    In general, as long as he survived the initial promise without being instantly killed by Fang Ning, that was enough.


    He decided to turn around.


    Having made up his mind, Yan Junze felt his body stiffen like Fang Ning¡¯s, he moved his feet and slowly turned on the spot, facing Fang Ning who had already turned to face him.


    Of course, during this process, he also turned the camera on his shoulder so it was facing Fang Ning head-on.


    It was apparent that the Fang Ning before him had a beautiful figure: not only slender but also quite tall, almost the same height as Yan Junze when they stood back to back.


    But at this moment of turning around, Yan Junze realized he had been overly concerned.


    For Fang Ning¡¯s eyes were already gone.


    Seeing this horrifying sight, Yan Junze, not reassured, waved his hand in front of her eyes and got no reaction.


    "A blind ghost..."


    "I know you don¡¯t love me anymore." Fang Ning¡¯s lips parted slightly, emitting a hoarse sound, and between her lips, one could see a lot of sticky drool.


    "Hmm," Yan Junze nodded, his gaze shifted away to avoid the nauseating sight.


    "I... can¡¯t let go of you," Fang Ning said again, "Can you keep me company?"


    "I am keeping you company right now," Yan Junze sensed something was off.


    "But I want... every next second... to be by your side."

 Chapter 140 - 138 Reflection Under the Moonlight (6) (Please subscribe 10/10)

    Yan Junze knew that the task level determination was influenced by the strangeness level within said task.


    In other words, if the strangeness level was high, then generally, the task level would also be high. But there were exceptions.


    For example, if the strangeness was difficult to deal with, or if the way to complete the task was very special, then the task level would likewise be high and not easy to complete.


    Since the task "Reflection Under the Moonlight" has been upgraded to "hair-raising (low)", Fang Ning¡¯s strength must have been increased accordingly.


    Of course, it¡¯s also highly possible that the task mode has changed, becoming no longer that simple; at least like the Back-faced Woman before her Bond Evolution with Ke¡¯er, with Fang Ning fully approached, she could kill Yan Junze in one hit.


    However, if this is what a "hair-raising" level task is, it somehow feels like something is missing.


    At this moment, Yan Junze realized, this was not exactly a task punishment, because as long as his performance satisfied Fang Ning, there was a certain chance of her growing fond (obsessed) with him.


    No matter whether the object of her affection was Jiang Hao or someone else. In any case, this affection might fade away, or perhaps from this moment, it would find a new home.


    Now Yan Junze strongly suspected that Fang Ning¡¯s affection had once again found its home.


    Like the promise she made before, she wished "to stay by his side every next second".


    In fact, Yan Junze had deeply experienced the uncertainty after task completion, like the "Hair Washing" task, which didn¡¯t specify that Ke¡¯er would stay by his side, but in reality, Ke¡¯er chose to stay of her own volition.


    So for the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" task to eventually turn out like this, he could accept it, but emotionally... he was very resistant.


    Now looking back, to successfully complete this task, there was a very high chance that Fang Ning would come to admire him.


    And Yan Junze also remembered, the task prompt dared him to say a "no" to anything Fang Ning said.


    Such a damn domineering woman!


    If he said no now, he believed that what awaited him would definitely be a new round of being instantly killed.


    "Sigh..." Yan Junze looked up at the bright moon and sighed. After a moment of silence, he looked again at Fang Ning.


    "Okay."


    The task prompt popped up at this moment.


    ["Reflection Under the Moonlight," hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1000 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    [Friendly Reminder: You have successfully gained the affection of Fang Ning; her love is crazy.]


    [Fang Ning (Semi-Sculpting Spirit), current Favorability: Intimate (Abnormal)]


    At the same time, Fang Ning, standing in front of Yan Junze, tilted her stiff head up blankly towards the bright moon in the sky.


    At this moment, she suddenly laughed happily, "I like the moonlight."


    Then she lowered her head as if looking at Yan Junze and said, word by word from her torn throat, "And... like... you..."


    As soon as these words were spoken, right under Yan Junze¡¯s eyelids, Fang Ning¡¯s charred body visibly dissolved, a large amount of ink-like blackness merging into the ground, forming an eerie black shadow.


    This shadow had no substance and was truly just like a person¡¯s shadow, a person¡¯s... reflection, visible but intangible.


    The moment this black reflection formed, it flowed like water toward Yan Junze¡¯s direction, and without any defense from him, the shadow merged directly into Yan Junze¡¯s own shadow under the moonlight.


    The entire event took no more than two or three seconds.


    "What¡¯s going on?"


    Yan Junze was stunned, sensing something bad, he immediately turned off the camera, rushed to the portable camera set on the stone bench, stuffed everything into the black backpack resting beside him, then took off along the path he had come.


    After running to the path, he turned his head to glance in the direction of the electric fountain.


    Everything was eerily quiet, the area surrounding the fountain was dead silent, as if Fang Ning had never existed.


    "That¡¯s not right, Fang Ning just became the Reflection Under the Moonlight, and that reflection clearly entered her own shadow," Yan Junze thought rapidly.


    Although the change had happened very fast, so fast that it caught him off guard, he still saw it clearly¡ªthe shadow that Fang Ning had turned into seemed to have merged with his own shadow.


    "Together, merged with my own?" As the thought arose, Yan Junze involuntarily shivered.


    He turned on the flashlight he had taken out beforehand, the trees on both sides of the path were dense, and the canopy overhead was thick enough to block any moonlight from seeping through.


    Under the illumination of the flashlight, Yan Junze sprinted through the path at top speed, arriving at the community road with the signpost.


    He didn¡¯t pause but quickly headed for the main entrance of the Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area.


    At this time, without the obstruction of the trees overhead, the moonlight spilled down once again, shining on Yan Junze as he walked quickly across the ground, forming a small, shrunken reflection to the right in front of his feet.


    About a dozen steps later, the shadow sinisterly began to grow, and then a slender black shadowy arm emerged from the pitch-dark shadow, climbing up Yan Junze¡¯s lower leg and seizing hold of it.


    Yan Junze, who was in the midst of running, stumbled and plunged forward, crashing heavily onto the ground.


    The shadow at his feet began to crawl up following his movements, and at the same time, a hoarse and eerie laugh rang out¡ªit was the sound of Fang Ning who had just disappeared under Yan Junze¡¯s very eyes.


    Feeling an ice-cold sensation spreading up his legs, Yan Junze finally understood, and he looked up at the moon in the sky. Before the eerie chill had completely engulfed him, he immediately rolled on the spot.


    The next second, he rolled under the tree next to the road, a landscaping tree.


    The branches and leaves of this tree were not very dense, but they were just enough to block the moonlight.


    After he rolled under the tree, the shadow at his feet instantly vanished, and the cold feeling on his legs disappeared as well.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t have time to sit up yet, but his heart was pounding like a drum; he tried bending his legs a bit and there was nothing abnormal.


    No abnormalities, that was good. After hiding under this tree, because the reflection at his feet disappeared, so did Fang Ning.


    "It¡¯s over."


    Yan Junze murmured with a bitter smile, slowly sitting up straight, and looking at the moonlight on the ground outside, he came to an unfavorable conclusion in his mind.


    From now on, at least until he found a way to deal with Fang Ning, he feared he could no longer expose himself under the moonlight.


    Could there be any more troublesome tactic than merging into one¡¯s own shadow?


    Yan Junze sat under the tree, leaning against the trunk, shaking his head with a wry smile.


    From now on, it seemed that he had to be very cautious before taking on tasks above the "hair-raising" level, and it was best to avoid them if possible. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He now believed that if it weren¡¯t for the mother-daughter recognition and Ke¡¯er¡¯s extremely close relationship with him during the last encounter with the Back-faced Woman, she would have never let him remain intact as he was today.


    This point was evident from the fact that the Back-faced Woman, taking Ke¡¯er with her, showed no concern for Yan Junze when they left. Read new chapters at empire


    After sitting under the tree for a while, Yan Junze finally came to terms with this fact.


    It seemed that as long as he didn¡¯t expose himself to moonlight and didn¡¯t cast a shadow under the moon, he shouldn¡¯t attract any of Fang Ning¡¯s "love you to death" actions toward him.


    He would just need to be careful in the future, and wait until he found a solution.


    Thinking this, Yan Junze checked the time on his phone; it was only half-past nine, not very late.


    He called his father, Yan Daguo: "Dad, uh, I¡¯m currently in the neighboring Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area. Come and pick me up, and remember to bring an umbrella¡ªthe largest one we have, the one with the Huang Feihong fighting handle. No, it¡¯s not raining, just bring it over first."

 Chapter 141 - 139

    When Yan Daguo came over with the large umbrella and saw Yan Junze, he looked utterly baffled.


    The wind was gentle, and the moon shone brightly, casting its silvery glow. It wasn¡¯t pouring rain, so why were you hiding under the tree like you were avoiding it?


    "Dad, give me the umbrella." With a flattering smile on his face, Yan Junze took the umbrella from Yan Daguo¡¯s hand, opened it but didn¡¯t hurry out from under the tree.


    Instead, he first made sure to completely conceal himself under the umbrella and then carefully and slowly moved his body, ensuring that his silhouette was not exposed to the moonlight and therefore not forming a reflection.


    A man with an umbrella walked out.


    Yan Junze¡¯s figure was completely hidden by the large umbrella; the moonlight poured on its surface, unable to cast his shadow.


    Perfect!


    Seeing his son suddenly sporting a foolish grin, Yan Daguo felt an impulse to slap him at that moment.


    This kid had been becoming more and more incomprehensible recently.


    First, he was continually encountering strangenesses, then he was closely associated with an exorcist, and the last time he had turned the house upside down, while also fiddling with making some videos. But it turned out that he had managed to bring in some money.


    Out of the ordinary, Yan Daguo was now more and more convinced that this kid would definitely be extraordinary in the future.


    "Ze, are you alright?"


    "I¡¯m fine, Dad, don¡¯t worry." Hiding under the umbrella, Yan Junze said, "There was a minor issue, which is completely manageable."


    "Here¡­" Yan Daguo suddenly looked around, "is there some strangeness?"


    At that moment in Flowery Paradise Garden Residential Area, except for this father and son, there was no one else in the public area, and the moonlight that fell on the ground seemed somehow cold and eerie, as if there was something sinister lurking within it.


    Otherwise, why else would his son use an umbrella to block the moonlight!


    Thinking of this, Yan Daguo looked up at the sky and couldn¡¯t help shivering.


    "Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go home," Yan Junze said.


    Soon, the father and son returned to their home in the neighboring community, and to avoid being exposed to moonlight in the corridor as well, Yan Junze kept the umbrella up until they entered their home.


    It was apparent that only reflections under the moonlight would cause Fang Ning to appear and attack him. As for the light in the house, which made Yan Junze¡¯s shadow appear normal, there wasn¡¯t anything unusual.


    Of course, parental worry was inevitable, so after a brief chat with Li Man and Yan Daguo, mainly to reassure them, Yan Junze went back to his bedroom.


    He inserted the video he had shot into the computer and exported the footage he had just filmed.


    In the two days after finishing his college entrance exams, Yan Junze had spent two days learning video editing and production with Bao Jie. Although he hadn¡¯t fully mastered it, he could handle the basic operations without any problems.


    After opening the video, he deleted the last part, the scene where Fang Ning¡¯s shadow pounced on him, and then exported and forwarded it to Tang Zhengyi.


    He sent it to Tang Zhengyi because the platform had a video editing team to professionally handle it; they were pretty skilled at making videos, so it was best to let the platform produce the final cut.


    After the video was sent, Tang Zhengyi immediately called saying he had received it.


    Yan Junze went to the bathroom to wash up, then lay back down on the bed.


    Now he finally had time to take a good look at the Spacetime Atlas. After completing the "Reflection Under the Moonlight" mission, he received 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy, but beforehand, he had triggered "Automatic Rewind on Near-Death" twice, along with his own manual rewind, resulting in excessive energy consumption.


    Even with the 1000 points, the loss could not be recouped, so while 35 spacetime nodes have already been illuminated, there are many segments of the corresponding time rewind lines that lacked energy replenishment.


    At the illuminated 35th spacetime node, a row of extremely small condensed characters appeared, indicating that a new function had been activated.


    Yan Junze thoroughly inspected it internally, and immediately the text magnified and popped up in his mind.


    "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion, using this function, you can be inserted into a specific point in spacetime for a period of time. Please note, it requires the occurrence of a space-time rift to complete the corresponding insertion, and the consumed energy points directly relate to factors such as the length of time crossed, personal involvement, and spacetime stability."


    "Serious Warning: Even with utmost caution, spacetime insertion can easily bring about the Butterfly Effect. It is suggested to use this in conjunction with the next function."


    Fuck, that¡¯s a lot of information!


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, and read the text several times until he roughly grasped the concept.


    This "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion," to be frank, is like a rewind with an even greater temporal reach. The difference is, upon returning to that point in time, one can only maintain their presence for a while before automatically returning to the present.


    Therefore, if one were to change an event at some past point in time, it would not merely alter the specific incident they intended to change. Instead, it could potentially lead to a series of cascading effects on future events.


    That is the so-called Butterfly Effect.


    That is indeed terrifying. A slight misstep could not only prevent achieving one¡¯s own goals but could also result in the situation going completely off track, leading to an even more bizarre, stranger, and unexpected result upon returning to the present.


    This cannot be used, it absolutely cannot be used rashly!


    However, the Atlas also indicated that it really isn¡¯t something one can just use as they wish. It can only be initiated in conjunction with the appearance of a space-time rift for "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion" to be activated.


    And a critical point is in the last warning, suggesting the use in combination with the next function.


    This means that the appearance of the next function is closely related to the "Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion," and the two functions need to be used together to be somewhat safer.


    So for now, he shouldn¡¯t use it, Yan Junze immediately decided.


    There are at least a few reasons he cannot use the function: first, without the appearance of a space-time rift, which is a prerequisite; second, if it triggers the Butterfly Effect, the consequences could be severe; and third, he didn¡¯t know how much energy it would take to use the function just once.


    But now thinking about it, this kind of "Great Rewind" function must consume an extremely shocking amount of energy.


    Read new chapters at NovelFire.C?m


    He would discuss it more slowly. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the moment, Yan Junze was careful when he needed to be, but overall, the strangeness he had encountered had brazened him considerably. He lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep in no time.


    Early the next morning, the video platform had processed the final footage and sent it over to Yan Junze.


    He waited until after breakfast to watch it, and upon reviewing it, he realized that professionals truly offered something different. The team had even adjusted the video¡¯s color tone to a pale white due to the moonlight shooting, adding to the effect.


    Just one look was enough to send a hair-raising chill down his spine, let alone him standing alone by the poolside.


    With Fang Ning¡¯s appearance, the horror atmosphere intensified immediately. Even Yan Junze, who had personally experienced it, felt an urge to flee the moment he saw Fang Ning emerge in the video.


    Without any suggestions for changes, Yan Junze simply sent Tang Zhengyi a big "thumbs up," and Tang Zhengyi quickly replied.


    The video would be prominently displayed on the homepage, potentially bringing in an income for Yan Junze that might not be much less than the last time.

 Chapter 142 - 140: Attracting Attention (Please Subscribe)

    A few days later, the college entrance exam scores were released.


    Comparing his score to the admission cut-offs previously set by various institutions, Yan Junze found that he had exceeded the Tianmeng Science University¡¯s admission line by 87 points, so there was absolutely no problem in getting into their physics department.


    His parents were overjoyed by this news. They were a bit excited that day; Yan Daguo took the day off from the factory, and Li Man happened not to have work that day either.


    Explore stories on


    The couple got busy, first calling their hometown to report the good news, then slaughtering chickens and fish, and at night, they prepared a table full of delicious food. Yan Daguo took the opportunity to bring out the Fetal Hair Wine he had been saving for many years, poured himself a glass contentedly, and even asked Junze if he wanted some.


    Under Li Man¡¯s fierce gaze, Yan Daguo reluctantly withdrew the wine glass he had handed to Junze and started drinking by himself.


    The atmosphere at the dinner table was good, but the couple¡¯s conversation kept revolving around what Junze should do after going to university.


    All Junze wanted to say was that not only had he done both his bachelor¡¯s and master¡¯s degrees consecutively in his past life, but he had also stayed on as a lecturer for three years. When it came to university life, he was the one with the most say.


    But the point wasn¡¯t his parents¡¯ nagging; the point was their concern for him.


    Sometime later, he received a call from Zhou Dali. After asking about Junze¡¯s scores, he immediately started congratulating him, though his own total score hadn¡¯t come out yet due to a delay in the physical education results.


    After inquiring about the scores of Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin, it turned out they were both pretty good, making it into the admission lines of their respective universities.


    Seeing that most of his classmates had settled down, Zhou Dali became even more anxious. He rambled on the phone with Junze for a long time, actually seeking comfort.


    It wasn¡¯t until after the Yan Family had dinner that he hung up the phone.


    As soon as he hung up, the phone rang again. Junze took it out and saw that it was Bao Jie calling.


    After answering the call, sure enough, it was about the scores again. This time, it looked like Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie would have no problem being together after they both entered Tianmeng University.


    After discussing their scores, Bao Jie added, "I just checked the ¡¯Open Your Eyes¡¯ video out of curiosity, and I saw you¡¯ve made another strangeness video. It¡¯s currently on the homepage with a little red badge lit up in the top right corner!"


    The so-called "little red badge" is a symbol of a flaming torch, which is the official mark of a trending video.


    That is to say, "Reflection Under the Moonlight" had once again become a trending video.


    "Really? I¡¯ll check it out later," Junze said with a smile.


    "At this rate, you won¡¯t even need your parents to give you money for university," Bao Jie joked.


    "If another video comes along, I should have enough for next year¡¯s tuition," Junze joked back.


    There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.


    Junze waited for a moment, and seeing that Bao Jie had nothing to say, he said, "If you¡¯re busy with something, we can hang up now."


    "No, no," Bao Jie hurriedly responded. "There¡¯s something... I may need to trouble you with."


    "Ok, tell me," Junze said, somewhat curious.


    "My aunt¡¯s family, they¡¯ve been acting really weird lately, and I was hoping you could come over to take a look," Bao Jie said somewhat sheepishly.


    Then she added, "They can pay you."


    Junze shook his head, "It¡¯s not about the money, um, how much are they offering?"


    The change of topic was too abrupt, and Bao Jie was taken aback for a moment before replying, "As long as you can solve their problem, money really isn¡¯t an issue. You can discuss it with them in person."


    "Alright," Junze nodded. "Set up a time with them, and we can meet up in a few days." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So far, aside from the Aunt Mei and the strange baby in the underground parking lot, the strangenesses around FH Community had been pretty much cleared up.


    Of course, there are certainly many more in other parts of Shuntian City, and because there are so many, they¡¯re not that easy to resolve.


    Don¡¯t underestimate each task; they can¡¯t all be solved by force. Otherwise, Junze could just grab a club, not think about anything, and just hammer his way through, with Different Dimension Energy pouring in incessantly.


    ```


    In fact, some tasks were not only mentally and time-consuming, but the energy generated after the investment often did not pay back much. For Yan Junze, there was no need to waste his efforts on them.


    Moreover, with exorcists around, common supernatural events could be left to them to handle.


    Of course, there were also events in Shuntian that exorcists couldn¡¯t handle, like the Back-faced Woman or the likes of Fang Ning.


    Fortunately, these supernatural beings with strong obsessions did not indiscriminately kill the innocent or cause irreparable damage. Some high-level supernatural events were even unnoticed by most people, perhaps still hidden in some corner.


    Although dealing with common and numerous supernatural events was troublesome and Yan Junze did not want to spend too much time on them, if a good friend or classmate needed help, he would step in without hesitation.


    After hanging up the phone, he opened the "Open Your Eyes" app to check his videos.


    Sure enough, the video had been set up for pay-per-view.


    Of course, Yan Junze was mainly interested in looking at the revenue from the background. Normally, revenue statistics could be seen two weeks later, but now he could know the number of clicks and comments, as well as how many times he had been rewarded.


    While looking through the comments, most netizens commented with phrases like "beautifully done," "immersive experience," "so terrifying," "spectacular," "perfectly matched couple," "get together, get together," and so on.


    Yan Junze browsed casually and found that the number of comments was already close to a thousand.


    But soon, his brow furrowed as his gaze fixed on a particular comment.


    The content of this comment was: "It looks like a lot of preparation was done in advance, and every step was carefully planned. Not only is it courageous, but each move seems to have been considered beforehand. Very impressive."


    Someone leaving such a comment was either a seasoned veteran regularly active here or someone who had made similar videos themselves.


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes moved to the poster.


    "Cheng Jingting?"


    There was even an official platform verification logo on the top right corner of the name, indicating that his profession was the same as Yan Junze¡¯s, both being authors.


    Upon visiting his homepage, Yan Junze discovered he was also a platform broadcaster.


    Yan Junze took note of the person who left the comment, making a mental impression of him.


    Below his profile were video resources he recommended. Curiosity piqued, Yan Junze clicked in to have a look. After watching three videos, he lifted his head and exhaled softly.


    It seemed that he had underestimated these people.


    The Spirit Exploration Teams looked very professional. Even without the exorcists¡¯ ability to perform exorcisms, they knew how to gather information and find the weaknesses and rules of the supernatural beings, breaking them one by one.


    Moreover, since they carried professional equipment, the videos they produced were of high quality and the editing was great. The popularity of their videos was higher than even those Yan Junze had shot.


    ...


    At the same time.


    In Tianyi District, within an old residential area.


    Cheng Jingting had just woken up, sitting groggily on his bed. He turned his head and glanced towards the bottom of the bed where, against the wall, a row of terracotta urns was arranged¡ªresembling the kind used by olden households for pickling.


    At that moment, the lid of one of the urns shifted slightly.


    Cheng Jingting pressed his lips into a charming smile: "It seems about time. Once you come out, it¡¯ll be her turn."


    As he spoke, he turned to look towards the window by the bedside.


    In the shadows in front of the floor-to-ceiling curtains, a woman clad in a white nightgown stood with a menacing look. She had no eyelids, and her round eyes stared out, two streams of bloody tears trailing down from them.


    She silently confronted the young man on the bed.


    ```

 Chapter 143 - 141 Refusal to Cooperate (Subscribe Please)

    ```


    Staring at the woman standing in front of the curtains, Cheng Jingting seemed to harbor no fear.


    He had been asleep on this bed just now, while this woman had simply stood by, staring at the person on the bed with an aura of chilly gloom enveloping her, but Cheng Jingting appeared to be unfazed.


    It was clear that he had slept rather soundly.


    After taking out his phone and opening an app, he remained seated on the bed and after a moment¡¯s thought, picked up the phone and dialed a number.


    The call connected after a short while.


    "Hello there, Editor Tang," Cheng Jingting said with a smile.


    "Mm, Jingtian, hello to you," came the voice of Tang Zhengyi.


    "I wanted to ask if you¡¯re in charge of someone called ¡¯Night Traveling Puppy¡¯?" Cheng Jingting asked without beating around the bush.


    Tang Zhengyi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Yes, is there an issue?"


    "Oh, I¡¯d like to request your help in contacting him," Cheng Jingting said. "His videos are quite good, and if possible, I¡¯d like to collaborate with him."


    "Collaborate?" Tang Zhengyi was somewhat surprised.


    "Yes," Cheng Jingting said with a smile. "You know I¡¯m connected with many Spirit Exploration Teams, and if Night Traveling Puppy agrees to work with us, there are quite a few significant strangenesses sites here that have yet to be explored. We could give it a try."


    "I¡¯ll need to ask him about that," Tang Zhengyi responded with a nod.


    "I¡¯ll await your good news," Cheng Jingting said before hanging up the call.


    Meanwhile, among the row of earth jars near the wall, one covered with a red cloth strip moved slightly, as if something inside was pushing it.


    Cheng Jingting pursed his lips in a smile, looking at that jar and muttered to himself, "Eager to come out early?"


    ...


    "Collaborate?" Yan Junze was somewhat surprised.


    He didn¡¯t expect that just after seeing a person named "Cheng Jingting" comment on his video, in the blink of an eye, this guy had sent an invitation through Tang Zhengyi.


    "That¡¯s right," Tang Zhengyi explained. "Cheng Jingting is quite famous on the platform, a part-time anchor, and many netizens call him Young Master Ting. This fellow has close business dealings with several tycoons and the Spirit Exploration Teams he¡¯s formed with these people are very active. Put simply, he¡¯s quite powerful on our platform; even the boss wouldn¡¯t dare to offend him."


    "Sorry, but I don¡¯t collaborate with others," Yan Junze said.


    Having had a prior experience with collaboration, Yan Junze now found the concept of exploring spirits with ordinary people distasteful.


    It might have been another matter if the others were exorcists, but in the end, these people were just experienced in spirit exploration, still just ordinary people.


    Tang Zhengyi paused on the other end of the phone, then asked, "Are you sure you won¡¯t collaborate with them? The videos they¡¯ve uploaded are extremely popular, and if you were to work together, I believe the videos¡¯ popularity would soar further. Whether it¡¯s attracting the attention of video buyers or directly being featured on a paid platform, it would be a considerable amount."


    "No need," Yan Junze still refused. "I¡¯m not comfortable working with others."


    "Didn¡¯t you collaborate once before? With your classmate," Tang Zhengyi persisted, reminding him.


    "Only that one time," Yan Junze said with a smile.


    Had it not been for the need to break the wall last time, he wouldn¡¯t have involved Zhou Dali. Yet Zhou Dali was such a coward that he wouldn¡¯t have agreed without Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin coming along. And since Bao Jie was needed for the video, one thing led to another, and the temporary exploration team was formed. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Luckily, everything had gone smoothly with no mishaps. However, that experience made Yan Junze decide not to explore spirits with ordinary people again¡ªunless it was with an exorcist.


    ```


    Tang Zhengyi tried persuading for a while longer, but seeing that Yan Junze¡¯s lips remained sealed, he had no choice but to say a few words and then hang up the phone.


    Afterward, Tang Zhengyi called Cheng Jingting.


    "Oh, he won¡¯t join the Spirit Exploration Team. Mm-hmm, okay, nothing much."


    Cheng Jingting hung up the phone with a smile still beaming on his face, which betrayed no hint of displeasure. He got up from the bed, dressed himself, put on his shoes, and went to crouch beside the row of earthen jars.


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    The jar covered with a red cloth lid was fluctuating frequently now, as if whatever was inside was eager to come out.


    Looking at it, Cheng Jingting took out his phone to check the calendar, "It should be about time."


    A hand reached over and lifted the red cloth lid, and a wisp of blue mist rose from the jar, dissipating into the air without a trace.


    At the same time, an indescribable foul odor hit him, permeating the room with a scent of decay and withering.


    Cheng Jingting placed the lid on the ground and extended his hand into the open jar. Sounds similar to stirring in mud echoed, followed by a look of surprise and delight on his face.


    He grabbed something from inside the jar and yanked it out with force.


    In his hands was a blue-skinned boy. The strangeness that emerged from the jar visibly grew larger until it stopped at the size of a five-year-old.


    Without emitting a sound, upon Cheng Jingting¡¯s release, the child landed naked on the floor, standing erect to the side, with stinky blue liquid continuing to drip from his body. Blue liquid also streamed from the sockets of his eyes, which showed nothing but white.


    "The jar is freed up now," Cheng Jingting said, not paying any mind to the boy standing to one side, but turning his head to address the woman in the white nightgown standing beneath the window curtain, brimming with chilly aura, "It¡¯s your turn now."


    ...


    Two days later.


    Yan Junze, after finishing his dinner, lay on the couch at home watching TV when Zhou Dali¡¯s phone call suddenly came through.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone, glanced at it, and pressed the answer button ¡ª Zhou Dali¡¯s laughter immediately burst through, not saying anything, just a series of loud "hahahahas."


    "Congratulations," Yan Junze said, and then hung up, continuing to watch TV.


    Zhou Dali was left baffled, his smile still plastered on his face, the epitome of awkwardness.


    The phone rang again shortly after, and when Yan Junze answered, Zhou Dali blurted out angrily, "What the hell, I just laughed a few times, didn¡¯t even say anything, and you congratulate me for what?"


    Yan Junze replied, "Knowing your character, wouldn¡¯t you laugh like an idiot only if something joyous happened? And in the past couple of days, the only thing that could make you so happy is naturally getting into Tianmeng Sports Institute."


    "Spot on!" Zhou Dali, not caring how prescient Yan Junze was, excitedly said, "I¡¯ve booked us a spot at Tuberose Bar, just a few close classmates. Bao Jie and Jiang Ruixin are coming too. Hurry over so we can celebrate! I¡¯ve even booked a Divine Camel Exclusive Car to take us home later, we play for a while, and head back by nine."


    Yan Junze moved the phone away from his ear, sat up from the couch, and peeked out the window, "The weather¡¯s good today, huh? Stars strewn across the moonlit sky."


    "Yeah, the weather is really good," Zhou Dali hurriedly responded.


    "Too good. I¡¯m not coming," Yan Junze hung up the phone.


    Zhou Dali was befuddled once more, but after a moment, he called again, "Hey Junze, if you¡¯re making excuses, at least make them plausible! What does ¡¯too good¡¯ weather even mean? What kind of weather are you waiting for to come out, a downpour or a hailstorm?"


    "You¡¯re right," Yan Junze let out a resigned smile, "You guys go on and enjoy. I really won¡¯t be coming."


    "You, I mean..." Zhou Dali began to protest in frustration, "Bao Jie heard you were coming and even invited some relatives over for you since she was planning to seek your help with something recently. Are you really going to stand her up like this?!"


    "Oh?" Yan Junze sat up straighter again.

 Chapter 145 - 143 Everyone in the Family is Abnormal!

    As soon as these words came out, everyone looked shocked, even Jiang Ruixin and Bao Jie¡¯s faces showed a look of terror.


    There was something very strange about the family; the problem must have been quite serious.


    "My husband, Yan He, since marrying me, we have never slept separately," Bao Yunjing began to recall, narrating, "But have you ever encountered this situation?"


    "What situation?" Yan Junze asked. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sleeping and waking up in the middle of the night, I hazily opened my eyes, only to see my husband lying beside me, his eyes wide open, staring at me unblinkingly," Bao Yunjing said, still frightened by the memory.


    "Ah!" Jiang Ruixin screamed, covering her mouth.


    "You have to know, it was after three in the morning. I was already very groggy, and suddenly seeing my husband staring at me like that, I was so scared I almost lost my soul," Bao Yunjing said. "Just as I was scared back to full awareness, he turned over, facing away from me, and soon started snoring."


    Pausing for a moment, Bao Yunjing continued, "At that moment, I was covered in cold sweat, shivering uncontrollably for a while before I could recover. Then I pushed my husband and asked him what had just happened, and he actually said he didn¡¯t know anything, that he had been sleeping the whole time?!"


    "Hmm, is there more?" Yan Junze asked.


    "There is more." Bao Yunjing picked up the wine glass in front of her, took a big gulp, thought for a bit, and said, "That day my husband was late from entertaining guests, and because he was worried about encountering strangenesses on the way, he didn¡¯t come home. I slept alone.


    Oh, I forgot to mention, besides my husband and me, there¡¯s also a 13-year-old daughter and her grandfather in our family, making it four of us."


    "What about the grandmother?" Zhou Dali asked.


    "Grandmother passed away early, and grandfather never remarried," Bao Yunjing answered, then continued, "That night, I also woke up around three in the morning, roused by a murmuring voice. Having had the previous experience, and with my husband not by my side, I immediately felt fear upon waking."


    "Listening carefully, I realized the voice was very faint, as if it came from the next room. The room next to the bedroom is my daughter Yan Wenwen¡¯s room, and it sounded as if she was talking to someone."


    At this point, Yan Junze noticed that Jiang Ruixin had unconsciously grabbed Bao Jie¡¯s hand. The two of them didn¡¯t realize that they were gripping each other¡¯s hands so tightly that their fingernails were digging into the skin.


    "Did you get up to check?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Yes, I got up," Bao Yunjing said, recalling the experience suddenly made her shiver involuntarily before continuing, "We usually sleep with the bedroom door closed, so when I got up and opened the door, I found that the voices really came from my daughter¡¯s room."


    "The door to my daughter¡¯s room was also closed, but I didn¡¯t immediately go in, nor did I turn on the light. Instead, I first listened at the door. I heard one voice that was my daughter¡¯s, but there was another that was unfamiliar. The voice was very soft, I could only make out some of the words."


    "What did you hear?"


    Yan Junze¡¯s curiosity was fully piqued, but he also noticed that Zhou Dali was biting his lower lip tightly, holding the wine glass in front of him firmly, trying his best to restrain his discomfort.


    Bao Yunjing took another sip of wine and said, "My daughter said: ¡¯No, it will find out.¡¯ The voice said: ¡¯Just have a look, only looking.¡¯ Then my daughter continued to say: ¡¯No.¡¯ The voice kept saying ¡¯look, look.¡¯ But my daughter wouldn¡¯t relent, still repeating ¡¯no.¡¯ Unable to stand it anymore, I wanted to know who it was, and then I pushed the door open forcefully and went in."


    As everyone listened to Bao Yunjing¡¯s description, they were startled and looked up at her. She continued, "As soon as I opened the door, I screamed. I saw my daughter, standing at the door in her pajamas, eyes wide upon my entrance. That scene, it was so similar to what happened with her father that night."


    "But even after I screamed, my daughter had no reaction. She just turned around, walked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down, as if she had been sleeping the whole time, and then there was no more sound."


    "Where is the person she was talking to?" Yan Junze asked.


    "I didn¡¯t see anyone," Bao Yunjing shook her head. "After I recovered, although my body was shaking with fright, I still took the opportunity to look around all the corners of the room, even inside the wardrobe. There was nothing, no one."


    "Could it be..." Bao Jie suddenly shivered and said, "Is Wenwen... talking to herself?"


    Bao Yunjing clearly hadn¡¯t thought of this, and when Bao Jie mentioned it, she was suddenly stunned, then shook her head: "I... I don¡¯t know."


    "Your family is a bit strange," Yan Junze pinched the center of his palm and found it had broken out in a layer of sweat beads.


    Breaking out in a cold sweat just from listening to ghost stories was rare for him nowadays.


    "Have there been any other strangenesses?" Yan Junze asked again.


    "Yes," Bao Yunjing nodded. "Last night, Wenwen had to go to the tutoring center the next day, so she went to bed early. Her grandfather also tended to go to bed early. I was in the bathroom washing up at the time, and then I heard a ¡¯thud thud thud¡¯ noise, as if someone was hammering on the wall."


    "I was still holding a washcloth to my face, and when I came out of the bathroom, I went to her grandfather¡¯s bedroom door and found it slightly ajar, and the knocking sound was coming from inside the room.


    Her grandfather had already turned off the lights and gone to bed, so I didn¡¯t make a noise; I just pushed the door open gently, and with the light from the living room, I saw her grandfather standing by the wall, his limbs stiff, repeatedly... banging his head against the wall..."


    Bang!


    The sudden sharp noise startled everyone who was engrossed in the story, and even Bao Yunjing was terrified into forgetting what she was going to say next.


    Everyone looked up to see Zhou Dali, pale as death.


    At that moment, the wine glass that Zhou Dali had been holding was crushed by him, glass shards scattered on the table, but his palms were thick enough to prevent any bleeding.


    "Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore, let¡¯s not," Zhou Dali said with an awkward face, lifting his head to force out an ugly smile, and waved his hand: "We¡¯re here to have fun, why are we telling ghost stories?" Discover exclusive tales on


    Seeing that the fellow was indeed badly frightened, Yan Junze also smiled and said, "Yeah, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Auntie, I¡¯ll go and take a look at your house; let¡¯s set it for tomorrow night."


    "Yes, yes, thank you so much," Bao Yunjing hurriedly said: "How much should I pay you? Should I give you some compensation in advance?"


    "We¡¯ll see about that, no worries," Yan Junze waved his hand.


    No one mentioned the hair-raising strangenesses anymore, and the topic quickly shifted to the scores of the recent exams.


    As long as they didn¡¯t talk about strangenesses, Zhou Dali recovered quickly, his voice once again grew louder, and he boasted about how he would make a remarkable entrance in the fitness academy after enrollment.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t talk much, instead, he pondered over the strangenesses occurring in Bao Yunjing¡¯s home and came to an initial guess.


    If everyone in the family was acting abnormally, then it was very likely they were invaded by a Possession Spirit.

 Chapter 146 - 144: Borrowing a Hand (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    The group enjoyed some light drinks, deliberately avoiding the topic of strangenesses, and finally, a bit of atmosphere seemed to settle over the gathering.


    Around ten past nine, Zhou Dali called for the Divine Camel Exclusive Car, a minivan he had booked earlier that, besides the driver, could seat six people.


    There were five of them in total, and after they all got on the car, they first dropped off Yan Junze, who lived the closest. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only then did they proceed to drop off the others one by one.


    When the minivan reached FH Community, Yan Junze said goodbye to everyone, arranged a time to meet with Bao Yunjing, and got off the car alone, slowly walking into FH Community under the protection of an umbrella.


    Watching his figure disappear into the rain with the umbrella, Bao Yunjing waited until the minivan started up again before turning to Bao Jie to ask, "Doesn¡¯t your classmate always give off an air of mystery?"


    "Not really," Bao Jie shook her head, "It¡¯s a mysterious aura with an inexplicable touch of teenage angst."


    "I agree with that," Zhou Dali nodded on the side.


    Jiang Ruixin covered her mouth and sniggered.


    ...


    As Yan Junze entered the gates of the community with his umbrella, he glanced at Grandpa Zheng in the duty room.


    Grandpa Zheng was absorbed in watching TV, completely unaware of the person standing outside with an umbrella.


    Yan Junze walked straight to Building No. 7 and, just as he was about to turn into the stairwell, the door leading to the underground garage suddenly moved slightly.


    Yan Junze stopped in his tracks, still holding the umbrella, and turned his head to peer through the crack in the door, widened slightly in the moonlight. Near the bottom of the door, a pair of eerie eyes flickered and then disappeared.


    He paused, then turned around and walked out of Building No. 7 to Grandpa Zheng¡¯s duty room. He began, "Grandpa Zheng, do you have any candles here?"


    Grandpa Zheng, who was watching a tear-jerker about caring for the elderly, dabbed gently at a tear about to fall, and without noticing why Yan Junze was holding an umbrella, opened the glass door of the duty room and asked, "What do you need the candles for?"


    As he spoke, and without waiting for Yan Junze¡¯s reply, he bent down to pull a pack of candles from a drawer: "How many do you need?"


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    "Give me seven or eight," Yan Junze said with a smile, "I¡¯ll bring you a new pack tomorrow."


    "No worries, I have plenty at home." Grandpa Zheng handed over eight candles to Yan Junze, then looked up at the sky in confusion and asked, "Is it raining?"


    "Yeah, it just started a little while ago, but it¡¯s stopped now; I didn¡¯t bother to close my umbrella," Yan Junze, fabricating a story, took the candles and quickly returned to Building No. 7 of the community.


    The candles Grandpa Zheng provided were the kind used for illumination during a power outage, not the ritual candles sold for the deceased, so they were quite a bit smaller.


    Arriving at the door to the underground garage, Yan Junze squatted down and took out a candle, slowly extending it through the crack in the door, swaying it left and right inside the doorframe.


    At that moment, a withered, shriveled hand suddenly reached out, grabbed the candle, and violently pulled it back.


    Soon after, the sound of chewing echoed.


    Yan Junze stood up, took out another candle, opened the door, and walked in.


    He closed his large umbrella behind him and, in the dim light, saw a strange baby crouching behind the door on the stone stairs leading to the underground garage, hungrily devouring the candle. In just a short moment, half of the candle in its hand had been eaten.


    "How did you get out?" Yan Junze muttered to himself, dangling another candle in front of the strange baby, "Come on, let¡¯s go back."


    He walked down the stairs.


    The strange baby hadn¡¯t finished eating the candle in its hand and reached out to grab the one Yan Junze was holding, but Yan Junze deliberately kept it out of reach.


    ```


    Having no choice, the strange baby had to crawl toward the direction of the pipe room in the southeast corner of the garage while biting the candle in its hand.


    Soon they reached the small door and stopped in front of it. By this time, the strange baby had already snatched his second candle and was voraciously eating it.


    "Aunt Mei, this little ghost has run out, and I¡¯ve brought it back to you!" Yan Junze pushed open the door, not entering, but standing at the doorway and calling.


    After a brief moment, without any sound coming through, a head with fluffy hair approached the door from the pitch-black room inside, smiling, yet the body underneath the head could not be seen.


    It was indeed Aunt Mei¡¯s head, but perhaps it was too dark to see her body; just a head, floating in mid-air, smiling at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was startled to see the strange baby trembling under his feet as it turned around, grabbed the remaining candle from his hand, and staggeringly ran into the room.


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head still seemed to hang on the door frame, smiling at him.


    Yan Junze did not leave, in fact, bringing the strange baby back was just one of his objectives; he had another motive concerning himself.


    "Aunt Mei, if it¡¯s convenient for you right now, I¡¯d like to ask you to come out for a moment. You see¡­ is that okay?"


    This was the first time he had made a request to Aunt Mei, and after uttering these words, a cold sweat broke out on Yan Junze¡¯s back.


    He stared unblinkingly at the smiling Aunt Mei, and the atmosphere became stagnant.


    About ten seconds later, Aunt Mei¡¯s head, which appeared to be hanging, moved, flying straight out and hovering in front of Yan Junze, still with a full-faced smile.


    "Your¡­ your body?" Yan Junze was dumbfounded and took a long time before asking, "This¡­ how¡­ how can you go out like this?"


    No sooner had he spoken than he noticed a fresh blood thread connected below Aunt Mei¡¯s seemingly floating head, extending into the darkness of the room, its destination unknown.


    However, one could imagine that the other end of the thread was likely connected to Aunt Mei¡¯s body at the neck, and just the thought of this made Yan Junze shudder.


    Just then, Aunt Mei¡¯s head drew closer, reaching Yan Junze¡¯s elbow and giving it a gentle touch.


    Yan Junze paused and then said, "Are you asking me... to directly carry your head¡­ out?"


    Aunt Mei¡¯s head touched his elbow again.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and held her head.


    At that moment, the blood thread connected below snapped with a pop.


    It was time to go.


    Yan Junze felt a chill in his heart, and the head of Aunt Mei felt soft and squishy as he touched it, then he proceeded to walk out of the underground garage carrying the head.


    Inviting Aunt Mei out was for a reason.


    After ascending the stone steps and arriving in front of the small door to the underground garage near the first floor, Yan Junze looked down at Aunt Mei¡¯s head; the old lady still had a smile on her face, as if nothing was amiss.


    The moonlight was bright, shining in the stairwell of the first floor. Just by opening this small door, Yan Junze could bathe in the cold moonlight.


    And this time, he didn¡¯t plan on carrying an umbrella. After he had entered the underground garage earlier, the large umbrella had been left leaning against the back of the door.


    Carrying the head, Yan Junze took a deep breath and stepped through the door directly.


    The moonlight came down, casting the shadows of him standing outside the door, along with the head of Aunt Mei in his arms, behind them.


    ```

 Chapter 147 - 145: Inside the House, Another World? (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    At the moment the moonlight shone upon him, Yan Junze immediately turned his head to look behind him.


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    The head of Aunt Mei, which he was holding with both hands, was now cradled to his left side for an easier view over his shoulder.


    And Aunt Mei, wearing a smile as well, followed his gaze to look behind them.


    One second, two seconds, three seconds... after more than ten seconds, Yan Junze remained motionless, his gaze fixed intently on his own shadow.


    There was nothing unusual.


    Bathed in the moonlight at this moment, his shadow, clearly cast behind him, surprisingly exhibited no strange alterations.


    Fang Ning did not appear.


    Yan Junze then turned around and continued walking back and forth at the doorway while holding Aunt Mei¡¯s head. After a minute, there were still no signs of any abnormalities in his shadow.


    "My apologies, Aunt Mei," Yan Junze began to explain, "A woman has attached herself to me, seemingly entering my shadow. As long as my shadow appears under the moonlight, she insists that I stay with her every second that follows."


    He paused, seeing that Aunt Mei simply smiled without responding, he added, "So I wanted to ask for your help to see if we could either get rid of her or persuade her to leave my shadow." S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He shrugged, "But from the looks of it now, with you here, this woman doesn¡¯t dare to come out at all. That is to say, she doesn¡¯t dare show herself to you."


    The head of Aunt Mei nestled between his arms suddenly moved. To Yan Junze, it seemed as if she nodded, affirming his thoughts.


    "Then I will take you back now."


    Yan Junze turned and walked towards the small door that led to the underground garage; not long after, he returned to the doorway of the southeastern room. Looking down, he noticed the blood thread that had been connected to Aunt Mei¡¯s head was still on the floor.


    As he approached, the blood thread reattached itself, reconnecting with Aunt Mei¡¯s head. Her head slipped from his hands and hovered to the entrance of the inner room.


    Turning back and smiling at Yan Junze, Aunt Mei¡¯s head nodded and then vanished inside the room.


    Yan Junze waved his hand as if to say goodbye and then turned to leave.


    Reaching the stairs, he took out the large umbrella from behind the door and went to the entrance.


    Yan Junze looked down at his feet, then opened the large umbrella, readied himself and then stepped one foot outside the underground garage. Moonlight cascaded down, precisely illuminating that foot and casting its shadow.


    But only seconds later, the shadow of his foot began to twist. A black arm emerged from the shadow, reaching out to grab him.


    Yan Junze quickly held the open umbrella over himself, and the abnormality disappeared instantly.


    He sighed as he stepped fully out, entirely shielded by the large umbrella from any sliver of moonlight. Shaking his head, he spoke to himself, "My shadow has now become your best hiding place."


    If Aunt Mei appeared, Fang Ning would choose to disappear. But once Aunt Mei was no longer there, Fang Ning¡¯s return happened without any delay, even faster than Yan Junze had anticipated.


    "There should still be other ways to deal with her," Yan Junze pondered as he returned home with his umbrella.


    At the same time.


    In that southeastern room of the underground garage.


    The floating head of Aunt Mei, guided by the blood thread, slowly made its way back to a room inside.


    In the pitch-dark room, behind stacked boxes and on the damp floor, Aunt Mei¡¯s headless body lay there. The floating head slowly approached it.


    However, the body suddenly began to stir, and two strange babies fought to crawl out from the swollen neck of the headless torso.


    Their movements created a series of unsettling noises.


    After the strange babies emerged, their mouths were covered in a black fluid. One of them grabbed a candle that had fallen to the floor and shared some with the other baby. The two chewed as they retreated to a corner of the room.


    Guided by the blood thread, Aunt Mei¡¯s head reattached itself to the neck of the corpse.


    Soon the body moved as if being restored, and she stood up with a smile on her face.


    ...


    The next day, while Yan Junze was still enjoying his sleep, Bao Yunjing¡¯s phone call came through.


    She could not wait any longer and urgently needed Yan Junze to hurry over and deal with the strangeness in her house.


    After informing his parents and stating that he might not return until late, he again used Zhou Dali, the professional scapegoat, as a pretext.


    By the afternoon, Yan Junze, with his backpack slung over his shoulder and umbrella in hand, stepped out of the door.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know if there would be a moon out tonight, it was better to be prepared than to have nothing at all.


    However, Yan Junze did not immediately head to Bao Yunjing¡¯s home but first made a detour to the "Zhou Erfu" jewelry store where he retrieved the mallet Gu Bai had re-cast for him a few days ago.


    Because some new techniques had been incorporated into it, the process took a little longer this time.


    This time, the mallet had been refined and made from a variety of metals and non-metals to create an alloy mallet, which was much more durable than the previous one.


    Moreover, in line with Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, the Black Spirit Bead was not melted into it, but rather set as an inlay, encased in a non-transparent metallic glass containing palladium, and mounted a bit further up on the handle of the mallet.


    This metallic glass containing palladium, according to Gu Bai, was extremely hard, almost on par with the alloy itself. It was something he had managed to obtain through his connections, and the raw material was not abundant.


    Had it not been for Yan Junze solving his family¡¯s trouble last time, Gu Bai would certainly not have offered this favor, which originally was owed to someone else.


    Yan Junze swung the mallet a few times, feeling that although it was heavier than before, it fit better in his hand; and the spot where the Black Spirit Bead was mounted, with its bulging metallic glass, looked quite beautiful, scoring extra points for the whole mallet.


    Nevertheless, even with the improvements, Yan Junze believed the mallet¡¯s effectiveness against strangeness would hardly surpass the original by much, at best it would be less likely to get damaged after such encounters.


    But using it against anything more powerful than a Semi-Sculpting Spirit would still be a dead end.


    Yan Junze¡¯s current definition for this mallet was that it could serve as a tool for beating Wandering Spirits, provided their forms weren¡¯t too bizarre.


    In dire circumstances, the mallet could also be used for self-defense, offering at least some protection against the attack of ferocious strangeness, rather than relying solely on Rewind or Evil Spirit Solid Lock to resolve the issue.


    After thanking Gu Bai and having a brief chat, Yan Junze called Bao Yunjing to confirm her address before leaving the jewelry store and heading straight to her home.


    Bao Yunjing¡¯s husband, Yan He, was the financial director of a large corporation in Shuntian City, often busy with work and away from home for at least ten days a month.


    Her residence was in a neighborhood well-known in Shuntian City, a famously wealthy community called Spectacular Courtyard. It was said that when other neighborhoods were selling at ten thousand per square meter, Spectacular Courtyard had already started at thirty thousand.


    Upon arrival, Yan Junze signed in at the gate and was then allowed to enter.


    He noticed that there were at least three young security guards on duty at the main gate. Bao Yunjing¡¯s family must be quite eminent in Shuntian to live here, and should they find strangeness, getting an Exorcist would be a piece of cake for them.


    But at the time, he didn¡¯t inquire whether Bao Yunjing had reported to the Exorcists or not.


    Or perhaps, she had never intended to make such a report.


    After entering Spectacular Courtyard, the area was divided into two sections: one was a villa district, and the other was a garden villa area.


    According to the information Bao Yunjing sent him, her family lived in unit 3-1, in building B-6 of the garden villa area¡¯s second section.


    Having called Bao Yunjing, Yan Junze quickly located the address, and upon reaching the third floor, Bao Yunjing had already opened the door, waiting for him at the entrance.


    The moment Yan Junze approached the door, he felt a chill emanating from behind Bao Yunjing, coming from inside the house¡ªit was as if it were from another world.


    "Your place here... is much cooler than outside," Yan Junze commented half-jokingly while entering and changing his shoes.


    Bao Yunjing smiled and said, "Maybe it¡¯s the design of the house. It gets really warm inside during winter."


    After changing into slippers and glancing up, Yan Junze saw an old man with a head full of white hair standing at the corridor leading to the bedroom; he was only showing half of his body, with the other half concealed in the corridor, standing motionless and peering over with one eye.

 Chapter 148 - 146: Strange Happenings at the Yan Family (Please Subscribe, Please Recommend)

    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze was stunned for a moment.


    But he felt that the old man, half-hidden in the corridor, had an even heavier chill emanating from behind him.


    The next second, he followed Bao Yunjing into the living room.


    Bao Yunjing had also seen the old man¡¯s eerie appearance standing in the corridor. She shivered, turned her back, and said to Yan Junze, "That¡¯s my father-in-law. You can call him Grandpa Yan."


    "What is he doing?" Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Bao Yunjing shook her head. "He was fine just now. I told him we were having a guest today, and he said he would cook some good dishes. I don¡¯t know how it turned into this. Look... everyone in my family is..."


    At this point, Bao Yunjing¡¯s face was full of worry.


    Yan Junze could only try to comfort her. "It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, leave it to me to handle."


    As he spoke, he turned his head to look again at Grandpa Yan standing at the entrance of the corridor, only to find that the old man had vanished without a trace.


    Noises came from the kitchen, as if Old Yan was already busy preparing to cook.


    Truly a bit ominous!


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing poured a cup of tea for Yan Junze, carefully lifted it, and placed it in front of him.


    "Where is your daughter Wenwen?" Yan Junze asked.


    "She¡¯s in her room doing her tuition homework. I¡¯ll call her out so you can meet her, get familiar," Bao Yunjing said.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, just nodded his head.


    Bao Yunjing turned and went to her daughter¡¯s room. A short while later, a girl who was only half a head shorter than her followed Bao Yunjing out.


    This girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and wore a pale pink home pajama. She stood behind Bao Yunjing to the right, calmly staring at Yan Junze. Find adventures at NovelFire.C?m


    "Say hello," Bao Yunjing said with a hint of reproach.


    "Hello, Brother," Yan Wenwen said with an unchanged expression, nodding slightly to Yan Junze.


    "Hmm, sensible, didn¡¯t call me Uncle," Yan Junze thought with relief and said, "You go ahead with your homework. I might be disturbing you all today."


    At that moment, Yan Wenwen¡¯s gaze suddenly flickered, as if she was anxious, trying to hide something, but quickly her expression returned to normal, and she blinked at Yan Junze.


    After Yan Wenwen went back to her room to continue her homework, Yan Junze asked Bao Yunjing, "What about Uncle Yan?"


    "I just called him. He¡¯s going to be late today, so we won¡¯t wait for him for dinner." After saying this, Bao Yunjing took some newly bought fruit into the kitchen to wash.


    Yan Junze was sipping his tea while watching the television news.


    Before long, Old Yan came out of the kitchen carrying the fruit Bao Yunjing had taken to wash, while Bao Yunjing stayed in the kitchen.


    Gone was the look of indifference and stiffness. Old Yan smiled, placed the fruit tray filled with fruit in front of Yan Junze, and said, "Child, have some, I¡¯ve been busy in the kitchen and didn¡¯t notice the guest arrive."


    Yan Junze looked at him in surprise. "Grandpa Yan, didn¡¯t you see me in the hallway just now?"


    "Did I?" Old Yan seemed bewildered, "I haven¡¯t left the kitchen, I¡¯ve been washing vegetables. I just took the opportunity to wash the fruit that Yunjing brought."


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, seemingly recalling something. "Then where is Auntie? She just went into the kitchen to wash the fruit, but you came out with it."


    "Oh, she¡¯s better at stir-frying green peppers with shredded pork, so she took over." Just as Old Yan finished speaking, the sound of stir-frying could be heard from the kitchen.


    Yan Junze nodded. "Has Grandpa Yan noticed anything amiss lately?"


    Old Yan shook his head, suddenly closed his eyes, and after about two or three seconds, opened them again and said, "I¡¯m getting old, many of my memories are very blurred. Sometimes I forget the things I did in the morning by the afternoon. I don¡¯t remember much."


    "What happened to your head here?" Yan Junze pointed to a bruised area on Old Yan¡¯s forehead.


    "Bumped into something when I got up, it¡¯s nothing," Old Yan waved his hand, "Hmm, I¡¯ll go check the kitchen, you just sit and relax."


    Of course, Yan Junze remembered Bao Yunjing saying that one night, the old man had been hitting his head against the wall by himself.


    Not long after Old Yan entered, Bao Yunjing¡¯s stir-fried pork with green peppers should be ready, and she came out with an apron tied around her waist.


    Once she sat down, Yan Junze said, "Aunt, I may need to shoot some videos this time, is that okay? Of course, I¡¯ll blur out everyone¡¯s face in post-production and will not expose any family or personal privacy."


    Bao Yunjing paused for a moment, then said, "That¡¯s fine, but you need to show us the final video first."


    "No problem," Yan Junze nodded, "I won¡¯t record now, I¡¯ll start recording in the evening, which is the time you said things get more serious. Also, may I ask if you have reported this strangeness to an exorcist?"


    Bao Yunjing nodded, "I remember we did."


    "Then why not use connections to prompt them?"


    "Hmm, I remember we also prompted them."


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Soon, the dining table near the kitchen was filled with delicious dishes, and Bao Yunjing called Yan Junze over to sit down, while Old Yan went to call Yan Wenwen, who was still doing homework.


    The area of the room was quite spacious, about over 180 square meters, and the dining room next to the kitchen was also roomy. Bao Yunjing prepared eight dishes and one soup to entertain Yan Junze well. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were seafood, chicken, duck, fish, and home-cooked dishes, making Yan Junze exclaim they had gone to too much trouble.


    Everything seemed normal now, except for when he first entered the door. Not long after dinner, Yan He came home.


    This guy was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with a pot-belly, hair meticulously combed, and golden glasses, looking every inch a business elite.


    After learning the purpose of Yan Junze¡¯s visit, Yan He became very enthusiastic and privately asked Yan Junze to prepare some charms or conduct an exorcism, one that could drive away the evil spirit once and for all.


    It was clear that this guy had no clue about this field and was ignorant of the spread of strangenesses these days.


    Having obtained the homeowners¡¯ permission, in the evening, Yan Junze took out his camera from his backpack, turned it on, and placed it on the living room¡¯s decorative cabinet, aiming the lens at most of the living room, also covering the doors of several bedrooms.


    He, meanwhile, continued to wear a camera on himself.


    Yan Junze had initially planned to sleep on the living room sofa, but at Bao Yunjing and her husband¡¯s insistence, he ended up sharing the big bed with Old Yan.


    The bed was large, with a blanket for each, there was still plenty of space.


    The old man was accustomed to sleeping early, and he had already fallen asleep on the bed while Yan Junze was still setting up the camera.


    After everyone went back to their bedrooms and closed the doors, the house soon quieted down.


    Yan Junze fiddled with the camera to make sure it wouldn¡¯t be tilted by lying down, while the steady snoring of Old Yan reached his ears.


    Fortunately, the snoring was not loud, and Yan Junze could totally accept it.


    Now, what puzzled him was that since he had arrived at the house, he had not received any notifications about a mysterious mission.


    It seemed there were already some oddities here, but why hadn¡¯t he received any mission notifications?


    This, Yan Junze could not understand.


    Lying in bed, he checked his phone, which was almost eleven o¡¯clock. Could it be that the entity knew he was here and chose to hide itself?


    He turned off the phone screen and placed it on the bedside table next to him. Yan Junze lay down fully clothed, his eyes slightly narrowed, unsure how much time had passed.


    Suddenly, he felt his phone screen light up. He opened his eyes slightly and lifted his head to glance at it. He saw not only was the screen on, but it also displayed the password input screen.


    At that moment, a line of text popped up.


    Yan Junze saw it very clearly, the line of text read: Wrong password entered, 4 more tries remaining.

 Chapter 149 - 147 Who is the most bizarre? (Alliance Leader Sabahdanis 1221 added more)

    "Password entered incorrectly, 4 more attempts remaining."


    Seeing this line suddenly appear on his phone screen, Yan Junze got a jolt that made the hairs on his back stand, feeling a chill permeating his entire body.


    He immediately sat up from lying down, turned his head and looked around. Although it was rather dark, he could still see objects in the bedroom, and everything was as quiet as before, without any unusual occurrences.


    He looked again at the lit phone screen, the line of text was still there. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Had someone just touched his phone? And they had entered the wrong password to boot.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and flipped through it casually; nothing was amiss.


    More importantly, no mission prompt had come up so far.


    Unsure if it was a problem with the phone system or if there really were some anomalies, Yan Junze held his phone, continuously pondering.


    "Is this ¡¯strangeness¡¯ really so laid-back? Devoid of any obsession, its purpose here purely to tease people?"


    Not feeling quite reassured, he decided to get out of bed and tiptoed to open the bedroom door, stepping out into the living room.


    On the elegantly refined decorative cabinets in the living room, the camera lens was pointed at most of the living room, still operating.


    Yan Junze stood inside the room, looked around, and an eerie silence filled the air, without a sound.


    Some light from outside came through the windows, allowing him to make out the layout clearly.


    He had activated the rewind feature before lying down in bed, keeping it on loop ever since.


    Seeing nothing unusual in the living room, Yan Junze was about to check the bathroom, kitchen, and balcony.


    But just as he was about to move, the door of the room where Yan Wenwen was sleeping suddenly moved slightly, opening a crack, and an eye peeked through quietly.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly walked over. The eye behind the crack withdrew immediately.


    Without making a sound, Yan Junze approached the door and gently pushed it open, and there stood Yan Wenwen in a light red nightgown, looking fearfully at Yan Junze.


    "Wenwen?"


    Having heard from Bao Yunjing about the strange happenings, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure if Wenwen was normal at the moment or if some anomaly had occurred.


    Yan Wenwen nodded her head, her eyes bright, and she made a silencing gesture to Yan Junze, seeming quite normal.


    "Why haven¡¯t you slept yet?" Yan Junze whispered.


    Yan Wenwen carefully closed the bedroom door, pulled Yan Junze to the desk, and then in a very quiet voice said, "Brother Yan, everyone in this house is very peculiar, including my parents, especially my mother. You have to save us."


    "Huh?" Yan Junze was somewhat stunned for a moment. "Wasn¡¯t it your mother who felt something was peculiar at home, which led to my being called over?"


    He couldn¡¯t directly say that, in reality, it was Bao Yunjing who felt that everyone else in the family was peculiar, and that¡¯s why she had reached out to him through Bao Jie.


    Yan Wenwen, as if frightened of being overheard, quickly shook her head, her hands gesturing rapidly in front of her chest, "No, that¡¯s not it; I¡¯ve been telling my mother to call the exorcist, she said she did. But a couple of days ago, when I applied to check, there was no report from us on record."


    "Then you reported it afterward?" asked Yan Junze, surprised.


    "Yes, that¡¯s when I reported it myself," nodded Yan Wenwen. "But when I asked my dad and mom, they both said they had reported it."


    "That is strange!" Yan Junze muttered to himself, then looked towards Yan Wenwen again, "You said your mother was peculiar, what is peculiar about her? I think she seems very normal."


    Yan Wenwen nervously shook her head, glanced at the bedroom door, and then checked her watch, "Half past twelve, every night at half past twelve, she comes punctually to¡­ comb my hair."


    "Ah!" Yan Junze got a shock.


    "Even when I was asleep, she would come and comb my hair while kneeling beside my bed. I was so scared to death that I didn¡¯t dare to open my eyes," said Yan Wenwen, her body beginning to tremble.


    "It¡¯s just to your room?" asked Yan Junze.


    "No," Yan Wenwen shook her head, "every room. After she finishes combing my hair, she goes to Grandpa¡¯s room. Sometimes I hear her talking to someone, but Grandpa¡¯s dementia is so severe and he¡¯s always been a heavy sleeper. Except for waking up at five o¡¯clock sharp every morning, he wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by anything else during that period."


    Yan Junze nodded and asked, "Was this what you wanted to tell me earlier today, during the day?"


    "Hmm," said Yan Wenwen, "I didn¡¯t dare to speak up with Mom around."


    "Alright, I understand," Yan Junze checked the time on his cellphone, which showed it was just shy of midnight. He said to Yan Wenwen, "Keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing. If your mom comes in to comb your hair, don¡¯t open your eyes, just endure it. According to what you¡¯ve said, she will leave here and go to my place afterward. Wait for me to handle it."


    "Thank you, Brother Yan. You must save us!" Yan Wenwen looked at him pitifully.


    After leaving her room, Yan Junze had no intention to wander around the other rooms, and he returned to Old Yan¡¯s room. Sure enough, the old man was in a deep slumber, his snoring loud and steady, oblivious to anyone moving around him.


    He lay back down on his bed, took out his cell phone and placed it back on the bedside table. This time, Yan Junze did not plan to sleep again.


    He was waiting for half-past midnight to see if what Yan Wenwen said was true. If Bao Yunjing¡¯s strangeness was greater, this situation could be very complicated.


    Because so far, Yan Junze had not received any notifications about the mission.


    This had him doubting whether the current events were really the work of a spirit, or if there was some other explanation.


    Time passed.


    As he pondered, the time finally reached half-past midnight.


    It was clear by then that Yan Wenwen next door, in her bedroom, had definitely not fallen asleep. Instead, she was trembling with fear, waiting for her mother to come and comb her hair.


    With a click, the sound of a bedroom door being opened echoed from outside, followed by soft footsteps. The footsteps paused at the door next to his, then the sound of the door opening and again, more footsteps.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sleepy at all; in fact, his mind was exceptionally clear, so he listened very carefully.


    At that moment, Bao Yunjing should be combing her daughter¡¯s hair.


    "Damn, just thinking about it sends chills down the spine," Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but shake his head, feeling a wave of disgust.


    Every night like this, it was a wonder what had kept Yan Wenwen holding on until today.


    It wasn¡¯t long before noises started coming from the other side again.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes and listened as the door to the room next door closed and soft footsteps approached Old Yan¡¯s bedroom.


    Old Yan was still sleeping soundly, showing no sign of disturbance.


    After about ten seconds of silence, the bedroom door was pushed open.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes closed, pretending to be sound asleep, and positioned himself so that he faced left with one hand near his head, ensuring he could react quickly if anything happened.


    As the footsteps entered the room, an inevitable hair-raising sensation crept over him.


    The footsteps, neither fast nor slow, ceased after entering the room. Based on the sound, it seemed as if they had stopped in the middle of the bedroom. Stay connected via


    Another two or three minutes passed with no movement.


    Yan Junze grew somewhat impatient. He hadn¡¯t moved his body, only twisted his neck slightly, then squinted his eyes, peering through the dim light from the window.


    In his line of sight, a woman with disheveled hair, wearing a red nightgown, stood at the foot of the bed, motionless, seemingly staring at the person lying there.

 Chapter 150 - 148 The Person Standing by the Bed

    Upon witnessing this scene, Yan Junze¡¯s scalp exploded.


    He dared not move nor fully open his eyes to watch, but even with the limited view he had, he could still make out a resemblance to Bao Yunjing in that woman wearing the red nightgown.


    However, during the daytime, Bao Yunjing¡¯s bangs were always neatly done, whereas now, this woman¡¯s disheveled hair added a layer of terror.


    What mattered the most was that she had entered the room and didn¡¯t move. She just stood at the foot of the bed like a wooden mannequin, her gaze unclear as if her eyes were closed, yet they seemed to be open as well.


    Yan Junze softly twisted his neck a bit more, slightly opening his eyes a bit more, but he was confident that with his back to the light coming in from outside, Bao Yunjing wouldn¡¯t notice this minor movement.


    Upon opening his eyes slightly wider, it seemed he could see more clearly that the woman in the red nightgown was indeed Bao Yunjing, but it appeared as though her eyes were open.


    The reason Yan Junze got the impression she had her eyes closed was that in the eyes of the woman, there was no white in them, they were completely black, like ink.


    Fearful of being discovered, Yan Junze glanced briefly and then immediately closed his eyes.


    At the same time, he felt secretly relieved that Yan Wenwen had kept her eyes closed while Bao Yunjing was combing her hair; otherwise, if she had opened them for a look, she might have been scared into screaming immediately.


    What kind of consequences that would bring about was simply unimaginable.


    Bao Yunjing, wearing the red nightgown, just stood there, showing no intention of leaving, the scene was dead silent.


    Apart from Uncle Yan¡¯s fearless snoring, there was the soundless, eerie aura spreading from Bao Yunjing throughout the room.


    Perhaps after another seven or eight minutes, Yan Junze remained rigid in his sleeping posture, not relaxing at all, so his limbs quickly began to feel numb.


    Just then, the sound of Bao Yunjing¡¯s footsteps arose as she began to move, and her direction was toward Yan Junze¡¯s side where he lay.


    Yan Junze quickly closed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing, making himself look as if he was truly asleep.


    However, his ears were more sensitive than ever, not missing any movement made by Bao Yunjing.


    Bao Yunjing¡¯s pace was still very slow. As she moved, her hands didn¡¯t swing but hung straight down, like a lifeless corpse.


    Upon reaching the side where Yan Junze lay, she didn¡¯t move further, just standing in front of him.


    Yan Junze once again narrowed his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he could see the woman in the red nightgown standing less than half a meter away from him. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He dared not lift his head to look, so he didn¡¯t know if the woman was looking down at him at the moment, or simply staring straight ahead.


    Perhaps Bao Yunjing no longer had a gaze at that moment, for there was no white in her eyes, only a field of black.


    Faintly, Yan Junze could see Bao Yunjing¡¯s red nightgown undulating slightly. This indicated that the woman was indeed alive and not dead, as she was still breathing.


    Yet her current appearance was indistinguishable from that of a corpse, even more terrifying.


    It was very strange. Considering Bao Yunjing looked like she was possessed by the Possession Spirit, why had his Atlas not given any task notification?


    Could it be that this Possession Spirit truly had no Obsession?


    But without Obsession, then why would she behave in such a bizarre manner?


    Yan Junze was filled with a mass of thoughts but still couldn¡¯t grasp any clues.


    Just then, the nightgown began to fold. Yan Junze was startled, realizing there was only one possibility for the nightgown to fold up like that ¨C Bao Yunjing was crouching down.


    He immediately closed his eyes, this time not even daring to risk narrowing his eyes to slits.


    Bao Yunjing did indeed crouch down, her head level with Yan Junze who lay on the bed.


    Her breathing was even, but her expression was stiff, her body slowly leaning forward, her eyes wide open, the pitch-black pupils seeming to glare at the "sleeping" Yan Junze.


    Even with his eyes closed, Yan Junze could still feel "something" approaching his face, like an intuition, a sixth sense.


    He could hear his own heartbeat clearly, like a heavy drum on the battlefield, pounding incessantly, almost leaping out of his throat.


    At that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s whole body was covered in goosebumps, and a chill emerged, spreading all around his body.


    If it were any other time, he believed he would¡¯ve damn well thrown a punch or already jumped out of the bed by now, but now, he managed to hold back.


    A moment later, Bao Yunjing¡¯s lips began to slowly open, but they did not fully part; instead, halfway through, she made a bizarre sound from her throat next to Yan Junze¡¯s ear.


    The sound was initially very soft but gradually began to grow louder.


    Yan Junze pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a few sentences, only to find the syllables uttered by Bao Yunjing were odd, not understanding a single one, yet she kept on making noises, kept on saying something non-stop.


    An eerie and inexplicable woman, lying next to one¡¯s bed in the dead of night, with pupils that are black, mouth wide open, constantly uttering strange words.


    In this moment, Yan Junze felt he was about to lose his composure.


    However, he noticed at the same time that this way of speaking sounded much like someone muttering in their sleep, which is usually very mumbled. Clearly enunciated sleep talk is rare, unless the sentence is very short.


    After enduring for a while, just as Yan Junze felt he truly couldn¡¯t keep it together any longer, the snoring of Old Yan sleeping beside him abruptly stopped.


    Old Yan mumbled something in his mouth as if he, too, was talking in his sleep. Then his body moved, appearing to wake up, mumbling something, suddenly shouting, "Who the hell is making noise in the middle of the night, shut up, shut up!"


    The Bao Yunjing, who was making those strange sounds, suddenly stopped with her mouth still open, her black pupils wide, completely motionless.


    "Damn, the old man is awesome!" Yan Junze, inadvertently rescued, felt a surge of genuine admiration for Old Yan.


    Squinting again, he looked forward.


    He saw that Bao Yunjing¡¯s mouth had closed, and she was slowly standing up from beside him.


    "Not good, is this woman going to meddle with the old man?!" Yan Junze began to worry.


    He thought about whether he should take advantage of the moment Bao Yunjing walked to Old Yan¡¯s side, to come up behind her and strike with a club.


    But then he thought about how there were no mission prompts yet, whether it was really a strangeness, and if it was, why would such a situation occur? If it turned out not to be a strangeness causing trouble, then if he were to hit Bao Yunjing with a club, wouldn¡¯t he be sending her straight to the hospital?


    It would be a total loss if he ended up not receiving any reward but had to fork out a hefty medical bill.


    While considering this, unexpectedly, Bao Yunjing in her red dress stood up but did not walk to the side where Old Yan lay; instead, she turned and headed for the bedroom door.


    She opened the door, and the soft footsteps faded away.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, immediately sat up, and stood up without putting on his shoes.


    He then turned to glance at Old Yan and noticed that the snoring had picked up again as he had fallen back asleep. So, barefoot, he went to the bedroom door, likewise opened it, and quietly stepped out of the bedroom.


    Just as he left the bedroom, Yan Junze paused, only to see Yan Wenwen also coming out of her bedroom, seemingly peeking around into the master bedroom where Bao Yunjing had been.


    To avoid startling Yan Wenwen, Yan Junze made a "shh" sound to alert her, and then patted her shoulder from behind.


    Yan Wenwen remained standing in place, unresponsive.


    Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled and patted her shoulder again.


    The next second, Yan Wenwen turned around with a rigid posture, her pupils pitch black, her mouth slightly open, emitting that familiar eerie sound from her throat, looking at Yan Junze.

 Chapter 151 - 149 Old Yan

    Yan Junze never expected that Yan Wenwen standing here would also look just like Bao Yunjing had a moment ago.


    The instant he saw Yan Wenwen¡¯s face, he was so frightened that his whole body shivered, and he nearly released the club in his hand to swing at her.


    However, in his haste, he chose to back away, stepping back to the doorway of Old Yan¡¯s bedroom and then taking another step back, closing the door behind him with a reverse grip.


    The Yan Wenwen, who had turned around, did not chase after him but stared at Yan Junze with pitch-black pupils, her mouth slightly open, continuing to mutter something¡ªan extremely eerie scene!


    After closing the door, Yan Junze did not leave the doorway but gripped the doorknob with his right hand, his elbow lightly resting against the door.


    If Yan Wenwen tried to push from outside, he needed to ensure she could not burst through.


    Up to now, there was still no task prompt appearing.


    At this moment, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but pull up the Spacetime Atlas in his mind to check it carefully. The Rewind line in the Atlas was operating normally, but there was still no new task prompt.


    What¡¯s going on?


    Just as Yan Junze was perplexed, his right hand gripping the doorknob tightened¡ªsomeone was turning the doorknob from the outside.


    Immediately, Yan Junze increased the strength in his arms, leaning forward so that not only was he firmly holding down the doorknob, but he was also pushing his elbow against the door, making it impossible for the person outside to force it open with brute strength.


    At this point, Yan Junze really couldn¡¯t gauge how strong Yan Wenwen might be, so he had to make adequate defenses while the strength she was applying was not yet overwhelming.


    In the moment when both inside and outside were exerting force, he freed his left hand, took hold of the bedroom door¡¯s deadbolt, and twisted it sharply.


    With a click, the door was deadbolted.


    Phew!


    Yan Junze took a breath, slowly eased the strength in his arm twisting the doorknob, then gradually let go, keeping his hands ready to grab the doorknob again if needed, slowly moving away from it.


    He didn¡¯t notice that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his palm was also clammy from gripping the doorknob.


    "That should...keep her out for the time being."


    The next second, the doorknob moved slightly, but the locked door did not turn, and then no more sounds came through.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze was fixed tightly on the doorknob, silent.


    After a moment, he realized it was unnaturally quiet, and noticed that Old Yan¡¯s snoring had disappeared at some point.


    Slowly turning his head, his pupils contracted when he saw that Old Yan was no longer lying in bed but had sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed as if ready to put on shoes and get up.


    This position looked very normal, just like Yan Wenwen who was peering into the master bedroom from the doorway; it looked like nothing was amiss from the back.


    But Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to call out to Old Yan carelessly, learning from his past mistake. He just stood there at the bedroom doorway, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on the motionless Old Yan.


    It was very weird; this old fellow might have become just like Bao Yunjing and Yan Wenwen.


    Old Yan just sat on the edge of the bed, silent, without any movement as time slowly passed.


    The bedroom fell silent without his snoring, dead silent.


    No more sounds came from outside the door; it was uncertain whether Yan Wenwen was still standing there waiting.


    Yan Junze hesitated over whether to open the door to check. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, Old Yan¡¯s sitting figure moved slightly as he stood up but did not put on his shoes. Barefoot, he stepped onto the floor, dragging his legs away from the edge of the bed.


    His walking posture was very strange; his head hung low, his hands hung down and did not swing, but his back was straight. Only his feet seemed to be dragged along.


    One step, another step, he moved away from the bed, walked to the center of the bedroom, to the same spot where Bao Yunjing had previously stood.


    However, he did not stop, but took one step after another, slowly walking towards Yan Junze.


    Not a sound was made.


    There stood Yan Junze at the doorway, unblinkingly staring at the eerily approaching Old Yan.


    Upon seeing this scene, his body involuntarily moved back, pressing against the door; his right hand reached out to grab the doorknob, while his left hand clasped the latch of the door lock.


    His gaze was still fixed on Old Yan, who continued to approach.


    As soon as Old Yan got within three meters of him, he would immediately open the door and leave the bedroom.


    If Yan Wenwen was still guarding outside the door at this moment, he would have no choice but to Rewind. Otherwise, unless he took out a club for a forceful attack, there would be a high likelihood of accidentally harming these people.


    Just as Old Yan was about to reach Yan Junze, the next second, Old Yan suddenly changed direction, heading towards the wall not far from the door.


    On that snow-white wall, about the height of a person, there was a faint black mark; Old Yan went to the wall, his body rigid as a rod, devoid of any feebleness of old age, silently standing facing the wall.


    After witnessing this sight, Yan Junze was perplexed when a sudden ¡¯thud¡¯ startled him.


    He saw Old Yan¡¯s forehead hitting the wall continually, creating ¡¯thud thud thud¡¯ sounds.


    Each collision was loud, like the regular swing of a pendulum, striking the wall without any sense of pain. It was then that Yan Junze finally understood how the black mark on the wall came to be.


    "Should I Rewind?" Yan Junze began to ponder.


    There had been no task alert yet, but by this point, he had not encountered any danger except for the chilling horror; the situation did not seem to have escalated to a very serious level.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly realized a terrifying fact. Perhaps, the people in this Yan family, every night, were like this.


    The collision still continued; Yan Junze had no intention of intervening, for fear of triggering some unforeseen terror.


    After some thought, he gritted his teeth, turned the privacy latch with a ¡¯click,¡¯ then quickly twisted the doorknob, opened the door, and stood in the doorway.


    There was nothing outside the door; Yan Wenwen was no longer there.


    Yan Junze did not hesitate and immediately stepped outside, closing the door behind him.


    The sound of the collision inside the room continued to resonate, leading Yan Junze to suspect that the old man¡¯s claim of having severe amnesia might stem from actions like these.


    He took a closer look at Yan Wenwen¡¯s room; the door was closed, and no noise was coming from inside. Yan Junze did not dare to open the door and court disaster.


    Approaching the door of the master bedroom nearby, he found, to his surprise, that the door was ajar.


    Could it be that Bao Yunjing hadn¡¯t returned to the bedroom?


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the master bedroom, pushing the door slightly more open so that the light from the outside could shine in. He leaned in, squinting to see.


    Someone was sleeping on the bed, but it wasn¡¯t the male owner, Yan He; it was the female owner, Bao Yunjing¡ªas the slippers on the floor were women¡¯s.


    Bao Yunjing had gone back to the bedroom and lain down again, while the side of the bed where Yan He would usually sleep was empty, without a trace.


    Bao Yunjing seemed to be sleeping deeply, her breathing heavy, almost at the point of snoring.


    Yan Junze turned around and listened carefully; the colliding sound in Old Yan¡¯s room had ceased. Indeed, if one kept ramming like that, it wouldn¡¯t just be amnesia¡ªa direct descent into dementia was possible.


    Yan Wenwen must have returned to her own bedroom by now.


    Standing at the doorway of the master bedroom, Yan Junze turned his head to look at the video camera set up in the living room, which was still operating.


    Certainly, the camera on his chest was also running.


    Just then, a rustling noise came from the direction of the balcony.

 Chapter 152 - 150: Everyone’s Been Had

    ```


    The rustling sound was very faint, as if a mouse were scurrying, or something snatching at food.


    Yan Junze turned his head and looked towards the balcony.


    To get to the balcony from the master bedroom, one had to pass through the living room¡¯s bathroom and then push open the balcony door.


    However, at this moment, the balcony door was open.


    After a brief thought, he walked over and arrived at the glass sliding door to the balcony. He didn¡¯t step out immediately but first checked the weather tonight.


    Just as he suspected, there were heavy clouds piled up, not a trace of the moon in sight, and no moonlight shining through.


    If it weren¡¯t for the streetlights outside, he might have needed to turn on a flashlight to see the balcony¡¯s decor at this moment.


    He stepped out slowly onto the balcony, his gaze fixed on a man crouched with his back to him.


    The man wore only a pair of shorts, bare-chested and barefoot, crouching in front of a row of flower pots planted with vegetation, from where the rustling sounds were coming.


    From Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, it was clear that the man, although not seeming especially fat, still had enough flesh to show off rolls of fat as he crouched there, looking as if he were wrapped with a lifebuoy around his stomach.


    Who else could this be if not Yan He?


    Not sleeping, instead crouching outside on the balcony at this hour, fiddling with the flower pots. No normal person would do such a thing.


    So, it was highly probable that, like the people inside the house, he too had encountered a strangeness.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t call out to him but just stood at the entrance to the balcony and stared at him for a moment, then tiptoed back into the living room.


    Crouched before the flower pots, Yan He now held the soil in his hands, his eyes pitch-black, slowly bringing it to his mouth, taking a deep breath, and then mechanically putting the soil into his mouth.


    One bite at a time, he chewed unhurriedly.


    After returning to the room, Yan Junze didn¡¯t enter Old Yan¡¯s bedroom but went to the sofa in the living room and sat in the shadow by the corner of the wall.


    From this position, unless someone came close and looked carefully, it was very difficult to spot him sitting in the corner¡¯s shadow.


    After sitting down, Yan Junze composed himself slightly.


    Now that the whole family was showing abnormalities, if it were a Possession Spirit, then the horror of this Possession Spirit was probably far beyond Yan Junze¡¯s imagination. Moreover, the attachments were sudden, suggesting that it was probably not as simple as just one.


    Once seated, Yan Junze began to wrack his brains in thought.


    Since he had walked into this house, each person had shown some manner of strange behavior, some more and some less. It was only because Yan He had come back later that it wasn¡¯t apparent.


    But by the time night fell, everyone had changed.


    Hmm, everyone?


    Yan Junze suddenly paused. He took down the camera he had on his chest, removed the memory card inside, walked over to the decorative cabinet in the living room, stopped the camera that was recording, and looked around the room for a moment.


    Then, Yan Junze entered the bathroom next to the kitchen, closed the door, and locked it.


    Next, he inserted the memory card taken from the camera into the camcorder. The screen showed that it was reading data.


    After reading the data, Yan Junze opened the file on the memory card and searched for a moment, muted the volume, and then began to play the video just recorded.


    The camera started recording from the moment he lay down on the bed in Old Yan¡¯s room.


    Yan Junze remembered being very careful when he turned over in bed; he was afraid of dislodging the direction of the camera.


    The video started playing from the moment he laid down on the bed. Since the camera was worn on his chest, it looked a bit like a first-person perspective.


    In the video, after lying down, he placed his phone on the bedside table, then quietly closed his eyes.


    At that time, he hadn¡¯t paid attention to how much time had passed.


    But according to the video, it was 5 minutes and 41 seconds after the recording started that his hand suddenly raised, covering the camera for a second, and then reached for the phone on the bedside table the next second.


    "Hm?"


    Yan Junze¡¯s brows furrowed as he stared at the actions of himself in the video.


    ```


    What¡¯s going on?


    He remembered lying down without moving, only fully opening his eyes and picking up the phone after he suddenly noticed the screen lighting up.


    But at this moment, the video showed his right hand slowly reaching toward the phone and then lighting up the screen.


    Looking from the direction of the camera, the frame was a bit tilted, but still visible. And when the phone lit up, showing a screen that required a password, Yan Junze¡¯s hand hesitated.


    About two or three seconds later, his index finger reached out and tapped several times on the phone screen.


    "Password incorrect, you have 4 attempts left" text prompt immediately popped up.


    The hand that was reached out snapped back quickly, and the next second, his own body moved.


    Awake!


    "Damn it!"


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze felt a chill spread throughout his body, feeling as if none of his limbs belonged to him at that moment.


    He had never expected that he had been asleep at the time, and that shortly after he had fallen asleep, something unusual happened¡ªit was as if someone controlled his body, lit up the phone on the bedside table, and even entered the password incorrectly.


    All along, Yan Junze had only thought there was something odd about the family in this house, but he did not expect that on his first night here, he too would be subjected to an unknown control.


    The moment just then was very short, and only his right hand acted unconsciously. He believed it was not possible for a Possession Spirit to have attached itself to him, perhaps... there was some other unknown reason?


    The moment he realized the phone password was incorrect, he felt no abnormalities, truly just shutting his eyes for a while, without any discomfort.


    But this room...


    Yan Junze lifted his head, feeling as if every corner of the room was no longer safe, as though hiding a strangeness undetectable even by the Spacetime Atlas, lurking somewhere, ready to move at any moment, controlling everyone.


    After he involuntarily glanced around the corner of the bathroom, footsteps came from outside the door.


    The sound was similarly of bare feet on the floor, heavy.


    After a while, a silhouette slowly passed by outside the glass door of the bathroom.


    With a bit of a belly, slightly overweight, it was Yan He who had been squatting on the balcony just before.


    Through the glass door, it was clear to see that his way of walking was just as strange, standing with a straight back, hands hanging stiff at his sides, his feet as if weighted with lead, dragging along the ground.


    He quickly passed by the front of the bathroom, and from the sound of it, he entered the master bedroom and there was no more noise.


    One could guess that he probably went back to lie down in bed. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze had not seen Yan He eat dirt, so he had no idea that when Bao Yunjing awoke early the next morning and saw her husband¡¯s mouth full of dirt, she would be utterly terrified.


    From his point of view, the eerie scenes in this house seemed to have come to an end for the evening. Not only the Yan family members, but even himself, a newcomer of just one day, had experienced abnormalities to some extent.


    "No mission prompt, there¡¯s been no mission prompt."


    He muttered to himself quietly.


    It couldn¡¯t be a problem with the Spacetime Atlas, and given the abnormal behavior of this family, it was hard for Yan Junze to believe it had nothing to do with strangeness.


    But what was the cause of the current situation?


    "There is strangeness, definitely strangeness!"


    Yan Junze whispered to himself.


    The next second, his eyes slightly brightened as he immediately accessed the Atlas in his mind, using Different Dimension Energy to activate the "Perception of Strange Events".


    In the instant the function was activated, in just under two seconds, a mission information was rapidly detected and popped up.


    Just one glance at the content of the mission, especially the mission level, Yan Junze¡¯s face immediately turned pale, as he involuntarily read out loud.


    "Mission level: Terrified (Medium)."

 Chapter 153 - 151: Terrified

    ```


    The task information that popped up in his mind left Yan Junze briefly glimpsing it before he was completely shocked by the "Terrified (Medium)" mentioned in the task level.


    He had never expected that the level of the task he detected would be so high!


    Before this, the highest level task he had encountered was only "Hair-raising (Low)," which were [Look at Her Face] and the upgraded [Reflection Under the Moonlight].


    [Look at Her Face] was smoothly completed without any worries due to Ke¡¯er¡¯s existence. However, [Reflection Under the Moonlight], although completed, obviously left a tail¡ªan enigmatic Fang Ning who wanted "every next second" of his company, hidden within his own shadow.


    Yan Junze had never thought that the task he now detected would be "Terrified (Medium)"!


    This was clearly a higher level than the "Hair-raising" level tasks.


    Once he had steadied himself from the initial shock, he carefully read through all the content of the task that had popped up.


    [Coordinates confirmed: Spectacular Courtyard No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park, in the sealed underground space.]


    [Task Name: Tricky Silk;


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: As the prime instigator of numerous strangenesses, perhaps for it, this is all but a joke.


    Task Description: Join it in a game, or pull an even bigger joke on it;


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Become its plaything;


    Task Tip: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Pay attention to those threads;


    Note: It is recommended not to contact it before you have enough Different Dimension Energy to Rewind.]


    Although Yan Junze did not know where No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park in the Spectacular Courtyard was, the information in the task was very clear.


    The detected supernatural entity was of a high, terrifying level and enjoyed joking around, being the culprit behind many strange events.


    Looking at it this way, Yan Junze had already guessed the weird occurrences happening within the Yan family¡¯s home.


    It was likely related to the horror in No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park¡ªeverything might just be one of its jokes, a terrifying, even fatal joke to ordinary people.


    At that moment, Yan Junze was stunned as, without any warning, four pieces of task information surged into his mind.


    These tasks were different from the usual ones, with brief content and a similar nature, leaving Yan Junze almost unable to react for a moment.


    [Detecting subtasks...]


    [The Yan family at Unit 3-1, Building B, No. 6 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ...


    [The Lin family at Unit 11-2, Building F, No. 7 of the Garden Villa in the Spectacular Courtyard is firmly tied by the enigmatic threads from No. 2 Leisure Mountain Park. These threads originate from it, either you have the means to cut the threads, or you could visit No. 2 Mountain Park to take a look.]


    [Note: This subtask does not offer Different Dimension Energy rewards.]


    ...


    ...


    The four subtask pieces of information came from the Yan, Lin, Li, and Zhao families, all residing within the Spectacular Courtyard but from different buildings.


    This indicated that besides the Yan family, there were three other families within the community also affected by the supernatural from Mountain Park, disturbed by some Ghost Silk.


    However, these four subtasks had no task rewards, meaning that even if completed, Yan Junze would receive no Different Dimension Energy unless he completed the main task named [Tricky Silk].


    Now he finally understood why since he had entered the Yan family¡¯s residence and noticed something was amiss, he had not automatically sensed any task information.


    ```


    ```


    The original source was not in the house, but in an underground space of Mountain Park No. 2, which should be some distance away from here.


    By now, Yan Junze had gradually formed an idea in his mind.


    For him at the moment, completing a task rated "Terrified (Medium)" was basically impossible.


    Or even if it could be completed, with the constant use of Rewind, it would probably be a case of more-likely-dead-than-alive.


    Because the task prompt made it clear that he should have enough Different Dimension Energy for Rewind; otherwise, if the energy was insufficient, there was a high probability of being drained to death there.


    Upon further consideration, the task filled Yan Junze with dread.


    He couldn¡¯t take it on; the high-level task was still beyond his current capabilities.


    However, not being able to take on this task did not mean the four subtasks were impossible to complete. Even though the subtasks did not offer Different Dimension Energy as a reward, rewards were not necessarily energy¡ªmoney would do as well.


    And in cases where there was no energy but only money as a reward, Yan Junze would certainly ask for more as compensation.


    As for the real main task, he would wait until the day when his strength was sufficient.


    After putting away the camera and the heads, Yan Junze left the bathroom and checked the time on his phone¡ªit was almost 3 a.m.


    He didn¡¯t plan to go back to Old Yan¡¯s bedroom to sleep; otherwise, if the old man suddenly got up while asleep, it always gave him an unsettling feeling.


    Yan Junze lay down on the sofa in the living room and made do for the night.


    In the second half of the night, there were no more disturbances in the room. However, he still only managed to fall asleep around 5 a.m.


    He was woken up by Bao Yunjing¡¯s shouting.


    Upon waking up and seeing her husband¡¯s mouth full of dirt, as well as the pillow and sheets stained with soil, Bao Yunjing was so scared that she exploded on the spot.


    After waking up, Yan He was equally shocked by his own appearance and vomited in the bathroom before hurriedly taking a shower. Meanwhile, Bao Yunjing hurriedly changed the bedding.


    Additionally, Old Yan lay on the bed, groaning, and when the family gathered around, they found the old man as if he had won a lottery, with a large, shiny bump on his head, which scared Bao Yunjing into hastily applying some lard to it with utmost care.


    After dealing with everything, Yan Junze sat on the sofa and called everyone over.


    He pointed to the camera placed to the side and began, "Your strange behaviors last night have all been recorded, and I have a general understanding of what happened. I have found the cause." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What exactly is going on?" asked Bao Yunjing.


    "It¡¯s not serious, you were just possessed by a Possession Spirit," he said.


    The real situation was very complicated, and Yan Junze did not plan to tell them.


    "Then, may I ask, how long will it take for you to deal with this?" Yan He, who had just finished showering and was drying his hair, asked eagerly.


    "Just a few days, mainly because I still need to prepare some things," Yan Junze replied.


    "Alright, that¡¯s no problem... Thank you in advance," Bao Yunjing nodded, then looked at Yan He.


    Yan He understood, turned around, went back to the bedroom, and came out a short while later with a stuffed envelope. It was bulging with money.


    "This is just part of it," Bao Yunjing said. "After you¡¯ve done the job, we will treat you to a meal and thank you some more!"


    "We appreciate your help," added Yan He.


    Yan Wenwen watched Yan Junze but didn¡¯t speak.


    However, Yan Junze nodded at her, "Wenwen, it¡¯s okay, just hang in there a few more days."


    "Okay," she replied.


    At this time, Old Yan did not come out but lay in the bedroom with a severe headache.


    After leaving the Yan family¡¯s place, Yan Junze didn¡¯t go home but immediately headed to the management office of Spectacular Courtyard with his backpack.


    ```

 Chapter 155 - 153: Mountain Park No. 2

    Before long, Yan Junze had negotiated with the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family. Apart from the young Lin Hong who had to go back and consult with his family, the other two families agreed on the spot.


    Later that evening, Yan Junze came over to install cameras at home.


    Upon leaving the Spectacular Courtyard, Yan Junze immediately called Bao Jie, briefly explained the situation at her aunt¡¯s place, and then asked to borrow a few more pieces of recording equipment.


    Whether portable cameras or webcams, as long as they could record video, he wanted to borrow them.


    Bao Jie normally enjoyed tinkering with these things, and to her credit, she was indeed able to lend out five devices. Regardless of their size, model, or resolution, as long as they worked, Yan Junze didn¡¯t care.


    Together with his own camera and one webcam, he had nearly enough equipment.


    Of course, he did not reveal the true supernatural occurrences he had discovered to Bao Jie, merely explaining them as a Possession Spirit.


    Everyone knew about Possession Spirits. Previously, Teacher Zhang Tiantian from the school had been possessed by one, and now she was said to be living in a Rehabilitation Hospital, showing some improvement, though it was uncertain when she could be discharged.


    The primary purpose of collecting footage of the strange occurrences at the other three families¡¯ homes was twofold. First, to ascertain whether their experiences were similar to Bao Yunjing¡¯s, as this involved the "Tricky Silk" mentioned in the task. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the strangenesses differed, he would need to formulate a new plan.


    Using recording equipment for filming could gather information quickly. If he went to experience each family¡¯s situation in person, it would not only take too much time, but also risk causing additional trouble. A prolonged delay could even endanger the lives of these families.


    The second purpose was to process and edit the videos before uploading them to a video platform. He believed that with the professional team from Tang Zhengyi¡¯s end handling the production and editing, these videos of roughly similar encounters would make for intriguing and thrilling short clips.


    Yan Junze still remembered a horror movie from his previous life, where a family¡¯s house was haunted. The homeowner had bought a DV camera to record in the bedroom at night, capturing a series of terrifying scenes.


    The authenticity of those images made the film a box office success, yielding a huge profit for the investors. Your next chapter awaits on


    Of course, that was a movie, while his current footage was real, and being a series of shorts, he believed the effect after editing would undoubtedly be even better.


    That evening, armed with the recording equipment, Yan Junze visited the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family successively.


    Old Master Li from the Li Family even went to Bao Yunjing¡¯s home to verify Yan Junze¡¯s claims, and after confirming the truth, he promptly gave Yan Junze a deposit of ten thousand yuan.


    Once the installation and testing were complete with no issues, Yan Junze also warned the members of the three households not to tamper with the installed equipment. He would return first thing the next morning to collect the footage, and then take care of their troubles.


    Afterward, Yan Junze obtained the address of Mountain Park from Bao Yunjing and headed to Spectacular Courtyard¡¯s No. 2 leisure Mountain Park.


    This Mountain Park, situated near the Garden Villa area, covered a large area. The developers had transformed an original small hill into a park, and at its base was a large plaza fitted with various exercise equipment.


    When Yan Junze arrived to scout the location, the plaza was bustling with people. In such affluent living spaces, any strangeness would usually be resolved quickly.


    Thus, the residents had little to worry about.


    What they did not know was that beneath the Mountain Park, a highly mysterious and terrifying entity was hidden in an Underground Space.


    What exactly an Underground Space was, Yan Junze was also not too clear. By literal definition, it should be an individual space created below or inside the small hill when the park was built.


    Or perhaps the hill was originally hollow, and the interior might have been repurposed to construct an Underground Space to store miscellaneous items.


    Yan Junze circled the Mountain Park and found a closed iron gate at the foot of the hill on the opposite side of the plaza.


    This iron gate resembled an old school gate but was sealed, hiding its interior from view. A warning sign was posted on the outside: No Trespassing.


    If we¡¯re talking about an underground space, this place might be the most similar to the one under Mountain Park.


    Unfortunately, because the area outside the door is rather spacious and flat, it has already been occupied by a group of elderly men and women spinning tops.


    There were at least a dozen huge tops spinning on the ground, humming and whistling, and Yan Junze even saw an old man in a vest and shorts, wielding a whip in each hand, simultaneously lashing two giant tops, truly impressive.


    He turned around and left.


    With such a group of old men and women here, it would be virtually impossible to come by during the day to pick up tasks, only at night when no one¡¯s around.


    Moreover, the weather was good today, and there was likely to be moonlight tonight, and since the video shooting was still ongoing, Yan Junze decided not to act this evening.


    When he got home, he threw the money in two envelopes to his mother, Li Man, "Mom, this is what I just earned. This time, we really don¡¯t have to worry about the college tuition; you can keep the money you¡¯ve saved up for something you like."


    "Son, did you shoot another video?" Yan Daguo¡¯s eyes lit up as he approached.


    "Yeah," Yan Junze nodded, "This time the video was easy to shoot, and it¡¯s a series of videos. I expect the earnings to be sky-high, so brace yourselves."


    To alleviate his parents¡¯ concerns, when it came to making money from video shooting, he was always vague and planned to include the compensation from the four families in the video fees as well.


    That night, the Yan couple was extremely excited; they hadn¡¯t expected their son to be so adept at this line of work, and it seemed to them it wasn¡¯t as dangerous as they had imagined.


    Having hardly slept the night before at Bao Yunjing¡¯s house, Yan Junze climbed into bed early and had a good night¡¯s sleep.


    The next day, he immediately hurried to Spectacular Courtyard, visiting the Li Family, Zhao Family, and Lin Family in succession.


    He didn¡¯t immediately take the videos away but sat in each of their homes, reviewed the footage, found that all had captured strange occurrences, and then took the equipment with him.


    Back at home, he copied all the videos into his computer, did a rough edit for each family to keep them separate, and made sure they wouldn¡¯t get mixed up.


    Upon careful observation, the strangenesses encountered by these three families were basically no different from those at Bao Yunjing¡¯s house. If they were affected by Tricky Silk, the effects should be the same.


    Then Yan Junze gave Tang Zhengyi a call, making it clear that all faces in the videos had to be concealed, and some of the valuable room furnishings needed to be blurred. As the other side was waiting to receive the videos, he transmitted them, leaving the professional team at the platform to handle the production.


    Of course, he would need to watch the sample pieces first and approve them before they could be uploaded to the platform.


    Tang Zhengyi valued this series of videos greatly because such videos were rare. He stated that he would personally oversee the editing to ensure the most true, most bizarre, most terrifying effects.


    When someone gets serious, the speed can be strangely fast.


    By the afternoon, the video was produced and reviewed by Tang Zhengyi, then passed on to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze watched it twice, pointed out a few areas that needed to be modified, and after showing it to Bao Yunjing, he agreed to upload it to the platform.


    He had planned to start his task that day, completing the four sub-tasks, but to his surprise, the weather had been good for several days in a row, with bright moonlight every night.


    At this time, he didn¡¯t dare to go out to execute the task at random, since the main task was "Terrified (Medium)," and it was best not to encounter other dangers while carrying out its branches.


    If the moonlight was bright at a critical moment and Fang Ning suddenly appeared to interfere, it could become the last straw that broke him.


    So Yan Junze kept his patience and held back.


    Although he hadn¡¯t been able to go out to execute the task, there was suddenly big news from the video platform.

 Chapter 156 - 154 The Spread of Smiling Anger

    "Your video series has been explosive," Tang Zhengyi couldn¡¯t hide his excitement.


    As a veteran editor who had been through thick and thin on video platforms, to tell the truth, it had become quite rare for any piece of work to make him lose control.


    Tang Zhengyi couldn¡¯t remember the last time he had seen such an explosion of video series, but as far as his memory served, this was the first of its kind.


    Still excited on the phone, Tang Zhengyi continued, "Four clips, each with over one and a half million hits. That clip where you¡¯re wearing the camera is the hottest, with hits breaking three million, comments surpassing two hundred thousand."


    Yan Junze was also surprised, then quickly asked, "Is it pay-per-view, or free?"


    "According to the platform¡¯s rules, the first twelve hours are free, then it switches to pay-per-view," Tang Zhengyi laughed. "I set a very reasonable price, and with your honorary title, you¡¯ll split the revenue fifty-fifty with the site. And that doesn¡¯t even include tips!"


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak, he was already calculating roughly how much revenue he¡¯d receive.


    "However, according to most of the comments, these videos, while terrifying and thrilling, end without a conclusion. It¡¯s a minor flaw," Tang Zhengyi added. "If you manage to capture and conclude the stories of these families, the effect would be even better."


    "Hmm, I plan to finish filming the following videos in the next couple of days and then send them to you," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Do you need us to join in?" Tang Zhengyi asked.


    "No need," Yan Junze shook his head, "It¡¯s easier for me to work alone, and less likely that unnecessary accidents will happen."


    "Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting for your good news," Tang Zhengyi hung up.


    Because another call was coming in at that moment, he looked at the screen, which displayed Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi frowned and answered the call.


    "Editor Tang, hello," Cheng Jingting¡¯s voice sounded rather pleased. "That Night Traveling Puppy providing videos for you, fantastic! Four clips shot in succession, each one more splendid than the last. You¡¯re surely a shoo-in for this year¡¯s editorial department¡¯s grand year-end bonus."


    "Just good luck," Tang Zhengyi smiled.


    "Well, I¡¯ll get straight to the point," Cheng Jingting immediately dove into the main issue, "He¡¯s really good. Help me contact him again; I really need him for my next Spirit Exploration project. Ask him once more if he¡¯s willing."


    "That puts me in a tough spot," Tang Zhengyi¡¯s smile faded.


    Cheng Jingting seemed not to notice the change in his tone and said, "Just one word from me, and Boss Ao, Boss Tian, they can buy your videos in the future. Price is not an issue. Videos purchased can be uploaded to the platform after seven days. You know they could easily lift you up to the chief editor position."


    Tang Zhengyi didn¡¯t say a word.


    Cheng Jingting continued, "You know, Editor Mo Tingting has many more tricks up her sleeve than you, and I know at least three bosses supporting her. Without someone to look after you from behind the scenes, it¡¯s hard to climb up, isn¡¯t it?"


    "Puppy has already declined your invitation last time," Tang Zhengyi spoke, "I think if I were to ask again, the result would be no different from before."


    "You don¡¯t need to contact him. Give me his number, and I¡¯ll handle it directly," said Cheng Jingting.


    Tang Zhengyi shook his head, "It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t give you his number, but right now Night Traveling Puppy is busy shooting the final part of this series. He¡¯s tight on time and probably doesn¡¯t have the energy to join your Spirit Exploration."


    "Oh? There¡¯s one more part? If that comes out, the achievements are going to be¡­" Cheng Jingting¡¯s voice wavered, then after a pause, he spoke with a smile, "The homes in those videos on the platform, they seem quite lavishly decorated, shot in some luxury residence, right?"


    Tang Zhengyi remained silent.


    "FS Residence? Crown Three Thousand County? Purple Luxury Residence? Spectacular Courtyard?" As Cheng Jingting was guessing, he continued, "If I persuade him to join my Spirit Exploration Team, that counts as your achievement too. The big bosses will back you to overpower Mo Tingting in minutes."


    Tang Zhengyi¡¯s face tensed a bit.


    "You just need to give me his number and name, I¡¯ll take care of the rest. OK?"


    After roughly half a minute of silence, Tang Zhengyi quickly blurted out a few words, then hung up the phone.


    ...


    The dark clouds engulfed the moon tonight, making it seem like the perfect weather for Yan Junze to venture out.


    As he peered at the sky that looked ready to rain at any moment, Yan Junze felt a surge of excitement. After preparing his backpack, he immediately left the house.


    The weather was such that even if it did rain, it wouldn¡¯t be heavy, and it was very likely to be just a passing shower.


    Of course, he could have waited a little longer, but having been waiting for several days already, and finally encountering a moonless night, Yan Junze considered that those living in Spectacular Courtyard might not be as willing to wait.


    Just as he stepped out, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was an unfamiliar number. Yan Junze hesitated for two seconds before pressing the end call button.


    Before he even reached the stairway, the phone rang again.


    It was the same number displaying on the screen.


    Generally, it was unlikely for a telemarketing call to come through twice in a row¡ªmeaning it might actually be important.


    After a brief consideration, Yan Junze pressed the answer button.


    "Hello, Night Traveling Puppy, this is Cheng Jingting," a stranger¡¯s voice came through.


    Yan Junze paused, recalling the fellow Tang Zhengyi had mentioned before, who seemed to be some sort of internet celebrity on the "Open Your Eyes" video platform.


    "Hmm, how did you get my number?"


    Cheng Jingting laughed, "On the platform, no one¡¯s contact information is a secret. Hmm, I¡¯m inviting you to join a Spirit Exploration Team, would you be interested? The compensation is quite substantial."


    "Not interested," Yan Junze said as he descended the stairs, ready to hang up after his reply.


    "You might want to think it over, no need to rush. In a week¡¯s time..."


    Cheng Jingting¡¯s words were cut off as Yan Junze interrupted him, "No need to think about it, I can answer now. Really not interested."


    The call ended.


    Sitting in front of the computer, Cheng Jingting held the phone that now emitted a busy tone, his face adorned with a playful smile.


    After sitting for two minutes, he slowly stood up.


    Recalling what Tang Zhengyi had just said, he muttered to himself, "By the sound of it, he¡¯s rushing to finish the final video shoot, isn¡¯t he?"


    As he spoke, he walked over to a wall adorned with an overhead map of Shuntian City, which had areas marked in black and red.


    Some were circled, others crossed out.


    Cheng Jingting extended his index finger, tapping on the map, and muttered, "Luxury residential area?"


    His finger glided across the map, eventually coming to rest above the Spectacular Courtyard.


    There, on the side of the Spectacular Courtyard close to Mountain Park, a circle was drawn in red.


    "Damn, this guy¡¯s got guts! Must¡¯ve found this place."


    He remembered that their Spirit Exploration Team had marked it as one of the most dangerous areas of strangeness in Shuntian City, also currently a forbidden zone for their investigations.


    Cheng Jingting had estimated that should any strangeness erupt in this place, it would be at least Grade B or higher.


    "This Night Traveling Puppy, even if he does go to the Spectacular Courtyard, he probably wouldn¡¯t dare to enter this forbidden zone; there might be another reason." As he spoke, Cheng Jingting slapped his forehead, as if he had thought of something, and said to himself, "Even if you¡¯re not going there, since you don¡¯t want to join us, then I might just spice things up for you." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With that, he turned to glance towards the bedside behind him.


    Enjoy new chapters from NovelFire.C?m


    There, a naked child with purplish-blue skin stood silently, blue liquid dripping drop by drop from the corners of his lips and nostrils.

 Chapter 157 - 155: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 1)

    Of course, where Night Traveling Puppy actually went to film videos was just a guess by Cheng Jingting, and he wasn¡¯t completely sure.


    But this guess was already worth a try.


    After some thought, Cheng Jingting walked over to a row of clay pots in the corner, opened one of them, and reached inside, stirring something around as if mixing it.


    Then he scooped out a large blob of pitch-black liquid that was extremely viscous, resembling the mucus sprayed out by some giant monster, and dropped it on the floor with a splat.


    The child who had been standing behind him began to tremble slightly at the sight of the black, viscous liquid, as if some desire inside him was surging, with more green liquid seeping from his eyes, nose, and corners of his mouth.


    Cheng Jingting ignored the boy¡¯s changes and squat down, extending his index finger to stir the viscous liquid, seemingly trying to make it more even.


    Then, he started writing in it with deliberate strokes.


    In no time, the three characters for "Yan Junze" were messily inscribed in the thick liquid.


    Cheng Jingting looked at his handiwork, seemingly pleased, stood up, and while admiring the three characters without looking up, he spoke to the boy standing by the bed, "Little Su Jie, it¡¯s your turn to go on stage. Remember to bring back all those chaotic video cameras and other equipment."


    The boy named Little Su Jie silently walked towards the black sludge, his shivers growing more violent. Approaching it, he suddenly pounced to the floor and started greedily sucking it in mouthful after mouthful.


    Soon, he had licked all the viscous liquid clean, and the three characters for Yan Junze were all consumed into his belly.


    Cheng Jingting watched in silence as Little Su Jie stood up, then leaped soundlessly to the wall next to the window, clinging to it like a large spider, and quickly crawled out through the open window.


    Thud thud thud... S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound of knocking suddenly arose at that moment.


    Cheng Jingting was slightly startled, walked to the door, peered through the peephole, then frowned and opened the door.


    Outside stood a haggard woman in a earthy yellow dress, around her early thirties, with a rather dull and lifeless gaze.


    After Cheng Jingting opened the door, she spoke mechanically, "My child, my child is missing. Have you... have you seen my child?"


    "Er, sorry, I haven¡¯t seen him," Cheng Jingting was about to close the door but then thought better of it and opened it a crack again, saying, "This is the 37th time you¡¯ve asked me, and I don¡¯t want there to be a next time. Otherwise, I will report you for neighbor harassment. Thank you."


    With an indifferent face, as if she had lost her spirit, the woman turned silently away. However, instead of leaving, she went to the door across from Cheng Jingting¡¯s room and knocked on that family¡¯s door.


    Cheng Jingting closed the door, muttering, "It¡¯s only a child, can¡¯t she just have another one at her young age? She¡¯s a crazy woman indeed."


    ...


    Even though there was no moonlight, Yan Junze still carried an umbrella when he left the house.


    The objective of this mission was simple, to locate the underground space in Mountain Park, and, without touching the creator of Tricky Silk, the main mission¡¯s Boss, clear out the Tricky Silk that connected the four families and complete the side quest.


    For now, he didn¡¯t plan on completing the Tricky Silk, the high-level horror task.


    That would have to wait for later, and, at the very least, it wouldn¡¯t happen until Exorcists of four or five stars hadn¡¯t already discovered and dealt with the culprit behind the Tricky Silk.


    Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be his turn.


    After registering at the Spectacular Courtyard¡¯s security duty room for a visit, naturally to Bao Yunjing¡¯s family, Yan Junze ran over to Bao Yunjing¡¯s place to inform them that he would solve their problem that night.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, he left the house and headed towards Mountain Park No. 2.


    There were still people moving about at night in the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area, but far fewer in number. Yan Junze had changed into a black tracksuit that day to avoid being spotted as he roamed around Mountain Park.


    He arrived at the closed iron gate at the back of the park with practiced ease, following the locations he had previously scouted.


    At this time, the open ground in front of the gate was deserted; the old men and women who had been spinning tops there had long dispersed, but the marks left by the spinning tops on the ground were still very clear.


    Standing before the gate, Yan Junze activated the Rewind and kept it cycling, then he took the camera out of his backpack, placed it on his chest, and set the video camera on a flat stone facing the gate.


    Next, he took out a pair of portable bolt cutters and slowly approached the gate.


    As he neared the gate without yet attempting to snip the iron lock, a mission information suddenly popped up in his mind.


    [Tricky Silk]


    The content of the mission information was exactly the same as what he had detected on his own last time. It seemed that this place was indeed the Underground Space mentioned in the mission.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze hesitated slightly; if he opened the gate, would he simultaneously trigger the main mission?


    But on second thought, since the mission prompt included these four sub-missions, it indicated that the sub-missions could be completed separately, as long as he was careful.


    If it was too dangerous, he could just Rewind to the present and think of another strategy.


    Lifting the bolt cutters, he clamped onto the iron lock, and with a snap, the lock was easily cut through.


    Yan Junze placed the bolt cutters on the ground behind him, gently removed the broken iron lock, handled it with care, and then pulled on the right side of the gate, slowly opening it outward.


    To his surprise, the iron gate made no sound as it opened, very quiet.


    After the iron gate was opened, a pitch-black space was revealed, where nothing could be seen.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t faze the clever Yan Junze, who exuded a strong air of youthful bravado. He took out two flashlights, turned them both on, fixed one to his waist, and held the other in his left hand.


    Then, he released the club with his right hand.


    He didn¡¯t plan to release Long-tongued Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster again; there was no way around it. After facing the instigator behind the Tricky Silk, aside from exposing the fact that their levels were too low and they were more bother than help, they were almost of no use.


    For now, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to waste Rewind Energy on this, as the mission prompt was clear: before provoking "it," he had to ensure he had enough Rewind Energy.


    In the dark space near the gate, a large amount of messy tables and chairs were placed. Most of these tables and chairs were already damaged, along with discarded wooden boxes, some construction waste left from building Mountain Park, rusty pipes, and discarded decoration parts, among other things.


    From the outside, it was impossible to tell what was there, but Yan Junze felt intuitively that this underground space was larger or deeper than what met the eye.


    Thick layers of dust covered the numerous items, which were webbed over with cobwebs.


    Yan Junze proceeded to put on the prepared mask, sidestepped the stacked tables and chairs, stepped onto the discarded construction debris, and walked in.


    The light from the flashlights in his hand and on his waist, after going in about four or five steps from the direction of the gate, could no longer be seen from the outside.


    It was as if he was instantly swallowed by darkness.


    At the same moment, a small, withered body that crawled like a spider approached the open gateway of this underground space.


    But as it was about to near the iron gate, this purplish-green body suddenly shivered and retreated frantically more than ten steps, hiding fearfully behind a large flat boulder.


    Your journey continues at NovelFire.C?m


    Quietly, it did not move again.


    Atop this large flat boulder was a running portable video camera with its lens pointed straight at the gate.

 Chapter 158 - 156: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 2) (Thanks to Alliance Leader Lingjie, today 1/3)

    Yan Junze walked very slowly.


    The disarray of the objects around here virtually blocked the way in, forcing him to either squeeze by sideways or to climb to the top before figuring out a way down.


    It took nearly twenty minutes to get over this "mountain." His breath was somewhat unsteady.


    Yan Junze stopped to rest for a while, then shone his flashlight ahead.


    But with just one look, he was shockingly stunned.


    There was no way forward. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The underground space in Mountain Park was only this big!


    Behind this side of the storage was a solid wall covered with copious moss and parts of the wall soaked through with water.


    There was no other space.


    Yan Junze believed that beyond this wall lay the unexcavated mountain.


    "What¡¯s going on?"


    Unwilling to give up, he took out both flashlights and began searching every corner.


    Soon, he noticed something unusual beneath a pile of stacked wooden boxes, but to get a closer look, he had to move these boxes first.


    The boxes were stacked quite high, about one Junze-head taller than Junze himself.


    He found a somewhat sturdy chair to stand on, inspected the contents of the boxes, and jumped with surprise¡ªdamn it, a box full of rusty screws.


    No choice, even if it was heavy, he had to lift it down to move it.


    But it would have taken an indefinite amount of time to do it alone; he didn¡¯t believe he could lift a wooden box full of screws by his arm strength alone.


    After some thought, Yan Junze released the Crawler Monster.


    Upon coming out, the creature maintained its usual dumbfounded expression, its parting hair more obvious since it seemed to have grown even more hair, and its face had become much rounder and its skin not as saggy.


    Pointing at the stacked boxes, Yan Junze said, "Move all these boxes aside as quickly as possible."


    The Crawler Monster looked up at the boxes, swaying its parted hair as it raised its head, and Yan Junze watched this scene, clenching his teeth silently, suppressing the urge to beat the crap out of it.


    Then the creature¡¯s bifurcated tongue shot out, wrapped around the topmost box of screws with ease, and moved it to the ground.


    Yan Junze had long suspected that both of his Lockdown strangenesses had a special skill¡ªTongue Skill.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen was like this, and so was the Crawler Monster.


    Of course, their attack focuses were different. The Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue was nimble, favoring soft types of attacks like wrapping, rolling, tossing, etc.


    On the other hand, Long-tongued Zhenzhen was straightforward. Her tongue attacks focused on striking and piercing attacks, lacking flexibility, but her destructive power was immense.


    If Yan Junze were to release Long-tongued Zhenzhen now, it wouldn¡¯t be just about moving boxes; she would smash them to bits with her long tongue, scattering screws everywhere, solving the problem with brute force.


    Within moments, the Crawler Monster had moved all five wooden boxes aside with its forked tongue, showing stunning efficiency and without asking for any compensation¡ªtruly intern material.


    Yan Junze felt quite gratified.


    However, there was one thing hard to accept; every time the creature moved a box with its tongue, it would unconsciously toss its parted hair, which almost made Yan Junze lose the urge to wield his own club.


    After moving the last wooden box, the Crawler Monster immediately looked towards Yan Junze, seemingly fishing for praise.


    But the next second, its gaze shifted, focusing on a black hole near the corner where the box had been moved away from.


    The hole was roughly the size of a car tire, and even though it was obscured by the wooden box, one could still make out its general shape. It was the oddity behind the box that Yan Junze had noticed just now.


    As the Crawler Monster looked at this hole, it immediately displayed a look of horror on its face and quickly turned around, frantically crawling towards Yan Junze as if it was fleeing from something.


    Of course, Yan Junze had no idea that the Crawler Monster was just slow to react, and it wasn¡¯t until the entire hole became visible that it sensed danger.


    Meanwhile, the creature waiting outside the Underground Space¡¯s gate had sensed it the moment it approached the gate. From this point of view, its sensitivity outclassed the Crawling Corpse by miles.


    Your next chapter is on


    But it was already too late.


    When the Crawling Corpse was about three meters away from Yan Junze, it suddenly jerked as if something had grabbed it from behind, then its mouth opened in a silent scream before it was whooshed into the hole.


    Following that, there were thumping noises emanating from the hole, cascading downwards into an unknown depth, then silence ensued.


    Yan Junze watched the scene in complete bewilderment, as things had happened too suddenly and too swiftly for him to react.


    Moreover, he had clearly noticed that just before the Crawler Monster was dragged into the hole, there was nothing behind it, as if a sucking force had suddenly appeared and pulled it inside.


    At that second, Yan Junze had no doubts that this creature¡¯s fate after entering the hole was more likely to be grim than fortunate.


    No, after a brief moment of thought, he couldn¡¯t let this creature with its love for a side parting simply perish here.


    Yan Junze activated Rewind.


    The rewind time was set to the moment just before the second-to-last wooden box was moved by the Crawling Corpse.


    "That¡¯s it."


    As the Crawling Corpse was about to use its forked tongue to move the last wooden box, Yan Junze immediately spoke up to stop it.


    "Didn¡¯t you have any premonition of something terrifying?" Yan Junze asked curiously, staring at it.


    The Crawler Monster still looked confused, turning its head to look around before shaking its head.


    "Forget it, being slow-witted must be your motto, and a side parting your unique signature. Come inside first," Yan Junze said, resignedly incorporating the Crawling Corpse into the Atlas in advance.


    The final box was no longer an obstacle for him.


    That wooden box, still filled with a heavy load of nails, screws, and such, was too heavy to lift and had to be dragged along.


    After some effort, Yan Junze dragged the box aside, revealing the entire hole in the corner of the wall.


    Considering the earlier encounter of the Crawler Monster, he didn¡¯t approach immediately but stood at a distance, carefully feeling the environment, and discovered it seemed there was no anomaly.


    Perhaps this hole only posed a danger to the strangenesses. After waiting a moment to be sure of safety, Yan Junze slowly approached the hole, lay down, and shone a flashlight inside.


    The inside appeared to be very deep, and there was a slight incline, as it seemed to curve after less than five meters, obscuring the end from view.


    Hesitating for less than five seconds, Yan Junze set his backpack down, equipped himself with a flashlight, lighter, and a crowbar, and crawled into the hole.


    The diameter of the hole was roughly that of a car tire, spacious enough for Yan Junze to crawl through, although a backpack would have been cumbersome to bring along.


    The surroundings remained damp, and Yan Junze¡¯s clothing was soon soaked by moisture, but he didn¡¯t linger, quickening his pace as he crawled through the tunnel, turning several bends with no end in sight under the flashlight¡¯s beam.


    After crawling further, the space seemed to narrow slightly, instilling an indescribable sense of oppression.


    At that moment, Yan Junze abruptly stopped, raised his head, and shone his flashlight ahead.


    There, lying in front of the tunnel, was someone faced towards him but with their head bowed down, utterly motionless.

 Chapter 159 - 157: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 3) (2/3)

    Yan Junze strained his eyes wide, bringing his flashlight closer to ensure he could fully make out whether the figure lying ahead was indeed a person and not a hallucination created by his crawling in the pitch-black tunnel.


    In the beam of the flashlight, he saw very clearly, there was indeed a man in front.


    The man seemed frail, his clothes somewhat tattered, facing Yan Junze as he lay motionless.


    Moving the flashlight around the tunnel, Yan Junze noticed there was a passageway branching off between him and the eerie man, its destination unknown.


    Behind the man appeared to be a small Deadwater Pool with no way out, and a faint stench wafted through the air.


    Looking at the situation, it seemed impossible that the man was still alive.


    In the deathly silent tunnel, the confined space housed what seemed to be a decaying corpse before him, rising a ominous premonition in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    He stayed put for about a minute, waiting silently. Once he felt there was nothing amiss, he began crawling forward again, planning to turn into the branching passageway.


    This time, he didn¡¯t dare to move quickly for that would create too much noise, and the stillness of the nearby corpse wasn¡¯t entirely figured out yet, so caution was prudent.


    As Yan Junze crawled forward a few steps, there suddenly came a noise from ahead.


    "Ah... ah... ah..."


    A strange, faintly quivering sound emerged from a throat.


    Yan Junze quickly pointed his flashlight ahead, only to see the formerly motionless corpse beginning to stir.


    The body slowly propped itself up on its elbows, its entire frame twisting eerily. Without lifting its head, it began to inch forward, nearer and nearer.


    "Damn!"


    Yan Junze glanced at the fork in the road, he was a bit closer to it, and there was a good chance he could be the first to crawl into it.


    At that point, he couldn¡¯t care less about being silent. He moved as quickly as he could on hands and knees towards the forking path.


    Throughout its crawling, the corpse never lifted its head, making a hair-raising "ah... ah..." sound that echoed through the expansive tunnel, causing Yan Junze to shudder with dread.


    The creature had just begun to move and it was clear that Yan Junze was faster by a fraction, gaining the upper hand.


    The corpse¡¯s initial movements appeared slow, but its body contorted violently, gradually gaining momentum as it picked up speed.


    Yan Junze felt a sense of dread as his pupils contracted slightly.


    Then, he saw the thing¡¯s legs spread its knees apart, pressing against the tunnel walls to both sides. In no time, its whole body began to rise into the air.


    Once airborne, it was like a spider scuttling along, the body¡¯s speed sharply increasing.


    Yan Junze was startled and didn¡¯t mind his hands and feet getting scraped painfully, he hurried toward the fork, tumbling and scraping off a patch of skin on his arm, leaving bruises in other places.


    He burst into the branching passage first, continuing to crawl hastily forward without slowing down.


    The body reached the fork just two or three seconds later, emitting unpleasant throat sounds, ah... ah, as it pursued Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze¡¯s anxiety spiked as he scrambled onward desperately. In his panic, his body involuntarily lifted, and his head banged hard against the rocky ceiling multiple times, seeing stars, yet he still couldn¡¯t escape the shocking speed of the corpse behind him.


    For a second, he was even ready to engage the Rewind.


    But even if he used Rewind, he would still have to pass through here. According to Yan Junze¡¯s guess, the body lying in front of Deadwater Pool was destined to come back to life and obstruct his way.


    Soon, the passage ahead began to slope downward. Once it descended, Yan Junze¡¯s speed finally picked up; using all fours, by the end, he was nearly sliding forward in his rush.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, the light suddenly fell into the darkness not too far away.


    This meant that the exit was just ahead; though still shrouded in darkness, it marked the end of the tunnel. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze immediately braced himself to hit the ground, but at that moment, the "ah... ah" sound was right upon him. Something had grabbed his ankle.


    A wet sensation emanated from his skin¡ªthe grip of a palm that had been soaking in the Deadwater Pool, complete with the grotesque illusion of peeling flesh still clinging to his own.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t bother with caution anymore; in critical moments, who has time for that? He freed his other foot and kicked back fiercely, unsure of what he struck.


    Yet his foot was seized even more tightly. In desperation, Yan Junze kicked violently again.


    By now, he was sliding toward the edge of the tunnel, nearly half of his body dangling out, but his ankle was still held in a vice-like grip.


    Having no choice, Yan Junze reached for the crowbar fastened at his waist. The crowbar, forged from solid iron with a curved hooked end, was razor-sharp. Flipping it in reverse, he thrust the hooked end savagely into an unknown part of the corpse behind him.


    The force was so fierce that upon impact, he felt the grip on his foot loosen, and at last, he was free.


    He hurriedly lunged forward, tumbling out of the tunnel and onto the flat ground.


    Fortunately, the tunnel exit was just a little over a meter above the ground, so his fall resulted only in a dusty face, without any injuries.


    Upon landing, Yan Junze, not yet having time to stand up, immediately crouched at the bottom of the tunnel entrance, pressing himself against the rock wall while also turning off both flashlights in his hand.


    The entire space was plunged into darkness, rendering him blind.


    From above, the sound of skittering movement came, accompanied by the scraping of metal against rock.


    One could imagine that the iron crowbar must have gotten hooked onto some part of the corpse, sinking in deep and getting stuck.


    As the body moved, the crowbar naturally scraped against the rock wall, producing a clear friction sound.


    Yan Junze carefully recalled, feeling that the crowbar must have been thrust into the corpse¡¯s neck or even its head, but he dared not confirm it.


    Though he was gasping for air, Yan Junze still tried not to breathe heavily, squatting there, sticking close to the rock wall beneath the tunnel entrance. From the darkness above, something seemed to poke out its head, with small clumps of soil falling onto his hair.


    It was as if the air itself had frozen. Yan Junze held his breath to the best of his ability, focusing his attention entirely overhead.


    Drip.


    A drop of foul water from the Deadwater Pool fell, landing on Yan Junze¡¯s right cheek.


    Drip, another drop followed, hitting the same spot on his cheek.


    The stinking water trickled slowly down his face and into his neck.


    Yan Junze endured it, resisting the urge to wipe it away.


    About ten seconds later, the thing above didn¡¯t come out of the tunnel but slowly withdrew its head, followed once more by the sound of the crowbar scraping against the rock wall, gradually fading into the distance of the tunnel.


    Yan Junze began to breathe lightly, yet he still did not move.


    With his back pressed against one side of the rock wall, he waited about two more minutes in this darkness-enshrouded space, until the sound of the crowbar¡¯s friction could no longer be heard. He then stirred, his senses consolidating and focusing on the pitch-black space before him.


    His back did not leave the wall; he still crouched against it, not daring to move carelessly.


    Because from the moment he burst out of the tunnel to the immediate shutdown of his flashlights and subsequent concealment, there had been no time to take a good look around. But the space seemed larger, though the air was incredibly stale and turbid.


    Yan Junze believed that he could last at most half an hour in this place; if he stayed too long, he feared he might pass out. And now, he was already feeling dizzy and headed.


    After some thought, he decided to switch on his flashlight; otherwise, sitting here in complete darkness would be pointless.


    The moment the two flashlights turned on, the scene before Yan Junze made his head buzz, he froze on the spot, and a torrent of uncontrollable terror swept through his body.

 Chapter 160 - 158: Tricky Silk Sub-Quest (Part 4) (3/3)

    Unexpectedly, the dark space in front of me was very large, about the size of a lecture hall in a school.


    But the moment Yan Junze turned on the flashlight and shone it forward, he was completely scared by the scene before him.


    Within the range of the flashlight, densely packed figures stood.


    All of these people were facing away from him, each wearing old, even tattered clothes, both men and women, silently standing without making a sound, as if... they were all dead.


    The people standing here occupied at least one third of the entire Underground Space.


    Junze¡¯s flashlight swept around and found that apart from the side near the tunnel, where no one stood, the other three sides were filled with standing figures.


    So many dead bodies squeezed in here, yet they didn¡¯t emit any foul odor, suggesting they must have been dead for a long time and were mostly in a state of dried corpses.


    Junze didn¡¯t dare to move rashly. After observing the surroundings, he began to ponder his next move.


    His head was swelling with pain, and his breathing was murky. He had to find a way to eliminate the Ghost Silk connecting those four families as soon as possible.


    Otherwise, if he delayed any longer, he would collapse here himself.


    With this in mind, he slowly stood up and walked towards the closest standing corpse.


    The back of this corpse suggested it was a young person. Covered with dust and severely damaged, the original design of the clothes was indecipherable.


    Upon getting closer, Junze carefully leaned in from behind to see if there was anything unusual about the corpse standing here, or if there was anything acting as a support. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Otherwise, it was hard to imagine dozens of corpses standing neatly in this Underground Space.


    After scrutinizing the area and seemingly finding nothing, Junze turned to look at the corpse¡¯s front, and the eerie scene that met his eyes made him shiver.


    He saw that the young corpse¡¯s eye sockets were empty, just black holes, and its mouth was wide open. Not just that one¡ªlooking down the row, regardless of gender, all had the same appearance.


    The chill in his heart intensifying, Junze couldn¡¯t help but touch the goosebumps on his arm, where the skin had already been scraped and bruised in the tunnel¡ªpatches of blue and purple.


    Just then, his gaze fixed on the young corpse¡¯s mouth, as he directed the flashlight beam straight into it.


    He saw an extremely thin thread stretching out of the mouth, turning a corner at the corner of its lips, apparently extending towards the back.


    He looked at the back of the head, but there was nothing out of the ordinary to see.


    The thread seemed to vanish after extending towards the back.


    After some thought, Junze reached out and lightly touched the thread still outside the mouth, but possibly because it was too thin, there was almost no sensation to it¡ªit was like trying to feel a spider¡¯s web.


    If this was indeed Ghost Silk, how could he sever it? Just pull it out?


    He didn¡¯t have a clear idea where the source of the Ghost Silk connected to the four families was located.


    Trapped in the space filled with corpse after corpse, the bitterly cold breath was becoming more and more prominent. Moreover, Junze felt as if a layer of gauze had been wrapped around his nose and mouth, making it very difficult to breathe.


    Unable to find the reason here, perhaps moving further in might reveal some clues.


    As the thought emerged, Junze stopped paying attention to these corpses and instead started walking towards the deepest part of the Underground Space.


    About ten steps after he set out, arriving near the center, a female corpse closer to the rock wall tunnel, its mouth thread suddenly moved.


    The next second, after the thread was tugged, the female corpse slowly turned to face Junze¡¯s direction, mouth gaping open, and eye sockets dark and empty, as if staring at Junze¡¯s retreating back.


    All was silent. In that moment, Junze felt somewhat dizzy and did not notice anything unusual behind him.


    ```


    In the middle of this Underground Space, Yan Junze stood for a moment before advancing further in, where two rows of standing corpses were also facing away from the outside.


    After Yan Junze started moving, the woman corpse that had turned around began moving silently towards him.


    Yan Junze suddenly shivered, feeling the cold intensifying as he delved deeper into this place.


    Both flashlights were shining ahead; he did not notice the movement behind him, and from when the woman corpse turned until it started moving, there was no sound at all.


    Soon Yan Junze stopped and looked behind the last row of corpses.


    The woman corpse that was almost upon him also ceased moving at this moment, standing quietly with her mouth agape.


    The corpses in this row all looked the same, strings extending from their mouths, turning at the corners of their lips before vanishing from sight.


    This time, Yan Junze did not examine the corpses closely but instead looked down to see if there was anything unusual at the far end of the space.


    Upon looking, indeed, a discovery was made under the light of the flashlights.


    At the very end, in the corner behind the last row of corpses, there was another wall opening though much narrower.


    Of course, Yan Junze could still enter, but it would take much more effort compared to the tunnel he had just passed through, and the space inside might not match what he could see from the entrance.


    The current Underground Space was already fraught with danger, and the air was extremely poor; even if he could squeeze into this hole, he had no intention of proceeding.


    If the key to completing this side mission lay beyond, then Yan Junze would have to give up and not risk descending further. It was very possible that the entity from the main mission was inside.


    Glancing at the hole, Yan Junze suddenly made an odd expression, noticing something peculiar about its location, and immediately approached with his flashlight.


    After he moved, the woman corpse not far behind started moving again, still silent, with the distance between them steadily shrinking.


    Reaching the hole, Yan Junze crouched down, shone the flashlight at its edge, and observed an abundance of web-like silk, with numerous threads projecting outward. Similarly, these projecting threads vanished after a certain distance.


    Just like the threads coming from the corners of the corpses¡¯ mouths.


    Yan Junze became pensive.


    "Could it be," he mused, "that the threads became invisible after stretching out?"


    Turning his head to look at the nearest row of standing corpses, "If the threads from the corners of the corpses¡¯ mouths are connected to the threads at the entrance of this hole, then a part of them would be invisible to me."


    Just then, he felt an icy chill approach rapidly.


    Because he was looking sideways, he didn¡¯t turn his head, but the chilling presence drew ever closer. Instinctively, he felt as if a corpse was nearing him, very, very close.


    Looking from the direction of the hole covered in silk, Yan Junze was seen with his face to the side, and to his left rear, a woman corpse with her mouth open had her head drawn near.


    In this moment, both remained utterly still.


    "Is there something behind me?" Yan Junze held his position, without any other movement, taking a glimpse to his side and rear with the corner of his eye, sensing a silhouette crouching there.


    "What does this guy want to do?"


    At the same time, he noticed that the person approaching from the side and rear ceased their movements and seemed to be staring straight at him.


    If he didn¡¯t move, that person also remained motionless.


    Turning his gaze back to the hole below, he noticed the silk wrapped around the entrance suddenly started to darken, as if soaked by ink, with the blackness swiftly climbing up the threads.


    ```

 Chapter 171 - 169: Yan Junze’s Staple Food

    Couldn¡¯t stomach anything anymore.


    Having already vomited everything out, at the sight of the text message from Zhang Xiaomo, Yan Junze completely lost his appetite.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that after activating his Fake Spirit Body, he would have to eat very little human food and mainly seek out his own kind of sustenance.


    "How the hell am I supposed to know what I¡¯m supposed to eat?"


    Yan Junze lay back on the bed, his mother placed a wet towel on his forehead, and then took out a thermometer usually kept at home to take his temperature.


    Five minutes later, Li Man took the thermometer and showed it to Yan Daguo.


    Then Yan Daguo vigorously shook the thermometer a few times and said bluntly, "The mercury might be broken."


    "How much?" Yan Junze asked, lifting his head.


    "It hasn¡¯t even reached 35 degrees," Yan Daguo frowned and answered.


    This type of mercury thermometer generally has a minimum scale of 35 degrees. Now the mercury hadn¡¯t even reached the 35-degree mark and was far from the minimum, leading Yan Daguo to believe the thermometer was broken.


    "We can¡¯t wait; we¡¯re going to the hospital now," Li Man suggested.


    "It¡¯s nothing, Mom," Yan Junze shook his head, "I just haven¡¯t rested well these past couple of days. I¡¯ll sleep a bit more, and I¡¯ll recover by tomorrow."


    Just then, there was a knock on the living room door, followed by Zhou Dali¡¯s booming voice, "Junze, open up, I¡¯m here to see you."


    Yan Daguo went out to open the door.


    Seeing it was Yan Daguo, Zhou Dali immediately looked down and gave an embarrassed smile, "Uncle, is Junze in? I came to see him."


    As he spoke, he lifted the black plastic bag he was carrying.


    "He¡¯s feeling a bit unwell and is lying in bed. Go on in," Yan Daguo thought the bag contained nutritional supplements and nodded.


    Once inside the bedroom, Li Man also stepped out and closed the bedroom door.


    Zhou Dali sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the black plastic bag he had been carrying, taking out five bags of fresh blood.


    The bags of blood weren¡¯t large, each about the same size as the bagged milk bought for breakfast.


    "It¡¯s all chicken blood, from chickens killed just a while ago. I froze it in the fridge to prevent it from coagulating into blood clots, so it¡¯s still icy," explained Zhou Dali. "What are you planning to do with it?"


    "Put it under the bed for now," Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer his question, and instead said, "Tomorrow I need you to do something for me. Go to the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area from where you picked me up and collect a few payments. Here¡¯s the address."


    As he said this, he took out a piece of paper with an address already written on it from the drawer of his bedside table.


    "Remember to bring your ID. I¡¯ll call these people in advance and tell them you¡¯ll be coming over."


    "Sure, no problem." Even though Zhou Dali didn¡¯t know what Yan Junze was up to, he was clear-headed when it came to collecting money.


    They chatted about going to university next month. Seeing that Yan Junze wasn¡¯t in good shape, Zhou Dali didn¡¯t stay for long, said he¡¯d take care of the task the next day, and then got up to leave.


    Not long after Zhou Dali left, the parents came into the bedroom and urged him to go to the hospital.


    After some sweet-talking, Yan Junze finally convinced his parents to leave. Then he locked the bedroom door, took out the bags of fresh blood from under the bed, and randomly picked one.


    There were no straws, so he bit open the bag, frowned, and carefully tried sipping a mouthful before slowly swallowing.


    It was fishy, but not as bad as he had imagined.


    So for the second sip, he took a bit more, swallowed, and then paid close attention to any changes in his body.


    Feeling nothing, he ended up finishing off the bag in a few gulps, wiped his mouth clean with a couple of tissues, and then lay back on the bed.


    About half an hour later, the anticipated stomach pain or diarrhea didn¡¯t materialize; instead, the body aches began to fade away.


    Although the fatigue hadn¡¯t totally subsided, it had significantly improved. Not only that, but Yan Junze even felt somewhat full.


    After a long while, he let out a wry smile. It seemed he had found his main source of sustenance, but why wasn¡¯t it bread and milk? Why was it blood?


    Find your next adventure on


    Although the sense of fatigue had diminished, his body was still weak. After a moment, he took out the second bag from under the bed, bit it open, and gulped it down quickly, much faster than the first time.


    Then he took out the third bag, the fourth bag, and finally, the last one.


    In the blink of an eye, he had drunk all five bags of blood.


    His strength was rapidly returning, and the feeling of weakness was mostly gone, with only occasional sensations of lethargy.


    There were no mirrors in the bedroom.


    Yan Junze sat on the bed, took a selfie with his phone, and struck a victory pose, having turned off the beautification and filters in advance.


    He looked at the photo, the angle was quite good, and it showed potential for a selfie expert. His cheeks were still a bit pale, but much better than at the beginning.


    As a "Semi-spirit," it seemed that drinking animal blood was a lot more effective than drinking fish soup.


    Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yan Junze¡¯s mind went blank for a moment. He hadn¡¯t expected his body to end up like this, and there was still a process of acceptance he needed to go through.


    He wasn¡¯t saying he couldn¡¯t eat human food anymore, but he could only consume it in moderation, and his main food...


    He turned his head to look at the empty bags thrown into the trash bin and let out a wry smile. Even if he stole animal blood, he needed to figure out how to dispose of the trash properly, or it could raise suspicion from his parents and friends.


    He had recovered a lot of energy. Though not fully recharged, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to sleep anymore.


    He booted up his computer and copied all the videos from the camcorder and the camera on his chest, watching them carefully.


    In the footage, the part where he¡¯s carried aloft by Long-tongued Zhenzhen after entering the tunnel had to be deleted, and so did the interaction with the Crawler Monster.


    The scene outside the warehouse in Mountain Park, where he was ambushed by a child and then fought back, was also deleted.


    After these cuts, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but both laugh and cry.


    The entire video no longer seemed complete, just bits and pieces, as if there was no storyline. It required voice-over or text explanations in order to roughly describe the entire Spirit Exploration process.


    But the good news was that the cave had given off a strong sense of mystery, which should do well in terms of horror atmosphere.


    After editing, he contacted Tang Zhengyi and sent over the video.


    Only then did he start to feel a bit hungry again. Without blood, he could still eat human food, at least enough to stave off hunger in critical moments.


    He took the trash can with the discarded blood bags, carried the plastic bag out of the bedroom, opened the door, and threw it into the waste disposal nearby.


    He returned home and managed to find some leftovers from dinner in the kitchen.


    He didn¡¯t dare to eat much, just a little, then went back to his room to lie down. At this point, he felt as though his days were numbered, for he had already lost a lot of blood and definitely hadn¡¯t drunk enough animal blood yet.


    But under the current circumstances, he could only think of visiting a blood center. He certainly couldn¡¯t go around randomly biting people on the streets, right?


    Yan Junze felt troubled, took out his cellphone, and took a selfie showing a five-toothed smile, looking at the photo.


    At least he hadn¡¯t grown zombie teeth.


    He didn¡¯t know how long he pondered, but eventually, he fell asleep. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Early the next day, Yan Junze called the four families from the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area. Actually, they already knew the situation had been handled without needing his notice.


    Around ten o¡¯clock, Zhou Dali notified Yan Junze that he had received all the money and had confirmed it, but he couldn¡¯t leave at the moment because the police and a team of Exorcists had sealed off the entrances and exits of Spectacular Courtyard.


    Especially on the Mountain Park side, where police lines had been put up.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze had a thought: if the Tricky Silk Boss of the Underground Space were discovered by the Exorcists, he wondered what the outcome would be.

 Chapter 197 - 195: Cheng Jingting’s Perfect Plan

    Tianmeng District, a dormitory building of Tianmeng Science University.


    Yan Junze took the opportunity when there was no one in the dorm to call Zhang Xiaomo. Before the call connected, his ears suddenly turned red.


    "Could it be that Zhang Xiaomo is starting to miss me even before the call goes through? Have Three-Star Exorcists really become this powerful?" he mumbled to himself.


    Soon after he had that thought, the call connected, and the familiar voice of Zhang Xiaomo came through: "Hello."


    "Were you just thinking of me?" Yan Junze blurted out.


    Zhang Xiaomo paused for a moment before replying, "Crazy! It hasn¡¯t been that long since we last saw each other. Why so narcissistic all of a sudden?"


    Yan Junze¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment, and he coughed before asking, "I just wanted to ask if you are in Tianmeng right now, or if you¡¯re out on a business trip."


    "I¡¯m in Tianmeng. There¡¯s a big case here that I¡¯m working on, so I can¡¯t travel for the time being. What¡¯s up?" Zhang Xiaomo seemed to be speaking with someone else beside her. After saying this, she continued chatting with the other person.


    "Nothing much, just wanted to ask you about the Fake Spirit Body."


    "The Fake Spirit Body? What are you planning to do?" Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    "I got a bit curious after hearing you mention it last time," Yan Junze said with a laugh.


    "You, you?!" Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t answer, but her tone seemed to be one of suspicion, "I can squeeze an hour out for you. Meet me at the ¡¯Time Boat Caf¨¦¡¯ on Minhe Road in half an hour."


    "Sister, our college is in the suburbs, half an hour? Let¡¯s see if I can even get into the district," Yan Junze said, but he only heard a busy tone as the call ended.


    As he put down the phone, he knew Zhang Xiaomo had guessed the truth.


    An Exorcist undoubtedly has broader connections than he did, and ever since Yan Junze stayed with Zhang Xiaomo for a while, they had built mutual trust and each found the other quite agreeable.


    The fact that Zhang Xiaomo had phoned him last time to inform him that the Resentful Granny had not been eliminated was enough to prove that she truly cared for him.


    Enjoy new adventures from NovelFire.C?m


    Someone who cared about him could not possibly harm him, and there were no conflicts of interest between them.


    Actually, Yan Junze thought that Zhang Xiaomo might have been suspicious when he inquired about the "Fake Spirit Body" over the phone last time. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have followed up with a text to remind him.


    Well, now that she knew, so be it. After all, there would be many opportunities to deal with Exorcists in the future, and it was better to establish friendly relations rather than harbor mutual suspicion or even hostility.


    Being a Semi-spirit and drinking blood was not a proper solution after all, and he needed to find out if there were other alternatives.


    Previously, due to the incident of missing blood bags at night, Dr. Ning Shanshan from the clinic had even made a special trip to apologize to Yan Junze.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the clinic that was involved. The two restaurants by the street also witnessed eerie scenes, but the investigation came to a halt as soon as the police arrived on the scene.


    After all, it was just some animal blood that was lost. Once the issue was reported to the Exorcists and queued up for investigation, someone would look into it.


    As for whether the truth could be uncovered, that was another matter altogether.


    After ending the call, Yan Junze immediately left the campus. He was lucky to catch a bus that had just pulled up to the curb and climbed aboard.


    It was impossible to hail a taxi here; there were none available and, due to the suddenness of the situation, there was no time to use "Papa Cab," so his only option was to sit on the bus and sway into the district.


    Last time, Yan Junze had speculated that the Different Dimension Energy of the Spacetime Atlas could nourish the locked-up strangenesses.


    If strangenesses could be nourished and grow, could his own "Fake Spirit Body" do the same?


    If he could absorb the Different Dimension Energy into his body to replace the need for blood, then he wouldn¡¯t need to search for blood bags anymore. Instead, he could replenish his energy through the Spacetime Atlas.


    Furthermore, now that Fang Ning was lurking in his shadow, if he could use the Fake Spirit Body to kill or exorcise her, that would be ideal. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, these were just Yan Junze¡¯s thoughts. At present, he had no way of doing any of these things.


    At the same time.


    Cheng Jingting was staring at the computer screen, recognizing that the video with "Night Traveling Puppy" had finished playing. However, at the end of the video, whether it was the intent of the video¡¯s creator or the act of the publisher, a line of text appeared.


    It was a teaser of sorts, suggesting the audience look forward to the next Spirit Exploration: The Peephole Strange Creature in the laboratory building.


    Seeing this, Cheng Jingting couldn¡¯t help but laugh. His eyes shifted subtly as he turned around and approached a row of clay pots, inspecting them before abruptly picking one up.


    The jar contained a large amount of black goo and the creature that had been following him, the woman in the white nightgown from last time. However, now the creature had been mostly refined.


    As he opened the lid of the jar, Cheng Jingting reached in, piercing through the goo and grasped the woman, yanking her out forcefully.


    The creature in his hand had become tiny, roughly the size of a cat, and the once fierce woman in the nightgown now had her clothes and hair all clumped together by the goo, even her limbs tightly coiled up, rendering her immobile.


    Cheng Jingting took her behind the shower curtain in the bathroom. Without turning on the lights, as if familiar with the position where the grey-skirted corpse stood, he passed the nightgown woman over.


    "Eat her up," he instructed.


    The creature in his hands didn¡¯t move, and the grey-skirted corpse didn¡¯t extend a hand to take it.


    About ten seconds later, Cheng Jingting chuckled and spoke again, "If you don¡¯t eat her, I¡¯ll make you suffer through your memories from before you died again."


    Upon saying that, he kicked out with his right foot, landing it squarely on the corpse¡¯s belly.


    Splat!


    A large glob of the black goo erupted from its mouth, splattering on the floor of the bathroom.


    Cheng Jingting then extended the nightgown woman again, "Perhaps you¡¯re hungry now, should be able to eat this time."


    The corpse leaned in with its decaying face.


    With a sly grin, Cheng Jingting let go of his hold.


    "Well then, let¡¯s go," he said, clapping his hands. "After eating her and with the black concoction I formulated in the clay jar, you can smoothly transform into a Corpse Spirit. But first, you need to acknowledge your master."


    With that, he bit into his right index finger, and the fresh blood that seeped out quickly dripped into the mouth of the corpse.


    Turning to leave the bathroom, Cheng Jingting muttered to himself, "Now let¡¯s play a big game, shall we? You like filming, don¡¯t you? Filming from the perspective of a strangeness, wouldn¡¯t that attract more viewers?"

 Chapter 341: 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_3

    Chapter 341: Chapter 283: Astonishing Discovery (4500 Words)_3


    Gently shifting it aside and placing it nearby, Yan Junze moved to another direction, grabbed the other two fixed bedposts, and lifted forcefully. This time, too, the noise was not loud as the bedposts came apart.


    He moved the wheeled bed aside.


    The underground cellar had been quietly constructed by Yan Long alone, so the floor was not smooth, and it was all clumps of soil, yet these clumps had been firmly trodden.


    Yan Junze pressed on the soil and found that although it was equally tight, it was somewhat looser than the soil on the outside.


    He touched a slightly protruding area and forcefully broke it off, flipping over a chunk of soil as big as the palm of his hand. The soil was hard, but the part underneath was much softer.


    Seeing potential, Yan Junze simply knelt on the ground and started breaking off chunks of soil with his hands.


    These clumps seemed to form a continuous layer, but once one was broken off, it became easy to dislodge the others.


    Before long, he had flipped almost all of the remaining soil, and then his body shook, his fingers as if touching something soft, akin to skin.


    He quickly grabbed his cellphone flashlight and shone it down to find two fingers.


    The lower ends of the fingers were still buried in the soil.


    Yan Junze stood up and summoned the Crawler Monster, which lay on the ground after appearing, looking up at Yan Junze pleasingly, and then turned its gaze to the two fingers exposed on the ground.


    The fingers were delicate and the skin was snowy white; although smeared with some soil, it was clear they should belong to a woman.


    ¡°Brother, dig out what¡¯s underneath. Be careful not to damage it,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    The Crawling Corpse flicked its already long side part and began to dig rapidly with its hands, occasionally using its tongue to help loosen the surrounding soil. In about five minutes, it had dug up the entire corpse buried below to the surface.


    Since the temperature in the cellar was very low, and a somewhat pungent medicinal smell wafted out as the body was exposed, Yan Junze took a closer look and found that the corpse was completely intact, the skin soft, as if it were a living person.


    This was the naked body of a woman. Even lying on the ground, her slender figure was apparent, her body devoid of any excess fat, as naturally perfect as jade.


    Then Yan Junze shone the light of his cellphone flashlight on the woman¡¯s face, and the next second, he was stunned. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It could be said that, whether in his past life or this one, he swore he had never seen such a stunningly gorgeous face. The features were exquisitely crafted without a single flaw.


    Looking at the proportions of the female corpse¡¯s body, everything seemed just right, not a bit too much or too little, as if every inch of skin, every bone, had been meticulously calculated.


    If not for the medicinal scent emitting from the body every so often, Yan Junze would have almost thought the woman was alive.


    He stared blankly at the female corpse, not knowing how long he gazed.


    Swish.


    A forked tongue appeared and swept viciously across the woman¡¯s face, snapping Yan Junze out of his trance.


    Turning his head, he saw the Crawler Monster smacking its lips, enraptured. It was clearly an uncontrollable act, that tongue lick.


    Its mouth opened, and the forked tongue was about to lick the female corpse¡¯s cheek again.


    Yan Junze quickly used his mind and retracted the creature back into the Atlas.


    Turning back to the female corpse, his Adam¡¯s apple moved involuntarily. Even the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t resist wanting to lick the stunning beauty of this woman¡¯s face, which reminded Yan Junze to be careful.


    After regaining his composure, he bent down and leaned in close to inspect the corpse and noticed that it might not be complete. The skin bore fine scars and lines, twisted and irregular, like the clumps of soil on the ground, as if it was pieced together.


    Just then, the door of the room above creaked, as if something had come in.


    Yan Junze was startled and quickly retreated to a corner of the cellar, turning off the flashlight on his phone.


    Barely audible footsteps began to move, reaching Yan Long¡¯s room on the floor above, and after a short while, patter patter, the person began to slowly descend the cellar steps.

 Chapter 342: 284 Possession (4400 words)

    Chapter 342: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)


    The person¡¯s footsteps were light and slow; if Yan Junze had been fully focused on the female corpse, he might have easily overlooked the sound.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the screech of the door opening above, it¡¯s likely that the other person could have descended to the basement and walked up behind Yan Junze without him noticing.


    Fortunately, the sound of the door alerted him. Yan Junze, huddled in a corner of the basement, had turned off his phone¡¯s flashlight, and was now engulfed in darkness, unable to even see the steps at the entrance of the basement.


    A faint light filtered from the room above, so he could only vaguely make out the approximate location above the entrance.


    Just then, a dark figure blocked the last bit of light seeping in and slowly descended the stairs.


    The person moved very slowly, as if carrying a thousand pounds, with footsteps that sounded like they were dragging along the ground.


    Then the light reappeared above the entrance, indicating the dark figure had moved away from the entrance and reached the bottom of the steps.


    The footsteps remained unhurried, methodically descending without pause, heading towards the center of the basement.


    The darkness was intense; Yan Junze squatted in the corner, straining his eyes, but still unable to discern who had entered the basement. If not for the barely audible footsteps, he would not be certain there was anyone else present.


    To his perception, the person kept moving towards the center of the basement, dragging their feet as if they were drunk.


    At the moment, the nearly perfect female corpse lay in the middle; if the individual took a few more steps forward, they might end up stepping directly on it.


    Just as Yan Junze was getting concerned, the footsteps suddenly stopped.


    Instant silence filled the basement; not only did Yan Junze¡¯s eyes widen, but his ears perked up too, listening intently.


    But after a while, he heard nothing, not even the sound of breathing from across the space.


    ¡°Could that person have seen me?¡± Yan Junze grew anxious, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be wearing night-vison goggles, would they?¡±


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt as if a pair of eyes were indeed watching him.


    ¡°Could it be Shi Tai, the four-star Exorcist, has come back?¡±


    During the day, that guy had rushed through his check of the place and left to catch a flight; what if he had realized something was amiss and made a roundabout return? Or could it be that he lied about catching a flight and intended to sneak in at night, with the beautiful female corpse as his target?


    After a moment, the figure still stood motionless.


    Growing impatient, Yan Junze thought of his Rewind ability and, without hesitation, clicked on his phone, turning on its flashlight to shine in the direction of the other person.


    As the light hit the standing figure, Yan Junze¡¯s body shuddered violently, almost letting out a cry.


    Under the flashlight¡¯s beam, a man¡¯s slender figure stood, lacking a head, or rather, having a head that was almost completely severed, resting on the left side of the shoulder, seemingly about to fall off at any moment.


    Besides this, the man had a ghastly wound at his abdomen, from which blood had poured and now dried, cementing the clothes and skin together.


    In the instant he saw the head, Yan Junze recognized him.


    ¡°Yan Long!!!¡±


    The person in front of him was indeed Yan Long, or rather, he shouldn¡¯t be called a person anymore but a strangeness that Yan Long had become after death. Otherwise, Yan Long¡¯s body would have been cremated by the Tianmeng Exorcist Team, leaving no possibility for him to move around like this.


    At this moment, still astonished, Yan Junze saw under the flashlight that Yan Long¡¯s strangeness seemed to react. He took two heavy steps forward, coming to stand beside the feet of the female corpse.


    During this process, the head perched on his shoulder wobbled, as if it might carelessly fall at any minute.


    This scene, in the silence of the basement, added a grotesque and terrifying magnitude.


    Yet what surprised Yan Junze even more was yet to come. After standing next to the female corpse for about two seconds, Yan Long suddenly lunged forward, his entire body pouncing onto the corpse. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Getting close to it, Yan Long had turned into a shadow, overlapping with the body of the woman lying on the ground, and then his shadow rolled over, aligning horizontally.


    Right before his eyes, Yan Long¡¯s shadow gradually vanished, replaced by convulsions from the naked female corpse.


    Yan Junze realized suddenly that this strangeness had returned to his clinic with the same intent as his apprentice, Cheng Jingting.


    Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!


    It seemed though, Yan Long¡¯s strangeness appeared quite bedraggled as it traveled from the Tianmeng Exorcist Team back to Tianyi, spending quite some time in the process.


    Regardless, Yan Long had returned, and he targeted the nearly perfect female corpse that Yan Junze had just recently uncovered for his resurrection.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­


    The female corpse began to wriggle, her legs curled up, her hands and feet awkwardly separating as if unable to fully control her limbs, exerting uneven force.


    But even though the force wasn¡¯t even, and her body was twisted backward, she still slowly stood up, with her head dangling beside her shoulder like Yan Long¡¯s just moments before, turning to face the direction of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze was taken aback.


    He knew that Yan Long had been quite powerful, and now, with the backing of this perfect female body, the consequences of a successful possession were too dreadful to contemplate.


    At this moment, he definitely couldn¡¯t allow Yan Long to succeed.

 Chapter 343: 284 Possession (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 343: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)_2


    The thought had barely formed when the female corpse stretched out her hands toward Yan Junze and quickly walked over.


    ¡°Rewind!¡±


    Time rewound to the moment before the door above the basement had been opened, and Yan Junze no longer focused on the female corpse. Instead, he turned and went to the entrance steps of the basement.


    Squatting down, he first brought out his Black Spirit Mallet, gripping it with both hands, and then released the Crawler Monster and two strange babies.


    The Crawler Monster had just been retrieved because it licked the pretty face of the female corpse. Now released, it still remembered the location of the female corpse and even glanced back at it, with a trace of reluctance in its eyes.


    ¡°Damn, side-part, seems like she¡¯s got you hooked,¡± Yan Junze said speechlessly.


    Unexpectedly, after the two strange babies appeared, they felt very comfortable in the dark and scurried toward the spot where the female corpse lay, making squeaking noises and ignoring Yan Junze¡¯s calls.


    The two strange babies crouched down, one to the left and one to the right, and observed the body of the female corpse with greedy eyes.


    ¡°Come back!¡± Yan Junze called out again.


    The two strange babies paid him no heed; they didn¡¯t even glance in his direction.


    Just then, a squeaking noise came from upstairs as the door opened.


    Having no other choice, Yan Junze drew back the disobedient creatures and turned off his phone¡¯s flashlight. He then turned to the Crawler Monster and said, ¡°Get ready to ambush. As soon as I turn on the flashlight, act immediately.¡±


    The sound of dragging footsteps reached their ears. Silent, the Crawler Monster lay on the other side of the steps, while Yan Junze squatted on this side, mallet in hand, ready to strike at any moment.


    Not long after, Yan Long began to descend the steps with a cocked head, blocking the outside light with his figure, causing the light to flicker with his movements.


    Although the visibility was poor, Yan Junze silently counted the approximate number of steps, and when he felt Yan Long was in the right position to attack, he immediately turned on the flashlight.


    As the light came on, the Crawler Monster on the other side was the first to attack, its forked tongue lashing out and violently wrapping around Yan Long¡¯s skinny body.


    Seizing the opportunity, Yan Junze stood up and swung his mallet hard at Yan Long.


    He had no intention of stopping, relentlessly hammering away. The spiritual power in the Black Spirit Mallet could have a special effect on the strange creatures, even though at the moment, with only one Black Spirit Pearl, it could not effectively annihilate higher level strangenesses.


    Yan Junze ensured that each hit weakened Yan Long a bit more. Although he couldn¡¯t hit the head, he didn¡¯t miss any crucial parts of the body.


    Yan Long¡¯s head had originally been chopped off by the exorcist Tong De, and Zhang Xiaomo was the creator of the terrifying cut in his abdomen.


    Now that the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue had entangled Yan Long, he couldn¡¯t move, so Yan Junze¡¯s attacks never missed their target.


    Moreover, the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue continued to tighten¡ªif possible, it would soon cut Yan Long¡¯s body in half.


    However, at that moment, Yan Long¡¯s body shivered, and the head that was twisted began to transform, becoming fierce. His lips turned outwards, growing two sharp fangs, and joints on his body began to bulge, with sharp bone spurs protruding from his elbows.


    His body quickly expanded in size, almost breaking the Crawler Monster¡¯s tongue.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mallet hit fell on Yan Long¡¯s shoulder, producing a dull thud, as if striking heavy iron, and his entire arm went numb.


    He was shocked, not expecting that Yan Long, who had transformed into a strange creature, would still be able to merge with his own Semi-Spirit Body from his previous life.


    And the current transformation of Yan Long was clearly taking the form of a Monster Spirit.


    The mallet was useless, and the Crawler Monster¡¯s abilities were no match for Yan Long at this point. Releasing the two strange babies might help, but they were likely to be distracted by the female corpse.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was tempted to activate his own Semi-Spirit Body, but he knew very well that the Yan Long in front of him was a combination of a strange creature and a Semi-spirit. This situation was very special, very odd, and considering the overuse of his Semi-Spirit Power before, if he had to face Yan Long in his Semi-Spirit Body¡ªand even kill him¡ªit would probably ¡°hurt¡± the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, mother and daughter, quite a bit.


    Unless his life was in danger, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to act rashly now.


    The strange magnetic field of Long-tongued Zhenzhen had yet to be adjusted, and since Ugly Girl had just been captured with a ¡°neutral¡± favorability, it was uncertain if she would help him against the combination of Yan Long and the Monster Spirit.


    ¡°Ugly Girl?¡±


    Thinking of Ugly Girl, Yan Junze suddenly froze, his mind at that moment grasping a novel and even abnormal idea.


    Boom!


    The Crawler Monster had its tongue grabbed by Yan Long, who lifted and threw it against the basement wall, sending dust flying in all directions.


    And in the next second, Yan Junze had his collar grabbed by Yan Long, his feet dangling in the air as he was lifted up.


    But before the opponent could do anything further, Yan Junze had already chosen to Rewind.


    This time, with the Rewind, he set the time to just after the Crawler Monster had dug out the perfect female corpse.


    Everything blurred, and he was back to the moment when he was lying on the ground, staring at the female corpse. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A medicinal odor hit him. It wasn¡¯t very strong. Yan Junze believed that after the odor had spread some on the ground and was then masked by the scent of perfume, it could be hidden.


    Realizing that the Crawler Monster was about to extend its tongue to lick the female corpse, Yan Junze immediately retrieved it and released Ugly Girl.


    As Ugly Girl stood in the basement, looking around, her long hair draped over her waist swaying gently, she asked, ¡°Where is this?¡±

 Chapter 344: 284 Possession (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 344: Chapter 284 Possession (4400 words)_3


    ¡°A basement,¡± Yan Junze said, then pointed at the perfect female corpse on the ground, ¡°I have an idea, although you¡¯ve been dead for so long, long past the time for Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect, but now I still hope you can attach yourself to this beautiful corpse.¡±


    ¡°Attachment? A beautiful corpse?¡± Ugly Girl blinked in confusion, looking at the corpse with snow-white skin lying on the ground, ¡°Is she¡­ pretty?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the corpse¡¯s cheek and nodded, ¡°Her appearance can be described as stunningly beautiful.¡±


    ¡°But is her spirit beautiful?¡± Ugly Girl asked again.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to take over her body. Whether her heart is beautiful or not will depend on you.¡±


    Ugly Girl moved to the side of the corpse and knelt down directly, allowing her to fully see the delicate face of the corpse. Yan Junze even made a point of bringing the flashlight closer, so she could see more clearly.


    ¡°This female corpse will be yours from now on. You can even go shopping and watch movies using this body, and live a normal person¡¯s life, but you must act not like the dead, and you must stay with me. If you need to leave me for a moment, you must have my consent,¡± Yan Junze said slowly.


    Ugly Girl didn¡¯t say anything. She just carefully observed the corpse in front of her, stretching out her hand and gently caressing the delicate face, then the arms, abdomen, and legs¡­


    ¡°You need to understand that besides a beautiful spirit, a beautiful appearance is also a very important bonus,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°I hope you can use this body, combined with your pure heart, to find everything you lost in life, and to find your love for life and living.¡±


    Ugly Girl¡¯s sliding hand stopped, and she fell silent, as if in thought.


    Yan Junze checked the time on his phone, guessing that Yan Long was about to arrive, and asked, ¡°So, have you decided?¡±


    After several seconds of silence, Ugly Girl nodded suddenly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve made my decision. Thank you!¡±


    With her words, she lunged forward, just like Yan Long did during the last Rewind, her body turning into a shadow, merging perfectly with the female corpse.


    Shortly after, the corpse¡¯s fingers twitched.


    Yan Junze, who was watching intently, advised, ¡°Because it¡¯s been so long, you can no longer resurrect through Possessing a Corpse, but you can perfectly control this body. Start by getting used to the movement of each joint, familiarize yourself with the feeling of control.¡±


    At that moment, the fingers of the corpse¡¯s other hand also twitched, followed by the feet, then the shoulders¡­


    When Yan Junze just happened to shine the flashlight on her face, the corpse¡¯s eyes opened. It was a pair of sky-blue irises, gem-like magnificent, deep blue like the ocean.


    Looking at these eyes, Yan Junze¡¯s own eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected the corpse¡¯s eyes to be sky-blue, just like the people from the USA in the Great Capital.


    At this point, he had probably guessed that this female corpse looked so perfect, and with many fine scars and patterns on her body, it was indeed possible that she was artificially created, by the Spirit Cultivator, Yan Long.


    Given Yan Long¡¯s ruthlessness, he was capable of anything, killing people and taking only the most essential parts, then assembling them into this nearly perfect female corpse.


    This also explained why Yan Junze could sense so many fragments of souls drifting around. They were remnants from the various parts of the female corpse¡¯s body.


    Now, because of Ugly Girl¡¯s strange Attachment, these fragments were naturally expelled by her stronger spiritual field.


    After completing the female corpse, Yan Long used preservative treatments properly, allowing the corpse to remain undecayed indefinitely.


    Whether his original intention was to turn the female corpse into a zombie or to keep it for his own use remained unknown.


    But it¡¯s highly unlikely that it was for his own use. Thus, Yan Long¡¯s strangeness returning to his clinic in Tianyi District might be due to necessity, relying on this perfect female corpse for a chance at resurrecting. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Ugly Girl was about to sit up in control of the corpse, upstairs, the sound of a door opening could finally be heard.

 Chapter 345: 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)

    Chapter 345: Chapter 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)


    Looking at this, Ugly Girl was clearly still adapting to the female corpse, whether in terms of manipulation or fusion with the body; this all required a process.


    However, the chance to possess such a stunningly beautiful corpse was obviously a delightful and appreciated surprise for Ugly Girl.


    Having been filled with a great lack of confidence in her own appearance from a young age, which ruined her life, the opportunity for change now lay before her. Although it had come a bit late, Ugly Girl had no reason to refuse it.


    In that moment, Yan Junze knew he was very grateful to himself because, as she sat up, a message popped up in the Spacetime Atlas in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [Ugly Girl (Sculpting Spirit) Favorability has increased, current favorability: Friendly]


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but feel quite happy when he saw the word ¡°Friendly.¡±


    Because ¡°Neutral¡± meant that even if he encountered Yan Long now, and got into a fight with Yan Long, Ugly Girl was very likely not to help him. But ¡°Friendly¡± was different; this level of favorability meant that Ugly Girl had a high likelihood of helping Yan Junze take on Yan Long.


    Footsteps came from the room above, the familiar sound of dragging feet across the floor, as Yan Long arrived at the entrance to the basement, blocking some of the light from outside as he started descending the stairs. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time, Yan Junze didn¡¯t turn off his phone¡¯s flashlight, and at this point, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being discovered by Yan Long either.


    Because the purpose of Yan Long¡¯s visit had already been realized by Ugly Girl ahead of time.


    Whispering beside Ugly Girl¡¯s ear, he said, ¡°How do you feel now? Quickly adapt to this body, we might have to deal with another strangeness next. That strangeness is also here to snatch this body, ready to ¡®Possess a Corpse to Resurrect.¡¯


    The female corpse turned her face towards him, her crystal-clear blue eyes looked at Yan Junze, and although her voice sounded somewhat surprised, her expression was extremely stiff, not changing at all: ¡°He¡­ why does he want to snatch a corpse?¡±


    ¡°The bad guys, what else would they do if not bad stuff?¡± Yan Junze confidently asserted.


    Ugly Girl said, ¡°Then the heart of this person must be extremely ugly.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Quick, get used to the body! Be fully prepared to deal with him.¡±


    Pitter-patter, the sounds of footsteps on the stairs were drawing nearer.


    Yan Junze looked up and shone the light from the flashlight over, only to see Yan Long coming down the stairs, with the top half of his body already turned around, his head, which had broken off and was resting on his shoulder, was blinking and watching over here.


    Because the body had turned half-around, the stab wound in Yan Long¡¯s belly had split open.


    ¡°He¡¯s not only ugly in spirit, but in appearance as well,¡± Ugly Girl added.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh.


    As Ugly Girl talked, she awkwardly stood up, not in the bizarre joint-reversed way the corpse had stood up under Yan Long¡¯s control during the last Rewind, but in a normal manner, making her seem much easier on the eyes.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze involuntarily swept over the standing Ugly Girl.


    It had to be said, the body proportions of this female corpse were simply perfect, slender where it needed to be, with hair falling over her shoulders, long and straight legs, even her toes seemed finely carved, like identical pebbles by the river.


    If one didn¡¯t know what Ugly Girl looked like inside this female corpse, an average man would probably be bewitched with just one glance. Fortunately, Yan Junze quickly called up the image of Ugly Girl in his mind, and even tripled it in size, then he was startled into a severe shudder and instantly lost all his earlier interest.


    By now, Yan Long had fully descended the stairs and was walking towards this side.


    Ugly Girl lifted her hands, looked at them, clenched her fists, and began to reacquaint and feel the strength in these fair-skinned arms.


    ¡°I feel¡­ this body¡­ is very powerful?¡± Ugly Girl suddenly spoke.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze became sharp, then he suddenly realized, considering Yan Long¡¯s Spirit Cultivator¡¯s nature, he wouldn¡¯t create such a perfect female corpse without reason. If he wanted to cultivate a spirit, surely he had other plans.


    Perhaps this female corpse was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, and every inch of skin, every muscle, every bone had undergone some kind of strangeness.


    Moreover, now that her body was controlled by Ugly Girl, perhaps it would become even more powerful.


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yan Long, with his head askew, had already closed in, lunging towards Ugly Girl. She stretched out a hand and grabbed Yan Long¡¯s wrist, snapping it with a crack.


    Yan Long reached out with his other hand, which Ugly Girl also grabbed easily.


    However, this time, Yan Long¡¯s entire body began to swell instantaneously, the power of the Monster Spirit emanated, and not only did his broken arm repair itself, but both hands also swelled to more than triple their size.


    Ugly Girl held his two arms and twisted them again, visibly twisting the muscles in those arms like ropes, though no breaking sound was heard this time.


    The head on Yan Long¡¯s shoulder roared angrily; at this moment, he was well aware that his carefully cultivated female corpse had been taken over by someone else.


    And it was clear that the strangeness that had taken over the corpse was equally strong.


    Bang!


    Ugly Girl put forth a foot, the snow-white sole of her foot kicking out and hitting Yan Long squarely in the chest, sending the man flying backwards and slamming into the side of the basement entrance stairs.


    The two swollen arms that were still grasped by Ugly Girl broke off at the shoulders and were then casually thrown aside by her.


    ¡°Damn, so fierce!¡±


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of excitement, not expecting that having Ugly Girl possess this beautiful corpse would result in such terrifying strength, effectively gaining a powerful ally by his side. And she was such a beauty to behold, truly a feast for the eyes.

 Chapter 346: 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)_2

    Chapter 346: Chapter 285: A Guilty Conscience (4200 words)_2


    Ugly Girl discarded the severed arm of the Monster Spirit and felt her control over her body increase marginally. Although her movements still appeared very stiff, she stepped towards the fallen Yan Long, grabbed his shoulder with a grip so tight that her fingers sank into his flesh, lifted him, and hurled him away.


    Without any power to resist, Yan Long was thrown out of the basement entrance and flew into the room above, crashing heavily onto the floor.


    Yan Junze was taken aback and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t cause too much commotion, pull him down, make it quick and decisive.¡±


    Ugly Girl¡¯s legs propelled her like a superwoman, launching her whole body out of the basement and into the room above. She grabbed Yan Long and leaped back into the basement, tossed him onto the ground, and then smashed down with her fist, making his chest cavity collapse instantly.


    One punch followed another. Yan Long¡¯s Monster Spirit form couldn¡¯t withstand it for long and soon let out a scream, but Ugly Girl immediately twisted his head off, smashing all his facial features into a pulp.


    She didn¡¯t stop smashing until, in the end, even Yan Junze couldn¡¯t bear to watch, covering his mouth and retreating to a corner.


    About two minutes later, Yan Long¡¯s body began to turn into specks of phantom light, scattering into the air, his body becoming transparent.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze knew that this guy was completely finished this time.


    At the moment when the phantoms entirely vanished, he smiled and said to Ugly Girl, ¡°Congratulations, this body suits you well. With the strength of its strangenesses combined with the body¡¯s own transformative powers, even I can¡¯t estimate how strong you are now.¡±


    Having smashed Yan Long, Ugly Girl stood up, still rubbing her hands together with evident excitement about being further able to master control of this body.


    ¡°By the way.¡± Yan Junze remembered something and said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve become beautiful too, it wouldn¡¯t make sense to keep calling you Ugly Girl, right? Your real name is¡­¡±


    ¡°Wang Zhenxiang,¡± Ugly Girl said.


    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re not surnamed Shi,¡± Yan Junze¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°Since we already have a Zhenzhen, I¡¯ll call you Xiang¡¯er then.¡±


    ¡°I have a pet name,¡± Ugly Girl added.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Jie¡¯er.¡±


    Yan Junze: ¡°¡­¡±


    A brief, excruciatingly awkward silence fell over the basement.


    ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll call you Xiang Er, Wang Xiang¡¯er,¡± Yan Junze decided firmly.


    ¡°Xiang Er,¡± Ugly Girl nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You still need more practice to master this body. Take this opportunity to restore the basement now; refill it with the clumps of dirt you dug out, and be meticulous,¡± Yan Junze instructed.


    Without another word, Xiang Er knelt down and began to dig, intending to fill the hole that had just concealed the female corpse.


    Yan Junze was alarmed and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t kneel directly on the floor; don¡¯t be too rough with your movements. This body is your reliance; tearing the skin, injuring the muscles, or fracturing the bones could be problematic. In any case, I don¡¯t know how to nourish a spirit or repair a zombie¡¯s body right now.¡±


    Xiang Er stood up as told, bent over to glance at her knees, and shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Right after, she touched her fist and brought it close to Yan Junze, ¡°Look, this got hurt when I was smashing that strangeness earlier, but it¡¯s healing now.¡±


    Yan Junze looked closer and saw that her fist had some broken skin, likely from smashing Yan Long too vigorously, but the torn skin was slowly stretching back, recovering over the breaks.


    ¡°What kind of spirit had Yan Long been nurturing that it can even restore itself!¡±


    However, after careful observation, the skin was merely covering without fully bonding with the rest of the skin. Maybe reconnecting tissue would take time, or maybe it would stay this way indefinitely.


    Not fully understanding the situation, Yan Junze still instructed Xiang Er to be careful.


    After all, this body was much stronger than a normal human¡¯s; as long as it was used well and cherished, it could be effective for a long time.


    Xiang Er continued to fill the hole with care, then used her feet to tamp the clumps of earth neatly. She moved the gurney back in place and reassembled it according to Yan Junze¡¯s directions.


    During this period, Xiang Er felt a stronger sense of control over this body, obviously becoming more proficient in movement. Although her limbs were still somewhat stiff, it felt like they were just unaccustomed, not mechanical and awkward like they were at first.


    Yan Junze went up to the room above and found a white lab coat and a pair of soft-soled nurse shoes.


    It seemed that Yan Long had hired nurses when he ran the clinic previously. Although the clothing was secondhand, given the limited options, there was no helping it.


    There was a faucet in the basement, so Yan Junze had Xiang Er wash her hands carefully, trying not to spill any water, and then had her put on the lab coat and nurse shoes.


    There were several pairs of nurse shoes, and Yan Junze chose the largest. Xiang Er¡¯s body was roughly 1.75 meters tall, so the shoes fit snugly, but the lab coat was like a tight-fitting garment on her, tight everywhere.


    Yan Junze initially thought she might not even be able to button it up, but after Xiang Er managed to do so, it brightened Yan Junze¡¯s eyes. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at Xiang Er in front of him, he suddenly thought of the beautiful nurses wielding scalpels in ¡°Silent Hill¡±.


    Compared with the image in his mind, it was strikingly similar, almost like a duplicate.


    If she went out dressed like this, especially with Xiang Er¡¯s graceful figure, it would undoubtedly attract a crowd of men.


    Fortunately, it was late at night. After carefully checking the basement again and finding no other traces, Yan Junze called Xiang Er back upstairs, closing the door that Yan Long had opened when he came in.


    They planned to return the same way they came, through the window.


    Before leaving, Yan Junze checked and found that Yan Long¡¯s strangeness had appeared directly in the room and then came through the door, so the seal on the clinic¡¯s outside door was still intact.


    The two climbed out the window, sneaking back over the wall. The street was definitely empty at this time, and Yan Junze was worried that Xiang Er¡¯s buttons might pop off during the climb, but luckily the garment was sturdy.


    Reaching the street, Yan Junze took out his phone to quickly search the map and discovered that about 600 meters away, at the head of Priest Street, there was a ¡°One Week Chain Hotel¡± with parentheses (24-hour service).


    Lucky them, in this era, there weren¡¯t many small hotels brave enough to operate 24 hours a day. Yan Junze confirmed that there was no security bureau next to the ¡°One Week Hotel¡±, nor was it likely that an Exorcist was stationed there.


    With lingering questions, he pulled Xiang Er and headed straight there.


    They didn¡¯t see any patrol cars on the street, only two taxis passing by. Both of them hid in the shadows under the eaves of the buildings on the side of the street, not too ostentatious.


    Upon arrival at the ¡°One Week Chain Hotel¡±, they found the main door indeed open. However, there was just an advertisement board set outside, no colorful lights or anything to attract attention.


    If the board were too eye-catching, it might attract not only guests but also strangenesses.


    After Yan Junze entered the hotel with Xiang Er, he suddenly realized that this place used self-service hotel check-in, with no one on duty.


    At the self-service kiosk, they registered their identities, checked and chose from the remaining hotel rooms, then scanned to pay, and a room card quickly popped out of the card slot below the machine.


    Yan Junze picked a standard room with two single beds.


    They went upstairs, feeling like thieves, and only after they had entered the room and closed the door did Yan Junze let out a long sigh of relief¡ªhe had indeed been afraid of being seen.


    Mainly because Xiang Er¡¯s attire was too provocative. If they were suddenly seen checking into a hotel at this time, they wouldn¡¯t be able to explain themselves even if they had mouths all over their body.


    After drawing the curtains, Yan Junze took a quick shower and lay on the bed, his whole body aching. He told Xiang Er, ¡°Go wash up; you¡¯re dirtier than I am.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded without saying anything and went to the bathroom.


    By the time she was clean and came out, Yan Junze was already asleep. Xiang Er didn¡¯t speak or put back on the dirtied, tight lab coat. Instead, she moved in front of the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked at the dim streetlights below and the neon lights of the city.


    After an indeterminate amount of time, Xiang Er squinted her eyes, focusing on the reflection of herself in the window glass. She reached out to touch her well-defined shoulder blades and then slowly caressed her cheeks, her high nose, her full lips, her delicate chin¡­


    It took quite a while before she whispered to herself, ¡°So, this is beauty.¡±


    Then she paused, ¡°No, this is just the beauty of appearance. True beauty is here.¡±


    She let go of her face, touched the area over her heart on this body, but there was no heartbeat to be felt, no blood flow, no vitality in the cells. Everything was so quiet.

 Chapter 347: 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)

    Chapter 347: Chapter 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)


    Yan Junze woke up to find the day already bright, and upon opening his eyes, he noticed there was nobody in the adjacent bed. He knew Xiang Er didn¡¯t need to sleep, so he wasn¡¯t surprised.


    Just as he sat up in bed, he saw Xiang Er standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window without any clothes on, having pulled all the curtains open, curiously observing the pedestrians and vehicles on the street below.


    Yan Junze was startled, quickly got up, and rushed over to draw the curtains, saying, ¡°Do you want to make the news?¡±


    Xiang Er had been standing there all night and only now did she realize her mistake, replying, ¡°Ever since I became attached to this female corpse, I¡¯ve always felt this body is just like a piece of clothing, so sometimes I feel like I¡¯m wearing clothes and I still can¡¯t adapt.¡±


    Yan Junze patted her shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯ll get used to it eventually.¡±


    When he touched her shoulder, a chilling coldness came through; after all, this was still a cold corpse.


    After freshening up in the bathroom, Yan Junze came out and glanced at the time. He said to Xiang Er, ¡°I¡¯m going to buy you a set of clothes now. You must stay in the hotel, don¡¯t go anywhere, and don¡¯t leave this room, understand?¡±


    Xiang Er nodded her head.


    Yan Junze added, ¡°Don¡¯t open the door for anyone except me. When I knock on the door, I¡¯ll tell you: it¡¯s Yan Junze, open the door. Got it?¡±


    Xiang Er nodded again.


    As Yan Junze left the room and turned to close the door behind him, he saw that Xiang Er was still staring at him woodenly. The eyes of this body were very direct and couldn¡¯t accurately reflect Xiang Er¡¯s true thoughts.


    But Yan Junze could roughly guess that Xiang Er¡¯s childhood had been very miserable, with almost no life experience, suffering from self-blame and pain, having never felt what love is from a young age.


    For her, the world she was experiencing and witnessing now was almost completely foreign. Even though Xiang Er was now very strong, her heart was so frail it might even be weaker than that of a primary school student.


    That¡¯s why she could stand by the bed watching the neon lights all night, watching the pedestrians and vehicles in the morning.


    After leaving the hotel, Yan Junze strolled around nearby before entering a women¡¯s clothing store that seemed somewhat fashionable.


    Upon entering, a female sales associate with a smile on her face approached and asked, ¡°Young man, are you buying clothes for your girlfriend?¡±


    Yan Junze said little and just nodded, ¡°She is probably about one seventy-five, not fat or thin. Recommend something to me; I want something casual. Also, sneakers, she might need size 40, and pick out a few pairs of socks.¡±


    The sales associate paused, her gaze sweeping up and down Yan Junze¡¯s height, wondering to herself how the girl he was dating could be taller than him and if that didn¡¯t cause him any pressure usually?


    However, she merely nodded repeatedly, said nothing, and quickly brought over two pairs of jeans, one pair with rips, and recommended two hoodies with fashionable patterns. Yan Junze glanced at them and thought they looked fine.


    The price wasn¡¯t too expensive; he wasn¡¯t one to haggle much. Just as he was about to pay, he thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Do you sell underwear?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the sales associate nodded.


    ¡°What about sleepwear?¡±


    ¡°We have those too, but only in two styles.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    The sales associate estimated Xiang Er¡¯s height and selected two sets of underwear and sleepwear based on Yan Junze¡¯s description.


    Yan Junze paid and took the bags of clothes, saying, ¡°If they don¡¯t fit, I will need to bring them back for an exchange.¡±


    ¡°You can check the fit of the underwear before wearing, but once tried on, they cannot be returned. The other items can be exchanged, but all the clothes must not be washed before exchanging,¡± the sales associate said with a smile.


    Carrying the clothes, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head straight back to the hotel but instead went to a nearby women¡¯s cosmetics shop and bought a bottle of perfume emitting a faint fragrance that lingered.


    Back at the hotel, he knocked on the door and said, ¡°It¡¯s Yan Junze, open the door.¡±


    A few seconds later, the door opened, and Xiang Er stood in front of it, her skin as white as snow.


    Fearing her appearance might be seen by someone passing by, Yan Junze quickly entered, closed the door, and tossed the clothes to her, saying, ¡°Try them on to see if they fit.¡±


    After speaking, he added, ¡°Do you need to wash the underwear first?¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then he shook his head, ¡°With your body, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you wash them or not.¡±


    Xiang Er took the clothes and held her right fist up to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, ¡°Look, the skin that was torn yesterday is all healed today.¡±


    Yan Junze looked carefully and, indeed, the skin on her fist that had burst open when she fought Yan Long was now indistinguishable from before.


    Seeing this, it seemed that Xiang Er now truly had the ability to self-repair. This was nothing short of defying the heavens.


    Xiang Er, who had never known what refinement was from a young age, opened the clothes and tried them on one by one; they all seemed fine. However, these clothes were matched by the sales associate, and they looked not bad on her, very casual.


    Once she had chosen her clothes and was ready to go, Yan Junze unplugged his phone, which was charging, and booked a favorable ride on an app. The starting point was where they were currently in Tianyi City District, and the destination was Peak City in Tianmeng District, which was the closest to Tianyi.


    Since the distance was quite long, the ride was a bit expensive, but Yan Junze had no choice but to do this now.


    Since Xiang Er had no identity information, she couldn¡¯t travel by plane or other means of transportation, so this was the only way to get back to Tianmeng.

 Chapter 348: 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)_2

    Chapter 348: Chapter 286: Ineffable Treasure (4000 words)_2 S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The journey was quite long, and it took about ten minutes before someone took the order. After a phone call, the two decided to meet outside the hotel in half an hour.


    No sooner had they hung up than Zhang Xiaomo called.


    When Yan Junze answered, he heard her ask, ¡°How are things over there? Did you find anything when sealing off Yan Long¡¯s lair?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story; I can¡¯t explain it over the phone. I¡¯ll tell you when I get back,¡± Yan Junze said with a smirk, ¡°By the way, could you get me some identification information?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t understand at first.


    ¡°Here¡¯s someone who has no identity information at the security bureau. I want to register a legal identity for her. Can you do that?¡± Yan Junze explained again.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s impossible. We have a close cooperative relationship with the security bureau, but it depends on the situation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story; let¡¯s wait until I get back to talk about it,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°You little rascal, always waiting until you get back to talk about what you¡¯re doing out there,¡± Zhang Xiaomo sighed, and then asked, ¡°Are you coming back today?¡±


    ¡°Are you missing me?¡± Yan Junze asked with a mischievous smile, on purpose.


    ¡°The¡­ The¡­ The signal¡­ Why has it suddenly gotten so bad,¡± Zhang Xiaomo stuttered all of a sudden, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when you get back.¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily.


    Sounds of busyness quickly came from the other end of the phone; Yan Junze knew Zhang Xiaomo must be cursing him right now.


    After hanging up, Yan Junze noticed Xiang Er had been watching him, with the same kind of look he usually gave Crawler Monsters.


    Yan Junze waved his hand: ¡°That¡¯s your future sister-in-law, so it¡¯s understandable if I act a little out of the ordinary.¡±


    Regardless of whether his logic made sense or not, Xiang Er just nodded without saying anything.


    While waiting for the car to arrive, Yan Junze let Xiang Er walk a few steps in front of him, instructing her on how to make her movements less stiff during actions to avoid giving the impression of a corpse moving.


    People in this world are now very sensitive and might associate any abnormal behavior with strangeness. It¡¯s important not to stand out in a crowd.


    Moreover, it was even more important to teach Xiang Er never to show herself in front of unfamiliar exorcists.


    After a short while, the Shunfeng P¨¡p¨¡ ride-hailing car arrived, and the two gathered their things and got in, both sitting in the back seats.


    Yan Junze clearly noticed that after Xiang Er got into the car, the ride-hailing driver stole a few more glances at her through the rearview mirror.


    That was normal; Xiang Er already had a high rate of people turning heads to look at her on the street.


    Because he had sprayed her with the newly bought perfume, the car was filled with a faint scent. Only Yan Junze, who was sitting closer to Xiang Er, could catch the faint hint of medicinal smell from her.


    Shortly after the car started, Xiang Er quietly asked Yan Junze, ¡°Do people keep staring at those who are beautiful in appearance as well?¡±


    She knew that an ugly appearance not only drew attention but also could cause horror and make people turn and flee. But now, the table had turned; being beautiful to a certain extent also resulted in people watching intently.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Beauty can make people feel comfortable, so everyone likes to admire beauty. Whether they are men or women, the mindset of admiring beauty differs, but envy is inevitable. It¡¯s not only about letting people know that you look beautiful, but it¡¯s also important for them to feel that your spirit is just as beautiful.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded thoughtfully, looking at the scenery flashing by outside the window, and fell silent.


    The two spoke very little during the trip.


    After five hours on the highway, they entered the territory of Tianmeng District and spent another half-hour to reach Peak City.


    After getting off the bus, Yan Junze called another rideshare, and by evening they arrived at a small city called Zhen County. They found a hotel to rest for the night and continued their journey the next day.


    Because Xiang Er didn¡¯t have any identification, it was inconvenient. It took them two days, and it was only by noon the next day that they arrived at Tianmeng District.


    Yan Junze had never been on a vehicle for so long. His butt was sore from sitting and he felt more tired than if he had walked.


    Finding it inconvenient to bring Xiang Er into school, he found a rental room just outside it.


    There were plenty of rental rooms outside the school, and they were cheap. Apart from buying an extra bed quilt, everything else was ready. Most importantly, Xiang Er didn¡¯t have to cook for her meals.


    Even the purchased bedding was just for show.


    The rented room was slightly secluded, located on the second floor of an old building, right in the corner. This was Yan Junze¡¯s deliberate choice, to stay as far from the crowds as possible and to avoid attracting attention.


    But with Xiang Er¡¯s current appearance, it was difficult not to draw attention. On second thought, this also provided her with a good opportunity to get to know and train herself.


    After settling Xiang Er in, Yan Junze went down to the telecom shop to buy her a cheap mobile phone and a SIM card. When he returned, he gave her the phone and told her he would be studying at the nearby school and would come to see her every day.


    When he wasn¡¯t visiting her, he hoped she¡¯d occasionally go out for a walk and try not to interact too much with others.


    In fact, Xiang Er could leave her body in the room at any time and become the Ugly Girl Strange Creature, and she could visit Yan Junze whenever she wanted.


    However, Yan Junze did this so she could use this opportunity to reconnect with a life she had never imagined before and rediscover the beauty of this world.


    That evening, Yan Junze left Xiang Er and returned to his university dormitory.


    The head of the security team, Wang Tao, came over to see him right away. After expressing his gratitude, he told Yan Junze that the local products from Wang Family Bay had been mailed over and some snacks were placed in the security office.


    Yan Junze had his roommates move everything to their dorm to distribute. The chubby He Bishou was especially pleased, gorging himself and even burping in his sleep that night.


    For those products that needed to be prepared as food, Yan Junze asked Wang Tao to send them to his home in Shuntian City and called his mother to ask her to receive them.


    Finally, everything was taken care of.


    Moreover, Yan Junze had found an excellent teacher for Xiang Er¡¯s growth and education, this teacher being his own roommate Huahua.


    The second day of classes, after explaining the situation to Huahua, the kind-hearted Huahua readily agreed.


    Of course, Yan Junze told him that Xiang Er was his sister from the countryside, who had no experience in the ways of the world and was currently preparing to come work in the city, but she hadn¡¯t yet found a place to go.


    After class, Huahua followed Yan Junze to Xiang Er¡¯s rental house and was then shocked. After talking to Xiang Er, he came out and shared three opinions with Yan Junze.


    The first was that Xiang Er didn¡¯t seem like Yan Junze¡¯s sister; she was almost half a head taller than Yan Junze. This was easy for Yan Junze to explain; he said she was his cousin and had always been physically robust since childhood.


    The second was that Xiang Er was indeed innocent like a blank page, sometimes a bit stubborn. Huahua felt the pressure, but he believed he could take good care of Xiang Er. It was a motivation, especially since Xiang Er¡¯s appearance made her very approachable.


    The third point, which amazed Huahua the most, was that Xiang Er was incredibly beautiful, with a perfect figure and facial features. If it weren¡¯t for Huahua¡¯s own peculiarities, he probably would have been smitten by now.


    Yan Junze had anticipated this as well, and if he hadn¡¯t known about Huahua¡¯s peculiarities and that he was enthusiastic, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to bring him to teach Xiang Er.


    In the end, Huahua said, ¡°Junze, I can honestly tell you, compared to just looks, none of the girls at Tianmeng Science University¡¯s sororities can match up to your cousin.¡±


    He added one more thing, ¡°It might not be safe for her to live alone outside. You better keep an extra watchful eye.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled slightly, thinking to himself that those who might have designs on Xiang Er were the ones who would probably be in danger. Whether they got scared witless or beaten black and blue, he had already warned Xiang Er.


    She must show restraint and not do anything too overt or eye-catching.

 Chapter 349: 287: Pleading (4400 words)

    Chapter 349: Chapter 287: Pleading (4400 words)


    To avoid gossip, Yan Junze had never brought Xiang Er to school to show her off. Even his roommates, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou, had never met her.


    They had only heard from Huahua that Yan Junze had brought a cousin who was currently living off-campus. Huahua was also tight-lipped and didn¡¯t reveal any more information.


    If they knew how stunning this cousin was, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou would probably have taken the opportunity to follow Huahua to visit her long ago.


    Huahua¡¯s assistance to Xiang Er was exceptionally thorough, from how a girl should dress and basic social etiquette to communicating with others of the same or opposite sex, what a true friend is, and when emotions spark into love¡ªall as if reciting treasures from her chest, resembling the rhythm of a life coach.


    That day, Yan Junze and Huahua went to the rented apartment together, and he listened with interest, learning alongside Xiang Er as they both became students of Huahua¡¯s teachings.


    Eventually, Yan Junze added, ¡°You said you have a lot of fans on the Trembling platform. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but now I finally do.¡±


    With a proud smile, Huahua replied, ¡°I¡¯m about to break 5 million fans, and I¡¯ve taken some side gigs promoting cosmetics. Right, I can bring a few for Xiang Er for free.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at Xiang Er. He could feel that, although she remained silent, she was clearly yearning, so he nodded, ¡°That would be great, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Brother Hua,¡± Xiang Er said.


    Huahua waved her hand dismissively, ¡°Don¡¯t call me brother, just call me Huahua.¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°Or maybe you could call her Sister Hua.¡±


    Huahua raised her small fists and gave Yan Junze a few punches on the chest, then suddenly remembered something and reminded him, ¡°Does Xiang Er usually have poor health? I feel her temperature is quite low. Yesterday when I tutored her in makeup, her whole face felt cold.¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°Their whole family has this kind of constitution¡ªhands and feet always cold, unable to warm up even when bundled, but their health is really good, no need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, but girls need to take more care of themselves,¡± Huahua continued smoothly, ¡°especially around the abdominal area, which really needs to be kept warm. If it¡¯s constantly too cold, you can buy some womb-warming patches online. I know of a good brand¡­¡±


    Yan Junze quickly excused himself.


    ¡°Female¡± conversations weren¡¯t quite his place to interject.


    When he got back to school, he found the security captain Wang Tao waiting for him at the dormitory entrance. Since the other two roommates hadn¡¯t returned yet, he stood there in the hallway, causing the other dormitory residents to panic, thinking there was another room inspection. They promptly closed their doors and hurriedly hid any contraband.


    Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, and waited for Yan Junze to return. Then, with a beaming smile, he cheerfully asked, ¡°Junze, have the villagers¡¯ payments reached your account?¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nearly three hundred thousand in total, thanks to everyone.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, ¡°they should be thanking you. They¡¯ve sent the money but still weren¡¯t at ease, insisting I come over again in person to say thank you.¡±


    Yan Junze gave a toothy grin, waving his hand, ¡°No need to be so formal.¡±


    Wang Tao then added, ¡°By the way, did Director Yuan from the guidance office contact you?¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°No, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Wang Tao said, ¡°I overheard Director Yuan on the phone today; it seemed like someone in an important position had called him, looking to meet with you. But Director Yuan didn¡¯t say anything, just kept refusing.¡±


    ¡°Someone in an important position?¡± Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded, ¡°Director Yuan spoke very politely to him, but still didn¡¯t yield, not revealing any of your information.¡±


    Although that¡¯s what was said, Yan Junze was well aware that if the other party really wanted his information, there were plenty of ways to find it even without Director Yuan¡¯s help.


    As Wang Tao finished speaking, they both paused; a black sedan was slowly approaching along the road by the row of plane trees at the bottom of the dormitory building.


    Normally, the school forbade entry to outside vehicles¡ªunless it was for official business or someone had connections.


    After the black sedan parked, a slim figure scuttled all the way from a distance.


    Yan Junze took a closer look; the hurrying person was none other than the guidance office head, Yuan Lison.


    Right as Director Yuan ran up to the car, the door opened, and a tall, plump man got out. Wearing a dark blue suit, with a big belly, followed by a woman of about his age.


    Once the woman got out, she looked up at the dormitory building, spotting Yan Junze and Wang Tao looking in their direction.


    After exchanging a couple of words with the man, Director Yuan also looked up and saw Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze saw the two people who had gotten out of the car, he guessed who they were.


    The man in particular, with his facial features resembling Zhou Jiajie¡¯s, and given Wang Tao¡¯s recent mention of an important figure in contact with Yuan Lison, was likely Zhou Jiajie¡¯s father, the Deputy Mayor of Shuntian City, Zhou Guhua.


    And the woman, who had alighted from the car and taken Zhou Guhua¡¯s arm, was probably Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The driver didn¡¯t get out, leaving Yuan Lison feeling helpless¡ªhe didn¡¯t expect that despite his consistent refusals, the other party had directly found the college. Now that Yan Junze was in the building and witnessing the scene, evasion was no longer an option.


    Initially, on the phone, Zhou Guhua sounded anxious and slightly accusatory, which wouldn¡¯t be good for Yan Junze to find out about, so Yuan Lison had tirelessly blocked for him till now.

 Chapter 350: 287: Pleading (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 350: Chapter 287: Pleading (4400 words)_2


    Looking at the situation now, Yuan Lison feared that Yan Junze would be displeased with him, rendering all his previous efforts to ingratiate himself a complete waste.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t think so. He calmly opened the door to the bedroom and lay down on the bed after entering.


    Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate to follow him in, so he stood at the door to block for him.


    Before long, Zhou Guhua and his wife ascended the stairs. Despite being out of breath, they moved quickly. Yuan Lison followed behind them with a gloomy face, casting occasional glances at the couple.


    Wang Tao stretched out his hand to stop Zhou Guhua and his wife at the door, pretending not to recognize who they were, ¡°Excuse me, what are you doing here?¡±


    Zhou Guhua didn¡¯t answer him. Instead, he stood at the doorway and looked around inside the room. Upon seeing only Yan Junze lying on the bed, he asked, ¡°Excuse me, are you Yan Junze?¡±


    Yan Junze, half-reclining, didn¡¯t bother with small talk and responded directly, ¡°You might as well go back, no need to say more. Zhou Jiajie brought this upon himself; nobody else is to blame for this matter.¡±


    Zhou Guhua was taken aback and momentarily lost for words.


    Wang Tao and Yuan Lison, standing at the doorway, pricked up their ears to listen carefully, and a big gossip symbol seemed to appear in their minds. Who says men don¡¯t love gossip? It¡¯s just a matter of timing.


    Only Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother immediately retorted, ¡°How can you say no one else is to blame? Young man, let¡¯s reason this out. Does it take just one hand to clap? It¡¯s said that there is no love without hate. Doesn¡¯t that girl Bao Jie bear any responsibility?¡±


    ¡°Right, you are correct.¡± Yan Junze sat up, turned towards the door and said, ¡°Bao Jie indeed had her faults; she brought it upon herself. But that¡¯s only in our view. For the person involved, she has also spent days hating herself, several times trying to leave Zhou Jiajie, but what did your son do in the end?¡±


    Pausing for a moment, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Every time Bao Jie resolved to give up and leave Zhou Jiajie for good, your son would act like a ¡®prodigal son¡¯ who suddenly became good to her, reigniting her hope, even at the cost of various gifts to win back her love so that she could continue to treat him as before.¡±


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother was stunned.


    Yan Junze went on to say, ¡°Let me put it this way, everyone knows dogs are very loyal to humans. For instance, if you raise a dog, and every time you cut it, then feed it and nurse its wounds, treating it well. After some time you cut it again, repeating the steps over and over, until finally, the dog doesn¡¯t know whether to hate you or love you. There are only three possible outcomes: the dog goes mad, it kills its owner, or it commits suicide. Clearly, Bao Jie chose the latter.¡±


    After hearing this, Wang Tao and Yuan Lison seemed to understand the situation, but they didn¡¯t know why Zhou Jiajie¡¯s parents were seeking out Yan Junze now.


    ¡°Regardless¡­¡± Zhou Guhua said, ¡°My son already realizes his mistake. He¡¯s just someone who erred, not a murderer. He shouldn¡¯t have to suffer so much torment. Do you know how he has been these past few days? He has become inhuman, on the brink of mental collapse, to the point where even we can barely recognize him.¡±


    ¡°Damn, what the hell did Yan Junze do to that guy Zhou Jiajie?¡± Wang Tao felt bewildered hearing this.


    Yuan Lison had the same thought, but neither felt it was their place to speak.


    Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders: ¡°I¡¯ve already let him go. As long as he allows Bao Jie to truly feel loved, she will leave the very next moment she feels it. And she will never appear again.¡±


    Those words turned Wang Tao and Yuan Lison pale in an instant, the two exchanging glances, suddenly feeling a chill run down their spines.


    After talking for so long, it seemed that the suicidal girl turned into a strangeness, haunting this guy named Zhou Jiajie.


    ¡°He is so scared of that strangeness that he is about to die; how can he love? Tell me, how can he love?¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother was nearly hysterical, her voice becoming shrill.


    By this time, other people from the dormitory had come out to watch the excitement, whispering among themselves.


    Yan Junze spread his hands, somewhat helpless: ¡°That means he hasn¡¯t fully realized and is still resisting. Tell him to let go first, then accept. If he can do that, Bao Jie might leave for good today instead of clinging on without end.¡±


    ¡°Do you think this could work?¡± Zhou Guhua said in a tone, seeking a compromise, ¡°We could¡­ cancel that¡­ ban and seek other exorcists.¡±


    Yan Junze shrugged: ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t impose that ban. You can go and talk to Captain Huo Zhisen.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already approached Huo Zhisen,¡± Zhou Guhua said urgently. ¡°He told us the same thing, only he told us to come to you.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I see,¡± Yan Junze said with a tight-lipped smile, then fell silent.


    The scene quieted down, with the couple outside the door looking earnestly at Yan Junze. But Zhou Guhua was very smart. He knew that at this time, neither status nor wealth should be used as a means of negotiation.


    Because to an exorcist like Yan Junze, status, power, and wealth may very well be the least of his concerns, and mentioning them might even backfire.


    After about five minutes of silence with neither the couple leaving nor Yan Junze speaking any further, Wang Tao and Yuan Lison stood there not knowing what to say. However, they had somewhat figured out the whole situation.


    Both felt that it wasn¡¯t clear-cut who was entirely right or wrong. From Yan Junze¡¯s perspective, even considering the relationship with Zhou Dali and their past as schoolmates, he would side with Bao Jie.

 Chapter 352 - 288: What’s the Real Reason? (4400 words)

    Chapter 352: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)


    Zhou Guhua and his wife trembled all over, but from somewhere, they found the courage to support each other and shakily entered the bedroom with unsteady steps.


    Their gaze was fixed on the woman, who had already climbed onto the bed and was lying next to their son, a picture of strangeness.


    Zhou Jiajie remained curled up, motionless as if he were dead.


    His clothes were filthy, as though he hadn¡¯t bathed in ages. His body was visibly thinner, covered with bruises, leaving one to wonder what exactly had happened to him.


    As Zhou Guhua and his wife slowly approached the bed, Bao Jie lifted her head. Her icy gaze fell on the two of them, her lips parted slightly, and a soft, continuous sound emanated from her throat.


    To Zhou Guhua and his wife, it seemed like a warning: if they came any closer, unthinkable consequences would follow.


    ...


    The couple stopped immediately, standing less than a meter away from the bed, anxiously looking at their unmoving son but not daring to look at the strange woman again, standing there cowering.


    ¡°Son¡­ son.¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother began, ¡°Dad, mom are here to see you again¡­¡±


    Zhou Jiajie showed no reaction.


    His mother began to grow anxious, and she glanced at Zhou Guhua but dared not come any closer.


    At this moment, Bao Jie, who had been lying next to Zhou Jiajie, retracted her gaze from Zhou Guhua and his wife, her head cricked as she unnaturally burrowed her own head under the pillow that covered Zhou Jiajie¡¯s head.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    The next second, Zhou Jiajie let out a weak scream, tore off the pillow covering his head, and struggled to crawl away, trying to sit up.


    When he finally managed to sit up against the headboard, he found that Bao Jie was no longer in sight.


    Looking down, he saw Bao Jie¡¯s long hair peeking out from the now bunched up duvet, a pair of eyes appeared faintly in the darkness beneath the duvet, staring coldly at him.


    Zhou Jiajie¡¯s body began to tremble again, as if he would collapse at any moment.


    ¡°Son!¡± His mother cried out, ¡°We went, we went to find Yan Junze, he said you could do it, we all believe you can do it.¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhou Guhua added, ¡°He told you to learn to ¡®let go before accepting,¡¯ he said you can definitely ¡®let go before accepting¡¯ her. Son, you can do it!¡±


    ¡°We believe in you, you¡­ you can definitely do it, son, you can.¡± Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother¡¯s heart was in a knot.


    Zhou Jiajie was completely out of it, and upon hearing his parents¡¯ repeated words, he was stunned for a moment, his hollow gaze slowly beginning to focus as he muttered to himself.


    ¡°Let go before accepting, let go before accepting, let go before accepting¡­¡±


    He kept repeating the words, gradually biting his lips harder.


    After a moment, large tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.


    ¡°Let go, accept, let go, accept¡­¡±


    As his repetition continued, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s face was covered with tears, he straightened up, his gaze not avoiding, staring at the cold eyes in the duvet, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I wronged you, Bao Jie, I wronged you¡­¡±


    The eyes in the duvet did not change, silently watching him.


    At this time, Zhou Jiajie looked like a decayed tree that was about to die, ready to take his last breath at any moment, but the one who had always been silent, always in panic and fear, seemed to finally open his heart.


    Weakly propping himself up on the bed, he bent his knees and knelt down, facing Bao Jie¡¯s direction, he buried his head deeply, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Bao Jie, I lied to you, I¡­ I actually did love you before, I didn¡¯t lie completely, I just really enjoyed¡­ enjoyed the love you gave me, I was too selfish, I just wanted to be comfortable myself, I never considered or even once thought about your feelings.¡±


    He continued, his body shaking with sobs, Zhou Jiajie¡¯s emotions completely collapsed.


    His parents stood close by, never having seen their son like this, they stood frozen, their minds blank.


    ¡°Bao Jie, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you ever love me?¡± Bao Jie¡¯s voice suddenly came forth.


    Her head, with long hair scattered, emerged from under the duvet, her body supple as though boneless, eerily moving beside Zhou Jiajie.


    At this moment, Zhou Jiajie watched her approach without a blink, for the first time in history, without showing any recoil.


    ¡°Did you ever love me?¡± Bao Jie asked again.


    Zhou Jiajie didn¡¯t answer, but instead closed his eyes, more tears flowing.


    Seeing no response from him, Zhou Guhua and his spouse began to panic, fearful that their son¡¯s avoidance would once again anger the strange woman, possibly prompting her to do something even more frightening to Zhou Jiajie.


    As they worried, Zhou Jiajie suddenly extended his hands and took Bao Jie into his embrace, the coldness piercing through his body, yet at that moment, pulling her even closer.


    The couple was taken aback, startled by their son¡¯s action.


    At this moment, although Bao Jie was expressionless, she made no other move and was simply held by Zhou Jiajie, motionless.


    After what felt like ages, even while Zhou Guhua and his wife wondered if their son might already be dead, they saw Zhou Jiajie slowly rest his head on Bao Jie¡¯s shoulder, his voice trembling with endless regret, saying word by word, ¡°I did love you, I really loved you back then. Bao Jie, I¡¯m¡­ so¡­ sorry!¡±


    Paragraph copied

 Chapter 353 - 288: What’s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_2

    Chapter 353: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_2


    Whoosh!


    From the perspective of Zhou Guhua and his wife, they saw Zhou Jiajie¡¯s motion of holding Bao Jie abruptly become empty, as if the thing in his arms had vanished into thin air, and Bao Jie¡¯s figure had already disappeared.


    The next second, Zhou Jiajie, having lost his balance, plunged onto the bed. He made no other movement but let out a loud wail, crying as if a dam had burst, tears pouring out uncontrollably. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The couple glanced at each other, tears streaming down the face of Zhou Jiajie¡¯s mother as well, and Zhou Guhua had tears running down his cheeks, too.


    The other relatives, hearing the commotion, had gathered at the bedroom door, speechless and shocked at the scene.


    That day, it seemed like everyone in Zhou Guhua¡¯s family understood something, something hidden deep within their hearts, and it had fundamentally changed.


    ...


    ¡­


    [Shadowing, Anxiety-Inducing (Low), Completed, gained 100 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Yan Junze, lying on his dormitory bed, suddenly blinked, sitting up to look inward at the mission information that had popped up in his mind.


    This ¡°Shadowing¡± mission originated from Bao Jie¡¯s obsession, and now it abruptly appeared, and after Zhou Guhua and his wife left, in that span of time, it seemed they must have done something, and Zhou Jiajie had finally let go and accepted it.


    As the mission information in his mind gradually faded, Yan Junze began to recall the last few months of senior year. Even though he was an interloper in this body, he had still developed some degree of affection for these classmates he often interacted with.


    It was inevitable.


    Nobody would have anticipated that such a drastic change would happen in less than a year.


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly had a bizarre thought: what if he activated the Great Rewind, went back to high school, interfered with Bao Jie and Zhou Jiajie earlier on, told Zhou Dali that at the Tianmeng Sports Institute, a girl with long legs, 1.8 meters tall, was waiting for him? Maybe everything could have been different.


    Of course, things could change, but then he would have to deal with a multitude of ensuing Butterfly Effects that would need correcting.


    The thought was just that, a thought. He couldn¡¯t possibly do that again.


    Yan Junze lay back down on the bed, and not long after, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou came back to the dormitory, followed shortly by Huahua.


    This guy seemed to have become addicted to teaching Xiang Er; even upon returning to the dorm, he looked like he hadn¡¯t had his fill.


    After chatting with his roommates for a bit, Yan Junze decided to go to sleep early.


    Just as he had gotten comfortable under the covers, his right hand suddenly went numb, a familiar sensation of numbness overtaking him, stronger than the previous times.


    He pulled back the bedding with his left hand, feeling as though his right hand no longer belonged to him, and when he looked down, he abruptly did a double-take; for a moment, it seemed he could no longer see where his right hand was.


    Blinking hard, he finally saw his right hand was fine, inside the bedding. Perhaps it had just been an optical illusion.


    As he was thinking, his right hand again became ethereal, then reappeared solidly. This time, the numb sensation was even stronger. His left index and middle finger had also begun to go numb.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze was utterly confused, not understanding what was happening.


    After about four or five minutes, the numbness gradually subsided, and once his right hand returned to normal, he examined it closely and pinched it hard a few times, finding nothing unusual, as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination.


    ¡°Why did it become ethereal? It¡¯s as if my entire hand disappeared.¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    He knew very well that such a situation must have a cause; it couldn¡¯t have occurred for no reason. Now wide awake, he lay on his bed, meticulously thought back for over an hour, but still came up with nothing.


    Every time he encountered a strangeness and dealt with it, Yan Junze clearly remembered that, upon completing each task, if there were any residues of the task left, they would definitely follow him.


    Like Fang Ning, Ugly Girl, Lantern Woman, Mirror Spirit. If there were no residues, then why would his hand go numb, why did it briefly disappear?


    The deeper he pondered, the more Yan Junze felt a chilling fear, as if something bad had found him. And he thought, could it be related to the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission he had encountered?


    After all, he had almost died during that mission, leaving a profound impression on him.


    Moreover, no matter how many times he Rewound during that mission, he was infected by Dark Poison, and had Zhenzhen not used her unique abilities to reverse defeat into victory by pulling out all the Tricky Silk at the cave entrance, all the Different Dimension Energy would have been drained there.


    Yan Junze, to this day, has not figured out why that situation occurred.


    The end of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task felt almost inescapable to him and Zhenzhen, but for some unknown reason, someone who suddenly spoke up blocked the enormous suction force behind them, ultimately allowing them to escape.


    Now thinking back, if there were any hidden residues to speak of, they most likely came from the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission, as most other task residues had already surfaced, and for those without residues, he was certain he had cleaned them up.


    The only mission Yan Junze wasn¡¯t sure about was ¡°Tricky Silk.¡±


    Of course, this was just speculation, with no evidence to prove it, and Yan Junze also didn¡¯t know how to prove it, nor how to find the reason for the numbness and temporary disappearance of his right hand.


    With a restless night and poor sleep, he decided to skip the morning classes the next day, choosing to sleep in the dormitory, only going to class in the afternoon.

 Chapter 354 - 288: What’s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_3

    Chapter 354: Chapter 288: What¡¯s the Real Reason? (4400 words)_3


    By the time all the classes had ended, Zhang Xiaomo called him. After answering, Zhang Xiaomo told him that she had arrived and was in the drink shop diagonally opposite the main gate of Tianmeng Science University.


    Yan Junze quickly reached the drink shop. He felt as if it had been a long time since he had seen Zhang Xiaomo. When he saw the girl dressed in casual wear with cartoon patterns, he couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t notice because she was staring at Yan Junze just as intently, her gaze sweeping from head to toe, examining him thoroughly.


    When she had looked her fill and was satisfied, she finally asked, ¡°Want a glass of juice?¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No need.¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    ¡°That person you mentioned, the one without a legal identity, where are they?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ...


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I was planning on resting for a few days before coming to you about this matter. I didn¡¯t expect you to beat me to it.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t tell Yan Junze the truth because she always had the feeling that the person he mentioned must be a woman.


    This feeling was baseless, purely a sixth sense.


    ¡°Call that person over, I want to have a look.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Not here, come on, let¡¯s go to the rental house.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was startled and stood up with her drink in hand, ¡°Rental house? You¡¯re living in a rental with that person?¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Yan Junze gave her a look, ¡°She lives in the rental house alone; I still stay in the dorm.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo uttered an ¡°oh¡± and hurriedly took a few steps, handing the half-finished drink to Yan Junze, ¡°I can¡¯t finish it, you drink it.¡±


    As she spoke, her gaze subtly glanced at Yan Junze, seemingly to observe his facial expression.


    Yan Junze naturally took the drink cup, sipped through the straw, and said, ¡°Mm, it tastes good, no sugar added, but with cheesecake melting into the milk tea, the flavor becomes very sweet.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°You also like it this way?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Then you drink it all.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    The two of them quickly arrived outside the rental house. The door was closed. Yan Junze called out ¡°Xiang Er,¡± and about two seconds later, the door opened from the inside.


    A tall woman with pale skin stood at the door, looking emotionlessly at Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo who was behind him.


    ¡°They¡¯re all familiar faces,¡± Yan Junze began.


    Xiang Er stepped aside, Yan Junze went in first and turned on the light to brighten up the place, and then Zhang Xiaomo walked in.


    Zhang Xiaomo furrowed her brows, her gaze constantly moving over Xiang Er, not saying a word.


    ¡°Do you see anything special about her?¡± Yan Junze asked with a smile.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked skeptical, glanced seriously at Xiang Er, and shook her head slightly, ¡°Aside from being pretty and well-built, I can¡¯t see anything else for the time being.¡±


    Yan Junze pointed to a chair on the opposite side and said to Xiang Er, ¡°Go sit over there.¡±


    Xiang Er complied and went to sit down. She was also sizing up Zhang Xiaomo, feeling an instinctive sense of palpitations since the woman entered the room, not the relaxed mood she felt when facing Huahua.


    Seeing Xiang Er¡¯s movements as she went to sit, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s brow furrowed even more, and after a moment she said, ¡°I feel¡­ she seems like a fake person? It¡¯s like something is controlling her.¡±


    Yan Junze clapped his hands and said, ¡°See, Xiang Er, I told you that you still need to practice more. As a three-star Exorcist, Xiaomo just came in and took two glances, and she¡¯s already noticed something off.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaomo abruptly stood up, her magnetic knife drawn, pointing at Xiang Er, ¡°She¡­ Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect!?¡±


    Then she added, ¡°No, that¡¯s not right, it¡¯s not Possessing a Corpse to Resurrect, it¡¯s Attachment, this strangeness has attached to a female corpse??¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop Zhang Xiaomo but pointed at Xiang Er and said, ¡°This strangeness¡¯s real name is Wang Zhenxiang, I call her Xiang Er, and what you are seeing now, this nearly perfect female corpse, comes from Spirit Cultivator Yan Long¡¯s final masterpiece. It was probably made, at least or perhaps, from piecing together more than fifty female bodies.¡±


    Clang!


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s magnetic knife dropped to the floor.

 Chapter 374: 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)

    Chapter 374: Chapter 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)


    ¡°Who¡¯s come?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked curiously.


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°A friend you just met last time.¡±


    At the same time, in a taxi on the move.


    Xiang Er placed her cellphone very carefully into her jeans pocket and glanced at the rearview mirror inside the taxi, noticing that the driver was still looking at her.


    Xiang Er had been counting carefully; this was the 127th time the guy had sneaked a peek at her since she got on the car.


    After possessing this perfect female corpse, every day brought Xiang Er a fresh sensation, whether it was the people or objects around her, things that happened, or interacting and communicating with others, all were completely different from her feelings when she was alive.


    ...


    Xiang Er¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t that profound; she simply felt that everyone paid a lot of attention to her, unable to ignore her, just like the driver currently driving.


    Of course, among these people, only Yan Junze¡¯s attention felt different to her.


    To Xiang Er, everything she now had was given to her by Yan Junze, and saying he had granted her a second life was no exaggeration.


    Therefore, she couldn¡¯t let Yan Junze encounter any danger, absolutely not.


    The cellphone was bought for her by Yan Junze, and Xiang Er treasured it. Hence after securing the phone, she looked up and asked the taxi driver, ¡°Driver, how long until we reach the address I gave you?¡±


    ¡°About¡­ four blocks.¡± While waiting for the red light, the driver took the opportunity to turn and stare at her face, ¡°That place is a bit remote, beauty. What are you going there for, all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait anymore.¡±


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t answer the driver, took out the spending money Yan Junze gave her, pulled out a hundred yuan, and handed it to the driver.


    ¡°What, you¡¯re not riding anymore?¡± The driver reflexively accepted the money, touching Xiang Er¡¯s fingers and discovering that her hand was frighteningly cold with not a bit of warmth.


    ¡°Mhm, no need for change.¡± sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With that, Xiang Er opened the car door and ran off, her movements quick and nimble.


    The driver only saw a blur before he couldn¡¯t see Xiang Er among the pedestrians on the street anymore. He hastily shouted, and pressed the window while speaking loudly, ¡°It¡¯s not about not needing change, but your fare isn¡¯t enough! From Tianmeng Science University, that¡¯s so far; the journey crosses the entire Tianmeng city. Hey, where did she go?¡±


    At this moment, Xiang Er couldn¡¯t care what the people on the road thought. In fact, her speed was so fast, whether in sprinting or jumping, she had long broken past the limits of ordinary humans tenfold or even dozens of times, to the point that pedestrians couldn¡¯t even react in time.


    If it had been just Xiang Er herself with her strangeness, she could have flown straight there by now, but after possessing this corpse, she couldn¡¯t bring the corpse to fly with her.


    However, the corpse¡¯s constitution was very special; even if unable to fly, the speed of sprinting and jumping alone was already terrifying enough.


    ¡­


    In a room on the second floor of an old building.


    The magnetic field interference from the metal sphere had been activated, and the fog separating the two sides had disappeared, revealing the man in the trenchcoat and his subordinate holding the metal case at the door.


    However, the scene inside the room was different from before the Rewind.


    A sofa and a square table had been moved in advance, blocking the center of the room.


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were standing behind the barricade, Zhang Xiaomo holding a magnetic knife, and Zhang Di also wielding something resembling a bed leg.


    Yan Junze and Zhao Qi were close to the small bed, Yan Junze softly said to Zhao Qi, ¡°Imagine outside the door, right in the corridor area, can any strangenesses appear?¡±


    Zhao Qi shook his head quickly, ¡°Just now I kept thinking there were ¡®Silent Hill¡¯ pyramid head monsters roaming outside the door, but it seems there is no response.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. Now it appeared that the metal sphere¡¯s interference covered a wide range, not only this room but even the corridor outside couldn¡¯t produce a strangeness magnetic field.


    However, he had made arrangements in advance, knowing that the man in the trenchcoat was forceful in his actions, so he didn¡¯t let Zhang Xiaomo and the others attack proactively, but rather took a defensive approach, aiming to delay time.


    Seeing the setup inside the room, the man in the trenchcoat paused for a moment, then stepped into the room, his subordinate following him in.


    The moment they entered the room, Yan Junze and the others immediately threw the Hidden Buckles they had prepared.


    Obviously, the Chilling Hidden Buckle was out of the question; the building was too old and likely to catch fire, so they could only use other Hidden Buckles, and Chilling was the first to be thrown.


    As long as it could freeze the opponents, whether or not it could freeze them to death, at least it would render them immobile. If that didn¡¯t work, they could throw a few Collapse or even High-Energy Collapse.


    But unless absolutely necessary, Yan Junze and the others were reluctant to throw the Collapsing Hidden Buckles, because Collapse¡¯s target was strangeness, and after detonation, it would automatically seek out the direction of strangeness for impact. But their opponents were two human beings.


    This meant that after Collapse exploded, without any strangeness to lock onto, it would burst in all directions, impacting everyone present.


    That was entirely a strategy of harming the enemy but also heavily damaging oneself, and they wouldn¡¯t use it until it was critically necessary.


    Two Chilling Hidden Buckles were thrown with excellent precision, heading straight for the man in the trenchcoat and his subordinate. They were about to scatter in the next second and cover the two men completely.


    But just at the moment before they were about to explode, a white light flashed inside the Chilling Hidden Buckles, splitting them in two, and they fell to the ground.


    Everyone was stunned to hear Zhang Di, as though he¡¯d realized something, say, ¡°The Hidden Buckles have magnetic field target features, which can be captured by that metal sphere.¡±


    This way, as long as the Hidden Buckles activated their magnetic field targeting at the moment of explosion, aiming to lock onto the position of strangeness, the metal sphere would sense it prematurely and interfere with its self-destruction.


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 Chapter 375: 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2

    Chapter 375: Chapter 297: Spirit (Conclusion) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2


    The Hidden Buckle fell, and these items were also unusable under the cover of the metal sphere. The man in the trench coat took a few steps forward and kicked the table that lay on its side on the floor facing him, splitting it into pieces.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s strategy was defensive attack, and after the table shattered, she slashed down with her knife.


    Zhang Di also struck at the same moment toward the underling in the tracksuit with his stick. He had a sofa to block him, which was a better situation, but after Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s table had been kicked away, she had no cover left.


    The man in the trench coat punched out, hitting Zhang Xiaomo right in the wrist, and the magnetic knife dropped to the ground.


    The trench coat man¡¯s punch was as fast as lightning, leaving Zhang Xiaomo almost no chance to react, as he threw a straight punch at her face.


    Zhang Xiaomo quickly stepped back, but it was still a step too late.


    ...


    Just as her nose was about to be hit by the punch, a mallet suddenly descended in mid-air, striking squarely on the man¡¯s fist and completely cutting him off.


    Yan Junze charged forward, swinging another mallet blow toward his forehead.


    Now that all strangenesses were ineffective, they could only rely on brute force to contend with the opponent, and to Yan Junze, that black metal sphere was simply a godsend.


    If thrown into a place affected by strangenesses, it could disturb the strange magnetic field and instantly bring about a peaceful golden age.


    But then he thought, if it had such a powerful function, wouldn¡¯t the other Exorcist organizations of Great Capital have already cleared their respective areas of strangeness cleanly? Why then would they come here and vie with Huaying¡¯s Exorcist team for a single Spirit? S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps the technology using this metal sphere wasn¡¯t quite mature, and Yan Junze¡¯s mind was racing. As for whether using the sphere would have any side effects on those present, that was unknown.


    It isn¡¯t going to sterilize us, is it!


    The thought had just crossed his mind when his mallet had already hit the trench coat man, but it hit his fist, not his head.


    The man¡¯s fist collided with the mallet, making a crisp clashing sound, but there was no sound of bones breaking. His fist was like iron.


    You should know that Yan Junze¡¯s mallet had been modified, with alloy incorporated into the metal, greatly enhancing its hardness. Although it wasn¡¯t the strongest, the fact that this guy dared to meet a mallet with his bare fist was a testament to his toughness.


    At this moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t care about such things. Since your fist is so tough, let¡¯s try hitting it again. After all, it¡¯s not his own fist that¡¯s doing the hitting.


    He swung his mallet repeatedly, without any particular technique¡ªjust using strength wherever it felt right, striking wherever felt comfortable.


    But just after a few swings, he received a fierce kick in the stomach, which sent Yan Junze flying backward, his face turning bright red as he curled up on the ground, unable to catch his breath for quite some time.


    Seeing that things were going south, Zhao Qi hurried to Yan Junze¡¯s side and squatted down. Before he could even ask, Zhang Xiaomo screamed as she was punched in the shoulder by the man in the trench coat and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Go to hell, you bastard!¡±


    Zhang Di roared and tried to extricate himself from the fight with the tracksuit man to help, but the man in the trench coat took the opportunity to land a swinging punch directly on his face, slapping him to the ground with a swollen cheek, knocking him unconscious.


    The trench coat man stepped toward Zhao Qi, grabbed his collar, and hoisted him up from where he knelt by Yan Junze, then turned to his subordinate and ordered, ¡°Open the case and be quick about it.¡±


    The subordinate nodded, placed the metal case on the sofa, manipulated the combination lock, and soon the case clicked, its lid popping slightly open.


    The subordinate opened the metal case lid completely, revealing a grey-black helmet. This helmet seemed rather unsightly, with some circuitry exposed on its surface, and inside, there were flashing lights in a pattern of two short, one long¡ªseemingly a particular sequence.


    At this point, Yan Junze and the others were all lying on the ground, unable to see what was inside the case. Yan Junze¡¯s stomach hurt terribly, as if his intestines had been kicked apart, and he couldn¡¯t stand up at all.


    He still had the Energy Rewind in his Spacetime Atlas, but he wasn¡¯t planning to activate it. Despite being injured, he was still observing his surroundings. Although Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di were down, they seemed to be only injured, not critically.


    If he used Rewind, the outcome might be similar, or perhaps even worse.


    Yan Junze could accept the current situation, and he needed to wait rather than constantly Rewind and suffer over and over in situations that weren¡¯t too bad.


    At the moment the tracksuit subordinate took out the helmet, it seemed that he understood, and his gaze, along with Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s, was fixed on that helmet.


    The trench coat man took the helmet, moved it toward Zhao Qi¡¯s head, and without caring whether it fit, he pressed it down hard on Zhao Qi¡¯s head. Fearing it wasn¡¯t secure enough, he also gave a firm pat on the top of the helmet.


    Zhao Qi was completely disoriented and unable to resist.


    ¡°Kill these damn bastards and get the Turner Sphere back!¡±


    The man in the trench coat said something to his subordinate in USA language, and walked out of the house carrying Zhao Qi, who was already wearing a helmet.


    At the doorway, the man in the tracksuit who was following him squatted next to the unconscious Zhang Di, pulled a metal wire from his watch, and wrapped it around Zhang Di¡¯s neck.


    Just like Zhang Xiaomo and the others, aside from weapons used against strangenesses, they didn¡¯t have more efficient weapons for killing, and the method of strangulation was the cheapest and least bloody.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze knew he had to Rewind or, given Zhang Di¡¯s current condition, he would be completely done in at most ten seconds.


    Now he felt numbness in both of his hands again, as well as a momentary state of being insubstantial.


    As the man in the tracksuit applied pressure, Yan Junze was about to Rewind when suddenly, there was a thud from outside the hallway, as if something had fiercely hit the ground, causing light shaking in the room as well.


    Then everyone saw the man in the trench coat, who had already made it outside to the corridor, looking surprised as he dragged Zhao Qi backward step by step, retreating back to the doorway and into the room.


    About a meter in front of him stood Xiang Er, staring at him unblinkingly with a grim expression.


    After entering the room, Xiang Er turned around and suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Junze, are you all right?¡±


    Enduring the pain, Yan Junze replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°No time to talk, save the one with the helmet, then kill that foreigner and the one in the tracksuit.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the man in the trench coat finally realized that this terrifying woman was Yan Junze¡¯s backup. The reason he had retreated was that this woman had leapt from the first floor to the second directly in front of him, blocking his way.


    From that display alone, the trench coat man knew this woman was the difficult type to deal with.


    After receiving Yan Junze¡¯s command, Xiang Er immediately used her strangeness powers and the inherent strength of her body to prepare to attack the man in the trench coat, but the next second, her body trembled and she couldn¡¯t help but fall to her knees.


    Yan Junze immediately said, ¡°There¡¯s interference in the room, just control this body, don¡¯t use your own power.¡±


    Xiang Er, coming to her senses, looked up, only to find the trench coat man had already dropped Zhao Qi, freeing up his hands to punch her in the head.


    This man¡¯s punch was so powerful that it could knock Zhang Di unconscious. If it hit Xiang Er¡¯s head and she was a normal person, it could subdue her in one blow.


    A second later, Xiang Er raised her hand and firmly caught the trench coat man¡¯s fist.


    The trench coat man¡¯s body shook as an intense pain shot up from his fingers. The woman had not only grabbed his fist but had also directly dislocated his knuckles.


    In that moment, the bones in his right hand were almost all broken.


    Maintaining her half-kneeling position, Xiang Er grabbed the man¡¯s hand and slowly stood up, snapping his muscular arm with a crackle. The man in the trench coat groaned quietly, managing not to cry out.


    Seeing that things were going badly, the tracksuit subordinate gave up on strangling Zhang Di, stood up to flee, but was kicked in the waist by Xiang Er, projected against the wall, and fell to the ground, limp as a pile of mush.


    ¡°Xiang Er, break this guy¡¯s limbs and tie him up,¡± Yan Junze said, managing to stand up in pain, taking deep breaths, and sitting on the bed to command.


    Zhang Xiaomo was sitting on the sofa nearby, clutching her shoulder, her face covered in sweat.


    The sounds of bones breaking intermittently reached everyone¡¯s ears, but the trench coat man only muffled his groans, not letting out any screams of agony.


    Yan Junze called out to Zhao Qi several times and found him motionless, but his eyes were open, looking cloudy, as if his thoughts were a mess.


    Upon inspecting the helmet on Zhao¡¯s head, it seemed to have taken effect, preventing Zhao Qi from thinking normally.


    This meant that Zhao Qi would not be able to perform Imaginative Manifestation anymore.


    At this thought, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo exchanged looks and turned their attention to the grey helmet.


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 Chapter 376: 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)

    Chapter 376: Chapter 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)


    Xiang Er was remarkably efficient, breaking the windbreaker-clad man¡¯s limbs before finding some nylon rope in the house and tying him up tightly.


    She also tied up his unconscious henchman.


    However, this henchman seemed to be seriously injured, barely even breathing.


    Yan Junze speculated that Xiang Er¡¯s kick must have been much harder than the one delivered to the man in the windbreaker; it might have damaged the guy¡¯s internal organs.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo.


    Zhang Xiaomo pulled down her shoulder clothing a bit to reveal skin that had turned bruise-black, painful to the touch.


    ...


    She shook her head, ¡°My bones are intact, I should be fine after some rest.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°The support you requested should arrive soon. Xiang Er can¡¯t make contact with them for now, so she and I will leave first. You rest on the couch for a bit.¡±


    He paused, his gaze moving away from the black metal ball, and said, ¡°Everything here, including that metal ball and the helmet, is a considerable fortune for the current Great Capital¡¯s Exorcist organization. It will allow the organization¡¯s research institutions to make good use of it.¡±


    After speaking, he glanced at Zhang Di, who was still unconscious.


    And Zhao Qi, with the helmet on, sat on the ground like a complete fool, unmoving and oblivious to what was going on around him.


    ¡°Remember to go to the hospital for a check-up after you leave, especially the injured parts of your body, don¡¯t be careless,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said softly.


    Yan Junze nodded and left first, assisted by Xiang Er.


    After descending the stairs, his legs suddenly began to numb, prompting him to look down. There was no sign of his feet turning ethereal, but the numbness felt exactly like that in his hands.


    ¡°Can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, offering no explanation.


    Xiang Er thought he had injured his foot and promptly carried him on her back, moving briskly.


    Resting on Xiang Er¡¯s back, Yan Junze felt an icy chill against his chest as if he was holding a block of ice.


    He could also smell a faint scent of medicine, but after advice from Zhang Xiaomo and Huahua, Xiang Er had learned how to use perfume. The fresh fragrance emanating from her was light, distinct and did not mix with the medicinal scent to create an unpleasant odor.


    After walking for a while, the ride Yan Junze had ordered arrived, and the two got into the vehicle. At that moment, several vans zoomed past, heading towards the old building.


    Yan Junze was familiar with these vans; they were the specialized vehicles of Tianmeng¡¯s Exorcist squads and must be the support that had arrived.


    But if Xiang Er hadn¡¯t arrived in time to rescue them, those vans would now only be collecting their corpses.


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er did not go straight home. After Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s reminder, Xiang Er insisted that Yan Junze get a medical examination first.


    The two went to the nearest hospital, where an examination revealed that aside from some bruises, his internal organs were unharmed.


    Following the doctor¡¯s advice, Yan Junze stayed in the hospital overnight for observation and left the next day at noon, once certain everything was fine.


    Xiang Er stayed by his side the whole time, and during this period, Yan Junze occasionally checked on the recovery of his Different Dimension Energy. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the ordeal with the spirit event, the Spacetime Atlas¡¯s energy continued to diminish, yet the recovery rate remained unchanged. For Yan Junze, he needed a lot of energy to search for Space-Time Rifts.


    But the current rate of recovery was clearly insufficient.


    Now, not only were his hands numbing, but his legs had started as well. He did not know how long it would be before the main trunk of his body would also succumb to numbness or even disappear entirely.


    All of this constantly reminded him that he must expedite using the Great Rewind, to return to the previous ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission and face that Boss who could control humans with Tricky Silk.


    After returning to school, Yan Junze focused on attending classes on time and recuperating.


    To accelerate the recovery of energy in the Spacetime Atlas, he even extracted the Different Dimension Energy absorbed by the Black Spirit Mallet into the Atlas, and he didn¡¯t spare the energy stored inside the badges given by the Exorcist squads.


    But for him now, the rate of energy recovery was still slow.


    With less than a month left in the semester, Yan Junze was anxious, but one cannot rush to eat hot tofu; with insufficient energy and no leads on the Space-Time Rift, haste was of no use.


    In the following days, he did not use Different Dimension Energy even once, instead quietly resting in his dormitory for a few days and returning to normal routine, shuttling back and forth between the school and Xiang Er¡¯s rental place daily.


    The weather turned much cooler, and to avoid raising suspicion, Yan Junze asked Huahua to buy some thick clothes for Xiang Er online.


    It must be said that Huahua had good taste. Plus, with Xiang Er¡¯s shapely figure, she could pull off any style, making anything she wore look good.


    Money was not an issue for Yan Junze at the moment. He planned to personally hand the substantial reward he had received after completing the task at Wang Family Bay to his parents on his next vacation.


    During the time he was resting, Zhang Xiaomo was also busy. Due to work requirements, she took off only a week and was then summoned back by the squad leader, Huo Zhisen.


    Yan Junze and she had a few phone calls where she mentioned that the black metal ball and helmet had been sent to the headquarters of the Exorcist squad for research and analysis. It seems that theirs was not the only black metal ball the headquarters had obtained.


    However, it required cross-referencing data from multiple metal balls, so this acquisition was still a significant one.


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 Chapter 377: 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2

    Chapter 377: Chapter 298: True?Five Stars (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, recommendations)_2


    As for the helmet that could bring a living being¡¯s thought process to a standstill, headquarters had also been independently researching it and had reached the condition to produce a semi-finished product. It¡¯s just that at the time, Zhang Xiaomo was not aware of the development of the helmet.


    Now, this helmet from the Great Capital Exorcist organization of the USA had some key technologies that Great Capital didn¡¯t have control over. It was just in time to provide help in an emergency, with a value greater than that black metallic sphere.


    In order to reward Zhang Xiaomo, Zhang Di, and Yan Junze, Huo Zhisen gave Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di a sum of bonus money, and for Yan Junze, it was an Exorcist-exclusive travel permit. With this travel permit, one could substitute it for an identity card, and it could even grant access to certain areas restricted to regular personnel.


    According to Zhang Xiaomo, such a permit is only available to official Exorcists, and as an external member like him, he never received one.


    It was clear that Huo Zhisen never treated him as an external member,


    In the week before the holiday break, Yan Junze¡¯s injured body had long recovered, and his Different Dimension Energy has also restored to over 8,000 points. That day after class, before heading back to the dorm, he received a call from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ...


    As soon as Yan Junze answered, Zhang Xiaomo said on the other end of the line, ¡°Someone is coming to see you, guess who it is.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Guo Youliang,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo pouted, ¡°Can¡¯t you pretend to be clueless and let me be happy for a while?¡±


    ¡°Alright, ask me again,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Guess who¡¯s coming to see you?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked with a smirk, unable to contain her laughter.


    ¡°Wow, who¡¯s coming to see me? Who is it? I¡¯m so excited, so curious! Who could it be, tell me quickly¡­¡± Yan Junze ¡°excitedly¡± said, ¡°Hmm, let me guess, it¡¯s your aunt Flo.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, hahaha¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo was already laughing so hard on the other end of the phone that she couldn¡¯t straighten up.


    It took a long time before she could speak again, and she burst into laughter as soon as she did, ¡°Yan Junze, if I die one day, it¡¯ll be because of laughter, and you¡¯ll be fully responsible.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can take responsibility for the rest of your life,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile and a nod.


    There was sudden silence on the other end of the phone, and Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s breathing could be heard, but neither of them spoke.


    After a moment, Zhang Xiaomo broke the silence and spoke softly, her voice tender to the extreme, ¡°Why suddenly¡­ I really feel like hitting you.¡±


    Yan Junze did not speak and just chuckled.


    Zhang Xiaomo said seriously, ¡°Idiot, originally only Uncle Guo was coming over to see you later, but now I¡¯ve decided to join him. Don¡¯t go roaming too far. We¡¯ll arrive in about forty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go to the restaurant outside the school and book a table full of delicacies now. We can have dinner together when you arrive,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    After hanging up the phone and putting his books away in the dorm, he encountered Professor Di Zhiwen on the way to the school gate.


    Professor Di had been discussing and researching topics such as timelines and parallel universes with Yan Junze for a while and was very pleased with him, one could say he offered him extra care.


    After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Di Zhiwen said, ¡°I heard you were sick a few days ago, and your health was poor. Are you feeling better now?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Professor, for your concern. I¡¯ve completely recovered,¡± Yan Junze replied with a smile.


    ¡°Hmm, these past few days I¡¯ve been researching the blooming effect of string theory,¡± Di Zhiwen, never straying from his profession, immediately began talking about his work, ¡°In theorizing, I¡¯ve incidentally found that the timeline, during its extension, can enter an unstable state, similar to a blooming effect.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what kind of instability?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a complete brick,¡± Di Zhiwen began his analogy, ¡°If it becomes unstable, there¡¯s a high chance that cracks will appear. But the brick remains the same brick, and the presence of cracks doesn¡¯t much interfere with the continued progression of the timeline.¡±


    ¡°Cracks?¡± Yan Junze mused, asking, ¡°If there really are such cracks, how would one go about proving or discovering them?¡±


    Di Zhiwen, smiling, pulled out his phone, brought up a photo he had taken, pointed at it and said, ¡°See this stone here? I took a picture of it a couple of days ago. The crack on it was as thick as a finger a month ago, but now, it¡¯s only as thick as a chopstick, which means its cracks are narrowing, as if it¡¯s reverse growing.¡±


    ¡°Stones reverse growing?¡± Yan Junze was surprised.


    Di Zhiwen said, ¡°Of course not, but if the timeline in that area is unstable, then this subtle situation can occur. Original cracks in stones would usually get wider with wind and sun exposure, but in this unstable time state, there might be a day when the crack narrows, and on another day, the crack might suddenly get much bigger.¡±


    ¡°Where is this place?¡± Yan Junze asked, pointing at the stone in the photo, his heartbeat quickening.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the yard of a friend¡¯s house,¡± Di Zhiwen answered.


    ¡°Wow, this place is amazing! Professor, does your friend live in¡­¡±


    ¡°Right in Tianmeng City.¡±


    After chatting with Di Zhiwen for a while and upon leaving, Yan Junze seemed very excited.


    According to Di Zhiwen¡¯s somewhat vague description, if one could verify the site, there was a high possibility that a space-time rift was in that place.


    Such targeted searching was preferable, as it would no longer involve the wasteful scattering of Different Dimension Energy.


    Currently, for Yan Junze, the most energy-consuming task was searching for space-time rifts.


    As he pondered, he quickly arrived outside the school and went to the restaurant he often visited with his roommates. Yan Junze ordered several of their specialty dishes, estimated the time, and asked the staff to serve them slowly. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After sitting for about twenty minutes, Guo Youliang and Zhang Xiaomo arrived.


    Yan Junze stood at the entrance of the restaurant, waved his hand, and his gaze was entirely fixed on Guo Youliang.


    In reality, the Guo Youliang he now saw was the tall, physically strong Ancient Corpse, Mo Da. Only, Mo Da¡¯s hair bun was gone, his hair was cut short, and he was dressed in modern clothes, lacking the ancient style.


    When Guo Youliang walked over, his gait was steady as the wind, his hands empty, without a spot on his person where a magnetic knife could be fitted.


    Zhang Xiaomo was following close behind and almost had to jog to keep up. On seeing Yan Junze, her eyes slightly brightened, and her gaze stayed on him without wavering.


    Yan Junze understood that this girl might truly have missed him.


    ¡°Uncle Guo,¡± Yan Junze extended his hand.


    Guo Youliang¡¯s face showed a sincere smile, he grasped Yan Junze¡¯s hand firmly and said, ¡°Junze, I came especially to thank you.¡±


    ¡°Please, no need for formality, let¡¯s sit inside, the dishes will be served soon,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    After Guo Youliang sat down, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s not speak of such formalities; I now consider you one of our own. The help you¡¯ve given me is like giving me a new lease on life, something I can never repay.¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know what to say, so he poured a cup of tea for Guo Youliang and Zhang Xiaomo. However, the phrase ¡°new lease on life¡± sounded somewhat familiar to him; it seemed that Xiang Er had said the same thing a few days ago.


    ¡°How are you feeling now, Uncle Guo?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Guo Youliang patted his chest, producing a sound like a heavy drum: ¡°This body is in excellent condition, and it has a very negative constitution, which not only allowed me to successfully Possess a Corpse to Resurrect but also led to other significant gains. Although¡­ it was a bit hard to get used to during the first few days.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo went to scald the chopsticks and bowls with boiling water, brought them back and set them up before speaking, ¡°Uncle Guo is no longer a four-star Exorcist now, but a five-star. He completed his rehabilitation training at the squad headquarters and then passed the rank promotion test shortly thereafter. He¡¯s not only a five-star but also a very powerful one at that.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened as he scrutinized Guo Youliang: ¡°Uncle Guo, do tell, what changes have you experienced?¡±


    Although Yan Junze had guessed this might be the result, his confidence was not strong. Now that it was confirmed, he was very pleased.


    Guo Youliang said cheerfully, ¡°Because I merged with this extremely negative constitution, and with my previous control over Magnetic Force, I¡¯ve now come to truly master the Ultimate Law, an Exorcist Technique only a five-star Exorcist can control. Hmm, no need for a magnetic knife.¡±


    ¡°And Uncle Guo has mastered not just one form of Ultimate Law but two,¡± Zhang Xiaomo added, ¡°making him one of the very formidable five-star Exorcists.¡±


    Yan Junze, unfamiliar with the term ¡°Ultimate Law,¡± had no concept of it, but it sounded very powerful, so he could only express his admiration with a nod.


    ¡°Captain Huo said that from now on Uncle Guo will be Tianmeng¡¯s protector,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said happily.


    ¡°And the protector of you and your loved ones,¡± Guo Youliang added, kindly looking at Yan Junze.


    ¡°You mean, from now on, I can strut around Tianmeng?¡± Yan Junze joked.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always been strutting?¡± Zhang Xiaomo retorted.


    Guo Youliang gave Zhang Xiaomo a glance, then looked back at Yan Junze, a knowing look in his eyes.


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 Chapter 378: 299: The Jian Familys Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 378: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    They had dinner and chatted until the sky turned dark, and it was only after the restaurant staff reminded them that they were closing that the three of them finished their meal.


    By now, Yan Junze had a rough understanding: five-star Exorcists usually congregated in Huaying District, forming the elite of the Exorcist teams with very few in number.


    Previously, there was a five-star in Tianmeng District, but they perished along with a strangeness during the handling of a terrifying incident and the position had since remained vacant.


    Because of the scarcity of five-stars, Huaying District didn¡¯t offer special treatment to Tianmeng District, encouraging the local Exorcists to upgrade their abilities and to take the promotion test to four-star in hopes of becoming the new five-star Exorcist and filling the vacancy.


    As for the five-star Exorcists gathered in Huaying District, it was said they had more important missions to undertake, which Guo Youliang could potentially be assigned to if he performed well following his promotion.


    In Guo Youliang¡¯s own words, although his overall strength seemed decent now, the headquarters still had concerns.


    ...


    The first reason for their concern was that Guo Youliang had just been promoted, and they feared he might not have a firm grasp on his new powers, warranting further observation. The second reason was related to the body of Mo Da.


    Mo Da¡¯s body was still that of an Ancient Corpse, not Guo Youliang¡¯s original form, which made him different from other five-star Exorcists as there was no precedent for possessing a corpse to resurrect in an 800-year-old Ancient Corpse.


    So it was normal for headquarters to observe him, and even Guo Youliang himself was very concerned about his current condition, always mindful of any changes in this body.


    Regardless, the fact of his increased strength was indisputable and unchangeable.


    Latter, Yan Junze learned about the concept of the Ultimate Law, which was a special method for slaying strangenesses that only the five-star Exorcists possessed.


    What is a five-star?


    The bodies of these Exorcists are intrinsically exceptional, and if not naturally so, they could be transformed via a magnetic field later on in life.


    However, Exorcists who are artificially altered by the magnetic field after birth still fall short in overall capabilities compared to those five-stars born with the innate traits.


    Fortunate five-stars like Guo Youliang are after all in the minority.


    An extraordinary physique is fundamental; these individuals undergo changes in their body structure due to the magnetic field, which allows them to absorb some Spiritual Energy (Ghost Qi) for their use. Of course, Yan Junze referred to it as Different Dimension Energy.


    In the process of controlling the magnetic field and absorbing Spiritual Energy, every five-star Exorcist specializes in different aspects, hence their Ultimate Laws vary as well.


    The so-called Ultimate Law isn¡¯t about having a ¡°secret manual¡± lying around for any five-star Exorcist to practice.


    The Ultimate Law is merely a general term, and each five-star Exorcist¡¯s Ultimate Law is uniquely created based on their body, rendering them all distinct.


    This concept is very mysterious, and even Guo Youliang, though adept in its use, couldn¡¯t thoroughly explain it.


    But Yan Junze had come to understand the uniqueness of the five-star Exorcists, a level above the four-star.


    Moreover, according to Guo Youliang, there were even more powerful individuals beyond five-star, but they weren¡¯t referred to as Exorcists. Due to their rarity and eminent status, even the Exorcist organization had to treat them with great respect.


    Upon leaving the restaurant, Yan Junze said to Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°You should practice more and strive to become a four-star Exorcist soon.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long. I¡¯m much more skilled at controlling the Magnetic Force than before,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    ¡°After returning now, I¡¯ll first follow Captain Huo¡¯s instructions to sweep through Mo Family Village,¡± said Guo Youliang. ¡°Once it¡¯s confirmed that all the strangenesses there have been cleared, I¡¯ll come back and personally mentor Zhang Xiaomo to help her get promoted sooner.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Guo,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a beaming smile.


    Guo Youliang shook his head, ¡°What concerns you and Junze, concerns me too. Don¡¯t say thank you again.¡±


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo exchanged glances, both aware of what Guo Youliang meant. He wasn¡¯t a fool; dinner was enough time for him to surmise that the two had a delicate relationship.


    When they were about to part, Zhang Xiaomo handed Yan Junze a card, ¡°This is the Exorcist¡¯s Travel Permit. You have an A-grade permit, which allows access to many places.¡±


    Yan Junze took it and examined it closely.


    The card was exquisitely made, with gold-threaded edges, and had embossed lettering on both sides. It probably contained an embedded chip.


    ¡°Does it have a tracker?¡± Yan Junze raised the card and asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo rolled her eyes, ¡°The data chip contains your Exorcist identity information, with no tracking capabilities.¡±


    A car they had booked earlier was already waiting by the curb. Concerned that Zhang Xiaomo and Yan Junze still had more to say, Guo Youliang politely entered the vehicle first and waited inside.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo to Yan Junze, opening the car door but not immediately getting in.


    Yan Junze spread his arms, ¡°Do you need a hug before you go?¡±


    Blushing, Zhang Xiaomo stomped her foot gently and glanced at Guo Youliang, who sat in the car pretending to see and hear nothing.


    Zhang Xiaomo didn¡¯t embrace Yan Junze but pinched his arm hard as if using force while getting into the car.


    As the sedan drove away, Yan Junze stood at the curb and waved goodbye, then looked at the spot on his arm where she had pinched him. It was a bit red ¨C the woman apparently didn¡¯t have the heart to pinch too hard.


    When the tail lights of the car were no longer visible, Yan Junze was about to head back to the school when suddenly his legs went numb. He immediately reached down to brace his legs, but grasped nothing.


    He lay on the ground and hurried to look down, only to see his legs had turned transparent, with only a faint outline visible. But just a moment ago, his hand had indeed touched nothing. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Chapter 379: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    Yan Junze turned over and sat on the ground, watching his legs flicker in and out of visibility, the intense numbness relentlessly attacking him.


    It was already dark, and with no one around, he didn¡¯t fear being seen.


    About two or three minutes later, his legs finally stopped phasing into ghostly silhouettes.


    Yan Junze took out his phone and called Xiang Er, asking her to come and pick him up.


    Xiang Er had been inside the rental apartment all day and arrived at Yan Junze¡¯s location in less than a minute after receiving the call.


    Seeing Yan Junze sitting on a roadside flowerbed, continuously massaging his legs, she curiously asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you sitting here so late at night?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I just sent Zhang Xiaomo off and suddenly my legs gave out; I couldn¡¯t walk,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Zhang Xiaomo left? And then your legs went weak?¡± Xiang Er stared at him unblinkingly.


    ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Whether she comes or not has nothing to do with the weakness of my legs. Even if she hadn¡¯t come, I¡¯d still be without strength in my legs.¡±


    ¡°Then you should eat something to strengthen yourself,¡± Xiang Er said seriously, ¡°My dad used to say, ¡®you are what you eat¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, help me back to the dorm building, then you can go back to the rental,¡± Yan Junze hurriedly stopped her from continuing.


    Xiang Er supported him, and the two headed towards the academy.


    At this time, there were still occasional people in the school. Once Yan Junze reached the base of the dorm building, he told Xiang Er to go back quickly.


    He then grasped the stair railing and slowly made his way up the stairs.


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t go far and hid in the deep shadows of the trees opposite, squatting silently and watching him climb the stairs.


    Only after he entered the dorm did Xiang Er stand up and quickly leave.


    The situation was becoming increasingly serious and could no longer be delayed. Yan Junze lay back on his bed, too lazy to wash up, and just lay there.


    The other people in the dormitory were busy with their own things, oblivious to his condition.


    Not long after, overcome with exhaustion, Yan Junze fell asleep quickly.


    The next day he got up very early and waited outside Professor Di Zhiwen¡¯s residence before morning self-study.


    Although Professor Di Zhiwen lived in Tianmeng City District, he only went back on weekends and generally rested in his dorm after work on weekdays.


    At this time, Di Zhiwen had already gotten up and was doing his morning exercises, stretching his body.


    His dormitory had a small backyard; after finishing his exercises and returning to the front to open the door, Yan Junze greeted him with a smile.


    ¡°Professor, you¡¯re up,¡± he said.


    Di Zhiwen was taken aback and laughed, ¡°Why so early?¡±


    Yan Junze replied, ¡°I came specifically to ask about your friend¡¯s yard, where the rocks have undergone peculiar de-aging. Curiosity kept me up all night, so I thought I¡¯d check it out. Is that okay?¡±


    Di Zhiwen thought for a moment, ¡°It seems he¡¯s not in Tianmeng for the next few days; he told me he had to go on a business trip to Yannan District for a few days and probably hasn¡¯t returned.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head with a bitter smile, ¡°Looks like¡­ I won¡¯t be able to sleep for a few days.¡±


    Di Zhiwen laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s young people like you who have the spirit we need¡ªfull of curiosity for anything and determined to investigate it thoroughly.¡±


    Yan Junze gave an embarrassed smile. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Di Zhiwen took out his phone, ¡°Wait for me a moment; I think there are other people in his house. I¡¯ll ask him, and if it¡¯s convenient, I¡¯ll let them know to expect you. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to go and have a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yan Junze quickly nodded.


    Di Zhiwen dialed a number and walked into the house; after a bit, his voice could be heard speaking, and two minutes later, he came out and said, ¡°No problem, his daughter will be home after five o¡¯clock tomorrow afternoon. Just give your name when you get there, and she¡¯ll receive you.¡±


    ¡°Professor, aren¡¯t you going?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there many times,¡± Di Zhiwen said with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯ve even conducted research and proposed to bring that rock to my lab, but Jian Yifan has always been reluctant. By the way, this friend of mine is named Jian Yifan, a minor official in Tianmeng City District.¡±


    Yan Junze asked a few more questions, mainly if his visit would disturb the household, what to pay attention to, and whether the rock could be moved or not.


    After a short conversation, the two parted ways.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel the numbness that day, but he grew increasingly anxious, his limbs feeling uneasy as though he might disappear at any moment.


    After barely getting through the day, Xiang Er, hearing that he was going out the next day and thinking it was another mission, insisted on going with him.


    But Yan Junze said that this time no one could help him except himself.


    He even spoke very candidly, telling Xiang Er that if he didn¡¯t come back, she should find Zhang Xiaomo. Zhang Xiaomo, out of respect for him, would surely arrange everything for her and not directly let a high-level exorcist drive her out of the female corpse.


    Knowing Xiang Er¡¯s temperament, Yan Junze also made her promise not to search for him or make contact with anyone, so as not to involve others.


    Xiang Er was on the verge of tears after his words, her lips trembling.


    Yan Junze stroked her head, ¡°I¡¯m just considering all possibilities. It¡¯s not that bleak, otherwise, if I suddenly went missing without saying anything, you¡¯d be worried too.¡±


    As a corpse, Xiang Er naturally had no tears to shed and couldn¡¯t cry; she nodded her head but couldn¡¯t speak.


    Leaving Xiang Er¡¯s rental house, Yan Junze decided not to tell Zhang Xiaomo; he knew her concern for him was incomparable to Xiang Er¡¯s.


    She would surely follow him if she heard about any danger involved in this matter, which not only wouldn¡¯t be helpful but might even make things worse.


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    Chapter 380: Chapter 299: The Jian Family¡¯s Courtyard (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    If Yan Junze couldn¡¯t come back after this Great Rewind, Xiang Er would still tell Zhang Xiaomo afterward, although the specifics were unclear, at least there was someone to pass the message.


    To be honest, Yan Junze was also guessing whether his actions this time were reasonable, because in theory, on this timeline, he had already successfully launched the Great Rewind. He had rescued his past self from the Underground Space of Mountain Park and had survived safely up to the present.


    If he could go back to attempt a rescue this time, but wasn¡¯t successful, wouldn¡¯t it be contradictory to the current sequence of events?


    Of course, regarding the ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± feature in the Spacetime Atlas, Yan Junze only knew how to use it and had no understanding of the principles behind it.


    But since he had used the Great Rewind once before, killing Cheng Jingting and changing the present, and was also able to use ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± to make everything seem reasonable, this timeline under the effect of the Great Rewind could definitely develop in a different direction.


    This was equivalent to using the Great Rewind to make the events on the timeline bend and then smoothing over the resulting Butterfly Effect.


    ...


    That meant, if this time Yan Junze¡¯s rescue of himself didn¡¯t succeed, the current timeline would still bend, erasing everything that belonged to him and smoothing over any ripples related to him.


    Inclusive but not limited to having other people or events replace any actions he had performed, to rationalize them, even making them impeccable.


    That afternoon, Yan Junze didn¡¯t attend class and, after asking for leave, left the campus.


    Anyway, his taking leave had become normal, and for this reason, the school had provided him with a fast track. Sometimes he didn¡¯t even need to mention it beforehand and could leave directly. The leave note could be submitted afterward.


    Yan Junze chose to leave early because he couldn¡¯t wait. After all, Jian Yifan¡¯s daughter would be home after 5 p.m., and he just needed to be there on time. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He checked the address that Di Zhiwen had sent him; it was a location near the center of the urban area.


    Yan Junze arrived at the place, got out of the car, took out his phone to check the map, and then walked to an old house with a front yard, murmuring to himself as he observed closely.


    ¡°For a small official to live in a single-family house with a yard in the center of the city?¡±


    The house, although aged, was quite elegant and exquisite. The green brick and tile roof, despite its weathered spots, still struck every bit of the eye, conveying a sense of simplicity and dignity.


    After observing for a moment, Yan Junze took a deep breath and checked the time; it was just 5 o¡¯clock.


    He walked to the door of the courtyard, raised his hand, and pressed the doorbell. Then he looked up and saw a camera above the door blinking a red light.


    Footsteps sounded shortly after, someone approached, and the courtyard door opened. A young woman with common features but an elegant demeanor stood at the door, sizing him up: ¡°May I ask who you are¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yan Junze,¡± he answered with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here,¡± the woman glanced at her watch, ¡°right on time. Come in, I just got home.¡±


    Yan Junze followed her inside, apologizing, ¡°Sorry for troubling you. May I know how to address you?¡±


    ¡°Jian Tong,¡± the woman answered without turning.


    Yan Junze was startled, ¡°Jian Tong?¡±


    His mind immediately flashed to the long-gone scene of the cross-dressing man in the public restroom.


    Undoubtedly, the hug with Jian Tong, especially the commitment at that time, the disregard of everything, followed by the depression, the stomach churning, had become the most severe shadow of his life up to this point.


    ¡°May I ask, which ¡®Tong¡¯ is it?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°The ¡®Tong¡¯ with three drops of water and a child,¡± the woman replied, turning her head with a look of surprise.


    Yan Junze pretended to nod nonchalantly and followed Jian Tong into the yard.


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    Chapter 381: Chapter 300: Time-Space Loop (Please Subscribe, Request Monthly Ticket) S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon entering the courtyard, Yan Junze realized he had misjudged the situation.


    The detached residence, which appeared somewhat old from the outside, was a different story inside. A large variety of flowers were planted along the walls enclosing the courtyard, which were covered with lush green moss, creating a dazzling display.


    Yan Junze turned his head to look around; in addition to the clusters of flowers, there was an abundance of green vines, each branch pruned just right, neither too dense nor too sparse. It contrasted starkly with the bustling traffic and surging crowds outside, like a haven in a chaotic world.


    On either side of the room¡¯s entrance near the courtyard, there were two large bonsai trees planted with verdant pine trees, twisting and full of vigor.


    Seeing this scene, Yan Junze surmised that Professor Di Zhiwen¡¯s words could be unreliable at times. His friend, whom he called Jian Yifan, was definitely not some minor official in Tianmeng City.


    But since the man didn¡¯t mention it himself, Yan Junze didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate to inquire directly.


    ...


    ¡°Come and sit in the living room first,¡± Jian Tong stood at the house¡¯s front entrance.


    Yan Junze waved his hand, ¡°No need, no need to go to so much trouble, I¡¯ll just sit in the courtyard for a while. By the way, the stone that Professor Di mentioned should be somewhere in this courtyard, right?¡±


    Jian Tong smiled gracefully, sensing Yan Junze¡¯s impatience, but she said nothing and pointed to a spot near the wall in the courtyard where a collection of different sizes and colors of exquisite bonsai trees were neatly arranged.


    ¡°It¡¯s that stone, the round one. Dad put it together with these bonsai trees. He spends the whole day observing and admiring it,¡± she explained.


    Yan Junze feigned realization and walked over to look at the stone placed among the bonsai trees; the stone indeed had a somewhat round shape.


    Upon closer inspection, a faint crack could be seen in the center of the stone, as if it had only recently appeared.


    Yan Junze pointed at the crack, and before he could speak, Jian Tong said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a crack before but a fissure, about half a finger¡¯s width. Then somehow, it slowly sealed itself up and turned into the crack you see now.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, observing carefully.


    Jian Tong saw his deep interest and chose not to interrupt; she turned back into the house and returned about two or three minutes later with a cup of freshly brewed tea, which she handed to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Careful, it¡¯s hot.¡±


    Yan Junze took it, his gaze still fixed on the stone, observing while asking, ¡°Has this stone always been here?¡±


    ¡°Not always,¡± Jian Tong shook her head, ¡°It was previously buried in the soil of the flower bed. Dad unearthed it by chance while tending the garden. He was about to discard it but then noticed its round shape and decided to place it there.¡±


    Yan Junze followed the direction of Jian Tong¡¯s finger and saw that the spot was filled with colorful flowers. He walked over, pointing at the empty space along the edge of the flower bed, and asked, ¡°Was it here?¡±


    Jian Tong nodded. She didn¡¯t understand why Yan Junze was so concerned about the exact spot where the stone was found.


    Of course, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t tell her that his Different Dimension Energy was running low; he didn¡¯t want to waste another 1000 points to use the Space-Time Rift detection.


    If he could determine the rough location of the Space-Time Rift this way, it would save both effort and Different Dimension Energy.


    At the moment, Yan Junze¡¯s recovered energy was only slightly over 8900 points, while his total energy storage had actually reached 18100 points, meaning the energy he had recovered hadn¡¯t even hit half of his total yet.


    If it weren¡¯t for the increasing numbness and surreal feeling in his body, he wouldn¡¯t be so anxious to find a Space-Time Rift to return and save himself.


    The cost of detecting a Space-Time Rift was too great for Yan Junze at the moment, so he preferred to save whenever possible.


    After determining the stone¡¯s origin, Yan Junze was more than halfway certain that the likelihood of a Space-Time Rift bursting open at the location of the flower bed was high.


    Naturally, this whole conjecture was predicated on the accuracy of Professor Di¡¯s research being related to the Space-Time Rift. If the research turned out to be incorrect, then Yan Junze¡¯s guess would also be baseless.


    Now, all he could do was place his hopes on this spot in the flower bed and initiate a Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion instead of expending an unnecessary extra 1000 points to detect the Space-Time Rift first.


    If there was a Space-Time Rift present, the feedback from initiating the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion would tell Yan Junze if his guess was correct.


    With his mind made up, Yan Junze glanced at Jian Tong from the corner of his eye.


    Jian Tong was clearly very helpful, being introduced by her father¡¯s old friend, and showed no sign of neglect.


    However, this rather made it difficult for Yan Junze to act under her watchful eye.


    After some thought, he blew on the tea in his cup a couple of times and gulped down most of it. He stuck out his tongue (which was actually scorched) and said, ¡°Sor¡­ sorry¡­ for the trouble¡­ you.¡±


    With that, he handed the tea cup back to her.


    Jian Tong, surprised by his behavior, took the cup without saying anything and turned to go back inside to pour him another cup of tea.


    Yan Junze kept his mouth shut, his tongue moving quickly inside, his cheeks reddening slightly, cursing under his breath that he might have blistered it.


    As soon as Jian Tong disappeared through the doorway into the house, he immediately turned back to look at the round stone and, having already summoned the Spacetime Atlas in his mind, activated the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion.


    The next second, a piece of information popped up.


    Yan Junze immediately looked at it, and upon reading the text, an overwhelming joy washed over him.


    [Space-Time Rift detected, insertion possible. Would you like to activate Butterfly Effect Stabilization as well?]


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 Chapter 382: 300: Time-Space Loop (Please Subscribe, Request Monthly Ticket)_2

    Chapter 382: Chapter 300: Time-Space Loop (Please Subscribe, Request Monthly Ticket)_2


    Activating ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± only requires 200 points of Different Dimension Energy, which is far less than the 1000-point cost of opening a detection space-time rift.


    Therefore, at the precise moment he located the space-time rift, Yan Junze saved 800 points of energy.


    And to activate ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± only costs 500 points, meaning that initiating both ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± and ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± only consumed 700 points, a much better deal than the 1000 points required for detection alone.


    Now, with a shortage of energy points, Yan Junze had to be meticulous and frugal.


    Upon seeing the text prompt, he immediately chose to activate ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡± A familiar crack tore through the void in front of him, revealing a rotating black vortex within the space-time rift, and beyond the vortex lay the vast galaxy he had seen before.


    Though the galaxy seemed boundless, it no longer shocked Yan Junze as it did the first time he saw it; instead, he felt a nameless strangeness emanating from it.


    ...


    This expanse of stars was definitely not one he had seen before, not even from the universe his own world belonged to.


    Without much thought, Yan Junze stepped into the space-time rift and disappeared on the spot.


    The rift quickly contracted after his entrance and likewise vanished.


    Yan Junze¡¯s vision blurred, and he found himself standing in the void of space, feet not touching anything, suspended in midair.


    The familiar timeline scale appeared, indicating that he could manipulate the scale to return to the specific moment in time he wished to go back to.


    In the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± mission, Yan Junze had come close to death, so the memory was deeply etched in his mind, unforgettable for a lifetime.


    Almost without thinking, he swiftly adjusted the timeline scale, down to the precise year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.


    It was late at night then, and Yan Junze remembered it very clearly.


    He had been observing the time during the moment of repeated Dark Poison infection, so there was no mistake in his recollection.


    Now, returning to that moment, Yan Junze¡¯s greatest fear was still being infected by that strange Dark Poison, a kind that was immune to ¡°Rewind¡± and still an unsolved mystery to him to this day.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t believe that the master of Dark Poison, that Tricky Silk Boss, definitely knew that the poison could transcend the limits of time; there was likely an element of stumbling upon it by accident.


    As long as he was careful not to come into contact with the Dark Poison, that should be sufficient.


    Having selected the time scale, a line of text appeared before his eyes.


    [Please visualize the insertion point according to the set time, and then confirm.] sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was startled; the last time he performed a Great Rewind, he had not manipulated the timescale due to not knowing the exact time.


    The whole process was verbal, recognized by the ¡°Great Rewind,¡± and then he was inserted into that point in space-time, which was Cheng Jingting¡¯s home.


    Now, after adjusting the timeline scale, he was prompted to imagine the space-time point he wanted to insert into, and then the ¡°Great Rewind¡± could locate and confirm by itself.


    Yan Junze immediately started imagining the underground space in the No. 2 Mountain Park within the Spectacular Courtyard Residential Area in Shuntian City, where the Tricky Silk Boss was hiding.


    Once he confirmed the location in his mind, he sent a confirmation feedback.


    [Locating¡­]


    [Location determined, this Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion will consume 5200 points of Different Dimension Energy, proceed now?]


    Yan Junze jolted, looking at the ¡°5200¡± figure with a bitter smile in his heart.


    He had felt that this Great Rewind would not cost less energy than the last one where he eliminated Cheng Jingting. Last time, the insertion consumed 4600 points. He had not expected it to be a full 600 points higher this time.


    It was only because his coffers were currently lean that the expenditure of these energy points caused him pain. If it was back when he had an abundance of energy, he probably wouldn¡¯t have even spared a second thought for the cost.


    This Great Rewind thus had already used up 5300 points, leaving only 3600 points of the original 8900. He had to use them sparingly.


    Since he was returning to deal with the Tricky Silk Boss, it was impossible not to resort to Rewind.


    However, Yan Junze had thought it through quite clearly. There were not many chances to use the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± this time, and it was very likely that he wouldn¡¯t need to take action himself. The automatic stabilization alone could correct the vast majority of the ripple events.


    Because this time, unlike the Great Rewind, there was no present version of himself going back to save his past self, which meant none of what was happening now would have occurred. If a butterfly effect were truly to arise, it could be said to be minimal, as the events that could have triggered it had mostly already taken place.


    After a brief contemplation, Yan Junze stopped hesitating and silently thought, ¡°Confirm entry.¡±


    Immediately, he felt the sensation of his body falling downward. In a mere two seconds, his feet hit the ground, and his whole body sank, standing firm on the solid earth.


    Because of the sudden landing after descending, his body felt shaky and unstable. Yan Junze quickly bent his waist, steadying himself to prevent a fall.


    He was prepared and knew that he would appear in that dark underground space. As soon as he materialized, he promptly took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone it in all directions.


    Just then, a strange laugh rang out, filling the entire space, as if countless little bugs were frantically burrowing into Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    The laugh was creepy, causing goosebumps to spread over Yan Junze¡¯s entire body. He felt the space he was in slightly sway, the ground seeming unsteady.


    In a rush, he used the light from his flashlight to observe that he was indeed in the underground space of Mountain Park No. 2. This familiar scene, with the immobile bodies that had been standing upright, had all fallen to the ground.


    A visible wave of Dark Poison spread from the hole suspected to be the lair of the Tricky Silk Boss, soaking the fallen bodies. These corpses, tainted by the Dark Poison, rapidly dissolved in a bizarre scene.


    Given the progression of events at the time, Yan Junze knew clearly that his past self was at that moment commanding Long-tongued Zhenzhen, already mutated, to speed up their escape toward the surface.


    At this moment, not only was Dark Poison spreading in the underground space, but a multitude of mixed scents was stirring continuously around, which was causing his instability.


    This agitated air was like an immense suction force for Yan Junze and Zhenzhen who were trying to escape. Although they seemed to have left the underground space and were running toward the ground, they were actually being pulled back by the suction force, unable to move forward in the tunnel and even retreating backward.


    If he didn¡¯t act now, his past self and Long-tongued Zhenzhen would be sucked back into the underground space by this entity, and the consequences were unimaginable.


    All of Yan Junze¡¯s memories were awakened at this moment, and within a few seconds, he was fully immersed in the perilous situation at hand.


    He turned his head and saw a dark figure crawling out of the hole that had been covered with many Tricky Silk Clumps. From this figure, a huge amount of Dark Poison spread like a liquid over the ground and walls.


    Without a doubt, this character was the real Boss of the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task.


    The chaotic air was still intensifying. Yan Junze could not delay any longer. As soon as that pitch-black figure crawled out of the hole and stood up, Yan Junze immediately spoke up.


    ¡°You like playing games, huh? I¡¯ll play with you.¡±


    Because of the tumultuous air, Yan Junze feared the shadow might not hear him, so he shouted with all the strength he could muster.


    Moreover, Yan Junze remembered that in the task information for ¡°Terrified (Medium),¡± it was mentioned that this character liked playing games, which was why he had shouted such a statement.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the chaotic air in the underground space suddenly paused, coming to a complete stop.


    At that moment, Yan Junze knew that his past self managed to finally escape to the surface with Zhenzhen just then.


    After the turbulent air ceased, he looked up at the black figure approaching step by step, calling to mind the task called ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± that he had encountered first.


    [Task Name: Tricky Silk;


    Task Level: Terrified (Medium);


    Task Background: As the instigator of many strangeness events, perhaps for it, it was just a joke.


    Task Instructions: Play a game with it or play a bigger joke on it;


    Task Reward: 1800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Become its plaything;


    Task Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Pay attention to those silk threads;


    Note: It is advised not to engage with it until you have enough Different Dimension Energy points to Rewind.]


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 Chapter 383: 301: Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Monthly Pass, and Recommend)

    Chapter 383: Chapter 301: Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Monthly Pass, and Recommend)


    Before Yan Junze¡¯s memory, he lay on the back of Long-tongued Zhenzhen, hearing a voice that seemed familiar yet strange speaking in the Underground Space, and then the pulling suction that held them disappeared, allowing them to escape.


    And a person¡¯s own voice often sounds unfamiliar to themselves, just like the feeling when listening to one¡¯s own recording.


    At that time, Yan Junze escaped in a hurry and did not think carefully about who the speaker was. If he knew that person was his future self, he might have even felt a thrill of excitement.


    After the chaotic aura in the Underground Space stopped, Yan Junze looked at the ¡°Tricky Silk¡± task information again.


    At this moment, the silhouette slowly approached; this strangeness had a tall and slender stature, like a composite fake person.


    When it approached, Yan Junze looked up and saw that this creature was a good two heads taller than him, hairless with a prominently high nose bridge¡ªstrikingly like a foreigner.


    ...


    But upon closer inspection, aside from the nose that felt very three-dimensional, all other features were quite ordinary.


    This strangeness looked at him with a very bland expression, no hint of emotion on its face, but to Yan Junze, it felt like it was smiling.


    This feeling was peculiar; even though Yan Junze clearly saw its flat expression, he could not suppress the thought that the other was smiling.


    As it approached Yan Junze, not only did the chaotic aura no longer flow, but the entire Underground Space seemed to have changed the setting.


    There were no rock walls around, no corpses lying in disarray, no Dark Poison¡ªas if standing amidst dark chaos.


    Yan Junze looked around and confirmed this was not the Spectacular Courtyard No. 2 of the Mountain Park in the Great Capital. The environment seemed to be under the control of the strangeness in front of him.


    Without speaking, the strangeness sat down and pointed behind Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze turned his head in surprise and found that a black stone stool had appeared behind him.


    He then looked underneath the strangeness and saw that it, too, was seated on a black stone stool.


    Yan Junze tried to sit down slowly; the stool felt very real, as if it had always been there, not a figment of imagination.


    After both were seated face to face, one meter apart,


    the strangeness pointed in front of Yan Junze, toward the ground. Junze looked down and saw that a line of text had emerged from the darkness at some point.


    The text protruded clearly from the black ground.


    The line read, ¡°What game do you want to play?¡±


    Yan Junze understood that this creature was really addicted to playing games, it went straight to the point without caring about his intent¡ªas if everything other than the game was insignificant.


    While looking at the text on the ground, Yan Junze observed the creature¡¯s skin. It was unclothed, the skin dark and seemingly textured, somewhat reminiscent of Mystique from ¡°X-Men,¡± only these patterns were completely disordered.


    This scene made Yan Junze pause slightly; he didn¡¯t believe an ordinary strangeness would present itself in this form.


    Usually, a strangeness¡¯s appearance is greatly related to the way it died, remaining mostly the same, but surely this one had not been a monster in life.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play your favorite game,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°By the way, what should I call you?¡±


    As soon as he had spoken, two characters emerged from the ground: Rock.


    ¡°Rock,¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself, then looked up once more at the man, wondering if this creature was from Huaying¡¯s Great Capital or some other place.


    After all, the name, like his facial features, gave no clue as to where he was from.


    At this moment, a slew of text emerged from the ground, and Yan Junze looked down.


    ¡°My favorite game is scaring people, collecting their fears, feeling the joy each person¡¯s fear brings. So let¡¯s scare some people,¡± it read.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze nodded, but then shrugged, ¡°But I am not you. I can¡¯t manipulate Tricky Silk, and I can¡¯t control people with Tricky Silk to scare them for the game¡¯s purpose.¡±


    Rock bowed slightly, as if contemplating.


    Soon, with a wave of his hand, the scenery changed all around, and Yan Junze looked up to find himself back in the Underground Space again.


    At this time, the corpses that had just been infected with Dark Poison but had not yet disintegrated were still there. After they appeared, all the Dark Poison faded away, preserving these corpses.


    Yan Junze stood still, unclear about what Rock was up to, when he saw Rock walk towards one of the male corpses and enter it; immediately, the man¡¯s body stirred to life.


    His eyes opened, revealing grayish-white pupils as he walked toward Yan Junze, and the man uttered, ¡°Although you cannot manipulate humans with Tricky Silk, you can control any of these corpses here. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to balance my abilities effectively in this game. It would then lose its fun.¡±


    ¡°I can control them? How?¡± Yan Junze¡¯s eyes brightened.


    ¡°You control the corpses directly with Tricky Silk,¡± Rock explained through the possessed man. ¡°My ability allows me to control any ordinary person I want to with Tricky Silk¡ªchase the source of their fear, relish in the thrill when they are hair-raising scared. But you can¡¯t, so I grant you this power, through which you can control any corpse here, using them to make humans experience real fear.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­¡± Yan Junze pondered. ¡°You scare people by controlling the humans themselves, while I will control these corpses to scare people, and in the end, we will see whose scare is most successful?¡±


    Rock nodded.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°In that case, it seems like you¡¯re at a disadvantage. Because you scare people with people, while I scare them with corpses, benefiting from a tool advantage.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately shook his head, ¡°No, under normal circumstances, what scares people the most are the people and things around them. The truest fear often comes exactly from such abnormal and strange occurrences within the most familiar aspects of life.¡±


    This time, Rock made no indication, as if there was no need to defend himself, simply staring at him.


    Yan Junze also looked up at Rock: ¡°Just like with the Yan family¡¯s incident, is it scarier for a mother to squat by her daughter¡¯s bed with her mouth wide open staring at her every night, or for a stranger whose status between life and death is unknown to appear in the room?¡±


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, the former was even more chilling because that would be a person well known in daily life. If there was an abnormality with such a person, the fear felt by others who knew her would be amplified countless times.


    ¡°This is the only way I can think of to balance the scales between you and me,¡± Rock spoke.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, then nodded.


    After all, this game-playing idea was proposed by him in order to save himself. He had to go through with it; otherwise, who knows what this strangeness would do to him.


    In his view, Rock¡¯s strength did not seem to be limited to ¡°Terrified (Medium)¡± missions; maybe just playing the game was enough for him to reach such a terrifying level.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s Buddhist Exorcism Method, dealing with strangenesses shouldn¡¯t provoke their sensitive spots. Resolving issues along their lines of thought was the correct way, especially with a creature possessing such terrifying and unknown power.


    ¡°To ensure the game proceeds well, I will follow the rules and suggestions you¡¯ve put forward,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°But I also have two suggestions.¡±


    Rock made no response, simply watching him and waiting for him to speak.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°First, the targets we choose to scare cannot be what I consider good people, and the definition of a good person is for me to determine. Second, we can only scare; during this process, some unconventional methods may be adopted, but ultimately, it must not endanger lives.¡±


    ¡°My ultimate purpose in controlling with Tricky Silk is to turn them into corpses I can store, just like these,¡± Rock shrugged and glanced around.


    ¡°I hope our competition will be an exception,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile, very sincere.


    Rock fell silent for a moment, then nodded, ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s a competition, there should be a way to determine the result,¡± Yan Junze spoke in a consultative tone.


    Since the other party had agreed to his suggestions, he couldn¡¯t be too demanding. At least on the surface, he had to show respect for this individual.


    Rock walked over to where the Tricky Silk Clumps had initially formed around the entrance to the underground space. He returned after a little while, holding two half-transparent stones in his hand.


    The stones were pentagonal, with several strands of Tricky Silk, visible as white threads, wrapped around the perimeter.


    Rock handed one of the stones to Yan Junze: ¡°Stone of Fear, you and I each control one, the difference being that I control humans and you control the corpses here. The Tricky Silk on the other end of the Stone of Fear can collect fear while controlling either corpses or humans. If the stone turns completely black, the Tricky Silk will become ineffective, meaning that side has won.¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated a moment, but still took the half-transparent stone. It felt like an ordinary stone in his hand, and the white threads of the Tricky Silk seemed normal as well, not blackened, nothing that made him feel wary.


    However, after taking the Stone of Fear, Yan Junze¡¯s mind grew increasingly uneasy. Rock¡¯s behavior seemed to exceed his definition of a strangeness.


    Aren¡¯t strangenesses supposed to have Obsessions?


    He just needed to find a way to remove that Obsession. So why did this individual have so many tricks? With Tricky Silk, the Stone of Fear, and gathering fear?


    Moreover, Rock¡¯s form was abnormal, his skin patterned, tall and thin, with limbs too delicate, requiring attachment to a corpse to communicate normally.


    All these signs demonstrated his unusual nature, not at all like any strangeness Yan Junze had encountered before.


    ¡°Ethereal spirit? Could this guy be an Ethereal spirit?¡±


    A thought flashed, and Yan Junze¡¯s mind buzzed, finding it somewhat unbelievable.


    If the other party were truly an Ethereal spirit, he must remain fully alert and treat this game with the utmost seriousness.


    And just before, having already faced several ¡°Terrified¡± missions in Mo Family Village, Yan Junze was still confident he could handle the current situation.


    After all, based on his past encounters, as long as he had enough energy and was careful, he could generally complete missions of the ¡°Terrified¡± level without the constant threat of death.


    But if the opponent were an Ethereal spirit, that¡¯d be different, because he had no experience in dealing with Ethereal spirits, and even though the mission was ¡°Terrified,¡± there was no guarantee it wouldn¡¯t escalate following certain events.


    After all, such escalations weren¡¯t a rarity.


    Considering this, Yan Junze¡¯s attitude instantly became very proactive, very positive, very sincere. Holding the Stone of Fear, he asked the suspected Ethereal spirit Rock, ¡°May I know how I am supposed to use this thing?¡±


    Even though he had to confront the opponent with all his might, Yan Junze was not without a plan. In this respect, he was very confident, even if the opponent was an Ethereal spirit.


    Controlling corpses to scare people, it might seem less terrifying than using the abnormal and strange behavior of people close to the target, but with the right method of control, it could also be turned into a formidable tool for scaring.


    For instance, after Rock had described the rules for the game of scaring, a plan had already formed in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    This plan was inspired by a movie he had seen in his previous life, where a highly creative method of scaring people was employed, which, coupled with the corpses he could control, would be a perfect match.


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 Chapter 384: 302: The Game Rules of Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)

    Chapter 384: Chapter 302: The Game Rules of Tricky Silk (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Ticket)


    Actually, at the beginning of the Great Rewind, Yan Junze already had some guesses about how to play the game with the Tricky Silk Boss.


    After all, this guy started by using Tricky Silk to control the Yan Family and several other families at Spectacular Courtyard. Not only did he control them, but he also seemed to greatly enjoy preventing them from calling for an Exorcist.


    Therefore, Yan Junze felt that if he played the game, it would most likely involve using Tricky Silk to control people.


    However, he hadn¡¯t expected that he lacked Rock¡¯s abilities and couldn¡¯t directly control thinking humans, and could only control corpses that were nothing but empty shells.


    He ran his fingers over the Stone of Fear he had acquired for the first time; the stone was semi-transparent, with winding lines inside that resembled meridians and were also transparent.


    Numerous strands of Tricky Silk with white tips twisted around the surface of the stone. The Tricky Silk was visible and touchable at the end near the Stone of Fear, but at the extending end, it became invisible and untouchable as before.


    ...


    However, after Yan Junze held the Stone of Fear, although he could neither see nor touch the other end of the Tricky Silk, he could clearly feel where these strands were going, as if they were his own arms, and he could control them freely.


    He focused his thoughts on a female corpse lying closest to him on the ground. Although he still couldn¡¯t see it, he could feel one strand of Tricky Silk slowly descending and resting on the body of the woman.


    The Tricky Silk then moved like a slithering snake, the tip quickly finding the corpse¡¯s lips and burrowing into the corner of her mouth.


    This action awakened Yan Junze¡¯s memory.


    He remembered that when he first entered the Underground Space, he found a white silk thread tip at the corner of the mouths of every standing corpse. Only now did he finally understand how that came to be.


    After the Tricky Silk entered the corner of the woman¡¯s mouth, a tug, and the corpse stood upright, still with its eyes closed, standing motionless.


    Feeling the connection to the Tricky Silk through the Stone of Fear in his hand, Yan Junze felt that he could control this female corpse.


    With a mere thought, he immediately felt the Tricky Silk connected to the Stone of Fear quivering. This tremble was so slight that it would have been imperceptible to the naked eye had he not established a connection.


    The female corpse began to move her shoulders and then took a step forward, but stopped immediately.


    Maintaining the posture of having stepped forward, her head began to turn.


    The male corpse possessed by Rock looked at Yan Junze, that wooden face showing a trace of surprise for the first time; he probably hadn¡¯t expected Yan Junze to be able to perform these actions the first time he controlled a corpse.


    But to Yan Junze, this wasn¡¯t anything too difficult. After all, ever since Xiang Er possessed that perfect female corpse, Yan Junze had been watching her grow.


    During that time, Xiang Er had discussed with him multiple times her confusions and misunderstandings about control since possessing the corpse. Sometimes Yan Junze could offer suggestions, but other times he was just as clueless.


    Once Xiang Er figured it out, she occasionally gave feedback to him, and that¡¯s when he came to understand.


    So, compared to ordinary people with no such experience, Yan Junze was far from ignorant.


    ¡°You can practice with it first,¡± Rock said, walking out from the possessed male corpse and crawling back into his own burrow.


    Without his control, the male corpse slumped to one side and lay motionless.


    Yan Junze glanced at it but said nothing, instead carefully controlling and feeling the presence of the Tricky Silk.


    He used not just the one female corpse for control tests but nearly all of the corpses that had not been corroded by Dark Poison and were usable, including the male corpse that Rock had just vacated.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but after a while of manipulation, he felt fairly proficient.


    At that moment, Rock¡¯s tall and slender shadow emerged from the hole in the ground once again.


    Simultaneously, a fluorescent glow appeared before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes, and the text that had surfaced earlier reappeared.


    He knew that because Rock wasn¡¯t attached to a corpse, he couldn¡¯t speak aloud and was instead using this method to communicate with him.


    It was clear that this method of communication would become the main way the two of them interacted from now on.


    The text that emerged read, ¡°These are the requirements for this game, you and I, through the Stone of Fear and Tricky Silk, must startle one family each. The two families we startle must fall within the ¡®not good people¡¯ category as you¡¯ve defined and we must only scare them without endangering their lives.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°There are two families here. One bears the surname Meng, residing in Yannan District, Zhuhua City, running the largest leather factory in the area. They secretly discharge vast amounts of pollutants into the nearby rivers, the main culprits of local environmental pollution, causing downstream inhabitants to give birth to deformed children multiple times. The other family, surnamed Zeng, lives in Tianmeng District, Gaohe City. Eight years ago, in their rural hometown in Tianyi District, they had a dispute over a trivial matter with their neighbors. The couple killed the entire neighboring family, with their son participating in hiding the corpses. They then fled overnight, living incognito in Tianmeng¡¯s Gaohe.¡±


    Yan Junze looked down, watching the text appear on the ground.


    With Rock¡¯s abilities, getting this information wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him. He was just surprised about a place like Yannan District, which was already very far from Tianmeng; how could they complete the task from such a distance?


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze asked, ¡°During this game, do we need to act separately?¡±


    Rock¡¯s reply quickly surfaced on the ground.


    ¡°Tricky Silk can ignore distance constraints, you don¡¯t even need to leave this underground space.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a bit and said, ¡°I¡¯m not like you. You control those people, I control the corpses here, so I still need to consider distance. Hmm, I¡¯ll pick the Zeng family. Gaohe isn¡¯t too far from Shuntian City.¡±


    He paused, then added, ¡°And you can directly control humans with Tricky Silk, so even if Yannan District, Zhuhua City is far, you can ignore that.¡±


    Rock¡¯s reply appeared before Yan Junze, ¡°That works, the game begins from the moment we¡¯ve chosen, when the Stone of Fear assigned to you is filled with the black fear it represents, that will be the moment the end comes. You¡¯re quite interesting, I didn¡¯t even notice how you got in here. If you lose this game, I¡¯ll use Tricky Silk to pierce every single cell in your body and study you in detail.¡±


    ¡°And if you lose?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you go and leave this place, no longer pursuing the effects you and your friend who just escaped have had on me.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded. It was only natural that Rock mistook him for a friend of Yan Junze of the current time period, otherwise no stranger would take the risk to entrap themselves in such a situation and face this horror that was incomprehensible in strength.


    ¡°However¡­¡± Yan Junze tapped his forehead with his index finger. Since entering this place, he had been careful not to touch anything other than the Stone of Fear for fear of Dark Poison.


    Moreover, before touching the Stone of Fear, he made sure to check carefully for any signs of Dark Poison before daring to hold it in his hand.


    ¡°However what?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been at a disadvantage from the start of this game,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°You control humans who could be relatives or even the targets themselves, maximizing the sense of terror, but I don¡¯t have that. You control ordinary people as the perfect means of hiding, unnoticed by others and catching them entirely off guard for the greatest effect of terror, but I don¡¯t have that either. Think about it, if a corpse keeps appearing in public to scare people, the chances of being discovered by an exorcist are high. How can I complete the game then?¡±


    Rock barely hesitated before immediately answering the question with text.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, although you can¡¯t directly control ordinary people, you can use a subsidiary thread of Tricky Silk to connect to the target you want to scare, and the main thread to the corpse. In this way, only the target will be able to see the corpse, creating a customized fright exclusive to them. To anyone else, the corpse will be invisible.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s face lit up with understanding, smiling he said, ¡°I think I have no more questions, we can start now.¡±


    And then, a line of bold text appeared on the ground: ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡±


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    Chapter 389: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    ¡°It¡¯s over, I¡¯ve encountered a strangeness!¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s first reaction.


    He didn¡¯t think that early in the morning, everyone in this breakfast shop was conspiring to play a prank on him.


    Besides, he didn¡¯t know these people, so there was no reason for them to do such a thing.


    The only explanation was that he must have encountered a strangeness, otherwise it would have been impossible for everyone else to not see the old man, while only he could.


    Although at this moment everyone in the breakfast shop was looking at him, the shop owner included, and the situation was very odd, the shop owner didn¡¯t chase after Zeng Shiyuo to ask for the breakfast money.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo had no time to pay them any mind, as his gaze was still firmly fixed on the strange old man.


    Having missed his initial aim, the old man slowly turned around, his face still expressionless, his slightly open lips closed, and his outstretched hands lowered back to his sides, still motionless. He stepped off the platform, advancing again towards Zeng Shiyuo.


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo murmured, his heart pounding as he turned and jogged away.


    He thought about running back home, but then it occurred to him, what if he brought the wolf into the den?


    Perhaps this old strangeness had latched onto him when he came out of the residential area earlier, and going back now might put his family in jeopardy.


    With this thought in mind, Zeng Shiyuo turned toward the construction site. Upon reaching the bus stop, his bus, the 702, just happened to arrive. He stepped on, paid the fare, and walked into the bus.


    Since it was early, there were plenty of empty seats. He found one by the window and sat down, peering out through the glass.


    In his field of view, he could still see the bare-chested old man, who moved neither fast nor slow, maintaining his walking pace in the direction the bus was going.


    And just as Zeng Shiyuo saw, people on the street occasionally passed by the old man, but everyone looked right through him, completely unable to see him.


    That is to say, the old man was definitely fixated on him, and he was the only one who could see him.


    As the bus gradually drove away, the old man¡¯s figure was no longer visible, Zeng Shiyuo came back to himself. After thinking for a moment, he was certain that this strangeness wasn¡¯t any of the neighbors from his hometown that he had killed.


    The face was unfamiliar; he didn¡¯t recognize it at all.


    ¡­


    Underground Space.


    Rock glanced at the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand and noticed that within the semi-transparent stone, the veins were showing signs of very few black elements. The blackness was sparse and did not even traverse the entire vein, let alone the entirety of the stone.


    ¡°Have you started?¡± Rock asked.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve started.¡±


    Rock broke into laughter, his voice sounding odd, ¡°If that¡¯s all the Fear Value brought about by just that scare, then you¡¯ve got your work cut out for you. You should know that even if you directly placed a corpse next to the Zeng family¡¯s bed, so they¡¯d see it as soon as they woke up, the resulting Fear Value they¡¯d get would be much more than this.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled too but didn¡¯t offer any explanation.


    Rock¡¯s expression was amused as he gave Yan Junze a sideways glance for a while before diverting his gaze.


    At this moment, he had finished preparing the seventh Tricky Silk thread clump, but he still didn¡¯t continue to manipulate the Tricky Silk to scare the Meng Family.


    ¡­


    After a while, Zeng Shiyuo, not worrying about whether he would wake up his wife and son, quickly made a phone call to inform them that he had encountered a strangeness on his way out and to be cautious;


    especially his wife, Tian Xiaoxia, as she would be going to the market to buy vegetables for the construction site¡¯s canteen shortly after seven o¡¯clock. It was not too late, and when leaving the residential area, there was still a chance she might run into the strange old man.


    The mother and son were also scared out of their wits and asked Zeng Shiyuo if it was the family that they had killed coming back as a strangeness to get them.


    Zeng Shiyuo said it wasn¡¯t, and it was very likely a strangeness he had encountered by chance.


    After giving his advice and hanging up the phone, his heart was still tumultuous. Encountering a strangeness early in the morning gave him a sense of horror that he believed would stick with him for the rest of the day, maybe even for the next few days.


    Fifty minutes later, Zeng Shiyuo arrived at the construction site and quickly changed into his security guard uniform.


    The place he worked was the construction site of a commercial plaza, and as a security guard, Zeng Shiyuo was stationed at gate number 4 which led into the construction site.


    Normally, work started around 8 a.m., with overnight work on occasions to meet deadlines.


    It was not yet time for the work to begin; while Zeng Shiyuo was changing into his security uniform, one of his colleagues, a man in his fifties, went to buy breakfast.


    By the time Zeng Shiyuo came out in his uniform, his colleague was returning with two bowls of freshly made noodles.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had breakfast, right? I bought an extra bowl.¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo paused for a moment, then shook his head, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    The dreadful experience he had had eating breakfast was not something he wanted to remember.


    The colleague placed disposable bowls and chopsticks in front of him, ¡°Eat up before it gets cold.¡±


    Still haunted by the breakfast incident, Zeng Shiyuo didn¡¯t say anything but picked up the chopsticks. They sat opposite each other, the colleague facing the door while Zeng Shiyuo had his back to it.


    ¡°I need to go out around ten o¡¯clock; watch the shift for me,¡± said the colleague after they had been eating for a while.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Zeng Shiyuo nodded, distracted even as he ate his noodles.


    Just then, as he took a sip of soup, he glanced back towards the door of the security room as if on edge.


    Instantly, he stiffened. From his vantage point, he could see a long-haired woman walking step by step toward them down the street.


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    Chapter 390: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    ¡°`


    If one were to merely glance at her, she¡¯d seem just another passerby, but now Zeng Shiyuo was completely stunned.


    Because he realized that woman¡¯s gaze had been fixed on the direction of the security room, and most importantly, this woman was only wearing a very thin shirt, sans pants. The length of the gossamer shirt barely covered her thighs, and the shirt was not properly worn, covering only half of her body, while the other half was fully exposed, as she walked down the street.


    To Zeng Shiyuo, who had an encounter this morning, this scene was all too familiar.


    He threw down his chopsticks, stood up abruptly, and turned to face the security room door.


    His colleague, who had been eating noodles with him, was surprised and remained seated, watching him. Seeing that Zeng Shiyuo kept staring at the street outside the door, he also stood up and looked outside, but apart from people passing by, everything seemed normal.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s voice began to tremble as he asked, ¡°Did¡­ did you see¡­ that woman?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± his colleague replied in astonishment.


    ¡°Just¡­ just that one!¡± Zeng Shiyuo pointed at the street, ¡°That woman¡­ the one whose clothes aren¡¯t properly worn!¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Who?¡± his colleague was even more surprised, looked carefully again, ¡°There¡¯s no one whose clothes are improperly worn!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo shivered suddenly, almost leaping up, pointing at the woman who was now approaching the security room, ¡°She¡¯s coming, that¡¯s the one, approaching right now! Can¡¯t you see her?¡±


    His colleague looked bewildered, but clearly became frightened, and hesitantly poked his head toward the door, ¡°There¡¯s no one out there.¡±


    The woman had already come right up to the door of the security room. Without pausing, she stepped in, raised her hands at the same time, fingers splayed, and opened her mouth wide at Zeng Shiyuo.


    Not only that, her eyes were fixed on Zeng Shiyuo as if they were about to pop out.


    Zeng Shiyuo screamed in terror, turned, and ran towards the window. Relying on his slender frame, he squeezed through the open window, the woman¡¯s outstretched hands not even brushing his clothes.


    His colleague, confused, watched as Zeng Shiyuo jumped out the window to escape, and then turned back to peer into the room, which still appeared empty.


    Zeng Shiyuo looked back and saw this scene, sure that his colleague couldn¡¯t see anything, and that only he could see the woman.


    He felt very frightened. What he had seen in the early morning was a bare-chested old man, but now it seemed a young woman with disheveled clothes followed him.


    Moreover, the movements of both strangenesses were very similar, both silently advancing towards him, even when Zeng Shiyuo had his back to the outside.


    Zeng Shiyuo could swear that if it weren¡¯t for a random glance back, he might not have known the woman was behind him.


    Though his colleague sat opposite him, he apparently couldn¡¯t see either of the strangenesses. Only Zeng Shiyuo himself could see them.


    Zeng Shiyuo quickly concluded that had he not looked back, he would surely have been doomed just now.


    The face of this woman was also unfamiliar to him; he had never seen her before.


    Wearing the security uniform, Zeng Shiyuo quickly fled along the street, occasionally looking back to check behind him. He noticed the woman had left the security room, but her pace was the same as before, and she was unable to catch up to him.


    Feeling slightly more at ease, Zeng Shiyuo caught his breath and dared not return to the construction site.


    The two strangenesses wanting to harm him were different, but their behavior patterns were very similar. Zeng Shiyuo couldn¡¯t understand why, but in any case, he admonished himself to be vigilant of what was behind him from now on.


    Just thinking about what would have happened if he hadn¡¯t looked back sent shivers down his spine and his heart racing uncontrollably.


    Once he made sure the woman couldn¡¯t catch up with him, Zeng Shiyuo considered taking the bus, when suddenly his phone rang in his pocket, startling him in his state of panic.


    Pulling out his phone, he saw it was his wife, Tian Xiaoxia, calling. Upon answering, her anxious voice immediately came through, ¡°Shiyuo, what should we do? Hurry over!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Zeng Shiyuo was startled and checked the time, which would be when Tian Xiaoxia should be at the market buying groceries for the construction site canteen.


    Tian Xiaoxia said on the other end, ¡°Someone¡­ someone is following me. He was staring at me as he walked over at the market. I felt he wanted to steal my purse, so I quickly avoided him, but he¡¯s been staring at me ever since and following me.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Zeng Shiyuo felt his heart plunge into an abyss, and he stammered with urgency, ¡°Xia¡­ Xiaoxia, listen¡­ listen to me, is that man¡¯s dress¡­ very odd? Or¡­ is he not wearing clothes?¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia seemed to look back, and after two seconds, responded, ¡°No, he¡¯s wearing clothes, but they seem very old-fashioned.¡±


    ¡°Do the people around¡­ can they not¡­ see him?¡± Zeng Shiyuo quickly asked.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Tian Xiaoxia sounded somewhat flustered, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±


    ¡°Run, run fast!¡± Zeng Shiyuo suddenly shouted into the phone, ¡°That person is very likely a strangeness, just like the old man I told you about earlier. Don¡¯t let him get close to you, run fast!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia began running, screaming as she sprinted.


    ¡°Go home, we¡¯ll talk when you¡¯re home.¡± Zeng Shiyuo hung up and quickly flagged down a taxi by the roadside.


    As long as he heard his wife start running, he wasn¡¯t too worried because he guessed that man was like the strangeness he had encountered, who, in any case, would only walk slowly and not chase after his target.


    If he noticed early on, there was a great chance to avoid it.


    ¡°`


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    Chapter 391: Chapter 305: Tricky Silk ¨C It¡¯s Behind You (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    The taxi had just started when Zeng Shiyuo made another call to his wife, and Tian Xiaoxia¡¯s breathless voice came through as soon as the connection was made.


    To avoid being overheard by the taxi driver, he spoke in a hushed voice, ¡°On your way back, always check if someone is following you, remember, don¡¯t let anyone get close to you, it¡¯s best to take a taxi home.¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia kept agreeing.


    After hanging up the phone, Zeng Shiyuo suddenly thought of something and hurriedly called his son, Zeng Ziming.


    If nothing unexpected happened, his son should still be sleeping now, but he had to warn him.


    The phone rang for a long time without answer; he didn¡¯t know if the boy was sleeping too soundly to hear it, or if there was some other reason.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo was beside himself with worry, fidgeting in the cab. He tried the number again and on the third attempt, the call was finally answered.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, dad?¡± Zeng Ziming¡¯s lazy, groggy voice came through, sounding like he had just woken up.


    ¡°Son, stay at home, don¡¯t go anywhere, wait for me to come back,¡± Zeng Shiyuo immediately said.


    ¡°Where can I go?¡± Zeng Ziming responded in a slurred voice, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you waking me up, I¡¯d still be asleep.¡±


    ¡°You sleep, just continue to sleep, we¡¯ll talk when I¡¯m back, hanging up now,¡± Zeng Shiyuo said.


    ¡°Sleep? Someone knocked on the door and woke me up. Otherwise, I had my phone on silent, do you think I¡¯d notice your call?¡± Zeng Ziming said, with a tinge of emotion in his voice.


    He seemed to be moving around while talking, probably heading toward the living room door.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo shouted in fright, startling the taxi driver so much that the driver jumped and the cab halted in the middle of the road.


    ¡°Stop, you can¡¯t open the door, you mustn¡¯t open the door, stop, don¡¯t go over there!¡± Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s face turned bright red as he nearly bellowed into the phone.


    Zeng Ziming froze in the middle of the living room, phone to his ear, motionless, his sleepiness completely gone.


    ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Did you open the door? Did you open the door?¡± Zeng Shiyuo asked urgently.


    ¡°No¡­ I didn¡¯t, I¡¯m still standing¡­ in the living room,¡± Zeng Ziming replied.


    ¡°Wait for me to come back, anyway, you can¡¯t open the door now. No matter who knocks, do not open it, your mom and I both have keys to the house, wait for us to return.¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo hung up the phone and noticed that the taxi driver was looking back at him while the vehicles behind were honking incessantly.


    He tapped the driver¡¯s seat restlessly, ¡°Sorry about just now, please start driving, I¡¯m in a rush to get back!¡±


    At Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s home.


    The busy tone came from Zeng Ziming¡¯s phone. He moved the phone away from his ear and his gaze gravitated towards the living room door, where knocking sounds continued to emanate.


    After a moment of hesitation, Zeng Ziming walked to the living room door. He didn¡¯t open it but leaned in close to the peephole to take a careful look outside.


    Thud, thud, thud, the door was knocked three more times. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, Zeng Ziming stepped back, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.


    Through the peephole, he couldn¡¯t see anyone standing outside, but just now the door continued to be knocked.


    ¡°Is it¡­ strangeness? Or just a prank?¡±


    Zeng Ziming thought about how serious and hurried his father¡¯s words had been; he didn¡¯t believe it was a prank.


    Thud, thud, thud, the door was struck again.


    Zeng Ziming¡¯s adam¡¯s apple moved as if he almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath from fright; he stepped back several paces, quickly turned around, and tiptoed back to sit in front of the sofa in the living room, eyes filled with fear as he stared at the tightly shut living room door.


    Outside the door.


    A naked man with purplish skin silently stood there, slowly retracting the hand that had been knocking.


    This man resembled a dwarf, only slightly taller, his height such that the person inside couldn¡¯t possibly see him through the peephole.


    ¡­


    In the Underground Space.


    Rock suddenly paused, his eyes shifting towards the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    He noticed that just a moment ago, the speed of the black color growing within the Stone of Fear had noticeably accelerated.


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    Chapter 392: Chapter 306: Tricky Silk ¨C Rock¡¯s Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    When it all started, the black within the veins of the Stone of Fear that Yan Junze held had not been filled in.


    Although the black color had begun to increase gradually, and the speed of its increase was accelerating, for Rock, this was nothing out of the ordinary.


    As a veteran at controlling Tricky Silk to scare others, Rock once had the experience of collecting Fear Values the fastest, and even now, the speed at which he collected Fear Values from the Meng Family was also very quick.


    Looking at it now, even though Yan Junze¡¯s collection speed had sped up, it had not reached a level that shocked him. At most, it was slightly surprising, given how slowly the black color representing fear had initially filled up in the Stone of Fear.


    Meanwhile, at the Zeng Family, three people were shaking with fear.


    Seeing that Yan Junze might pose a threat, Rock put down the clump of Tricky Silk threads he was holding, picked up the Stone of Fear that had always been by his side, and submerged his mind within it.


    ... S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yannan District, Zhuhua City, Meng Family.


    After struggling through the night, Meng Yongshou finally managed to send Old Master Meng¡¯s body back to the funeral parlor.


    Someone helping out quietly reminded Meng Yongshou that since the Old Master had exhibited strangeness, they could not delay any longer, nor could they put the corpse back into the ice coffin for another three days, or else something bigger might happen.


    Meng Yongshou had to accept this suggestion. To be honest, he was also afraid that last night¡¯s scenario would repeat itself.


    He contacted the funeral parlor in a hurry, got a slot early in the morning, and sent Old Master Meng¡¯s body to the cremation chamber, where it was turned into ashes and brought out in an urn.


    Since the burial site was already selected and everything was arranged, they hired a Yin Yang Master for various rituals and to pave the way with Talismans. With a lot of knocking and ringing, they escorted the urn up the burial hill and into the grave site that had been reserved for Old Master Meng.


    The issue of Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection had come to an end, but at the same time, Meng Yongshou¡¯s son Meng Hang was displaying extremely odd behavior, scaring his sister Meng Tingting quite a bit.


    But with the commotion downstairs over Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection taking center stage, Meng Yongshou¡¯s wife, Pan Ya, was too frightened by both her son¡¯s and Old Master Meng¡¯s predicaments to assert herself.


    After learning that her son had also become odd, she, led by a terrified Meng Tingting, tiptoed to her son¡¯s bedroom, where they found Meng Hang lying on the floor unconscious, with a bloody mouth, and indeed, the computer desk was covered in keyboard plastic and fragments of teeth.


    Together, Pan Ya and her daughter managed to lift their son onto the bed and called for Meng Yongshou.


    While Meng Yongshou was shocked, the matter with the Old Master downstairs was more pressing. After asking Pan Ya to contact the family¡¯s private doctor, he rushed away to deal with the resurrection incident.


    The private doctor arrived to find that Meng Hang had merely chipped his mouth on something hard, causing it to bleed. His physical condition was stable, resembling someone in a deep sleep rather than showing signs of being unconscious.


    After leaving some anti-inflammatory medicine and advice that the dental issue would require a visit to the hospital, the private doctor left.


    Once Meng Yongshou had the Old Master¡¯s burial taken care of and returned home, the family finally had time to seriously analyze the situation.


    By this time, Meng Hang had woken up, sitting groggily to one side, holding his mouth and remaining silent.


    Meng Yongshou looked at him and asked, ¡°When did you go to sleep yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember, I just felt very tired.¡± Meng Hang answered.


    Watching her son with a worried look, Pan Ya found last night¡¯s events far too bizarre. To her, Old Master Meng¡¯s resurrection was a minor issue; she would have given up her own life if it meant her son could be safe and sound.


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Meng Yongshou analyzed, ¡°Xiaohang and dad both had incidents at the same time last night, it¡¯s very possible that dad¡¯s resurrection affected him, leading to the abnormalities.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ spirit possession?¡± Pan Ya exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°No,¡± Meng Yongshou shook his head, ¡°it should just be an influence. Let¡¯s keep observing for now. After all, the Old Master has been peacefully buried, and all strangeness has passed. I¡¯ve spent a lot of money buying a villa, a supercar, servants for him, and this morning, I¡¯ve already burned and sent them all to him. I hope he will not disturb the younger generation¡¯s normal lives anymore.¡±


    Pan Ya immediately clasped her hands together, looked up at the ceiling, and quietly murmured something.


    The family members had their own concerns and dispersed to rest.


    Having not slept well the night before, Meng Yongshou and Pan Ya hadn¡¯t slept at all the previous night and were now exhausted.


    Yawning, the couple returned to the master bedroom.


    Meng Tingting didn¡¯t leave her brother¡¯s bedroom immediately. Looking at his half-missing front teeth, she teased, ¡°Rest today; I¡¯ll go with you to the hospital tomorrow.¡±


    Standing up to leave, she glanced at the fish tank next to the computer desk and noticed that a goldfish had already turned belly up, floating motionless on the surface of the water.


    The fish tank was plugged in, constantly supplied with oxygen, and even had soft blue lighting, but it seemed that since Meng Hang had the fish, he had never bothered to care for them.


    He had no interest in maintaining such things; even if all the goldfish died, it wouldn¡¯t matter to him.


    ¡°How long has it been since you fed them?¡± Meng Tingting asked, frowning as she walked over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t paying attention,¡± Meng Hang replied as he lay back on the bed. His mouth still hurt despite the anti-inflammatory medication.


    Overwhelmed by a lack of rest, he just wanted to sleep.


    Lying on his side on the bed, he saw Meng Tingting walk over to the fish tank, seemingly reaching to the side of the tank to grab a packet of fish food.


    Since he was facing away, Meng Hang couldn¡¯t see Meng Tingting¡¯s movements, just her hands busily working.


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 Chapter 393: 306: Tricky Silk - Rocks Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 393: Chapter 306: Tricky Silk ¨C Rock¡¯s Importance (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    After a moment, Meng Hang, who had almost fallen asleep, suddenly woke up and saw Meng Tingting still standing in front of the fish tank, as if she had never left.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed and couldn¡¯t be bothered to check his phone, so he called out, ¡°Sis.¡±


    Meng Tingting didn¡¯t turn around, still standing motionless in front of the fish tank.


    Meng Hang felt surprised and climbed out of bed, calling out ¡°Sis¡± again, but she still didn¡¯t turn around.


    Without another word, Meng Hang got out of bed, put on his slippers, and walked toward Meng Tingting.


    ¡°Sis? Feeding them is enough, hurry back to sleep. What¡¯s so interesting about these fish?¡±


    ...


    As Meng Hang spoke, he neared Meng Tingting¡¯s side and stopped abruptly when he got close.


    He saw that Meng Tingting wasn¡¯t feeding the fish at all, and the bag of fish food had actually been thrown into the tank whole, now sinking to the bottom.


    At this moment, both sleeves of Meng Tingting¡¯s arms were dripping with water, her hands each holding a goldfish, tearing into them with her mouth.


    When Meng Hang looked over, the goldfish in her right hand had just had its head brutally bitten off, and she was chewing.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The scene made Meng Hang¡¯s stomach churn, and he nearly vomited.


    ¡°Sis, what¡­what are you doing?¡±


    Meng Tingting seemed to hear nothing, her gaze fixed straight ahead. After stuffing the remaining half of the fish¡¯s body into her mouth, she immediately reached into the fish tank again, her sleeve soaking through from the water.


    Her movements were extremely fast and precise. In the instant her hand entered the water, one of the little goldfish hidden in the fake rock was startled and swam out, only to be caught by Meng Tingting in a flash, withdrawn from the water, and stuffed into her mouth again.


    Meng Hang quickly reached out to stop her.


    ¡°Sis, have you gone mad!?¡±


    Meng Tingting¡¯s actions ceased, and she slowly turned around to face Meng Hang. At that moment, her eyes bulged fiercely, staring intently at Meng Hang, resembling the eyes of a fish.


    In the master bedroom.


    Meng Yongshou took off his coat, lay on the bed, and pulled the blanket over himself, telling Pan Ya, ¡°Go sleep now. We can easily get sick without proper rest at our age. Tomorrow I¡¯ll have Doctor Li recommend some nourishing foods for the family to have a good recuperation.¡±


    Pan Ya hummed in response, ¡°You go to sleep; I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡±


    By the time she came out of the bedroom¡¯s restroom, Meng Yongshou¡¯s snoring had already begun.


    The lights in the room were too bright, and Pan Ya, worried about affecting Meng Yongshou¡¯s sleep quality, went over and drew all the curtains of the French windows.


    But after closing them, the bedroom was too dark, so she opened a slit in the middle of the curtains to let in a little light, enough to illuminate the bedroom without affecting rest.


    After doing this, Pan Ya yawned heavily, changed into her pajamas, and sat on the bed¡­


    Time passed.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s snoring was loud; he felt he had slept for a long time, and in his drowsy state, his right side was beginning to numb, naturally prompting him to want to turn over.


    As he turned over, his eyes were slightly squinted, heavy with sleepiness.


    After completing the turn, just as he was about to fall back asleep, he suddenly opened his eyes, the scene he glimpsed while turning over with half-closed eyes re-emerged in his mind.


    During that instant of turning over, he thought he saw his wife, Pan Ya. Although the light was dim, the figure resembled Pan Ya.


    Sitting up a little and turning his head, indeed it was Pan Ya sitting on the edge of the bed in her nightgown, motionless.


    After rubbing his eyes and confirming he wasn¡¯t mistaken, Meng Yongshou said, ¡°Wife, why aren¡¯t you sleeping? I feel like I¡¯ve been asleep for a while; how long have you been sitting there?¡±


    Pan Ya didn¡¯t respond, continuing to just sit there.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s curiosity piqued, and his sleepiness quickly dissipated.


    He sat up, leaned over, and nudged his wife¡¯s shoulder. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pan Ya still showed no movement, as if she had already fallen asleep while sitting.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Meng Yongshou sat up beside her, slipped his feet into his slippers, and glanced at Pan Ya.


    The room was dimly lit, but he could see that Pan Ya was not asleep; her eyes were open. However, Pan Ya had let her coiled hair down, covering part of her cheek from the side and obstructing a clear view.


    A strange feeling suddenly crept into Meng Yongshou¡¯s heart, and he glanced at his wife again, an inexplicable terror beginning to crawl up within him.


    He stood up slowly, keeping Pan Ya in his peripheral vision, and walked steadily to the floor-to-ceiling window. He gradually pulled the curtains open, letting in a flood of light that cleared his vision.


    The light streaming in through the opened curtains shone directly on Pan Ya¡¯s face as she sat on the edge of the bed.


    Meng Yongshou focused his gaze and suddenly felt a chill all over his body, feeling as though he was still dreaming and hadn¡¯t truly woken up.


    In his vision, sitting on the bed, Pan Ya¡¯s mouth split into a smile, the corners of her eyes arched upwards, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. She was smiling, smiling very hard.


    It was evident that Pan Ya¡¯s smile was forced, strained to the extreme, and she maintained this expression without any change.


    This smile lacked any warmth. Instead, it gave off a chilling, horrifying sensation.


    At this moment, that was exactly how Meng Yongshou felt. Thinking back to how he had been soundly asleep just a moment ago, and his wife had been sitting next to him all this time with that expression, the indescribable fear made goosebumps break out all over his body, his limbs ice cold.


    He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, no longer daring to approach Pan Ya.


    At this time, Pan Ya was still gazing straight ahead, her creepy smile unchanged. At a glance, she looked as though she had transformed into a life-sized porcelain doll.


    Meng Yongshou could no longer feel his own breathing or heartbeat, his entire focus was on Pan Ya. His body pressed against the curtain and the wall, he cautiously moved toward the bedroom door.


    Fortunately, Pan Ya only maintained the eerie smiling face without making any other movements, her gaze still fixed forward, her head not following Meng Yongshou¡¯s movements as he shifted.


    Approaching the bedroom door, Meng Yongshou reached out, and just as he was about to touch the doorknob, the bedroom door suddenly opened.


    Meng Yongshou startled, pulling his hand back quickly.


    The bedroom door was only pushed open a crack, and the sound of rapid thudding ensued as if someone was crawling on all fours.


    Shortly after, a person with long hair peeked their head through the gap at the bottom of the door, and then, supporting themselves with their hands, half of their body crawled into the bedroom.


    This person raised their head, saw Meng Yongshou standing by the door with a look of terror, their mouth corners slowly creased into a smile, revealing the uneaten tail of a goldfish between their teeth. Their eyebro w- ends curved upwards, and their cheeks puffed, the smile eerily similar to the one Pan Ya had while sitting on the bed.


    ¡°Dad¡­ Dad, where are you going?¡±


    ¡­


    In Tianmeng District, Gaohe City, at the Zeng Family¡¯s home.


    Zeng Shiyuo, his wife Tian Xiaoxia, and their son Zeng Ziming, all sat on the living room couch in silence, their moods heavy.


    After a long while, Zeng Shiyuo finally spoke, ¡°Starting now, we must always be aware of any noise behind us, and not expose our backs for long periods under those ¡®strangenesses¡¯ watchful eyes.¡±


    ¡°How many ¡®strangenesses¡¯ are there? We¡¯ve already encountered three!¡± Tian Xiaoxia said with worry.


    Zeng Shiyuo paused, then sighed heavily, ¡°It could be¡­ anyone. In any case, we must be vigilant, don¡¯t let anyone approach you from behind.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Zeng Ziming¡¯s voice trembled as he reached out and held his mother¡¯s hand, clearly getting panicked, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly not go out, right?¡±


    ¡°We definitely need to go out,¡± Zeng Shiyuo said, ¡°We all still have to work, but given the current special circumstances, we need to take a couple of days off. You should not go to the bar for now.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Tian Xiaoxia also nodded, ¡°There are too many people in the bar. If a ¡®strangeness¡¯ appears, only you would be able to see it. In such a crowded place, it would easily get close to you, and it¡¯s virtually impossible to defend against.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this for the next few days: we take turns sleeping, and we can¡¯t all fall asleep at the same time, otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to react if something happens,¡± Zeng Shiyuo patted his son¡¯s shoulder.


    Just then, a clatter came from the kitchen, as if a soup spoon or something had fallen to the floor.


    The three of them looked at each other.


    Zeng Ziming stood up, glanced at his parents, swallowed, and slowly walked towards the kitchen.


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 Chapter 396: 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

    Chapter 396: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets)


    ¡°`


    Hearing the voice of an unfamiliar man coming from the phone, Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s entire body broke out in goosebumps. He dared not imagine what had happened to his wife or why the phone was in this man¡¯s hands.


    He quickly turned and ran toward his home, but had only taken a few steps when a voice rang out from behind: ¡°Dad, Dad, I¡¯m here!¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo turned his head and saw his son, Zeng Ziming, stumbling along the street, calling out to him while looking back over his shoulder.


    Passersby all cast surprised glances his way, but Zeng Ziming paid them no heed.


    Upon approaching Zeng Shiyuo, he pretty much threw himself at him, his arms and legs visibly weak, barely able to stand.


    ...


    Zeng Shiyuo hurriedly steadied him and asked, ¡°Are you okay? Where did you run off to?¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zeng Ziming pointed behind him, panting, ¡°A¡­ disgusting old hag was chasing me! She wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes, and her bones were almost poking through her skin¡­¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo looked in the direction his son had come from, of course seeing nothing. He steadied Zeng Ziming and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s get back home. Your mom might be in trouble!¡±


    Zeng Ziming¡¯s face turned pale with shock. Since seeing that tall, thin man, his face had been bloodlessly pale, and now it was terrifyingly white, as if he might faint from fright at any moment.


    The father and son supported each other as they hurried toward the residential area where their home was located.


    After a moment, Zeng Ziming hesitantly said, ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t we call an exorcist?¡±


    Zeng Shiyuo didn¡¯t immediately respond. As they nearly reached the gate of their old residential complex, he finally spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s go home first and see how your mom is. If something bad has happened to her, we¡¯ll call the exorcist. If¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s eyes bulged, seeing a woman staggering out from the complex.


    This woman was Tian Xiaoxia.


    Tian Xiaoxia was in very bad shape, empty-handed, carrying nothing, her hair in disarray as though she had just had a violent conflict with someone before running out.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s a strangeness in the house, a dwarf man, all purple¡­ He knocked on my head, clambered on my back¡­¡± Tian Xiaoxia was somewhat incoherent.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your phone?¡± Zeng Shiyuo asked.


    ¡°At home. I broke free from the dwarf and just ran out, didn¡¯t grab anything.¡± Tian Xiaoxia was shaking all over, on the verge of tears.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t go back.¡±


    At this time, Tian Xiaoxia and Zeng Ziming were both scared senseless, nearly collapsing. Only Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s emotions seemed relatively stable, but he was equally filled with tremendous fear, he just didn¡¯t show it as clearly.


    Grasping the hands of his son and wife, their hands were all as cold as ice at that moment, feeling no different from a dead person¡¯s.


    ¡°So¡­ where do we go now?¡± Zeng Ziming asked.


    Zeng Shiyuo hesitated slightly and then said, ¡°We can¡¯t go where there are lots of people. Come on, follow me, I know where to go.¡±


    After speaking, he reminded his wife and son, ¡°Before we reach our destination, you must constantly watch your backs. No one else can help with this; only you can see the strangeness that is seeking you. During this time, none of us can separate, we must¡­ we must be careful!¡±


    ¡­


    Underground Space.


    Rock held the Stone of Fear, which had mostly turned black, in both hands. The threads of Tricky Silk wrapped around the Stone of Fear were rhythmically twitching, and the other end of the threads, being invisible, it was unknown who they were connected to.


    The black color in his Stone of Fear continued to spread at a steady pace throughout the inner space of the stone.


    Although the yield was gratifying, Rock couldn¡¯t get excited. His gaze was fixed on the Stone of Fear in Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    In this moment, massive amounts of blackness were continuously injected into the inner space of Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear. The dosage and speed of this injection had not changed since three hours ago and were still steady.


    ¡°What could possibly be the reason that the family Yan Junze is frightening can generate an unlimited amount of fear of the same intensity without stopping?¡±


    Inside, Rock felt a pressure that had gone from initial astonishment, to surprise, and now to shock, and it had even escalated to extreme curiosity.


    If the Stone of Fear continued to absorb in this manner over the next few hours, Rock was certain that he would undoubtedly lose in this competition.


    Rock was now well aware that he needed to step up his game, otherwise, although the Meng Family had four people, the fear they generated would not surpass the continuous and stable output from the Zeng Family, which only had three people.


    He withdrew his gaze and immersed his concentration into the Stone of Fear and Tricky Silk he held, controlling it with full focus.


    If things really came to it, Rock considered unleashing his Ultimate Move at the necessary moment.


    Yannan District, Zhuhua City, Meng Family.


    Meng Tingting crawled in through the door, blocking her father Meng Yongshou who was trying to escape, while her brother Meng Hang rushed out of his bedroom and over to them.


    The moment he opened the door, he saw Meng Yongshou pressed frightfully against the wall near the doorway, forgetting to flee, his face ashen, staring at the scene before him, breathing heavily.


    Meanwhile, Meng Tingting and her mother Pan Ya both fell into unconsciousness, collapsing motionless on the ground.


    It took a good while for the father and son to snap out of their shock. Part of the fear subsiding, they finally took action. They first lifted Meng Tingting onto the bed and then carried Pan Ya, who lay beside the bed, onto it as well.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 397: 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 397: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_2


    The mother and daughter lay side by side, not regaining consciousness for quite a while.


    ¡°No, this might¡­ not be caused by your grandfather¡¯s faked death yesterday, call the Exorcist,¡± Meng Yongshou told Meng Hang.


    His gaze was unfocused, as if he was speaking to himself.


    Meng Hang quickly nodded, ¡°Right, Dad, call 4747 immediately.¡±


    Meng Yongshou said nothing further and immediately walked to the bedside table, picking up the smartphone that was placed there.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he swiftly dialed a series of numbers and put the phone to his ear.


    ...


    Soon the call connected, and Meng Yongshou spoke into the phone. In less than a minute, he hung up.


    Turning around, he saw his son staring at him in astonishment, ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Calling the Exorcist,¡± said Meng Yongshou.


    Meng Hang exclaimed in surprise, ¡°No, you dialed¡­ the food delivery number, you just ordered takeout.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Meng Yongshou became angry, ¡°I don¡¯t have time to joke with you right now. I have a contact in the city security system. I didn¡¯t dial 4747 directly, because that would mean waiting in line, and who knows when it would be our turn. I just informed Uncle Jiang who works at the security bureau, and he will arrange it for us immediately.¡±


    ¡°No, no, Dad, you really did just dial the food delivery number,¡± Meng Hang gesticulated with his hands, ¡°You ordered a serving of stir-fried rice noodles, light on the salt, and added a chicken leg.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense?!¡± Meng Yongshou¡¯s eyes went round with fury as he glared at Meng Hang, ¡°You little rascal, are you possessed by a Spirit Possession like your mother and sister?¡±


    Seeing Meng Yongshou¡¯s anger, Meng Hang immediately fell silent, standing aside and not daring to speak anymore.


    After a moment, Meng Yongshou shifted his attention back to the unconscious Pan Ya and Meng Tingting, rushing downstairs to have the maid bring up a basin of hot water so he could apply hot compresses to Pan Ya and Meng Tingting¡¯s heads with a towel.


    Then he called the private doctor.


    During this time, Meng Yongshou noticed his son had disappeared. Though he was just angry with him, he still worried that something had happened to Meng Hang. He went to his son¡¯s bedroom to check but found no one there.


    After asking the downstairs maid, nobody had seen the boy leave the house.


    While circling the first floor, he finally heard someone talking in a low voice inside the maids¡¯ bathroom.


    There, in the bathroom where Meng Hang could not be found anywhere else, he was indeed hiding. Meng Hang had clearly seen that his father, Meng Yongshou, had not dialed 4747 or contacted his old friend for a shortcut; he had actually made a food delivery call.


    His father definitely had a problem and even got angry after his own objections, so Meng Hang dared not mention it in front of him.


    But since Meng Yongshou did not call 4747, he had to make the call himself, determined to report the strangenesses at home to the Exorcist.


    Yet he didn¡¯t dare to make the call in front of Meng Yongshou, fearing that his father, who seemed to be attached by a Possession Spirit, might harm him.


    Therefore, Meng Hang chose to hide in the downstairs maids¡¯ bathroom to make the call.


    Unexpectedly, although he was hiding here, his father found him. Meng Yongshou couldn¡¯t understand what his son was up to, acting so sneakily all of a sudden.


    Right now, he silently put his ear to the bathroom door, holding his breath to listen to the sound inside.


    Meng Hang quickly connected the call, looking back guiltily at the bathroom door, which he had locked from the inside, preventing anyone from entering.


    As the call went through, the voice on the other end said, ¡°Hello, welcome to ¡®Full Yet?¡¯ Takeout. Um, your previous delivery address has already been displayed, what would you like to order?¡±


    Hearing the voice, Meng Hang felt nothing amiss, but he lowered his voice, as if speaking with an Exorcist, and said, ¡°I¡¯d like a bowl of Wang¡¯s Beef Noodles, original broth please.¡±


    Meng Yongshou: ¡°¡­¡±


    The voice on the phone replied, ¡°Okay, sir, anything else you¡¯d like to add?¡±


    Meng Hang looked back cautiously once more at the bathroom entrance, then continued in a tone that was both solemn and pleading, ¡°Less spicy, more green onions and garlic, and add a few slices of pickled vegetables.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to add an egg?¡±


    ¡°Add one.¡±


    ¡°Fried or marinated?¡±


    ¡°Marinated.¡±


    After the call ended, Meng Hang pressed the hang-up button, thinking to himself that he had finally reported to the Exorcist.


    He let out a long sigh of relief.


    Outside the bathroom.


    Meng Yongshou¡¯s expression was just like Meng Hang¡¯s from earlier, utterly dumbfounded, as he looked up.


    At this moment, he felt a complex mix of emotions.


    ¡°This fool of a son, locking himself in the bathroom like a thief just to order a bowl of beef noodles with a marinated egg, what¡¯s he thinking?¡±


    Shortly after, Meng Yongshou heard Meng Hang start to urinate, so he quietly left and returned to the second floor.


    Meanwhile, the maid was still applying hot towels to Pan Ya and Meng Tingting in the bedroom, but luckily, both had opened their eyes, and although they were both complaining of dizziness, at least they were conscious.


    Soon after, Meng Hang came upstairs nonchalantly and entered the master bedroom.


    ¡°Where have you been just now?¡± Meng Yongshou asked on purpose.


    He looked at his son with eyes that could hardly disguise the profound, coddling affection for someone he thought was intellectually challenged.


    Meng Hang dodged his gaze as if consciously avoiding it and replied, ¡°I stepped out into the yard for some fresh air.¡±


    Just then, the private doctor arrived. As the Meng Family¡¯s specially appointed doctor, he was very dedicated, always giving priority to the Meng family¡¯s needs no matter how busy he was. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, the salary provided by the Meng family each month was not low, and who would want to fight with money?


    Every time this Dr. Li came over, he would bring necessary medical equipment for physical examination and some emergency medicines in his car. Listening to heartbeats, taking blood pressure, and checking blood sugar could be done right there at home.


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 Chapter 398: 308: Tricky Silk - Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 398: Chapter 308: Tricky Silk ¨C Takeout (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)_3


    After a series of necessary checks, Doctor Li told Meng Yongshou that there was nothing seriously wrong with either of the women¡¯s health, but it seemed that Meng Tingting had eaten something wrong and was experiencing nausea. He could prepare some medicine on site to help her digest.


    Returning to the car to bring over the medicine, Doctor Li left.


    Meng Tingting, following his instructions, took two pills at a time. Not long after taking the medicine, her stomach suddenly began to churn violently, and in less than ten minutes, she was vomiting messily.


    The vomit startled everyone, except for Meng Hang, who appeared very calm, displaying an attitude that nothing could disgust him now.


    But in Meng Yongshou¡¯s eyes, this boy was becoming more and more suspicious.


    And in Meng Hang¡¯s eyes, which watched his old dad, were likewise filled with scrutiny and suspicion.


    ...


    Soon, the takeout they had ordered arrived one after the other, Meng Yongshou looked at his stir-fried rice noodles with extra chicken legs, Meng Hang looked at his beef noodles with an added marinated egg, father and son were both bewildered.


    However, Meng Tingting, having just vomited not long ago, assumed it was something the two had bought for her and, without a second thought, started eating happily.


    At this time, Pan Ya went towards the master bedroom¡¯s bathroom. She normally paid a lot of attention to grooming, and now with her hair in a mess, she needed to take good care of it.


    When asked if he had called the Exorcist, Meng Yongshou said he had pulled some strings so there would be no need to wait in line, and the Exorcist should arrive soon to deal with the situation.


    Pan Ya¡¯s heart settled, and after entering the bathroom, she washed her face with warm water and then picked up the comb to start Combing Hair, organizing her disheveled hair.


    Meng Yongshou, not entirely at ease, cautioned Meng Tingting not to mess up the bedroom carpet while eating and followed into the bathroom of the bedroom.


    Catching a glimpse of Pan Ya Combing Hair, he went to the toilet, lifted the lid, and began to urinate.


    Pan Ya glanced back at him but said nothing.


    Not long after, Meng Yongshou, who was urinating, spoke, ¡°Fix yourself up and rest a bit more, I¡¯ll call you when the Exorcist arrives.¡±


    Pan Ya didn¡¯t answer.


    Meng Yongshou looked at her sideways and asked again, ¡°Is your head still feeling dizzy?¡±


    Pan Ya still didn¡¯t answer, just kept Combing Hair continuously.


    Meng Yongshou had now developed a conditioned reflex; sensing something was off, he panicked inside, shook off the last few drops, pulled up his pants, and pressed the toilet flush button.


    ¡°Wife?¡±


    Pan Ya was still facing the mirror Combing Hair, ignoring him.


    Through the mirror, Meng Yongshou could see Pan Ya¡¯s expression was calm, watching her reflection, composedly brushing her hair.


    She couldn¡¯t have failed to hear him speak and, if she had heard, she wouldn¡¯t just ignore him.


    The more flustered Meng Yongshou became, the less he dared approach Pan Ya. He stood his ground, the spot closest to the bathroom door; if something was amiss, he would choose to run, just like before, and then figure out what to do.


    Just then, Pan Ya, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly paused the comb, as if she had reached a knot, getting stuck.


    However, instead of carefully combing through again, she gripped the comb tightly and pulled down with all her might.


    Because of the excessive force, her head was pulled askew by the action, yet she did not cease.


    ¡°Pan Ya, what are you doing?¡± Meng Yongshou was terrified by the scene.


    He believed if the pulling continued, the next moment could be very horrifying.


    Just as the thought struck him, there was a sound of something tearing.


    Meng Yongshou shuddered.


    ¡­


    Pan Ya had already finished grooming her hair, she set the comb down, turned her head, and noticed Meng Yongshou was still urinating.


    ¡°How much water did you drink?¡± Pan Ya picked up a box of moisturizer, squeezed some onto her hand, and started applying it while questioning.


    Meng Yongshou didn¡¯t respond, with only the sound of urination continuing.


    Surprised, Pan Ya turned around again to see Meng Yongshou had finished urinating and was reaching out to press the flush button but suddenly stopped, motionless.


    Her heartbeat inexplicably started to quicken and after hesitating, she turned and called out softly to Meng Yongshou, ¡°Yongshou?¡±


    Meng Yongshou turned around, looking at her expressionlessly.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Pan Ya.


    ¡°So¡­ thirsty.¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These two words were squeezed out of Meng Yongshou¡¯s mouth, then he knelt in front of the toilet, plunging his head into it, with the sound of loud gulping following.


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 Chapter 402: 310: Tricky Silk - Racing Against Time (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 402: Chapter 310: Tricky Silk ¨C Racing Against Time (Please Subscribe, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)


    Although Yan Junze had been manipulating Tricky Silk to control the corpses and scare the Zeng Family, he was also closely observing the Stone of Fear in Rock¡¯s hands.


    It must be said, when he noticed that the black fear gathering speed in Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear began to crazily increase, he felt somewhat uneasy himself.


    Because it was not just the speed that had accelerated; the black density was also astonishing, and in a short amount of time, it almost completely filled the Stone of Fear.


    Filling the Stone of Fear was simple; it meant that no transparent element could be seen inside the stone anymore. This could be discerned with the naked eye and was the sign for determining who had ultimately completed their scare.


    Now, to Yan Junze¡¯s view, Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was already about 95% filled, very rapidly and with a high density, surpassing his own.


    If Yan Junze didn¡¯t step up his efforts, he could easily lose this competition.


    ...


    At least, as things stood now, the outcome of the competition was quickly tipping in Rock¡¯s favor.


    Little did Yan Junze know that his concerns would last only a moment; suddenly he saw Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear shudder, with Rock appearing somewhat disconcerted but more annoyed, mumbling to himself.


    ¡°What? Went overboard with the Ultimate Move?¡± Yan Junze was astounded.


    Immediately after, he saw the progress of the black filling in Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear gradually stop until it came to a complete standstill.


    Upon closer examination, it indeed stopped where it was, still lacking about 5% Fear Value to be completely filled.


    At that moment, Rock, holding the Stone of Fear in both hands, was extremely careful as if afraid of dropping it, muttering to himself, ¡°What happened? Why suddenly feel faint, and all at once?¡±


    Yan Junze understood in his heart; it turned out this guy had frightened all his intended targets into fainting.


    Indeed, if they had all fainted, there was no one left to scare, and the Fear Value was definitely gone, or if not entirely absent, then very little and negligible.


    With that being the case, Yan Junze grinned, looked down at his own Stone of Fear, which was also filled with a significant amount of black, and it looked to be about 87%, not quite reaching 90%.


    Now that the opponent¡¯s progress had halted, surpassing Rock seemed just a matter of time.


    ¡°Oh dear, look at what you¡¯ve done; how am I supposed to feel good about this?¡±


    Yan Junze teased, with a hint of a smile on his lips, then immediately immersed himself in controlling the Tricky Silk.


    It was about time for a grand finale for the Zeng Family.


    Rock, on the other hand, had a look of grievance, furrowed his brows, and stared at the continuing stream of black Fear Value entering Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear.


    He had not given up; they were nearing the end, and Rock would certainly give it his all if there was any chance left.


    ¡­


    In Tianmeng District, Gaohe City.


    Alongside a riverbank of a river called Dayuan River, where the vegetation was dense, the space open and the air moist; this place was situated on the outskirts of Gaohe City.


    On weekends, some families would come to play by the riverbank, as it was very close to Gaohe City and not too remote.


    But at this time, it was working hours, and the riverside was drizzled with incessant rain, devoid of people. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zeng Shiyuo, Tian Xiaoxia, and Zeng Ziming were hiding in a wooden cabin by the river.


    This cabin was usually rented to campers for temporary accommodation and was equipped with basic facilities. However, after the outbreak of strangeness a year ago, few people rented it anymore.


    The cabin had windows on all four sides. The windows were large and let in a lot of light, so anyone staying in the cabin had an excellent view. You could stand inside and turn in a circle; if anything was amiss in any direction, it could be noticed immediately.


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s plan was for the family to stay here for a while, looking after each other, without anyone leaving alone.


    The strangenesses had always appeared in the city, especially in crowded places, which was very disadvantageous for them. After coming here, perhaps the strangenesses would not seek them out again.


    Even if they did come, in this area with excellent visibility, they could react in advance. If one of them was captured by the strangeness, the others could try their best to rescue them.


    After all, no one could face the strangeness alone.


    Equipped with their previous experiences, Zeng Shiyuo, Tian Xiaoxia, and Zeng Ziming also developed a detailed set of measures against the strangenesses, and they even set up simple traps outside the cabin.


    The purpose of the traps was simple; although the strangenesses were invisible, they could at least be temporarily trapped, winning the intended target time to escape.


    After tidying up the cabin a bit, Tian Xiaoxia also organized the bedding.


    Having once committed a major crime, the three of them had experienced several escapes and had developed a certain level of counter-surveillance capability. They would quickly grasp the environmental layout wherever they went, stay inconspicuous and had formed a good understanding between themselves.


    Thus, altering the surrounding environment was no big problem for them.


    But this time, they were not facing the security officers of this world but rather the eerie and indescribably strange strangenesses. All three were on high alert.


    After everything was prepared, Tian Xiaoxia boiled some water for the father and son, used some of it to wash her face, and then made a pot of tea with the rest.


    About thirty meters away from the cabin, a clearly makeshift row of simple wooden sticks suddenly collapsed.


    Observing the situation, Zeng Ziming immediately said, ¡°There might be strangeness coming; the ¡®alarm¡¯ over there has fallen.¡±


    ¡°Did you see anything?¡± asked Tian Xiaoxia, who was washing her face by the window. On hearing this, her body slightly trembled, and she quickly asked, then immediately moved closer to the window to look in the direction Zeng Ziming was pointing.


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 Chapter 405: 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk

    Chapter 405: Chapter 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Actually, after the rules of the competition were set, Yan Junze¡¯s plan was to follow the pattern of ¡°It¡¯s Behind You¡± from the movies he¡¯d seen to unfold the entire process of scaring the target.


    Because the goal of the competition was to collect Fear Value, he was self-aware that whether it was in terms of scaring experience or the control of Tricky Silk, he was not as strong as Rock.


    After all, Rock¡¯s hobby was on full display here. Competing head-on in an unfamiliar domain against the expertise of the other would likely result in a miserable defeat, so he needed to borrow some successful experiences.


    Yan Junze remembered when he first watched the movie ¡°It¡¯s Behind You,¡± the scenes where one always needed to be wary of someone approaching from behind captured his attention throughout.


    The intense feeling of fear accompanied him long after the movie had ended, making for an excellent viewing experience.


    So Yan Junze decided to replicate this method of frightening for dealing with Rock.


    ...


    Indeed, keeping the Zeng family constantly in fear of the inexplicable strangenesses appearing behind them was a good method for collecting Fear Value.


    Because they had to be afraid of the strangenesses suddenly appearing behind them, their sense of fear was constant and never ceased, although not at the highest level, it was still quite intense.


    Most importantly, the collection of Fear Value was continuous and never interrupted.


    And just as Yan Junze expected, Rock¡¯s techniques for scaring were far superior to his. If it was only a matter of the amount of Fear Value collected with each scare, he would definitely be left far behind by Rock, with no chance of catching up.


    During the competition between the two, Rock¡¯s mentality was not very stable. He originally had full confidence of winning in scare tactics.


    But upon seeing the steady pace at which Yan Junze¡¯s Fear Value was being collected, Rock felt odd and astonished, to the point where he lost his composure and wanted to hasten his victory.


    If he could have slowed down and maintained the same level of scaring the Meng Family, perhaps he would have won by now.


    But now, the result was that the Meng Family had been scared into fainting from being too overwhelmed.


    It must be said that Rock¡¯s control was indeed very strong; to achieve the maximum level of scare and quickly collect Fear Value, he was able to faint everyone at the same time, with the longest interval between them being no more than three seconds.


    Either way, Rock¡¯s clever plan had backfired and he was more anxious than anyone.


    Especially since at Yan Junze¡¯s, the speed of collecting Fear Value suddenly increased significantly, he knew that his opponent was also using his Ultimate Move.


    At that moment, he wished he could break the rules of the game and use Tricky Silk to wake up those from the Meng Family immediately.


    But professional ethics still had to be respected. Rock suppressed the urge to cheat and waited anxiously with bated breath.


    The third person to wake up was Meng Yongshou.


    Seeing Meng Yongshou awake, Rock¡¯s spirits lifted.


    About five seconds later, Meng Yongshou, who hadn¡¯t come to his senses yet, let out a choke and was scared unconscious once more.


    Rock turned his malicious gaze towards Pan Ya.


    And sure enough, the last to wake up was Pan Ya. She hadn¡¯t even managed to sit up when she simply opened her eyes and was immediately scared unconscious by the horror, the grotesque, the bizarre, the indescribable, and the utterly inhumane sight that appeared before her.


    And then, the frantic Rock was completely out of options.


    Although Yan Junze was fully immersed in controlling the ball of corpses creeping towards the cabin, he still kept an eye on the commotion over at Rock¡¯s location.


    However, the sounds that reached him from Rock¡¯s direction were: ¡°Damn, what¡¯s going on? It¡¯s over, they fainted again. Oh my god, they just opened their eyes, I¡¯m still preparing my Ultimate Move¡­¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s lips curled into a smile, unable to suppress his amusement.


    He suddenly realized that apart from Rock being a powerful strangeness in his own right, there was a strangely endearing quality to his true nature.


    Of course, Yan Junze didn¡¯t dare to try getting any closer, for fear of what might happen.


    By now, Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was about 97% full, whereas Yan Junze¡¯s was already above 98%.


    At that moment, in front of the cabin on the outskirts of Gaohe City, a ball formed by more than twenty corpses was rolling about, having completely approached the cabin.


    Limb after limb thrusted out from within the writhing mass, along with heads that kept twisting and turning, coupled with occasional screams.


    Plastered against the window, this terrifying scene seeped into the cabin, causing the Zeng family to huddle together involuntarily, faces full of panic, their features distorted, heads bowed tightly.


    Outside the cabin, the sky had turned completely dark, yet the light that passed from inside the cabin to the outside windows made the writhing mass appear even more hideous and terrifying, like a vast unknown monster with half its body hidden in the darkness.


    Slap, slap, slap, hands kept taking turns striking the glass.


    Every strike caused the three huddled and shrunken figures in the corner to jump, trembling as if shaking like chaff from fright.


    Zeng Ziming mustered the courage to raise his head slightly, and swiftly glanced towards the window, just in time to see the shattered cheek of a man smack against the glass, peering inside with a grotesquely opened mouth, dripping pale yellow fluid.


    Zeng Ziming let out a loud scream.


    Originally, the three of them had planned to flee the cabin, to escape altogether. But now that it was night, staying inside the cabin was slightly better as they could at least see the strangenesses. If they ran outside, they would never know if the strangenesses followed them, and they could be in danger at any moment.


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 Chapter 406: 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk_2

    Chapter 406: Chapter 311: The Endgame of Tricky Silk_2


    ¡°`


    Hearing Zeng Ziming¡¯s loud scream, Zeng Shiyuo couldn¡¯t help but look up.


    Smack, another wrinkled old woman¡¯s cheek pressed against the window glass followed shortly by a hand that clearly belonged to a young woman. The palm pressed against the glass, her fingers bent, and her sharp nails scratched back and forth on the glass, emitting an ear-piercing sound.


    It seemed as if the glass could hardly support any longer and would shatter at any moment due to the pressure from the mass of flesh outside.


    Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s skin broke out in goosebumps instantly, a strong sense of fear rose from his heart and rushed to his forehead.


    He could no longer hold it in, took out his mobile phone, his voice carrying a cry, and shakily said, ¡°Dial 4747, I must¡­ I must report¡­ the Exorcist¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Dial quickly.¡±


    Tian Xiaoxia, who had kept her head deeply buried, was already scared out of her wits just by the sounds outside the room. If she looked once more, she might very well faint, so she immediately agreed with Zeng Shiyuo¡¯s decision.


    Zeng Ziming didn¡¯t say anything; it seemed he was too frightened to speak.


    The phone was quickly connected, and Zeng Shiyuo immediately shouted, ¡°Exorcist, I need an Exorcist, our family is in a wooden house by the Dayuan River outside Gaohe City. More than twenty strangenesses, yes, more than twenty strangenesses, please, come and save us¡­¡±


    Ding!


    Yan Junze¡¯s Stone of Fear suddenly started to vibrate slightly, then emitted a crisp sound.


    He recollected his thoughts, looked down at the Stone of Fear.


    The entire inside of the Stone of Fear was filled with blackness, and at this moment, it stopped absorbing Fear Value.


    He immediately made the corpse flesh ball that was lying on the outside of the wooden house window roll slowly away from the wooden house. After entering the woods, all the corpses dispersed, and under the control of the Tricky Silk, they headed towards Shuntian City.


    Underground Space.


    Rock looked at the Fear Value in his hand that was just a bit shy of being full, he slowly shook his head, a smile appeared on his face that was covered with patterns.


    ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve won.¡±


    ¡°It was a stroke of luck, just a stroke of luck.¡± Yan Junze was still in the process of controlling the corpses to hurry back, so he didn¡¯t stop just yet.


    Rock didn¡¯t immediately retract the Tricky Silk from the unconscious members of the Meng Family either, instead, he put the Stone of Fear aside and freed his hand.


    In fact, the Fear Value from the Meng Family was still slowly flowing into the Stone of Fear, albeit at a very slow pace.


    At this point, not only had every member of the Meng Family fainted, but they had also fainted twice, yet even in their subconscious, their fear lingered.


    If this were under normal circumstances, such a Fear Value would be negligible, but now Rock¡¯s Stone of Fear was about to be filled, so the Fear Value flowing slowly from the Meng Family was not insignificant.


    Even though none of them came to, given the current rate of filling, it would still be possible to fill the Stone of Fear after some time.


    Rock returned to the entrance of the hole and sat down, picked up the clump of Tricky Silk threads and began to wrap them again, while wrapping, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve won, and you¡¯ve saved your friend who escaped. When those corpses return, you can take your prize and leave this place.¡±


    ¡°Prize?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback.


    At the start of the competition, there had been no rule that a prize would be given to the winner, so this so-called prize was merely Rock¡¯s own assertion.


    Of course, if Yan Junze had lost, perhaps even his life would have been left there; that would have been his prize to Rock.


    However, as Yan Junze was in a ¡°Great Rewind,¡± he could also cheat and leave directly even if he lost the competition.


    But that would not conform to the original timeline, and if he were to forcefully leave after losing, the ripple effect that would result might be something the current Different Dimension Energy could not repair.


    Rock pointed to the Stone of Fear he was holding in his hand.


    Yan Junze looked down and asked, ¡°Is this my prize, what can I do with it?¡±


    Rock shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°There are many uses.¡±


    He didn¡¯t elaborate but started to wrap the Tricky Silk thread clump again.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Once the objects were in his hands, he would study them carefully and surely figure them out.


    Controlling more than twenty corpses for an entire night¡¯s journey, although this simple action did not consume too much of Yan Junze¡¯s attention, he was still somewhat exhausted.


    ¡°`


    Currently, for Yan Junze, he was still within the time of the Rewind, but his biological clock was indeed depleting, and he would still feel tired. However, this fatigue was strange; it was slightly better than usual.


    So, he was still able to hold on until the sky began to brighten when all the corpses had finally returned to the Underground Space one after another.


    Yan Junze took a breath, and now he could finally put down the Stone of Fear he had been holding in his hands the whole time. He wasn¡¯t reassured, so he counted them again with his naked eyes to make sure that not a single body was missing.


    Otherwise, Yan Junze suspected that Rock might make him compensate with one of his own.


    After a short rest, Yan Junze said to Rock, ¡°In that case, I¡¯m ready to leave.¡±


    Rock put down the Tricky Silk thread clump in his hands, walked over to the Stone of Fear that Yan Junze had placed on the ground, bent down to pick it up, glanced inside the space, then quickly flung it causing the Stone of Fear¡¯s interior to start shaking violently.


    This technique was like shuffling cards, and Yan Junze surmised that he was trying to even out the Fear Value inside the Stone of Fear.


    Rock soon stopped his motions, and at that point, the Stone of Fear actually started making cracking sounds, as if something inside had coalesced.


    Yan Junze watched this scene in surprise, then saw Rock directly break the Stone of Fear in half with his hands as if it had turned into vacuum inside, and a small object rolled out.


    Yan Junze took a careful look, and then was startled, nearly blurting out loud.


    Because he recognized what that was, it was a bead, completely black, as if formed from all the condensed Fear Value.


    ¡°Black Spirit Pearl.¡±


    Yan Junze thought to himself; the full name of his mallet was the ¡°Black Spirit Mallet,¡± which had been modified thanks to a Black Spirit Pearl.


    And now, with only one Black Spirit Pearl inlaid on the surface of his mallet, if he added this new one, its power would certainly far surpass that of before.


    Although he knew what the bead was, Yan Junze did not show it.


    Rock picked up the bead and handed it to him: ¡°This is your reward.¡±


    ¡°What can I use it for?¡± Yan Junze deliberately asked.


    Rock said, ¡°You can continue to absorb fear, or Strange Energy, or even disrupt magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°So many functions!¡± Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, ¡°It can disrupt magnetic fields too?¡±


    Rock nodded, and just then, a ¡®ding¡¯ sound came from the Stone of Fear that he had put on the ground.


    Rock turned around, picked up the Stone of Fear, and did as before, shaking it violently for a moment before breaking it open with both hands, and another Black Spirit Pearl rolled out. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without a second thought, Rock picked up this Black Spirit Pearl and handed it again to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Two pearls, both yours.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Yan Junze had to say thanks this time.


    He originally felt like he was about to soar with two Black Spirit Pearls, but now another one had appeared.


    Three Black Spirit Pearls to craft an exquisite mallet; he wondered what power it would have. Perhaps in the future, he would no longer need to activate his Semi-Spirit Body to withstand those strangenesses that couldn¡¯t be dealt with using the Buddhist Exorcism Method.


    Just thinking about it was exciting.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but ask Rock, ¡°Are Black Spirit Pearls common for you?¡±


    In his view, the way the other party gave him the pearls was as if they cost nothing, hence his question.


    In other words, he was inquiring if there were many Stones of Fear because, without a collection of Fear Value, even with a frightful target, no Black Spirit Pearls would be produced.


    Rock shook his head and said, ¡°Not many, only I can make Black Spirit Pearls, not just anyone can have them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment.


    If he remembered correctly, the Black Spirit Pearl inside his mallet came from a statue belonging to Yin Yang Master Lin Yishan.


    If only Rock could produce Black Spirit Pearls, then how did Lin Yishan get it?


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 Chapter 407: 312 A Family

    Chapter 407: Chapter 312 A Family


    Yan Junze had no time to think about much else, making sure the Black Spirit Pearl was secure. He already had a plan, all three Black Spirit Pearls would be embedded into the mace, creating a fine weapon.


    ¡°Now you can leave,¡± Rock picked up the Tricky Silk thread clumps he had twined absentmindedly while convincing himself he had lost, and walked towards the hole he had crawled out of.


    Yan Junze asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving? This place is likely to be exposed once my friend leaves.¡±


    ¡°I can leave at any time,¡± Rock had already started crawling into the hole.


    Yan Junze stood there watching his retreating figure, seeing the large and oddly-shaped figure slowly disappear into the hole. Then, after looking around to make sure no one was watching, he too started climbing into the tunnel leading out of the underground space.


    The area was not as tumultuous as when Yan Junze had first arrived; it had become very quiet.


    ...


    If he were to disappear directly from this location now, he feared it might arouse Rock¡¯s suspicion.


    So, for safety, Yan Junze decided to deliberately crawl through the tunnel; he used his hands and feet to advance into the crawlway.


    After crawling in the tunnel for a while, the mission completion message popped up in his mind.


    [Tricky Silk, Terrified (Medium), completed, obtained 1800 Different Dimension Energy points] Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze originally had 3600 points, which Rock was unaware of, while Yan Junze had made several mistakes using Tricky Silk to scare the people of the Zeng Family.


    After all, it was his first time handling Tricky Silk; these mistakes greatly reduced the scare¡¯s level of terror. Thus, whenever a mistake occurred, Yan Junze would initiate a brief Rewind, fine-tuning the Tricky Silk.


    And if any mishap happened during the second scare, Yan Junze would silently Rewind those few minutes and try again.


    Regardless, as a novice, he must ensure that each of his scares reached the peak within his capabilities to achieve the maximum effect.


    So, the original 3600 Different Dimension Energy points he had upon entering the underground space were now just over 2700, with an additional 1800 upon completing the [Tricky Silk] mission, totaling over 4500 points.


    The tunnel was pitch black, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to turn on any lights. Instead, after crawling some distance, he initiated the return command.


    The next second, he appeared again in that eerie starry space.


    Standing upon the Void, the familiar prompt for [Butterfly Effect Stabilization] popped up before his eyes.


    [This ¡°Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion¡± has generated 3 instances of the Butterfly Effect, with the first effect estimated to consume 400 energy points, producing 654 ripple events. The second effect is estimated to consume 300 energy points, producing 515 ripple events. The third effect is estimated to consume 500 energy points, producing 778 ripple events.]


    Yan Junze paid close attention; this time, there was no occurrence of the lethal ripple events described after the ¡°Great Rewind¡± during the Cheng Jingting incident.


    Therefore, there was no case requiring his personal intervention to adjust ripple events.


    Soon the second message popped up.


    [All above Butterfly Effects can be handled personally or completed automatically by ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization.¡± During the automatic completion, the host can choose to observe from a third-person perspective. Start now?]


    At this point, Yan Junze was very tired. He considered for a moment and decided he didn¡¯t have the energy to return to the scene to watch the entire stabilization process from a third-person perspective. Now, he just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.


    Yan Junze silently thought ¡°Start¡± in his mind, opting not to observe but letting the ¡°Butterfly Effect Stabilization¡± proceed automatically.


    Another line of text appeared.


    [Since the host has chosen to let the Butterfly Effect Stabilization complete itself, the Spacetime Fixed Point Insertion is concluded. Locating previous spacetime, returning¡­]


    It wasn¡¯t long before the eerie Void scenery changed abruptly, as if a giant curtain had been swiftly lifted.


    Yan Junze then felt a strong pull from behind, dragging him backwards.


    His vision blurred, he wobbled, already standing in front of the flower bed in the Jian Family¡¯s courtyard, barely avoiding falling into it.


    The round stone was still in front of him, lying there unchanged.


    Footsteps sounded from behind; Jian Tong had added some hot water to Yan Junze¡¯s teacup and was now carrying it outside.


    To Jian Tong, it was just a minute she had spent inside to refill the water, but for Yan Junze, that brief moment had been an experience of life and death.


    Turning to take the teacup, an exhausted Yan Junze managed a weary smile. He took a sip of tea, chatted a few words with Jian Tong, showing curiosity about the stone.


    Setting down the teacup, he took out his phone to take several photos of the stone from different angles, exchanged a few more words with Jian Tong, then excused himself, claiming he needed to rush back to school and departed.


    After leaving the Jian Family, Yan Junze was too tired. He didn¡¯t want to walk to the bus station and instead hailed a taxi on the street, stating he was going to Tianmeng Science University, then collapsed in the back seat and soon fell asleep.


    When he woke up, it was the taxi driver who had woken him. He looked up and saw the entrance to Science and Technology University.


    After paying the fare, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head straight to his dormitory but instead went to visit Xiang Er¡¯s rental house.


    He was simply too exhausted; after maintaining a high level of concentration controlling the Tricky Silk for so long, once his spirit relaxed, all he wanted was to sleep.


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 Chapter 408: 312 A Family_2

    Chapter 408: Chapter 312 A Family_2


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze felt that resting at Xiang Er¡¯s place would be more reliable.


    When he entered the rental, Xiang Er was sitting on the bed, scrolling through the news on her phone.


    This woman never slept, and was always looking for things to do; Yan Junze no longer had to do laundry. He¡¯d change at school and bring his clothes over in a big bag for Xiang Er to take care of.


    Not only that, but she had also volunteered to wash all of Huahua¡¯s clothes.


    Anyway, there was a washing machine here and half the room could be used to hang clothes, which was very convenient.


    After entering the room, Yan Junze looked up and saw that his clothes had already been washed, exuding the fresh scent of laundry detergent; not only that, but there were also Xiang Er¡¯s clothes hanging in the room.


    ... S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These days, she had also learned to be clean, fearing that the smell of her potions was too strong so she changed her clothes frequently. Under Huahua¡¯s guidance, her choice of attire had indeed become quite fashionable.


    Suddenly, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes showed a trace of perplexity as he stared at a pair of women¡¯s shorts on the drying rack.


    These shorts were seamless, and their shape was very close to a ¡°thong,¡± plus they were rose red.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but raise his hand, pointing at the shorts, ¡°Xiang Er, you¡­ you wear these now?¡±


    ¡°No, those are Huahua¡¯s,¡± Xiang Er glanced up briefly.


    Yan Junze almost choked, clutching his chest and climbing into bed.


    No wonder, he had been puzzled because he had never seen Huahua¡¯s shorts when hanging laundry in the dorms. It turns out this guy had such tastes, such inclinations.


    Now, Yan Junze was considering whether he should change dorms.


    ¡°Go sit over there on the chair, I need to sleep for a while,¡± Yan Junze said and shortly after lying down, his eyes closed.


    Xiang Er did as told, sitting on the chair and curiously glanced at Yan Junze, wondering why he was so tired.


    She then looked up at Huahua¡¯s shorts again, the style, that pattern, even as an entity of strangeness, Xiang Er involuntarily shivered.


    Soon, the sound of Yan Junze¡¯s soft snoring could be heard, the man was truly exhausted.


    He slept until 10 am the next day, the quality of his sleep was high, making him feel refreshed upon waking.


    Xiang Er was standing outside in the hallway basking in the sun. Hearing noise from the room, she turned and walked in.


    The first thing Yan Junze did when he woke up was to look in the direction of those dazzling shorts, which Xiang Er had tidied away, thankfully, as she understood him well.


    Still, he sat on the bed, in no immediate rush to get up.


    Xiang Er, seeing that he appeared to be thinking about something, stayed quiet, just standing by the door, her back bathed in sunlight, soaking up the warmth.


    At some point, basking in the sun had become Xiang Er¡¯s hobby; she was naturally cold, and the feeling of soaking up the sun gave her a bit of that long-missed warmth and comfort¡ªit was incredibly pleasant.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t actually contemplating anything; upon waking, he had simply noticed something odd in the Spacetime Atlas.


    Looking within the Atlas, the peculiar vibrations emanated from the 12th node, where the most noticeable was the miniature figure of Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    With a thought, Yan Junze instantly released Long-tongued Zhenzhen.


    As soon as she appeared, her long tongue was hanging out of her mouth, swaying around, but with a slurp, she quickly retracted it back into her mouth.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze said happily, ¡°Zhenzhen, you¡¯ve recovered!¡±


    The look in Long-tongued Zhenzhen¡¯s eyes was much clearer, no longer staring down constantly with her tongue dragging on the ground, silent as before.


    She looked at Yan Junze, smiled faintly, a smile that had been missing for so long, and nodded, ¡°Mm, these past days have felt like a dream, I¡¯ve been so muddled.¡±


    ¡°Had it not been for you jumping onto that strangeness and rescuing me from the Underground Space, my own magnetic field wouldn¡¯t have been disturbed, and I wouldn¡¯t have taken so long to recover,¡± Yan Junze said with relief.


    As he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something.


    He had performed a Great Rewind to save himself, which then caused a ripple event, followed by a Butterfly Effect Stabilization to correct it, and it was after that event Long-tongued Zhenzhen had been affected by the disturbed magnetic field.


    Could it be that during this Butterfly Effect Stabilization, her magnetic field disturbance was somehow adjusted to a certain extent? That might be why she was able to wake up now, or else she might have remained in that chaotic state for some more time.


    Since Yan Junze hadn¡¯t chosen to observe the Butterfly Effect Stabilization as a third-party observer, he was only speculating now and had no evidence.


    However, the outcome was good, as long as Long-tongued Zhenzhen recovered.


    After Zhenzhen spoke, she suddenly felt a rush of panic and immediately turned to look at Xiang Er standing at the door.


    Her whole body tensed up, ready to attack at any moment.


    Though she was in an attack state, Zhenzhen¡¯s body was trembling, overwhelmed by the oppression emanating from Xiang Er, which filled her with immense fear.


    Yan Junze quickly reached out to stop her, ¡°Zhenzhen, no need to be nervous! This is Xiang Er, get to know each other, we¡¯re all family, all family.¡±


    Xiang Er was just looking at Zhenzhen, not making any moves.


    Zhenzhen was somewhat surprised, and her attack state quickly dissipated, but she still seemed very cautious when looking at Xiang Er.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and mumbled to himself, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, since we¡¯re all family, let¡¯s all meet today so we can look out for each other later, no need to be so distant.¡±


    With that, he released the two strange babies and the Crawler Monster in succession.


    As soon as the two strange babies appeared, they initially wanted to get excited. Their excited expressions were all over their faces, but they froze instantly, shrieking with a ¡®gah¡¯ sound, and immediately scrambled under the bed.


    On being released, the Crawler Monster immediately sensed that something was off and felt a massive wave of oppression descending upon it. Not diving under the bed like the strange babies, it leaped onto the bed, spreading its arms and facing the direction of the door, it positioned itself in front of Yan Junze.


    As expected, all strangenesses felt the oppression coming from Xiang Er.


    The two strange babies were the most unreliable, and previously, the Crawler Monster was too, but now, it seemed to have learned to protect its master.


    However, when Yan Junze looked down, he saw that although the creature was spreading its arms protectively, it couldn¡¯t resist extending its forked tongue to tidy up its side part, which had become slightly disheveled due to the fright.


    After taking a glance, Yan Junze felt that the creature seemed to have gotten fatter.


    As he looked at Zhenzhen, he noted that she also seemed a bit plumper now.


    It seemed that constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy within the Spacetime Atlas, these strangenesses were living quite comfortably.


    While their abilities weren¡¯t improving quickly, their physical sizes had grown significantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, everything¡¯s fine, the one standing at the door, Xiang Er, is one of us, just like Zhenzhen, all part of the family,¡± Yan Junze patted the side of the bed and called out to those under it, ¡°You two little guys, come out, come and meet.¡±


    The Crawler Monster was slow to react, still spread-eagled in a protective stance.


    Yan Junze patted its head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m touched, now go pull out those two from under the bed.¡±


    The Crawler Monster shot Yan Junze a reproachful look, extended its tongue to fix the side part that Yan Junze had ruffled, and then darted under the bed to chase out the two strange babies.


    Once all the strangenesses were assembled, Yan Junze pointed to Xiang Er at the door and said, ¡°This is Xiang Er, the strongest among you.¡±


    Then, pointing to Zhenzhen, he said to Xiang Er, ¡°This is Long-tongued Zhenzhen, a woman who died by hanging, like the way you died. You two should talk more, but don¡¯t lead these little ones astray.¡±


    After introducing the Crawler Monster and the strange babies one by one, Yan Junze felt a bit sentimental, ¡°Actually, there are two more in our big family, a mother and daughter, no idea where they¡¯ve gone off to. Speaking of Ke¡¯er, I suddenly miss her.¡±


    Aside from Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster, who nodded in understanding, the other strangenesses did not know who Yan Junze was talking about.


    After his moment of reflection, Yan Junze suddenly became enthusiastic. He got off the bed, picked up his phone, and transferred some money to Xiang Er, ¡°Xiang Er, go buy some vegetables and hotpot base ingredients, we¡¯re going to have a family hotpot for lunch.¡±


    He paused and then added, ¡°Um, and buy some more incense sticks while you¡¯re at it.¡±


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 Chapter 409: 313: Dont Look Behind You!

    Chapter 409: Chapter 313: Don¡¯t Look Behind You! S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was Yan Junze¡¯s first time eating a meal cooked by the strangenesses.


    To be honest, Xiang Er¡¯s cooking skills were terrible. In her life, she had always been locked up at home and never came out, relying on the meals her mother brought to her, so her inability to cook was understandable.


    Fortunately, there was a long-tongued beauty¡ªZhenzhen¡ªnext to her. Zhenzhen¡¯s culinary skills were clearly top-notch, and with a bit of guidance, a pot of aromatic hot pot was soon ready.


    Along with some slices of meat, fish balls, and vegetables, the fragrance wafting from the pot alone was enough to make Yan Junze¡¯s taste buds explode.


    Before long, everyone was sitting around the steaming hot pot, although almost none of the strangenesses present ate from it, except for Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er¡¯s body was very special, as she had tried before; she could eat a bit of food, and as long as she was in a state of possession, she could completely digest what she ingested without producing any waste.


    ...


    But for the current Xiang Er, eating was unnecessary.


    In fact, for Yan Junze, apart from blood, eating hot pot was also unnecessary, but at least eating normally still had its pleasures, such as enjoying the taste.


    When it came to actually eating, Yan Junze didn¡¯t eat much, mainly for the atmosphere.


    Apart from him and Xiang Er, Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the strange baby were just gnawing on incense candles by the side.


    The strange baby was originally mischievous, but right now, with Xiang Er present, the oppressive presence of the strangenesses loomed over them, and these two guys were being much better behaved as they nibbled on their incense candles.


    Sitting upright at the table with knees together, they gnawed methodically at the incense candles, as if they were corn cobs. At first glance, they even looked somewhat cute.


    However, neither Yan Junze nor Xiang Er paid much attention to these two brothers because they were still very sensitive to the gaze of humans; there was no problem only when the strangenesses looked at them.


    Although the Crawler Monster was also eating incense candles, it did so in a leisurely fashion as if it wasn¡¯t particularly fond of it.


    Ever since he came out, nearly every half hour, he had to point a finger at Yan Junze.


    Although he couldn¡¯t speak, Yan Junze understood: the creature was signaling his desire to return. And of course, the place he wanted to go back to was the Spacetime Atlas.


    It seemed the Crawler Monster had taken a liking to the sensation of being constantly nourished by Different Dimension Energy. Even eating incense candles, a highly tempting affair for the strangenesses, turned out to be tasteless for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to come out, so stay with everyone a bit longer. Don¡¯t hide in the Atlas all day, or you might end up with social withdrawal or depression,¡± Yan Junze said while eating. ¡°Actually, there are two other strangenesses here, but those two are not very friendly.¡±


    Xiang Er and Zhenzhen looked up at him, surprised.


    ¡°Who else is there?¡± Zhenzhen asked.


    ¡°One in my shadow, one in my dreams,¡± Yan Junze shrugged. ¡°But these two strangenesses are very unfriendly to me. The one in my shadow will seek me out whenever my shadow is formed under the moonlight, wanting to be with me every second. As for the one in my dreams, I still don¡¯t know what she wants exactly. Hm, the last time Xiang Er was with me in the Tianyi District, we already encountered her once.¡±


    That time, Yan Junze happened to dream about the Lantern Woman, and the next day in reality, he met a woman squatting against a wall with her back to him. Xiang Er was present at the time, which prevented the woman from acting against Yan Junze.


    For Yan Junze, these two strangenesses posed too many threats. If possible, it would be best to find a way to sever this danger; otherwise, sooner or later there would be problems.


    After pausing, Yan Junze continued, ¡°Then the last one is Aunt Mei, whom I haven¡¯t seen for a long time.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the two strange babies stopped gnawing on their incense candles and, ignoring their sensitivity to human gazes, looked towards Yan Junze.


    Out of consideration for them, Yan Junze immediately narrowed his eyes to reduce the sensitivity as much as possible.


    ¡°Aunt Mei has been a great help to me and is still guarding the FH Community,¡± Yan Junze said to the strange babies. ¡°We¡¯ll be having a break soon, and we can go back to Shuntian City to see our families.¡±


    Suddenly, the strange babies became excited. While sitting there, they began flailing their arms and legs, but still did not dare to stand up, instead moving restlessly in place.


    Yan Junze looked at Xiang Er and laughed heartily.


    ¡­


    Two weeks passed.


    With the start of the school winter vacation, Yan Junze suddenly realized a problem: did he need to bring Xiang Er with him to Shuntian City during the holiday?


    If he brought her back to Shuntian City, where should she stay? In the basement with Aunt Mei, or should he rent a hotel or an apartment elsewhere?


    Leaving Xiang Er alone in the rental outside Tianmeng Science University until he returned after the winter break might be too long, right?


    There would be many unstable factors during this period.


    After thinking it over, Yan Junze decided to take Xiang Er back to Shuntian City. There was a small hotel opposite his home where she could stay for starters.


    Bringing Xiang Er back, Yan Junze had another consideration. In her life, the Ugly Girl had been kept alone for so many years, feeling very lonely and thus unable to keep up with modern society.


    Now that she was out, she was still alone like before, and Yan Junze felt a sense of compassion.


    If her family before had not given her a sense of home, perhaps she could join his family during the winter vacation and the New Year, and enjoy the atmosphere of a home, which would not be bad either.


    Having packed up what he needed to take back with him at school, Yan Junze went out to buy a suitcase, preparing to go to Xiang Er¡¯s rental place and pack her things into the suitcase.


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 Chapter 410: 313: Dont Look Behind You!_2

    Chapter 410: Chapter 313: Don¡¯t Look Behind You!_2


    Per the suggestion of the other roommates, everyone agreed to have a meal together before parting ways.


    Yan Junze and Zhao Zheng, along with He Bishou, chatted for a bit, then Yan told them he would head directly to the restaurant outside of the university and wait there before exiting the dorm to his rental place.


    At the dormitory door, he meant to say something to Huahua, but seeing her on the phone, he simply waved his hand and left.


    On the phone with Huahua was a close girlfriend; in fact, almost all of Huahua¡¯s friends were female, and they never treated him differently, with most of their conversations revolving around cosmetics, fashion, and shopping.


    After talking for a while, Huahua said in a slightly coquettish tone, ¡°Honey, I haven¡¯t seen you for so long. You didn¡¯t even tell me you were back in Tianmeng early. Now I¡¯ve already bought my plane ticket and I¡¯m heading back home soon; I won¡¯t be able to join you guys.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice coming from the phone was crisp and pleasant, filled with a tone of regret.


    ...


    Huahua suddenly said, ¡°Hang up, let¡¯s video call so I can see if you¡¯ve changed at all.¡±


    Soon the call ended, and Huahua redialed for a video call, which connected shortly after. The phone screen displayed a young woman.


    This woman was quite good-looking, with an even set of features and shoulder-length hair. She wore a set of light purple and slightly loose fleece pajamas.


    After taking a close look at Huahua, she said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Xie Hua, haven¡¯t seen you for a while and you¡¯ve gotten even prettier. Wow, such nice skin! What brand of skincare products are you using now?¡±


    The background where this girl was standing seemed to be her home, with a glimpse of the living room sofa and the wall clock and painting on the wall.


    Judging by the home d¨¦cor, her family was quite affluent, with high-quality leather on the sofa and expensive wall tiles. Just that exquisite pilgrimage painting embedded in the wall would cost at least a hundred thousand to acquire.


    Huahua rolled her eyes playfully, ¡°Si Nannan, what are you talking about? Wasn¡¯t I fair-skinned before? And call me Huahua, not Xie Hua, that sounds too manly. Hmm, if you want the cosmetics, I¡¯ll mail a set to you when I get home, super whitening¡­¡±


    Si Nannan by now had propped her legs up and was sitting on the couch with a slice of pizza she had just bitten into, smiling, ¡°Thanks in advance, and I won¡¯t even ask about the price, because I know you wouldn¡¯t charge me anyway.¡±


    ¡°You little rascal.¡± Huahua extended her finger, her lips forming a playful smirk, mockingly saying, ¡°Only a semester away and you¡¯ve got a boyfriend, huh? Seem to care less if you still have me as a friend.¡±


    ¡°No, no, not at all.¡± Si Nannan straightened up and replied with a laugh, ¡°You will always be my good sister.¡±


    The Huahua in the video covered her mouth and giggled, ¡°A good sisterly advice for you, eat less high-calorie food, or be careful not to get married.¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not a problem for me, I never gain weight no matter how much I eat.¡±


    Si Nannan shook her head, one hand holding the phone, the other still stuffing large bites of delicious-looking pizza into her mouth.


    Even though Si Nannan always presented herself with grace and sweetness when outside, now that she was alone at home, she didn¡¯t need to mind her manners while eating¡ªthis was the real her.


    Having gotten close with Huahua, she deliberately opened her mouth wide and took another big bite of the pizza in front of her, revealing a satisfied expression, ¡°Mmm, delicious.¡±


    Huahua had been laughing, but after those words, her smile instantly faded as she asked, ¡°Nannan, are you home alone?¡±


    Without noticing the change in Huahua¡¯s expression, Si Nannan nodded, ¡°Yeah, my parents haven¡¯t returned, it¡¯s just me.¡±


    ¡°Get up, get off the couch,¡± Huahua said with a serious face, no longer joking.


    Si Nannan, sensing something was amiss, asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I was sitting comfortably, why get up?¡±


    Nevertheless, she stood up as told, the pizza still unfinished in her hand.


    ¡°Could you go outside for a bit? It¡¯s too dark inside, and I can¡¯t see you clearly.¡± Huahua continued, her demeanor strict, obviously not kidding.


    Waving her hand, Si Nannan said, ¡°I¡¯m in my pajamas now. If you can¡¯t see me, let me turn on the light.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, that¡¯s fine, go turn it on, quickly,¡± Huahua nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you? So secretive,¡± Si Nannan commented, one hand holding the phone, the screen facing her. She put down the unfinished pizza and walked over to the entrance of the living room, turning on the light.


    ¡°Can you see clearly now?¡± Si Nannan asked.


    Huahua didn¡¯t respond. She just silently watched through the phone¡¯s screen.


    Si Nannan did not notice that Huahua¡¯s eyelids were twitching slightly at this moment, even her lips were trembling very lightly.


    He was restraining himself, holding back something.


    After a while, Huahua spoke again, ¡°Nannan, your signal isn¡¯t very good. Why don¡¯t you go outside because I¡¯m having trouble with the video feed on your side.¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it be a problem with your signal?¡± Si Nannan asked with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely an issue on your side,¡± Huahua explained without a trace of a smile, ¡°Our school has a base station right here. We never have a problem with bad reception. Trust me, go outside, don¡¯t bother changing your clothes, go now. Once you¡¯re out, I¡¯ll tell you something.¡±


    Si Nannan frowned but eventually compromised.


    With one hand holding her phone, which was still in the middle of a video call, she bent down to put on a pair of white casual shoes suitable for walking outdoors, picked up her keys that were on the shoe cabinet by the door, opened the door, and was about to turn back to switch off the lights and close the door.


    Huahua¡¯s voice rose again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the lights and the door, just go, hurry up, hurry¡­¡±


    Hearing Huahua¡¯s suddenly urgent voice, Si Nannan began to panic for no reason, her body trembled, and the hand that was reaching back to turn off the lights quickly retracted. She didn¡¯t care about closing the door either, rushing outside.


    At that moment, Huahua¡¯s voice changed completely, anxious, urgent, extremely tense, almost hysterically shouting from the other end of the video, ¡°Run, Nannan, run fast, don¡¯t look back! Never look back! Run!¡±


    Nannan¡¯s delicate body trembled violently, and she burst into tears, crying as she ran without caring for her image at all.


    The phone in her hand also moved up and down with the swinging of her arm, and at this moment, the image became very unclear.


    ¡­


    A restaurant outside of Tianmeng Science University. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The 411 dorm often chose this restaurant for their gatherings for two reasons: the food tasted good and the portions were generous; and, the second reason was the affordable prices, fair and square.


    Selling well outside of school, taste, portion size, and price are the key factors, and this restaurant certainly possessed all of these.


    This was the first time Yan Junze had brought Xiang Er to meet his dorm mates other than Huahua.


    On the contrary, right now, Huahua was the only one missing as the other two roommates, Zhao Zheng and He Bishou, were staring unblinkingly at Xiang Er across the dining table.


    Xiang Er didn¡¯t mind, but Yan Junze couldn¡¯t stand these two guys¡¯ thirsty gazes that were as if they hadn¡¯t seen a woman in ages.


    ¡°Enough from you two. Zhao Zheng, are you carrying a generator with you? Look at those electrifying eyes. And you, Fat He, wipe the drool from your chin before it drips into the dishes. Then, call Huahua to hurry him up,¡± Yan Junze said.


    With a naive sincerity, He Bishou wiped his chin with a paper napkin, but instead of calling Huahua, he pointed at Xiang Er and said, ¡°That¡­ that, Junze, are you sure she¡¯s your cousin?¡±


    ¡°Ah, is there a problem?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°This, this isn¡¯t scientific,¡± He Bishou scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Just how ugly do I have to be for all this to seem so unscientific?¡± Yan Junze replied.


    ¡°Alright, alright, Fat He wasn¡¯t referring to you,¡± intervened Zhao Zheng, but his gaze remained on Xiang Er. Turning to her, he said, ¡°Does Sister Xiang Er have a boyfriend? Do you like playing basketball? I could teach you, hands-on.¡±


    ¡°Do you like comics? What about anime adaptations? Do you prefer someone like Fujiwara Sawa or like Edward Elric?¡± Fat He continued.


    Just as the words fell, a figure sat down beside them.


    Yan Junze looked up and saw that Huahua had arrived.


    But at this moment, Huahua¡¯s face was very pale, with beads of sweat on his forehead and a dazed expression.


    ¡°Did you run all the way here?¡± Zhao Zheng said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush; we were all waiting for you.¡±


    Huahua ignored him and suddenly looked up at Yan Junze, ¡°Junze, help me.¡±


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 Chapter 411: 314: What Exactly is Behind?

    Chapter 411: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?


    ¡°Queuing, queuing, always queuing!!!¡±


    Si Dehua, unable to contain his anger, roared after hanging up the phone.


    His daughter, Si Nannan, shrank fearfully into her mother Rong Guilan¡¯s arms. She was still wearing the pajamas she had on during the video call with Huahua, although they looked dirty, and she hadn¡¯t changed out of them.


    Rong Guilan, feeling distressed, hugged her daughter and gently stroked her shoulder, murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s all right now, it¡¯s all right, it might have been a one-off thing, it¡¯s gone now.¡±


    After speaking, Rong Guilan asked Si Dehua, ¡°Did you get a good look just now? Are you sure that thing isn¡¯t in the house anymore?¡±


    Si Dehua was still fuming from being told they had to queue even after reporting to the Exorcist, his face red with anger. But his tone immediately softened when speaking to his wife, ¡°It¡¯s not here, I¡¯m certain that thing isn¡¯t in the house. The living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom¡ªI even searched inside the walls and the closet four times. I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s not here.¡±


    ...


    Rong Guilan was somewhat surprised and turned to her daughter, asking, ¡°Nannan, are you sure you didn¡¯t see it wrong? Was there really nothing behind you at that time?¡±


    Si Nannan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded, ¡°I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn¡¯t dare to look. Huahua, who was on the video call with me, kept telling me not to look. I was so scared, I ran and ran, and then I fell¡­¡±


    By now, the bruises on Si Nannan¡¯s elbow had been treated with medicine, and her pajamas were obviously dirtied from the fall.


    After receiving a call from Si Nannan claiming she had encountered strangenesses, her parents were terrified and rushed home from work. But until now, they had only heard Si Nannan¡¯s account and hadn¡¯t seen a thing themselves.


    Hearing Si Nannan¡¯s description, Si Dehua said in surprise, ¡°Daughter, are you saying you didn¡¯t see the strangeness that was chasing you either?¡±


    Si Nannan wiped her tears and shook her head while looking wide-eyed, ¡°No, but Huahua saw it. He was on a video call with me and warned me, telling me to run.¡±


    The couple shared a puzzled look, silent, but both sensed the doubt in each other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Huahua is that Xie Hua, the effeminate one?¡± Rong Guilan asked.


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t keep calling people effeminate. Huahua is actually quite a nice person,¡± Si Nannan corrected her.


    ¡°Did he tell you what it was that he saw?¡± Si Dehua asked.


    Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°After I fell, he panicked on the other end, told me to aim my phone camera behind me, and then said he didn¡¯t see the strangeness anymore, but he was very worried about me.¡±


    At this, Si Nannan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, ¡°Oh, right, he said he was going to find a friend for help, claimed that his friend could get rid of strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Which friend? We haven¡¯t even spotted where the strangeness is,¡± Si Dehua¡¯s hunch felt increasingly correct, ¡°Is Huahua the type to joke around? Maybe he saw you were alone at home and decided to scare you on purpose.¡±


    Si Nannan paused, remembering that Huahua did initially ask her if she was alone at home when she sat down on the living room sofa.


    However, upon reflection, Huahua wasn¡¯t the type to joke around with such serious matters.


    Everyone knew that in this era, joking about strangenesses could be a grave matter that might lead to loss of life unless the joker was an idiot.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°And he was really concerned, he wasn¡¯t faking it. He said he would try to get his friend over as soon as possible. He was supposed to leave Tianmeng today, he¡¯s even cancelled his flight because of this.¡±


    The couple exchanged another look and fell silent once more.


    After telling Si Nannan to change her clothes quickly, the parents left their daughter¡¯s bedroom and returned to the living room.


    Rong Guilan glanced towards her daughter¡¯s bedroom and said to Si Dehua, ¡°I don¡¯t think that Xie Hua would deceive our daughter. After all, they have known each other for many years. It¡¯s not worth it for them to scare each other with this kind of thing.¡±


    Si Dehua also nodded, ¡°But I really didn¡¯t see any strangeness, I¡¯ve looked everywhere in and out of the house.¡±


    After all, Si Dehua was just an ordinary man, and searching every nook for a strangeness would require guts he would normally not have if not for the safety of his daughter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see for a bit longer, it¡¯s hard to say what¡¯s going on right now,¡± Rong Guilan sighed.


    She went to the side to boil water for tea for her husband, while Si Dehua glanced at the half-eaten pizza on the coffee table in front of the sofa, apparently ordered by his daughter.


    It must have been bought just before she got scared.


    Picking up a piece, Si Dehua noticed the pizza had gone cold, but he didn¡¯t mind and began to eat it slowly.


    Rong Guilan brewed a pot of tea and carefully placed it in front of Si Dehua, reminding him to be careful not to burn his mouth. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In this household, Si Dehua was essentially the lord of the manor, not needing to do any housework. He was a senior executive at an international finance company with a generous annual salary, making his family unmistakably affluent.


    After finishing a piece of pizza, Si Dehua picked up his teacup, blew on it twice, and took a sip. At that moment, Rong Guilan brought out washed fruits from the kitchen and placed them on the coffee table.


    The door to their daughter¡¯s bedroom opened, and Si Nannan came out in a new set of casual home clothes. Although there was still a look of terror on her face, she seemed in better spirits.


    Scratching her hair, she started to say, ¡°Mom, the decorative button on these clothes came off, have you seen it¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, she noticed her parents staring at her intently.


    Rong Guilan had just turned around, her gaze fixed on her daughter without moving.


    And Si Dehua was about to eat a piece of fruit, but had frozen mid-pose, looking over motionlessly.


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 Chapter 412: 314: What Exactly is Behind?_2

    Chapter 412: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?_2


    Si Nannan was taken aback as she realized they were not looking at her, but rather something behind her. In an instant, a chill seeped through her body, making her shiver uncontrollably, her teeth clattering rhythmically.


    ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    After uttering this cry, Si Nannan couldn¡¯t help but tilt her head slightly backward as if attempting to look behind her.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t look back, Nannan, come here¡­¡± Rong Guilan¡¯s voice trembled, shaking as she spoke.


    Si Dehua too, pale-faced, said, ¡°Nannan, walk over slowly, don¡¯t look back, come to us.¡±


    Si Nannan felt as if she were about to descend into madness. Her back was already cold, numb, devoid of any other sensation.


    ...


    She did not understand why her parents¡¯ words were exactly the same as Huahua¡¯s.


    Logically, if there was something strange behind her, whether it was Huahua or her own parents, having seen the strangeness, they should have been scared, feeling horrified, instead of, as now, being scared but still able to keep calm and talk to her, instructing her what to do.


    At that moment, she was both afraid and eager to look back and see for herself what it was.


    Could it be¡­ not a strangeness?


    If it wasn¡¯t a strangeness, what else could it be? Could there be something else in this world that was frightening?


    Engulfed in whimsical ideas, Si Nannan walked towards her mother, too scared to even swing her arms, her expression filled with terror.


    When she reached her mother, Rong Guilan grabbed her and pulled her close, hugging her. Immediately thereafter, Rong Guilan let out a sound of shock.


    A sound of surprise came from behind, from Si Dehua.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone, that thing is gone.¡±


    Hearing this, Si Nannan hurriedly looked back, only to see an empty space behind her, nothing there.


    Si Nannan¡¯s body was still trembling. She clung to her mother without letting go, her voice quivering as she asked, ¡°Mom, what was it just now¡­ was there something behind me?¡±


    After carefully checking behind her daughter and making sure she saw nothing, Rong Guilan slightly relaxed her hold on the girl, about to speak when suddenly Si Nannan let out a scream, her pupils dilated as she stared in Si Dehua¡¯s direction.


    Rong Guilan quickly turned to look and was shocked at what she saw.


    It was only now that Si Nannan finally understood why Huahua and her parents had told her to hurry away and not to look back.


    Because at this moment, on her father, Si Dehua, she saw the same scene.


    ¡°Dad, don¡¯t look back, you, you, come here quickly! Come here!¡± Si Nannan cried out anxiously.


    Si Dehua was stunned for a moment, immediately feeling numbness in his limbs, for he had just seen the scene behind his daughter, so now when Si Nannan told him the same thing, he knew exactly what he was facing.


    His scalp tingled, his body went stiff, and his head roared, his ears buzzing. Si Dehua dared not imagine the scene behind him appearing on himself.


    He stood up from the couch as soft sounds came from behind him, sounds that would have been inaudible without the high degree of attention he was paying to what was happening there.


    Circling the coffee table, he walked stiffly toward the living room door, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t stay at home any longer. Everyone leave, quickly!¡±


    Rong Guilan and Si Nannan rushed toward the living room door, and while Rong Guilan was still holding Si Nannan¡¯s hand, she turned back, and upon seeing what was behind her daughter, she immediately covered her mouth. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Si Nannan was taken aback by her mother¡¯s reaction, knowing that something must have appeared behind her again, and with a shudder, she froze on the spot.


    ¡°Go on, keep moving, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Rong Guilan covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, yet she managed to speak.


    She never let go of her daughter¡¯s hand and glanced over at Si Dehua, moving toward the living room door, experiencing the same ordeal as her daughter.


    Soon the family reached the door, and Rong Guilan, shivering, reached out to open it. At the sight of what was outside the door, all three inside the house let out a loud scream.


    This scream startled the two people standing outside, too. They were about to knock when the door suddenly opened. The opening itself was surprising enough, but then the people inside the house all let out a sudden scream, startling Yan Junze and Huahua who had just arrived at the door, unprepared.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just the two of them outside; Xiang Er was there too.


    However, Xiang Er was completely unfazed by the shock, instead looking curiously at the people inside and outside the door.


    Of course, the moment Xiang Er appeared, the eerie scene that had been behind Si Dehua and Si Nannan vanished cleanly, as if it had never occurred.


    Nobody outside the door saw anything.


    ¡°Does your friend¡¯s family always welcome guests in this special way?¡± After recovering from the fright, Yan Junze patted his chest and asked Huahua.


    Before Huahua could reply, Si Nannan, who was standing inside the living room door, already started shouting.


    Surprised and delighted, Si Nannan rushed outside, grabbing Huahua¡¯s hand, both of them like the best of friends.


    Si Nannan¡¯s excitement was not without reason. First, Huahua had promised to come, and indeed, she had. Furthermore, Huahua had said she would find someone to perform an exorcism for them. Now that she hadn¡¯t come alone, it was very likely that the other two people were there for the exorcism.


    The prospect of having the supernatural issue resolved in such a short time was like striking the jackpot for Si Nannan, who had just gone through the ordeal of not knowing how long she would have had to wait for this special treatment.


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 Chapter 413: 314: What Exactly is Behind?_3

    Chapter 413: Chapter 314: What Exactly is Behind?_3


    By then, Rong Guilan had glanced behind her husband and daughter and found that there was nothing there. The weirdness from moments ago had vanished.


    Then, the couple turned their gaze to Yan Junze and Xiang Er.


    They recognized Huahua, so these two strangers must naturally be the ones Huahua had called upon to dispel the strangenesses.


    In other words, their savior had arrived!


    When Huahua first sought Yan Junze¡¯s help, he didn¡¯t think twice. After learning it was about strangenesses, he agreed immediately.


    Because he had never seen Huahua looking like that, clearly terrified, and his relationship with this girl named Si Nannan was very strong. Since she lived within Tianmeng City, helping her out was just a matter of changing a plane ticket.


    ...


    On the way there, Huahua had given Yan Junze a detailed description of what he had seen.


    It turned out that while Huahua was chatting with Si Nannan, he suddenly noticed an extra figure behind her.


    At first, the figure was not very clear, and Huahua thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But soon, he realized something was amiss, and asked Si Nannan if she was home alone.


    Upon receiving a negative response, Huahua realized that his best girlfriend might have encountered a strangeness.


    Because the figure behind Si Nannan was getting clearer.


    At the time, Si Nannan was sitting on the sofa, snacking and video chatting with Huahua, while the emerging figure was behind the sofa, near the curtains by the window.


    Even when the figure became fully clear in the video, which was when Huahua saw it, he still half-guessed that he might be seeing things.


    Not for any other reason, but because the clear figure was no other than his best friend herself¡ªSi Nannan.


    The person appearing behind Si Nannan was Si Nannan herself.


    However, the Si Nannan at the back wasn¡¯t facing the video. She was moving backwards, back towards it.


    From Huahua¡¯s perspective, his actual best friend was chatting with him, while another Si Nannan appeared behind her, this one facing completely away.


    Although she was facing away, the figure had short bobbed hair, was wearing light purple pajamas, and moved casual just like Si Nannan herself, with no distinction whatsoever.


    After noticing the peculiarity, Si Nannan casually flipped her hair, slightly tilting her head, and the ¡°herself¡± behind her did the same, almost as if she were about to turn around.


    At that moment, Si Nannan looked back at the video again, her head not turning around, so the ¡°herself¡± behind her didn¡¯t turn either. Otherwise¡­


    Having observed all these bizarre events, Huahua then urged Si Nannan to run as soon as she got out the door and not to look back, not to turn her head no matter what.


    No one could guarantee what terrifying scene might occur the moment Si Nannan turned around if the ¡°herself¡± behind her also turned her head.


    Moreover, it seemed that Si Dehua and his wife shared Huahua¡¯s view, because their daughter nearly turned back, and the ¡°herself¡± behind her also turned her head halfway, just like Si Nannan, not completely around.


    That¡¯s why, terrified as they were, they quickly urged Si Nannan not to look back.


    ¡°This guy, kind of interesting!¡±


    Yan Junze, standing outside the house, had already become intrigued. He glanced at Si Dehua and Rong Guilan inside the door, who still wore horrified expressions, but upon seeing him, their faces showed a mix of excitement and joy.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately enter but moved closer to the front door and took a moment to observe the household¡¯s layout, then finally stepped into the Si Family¡¯s living room. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that very moment, the task information popped up in his mind.


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 Chapter 414: 315: The Back (Part 1)

    Chapter 414: Chapter 315: The Back (Part 1)


    [Task Name: Shadowed Back;]


    Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Medium);


    Task Background: None


    Task Description: Attachment is its ultimate goal, all else is insignificant;


    Task Reward: 800 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Task Punishment: Would you like to see the moment when only the shadows of this family remain?


    ...


    Task Tips: 1, The Evil Spirit cannot be locked down; 2, You might need to pay attention to certain objects;


    Note: The presence of a more powerful strangeness nearby does not necessarily mean it will be scared away.]


    Truth be told, Yan Junze found the task information somewhat anticlimactic. Although it appeared to be similar to other tasks, something seemed to be missing.


    Yan Junze remembered when the task ¡°Look at Her Face¡± concerning the Back-faced Woman was released, the ¡°Task Background¡± section was also blank.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time the task appeared with a blank ¡°Task Background¡±, but the level of this ¡°Shadowed Back¡± task was a notch lower; ¡°Look at Her Face¡± was at a hair-raising level, whereas this one was merely trembling with fear.


    Moreover, as Yan Junze read the task information, he got the impression that it was haphazardly put together, as if the words could convey too little of the story.


    He, along with Xiang Er and Huahua, walked into the living room one after another, not bothering to change their shoes, and then sat on the sofa.


    The Si Family had initially planned to flee, but now that the Exorcists had arrived, they felt somewhat relieved, though still feeling that everything in the house had become eerie and hair-raising.


    They followed back to the sofa, and Rong Guilan closed the living room door behind them.


    ¡°How should we address you, Master?¡± Si Dehua asked with respect, seated beside Yan Junze.


    Rong Guilan had already gone to pour tea, and Si Nannan originally wanted to help, but now she was so scared that she felt weak all over, and even standing up was an effort.


    ¡°My name is Yan Junze. I¡¯m studying at Tianmeng Science University, and I share a dorm room with Huahua. We¡¯re also part of an Exorcist team¡­¡±


    ¡°It really is an Exorcist!!!¡± Si Dehua was secretly thrilled.


    Looking over at Rong Guilan, who was bringing over the tea, and then at his daughter, he saw a hint of elation in everyone¡¯s eyes.


    They had thought the person Huahua called for help might just be someone who knew a bit about the matter or even someone who did traditional exorcisms, but they¡¯d actually managed to summon a real Exorcist.


    Moreover, hearing Yan Junze mention that he was already part of an Exorcist team while still in university, it was hard to fathom such a talent.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fell upon Si Nannan, and he asked, ¡°Before Huahua warned you from the video, did you notice anything unusual around you recently?¡±


    Si Nannan thought for a moment and shook her head, ¡°It seems¡­ not, but I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    Her mind had been overrun by fear time and time again, so it was normal for her to be confused now. If she had to recall in detail, she couldn¡¯t possibly remember everything on the spot.


    ¡°Who else encountered the weirdness just now?¡± Yan Junze asked further.


    ¡°Me.¡± Si Dehua raised his hand, ¡°It was right behind me, my wife and they all saw it.¡± Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then have you encountered any other strange events these past few days?¡±


    ¡°No, I think everything felt normal, like¡­ like the strangeness just sprouted from inside our house.¡± Si Dehua looked around with a touch of fear.


    Useful information was still scarce, Yan Junze sighed inwardly and turned his attention back to the task information.


    The task clearly described the ultimate goal of the weirdness; it wanted to attach itself to a target. And the likely outcome of attachment was the family eventually being left with nothing but their shadows.


    What a peculiar method of attachment?!


    Yan Junze then looked toward Xiang Er, who was sitting on the side, looking very reserved. She had never been to a stranger¡¯s house before as a guest.


    Now, Yan Junze was like her guardian, bringing her to visit someone. So, at the moment, Xiang Er sat upright on the couch with her hands on her knees, quiet and straight-faced, like a primary school student in the midst of a lesson.


    Yan Junze smiled and said, ¡°Xiang Er, why don¡¯t you go out for a walk? Don¡¯t go too far, and come back when I call you.¡±


    Xiang Er nodded, stood up, and left the Si Family¡¯s home.


    The Si family members were somewhat perplexed by her sudden departure. They looked up to see her off, but noticed that Xiang Er¡¯s expression didn¡¯t show even a hint of unwillingness or anger.


    Everything seemed natural.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡± Si Dehua couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like this,¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°Xiang Er¡¯s special constitution is too strong. If she stays here, the weirdness simply won¡¯t dare show up, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of it either.¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone appeared shocked, especially Huahua.


    Huahua said, ¡°I¡¯ve known Xiang Er for so long and had no idea she was this amazing.¡±


    Yan Junze mysteriously added, ¡°It seems like everyone in our clan has some kind of talent in this area.¡±


    Hearing this, the gaze of everyone present towards him naturally grew warmer. Nobody would refuse to befriend such a remarkable person in this era.


    Especially Huahua, who felt honored at that moment.


    With Xiang Er¡¯s constitution being so formidable, no ghost or deity would dare approach¡ªa natural lightning rod when taken outdoors. In today¡¯s day and age, that was a treasure, and she was beautiful, too. Whoever married her would be fortunate.


    The main thing was Huahua didn¡¯t fancy that sort, otherwise, even he might have been tempted.


    Yan Junze had to send Xiang Er away, or else with her presence, the weirdness would definitely not emerge, and after they left in vain, the weirdness would surely return.


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 Chapter 415: 315: The Back (Part 2)

    Chapter 415: Chapter 315: The Back (Part 2)


    Unless the strangeness appeared in a flash and Xiang Er immediately eliminated the opponent, it now seemed that the creature was obviously a very cunning kind.


    Not long after the living room door was closed, everyone inside fell silent, Yan Junze stopped asking questions and just sipped his tea, quietly waiting.


    Seeing his demeanor, no one else spoke up.


    The three members of the Si Family sat together, Huahua and Yan Junze sat next to each other.


    A few moments later, Yan Junze said, ¡°Like this, you three separate and don¡¯t sit together. Go about whatever you need to do now, you don¡¯t have to keep sitting. I¡¯ll be observing you.¡±


    ¡°Right, this way the strangeness might not appear,¡± Si Dehua also said, then pointed at the freshly washed fruit on the coffee table, ¡°Master, have some fruit. Guilan, go check how much fresh food we have in the kitchen, get ready, we¡¯ll have the master stay for dinner.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my face,¡± Si Nannan also stood up and reached out her hand to Huahua, ¡°Huahua, come with me.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Huahua quickly went forward, linking arms with her good friend as they entered the bathroom.


    Si Dehua and Rong Guilan looked at each other and gave a wry smile.


    Yan Junze, seeing how natural Huahua acted in this scene, couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Everyone busied themselves, Yan Junze occasionally stood up to walk around, checking if Rong Guilan in the kitchen showed any abnormalities, and then looking behind Si Dehua to see if anything unusual was there.


    The sounds of water and the conversation between Si Nannan and Huahua came from the bathroom, and about twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opened and the two girls, still arm-in-arm, walked out.


    At that moment, Yan Junze, who had been alert to the surroundings, fixed his gaze behind the two girls and did not look away.


    The two who had just walked into the living room were startled when they saw Yan Junze¡¯s expression.


    Yan Junze did not speak to Si Nannan but called out to Huahua, ¡°Huahua, come here first.¡±


    Si Nannan¡¯s delicate body trembled, she clearly knew what Yan Junze had seen behind her, she stood still, not daring to move, her face full of fear, looking like she could cry at any moment.


    Rong Guilan rushed out of the kitchen, and Si Dehua also left the sofa, standing firm next to Yan Junze, and all eyes fell on what was behind Si Nannan.


    Behind her, at this moment, another Si Nannan was standing with her back to everyone, less than one meter away from the original.


    Si Nannan was wearing a pink casual home outfit, and the ¡°Si Nannan¡± behind her wore the same clothes, no longer the light purple pajamas she wore when she first appeared.


    After Si Nannan stopped and didn¡¯t move, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± following behind her also stopped and stood still, not making a single sound.


    Reflecting on the previous encounter, because she was afraid something might happen to her daughter, Rong Guilan was almost about to shout out, telling her daughter not to look behind and to hurry to her side.


    Because the previous approach to dealing with this strangeness seemed to still be effective, as long as you don¡¯t look behind you or look back, the strangeness following you seems to just follow the original and won¡¯t engage in any other dangerous behaviors.


    However, no one knew how long this following would last, so escaping from it as soon as possible was the best option.


    Nevertheless, this time Yan Junze was not prepared to do that; if he didn¡¯t try, he wouldn¡¯t know how this shadowy strangeness managed to perform possession.


    And what actions would follow after the possession.


    ¡°Nannan, take two steps forward,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Si Nannan trembled all over and, under everyone¡¯s gaze, she obediently walked two steps forward, standing in the living room.


    At the same moment, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± behind her also stepped back, maintaining a distance of less than one meter between them.


    After pondering for a moment, Yan Junze then said, ¡°Nannan, slowly turn around, take a look at what is behind you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°That probably¡­ isn¡¯t safe.¡±


    ¡°Junze?¡±


    Rong Guilan, Si Dehua, and Huahua all spoke out at once, clearly startled by Yan Junze¡¯s suggestion.


    Yan Junze raised his hand to silence the others, and continued, ¡°Nannan, slowly turn around, slowly look behind you, don¡¯t be nervous, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Yan Junze was somewhat curious about the mission prompt that mentioned, ¡°Do you want to see the moment when this family is left with only a shadow?¡± If one was really possessed, how could there possibly be a moment when only the shadow remained?


    He had to understand what the strangeness sought to achieve, by what means, and what the final effects would be.


    Perhaps only then could he completely eliminate it. After all, this creature was very cunning; to have Xiang Er set up an ambush at home, one did not know how long it would take to catch it off guard and eliminate the strangeness when it appeared.


    Si Nannan¡¯s eyes, filled with terror, focused on her parents. Si Dehua was also looking at her, his expression anxious, but he did not speak out in opposition again.


    Rong Guilan no longer showed any reaction.


    Si Nannan nodded lightly, standing still, suppressing the overwhelming fear rising inside her and slowly turning her head backward.


    At the same moment, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± who had her back to everyone also began to turn her head slowly, moving at the same pace as the real person. However, the direction was the opposite; while the real Si Nannan turned to the left, the shadowy ¡°Si Nannan¡± turned to the right.


    Seeing this, everyone held their breath, aside from Yan Junze. They dared not even breathe heavily, their eyes intently fixed on the ¡°Si Nannan¡± who was turning around.


    At this moment, Si Nannan felt as though her neck was no longer her own, becoming stiff while she managed to turn it mechanically. She wanted to close her eyes so that it wouldn¡¯t matter what she saw upon turning¡ªbut fear would not grip her.


    Yet a voice from her subconscious told her not to close her eyes, that she must see what it was, must witness that entity. Driven by intense curiosity, she blinked but did not shut her eyes; instead, her eyes widened as she looked behind.


    Just as Si Nannan completed her turn, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± with her back to everyone fully turned her head as well.


    What came into everyone¡¯s view was a face identical to the original, including hairstyle and clothes. The only difference, perhaps, was the expression on this other face at this moment.


    Si Nannan looked stunned, her expression horrified, as she stared directly at the ¡°self¡± in front of her. Her gaze, as if fixed in place, could no longer be retracted.


    The ¡°Si Nannan¡± opposite her, however, had the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, a hint of a smirk on her face, as she looked back at the true Si Nannan with unblinking eyes and a rigid smile.


    The two of them just stared at each other, motionless for the time being.


    ¡°Nannan?¡± Rong Guilan couldn¡¯t help but call out.


    The real Si Nannan, keeping her turned position, did not turn back. Instead, her body began to rotate in the direction of her head, slowly turning around.


    At the same time, the eerie ¡°Si Nannan¡± also began to turn, keeping her head still as her body faced everyone.


    Seconds later, the two Si Nannans stood facing each other.


    Yan Junze, witnessing this scene, touched his chin thoughtfully. He neither spoke nor immediately stepped forward.


    ¡°Daughter?!¡± Si Dehua sensed something was wrong and called out involuntarily.


    ¡°Nannan, answer me, turn back! Answer me!¡± Rong Guilan¡¯s tone became frantic.


    Huahua approached Yan Junze, looking at him anxiously, then at Si Nannan who was showing only her backside to everyone, but she said nothing.


    Nannan remained with her back to everyone, giving no answer or reaction.


    Just then, the ¡°Si Nannan¡± with the uncanny smile suddenly stepped forward, joining the true Si Nannan on the same line.


    Then she took another step forward, passing the true Si Nannan. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After passing her true self, the real Si Nannan showed no reaction, still facing away from everyone, motionless.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    The ¡°Si Nannan¡± who moved forward tilted her head, maintaining that odd smile, looked at everyone, and finally settled her gaze on Rong Guilan, speaking in a tone identical to the original.


    ¡°Mom¡­ Mom.¡±


    Rong Guilan and Si Dehua shuddered, this nightmarish scene rendering them speechless for a moment.


    Realization dawned on Yan Junze upon seeing this.


    It seemed one truly shouldn¡¯t turn around, for once you do, the fake Si Nannan also turns and then¡­ takes over the original¡¯s place.


    And from then on, the real daughter left to the Si family would be just the never-returning backside of Si Nannan.


    ¡°So it¡¯s not an actual possession; this kind of attachment is more like looking for a replacement!¡±


    Yan Junze muttered to himself, but then another thought suddenly arose, and he immediately looked at Si Dehua.


    Since this strangeness sought a substitute, why provide two at once, and why appear simultaneously?


    It seemed not just one strangeness was searching for a replacement; Yan Junze came to understand.


    Rewind!


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 Chapter 416: 316: The Back (Part 2)

    Chapter 416: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)


    This time, Yan Junze set the Rewind to the moment right after he had called Xiang Er out of the Si Family house.


    However, he didn¡¯t let everyone go about their own business to lure the strangeness into appearing, having already seen the scene of finding a substitute very clearly.


    Sitting on the sofa, Yan Junze fell into deep thought, and no one spoke.


    Just like before the Rewind, the three members of the Si Family sat close together, with Si Nannan snuggling against her mother.


    With everyone huddled together, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, the strangeness wouldn¡¯t appear.


    As long as the three of them separated, it would give the strangeness looking for a substitute the opportunity to intervene.


    ...


    Yan Junze, pondering, looked up at the three members of the Si Family and asked, ¡°Was Nannan the first to be targeted?¡±


    Si Nannan nodded.


    Huahua also said, ¡°It was me who first noticed she was being targeted during a video call.¡±


    ¡°And then who?¡± Yan Junze asked again, his gaze shifting between Si Dehua and Rong Guilan.


    ¡°Then it was me,¡± Si Dehua said, ¡°After a strangeness appeared behind my daughter, then they discovered that I too was being targeted by the strangeness, in the same situation as Nannan.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Yan Junze nodded, looking towards Rong Guilan.


    Rong Guilan shook her head and said, ¡°So far, I haven¡¯t noticed anything unusual.¡±


    Yan Junze said, ¡°I want to confirm a suspicion. Please aunty stay alone for a while, either in the bedroom or the bathroom, and stay there for about ten minutes before coming out. If you notice anything unusual during this time, you can come out immediately. Remember, no matter what you hear behind you, don¡¯t turn around, just come right out.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Rong Guilan startled and looked towards her husband and daughter.


    Si Dehua and Si Nannan were also somewhat frightened, with Si Dehua saying, ¡°Is this¡­ dangerous?¡±


    Yan Junze merely wanted to convey that with him there, no matter how dangerous, nothing was a Rewind couldn¡¯t solve, and if it didn¡¯t work, they would try two more times.


    Not to Rewind until the strangeness suspected a ghostly trick would be admitting defeat.


    After assuring them, Rong Guilan relaxed, tugged her husband¡¯s hand, hugged her daughter, then stood up, trembling with fear, glanced towards the direction of the bedroom, and began to walk slowly over.


    The feeling was no different from being taken to the execution ground.


    ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯s okay,¡± Yan Junze still encouraged from behind, like a spiritual guide, ¡°If you feel something strange behind you, remember not to turn back; just come out, leave the rest to me. If nothing unusual happens, stay for the full ten minutes before coming out.¡±


    Rong Guilan, trembling, entered the bedroom and, following Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, closed the bedroom door behind her.


    The living room sank once again into a silence, as Si Dehua and his daughter occasionally glanced in the direction of the bedroom, then turned to look at Yan Junze, seeing that he remained composed, showing no particular reaction.


    A few minutes passed, and no sound came from the house, yet Si Dehua had clearly become increasingly restless.


    ¡°Four minutes left,¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    With Yan Junze present, Si Dehua didn¡¯t get up, but he was all ears, constantly listening for any sound from the bedroom.


    After ten minutes, the bedroom door opened, and Rong Guilan emerged with a terrified expression, shivering as if something was indeed following her.


    Everyone immediately turned their gaze behind her, but saw nothing.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback, ¡°Could it be that these strangenesses are seeking only the two members of the Si Family, Si Dehua and Si Nannan?¡±


    At that moment, he recalled the information from the task prompt, which in prompt 2, indicated the need to pay attention to certain items.


    His gaze left the Si family, falling upon the coffee table in front of him.


    At that moment, the coffee table held an ashtray, washed fruits, freshly brewed tea, and a box of pizza that was opened but not finished.


    Yan Junze pointed to the items on the coffee table, asking, ¡°Which of the three of you did not drink tea?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Si Nannan said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t either,¡± Rong Guilan answered.


    ¡°Who didn¡¯t eat the fruit?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Si Nannan repeated.


    ¡°Who didn¡¯t have the pizza?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Rong Guilan answered again.


    Yan Junze paused, his gaze settling on Si Dehua and Si Nannan, ¡°Which means, both of you ate the pizza at the same time?¡±


    Si Dehua and Si Nannan looked at each other, nodding simultaneously, though they were clueless about what Yan Junze meant by his question.


    Yan Junze stopped talking and just stared at the half box of pizza that had long since gone cold.


    If it was indeed eating this pizza that led to being targeted by the strangeness, what kind of mechanism was this? What kind of strangeness attaches itself to food, causing humans to start seeking a substitute after consumption?


    Up until now, Yan Junze was merely speculating, and if not for the task prompt¡¯s information, reminding him to be wary of certain items, he wouldn¡¯t have paid any attention to the assortment of items on the coffee table.


    About a minute later, Yan Junze reached out and, to the astonishment of everyone, picked up a piece of pizza and began eating it.


    The only way to prove his suspicion correct was to eat a slice of pizza himself; then everything would be clear.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t let others get involved anymore, eating this piece of pizza himself wasn¡¯t an issue¡ªafter all, the strangenesses following Yan Junze weren¡¯t limited to just one, and if push came to shove, he could Rewind. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In terms of power, the strangenesses following him were leagues beyond the one for this task, the likes of Fang Ning and Lantern Woman Ning Ji.


    In terms of threat to Yan Junze, this strangeness presented no pressure to him.


    ¡°Master, is there¡­ something wrong with this pizza?¡± Si Dehua couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°If there¡¯s a problem, then you shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Yan Junze had already eaten the piece of pizza he held in his hand.


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 Chapter 417: 316: The Back (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 417: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)_2


    Yan Junze wiped his mouth with a paper towel he grabbed from the table and cleaned his hands before standing up.


    ¡°You guys sit tight; stay together, I¡¯m going to the bathroom,¡± he said.


    Everyone watched him enter the bathroom, after which Yan Junze locked the door from the inside, and no sound was heard.


    After he was done, he didn¡¯t leave the bathroom immediately. If the previous assumption was correct¡ªthat Si Nannan and Si Dehua had eaten the pizza and then encountered the strangeness¡ªthen having eaten the pizza himself, he should also encounter the strangeness now.


    All that remained was to see when it would show up; most importantly, he needed a private space to make the phenomenon manifest quickly.


    Thus, Yan Junze remained standing in the bathroom, facing the mirror, occasionally checking his phone for time, and from time to time, through the mirror, checking behind himself.


    ...


    Ten minutes quickly passed, but throughout he didn¡¯t turn around, simply opting to observe behind him through the reflection in the mirror.


    However, there was nothing behind him.


    Could it be that it wasn¡¯t due to the pizza?


    Yan Junze was somewhat perplexed.


    Still, he didn¡¯t turn around to look directly; after checking once again in the mirror, he opened the bathroom door and walked out.


    Seeing him come out, everyone in the living room looked up and towards him.


    But soon, they couldn¡¯t help but shift their gazes, expressions turning to surprise as they looked behind Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze faltered, stopping in his tracks as he noticed the expressions of horror on the faces of those looking behind him.


    ¡°Did it appear?¡± Yan Junze asked calmly.


    All of them nodded.


    It was now certain that the strangeness could only be seen with the naked eye and would not reflect in the mirror, which was why he couldn¡¯t tell whether it had appeared by looking into the mirror.


    The thought of having a double standing right behind him, an exact copy facing away, was intriguing, and a strong curiosity arose in him, giving him the urge to turn around and take a look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t follow me,¡± he told everyone.


    Without any delay, he stepped backward toward the bathroom he had just exited, and as he moved back, the strangeness behind him, in actuality, walked forward, always keeping less than a meter¡¯s distance from him.


    Walking backward into the bathroom, the door closed behind him. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only then did the people in the living room come back to their senses, looking at each other with frightened faces, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay; he¡¯ll figure it out. He¡¯s an exorcist,¡± Huahua kept reassuring herself.


    Although none of them had the memory of the strangeness seeking a doppelganger from the last rewind, everyone could guess that one must not turn around at this moment, as the behavior of the mysterious entity was very peculiar, and turning around would surely lead to unexpected events.


    Of course, if Huahua were to witness what happened in the bathroom the next second, he might be so angry he¡¯d spit blood.


    In the bathroom, Yan Junze first checked the mirror and, as expected, saw nothing, but he was confident that the creature was right behind him.


    Taking a deep breath, Yan Junze began to turn around¡­


    At the same time, the mysterious entity mimicking Yan Junze also started to turn its head, the speed of its movement matching his identically.


    As he had already observed the entire process of Si Nannan turning around, Yan Junze knew very well that the entity was also turning to look at him.


    So, as his head turned partway, he stopped. At this angle, even the periphery of his vision could catch sight of a person standing behind him who had also partially turned their head toward him.


    Wearing the same clothes, keeping the same posture as he turned his head.


    Yan Junze could even faintly make out half of the other¡¯s side profile.


    The expression on that side profile was exactly like the fake Si Nannan¡¯s: an eerie, barely there smile. Only now, that smile belonged to Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze stopped turning, the other stopped as well.


    And then, Yan Junze unleashed the Black Spirit Mallet.


    He didn¡¯t believe the impostor could mimic a mallet out of thin air.


    Thud!


    The surprise hit, due to the close distance, the unpredictability, and Yan Junze¡¯s precision, landed solidly on the fake Yan Junze¡¯s head, leaving an indelible mark of the mallet¡¯s texture on that sinisterly smiling side profile.


    At the moment of impact, the fake Yan Junze was completely baffled, still maintaining its head-turning posture while the real Yan Junze had not only turned his head but also completely turned his body around.


    After the first blow, hits from the Black Spirit Mallet rained down like a torrential downpour.


    And the target was all aimed at that smile which Yan Junze found so disgustingly creepy, pretending to be mysterious, and was actually nauseating.


    Instantly, the fake Yan Junze¡¯s cheeks vanished, revealing another man¡¯s face that had never been seen before. However, that face too was unclear at the moment as the muscles of the cheek twisted and the skin clumped together under the incessant battering of the mallet, creating turbulent ripples.


    What was most important was that the strange entity had never anticipated that in this situation, it could be injured by a physical weapon.


    And to add to its confusion, the stunning woman who had previously threatened it with a mighty weirdness pressure had left the room; nobody here should have been able to threaten it anymore, so what was with this unremarkable young man wielding a mallet?


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 Chapter 418: 316: The Back (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 418: Chapter 316: The Back (Part 2)_3


    It did not feel any intimidation from Yan Junze, but the fact that it was being brutally beaten by him was undeniable.


    The beating sounds from the bathroom quickly alarmed the people in the living room. Si Dehua was the first to rush over, followed closely by everyone else. They huddled at the bathroom door, listening intently to the noises inside without daring to breathe too loudly. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were no cries of pain; in fact, this strangeness wouldn¡¯t make any sound other than the heavy thuds of blows and Yan Junze gasping for air.


    Before long, Yan Junze was still striking, and as he did so, he spoke out, ¡°Seeking a vessel, seeking a vessel, could you not have chosen something better to do than seek a vessel? And above all, on my head. Do you know how many strangenesses are after me? There are loads. To find me, you¡¯ll need to take a number!¡±


    Si Nannan, looking terrified, turned to Huahua. Huahua believed that her best friend¡¯s sense of alarm came not from fear of that strangeness.


    Shivering, Si Nannan said, ¡°Your¡­ exorcist friend, he¡¯s quite vicious.¡±


    ...


    Huahua forced a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve just realized, even strangenesses fear him.¡±


    In the bathroom, he watched as the strangeness in front of him gradually shrank and finally condensed into an indescribable mass.


    Yan Junze took a deep breath, slowing down the frequency of his blows, but he continued to beat the thing ruthlessly. About five minutes later, the condensed mass had completely disappeared, and only then did he stop.


    If he could perform exorcisms in a more relaxed manner, he wouldn¡¯t want to resort to violence. The task was clear, though. The creature¡¯s ultimate goal was to possess, leaving no other option.


    Since reasoning was out of the question, his Black Spirit Mallet was the final argument.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that the other two Black Spirit Pearls he had just obtained were not yet fixed into the mallet, Yan Junze was certain that, given the low resistance of the creature before him, a single strike would have sufficed.


    After a while, he stowed the mallet away, opened the bathroom door and, mimicking the Crawler Monster (though certainly not with his tongue), tidied up his hair, and walked out.


    Those at the door immediately looked inside the bathroom but saw nothing.


    Yan Junze returned to the living room couch, took a deep gulp of tea, caught his breath, and said, ¡°From now on, everyone can go about their own business. That strangeness should be eradicated, but I¡¯ll keep observing.¡±


    No sooner had he finished speaking than a message popped up in his mind, indicating task completion.


    [Shadow, Trembling with Fear (Medium), completed, gained 800 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Yan Junze¡¯s lips curled into a slight smile; his speculation had been correct. There was only one strangeness, but it could seek vessels from multiple people at once. As long as it achieved its purpose with one person, it¡¯d be satisfied.


    Upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s words, the three members of the Si Family were somewhat skeptical, after all, they had only heard the sounds of beating from the bathroom and hadn¡¯t seen any strangeness themselves.


    But since Yan Junze had said so, they did not dare show their doubts and scattered to their own devices, with Si Dehua chatting with Yan Junze, Si Nannan and Huahua heading to the bedroom, and Rong Guilan busy in the kitchen.


    Nothing unusual occurred until dinnertime came.


    At this moment, the Si Family¡¯s hearts finally began to settle, warming up to Yan Junze even more.


    After calling Xiang Er back, they all sat down for dinner, then Yan Junze excused himself, saying it was getting late and he had to pack his luggage at the university, to catch a flight to Shuntian the next day.


    At his departure, Si Dehua thoughtfully handed him a bank card with a string of numbers written on the back.


    Although he was helping Huahua, Yan Junze, knowing that the Si Family was affluent, did not refuse and accepted the card.


    ¡°The world these days is full of oddities. Be careful with everything, and throw away that pizza you ordered. It¡¯s not safe to eat,¡± he advised.


    With those parting words, Yan Junze left with Huahua and Xiang Er, departing from the Si Family home.


    They hailed a taxi on the street. Only after offering to pay double the fare did the driver agree to go to the suburban Science and Technology University.


    However, no sooner had the three of them settled into the car when Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang. To his surprise, the caller was He Yun, the liaison of the exorcist team, whom he hadn¡¯t been in contact with for a long time.


    After pressing the accept call button, Yan Junze said, ¡°Hello, He Yun, it¡¯s been a while since we last talked.¡±


    He Yun seemed to have recovered from the traumatic incident involving her brother¡¯s death during the Person in the Mirror task. Her voice was calm, exuding professionalism, ¡°Hello, Yan Junze. We have a new task that requires your attention.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Yes, right now.¡±


    ¡°I was planning to return to Shuntian tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Considering your capabilities, it might delay you for a day or two. It¡¯s a superior¡¯s command, sorry about this,¡± He Yun¡¯s tone embarrassed.


    Yan Junze always had smooth dealings with her and bore no ill will towards her personally. He nodded and said, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s the task?¡±


    ¡°In recent days, near your university, which is also Southern District under Tianmeng, we¡¯ve received several reports of strangeness. Multiple families have been harassed by strangenesses with varying symptoms, but one thing was common before the incidents.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°They all had ordered takeout.¡±


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 Chapter 419: 317: Takeout (Part One)

    Chapter 419: Chapter 317: Takeout (Part One)


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze said to Huahua and Xiang Er, ¡°We¡¯ve encountered an unexpected incident and might have to stay here for the night, so I won¡¯t be returning to school today.¡±


    He then said to Huahua, ¡°If you want to go back, you can take this car. Xiang and I will get off here.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Huahua immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum, ¡°No way, no way, I¡¯m not going back to school alone. Everyone in the dormitory has left, and if I go back alone, I¡¯ll be scared to death at night. No, I¡¯ll stay here with you guys.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and said to the taxi driver, ¡°Brother driver, please stop ahead; we won¡¯t be going to the Science and Technology University anymore.¡±


    The Si family¡¯s home was located in the Southern District of Tianmeng, which happened to be the area where He Yun mentioned the sudden outbreak of strangenesses.


    When Yan Junze heard about the commonalities among the families that had experienced these strangenesses, his heart skipped a beat, recalling the pizza that had been on the coffee table in the Si family¡¯s living room.


    ...


    Clearly, Si Nannan and Si Dehua, including himself later on, were entangled by the strangeness looking for a substitute because they had eaten a piece of that pizza.


    Now, it seemed that the Si family was not the only one that had been targeted by the strangenesses more than once; several families in the vicinity of the Southern District were beleaguered by strangenesses after eating takeout.


    For such a series of events involving strangeness, the Exorcism team needed to respond more swiftly, treating it as a priority incident.


    However, in Yan Junze¡¯s view, they should call for an official Exorcist to handle this, why get him, an auxiliary member, involved? sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, he knew that the Exorcism team no longer regarded him as an auxiliary member, or at least they did not equate his capabilities with those of an auxiliary member¡¯s.


    In any case, since he had already encountered this issue in advance at the Si family¡¯s home, dealing with it now wouldn¡¯t leave him completely in the dark.


    At Huahua¡¯s request, he didn¡¯t want to delay Yan Junze¡¯s work, so he planned to go back to Si Nannan¡¯s home and stay there for the night, wait until the next morning to return to school to pack up his things, and then take a flight home.


    His return to Si Nannan¡¯s place was perfect timing as Yan Junze and Xiang Er could take him there and inquire about the details of the incident with Si Nannan.


    In fact, after learning that it was the pizza that led to the possession by the strangeness, Yan Junze also became suspicious of the pizza. However, with the multitude of bizarre incidents occurring nowadays, if he were to probe into each one thoroughly, he wouldn¡¯t be able to attend to anything else.


    Currently, his focus was on problem-solving; once the problem at hand was resolved and the strangeness cleared, it would be considered the completion of the task, and he rarely went back to contemplate the cause of the problem.


    If one were to talk about causes, then why strangeness exists in the world at all is what should truly be explored and understood.


    But now, things were different. Since the Exorcism team was already paying attention to it and the strangeness displayed the characteristics of a chain event, it piqued Yan Junze¡¯s curiosity as well.


    Back at Si Nannan¡¯s home, Huahua simply said that Yan Junze and Xiang Er had other matters to deal with, and that he was afraid to go back alone, so he wanted to rest at Si Nannan¡¯s for the night.


    Naturally, Si Nannan was happy, and the Si Dehua couple were very hospitable. After all, if it weren¡¯t for Huahua calling Yan Junze over, they might have already moved out to stay with relatives.


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er stood at the door without entering and said to Si Nannan, ¡°There¡¯s something we need to ask you about.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Brother Yan, what is it?¡± Si Nannan nodded.


    ¡°What time did you order the pizza today?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Si Nannan suddenly became a bit flustered and did not answer immediately.


    Yan Junze frowned as he watched her, but did not press the question.


    After a moment, Si Nannan, with an embarrassed look, said, ¡°I didn¡¯t order it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± everyone gasped, including her parents standing right beside her.


    ¡°I had just gotten home, and then I heard someone ring the doorbell, saying that the takeout I ordered had arrived,¡± Si Nannan said. ¡°I checked and indeed it was a delivery person, so I opened the door, and they handed me a steaming pizza. I asked if there had been a mistake, but the person confirmed the address was here, then said the bill had been paid and walked away.¡±


    ¡°And then you just accepted it and ate the pizza?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Well, I was a bit hungry,¡± Si Nannan admitted sheepishly with a nod.


    ¡°You silly girl, how can you be so unguarded?¡± Si Dehua finally learned the truth and was somewhat angry.


    The main concern was that he had also eaten a piece of pizza; he feared that if there were drugs in the food, with his daughter alone at home, the danger would be as great, if not greater, than the threat of possession by a spirit.


    It should be known that in today¡¯s world, if someone¡¯s intentions are malicious, even the most powerful and ferocious spirits have to step aside.


    ¡°Did you get a good look at the person who delivered the takeout?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    Si Nannan shook her head, ¡°His hat was pulled down low, I could only see the lower half of his face, not his full appearance.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any surveillance cameras outside in the hallway?¡±


    Yan Junze looked up around him, and before Si Nannan could answer, he had already spotted a white camera with a red light blinking next to it, indicating that it was operating normally.


    Si Dehua, having put on his shoes, promptly walked out into the hallway and looked up. Upon seeing the camera, he said, ¡°I can go with you to the security office and have them pull up the surveillance footage.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Everyone else stayed at home while Si Dehua, Yan Junze, and Xiang Er went to the security office.


    The security office and surveillance room were connected; one had to enter the security office to access the surveillance room.


    Thanks to Si Dehua¡¯s connections in the residential complex, he promptly gained the right to view the surveillance footage through an acquaintance who was a property manager. A security guard led them into the surveillance room, where they began searching the camera footage based on the time Si Nannan received the pizza.


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 Chapter 420: 317: Takeout (Part Two)

    Chapter 420: Chapter 317: Takeout (Part Two)


    Soon they saw the surveillance camera installed outside the Si Family¡¯s corridor. After adjusting the time, a man wearing ¡°Chou Tuan¡± delivery service uniform appeared on the screen.


    The man was slightly thin, wearing a matching hat with the uniform, with the brim pulled down very low, just as Si Nannan had described, indeed making it difficult to discern his face.


    When he arrived at the front door of the Si Family, he hardly paused and immediately knocked on the door.


    Shortly after, he seemed to be talking with someone inside, and then Si Nannan opened the door, peeked out her head, exchanged a few words with the delivery guy, and took the pizza box from his hands.


    After receiving the delivery, Si Nannan quickly closed the door.


    The man immediately turned and left, but as he was about to exit the corridor, he turned back to glance in the Si Family¡¯s direction.


    ...


    ¡°Judging by his behavior, he doesn¡¯t seem to exhibit strangeness. Moreover, his walk and the way he delivers don¡¯t seem stiff, also not like a creature such as a controlled corpse,¡± Yan Junze analyzed to himself, then he turned to look at Xiang Er, who was standing behind him.


    What if it was a strangeness similar to Xiang Er¡¯s type, possessing a corpse?


    If it was like Xiang Er, who had mastered the skill of freely controlling a corpse, there would be no flaws visible through the surveillance.


    But Yan Junze believed that if he faced this individual in person, he would still be able to tell whether or not he was alive.


    After all, he had spent a considerable amount of time with Xiang Er, and from her initial confusion and difficulty in controlling a corpse to now being able to handle it adeptly, Yan Junze had gained considerable understanding.


    This was because Xiang Er would tell him everything in detail, from any issues she encountered to how she solved them.


    After watching the video, Si Dehua had an entirely different take, continuously slapping his thigh with a scared look: ¡°This girl, she opened the door so quickly to a stranger, despite not having ordered the delivery herself. How dangerous is that!¡±


    Suddenly, Yan Junze pointed at the video and said, ¡°Security brother, could you please show me the surveillance footage of the corridor downstairs, about two to three minutes before this timestamp.¡±


    The security guard did as requested, finding the camera downstairs and then opening the footage from two minutes prior to when Si Nannan accepted the delivery.


    As expected, Yan Junze saw the same delivery man.


    This time, though, the man still had the delivery in his hands but unexpectedly did not immediately go up to the Si Family¡¯s floor. Instead, he lingered on that level, stood at the door of one of the residences, and knocked.


    From time to time, the lower half of his face appeared on the camera, his lips moving as if he was talking to someone inside.


    But the occupant of this apartment did not open the door, and after failing to gain entry, the man soon left.


    About half a minute later, he reappeared on that floor, went to another apartment, and gently knocked, looking around from time to time during the process.


    But it seemed like no one was home this time either, as he knocked for a while without any subsequent conversation. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The delivery man then left this level and started walking up the stairs.


    ¡°This guy, it seems that he didn¡¯t have a specific target and was choosing at random,¡± Yan Junze realized upon seeing this scene.


    As long as he had the opportunity to hand out the delivery he was carrying, he didn¡¯t seem to be ¡°picky¡±; any acceptance of his delivery would do.


    Having collected enough information, he and Si Dehua left the security room. However, Yan Junze declined Si Dehua¡¯s invitation to visit their home again and left with Xiang Er.


    Upon exiting the complex, Yan Junze said to Xiang Er, ¡°You saw the video just now. The ¡®Chou Tuan¡¯ delivery guy in the video, do you think he looks like a person possessed by strangeness?¡±


    Xiang Er shook her head, ¡°His movements were very natural, without any stiffness. I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°Now, if you were under surveillance, could you move as smoothly as that person in the video, without revealing any signs that could be detected on camera?¡± Yan Junze suddenly asked with a smile.


    Xiang Er thought for a moment, then replied, ¡°Mmh, no problem.¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s phone rang. It was a text message from He Yun, providing the addresses of several families who had experienced strangeness after dialing 4747. Each address was followed by a description of the related manifestations of strangeness.


    Just after he finished reading these descriptions, his phone signaled another message. It was a clip of security footage sent by He Yun.


    The accompanying text read: This video is the clearest segment of surveillance captured of the person delivering the food, but after he left the complex, no further traces of him were captured.


    Yan Junze opened the video.


    It was also a corridor surveillance snippet from another complex stairwell, timestamped at 12:10 PM a week ago. However, the person in the frame was a short man wearing a ¡°Bao Le Me¡± delivery uniform.


    The man was average height, slightly overweight, but he also had his hat brim pulled down very low, obscuring his features.


    His appearance on the scene made Yan Junze and Xiang Er exchange puzzled glances.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Junze said.


    It now seemed that a strangeness had controlled different corpses to carry out the task of delivering eerie meals.


    However, this level of skill in manipulating a possessed corpse was too proficient, as nothing unusual could be detected in the surveillance footage, not even by Xiang Er, who had experienced such things herself.


    With this development, Yan Junze felt he couldn¡¯t be sure that it was strangeness controlling corpses. If the person was a regular, living individual, then it was possible that a group was committing the acts, rather than any one person shown in the surveillance.


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 Chapter 421 - 317: Takeout (Part Three)

    At this time, the likelihood of zombies committing the crimes had dropped to the lowest.


    But if it¡¯s ordinary people behind the crimes, why would they do this? What reason would make them deliver food randomly and cause other people to be entangled with strangenesses?


    Is it just for fun?


    Yan Junze suspected that it should not be just a joke, after all, there was only one Rock in this world.


    Even though the exorcist team allowed security personnel in this district to assist with the investigation of the delivery men, it seemed that these suspects were familiar with the area and knew where the surveillance cameras were.


    Therefore, the street surveillance had no footage of them. Or perhaps they were among the crowd, just in disguise, looking nothing like the delivery men in their uniforms.


    With both exorcists and security personnel short-staffed, it wasn¡¯t feasible to stop every delivery man on the street for interrogation, as that would leave no time for other tasks. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, it was now impossible to look anywhere on the streets without seeing a delivery man.


    "This really is a deadlock!" Yan Junze frowned and glanced at Xiang Er, "Could it be that the Tianmeng exorcist team has run out of options and is passing the buck to me?"


    Xiang Er was unable to provide a clear answer and simply stared silently at the pedestrians on the street, especially when a delivery man appeared, watching them intently as if every delivery person had become suspicious at that moment.


    Yan Junze checked the time. It was just half-past seven in the evening. Around eight o¡¯clock, people on the street would start to dwindle, and by around nine, there would hardly be anyone around.


    He looked up at a hotel diagonally across the street and said to Xiang Er, "We¡¯ll stay here tonight, let¡¯s go book a double room first."


    Xiang Er shook her head and said, "You book a single room. It¡¯s more comfortable to sleep in a big bed, and I don¡¯t need to sleep at night."


    Yan Junze did not object, but when they went to book the room, the reception informed them that the double rooms were full and that only singles were available, deluxe ones at that.


    Deluxe single it would be, then. Yan Junze wasn¡¯t lacking money at the moment. He took out his ID card to register but didn¡¯t head straight to the room with Xiang Er.


    Since there was still time, he planned to follow up on the information sent by He Yun to the nearest home, which was right next to the hotel in the community¡ªa man named Sun Chang Biao¡ªto deal with the strangeness that occurred after they had ordered delivery and to see if he could find out more useful information about the delivery man.


    At that moment, within the community next to the hotel, in room 003 on the second floor of block A.


    A short-haired middle-aged woman was carrying a cup of freshly brewed tea, placing it in front of a sullen-looking, middle-aged man with his head hanging down.


    The man sighed heavily, showing no other reaction but picked up the tea, blew on it twice, and carefully brought it to his lips.


    However, all of a sudden, upon noticing the ripples on the surface of the tea close up, which seemed to contain a strand of hair, the man¡¯s expression turned to one of terror as if he had been bitten by a snake, and he threw down the teacup with a splash.


    Not only did the teacup shatter, but tea also spilled all over the floor.


    "You foolish woman, you foolish woman, how dare you bring water for me to drink, why don¡¯t you just poison me?" the middle-aged man cursed, "I told you, don¡¯t drink water at home, we can¡¯t have any water in sight here. Remember that!"


    He stomped his right foot on the ground: "Go, pour out all the water in the kettle! Not a single drop should remain."

 Chapter 422 - 318: Takeout (Part Two)

    Chapter 422: Chapter 318: Takeout (Part Two)


    The middle-aged woman, apparently accustomed to being scolded at home, had no thought of talking back. She ran off, silent as a cicada in winter, picked up the teapot, and hurried into the kitchen.


    The sound of water pouring soon followed as she quickly dumped all the hot, steaming tea into the kitchen sink.


    ¡°Is it all poured out?¡± the man yelled from the main room.


    ¡°It¡¯s all poured out, not a drop left,¡± the woman hastily responded, afraid that the man would come to check. She turned her head toward the kitchen door and saw that he had not entered.


    But in the moment she turned her head, from among the tea pouring down the sink drain, a finger emerged, its fingernail broken and cracked, the dried blood caked on the pad.


    However, as the tea crazily poured into the drain, the finger only stuck out for about a second before it disappeared with the flowing tea deep into the drain.


    ...


    The woman turned back around, seeing nothing, but her fear was directed at the man outside. She quickly put the teapot back in its place, not daring to turn on the tap to clean it.


    The man¡¯s voice rose again from outside: ¡°Once it¡¯s poured out, come clean up the broken teacup on the floor. You¡¯re always dragging your feet. Remember, don¡¯t open the faucet. There shouldn¡¯t be a single drop of water visible in the house.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the woman replied. She walked into the living room, squatted down, picked up the larger pieces of the broken teacup, and tossed them into the nearby trash bin.


    As she squatted down again to pick up other larger pieces, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her finger. Her arm trembled, and she brought it close to her face for a look, only to discover that her index finger was bleeding from a cut caused by a shard.


    ¡°Stupid wife, don¡¯t we have a broom in the house? You¡¯re utterly foolish!¡±


    Ever since she had come out of the kitchen, the man had been watching her, and seeing the state she was in, not only did he show no concern, but he also berated her angrily.


    Without a word, the woman sucked on her index finger for a moment, not even thinking to dress the wound right away. Instead, she took a broom and dustpan back to the living room and swept up the rest of the teacup shards from the floor.


    After returning the broom to the kitchen, she noticed that her index finger was bleeding again, the blood about to drip down.


    Instinctively, she moved to turn on the kitchen tap to rinse the wound, but as her hand approached the sink, she suddenly jerked back, remembering the prohibition against using the tap. She quickly left the kitchen and headed to the bedroom.


    While walking, she sucked on her finger again. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man watched her enter the bedroom from the corner of his eye, then turned his attention back to the television screen that was still on.


    After a while, the middle-aged man picked up the mobile phone beside him, glanced at the string of 4747 numbers he had dialed, and heaved a sigh.


    After the woman entered the bedroom, she rifled through her belongings looking for a bandage, but found nothing.


    She remembered that there might be one in the living room cabinet, but she did not dare search for it in front of her husband lest she gets scolded again. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she decided against looking for it altogether, simply sitting on the edge of the bed and sucking on her index finger.


    At that moment, the blood from the wound had stopped flowing.


    Shortly after she had put her finger in her mouth, her tongue suddenly felt something sharp. She pulled her finger out to take a closer look.


    There, at the tip of her index finger, was a black hair sharp poking out from the wound¡ªit was this that her tongue had touched.


    Upon closer inspection, it seemed as though two more hair tips were trying to emerge from the wound.


    Knock, knock, knock¡ªthe sound of knocking came.


    ¡°Go open the door!¡± the man in the living room yelled, even though he was closest to the door, he was reluctant to move.


    The woman said nothing, walked out of the bedroom, came to the living room door and, instead of opening it immediately, asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Exorcist,¡± came the voice of a young man from outside.


    The woman was startled.


    The man sitting on the sofa was overjoyed, immediately rising from the sofa with excitement in his voice, ¡°Open the door, open the door quickly, the Exorcist Master has arrived!¡±


    The door opened, and Yan Junze and Xiang Er stood outside, peering in.


    ¡°Is this Sun Changbiao¡¯s home?¡±


    The middle-aged man had already stood up and scuttled over in his slippers, saying eagerly, ¡°It is, I am Sun Changbiao. Exorcist Master, please come in, come in!¡±


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er stepped into the house one after the other.


    Upon seeing Xiang Er, Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes lit up, lingering greedily upon her for a few seconds before finally turning to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Master, the strangeness in my house is terrible. You must help us, please rid us of it quickly,¡± Sun Changbiao said.


    Yan Junze gave him a glance. To be honest, he very much disliked the way this fellow eyed Xiang Er, Sun Changbiao¡¯s wife was likely there, but he looked at Xiang Er with no consideration whatsoever, as if his own wife did not exist.


    It¡¯s normal for a man to appreciate a beautiful woman, but the greediness in Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes was such that, even in the presence of his own wife, it seemed as if he wanted to devour Xiang Er right then and there.


    Just from the first impression, Yan Junze had already begun to dislike this man.


    ¡°Tell me exactly what is the situation,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Immediately, Sun Changbiao nodded earnestly: ¡°Master, please sit. I will tell you all about it. Now that you are here, I can finally relax a little.¡±


    Sun Changbiao had not expected the Exorcist to arrive so quickly.


    After Yan Junze and Xiang Er were seated, he said to his wife, ¡°What are you standing around for, go make some tea!¡±


    His words were followed by a sharp pause, ¡°No, no, no, no need for tea¡­¡±


    Then with a forced smile, he turned to Yan Junze and Xiang Er, ¡°Sorry about that. The strangeness in our house is related to water. We can¡¯t have any water here; as soon as water appears, the strangeness shows up.¡±

 Chapter 423 - 318: Takeout (Part Two)_2

    Chapter 423: Chapter 318: Takeout (Part Two)_2


    ¡°Oh?¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Tell me.¡±


    Sun Changbiao acknowledged with a sound and immediately began to recount.


    About a week ago, it was just he and his wife at home, as their son was attending university in another city and hadn¡¯t come home.


    When it was almost time for dinner, Sun Changbiao went to the bathroom to wash his hands. He first wet his hands, then began to apply hand soap.


    The faucet was on, still gushing water, but soon the flow began to diminish. Sun Changbiao was somewhat surprised, tapped the faucet, yet saw no increase in the water flow; on the contrary, it got weaker.


    It felt like the faucet was blocked. Curious, he extended his index finger and prodded the spout, feeling something clogging it.


    ...


    With a hook of his finger, a clump of hair was pulled out.


    But the hair didn¡¯t fall out completely; it seemed to be still connected to the other end inside the pipe.


    Sun Changbiao was extremely puzzled. He reached for the hairs dangling outside and started to tug, thinking if he didn¡¯t pull all the hair out, the whole pipe might get clogged.


    However, after pulling for a while, not only did the hair not come out completely, but it seemed to have caught in a knot, perhaps because there was too much hair, which got stuck inside the pipe.


    Sun Changbiao gave a strong pull and found it immovable. Just as he released his grip, he saw the clump of hair that he had just pulled out and left in the sink suddenly move and was violently yanked back, swiftly sliding into the faucet¡¯s opening.


    This scene startled Sun Changbiao.


    He dared not reach out again but instead took two steps back, his gaze fixated in horror on the hair until all of it was pulled back into the faucet.


    Sun Changbiao saw clearly that as the hair was pulled back, it wasn¡¯t at a continuous speed, but indeed as if someone on the other end was pulling the hair at different rhythms, just like him.


    He watched in horror as all the hair re-entered the faucet and disappeared completely.


    Suddenly, a slender finger emerged halfway out of the faucet¡¯s opening¡ªthis finger seemed to belong to a woman, and the nails were dirty and damaged, not intact.


    That damaged nail was partly flipped, as if it had been broken while straining to pull something.


    After this slender finger extended from the faucet, it slightly bent and gripped the edge of the opening; clearly, it was ¡°alive.¡±


    Sun Changbiao was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t speak. At this moment, his wife outside the bathroom just reminded him to come out and eat.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t respond, his attention still fixed on the half-finger gripping the faucet. Then he saw the finger loosen and slowly retract back into the pipe.


    With a ¡°plop,¡± a thin stream of water flowed out of the faucet, quite unstable.


    Then, the water flow began to increase until, before Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes, it returned to normal.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t dare touch the water again, hastily wiped the foam off his hands with a wet towel, and rushed out of the bathroom.


    As for his wife, Wu Xiaoyan, she noticed something abnormal later that evening while washing dishes.


    At that time, Sun Changbiao was so scared out of his wits, but because it happened so suddenly, he firmly believed it was just a trick of the eye, attributed to working overtime in the past few days and possibly due to lack of rest.


    So after dinner, Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t tell his wife and immediately went back to the bedroom to sleep under the covers.


    Uninformed, Wu Xiaoyan started washing the dishes.


    While washing, because the sink was filled with a lot of dish soap foam, it wasn¡¯t a clear water surface.


    As Wu Xiaoyan washed, she felt something else in the sink; she remembered there were three plates to wash, one large bowl, and two small ones.


    But now the large bowl she touched seemed to have multiplied to two.


    Surprised, Wu Xiaoyan took out the other dishes and bowls that hadn¡¯t been washed yet and once again reached into the foamy sink to feel around, and then she touched the larger object again.


    But this time, because she was more cautious, it didn¡¯t feel like a large bowl. The surface was hard, but it was an oval-shaped object, and¡­ there were hairs on it.


    She suddenly screamed, withdrew her hands from the sink, and stepped back in horror.


    In the sink, filled with foam, a black, round object slowly surfaced.


    The black part was the hair of the object, and when it revealed a pair of eyes, Wu Xiaoyan was certain, it was a human head.


    The human head that surfaced had its eyelids closed, appearing to be a woman¡¯s.


    But as Wu Xiaoyan got a clear look, the head¡¯s eyelids began to tremble slightly, and then opened, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes that, as the head bobbed in the water, stared unblinkingly at Wu Xiaoyan.


    Wu Xiaoyan screamed and turned to flee from the kitchen.


    Sun Changbiao rushed out of the bedroom, but after hearing Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s description, he didn¡¯t dare to enter the kitchen at all.


    The couple was so frightened that they didn¡¯t take care of anything, they ran back to the bedroom in a panic and locked the bedroom door.


    About four or five minutes later, a sound of something hitting the floor was heard, followed by the sound of an object dragging on the ground. The dragging noise continued, eventually coming to a stop outside the bedroom door.


    Sun Changbiao and Wu Xiaoyan were so scared they didn¡¯t dare breathe; they hid behind the wardrobe, peering out at the direction of the bedroom door, shaking uncontrollably.


    There was no movement, and for a long time, there was silence outside the door.


    After a while, just when Sun Changbiao thought the strangeness must have disappeared, he quietly stepped out from behind the wardrobe and was about to approach the door when the dragging sound started up again.


    This time, however, the sound gradually receded from the door, as if returning to the living room.


    That night was the most painful one for the couple, they dared not close their eyes all night, constantly alert for any noise outside the door.


    They curled up on the bed, the sound of dragging from outside kept ringing in their ears; this situation lasted until dawn. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day, once Sun Changbiao was certain there was no noise outside, they opened the door and walked around the house, finding nothing.


    They then went to the kitchen and saw that the sink, originally full of water, had leaked out overnight because the drain plug wasn¡¯t sealed tightly.


    However, there were traces of water stains all over the floor, even under the sofa.


    Sun Changbiao hadn¡¯t slept all night, and seeing that the terror seemed to have passed, he quickly poured a cup of hot water, intending to drink it to calm his nerves.


    As he held the glass in his hand, the originally clear and transparent water suddenly became muddy, and then an abnormal red color emerged, like blood. Right there in Sun Changbiao¡¯s hand, the water quickly turned into a blood-like liquid.


    Sun Changbiao was so scared that he quickly poured it out, and he finally realized that whenever he touched water, strangeness would occur.


    Without a second thought, he immediately instructed Wu Xiaoyan to pour out all the water in the house, and then to not turn on the taps again.


    After several days of experimenting, they found that using water inside the house would frequently cause strangeness, while outside, they could quickly drink a cup of water in a crowded place without issue. However, if they spent a long time with water, abnormalities would still occur.


    Although they had called 4747 a few days ago, the couple had already gotten used to living this way; as long as there was no water, life went on as usual.


    After listening to Sun Changbiao¡¯s narration, Yan Junze noticed that Wu Xiaoyan had tried to interject several times but was shut down by this man.


    He pointed at Wu Xiaoyan, saying, ¡°Maybe she has something to say.¡±


    Sun Changbiao waved his hand, continuing to silence Wu Xiaoyan, ¡°What does this silly woman know? She¡¯ll only add to the chaos. These past few days she always forgets that we can¡¯t use water. I can¡¯t leave her alone for a second without her slipping up. Just now she even made me a cup of tea, can you believe it?¡±


    After speaking, he subtly pointed at Wu Xiaoyan and then to his own head, whispering, ¡°Had surgery.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, Sun Changbiao meant that Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t working well, probably due to having had brain surgery.


    Of course, he could also see that Sun Changbiao was treating his own wife as nothing more than a servant.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re now aware of the general situation here,¡± Yan Junze stood up.


    ¡°This¡­ you¡¯re not going to perform the Exorcism now?¡± Sun Changbiao stood up, looking confused.


    ¡°The time is not right yet,¡± Yan Junze said with a mysterious smile, ¡°Tomorrow is the best time to clear this strangeness.¡±


    Sun Changbiao still looked puzzled; he felt the person speaking to him didn¡¯t seem like an Exorcist at all, but rather like an early-era Daoist who had to wait for the right moment to dispel strangeness.


    ¡°No, something must be wrong, did I inadvertently offend them?¡±

 Chapter 424 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)

    Chapter 424: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)


    Yan Junze was set on leaving, walking toward the living room door with Xiang Er in tow.


    At this point, Xiang Er also felt somewhat puzzled.


    To her knowledge, exorcism didn¡¯t depend on any specific time, and as long as the strangeness was present, it could be exorcised if the capability was sufficient.


    She didn¡¯t understand what Yan Junze was playing at.


    As the two approached the door, an anxious Sun Changbiao followed them to the entrance, with his wife Wu Xiaoyan seeming at a loss, worried that she had done something wrong, and uneasily followed suit.


    Yan Junze turned around and said, ¡°No need to see me out.¡±


    ...


    Sun Changbiao was inwardly frantic, thinking I¡¯m not trying to see you out, how can you leave now?


    Unable to hold back, he was about to speak, when Yan Junze¡¯s next comment stopped him in his tracks: ¡°On the day you encountered the strangeness, did you receive a wrongly delivered takeout?¡±


    Startled, Sun Changbiao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it arrived right around dinner time. Seeing that this foolish woman hadn¡¯t prepared dinner yet, I lost my patience and ended up eating it.¡±


    ¡°What was this takeout¡­?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    Sun Changbiao hesitated, as if recollecting: ¡°Uh, it was some kind of dry mixed glass noodles, with ketchup, onions, and beef granules. It was sour and had no soup, not very tasty.¡±


    ¡°Pasta,¡± Yan Junze murmured to himself, then asked, ¡°What did the deliveryman look like?¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t see very clearly,¡± Sun Changbiao shook his head. ¡°The guy was both skinny and tall, probably over forty as well, but it¡¯s quite dark outside in our hallway, so I couldn¡¯t make out his face well.¡±


    ¡°Skinny and tall?¡±


    According to Sun Changbiao¡¯s description, Yan Junze compared the appearance of this man who delivered pasta with that of the man who delivered pizza to Si Nannan and felt that their statures were quite similar, likely the same person.


    This indicated that there weren¡¯t many people delivering the eerie takeout. One was the tall, skinny man, and the other was the shorter, middle-aged man.


    ¡°But¡­ but, master, why can the strangeness only be exorcised tomorrow?¡± Seeing that Yan Junze had already walked outside, Sun Changbiao couldn¡¯t hold back and finally spoke up.


    Yan Junze offered another teasing smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring my tools.¡±


    Once out of the complex, walking on the street, Yan Junze took out his phone to check the information on the other families who had experienced strangenesses after eating takeout.


    Xiang Er leaned over, curious, ¡°Why does it have to be tomorrow?¡±


    Yan Junze countered Xiang Er¡¯s question, ¡°After seeing Sun Changbiao, what did you think?¡±


    Xiang Er, who had been following Yan Junze for some time and quickly progressing, thoughtfully nodded, ¡°His gaze towards me was very aggressive, and moreover, he didn¡¯t treat his wife like a family member.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Yan Junze pressed on.


    ¡°He¡­ He¡­¡±


    Struggling to articulate her thoughts, Xiang Er hesitated as Yan Junze took over, ¡°He might be hiding something from us.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Xiang Er nodded. ¡°He kept preventing his wife from speaking.¡±


    ¡°Such people disgust me, so it¡¯s only natural for him to suffer a bit longer,¡± Yan Junze concurred.


    Xiang Er voiced her concern, ¡°If the strangeness isn¡¯t exorcised today, what if they get killed by the strangeness tonight?¡±


    Yan Junze began to laugh, glancing inwardly at the mission information that had popped up in his mind when he entered Sun Changbiao¡¯s house, no longer saying a word.


    Back at the hotel next door, Yan Junze was making plans in his mind, preparing to spend the whole of tomorrow visiting all the families afflicted by strangeness due to the eerie takeout.


    The addresses of these families were all in the Southern District of Tianmeng, not too far apart.


    Only after collecting enough information would he be able to speculate and make a judgment to find out who the delivery person was.


    Yan Junze believed that only by locating the ultimate source of the takeout, would the issues of the people haunted by the strangeness after eating it be truly resolved. Currently, if he were to exorcise each strangeness one by one, he would probably die of exhaustion.


    Returning to Shuntian City anytime soon was out of the question.


    Back at the hotel and lying on the wide, soft bed, Yan Junze swiftly fell into a deep sleep.


    Xiang Er sat in the chair beside the bed for a while, waited for Yan Junze to fall asleep before heading to the bathroom for a shower, and then wrapped in a bath towel, she stepped out barefoot and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, silently observing the city under the cover of night. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She thoroughly enjoyed this sensation, recalling how on her first stay in a hotel with Yan Junze, she had stood by the window watching the night view all night long.


    At such times, Xiang Er felt a sense of belonging to the city, as if she had integrated into every social circle, and could communicate effortlessly with anyone. This contrasted starkly with her previous life and left her feeling intoxicated.


    ¡­


    At Sun Changbiao¡¯s home,


    after Yan Junze and Xiang Er had left, Sun Changbiao¡¯s face darkened.


    Huffing with irritation, he returned to the bedroom, shut the door, took off his jacket, sat on the bed, and lit a cigarette, not caring whether the room was ventilated, and began to smoke heavily.


    Seeing his demeanor, Wu Xiaoyan became even more anxious. She wasn¡¯t worried about Yan Junze failing to exorcise the strangeness, but she knew her husband was very angry. Based on past experiences, this anger was likely to be taken out on her.


    After aimlessly turning off the TV in the living room and checking the doors and windows, she cautiously opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t even look at her as he smoked and said, ¡°What did you want to say earlier? Constantly trying to interrupt while I was talking to the exorcist master. Don¡¯t you know any better?¡±


    Wu Xiaoyan hurriedly shook her head, ¡°Because¡­ you¡­ what you said was not right.¡±

 Chapter 425 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)_2

    Chapter 425: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)_2


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sun Changbiao took a fierce drag on his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray on the nightstand, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that human head while you were washing dishes? Weren¡¯t you scared away? Didn¡¯t I rush over?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you didn¡¯t go into the kitchen, you pushed me, I fell into the kitchen, and the head¡­ it talked to me¡­¡± Wu Xiaoyan stammered.


    ¡°Did I push you? Damn woman, you fell in yourself.¡± Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes widened as he pointed at Wu Xiaoyan, ¡°You can eat whatever crap you want, but don¡¯t talk nonsense. Don¡¯t go spreading rumors, I never touched you.¡±


    ¡°You pushed me,¡± Wu Xiaoyan still insisted, ¡°and you¡­ you shut the kitchen door.¡±


    ¡°Say that one more time.¡± Sun Changbiao stood up from the bed, clenched his fists, and glared ominously at the woman before him.


    Wu Xiaoyan shut up out of fear, too scared to speak again.


    ... S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sun Changbiao sat back down: ¡°You¡¯re also saying that the head talked to you, you were almost scared senseless, how could you hear the head talk.¡±


    ¡°You, you ran into the bedroom, so you didn¡¯t hear it, I heard it,¡± Wu Xiaoyan said.


    ¡°What did the head say?¡± Sun Changbiao asked.


    ¡°She asked me¡­ where her fingers went?¡±


    ¡°Toilet paper is in the damn bathroom.¡± Sun Changbiao roared, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell her to get it herself? A thing that shits without wiping its ass, stupid woman, always talking nonsense.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not, not toilet paper, it¡¯s fingers¡­¡± Wu Xiaoyan became more anxious, extending her own fingers to gesture.


    Sun Changbiao didn¡¯t even look at her, he lay back on the bed, covered himself with the quilt, and said viciously, ¡°This is the last time; if you tell anyone else that I pushed you and shut the door on you, just wait and see how I deal with you!¡±


    Seeing him ready to sleep, Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s heart eased slightly, but she didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore and just stood timidly at the bedroom door. Only when she heard Sun Changbiao¡¯s snoring, sure that he had fallen asleep, did Wu Xiaoyan dare to move.


    She slowly approached the bed, took off her outerwear, lifted a corner of the quilt, and quietly slipped in.


    She didn¡¯t dare to make too much noise for fear that waking her husband would lead to more blame; even after lying down, her body stayed close to her side of the bed, remaining motionless.


    If it were any other woman with clear senses, she definitely wouldn¡¯t dare sleep with Sun Changbiao now, preferring even the sofa.


    But Wu Xiaoyan was different, her intelligence had indeed declined a lot after undergoing brain surgery, sometimes drooling unknowingly when conscious.


    In her mind, a husband and wife should sleep in the same bed, no matter how bad their relationship.


    The quilt she pulled over didn¡¯t completely cover her body, just most of it, and after Wu Xiaoyan no longer felt cold, she slowly closed her eyes.


    On the recently pricked tip of her finger, several strands of black hair had completely grown out, wrapping around Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s finger.


    She was very scared, but she didn¡¯t dare tell her husband for fear that Sun Changbiao would curse or even beat her if he found out.


    ¡°Sleep through this, everything will be fine when I wake up tomorrow,¡± Wu Xiaoyan comforted herself in her thoughts.


    The room quickly became quiet, aside from Sun Changbiao¡¯s occasional snoring and an extremely faint rustling sound that intermittently arose.


    It was around three in the morning.


    Sun Changbiao woke up, something had pricked him awake.


    Startled from sleep, Sun Changbiao was still a bit disoriented, feeling as if he were still dreaming.


    The bedroom was dark, but there was light from outside the window, so it wasn¡¯t completely pitch-black.


    He looked around and then realized something had pricked his arm, on the side near where Wu Xiaoyan was sleeping.


    Sun Changbiao turned on the nightstand light and looked over to Wu Xiaoyan, who appeared to be sound asleep.


    ¡°Damn woman, what is this on you, putting stuff on the bed that pricks people?¡±


    Sun Changbiao grumbled and from his side, he could only see her hair protruding from the quilt. He grabbed and flung the quilt abruptly, only to find even more hair.


    Upon closer inspection, Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s body was now wrapped in a mass of hair that was only leaving her toes visible, the rest covered by this horrifying, thick mass of hair.


    A wave of fear and nausea overcame him, and Sun Changbiao¡¯s sleepiness vanished in an instant, sending a shiver through him, filled with dread.


    His wife lay on the bed without a single movement, whether she was dead or not, he didn¡¯t care at the moment.


    He tiptoed towards the bedroom door; with Wu Xiaoyan looking like this, Sun Changbiao no longer had the courage to stay; all he wanted was to escape as fast as he could.


    Reaching the bedroom door, he pressed his hand on the doorknob and was about to push hard when suddenly, a voice came from behind.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao turned his head and saw his wife, now entangled in copious hair, had sat up at some unknown time. A dark silhouette with countless hairs wriggling over it was facing him, making unclear speech.

 Chapter 426 - 319: Takeout (Part Three)_3

    Chapter 426: Chapter 319: Takeout (Part Three)_3


    Sun Changbiao was so scared that he shuddered violently, flung open the bedroom door, and ran out.


    In his panic, he rushed into his son¡¯s bedroom across the hall, slammed the door shut, and then crawled into the wardrobe.


    He turned around and slowly pulled the wardrobe door close, peering outside through the air vent in the door.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Wu Xiaoyan¡¯s voice was still sounding, unhurried, followed by a series of rustling noises, indicating that the woman seemed to be getting out of bed.


    Sun Changbiao was shaking terribly. He bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain distracting him from his fear, focusing his attention on the sounds coming from outside.


    ...


    The rustling moved out of the bedroom, onto the hallway outside, and gradually faded away.


    It seemed to head toward the living room; then another ¡°Changbiao¡± was heard, faintly coming from that direction.


    Sun Changbiao took a deep breath, feeling a bit less afraid. He slowly opened the wardrobe door, moved behind the door of his son¡¯s bedroom, and listened for a while.


    At first, he could still hear the rustling noise in the distance, but then it disappeared; Wu Xiaoyan might have sat down in the living room, or returned to the master bedroom and lay back down on the bed.


    Sun Changbiao dared not breathe too deeply. After waiting a while, he reached for the doorknob, ready to open the door and take a look.


    He had run in the wrong direction in his panic. If his hair-covered wife had returned to the master bedroom, now was his chance to flee¡ªboldly dash through the living room to escape this place.


    Just as he was about to turn the knob, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao shuddered with fright, quickly withdrew his hand, turned around, and bolted for the still-open wardrobe as fast as lightning.


    Behind him, noises of someone turning the doorknob from the outside echod.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    Sun Changbiao leaped into the wardrobe in one bound, thankfully his feet landed on clothes, making no sound, and with a swift movement, he pulled the wardrobe door shut.


    Click!


    Click!


    The sound of his son¡¯s bedroom door opening synchronized perfectly with the wardrobe door closing, and Sun Changbiao, hiding in the wardrobe, felt as if his heart had stopped beating.


    He practically held his breath, slowly turning around in the wardrobe, his face stricken with fear, looking outside.


    Through the air vent in the wardrobe door, he saw his wife, enveloped in long hair, slowly walking in.


    Her body was so tightly entwined with the hair that only a human silhouette covered by hair was visible, moving past the bed where his son slept, by the desk, and then, slowly approaching the wardrobe.


    ¡°Chang¡­ Biao.¡±


    The unclear voice emanated from within the mass of hair, adding a layer of eeriness.


    Sun Changbiao, hiding in the wardrobe, stared intensely at the approaching hair-covered figure, his face turning pale with fear, barely breathing.


    The hair-enveloped figure seemed to turn its head, scanning around for any movement.


    After a short time, it stopped moving its head and, instead, faced directly toward the wardrobe; the upper body leaned forward, almost pressing against the wardrobe door.


    Seeing this, Sun Changbiao¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out as he stared through the vent at the hair-wrapped head outside the wardrobe.


    Everything froze for three seconds.


    He felt a tickling sensation on his feet, as he had not had time to put on slippers and was currently barefoot.


    No good, the tickling was getting more intense, not just at the tips of his toes, but also his heels and calves began to itch.


    Unable to resist, he reached down to scratch and suddenly felt several strands of hair wrapped around his calf. Looking down quickly, he noticed numerous hairs had slithered in from under the wardrobe door, climbing up his feet.


    With a swoosh, the wardrobe door opened.


    The hair-covered figure stood outside the wardrobe, its head jerking sharply twice, letting out a muffled sound.


    ¡°Changbiao, have you seen my index finger?¡±

 Chapter 427 - 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Chapter 427: Chapter 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!) sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The pitch darkness before him was finally dispelled by a speck of light.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t know how long he had walked, for ever since he regained consciousness, he felt as if he had been walking endlessly forward in this darkness.


    But he didn¡¯t feel fatigue, just blindly moved ahead.


    The light that appeared before him came from a hazy lantern. The moment Yan Junze saw the lantern, he realized that he was indeed in a dream.


    And in this dream, he once again encountered the so-called ancient version of ¡°Freddy¡±¡ªthe Lantern Woman.


    This time, the Lantern Woman¡¯s way of appearing seemed a bit different. She wasn¡¯t squatting on the ground, her back turned to Yan Junze, doing her own thing. Instead, she held the lantern and swaggered into view before him.


    ...


    It seemed that there was still a distance between himself and the Lantern Woman.


    Yan Junze stopped moving, adjusted his direction in the dark, and continued forward, choosing not to meet the Lantern Woman.


    As he walked, he kept looking back at the movements over there and noticed that the Lantern Woman was getting further and further away from him.


    At this moment, Yan Junze wanted to wake up, but instead felt the dream becoming clearer, with no sign of awakening.


    He could only continue onward.


    About several seconds later, the light of another lantern appeared before him, and the previously shaken-off Lantern Woman appeared before him once again.


    Yan Junze paused, halting in his tracks.


    He looked back and sighed inwardly, realizing that if he chose another direction, the outcome would probably be the same; he couldn¡¯t escape the Lantern Woman¡¯s control.


    After thinking it over, he decided to simply stand still and wait, watching as the Lantern Woman with her white lantern slowly approached.


    This woman was indeed beautiful¡ªwith delicate features, fair skin, fluttering long hair, and her dress hem dancing in the wind, she neared Yan Junze like a graceful fairy.


    However, only Yan Junze knew that he must not be fooled by this woman¡¯s appearance, for when the lantern turned red, the malevolence Ning Ji exhibited could instantly kill an entire group of Exorcists.


    ¡°Always appearing in my dreams, what exactly do you want?¡± Seeing Ning Ji approaching, Yan Junze spoke first, breaking the silence.


    He saw the white lantern in Ning Ji¡¯s hand starting to glow red as she drew closer to him, and it was very likely to turn into a red lantern soon, and attack him directly like last time in his dream.


    Ning Ji paused in her steps, no longer moving forward, lifted her head to look at Yan Junze, and lightly parted her red lips, ¡°You need to help me.¡±


    ¡°Help you with what? Haven¡¯t I already helped you find your husband?¡± Yan Junze pointed at the lantern in her hand, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you two having a lovers¡¯ spat, and your husband is ignoring you?¡±


    Ning Ji looked down at the lantern in her hand, then suddenly leaned forward towards Yan Junze, abruptly lifting her head as her long hair behind her burst out wildly. Her delicate features were instantly distorted by some force, her eyes filled with blood threads, her eyebrows knitted together, and her lips tore apart to reveal sharp, terrifyingly white teeth as she roared at Yan Junze.


    ¡°He is my husband, but only his head is left. Where is my husband¡¯s body? I want his entire corpse!¡±


    As she roared, the white lantern in her hand exploded into a ball of red fire, as if the flames burning within the lantern ignited everything around at that moment.


    In the second after the lantern turned into flames, a human head tumbled up from the fire¡ªit was Ning Ji¡¯s husband, Jia Sheng.


    As the lantern transformed into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, the black hair and the flickering flames reflected each other, making it appear as though the hair on this head had turned red in that moment. Jia Sheng¡¯s face also looked ferocious, with teeth bared in a nearly maddened manner.


    The crazed appearance of this couple, true to say they were indeed a family.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze immediately tried to step back, but found he couldn¡¯t move at all. In his gaze, the Lantern Woman furiously flung the head in her hand. Jia Sheng¡¯s mouth opened wide enough to be torn apart as he bit down towards Yan Junze.


    In desperation with no way to retreat, Yan Junze could only try to block with his hand. Jia Sheng bit down on his arm, the sharp pain piercing his very soul.


    Yan Junze cried out in pain, his consciousness quickly beginning to clear.


    But even as he became more awake, the pain in his arm remained intense. Not only that, the feeling of Jia Sheng¡¯s head biting into his flesh, the teeth sinking into his muscles felt incredibly vivid, as if his body had truly been bitten.


    As his consciousness continued to clear, the pain grew stronger.


    Something was wrong¡ªhe couldn¡¯t wake up!


    Yan Junze suddenly started to panic, looked down, and saw the head on his arm beginning to blur, but it was still there, not completely disappearing.


    He shook violently, unable to break free from its grip, and the half-asleep, half-awake sensation turned into endless fear, as if he would never be able to wake up again.


    Just then, his arm loosened, Jia Sheng¡¯s head vanished in an instant, and his eyes flew open¡ªhe was sitting up in bed.


    Before him was a woman¡¯s figure¡ªit was Xiang Er.


    Xiang Er was holding his right arm, and at this moment, his arm was bleeding profusely. Xiang Er¡¯s other hand firmly grasped a clump of black spirit, which was trying to break free from her control but couldn¡¯t escape.


    Xiang Er¡¯s face was somber, and with a tight clench of her fist, there was a snap, and the clump of black spirit in her hand instantaneously disintegrated into nothingness.


    Yan Junze looked down at his bleeding arm, at the exact spot where Jia Sheng had bitten him in the dream. There was a clear bite mark running through his muscle, but the wound wasn¡¯t too deep, thankfully due to Xiang Er¡¯s timely intervention.

 Chapter 428 - 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    Chapter 428: Chapter 320: Takeout (Part 4) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2


    The hotel room had a family first-aid kit. Xiang Er opened it and used alcohol to disinfect Yan Junze¡¯s wound, then stopped the bleeding, and quickly wrapped it with a compression bandage.


    This was something Yan Junze had taught her. Knowing some first-aid techniques could come in handy at critical moments.


    It was already daylight, and Xiang Er was still wrapped in a bath towel. She sat on the edge of the bed and said, ¡°I was actually looking at the scenery outside the window when I heard you struggling. Then I noticed a mass of black energy enveloping your arm. Your eyes were closed, you were sweating profusely, and you kept struggling, but there was no response when I called you.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°It was a strangeness that has been invading my dreams. From now on, you must be present when I sleep. If you notice something wrong with me, help me like you just did.¡±


    As he spoke, the images of Ning Ji and Jia Sheng rose in Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The couple acted as if they had gone mad. He had already helped her find her husband¡¯s head, and now she also wanted him to find Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body.


    ...


    Where could that headless corpse be? Eight hundred years had passed, and the cliff where Jia Sheng had died had long since changed beyond recognition. His headless body might have already decomposed into nothingness.


    Therefore, the idea of finding Jia Sheng¡¯s headless body was practically impossible.


    In other words, the Lantern Woman would continue to harass him in his dreams in the future.


    Yan Junze¡¯s mouth was dry, and Xiang Er quickly poured him a cup of warm water. After he drank it all in one gulp, he said to Xiang Er, ¡°You should recognize this strangeness¡­ the woman who was squatting on the street side with her back to us last time we were in Tianyi City District, do you remember her?¡±


    Xiang Er pondered, ¡°Is it her?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°In reality, she appears differently every time. The woman we saw last time was just one of her appearances.¡±


    After placing the water glass on the bedside table, Yan Junze¡¯s body was soaking wet with sweat. Despite the wound on his arm, he was ready to take a shower. He said to Xiang Er, ¡°Look around the room, and then walk around outside in the hallway and the staircase.¡±


    ¡°Look for what?¡± Xiang Er wondered.


    ¡°See if there¡¯s a person squatting with their back to you in a corner of the wall or somewhere. If you call her, and she has no reaction and behaves strangely, you can take action and finish her off,¡± Yan Junze explained.


    Normally, only Yan Junze could see the woman squatting on the street with her back to him, while other passersby completely ignored her. But Xiang Er was different. So far, it seemed that as long as Yan Junze could see the strangeness, she could see it too.


    Xiang Er nodded slightly, pulled off her bath towel, and began to dress in front of Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze blushed slightly and while walking towards the bathroom, he said, ¡°Next time be careful, wait until I turn my back before you change.¡±


    Xiang Er replied calmly, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Attachment to this woman¡¯s corpse made her feel as though she was wearing a very special set of clothing, which is why Xiang Er felt no shyness doing these things in front of Yan Junze.


    Once Yan Junze began bathing, Xiang Er dressed and did a thorough check around the room. She looked carefully under the furniture and the bed, and after confirming nothing was amiss, opened the door and stepped out.


    The hotel¡¯s hallway was wide, with a layer of thick, old red-patterned carpet in the middle that felt soft underfoot.


    Xiang Er walked on it without making a sound. She looked around, but the corridor was empty.


    She first went to the left towards the end of the corridor where it turned, then came back and checked to the right from the room¡¯s doorway. Still, she saw no suspicious person, let alone a woman squatting with her back to her.


    Soon, she had checked the entire floor¡¯s hallways without finding anything suspicious.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s conjecture, each time he dreamt about the Lantern Woman, he would encounter a strange woman squatting on the path he would take after waking up. So, this time should be no exception.


    And the path Yan Junze would take after leaving the room included the hallway outside and possibly the stairwell.


    A moment later, Xiang Er emerged from the stairwell, still without sighting any suspicious people.


    She thought that perhaps the woman who was bound to appear was waiting for Yan Junze out on the street. If that was the case, she couldn¡¯t act directly, only intimidate the woman as she had done before.


    Just as the thought crossed her mind, the elevator doors not far to the side opened, and three guests walked out. Two of the men glanced at Xiang Er, clearly stunned by her beauty.


    Xiang Er paid no mind and glanced inside the elevator. Just as she was about to turn back, she suddenly paused.


    After the three people exited, they revealed another figure in the elevator¡ªa woman in a white T-shirt and jeans, squatting motionless in a corner of the elevator, with her back to the doorway.


    Xiang Er¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she swiftly stepped into the elevator just as the doors were about to close.


    The elevator began its ascent.


    As the display indicated the fifth floor, a shrill scream emanated from within the elevator, but it was quickly as if repressed by something, stopping abruptly.


    Some guests in the building faintly heard the sound but weren¡¯t clear about its origin.


    The elevator soon began descending, stopping at the third floor, where the doors opened and Xiang Er walked out, relaxed and comfortable.


    In the elevator corner where the woman in jeans had been crouching, there was no longer a figure, only a dark mark near the corner that looked like a scorch trace left behind. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Did you see it?¡±


    When Xiang Er returned to the room, Yan Junze had already finished his bath and was drying his hair, casually asking.


    ¡°Yes, eradicated it,¡± Xiang Er nodded, ¡°I feel that it might have hurt the Lantern Woman¡¯s essence, she won¡¯t appear in your dreams for a while.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°No matter the strangeness, our combination of Xiang Er and the perfect corpse is far more formidable.¡±


    Standing by his side, Xiang Er suddenly said with concern: ¡°I wonder how the Sun family fared last night? Since you didn¡¯t eradicate that strangeness, would they be in danger?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Actually, that mission was quite easy. The strangeness I saw yesterday, aside from inducing fear, posed no real threat to humans.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Xiang Er was curious.


    ¡°Has Xiang Er started to learn to ask why now?¡± Yan Junze laughed.


    Xiang Er stamped her foot lightly and sat down to one side, seemingly a bit embarrassed.


    Without further conversation, Yan Junze recalled the mission information that had popped up in his mind after entering the Sun family¡¯s house the day before.


    It was this mission information that had eased his mind and made him leave the Sun family, allowing Sun Changbiao to wallow in fear.


    [Mission Name: Where¡¯s my index finger?


    Mission Level: Anxiety-Inducing (Low);


    Mission Background: Many summers ago, she and a friend discovered a pond with exceptionally clear water during a countryside picnic. As an enthusiastic outdoors person, she jumped into the pond for a swim. Unfortunately, her hair got tangled in a mass of underwater vines. In the struggle with the Reaper, she desperately yanked at the tough, sharp vines, slicing her finger open. From the force, her finger was severed but she couldn¡¯t free herself.


    Mission Description: She bore no ill will toward the friend who didn¡¯t know how to swim and couldn¡¯t save her. She blamed no one, she just wanted to find her lost index finger;


    Mission Reward: 100 points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Mission Penalty: None;


    Mission Hint: 1. The Evil Spirit can be locked down; 2. Her goal may be right here;


    Note: Although her appearance may be frightening to ordinary people, helping her find that index finger can¡¯t be wrong.]


    This mission was only of the lowest level, ¡°Anxiety-Inducing (Low),¡± the same as Yan Junze¡¯s first mission [Hair Washing].


    It¡¯s not to say that the strength of the strangeness in the mission was similar to that of Ke¡¯er back then, rather that this strangeness was of the harmless type, mostly just inducing fear.


    This could be inferred from the mission penalty being ¡°None.¡± To be honest, Yan Junze had never seen a mission with no penalty so far.


    That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t prepared to complete the mission last night, letting Sun Changbiao taste what fear was like.


    Even now, Yan Junze had no intention of dealing with Sun Changbiao.


    He had accidentally gotten his bandaged arm wet during the bath and had Xiang Er rebandage it. Yan Junze planned to use the rest of the day to revisit all the families who had ordered takeout.


    He was well aware that ordinary Exorcists might not be able to find the delivery person in a short amount of time, but he could, with enough information. He was confident that he could pinpoint that delivery person within the day.

 Chapter 429 - 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Chapter 429: Chapter 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)


    Yan Junze and Xiang Er packed their things but Yan Junze didn¡¯t plan to check out of the hotel; in case they couldn¡¯t complete the task today, they might need to stay another day.


    After drinking a small bag of pig¡¯s blood that he usually prepared, Yan Junze and Xiang Er left the room.


    On the way, he took out his cellphone again to check the addresses He Yun had sent, besides Sun Changbiao¡¯s house which could be ignored for now, it was necessary to visit the others.


    Yan Junze made a choice to start from the family closest to them.


    According to the map, the Guo family was 1.1 kilometers away from their location.


    When they arrived at the bus station, a bus came by, and after they checked its route, they found out it passed through the Guo family¡¯s neighborhood, so they got on directly.


    ...


    They rode for one stop and found the Guo family¡¯s home upon getting off at the second stop.


    An elderly person, hard of hearing and with a heavy local accent, opened the door. Yan Junze explained the reason for their visit, but there was obvious communication difficulty.


    Then the elderly person shakily took out an old cell phone, pressed a speed dial button, dialed a series of family contact numbers, and after getting through, handed the phone to Yan Junze.


    Upon asking, Yan Junze found out that the person on the other end of the phone was the old man¡¯s grandson who had just turned 18.


    ¡°Is it the Exorcist?¡± the boy¡¯s voice quivered with excitement.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Junze nodded, frankly stating, ¡°We have come to understand the situation first, not to immediately resolve the strangenesses; you start by telling us what is going on at home.¡±


    ¡°Every night at two o¡¯clock, without fail, there will be this very crisp knocking sound, like monks hitting a wooden fish in a temple. My father and I have looked everywhere, but we haven¡¯t found anything,¡± said the boy, speaking quickly yet very clearly.


    ¡°Does anyone in the household have any abnormalities?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No,¡± the boy replied, ¡°During the day everything is normal, but at night these strange noises appear, disturbing the whole family to the point of being unable to sleep. We even stayed in a hotel nearby for a night, but it was no use; at exactly midnight, the sound would also start in the hotel room, but still, we couldn¡¯t find the cause.¡±


    While he was explaining, Yan Junze had already read through the task prompts that had popped up in his mind upon entering the Guo family¡¯s home. He said directly, ¡°I won¡¯t remove this strangeness today because it¡¯s not just your family that¡¯s experiencing this. I will eliminate the root of all this as quickly as possible.¡±


    The person on the phone didn¡¯t speak, he just listened carefully.


    ¡°Now, do as I say,¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°Buy a copy of the Ksitigarbha Sutra and every night before going to sleep, recite it twice in the southeast corner of your room. Remember, recite it twice every night before you can go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°You, you use Buddhism to eliminate strangeness?¡± the boy said in surprise.


    From what he knew, nowadays these strangenesses did not respond to Buddhist or Taoist practices, but now Yan Junze was clearly telling him to use the methods of Buddhism to eliminate the strangeness, which was obviously contrary to the traditional ways of handling such phenomena.


    Yan Junze chuckled, ¡°This has nothing to do with using Buddhism to exorcise strangenesses. It¡¯s that the spirit that¡¯s attached to you all was a faithful Buddhist in life, resilent in reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra twice daily. Otherwise, you all will be plagued by his knocking on the wooden fish.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the boy said, suddenly enlightened, ¡°So if we recite it a few more times, will he leave us?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Of course not, this is just a temporary method. When I remove the root cause, then the problem will be truly solved. On the day when the strangeness occurred, did your family eat a takeout meal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I ordered a box of fried rice for myself. When it arrived, I thought it was just that. But when I opened the takeout box, it turned out to be bacon baked rice. It was quite delicious, though,¡± the boy replied.


    Yan Junze turned to look at Xiang Er, who, being confined all year round, obviously didn¡¯t know what food this was.


    ¡°Do you remember what the delivery person looked like?¡± Yan Junze asked the boy.


    ¡°Tall and skinny, I can¡¯t remember what he looked like anymore,¡± the boy said. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got all the information we need for now. I¡¯ve already told you how to temporarily stop the strangeness; tell your family to wait for our news,¡± Yan Junze hung up the phone and returned the old cell phone to the old man.


    After leaving the Guo home, Yan Junze asked Xiang Er, ¡°Have you noticed any commonality?¡±


    Xiang Er, perplexed, shook her head.


    Yan Junze counted on his fingers, ¡°The takeout includes pizza, pasta, bacon baked rice. This means that, as far as we can see, it¡¯s all Western food.¡±


    Xiang Er thoughtfully said, ¡°This means that the person pretending to deliver takeout might be best at making Western food.¡±


    ¡°Did this guy get his head stuck in a door jam? Using a special method to attach spirits to the takeout, and after people eat it, immediately they¡¯re plagued by strangeness; what exactly is he after?¡± Yan Junze mumbled to himself.


    Xiang Er suggested, ¡°Could these people be raising spirits?¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Raising spirits is for one¡¯s own benefit. After these strangenesses attach to innocent people, we haven¡¯t seen them approach these people to bargain or seek benefits before resolving the issue.¡±


    ¡°So what exactly is it for?¡± Xiang Er frowned slightly.


    Yan Junze looked down at the phone message, ¡°Let¡¯s go, visit another family. For the other, more distant families, I will directly contact them by phone, clarify these key points, and then we should be able to find the delivery person based on this information.¡±


    The Cai Family was closer to the Guo family.


    This time Yan Junze called in advance; the three members of the Cai Family were all at home and hadn¡¯t gone anywhere.


    From their tone, it seemed the strangeness were causing more severe disturbances in this family, as the head of the family, Cai Yongheng, spoke tremblingly.

 Chapter 430 - 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    Chapter 430: Chapter 321: Takeout (Part 5) (Vote for monthly ticket!)_2


    Yan Junze offered his reassurances and said he would get there as soon as possible before hanging up the phone.


    Cai Yongheng placed the phone beside him, his tense expression slightly relaxing. He looked up at his family and said, ¡°The exorcist master is coming right away, just hang in there a little longer.¡±


    Cai Yongheng¡¯s sixteen-year-old son, Cai Hao, perked up upon hearing that the exorcist was coming soon, and excitedly said to his mother beside him, ¡°Mom, did you hear that? The exorcist is coming, we¡¯re going to be saved!¡±


    His mother, Yang Zhen, nodded her head, but her eyes still betrayed her terror as she glanced at the other rooms in the house.


    At that moment, whether it was the kitchen or the bedroom, the bathroom or the balcony, all the doors were tightly shut.


    ¡°Come, sit next to me. Right now, we don¡¯t worry about anything else; we just wait for the exorcist master to arrive. It¡¯s going to be okay, it¡¯s going to be okay¡­¡±


    ...


    With one arm around his son and the other around his wife, Cai Yongheng sat with them on the couch. Though the couch was spacious, the three of them huddled close together, forming a tight group.


    The Cai Family¡¯s home exuded an extremely cold and somber air. The three individuals were all dressed in thick sweaters and down jackets, and a heavy cotton quilt lay on the couch.


    Not long after the three had huddled together, the bedroom door suddenly opened.


    The trio jolted with fear, their eyes darting to the door, only to see an old man in a gray cotton-padded coat walking out.


    The elderly man was hunchbacked, his face pale and eyes as if covered with a thin film, his limbs stiff and radiating an aura of chill.


    After walking out of the bedroom, he came directly to the living room, approaching the couch where the three were sitting, then stopped.


    The old man opened his lips, adhesive strings connecting his upper and lower lips, and asked, ¡°Son, where is the belt I left on the back of the chair in the study?¡±


    ¡°Hallucination, hallucination, there¡¯s nothing there, I didn¡¯t see anything¡­¡± Cai Yongheng dared not lift his head to look at the old man, simply bowing his head and trembling, constantly muttering to himself.


    ¡°Son, I am talking to you, did you hear me?¡± The old man was clearly getting angry.


    Ignoring the old man completely was an action that showed a stark lack of respect for him.


    However, Cai Yongheng still remained silent, just continually muttering.


    The old man became even more incensed, stepping forward and reaching out his calloused, wrinkled hand towards the bowed head of Cai Yongheng.


    ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± Cai Hao couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and quickly spoke up.


    The old man¡¯s reaching hand hesitated, stopping in its tracks.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandpa, I damaged your belt last time and then threw it away,¡± Cai Hao explained, ignoring his mother¡¯s tug on his arm.


    ¡°Disobedient! Disobedient!¡± The old man stamped his foot hard, huffing as he turned around and walked back to the bedroom. It was evident that he was walking on the tips of his toes, his gait unnervingly weird.


    As he entered the bedroom, the door to the bathroom on the opposite side opened, and a portly old crone came out and made her way to the living room.


    This old crone, too, was wearing a cotton-padded jacket, walking on the balls of her feet, with her arms hanging straight down without swinging, her eyes a grey blur, gazing straight ahead.


    ¡°There¡¯s no paper in the toilet, what on earth do you do all day, you lazy daughter-in-law?¡±


    Although she seemed to be looking at the window behind the couch when she spoke, she was actually addressing the people seated on the couch. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After seeing the fat old crone appear, Cai Hao¡¯s mother, Yang Zhen, began to tremble violently. Upon hearing the old woman¡¯s words, Yang Zhen explained in a frightened stammer, ¡°Mom, there is paper in the bathroom. It¡¯s in the roll holder on the wall, not like before when it was placed on a small stool.¡±


    ¡°Talking back, you lazy daughter-in-law! I¡¯m hungry, aren¡¯t you going to cook?¡± After saying this, the fat old crone turned around and walked away, her arms hanging stiffly by her side.


    But she didn¡¯t go far, instead standing by the television cabinet, her back against the wall, staring blankly at the people sitting on the couch.


    At this moment, the three on the couch trembled like chaff, and Yang Zhen whispered to Cai Yongheng, ¡°Quickly bring your mother inside, I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared too, my mother has always been fierce, I¡¯ve been terrified of her since I was a child,¡± Cai Yongheng said in a whisper, not daring to breathe loudly.


    It was Cai Hao who swallowed his saliva and mustered the courage to say, ¡°Grandma¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to cook?¡± The fat old crone suddenly let out a sharp shriek, her voice piercing and eerie.


    The threesome on the couch jolted violently, and Yang Zhen, as if on reflex, stood up immediately. Her hands and feet seemed to move on their own, verging on tears as she slowly made her way to the closed kitchen door and began to shuffle toward it.


    The old woman turned to follow her movements, silently watching her as she fumbled with the kitchen door.


    Cai Yongheng spoke out, ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    The fat old crone paid no attention to her son, still silently staring at Yang Zhen, who was now opening the kitchen door.


    Yang Zhen¡¯s hands and feet shook as she pushed open the kitchen¡¯s swing door.


    There was a reason all the doors in the house were kept shut, but now it was clear that closing them was useless.


    The moment Yang Zhen pushed open the kitchen door, her gaze fell into the dimly lit kitchen. Instantly, her entire body shook violently, and she turned to run back toward the couch, nearly falling over during her frantic return, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.


    From the couch, you could see toward the kitchen, and Cai Yongheng and his son, Cai Hao, quickly looked over to see two other elderly people and a middle-aged man with a child standing vaguely in the kitchen.


    One of the elderly, a gaunt old man, spoke in a hoarse voice, ¡°Zhen, we¡¯ve already made dinner, it¡¯s ready to eat.¡±


    The middle-aged man, holding the child¡¯s hand, each lifted a dish with their free hands. The dish was filled with something sticky and indistinct, still writhing.

 Chapter 431 321 Takeout (Part 5) (Request for Monthly Pass!)_3

    Cai Yongheng and the other two were nearly driven to collapse upon witnessing this scene.


    On the same day they ate takeout, their long-deceased parents had suddenly appeared at home one after another, behaving eerily. Soon after, Yang Zhen''s elder brother, who had died in a car accident, along with his children, appeared as well.


    These people aimlessly wandered around the house, terrifying Cai Yongheng, Yang Zhen, and Cai Hao.


    Even when they moved out, these deceased individuals followed, frightening friends and relatives, forcing them to move back in.


    Soon, the elderly from the kitchen also came out, each holding "dishes" with two plates dripping blood, which quickly covered the table and were placed in front of the three of them.


    Yang Zhen''s parents, her elder brother and son, along with Cai Yongheng''s father who emerged again from the room and his mother standing beside the TV unit, all approached the sofa and stared intently at them.


    "Eat, while it''s hot!"


    "Here, try this, just caught."


    "It tastes better when it''s bloody."


    "Aren''t you eating?"


    "Are you going to eat or not!"


    The surrounding crowd all spoke up one after another, their voices cold, hurried, and chilling.


    Cai Yongheng stretched out his arms and tightly embraced Yang Zhen and his son; he didn''t lift his head, nor did he respond.


    He knew that as long as he endured a little longer, regardless of the terror in his heart, these people would vanish, only to reappear again later.


    But this time it seemed different. Upon seeing that none of the three had touched the food on the plates, Yang Zhen''s mother reached out and suddenly grabbed Cai Yongheng''s arm.


    "Eat!"


    Her gaunt fingers sunk into Cai Yongheng''s arm, leaving behind a black handprint.


    Cai Yongheng instantly became panic-stricken and cried out in fear.


    Bang!


    The room door was suddenly kicked open from the outside.


    A stunning woman stepped into the room; it was Xiang Er.


    The moment she appeared, the six strange figures standing in front of the living room sofa burst into a wisp of light smoke and vanished on the spot.


    Yan Junze followed closely into the room, looked around, and saw that the Cai family was still desperately clinging to each other, afraid to let go.


    "We are exorcists; it''s okay now." Yan Junze spoke, easing their tension and fear, while he carefully reviewed the task information that had just popped up in his mind. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Exorcist, has the master exorcist arrived?!" Cai Yongheng released his family members, his body weak. Although he was shouting, he was utterly unable to stand.


    By then, Yan Junze had finished reviewing the task information alert, and with a slight frown, he said to Xiang Er, "The strangeness this family is facing is a bit more formidable; dealing with it might be a bit tricky."


    "What do we do then?" Xiang Er looked around.


    She knew very well that if she hadn''t appeared, those vanished strange figures might have harmed the Cai family.


    Regardless, even if this strangeness seemed powerful, it was still frightened by the natural authoritative presence emanated by Xiang Er.


    Yan Junze didn''t answer Xiang Er but instead looked up at Cai Yongheng and asked, "What was the takeout you ate?"


    "Pizza."


    "What did the delivery person look like?"


    "Tall and skinny."


    Yan Junze turned back to Xiang Er and said, "You stay here; you can deter the strange figure that appeared just now. I''ll handle the delivery person alone. You should be careful though; although the spirit is afraid of you, its illusions are very strong."


    "If I don''t follow you, what if those people try to harm you?" Xiang Er asked.


    Now, it seemed highly likely that the delivery person was a living human. If it were a spirit, Yan Junze could handle it, but if it was a living person, she worried he might get hurt.

 Chapter 432 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)

    "It''s okay, I can handle the delivery guy," Yan Junze patted Xiang Er''s shoulder, "You stay at the Cai family''s home, I''ll try to finish this task today so we can return to Shuntian early."


    After speaking, he said to Cai Yongheng and the others, "We''ll leave an Exorcist here, please rest assured, the strangeness won''t dare to trouble you again."


    "Okay, okay."


    "Thank you! Thank you!"


    The Cai Yongheng couple quickly nodded their heads.


    Although they did not know why an Exorcist would come and not get rid of the strangeness immediately, at least now with an Exorcist in presence, the strangeness wouldn''t dare to appear again, and for the time being, the family was safe.


    Yan Junze turned and left, and Xiang Er closed the door before turning to sit down on the sofa in the living room, saying, "You can move around freely in the house, I can''t feel the strangeness inside right now, it seems to have run off for the moment."


    The three members of the Cai family breathed a sigh of relief, Xiang Er''s words were like a calming pill for them.


    Yang Zhen got up to pour water for Xiang Er and instructed her son to wash some apples in the kitchen for their guest.


    Cai Hao stood up, still somewhat timid, glanced at the kitchen to make sure no one was there, quickly turned on the kitchen light, and then dared to walk in.


    The Cai family''s strange event was stable, but this was only temporary, leaving Xiang Er at the Cai family was just a stopgap measure, Yan Junze knew he had to hurry to find the delivery guy.


    He left the Cai''s and called the remaining families who were a bit farther away.


    After hanging up, he had learned that the delivery guy had been delivering the same few types of Western food, nothing else.


    This indicated that the person''s specialty was indeed Western cuisine, then using this means to deliver the strangeness-attached takeout, and have people eat it.


    If it were a normal Exorcist, he would have already started working with the security officers, searching all the restaurant owners in the nearby neighborhoods.


    But Yan Junze didn''t plan to do that, he had a more straightforward method.


    Walking down the street and after covering some ground, he estimated that he was roughly in the central area of Tianmeng''s Southern District, then he activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    Whoosh, after four or five seconds, information about more than ten strange events quickly flooded into his mind.


    Yan Junze carefully reviewed them, he had certain criteria in mind for selection, so the first step was to look at the name of the task, and then the description of the task.


    He rapidly went through the dozen odd task information and then Yan Junze scrolled back to the beginning, looking from the first one again, pondering slowly, one by one.


    When he reached the ninth one, he stopped, his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Task Name: Special Attraction;


    Task Level: ¡ª¡ª


    Task Background: Ku Zai is his nickname, because since childhood his constitution has been very unique, skinny and bony, his skin yellow and muscles frail, even though he eats a lot, he remains as such. After the outbreak of strangeness, Ku Zai slowly discovered that he can see many things that others cannot, even some things that Exorcists can''t see. Not only that, many of these things appear in great numbers and seem to be following him, intentionally or unintentionally. Now the situation is getting worse, to the extent that he has started to suspect if his body has a strong attraction to those weird things. From initial shock, to concern, and finally to despair, the current Ku Zai is no different from a man on the brink of death.


    Task Explanation: Ku Zai desires freedom;


    Task Reward: ¡ª¡ª points of Different Dimension Energy;


    Task Punishment: A group assault by the strangeness is terrifying;


    Task Tip: 1. The task has multiple Evil Spirits that can be Locked down; 2. Due to variations in the level of strangeness, the task cannot yield an accurate level;


    Note: Sometimes, death too is a form of freedom.]


    Yan Junze scrutinized each segment of the task''s text, discerning from the words that this man called Ku Zai must possess a special constitution that attracts strangeness, and now he is beleaguered by strangeness and desires freedom.


    At first glance, the task seemed rather normal, the only unusual aspects being the task level not defined and the reward points for Different Dimension Energy not specified.


    But upon careful analysis, it was certain that more than one strangeness was swirling around Ku Zai.


    The deeper he thought, the more suspicious Yan Junze found the task.


    He glanced over some other tasks - there were tasks labeled as "hair-raising" and others as "Anxiety-Inducing", but the tips and descriptions of the tasks all seemed quite ordinary.


    Fearing that he might miss some key information revealed by other tasks, he reviewed them again, still uncertain, but ultimately his gaze returned to the task called [Special Attraction].


    Checking the task''s address information, it was just two blocks from here, Yan Junze directly hailed a taxi to go there.


    Compared to a normal Exorcist, activating [Perception of Strange Events] is Yan Junze''s unique skill, while others might still be joining forces with security officers to pursue the investigation, Junze''s event perception could handle the bulk of the trouble.


    Soon after, the taxi pulled up on an old street in the Southern District.


    He alighted and confirmed the address shown by the task, it was the right place.


    He called Xiang Er to inquire about the situation at the Cai''s, and Xiang Er reported back that all was normal.


    "I think I''ve found the source of everything; I''m about to confirm it. It''s on the corner of the old street in the Southern District," Yan Junze looked up at the sign above, "This place is called ''South City Old Lane Spicy Hot Pot''."

 Chapter 433 322: Takeout (Part 6) (Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze confirmed the address once again and walked into the spicy hotpot restaurant.


    The facilities in the shop were very ordinary, but since it dared to open in the central location of the entrance to the old street and appeared to have been in business for quite some time, it must have some capabilities.


    It was still early for the lunch rush, and there were no customers in the shop now.


    The chairs in the restaurant were not yet arranged, just stacked in piles.


    Yan Junze stood in the shop for a while, and a plump woman lifted her head from behind the counter and called out to him, "Sir, we officially open in an hour. If you''re not here for anything urgent, you can sit over there, and I''ll pour some tea for you right away."


    Yan Junze waved his hand, "I''m looking for someone."


    The plump woman looked surprised, stood up, and asked, "May I know who you''re looking for?"


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment and replied, "We used to call him¡ªKu Zai as kids."


    The plump woman was taken aback, "We don''t have anyone by that name here."


    Yan Junze continued, "Perhaps he doesn''t go by that nickname, but a different name. Hmm, he''s very skinny, frail, and often ill."


    The plump woman shook her head in disbelief, apparently still having no recollection.


    "What about your boss?" asked Yan Junze.


    "He won''t be here until the afternoon," replied the plump woman.


    "Could you give me his contact details?" Yan Junze asked further.


    The plump woman shook her head, "We can''t just give that out. If you''re looking for him, come back in the afternoon."


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, nodded, and walked out. He turned a corner upon exiting, darted down an alley next to the spicy hotpot restaurant, took several turns, and arrived at the back door of the establishment.


    Shortly after he left the shop, a tall and thin man lifted the curtain leading to the kitchen, stood at the doorway, and asked the plump woman, "Who was that person looking for just now?"


    "Something... Ku Zai?" the plump woman said.


    The tall and thin man, who had an apron tied around him, looked slightly stern after hearing the plump woman''s response. He tore off his apron in one swift motion and casually picked up an iron shovel that was leaning against the door, following right behind Yan Junze as he left the shop.


    Before entering the alley, Yan Junze looked back, but no one was following him.


    Upon reaching the back door of the spicy hotpot restaurant, he looked up and saw the door was tightly shut. However, there was an open window next to it. Although the window was barred with iron, it provided an opportunity to peek inside and scope out the situation.


    He sneaked closer, cautiously peering inside.


    This side was somewhat removed from the street, so it was quieter. Yan Junze pressed up against the window, holding his breath and spying. The inside looked like a typical restaurant kitchen, but it was devoid of chefs or helpers, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.


    Only at the far end of the kitchen was there a thick alloy door, shiny and gleaming, though it was unclear if it was a cold storage room or something else.


    Meanwhile, the tall and thin man with the iron shovel approached Yan Junze without making a sound.


    He noticed that Yan Junze remained fixated on peering through the window, entirely oblivious to anyone approaching from behind. Considering his own silent movements, even though he felt uneasy at heart. The tall and thin man gripped the shovel with both hands, carefully stepping towards Yan Junze.


    After taking a deep breath, he raised the iron shovel high. At that moment, Yan Junze, who appeared to be completely unguarded and focused on his spying, suddenly turned around with an alloy mallet in his hand. Without any hesitation and as if anticipating the man''s exact location and height, he swung the mallet and struck the tall man squarely on the cheek.


    The man''s iron shovel instantly flew from his grasp, and as his head was struck by the mallet, he looked stunned, fainting on the spot with a thud.


    Before losing consciousness, he couldn''t understand how Yan Junze, who seemed utterly defenseless, could have such precise knowledge of his movements, capturing his exact position and height to perfection as if there had been a rehearsal before the confrontation.


    At this moment, Yan Junze spoke in an irritated tone as if releasing some pent-up frustration, "Feels good, huh? That''ll teach you to sneak up on me."


    Those words, however, fell on deaf ears as the tall and thin man could no longer hear them.


    Yan Junze squatted down and took a closer look; he was now seventy percent certain that this tall and thin man and one of the delivery people were one and the same.


    He searched the man''s body and quickly found a set of keys. He went in front of the back door, tried the keys one by one in the lock, and soon the lock clicked, opened by one of the keys.


    Yan Junze peeked inside to make sure it was empty; then he walked in, quickly approaching the door resembling that of a cold storage and began to try the keys again.


    It was easy to find the right key for the cold storage because the lock was specially made, and the key was large; Yan Junze only had to try once before twisting it open. Just as he pushed open the heavy door, a weak voice suddenly echoed from behind, sounding pleading.


    "Don''t go in! It''s dangerous inside."


    Yan Junze turned around and saw that the tall and thin man had woken up and stumbled into the kitchen. His left cheek was swollen, distorting his speech.


    "I''m here to find Ku Zai," Yan Junze said bluntly.


    The man waved his hands and said, "We don''t have anyone called Ku Zai here; you''ve got the wrong person. If you don''t leave now, I will call the police."


    "Go ahead and call the police, and while you''re at it, dial 4747 to bring the exorcist over," Yan Junze sneered.


    The tall and thin man was taken aback. Yan Junze added, "Oh, no need to dial 4747; I am the exorcist. What I want to know is... why are you guys sending out those deliveries?"


    Startled, the tall and thin man waved his hands frantically and argued, "No, no, we run a hot pot restaurant, we don''t do deliveries. I have no idea what you''re talking about!"


    "Fine, if you won''t talk, I''ll see for myself." Yan Junze took out a mallet and pointed it at the tall and thin man, signaling for him to not try any funny business, then proceeded to the cold storage.


    The tall and thin man suddenly looked shocked, unable to comprehend where Yan Junze had pulled out the mallet from, startled, feeling it had just appeared in his hand out of nowhere. So his gaze kept lingering around Yan Junze''s crotch area, guessing the likely spot where a mallet could be hidden.


    Once inside, he looked at the cold storage door, which had an emergency unlocking mechanism to prevent it from closing, and it could also be opened directly with a key from the inside, so it wouldn''t matter if this guy closed the door after he went in.


    Stepping into the cold storage, surprisingly, it wasn''t cold inside; nor was there much stored. Instead, some plastic sheets covered part of the cold storage, with the scene inside only becoming visible upon walking further in.


    The tall and thin man didn''t think twice; he followed right in and said, "We really are in the hot pot business, we don''t deliver. Are you... sure you''ve got the wrong place?"


    "Still trying to lie." Yan Junze stopped, turned his head to look at him, and said, "Would I come here without concrete evidence? Tell me, is Ku Zai inside?"


    The tall and thin man grew even more anxious but didn''t answer Yan Junze''s question. Instead, he hastily said, "Don''t go any further, you really shouldn''t go that way; it''s dangerous."


    Sensing the man was still not telling the truth, Yan Junze turned and went on; after a few steps, he discovered that behind the plastic sheets, there was yet another iron door.


    He took out the set of keys again, trying them in the lock one by one, and quickly, another click, the lock opened.


    The tall and thin man behind him was utterly frantic, ready to pounce, and Yan Junze immediately waved the mallet, forcing the man to retreat.


    The tall and thin man seemed desperate, repeating, "Don''t open the door, it''s dangerous, it''s really dangerous."


    "Maybe, I can help him," Yan Junze remarked, and with a swoosh, he opened the iron door.


    The tall and thin man didn''t advance any further, instead hastily backing away.


    At that moment, from the grey space behind the opened iron door, a rapid series of footsteps resounded, and seconds later, accompanied by a shrill scream, descended.


    A woman dressed in red, with dishevelled hair, reached out her arms, her fingernails sharp and long, rushed to the iron door, lunging to scratch Yan Junze. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thud!


    Yan Junze swung the Black Spirit Mallet he held, hitting the red-dressed woman on the head just in time. Then he knocked her to the floor with another swing, and a flurry of blows followed, each with practiced speed and precision.


    "Crap, this exorcist..." The tall and thin man outside watched, dumbfounded, as if he had never seen such a ferocious way of exorcism.


    "Agh!"


    "Hiss hiss hiss..."


    Suddenly, other eerie noises emanated from the room behind the iron door.

 Chapter 434 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Yan Junze seemed to have anticipated this, taking a step back without entering through the iron door.


    Before he retreated, he greeted the woman in red with another heavy blow from the club in his hand. At first, the woman was howling in agony, but now she was instinctively crawling inward, trying to escape without being able to make a sound.


    Accompanied by various strange noises from inside the room, a fat man armed with a butcher''s knife stepped out, his right half of the face completely decayed, and his stomach had a long gash through which red was wriggling, the cause of his death unknown.


    Following him was another strangeness unable to be identified as either an adult or a child, its entire body curled up into a ball, swiftly moving forward on the ground, with its hind legs snapped off and gone.


    The two strangenesses rapidly closed in on Yan Junze.


    By now, the tall and thin man had already run to the entrance of the cold storage, looking over in a panicked state, ready to shut the cold storage door at any moment should the strangenesses approach.


    However, knowing the truth of the situation, he was still somewhat concerned for Yan Junze''s safety. Although the other party was an exorcist, capable of combating strangenesses, if he came out unscathed, it would mean less responsibility for himself.


    But if Yan Junze were to be defeated and unable to come out, there would be no choice but to shut the cold storage door. If the problem in the cold storage was resolved, all was well, but if Yan Junze failed, the tall and thin man could only bury his corpse along with it.


    Looking from the direction of the entrance, the sight was largely obstructed by the mass of hanging plastic cloth, so much so that the tall and thin man could hardly see what was happening inside.


    But the eerie cries reaching his ears were very real, causing him to tremble, gripping the door handle without letting go, occasionally catching glimpses of different shadows around the iron door.


    This scene made him feel even colder.


    As for Yan Junze, upon seeing the two strangenesses charging at him, one in front and one behind, he immediately released Long-tongued Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and two strange babies.


    "Kill them!"


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen''s tongue lashed out, wrapping around the head of the butcher in the front, while the Crawler Monster started to fight with the creature crawling on the ground.


    Boom!


    The butcher''s head was crushed by Zhenzhen''s hard tongue, but the headless body still flailed the butcher''s knife chaotically.


    Zhenzhen drew back her tongue, then shot it out repeatedly, the tongue striking with bullet-like speed, different from the Crawler Monster''s forked tongue.


    The butcher strangeness''s body took hit after hit and quickly became riddled with holes, falling backward, then vanished into thin air.


    "That was a mid-level Wandering Spirit," Long-tongued Zhenzhen informed Yan Junze.


    When Yan Junze first locked her down in Rock''s old house, Zhenzhen was already an advanced Wandering Spirit. Now, after absorbing Different Dimension Energy in the Atlas for so long, her strength had grown, though not quite a true Sculpting Spirit, she wasn''t far off.


    Zhenzhen was now superior to the likes of a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Resentful Granny.


    Similarly, the Crawler Monster, having spent even more time in the Atlas, was no longer the weakling it once was.


    Its tongue was more on the flexible side, and it now had the black, footless strangeness entangled and pinned down, its ten sharp fingers ferociously clawing at the creature.


    The strangeness on the ground couldn''t withstand the assault, screeching and flailing wildly at the Crawler Monster. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Crawler Monster''s strength was now verging on that of an advanced Wandering Spirit, and it hadn''t felt such exhilarating combat with its kind for a long time. Once among the lowest ranks of strangenesses, it now savoured a moment of triumph.


    Even its side parting hairdo, normally so neat, was now disheveled as it fought with abandon, occasionally letting out shrill, unpleasant cries, making others think it was incurring heavy self-damage whilst injuring the enemy.


    Noises were still coming from inside the iron door, and the two strange babies, excited by the sounds, had already darted inside.


    Concerned for their safety, Yan Junze hurriedly said to Zhenzhen, "Quick, follow the babies in, don''t let them get hurt."


    Mainly because Aunt Mei had taken care of these two, and now that he was about to return to Shuntian City, if Aunt Mei found out that these two kids met with some misfortune, he would have trouble explaining himself.


    Zhenzhen levitated and drifted through the iron door.


    Soon, the sounds of a struggle accompanied by the thrilled cries of the strange babies could be heard. These two fought much like the Crawler Monster, the only difference being their lack of a tongue.


    Over here, the Crawler Monster flipped the dark creeper onto the ground, reducing it to a cloud of black smoke that dissipated completely.


    It then shook its hair into place, looking at Yan Junze with an expression seeking recognition for its achievements.


    "Let''s go, inside."


    Yan Junze patted its head and led the way into the iron door, with the Crawler Monster following behind.


    Upon entering, they found the room behind the iron door to be a steel chamber, filled with poor air quality and engulfed in a stinky and even somewhat rotten smell.


    Zhenzhen and the two strange babies had already dispatched the unrecognizable strangenesses that were making noises earlier, leaving two blurred masses of flesh on the floor, gradually fading away.


    The room no longer harbored any other strangeness that posed a threat to them, but various strange sounds still emanated from the deepest part of the room.


    As Yan Junze was about to walk deeper, Zhenzhen reminded him, "I feel very afraid; there''s something in there that''s very bad, very bad indeed."


    "You''re feeling fear too?" Yan Junze was surprised.


    Zhenzhen shook her head, "It''s not that I''m afraid of something, it''s more like I have an instinctual sense of fear."

 Chapter 435 323: Takeout (Part 7) (2/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)_2

    Yan Junze was very familiar with this sensation of fear and oppression; initially, Ke''er had been the most sensitive among them, immediately turning tail and fleeing at the slightest hint of a terrifying disturbance.


    This meant that the strangeness inside was oppressive even to a Semi-Sculpting Spirit like Zhenzhen.


    "If you all feel oppressed, retreat back into the Atlas first, and I''ll handle it," Yan Junze said.


    Zhenzhen immediately shook her head, "No, we can resist for a while. Even if it''s stronger than me, I can block it to let you escape."


    As they drew closer, the two strange babies became restless and anxious, scratching their ears and cheeks, crawling back and forth at the feet of Yan Junze and Zhenzhen.


    Only the Crawler Monster, oblivious as always, crawled along with a confused expression, lifting its head to look at Yan Junze and Zhenzhen, who proceeded with caution.


    As they walked deeper into the house, a weak ray of light shone down from above. It was a dull, dimly lit bulb hanging over a large wooden chair.


    At that moment, a man sat on the chair, his clothes hanging off him as if they might drop at any second, his entire body reduced to skin and bones, his hair dirty and unkempt, his face gaunt.


    The man wasn''t asleep; his eyes were half-open, his body nearly slumped over the chair, unable to sit upright, listlessly watching Yan Junze and the others as they approached. During this time, his expression did not change at all.


    If it weren''t for the slight rise and fall of the man''s chest, Yan Junze would think him nearly indistinguishable from a dead person.


    The source of the foul stench in the room emanated partly from the man himself and partly from the bed beside the large wooden chair.


    That bed, likely where the man usually rested, had its bedding soiled with sweat or something else, now congealed into a mass that couldn''t be pried apart. It was evident that the whole bed was damp.


    "Zhenzhen, where is the fear you sensed coming from?"


    About three meters away from the malnourished man, Yan Junze stopped and looked around before asking Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen, half a step behind him and standing to the side, answered with a hint of fear, "It''s coming from this man."


    "But he should be human," Yan Junze was sure this guy was the protagonist of the quest "Special Attraction."


    "Can''t you see it?" Zhenzhen suddenly said in surprise.


    "What?"


    "There''s a strangeness on this man." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze intently stared at the man before him and shook his head.


    Indeed, he saw nothing; in fact, this was the first time he discovered that he couldn''t see a strangeness.


    Strangenesses can appear in many ways: some at specific locations, others at particular times, and some only appear when certain people are present. There are even those that require the right combination of time, place, and people to materialize.


    Starting from the level of entities like Ke''er, they can choose whether or not to be visible to people.


    If a strangeness so pleases, it can be seen by everyone. If it wants to remain hidden, it can do so or selectively reveal itself to certain individuals (requiring a higher level).


    Of course, when a strangeness attacks a target, it naturally reveals itself, ensuring that the target can see it.


    Like the strangeness skilled in covert photographing from the "Photographing" quest, its state of invisibility was rare even among strangenesses.


    Under normal conditions, a three-star Exorcist can see the vast majority of the strangenesses in this world with the naked eye, regardless of whether those entities want to be seen.


    This is the fundamental difference between Exorcists and ordinary people.


    As far as Yan Junze could tell, there was only that scrawny young man sitting on the large wooden chair in the entire room, listless, with nothing strange beside him.


    But Zhenzhen, being a strangeness herself, immediately noticed a shabbily dressed male strangeness clinging tightly to the right side of the young man, moving occasionally, and looking very eerie.


    At this moment, the two normally mischievous strange babies behaved themselves and lay quietly at Yan Junze''s feet, trembling and clearly frightened.


    The formerly clueless Crawler Monster finally sensed something amiss, its befuddled gaze turned toward the scrawny young man. It then hunched its shoulders and hung its head low, fixing its eyes on the ground, not daring to look up again.


    Clearly, it could also see the strangeness that Zhenzhen saw, and it was utterly intimidated by it.


    Just then, the half-dead young man slightly lifted his drooping eyelids and glanced at Yan Junze and the others, his face unchanged and devoid of any ripples of emotion.


    After a moment, his lips moved faintly, uttering his first words upon seeing these people: "You see... only one?"


    Right at that moment, Zhenzhen involuntarily took two steps back.


    Yan Junze turned to look at her.


    Zhenzhen said, "The strangeness on this young man has lifted its head and is looking at me."


    "Are you sure the fear you feel is coming from this strangeness?" asked Yan Junze.


    Zhenzhen hesitated slightly, then shook her head: "It seems there''s something else, a very strange feeling."


    Yan Junze turned back to the scrawny young man: "Are you Ku Zai?"


    The young man''s expression changed, showing surprise for a moment before quickly returning to normal, but he did not respond.


    Yan Junze continued, "I am an Exorcist."


    Fear flickered across the young man''s face as he shifted slightly, as if contemplating escape, but an unseen force instantly pressed him back down.

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    ```


    He opened his mouth, seemingly intending to speak at a normal pace, but his body was so weak that he still sounded breathless, "Don''t catch me, don''t take me back, I''m very normal, don''t study me."


    With this, Yan Junze finally understood why this fellow had not been calling for an exorcist.


    He shook his head and replied, "I won''t catch you, I''m here to help you, your condition is very bad right now, if we don''t figure out something..."


    "I don''t want to die!" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the gaunt young man.


    The guy''s complexion was pale, utterly devoid of any color, and his cheeks were so thin they seemed to be just skin over bone as he lifted his face to stare at Yan Junze, skull-like.


    "No one wants you to die."


    Yan Junze nodded and in that moment, he activated his Semi-Spirit Body.


    The hair on his body began to grow wildly, and his head slowly twisted around. At the same time, Yan Junze himself was turning, allowing his head to face the gaunt young man directly.


    Upon seeing this scene, the gaunt young man''s eyelids twitched slightly, but then he returned to normal. He was already used to the appearance of strangenesses.


    At this time, Yan Junze, through the perspective of the Back-faced Woman, looked at everything before him.


    First, he looked in the direction of the gaunt young man and then his body shook violently. On the wooden chair, where the young man was seated, which was also being climbed on by the young man, there were at least five strangenesses.


    These five strangenesses included the ragged one seen by Zhenzhen, as well as four others which Zhenzhen could not see but could feel the oppressive fear from.


    The strangenesses each lifted their heads from the young man''s body, some hugging their arms, others riding on his shoulders, some winding around his back, or simply lying across the young man''s thighs...


    One of the strangenesses didn''t have a head at all, another was a skeleton draped in clothing, and there was also a bloated strangeness whose flesh was rotting away, with bits of flesh dropping from its body now and then, plopping down at the gaunt young man''s feet.


    Besides the strangenesses climbing on him, there was also a figure even thinner than the young man, looking like a shriveled old woman standing rigidly behind the gaunt young man. She intermittently stretched out a blackish-grey tongue to lick her lips, her gaze fixed on the young man with a hint of greed.


    Next to this old woman was a man with a swollen body. He too wasn''t climbing on the gaunt young man. One of his eyes bulged, nearly popping out of its socket, while the other eyeball had already fallen out, just hanging by the optic nerve against his cheek, swinging back and forth.


    Dirty fluid occasionally seeped through the cracks in his bloated skin, creating an extremely nauseating sight.


    It wasn''t that these two standing strangenesses didn''t want to climb on the gaunt young man; there simply wasn''t any space left for them, as the young man''s body was already covered in other strangenesses.


    "So, there really is more than one." Yan Junze spoke slowly after getting a clear view.


    "You... you see them all?" The gaunt young man appeared surprised again.


    Zhenzhen asked, "Are there still more? How many are there?"


    Yan Junze said, "Besides the one you saw, there are four more climbing on him, and another two standing behind, making a total of seven strangenesses around this guy. As of now, they should all be at least Semi-Sculpting Spirits."


    Zhenzhen immediately became terrified. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Whoosh, whoosh, two strange babies hurriedly clung to Yan Junze''s legs, pulling at his trouser legs incessantly, begging Yan Junze to send them back into the Atlas.


    The Crawler Monster, a bit slower on the uptake, had the opposite reaction; it didn''t seem to find the situation very frightening and had just lifted its dangling head.


    With its master nearby, the creature stretched out its forked tongue, starting to leisurely groom its side parting.


    "Seeing this gaunt young man, what do you feel right now?" Yan Junze suddenly asked Zhenzhen.


    Zhenzhen focused and replied, "I feel close to him, I want to be near him. If it weren''t for the presence of those higher-level strangenesses, I might also want to go over and hug him."


    Yan Junze nodded, "The strangenesses we killed earlier probably felt the same way you do now, but they were forced to hold back because more powerful strangenesses had beaten them to the punch. They couldn''t get close and were just circling nearby. So, upon hearing us come in, they could free themselves to immediately attack us, treating us like strangenesses wanting to ''share the feed''."


    "What about these ones?" Zhenzhen asked.


    "They''re enjoying themselves for now, too busy to bother with us," Yan Junze said with a grin.


    ```

 Chapter 437 324: Takeout (Finale) (3/3, Request for subscription! Vote for monthly ticket!)

    Actually, when Yan Junze activated his Semi-Spirit Body, through the perspective of the Back-faced Woman, he could see all the strangenesses surrounding the emaciated young man. At the same time, these strangenesses also began to slowly turn their heads or look up at him, whose head had twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees.


    From this Semi-Spirit Body, they faintly sensed something and had to heighten their vigilance. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ku Zai, being entangled by these things every moment, it mustn''t be a pleasant feeling, right?" Yan Junze said, taking a step forward as he spoke.


    Although the emaciated young man denied it to death, there was no doubt that he was Ku Zai.


    And the reason for his denial was simple: knowing that he was very unusual, he feared that not even an Exorcist could find another like him. So, it wasn''t just him; Ku Zai''s entire family was very worried.


    With such a child attracting strangenesses, in this day and age, it was simply a disaster, a walking time bomb, liable to be captured by Exorcists at any moment for dissection.


    Now, although plagued by strangenesses, it was a move of desperation, but if he really were caught and handed over to the state, they were sure that Ku Zai would undoubtedly die.


    "I''m very curious, through what method do you take the strangenesses that should be binding you and manage to send them out like delivery orders?"


    While talking, Yan Junze took another step forward.


    The five strangenesses entwined around Ku Zai began to squirm, turning their heads one by one, either flailing broken arms or opening their mouths to reveal dense arrays of teeth.


    And the fat strangeness, whose flesh was falling off its body, began stamping its feet and emitting a low growl, as if to issue a warning.


    By this time, Yan Junze''s Semi-Spirit Body had reached its peak, and he was holding the Black Spirit Mallet in his hand.


    The only shortcoming was that there was only one Black Spirit Pearl embedded in the mallet; he believed that if the remaining two pearls were also set in it, his deterrent power would be even stronger.


    But presently, it seemed there was still insufficient deterrence.


    Ku Zai spoke up, his voice sounding enervated: "I''m sorry, I really don''t want this, but... you see, there are just too many of them, I truly... can''t take it. I must find a way... to send them out..."


    "Who are the people delivering these ''orders''?" Yan Junze asked, taking another step forward.


    Zhenzhen, from behind, anxiously called out: "You can''t go any further!"


    Because after Yan Junze''s Semi-Spirit Body had posed a threat to all the strangenesses present, they had all appeared, including Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the two strange babies. At that moment, they could all see that Ku Zai was covered with many of his unsettling kindred.


    Upon viewing these strangenesses, apart from the Crawler Monster, both Zhenzhen and the two strange babies, under the immense pressure, involuntarily retreated, with their fear intensifying with every moment. Zhenzhen knew very well that if she didn''t retreat, she would soon collapse.


    The Crawler Monster wasn''t retreating not because it chose not to, but because its reaction was extremely slow, always lagging.


    Previously, in the Mountain Park outside of Tricky Silk, when Yan Junze was ambushed by the green child, he had dared to approach the obviously unbeatable child to retrieve the camera, which showed just how slow his reaction was.


    Of course, if he hadn''t watched the camera, Yan Junze wouldn''t have understood that he had undergone Spirit-Splitting by the Back-faced Woman, and why he had managed to survive.


    The pressure coming from ahead was very strong now. Although the Crawler Monster did not retreat, it had to lower its head. In this process, its forked tongue quietly licked its forehead, stealthily lapping at its hair twice before quickly retracting.


    As for Zhenzhen, she initially had the confidence to confront the visible strangeness, despite the fact that she was likely to lose in the end. But in the current situation, if she were to resist head-on, there would be no chance of escape.


    Ku Zai seemed oblivious to the intense oppressive dynamics already brewing among the strangenesses and responded to Yan Junze: "The delivery, it''s my dad and second uncle who are making them."


    "How did you send it?" Yan Junze spoke again, taking another step forward.


    He was now less than two meters away from Ku Zai.


    The strangenesses entwined around Ku Zai rose up, emitting various eerie and terrifying warning sounds.


    Meanwhile, Ku Zai''s shriveled wife and the swollen man behind him moved forward, taking positions on either side of Ku Zai.


    The old woman''s mouth split open, her blackish-grey tongue had become very long and thick, stretching out of her mouth for nearly half a meter, writhing like a living snake.


    The swollen man''s belly began to bulge significantly, his throat undulating; although his mouth was tightly shut, it seemed ready to open at any moment to spray an unknown liquid.


    Ku Zai seemed oblivious to all this as he slowly replied, "Although we opened a hot pot restaurant, my dad... my dad used to study Western cuisine. To attract attention, I took... a little of what''s on me, he put it into the Western dishes, and served it to the people outside. Some strangenesses... would leave me and follow them."


    Yan Junze felt nauseous and asked, "What exactly did you take from yourself?"


    "Dandruff, hair, fingernails, etc.," Ku Zai answered.


    Yan Junze: "..."


    Smelling the large amount of foul odor emanating from this guy, thinking of the things taken off him, then mixed into the food, and remembering the slice of pizza he had eaten, Yan Junze''s stomach churned for a while before settling down.


    "Come back with me."


    Ku Zai was startled, "No, I don''t want to be studied by you guys. I''m fine by myself... really fine, I''m not going anywhere! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die!"


    Yan Junze took a step forward.


    All the strangenesses took on a posture as if they were going to attack the next second.


    Yan Junze''s expression hardened, his gaze turned inward, as he could also see everything through the Back-faced Woman''s perspective, he spoke, "Where are you? I need Ke''er."


    In an abandoned hospital.


    The Back-faced Woman stood motionless, hands dangling at her sides, next to a row of damaged medicine cabinets, with their contents scattered and leaking onto the floor, filling the room with a pungent smell.


    The Back-faced Woman seemed to be searching for something, but now that she had opened a Semi-Spirit communication with Yan Junze, she had stopped all her actions.


    The Back-faced Woman could not only see Yan Junze''s perspective, but she could also clearly hear his words.


    Right after Yan Junze had spoken, she slightly opened her lips, and her raspy throat emitted a sound, "Ke''er... Ke''er..."


    Next door was an examination room with a bed and a curtain that could be moved. Behind the curtain, the crimson-clad Ke''er was crouching on the ground, fiddling with something, her head turning from side to side.


    Upon hearing the summon, she lifted her head, rapidly crawled out of the examination room with her hands and feet, and darted towards her mother.


    She skillfully climbed up her mother''s legs and firmly embraced the Back-faced Woman.


    The next second, Ke''er sensed something was off.


    This was a very familiar sensation.


    "Huh?!"


    Ke''er tilted her head, her little face close to the Back-faced Woman''s eyes, seemingly staring into her pupils.


    Through these pupils, Ke''er could feel everything.


    "Ke... Ke..." the Back-faced Woman uttered her voice again.


    Ke''er understood and with a "ya" sound, flipped onto her mother''s shoulders, her unwashed hair for ages intertwined instantly with the Back-faced Woman''s own.


    After some time apart, the strength of this mother-daughter duo had clearly grown stronger once again.


    In the refrigerated room.


    Jenze, in his Semi-Spirit State, suddenly shook, the power of his Semi-Spirit Body growing wildly, each hair standing on end with such force that Zhenzhen behind him couldn''t help but step back two paces.


    In an instant, all the strangenesses wrapped around Ku Zai paused abruptly as the overpowering aura emanating from Junze made them shiver uncontrollably, releasing their grip from Ku Zai.


    One by one, the creatures wore expressions of fear, their fierce demeanor gone, as they gradually retreated, their menace receding bit by bit.


    Not only that, even the swollen man and the shrunken grandma who had been coming forward also slowly began to retreat, their heads bowed, not daring to look in Junze''s direction.


    The strength of the mother-daughter duo''s Bond Evolution was apparent from this event.


    All strangenesses having retreated, Junze opened his mouth to speak, "Now, you can follow me..."


    Before he could finish, he suddenly sensed an anomaly. Ku Zai''s expression was exactly the same as before. Despite the departure of the strangenesses that had bound him, he showed no signs of excitement or relief.


    At that moment, Ku Zai''s body began to convulse, starting with slight tremors that grew increasingly violent until even the chair beneath him shook wildly, as though it might fall apart at any moment.


    Ku Zai''s limp body tensed sharply, becoming taut as if pulled up by a stick, he leaned stiffly against the chair, his head thrown back and mouth wide open as if acted upon by an external force.


    Moments later, a large mass of sticky black substance emerged from his mouth, like the clay from a marshland, continuously oozing out.


    "There''s still a strangeness inside this kid!"


    Jenze was startled and took a step back.


    However, he then realized he hadn''t intended to step back; the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er had chosen to retreat.


    The next second, a more formidable strangeness exuded its pressure, and the mass of clay slowly inched out of Ku Zai''s mouth. Ku Zai''s body was tensely rigid, his hands desperately clutching the chair''s arms, nails nearly embedding into the wood, his mouth gaping in utter agony.


    Splat!


    The entire mass of clay finally came out, falling onto the floor in front of Ku Zai.


    The clay shifted and grew larger, a humanoid figure seemingly standing up from within it.


    It was evident this was a man, burly in stature, covered entirely by the clay.


    At this point, Junze noticed that against his will, his Semi-Spirit Body took another step back.


    The Back-faced Woman and Ke''er¡ªthey were clearly frightened!


    It seemed that even they could not face the creature before them.


    Junze had never imagined that inside Ku Zai''s body there would be another attached strangeness, and evidently the most powerful among them.


    The clay man stretched out his hand with clay still dripping from his palm, opened his mouth towards Junze.


    Inside was pitch black, like a bottomless abyss.


    "If we really can''t manage this, we''ll have to rewind," thought Junze.


    The emergence of the clay man was completely unexpected, and seeing no other option, Junze prepared to rewind and reconsider entering the refrigerated room another time.


    Just as he was about to rewind, a crisp ''bang'' sounded right beside him.


    This was the sound of someone landing heavily on the ground after flying through the air at high speed.


    A familiar sound, a familiar energy¡ªturning his head, what he saw was also a familiar profile.


    "Xiang Er?!" Junze was astounded.


    "I just couldn''t set my mind at ease," said Xiang Er with a stern expression, brows slightly furrowed, coldly staring at the clay man.


    As she appeared, the man''s extended arm retracted immediately; the clay around his body no longer moved but stood still.


    Xiang Er''s arms, which had been hanging down, slowly lifted as she stared at the clay man, but it was to Junze she said, "I''ve never fully released all my strength since merging with this female corpse. Now, I want to try."


    As she spoke, her hair moved without any wind, floating up, her skin seeming to turn transparent, her veins and sinews visible.


    A powerful presence spread out from Xiang Er, yet it directed solely towards the strangenesses surrounding Ku Zai.


    Boom!


    The already retreating creatures now rapidly dissipated, racing away to escape.


    The clay man at the forefront had his feet quickly meld together into a rolling mass of clay that receded bit by bit.


    Xiang Er had now risen off the ground, floating forward, pressing the clay man into retreat.


    Gradually, she suspended next to the wooden chair where Ku Zai was seated before she stopped, the clay man silently watching everything unfold, making no move, retreating to a corner and directly merging into the wall.


    Thud, a piece of clay fell to the ground¡ªthe last visible part of the man disappeared through the wall, vanishing without a trace.

 Chapter 438 325: Back-faced Woman and Keer

    At this moment, all the restlessness in the room subsided.


    The strangenesses that had just been aggressive were now all gone without a trace.


    Zhenzhen now whispered into Yan Junze''s ear, "Xiang Er is too powerful. If I didn''t know her, I''d want to run away right now."


    Yan Junze looked down at the two strange babies clinging tightly to his legs; these little guys had retreated backward with Zhenzhen, but had come forward after Xiang Er appeared.


    Now that Xiang Er was demonstrating her power, the two strange babies were hugging Yan Junze''s thighs tightly, scared.


    "It''s all right now," Yan Junze said to Zhenzhen. "Do you want to go back into the Atlas first?"


    Zhenzhen nodded. With Xiang Er here, she wasn''t worried about Yan Junze encountering any more danger.


    Now that the other strangenesses had fled, the attraction to Ku Zai''s body increased for some reason, giving Zhenzhen the urge to get closer.


    The two strange babies also started to become restless.


    The Crawler Monster stood straight up, its gaze fixed on Ku Zai. It straightened its back as if it were a gentleman about to head to a dinner party, its parted hair now neatly combed.


    If she didn''t retrieve them into the Atlas now, they might throw themselves at Ku Zai just like those who had fled.


    Yan Junze immediately collected Zhenzhen, the Crawler Monster, and the two strange babies back into the Atlas, then approached the wooden chair where Ku Zai was seated.


    Xiang Er was no longer floating; instead, she landed on the ground, frowning as she stared at the limp young man on the wooden chair, seemingly lifeless.


    "Do you find him special?" Yan Junze asked.


    Xiang Er shook her head, "I can''t quite describe it, but he''s very likable."


    "Likable to people, or to strangenesses?"


    "Strangenesses," Xiang Er looked up at Yan Junze, "I can feel that getting close to him would be very good for me."


    "Does that mean an increase in strength?" Yan Junze asked.


    Xiang Er shook her head again: "It''s more like sustenance; he can help with the fusion between me and the female corpse, making it more stable."


    Yan Junze was somewhat surprised and returned his gaze to Ku Zai, who was still taking weak breaths and had yet to recover.


    He hadn''t expected Ku Zai''s physique to be so nourishing for strangenesses; although it wouldn''t enhance their strength, his body was a treasure. Even Xiang Er could further stabilize herself by associating with him.


    "This guy, if reported to the exorcists, might really end up being dissected for study," Yan Junze mused.


    After a short while, Ku Zai''s breathing finally began to steady, but he remained pale. He propped himself up by the chair arms, securing his body so he wouldn''t slide to the floor.


    Looking up, he glanced at Xiang Er but finally fixed his gaze on Yan Junze. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Feeling any better?" Yan Junze asked.


    "Much better, thank you." Ku Zai now looked more relaxed. After what had just occurred, his body felt empty, but now it truly belonged to him.


    Yan Junze had partially withdrawn the Semi-Spirit Body but still retained the connection with the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er. He was surprised by their current location and planned to inquire about it later.


    To Ku Zai, he said, "This is only temporary. The moment Xiang Er and I leave, those strangenesses, without a single exception, will come back for you, and perhaps more will ''come calling.''"


    Ku Zai''s expression changed to one of alarm, and his body began to tremble again: "Please, help me, do anything, as long as I''m not dissected."


    Yan Junze had no intention of handing him over to his team at the moment. The guy''s talent was to attract strangenesses, a born freeloader, so why not make good use of it?


    "Would you be willing to follow me?" Yan Junze asked.


    Ku Zai didn''t hesitate and quickly nodded: "As long as I''m with you, I''ll do anything."


    "Good," Yan Junze nodded. "Following us is a temporary measure. Later on, I''ll find another way to let you live peacefully for the time being, without strangenesses constantly on your back."


    "Thank you, thank you!"


    Struggling, Ku Zai managed to stand up shakily in front of his chair and was about to kneel down when Yan Junze caught his arm.


    "We''re friends now, no need for that. By the way, is there any more contact with those food deliveries after they''ve been sent out?"


    Ku Zai replied, "There is, because if I sever that connection, those strangenesses will return to follow me."


    Yan Junze knew he had a special way of staying in touch, sensing his own deliveries and attracting strangenesses through them.


    "Sever it then. Now, even if you do, those strangenesses won''t dare turn back to you," Yan Junze said.


    Without hesitation, Ku Zai agreed.


    He never dreamt of encountering Yan Junze and Xiang Er, beings who could directly intimidate strangenesses into fleeing. This was an unexpected opportunity, and since they had also made it clear they wouldn''t report him to the exorcists for study, it showed they were kind people who wouldn''t let him fall into another desperate situation.


    With no more worries, Ku Zai was entirely ready to obey Yan Junze''s commands.


    Yan Junze saw no particular motion from him, but within seconds, Ku Zai said, "Mm, it''s all been severed."


    Turning to Xiang Er, he asked, "You came straight here; is the strangeness that could disguise itself as a relative from the Cai Family dealt with?"


    Xiang Er replied, "I was worried something might happen to you, so I eradicated that strangeness before coming here."


    Yan Junze was startled, then nodded.


    "Are you able to leave now?" His focus shifted back to Ku Zai.


    Ku Zai asked, "Where to?"


    "Shuntian City."


    "Okay¡­ okay."


    "Take a bath first, and change your clothes. Get cleaned up," Yan Junze frowned as he spoke, then turned to Xiang Er and said, "Wait for me for a while."


    He walked to one side, where his perspective was still connected with the Back-faced Woman; he could see that she was in a place that seemed to be a clinic.


    "Where are you guys right now?" Yan Junze asked directly.


    "Medi¡­ Medi¡­"


    The Back-faced Woman could hardly utter a complete sentence, stammering without finishing when Ke''er''s little head popped in front of her mother''s eyes, "Eh?"


    "Ke''er!" Yan Junze broke into a smile, "Did you miss me?"


    Ke''er also began to smile, her eyes forming crescents; she nuzzled her cheek forward, rubbing against her mother''s face as if it were Yan Junze she was snuggling with.


    Yan Junze couldn''t help but grin from ear to ear and asked again, "What are you doing at the hospital?"


    Ke''er propped herself up with her arms, moving a little away from her mother, then got down to the ground and scurried off.


    Soon, she reappeared, dressed in a red skirt, but this time she held something in her hands.


    Yan Junze immediately concentrated, *snap*, this time Ke''er didn''t nuzzle into her mother''s embrace, instead she hopped onto the medicine counter closest to the Back-faced Woman.


    Yan Junze looked intently as she cradled an object in her hands, holding it up to his view, tilting her head, urging him to look quickly while making a curious "Eh" sound.


    At this point, the Back-faced Woman also turned her body to give Yan Junze a clearer view.


    Yan Junze''s eyes widened as he saw Ke''er holding a heart, which presumably belonged to an adult, and it was still faintly beating.


    "This is..." Yan Junze was taken aback.


    Just then, through the Back-faced Woman''s point of view, he saw several figures flashing past the door of the room behind Ke''er. A flurry of footsteps approached, rapidly entering the room.


    Startled, Ke''er sprang to her feet and plunged into her mother''s arms¡ª the Back-faced Woman''s perspective began to shake as though moving hastily.


    Noisy voices filled his ears.


    The connection with the Semi-spirit was rapidly cut off; Yan Junze''s body trembled as he slowly returned to his original state. Standing still in astonishment, his mind was filled with the images he had just seen.


    "What''s going on?"


    Yan Junze had seen quite clearly a moment ago; several people seemed to rush into the room where the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er were. They were figures, not strangenesses.


    Their attire seemed to be uniform coffee-colored¡ªuniforms? Or perhaps a kind of wide robe?


    The image flashed by too quickly for him to discern the style of the clothes, but he was certain that the color was consistent.


    With his heart pounding, Yan Junze paused to think, then activated his Semi-Spirit Body once more.


    ```


    But this time, there was no response at all.


    Surprised, he dared not try again. Because judging by the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er''s clear emergency state, if they were to actually succeed in activating the Semi-Spirit Body, it might affect the Back-faced Woman.


    At this moment, it would probably be better for the mother and daughter to focus on handling their opponents.


    With his mind in a whirl, Yan Junze turned and returned to the wooden chair where Ku Zai was sitting.


    Ku Zai now seemed much better; after all, once the strangeness was removed, he was no different from a normal person.


    If one had to comment on his frail body, it was because of the years of harassment by strangenesses, constantly entangling him.


    Having just seen Yan Junze talking to himself, Ku Zai was not surprised at all. His capacity for surprise had been exhausted by the countless strangenesses that had haunted him over the years; he would probably never be curious about anything else in his life.


    "We''re going to go out now, have a word with your family, and then once you''ve cleaned yourself up, you''ll leave with us," Yan Junze said.


    Ku Zai nodded hurriedly. Though he stood up somewhat shakily, he could walk on his own. Mainly because his body had been so weak for so long, he needed time to recover slowly.


    Yan Junze turned and took the lead, with Ku Zai following unsteadily behind. They had only taken a few steps when they suddenly heard a snap from behind them.


    Turning around, they saw Xiang Er at the back, stretching out her right hand, holding a lump of pitch-black clay.


    This clay was less than half a meter away from Ku Zai''s back, almost touching him.


    Xiang Er tightened her right hand, and with a pop, she crushed the clay into fine dust, which disappeared into the air.


    "That Clay Monster seems to be still not giving up," Xiang Er said. "It was the only one among those strangenesses just now that had the ability to stand up to me, though I could feel its fear."


    "Then you''ll need to be more cautious from now on. If it comes down to it, take the initiative. If you spot the Clay Monster, deal with it right away," Yan Junze said, glancing back at where the Clay Monster had vanished, especially at the corner of the wall, his teeth clenched with anger.


    Right now, because of the Back-faced Woman and Ke''er, his heart was still racing fast, and he felt an inexplicable irritation. If any strangeness dared to provoke him at this moment, he would smash its head in with his mace.


    After leaving the cold storage, Ku Zai''s tall and thin father had been anxiously waiting outside, along with many other relatives who had come over.


    When they saw Ku Zai walking out, everyone was startled and in disbelief, and Ku Zai''s second aunt even fainted on the spot.


    Communicating with these people was easy, because Yan Junze and Xiang Er''s arrival had driven away all the strangenesses, which was an irrefutable fact. Had it not been for their intervention, Ku Zai''s father would have knelt down to thank them.


    Ku Zai''s mother had passed away early, and it was his father who had raised him from infancy on his own. If not for some good skills, which kept the family''s hotpot business thriving, they would have been ruined by the disturbances long ago.


    Seeing this, Yan Junze felt that Ku Zai''s father was quite intent on entrusting Ku Zai to him from now on.


    In fact, after giving it some thought, it made sense. Ku Zai had suffered enough in the first half of his life, and now that he could finally escape, his father would be content knowing he was safe and sound, even if he wasn''t by his side. That was the greatest wish of a family member.


    Additionally, Ku Zai''s father expressed his intention to provide a monthly compensation to him and a living allowance for Ku Zai. In terms of living expenses, he assured that he would not make things difficult for Yan Junze.


    Moreover, he had the means to provide that money, thanks to many years of business and a solid customer base, which was not just for show.


    Yan Junze did not refuse; taking Ku Zai with him meant taking care of another person, and he wasn''t running a charity. Necessary fees that needed to be collected would be collected.


    ```

 Chapter 440 327 Special Attraction

    Three people entered the house, and Yan Junze still habitually closed the living room door.


    Seeing him changing shoes, Xiang Er and Ku Zai followed suit.


    Yan Daguo set aside the broom and brought each of them a pair of thick slippers.


    The couple sized up the man and woman Yan Junze had brought back. The woman, needless to say, was incredibly attractive and had a perfectly proportioned figure, which made Li Man''s eyes light up with admiration.


    And the guy, well, no need to say, was skinny as a rake, looking no different from a starving ghost. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The contrast between the two was so great that the old couple couldn''t help but take a few extra glances.


    Yan Junze put down his luggage and parcels, and said, "Dad, Mom, didn''t I tell you over the phone? They aren''t my classmates, they''re friends. This is Xiang Er, a very skilled exorcism master, and this is Ku Zai..."


    Yan Daguo''s eyes lit up. Generally, those who looked unimpressive, even a bit sleazy, were often the hidden talents. He blurted out, "He''s an exorcism master too?"


    "No, he''s the Spirit Summoning King." Yan Junze chuckled.


    While he meant it as a joke now that they were home and all family, Ku Zai viewed Yan Junze''s pettiness in a whole new light, feeling like he was walking on thin ice.


    After sitting down, Yan Junze moved Xiang Er and Ku Zai''s belongings to the bedroom. Ku Zai hurriedly stepped forward to do it himself, not wanting to trouble Yan Junze, but his movements were too abrupt, and he immediately started huffing and puffing, his face turning bright red.


    Yan Daguo and Li Man exchanged a worried glance and eyed Ku Zai''s skinny frame, silently wondering if the young man had some illness, but it wasn''t appropriate to say anything outright.


    Thanks to Huahua''s dedicated mentoring over the past few months, Xiang Er had made rapid progress in cooking and soon volunteered to help Li Man in the kitchen after sitting down for a while.


    Li Man was delighted, and as she watched Xiang Er, her eyes took on the look of someone appraising a daughter-in-law.


    After finishing cleaning, Yan Daguo sat down and chatted with Ku Zai for a bit. He heard that Ku Zai''s father ran an old hotpot restaurant in Tianmeng City, but then glanced at Ku Zai''s physique and guessed that the hotpot business couldn''t be doing well.


    Yan Junze went to his own bedroom to tidy up some old things. His mother had already changed the bedding on the bed to new ones, but it seemed that there wouldn''t be enough bedding now.


    Soon Yan Daguo followed him into the bedroom, speaking with concern, "Son, your friend probably needs to visit the hospital. I talked to him a bit, and if he speaks a little faster, he starts gasping for breath. I feel like he could pass out any moment. Just talking for that little while made the whole process anxiety-inducing. It''s too thrilling, and your old man can''t handle it at this age."


    Yan Junze laughed heartily, "It''s okay, he''s just frail, nothing seriously wrong, and he''s currently recovering."


    "Then why doesn''t he recover at home? Why come all the way from Tianmeng City to our place?" Yan Daguo asked, his face full of question marks.


    "He can''t be far from Xiang Er." Yan Junze answered briefly and then proceeded to take the trash he had sorted out to dispose of outside.


    Yan Daguo became even more puzzled and followed him outside, "You mean, are they a couple?"


    "No," Yan Junze shook his head, "Dad, don''t overthink it."


    Yan Daguo scratched his head, "Then what''s up with this girl Xiang Er?"


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, remembering the Lantern Woman, and explained, "Let''s just say, I need her."


    After speaking, he walked back into the house and sat down on the living room sofa, staying together with Ku Zai.


    Yan Daguo stood in the corridor outside, muttering to himself, "This relationship is complicated indeed."


    Yan Junze sat down and not long after, Ku Zai noticed he was continually staring. Recollecting Yan Junze''s "pettiness," he started feeling uncomfortable, as if hundreds of ants were crawling all over him.


    "What on earth is going on?" Yan Junze murmured to himself.


    Ku Zai thought he was talking to him and asked, "Brother Yan, what are you talking about?"


    Yan Junze shook his head without saying anything.


    At that moment, in his mind, three messages of task completion had appeared, and all were pointing to the same task.


    [Special Attraction, Anxiety-Inducing (High), Completed, Reward: 500 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (Low), Completed, Reward: 700 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    [Special Attraction, Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, Reward: 1000 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    These three messages had started popping up since Yan Junze entered the house, not all at once, but at intervals of a few minutes.


    After some thought, regarding the same task involving Ku Zai, there could be two possibilities for the different completion messages.


    One was that the strangenesses from the few houses where Ku Zai delivered meals had been resolved because the tasks were completed, leading to multiple completion prompts and repetitive energy reward calculations for the same task.


    The other possibility had to do with the strangenesses that clung to Ku Zai. Once these strangenesses could no longer approach him, they might give up on him.


    For each one that gave up, a task completion message would pop up; if that were the case, there were originally eight strangenesses with Ku Zai, meaning if all eight gave up, there would be eight task completion messages.


    With three already popped up, there might still be more to come.


    Of course, both scenarios might be possible, which means the upcoming messages could exceed the remaining five.

 Chapter 441 327 Special Attraction_2

    At first, the "Special Attraction" mission did not specify a clear level or definite Mission Reward Points, but now it seems the reward is quite the opposite, incredibly astonishing.


    Yan Junze paid attention to the mission information changes until dinner time.


    Five people sat around the dining table, with Yan Daguo and his wife looking very happy, urging Xiang Er and Ku Zai to help themselves while repeatedly serving Junze more food.


    Xiang Er usually didn''t eat much, just tasting the food. However, Ku Zai''s performance was unexpectedly good. Despite his frail appearance, he was in the recovery stage and his appetite had started to increase.


    Soon, he finished three large bowls of rice and ate a lot of dishes, especially the pork, chicken, and fish, which were mostly devoured by him.


    When he was about to serve himself the fourth bowl of rice, Yan Junze stopped him, "You''ve just started to recover, don''t eat too much too fast. Otherwise, your digestive system won''t be able to cope with such intense operation, which won''t be good for your recovery."


    Ku Zai was taken aback, nodded, and put down his chopsticks and bowl.


    "You child, how can you let a guest eat less?" Li Man chided.


    Yan Junze laughed, "Mom, from now on, both of them will live with us. They are part of the family, not guests."


    "Ah!" Yan Daguo and Li Man looked at each other in surprise.


    "Because of some special reasons, even when we sleep, the three of us may need to stay in the same room," Yan Junze said, "So, Mom, we''ll need a few more blankets tonight. Ku Zai and I will sleep on the floor in the bedroom."


    The couple was too surprised to answer for a moment.


    Xiang Er, however, quickly shook her head, "No, no, no, Junze, you can''t sleep on the floor."


    Yan Junze realized that Xiang Er did not need to sleep, and getting an additional blanket was just to keep up appearances.


    Ku Zai misunderstood, thinking that if Yan Junze was to take the bed, then Xiang Er would have to sleep on the floor with him.


    He patted his bulging belly, showing a self-righteous smile, "That... probably wouldn''t be appropriate, I mean, I don''t mind."


    "You will find out tonight," Yan Junze replied with a mysterious smile.


    That smile froze Ku Zai''s expression on his face; at that moment, he had a bad feeling.


    Li Man was staring at Yan Junze as he made faces, confused, "Ze, your mother doesn''t quite understand what you''re hinting at! What''s the situation with you guys now?"


    Yan Junze smiled, "Let''s talk after dinner."


    Just then, another task completion notification popped up.


    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, received 1100 Different Dimension Energy Points]


    Yan Junze''s expression remained unchanged as he continued to eat his meal.


    After dinner, Xiang Er took the initiative to do the dishes.


    Unable to contain their curiosity, Yan Daguo and Li Man pulled Yan Junze into the bedroom, closed the door, and Li Man immediately asked, "Ze, what exactly is the relationship between the three of you?"


    Yan Junze with a wry smile, "Mom, you''re overthinking it. The situation is this: I need Xiang Er''s help to get rid of a strangeness, and both Xiang Er and I are protecting Ku Zai. It''s just temporary, the problems will be resolved soon."


    "And..." Yan Junze added as he took out the bronze badge, "I''m an Exorcist now and deal with strangenesses frequently, so some of my actions may seem odd to you, but they are completely normal for an Exorcist."


    Yan Daguo turned the badge over in his hands, unable to discern what it actually was, and looked blankly at his wife.


    Li Man was equally puzzled and asked, "Then do you still need to find a job after graduation?"


    "I think..." Yan Daguo weighed the badge in his hand and interrupted, "If he does well as an Exorcist, it''s better than any stable job. Look at these times, strangenesses are appearing more and more, and my son is now a Heavenly Master. Isn''t this a case of the times making the hero?"


    "Heavenly Master?" Yan Junze broke out in a cold sweat.


    Li Man looked at her husband with a mix of awe and confusion.


    Yan Daguo continued, "Nowadays, what professions are best? Doctors, lawyers? Bullshit! I say a magician''s the best in the face of all these emerging strangenesses!"


    "God damn it, now it''s a magician!" Yan Junze broke out in even more sweat.


    Gaining steam, Yan Daguo said, "From now on, not only is our family''s safety secured, but our son''s life too, in these turbulent times. I believe my son will become the greatest Onmyoji."


    "Pfft!"


    Yan Junze nearly choked, feeling utterly confounded by Yan Daguo''s ramblings. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Mom, let''s talk about the other things in a couple of days, since I will stay here until school starts and then go back to Tianmeng. For now, just prepare a few more blankets for us."


    Not only him, even Li Man felt dizzy from Yan Daguo''s words at that moment and quickly nodded her head, leaving without looking back.


    It wasn''t long before she returned with a few blankets. By that time, Yan Daguo, seeing that there was no one to chat with, handed the badge back to Yan Junze, and had run off to the living room, where he was deep in conversation with Ku Zai.


    Yan Junze stood in the hallway, glanced over, and saw Ku Zai''s face turn pale, then red, and then he started coughing again, unable to get a word in as Yan Daguo dominated the conversation.


    "Your dad is really happy today," Li Man said with a smile as she arranged the bedding.


    "I can see that," Yan Junze leaned against the door frame and replied, "But I always feel like he''s going to talk Ku Zai to death if he continues like this."


    Li Man laughed heartily, then added, "The girl you brought back is nice." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 442 327 Special Attraction_3

    Yan Junze knew what his mother meant and replied, "Mom, you wouldn''t like her."


    Li Man looked up at him in astonishment, "Why?"


    Yan Junze smiled, "There are some things I''d rather not say, but once I tell you her secret, you might be too frightened to even think of anything else."


    Li Man''s heart shuddered at his words, and she quickly bowed her head to continue tidying up the bedding, asking no further questions.


    Yan Junze had no choice; if he didn''t make things clear now, his parents would probably cling to their fantasies, making it awkward for everyone.


    Soon, the bedding was arranged for three people, as intended.


    Having finished washing the dishes, Xiang Er sat with Li Man on the living room sofa; with his wife by his side, Yan Daguo spoke much less boisterously.


    Yan Junze also sat with them for a while, but as he saw the sky outside had completely darkened, he turned to his mother and asked, "Mom, where are the incense and candles I asked you to buy on your way back?" S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "In the drawer." Li Man got up, opened the drawer, and took out two thick, large white candles.


    Yan Junze took them and said, "Everyone, please stay inside for a while, and don''t go anywhere. I''ll be back soon."


    At the door, he changed his shoes and stepped outside; he quickly returned, however, muttering to himself, "How come there''s a moon? Xiang Er, hand me that larger black umbrella inside there."


    He gestured towards a cabinet beside the dining table.


    Xiang Er went over, opened the cabinet, and quickly brought out a black umbrella, the type specifically used by Huang Feihong in fights, and handed it to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took the umbrella, stepped back out, and opened it as he entered the corridor, departing slowly with the umbrella in hand.


    Ku Zai watched this scene in astonishment, peering through the window until Yan Junze''s silhouette vanished.


    Yan Daguo waved his hand dismissively, "Let him be, Ze is always so secretive about everything. Now, where were we? Ah, I was even younger than you are now when I started my first job..."


    Ku Zai shivered, forcing a smile more agonizing than crying and pretending to listen attentively, while inside only four words surfaced in his mind.


    "This is so hard."


    ...


    After descending the stairs and turning a corner on the ground floor, Yan Junze stood before a door leading to the underground garage.


    As he opened the door, he collapsed the umbrella and leaned it against the wall behind him, then walked down the slightly damp steps.


    Everything around him was still so familiar; the garage wasn''t very full, and the dim lighting made it impossible for anyone to see him if he stayed close to the walls.


    He made his way to a utility room with ease.


    The small door to the room was ajar, revealing nothing but darkness inside.


    Yan Junze pushed the door open further, felt around for a switch and pressed it, but no light came on¡ªprobably a burnt-out bulb.


    Taking out a flashlight, he shone the beam inside and called out, "Aunt Mei, Aunt Mei, I''m back!"


    Soon, rustling sounds came from the back room, and about five to six seconds later, a familiar head floated in the doorway of the inner room, smiling¡ªit was Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze was no stranger to this disembodied head, nor to the blood thread that hung from the neck. This time, however, the other end of the blood thread was not attached to a body but was torn, the break not red but pitch black, as if tainted with venom.


    Yan Junze entered the room and approached the doorway. With the flashlight illuminating the ground, he immediately turned to look at Aunt Mei''s headless body and gasped in shock.


    Her once obese body was ragged and riddled with holes. Black bugs he had never seen before were crawling out in droves from the neck''s severed edge, nearly covering the entire body.


    It was clear that these bugs were devouring Aunt Mei''s body.


    Not only was her body infested with black bugs, but they were also swarming the floor around her.


    A black bug crawled towards Yan Junze''s foot. He promptly stomped on it, only to feel as if he had kicked something hard. He lifted his foot, and there the bug was, unharmed and still moving, while his foot throbbed with a dull pain.

 Chapter 443 328 Aunt Meis Injury

    "Aunt Mei?"


    Yan Junze turned back in shock, looking at Aunt Mei''s floating head in mid-air.


    Aunt Mei still wore a smile, seemingly unconcerned. She shook her head at Yan Junze as if to convey a message¡ªit''s all right.


    "Your body, what''s happened to it?"


    More Black Bugs had crawled to Yan Junze''s feet, and he had to step back two paces, watching Aunt Mei''s head.


    Aunt Mei''s eyelids drooped as though sighing but she didn''t seem ready to answer Yan Junze.


    With a thought, Yan Junze released the two strange babies from the Lockdown.


    Due to their sensitivity to visuals, the two strange babies seemed quite comfortable in the dim environment as soon as they emerged, quickly integrating into it, and soon recognizing the familiar surroundings.


    Then, one of the strange babies looked up, saw Aunt Mei''s headless body, and felt astonished. It turned its head towards Yan Junze, its gaze finally landing on Aunt Mei''s floating head.


    Squeak, squeak, squeak...


    The two strange babies seemed very scared, scratching their ears and cheeks, and occasionally looking up at Aunt Mei.


    Yan Junze didn''t understand what their behavior meant, but then saw the two strange babies turn their heads and quickly scurry towards Aunt Mei''s headless body, grabbing a handful of Black Bugs from it and stuffing them into their mouths.


    The crunching was abnormally crisp, as if a person was cracking sunflower seeds.


    The two strange babies grabbed in handfuls, moving swiftly without pause, soon filling their cheeks which kept bulging.


    Watching this, Yan Junze seemed to understand something.


    To his surprise, although the Black Bugs were being eaten by the strange babies, they did not flee, but continued to crawl on Aunt Mei''s body, desperately munching away.


    But Aunt Mei''s body was not so easily consumed¡ªeven though the Black Bugs had strong bones and sharp teeth, they struggled to nibble away even a small bit of flesh.


    The two strange babies grew more excited as they ate, eventually climbing onto the headless body, continuously grabbing Black Bugs and stuffing them into their mouths.


    Right before Yan Junze''s eyes, a large number of Black Bugs became the strange babies'' meal. They no longer grabbed in handfuls, as with rapid consumption, the number of bugs began to dwindle.


    One of the strange babies crawled directly into the neck''s severed spot of the headless body. After it went inside, more Black Bugs, as if startled, frantically crawled out through the severed neck.


    The other strange baby just sat on the headless body, waiting for these Black Bugs to surge out and then quickly grabbing them by the handful and chewing them up.


    The strange baby inside the body also seemed to be enjoying its meal, producing crisp crunching sounds.


    Soon, the number of Black Bugs crawling out began to decrease. The baby sitting outside could no longer grab them by the handful and had to pick them one by one, like picking peanuts, and putting them in its mouth.


    The Black Bugs became fewer and fewer, and the baby sitting on the outside started to belch, seemingly full.


    Upon closer examination, Yan Junze could see that the little guy''s belly was swollen, obviously from overeating.


    Before long, as the Black Bugs on the outside nearly vanished, the strange baby on the body jumped down, rummaging through the clothes, searching everywhere. Whenever it found a bug, it immediately pinched it up and put it into its mouth.


    Yan Junze could see Aunt Mei''s swollen body undulating, bulging out and then deflating.


    After a while, the strange baby inside the body poked its head out of the broken neck. Since Aunt Mei had been dead for many years with no blood left in her body, the baby looked the same as before.


    Only, its mouth was bulging, still chewing¡ªit seemed to have eaten all the Black Bugs inside the stomach.


    Luckily, the strange baby was small, otherwise it would have found it difficult to crawl out of the neck again after being full.


    Aunt Mei''s head still wore a smile, flew over, trailing fluttering Blood Threads below. It approached another Blood Thread protruding from the broken neck.


    However, the tips of these two Blood Threads were not blood-red but a poisoned black.


    The head''s connecting Blood Thread moved as if on its own, reaching out to the broken part of the Blood Thread from the neck and sticking to it, looking somewhat unstable.


    But soon, the joined Blood Threads began to change color; the black faded away, turning into a translucent red.


    Now, the joining section of the Blood Threads became tighter, and Aunt Mei''s head started to slowly near the severed neck.


    Before long, the two joined together.


    Aunt Mei''s body moved slightly, her hands lifting to hold her head, twisting it a few times, and then she slowly stood up.


    It could be seen that her previously bloated body now appeared somewhat thinner.


    Moreover, if it weren''t for the loose overcoat, Yan Junze believed the body was almost completely devastated.


    Seeing Aunt Mei stand up, the two strange babies ran to a corner, huddling together, occasionally glancing at her with a sense of both attachment and fear of getting too close, exactly as before.


    "Aunt Mei, you... Are you all right?" Yan Junze asked.


    Aunt Mei''s body swayed as she walked slowly to a row of wooden boxes, looking at Yan Junze. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a moment, a sound roared in Yan Junze''s head¡ªit was Aunt Mei speaking.


    This was his second time speaking with Aunt Mei, and she didn''t seem to like speaking much. This strange way of speaking was a vibration directly in Yan Junze''s mind, as if transmitting sound through it.

 Chapter 444 328 Aunt Meis Injury_2

    ```


    "It''s fine, just a body, no worries."


    "Why did this happen?" Yan Junze asked, curious.


    "Not long after death, something happened. If it weren''t for these two kids, I would have been scared witless by then," Aunt Mei said, smiling at Yan Junze. Her lips did not move, yet her words rang clearly in Yan Junze''s mind.


    She paused, then added, "After you left, this place has been pretty safe, and everyone is doing well."


    Yan Junze handed over the candle and said gratefully, "Thank you for looking after the residents of the neighborhood. These two kids have been following me without causing any trouble, and they are very happy."


    Aunt Mei did not take the candle but instead turned her head to look at the two strange babies, moving her head slightly to signal them to come and take it.


    However, the two strange babies just glanced at the candle in Yan Junze''s hand and quickly lost interest, bowing their heads and showing great fear towards Aunt Mei.


    Aunt Mei looked somewhat astonished: "Hm? Don''t like to eat?"


    Yan Junze chuckled, "It''s not that they don''t like it. Firstly, they ate too much just now, and secondly, they now have a better source of food. Haven''t you noticed their bodies are looking smoother?"


    With that, he placed the candle on the ground beside him, "Let''s leave it here for now, Aunt Mei. You can eat it whenever you want."


    When he looked up, he found Aunt Mei staring at him. As he was about to ask, her voice had already echoed in his mind: "Good, your Spirit Body is gone. The Spirit Body is dangerous, use it with caution!"


    Yan Junze was startled and asked, "Aunt Mei, can you take another careful look to see if my Semi-Spirit Body is really gone?"


    Aunt Mei shook her head.


    This made Yan Junze feel even more uneasy.


    "If I could activate my Semi-Spirit Body, could I maybe track the precise location of the giver of the Spirit Body?" Yan Junze asked, unwilling to give up.


    Aunt Mei still shook her head.


    "To be honest, I''m worried that the giver of the Spirit Body is in danger," Yan Junze said.


    Aunt Mei just smiled at him and did not respond.


    After a moment, Yan Junze sighed, knowing that even with his concern, there was nothing he could do at present. He forced a smile on his face again: "Aunt Mei, today I brought strangenesses into the neighborhood, you must already know."


    Aunt Mei nodded, transmitting her voice into Yan Junze''s mind: "A girl and a boy. The boy has ill intent, the girl does not, so she doesn''t feel me."


    Yan Junze was stunned for a moment, wondering if Ku Zai could harbor any ill intent.


    But then he thought again; Ku Zai wasn''t a stranger but a human. Aunt Mei''s comment about the boy might not be about him.


    He asked, "Where is this boy now?"


    "Outside the neighborhood, restricted from entering," Aunt Mei answered.


    Yan Junze nodded, confirming it was not Ku Zai she was talking about.


    "If there''s nothing else, I''m going to head upstairs. Can these two stay here the next few days to keep you company?"


    Aunt Mei smiled and nodded, extending her hand towards the two huddled strange babies. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These two naturally feared Aunt Mei, but seeing her reach out to them, they reluctantly stood up and wobbled over, each taking one of her sides, obediently standing by her.


    "Aunt Mei, I''m off," Yan Junze waved and left the house.


    A few steps away, when he looked back, Aunt Mei''s head was peeking out the door, smiling at him until he had completely walked away.


    Arriving at the small door of the underground garage, he took the black umbrella with a handle from behind the door and walked out.


    As he was about to open the umbrella at the entrance, Yan Junze seemed to remember something, looking at the brilliant moonlight just beyond his reach, spilling like mercury on the ground.


    He put the umbrella away, hesitated for a moment, then stepped out into the moonlight and stood still.


    The moon immediately stretched his shadow out behind him. Yan Junze turned to look and saw a black shadow slightly protruding in his shadow, but it only protruded for an instant before it seemed to sense something and quickly retracted, not showing itself again.


    Indeed, Fang Ning inside the shadow could also feel the pressure that Aunt Mei had laid throughout the neighborhood.


    This meant that so long as he was in the neighborhood, Yan Junze had no need to use an umbrella under the moonlight. Because Aunt Mei was there, any harmful strangeness to the neighborhood dared not appear.


    Reassured, he tidied up the umbrella as if it was a walking stick and went up the stairs, entering his home where everyone was still sitting, watching TV.


    Ku Zai had been paying close attention to Yan Junze''s every move, having seen him through the window before he even entered the house.


    What puzzled Ku Zai was that this time when Yan Junze returned, he did not use the umbrella, but instead walked with it like a walking stick. This odd behavior made him even more curious about Yan Junze, feeling completely unable to fathom him.


    "It''s getting late, everyone should rest early."


    After placing the umbrella at its spot, Yan Junze said, heading towards the bathroom.


    The house was small with only one bathroom. After he finished, Xiang Er went in, and Ku Zai followed once Xiang Er was done.


    Yan Junze''s parents had gotten used to staying up late these past few days, sitting in the living room and watching the three young people enter and exit the bathroom with concern. After a while, they looked at each other until the three of them had entered Yan Junze''s bedroom and the bedroom door closed.


    "Ah!"


    The couple let out a sigh in unison.


    Recalling what Yan Junze had said before, Li Man sighed, "Do you think our son, being an Exorcist, is acting strange now?"


    "I think it''s pretty strange," Yan Daguo nodded.


    Then they both sighed again.


    In the bedroom.


    Yan Junze looked again at the completion messages for the three tasks that reappeared in his Inner Vision.


    [Special Attraction with Trembling with Fear (High), Completed, Earned 900 Different Dimension Energy points]


    ```

 Chapter 445 328 Aunt Meis Injury_3

    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1100 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    [Special Attraction, hair-raising (low), completed, gained 1200 points of Different Dimension Energy]


    During the day, four task completion messages appeared; now there are three, making a total of seven.


    In the task levels, for example, for "hair-raising" level, the reward range for Different Dimension Energy is an interval value, which means the energy is not identical even if the levels are the same; there are still differences.


    Having completed seven tasks out of the blue, Yan Junze harvested 5500 points of Different Dimension Energy. His current total is 23600 points, with 110 nodes lit up. If used for Rewind, he could rewind a total of 2360 minutes.


    After waiting for a while in the bedroom, the anticipated eighth completion message did not pop up.


    By this time, Ku Zai had already willingly gone to sleep on the floor, tidied up the bedding, and when he lay down, he intentionally squeezed towards the wall to leave space for another person to lie beside him. Then considerately prepared the other blanket on that side, flipping up a corner, so it would be convenient for the newcomer to slip in.


    Once everything was ready, Ku Zai closed his eyes contentedly to feign sleep, waiting for that person to come lie down next to him.


    But after a long wait, he realized Xiang Er hadn''t even changed clothes and was still standing by the desk, looking out the window.


    Actually, the view outside the window here was of a corridor outside, across which other residents lived; only the tall buildings far away could be seen, and not much of the street.


    Nonetheless, Xiang Er still gazed out obsessively, immobile.


    Yan Junze sat on the bed, but the long-awaited mission information did not pop up.


    He gestured to Xiang Er, who approached.


    "You might need to watch out for some things," he said.


    "Watch out for what?" Xiang Er asked.


    "That Clay Monster man," Yan Junze said. "I suspect he has been following us."


    "You mean, he''s inside the house?" Xiang Er frowned and turned to look around.


    She just happened to catch Ku Zai peeking at her with half-closed eyes.


    Startled by the direct confrontation, the fellow quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.


    "Don''t worry," Yan Junze said, "the Clay Monster can''t get into our community. I''m saying that if we go out, you need to be vigilant. That guy probably hasn''t given up yet."


    "I understand," Xiang Er nodded.


    Relieved, Yan Junze took off his jacket and lay down on the bed, ready to sleep.


    He clearly remembered that seven strangenesses accompanied Ku Zai, and now seven tasks have been completed, indicating that those seven are not planning to bother Ku Zai anymore.


    But the message for the other task has not appeared.


    And that eighth strange being is most likely the persistently bothersome Clay Monster man.


    Although his strength is not as great as Xiang Er''s, he could contend with her, so it was still wise to be cautious.


    However, for now, due to the presence of a stronger being in the community, he simply couldn''t enter this place.


    So the home was safe. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m going to sleep," Yan Junze said.


    The Ku Zai lying on the other side brightened up at the words, thinking that with Yan Junze asleep, Xiang Er had no need to sit there with the light on, hampering him.


    That meant she would be lying down next to him soon.


    "Mhm, I''ll watch over you," Xiang Er said, nodding at this moment, turning off the lights in the room, but then made no further move, instead once again casting her gaze out the window, motionless.


    Ku Zai: "..."

 Chapter 446 329: Strengthened Club (5000 words)

    "Ku Zai, why are there dark circles under your eyes, didn''t you sleep well last night?"


    Yan Junze saw Ku Zai looking listless as soon as he got up early in the morning.


    "Your body is very weak, you need to get some good rest!" Xiang Er also said.


    Ku Zai had a wronged expression on his face.


    "Blame me?"


    He had been looking forward to when Xiang Er would come over to sleep all night, being in such a dazed state, but ironically, he couldn''t get a good night''s rest himself, waking up at every rustle and bustle.


    "No can do, Brother Yan, after breakfast, I might need another sleep," Ku Zai shook his head.


    "Sleep then, eat well and go back to bed for some more sleep, try to put on a few more pounds," Yan Junze nodded, "Just stay in the neighborhood, don''t go anywhere before we come back, Xiang Er and I have some things to take care of."


    Ku Zai was startled and hastily shook his head, "If you and Sister Xiang Er go out, what will I do? What if the strangenesses come looking again and Sister Xiang Er isn''t here? And doesn''t Sister Xiang Er need to sleep? It seemed like she was up all night..."


    Yan Junze patted his shoulder and whispered, "Xiang Er is always sleeping standing up. As long as you don''t leave the neighborhood, you''re safe, trust me. Now, go have your breakfast."


    After her son came back, Li Man prepared a very rich breakfast; she went out early to buy some steamed buns, pancakes, and soy milk, additionally making some millet porridge and a small pot of oily soup noodles at home. Everyone sat at the dining table and enjoyed their meal immensely.


    After breakfast, as expected, Ku Zai ran off to his bedroom to lie down, looking totally spent, but he still dared not sleep on the bed, instead sticking to the floor.


    There was no helping it; in his mind, being careful around Yan Junze had become deep-rooted, sleeping in his bed without the owner''s permission was just asking for endless retaliation.


    Yan Junze left the house with Xiang Er, heading straight for the "Zhou Erfu" jewelry store they had been to before. This store was still rented out by Zhou Dali''s aunt''s husband''s sister to someone else, and by now, Yan Junze was considered a regular customer there.


    Last time, it was the store''s craftsman Gu Bai who helped forge the alloy Black Spirit Mallet for him. Of course, Yan Junze had also done Gu Bai a big favor, saving him from the embarrassment of being cuckolded by a strangenesse fond of taking candid shots.


    Upon arriving at the store and inquiring, Gu Bai was still working there.


    Going to the back workshop, indeed they saw him wearing a loupe, holding tweezers, and meticulously repairing a damaged delicate necklace.


    When Gu Bai lifted his head and noticed Yan Junze had arrived, he immediately smiled, asking them to sit for a while, as he would be done with his current work shortly.


    After sitting down, another young apprentice brought two cups of tea for them.


    The young apprentice, full of youthful vigor, kept glancing at Xiang Er, seemingly drooling over her presence.


    Yan Junze, on the other hand, was meticulously observing Gu Bai, noticing that after not having seen him for a few months, his health seemed to have improved considerably, no longer looking like someone who could faint at any moment from lack of sleep.


    The man had put on some weight and, true to his name, was fairer.


    About twenty minutes later, Gu Bai put down his work, removed his loupe, and apologized with a sheepish face to Yan Junze, "Sorry, sorry, the customer is coming to pick up this piece soon, so I had to finish it quickly."


    While saying this, he passed the repaired necklace to an apprentice who had been waiting nearby.


    Yan Junze shook his head, "No problem, by the looks of it, you''ve been living quite well these days."


    "That''s thanks to you." Gu Bai walked over, took the heated electric kettle and added some hot water to Yan Junze and Xiang Er''s cups.


    "This is... your girlfriend?" Gu Bai asked with a smile.


    "No," Yan Junze answered, "just a good friend."


    Xiang Er looked up and glanced at Gu Bai, her expression calm.


    Yan Junze pulled out the Black Spirit Mallet from behind him as if by magic, "Just got off for the holidays, thought I''d drop by and have you do me another favor, help me inlay two more..."


    As he spoke, he took out two Black Spirit Pearls, "these two pearls."


    Gu Bai took the mallet and the Black Spirit Pearls, smiling, "No problem."


    This item was originally crafted by him, and now, he just needed to add two more secretive clasps for inlaying on the surface and set the Black Spirit Pearls into them to complete the job.


    Talking with Yan Junze, he turned and walked to the assembly station to begin his work.


    "My wife is very thankful to you. After you left, she kept saying she wants to invite you to dinner when you get back," Gu Bai said.


    "No problem, why not do it today instead of picking a date?" Yan Junze replied.


    With such polite offers as "I''ll treat you to dinner another day," Yan Junze always had a disdainful attitude¡ªeat now or never, no need to "pick another day."


    Gu Bai was taken aback but nodded, "Alright, I''ll call her in a bit to close the photography studio earlier today and we''ll go to a restaurant."


    With that, Gu Bai laughed, "Ever since that mysterious incident at the photo studio, my wife dares not to enter the darkroom anymore, nor does she dare play with those film rolls. I dismantled the darkroom afterwards, expanded the photo studio, and now Lin Meng no longer touches film cameras, she only uses digital cameras."


    "Digital cameras are good, at least they''re convenient," Yan Junze agreed, nodding without much knowledge.


    About forty minutes later, the reprocessed Black Spirit Mallet was finished. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time, to take into account the functionality and aesthetics of the mallet, Gu Bai specifically added six more secretive clasps around where the Black Spirit Pearls could be inlaid.


    With the original one, there could now be a total of seven Black Spirit Pearls inlaid on it.


    Currently, three Black Spirit Pearls occupied three of the clasps, while four were still vacant.


    Of course, the clasps were very secure, and the Black Spirit Pearls would not fall out even if the mallet was hit. To remove the inlaid Black Spirit Pearls, one would also have to see what tools were being used.

 Chapter 447 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_2

    This style of large mallet, Yan Junze was very satisfied with.


    "These inlaid spare dark buttons, if you come across more of these beads in the future, you can find a master to install them easily,"


    After cooling the mallet, Gu Bai explained and gestured for Yan Junze to come over and take it himself.


    Yan Junze stepped forward, grabbed the handle of the mallet, and then his whole arm shook. The mallet produced a humming sound in his mind.


    To the naked eye, the three Black Spirit Pearls embedded at the top end of the mallet emitted a beam of black light. The light connected to form a line, circling the mallet once before the black light slowly dissipated, vanishing tracelessly like smoke exhaled from the mouth.


    Yan Junze strongly felt the sense of power conveyed by the Black Spirit Mallet; it felt full and abundant in his hand. With the Black Spirit Pearls interlinking and echoing each other, the mallet was incomparable to when there had been only one pearl.


    Invisibly it seemed other energies were being absorbed by the mallet, not only Yin Energy but also a small amount of Different Dimension Energy, and even Fear Value.


    In fact, Yin Energy could roughly equal Different Dimension Energy, only the latter was a bit purer.


    But as for Fear Value, from what Yan Junze currently saw, it was Rock''s specialty as the owner of Tricky Silk.


    Given that the Black Spirit Pearl originated here and could absorb Fear Value, it was not surprising.


    Now, Yan Junze thought, the previous Black Spirit Mallet''s rate and efficiency of absorbing energy were virtually negligible. But now, it was different. The mallet was absorbing energy all the time. If it was allowed to become fully charged, or even overcharged, it might be possible to hammer a high-level Wandering Spirit or even a Semi-Sculpting Spirit to death with one blow.


    "Rock this guy, if he wasn''t fond of playing around, he would also be a hidden powerhouse," Yan Junze couldn''t help but silently sigh.


    The spectacle of the mallet emitting black light was witnessed by both Gu Bai and Xiang Er. Xiang Er, who was long accustomed to oddities in Yan Junze''s vicinity, merely flickered her gaze and quickly returned to normal.


    Gu Bai, on the other hand, wore a face of astonishment.


    Yan Junze tucked the mallet into his trousers, saying with a grin, "I can clear strangenesses, so carrying a mallet on me makes sense, right?"


    "Yes, it makes sense," Gu Bai nodded eagerly.


    "And I''m also an Exorcist, so it also makes sense for this mallet to glow, right?" Yan Junze continued to ask with a grin.


    "So young and already an Exorcist!" Gu Bai nodded furiously, "Makes sense, totally makes sense."


    Suddenly, he shook, realizing the mallet that had just been tucked in Yan Junze''s trousers had now disappeared.


    In surprise, his gaze swept around the area of Yan Junze''s crotch. If possible, he could hardly resist the urge to reach out and feel for himself.


    Watching him, Yan Junze said, "As I just mentioned, being an Exorcist, and a very powerful one at that, it shouldn''t be a problem to effortlessly hide a mallet, right?"


    "No problem, no fault, it all makes sense," Gu Bai withdrew his gaze, squeezing out a smile on his face.


    As the person who saved him from wearing a green hat, it was obvious that Gu Bai would not charge for this modification of the mallet.


    After sitting for a while in the "Zhou Erfu" gold shop, since it was still early, Yan Junze and Xiang Er decided not to go home. Instead, they went shopping for the whole day, buying several sets of good-looking clothes for Xiang Er and himself.


    Towards five o''clock in the afternoon, Gu Bai called to say he had made dinner reservations at Blessing Building.


    Blessing Building was situated in the heart of Shuntian City, in a bustling area that remained somewhat lively after nine o''clock at night. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, because there was more patrolling here and Exorcists often appeared, it was relatively safer.


    Approaching six o''clock, Yan Junze and Xiang Er, carrying big and small bags of clothes from a day''s shopping, stepped into the pedestrian street near Blessing Building. At this time, the pedestrian street was brilliantly lit and bustling with activity.


    Gu Bai had already arrived, standing at the entrance of the pedestrian street waiting for them.


    After the three of them met, Gu Bai led the way. They soon entered through a luxuriously decorated entrance and took the elevator to the third floor.


    When the elevator doors opened, a spacious hall greeted them. There were people dining inside the hall, seemingly in the middle of a banquet.


    Gu Bai had chosen the "Stream Mountain Jade and Stone" private room to host Yan Junze. His wife Lin Meng had already arrived there.


    The three of them walked through the corridor into the private room. Upon entering, Lin Meng and another unfamiliar woman were seen sitting together, shoulder to shoulder, with their heads down, intently looking at the mobile phone in the woman''s hand. Their faces showed a tense, bizarre, and flustered expression.


    "Eh, Ruolan, you''re here too!" Gu Bai was clearly surprised to see this woman.


    He had initially only invited his wife along to host Yan Junze and Xiang Er for dinner, and it seemed he was unaware that this woman called "Ruolan" would also be there.


    And it was quite obvious that this woman had come with his wife Lin Meng.


    Since Lin Meng was very beautiful, even though Ruolan was also not bad-looking, she still fell short of Lin Meng''s level.


    Of course, the moment Xiang Er appeared, there was no one left in the room who could rival her.


    As soon as Yan Junze and Xiang Er entered the private room, the two women''s gazes were promptly drawn away from the mobile phone screen to Xiang Er, and even while Lin Meng greeted Yan Junze, her eyes continued to linger on Xiang Er.


    "It''s been a long time, Ze," Lin Meng finally managed to shift her gaze to Yan Junze, her face blossoming into a sweet smile.


    Then, pointing to the girl next to her, she said, "This is Xia Ruolan, my close friend. I''m sorry, I didn''t ask for your permission first before inviting her over."

 Chapter 448 329: The Enhanced Club (5000 words)_3

    The woman named Xia Ruolan stood up, nodded at Yan Junze, and apologized, "I''m sorry to interrupt your gathering. How about this, let me treat this meal..."


    "No no no, why should you pay?" Gu Bai quickly said, "We are hosting our guests, we can''t let you pick up the tab. Ruolan, don''t talk like an outsider!"


    Yan Junze had already figured it out and asked Xia Ruolan, "Did you... come here specifically for me?"


    Xia Ruolan was somewhat embarrassed, and Lin Meng took over, "I''m sorry, Ze, it was me who called her over. My friend Ruolan has encountered something very strange and terrifying these past few days, and it''s related to photographing. I only found out when she consulted me. Since you were meeting with us today, I impulsively invited her over. Would you be willing to listen?"


    Lin Meng''s words were very tactful. Although she had forcefully brought Xia Ruolan over without obtaining Yan Junze''s consent beforehand, Yan Junze wasn''t someone who would make a fuss about it, plus the decision to help or not was still in his hands.


    Taking advantage of the fact that the dishes had not yet been served, listening would not hurt.


    "You may speak," said Yan Junze to Xia Ruolan.


    Xiang Er was also curious, sitting on the side and staring unblinkingly at Xia Ruolan. In fact, she could very well not blink at all.


    Gu Bai felt a little embarrassed, giving Lin Meng a reproachful look, blaming her for not informing him in advance and not seeking his opinion before calling someone over.


    If Yan Junze became upset, that would be the same as offending the exorcist of Shuntian City.


    Lin Meng did not know his thoughts, thinking that Gu Bai was just reproaching her for not respecting him. She stuck out her tongue at Gu Bai and pleaded with a regretful expression.


    Seeing his wife''s demeanor, Gu Bai, as a doting husband, immediately went from cloudy to sunny and nodded slightly to indicate acceptance.


    Xia Ruolan did not speak immediately but opened the mobile phone screen she had been looking at with Lin Meng and handed it to Yan Junze.


    "Master Yan, could you please look at this photo? It''s a photo I took with some old classmates at a class reunion last week," said Xia Ruolan.


    Yan Junze took the phone, his gaze falling on the photo displayed on the screen.


    It was a group photo of five people. The background of the photo was the entrance to a farmhouse fun garden, with people seen moving inside, presumably the location of Xia Ruolan''s reunion with her old classmates.


    The five people were standing in front of a delicate wooden building, all girls, each smiling and looking at the camera. However, only one girl''s head was slightly turned, showing half a profile to the camera, her face partly covered by her hair.


    At a glance, the photo was obviously not posed well, as the girl''s face seemed to have turned just as the shutter was pressed, not fully captured.


    "This girl is..." Yan Junze pointed at the girl with her face turned away.


    "It''s me," Xia Ruolan said, her voice revealing an inexplicable fear but also certainty, "When this photo was taken, all five of us girls were looking at the camera, with no one turning or tilting their heads. We took three photos in total, and I specifically chose this one because it looked the most natural, and then I deleted the other two." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are you saying you were looking at the camera when the photo was taken, but now in this photo... your head is in profile?" Yan Junze asked with a frown.


    At these words, Gu Bai, who was sitting beside them, shuddered involuntarily, leaned over, and looked closely at the photo on the phone, feeling a chill rise in his heart.


    Xia Ruolan seemed unwilling to admit it, but the fact was undeniable, and she nodded, "Yes, I noticed something odd about this photo five days ago. I had intended to have it printed at the shop downstairs from my apartment, but when I opened my phone, I noticed my head was a bit twisted."


    "When I saw it, something felt wrong. I remember that when I was selecting the photo, I looked very closely and clearly, and my head was straight. But... now... it''s turned."


    As she spoke, Xia Ruolan herself shuddered, goosebumps forming on her arms, as if the person in the photo was no longer her.


    "When you first discovered it, to what extent had the head turned?" Yan Junze asked.


    "It had only turned a little, but my hair had fallen down and covered part of my cheek, which is why I noticed it right away," Xia Ruolan replied.


    Yan Junze frowned, "You''re saying the you in the photo, while turning your head, also had your hair fall down?"


    "Yes, I''m certain," Xia Ruolan nodded.


    She had short hair, with the ends originally framing the sides of her ears. Now she tilted her head and indeed two strands of hair slid down, covering part of her right cheek¡ªexactly like in the photo.


    But Xia Ruolan naturally tucked the strands of hair back behind her ears.


    "Have there been any other discoveries when looking at the photo again?" asked Yan Junze.


    Xia Ruolan replied, "There were discoveries, it kept turning, although only a bit each day. Look, now the me in the photo is showing a profile to the camera, it''s turned halfway."


    At this, Xia Ruolan shivered again, trembling slightly, as if too frightened to continue speaking.


    Yan Junze was silent for a moment before saying, "So you''re saying, the you in the photo took five days to turn your head into this position?"


    "Yes," Xia Ruolan''s voice was tinged with a sob, "I don''t know what to do. Is this... encountering strangeness?"


    Yan Junze looked up and exchanged glances with Xiang Er, then turned to Xia Ruolan, "I can tell you responsibly, it is!"

 Chapter 449 330 The person in the photo (Part 1) (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)

    Yan Junze had inquired in detail and found that apart from the anomaly in the photograph, Xia Ruolan hadn''t encountered anything strange in her daily life over the past few days.


    Everything else seemed quite normal.


    "Besides your phone, does anyone else in the group picture have the photo?" Yan Junze asked. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xia Ruolan was about to shake her head when she suddenly remembered something and nodded, "I''ve sent the photo to He Mingjuan."


    "Who is He Mingjuan?"


    "Here, in this photo, the second girl from the left," Xia Ruolan pointed at the photograph, "I think it was the third day after the gathering ended when she messaged me, asking me to send her the photo as a keepsake."


    "Can you contact He Mingjuan now?"


    "Yes," Xia Ruolan nodded.


    "Good. Call her and ask her to check her phone for any unusual changes in the photo," Yan Junze instructed.


    Xia Ruolan was startled, chiding herself for not having thought of that.


    She pulled up the dialer and quickly dialed a string of numbers, putting the speakerphone on so that Yan Junze and the others could hear.


    Soon the call connected, and a woman''s voice came through, "Ruolan, have you eaten? Is something the matter?"


    "Mhm, I''m about to eat," Xia Ruolan said, "Juanjuan, do you remember the group photo from our gathering that I sent you?"


    "I remember. I''ve saved it on my phone, thanks!" He Mingjuan answered without a second thought.


    Xia Ruolan said, "Can you take a look at that photo right now? Don''t hang up, just open it and look."


    "What am I looking for?" He Mingjuan asked curiously, "I saved it and looked at it that day. The photo turned out pretty good, I look so much younger."


    After saying that, He Mingjuan chuckled.


    Xia Ruolan shook her head, "No, just open the photo now."


    "Alright, it''s open."


    "Look carefully at the photo, is there anything different about our five poses?"


    There was silence on the other end, followed a short while later by, "I''ve looked, it''s all the same."


    "Oh, I felt like I might not have posed well at the time," Xia Ruolan replied with a forced smile.


    "What about the photo on your phone?" He Mingjuan asked.


    "I accidentally deleted it," Xia Ruolan lied.


    "Then I''ll send it to you," He Mingjuan said without suspicion, "This photo looks so natural. Look at you, smiling so happily."


    "My... my head... isn''t tilted?" Xia Ruolan asked with trepidation.


    "Nope, we''re all the same," He Mingjuan responded.


    Xia Ruolan looked shocked and turned to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze gestured for her to have He Mingjuan send it.


    "Okay, send me the photo," Xia Ruolan said, and after some idle chatter with He Mingjuan, she hung up.


    Before long, her phone pinged with a message notification. Xia Ruolan immediately opened it to find the photo sent by He Mingjuan.


    After tapping on the photo to take a closer look, she froze, motionless.


    "What''s the matter?" Gu Bai and his wife, Lin Meng, seeing her odd behavior, were very curious and leaned over to see.


    Gu Bai''s face turned grave, while Lin Meng covered her mouth in shock.


    Yan Junze hadn''t seen the photo yet, but judging by everyone''s reactions, he could guess.


    He asked Xia Ruolan, "Is it the same with you in this photo, with your head turned to the side?"


    Xia Ruolan nodded fearfully, in disbelief.


    "Just now He Mingjuan said that all of you look good in the photo, even mentioning how happy you looked," Lin Meng couldn''t help saying.


    Xia Ruolan''s face had turned pale, her fingers trembling as she dialed He Mingjuan''s number again.


    "Juanjuan, open the photo on your phone again."


    "Why?" He Mingjuan sounded baffled.


    "Just open it quickly. I''ll explain later," Xia Ruolan said urgently.


    A few seconds later, He Mingjuan said, "It''s open."


    "Look at the photo. Do you see any changes?"


    After a few more seconds, He Mingjuan replied, "No changes, it looks perfectly normal. What are you up to, being so secretive?"


    "I... look at my image in the photo, has it changed?" Xia Ruolan asked bluntly.


    "No, it''s normal," said a confused He Mingjuan.


    "Juanjuan, I have to hang up. I''ll explain this to you in a few days," Xia Ruolan, growing paler, hung up and looked helplessly at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spoke, "It seems that the photo was normal before she sent it to you. But after you viewed it on your phone, it became weird. Hmm, could your phone be connected to the strangeness?"


    He paused and then said, "Send the photo to my phone."


    With some hesitation, as Yan Junze read out his number, Xia Ruolan performed the action, and Yan Junze''s phone rang with a message chime.


    Picking up the phone, he opened the picture and saw that in this photo, Xia Ruolan''s face was directly facing the camera, without any tilt, completely normal.


    Yan Junze was slightly bewildered. Xia Ruolan leaned in to look at his phone screen and asked, "How is it?"


    The moment she looked over, Yan Junze immediately saw Xia Ruolan''s face in that previously normal photo mechanically twist, visibly rotating in a very short time to the side-angle pose seen earlier, then stopping.


    By the time Xia Ruolan looked, the photo had returned to the eerie state.


    "It''s not your phone; the strangeness seems to have latched onto you," Yan Junze said.


    Then he turned to Xiang Er, who understood and felt around before shaking her head.


    Usually, if the strangeness''s level or power was higher than Xiang Er''s, she would naturally feel a sense of oppression. Unless it was excessively higher and could conceal its presence.

 Chapter 454 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three)

    Yan Junze''s heart sunk after receiving the call from Xia Ruolan.


    Xia Ruolan told him that she didn''t know if she was dreaming or awake, which meant that this woman had encountered the situation Huang Chen had described to him the night before.


    According to Huang Chen, if the person in the photo had completely turned their head, then the person in reality was very likely to be killed in their dreams.


    When he got up this morning, he had been planning to contact Xia Ruolan, to remind her to be careful, and to meet up with her. But to his surprise, Xia Ruolan''s dream had come earlier.


    Soon, a thought crossed Yan Junze''s mind. He let out a wry smile, thinking to himself that he had overlooked another important fact. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Huang Chen''s words were unreliable!


    Based on past experiences, Huang Chen indeed had many behaviors, including his words, that were unreliable. What he said was one thing, but when it came down to acting on it, this guy''s tips often missed some key factors.


    Now, thinking back, he realized that he had almost fallen for Huang Chen''s words once again.


    After comforting Xia Ruolan on the phone for a bit and informing her that she was indeed in the real world and that it was indeed him answering her call,


    Xia Ruolan''s voice on the other end of the phone became somewhat calmer. Yan Junze said, "Have your husband stay with you at all times. We''ll meet at Happy Ocean Park at twelve o''clock noon, Gate 3."


    After hanging up the phone, Xiang Er was already prepared and ready to leave, while Ku Zai had just come out of the bathroom, staring at Yan Junze blankly because he realized that the two of them were about to head out again.


    "How have you been recovering these past few days?" Yan Junze looked at Ku Zai. "We''re preparing to go out. If you think you can walk a bit more, you can come along with me for some fresh air."


    "Mm, good, I rested very well last night," Ku Zai quickly nodded.


    Before meeting Yan Junze, this guy could have been dubbed "the ultimate hermit," as there was probably no one in his age group who was stuck at home all day with a bunch of strangenesses and couldn''t leave like he was.


    However, now that he had gained freedom, not everyone really wanted to stay at home. Ku Zai genuinely wanted to go out and follow Yan Junze on his adventures.


    The main reason was to see Xiang Er a bit more.


    After breakfast, just as his father, Yan Daguo, had left, Yan Junze said goodbye to his mother and headed out with Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    While descending the stairs, Ku Zai couldn''t help but ask, "Brother Yan, I''ve noticed that Sister Xiang Er seems to never sleep. Doesn''t she need to rest?"


    "She doesn''t rest." Before Yan Junze could answer, Xiang Er had already turned her head and said, "My physique does not require rest."


    "Not tired?"


    "Not tired."


    "Sister Xiang Er is amazing!"


    Seeing that Xiang Er did not want to explain further, Ku Zai did not feel it appropriate to press for details and could only offer a noncommittal compliment before shutting up.


    "Xiang Er is very special," Yan Junze said with a smile, watching Ku Zai. "You''ll find out in time."


    After that, Yan Junze took a few steps forward to walk alongside Xiang Er, and in a lowered voice, he asked, "Ku Zai also has a special physique. Does his body not attract you at all now?"


    "It does," Xiang Er nodded, then added after a moment, "But I can control myself."


    Yan Junze nodded and said no more.


    As the trio walked on the community''s road, Xiang Er suddenly slowed down. After a few more steps, she stopped completely, turning her head around to inspect the vicinity.


    "What''s the matter?" Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Xiang Er did not immediately answer but walked a few steps forward, then quickly returned. After several seconds, she finally said, "There''s a strong strangeness magnetic field here, although now there''s only a trace left."


    After a pause, Xiang Er turned to look at Yan Junze, "I suspect there is an extremely powerful strangeness nearby. I can hardly help feeling terrified now. This strangeness must be very, very strong."


    Yan Junze laughed, "You don''t have to worry about that. The strangeness you''re talking about, I know it. I was planning to introduce you two, but I thought it might upset her, so I''ve been putting it off. In a few days, once we''ve dealt with the photo strangeness issue, we''ll go meet them together."


    Xiang Er shivered a bit as if afraid, but still nodded.


    Yan Junze guessed that since Xiang Er had detected a strangeness magnetic field here, something might have happened last night.


    However, with Aunt Mei in the community, and considering that this inscrutable old lady must have shown up here, it caused Xiang Er to detect the disorder in this area''s magnetic field.


    The three left the community, however, since it was still early, they did not head straight to Happy Ocean Park, but instead towards the west side of Shuntian City, where the Exorcist team''s office was located.


    Upon arrival, the Exorcist team on this side of Shuntian also followed the Tianmeng model, using an old-style office building, but much smaller.


    Outside the building hung a sign reading: "Shuntian City Archive Sub-division 2."


    Xiang Er and Ku Zai definitely couldn''t come, so Yan Junze left them in a coffee shop separated by a street, specially requesting a private room for them to stay inside without showing up.


    If they were indeed discovered by an Exorcist, Yan Junze was not worried about Xiang Er''s safety, but rather afraid that she might kill the Exorcists who tried to capture her, complicating the situation.


    After all, the overall strength of Shuntian''s Exorcists could not be as high as Tianmeng''s. Below two-star Exorcists used to be the majority, with three-star Exorcists relying on Tianmeng for deployment.


    Now, it was said to be somewhat better, with two three-star Exorcists stationed here to handle strangenesses up to the middle-level Sculpting Spirit without much of a problem.

 Chapter 455 332 The person in the photo (Part 3)_2

    When Yan Junze arrived at the division of the small unit, Huang Chen was already waiting for him at the main entrance on the first floor, so they skipped the registration process and went straight to the third floor.


    In an office there, Yan Junze took out a copper badge and scanned it on a device in the office to complete his registration and record.


    Next time he came, he could use the equipment in the office building of the Shuntian Exorcist squad, including applying for "Magnetic Shielding Clothes" from higher-ups.


    Arriving at Huang Chen''s office, also on the third floor, this office was larger, and seven exorcists usually worked there, but at this moment, the others were all out.


    Huang Chen''s desk was at the very back. He walked over and sat down with Yan Junze, poured him a cup of water, and then took an archive bag out of a drawer.


    "This is the photograph involving the complainants from the Photographing Heads Turning case," he said.


    Yan Junze took it, opened the archive bag, and asked, "Are all these people''s photographs paper prints? No digital ones?"


    "Yes," nodded Huang Chen, "I have people tracking the situation. So far, it seems that only photographs in the possesion of the subjects themselves can turn heads. So as soon as a head turns, they send us the latest photograph."


    "What method are you currently using to tackle this strangeness?" inquired Yan Junze.


    Huang Chen shrugged, "There''s no solution for now. We can only take all necessary precautions to prevent the worst from happening. As soon as someone''s head in the photograph almost completely turns, our three-star exorcists will start providing close protection. But..."


    "But what?" Yan Junze pressed.


    "Recently, in two photographs, the targets'' heads had fully turned. Thus, our three-star exorcists began 24-hour protection. Yet one person died struggling in his sleep, unresponsive to any calls. The other person, in front of a three-star exorcist, twisted his own head around to his back with his own hands, dying from a broken neck." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Could that person have been Spirit-Split?" Yan Junze speculated.


    "No," Huang Chen shook his head, "At that time, our three-star exorcists had already deployed High-Energy Collapse. If he had been Spirit-Split, this would have been enough to blast the strangeness out of his body. Even if that strangeness was powerful, it would have been halted from further harming the Spirit-Split person. But when we deployed the High-Energy Collapse, there was no reaction."


    Yan Junze stroked his chin, silent, and began to examine the photos extracted from the archive bag.


    The first photo was similar to Xia Ruolan''s, also a group photo. However, the head of a man on the far right had turned backward, making him stand out starkly from the others.


    Huang Chen said, "This photo you''re looking at is from the first person to report the case; the person is already dead."


    Yan Junze flipped the photo over, read about the man''s details and cause of death on the back; he had died in his sleep. And now, this photo was the last one taken before the man''s death with his head turned.


    Yan Junze turned the photo back around and looked closely, realizing that the man''s head had almost completed a 180-degree turn.


    This was the result Huang Chen referred to as "completely turned."


    By that standard, Xia Ruolan''s photo would soon be in the same state.


    Turning to the second person''s information, the first item was also a photograph, but this one was of a single person.


    In the photo was a middle-aged woman, posing in front of a beautifully landscaped man-made scenery.


    Many other people appeared to be waiting in queue alongside the scenery, probably in line for photographing.


    However, in the photo at this moment, the middle-aged woman''s head had also completely turned, showing only the back of her head to the camera.


    "Did this woman... also die?" Yan Junze asked while scanning the details on the back of the photo.


    Quickly, he found death certification materials similar to those of the previous man.


    "This woman''s death was more gruesome; in front of her husband, she twisted her own head off," said Huang Chen.


    After a pause, Huang Chen added, "You should mainly take a look at the subjects of the subsequent photos; these people are still alive."


    Yan Junze browsed through the following photos, which include both individual and group photos, the worst being one in which the head was almost fully turned.


    It was a photo of a young man whose name, Yan Junze noted, was Yang Zhijun.


    "Currently, three-star exorcists have been with Yang Zhijun continuously; he''s the most dangerous one at this stage," Huang Chen said, pointing his forefinger at the man''s photo.


    Yan Junze spread out seven or eight files randomly on the desk and frowned, "I''ve noticed similarities among these photographs."


    Huang Chen nodded, "You''ve spotted it."


    Then, he moved his finger to the background of one of the photographs, which included some passersby.


    "There''s a woman with long hair," he said gravely.


    Moving his finger to the middle-aged woman''s photograph in front of the man-made scenery, he pointed at the waiting crowd in the queue.


    "Here, too, there''s the same woman."


    Looking up at Yan Junze, he said, "Yes, we''ve thoroughly checked, wherever there are other people in the background, among these people, you''ll find this long-haired woman present."


    Yan Junze examined closely and saw that the long-haired woman was wearing an entirely black long-sleeve dress, her complexion rather pale, with her dress sleeves a bit short, covering only up to her forearms as her hands hung down.

 Chapter 456 332: The Person in the Photo (Part Three)_3

    She stood silently, her gaze fixed on the protagonist in the photograph.


    Upon closer inspection, the gaze of the woman in the black dress appeared somewhat gloomy.


    "We compared her facial information with data from the security bureau, but found nothing," Huang Chen said.


    "It could be a woman who has been dead for a long time," Yan Junze said.


    In these photos, wherever there were passers-by in the background, the woman was there too, albeit sometimes very faintly, sometimes half obscured by someone else, revealing only half of her face.


    Sometimes, her body was almost completely covered up, leaving only a glimpse of her black dress''s hem.


    Yan Junze took out his phone, opened Xia Ruolan''s photo, and sure enough, in the background of the recreational villa in the photo, he also saw a woman in a black dress.


    It seemed like the woman was walking by, as if she just happened to pass by, but she turned her head slightly; although it was a bit blurry, one could still make out her cold expression, watching the photo''s main subjects intently.


    Now, it seemed that finding and getting rid of this woman was the key to resolving the entire situation.


    "According to your investigation, generally, how long does it take for the people in the photographs to turn their heads completely, from the time they notice until they die?" Yan Junze looked up at Huang Chen and added another question, "That is, how long does it take for them to die?"


    Huang Chen said, "It varies, some die within five days, others only start feeling the danger after half a month."


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile, "Can you be a bit more reliable? You told me yesterday that the people in the photos had to turn their heads completely before they were in mortal danger, but my friend almost didn''t wake up last night. I''m going to see her later to find out the specifics."


    Huang Chen wore an embarrassed smile and rubbed his head, "There are no rules to this strangeness, and the victims don''t share any common patterns, so my estimation might inevitably be wrong. Besides, I feel... she''s just killing indiscriminately."


    "On that point, I agree," Yan Junze nodded.


    With so much understood, he now had a rough idea, which would probably be confirmed after meeting with Xia Ruolan at noon.


    What was most troubling now was that no one could find where this strangeness was hiding, which meant they couldn''t act without a definite target.


    Even after encountering Xia Ruolan without detecting any strangeness, Yan Junze had activated his Mission Perception, but unfortunately, he still discovered nothing.


    Now he suspected two possibilities, the first was that the strangeness was hiding inside of photos, similar to the last incident with the Peephole Strange Creature, existing in a different space. Since he didn''t know which photo it was, the Mission Perception couldn''t pick it up.


    The second guess was that the woman in the black dress had hidden herself in dreams, projecting her image in some form to appear in the photos, executing her indiscriminate killings. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In such a case, Mission Perception likewise couldn''t detect her presence.


    After getting all the photos photocopied for himself from Huang Chen, Yan Junze put them in a new file bag and informed Chen that he would contact him later, perhaps by then he would have a way to find and eliminate this strangeness.


    Hearing this news, Huang Chen was quite pleased; he had interacted with Yan Junze more than once or twice and knew this young man had his own way of dealing with strangenesses.


    Like daring to attract the Back-faced Woman and the Resentful Granny to fight against each other, thereby escaping a fatal catastrophe for himself.


    This current strangeness was obviously no trivial matter, and if Yan Junze was confident he could handle it, Huang Chen was quite willing to trust him and also considered it a credit to the Shuntian Exorcist team.


    After the matter was concluded, Yan Junze left the old building of the archive department and crossed the streets, arriving shortly at the coffee shop where Xiang Er and Ku Zai were.


    Upon entering the private room, he noticed something was off with both of them: Xiang Er had a tense face, while Ku Zai wore an awkward smile.

 Chapter 457 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four)

    The three of them left the coffee shop quickly, with Yan Junze and Xiang Er walking in front, and Ku Zai still looking awkward, trailing two meters behind.


    "Are you saying Ku Zai straight up told you he likes you?" Yan Junze asked, lowering his voice in surprise.


    Xiang Er nodded, "We haven''t been in contact for many days, hardly exchanged a few words, and suddenly he blurts out this sentence. Can you believe it?"


    Yan Junze struggled to hold back his laughter, glanced at Ku Zai, who was now showing a constipated expression, and turned back to Xiang Er, saying, "Don''t take it to heart. You should think of it this way: Ku Zai has been dealing with strangeness his almost entire life, and since the onset of these strangenesses, he hasn''t stepped out the door. His experience with women is virtually nil. It''s understandable."


    "He also said that he didn''t like me for my appearance," Xiang Er still seemed a bit huffy, "What do you think, should I believe him?"


    Yan Junze laughed, "In that case, if there''s a chance one day for you to shed this female corpse''s appearance and reveal your true face to Ku Zai, and he still says he likes you, then you don''t need to think about it, it''s true love."


    Xiang Er shook her head and suddenly sighed, no longer speaking.


    Yan Junze turned his head again to glance at Ku Zai, noticing the guy''s red face and gasping breaths, realizing they were walking too fast. He quickly pulled on Xiang Er''s sleeve, signaling to slow down.


    He turned back to loudly ask Ku Zai, "Tired?"


    "No, not... tired, I''m still... okay," Ku Zai shook his head, though he obviously struggled to speak smoothly.


    The two slowed down, waiting for Ku Zai to catch up.


    Xiang Er spoke quietly, as if talking to herself, "Just now I really wanted to retract my aura and let those strangenesses pounce, just to scare this kid to death."


    Yan Junze was startled, "You know, I really had the same thought!"


    Xiang Er looked somewhat dazed at him. Yan Junze saw Ku Zai approaching and it wasn''t convenient to continue the subject, so he only said, "Let''s handle the current matter first, and then we''ll find a secluded place to make your earlier idea come true."


    He then gave a mysterious smile.


    "I... I was just saying..." Xiang Er, thinking Yan Junze wanted revenge, became somewhat concerned.


    The three of them arrived at Happy Ocean Park located in the northern part of the city around noon.


    The park was usually crowded during the weekends, but now that students were on vacation, the number of visitors had surged during the first week of the holidays. However, foot traffic had started to stabilize.


    Although there were more people coming and going at the main entrance, it was still convenient to find acquaintances.


    Standing across the street, Yan Junze and his group could already see a couple standing outside gate number three of Happy Ocean Park.


    The woman was Xia Ruolan, and the man should be her husband. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Yan Junze arrive as promised, Xia Ruolan was excited and quickly approached with her husband, grabbing Yan Junze''s hand.


    "Master Yan, you must help me. Last night... last night I felt like I was about to die in my dream, never to wake up again."


    "Don''t get excited, take it slowly," he replied.


    Under the big trees outside the gate of Happy Ocean Park, there was a place selling beverages and tea, surrounded by seven or eight sun umbrellas, each with chairs and tables underneath.


    A few of them found a table, ordered some drinks at random, and then Xia Ruolan described everything that happened last night in detail.


    She remembered everything that happened in her dream vividly, as if she had really experienced it.


    Even the parts about dreaming within a dream were very detailed.


    Yan Junze listened intently, especially interested in the details of the dreams. He interrupted Xia Ruolan several times to ask her to repeat certain parts.


    When Xia Ruolan finished, Yan Junze was quiet for a moment, pondering something.


    The others, seeing him like this, didn''t dare to speak and disturb him; Xia Ruolan and her husband Deng Bing just stared at him, while Xiang Er and Ku Zai remained silent.


    About five or six minutes later, Yan Junze looked up at Xia Ruolan and said, "In the first dream, you were on the grassland, and during Photographing, you were frightened and then woke up by yourself."


    "Right," Xia Ruolan nodded.


    "During Photographing, someone just told you to turn around, there was actually no danger," Yan Junze continued.


    "Mhm."


    "Then the second dream," Yan Junze glanced at Deng Bing, "your husband''s head was completely twisted around, and he... wanted to harm you?"


    "Mhm."


    At this moment, Deng Bing unconsciously touched his neck. Although he knew nothing had happened to him, he clearly felt a sense of discomfort.


    "In this interval, were you pricked twice by the spikes of a plant, and then you ''awoke'' again?"


    "Yes, it was an agave. We have some in the living room of our house, and in the dream, it was placed in the same spot as in reality, right below the window," she explained.


    Yan Junze nodded, then continued, "And in the third dream, you felt that after waking up, it was still your husband who wanted to directly twist your head around?"


    As soon as he said this, Deng Bing felt even more uncomfortable, placing a hand on his forehead.


    Yan Junze pretended not to notice: "Afterwards you got out of bed to run away, and tripping over something, you woke up again. And this time was when you truly awoke."


    Xia Ruolan nodded in affirmation.


    "What tripped you?" Yan Junze asked.


    Xia Ruolan said, "It was a dumbbell, my husband uses it to exercise in the bedroom. It''s usually placed by the corner of the wall, but last night, I don''t know how, it rolled out a distance."


    Yan Junze expressed his confusion, "Are you saying, not only in the dream, but also in reality, the dumbbell rolled away from the corner?"


    "Yes, when I woke up it was already daylight and my husband was still sound asleep. After I called you and got up, I found the dumbbell in the very same place as in my dream, rolled out from the corner at some point."

 Chapter 458 333: The Person in the Photo (Part Four)_2

    Deng Bing took over the conversation at this point, "It might be because I practiced with the dumbbells last night before going to sleep and accidentally didn''t place them securely, so they rolled out."


    "Can I say that your little accident might have saved your wife''s life?" Yan Junze smiled, "Looking at it now, Xia Ruolan, you are very lucky. The plants in your house saved you, and so did your husband."


    If the dumbbells in reality were still leaning against the corner of the wall, Yan Junze might not have come up with this hypothesis. But now it confirmed a fact, Xia Ruolan indeed almost lost her life in the dream, and if it weren''t for the plants and the dumbbells, she might really have been strangled by that "Deng Bing" in the dream.


    Up until now, Yan Junze was still holding on to his two previous conjectures.


    One was that the strangeness was hidden in a certain photograph, and the other was that it always existed in the dreams, just projecting itself onto photographs in some way.


    Now that they had gathered enough information, it was time to show some real skills!


    Time was pressing, with each day they dallied, these people were more likely to never wake up again from their sleep.


    In front of Xia Ruolan and Deng Bing, Yan Junze took out his phone and made a call to Huang Chen, instructing him to immediately notify all individuals involved in the photo turning ''round incidents to gather at the Fantasy Photo Studio on Lion Awakening Road at 3 o''clock in the afternoon.


    Huang Chen asked what was going on, and Yan Junze only said that he would know when he got there, also reminding everyone to bring the original photo where their head turned.


    "What about the person with the most dangerous head-turning photo who is now under the protection of three-star Exorcists? Should I go?" Huang Chen inquired.


    "Yes."


    Yan Junze hung up the phone and asked Xia Ruolan, who, although she didn''t know what he was planning, still said she could arrive at the Fantasy Photo Studio on Lion Awakening Road at any time.


    Since her original photo was on her phone, which she always carried with her, there was no need to go back and retrieve it.


    Yan Junze then called Gu Bai, telling him to inform his wife Lin Meng to get ready with her camera because a large group of customers was on the way.


    The customers also included Lin Meng''s good friend, Xia Ruolan. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gu Bai didn''t know what was happening and, out of fright, not only called Lin Meng but also immediately asked for leave from the gold shop owner and hurriedly headed back earlier than planned.


    He feared that Lin Meng might not be able to handle it alone, so he rushed back to help out.


    Yan Junze and company sat outside Happy Ocean Park for over an hour, and he carefully reviewed the plan, feeling it was feasible.


    If anything unexpected happened in the meantime, they could rely on Rewind to solve it.


    The group left the park and made their way towards Lion Awakening Road.


    Fantasy Photo Studio belonged to Gu Bai''s wife, Lin Meng, and was also where Yan Junze dealt with the peeping tom strangeness last time.


    Some of the individuals involved in the head-turning photo incidents had already arrived, some alone and some accompanied by family members.


    Gu Bai had already rushed back to the studio and was helping Lin Meng welcome the customers.


    One by one, these people''s expressions were gloomy, with furrowed brows, either clutching their phones, holding paper photographs, or even some with digital cameras hanging around their necks, clearly having taken the photos with digital cameras.


    Yan Junze settled Ku Zai and Xiang Er in a bookstore on the street.


    As he arrived with Xia Ruolan and Deng Bing, Huang Chen also arrived, bringing a few people involved in the incidents.


    Upon meeting, Huang Chen pulled him aside and whispered, "What are we preparing to do now? I''ll tell you, even the small team captain from Shuntian knows about this. If there''s no explanation for gathering so many victims together, I''ll be punished when I return."


    Yan Junze nodded and explained, "If it''s indiscriminate killing, I''m now preparing to lure this strangeness over. Targeting me, I will be the one to resolve it."


    "How will you lure it?" Huang Chen asked distrustfully, turning his head towards the victims.


    Yan Junze said, "Each photo contains that woman in the black dress, so I''m gathering all the victims here, each holding that bizarre photo, and standing together with me, we''ll take a big group photo. That is to say, in this group photo, I am the only new member joining the ''Black Skirt Club.'' It''s hard for the woman not to notice me, and that''s the first step of my plan."


    "Black Skirt Club?" Huang Chen was taken aback.


    Yan Junze chuckled, "I just made that up on the spot, don''t sweat the details. I haven''t finished yet. After the photos come out, just keep one for me. Then, I have a way to reveal the true form of this strangeness, whether it''s in the photos or in the dreams."


    "You...when will your plan take effect?" Huang Chen was a bit puzzled.


    "Time waits for no one," Yan Junze said, "the effect could be as soon as tonight. If all goes well, you can expect good news from me tomorrow. Think about it, the power of a single photo in these people''s hands is already so significant. My group photo, containing all the involved parties and their photos, is like after collecting all Seven Dragon Balls and calling forth the dragon! It''s hard for the Black Dress Woman not to notice me."


    "Summon the damn dragon!?" Huang Chen stared at him with a "what the hell did I just eat" expression.


    "Is everyone here yet?" Yan Junze looked up and asked.


    Huang Chen turned to count and said, "We''re still missing the one protected by the three-star Exorcist, the most dangerous one at the moment, Yang Zhijun."


    Right after he spoke, he pointed towards the distance, "Here they come, that''s them. The three-star Exorcist''s name is Li Yue, wielding a magnetic knife with wide and tight maneuvers, creating an impenetrable defense within two meters¡ªspirits and ghosts dare not come close..."


    He hadn''t finished describing before Yan Junze interrupted, "Do you think you''ve watched too many martial arts movies?"


    Huang Chen chuckled and then shut his mouth.


    Li Yue was a tall and burly man, indeed looking like a personal bodyguard at first glance, whereas Yang Zhijun was skinny and small, appearing listless with two prominent dark circles under his eyes.


    Clearly, this guy probably hadn''t dared to sleep for days.


    Yan Junze took a longer look at Yang Zhijun and noticed he looked like he could pass out at any moment, his mental state seeming extremely poor.


    Meanwhile, Li Yue, who was walking behind him, kept reminding him, seeming to urge him not to sleep.


    Upon arriving at the entrance of the photo studio, Li Yue glanced at Yan Junze, having already heard of Yan Junze''s reputation, especially the news from the Tianmeng side, which had reached his ears.


    Truth be told, Li Yue was out of options too. Unable to find the strangeness and while protecting Yang Zhijun, he could only allow him to sleep briefly¡ªabout ten minutes¡ªbefore waking him up, preventing him from entering deep sleep.


    He knew that if this continued, Yang Zhijun might go insane even if he didn''t die.


    So, if Yan Junze really had a way to remove that strangeness, naturally it would be the best outcome.


    After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yue immediately asked, "What do we do now?"


    "Photographing," Yan Junze turned to call Lin Meng to prepare.


    At this moment, Gu Bai came out with an embarrassed expression and said, "Although I''ve converted the entire dark room into a shooting room, I didn''t consider the space needed for so many people in a group photo. What should we do? Should we take it on the street?"


    Yan Junze shook his head, "There''s too much human energy on the street, which might affect the appearance of that strangeness."


    As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Bai and Lin Meng, who had just come out, were stunned. Did that mean they had to choose a gloomy, terrifying place for the photo shoot? Were they trying to scare people to death?


    Thinking of this, both of them couldn''t help but shudder.


    All of a sudden, Huang Chen slapped his forehead, "Right, there''s No. 7 Mansion on Lion Awakening Road. It used to be haunted for a while, rather violently at that. In the process of getting rid of it, we lost a two-star Exorcist. The whole No. 7 Mansion has been empty ever since, with nobody living there."


    He gestured toward the left side of the street, "It''s just not far over there."


    "Perfect, perfect, that place is perfect for taking photos," Yan Junze told Lin Meng, "Get the camera ready, we''re heading over."


    Lin Meng was startled. She had been living there and naturally knew about the haunted No. 7 Mansion. It was said people died inside; normally, she would hurry past with her head down, daring not to look. And now, she was actually being asked to go inside for photographing.


    This felt like tempting fate!

 Chapter 459 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)

    The architecture of No. 7 Mansion somewhat resembles the building style of Olay Great Capital, with an exterior that practically lacks edges and corners, favoring smooth transitions instead.


    The mansion is painted in an off-white color, with a flat roof, and circular stone columns scattered throughout its corners.


    It is said that in the past, nobles from Olay Great Capital lived here. After the outbreak of war, the property was nationalized, and following multiple auctions, it ended up in the hands of real estate developers who, for some unknown reason, didn''t develop it and instead rented it out to become a themed restaurant.


    And it was exactly during the time this restaurant was in business that the strangeness occurred.


    More than one person died inside, including a two-star exorcist who also fell here.


    The key to seal the door was in the exorcist''s hands, and Huang Chen had it sent over as quickly as possible.


    After opening the mansion''s outer courtyard door, the moss on the ground nearly caused Huang Chen, the first to walk in, to take a nasty fall.


    Huang Chen''s attempt to steady himself looked rather comical. His old face turned red, and he quickly looked back at the people following him, but no one was in the mood to laugh at him.


    Except for Yan Junze.


    "With your agile moves, I feel like you''re not far from becoming a two-star exorcist yourself," Yan Junze said, putting on a serious air after dropping his smile.


    Huang Chen said, "I''ve already applied, and next week I''m going to Tianmeng for the promotion test."


    He paused before adding, "Everyone else, watch your step. This place hasn''t been entered in a long time. There''s a lot of slippery moss on the path."


    One by one, everyone entered the mansion cautiously, with Gu Bai supporting Lin Meng last. Lin Meng had a camera hanging around her neck, and their complexions were both not very good, with Lin Meng''s pretty face turning particularly pale. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Three-star exorcist Li Yue was always behind Yang Zhijun, even lending a hand to support him, making it seem as if Yang Zhijun was on the brink of death.


    Huang Chen opened the doors to the mansion''s main hall at the front.


    As soon as the door opened, everyone outside immediately felt an unbearable chill emanating from the hall, which slid down collars and cuffs, bringing a bone-chilling coldness.


    This time, Yan Junze was the first to walk in.


    Standing in the dimly lit hall, he turned around and said to everyone, "Please move a little faster. There are 27 people plus me, making 28 in total. Stand in three rows, from the front, ordered by height. People in the front and back rows should stand staggered so everyone can show their faces. And also, the photos in your hands."


    Huang Chen then began directing, and soon everyone was in place as instructed, holding up their photos in a gap where they could also be captured by the camera.


    Gu Bai, standing at the entrance to the hall, asked, "Should we turn on the lights?"


    He looked around and felt that the electric lights here should all be working, and there seemed to be no problem with the electricity supply.


    Yan Junze glanced at the dimly lit scene and asked Lin Meng, "How is the flash on your camera?"


    "It''s pretty good," Lin Meng nodded.


    "Then we won''t turn on the lights. The darker the photo comes out, the better," he said.


    With that, he ran to take a spot in the middle of the second row.


    At that moment, everyone in the hall stood in silence, with worried expressions and brows tightly furrowed.


    Moreover, each person was holding a photo of themselves looking back, whether it was a paper print, an illuminated phone screen, or a digital camera switched on with the image displayed¡ªall facing the direction of Lin Meng''s lens.


    Now, Lin Meng raised her camera to her eye, her voice trembling as she called out, "E-everyone, look this way, look at me... here."


    Through the lens, she noticed her friend Xia Ruolan''s tense expression, holding up her lit phone, with the photo of herself looking back on display.


    Perhaps due to the heavy chill in the hall, Xia Ruolan''s body was also trembling slightly.


    Fearing that some might not cooperate due to fear, Yan Junze kept saying, "Look at the lens. Most importantly, make sure the photo in your hand is fully visible, including your head, to ensure everything gets captured."


    "Okay, let''s start."


    "Everyone look at the lens, one, two, three..."


    "Cheese!"


    With a click, the flash lit up, and the photographing was over.


    Lin Meng was sure that this was the most bizarre photo she had ever taken since she started photography.


    Because Yan Junze had instructed that this photo could only be taken once; there was no option to take several shots and select later, as this could introduce uncontrollable factors.


    After taking the picture, Lin Meng immediately looked down and brought up the photo she had just taken on the camera''s screen to inspect it.


    But after just one glance, she could not help but shiver.


    Yan Junze left the formation and came over, with Gu Bai and Huang Chen also looking on.


    In the photo, everyone but Yan Junze had a uniformly grim expression, faces clouded with gloom, hands hanging down, and their postures seemed oddly disturbing.


    Under the flash''s illumination, everyone''s faces appeared freakishly white.


    Most importantly, the photo''s background was a uniform dark tone, and farther back it was hard to discern any details, creating the impression that at any moment, indescribable strangeness could emerge from behind these people.


    Because Lin Meng had set the photo resolution to the maximum before taking the picture, even when enlarged tenfold, the photos in everyone''s hands were clearly visible, including the vague outline of the Black Dress Woman in the photos.


    Yan Junze quickly scanned the image to confirm that the photos in everyone''s hands were all clearly captured and that all faces were visible.

 Chapter 460 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_2

    He immediately said, "Quick, go back with Gu Bai and print out the photo in high resolution, in A4 size, then immediately delete the photo from your camera. Remember, delete it completely."


    Lin Meng glanced at Xia Ruolan, and without having time to greet her, hurriedly ran back to the photo studio with Gu Bai.


    After they had left, Yan Junze turned to Huang Chen and said, "I forgot a critical issue. If we gather up everyone''s photos right now, and burn them, or if we delete all the digital photos beyond recovery, would they still be in danger..."


    Before he could finish, Huang Chen was already shaking his head, "Among those who died earlier, some had tried that. A few days after the photo was destroyed, that person still died."


    "In other words, once the head-turning appears, burning the photo won''t change the outcome," Yan Junze nodded.


    "Junze, what do we do now?" Li Yue came over to ask.


    In Li Yue''s view, Yan Junze''s current operations didn''t seem like something an exorcist would do, but the existing strangeness was indeed very special, and perhaps only by using such an extraordinary method, a surprising maneuver, could they truly have a chance to take down this deeply hidden entity.


    "Just wait a moment, the result will come out soon," Yan Junze said.


    Before long, Gu Bai and Lin Meng came back at a trot, Gu Bai holding a printed A4-sized photo paper.


    Both of their complexions were off, not due to exhaustion from running, as this short distance wouldn''t leave them pale from fatigue.


    Handing the photo paper to Yan Junze, Gu Bai said, "It''s very odd, when we first printed it, everything was normal, but it changed quickly after taking it from Lin Meng''s hand!"


    Yan Junze looked down and saw that in the photo, everyone else still looked the same, each showing a deadpan expression with lifeless, fish-like eyes, except for himself, whose head was now oddly tilted to the left.


    Although the tilt was not very large, it was already quite noticeable.


    His gaze shifted back to the photos in these people''s hands. Because of the size, the images were not as clear as when they were enlarged earlier.


    Yan Junze again shifted his gaze, carefully examining the background of the photo, but couldn''t discern any other abnormalities, nor could he see the figure of the Black Dress Woman.


    He thought it might be because the background was too dark, so he searched it again, not missing any detail in the photo, especially the background, but still did not see any contours of a person''s silhouette.


    However, the undeniable fact was that he was already starting to turn his head in the photo.


    Turning to Huang Chen and Li Yue, he said, "I suggest that everyone here better stay together tonight. If nothing unexpected happens, everything should return to normal after tonight."


    Then he looked up, surveying the mansion''s lobby, "Let''s make do in the lobby for tonight. I''ll stay here as well. If you can, try to stay awake tonight; don''t sleep."


    "What, we can''t sleep either?!" the man called Yang Zhijun said with a cry in his voice, looking like he was on the verge of tears.


    He felt like he was at his limit and on the edge of breaking down at any moment.


    Li Yue walked over, stood beside him and patted his shoulder, then sat him down on a sofa covered with a white cloth, whispering, "You can sleep for a bit, but just for a few minutes, and then I''ll wake you."


    "If this goes on, let the strangeness kill me in my dreams, just kill me, I can''t hold on anymore..." Yang Zhijun said weakly, shaking his head, no longer speaking.


    Yan Junze said, "It''s not just in dreams, your current state is very poor, if you even doze off for a bit, you could be controlled by the strangeness and forced to commit suicide. Do you know how? By snapping your own neck, crack!"


    Yang Zhijun flinched, seemingly realizing the seriousness of the situation for the first time and hesitantly said, "Is there... any sort of stimulant? Give me... an injection."


    Yan Junze pulled aside Huang Chen and Li Yue, whispering, "If necessary tonight, maybe we should give an injection of stimulant to the overly exhausted ones, not too high of a dosage, just enough to keep them awake. As for the others, a few more cups of coffee should do the trick."


    "I''ll make contact," Huang Chen said, "And then call a couple more guys over to help."


    Looking up at the second floor, Yan Junze said, "You all stay downstairs tonight, I''ll stay upstairs. The way things are, it looks like I''ve joined the ''Black Skirt Club''. If everyone else stays awake and I''m the only one sleeping, there''s a good chance she will come for me. No matter what sounds you hear tonight, nobody come upstairs, I can handle her."


    With that, he lowered his head and glanced again at the photo in his hand, only to see that his own head in the photo had moved again without notice, now completely in a sideways position.


    "Heh, this photo, taken with everyone together, sure has a strong dose," Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Suddenly, his expression froze, and he stared intently at the photo in his hand, motionless.


    Huang Chen was busy making a phone call to contact the team''s branch and didn''t notice this. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Li Yue, standing beside Yang Zhijun, sensed something off with Yan Junze and walked over to look at the photo.


    Yan Junze didn''t look up, as if he knew it was Li Yue who had come over, and asked directly, "Take a close look, do you see anything special about this photo?"


    Li Yue examined the photo carefully, including the dark background, then shook his head, "I can''t see anything."


    "How many people were there when we took the photo just now?" Yan Junze asked.


    "There were originally 27, and you made 28 after you joined," Li Yue replied.

 Chapter 461 334: The Person in the Photo (Part Five)_3

    "But now..." Yan Junze suddenly looked up, his expression eerie as he turned to him, "there are 29."


    Li Yue was startled and looked again, immediately starting to count heads.


    After a while, he raised his head, "Really... there''s an extra one."


    Originally, there were 27 people, and neither Yan Junze nor Li Yue knew them, so there was no familiarity, only Huang Chen might have some impression of everyone.


    So just by counting the number of people in the photo, they couldn''t tell who the extra person was.


    Using the most primitive method, Yan Junze and Li Yue started to compare each person in the photo with those in the hall one by one.


    About five minutes later, Yan Junze looked at the woman who stood a row behind him in the photo, three people apart, and fell into deep thought.


    Although he could only see above the woman''s shoulders, her clothing on the shoulders was distinguishable as black, and with long hair draped over them, it was certain that this was the Black Dress Woman.


    This was also the first time the Black Dress Woman''s facial features appeared in a photo in an extremely clear form.


    The woman was not beautiful, her features flat, her eyes a bit too far apart, her nose slightly sunken, and her lips were excessively thin. There was an irregular blue birthmark covering her right eye and the bridge of her nose on the right half of her face.


    At a glance, the woman''s face seemed quite strange, leaving a deep impression.


    When she had appeared in the photo, no one noticed. The spot where she stood originally belonged to another man. But this man was now unconsciously standing to the side, showing no abnormal reaction, as if he felt this was all perfectly normal. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only now did Yan Junze realize that the direction he was looking in the photo seemed to be where the Black Dress Woman had appeared, as if out of fear, instinctively turning to look at the source of his fear.


    Actually, whether taking a group photo with all the protagonists wrapped up in the head-turning events would attract the Black Dress Woman''s attention was something that Yan Junze wasn''t sure of at the beginning. But at least there was a certain chance it could happen.


    So to ensure the success rate, he had everyone reveal their own creepy photo when taking the photo.


    In this way, this group photo contained both himself and the so-called appearance of the Black Dress Woman.


    In other words, in this photo, it was Yan Junze who forced the Black Dress Woman to appear in the photo.


    Although he didn''t know what the consequences of doing this would be, whether stragenesses would target him, he had at least increased the chance of success based on the original situation.


    Looking at it now, his speculation was correct.


    And in other words, the power of collecting all seven Dragon Balls is really great!


    Regardless, in this plan, he was deliberately calculating against the unsuspecting, plus he had the ability to Rewind and some special means he currently possessed. Compared to ordinary people, Yan Junze had many more ways to deal with the Black Dress Woman, even in dreams.


    After learning they would be resting here for the night, everyone started to get busy, some calling for meal delivery, some having bedding sent from home, Huang Chen was also in contact with the hospital to deliver drugs.


    Yan Junze went upstairs alone, where it was darker, but as soon as he pressed the switch, the lights came on immediately. The entire No. 7 Mansion''s electrical system was normal.


    After making a round upstairs, he chose a spacious private dining room with a sofa and prepared to spend the night there.


    Avoiding everyone, Yan Junze made a phone call to Xiang Er, asking her to send Ku Zai back to FH Community first and then to No. 7 Mansion on Lion Awakening Road. She was not to enter through the main door, but to climb to the second floor from the back. He would open a window for her in advance.


    This plan couldn''t be carried out without Xiang Er, at least Xiang Er could save his life at critical moments, so he had to wait for Xiang Er to arrive before proceeding.


    It''s just that Xiang Er had a special constitution. If she were to meet the three-star Exorcist downstairs, it might bring many inconveniences, so that''s why Yan Junze was preparing to have her sneak in to assist him.

 Chapter 742: 432 The Death of Morrison_2

    And Reaper Han Yu¡¯s silent forbidden zone also dispersed at the same time.


    The soundless collision of the forbidden zones between the two Reapers erupted simultaneously, emitting not a single sound, even the electromagnetic sounds belonging to Morrison¡¯s forbidden area were completely silenced.


    However, not far behind Han Yu, Zhang Xiaomo and Ku Zai were, at the moment before the collision of the forbidden zones, forcefully pushed away by an overwhelming force and fell into the elevator shaft nearby.


    Ugly Girl let out a scream but wasn¡¯t pushed away.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill that strangeness!¡± Zhang Xiaomo shouted turning back immediately after hitting the ground.


    Han Yu hesitated, not turning his head, he saw the screaming Ugly Girl enveloped by a fluctuating breath and, together with the perfect female corpse on the ground, they were both pushed into the stairwell.


    ¡°You go downstairs first!¡±


    The sound of Han Yu¡¯s bubble bursting carried through.


    At this moment, the three remaining people on the second floor of the mall stood rigid, frozen in place.


    The collision between Morrison and Han Yu¡¯s forbidden zones was incredibly intense, with neither of them taking any action, just standing there, but the repeated force of their silent auras felt like it could cause Guo Youliang to cough up blood.


    Morrison didn¡¯t expect Han Yu¡¯s forbidden zone to be so powerful that even his avatar could compete with him.


    And at this moment, Han Yu was also quite anxious; his true body was far away in his old home in the Yannan District. If it hadn¡¯t been for Zhang Chengjing¡¯s plea for help, he wouldn¡¯t have used this avatar.


    Previously placing the avatar here was per the demands of the Huaying Exorcism General Team, and strictly speaking, Han Yu didn¡¯t fall under the jurisdiction of the Exorcists.


    This guy had an early spiritual awakening. At the outset of the strangeness outbreak, he nearly woke in tandem, and his body underwent extreme mutations. Because his strength was too powerful, no organization could control him.


    But the upper echelons of the Exorcism General Team all knew that though Han Yu was cold in temper, he was kind-hearted and was the only Reaper who voluntarily accepted complete management by the team.


    He set up the avatar in Tianmeng to protect an important weapon there, and this time, he used the avatar entirely out of a sense of personal loyalty.


    But Han Yu was clear that he couldn¡¯t afford to waste much time; if he continued to clash in these Reaper-level forbidden zone collisions, then this avatar would dissipate after holding on a little longer.


    At that moment, he gestured gently to Guo Youliang with his left hand behind his back.


    Guo Youliang was already prepared, despite feeling extremely uncomfortable being trapped here.


    Seeing Han Yu¡¯s signal, Guo Youliang immediately gathered all his energy, enveloping himself in the magnetic glow that emitted an inexplicable chill.


    Grasping the hilt of the ancient sword thrust into the ground, he yanked it free, stepped forward, and with his right hand¡¯s muscles bulging, he hurled the sword at Morrison, some seven or eight meters away.


    The tip of the ancient sword, trailing a chill, cleared a path of silent aura in its passage, instantly breaking through the Magnetic Flow controlled by Morrison.


    Morrison¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly took two steps back, crossing his arms in front of him.


    Humm¡ª


    A large gray magnetic clump formed, catching the ancient sword that was only a meter away and suspending it midair.


    Both sides fell into a deadlock once again.


    Suddenly, Morrison¡¯s expression changed, his face twisted instantaneously, and a black mass rose from his neck, quickly covering his entire face.


    Bang!


    The magnetic field between them exploded with a roar, lifting a wave of air, and the ancient sword fell to the ground.


    Morrison still had some strength to spare, but at that moment, he found himself unable to exert it any longer.


    His white skin was entirely smeared with a toxin that appeared inexplicably and quickly pervaded his whole body.


    Morrison looked at his hands, only to see they were visibly withering.


    He wanted to scream, but his throat had already been infected by the toxin, and he was unable to make a sound as it rapidly shrank and caved in.


    Morrison knelt on the ground, and right before Han Yu and Guo Youliang¡¯s eyes, his face contorted, slowly shriveling into a mass.


    The stylish black overcoat that clung to his figure seemed also to be contaminated by the toxin, stiffening into a slab.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead!?¡±


    Guo Youliang watched the scene, dumbfounded and confused as to what had just happened.


    Morrison, who had been at an advantage just a moment ago, suddenly seemed to succumb to poison and died on the spot.


    The phantom of Han Yu shook violently twice; he also didn¡¯t understand what had happened to Morrison, but now this avatar, after a fierce war of attrition, was clearly unable to hold on any longer.


    He took a deep look at Morrison¡¯s now completely shriveled corpse, the image of the sudden appearance of the black toxin seared deeply into his memory.


    Then, the avatar¡¯s phantom, like a light breeze dispersing it, vanished without a trace.


    At this moment, nearly all the glass on the second floor of the mall had been damaged, and the scene was a mess.


    Soon, security personnel and arriving Exorcists entered, and Yan Junze also arrived at this moment.


    Zhang Xiaomo, Ku Zai, and Xiang Er, who had just reentered the female corpse, were sitting on the first floor with pale faces, their thoughts drifting, clearly soul-disturbed and frightened.


    To tell the truth, Zhang Xiaomo had never seen an Exorcist battle of this level, she could not even dare to imagine it, and needed some time to digest it.


    Xiang Er, having just entered the perfect female corpse from the form of Ugly Girl, was injured in her strangeness form and experiencing severe magnetic interference, was now incredibly weak. It was fortunate that she was supported by the strong outer body of the female corpse. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She sat curled up, hugging her knees in the corner, silently enduring the pain without speaking a word.

 Chapter 743: 432 The Death of Morrison_3

    As for Ku Zai, he was completely terrified, almost to the point of losing his mind, full of questions like ¡°Who am I? Where am I? Didn¡¯t we come here for an exorcism? How did the exorcist come after us?¡±


    From this moment on, Ku Zai suddenly found the sensation of encountering strangenesses to be very familiar!


    Before entering the mall, Yan Junze had already taken the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er into a node, and as he approached these few people, Zhang Xiaomo raised her head, first in a daze, then her face lit up with joy, reaching out both hands towards Yan Junze.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± Yan Junze walked over, crouched down, and took her hands in his.


    He felt that Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hands were ice-cold and still slightly trembling.


    Xiaomo looked at him earnestly and shook her head lightly, ¡°I had a feeling of palpitations when you weren¡¯t here, but now it¡¯s gone. How did¡­ you disappear behind that mirror?¡±


    ¡°Some things happened, very mysterious, it was actually me who notified your dad to have that Reaper come to save you,¡± Seeing they were all right, Yan Junze smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated and cannot be explained in a moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Are¡­ are you hurt?¡± Zhang Xiaomo got closer to Yan Junze and suddenly her expression changed because she noticed a strong smell of blood on him.


    Yan Junze said softly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, forgot to tell you, I am a Semi-spirit again. Well, a very special Semi-spirit.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo was astonished.


    Just then, Guo Youliang was being transported down on a stretcher.


    Because his injuries were serious, the ambulance arrived and moved him down from the second floor with an enhanced stretcher.


    Guo Youliang had not lost consciousness, and after reaching the first floor, he turned his head to look towards them.


    Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s figure, Guo Youliang showed a look of shock, then glanced at the second floor.


    Yan Junze waved at him, ¡°Old Guo, I¡¯ll come see you at the hospital later.¡±


    Guo Youliang also tried to wave his hand, but as soon as he moved, his upper body went numb, and he could only nod his head.


    After he left, Yan Junze asked Zhang Xiaomo and the others, ¡°How did that Reaper die?¡±


    ¡°How do you know he¡¯s dead?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was surprised.


    Xiang Er was in a state of great turmoil inside and didn¡¯t want to speak, while Ku Zai was completely stunned, not knowing whether he heard what Yan Junze said or not.


    Only Zhang Xiaomo reacted relatively quickly.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, then smiled and said, ¡°Poisoned?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°Seems like it, just now his whole body including his clothes was pitch black.¡±


    She then pointed to the second floor, ¡°The body is still up there.¡±


    No sooner had she finished speaking than they overheard one security officer who had returned from the second floor to the first floor saying to another, ¡°The body has completely turned into a black liquid, including that person¡¯s clothes. That area is temporarily sealed off, and nobody should touch it until the biohazard experts arrive.¡±


    Hearing this, Zhang Xiaomo clicked her tongue and shook her head.


    ¡°Can you guys still walk?¡± Yan Junze looked at the other two.


    Xiang Er nodded slightly, but she looked very pale. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ku Zai: (O_o)??


    ¡°This kid, might need a week to come around,¡± Yan Junze stood up and grabbed his arm in one move.


    Zhang Xiaomo was supporting Xiang Er, and the four of them slowly walked out of the mall and onto the SUV parked on the roadside.


    Yan Junze drove, while the others all reclined their seats and lay down quietly without a word.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes rolled, and Yan Junze knew she had many things she wanted to understand, but now was not the time to ask.


    ¡°Do you want me to take you home, or shall we go back to Science and Technology University?¡±


    ¡°Back to Science and Technology University.¡±


    Xiaomo answered without hesitation, blurting it out.


    Yan Junze paused for a moment, then smiled, while Zhang Xiaomo turned her head away with a bit of embarrassment, pretending to sleep.


    The SUV started up and moved off slowly.


    Through the rearview mirror of the car, Yan Junze glanced once more at the entrance of Prosperous Age Mall.


    Even though he had not seen it with his own eyes, the moment Morrison was engulfed by the surging Dark Poison flashed through his mind.


    He pursed his lips and smiled, then pressed the accelerator and the SUV sped away.

 Chapter 744: 433: Reality or Nightmare?

    After returning to the Science and Technology University, Yan Junze didn¡¯t head back to campus right away; instead, the group all went to the rental house.


    First, they helped Xiang Er to bed, telling her to rest well.


    Ku Zai returned to his own rental house, gulped down half a kettle of boiled water in one breath to ease up a bit, and then threw himself into bed and fell asleep with the blanket over his head.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo sat beside Xiang Er¡¯s bed, rested for a moment, then Xiaomo got up to heat some water for him, washed his face, and took the opportunity to help Yan Junze wipe off the blood on his body.


    After that, Yan Junze took off his clothes that were soaked with blood.


    Zhang Xiaomo noticed and curiously said, ¡°The clothes you wore today don¡¯t seem to be this set.¡±


    Yan Junze chuckled and confidently said, ¡°Never mind changing clothes, I can take off my clothes even faster.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo snorted with laughter, quickly suppresed her giggles, and said, ¡°We almost lost our lives just now, who¡¯s in the mood for jokes?¡±


    She paused, then continued, ¡°Tell me, today¡¯s events were really strange, what exactly happened?¡±


    By this time, Yan Junze had taken off his shirt and said curiously, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to look away?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a glance, turned her back to him, but still said, ¡°You keep wiping while talking, and remember to tell me when you need to change the water.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Junze said, shrugging helplessly.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to tell the whole truth, just mentioned that today¡¯s strangeness at the mall was a trap set by the exorcists from the Great Capital USA, because sometime ago, through the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er and her mother, he discovered that the Half Moon Association was setting up a sinister ritual altar.


    If that altar were activated, the threat to every major city could be significant, and the Half Moon Association at the time was secretly capturing special strangenesses, even Ke¡¯er and her mother almost got killed.


    It was during that time that he got involved with the Half Moon Association in order to save Ke¡¯er and her mother, so they designed this revenge because of that feud.


    But upon entering the mall earlier, he realized something was wrong, so he intentionally turned the tables, faked his death, changed his clothes, and avoided the Reaper¡¯s minions¡¯ pursuit, then called Zhang Chengjing for rescue.


    Although there were twists and turns during the process, they managed to signal for help successfully.


    In the end, the Reaper named Han Yu arrived, saved everyone, and even killed Morrison in return.


    Since Zhang Xiaomo was quite distant, she didn¡¯t see clearly how Morrison got hit by the Dark Poison, and this point didn¡¯t raise her suspicion.


    Yan Junze wiped the bloodstains from his body while explaining.


    Zhang Xiaomo listened attentively, interrupting immediately with questions wherever she didn¡¯t understand or had doubts, and Yan Junze continued to spin tales, the explanations half-truths and half-lies.


    There was no way around it, he couldn¡¯t reveal the truth about the Great Rewind, this Golden Finger was too against human nature.


    Zhang Xiaomo brought him a basin of hot water, and after wiping himself clean again, Yan Junze put on his clothes.


    At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s attention shifted to Xiang Er curled up on the bed.


    She frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Xiang Er¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t look very optimistic.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look and noticed that Xiang Er¡¯s body was trembling slightly all along.


    He wasn¡¯t worried about anything going wrong with Xiang Er¡¯s perfect body, as he¡¯d heard from Zhang Xiaomo on the way back that her original form had suffered a collision of magnetic fields from two Reapers.


    The current state was definitely due to the disturbance from the magnetic field she experienced then, and the magnetic field interference from the Reaper must¡¯ve been immensely strong, something Xiang Er simply could not bear.


    Thinking it over, Yan Junze suddenly had the idea to try.


    At this moment, a worm lay quietly in his heart, his heartbeat was strong, causing all the surrounding organs to work hard as well.


    He could feel that as soon as he focused his mind, his heart including all the organs inside his belly would be covered with a solid membrane by the white fluff-like substance, offering the best protection.


    Yan Junze knew that the worm¡¯s ability was to control the domain field, and within this control field, it would be impossible for anyone to interfere with it.


    This special domain field would prevent his ability to Rewind, and Jacob would become exceedingly powerful, almost an invincible presence.


    Perhaps, he could try using the control field after Semi-Spiritualization. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the thought in mind, he moved closer to the bed and initiated the Semi-Spiritualization.


    In an instant, Zhang Xiaomo standing beside him immediately sensed something unusual¡ªshe found that the space she was in suddenly became alien, her strength vanished, her limbs went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground.


    Her lips moved, Zhang Xiaomo wanted to speak but felt disinclined to do so, simply feeling very tired right now, not wanting to do anything.


    At the same time, Yan Junze realized that everything around his body was vividly detailed, clearly displayed in his mind as if he had grown eyes all over, providing clear views in any direction.


    Even without turning his head, he could see the movements in all directions, and he was acutely aware of any anomaly in Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s body at this moment.


    ¡°Is this¡­ the effect of the control field?!¡±


    Yan Junze was a bit surprised.


    He could also sense that the body of Xiang Er lying on the bed was separated from her spirit form; it was clear that Xiang Er was a Possession Spirit.


    Even the inside of the perfect female corpse, and the Ugly Girl¡¯s shadow curled up into a ball at this moment, were clearly visible.


    A feeling of control filled his heart; the overlay of the control field made Yan Junze know that he was nearly omnipotent within this domain field.


    In other words, this control field had already taken the shape of the Reaper Forbidden Zone, and even from certain perspectives, they were almost identical.

 Chapter 745: 433: Reality or Nightmare?_2

    Although the encounters were similar, when Morrison first encountered Jacob, he was just as helpless in the Ghost Apartment.


    However, Morrison knew that Jacob couldn¡¯t look at photographs or mirrors, but now this was no longer a problem for Yan Junze. After taming the long worm, regaining his heart, and arriving at the mall, he had looked in the mirrors there, and there were no issues.


    It was only that the worm inside his heart became somewhat restless at the moment he looked in the mirror, as if there was something extremely tempting for it.


    Of course, now Yan Junze seriously suspected that his special constitution was somewhat close to Jacob¡¯s; the only difference being that he was not a strangeness, but a Semi-spirit, while Jacob was a true strangeness.


    If the Half Moon Association of the Great Capital in the USA was still preparing the altar, perhaps they would have detected the problem with his body, but now it seemed that the altar had been abandoned.


    Otherwise, Morrison in the mall wouldn¡¯t have such a bone-deep hatred for Yan Junze.


    Feeling the control over this space, Yan Junze experienced an unprecedented sense of excitement. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed at the Void.


    There was nothing in his hand, but he could feel the air he was holding as substantial, moving his hand up and down a couple of times. Yes, what he was grasping was like an invisible air rod.


    Yan Junze believed that he might be able to directly swing this air rod and inflict damage on the enemy.


    ¡°Is this the ability I have after becoming a Semi-spirit, while in my own domain field?!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but move the air rod a few more times, feeling an irresistible urge not to let go. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This scene, observed by Zhang Xiaomo, gave her the urge to gouge out her own eyes.


    Unfortunately, she was powerless within the domain field, unable to even speak, let alone physically strike this fellow.


    Within the domain field, Yan Junze quickly came to his senses, retracted his thoughts, and dispersed the air rod with a wave of his hand.


    He found that with mere thought, he could make the Ugly Girl inside the perfect corpse¡¯s body turn over to face him.


    If he compressed the domain field, he believed the Ugly Girl in the midst of it would feel very uncomfortable, and might even dissipate.


    After testing, he now knew that the skills he had after Semi-Spiritualization were very powerful!


    After turning the Ugly Girl¡¯s silhouette to face him, Yan Junze quickly noticed that the magnetic field around her fluctuated wildly, like ripples that couldn¡¯t calm down.


    In his imagination, a virtual hand appeared in the domain field, soothing the Ugly Girl¡¯s magnetic field.


    At that moment, the rippling magnetic field indeed settled down somewhat.


    Seeing that this method was effective, Yan Junze immediately intensified the calming force. He could feel that there really was a virtual hand within the domain field that he could control, wiping away those fluctuations around the Ugly Girl.


    The Ugly Girl¡¯s strangeness-infected magnetic field, which had been disrupted by the Reaper Forbidden Zone, gradually calmed down, as if all the flowing signals were slowly returning to their own paths, continuing to run orderly.


    Soon, Zhang Xiaomo discovered that Xiang Er¡¯s body was no longer trembling, and her previously curled-up body also slowly stretched out. It was obvious that her unease and pain were relieved at that moment.


    Yan Junze once again began to feel the changes in himself at this time. He discovered that his internal organs were once again covered with a gentle layer of White fluff, lacking the barbaric growth and invasive feeling of the first time.


    And in this moment, after retracting the domain field, the White fluff immediately receded, returning to the area of the heart and disappearing within.


    This time of Semi-Spiritualization didn¡¯t produce any abnormal appearance in his body, and he didn¡¯t turn into any kind of strange Strange Body.


    In fact, what Yan Junze was most worried about was the possibility of transforming into whatever he was infected by.


    Truth be told, he thought he was going to turn into a human-shaped long worm; just picturing that scene made him feel nauseous.


    ¡°Just now, that¡­ was that your Semi-spirit?¡± Zhang Xiaomo finally managed to speak, feeling the invisible pressure around her dissipate.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°There are some areas I¡¯m still not quite familiar with, but with more practice, I should get better and better.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°You just put a lot of pressure on me.¡±


    Turning her head to look at Xiang Er, who no longer showed any signs of anomaly, ¡°But it seems that it worked well.¡±


    ¡°You should call your dad first, though I¡¯m sure he already knows the outcome,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    He was well aware that he would have to deal with inquiries from the Exorcism General Team of Huaying, questions from Zhang Chengjing, and suspicions from Guo Youliang.


    But for now, he just wanted to rest and replenish all the depleted energy points.


    ¡­


    Huaying Great Capital, Aries District.


    The southern side of Aries District faced the sea, enjoying pleasant weather all year round.


    Of the eight districts of Huaying, the residents of Aries District essentially exhibited a typical laid-back lifestyle, doing everything at a leisurely pace.


    During the strangeness outbreak, Aries District was among the slowest to react in the Great Capital of Huaying and was the last district to accept the strangenesses.


    There was a joke ridiculing the people of Aries District, about an old lady who rented out the other two rooms of her house, resulting in a middle-aged tenant who worked himself to death, waking up dead in the rental house.


    Although the strangeness incidents back then were not as numerous as they are now, they were already causing a stir, and there was hardly anyone who hadn¡¯t heard of them.

 Chapter 746: 433: Reality or Nightmare?_3

    But our dear landlady somehow managed to get along peacefully with the tenant for another month, until next month when it was time to collect the rent. She was preparing to use the rent money to pay for the next day¡¯s gas, water, and electricity bills when she discovered that the entire stack of cash was green with red stripes, which is the kind of paper money used for the dead. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The landlady still did not think of other possibilities, believing that the tenant was deliberately trying to scare her to skip out on the rent.


    After barging into the rental room to confront him and getting no outcome, she then enlisted several of her relatives to prepare to kick the fellow out.


    When relatives and friends arrived, they found that the tenant had been dead inside the room for nearly a month, not only was his body stiff, but it was said that a bizarre layer of white hair had grown on the surface of his skin, and all this while the landlady had failed to notice anything unusual.


    Regardless of the truth of this story, Zhou Wenfei, who was also in the Aries District at the moment, did not want to speculate about other people¡¯s misfortunes; he was only concerned with his own situation.


    Zhou Wenfei was a local from Aries City District, and the courtyard he lived in was similar to that of the landlady¡¯s from the story, resembling a quadrangle of sorts.


    However, the building with rooms had only two sides; on the other sides, one was the gate, and the other had been dug up by Zhou Wenfei into fertile soil for planting vegetables.


    He had always lived alone, and the wealth left to him by his deceased parents meant he did not lack food or clothing, essentially entering retirement early.


    It¡¯s just that at forty years old, he had yet to marry or have children.


    And the events that had been happening to him these past days had left Zhou Wenfei unable to sleep or eat in peace, especially dreading the arrival of night.


    Whether he had encountered any strangeness, he wasn¡¯t sure, but every night when he went to sleep, he would invariably dream.


    In his dreams, a strange woman would play games with him.


    Actually, Zhou Wenfei was no longer clear whether these were just dreams he had after falling asleep, or if a real woman indeed entered his room every night, playing games with him in his half-asleep, half-awake state.


    Lately, he¡¯d been so distracted and muddled during the day that he could not even distinguish between his dreams and reality, let alone differentiate the morning sky from the twilight at times.


    Looking out the window at the sky, Zhou Wenfei took quite a while to figure out that it was not morning, but apparently dusk.


    ¡°Dusk? Night? It seems¡­ the sky is about to darken!¡±


    The thought of nightfall made him stiffen all over and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver from the chill.


    He walked in from outside the courtyard to his desk, picked up his mobile phone, and opened the call log.


    The display showed all calls marked ¡°4747.¡±


    Starting from yesterday, nearly every ten minutes, he couldn¡¯t help but dial the number again.


    However, when he called again at five in the afternoon today, Zhou Wenfei received a stern warning, asserting that his situation had been recorded and was in queue for processing, and that if he called again, security personnel would come to arrest him.


    Then¡­ the guy immediately, decisively, without hesitation dialed it another ten times.


    Being alone at home already felt fraught with danger, so why not simply let them arrest him, get lodged in jail with free meals, and have other prisoners around to bolster his courage? Why not do it?


    Yet, contrary to his wishes, his number was quickly blacklisted by 4747, and after he heard a sweet-voiced operator from the other end of the phone let out an exasperated, hysterical scream in the final call, he couldn¡¯t connect any further calls.


    What puzzled Zhou Wenfei was why the security officers hadn¡¯t come yet? Was arresting someone also something that required queuing?


    The sky began to darken, and he suddenly shrank his neck, feeling a chill down his spine as if something was staring at him from behind, and quickly turned to look.


    Behind him were the familiar pieces of furniture, but as cold and lifeless as ever, casting an inexplicable chill in Zhou Wenfei¡¯s heart.


    He hurriedly walked to the front of the house, closed the door, locked it, peeked out the window next to the door to the courtyard, then drew the curtains.

 Chapter 747: 434 Hide and Seek

    Early in the morning, Zhou Wenfei picked some vegetables he had grown in the yard and came into the kitchen to wash a few fresh leaves.


    Opening the fridge, he saw the leftovers were all gone, so he took out two packets of instant noodles from the cupboard and boiled half a pot of water in the noodle pot.


    He tore open the packaging of the instant noodles, only taking out two noodle cakes and throwing all the seasoning packets into the trash bin.


    Zhou Wenfei always ate his instant noodles like this; he didn¡¯t like the taste of the seasoning packets, so he would add his own condiments and chili sauce, then mix them with the cooked noodles to eat.


    The water in the pot soon came to a boil, and he tossed in the noodle cakes, letting them cook a bit longer. Just before they were ready, he added the freshly washed vegetable leaves.


    After stirring in the pot a couple of times, the leaves were essentially ready to eat and were scooped out with the noodles.


    A bit of lard was placed in the bowl; the mixed noodles still smelled somewhat appealing, but Zhou Wenfei seemed to have little appetite.


    He ate as if merely completing a task, returning to the living room and sitting down in a chair to wolf it down.


    After tossing the bowl into the sink without any intention of washing it, he walked over to the table, picked up the teapot to weigh it in his hand, and then poured himself half a cup of cold tea, gulping it down before plopping back into the chair without getting up again.


    Moments later, he lit a cigarette, took a couple of drags, then reached back to lift a corner of the curtain behind him and peeked outside.


    The streetlights outside the courtyard were already on; since they were bright, he hadn¡¯t bothered replacing the burnt-out lightbulb in the yard after his parents passed away.


    In his subconscious, the less attention he drew, the better. In this era of frequent strangenesses, if a light was shining in the yard every night, what if it caught the attention of something sinister?


    Now that he had never changed the bulb himself, it was unfortunate that he was still tormented by those nightmarish dreams.


    Keeping a low profile, always keeping a low profile.


    If it wasn¡¯t for his fear of the dark after turning off the lights in the house, he would have done it before dusk. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare replace them with dimmer ones.


    Dim light could also breed fear in people¡¯s hearts.


    Zhou Wenfei was different from most people in Aries District; he wasn¡¯t the careless type, nor was he slow in his actions. He was actually very cautious in his daily routine.


    For instance, the reason he didn¡¯t wash the dishes just now was that he discovered some blocked vegetable leaves in the sink, and beneath those leaves, when he glanced earlier, he thought he saw black threads.


    Not daring to look too closely, he suspected those black threads might be hair.


    How could there be hair in the sink? And why hadn¡¯t he seen it when he was washing dishes before? These were factors that could easily bring trouble, so Zhou Wenfei decided not to touch it recklessly.


    If it were someone else, they might have pulled out whatever was clogging the sink.


    But what if pulling it made things worse?


    That was what Zhou Wenfei was considering. Or what if pulling it out brought up some bizarre thing attached to the hair? Then he would be in real trouble.


    The more he thought about it, the more his heart fluttered. He got up and closed the kitchen door, intending to lock it, but the sliding door¡¯s lock had long been broken, so he had no choice but to give up. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dealing with the strange stuff in the sink was a task best left for tomorrow in broad daylight, or he could intentionally call the neighbor over so they could clean it up when more people were around.


    As a typical recluse, he hadn¡¯t paid the TV fee, had disconnected his bank card and phone, and hadn¡¯t gone to the counter to reactivate them. So, he just sat there alone at home, heavy with thoughts, continuously smoking.


    The room was filled with smoke.


    Zhou Wenfei glanced at the time on his phone; it was almost ten o¡¯clock.


    His thumb involuntarily went to the call interface, looking at the ¡°4747¡± phone numbers in a row, and he couldn¡¯t help but want to press it, but at last, he managed to restrain himself.


    He didn¡¯t want to really upset the Exorcists; if they not only refused to help him but also decided not to take him in and instead locked up his house, making him fend for himself, that would be quite a situation.


    Playing that game with that woman every night.


    Just thinking about the terror he felt when that woman appeared made Zhou Wenfei shudder, and he finished off his 11th cigarette, crushing the butt into the already overflowing ashtray.


    He didn¡¯t wash his face or rinse his mouth before heading straight into the bedroom next door.


    His parents¡¯ bedroom was in the room diagonally across, but it was accessible only by going through the yard, so he never planned on moving there to sleep.


    Moreover, after his parents died, he always felt an eerie presence in that room. Although he knew they wouldn¡¯t harm him even if they turned into Spirits, he couldn¡¯t shake the creepy feeling, which was impossible to dispel.


    In fact, Zhou Wenfei now intentionally avoided looking in the direction of his parents¡¯ bedroom. He was contemplating whether to demolish that side of the building and turn it into a small orchard.


    After entering the bedroom, he turned on the light and then went back to the living room to turn it off. Clutching his phone, he swiftly returned to the bedroom as soon as the living room light went out, as if something was following him.


    Upon entering the bedroom, Zhou Wenfei didn¡¯t look back but immediately closed the bedroom door behind him.


    Click!


    The door was locked.


    Now he finally felt a bit more secure.


    A quick glance enclosed the space of the bedroom, the most secure place at this moment.


    ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll sleep till dawn without any dreams!¡± Zhou Wenfei stretched his arms, muttering words of self-encouragement.


    He went to the bathroom to pee, then came out and closed the bathroom door. After getting into bed, he watched some videos on his phone and then went straight to sleep with his head covered.

 Chapter 748: 434 Hide and Seek_2

    Chapter 748: Chapter 434 Hide and Seek_2


    The bedroom light hadn¡¯t been turned off, which didn¡¯t affect Zhou Wenfei¡¯s sleep; in fact, it was only with the light on that he felt a sense of security. Lying in bed, he could see everything the moment he opened his eyes, and that was when he felt safe.


    The phone was charging right beside the pillow, and he didn¡¯t care at all about any radiation. As long as he could reach out for the phone, he¡¯d even place the charging phone on his forehead if it wouldn¡¯t fall off.


    Around ten-thirty, the guy finally fell into an anxious sleep.


    Just before he drifted off, Zhou Wenfei had a hazy thought: if things got too bad, he might just go out to the street in the morning and snatch a lollipop, just so he could be locked up for a few days.


    Why didn¡¯t he have any relatives in Aries District?


    With that thought, he fell asleep.


    When he awoke, darkness surrounded him.


    Zhou Wenfei was deep in sleep. His head turned to the side, ready to continue sleeping when suddenly something inside him jolted. Most of his drowsiness vanished.


    He remembered that he hadn¡¯t turned off the bedroom light before he went to sleep.


    But now the room was plunged into darkness.


    What went wrong? Was he dreaming?


    Zhou Wenfei, terrified, felt his heart pounding fiercely. He wanted to force himself back to sleep but then realized that he wasn¡¯t lying on the bed at all.


    He was sitting up!


    Before waking up, his head was drooping to the side, saliva drooling onto the clothes on his chin. The unusualness wasn¡¯t noticed until just now since he woke up groggy.


    Not only was he sitting up, but now he was no longer in the bedroom, but sitting in the living room.


    Outside the drawn curtains, light from the bright street lamps spilled into the yard, but the curtains were thick, and the room¡¯s illumination was still quite dim¡ªonly the outlines of the nearby surroundings could be discerned.


    Anything further away was invisible.


    Now only the nearby furniture was visible, but Zhou Wenfei was clear¡ªhe was sitting in the living room, and specifically, on the chair where he had eaten instant noodles earlier.


    Only now, the orientation of the chair had changed; it was no longer back-facing the window but facing it directly.


    That meant his back was turned toward the bedroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s happening again, it¡¯s here again!¡±


    Zhou Wenfei was immensely frightened, trembling all over, yet his consciousness was becoming sharper by the moment.


    Sitting in the chair, he could move, but he felt incredibly stiff.


    It was a bit like the sensation of sleep paralysis.


    Sitting in that chair, engulfed by the living room¡¯s darkness, Zhou Wenfei could distinctly hear every faint sound around him.


    Suddenly, a slight sound of footsteps arose from behind, some distance away, as if coming from the bedroom.


    It sounded like the person wasn¡¯t wearing shoes, walking very slowly, taking almost two seconds to make a step, and when the foot landed, there was a light ¡°pat¡± sound, as if the force of the footstep was heavy.


    Zhou Wenfei tried his best to control his thoughts, not to wonder who the owner of the feet was, what they looked like, or what expression they bore behind him.


    His whole body was shaking, yet it remained stiff, and any movement might cause him to tumble to the ground.


    Of course, he could turn his head to look, but even if now a knife were held to Zhou Wenfei¡¯s throat, he wouldn¡¯t turn his head.


    Reason was telling him that not looking might be better. If he really did turn and saw something, the outcome could be very, very bad. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be facing this thing in his dream in such a posture.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Wenfei suddenly realized, ¡°Am I dreaming? Is this¡­ really a nightmare?¡±


    Wake up, wake up!


    He peered slightly upward, looking at the dim light from the streetlamp outside the window, daring not move at all.


    The footsteps were still approaching, each step spaced evenly apart, walking out of the bedroom and arriving at the bedroom door.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s heart rose to his throat; it almost leapt out.


    He held his breath, continuously praying in his mind, hoping this was just a dream, hoping that whatever was behind him wouldn¡¯t see him, hoping it would just leave quickly.


    The footsteps made a brief pause at the bedroom door before moving again, taking two steps forward and then stopping.


    Zhou Wenfei desperately wanted to turn and see what the thing was. He was trying hard to control himself but couldn¡¯t help starting to breathe rapidly.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhh¡­¡±


    Suddenly, not far behind him, a series of extremely strange, chilling, and bone-chilling sounds echoed, like a saw grinding against hard wood.


    The noise seemed to come directly from a clogged throat, intermittent, like someone in agony screaming or mournfully wailing.


    Spreading through the dark, quiet living room, Zhou Wenfei, hearing this sound, nearly fainted from fright. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He swore he had never heard this sound before. What he used to hear in his dreams was a woman¡¯s voice speaking.


    Even though the woman¡¯s laughter was just as eerie.


    As for her speaking voice, Zhou Wenfei felt goosebumps all over and did not want to recall it anymore.


    The heavy and slow footsteps gradually approached from behind. Zhou Wenfei couldn¡¯t bear to look back and he didn¡¯t even dare to imagine the scene behind him. Instead, he just closed his eyes.


    When the footsteps were still a little more than a meter away, they stopped. The sound of rustling clothes came through as if the person was twisting their body, groping around.


    ¡°Zhou¡­ Wen¡­ Fei.¡±


    A woman¡¯s hoarse voice sounded, and even though it was somewhat muffled, it called out Zhou Wenfei¡¯s name, word by word.

 Chapter 749: 434 Hide and Seek_3

    Chapter 749: Chapter 434 Hide and Seek_3


    Zhou Wenfei jolted awake, his eyes opening slightly.


    He had no idea why the stranger knew his name; the woman¡¯s voice had always sounded foreign to him, and why would she come to his house looking for him?


    In the instant his eyes opened, a dark shadow suddenly leaned over from behind, stopping at the same level as Zhou Wenfei¡¯s head, motionless, also facing forward.


    Zhou Wenfei startled, his gaze shifted sideways, not daring to turn his head, and he saw some long hair hovering just above his right shoulder.


    The hair was not only long but also thick, obscuring the view of the person¡¯s profile.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s whole body trembled like a sieve.


    The long hair hovering above his shoulder suddenly moved, as if the head was turning to face him.


    The long hair that had been hanging over his face began to slide off, revealing the woman¡¯s visage.


    Just as she was about to turn towards him, Zhou Wenfei quickly diverted his gaze and closed his eyes again.


    A cold breath approached him, he could sense that the person¡¯s face was not far away, as though an entrance to a frigid cave had appeared by his side.


    ¡°Zhou¡­ Wen¡­ Fei.¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice reached his ears once more, still hoarse, hollow, devoid of any emotion. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As long as he didn¡¯t move, it was as if she couldn¡¯t see him, just incessantly calling out.


    The cold breath receded, and Zhou Wenfei, not responding, felt the woman¡¯s head pulling away from him, slowly retreating behind him, not to appear again.


    Zhou Wenfei was playing dead, eyes tightly shut, head unturned due to the tension, he could no longer feel his own breathing and was all ears, listening for any movement from behind.


    Now, the coldness and the suffocating feeling were gone, as if the woman had moved away from him.


    After a moment, Zhou Wenfei felt less frightened and wanted to open his eyes.


    But just then, his shoulder suddenly dropped, a pallid hand reached over and patted it.


    ¡°Find me.¡± The woman¡¯s raspy voice abruptly rose up from behind him.


    She had been standing behind Zhou Wenfei all along.


    The pat frightened Zhou Wenfei so much he almost cried out, his body shuddering violently, almost sliding off the chair onto the floor.


    After that pat, heavy, slow footsteps sounded from behind him, but they stopped after just four steps and no further sounds were heard.


    Clearly, the woman may have hidden herself away.


    At that moment, Zhou Wenfei felt as if he had nearly lost half his life.


    In past experiences of nightmares, either he would be sleeping in bed and suddenly hear a woman talking, telling him to get out of bed and find her, or just like now, sitting in a chair, hearing a woman in the room calling him to come in, her voice mechanical, detached.


    Or perhaps in the dream, the woman who appeared wouldn¡¯t speak at all, merely emitting a ¡°hee-hee-hee¡± laugh from somewhere in the room, a dry, hoarse, chilling laugh, enticing him to come to her.


    But today, after the woman appeared behind him, it was the first time she had directly touched him.


    And never in any of the nightmares did Zhou Wenfei truly heed the woman¡¯s call to find her.


    With his courage, he dared not seek her out but chose to stay put until the woman¡¯s laughter faded away.


    Or let the woman hide as long as he didn¡¯t go looking for her.


    After a few minutes, he would regain consciousness and leave the fearful nightmare behind.


    This time, of course, he would not go looking for the woman in hiding.


    He waited for a few minutes with no response. It still felt cool behind his back, but it always felt like a pair of eyes were watching him, except this time he didn¡¯t wake up as he had before.


    After some thought, Zhou Wenfei steeled himself and pinched his thigh forcefully to awaken himself.


    Pain spread through his leg, but Zhou Wenfei found it eerie that he didn¡¯t return to his bed; instead, his consciousness became even sharper!


    ¡°Could it be, I¡¯m not dreaming?!¡± he suddenly realized with shock.

 Chapter 750: 435: Strangeness Piggy Bank

    Chapter 750: Chapter 435: Strangeness Piggy Bank


    ¡°This is not a dream,¡± the thought emerged, and Zhou Wenfei¡¯s forehead broke out in a cold sweat.


    Upon closer consideration, if he had been in the real world all along, then the woman behind him was also real, not just a figure in a dream.


    And at this moment, he was truly awake, not within a dream.


    Once this thought took hold, Zhou Wenfei could no longer contain it, he reached out to touch the back of his hand, feeling very real, then pinched himself, which also hurt.


    He bit down on the tip of his tongue unwillingly, and it hurt so much that tears came out of his eyes.


    It was real! There was nothing more real than this.


    He wasn¡¯t dreaming, but why had he left the bedroom after waking up, to find himself sitting in the living room?


    He had no mood left for doubts.


    Now, not a sound came from his surroundings, as if the woman had vanished.


    But Zhou Wenfei was clear, she had just hidden away, if he didn¡¯t go looking for her, and this wasn¡¯t just a nightmare, then she would be waiting somewhere for him.


    After much hesitation, the inner turmoil even led Zhou Wenfei to consider ending his own life at this moment, rather than searching for the woman who was hiding.


    But more than ten minutes later, he stood up with a rigid body, his movements slow.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to slow down deliberately, but at the moment his body seemed unresponsive, completely numb.


    Zhou Wenfei turned around with difficulty, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, and then looked around the room, aided by the dim light from outside the window.


    Not far behind the chair where he sat was a coffee table, and right next to it, snug against the sofa, that area looked very normal, nothing amiss.


    On the other side was the old-fashioned TV wall, and below the TV was a decorative cabinet half a meter tall ¨C too small to hide a person.


    Zhou Wenfei¡¯s gaze wandered farther and then settled near the corner stand-alone air conditioning unit.


    This air conditioning was usually turned on only during the summer, and to prevent dust, was covered with a diamond-patterned light blue dust cloth.


    Yet now, by the wall near the air conditioner, there was a somewhat abnormal dark shadow.


    The distance being somewhat great, Zhou Wenfei couldn¡¯t see clearly, he strained his eyes, but still could not be sure if that was a person, only feeling that the more he looked, the more it resembled one, and unconsciously, in his mind, he had sketched out the image of a woman with disheveled hair.


    At this thought, a deeper chill enveloped his heart, he didn¡¯t approach but instead took two steps back, turned around, and quickly reached the living room door, unlocked the latch on top, twisted the doorknob with force, intending to run straight out.


    But with this twist, the lock did not respond at all.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t get out!?¡±


    Zhou Wenfei, shivering, turned back around, looking in the direction of the air conditioner, the shadow was still there.


    It was then that he decided to dash towards the bedroom, but passing by the bedroom meant getting very close to the corner where the air conditioner was.


    But at this moment, he disregarded everything, always keeping an eye on the direction of the shadow, he crossed the area nearest to the shadow in a few strides, rushed into the bedroom door, immediately shut it, and then locked it, leaning against it to listen. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All done in one breath, as if he had gone through extensive training, this was a level of performance that a person could exhibit when pushed to the edge.


    After listening for a moment, it was silent outside the door, no sound came in.


    The bedroom was also pitch-dark. Zhou Wenfei breathed a little easier, and carefully reached out to press the light switch, but there was no response.


    Fortunately, his eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, and although the bedroom was darker than outside, if he looked closely at his surroundings, he wouldn¡¯t bump his legs into furniture while moving.


    Certain that the woman was still standing by the air conditioner and had not bothered with his escape, Zhou Wenfei felt slightly more at ease; he pressed the light switch again, still no response.


    He turned and groped his way to the bed, each step taken lightly, making sure not to make any noise.


    Arriving at the bedside, he quickly found his phone charging, feeling more settled, he hurriedly lit up the phone¡¯s screen.


    The pale yellow glow of the screen lit up his face, he checked the time, it was just past three in the morning.


    Zhou Wenfei carefully pulled out the charger, remaining silent throughout.


    His attention stayed focused on the bedroom door, slowly bending his knees to kneel on the bed, lifting a corner of the blanket, about to crawl in, when the upper half of a woman appeared before him, her lower half still covered by the blanket.


    Long hair covered her cheeks, emitting a chilling laugh, her head turned slightly, looking at Zhou Wenfei.


    ¡°You¡­ found me.¡±


    In the corner of the living room by the air conditioner, where the shadow resembling a woman might have hidden, Zhou Wenfei, due to extreme tension and fear, had forgotten that what was actually placed there was an almost life-sized porcelain vase.


    ¡­


    In front of an old residential building in the Aries City District, Gu Dekang hung up the phone and looked up at the sky.


    Although it was just past six-fifteen, the sky was already darkening.


    He chuckled lightly, harassing the operators with daily calls was a first for him.


    The higher-ups had already made it clear, they sent him to check things out. If the strangeness was just scary but did not harm people, they should detain the prank caller and keep him with it for a couple of days.


    If the strangeness tended to hurt people, they were to eliminate it straightaway and then bring Zhou Wenfei to the safety bureau, detain him for five days before dealing with arranging an apology to the miss on the switchboard.

 Chapter 751: 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_2

    Chapter 751: Chapter 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_2


    Gu Dekang was thirty-five this year, slightly overweight for a three-star Exorcist¡ªsuch physique was quite rare among his peers.


    But it wasn¡¯t exactly Gu Dekang¡¯s own doing, as his entire family shared this tendency to be plump. From his childhood, he had an excellent digestive system, the kind that would gain weight even from drinking water.


    He had taken on this emergency task because he had just cleared the strangenesses in the old-style residential building behind him, which was less than one kilometer away from Zhou Wenfei¡¯s courtyard house located in Qingtian Alley.


    After reporting the clearance of the strangenesses to his squad, his boss had suddenly slotted this task into his schedule.


    Originally, Gu Dekang was to head to the Third Hospital to join several other Exorcists in dealing with an odd incident in the morgue.


    The morgue¡¯s incident had been preliminarily classified as a C-level case, which would have been good training for Gu Dekang, but now his hopes were dashed as another Exorcist closer in proximity had been dispatched by superiors.


    Although Gu Dekang was somewhat disgruntled, he couldn¡¯t defy orders.


    Naturally, he directed his resentment toward Zhou Wenfei, the person who had persistently pestered the operator with phone calls.


    After dealing with the strangenesses, he would definitely make sure to lock this guy up for a few days.


    He walked directly to Qingtian Alley, which was neither secluded nor cramped but rather spacious, with relatively bright street lamps that didn¡¯t create an ominous or claustrophobic atmosphere.


    ¡°Qingtian Alley number 17.¡±


    Gu Dekang glanced at the informant¡¯s details on his phone, entered the alley, and quickly found number 17 by reading the house numbers.


    He looked around; this solitary courtyard house likely didn¡¯t lack money, but it was possible that it was rented by the residence.


    However, being able to rent a courtyard house to live in meant that one¡¯s financial conditions were pretty good too.


    It was just before seven in the evening, but the sky had already darkened completely.


    There was an exceptionally bright street lamp right in front of number 17. Although there were no passersby anymore, it didn¡¯t induce much fear.


    He knocked on the gate of the courtyard and waited for a while, but there was no response.


    Gu Dekang pulled up Zhou Wenfei¡¯s number¡ªthe informant¡ªon his phone and called it.


    Half a minute went by after the phone connected, but nobody picked up.


    ¡°Could something have happened already?¡± Gu Dekang muttered to himself.


    He drew his magnetic knife from its sleeve; the knife resembled a hunting knife, with a thin blade and just half an arm¡¯s length, usually concealed in his sleeve.


    Examining the courtyard¡¯s gate, which was double-doored that would typically only have half open while the other half was bolted shut, he noted it had a large gap.


    Gu Dekang slid the blade of the knife into the gap and flicked it downward, hearing a click. Keeping the blade in place, he nudged it with his toe and the gate opened.


    Pushing the gate slightly, Gu Dekang stepped inside the courtyard. From there, he could see the interior was pitch-dark without any lights on.


    Perhaps Zhou Wenfei just went out for a bit.


    As Gu Dekang speculated, he approached a window outside the room, peered through the glass, and tried to get a good look inside.


    The room was too dark to see anything, so he took out a flashlight and shone it through the window.


    Most of the interior was obscured by window curtains, making it hard to see clearly.


    However, the curtain closest to Gu Dekang was slightly fluttering as if there was a breeze somewhere inside causing it to sway.


    Gu Dekang took a closer look but didn¡¯t spot anything like an electric fan or an air vent.


    He glanced down at the window lock and noticed it wasn¡¯t properly sealed. He inserted his magnetic knife between the window panes and slowly lifted the latch handle, thereby opening the window.


    The window wasn¡¯t fitted with security bars, but he was too heavy to climb through it without risking getting stuck embarrassingly halfway.


    He found a broom outside, reached in through the window, and nudged the living room door lock a couple of times until it opened.


    It puzzled him that the door hadn¡¯t been deadbolted. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the magnetic knife in hand, Gu Dekang entered. First, he tried the light switch, which did not work.


    Then, he swept the living room with his flashlight beam but did not find anything out of the ordinary. As a three-star Exorcist, his Perception was not as powerful as those of senior Exorcists so, in silence, he sensed the room and detected an abnormal magnetic field, though it wasn¡¯t particularly strong.


    While inspecting, Gu Dekang moved towards the bedroom.


    Standing at the bedroom door, he paused slightly, only to see a figure lying rigidly on the bed.


    He pressed the light switch again, without effect.


    The flashlight beam revealed the person on the bed whose chest seemed to be heaving still, yet the complexion was pale and horrific, with entirely darkened palms showing on both hands.


    ¡°Zhou Wenfei?¡± Gu Dekang called out tentatively.


    The person on the bed remained motionless.


    The next second, just as he was about to step forward, Gu Dekang suddenly felt dizzy as if the world was spinning.


    He grasped his magnetic knife and activated the magnetic glow, but his consciousness was rapidly fading. He reached for the doorframe to steady himself and hastily retreated.


    After retreating to the living room and turning towards the door, his hefty figure still thudded to the ground, unconscious.


    As he lay there in a daze, Gu Dekang¡¯s senses gradually became clearer¡­


    He felt his limbs were incredibly heavy, unable to lift them as if his entire body was stiff.

 Chapter 752: 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_3

    Chapter 752: Chapter 435 Strangeness Piggy Bank_3


    He quickly realized that he was sitting on a chair, facing a window two meters away, with the bedroom he had just entered behind him, and on the bed in that bedroom should still lie the man suspected to be Zhou Wenfei.


    The strangeness here was strong or rather, quite eerie.


    Gu Dekang did not panic too much, recalling carefully since he had been unable to leave this house just now, it was possible that the strangeness had the power to create a Grade C, or even Grade B, event.


    If his guess was wrong, then maybe the strength of the strangeness was actually mediocre, but because of some special ability, it could cause anyone, including the Exorcist, to fall into a state of instant unconsciousness.


    However, Gu Dekang was more inclined to the former guess, though the strength of the strangeness was considerable, it wasn¡¯t the kind focused on taking lives but seemed to have some other special purpose.


    Now his limbs were very stiff, but he could freely move his neck; he looked down and found his magnetic knife not far from his feet, presumably dropped there when he fell and it hadn¡¯t been touched since.


    It was then Gu Dekang noticed, there was a large cardboard box in front of him, similar to the ones used for desktop computers in the past, but slightly larger.


    The lid of the box was closed, but he didn¡¯t know what was inside.


    In front of the lid, there was a circle drawn with a chalk pen, and next to it a few words: ¡°Place it here.¡±


    ¡°What is it that needs to be placed here?¡±


    Gu Dekang was surprised and then realized his pocket seemed bulging, but his fingers were so stiff. With effort, he finally was able to bend his arm and reach into his right pocket.


    He touched an unfamiliar object, and since his fingers could not bend normally, he took it out mechanically and slowly.


    It was a walnut.


    After a slight hesitation, Gu Dekang stretched his arm with all his might, and finally managed to place the walnut in the circle.


    Thereafter, he watched the scene, panting for breath.


    He guessed that the strangeness must have a purpose for making him do this; under the circumstances, it was best to satisfy the other party for now and find a way to deal with it once his mobility improved a bit.


    The magnetic knife was by his side, and if he was determined to escape, a sudden struggle might still offer a chance.


    As he was planning, Gu Dekang noticed the chair he was sitting on started to turn on its own, the legs scraping noisily against the floor, as if an unknown force was pushing it. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In no time at all, the chair had completed its turn, making him now face away from the large cardboard box.


    Gu Dekang tried to move, but found he still couldn¡¯t muster much strength; he could only sit there almost limply.


    A moment later, he heard noise from behind.


    Without turning his head, he immediately listened; the sound was coming from the cardboard box.


    Rustling noises, as if some thing was wriggling inside.


    Soon after, a crisp sound emitted suddenly, followed by more rustling, then silence.


    The chair under Gu Dekang began to turn again, scraping against the floor, and quickly turned back towards the direction of the cardboard box.


    Only then did he see that the walnut placed in the circle was completely cracked.


    And the cracked walnut was no longer in the circle but had been moved to the outside.


    Thud, thud!


    Two faint knocks came from inside the box.


    Gu Dekang started, then looked toward his pocket, came to his senses, and reached in again to find another object.


    However, his brow soon furrowed as he pulled the object out of his pocket awkwardly since his fingers couldn¡¯t grip tight, nearly dropping it.


    In his hand was a mouse, to be precise, a soft, dead newborn mouse without fur yet.


    On seeing this, Gu Dekang felt a wave of nausea, nearly throwing away the dead rodent.


    But after glancing at the circle on the box, he ended up placing the dead mouse on it.


    Just as he drew back his hand, the chair started turning again, the grating sound being heard once more, and Gu Dekang was again facing away from the box.


    ¡°Is this strangeness playing a game with me?¡± At this moment, a peculiar thought suddenly arose in his mind.


    The rustling sound came from behind again.


    But this time, Gu Dekang didn¡¯t react as before; instead, he slowly turned his head to look, just in time to see the soft, limp dead mouse being swiftly pulled into the half-open lid of the cardboard box.


    This time, the mouse did not burst on impact.


    ¡°Could this be¡­ a ghostly piggy bank?¡± Upon seeing this, Gu Dekang was taken aback.

 Chapter 753: 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng

    Chapter 753: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng


    Just now, in a moment of distraction, he seemed to see a hand dragging the dead mouse into the paper box.


    But the movement was too quick, and with only the light from the streetlamp outside seeping in, he couldn¡¯t see very clearly.


    However, moments later, a chewing sound emanated from inside the paper box, and a nauseating scene immediately came to Gu Dekang¡¯s mind.


    The chair he was sitting on started to rotate on its own again, facing the large paper box once more.


    Thump thump!


    Two familiar noises came from within the box.


    Gu Dekang knew it was a reminder that it was time to place something inside the circle.


    He instinctively reached into his pocket, feeling his arm seemed a bit more flexible than before, but his legs were still weak, unable to stand up.


    There was nothing left in the right pocket, but the left pocket seemed a bit bulgy; he didn¡¯t know what else was inside.


    Gu Dekang slowly inserted his left hand into his pocket and immediately touched a slimy round object. He paused, pinching the object slowly, pulling it out of his pocket to take a closer look.


    An eyeball!


    Trailing from behind the eyeball were some severed optic nerves, as though it had just been removed from someone¡¯s eye socket.


    On seeing this, Gu Dekang, despite being a three-star Exorcist, got such a fright that his hand trembled, and the eyeball fell out, landing perfectly within the circle on top of the paper box.


    Since it was still wet, the eyeball didn¡¯t roll away but stuck directly onto the surface of the box.


    Without hesitation, Gu Dekang secretly moved his arm, feeling some strength return to his right arm, though not as quickly as his left.


    He glanced at the magnetic knife by his right foot, within reach if he used his right hand to hook it.


    But at that moment, he suddenly realized that the chair he was sitting on hadn¡¯t turned this time; it stayed completely still in its original position.


    The next second, he saw the lid of the paper box slightly rise, as if something inside was pushing it up.


    Then a bluish-black arm slowly extended from the opened gap.


    The hand was slender, but the nails were both long and sharp, black, as if they had been deliberately manicured.


    At the instant the lid of the box opened, a chill rushed over him.


    Gu Dekang stared as the reaching-out black hand moved slowly towards the eyeball in the circle, and after a moment hovered above it, grasped it, and slowly retracted into the box.


    About four or five seconds later, a squelch!


    Gu Dekang remembered the sound he made last time he bit into a grape he had thrown into his mouth.


    His stomach churned, but he immediately suppressed it and focused on the magnetic knife by his foot.


    The mobility of his body was gradually increasing; the numbness he felt upon waking had disappeared. Gu Dekang slightly bent his body; due to being overweight, reaching the magnetic knife required more effort than it would for an average person.


    Soon his fingertips touched the handle of the knife.


    However, at this time, two more sounds came from inside the box¡ªthump, thump.


    It was time to put in the next item.


    But this time Gu Dekang didn¡¯t plan to pay it any attention; he was about to grab the magnetic knife. His body was bent as far down as it could go, but the excess flesh on his stomach, being squeezed together, made it difficult for him to breathe, as his just-recovered body felt the pressure.


    He quickly glanced at the still silent paper box, then, with a determined breath, pushed his body down again, grabbed the handle with a hook of his right hand, and his legs gathered some strength, ready to stand up.


    But what Gu Dekang didn¡¯t expect was that he underestimated his weight; he exerted too much force and his body tipped forward. As he grabbed the magnetic knife, he almost fell over.


    In a moment of urgency, his right hand grasped the knife while his left pressed against the paper box to stabilize his figure.


    But he did not notice that when he pressed down, his index and middle fingers landed straight into the circle on the box.


    And at that moment, the lid of the box jerked open a crack, and the previously seen black arm quickly reached out, grabbing Gu Dekang¡¯s index and middle fingers and yanking them forcefully into the box.


    Just as Gu Dekang¡¯s right hand managed to grab the magnetic knife, his pupils shrank. Taking advantage of his forward momentum, he swung the magnetic knife; its magnetic glow enveloping the blade as he spared no mercy slashing at the black arm.


    The next second, the knife landed solidly on the grotesque slender arm, but with a flash, the magnetic glow completely vanished.


    Looking again at the arm, there was only a faint mark that quickly disappeared.


    At the same moment, Gu Dekang screamed in agony, feeling an unbearable sharp pain in his arm. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rip!


    Half of his arm was brutally torn off by the black hand, flesh and blood splattering, leaving bones stark-white, quickly drenched in blood.


    The torn half-arm had already been dragged into the box by the black hand.


    At that moment, Gu Dekang was drenched in cold sweat, his forehead streaming with heavy perspiration, and his facial features twisted in severe pain.


    He slumped in the chair, completely devoid of strength, his right hand tightly clutching the wound where his arm had been ripped off, trying to stem the flow of blood, but to no avail.


    The lid of the box slowly closed again; but when there was only a gap left, it stopped.


    Shortly after, a pair of white pupils appeared in the dark slit, staring silently at Gu Dekang, exuding strangeness¡­ and mockery¡­

 Chapter 754: 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_2

    Chapter 754: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_2


    ¡­


    Cao Heng stood at the doorway of No. 17 Qingtian Alley, looking up to survey the front gate and walls of the courtyard.


    He could sense the strangeness of the magnetic field fluctuations emanating from within and was certain that something strange was present.


    But the reason he did not immediately enter was that this unfamiliar environment, this newly acquired task, made him, standing here at this moment, feel an inner unease.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Cao Heng looked away, frowning in thought, ¡°Is this place evil, or is the strangeness inside tough to deal with?¡±


    The Aries District Exorcist team had informed him that seven hours ago, three-star Exorcist Gu Dekang had entered this address, but three hours prior, the team¡¯s liaison had been unable to contact Gu Dekang.


    It was now one o¡¯clock in the morning.


    Regardless of whether the strangeness here could be dealt with or not, Gu Dekang was supposed to report back to the team, but he had not done so.


    So, there was a possibility that he had met with some accident.


    For Cao Heng, he had quite an impression of Gu Dekang, who had been progressing steadily and swiftly among the exorcists, with a good control over magnetic force. The only obstacle was that he was a bit overweight.


    But no one had decreed that being overweight precluded one from becoming an exorcist; the world was not lacking in agile heavyweights, although this might cause some inconvenience during certain missions.


    In the entire Aries City District, Cao Heng was well aware that the highest-level events he had dealt with were two Grade B strangenesses, and they had not even been close to Grade A, let alone a real Grade A event.


    And in this courtyard, the chances of a strangeness that could create a Grade A event were virtually zero.


    However, virtually zero did not mean there was no chance, so he had to be vigilant and cautious.


    The possibility that Gu Dekang had not made a sound, had neither left nor been able to send a message to the team liaison, might have already indicated the level of danger involved.


    The courtyard gate was ajar, showing that Gu Dekang had indeed gone inside. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cao Heng pushed the gate and entered. His gaze swept quickly around the courtyard, taking in the surrounding environment before heading in the direction of Zhou Wenfei¡¯s residence.


    The sense of the strange magnetic field was coming from this side, and no abnormalities were detected from the side where Zhou Wenfei¡¯s parents¡¯ bedroom was, so Cao Heng decided not to waste time.


    The magnetic knife in his hand was short, with double edges, which strictly speaking, made it closer to a dagger.


    However, once the magnetic glow was activated, the length of the Magnetic Blade could instantly triple in length, a special creation by Wan Shouguang of the Huaying Exorcist Brigade for him.


    Arriving at the door of the house, Cao Heng did not turn on his flashlight but pushed open the living room door and didn¡¯t immediately enter. Instead, he stood at the doorway, observing the movements within.


    Cao Heng had excellent vision, especially in darkness. Typically, a person¡¯s eyes need some time to adjust when moving from a well-lit place to a dark area, but Cao Heng did not have this problem; he could almost immediately adjust to the darkness and see more clearly than others.


    The room¡¯s furnishings appeared quite normal, but in the middle of the living room, there were four chairs positioned in front of the coffee table.


    Three chairs were aligned side by side, with one chair behind them. These three chairs were facing away from the one behind.


    On the floor in front of the rear chair, there could be seen some dark liquid.


    ¡°Is that¡­ blood?¡± Cao Heng¡¯s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing carefully and guessing there was a seventy percent chance that the dark liquid on the floor was blood.


    He still did not enter, taking another look around instead. The bedroom door further away was open, but the scene inside was unknown.


    Cao Heng spread his magnetic force sensation wide, finding every part of the room permeated with a strange magnetic field, but he could not pinpoint where the field was strongest.


    He hesitated slightly, then threw the Magnetic Blade in his hand. Held aloft by magnetic force, the blade trembled slightly in mid-air, emitting a buzzing sound as it hovered into the living room.


    When it arrived near the four chairs, the Magnetic Blade suddenly vibrated and lost control, falling to the ground.


    Cao Heng¡¯s expression turned to surprise. After ensuring there was no danger, he walked into the living room, his left hand poised over two Hidden Buckles, one High-Energy Chilling and one Super-Energy Burst.


    The High-Energy Chilling was a newly developed high-power level Hidden Buckle, which increased the particle freeze effect on Strange Bodies based on the original Chilling Hidden Buckle and shortened the freezing time.


    The Super-Energy Burst was a precaution in case the opposition proved too fierce; Cao Heng would only throw it out in a dire emergency.


    Approaching the chairs, he crouched to pick up the Magnetic Blade, glanced in the direction of the bedroom, and was about to move over when he suddenly felt the world spin.


    Cao Heng was taken aback and immediately clasped the handle of the Magnetic Blade with his right hand, flicking his finger. The Magnetic Blade left his grasp to hover again but did not move far from his palm, making it easy to catch upon falling.


    The dizzy feeling grew stronger, and Cao Heng dared not make any sudden moves.


    After hovering, the tip of the Magnetic Blade swung slightly, stabilizing after a few seconds beside the living room sofa.


    Cao Heng immediately threw the High-Energy Chilling Hidden Buckle in that direction.


    With a loud thud, what had been an empty space by the side of the sofa suddenly revealed the figure of a woman. The moment she appeared, she was engulfed by the bursting Chilling Hidden Buckle, her dark figure turning white.


    The chill emitted by the High-Energy Chilling Hidden Buckle turned the living room momentarily into a cave of ice, piercing cold penetrating Cao Heng¡¯s clothes and causing him to break out in goosebumps.

 Chapter 755: 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_3

    Chapter 755: Chapter 436: The Ruthless Cao Heng_3


    ¡°This guy, really too powerful!¡± Cao Heng sighed inwardly.


    The woman was quickly turned into an ice stick, with all the strange particles in her body ceasing to move, and her magnetic field unable to disperse any longer.


    Cao Heng immediately controlled the Magnetic Blade to stab at her as she hovered in the air.


    However, at this moment, just as the dizziness that had receded came surging back, more intense than before. With a buzz in his head, Cao Heng staggered forward, nearly falling.


    His consciousness at this moment was like paste, no longer capable of effective thought, let alone ensuring the Magnetic Blade would hit its target.


    The Magnetic Blade clanged as it fell to the ground, and Cao Heng struggled to clear his mind, but found it difficult to do so.


    The dizziness now was at least three to five times worse than before.


    He valiantly fought to keep from falling, but escape was already impossible. He could only stand his ground, desperately watching the woman who had turned into an ice stick.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that, even though he had trapped the woman, she still had such a strong counterattack.


    As the thought crossed his mind, in a daze, Cao Heng felt his body turn uncontrollably, walking over to a chair with a pool of blood on the ground and slowly sitting down.


    At this time, he had not completely lost consciousness but maintained the last shred of awareness, struggling internally, yet his body was unable to resist.


    His limbs dangled weakly but bizarrely managed to sit upright in the chair, facing the three chairs placed opposite him. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound of ice cracking, ¡°crack crack¡±, with chunks falling off, the trapped woman walked out.


    As the woman walked, she stumbled, as if her whole body was twisting. Step by step, she passed by where Cao Heng was sitting, without giving him a glance, then walked to the left side of the three chairs, tilting her head, her long hair sliding off her shoulder, and sat down.


    At this moment, Cao Heng was desperately struggling. He tried hard to stretch his hand towards the buckle of his belt.


    However, soon, his gaze shifted to the kitchen doorway to his right, where another long-haired figure appeared, her shape similar to the woman who had just sat down.


    This woman¡¯s face was also covered by her hair, her arms spread parallel, drooping down as if she could no longer lower them from the shoulder, and her legs were also stiff. She moved like a puppet to the chair on the right side of the three chairs.


    Her waist bent, making a ¡°crack¡± sound as it broke in the middle. Because her clothes were torn, the break was clearly visible. Afterward, the woman sat down in this terrifying manner.


    Cao Heng watched this scene, seemingly indifferent, but subconsciously, his right hand was still putting all its strength into moving towards the buckle, inch by inch.


    Meanwhile, the Super-Energy Burst that his left hand was holding onto had fallen somewhere when his limbs suddenly went limp.


    The next second, rustling sounds came from behind him, from the bedroom not far away.


    About a minute or so later, the sound approached Cao Heng, passing by the side of his chair.


    This was also a long-haired woman, on all fours, with disheveled hair obscuring her face, crawling forward on her knees.


    Her body was not stiff but twisted to the left, with a bizarre crawling posture. She slowly passed by Cao Heng, crawling to the middle one of the three chairs.


    She seemed to have wilted, listlessly climbing up and sprawling on the chair.


    Cao Heng had not expected that three women, three chairs, would turn the room into the scene with three strangenesses!


    The three women sat in front of him, backs turned, each with their own terrifying posture of collapse, twisting, or breaking, all silent.


    At this time, Cao Heng was still trying to inch his thumb closer to the belt buckle, touching a hidden signal button he had installed.


    But as he made this movement, the woman sitting on the right, with arms held up like a hanger, slowly turned her head.


    Before even seeing her face, Cao Heng felt a swelling in his chest, bulging into a lump the size of a ping pong ball.


    He immediately stopped moving, and the lump stopped growing.


    After a pause, he moved his hand again, reaching for the belt buckle. The lump began to grow again, accompanied by waves of pain as if it were about to burst open at any moment.


    Now, Cao Heng realized he should not move, or it would trigger something, causing mutations to occur in his body.


    But he could not afford to care about that now. If he were to die here, the Aries District would no longer be aware of the terror of the strangenesses here, and perhaps even more Exorcists would fall victim to this place.


    The lump in his chest grew larger, but he still reached the belt buckle and pressed the hidden signal button.


    Pop!


    The lump on his chest burst open at that moment, flesh and blood splattering, turning into a spray of gore.

 Chapter 756: 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist

    Chapter 756: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist


    After attending classes at Tianmeng Science University for several days, Yan Junze had been very busy throughout that time, relying on Zhang Xiaomo to take care of Xiang Er as she slowly recovered, so he could run around.


    First, he was summoned by the Tianmeng Squad, where the team captain, Huo Zhisen, talked with him to thoroughly understand the situation in the mall that day and the whole story behind it.


    What Yan Junze said was very much the same as what he told Zhang Xiaomo, only that some parts were more elaborately fabricated.


    Two Reapers battling each other, this had never happened before in the history of Tianmeng.


    Most importantly, the Reaper from Great Capital died in the mall, and the Half Moon Association would definitely not let the matter rest, compelling Huaying District to respond with full effort.


    Huo Zhisen warned Yan Junze not to consider leaving the Great Capital during this time. The Security Bureau was now conducting a comprehensive review of anyone from the USA entering Huaying District, to prevent infiltration by the Half Moon Association.


    But if Yan Junze left Huaying, there would be too many uncontrollable factors, which could bring danger to himself.


    Yan Junze expressed his thanks, and not many days later, the Exorcist Brigade from Huaying District summoned him again.


    After saying a word to Zhang Xiaomo and others, Yan Junze flew to Huaying District for the second time.


    About suddenly calling Zhang Chengjing to ask the Reaper to rescue Zhang Xiaomo and the others, Yan Junze needed to explain himself properly.


    He had prepared in advance and had already ¡°revealed¡± some of his findings to Zhang Chengjing over the phone about the Half Moon Association¡¯s secret activation of a hidden altar.


    In fact, the headquarters of the Huaying Exorcists had already discovered some traces of the Half Moon Association, and now that Yan Junze spoke out the ¡°real situation,¡± Zhang Chengjing secretly compared it, and indeed the information was highly credible.


    However, according to Yan Junze, the altar could no longer be activated at this point.


    But if it were successfully activated, the danger could be immense.


    Over the next few days, Great Capital conducted a secret investigation and even obtained photos of the first few pages of the ¡°Book of Oath,¡± the medium for summoning the altar.


    Experts were already studying and deciphering these photos, and Zhang Chengjing informed Yan Junze to notify him immediately once there were results.


    Yan Junze¡¯s visit to Great Capital was not only to report to the Brigade about Morrison¡¯s death.


    In the Brigade building, in Zhang Chengjing¡¯s office, the deputy commander Yu Changhai was also present and then personally handed Yan Junze a pure gold Exorcist badge.


    This was the insignia of a specially appointed Exorcist under direct management of the Brigade, with a fixed substantial monthly salary, and responsible directly to the Exorcist Brigade, the highest level among the specially appointed Exorcists.


    Of course, before entering the Brigade building, Yan Junze underwent a Semi-Spiritualization test, proving that he was a powerful Semi-Spirit with special domain field abilities.


    After understanding the management principles for top-tier special appointees like himself, Yan Junze went to Zhang Chengjing¡¯s home for dinner.


    He felt something special; under normal circumstances, it was supposed to be Xiaomo who would bring him to ¡°meet the parents¡± for the first time after being together. Yet, every time it turned out to be the opposite, with Xiaomo not there, while he conversed happily with Zhang Chengjing.


    After dinner, the two chatted casually, and Zhang Chengjing informed him that the next day, he could use his identity as a special appointee of the Brigade to view previous classified information.


    This matter had actually always been on Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    The very next day, he immediately made a trip to the Brigade¡¯s information area where he stayed for most of the day before leaving.


    After saying farewell to Zhang Chengjing, he took the evening flight back to Tianmeng.


    All the way, Yan Junze¡¯s brows were slightly furrowed, and what filled his mind were the documents he had seen that day. The secrets within these documents opened a door for him to a whole new world he had never seen before.


    The experts¡¯ speculations were astonishing, and some theories and ideas led Yan Junze to increasingly feel that he was starting to guess the reason for the appearance of strangenesses in this world.


    During the journey back, he gradually digested the information he had seen.


    The second day after returning to Tianmeng, Yan Junze went to the Exorcism Squad to re-register his information. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon after, Huo Zhisen called him to his office.


    ¡°Go to Aries District?¡± Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, looking at Huo Zhisen.


    Huo Zhisen nodded, ¡°Aries District is now facing a tough strangeness incident and needs assistance from other districts. At present, their strongest four-star Exorcist is missing, presumed dead, and at least a five-star or equivalent Semi-spirit is needed to take action.¡±


    Then Huo Zhisen picked up a stack of documents, ¡°The Brigade sent me your test results yesterday, and the Semi-spirit strength you¡¯ve demonstrated has reached the equivalent level of a five-star. Now, Old Guo is still lying in a hospital; it¡¯s impossible to send him, so you¡¯ll have to take on the task.¡±


    Yan Junze knew that Aries District didn¡¯t have a five-star Exorcist, having seen the distribution in the Brigade¡¯s information area; the highest there was a top-tier four-star, whose name seemed to be Cao Heng.


    Actually, in all eight districts of Huaying, there were very few with a five-star Exorcist.


    In all of Great Capital, there were less than twenty five-star Exorcists in total; besides the few districts that had one, other five-star Exorcists were either at the Brigade or assigned near the border of the abandoned cities infested with fierce strangenesses or on secret tasks in other capitals.


    And like Yan Junze, those whose Semi-Spiritualization reached five-star level were even rarer, with only a few possessing it; and since such coincidental luck was incredibly rare, some Semi-spirits, although their powers could be considered five-star, basically lived on the brink of death, tortured by the strangeness inside them to the point of barely being human.

 Chapter 757: 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist_2

    Chapter 757: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist_2


    Not only that, a Semi-spirit like Yan Junze who could control the domain field simply did not exist.


    Yan Junze did not delay, and after accepting the mission, he called Xiaomo to inform her and immediately left the team¡¯s office building for the airport.


    Tianmeng District was considered to be at the center of the Great Capital, with Yannan to the south, Tianyi to the north, Shou Zheng to the east, and Aries to the west.


    Departing from Tianmeng, it was relatively convenient to reach any of the nearby districts. This was also one of the reasons that Tianmeng immediately dispatched Yan Junze to assist Aries District; if they waited for a five-star Exorcist from Huaying District to head over, it would be too late.


    It took less than an hour by plane to arrive at the urban airport of Aries District.


    Outside the airport, a car dispatched by the Exorcist team of the area was waiting, and the person responsible for receiving Yan Junze was a female Exorcist named Ma Jing.


    Ma Jing was tall with a large frame. After confirming Yan Junze¡¯s identity in the car, she showed considerable respect, but her face bore no smile, only a serious expression as she began to explain.


    ¡°The strangeness occurred at No. 17 Qingtian Alley, within an old quadrangle dwelling. The homeowner, Zhou Wenfei, is missing. He was repeatedly dialing 4747 at first, so we blacklisted him and dispatched a three-star Exorcist named Gu Dekang to investigate and deal with it, then Gu Dekang also went missing. In the early hours of that day, a four-star Exorcist named Cao Heng was out on a mission and after concluding it, learned of the situation and reported it to the team for him to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Cao Heng is missing too?¡± Yan Junze said.


    Ma Jing shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t say missing, it¡¯s very strange. We received his emergency signal that morning, pinpointed at No. 17 Qingtian Alley. Three-star Exorcists and above in Aries District are equipped with these signal transmitters, so they can send signals to notify the team in critical situations, to raise alertness and avoid greater dangers.¡±


    She paused before continuing, ¡°After receiving the signal, I organized two other three-star Exorcists to drop their current tasks and rush over immediately. We arrived there around three in the morning. As soon as we entered the courtyard, we heard Brother Cao¡¯s screams, which made us dare not move. We observed carefully, afraid of being ambushed by the strangeness.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your rank?¡± Yan Junze interrupted to ask.


    ¡°Four stars, but our strongest four-star Exorcist is Cao Heng.¡± Ma Jing frowned slightly, ¡°Even he¡¯s trapped there, you can imagine how dangerous that strangeness is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, go on.¡±


    ¡°I then discovered that as soon as anyone who entered the courtyard moved, Brother Cao would immediately scream. If we didn¡¯t move or approach, nothing happened.¡± Ma Jing¡¯s face showed deep confusion, ¡°With no other choice, I had everyone temporarily leave the courtyard, not daring to enter again. But this proved that Brother Cao was still alive, at least temporarily.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you just say he was both missing and not missing?¡± Yan Junze asked curiously.


    Ma Jing said, ¡°Because later, when it was light, another four-star Exorcist and I entered again.¡±


    ¡°And this time he didn¡¯t scream?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Ma Jing shook her head in bewilderment, ¡°Not only that, but my colleague and I easily entered that room and found nothing inside. No person, no strangeness, everything looked ordinary. I sensed the surroundings and didn¡¯t even find any strangeness magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that it only appears at night?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    Ma Jing looked at him with some astonishment, ¡°Mr. Yan, you are correct. Once night falls, Brother Cao and the strangeness reappear in the room, and we can¡¯t get close. If we approach, Brother Cao will start screaming. We¡¯d contemplated staying inside during the day and waiting for nightfall, but we didn¡¯t have the confidence to handle the strangeness, and we also worried about losing more Exorcists in there. Consequently, the team captain ordered all Exorcists not to approach the courtyard and to wait for backup.¡±


    ¡°How much time has passed since you discovered Cao Heng in that room?¡± Yan Junze inquired.


    ¡°Today is the third day,¡± Ma Jing replied. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze frowned, ¡°He¡¯s been trapped there for three days and is still alive? If he has already started screaming, his condition must be very grim. Having held on this long, Cao Heng is indeed tough.¡±


    ¡°Brother Cao has always been very capable,¡± Ma Jing said with a worried tone.


    As they talked, the car soon entered the urban area, passing through more than a dozen streets and finally driving directly into a spacious alley.


    Yan Junze looked out the window and noticed a sign erect outside that read ¡°Qingtian Alley,¡± with several security bureau staff standing at the entrance to the alley.


    Ma Jing explained, ¡°This alley has been sealed off by us, and the security bureau has temporarily requisitioned another courtyard next door for their office. Our vehicle can park there.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded.


    Shortly thereafter, the vehicle entered a courtyard. Yan Junze alighted from the vehicle and met with the security bureau official responsible for assisting Exorcists.


    About half an hour later, the captain of the Aries District Exorcist team arrived, an elderly man with white hair but who appeared quite robust. Upon seeing Yan Junze, his face was filled with gratitude.


    During that half-hour, Yan Junze had already surveyed the exterior of Zhou Wenfei¡¯s courtyard and observed the surroundings.


    He also sensed his surroundings. It was daytime, and indeed, he detected no fluctuations of any strangeness magnetic fields.


    After meeting with the others, Yan Junze outlined his plan. Time could not be wasted; if they waited any longer, even a tough person like Cao Heng might be on his last legs.

 Chapter 758: 437: Chief Teams Special Invitation for an Exorcist_3

    Chapter 758: Chapter 437: Chief Team¡¯s Special Invitation for an Exorcist_3


    So he planned to enter the room during the day, and then wait until nightfall to eliminate the strangeness and rescue Cao Heng.


    In response to the dispatch of Yan Junze, the silver-haired old captain chose to trust and support him unconditionally. He immediately arranged for someone to prepare a meal to satisfy Yan Junze¡¯s hunger first.


    Considering that Yan Junze was a Semi-spirit, the captain also inquired what his main food was.


    This was something Yan Junze found quite strange himself. After merging with the white long worms, he was not like the last time he became a Semi-spirit. This time, it seemed his main food had not changed at all; he still ate whatever he used to eat.


    However, to the silver-haired captain, this point was even more astonishing. He thought, ¡°A Semi-spirit that can go toe-to-toe with a five-star Exorcist is indeed impressive; even its diet can be the same as ordinary humans.¡±


    Instead of eating candles, gnawing on clay chunks, drinking blood, sucking on hair, or biting skin¡­


    Impressive!


    After eating a bit, Yan Junze looked at the photos of Cao Heng, Gu Dekang, and Zhou Wenfei provided by Ma Jing, memorized their faces, and then left the courtyard for the one next door.


    Since it was not yet dark, he pushed open the gate of the 17th courtyard by himself and walked in.


    When he first arrived, he had already activated ¡°Perception of Strange Events¡± to scan the area. While other minor strangenesses had appeared nearby, they were not from here.


    This indicated that during the daytime, they could not be detected, and would only appear at night.


    He hoped that the guy named Cao Heng could hold on until now and that he wouldn¡¯t find him already dead when the night came and the strangeness emerged alongside.


    The yard looked ordinary, and Yan Junze glanced around casually before heading towards the room where Zhou Wenfei lived.


    The living room door appeared to be shut, but it actually opened with a push, as the lock was not engaged.


    After Yan Junze entered, he focused his attention on the living room since Ma Jing had mentioned that Cao Heng¡¯s screams had come from here.


    The living room was simply furnished and even somewhat disordered.


    Ma Jing had said that the other Exorcists and security personnel had not touched anything here, so everything remained as it was found.


    He looked around as he walked towards the bedroom inside the house.


    Although the curtains were drawn, he could still see the surroundings clearly.


    Yan Junze tried to flip the light switch, and the light immediately came on, then he turned it off again.


    Standing at the bedroom door and looking towards the bed, although the beddings were a bit messy, there was nothing unusual on top, and a smartphone lay askew next to the pillow.


    Yan Junze picked up the phone to unlock it and found it required a password. The phone¡¯s battery was still half-full, so he tossed it onto the bedside table.


    He opened the wardrobe to inspect it, looked under the bed, and into the en-suite bathroom, followed by the kitchen outside the living room.


    After doing a walk-through, he sat down on the living room sofa. In front of the sofa was a short coffee table with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on it, and the ashtray beside it was crammed with cigarette butts.


    The room was eerily silent, so quiet it was almost excessive.


    Yan Junze pulled out his phone to check the time, and according to the weather in Aries District, there was roughly an hour left before it would be dark. He then started browsing the news.


    Unconsciously, he didn¡¯t realize when he had fallen asleep, or perhaps some force had subtly coerced him into slumber.


    In a daze, the rustling sound of clothes brushing reached his ears, and Yan Junze, sprawled on the sofa and sound asleep, slowly opened his eyes. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By then, it was entirely dark outside.


    He noticed something wriggling behind the coffee table in front of the sofa, rising and falling, but the light inside the room was too dim for him to see clearly what it was.


    Before long, a head appeared at the level of the coffee table, slowly rising at one end, gradually revealing hair, a dark green forehead, then faint brows, followed by a pair of terrifying eyes.


    These eyes were all white, and as soon as they emerged from the edge of the coffee table, they silently watched him.

 Chapter 759: 438: Triple Spirits (1)

    Chapter 759: Chapter 438: Triple Spirits (1)


    In such a situation, Yan Junze knew that it was impossible for him to fall asleep.


    If he could sit on the sofa and fall asleep, especially in the current environment, it would definitely be because of some mischief.


    The streetlamp outside the yard shone through the curtains into the room, casting a hazy light. Although his vision was blurred, he could still make out the two white eyes at the other end of the coffee table.


    At the same time he saw this scene, the temperature around him began to noticeably drop.


    Yan Junze did not move for the moment, letting the terrifying eyes watch him as he gently sniffed, detecting a faint smell of blood.


    He glanced down at the floor and quickly noticed a dark, tar-like pattern near the coffee table, which seemed to be the result of a liquid soaking the area.


    Perhaps it was a bloodstain.


    When he had entered the room earlier, Yan Junze had not noticed the bloodstain. He was certain of that; he had observed carefully and had not seen any signs of blood on the floor, but now, as night fell, it was there.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t be sure whether those eyes that only showed the whites could actually see him.


    Although his own eyes were open, he was squinting slightly and had not moved, as though he was still in the posture of sleeping.


    His heart beat strongly within his chest, steady and unrushed, providing him with a continuous source of stability.


    He suddenly thought of a problem. Perhaps the woman at the other end of the coffee table didn¡¯t know that he had awakened, and assumed that the magnetic field she emitted, which induced sleep, was still effective.


    After seeing the woman, the mission information almost simultaneously flashed through Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    However, after seeing the text of the mission information, he instead became somewhat puzzled.


    The woman¡¯s peculiar behavior wasn¡¯t especially unusual; the game of hide-and-seek during her life had brought about a great change in her, so she continued to do so after death.


    All he had to do was play a round of hide-and-seek with her and not get caught.


    For Yan Junze, this was a relatively simple mission, the only difference being that the woman¡¯s strangeness level was a bit high, likely a Sculpting Spirit, which made the mission classified as ¡°hair-raising (medium)¡±


    ¡°Is this really just a hair-raising level mission?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    In his view, a hair-raising level mission, like those Xiaomo, a three-star exorcist, could handle. If indeed they couldn¡¯t subdue the opponent, escaping would not be a problem.


    Therefore, it was impossible that the three-star exorcist named Gu Dekang would stumble here without even being able to send out a distress signal. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And now, not only that, but even Aries District¡¯s strongest four-star exorcist was trapped here. Was this just because of a ¡°hair-raising (medium)¡± mission?


    Too many doubts surfaced in Yan Junze¡¯s mind, and he also noticed that the mission suggested that the woman could be subject to a Lockdown.


    Currently, the woman seemed somewhat special, with an ability that was difficult to guard against, probably the peculiar magnetic field that had put him to sleep earlier.


    But that was all.


    The mission information listed her name in life as Zhuang Wenhui, but did not mention the cause of her death.


    After staring intently at Yan Junze for a few minutes from the other end of the coffee table, Zhuang Wenhui began to move again. She slowly extended her head out fully, and her long hair on either side of her cheeks fell down, almost completely covering her face.


    Then, two slender hands stretched out, resting on the coffee table, and she climbed onto the coffee table.


    Her clothing was somewhat tattered and torn, revealing the rotted flesh beneath. In some places, the rotted flesh had formed holes, almost allowing one to see through to the other side.


    With twisted limbs, Zhuang Wenhui climbed onto the coffee table, leaned forward with her arms, and her upper body tilted toward Yan Junze who was still ¡°sleeping¡±.


    Her round head drew near, and under the curtain of her hair, her eyes ¡°observed¡± Yan Junze from a close distance: his eyes, nose, mouth¡­


    To say she was observing, it seemed like she couldn¡¯t actually see; she sniffed around, from Yan Junze¡¯s face to his neck, then over his body.


    Yan Junze kept his eyes narrowed the entire time, using the opportunity to examine her as well.


    Because her face was obscured by her long hair, it was only as Zhuang Wenhui moved that he could get a clearer look at the woman¡¯s features.


    Zhuang Wenhui must have been very beautiful in life, but now her face was perhaps disfigured. Her eyes lacked eyelids, the tip of her nose neatly truncated revealing the nostril holes on her nasal bones, and her upper lip curled up, not a congenital deformity but likely also due to some violent act, as one could see punctures through the lip.


    Yan Junze¡¯s psychological endurance by now was extremely strong, and even with such a face in close contact with him, constantly sniffing over his body, he still showed no reaction.


    However, the coldness around him grew more intense.


    Now Yan Junze knew that a Spirit with strong obsession or resentment emanated a much colder aura than ordinary strangenesses. Clearly, Zhuang Wenhui was one such case.


    This was irrespective of the ghost¡¯s power level; it was purely related to the experiences of their life and the resentment formed after death.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for you to hide?¡±


    At that moment, Yan Junze suddenly spoke.


    As he spoke, he remained seated without moving.


    Zhuang Wenhui got startled, immediately distancing herself from him, her white eyeballs rolling around in shock.


    But she quickly recovered, emitting a hoarse voice from her throat. Without a word, she turned around and hopped onto the coffee table, then jumped down to the floor and tiptoed into the bedroom.

 Chapter 760: 438: Triple Spirits (1)_2

    Chapter 760: Chapter 438: Triple Spirits (1)_2


    Looking at her, Yan Junze muttered to himself, ¡°She must not have been older than fifteen when she died.¡±


    Yan Junze saw Zhuang Wenhui run into the bedroom, clearly hiding inside, but he knew that playing hide and seek with her wouldn¡¯t be so simple; otherwise, two exorcists wouldn¡¯t have fallen here.


    He stood up, straightened his clothes, and released the Black Spirit Umbrella, holding it as a walking stick.


    In fact, with Yan Junze¡¯s current Semi-Spirit strength, dealing with a Sculpting Spirit was quite easy.


    But that might not save Cao Heng, nor could it dispel Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s obsession.


    So far, there were many doubts about the whole affair; he had to clear her obsession to see what the real cause was.


    A Sculpting Spirit level strangeness trapping a three-star and a four-star exorcist here and cutting off rescue from other exorcists was indeed mind-boggling!


    Yan Junze used the Black Spirit Umbrella to support himself on the ground and slowly walked to the bedroom door, then he pressed the light switch.


    As he had expected, there was no response.


    He took out a flashlight, turned it on, and carefully inspected the bedroom.


    The wardrobe door was closed; the bathroom door was open, but the quilt on the bed was now completely covering the bedsheets and pillows.


    He remembered that when he first entered, the quilt had been partially lifted, which was not the case now.


    Yan Junze walked into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe door on purpose to take a look, and murmured, ¡°Not in the wardrobe.¡±


    After closing the wardrobe door, his flashlight beam shot into the bathroom. After looking for a while, he added, ¡°Nor hidden in the bathroom. Weird, where could she have gone?¡±


    At that moment, the quilt on the bed moved visibly.


    Something hidden inside tugged the quilt down a bit, making the end of the quilt near the pillows partially uncovered.


    With this, the ¡°object¡± under the quilt was partially revealed; Yan Junze shone his flashlight at it and was momentarily stunned.


    The uncovered head of a man was not Zhuang Wenhui, who had just run into the room.


    The man resembled someone Yan Junze had seen in a photo; if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it should be Zhou Wenfei himself.


    At that moment, Zhou Wenfei¡¯s face was pale and bloodless, and the blood that had flowed from his left eye socket was now congealed, suggesting that the eyeball might be missing.


    Seeing him like this, the situation looked dire.


    However, Yan Junze was also aware that under the quilt, Zhuang Wenhui was covered too, but he wasn¡¯t ready to lift that layer of quilt yet.


    Now, only Zhou Wenfei was visible, with no sign of Gu Dekang and Cao Heng. He couldn¡¯t just act rashly before the situation was fully understood.


    Obviously, Zhuang Wenhui was waiting for him to lift the quilt.


    By that, he was inclined not to do so.


    Sometimes, the obsession of a strangeness in playing hide and seek seems very simple, but if it could be resolved so easily, the task wouldn¡¯t be at the ¡°hair-raising¡± level.


    Winning just by finding the strangeness would be easier than the [Hairwashing] mission he had encountered with Ke¡¯er; why isn¡¯t it categorized at the ¡°Anxiety-Inducing¡± level?


    Therefore, finding Zhuang Wenhui at this time might mean a loss instead.


    Yan Junze returned to the bedroom door, hid himself behind it, and then whispered through the crack to the living room, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, I¡¯ve found you, you¡¯re under the quilt on the bed. You¡¯ve lost, now it¡¯s your turn to find me!¡±


    The quilt on the bed began to wriggle, and about four or five seconds later, a dark head with long, scattered hair emerged from underneath.


    Zhuang Wenhui crawled out from under the quilt, looked left and right, not seeing Yan Junze, but appeared very excited. She immediately crouched and tiptoed quickly towards the living room.


    Yan Junze watched from the crack as she entered the living room and started looking for him, sometimes leaning over the long decorative cabinet to peek behind the wall, sometimes crawling behind the air conditioning unit in the corner, then to the corner near the coffee table by the sofa.


    Moments later, Zhuang Wenhui tiptoed into the kitchen.


    Yan Junze immediately stepped out from behind the bedroom door, not leaving the bedroom, but instead went to the wardrobe, opened it, crawled in and squatted down, then carefully closed the wardrobe door.


    Just before closing it, he said again, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, can¡¯t you find me?¡±


    In the kitchen doorway, the excited figure of Zhuang Wenhui appeared again, looking around.


    In the subconscious, disjointed images flashed by.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenhui, Wenhui¡­¡±


    In the dimly lit, narrow hallway, a middle-aged man about six feet tall with a slightly overweight build held a pair of iron pliers stained with blood and walked slowly.


    This man had a full beard, now partly drenched with bloodstains, and he wore a white short-sleeved shirt and loose brown breeches, with rubber boots on his feet.


    At this moment, his clothes and trousers were spotted with crimson blood.


    As he walked, he said, ¡°You¡¯d better hide well, oh, don¡¯t let me find you so quickly!¡±


    Inside a room around the corner from where the man was, there was a rather spacious bedroom, although it now reeked and was disgustingly filthy.


    A girl squatted inside the wardrobe, shaking all over, as the man¡¯s voice, heart-twinging footsteps, and heavy breathing reached her ears. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She knew the man had arrived outside the room.


    Zhuang Wenhui was so frightened that she turned pale and put her hands over her mouth, but immediately she winced hard, as intense pain shot through her mouth, nearly causing her to cry out.


    Releasing her hands, she saw that her lips had already been pierced by some hard object, exposing the gums. As the wound opened, fresh blood surged out, and the missing teeth on her upper gums were nowhere to be seen.


    The bedroom door was pushed open, and the footsteps that alarmed Zhuang Wenhui sounded again.


    ¡°Wenhui, are you hiding here?¡± the man¡¯s voice was very calm, ¡°I knew you¡¯d like it here, you can¡¯t forget your mother, subconsciously, you still hide in your mother¡¯s bedroom. But have you forgotten? Your mother¡­ is already dead!¡±


    As he spoke, the man¡¯s footsteps approached the bed that no one had slept in anymore.


    From the wardrobe¡¯s vent slats, Zhuang Wenhui clutched her mouth tightly, letting the wound tear open and the blood flow between her fingers, without making a sound.


    Her gaze was fixed on the man outside holding the iron pliers, her body trembling, eyes filled with tears from terror, clear and crystal, dropping slowly along her cheeks.


    The man walked around the bedroom with a smile on his face, continuing to speak.


    ¡°These last few games of hide-and-seek, you¡¯ve disappointed me. Disappointed yesterday, disappointed today, and perhaps disappointed tomorrow too, you little fool! All my efforts in raising you have been in vain!¡±


    A tall shadow blocked the little light filtering into the wardrobe.


    Zhuang Wenhui, still covering her mouth, shakily looked up just to see the wardrobe door slowly opening.


    A face she deeply loathed, feared intensely, and which made her extremely uneasy, was revealed outside the closet.


    The man reached out with a large hand, grabbed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s hair, and dragged her out violently.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    A scream escaped her lips.


    The sound seemed to come from the deepest part of her heart, starting clear and gradually becoming more and more obscure as fragments of her memory faded away.


    ¡­


    On tiptoes, with her body crouched, Zhuang Wenhui hurried into the bedroom.


    She looked around, then lightly jumped onto the bed and flipped open the covers.


    From inside the closet, Yan Junze could see only Zhou Wenfei¡¯s figure on the bed; the other two exorcists were nowhere to be seen.


    Zhuang Wenhui quickly jumped off the bed, landing right in front of the wardrobe.


    Whoosh!


    The wardrobe door where Yan Junze was hiding was flung open, and Zhuang Wenhui, leaning forward, poked her head into the wardrobe. Her long hair framed a face that was mutilated, shaking for a moment before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Zhuang Wenhui was puzzled because she saw nothing; aside from clothes, there was no one hiding in the wardrobe.


    Yan Junze, having activated the Semi-Spirit Domain Field and blocked out other paranormal magnetic fields, quietly sat inside the wardrobe, silently watching her, making no noise.


    He could see that when Zhuang Wenhui tilted her head, her scalp seemed to be split open, likely caused by a strong pulling force.


    Contemplating everything, Yan Junze recalled the mission information, trying hard to guess the cause of Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s death.


    Seeing nothing in the wardrobe, Zhuang Wenhui became even more curious and excited. It had been a long time since she¡¯d played such an addicting game of hide-and-seek. In her memory, it was as if she had always been dreaming, a dream from which she could not awaken, forever ensnaring her in a nightmare.

 Chapter 761: 439: Triple Spirits (2)

    Chapter 761: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)


    Seeing no one in the wardrobe, she shook her head and turned around, continuing her search elsewhere and quickly entering the bathroom of the bedroom.


    Yan Junze frowned as he watched her retreating figure, his suspicions slowly taking shape.


    A moment later, he spoke again.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenhui!¡±


    The overweight middle-aged man had just set down the pliers he was brandishing; they were still dripping with blood.


    ¡°You like to hide, don¡¯t you? Starting now, I¡¯ll let you hide all you want!¡±


    The man cracked a cruel smile, ¡°But don¡¯t let me find you because if I do, you¡¯re going to die a very ugly death. Hmm, this is the first time today, the first time I¡¯ve found you, so I¡¯ll give you a little reward first.¡±


    The pliers fell onto Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s head, who was kneeling on the ground, striking her brow bone with force.


    The brow bone split open, blood splattered, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s head buzzed, and she collapsed to the ground, her consciousness beginning to blur.


    She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn¡¯t come; it seemed she had run out of them.


    She wanted to call for help, but she couldn¡¯t make a sound because her throat was dry, parched from not having drunk any water for two days.


    Soon after, the man walked to the side where rustling sounds were heard as he appeared to be unzipping his pants.


    The sound of urination followed.


    Moments later, after zipping up his pants, the man¡¯s mocking voice rang out, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for not giving you water to drink; it¡¯s you who chose not to. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to die or stay alive.¡±


    With that, the man left with the pliers.


    In a daze, Zhuang Wenhui looked up at her washbasin filled with a yellowing, bubbling liquid that was emitting an unbearable smell throughout the room.


    Hide, I must hide!


    I can¡¯t let him find me!


    I have to hide!


    ¡­


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui.¡±


    Yan Junze called out twice, but the woman who entered the bathroom never reappeared.


    He paused for a moment, then realizing what was happening, he pushed open the wardrobe door and stepped out.


    His gaze shifted to the door of the bedroom bathroom and then to Zhou Wenfei, who was lying on the bed.


    Approaching the bed, he inspected Zhou Wenfei¡¯s body and found that one of his eyeballs was indeed missing, and there was no breath; his body was ice-cold, confirming he was dead.


    ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Yan Junze looked up, exhaling softly, ¡°Zhou Wenfei also played the game of hide-and-seek with Zhuang Wenhui.¡±


    He didn¡¯t move the body on the bed for the time being, as Cao Heng and Gu Dekang were still unaccounted for; perhaps he should complete Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s task first.


    He turned and walked towards the bathroom door, shining his flashlight inside to survey the area.


    Zhuang Wenhui hadn¡¯t found him just now, but her obsession might have led her to choose to hide once more, so the roles in the game of hide-and-seek could have changed again.


    Yan Junze immediately saw a mass of pitch-black hair floating on the surface of the toilet; he didn¡¯t know when Zhuang Wenhui had managed to cram her own grotesque body into the toilet to hide.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment but didn¡¯t enter. Instead, he stood at the bathroom doorway and called out, ¡°Zhuang Wenhui, I¡¯ve found you again. You¡¯re hiding in the toilet. Come out.¡±


    The clump of hair moved, but Zhuang Wenhui didn¡¯t appear.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°Although I¡¯ve found you, just like before, I won¡¯t hurt you. You can come out with confidence.¡±


    The hair in the toilet moved again, and then a face emerged, staring in Yan Junze¡¯s direction after revealing most of its features.


    Yan Junze even stepped back, opening his arms wide, showing he would not harm her as he watched the inside of the bathroom.


    After a while, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s body twisted, emerging from the toilet in a bizarre posture, her skeleton making cracking sounds as the bent parts slowly returned to normal.


    But she didn¡¯t move, remaining defensively on the ground, her head slightly tilted upwards, her hoarse voice bursting from her throat, ¡°You¡­ found me.¡±


    Yan Junze smiled, still standing outside the door, with no intention of entering. Because if he did, it might cause Zhuang Wenhui to panic or become defensive again.


    ¡°Still want to play?¡± He asked softly, not showing an air of superiority but instead showing respect and asking for her consent.


    Zhuang Wenhui was taken aback, suddenly bowing her head and curling into a ball, motionless.


    A prompt appeared in Yan Junze¡¯s mind at that moment.


    [Hide-and-seek, hair-raising (Intermediate), completed, 1200 Different Dimension Energy points received]


    However, almost simultaneously as the task completion prompt disappeared, another new task prompt popped up in his mind.


    Yan Junze stood still, somewhat surprised, after seeing the new task.


    After examining the task information carefully, he began to mutter to himself, ¡°The strangeness lies right here, this house is not haunted by just one entity.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He felt his hands go cold, as the temperature in the room seemed to drop even further.


    Turning his gaze back to the bathroom, Zhuang Wenhui was still lying there as if she had fallen asleep.


    But clearly, the atmosphere in the room had changed from before, with the temperature dropping rapidly; Yan Junze could see his own breath now.


    Ignoring the motionless Zhuang Wenhui, he turned and left the door of the bathroom, and as he passed the bed, his eyes fell upon it, and he paused.


    Now, there was an additional person lying on the bed.


    Yan Junze approached for a closer look and immediately recognized the person lying on the bed as Gu Dekang; he recognized him from a photo, and the body shape was easily identifiable.


    Gu Dekang¡¯s eyes were open at this time.

 Chapter 762: 439: Triple Spirits (2)_2

    Chapter 762: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)_2


    Yan Junze stretched out his hand to press on the carotid artery of the man, and after a moment, he withdrew his hand.


    Actually, the moment he touched the other¡¯s skin, he already knew Gu Dekang was dead, because the skin was ice-cold.


    Zhou Wenfei and Gu Dekang lay side by side on the large bed, occupying two-thirds of it. Yan Junze glanced at the remaining one third of empty space.


    There, presumably, was where Cao Heng would appear later.


    ¡°Could there be three strangenesses?¡± He lifted his head, thinking it over carefully, and it was not impossible.


    The task level of the second strangeness now had increased to ¡°Terrified (Low)¡±, which was two ranks higher than the previous ¡°hair-raising (Medium)¡± hide-and-seek.


    But even so, this task level still could not keep a top-tier four-star exorcist trapped here.


    This indicated that there might be a third strangeness.


    Having completed the first task just now, Yan Junze deduced that the woman named Zhuang Wenhui had most likely been tortured and abused during her life, hence the multiple scars and an abnormal obsession with hide-and-seek.


    If Zhou Wenfei died at the hands of Zhuang Wenhui, it could have been during the game of hide-and-seek, either because he was found by Zhuang Wenhui or he found her, and that led to his demise.


    That is to say, whether found or being found, the outcome was the same; only by acting as he had just done, one could reduce personal danger and resolve Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s obsession.


    Overall, Zhuang Wenhui felt no safety at all; being found by her led to death, and finding her also meant death. This could be related to how she was abused during her life.


    So why did Gu Dekang die now?


    Yan Junze stopped examining the bodies on the bed for the moment and turned to walk towards the living room.


    Stepping out of the bedroom, under the illumination of the flashlight, he suddenly froze and looked into the living room.


    Somehow, a large cardboard box had appeared there.


    Not far in front of the cardboard box, there was a simple wooden chair placed.


    And just as Yan Junze saw these suddenly appeared arrangements, his head began to feel dizzy.


    This was clearly a kind of interference with the consciousness field, silent and unnoticed, yet with great influence and strong penetrability.


    At this moment, Yan Junze could have activated the control field to isolate all these fields, but on second thought, he felt it was unnecessary.


    Firstly, this dizziness and near unconscious state were almost identical to the symptoms before Zhuang Wenhui appeared.


    It meant it was the same method used to make him lose consciousness so that the strangeness could carry out its next action.


    Secondly, there were some hints in the previous task; since the strangeness only wanted to knock him out and not kill him immediately, it was highly possible that, just like Zhuang Wenhui, it wanted to play some sort of game.


    The third point was that he had the Rewind on him, and in the worst case, he could activate the ¡°Automatic Rewind on Near-Death¡±. After the previous energy exhaustion, it had recovered for a while, and having completed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s task, he had more energy as a guarantee.


    So he didn¡¯t need to worry about this aspect.


    Without activating the control domain field, Yan Junze quickly lost control of his body, but he did not fully pass out; instead, he could feel himself walking and then sitting down. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His head was heavy, his eyelids wouldn¡¯t lift, and some inexplicable thoughts began to emerge hazily in his consciousness.


    For example, he needed to put something on top of the cardboard box in front of him; for example, there seemed to be something strange in his pocket¡­


    Before long, he felt movement in his pocket, as if there indeed was something foreign in it.


    But because his head was dizzy, he was unable to look down. However, in this state Yan Junze knew he could rewind with just a thought.


    Things were not as bad as he had anticipated.


    After an indeterminate amount of time in this dazed state, his consciousness gradually began to return, and the clarity of his senses slowly sharpened.


    Yan Junze lifted his head, finding that he could slowly twist it above his neck, but his limbs still did not quite respond, though they could be moved slowly.


    With great difficulty, he lifted his hand, feeling that his fingers couldn¡¯t exert much force, then discovered that his torso was stiff, making it impossible to get up from the chair.


    Thud! Thud!


    From the cardboard box in front of him suddenly came two sounds, as if signaling or warning him.


    Yan Junze¡¯s gaze fell on the box¡¯s surface, where he saw a black circle.


    Next to the circle, there were four words written: Place it here.


    After pondering for a moment, he looked at the cardboard box lid nearby, which seemed ready to open at any time.


    This scene reminded him of a morbidly amusing piggy bank he had seen before, where the coin couldn¡¯t be directly inserted but had to be placed at a specific location on top of the piggy bank; then the lid would automatically open, and either a skeleton¡¯s ghost hand or an animal¡¯s limb would reach out and slowly drag the coin inside the bank.


    Hesitating for a moment, the strange thought that rose in his mind told him there was something in his pocket, so he reached into it.


    His fingers still felt very stiff, but touch sensation was not gone.


    Very soon Yan Junze grasped an object and pulled it out to see it was a box of cigarettes.


    He immediately turned his head laboriously toward the coffee table, and sure enough, the pack of cigarettes he had seen before, not yet finished, was gone; only a lighter and an ashtray remained; and that pack of cigarettes must be the one in his hand.

 Chapter 763: 439: Triple Spirits (2)_3

    Chapter 763: Chapter 439: Triple Spirits (2)_3


    He paused, slowly extended the cigarette, placed it inside the black circle, and let go.


    But this time, the chair Yan Junze was sitting on didn¡¯t rotate like Zhou Wenfei¡¯s had; it remained still.


    His eyes widened as he saw the cardboard lid slowly being pushed up, a cyanotic arm extended from within the box, its five fingers also tinted blue, but the nails were black, as though poisoned.


    The hand quickly reached into the circle, grasped the pack of cigarettes but instead of pulling it into the box, the fingers tensed sharply, crushing the pack into a lump.


    The pack tore open, and the remaining cigarettes fell apart, scattering a substantial amount of tobacco shreds.


    Only after completely crushing the pack and the cigarettes did the black fingers loosen, silently withdrawing back into the box.


    About four or five seconds later, thump! thump!


    Hearing these two sounds, Yan Junze now knew they were a cue for him to send something else over.


    The right pocket he had felt before was empty, so he immediately reached into his left pocket.


    His limbs were still very stiff, and though it was a struggle, he managed to slowly take out the item.


    During this process, Yan Junze¡¯s expression became rather unsightly, for he had already guessed what this item was, just by touch.


    After placing the item inside the circle on top of the cardboard box, he finally looked at it.


    Indeed, it was a finger, a severed finger.


    It seemed to be a thumb.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t remember, after seeing Gu Dekang¡¯s body by the bed, if he had noticed any missing fingers.


    Since most of Gu Dekang¡¯s body was covered and his arms were under the bedding, he hadn¡¯t paid attention.


    In any case, this thumb had to belong to either Gu Dekang or Zhou Wenfei.


    Within his gaze, the lid of the cardboard box was once again slowly pushed up, and the cyanotic arm reached out, the five fingers with sharp nails opened and snatched the severed digit.


    But this time, it didn¡¯t crush the finger; instead, it retracted back into the box.


    Soon after, the crisp sound of chewing reached Yan Junze¡¯s ears.


    Yan Junze¡¯s throat moved, feeling somewhat choked; he realized he could speak and then said, ¡°Can you eat this, Zhuang Wenjing?¡±


    Upon hearing someone calling her name, the strangeness inside the box stiffened abruptly, memories flashing swiftly through Obsession¡¯s mind.


    ¡­


    Darkness was everywhere, a never-ending darkness that made her afraid, but Zhuang Wenjing felt even hungrier, unbearably so, yet she was completely unable to leave.


    The middle-aged man¡¯s voice arose from outside, unhurried, seemingly gentle but like the calm before a storm.


    ¡°Are you hungry, Wenjing? If you¡¯re hungry, stretch out your hand through this hole; the food is already placed outside, fresh from the pot, oh, it won¡¯t taste good once it¡¯s cold.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Wenjing? Wenjing? Are you asleep? Can you hear me speaking?¡±


    Zhuang Wenjing, trapped in the sealed wooden box, was shivering with fear at that moment.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to answer, but she was too frightened to speak.


    The moment she thought of the man outside, fear surged from the depths of her heart and her entire body turned cold.


    But she was just too hungry, she couldn¡¯t even remember the last time she had eaten to fullness, let alone the last time this man had given her food.


    Her memory was a complete blur.


    At that moment, Zhuang Wenjing had only one sensation: hunger.


    About a minute later, just as the man outside was getting impatient and about to become angry, Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hand involuntarily reached out.


    She knew exactly where the food was placed, and as she drew near, she could indeed feel a warm breath.


    ¡°It¡¯s food! Food fresh off the pot!¡±


    Remembering the man¡¯s words, Zhuang Wenjing felt excited, carelessly grabbing for it.


    The next second, a scream came from inside the sealed wooden box.


    Immediately after was the man¡¯s unrestrained laughter. He clutched his stomach, squatted on the ground, laughing so hard he was nearly out of breath.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s tears rolled non-stop as her hand shakily retracted. The palm of her left hand had been burned red, even seeping blood, with bits of scalding charcoal still stuck to her skin, unable to fall off.


    ¡°Stupid, so goddamn stupid!¡± The middle-aged man outside continued to laugh. He stood up, cursing and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you try first? You just reach in and grab; I cooked you potatoes on the charcoal, but instead of grabbing the potatoes, you go for the glowing coals?¡±


    Zhuang Wenjing said nothing but continued to sob quietly.


    After a pause, the middle-aged man went on, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try again? There really are potatoes. You don¡¯t believe me, do you?¡±

 Chapter 764: 440: Triple Spirits (3)

    Chapter 764: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)


    ¡°Zhuang Wenjing?¡±


    As Yan Junze¡¯s voice rang out again, the fragments of memory fueled by obsession quickly disappeared without a trace. Zhuang Wenjing, sitting in a cardboard box, was startled; she hastily stuffed the remaining severed finger into her mouth, ignoring Yan Junze¡¯s call.


    Crouching, she chewed on the finger in her mouth while shrinking further into the box. At that moment, her mind was consumed by a single sensation¡ªhunger.


    Thump! Thump!


    Two more sounds came from within.


    Yan Junze paused, staring at the cardboard box.


    His thoughts were clear now, no longer muddled. Recalling the arm that Zhuang Wenjing had extended from the box, he noted that its skin was cracked in many places, almost none of it intact.


    The black nails on those five fingers didn¡¯t seem to be what they looked like in life, but had grown out after death due to the strong obsession, transforming into something grotesque.


    Yan Junze concluded that Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui must not only be sisters, but also that they must have been abused to death by somebody.


    Thump! Thump! S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two more urgent sounds emitted from the box, signaling Yan Junze to quicken his pace.


    He reached into his jacket pocket again and found nothing, then checked his trousers pockets to the same result.


    His phone was there, but he didn¡¯t believe Zhuang Wenjing would eat a phone. If it were placed inside that circle, it would likely be crushed by this woman, as the way she crushed the cigarette box had made it abundantly clear.


    After a swift consideration, Yan Junze decided on a bold course of action to undertake, thinking he could always ¡°Rewind¡± if it didn¡¯t work.


    He activated the Semi-spirit and released the Control Field, cloaking both himself and that cardboard box entirely.


    Then, he placed his left hand onto the black circle.


    A moment later, the lid of the box lifted slightly, and then the dark green arm swiftly reached out, making a grab for Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    Yan Junze had been attentive to the movements inside the box and, as soon as Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arm reached out, he immediately moved forward and grabbed that gaunt, icy, stiff, and somewhat abrasive palm.


    Caught by surprise, Zhuang Wenjing flinched. Her fingers curved instantly, her black nails becoming even sharper, like venomous spikes, stabbing towards the back of Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    But at that moment, a hum resonated within the domain field, stalling Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s movements and preventing her from continuing her attack. Her hand remained in Yan Junze¡¯s grasp.


    However, Yan Junze didn¡¯t attack her either, but gently stroked those pitch-black nails with his other hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you. In fact, you don¡¯t have to stay in this dark box. Whether you crave freedom or your obsession is hunger, you don¡¯t have to confine yourself in this cramped space anymore.¡±


    With the domain field active, Yan Junze¡¯s strength was rapidly regenerating. He could move freely now and was ready to stand up at any moment.


    He lifted Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hand slightly and sensed that the person inside did not want to come out.


    After thinking for a moment, Yan Junze didn¡¯t speak further, only continued to hold the icy dark green hand firmly, showing no intention of letting go.


    About two minutes later, he extended his other hand as well, both hands now holding Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s. He hesitated, then continued, ¡°Out here, there¡¯s warmth as well, and there are people you want to see, and the familial bonds you long for most.¡±


    With one strange entity locked in a box and another playing hide and seek, Yan Junze guessed that the sisters must be yearning to see each other and to be together.


    Upon hearing his words, Zhuang Wenjing inside the box shuddered, and memory fragments covered her current sense of touch, flashing before her once more.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wenjing, do you know where your little sister is hiding?¡± A middle-aged man¡¯s voice filtered into the enclosed wooden box, followed by a heh-heh laughter: ¡°That silly girl, she hides near your mother¡¯s bedroom every time. I could find her with my eyes closed.¡±


    ¡°Every time¡­¡± A face with distinct and somewhat handsome features, though covered with a beard, peered through the small feeding hole at the box¡¯s occupant, ¡°Every time I catch her easily, and then do you know what I do to her?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s hoarse voice called out.


    Her voice was so faint as if even she couldn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, beating her, beating her hard!¡± The man smacked his lips, ¡°I¡¯m quite satisfied with you, at least you¡¯ve called me ¡®Daddy¡¯ before, and among the three sisters, you¡¯re the one I¡¯ve interacted with the most.¡±


    With that, he smirked, pulled away from the box, and stood up. From Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s perspective, all she could see were his feet.


    The click of a lighter came next, and it seemed that the man had lit a cigarette for himself.


    Not long after, the smell of tobacco entered the wooden box.


    At this moment, Zhuang Wenjing was huddled in the corner of the box, clutching her legs, her face stained with tear marks, not a single clean spot on her entire body, emanating a foul stench and wearing an utterly numb expression.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I actually quite liked your mom.¡± The man spoke again, ¡°A three-story office building, two storefronts, an investment in a fund with a 3.7% annualized rate of return amounting to 3.26 million, equity worth 4.4 million, and 2.8 million in bank deposits. A single mother raising three girls with so much money, who wouldn¡¯t like that?¡±


    ¡°My mother¡­ is it¡­ is it you who¡­¡± Zhuang Wenjing struggled to squeeze out a few words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, your mom truly died of sickness.¡± The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, and stamped it out with his foot.

 Chapter 765: 440: Triple Spirits (3)_2

    Chapter 765: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)_2


    A moment later, he placed a plate in front of the wooden crate¡¯s opening and chuckled, ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot. This time it¡¯s not red-hot charcoal, it¡¯s actually edible.¡±


    Then he turned and left the room.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s stomach had been growling non-stop, and upon hearing the man leave, she immediately threw herself down at the opening of the crate, extending her arm out.


    But she soon hesitated. Although she touched the plate, she didn¡¯t dare to get close to the center of the plate.


    The location where the food was placed was a blind spot from her view, but her palm could feel the warmth emanating from the plate.


    Zhuang Wenjing gently prodded it with her index finger, creating an indentation. It wasn¡¯t hot, nor was it hard; it seemed to be edible.


    She hastily grabbed it, the sticky substance adhering to her hand, and immediately a strange, foul smell wafted into her nostrils.


    Withdrawing her hand, she looked at the filth smeared all over it, and suddenly her stomach churned, wanting to vomit but nothing came out.


    The warmth coming from her hand once again scattered the fragments of her memory.


    ¡­ Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time, Zhuang Wenjing could clearly feel a pair of hands holding her tightly. There was nothing sticky, no burning heat, no chilly sensation¡ªthese were hands of unparalleled warmth.


    After Yan Junze had spoken, it didn¡¯t take long before he saw the lid of the cardboard box being slightly pushed up.


    A pair of eyes appeared beneath the lid of the box; though only visible by the whiteness of the eyes, the look was filled with wariness, fear, unease, terror, and fierceness.


    The variety of emotions indicated Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s state at that moment; she wanted to attack Yan Junze but realized that he seemed to have no ill-intentions, making it impossible for her to strike. She wanted to withdraw and hide back inside the box, but she could feel the warmth from his palms, making her reluctant to let go.


    ¡°Leave this cage; there¡¯s no need to cling to it anymore,¡± Yan Junze tried his best to lower his voice, making it softer, ¡°If you want something to eat, I can accommodate you. You can have all kinds of tasty food, not those raw, disgusting ones.¡±


    The lid of the box opened further, and Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s head slowly emerged from inside, followed by her standing up inside the box.


    Yan Junze also stood up with her.


    It was then that he realized that Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arms couldn¡¯t lower; they were rigid at the shoulders, kept in a forward-bent position.


    Looking at her like this, she must have kept her arms through the hole for food, longing for another bite, until death took her.


    That is to say, Zhuang Wenjing starved to death.


    Soon after she stood up, the cardboard box beneath her feet vanished right before Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Originally wearing a pale yellow dress, Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s garment was now covered in so much filth that its original color and pattern could not be discerned.


    Yan Junze took her hands and slowly stepped back, stopping in front of the sofa before letting her sit down.


    ¡°You¡¯re safe now; all the pain has passed. Once we get out of here, you can eat whatever you want.¡±


    At this moment, Zhuang Wenjing curled up habitually, gripping her legs tightly, her entire body shrinking onto the sofa, giving no response.


    A mission prompt simultaneously flashed through Yan Junze¡¯s mind.


    [The Fear Inside the Box, Terrified (Low), has been completed, and you¡¯ve received 1600 Different Dimension Energy points.]


    Mission accomplished.


    Having already completed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s mission, only a cursory analysis combining the clues from both sisters¡¯ missions was needed to infer that this Terrified-level mission wasn¡¯t difficult to accomplish.


    However, for an exorcist who doesn¡¯t use a Buddhist Exorcism Method, it would undoubtedly be very difficult to confront Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s Obsession head-on.


    Just then, the atmosphere around him changed again, a bone-chilling cold penetrating his body, making Yan Junze shiver uncontrollably.


    He looked around, seeing no changes in the environment but feeling the temperature drop once more.


    While it wasn¡¯t cold enough to form ice on his eyebrows, standing there for a while might make his body tremble from the cold.


    And, as expected, right after the mission completion prompt, another new mission appeared.


    Yan Junze looked inward and whispered to himself, ¡°Scared witless (Low)?!¡±


    He sighed deeply and muttered, ¡°Here comes the real deal.¡±


    According to previous deductions, a top-tier four-star exorcist should not have been so easily trapped here.


    So far, with the appearance of these two strangenesses, Cao Heng could have broken through them with direct action given his abilities.


    Hence, his entrapment must have something to do with this third strangeness that was about to emerge. Whether there were even more formidable strangenesses to follow, Yan Junze could only guess.


    ¡°If there are even stronger strangenesses lurking after this third one, as per the Exorcism Squad¡¯s usual practice, it would probably require at least two five-star exorcists to deal with the situation here to ensure safety,¡± Yan Junze speculated internally.


    Triple Spirits; the least amongst them is a Sculpting Spirit, like Zhuang Wenhui, and Zhuang Wenjing in the box is already a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, so the strangeness that is about to make an appearance would undoubtedly be an Ethereal Spirit.


    With Triple Spirits united, no wonder Cao Heng was put at a disadvantage!


    After a quick glance at the mission information, Yan Junze was slightly surprised, but he didn¡¯t show it and walked towards the bedroom instead.


    Upon entering the bedroom, he saw another person lying on the bed, finally filling it completely.

 Chapter 766: 440: Triple Spirits (3)_3

    Chapter 766: Chapter 440: Triple Spirits (3)_3


    The person was indeed the four-star exorcist Cao Heng.


    At this moment, Cao Heng appeared to be having difficulty breathing, but his chest still rose and fell slightly. His eyes were originally tightly closed, but upon hearing Yan Junze¡¯s footsteps, it was as if a nerve had been touched, and he immediately opened his eyes, full of wariness.


    As Yan Junze approached, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, I am an exorcist from the Aries District team called by Tianmeng to help you.¡±


    Cao Heng was stunned, his gaze focused, and after settling on Yan Junze¡¯s face for a moment, he lowered his guard.


    His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes signaled Yan Junze to lift the blanket covering him.


    Yan Junze did as instructed.


    When the blanket was lifted, what came into view were numerous gashes, blood had already coagulated, and it was impossible to see clearly how many wounds there were at a glance.


    Clenching his teeth, Cao Heng managed to say, ¡°There¡¯s an Ethereal Spirit, pulling strings, be careful, can¡¯t move!¡±


    No sooner had he spoken, than a few seconds later, Yan Junze saw Zhuang Wenhui walk out of the bedroom bathroom, hunched over.


    She stared straight ahead, not paying attention to her surroundings, walking eerily as if being drawn by something, passing through the bedroom and into the living room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move for now, I¡¯ll get you out of here quickly,¡± Yan Junze patted Cao Heng¡¯s shoulder.


    He turned and walked to the bedroom doorway, looked towards the living room, and noticed that where there had been cardboard boxes, now stood three chairs facing away from this direction.


    And Zhuang Wenhui, who had just walked out, now went to the leftmost chair and silently, slowly sat down.


    The Zhuang Wenjing who had been curled up on the couch now let her feet down. Her arms remained bent and extended in front of her, unable to relax, as she rigidly stood up and silently walked to the farthest right of the three chairs, and likewise sat down.


    Yan Junze noticed that behind the three chairs, there was one more chair that had not disappeared, the very chair he had been sitting on earlier.


    At this moment, a stronger wave of dizziness hit him, the world spun, and he felt he might collapse right onto the ground, so he immediately supported himself against the bedroom door frame.


    Because of his prior experiences, Yan Junze wasn¡¯t panicked this time; after steadying himself, he slowly approached the back row of chairs and hurriedly sat down just as he felt he was about to fall.


    This must be the third game now, playing with three strangenesses at once, wondering what they were up to this time.


    Although he had already resolved the Obsessions of Zhuang Wenhui and Zhuang Wenjing, at this moment, the two spirits were still involuntarily participating in the third game, indicating that this third strangeness, in terms of strength or status, must be much stronger than the others. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Such joining was unconscious, rooted in a deeply ingrained attitude of obedience.


    Even now, seated in the chair, Yan Junze still felt a severe dizziness, and his consciousness quickly became blurred, nearly drifting off to sleep.


    And from somewhere behind him, there came a creepy, crawling sound.


    Soon, a woman who seemed even smaller in stature slowly crawled past him from beside the chair where he was sitting.


    This woman was not actually small in stature, but her body was grotesquely bent horizontally, as if her waist had been broken, her clothing ragged and tattered, barely covering her body.


    She too had long hair, but some spots on her head were bald, the hair from the bald spots having been roughly torn off, her skin ulcerated, appearing a blurry mess.


    Not only was her waist grotesquely twisted, but her limbs were also bent at odd angles. She crawled past Yan Junze without pausing or glancing in his direction.


    When she reached the middle of the three chairs, her body slumped onto it, sitting down limply, just like the other two, with her back to him.

 Chapter 767: 441: Triple Spirits (4)

    Chapter 767: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)


    From the moment that middle woman appeared, Yan Junze¡¯s consciousness had been very hazy.


    Although his gaze had been following the figures of the three women, his brain was processing everything very slowly.


    However, there was one thing he had continuously noticed: after the third woman appeared, she made no threatening gestures towards him. Instead, she climbed past him as if ignoring him completely. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The haze in his mind started to clear up bit by bit after the three women took their seats in front of him¡ª not just his vision, but his sense of smell and hearing, and even his skin¡¯s sensitivity to the temperature around him, were all slowly recovering.


    The cold chill appeared once more, seeping into his clothes, slowly eroding away at Yan Junze.


    This time, however, Yan Junze discovered that he was completely unable to move his limbs, as if they no longer belonged to him.


    He remembered that Ma Jing, an exorcist from Aries District with three stars, once said that Cao Heng had sent them a warning signal after encountering danger.


    If it were like it was now, Cao Heng would have been able to make a desperate movement of his finger to press the signal button. One could say his willpower was already very strong.


    Anyway, if Yan Junze was to try moving his body with sheer stubbornness right now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, unless he activated a control field.


    But from the looks of it, there was no need to confront neither this woman who had just appeared nor the three sisters.


    As his consciousness became clearer, the scene before his eyes also became sharper.


    Soon, Yan Junze noticed his throat loosening up, and he could speak again. Perhaps, this third game also required him to speak up.


    The control of this magnetic field was clearly under the power of the last woman who appeared. Her strength was much greater than the other two women.


    Of course, if he were to activate his domain field and confront her head-on, the outcome could be different.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenhui,¡± Yan Junze cleared his throat and began, looking towards the figure of the woman who enjoyed playing hide and seek, that is, the one sitting at the far left of the three chairs, ¡°you are the youngest sister, the third one.¡±


    Then Yan Junze turned his gaze to the woman who came out of a box, sitting on the far right: ¡°Zhuang Wenjing, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s older sister, the second in the family.¡±


    Finally, he turned his attention towards the eerie woman slumped in the chair in the middle, who had just crawled out from behind him, and continued: ¡°Zhuang Wenxian, the eldest of the three sisters. I didn¡¯t expect that not only would three strangenesses appear in succession here, but each one of them is extremely powerful, and most importantly, you are¡­ uh, triplets!¡±


    However, just thinking about the past tragedies of the three sisters that he had deduced after completing the previous two tasks, Yan Junze¡¯s heart clenched tightly.


    These three sisters, seemingly powerful as strange bodies, were in fact greatly related to their woeful past lives.


    These were true evil spirits, controlled by the powerful hatred and resentment formed from their past lives. This resentment was so intense and profound that it could no longer be merely described as an obsession.


    After these words, the three sisters remained unresponsive, sitting motionless.


    Because at this point, Yan Junze was also unable to move. He hadn¡¯t desperately moved his arms like Cao Heng to trigger the warning message, so for the moment, he was unaware of the force of traction.


    But he was clear about one thing: don¡¯t move carelessly. The horrifying injuries on Cao Heng were not a joke.


    The atmosphere became somewhat stagnant, none of the three sisters made a move, and Yan Junze, seated, completely unable to move, just stared at their unsettling backs.


    About five minutes later.


    A voice suddenly emerged from the seated sisters: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, and after digesting these three words, he was bewildered and couldn¡¯t help but repeat, ¡°What ¡®who moved¡¯?¡±


    The voice didn¡¯t answer him but repeated once more: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time Yan Junze finally realized the other party might be asking him who among the three sisters had just moved.


    With this understanding, he felt speechless.


    First of all, as all three were facing away from him, if they moved their fingers or touched their bellies or feet in front of them, as long as the action was very subtle and slow, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see it at all.


    This meant he had to rely entirely on guesswork.


    ¡°What kind of bizarre game is this?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    Since the three sisters¡¯ voices were all hoarse, he wasn¡¯t clear about the identity of the woman who had just spoken.


    With their backs turned towards him, he had no idea who was speaking now.


    That left him with no choice but to guess boldly.


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, his gaze starting from the left, slowly sweeping towards the right.


    It was impossible to discern; the three women sat there as steady as rocks, showing no sign of movement.


    ¡°Who moved?¡± That raspy voice sounded out again.


    ¡°You, Zhuang Wenxian, you moved,¡± Yan Junze took a shot in the dark.


    He suspected that the person asking was Zhuang Wenxian in the middle, so he directly guessed it was her fiddling around.


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    The moment a voice spoke, Yan Junze felt a sharp pain in his right arm. A lump rose on the back of his hand, visible to the naked eye, resembling a cyst. With a popping sound, it burst open, spewing a mass of flesh and blood. The arteries and bones within were laid bare for all to see, gruesomely detailed.


    Damn, a wrong guess was met with punishment!


    Yan Junze watched, eyes wide, as the flesh on the back of his right hand suddenly exploded, bearing the severe pain. After a brief consideration, he didn¡¯t immediately choose to activate ¡°Rewind.¡±

 Chapter 768: 441: Triple Spirits (4)_2

    Chapter 768: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)_2


    ¡°Is this the punishment for guessing wrong?¡± he managed to squeeze out a smile from his face, ¡°How would I know if my guess is right¡­ or wrong?¡±


    Memory fragments of obsession flashed crazily, skimming through Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s mind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Whoever moves, this is the punishment!¡±


    The middle-aged man seemed to be smiling, but his expression had already taken on a sick, crazed look.


    The pliers in his hand slowly retracted, and on the arm of Zhuang Wenhui, who was sitting on the far left, a clear trail of blood began to emerge.


    ¡°Continue now.¡±


    The man returned to his own seat, crossed his legs, holding the pliers in his hand, and stared unblinkingly at the three sisters seated with their backs to him.


    His eyes were filled with mockery, a numb pleasure rising in his heart, his gaze incessantly sweeping over the three, the iron pliers in his hand seeming ready to fly out at any moment ¨C he didn¡¯t care which part of their body it would strike.


    ¡°Whoever moves, no food for today, while the other two can each get a can of eight-treasure congee,¡± the man said lazily.


    Throughout his speech, his gaze continually swept over the three girls.


    At this moment, the triplet sisters didn¡¯t dare to move, each of them terrified into silence, struggling desperately to stop their shivering bodies.


    ¡°Sister, I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± Zhuang Wenhui clutched the arm that had just been struck by the pliers, she had been holding back, otherwise, the arm would have trembled violently from the pain.


    Since morning, the youngest of the triplets, Zhuang Wenhui, had only had a sip of water, not a bite to eat, and now she had to sit motionless, plus her arm had been ruthlessly hit, she was seeing stars, feeling the whole world spinning.


    Zhuang Wenxian, sitting in the middle, dared not turn her neck and could only glance sideways at her sister. She felt a heart-wrenching pain and whispered softly, ¡°Don¡¯t move Wenhui, hold on, just a little longer¡­¡±


    Before she could finish speaking, she glanced at the emerging blood on Wenhui¡¯s arm. The place hit by the pliers was already swollen up, the blood beneath the skin on the verge of seeping out.


    Seeing this scene, Zhuang Wenxian quickly averted her gaze, her heart aching unbearably, her large eyes whirling in their sockets, she could only bear it with all her might.


    ¡°Sister, I¡¯m hungry!¡± Zhuang Wenjing, sitting on the right, couldn¡¯t help whispering at that moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, just hold on,¡± Zhuang Wenxian hurriedly said. She feared that Wenjing wouldn¡¯t be able to resist begging the man behind them and continued, ¡°Hold on for a little longer, he¡¯ll let us go soon¡­¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± the man behind suddenly laughed out loud, glanced at the time, and said, ¡°This round of ¡®Statue¡¯, at least half an hour, unless someone can¡¯t bear it anymore.¡±


    As soon as his words finished, Zhuang Wenjing seated on the right suddenly twitched, bending down and clutching her stomach, ¡°Sis, my stomach¡­ it hurts so much!¡±


    At this moment, due to extreme hunger, her stomach was cramping and she began to moan softly.


    The next second, the pliers flew from behind, one end slamming heavily onto the back of Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s head.


    A scream ruptured the air, her scalp split open with blood splattering, she cried and screamed, Zhuang Wenxian immediately wrapped her arms around her, pressing her right hand tightly against her sister¡¯s head wound, preventing it from further splitting and bleeding out.


    The middle-aged man walked over cursing, picked up the pliers, and began to beat Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s head mercilessly, cursing as he hit, ¡°Keep protecting them, let¡¯s see how long you can protect! I¡¯ll beat you to death! Now don¡¯t move, just stay like this, if you move again, I¡¯ll beat Wenhui too!¡±


    In the man¡¯s memory, he had an intense dislike and hatred for the eldest sister among the triplets, Zhuang Wenxian, because since he married into the family, Zhuang Wenxian never looked him in the eye, never once calling him ¡°Uncle¡± or any such title.


    Now that the triplet sisters had fallen into his hands, the one who got the worst treatment was naturally Zhuang Wenxian.


    Indeed, Zhuang Wenxian could bear a lot; in reality, she was already covered in wounds, not an inch of good flesh under her clothes.


    Weak, powerless, on the brink of mental collapse, just being able to sit in the chair and not fall over was already a great fortune.


    He forced the three of them to sit and pretend to be statues for at least half an hour, striking anyone who moved; this was clearly another form of torment, both physical and mental.


    After beating her for a moment, the middle-aged man grabbed Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s hair, ¡°Since you want to be the hero, I¡¯ll deal with you myself!¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s frail body was violently dragged to the floor and pulled away.


    ¡°You can beat me, but they each get a can of congee, you just said it¡­¡± Zhuang Wenxian reached out, grabbing the man¡¯s right hand that was pulling her hair, her mouth bleeding, shrieking frantically.


    The man smirked, saying nothing.


    At this point, the fragments of memory were interrupted by an external voice.


    ¡­


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, Zhuang Wenxian, then it might have been Zhuang Wenjing who moved,¡± Yan Junze guessed again. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But just as the words left his mouth, his left hand¡¯s back burst into a mess of blood and flesh once more, the wound a blurry mess.


    After a bout of intense pain, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.


    He had clearly had three chances to get the right answer, but he had not expected his luck to be so poor, missing the mark with two guesses.


    ¡°Rewind.¡±


    Obviously, under the circumstance where the third answer seemed apparent, Zhuang Wenxian was not prepared to let him continue guessing, but rather, to start the game over.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze, with the Golden Finger, was not about to let himself be put into a passive position in this segment.

 Chapter 769: 441: Triple Spirits (4)_3

    Chapter 769: Chapter 441: Triple Spirits (4)_3


    It was a good thing he was using a Buddhist exorcism; if he had forcefully broken the supernatural ties of the three sisters, there would not have been so many issues.


    Simply activating the Control Field and adding the Black Spirit Umbrella would have securely locked them down without any problem.


    But at this moment, a part of Yan Junze¡¯s heart had already been touched by these three sisters; he wanted to learn about their lives before death, so he had to proceed with this step.


    He Rewound back to the moment right after Zhuang Wenxian had just begun to ask him, ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time, Yan Junze did not hesitate and said, ¡°It was Zhuang Wenhui who moved.¡±


    As soon as he spoke, he immediately looked at Zhuang Wenxian, who was sitting in the middle, feeling that this time his answer would not pose any problem.


    However, unexpectedly, a sudden severe pain erupted just above his thigh; looking down, he saw his pants had been ripped open by a tumorous growth.


    That tumour was incredibly large and growing rapidly, soon ready to burst.


    ¡°Wrong? The answer is still wrong?¡± Yan Junze was immediately shocked. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rewind!


    Without waiting for the tumour on his leg to burst, he immediately chose to go back to before he had answered Zhuang Wenxian.


    Gazing at the strange backs of the three sisters, Yan Junze was somewhat puzzled.


    If none of the sisters moved, then who did? Was it me?


    He remembered Cao Heng had reminded him earlier to be careful of something called ¡°attraction.¡±


    The Exorcist from the Aries District had not been able to enter this place, simply because as soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Cao Heng would immediately start to howl in pain.


    This gave the impression that the entrance of people from the outside was somehow triggering the onset of Cao Heng¡¯s injuries.


    Yan Junze speculated that the ¡°attraction¡± Cao Heng mentioned must be related to some action or movement and the cause of his injuries, which was why he remained seated here all this time without moving.


    It wasn¡¯t possible for him to have moved, and neither had any of the three women.


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s voice rang out again: ¡°Who moved?¡±


    This time Yan Junze¡¯s gaze slowly swept over the backs of the three sisters: one sat hunched over as a result of frequently playing hide and seek and being cautious, one had arms that had petrified and could not be lowered due to begging for food, and the one in the middle was broken in body, her limbs fractured, slumped helplessly in the chair.


    He swallowed hard, piecing together the mission information about the three sisters and guessing much about what they had endured.


    To tell the truth, Yan Junze felt somewhat choked up at this moment; this was the first time he had encountered such a feeling since facing the strangenesses.


    ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s hoarse voice tirelessly inquired.


    The scene fell silent once more.


    Another ten or so seconds passed, and just as Zhuang Wenxian was about to ask a third time, Yan Junze responded.


    ¡°Nobody moved, none of you did,¡± he said softly and deeply, his gaze fixed on the backs of the three sisters, ¡°You have all been sitting nicely, and nobody moved.¡±


    With these words, the three silhouettes in front of him trembled slightly, and slowly, Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui turned their heads toward Yan Junze.


    Three pairs of eyes, white without pupils, looked at him silently, each face bearing injuries that could not be restored. These three sets of eyes were clearly blinded by someone before they had even died.


    Yan Junze calmly looked back at them, and to show friendliness, his lips were always slightly curved in a sincere and gentle smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it all; you¡¯ve all been sitting upright, sitting nicely, with no one moving,¡± he reassured them.


    One could feel that after he spoke these words, the temperature in the room no longer felt so cold but began to gradually warm.


    The three sisters thus turned away, silently watching him, those three vacant gazes shifting from cold, to surprised, and eventually softening.


    However, at this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s expression suddenly turned harsh, the smile replaced by a sneer, and he whispered, ¡°Now I want to know, the person who killed you, is he dead or not?¡±

 Chapter 770: 442: Triple Spirits (Final)

    Chapter 770: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)


    As Yan Junze uttered these words, his mind almost simultaneously received a task completion prompt.


    [Wooden Man, scared witless (low), completed, you have gained 2100 Different Dimension Energy points]


    The task regarding Zhuang Wenxian was thus completed.


    Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s obsession was fully mirrored in the Wooden Man game; before she died, in order to protect her two sisters, she would intentionally move a little in almost every Wooden Man round.


    This would draw the attention of that guy to her, making sure that if there was a beating, it would only be inflicted on herself, thus sparing her two sisters.


    Not only that, but Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui could also obtain life-sustaining food because of it.


    For the ¡°Wooden Man¡± game, had Yan Junze not read the task information or completed the other two sisters¡¯ tasks, he wouldn¡¯t have found any clue at all.


    But after completing the previous tasks, he had roughly guessed the cause of the three sisters¡¯ deaths, and connecting everything together, he quickly came to a definitive answer.


    For Zhuang Wenxian, in the game, as long as she sat still, she wouldn¡¯t be beaten, and if she wasn¡¯t beaten, she wouldn¡¯t die.


    So the accurate answer was that none of them moved.


    Of course, just saying this wouldn¡¯t allow them to escape Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s eerie magnetic field; in reality, if Zhuang Wenxian so desired, the triplets¡¯ magnetic fields could merge in an instant, unleashing even greater power.


    Not to mention a top-tier four-star exorcist, even if a five-star exorcist came, in the face of the combined might of the three sisters, the likely outcome would be an inability to dispel their presence and a retreat.


    Yan Junze¡¯s laissez-faire approach to exorcism played a huge role at this point; it was to find the greatest commonality between the three.


    Because be it hide-and-seek, the ghost hand in the box, or the three sisters¡¯ Wooden Man game, their commonality, without exception, pointed to that middle-aged man.


    He, one could say, was their biggest obsession.


    Therefore, Yan Junze¡¯s last words were able to suddenly lower Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s guard, and at this moment, the three sisters¡¯ hostility towards him was gradually dissolving away.


    ¡°If you let me know the whole story, I will definitely help you, instead of letting the three of you endlessly cycle through this obsession. Yes, I will take good care of you.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I will definitely take good care of you!¡±


    The middle-aged man kindly patted the head of the youngest sister Zhuang Wenhui, gently stroking the hair that rested on her shoulder.


    Zhuang Wenhui, frightened, kept her head down and dared not look at him. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was kneeling on the ground.


    The other two sisters were also kneeling beside her in the same posture.


    The man raised his head, looking around the empty, spacious house, and muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you right here¡­ take care until death!¡±


    He paused, let out a sinister chuckle, then snapped back to reality and continued, ¡°There¡¯s a jammer in the house, so the message you tried to send secretly just now, Wenxian, did not really go through.¡±


    He lifted a cell phone, its screen was lit, showing ¡°Message Failed to Send.¡±


    Three cell phones were lined up on the ground. The man took up a hammer, smashing each phone with a blow, and then threw them into the charcoal furnace burning beside him.


    ¡°Now¡­ no one knows where you are.¡±


    The man shrugged his shoulders, put away the little hammer behind him, and walked over to a table nearby, opening a red box which contained two syringes and several vials of unnamed liquid.


    He casually took out the syringes and picked up one of the vials, shook it a bit, then inserted the needle, drawing a syringe full of liquid.


    Upon seeing this, Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s gaze slightly sharpened as she blurted out, ¡°I¡¯ve seen this box before, you used this box at my house.¡±


    ¡°Remembering only now?¡± The man grinned, ¡°I¡¯ve used it for a long time at your place, or rather, our place.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Holding up the syringe to his eye, he gently squeezed it to expel the air at the top, ¡°Your mother¡¯s diabetes was getting worse, in those months before she passed away, wasn¡¯t I serving her day in and day out, including giving her insulin injections before meals, hehe!¡±


    ¡°This¡­ this isn¡¯t insulin!¡± Zhuang Wenxian shouted furiously, her cheeks flushing with anger.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not.¡± The man smiled, ¡°I just added a bit of this substance to it. You have no idea, it¡¯s quite troublesome to add something to an insulin syringe, I had to be so careful every time, fearing that your mother might see it. Oh, by the way, Zhong Qing¡¯s death was really due to illness, it has nothing to do with this medicine.¡±


    The man walked over to Zhuang Wenhui holding the syringe, at which she immediately tried to back away in fear.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhuang Wenxian and Zhuang Wenjing cried out in alarm at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your turns will come soon.¡± The man said smilingly, ¡°First let¡¯s put you to sleep, cherish this moment. After this, you might never again be as lucid as today.¡±


    He expertly inserted the needle into Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s arm; within two or three seconds he had emptied all the liquid, after which he stood up and returned to the red box.


    Because he squeezed the plunger so quickly, some liquid flowed back out through the needle hole in Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s skin, mixing with a trace of blood.


    But it was clear that the dose of liquid was large, which was why he pushed the plunger so quickly, not caring in the slightest if the bit that oozed out would reduce the drug¡¯s effectiveness.

 Chapter 771: 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_2

    Chapter 771: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_2


    While drawing the second bottle of liquid into the syringe, the man muttered to himself, ¡°This could have been easily resolved, but your mother had to complicate things. Why did she have to do that?¡±


    By this time, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s consciousness had begun to blur, and she slowly collapsed to the ground, her eyes opening and closing repeatedly as she struggled hard.


    Turning around, the man held the second syringe and looked at Zhuang Wenxian and Zhuang Wenjing, no longer paying attention to Zhuang Wenhui, and continued, ¡°I really loved Zhong Qing. I told her giving me a mere million or so would suffice. We were on our second marriage, and I knew I wasn¡¯t entitled to any of her wealth, but if she just gave me a bit, not all of it, I would have been satisfied.¡±


    He paused, a cold smile appearing on his face: ¡°Haha, guess what your mom said? She said this wealth was left to you girls by your deceased father, and that I wouldn¡¯t get a penny, not now, not ever! It¡¯s all your dowry! Hahaha, dowry!¡±


    With that, he walked briskly to Zhuang Wenjing, knelt down, and aimed the needle at her.


    ¡°No, Uncle, please don¡¯t, I beg you!¡± Zhuang Wenjing screamed in terror, unable to back away.


    The man looked at the syringe, seemingly deaf to Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s pleas, ¡°I was legally married to her, and now that Zhong Qing is dead, and so will you be¡­ hehe, can I get it now? Tell me, can I?¡±


    He jabbed the syringe fiercely into the area above Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s arm, turning his head to glance at a terrified Zhuang Wenxian, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t leave any trace. Next, let¡¯s take our time¡­ and play.¡±


    ¡­


    Yan Junze fell into a silent, endless silence.


    Not a sound came from the entire yard, the entire living room.


    Truth be told, he could imagine how brutal and terrifying the world¡¯s most dangerous strangenesses could be, but he couldn¡¯t fathom how deep and horrifying the greatest evil in this world could be, hidden in the heart of an ordinary person. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some things that happened, were happening, or were about to happen were so disturbing that sometimes just hearing about them made Yan Junze shudder uncontrollably, feeling chilled to the bone.


    What is the greatest evil in this world?


    The three sisters¡¯ strangenesses caused hoarseness in their voices, so Yan Junze activated the Control Field, absorbing the magnetic fields they were emitting in a manner similar to how Aunt Mei spoke, and only then did he come to understand their tragic experiences.


    At this moment, Yan Junze felt cold in his limbs, not because the temperature in the room had decreased¡ªin fact, the room was no longer cold¡ªbut because the chill was emanating from within him.


    He eventually managed to suppress the evil chill in his heart. Yan Junze turned his gaze toward the three terrifying strange bodies; although they looked frightening, he no longer felt a trace of terror emanating from them.


    ¡°We must leave here first. Now, hide yourselves and don¡¯t show up again. After I leave, just follow me.¡±


    Yan Junze had originally planned to Lockdown the three sisters, but truth be told, he had no confidence in locking down a real Ethereal spirit.


    The only Ethereal spirit he knew and was close to was Aunt Mei, and he had never attempted to Lockdown her, even with her consent, and it remained uncertain whether he could succeed.


    He had pondered it before and figured it was mostly impossible.


    To truly subdue a spirit like Zhuang Wenxian, fulfilling their greatest Obsession seemed to be a necessary condition.


    Once this condition was met, he would try to Lockdown the three sisters.


    Truth be told, based on Yan Junze¡¯s experience, the three sisters were triplets, also known as Triple Spirits. Normally, at most Twin Spirits would appear, and they were usually still in an infant state.


    The three sisters were not infant Strange Bodies, and they died for the same Obsession; the combined strength of such Triple Spirits, if united, would be terrifyingly powerful.


    Add to that his own domain field catalyst, and he was temporarily unable to estimate how powerful they could become.


    If he could truly Lockdown the Triple Spirits, the benefits were unimaginable.


    The three sisters chose to comply with Yan Junze¡¯s instructions, their three distorted figures slowly disappearing before his eyes.


    Immediately afterwards, Yan Junze took out his phone and called Ma Jing.


    At this moment, Ma Jing, along with other Exorcists and security personnel, waited anxiously in the adjoining courtyard, occasionally sending people to listen for any sounds from this side.


    But every time the observers returned, they reported hearing nothing, and that it was very quiet next door.


    Because Yan Junze had entered during the daytime, which was different from the other exorcists who had forcefully entered the courtyard at night, causing Cao Heng¡¯s injuries to be aggravated.


    Therefore, Ma Jing and the others could only guess, hoping that Yan Junze had already killed or subdued the unknown, powerful strangeness.


    Seeing that it was a call from Yan Junze, Ma Jing¡¯s heart leapt with joy¡ª as long as he could make the call himself and not send an alert signal like Cao Heng, it meant the exorcism likely went smoothly.


    Answering the call, she heard Yan Junze¡¯s voice: ¡°You can send people over now, Cao Heng is still alive and can be rescued, but the others are already dead.¡±


    Exorcists from the next courtyard rushed over first, using the Spirit Detector to search around and clear any remaining strange magnetic fields.


    Then, the security personnel outside called for an ambulance to enter and secured the scene of the courtyard.


    Yan Junze stood at the foot of the bedroom¡¯s bed, with Ma Jing standing beside him; the two watched as the medical staff, with Cao Heng gritting his teeth in silence, lifted him onto the stretcher and then carried him out to the ambulance waiting at the door.

 Chapter 772: 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_3

    Chapter 772: Chapter 442: Triple Spirits (Final)_3


    The ambulance, with its lights flashing but without sounding its siren, quickly made its way to the hospital.


    Two one-star Exorcists entered the bedroom and examined the bodies of Zhou Wenfei and Gu Dekang. After confirming there was no Possession, they notified the mortuary to come in.


    Soon, safety officers began cleaning up the scene.


    Yan Junze and Ma Jing walked out of the room and stood in the yard, looking up at a starless night sky. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I think this case can already be classified as an A-level event, right?¡± Ma Jing suddenly spoke.


    After she spoke, her gaze turned to Yan Junze, obviously seeking his opinion.


    Because only Yan Junze, who had personally experienced it, had the biggest say.


    Yan Junze nodded slightly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s close to an A-level event.¡±


    ¡°Was the strangeness directly eliminated by you, or¡­¡± Ma Jing couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Directly eliminated, but there wasn¡¯t just one strangeness,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Ma Jing looked thoughtful as she gazed at him, ¡°If Mr. Yan is available tomorrow, you can come to the squad¡¯s office building and write the report there.¡±


    Yan Junze turned to look at her, a smile appearing on his face: ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons I don¡¯t want to be an official Exorcist, having to write a report after dealing with a case.¡±


    He paused and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll come to the office tomorrow morning and dictate it to you, and you can do the writing.¡±


    Ma Jing was at a loss whether to laugh or cry but nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Oh, and I need your help to find someone,¡± said Yan Junze as if he¡¯d just remembered something, ¡°He¡¯s an old friend of my dad¡¯s who used to live in Aries District. His name is Zheng Bo. He lived in Aries City District twenty years ago, then moved away, probably in his early sixties now.¡±


    Ma Jing was stunned for a moment, ¡°Is that all the information? It¡¯s a bit hard to find with so little information.¡±


    Yan Junze paused, feigning recollection, ¡°Hmm, he married a petite bourgeoisie in Aries District, and later inherited a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Twenty years ago? That narrows it down quite a bit; I¡¯ll ask a friend from the Security Bureau to check it out tomorrow morning,¡± Ma Jing nodded.


    After leaving Qingtian Alley, the business car of the Aries Exorcist squad brought him to a designated hotel. Ma Jing said goodbye to him in the car and didn¡¯t get out. It seemed she wasn¡¯t going home but instead was rushing off to work overtime through the night.


    After agreeing on a time to meet the next day, the car departed.


    Yan Junze entered the hotel, announced his name, and the front desk immediately gave him a room card that had been reserved in advance.


    After taking a bath in the room and returning to the bed, Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui, with their stooped figures, were standing in a row waiting for him.


    The three sisters had deliberately reined in their strange magnetic fields, but their entire bodies still exuded an intense Yin Energy, commonly referred to by the populace.


    Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, drying his hair with a towel, he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve asked someone to look for Zheng Bo¡¯s whereabouts to see if there¡¯s a response by tomorrow. Don¡¯t be anxious; you¡¯ve waited so many years, believe that what¡¯s coming will come, whether it¡¯s money or retribution.¡±


    The three sisters silently watched him, without any reaction.


    Leaning against the headboard, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately go to sleep, but picked up his phone to search online, seeking any news reports about the three sisters from before.


    After all, it was an incident from twenty years ago; if the three sisters were dealt with as a missing persons case, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be possible to find relevant information online.


    After searching for a while, as expected, there were no results.


    At this moment, Yan Junze turned his head and saw that the three sisters were no longer standing in their original positions. Zhuang Wenxian was sitting in a chair, with her back to him.


    Zhuang Wenjing had squeezed her body into the small cabinet below the TV, completely unfit for a person. The cabinet door was left open just enough to stretch an arm out, as if to facilitate reaching for food.


    Zhuang Wenhui, meanwhile, had hidden herself in the wardrobe not far from the bed, curled up without making a sound.


    Upon seeing this scene, Yan Junze sighed and found himself unable to sleep.

 Chapter 773: 443: The Wishful Abacus

    Chapter 773: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus


    The next morning, as soon as it was light, Yan Junze woke up.


    He looked around the room, the three sisters each maintained the position they had the night before, without having moved.


    After washing up, he went downstairs for breakfast and then gave Ma Jing a call.


    As expected, this woman had pulled an all-nighter working overtime and had finished the follow-up work on the case that had been troubling the Exorcism Squad in Aries District, just waiting for Yan Junze¡¯s report. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He agreed to come right over and told her not to bother sending a car to pick him up.


    After hanging up the phone, Yan Junze said to the three sisters, ¡°After we get to the Exorcism Squad¡¯s office building, don¡¯t follow me. There might be large-scale detectors and magnetic field weapons targeting strangenesses, so stay away and wait for me.¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian nodded in agreement, the other two sisters gave no response.


    After Yan Junze left the room, the three vanished without a trace.


    Yan Junze left the hotel, hailed a taxi on the street, and followed the address Ma Jing had sent him to the Exorcists¡¯ office building.


    According to the regulations of the Exorcists¡¯ headquarters in Great Capital Huaying, the offices of Exorcists in each area were tucked away in the nooks and crannies of a city, not as prominent as the headquarters.


    Even the headquarters, from the outside, did not look particularly distinctive, resembling an ordinary business building, making a low-profile appearance.


    The office location for the Aries District Exorcists was similar to that in Tianmeng District, looking like an old-fashioned three-story residential house, situated on the East City Border in Aries City District.


    After getting out of the taxi, Ma Jing, who had been waiting outside the building, greeted him and paid the cab fare for him.


    Ma Jing¡¯s complexion was somewhat pale, but staying up all night hadn¡¯t immediately turned her into a panda-eyed woman; she might have grown accustomed to regular all-nighters and still looked very energetic.


    ¡°Is Cao Heng alright?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Ma Jing shook her head, ¡°He has stabilized, Brother Cao has good physical strength, and it¡¯s just a matter of time before he fully recovers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°About the person you asked me to help you find yesterday, my friend at the Security Bureau said that we should have a result by noon today at the latest,¡± Ma Jing said.


    The two chatted as they went up to the second-floor office.


    The computer was turned on, and a new document had already been created; Ma Jing was just waiting for Yan Junze to dictate so she could transcribe and refine his sentences.


    After making Yan Junze a cup of tea, the two began to input the report.


    About an hour later, the captain of the Aries District Exorcism Squad came over and called Yan Junze to the upstairs office for a chat. After expressing his gratitude, he even offered Yan Junze some local Aries District specialties.


    Unable to decline again, Yan Junze returned to Ma Jing¡¯s second-floor office carrying a large bag of assorted local products, feeling somewhat embarrassed.


    Ma Jing pretended not to see, her face beaming with a smile. She had already revised the report and suggested Yan Junze check it once more, as due to the high level of the strangeness event, the report would be handed over to the Huaying District headquarters.


    Yan Junze wasn¡¯t particularly interested and glanced over it perfunctorily.


    In the report, it mentioned three strangenesses, each more powerful than the one before. However, he had concealed the fact that they were triplets and the supposition that the three strangenesses had been killed brutally.


    The subsequent details were easy for Yan Junze to describe, as the headquarters of Huaying District were quite aware that he, the special-hire Exorcist of the headquarters, was best known for his Buddhist-style exorcism methods; not using this approach would be uncharacteristic of him, Yan Junze.


    While Yan Junze was checking the report, Ma Jing went out to take a call. She came back with joy written all over her face and said, ¡°We¡¯ve found that old man Zheng Bo.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡± Yan Junze looked up calmly at her.


    ¡°Zheng Bo never came back after he left Aries twenty years ago. By checking flight records, we found that he had been to Tianyi, Shou Zheng, Yannan, and Luoxia District. One year ago, he bought a house in Luguang District, and we found the procedures he had gone through for residential registration at that time. Afterward, there were no other discoveries,¡± she explained.


    ¡°So he might be in Luguang?¡± Yan Junze mused to himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but he might have moved out long ago, too,¡± Ma Jing shrugged, ¡°After all, the registration procedures back then were not perfect, but if his house has been sold, there would definitely be a record.¡±


    ¡°Could you give me the specific address of the house in Luguang District?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Ma Jing had already grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and she quickly jotted down the address before passing the note to Yan Junze with a smile, ¡°This address is kind of special, huh!¡±


    ¡°The report is ready,¡± Yan Junze pocketed the note casually and pointed to the computer screen, ¡°It¡¯s well-written.¡±


    After leaving the Exorcist¡¯s office building, Ma Jing insisted on having a specialized car take him to the airport, which Yan Junze did not refuse.


    About forty minutes later, they arrived at the airport.


    Instead of buying a ticket back to Tianmeng, Yan Junze purchased one to Luguang.


    After sitting in the departure lounge for about two hours, he finally boarded the plane.


    Sitting on the plane, he took out the note with the address and looked at it, recalling what Ma Jing had said before he left, a strong premonition rose in his heart.


    Zheng Bo was probably still living in Luguang, most likely he had never left.


    ¡­


    Luguang District, XFZ Fortress Community.


    XFZ used to be the closest village fortress to Luguang City District, but following the expansion of the city, it was incorporated into the urban area.


    Put simply, it¡¯s somewhat like an urban-rural junction, having the potential for urban development but due to years of excessive self-constructed houses, large development costs, a significant part of the area has not yet been developed.

 Chapter 774: 443: The Wishful Abacus_2

    Chapter 774: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus_2


    The Spring Wind Road and the main street of XFZ run parallel to each other, both lined with densely packed self-built houses, mostly two to three stories high.


    Some residents here are no longer original inhabitants; following urban expansion, people from various places have moved in, either renting or outright buying the self-constructed homes of former residents.


    Last year, Zheng Bo himself purchased one of these houses.


    His two-story residence has the first floor rented out, which provides some rental income; he lives on the second floor.


    Although the property doesn¡¯t cover a large area, about 130 square meters, it¡¯s spacious enough for one person.


    The ground floor is divided into two units, rented to two tenants.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t the environment here that Zheng Bo cared about; on the contrary, he actually disliked the living conditions in this area.


    For him, the urban-rural fringe was synonymous with low-quality residents, poor living standards, and a diverse mix of people.


    But none of these mattered to the current Zheng Bo; living here, he only sought peace of mind.


    Every morning, as long as he could glance at the bustling activity in the busy four-story self-built house across the street, he felt an indescribable sense of stability.


    Ririshun Trading Co., Ltd., that¡¯s the sign, with white background and red letters, hanging outside the building across from his.


    At first glance, it looks like a private enterprise doing seemingly decent business.


    But Zheng Bo knew that the entire building opposite was actually full of exorcists.


    Yes, it was the office building of the Luguang District exorcist team. After spending some money and making a lot of inquiries to confirm its authenticity, he then spent more money and bought the dilapidated building across from the exorcist team.


    The house was definitely not worth what he paid for it, but what Zheng Bo valued was the fact that he lived opposite the exorcists.


    Ever since the onslaught of sinister events began, he¡¯d been experiencing a chilling sense of horror. There were three occasions where he encountered strangenesses. Although none posed a threat to his life, Zheng Bo once thought that Zhong Qing and her three children had come looking for him.


    Initially, he purchased a whole array of evil-warding items, including talismans, peach wood swords, donkey hooves, and jade Buddha statues. Later, he discovered that these objects were useless, but it was not feasible to hire an exorcist to protect him at all times.


    Hence, the current arrangement was the safest approach.


    Living directly opposite the exorcist team, he could just shout from his upstairs window and be heard in the event of any trouble.


    Of course, this was just a precautionary measure by Zheng Bo; not to mention the Zhong Qing family might not even turn into any form of sinister beings!


    After all, it was just a certain possibility. Moreover, years had passed, and if it weren¡¯t for the sudden global outbreak of eerie incidents, Zheng Bo would have forgotten about it as he grew older.


    Or perhaps, he had subconsciously considered the event just a dream.


    Sitting on the old-style balcony on the second floor, he was comfortably seated in an armchair, with a soft cushion supporting his neck and a small square table on his right with a pot of Dahongpao tea.


    Zheng Bo always drank directly from the pot, without much formality.


    His temples were grizzled, and he was slightly overweight, but no longer unkempt with a beard. Now, his chin was clean-shaven. His clothes, although seemingly ordinary, were always neat and tidy. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Despite living in an area with a diverse mix of tenants, Zheng Bo fit in quickly, judging from his daily habits and dress, one couldn¡¯t guess his previous life experiences.


    Today, at a little past five in the afternoon, the sun came out, and Zheng Bo enjoyed it on the balcony for a while. After finishing the pot of tea and as the sun set and the weather cooled slightly, he went back inside.


    In the past, he slowly poisoned Zhong Qing with chronic poison and then killed the triplets eligible for inheritance by making it look like they disappeared. Because of his carefully laid out and meticulous plan, Zheng Bo inherited a significant amount of money in the end.


    He didn¡¯t hesitate, converted all his investments to deposits, not leaving a cent behind, and left Aries District.


    Afterward, he made several investments but had no business acumen and lost everything. Eventually, he dared not spend recklessly anymore.


    Now, Zheng Bo didn¡¯t have much in savings. Coupled with the monthly rent he collected, it was just enough to sustain until the day he would be laid to rest.


    During the day, a cleaning lady regularly came to clean the house, so it looked very tidy at the moment. After dinner, Zheng Bo took a stroll outside.


    He had a fixed route for his walks, never straying far from this street, and primarily circling the exorcist team¡¯s office building.


    After walking back and forth around the exorcist¡¯s office for about half an hour, he watched television for a while then went to bed after performing his nightly routine.


    To the neighbors, he was a widower without children who had lost his wife early, thankfully appearing to have no money worries, which meant that he largely got on well with the surrounding residents.


    After lying in bed, Zheng Bo put on his reading glasses, picked up his phone, and read an officialdom novel for over an hour, falling asleep without knowing when.


    When he awoke, it was late into the night; his phone screen had gone off, but the device was still snugly on his stomach, and the lamp on the nightstand was on.


    He put the phone on the nightstand, plugged in the charger, then went to the bathroom. Coming back to bed, he turned off the nightstand light.


    But for some reason, after relieving himself, he felt wide awake and restless.

 Chapter 775: 443: The Wishful Abacus_3

    Chapter 775: Chapter 443: The Wishful Abacus_3


    Zheng Bo tried hard to close his eyes.


    He had high blood pressure at the moment, but he had taken his medicine before going to sleep.


    About half an hour later, as he was about to drift off again in a daze, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes half-closed, he was on the verge of falling asleep.


    But the next second, he thought he felt someone standing near the foot of the bed, which startled him and made him open his eyes immediately.


    There was nothing there.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s heartbeat started to accelerate. He lifted his head to look carefully and indeed there was no one there. He turned his head to look behind himself, towards the other side of the bed, and saw no one.


    After thinking it over, it was possible that he had been confused as he was falling asleep, or maybe he had mistaken the shadows of trees cast into the room.


    He lay down again and closed his eyes.


    Sleepiness came over him quickly.


    However, suddenly a faint rubbing sound arose, as if it were the friction between fabrics.


    Zheng Bo was somewhat groggy. He heard the sound but his brain didn¡¯t react. He turned over softly, ready to continue sleeping.


    Right at that moment, the rubbing sound suddenly grew louder and more urgent.


    The next second, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes snapped open.


    The sound stopped abruptly.


    Zheng Bo gaped in surprise, staring ahead. He had heard the sound, which had woken him up directly; he wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    He stretched out his hand to press the switch of the bedside lamp; there was no response.


    Right then, a hoarse laugh sounded, ¡°Hehe, come find me!¡±


    It was as if the voice came from nearby. Startled by the sound, Zheng Bo flipped over and sat up quickly, his gaze panic-stricken, looking around.


    He saw nothing, saw no one.


    He swallowed hard, his gaze still fixed around the room, shakily reaching under the pillow. Before long, he found a flashlight and quickly turned it on.


    Fortunately, the flashlight lit up.


    The darkness was dispelled a bit, but he still didn¡¯t see the person who had spoken just before. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zheng Bo felt somewhat dizzy at that moment, a sign of his rising blood pressure. He now barely dared to be sure if he had actually heard someone talking.


    Something was not right!


    Always very cautious, Zheng Bo couldn¡¯t sleep anymore. He threw back the covers, put on his slippers, got out of bed, and looked around the bedroom with the flashlight but found nothing.


    Out of a certain concern, when buying the bed for his bedroom, he had specifically chosen a model with no space underneath; a solid wooden cabinet was there instead. He usually packed away off-season shoes and placed them inside. The cabinet had small compartments and was independent; no person could possibly hide there.


    Zheng Bo was not foolish enough to open these compartments one by one to check.


    He looked up at the bedroom door, which he had locked from the inside; no one from the outside could enter.


    Then he turned his head toward the bathroom of the bedroom. At that moment, the bathroom door was ajar.


    Zheng Bo wasn¡¯t sure; he thought he had closed the door when he had gone to urinate earlier, otherwise a smell would have wafted into the room.


    He walked to the bathroom with the flashlight, shone it inside, and was about to reach for the doorknob to close the door when he stopped abruptly.


    The flashlight beam hit the area around the washbasin, revealing a clump of black substance wriggling in the sink.


    Upon closer inspection, it looked strikingly like a mass of long hair, and what¡¯s most unsettling, this hair seemed to have a life of its own, slowly squirming outward as if a face would soon appear.


    Zheng Bo was so scared that he shuddered and dared not look anymore. He immediately reached out, slammed the bathroom door closed.


    Then he turned around, ran to the foot of the bed, picked up a high-backed chair, rushed back to the bathroom door, and wedged the chair against it from the outside, tilting the backrest so it jammed the doorknob securely.


    There came a clattering from the bathroom, as if something had fallen from the washbasin to the floor.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t pause to think, immediately turned, ran to the bedroom door, unlatched the bolt, twisted the knob, and prepared to run out.


    But to his shock, when he turned it, the bedroom door wouldn¡¯t budge.

 Chapter 776: 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 1)

    Chapter 776: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 1)


    Zheng Bo clearly remembered that before he went to sleep, he had only locked the bedroom door from the inside, but now it felt like the lock wasn¡¯t just engaged, it was as if someone had double-locked it with a key.


    ¡°How could it have been¡­ double-locked with a key!?¡±


    At this moment, panic surged within him. His body shivering, he turned his head to look at the bathroom door.


    Right then, someone on the inside was pressing down the handle of the door repeatedly, but the outside handle was jammed against the chair back on the outside, temporarily preventing the door from opening.


    Turning back, Zheng Bo tried to twist his bedroom door again, but it still wouldn¡¯t budge. He lowered his head to shine a flashlight under the door and through the gap, he saw that it definitely was locked with a key.


    ¡°The key, where¡¯s the key?¡±


    Zheng Bo turned around, searching frantically throughout the room, trying hard to remember.


    The next second, a voice suddenly emanated from the bathroom¡ªit was hoarse beyond measure, sounding just like the noise he had heard while lying in bed.


    ¡°You found me, now it¡¯s your turn to hide, I¡¯m going to find you,¡± the voice said. Despite its raspiness, the tone was eerily childlike.


    ¡°A child?¡±


    Zheng Bo shuddered, a long-buried memory from twenty years ago seemed to stir, but he quickly suppressed the thought.


    ¡°Find the key, find the key first, get out of here.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His bedroom was at the back of his residence, while the living room and balcony were facing the street on Spring Wind Road, meaning he had to get out of the bedroom and go to the living room, or better yet, to the balcony to see the Exorcism Squad¡¯s office building across the street.


    Over time, Zheng Bo had become very familiar with the daily routines of that building.


    He knew there were always people inside, no matter the time of day or night, and even in the wee hours, he could see at least two or three rooms lit up with silhouettes moving about.


    So, if only he could burst out of the bedroom into the living room, or even better, the balcony, and shout loudly on his side, in this quiet night, the Exorcists in the opposite building would surely hear him, and might even get startled.


    That was the main reason he lived here.


    Because Zheng Bo was well aware if he followed the normal procedure and called 4747, he would have to wait for a while, even if he offered money for expedited service.


    It would have been understandable if it were a common manifestation of strangeness, but he was acutely aware, if he truly encountered the supernatural, it would likely have a great deal to do with Zhong Qing and her three children. If these strangenesses appeared, they would be purposeful, and he couldn¡¯t just wait in line for an Exorcist to handle the situation.


    ¡°The key! The key!¡±


    Suddenly, Zheng Bo remembered the key might be in the pocket of a coat he seldom wore, which was hanging in the wardrobe near the bed.


    On the bathroom side, the handle of the door continued to be pushed down, indicating the strangeness inside hadn¡¯t given up on getting out.


    Due to his rising blood pressure, Zheng Bo¡¯s face was beet red, his heart hammered as if it were about to leap out of his throat.


    He tried the bedroom¡¯s light switch again, but it was still unresponsive. Then, trembling, he walked over to the wardrobe, thankful that the flashlight was still on.


    He reached the wardrobe door, pulled it, and then Zheng Bo froze, realizing something was jamming the door shut, allowing for only a small crack to be opened. Any further force only produced a cracking noise, but the door wouldn¡¯t budge.


    The small opening wasn¡¯t very wide but just enough to fit an arm through.


    Without thinking much, he held the flashlight in his left hand while his right immediately reached inside, groping around in an attempt to find the hanging coat.


    He had some memory that the pocket of the rarely-worn coat was large; it was hung a bit more inside the wardrobe. He would typically place less frequently used items like house keys inside the large pockets of the coat.


    The flashlight couldn¡¯t penetrate the wardrobe through the narrow slit, so he had to rely on touch alone.


    He recalled the approximate location, and after a brief search, felt the sleeve of the coat. Extending his arm further into the wardrobe towards the direction of the pocket, he reached in.


    At that moment, Zheng Bo¡¯s whole arm was almost inside the wardrobe as he fumbled cautiously within.


    But the next second, his expression abruptly changed, his arm inside the wardrobe stiffened, a chill ran up his spine to the back of his head, and he jerked his arm out of the wardrobe in an instant.


    He directed the flashlight beam into the crack of the opened wardrobe.


    He saw nothing!


    Zheng Bo lifted his right hand and looked at it; the cold sensation lingered.


    Just when he thought he was about to reach the coat pocket, his hand had felt an icy touch. Upon closer inspection, it was someone else¡¯s hand, remarkably slender and chillingly cold.


    This feeling immediately terrified Zheng Bo enough to retract his hand abruptly.


    Thump! Thump!


    Behind him, the bathroom door handle continued to be pressed downward, and the flashlight¡¯s beam suggested the handle was getting looser; it might be completely open after a short while.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s panic intensified, his heart pounded like a heavy hammer, and it felt as though he was about to pass out from lack of breath at any moment.


    He looked back at the wardrobe slit, just wide enough for an arm.


    He needed the key to survive; if he couldn¡¯t get it, once whatever was in the bathroom came out, he¡¯d be dead either way.


    The fierceness he had in his youth surged, and he gritted his teeth and stretched his arm into the wardrobe again.


    Because he had already located the coat pocket before, he went straight for it this time, and his hand quickly found the coat¡¯s pocket.

 Chapter 777: 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)

    Chapter 777: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)


    This time, he didn¡¯t encounter any other bizarre things.


    He immediately reached into his pocket, quickly touched the ice-cold keys, grabbed them, and yanked them out.


    Looking down, Zheng Bo¡¯s whole body shook violently with shock and fear as he realized that what he was holding in his hand were two dark blue severed fingers.


    Right at that moment, a hoarse voice softly emerged from the slightly ajar wardrobe beside him, ¡°Try it, it¡¯s edible!¡±


    No sooner had the voice faded than the cracked-open wardrobe door slammed shut with a heavy thud. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Startled, Zheng Bo screamed loudly and, as if holding a hot potato, quickly threw the severed fingers onto the floor.


    Desperately, he took a few steps forward, moving away from the wardrobe.


    At this moment, Zheng Bo was dripping with sweat, his clothes already soaked through, gasping heavily, feeling as if he could barely catch his breath, and his limbs were trembling so violently that he had no strength left to run.


    After escaping the proximity of the wardrobe, he instinctively looked towards the bathroom and was suddenly shocked to realize he couldn¡¯t feel his heartbeat anymore.


    He saw the wooden chair that had been propping the bathroom door closed was now knocked over on the floor, and the bathroom door was wide open; it had been opened from the inside.


    There was no movement, and in the entire bedroom, besides his own ragged breathing, he couldn¡¯t hear any other sound.


    ¡°The strangeness has already come out!¡±


    Zheng Bo immediately stood still with his back against the wall and turned off the flashlight.


    His hair stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine. He wanted to control his breathing to avoid being detected by the other, but he couldn¡¯t do it because the more nervous he was, the heavier his panting became.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s gaze swept continuously over the spaces on either side of the bed, towards the wardrobe, and past the clothes rack in front of the bedroom door.


    If the strangeness had come out of the bathroom, he fixed his attention on the places where it was most likely to hide.


    Staying close to the wall, he moved to the bathroom door. Even without turning on the flashlight, he could see clearly now that indeed, the door lock had been violently twisted open. The back of the chair that had been propping the doorknob was broken at one corner, which was why the bathroom door had been able to be opened so smoothly.


    All around him was eerily silent, the stillness so chilling it was as if the strangeness that had just walked out of the bathroom was silently staring at him from some dark corner.


    At this moment, Zheng Bo did the opposite of what was expected; without much thought, he stepped into the open bathroom, quickly shut the door behind him, and immediately locked it.


    He stood panting heavily at the bathroom door.


    The thumping of his heart felt like a loud bass drum echoing in his ears.


    ¡°That was close!¡± he whispered to himself, patting his chest.


    This action had been a sudden inspiration, and even Zheng Bo had to admire his own wit. Staying out in the bedroom would have been even more dangerous.


    Since the outside had become dangerous, the bathroom that he had so desperately avoided before had now become a safe haven.


    This was reverse thinking.


    However, Zheng Bo hadn¡¯t noticed that when he closed the bathroom door, the figure of a woman who had been crouching behind it was revealed.


    At this moment, with his side facing obliquely away from the door, Zheng Bo felt his trick had temporarily isolated him from the outside strangeness, and the fear in his heart was slowly subsiding.


    The key was to hold the door and prevent the strangeness outside from breaking through.


    He stepped backward unconsciously and then felt he stepped on something.


    Soon, a hair-raising sensation crawled all over his body, a bone-chilling cold emanating from behind him, as though his body had been plunged into an icy spring.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes widened, frozen, as the disheveled woman behind him slowly rose to her feet, her hair veiling her face mere inches from Zheng Bo¡¯s neck.


    Due to fear, Zheng Bo was completely stiffened; his eyes tried to look behind him, but his body at this moment simply wouldn¡¯t obey.


    The woman behind him slowly raised her emaciated hands, pushing away the black hair hanging over her face, revealing a pair of eyes with only whites showing. Her nose lacked a tip, leaving only two blood-clogged nostrils, and her lips were torn, revealing part of her upper gum.


    Zheng Bo felt like he was already a dead man, now devoid of breathing, with his heartbeat gone too, as the cold behind him intensified; already imagining the horrifying scene behind him.


    A warm stream suddenly flowed between his legs, soaking through his long underwear and dampening his cotton slippers.


    An icy touch came from his shoulder, a numbing cold sensation.


    The woman extended her hand, resting it on his shoulder, and leaned in close to Zheng Bo¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Uncle, I found you.¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    An unstoppable scream burst forth as Zheng Bo¡¯s blood pressure skyrocketed, his brain buzzed, and in an instant, it all went blank, and he collapsed, unconscious.


    Time passed.


    The morning sun shone through the closed curtains, warming up the room gradually.


    When Zheng Bo woke up, he found himself lying face-down on the bed with the blanket crushed underneath him.


    His head felt unbearably heavy, and his whole body was weak and cold.


    With great difficulty, he got up from the bed, looked down, and saw his pants were still wet, and the blanket was soaked through as well. Sleeping like this, his body surely had caught a cold.

 Chapter 778: 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)

    Chapter 778: Chapter 444: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)


    Zheng Bo¡¯s face was exceptionally pale. Although his blood pressure had already come down, he still needed to take his medication as soon as possible.


    He got out of bed to look for his slippers but couldn¡¯t find them. He put on his socks first, changed into a clean set of underwear, and then finally found the same pair of wet slippers in the bathroom.


    When he opened the door of his bedroom, he found that the lock was still latched from the inside. Now his mind was in a fog, unsure whether the encounter from the night before had been a hallucination or a dream.


    But if it had been a dream, how could his slippers still be in the bathroom?


    However, Zheng Bo noticed that there were no signs of the two severed fingers he¡¯d seen on the bedroom floor the night before.


    He forced his aching body to stand, poured himself a glass of warm water, took a dose of antihypertensive medicine, and then sat down on the living room sofa to call the housekeeper he usually employed.


    About half an hour later, the housekeeper auntie rushed over. Since Zheng Bo had always paid her promptly and was a pleasant person to work for, the auntie was very attentive.


    When she arrived, she even brought him a bowl of hot porridge and a steamer of soup-filled buns. Zheng Bo sipped some hot porridge and nibbled on a couple of buns before he couldn¡¯t eat anymore, and he handed the housekeeper some money.


    ¡°Zou, could you please go out and buy me some cold medicine? I¡¯m aching all over, I don¡¯t have the energy, and I feel a bit dizzy. I¡¯m sorry to trouble you.¡±


    The housekeeper, called Zou, who was in the middle of changing the bed linens, took the money with concern, ¡°Mr. Zheng, you don¡¯t look well, perhaps you should go to the hospital to get checked out.¡±


    She had discovered during the bed linen change that Zheng Bo had wet the bed last night and was kindly reminding him.


    Zheng Bo shook his head but didn¡¯t respond.


    People of that age can be quite stubborn, so Zou didn¡¯t say anything further, promptly went downstairs to buy the medicine, and brought it back for Zheng Bo to take.


    After taking the medicine, Zheng Bo half-reclined on the couch, watching Zou bustling about, cleaning the bedroom, washing clothes and the bed sheets, and then hanging them out to dry.


    By noon, Zheng Bo handed Zou some more money for her to go down and get something to eat.


    After lunch, Zou brought him back a bowl of beef noodles, but Zheng Bo still had no appetite and only ate a few bites before putting it down.


    Watching the clock for the next round of medication, Zou prepared the afternoon antihypertensive and cold medicines for him before finally leaving.


    Zheng Bo had been lying on the sofa for half a day. After taking the medicine, a layer of sweat had broken out on his body, and he felt a slight relief. Slowly sitting up, his eyes turned towards the direction of the balcony and the office building across from it, marked with ¡°Ririshun Trading Company.¡±


    A moment later, glancing at the time, it was already half past two in the afternoon.


    Flipping off the thick blanket Zou had placed over him, he returned to the bedroom to dress, then went to the bathroom for another look, where everything was normal.


    He then went to his wardrobe and opened the door.


    The wardrobe door, which was completely intact, opened smoothly without any hesitation. He took out a jacket he seldom wore and found the keys in the pocket.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, he took the keys out of the pocket and put them into the pocket of the clothes he was currently wearing, just to be safe.


    As he did these things, the images of what he had experienced the previous night occasionally flashed through his mind. The terror felt so real that Zheng Bo couldn¡¯t believe it was just a dream or a hallucination.


    He knew that something had definitely gone wrong, and the very thing he feared most had indeed started to happen since last night.


    Back in the living room, after putting on his shoes at the door, Zheng Bo felt for the keys and his cell phone in his pocket before locking the door and leaving.


    He didn¡¯t go far, just crossed the street to reach the Ririshun Trading Company on the other side.


    At the entrance, a security guard stopped him. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Who are you looking for?¡±


    Zheng Bo said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for an Exorcist.¡±


    The security guard, taken aback, held out a hand to stop him, ¡°To find an Exorcist, dial 4747. This is a trading company; there is no Exorcist here.¡±

 Chapter 779: 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)

    Chapter 779: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)


    Seeing the security guard keeping a tight watch on the entrance and staying tight-lipped, Zheng Bo squeezed a smile onto his face, ¡°I¡¯ve already found out, this is the office location for the Luguang Exorcist team. There¡¯s no mistake. Please make an exception¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Zheng Bo took a roll of money he had prepared in his pocket and handed it over inconspicuously.


    The guard did not accept it, instead asking with confusion, ¡°Who do you know here?¡±


    Zheng Bo shook his head, ¡°I asked someone to find out for me.¡±


    The guard waved his hand dismissively, ¡°If you don¡¯t know anyone here, please leave. I¡¯m not in charge here, and if I let you in, they¡¯d replace me at this security booth immediately.¡±


    Zheng Bo froze on the spot, his gaze shifting between the nearby office building and the guard standing before him.


    This guard was robust, at a height of one meter eighty, clearly not a regular residential security guard, and it was quite possible he was an ex-special forces soldier.


    Forcing his way in was certainly not an option, even if it could draw the attention of people in the office building. Doing so would not only fail to help him but leave a bad impression.


    Heaving a sigh, and after giving the young guard another look, Zheng Bo turned around and left.


    When he arrived at the first floor of his house, he didn¡¯t rush upstairs. Instead, seeing a tenant¡¯s door on the first floor open, he walked over.


    It was a young couple renting there. The man had gone out, leaving only his wife at home.


    As soon as she saw Zheng Bo coming, the woman greeted him with a smile, ¡°Uncle Zheng, are you going out for a stroll in the nice weather?¡±


    Zheng Bo smiled back and asked, ¡°Ya, did you hear any noises last night?¡±


    ¡°Last night?¡± The young woman thought for a moment, ¡°No! Uncle Zheng, did you hear something?¡±


    Zheng Bo shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m not certain. It just felt like I heard something while I was dreaming.¡±


    ¡°Then you must have been dreaming,¡± the young woman called Ya laughed. ¡°I¡¯m a light sleeper. The slightest noise wakes me up, but I didn¡¯t hear anything last night.¡±


    Zheng Bo nodded, then added after a moment¡¯s thought, ¡°Alright, could you please keep an eye on my upstairs for the next few nights? I haven¡¯t been feeling well. If something¡¯s wrong, I might call for you.¡±


    Ya looked surprised, ¡°Uncle Zheng, if you¡¯re not feeling well, it¡¯s best to go to the hospital. That¡¯s safer. But we¡¯ll keep an eye out, and you can call me directly for anything. We¡¯ll come up as soon as we get the call.¡±


    Zheng Bo mused that he would like to make a call too, but if he really encountered strangeness, there would be no time for that. It¡¯d be quicker to shout out. Once the commotion was heard, the couple could run up.


    Of course, if he could shout from the balcony so that the Exorcists could hear him, that would be perfect.


    After all, witnesses catching spirit phenomena right across from the Exorcist team ¡ª they couldn¡¯t possibly ignore that. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Uncle Zheng, you don¡¯t look well. Sit on the sofa and rest for a bit,¡± Ya said as she poured a cup of water for Zheng Bo and placed it in front of him. She then went behind him to place a soft cushion for more comfort.


    Then, Ya said somewhat apologetically, ¡°I want to go out to send a package, or I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t get sent out today. It¡¯s not far, just next door. Could you help me keep an eye on my house for a moment? The kettle is about to boil. If it does, could you please turn off the stove for me? I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°No problem, no problem. You go ahead,¡± Zheng Bo waved his hand, not wanting to return to the second floor just yet. Staying where people were around made him feel more settled.


    Ya stepped out swiftly with her parcel, and Zheng Bo sat for a while, sipping the hot water. Soon, the kettle on the stove began to whistle, its water boiling.


    Zheng Bo set down the cup, stood up to turn off the stove, and moved the kettle to the side.


    Glancing up, he saw clothes hanging in the room. Due to lack of space, the tenants normally dried their freshly washed laundry near the window for quick drying.


    His gaze lingered on Ya¡¯s undergarments. Looking at the open living room door and the still-empty house, with passersby outside unlikely to notice the goings-on inside.


    Zheng Bo walked over with his hands behind his back, reached out, and touched the underpants, gently rubbing them for a moment while a somewhat intoxicated expression came over his face.


    However, he still kept half his attention on the living room door, in case Ya suddenly came back.


    At that moment, Zheng Bo noticed a delicate bird-cage hanging next to the drying clothes.


    He remembered that Ya¡¯s husband seemed to like keeping birds, usually a thrush. Now the cage was covered with a cloth to allow the bird to rest undisturbed by the outside environment.


    Zheng Bo, driven by curiosity, pulled the cover aside slightly. The thrush within fluttered twice, shrank back, and hid in the darkness untampered by the cover.


    Seeing bird food on the windowsill, Zheng Bo picked up some, pinched between his forefinger and thumb, and began to feed it into the cage.


    ¡°Come on, little one, have some food.¡±


    The thrush, clearly frightened, kept hiding in the darkness, refusing to come out, with only occasional movements of its head visible.


    Zheng Bo reached further in, coaxing, ¡°Come on, eat up.¡±


    From beneath the darkness of the cover, the thrush still didn¡¯t approach, but suddenly, a dark, bluish hand reached out and grabbed two of Zheng Bo¡¯s fingers.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Startled, Zheng Bo shuddered violently, instinctively trying to pull his fingers free.


    But the bluish hand gripped him unyieldingly tight, preventing his retreat, and slowly its sharp nails began to pierce Zheng Bo¡¯s skin, drawing blood.

 Chapter 780: 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 780: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_2


    Just at this moment, Ya, who had just returned from sending a parcel at the door, was startled by the scene before her eyes as she entered the room.


    The dark bruises on the hand instantly released its grip and retracted into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.


    It was only then that Zheng Bo finally managed to pull his bleeding finger out of the birdcage.


    ¡°Uncle Zheng, your finger¡­ it¡¯s been pecked¡­¡± Ya hurriedly ran over.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I was just careless,¡± Zheng Bo said, shaking his head while his face was pale and still showing signs of fear, as he quickly stepped out of the door, not letting Ya examine his injury, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll just put on a Band-Aid when I get back, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Ya to ask further, he hurried upstairs.


    He had been feeling a bit of a cold, and now with the shocks and scares, the feeling of weakness in his body returned. Once home, he washed the wound under the tap, then applied a couple of Band-Aids.


    About a minute later, the Band-Aid was soaked through with fresh blood, and Zheng Bo had to change it again.


    After changing it four or five times, the bleeding finally stopped.


    Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but at this moment Zheng Bo was still shaking uncontrollably. He was not concerned about the injury, but was terribly frightened by the hand inside the birdcage.


    The incident moments ago had successfully triggered his memories from the previous night, proving that he was definitely not dreaming or hallucinating.


    After taking a few pills, lying on the couch, Zheng Bo¡¯s body was still trembling. He had locked the door to the bedroom and the front door of the living room, leaving only the door to the balcony open.


    Although it was still afternoon, the lights in the living room were all turned on, ensuring the room was brightly lit, with no dark corners.


    He covered himself with a thick blanket on the couch, but still felt cold inside. He had not rested well the night before, and now, despite his efforts to sleep, he found it impossible to do so.


    His heart kept pounding rapidly; even though he had taken medication, his blood pressure was certainly still high.


    Creak¡ª


    At that moment, Zheng Bo noticed the cabinet door of the TV stand, where the TV was placed, suddenly opened. He quickly covered his head with the blanket, leaving only a small gap that allowed him to peek out.


    The cabinet door of the TV stand didn¡¯t open completely, it was just halfway open, so that the gap created was level with Zheng Bo¡¯s position as he lay. Then, the door stopped moving.


    The thick blanket covering Zheng Bo was trembling along with his body, and from within the dark cabinet door, two white eyeballs suddenly appeared, rolling around and staring out.


    To be precise, they were staring in the direction of Zheng Bo, hidden under the blanket.


    Besides those two white eyeballs, one could vaguely see a few toes sticking out from under the opened door, motionless, without crawling out.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s heartbeat picked up again, and although he was under the thick blanket, he didn¡¯t dare make any movements, peering through the slight gap he left, at the unsettling pair of white eyes.


    Soon, he started feeling a growing chill on his back, as if the blanket was not tightly covering him, or perhaps it had been opened.


    All sorts of guesses flooded his mind, even speculating that he might have fallen asleep and that everything he was seeing was a dream.


    However, the pair of eyes inside the cabinet soon snapped him back to reality. He had not fallen asleep, everything was real, and inside the cabinet, there was truly a strangeness watching him.


    Sweating profusely with a rising sense of chill at his back, he felt increasingly that the blanket was not covering him properly. He wanted to reach out and feel it but could not muster the courage to move.


    His gaze fixated on the eyes inside the cabinet door, Zheng Bo was certain that since he was hidden under the blanket, in the darkness, the white eyes outside couldn¡¯t know that he was also watching it.


    As he was conjecturing in the dark, all of a sudden, a face appeared from above, leaning down towards the gap of the blanket, staring unwaveringly into Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes.


    The features on this face were upside down, clearly indicating it had been standing by the sofa all along, and now it had suddenly bent over to look into the blanket at Zheng Bo.


    Zheng Bo was so frightened by this sudden appearance, so close at hand, that he shuddered violently and nearly wet himself again.


    He had no chance to scream, everything went black before his eyes, his mind went blank, and he passed out.


    ¡­


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    After an indeterminate amount of time, a series of knocks on the door woke Zheng Bo up, who was in a daze. He opened his eyes to find darkness around him, and it was only then that he realized he was still under the covers.


    The thick blanket had caused him to sweat profusely, soaking his clothes through.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    The knocking continued, but Zheng Bo did not immediately throw off the blanket; instead, he made a small opening to continue looking out.


    The lights in the living room outside the blanket were still on, the TV cabinet door was closed, and there seemed to be nothing amiss.


    Zheng Bo slowly lifted a corner of the blanket; his sweat had even dampened the fabric sofa. He was parched, feeling as though he could guzzle down a pitcher of water.


    Thump! Thump!


    ¡°Is anybody there?¡± a voice came from outside the door at that moment. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zheng Bo then remembered someone had been knocking. He glanced around, no longer seeing anything out of the ordinary.


    He quickly threw off the blanket and sat up, put on his slippers, and called out, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The Exorcist.¡± came the reply from outside.


    Zheng Bo was taken aback, followed by a wave of relief in his heart. He glanced in the direction of the office building across from the balcony.


    Without giving it much thought, he hurriedly got up, went to the door, and opened it.


    Standing outside was a young man with a smile, who pointed to the other side as Zheng Bo opened the door, ¡°I came from across there. I saw you speaking with the security guard today, and it didn¡¯t seem to go well. I asked him, and he said that you were planning to go to our place to file a complaint.¡±

 Chapter 781: 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 781: Chapter 445: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 2)_3


    ¡°Mm, yes, right, I¡¯m here to report an incident, there¡¯s strangeness in this place, not just one spirit¡­ I had no choice but to seek you out¡­¡± Zheng Bo immediately stepped back to let the young man into the house, all the while continuing to explain.


    The young man walked into the living room, looking around: ¡°Why are you sweating so much? Your clothes are soaked.¡±


    Zheng Bo looked down at himself and forced a smile: ¡°I¡¯ll go change in the bedroom, please wait a moment, I¡¯ll be right out.¡±


    Although he felt weak and powerless, at this moment, Zheng Bo was as energized as if he were injected with adrenaline, quickly returning to the bedroom to change clothes before hurrying back to the living room, pouring water for the young man while asking.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Exorcist, I appreciate you coming to take a look. I don¡¯t know if you¡­¡±


    The young man took the glass of water, took out his Exorcist Badge, and wagged it in front of Zheng Bo before sitting down.


    Now certain the other was genuinely an exorcist, Zheng Bo rushed to say: ¡°Please help me, I don¡¯t know what to do! Money is not an issue, as long as you can get rid of the strangeness here for me, I¡¯m also willing to pay you extra.¡±


    The young man set down his cup and nodded: ¡°I¡¯ve had a quick look, and indeed, there¡¯s a presence of strangeness in this house. However, spirits are typically quite cunning, and they might not appear now that I¡¯m here,¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Zheng Bo looked at him anxiously.


    ¡°Here¡¯s what, I¡¯ll give you something to keep on you at all times, and if a spirit appears and threatens you, you can crush this item to kill it.¡±


    As the young man spoke, he took out a button-like object and placed it on the table.


    Upon seeing the item, Zheng Bo¡¯s eyes lit up. He had heard that exorcists sometimes used objects similar to buttons, with considerable power, when dealing with spirits. So it was true.


    It appeared that the Exorcist truly intended to help him because the button was obviously a talisman.


    He quickly grabbed it in his hand, repeatedly thanking the young man.


    Seeing this, the young man hurriedly cautioned: ¡°Be careful not to squeeze it too hard and set it off prematurely. Wait until the critical moment to use it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Zheng Bo carefully placed the button in his pocket. ¡°But what if it doesn¡¯t kill the entity?¡±


    The young exorcist replied: ¡°This object is very powerful; it cannot fail to kill. If it really can¡¯t kill the spirit, it will at least grievously wound it. After the wounding, come find me first thing tomorrow morning across the street, and I will take care of the spirit for you. But trust me, it¡¯s highly unlikely that will happen.¡±


    Zheng Bo felt relieved. He seemed to remember something and immediately went to the bedroom, returning shortly with a stack of cash in hand, which he stuffed into the young man¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°How can I accept this?¡± The young exorcist said as he declined, but he had already taken the money and put it in his pocket.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Zheng Bo said with a forced smile: ¡°If I need to find you tomorrow, how should I address you?¡±


    ¡°Just ask for¡­ Yan Junze.¡± The young man didn¡¯t linger any longer and got up to leave.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t dare to speak to detain him, although he wished the exorcist would just stay in the house and not leave. He knew better than to make his helper unhappy, or his problems would remain unaddressed.


    After the exorcist left, Zheng Bo¡¯s heart settled, and he pulled out the Hidden Buckle from his pocket, bringing it close to his face to examine it carefully. It was certainly not an ordinary button, finely crafted with seamless joints, and it seemed to be wrapped with a powerful energy.


    He felt that as long as he was willing, with a single pinch, the object would break open, releasing the exorcising energy to mark the end for those spirits!


    At that moment, Zheng Bo clenched his teeth bitterly and thought to himself, if that bitch and her child dared to appear again, he would definitely kill them.


    As long as he had the strength, even spirits wouldn¡¯t be spared his wrath.


    ¡°Dead and still daring to come for me! I¡¯ll make sure you know, even as spirits, you¡¯ll never escape my grasp in this lifetime.¡±


    Remembering he hadn¡¯t eaten much that day, although he didn¡¯t feel hungry, Zheng Bo still searched the house for something to eat. But he quickly froze.


    He clearly remembered the porridge and soup buns that cleaner Zou had bought him this morning, which he had not finished, and the bowl of beef noodles he purchased at noon were now nowhere to be seen!


    S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 782: 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)

    Chapter 782: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)


    Zheng Bo stood in the middle of the living room, his face filled with confusion.


    He remembered that after Cleaner Zou brought over the porridge and stuffed buns, he had taken a few bites, but since he had no appetite, he asked her to put them on the table. Now, there was nothing on it.


    He had also only taken a few bites of the beef noodle soup, and for the same reason of lacking appetite, he had set it aside.


    However, the beef noodle soup wouldn¡¯t be good if left too long, so it was possible that Zou had thrown it away, but the porridge and stuffed buns could have easily been reheated in the microwave, and the usually frugal Zou wouldn¡¯t have discarded them.


    Zheng Bo thought perhaps he had overlooked them, so he searched the kitchen again, looking through the fridge and the cabinets, but saw nothing.


    Maybe Zou really had thrown them away.


    ¡°This woman, when did she start being so wasteful!¡± Zheng Bo cursed under his breath.


    It was the thought of food that crossed his mind because he realized he hadn¡¯t eaten much the entire day. Although he wasn¡¯t hungry due to his weakness, it didn¡¯t mean his body didn¡¯t need replenishing with energy.


    After pondering for a moment, he opened a pack of oatmeal, brewed it with boiling water, and drank it down in a few gulps.


    Now that he had the Hidden Buckle in his pocket, he felt a sense of assurance even when he was alone at home¡ªa boost of confidence.


    Looking up and seeing the light emanating from the Exorcist¡¯s office building across the street, Zheng Bo felt an increased sense of security.


    He checked the time. Although he had been scared unconscious by that woman¡¯s face, it seemed he had slept for about two hours.


    Now as he recalled that face, it seemed somewhat similar to Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s, the second of the triplets. Although when he had killed her, her face had been almost unrecognizable, and Zheng Bo was sure that even their mother in the underworld wouldn¡¯t be able to identify her, there was still a vaguely familiar feeling when he saw it just now.


    And according to his guess, the woman curled up inside the TV cabinet must have been Zhuang Wenhui, whom he had forced to hide during those last days.


    This woman, even after death, retained her nature, turning into a ghost that liked to hide away.


    Zheng Bo smirked, recalling his previous encounters. Although there was still some fear in his heart, the Hidden Buckle in his pocket felt like a Soul-Setting Bead. Knowing he had a way to deal with the spirit, he was no longer as panicked as before.


    However, it was necessary to prepare for the worst. Tonight, Zheng Bo decided not to return to his bedroom to sleep, as the bedroom was too far from the balcony and not as convenient as the living room.


    If something happened that even the Hidden Buckle couldn¡¯t handle, he figured it would be better to yell toward the building across from the balcony door, which was much better than being trapped and frightened in the bedroom, urinating in his pants the previous night.


    He went to the bedroom to fetch his phone charger, pillow, and other items, then made sure he had the house keys on him, closed the bedroom door, and locked it from the outside with the key.


    If a ghost appeared in the bedroom in the evening, at least it wouldn¡¯t be able to get out for the time being.


    To feel even more secure, Zheng Bo also closed the kitchen door. Since it was a sliding door, he had to prop it shut with two overlapped stools.


    Finally, he came to the door leading to the balcony and gave it a gentle tug. He didn¡¯t plan on closing it tightly, making sure it could be opened with one pull, and he didn¡¯t draw the curtain on the window either.


    This way, he could see the building across the street as soon as he opened his eyes, adding to his sense of safety.


    After making all the preparations, he checked the time on his phone, and it was already past eleven o¡¯clock at night.


    Despite having dozed off for two hours, he wasn¡¯t particularly sleepy now. However, he felt weak, his head constantly groggy, his limbs aching and powerless, and in everything he did, he felt a hollowness within.


    After sitting on the sofa for a while, he decided it was best to rest early to recuperate fully. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before going to sleep, he took a few pills for blood pressure, then when he was about to take some cold medicine, he couldn¡¯t find it, though he searched high and low.


    After rummaging through the basket where he usually stored medicines and not finding it there, nor on the table or the TV cabinet, he still couldn¡¯t find it.


    Zheng Bo stood still and tried to recall, but he simply couldn¡¯t remember where he had put the cold medicine he had bought that morning.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been thrown away by that silly woman, Zou, could it?¡± he muttered to himself.


    With no other option, since the pharmacy was already closed, he made himself a cup of warm water and drank it slowly, trying to sweat it out, even though he had already perspired enough for the day.


    Returning to the sofa, he lay down and covered himself with a thick blanket.


    Turning off the lights was out of the question. Zheng Bo even felt the living room light wasn¡¯t bright enough, so he let it stay on all night.


    He wasn¡¯t in the mood to check his phone before bed anymore. Curled up on the sofa, he seemed lost in thought, lightly clutching the Hidden Buckle in his hand.


    Silence enveloped both inside and outside the house.


    After nightfall, Spring Wind Street was the same as any other street, with hardly a person in sight except for patrol vehicles. The house was quiet, and the outside was just as silent.


    Zheng Bo didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep, but as his consciousness gradually returned, he realized the surroundings had turned dark.


    The living room lights had gone out at some point, and only the streetlights outside cast their glow into the room.


    Seeing this scene, Zheng Bo¡¯s heart jolted, and any sleepiness vanished. Although he had just woken up, his mind instantly became alert, his heart brimming with caution.


    It was the same the previous night¡ªthe bedroom lights had turned off directly¡ªand now the living room lights had gone out. It was too much of a coincidence.


    He curled up and slowly covered his head with the blanket, leaving only a small slit to observe the situation, while the grip on the Hidden Buckle in his hand tightened.

 Chapter 783: 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_2

    Chapter 783: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_2


    Because there was light on the street, it was still possible to see the surrounding environment through the haze, and after an indeterminate wait, no sounds were heard.


    Just as Zheng Bo thought that maybe only the living room light was broken, there was a click, a strange noise coming from the direction of the bedroom door.


    He immediately widened his eyes, adjusted his gaze to look through the gap in the blanket, and peered carefully.


    In the dimness, he saw the door handle of the bedroom being pressed down by some force, but because he had already locked the bedroom door with a key, the door handle was pushed down without the bedroom door opening.


    There were two more clicks, and then the door handle made no more noise.


    However, as the bedroom doorknob was pressed down to no avail, a scraping noise suddenly came from the direction of the kitchen.


    Someone was inside the kitchen, pushing the sliding door.


    Because Zheng Bo had obstructed the sliding door with two chairs in advance, the process of opening the door would inevitably push the chairs backward, making a friction noise against the floor.


    This scraping noise was actually not loud, but in the darkness of the night, it was excruciatingly piercing to Zheng Bo¡¯s ears.


    He hurriedly adjusted the angle of the blanket¡¯s gap to look in the direction of the kitchen.


    Since that direction was close to the living room¡¯s door to the balcony, the light from the street was a bit more sufficient.


    In his line of sight, he saw that the sliding door had been opened a bit, and five long and black fingers had extended through the crack in the door, the nails sharp and pointed, gripping the door panel.


    The nails had embedded into the door panel, making a cracking sound, and a force was pushing the sliding door to one side.


    Click, click, click¡­


    The two overlapping chairs were being pushed outward as the gap in the sliding door opened wider and wider.


    Zheng Bo then saw an arm stretch out from inside the kitchen, and as the door continued to be pushed, a stooped female figure squeezed out completely.


    After the woman came out, she walked to the two overlapping chairs and silently picked them up.


    At the same moment, Zheng Bo suddenly felt the blanket that was covering him pulled at once.


    The pull came from below, as if something was lying next to his feet.


    Zheng Bo stayed motionless, and then felt someone crawling up the blanket; the person was light in weight, but he could still sense the movement and speed of the crawling.


    Getting closer and closer to the top, moving nearer to his head.


    He could imagine a creepy woman crawling on the outside of the blanket, slowly approaching him.


    Gripping the Hidden Buckle tightly in his palm, Zheng Bo covered his entire head with the blanket.


    He was waiting for an opportunity; it now appeared that at least three strangenesses were in his room, which should be the triplet sisters.


    To release the power of the Hidden Buckle, he had to wait until the three strangenesses gathered or came close to him so that he could ensure that he took them all out at once, rather than killing just one or two and leaving one behind to bring endless revenge.


    Currently, only the strangeness on the blanket was close to him, so it was not the best time to activate the Hidden Buckle.


    Hiding under the blanket, he waited again, and the strangeness lying on top of the blanket seemed to stop moving. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Zheng Bo was continuing his observation, the blanket on him was suddenly yanked down, revealing his upper body.


    Zheng Bo shivered unexpectedly, his eyes wide open, looking above him.


    Right above where he lay, a woman was staring at him closely, silent, with a slightly tilted head and somewhat distorted facial features. It was obviously her who had pulled away the blanket just now.


    At this moment, because his face was too close to that horrifying face, Zheng Bo almost burst the Hidden Buckle.


    At such a close distance, he recognized the woman who had pulled off his blanket; it should be Zhuang Wenhui.


    Meanwhile, the woman who had emerged from the kitchen had placed the two chairs in front of the sofa. She turned around, tiptoed to get another chair, and lined it up in front of the sofa.


    Zhuang Wenhui, who was above Zheng Bo¡¯s body, slowly retreated and stood up from the other end of the sofa.


    He twisted his head to look at the woman placing the third chair and recognized her as Zhuang Wenjing.


    And just then, the door of the TV cabinet opened, and a distorted figure with long hair slowly crawled out from that obviously too-small space.


    Zheng Bo could never have imagined that the strangeness hiding in the TV cabinet would turn out to be Zhuang Wenxian, the eldest of the triplets.


    All three sisters appeared at once, but there was no sign of their mother, Zhong Qing.


    It seemed that Zhong Qing had not turned into a strangeness, or if she had, she had not found him.


    The three sisters silently walked to the front of the three chairs and then sat down slowly, with their backs to Zheng Bo on the sofa.


    Zheng Bo found himself sitting up uncontrollably, his head getting heavier and heavier. As he straightened his body without control, he faced the backs of the three sisters.


    Although he was terrified at this moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of excitement upon seeing this scene, because the three sisters were now close together. If he acted now, he would definitely annihilate them all.


    Opportunity knocks but once. Just as Zheng Bo was about to burst the Hidden Buckle, Zhuang Wenxian, who was sitting in the middle, suddenly spoke, ¡°Who moved?¡±


    Zheng Bo was taken aback. Like Yan Junze when he first heard this phrase, he was bewildered.


    However, Zheng Bo did not intend to answer these eerie questions. The opportunity was right before his eyes and he couldn¡¯t let it slip away.


    Without responding, his right hand began to tighten, ready to burst the Hidden Buckle.


    But the moment his right hand exerted force, Zheng Bo suddenly felt something wrong; a sharp pain erupted in his stomach, and looking down, he saw a lump swelling up on the surface of his abdomen.

 Chapter 784: 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_3

    Chapter 784: Chapter 446: Who Has Been Spared by Heaven! (Part 3)_3


    He was terrified, hurriedly increasing the strength in his right hand to quickly activate Hidden Buckle and destroy the three sisters gathered before him.


    But the harder he tried, the faster the tumor grew, rapidly reaching its limit.


    With a loud bang, the tumor burst open, Zheng Bo cried out in agony, his right hand slackened, and he almost dropped the Hidden Buckle to the floor.


    It was only then that he realized his whole body was not just stiff; if he forced himself to move, his body would mutate like it had just done.


    If he didn¡¯t move, he couldn¡¯t crush the Hidden Buckle, and if the sisters remained unvanquished, an even greater disaster awaited him, so he had to force himself to move.


    Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth against the wound in his stomach and once more clenched his right hand tightly.


    This time, a tumor rapidly formed on his thigh, and under his force, it exploded with a popping sound, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.


    Zheng Bo screamed in pain, stopping in his tracks with determination, and then continued to exert force.


    He could feel his right hand¡¯s fingers had already tightened around Hidden Buckle in his palm; just a bit more force and it would immediately burst.


    On the other thigh, a third tumor started to swell, and this one was much larger.


    ¡°It¡¯s about to burst!¡± Zheng Bo watched the tumor swell, disregarding everything else as he sweated profusely and forcefully clenched his fingers.


    Bang!


    The tumor on his thigh burst at the same time the Hidden Buckle in his hand was finally crushed and activated.


    Boom!


    An even louder noise erupted as the Hidden Buckle exploded, releasing a thick white mist that enveloped Zheng Bo¡¯s body in ice-cold chill in less than a second.


    Crackling sounds of ice forming could be heard; the air around Zheng Bo almost froze solid as his limbs became immobile, and his body instantaneously turned into a frozen stick figure.


    High-Energy Chilling was triggered!


    Zheng Bo never imagined that after crushing the Hidden Buckle, it would encase him in ice.


    And what was eerie, after being frozen by the Chilling, he did not pass out but instead started to float in mid-air above the couch, like a weightless speck of dust.


    The three sisters in front of him were no longer sitting but slowly getting up, turning around to stare blankly at Zheng Bo, suspended in the air.


    Suddenly, all the doors in the house opened soundlessly.


    Zheng Bo watched in horror as his body floated toward the dark bedroom and then to the bathroom door.


    On the bathroom floor lay a man in pajamas and thermal pants, motionless, apparently long dead.


    Beneath the man was a patch of dried stain, clearly urine.


    Upon seeing this scene in the bathroom, Zheng Bo was startled, all the memories of the day surged to his mind, and then those images started to crumble before his eyes like photographs disintegrating.


    ¡­


    Thump, thump, thump. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mr. Zheng, it¡¯s me, Zou, here to clean your house,¡± came a knocking from outside the door in the morning.


    Zheng Bo stood stiffly in front of the couch, his face ashen, his pupils white, and his eyes lifelessly staring at the rattling door of the living room.


    He had no intention of going to open the door.


    ¡°Mr. Zheng, are you out?¡±


    The knocking continued for a while, and the cleaning lady Zou seemed quite confused, muttering to herself outside the door.


    After failing to get a response, footsteps receded, and Zou left downstairs.


    Zheng Bo remained standing in front of the couch, expressionless, and without any breath, he opened his mouth to say, indistinctly, ¡°Zou, please go get me some cold medicine, my whole body aches, I don¡¯t have the strength, and I¡¯m feeling a bit dizzy¡­¡±


    The voice was vague and echoed eerily around the room.


    The scene faded, and another emerged before his eyes.


    ¡­


    Zheng Bo, pale-faced, stood outside the entrance of Ririshun Trading Company, while the tall security guard at the door seemed to look right through him as if he was invisible.


    Zheng Bo stood at the doorway for a moment, then walked inside; the guard didn¡¯t react at all, even his gaze didn¡¯t linger as it slid over Zheng Bo.


    However, when he was about to enter the door, a strong magnetic field flashed, repelling Zheng Bo several meters away.


    Zheng Bo got up from the ground, his complexion turning to a deathly pallor.


    Still expressionless, he stood in place, arms hanging by his sides, staring at the entrance of Ririshun Trading Company.


    Sometime later, he turned and slowly walked towards his home, his steps stiff and arms motionless.


    At the door of the downstairs tenant, Zheng Bo peered inside.


    Ya was just coming out with a package in hand.


    ¡°Ya, are you going out?¡± Zheng Bo asked in a stilted tone.


    Ya, as if she didn¡¯t see him, brushed past and walked away.


    Zheng Bo watched her leave, then looked inside the open door, paused, and without a word, proceeded upstairs.


    The scene collapsed again, disintegrated.


    ¡­


    Wrapped in Chilling, Zheng Bo floated in the air, looking at the corpse in the bathroom, his shock was indescribable.


    It took a long time before a thought surfaced from deep within: ¡°So it turns out, I¡¯ve been dead all along!¡±

 Chapter 785: 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 785: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)


    Only when he saw his own corpse did the memories belonging to Zheng Bo after his death finally return.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out why he couldn¡¯t remember anything, but now the only thing he was sure of was that he had already died on the night when the three sisters appeared in his bedroom.


    The body lay in the bathroom, having been there for a full day.


    What had awakened the next day was just the current Strange Body, and all the memories, including the janitor Zou coming to clean, taking care of him, buying breakfast and medicine for him, were all imagined out of the instinct of an ordinary person who hadn¡¯t realized he was already dead.


    Moreover, he hadn¡¯t been able to communicate with the security guard at the entrance of the Exorcists¡¯ office building because the latter couldn¡¯t see him. He hadn¡¯t spoken with Ya, the tenant downstairs, for the same reason.


    He had died, he had been dead long ago!


    Not only had he died, his memory was unclear, and he continued to suffer from the shocks of the three sisters, who were also strange beings.


    Feeling the pain in his thigh, in his stomach, the sensation of pain was still there, but at this moment, Zheng Bo knew he wasn¡¯t injured, that he was already incapable of being hurt.


    Wrong!


    He could be hurt, even though he was a Strange Body, but now, after the Hidden Buckle burst open¡­


    ¡°Why? Why have I been sealed? I¡¯m already a strangeness, so why can I still activate the Hidden Buckle?¡±


    The questions in his heart suddenly surged, turning into intense magnetic field fluctuations, transmitting directly into the mind of the young man standing at the entrance of the bedroom.


    ¡°Because I deliberately made you do it,¡± the young man suddenly said.


    Zheng Bo heard the voice, which sounded familiar. He wanted to turn his head to see who it was, but his body was out of control, still floating in mid-air.


    However, the young man caused the frozen stick figure to slowly rotate, allowing Zheng Bo to see himself, and slowly said.


    ¡°I intentionally scared you to death with the three sisters, forced out your Strange Body, even though you might not have turned into a strangeness at all. It was also me who deliberately disturbed your initially formed and still unstable magnetic field, preventing you from forming a complete memory after death. And indeed, you can¡¯t touch the Hidden Buckle, but I¡¯ve wrapped it with a domain field, deliberately triggering it for you. This way, this High-Energy Chilling can perfectly seal your Strange Body.¡±


    As the young man spoke, Zheng Bo finally saw clearly that this person was the Exorcist who had given him the Hidden Buckle.


    ¡°You are¡­ Yan¡­¡±


    ¡°Yan Junze.¡± The young man approached as he spoke, ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you about this, I truly am an Exorcist. However, this time, I¡¯ve chosen to stand on the side of the strangenesses, to help Zhuang Wenxian, Zhuang Wenjing, and Zhuang Wenhui.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he spoke, Zheng Bo saw the three sisters standing behind Yan Junze, bowing their heads slightly, their white pupils looking at him.


    Yan Junze casually raised his hand and gently grasped the floating Zheng Bo, bringing him closer.


    ¡°Do you know why I used High-Energy Chilling to freeze you? High-Energy Chilling can not only freeze strangenesses, but if it isn¡¯t undone in three days, your Strange Body will start to melt gradually. This melting is slow, hmm, maybe a month, maybe a year, depending on how long you can hold out. Starting from the melting of the Strange Body, you will feel pain, slowly, increasingly severe, until eventually you completely dissolve.¡±


    Speaking, Yan Junze pushed the floating Zheng Bo forward, leaving the bedroom and entering the living room.


    Zheng Bo¡¯s slight magnetic fluctuations were all that remained now, as his entire body was incapacitated, unable to make any other movements, his expression frozen.


    They passed through the living room, heading towards the balcony.


    Arriving on the balcony, Yan Junze stopped the drifting Zheng Bo, employed a Control Field to lock the Strange Body and the scant magnetic field he was emitting firmly on the balcony, and faced it towards the Exorcists¡¯ office building.


    ¡°You intentionally hid here, hoping they would protect you, right?¡± Yan Junze smiled, ¡°From now on, sit here day and night, watching them, while you experience the suffering of your body slowly melting away.¡±


    He patted the frozen human stick, ¡°Try hard, they might still find you! Oh right, I forgot you are a strangeness now. If they really find you, you¡¯d better pray for yourself.¡±


    Zheng Bo¡¯s Strange magnetic field was completely locked, he was unable to convey any thoughts to Yan Junze, merely staring blankly at the office building across the street, like a dead tree.


    The three sisters quickly dealt with Zheng Bo¡¯s corpse.


    Having left Spring Wind Street, Yan Junze walked alone on the deserted street.


    He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave, but ambled along as if taking a stroll.


    The street, lying on the outskirts of the city, was deserted at this hour¡ªnot a soul in sight, nor a car in motion, making hailing a taxi impossible.


    Yan Junze thus walked alone.


    The empty street, the cooling breeze, he tightened his collar, looking back, the second floor of Zheng Bo¡¯s house was no longer visible.


    For the foreseeable future, let this wretch¡¯s Strange Body enjoy melting and separation, experiencing the torment piece by piece, to see how long he can endure until finally reaching the moment of becoming scared witless.


    The three sisters were now nowhere to be seen, perhaps in need of some release. Yan Junze didn¡¯t concern himself with them.


    At this moment, probably only someone like Yan Junze would dare to wander the streets alone.

 Chapter 786: 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 786: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_2


    After leaving Spring Wind Street, he arrived at the main road leading to the city center, and it wasn¡¯t long before a taxi approached.


    He flagged it down.


    The taxi began to slow down, but instead of pulling over right away, the driver rolled down the window to cautiously check out Yan Junze.


    Until he could confirm whether the person standing by the road was a strangeness or a regular person, the driver didn¡¯t seem inclined to open the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± the driver asked.


    In his experience, strangenesses that could speak fluent human language were rare, mostly the silent types. It was easy to tell if someone was a regular person by conversing with them.


    Of course, there were also strangenesses that didn¡¯t talk but directly got into the vehicle. This driver brother had encountered one before; the car hadn¡¯t even stopped when the entity boarded, and he didn¡¯t see how it got in. Then he found someone sitting upright in the back seat.


    The driver broke into a cold sweat on the spot and dared not ask more questions, merely driving forward. The person in the backseat also remained silent, and after at least seven blocks, they vanished, saying ¡°thank you¡± before departing.


    It¡¯s clear, not all strangenesses are out to harm people all the time; their obsessions are often tied to a particular area or a certain type of person.


    Taking a taxi could simply be to reduce the expenditure of energy from their unnatural magnetic field.


    However, there are indeed strangenesses that specialize in indiscriminate killings of taxi passengers, but these are typically the prime targets for exorcists, who deal with them immediately without need for a queue, as soon as they are reported.


    Such strangenesses are akin to serial killers among humans, exceedingly rare.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯m going to the West Ring Asia Hotel,¡± Yan Junze said with a smile.


    The taxi driver nodded, unlocked the door, and Yan Junze climbed into the back seat.


    Looking in the rear-view mirror, the driver started the car and asked, ¡°Why are you out so late on the streets? We taxi drivers rarely come to this district normally; it¡¯s a bit out of the way. And the people here are so mixed, it¡¯s easy for strangeness to stir up¡­¡±


    ¡°Dealing with some matters,¡± Yan Junze rubbed his temple, seeking to put the driver at ease, ¡°I¡¯m an exorcist.¡±


    As soon as the words fell, the taxi noticeably jolted. The taxi driver¡¯s heart eased, and he cheerfully exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. Mr. Exorcist, you¡¯re out exorcising so late at night, must be tough on you!¡±


    Yan Junze just smiled and didn¡¯t speak.


    The driver continued, ¡°You must have come from the XFZ Fortress Community, right? I hardly ever go there; it¡¯s too remote, and the mix of people makes it an easy breeding ground for strangeness¡­¡±


    All along the way, Yan Junze didn¡¯t engage in the conversation and certainly didn¡¯t tell him that, in fact, XFZ was the safest area within the Aries City District.


    Soon they entered the city center, but since the West Ring Asia Hotel was near the airport, Yan Junze had booked it there for the convenience of catching a plane the next day; thus, the taxi had to pass through half the city.


    ¡°Mr. Exorcist, how many strangenesses have you exorcised? Was there one in XFZ just now?¡±


    Yan Junze frowned.


    ¡°Would it be possible to add you as a friend?¡± The driver grew increasingly excited as he spoke, one hand holding a phone, almost turning his head around.


    ¡°Stop following me,¡± Yan Junze suddenly spoke, his voice deep, his eyes looking out the window.


    The driver hesitated, asking, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, are you talking to me?¡±


    ¡°No, just mind your business,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, not looking at him.


    The driver immediately felt guilty, looking around through the rear-view mirror with a nervous expression but didn¡¯t dare to speak again.


    ¡°Just focus on your driving, it¡¯s fine,¡± Yan Junze advised seemingly kindly. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The driver, even more anxious, mechanically nodded, not daring to make a sound in response.


    Finally, calmness settled in the car, and it quickly made its way through the city district toward the airport.


    Upon arriving at the destination and getting out of the car, the driver took the money without counting and continued to look around nervously, finally asking Yan Junze, ¡°Mr. Exorcist, is there¡­ nothing unclean in my car?¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at the back seat.


    As he did so, fear gripped the driver¡¯s heart; he quickly looked back as well.


    Yan Junze nodded: ¡°The cover on the back seat is somewhat dirty, time for a wash.¡±


    The driver: ¡°¡­¡±


    After returning to the hotel and taking a shower, he laid in bed, and by this time, the three sisters were already standing crookedly at the edge of the bed.


    Yan Junze looked at the atlas in his mind. Although he couldn¡¯t see the entire picture, with the current situation, at least half of it was revealed and illuminated.


    Looking at the 12th node, where the Back-Faced Woman and Ke¡¯er, Long-tongued Zhenzhen, and the Crawler Monster were bound; Xiang Er was also in lockdown but she mostly stayed within the perfect female corpse.


    He turned his gaze to the three sisters standing by the bed and said, ¡°Your greatest obsessions have now been resolved. If you don¡¯t mind, you can follow me from now on.¡±


    The three sisters showed no response, just standing there without leaving.


    Yan Junze continued, ¡°I am going to lock you down now. During this process, do not resist. Especially Zhuang Wenxian, if you¡¯re unwilling, I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wenxian nodded her head.


    These three sisters were triplets who died together, surely bound to each other. To lockdown them, any opposition from any of them would make it impossible for Yan Junze to succeed.


    The most critical part was that Zhuang Wenxian was a true Ethereal Spirit. If she resisted, Yan Junze would be absolutely unable to lock them down successfully.


    The next second, Yan Junze activated the [Evil Spirit Solid Lock].


    The space around him shook violently, Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui disappeared first, while Zhuang Wenxian, closest to Yan Junze, trembled as her formidable power uncontrollably produced a natural resistance at that moment.

 Chapter 787: 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 787: Chapter 447 New Member (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3 S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhuang Wenxian realized this in an instant. She forcibly reined in the strong aura around her, and her figure slowly shrank and disappeared.


    In the 12th node of the Spacetime Atlas, a slightly larger miniature emerged, containing the shadows of three young women, the three sisters.


    Of course, just like when Yan Junze first established a Lockdown over the Sculpting Spirits, they could have forced their way out of Lockdown then, such as the Ugly Girl, Xiang Er. But now that his own strength had improved, the Sculpting Spirits could no longer appear forcibly.


    But now what was under Lockdown was the Ethereal Spirit. With the likes of Zhuang Wenxian¡¯s strength, as long as she wanted to come out, she could do so on her own.


    After some thought, Yan Junze released all the strangenesses under Lockdown, allowing them to get to know each other and meet new friends. Especially when introducing Ke¡¯er to the three sisters, he emphasized it strongly.


    This mother and daughter had a special relationship with him, which both Zhenzhen and the Crawler Monster could see. Sometimes, when Yan Junze was not present, the Crawler Monster would even curry favor with the Back-faced Woman and Ke¡¯er.


    As expected, including the Back-faced Woman, the strangenesses previously under Lockdown showed a sense of fear when facing the three sisters.


    In this set of triplets, the youngest sister Zhuang Wenhui was already a Sculpting Spirit, Zhuang Wenjing was a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, and the eldest Zhuang Wenxian was a true Ethereal Spirit.


    The three sisters, standing together, exerted an overwhelming presence. This was evident from the Crawler Monster¡¯s behavior, as it stayed prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise its head to glance at them since the moment it was released.


    Having been nurtured in Yan Junze¡¯s Atlas for so long, the Back-faced Woman¡¯s strength had broken through the Sculpting Spirit level, approaching the status of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit.


    Long-tongued Zhenzhen, originally a high-level Wandering Spirit, had been growing within the Atlas and was now a Semi-Sculpting Spirit, nearly reaching full Sculpting Spirit status.


    As for Ke¡¯er, she was still a Wandering Spirit but had evolved into a high-level Wandering Spirit.


    The Crawler Monster, which was weak enough to be locked down by Yan Junze and even weaker than Ke¡¯er at that time, was now also a high-level Wandering Spirit, just slightly inferior to Ke¡¯er.


    Yan Junze felt that this fellow had used its powers to bulk up; its once scrawny body was now sleek and well-fed, its head sporting a more luxuriant parting.


    However, the Crawler Monster had an excellent grasp of the situation, especially adept at sycophancy and opportunism, with no bottom line, exerting all its flattery skills without feeling nauseous.


    The strangenesses naturally divided into two factions, standing opposed to each other. This wasn¡¯t a sign of hostility, but more of an instinctual fear from the Back-faced Woman¡¯s group towards the three sisters.


    Yet, contrary to Yan Junze¡¯s expectations, after he introduced them, Zhuang Wenhui immediately crawled over to Ke¡¯er.


    Ke¡¯er hid behind her mother, fearful, and the Back-faced Woman was on guard, though she trusted Yan Junze more and therefore did not hurry to take Ke¡¯er away.


    Soon, the other two sisters also came forward. They leaned in with their heads, sniffing around each Spirit, though it was unclear what they were doing.


    Before long, all three sisters gathered by the Crawler Monster, looking and sniffing at it intermittently.


    Yan Junze watched thoughtfully.


    He knew very well that these Triple Spirits were not ordinary and that their strengths were probably beyond what was currently visible, and they must possess other Strange Abilities.


    Now that the sisters stayed by the Crawler Monster¡¯s side without leaving, could they have discovered something?


    Still, he thought it was necessary to remind them, and he said aloud, ¡°Remember, we¡¯re all family now; there can be no infighting. We must be united when facing outwards.¡±


    The Crawler Monster gave a sycophantic squirm, glancing left and right at the sisters and not daring to make big movements for fear of angering them. Upon hearing Yan Junze speak, it immediately nodded its head vigorously, agreeing with his point enthusiastically.


    But Zhuang Wenxian lifted her head, to face Yan Junze and whispered hoarsely, ¡°Attachment¡­ body.¡±

 Chapter 788: 448: Cleanup Plan

    Chapter 788: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan


    Upon hearing the words ¡°possession¡± from Zhuang Wenxian, Yan Junze was momentarily stunned.


    He looked at Zhuang Wenxian with bewilderment, just to see Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui also standing next to the Crawler Monster, looking up at him and hoarsely saying in unison, ¡°Possess¡­ body.¡±


    Yan Junze hesitated briefly, then used his Control Field to sense around, and shook his head afterward, ¡°No, there¡¯s been no possession by other strangenesses at all!¡±


    The three sisters knew they hadn¡¯t made themselves clear, so Zhuang Wenxian moved closer to the already confused Crawler Monster, pointed first at herself, then at the creature, before saying once again, ¡°Possess¡­ body.¡±


    Yan Junze had a sudden realization, ¡°Are you saying that you want to possess Pianfen?¡±


    At those words, the Crawler Monster was so frightened that it shuddered violently and quickly scurried in the direction of the Back-faced Woman. After moving a few steps and feeling it was unreliable, it turned direction and scurried towards Yan Junze.


    Once it reached Yan Junze¡¯s feet, it immediately hugged his thigh.


    ¡°Why do you want to possess Pianfen?¡± Yan Junze, letting it cling to him, asked curiously.


    Zhuang Wenxian thought for a moment, pointed at herself and her two sisters, then one by one at the Crawler Monster, Zhenzhen, the Back-faced Woman, and finally at Ke¡¯er.


    Yan Junze was even more astonished, ¡°Are you saying that you three sisters can freely possess these strangenesses?¡±


    The three sisters nodded immediately.


    ¡°Will the strangenesses that are possessed be affected?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Yan Junze asked this, he looked towards Zhenzhen, who was approaching the direction of the Back-faced Woman.


    He vividly remembered that Zhenzhen, in order to help him, had possessed the body of a corpse in a cave during the Tricky Silk sub-quest, and because it was a forced possession, Zhenzhen remained in a state of magnetic field chaos for a long time.


    This state of magnetic field chaos lasted a very long time, and it was already quite impressive that Zhenzhen was able to recover on her own.


    By the same logic, if they were possessed by other higher-level strangenesses, they would also be affected by magnetic field chaos.


    So, when the three sisters said they could possess any strangeness here, Yan Junze¡¯s instinctive reaction was that they definitely couldn¡¯t do such a thing, or the strangenesses¡¯ magnetic fields would become chaotic and uncontrollable.


    But on second thought, as his gaze swept over the three sisters, he wondered if the triplets¡¯ special strange abilities were precisely the ability to possess other strangenesses?


    If that were the case, as a special strange ability, it might not affect the magnetic field of the strangenesses being possessed.


    It might even possibly amplify the abilities of the possessed strangenesses.


    Of course, this was just speculation, and the three sisters couldn¡¯t clarify things, plus this wasn¡¯t the place to attempt possession.


    After speculating, Yan Junze planned to find some free time and a quiet place once he got back, in case he decided to let the three sisters try once.


    And although these strangenesses could all potentially be the targets of possession, the very first strangeness Zhuang Wenxian chose was the Crawler Monster, and it was clear the three sisters had made a careful selection, indicating that Pianfen was the most suitable candidate for their possession.


    Patting the hand of the Crawler Monster still clinging to his thigh, Yan Junze consoled, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll talk about it when we get back to Tianmeng.¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked up at Yan Junze, feeling slightly aggrieved. Then it had an epiphany, seemingly deriving other meanings from his words.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s all head back.¡±


    Yan Junze pretended not to notice the inquisitive look in the Crawler Monster¡¯s eyes and said to the three sisters, ¡°After you return to my Atlas node, you will receive energy nourishment, which can slowly enhance your strength. So, when there¡¯s nothing pressing, or if you¡¯re incredibly bored, it¡¯s best not to come out on your own initiative.¡±


    This last comment was particularly meant for Zhuang Wenxian, since she was the only one who could move freely within the Lockdown space.


    Sometimes he was engaged in very important matters, such as with Zhang Xiaomo @#£¤&*, and if Zhuang Wenxian showed up unannounced at an inopportune time and saw something that caused him to throw out his back, that would not be good.


    Therefore, it was better to clarify certain things in advance, as the three sisters were no longer children and would understand.


    After taking back all the strangenesses, Yan Junze finally lay down to rest properly.


    He slept until 10 a.m. the following morning, and fortunately, since the hotel was next to the airport, he narrowly avoided missing his flight at 11 a.m.


    Upon returning to Tianmeng, he first went to the squad¡¯s office building to inform Captain Huo Zhisen that he had completed the assigned task.


    Then he went downstairs to collect his reward, which was quite substantial and more than any previous ones.


    Yan Junze surmised that this might be because of his status as a specially-appointed Exorcist for the main team and also because the level of the strange incident was quite high.


    Ma Jing had forwarded a copy of the report she wrote here as well, and since Huo Zhisen had already read the report and was informed about the situation, he casually inquired about where Yan Junze had gone afterward.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hide his whereabouts but simply mentioned that he had visited a friend living in Aries District.


    Huo Zhisen didn¡¯t suspect anything further.


    After leaving the squad¡¯s office, he looked for Zhang Xiaomo but couldn¡¯t find her. On asking, he learned that she and her partner Zhang Di had gone out on a mission.


    Knowing that she was on a mission, Yan Junze felt it inappropriate to call her immediately, so after sending a message, he returned to Tianmeng Science and Technology University.


    Back at his rented apartment off-campus, in Xiang Er¡¯s room, he released the three sisters again for them to get to know Xiang Er and Ku Zai.


    As expected, being special beings known as Triple Spirits, the sisters showed incredible self-control when they laid eyes on Ku Zai.


    Only the youngest, Zhuang Wenhui, was a bit unsettled and nearly approached Ku Zai, but the other two sisters stayed put without moving, just flipping their white irises a couple of times to express their surprise at Ku Zai¡¯s constitution.

 Chapter 789: 448: Cleanup Plan_2

    Chapter 789: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan_2


    Ku Zai was startled because, due to his unique physique, he was very sensitive to the power of strangenesses.


    At this moment, the three sisters in front of him didn¡¯t just give off an impression of strength, but emitted a special, sinister magnetic field from their bodies.


    To Ku Zai, this magnetic field was like three thick plumes of smoke drifting into the sky, winding and meandering rather than forming a single mass surrounding the Strange Body like usual.


    He had never seen anything like it before.


    Fortunately, the three sisters didn¡¯t seem very interested in him, so he could relax.


    After dinner in his rental, Yan Junze finally returned to his dorm room.


    Checking his phone, he saw a message from Xiaomo saying she was performing an exorcism in Gaosheng City of Tianmeng District and it was somewhat tricky; she wouldn¡¯t be back for a few days.


    Yan Junze asked if there was any danger.


    Xiaomo replied that there was none for now, but there might be a need to call in a four-star Exorcist to solve the problem together.


    After replying that she could call on him if needed and because he hadn¡¯t rested well the previous night, Yan Junze went to sleep early.


    In the following days, his school life could finally return to normal.


    Moreover, he now felt the need to accelerate the lighting up of all nodes in the Spacetime Atlas, so after school hours, from six in the evening to midnight, he began to implement his self-devised ¡°city-wide clean-up plan.¡±


    Starting from near the school, he swept through all the detected strangenesses towards the direction of Tianmeng City.


    For Tianmeng, a place bustling with human activity, the number of strangenesses was always in the minority. Near Tianmeng Science University, for example, Yan Junze only encountered two strange events, and they were quickly resolved using the peaceable Exorcism Method as suggested by the quest prompt.


    With each strange event, he would employ the peaceable Exorcism Method to fulfill the Obsessions of the strangenesses, aiming to collect more Different Dimension Energy and hit the node capacity limits of the Spacetime Atlas.


    In comparison to the population density of the city, the school¡¯s area was considered suburban. The suburban population was scattered, and consequently, there were fewer strangenesses to be cleared.


    Moreover, some strangenesses that had gone unnoticed by humans and wandered only in the suburbs also fell within Yan Junze¡¯s range of clearance.


    Because he could instantly discern the Obsessions of the strangenesses, his speed of clearance was astonishingly fast. He avoided delving into the life stories of the strangenesses, opting instead to deal with them swiftly upon discovery.


    In just one week¡¯s time, the area from the school to the city had been almost completely cleared of strangenesses by Yan Junze.


    Regardless of whether individual tasks offered 300 or 1000 energy points, Yan Junze welcomed all without discrimination and accepted everything.


    However, he also noticed that the levels of strangenesses were generally low. Encounters with strangenesses yielding more than 1000 points of Different Dimension Energy remained a minority.


    Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t come across a higher-level target for two whole days; most of them were under 500 points.


    However, it was conceivable that the Exorcists of Tianmeng were not to be underestimated. Those strangenesses that were more harmful typically had higher levels and were thus prioritized and dealt with promptly.


    As for those lower-level strangenesses that posed less of a threat to human life, they were left behind to wait in line. Unless a large strangeness suddenly appeared, usually even the newly emerged minor ones were added to the back of the queue.


    A week later, Yan Junze started sweeping through Tianmeng City District.


    Of course, he had informed Captain Huo Zhisen beforehand.


    Due to the more concentrated population, the number of strangenesses in the city district was slightly higher than in the suburbs, but it hadn¡¯t increased exponentially, just that the density was higher.


    Yan Junze, after obtaining the list of cases handled by Exorcism Squad 4747, began to resolve them one by one, following the list.


    To the residents who had long been anxious and fearful due to the wait, this was undoubtedly like a blessing. Unaware of the actual reason, they thought that the Exorcists had changed the method of sorting exorcism tasks, abandoning the queue and prioritizing those who couldn¡¯t find connections to jump the queue.


    Another week passed, and Yan Junze received a call from Huo Zhisen.


    Huo Zhisen¡¯s first words were, ¡°Junze, are you planning to put our one-star and two-star Exorcists out of a job?¡±


    Of course, his words were tinged with jest, and as he spoke, he laughed.


    Yan Junze also chuckled, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just to relieve some pressure for my colleagues since the queue is too long?¡±


    Huo Zhisen paused for a moment, then spoke in a more serious tone, ¡°Actually, we arrange for one-star and two-star Exorcists to handle low-level strangenesses with the purpose of training their abilities. Seeing the trend, the number of strangenesses is increasing, and if these young Exorcists don¡¯t grow quickly, we will have worries for the future!¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll only handle those strangenesses with a higher potential danger, like those that are already very harmful, or seem low-level but are hiding their true power.¡±


    After a moment of silence on the line, Huo Zhisen spoke, ¡°You¡¯ve taken on a lot. Junze, all that you¡¯ve done for Tianmeng is remembered by me, by all the Exorcists of Tianmeng.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if I¡¯ve died young.¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh and complain inwardly. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Huo Zhisen¡¯s view, Yan Junze¡¯s actions were purely for the good of the people of Tianmeng, to alleviate the workload of Tianmeng¡¯s Exorcists to the greatest extent, and that¡¯s why he had spoken so earnestly.

 Chapter 790: 448: Cleanup Plan_3

    Chapter 790: Chapter 448: Cleanup Plan_3


    Regardless of his intentions, Yan Junze¡¯s actions indeed alleviated the tremendous pressure brought by the strangenesses on the citizens and Exorcists of Tianmeng.


    Moreover, this was just the result of a week¡¯s worth of Exorcism.


    Such training also boosted Yan Junze¡¯s own pace in performing laid-back Exorcisms.


    After getting involved in a case, he quickly identified the direction of the strangeness¡¯s Obsession through the task information that popped up, then he would understand the cause of the strangeness¡¯s death, and what the most critical thing it last contacted was, or he would directly employ various methods to summon the strangeness itself, allowing it to express its concerns to him directly.


    Essentially, by following these steps, he could determine the method to resolve the Obsession in a short time, then break through them one by one, quickly resolving the strangeness¡¯s Obsession.


    This period was a time for Yan Junze to not only hasten the lighting of Atlas nodes but also enhance his ability to perform laid-back Exorcisms. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°By the way, has Zhang Xiaomo still not returned?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Huo Zhisen replied, ¡°We have already dispatched two four-star Exorcists to Gaosheng City, so we should receive news very soon.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°If the situation is complicated, let me know.¡±


    The call ended.


    Yan Junze remembered that Tianmeng originally had three four-star Exorcists, one of whom was Guo Youliang. After Guo Youliang was promoted to a five-star, there were two left.


    Now it seemed that the bizarre incident in Gaosheng City had drawn out these last two four-star Exorcists, in addition to Zhang Xiaomo, who was an almost-four-star, and Zhang Di that Baldy Semi-spirit who was at least an old three-star, so perhaps the strangeness incident wasn¡¯t so easy to handle.


    However, Yan Junze had not received a call or message for help from Zhang Xiaomo, indicating she didn¡¯t think the situation warranted his involvement yet.


    Pushing down his fluctuating thoughts, he continued with his planned Exorcism harvest, aiming to hit the energy cap of the Spacetime Atlas.


    ¡­


    Olay Great Capital, Litecar City.


    As the central city of Olay Great Capital, Litecar City was about three times the size of Huaying District.


    However, the disparity between the rich and poor was also very pronounced: The affluent areas were dripping with wealth, while one-fifth of people in poor areas often struggled for three meals a day.


    The Demon Hunter Group (Exorcist organization) of this Great Capital was disorganized with no unified leadership, and they generally fought strangenesses on their own.


    Unless the strangeness that needed to be exterminated was powerful enough to pose a threat to several Demon Hunter Groups in a certain area, these groups would not consider uniting against the common enemy.


    In the center of Litecar City lay the largest Royal Museum in all of Olay.


    The museum was opulent and built in a typical Gothic style, with thirty-seven exhibition halls and an immense interior space. The upper parts featured an innovative elliptical design with open spaces, combining natural lighting, ventilation, and a unique architectural beauty.


    At this moment, inside the grand hall at the very back of the museum, dozens of people¡ªaround fifty or sixty¡ªwere sitting densely packed.


    These individuals varied in attire, young and old, but all bore solemn faces, likely hailing from different regions of the Great Capital.


    In front of these rows of seated people stood a slightly elevated platform, accessible by a few steps. At the center of this platform, a middle-aged man with brown hair sat cross-legged.


    The man was dressed in a black robe, with the front and back embroidered with an eagle and an ¡®I¡¯-shaped pattern, respectively.


    He sat there calmly, as if oblivious to the dozens of pairs of eyes watching him, his eyes half-closed, his hands resting on his thighs.


    In front of this black-robed man, on the ground, lay a thick tome.


    At first glance, this book greatly resembled the ¡°Book of Oath¡± from the USA¡¯s Half Moon Association, even the cover bore some similarities.


    However, upon closer inspection, one could discern that the text on the cover was not the same.


    The text on this book was written in ancient Olay script, named the ¡°Book of Change.¡±

 Chapter 791: 449: Ineffable Strangenesses

    Chapter 791: Chapter 449: Ineffable Strangenesses


    The vast hall was filled with silence, as dozens of people sat without making a sound.


    About half an hour later, the middle-aged man sitting cross-legged stirred slightly and slowly opened his eyes.


    His gaze was cold and piercing. At the very moment he opened his eyes, at least half of the many pairs of eyes staring at him immediately averted their gaze, choosing to look down or elsewhere.


    Only seven or eight people continued to look at him without turning away.


    Those who were still looking at him were seated in the first row, each with a composed expression, draped in black or white robes, their eyes occasionally moving to the ¡°Book of Change¡± on the podium.


    The middle-aged man in the black robe unfolded his legs and slowly stood up.


    He did not move the book in front of him, but instead stepped over it and walked down from the platform.


    At this moment, two elderly men from the first row stood up, one bald and the other with silver hair, and walked towards him.


    ¡°Jeffrey, how do you feel? Can you communicate?¡± asked the silver-haired elder in a dark red robe first.


    The middle-aged man Jeffrey nodded slightly, still seeming immersed in the feeling he just experienced, ¡°There¡¯s no issue with communication. My touch not only passed through the first layer and made contact with the Possession Demon, Ivan, it also breezed through, lightly touching the second layer¡­¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Continuing, Jeffrey nodded emphatically, ¡°I am certain that my touch just now definitely reached the True Word Demon, Sylvanus, on the second layer.¡±


    ¡°Are you confident you can summon it out?¡± asked the bald elder in a white robe with evident concern.


    Jeffrey lifted his gaze toward the ceiling of the museum hall, as if his eyes pierced through the spine of the roof, leaped over numerous buildings, and finally settled on an even more majestic and magnificent superstructure.


    ¡°If¡­ Claudia the Ninth would relent and provide a bit of the Hellhound¡¯s blood, combined with the Demon Summoning Materials I¡¯ve already collected, I believe we could definitely persuade the True Word Demon, Sylvanus.¡±


    The silver-haired elder said, ¡°Convincing Claudia IX is something we can handle, but you must ensure that once the True Word Demon appears, it won¡¯t act against us and must remain within our control.¡±


    Jeffrey chuckled lightly, ¡°Just within the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group alone, we have three Reapers. With them in command, as long as it¡¯s manageable in the early stage, the odds of the True Word Demon going out of control are very slim. If it really becomes uncontrollable, isn¡¯t there still Claudia the Ninth¡¯s grandson, that terrifying existence even I can¡¯t look directly at?¡±


    ¡°Besides¡­¡± Jeffrey turned to glance at the ancient book lying on the platform floor, ¡°the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ is our biggest reliance, completely different from the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ which can only serve to summon. With the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ at hand, the True Word Demon Sylvanus will almost definitely obey us.¡±


    ¡°Better to be cautious,¡± said the bald elder, ¡°After all, Sylvanus is a demon from the second layer, more powerful than the first layer¡¯s Possession Demon, Ivan. I suggest we refrain from using the Hellhound¡¯s blood until we are absolutely sure.¡±


    Jeffrey nodded slightly, ¡°Of course, that¡¯s why when the Half Moon Association came to borrow the book from Claudia IX, they paid a handsome fee, and the Ninth only agreed to lend them a contemporary copied version of the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯. You can imagine the heavy price they¡¯ll have to pay if they truly intend to activate the altar.¡±


    ¡°It seems quite from the Great Capital of USA recently,¡± mentioned the silver-haired elder, apparently privy to the latest news.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about them. Once the True Word Demon, Sylvanus, appears, it will absolutely be under my control,¡± Jeffrey said with a smile. ¡°Then the Claudia IX Demon Hunting Group, Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group, and my own Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group can slowly engulf all global strangeness, gradually taking control of all factions.¡±


    ¡°Still limited to this place?¡± The bald elder exchanged a glance with the silver-haired elder, and they both burst into laughter.


    ¡°Breaking through to the second layer not only releases the True Word Demon, but also indirectly opens a rift in the dimensional space, an irreversible process. The opportunities waiting for us in the future are simply unimaginable!¡±


    Jeffrey turned and walked back to where he had been sitting, carefully picked up the ¡°Book of Change¡± that had been laying on the ground, cradled it in his arms, and returned.


    ¡°Then I shall safely keep the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ for the time being, and await the good news you bring back from Claudia IX,¡± he stated.


    With that, Jeffrey left through the red corridor door beside the platform, taking almost half of the people below with him.


    Their footsteps were hurried, and soon the sound faded away.


    A magnetic field appeared silently around the bald elder and the silver-haired elder, enveloping their figures.


    Only then did the bald elder speak in a subdued voice, ¡°My Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group stands completely alongside the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group, with unswerving loyalty.¡±


    The silver-haired elder nodded gently as though he trusted the bald elder immensely, ¡°Claudia IX has mentioned you to me many times. He trusts only you, but he still holds some caution towards this Jeffrey.¡±


    After a pause, the silver-haired elder added, ¡°But for now, among all the Demonic Exorcists in Olay Great Capital, only Jeffrey of the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group has the most sensitive and formidable magnetic field sensing. We must rely on him for the time being.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take meticulous precautions and act opportunistically; I understand the Ninth¡¯s thinking,¡± the bald elder nodded.


    ¡°In fact, Claudia IX is well aware that the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ can only summon demons up to the second layer, absolutely unable to reach the third and final layer,¡± the silver-haired elder continued. ¡°And it just so happens that the True Word Demon of the second layer resonates with the divine gift of the ¡®Book of Change¡¯, so we can only summon it and be confident in our control.¡±

 Chapter 792: 449: Ineffable Strangenesses_2

    Chapter 792: Chapter 449: Ineffable Strangenesses_2


    The bald old man said, ¡°I suggest you talk to the Ninth and, if possible, ask his grandson to come during the official summoning. If certain unpredictable accidents occur during the summoning process, we can use him to get out of those crises.¡±


    ¡°I was just about to do that,¡± the silver-haired old man obviously had this consideration in mind.


    The two men conversed while heading toward another passage door on the central platform.


    After the magnetic field enveloping them dissipated, other members of the Demon Hunter Group waiting below stood up and followed the two old men out in succession.


    ¡­


    The Buddhist-style exorcism went very smoothly, and another week later, Yan Junze had almost cleared his way to the center of Tianmeng City.


    During this process, he was able to gain 300 to 400 energy points from basically every strangeness.


    Although he was obtaining less energy at each upper limit, Yan Junze¡¯s current goal was to illuminate the Atlas as soon as possible. Even if he had to accumulate slowly, he needed to light up more nodes of the Atlas.


    The further the Atlas was opened, the longer the segments between the nodes became, and more energy points were needed to fill them.


    In other words, it seemed like the Atlas was more than half lit up with less than 60,000 energy points, but in reality, the energy demand for the later part had grown multiple times.


    According to Yan Junze¡¯s estimate, to completely charge the entire Atlas and fully light all the nodes, it might take about 150,000 Different Dimension Energy.


    He was now not too worried about the quality, as long as he could resolve the Obsession, he would complete even the lowest level strangeness tasks and accumulate the energy limit bit by bit.


    During the weekend of that week, Yan Junze received a message from Zhang Xiaomo, which was brief: I¡¯m in trouble, come quickly!


    The second message was a location address.


    Yan Junze had intended to continue clearing from the city center, but upon receiving the message, he immediately contacted a rental company¡¯s car and headed straight for Gaosheng City.


    It took two and a half hours to reach Gaosheng City, and following the location, he arrived at the entrance of a school.


    Looking up: Gaosheng City No. 3 Experimental Middle School.


    He originally thought the strangeness was near the school, but it turned out to be directly inside this Experiment No. 3 Middle School.


    It¡¯s known that for schools and such places, exorcists respond very quickly. The pair Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di had arrived three weeks ago, but after so much time, they hadn¡¯t finished dealing with it, and later Yan Junze heard Huo Zhisen say that four-star exorcists had been dispatched for support.


    Not just one, but two four-star exorcists were sent, the only two in the entire Tianmeng.


    Who would have thought that another week would pass and they still hadn¡¯t settled it, and judging by Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s message, it seemed to be sent hurriedly or in secret.


    Therefore, Yan Junze guessed that Xiaomo might have wanted to call him sooner, and initially thought that the arrival of the four-star exorcists would settle the matter, only to find that for some reason the issue was still unresolved.


    However, the situation might not be as bad as presumed, and it was very likely that after the arrival of the four-star exorcists, both sides fell into a stalemate, with neither able to suppress the other.


    But the four-star exorcists did not want to give up, making Xiaomo feel troubled, thus she secretly informed Yan Junze.


    Arriving at the school entrance, he saw the gates were firmly closed, and there were no security guards at the door.


    A police cordon was simply stretched outside the gate.


    At this time of day, students should be in class, yet not a single student could be seen.


    At a glance, the school seemed to be entirely locked down, suggesting the strangeness issue was quite severe.


    Standing at the school gate, Yan Junze sent a message to Zhang Xiaomo to let her know he had arrived and was waiting outside the school gate.


    But after waiting for a moment, Xiaomo did not reply to the message.


    Yan Junze suspected she might not be able to check her messages. He was not worried about Xiaomo being in danger, as it was likely that the situation inside was a stalemate.


    After some thought, he released his ¡°Perception of Strange Events.¡±


    Shortly after, three messages popped up in his mind.


    Two of them came from the nearby area of the school, but only one came directly from Experiment No.3 Middle School.


    He took a closer look at the message from inside the school and then paused, muttering to himself, ¡°This¡­ must be the first time I¡¯ve encountered this.¡±


    [Coordinates have been determined: Gaosheng City No. 3 Experimental Middle School district.]


    [Task Name: The Joy of a Single-Celled Organism;


    Task Level: ¡ª¡ª;


    Task Background: Wandering and pausing, staying in a warm place, sleeping in comfortable soil, it longed for the most leisurely environment, the most peaceful life, a place suitable for resting, a place conducive to hunting, a place where it could play. At last, it found such a place, where the soil was fertile, the food was plentiful, the territory was expansive¡ªa perfect place for movement.


    Task Description: Its appearance is very bad news for the students, and it is constantly getting bigger, harder, stronger, but it¡¯s not getting bald;


    Task Reward: ¡ª¡ª;


    Task Penalty: Becoming part of its rich menu;


    Task Tips: 1. The evil spirit cannot be locked down; 2. Don¡¯t try to persuade it in the way you understood before, after all, it has only one-track mind; 3. Shovels, steel drills, chainsaws might be suitable weapons, but don¡¯t use guns, because this guy really enjoys high-energy food.


    Remarks: None.]


    This was the first time Yan Junze had seen such a peculiar task introduction.


    However, the task information was simple and clear. At a glance, he knew that the strangeness in the school was not a common human strangeness, but rather belonged to the category of ¡°indescribable creatures¡± that he had seen in the Huaying District headquarters¡¯ documents.


    He had already encountered indescribable creatures before, but this was the first time Yan Junze was dealing with one on his own.


    The first time he had encountered such a creature was in the Ghost Apartment with Jacob; after all, Jacob was originally a human strangeness, only he had become a strangeness because his body had been taken over by white long worms.


    And now, the white long worm that resided in Yan Junze¡¯s heart, which had already become symbiotic with him, must also be one of these ¡°indescribable creatures¡±.


    He also noticed that this task had no level assigned to it, indicating that this creature might not belong to the usual strangeness classification, which also resulted in no task reward being displayed.


    Yan Junze guessed, however, that there must be a reward, just not a specific numeric value. This was probably related to the manner in which he completed the task or the attitude he took towards dealing with the indescribable creature.


    Having no previous experience to draw on, he could only play it by ear.


    Now he also understood why Zhang Xiaomo and the other exorcists had been indecisive here for so long, it turned out they were dealing with a creature that wasn¡¯t a human strangeness.


    No wonder it had taken so long.


    But even if they had never seen this single-celled organism before, couldn¡¯t they just kill it by force? After all, there were two four-star exorcists present.


    With that thought, it seemed very possible that this creature was so bizarre that even four-star exorcists couldn¡¯t kill it.


    With this in mind, Yan Junze grew more and more curious. Just then, his phone chimed with a text message alert. He checked it and found a response from Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Keep going forward, there is a side door around the corner ahead, I should be there in about five minutes.¡±


    Yan Junze replied with a ¡°Okay¡± and then continued walking forward, with the school¡¯s surrounding wall on his right. After a while, he came to the corner where the wall ended.


    At the corner, a small iron door came into view. This gate was not often used, as evidenced by the rust at the hinges.


    He waited there for a moment and soon heard footsteps from behind the gate. Peering through the gap in the iron door, he saw Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s shoes.


    The lock clicked, the door swung open, and Zhang Xiaomo appeared. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze was taken aback by her appearance; he almost didn¡¯t recognize her.


    Zhang Xiaomo looked disheveled, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair unmanaged, her skin pale and unhealthy¡ªas if she hadn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s sleep for days.


    She stepped aside to let Yan Junze in, then carefully locked the door behind him.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    They walked towards a teaching building, one leading, the other following.


    Xiaomo, leading the way, said, ¡°I contacted you secretly. When you get here, just say you were in Gaosheng City dealing with other matters and happened to know I was here, and came because you were worried.¡±


    ¡°Is that necessary?¡± Yan Junze asked, puzzled.


    Zhang Xiaomo stopped, turned, and looked at him, saying emphatically, ¡°Yes! You don¡¯t understand, those two four-star exorcists are almost out of their minds.¡±

 Chapter 793: 450: The Stronger the Change

    Chapter 793: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change


    They whispered as they followed Zhang Xiaomo to the ground floor of the first teaching building.


    ¡°They¡¯re all on the fifth floor, let¡¯s climb the stairs,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo softly.


    Through their conversation, Yan Junze had begun to sense Xiaomo¡¯s despair.


    It wasn¡¯t just her, in fact, but also Zhang Di and those two four-star Exorcists; each of them had felt deep despair over these past few days.


    The reason for their despair wasn¡¯t that they were unable to deal with the strangeness; in fact, they had contained it within the school, preventing it from escaping. However, no matter how they killed it, the strangeness would resurrect on the spot, seemingly indestructible!


    The four Exorcists, including the two four-star ones, had never encountered such a situation before.


    Zhang Xiaomo told Yan Junze that even the two four-star Exorcists were starting to suspect that the strangeness wasn¡¯t a creature formed from the death of a human, but rather an unknown creature¡¯s strangeness.


    As for their guess, Yan Junze only wanted to say, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡±


    But now was not the right moment to lay it out plainly.


    And as for whether they had really trapped the strangeness in the school, or if it simply didn¡¯t want to leave, that was also something he couldn¡¯t openly discuss.


    Following Xiaomo, they reached the fifth floor of the teaching building, where they found the other three Exorcists in one of the offices.


    These three were all crouched by the window, craning their necks and peering toward the second office building across the way.


    Turning around, they saw Zhang Xiaomo walk in with a man.


    For Zhang Di, seeing Yan Junze wasn¡¯t too surprising; he was just a bit astonished and turned to Zhang Xiaomo, saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to the bathroom? How¡­ how did he get here?¡±


    The other two Exorcists were members of the Tianmeng Squad but had never met Yan Junze before. Although they had seen his photo, it hadn¡¯t left a deep impression on them.


    Moreover, in the current environment, when the two of them saw Zhang Xiaomo bringing him in, they were momentarily bewildered.


    Yan Junze noticed that these three were also in poor spirits, worn out and listless, having clearly gone through countless sleepless nights.


    Fearing that the strangeness would escape the school, they took turns keeping watch over it, even at night, and had to remain highly vigilant while doing so; being worn out was to be expected after so many days.


    Neither of the two four-stars knew Yan Junze, but he was familiar with them, having been introduced to them by Guo Youliang and having seen their photos. Among them, the one who was robust and tall was named Mei Lianhua, and the other with darker skin was Huang Wenjian. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Brother Huang, Brother Mei, let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Yan Junze,¡± Yan Junze was the first to speak up.


    The two exchanged glances, and after Zhang Di whispered a few words to them, they suddenly realized who he was.


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°My boyfriend just happened to be handling some affairs in Gaosheng City. He contacted me just now, and when he learned that I had been trapped here for more than ten days, he insisted on coming to check on me.¡±


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were often out on missions, only rarely returning to the squad¡¯s office, so they weren¡¯t too aware of Yan Junze¡¯s current situation. They had only heard of him as someone who used a laid-back Exorcism Method to solve strangenesses.


    Now, the two were already at their wit¡¯s end. Seeing Yan Junze¡¯s arrival, they couldn¡¯t help thinking that perhaps his laid-back Exorcism Method could solve this indestructible strangeness.


    After all, it was Yan Junze who had wanted to come himself, mainly out of concern for his girlfriend Xiaomo; it wasn¡¯t that they had specifically asked him to come.


    Thinking this way, it seemed that even if it got out that the two four-stars couldn¡¯t handle the strangeness across the way, they wouldn¡¯t lose face.


    Immediately, the two made room for Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo to crouch by the window and look out.


    Mei Lianhua said, ¡°Based on what we deduced, this strangeness is likely not one formed from human death, but rather an unknown creature¡¯s strangeness. Look, on the third floor of the building across, there¡¯s a large amount of black non-Newtonian substance similar to paste on the corridor, which we¡¯ve observed to be spilling out of room 307.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the strangeness now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°It has entered room 307 for the time being and hasn¡¯t come out yet,¡± replied Huang Wenjian, standing aside.


    ¡°How did you kill it?¡± Yan Junze curiously asked.


    Mei Lianhua glanced at Huang Wenjian before the latter replied, ¡°Directly with the magnetic knife. I killed it seven times, and Mei killed it eleven times. Each time we used full force, exploding its body on the spot and messing up the magnetic field to ensure it couldn¡¯t reassemble. But after each time we killed it, it would resurrect right there, regenerating completely at the damaged spots, as good as new.¡±


    ¡°Have you checked the room where the black non-Newtonian substance is spilling out?¡± Yan Junze pointed toward the third floor across.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been there,¡± nodded Mei Lianhua. ¡°One time, after discussing with Wenjian, he went to kill that thing, and I went to the room to check. To my surprise, I entered 307 quite easily, and inside, the floor and ceiling had two opposing giant tumorous growths. They weren¡¯t moving, but that black non-Newtonian substance was leaking out, covering the walls.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that the growths are constantly producing this strangeness?¡± Yan Junze speculated.


    Mei Lianhua shook his head, ¡°No, this strangeness resurrects on the spot; it¡¯s not emerging anew from those growths. I wonder if those growths are the strangeness¡¯s home, and those black non-Newtonian substances indicate that it is not a strangeness formed from a human.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Huang Wenjian agreed. ¡°There were two times when the way it died, while I was killing it, was completely different from when we kill other strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious whether it is a strangeness formed from a human or not?¡± Yan Junze asked in surprise.

 Chapter 794: 450: The Stronger the Change_2

    Chapter 794: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change_2


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head, ¡°On the outside¡­ it¡¯s not obvious.¡±


    Just at this moment, Zhang Di, who had been observing the movements across the street, exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s out, that guy is out again.¡±


    Yan Junze hurried to crouch down with the others, lying on the window and peering carefully across the street.


    At the moment he saw the apparition emerge, he was startled and blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s a person!¡±


    ¡°Right, its appearance is completely human,¡± Zhang Xiaomo whispered.


    The figure that appeared on the third floor corridor across the street was a fatty man with sparse hair, an oily face, dressed in a jacket and slacks. Plump and white, he walked with an uneven gait.


    He seemed very cautious, also harboring a sense of anger, glancing around every few steps.


    ¡°I hit it twice, and when its flesh peeled back, I saw that all the meat inside was white, a snowy color, and from this white flesh oozed black non-Newtonian fluid,¡± Huang Wenjian said.


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Mei Lianhua added, ¡°When I didn¡¯t use physical attacks, that is, when I simply used magnetic glow to kill this thing, its magnetic field was completely dispersed by me, but it would almost re-aggregate in about half a minute.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Yan Junze stared at the chubby silhouette.


    Huang Wenjian continued, ¡°According to its usual path, the creature will come under the No. 2 Academic Building and then burrow into that patch of greenery. If we go too late, it¡¯ll disappear and won¡¯t reappear until night.¡±


    ¡°Since it started appearing in the school, has it launched any unprovoked attacks on humans?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    The four Exorcists were startled, and Zhang Di took out a photo: ¡°This is the photo I took from the school administration¡¯s notice board. The man in the picture is the head of academic affairs.¡±


    Yan Junze looked down and saw that the person in the photo was indeed the fat man in the academic building on the opposite side.


    ¡°He is¡­ the head of academic affairs?!¡±


    ¡°Me and Lianhua speculate that this Strangeness must have killed the head of academic affairs and taken over his skin,¡± Huang Wenjian said, ¡°As for why kill the head of academic affairs, it probably has to do with his body type. We looked it up, and he was the fattest in Experiment No. 3 Middle School.¡±


    ¡°So, this creature might be so swollen that it found the skin of a fatty to stuff itself into?¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Very likely,¡± Mei Lianhua had already stood up by this time and was striding towards the door, ¡°I¡¯ll go stop it; otherwise, the guy will be gone again soon. Junze, think about how we could get rid of it.¡±


    His words implied that conventional attacks had been proven ineffective, and perhaps Yan Junze could try his Buddha-style Exorcism.


    Yan Junze remained noncommittal, watching Mei Lianhua leave the room, his footsteps vanishing quickly.


    Looking out the window, the fat man had already reached the first floor. He was stumbling as he walked, clearly struggling to control the skin he was in.


    Soon the fatty arrived in front of the flower bed on the ground floor. His nose twitched as he sniffed around. He kept his back hunched, the fat on his stomach straining against his white shirt, tearing it open.


    The buttons had popped off, exposing white blubbery flesh; he swayed with every step, approaching the flower bed and leaning over the fence surrounding it.


    Clearly, after being killed multiple times by Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian, this creature had become more cautious and filled with anger.


    Seeing this, Huang Wenjian sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s becoming harder and harder to kill. From the first time I killed it until now, I¡¯ve noticed its fat has grown significantly thicker, and each time it¡¯s harder than before. Moreover, the head of academic affairs wasn¡¯t this fat before. It¡­ seems to be getting fatter!¡±


    Zhang Di nodded incessantly, ¡°Indeed, it has gotten fatter; the skin of the head of academic affairs looks like it¡¯s about to burst, like a balloon.¡±


    Outside the flower bed, the fatty rolled over and burrowed into it, his feet sinking into the somewhat moist earth, almost burying his ankles due to his weight.


    It seemed to be breathing heavily, bending down laboriously. Just as he was about to bury his head in the earth, a shadow dashed toward him from outside the flower bed.


    Those above could see clearly that the person charging at the fatty was Mei Lianhua.


    Mei Lianhua moved with a lightness of a swallow, barely touching the ground with his toes, his hands gripping the magnetic knife as he flew into the flower bed, slashing at the back of the fatty who was bending over.


    At the same moment, the fatty, who had been alert to his surroundings, not only did not dodge but instead arched his back high. The clothes on his back tore apart with a whoosh, revealing the white flesh, which swelled up massively at that moment. The muscles and fat tightened, becoming extraordinarily hard.


    Thud!


    The magnetic knife, wrapped in magnetic glow, struck the creature¡¯s back, neither slicing through nor emitting a crisp sound.


    The noise of the collision was muffled; it seemed as though the fatty¡¯s body had absorbed all the force of the blow.


    ¡°The first time I attacked it, it was killed with just one slice,¡± Huang Wenjian murmured to himself, ¡°I reckon, it¡¯s going to take some extra effort this time.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fatty, whose head had been buried, suddenly lifted it up. His entire body swelled, quickly ripping open all the clothes on his body, and layers of white flesh piled up. Large amounts of black non-Newtonian fluid seeped out of the broken skin.


    The fatty was burning with rage, unleashing a tremendous outburst of anger that had been building up and howled furiously at Mei Lianhua.


    Without a word, Mei Lianhua amplified the magnetic glow of the magnetic knife to its maximum and slashed down with another cut.

 Chapter 795: 450: The Stronger the Change_3

    Chapter 795: Chapter 450: The Stronger the Change_3


    The blade¡¯s glow struggled to move within the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Meanwhile, the fatty let out a puff and a large glob of mucus splashed out, as Mei Lianhua quickly backed away.


    However, he was gripping the handle of the knife, and as he pulled back, he realized that he couldn¡¯t retract the magnetic knife but couldn¡¯t afford to let go of it either, otherwise, the entire blade might become engulfed in the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Mei Lianhua had no choice but to grasp the knife handle with one hand and sharply dodge to the side, as the mucus brushed past him, still managing to stain his clothes.


    Sizzle¡ª


    The stained clothing immediately emitted white smoke, visibly forming holes that continued to burn inward.


    Startled, Mei Lianhua quickly stripped off his outer garment and threw it away.


    At the same time, he activated the magnetic glow and made a fierce cut, splitting the non-Newtonian fluid in half and the blade¡¯s glow touched the fatty¡¯s plump body, slicing in from the shoulder.


    However, this time, Mei Lianhua felt that it was much more difficult than before.


    The opponent¡¯s muscles seemed to have become tougher, and the magnetic knife struggled to penetrate effectively into vital areas.


    Thump!


    Suddenly, a writhing mass of flesh split out from the fatty¡¯s stomach and harshly collided with Mei Lianhua¡¯s abdomen.


    Caught off-guard, Mei Lianhua let go of the knife; he staggered back four or five steps before stabilizing himself, the magnetic knife by now almost entirely submerged in the non-Newtonian fluid, with only the handle sticking out.


    ¡°Not good! This guy has gotten stronger!¡± Huang Wenjian quickly got up, turned, and ran towards the door, ¡°I¡¯m going to help Lianhua.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di looked at each other, both seeing terror in the other¡¯s eyes.


    No one had expected that after killing this strangeness several times, causing it to resurrect again and again, it would become so formidable that a four-star Exorcist could no longer handle it. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If this creature were to die a few more times, it was feared that even a five-star Exorcist wouldn¡¯t have any way to deal with it.


    Upon seeing this scene, Yan Junze¡¯s eyes lit up slightly.


    He recalled the mission information hint that this unicellular organism almost lacked complex thought; its Obsession was simple, to find a nice place to live.


    Of course, he definitely couldn¡¯t allow this creature to stay in the school, posing a threat to the nation¡¯s children.


    And besides, leaving it would be extremely dangerous. From the way it had taken over the body of the head teacher for its own convenience, it was clear that this creature was utterly indifferent to human life.


    If it couldn¡¯t be driven away, it might just have to be dealt with in this manner.


    At that moment, Huang Wenjian arrived on the scene; he directly went for the knife and launched himself at the fatty, chopping at its head.


    Since the non-Newtonian fluid was now spread out from the fatty¡¯s body, this attack by Huang Wenjian was basically a sneak attack. If it failed, he would end up sinking into the black non-Newtonian fluid upon landing.


    But Huang Wenjian was confident that his blow would have an effect.


    The magnetic glow surged, and the knife sliced into the fatty¡¯s plump head, sinking into the neck, with the head cleaved in two. Yet eerily, it still turned to look back at Huang Wenjian.


    Clap!


    The head instantly rejoined, trapping the magnetic knife in the middle.


    Huang Wenjian tried to pull the knife out but failed, his legs planted on the fatty¡¯s shoulders. He strained to pull but it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    He immediately did the opposite, stimulating the magnetic glow to continue chopping downwards, only to see a temporary flesh tendril extend from the fatty¡¯s body, stabbing towards his chest.


    ¡°Crap!¡±


    Huang Wenjian exclaimed in alarm, then reached into his pocket and drew a handgun, firing at the fatty¡¯s plump body.


    This was a Magnetic Burst Gun, the latest auxiliary weapon developed and equipped by the headquarters, combining magnetic field dispersion, powerful data stream corrosion, and high-energy explosive impact as a multifaceted assault method.


    In an emergency, if the magnetic knife was unusable, a single shot could completely reverse the situation.


    The Magnetic Burst Gun, being a recent issue along with the High-Energy Chilling, was only received by Huang Wenjian. Even the other four-star Exorcist, Mei Lianhua, hadn¡¯t had the chance to get one.


    However, when Yan Junze saw Huang Wenjian pull out this weapon and start firing at the fatty, his face suddenly changed.


    ¡°Crap, he actually has a gun! Don¡¯t shoot, don¡¯t shoot it¡­¡±

 Chapter 796: 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

    Chapter 796: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)


    When Yan Junze first detected the mission, he had paid attention to the mission prompts.


    And the first tip was not to persuade it in the way he had understood before; the creature was single-minded.


    This meant that the laid-back exorcism methods might be useless against this single-celled creature. It didn¡¯t have the complex brain functions of humans, so finding a suitable living space and then driving away all the humans that irritated it was its goal.


    The second tip was that you could use a handy weapon against it, but never a gun, because this creature really enjoyed high-energy things as food.


    So, when Yan Junze first listened to Huang Wenjian and Mei Lianhua¡¯s descriptions about how the fatso would grow stronger with each kill and had become much more formidable after so many kills than before, it now seemed possible that it was absorbing energy. Every time it died, the energy from whatever killed it was absorbed, gradually growing stronger.


    In other words, perhaps only physical damage could slowly weaken it, while the energy emitted by the magnetic knife might have been absorbed by it instead.


    Despite that each attack from the two four-star exorcists with their magnetic knives seemed to inflict damage on the fat creature, the strong violent impact causing it to disintegrate instantly, they were inadvertently strengthening the creature¡¯s power.


    Therefore, if they attacked with a gun, the energy released would be so high that it would probably increase the single-celled creature¡¯s absorption even more, making it grow even more terrifying.


    However, in that instant, just as Yan Junze was about to exclaim, Huang Wenjian had already pulled the trigger. A burst of magnetic light flared in the barrel, a high-energy blast shot out and penetrated the single-celled creature¡¯s corpulent body.


    Boom!


    The creature¡¯s obese body was blown to pieces instantaneously.


    Whether it was the black non-Newtonian fluid oozing from its body or the white, flabby flesh that was growing all over, everything splattered everywhere.


    The garden was nearly covered with debris scattered in all directions.


    Splat¡ª


    A piece of greasy flesh fell from Mei Lianhua¡¯s cheek, and its slimy residue continued to trickle down his face.


    And Huang Wenjian, who was closer, had a thick chunk of fat perched on his head, looking at his Magnetic Burst Gun with surprise and delight, not having expected it to be so effective.


    The magnetic field¡¯s shock wave produced by the gunshot was also very strong; had he and Mei Lianhua not been four-star exorcists with strong control over magnetic fields, their skills would have likely been disrupted by the chaotic magnetic fields, causing them to fall right there.


    They hadn¡¯t expected such a surprising outcome from using the Magnetic Burst Gun; had they known, they would have used it earlier.


    Huang Wenjian grinned, revealing his teeth, the chunk of fat on his head quivering with his laughter.


    ¡°This time the fatso should be done for. Our magnetic knives never shattered it into pieces like this; it¡¯s almost turned into mince now,¡± Huang Wenjian said to Mei Lianhua.


    Mei Lianhua sensed carefully, ¡°Yes, the magnetic field has been completely dispersed by that blow, I can¡¯t feel it anymore.¡±


    Inside the opposite window of the fifth floor.


    ¡°Xiaomo, you have the loudest voice here, help me call those two,¡± Yan Junze said.


    Zhang Xiaomo was stunned for a moment and looked at Zhang Di.


    And Zhang Di immediately turned to look back at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze spread his hands, not understanding what the two were trying to express.


    Xiaomo then pointed at Zhang Di, ¡°His voice is louder than mine, and it¡¯s very shrill.¡±


    Yan Junze glanced at Zhang Di in surprise, not giving it much thought, ¡°Quick, call them, they¡¯re in danger right now, tell them to get away from there and come back right away!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Both of them gasped.


    The next second, a piercingly sharp, vivid and chilling scream that resembled a thunderclap falling from the heavens resounded from the fifth-floor window, reaching far and wide.


    ¡°Bosses, come back, it¡¯s dangerous, run¡ª!¡±


    Yan Junze felt a buzzing in his ears, unable to hear anything else, and turned his head to look at Zhang Xiaomo, who was clearly prepared for this, having plugged her ears in advance and even purposefully moved away from Zhang Di. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at Zhang Di, who was still shouting with his mouth wide open, and imagining the awe-inspiring sight of him invoking his Semi-Spirit Body with his bald head, compared to his current high-pitched scream that exceeded that of a girl, Yan Junze felt as if he was dreaming.


    ¡°This is really, to know a person by their face but not¡­ their nature!¡± he muttered to himself, as his ears continued to ring.


    He followed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s example and plugged his ears, but it was obviously too late, making little difference now.


    Over at the flowerbed below the opposite building, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were startled, turning their heads towards their direction. Following that, the chunk of fat on Huang Wenjian¡¯s head suddenly twitched.


    Splat, it fell down, hitting the ground and still wriggling.


    ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet!?¡±


    Shocked at the sight, Huang Wenjian looked at Mei Lianhua and noticed he was looking back at him.


    An ominous premonition instantly enveloped them, coupled with the fact that Yan Junze was on the fifth floor and Zhang Di would never normally act this way, indicating that it must be Yan Junze who had asked him to raise the alarm.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    They both called out in unison.


    And they ran toward the direction of Building No. 1 as they did.


    Behind them, the massive spray of flesh began to undulate, and even the non-Newtonian fluid that had just burst out like a fountain began to flow on its own, all converging towards the middle of the flowerbed.


    At a glance, all the splattered matter was flowing back, densely packed, sending shivers down one¡¯s spine.

 Chapter 797: 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2

    Chapter 797: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian turned their heads to look and realized the situation was not optimistic, they ran even faster, it was a full-on frantic dash.


    Even the magnetic knife of Mei Lianhua fell into the mud of the flowerbed, there was absolutely no time to go back and pick it up.


    The speed of accumulation in the flower bed was increasing more and more swiftly, as if there was an invisible large magnet in the middle, rapidly absorbing these fragments that belonged to its body.


    The fatso¡¯s embryonic form quickly materialized, roaring in the direction Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were fleeing. Even though its legs hadn¡¯t fully formed yet, still fused together, it couldn¡¯t wait to start moving, chasing after them closely.


    Mei Lianhua heard the roar, hurriedly turned his head to glance, and immediately exclaimed in terror, ¡°It¡¯s recovering so quickly, this time it only took about two minutes to regenerate!¡±


    You should know, usually after they killed this guy, the fastest time it ever took was about half an hour, and after regenerating, the fatso would immediately flee to its lair on the third floor of Building No. 2, it wouldn¡¯t stay in the original spot, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t come after them.


    Now, it seemed most likely related to Huang Wenjian shooting the guy with the Magnetic Burst Gun.


    Of course, the two four-star Exorcists only had a vague guess, they weren¡¯t sure it was the case, but the current situation was already very unfavorable for them. Maybe their only option was to first leave the campus, guard the perimeter, and notify Captain Huo Zhisen to call for Guo Youliang.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have blasted him with the Magnetic Burst Gun just now!¡± said Mei Lianhua as he ran, to Huang Wenjian.


    Huang Wenjian reflected with extreme fear and replied with a shocked expression, ¡°Maybe¡­ even using the magnetic knife wouldn¡¯t work!¡±


    By this time, the two had reached the back of Building No. 1. If they could just get around to the front, and hide themselves while the fatso wasn¡¯t paying attention, then they might be able to sneak up to the fifth floor later.


    But looking at it now, the fatso chasing behind them was incredibly fast, roaring continuously while chasing, showing complete confidence in its ability to crush Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian.


    If it caught up at this rate, the two of them wouldn¡¯t stand a chance of getting upstairs, otherwise, they might expose the whereabouts of the three people above.


    ¡°They won¡¯t make it upstairs,¡± Yan Junze said. ¡°You guys stay here, don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll go down and hold off that fatso.¡±


    Then, he glanced at Xiaomo, ¡°Wait for me to come back.¡±


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with deep concern.


    Yan Junze hurried down the stairs, and when he was still on the second floor, he heard footsteps coming from downstairs, but those footsteps quickly darted to another side.


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian had already made it downstairs, but with the fatso too close behind them, if they ran upstairs the other would definitely see them, so they didn¡¯t dare to return the same way and continued running forward.


    If it came down to it, they would just run a few more laps around the campus and then return when the fatso was not paying attention, or they might slip out of the school first.


    Yan Junze quickly reached the first floor, only to see the fleeting backs of the two men.


    There was nothing to be done, as four-star Exorcists, they were still very nimble runners, at least more enduring than ordinary people, running around the school ten or so laps was no problem.


    And no sooner had Yan Junze come down the stairs, he found himself face-to-face with the single-celled organism that was chasing after them.


    Of course, this was intentional, to intercept the creature.


    After the appearance of the fatso, its target had originally been Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian. It suddenly discovered another damned human beside the staircase of Building No. 1, it immediately gave up the chase and lunged at Yan Junze.


    The roaring behind them suddenly became intense and violent, but within less than a second, it stopped abruptly, silent and without a trace. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All noise had vanished.


    Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian, who were running, paused, looked back, then slammed their feet to a halt, turning around with looks of horror.


    Nothing was there!!!


    The fatso that had been chasing them just a moment ago had disappeared!


    The furious roars, the volumes of dust stirred up by its movement, the suffocating breaths that approached ¡ª all of it had suddenly vanished into thin air!


    Originally, the fatso should have come to the vicinity of Building No. 1 and continued the chase, but now there was nothing there, not even the huge aggressive fatso, as if that entire area was clean, as if nothing had ever come.


    Both shocked and perplexed, they looked at each other, Mei Lianhua couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Huang Wenjian also said, ¡°Where¡¯s the fatso?¡±


    ¡°Could it have gone upstairs?¡± Mei Lianhua speculated.


    ¡°But going upstairs would still make a lot of noise! It can¡¯t be this quiet,¡± Huang Wenjian looked up at the building.


    Gone, how could it just vanish like that?


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the two stopped running and returned to the teaching building, cautiously looking left and right.


    After staring for a long time, they were sure that the fatso had suddenly disappeared after chasing up to this point.


    Could it have returned to its lair?


    By now, going upstairs shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The two immediately ran up to meet with Zhang Xiaomo and the others.


    Actually, in terms of confrontation, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian were already unsure whether they could face the fatso again. This type of strangeness was something they had never encountered before, and they had no idea how to annihilate it.


    After they got upstairs, they only found Zhang Xiaomo and Zhang Di; Huang Wenjian, surprised, asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Yan Junze?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he go down to meet you guys?¡± said Zhang Di.


    ¡°He went down?¡± Mei Lianhua turned to Huang Wenjian, who was completely baffled.


    At the same spot.


    After activating the Space-Time Lockdown, Yan Junze had included himself in it, but this locked section of space-time had no effect on him.

 Chapter 798: 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_3

    Chapter 798: Chapter 451: The Joy of a Single Cell (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_3


    The fatty charged over with a roar, his body surrounded by flowing non-Newtonian fluid, along with a massive amount of rolling fat, presenting a formidable appearance.


    Then, Yan Junze turned around and walked back, turning into the stairwell on the first floor, but he didn¡¯t go upstairs.


    The fatty reached the stairwell, leaned against the corner of the wall, and took a look inside, but there was no one there.


    It didn¡¯t realize that the space it was in had become different.


    Since the lighting here was a bit darker, it tried hard to open its eyes wide to spot where Yan Junze might be hiding.


    Soon, the fatty sensed something was off, catching sight of a bloated thing gently twisting in the dark, which must be the person it had just seen.


    But this person thought he was well hidden and didn¡¯t notice that he had been discovered yet.


    The non-Newtonian fluid under the fatty¡¯s feet began to slide forward slowly, trying to approach the hidden person.


    However, shortly after moving forward, it immediately noticed the figure disappeared, it stepped back two steps, and the figure appeared again.


    As it moved forward once more, the bloated body vanished again.


    The fatty was confused, so it moved back again and, upon checking, the bulky fellow reappeared.


    This time, the fatty did not move entirely over like before. After it restored itself, it also bizarrely restored the body of the head teacher, and at this moment, with a swoosh, it tore the skin of this body open, revealing a body like a gigantic Flesh Worm, with its lower half staying in place while the upper half gradually extended, silently twining towards the bloated sound.


    This time, indeed, the guy failed to detect itself.


    The Flesh Worm was exceedingly proud of its brilliant tactical move, thinking that no matter how well you hide, ¡°I can swallow you up without anyone being the wiser!¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As it got closer to the other party, it saw the constantly twisting bloated body was actually a huge, plump buttocks, with only the lower half visible and the upper half seemingly hidden further ahead, unclear to the eye.


    ¡°Was that guy this fat just now?¡± The Flesh Worm pondered, but its single-track mind quickly discarded the doubt.


    Seeing the wobbling, plump butt before it, it became irritated, daring to challenge it.


    When only one meter remained, the Flesh Worm stopped sneaking around and lunged with a critical strike, opening its wide mouth to reveal a row of staggered sharp teeth, biting fiercely into the nauseating, fat mass before it.


    Immediately, there was a ¡°squeal¡± that it couldn¡¯t suppress from its own mouth.


    At that moment, the Flesh Worm felt an unbearable intense pain from its buttocks, a pain that could be described as heart-wrenching.


    It remembered that there were more than one of these people, there must be a helper appearing behind it.


    But now that it had caught one, it was determined to beat it to death. After killing this guy, it would turn back to deal with that helper. After all, it had tough skin and could temporarily resist the rescue attack from the opponent.


    With this thought, the Flesh Worm didn¡¯t relax its bite and bit down fiercely again.


    ¡°Squeal¡± ¡ª and the intense pain on its butt struck violently once more.


    ¡°F*ck, the guy behind me, I have an Irreconcilable vendetta with you!¡±


    The Flesh Worm was fuming with rage, shaking the flesh of the one in front of it, but somehow it seemed that the other party also had tough skin and couldn¡¯t be bitten off immediately.


    However, at the same time, its own butt was being shaken violently from behind, with greater pain surging like waves, each wave greater than the last.


    The big Flesh Worm was trembling all over in pain.


    It didn¡¯t care about anything else and bit down, pain striking, ¡°squeal.¡±


    Again it bit down, with even more severe pain striking, ¡°squeal.¡±


    Then it became frantic, roaring angrily, Ripping Bite, twisting, struggling, howling, repeating Ripping Bite, and continuing to twist¡­


    Yan Junze stood outside the school building, within the same region immobilized by the Space-Time Lockdown, arms folded across his chest, watching this scene with mixed feelings of laughter and tears.


    He never expected that this single-minded creature could actually play itself to death.


    The joy of a simple organism, he simply couldn¡¯t understand!

 Chapter 799: 452: The Pinnacle of the Crawler Monsters Life

    Chapter 799: Chapter 452: The Pinnacle of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life


    At this moment, the fat worm was entrapped in a cycle of Space-Time Lockdown, already biting its own tail, but it hadn¡¯t realized it.


    Therefore, thinking that its plump butt belonged to someone else, it remained so persistent in its actions.


    Furiously Ripping Bite after bite, wailing¡­


    Yan Junze stood outside the teaching building and watched for a moment, realizing this method could only trap the creature but not completely solve the problem.


    Firstly, the Crawler Monster couldn¡¯t possibly bite itself to death by just biting its butt, which is anything but a vital spot ¨C at most, it¡¯s just a fleshy part that feels satisfying to chew on.


    Secondly, his Space-Time Lockdown had a time limit; it couldn¡¯t keep this creature trapped here indefinitely.


    Once the time limit expired and the Space-Time Lockdown was lifted, the Crawler Monster would no longer be biting its own tail.


    Trying to reason with this creature was definitely out of the question; it¡¯s impossible to prevent it from living here, and if driven away, who knows what criteria it would choose for its new habitat.


    If it picked another densely populated place, killed a few more people, put on their skins, and scared everyone else away, then this problem would turn into an endless cycle. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, Yan Junze could now use the Black Spirit Umbrella combined with his domain field to control and resolve the adversary, but after a bit of thought, he found it completely unnecessary to do so.


    Since that is the case, it was the perfect opportunity to test the might of his newly acquired underling.


    With that thought, he immediately dissolved the current Space-Time Lockdown and reloaded a new Space-Time Lockdown in the area, investing more energy to further expand its coverage.


    At the same moment, Yan Junze released the Zhuang Sisters and the Crawler Monster.


    So, during the switch of the lockdown space-time, the Crawler Monster that was busy biting itself was abruptly interrupted, lifting its head in confusion and bewilderment, looking around as it lay on the ground by the staircase entrance to the first floor of the teaching building.


    It had become numb to the pain on its butt, and the sudden disturbance outside had momentarily made it forget this numbing sensation.


    Soon, it noticed several figures standing outside the teaching building.


    Fueled by rage, the Crawler Monster immediately remembered someone biting it from behind just a moment ago. It angrily lifted its head; its massive mouth occupied nearly half of its plump head, it had only one vertical pupil, and it seemed to have developed intelligence from absorbing powerful energy just now, with mucus still dripping from it.


    Its gaze quickly swept over these individuals, and in the Crawler Monster¡¯s mind, they all seemed to be humans, who usually wouldn¡¯t be interested in it, let alone bite it from behind like what had just happened.


    However, its gaze soon settled on the Crawler Monster lying on the ground.


    Upon closer inspection, of everyone present, this creature seemed the most peculiar and suspicious.


    Besides, that creature lying on the ground was sticking out its tongue, licking around, giving the impression that it had just had a satisfying meal!


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s anger was about to burst forth from its forehead, and it immediately directed a roar towards the Crawler Monster on the ground.


    The Crawler Monster, which was busy grooming its parted hair with its tongue, had felt entirely safe until then.


    Typically, standing beside its master was the safest, even the triple sisters next to it wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with it, so the Crawler Monster was quite at ease until it suddenly sensed a massive threat looming.


    A single vertical pupil stared directly at it, roaring, with saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.


    The Crawler Monster immediately panicked, not caring about its hair part anymore and quickly hugging Yan Junze¡¯s legs, gazing eagerly at his protector.


    The Crawler Monster seemed very aware that if the colossal fat worm pounced on it, its chances of survival were virtually zero.


    Yan Junze, whose leg was being hugged, seemed somewhat indifferent, extending his hand to affectionately pat the Crawler Monster¡¯s head, taking the opportunity to mess up the newly groomed part, then smiling with the pride of a father, he said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as a strangeness, you have to grow. Now is your chance! Come on, show me your full strength!¡±


    After speaking, he turned to the Zhuang Sisters and said, ¡°You said that you could possess strangenesses, and you chose this creature with the parted hair as your first choice. If that¡¯s the case, you might as well try it now. Possess it and take down that big fat worm over there.¡±


    Yan Junze had never seen anyone volunteering to possess a strangeness before, but since they dared to offer this as higher-level strangenesses, it indicates that they are aware of the consequences.


    Knowing the potential consequences and still being willing to take the risk meant they must be quite special.


    Yan Junze was also prepared; if possessing the Crawler Monster resulted in its magnetic field being in disarray and unable to recover in the short term, he could immediately dismiss the Space-Time Lockdown and initiate a Rewind.


    At that moment, the Crawler Monster, after roaring for a while, charged at the Crawler Monster that was the most likely to have bitten its backend, twisting its body frantically with the non-Newtonian fluid underneath it accelerating, nearly pushing itself forward.


    The sight of its pale, fleshy body was almost blinding to Yan Junze¡¯s eyes.


    Yan Junze stepped back a few paces.


    And at the same time he stepped back, the youngest of the sisters, Zhuang Wenhui, suddenly bowed and plunged towards the Crawler Monster clinging to his leg.


    The next second, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s figure became ethereal, flowing into the body of the Crawler Monster.

 Chapter 800: 452 Peak of the Crawler Monsters Life_2

    Chapter 800: Chapter 452 Peak of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life_2


    The Crawler Monster¡¯s body shook, releasing Yan Junze¡¯s thigh. Its bewildered and fearful eyes flashed as a hint of red light permeated its pupils. Supporting itself on its hands, it thudded down, lying prone on the ground.


    At this moment, its limbs visibly began to thicken, fully supporting its body. The fierce aura of the entire creature surged out in an instant.


    The Crawler Monster still had its head bowed, its body slightly trembling and swelling, its muscles knotting, making a creaking sound like tightened ropes.


    Previously, when it was lying down, its height only reached Yan Junze¡¯s thighs, but now, although still crouching, it had reached the height of Yan Junze¡¯s shoulders.


    Its body significantly grew larger at that moment, muscles bulging on its bent legs and on the surface of its arms, muscles crazily sprouting from both arms, first the right arm then the left, as if gas was being forcefully pumped in.


    Initially full of fear, at this moment, the Crawler Monster found itself transformed. A massive magnetic field filled and reverberated within and around its body, its entire being brimming with power, handling the magnetic field with remarkable clarity.


    This series of transformations, while described as slow, actually completed within a few seconds.


    Just then, a big fat worm lunged at it. Where the Crawler Monster gained the courage from was unknown, but it completely changed from its previous timid demeanor, roaring fiercely at the fat worm, stretching out its hands and grabbing the upper and lower lips of the worm¡¯s biting mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use the magnetic field, only physical attacks, otherwise this fat worm will become stronger!¡± Yan Junze reminded from behind.


    The body of the Crawler Monster faltered slightly, whether it heard him or Zhuang Wenhui inside understood, but it forcefully pressed together the fat worm¡¯s unhinged mouth, holding down the still gaping mouth with its right hand, and with its left fist, delivered an uppercut to the fat worm¡¯s jaw.


    With a thud, the fat worm was sent flying.


    The Crawler Monster immediately rushed forward, grabbing its belly, hugging it, and mercilessly smashing the head of the worm against the ground.


    Yan Junze watched this scene somewhat surprised.


    Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s possession of the Crawler Monster had this effect, which was equivalent to an enhancement of the Crawler Monster¡¯s abilities, a sort of possession effect similar to evolution.


    However, after being possessed, the Crawler Monster did not use its best Tongue Skill, so Yan Junze guessed it might have heard his reminder, and that using its split tongue might involve a magnetic field attack.


    Looking at it now, the fat worm¡¯s power was nowhere near that of the possessed Crawler Monster, and the black non-Newtonian fluid around it could not envelop the Crawler Monster completely.


    Leveraging its high movement speed and physical strength, even when the Crawler Monster¡¯s hands were enveloped in the non-Newtonian fluid, they could be swiftly withdrawn as if in water, allowing it to continuously punch the fat worm¡¯s head, instead of being utterly stuck.


    The fat worm¡¯s strongest energy absorption was ineffective under physical attacks, and its non-Newtonian fluid couldn¡¯t trap the Crawler Monster, thus the situation was immediately one-sided.


    However, the creature was tough-skinned and unyielding; merely being on the receiving end of a beating, the Crawler Monster still could not pose any real threat to it.


    Regarding the Crawler Monster¡¯s strength, Yan Junze speculated it was originally just an advanced Wandering Spirit, while the possessing Zhuang Wenhui was a Sculpting Spirit.


    After their combination, the now mutated Crawler Monster broadly reached the level of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, although such a combination couldn¡¯t be fully measured by typical strangeness levels.


    For example, Yan Junze had never seen any Semi-Ethereal Spirit whose physical attacks surpassed the current abilities of the Crawler Monster.


    Yet after a brutal thrashing, even the Crawler Monster itself soon realized it could only defeat the fat worm, not truly kill it.


    Zhuang Wenjing turned her head to look at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze, feeling a surge inside, nodded his head.


    Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s body instantly became ethereal, took a few steps closer to the Crawler Monster, who was beating the fat worm, and merged into its body.


    The Crawler Monster, facing away from Yan Junze, suddenly shuddered, its knotted muscles swelling even more, bulging like buns all over¡ªchest, abdomen, back, arms¡­


    In an instant, the creature¡¯s size expanded once more, and even while still lying on the ground, it now stood a head taller than Yan Junze.


    Its spine, aligning vertically like bone spurs, surged outward, pushing the skin up high, almost piercing through it, and the girth of just one of its arms had already surpassed Yan Junze¡¯s thighs.


    With a palm as large as a fan, it pressed down on the fat worm¡¯s head, now unable to open its mouth, firmly held shut.


    The Crawler Monster delivered a severe punch to its jaw.


    This punch directly penetrated the body of the fat worm, emerging from above its head.


    A large amount of non-Newtonian fluid spilled out, but the Crawler Monster paid it no heed, rubbing the creature¡¯s head against the ground until the skin was worn smooth, followed by several more punches, bursting the fat worm¡¯s body.


    Now, with the addition of Zhuang Wenjing, a Semi-Ethereal Spirit, the overall strength of the Crawler Monster has likely exceeded that of a typical Ethereal Spirit.


    This creature, approximately three meters long and one and a half meters in cross-section, with blood made of black non-Newtonian fluid, lay collapsed on the ground, emitting a faint roar but unable to move any further. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°Look for any key parts on its body.¡±


    At this moment, the Crawler Monster didn¡¯t feel tired; on the contrary, it was excessively excited. It had never known itself to be so formidable, so terrifying, absolutely terrifying!

 Chapter 801: 452 Peak of the Crawler Monsters Life_3

    Chapter 801: Chapter 452 Peak of the Crawler Monster¡¯s Life_3


    He immediately began rummaging through the fat worm¡¯s body, even sticking his hand into the blobby white flesh to search around.


    After a moment, he lifted his head and looked toward Yan Junze, clearly coming up empty-handed.


    Yan Junze glanced at the fat worm, barely clinging to life, and was certain that the creature wouldn¡¯t die, though he didn¡¯t know why.


    Thinking briefly, he turned his gaze toward the non-Newtonian fluid beneath it and said, ¡°Drag this worm out from here.¡±


    The Crawler Monster immediately grabbed the creature¡¯s torso and pulled hard, unable to move it, unexpectedly finding it stuck so firmly.


    He grasped the fat worm¡¯s torso again, the muscles in his arms creaked and swelled as he gave a fierce tug, and with a snap, the worm¡¯s tail finally detached from the non-Newtonian fluid.


    Looking over, the tip of its tail was sharp and even glowing slightly, like the faint light of fireflies.


    Now Yan Junze understood; this creature could absorb energy to resurrect itself, part of the reason was that after getting killed, its tail was always hidden in some non-Newtonian fluid, thus it remained undiscovered.


    If he had found directly and destroyed this glowing tail, perhaps this creature would have already been dealt with.


    ¡°Destroy this tail,¡± Yan Junze ordered.


    The Crawler Monster immediately tore off the tail and pinched the faintly glowing tip in its palm, ready to crush it, but Yan Junze suddenly spoke again, ¡°Wait, give me the tip first!¡±


    The Crawler Monster looked surprised, but still handed it over to Yan Junze, who walked up.


    After examining the tip, an idea popped into Yan Junze¡¯s mind, and he clenched the tail tip in his palm, hands behind his back.


    At that moment, the fat worm lying on the ground, now tailless, saw its blob of fat gradually stiffen, and its body stopped moving altogether.


    Looking at the Crawler Monster, the creature no longer possessed the panic it had before the possession, replaced instead by a burst of power-charged confidence.


    Glancing once more at Zhuang Wenxian, who hadn¡¯t moved, Yan Junze wondered what would happen if Zhuang Wenxian joined in on the possession, curious what the Crawler Monster might evolve into.


    It now seemed that the Crawler Monster¡¯s body was quite suitable for the three sisters¡¯ Bond Evolution; if it were the more powerful Back-faced Woman, the fusion might not reach such a high degree, nor the amplification effect.


    Of course, with the Back-faced Woman now having the power of a Semi-Ethereal Spirit and after the Bond Evolution with Ke¡¯er, her strength was also very formidable, likely enough to handle a single Ethereal spirit without much problem.


    ¡°Zhuang Wenjing, Zhuang Wenhui, step away from the Crawler Monster,¡± he said.


    Yan Junze wanted to see if, after their departure from a possession-induced ferocious evolution, the creature would immediately appear in a state of being hollowed out.


    Zhuang Wenjing and Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s ethereal figures walked out, front and back, and indeed the Crawler Monster¡¯s body trembled and collapsed.


    But quickly it raised its head again, showing a sycophantic smile, this time not directed at Yan Junze, but towards the three sisters.


    The next second, despite its tired body, it scurried after the two sisters, looking at them with a face full of flattery.


    Reaching the sisters¡¯ feet, it gently rubbed Zhuang Wenhui¡¯s foot with its messily parted head, then reached up and tugged on Zhuang Wenjing¡¯s pant leg, pointing to its own chest, spreading its arms wide in a gesture of divine love, signaling the sisters they could come to it anytime.


    ¡°Damn, heartless!¡±


    Yan Junze kicked the creature away, then withdrew it back into the Atlas. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at the three sisters, ¡°Does this kind of Possession leave any side effects on parted parts?¡±


    Zhuang Wenxian shook her head, her voice hoarse, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Experiment over, this place is also cleared up, let¡¯s head back to the Atlas now.¡±


    Dismantling the Space-Time Lockdown, he shouted towards the fifth floor, ¡°Police, come out and clean up!¡±


    Then Yan Junze, hands behind his back, walked towards the suspected lair of the fat worm on the third floor of Building No. 2.

 Chapter 802: 453: Strangenesses Surge

    Chapter 802: Chapter 453: Strangenesses Surge


    ¡°Police, time to clean up!¡±


    Upon hearing this voice, the four people in the room on the fifth floor looked at each other in dismay.


    ¡°That¡¯s Junze¡¯s voice,¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately said.


    Without saying anything, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian immediately left the room and stepped out into the corridor, craning their necks to look down.


    They saw that there was no one downstairs, but a three-meter-long fat worm lay rigidly curled up on the ground, already breathless. The black non-Newtonian fluid was spread all over the floor, still slowly moving. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, it could be seen that the non-Newtonian fluid had likewise changed, slowly forming into a solid.


    ¡°Dead! The fatty has been killed! It really was a giant worm!¡± Huang Wenjian said.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Mei Lianhua couldn¡¯t help but curse in astonishment, ¡°Did Yan Junze kill it? How did he take this guy down? Indeed, not even the way of dying is usual, now it looks utterly dead!¡±


    At this, the three of them simultaneously looked at Zhang Xiaomo.


    In their minds, Zhang Xiaomo was the most knowledgeable about Yan Junze and certainly knew how he had taken down the increasingly stronger fat worm.


    However, the expression on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face immediately squashed their theories, making them feel even more confused.


    ¡°You better give Yan Junze a call and ask where he went; we¡¯ll head down to handle the scene,¡± Mei Lianhua said.


    ¡­


    When Yan Junze reached the stairwell on the first floor of Building No. 2, Zhang Xiaomo called: ¡°Where did you go?¡±


    ¡°I came to check out the lair of that fat worm. You guys don¡¯t come over for now, there might be danger here,¡± Yan Junze said.


    ¡°Then¡­ just now Big Brother Mei was asking¡­ how did you kill it¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo reminded: ¡°You better prepare a story in advance, they will definitely ask you.¡±


    ¡°No need, just tell them I smashed it to death with my fist.¡±


    ¡°Fist?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was stunned, clearly not believing it herself.


    ¡°Uh, plus the Black Spirit Umbrella personally crafted for me by Master Wan Shouguang.¡± Yan Junze thought this flag was waved big enough.


    ¡°Alright, be careful,¡± Zhang Xiaomo hung up the phone.


    Yan Junze had already reached the third floor and glanced towards Room 307. He noticed that the non-Newtonian fluid was still oozing out from that room.


    This substance hadn¡¯t solidified with the death of the worm, which was strange!


    Could it be that the so-called ¡°lair¡± inside the room didn¡¯t have much to do with the death of the worm?


    Yan Junze quickened his pace, walking over. Although there was non-Newtonian fluid spilling everywhere, the corridor still had places to step on. He crossed in a few strides and came in front of the room¡¯s door.


    The door was slightly ajar and opened with a push.


    He pushed the door open and stood outside to look, indeed as Mei Lianhua had described; the room that should have been an office now had chairs and desks completely destroyed, piled up messily in the furthest corner.


    And in the center of the room, a bit to the front, on the floor and the ceiling, there were two enormous fleshy growths standing opposite each other, one above and one below.


    Each of these growths was about the size of two office desks put together. The one on the floor was swollen around the outside, resembling a doughnut, with a deep recess in the middle, while the one on the ceiling was round and plump, without any recess.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t approach immediately, standing at the doorway for a moment, and noticed that these growths indeed didn¡¯t move, appearing like lifeless masses.


    However, at the time Mei Lianhua had just observed from the doorway like Yan Junze was doing now, without entering the room.


    Actually, Yan Junze had a worry in his heart; hadn¡¯t that fat worm been resurrecting on the spot every time before?


    He speculated whether, if he really killed the creature this time, another one identical would crawl out from these growths?


    After thinking, it seemed likely to happen; after all, considering the appearance of the worm, it may have come out from here.


    Of course, there was another possibility ¡ª the growth was something it had produced, and right now, it might be full of worm eggs, incubating inside.


    After a pause, Yan Junze stepped into the room, avoiding the black non-Newtonian fluid on the floor, drawing closer to the growth on the ground.


    Throughout this process, he kept an eye on the growth on the ceiling, fearing that it would suddenly burst open, expelling something that would unexpectedly smear all over him.


    Fortunately, there was no such disturbance.


    Yan Junze bent down to look at the middle of the ground growth, the recess like a thin layer of flesh membrane, which didn¡¯t show any movement on the outside but this membrane was slightly trembling.


    It was as if a gust of wind was blowing through the membrane.


    The flesh on the growth was similar to that of the fat worm, just a bit whiter, but touching it posed no danger.


    Yan Junze extended his finger, poking the trembling membrane, feeling it was not very robust, and he could indeed sense a force acting upon it.


    The flesh membrane was roughly the size of a basin.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment, then forcefully poked the membrane with his index finger.


    As expected, it didn¡¯t take much effort to pierce the membrane, but then he was immediately startled, looking at the scene that unfolded before his eyes.


    A cool breeze rushed in through the punctured hole into the office, brushing against Yan Junze¡¯s face.


    He had never expected that there would be another place behind the flesh membrane, an unfamiliar space that was dark and expansive, with no knowledge of its width or breadth.


    Upon closer inspection, not only was the space not enclosed, but it appeared that something was moving in the far distance of the area.

 Chapter 803: 453 Strangenesses Surge_2

    Chapter 803: Chapter 453 Strangenesses Surge_2


    It was not very clear, Yan Junze leaned forward to see, the space inside the cave was indeed very large, it was too distant, and only the dim outlines of objects flying and swimming within this space could be perceived, but it was unclear what they were.


    At this moment, Yan Junze also noticed that the space formed by this membrane was gradually shrinking, getting smaller and smaller.


    Simultaneously, a strange sound came from that direction, similar to the friction sound of a giant wheel docking, low, piercing, and lingering¡­


    Immediately, Yan Junze jerked his body up, keeping himself at a certain distance from the entrance of the cave, his eyes catching sight of huge black scales appearing about ten meters away from the entrance, passing by within his field of vision.


    That sound was indeed emitted by this creature.


    Yan Junze widened his eyes, trying hard to identify what this creature was, but he realized it was very different from any animal he knew.


    Shortly after, the entrance of the cave had shrunk to the size of a fist, and suddenly, an olive-brown eye of the animal with the black scales appeared, peering through the tunnel towards this side.


    Unexpectedly, this creature was swimming in reverse, only showing its head now.


    But Yan Junze could no longer see clearly as the entrance had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, and ultimately slowly closed up entirely, not allowing any sight of it anymore. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s shocked state of mind slowly returned, and he felt himself taking deep breaths, his heart pounding violently, and his hands and feet tingling slightly.


    Now he could be sure that the space behind that membranous entrance belonged to another world, a world not part of the current space-time.


    And the Flesh Worm found in the school likely originated from that world, somehow making its way here.


    Also, the white long worm in his own heart, he wondered if it too had arrived in this world for the same reason.


    The creature he had just seen, equipped with black scales, capable of swimming through the air, had brought Yan Junze intense mental shock; that world was not only another world but also appeared to be a world inhabited by various indescribable beings.


    Looking at the completely closed entrance, Yan Junze once again stretched his hand out, touching the prior location, only to find it had become very hard, feeling as if it was the floor of the office.


    The passage similar to a spatial rift had disappeared!


    He spread his hands to clear the area covered by tumors, confirming this thought.


    Shortly after, including the tumors, they began to stiffen gradually, turning as hard as stone.


    The surrounding black non-Newtonian fluid also solidified into a solid state at this moment.


    Straight afterwards, Yan Junze left the office, gave Zhang Xiaomo a call, informing Mei Lianhua and the others that they could come over now.


    The exorcist team had already been notified, with local security officers and stationed exorcists nearby, arriving at the school soon.


    Zhang Xiaomo delegated the subsequent matters to Zhang Di, and the two left first.


    Before leaving, Yan Junze learned from Mei Lianhua that they too had heard of these indescribable strangenesses being like this after death, but they hadn¡¯t discovered its lair.


    Thereupon, Yan Junze directly called Xiaomo¡¯s dad, Zhang Chengjing, and learned from him that the headquarters had collected over a dozen cases of these indescribable strangenesses, with two cases where a lair was found.


    One of the lairs had completely petrified when discovered and was cleared and brought back to the laboratory for study, showing no other abnormalities.


    However, the second lair was discovered by exorcists witnessing a bizarre scene, seemingly another space world, but at that time, the exorcist did not see any other strange beings.


    Just like what Yan Junze discovered, the passage to that space world quickly closed on its own, showing no further anomalies.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo were sitting in the car, so he used the speaker mode, allowing Xiaomo to also talk with her dad.


    Then, Yan Junze learned that the exorcist who, like him, had seen another space, was Xiaomo¡¯s teacher, Huaying Headquarters¡¯ five-star exorcist.


    This man was named Feng Huaigong, also a great friend of Wan Shouguang, the weapon master of Huaying Headquarters.


    It was him who initially, to assist Wan Shouguang, placed a magnetic field stabilizer in the grave of Wan Shouguang¡¯s deceased son to prevent it from turning into a strangeness.


    According to Feng Huaigong, he suspected that the dark space belonged to a world filled with strangenesses and unknown things, and he further suspected that not only these indescribable strangenesses but even the strangenesses appearing in this current world, although not directly related, might somehow be connected.


    ¡°What? Have these indescribable strangenesses appeared over there too?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked over the phone.


    ¡°Yes, dad, a big flesh worm. To deal with it, I was trapped at school for twenty days, luckily Yan Junze came.¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°Did you kill it?¡± Zhang Chengjing asked.


    ¡°Yes, killed it, and I saw that other dark space with my own eyes.¡± Yan Junze saw no need to hide, as the information he currently had was minimal, and Zhang Chengjing might know more than him.


    There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and after a moment, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice came through: ¡°It seems you guys will have to work hard for a few days.¡±

 Chapter 804: 453 Strangenesses Surge_3

    Chapter 804: Chapter 453 Strangenesses Surge_3


    ¡°Why?¡± Xiaomo took over the conversation in surprise.


    ¡°Last time, after your teacher Feng Huaigong resolved that indescribable strangeness and discovered the open dark space, the number of strangenesses in the city inexplicably surged for seven consecutive days. Almost all the exorcists in the whole district were involved, and it took more than a month to finally resolve those strangenesses,¡± said Zhang Chengjing.


    ¡°Ah, I was planning to return to Tianmeng City today!¡± Zhang Xiaomo exclaimed in shock, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, doesn¡¯t it mean that Tianmeng will have to send some more exorcists over here?¡±


    Zhang Chengjing nodded: ¡°I will immediately call Huo Zhisen and see if we need reinforcements from nearby areas. Do not take this lightly! Remember, when I say a surge, the number will be enormous. Last time during that period, Xiaomo¡¯s teacher collapsed several times, exorcising day and night without any time to sleep or rest.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be to the extent that encountering strangenesses while casually walking in the streets during the daytime, can it?¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost like that. Although the levels of the strangenesses vary, there are many of them, so be cautious,¡± Zhang Chengjing said before hanging up the phone, busy coordinating and deploying resources.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Yan Junze looked towards Zhang Xiaomo.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a hotel then,¡± Xiaomo said while rubbing her eyes tiredly, ¡°Before the number of strangenesses increases further, I¡¯d better get some good sleep now.¡±


    Yan Junze started the car, and asked further: ¡°One room or two?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo startled, a faint blush suddenly appearing on her face, muttered: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°Okay, one room,¡± Yan Junze said seriously.


    ¡°Did I say one room?¡± Xiaomo asked, her head down.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you?¡± Yan Junze countered.


    ¡°I¡¯m already asleep now, can¡¯t hear anything,¡± Xiaomo closed her eyes, a slight smile curling the corners of her mouth,


    ¡°Go to sleep, I¡¯ll carry you into the hotel once we arrive,¡± Yan Junze chuckled.


    Xiaomo playfully punched his thigh, still with her eyes closed, she mumbled to herself: ¡°Scoundrel!¡±


    That night.


    Gaosheng City, Prosperous Garden Community.


    At 12:20 a.m. in the community, not a single person was visible, except for the occasional security patrols, which were also carried out in groups of three or four.


    Lin Fei stood downstairs of building 13, gazing at the pitch-dark floors, where the occupants had largely gone to sleep, with no signs of movement.


    Due to the drop in temperature at night, Lin Fei was shivering slightly. She had stayed over in the office for overtime, as for everyone¡¯s safety they were being sent back to the community in business vehicles, and Lin Fei was no exception.


    However, after returning to the community, she felt more apprehensive.


    Her home was on the 20th floor and she needed to use the elevator to return, but with the building completely dark and no one outside, although there were voice-activated lights inside, she suddenly didn¡¯t dare to enter the building.


    Thinking of a strangeness incident that occurred in the building two months ago, although it had been cleared by an exorcist, the chill in Lin Fei¡¯s heart intensified. She tightened her coat and reluctantly called the person who was still at home on her phone.


    She hadn¡¯t a boyfriend and usually lived with her parents.


    She didn¡¯t want to disturb her parents, but she was too frightened to help it.


    When the phone rang, it was immediately picked up on the other end, and Lin Fei¡¯s mother¡¯s voice came through: ¡°Feifei, aren¡¯t you coming?¡±


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m downstairs and scared to come up. Can Dad come down¡­ to pick me up?¡± Lin Fei whispered.


    The silence around her felt too oppressive, and she feared that speaking too loudly might attract the attention of some unknown creature in the darkness.


    ¡°Your dad¡¯s already asleep, no worries, I¡¯ll come down and fetch you, I¡¯ll be right down, wait for me,¡± Lin Fei¡¯s mother hung up the phone. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A moment later, she could see a voice-activated light turn on inside the building, and Lin Fei knew her mother should be coming down; her anxious heart slightly calmed.


    She stood under a streetlight next to the road in the community, where the sufficient light made her feel a bit safer.


    Soon, her mother arrived at the entrance of building 13, opened the access system, and waved at her.


    Lin Fei hurriedly jogged over, a smile emerging: ¡°Mom, you haven¡¯t slept yet?¡±


    Her mother shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Next time I¡¯ll tell President Chen not to let us work so late. Otherwise, I get scared, and it worries you too,¡± Lin Fei felt somewhat remorseful.


    The two entered the elevator one after another, and Lin Fei pressed the button for the 20th floor.


    The elevator began to ascend.


    But a few seconds later, Lin Fei¡¯s phone suddenly rang. She brought the phone closer to see, and the caller ID showed ¡°Mom!¡±


    Lin Fei paused, puzzled about what was happening, and glanced at her mother standing right beside her.


    She thought maybe the phone system displayed wrong, but still pressed the answer button, bringing it to her ear: ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Feifei, I came downstairs, why don¡¯t I see you?¡± her mother¡¯s familiar voice sounded.


    Lin Fei went rigid.


    A chill crept up her spine, and she felt a numbing sensation at the back of her head.


    At this moment, her body was so overwhelmed by sheer terror that she couldn¡¯t move at all, finding it impossible to turn around to look at the ¡°mother¡± behind her.


    Giggle giggle¡ª


    Just then, a grinding noise came from behind her.

 Chapter 805: 454 Nuclear Power Plant

    Chapter 805: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant


    At the same moment.


    Gaosheng City, Seven Star Lake District.


    In a 270 square meter duplex residence, there are only two people at home at this large house¡ªa child and an adult.


    The child is about five years old, and he seems very energetic, showing no signs of sleepiness even though it¡¯s late.


    Sitting in the living room, his mother, Gao Ruolan, is beginning to feel sleepy, and the drama on the TV becomes a blur in front of her eyes.


    She yawns and says to the child: ¡°Xinxin, shall we go to sleep now?¡±


    The child, called Xinxin, is holding a plush teddy bear and talking to it, dressing it up. Upon hearing his mom¡¯s suggestion to sleep, Xinxin immediately looks unhappy.


    ¡°I want to wait for Daddy to come back. I¡¯ll sleep when Daddy is home!¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, Daddy is on a business trip, he¡¯ll be back tomorrow afternoon,¡± Gao Ruolan says with a smile, coaxing softly: ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep, and when we wake up, Daddy will be back.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xinxin shakes his little head, still busy dressing the plush bear.


    Gao Ruolan pretends to be angry, stands up, and begins walking upstairs: ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to sleep first, you stay here and play until your daddy comes back.¡±


    She walks slowly, constantly paying attention to Xinxin¡¯s reaction.


    Sure enough, seeing that his mother no longer paid attention to him, Xinxin hugged his plush bear tightly, looked around the room, and then with a sobbing tone said: ¡°Mommy, I want Mommy, I don¡¯t want to play alone¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now, so are you going to sleep as well?¡± Gao Ruolan deliberately asks with her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Yes, Xinxin wants to sleep with Mommy.¡±


    A smile appears on Gao Ruolan¡¯s face, she goes over to pick him up in one swoop, turns off the TV, and heads upstairs along the spiral staircase.


    After reaching the second floor, she turns off the light switch at the stairway landing, plunging the downstairs into darkness.


    Just then, while still holding Xinxin, Gao Ruolan suddenly hears a soft thud, thud coming from downstairs, as if right under the spiral staircase.


    She immediately looks down, but since it is pitch black below, she can¡¯t see anything.


    With one arm holding Xinxin and another reaching for the light switch downstairs, she intends to turn the light back on.


    ¡°It was the ball,¡± Xinxin suddenly says.


    Gao Ruolan pauses, and asks: ¡°Are you sure it was the sound of the ball just now?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Xinxin nods vigorously.


    Gao Ruolan withdraws her hand, thinking it must have been the ball they often play with, which must have rolled off the sofa earlier unnoticed.


    Holding Xinxin, she turns and heads to the master bedroom. After entering, she turns on the light, locks the bedroom door out of habit, and padlocks it.


    She takes Xinxin to the bathroom to wash up clean, soaks his little feet in warm water until they turn rosy, then dries them off and lifts Xinxin onto the bed in the bedroom.


    She helps him out of his clothes, lets Xinxin lie on the bed, tucks him in, turns on the soft light on the bedside, and softly says: ¡°Xinxin, be good, fall asleep now, Mommy will come after washing her face. Maybe you¡¯ll be asleep when Mommy arrives!¡±


    Xinxin obediently nods his head, burrows under the blanket leaving only his head out, staring intently at Gao Ruolan.


    Gao Ruolan bends down, kisses him on his forehead, tucks him in snugly, then turns to head to the bathroom,


    She takes several minutes to hastily remove her makeup before beginning to wash up.


    While brushing her teeth, she seems to hear someone talking and a muffled ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± sound.


    Due to the loud noise coming from her mouth at this moment, the sound is barely audible, Gao Ruolan pauses slightly, stops brushing her teeth, and freezes in place.


    A moment later, no other sounds come.


    She assumes she must have misheard and continues brushing her teeth, and after rinsing her mouth, thud, thud, thud, three soft knocks are heard again.


    This time, she hears it loud and clear, the sound comes from outside the bedroom.


    Gao Ruolan raises her eyebrow, takes a face towel, and wipes her mouth while stepping out of the bathroom.


    Just as she reaches the door of the master bedroom, close to the bathroom, the door she had locked from the inside begins to knock again with three sounds, thud, thud, thud!


    Who is knocking outside?


    Gao Ruolan shivers in fear, goosebumps all over her body, she doesn¡¯t make a sound but immediately clamps her mouth shut, not daring to make any noise, and hastily walks toward the big bed.


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    Suddenly, the voice of her son, Xinxin, comes from outside the door.


    Gao Ruolan shudders, turns her head to look at the locked bedroom door, she not only keeps her lips tightly shut without responding, but even her breath is held.


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    Outside, Xinxin¡¯s knocking and shouting are heard again, his voice trembling, seemingly frightened, conveying a sense of helplessness.


    Gao Ruolan comes to her senses, immediately takes a few steps forward, then looks towards the big bed and sees that it is indeed empty¡ªher son is gone.


    She turns back around, looking at the door again.


    At this moment, the knocking outside the door resumes, and Xinxin¡¯s voice comes through: ¡°Mommy, open the door, I¡¯m scared!¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Xinxin, how¡­ how did you get outside?¡± Gao Ruolan wants to open the door, but something in her mind is stopping her.


    She must figure it out first!


    ¡°Mommy¡ª¡±


    At the same moment, from under the big bed behind her, another familiar voice suddenly emerges.


    Judging from the voice, it also sounds like Xinxin.


    Gao Ruolan turns around again, her expression filled with terror, her gaze directed under the bed, but it is pitch black under there, she can see nothing.

 Chapter 806: 454 Nuclear Power Plant_2

    Chapter 806: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant_2


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m scared!¡± came the voice of Xinxin from under the bed.


    ¡°Mom,¡± said the Xinxin outside the room at the same time, ¡°I got scared alone in bed, and ran out here!¡±


    She turned back to look towards the bedroom door, then twisted her head to look at the dark space under the bed.


    Just then, Gao Ruolan¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted as she saw an unnaturally colored little hand stretch out from under the bed, followed by the hand trembling uncontrollably.


    Gao Ruolan was so frightened that she gasped for air, hesitated for a moment, then ran to the bedroom door, twisted the doorknob, and found the latch was still locked.


    ¡°No, the door is locked! Xinxin couldn¡¯t have gone out!¡±


    At this scene, she gave up on the idea of opening the door and instead took two steps back, moving away from the bedroom door.


    Since the door was still latched, Xinxin must still be in the room, Gao Ruolan once again turned back to look in the direction of the bed.


    At this moment, from under the bed came a trembling voice: ¡°Mom, just now outside¡­ someone kept calling for you¡­¡±


    While speaking, a boy crawled out from under the bed, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his voice laced with crying.


    Gao Ruolan saw clearly, this child was indeed Xinxin, she quickly trotted over, scooped him up, but found Xinxin¡¯s entire body ice-cold, not knowing how long he had been hiding under the bed after crawling out from under the covers.


    Meanwhile, outside the bedroom door, at this moment, the little boy also came through with sobs, while weeping, he said, ¡°Mom, there¡¯s someone under the bed, I kept calling you, but you didn¡¯t answer, so I unlocked the door and ran out, and then¡­ the door locked itself again¡­¡±


    Hearing the intermittent cries of the child outside, Gao Ruolan was stunned.


    She turned to look at the child she was holding, only to see the face of Xinxin in her arms slowly turning blue¡­


    ¡­


    Zhang Xiaomo woke up to find Yan Junze sitting by the bed watching her.


    At this moment, Yan Junze was already dressed, had washed up, and his hair was exuding the fresh scent of shampoo.


    A smile appeared on Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s face, she stretched out her arms, and gave a big yawn, feeling very well-rested.


    Seeing that Yan Junze was still watching her, she asked, ¡°Silly, what are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Seeing how long you could sleep until you woke up naturally.¡± Yan Junze revealed a smile, looked up at the wall clock in the room, ¡°It¡¯s ten o¡¯clock in the morning.¡±


    ¡°When did I fall asleep yesterday?¡± Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°After dinner, you probably slept around seven.¡± Yan Junze recalled.


    Xiaomo responded with surprise, ¡°I slept for fifteen hours!?¡±


    Yan Junze grinned cheekily, ¡°No, it¡¯s twelve hours. You forgot, you woke up in the middle? Hmm, about three hours later before you slept again!¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo blushed slightly, turned her body to the side, and muttered under her breath, ¡°Boasting without draft, was it three hours?¡±


    Yan Junze laughed heartily, ¡°Approximately, it seems, maybe, about three hours.¡±


    As he spoke, he took Xiaomo¡¯s clothes over, ¡°Hurry up and get dressed, I¡¯ve already ordered breakfast, from now on we¡¯ll be busy.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo came to her senses, ¡°Is it because the supernatural events in Gaosheng City are increasing?¡±


    ¡°Not just increasing, it would be more appropriate to describe it as an outbreak!¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Just now I contacted Captain Huo Zhisen, most of the exorcists from Tianmeng have been dispatched to Gaosheng City, left at dawn, and have already arrived at eight this morning. Currently, all the exorcists are divided into small teams and assigned areas, and have begun the cleansing of the strangenesses.¡±


    ¡°Are there that many?¡± Xiaomo exclaimed in surprise.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°It seems pretty severe, your dad was not wrong, it¡¯s probably related to that opened space channel. And¡­¡±


    At this point, Yan Junze leaned in closer to Zhang Xiaomo, and whispered mysteriously, ¡°It¡¯s said that out of ten strangenesses, at least seven are looking for a replacement. Well, you better get up quick, we¡¯re in for a busy time!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Xiaomo, having rested the whole night, was now full of energy, as she climbed out of bed, ¡°I¡¯ll speak with Captain Huo, the two of us will team up, this way you won¡¯t have to worry, and the exorcism will be even faster.¡±


    At this moment, the news of the sudden increase of strangenesses has not only spread among all the residents in Gaosheng City but had also permeated the other cities of Tianmeng District.


    With the reports from Tianmeng Television Station, the news about the outbreak of supernatural events in Gaosheng City quickly reached the other seven districts in the Great Capital of Huaying.


    This time it seemed that no organization interfered, fully demonstrating the freedom of news reporting, the exorcism situation in Gaosheng City was made known to people everywhere in great detail.


    Perhaps the world was no longer peaceful, and the trend of the strangenesses was getting more serious. Blindly concealing and covering up would only lead to the public¡¯s underestimation, increasing the danger for everyone.


    In such a case, it might be better to change the approach, increase the intensity of the reports so that the public, having a large amount of information at their disposal, can always remain on high alert and cautious.


    Thus, they can save themselves in the greatest extent when encountering strangenesses.


    In Luoxia District, White Star Nuclear Power Station.


    The nuclear power plant is located near the edge of the desert, also nearly 30 kilometers away from the nearest densely populated residential area.


    The nuclear power plant occupies a wide area, close to a desolate mountain range, and extends into the underground.


    Aside from the formal employees of the nuclear power plant, the externally hired staff were mostly locally recruited, such as cleaners, security guards, cafeteria chefs, and miscellaneous workers.


    At this moment, inside the duty room of the main building of the nuclear power station, five security guards were gathered together, looking up at the television on the wall.


    The news playing on the television was the coverage of the surge of supernatural events in Gaosheng City, the correspondent was standing in front of a mall on the street, occasionally looking back, then reporting to the camera at a very fast pace. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 807: 454 Nuclear Power Plant_3

    Chapter 807: Chapter 454 Nuclear Power Plant_3 Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the mall¡¯s main entrance behind her, there was not a single person, and a yellow warning tape was stretched across the outside.


    ¡°This mall is said to be the largest in the Tianmeng District of Gaosheng City, with at least eleven supernatural events reported from yesterday till now. Moreover, three sales clerks from one of the stores inside have disappeared, and they haven¡¯t been found yet.¡±


    One of the security guards, who had apparently been following the news, was now explaining this to everyone.


    The other security guards shook their heads in astonishment.


    A slightly overweight security guard exclaimed, ¡°The world is getting more chaotic! If things continue like this, there won¡¯t be a safe place left in the world.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it safe here?¡± asked another security guard beside him, ¡°I¡¯m quite satisfied; at least our nuclear power station has never experienced any strangeness. I¡¯ve patrolled alone countless times at night, it¡¯s very safe!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that because Exorcists often stationed here?¡± asked the first guard who spoke, surprised.


    The chubby guard shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t know that, I¡¯ve heard from the Exorcist himself, he mentioned that strangenesses have their own magnetic field, and the magnetic interference from our nuclear power station might be too strong, which prevents them from appearing.¡±


    ¡°If they can¡¯t appear, then why do we need an Exorcist here?¡± the man next to the overweight guard asked.


    The chubby guard smacked that guy¡¯s head, ¡°You know nothing! This shows how important our place is, and the higher-ups have to take it seriously.¡±


    ¡°The captain is here, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± said a security guard standing by the window.


    The others immediately dispersed, fixing their belts, grabbing their batons, walkie-talkies, flashlights, and other equipment, and gearing up.


    This captain is named Ding Yi, a tall and sturdy man, who used to be a retired special forces officer, though that was twenty years ago.


    Now he has developed a beer belly, but still has some of his old abilities, enough to secure the position of a security team captain here.


    Managing these security guards recruited from nearby areas is quite difficult, but they still listen to Ding Yi, mainly because the company offers good benefits, and although Ding Yi appears strict on the surface, he actually cares about his people, so everyone is willing to give him face.


    Every evening, he assigns the night shift patrol teams, two persons per team, responsible for designated patrol areas and works shifts splitting the night into two halves.


    According to the assignments, Yao Long and Gao Yunyang are on tonight¡¯s shift. But before officially starting the night shift, all team members will patrol together once, and then the others go back to the dormitory, leaving Yao Long and Gao Yunyang on duty until 7 am the next morning.


    Yao Long is about the same height and build as Ding Yi, also very fit, and at just thirty years old, much younger than Ding Yi. Gao Yunyang is the slightly overweight guard, who even gets out of breath from walking fast.


    The pairing of these two was deliberately arranged by Ding Yi for complementarity.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, Gao Yunyang was reportedly introduced by the deputy manager.


    Soon, they finished patrolling the perimeters of the nuclear island and the conventional island, and walked through the designated patrol area of the supporting facilities, after which the others returned to the dormitory.


    Yao Long and Gao Yunyang returned to the duty room.


    Gao Yunyang started to boil water to soak his feet, while Yao Long meticulously checked the surveillance monitors.


    In fact, there are other technical staff on duty within the nuclear power station, in total more than a dozen people, spread out over their respective work areas, and it¡¯s not only the security guards.


    However, those people only need to ensure that the equipment is operating normally, while the security guards¡¯ attention is on everything.


    After soaking his feet, Gao Yunyang soon lay down on the small bed in the duty room and began snoring, unlike Yao Long, who, given his own connections, clearly didn¡¯t take work matters to heart.


    Yao Long glanced at the time, ignoring the guy sleeping like a dead pig, geared up, and went out to patrol.

 Chapter 808: 455: Radiation

    Chapter 808: Chapter 455: Radiation


    No matter with whom he had shifts, whether it was day or night, Yao Long always did his job with diligence and thoroughness.


    The company had regulations that patrol points must be fixed, and under normal circumstances security guards are not allowed to deviate from the patrol route unless there is a special situation.


    And Yao Long has always performed well in this respect.


    On a starry night with a bright moon, halfway through his patrol, he looked up at the profound sky and suddenly sighed deeply.


    His parents had passed away early, and since he and his ex-wife had no children, he had been alone for the past two years.


    Later, when nuclear power plant staff came to town for a local certification, he accidentally heard that they were hiring security guards, so he applied for the job.


    His physical condition and reaction time were still good, so he was hired immediately and, after joining the security team, was highly appreciated by the team leader, Ding Yi.


    As expected, if he continued working like this, he might even be promoted to deputy team leader.


    Of course, this was just Yao Long¡¯s wishful thinking. He knew that being alone here, no one would value or take care of him except for Ding Yi.


    Fortunately, the salary at the nuclear power plant was quite good, and since he had almost no expenses for living and eating there, most of his salary was saved.


    Over these two years, his savings had become quite substantial.


    However, people say that this place is still a nuclear power plant and there could be pollution and leaks; although these are unlikely, nuclear radiation will inevitably disperse, unavoidably affecting the human body.


    True or not, Yao Long planned to work for another two or three years. If he couldn¡¯t be promoted to deputy team leader by then, he would resign and then live off his savings, perhaps starting a small business, which would be better than staying here.


    They say, ¡°A monk strikes the bell day by day¡±; he consistently performed his duty rigorously without ever slacking.


    The rooms inside the nuclear power plant are generally not accessible during patrols; they are only toured from the outside, and only professional staff may enter.


    Of course, that excludes cases of emergencies.


    Although the route was well-lit, there were areas where the lighting was dim, at which times Yao Long would use his flashlight to carefully inspect his surroundings.


    He tried the walkie-talkie clipped to his waist, which transmitted a normal signal. He did not try to call Gao Yunyang, who was likely asleep, allowing the young man to sleep longer, and quickly passed through a darker area, reaching the outside of device room 6.


    Here, unless there was an emergency situation or he had proper authorization, he too could not enter arbitrarily.


    However, at that moment, two faint explosive sounds came, low in volume, but in the surrounding silence, Yao Long quickly identified them, sensing something unusual.


    This was the exterior of reactor number six, and those sounds seemed to emerge from inside the device room.


    Yao Long took out his walkie-talkie and tried to call Gao Yunyang, but there was no response; the guy might still be deep in sleep.


    During the shift, mobile phones were collected and not carried on person.


    Yao Long hesitated for a moment, and just then, a loud bang emanated from inside the device room.


    His body shivered slightly, and he immediately rushed over while pulling out his walkie-talkie, calling Gao Yunyang several more times, but still no response.


    He quickly arrived at the door of the device room; Yao Long had a special access card on him, but it was meant for emergency use only, and he had never used it before. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He hesitated briefly, grasped the doorknob, swiped the card, and there was a click from inside, opening outward.


    He immediately pushed open the door and stepped in briskly.


    This outer area was just the transition room leading into the device room of unit six; his type of access card absolutely didn¡¯t allow entry inside the device room, but standing outside the transitional room, he could still see clearly inside.


    Just as he approached the transparent tempered glass, another bang resounded, a burst of steam surged toward him, and Yao Long saw a flash of fire just as alarm bells rang loudly.


    He was momentarily stunned, pressed the walkie-talkie button again, and before he could speak, a huge blast shook beneath his feet.


    A flash of white light appeared, and the sound of the alarm abruptly ceased, cut off by the intense noise.


    Yao Long¡¯s body trembled violently; he didn¡¯t have time to see what had happened inside, and immediately turned to run.


    A strong gust surged out of the reactor inside the room, as the metal door leading to the device room bulged out into an irregular hemisphere, but the clearly custom-made metal door resisted it.


    However, cracks immediately formed, and wisps of white vapor spurted out.


    The transitional room filled with white vapor, and before Yao Long could run to the outer door, he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his body, especially on his back.


    This sensation grew increasingly intense, making his breath short, as if unable to breathe, and he fell to the ground with a thud.


    The walkie-talkie was smashed, and the flashlight rolled to the side of his feet.


    Around that device room, rows of warning lights frantically flashed, but no sound emanated anymore.


    Immediately afterward, the device room began to automatically sink underground, probably triggering some kind of emergency protection measure.


    Bright white metal plates converged from all directions, completely sealing the device room, leaving whatever violent reactions were occurring inside to unfold.


    Bit by bit, the entire device room quickly sank into a space deep underground, its depth unknown.

 Chapter 809: 455: Radiation_2

    Chapter 809: Chapter 455: Radiation_2


    A larger bright white metal plate descended, completely covering it.


    Yao Long, lying on the ground, desperately stretched out his hand, clutching the floor tightly, his right index and middle finger nails quickly flipped backward, blood gushing out.


    But he seemed to be oblivious, and he could no longer speak.


    Consciousness was fading rapidly, and in less than a minute, his eyes slowly closed.


    In the dark of night, cars and SUVs sped towards White Star Nuclear Power Plant from a distance.


    The people who got out of the cars were all dressed properly, but with terror on their faces, pale and with heads down, they quickly walked into the office building of the nuclear power plant.


    A small conference room on the fourth floor was brightly lit.


    General Manager Hu Changfei¡¯s face was still a bit swollen; he had been woken from a deep sleep by a call from Chief Engineer Li Jiazhong.


    Without even washing his face or combing his hair, he had put on clothes and rushed back to the nuclear power plant.


    ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Hu Changfei, although he had a general idea of the situation, was still unable to control the anger spreading within him.


    Li Jiazhong, with his head slightly bowed, organized his thoughts before beginning, ¡°President Hu, rest assured, the situation is under control. The Anderson emergency response system was automatically activated, completely sealing off Reactor No. 6 which had just burst, and immediately sinking it into a sealed cavity underground. During this process, there was no violent explosion, nor any leakage.¡±


    ¡°Why did it burst?¡± Hu Changfei was both shocked and scared.


    He knew that if an explosion really happened, everyone here, including the nearby residents, would be done for.


    ¡°It should be¡­ a problem with the steam valve!¡± Li Jiazhong said, bowing his head, his face looking terrible.


    ¡°Check! Inspect all valves, and if they are from unit six, replace them all!¡± Hu Changfei slapped the table fiercely, ¡°Li Jiazhong, I¡¯m telling you, there must be accountability for this! Start with the person in charge of unit six, the technical staff, all the way to you!¡±


    Li Jiazhong understood what he meant and hurriedly said, ¡°I think, since the situation has been suppressed, there is no need to poke a bigger hole for our company.¡±


    ¡°What does everyone think?¡± Hu Changfei looked to the others.


    ¡°No objections.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I have no objections either.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best not to spread the word, it will be very troublesome later.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I also support doing this.¡±


    Everyone expressed their opinions, unified in the decision to suppress the situation for the company¡¯s benefit.


    Hu Changfei knocked on the conference table: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, clean up the aftermath, and don¡¯t make the same mistakes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Li Jiazhong suddenly showed a look of difficulty.


    ¡°Just what?¡± Hu Changfei was surprised.


    ¡°There was a security officer named Yao Long on patrol at the time, he heard the noise and ran in, and the result¡­ the result¡­¡±


    ¡°He died?¡± Hu Changfei was horrified, something he had not anticipated at all.


    ¡°Not dead yet, but it¡¯s serious, now arranged by security captain Ding Yi in the isolation room of the dormitory area.¡± Li Jiazhong shook his head.


    ¡°What¡¯s his condition?¡± Hu Changfei became tense.


    ¡°Before being taken to the isolation room, he became nauseous and vomited. Half an hour after being admitted, spontaneous bleeding from all five orifices occurred, and just now when I was coming here, I heard from Ding Yi that diarrhea had started, all blood.¡± Li Jiazhong spoke gravely.


    Hu Changfei shook his head: ¡°I mean, what¡¯s the situation with his family?¡±


    ¡°No relatives. He divorced early, has no children, and his parents died a long time ago.¡± Li Jiazhong clearly understood Hu Changfei¡¯s thoughts even more now.


    Hu Changfei was startled; according to their previous plan, they would surely have given Yao Long¡¯s family a hefty sum to keep quiet once they had managed to suppress this incident.


    But now it seems, even the compensation can be spared. The only concern is, they must give hush money to the other security staff, or this incident might also get leaked by them.


    ¡°Temporarily seal the isolation room and have some people watch over it,¡± Hu Changfei instructed after a moment of silence: ¡°Have all security team members come to the conference room, I will hold a meeting with them personally.¡±


    ¡°President Hu, I heard that security captain Ding Yi and Yao Long were quite close,¡± one of the core team members reminded.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m aware of that,¡± Hu Changfei nodded.


    Now was the time to seal the mouths of these few at any cost, spending more money if necessary.


    ¡­


    Gaosheng City, Prosperous Garden Community.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo walked into the elevator of building 13, one after the other, with Zhang Xiaomo pressing the button for the 20th floor after entering.


    The elevator ascended.


    Yan Junze looked around in the elevator as if talking to himself, ¡°Did it first appear in this elevator?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo behind him nodded, ¡°Yes, according to her mother¡¯s phone call, that thing disguised itself as her and tricked her daughter into the elevator. When her mother took another elevator to catch up, she found her daughter Lin Fei lying unconscious at the elevator door.¡±


    After a while, the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened.


    Yan Junze glanced at the doorway of the elevator.


    Then the two walked out of the elevator and stopped in front of one of the apartments, knocking on the door, which was soon opened by an elder woman with a worried frown.


    The woman looked confused when she saw Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo the moment she opened the door: ¡°Who¡­ are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°We are Exorcists,¡± Zhang Xiaomo said.


    ¡°Ah, oh, I am Lin Fei¡¯s mother, please¡­ come in¡­¡± Lin¡¯s mother quickly stood aside, letting them in.


    In the living room, a man sitting on the couch smoking sullenly was Lin Fei¡¯s father.


    Upon seeing the Exorcists arrive, he too was taken aback and immediately got up to make tea.

 Chapter 810: 455: Radiation_3

    Chapter 810: Chapter 455: Radiation_3


    ¡°Where is Lin Fei?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Lin¡¯s mother pointed to a bedroom: ¡°We¡­ we locked the bedroom door from outside, she can¡¯t get out. But an hour ago, she seemed to be slamming the door, and it sounded like she was using her head to do it, now there¡¯s no noise. We are all worried, but we dare not open the bedroom door.¡±


    ¡°You did the right thing.¡± Yan Junze said.


    He then took the keys from Lin¡¯s mother, told Zhang Xiaomo to stay in the living room with the elders, and informed them not to enter their daughter¡¯s bedroom without his permission.


    Zhang Xiaomo stood outside Lin Fei¡¯s bedroom, holding the magnetic knife and said: ¡°Why not just go in and chop it off, it would save time. And if Lin Fei is possessed, the magnetic knife won¡¯t hurt her, it will only kill the Possession Spirit. As long as the possession hasn¡¯t been for too long, there¡¯s still a chance to save her.¡±


    Yan Junze shook his head: ¡°Something is odd, I will check first, there might still be hope.¡±


    The key was inserted into the lock, and the door was opened.


    Zhang Xiaomo then went back to the living room, staying with Lin Fei¡¯s anxious parents.


    Yan Junze walked into the bedroom.


    What appeared in front of him was the back of a young woman, standing in front of a dressing mirror of the wardrobe, still wearing her work suit, not changed into pajamas.


    Her gaze was dim, staring at her own reflection in the mirror without blinking, completely unresponsive to Yan Junze entering the room.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, walked to Lin Fei¡¯s side, looking at her motionless side profile.


    Then he turned to look at the woman in the mirror.


    After a careful perception, just like when he entered the room, he couldn¡¯t feel any strange magnetic field. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just watching this woman staring at herself in the mirror.


    A moment later, Yan Junze took out a small mirror with a handle, which had a Mirror Spirit inside.


    He didn¡¯t point the small mirror towards the motionless Lin Fei herself, but toward the direction of the dressing mirror, pressing one side of the small mirror against it, its back blocking Lin Fei¡¯s face.


    At this moment, Lin Fei¡¯s front in the mirror, still strangely persisted, and upon glimpsing herself in the small mirror, her face in the mirror suddenly twisted hideously.


    Yan Junze suddenly spoke out loud, addressing Zhang Xiaomo outside in the living room: ¡°Xiaomo, kill Lin Fei¡¯s parents beside you immediately!¡±


    Xiaomo, who was standing with Lin Fei¡¯s parents in the living room, was momentarily stunned, thinking she had misheard, and turned her head to look at the elderly couple.


    The two older adults also heard it, their faces immediately filled with fear and shock, clearly unaware of what was happening.


    But Zhang Xiaomo, just mildly shocked, chose to trust Yan Junze unconditionally, flipped the magnetic knife and made a horizontal chop at Lin Fei¡¯s parents¡¯ necks.


    At the same time, magnetic glow enveloped the magnetic knife, ensuring the magnetic knife would only damage the strangeness itself.


    With a slash, two heads flew off, black vapor rising from inside the necks, with no blood splattering.


    These two outside the room, they were indeed strangenesses! Strangenesses that emitted no strange magnetic fields!


    Meanwhile, in Yan Junze¡¯s hand, within that pitch-black Mirror World in the small mirror, a roar sounded, a large black hand reached out, fiercely grabbing into the dressing mirror, and clasped onto that hideously faced Lin Fei.


    It directly pulled this Lin Fei out of the dressing mirror and dragged her into the Mirror World where the Mirror Spirit resided.


    All illusions in the dressing mirror vanished instantly.


    Lin Fei standing in front of the mirror gasped sharply, her body trembling, seemingly revived at that moment, free from the strangeness¡¯s control in the mirror.


    Yan Junze safely tucked away the small mirror, helping the life-reclaimed Lin Fei to sit on the bed.


    About fifteen minutes later, personnel from the Safety Bureau arrived, handling the bodies of Lin Fei¡¯s parents curled up behind the sofa.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo left the room together, heading towards the next location.


    ¡°Tell me, what exactly happened just now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo walked side by side with Yan Junze, asking perplexedly.


    ¡°Actually, that 4747 call wasn¡¯t made by Lin Fei¡¯s parents, it was Lin Fei herself who called.¡± Yan Junze said: ¡°In the elevator she almost fell victim to a body replacement, but in the end, it was her parents who actually got replaced. When Lin Fei woke up, after interacting with her parents for some time, she noticed they were acting weirdly, thus she locked herself in the room and made the 4747 emergency call. However¡­¡±


    Here, Yan Junze shrugged: ¡°After making the call, she was most likely captured by the third body-seeking strangeness, using the mirror to capture spirits, swapping Lin Fei¡¯s body with the one in the mirror, this third body-seeking strangeness delusionally intended to create a new family with the other two strangenesses outside.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo sighed: ¡°Now that the number of strangenesses in Gaosheng City has increased, these body-seeking strangenesses are peculiar, some of them don¡¯t emit any strange magnetic fields.¡±


    ¡°Right, so we need to pay more attention to some small details.¡± Yan Junze nodded.

 Chapter 811: 456:

    Chapter 811: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile


    Three days had passed.


    The White Star Nuclear Power Plant seemed to be in perfect order, everything appeared normal.


    The Exorcist stationed here rarely stayed nearby, always taking any chance to run off to the nearest small town some 30 kilometers away.


    After all, consensus among Exorcists was that not a single strangeness had been found around the nuclear power plant so far.


    Since the outbreak of strangenesses, none had ever emerged near this factory area.


    Having no other choice, being an Exorcist meant one needed to practice, otherwise they¡¯d encounter fewer strangenesses than an ordinary person, which would be laughable if spoken aloud.


    Plus, with Exorcist Wang Tong¡¯s naturally restless disposition, after initially being stationed at the power plant for three months and with the management of the squad here being quite loose, he¡¯d developed a habit of visiting the nuclear power plant once a week, spending the rest of his time in nearby towns.


    Downtime could be spent helping the town deal with strangenesses, which resulted in greater gains than staying at the power plant, and the residents of Luoxia District were mostly warm-hearted, with opportunities to earn some extra money.


    Wang Tong returned from the nearby town, did a round at the station and found nothing unusual.


    However, as per usual, he would rest here for the night and head to another small town about fifty kilometers away the next day to see if there were strangenesses to be cleared.


    Naturally, his room was situated on a small hill, separate from the dormitory area, with its own air conditioning, heating, and solar-powered hot water service.


    After cleaning the room, Wang Tong brewed himself a packet of instant noodles and ate them along with a sausage.


    At this time, the canteen was already closed, and Wang Tong didn¡¯t like the food in the nuclear power plant canteen, feeling that it had an odd taste.


    He closed the door, took out a strangely shaped small jar from his backpack. The jar was only the size of a palm, with a small lid but a disproportionately large belly.


    The lid featured a sealable inner plug. Once pressed down, it was tight enough that not even liquid could spill out.


    Wang Tong opened the lid, then lay down on the bed and started browsing his phone.


    After a short while, the jar trembled slightly, a man¡¯s head squeezed out of it, followed by his arms, torso, and legs.


    After landing on the floor, the man stood beside Wang Tong¡¯s bed expressionlessly, his complexion a purplish hue, with slightly swollen limbs and slick with slime from the jar.


    Wang Tong paid no attention to him, and after another moment, the jar moved again and an old crone crawled out of it in the same manner.


    This old crone was as skinny as the man was the opposite, standing no taller than one meter forty, but similarly covered in slime.


    Some time later, the jar moved once more, and this time two children emerged from it, one after the other.


    One was slightly older and the other younger, only able to crawl on the ground.


    These strangenesses were all collected by Wang Tong during his regular Exorcism endeavors. He enjoyed researching Spirit Cultivation and had extensive experience and practice in this field.


    They were specially reported to the squad organization and were powerful strangenesses that had committed grave injustices before; it seemed wasteful to kill them, so Wang Tong made use of them.


    With the direct support of his squad, Wang Tong had access to far more resources than those underhand Spirit Cultivators.


    These four strangenesses had been chosen and trained by him over a long period and were each more fierce than before they were subdued, serving as powerful aids during his regular Exorcisms.


    One could say that much of Wang Tong¡¯s Exorcism skill was related to his proficiency in Spirit Cultivation.


    After releasing the four strangenesses, he said without looking up, ¡°You can move around the room, but don¡¯t get close to the nuclear power plant. The magnetic field is too strong. Even Qiu shouldn¡¯t go near it. Be wary of the ashes of oblivion.¡±


    Qiu was the first strangeness that had crawled out of the jar, and the most powerful among the four.


    Wang Tong¡¯s warning was also a reminder, as the creature knew on its own to avoid the direction of the nuclear power station.


    This was why Wang Tong had requested his room to be built on a slightly distant hill, to avoid others witnessing his Spirit Cultivation and to protect the strangenesses from intense magnetic interference.


    Meanwhile, in a cramped corner room of the dormitory area of the nuclear power plant.


    The light was dim, and the outside door was secured with a sturdy metal lock, inaccessible from either side without a key.


    The room contained only a bed, nothing else.


    At this moment, the bedsheet and floor were soaked with blood, some already coagulated.


    Lying on the bed was Yao Long.


    Yao Long¡¯s consciousness was blurry, but one thing he was clear about; he seemed to be locked in this small room, no longer able to leave.


    So much time had passed since he was rescued and placed here, with no one coming to visit him.


    He was very thirsty, yet didn¡¯t feel hungry.


    He tried to open his eyes but found he couldn¡¯t control his body. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yao Long¡¯s skin was ulcerated all over, few hairs remained on his head, and the pillow on the bed was full of hair that had fallen out.


    His mouth had developed a large number of ulcers that seemed to have fused together, and a light yellow fluid was leaking from his entire body.


    At this moment, Yao Long was, in fact, breathing his last.

 Chapter 812: 456:

    Chapter 812: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile_2


    He was furious, unable to consciously accept what was happening to him. What exactly had happened? Why had nobody come to inquire about his condition?


    Others didn¡¯t come, but what about Ding Yi, the security captain who usually cared the most about him?


    Why wasn¡¯t he sent to the hospital? It seemed now that his condition had worsened significantly.


    He was extremely angry, his body shaking from time to time, but it was an unconscious tremor.


    Outside the door, there were shadows moving and voices could be heard, but he didn¡¯t know what they were saying.


    They must know he was inside, but they remained indifferent.


    Rage and resentment, confusion and pain kept Yao Long struggling and subconsciously resisting.


    This was the third day. He didn¡¯t know he could hold on for so long, nor did he know how much longer he could last.


    Gradually, the sounds from outside grew silent.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­ thump, thump¡­ thump, thump¡­


    The feeble heartbeat within his chest suddenly ceased at this moment, no longer able to bear the strain¡­


    The security room was suffocating.


    For the past two days, Ding Yi had been unusually silent, his heart gripped as if clenched by a hand, unable to release, unable to beat normally.


    He looked at the several bank cards laid on the bed and remembered the comforting yet threatening words President Hu said when he handed over the cards to his men, he could tell the difference.


    Somehow, he had taken them, maybe for the sake of the other brothers in the team, or maybe for his wife and child at home.


    Maybe¡­ he didn¡¯t even know why.


    Now Ding Yi felt even more mournful, but this sorrow was quickly supplanted by a sense of powerlessness. He tried not to think about that quarantine room, not to think about the person locked inside, alive or dead.


    In the entire security room, only Gao Yunyang seemed to be unaffected, still whistling and doing whatever he was doing as usual.


    In fact, Gao Yunyang was secretly relieved, thankful that he had been sleeping so soundly that night. Otherwise, if he had heard Yao Long calling out to him through the intercom, he would have certainly run over.


    Had he gone, it wouldn¡¯t be just Yao Long lying in the quarantine room now; he might have been lying there too.


    Thinking of the scene of a body ridden with sores, Gao Yunyang could not help but shudder, then secretly pat his chest in reassurance.


    In any case, he was very fortunate.


    Late in the evening, after eating dinner in the cafeteria, everyone prepared to start their patrol shifts.


    The sky was turning a pale yellow, and it would soon become dark.


    The security¡¯s routine patrol went on as normal, while the two people responsible for guarding the quarantine room outside were from the equipment maintenance team of group six, one tall and one short.


    These two were pulled in as emergency manpower; although a mishap would lead to punishment, under the current circumstances, they were actually going to receive a good sum of money on the side.


    On the first day, both heard Yao Long¡¯s faint groaning from inside the quarantine room, but starting from yesterday, there were no more sounds.


    Both of them had serious expressions, and although they didn¡¯t know the security guard, the thought of his ordeal made them feel cold inside.


    Even the taller one was already thinking that, once this situation was over, he would take the money and leave this place to seek better opportunities.


    Just then, a hoarse and indistinct voice came from the quarantine room not far behind them.


    The tall one turned his head to glance at the door locked with a large metal padlock and asked the short one, ¡°Did you hear the sound just now?¡±


    The short one was engrossed in watching comical videos on his cellphone through the Tremolo APP, seemingly trying to lighten his mood.


    On hearing this, he looked up with a surprised expression towards the tall one, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    The tall one leaned in to listen, it seemed like there was no sound, and he shook his head, ¡°Nothing?¡±


    He paused, then stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the toilet for a smoke.¡±


    The short one nodded, still fixated on his phone, without speaking.


    Shortly after the tall one left, the short one instinctively felt a chill around him, shivering slightly, yet his attention remained on the video playing on his phone.


    The video reached a particularly funny clip, the volume increasing, and at that very moment, something seemed to splat against the wall behind him.


    Startled, the short one looked behind him but saw nothing.


    He suspected he had heard wrong, maybe it was a sound from the video, and so he returned his attention to the screen.


    Behind him, from the the cracks in the door of the quarantine room, secured by the large metal padlock, dark liquid slowly began to seep through, more and more of it, mingled with particles that looked like chips. Additionally, chunks of flesh were continuously surfacing and sinking into this black liquid, silently approaching the sitting short man.


    And now, the door to this quarantine room, was nearly drowned and soaked through by the dark liquid.


    The tall man finished urinating in the toilet and smoked a cigarette before washing his hands and returning to where he and the short man were sitting.


    Glancing over at the still engrossed short man with the help of the corridor lights outside, it seemed he had not looked up the entire time.


    After sitting down, the tall man glanced again at the door of the quarantine room behind him and said softly, ¡°Do you think that security guard is dead by now?¡±


    The short one did not respond. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tall one didn¡¯t notice and muttered to himself, ¡°I feel it should be almost time, it¡¯s been two days without any noise. Shall we report to the boss and have them come take a look? Hmm, do we need to wear protective suits to go in now?¡±

 Chapter 813: 456:

    Chapter 813: Chapter 456: ¡°Reborn¡± from the Magnetic Pile_3


    As the conversation ended, he realized the short man was still bowing his head, but his phone was no longer in his hands.


    ¡°Fell asleep?¡± The tall one bent down, leaning in to take a closer look at the shorter man.


    However, just from that glance, he was suddenly jolted, his face turned the color of death, he was so frightened that his body swayed and he sat down hard on the ground, hands propping himself up as he frantically scrambled backward, shouting, ¡°Someone¡­ come¡­ trouble¡­¡±


    At this moment, the short man¡¯s face was completely split open, a large amount of black liquid seeping out from every orifice and split seams of the skin, along with fragments of flesh and black crystalline particles.


    The tall man had only backed away two or three meters when he saw the short man¡¯s head lift uncontrollably, mouth gaping open towards him as a burst of black liquid sprayed out, smearing the tall man¡¯s face and body. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This black liquid seemed inexhaustible, bursting right through the short man¡¯s gaping mouth, cracking it to the back of his skull, the entire head split open as the black fluid gushed towards the tall man and in all directions.


    Ten minutes later.


    On a small hill a distance away from the nuclear power plant, Exorcist Wang Tong, who was lying on his bed looking at his phone news, suddenly froze.


    He tuned in closely and realized that from the direction of the nuclear power plant, there was a rather strong magnetic field fluctuation.


    The fluctuation was intense, something a regular strangeness couldn¡¯t emit; it was probably related to operational disturbances of the nuclear plant.


    Nevertheless, Wang Tong, being attentive, still got out of bed, put on his shoes, and stepped outside.


    Just now he had brought his Spirit back into its vessel, and now the outside was plunged into the depths of night, deathly still.


    Wang Tong looked towards the nuclear power plant where lights were visible, and even though nothing seemed amiss within the range of his sight, the magnetic disturbance was growing stronger and stronger.


    Suddenly, a faint scream, almost unnoticeable due to the distance, was heard. The sound was very soft, but Wang Tong heard it loud and clear.


    He was startled and hung his backpack on the Racing motorcycle parked outside. He liked motorcycles, especially Racing ones, and he usually traveled by this means.


    With the throttle revving, he sped towards the nuclear plant.


    Upon arrival at the guardroom, he found it completely empty, not a single security guard in sight.


    Feeling increasingly uneasy, Wang Tong ran to the guardroom, opened the electric gate himself, and ran towards the place with the most intense magnetic disturbance¡ªthe dormitory area.


    Before he could reach the dormitories, just at the perimeter, he saw at least four security guards in uniform lying on the ground¡ªamong them, Chief Security Officer Ding Yi¡ªall exuding black liquid from their bodies, swelling up visibly like inflated balloons.


    Inside the dormitory area, screams continued to pierce the night.


    By this time of night, employees who were staying at the nuclear plant had mostly returned to the dormitory buildings, making it the most populated area.


    But now, it had become a living hell.


    Bang!


    One of the swollen corpses, belonging to Gao Yunyang, exploded, black liquid splattered everywhere.


    At that moment, a shadow ran down from the building, screaming with a look of terror, his back already stained with black liquid.


    Wang Tong saw the black liquid directly penetrate this person¡¯s back and then burst through his forehead, mouth, and chest, spraying black fluid everywhere.


    The ejected black liquid instantly formed a grotesque humanoid figure: fat and bloated. As it took human shape, the swollen corpses around it began to explode, with their black liquid converging toward it.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    An angry roar erupted from the black humanoid figure¡¯s mouth, striding towards Wang Tong.


    Wang Tong had never seen such a strangeness before. He instinctively retreated quickly, then took out a vessel from his backpack, opened the lid, and poured it onto the ground.


    A man, an old woman, and two children tumbled out one after another, growing rapidly, screaming at the black humanoid figure as bizarre magnetic fields spread out around them.


    The black humanoid figure immediately stopped, tilting its head, making gurgling noises as the liquid moved inside its throat. It had detected the strangenesses like itself and intensely felt the peculiar magnetic fields around them.


    Its sensitivity to magnetic fields was a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than any other strangeness!


    In an instant, Wang Tong realized that the creature¡¯s body was no longer liquid, but had transformed into a solid mass of black crystalline particles.


    Boom!


    A massive magnetic field wave spread out with the creature at its center, sweeping the area.


    Among Wang Tong¡¯s four strangenesses, Qiu, who was the strongest, screamed in agony first. It sensed something was wrong and wanted to escape immediately but was still one step late.


    Before Wang Tong¡¯s eyes, the magnetic fields of his four strangenesses were pulled apart into particles by the magnetic wave in an instant, reduced to nothingness.


    Wang Tong watched dumbstruck as the unbelievable unfolded, his whole being as if plunged into an ice cave.


    Taking advantage of the brief moment when other strangenesses distracted the creature, Wang Tong was now close to the main gate. He no longer hesitated and began to run like mad, with no intention of engaging in a fight.


    He knew very well the strength of the Spirits he had raised.


    All were annihilated in one encounter; he stood no chance, absolutely no chance!


    While running, he took out his phone, only to find that the recent magnetic field wave had rendered it useless, the screen no longer lighting up.


    Behind him, the angry roaring sounded again. Wang Tong pulled out his magnetic knife, yet he did not stop. He reached the gate, jumped onto the Racing motorcycle that was still in gear outside.


    With the throttle maxed out, the exhaust pipe spewed a puff of black smoke as he pulled off a perfect turn and sped onto the road.

 Chapter 814: 457: Finding a Stand-In

    Chapter 814: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In


    Gaosheng City, Seven Star Lake District.


    Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo stood in front of the highest floor of this residential building.


    Looking around, Yan Junze said, ¡°This family must be quite wealthy; this is a duplex. Adding the upper and lower floors together, it¡¯s probably close to 300 square meters.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo said, ¡°At the time of the incident, only the child and her mother were at home. The next morning, when the nanny entered the house, she discovered something was off, and then the male owner came back home at noon and reported the case 4747.¡±


    ¡°How many doppelg?nger strangenesses is this today?¡± Yan Junze shook his head and gave a wry smile.


    Zhang Xiaomo expressed surprise: ¡°Are you saying that this is another doppelg?nger strangeness here?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°So far, I haven¡¯t sensed any trace of a strange magnetic field, almost like the previous case with Lin Fei.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo naturally believed Yan Junze¡¯s words because by now Yan Junze¡¯s ability to sense strangenesses had reached a terrifying level.


    Of course, Xiaomo didn¡¯t know that this was because he could control the domain field, instead she thought that guy finally triggered the special physique of the Super Awesome Pen, and secretly felt somewhat relieved: her choice in men really had a vicious eye.


    ¡°Be cautious later on, the absence of weird magnetic field fluctuations doesn¡¯t mean that the strangeness doesn¡¯t have a magnetic field; it¡¯s just very good at hiding.¡± Yan Junze reminded.


    ¡°So any one of the people here could potentially be a strangeness.¡± Zhang Xiaomo continued the thought.


    With the experience of unexpectedly killing the strangeness impersonating Lin Fei¡¯s parents in their home, she now believed that not everything she saw was real.


    Just as Yan Junze said, one must pay attention to the details; the old ways of dealing with the strangenesses simply won¡¯t work anymore, as these creatures are constantly evolving in a bizarre manner.


    Before coming here, they had already called the male owner of this house. The man was upstairs, and they waited for a moment before the door opened.


    ¡°Exorcist sir, you¡¯ve finally arrived! Please come in!¡±


    A middle-aged man who looked quite mature and composed stood at the door. Despite the evident tiredness on his face, he still managed a smile and let the two inside. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time Zhang Xiaomo entered first, with Yan Junze following as they both looked around.


    ¡°Your name is Xiao Yuanrui? What¡¯s the situation at home right now?¡± Xiaomo asked.


    The man nodded and said, ¡°My wife Gao Ruolan and my child Xinxin are both sleeping in the secondary bedroom. They were both scared that night and dared not sleep in the master bedroom anymore. Xinxin was frightened into partial muteness and hardly spoke until the nanny arrived in the morning.¡±


    ¡°And your wife? Is she all right?¡± Xiaomo asked again.


    Xiao Yuanrui shook his head then nodded again, ¡°I have to say, the power of a mother¡¯s love is great. I know my wife is usually very timid, but that night, she managed to break free from the strangeness¡¯s entanglement, rushed out of the bedroom, and hid in the secondary bedroom with Xinxin. However, there were footsteps outside the bedroom all night, she didn¡¯t take out her phone, and they just wrapped themselves in a quilt and waited until the nanny arrived at daybreak.¡±


    ¡°After the nanny came, did the strangeness no longer show up?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Xiao Yuanrui nodded, ¡°I arrived at noon, and when I heard that the number of strangenesses had suddenly increased nearby, I was also scared, so I temporarily found a Taoist priest who had previously conducted exorcisms to take a look. That person said the strangeness had left, but we¡¯re not at all reassured.¡±


    ¡°Did the nanny go back?¡± Yan Junze inquired further.


    ¡°Hmm, I had her go back on the same day and wait for my notice before coming back,¡± Xiao Yuanrui said.


    While speaking, he went to the kitchen and made two cups of instant coffee, handing one to each of them. Then Xiao Yuanrui went to the kitchen again, and on returning, he said to Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo, ¡°Please have a seat, I will go and wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    After speaking, he headed upstairs.


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at Yan Junze, and then shifted her gaze to the steaming cup of coffee in front of her.


    Frankly speaking, she was already tired and was looking forward to drinking a cup of coffee to fend off sleepiness.


    Yan Junze, however, shook his head, indicating that she shouldn¡¯t touch anything.


    The two of them sat there for a while, not moving around. After a moment, Xiaomo asked, ¡°Do you think this male owner, Xiao Yuanrui, has any issues?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell so far,¡± Yan Junze responded honestly, ¡°his behavior seems no different from that of a normal person.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell either,¡± said Zhang Xiaomo.


    As soon as her words ended, a man walked out from the kitchen with a smile on his face and said to them, ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    That said, he went up the spiral staircase and quickly disappeared from sight.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s eyes widened in shock, adopting a somewhat cute expression of surprise, she blurted out, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t Xiao Yuanrui already go upstairs? How come he came out of the kitchen again?¡±


    Yan Junze did not answer. He too looked surprised, but just frowned, leaned forward to glance at the steaming coffee, and slowly stood up.


    The footsteps from upstairs had disappeared.


    And just as Yan Junze had stood up, another man came out of the kitchen, also smiling, saying as he went upstairs: ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Zhang Xiaomo immediately called out.


    But Xiao Yuanrui seemed to hear nothing, continuing upstairs on his own, footsteps fading away.


    ¡°If another Xiao Yuanrui comes out from the kitchen next, I¡¯m going upstairs to take a look,¡± Xiaomo said to Yan Junze. After speaking, she pulled out her magnetic knife.


    The situation was indeed odd.


    While Xiaomo was waiting there, Yan Junze walked directly towards the kitchen entrance.

 Chapter 815: 457: Finding a Stand-In_2

    Chapter 815: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In_2


    Upon arriving at the kitchen entrance, he saw Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s back facing him, standing in front of the counter, seemingly busy with something.


    ¡°Mr. Xiao?¡± Yan Junze called out before stepping into the kitchen.


    He moved cautiously, tilting his head, trying to catch a glimpse of Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s profile to see whether it was really him, or some other entity, a strangeness in replacement.


    Even when he reached Xiao Yuanrui¡¯s side, the man was still bowing his head, remaining silent as if completely unaware of Yan Junze¡¯s presence.


    Upon closer inspection, he saw him pouring water into a coffee cup, with the liquid already overflowing and frothing heavily.


    However, what was peculiar was that the overflowing water did not spill from the cup¡¯s edge, but just kept churning within.


    ¡°Mr. Xiao?¡± Yan Junze looked at his face and called out again.


    Right at that moment, he suddenly heard a voice coming from outside the kitchen: ¡°Please have a seat, I¡¯m going to wake up the mother and daughter.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback, as no one had left the kitchen just now, but the voice resounded in the living room nonetheless.


    Now Yan Junze was certain, the person before him, completely unresponsive, was most likely Xiao Yuanrui.


    He immediately turned and quickly walked to the kitchen, only to find that Zhang Xiaomo had disappeared without a trace, seemingly having followed that ¡°Xiao Yuanrui¡± upstairs.


    Yan Junze no longer paid attention to Xiao Yuanrui, who kept on pouring coffee, instead hurriedly followed up the spiral staircase, soon finding himself on the somewhat dimly lit second floor.


    The layout of the second floor was as spacious as the first, but designed with simple luxury and spotless.


    At a glance, in the direction of the corridor, there were at least four bedrooms, along with a study room, children¡¯s room, and so on, but not a single person was in sight.


    Yan Junze hesitated for a moment.


    ¡°Master bedroom? Secondary bedroom?¡±


    He turned his neck, quickly fixating his gaze in the direction of one particular door.


    The decorations on this door were far more luxurious, suggesting that it should be the master bedroom. Meanwhile, the door across from the master bedroom seemed a bit more modest, possibly the secondary bedroom.


    Xiao Yuanrui mentioned earlier that the mother and daughter were afraid to sleep in the master bedroom, so they were likely lying in this secondary bedroom, although Yan Junze couldn¡¯t be certain how many secondary bedrooms were in this house.


    Arriving in front of the door of the suspected secondary bedroom, Yan Junze knocked but received no response.


    He immediately turned the doorknob, opened the door and peered inside. The curtains were drawn, making the room dark, but not impenetrably so.


    Straining his eyes and after adapting to the darkness, he discovered that this was indeed the secondary bedroom. The bed wasn¡¯t large but was fairly spacious and the blanket was slightly bulging, even slightly undulating, as if someone was beneath it.


    Yan Junze fully opened the door, and after approaching the edge of the bed, a series of whimpers came out from under the trembling blanket. The sound was not shrill, but rather deep, resembling an elderly person mimic a child¡¯s cry.


    Looking down, a strand of white hair was visible near the edge of the blanket by the pillow, and the whimpering stopped abruptly.


    An emaciated, aged hand slowly extended from the side of the blanket near the edge of the bed, stealthily reaching out towards Yan Junze¡¯s thigh.


    The next second, the hand grabbed his thigh, just as Yan Junze unveiled the blanket.


    Under the cover was a thin old man with sparse white hair, naked, and with skin folded upon itself, curled up on the bed. As Yan Junze lifted the blanket, the old man raised his head, split his mouth open, revealing gumless jaws coated with thick yellow saliva.


    The Black Spirit Umbrella that Yan Junze had prepared in his hand snapped open with a swish, enveloping the old man inside.


    Yet to everyone¡¯s surprise, instead of being slain by the Black Spirit Umbrella, the old man sprang at Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze quickly retreated, feeling a sharp pain in his thigh as sharp nails penetrated his flesh. He abruptly closed the Black Spirit Umbrella, jabbing its tip fiercely at the lunging old man.


    With a ¡®puff¡¯, the tip of the umbrella pierced straight through the bedding and struck the wooden board below.


    However, oddly enough, the thin old man who had just lunged forward had disappeared without a trace!


    ¡°Hee hee hee¡­¡±


    Just then, at the doorway of the open secondary bedroom, a peculiar laughter echoed.


    Yan Junze turned his head to see the thin old man outside in the corridor, hunched over, tiptoeing past the doorway, heading toward the other end of the corridor.


    A few steps out into the corridor, looking back from outside the bedroom, he saw the old man disappearing into the darkness at the far end of the corridor. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that direction, there seemed to be something else writhing, crawling on the dark floor, its eyes emitting a faint green light, closely watching Yan Junze¡¯s every move.


    Yan Junze glanced into the darkness with a cold laugh, without turning back he walked towards the spiral staircase, not taking any interest in venturing into the dark end of the corridor.


    As he was about to reach the staircase, he called out loudly: ¡°Ning Ji, come clean up these things!¡±


    As soon as he spoke, the creatures crawling in the darkness instantly froze, as if sensing something.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    A rhythmic, slow set of footsteps ascended from below the spiral staircase. Moments later, a beautiful woman in white, with flowing long hair, appearing otherworldly, appeared gracefully holding a white lantern.


    The Lantern Woman, unseen for some time, still bore that ethereal fairy-like look Yan Junze first saw.


    Upon seeing Yan Junze, the Lantern Woman slightly bowed, smiling, and asked, ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡±


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh, saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t he the one you¡¯re holding in your hand? You forgot again.¡±

 Chapter 816: 457: Finding a Stand-In_3

    Chapter 816: Chapter 457: Finding a Stand-In_3


    ¡°This silly woman! I am right here!¡±


    The next moment, the white lantern that Lantern Woman was originally holding instantly turned into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, with a ferocious expression, swaying left and right.


    Lantern Woman looked down, suddenly covered her mouth with a light laugh, bowed again, and said to Yan Junze: ¡°I made you laugh.¡±


    Yan Junze also smiled and said: ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, got ambushed by these creatures and fell into this eerie dream, thanks for your help.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Lantern Woman smiled gently, carrying Jia Sheng¡¯s head and drifting towards the dark corridor.


    In the darkness, rapid footsteps and restless growls were immediately heard.


    Yan Junze looked down at the wound on his thigh, pressed hard with his hand, feeling no pain.


    Just then, a scream came from the dark corridor behind him.


    Opening his eyes, he was still on the sofa on the first floor.


    On the table in front of him, there were two cups of steaming instant coffee.


    In fact, from the moment he saw Xiao Yuanrui continuously pouring coffee in the kitchen without it getting full, Yan Junze started to doubt the reality of it all.


    Upon going upstairs and seeing the strangeness of the old man, and finding that the Black Spirit Umbrella was ineffective, Yan Junze became even more convinced of the falseness of this world.


    In the end, when the old man could simply disappear under the attack of the Black Spirit Umbrella and appear outside the door, Yan Junze decided to immediately summon Lantern Woman instead of continuing to waste time inside.


    At this moment, he had an idea, called ¡°Xiaomo¡± twice, and then got up¡­


    ¡­


    Zhang Xiaomo followed Xiao Yuanrui upstairs and saw him quickly entering a secondary bedroom.


    She immediately called out, but he still didn¡¯t respond. She followed and opened the door, but there was no one inside.


    Thud thud thud thud¡­


    Rapid footsteps came from behind, as if someone ran past her.


    Xiaomo abruptly turned around, magnetic knife in hand, and saw a boy¡¯s figure running towards the darkness at the end of the corridor.


    She hesitated for a moment and then called out: ¡°Xinxin?¡±


    The boy didn¡¯t stop and continued to run into the darkness.


    A sharp scream rose, coming from the darkness; Zhang Xiaomo was shocked and quickly rushed towards the darkness. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after just a few seconds, she came to a halt, staring intently into the darkness without moving forward, maintaining a defensive posture.


    She could hear extremely faint breath noises in her ears, seemingly a child¡¯s breath, or perhaps something else.


    ¡°Xinxin?¡±


    After a moment of silence, Zhang Xiaomo spoke.


    There was no response from the darkness, but the barely discernible breathing continued.


    Zhang Xiaomo still did not move.


    ¡°Xiaomo!¡±


    Just then, Yan Junze¡¯s voice came from behind, his figure quickly ascending the stairs with hurried steps.


    Zhang Xiaomo gestured for silence with her finger to her lips, pointing towards the darkness in the corridor.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong inside, be careful,¡± Yan Junze said quietly as he approached.


    Zhang Xiaomo nodded, ¡°That kid named Xinxin just ran in there screaming, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening now.¡±


    Yan Junze pressed the light switch in the corridor, but it didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°You go ahead, I¡¯ll back you up, let¡¯s go in and check it out,¡± he whispered.


    With a swish, Zhang Xiaomo suddenly turned around, swinging the magnetic knife across Yan Junze¡¯s neck.


    Yan Junze, completely unprepared, had his head tilt and fall from his shoulders, yet there was no trace of blood from the severed neck.


    ¡°Just as I thought, it¡¯s fake.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo muttered to herself, then immediately heard another piercing scream from behind in the darkness, instinctively stepping back, watchfully staring into the dark.


    Moments later, it seemed that a white figure was swaying, stepping out from the darkness with a floating gait.


    It was a woman, with long flowing hair and beauty like a fairy, carrying a white lantern.


    ¡°Is it you?¡± Upon seeing Zhang Xiaomo, she politely asked.


    Her lips moved, but she ultimately refrained, not voicing the question ¡°Have you seen my husband?¡±

 Chapter 817: 458: The Power of Yao Long

    Chapter 817: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long


    ¡°You are¡­¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at Ning Ji in astonishment, ¡°Lantern Woman?¡±


    In this place, under these circumstances, she almost didn¡¯t recognize this familiar old face from Mo Family Village at first glance.


    ¡°Yan Junze sent me.¡± The Lantern Woman nodded gently, smiling.


    Zhang Xiaomo stared at her in shock, not understanding when this woman had become so close with Yan Junze.


    But a bigger question arose swiftly, ¡°What exactly is going on here? Why is the Lantern Woman here?¡±


    The sound of footsteps came from the direction of the spiral staircase, and soon a man ascended to the floor, standing at the top of the stairs.


    ¡°Xiaomo, let¡¯s go.¡± The man spoke up.


    Zhang Xiaomo turned around and saw Yan Junze standing by the spiral staircase, smiling and reaching out his hand to her.


    ¡°He is real.¡± The Lantern Woman said with a smile.


    ¡°What is¡­ going on?¡± Zhang Xiaomo looked at Yan Junze, then back at the Lantern Woman, and once more towards Yan Junze.


    She had a feeling, an instinctive trust in Yan Junze that she saw now; her intuition wouldn¡¯t lie, this Yan Junze was the real one.


    But still¡­


    ¡°You are now in your own dream.¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°Come over here, let¡¯s talk after we wake up.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± At this moment, Zhang Xiaomo fell into a dazed, cute state, walking over blankly and taking Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    A faint warmth from the palm of his hand brought a growing sense of calm to her heart.


    She looked at the man beside her, mmhmm, this had to be real, the one who made her lose three hours of sleep in the dead of night.


    Yan Junze, holding Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s hand, smiled at the Lantern Woman: ¡°Ning Ji, we¡¯re going to take off first.¡±


    The Lantern Woman bowed slightly from where she stood.


    Zhang Xiaomo glanced at the white lantern that the woman was holding.


    The two turned and walked down the stairs, Zhang Xiaomo quietly asked Yan Junze, ¡°Does she still hold her husband¡¯s head in her hand?¡±


    ¡°Always has been.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    ¡°Is there still any grudge between them now?¡± Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s curiosity was through the roof at this moment.


    Yan Junze suddenly stopped, looked into her eyes, and said, ¡°The grudge was indeed enormous at the beginning, but now I feel that Jia Sheng only seems fierce on the surface. In reality, he has already forgiven Ning Ji for what she did, considering he himself was not without fault.¡±


    ¡°This is what they call ¡®fated adversaries.¡¯ It¡¯s not that adversaries are fated to meet.¡± Zhang Xiaomo revealed a smile, then asked again, ¡°Is she hiding in my dreams?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s my dream.¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°I allowed her into your dreams, otherwise you might have been in danger.¡±


    By this time, the two of them had already descended the stairs, standing on the first floor.


    Xiaomo asked with surprise, ¡°Then why haven¡¯t we woken up yet?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± Yan Junze looked up at the floor above, smiling, ¡°Ning Ji is listening to our conversation.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Xiaomo immediately covered her mouth, her face turning embarrassed.


    On the second floor corridor.


    Ning Ji¡¯s expression was calm, her pale cheeks lowered slightly, her gaze fixed on the lantern she was holding.


    The white lantern had once again transformed into Jia Sheng¡¯s head, and at this moment he was looking up, no longer with his usual ferocious expression, instead he was gazing back at Ning Ji.


    The next second, Zhang Xiaomo woke up.


    She found herself half-reclined on the sofa in the living room on the first floor, feeling a bit groggy, and slowly sat up straight, seeing Yan Junze right beside her.


    Yan Junze also had just sat up, without a word, he immediately knocked over the two steaming cups of coffee on the table, spilling coffee all over it, then grabbed a few newspapers nearby to cover up the spill and the steam.


    ¡°It might have been these two cups of coffee that made us fall asleep unwittingly.¡± Yan Junze explained, ¡°The strangeness looking for replacements found that the Exorcist has come and knowing they cannot confront us in reality, they designed to trap us in their treacherous dreams, planning to kill both of us in the dream.¡±


    For an Exorcist, without carrying specialized equipment, the kind of strangeness that can enter dreams is what they fear the most.


    Because such strangeness cannot be handled in conventional ways, if it hadn¡¯t been for Yan Junze, they might have fallen victim to the treacherous plot of the strangeness looking for replacements to be killed off entirely in their dreams.


    Zhang Xiaomo seemed to understand, ¡°So you mean, Xiao Yuanrui who served us coffee just now¡­¡±


    ¡°Is probably more bad luck than good.¡± Yan Junze took over.


    ¡°But how were you able to enter my treacherous dream?¡± Zhang Xiaomo was puzzled.


    Yan Junze pointed to the toppled coffee cups on the table, ¡°Because after I woke up, I smelled your cup of coffee.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zhang Xiaomo suddenly realized.


    Based on speculation, those several strangenesses looking for replacements had all appeared in the dream just now, and if everything had gone as expected, the Lantern Woman would have taken care of them all. So the probability of their existence in reality now was very low.


    The two immediately split up to search the house, and quickly obtained results.


    The body of the homeowner Xiao Yuanrui was found in the walk-in closet on the second floor, dressed just as when the two had first entered the house.


    The body of the lady of the house, Gao Ruolan, was still in the master bedroom on the second floor, clutching a stuffed bear toy, but there was a jagged mess of flesh and blood on her chest, she must have died from the night they first embraced the wrong child.


    The nanny was not spared either, her body discovered in the kitchen, she might have entered the house the next day, not noticing the anomaly upstairs, but entered the kitchen as usual to make breakfast, only to be killed by the strangeness.


    Thankfully, Xinxin was found in a wardrobe of the third bedroom, the little one curled up completely covered by clothes in a corner, merely unconscious and not in life-threatening danger.

 Chapter 818: 458: The Power of Yao Long_2

    Chapter 818: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long_2


    The call to 4747 was indeed made by the male protagonist, Xiao Yuanrui¡ªhe had been trying to reach his wife and home via landline and her mobile phone since he started his journey home from a business trip, but no one answered.


    He then tried calling the nanny¡¯s mobile phone, to no avail. Considering that the news had already reported a sudden outbreak of strange events in Gaosheng City, he immediately called 4747 after entering the house.


    Little did he expect that he still couldn¡¯t escape.


    Zhang Xiaomo carefully carried Xinxin out, placed her on the bed, and wrapped her tightly in a blanket.


    Yan Junze called for an ambulance and the security bureau, but the entire city was in such chaos that no ambulances were available for dispatch, and they had no choice but to take Xinxin to the hospital themselves.


    Driving on the road, Yan Junze behind the wheel, Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s gaze shifted from Xinxin and looked out the window.


    There were very few pedestrians on the street, and occasionally one could see a team of exorcists emerge from an alley, with safety lines from the security forces nearly on every street.


    Seeing this scene, Xiaomo sighed softly and said, ¡°Will the world keep getting worse like this?¡±


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t respond. In fact, he knew Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t looking for an answer; he could feel the weariness, helplessness, and sense of powerlessness in her tone.


    He sighed quietly, but at that moment, a thought suddenly emerged.


    ¡°Perhaps, after illuminating the entire Spacetime Atlas, we might find the answer!¡±


    Now, it seemed the appearance of the Atlas was closely related to the strangeness of this world, being able to locate and fixate on the Obsessions of the strangeness, gather Different Dimension Energy, and Lockdown the strangeness in nodes¡­


    No matter how one looked at it, there seemed to be an inextricable connection between the two.


    Of course, situations like the current state of Gaosheng City are always outliers, resulting from the appearance of an unspeakable grotesque worm-like strangeness and the opening of another dimensional pathway.


    Making this connection, Yan Junze suddenly had a bizarre thought.


    Could his rebirth here, with the Quantum spectrum from the lab explosion in the previous life, be somehow linked to the frequent occurrences of strangeness in this world?


    ¡­


    In Luoxia District, 50 kilometers away from the White Star Nuclear Power Station lies Pro Town.


    Although the town is far from the city center of Luoxia District and at the edge of the region, it is relatively prosperous, with several sizable residential areas.


    Hu Changfei, the general manager of the nuclear power station, bought an apartment in Bright Residential Area. It wasn¡¯t big¡ª120 square meters¡ªand mostly just he lived there, with his wife and children staying back in his hometown and seldom visiting.


    The apartment was purchased when the nuclear power station officially started operating, for convenience at work, and because the living environment in Pro Town was much better than the dormitories at the plant.


    Moreover, core team members of the company also bought houses in other residential areas of the town, with the company providing part of the housing subsidy at that time.


    As each person had a company car, they would go home after work and return to the company the next morning.


    The night was deep and quiet.


    Bright Residential Area was silent.


    The security guards here didn¡¯t have the same work ethic as those in the city¡¯s complexes; no one patrolled at night.


    However, the benefit was that there were not many strange events nearby, perhaps due to the proximity of the nuclear power station.


    Certain instinctual senses cause the strangeness to avoid areas that would disrupt their own magnetic fields.


    However, fewer incidents did not mean none at all. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The recent events had left Hu Changfei frazzled, but fortunately, most were now under control, and these incidents hadn¡¯t caused any severe repercussions.


    They were mostly internal issues that could be smoothed over with some money.


    At last, he could afford an early rest; he went to bed at ten and slept until two in the morning when he suddenly woke up.


    Opening his eyes, Hu Changfei¡¯s sensations and memories slowly stirred, with the sinking sensation of the bed seemingly prompt his awakening.


    It felt as though someone had suddenly sat on the bed.


    In a daze, he lifted his head and glanced aimlessly around the bed.


    There was nothing.


    He thought to himself that maybe he was just dreaming, the fuzziness making him believe that the contents of his dream were real.


    Hu Changfei turned over, closed his eyes again, and tried to get back to sleep.


    Just as he was about to fall asleep again in his heavy drowsiness.


    The bed suddenly sank down once more, as if someone else had sat on it; he was jolted and Hu Changfei¡¯s eyes shot open. He sat up abruptly in bed.


    He looked around; there was no one else on the bed, and nothing unusual nearby.


    But the feeling was clear; the mattress had definitely sunk down, and as he wasn¡¯t completely asleep, this sensation was unmistakable.


    He reached out and turned on the bedside lamp; its dim light lit up, driving away the nearby darkness, allowing Hu Changfei to see his bedroom more clearly.


    He widened his eyes and looked around once more, still feeling there was nothing amiss.


    Just as he was about to retract his gaze, his eyes fixed on the dark spot behind the closed bedroom door near the corner of the wall.


    That area was shrouded in darkness, and even with the bedside lamp on, it remained untouched by light, and in that darkness, there was neither sound nor movement.


    Yet, staring in that direction, Hu Changfei felt an increasingly intense fear growing inside him.


    The darkness was impenetrable; after the bedside lamp was turned on, other than the unopened wardrobe, it was the only place that retained an eerie darkness.


    Hu Changfei realized he couldn¡¯t pull his gaze away from that patch of darkness, as if there was something hidden within.

 Chapter 819: 458: The Power of Yao Long_3

    Chapter 819: Chapter 458: The Power of Yao Long_3


    He was somewhat stunned, unsure of what to do, simply staring intently at that place, feeling his heartbeat accelerating more and more.


    Time seemed to stand still.


    There he lay on his bed, unblinking, staring at that corner untouched by light.


    All around was deathly quiet, and who knows how much time passed before another wave of sleepiness struck.


    Hu Changfei leaned on the bed, his head tilting slightly to one side, his eyes nearly completely closed.


    Just at that moment, within his blurry vision, it seemed he saw a foot emerging from the darkness, with the tips of the toes just surpassing the boundary of the shadow.


    Hu Changfei¡¯s entire mind sharply tensed, sleepiness wiped out, his eyes widened, staring at the protruding foot.


    Indeed, it was a foot, appearing out of the darkness!


    Suddenly, his pupils started to contract as he saw something moving in the darkness, shuffling bit by bit, first a pair of swollen feet with black liquid oozing out, then a bloated figure slowly squeezing out of the darkness.


    What appeared in front of him could no longer be considered a normal human form, not even a fat person.


    This blackened body was incredibly swollen, its whole body engorged, with black liquid flowing from various parts, approaching the edge of the bed while granular crystals and shredded flesh oozed out.


    His lips parted slightly, and immediately black liquid started to flow down, emitting an indistinct sound towards Hu Changfei: ¡°¡±Why¡­ Why¡­?¡±


    Hu Changfei was completely dumbstruck, his consciousness a void, let alone respond to this eerie question, he didn¡¯t even hear it.


    His lips parted even wider, and the black form emitted a ¡®puff¡¯ sound, a large glob of black liquid surged over, covering Hu Changfei¡¯s entire body on the bed.


    Hu Chengfei was startled and immediately began to roll and struggle, emitting a piercing, miserable scream.


    But as soon as his mouth opened, the black liquid surged in, the scream abruptly ceased, giving way to a gurgling noise; his muscles swiftly began to dissolve, and his body slowly caved inward.


    Seconds later, Hu Changfei ceased to struggle.


    Roar¡ª


    The blackened figure roared at the bed, an immense magnetic field distortion rippling out from its center.


    At the same time, within a household bedroom in JY Residential Area, adjacent to Bright Residential Area.


    A woman, naked and with tousled hair, just happened to be leaning her face above two people sleeping soundly on a bed, drool leaking out from the corner of her mouth, her face showing a greedy expression as she extended her tongue, which was covered in barbs, about to lick one of their closed eyelids.


    This woman suddenly paused, hit by a wave of magnetic distortion, her body visibly disintegrating, screaming agonizingly.


    The soundly sleeping people on the bed woke up in shock and confusion, witnessing the scene until the woman completely disappeared.


    Still, at the same moment, inside a self-built house diagonally opposite Bright Residential Area.


    An elderly person who happened to be going to the bathroom late at night, stood shivering in a corner, staring at a hanging corpse that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room¡¯s beams.


    As the corpse hung midair, swinging gently, the tongue dangling down to the chin, its hands lightly moving, fingernails sharp, but its eyes were wide open, staring straight at the quivering old person in the corner.


    ¡°Heh heh heh¡­¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A bout of laughter emanated from the hanging corpse¡¯s mouth.


    Just as the terrified old person was on the verge of fainting, a wave of magnetic field distortion, like a surging sea wave, swept over; the hanging corpse disintegrated instantaneously, and the ominous laughter turned into agonized screams.


    The cowering old person in the corner jolted, eyes widening in astonishment, as he watched the aberration hanging from the beam crumbling like clumps of mud and quickly vanishing from sight.


    That same night, all the strangenesses that were hidden and yet to appear in Pro Town met their demise, none spared.

 Chapter 820: 459: Magnetic Pile Monster

    Chapter 820: Chapter 459: Magnetic Pile Monster


    During these past few days in Gaosheng City, Yan Junze and Zhang Xiaomo indeed felt very exhausted. The number of paranormal incidents surged drastically within seven days, causing the 4747 hotline to be constantly overwhelmed with calls.


    Fortunately, thanks to the support from the Tianmeng District exorcist team, as well as additional exorcists dispatched from other cities, a formidable suppression was deployed. Even though the number of incidents increased sharply, the pace of exorcism was extremely fast.


    The entire Gaosheng City was thrown into panic, yet people also witnessed the strenuous efforts of the exorcist organizations, and all residents cooperated fully.


    Yan Junze and Xiaomo barely got three hours of sleep each day, and even that was snatched in fits and starts inside their car.


    However, the two of them were tackling the hard nuts to crack ¨C those events that were more peculiar and of higher difficulty level, which were mainly left to them and the two four-star exorcists, Mei Lianhua and Huang Wenjian.


    Other exorcists were in charge of sweeping through the slightly less menacing occurrences. Nonetheless, during this process, three exorcists faced their demise.


    Furthermore, seven exorcists were tricked by strangenesses which sought out their substitutes using various eerie methods. They were later saved by Yan Junze who rushed to their aid, breaking the spells and rescuing them from the grasp of the strangenesses.


    This time around, the name of Yan Junze had truly resonated throughout Tianmeng¡¯s exorcist circles; during the exorcism process, these people realised that even Mei and Huang, the four-star exorcists, treated Yan Junze with great respect after meeting him.


    This implied that Yan Junze¡¯s capabilities might surpass even those of Mei and Huang.


    Two days later, Guo Youliang, who was not yet fit for discharge, arrived, which injected a robust stimulus into the exorcism operations of Gaosheng City.


    Old Guo was fiercely dedicated; he had barely escaped with his life after fighting the Reaper Morrison last time, and now, he hastily made his way over, significantly easing the pressure on Yan Junze.


    Soon, widespread incidents started to diminish, with a few scattered strangenesses still lurking around.


    However, after this battle, one could imagine that there might be a short-term void of paranormal activity in Gaosheng City.


    By then, this place might become the safest city in Great Capital Huaying.


    Of course, the price paid this time was enormous and freighted with tragedy.


    After the tough cases had been mostly resolved, Yan Junze and Xiaomo finally had time to rest, while the remaining less powerful and less dangerous strangenesses were left to other teams of exorcists to eliminate one by one.


    And it was at this time that Yan Junze received a call from Xiaomo¡¯s father, Zhang Chengjing.


    Due to the relationship with his daughter, Zhang Chengjing evidently made a point of looking out for Yan Junze, thinking of him first whenever there was an issue within the team.


    Yan Junze activated speakerphone, and the three of them ¨C himself, Xiaomo, and Zhang Chengjing ¨C chatted idly for a while, discussing the current situation in Gaosheng City.


    Subsequently, Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°These past two days, a strangeness emerged in the Luoxia District. Are you interested in taking a look?¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What kind of strangeness?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the situation: in Luoxia District, there¡¯s a White Star Nuclear Power Station that had a leakage accident a few days ago, but they managed to suppress it quietly. During the incident, someone got close to the leaking reactor, and due to the inaction of the power station¡¯s higher-ups, that person died an agonizing death. The very day he died, he turned into a strangeness with a powerful obsession,¡± Zhang Chengjing explained.


    ¡°Is this strangeness particularly special?¡± Yan Junze showed interest.


    ¡°Very special,¡± Zhang Chengjing nodded, ¡°Currently, the nuclear power station is shut down. After turning into a strangeness, this guy killed all the company¡¯s top executives overnight, and even made one of our stationed exorcists at the power station flee in defeat. Most importantly, there are no other strangenesses existing in its vicinity now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Xiaomo couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Because it possesses a powerful magnetic field interference ability, capable of instantly pulverizing the magnetic fields of other strangenesses,¡± Zhang Chengjing said, ¡°As of now, within at least a five-mile radius around it, not a single other strangeness remains.¡±


    ¡°Damn, this guy is like a real Sweeper!¡± Yan Junze exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s why the higher-ups said we must try everything possible to reclaim it. We¡¯ve named it the Magnetic Pile Monster. I know you¡¯re adept at the Buddhist style of exorcism; you could give it a try, see if you¡¯re able to convert this guy, instead of straight-up exterminating it,¡± Zhang Chengjing said.


    ¡°Reclaim, absolutely!¡± Yan Junze agreed without hesitation.


    ¡°Xiaomo, you follow Guo Youliang for these next few days, don¡¯t go anywhere else, and get some good rest,¡± Zhang Chengjing was clearly also very concerned about his daughter¡¯s health, knowing she had been overworked during this time.


    ¡°I got it, dad,¡± Zhang Xiaomo nodded.


    ¡°Once Junze has dealt with the Magnetic Pile Monster, you two come back for a visit. Let¡¯s have a family gathering,¡± Zhang Chengjing said before hanging up the phone.


    ¡°Is your dad planning to arrange a wedding for us or something?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo gave him a look, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it after you graduate.¡±


    Yan Junze spread his hands, ¡°With things the way they are, do you think I can still focus on my studies?¡±


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to study anymore?¡± Zhang Xiaomo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m considering taking a leave of absence,¡± Yan Junze, toying with the special exorcist badge issued by the Exorcist Brigade, said, ¡°Not everyone can get this thing, after all; I should apply all my abilities where they count.¡±


    ¡°Guess what I smell?¡± Zhang Xiaomo said with a smile.


    ¡°What?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    ¡°A strong whiff of showing off,¡± Zhang Xiaomo covered her mouth, laughing even more happily. Then she suddenly paused and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Yan Junze put down his phone, a mischievous smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m checking if there¡¯s enough time before we head to Luoxia District.¡±

 Chapter 821: 459 Magnetic Pile Monster_2

    Chapter 821: Chapter 459 Magnetic Pile Monster_2


    He paused, then stood up to draw the hotel curtains and continued, ¡°The earliest flight is at six o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. There are still seven hours left, hmm, I only need five hours, leaving two hours to get to the airport.¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s cheeks were flushed as she leaned on the table and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m tired, fell asleep.¡±


    Yan Junze leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear, ¡°I¡¯m beginning to wonder, every time you say you fell asleep. Do you mean the same thing by it as I do?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo raised her head, her expression a mixture of shyness and mischief, and said, ¡°Do you know, in my dream a few days ago, I killed you again?¡±


    Yan Junze smiled and leaned in even closer, ¡°That means, including the time we dealt with Zhao Qi¡¯s spirit, you have now killed me twice!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiaomo replied somewhat proudly, half-jokingly warning him, ¡°If you have any more inappropriate thoughts, be careful I might kill you a third time.¡±


    ¡°And how many times have I saved you? Have you counted that?¡± Yan Junze whispered, ¡°How should you repay me?¡±


    Xiaomo was stunned, suddenly at a loss for words.


    #£¤%@&*


    ¡­


    On the plane to Luoxia District, Yan Junze carefully recalled.


    The only time he had witnessed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s death was before the Great Rewind to return to the Half Moon Association to activate the altar, inside the Tianmeng Branch office of ¡°Open Your Eyes.¡±


    The Possession Spirit had transformed into the appearance of Zhang Xiaomo, and upon his arrival, he witnessed the two struggling.


    He first misjudged, and the real Zhang Xiaomo was killed. It was only after the Rewind that he managed to eliminate that impersonating Possession Spirit.


    With thoughts fluctuating, he now felt a strong sensation that he might experience the Great Rewind again sometime.


    The current priority was to fully illuminate the entire Spacetime Atlas, and thanks to the efforts from the recent period, the Atlas¡¯s Different Dimension Energy had already reached over eighty thousand points. However, Yan Junze estimated that around one hundred fifty thousand points might be necessary to fully illuminate the Atlas.


    After performing an Exorcism on the Magnetic Pile Monster in a detached manner, he would focus solely on energy collection.


    Before boarding the plane, Yan Junze had contacted Wang Tong, the Exorcist still stationed there.


    The strangenesses Wang Tong had been keeping were all destroyed by a wide-range attack from the Magnetic Pile Monster during their time at the nuclear power plant, leaving nothing behind.


    Feeling guilty, he thought about his neglect in assuming that no strangeness could occur around the nuclear power plant, which often led him to run around, thus planting such a large hidden danger and creating such a powerful unique monster.


    According to what he reported to Yan Junze, a veteran five-star Exorcist from Huaying District had been sent a few days ago, this person was indeed Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher, Teacher Feng Huaigong.


    After arriving in Pro Town, Teacher Feng encountered the Magnetic Pile Monster, and they had contact, but this indirectly led to the complete power outage of the entire town, which is still paralyzed to this day.


    After thinking for a moment, because of the excessive physical exertion last night, he was very tired and took a nap on the plane.


    After arriving at Luoxia District, the local Exorcism Squad had already sent a dedicated vehicle to wait at the airport, and Yan Junze didn¡¯t stop, heading directly to Pro Town.


    The town was approximately 320 kilometers away from Luoxia City area, but the journey was mainly on the highway. Racing along, it took about three hours to reach the highway next to the town.


    The vehicles of other members of the Exorcism Squad had already stopped there, so after dropping off Yan Junze, the car turned around and headed back to Luoxia City.


    Yan Junze had fallen asleep on the highway again, so he felt refreshed and re-energized after getting off the car.


    The climate of Pro Town was similar to that of Zhen City when he had last rescued the Back-faced Woman and her daughter.


    The weather was relatively dry, with occasional scenes of yellow sand sweeping the sky outside the town.


    Upon his arrival, Wang Tong was already waiting by the road but Teacher Feng was nowhere to be seen.


    According to Wang Tong, after one encounter with the Magnetic Pile Monster, Teacher Feng had been staying in the town¡¯s inn and had not been seen outside.


    After introductions, they walked into the town together.


    Yan Junze noticed that although the town had no power, the residents seemed not to panic at all, going about their lives as usual, with quite a number of pedestrians on the streets.


    Upon asking the reason, Wang Tong explained, ¡°This is because we temporarily accommodated the nuclear power plant¡¯s employees in various inns in town, and the news of the Magnetic Pile Monster has already spread. However, the people here know that the Magnetic Pile Monster is only seeking revenge, and so far, it has not only not harmed anyone else but has also managed to eliminate all the strangenesses in town.¡±


    At this point, Wang Tong smiled, ¡°I even suspect, some residents might have taken a liking to the Magnetic Pile Monster.¡±


    Yan Junze saw much dissatisfaction in his smile, recalling that Wang Tong himself mentioned all his kept strangenesses had been killed by the Magnetic Pile Monster, his dissatisfaction was understandable.


    This town, without any strangeness other than the Magnetic Pile Monster, is hailed as the safest period since the rise of strangeness, no wonder the residents felt no anxiety at all.


    Arriving at a residence inn called ¡°KS,¡± Teacher Feng¡¯s room was at the very end of the first floor, complete with a backyard, clusters of flowers, a rock garden, and a fish pond with blue bricks¡ªit was a very nice environment. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the first time Yan Junze met Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s teacher.


    Remembering how, when he left the hotel in Gaosheng City, Xiaomo had peeked her head out from the bedding hiding her reluctant expression, he suddenly felt unusually warm. He also felt an affinity looking at the short old man in front of him, who sported a goat beard.


    ¡°Teacher Feng, hello.¡± Yan Junze introduced himself, ¡°I am Yan Junze, from Tianmeng.¡±

 Chapter 822: 459: Magnetic Pile Monster_3

    Chapter 822: Chapter 459: Magnetic Pile Monster_3


    Feng Huaigong was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, flipping through the documents in his hand. Hearing the voice, he looked up, slightly startled, then realized why Yan Junze called him ¡°Teacher.¡±


    It was something that started when he was with Zhang Xiaomo.


    He smiled, nodded, and invited Yan Junze and Wang Tong to sit down. After some pleasantries, he handed the documents to Yan Junze.


    ¡°Take a look at this, it¡¯s about the Magnetic Pile Monster¡¯s life before death; Wang Tong got it for me.¡±


    While browsing through, Yan Junze asked, ¡°Teacher, you have confronted the Magnetic Pile Monster already. If we don¡¯t consider my Buddhist style of exorcism, what are your chances of killing this, um, Yao Long?¡±


    Feng Huaigong smiled and said, ¡°Full confidence.¡±


    Pausing, he continued, ¡°The information in the documents matches my suspicions. This guy was very angry before he died. Meaning, anger is the sole reason for its transformation into what it is now. I can kill it in one strike when its anger has not been triggered, during a downtime period.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at the documents and nodded.


    The document showed that Yao Long had no relatives before his death, and while he dutifully guarded the company, after being exposed to radiation, led by Hu Changfei, the company¡¯s core made a move that completely disillusioned him.


    They left him in an isolation room until death.


    The reason for this was to preserve their future and the fate of the company.


    Therefore, Yao Long was extremely angry, and this anger, perfectly combined with his characteristics at death, eventually transformed him into the Magnetic Pile Monster.


    ¡°I know your exorcism methods are quite unique, so these documents are also to prepare you in advance,¡± said Feng Huaigong with a smile.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t know that Yan Junze could also directly detect the information about the Magnetic Pile Monster, which was more accurate than these documents.


    ¡°Is this Yao Long still in the town?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sense the magnetic field, I¡¯m not sure,¡± said Feng Huaigong shaking his head, somewhat evasively, ¡°Now that you¡¯re here, everything is up to you. When Old Zhang first introduced you to me, he said that your capabilities were comparable to a five-star Exorcist, so I have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Yan Junze gave a wry smile, immediately activated [Perception of Strange Events] and, while activating it, expended some Different Dimension Energy to crazily expand the range of his sensing, instantly covering the entire Pro Town.


    The results came in quickly.


    There was not a single strangeness on the entire town, no feedback at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check around the White Star Nuclear Power Plant, see if Yao Long has holed up there. Teacher Feng, you should get some rest,¡± Yan Junze said as he stood up.


    ¡°Stay safe,¡± Feng Huaigong nodded.


    Wang Tong walked ahead to arrange a vehicle for him.


    Yan Junze seemed to remember something, turned around and asked Feng Huaigong, ¡°Teacher Feng, has this Yao Long killed anyone other than those company leaders?¡±


    Without hesitation, Feng Huaigong replied, ¡°Those envied company executives including the security team are all dead, plus eleven innocent company employees. If Wang Tong hadn¡¯t run fast that day, he probably would¡¯ve died at the nuclear power plant too.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a moment, ¡°Any others?¡±


    Feng Huaigong shook his head, ¡°No more.¡±


    ¡°How many natural deaths have there been in the town these past few days?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard there have been a few,¡± Feng Huaigong started, looking surprised, ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suspect that Yao Long¡¯s magnetic field interference can also disrupt human magnetic fields, just to varying degrees. Especially for those who are already in poor health, the effects of the interference might be more pronounced,¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    For the first time without doubt, Feng Huaigong nodded, ¡°Finish it off quickly, otherwise I might choose to kill it directly.¡±


    ¡°Sure, must capture it!¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the same words he shared with Zhang Chengjing, Yan Junze turned and walked out of the hotel.

 Chapter 823: 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique—Mouth Escape

    Chapter 823: Chapter 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique¡ªMouth Escape


    The sky of Luoxia District would turn a murky grey after the afternoon, as though swathed in billowing clouds of dust, yet a closer look might reveal it to be an illusion of the sight.


    Yan Junze sat in the car, winding along the secondary road towards the White Star Nuclear Power Plant.


    Now that there had been an accident at the power plant, it wasn¡¯t entirely written off as beyond restart, but there were steps to be taken: halt operations, conduct thorough check-ups of all equipment, analyze the causes of the accident, develop a refined emergency plan, and hold the relevant personnel accountable before considering the matter of restarting.


    Of course, the personnel currently being held accountable were limited to the team associated with the problematic No. 6 unit. Other core corporate leaders had already collectively met their doom under Yao Long¡¯s revenge.


    Taking roughly forty minutes, the car arrived at the White Star Nuclear Power Station, the perimeter of which had been taken over by the Safety Bureau and cordoned off.


    However, considering that Yao Long might be lurking nearby, there was no one guarding this place.


    Yan Junze and Wang Tong got out of the car, leaving Wang Tong to stay in the security room at the entrance; the station¡¯s power supply had been cut off, with only the exterior walls connected to electricity, so the security room was lit.


    Standing at the entrance, Yan Junze didn¡¯t immediately enter the power station but activated [Perception of Strange Events].


    The power station occupied a large area, so he still used up some energy to ensure his perception covered the whole facility completely.


    Shortly after, a mission briefing popped up in his mind.


    [Coordinates confirmed: White Star Nuclear Power Plant, Outer Room of No. 6 Unit Equipment Room.]


    [Mission Name: Rebirth within the Magnetic Heap;


    Mission Level: scared witless (High);


    Mission Background: Yao Long was a compliant and straightforward man, who, after the death of his parents, met the love of his life and devoted all his passion to her, only to be betrayed by her. Yet Yao Long did not become disillusioned with the world; he picked himself up, found a new job, and dedicated himself to it wholeheartedly. However, life dealt him another brutal blow: after being exposed to radiation from the leaking reactor, the company¡¯s higher-ups, in an attempt to cover up the incident, secretly imprisoned him without offering treatment, leading to Yao Long¡¯s death in despair;]


    Mission Description: He is very angry, and venting his rage is his sole remaining purpose. Convince him, and provide a vent for his fury when it reaches its peak;


    Mission Reward: 2500 Different Dimension Energy points;


    Mission Penalty: Meld into the magnetic heap and be with him forever;


    Mission Tips: 1. The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked down; 2. Please note, his fury has a cooldown period. Constantly observe whether his rage has peaked and provide a vent in advance, otherwise the consequences are unpredictable; 3. Understand him, trust him, move him;


    Note: Next, witness the moment of Mouth Escape.]


    After carefully reading the mission briefing, Yan Junze took a sharp intake of breath.


    A scared witless (High) level mission was a first for him, but the ¡°High¡± was not to suggest that Yao Long was so frighteningly powerful. Indeed, his ability to wipe out other strangenesses across a wide area indicated his strength.


    However, Feng Huaigong had mentioned he was completely confident in killing Yao Long after the latter had vented his anger.


    In other words, Feng Huaigong probably discovered the cooldown period in Yao Long¡¯s fury, which he could use to eliminate him.


    Additionally, Yan Junze disappointingly noted the mission tip ¡°The Evil Spirit cannot be Locked down.¡±


    Since a Lockdown was impossible, the only option left was to conduct an Exorcism to release his Obsession and let him depart freely, instead of keeping Yao Long bound close by.


    Initially, his plan was to find an opportunity to capture this special strangeness, thereby fulfilling the task assigned by Zhang Chengjing while simultaneously adding a powerful ally to his ranks.


    But now, it seemed that was no longer feasible.


    In summary, this was a story of one repeatedly disappointed by life, succumbing to complete despair, and becoming a strangeness in a hateful death to take revenge.


    Yet the inability to Lockdown gnawed at Yan Junze.


    He remembered that during the [Triple Spirits] mission, even the Ethereal spirit-level task involving his sister Zhuang Wenxian indicated the possibility of a Lockdown.


    Now this Yao Long, it seems in the realm of Ethereal spirits, was top-tier, of course, only when anger surged. Otherwise, Feng Huaigong wouldn¡¯t assert full confidence in killing him during the anger¡¯s cooldown.


    He would take one step at a time. Since it was impossible to Lockdown, freeing this fellow¡¯s Obsession, letting him return to dust, was also a decent disposition.


    That was all Yan Junze could resolve himself to think.


    After giving Wang Tong a heads-up, he asked for the direction to the No. 6 unit equipment room and headed there after entering through the main gate.


    From the records, he knew Ying Long had died outside the No. 6 unit equipment room, and now possibly due to Obsession, after slaying those he detested, he naturally returned to the place of his death. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Passing by equipment rooms each marked with a serial number, Yan Junze swiftly arrived outside Equipment Room No. 6.


    He examined the door, which was temporarily secured with a U-shaped lock.


    Of course, such a lock couldn¡¯t stop Yao Long. Yan Junze peered inside through the crack of the door, seeing nothing but pitch darkness.


    He stepped back and released his domain field, directing it at the U-shaped lock.


    With a click, the lock sprang open.


    He pulled the door open and stepped in. Since he opened both doors, the light from outside shone through, illuminating the part of the room near the entrance, but the innermost area was still in complete darkness.

 Chapter 824: 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique—Mouth Escape_2

    Chapter 824: Chapter 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique¡ªMouth Escape_2


    The room was utterly silent, without a hint of noise.


    Yan Junze stood at the doorway, first glancing around before spreading his hands and saying into the darkness, ¡°I mean no harm, and moreover, your death has nothing to do with me.¡±


    While talking, his eyes widened, straining to discern which area of the darkness was the most suspicious.


    A moment later, Yan Junze¡¯s gaze settled on the upper right corner of the room.


    It was still pitch-black, but one could feel another mass of darkness flowing there, slowly moving.


    He didn¡¯t turn on his phone flashlight to shine there, for fear it would anger this ill-tempered creature.


    No sound replied.


    Yan Junze knew that Yao Long might no longer be able to speak; he did not expect a response.


    Still standing at the doorway, he sighed softly, leaning on the door.


    ¡°I sympathize with you; you truly are pitiable. All the misfortunes in life have befallen you, but none of it is your fault.¡±


    Whoo¡ª S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From within the darkness came a strange sound as if someone were exhaling, or as if something was swelling up.


    ¡°Whose fault is it?¡±


    Unexpectedly, a low, murky voice suddenly emerged.


    The creature could actually speak.


    Yan Junze froze for a moment, pondering before replying, ¡°There¡¯s no right or wrong to it; the world is just filled with too much injustice. Everyone encounters it, the only difference being, some people are just unluckier and encounter it more often than others.¡±


    After saying these words, Yan Junze suddenly felt a fierce twinge in his heart. The white long worm curled up, its body tensed, as if bracing for something.


    Boom!


    A torrent of black liquid mixed with blood and crystalline particles burst forth like an exploding underground pipe, accompanied by a powerful magnetic field distortion, washing over him.


    Yan Junze¡¯s senses were instantly sealed off, his entire body now completely covered in black liquid, the massive distortion of the magnetic field immediately following.


    All over his body, every pore involuntarily opened, hair standing on end, with the body¡¯s magnetic field in that moment thrown into utter chaos, even thoughts churned into a mush, consciousness starting to blur.


    ¡°Such a strong magnetic field interference!¡±


    Yan Junze had never imagined that the interference from a paranormal magnetic field could be so powerful.


    It felt to him that this was not far off from the power of the Turner Shockwave Emitter he encountered when facing Alabell on Ruisen Island, the only difference being that the Turner Shockwave Emitter had a directional target.


    Whereas Yao Long was unleashing indiscriminate attacks within his area of effect.


    In that instant, Yan Junze¡¯s body¡¯s magnetic field was severely disrupted, feeling as if it were being irradiated, and the black liquid covering his body obviously had a corrosive nature causing pain in various parts of his body.


    Just with this one attack, he pretty much understood Yao Long, the Magnetic Pile Monster¡¯s, means and level of assault.


    Rewind!


    Time rewound to the moment Yao Long began to speak.


    ¡°Whose fault is it?¡±


    Initially, Yan Junze said there was no fault to be assigned, attributing misfortunes to mere bad luck in a world rife with injustice.


    But now it seemed, Yao Long did not agree with this viewpoint.


    Now was not the time to speak of fate, to impart life lessons or play the role of a life coach.


    The other had developed a profound Obsession; it was inadvisable to touch upon his raw nerve. Perhaps only by following his line of thought would there be a way to find a solution.


    In that moment, Yan Junze gave up the idea of swaying the other by his own reasoning.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± he replied, ¡°Your woman betrayed you; not your fault. Those selfish people at the nuclear power plant covering up the incident; also not your fault. In truth, from the beginning to the end, you haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡±


    The darkness fell silent.


    About a minute later, Yao Long¡¯s low, obscure voice rang out again: ¡°Whose fault is it?¡±


    ¡°Your ex-wife¡¯s fault, the fault of the company¡¯s leaders,¡± Yan Junze said, ¡°You gave her your wholehearted love, you worked diligently, and they took your kindness for granted, they are the ones who wronged you.¡±


    Having said this, Yan Junze was closely sensing the reaction of the worm in his heart.


    But at this moment, it appeared that the worm remained relaxed, without any sign of oddity.


    ¡°However¡­¡± Yan Junze continued, ¡°Since those people at the company have already paid for their mistakes, can you¡­ from now on, stop?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Yao Long¡¯s voice echoed angrily from the darkness, ¡°I hate them, I hate the nuclear power station, I hate my ex-wife, I hate everything, I hate¡­ this world!¡±


    Great, it¡¯s a hate-crazed Monster with weirdness!


    Yan Junze inwardly sighed.


    ¡°What do you want to do, then?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Destroy everything here, destroy it all¡­¡±


    ¡°You want to destroy the nuclear power plant?¡± Yan Junze was astonished.


    Suddenly, a wild energy spread from the darkness, the turbulent breath brimming with endless anger, the chaotic magnetic field creating a massive magnetic storm, wreaking havoc.


    Rewind!


    Yan Junze, once more observing the darkness, thought to himself, ¡°So this guy was secretly hiding here, charging up an Ultimate Move!¡±


    By now, he had rewound time back to the moment he had just opened the door.


    ¡°Destroying this nuclear power plant, will that diminish your anger?¡±


    There seemed to be a moment of hesitation in the darkness, then a voice replied, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I can help you control your anger and find an appropriate outlet for it,¡± Yan Junze responded.


    ¡°Just destroying this place will allow me to vent,¡± said Yao Long.


    ¡°That¡¯s only what you think,¡± Yan Junze shook his head, ¡°Think about it, the company¡¯s higher-ups harmed you, you killed all of them, but did your anger vanish? It¡¯s still there, and it¡¯s likely even more intense than before.¡±

 Chapter 825: 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique—Mouth Escape_3

    Chapter 825: Chapter 460: The Ultimate Secret Technique¡ªMouth Escape_3


    The voice in the darkness fell silent.


    Yan Junze continued: ¡°Those who harmed you, the malice and venom in their actions are unfathomable and indeed intolerable by the heavens. If I were in your shoes, I would feel the same rage, and this fury might also drive me to lose my reason. So, I understand your feelings very well.¡±


    ¡°They¡­ all deserve to die!¡± Yao Long said.


    ¡°Indeed, they deserve death.¡± Yan Junze nodded, going along with his words and continued, ¡°I have no sympathy for their deaths, but I hope you can understand the outcome after your revenge. If the result is that you become angrier, madder, and more out of control, then do you think such revenge is good or bad for you? Does such an outcome still hold any meaning?¡±


    The anger in the darkness paused slightly, with no movement to follow.


    Yan Junze stepped into the room, approaching the darkness and said: ¡°You should know, the reason the heavens made you who you are was to make you better, not for you to be influenced by the dark aspects of this world, to narrowly receive these negative emotions, and let yourself become worse and worse.¡±


    Standing at the boundary between darkness and light in the room, Yan Junze stopped and fell silent.


    He knew that Yao Long¡¯s educational background was not high in his lifetime, and it was uncertain if he could understand what was said. Perhaps, it was necessary to give him some time to slowly digest it.


    Silence continued in the darkness.


    Yan Junze spoke again: ¡°What I actually want to say is, your quest for revenge is justified, as it is the very embodiment of karmic retribution¡ªevildoers will be met with evil fate! But I hope that after your revenge, your spirit can find liberation and release, instead of being fixated on anger. Don¡¯t sink into the flames of fury, hating the world, hating everyone, even hating yourself, and never being able to break free!¡±


    Not long after his words fell, the darkness seemed to stir; a shadow even darker than the darkness itself twisted its body, slowly moving towards the boundary between darkness and light.


    His entire body was flowing with liquid, shimmering with black crystals, oozing with indistinct shreds of flesh, his whole body swelling as if it was an inflating balloon.


    ¡°Do I¡­ hate myself?¡± the shadow asked in a deep and indistinct voice.


    Yan Junze did not retreat but stood still, nodding slightly, and counter-asked: ¡°Don¡¯t you hate the fate that¡¯s befallen you?¡±


    The shadow hesitated, letting out a self-mocking laugh, which was a strange sound like bubbles bursting.


    ¡°But¡­ I can¡¯t control it,¡± Yao Long continued to approach.


    A broader smile appeared on Yan Junze¡¯s face; he knew what Yao Long meant by ¡°it.¡±


    ¡°You can try to coexist with the anger because your current state owes much to that anger. So don¡¯t try to completely resist or obliterate this anger. In fact, sometimes, anger can be a catalyst that helps us further understand and comprehend the world. The key is in how you interpret it.¡±


    With his long experience dealing with strangenesses, Yan Junze knew very well how Yao Long should confront this rage and vent these emotions, so what he said was almost flawlessly reasonable to Yao Long.


    ¡°Really?¡± Yao Long¡¯s tone finally carried some doubt.


    Yan Junze took a step back, while the swollen, pitch-black figure slowly lifted its foot, black liquid dripping down the heel, a violent magnetic field aura swirling around its body.


    This foot hung in the air, not yet falling.


    ¡°Trust me,¡± Yan Junze said softly, his face carrying a gentle smile.


    The next second, the suspended foot stepped out of the darkness, landing on the side bathed in light. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 826: 461: Summoning

    Chapter 826: Chapter 461: Summoning


    A silhouette clad in black liquid emerged in the light.


    Standing in the illuminated area, Yan Junze could finally see Yao Long¡¯s current form clearly.


    His body was excessively swollen, surrounded not just by the flowing black liquid but also by crystalline particles and bits of flesh and blood foam.


    With Yan Junze¡¯s current strength, he could see that uncontrolled magnetic field disturbances were sporadically erupting from within this man¡¯s body. Yao Long¡¯s whole cross-section was at least two meters at that moment, with a large amount of black liquid flowing under his feet, yet it circulated around his feet without spreading everywhere.


    ¡°I can¡­ coexist with it, but I can¡¯t control it,¡± Yao Long¡¯s face was nearly submerged by the black fluid, making his facial features hard to distinguish.


    Yan Junze could tell from the increasing strength of the other¡¯s magnetic field that his body was continually swelling.


    Clearly, both the swelling and the increase in black fluid were beyond Yao Long¡¯s control, originating from the cause of his death, and from the anger accumulated at the last moment of his life.


    He instinctively had to vent this anger, needing to do so periodically.


    Yan Junze pondered for a moment and said, ¡°If it¡¯s uncontrollable, let it out, but remember one thing: you will get better over time, not worse because of the anger, and you will not act against your own will.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Yao Long responded quickly, as if Yan Junze¡¯s previous message had greatly affected him.


    This guy still heard it after all.


    ¡°Can you hold back your anger now?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I can release it anytime, but I can probably hold on for about ten more minutes,¡± Yao Long said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the nuclear power station first,¡± Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Go somewhere farther away before we continue.¡±


    As he spoke, he turned and walked outside, while Yao Long behind him turned into a stream of black liquid, quickly snaking out on the ground, infiltrating through the walls and, unexpectedly to Yan Junze, directly outside the nuclear power station.


    Yan Junze paused, then hastened his pace and jogged out through the main gate.


    Wang Tong was waiting for him at the guardroom. As soon as he saw him, he hurried out and asked, ¡°How is it going?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Almost done. You better not follow me for now. Yao Long can¡¯t control his anger, he needs to release it,¡± Yan Junze said.


    At that moment, Wang Tong saw a mass of black liquid quickly forming in the distance. He didn¡¯t ask further and immediately nodded: ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait here for you.¡±


    Yan Junze looked towards the shadow and then pointed at the small hill in the distance, shouting to Yao Long, ¡°First go over there, behind that hill, then release it.¡±


    ¡°Eh eh¡­¡±


    Wang Tong immediately became anxious. That place had his room, but then he thought, as long as Yao Long could be handled, he could simply choose not to stay there anymore.


    He said nothing.


    Yan Junze was not as fast as Yao Long. By the time he reached the hill, Yao Long had already hidden on the other side of the hill.


    Peering around, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t see him and shouted, ¡°Now you can let your anger out fully, but try to concentrate the direction of your anger¡¯s attack, making it more purposeful. If you really can¡¯t focus, at least make your attack more concentrated.¡±


    The moment his words ended, boom!


    A magnetic field disruption occurred instantly, the ground slightly trembled underfoot, but what Yan Junze truly felt was the immense shock of the magnetic field.


    He immediately released his own Control Field, enclosing his body within it, shielding the magnetic field interference.


    Zzzt zzzt¡ª


    The sound of the shock, and the outer layer of the Control Field, bizarrely made a collision friction sound, these particulate collisions also appeared very strange to Yan Junze.


    To the naked eye, blue electrical lights intermittently sparkled.


    Yan Junze looked on with some surprise, feeling the formidable nature of Yao Long¡¯s angry magnetic field.


    He feared that even a higher-level Sculpting Spirit within this magnetic field disruption would not be able to resist and would end up a damaged, crazed strangeness even if the magnetic field didn¡¯t dissipate.


    Calculating briefly, it lasted about five seconds before the Magnetic Field Storm calmed down.


    Yao Long¡¯s figure quickly appeared on the hill, and after Yan Junze stepped out of the room, he was stunned, looking surprisingly at Yao Long at that moment.


    Just then, the previously swollen man had now become so slender it wasn¡¯t even a third of his prior size. Though black fluid still flowed around his body, his stature had slimmed down significantly, appearing like a drastically successful dieter.


    This indicated that his previous swelling was due to the built-up anger.


    ¡°How long usually before you lose control and your anger bursts out?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°The longest now is about three days,¡± Yao Long answered.


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°This time might extend in the future, but once it bursts, the power could be even greater.¡±


    Thinking again, he added, ¡°Each time you release your anger, try to focus your attention on a particular direction or an object. Even though the range might still be broad, other directions will definitely not be as intense as the one you focus on, so the impact will be less.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, he stroked his chin, ¡°If you get more accustomed to this way of venting, maybe you could intentionally control the range of the magnetic field impact, or, compress the power of the storm to make it detonate at the optimal location and time.¡±


    At this point, Yao Long¡¯s body noticeably shivered, as if Yan Junze¡¯s words had deeply struck him.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind¡­¡± Yao Long suddenly said, ¡°Can I follow you first? That way, when my anger bursts, you can tell me what to do, constantly reminding me.¡±

 Chapter 827: 461: Summoning_2

    Chapter 827: Chapter 461: Summoning_2


    Yan Junze was slightly startled, not expecting Yao Long to take the initiative to follow him. After a moment of thought, he said, ¡°The priority now is that you must control the extent of the magnetic field¡¯s disruption and its impact direction when there¡¯s an outbreak, try to concentrate the impact force in a certain direction. Otherwise¡­¡±


    After speaking, he turned his head to look at the room behind him that belonged to Wang Tong, ¡°Your outburst just now has caused all the electronic devices in that room to malfunction; they¡¯re probably beyond repair. The most important thing right now is that you first get this rampant magnetic field under control, at least to ensure it doesn¡¯t destroy all the equipment at once.¡±


    Yao Long nodded, silently pondering.


    Yan Junze then added, ¡°Following me is okay, and I will help you more, but you can¡¯t maintain your current form all the time. Um, hide yourself in front of others at all times, and wait until I find a place for you to stay.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yao Long¡¯s gaze swept back and forth over Yan Junze¡¯s body, having already guessed that this person was an Exorcist. Yet, this Exorcist gave him a good impression, making communication comfortable.


    Unlike the old Exorcist who came two days ago, who almost scared him witless right from the start. If it weren¡¯t for the anger he provoked and the successful outburst, Yao Long had no doubt that guy was trying to kill him directly. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze decided to temporarily help Yao Long by using the Control Field to at least allow him to hide his rampant magnetic field in front of Exorcists.


    Upon returning to the guard room of the nuclear power plant, Wang Tong had already sensed the magnetic field disturbance there and was anxious. However, seeing Yan Junze¡¯s nonchalant return, his heart settled.


    ¡°It¡¯s all good now. The nuclear power plant can consider restarting after conducting a normal self-inspection,¡± stated Yan Junze.


    Wang Tong glanced behind him and saw nothing.


    As a high-level Ethereal spirit, Yao Long, if he wished, could remain invisible to ordinary Exorcists. And if covered by Yan Junze¡¯s Control Field, even higher-level Exorcists would not be able to sense him.


    The two got into the car and returned to Pro Town, where Yan Junze informed Feng Huaigong that matters had been taken care of.


    Feng Huaigong could sense the abnormality around him but couldn¡¯t afford to scatter his magnetic field to check directly if the Magnetic Pile Monster was following Yan Junze. As long as the problem was solved, that was all that mattered.


    He didn¡¯t ask any more questions, stood up immediately, and went to the airport with Yan Junze.


    The two boarded two different flights, one to Huaying District and the other to Tianmeng District.


    ¡­


    Olay Great Capital, Litecar City.


    The largest square in Morning Star Central Park was now completely sealed off.


    Jeffrey from the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group was seated on a platform in the middle of the square with the ¡°Book of Change¡± placed before his crossed legs.


    As the most sensitive and robust Exorcist in Olay Great Capital with magnetic field perception, Jeffrey was the ideal candidate to summon the True Word Demon Sylvanus.


    This platform was set up temporarily, and Morning Star Central Park was singularly suited to commencing the Summoning Ritual due to the concentrated strength of its magnetic field.


    This time¡¯s Summoning Ritual was entirely different from the initial ceremony by the Half Moon Association in the USA; there were no superfluous sacrificial strangenesses, no complicated ceremonial procedures.


    After the ancient ¡°Book of Change¡± was prepared, most members from the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group, the Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group led by a bald old man, and people from Clyde and the Ninth Royal Palace (including the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group) gathered beneath the platform.


    The book used for the Half Moon Association¡¯s summoning ceremony previously was just an imitation of the ¡°Book of Oath,¡± not the real tome. Moreover, Claudia IX had her own ulterior motives at that time. She suspected the Half Moon Association¡¯s reason for obtaining the ¡°Book of Oath¡± was for summoning purposes, hence she did not mention the ¡°Book of Change.¡±


    The true and safest summon would be done using the ¡°Book of Change.¡± As for the ¡°Book of Oath,¡± it was mostly for research purposes, and forcibly summoning a Demon Spirit with it could likely result in an uncontrollable summoned Demon Spirit.


    And this was something Yan Junze already knew, as the powerful Possession Spirit that appeared before the Great Rewind was indeed a Demon Spirit, which became uncontrollable after the Half Moon Association forcefully summoned it.


    The consequence led to severe backlash, with the Half Moon Association nearly annihilated and the unique proliferation method of the Possession Spirit causing misfortune worldwide.


    Claudia IX of Olay Great Capital was nearly sixty years old, yet he appeared very young, with blond hair and not a single wrinkle on his skin.


    On the scene, only he sat on a glass chair prepared by the royal palace, while everyone else stood, awaiting the start of the ritual.


    Next to Claudia was a boy not yet ten years old with a nearly sickly pale complexion, handsome features, bright eyes, but eerily, the boy¡¯s eyes were silver.


    With glimmers flashing in his eyes, silver lights sparkled occasionally.


    Standing beside Claudia, he attracted the gazes of many Exorcists in the vicinity, filled with awe, and their looks toward him were even more respectful than those directed at Claudia IX.


    Highly proud by nature, Jeffrey was no exception, even in the face of Claudia IX. However, he only tightened his expression and showed serious consideration when looking at the young boy.


    After all, Jeffrey was no longer just a top-rank Exorcist, but a Reaper.


    The ¡°Book of Change¡± in front of him moved on its own, as if touched by an unseen wind, the pages flipping by themselves. Jeffrey released his magnetic field senses, keenly feeling everything around him, while mumbling to himself, chanting the contents of the book.

 Chapter 828: 461 Summoning_3

    Chapter 828: Chapter 461 Summoning_3


    About half an hour later, a slight tremor of air suddenly appeared in the Void behind Jeffrey.


    His magnetic field perception immediately sensed it, and instantly, combining the content of the book, he probed the Void behind him with his magnetic field.


    Then, a more intense fluctuation came.


    At this moment, the others below the platform also saw the transparent airwaves in the Void.


    ¡°It¡¯s happening!¡±


    Jeffrey could not hide his excitement, his gaze fixated on the pages turning by themselves, his lips moving rapidly.


    Suddenly his expression froze, he stopped and stared at the characters on the page, as if in thought, but did not continue to read aloud for a moment.


    The bald elder from the Cross Demon Hunting Group, Payne, seeing this, immediately turned his head toward an old man with a Huaying face behind him, giving the old man a suggestive look with his eyes.


    This old man also noticed the sudden change on the platform, saw Payne nod at him, and immediately bowed and walked out of the line, heading quickly toward the platform.


    Jeffrey glanced at him but did not stop him; instead, he looked at the content of the book, which seemed somewhat arcane and difficult to understand, unsure of how to pronounce it.


    After reaching the platform, the old man appeared very anxious and fearful, bowing his head, bending his waist, trying his best to avoid drawing too much attention from others, and quickly approached the front of the ¡°Book of Change,¡± casting his eyes toward the page.


    After a moment, he spoke softly in Huaying language, ¡°Gen on top, Xun below, pronounce ¡®Xun¡¯ (x¨´n)! Captain Jeffrey, I¡¯ve taught you this character many times.¡±


    Jeffrey rolled his eyes and said in a twisted Huaying language, ¡°Huaying¡¯s ancient text is really a tongue twister!¡±


    The old man laughed awkwardly and hurried down the platform, standing firmly behind Captain Payne.


    Payne turned his head and asked, ¡°Yishan, he recognizes the other characters, doesn¡¯t he?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Huaying old man named Yishan nodded slightly: ¡°He recognizes all of them, it¡¯s just this character that Jeffrey has always been a bit confused about.¡±


    ¡°As long as there are no mistakes, that¡¯s fine.¡± Payne nodded.


    Just at this moment, Jeffrey continued reading, and the fluctuations in the Void behind him grew more intense.


    Everyone looked up.


    At this point, the Void seemed like a transparent curtain being shaken violently by an invisible force. However, it appeared that it would take some more time before any changes occurred.


    ¡°Captain Payne, the Ninth summons this gentleman for a talk.¡± A servant of Claudia IX suddenly came over and stood respectfully in front of Payne.


    Payne turned his head and signaled the old man named Yishan to go, without asking the reason.


    This Huaying old man seemed even more anxious and scared, nodded slightly, and immediately followed the servant.


    Coming in front of the wooden chair where Claudia was sitting, as the old man was about to kneel, Claudia immediately stopped him, ¡°No need to bow, it¡¯s actually my youngest son Papasa who wants to speak with you.¡±


    The old man was slightly surprised, turned his head, and his gaze fell on the silver-eyed boy standing beside Claudia.


    ¡°Your name is Lin, Yi, Shan?¡± Papasa tilted his head, pronouncing the old man¡¯s Huaying name one word at a time, staring at him curiously.


    Old man Lin Yishan felt as if his entire body was seen through by this gaze, couldn¡¯t help shivering and nodded furiously, afraid of answering too slowly.


    Papasa pointed toward the platform and continued, ¡°Why did the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ from the Great Capital Museum seek you for translation?¡±


    Lin Yishan replied with a wry smile, ¡°I am a Yin Yang Master from the Great Capital of Huaying, and for reasons unknown, the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ from your Great Capital has many contents similar to an ancient book in our Huaying Great Capital, and about one-fifth of the text overlaps. Therefore, Mr. Payne hired me to translate for Mr. Jeffrey.¡±


    ¡°What is that book you¡¯re talking about?¡± Papasa¡¯s silver eyes flashed as he asked.


    ¡°Eh, ¡®The Book of Changes¡¯,¡± Lin Yishan answered.

 Chapter 829: 462 True Word Demon

    Chapter 829: Chapter 462 True Word Demon


    ¡°The Book of Changes¡±? Papasa still tilts his little head, looking kind of cute.


    But at this moment, everyone present does not think this child looks cute at all. Knowing the child¡¯s identity, they were too frightened to entertain any other thoughts.


    ¡°It only overlaps partially, it¡¯s not entirely the same.¡± Lin Yishan quickly nodded with a smile.


    In Olay Great Capital, especially after being in the Demon Hunter Group for a long time, he knew who the child was and why everyone else was afraid of him.


    Even the Reapers spoken of by the Demonic Exorcists showed respect when facing this child, with not the slightest hint of disrespect.


    ¡°If there is time another day, let¡¯s discuss it together.¡± Papasa showed a smile, then waved his hand, signaling Lin Yishan to leave.


    Claudia the Ninth also nodded, saying, ¡°It would trouble Mr. Lin.¡±


    ¡°No trouble, no trouble at all.¡± Lin Yishan beamed, his facial wrinkles deep enough to hold a pencil.


    Although he was over sixty, he was still vigorous, moved briskly, and spoke with a strong voice.


    Shortly, he returned to the camp of Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group, stood respectfully in his own place, bowing his head, silent.


    When strangenesses initially erupted, Lin Yishan, who was originally just a Yin Yang Master, thought his era had arrived, but soon he realized that was not the case.


    Because the traditional skills he learned had little effect on these emergent strangenesses, their influence was minuscule, almost negligible.


    After asking around, Lin Yishan got in touch with an Exorcist, and after exchanging information, he found out that exorcism was related to one¡¯s sensitivity to magnetic fields and personal physique.


    At that time, Exorcists had just started rising and were still in an exploratory phase, but after understanding it, Lin Yishan found that his physique didn¡¯t suit being an Exorcist.


    He was not willing to give up, firmly believing in the saying that circumstances create heroes, so he began to search everywhere for methods to modify his physique to adapt and control magnetic fields.


    After fruitless searches in Huaying Great Capital, he accidentally encountered online someone claiming to be a Huaying Demonic Exorcist from Olay Great Capital. After communicating, Lin Yishan decided to leave Huaying Great Capital and try his luck in Olay Great Capital.


    Upon arriving in Olay, under the introduction of this known Demonic Exorcist, Lin Yishan deeply interacted with a Demon Hunter Group called Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group.


    However, he was still just a commoner, at most able to perform some Feng Shui and metaphysical tricks, which amazed these people from Olay.


    It took Lin Yishan another year to barely start communicating with the locals in Olay language.


    Later, the bald elder Payne invented a Blood Oath Sacrifice. By infusing zombie blood into a stone pool in places with abundant and diverse magnetic fields of strangeness, and soaking for eleven consecutive days, it was possible to absorb these chaotic magnetic fields, enabling ordinary people to sense magnetic fields.


    At that time, when it was still experimental, Lin Yishan immediately volunteered to be the first test subject, and this guy was quite harsh on himself, soaking for twenty-one days, successfully mutating his body to sense and manipulate his own magnetic field amidst the strangeness.


    Nowadays, though not very strong, Lin Yishan¡¯s power is at least equivalent to a two-star Exorcist in Huaying Great Capital.


    However, according to Payne, this is the limit Lin Yishan could reach in his lifetime, there are no other methods to further mutate his body.


    The Summoning Ritual on the high platform continued, but the Void behind Jeffrey above shook even more violently, as if there was a massive force pulling it apart, eager to tear the Void asunder.


    Jeffrey, sitting cross-legged, moved his lips even faster, alternating between Olay and Huaying languages, occasionally uttering a string of obscure, unidentified languages.


    In just one minute, he used thirteen different languages, including some ancient languages that were almost extinct.


    Suddenly, the silver-eyed boy Papasa tensed up, staring intently at the Void above the platform, stepping half a step forward, positioning himself in front of Claudia the Ninth.


    At the same moment, the Void trembled violently.


    A ripple spread out, forming a powerful gust of wind, knocking Jeffrey to the ground, and making people below the platform step back several paces.


    However, the ¡°Book of Change¡± remained unmoved.


    Pfft! S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Void ripped open, as if a curtain was torn apart, and not just one layer, but directly through two overlapping layers.


    The gap that opened was immense, hanging high in the air, big enough to fit two heavy-duty trucks simultaneously.


    In the imaginations of the people below the platform, the True Word Demon Sylvanus emerging from the gap would be at least ten meters tall, possibly surrounded by blazing flames, his gigantic foot capable of crushing multiple people.


    Or maybe, this Demon Spirit had two horns on its head, indistinguishable from a hellish demon.


    As blind guesses circulated, the rift suddenly split sharply, as if something inside was forcefully stretching it open.


    Looking at this, Sylvanus might be even bigger and more robust!


    ¡°Jeffrey, continue!¡± Papasa suddenly spoke from below the platform, looking towards Jeffrey, already paralyzed with fright.


    Jeffrey immediately came to his senses, his gaze returning to the ever unmoving Book of Change, continuing to recite from it.

 Chapter 830: 462 True Word Demon_2

    Chapter 830: Chapter 462 True Word Demon_2


    The piercing cold wind started to rush in crazily from the other end of the crack, not strong but unbearably icy, causing people below to shiver uncontrollably.


    The people standing in the group hugged their arms across their chests, trembling, yet they stood their ground, and no one moved.


    In their imagination, perhaps a gigantic foot would step out of the crack in the next second, appearing before everyone.


    Soon, Jeffrey¡¯s voice came to an abrupt halt, he looked down carefully at the Book of Change, then looked towards Papasa below the high platform.


    Papasa was also staring at Jeffrey, who immediately shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands to indicate that he had finished reciting.


    Boom, a voice came out from the crack.


    Then a grey figure fell out from the crack, landing directly on the high platform with a thud, kicking up a ripple of air.


    Everyone was taken aback, looking up to see the crack rapidly shrinking, disappearing within a few seconds.


    The crack was gone!


    Looking again towards the high platform, at the figure that was crawling and slowly writhing on the ground.


    The crowd was even more surprised because just by gauging with their eyes, they could tell that the grey figure was only about one meter twenty or thirty tall, not much different in height from the child-like Papasa.


    The grey figure slowly stood up, it had no hair all over its body, wore no clothes, its skin was wrinkled, and at first glance, it looked like a sordid, shriveled old man who couldn¡¯t even straighten his waist, nowhere to be seen were any horns growing on the head, or a body engulfed in flames, or the towering presence of being over ten meters tall.


    Seeing this scene, many people immediately had doubts: Was the summoning wrong?


    After standing up, the grey figure stretched its arms wide in a yawn, its arms were extremely long, hanging down past its knees, but its fingernails were also very long and had grown in crooked angles, preventing its fingers from closing together.


    After stretching, the grey figure turned its head to look at the crowd below the high platform.


    It grinned, and everyone then realized that its mouth was slit all the way to the root of its ears, and its teeth also grew up to there.


    Clearing its throat, it let out a he-he-he laugh, ¡°The endless abyss gazes at you, fools can only respond with the fear in their hearts, oh Sylvanus, gaze, death!¡±


    As it was finishing these words, the silver-eyed boy Papasa suddenly spoke up in a very rapid tone: ¡°Everyone, lower your heads, do not look at it!¡±


    As soon as Papasa said this, the fastest to react were the members of the Claudia IX Demon Hunting Group, who immediately bowed their heads, no longer looking towards the high platform.


    But in the ranks of the Payne Cross Demon Hunters Group and the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group, nearly half of the members didn¡¯t react in time, and after Papasa spoke, they simply paused and continued to look at the grey figure on the high platform.


    At this time, including Jeffrey on the high platform, everyone had already bowed their heads, moving their gaze away from the grey figure.


    In an instant, the forty-plus people who were still staring at the grey figure turned ashen in an instant, their eyes lost their luster, and without making a sound, all fell to the ground, breathless and dead!


    ¡°He-he-he¡­¡± The grey figure continued to laugh, then spoke, ¡°I am you, you are me, I am everywhere, oh Sylvanus¡­¡±


    ¡°Mr. Sylvanus!¡±


    Papasa suddenly spoke up, a magnetic field spread out, unnoticed but ferociously followed his words, condensing into a thread and drilling straight into the barely existent ear canals of the grey figure.


    Sylvanus was stunned, turned to look at Papasa, cracked a smile, and continued the he-he-he laughter.


    ¡°We¡¯d like to make a deal with you,¡± Papasa said, while signaling Jeffrey on the other side of the high platform with his eyes to continue reading from the Book of Change.


    Jeffrey looked at the ancient book, the Book of Change automatically returned to the first page, and he resumed reading it aloud.


    Sylvanus seemed to enjoy this reading very much, satisfied, he lifted his head, his chest heaving, seemingly listening and extracting the air.


    But Papasa was very clear, this guy was a lifeless object, with no breath at all.


    ¡°You are a top-tier being,¡± Sylvanus suddenly said.


    Papasa nodded, ¡°Others here call me¡ªGod of Death!¡±


    ¡°Mr. God of Death? What kind of deal do you want to make?¡± Sylvanus asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s work together to rule this world,¡± Papasa said.


    Sylvanus¡¯s chest puffed up, as if taking a deep breath, then looked at Papasa and gave a slight nod: ¡°It¡¯s possible, but as a sign of your sincerity, this item can serve as a gift from you to me.¡±


    With that, it extended its crooked fingernailed index finger, pointing at the Book of Change on the ground.


    Clearly, this creature had an intense pleasure and satisfaction with the contents of the Book of Change.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Papasa replied directly, not bothering to seek the consent of Claudia IX.


    His father, Claudia, looked normal, the decision of his youngest son representing his own.


    ¡°True Word Demon Sylvanus, perhaps we should have a proper talk inside the royal palace,¡± Papasa suggested.


    At this moment, Jeffrey ceased his chanting, walked over to the Book of Change, squatted down to close the book, and carefully held it up with both hands, offering it to Sylvanus.


    Sylvanus didn¡¯t accept it, but instead glanced at Jeffrey and asked, ¡°You are¡­?¡±


    ¡°Reaper Jeffrey,¡± Jeffrey answered in a calm tone.


    ¡°From now on, stay by my side, you can read it to me,¡± Sylvanus chuckled.


    Papasa, standing below, glanced at his father Claudia IX, whose expression faltered slightly, while the bald elder Payne also looked at the silver-haired elder standing within the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group, both expressing a hint of concern, but quickly concealed it.


    Only Jeffrey, holding the Book of Change, curled his lips into a smile, as if he knew the secrets of Payne and the Ninth, and at this moment, with the help of Sylvanus, he had firmly found his footing.


    Thinking of merely using me? No chance.


    Now let¡¯s see who is using whom!


    ¡­


    In Huaying¡¯s Great Capital, within Tianmeng District.


    Zhang Xiaomo and other exorcists returned to the Tianmeng City District from Gaosheng City two weeks later.


    After Yan Junze left, the strangenesses there were mostly under control, and Xiaomo wasn¡¯t as exhausted. Of course, except for the night before Yan Junze left.


    After returning to Tianmeng, Yan Junze settled the Magnetic Pile Monster Yao Long in a remote small grove on the outskirts of Tianmeng Science University.


    The nearest household was ten kilometers away, so even if Yao Long¡¯s rage went out of control and erupted, its impact would be minimized.


    During this time, Yan Junze was there to guide him on how to adjust every time the creature got angry.


    And how to vent when accumulating rage normally.


    Yao Long grew increasingly trusting of him.


    Two weeks later, after communicating with his parents, Yan Junze directly went to the university to take a leave of absence, providing a certificate from the Tianmeng Exorcist Team.


    The procedure went smoothly, although leaving his dorm mates Zhao Zheng, Huahua, and He Bishou was somewhat difficult.


    The four had a meal together and gathered at a rented house outside the campus.


    Yan Junze had no plans to move out yet; he was living with Ku Zai, either going to the small grove daily to study how to control the magnetic field outbursts with Yao Long or heading to the suburbs to exorcise and push the limits of the Atlas.


    Upon Xiaomo¡¯s return, she provided Yan Junze with a distribution atlas of the strangenesses across the Great Capital of Huaying.


    The atlas clearly showed which areas had more serious and higher-level strangenesses.


    This was a confidential distribution map, accessible only to the team captain Huo Zhisen and other administrative leaders above his rank, which Yan Junze took into account when planning to carry out exorcism in other districts.


    Mainly because the Tianmeng City District and the surrounding areas were already largely cleansed by highly efficient Buddhist exorcists, and the occasional stray strangenesses that appeared had to be left for other exorcists to practice on.


    As such, Yan Junze could not monopolize the area.


    He now set his sights on some tough challenges in other districts, such as the persistent Spirit Bridges that kept appearing. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The entities inside these bridges were centuries or even millennia old, and for Yan Junze at his current level, these entities were a reliable source of energy.


    Yao Long, by now, could control the outbreaks of his rage on a larger scale so that even if the magnetic energy shock affected human life, it would only last for a brief few seconds before electrical facilities and others would recover.


    However, for the other strangenesses near Yao Long, they weren¡¯t so lucky. Under the guidance of Yan Junze, these entities, if swept by Yao Long¡¯s rage, were almost entirely annihilated with hardly any survivors.


    The name of Yao Long, the Magnetic Pile Monster, was now registered in the Exorcist organization¡¯s system as an entity that did not require dealing with, somewhat similar to a spirit nurtured by exorcists.


    Yan Junze¡¯s first destination was Yannan District because it housed the largest Spirit Bridge in the entire Great Capital of Huaying.


    But what no one knew was that, at this very moment, in various corners of the world, a grand calamity for the exorcists of the Great Capitals of Huaying, USA, and Japan was descending¡­

 Chapter 831: 463: Reapers Doomsday

    Chapter 831: Chapter 463: Reaper¡¯s Doomsday


    Half Moon Association headquarters, fifth floor of the basement.


    Reaper¡¯s Space.


    In the room marked with the number two, a woman with brown hair and a face full of freckles sat there.


    As one of the two Reapers of the Half Moon Association, Valerie Walker, after Morrison¡¯s unexpected death, is now the sole Reaper here.


    Of course, her abilities were somewhat superior to Morrison¡¯s, who was ranked third.


    As for the one ranked first, he is not a Reaper, but the God of Death, Landon Walker.


    Landon Walker is also the only God of Death in the Great Capital of USA.


    Naturally, he is not under the jurisdiction of any organization, including the Half Moon Association.


    At this moment, Valerie seems to be sitting motionless, but in fact, she is activating her Reaper Blind Spot to check on the blind spot she set on an Exorcist a month ago.


    It appears that this Exorcist is hiding some secret linked to a Strange Body very carefully, but none of this escapes Valerie¡¯s notice.


    Now, the Exorcist seems to be deliberately approaching the strangeness. As soon as it appears, Valerie will first capture its characteristics through the Reaper Blind Spot, then go capture it herself.


    However, at this moment, Valerie¡¯s heart suddenly spasms violently, her complexion changes instantly.


    Inside her chest, the heart that was beating has now stopped, and nail-like indentations are visibly emerging, pop, pop, pop, being pierced by what seem to be bent nails at three spots.


    Valerie¡¯s face turns a deep crimson, her eyes fill with Blood Thread, and with her perfect control over the magnetic field, she could feel an incredibly powerful force oppressing her.


    But this force is ethereal and elusive, impossible to capture, let alone resist and counter.


    She has extraordinary strength but no target to confront. At this moment, Valerie is in utter anguish, wanting to cough up blood!


    ¡°Heh heh heh, Sylvanus¡­¡±


    An eerie voice sounds by her ear, and the next second, Valerie¡¯s heart bursts open.


    ¡­


    Inside the Olay Great Capital palace.


    Claudia IX, his youngest son Papasa, Payne, the leader of the Cross Demon Hunting Group, and a silver-haired elder who is also the leader of the Ninth Generation Demon Hunting Group, Lucifer, stood together, their gazes cast toward Jeffrey in the center of the hall.


    This leader from the Iron Blood Demon Hunter Group held the Book of Change in his hands, with a calm expression, but internally he never felt as elated as he did at this moment.


    The others quickly turned their attention to the book in Jeffrey¡¯s hands.


    Claudia IX spoke: ¡°True Word Demon Sylvanus has entered this Book of Change and hasn¡¯t come out?¡±


    Jeffrey, holding onto the Book of Change, shook his head: ¡°It simply prefers to stay inside; it can come out at any time. However, it said that only my words can communicate with it.¡±


    Papasa revealed a sneer, ¡°Let¡¯s see you communicate then.¡±


    Jeffrey seemed to ignore his expression and simply said with a smile, ¡°We have already communicated. Now, whatever we want to do to those Exorcists, we can write it on the pages of the book, and the words will come true.¡±


    The eyes of the others flickered, and Payne immediately said, ¡°Write something now, let us see.¡±


    Jeffrey nodded slightly, opened the Book of Change, and quickly flipped to the last few pages.


    Only then everyone realized that for some reason, the Book of Change now had over a dozen blank pages at the end.


    ¡°Whose the target?¡± Jeffrey asked without looking up as he flipped the pages.


    ¡°Last time you eliminated Valerie, the Reaper from the Great Capital of USA, and caused chaos within the Half Moon Association. This time, write about Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, the Reaper from the Great Capital of Japan, the Nether Bakufu has never been on good terms with us,¡± said Papasa.


    ¡°I remember the Exorcists from the Nether Bakufu killed seven or eight of our top Demonic Exorcists from the Odin Demon Hunter Group and the Witch Demon Hunt Group in Olay Great Capital, and they took away the Strange Body that originally belonged to us,¡± said Lucifer.


    Jeffrey nodded, without hesitation, spread the book on the table in front of him, took out a quill from the penholder on the table, dipped it in ink, pondered for a moment, and then began to write on the blank part of the page.


    [Endless darkness harbors limitless dangers. All who Kurosawa Tsuyoshi touches in the darkness of the Great Capital of Japan will face transcendental terror, and he too shall be destroyed by it. ¡ª Sylvanus]


    During the process of Jeffrey¡¯s writing, including Papasa and Claudia the Ninth, most people noticed that his hand holding the pen didn¡¯t seem to exert much effort, yet the quill still slid smoothly across the paper.


    It was as if another force was at work.


    And such eloquent sentences, to instantly think and write them out, were not what Jeffrey excelled at.


    So Claudia IX suspected that this guy was just a tool, conveying everyone¡¯s thoughts through the pen, and during the writing process, it was still mainly Sylvanus at work.


    After finishing these sentences, Jeffrey smiled, placed the quill nicely, and solemnly closed the book.


    ¡°From the moment I close this book, the True Word takes effect.¡±


    ¡°Kill them, eradicate these Great Capitals¡¯ strongest Demonic Exorcists, counteract them with the Strange Bodies, and then it will be our turn to step in,¡± Claudia IX said, smiling contentedly. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Originally, this was the plan of the Half Moon Association in the Great Capital of USA,¡± added Payne, smiling just as widely: ¡°But they could never have imagined that their very own Reaper would become our first test subject.¡±

 Chapter 832: 463: Reapers Doomsday_2

    Chapter 832: Chapter 463: Reaper¡¯s Doomsday_2


    ¡­


    In Japan¡¯s Great Capital, M&R City.


    Inside a civilian residence with front and back yards, two pairs of men¡¯s cloth shoes were placed at the entrance leading to the main house. At this moment, in the living room of the civilian house, sat a fifty-year-old lean middle-aged man, kneeling by the side of a small wooden table.


    In front of him, a young man holding a katana was scanning the room, the katana in his hands emitting bursts of black mist, ready to strike at any moment.


    The lean middle-aged man was none other than Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, who was observing his disciple performing an exorcism, yet the strangeness in this room was extremely unusual.


    Even though Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was a Reaper-level Exorcist, he still couldn¡¯t accurately pin down the source of the strangeness through his magnetic field perception.


    The strangeness in this room was dubbed ¡°Multi-limbed Being¡± by Kurosawa Tsuyoshi, because its limbs and body were mixed together like dough, kneaded into a lump, with several extra arms and legs sprawling out, looking exceptionally disgusting and terrifying.


    At this moment, the sun was setting, and the room was not lit, falling into a hazy darkness.


    But neither Kurosawa Tsuyoshi nor his disciple let their guard down. Within Kurosawa Tsuyoshi¡¯s perception range, there was some disturbance near the living room¡¯s entrance by the corridor.


    He immediately alerted, ¡°Kitahara, beware of your left side.¡±


    The young man, named Daisuke Kitahara, immediately adjusted the katana to a defensive position, his gaze shifting towards the corridor outside.


    At the same time, a bent and stained arm appeared at the doorway, bracing against the ground as if crawling, followed by two thighs stuck together, and above the thighs, another arm with broken knuckles.


    Daisuke Kitahara promptly took a step back as more limbs revealed themselves in front of the door, with a lump of flesh in the middle, on either side of which were two small legs, one with a broken foot hanging.


    And in that moment, a skewed head appeared below and at an angle to the calves; it was a man, his eyes wide open, his jaw skewed, and his limp tongue hanging out, swaying in the air.


    The sight of the Multi-limbed Being completely overturned the Exorcist¡¯s understanding of a typical strangeness, giving the impression that this creature was very likely an indescribable monster.


    ¡°Take action!¡± Kurosawa Tsuyoshi immediately admonished.


    The katana engulfed in black mist slashed horizontally with full force. Daisuke Kitahara had put all his energy into this strike, and with the power boost from the strangeness harbored within him, his strength was ferociously enhanced by a trace of eeriness.


    Thud!


    The katana hit its target but got stuck halfway through. The Multi-limbed Being let out a shrill scream, reaching out and grabbing Daisuke Kitahara by the ankle, dragging him to the ground.


    The other limbs converged, pummeling down on Daisuke¡¯s body, each strike heavy and thundering.


    Kurosawa Tsuyoshi did not step forward to help; he knew his disciple could extricate himself.


    However, he did not notice that as the sunset was about to disappear, the darkness in the room was growing denser.


    The darkest corner behind had become pitch-dark, slowly moving towards where Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was seated, like an incoming tide.


    At that moment, Kitahara seized an opportunity to abruptly stand up, the strangeness fostered within him half emerging from his chest, nearly surging out, resembling a fierce woman¡¯s figure.


    The katana once again emitted a large surge of black mist, stabbing into the Multi-limbed Being¡¯s head, penetrating through the lump of flesh, the blade¡¯s tip touching the ground with a clang.


    This was the seventh time Daisuke Kitahara had inflicted heavy damage on the Multi-limbed Being, but each time this monster would directly vanish, disappearing without a trace, only to reappear unscathed after a while.


    This time, Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was not willing to give the Multi-limbed Being another chance to escape. Seeing that his disciple had succeeded, he immediately stood up, preparing to walk over.


    The darkness behind him swept over in that instant, and a fat hand with melting flesh extended from the darkness, grabbing Kurosawa Tsuyoshi¡¯s shoulder. The dissolving flesh fell onto his shoulder.


    This flesh, as if corrosive, quickly ate through his shoulder, sinking into the meat and continuing its decay.


    Kurosawa Tsuyoshi was both shocked and in pain; he had never expected that such a terrifying strangeness would appear behind him without his noticing. He quickly turned and gathered the magnetic field, releasing along with the strangeness within him a massive force that also unleashed the Reaper Forbidden Zone.


    Boom, the fat strangeness behind him burst into pieces, but more of its fatty flesh splattered all over Kurosawa Tsuyoshi¡¯s face and body.


    Unbearable pain spread throughout his body, white smoke from corroded burning skin rose from him, and even under the influence of the Reaper Forbidden Zone, it couldn¡¯t be stopped. Kurosawa Tsuyoshi screamed in agony.


    Suddenly, a series of hehehe laughter came from the darkness ahead, and a voice whispered in his ear, ¡°Sylvanus¡­¡±


    A gaunt and slender arm reached out from the darkness, hooked around his shoulder, and yanked him in forcefully.


    The darkness grew denser, like spilled ink, enveloping half of the living room, and Daisuke Kitahara, who was standing in the corridor, was completely terrified by the scene.


    ¡­


    Yannan District.


    This largest Spirit Bridge in Quanhuaying Great Capital appeared two months after the outbreak of strangenesses and has persisted to this day.


    When it first appeared, the Spirit Bridge covered half of Guankou City in Yannan District, but at that time the Exorcist system was not fully established, resulting in many citizens not being able to escape.


    The residents of the other half of the city were organized and evacuated in an orderly manner after Great Capital later began to respond.


    Today¡¯s Guankou City has become a Dead City, and as expected, the Spirit Bridge, which originally covered only half the city, has now extended to the entire city and shows a tendency to spread further.


    This is also why the Spirit Bridge cannot be completely eradicated. It continues to grow, and this city already had a substantial population, so it never lacked for strangenesses.


    Moreover, after being enhanced, the Spirit Bridge causes some senior-level strangenesses to appear over time, further making the number and power of the strangenesses uncontrollable.


    Although Exorcists tirelessly deal with these strangenesses, the current situation is such that they can barely suppress, but not completely cleanse the Spirit Bridge from Guankou City.


    Of course, to Junze today, this place might as well be called a treasure trove of strangenesses.


    Since his arrival, he directly entered the area covered by the Spirit Bridge in Guankou City. Nearby Exorcists all received messages from their superiors, no one stopped him, and they even provided him some transportation convenience, lending an off-road vehicle for Junze to use. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During his exorcism within the Spirit Bridge, Junze first used Perception of Strange Events to locate high-level strangeness incidents, then marked them on the map and began eliminating them one by one.


    In the process of exorcism, he made full use of the Black Spirit Umbrella combined with the Control Field, and sometimes when encountering troublesome strangenesses that couldn¡¯t be reasoned with, he would summon the combination of the Crawler Monster and Zhuang Sisters, to crush these strangenesses directly.


    After watching the combined assault by the Crawler Monster and Zhuang Sisters, Junze felt that if he wished, and if all three sisters possessed the Crawler Monster, the power they would wield within this Spirit Bridge would be unstoppable.


    Of course, that¡¯s if one doesn¡¯t consider the increasing number of strangenesses.


    After Junze had cleansed the most powerful strangenesses one by one in the Spirit Bridge, other Exorcists found that the Spirit Bridge enveloping Guankou City seemed to have begun to fade.


    They were not sure if this was an illusion or something else, but they instinctively felt the pressure of exorcism lessen, only encountering some of the less powerful strangenesses.


    Meanwhile, Junze was heading towards the last high-level strangeness currently detected in this the largest Spirit Bridge.


    ¡°In plain clothes, she hints the beauty of the city; her jade-like face still carries the moonlight,¡± Junze murmured to himself, reciting the lines he had seen in the mission information.


    The surface of Guanshui River in Guankou City was calm, without a ripple, it was the only river running through the city and used to be a very popular tourist spot.


    Even after all the city¡¯s residents fled, the river water remained crystal clear, but at this moment, in the middle of the river, eerily stood a boat pavilion. The boat had clean decks, and the bright red lanterns swaying without wind gave off a ghostly sway.


    The task description mentioned that there is a strangeness onboard the boat pavilion that is at least fifteen hundred years old.

 Chapter 833: 464 Bloodstains on Water Sleeves (Part 1)

    Chapter 833: Chapter 464 Bloodstains on Water Sleeves (Part 1)


    This boat seems to be an ancient riverboat, not very large, with an overall dark red color and some brightly colored patterns on both sides of the hull.


    Yan Junze stood on the riverbank, looking at this riverboat.


    The buildings on both sides of the river also maintain an ancient style, though they have all been refurbished, mainly for commerce, filled with various food stalls and specialty stores.


    The shops are thick with dust, and some of their fa?ades are damaged, presenting a scene of decay.


    Yan Junze paid no attention to other things. In fact, there are thirteen strangenesses in this area, but except for the one on the riverboat, the others are weaker. He planned to deal with this higher-level one first, then handle the rest.


    ¡°It seems like she was a brothel woman in her lifetime¡­¡± Yan Junze muttered to himself.


    Although this task information appeared quite normal, it always gave him an unusual feeling, like something was not right, but Yan Junze couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what it was.


    It was an intuition.


    Not long after he stood by the riverbank, the riverboat, originally stationary in the middle of the river, suddenly began to move slowly, approaching in the direction where Yan Junze was standing, and gradually moored at the nearest shore to him.


    There were red lanterns swaying on the riverboat, the candlelight flickered brightly and dimly.


    If it were before, this riverboat wouldn¡¯t appear in front of anyone, but Yan Junze, after looking at the task information, calculated its appearing time and arrived just at the right moment.


    The sky overhead sporadically bathed in moonlight, but because of the appearance of Spirit Bridge, most of the moonlight was blocked, making the night look hazy.


    A stroke of red light poured out from the riverboat, illuminating the path in front of Yan Junze.


    He looked down, said nothing, and took a step off the riverbank, boarding the riverboat.


    The riverboat didn¡¯t sway at all as he boarded; it steadied itself and began to move again towards the middle of the river. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yan Junze held the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand, stepping into the cabin of the riverboat. Ever since entering Spirit Bridge, he had held the Black Spirit Umbrella in his hand to guard against any unruly strangenesses that might ambush him.


    The inside of the cabin was very clean and tidy, with two rows of slightly smaller red lanterns hanging on the left and right sides, and the room further inside was covered by a light-colored curtain, obscuring the view inside.


    However, not far from the curtain, there were two round wooden stools. Yan Junze walked over and sat down on one of them.


    His gaze fixated on the curtain, silent.


    After waiting for a moment, there was no movement inside, which made him wonder if the strangeness that seemed to reside in that small bedroom was asleep.


    Having no choice, he deliberately cleared his throat to remind the entity that he had entered.


    Still silent, there was no response.


    ¡°Who are you waiting for?¡± Yan Junze straightforwardly spoke out, his tone calm, his gaze fixed towards the direction of the curtain.


    The task information contained the phrase ¡°Plain clothes faintly cast a city¡¯s grace, jade-like beauty still brings the moonlight,¡± leading Yan Junze to suspect that the person inside the riverboat was waiting for someone.


    After he asked the question, a faint sigh, almost imperceptible, emerged from behind the curtain, the voice that of a woman.


    But it was just a sigh, no words followed.


    ¡°I might be able to resolve your question,¡± Yan Junze continued.


    ¡°What if you can¡¯t?¡± The woman¡¯s voice, crisp and melodious, sounded.


    Yan Junze slightly smiled, offering no answer.


    ¡°If you cannot resolve, I will have to keep your head here,¡± the woman gently said.


    As her words fell, Yan Junze suddenly felt something abnormal around him. Turning his head to look around, he saw that all the red lanterns surrounding him had transformed, no longer red lanterns but now displaying heads.


    All these heads were male, each with its mouth open, a candle burning within, as if the insides had been hollowed out. The candlelight spilled from the gaping mouths, hollow eye sockets, and ear holes.


    It was evident that if Yan Junze couldn¡¯t resolve the issue, his fate would be the same as these heads present.


    Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled and said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    A ghostly sigh came from inside once more, the woman as if softly chanting or perhaps reminiscing.


    ¡°He is here, help me find him.¡±


    Yan Junze was startled, turning to look at the heads hung around, unsure if the ¡°he¡± referred to by the woman was among them.


    But if it were so easy to find him, then it would be overly simple; she could have found this ¡°he¡± herself without needing him.


    Just then, the woman¡¯s voice continued, melodious, ¡°Finger tips like bamboo shoots, sleeves stained with blood, see who waits behind the curtain, with raven hair.¡±


    Each word was articulated clearly, Yan Junze heard it distinctly.


    As the words ended, an imperceptible anomaly reoccurred in the room; Yan Junze turned his head around and noticed several fishing rods that had appeared at the entrance.


    Each fishing rod was strung with fishing line, the hooks at the ends already baited. On a closer look, the baits turned out to be severed finger tips.


    Some hooks were baited with two fingers, others with three, the number of baits on each fishing rod varied.


    The fingers were still dripping blood.


    ¡°Is this asking me to fish using these specially prepared baits?¡± Yan Junze looked curiously towards the curtain direction, but the woman did not reply.

 Chapter 834: 464: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 1)_2

    Chapter 834: Chapter 464: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 1)_2


    After some thought, Yan Junze picked up a fishing rod, walked out of the cabin, and moved to the side of the boat. Grasping the rod, he put a bit of force into it and cast the fishline with bait into the river.


    A small ripple formed on the water¡¯s surface, and soon enough, the fishhook along with two fingers slowly sank.


    A cool breeze blew over the river, sending a chill over Yan Junze. He pulled his collar tighter, unsure how long this fishing attempt might take.


    He had noticed earlier that the fingers used as bait seemed slender and had delicate, fair skin, hardly like a man¡¯s hands, more likely they belonged to a woman.


    Moments later, the fishing rod dipped, suggesting something had taken the bait.


    Yan Junze quickly grabbed with both hands, beginning to slowly reel in the catch, pulling the hooked object towards the surface, which gradually emerged from the water.


    To his surprise, it appeared to be a clump of hair, long and abundant, floating on the water, obscuring whatever else might be below it.


    Yan Junze also felt that the catch was fairly light, seemingly just a mass of long hair.


    But as it drew closer, a face surfaced from the water, and Yan Junze widened his eyes, pulling and observing carefully; in no time, a woman dressed in a white Water Sleeve Dress was dragged out.


    The woman¡¯s cheeks were swollen, her hands protruding from the dress also grossly inflated, likely due to being submerged for an extended period.


    Had it not been for certain distinctively female features, some parts swollen even more severely than others, even Yan Junze would have been unable to determine her gender.


    As he hoisted her out of the water using the fishing rod, the weight suddenly increased dramatically, startling him, nearly snapping the rod.


    He immediately bent down, reached out and firmly grasped her hair, discarded the fishing rod, and directly yanked upward with both hands, pulling the hair forcefully.


    The scene that followed was of an extremely horrifying and disgusting corpse, emitting a fetid smell, being hauled out of the water by Yan Junze like a doll, and then disdainfully thrown onto the deck.


    Gasping for breath, Yan Junze entered the cabin and asked, ¡°Is this the person you¡¯re looking for?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± came a voice from behind the curtain.


    ¡°Then who is she¡­?¡±


    ¡°My maid,¡± was the reply.


    Yan Junze nodded, asked no further, picked up another fishing rod by the door¡ªthis one baited with three bloody fingers.


    The two fingers from the first fishing rod had disappeared after he pulled up the swollen corpse, probably now either in the corpse¡¯s mouth or swallowed down its throat.


    Even though the bait could be reused, Yan Junze had no desire to retrieve it from her mouth.


    Casting the bait from the second fishing rod into the water, this time Yan Junze changed his position on the boat and began to wait in silence once again, occasionally glancing back at the swollen corpse on the deck, watching to see if it would rise on its own while he wasn¡¯t paying attention and surprise him with a sudden attack.


    The chill on the boat grew stronger, and the temperature around seemed to drop even further at that moment. Yan Junze had already stored his Black Spirit Umbrella in the node, ready to be easily released in case of an emergency.


    It seemed as though the presence of the corpse continued to lower the temperature of the air.


    It was dead silent all around, not even the sound of flowing water could be heard, as if everything in the environment was lifeless, not just on the boat but even beneath it, as if there wasn¡¯t a single living fish below.


    Moments later, something made him look back reflexively, and he was instantly shocked.


    Because the previously flat-lying swollen corpse was now bent in shape, and not just that, her puffy cheeks were stretched apart, her mouth gaping wide open.


    Yan Junze bent down for a closer look, noticed she stayed that way without moving, unsure whether something had crawled out of her mouth, or if she had opened it herself.


    Fortunately, her swollen eyes remained closed.


    Just then, the fishing rod dipped, indicating another catch.


    Yan Junze shifted his attention immediately, looking towards the water. He could only see the float submerge, nothing else visible. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He began to reel in right away. This time, the object beneath the water had some weight to it, yet it didn¡¯t surface, only being drawn quickly towards the bow.


    ¡°Could it be another corpse?¡± Yan Junze wondered.


    As he got closer, he could see a piece of clothing beneath the surface of the water, to be precise, a long dress.


    ¡°Another female corpse?¡± Yan Junze exclaimed in surprise, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that woman¡¯s maid, could it?¡±


    Upon lifting the fishing rod, the heavy feeling suddenly lightened, and with a swish, a dress was pulled out of the water, water pouring off it, revealing it was just a set of clothes.


    This was a Water Sleeve Dress, with no body inside.


    However, the surface of the Water Sleeve Dress was stained with splotches of blood, a sight so alarming at a glance, with some parts of the dress torn or possibly pierced by a sharp object.


    At this moment, Yan Junze looked at the fish hook, and the three fingers hooked on it were now gone without a trace.


    It seems that with each haul, the fingers on it would disappear, not necessarily eaten by that female corpse, or perhaps falling into the water.


    The waist of this Water Sleeve Dress was quite narrow, even the female corpse on the boat deck, not yet bloated, might not fit into it.


    Perhaps it belonged to someone else.


    Thinking of this, Yan Junze turned his head and glanced at the female corpse with her mouth agape, then suddenly shivered, his eyes widening as he stared at the bloated female corpse.


    Because at this moment, the female corpse had changed her position, no longer curled up on the ground, but now sitting up facing his direction, her mouth still wide open, her entire face swollen like a white steamed bun.


    However, her eyes were still closed.


    He took the Water Sleeve Dress in his hand, and seeing that the female corpse was now sitting up, Yan Junze held the dress next to her for comparison, confirmed it was not her clothes, and then laid the Water Sleeve Dress flat on the deck.


    Turning around to return to the entrance of the boat¡¯s small cabin, he casually picked up the third fishing rod, baited with two more fingers.


    Speaking towards the curtain, he said: ¡°This time, I fished up a Water Sleeve Dress, probably yours; I¡¯ve placed it outside for you.¡±


    There was a moment of silence behind the curtain, followed by a calm voice.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Holding the third fishing rod, he walked to the bow to cast the bait in a new direction into the river.


    The temperature on the boat dropped again, and Yan Junze could now clearly see his own breath, turning to look at the riverbank, where a foggy mist obscured the sight of the shops along the shore.


    He had the illusion that the boat was no longer in the same river as before but seemed to have reached an unknown body of water.


    Whoosh¡ª


    A strong cool breeze swept in, causing the small red flag at the bow to flutter loudly.


    ¡°Damn, why is it getting colder? Had I known the river was this cold, I would have worn more clothes before the mission,¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself.


    Turning his head to look, the swollen female corpse was still sitting there with her mouth wide open, not having moved.


    Suddenly, the fishing rod in his hand trembled violently, almost slipping into the river.


    Yan Junze was startled, quickly grabbing the rod tightly with both hands, as the object snagged under the water seemed to be struggling, and the struggle was very vigorous.


    This time was different from the previous two; whatever was on the hook, it really seemed to be a live fish.


    Yan Junze pulled slowly, afraid that the fishing line would break or the struggling fish would slip off the hook¡ªloosening it a little, tightening it a little, gradually reeling in the line. When it was close to the boat, he gave a strong pull, and a dark, slippery creature was lifted out of the water.


    However, Yan Junze was immediately shocked; what he never expected was that the hook did not snag a fish, but a¡­ baby!


    This was a male infant with a purplish body, his head only sparsely covered with a few tufts of hair, wet and clinging to his scalp, his lips pierced by the hook, limbs limp, dangling motionless in mid-air.


    When it was under water, it clearly felt like the baby was struggling and thrashing violently, but now it looked as if it had been dead for a long time, its body color even changed.


    Yan Junze quickly laid the baby on the deck gently, crouched down, and slowly removed the fish hook from the baby¡¯s lips.


    Upon closer inspection, he realized the infant might have died shortly after birth, its bones so fragile that even a little force could rotate the joints in its tiny arms.

 Chapter 835: 465: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 2)

    Chapter 835: Chapter 465: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 2)


    Checking the umbilical area of the entirely purple baby, a section was still exposed, seeming hastily cut off before being thrown into the river.


    Yan Junze was sure that when he had caught this little fellow just now, it was indeed struggling in the water, making him mistakenly believe he had caught a live fish.


    But looking at it now, the baby had long been dead; it moved earlier in the water, now it lay still ashore, somewhat resembling the first swollen female corpse pulled ashore.


    Thinking of the swollen female corpse, Yan Junze glanced back, but just as he turned his head, he was immediately hit by a stench of stagnant water, his view completely dominated by a swollen face, obscuring everything else.


    Startled, he quickly stepped back and saw that the swollen female corpse had completely stood up, just behind him, almost touching his back.


    If he hadn¡¯t looked back suddenly, the woman might have reached out and embraced him the next moment.


    Upon closer inspection, the corpse was still again.


    Just standing there, completely stiff, as if it had never moved.


    However, her face was twitching slightly, and her swollen eyelids seemed to want to open; first, the left eyelid moved slowly, turning up.


    Just as a slit of an eye opened, a murky stream of water flowed out, trickling down the swollen cheek onto the deck.


    Until the eyelid was completely flipped, the protruding eyeball dropped abruptly, squeezing out more water.


    Moving to the right eyelid after the left eyeball fell off, the right eyelid followed in the same manner.


    As the eyelid flipped, the eyeball along with water squeezed out, leaving behind two empty eye sockets.


    ¡°Well, just now it looked just a bit swollen, now it¡¯s getting more and more unhuman-like,¡± Yan Junze shrugged and released the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Just as he held it but hadn¡¯t opened it yet, the standing swollen female corpse suddenly fell backward, hitting the deck with a bang.


    It seems the woman knew her place, lying down first.


    Yan Junze could not help but laugh, he had only intended to frighten with the Black Spirit Umbrella, but seeing the corpse¡¯s current state, it was obviously out of fear that she ceased threatening him. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, as she fell to the ground, raising her clothes slightly, Yan Junze caught a glimpse of her swollen waist area and paused slightly, walked over, placed the Black Spirit Umbrella next to the head of the corpse as a warning not to move, or the umbrella would be ready.


    Then, he turned his attention to the torn white dress near the waist area, right below where the body was swollen, creating some degree of bulge, which had prevented Yan Junze from noticing earlier. Now looking at it, the dress also seemed to have been pierced by a sharp object.


    Lifting the section of pierced clothing revealed a black hole on the side of the swollen waist; at a casual glance, it was deeply stabbed, nearly penetrating the entire waist, likely a fatal wound.


    Unconvinced, Yan Junze turned the corpse over, allowing it to lie face down, and checked her back for any other wounds.


    It now seemed she had been stabbed in the waist and then thrown into the river.


    Unlike the purple baby, who was immediately thrown into the river after having its umbilical cord cut at birth.


    Remembering this, Yan Junze stood up, looked towards where the baby had been, and suddenly froze, finding that there was nothing there anymore, the baby¡¯s whereabouts unknown.


    Looking around, there were water stains on the deck, clear traces of little hands and feet around where the baby had been lying, but further away the water stains had completely faded, unclear of its crawling direction.


    Yan Junze made a round, inspecting the area, but found no sign of the little guy.


    He looked down again at the prone swollen female corpse, opened the Black Spirit Umbrella next to her, leaning it on the ground, setting the open end towards the head of the corpse.


    If she wanted to move, she would first be covered exactly by the umbrella, meaning, at this moment, the swollen female corpse could only lie there; if she dared to show her head, it would be the first to absorb her dark energy by the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    The whole thing was not yet clear, Yan Junze didn¡¯t want to destroy these strangenesses related to this strange event yet but was prepared to watch more.


    If he hasted now, catching one and destroying one without understanding their relations, he was afraid the mission might fail to complete.


    Thinking there was still one last fishing rod in the cabin, he returned to the front of the cabin door, bent down to grab the fourth fishing rod, and spoke behind the curtain: ¡°Just caught a baby, but not sure where it has gone now.¡±


    There was no sound from behind the curtain.


    Yan Junze looked at the bait on this fourth fishing rod, hooked with three fingers, adding up to a pair of hands with the bait from all four rods.


    Perhaps these ten fingers belonged to the same person, a woman.


    Holding the fishing rod, walking past the prone swollen female corpse, Yan Junze paid special attention to her hands, which were intact but somewhat swollen, each finger resembling a thin carrot.


    He turned again to look around the boat, still not seeing the purple baby¡¯s whereabouts.


    Yan Junze changed his position, cast the bait into the river, and looked around the water surrounding the boat; it was no longer merely dim but black as ink.

 Chapter 836: 465: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 836: Chapter 465: Water Sleeves Stained with Blood (Part 2)_2


    In the waters a bit further from the painted boat, visibility was completely gone, enveloped entirely by thick darkness.


    The range of sight was compressed to only about five meters, one could vaguely make out the position of the float on the water surface, and there wasn¡¯t even a slight breeze around at this moment.


    It seemed as though everything in the surroundings was slowly starting to solidify under the gradually decreasing temperature.


    Yan Junze¡¯s hand holding the fishing rod was becoming stiffer and stiffer, and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver. It wasn¡¯t out of fear, but rather because his clothes were too thin, making him feel like his body was about to freeze through.


    Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, turned his head towards the roof of the painted boat¡¯s cabin, and in his line of sight, a small purple baby head peeked out, looking towards him.


    ¡°So you went up there,¡± Yan Junze realized.


    At the same moment, the fishing rod in his hand suddenly sank, the float on the water surface instantly submerged into the river, something had bitten the hook.


    However, the weight of this thing was also very heavy, as if what was hooked was also a corpse.


    Yan Junze immediately grasped the fishing rod with both hands, using the earlier method of pulling and loosening, slowly pulling up whatever was in the water.


    But just as he grabbed the fishing rod with both hands, the purple baby on the cabin roof suddenly opened its small mouth towards him, which instantaneously tore open as it emitted a sharp, piercing scream.


    The purple baby thumped onto the deck, scrambling towards Yan Junze with hands and feet.


    At this moment, Yan Junze¡¯s hands were busy holding the fishing rod, using a clever force to tug and loosen in order to fish out the object hooked in the water, he simply could not let go.


    Because now he knew, once the thing in the water was hooked, it meant that the bait was gone, if he failed to fish it out this time, without extra bait, it very well might lead to mission failure.


    The purple baby seemed to have caught onto this point, choosing this moment to attack him.


    At this moment, the Black Spirit Umbrella was still dissuading the bloated female corpse from moving, preventing her from moving, and Yan Junze was engaged in fishing, also unable to free his hands, this indeed presented a perfect opportunity for a strike.


    If it were not for Yan Junze still having a trick up his sleeve, no, many tricks up his sleeve.


    Just then, the purple baby suddenly froze, because it realized that Yan Junze had vanished right under its watchful eyes, instantly losing its target, it immediately stopped in its tracks, looking around, this small strangeness feeling a sense of weirdness for the first time.


    The surroundings were utterly silent, not only had Yan Junze disappeared, but even the aunt and sister he often saw under the river were gone, it seemed like only it was left on the entire painted boat.


    Meanwhile, at the front side of the boat, after releasing [Space-Time Lockdown], Yan Junze refocused his attention on the fishing rod in his hands.


    Originally, to punish this purple baby, he prepared to release [Space-Time Scene Overlap] so it would add into the locked space, increasing the baby¡¯s terror.


    But after thinking it over, he felt it was unnecessary, first trap this little fellow, then fish out the last object in the river.


    The object was indeed very heavy, Yan Junze felt that the fishing rod was not merely dragging a corpse, but as if it was simultaneously dragging two or three.


    With a splash, he finally pulled the object from the water¡¯s surface.


    Upon closer examination, it wasn¡¯t a corpse, nor any large object, and even if one didn¡¯t pay attention, at first glance one might think there was nothing there.


    What was fished up was a slender steel spike.


    Extending his hand to grasp the rust-covered steel spike, unraveling the tangled fishing line, Yan Junze held the cold to the bone spike and closely examined it for a while.


    This thing was indeed heavy, but not to the extent it felt in the water, it seemed there was still some oddity.


    This object in ancient times would be a common weapon, just not commonly seen in modern times.


    Yan Junze walked to the lying female corpse, flipped her body over again, then lifted the clothing at the waist where the wound was, looking at the wound penetrated by a sharp object, and then glanced at the steel spike in his hand.


    After thinking, he spoke: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    With that, he inserted the steel spike along the dark wound, not using force, but carefully inserting it, feeling for depth with the tactile feedback from his hands.


    A moment later, the entire steel spike was almost entirely inserted, leaving only the round handle sticking out from the female corpse¡¯s body.


    Looking at it, this object was indeed the weapon that killed the bloated female corpse.


    Extracting the steel spike and holding it in hand, Yan Junze stood up, collected the Black Spirit Umbrella, and walked into the cabin.


    Shortly after he entered the cabin, the female corpse on the ground slowly sat up, and then her body rigidly stood up, turned around, looking towards the cabin.


    The [Space-Time Lockdown] covering the purple baby disappeared at this moment as the countdown expired, the baby suddenly startled, looking at the scene that had retransformed in front of it, and just like the female corpse¡¯s actions, it also got up, turned around, looking towards the cabin.


    The next moment, the Water Sleeve Dress laid flat on the deck, eerily trembled without any wind, autonomously lifting itself as if an invisible person was putting on this Water Sleeve Dress and just like the other two strangenesses, lined up together, facing the cabin.


    Surprisingly though, they only slowly approached the cabin door, with no intentions of coming inside.


    Yan Junze seemed to know all this, not even turning his head, holding the Black Spirit Umbrella in one hand and the steel spike weapon in the other.


    After returning to the cabin, he directly sat down on a round stool closer to the curtain. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 837: 465: Bloodstains on Water Sleeves (Part 3)

    Chapter 837: Chapter 465: Bloodstains on Water Sleeves (Part 3)


    He gazed at the curtain, his eyes seemingly penetrating the thin veil, seeing the woman hidden within.


    Clang!


    Throwing the steel spike under the curtain, Yan Junze spoke in a deep voice: ¡°I think I¡¯ve found the person you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡± The woman inside immediately asked.


    Yan Junze gave a slight smile, ¡°Answer a few questions for me first, then I¡¯ll tell you where he is.¡±


    Silence fell behind the curtain.


    About a minute later, she replied: ¡°Ask.¡±


    ¡°What is your honorific and full name, young lady?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°I am Hongxiu, my family name from my husband is Lin.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, ¡°Miss Hongxiu, the person you want me to find is your husband, right? Hmm, at least you were lovers.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± The voice behind the curtain asked: ¡°Where is he¡­?¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, if I¡¯m wrong please forgive me.¡± Yan Junze didn¡¯t answer Hongxiu¡¯s question, but continued on his own: ¡°You¡¯ve been performing on this pleasure boat for years, encountered numerous clients, but one day you unexpectedly met a young Master Lin, and you fell in love with him. This Young Master Lin was also talented, probably shared common interests with you in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.¡±


    There was a quiet silence behind the curtain. Hongxiu neither denied nor confirmed this.


    Yan Junze continued: ¡°You truly loved him, I believe, but he may not have loved you as much as you loved him. Perhaps, forgive me for being blunt, he mostly just enjoyed your body. That period must have been the happiest time of your life until the day the story ended, because you got pregnant.¡±


    At this point, the curtain shook slightly, but still no sound came out.


    Yan Junze said, ¡°This Young Master Lin definitely didn¡¯t want the child, maybe he loved you, but he was more interested in just being with you casually, so he talked you into it. Loving him, you did as he said, and after giving birth to the child, you threw it into the river.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you just gave birth, alone you might not be able to do such things. So, you had her¡­ handle all this, including cutting the umbilical cord, throwing the baby into the river.¡± Yan Junze pointed towards the swollen female corpse outside.


    Turning back, looking again behind the curtain, ¡°After you cleaned yourself up, made yourself look brand new, and then went to find Young Master Lin, you discovered everything had changed. He didn¡¯t treat you the same as before, he was even less familiar to you than a stranger, which made your anger and resentment explode in that moment.¡±


    ¡°You cunningly devised a plan to lure Young Master Lin back onto the pleasure boat, sweet-talking him into spending one last night together.¡± As he spoke, Yan Junze glanced at the Water Sleeve Dress at the doorway, ¡°Although Young Master Lin was not an opera singer, he loved singing opera, so this Water Sleeve Dress was actually his, and after he impulsively performed his final opera on this pleasure boat, you stabbed him with this steel spike multiple times.¡±


    At this point, the Water Sleeve Dress stained with blood holes began to tremble gently.


    ¡°Strange enough, I haven¡¯t been able to fish up Young Master Lin¡¯s corpse.¡± Yan Junze continued: ¡°So I speculate, his body may not have fallen into the water, what fell into the water were just the steel spike, the Water Sleeve Dress, your child, and the maid, the one you killed afterwards to silence her. And Young Master Lin¡¯s body¡­¡±


    At this moment, Yan Junze suddenly leaned forward, reaching out to lift the curtain.


    Behind the curtain, not far away, was an exquisitely beautiful bed, but at this moment the bed appeared extremely filthy, and the bedding emitted a strong foul smell.


    A small, emaciated figure with patchy hair and ulcerated skin was sitting on the edge of the bed. Calling it a figure, for its gender was indistinguishable by appearance alone.


    And this person, was indeed Hongxiu.


    Her abdomen was grotesquely swollen, bursting through her clothing, completely disproportionate to her naturally petite frame, her fingerless hands baldly resting on her legs, her hollow gaze staring at Yan Junze at the other side of the curtain, expressionless.


    Yan Junze withdrew his gaze from her belly, sighed softly, and said: ¡°His body has been with you ever since you killed yourself. Even before you died, you two had already been together forever. This¡­ is the result you¡¯ve desperately sought!¡±


    Pausing momentarily, a cold smirk appeared on Yan Junze¡¯s face, ¡°Can one really love another to this extent?¡±


    Hongxiu slowly lowered her head, shifting her gaze to her excessively swollen abdomen, seemingly surprised, somewhat bewildered, she licked the corners of her mouth.


    She licked up a piece of flesh.


    Suddenly having a moment of realization, she painfully split her mouth, tears slowly streaming down. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Water Sleeve Dress, Blood Stains, Terrified (High), Completed, earned 1900 Different Dimension Energy points.]

 Chapter 838: 466: Seeing Rock Again

    Chapter 838: Chapter 466: Seeing Rock Again


    Yan Junze stood at the shore, turned around, and saw the painted boat sailing towards the middle of the river once again.


    However, the river was now shrouded in fog, a morning mist rising because it was about to dawn, and after the boat sailed into it, it could no longer be seen.


    Having experienced many joys and sorrows, love and hatred through exorcisms like this, Yan Junze encountered many emotional upheavals in his life. With each resolved event, he always felt mixed emotions, either immersing himself in them or observing them from the sidelines.


    This time, the love that this woman known as Hongxiu held for Young Master Lin was truly daunting. Of course, Young Master Lin playing with her emotions was simply karmic retribution.


    Previously, in other strange events, there was Fang Ning, who was obsessively possessive about love and had now entered the Black Spirit Umbrella.


    Thinking of the Black Spirit Umbrella, Yan Junze took it out and opened it, and right then, a black bead rolled out from the inner skeleton of the umbrella, which he quickly caught.


    ¡°Is this¡­ a Black Spirit Pearl?!¡±


    Yan Junze froze, then took a closer look, and indeed it was a Black Spirit Pearl.


    But weren¡¯t the Black Spirit Pearls already embedded inside the umbrella by Wan Shouguang? How could it have fallen out?


    After a thorough examination, he found the three Black Spirit Pearls were still there, and this one seemed to have suddenly appeared.


    Recalling for a moment, Yan Junze remembered that every time he used the Black Spirit Umbrella for exorcism, there were always one or two black spots that flashed by and were absorbed by the umbrella.


    Could it be that while eliminating the strangeness, these entities were absorbed by the Black Spirit Umbrella and slowly condensed into a complete Black Spirit Pearl?


    Thinking this, he immediately inspected the upper section of the umbrella¡¯s frame, and indeed, in the area where the dark energy gathered, there were some tiny black raised spots, only they were very small and not noticeable upon a casual glance.


    These likely were the spots where dark energy was condensed each time it was absorbed, and once it reached a certain amount, a new Black Spirit Pearl naturally formed.


    Examining the Black Spirit Pearl in his hand, he noticed it was identical to the previous ones, likely identical to those created by Rock.


    Because this Black Spirit Pearl existed outside of the Black Spirit Umbrella, the energy emanating from it could send ordinary strangenesses into panic.


    No wonder the bloated female corpse immediately pretended to be dead on the ground when he just took out the umbrella; she must have sensed the threat from this newly formed Black Spirit Pearl.


    Yan Junze turned towards the river, smiling.


    Although the painted boat had disappeared, the moment he got onshore, he still felt a familiar intuition when detecting the task at hand.


    This intuition was initially vague, but now he was almost certain why it appeared.


    Arriving at a row of dilapidated storefronts on the riverbank, he estimated briefly and then entered one of the shops, where the tables were tilted and dust-covered everywhere.


    Yan Junze glanced around casually and found an entrance to the basement behind a glass cabinet.


    The shopkeeper had probably built the basement for storing food for sale, covering it with a dark red carpet. Lifting the carpet revealed a square trapdoor, below which was a slightly inclined wooden staircase.


    Yan Junze stepped down the wooden stairs, turning on the flashlight and illuminating his way.


    Upon reaching the basement, he found the space very small and the air not very circulating, quickly making his head feel dizzy.


    He immediately controlled the white long worms in his heart to stop his heartbeat and thus stopped breathing, triggering a Semi-Spiritualization state, and then started searching.


    Before long, beneath a storage cabinet, he discovered another black hole.


    Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°It¡¯s that familiar feeling again!¡±


    As he spoke, a vague laughter came from inside the hole; no words, but the laugh sounded friendly.


    Yan Junze didn¡¯t hesitate, immediately crawled under the cabinet and entered the hole.


    The entrance was narrow, just enough for one person to fit through, but not enough to turn around.


    After crawling downward for about five minutes, a light appeared; it was the light of a candle.


    The interior space was vast, and Yan Junze first peeked his head out, spotting a familiar black figure holding a candle, seemingly burning it especially for him.


    ¡°Rock, how are you!¡± Yan Junze smiled, crawled out of the hole, patted the dust off his body, and stood up.


    Since candles could be lit here, it meant the air was circulating, so he retracted his Semi-Spirit Body and began to breathe again.


    Rock, as always, was dark all over, never wore clothes, and his body surface reflected irregular hard textures.


    Now Yan Junze, having accumulated a lot of experience, directly suspected that Rock was not formed after human death, feeling instead that this entity was somewhat similar to the indescribable strangeness. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What game are you hiding here playing?¡± Yan Junze asked with a smile.


    Rock too smiled but didn¡¯t speak, instead pointing at a pile of silk threads coagulated in the corner of the cave, those threads had piled up like a mountain, Yan Junze had never seen so many Tricky Silks before.


    ¡°Are you planning to take these out for trading?¡± Yan Junze was astonished.


    Rock shook his head, finally speaking: ¡°It¡¯s fun here, many fun strangenesses, fun humans.¡±

 Chapter 839: 466: Seeing Rock Again_2

    Chapter 839: Chapter 466: Seeing Rock Again_2


    ¡°No wonder?¡± Yan Junze helplessly spread his hands, ¡°I was wondering why the biggest Spirit Bridge in Yannan District never dissipates? No matter how many spirits I removed, it turns out you are the real instigator behind this.¡±


    Rock stretched out his slender right hand and waved it, denying, ¡°I only came after the Spirit Bridge was formed, I didn¡¯t discover this place right from the start.¡±


    Yan Junze found a clean, flat stone to sit down on, looked around the underground space, and asked, ¡°How long have you been here?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me that last time?¡± Rock looked at him somewhat astonished.


    Yan Junze paused, initially a bit confused, but he quickly realized and odd thoughts emerged in his mind, slowly saying: ¡°Did I? I forgot that I had asked that.¡±


    Rock said, ¡°Previously, I left my message in the Underground Space of Shuntian City, and last time you came, you said you specifically went there, saw my message, and thus found me accurately. So, have you decided to play another round with me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that right now,¡± Yan Junze shook his head.


    He then carefully chose his words and said: ¡°That day, I came here with a purpose.¡±


    This sentence can be interpreted as a question as well as a statement.


    Yan Junze deliberately said so, just to see what Rock¡¯s reaction would be, whether he would answer him or not?


    Rock immediately said, ¡°That day you took away so much Tricky Silk Toxin from here, are you not going to tell me, you¡¯ll need it again?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll need it in the future,¡± Yan Junze answered ambiguously.


    Rock shrugged and walked to the pile of Tricky Silk Clump, reached in and fiddled for a while, then walked over with a potion bottle in his hand.


    ¡°This is the last bottle.¡±


    Yan Junze exclaimed, ¡°Did I take that much last time?¡±


    While speaking, he reached out to take the potion bottle. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His words also had a double meaning. If the other him did indeed take that much last time, Rock would affirm it, and if the other him didn¡¯t take that much, then his words meant surprise and questioning.


    Rock indeed did not suspect, and replied, ¡°Last time it was a third of a bottle of Tricky Silk Toxin, this time I¡¯m giving you a whole bottle, and now you can¡¯t have any more even if you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yan Junze solemnly put the potion bottle into his backpack.


    Now he knew why Morrison had suddenly died from poisoning in the mall; it turns out the reason lay here, that time at the mall, he had sought out Rock.


    ¡°By the way, do I still need to verify with you how to use your Tricky Silk Toxin?¡± It must be said, at this moment every word of Yan Junze was cautiously spoken, but his words could produce different affects on different listeners.


    Actually, the reason he asked was because he himself really didn¡¯t know how to use the toxins on a person.


    Rock seemed somewhat proud and immediately said, ¡°You already know what symptoms occur after poisoning, but no matter the dosage, it¡¯s always colorless and tasteless. If coordinated with a strand of Tricky Silk, it can even make the target only show symptoms at the moment the toxin is triggered, showing no signs beforehand.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ where¡¯s the Tricky Silk?¡± Yan Junze opened his hands, smiling.


    Rock hooked his little finger that had passed the bottle, likewise responding with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s been here all along, you just didn¡¯t secure it properly.¡±


    Yan Junze took a closer look and indeed saw that extremely fine, nearly transparent silk thread, one end of which had already extended into his backpack, within the potion bottle.


    ¡°If I just walked away, would you use this Tricky Silk to open the bottle cap and poison me?¡± Yan Junze joked.


    ¡°Depends on my mood,¡± Rock¡¯s smile grew broader, his hardened, black-patterned skin on his face squeezed together, unspeakably ghastly.


    He stretched his hand to wrap that transparent Tricky Silk around Yan Junze¡¯s right index finger, ¡°When poisoning, just snap the Tricky Silk, no one will notice, be careful not to injure yourself.¡±


    Yan Junze thought for a moment and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Do you know a very powerful Possession Spirit? It can create avatars and possess through electronic media, and even force open the media to possess in search of the best human bodies. Most importantly, it seems that this guy can also use this Tricky Silk Toxin.¡±


    Rock¡¯s expression froze, and it took a long time to say anything.


    Just from his expression, Yan Junze already knew the answer and asked, ¡°Who is this person?¡±


    ¡°My father,¡± Rock did not hide.


    This time it was Yan Junze¡¯s turn to be dumbstruck.


    ¡°My father along with Sylvanus and that one, they have all been permanently sealed away,¡± Rock couldn¡¯t help shivering, seeming to feel a tremor of fear when mentioning these three entities.


    ¡°So, your father is¡­¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Possession Demon Luo Zhong,¡± Rock suddenly sat down, hugged his knees like a child, ¡°He, along with True Word Demon Sylvanus and that one, have all been sealed away. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since I last saw him, and, well, I don¡¯t want to see him again.¡±


    ¡°Who is that one?¡± Yan Junze was curious.


    Rock shook his head: ¡°He cannot be described nor his name mentioned, I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°Where exactly do you guys come from?¡± Yan Junze asked, voicing the biggest question he had all along.


    This question had lingered in his mind for a very long time, not that he didn¡¯t want to ask, but because he really couldn¡¯t find anyone to pose this question to. And now Rock, unmistakably, was the best person to answer this question.


    The world¡¯s strangenesses had suddenly erupted, there¡¯s no way this was without reason, but what was it like before the eruption? Or if there were strangenesses before, where were these strangenesses hiding?

 Chapter 840: 466: Seeing Rock Again_3

    Chapter 840: Chapter 466: Seeing Rock Again_3


    Has it been constantly sleeping underground, hiding in a certain space, or did it not exist at all and was awakened by something?


    This question is currently the biggest confusion for Yan Junze.


    Rock paused briefly, then slowly said, ¡°People from your world, when they die, come to our world. Similarly, when people from our world die, they also go to another world, which is your world.¡±


    Yan Junze was stunned, and exclaimed, ¡°Are you saying, we are two opposite worlds?!¡±


    Rock said, ¡°The lifestyle of ordinary people in our world is different from yours. We live for our Obsessions, and the day this Obsession disappears is the day we are born in your world. Everything was very calm at first, but suddenly, we discovered we could directly come to your world.¡±


    ¡°You call us Strangenesses, and some Strangenesses with deep Obsessions begin to infiltrate every aspect of this world, guided by their Obsessions.¡±


    Yan Junze said in confusion, ¡°Aren¡¯t they thoughtless? Merely a single Obsession.¡±


    ¡°But this is the most normal way of life in our place,¡± Rock explained, ¡°Once these Strangenesses inadvertently came over, they found the regions of their past lives, the places of their deaths, and based on their Obsessions, did some things we could never do in that world.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, what you call there, on our side is referred to as the Netherworld, or perhaps hell, heaven, something like that.¡± Yan Junze nodded.


    Rock neither agreed nor disagreed and continued, ¡°Then I came here too. I am different from the other Strangenesses; I am Luo Zhong¡¯s child. The three Demon Spirits have always lived in the Strange Space, and my father, along with Sylvanus and that person, have been sealed for a very long time. The timeline is too vague, I don¡¯t remember clearly.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded, a vague guess forming in his mind.


    But no matter how you look at it, perhaps a life is just living on a thought, experiencing the passions and desires of life after its death, and at the end, seeking nothing but retaining a thought to reach understanding and return to their original world, the world of the Strangenesses?


    So, this all seems possible. The only difference is, life forms from that world are much more powerful than those from Yan Junze¡¯s side.


    However, looking at how some Strangenesses dissipate once their Obsession is resolved, they seem much weaker.


    ¡°Who sealed your father and the others?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, it¡¯s been too long, untraceable,¡± Rock shook his head, ¡°and investigating that would involve looking into that person, which is a dead end, best left unasked.¡±


    ¡°Then do you want to go back?¡±


    ¡°When I get tired of playing, I¡¯ll go back; right now I don¡¯t want to think too much,¡± Rock suddenly smiled, ¡°Here, there are both Strangenesses and humans, I never knew they could be so fun when mixed together!¡±


    In Yan Junze¡¯s view, although this guy doesn¡¯t know how old he is, he has such a nature; otherwise, Junze wouldn¡¯t know how many times he would have died if he had met him.


    But conversely, if he died, he might become an even better playmate for him.


    But soon Yan Junze learned from Rock that not all Strangenesses in the Strange Space could reach their current world unless they died there, and then they could wait for rebirth on this side.


    ¡°This is still, in a way, akin to the concept of the Netherworld.¡± Yan Junze thought to himself.


    Once a Strangeness completes its Obsession, it can be reborn in this world, but Strangenesses with remaining Obsessions continue to roam familiar places, waiting for their Obsessions to be resolved.


    As for those Strangenesses unable to come to this world, they can only wait for their Obsessions to dissipate naturally, before they can be reborn here.


    S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 841: 467: Strange Changes!

    Chapter 841: Chapter 467: Strange Changes!


    From this perspective, after the incomplete connection between the two worlds, if a person from the Human World dies, they were originally supposed to be born in the Strange Space and continue to live in another form.


    However, since the worlds are interconnected, they also have a certain chance of not being born in the Strange Space, but instead appearing directly in the Human World in the form of strangeness, wandering around the place they once died.


    Or perhaps, driven by some obsessed desire from their life, they subconsciously try to fulfill that obsession continuously.


    By resolving these obsessions, Yan Junze helps them complete their obsessions, and these strangenesses have a certain chance to return to their original Strange Space world, until they reincarnate under other conditions, or they have a certain chance to be directly reborn as a newborn in the Human World.


    The Different Dimension Energy that Yan Junze gains after completing each task is apparently the release of a special kind of energy after the subconscious obsession of the strangeness is removed.


    This energy is captured by the Spacetime Atlas, then transformed into energy needed for the operation of the Atlas.


    Of course, now that the rules of the two worlds are in chaos, some strangenesses can break out of this order after their obsessions are resolved, continuing to stay in the Strange Space or the Human World.


    Or due to some special reasons, they wander in the Human World, such as being locked down.


    After a deep conversation with Rock, Yan Junze¡¯s understanding of strangenesses completely changed.


    Of course, careful thought would show that the old folk beliefs that circulated offer many similarities with Rock¡¯s description, only the phrasing is different.


    From the early morning when Yan Junze entered the Underground Space until noon of the same day, he and a strangeness talked continuously, and from Rock¡¯s mouth, Yan Junze learned that the Strange Space seemed recently to be rather tumultuous. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What exactly happened, nobody knew, only that there was a massive leak of strong magnetic fields, which even the strangeness themselves found extremely uncomfortable.


    Therefore, this will cause a sudden increase in the number of strangenesses in the Human World for a period of time.


    Although Yan Junze has never been to the Strange Space, he now guesses that the world he saw through the crack inside the meat tumor that day might just be the Strange Space.


    However, he could only see it but not pass through. According to Rock, the Strange Space only allows passage in one direction facing the Human World; that is, strangenesses can enter here, but humans cannot go there.


    Yan Junze, tapping his fingers, said somewhat curiously: ¡°Wandering Spirit, Sculpting Spirit, Ethereal Spirit, Demon Spirit¡­ Rock, since you are the descendant of Possession Demon Luo Zhong, then you are¡­¡±


    ¡°Half-Demon.¡± Rock gave a resigned smile, ¡°I can never reach my father¡¯s heights, and besides, I¡¯m afraid of being sealed.¡±


    Yan Junze could not help but smirk, then suddenly thought of something, and asked: ¡°Do you know, are there any other Half-Demons existing?¡±


    Rock said, ¡°Only a child of a Demon Spirit can be a Half-Demon. Other strangenesses at most could be Ethereal Spirits, but that doesn¡¯t rule out Ethereal Spirits with the power comparable to Half-Demons.¡±


    ¡°Besides Possession Demons having children, are there children of True Word Demons or that one?¡± Junze asked.


    Rock shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know about that one, but I know the True Word Demon was cruel; before it was sealed, it devoured all its offspring. So, even if it had children before, now there are none left.¡±


    Yan Junze nodded in astonishment, paused for a moment, then stood up preparing to leave, and took out a short-bladed magnetic knife from his backpack, handing it to Rock.


    ¡°This was originally for me to use for self-defense. I don¡¯t have much to give you; you keep this as a memento.¡±


    Rock showed a sincere smile, reached out to take it, ¡°Looking forward to seeing you again.¡±


    As he spoke, he looked up at his Underground Space, as if talking to himself, ¡°This place, perhaps there¡¯s no longer a need to continue playing.¡±


    After parting with Rock, Yan Junze climbed out of the Underground Space and returned to the dilapidated shop.


    By the time he left the shop, it was one-thirty in the afternoon, and though sunlight shone outside, the heavy air around the Spirit Bridge prevented the light from penetrating directly.


    However, the brightness had improved a lot compared to before.


    Just as Yan Junze had left the area around Guanshui River, a figure with a backpack appeared at the street corner.


    Seeing this figure, Yan Junze did not avoid them, because the person looked like an Exorcist, not a strangeness.


    The Exorcist quickly spotted Yan Junze, eyes lit up, and hurried over: ¡°Brother Yan, we¡¯ve been looking for you for a long time. Someone from the headquarters tried to contact you, but signals couldn¡¯t reach inside the Spirit Bridge, so three of us split up to come find you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Yan Junze was somewhat surprised.


    After leaving the Spirit Bridge with the Exorcist, he checked his phone, which had over thirty missed calls and several messages.


    The messages were mostly from Zhang Xiaomo, and one was from Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s message read: My dad has been looking for you everywhere. Contact him as soon as you get out. I¡¯ll wait for you in Huaying District.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing¡¯s message read: There¡¯s been an incident, come quickly!


    Yan Junze immediately called Zhang Chengjing and Xiaomo respectively.


    Zhang Chengjing didn¡¯t say much over the phone, only telling him that he was at the headquarters office building and to come straight there.


    Xiaomo was already there with him.


    Yan Junze immediately booked a plane ticket, flying to Huaying District in the afternoon.


    Because he had been fervently using the Exorcism Method for tasks, eliminating strangenesses for a period of time, the energy limit of the Spacetime Atlas had been continuously increasing.

 Chapter 842: 467: Strange Changes!_2

    Chapter 842: Chapter 467: Strange Changes!_2


    After running throughout Gaosheng City and performing exorcisms everywhere, the Different Dimension Energy limit had already reached 90,000 points. Now, every time I catch a strangeness in the Spirit Bridge, it¡¯s like grinding it on the ground; the energy limit has approached 110,000. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And at this moment, the Spacetime Atlas has clearly unfolded more than half.


    About the Spacetime Atlas feature of Space-Time Scene Overlap, Yan Junze speculated that there should be at least three forms.


    The first form overlays a scene one has previously experienced into the current scene, trapping people or strangenesses within it, unable to escape, and even creating illusions of consciousness.


    The second form of Scene Overlap not only merges the previous scene with the current one but can also generate the strangenesses or human illusions present in that overlapping scene.


    In other words, if a strangeness appeared in a once-experienced scene, then when Yan Junze overlays that scene onto the current one, the same strangeness will appear.


    Under such circumstances, the target caught in the Scene Overlap will become distracted, which is more unfavorable for them to discover, recognize, and escape from the trapped scene. Although the strangeness that appears in the scene is illusory and doesn¡¯t cause actual harm to the target.


    Therefore, as Yan Junze guessed, the power of this third form might not only involve the appearance of previous strangenesses in the scene, but these strangenesses might even be able to inflict damage on the targets trapped in the scene.


    Thinking of this, once he activates the third form of the Space-Time Scene Overlap, it might be the most powerful function of the Atlas he currently possesses.


    Upon arriving in Huaying District, Yan Junze got out of the airport and took a taxi straight to the Exorcist Brigade headquarters, where he showed his special badge at the entrance and was allowed through without obstacles, arriving at Zhang Chengjing¡¯s office.


    However, there was no one in the office. It was already past 8 in the evening, and with a reminder from the secretary, Yan Junze found out that everyone had just gone to the conference room upstairs for an emergency meeting.


    He arrived outside the conference room, not convenient to enter, but saw Zhang Xiaomo sitting on a row of sofas outside, sipping hot tea with both hands.


    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Xiaomo revealed a smile, put down her teacup, got up, and walked over, taking Yan Junze¡¯s hand.


    Yan Junze noticed her face was somewhat pale, he reached out to touch Xiaomo¡¯s forehead and found it somewhat cold.


    ¡°Did you not dress warmly enough?¡±


    Zhang Xiaomo shook her head: ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried and scared!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Yan Junze asked.


    Zhang Xiaomo pointed towards the conference room: ¡°Now Dad and the other Brigade executives are discussing what to do inside. It¡¯s said that our Exorcist team has suffered a heavy blow.¡±


    ¡°Junze.¡± At this moment, Zhang Chengjing¡¯s voice came from the direction of the conference room.


    Yan Junze turned his head and saw Zhang Chengjing standing in front of the opened conference room door, beckoning him, while also looking toward Zhang Xiaomo: ¡°Xiaomo, you come in too.¡±


    The two walked into the conference room.


    In addition to Zhang Chengjing, the conference room also held the Brigade Commander Wang Shu, Deputy Commander Yu Changhai, and four other elders who, like Zhang Chengjing, were the founders of Exorcist Organization, as well as some five-star Exorcists from the Brigade, and a gaunt middle-aged woman with short hair.


    Some people Yan Junze had seen before, including the Commander and the Deputy Commander, but he never met the gaunt middle-aged woman sitting next to Yu Changhai.


    From this woman, Yan Junze had a sensation similar to touching a static electricity from living beings; he found that his body hair would stand up when he got close to this woman.


    This woman¡¯s first impression on him was definitely not ordinary.


    After nodding and greeting the others, Zhang Xiaomo then sat in the row of chairs along the wall, belonging to the observer¡¯s seat, and did not join the conference table side.


    Yan Junze, however, sat down next to Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Chengjing introduced the attendees to Yan Junze one by one. The gaunt short-haired woman was named Wu Mayun, and when speaking about her, his tone was very respectful.


    Wu Mayun didn¡¯t make any gesture, only glancing at Yan Junze.


    ¡°Uncle Zhang, is she¡­ the Reaper?¡± Yan Junze whispered into Zhang Chengjing¡¯s ear.


    In the past, the Reaper of the Great Capital Huaying was known to have emerged in Tianmeng Mall, named Han Yu, thin and tall.


    Yet this person here was unheard of.


    Zhang Chengjing shook his head: ¡°More formidable than Reaper. Hmm, we¡¯ll talk later.¡±


    ¡°Han Yu has gone into hiding, sealing off his own magnetic field completely due to certain side effects, so now even an ordinary person¡¯s magnetic field might be stronger than his,¡± said the woman named Wu Mayun slowly.


    The Brigade Commander Wang Shu nodded: ¡°Stay hidden for now. Changhai, is You Tian¡¯s funeral been taken care of?¡±


    Deputy Commander Yu Changhai replied: ¡°Everything has been arranged, and we¡¯ve specially assigned staff to temporarily accompany his family.¡±


    Yan Junze was taken aback. He had heard Zhang Chengjing mention the name You Tian before; this guy was one of the Reapers of Great Capital Huaying, and it was unexpected for him to have died.


    At this thought, he turned his head to look at Zhang Chengjing.


    Zhang Chengjing explained: ¡°You Tian died suddenly, his death was very strange. At the same moment, Reaper Han Yu also felt a threat of death, but he immediately disconnected his magnetic field dispersion, but his body is still severely damaged, seemingly irreversibly.¡±


    Yan Junze looked at him in shock: ¡°That terrifying!?¡±


    As he spoke, the lights in the meeting room went off, and the projector in front lit up, showing a photo of the front of an ancient book.


    Yan Junze took a glance and found it familiar, but it was slightly different from the ¡°Book of Oath¡± he had seen before.

 Chapter 843: 467: Strange Changes!_3

    Chapter 843: Chapter 467: Strange Changes!_3


    ¡°This is the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ currently stored in the Olay Great Capital Museum,¡± Wang Shu introduced: ¡°We can now tentatively speculate that the death of Reapers is greatly related to this book.¡±


    Yu Changhai took over the conversation: ¡°Now we can tell through both overt and covert clues, it¡¯s not just us, but news of Reapers disappearing have also come out from the Half Moon Association in the USA Great Capital and the Nether Bakufu in Japan Great Capital. We suspect that these people have encountered misfortune as well, it¡¯s just that these organizations have concealed the news.¡±


    ¡°Regarding the disappearance of Reapers, the only place without relevant news is Olay Great Capital,¡± Wang Shu said: ¡°Therefore, we suspect that all of this might be related to Olay Great Capital.¡±


    Zhang Chengjing pointed at the ancient book on the projection and said: ¡°I have verified that the text of this book is in ancient Olay language, but its content has many similarities to the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ that once appeared in the Half Moon Association. It seems to also contain elements of ¡®The Book of Changes¡¯ from our Huaying Great Capital.¡±


    Yan Junze was slightly startled: ¡°The Book of Changes?¡±


    In this world¡¯s ancient times, ¡®The Book of Changes¡¯ also exists, something Yan Junze knew, but he had not expected that these ancient texts could have merged into an ancient book from Olay Great Capital.


    The screen quickly displayed a comparison of content from ¡®The Book of Changes¡¯ and the widely circulated ¡®Book of Oath¡¯, and the photographs of the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯ originated from the former Olay Great Capital Museum.


    ¡°Because of the partial similarity of content with our ¡®The Book of Changes¡¯, the news about the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ has only been known to our Huaying Great Capital,¡± Yu Changhai said: ¡°As for the other Great Capitals, they simply cannot distinguish between the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ and the ¡®Book of Oath¡¯.¡±


    ¡°We can now basically confirm that the Demon Hunters of Olay Great Capital used the ¡®Book of Change¡¯ to open an unknown region, posing a threat to our top Exorcists,¡± Wang Shu said.


    ¡°So what are we going to do?¡± Yan Junze asked. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Junze, take a look at this person. Do you recognize him?¡± Wang Shu said.


    Following his words, the next projection image was opened.


    This was an elderly man from Huaying.


    Yan Junze scrutinized the image for a moment and shook his head: ¡°He looks somewhat familiar, as if I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before, but then again, I don¡¯t seem to recognize him.¡±


    ¡°His name is Lin Yishan,¡± Wang Shu said: ¡°He is the Huaying face that appeared most frequently in the three powerful Demon Hunter Group organizations in Olay Great Capital this time. We have investigated that his hometown is in a place called Rock at Tianmeng¡¯s Shuntian City, where it was found that you had previously entered Lin Yishan¡¯s ancestral home and resolved a strange incident.¡±


    Yan Junze¡¯s memory was gradually awakened.


    Aside from inwardly marveling at how skilled the Exorcist team was at digging into people¡¯s ancestral homes, he was also surprised by the old man¡¯s photograph and couldn¡¯t help but blurt out: ¡°Lin Yishan, he¡¯s still alive? I thought he was dead.¡±


    Wang Shu shook his head: ¡°He used to be a Yin Yang Master. We¡¯ve looked into his background and his online interaction records with the Exorcists of Olay Great Capital, and we¡¯re confident this is indeed him.¡±


    Yan Junze said: ¡°Could you let me see all the information you have now? I¡¯d like to sort through it thoroughly. Perhaps, after I¡¯ve made sense of it, I could figure out the answer to this matter and a method to deal with it.¡±


    The lights in the meeting room came on, and the projection was turned off.


    Yu Changhai nodded and smiled: ¡°Old Zhang said you have an innate hypersensitivity to strangenesses, which is why we specifically called you here. The information is on this USB drive; use this laptop to look at it tonight.¡±


    He said this as he placed a USB drive on a closed laptop and pushed it toward Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze took it, put it into his backpack, and was about to speak when suddenly the lights in the conference room flickered twice and went out completely.


    Surprised noises came from people in the meeting room, and at the same moment, an overpowering chill swept through, plunging the temperature of the entire room to freezing point instantly.


    Zhang Chengjing grabbed Yan Junze¡¯s hand tightly and said: ¡°Xiaomo, sit still and don¡¯t move!¡±


    Team leader Wang Shu also spoke up at this time, his voice tense with urgency: ¡°No one move, hold your breath, everyone!¡±


    Just then, a shrill and piercing laugh sounded from right across the table where Yan Junze was sitting, and at this moment, Yan Junze also felt the intense chill originating from directly across from him.


    That place, if he remembered correctly, was where a short-haired, thin woman named Wu Mayun had been sitting just moments ago.

 Chapter 844: 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)

    Chapter 844: Chapter 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)


    From the moment the conference room lights went out and a chill swept over, to Zhang Chengjing grasping his own hand as a sign to both himself and Xiaomo, followed by team leader Wang Shu¡¯s vocal warning to everyone present.


    All these sudden changes involuntarily sparked a sense of fear in Yan Junze¡¯s heart.


    It had been a long time since he had felt fear to this extent.


    Could there be a strangeness? And was the source of the strangeness right in front of him, at the end of the conference table?


    Bear in mind, who are seated here?


    This is where the strongest exorcists from the entire Great Capital of Huaying are stationed. With these people gathered here, it wouldn¡¯t be just the Strange Club failing to appear; even if a high-level strangeness were present, it would probably flee at the sight of them, and absolutely not dare to show up in this conference room at this time.


    But the current situation was indeed happening. The strangeness had not only appeared, but from the looks of it, it seemed extremely terrifying, because even Zhang Chengjing and Wang Shu had issued warnings one after another.


    The conference room became instantly silent, so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.


    From the initial darkness that ensued after the lights went out, to his eyes gradually adapting to the darkness a few seconds later, Yan Junze could faintly discern that Wu Mayun, who was sitting opposite him, seemed to have disappeared.


    As suspected, she was up to something!


    Yan Junze was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly, he noticed that Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hand, while holding his own, was trembling slightly.


    ¡°Damn, is it that serious?¡±


    After noticing Zhang Chengjing¡¯s reaction, Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but take it seriously, knowing that normally, a five-star exorcist like Zhang Chengjing would absolutely not react with fear like this upon encountering a strangeness.


    The trembling of his hand indicated that Wu Mayun posed a threat to everyone here, and a huge one at that¡ªperhaps an insurmountable threat to everyone present.


    But wasn¡¯t Wu Mayun human? How could she suddenly change into a strangeness?


    Could this woman be a Semi-spirit¡ªhalf human, half strangeness? Could she not control herself, and that¡¯s why she became a powerful Semi-spirit at that moment? S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon further thought, that wasn¡¯t right. If one still had consciousness after Semi-Spiritualization, they could take the initiative. Yan Junze himself was a Semi-spirit, so he was well aware of this fact.


    Moreover, if this woman couldn¡¯t even control her own body, the exorcists of the headquarter wouldn¡¯t have allowed her to come to the meeting to discuss matters, as it would unabatedly increase the risk of danger.


    Thinking this way, perhaps something had happened to this powerful woman, and only Wang Shu and Zhang Chengjing knew about this change, which was why they issued a warning to everyone.


    But because it happened so abruptly, they could only voice out a warning, and everyone seated in the meeting room dared not move an inch.


    Yan Junze gently squeezed Zhang Chengjing¡¯s hand that was urgently grabbing his own, signalling him to calm down first.


    Zhang Chengjing also gently squeezed his hand in response, but Yan Junze could feel that the temperature from his hand was still rapidly declining, perhaps due to the sudden drop in temperature of the meeting room.


    At this moment, he didn¡¯t dare to turn around to check on Zhang Xiaomo either.


    Zhang Xiaomo was sitting not far behind Yan Junze, near the wall on a row of chairs. She was silent, having heeded her father¡¯s words.


    No sounds could be heard, and the entire conference room was exceptionally quiet.


    Due to the rapid drop in temperature, Yan Junze¡¯s body also began to grow colder. He suspected that even his eyebrows might be frosted over at this moment.


    The feeling of fear within him grew stronger and stronger; the dark environment, oppressive atmosphere, and the icy air, each element was invisibly magnifying the fear in his heart.


    He never imagined encountering such a dark moment while being in the presence of numerous top-level exorcists.


    ¡°Now it seems that I might only have the option to Rewind first and pull Zhang Chengjing out of the conference room for clarity,¡± he thought, and Yan Junze activated Rewind.


    But in the next second, he abruptly froze, his eyes widened in disbelief while staring at the familiar darkness before him.


    Rewind!


    There was still only darkness before him.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yan Junze was completely stunned.


    This time, not only was Rewind unsuccessful, but the Spacetime Atlas did not pop up with reminder text like it did last time¡ªit seemed to have completely stopped functioning.


    Upon inspecting his mind with Inner Vision, the Atlas was still there, quietly residing in his mind. The nodes were also lit up and not malfunctioning, but there was no response whatsoever.


    Yan Junze immediately attempted to control the white long worms in his heart, preparing to release his Control Field.


    However, upon sensing, he discovered that the white long worm had curled up into a ball, as if dead, without moving at all.


    He couldn¡¯t Rewind, and now even the white long worms were playing dead!


    At that moment, Zhang Chengjing tightened his grip on Yan Junze¡¯s hand and then gently turned his head, seemingly about to say something to Yan Junze.


    Yan Junze mimicked his action, slowly turning his head, tilting his upper body slightly, leaning towards Zhang Chengjing¡¯s direction.


    Their movements made no sound, and Yan Junze could barely make out Zhang Chengjing¡¯s lips moving,


    At the same time, he was slightly startled as he heard muffled groans coming from the direction of the five-star exorcists beneath the conference table, which were immediately suppressed.


    Zhang Chengjing quickly leaned toward Yan Junze¡¯s ear and whispered in a faint mosquito-like voice.


    ¡°Absolute¡­ domain, take Xiaomo, leave¡­¡±


    The next second, the direction from which the muffled groan came sounded with a gurgling noise, as if someone drinking water had been choked.

 Chapter 845: 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)_2

    Chapter 845: Chapter 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)_2


    Suddenly, a flashlight beam lit up, illuminating that direction as everyone¡¯s gaze immediately followed it over.


    Under the flashlight, one could see one of the five-star Exorcists still sitting there just like before, but now Wu Mayun was standing behind him.


    At this time, Wu Mayun¡¯s body looked even more emaciated, as if it was about to wither away. Her short hair, which originally didn¡¯t even reach her shoulders, now covered both the front and back of her head, tightly so that her facial features were completely invisible, extremely eerie.


    Wu Mayun¡¯s hands rested on the shoulders of the five-star Exorcist, standing behind him, motionless and erect.


    As for the five-star Exorcist in front of her, his face was now pale, his body shaking, his facial features having slightly sunken in; the gurgling sound coming from his throat was in fact blood overflowing from his mouth.


    A large amount of blood gushed from the throat, continuously flowing down from the corners of his mouth.


    Because the Exorcist was tightly closing his lips, the blood was pouring out from his nostrils, and soon his eyes too turned red with blood brimming.


    The flashlight beam only lasted for about three to four seconds before it turned off without warning.


    The piercing laughter from Wu Mayun rose up, as if she had found her next target, leaving the shoulder of that five-star Exorcist and approaching one of the elders of the Exorcist Brigade.


    It was this person who had turned on the portable flashlight, which was very small and hung on a keychain, quite convenient for regular use.


    At the same moment, Zhang Chengjing forcefully stood up, dragging Yan Junze with him, and quickly whispered in his ear: ¡°Wu Mayun is a God of Death, in between humans and strangenesses; she is now unable to control the bizarre changes. Take Xiaomo and get away quickly!¡±


    ¡°Your strength¡­¡± Yan Junze couldn¡¯t help but whisper softly.


    ¡°Under the Absolute Territory, everyone becomes ordinary people in front of her!¡± Zhang Chengjing pushed Yan Junze towards the direction of Zhang Xiaomo in the darkness, ¡°Wu Mayun can execute the strongest intrusion, move it!¡±


    The situation was so urgent that Yan Junze couldn¡¯t fully digest Zhang Chengjing¡¯s words, having already been pushed towards where Zhang Xiaomo had just been sitting.


    At that moment, the elder of the Brigade who had turned on the flashlight suddenly let out a shrill scream.


    There was a thud, as if it was the sound of a head striking the conference table.


    Without the luxury to think further, Yan Junze bent down towards where Zhang Xiaomo had been sitting and whispered urgently: ¡°Xiaomo, follow me!¡±


    There was no response in the darkness.


    Yan Junze paused, reaching out toward that direction only to grab at empty air; the place where Zhang Xiaomo had been sitting was now vacant.


    He quickly extended his hands to search around, but indeed, there was nothing; not just the spot where Zhang Xiaomo had been sitting, but also nobody was in the nearby row of chairs. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The meeting room door was actually not far from Xiaomo¡¯s original spot; a few large strides would take one right to the doorway.


    The thought immediately came to Yan Junze¡¯s mind: could Xiaomo have left the meeting room amidst the commotion just now?


    But then he thought again, it was impossible; Zhang Chengjing had just told her not to move, and in a situation where she knew nothing, just like him, she couldn¡¯t have left.


    If she had acted so rashly, Zhang Xiaomo wouldn¡¯t have survived until now.


    The elder who had turned on the flashlight was not an Exorcist, but one of the founders of this Exorcist organization, created alongside Zhang Chengjing and others. At this moment, after his head had struck the conference table, no more sounds came from him.


    The entire conference room fell into a death-like silence once again.


    Yan Junze had initially been ready to call out Zhang Xiaomo¡¯s name amidst the chaos, but now he didn¡¯t dare to make a sound either.


    Straining his eyes open wide, he could only see about a palm¡¯s distance from himself; anything farther was shrouded in darkness.


    Zhang Chengjing had mentioned before that Wu Mayun could perform the strongest intrusion, indicating that she would first have to intrude in order to approach and harm him; he must be mindful of this.


    Wu Mayun, as a God of Death who had somehow turned into strangenesses, had become terrifyingly powerful, enough to form an ¡°Absolute Territory¡± that turned all Exorcists within it into mere mortals, devoid of their ability to control the magnetic field.


    Understanding this, Yan Junze realized why he could not activate the Spacetime Atlas or the Control Field.


    This here, was the Absolute Territory of a God of Death, somewhat similar to the Reaper Forbidden Zone, but clearly many times more powerful than the latter.


    Yan Junze wondered whether he could leave the realm of Wu Mayun once he went outside the meeting room.


    Once out of the Absolute Territory, he could Rewind.


    But currently, Zhang Xiaomo had vanished; he must find her first.


    Yan Junze stood silently in the aisle, the conference table and chairs likely on his right, whereas to his left were a row of auditorium seats against the wall.


    Since everything around turned quiet, he dared not move for now, just standing silently there, gently turning his head, trying his best to scrutinize the surroundings.


    Now guessing, even if Zhang Xiaomo wasn¡¯t in her seat, she might not have gone far; he just needed to try moving slowly without bumping into anyone, especially the hidden Wu Mayun¨Che should be able to find Xiaomo nearby.


    If someone had been standing in front of him, he might have felt some warmth or breathing from the other person, but now the whole meeting room felt like an ice cavern, devoid of anything but cold.


    After finally moving a couple of steps, Yan Junze reached out tentatively and in the next second, he touched an ice-cold hand.

 Chapter 846: 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)_3

    Chapter 846: Chapter 468: Mutation of the God of Death (1)_3


    As soon as he touched it, he immediately felt the other¡¯s skin as cold as ice, but he couldn¡¯t determine who it was. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The temperature in the meeting room dropped suddenly, anyone¡¯s hands could be that ice-cold.


    So, Yan Junze immediately stopped, maintaining a rigid posture, not daring to move again.


    The ice-cold hand also remained still; Yan Junze¡¯s index and middle fingers kept in contact with the back of the other¡¯s hand, as if time had frozen.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be Zhang Xiaomo.¡± Yan Junze speculated in his mind but quickly denied it, ¡°If it were her, Xiaomo might try to touch my hand again instead of staying rigid.¡±


    It¡¯s all because this is the headquarters of Huaying Team, and the meeting room¡¯s confidentiality is extremely well-maintained. The curtains are made of special fabric that prevents light penetration and also radiation detection.


    Being able to see this faint light is already a blessing.


    No sooner had Yan Junze¡¯s thought settled than the ice-cold skin against his fingers began to move, slowly sliding across his nearly rigid index and middle fingers.


    Yan Junze immediately felt a cold breath approaching him, the person coming closer was shorter than Zhang Xiaomo, who was not under 1.7 meters tall, so it couldn¡¯t be Xiaomo.


    This person walked very slowly, without a sound of footsteps.


    Whoever dared to walk like this at this time, Yan Junze had a guess about their identity.


    Soon, a chill came over his shoulder, a hand draped over from the side, meanwhile, a faint breathing sound came near his ear, so close it was almost touching the root of his ear.


    The ice-cold hand first pressed on Yan Junze¡¯s shoulder, then slowly slid from the left shoulder to his spine, and finally to the right shoulder where it rested.


    Throughout it all, Yan Junze remained unmoving, not even a tremble.


    But undeniably, at this moment, his heart was suspended, a sense of oppression and horror always lingering around him.


    The breathing moved away from his left ear and came to his right, seemingly whispering.


    But Yan Junze listened carefully and heard nothing.


    Now he knew his situation was the same as the deceased five-star exorcist, with both shoulders being pressed down by the other party.


    ¡°Interference?! This woman is looking for an opportunity to interfere!¡± Yan Junze suddenly realized.


    As long as he did not react, did not make any movement in response to her, she would not focus on him for the time being.


    Maintaining an extremely slow breathing rate, Yan Junze stood still like a statue, with faint whispers circling his ear, but he turned a deaf ear.


    The whispering suddenly seemed very distant, the ice-cold palms left his shoulders, and the chill slowly receded from him.


    However, at the same moment, Yan Junze¡¯s right hand touched the ice-cold skin again, but this time, after the touch, the other person¡¯s hand immediately retracted.


    Without hesitation, Yan Junze reached out right away, grabbed the hand, and gently squeezed it twice, feeling the other¡¯s fingers were slender.


    The owner of this hand did not evade anymore but responded with a squeeze back.


    Just at that moment, the cold breath suddenly returned, drawing close to the two people holding hands.


    Clunk, their own palm rested on the back of the two hands that were joined.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± A barely audible voice came close.


    Whoosh, it suddenly sounded not far behind Yan Junze, as if a chair in the meeting room had been touched by someone.